Zenobius 3.63
You shall sleep in a mortar
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English
Proverb
You shall sleep in a mortar
Explanation
some say Holmus was a seer; others, that those who slept in a mortar (holmos) became prophetic, whence the proverb. And Aristophanes the grammarian says that those who slept in a mortar became prophetic; and that the tripods of Apollo were called "mortars," and Apollo is called by Sophocles "of-the-mortar."
Greek
Proverb
Ἐν ὅλμῳ εὐνάσω
Explanation
οἱ μὲν Ὅλμον μάντιν φασίν· οἱ δὲ, τοὺς ἐν ὅλμῳ κοιμηθέντας μαντικοὺς γίνεσθαι, ὅθεν καὶ παροιμίαν γενέσθαι. Καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ὁ γραμματικός φησιν, ὡς οἱ ἐν ὅλμῳ κοιμηθέντες μαντικοί· καὶ τοὺς τρίποδας τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ὅλμους καλεῖσθαι, καὶ Ἀπόλλων ὑπὸ Σοφοκλέους ἔνολμος.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0098.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:3.63