Agis, King of the Spartans, praising the Elians for having done splendidly in the Olympics, said; "Why do they do something wonderful(*What’s so great about it?) if they use one day every four years to do what is right?
This is assuming that δι = διά + gen. = at intervals of…
Is that “ultimate back-handed complement” version correct?
Betts, Gavin; Henry, Alan. Complete Ancient Greek: A Comprehensive Guide to Reading and Understanding Ancient Greek, with Original Texts (Complete Language Courses) (p. 262). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.
Yeah, it didn’t seem like much of a compliment. I probably would have recognized the ablative absolute in the Latin translation but was blindsided by the genitive absolute in Greek.
This is interesting. It seems to be from Plutarch’s (or pseudo-Plutarch) Sayings of Kings and Emperors. There’s a followup which could almost be an alternate repetition of the same saying, but without a reference to the Olympics it doesn’t quite stand on its own. The δικαιοσύνη in both is a little difficult for me. My best guess is that it’s more like “judicial recompense” than Christian “righteousness.”
When the Eleans were praised for nicely conducting the Olympics he said: “Why do they do something amazing if every four years they use one day as repayment of obligations?”
When they were awaiting the panegyrics he said, “What is surprising if they prettily use a pretty event for repayment of obligations?”
I wonder if a speech in praise of the Eleans was a regular feature of the Olympic opening, as I assume the panegyrics, apparently described here as delivered by the Eleans, were for the closing?
This is sour grapes on the Spartan king’s part, since Elis was the host city for the Olympics. The mighty Spartans were often at loggerheads with the Eleans, and that’s the point of this simple anecdotal put-down: only one day every four years (when they officiate the Games) do the Eleans behave justly.