55. Κρίσωνι. Criso of Himera, a famous σταδιοδρόμος, won
three times at Olympia, viz. Olymp. 83, 84 and 85 (448, 444 and
440 B.C.). His chastity during his prime as an athlete is mentioned in Laws, VIII. 840A. δρομεῖ ἀκμάζοντι is rejected by some
editors, but δρομεῖ should be taken with Ἱμεραίῳ and ἀκμάζοντι
with ἕπεσθαι: ‘to keep up with Criso, the runner of Himera,
when he was in his prime’—presumably at the assumed date of
this dialogue he was past his ἀκμή.
56. δολιχοδρόμων: δολιχοδρόμοι εἰσὶν οἱ τὸν δόλιχον τρέχοντες, says the scholiast: see on 329A
ἡμεροδρόμων. Heindorf quotes Livy, XXXI. 24. 4 ‘Hemerodromos vocant Graeci ingens die uno cursu emetientes spatium.’ Such was Phidippides; see Hdt. VI. 105 ἡμεροδρόμην τε
καὶ τοῦτο μελετῶντα.
57. διαθεῖν τε καὶ ἕπεσθαι. δια- in compounds frequently
denotes competition: for διαθεῖν cf. Theaet. 148C εἶτα διαθέων
τοῦ ἀκμάζοντος καὶ ταχίστου ἡττήθης. As the emphasis is on
ἕπεσθαι (‘keep up with’), διαθεῖν τε καὶ ἕπεσθαι is equivalent to
διαθέοντα ἕπεσθαι: cf. note on 317Cἐνδείξασθαι καὶ καλλωπίσασθαι,
where καὶ καλλωπίσασθαι is (so to speak) enclitic as διαθεῖν τε καί
is proclitic (cf. the English ‘Some—must be talked over by the
hour before they could reach the humblest decision, which they
only left the office to return again (ten minutes later) and
rescind’).
Plato. Protagoras. J. Adam & A. M. Adam. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1893.
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