The Golden Verses (, Chrysea Epē ; ) are a collection of moral exhortations comprising 71 lines written in dactylic hexameter. They are traditionally attributed to the Pythagorean philosophers.

[Fyodor Bronnikov, Pythagoreans' Hymn to the Rising Sun, 1869.

Oil on canvas. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Bronnikov///gimnpifagoreizev.jpg]

Overview

The exact origins of the Golden Verses are unknown and there are varying opinions regarding their dating. It appears that the verses may have been known as early as the third century BCE but their existence as we know them cannot be confirmed prior to the fifth century CE. The Golden Verses enjoyed great popularity and were widely distributed in late antiquity, being often quoted. Their renown persisted during the medieval ages and into the Renaissance. In 1494 the Neoplatonic Greek scholar Constantine Lascaris published in a famous printed edition of his Grammatica, deliberately, the Golden Verses translated into Latin, thereby bringing them to a widespread audience. The Neoplatonists used the Golden Verses as part of their preparatory program of moral instruction, and a number of Neoplatonic commentaries on the verses are extant. An early English translation of the Golden Verses, accompanied by the commentary of the Neoplatonist Hierocles of Alexandria, was published by John Hall of Durham in his posthumous Hierocles (1657). Other early translations of the Golden Verses and Hierocles' commentary include the translation into French by André Dacier (1706) and the translation into English by Nicholas Rowe (1707). A modern critical edition and English translation of the Golden Verses was prepared by Johan C. Thom in 1995, while a recent English translation of Hierocles' commentary was published by Herman S. Schibli in 2002.

The Golden Verses of Pythagoras (Rowe/Firth translation, modernized)