Talk:Glycon

Conan movie?

Apart from it featuring a snake cult, what's the connection between Glycon and the Conan movie? Rojomoke 11:05, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, nobody's commented in the last 3 months, so I'm removing the link. Rojomoke 11:43, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation

What's the pronunciation? Is it a hard or soft c or something else? Since the "c" precedes the "o" I would normally say a hard c, but it also comes after a "y" which makes me somewhat unsure. Additionally, is it a long or short o?24.190.34.219 (talk) 17:12, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

• As a Greek name, the most appropriate pronunciation in English would be with a hard "c" and a short "o": "Gly-" to rhyme with "fly", and "-con" as per the English word "con". The stress is on the first syllable.
• In modern Greek, the pronunciation would be different, with the gamma using a phoneme that English does not have, and the the "y" being pronounced with a short "ee" sound. The stress is still on the first syllable.

The Greek spelling is "Γλύκων" as can be seen in Lucian's original text at Project Gutenberg: Ancient Greek version and corresponding English translation. Yes, I realise that the version numbers don't tally here, but these are the two versions that contain the pamphlet on Alexander the Oracle-Monger. Search for "Γλύκων" or "Glycon" as appropriate to find the relevant text.

• The line, "Ειμί Γλύκων, τρίτον αίμα Διός, φάος ανθρώποισι," translates more literally as, "I am Glycon, third blood of Zeus [Zeus' grandchild], the light of mankind," as an example of how close the translation is: "Glycon my name, man's light, son's son to Zeus."
• In case you're unfamiliar with Ancient Greek and wish to search for the related passages, the different noun forms used in the text are: nominative case "Γλύκων", genitive case "Γλύκωνος", vocative case "Γλυκών"
• I further note that the English version is an incomplete translation. For example the paragraph starting, "I will now give you a conversation between Glycon and one Sacerdos of Tius..." follows immediately on from an oracular prophecy beginning, "Waxes and wanes Pythagoras' soul..." In the Greek text, there is another large paragraph of text between them. An interesting find at a glance, although I haven't taken the time to read the entire pamphlet in detail in both languages.

-Stelio (talk) 13:45, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Modern

The section on Glycon in modern times is 90% about one possible follower (Alan Moore) who essentially mentions that it's non-serious. Shouldn't the part about Moore be moved to some kind of popular culture section? Dlamblin (talk) 10:36, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

He doesn't say it's "non-serious", he says that while he realizes Glycon likely originated as a "hoax", it doesn't matter and he believes in it anyway. He and his confession are definitely notable enough. Bataaf van Oranje (Prinsgezinde) (talk) 14:47, 16 June 2016 (UTC)

He says the name translates to 'Sweetie'. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9EUe8jNr6o [25:13]) Could that be added? Heavenlyblue (talk) 23:18, 21 April 2023 (UTC)

Blatant contradiction

Lucian claimed Glycon was created in the mid-2nd century by the Greek prophet Alexander of Abonutichus. (In 20 BC Glycon is referred to by the Roman poet Horace, in his Epistle 1 to Maecenas in his First Book of Epistles; "... you despair of the muscles of the invincible Glycon...")

Alexander of Abonoteichus has the founder of the cult living in the 2nd century AD, so it seems the reference by Horace to Glycon merits some further explanation. Are we sure we are dealing with the same character here?--Abulmiskafur (talk) 04:05, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

• There seems to be the thought that Horace was referring to the Athenian sculptor of that name instead. I have moved the quote from the lead section to the main text and changed the order of information in the lead so that it doesn´t change time back and forth again. However I agree that this should be cleared ...GELongstreet (talk) 02:32, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

I believe that Horace is not referring to Alexanders snake-god Glycon: professional editions and/or translations by H. Ruston Fairclough and Philip Francis state that Glycon is a person (whoever that is, remains unclear), but the idea that Horace is referring to the snake is not accounted for by anyone, I believe, and should therefore be removed from the page. --Brambenthem (talk) 15:11, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

I came here to tell you this, too. The Glycon mentioned by Horace is a very different figure, it's not this "god" at all.

Fourarmedoctopus (talk) 00:14, 9 July 2021 (UTC)