Φθονερὸς ἰδὼν τὸν γείτονα θηριομαχοῦτα λέγει τῷ κυβερνήτῃ ᾿᾿Αρκος

This joke from Philogelos (the Greek joke-book sometimes known under the names of Hierocles and Philagrios) has been thought unintelligible. The most recent editor, Thierfelder (Munich 1968) quotes previous commentators: ‘Narratio lacuna laborare videtur. Quod superest non potest intelligi’ (Boissonade); ‘… corriget qui intellexerit’ (Eberhard).

The difficulty lies in the apparent juxtaposition of two quite different situations—the amphitheatre(θηριομαχοῦντα) and the ship (κυβερνήτῃ). But doesκυβερνήτηςreally mean ‘steersman’—even if ἄρκος, ‘Bear, Ursa Major’, is so close? The first use that LSJ records in the meaning ‘governor’ is in a sixth–century papyrus, and Philogelos is tentatively assigned to the fourth or fifth century. The metaphor, however, is frequently used in early Christian Greek (see Lampe, PGL s.v.).