EXAMPLES OF Gk., ( προσκυνέω ) PROSKUNEŌ “...WORSHIP / OBEISANCE / HOMAGE...” AS A --- ( CUSTOM ) --- TOWARDS MEN, KINGS, PEOPLE OF RANK IN NON-BIBLICAL LITERATURE!

GREEK TEXT: “...Ἐντυγχάνοντες [1.] δ᾽ ἀλλήλοισι ἐν τῇσι ὁδοῖσι, τῷδε ἄν τις διαγνοίη εἰ ὅμοιοί εἰσὶ οἱ συντυγχάνοντες: ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ προσαγορεύειν ἀλλήλους φιλέουσι τοῖσι στόμασι: ἢν δὲ ᾖ οὕτερος ὑποδεέστερος ὀλίγῳ, τὰς παρειὰς φιλέονται: ἢν δὲ πολλῷ ᾖ οὕτερος ἀγεννέστερος, προσπίπτων προσκυνέει τὸν ἕτερον. [2.] τιμῶσι δὲ ἐκ πάντων τοὺς ἄγχιστα ἑωυτῶν οἰκέοντας μετά γε ἑωυτούς, δευτέρα δὲ τοὺς δευτέρους: μετὰ δὲ κατὰ λόγον προβαίνοντες τιμῶσι: ἥκιστα δὲ τοὺς ἑωυτῶν ἑκαστάτω οἰκημένους ἐν τιμῇ ἄγονται, νομίζοντες ἑωυτοὺς εἶναι ἀνθρώπων μακρῷ τὰ πάντα ἀρίστους, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους κατὰ λόγον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀντέχεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ἑκαστάτω οἰκέοντας ἀπὸ ἑωυτῶν κακίστους εἶναι. [3.] ἐπὶ δὲ Μήδων ἀρχὸν τῶν καὶ ἦρχε τὰ ἔθνεα ἀλλήλων, συναπάντων μὲν Μῆδοι καὶ τῶν ἄγχιστα οἰκεόντων σφίσι, οὗτοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ὁμούρων, οἳ δὲ μάλα τῶν ἐχομένων, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ λόγον καὶ οἱ Πέρσαι τιμῶσι: προέβαινε γὰρ δὴ τὸ ἔθνος ἄρχον τε καὶ ἐπιτροπεῦον...” - (Hdt. 1.134[.1-3], “Herodotus, with an English translation,” by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.)

HERODOTUS (circa. 484-425 B.C.E.): “...When [1.] one man meets another on the road, it is easy to see if the two are equals; for, if they are, they kiss each other on the lips without speaking; IF THE DIFFERENCE IN RANK IS SMALL, THE CHEEK IS KISSED; IF IT IS GREAT, THE HUMBLER BOWS AND DOES OBEISANCE TO THE OTHER. [2.] They honor most of all those who live nearest them, next those who are next nearest, and so going ever onwards they assign honor by this rule: those who dwell farthest off they hold least honorable of all; for they think that they are themselves in all regards by far the best of all men, that the rest have only a proportionate claim to merit, until those who live farthest away have least merit of all. [3.] Under the rule of the Medes, one tribe would even govern another; the Medes held sway over all alike and especially over those who lived nearest to them; these ruled their neighbors, and the neighbors in turn those who came next to them, on the same scheme by which the Persians assign honor; for the nation kept advancing its rule and dominion.{1}...” - (Hdt. 1.134[.1-3], “Herodotus, with an English translation,” by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.)
[FOOTNOTE 1]: This appears to mean, that the farther off a subject nation is, the less direct is the control exercised by the Medes; on the same principle as that which makes the Persians hold their subjects in less and less estimation in proportion to their distance from the seat of empire.

GREEK TEXT: “...Ταῦτα μὲν Ὑδάρνεα ἀμείψαντο. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὡς ἀνέβησαν ἐς Σοῦσα καὶ βασιλέι ἐς ὄψιν ἦλθον, πρῶτα μὲν τῶν δορυφόρων κελευόντων καὶ ἀνάγκην σφι προσφερόντων προσκυνέειν βασιλέα προσπίπτοντας, οὐκ ἔφασαν ὠθεόμενοι ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν ποιήσειν ταῦτα οὐδαμά: οὔτε γὰρ σφίσι ἐν νόμῳ εἶναι ἄνθρωπον προσκυνέειν οὔτε κατὰ ταῦτα ἥκειν. ὡς δὲ ἀπεμαχέσαντο τοῦτο, δεύτερά σφι λέγουσι τάδε καὶ λόγου τοιοῦδε ἐχόμενα [2.] ‘ὦ βασιλεῦ Μήδων, ἔπεμψαν ἡμέας Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἀντὶ τῶν ἐν Σπάρτῃ ἀπολομένων κηρύκων ποινὴν ἐκείνων τίσοντας,’ λέγουσι δὲ αὐτοῖσι ταῦτα Ξέρξης ὑπὸ μεγαλοφροσύνης οὐκ ἔφη ὅμοιος ἔσεσθαι Λακεδαιμονίοισι: κείνους μὲν γὰρ συγχέαι τὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων νόμιμα ἀποκτείναντας κήρυκας, αὐτὸς δὲ τὰ ἐκείνοισι ἐπιπλήσσει ταῦτα οὐ ποιήσειν, οὐδὲ ἀνταποκτείνας ἐκείνους ἀπολύσειν Λακεδαιμονίους τῆς αἰτίης...” - (Hdt. 7.136[.1-2], “Herodotus, with an English translation,” by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.)

HERODOTUS (circa. 484-425 B.C.E.): “...This was their answer to Hydarnes. FROM THERE THEY CAME TO SUSA, INTO THE KING'S PRESENCE, AND WHEN THE GUARDS COMMANDED AND WOULD HAVE COMPELLED THEM TO FALL DOWN AND BOW TO THE KING, they said they would never do that. This they would refuse even if they were thrust down headlong, FOR IT WAS NOT THEIR CUSTOM, SAID THEY, TO BOW TO MORTAL MEN, nor was that the purpose of their coming. Having averted that, they next said, [2.] “The Lacedaemonians have sent us, O king of the Medes, in requital for the slaying of your heralds at Sparta, to make atonement for their death,” and more to that effect. To this Xerxes, with great magnanimity, replied that he would not imitate the Lacedaemonians. “You,” said he, “made havoc of all human law by slaying heralds, but I will not do that for which I censure you, nor by putting you in turn to death will I set the Lacedaemonians free from this guilt...” - (Hdt. 7.136[.1-2], Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.)

GREEK TEXT: “...Ὀρέστης: ποῦ 'στιν οὗτος ὃς πέφευγεν ἐκ δόμων τοὐμὸν ξίφος; Φρύξ: προσκυνῶ σ᾽, ἄναξ, νόμοισι βαρβάροισι προσπίτνων. Ὀρέστης: οὐκ ἐν Ἰλίῳ τάδ᾽ ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν Ἀργείᾳ χθονί. Φρύξ: πανταχοῦ ζῆν ἡδὺ μᾶλλον ἢ θανεῖν τοῖς σώφροσιν...” - (Eur. Orest. 1506-1507, “Euripides. Euripidis Fabulae,” vol. 3. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913.)

EURIPIDES (circa. 480-406 B.C.E.): “...Orestes: “Where is the one who fled from the palace to escape my sword?” Phrygian: falling at the feet of Orestes, “BEFORE YOU I PROSTRATE MYSELF, LORD, and supplicate you in my foreign way.” Orestes: “We are not in Ilium, but the land of Argos.” Phrygian: “Everywhere, the wise find life sweeter than death...” - (Eur. Orest. 1506-1507, Euripides. The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 2. Orestes, translated by E. P. Coleridge. New York. Random House. 1938.)

GREEK TEXT: “...Θουκυδίδης μὲν οὖν καὶ Χάρων ὁ Λαμψακηνὸς ἱστοροῦσι τεθνηκότος Ξέρξου πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ γενέσθαι τὴν ἔντευξιν: Ἔφορος δὲ καὶ Δείνων καὶ Κλείταρχος καὶ Ἡρακλείδης, ἔτι δ᾽ ἄλλοι πλείονες, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι τὸν Ξέρξην. τοῖς δὲ χρονικοῖς δοκεῖ μᾶλλον ὁ Θουκυδίδης συμφέρεσθαι, καίπερ οὐδ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἀτρέμα συνταττομένοις. [2.] ὁ δ᾽ οὖν Θεμιστοκλῆς γενόμενος παρ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ δεινὸν ἐντυγχάνει πρῶτον Ἀρταβάνῳ τῷ χιλιάρχῳ λέγων, Ἕλλην μὲν εἶναι, βούλεσθαι δ᾽ ἐντυχεῖν βασιλεῖ περὶ μεγίστων πραγμάτων καὶ πρὸς ἃ τυγχάνει μάλιστα σπουδάζων ἐκεῖνος. ὁ δέ φησιν: ‘ὦ ξένε, νόμοι διαφέρουσιν ἀνθρώπων: ἄλλα δ᾽ ἄλλοις καλά: καλὸν δὲ πᾶσι τὰ οἰκεῖα κοσμεῖν καὶ σώζειν. [3.] ὑμᾶς μὲν οὖν ἐλευθερίαν μάλιστα θαυμάζειν καὶ ἰσότητα λόγος: ἡμῖν δὲ πολλῶν νόμων καὶ καλῶν ὄντων κάλλιστος οὗτός ἐστι, τιμᾶν βασιλέα, καὶ προσκυνεῖν ὡς εἰκόνα θεοῦ τοῦ τὰ πάντα σώζοντος. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐπαινῶν τὰ ἡμέτερα προσκυνήσεις, ἔστι σοι καὶ θεάσασθαι βασιλέα καὶ προσειπεῖν: εἰ δ᾽ ἄλλο τι φρονεῖς, ἀγγέλοις ἑτέροις χρήσῃ πρὸς αὐτόν. βασιλεῖ γὰρ οὐ πάτριον ἀνδρὸς ἀκροᾶσθαι μὴ προσκυνήσαντος.’ [4.] ταῦτα ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἀκούσας λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν: ‘ἀλλ᾽ ἔγωγε τὴν βασιλέως, ὦ Ἀρτάβανε, φήμην καὶ δύναμιν αὐξήσων ἀφῖγμαι, καὶ αὐτός τε πείσομαι τοῖς ὑμετέροις νόμοις, ἐπεὶ θεῷ τῷ μεγαλύνοντι Πέρσας οὕτω δοκεῖ, καὶ δι᾽ ἐμὲ πλείονες τῶν νῦν βασιλέα προσκυνήσουσιν. ὥστε τοῦτο μηδὲν ἐμποδὼν ἔστω τοῖς λόγοις, οὓς βούλομαι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰπεῖν.’ [5.] ‘τίνα δ᾽,’ εἶπεν ὁ Ἀρτάβανος, ‘Ἑλλήνων ἀφῖχθαί σε φῶμεν; οὐ γὰρ ἰδιώτῃ τὴν γνώμην ἔοικας.’ καὶ ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς: ‘τοῦτ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἄν,’ ἔφη, ‘πύθοιτό τις, Ἀρτάβανε, πρότερος βασιλέως.’ οὕτω μὲν ὁ Φανίας φησίν. ὁ δ᾽ Ἐρατοσθένης ἐν τοῖς Περὶ πλούτου προσιστόρησε, διὰ γυναικὸς Ἐρετρικῆς, ἣν ὁ χιλίαρχος εἶχε, τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔντευξιν γενέσθαι καὶ σύστασιν...” - (Plut. Them. 27[:1-5], Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 2.)

PLUTARCH / LUCIUS MESTRIUS PLUTARCHUS (circa. 46-120 C.E.): “...Now Thucydides{1} and Charon of Lampsacus relate that Xerxes was dead, and that it was his son Artaxerxes with whom Themistocles had his interview; but Ephorus and Dinon and Clitarchus and Heracleides and yet more besides have it that it was Xerxes to whom he came. With the chronological data Thucydides seems to me more in accord, although these are by no means securely established. [2.] Be that as it may, Themistocles, thus at the threshold of the dreadful ordeal, had audience first with Artabanus the Chiliarch, or Grand Vizier, and said that he was a Hellene, and that he desired to have an audience with the King on matters which were of the highest importance and for which the monarch entertained the most lively concern. Whereupon the Chiliarch replied: ‘O STRANGER, MEN'S CUSTOMS DIFFER; DIFFERENT PEOPLE HONOR DIFFERENT PRACTICES; BUT ALL HONOR THE EXALTATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THEIR OWN PECULIAR WAYS. [3.] NOW YOU HELLENES ARE SAID TO ADMIRE LIBERTY AND EQUALITY ABOVE ALL THINGS; BUT IN OUR EYES, AMONG MANY FAIR CUSTOMS, THIS IS THE FAIREST OF ALL, TO HONOR THE KING, AND TO PAY OBEISANCE TO HIM AS THE IMAGE OF THAT GOD WHO IS THE PRESERVER OF ALL THINGS. IF, THEN, THOU APPROVEST OUR PRACTICE AND WILT PAY OBEISANCE, IT IS IN THY POWER TO BEHOLD AND ADDRESS THE KING; but if thou art otherwise minded, it will be needful for thee to employ messengers to him in thy stead, FOR IT IS NOT A CUSTOM OF THIS COUNTRY THAT THE KING GIVE EAR TO A MAN WHO HAS NOT PAID HIM OBEISANCE.’ [4.] When Themistocles heard this, he said to him: ‘Nay, but I am come, Artabanus, to augment the King's fame and power, AND I WILL NOT ONLY MYSELF OBSERVE YOUR CUSTOMS, SINCE SUCH IS THE PLEASURE OF THE GOD WHO EXALTS THE PERSIANS, BUT I WILL INDUCE MORE MEN THAN DO SO NOW TO PAY OBEISANCE TO THE KING. Therefore let this matter by no means stand in the way of the words I wish to speak to him.’ [5.] ‘And what Hellene,’ said Artabanus, ‘shall I say thou art who hast thus come? Verily, thou dost not seem to be a man of ordinary understanding.’ And Themistocles said: ‘This, Artabanus, no one may learn before the King.’ So indeed Phanias says, and Eratosthenes, in his book ‘On Wealth,’ adds the statement that it was through a woman of Eretria, whom the Chiliarch had to wife, that Themistocles obtained interview and conference with him...” - (Plut. Them. 27[:1-5], Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 2.)
[FOOTNOTE 1]: 1 Thuc. 1.137.

GREEK TEXT: “...ἔπειτα ὅτε Ξέρξης ὕστερον ἀγείρας τὴν ἀναρίθμητον στρατιὰν ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, καὶ τότε ἐνίκων οἱ ἡμέτεροι πρόγονοι τοὺς τούτων προγόνους καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν. ὧν ἔστι μὲν τεκμήρια ὁρᾶν τὰ τρόπαια, μέγιστον δὲ μαρτύριον ἡ ἐλευθερία τῶν πόλεων ἐν αἷς ὑμεῖς ἐγένεσθε καὶ ἐτράφητε: οὐδένα γὰρ ἄνθρωπον δεσπότην ἀλλὰ τοὺς θεοὺς προσκυνεῖτε...” - (Xen. Anab. 3.2.13, Xenophon. Xenophontis opera omnia, vol. 3. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1904, Reprint 1961.)

XENOPHON (circa. 430-354 B.C.E.): “...Again, when Xerxes at a later time gathered together that countless{1} host and came against Greece, then too our forefathers were victorious, both by land and by sea,{2} over the forefathers of our enemies. As tokens of these victories we may, indeed, still behold the trophies, but the strongest witness to them is the freedom of the states in which you were born and bred; FOR TO NO HUMAN CREATURE DO YOU PAY HOMAGE AS MASTER, BUT TO THE GODS ALONE...” - (Xen. Anab. 3.2.13, Xenophon. Xenophon in Seven Volumes, 3. Carleton L. Brownson. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA; William Heinemann, Ltd., London. 1922.)
[FOOTNOTE 1]: Herodotus (Hdt. 7.185) puts the whole number of fighting men in Xerxes' armament at 2,641,610.
[FOOTNOTE 2]: By sea at Salamis (480 B.C.) and by land at Plataea (479 B.C.).

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