He was an Egyptian youth. He was just past the age of an ephebe, and had just reached the prime of his strength. Although he was chaste, his stepmother fell in love and pressured him and made his father harsh [towards him],[1] plotting nothing like Phaedra,[2] but slandering him as effeminate and delighting in lover-boys rather than women. But he left Naucratis and spent his time around Memphis and had already obtained a ship and was working as a waterman on the Nile. So when he saw Apollonius sailing upstream, as he himself was sailing downstream, he recognized that the crew consisted of wise men, inferring [this] by the cloaks and the books, in which they were deeply engaged, and he begged them to grant him a share of their voyage, since he was a lover of wisdom. But Apollonius said, "This young man is prudent, and let him be judged worthy of what he asks." And he recounted the story about the stepmother in a low tone to those of his companions who were near, as the youth was still sailing towards them. But as the boats came together, Timasion went across and after saying something to his steersman about the cargo, he addressed the men. So Apollonius, bidding him to take a seat in his sight, said, "Egyptian boy, for you appear to be one of the local people, say what you have done bad or good: so that of the former release may come to you from me because of your age, but for the latter having earned praise you may join in philosophy with me and these men." But seeing Timasion blushing and checking the impulse of his mouth to say something or not, at once he pressed his inquiry, as if using no foreknowledge in his regard. But Timasion took courage and said, "O gods, whom may I call myself? For I am not a bad man, but whether it is right to consider myself good, I do not know. For it is not yet praiseworthy not to do wrong." And Apollonius said, "Babai,[3] young man, you converse with me as if from the Indians, for the divine Iarchas[4] holds the same opinion. But how do you judge this, and from what? For you look like a person guarding himself against sinning in some way." But when he began to tell how his stepmother came against him, but he avoided her in her infatuation, a cry arose at how marvelously Apollonius had foretold these events. But replying Timasion said, "O best of men, what has happened to you? For the things I have said are as far from wonder as from laughter." And Damis said, "We wondered at something else, which you do not yet know. And we praise you, young man, because you do not think that you have accomplished anything outstanding." "But do you sacrifice to Aphrodite, young man?" Apollonius asked him. And Timasion said, "By Zeus, [yes], indeed every day; for I consider the goddess great in both human and divine matters." So Apollonius with great delight said, "Let us vote thus, that he should be crowned for chastity even before Hippolytus the son of Theseus; for he acted insolently towards Aphrodite and perhaps for this reason was not subdued by sexual pleasures nor did any love revel over him, but he belonged to the more rustic and hard-hearted part.[5] But this [youth] here saying that he/she had been overcome by the goddess suffered nothing towards the infatuated woman, but went away, fearing the goddess herself if he did not guard himself against loving wrongly. And the very fact of opposing any one of the gods, as Hippolytus did Aphrodite, I do not judge to be prudence/chastity; for it is more prudent to speak well about all the gods, and especially at Athens, where altars are set up for unknown divinities." [...] But he called him Hippolytus because of the eyes with which he saw his stepmother.