Dio Chrysostom, On Kingship 2.4

In this fashion Alexander would talk with his father, thereby revealing his innermost thoughts. The fact is that while he loved Homer, for Achilles he felt not only admiration but even jealousy because of Homer's poesy, just as handsome boys are sometimes jealous of others who are handsome, because these have more power­ful lovers. 

To the other poets he gave hardly a thought; but he did mention​ Stesichorus and Pindar, the former because he was looked upon as an imitator of Homer and composed a Capture of Troy, a creditable work, and Pindar because of the brilliancy of his genius and the fact that he had extolled the ancestor whose name he bore: Alexander,​ nicknamed the Philhellene, to whom the poet alluded in the verse 

Namesake of the blest sons of Dardanus. 

This is the reason why, when later he sacked Thebes,​ he left only that poet's house standing, directing that this notice be posted upon it: 

Set not on fire the roof of Pindar, maker of song. 

Undoubtedly he was most grateful to those who eulogized him worthily, when he was so particular as this in seeking renown. 

"Well, then, my son," said Philip, "since I am glad indeed to hear you speak in this fashion, tell me, is it your opinion that the king should not even make himself a dwelling beautified with precious ornaments of gold and amber and ivory to suit his pleasure?" 

"By no means should he, father," he replied; "such ornaments should consist rather of spoils and armor taken from the enemy. He should also embellish the temples with such ornaments and thus propitiate the gods. This was Hector's opinion when he challenged the best of the Achaeans, declaring that if victorious he would deliver the body to the allied host, 'but the arms,' said he, 'I shall strip off and

hang them high

Within the temple of the archer-god Apollo.' 

"For such adornment of sacred places is altogether superior to jasper, carnelian, and onyx, with which Sardanapallus bedecked Nineveh. Indeed, such ostentation is by no means seemly for a king though it may furnish amusement to some silly girl or extravagant woman. 

"And so I do not envy the Athenians, either, so much for the extravagant way they embellished their city and their temples as for the deeds their forefathers wrought; for in the sword of Mardonius​ and the shields of the Spartans who were captured at Pylos​ they have a far grander and more excellent dedication to the gods than they have in the Propylaea of the Acropolis and in Olympieum,​ which cost more than ten thousand talents."​ 

"In this particular, then," said Philip, "you could not endorse Homer; for he has embellished the palace of Alcinoüs,​ a Greek and an islander, not only with gardens and orchards and fountains, but with statues of gold also. Nay, more, does he not describe the dwelling of Menelaus, for all that he had just got back from a campaign, as though it were some Persian or Median establishment, almost equalling the palaces of Semiramis,​ or of Darius and Xerxes? He says, for instance: 

A radiance bright, as of the sun or moon. 

Throughout the high-roofed halls of Atreus' son 

Did shine. 

The sheen of bronze, 

Of gold, of silver, and of ivory. 

"And yet, according to your conception, it should have shone, not with such materials, but rather with Trojan spoils!" 

Here Alexander checked him and said, "I have no notion at all of letting Homer go undefended. For it is possible that he described the palace of Menelaus to accord with his character, since he is the only one of the Achaeans whom he makes out to be a faint-hearted warrior.​ Indeed it is fairly clear that this poet never elsewhere speaks without a purpose, but repeatedly depicts the dress, dwelling, and manner of life of people so as to accord with their character. 

"This is why he beautified the palace of the Phaeacians with groves, perennial fruits, and ever-flowing springs; and again, with even greater skill, the grotto of Calypso, since she was a beautiful and kindly goddess living off by herself on an island. For he says​ that the island was wonderfully fragrant with the odors of sweetest incense burning there; and again, that it was overshadowed with luxuriant trees; that round about the grotto rambled a beautiful vine laden with clusters, while before it lay soft meadows with a confusion of parsley and other plants; and, finally, that in its center were four springs of crystal-clear water which flowed out in all directions, seeing that the ground was not on a slope or uneven. Now all these touches are marvelously suggestive of love and pleasure, and to my thinking reveal the character of the goddess. 

"The court of Menelaus, however, he depicts as rich in possessions and rich in gold, as though he were some Asiatic king, it seems to me. And, in fact, Menelaus was not far removed in line of descent from Tantalus and Pelops;​ which I think is the reason why Euripides has his chorus make a veiled allusion to his effeminacy when the king comes in: 

And Menelaus, 

By his daintiness so clear to behold, 

Sprung from the Tantalid stock. 

"The dwelling of Odysseus, however, is of a different kind altogether; he being a cautious man, Homer has given him a home furnished to suit his character. For he says: 

Rooms upon rooms are there: around its court 

Are walls and battlements, and folding doors 

Shut fast the entrance; no man may contemn 

It's strength. 

"But there are passages where we must understand the poet to be giving advice and admonition, others where he merely narrates, and many where his purpose is censure and ridicule. Certainly, when he describes going to bed or the routine of daily life, Homer seems a competent instructor for an education that may truthfully be described as heroic and kingly. 

"Lycurgus, for instance, may have got from him his idea of the common mess​ of the Spartans when he founded their institutions. In fact, the story is that he came to be an admirer of Homer and was the first who brought his poems from Crete, or from Ionia, to Greece. 

"To illustrate my point: the poet represents Diomede as reclining on a hard bed, the 'hide of an ox that dwelleth afield'; round about him he had planted his spears upright, butts downward, not for the sake of order but to have them ready for use.​ Furthermore, he regales his heroes on meat, and beef at that, evidently to give them strength, not pleasure.​ For instance, he is always talking about an ox being slain by Agamemnon, who was king over all and the richest, and of his inviting the chieftains to enjoy it. And to Ajax, after his victory, Agamemnon gives the chine of an ox as a mark of favor.​ 

"But Homer never represents his heroes as partaking of fish although they are  encamped by the sea; and yet he regularly calls the Hellespont fish-abounding, as in truth it is; Plato​ has very properly called attention to this striking fact. Nay, he does not even serve fish to the suitors at their banquet though they are exceedingly licentious and luxury-loving men, are in Ithaca and, what is more, engaged in feasting.​ 

"Now because Homer does not give such details without a purpose, he is evidently declaring his own opinion as to what kind of nourishment is best, and what it is good for. If he wishes to commend a feature, he uses the expression 'might-giving,' that is to say, 'able to supply might' or strength.​ In the passages in question he is giving instruction and advice as to how good men should take thought even for their table, since, as it happened, he was not unacquainted with food of all kinds and with high living. 

"So true is this that the peoples of today who have fairly gone mad in this direction—the Persians, Syrians and, among the Greeks, the Italiots,​ and Ionians—come nowhere near attaining the prodigality and luxury we find in Homer."