The Library of Greek Mythology by Apollodorus

OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
Apollodorus
The Library of
Greek Mythology
A new translation bv Robin Hard
THE LIBRARY OF
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Apollodorus is the name traditionally ascribed to the author of
the Library. Although he was formerly identified as Apollodorus of
Athens, a distinguished Alexandrian scholar of the second century
bc, it is now recognized that the Library must have been written at a
later period, probably the first or second century ad. It is not known
whether Apollodorus was the author's true name; in any case
we know nothing about him. Essentially an editor rather than an
original writer, he compiled this brief but comprehensive guide to
Greek mythology by selecting and summarizing material from the
works of earlier writers. Based in the main on good early sources, it
is an invaluable reference work.
Robin Hard studied Greek at Aberystwyth and Reading, writing a

doctoral thesis on Plato's Symposium, and is currently combining
writing and translating with the part-time teaching of ancient
philosophy and Greek.
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APOLLODORUS
The Library of
Greek Mythology
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
ROBIN HARD
Oxford New York

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Apollodorus.
[ Biblio thee a . English]
The library of Greek mythology / Apollodorus; translated by Robin Hard.
(Oxford world's classics)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

1. Mythology, Greek. I. Hard, Robin. II. Title. III. Series.
PA38JO.A73 iggj 2g.i't—dc20 gb-34135
ISBN 0-1^28^24-1 (pbk.)
1
3 579 10 8642
Printed in Great Britain by
Cox (5 W'yman, Reading, Berkshire
CONTENTS
Introduction vii
Note on the Text and Translation xxviii
Select Bibliography xxxi
THE LIBRARY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY i
Contents 3
Genealogical Tables 9
Map 10
The Library 27
Appendix: Some Interpolations and an Unreliable

Passage from the Epitome 171
Explanatory Notes 177
The Twelve Gods 262
References to Animals and Transformations 267
Index of Names 271
BR BR
PA3870
.A73
1998x
INTRODUCTION
The Library of Apollodorus is a concise but comprehensive guide

to Greek mythology. It covers the full span of mythical history
from the origins of the universe and the gods to the Trojan War
and its aftermath, and between these limits it tells the story of
each of the great families of heroic mythology, and of the vari-
ous adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines.
This is the only work of its kind to survive from classical
antiquity. Although the Greeks developed an extensive and var-
ied mythographical literature in Hellenistic and Roman times,
the few handbooks which have been preserved are mostly spe-
cialist anthologies, recording myths of the constellations, for
instance, or tales of transformation, and many of the stories con-

tained in them are relatively obscure and of late origin. The author
of the Library, by contrast, wanted to provide his readers with
a general handbook which would offer them an account of the
most important myths as related in the earlier tradition (with
late or recondite variant). Otherwise we pos-
only the occasional
sess onlytwo works which are at all comparable. There is a Latin
compendium, the Myths (Fabulae) of Hyginus, probably dating
to the second century ad, which was based on a Greek pre-
decessor, but conveys its contents in a very imperfect form; it
presents summaries of myths and various catalogues in many

separate chapters. Although it is a valuable source for myths
or versions of myths which would otherwise have been lost, it
is disorganized and sadly unreliable, and has to be approached

with caution. Secondly, when Diodorus of Sicily was compiling
his historical compendium in the first century bc, he departed
from the more austere practices of many fellow historians and
included a section on the mythical history (or pre-history) of
Greece. Although it contains a useful biography of Heracles and
other interesting material, Diodorus' account of Greek myth is
not nearly as complete as that in the Library, and much of it is
based on inferior Hellenistic sources.

It may seem surprising that this unpretentious handbook
should have survived when the most important works of the
vii
Introduction
ancient mythographers have been lost. Fortune, of course, plays

a large part in such matters; all surviving manuscripts of the
Library derive from a single archetype. But if it is unpretentious
to a fault, the Library encloses a mass of reliable information in
a short space, and it is clear that the scholars of later antiquity
found it exceptionally useful for that reason. It is often cited in
the scholia (explanatory comments on the works of the clas-
sical authors) and similar sources, and in the twelfth century the
Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes made extensive use of it. This
suggests that the preservation of this particular handbook was
not simply a freak of fortune, and that the writers of this later
period thought that it had its virtues, at least from a purely prac-
tical point of view. As it happens, we know directly what one
of the finest Byzantine scholars thought of the Library, for
Photius, patriarch of Constantinople in the ninth century, reg-
istered his opinion in a brief review. While travelling abroad on
a diplomatic mission, Photius kept a record of his reading for
his brother, and in this record, after summarizing the contents
of another mythical work, he noted:
In the same volume, I read a small work by the scholar Apollodorus;

it is entitled the Library. It contained the most ancient stories of the
Greeks: all that time has given them to believe about the gods and heroes,
and about the rivers, and lands, and peoples, and towns, and thence
everything that goes back to the earliest times. And it goes down as far
as the Trojan War, and covers the battles that certain of the heroes
fought with one another, and their exploits, and certain of the wan-
derings of the heroes returning from Troy, notably those of Odysseus,
with whom this history of ancient times concludes. All in all, it is a
generalsummary which is by no means lacking in usefulness to those
who attach some value to the memory of the ancient stories.
If the Library had been lost, like so many of the works reviewed
by Photius, we might feel some regret on reading these words;
as it is, we can refer to the original and judge for ourselves whether
for the modern reader too it fulfils the claims that Photius makes
for it. These claims are by no means extravagant. It is indeed a
useful synopsis of the mythical history of Greece; and, it may
be added, it is based for the most part on good early sources,
and the author was content to summarize them as he found them
Introduction
without imposing his own interpretations, or attempting to rec-

oncile conflicting traditions, or making any alterations for liter-
ary effect.
In the manuscripts, this book is entitled the Library of Apollo-

dorus of Athens, the Grammarian. 'Library' was a title applied to
compendia; for a compendium, which draws together material
from a multitude of other books, could be regarded as a library
in itself. Diodorus called his much larger historical compen-
dium the Historical Library for the same reason. In Photius' copy
of the Library, a little poem was placed at the beginning in which
the book itself addresses the reader and expresses this thought
directly. It ran like this:
Now, due to my erudition, you can draw upon the coils of time, and
know the stories of old. Look no longer in the pages of Homer, or in
elegy, or the tragic Muse, or lyric verse, and seek no longer in the
sonorous verses of the cyclic poets; no, look in me, and you will dis-
cover all that the world contains.
Whether this was by the original author is im-

really written
possible to say, but none the less it seems appropriate and sug-
gestive, even if the mixed metaphor at the beginning is not
altogether fortunate. Time is pictured as a serpent, and the suc-
cession of ages as the serpent's coils which the learning embod-
ied in the book will enable its readers to 'draw on' (as though
drawing water from a well). For rather than search through a
whole library of ancient poems, they have merely to look with-
in this 'Library' to discover all that they could wish to know
about the myths and legends of early Greece. And there is some
truth in this, even if we would be happy to have the same oppor-
tunity as its author to consult all these early poetic sources in
the original, and there is a certain philistinism in the suggestion
that a work of these dimensions could enclose 'the world'.
The attribution of the work to Apollodorus of Athens, a distin-

guished scholar (or 'grammarian') who worked at Alexandria in
the second century bc, is more problematic. Although Apollo-
dorus had wide interests and also wrote on literary, historical,
geographical, and other matters, he appears to have been most
ix
Introduction
highly regarded in antiquity for a treatise on Greek religion en-

titled On which would have contained extensive dis-
the Gods,
cussion of divine mythology. Thus the Library, which is largely
devoted to heroic mythology, could be seen as a complementary
work; and if the attribution were correct, we would possess a
book by one of the most learned authors of the greatest age of
Greek scholarship. The reference to 'the scholar (grammarian)
Apollodorus' in Photius' review shows that he too considered
this Apollodorus to be the author, and the attribution was ac-
cepted by modern scholars until quite recently, although it was
increasingly recognized that it raises serious problems. Not until
1873, when the publication of a thesison the Library by Carl
Robert forced a reconsideration of the matter, were these prob-
lems fully confronted.
There is one very definite indication that the Library could not
have been written during the lifetime of Apollodorus of Athens:
it contains a reference to the Chronicles of Castor of Rhodes
(p. 59). This was a study in comparative chronology which is
said to have contained tables which extended to 61 bc; and the
date of its author is confirmed by a report that he married the
daughter of Deiotarus, an eastern king who was defended by
Cicero in 45 bc. Unless the reference to Castor was added to
the text at a later period (and there is no reason to suppose that
it was) the Library must have been written a century or more
after the death of Apollodorus of Athens.

In view of the difficulty raised by this citation, we must ask
whether the Library is in any case a book which we could reas-
onably accept as the work of a scholar of Apollodorus' stature
and period. In truth, it is not at all what we would expect from
a learned Alexandrian scholar. Rather than an original synthe-
sis achieved through the author's own research and reflection (as
was surely the case with Apollodorus' treatise on the gods), we

have an elementary handbook which the author compiled by con-
sulting and epitomizing standard sources. And the author made
no attempt to interpret the myths and explain their meaning in
rationalistic terms, as was characteristic of Hellenistic mytho-
graphers. In relation to the gods, for instance, many writers of
this period would explain that they represented forces of nature,
or that they had originally been human beings who later had divine
Introduction
status attributed to them. Although it is explicitly attested that

Apollodorus of Athens adopted such an approach, there is not
a trace of it in the Library-, nor was the author disconcerted by
the fabulous element in many heroic myths (unlike Diodorus,
who often provides rationalized versions, following Hellenistic
sources). He simply accepts the myths as enjoyable stories which
formed an important part of the Greek heritage, a characteris-
tic attitude in later times. Furthermore, there are features in the
author's use of language which suggest that the book was writ-
ten at a later period than the second century bc. In short, there
is every indication that the attribution to Apollodorus of Athens
can be confidently rejected.

Apollodorus was a fairly common name, and it is conceivable
that the Library was compiled by an author of that name who
was later confused with the famous scholar of an earlier period;
but it is more likely that our book is sailing under a flag of con-
venience. Perhaps, as Robert suggested, the author was too timid
to launch the work under his own name, or perhaps later copy-
ists found it to their advantage to pass it off as the work of a
distinguished scholar. In any case, we know nothing about the
author. Accordingly, the author is sometimes referred to as the
pseudo-Apollodorus, particularly in the continental literature;
but it is more convenient to use the traditional name, with due
reservation.
Accepting that the traditional attribution reveals nothing
about the author, can we infer anything about his time of birth,
or his origins, or perhaps even his character from the book itself?
It must be stated from the outset that a compilation of this kind
is of its very nature unlikely to reveal much about its author,
and in the present instance some features which might be of
help in that regard are lacking. There is no dedication, and there
are no incidental allusions to things that the author has seen or
experienced. Nor does he make any
reference to recent or con-
temporary events; indeed, the only historical event mentioned
by him is the Phocian War (p. 163), which took place in the
fourth century bc. It is possible, however, to draw some con-
clusions about when the Library may have been written, and
perhaps about the origins of its author.
The reference to Castor (the latest author to be cited) shows
Introduction
that the Library could not have been written before the first
half of the first century bc. To establish a later limit with equal
certainty, it would be necessary to find a reference to the Lib-
rary in another work which could be dated to a sufficiently early
period. In practice, however, this approach is unproductive.
Although, as was remarked above, the Library is cited quite fre-
quently in the scholia and elsewhere, all the relevant sources are
either hard to date or were certainly written at a much later
period. We must therefore rely on Let us con-

internal criteria.
sider first the author's use of language, which might be ex-
pected to provide the most definite indications.
Although the author's Greek is generally unexceptional, there
are features in his vocabulary and idiom which are more char-
acteristic of later Greek. He occasionally uses words in senses
which are not attested before the early Christian era, and some-
times the verb forms and minor points of grammar and expres-
sion are suggestive of later usage (even if they are not entirely
unparalleled in the works of earlier authors). On these stylistic
grounds, it is commonly agreed would be best
that the Library
dated to the first or second century ad (although some would
place it somewhat earlier or later); and the author's general atti-
tude and approach is consistent with such a dating. It has been
remarked that in contrast to many Hellenistic writers, he is uncrit-
ical in hisapproach to myth. This is not because he accepts all
the stories as being literally true, but because his approach is
that of an antiquarian, so the question of truth or falsity is no
longer relevant. This antiquarian approach, accompanied by a
taste for the archaic and picturesque, and the desire to take stock
of aspects of the Greek heritage, were characteristic of authors
writing under the early empire. One has only to think of Plut-
arch or Pausanias. In preparing this summa of Greek myth, the
present author was writing on a lesser scale in a work that belonged
to an inferior genre; but the literature of epitomes and popular
handbooks was itself characteristic of the age, and in its way,
witnessed to the same tendencies.
To pass from the question of chronology to that of the
author's origins, we must consider whether he shows any special
interest in (or disregard for) particular areas of the Mediterran-
ean world. Here a measure of caution is required; in a handbook
xii
Introduction
devoted to the main early myths, there will inevitably be an

emphasis on stories associated with the heartland of Greece and
the Aegean. None the less, many readers have felt that the author
is curiously neglectful of myths relating to Italy and the west;
and some have detected a bias to the east. Apollodorus' account
of the life history of Heracles is broadly similar to that in the
historical compilation by Diodorus of Sicily. Yet his coverage
of Heracles' adventures in Italy when returning with the cattle
of Geryoneus (pp. 80-1) is very scanty when compared with
the full account in Diodorus; and he makes no allusion to the
tradition that Heracles was supposed to have visited the site of
Rome. Indeed, he never mentions Rome or the Romans, and
disregards the aspects of Greek mythology which were of most
concern to them. Thus he tells how Aeneas escaped from the
sack of Troy carrying his father on his back, but we would never
gather from the Library that there were traditions connecting
him with Latium and the origins of Rome. Although a similar
attitude can be detected in other authors at that time and the
matter raises questions of wider interest, with regard to the spe-
cific question of the author's origins we can surely conclude that
it ismost unlikely that he came from Italy or the west. Some
have tried to draw more positive conclusions, but it is doubt-
ful whether there is sufficient evidence to support them. Robert
suggested that the author was an Athenian (like the Hellenistic
Apollodorus); but the coverage of Athenian mythology, although
quite extensive, is not disproportionate in terms of the place
that Athenian myth occupied in the general tradition, and it can

hardly be accepted that references to topographical features like
the 'sea' of Erechtheus (p. 130) are explicable only on grounds
of local knowledge. Again, it could be argued that Apollodorus
shows a special interest in the east, and it is quite possible that
he lived there, but we cannot say more than that.
There is no suggestion in Photius' review that he regarded the

Library as an introductory work for schoolchildren or the un-
educated, and the citations in the scholia show that in late an-
tiquity at least it was used by scholars as a reference work. We
have no corresponding evidence of how was viewed in ear-
it
lier times, or whether it was widely used. It may be suspected,
xiii
Introduction
however, that readers of much education would have preferred

more solid fare, and scholars at that period would surely have
found little use for an elementary work of this kind when they
could refer to more scholarly and comprehensive handbooks by
the Hellenistic mythographers.
A modern reader leafing through the Library is likely to gain
conflicting impressions about its general level and the kind of
audience that the author would have had in mind when writ-
ing it. Unlike many of the mythographical works which survive
from antiquity, this is not a specialist study, and the author is
happy to recount the most familiar stories; and most of them
are summarized quite briefly. If the Library is used merely as a
mythological dictionary and consulted for the stories associated
with the main heroes, the reader may feel that it is very ele-
mentary, containing little that any moderately educated ancient
reader would not have known already. Thus the story of Perseus
is summarized in three pages, that of Oedipus in about a page,
and the plot of Sophocles' Antigone in two sentences. Many have

concluded that the Library was written as a primer for school-
children, or perhaps for semi-Hellenized adults in the eastern
reaches of the Roman empire; such a view has been held by
scholarswhose opinion is worthy of respect (and some have
advanced specific arguments in its favour, suggesting, for in-
stance, that certain stories have been bowdlerized for a youth-
ful audience).
On the other hand, if the Library is read consecutively, the
reader may feel that it is not as elementary as all that. Within its
brief confines it contains a remarkable quantity of information,

and much that a reader with a fairly comprehensive knowledge
of Greek mythology would not expect to hold in mind. Perhaps
the work was intended not as a primer, but as an epitome of
mythical history for a general if unsophisticated readership. As
we have already observed, there was an extensive literature of
this kind in the Roman period, and the part that popular hand-
books and epitomes played in transmitting many aspects of
Hellenic culture to a broad public should not be underestimated.
For their knowledge of philosophy, for instance, many Greeks
of that period would have relied on handbooks summarizing the
opinions of the different schools on each of the standard ques-
xiv
Introduction
tions. Works of such a kind may have been aimed at a relatively

uncultivated audience, but they were not written specifically for
use in schools.
Taken as a whole, the Library amounts to far more than an
anthology of mythical For it offers a full account of each
tales.
of the main cycles of myth, and thence a complete history of

mythical Greece, organized on a genealogical basis, family by
family; all the main stories are there, each situated in its proper
place in the overall structure. From this perspective it could
well be argued that the author wanted to provide the general
public with a summa of Greek myth in epitome form; and that
in a modest way, aim was encyclopaedic. In a recent French
his
edition of the Library, J.-C. Carriere has advanced some inter-
esting arguments in favour of this view. Although this is ulti-
mately a matter of judgement, and a full consideration of the
question would require the examination of a number of differ-
ent issues, I would like to consider a single aspect of the work
which seems to favour such a view.
Even a casual reader of the Library will be struck by the pro-
fusion of names. The narrative may often be brief and bare, but
the author was immensely thorough in recording the names of
all the figures associated with the heroic families and the main
episodes in heroic mythology. Most of these names appear in

various catalogues, or in the genealogies which punctuate the
histories of the great families of heroic mythology; let us first
consider the catalogues, which serve less of a practical function
than the genealogies.
In such a short work, the author devotes a surprising amount
of space to these catalogues, which sometimes take up more than
a page. Instead of merely reporting that the fifty daughters of
Danaos married the fifty sons of Aigyptos and, with one ex-
ception, murdered them on their wedding night, Apollodorus
lists all the brides and their husbands, and tells us who their
mothers were (pp. 61-2). Only two of the Danaids are of any sig-
nificance thereafter. Similarly, the fifty sons of Lycaon, who met
a premature death, are listed by name, and all the suitors of
Penelope (although there is no such list in the Odyssey, Apollo-
dorus' main source at this point), and the many children of
Heracles by the fifty daughters of Thespios and other women.
Introduction
In certain cases such catalogues could be of practical interest

even to those first approaching the study of Greek mythology, as
with the catalogue of the Argonauts (pp. 49-50), or the catalogue
of ships (pp. 148-9), which gives the names of the Greek leaders
at Troy, and their origins and the relative strength of their con-
tingents. But generally this is gratuitous information. Such cata-
logues were nevertheless valued in the Greek tradition, as in many
other mythical traditions, as a matter of record, and it is under-
standable that our author should have wished to include the more
important catalogues when summarizing the tradition. It may
be doubted, however, that any author would wish to burden a
digest for schoolchildren with catalogues listing over six hun-
dred and fifty names (excluding patronymics).
The genealogies are equally comprehensive. The histories
of the heroic families are interspersed with genealogies which
list the full succession in each family, even if no significant stor-
ies are associated with the figures in a particular generation,
and usually catalogue all the known children of each marriage,
even if most are not mentioned again (and may be otherwise
unknown). In this way, complete family trees are built up for
each ruling line, partly as a matter of record (and here com-
pleteness can be seen as a virtue in itself, even if many of the
names which appear no more than names), and partly be-
are
cause these genealogies provide the main principle of organiza-
tion in mythical history. In many mythical traditions, the myths
tend to tell of events that happened 'once upon a time', in an
indefinite past. This is rarely the case in Greek mythology, and
heroic mythology in particular was ordered into a fairly coher-
ent pseudo-history. This history was necessarily organized on a
genealogical basis, because the succession of generations in the
families ruling in each centre provided the only possible chrono-
logical measure. Only when plausible family trees had been con-
structed was it possible to locate each figure or mythical episode
at its appropriate position in time, and thus construct a his-
tory in which these could be viewed in due relation. Considering
the multiplicity of the independent centres in Greece, and the
mass of mutually inconsistent myths and legends which would
have been transmitted in the oral tradition within these various
xvi
Introduction
centres, the economy of the pan-Hellenic genealogical system

recorded in the Library is impressive. There are only six main
families, and each family tree is sufficiently detailed to allow each

figure or story to be assigned to its definite place. To gain a full
understanding of this body of myth as a coherent history, it is
necessary to master this system. The genealogies in the Library

give its readers the resources to do so. In this respect, it cannot
be said that the book merely records matter that a well-educated
person would have known; for the genealogies are by no means
simple, and would not easily be committed to memory.
To draw from these brief reflections,
a tentative conclusion
there are aspects of the work which suggest that the common
(but by no means universal) view that the Library was written
for use in schools is open to serious question. It could well have
been written as a summary handbook for a more general audi-
ence (although schoolmasters may also have found it useful), and
the author's concern for completeness and inclusion of full
genealogies ensures that it has genuine virtues both as a sum-
mary of the tradition and a reference work. The shortcomings
of the work derive from its extreme brevity rather than any essen-
tial flaw in the compiler's approach to his task.
The material in the Library drawn from a wide variety of

is
sources, whether original poetic sources,from early epic to the

learned compositions of the early Hellenistic poets, or mytho-
graphical compilations which offered prose summaries of myth-
ical tales. Since the author's main purpose was to provide an
account of the most important early myths, we might expect

that he would have been interested primarily in earlier sources,
and the works of the fifth-century chron-
in particular early epic
iclers, who were amongst the earliest prose writers. If we con-
sider which sources are cited most frequently by name, we
find some confirmation of this. Of poets, Hesiod is named most
often (eleven times) and then Homer (five times), and of prose
writers, two less familiar figures, Pherecydes (thirteen times)
and Acousilaos (ten times), who wrote on mythical history in
the fifth century bc. This provides only an approximate meas-
ure because Apollodorus sometimes cites authorities for specific
Introduction
traditions or variants, but rarely indicates the main source that

he was following in each stage in the work. The emphasis on
early historical and epic sources is nevertheless significant.
The question of sources concerns not only the origin of in-
dividual stories, but also the structure and organization of the
various cycles of myth. The Greek mythological tradition, as
summarized in a broadly representative manner in the Library,
is in many dominated to an unusual
respects a peculiar one. It is
degree by heroic mythology, and the material from heroic legend

is organized in such a way that it provides an unusually coher-
ent pre-history of the regions covered. As has been remarked,

stories are rarely located in an indeterminate past; each is fitted
into its appropriate place, whether in relation to the history of
a specific place and the successive generations of its ruling fam-
ily, or to the development of a great adventure or the life his-
tory of a major hero. For the most part, this systematization was
not the work of the scholarly mythographers of the Hellenistic
era, but was achieved at a relatively early period by the epic
poets and by prose writers who regarded themselves as histori-
ans rather than mythographers. Indeed, the beginning of the pro-
cess by which the mass of often mutually inconsistent myths in
the oral tradition was ordered into a coherent pseudo-historical
pattern can be traced to the earliest Greek literature to be
recorded in writing, the Homeric epics and Hesiod's Theogony,
and the process was brought to fruition in the works of the fifth-
century mythographer-historians — precisely the sources most
frequently cited in the Library. First we must consider the nature
of these early sources and their contribution to this process, and
then how the author of the Library made use of them.
Until the development of prose literature in the latter part of
the sixth century, Greek was exclusively poetic, and
literature
the richest sources for myth and legend were
the works of the
epic poets. The earliest epics to survive, the two Homeric epics
and Hesiod's Theogony, were probably written about the same
time towards the end of the eighth century. Although they
belong to the same broad genre, the poems attributed to these
authors are quite different in nature. Homer was a story-teller
on a grand scale and each of the Homeric epics is constructed
on the basis of an overall plot running through the whole poem.
xviii
Introduction
But Hesiod organized his Theogony on a genealogical basis; and

generally speaking, in a genealogical poem of such a kind the
stories associated with the various figures are inserted succes-
and the
sively as the figures are introduced in the genealogies,
and self-contained. These contrary
narratives are relatively brief
approaches can be related to the two main ways in which the
mythical material is organized in different parts of the Library,
the narrative ordering in the histories of great adventures like
the voyage of the Argonauts and the Trojan War (or in the life
of Heracles), and the genealogical ordering in large stretches of
the histories of the great families, where we find an alternation
between genealogical sections and narratives recounting the stor-
ies associated with the heroes and heroines as they are succes-
sively introduced in the genealogies. We will examine first how

the works of the epic poets who could be regarded as the suc-
cessors of Homer contributed to the establishment of standard
accounts of the greater mythical adventures, and then how the
Hesiodic approach was extended in a later epic to cover heroic
mythology, resulting in the development of an all-embracing
genealogical system.
The main action of the Iliad covers only a few days in the tenth
and final year of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey describes the
return voyage of only one of the Greek heroes, although both
poems assume a much broader background of Trojan myth and
they contain many allusions to stories not directly covered in
the poems themselves. The exceptional quality of the Homeric
poems seems to have impressed itself on their audience from
the beginning, and it is understandable that poets in the cen-
tury following their composition should have wished to compose
epics covering the elements in Trojan mythology not already
covered by Homer, and, in effect, fill in the gaps. And so it came
about that a cycle of epics was composed which, taken to-
gether, built up a sequence narrating the entire history of the
Trojan War. Although only a few fragments have survived, we
know their general contents from a series of summaries attri-
buted to a certain Proclus, and can see how they were constructed
around the Homeric epics. Thus the origins of the war and all
events up to the angry withdrawal of Achilles which marks the
beginning of the Iliad were covered in a single long epic, the
xix
Introduction
Cypria; and then three shorter epics (partly overlapping in con-

tent) continued where the Iliad left off, covering the final
period of the war and the sack of Troy. Then the Returns told
of the return voyages of the surviving Greek heroes, except
for Odysseus, and last of all, the later history of Odysseus was re-
counted which formed an eccentric supplement
in the Telegonia,
to the Odyssey. Although there is reason to think that by Homeric
standards the artistic quality of these poems was not high, they
were of great importance from a mythographical viewpoint for
the part that they played in the establishment of a canon of Trojan
myth. By selecting and ordering material from the oral tradition
and earlier lays, and 'fixing' it in long poems which were trans-
mitted to future generations, the authors of such epics made a
major contribution to the formation of standard histories of adven-
tures like the Trojan War. The account of the war in the Library
is ultimately dependent on these epics for its general structure
and much of its contents. Other epics composed in the seventh

century or somewhat later fulfilled a similar service with regard
to other mythical episodes, such as the Theban Wars, or the
voyage of the Argonauts (although, as we shall see, Apollodorus
followed a Hellenistic epic for that adventure).
In his Theogony, Hesiod sought to organize the traditions con-
cerning the gods into a coherent pattern by developing the com-
prehensive genealogical system which forms the basis of his poem.
Beginning with a mythical cosmogony presented in genealogi-
cal terms, he tells of the origin and descent of the earlier gods
and the establishment of Zeus as supreme ruler, and concludes
with a catalogue of Zeus' marriages and his offspring by his wives
and other women. A supplement was added later which includes
a catalogue of the children born to goddesses by mortal men.
As a story-teller, Hesiod is short-winded and often clumsy,
although his material is The approach
naturally of great interest.
adopted by Hesiod is largely determined by the peculiar nature
of his subject matter; but later, probably in the sixth century,
another poet composed a continuation to his poem extending the
same approach to heroic mythology. This epic, which survives
in fragments only, is known, somewhat misleadingly perhaps, as
the Catalogue of Women, because the origin of each line is traced
to the offspring of a god by a mortal woman. Its importance for
xx
Introduction
Greek mythography cannot be emphasized too strongly; for it
was here that the heroic genealogies were first ordered into a
coherent pan-Hellenic system. The pattern of heroic genealogy
which we find in the Library is still similar in general outline
(although, of course, it often reflects later developments). And
the Catalogue offered far more than sequences of names; for
most names suggest a story, and the relevant narratives were
inserted at the appropriate points in the presentation of the
genealogies. This approach was subsequently adopted by prose
mythographers and, as we have observed, it is in evidence in
many parts of the Library.
Historians were prominent amongst the earliest prose writ-
ers. Some concerned themselves with purely local matters, but
others (including those mentioned amongst the authors most fre-
quently cited by Apollodorus) had broader ambitions and cov-
ered the traditions associated with many parts of the Greek world.
They could not extend any distance into the
their researches
past without engaging with what we would regard as myth; and
in the present context, it is their contribution to mythography
which interests us. But they regarded themselves as historians,

and while they were not always totally uncritical, they were will-
ing to accept myth and legend as reliable sources of historical
truth. In this respect, they differed from the scholarly mytho-
graphers of the Hellenistic era, who were critical in their attitude
to myth and regarded mythography as a separate area of inves-
tigation. These earlier authors, whose qualities must be judged
from fragments and testimonies, are sometimes referred to as
logographers to distinguish them from more critical historians
like Herodotus and Thucydides; but since this term (which sim-
ply meant 'prose writers' in ancient usage) can be misleading
if it is thought to describe a specific school of historians, it is
safer to describe them merely as historians (or mythographer-

historians or chroniclers).
If these mythographer-historians were uncritical with regard
to the basic nature of their material (and were rarely worried by
the fabulous element in myth), they were by no means uncrit-
ical regarding the historical implausibilities which can arise from
deficiencies in chronology and internal inconsistencies within the

mythical narratives. With regard to chronology, they continued
xxi
Introduction
the enterprise begun in the Hesiodic Catalogue by refining and

further developing the heroic genealogies, and trying to improve
the synchronisms between families. In other respects, these
authors could also be seen as heirs to the epic poets in the Homeric
tradition. Many composed extensive narratives and most under-
took to collect together the myths associated with the various
cycles, and where necessary reconcile or choose between con-
flicting versions,and iron out contradictions to establish a con-
vincing narrative.
The works of the two mythographer-historians explicitly cited
by Apollodorus were complementary in character. Acousilaos of
Argos probably wrote at the end of the sixth century, as a con-
temporary of Hecataios (although some would place him some-
what later). He aimed to provide a systematic account of the
entire mythical tradition, rigorously organized on a genealogical
basis. The material was ordered in much the same way as in the
Library, although on a far larger scale; as in the Library, most
of the figures in heroic mythology were assigned to one or other
of a small number of important families, and the history of each
of these families was narrated separately from beginning to end.
In this regard, Acousilaos used the Hesiodic Catalogue as his
model, developing or modifying the genealogies as he thought
necessary. As might be expected in an author of Argive birth,
Acousilaos seems to have stressed the centrality of the Argive
traditions in his account of Peloponnesian mythology.
Pherecydes of Athens composed his history somewhat later,
probably in the first half of the fifth century. His writings were
more copious than those of Acousilaos, and it seems that his
prime concern was to gather together as complete a collection

as possible of the traditional myths. He was correspondingly less
interested in genealogical matters, and the organization of his
works would necessarily have been much looser in view of the
quantity of diverse material collected within them. Indeed, the
principles that he followed in this respect are not at all clear
from the surviving evidence. He is the mythographer-historian
most frequently quoted by the scholiasts, who (like Apollo-
dorus) clearly valued him for his copious records of early myth,
narrated in a pleasantly ingenuous style. Since the narratives pre-
served from the works of later mythographers are generally so
xxii
Introduction
lacking in charm, it is a particular shame that theworks of this

mythographical Herodotus should have been lost.Sometimes
we detect something of their flavour in the summaries in the
Library.
Another mythographer-historian should also be mentioned who
was certainly consulted by the author of the Library although
he is not cited by name. Hellanicos of Lesbos, who wrote in the
second half of the fifth century, was closer in spirit to Acousilaos
than to Pherecydes, for he was important above all for his con-
tribution to the fine-tuning of the genealogical system. He was
less interested in the narration of myth, and the passages pre-
served by the scholiasts suggest that his writings were marked
by a certain dryness and a rationalizing tendency rarely in evi-
dence in the works of his predecessors. He was nevertheless an
important authority on certain aspects of mythical history, not-
ably the Trojan War.
In the main, and allowing for a few important contributions
from tragedy and later sources, the Library summarizes the
canon of myth as it was defined in the works of these mytho-
grapher-historians and in early epic poetry; and for much of its
organization, the Library relies on the genealogical system devel-
oped in the Hesiodic epics and further refined by the early prose
mythographers. The author's dependence on epic (and other poet-
ic sources) would often have been indirect. Most of the stories
from early epic would have been summarized in prose in the

works of the mythographer-historians, and collections of sum-
maries of epic and tragic plots became widely available in the
Hellenistic era. These would have provided our author with the
models for his own summaries, and would usually have served
as his immediate sources. Indeed, it can be assumed that he would
rarely have worked directly from a poetic source. He seems,
however, to have had a thorough knowledge of the Hesiodic
Catalogue, and, as would be expected, of the Homeric epics.
Although the theogony at the beginning of the Library) is largely
based on Hesiod's Theogony, the author preferred to follow
other sources on some significant points (as is remarked in the
Explanatory Notes).
In many parts of the Library, the narrative can be regarded
as being, in all essentials, a brief epitome of relevant sections
Introduction
from the works of the mythographer-historians (and much of

its interest and value could be said to have derived from that).
Pherecydes seems to have served as the author's main model,

although he also followed other historians when they were the
main authorities on a particular area, as was Acousilaos on Argive
myth, or Hellanicos on the myths connected with Troy. Not all
scholars have agreed, however, that the author of the Library
drew his material directly from these early prose sources, even
where we can be certain that it was ultimately derived from them.
For he had all the resources of Hellenistic mythography avail-
able to him, including handbooks which would have contained
summaries of material from such writers. In his influential study,
Carl Robert argued that the Library is little more than a precis
of an earlier handbook by a Hellenistic author; and amongst
German scholars at least, such a view came to be widely ac-
cepted in the early part of this century. Because we have to rely
on fragments for our knowledge of most of the Library's earlier
sources, this is by no means an easy question. Nevertheless, the
most detailed examination of the evidence hitherto (in the art-
icle by M. Van der Valk cited in the Select Bibliography) gives
reason to suppose that the author referred directly to the writ-

ings of the mythographer-historians when he was following one
of them as his main source in a particular part of the work.
The author of the Library also drew on a variety of other
sources. Besides epic poetry, his earlier sources would natur-
ally have included lyric and elegiac poetry, and the 'tragic Muse',
as was stated in the little poem attributed to him. The great
Attic dramatists of the fifth century generally relied on heroic
mythology for their plots, in particular the stories associated with
the Argive and Theban royal families and the Trojan War. But
they adapted the traditional stories with considerable freedom,
whether for dramatic effect or to develop a moral of their own,
and were thus responsible for some striking innovations which
had a marked influence on the development of the tradition. In
certain cases the tragedians contributed the canonic version of
a particular story, while in many others they provided appeal-
ing variants. Both aspects of this influence are evident in the
Library. Thus the account of the life of Oedipus is in the main
a summary of Sophocles' version in his Oedipus plays, for this
xxiv
Introduction
became the canonic version, largely displacing the very differ-

ent accounts in early epic; but the plot of a play by Euripides
on Alcmaion (p. 1 14) is included merely as an interesting vari-
ant, in a supplement to the main account based on the earlier
tradition.
To proceed to the Hellenistic poets, Apollodorus based his
account of the voyage of the Argonauts on the Argonautica of
Apollonius of Rhodes, a relatively late epic written in the third
century bc. As was common was a schol-
in that age, Apollonius
ar as well as a poet, and he made extensive use of the early sources
in composing his poem. For certain stories, however, such as
the murder of Apsyrtos (p. 54), the author of the Library pre-
fers to report a more primitive version than was found accept-
able in this late epic. Otherwise his interests diverge from those
of the Hellenistic poets, who tended
concern themselves with
to
the more recondite aspects of the tradition, and he draws on
them only for the occasional learned variant. As to the mytho-
graphical literature of this period, it was observed above that he
would have made use of the resources that it provided. It is like-
ly that some of his narratives are based on Hellenistic summaries
of epic or tragic plots; and mythical variants, collections of ref-
erences, and alternative genealogies may often have been drawn
from Hellenistic handbooks. Apollodorus would have valued such
literature as a source of instant erudition, but there
is nothing
to indicate that the Library is marked

any deeper sense byin
Hellenistic scholarship, and the author had no interest whatever
in the rationalistic interpretations favoured by many Hellenistic
scholars.
Over a millennium has passed since Photius suggested that the

Library was not without its value to those who attach some impor-
tance to the memory of the ancient stories. Does this still apply
for the modern reader? And even if the Library is of some prac-
tical use for its summaries of the main myths and the other in-
formation that itprovides, is that the most that can be said for
it?
As the only comprehensive mythical history of Greece to sur-

vive from antiquity, it is certainly the case that it has been used
extensively by scholars and amateurs of myth in modern times.
Introduction
It is no accident that the major mythographical work of C. G.
Heyne, the founder of modern scholarly mythography (who was

responsible for introducing the word 'myth' into modern usage),
should have been an edition of the Library accompanied by an
exhaustive commentary. And ever since, authors of mythological
dictionaries and compendia have relied heavily on the Library
for their accounts of the main myths. This will be readily ap-
parent if relevant passages from Robert Graves' Greek Myths,
for instance, or Pierre Grimal's dictionary of classical mytho-
logy are checked against the text of the Library. It must be said,
however, that despite the undoubted usefulness of the Library,
writers on Greek mythology tend to refer to it with condescen-
sion or even disdain, and the neglect of it in the scholarly liter-
ature confirms that it is generally regarded as a work of no great
substance.
In reaching a judgement on the value of the Library, we must
take due account of the genre that it belongs to; for a summary
handbook of this kind, compiled by collecting and epitomizing
material from earlier sources, belongs to a mediocre, or at least
a secondary, genre. The value of such a work will not derive
from any originality or serious scholarship on the author's part.
He is simply an editor. Nor should we expect such a work to have
any literary merit (beyond a tolerably clear presentation of the
mythical narrative, which is generally the case with the Library).
If Apollodorus' main sources had survived, the Library would
be no more than a historical curiosity, and the work as a whole
would possess no greater value than the summary of the Iliad
on p. 153. But if his main sources are taken to be primarily the
works of the early mythographer-historians, very little of them
has been preserved, so we must ask: can a compilation of this
kind convey anything of value from them, and in the present
case, is it reasonable to assume that it does? Now this is surely
an area in which a writer of very modest capabilities could per-
form a useful service. Mythology is not at all like philosophy,
for instance, where subtleties of thought and essential points in
the reasoning can easily be lost in the process of summariza-
tion. If a mythical epitomist shows reasonable discrimination in
the selection of resources, he merely needs the ability to sum-
marize the stories clearly and accurately, and to be thorough in
xxvi
Introduction
transmitting genealogical and other information which may be

of immediate appeal but is essential if the individual stories
less
are to be ordered into a coherent mythical history. In this
respect, the author of the Library certainly demonstrates the
necessary thoroughness, and where his narratives can be com-
pared with surviving sources, we can see that his summaries are
generally reliable.
Furthermore, a lack of originality and of scholarly and liter-
ary ambition are not necessarily defects in an epitomist; for the

mediocrity of his aims prevents our author from ever standing
in the way of his sources. He never tries to rationalize the myths
or impose his own ideas on them, or to alter and embellish them
for literary or rhetorical effect. And he willingly accepts conflict-
ing traditions without attempting to reconcile them.
had modest aims, be can be said to have fulfilled
If the author
them manner. Of its kind, and allowing for its
in a satisfactory
brevity, the Library is a work of surprisingly high quality. It
is founded for the most part on good authorities of early date,
and reports them with a high degree of accuracy. Naturally we

would prefer to have the works of Pherecydes and Acousilaos
(and the early epics too), but we should be grateful to fortune
that at least we have this little summary of the mythical his-
tory of Greece as it would have been depicted in the works of
the earliest mythographers. If only because so much else has
been lost, it is indispensable to anyone who has more than a
passing interest in Greek mythology.
XXVll
NOTE ON THE TEXT
AND TRANSLATION
All surviving manuscripts of the Library are descended from
a single original, a fourteenth-century manuscript in the Biblio-
theque Nationale in Paris. Unfortunately this breaks off before
the end of the work, during the section on Theseus (p. 138),
which meant that, until quite recently, the valuable account of
the Trojan cycle was entirely lost. But the was improved
situation
at the end of the last century by the discovery of two epitomes,
or abridgements, of the Library, which provide a very service-
able summary of the end of the work. They were found quite
independently, in the Vatican Library (the Vatican epitome) and
the monastery of Saint Sabbas in Jerusalem (the Sabbaitic epi-
tome), in 1885 and 1887 respectively.
The standard modern text, that of Richard Wagner in the
Teubner series (1926 edn.), has been used for the present trans-
lation, although alternative readings have sometimes been pre-
ferred, and account has been taken of the more recent literature
mentioned in the Select Bibliography. The Greek text in
Frazer's edition in the Loeb series is largely based on that of
Wagner.
The two epitomes are not identical either in content or, where
they cover the same episodes, in expression, and Wagner prints
both texts, using parallel columns where necessary; but in a trans-
lation, Frazer's procedure of combining the two to provide a
single continuous narrative is clearly preferable. In practice this
raises few problems, except occasionally when both epitomes tell
the same story but express it in a slightly different way. Only
at a very few points have I felt it necessary to question Frazer's
judgement on the selection of material (and it was considered
desirable in any case that the translation should correspond as
far as possible to Frazer'sGreek text).
This is work which offers no promise of literary
a utilitarian
delight. The prose of Apollodorus is plain and colourless, and
so simple in expression that a translator has little latitude. With-
out misrepresenting the original, it is hard to prevent a translation
xxviii
Note on the Text and Translation
from reading like a story-book for young children; but I have

tried to bring out the possible advantages of a plain style, and
hope that the reader will find the mythical narrative brisk and
clear,and if ingenuous, at least agreeably so.
have benefited from a long familiarity with the translation
I
by Sir James Frazer. Despite the archaisms and a tendency to

euphemism on sexual matters, it is a work of quality. I have also
consulted the elegant and precise French translation by Carriere
and Massonie.
According to the traditional arrangement, the work is di-
vided into three books followed by the Epitome. Each of these
is further divided into numbered chapters (here indicated in the
margin) and subsections (indicated within the text); and corre-
spondingly, three figures (or two for passages from the Epitome)
are cited in references in the scholarly literature (e.g. 2, 4, 6, or
Epitome 7, 18).The paragraph numbering found in some edi-
tions has been omitted to avoid confusion; I have added ital-
icized headings to make the work easier to consult.
Greek names. These present a real problem because the

Latinized forms are not only more familiar, but in many cases
have become part of our language and culture. Nevertheless, in
a comprehensive work of this kind, containing so many genealo-
gies, it is surely preferable that the original Greek forms should
be used. If the Greek names can look strange and unattractive
in an English text, this is largely because of the ks (e.g. Kanake,
Kirke, Lakonia); but there seems to be no particular disadvan-
tage in using a c (properly a hard c) for Greek kappa, and I have
followed that course in the present translation. For very famil-
iar figures, however, like Oedipus and Achilles, the traditional
forms have been preserved (except in some cases where the Latin
form differs markedly from the original); and for place names,
modern or Latinized forms have been used much more frequently.
Some guidance on pronunciation and possible sources of con-
fusion is offered at the beginning of the Index. The Greek forms
differ most frequently from the Latin in the use of -os instead
of -us at the end of masculine names, and of ai and oi instead
of ae and oe (thus Aigimios and Proitos rather than Aegimius
and Proetus).
xxix
Note on the Text and Translation
Square brackets are used to indicate (1) additions to the original

text, and (2) passages where the surviving manuscripts may mis-
represent the original text.
1. Additions. Short gaps in the surviving text are usually filled
by the insertion of an invented phrase (if the content of the miss-
ing passage can be inferred from the context, or from another
source) or of a brief passage from another source which can be
reasonably assumed to be related to, or dependent on, the orig-
inal text of the Library. For the most part, the added passages
correspond to those in Wagner's and Frazer's texts. Again,
significant additions are explained in the notes.
Very occasionally, I have added a phrase for the sake of
clarity. For minor additions —where it has been indicated, for
instance, that a particular place is a mountain, or that a child is
a son or daughter, although this is not stated explicitly in the

original text —square brackets have not been used.
2. Dubious passages. These are of two main kinds. Something
in the content of a passage may give reason to suspect that the
text has been corrupted in the course of transmission and no
longer corresponds with the original; or occasionally, for reasons
of style or content, we may suspect that a passage is a later inter-
polation (typically a marginal note which has found its way into
the main text). Significant instances are discussed in the notes.
NB. Some interpolations which interrupt the narrative (and
also a dubious passage from the Epitome) have been segregated
to the Appendix. A dagger (t) in the text indicates where each
was inserted. Each of the passages is discussed in the accompa-
nying comments; although not part of the original text, four of
them contain interesting material.
Etymologies. The ancient mythographers liked to explain the names

of mythical figures, or of places involved in mythical by
tales,
etymologies which were sometimes valid, but often fanciful or

even absurd. Because these depend on allusions or wordplay in
the original Greek which cannot be reproduced in a translation,
the presence of such wordplay is indicated in the text by the
appropriate use of italics (see, for instance, p. 88) and explained
afterwards in the Notes.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Editions and Translations of the Library

There have been three English translations:
J. G. Frazer, Apollodorus, The Library, 2 vols., Loeb Classical Library,

London, 1921. (The extensive notes give full references to the an-
cient sources, and contain a mass of disordered information, mytho-
graphical and ethnographical; thirteen appendices on specific themes
and episodes, citing parallels from the folklore of other cultures.)
K. Aldrich, Apollodorus, The Library of Greek Mythology, Lawrence,
Kan., 1975. (With accompanying notes; the translation is more mod-
ern in idiom than Frazer's.)
M. Simpson, Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The Library ofApollodorus,
Amherst, Mass., 1976. (The translation is not always reliable.)
A recent French translation should also be mentioned:
J.-C. Carriere and B. Massonie, La Bibliotheque d'Apollodore, Paris,

1991. (Excellent translation; the copious notes concentrate primarily
on textual and linguistic matters, but many mythological points are
also discussed; relevant passages from the scholia are often cited in
translation.)
The best edition of the Greek text is:
R. Wagner (ed.), Apollodori Bibliotheca (Mythographi Graeci, vol. 1),
Leipsig, 1926 (2nd edn. with supplementary apparatus).
On the text, two subsequent articles should also be consulted, along

with Carriere's notes:
A. Diller, 'The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-

Apollodorus', TAPA
66 (1935), 296-313.
M. Papathomopoulos, Tour une nouvelle edition de la Bibliotheque
d'Apollodore', Ellenica, 26 (1973), 18-40.
Secondary Literature
The scholarly literature on the Library is very scanty. The only full
commentary was written in the eighteenth century:
J. G. Heyne, Apollodori Atheniensis Bibliothecae libri tres et fragmenta,

2 vols., Gottingen, 1803, 2nd edn. (Text, with accompanying notes
in Latin; a landmark in the scholarly study of myth, and still of more
than historical interest.)
Select Bibliography
As it happens, the most comprehensive modern study is in English:
M. Van der Valk, 'On Apollodori Bibliotheca', REG 71 (1958), 100-68.

(Primarily on the sources of the Library, arguing in particular that
the author often referred directly to his main early sources, rather
than relying on a Hellenistic handbook; much of the argument is
technical, and citations in Greek are not translated.)
Otherwise the following should be mentioned:

C. Jourdain-Annequin, Heracles aux portes du soir, Paris, 1989. (Con-
some suggestive observations on Apollodorus, and
tains his treatment
of the Heracles myths in particular.)
C. Robert, De Apollodori Bibliotheca, Inaugural diss., University of
Berlin, 1873. (The work that first established that the Library was
not written in the second century bc by Apollodorus of Athens. Robert
argued that it should be dated to the second century ad.)
C. Ruiz Montero, 'La Morfologia de la "Biblioteca" de Apolodoro',
Faventia, 8 (1986), 29-40. (Not seen.)
E. Schwartz, 'Apollodoros', RE 1, 2875-86.
Other Ancient Mythographical Works
Two have been translated into English:

Hyginus, The Myths, trans, and ed. M. Grant, Lawrence, Kan. 1960.
(A chaotic and often unreliable Latin compendium, probably dating
from the second century ad; this volume also includes a translation
of the Poetic Astronomy, the largest surviving collection of constella-
tion myths, which forms Book II of Hyginus' Astronomy.)
Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses, trans. F. Celoria, London, 1992.
(An anthology- of transformation myths dating from circa second cen-
tury ad; the stories are of Hellenistic origin for the most part.)
There are also French translations of Antoninus Liberalis and Hyginus'

Astronomy in the Bude series.
The summaries by Proclus of the early epics in the Trojan cycle are
translated in Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns in the Loeb series.
Book IV of the universal history by Diodorus of Sicily is a myth-
ical history of Greece; for a translation, see Diodorus Siculus, vols. 2
and 3, in the Loeb series. (It is less complete than the Library of
Apollodorus, and the stories are often rationalized; the biography of
Heracles is especially interesting.)
Mythological dictionaries and compendia
The excellent dictionary by Pierre Grimal is available in two different

editions, as the Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Oxford, 1986, com-
Select Bibliography
plete edn., with references to ancient sources), or the Penguin Dictionary

of Classical Mythology (Harmondsworth, 1991, a convenient abridged
edn.). William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and
Mythology, 3 vols. (London, 1844) is still of value for the mythologi-
cal entries by Leonhard Schmitz, which are long, generally reliable, and
give full references. Robert Graves' compendium, The Greek Myths, 2
vols. (Harmondsworth, 1955) is comprehensive and attractively writ-
ten (but the interpretative notes are of value only as a guide to the
author's personal mythology); and Karl Kerenyi in The Gods of the Greeks
(London, 1951) and The Heroes of the Greeks (London, 1974) has also
retold many of the old stories in his own way. H. J. Rose's Handbook
of Greek Mythology (London, 1928) has not aged well, but it is useful
on divine mythology in particular.
Other Books on Greek Myth
The literature is vast, and only a few suggestions can be offered here.
For those first approaching the subject (and others too), Fritz Graf,
Greek Mythology: An Introduction (Baltimore, 1993), can be recommended
unreservedly, as a concise but remarkably complete survey, examining
the varieties of Greek myth and changing attitudes to the myths
also
and their interpretation in ancientand modern times, with helpful bib-
liographies. To this, three other works may be added which, in their
different ways, convey an idea of the distinctive nature of Greek myth:
K. Dowden, The Uses of Greek Mythology (London, 1992), a lively
introductory work; G. S. Kirk, The Nature of Greek Myths (Harmonds-
worth, 1974), and above all, R. C. A. Buxton, Imaginary Greece: Con-
texts of Mythology (Cambridge, 1994), a very rich and suggestive study.
Timothy Gantz's Early Greek Myth (Baltimore, 1993) is an invalu-

able guide to the literary and artistic evidence on the early mytho-
logical tradition. T. H. Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece: A
Handbook (London, 1991) offers a useful introduction to the treatment
of myth in the visual arts. M. L. West, The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women
(Oxford, 1985), explains the origins and nature of the genealogical scheme
for heroic mythology which was adopted and developed by the early
mythographer-historians, and thence by the author of the Library.
Paul Veyne, Did the Greeks Believe in their Myths? (Chicago, 1988),
examines the complex and inconsistent attitudes of the Hellenistic and
laterGreeks to their traditional myths, and M. Detienne, The Creation
of Mythology (Chicago, 1986), the development of our modern con-
ception of mythology. On modern approaches to the interpretation of
Greek myth since the eighteenth century, see Grafs discussion, and
also the illuminating survey by J.-P. Vernant in Myth and Society in
xxxiii
Select Bibliography
Ancient Greece (Brighton, 1966). And finally, two volumes of essays may
be mentioned which show some of the ways in which scholars of the
present day approach the interpretation of myth: J. N. Bremmer (ed.),
Interpretations of Greek Mythology (London, 1987) and L. Edmunds,
Approaches to Greek Myth (Baltimore, 1990).
XXXIV
THE LIBRARY OF
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
CONTENTS
The original text of the Library contains no formal subdivisions

or chapter headings; at most, the author occasionally indicates
that he has concluded his account of one family and is passing
on This can make a modern edition difficult to use,
to the next.
even where it is prefaced with an analytical summary, and a reader
first approaching the work is likely to feel, quite mistakenly, that
it is formless or even chaotic. To overcome these problems, and
to make the work's implicit structure immediately intelligible, I

have divided the book into titled chapters and subsections, as
summarized in the following table. In the text, these headings,
which form no part of the original text, are italicized.
The basic pattern should be apparent at a glance. Greek
mythical history begins with the Theogony, accounting for the
origin of the world and the divine order within it, and culmi-
nates with the Trojan War and its aftermath; and everything
that happens in between forms part of the history —
or can be
related to the history —
of the great families of heroic mytho-
logy. Considering the richness of the mythological tradition and
the multiplicity of independent centres within the Greek world,
there are remarkably few main families, only six here (or seven,
depending on whether the Pelasgids in Arcadia are considered
to be independent from the Inachids). A thorough grasp of their
history is evidently the key to an understanding not only of the
present work, but of the whole pattern of Greek mythology. Gen-
ealogical tables have therefore been added after the Contents
(together with some brief remarks on the heroic families and
their geographical setting). The roman figures (ia, IB, etc.) in
the Contents refer to these tables, indicating which part of the
text is covered by each table.
BOOK I
1. Theogony 27
Ouranos, Ge, and the birth of the Titans 27
The revolt of the Titans and rule of Cronos 27
Contents
The birth of Zeus and his war against Cronos and the
Titans 28
Descendants of the Titans 28
Descendants of Pontos and Ge 29
Various children of Zeus and Hera; children of the
Muses 29
The births of Hephaistos and Athene 30
Artemis and Apollo 31
The children of Poseidon; Demeter and Persephone 33
The revolt of the Giants 34
The revolt of Typhon 35
2. The Deucalionids 36
Prometheus and early man 36
Deucalion, Pyrrha, and the great flood 37
The immediate descendants of Deucalion 37
[IA]
Ceux and Alcyone; the Aloads; Endymion 38

Early Aetolian genealogies; Evenos and Marpessa 39
Oineus, Meleager, and the hunt for the Calydonian
boar 40
The later history of Oineus, and the birth and exile of
Tydeus 42
[IB]
Athamas, Ino, and the origin of the golden fleece 43

Sisyphos, Salmoneus, and other sons of Aiolos 44
Pelias and Neleus 45
The earlier history of Bias and Melampous 46
Admetos and Alcestis 48
[ic]
3. Jason and the Argonauts 48

Pelias orders Jason to fetch the golden fleece 48
Catalogue of the Argonauts 49
The women of Lemnos; in the land of the Doliones 50
The loss of Hylas and abandonment of Heracles 5
Polydeuces and Amycos; Phineus and the Harpies; the

Clashing Rocks 51
Jason, Medea, and the seizure of the fleece 53
The murder of Apsyrtos and journey to Circe 54
Contents
To the land of the Phaeacians 55

Anaphe; Talos in Crete 55
The return to Iolcos and murder of Pelias 56
The later history of Medea 57
BOOK II
Early Argive mythology (the Inachids, Belid line) 58

The early descendants of Inachos 58
The wanderings of Io, and division of the Inachid line 59
[HA]
Aigyptos, Danaos, and the Danaids 60
Proitos and Acrisios divide the Argolid 62
Bias, Melampous, and the daughters of Proitos 63
Excursus: the story of Bellerophon 64
Danae and the birth of Perseus 64
Perseus fetches the Gorgon's head 65
Perseus and Andromeda 66
The later history of Perseus 67
The immediate descendants of Perseus 68
The exile of Amphitryon
[IIB]
Heracles, and the Heraclids 69

Amphitryon in Thebes, and the war against the
Teleboans 69
The birth and early life of Heracles 70
Heracles and the Minyans; his first marriage, and
madness 71
First labour: the Nemean lion 73

Second labour: the Lernaean hydra 74
Third labour: the Cerynitian hind 74
Fourth labour: the Erymanthian boar 75
Fifth labour: the cattle of Augeias 76
Sixth labour: the Stymphalian birds 77
Seventh labour: the Cretan bull 77
Eighth labour: the mares of Diomedes 77
Ninth labour: the belt of Hippolyte 78
Tenth labour: the cattle of Geryon
Contents
Eleventh labour: the apples of the Hesperides 81

Twelfth labour: the capture of Cerberos 83
The murder of Iphitos and Heracles' enslavement to
Omphale 84
The first sack of Troy 86
Campaigns in the Peloponnese 87
Marriage to Deianeira; Heracles in northern Greece 88
The sack of Oichalia; the death and apotheosis of
Heracles 90
The children of Heracles 91
The return of the Heraclids 92
BOOK III
Cretan and Theban mythology (the Inachids,

Agenorid line) 96
The abduction of Europa to Crete, and dispersal of the
sons of Agenor 96
Minos and his brothers 97
Minos, Pasiphae, and the origin of the Minotaur 97
Catreus and Althaimenes 98
Polvidos and the revival of Glaucos 99
[IIC]
Cadmos and the foundation of Thebes 100

Semele and Dionysos; the death of Actaion 101
Successors and usurpers at Thebes 103
Amphion, Niobe, and their children 104
Laios and Oedipus 105
[IID]
The Theban Wars 107

Eteocles and the exile of Polyneices to Argos 107
Prelude in Argos: Amphiaraos and Eriphyle 107
The advance against Thebes and stationing of the
champions 108
Excursus: the earlier history of Teiresias 109
The Theban victory and its aftermath 110
The Epigoni and the Second Theban War 111
The later history of Alcmaion 112
[IID]
Contents
8. Arcadian mythology (the Pelasgids) 114

Lycaon and his sons 114
Callisto and the birth of Areas; early Arcadian
genealogies 115
Atalante 116
9. Laconian and Trojan mythology (the Atlantids) 117

The Pleiades 117
The birth and early exploits of Hermes 117
Early Lacedaimonian genealogies; the story of
Asclepios 118
Tyndareus, Leda, and their children 120
Helen and her suitors 121
The fate of the Dioscuri 122
[iiia]
Early Trojan mythology 122

Priam, Hecuba, and their children 124
[IIIB]
10. The Asopids 126

Aiacos in Aegina 126
The exile of Peleus and Telamon 127
Peleus in Phthia, Calydon, and Iolcos 127
The marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and early life of
Achilles 128
[IV]
11. The kings of Athens 130

Cecrops and his descendants; the story of Adonis 130
Three early kings: Cranaos, Amphictyon, and
Erichthonios 132
Pandion I and his children; Icarios and Erigone; Tereus,
Procne, and Philomele 133
Procris and Cephalos; Oreithuia and her children 134
Eumolpos, and the war with Eleusis; the exile of
Pandion II 135
Aigeus and the conception of Theseus 136
The war with Minos and the origin of the tribute to
the Minotaur 136
The labours of Theseus, and his arrival at Athens 138
Contents
Epitome 139
Theseus, Ariadne, and the killing of the Minotaur 140
Excursus: Daidalos and Icaros, and the death of Minos 140
Theseus and the Amazons; Phaedra and Hippolytos 141
Theseus and Peirithoos 142
[v]
12. The Pelopids 143

Tantalos 143
Pelops and Hippodameia 143
Atreus and Thyestes 145
Agamemnon and Menelaos 146
[VI]
13. The Trojan War 146

The judgement of Paris and abduction of Helen 146
Agamemnon assembles the Greek army 147
The attack on Mysia; the Greeks assemble for a second
time 149
The Greeks call in at Tenedos 150
The landing at Troy, and the first nine years of the
war 151
The wrath of Achilles (a summary of the Iliad) 153
Penthesileia the Amazon; Memnon and the death of
Achilles; the suicide of Aias 154
Philoctetes and the death of Paris; conditions for the
fall of Troy 155

The wooden horse 156
The sack of Troy 157
14. The returns 158

Menelaos and Agamemnon quarrel; Calchas and
Mopsos 158
Agamemnon sails with the main fleet; the storm at
Tenos, and Nauplios the wrecker 159
The fate of Neoptolemos; various wanderings and
returns 160
The later history of the Pelopids 163
The return of Odysseus (a summary of the Odyssey) 164
The later history of Odysseus 170
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
The following tables cover the six main families, as follows:
I The Deucalionids
A The early Deucalionids
B The Aetolian line
c The sons of Aiolos and their descendants
ii The Inachids
A The early Inachids in Argos and the east
B The Belid line in Argos
c The Agenorid line: the descendants of Europa in Crete
d The Agenorid line: the descendants of Cadmos in
Thebes
in The Atlantids
A The Laconian royal line, and the usurpers at Thebes
B The Trojan royal line
iv The Asopids (the family of Achilles and Aias)
v The Athenian royal line
VI The Pelopids (the family of Agamemnon and Menelaos)
Most of
these tables depict the mythical royal line in one of
the main centres in Greece. Only one of the six families cov-
ered by the tables, namely the Athenian, conforms to the sim-
plest possible pattern, in which a single family provides the ruling
line in a single city. Generally the genealogical system is more
economical, and the ruling lines in two or more cities are traced
to a common ancestor and so united within the same family.
Thus separate branches of the Inachid family provide the royal
families of both Argos and Thebes, the two greatest centres in
mythical Greece, and also of Crete. Accordingly, the family trees
of the first three families, which are the largest and are divided
in this way between different centres, have been subdivided in
the tables.
Although the adventures of various members of these fami-
lies take them to many different parts of the Mediterranean world,
it is natural that the main centres of rule associated with the
great families should be located in the heartland of Greece. There
Genealogical Tables
10
Genealogical Tables
are two major exceptions, namely, Crete, as would be expected

since it was a very ancient centre of civilization which had con-
nections with Mycenaean Greece, and Troy, in north-western

Asia Minor, for its connection with the Trojan War, the cul-
minating adventure in the mythical history of Greece. Although
the Trojans themselves were usually regarded as a non-Hellenic
people, the ruling family was traced back to Greek origins
through an Atlantid ancestor. Otherwise the places associated
with these various families can be located on the accompanying
map.
The mainland of Greece is divided into two by the Gulf
of Corinth, which separates the Peloponnese from the rest
of Greece, being joined to it only by the narrow Isthmus of
Corinth. Starting immediately north of the Gulf, the swathe of
land extending from Aetolia across to Thessaly in the north-
east is the area primarily associated with the first family, the
Deucalionids. Although this was an important area in early
myth, there were many separate centres, and these tended to be
associated with major heroic myths for only a generation or two.
Furthermore, many members of this family moved to fresh areas
at various stages and established new dynasties, whether in the
north, or in the western Peloponnese and the south. As a result,
the structure of this family is rather complex, and we do not
find extensive lines within individual centres as in most of the
following families. The Aetolian royal line covered in the sec-
ond table (ib) was descended from a daughter of Aiolos; the most
important town in Aetolia was Calydon, the site of the first great
adventure which drew heroes from all parts of Greece, the hunt
for the Calydonian Boar. The descendants of the sons of Aiolos
covered in the third table (ic) were primarily associated with
Thessaly (but also with the western Peloponnese and else-
where); here Iolcos, the home of Pelias and Jason, and Pherae,
the home of Admetos and Alcestis, are the most significant towns.
South of the Gulf of Corinth, in the Peloponnese, the most
important region was not Laconia (Sparta) as in historical times,
but Argos with its great Mycenaean cities, Mycenae, Argos, and
Tiryns. Here the second family, the Inachids, provided the main
ruling line. Although it was of Argive origin (the Inachos was
the largest river in Argos), other branches of this family ruled
11 .
Genealogical Tables
in Crete and in Thebes. Passing north from Argos and then across
the Isthmus of Corinth, Boeotia, with Thebes as its main city,
lies to the and Attica to the right. In mythical history Thebes
left,
ranked with Argos as the most important centre.

Of the Atlantids, two main lines are covered in the following
tables, the earliest royal line in the second main centre in the
Peloponnese, Laconia, and the Trojan royal line.
The Asopid family tree is exceptional, as it was developed to
account for the common descent of the two greatest heroes of
the Trojan War, Achilles and Aias (who came from different
areas) as grandsons of Aiacos (who reigned in a different area
again). This was a relatively late development; in the Iliad the
pair are not related. Aiacos was the first king of Aegina, a small
island in the Saronic Gulf, which lies between Attica and the
Peloponnese. Both of his sons were exiled. Telamon, father of
Aias, went to the island of Salamis, not far to the north; Peleus
eventually arrived in Thessaly where he became the father of
Achilles by the goddess Thetis.
This leaves the Athenian royal line and the Pelopids. The
Athenian genealogies were systematized at a relatively late period,
and none of the figures before Aigeus and Theseus are associ-
ated with major heroic myth. The first four kings were earth-
born. The Pelopids provided the second royal line in each of
the main centres of the Peloponnese, Argos and Laconia; for
Agamemnon, who ruled in Mycenae at the time of the Trojan
War, and Menelaos, who ruled in Sparta, did not belong to
the original ruling families covered in tables iib and in A, but
were descended from Tantalos, who lived in Asia Minor, and
his son Pelops, who became king of Pisa in the north-western
Peloponnese. The Pelopids were displaced when Tisamenos, who
ruled in both Argos and Laconia, was killed by the returning
Heraclids (who were of Inachid descent).
In the following tables:

The parentage of children is indicated by swung dashes (~);
where both parents are mortals, these will usually indicate a mar-
riage also.
The names of successive kings within each centre are set in
bold type, and the order of succession is indicated by small
12
Genealogical Tables
letters before their names (a, b, c, etc.). The order of succession

is not indicated for the Argive line in iib because of the com-
plexities which arise after the kingdom is divided between
Proitos and Acrisios.
In ic only the Iolcian line is and in v only the
indicated,
Mycenaean. For the Laconian succession Amyclas, in in A,
after
the account in 3.10.4 is followed; 3.10.3 should be consulted for
alternative genealogies.
Where it has been necessary to divide family trees into two
or more tables, the names of pivotal figures who appear in more
than one table are enclosed in boxes.
NB. There was disagreement on many genealogies. These

tables show the main lines as presented in the text of the
Library, without indicating alternative traditions recorded in
other sources, or variants mentioned within the Library itself.
The purpose of these tables is to give a clear picture of the

descent and interrelationship of the more important figures, and
they are by no means complete. In particular, many marriages
yielded more children than are named in the tables, and the fact
that names have been omitted is not always indicated; and for
reasons of clarity, the names of mothers have sometimes been
omitted, and children are not always presented in their order of
birth. For the full picture, the text should be consulted.
The tables for the Deucalionids and Atlantids do not cover
all branches of the family.
13
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25
BOOK I
/. Theogony
Ouranos, Ge, and the birth of the Titans
1
Ouranos was the first ruler of the universe. He married
Ge,* and fathered as his first children the beings known as the
Hundred-Handers, Briareus, Cottos, and Gyes, who were
unsurpassable in size and strength, for each had a hundred
hands and fifty heads. 2 After these, Ge bore him the Cyclopes,*
namely, Arges, Steropes, and Brontes, each of whom had a
single eye on his forehead. But Ouranos tied these children up
and hurled them into Tartaros (a place of infernal darkness in
Hades,* as distant from the earth as the earth from the sky);
3 and he then fathered by Ge some sons called the Titans,
namely, Oceanos, Coios, Hyperion, Creios, Iapetos, and the

youngest of all, Cronos, and some daughters called the Tita-
nides, namely, Tethys, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe,
Dione, and Theia.
The revolt of the Titans and rule of Cronos

4 But Ge, angered by the loss of her children who had been
thrown into Tartaros,* persuaded the Titans to attack their
father, and gave an adamantine* sickle to Cronos; and they
all attacked him, apart from Oceanos, and Cronos severed his
father's genitals and threw them into the sea. (From the drops
of blood that flowed out* the Furies were born: Alecto,
Tisiphone, and Megaira.) When they had driven their father
from power, they brought back their brothers who had been
thrown down to Tartaros, and entrusted the sovereignty to
Cronos.
But he bound them once again and imprisoned them in
5
Ge and
Tartaros, and married his sister Rhea; and since both
Ouranos had prophesied to him that he would be stripped of
27
1.2 The Library
hispower by his own son, he swallowed his children as they

were born. He swallowed his first-born, Hestia, and then
Demeter and Hera, and after them, Pluto and Poseidon.
The birth of Zeus and his war against Cronos and the Titans
6 Angered by this, Rhea went to Crete while she was pregnant

with Zeus, and brought him to birth in a cave onMount Dicte.*
She gave him to the Curetes* and to the nymphs Adrasteia
and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, to rear. 7 So the nymphs fed
the child on the milk of Amaltheia* while the Curetes, fully
armed, guarded the baby in the cave, beating their spears
against their shields to prevent Cronos from hearing the child's
voice. And Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and
passed Cronos to swallow as if it were the newborn child.
it to
1
When Zeus was fully grown, he enlisted the help of
Metis,* the daughter of Oceanos, and she gave Cronos a drug
to swallow, which forced him to disgorge first the stone and
then the children whom he had swallowed; and with their aid,
Zeus went to war against Cronos and the Titans. When they
had been fighting for ten years, Ge prophesied that the vic-
tory would go to Zeus if he took as his allies those who had
been hurled down to Tartaros. So he killed Campe, who was
guarding them, and set them free. And the Cyclopes then gave
Zeus thunder, lightning, and a thunderbolt, and they gave a
helmet* to Pluto, and a trident to Poseidon. Armed with these
weapons, they overpowered the Titans, and imprisoned them
in Tartaros, appointing the Hundred-Handers as their guards;
and they shared power* between themselves by casting lots.
Zeus was allotted sovereignty over the heavens, Poseidon over
the sea, and Pluto over the halls of Hades.*
Descendants of the Titans
2 The Titans had the following offspring: to Oceanos and Tethys

were born the Oceanids,* Asia, Styx, Electra, Doris, Eury-
nome, [Amphitrite,] and Metis; to Coios and Phoebe were born
Asteria and Leto; to Hyperion and Theia were born Dawn
28
Theogony 1.3
and the Sun and Moon; to Creios and Eurybia, daughter of

Pontos, were born Astraios, Pallas, and Perses; 3 and to Iapetos
and Asia were born Atlas who bears the sky on his shoulders,
and Prometheus, and Epimetheus, and Menoitios, whom Zeus
struck with a thunderbolt during the battle with the Titans and
hurled down to Tartaros. 4 To Cronos and Philyra, Cheiron
was born, a Centaur of twofold form. To Dawn and Astraios
were born the winds and stars, and to Perses and Asteria, Hecate;
and to Pallas and Styx were born Nice, Cratos, Zelos, and Bia.*
5 Zeus caused oaths* to be sworn by the waters of Styx,
which flow from a rock in Hades. He bestowed this honour on

Styx in return for the help that she and her children had brought
to him in his war against the Titans.
Descendants of Pontos and Ge

6 To Pontos* and Ge were born Phorcos, Thaumas, Nereus,
Eurybia, and Ceto. To Thaumas and Electra were born Iris
and the Harpies, Aello and Ocypete; and to Phorcos and Ceto,
the Phorcides and the Gorgons, who will be considered below
when we tell the story of Perseus. 7 To Nereus and Doris were
born the Nereids,* whose names are Cymothoe, Speio, Glau-
conome, Nausithoe, Halie, Erato, Sao, Amphitrite, Eunice,
Thetis, Eulimene, Agave, Eudore, Doto, Pherousa, Galatea,
Actaie, Pontomedousa, Hippothoe, Lysianassa, Cymo, Eione,
Halimede, Plexaure, Eucrante, Proto, Calypso, Panope, Cranto,
Neomeris, Hipponoe, Ianeira, Polynome, Autonoe, Melite,
Dione, Nesaie, Dero, Evagore, Psamathe, Eumolpe, lone,
Dynamene, Ceto, and Limnoreia.
Various children of Zeus and Hera; children of the Muses
1
Zeus married Hera and fathered Hebe, Eileithuia, and Ares;*
but he had intercourse with many women, both mortal
other
and immortal. By Themis, daughter of Ouranos he had some
daughters, the Seasons, namely, Eirene, Eunomia, and Dice,*
and the Fates, namely, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos; by
Dione he had Aphrodite;* by Eurynome, daughter of Oceanos,
the Graces, namely, Aglaie, Euphrosyne, and Thaleia; by Styx,
29
—
1.3 The Library
Persephone;* and by Mnemosyne the Muses, firstly Calliope,

and then Cleio, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato, Terpsichore,
Ourania, Thaleia, and Polymnia.
2 Calliope bore to Oiagros —
or really, it is said, to Apollo
a son, Linos,* who was killed by Heracles, and Orpheus, who
practised the art of singing to the lyre, and set rocks and trees
in motion by his singing. When his wife, Eurydice, died from
a snake-bite, he went down to Hades in the hope of bringing
her up, and persuaded Pluto* to send her back to earth. Pluto
promised to do so, provided that on the way up Orpheus never
looked round until he had arrived back at his house. But
Orpheus failed to obey him, and turning round, he caught sight
of his wife, and she had to return below. Orpheus also in-
vented the mysteries of Dionysos. He was torn apart by the
Maenads,* and is buried in Pieria.
3 Cleio fell in love with Pieros, son of Magnes, through the
anger of Aphrodite (for Cleio had reproached her for her love
of Adonis*); and she had intercourse with him and bore him
a son, Hyacinthos, who aroused the passion of Thamyris, son
of Philammon and a nymph Argiope, the first man to love other
males.* But Hyacinthos later died at the hand of Apollo, who
became his lover and killed him accidentally when throwing a
discus.* And Thamyris, who was exceptional for his beauty
and his skill in singing to the lyre, challenged the Muses* to
a contest in music, on the agreement that if he proved to be
the better, he could have intercourse with them all, but if he
were defeated, they could deprive him of anything they wished.
The Muses proved to be superior, and deprived him both of
his eyes and his skill in singing to the lyre.
4 Euterpe bore to the River Strymon a son Rhesos, who was
killed by Diomedes at Troy;* but according to some accounts,
his mother was Calliope. To Thaleia and Apollo were born the
Corybantes;* and to Melpomene and Acheloos, the Sirens, who
will be considered below in our account of Odysseus.
The births of Hephaistos and Athene

5 Hera gave birth to Hephaistos without prior intercourse
(though Homer describes him as another of her children by
30
Theogony 1.4
Zeus).* Zeus threw him down from heaven for coming to the
aid of his mother when she was put in chains; for Zeus had
suspended Hera from Olympos for sending a storm against
Heracles when he was sailing home after capturing Troy.
Hephaistos fell to earth on Lemnos and was lamed in both his
legs, but Thetis came to his rescue.*
6 Zeus had intercourse with Metis, although she changed
into many different forms in the hope of escaping it. While

she was pregnant, Zeus forestalled future developments by
swallowing her; for [Ge]* declared that after having the girl
who was due to be born to her, Metis would give birth to a

son who would become the ruler of heaven. It was for fear of
this that he swallowed her down. When the time arrived for
the child to be born, Prometheus, or according to others,
Hephaistos, struck the head of Zeus with an axe and from the
top of his head, near the River Triton,* leapt Athene, fully
armed.
Artemis and Apollo
1
One of Coios' daughters, Asteria, took the form of a quail
and threw herself into the sea to escape the embraces of Zeus;
and a city was named Asteria after her, for this was the for-
mer name of what was later called Delos.* His other daugh-
ter, Leto, had intercourse with Zeus, and was chased all over
the earth by Hera until she arrived at Delos, where she gave
birth first to Artemis, and then, with the aid of Artemis as a
midwife, to Apollo.
Artemis devoted herself to hunting and remained a virgin,
while Apollo learned the art of divination from Pan, son of
Zeus and Hybris, and went to Delphi where, at that time, the
oracles were delivered by Themis;* and when the guardian
of the oracle, the serpent Python, tried to prevent him from
approaching the chasm,* he killed it and took possession of
the oracle.
Not long afterwards, he killed Tityos also, who was the son
of Zeus and Elare, daughter of Orchomenos; for after making
love with Elare, Zeus had hidden her under the earth for fear
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1.4 The Library
of Hera, and had brought up to light the child that she was
carrying in her womb, the enormous Tityos. Now when Leto
came to Pytho,* she was seen by Tityos, who was overcome
by desire and seized her in his arms; but she called her chil-
dren to her aid, and they shot him down with their arrows.
Tityos suffers punishment* even after his death, for vultures
feed on his heart in Hades.
2 Apollo also killed Marsyas, the son of Olympos; for
Marsyas had discovered the flute that Athene had thrown away
because it disfigured her face,* and he challenged Apollo to a
musical contest. They agreed that the victor should do what
he wished with the loser, and when the test was under way,
Apollo played his lyre upside down and told Marsyas to do
the same;* and when he was unable to, Apollo was recognized
as the victor, and killed Marsyas by suspending him from a
lofty pine tree and flaying him.
3 Artemis, for her part, killed Orion on Delos. They say
that he was born from the earth, with a body of gigantic pro-
portions; but according to Pherecydes, he was a son of
Poseidon and Euryale. Poseidon had granted him the power
to walk across the sea. His first wife was Side, who was thrown
into Hades by Hera because she had claimed to rival the god-
dess in beauty; and afterwards he went to Chios, and sought
the hand of Merope, daughter of Oinopion. But Oinopion made
him drunk, blinded him* as he slept, and threw him out by
the seashore. Orion made his way to the forge [of Hepha-
istos],* where he snatched up a boy, and setting him on his
shoulders, told him to guide him towards the sunrise. When
he arrived there, his sight was rekindled by the rays of the
sun, and he was able to see again. 4 He returned with all haste
to attack Oinopion; but Poseidon had provided him with an
underground dwelling constructed by Hephaistos. Dawn fell
in love with Orion and carried him off to Delos (for Aphrodite
caused her to be continually in love because she had gone to
bed with Ares).* 5 According to some accounts, Orion was killed
because he challenged Artemis to a contest in throwing the
discus, while according to others, he was shot by Artemis* be-
cause he tried to rape Opis,* one of the virgins who had arrived
from the Hyperboreans.
32
Theogony 1.5
The children of Poseidon; Demeter and Persephone

6 Poseidon married Amphitrite, [daughter of Oceanos,] who
bore Triton to him, and Rhode,* who became the wife of the
Sun.
1
Pluto fell in love with Persephone and, with the help of
Zeus, he secretly abducted her;* but Demeter, bearing torch-
es,* wandered by night and day all over the earth in search of
her. When she learnedfrom the people of Hermion* that Pluto
had carried her off, she abandoned heaven in her anger at the
gods, and came to Eleusis in the likeness of a woman. First
she sat down on the rock which is called the Laughterless Rock
because of her, and then made her way to Celeos, who was
king of the Eleusinians at the time. There were some women
in the house, and when they invited her to sit down amongst
them, an old woman called Iambe joked with the goddess and
made her smile; and that, they say, is the reason why the women
make jokes at the Thesmophoria.*
Metaneira, the wife of Celeos, had a young child, and Dem-
eter took it over to nurse. Wanting to make it immortal, she
would lay the baby in the fire at night, stripping it of its mor-
tal flesh. But because Demophon (for that was the child's name)
was growing at such an extraordinary rate each day, Praxithea*

kept watch over him, and when she found him buried in the
fire, she screamed aloud; as a result, the baby was consumed
by the fire, and the goddess revealed her identity.*

2 For Triptolemos, the eldest of Metaneira's children,
Demeter fashioned a chariot drawn by winged dragons, and

she gave him wheat,* which he sowed over the whole inhab-
ited earth as he was carried through the sky. Panyasis says that
Triptolemos was a son of Eleusis, for according to him, that
was whom Demeter had visited. Pherecydes, for his part, says
that he was a son of Oceanos and Ge.
3 When Zeus ordered Pluto to send Kore* back to earth,
Pluto, to prevent her from remaining too long with her moth-
er, gave her a pomegranate seed to eat;* and failing to foresee
what the consequence would be, she ate it. When Ascalaphos,
son of Acheron and Gorgyra, bore witness against her,* Dem-
eter placed a heavy rock over him in Hades, but Persephone
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1.6 The Library
was forced to stay with Pluto for a third of every year,* and
the rest she spent with the gods.
6 l
Such is the story of Demeter.
The revolt of the Giants
Ge, angered by the fate of the Titans, brought to birth the

Giants, whom she had conceived by Ouranos.* These were
unsurpassable in size, unassailable in their strength, and fear-
ful to behold because of the thick hair hanging down from their
head and cheeks; and their feet were formed from dragons'
scales. According to some accounts, they were born at Phle-
grai, or according to others, at Pallene. And they hurled rocks
and flaming oak trees at the heavens. Mightiest of all were
Porphyrion and Alcyoneus, who was even immortal as long as
he fought on the land of his birth. It was he, moreover, who
drove the cattle of the Sun from Erytheia. Now the gods had
an oracle saying that none of the Giants could be killed by the
gods [acting on their own], but if the gods had a mortal fight-
ing as their ally, the Giants would meet their end. When Ge
heard of this, she searched for a herb to prevent the Giants
from being destroyed even by a mortal; but Zeus forestalled
her, for he ordered Dawn, and the Moon and Sun, not to shine
and plucked the herb himself. And he sent Athene to summon
Heracles as an ally.
And first Heracles shot Alcyoneus with his arrows, but

when he fell to the earth, he recovered some of his strength.
On the advice of Athene, Heracles dragged him beyond the
boundaries of Pallene, and so it came about met
that the Giant
his death. 2 In the course of the fighting, Porphyrion launched
an attack against Heracles and Hera. But Zeus inspired him
with a lust for Hera, and when he tore her clothing and tried
to rape her, she cried for help; and Zeus struck the Giant with
his thunderbolt, and Heracles him with a shot from his
killed
bow. As for the others, Apollo shot Ephialtes in the left eye
with one of his arrows, while Heracles shot him in the right.
Eurytos was killed by Dionysos with a blow from his thyrsos,*
Clytios by Hecate with her torches, and Mimas by Hephaistos
with missiles of red-hot iron. Athene hurled the island of
34
Theogony 1.6
Sicily on Encelados as he fled; and she flayed Pallas and used

his skin to protect her own body during the fight. Polybotes
was pursued through the sea by Poseidon and made his way
to Cos, where Poseidon broke off the part of the island called
Nisyron* and threw it down on him. Hermes, who was wear-
ing the cap of Hades, killed Hippolytos in the battle, and Artemis
killed Gration;* and the Fates, fighting with bronze cudgels,
killed Agrios and Thoon. The others were destroyed by Zeus,
who struck them with thunderbolts; and all of them, in their
death throes, were shot with arrows by Heracles.
The revolt of Typhon

3 When the gods had defeated the Giants, Ge, whose anger
was all the greater, had intercourse with Tartaros and gave birth
to Typhon* in Cilicia. He was part man and part beast, and
in both and strength he surpassed all the other children
size
of Ge. Down to his thighs he was human in form, but of such
immense size that he rose higher than all the mountains and
often even scraped the stars with his head. With arms out-
stretched, he could reach the west on one side and the east on
the other; and from his arms there sprang a hundred dragons'
heads.* Below his thighs, he had massive coils of vipers, which,
when they were fully extended, reached right up to his head
and emitted violent hisses. He had wings all over his body,
and filthy hair springing from his head and cheeks floated around
him in the wind, and fire flashed from his eyes. Such was
Typhon's appearance and such his size when he launched an
attack against heaven itself, hurling flaming rocks at it, hissing
and screaming all at once, and gushing mighty streams of fire
from his mouth. Seeing him rush against heaven, the gods took
flight to Egypt,* and when they were pursued by him, trans-
formed themselves into animals. While Typhon was still at a
distance, Zeus pelted him with thunderbolts, but as the mon-
ster drew close, Zeus struck at him with an adamantine sickle,
and then chased after him when he fled, until they arrived
at Mount Casion, which rises over Syria. And there, seeing
that Typhon was severely wounded, he engaged him in hand-
to-hand combat. But Typhon enveloped him in his coils and
35
1.7 The Library
held him fast; and wresting the from him, he cut the
sickle
tendons from his hands and feet. And
him on his shoul-
raising
ders, he carried him through the sea to Cilicia, and put him
down again when he arrived at the Corycian cave. He placed
the tendons there also, hiding them in a bear's skin and
appointing as their guard the she-dragon Delphyne, who was
half beast and half maiden. But Hermes and Aigipan* made
away with the tendons and fitted them back into Zeus with-
out being observed. When Zeus had recovered his strength,
he made a sudden descent from heaven on a chariot drawn by
winged horses, and hurling thunderbolts, he pursued Typhon
to the mountain called Nysa, where the fugitive was tricked
by the Fates; for persuaded that he would become stronger as
a result, he tasted the ephemeral fruits.* Coming under pur-
suit once again, he arrived in Thrace, and joining battle near
Mount Haimos, he began to hurl entire mountains. But when
they were thrust back at him by the thunderbolts, a stream of
blood* gushed from him onto the mountain (which is said to
be the reason why it was called Haimos). When he set out to
flee across the Sicilian sea, Zeus hurled Mount Etna at him,
which lies in Sicily. This is a mountain of enormous size, and

there rise up from it, even to this day, eruptions of fire* that
are said to issue from the thunderbolts hurled by Zeus. But
that is quite enough on this matter.
2. The Deucalionids
Prometheus and early man

1
After he had fashioned men* from water and earth, Pro-
metheus also gave them which he had hidden in a fen-
fire,
nel* stalk in secret from Zeus. But when Zeus learned of it,
he ordered Hephaistos to nail his body to Mount Caucasos (a
mountain that lies in Scythia). So Prometheus was nailed to it
and held fast there for a good many years; and each day, an
eagle swooped down to feed on the lobes of his liver, which
grew again by night. Such was the punishment suffered by
Prometheus for having stolen the fire, until Heracles later
released him, as we will show* in our account of Heracles.
36
The Deucalionids 1.7
Deucalion, Pyrrha, and the great flood
2 Prometheus had a son, Deucalion, who ruled the area around

Phthia, and married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and
whom the gods had fashioned as the first woman.*
of Pandora,
When Zeus wanted to eliminate the race of bronze,* Deucalion,
on the advice of Prometheus, built a chest, and after storing
it with provisions, climbed into it with Pyrrha. Zeus poured
an abundance of rain from heaven to flood the greater part of
Greece, causing all human beings to be destroyed, apart from
those few who took refuge in the lofty mountains nearby. It
was then that the mountains of Thessaly drew apart and all
the lands outside the Isthmus and the Peloponnese were sub-
merged. But Deucalion was carried across the sea in his chest
for nine days and as many nights until he was washed ashore
at Parnassos; and there, when the rain stopped, he disembarked,
and offered a sacrifice to Zeus, God of Escape. Zeus sent Hermes

to him and allowed him the choice of whatever he wished; and
Deucalion chose to have people. On the orders of Zeus, he
picked up stones and threw them over his head; and the stones
that Deucalion threw became men, and those that Pyrrha
threw became women. That was how people came to be called
laoi, by metaphor from the word laas, a stone.*
The immediate descendants of Deucalion
Deucalion had two sons by Pyrrha, first Hellen (though some

describe him as a son of Zeus), and secondly Amphictyon, who
became king of Attica after Cranaos; he also had a daughter,
Protogeneia, who later bore Aethlios to Zeus.
3 Hellen had three sons, Doros, Xouthos, and Aiolos, by a
nymph, and those who were called the Graicoi he named
Orseis;
Hellenes* after himself. And he divided the land amongst his
sons. Xouthos received the Peloponnese, and by Creousa,
daughter of Erechtheus, he had two sons, Achaios and Ion,
after whom the Achaeans and the Ionians were named. Doros
received the country opposite the Peloponnese* and named its
inhabitants the Dorians after himself. Aiolos became king of
the lands around Thessaly and named their inhabitants the
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1.7 The Library
Aeolians. He married Enarete, daughter of Deimachos, and

became the father of seven sons, Cretheus, Sisyphos, Athamas,
Salmoneus, Deion, Magnes, and Perieres, and five daughters,
Canace, Alcyone, Peisidice, Calyce, and Perimede.
Ceux and Alcyone; the Aloads; Endymion
Perimede bore Hippodamas and Orestes to Acheloos; and

Peisidice bore Antiphos and Actor to Myrmidon. 4 Alcyone
became the wife of Ceux, son of Heosphoros. Both of them
died because of their arrogance: for Ceux said that his wife was
Hera, and Alcyone that her husband was Zeus, and Zeus
changed them into birds, making her a halcyon* and him a sea-
swallow*
Canace bore Hopleus, Nireus, Epopeus, Aloeus, and Triops
to Poseidon. Aloeus married Iphimedeia, daughter of Triops,
but she fell in love with Poseidon, and went down to the sea
again and again, where she would scoop water from the waves
with her hands and pour it into her lap. Poseidon had inter-
course with her and fathered two sons, Otos and Ephialtes,
who are known as the Aloads.* They grew a cubit broader
every year and a fathom* higher; and when they were nine
years old, and nine cubits across and nine fathoms in height,
they resolved to fight against the gods. They piled Ossa on
Olympos and Pelion* on Ossa, and threatened to use these
mountains to climb up to heaven; and they said that by filling
the sea with mountains they would turn the sea into dry land
and the dry land into sea. And Ephialtes sought to win Hera,
and Otos to win Artemis; they also imprisoned Ares.* But
Hermes freed him surreptitiously, and the Aloads met their
death on Naxos* as the result of a subterfuge by Artemis; for
she changed herself into a deer and leapt between them, and
in their desire to hit the beast they struck one another with
their javelins.
5 Calyce and Aethlios had a son, Endymion, who led the
Aeolians out of Thessaly and founded by some,
Elis. It is said
however, that Endymion was a son of Zeus. Because of his
exceptional beauty the Moon fell in love with him; and when
Zeus allowed him the choice of whatever he wished, he chose
38
to sleep for ever and so remain untouched by either age or

death.
Early Aetolian genealogies; Evenos and Marpessa
6 By a naiad nymph, or according to some, by Iphianassa,

Endymion had a son, Aitolos, who killed Apis, son of Phoro-
neus,* and fled to the land of the Curetes.* There he killed
the sons of Phthia and Apollo who had welcomed him,
namely, Doros, Laodocos, and Polypoites, and called the
country Aetolia after himself.
7 By Pronoe, daughter of Phorbos, Aitolos had two sons,
Pleuron and Calydon, after whom the two cities in Aetolia were
named. Pleuron married Xanthippe, daughter of Doros, and
had a son, Agenor, and three daughters, Sterope, Stratonice,
and Laophonte. To Calydon and Aiolia, daughter of Amy-
thaon, were born two daughters, Epicaste and Protogeneia, who
bore Oxylos to Ares. Pleuron's son Agenor married Epicaste,
daughter of Calydon, and fathered Porthaon and a daughter,
Demonice, who bore Evenos, Molos, Pylos, and Thestios to
Ares.
8 Evenos had a daughter, Marpessa, who, while she was being
courted by Apollo, was carried off by Idas, son of Aphareus,
in a winged chariot which he had received from Poseidon.
Chasing after him* in a chariot, Evenos went as far as the River
Lycormas, but finding it impossible to catch up with Idas,
he slaughtered his horses and hurled himself into the river,
which is now named the Evenos after him. 9 Idas went on to
Messene,* where Apollo happened to meet him and tried to
take the girl away from him. As they were fighting for her
hand, Zeus separated them and allowed the girl herself to choose
which of them she preferred to live with; and Marpessa, fear-
ing that Apollo might leave her when she grew old, selected
Idas for her husband.
10 By Eurythemis, daughter of Cleoboia, Thestios had three
daughters, Althaia, Leda, and Hypermnestra, and four sons,

Iphiclos, Evippos, Plexippos, and Eurypylos.
By Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas, Porthaon had five
sons, Oineus, Agrios, Alcathoos, Melas, and Leucopeus, and
39
1.8 The Library
a daughter, Sterope, who is said to have borne the Sirens to

Acheloos.*
Oineus, Meleager, and the hunt for the Calydonian boar
1
Oineus, the king of Calydon, was the first to receive a vine
plant from Dionysos.* He married Althaia, daughter of Thestios,
—
and fathered Toxeus who was put to death by Oineus him-
self for jumping over the ditch* —
and two further sons, Thyreus
and Clymenos. He also had a daughter, Gorge, who became
the wife of Andraimon, and another daughter, Deianeira, who
is said to have been Althaia's child by Dionysos. Deianeira drove
a chariot and practised the arts of war; and Heracles wrestled

with Acheloos to gain her hand.
2 Althaia also bore to Oineus a son, Meleager, whose real
father is said to have been Ares. When he was seven days old,
it is said that the Fates appeared and announced that Meleager
would die when the log burning on the hearth was fully con-
sumed. In response, Althaia snatched it from the fire and
placed it in a chest.* Meleager developed into an invulnerable
and valiant man, but met his death in the following manner.
When Oineus was offering the first-fruits from the annual har-
vest in the land to all the gods, he forgot Artemis alone. In
her anger, she sent a boar of exceptional size and strength,
which prevented the land from being sown, and destroyed the
cattle and the people who encountered it. To hunt this boar,*
Oineus summoned together all the bravest men in Greece,
announcing that he would give the beast's hide to the man who
killed it, as a prize for his valour.
These are the people who gathered to hunt the boar:
Meleager, son of Oineus, and Dryas, son of Ares, both from
Calydon; Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, from Messene;
Castor and Polydeuces, sons of Zeus and Leda, from Lace-
daimon; Theseus, son of Aigeus, from Athens; Admetos, son of
Pheres, from Pherae; Ancaios and Cepheus, sons of Lycourgos,
from Arcadia; Jason, son of Aison, from Iolcos; Iphicles, son
of Amphitryon, from Thebes; Peirithoos, son of Ixion, from
Larissa; Peleus, son of Aiacos, from Phthia; Telamon, son of
40
77?^ Deucalionids 1.8
Aiacos, from Salamis; Eurytion, son of Actor, from Phthia;

Atalante, daughter of Schoineus, from Arcadia; Amphiaraos,
son of Oicles, from Argos; and with the aforementioned, also
the sons of Thestios.
When they were assembled, Oineus entertained them as his
guests for nine days. On the tenth, when Cepheus, Ancaios,
and some others considered it beneath their dignity to take
part in the hunt with a woman,* Meleager —
who wanted to
have a child by Atalante although he was married to Cleopatra,
the daughter of Idas and Marpessa —
compelled them to set
out with her on the hunt. When they had surrounded the boar,
Hyleus and Ancaios were killed by the beast and, by accident,
Peleus struck down Eurytion with his javelin. The first to hit
the boar was Atalante, who shot it in the back with an arrow,
and the second, Amphiaraos, who shot it in the eye, but
Meleager struck the death blow by stabbing it in the side. And
when he received the skin, he gave it to Atalante. The sons of
Thestios,* however, took it amiss that a woman should get the
prize when men were present, saying that it belonged to them
by right of birth if Meleager chose not to take it. 3 Angered
by this, Meleager killed the sons of Thestios and returned the
skin to Atalante. But Althaia was so distressed by the loss of
her brothers that she rekindled the log, bringing Meleager's
life to a sudden end.
It is said by some,* however, that Meleager met his end not
in that way, but as follows. The sons of Thestios raised an
argument about the hunt, saying that Iphiclos had been the
first to hit the boar, and because of this a war broke out
between the Curetes and the Calydonians. When Meleager

marched out and killed some of the sons of Thestios, Althaia
cursed him, which so enraged him that he confined himself to
his house. But when the enemy forces were drawing close to
the walls, and the citizens approached him as suppliants and
asked him to come to their aid, he was persuaded by his wife,
though with difficulty, to march out, and after he had killed
the other sons of Thestios, he met his own death in the fight-
ing. After the death of Meleager, Althaia and Cleopatra hanged
themselves, and the women who wailed over his dead body
were transformed into birds.*
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The later history of Oineus, and the birth and exile of Tydeus
4 After Althaia's death, Oineus married Periboia, the daugh-
ter of Hipponoos. According to the author of the Thebaid, Oineus
received her as a prize after the sack of Olenos, but according
to Hesiod she had been seduced by Hippostratos, son of
Amarynceus, and her father sent her away from Olenos in
Achaea to Oineus,* who lived some distance from Greece, with
orders that he kill her. 5 Or according to some, Hipponoos dis-
covered that his daughter had been seduced by Oineus, and
he sent her away to him when she was already pregnant. It
was by her that Oineus fathered Tydeus. Peisandros says,
however, that Tydeus was born to Gorge; for in accordance
with the will of Zeus, Oineus conceived a passion for his own
daughter.
When Tydeus grew to manhood, he was exiled for having
killed, according to some accounts, Alcathoos, a brother of
Oineus, or according to the author of the Alcmaeonid the sons y
of Melas* who had plotted against Oineus, namely Pheneus,

Euryalos, Hyperlaos, Antiochos, Eumedes, Sternops, Xan-
thippos, and Sthenelaos. According to Pherecydcs, however,
he killed his own brother,* Olenias. When Agrios tried to
bring charges against him, he fled to Adrastos in Argos, and
married Adrastos' daughter, Deipyle, who bore him a son,
Diomedes.*
6 Tydeus joined Adrastos in the expdition against Thebes,
where he was wounded by Melanippos and died. The sons
of Agrios — Thersites,* Onchestos, Prothoos, Celeutor, Lyco-
peus, and Melanippos —
robbed Oineus of his kingdom and gave
it and furthermore they imprisoned Oineus
to their father,
(who was still alive) and ill-treated him. Afterwards, how-
ever, Diomedes arrived in secret from Argos with Alcmaion
and killed all the sons of Agrios, apart from Onchestos and
Thersites, who had fled beforehand to the Peloponnese; and
since Oineus was now an old man, Diomedes gave the king-
dom to Andraimon, who had married Oineus' daughter, and
took Oineus back with him to the Peloponnese. But the two
sons of Agrios who had managed to escape laid an ambush for
the old man near the Hearth of Telephos in Arcadia, and killed
42
him. Diomedes took his body to Argos, and buried him at the
place where a city called Oinoe, which is named after him, now
lies. After his marriage to Aigialeia, the daughter of Adrastos
(or according to some, of Aigialeus), Diomedes took part in
the expeditions against Thebes and Troy.
Athamas, Ino, and the origin of the golden fleece

1
To proceed to the sons of Aiolos, Athamas ruled in Boeotia,
and had a son, Phrixos, and a daughter, Helle, by Nephele.
He then married Ino, and had two sons by her, Learchos and
Melicertes. But Ino began to scheme against the children of
Nephele and persuaded the women to parch the wheat-grain;*
and they took the grain and did so, in secret from the men.
When the earth was sown with this parched grain, it failed to
produce its annual crop, so Athamas sent envoys to Delphi to
ask how they could be delivered from this barrenness. But Ino
persuaded the envoys to say that, according to the oracle, the
infertility would come to an end if Phrixos were sacrificed to
Zeus. When Athamas heard this, he was compelled by the inhab-
itants of the land to bring Phrixos to the altar; but Nephele
snatched him away together with her daughter Helle,* and gave
them a ram with a golden fleece which she had received from
Hermes. Carried through the sky by this ram, they passed over
land and sea alike; but while they were over the stretch of
sea that lies between Sigeia and the Chersonese, Helle slipped
into the waters, and the sea where she died was named the
Hellespont after her. Phrixos for his part went to the land of
the Colchians, which was ruled by Aietes, son of the Sun and
Perseis, and brother of Circe and of Pasiphae, who became the
wife of Minos. Aietes welcomed Phrixos and offered him one
of his daughters, Chalciope, as a wife. Phrixos sacrificed the
ram with the golden fleece to Zeus God of Escape, and gave
its fleece to Aietes, who nailed it to an oak in a grove sacred
to Ares. By Chalciope Phrixos had four sons, Argos, Melas,
Phrontis, and Cytisoros.
2 Later, through the wrath of Hera,* Athamas was also
deprived of his children by Ino; for he himself, in a fit of mad-
ness, killed Learchos with an arrow, and Ino threw herself into
43
1.9 The Library
the sea with Melicertes. Exiled from Boeotia, he asked the gods
where he should settle, and was told by the oracle to settle at
the place where he was offered hospitality by wild beasts. After
he had crossed large expanses of land, he chanced upon some
wolves as they were sharing out morsels of sheep; and when
they caught sight of him, they fled, leaving behind the food
that they were sharing. So Athamas founded a colony there,

calling the land Athamantia* after himself, and married
Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, who bore him four sons,
Leucon, Erythrios, Schoineus, and Ptoos.
Sisyphos, Salmoneus, and other sons of Aiolos

3 Sisyphos, son of Aiolos, founded Ephyra, now known as
Corinth,* and married Merope, daughter of Atlas. A son,
Glaucos, was born to them, and by Eurymede, Glaucos had a
son, Bellerophon, who killed the fire-breathing Chimaera.*
Sisyphos undergoes the punishment in Hades* of rolling a rock
with his hands and head in an attempt to roll it over the top
of a hill; but however hard he pushes it, it forces its way back
down again. He punishment because of Aegina,
suffers this
daughter of Asopos; for Zeus had carried her off in secret, and
Siyphos is said to have revealed this to Asopos, who went in
search of her.
4 Deion, who reigned over Phocis, married Diomede,
daughter of Xouthos, who bore him a daughter, Asterodia, and
four sons, Ainetos, Actor, Phylacos, and Cephalos, who mar-
ried Procris, daughter of Erechtheus. But afterwards Dawn fell
in love with him and carried him off.*

5 Perieres took possession of Messene, and married
Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus, who bore him several sons,
Aphareus, and Leucippos and Tyndareus, and also Icarios.
But many say that Perieres was a son not of Aiolos, but of
Cynortas,* son of Amyclas; and for that reason, we will tell
the story of his descendants in our account of the family of
Atlas.
6 Magnes married a naiad nymph, and had two sons,
Polydectes and Dictys, who colonized Seriphos.*
7 Salmoneus lived in Thessaly at first, but later went to Elis
44
The Deucalionids i.q
and founded a city* there. A man of great arrogance, he

wanted to put himself on a level with Zeus and suffered pun-
ishment for his impiety. For he claimed that he himself was
Zeus, and depriving the god of his sacrifices, he ordered that
they should be offered to himself instead. And he dragged dried
animal skins and bronze kettles behind his chariot, saying that
he was making thunder; and he hurled flaming torches into
the sky, saying that he was making lightning. Zeus struck him
down with a thunderbolt, and destroyed the city that he had
founded, with all its inhabitants.
Pelias and Neleus

8 Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus and Alcidice, was raised
by Cretheus, the brother of Salmoneus, and she fell in love

with the River Enipeus. She would constantly wander down
to its flowing waters and tell them of her sorrows. Taking on
the appearance of Enipeus, Poseidon had intercourse with
her,* and she gave birth in secret to twin sons, whom she
exposed. As the babies lay abandoned on the ground, a mare
belonging to some passing horse-trainers knocked one of them
with its hoof, leaving a black and blue patch on its face. The
horse-trainer recovered the two children and brought them
up, calling the one with the black-and-blue patch Pelias* and
the other Neleus. When they were grown up, they found their
mother and killed her stepmother, Sidero.* For learning that
their mother had been ill-treated by Sidero, they set out
against her, but she forestalled them by taking refuge at the
sanctuary of Hera, only to be killed on the very altars by Pelias,
who refused ever afterwards to pay due honour to Hera.
9 Later the brothers quarrelled, and Neleus was driven into
exile. Arriving in Messene, he founded Pylos,* and married

Chloris, daughter of Amphion, who bore him a daughter,
Pero, and twelve sons, Tauros, Asterios, Pylaon, Deimachos,
Eurybios, Epilaos, Phrasios, Eurymenes, Evagoras, Alastor,
Nestor, and Periclymenos. Poseidon granted the last of these
the power change his form; and when Pylos was sacked
to
by Heracles, he transformed himself as he fought, now into a
lion, now into a snake, now into a bee, but he was killed by
45
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Heracles* along with the other sons of Neleus. Nestor alone

survived because he was brought up amongst the Gerenians;
and he married Anaxibia, daughter of Cratieus, who bore him
two daughters, Peisidice and Polycaste, and seven sons, Per-
seus, Stratichos, Aretos, Echephron, Peisistratos, Antilochos,
and Thrasymedes.
10 Pelias settled in Thessaly and married Anaxibia, daugh-
ter of Bias (or according to some, Phylomache, daughter of

Amphion), and fathered a son, Acastos, and four daughters,
Peisidice, Pelopeia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis.
The earlier history of Bias and Melampous

11 Cretheus founded Iolcos and married Tyro, daughter of
Salmoneus, by whom he had three sons, Aison, Amythaon,

and Pheres.
Amythaon, who lived in Pylos, married Eidomene, daugh-
ter of Pheres, who bore him two sons, Bias and Melampous.
Now Melampous lived in the country, and in front of his house
there was an oak tree which housed a nest of snakes. After
these snakes had been killed by his servants, Melampous gath-
ered some wood and burned the and then reared their
reptiles,
young. When they were fully grown, they came up to him while
he was asleep, and placing themselves at either shoulder,
purified his ears* with their tongues. Melampous rose up in
great alarm, to find that he could understand the cries of the
birds* flying overhead; and making use of what he discovered
from them, he began to predict the future to mankind. He also
learned how the victims at sacrifices can be used for divina-
tion, and after he had met with Apollo on the banks of the
Alpheios, he was the best of diviners from that day forth.
12 Bias sought to marry Pero, the daughter of Neleus; but
since his daughterhad many suitors, Neleus said that he would
give her to the one who brought him the cattle of Phylacos.*
These cattle were kept at Phylace, and were guarded by a
dog which neither man nor beast could approach without
being detected. Finding himself unable to steal the cattle, Bias
sought his brother's help. Melampous promised his assis-
tance,* and predicted that he would be caught in the act as he
46
tried to steal the cattle, but would finally acquire them after
he had been imprisoned for a year. After offering this promise,
he departed for Phylace and, as he had predicted, he was caught
in the act when he attempted the theft, and was then put in
chains and kept under guard in a cell. When the year had almost
elapsed, he heard the woodworms talking in the hidden part
of the roof: one of them was asking how much of the beam
had already been consumed, and the other replied that hardly
any of it remained. Without delay, Melampous asked to be
moved to a different cell, and not long afterwards, the first
cell collapsed. Phylacos was astonished, and realizing that
Melampous was an excellent diviner, he released him and

asked him to say how his son Iphiclos could come to have chil-
dren. Melampous promised to tell him if he were given the
cattle in return; and then, after sacrificing two bulls and cut-
ting them up, he summoned the birds. When a vulture arrived,
he learned from it that Phylacos, as he was gelding lambs one
day, had laid down the knife, still covered with blood, next
to Iphiclos; and when the child took fright* and ran away,
Phylacos had stuck the knife into the sacred oak, and its bark
had grown around it and covered it over. The bird went on
to say that if the knife were found, and Melampous scraped
off the rust and gave it to Iphiclos to take in a drink* for ten
days, he would father a son. Discovering all this from the vul-
ture, Melampous found the knife, scraped off the rust, and
gave it to Iphiclos for ten days in a drink; and a son, Podarces,
was duly born to him. So Melampous drove the cattle to Pylos,
and when he was given the daughter of Neleus, passed her on
to his brother. He remained in Messene for a time, but when
Dionysos drove the women of Argos mad,* he cured them in
return for a share of the kingdom and settled there with Bias.
13 Bias and Pero had a son, Talaos, who had six children
by Lysimache, daughter of Abas, son of Melampous, namely

Adrastos, Parthenopaios, Pronax, Mecisteus, Aristomachos,
and Eriphyle, who became the wife of Amphiaraos. Partheno-
paios had a son, Promachos, who joined the Epigoni in the
expedition against Thebes, and Mecisteus had a son Euryalos,
who went to Troy. Pronax had a son, Lycourgos; and Adrastos
and Amphithea, daughter of Pronax, had three daughters,
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Argeia, Deipyle, and Aigialeia, and two sons, Aigialeus and

Cyanippos.
Admetos and Alcestis
14 Pheres, son of Cretheus, founded Pherae in Thessaly,

and fathered Admetos and Lycourgos. Lycourgos settled
near Nemea, and, marrying Eurydice (or according to some,
Amphithea), he had a son, Opheltes, who was later called
Archemoros. 15 Admetos for his part became king of Pherae,
and at the time when Apollo was serving him* as a labourer,
he wanted to win the hand of Alcestis, daughter of Pelias. Now
Pelias had announced that he would give his daughter to the
man who could yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot; so Apollo
yoked them and gave them to Admetos, who took them to Pelias
and obtained Alcestis as his wife. While offering the sacrifices
at his marriage, however, he forgot to sacrifice to Artemis; and
as a result, when he opened up the marriage chamber, he found
it to be filled with coils of snakes.* Apollo advised him to pro-
pitiate the goddess, and demanded of the Fates that when

Admetos was about to die, he should be released from death
if somebody would freely choose to die in his place. When the
day came for him to die, neither his father nor his mother was
willing to die for him, so Alcestis died in his place. But Kore
sent her back* to earth again, or, according to some accounts,
Heracles fought with Hades for her* [and returned her to
Admetos].
3. Jason and the Argonauts
Pelias orders Jason to fetch the golden fleece
16 To Aison, son of Cretheus, and Polymede, daughter of

Autolycos, a son, Jason, was born; and Jason lived at Iolcos,
which was ruled by Pelias, who had succeeded Cretheus.* When
Pelias consulted the oracle about his kingdom, the god told
him to beware of the man with one sandal. At first he could
make no sense of the oracle, but afterwards he came to under-
48
Jason and the Argonauts 1.9
stand it. For when he was about to offer a sacrifice by the sea
to Poseidon, he summoned Jason, together with many others,
to take part in it. Jason, who lived in the country because of
he
his passion for farming, hurried off to the sacrifice, but as
was crossing the River Anauros, he emerged with only one san-
So when Pelias caught
dal, after losing the other in the current.
sight of him, he knew what the oracle meant; and going up to
Jason, he asked him what he would do (assuming he had the
power) if he had received an oracle saying that he would be
murdered by one of his fellow citizens. In response whether —
as chance would have it, or as a result of the wrath of Hera,*
who wanted Medea to come as an affliction to Pelias (for he
—
had failed to honour the goddess) Jason declared, I would
4
order him to fetch the golden fleece.'* As soon as Pelias heard

his reply, he told Jason to set out for the fleece. It was to be
found at Colchis* in a grove sacred to Ares, hanging on an oak
tree and guarded by a dragon that never slept.
When he was sent for the fleece, Jason summoned the assis-
tance of Argos, son of Phrixos; and Argos, on the advice of
Athene, built a ship with fifty oars, which was named the Argo
after its builder.* To the prow of the ship, Athene fitted a
piece of wood that came from the oak at Dodona* and had the
power of speech. When the ship was built, Jason consulted the
oracle, and was told by the god that he could sail after he had
gathered together the finest men in Greece.
Catalogue of the Argonauts
The men who assembled were the following: Tiphys, son of

Hagnias, who steered the ship; Orpheus, son of Oiagros; Zetes
and Calais, sons of Boreas; Castor and Polydeuces, sons of
Zeus; Telamon and Peleus, sons of Aiacos; Heracles, son of
Zeus; Theseus, son of Aigeus; Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphar-
eus; Amphiaraos, son of Oicles; Caineus, son of Coronos; Palai-
mon, son of Hephaistos or of Aitolos; Cepheus, son of Aleos;
Laertes, son of Arceisios; Autolycos, son of Hermes; Atalante,
daughter of Schoineus; Menoitios, son of Actor; Actor, son
of Hippasos; Admetos, son of Pheres; Acastos, son of Pelias;
Eurytos, son of Hermes; Meleager, son of Oineus; Ancaios,
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son of Lycourgos; Euphemos, son of Poseidon; Poias, son of

Thaumacos; Boutes, son of Teleon; Phanos and Staphylos, sons
of Dionysos; Erginos, son of Poseidon; Periclymenos, son of
Neleus; Augeas, son of the Sun; Iphiclos, son of Thestios; Argos,
son of Phrixos; Euryalos, son of Mecisteus; Peneleos, son of
Hippalmos; Leitos, son of Alector; Iphitos, son of Naubolos;
Ascalaphos and Ialmenos, sons of Ares; Asterios, son of Com-
etes; and Polyphemos, son of Elatos.
The women of Lemnos; in the land of the Doliones
17 They set command, and called in

out to sea* with Jason in
at Lemnos.happened that there were no men at all in
It
Lemnos at that time, and the island was ruled by a queen,

Hypsipyle, daughter of Thoas. The reason was this. The
Lemnian women had failed to honour Aphrodite, and the god-
dess had afflicted them with an evil smell; as a result, their
husbands had taken women captive from the neighbouring land
of Thrace and slept with them instead. The Lemnian women
had responded to this slight by murdering their fathers and
—
husbands Hypsipyle alone had saved her father, Thoas, by
hiding him away. So the Argonauts put in at Lemnos while
it was under female rule, and they had intercourse with the
women there. Hypsipyle slept with Jason and bore him two
sons, Euneos and Nebrophonos.
18 After Lemnos, they visited the land of the Doliones, who
were ruled by Cyzicos; and he offered them a friendly wel-

come. But as they were sailing from his land by night, they
met with contrary winds, and without realizing it, landed once
more amongst the Doliones. The Doliones for their part took
—
them for an army of Pelasgians for it happened that they were
—
under constant attack from the Pelasgians and joined battle
with them by night, each side failing to recognize the other.
The Argonauts killed many of their opponents, including
Cyzicos; but when day came, and they saw what had happened,
they lamented bitterly, cut off their hair, and offered Cyzicos
a splendid burial. After the funeral, they sailed on their way,
and put in at Mysia.
50
Jason and the Argonauts 1.9
The loss of Hylas and abandonment of Heracles

19 There they abandoned Heracles and Polyphemos.* For
Hylas, the son of Theiodamas and beloved of Heracles, had
been sent to draw water, and was snatched away by nymphs*
because of his beauty. Polyphemos heard him cry out, and draw-
ing his sword, he set out after him, thinking that robbers were
dragging him off. When he came across Heracles, he told him
what had happened; and while the two of them were search-
ing for Hylas, the ship put out to sea. Polyphemos founded
the city of Cios in Mysia, and ruled there as king, while
Heracles for his part returned to Argos. According to Hero-
doros, however, Heracles never set out on a voyage at all at
that time, but was serving as a slave with Omphale; and
Pherecydes says that he was left behind at Aphetai in Thessaly,
because the Argo had spoken out to say that she was unable to
bear his weight. But Demaratos has recorded that he sailed all
the way to Colchis, while Dionysios goes so far as to call him
the leader of the Argonauts.*
Polydeuces and Amycos; Phineus and the Harpies;

the Clashing Rocks
20 They left Mysia for the land of the Bebryces, which was
under the rule of Amycos, son of Poseidon and a Bithynian
[nymph]. A man of spirit, he made strangers who landed there
box with him, and in that way brought about their death. So
he went up to the Argo on this occasion too, and challenged
the best man present to a boxing match. Polydeuces agreed to
take him on and killed him with a blow to the elbow; and when
the Bebryces rushed forward to attack Polydeuces, the heroes
snatched up their weapons and slaughtered many of them as
they were fleeing.
21 From there they put out to sea again, and called in at
Salmydessos in Thrace, the home of Phineus, a diviner who

had lost the use of his eyes. Some call him a son of Agenor,
others a son of Poseidon. According to some accounts, he was
blinded by the gods for foretelling the future to the human
race, or, according to others, by Boreas and the Argonauts
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because he had blinded his own children at the urging of their

stepmother,* or again, by Poseidon for having informed the
children of Phrixos of the route from Colchis to Greece.
The gods had also sent the Harpies* against him. These
were female creatures with wings, and when a table was laid
in front of Phineus, they would fly down from the sky and
snatch away most of the food, and even the little that they left
behind stank so strongly that nobody could touch it. When the
Argonauts wanted to consult Phineus about their route, he
replied that he would advise them on their route if they would
rid him of the Harpies. So they set a table of food in front of
him, and the Harpies immediately swooped down with loud
cries and snatched the food away. At the sight of this, Zetes
and Calais, the sons of Boreas, who were themselves endowed
with wings, drew their swords and chased the Harpies through
the air. Now it was fated that the Harpies would die at the
hands of the sons of Boreas, and equally that the sons of Boreas
would die if they failed to catch those they pursued.* Dur-
ing the chase one of the Harpies dropped into the Tigres,
a Peloponnesian river, which is now called the Harpys after
her; this Harpy was called Nicothoe, or according to others,
Aellopous. As for the other, called Ocypete, or, according to
some accounts, Ocythoe (or Ocypode according to Hesiod*),
she fled along the Propontis until she arrived at the Echinadian
Islands, which are now called the Strophades* because of her;
for she turned in her flight on reaching them, and while she
was over their shore fell down exhausted along with her pur-
suer. According to Apollonius, however, in the Argonautica*
the Harpies were pursued as far as the Strophades, but they
came to no harm after they had sworn an oath that they would
stop persecuting Phineus.
22 When
he had been delivered from the Harpies, Phineus
told the Argonauts what route to take, and advised them about
the Symplegades [or Clashing Rocks], which lay before them
in the sea. These were rocks of enormous size which were forced
into collision by the power of the winds and closed the pas-
sage through the sea. Thick mist swirled over them, the crash
was tremendous, and it was impossible even for birds to pass
between them. So Phineus advised the Argonauts to release a
52
Jason and the Argonauts i.q
dove between the rocks, and if they saw it pass safely between
them, to sail through in full confidence, but if it was destroyed,
to make no attempt to force a passage. After hearing his advice,
they put out to sea, and when they were close to the rocks,
they released a dove from the prow; and as she flew, only the
tip of her was snipped off as the rocks clashed together.
tail
So they waited until the rocks had drawn apart again, and with
hard rowing and some assistance from Hera they made their
way through, although the tip of the vessel's poop was shorn
away. Ever afterwards, the Symplegades stood motionless; for
it was fated that when a ship had passed through them, they
would remain completely still.

23 The Argonauts arrived next at the land of the Marian-
dynians, where they received a friendly welcome from Lycos,

their king. It was there that Idmon the diviner met his death,
from a wound inflicted by a boar; Tiphys died there too, and
Ancaios took over as steersman of the ship.
Jason, Medea, and the seizure of the fleece
They sailed past the River Thermodon and the Caucasos to

arrive at the River Phasis, which lies in the land of Colchis.
When the ship was moored, Jason visited Aietes, and explained
what Pelias had told him to do and asked to be given the fleece.
Aietes promised to hand it over if, without assistance, Jason

yoked the bronze-footed bulls. These were two wild bulls that
he owned, of exceptional size, a gift from Hephaistos; they had
hooves of bronze and breathed fire from their mouths. And
after he had yoked these bulls, Jason was to sow some drag-
on's teeth —
for Aietes had received from Athene half of the
dragon's teeth that Cadmos had sowed at Thebes.* When Jason
was at his wit's end about how he could yoke the bulls, Medea
fell in love with him. Now Medea, the daughter of Aietes and
Eiduia, daughter of Oceanos, was a sorceress; and fearing that

Jason might be killed by the bulls, she offered, in secret from
her father, to help him yoke the bulls and obtain the fleece, if
he would swear to accept her as his wife and take her with him
when he sailed back to Greece. When he swore to do so, she
gave him a potion,* and told him to rub it on to his shield and
53
1.9 The Library
spear and his body when he set out to yoke the bulls, explain-
ing that when he had been anointed with the potion, he would
be invulnerable for a day to fire and steel alike. And she re-
vealed to him that when the teeth were sown, armed men would
spring up from the ground to attack him; and when he saw
them gathered in a group, he should throw stones into their midst
from a distance, which would cause them to fight amongst them-
selves, and he should then kill them. On hearing Medea's advice,
Jason rubbed himself with the potion and made his way to the
temple grove to search for the bulls; and although they charged
him breathing flame, he put them under the yoke.* And then,
afterhe had sowed the dragon's teeth, armed men sprang up from
the ground. Where he saw a number of them together, he hurled
stones at them, without revealing his presence; and as they were
fighting amongst themselves, he went forward and killed them.
Although the bulls had been yoked, Aietes refused to sur-
render the fleece; and he wanted to set fire to the Argo and kill
its crew. Before he could put his plan into effect, Medea
guided Jason to the fleece by night and used her drugs to send
the guardian dragon to sleep, and then, carrying the fleece with
her, made her way back to the Argo with Jason. She was accom-
panied by her brother Apsyrtos too. And during the night, the
Argonauts put out to sea with them.
The murder of Apsyrtos and journey to Circe
24 When Aietes discovered whatMedea had dared to do, he

set out in pursuit when Medea saw him draw-
of the ship. But
ing close, she murdered her brother,* cut him up, and threw
the pieces into the sea; and as Aietes delayed to gather up the
limbs of his child, he behind in the chase. So he turned
fell
his ship around, and buried what he had saved of his son's
remains, naming the burial place Tomoi* But he sent many of
the Colchians in search of the Argo threatening that if they
y
failed to recover Medea, they themselves would undergo the

punishment intended for her. So they separated and carried
the search to many different areas.
The Argonauts had already passed the River Eridanos when
Zeus, angered by the murder of Apsyrtos, sent a violent storm
54
against them and drove them off course. And as they were sail-
ing past the Apsyrtides Islands, the ship spoke out, saying that
the anger of Zeus would not come to an end unless they trav-
elled to Ausonia to be purified by Circe for the murder of
Apsyrtos. So they sailed past the Ligurian and Celtic peoples,*
crossed the Sardinian Sea, skirted Tyrrhenia, and arrived at
Aiaie,* where they approached Circe as suppliants and were
purified.
To the land of the Phaeacians

25 As they were sailing past the Sirens, Orpheus sang a song
to counter their own,* thus holding the Argonauts back.
Boutes alone tried to swim off towards them; but Aphrodite
carried him off and settled him at Lilybaeum.
After the Sirens, Charybdis and Scylla awaited the ship, and
then the Wandering Rocks, over which quantities of flame and
smoke were seen to rise. But Thetis guided the ship through
with the help of the Nereids, in response to a summons from
Hera.
After skirting the island of Thrinacia, which held the
cattle of the Sun, they came to the island of the Phaeacians,*
Corcyra, which was ruled by Alcinoos. Now the Colchians had
been unable to find the ship, and some of them went to settle
in the Ceraunian mountains, while others travelled to Illyria
and colonized the Apsyrtides islands. But some of them came
to Phaeacia, and finding the Argo there, they asked Alcinoos
to surrender Medea to them. He replied that if she had already
slept with Jason, he would leave her with him, but if she were
still he would send her back to her father. But Arete,
a virgin,
the wife of Alcinoos, took the initiative by marrying Medea to
Jason; so the Colchians settled amongst the Phaeacians, and
the Argonauts set out to sea with Medea.
Anaphe; Tabs in Crete
26 As they were sailing along by night, they met with a vio-

lent storm;* but Apollo, taking position on the summit of the
Melantian Rocks, shot an arrow into the sea, causing a flash
55
1-9 The Library
of lightning. They then beheld an island close at hand, where

they cast anchor, naming it Anaphe* because it had appeared
to them against all They raised an altar there to
expectation.
Radiant Apollo, and when they had sacrificed, they settled down
to feast. Now Medea had received as a gift from Arete twelve
servant girls, who aimed playful jokes at the heroes; and that
is why it is the custom even to this day for the women to make
jokes* at the sacrifice.
After setting from Anaphe, they were prevented from
sail
coming ashore at It is said by some that he

Crete by Talos.
belonged to the race of bronze, while according to others, he had
been given to Minos by Hephaistos; he was a man of bronze,*
or, according to some accounts, a bull.* He had a single vein*
which ran from his neck to his ankles, with a bronze nail
driven into its end. Talos kept watch by running round the
island three times a day, and so on this occasion too, when he
saw the Argo approaching, he pelted it with stones. But Medea
tricked him and caused his death. According to some, she drove
him mad with her drugs, while according to others, she pro-
mised to make him immortal and pulled out the nail, causing
him to die when all the ichor flowed away.* And there are
some who say that Poias killed him, by shooting an arrow into
his ankle.
The return to Iolcos and murder of Pelias
After remaining in Crete for a single night, they made Aegina

their next port of call, to replenish their water; and a compe-
tition developed* between them as they fetched the water. From
there they sailed between Euboea and Locris to arrive at
Iolcos, completing the entire voyage in four months.
27 Peliashad abandoned any expectation of the Argonauts'
return and wanted to put Aison to death.* Aison asked, how-
ever, that he should be allowed to take his own
and while life,
he was offering a sacrifice, he drank the bull's blood* without

fear, and died. Jason's mother cursed Pelias and hanged her-
self, leaving an infant son, Promachos; but Pelias killed even
the son whom she had left behind. When Jason arrived back,
he delivered the fleece, and desiring vengeance for the wrongs
56
that he had suffered, he waited for a suitable occasion. For the

present, he sailed to the Isthmus with the other heroes and
dedicated the ship to Poseidon; but afterwards, he urged Medea
to find a way to punish Pelias.So she went to the palace of
Pelias and persuaded his daughters to chop their father into
small pieces and boil him, promising to restore his youth with
her drugs; and to gain their confidence, she cut up a ram and
changed it into a lamb by boiling it. After that, they believed
her, and chopped their father to pieces and boiled him.*
Acastos buried his father with the help of the inhabitants of
Iolcos, and banished Jason and Medea from the country.
The later history of Medea

28 They went to Corinth, where they lived happily for ten
years, untilCreon,* the king of Corinth, offered his daughter,
Glauce, to Jason, who then put Medea aside and married her.
So Medea, calling as her witnesses the gods whom Jason had
sworn by, and after many a reproach to Jason for his ingrati-
tude, sent his bride a robe steeped in poison. When Glauce
put it on she was consumed by a raging fire,* as was her father
when he tried to save her. And then, after killing Mermeros
and Pheres, her children by Jason, Medea received from the
Sun a chariot* drawn by winged dragons, and fled on it to
Athens. According to another account, when Medea was flee-
ing, she abandoned her children, who were still very young,
by seating them as suppliants on the altar of Hera Acraia; but
the Corinthians forced them away* from the altar and inflicted
fatal injuries on them.
So Medea went to Athens, where she married Aigeus,* and

bore him a son, Medos.* Afterwards, however, when she tried
to plot against Theseus, she was driven from Athens and went
into exile with her son. Medos conquered many of the bar-
barians, and gave the name Media to the whole territory under
his control. He died during an expedition against the Indians.
Medea returned to Colchis without being recognized, and
finding that Aietes had been deprived of his kingdom by his
brother Perses, she killed Perses* and restored the throne to
her father.
57
BOOK II
4. Early Argive mythology (the Inachids, Belid line)
The early descendants of Inachos
1
Now that we have given a full account of the family of
Deucalion, let us proceed to that of Inachos.
Oceanos and Tethys had a son, Inachos,* after whom the
River Inachos in Argos is named. To Inachos and Melia, daugh-
ter of Oceanos, two sons were born, Phoroneus and Aigialeus.*

Aigialeus died without offspring, and the whole country was
called Aigialeia; and Phoroneus, who reigned over the whole
of what would later be called the Peloponnese, fathered Apis
and Niobe by a nymph, Teledice.
Apis turned his power into a tyranny; a brutal tyrant, he
named the Peloponnese Apia after himself, and died childless
as the result of a plot by Thelxion and Telchis. He was reck-
oned to be a god and was called Sarapis.* Niobe, for her part,
had a son, Argos, by Zeus (she was the first mortal woman
with whom he had intercourse), and according to Acousilaos,
she had another son, Pelasgos,* and the inhabitants of the
Peloponnese were called the Pelasgians* after him. Accord-
ing to Hesiod, however, Pelasgos was born from the earth; 2
but we will return to him later. Argos took over the kingdom,
calling the Peloponnese Argos* after himself; and marrying
Evadne, daughter of Strymon and Neaira, he had four sons,
Ecbasos, Peiras, Epidauros, and Criasos, who succeeded to the
kingdom in his turn.
Ecbasos had a son, Agenor, and Agenor had a son, Argos,
the one who is known as Panoptes [or the All-Seeing]. He had
eyes all over his body,* and being endowed with exceptional
strength, he killed the bull that was bringing ruin to Arcadia
and clothed himself in its hide; and when a Satyr ill-treated
the Arcadians and robbed them of their cattle, he confronted
him and put him to death. And they say of Echidna* too, the
58
Argive Mythology ii.i
daughter of Tartaros and Ge who used to snatch away passers-

by, that Argos watched out until she was asleep and then killed
her. He also avenged the death of Apis by killing those who
were responsible.
The wanderings of Io, and division of the Inachid line
3 Argos and Ismene, daughter of Asopos, had a son, Iasos, who

is said to have been the father of Io. But Castor, the author of
the Chronicles, and many of the tragic poets claim that Io was
a daughter of Inachos; while Hesiod and Acousilaos say that
she was a daughter of Peiren.* Zeus seduced Io* while she
held the priesthood of Hera, but when Hera found him out,
he transformed the girl with a touch into a white cow and swore
that he had never made love with her; and for that reason,
according to Hesiod, oaths made for love attract no anger from
the gods. But Hera asked Zeus for the cow, and placed it under
the guard of Argos the All-Seeing. (Pherecydes says that this
Argos was a son of Arestor, Asclepiades that he was a son of
Inachos, and Cercops that he was a son of Argos and Ismene,
daughter of Asopos, while according to Acousilaos, he was
born from the earth.) Hera tethered the cow to the olive tree
which lay in the sacred grove of the Mycenaeans. Zeus or-
dered Hermes to steal the cow, but the plan was betrayed by
Hierax,* and since Hermes was now unable to steal the cow
without being seen, he killed Argos by throwing a stone at him;
and that is how he came to be called Argeiphontes* Hera sent
a gadfly after the cow; the animal went first to the Ionian Gulf,*
which bears that name because of her, and then, after travel-
ling through Illyria and over Mount Haimos, she crossed what
was then called the Thracian Sound but is now called the
Bosporos* because of her. From there she went to Scythia and
the land of the Cimmerians, wandering a great distance over-
land and swimming a great distance through the sea, in Europe
and Asia alike, until she finally arrived in Egypt, where she re-
covered her original form, and gave birth to a son, Epaphos,
by the banks of the River Nile. Hera, asked the Curetes to steal
the child away, and they did so. When Zeus learned of it, he
killed the Curetes, and Io, for her part, went in search of her
59
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II. i The Library
child. She wandered through the whole of Syria (for it had

been revealed to her that the wife of the king of Byblos was
nursing her son there), and when she had discovered Epaphos,*
she returned to Egypt and married Telegonos, who was king
of the Egyptians at the time. She erected a statue of Demeter,
whom the Egyptians called Isis; and they gave this name, Isis,
to Io likewise.
When
4 became king of the Egyptians, he married
Epaphos
Memphis, daughter of the Nile, founded the city of Memphis
in her name, and fathered a daughter, Libya, after whom the
land of Libya was named. By Poseidon, Libya had twin sons,
Agenor and Belos. Agenor departed to Phoenicia, where he
became king and the founder of a great line, and for that rea-
son, we shall reserve our treatment of him until later.* But
Belos* remained in Egypt, where he became king, and mar-
ried Anchinoe, daughter of the Nile, who bore him twin sons,
Aigyptos and Danaos (and according to Euripides, Cepheus
and Phineus in addition).
Aigyptos, Danaos, and the Danaids
Belos established Danaos in Libya and Aigyptos in Arabia; but

Aigyptos conquered the land of the Melampodes* too, and
named it Egypt after himself. Both had children by many dif-
ferent women, Aigyptos fifty sons and Danaos fifty daughters.
Later, they quarrelled over the throne, and Danaos, fearing the
sons of Aigyptos, constructed a ship on the advice of Athene
he was the first man to do so* —and putting his daughters on
board, he fled the country.
Calling in at Rhodes, he set up the statue of Lindian
Athene; and from there he went to Argos, where Gelanor, who
was king at the time, surrendered the throne to him.* [After
he had taken control of the country, Danaos named its inhab-
itants the Danaans after himself.*] There was no water in the
land, because Poseidon had caused even the springs to run dry
in his anger against Inachos for having testified that the land
belonged to Hera;* so Danaos sent his daughters in search of
water. Now one of them, Amymone, during her search, threw
a javelin at a deer and hit a sleeping Satyr, who leapt up and
60
Argive Mythology ii.i
was eager to make love with her; but when Poseidon appeared,
the Satyr fled, and Amymone slept with Poseidon, who then
revealed the springs of Lerna* to her.
5 The sons of Aigyptos came to Argos, and they invited
Danaos to call an end to his hostility and asked to marry his
daughters. Although Danaos distrusted their protestations and
bore them a grudge because of his exile, he agreed to the mar-
riagesand apportioned the girls by lot. Hypermnestra, the eldest,

was selected to be the wife of Lynceus, and Gorgophone to be
the wife of Proteus; for Lynceus and Proteus were borne to
Aigyptos by a woman of royal blood, Argyphie. Of those who
remained, Bousiris, Encelados, Lycos, and Daiphron obtained
in the lot the daughters who were borne to Danaos by Europe,
namely, Automate, Amymone, Agave, and Scaie. These were
borne to Danaos by a woman of royal blood; Gorgophone and
Hypermnestra, for their part, were borne to him by Elephantis.
Istros obtained Hippodameia in the lot; Chalcodon, Rhodia
Agenor, Cleopatra; Chaitos, Asteria; Diocorystes, [Phylodameia]
Alces, Glauce; Alcmenor, Hippomedousa; Hippothoos, Gorge
Euchenor, Iphimedousa; and Hippolytos, Rhode. These ten
sons were borne by an Arabian woman, and the daughters by
hamadryad nymphs, some being daughters of Atlanteia, others
of Phoebe. Agaptolemos obtained Peirene in the lot; Cercetes,
Dorion; Eurydamas, Phartis; Aigios, Mnestra; Argios, Evippe;
Archelaos, Anaxibia; and Menemachos, Nelo. These seven
sons were borne by a Phoenician woman, and the daughters
by an Ethiopian woman. The sons borne by Tyria obtained
the daughters of Memphis as their wives, not through the lot,
but because of the similarity of their names, Cleitos obtain-
ing Cleite; Sthenelos, Sthenele; and Chrysippos, Chrysippe.
The twelve sons of Aigyptos by the naiad nymph Caliadne cast
lots for the daughters of Danaos by the naiad nymph Polyxo.
The sons were Eurylochos, Phantes, Peristhenes, Hermos,
Dryas, Potamon, Cisseus, Lixos, Imbros, Bromios, Polyctor,
and Cthonios; the daughters were Autonoe, Theano, Elec-
tra, Cleopatra, Eurydice, Glaucippe, Antheleia, Cleodore, Evippe,
Erato, Stygne, and Bryce. The sons of Aigyptos by Gorgo cast
lots for thedaughters of Danaos by Pieria. Periphas obtained
Actaie; Oineus, Podarce; Aigyptos, Dioxippe; Menalces, Adite;
61
2
II. The Library
Lampos, Ocypete; and Idmon, Pylarge. To proceed to the

youngest sons, Idas obtained Hippodice, and Daiphron Adiante
(themother of these two girls was Herse); Pandion obtained
Oime; Hyperbios, Celaino; and Hippocorystes,
Callidice; Arbelos,
Hyperippe: these were sons of Hephaistine and daughters of
Crino respectively.
When they had obtained their brides in the lot and the mar-
riage feast had been celebrated, Danaos handed daggers to his
daughters, and they killed their bridegrooms as they slept, ex-
cept for Hypermnestra, who spared Lynceus* because he had
allowed her to preserve her virginity. Danaos imprisoned her
for this, and kept her under guard. The rest of his daughters
buried the heads of their bridegrooms at Lerna and held fu-
nerals for their bodies in front of the city;and they were puri-
fied* by Athene and Hermes on the orders of Zeus. Danaos
later reunited Hypermnestra to Lynceus, and gave his other
daughters in marriage to the victors at an athletic contest.*
Amymone bore a son, Nauplios, to Poseidon. This Nauplios
and using beacon fires to
lived to a great age, sailing the seas,
draw those who came across him to their death. And it turned
out that he himself met his death in that very manner.* Before
his death, he married Clymene, daughter of Catreus (accord-
ing to the tragic poets, but according to the author of the Returns,
Philyra, or according to Gercops, Hesione), and had three sons
by her, Palamedes, Oiax, and Nausimedon.
Proitos and Acrisios divide the Argolid
1
Lynceus became king of Argos after Danaos, and had a son,
Abas, by Hypermnestra; and Abas had twin sons, Acrisios and
Proitos, by Aglaia, daughter of Mantineus. The twins quar-
relled with one another even while they were still in the womb,
and when they grew up, they went to war over the kingdom.
(It was during this war that they became the first inventors of
shields.) Acrisios gained the upper hand and drove Proitos from
Argos. Arriving in Lycia at the court of Iobates, or according
to some, of Amphianax, Proitos married the king's daughter,
whom Homer calls Anteia,* and the tragic poets, Stheneboia.
62
Argive Mythology 11.2
His father-in-law, with a Lycian army, restored Proitos to his

own land, and he took possession of Tiryns, which was for-
tified for him by the Cyclopes.* The brothers divided the whole
of the Argolid between them, and made it their home, Acrisios

ruling in Argos, and Proitos in Tiryns.
Bias, Melampous, and the daughters of Proitos
2 ByEurydice, daughter of Lacedaimon, Acrisios had a daugh-

ter, Danae, and Proitos had three daughters, Lysippe, Iphinoe,
and Iphianassa, by Stheneboia. When the daughters of Proitos
were fully grown, they went mad, because, according to Hesiod,
they refused to accept the rites of Dionysos, or, according to
Acousilaos, because they had disparaged the wooden image of
Hera.* In their madness, they wandered through the whole of
the Argolid, and then, after passing through Arcadia and the
Peloponnese, rushed through the desert in a state of complete
abandon. Melampous, the son of Amythaon and Eidomene,
daughter of Abas, who was a diviner and the first man to dis-
cover that illnesses could be cured by drugs and purifications,
promised to cure the girls if he was given a third of the king-
dom in return. When Proitos refused to hand them over for
treatment at such a high price, not only did the girls' madness
grow worse, but the other women* went mad also; for they
too deserted their houses, destroyed their own children, and
wandered into the wilderness. The calamity had developed to
such an extreme that Proitos now offered to pay the demanded
fee; but Melampous would promise to undertake the cure only
if his brother Bias received a share of the land equal to his

own. Fearing that if the cure were delayed, a still greater fee
would be demanded of him, Proitos agreed to the cure on these
terms.* So Melampous took the most vigorous of the young
men, and with loud cries and ecstatic dancing, they chased the
women out of the mountains and into Sicyon. During the pur-
suit,the eldest of Proitos' daughters, Iphinoe, met her death;
but the other two were duly purified, and recovered their rea-
son. Proitos gave his daughters in marriage to Melampous and
Bias, and later became the father of a son, Megapenthes.
63
3
II. The Library
Excursus: the story of Bellerophon
1
Bellerophon, the son of Glaucos and grandson of Sisyphos,
had accidentally killed his brother* Deliades (or according to
some, Peiren, or according to others, Alcimenes) and came to
Proitos to be purified.* Stheneboia fell in love with him,* and
sent word to him proposing an assignation; but when he
refused, she told Proitos that Bellerophon had been sending
her messages in the hope of seducing her. Proitos believed her,
and gave Bellerophon a letter to deliver to Iobates,* which con-
tained a message that he should put Bellerophon to death; so
when Iobates had read it, he told him to kill the Chimaera,
believing that he would be destroyed by the monster. For it
was no easy prey for a multitude of men, let alone for one,
seeing that it was a single creature which yet had the power
of three, having the foreparts of a lion, the tail of a dragon,
and a third head —
middle* a goat's head, through which
in the
it breathed fire. The beast was devastating the land and des-
troying the cattle. It is said, furthermore, that this Chimaera

was reared by Amisodaros,* as Homer has stated also, and was
the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, as Hesiod records.*
2 So Bellerophon climbed on to his winged horse, Pegasos,* the
offspring of Medusa and Poseidon, and soaring high into the

air, killed the Chimaera by shooting arrows at it from above.
After his battle with the Chimaera, Iobates told him to fight
against the Solymoi,* and when he had fulfilled that task also,
ordered him to attack the Amazons. When he had killed these
also, Iobates picked out the Lycians who were thought to excel
at the time in youthful vigour,* and told them to mount an
ambush and kill him. But when Bellerophon had killed all of
these in addition, Iobates, marvelling at his strength, showed
him the letter and urged him to remain at his court; and he
gave him his daughter, Philonoe, in marriage, and left him the
kingdom when he died.
Danae and the birth of Perseus
4 l
When Acrisios consulted the oracle about the birth of male
children, the god replied that his daughter would give birth to
64
a son who would kill him. For fear of this, Acrisios built a
bronze chamber beneath the ground and kept Danae guarded

within it. She was seduced none the less, some say by Proitos*
(so giving rise to the quarrel between the brothers), while accord-
ing to others, Zeus had intercourse with her by transforming
himself into a shower of gold and pouring through the roof
into Danae's lap. Later, when Acrisios learned* that a child,
Perseus, had been born to her, he refused to believe that she
had been seduced by Zeus, and put his daughter into a chest
along with her child, and threw it into the sea. The chest was
cast ashore at Seriphos, where Dictys recovered it, and raised
the child.
Perseus fetches the Gorgon's head
2 Polydectes, the brother of Dictys,* who was king of Seriphos

at the time, fell in love with Danae; and when he was unable
to achieve his desire now that Perseus was a grown man, he sum-
moned his friends together, with Perseus amongst them, and
claimed that he was gathering contributions for a marriage-
offering* to enable him to marry Hippodameia, the daughter
of Oinomaos. When Perseus declared that he would not deny
him even the Gorgon's head, Polydectes demanded horses
from all the others, but did not take the horses of Perseus*
and ordered him to fetch the Gorgon's head.
Guided by Hermes and Athene, he went to see the daugh-
ters of Phorcos:* Enyo, Pephredo, and Deino. Daughters of
Phorcos by Ceto, they were sisters of the Gorgons, and had
been old women from the time of their birth. The three of
them had only a single eye and a single tooth, which they
exchanged in turn between themselves. Perseus gained pos-
session of the eye and tooth, and when they asked him to give
them back, he said that he would surrender them if they
showed him the way to the nymphs. These nymphs had in
their possession some winged sandals,* and the kibisis, which
is said to have been a kind of wallet. t They also had the cap
[of Hades*]. When the daughters of Phorcos had told him the
way, he returned the eye and tooth to them, and visited the
nymphs and obtained what he desired. He slung the kibisis
65
n.4 The Library
around his neck, tied the sandals to his ankles, and placed the
cap on his head; as long as he wore it, he could see whom-
ever he wished while remaining invisible to others. After he
had received in addition an adamantine sickle from Hermes,
he flew to the Ocean, and when he arrived there, he caught
the Gorgons asleep.
Their names were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Only
Medusa was mortal, and for that reason it was her head that
Perseus was sent to fetch. The Gorgons had heads with scaly
serpents coiled around them, and large tusks like those of swine,
and hands of bronze, and wings of gold which gave them the
power of flight; and they turned all who beheld them to stone.
So Perseus stood over them as they slept, and while Athene
guided his hand, he turned aside, and looking into a bronze
shield in which he could see the reflection of the Gorgon,
he cut off her head. As her head was severed, Pegasos, the
winged horse, and Chrysaor, the father of Geryon, sprang from
the Gorgon's body. (She had conceived them previously by
Poseidon.*) 3 So Perseus placed Medusa's head in the wallet,
and as he was making his way back, the Gorgons started from
their sleep and tried to pursue him, but they were unable to
see him because of the cap, which hid him from their view.
Perseus and Andromeda
Arriving in Ethiopia, which was ruled by Cepheus, he found

the king's daughter Andromeda exposed as prey to a sea mon-
ster; for Cassiepeia,* the wife of Cepheus, had claimed to rival
the Nereids in beauty, boasting that she surpassed them all.
The Nereids were enraged by and Poseidon, who shared

this,
their anger, sent a sea-flood and a monster against the land.

Now Ammon* had prophesied deliverance from this calamity
if Cepheus' daughter Andromeda were offered as prey to the
monster, and compelled by the Ethiopians, Cepheus had done

so and tied his daughter to a rock. As soon as Perseus saw her,
he fell in love, and promised Cepheus that he would destroy
the monster if he would give him the rescued girl as a wife.
When oaths had been sworn to this effect, Perseus confronted
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the monster and killed it, andset Andromeda free. Phineus,

however, who was a brother of Cepheus and had been pro-
mised Andromeda beforehand, plotted against Perseus; but when
Perseus learned of the conspiracy, he showed the Gorgon to
Phineus and his fellow plotters, turning them to stone on the
spot.
The later history of Perseus
When he arrived back at Seriphos, he found that his mother

and Dictys had sought refuge at the altars to escape the vio-
lence of Polydectes. So he went into the palace, where Poly-
dectes had assembled his friends, and turning his head aside,
he displayed the Gorgon's head. All who beheld it were turned
to stone, each in the position he happened to have assumed
at the time. And then, after making Dictys king of Seriphos,
he restored the sandals, wallet, and cap to Hermes, and gave
the Gorgon's head to Athene. Hermes returned the aforesaid
objects to the nymphs and Athene fixed the Gorgon's head to
the centre of her shield. But there are some who say that Medusa
lost her head because of Athene —
for they say that the Gorgon
had claimed to rival the goddess in beauty.*
4 Perseus, accompanied by Danae and Andromeda, hurried
off to Argos to see Acrisios. But when Acrisios learned of this,

he feared what the oracle had predicted,* and left Argos and
travelled to the land of the Pelasgians. Now Teutamides, king
of Larissa,* was holding an athletic contest in honour of his
dead father, and Perseus came to take part. While competing
in the pentathlon, he threw his discus and struck Acrisios
on the foot, killing him* instantly. Realizing that the oracle
had been fulfilled, he buried Acrisios outside the city, and
then, because he was ashamed to go to Argos to claim the in-
heritance of one who had died at his own hand, he went to
Megapenthes, son of Proitos, and arranged an exchange of
kingdoms with him, placing Argos in his hands. So in this
way Megapenthes became king of the Argives, and Perseus
king of Tiryns; and Perseus fortified Midea and Mycenae*
in addition.
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The immediate descendants of Perseus

5 By Andromeda, Perseus had the following sons, first, before
their arrival in Greece, Perses, whom he behind with
left
Cepheus (and from whom, they say, the kings of Persia are
descended), and later, in Mycenae, Alcaios, Sthenelos, Heleios,
Mestor, and Electryon; he also had a daughter, Gorgophone,
who became the wife of Perieres.
Alcaios had a son, Amphitryon, and a daughter, Anaxo,
by Astydameia, daughter of Pelops (or according to some, by
Laonome, daughter of Gouneus, or according to others, by Hip-
ponome, daughter of Menoiceus); and Mestor and Lysidice,
daughter of Pelops, had a daughter, Hippothoe. Hippothoe
was carried off by Poseidon, who took her to the Echinadian
Islands, where he had intercourse with her, fathering Taphios,
who colonized Taphos and called his people the Teleboans be-
cause he had gone far* from the land of his birth. To Taphios
a son, Pterelaos, was born, whom Poseidon made immortal by
planting a golden hair in his head; and Pterelaos had six sons,
Chromios, Tyrannos, Antiochos, Chersidamas, Mestor, and
Everes.
Electryon married Anaxo, the daughter of Alcaios, and
fathered a daughter, Alcmene, and nine sons, [Stratobates,]
Gorgophonos, Phylonomos, Celaineus, Amphimachos, Lysino-
mos, Cheirimachos, Anactor, and Archelaos; and after these,
he also had an illegitimate son, Licymnios, by a Phrygian
woman, Mideia.
Sthenelos had Alcyone and Medusa, by Nicippe, daughter
of Pelops, and afterwards he had a son, Eurystheus, who also
ruled in Mycenae. For when Heracles was due to be born, Zeus
declared before the gods that the descendant of Perseus who
was then about to be born* would become king of Mycenae,
and Hera, out of jealousy, persuaded the Eileithuiai* to delay
Alcmene's delivery, and arranged that Eurystheus, the son of
Sthenelos, should be born at seven months.
The exile of Amphitryon

6While Electryon was ruling at Mycenae, the sons of Pterelaos
came there with Taphios and claimed back the kingdom of [their
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Heracles 11.4
maternal grandfather]* Mestor; and when Electryon disre-

garded their claim, they drove his away. The sons of
cattle
Electryon tried to rescue them, and they challenged and killed
one another. Of the sons of Electryon, only Licymnios sur-
vived, because he was still a child, and of the sons of Pterelaos
only Everes, who was guarding the ships. Those of the Taph-
ians who escaped sailed away taking the stolen cattle, which
they left in the care of Polyxenos, king of the Eleans; but
Amphitryon ransomed them from Polyxenos and brought
them back to Mycenae. Wanting to avenge the death of his
sons, Electryon planned an expedition against the Teleboans.
He entrusted the kingdom to Amphitryon, together with his
daughter Alcmene, making him swear an oath that he would
respect her virginity until his return. As he was receiving
his cows back, however, one of them rushed forward, and
Amphitryon let fly at her with the club that he had in his hands,
but it rebounded from her horns to hit Electryon on the head,
strikinghim dead.* Sthenelos grasped this as a pretext to ban-
ishAmphitryon from the whole of Argos and seize power for
himself in Mycenae and Tiryns; as for Midea, he summoned
Atreus and Thyestes, the sons of Pelops, and entrusted the
city to them.
5. Heracles, and the Heraclids
Amphitryon in Thebes, and the war against the Teleboans
Amphitryon went to Thebes with Alcmene and Licymnios and

was purified by Creon, and he gave his sister, Perimede, to
Licymnios as a wife. And since Alcmene said that she would
marry him* when he had avenged the death of her brothers,
he promised to do so, and, inviting Creon's assistance, he pre-
pared to march against the Teleboans. Creon said that he would
join the expedition if Amphitryon would first rid the Cadmeia
of the vixen* (for the Cadmeia was being devastated by a sav-
age vixen). But even if somebody engaged to do so, it was fated
that nobody could catch her. 7 Such harm was being caused
to the country that each month the Thebans exposed a son of
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one of their citizens to her, for she would otherwise have

carried off a great number of them. So Amphitryon visited
Cephalos, son of Deioneus,* in Athens, and in return for a
share of the plunder from the Teleboans, he persuaded him
to bring to thehunt the dog* that Procris had been given by
Minos and brought over from Crete; for it was fated that this
dog would catch whatever it chased. So it came about that as
the vixen was being pursued by the dog, Zeus turned both of
them to stone.*
With the help of his allies, Cephalos from Thoricos in
Attica,Panopeus from Phocis, Heleios, son of Perseus, from
Helos in the Argolid, and Creon from Thebes, Amphitryon
sacked the islands of the Teleboans. Now as long as Pterelaos
was still alive, Amphitryon was unable to capture Taphos; but
when Comaitho, the daughter of Pterelaos, who had fallen
in love with Amphitryon, plucked the golden hair from her
father's head, he died, and Amphitryon gained control of all the
islands. He then put Comaitho to death* and sailed to Thebes
with the plunder, giving the islands to Heleios and Cephalos,
who founded cities that bear their name and settled in them.
The birth and early life of Heracles

8 Before Amphitryon arrived back in Thebes, Zeus came to
the city by night, and tripling the length of that single night,
he assumed the likeness of Amphitryon and went to bed with
Alcmene, telling her all that had happened in the war with the
Teleboans. When Amphitryon arrived and saw that his wife
was welcoming him with no great ardour, he asked her the rea-
son; and when she replied that he had come the previous night
and slept with her, he found out from Teiresias about her inter-
course with Zeus.
Alcmene gave birth to two sons, Heracles,* who was the son
of Zeus and the elder by a night, and Iphicles, whom she bore
to Amphitryon.
When Heracles was eight months old, Hera, wanting to
destroy the child, sent two huge serpents to his bed. Alcmene
cried out for Amphitryon, but Heracles leapt up and killed the
serpents* by strangling them, one in each hand. According to
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Heracles 11.4
Pherecydes, however, it was Amphitryon who placed the ser-

pents in the bed, because he wanted to find out which of the
children was his own; and seeing that Iphicles fled while Heracles
stood his ground, he realized that Iphicles was his child.
9 Heracles
was taught chariot-driving by Amphitryon, wrest-
ling by Autolycos, archery by Eurytos, fencing by Castor, and
lyre-playing by Linos. This Linos was a brother of Orpheus, who
had arrived in Thebes and become a Theban citizen, but was
killed by Heracles with a blow from his lyre (for Linos had
struck him,* and Heracles lost his temper and killed him). When
a charge of murder was brought against Heracles, he cited a
law of Rhadamanthys* saying that if a person defends himself
against another who has initiated the violence, he should suf-
fer no penalty. So Heracles was acquitted. And Amphitryon,
fearing that he might do something similar again, sent him to
his herds; and there he grew up, surpassing all others in size
and strength. The mere sight of him was enough to show that
he was a son of Zeus: for his body measured four cubits, a
fiery gleam shone from his eyes, and he never missed his mark
with his arrows or javelins.
While he was still with the herds, and was now eighteen, he
killed the lion of Cithairon, a beast that used to make incur-
sions from Cithairon to destroy the cattle of Amphitryon and
Thespios. 10 This last was king of Thespiae, and Heracles vis-
ited him when he wanted to kill the lion. He was entertained
by him and each night after Heracles went out
for fifty days,
to the hunt, Thespios arranged that one of his daughters
should go to bed with him. For he had fifty of them, borne to
him by Megamede, daughter of Arneos, and he was eager that
they should all conceive children by Heracles.* And Heracles,
in the belief that he was always sleeping with the same woman,
had intercourse with all of them. When he had overcome the
lion, he dressed in its skin,* and used its gaping mouth as a
helmet.
Heracles and the Minyans; his first marriage, and madness
11 As he was returning from the hunt, he was met by some

heralds who had been sent by Erginos to collect the tribute
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from the Thebans. The Thebans were paying this tribute

to Erginos for the following reason. Clymenos, king of the
Minyans,* had been wounded in the sanctuary of Poseidon at
Onchestos when he was struck by a stone thrown by a chari-
oteer of Menoiceus,* a man called Perieres; and Clymenos was
carried back to Orchomenos half-dead, and as he was dying,
he ordered his son, Erginos, to avenge his death. So Erginos
mounted an expedition against Thebes, killed no small num-
ber of the Thebans, and concluded a treaty with them, sealed
by oaths, that they should send tribute to him of a hundred
cattle each year for twenty years. When Heracles met with
the heralds who were travelling to Thebes for the tribute, he
subjected them to a shameful mutilation; for he cut off their
ears, noses, and hands, and tying these to their necks with
cords, he told them to take that as tribute to Erginos and the
Minyans. Outraged by this action, Erginos marched against
Thebes. Heracles, who had received arms from Athene, took
command of the Thebans, killed Erginos, and put the Minyans
to flight; and he forced them to pay tribute to the Thebans at
twice the aforementioned rate.
It happened that during the battle, Amphitryon, righting with
courage, met his death. As a prize of valour, Heracles received

from Creon his eldest daughter, Megara, who bore him three
sons, Therimachos, Creontiades, and Deicoon. And Creon
gave his younger daughter to Iphicles, who already had a son,
Iolaos, by Automedousa, daughter of Alcathous. And Rhada-
manthys, son of Zeus, married Alcmene after the death of
Amphitryon, and settled as an exile at Ocaleai in Boeotia.
Heracles, who had been taught archery earlier by [Eurytos],*
received a sword from Hermes, a bow and arrows from Apollo,
a golden breastplate from Hephaistos, and a robe from Athene;
and he cut a club for himself at Nemea.
12 After his battle with the Minyans, it came about that
Heracles was struck by madness through the jealousy of Hera,

and threw his own children, who had been borne to him by
Megara, into the fire, together with two of Iphicles' children.
Condemning himself to exile on this account, he was purified
by Thespios and went to Delphi to ask the god where he should
12
Heracles 11.5
settle. It was on this occasion that the Pythia* called him Heracles
for the first time (for until thenhe had been called Alceides).
She told him to settle in Tiryns while he served Eurystheus
for twelve years, and to accomplish the [ten] labours* that would
be imposed on him; and then, she said, after the labours had
been accomplished, he would come to be immortal.*
First labour: the Nemean lion
1
On hearing this, Heracles went to Tiryns and fulfilled what
Eurystheus demanded of him. Eurystheus began by ordering
him to fetch the skin of the Nemean lion; this was an in-
vulnerable beast fathered by Typhon.* As he was travelling to
confront the lion, Heracles arrived at Cleonai and stayed with
a labourer called Molorchos; and when Molorchos wanted to
offer a victim in sacrifice, Heracles told him to wait for thirty
days, and then, if he had returned safely from the hunt, to
offer a sacrifice to Zeus the Saviour, but if he had died, to
offer it to himself as a hero.* On reaching Nemea, he sought
out the lion, and began by shooting arrows at it, but when he
discovered that the beast was invulnerable, he raised his club
and chased after it. When the lion took refuge in a cave which
had two entrances, Heracles walled up one of them and went
in through the other to attack the beast; and throwing his
arm round its neck, he held it in a stranglehold until he had
throttled it. And hoisting it on to his shoulders, he carried it
back to Cleonai. Coming upon Molorchos on the last of the
thirty days as he was about to sacrifice to him as a dead hero,
Heracles sacrificed to Zeus the Saviour instead, and proceeded
to Mycenae with the lion. Astounded by his bravery, Eurys-
theus refused him entry to the city from that day forth, and
told him to exhibit his trophies in front of the gates. They say,
furthermore, that in his alarm he had a bronze jar made for
himself to hide in beneath the ground, and that he conveyed
his commands for the labours through a herald, Copreus,* a
son of Pelops the Elean. (Copreus had feld to Mycenae because
he had killed Iphitos, and had settled there after he had been
purified by Eurystheus.)
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Second labour: the Lernaean hydra

2 As a second labour, Eurystheus ordered Heracles to kill the
Lernaean hydra;* this creature had grown up in the swamp of
Lerna, and used to make incursions into the plain and destroy
the cattle and the countryside. The hydra had a body of enor-
mous size, and nine heads,* of which eight were mortal, but
the one in the centre immortal. So climbing on to a chariot
driven by Iolaos, Heracles made his way to Lerna, and halt-
ing his horses there, he discovered the hydra on a hill by the
springs of Amymone,* where it had its lair. By hurling flaming
brands at it, he forced it to emerge, and as it came out, he
seized it and grasped it firmly. But it twined itself round one
of his legs, and clung to him. By striking the hydra's heads off
with his club Heracles achieved nothing, for as soon as one
was struck off, two grew up in its place; and a huge crab came
to its assistance by biting Heracles on the foot. So he killed
the crab, and summoned assistance on his own account by call-
ing Iolaos,* who set fire to part of the neighbouring forest, and
using brands from it, burned out the roots of the hydra's heads
to prevent them from regrowing. And when, by this means,
he had prevailed over the regenerating heads, he cut off the
immortal head, buried it, and placed a heavy rock over it by
the road that leads through Lerna to Elaious. As for the body
of the hydra, he slit it open and dipped his arrows into its gall.
Eurystheus declared, however, that this labour should not be
counted among the ten, because Heracles had not overcome
the hydra on his own, but only with the help of Iolaos.
Third labour: the Cerynitian hind
3 As a third labour, Eurystheus ordered him to bring the

Cerynitian hind alive to Mycenae. This hind, which had
golden horns, lived at Oinoe, and was sacred to Artemis;*
so Heracles, wanting neither to kill it nor wound it, pursued
it for a full year. When the hind, worn out by the chase, fled
for refuge to the mountain known as Artemision, and from
there towards the River Ladon, Heracles struck it with an arrow*
as it was about to cross over the stream, and was thus able
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Heracles 11.5
to catch it; and then, settling it on his shoulder, he hurried
through Arcadia. But he came across Artemis in the company

of Apollo, and she wanted to take the hind away from him,
accusing him of trying to kill an animal that was sacred to her.
By pleading necessity, however, and saying that the person
responsible was Eurystheus, he allayed the anger of the god-
dess and brought the animal alive to Mycenae.
Fourth labour: the Erymanthian boar
4 As a fourth labour, Eurystheus ordered him to bring the

Erymanthian boar This beast was causing havoc in
alive.
Psophis, sallying forth from the mountain known as Ery-

manthos. While Heracles was passing through Pholoe, he was
entertained as a guest by the Centaur Pholos, son of Seilenos
and a Melian nymph. The Centaur served roasted meat to
Heracles, but he himself ate it raw. When Heracles asked for
wine, he said that he was afraid to open the jar that was the
common property of the Centaurs;* but Heracles urged him
to take courage, and opened it up. Not long afterwards, the
Centaurs became aware of the smell, and appeared at Pholos'
cave armed with rocks and fir trees. The first who dared to
come inside, Anchios and Agrios, were put to flight by Hera-
cles, who hurled flaming brands at them; and he pursued the
others with arrows as far as Malea, where they took refuge

with Cheiron (who had settled there after he had been driven
from Mount Pelion by the Lapiths).* As the Centaurs clung
to Cheiron for safety, Heracles shot an arrow at them, which
passed through the arm of Elatos and lodged in Cheiron's knee.
Distressed at this, Heracles ran up to him, pulled out the arrow,
and applied a potion which Cheiron gave to him; but when
the wound turned out to be incurable, Cheiron withdrew to
his cave.He wanted to die, but was incapable of doing so because
he was immortal. Only when Prometheus offered himself to
Zeus to become immortal in his place was Cheiron able to die.*
The rest of the Centaurs fled in all directions; some went to
Malea, while Eurytion went to Pholoe, and Nessos to the River
Evenos. The rest were received at Eleusis by Poseidon, who
hid them under a mountain. Pholos, for his part, had pulled
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an arrow from a corpse, marvelling that so small a thing could

kill creatures of such a size; but the arrow slipped from his
hand and landed on his foot, killing him instantly.* When

Heracles returned to Pholoe and saw that Pholos was dead, he
buried him and went out to hunt the boar. He chased the beast
from the thicket with loud cries; and thrusting it exhausted
into deep snow, he trapped it in a noose, and took it to
Mycenae.
Fifth labour: the cattle of Augeias
5 As a fifth labour, Eurystheus ordered Heracles to remove the
dung of the cattle of Augeias without assistance in a single day.

Augeias was the king of Elis, and, according to some, he was
a son of the Sun, or according to others, of Poseidon, or again,
of Phorbas; and he owned many herds of cattle. Heracles went
up to him, and without disclosing Eurystheus' order, said that
he would remove the dung in a single day if Augeias would
give him a tenth of his cattle. Augeias gave his word, not be-
lieving that he could do it. After he had engaged Phyleus, the
son of Augeias, as a witness, Heracles made a breach in the
foundations of [the wall surrounding] the cattle yard, and then,
diverting the courses of the Alpheios and the Peneios which
flowed nearby, he channelled their water into the yard, after
first making an outlet through another breach. When Augeias
discovered that the task had been accomplished on the order
of Eurystheus, he refused to pay the reward,* and went so far
as to deny that he had ever promised to pay a reward, say-
ing that he was ready to submit to arbitration on the matter.
When the judges had taken their seats, Phyleus was called by
Heracles and testified against his father,* saying that he had
agreed to pay a reward to Heracles. Augeias flew into a rage,
and before the vote had been cast, ordered both Phyleus and
Heracles to depart from Elis. So Phyleus went to Doulich-
ion and settled there; and Heracles visited Dexamenos in
Olenos. He
caught him as he was about to give his daughter,
Mnesimache, under compulsion to the Centaur Eurytion; and
when he was asked to help, Heracles killed Eurytion as he arrived
to claim his bride. Eurystheus would not accept this labour
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Heracles 11.5
either as one of the ten, saying that it had been accomplished

for pay.
Sixth labour: the Stymphalian birds
6 As a sixth labour, Eurystheus ordered him to drive away

the Stymphalian birds. At the city of Stymphalos in Arcadia
there was a lake called Stymphalis, in the depths of a thick
forest; and innumerable birds had sought refuge there, fear-
ing to become the prey of wolves. So when Heracles was at a
loss as to how he could drive the birds from the wood, Athene
gave him some bronze castanets which she had received from
Hephaistos. By rattling these from a certain mountain that lay
beside the lake, he frightened the birds. Unable to endure the
noise, they flew up in alarm, and in that way Heracles was able
to shoot them down* with his arrows.
Seventh labour: the Cretan bull
7 As a seventh labour, Eurystheus ordered him to fetch the

Cretan According to Acousilaos, this was the bull that
bull.
had carried Europa* across the sea for Zeus, but it is said by
some that it was the bull that was sent up from the sea by
Poseidon* when Minos had promised to sacrifice to him what-
ever appeared from the sea. And they say that when Minos
saw the beauty of the bull, he sent it to join his herds and
sacrificed another to Poseidon; and the god in his anger turned
the bull wild. Heracles arrived in Crete to confront this bull,
and when Minos replied to his request for assistance by telling
him to fight and capture it on his own, he captured it and took
it to Eurystheus; and after he had shown it to him, he set it
free. It wandered to Sparta and throughout Arcadia, and cross-

ing the Isthmus, it arrived at Marathon* in Attica and harassed
the inhabitants.
Eighth labour: the mares of Diomedes
8 As an eighth labour, Eurystheus ordered him to bring the

mares of Diomedes the Thracian to Mycenae. This Diomedes,
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a son of Ares and Cyrene, was king of the Bistones, a highly

belligerent people in Thrace, and owned man-eating mares.*
So Heracles sailed there with a company of volunteers, over-
powered the men who were in charge of the mangers, and
led the mares towards the sea. When the Bistones came fully
armed to the rescue, he passed the mares over to Abderos to
guard. (This Abderos, a Locrian from Opous who was a son
of Hermes and a beloved of Heracles, was torn apart by the
horses and killed.) So Heracles fought against the Bistones, killed
Diomedes, and put the rest to flight. After founding the city
of Abdera by the grave of Abderos, who had met his death in
the meantime, he took the horses to Eurystheus and handed
them over to him. But Eurystheus released them, and they went
to the mountain called Olympos, where they were killed by
the wild beasts.
Ninth labour: the belt of Hippolyte

9 As a ninth labour, Eurystheus ordered him to fetch the belt
of Hippolyte. She was queen of the Amazons, who lived by
the River Thermodon* and were a people who excelled in war;
for they cultivated manly qualities, and if they ever had inter-
course with men and gave birth to children, they raised the
girls. They pressed down* their right breasts to ensure that
they would not be hindered from throwing their javelins,
but retained their left breasts to allow them to suckle their
children. Hippolyte had the belt of Ares* in her possession as
a symbol of her supremacy over the others, and Heracles
was sent to fetch the belt because Admete, the daughter of
Eurystheus, wanted it for herself. So taking some volunteers
to assist him, he set sail in a single ship, and called in at the
island of Paros, where the sons of Minos were living, namely
Eurymedon, Chryses, Nephalion, and Philolaos. It happened
that two men from the ship who had gone ashore were killed
by the sons of Minos; and in his fury at this, Heracles slew
them on the spot, and kept the other islanders under close siege
until they sent a delegation to invite him to take whatever pair
of them he pleased in return for the men who had been mur-
dered. So he lifted the siege, and taking on board Alcaios and
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Heracles 11.5
Sthenelos, the sons of Androgeos, son of Minos, he arrived in

Mysia, at the court of Lycos, son of Dascylos. He was enter-
tained there by [Lycos, and when Lycos*] joined battle with
the king of the Bebrycians, Heracles came to his aid, and killed
many men, including King Mygdon, the brother of Amycos.
And he deprived the Bebrycians of a large amount of land and
gave it to Lycos, who called the whole territory Heracleia.
When he put harbour of Themiscyra, Hippolyte
in at the
came and she asked him why he had come and
to see him,
promised to give him the belt. But Hera assumed the likeness
of an Amazon and wandered around in the crowd saying that
the strangers who had just arrived were abducting the queen.
Seizing their arms, the Amazons hastened to the ships on
horseback; and when Heracles saw them there fully armed, he
thought that this must be the result of a plot, and he killed
Hippolyte and robbed her of the belt. And then, after fighting
the rest of the Amazons, he sailed away, and called in at Troy.
It happened that tKe city was in a desperate plight at that
time, through the wrath of Apollo and Poseidon; for wanting

to put Laomedon's arrogance to the test, they had taken on
human form and undertaken to fortify Pergamon* in return
for pay. But when they had constructed the wall, he refused
to pay them their fee. In response, Apollo sent a plague, and
Poseidon a sea-monster which was carried along on a flood
and used to snatch away the inhabitants of the plain. When
oracles declared that they would be delivered from these mis-
fortunes if Laomedon offered his daughter, Hesione, as prey
to the monster, Laomedon offered her up, binding her to some
rocks by the sea. When Heracles saw her exposed there, he
promised to rescue her if he received in return the mares that
Zeus had presented [to Tros*] in compensation for the abduc-
tion of Ganymede. Laomedon said that he would hand them
over, and Heracles killed the monster and rescued Hesione.
But Laomedon refused to pay the agreed reward, and Heracles
put to sea threatening to make war on Troy at some future
time.*
He then called in at Ainos, where he was entertained
by Poltys. As he was sailing off, he shot and killed a man of
violence on the shore there, Sarpedon, a son of Poseidon
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5 The Library
and brother of Poltys. Arriving in Thasos, he subjugated the

Thracians who inhabited the island and gave it to the sons of
Androgeos to settle in. From Thasos he set out for Torone,
where he was challenged to a wrestling match by Polygonos
and Telegonos, the sons of Proteus, son of Poseidon, and killed
them during the contest. And taking the belt to Mycenae, he
gave it to Eurystheus.
Tenth labour: the cattle of Geryon

10 As a tenth labour, he was ordered to fetch the cattle of Geryon
from Erytheia. Erytheia was an island that lay near the Ocean
and is now called Gadeira; it was inhabited by Geryon, son of
Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, daughter of Oceanos. He had the body
of three men joined into one;* these were united at the waist,
but divided into three again from the hips and thighs down-
wards. He owned red cattle, which were herded by Eurytion
and guarded by Orthos, a two-headed dog that Echidna had
borne to Typhon. So travelling through Europe to fetch the
cattle of Geryon, Heracles killed many savage beasts,* and then
arrived in Libya. He made his way to Tartessos, where he erected
two pillars* standing opposite one another at the boundaries
of Europe and Libya, as memorials of his journey. In the course
of his journey, he was overheated by the Sun, and aimed his
bow against the god; and the Sun was so impressed by his
bravery that he offered him a golden cup* which he used when
crossing the Ocean. Arriving at Erytheia, Heracles set up camp
on Mount Abas. His presence was detected by the dog Orthos,
which rushed to attack him; but he struck it with his club and
when the herdsman Eurytion came to the dog's assistance, he
killed Eurytion too. Menoites, who was pasturing the cattle of
Hades in the area, informed Geryon of what had happened;
and Geryon caught Heracles driving the cattle away near the
river Anthemous, and engaged him in battle, but was killed by
an arrow. Heracles put the cattle into the cup, and after he
had made the crossing to Tartessos, he returned it to the Sun.
He passed through Abderia and arrived in Liguria, where
Ialebion and Dercynos, sons of Poseidon, tried to rob him
of the cattle, but he killed them and travelled on through
80
Heracles 11.5
Tyrrhenia. At Rhegion* a bull broke loose, plunged swiftly into

the sea, and swam across to Sicily, and then, after passing
through the neighbouring land which was named Italy after it
(because the Tyrrhenians called the bull italus*), it arrived at

the plain of Eryx, who was king of the Elymoi; and Eryx, a
son of Poseidon, mixed the bull amongst his own herds.
Entrusting the rest of the cattle to Hephaistos, Heracles hur-
ried off in search of the bull; he discovered it in the herds of
Eryx, and when Eryx declined to surrender it unless Heracles
defeated him* in a wrestling match, he defeated Eryx three
times in the course of the match and killed him. He then took
the bull and drove it with the other cattle to the Ionian Sea.
When he reached the top of the gulf,* Hera sent a gadfly
and they dispersed among the foothills of the
against the cattle
Thracian mountains. Heracles set out in pursuit, and recover-
ingsome of them, he drove them towards the Hellespont, but
those that he left behind were wild from that time forth.
Having had difficulty collecting his cattle together, he blamed

the River Strymon, and although it had been navigable pre-
viously, he made it unnavigable by filling it with rocks. He
took the cattle to Eurystheus, and handed them over; and
Eurystheus offered them in sacrifice to Hera.
Eleventh labour: the apples of the Hesperides
11 When these labours had been accomplished in eight years

and month, Eurystheus, who would not acknowledge the labour
a
of the cattle of Augeias or that of the hydra, ordered Heracles,
as an eleventh labour, to fetch some golden apples from the
Hesperides.* These apples were to be found, not in Libya,
as some have claimed, but on Mount Atlas in the land of the
Hyperboreans.* They had been presented to Zeus [by Ge] at
the time of his marriage to Hera, and were guarded by an
immortal dragon, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, which
had a hundred heads and could speak with all manner of dif-
ferent voices. And with this dragon, the Hesperides Aigle, —
Erytheia, Hesperia, and Arethousa by name —
also kept guard.
So Heracles proceeded on his way, until he arrived at the
River Echedoros, where Cycnos, the son of Ares and Pyrene,
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challenged him to single combat [. .] to avenge him, Ares too

.
engaged him in single combat,* but a thunderbolt was hurled

between the two combatants, bringing the fight to an end.
Travelling through the land of the Illyrians, Heracles hurried
to the River Eridanos, where he visited the nymphs who were
daughters of Zeus and Themis; and they told him where he
could find Nereus. Heracles seized hold of him while he was
asleep, and although he transformed himself into many dif-
ferent shapes, Heracles tied him up and refused to let him go
until he had learned from him where the apples and the
Hesperides were located. After he had acquired this informa-
tion, he travelled through Libya, which was then ruled by
Antaios,* a son of Poseidon, who compelled strangers to wres-
tle with him and killed them. When he too was compelled to
wrestle with him, Heracles seized him in his arms, lifted him
into the air, and crushed him until he was dead; for when-
ever he touched the earth, Antaios would always grow stronger
(which is why some have called him a son of Ge).
Leaving Libya, he passed through Egypt, which was then
under the rule of Bousiris, son of Poseidon and Lysianassa,
daughter of Epaphos. Bousiris used to sacrifice strangers on an
altar of Zeus, in accordance with an oracle; for barrenness had
gripped the land of Egy pt for nine years, and Phrasios, a skilled
diviner who had come from Cyprus, said that the barrenness
would come to an end if they slaughtered a male foreigner in
honour of Zeus every year. Bousiris began by slaughtering the
diviner himself, and continued to slaughter strangers who
landed there. So Heracles was arrested and dragged to the
altars, but he broke free of his bonds, and killed both Bousiris
and his son Amphidamas.

After passing through Asia, he put in at Thermydrai, the
harbour of the Lindians. And from
releasing one of the bullocks
the cart of a drover,* he sacrificed and feasted on its flesh.
it
The drover, unable to defend himself, stood on a certain moun-

tain and cursed him; and because of that, even to this day,
when they sacrifice to Heracles there, they do so to the accom-
paniment of curses.
Passing by Arabia, he killed Emathion* the son of Tithonos;
and he travelled through Libya* to the outer sea, where he
82
Heracles 11.5
received the cup from the Sun. He crossed over to the main-
land opposite, and on the Caucasos he shot the eagle, born to
Echidna and Typhon, that fed on the liver of Prometheus. He
then set Prometheus free, taking the fetters of olive for him-
self, and presented Cheiron to Zeus as an immortal being who
was willing to die in Prometheus' place.*

When he reached Atlas in the land of the Hyperboreans,
Heracles followed the advice of Prometheus, who had told him
not to go for the apples himself but to take over the sky from
Atlas and send him instead. So Atlas took three apples from
the Hesperides and returned to Heracles; and not wishing to
hold up the heavens again, [he said that he himself would carry
the apples to Eurystheus, and asked Heracles to support the
sky in his place. Heracles promised that he would, but passed
it back to Atlas by means of, a ruse. For Prometheus, when
offering his advice, had told him that he should ask Atlas to
take the sky back until*] he had prepared a pad for his head.
And when Atlas heard his request, he placed the apples on the
ground and took the sky back. In this way, Heracles was able
to pick up the apples and depart. (It is said by some, how-
ever, that he did not get the apples from Atlas, but plucked
them himself after killing the guardian snake.*) He brought
the apples back, and gave them to Eurystheus; but as soon as
he received them, he returned them to Heracles. Then Athene
took them from Heracles, and carried them back again; for it
was unholy* for them to be deposited anywhere else.
Twelfth labour: the capture of Cerberos
12 As a twelfth labour, he was ordered to fetch Cerberos* from
Hades. Cerberos had three dogs' heads, the tail of a dragon,

and on his back, the heads of all kinds of snakes. When Her-
acles was about to depart for Cerberos, he went to Eumolpos
in Eleusis with a view to being initiated;*t but since it was
impossible for him to behold the Mysteries unless he had been
purified from the murder of the Centaurs, he was purified
by Eumolpos* and initiated thereafter. He made his way to
Tainaron in Laconia, where the mouth of the descent to Hades
is located, and descended through it. When the souls caught
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sight of him, they fled, except for Meleager and the Gorgon
Medusa.* He drew his sword Gorgon as if she were
against the
still alive, but learned from Hermes that she was an empty
phantom. As he drew close to the gates of Hades, he dis-

covered Theseus there, and Peirithoos,* who had tried to gain
Persephone as his bride, and had been imprisoned there for
that reason. When they saw Heracles, they stretched their arms
towards him, hoping that his strength would enable them to
be raised from the dead. He took Theseus by the hand and
raised him up, but when he wanted to raise Peirithoos, the
earth shook and he let him go. He also rolled aside the stone
of Ascalaphos.* Wanting to procure blood for the souls,* he
slaughtered one of the cattle of Hades; but their herdsman,
Menoites, son of Ceuthonymos, challenged him to a wrest-
ling match. Heracles seized him round the middle and broke
his ribs, but let him go when Persephone interceded. When
he asked Pluto for Cerberos, Pluto told him to take the beast
if he could overpower it without using any of the weapons
that he was carrying. Discovering Cerberos by the gates of

Acheron,* Heracles, sheathed in his breastplate and fully cov-
ered by his lion's skin, grasped its head between his arms and
never relaxed his grip and stranglehold on the beast until he
had broken its will, although he was bitten by the dragon in
its tail. Then he carried it off and made his way back, ascend-
ing through Troezen. As for Ascalaphos, Demeter turned

him into an owl.* After Heracles had shown Cerberos to
Eurystheus, he returned the beast to Hades.
The murder of Iphitos and Heracles* enslavement to Omphale

1
After his labours, Heracles returned to Thebes. He gave
Megara to Iolaos,* and wanting he made enquiries
to remarry,
and learned that Eurytos, king of Oichalia, had offered the hand
of his daughter Iole as a prize to the man who could defeat
himself and his sons at archery.* So he went to Oichalia and
proved himself superior to them at archery, but even so, he
failed to get his bride; for although Iphitos, the eldest of the
sons, said that Iole should be given to Heracles, Eurytos and
the others refused, saying that they were afraid that if he had
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Heracles n.6
children, he would kill his offspring once again. 2 Not long

afterwards, some cattle were stolen* from Euboea by Auto-
lycos, and Eurytos thought that Heracles was responsible.
Iphitos, however, did not believe it, and went to see Heracles.
Meeting him as he was returning from Pherae after he had

saved the dead Alcestis for Admetos, Iphitos asked him to help
in the search for the cattle. Heracles promised to do so and
entertained him as a guest; but then, in a fresh fit of madness,*
he hurled him from the walls of Tiryns. Wanting to be puri-
fied of the murder he visited Neleus, who was king of the
Pylians. When Neleus rejected him* because of his friendship
with Eurytos, he then went to Amyclai and was purified by
Deiphobos, son of Hippolytos.
He was struck by a terrible disease as the result of his
murder of Iphitos, and went to Delphi to ask how he could
be delivered from it. When the Pythia refused to grant him a
response,* he wanted to plunder the temple and tried to carry
off the tripod to found an oracle of his own. But Apollo joined
battle with him, until Zeus hurled a thunderbolt between
them. After they had been separated in this way, Heracles
received a response from the oracle, which told him that he
would be delivered from his illness if he was sold into slavery,
served for three years, and gave the price paid for him to Eurytos
as compensation for the murder. 3 Following the delivery of
this oracle, Hermes put him up for sale, and he was purchased
by Omphale, daughter of Iardanos, queen of Lydia, who had
been left the kingdom by her husband, Tmolos, after his
death.As for the money paid for him, Eurytos refused to accept
itwhen it was brought to him.
While serving Omphale as a slave, Heracles captured and
bound the Cercopes* at Ephesus, and at Aulis he killed Syleus
— who compelled strangers to dig [in his vineyard*] and also —
his daughter, Xenodoce, and burned his vines to their roots.
Calling in at the island of Doliche, he saw the body of Icaros*
cast ashore there, and buried it, calling the island Icaria in-
stead of Doliche. In return, Daidalos made a statue at Pisa in
the likeness of Heracles (who one night,
failed to recognize it
and threw a stone at it, taking it was

for a living person). It
during the time of his servitude to Omphale that the voyage
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to Colchis* is said to have taken place, and the hunt for the
Calydonian boar, and that Theseus is said to have cleared the

Isthmus as he travelled from Troezen.*
The first sack of Troy

4 After the completion of his servitude, when he was rid of
his disease,he sailed against Ilion* with eighteen fifty-oared
ships, and an army that he had assembled beforehand from
heroes who had volunteered for the expedition. On his arrival
at Ilion, he left Oicles behind to guard the ships while he and
the other heroes set off to attack the city. Laomedon for his
part marched against the ships with the greater part of his force
and killed Oicles in the fighting, but he was driven back by
the troops of Heracles and put under siege. After the siege was
engaged, Telamon was the first to break through the wall and
make his way into the city, with Heracles behind him. When
Heracles saw that Telamon had entered first, he drew his
sword and rushed to attack him, anxious that nobody should
be thought a better man than himself. Seeing the situation,
Telamon began to heap together some stones that lay at hand;
and when Heracles asked him what he was doing, he said
that he was building an altar to Heracles the Noble Victor.*
Heracles praised him for this, and when he had taken the city
and shot down Laomedon and all his sons except for Podarces,
he gave Laomedon's daughter Hesione to Telamon as a prize,
allowing her to take with her any person she wished from the
captives. When she chose her brother Podarces, Heracles said
that he must become a slave, and that she should then
first
offer something in payment for him so as to acquire him. So

when he was sold, she removed the veil from her head and
gave it in payment for him; and that was how Podarces came
to be called Priam*
1
As Heracles was sailing back from Troy, Hera sent vio-
lent storms* against him, which so angered Zeus that he sus-
pended her from Olympos.* Heracles wanted to sail in to Cos,
but the Coans, taking him for the leader of a band of pirates,
tried to prevent his approach by hurling stones. He turned to
force and seized the island by night, killing its king, Eurypylos,
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Heracles 11.7
son of Astypalaia and Poseidon. In the course of the fighting,

Heracles was wounded by Chalcodon, but Zeus snatched him
away and he suffered no further harm. After ravaging Cos, he
went to Phlegra at Athene's behest, and helped the gods to
victory in their war against the Giants.*
Campaigns in the Peloponnese
2 Not long afterwards, he mounted an expedition against

Augeias,* gathering together an Arcadian army and raising vol-
unteers from the foremost men of Greece. When Augeias
heard that Heracles was preparing to make war on him, he
appointed as generals of the Eleans Eurytos and Cteatos,* who
were two men joined into one, and were superior in strength
to all others of their time. They were sons of Molione and
Actor (who was a brother of Augeias), although their real
father was said to be Poseidon. Now it happened that in the
course of the expedition Heracles fell ill, and for that reason
he arranged a truce with the Molionides; but later, when they
came to learn of his illness, they attacked his army and killed
many of his men. So at the time Heracles retreated; but after-
wards, when the Isthmian Games were being celebrated for
the third time and the Eleans sent the Molionides to take part
in the sacrifices, Heracles set an ambush* for them at Cleonai
and killed them. Then he marched against Elis and captured
the city. After he had killed Augeias and his sons, he recalled
Phyleus* and granted him the throne. He also established the
Olympic Games, founded an altar of Pelops,* and raised six
altars to the twelve gods.
3 After the capture of Elis, he marched against Pylos.* He
took the city and killed Periclymenos, the bravest of Neleus'
sons, who used change shape as he fought. He killed Neleus
to
too, and all who was still a boy and
his sons, except for Nestor,
was being brought up amongst the Gerenians. During the battle,
he also wounded Hades, who came to the aid of the Pylians.*
After he had captured Pylos, he mounted an expedition
against Lacedaimon, wanting to punish the sons of Hippocoon.
He was angry with them because they had fought as allies
of Neleus, and was even angrier when they killed the son of
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Licymnios:* for while he was looking at the palace of Hip-

pocoon, a Molossian hound ran out and dashed towards him,
and when he threw a stone and struck the dog, the sons of
Hippocoon rushed out and beat him to death with their cudgels.
It was to avenge his death that Heracles assembled an army
to attack the Lacedaimonians. Arriving in Arcadia, he asked

Cepheus to join him as his ally, along with his sons, of whom
he had twenty. Cepheus, fearing that the Argives would attack
Tegea if he left it, refused to take part in the expedition;
but Heracles, who had acquired from Athene a lock of the
Gorgon's hair in a bronze jar, gave it to Cepheus' daughter,
Sterope, saying that an army attacked, she should hold up
if
the lock three times from the ramparts without looking at it

herself and the enemy would turn and flee. As a result, Cepheus
joined the expedition with his sons, and in the course of the
fighting, he and his sons were killed, together with Iphicles,
the brother of Heracles. After he had killed Hippocoon and his
sons and taken control of the city, Heracles recalled Tyndareus
and entrusted the kingdom to him.
4 As he was passing by Tegea, Heracles raped Auge, with-
out realizing that she was the daughter of Aleos.* She gave
birth in secret and hid her baby in the sanctuary of Athene;
but when the country was ravaged by a plague,* Aleos entered
the sanctuary, conducted a search, and discovered his daugh-
ter's child. So he had the baby exposed on Mount Parthenion,
but it was saved by an act of divine providence: for a doe that

had just given birth offered her teat to it, and some shepherds
took up the child and named it Telephos* As for Auge, her
father handed her over to Nauplios, son of Poseidon, to sell in
foreign parts, and Nauplios gave her to Teuthras, king of
Teuthrania, who made her his wife.
Marriage to Deianeira; Heracles in northern Greece
5 Arriving in Calydon, Heracles sought to win Deianeira, the
daughter of Oineus,* as his wife. To gain her hand, he wrest-

led with Acheloos,* and when Acheloos assumed the form of
a bull, Heracles broke off one of its horns. So Heracles mar-
ried Deianeira, and Acheloos recovered his horn by offering
Heracles 11.7
that of Amaltheia* in exchange. (Amaltheiawas the daughter

of Haimonios and she owned a bull's horn, which, according
to Pherecydes, had the power to furnish as much meat or drink
as one could wish for, in limitless supply.)
6 Heracles marched with the Calydonians against the
Thesprotians, and after capturing the city of Ephyra,* which

was ruled by Phylas, he had intercourse with the king's daugh-
ter, Astyoche, and became the father of Tlepolemos.* During
his stay with them, he sent a message to Thespios telling him

to retain seven of his sons,* but dispatch three of them to Thebes
and send the remaining forty to the island of Sardinia to found
a colony. Subsequently, as he was feasting with Oineus, he killed
Eunomos,* son of Architeles, with a blow of his fist while the
boy (who was a relative of Oineus) was pouring water over his
hands. Because this had come about unintentionally, the father
of the boy forgave Heracles, but he wanted to suffer exile in
accordance with the law, and decided to depart to Ceux at
Trachis.
Taking Deianeira with him, he arrived at the River Evenos.
The Centaur Nessos had settled there,* and used to ferry trav-
ellers across the river for a fee, claiming that he had been
granted the post of ferryman by the gods because of his
honesty. Heracles for his own part crossed the river without
assistance, buthe entrusted Deianeira to Nessos and paid him
the demanded fee to carry her across. But while Nessos was
carrying her over, he tried to rape her; and Heracles heard her
cries, and shot Nessos in the heart as he emerged from the
water. On the point of death, Nessos called Deianeira to his

side and said that if she wanted a love-potion* to use on Heracles,
she should mix the semen that he had shed on the ground with
the blood that had flowed from the wound made by the arrow-
head. She did so, and kept the potion at hand.
7
While he was passing through the land of the Dryopes,
Heracles was short of food, and when he came across Theioda-
mas* driving a pair of bullocks, he unyoked one of the bullocks,
slaughtered it, and feasted on its flesh. When he reached Ceux*
in Trachis, he was entertained by him, and then defeated the
Dryopes in war.
Later he set out from Trachis to fight as an ally of Aigimios,
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king of the Dorians;* for the Lapiths, under the command of

Coronos, had gone to war with Aigimios over the boundaries
of the land, and finding himself besieged, he had summoned
Heracles to his aid, offering a share of the land in exchange.
So Heracles came to his assistance, killed Coronos and others
too, and delivered the whole country to Aigimios without
accepting any reward. He also killed Laogoras, king of the
Dryopes, along with his children, as he was feasting in a sanc-
tuary of Apollo; for Laogoras was a man of violence and an
ally of the Lapiths. As he was passing Itonos, he was chal-
lenged to single combat by Cycnos,* son of Ares and Pelopia;
so Heracles joined battle with him, and killed him too. When
he arrived at Ormenion, its king, Amyntor, appearing under
arms, would not allow him to pass through; so, prevented from
passing on his way, Heracles killed Amyntor* also.
The sack ofOichalia; the death and apotheosis of Heracles
On his arrival at Trachis, he assembled an army to attack

Oichalia, desiring vengeance on Eurytos.* With Arcadians,
Melians from Trachis, and Epicnemidian Locrians as his
allies, he killed Eurytos and his sons, and captured the city.
After burying those of his comrades who had fallen, namely,

Hippasos, son of Ceux, and Argeios and Melas, the sons of
Licymnios, he plundered the city and took Iole captive. Bring-
ing his ship to anchor at Cenaion, a headland of Euboea, he
erected an altar to Cenaian Zeus; and proposing to offer a
sacrifice, he sent [Lichas] the herald to Trachis to fetch fine
clothing. But Deianeira, learning from Lichas how matters stood
with regard to Iole,* was afraid that Heracles might be more
in love with Iole than with herself, and thinking that the blood
that had flowed from Nessos really was a love-potion, she rubbed
it into the tunic. So Heracles put it on, and proceeded with
the sacrifice. But as soon as the tunic grew warm, the poison
from the hydra began to bite into his skin. In response, he
lifted Lichas by the feet and hurled him [into the Euboean
Sea*], and tried to tear off the tunic, which had become
attached to his body; but his flesh was torn off along with the
clothing. In this sorry plight, he was carried back to Trachis
90
Heracles 11.7
by ship; and when Deianeira learned what had happened, she

hanged herself. After instructing Hyllos, his eldest son by
Deianeira, to marry Iole when he came of age, Heracles made
his way to Mount Oeta (which lies on Trachinian territory),
and built a pyre there and climbed on to it, ordering that it
should be set alight. When nobody was willing to do so,
Poias,* who was passing by in search of his flocks, set it alight;
and Heracles presented his bow and arrows to him. As the
pyre blazed, a cloud is said to have passed beneath Heracles
and raised him up to heaven* to the accompaniment of thunder.
There he obtained immortality, and becoming reconciled with
Hera, he married her daughter Hebe,* who bore him two sons,
Alexiares and Anicetos.
The children of Heracles

8 He had the following sons by the daughters of Thespios.*
By Procris, he had Antileon and Hippeus (for the eldest
daughter gave birth to twins); by Panope, he had Threpsippas;
by Lyse, he had Eumedes; by [. .], he had Creon; by Epilais,
.
he had Astyanax; by Certhe, he had lobes; by Eurybia, he had

Polylaos; by Patro, he had Archemachos; by Meline, he had
Laomedon; by Clytippe, he had Eurycapys; he had Eurypylos
by Eubote; by Aglaia, he had Antiades; by Chryseis, he had
Onesippos; by Oreie, he had Laomenes; he had Teles by
Lysidice; he had Entelides by Menippis; by Anthippe, he had
Hippodromos; he had Teleutagoras by Eury [. .]; he had
.
Capylos by Hippo; by Euboia, he had Olympos; by Nice, he

had Nicodromos; by Argele, he had Cleolaos; by Exole, he had
Erythras; by Xanthis, he had Homolippos; by Stratonice, he
had Atromos; he had Celeustanor by Iphis; by Laothoe, he
had Antiphos; by Antiope, he had Alopios; he had Astybies
by Calametis; by Phyleis, he had Tigasis; by Aischreis, he
had Leucones; by Antheia, he had [. .]; by Eurypyle, he
.
had Archedicos; he had Dynastes by Erato; by Asopis, he had

Mentor; by Eone, he had Amestrios; by Tiphyse, he had
Lyncaios; he had Halocrates by Olympousa; by Heliconis, he
had Phalias; by Hesiocheia, he had Oistrables; by Terpsi-
crate, he had Euryopes; by Elacheia, he had Bouleus; he had
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Antimachos by Nicippe; he had Patroclos by Pyrippe; he had

Nephos by Praxithea; by Lysippe, he had Erasippos; he had
Lycourgos by Toxicrate; he had Boucolos by Marse; he
had Leucippos by Eurytele; and by Hippocrate, he had Hippo-
zygos. These were his sons by the daughters of Thespios.
And he had the following sons by other women. By Deianeira,
daughter of Oineus, he had Hyllos, Ctesippos, Glenos, and
Oneites; by Megara, daughter of Creon, he had Therimachos,
Deicoon, and Creontiades; by Omphale, he had Agelaos, from
whom the family of Croesus was descended; by Chalciope,
daughter of Eurypylos, he had Thettalos; by Epicaste, daughter
of Augeias, he had Thestalos; by Parthenope, daughter of
Stymphalos, he had Everes; by Auge, daughter of Aleos, he had
Telephos; by Astyoche, daughter of Phylas, he had Tlepolemos;
by Astydameia, daughter of Amyntor, he had Ctesippos; and
by Autonoe, daughter of Peireus, he had Palaimon.
The return of the Heraclids
8 l
After Heracles had been transported to the gods, his sons
fledfrom Eurystheus and took refuge with Ceux; but when
Eurystheus told him to surrender them and threatened war,
they grew afraid, and withdrawing from Trachis, took flight
through Greece. With Eurystheus in pursuit, they made their
way to Athens, where they sat down on the altar of Pity* and
asked for help. When the Athenians refused to hand them
over, they became embroiled in a war with Eurystheus* and
killed his sons, Alexander, Iphimedon, Eurybios, Mentor, and
Perimedes. Eurystheus himself fled in a chariot, but Hyllos,
who had set off in pursuit, killed him* as he was passing the
Scironian Rocks, and cut off his head; and he gave it to
Alcmene, who gouged out the eyes with weaving pins.
2 After the death of Eurystheus, the Heraclids attacked
the Peloponnese and captured all its cities. But when a year
had elapsed since their return,* the entire Peloponnese was
gripped by a plague, and an oracle revealed that the Heraclids
were to blame because they had returned before the proper
time. Accordingly, they left the Peloponnese and withdrew to
Marathon, where they settled.
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The Return of the Heraclids n.8
Before their departure from the Peloponnese, Tlepolemos

had accidentally killed Licymnios* (for he had been beating a
servant with his stick, and Licymnios had run between them);
so he went into exile at Rhodes with a good number of fol-
lowers, and settled there.
Hyllos married Iole as his father had ordered, and sought
to achieve the return of the Heraclids. So he went to Delphi
and asked how they could return, and the god declared that
they should await the third harvest and then return. Hyllos
thought that the third harvest meant three years, and after wait-
ing that length of time, he returned with his army* [. .] of .
Heracles to attack the Peloponnese when Tisamenos, son of

Orestes, was king of the Peloponnesians.* There was a further
battle, which was won by the Peloponnesians, and Aristo-
machos was killed. When the sons of [Aristomachos*] came
of age, they consulted the oracle about their return. The god
gave the same response as before, and Temenos admonished
him, saying that when they had obeyed this oracle, they had
met with misfortune; but the god replied that they were re-
sponsible for their own misfortunes because they had failed
to understand the oracles, for he meant by the third harvest
not a harvest of the earth but of generations of men, and by
the narrows, the broad-bellied sea* to the right of the Isthmus.
On hearing this, Temenos prepared army and constructed
his
ships at the place in Locris which has come to be called
Naupactos* for that reason. While the army was there, Aristo-
demos* was struck dead by a thunderbolt, leaving twin sons,
Eurysthenes and Procles, by Argeia, daughter of Autesion.
3 And it happened that in Naupactos, a disaster befell the
army too. For there appeared amongst them a diviner deliv-

ering oracles in a state of inspired abandon, whom they took
to be a sorcerer sent by the Peloponnesians to bring ruin to
the army. So Hippotes, son of Phylas, son of Antiochos, son
of Heracles, hurled a javelin him, which struck and killed
at
him. As a result, the naval force was destroyed with the loss
of all the ships, and the land force was stricken by famine and
the army disbanded. When Temenos consulted the oracle
about this calamity, the god said that it had all come about
because of the diviner,* and he ordered him to banish the
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murderer for ten years and to take the Three-Eyed One as

their guide. Accordingly, they banished Hippotes and searched
for the Three-Eyed One; and they came across Oxylos,* son
of Andraimon, seated on a one-eyed horse (for its other eye
had been struck out by an arrow). He had fled into exile at
Elis because of a murder, and was making his way back to Aetolia
now that a year had passed. So gathering the meaning of the
oracle, they made him their guide. And when they engaged
the enemy in battle, they gained the upper hand by land and
sea,and killed Tisamenos, son of Orestes. On their own side,
Pamphylos and Dymas, the sons of Aigimios,* were killed in
the fighting.
4 When they had gained control of the Peloponnese, they
erected three altars to Paternal Zeus, offered sacrifices on
them, and then drew lots for the cities. The first draw would
be for Argos, the second for Lacedaimon, and the third for
Messene; and they brought a jug of water and decided that
each of them should cast a it. Temenos, and Procles
lot into
and Eurysthenes, the two sons of Aristodemos, threw pebbles

into the jug, but Cresphontes, wanting to be allotted Messene,
threw a clod of earth.* When this had dissolved in the water,
the other two lots would of necessity be the ones that came to
light. That of Temenos was drawn first, and that of the sons
of Aristodemos second, and Cresphontes acquired Messene.

5 They discovered signs lying on the altars where they had
made the sacrifices: a toad for those who had won Argos, a
snake for those who had won Lacedaimon, and a fox for those
who had won Messene. The diviners said of these signs that
those who had found the toad would do best to stay in their
city (for the creature lacks the strength to travel), whilst those
who had found the serpent would be fearsome in attack, and
those who had found the fox would be crafty.
Temenos spurned his sons, Agelaos, Eurypylos, and Callias,
and relied instead on his daughter Hyrnetho and her husband
Deiphontes.* As a result, his sons bribed some men from
Titana*] to murder their father. After the murder had taken
place, however, the army decided that the kingdom rightly
belonged to Hyrnetho and Deiphontes.
Cresphontes had been ruling in Messene for only a short
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The Return of the Heraclids n.8
time when he was assassinated* with two of his sons. Poly-

phontes,who was one of the Heraclids, succeeded him as king,
and forced Merope, the widow of the murdered king, to be-
come his wife. But he too was killed; for Merope had a third
son, called Aipytos,whom she had given to her father to bring
up. When he reached manhood, he returned in secret and killed
Polyphontes, and so recovered his father's kingdom.
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BOOK III
6. Cretan and Theban mythology

(the Inachids, Agenorid line)
The abduction of Europa to Crete,

and dispersal of the sons of Agenor
1
Having now reached the point in our account of the family
of Inachos where we have covered the descendants of Belos as
far as the Heraclids, we must proceed next to the line of Agenor.
As we have said,* Libya had two sons by Poseidon named Belos
and Agenor: Belos became king of Egypt and fathered the sons
who were mentioned above, but Agenor went away to Phoen-
icia, where he married Telephassa and had a daughter, Eur-
opa, and three sons, Cadmos, Phoenix, and Cilix. (It is said by
some,* however, that Europa was not Agenor's daughter, but
a daughter of Phoenix.) Zeus fell in love with Europa, and tak-
ing the form of a docile bull whose breath smelled of roses,*
he took her on his back and carried her across the sea to Crete.
There he had intercourse with her, and she gave birth to Minos,
Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys (though according to Homer,*
Sarpedon was a son of Zeus by Laodameia, daughter of
Bellerophon).
When Europa disappeared, her father Agenor sent his sons
them not to return until they had found
in search of her, telling
her. Her mother, Telephassa, joined them in the search, as
did Thasos, son of Poseidon, or according to Pherecydes, of
Cilix. But when they had searched high and low and were still
unable to find her, they abandoned any thought of returning

home, and each of them settled in a different place. Phoenix
settled in Phoenicia, and Cilix in its vicinity, giving the name
under his control near the River
Cilicia to all the land that lay
Pyramos. Cadmos and Telephassa went to live in Thrace, as
did Thasos, who founded the city of Thasos in Thrace* and
settled there.
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Cretan Mythology m.i
Minos and his brothers
2 Europa became the wife of Asterios, ruler of the Cretans,

who raised her children. When they grew up, they quarrelled
with one another,* for they fell with the same boy, who
in love
was called Miletos and was a son of Apollo by Areia, daugh-
ter of Cleochos. When the boy responded more favourably to
Sarpedon, Minos went to war and gained the upper hand. The
others fled. Miletos landed in Caria* and founded a city there,
naming it Miletos after himself; and in return for a share of
the territory, Sarpedon became an ally of Cilix, who was at
war with the Lycians, and he became king of Lycia. And Zeus
granted him the privilege of living for three generations. Ac-
cording to some accounts, however, the brothers fell in love
with Atymnios, son of Zeus and Cassiepeia, and it was over
him that they quarrelled.
Rhadamanthys laid down laws for the islanders,* but later
fled to Boeotia and married Alcmene;* and following his death,
he sits as a judge with Minos in Hades.*
Minos lived in Crete, where he enacted laws, and married
Pasiphae, daughter of the Sun and Perseis (though according
to Asclepiades his wife was Crete, daughter of Asterios). His
sons were Catreus, Deucalion, Glaucos, and Androgeos, and
his daughters Acalle, Xenodice, Ariadne, and Phaedra. By a
nymph, Pareia, he had Eurymedon, Nephalion, Chryses, and
Philolaos, and by Dexithea, a son, Euxanthios.
Minos, Pasiphae, and the origin of the Minotaur
3 When Asterios died without offspring, Minos wanted to
become king of Crete, but he encountered opposition. So he

claimed that the kingdom had been granted to him by the gods,
and to make people believe him, he said that whatever he prayed
for would come to pass. And during a sacrifice to Poseidon,
he prayed that a bull should appear from the deep, promising
to sacrifice it when it appeared. When Poseidon responded
by sending up a magnificent bull, Minos acquired the king-
dom; but he sent the bull away to join his herds and sacri-
ficed another. t 4 Poseidon, angry with Minos for having failed
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to sacrifice the bull, turned it savage, and caused Pasiphae to

conceive a desire for it. Becoming
infatuated with the bull,
Pasiphae enlisted the help of Daidalos, an architect who had
been exiled from Athens for murder.* He built a wooden cow,
mounted it on wheels, hollowed it out, sewed round it the hide
from a cow that he had skinned, and placing it in the meadow
where the bull habitually grazed, he made Pasiphae climb
inside. The bull came up to it and had intercourse with it as
if it were a genuine cow. As a result, she gave birth to Asterios,
who was called the Minotaur;* he had the face of a bull, but
the rest of his body was human. In obedience to some oracles,
Minos kept him enclosed in the Labyrinth. This Labyrinth,
which Daidalos had constructed, was a building 'that with a
maze of winding ways confused the passage out'.* As for the
tale of the Minotaur, and Androgeos, and Phaedra, and Ariadne,
we will speak of that later* in our account of Theseus.
Catreus and Althaimenes
1
Catreus, son of Minos, had three daughters, Aerope,
Clymene, and Apemosyne, and a son, Althaimenes. When
he consulted the oracle* to discover how his life would come
to an end, the god said that he would die at the hand of
one of his children. He tried to keep the oracles secret, but
Althaimenes came to hear of them, and fearing that he would
become his father's murderer, he sailed away from Crete with
his sister Apemosyne; and coming to land at a place in Rhodes,
he took possession of it and named it Cretinia. After climbing
the mountain known as Atabyrion,* he surveyed the sur-
rounding islands; and catching sight of Crete also and remem-
bering the gods of his fathers, he erected an altar to Atabyrian
Zeus. Not long afterwards, he became the murderer of his sis-
ter.For Hermes had conceived a passion for her, but when
she fled from him and he was unable to catch her because she
was so much faster on her feet, he spread hides from freshly
skinned animals across her path, and she slipped on them as
she returned from the spring, and was raped by him; and she
informed her brother of what had happened, but he took the
god to be merely an excuse, and kicked her, causing her death.
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Cretan Mythology 111.3
2 Catreus gave Aerope and Clymene to Nauplios,* to be

sold in foreign lands. Pleisthenes married one of the sisters,
Aerope,* and fathered two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaos,
while Nauplios married Clymene and became the father of Oiax
and Palamedes.
Later, when he was gripped by old age, Catreus was
anxious to transfer the kingdom to his son Althaimenes, and
travelled to Rhodes with that in mind. When he disembarked,
however, with the Cretans at a desolate spot on the island, he
was driven back by the cowherds, who thought that pirates
had landed. When he tried to tell them the truth of the mat-
ter, they were unable to hear him because of the barking dogs,
and as they were pelting him, Althaimenes arrived and killed

him with a javelin throw, not realizing that he was Catreus.
Afterwards, when he discovered what had happened, he was
swallowed up by a chasm in answer to his prayer.
Polyidos and the revival of Glaucos
1
To Deucalion were born Idomeneus* and Crete, and an ille-
gitimate son, Molos.

Now Glaucos,* when he was still a young child, fell into a
jar of honey while he was chasing a mouse, and was drowned.
After his disappearance, Minos conducted a thorough search
and consulted diviners about how he could find him. The
Curetes told him that in his herds he had a three-coloured
cow, and that the person who could suggest the best image to
describe its colours would also be able to return his son to him
alive. When the diviners were assembled, Polyidos,* son of
Coiranos, compared the cow's colouring to a blackberry,* and

when he was made to search for the child, he discovered him
by a certain kind of divination.* Minos declared, however, that
he wanted him back alive, and Polyidos was shut in with the
dead body. When he was at his wit's end, he saw a snake
approach the body; and fearing that he himself would be killed
if any harm came to the body, he threw a stone at the snake
and killed it. But then another snake appeared, and seeing that
the first one was dead, it went off and then came back again
carrying a herb, which it applied to the whole body of its
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fellow. No sooner was the herb applied than the first snake
came back to life. Viewing all this with wonderment, Polyidos
applied the same herb to the body of Glaucos and brought him
back to life. 2
Minos had now recovered his son, but all the
same, he would not allow Polyidos to depart to Argos until he
had taught Glaucos the art of divination. So under compul-
sion, Polyidos taught him; but as Polyidos was sailing off, he
toldGlaucos to spit into his mouth, and when Glaucos did so,
he forgot all knowledge of divination. As regards the descen-
dants of Europa, this is where we must call a halt.
Cadmos and the foundation of Thebes

1
When Telephassa died, Cadmos saw to her burial, and after
receiving hospitality from the Thracians, went to Delphi to
enquire about Europa. The god told him that he should not
worry about Europa, but should take a cow to guide him, and
found a city at the place where it fell down exhausted. After
receiving this oracle, he travelled through Phocis, and coming
across a cow from the herds of Pelagon,* he followed in its
footsteps. It passed through Boeotia, and sank to the earth where
the city of Thebes now lies. Wishing to sacrifice the cow to
Athene, he sent some of his companions to draw water from
the spring of Ares; but the spring was guarded by a dragon,
which was said by some to be the offspring of Ares, and it
killed most of those who were sent for the water. Angered by
this, Cadmos killed the dragon, and then, following the advice
of Athene, sowed its teeth. No sooner were they sown than

fully armed men sprang up from the earth, who were called
the Spartoi* They killed one another, some entering into
conflict deliberately,* and some out of ignorance. According
to Pherecydes, however, when Cadmos saw fully armed men
springing up from the earth, he hurled stones at them, and
they, believing that they were being pelted by one another,
fought amongst themselves. Five of them survived, namely,
Echion, Oudaios, Chthonios, Hyperenor, and Peloros. 2 To atone
for the killing, Cadmos served Ares as a labourer for an ever-
lasting year* (for a year in those times lasted eight of our own).
After the completion of his servitude, Athene consigned the
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Theban Mythology 111.4
kingdom to him, and Zeus gave him Harmonia, daughter of

Aphrodite and Ares, as a wife. And all the gods left the sky to
take part in the wedding feast on the Cadmeia* and join in the
singing. Cadmos gave his wife a robe and the necklace fash-
ioned by Hephaistos, which according to some accounts had
been given to him by Hephaistos himself, though according
to Pherecydes it was given to him by Europa, who had re-
ceived it from Zeus. Cadmos had four daughters, Autonoe, Ino,
Semele, and Agave, and a son, Polydoros. Ino became the wife
of Athamas, Autonoe the wife of Aristaios, and Agave the wife
of Echion.
Semele and Dionysos; the death of Actaion
3 As Zeus fell in love with her, and slept with her

for Semele,
in secret from Hera. Now Zeus had engaged to do whatever
Semele asked, and as the result of a deception by Hera,* she
asked him to come to her just as he had come when he was
courting Hera. Unable to refuse, Zeus came to her bedcham-
ber in a chariot to the accompaniment of lightning and thun-
der, and hurled a thunderbolt. Semele died of fright, but Zeus
snatched her aborted sixth-month child from the fire, and sewed
it into his thigh. (After Semele's death, the other daughters of
Cadmos spread the tale that Semele had slept with a mortal
but falsely laid the blame on Zeus, and that she had been struck
down with a thunderbolt because of that.*) When the appro-
priate time arrived, Zeus brought Dionysos to birth by un-
tying the stitches, and handed him over to Hermes, who took
him to Ino and Athamas, and persuaded them to bring him
up as a girl. But Hera in her fury drove them mad,* and Athamas
hunted his eldest son Learchos in the belief he was a deer and
killed him, while Ino threw Melicertes into a cauldron of boil-
ing water, and carrying it with her dead child inside, leaped
into the sea. She is known as Leucothea* and her son is known
as Palaimon —
these were the names given to them by mariners,
who receive help from them when they are caught in storms.
The Isthmian Games were founded in honour of Melicertes*
on the orders of Sisyphos.
As for Dionysos, Zeus rescued him from the anger of Hera
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by turning him into a kid; and Hermes gathered him up and

took him some nymphs who lived at Nysa in Asia, those
to
whom Zeus later turned into a constellation, naming them the
Hyades.*
4 Autonoe and Aristaios had a son, Actaion, who was
brought up by Cheiron to be a hunter and was later devoured

on Cithairon by his own dogs. According to Acousilaos, he met
such a death because Zeus was angry with him for courting
Semele, but most authors ascribe it to the fact that he saw
Artemis bathing.* The goddess, they say, transformed him
instantly into a deer and drove his pack of fifty dogs into a
frenzy, causing to devour him without recognizing who
them
he was. Once he was dead, the dogs searched for their mas-
ter, howling all the while, until their search brought them to
the cave of Cheiron, who made an image of Actaion, which

brought their grief to an end.t
1
After his discovery of the vine, Dionysos was driven mad
by Hera* and roamed around Egypt and Syria. He was wel-
comed first by Proteus, king of the Egyptians, but then arrived
at Cybela in Phrygia, and after he had been purified by Rhea
and learned the rites of initiation,* and had received the [ini-
tiate's] robe from her, he hurried through Thrace to attack the
Indians. Lycourgos,* son of Dryas, the ruler of the Edonians,

who live by the River Strymon, was the first to insult and expel
him. Dionysos sought refuge in the sea with Thetis, daughter
of Nereus, while the Bacchai* were taken prisoner along with
the crowd of Satyrs* who followed in his train. But later the
Bacchai were suddenly set free, and Lycourgos was driven mad
by Dionysos. During his madness, Lycourgos, believing that
he was pruning a vine branch,* killed his son Dryas with blows
from his axe and had cut off his limbs by the time he recov-
ered his senses. When the land remained barren, the god
declared in an oracle that it would become fruitful again if
Lycourgos were put to death. On hearing this, the Edonians
took him to Mount Pangaion and tied him up, and there he
died through the will of Dionysos, killed by horses.
2 After travelling through Thrace and the whole of India,
where he set up pillars,* he arrived in Thebes,* where he forced

the women to desert their houses and abandon themselves to
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5
Theban Mythology Hi.
Bacchic frenzy on Mount Cithairon. But Pentheus, a son of

Echion by Agave, who had inherited the throne from Cadmos,
tried to put an end to these practices, and when he went to
Mount Cithairon to spy on the Bacchai, he was torn to pieces
by his mother Agave, who, in her frenzy, took him for a wild
beast. Having shown the Thebans that he was a god, he went
to Argos, and there again, when they failed to honour him, he
drove the women mad, and they carried their unweaned chil-
dren into the mountains and feasted on their flesh.
3 Wanting to make the sea-passage from Icarios to Naxos,
he chartered a pirate ship with a crew of Tyrrhenians. When

they had him on board,* however, they sailed past Naxos and
pressed on towards Asia hoping to sell him. But he changed
the mast and oars into snakes and filled the craft with ivy and
the sound of flutes; and the pirates went mad, and jumped
into the sea, where they turned into dolphins.
In this way, men came to know that he was a god and paid
due honour to him; and after he had brought his mother up
from Hades and named her Thyone, he ascended to heaven in
her company.
Successors and usurpers at Thebes
4 Cadmos left Thebes with Harmonia and went to the land of

the Encheleans.* Now the Encheleans were being attacked by
the Illyrians, and the god had revealed to them in an oracle
that they would obtain victory over the Illyrians if they had
Cadmos and Harmonia as their leaders. In obedience to the
god, they engaged them as their leaders against the Illyrians,
and gained the upper hand. Cadmos became king of the
Illyrians and had a son, Illyrios. Later he was turned into a
snake* together with Harmonia, and sent to the Elysian Fields
by Zeus.
5 When Polydoros became king of Thebes, he married
Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus, [son of] Chthonios, and had

a son, Labdacos, who lost his life after Pentheus because he
thought in much the same way* as him. He left a one-year-
old child, Laios, but Lycos, the brother of Nycteus, seized con-
trol of the government as long as Laios remained a child.* The
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two brothers had fled [from Euboea] because they had killed
Phlegyas, son of Ares and Dotis the Boeotian, and had settled
at Hyria;* and [from there, they had moved to Thebes,*] where
they became citizens as a result of their friendship with
Pentheus. Soit came to pass that Lycos, after being chosen as
polemarch* by the Thebans, seized supreme power, and ruled

for twenty years until he was murdered by Zethos and
Amphion, for the following reason.
Antiope was a daughter of Nycteus; and Zeus had inter-
course with her. When she turned out to be pregnant and her
father threatened her, she ran away to Epopeus* in Sicyon,
and became his wife. Nycteus was thrown into such des-
pondency that he killed himself,* ordering Lycos to punish
Epopeus and Antiope. So Lycos marched against Sicyon,
killed Epopeus, and took Antiope prisoner. On the way back,
she gave birth to two sons at Eleutherai in Boeotia. They were
exposed, but a cowherd discovered them and brought them
up, calling one of them Zethos and the other Amphion. Zethos
devoted himself to cattle-rearing, while Amphion practised
singing to the lyre (for he had been given a lyre by Hermes).
As for Antiope, Lycos and his wife Dirce kept her in con-
finement and ill-treated her. One day, however, without her
jailers knowing it, her bonds untied themselves of their own
accord, and she made her way hoping
to her sons' farmhouse,
to find refuge with them. Recognizing her as their mother, they
killed Lycos, and bound Dirce to a bull, and then, when she
was dead, hurled her body into the spring that bears the name
of Dirce on her account.
After taking power, they built a wall around the city (the
stones followed the sound of Amphion's lyre*) and they ex-
pelled Laios. He went to live in the Peloponnese as a guest of
Pelops; and while he was teaching Pelops' son Chrysippos how
to drive a chariot, he fell in love with him and carried him off.
Amphion, Niobe, and their children
6 whom the city of Thebes derives

Zethos married Thebe, from
its name, and Amphion married Niobe, daughter of Tantalos,
who bore him seven sons, Sipylos, Eupinytos, Ismenos, Damas-
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5
Theban Mythology III.
ichthon, Agenor, Phaidimos, and Tantalos, and the same num-

ber of daughters, Ethodaia (or according to some, Neaira),
Cleodoxa, Astyoche, Phthia, Pelopia, Astycrateia, and Ogygia.
According to Hesiod, however, they had ten sons and ten daugh-
ters, while Herodoros says that they had two male and three
female children, and Homer* that they had six sons and six
daughters. Having so many children, Niobe said that she was
better blessed with children than Leto; and Leto was so
angered by this that she incited Artemis and Apollo against
them, and Artemis shot down the female children inside the
house, and Apollo all the male children as they were hunting
on Mount Cithairon. Of the males, Amphion alone survived,*
and of the females, only the eldest, Chloris,* who later be-
came the wife of Neleus (though according to Telesilla, those
who survived were Amyclas and Meliboia, and Amphion was
amongst their victims). Niobe herself left Thebes and went to
stay with her father Tantalos at Sipylos; and there, in response
to her prayers to Zeus, she was transformed into a stone* that
streams with tears by night and day.
Laios and Oedipus
7 Amphion,* Laios took over the kingdom.

After the death of
He married a daughter of Menoiceus whom some call Iocaste,
others Epicaste.* An oracle from the gods had warned him not
to have a child, for if he did, the son who would be born to
him would become his father's murderer; but while he was
drunk with wine, he had intercourse with his wife. When the
child was born, he pierced its ankles with buckle-pins and passed
it to a herdsman for exposure. But when he exposed it on Mount
Cithairon, the herdsmen of Polybos, king of Corinth, dis-

covered the baby and brought it to the king's wife, Periboia.
She took him in and passed him off as her own son, and after
she had healed his ankles she called him Oedipus* giving him
that name because of his swollen feet.
When the boy grewup and surpassed the others of his age
in strength, they grew jealous and poured scorn on him for
being a supposititious child.* He questioned Periboia but
could learn nothing from her, so he went to Delphi and asked
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who his true parents were.The god told him not to return
to his native land, for if he did, he would murder his father
and sleep with his mother. Hearing this, and believing that he
really was born from those who were said to be his parents,
he kept away from Corinth. But as he was travelling through
Phocis in his chariot, he came across Laios, also driving in a
chariot, on a certain narrow track.* And when Polyphontes,
the herald of Laios, told him to make way, and killed one of
his horses because he refused to obey or was slow to do so,
Oedipus was enraged and killed both Polyphontes and Laios;
and he drove on to Thebes.
8 Laios was buried by Damasistratos, king of Plataea, and
Creon, son of Menoiceus,* succeeded to the throne. Dur-

ing his reign, a disaster of no small proportion struck Thebes;
for Hera sent the Sphinx.* The mother of the Sphinx was
Echidna and her father Typhon, and she had the face of a
woman, the chest, feet, and tail of a lion, and the wings of a
bird. She had learned a riddle from the Muses, and seated on
Mount Phicion, she posed it to the Thebans. The riddle ran
as follows: what is it that has a single voice,* and has four feet,
and then two feet, and then three feet? Now the Thebans pos-
sessed an oracle telling them that they would be freed from
the Sphinx when they solved her riddle, so they gathered to-
gether repeatedly to seek the solution; but when they failed to
discover it, the Sphinx would carry one of them off and devour
him. When many had died in this way, including, ultimately,
Creon's son Haimon, Creon proclaimed that he would give both
the kingdom and the widow of Laios to the man who could
solve the riddle. When Oedipus heard of this, he supplied the
answer, saying that the riddle of the Sphinx referred to man;
for he is four-footed as a baby when he crawls on all fours,
two-footed as an adult, and takes on a third limb in old age in
the form of a stick. So the Sphinx hurled herself from the
Acropolis, and Oedipus took over the kingdom, and also, with-
out realizing it, married his mother. He had two sons by her,
Polyneices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Ismene and Anti-
gone. There are some who say, however, that these children
were born to him by Euryganeia,* daughter of Hyperphas.
9 Afterwards, when what was unknown was revealed, Iocaste
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The The ban Wars in.6
hanged herself in a noose, and Oedipus put out his eyes and
was driven from Thebes, cursing his sons,* who watched him
being expelled from the city without coming to his aid. Arriv-
ing with Antigone at Colonos* in Attica, where the sanctuary
of the Eumenides* lies, he sat down there as a suppliant and
received a friendly reception from Theseus, and died not long
afterwards.
7. The Theban Wars
Eteocles and the exile of Polyneices to Argos
1
Eteocles and Polyneices came to an agreement over the
throne, deciding that each of them should rule in alternate years.
Some say that Polyneices was the first to rule, and that after
a year he surrendered the throne to Eteocles; while according
to others, Eteocles was the first to rule, and refused up
to give
the throne.* In any case, Polyneices was exiled from Thebes
and arrived in Argos, bringing with him the necklace and robe
[of Harmonia]. Argos was ruled at that time by Adrastos, son
of Talaos;* and as Polyneices was approaching his palace by
night, he became involved in a fight with Tydeus, son of
Oineus, who had fled there from Calydon.* In response to the
sudden outbreak of shouting, Adrastos came out and separ-
ated the pair; and calling to mind the advice of a diviner who
told him to yoke his daughters to a boar and a lion, he chose
the two of them as their husbands, because one of them had
the front half of a boar on his shield and the other that of a
lion.* So Tydeus married Deipyle and Polyneices, Argeia; and
Adrastos promised to restore both of them to their native lands.
He was eager to march against Thebes initially, and gathered
together the leading warriors.
Prelude in Argos: Amphiaraos and Eriphyle
2 But Amphiaraos, son of Oicles, who was a diviner and

foresaw that all who took part in the expedition except for
Adrastos were destined to be killed, was reluctant to join the
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expedition himself and tried to dissuade the others. Poly-

neices went to Iphis,* son of Alector, and asked to be told how
Amphiaraos could be compelled to take part; and he replied
that this could be brought to pass if Eriphyle gained pos-
session of the necklace. Although Eriphyle had been told by
Amphiaraos not to accept gifts from Polyneices, he gave her
the necklace and asked her to persuade Amphiaraos to join the
expedition. This lay within her power, because earlier, when
[a conflict had] arisen between Amphiaraos and Adrastos,*
Amphiaraos had sworn at its conclusion that if he had any fu-

ture disagreements with Adrastos, he would allow Eriphyle to
decide* between them. So now, when there was to be a cam-
paign against Thebes and it was supported by Adrastos but
opposed by Amphiaraos, Eriphyle, on receiving the necklace,
persuaded her husband to march with Adrastos. Joining the
expedition under compulsion, Amphiaraos left orders for his
sons telling them to kill their mother when they came of age
and mount a campaign against Thebes.
The advance against Thebes and stationing of the champions

3 When he had assembled [an army] under seven leaders,*
Adrastos hastened to war against Thebes. The leaders were the
following: Adrastos, son of Talaos; Amphiaraos, son of Oicles;
Capaneus, son of Hipporioos; Hippomedon, son of Aristo-
machos or according to some, of Talaos; all of these came from
Argos, but Polyneices, son of Oedipus, came from Thebes, while
Tydeus, son of Oineus, was an Aetolian, and Parthenopaios,
son of Melanion, an Arcadian. In some sources, however,
Tydeus and Polyneices are not counted amongst the seven, and
Eteoclos, son of Iphis, and Mecisteus are listed instead.
4 When they arrived at Nemea, which was then under
the rule of Lycourgos,* they went in search of water; and

Hypsipyle showed them the way to a spring, leaving behind
a young child, Opheltes. This was a son of Eurydice and
Lycourgos who was being reared by Hypsipyle; for when the
Lemnian women had discovered that [her father] Thoas had
been spared,* they had killed him and sold Hypsipyle abroad,
and for that reason she was serving with Lycourgos as a pur-
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The Theban Wars ill.
chased slave. As she was pointing the way to the spring, the
child who had been behind was killed by a snake; and when
left
Adrastos and his companions reappeared, they killed the snake

and buried the child. Amphiaraos told them that this was a
sign foretelling what would happen in the future: so they
named the child Archemoros* And in his honour, they found-
ed the Isthmian Games. The horse race was won by Adrastos,
the foot-race by Eteoclos, the boxing by Tydeus, the jumping
and discus-throwing by Amphiaraos, the javelin-throwing by
Laodocos, the wrestling by Polyneices, and the archery by
Parthenopaios.
5 On their arrival at Cithairon, they sent Tydeus ahead to
give notice to Eteocles that he should surrender the king-
dom to Polyneices in accordance with their agreement. When
Eteocles paid no attention, Tydeus, wanting to test out the
Thebans, challenged them to single combat and was victori-
ous every time. The Thebans for their part armed fifty men
and set an ambush for him on his departure; but he killed all
of them, except for Maion, and made his way back to the camp.*
6 The Argives took up their arms and advanced towards
the walls.* There were seven gates,* and Adrastos stationed

himself in front of the Homoloidian Gate, Capaneus in front
of the Ogygian, Amphiaraos in front of the Proitidian, Hippo-
medon in front of the Oncaidian, Polyneices in front of the
Hypsistan, Parthenopaios in front of the Electran, and Tydeus
in front of the Crenidian. Eteocles, on his side, armed the
Thebans and appointed an equivalent number of leaders, sta-
tioning each of them opposite his counterpart. And he con-
sulted the diviners to discover how they could prevail over the
enemy.
Excursus: the earlier history of Teiresias
7 Now there lived amongst the Thebans a diviner, Teiresias,

son of Everes and the nymph Chariclo. He was a descendant
of Oudaios, one of the Spartoi, and had lost the use of his eyes;
on how he came to be blind and gained his prophetic powers,
conflicting stories are told. Some say that he was blinded by
the gods because he divulged to the human race what they
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wanted to keep concealed. Or according to Pherecydes, he was

blinded by Athene; for Athene and Chariclo were close friends
[and it came about that he] saw the goddess completely
naked,* and she covered his eyes with her hands, depriving
him of his sight. When Chariclo begged her to restore the use
of his eyes, she lacked the power to do so, but purified his ears
instead, giving him a complete understanding of the language
of birds.* She also gave him a cornel- wood staff, thus enabling
him, while he carried it, to walk like those who can see. Hesiod
says,* however, that he caught sight of some snakes coupling
near Mount Cyllene, and when he injured the snakes, he was
changed from a man to a woman; but when he saw the same
snakes coupling on a further occasion, he became a man again.
And for this reason, when Zeus and Hera were having an argu-
ment as to whether men or women gain more pleasure from
love-making, they consulted Teiresias. He said that judging
the act of love on a scale of ten, men get one part of the plea-
sure and women nine parts.* On that account, Hera turned
him blind, but Zeus granted him the gift of prophecy;t and
he lived to a considerable age.*
The Theban victory and its aftermath
So when the Thebans consulted him, Teiresias told them that

they would be victorious if Menoiceus, the son of Creon,
offered himself as a sacrifice to Ares.* On hearing this pro-
phecy, Menoiceus, son of Creon, slaughtered himself in front
of the gates. In the ensuing battle, the Cadmeians were chased
back to their walls, and Capaneus seized a ladder and was using
itto climb the wall when Zeus struck him down* with a thun-
derbolt. 8 When this took place, the Argives turned and fled.
Because so many had died, Eteocles and Polyneices, in accor-
dance with the decision of both armies, fought for the throne
in single combat and killed one another. Fierce fighting broke
out once again, and the sons of Astacos performed deeds of
valour, Ismaros killing Hippomedon, Leades killing Eteoclos,
and Amphidicos killing Parthenopaios (though according to
Euripides, Parthenopaios was killed by Periclymenos, son of
Poseidon). And Melanippos, the last of the sons of Astacos,
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The Theban Wars hi. 7
wounded Tydeus in the stomach. As he lay half dead, Athene

asked Zeus for a remedy and brought it along, with the inten-
tion of applying make him immortal. But Amphiaraos real-
it to
ized what she intended, and in his hatred against Tydeus for
persuading the Argives to march against Thebes in opposition
to his own judgement, he cut off the head of Melanippos (for
Tydeus, although wounded, had killed Melanippos*) and gave
it to Tydeus, who split it open and gulped down the brains.
At the sight of this, Athene was so revolted that she withheld

her intended favour and refused to grant it. Amphiaraos fled
beside the River Ismenos, and before Periclymenos could
wound him in the back, Zeus hurled a thunderbolt to open a
chasm in the earth. And Amphiaraos was swallowed up in it,
together with his chariot and his charioteer Baton (or accord-
ing to some, Elaton); and Zeus made him immortal.* Adrastos,
the sole survivor, was saved by his horse Areion (which
Demeter had borne to Poseidon after having intercourse with
him in the likeness of a Fury*).
1
Creon, who then succeeded to the Theban throne,* caused
the bodies of the Argive dead to be thrown out unburied, issued
a proclamation that nobody should bury them, and posted
guards. But Antigone, one of the daughters of Oedipus, stole
the body of Polyneices and gave it a secret burial; and when
she was caught in the act, she was buried alive in the grave by
Creon himself.
Adrastos made his way to Athens, where he sought refuge
at the altar of Pity, and placing a suppliant's bough* on the
altar, he asked to be allowed to bury his dead. The Athenians
marched against Thebes with Theseus, captured the city,* and
gave the dead to their relatives for burial. As the pyre of
Capaneus was blazing, his wife Evadne, daughter of Iphis, threw
herself on to it and was burned with her husband.
The Epigoni and the Second Theban War

2 Ten years later, the sons of the fallen, who were called the
Epigoni,* decided to mount an expedition against Thebes be-
cause they wanted to avenge the death of their fathers. When
they consulted the oracle, the god foretold victory if Alcmaion
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was their leader. Although Alcmaion had no desire to lead the

expedition before he had punished his mother, he went to
war none the less; for Eriphyle, on receiving the robe [of Har-
monia] from Polyneices' son Thersandros, persuaded her sons
also to take part* in the expedition. So taking Alcmaion as their
leader, the Epigoni went to war against Thebes. Those who
took part in the expedition were the following: Alcmaion and
Amphilochos, sons of Amphiaraos; Aigialeus, son of Adrastos;
Diomedes, son of Tydeus; Promachos, son of Parthenopaios;
Sthenelos, son of Capaneus; Thersandros, son of Polyneices;
and Euryalos, son of Mecisteus.
3 They began by sacking the villages in the neighbourhood
of Thebes, and then, when the Thebans under Laodamas, son

of Eteocles, advanced against them, they fought with valour.
Laodamas killed Aigialeus,* but was killed in his turn by
Alcmaion, and after his death the Thebans fled inside their
walls. Teiresias then advised them to send a herald to the Argives
to talk about a truce while they themselves made their escape.
So they sent a herald to the enemy, and in the meantime
loaded their women and children on to the wagons and fled
from the city. They arrived by night at a spring called Til-
phoussa, and as Teiresias drank from it, his life came to an end.
After travelling a great distance, the Thebans founded the city
of Hestiaia* and settled there. 4 When the Argives eventually
learned that the Thebans had fled, they entered the city, where
they gathered together the plunder and pulled down the walls.
They sent part of the plunder to Delphi as an offering to Apollo,
and with it Manto, daughter of Teiresias; for they had made
a vow that if they captured Thebes, they would dedicate the
finest of the spoils to the god.
The later history of Alcmaion

5 After the capture of Thebes, when Alcmaion learned that
his mother Eriphyle had accepted bribes to his detriment also,
his outrage was all the greater, and in obedience to an oracle
granted him by Apollo, he put his mother to death. Some say
that he killed her with the help of his brother Amphilochos,
others that he did so on his own. Alcmaion was pursued by
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The Theban Wars 111.7
the Fury of his mother's murder,* and overcome by mad-

ness, he went first to Oicles in Arcadia and then to Phegeus
in Psophis; and after he had been purified by Phegeus, he mar-
ried his daughter Arsinoe, and gave her the necklace and the
robe. But afterwards, as a result of his presence, the earth grew
barren, and he was told by the god in an oracle to depart to
Acheloos and receive from him [a land which had not yet been
seen by the Sun*]. So he went first to Oineus in Calydon, who
offered him hospitality, and then to the Thesprotians, who drove
him from their country; but finally he arrived at the springs of
Acheloos, and was purified by him, and received his daughter,
Callirrhoe, in marriage. And on land that Acheloos had formed
by laying down his silt, he founded a city and settled there.
Later, Callirrhoe wanted to acquire the necklace and the robe,
and told Alcmaion that she would no longer live with him unless
she obtained them; so he went back to Psophis and told
Phegeus that he had been informed by an oracle* that he would
be delivered from his madness when he had taken the robe
and necklace to Delphi and dedicated them. Phegeus believed
him and handed them over; but when a servant revealed that
he was taking them to Callirrhoe, the sons of Phegeus, on their
father's orders, set an ambush for Alcmaion and killed him.
When Arsinoe rebuked them, the sons of Phegeus packed her
into a chest and carried her to Tegea, where they gave her to
Agapenor as a slave, on the false accusation that it was she
who had murdered Alcmaion. 6 When Callirrhoe learned of
Alcmaion's death, she asked Zeus (who had become her lover)
to cause the sons whom she had borne to Alcmaion to become
fully grown, and so enable them to avenge their father's mur-
der. And all of a sudden her sons were adults, and they set off
to avenge their father. It happened that Pronoos and Agenor,
the sons of Phegeus, who were taking the necklace and robe
to Delphi for dedication, called in at the house of Agapenor at
just the same time as Amphoteros and Acarnan, the sons of
Alcmaion; so the sons of Alcmaion killed their father's mur-
derers, and then went on to Psophis, where they entered the
palace and killed Phegeus and his wife. They were pursued as
far as Tegea, but were saved by the Tegeans and some Argives,
who came to their rescue and put the Psophidians to flight.
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7 When they had informed their mother of what had hap-
pened, they went to Delphi, and dedicated the necklace and
the robe, on the instructions of Acheloos. Then they travelled to
Epirus, gathered together some and founded Acarnania.*
settlers,
Euripides* says that during the time of his madness

Alcmaion had two children by Manto, daughter of Teiresias,
namely Amphilochos and a daughter, Tisiphone; and that he
took the babies to Corinth and gave them to Creon, king of
Corinth, to bring up; and because of her exceptional beauty,
Tisiphone was sold into slavery by Creon's wife, who was afraid
that Creon might take her as his wife, and she was purchased
by Alcmaion, who kept her as a servant girl without realizing
that she was his daughter; and when he returned to Corinth
to reclaim his children, he recovered his son also; and
Amphilochos, in obedience to oracles from Apollo, founded
Amphilochian Argos.*
8. Arcadian mythology (the Pelasgids)
Lycaon and his sons
8 l
Let us return now to who is described by
Pelasgos,
Acousilaos as a son of Zeus and Niobe, as we observed above,*
while Hesiod says that he was born from the earth. By
Meliboia, daughter of Oceanos, or according to others, by a
nymph, Cyllene, he had a son, Lycaon, who became king of
the Arcadians, and by many different women fathered fifty sons:*
Melaineus, Thesprotos, Helix, Nyctimos, Peucetios, Caucon,
Mecisteus, Hopleus, Macareus, Macednos, Horos, Polichos,
Acontes, Evaimon, Ancyor, Archebates, Carteron, Aigaion,
Pallas, Eumon, Canethos, Prothoos, Linos, Corethon, Main-
alos, Teleboas, Physios, Phassos, Phthios, Lycios, Halipheros,
Genetor, Boucolion, Socleus, Phineus, Eumetes, Harpaleus,
Portheus, Plato, Haimon, Cynaithos, Leon, Harpalycos, Her-
Mantineus, Cleitor, Stymphalos, and Orcho-
aieus, Titanas,
menos. They outstripped all men in arrogance and impiety;
and Zeus, wanting to test their impiety, visited them in the
guise of a labourer. They invited him to share their hospital-
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Arcadian Mythology 111.9
ity, and slaughtering a child from the local population, they
mixed his entrails into the sacrifices* and served them up to

him, at the instigation of the eldest brother, Mainalos. Zeus,
in revulsion, overturned the tableat the place which is now
known asTrapezous* and struck Lycaon and his sons with
thunderbolts, with the exception of the youngest, Nyctimos,
for Ge interceded beforehand by grasping the right hand of
Zeus and calming his anger. 2 When Nyctimos succeeded to
the throne, Deucalion's flood took place; some said that it had
been brought about by the impiety of Lycaon's sons.
Callisto and the birth of Areas; early Arcadian genealogies
According to Eumelos and some other sources, Lycaon had a

daughter too, named Callisto (though Hesiod says that she was
one of the nymphs,* Asios that she was a daughter of Nycteus,
and Pherecydes that she was a daughter of Ceteus). A com-
panion of Artemis in the hunt, she wore the same clothing,
and had sworn to her that she would remain a virgin. But Zeus
conceived a passion for her, and despite her unwillingness, had
intercourse with her, taking on the form, some say, of Artemis,
or according to others, of Apollo; and wanting Hera to remain
ignorant of the matter, he turned her into a bear. Hera per-
suaded Artemis, however, to shoot her* down as a wild beast
(though some say that Artemis shot her because she had failed
to preserve her virginity). After Callisto's death, Zeus gath-
ered up her baby son and gave him to Maia to bring up in
Arcadia, naming him Areas.* As for Callisto, he turned her
into a constellation and called it the Bear.
1
Areas had two sons,* Elatos and Apheidas, by Leaneira,
daughter of Amyclas (or by Meganeira, daughter of Crocon,
or according to Eumelos, by a nymph, Chrysopeleia). They
divided the land between them, but Elatos held all the power.
Elatos had two sons, Stymphalos and Pereus, by Laodice,
daughter of Cinyras; and Apheidas had a son, Aleos, and a
daughter, Stheneboia, who became the wife of Proitos. Aleos
in turn had a daughter, Auge, and two sons, Cepheus and
Lycourgos, by Neaira, daughter of Pereus.
Auge was raped by Heracles,* and hid her baby in the
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sanctuary of Athene, whose priesthood she held. When the

land became infertile and the oracles revealed that there was
something sacrilegious in the sanctuary of Athene, she was
found out, and delivered by her father to Nauplios to be put to
death; but Nauplios passed her on to Teuthras, the ruler of the
Mysians, who married her. Her baby was exposed on Mount
Parthenion, where a doe offered him her teat, which is how he
came to be called Telephos. After he had been reared by the
herdsmen of Corythos, he went to Delphi in the hope of dis-
covering his parents, and following the advice of the god, he
made his way to Mysia, where he became the adopted son of
Teuthras, and later, when Teuthras died, his successor as king.
Atalante
2 Lycourgos had four sons, Ancaios, Epochos, Amphidamas,

and Iasos, by Cleophyle or Eurynome. Amphidamas had a son,
Melanion, and a daughter, Antimache, who became the wife
of Eurystheus. Iasos and Clymene, daughter of Minyas, had
a daughter, Atalante.* She was exposed by her father, who
desired male children, but a she-bear came along frequently
to suckle her until she was discovered by some hunters, who
brought her up amongst themselves. When she was fully
grown, Atalante preserved her virginity, and spent her time
hunting in the wilderness, arms in hand. The Centaurs
Rhoicos and Hylaios tried to rape her, but she shot them down
with her arrows and killed them. She was present, moreover,
amongst the heroes at the hunt for the Calydonian boar,* and
at the games held in honour of Pelias* she wrestled with
Peleus and defeated him. Later she discovered her parents, and
when her father tried to persuade her to marry, she went to a
place which was well fitted to be a race-course, and halfway
along it she placed a three-cubit stake. From this point, she
caused her suitors to set out in advance of her in a race, which

she would run fully armed; and if she caught up with any of
the suitors, his penalty was death on the spot, and if she did
not, hisreward was marriage. When many suitors had already
perished, Melanion fell in love with her and arrived to take
part in the race. He brought with him some golden apples*
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Laconian and Trojan mythology m.io
which he had acquired from Aphrodite, and as Atalante was

chasing after him, he threw them down; and when Atalante
delayed to pick them up, she was defeated in the race. So
Melanion became her husband. And one day, so it is said, while
they were out hunting, they entered the sanctuary of Zeus, and
when they ventured to make love there, they were turned into
lions.
According to Hesiod and some other sources, Atalante was
a daughter not of Iasos, but of Schoineus, while according to
Euripides, she was a daughter of Mainalos, and her husband
was not Melanion, but Hippomenes. She bore to Melanion (or
Ares) a son, Parthenopaios, who took part in the expedition
against Thebes.
9. Laconian and Trojan mythology (the Atlantids)
The Pleiades
10 l
To Atlas and Pleione, daughter of Oceanos, seven daughters
were born at Cyllene in Arcadia, who were known as the
Pleiades,* namely, Alcyone, Merope, Celaino, Electra, Sterope,
Taygete, and Maia. Of these, Sterope became the wife of
Oinomaos, and Merope the wife of Sisyphos; and Poseidon
had intercourse with two of them, first with Celaino, who bore
him a son, Lycos, whom he settled in the Isles of the Blessed,
and secondly with Alcyone, who bore him a daughter, Aithousa
(who bore Eleuther to Apollo), and two sons, Hyrieus and
Hyperenor. Hyrieus and a nymph, Clonie, had two sons,
Nycteus and Lycos; and by Polyxo, Nycteus became the father
of Antiope, who bore Zethos and Amphion to Zeus.
The birth and early exploits of Hermes
2 Zeus had intercourse with the three remaining daughters of

them, Maia, had slept with him, she
Atlas. After the eldest of
gave birth to Hermes* in a cave on Mount Cyllene. He was
laid on a winnowing fan in his swaddling clothes, but freed
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himself from them and made his way to Pieria,* where he stole
the cattle which were being pastured there by Apollo. So as
not to be given away by their tracks, he put shoes over their
feet, and took them to Pylos, where he concealed them in a
cave, except for two that he sacrificed. He nailed the skins of
these to some rocks, and some of their flesh he boiled and ate,
and some of it he burned; and he then returned swiftly to
Cyllene. And in front of the cave there, he found a tortoise
grazing. Clearing out the shell, he stretched across it some strings
made from the guts of the sacrificed cattle; and after creating
a lyre by this means, he also invented the plectrum.
As Apollo was searching for his cattle, he arrived in Pylos
and questioned the inhabitants. They said that they had seen
a boy driving the cattle away, but were unable to say where
they had been driven, because they could find no tracks.
Discovering the identity of the thief by divination, Apollo went
to Maia in Cyllene and accused Hermes. She pointed to him
in his swaddling clothes; and Apollo took him to Zeus, and
demanded the return of his cattle. When Zeus ordered him to
give them back, Hermes denied that he had them, but meet-
ing with disbelief, he took Apollo to Pylos and handed the
cattle back. On hearing his lyre, however, Apollo gave him the
cattle in and while Hermes was pasturing them,
exchange for it;
he made a shepherd's pipe and played on that. Wanting to

acquire the pipe as well, Apollo offeredhim the golden staff
that he possessed as a herdsman. But as well as receiving this
in exchange for the pipe, Hermes wanted to acquire the art
of divination also. So he handed over the pipe, and learned
from Apollo how to divine by the use of pebbles.* And Zeus
made him his own herald and herald to the gods of the
Underworld.*
Early Lacedaimonian genealogies; the story of Asclepios
3 Taygete bore to Zeus Lacedaimon, from whom the

a son,
land of Lacedaimon derives name; and by Sparta, daugh-
its
ter of Eurotas (who was a son of Lelex,* who had been born
from the earth, and of Cleochareia, a naiad nymph), Lace-
daimon had a son, Amyclas, and a daughter, Eurydice, who
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Laconian and Trojan Mythology m.io
became the wife of Acrisios. Amyclas and Diomede, daughter

of Lapithes, had two sons, Cynortas and Hyacinthos.* This
last is said to have been the beloved of Apollo, who acciden-
tally killed him when throwing a discus. Cynortas had a son,
Perieres, who married Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus, accord-
ing to Stesichoros, and fathered Tyndareus, Icarios, Aphareus,
and Leucippos. Aphareus* and Arene, daughter of Oibalos,
had three sons, Lynceus, Idas, and Peisos; but it is said by
many that the father of Idas was in fact Poseidon. Lynceus was
remarkable for the sharpness of his sight, which was so acute
that he could even see what lay beneath the earth. Leucippos
had two daughters, Hilaeira and Phoebe, who were carried off
by the Dioscuri, and became their wives.
In addition to these, he had a third daughter, Arsinoe,
who gave birth to Asclepios after Apollo had made love with
her. Some say, however, that Asclepios was not the daughter
of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippos, but rather of Coronis,*
daughter of Phlegyas in Thessaly; and they say that Apollo fell
in love with her and immediately had intercourse with her,
but that she, against her father's wishes, preferred Ischys, the
brother of Caineus, and became his wife. Apollo cursed the
crow that brought him this news, and turned it black, instead
of white as had been hitherto. Coronis he put to death; and
it
as she was consigned to the flames, he seized her [unborn] baby

from the pyre, and took him to Cheiron the Centaur, who
brought him up and taught him the arts of medicine and hunt-
ing. Asclepios became a surgeon, and he developed the art to
such a degree that he not only prevented some people from
dying, but even raised them from the dead. For he had re-
ceived from Athene blood that had flowed from the veins of
the Gorgon; and he used the blood that had flowed from the
veins on the left side* to put people to death, and that which
—
had flowed from the right, to save them and it was by this
means that he raised the dead. 4 But Zeus, fearing that hu-
man beings would acquire the art of healing from him and be
able to come one another's rescue, struck him down* with
to
a thunderbolt.Angered by this, Apollo killed the Cyclopes who
had forged the thunderbolt* for Zeus. As Zeus was about to
hurl him into Tartaros, Leto interceded on his behalf, and he
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ordered him instead to serve a man as a labourer for a year.

So Apollo went to Admetos,* son of Pheres, at Pherae, and
served him as a herdsman, causing all his cows to deliver twins
at every birth.
Tyndareus, Leda, and their children
But there are those who say that Aphareus and Leucippos were
born to Perieres, son of Aiolos, and that Perieres, son of
Cynortas, was the father of Oibalos, who fathered Tyndareus,
Hippocoon, and Icarios by a naiad nymph, Bateia.*
5 Hippocoon became father of the following sons: Dorycleus,
Scaios, Enarophoros, Euteiches, Boucolos, Lycaithos, Tebros,

Hippothoos, Eurytos, Hippocorystes, Alcinous, and Alcon.
With the help of his sons, Hippocoon expelled Icarios and
Tyndareus* from Lacedaimon. They took refuge with Thestios,*
and joined him as allies in the war he was waging against his
neighbours; and Tyndareus married Thestios' daughter, Leda.
Afterwards, however, when Heracles had killed Hippocoon and
his sons,* they returned to Lacedaimon and Tyndareus suc-
ceeded to the throne.
6 Icarios and a naiad nymph, Periboia, had five sons, Thoas,
Damasippos, Imeusimos, Aletes, and Perileos, and a daughter,

Penelope, who became the wife of Odysseus; Tyndareus and
Leda had some daughters, namely, Timandra, who became the
wife of Echemos, and Clytemnestra, who became the wife of
Agamemnon, and also Phylonoe, who was made immortal by
Artemis.
7
Taking the form of a swan, Zeus had intercourse with Leda,
as did Tyndareus on the same night, and she bore Polydeuces
and Helen to Zeus, and Castor* [and Clytemnestra*] to Tyn-
dareus. According to some, however, Helen was a daughter of
Zeus by Nemesis;* for when Nemesis tried to avoid intercourse
with Zeus by changing herself into a goose, Zeus in turn took
the form of a swan and had intercourse with her. As the fruit
of their intercourse, she laid an egg, which was discovered in
the woods by a shepherd, who took it to Leda and presented
it to her. She placed it in a chest and kept it safe, and when
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1
Laconian and Trojan Mythology in. 1
in due time Helen hatched out, Leda brought her up as her

own daughter.
Helen and her suitors
Helen grew into a girl of such remarkable beauty that Theseus

carried her off and took her to Aphidnai;* but while he was
in Hades, Polydeuces and Castor marched against the city, cap-
tured it, and recovered Helen, and also took away Theseus'
mother, Aithra, as a captive.
8 The kings of Greece came to Sparta to seek the hand of
Helen. These were her suitors: Odysseus, son of Laertes; Dio-
medes, son of Tydeus; Antilochos, son of Nestor; Agapenor,
son of Ancaios; Sthenelos, son of Capaneus; Amphimachos,
son of Cteatos; Thalpios, son of Eurytos; Meges, son of
Phyleus; Amphilochos, son of Amphiaraos; Menestheus, son
of Peteos; Schedios [and] Epistrophos[, sons of Iphitos]; Poly-
xenos, son of Agasthenes; Peneleos[, son of Hippalcimos];
Leitos[, son of Alector]; Aias, son of Oileus; Ascalaphos and
Ialmenos, sons of Ares; Elephenor, son of Chalcodon; Eumelos,
son of Admetos; Polypoites, son of Peirithoos; Leonteus, son
of Coronos; Podaleirios and Machaon, sons of Asclepios;
Philoctetes, son of Poias; Eurypylos, son of Evaimon; Pro-
tesilaos, son of Iphiclos; Menelaos, son of Atreus; Aias and
Teucros, sons of Telamon; and Patroclos, son of Menoitios.
9 When Tyndareus saw the throng of suitors, he was afraid
that if he picked out one of them, the rest would turn to vio-
lence. Odysseus promised, however, that if Tyndareus would
help him to gain the hand of Penelope, he would suggest a
means by which all dissension could be averted; and when
Tyndareus promised his help, Odysseus told him to make all
the suitors swear an oath* that they would come to the aid
of the chosen bridegroom if he were ever injured by another
with regard to his marriage. On hearing this advice, Tyndareus
made the suitors swear the oath, and while he himself chose
Menelaos as a bridegroom for Helen, he asked Icarios to grant
Penelope in marriage to Odysseus.
11 l
By Helen, Menelaos had a daughter, Hermione, and accord-
ing to some accounts, a son, Nicostratos;* and by a slave- woman,
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Pieris, of Aetolian descent (or according to Acousilaos, by Tereis),

he had a son, Megapenthes, and by a nymph, Cnossia, he had,
according to Eumelos, a son, Xenodamos.
The fate of the Dioscuri

2 Of the two sons born to Leda, Castor devoted himself to the
arts of war, and Polydeuces to boxing; and because of their
valour,* the pair were called the Dioscuri. Wishing to marry
the daughters of Leucippos,* they abducted them from Mes-
sene and took them as their wives; and Polydeuces became
the father of Mnesileos by Phoebe, and Castor the father of
Anogon by Hilaeira. After driving some plundered cattle from
Arcadia with the aid of Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus,
they entrusted them to Idas for division. Cutting a cow into
four, he said that whoever ate his share first should have half
of the plunder, and the one who ate his share second should
have the remainder. And before the others had a chance, Idas
swallowed down his own portion and then his brother's
too,
and with his brother's help, drove the plunder to Messene.
The Dioscuri responded by marching against Messene and tak-
ing away the plundered cattle and much else besides; and they
waited in ambush
for Idas and Lynceus. But Lynceus caught
sight of Castor* and revealed his presence to Idas, who killed
him. Polydeuces chased after them, and killed Lynceus with a
javelin throw, but as he was pursuing Idas, he was hit on the
head by a stone that Idas had thrown, and fell unconscious.
And Zeus struck Idas with a thunderbolt and carried Poly-
deuces up to heaven; and when Polydeuces was unwilling to
accept immortality while Castor lay dead, Zeus granted that
both of them should live alternate days amongst the gods and
amongst mortals.* After the Dioscuri had been raised to the
gods, Tyndareus summoned Menelaos to Sparta and transferred
the kingdom to him.
Early Trojan mythology
12 * Electra, daughter of Atlas, had two sons, Iasion and

Dardanos, by Zeus. Iasion conceived a passion for Demeter
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Laconian and Trojan Mythology in. 12
and was struck by a thunderbolt because he wanted to vio-

late the goddess;* and Dardanos, stricken with grief at his
brother's death, left Samothrace and went to the mainland
opposite.* The king of that land was Teucros, son of the River
Scamander and a nymph, Idaia, and its inhabitants were called
the Teucrians after him. Dardanos was welcomed by the king,
and after receiving a share of the land and the king's daugh-
ter, Bateia, in marriage, he founded a city, Dardanos; and when
Teucros died, he called the whole country Dardania. 2 He

had two sons, Ilos and Erichthonios, one of whom, Ilos, died
without offspring, while the other, Erichthonios, inherited the
kingdom, married Astyoche, daughter of Simoeis, and became
the father of Tros. When Tros succeeded to the throne, he
named the country Troy* after himself, and taking Callirrhoe,
daughter of Scamander, as his wife, he had a daughter,
Cleopatra, and three sons, Ilos, Assaracos, and Ganymede. This
Ganymede* was so beautiful that Zeus used an eagle to carry
him off, and made him cupbearer to the gods in heaven.
Assaracos for his part had a son, Capys, by Hieromneme, daugh-
ter of Simoeis. And by Themiste, daughter of Ilos, Capys had
a son, Anchises, who aroused Aphrodite's amorous desire;* and
she slept with him, and gave birth to Aeneas, and to Lyros,
who died without offspring.
3 Ilos went to Phrygia, and finding that games were being
held there by the king, he became victor in the wrestling. As
a prize he received fifty boys and as many
and the king,
girls,
in obedience to an oracle, also gave him a dappled cow, telling

him to found a city at the place where the cow lay down.* So
he followed the cow, and when it arrived at a certain hill, called
the Hill of Phrygian Ate, it lay down; and there Ilos founded
a city, naming it Ilion. And he prayed to Zeus to reveal a sign
to him, and when day saw the Palladion,* which
arrived, he
had from the sky, lying outside his tent. It was three
fallen
cubits high; its feet were joined together, and in its right hand
it held a raised spear and in the other, a distaff and spindle.
This is the story that people tell about the Palladion. They
say that after her birth, Athene was brought up by Triton,*
who had a daughter, Pallas; and that both girls practised the
arts of war, and this led them into conflict one day. And when
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Pallas was about to land a blow, Zeus grew alarmed and placed
his aegis* in the way, causing Pallas to look upwards in fright
and fall victim to a fatal wound from Athene. Greatly distressed
at her Athene fashioned a wooden statue in her likeness,
loss,
and wrapping the aegis which had aroused her fear around its
chest, she set it up by Zeus' side and paid honour to it. Sub-
sequently, since Electra had sought refuge at the Palladion when
she was raped,* Zeus threw the Palladion along with Ate* into
the land of Ilion, where Ilos built a temple for it and honoured
it. That is what people say about the Palladion.
Ilos married Eurydice, daughter of Adrastos, and became

the father of Laomedon, who married Strymo, daughter of
Scamander (though according to some, his wife was Placia,
daughter of Otreus, or according to others, Leucippe). Laome-
don had five sons, Tithonos, Lampos, Clytios, Hicetaon, and
Podarces, and three daughters, Hesione, Cilia, and Astyoche;
and by a nymph, Calybe, he had a son, Boucolion.
4 Dawn so loved Tithonos* that she carried him off and
took him to Ethiopia, where she slept with him and gave birth
to two sons, Emathion and Memnon.
Priam, Hecuba, and their children
5 After Ilion was captured by Heracles, as we mentioned* some-

what earlier, Podarces, afterwards known as Priam, became king
there. He took as his first wife Arisbe, daughter of Merops, by
whom he had a son, Aisacos, who married Asterope, daughter
of Cebren, and so mourned for her when she died that he
was turned into a bird.* Priam later gave Arisbe to Hyrtacos,
and took as his second wife Hecuba, daughter of Dymas (or
according to some, the daughter of Cisseus, or according to
others, of the River Sangarios and Metope). The first child
born to her was Hector; and when her second child was about
to be born, Hecuba had a dream* in which she gave birth to
a firebrand and the fire spread through the whole city and burned
it down. When Priam learned of the dream from Hecuba,
he sent for his son Aisacos, who could interpret dreams be-
cause he had been taught the art by his maternal grandfather
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Laconian and Trojan Mythology Hi. 12
Merops. Aisacos said that the birth of the child meant the ruin
of his country, and advised that the baby should be exposed.
So when the baby was born, Priam gave it to a servant (Agelaos
by name) to be taken to Mount Ida for exposure; and after it
had been exposed by him, the baby was suckled for five days
by a bear. When Agelaos found the child still alive, he picked
him up and took him home to rear in the country as his
own son, naming him Paris. When he grew up to be a young
man, Paris, who was superior to many in beauty and strength,
acquired the further name of Alexander, for warding off rob-
bers and protecting* the flocks. And not long afterwards he redis-
covered his parents.*
After Paris, Hecuba gave birth to some daughters, Creousa,
Laodice, Polyxene, and Cassandra. Apollo wanted to sleep
with Cassandra and promised to teach her the art of pro-
phecy;* but after she had learned it, she refused to sleep with
him. In response, Apollo deprived her prophecies of all power
to convince. Afterwards, Hecuba had eight sons, Deiphobos,
Helenos, Pammon, Polites, Antiphos, Hipponoos, Polydoros,
—
and Troilos she is said to have borne this last to Apollo.
And by other women Priam had further sons, Melanippos,
Gorgythion, Philaimon, Hippothoos, Glaucos, Agathon,
Chersidamas, Evagoras, Hippodamas, Mestor, Atas, Doryclos,
Lycaon, Dryops, Bias, Chromios, Astygonos, Telestas, Evan-
dros, Cebriones, Mylios, Archemachos, Laodocos, Echephron,
Idomeneus, Hyperion, Ascanios, Democoon, Aretos, Deiopites,
Clonios, Echemmon, Hypeirochos, Aigeoneus, Lysithoos, and
Polymedon, and also some daughters, Medusa, Medesicaste,
Lysimache, and Aristodeme.
6 Hector married Andromache, daughter of Eetion, and
Alexander married Oinone, daughter of the River Cebren.

Oinone had learnt the art of prophecy from Rhea, and warned
Alexander not to sail for Helen; but when she failed to con-
vince him, she told him to come to her if he were ever wound-
ed,* for she alone could cure him. When he had abducted Helen
from Sparta and Troy was under attack, he was struck by an
arrow that Philoctetes had shot from the bow of Heracles, and
made his way back to Oinone on Mount Ida. But she was bit-
ter at the wrong she had suffered and refused to cure him. So
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Alexander was carried off to Troy, where he died; and when

Oinone had a change of heart and brought the remedies for
his cure, she found him already dead and hanged herself.
10. The Asopids
Aiacos in Aegina
The River Asopos was a son of Oceanos and Tethys, or,

according to Acousilaos, of Pero and Poseidon, or, according
to some accounts, of Zeus and Eurynome. Metope, who was
herself a daughter of the River Ladon, married Asopos and
bore him two sons, Ismenos and Pelagon, and twenty daugh-
ters, one of whom, Aegina, was carried off by Zeus. Asopos
set out to find her, and arriving in Corinth, he learned from
Sisyphos* that her abductor was Zeus. When Asopos tried to
pursue him, Zeus sent him back to his own stream by hurling
thunderbolts at him (and because of that, coals are collected
to this very day from the waters of the Asopos). Zeus took
Aegina away to the island that was then known as Oinone, but
is now named Aegina after her, where he slept with her and
had a son, Aiacos, by her. Because Aiacos was alone on the

island, Zeus turned the ants into people* for him; and he mar-
ried Endeis, daughter of Sceiron, who bore him two sons, Peleus
and Telamon. Pherecydes says, however, that Telamon was a
friend of Peleus rather than a brother, and that he was in fact
a son of Actaios and Glauce, daughter of Cychreus. Afterwards
Aiacos had intercourse with Psamathe, daughter of Nereus,
who turned herself into a seal* in the hope of escaping his
embraces, and he fathered a son, Phocos.
Of all men Aiacos was the most pious, and for that reason,
when Greece was gripped by infertility because of Pelops (who
had made war against Stymphalos, king of the Arcadians, and
finding himself unable to conquer Arcadia, had feigned friend-
ship with the king and then killed and dismembered him and
scattered his limbs), oracles from the gods proclaimed that
Greece would be delivered from its present afflictions if Aiacos
offered prayers on its behalf; and when he offered the prayers,
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The Asopids ill. 13
Greece was delivered from its barrenness.* After his death,

Aiacos is honoured in the realm of Pluto also and guards the
kevs of Hades.*
The exile of Peleus and Telamon
Because Phocos excelled in the games, his brothers, Peleus

and Telamon, plotted against him; and when Telamon was
selected in the lot, he killed his brother* by hurling a discus
head while they were exercising together, and then, with
at his
the help of Peleus, he carried thebody away and hid it in a

wood. But the murder was discovered and they were exiled
from Aegina by Aiacos.
7 Telamon went to the court of Cychreus in Salamis.
Cychreus, the son of [Poseidon and] Salamis, daughter of
Asopos, had gained the throne by killing a snake which was
devastating the island; and when he died without offspring, he
left the throne to Telamon. And Telamon married Periboia,
daughter of Alcathous, son of Pelops; and because Heracles
had prayed that he would have a male child and after his prayers
an eagle had appeared, Telamon called the son who was born
to him Aias* He then accompanied Heracles on his expedi-
tion against Troy, and received as a prize Hesione, daughter
of Laomedon, who bore him a son, Teucros.
Peleus in Phthia, Calydon, and Iolcos
13 l
Peleus for his part fled to Phthia, to the court of Eurytion,
son of Actor, and was purified by him and received from him
his daughter, Antigone, and a third of the country; and a daugh-
ter, Polydora, was born to him, who became the wife of Boros,
son of Perieres. 2 From there he went with Eurytion to join
the hunt for the Calydonian boar, but as he threw a javelin at
the boar, he struck Eurytion instead, and accidentally killed
him. So he went into exile again, leaving Phthia for Iolcos,
where he arrived at the court of Acastos and was purified by
him. 3 And he competed at the games held in honour of Pelias,
wrestling with Atalante.
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Astydameia, the wife of Acastos,

fell in love with Peleus and
sent message proposing an assignation. When she was

him a
unable to persuade him, she sent word to his wife saying that
he was intending to marry Sterope, the daughter of Acastos;
and when his wife heard this, she hanged herself. Astydameia
also made false accusations to her husband against Peleus,
claiming that he had tried to seduce her. When he heard this,
Acastos, who was unwilling to kill a man whom he had
purified, took him hunting on Mount Pelion. There they com-
peted in the chase, and Peleus cut out the tongues of the ani-
mals caught by him and put them in his pouch, while Acastos
and his companions picked up his prey and made fun of
Peleus, alleging that he had failed to catch anything. He pro-
duced the tongues, however, and told them that he had killed
as many beasts as he had tongues. When Peleus fell asleep on
Mount Pelion, Acastos left him, concealing his sword* in a
pile of cow dung, and returned home. On arising, Peleus tried
to find his sword, and while he was doing so, he was caught
by the Centaurs; and he would shortly have lost his life if he
had not been saved by Cheiron, who also searched for his sword
and restored it to him.
The marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and early life of Achilles

4 Peleus married Polydora, daughter of Perieres, who bore
a son, Menesthios, nominally to Peleus, but in reality to the
River Spercheios.*5 Later he married Thetis, the daughter of
Nereus. Zeus and Poseidon had competed for her hand, only
to withdraw when Themis had prophesied that the son born
to her would be more powerful than his father. It is said by
some, however, that when Zeus was set on having intercourse
with her, he was told by Prometheus* that the son she would
bear to him would become the ruler of heaven; while accord-
ing to others,* Thetis was unwilling to have intercourse with
Zeus because she had been brought up by Hera, and in his
anger at this, Zeus wanted to marry her to a mortal. Now Peleus
had been advised by Cheiron to seize her and keep a firm grip
on her; however, she changed her shape, so he lay in wait and
caught hold of her, and though she changed now into fire, now
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The Asopids m.13
into water, now into a wild beast, he never loosened his grip
until she had returned to her original form. And he married
her on Mount Pelion, and the gods celebrated his wedding there
with feasting and songs. Cheiron gave Peleus an ash wood spear,
and Poseidon gave him two horses,* Balios and Xanthos, of
immortal stock.
6 When Thetis gave birth to a child by Peleus, she wanted
to make it immortal, and in secret from Peleus, she used to

bury it in the fire by night to destroy the mortal element in
its nature that came from its father, and rubbed it by day with
ambrosia. But Peleus kept a watch on her, and shouted out

when he saw the child squirming in the fire; and Thetis, frus-
trated in her purpose, abandoned her infant son and went back
to the Nereids.* Peleus delivered the child to Cheiron, who
took him in, and fed him on the entrails of lions and wild boars
—
and the marrow of bears, and named him Achilles his former
—
name was Ligyron because he had not applied his lips* to a
breast.
7 After this, Peleus sacked Iolcos with the help of Jason
and the Dioscuri, and slaughtering Astydameia,* the wife of
Acastos, he cut her body limb from limb and led his army into
the city through her remains.
8 When Achilles was nine years old, Calchas declared that
—
Troy could not be taken without him, but Thetis who knew
in advance that he was fated to be killed if he joined the
expedition— disguised him in women's clothing and entrusted
him to Lycomedes* in the semblance of a young girl. While
he was growing up at his court, Achilles had intercourse with
Deidameia, the daughter of Lycomedes, and a son, Pyrrhos,
was born to him, who was later called Neoptolemos.* Achilles'
whereabouts were betrayed, however, and Odysseus, search-
ing for him at the court of Lycomedes, discovered him by caus-
ing a trumpet to be sounded.* And so it came about that Achilles
went to Troy.
Phoenix, son of Amyntor, accompanied him. Phoenix had
been blinded by his father when Phthia, his father's concu-
bine,had falsely accused him of having seduced her;* but Peleus
had taken him to Cheiron, who cured his eyes, and had made
him king of the Dolopians.
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Achilles was also accompanied by Patroclos, son of Menoitios

and of Sthenele, daughter of Acastos, or of Periopis, daughter
of Pheres, or according to Philocrates, of Polymele, daughter
of Peleus. At Opous, during an argument over a game of
knucklebones, Patroclos had killed a boy,* Cleitonymos, son
of Amphidamas, and had fled with his father to live at the court
of Peleus, where Achilles had become his lover.*
//. The kings of Athens
Cecrops and his descendants; the story of Adonis
14 l
Cecrops, who was born from the earth and had the body of
a man and was the first king of Athens,
a serpent joined into one,
and he named the land, which was known as Acte in earlier
days, Cecropia after himself. During his time, they say, the
gods decided to take possession of where each of them
cities
would be honoured with his own So Poseidon was

special cult.
the first to come to Attica, and striking a blow with his trident
on the middle of the Acropolis, he caused a sea to appear, which
is now known as the Erechtheid Sea.* After Poseidon, Athene
arrived; and taking Cecrops as her witness, she claimed pos-

session by planting an olive tree, which is still shown to visi-
tors in the Pandroseion.* When the two of them entered into
conflict for possession of the land, Zeus separated them, and
appointed as judges, not Cecrops and Cranaos as some have
claimed, nor Erysichthon, but the twelve gods. In accordance
with their decision, the country was awarded to Athene, be-
cause Cecrops had testified thatwas she who had first planted
it
the olive tree. So Athene named the

city Athens after herself,
while Poseidon, in a rage, flooded the Thriasian plain* and
submerged Attica under the sea.
2 Cecrops married Agraulos, the daughter of Actaios,* and
had a son, Erysichthon, who died without offspring, and three

daughters, Agraulos, Herse, and Pandrosos. Agraulos in turn
had a daughter, Alcippe, by Ares. When Halirrhothios, son of
130
The kings of Athens ill. 14
Poseidon and a nymph, Euryte, tried to rape Alcippe, he was

caught in the act by Ares and killed by him. Poseidon brought
charges against Ares, who was tried on the Areiopagos* before
the twelve gods, and was acquitted.
3 Herse had by Hermes. Dawn fell in love
a son, Cephalos,
with him and carried him and after having intercourse with
off;
him in Sicily, she bore him a son, Tithonos, who in turn had
a son, Phaethon,* whose son Astynoos had a son, Sandocos,
who left Syria for Cilicia, where he founded a city, Celenderis,
and after marrying Pharnace, daughter of Megassares, king of
Hyria, became the father of Cinyras. Arriving in Cyprus with
some followers, Cinyras founded Paphos, where he married
Metharme, daughter of Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, and became
the father of Oxyporos and Adonis, and had three daughters
in addition, Orsedice, Laogore, and Braisia. Victims of Aphrodite's
wrath, his daughters slept with foreigners* and finished their
lives in Egypt.
4 Through the anger of Artemis, Adonis died in a hunt while
he was still a young boy, from a wound inflicted by a boar.
According to Hesiod, however, he was a son [not of Cinyras
but] of Phoenix and Alphesiboia, while according to Panyasis,
he was a son of Theias,* king of Assyria, who had a daughter
called Smyrna. And this Smyrna, through the wrath of Aph-
rodite (whom she had failed to honour), conceived a passion
for her father, and enlisting the aid of her nurse, shared her
father's bed for twelve nights before he realized who she was.
But when he found out, he drew his sword and chased after
her. As he caught up with her, she prayed to the gods to be
made invisible; and the gods, taking pity on her, turned her
into a tree of the kind known as a Smyrna [or myrrh tree]. Ten
months later the tree burst open and Adonis, as he is called,
was brought to birth. Struck by his beauty, Aphrodite, in secret
from the gods, hid him in a chest while he was still a little
child, and entrusted him to Persephone. But when Persephone
caught sight of him, she refused to give him back. The mat-
ter was submitted to the judgement of Zeus; and dividing the
year into three parts, he decreed that Adonis should spend a
third of the year by himself, a third with Persephone, and the
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remaining third with Aphrodite (but Adonis assigned his own

share also to Aphrodite). Later, however, while he was hunt-
ing, Adonis was wounded by a boar and died.
Three early kings: Cranaos, Amphictyon, and Erichthonios
5 When Cecrops died, Cranaos [became king]. He was born

from the earth, and it was during his reign that Deucalion's
flood is said to have taken place. He married a woman from
Lacedaimon, Pedias, daughter of Mynes, who bore him Cranae,
Cranaichme, and Atthis. This Atthis died while still a young
girl, and Cranaos named the country Attica after her.
6 Cranaos was driven out by Amphictyon, who took over
the throne. Some call him a son of Deucalion, while others say
that he was born from the earth. When he had ruled for twelve
years, Erichthonios drove him out. Some say that Erichthonios
was a son of Hephaistos and Atthis, daughter of Cranaos, while
according to others, he was born to Hephaistos and Athene,*
in the following way. Athene visited Hephaistos, wanting to
fashion some arms. But Hephaistos, who had been deserted by
Aphrodite, yielded to his desire for Athene and began to chase
after her, while the goddess for her part tried to escape. When
he caught up with her at the expense of much effort (for he
was lame), he tried to make love with her. But she, being chaste
and a virgin, would not permit it, and he ejaculated over the
goddess's leg. In disgust, she wiped the semen away with a
piece of wool* and threw it to the ground. As she was fleeing,
Erichthonios came to birth from the seed that had fallen on
the earth. Athene reared the child in secret from the other gods,
wishing to make him immortal; and placing him in a chest,
she entrusted it to Pandrosos, the daughter of Cecrops, telling
her not to open it. Out of however, the sisters of
curiosity,
Pandrosos opened it, and beheld a snake* lying coiled beside
the baby; and according to some, they were destroyed by the
snake itself, while according to others, they were driven mad
through the anger of Athene and hurled themselves from the
Acropolis. After Erichthonios had been brought up by Athene
herself within her sanctuary,* he expelled Amphictyon and be-
came king of Athens. He erected the wooden image of Athene*
132
The kings of Athens ill. 14
on the Acropolis, and founded the festival of the Panathenaia;*

and he married Praxithea, a naiad nymph, who bore him a son,
Pandion.
Pandion I and his children; Icarios and Erigone; Tereus,

Procne, and Philomela
7 When Erichthonios died, he was buried in the same precinct
of Athene, and Pandion became king. It was during his reign
that Demeter and Dionysos came to Attica. But Demeter was
welcomed by Celeos at Eleusis,* and Dionysos by Icarios, who
received a vine-cutting from the god and learned the art of
wine-making. Wanting to pass the god's blessings on to man-
kind, Icarios visited some shepherds, who, after a taste of the
drink, enjoyed it so much that they drank it down in quanti-
ties without water, and then, imagining that they had been poi-
soned, killed Icarios. When day came and they were sober again,
they buried him. While his daughter, Erigone, was searching
for her father, a pet dog named Maira, which had accompanied
him, revealed his dead body to her; and in her grief for her
father, she hanged herself.
8 Pandion married his mother's sister, Zeuxippe, and
fathered two daughters, Procne and Philomela, and twin sons,
Erechtheus and Boutes. When war broke out with Labdacos*
over the boundaries of the land, he summoned Tereus, son of
Ares, to his assistance from Thrace, and after he had brought
the war to a successful conclusion with his help, he gave
Tereus his own daughter, Procne, in marriage. Tereus had a
son, Itys, by her, but he conceived a passion for Philomela also,
and raped her; and telling her that Procne was dead, he hid
her away in the country* and cut out her tongue. But she wove
characters into a robe and used these to reveal her sufferings
to Procne. After recovering her sister, Procne killed her son,
Itys, boiled him, and served him as a meal to her unknowing
husband; and then she fled in all haste with her sister. When
Tereus realized what had happened, he snatched up an axe
and set out in pursuit. Finding themselves overtaken as they
reached Daulis in Phocis,* the sisters prayed to the gods to be
turned into birds. Procne became a nightingale, and Philomela
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a swallow;* and Tereus, who was also transformed into a bird,

became a hoopoe.
15 l
When
Pandion died, his sons divided the paternal inher-
itance between them, Erechtheus taking the kingdom, and
Boutes the priesthood of Athene and Poseidon Erechtheus.*
And Erechtheus married Praxithea, the daughter of Phrasimos
and Diogeneia, daughter of Cephisos, and had three sons,
Cecrops, Pandoros, and Metion, and four daughters, Procris,
Creousa, Chthonia, and Oreithuia, who was carried off by Boreas.
Procris and Cephalos; Oreithuia and her children
Chthonia was married to Boutes, Creousa to Xouthos, and

Procris to Cephalos, son of Deion. In return for a golden crown,
Procris went to bed with Pteleon;* and when she was caught
by Cephalos, she fled to Minos, who fell in love with her and
urged her to have intercourse with him. Now if a woman had
intercourse with Minos, it was impossible for her to come out
alive; for Minos had been unfaithful with so many women that
Pasiphae had put a spell on him, and whenever he slept with

another woman, Minos discharged harmful beasts* into her
genitals,and the women died as a result. But Minos had a fast-
running dog* and a javelin that never missed its mark, and to
obtain these, Procris gave him a drink from the Circaean root*
to prevent him from causing her any harm, and then went to
bed with him. Afterwards, however, through fear of Pasiphae,
she returned to Athens. Becoming reconciled with Cephalos,
she accompanied him when he went hunting (for she was her-
self a skilful hunter). But as she was chasing a beast in the
thicket, Cephalos threw his javelin without realizing that she
was and hit Procris, causing her death. He was tried for
there,
this in the Areiopagos and condemned to perpetual exile.
2 While Oreithuia was playing by the River Ilissos, Boreas
carried her off* and had intercourse with her; and she gave
birth to two daughters, Cleopatra and Chione, and two winged
sons, Zetes and Calais, who sailed with Jason and met their
death while pursuing the Harpies* (or according to Acousilaos,
were killed by Heracles* on Tenos). 3 Phineus married Cleopatra,
and had two sons by her, Plexippos and Pandion. After hav-
134
The kings of Athens 111.15
ing these sons by Cleopatra, he married Idaia, daughter of

Dardanos, and when she came to Phineus with false allega-
tions that her stepsons had tried to seduce her, Phineus be-
lieved her and blinded them both. The Argonauts, as they sailed
by with Boreas, punished him for this.*
Eumolpos, and the war with Eleusis; the exile of Pandion II
4 Chione had intercourse with Poseidon. In secret from her

father, she gave birth to Eumolpos, and to escape discovery,
threw the child into the sea. But Poseidon recovered him, and
taking him to Ethiopia, entrusted him to Benthesicyme (a
daughter of his by Amphitrite) to bring up. When he was of
age, the husband of Benthesicyme gave him one of their two
daughters as a wife; but he tried to rape his wife's sister, and
for that reason, he was banished from the land. Accompanied
by his son Ismaros, he went to Tegyrios, king of Thrace, who
offered his daughter in marriage to Eumolpos' son. Later when
he plotted against Tegyrios and was detected, he fled to the
Eleusinians* and made friends with them. Subsequently, on
the death of Ismaros, he was summoned back by Tegyrios, and
on his return, he resolved their former differences, and suc-
ceeded him on the throne.
When war broke out between the Athenians and the
Eleusinians, and the Eleusinians asked him to come to their
aid, he fought as their ally with a large force of Thracians.
Erechtheus consulted the oracle about how the Athenians
could achieve victory, and the god declared that they would
be successful in the war if he slaughtered one of his daugh-
ters. And when he slaughtered the youngest, the others killed
themselves too; for they had sworn a pact, some people said,
to die together. In the battle that followed the sacrifice,
Erechtheus killed Eumolpos; 5 but Poseidon destroyed
Erechtheus* and his house, and Cecrops, the eldest of the sons
of Erechtheus, then became king. He married Metiadousa,
daughter of Eupalamos, and fathered a son, Pandion. And
Pandion ruled after Cecrops, but he was expelled by the sons
of Metion in a revolt, and went to the court of Pylas in
Megara, where he married the king's daughter, Pylia. Later he
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was even made king of the city; for Pylas, after killing his father's
brother Bias, transferred the kingdom to Pandion,* while he

himself departed to the Peloponnese with some of his people
and founded the city of Pvlos.*
Aigeus and the conception of Theseus
During his time in Megara, Pandion had the following sons,

Aigeus, Pallas, Nisos, and Lycos (though some claim that
Aigeus was a son of Scyrios, who was passed off by Pandion
as his own son). 6 After the death of Pandion, his sons
marched
on Athens, expelled the sons of Metion, and divided the king-
dom all the power. He married as
into four; but Aigeus held
his first wife Meta, daughter of Hoples, and as his second,
Chalciope, daughter of Rhexenor. When he failed to have a
child, he grew afraid of his brothers, and went to Pytho* to
ask the oracle how he could have children. The god replied:
The bulging mouth of the wineskin,* most excellent of men,

Untie it not until you have arrived at the height of Athens.
7 Baffled by the oracle, he departed again for Athens, trav-

elling by way of Troezen,* where he stayed with Pittheus, son
of Pelops; and Pittheus, grasping the sense of the oracle, made
Aigeus drunk and ensured that he went to bed with his daugh-
ter, Aithra. On the same night Poseidon slept with her too.*
Aigeus gave instructions to Aithra, telling her that if she gave

birth to a male child, she should bring him up without telling
him who his father was; and, leaving a sword and a pair of
sandals under a rock, he said that when her son could roll the
rock aside and recover them, she should send her son to him
bearing these tokens.
The war with Minos and the origin of the tribute to the
Minotaur
Aigeus himself returned to Athens, where he celebrated the

games of the Panathenaia. During these games, Androgeos, the
son of Minos, defeated all others, and Aigeus sent him to con-
front the bull of Marathon,* which killed him. According to
136
The kings of Athens m.15
some accounts, however, as he was travelling to Thebes to take

part in the games held in honour of Laios, he was ambushed
by his fellow competitors, and murdered out of jealousy. Minos
received the news of his death as he was sacrificing to the Graces
in Paros. He cast the garland from his head and silenced the
flutes, but completed the sacrifice none the less; that is why,
even to this day, they sacrifice to the Graces in Paros with-

out flutes and garlands. 8 Not long afterwards, being master
of the sea, Minos attacked Athens with a fleet; and he cap-
tured Megara, which was then under the rule of Nisos, a son
of Pandion, and killed Megareus,* son of Hippomenes, who
had come from Onchestos to the aid of Nisos. Nisos met his
death also, through the treachery of his daughter. For he had
a purple hair on the middle of his head, and an oracle had
declared that if it were pulled out, he would die; and his daugh-
ter Scylla, who had fallen in love with Minos, pulled the hair
out. But when Minos had gained control of Megara, he tied
the girl by her feet to the prow of a ship and drowned her.*
When the war dragged on and he was unable to capture
Athens, Minos prayed to Zeus to grant him vengeance on
the Athenians. The city was then afflicted by a famine and a
plague. First, obeying an ancient oracle, the Athenians slaugh-
tered the daughters of Hyacinthos, Antheis, Aigleis, Lytaia,
and Orthaia, on the grave of Geraistos the Cyclops. (Their father,
Hyacinthos,* had come from Lacedaimon to settle in Athens.)
But when this had no effect, they asked the oracle how they
could be rid of their troubles, and the god replied that they
should offer Minos whatever satisfaction he chose. So they sent
a deputation to Minos, and allowed him to claim a penalty at
his own discretion; and Minos ordered them to send seven boys
and seven girls, all unarmed, to serve as food for the Minotaur.
Now the Minotaur was confined in a labyrinth,* and anyone
who entered it found it impossible to escape, for its maze of
winding ways ensured that the way out remained undiscover-
able. It was constructed by Daidalos, son of Eupalamos, son
of Metion and Alcippe. 9 For Daidalos was an excellent archi-
tect and the first man to invent statues, and he had fled from
Athens because he had hurled Talos, the son of his sister Perdix,
from the Acropolis. This Talos was his pupil, and he was so
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ill. 1 The Library
gifted that Daidalos was afraid that he would be outshone by

him, since Talos, using a snake's jawbone* that he had found,
had managed to saw through a thin piece of wood. After the
corpse was discovered, Daidalos was tried in the Areiopagos,
and when he was found guilty, went into exile at the court of
Minos, t
The labours of Theseus, and his arrival at Athens
16 l
Aithra bore to Aigeus a son, Theseus.* When he was fully
grown, he pushed back the rock, recovered the sandals and the
sword,* and hurried on foot to Athens; and he cleared the road,*
which was beset by evildoers. First, in Epidauros he killed
Periphetes, son of Hephaistos and Anticleia, who was referred
to as Corynetes* [or the Club-Man] because of the club that
he carried; for being weak on his feet, he carried an iron club,
and used it to kill passers-by. Theseus seized the club from
Periphetes and carried it himself ever after. 2 Secondly, he killed
Sinis, son of Polypemon and Sylea, daughter of Corinthos. Sinis
was referred to as Pityocamptes [or the Pine-Bender]; for liv-
ing on the Isthmus of Corinth, he forced passers-by to bend
pine trees to the ground and hold them down, and when they
were too weak to do so, they were hurled into the air* by the
trees to meet with a miserable death. Theseus killed him in
that verv manner.
138
EPITOME
1
Thirdly, he killed at Crommyon the sow known as Phaia,
which was named after the old woman who had reared it;
some say that it was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
2 Fourthly he killed Sceiron the Corinthian, a son of Pelops,
or, according to some, of Poseidon. Sceiron occupied the rocks

in the Megarid which are named the Sceironian Rocks because
of him, and forced passers-by to wash his feet; and as they did
so, he would kick them into the deep to become the prey of a
giant turtle. 3 But Theseus grasped Sceiron by the feet and
flung him [into the sea]. Fifthly, in Eleusis, he killed Cercyon,
son of Branchos and a nymph, Argiope. Cercyon forced
passers-by to wrestle with him, and killed them during the fight.
Theseus raised him into the air and dashed him to the ground.
4 Sixthly, he killed Damastes, whom some call Polypemon.*
He had a house by the roadside and made up two beds, one

small and the other large. Offering hospitality to passers-by,
he would place short men on the large bed and beat them out
with hammers to make them the same length as the bed, but
tall men he would place on the small bed, and saw off the parts
of their bodies that projected beyond it.

So in this way, Theseus cleared the road, and arrived in
Athens. 5 But Medea, who was married to Aigeus at the time,
schemed against him* and persuaded Aigeus to beware of him,
alleging that he was a conspirator. Aigeus, failing to recognize
him as his son, was afraid, and sent him out against the bull
of Marathon* in the expectation that he would be destroyed
by it. 6 When Theseus had killed the beast, Aigeus offered
him some poison that he had received from Medea that very
day. But as Theseus was about to drink the potion, he pre-
sented the sword to his father, and when Aigeus recognized
it, he knocked the cup out of his hands. After he had been re-
cognized by his father and informed of the plot, Theseus drove

Medea from the land.
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Epit.i The Library
Theseus, Ariadne, and the killing of the Minotaur

7 When the third tribute was sent to the Minotaur,* he was
included on the list, or, according to some, he offered himself
as a volunteer. As the ship had Aigeus ordered his
a black sail,
son to raise white sails he came back alive. 8 When
on it if
Theseus arrived in Crete, Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell

in love with him and promised to assist him if he would agree
to take her away to Athens and have her as his wife. When
Theseus agreed on oath to do so, she asked Daidalos to reveal
how it was possible to escape from the Labyrinth. 9 On his
advice, she gave Theseus a thread as he entered. He attached
it to the door and played it out as he went in; and discover-
ing the Minotaur in the innermost part of the Labyrinth, he

killed it with blows from his fists, and then made his way out
again by pulling back on the thread. [On the journey back,] he
arrived at Naxos by night with Ariadne and the children.* There
Dionysos fell in love with Ariadne* and carried her off; and
taking her to Lemnos, he had intercourse with her, fathering
Thoas, Staphylos, Oinopion, and Peparethos.
10 In his grief for Ariadne, Theseus forgot to spread white
sails on his ship as he put into port. And when Aigeus saw from
the Acropolis that the ship had a black sail, he thought that
Theseus had died, and threw himself down to his death. n
Theseus then succeeded him as king of Athens, and killed the
sons of Pallas,* who were fifty in number; and in the same way,
all who tried to rebel were killed by him, and he held sole power.
Excursus: Daidalos and Icaros, and the death of Minos
12 When Minos learned that Theseus and his companions had

escaped, he enclosed Daidalos —who was —
to blame for it in
the Labyrinth, together with his son Icaros (who had been borne
tohim by Naucrate, a slave of Minos). But Daidalos constructed
wings for himself and his son; and as his son took flight, he
warned him not to fly too high, for fear that the glue would
be melted by the sun and the wings would come loose, nor to
fly too close to the sea, for fear that they would come loose
because of the moisture. 13 But Icaros disregarded his father's
140
The kings of Athens Epit.i
instructions and in his elation soared higher and higher; and

when the glue melted, he plunged into the sea which is named
the Icarian Sea* because of him, and perished. [Daidalos for
his part escaped safely to Camicos in Sicily.]
14 Minos went in pursuit of Daidalos, and to every land that
he visited on his search, he brought a spiral shell and pro-
claimed that he would give a large reward to the man who
could draw a thread through it, thinking that by this means
he would be able to discover Daidalos. Arriving at Camicos in
Sicily, he visited the court of Cocalos, with whom Daidalos
was hiding, and displayed the shell. Cocalos took the shell,
promising that he would thread it, and gave it to Daidalos.
15 Daidalos attached a thread to an ant, pierced a hole in the
shell, and let the ant make its way through. When Minos re-
ceived it back with the thread drawn through, he realized that
Daidalos was staying with Cocalos and demanded at once that
he be handed over. Cocalos promised to surrender him, and
offered Minos his hospitality. But Minos was killed in his bath
by the daughters of Cocalos; according to some, he died when
boiling water was poured over him.
Theseus and the Amazons; Phaedra and Hippolytos

16 Theseus accompanied Heracles on his expedition against the
Amazons,* and he abducted Antiope, or according to some,

Melanippe, or according to Simonides, Hippolyte. It was for
that reason that the Amazons marched against Athens* and
after they had pitched camp by the Areiopagos,* they were
defeated by Theseus and the Athenians. Although he had a
son, Hippolytos, by the Amazon, 17 he afterwards accepted
Phaedra, daughter of Minos, as a wife from Deucalion,* put-
ting an end to their previous hostility. During the wedding
celebrations, the Amazon who had been formerly married to
him arrived fully armed with her fellow Amazons, and was on
the point of killing the guests; but they closed the doors with
all speed, and killed her. Or, according to some, she was killed
in battle by Theseus.
18 After Phaedra had borne two children, Acamas and
Demophon, to Theseus, she fell in love with Hippolytos, his
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Epit.i The Library
son by the Amazon, and asked him to sleep with her.* But he
hated all women* and shunned her embraces. So Phaedra, fear-
ing that he might accuse her to his father, broke down the
doors of her bedroom, ripped her clothing, and falsely accused
him of rape. 19 Theseus believed her and prayed to Poseidon
for the destruction of Hippolytos. And when Hippolytos was
riding in his chariot and drove it along the sea-shore,* Posei-
don caused a bull to emerge from the breakers. The horses
were panic-stricken and the chariot was dashed to pieces; and
becoming entangled [in the reins], Hippolytos was dragged to
his death. When Phaedra's passion came to light, she hanged
herself.
Theseus and Peirithoos
20 Ixion* conceived a passion for Hera and tried to take her

by force.Hera reported the matter to Zeus; and Zeus, want-
ing to know whether it was really the case, fashioned a cloud
in Hera's likeness and laid it down beside Ixion. When Ixion
boasted that he had slept with Hera, Zeus fastened him to a
wheel on which, as a punishment, he is whirled through the
air by the force of the winds. As for the cloud, it gave birth
to Centauros, a child by Ixion.

21 [Theseus joined Peirithoos* as an ally when he went to
war against the Centaurs. For when Peirithoos had married

Hippodameia, he had invited the Centaurs to the wedding feast
as relatives of the bride.* But they were unaccustomed to wine,
and drank it down so copiously that they became drunk; and
when the bride was brought in, they tried to rape her. So
Peirithoos took up arms, and aided by Theseus, engaged them
in battle. Theseus killed a good number of them.]
22 Caineus was originally a woman, but after Poseidon had
intercourse with her, she asked to become a man and to be

invulnerable. For that reason, he had no concern for wounds
during the battle with the Centaurs, and killed a large num-
ber of them. The survivors, however, surrounded him, and
hammered him with fir trees until he was buried in the earth.*
23 Theseus came to an agreement with Peirithoos that both
would marry daughters of Zeus. With the aid of Peirithoos,
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The Pelopids Epit.2
he abducted Helen (then aged twelve) from Sparta for him-

self, and then, in the hope of winning Persephone as a bride
for Peirithoos, made his way down

to Hades. [While he was
there,] the Dioscuri, with the Lacedaimonians and Arcadians,
captured Athens,* and recovered Helen; and with her, they
took away Aithra,* the daughter of Pittheus, as a captive. But
Demophon and Acamas escaped. The Dioscuri also brought
Menestheus* back from exile and entrusted the throne of Athens
to him. 24 When Theseus arrived in Hades with Peirithoos,
he became the victim of a trick. For on the pretence that they
were about to enjoy his hospitality as guests, Hades asked
them to sit down first on the Chair of Forgetfulness; and they
became stuck to it,* and were held down by coils of snakes.
Peirithoos remained a prisoner in Hades ever after, but Her-
acles brought Theseus back to earth and sent him to Athens.
He was driven from there by Menestheus, and went to
Lycomedes,* who threw him into an abyss and killed him.
12. The Pelopids
Tantalos
1
The punishment suffered by Tantalos* in Hades is to have
a stone suspended over him, and remain perpetually in a lake,
seeing at either side of his shoulders fruit-laden trees growing
by its bank; the water grazes his chin, but when he wants to
drink from it, the water dries up, and when he wants to feed
from the fruit, the trees and their fruits are raised by winds as
high as the clouds. It is said by some that he suffers this pun-
ishment because he divulged the secrets of the gods to men
and tried to share ambrosia with his friends.*
2 Broteas,* who was a hunter, failed to honour Artemis, and
said that even fire could cause him no harm; so he went mad
and threw himself into the fire.
Pelops and Hippodameia
3 Pelops, after being slaughtered and boiled at the banquet of

the gods, was more beautiful than ever when he was brought
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Epit.2 The Library
back to life again, and because of his remarkable beauty, he
became the beloved of Poseidon, who gave him a winged cha-

riot* which could run even across the sea without wetting its
axles. 4 Now Oinomaos, the king of Pisa,* had a daughter,
Hippodameia, and whether it was because he had a passion for
her, as some people say, or because he had been warned by an
oracle that he would die at the hand of the man who married
her, nobody was able to win her as his wife, since her father
could not persuade her to have intercourse with him, and her
suitors were put to death by him. 5 For he possessed arms and
horses given to him by Ares, and offered his daughter's hand
to the suitors as the prize in a contest. Each suitor had to take
Hippodameia on his own chariot and flee as far as the Isthmus
of Corinth, and Oinomaos would immediately pursue him in
full armour. If Oinomaos caught up with the suitor, he killed
him, but if the suitor were not overtaken, he would win

Hippodameia as his wife. In this way, he had killed numerous
suitors (twelve according to some accounts). And he cut off
the suitors' heads and nailed them to his house.
6 Pelops too arrived to seek her hand; and when Hippo-
dameia saw how beautiful he was, she fell in love with him,
and persuaded Myrtilos, son of Hermes, to come to his aid.
(This Myrtilos was Oinomaos' charioteer.) 7 So Myrtilos, who
loved her and wanted to please her, failed to insert the axle-
pins* into the wheel hubs, causing Oinomaos to be defeated
in the race and to lose his life when he became entangled in
the reins and was dragged to his death (though according to
some, he was killed by Pelops). As he was dying, he cursed
Myrtilos, recognizing his treachery, and prayed that he would
perish at the hand of Pelops.
8 So in this way, Pelops won Hippodameia; and when he
arrived at a certain place accompanied by Myrtilos, he went

away some small distance to fetch water for his wife, who was
and during that time, Myrtilos tried to rape her. When
thirsty;
she told Pelops of this, he threw Myrtilos into the Myrtoan
Sea* that bears his name, at Cape Geraistos. As Myrtilos fell,
he hurled curses at the house of Pelops.* 9 After he had made
his way to the Ocean and been purified by Hephaistos, Pelops
returned to Pisa in Elis and took over the kingdom of Oino-
144
The Pelopids Epit.2
maos, after first subjugating the land formerly known as Apia

or Pelasgiotis,* which he now named the Peloponnese after
himself.
Atreus and Thyestes
10 The sons of Pelops were Pittheus, Atreus, and Thyestes,

amongst others. Now the wife of Atreus was Aerope, daugh-
ter of Catreus, and she was in love with Thyestes. And Atreus
had once made a vow that he would sacrifice to Artemis
the finest lamb born in his flock, but when a golden lamb
appeared, they say that he failed to honour his vow, n and
instead, he throttled it, and placed it in a chest* for safe keep-
ing; and it was given to Thyestes by Aerope, who had been
seduced by him. For the Mycenaeans had received an oracle
telling them to choose a Pelopid as their king, and they had
sent for Atreus and Thyestes;* and while they were discussing
who should be king, Thyestes declared before the crowd that
the man to gain the throne should be the one who possessed
the golden lamb. And when Atreus agreed to this, Thyestes
produced the lamb and so became king. 12 But Zeus sent Hermes
to Atreus, telling him to reach an agreement with Thyestes
that Atreus should become king if the Sun reversed his
course, and when Thyestes had agreed, the Sun went down
in the east. Since the deity had clearly attested that Thyestes
was a usurper, Atreus took over the kingdom and banished
Thyestes. 13 But later, when he learned of the adultery,* he
sent a herald to Thyestes suggesting a reconciliation; and when
Thyestes arrived, Atreus, pretending friendship all the while,
slaughtered Aglaos, Callileon, and Orchomenos, the children
whom Thyestes had fathered by a naiad nymph, although they
had down as suppliants on the altar of Zeus. He then dis-
sat
membered them, boiled them, and served them to Thyestes
without the extremities. And after he had swallowed them down,
Atreus showed him the extremities and expelled him from the
land. 14 Seeking to gain revenge by any means, Thyestes went
to consult the oracle on the matter and received this response,
that he would gain he fathered a son by inter-
his revenge if
course with his own daughter.* So he did that very thing, and
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Epit.3 The Library
by his daughter he fathered Aigisthos, who, when he reached

manhood and learned that he was the son of Thyestes, killed
Atreus and restored the kingdom to Thyestes.
Agamemnon and Menelaos

15 [But Agamemnon and Menelaos were taken by their nurse
to Polypheides, king of Sicyon, and he in turn sent them to
Oineus, the Aetolian. Not long afterwards, Tyndareus brought
them back again; and they expelled Thyestes, exacting an oath
from him, when he sought refuge* at the altar of Hera, that
he would settle in Cythera. They for their part became the
sons-in-law of Tyndareus by marrying his daughters.*]
16 Agamemnon became king of Mycenae and married
Clytemnestra, after killing her former husband Tantalos, son

of Thyestes, along with his child. A son, Orestes, was born to
him, and three daughters, Chrysothemis, Electra, and Iphige-
neia. Menelaos married Helen and became king of Sparta after
Tyndareus had entrusted the kingdom to him.
13. The Trojan War
The judgement of Paris and abduction of Helen
1
Afterwards Alexander abducted Helen,* in accordance, some
say, with the will of Zeus, so that his daughter would become
famous for having brought Europe and Asia to war, or, as
others have said, to ensure that the race of demigods* would
be raised to glory. 2 For one of these reasons,* Eris threw an
apple* in front of Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite as a prize for
the most beautiful, and Zeus instructed Hermes to take them
to Alexander on Mount Ida, to be judged by him for their
beauty. They promised to give Alexander gifts; Hera promised
him universal dominion if she were preferred above all other
women, while Athene offered victory in war, and Aphrodite
the hand of Helen. He decided in favour of Aphrodite, and
sailed to Sparta with ships built by Phereclos.* 3 He was en-
tertained for nine days by Menelaos, and on the tenth, when
146
The Trojan War Epit.3
Menelaos departed for Crete to celebrate the funeral of his

maternal grandfather Catreus,* Alexander persuaded Helen to
go away with him. She abandoned Hermione, who was nine
years old at the time, and loading most of the treasures* on
board, she set out to sea with him by night. 4 Hera sent a vio-
lentstorm against them, which forced them to put in at Sidon;*
and fearing that he might be pursued, Alexander delayed a long
while in Phoenicia and Cyprus. When he thought that there
was no further risk of pursuit, he went on to Troy with Helen.
5 It is said by some, however, that Helen was stolen by Hermes
in obedience to the will of Zeus and taken to Egypt, where she
was entrusted to Proteus, king of the Egyptians, for safe keep-
ing, and Alexander went to Troy with a phantom of Helen*
fashioned from clouds.
Agamemnon assembles the Greek army

6 When Menelaos heard of the abduction, he went to
Agamemnon in Mycenae,* and asked him to assemble a force
to attack Troy and to levy troops in Greece. So Agamemnon,
sending a herald to each of the kings, reminded them of the
oaths* that they had sworn, and warned each of them to look
to the safety of his own wife, saying that this insult to Greece
affected all of them equally and in common. When most
were eager to take part in the expedition, envoys also visited
Odysseus in Ithaca, 7 but he was unwilling to go, and pre-
tended to be mad.* Palamedes, son of Nauplios, however, proved
his madness to be a sham; for he followed Odysseus while he
was making this pretence of madness, and snatching Tele-
machos from Penelope's lap, drew his sword* as if he were
about to kill him. And Odysseus, fearing for his son's safety,
confessed that his madness was merely a sham, and joined the
expedition.
8 [Later, at Troy,] after capturing a Phrygian, Odysseus forced
him supposedly addressed from
to write a treasonable letter,
Priam Palamedes; and then, after burying some gold under
to
Palamedes' tent, he dropped the letter in the camp. Aga-
memnon read it, discovered the gold, and delivered Palamedes
to the allies to be stoned as a traitor.*
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Epit.3 The Library
9 Menelaos went to Cyprus with Odysseus and Talthybios
to persuade Cinyras to join the allies. He presented a breast-
plate* to the absent Agamemnon and swore to send fifty ships;
but in fact he sent a single ship, commanded by son of
. . .,
Mygdalion, and fashioned the rest from earthenware and sent

those off to sea.
10 Elais, Spermo, and Oino,* the daughters of Anios, son
of Apollo, are called the Wine-Growers. Dionysos granted
them the power to draw oil, corn, and wine from the earth.
11 The army assembled at Aulis. Those who took part* in
the expedition against Troy were the following: of the Boeot-

ians, ten leaders, who brought forty ships; of the Orchomen-
ians, four,who brought thirty ships; of the Phocians, four,
who brought forty ships; of the Locrians, Aias, son of Oileus,
who brought forty ships; of the Euboeans, Elephenor, son
of Chalcodon and Alcyone, who brought forty ships; of the
Athenians, Menestheus, who brought fifty ships; of the Sala-
minians, Aias, son of Telamon, who brought twelve ships; 12
of the Argives, Diomedes, son of Tydeus, and his companions,
who brought eighty ships; of the Mycenaeans, Agamemnon,
son of Atreus and Aerope, a hundred ships; of the Lacedai-
monians, Menelaos, son of Atreus and Aerope, sixty ships; of
the Pylians, Nestor, son of Neleus and Chloris, forty ships; of
the Arcadians, Agapenor, seven ships; of the Eleans, Amphi-
machos and his companions, forty ships; of the Doulichians,
Meges, son of Phyleus, forty ships; of the Cephallenians,
Odysseus, son of Laertes and Anticleia, twelve ships; of the
Aetolians, Thoas, son of Andraimon and Gorge, who brought
forty ships; 13 of the Cretans, Idomeneus, son of Deucalion,
forty ships; of the Rhodians, Tlepolemos, son of Heracles and
Astyoche, nine ships; of the Symaeans, Nireus, son of Char-
opos, three ships; of the Coans, Pheidippos and Antiphos, the
sons of Thessalos, thirty ships; 14 of the Myrmidons, Achilles,
son of Peleus and Thetis, fifty ships; from Phylace, Protesilaos,
son of Iphiclos, forty ships; of the Pheraeans, Eumelos, son of
7
Admetos, eleven ships; of the Olizonians, Philoctetes, son

of Poias, seven ships; of the Ainianians, Gouneus, son of
Ocvtos, twenty-two ships; of the Triccaeans, Podaleirios [and
Machaon, sons of Asclepios], thirty ships; of the Ormenians,
148
Eurypylos [son of Evaimon], forty ships; of the Gyrtonians,

Polypoites, son of Peirithoos, thirty ships; and of the Magnes-
ians,Prothoos, son of Tenthredon, forty ships. So in all there
were one thousand and thirteen ships, forty-three leaders, and
thirty contingents.
15 While the army was at Aulis and a sacrifice was being
offered to Apollo, a snake darted from the altar to a plane tree
nearby, which contained a nest; and after swallowing down the
eight sparrow chicks in the nest along with their mother, the
snake turned to stone. Calchas said that this sign had been sent
to them by the will of Zeus, and he concluded from the inci-
dent that Troy was destined to be taken after ten years.* And
they made ready to set sail against Troy. 16 Agamemnon him-
self was commander of the whole force, while Achilles, at fifteen
years of age, took command of the fleet.
The attack on Mysia; the Greeks assemble for a second time

17 Lacking any knowledge of the route to Troy, they landed
inMysia* and put it to the sack, in the belief that it was Troy.
Now the king of the Mysians was Telephos, son of Heracles,*
and when he saw his country being pillaged, he armed the
Mysians and pursued the Greeks in a body to their ships, killing
a large number of them, including Thersandros, son of Poly-
neices, who stood his ground. But when Achilles rushed to the
attack, Telephos failed to hold firm and was put to flight; and
during the pursuit, he became entangled in a vine branch* and
suffered a wound in the thigh from a spear.
18
Leaving Mysia, the Greeks put out to sea, and when a
violent storm set in, they became separated from one another
and returned to land in their own countries. Because the
Greeks turned back at this time, the war is said to have lasted
twenty years;* for it was in the second year after the abduc-
tion of Helen that the Greeks, when they had completed their
preparations, launched the expedition [for the first time], and
following their withdrawal from Mysia to Greece, it was eight
years before they returned to Argos and went back to Aulis.
19 When they had gathered again at Argos after this delay
of eight years, they were in great perplexity about their route,
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for want of a guide who could show them the way to Troy. 20
But Telephos (since his wound had failed to heal and Apollo
had told him that he would be cured when the man who had
inflicted the wound became his healer) arrived in Argos from
Mysia dressed in rags and begged Achilles to help him, pro-
mising that, in return, he would show them the route to Troy.
So Achilles healed him by scraping rust from his Pelian spear.*
Once he was cured, Telephos revealed the route, and Calchas,
by the use of his own powers of divination, confirmed the accu-
racy of his directions.
21 When, from Argos, they arrived in Aulis
after sailing over
for the second time, the was held back by adverse winds.
fleet
Calchas declared that they would be unable to sail unless the

most beautiful of Agamemnon's daughters was offered in
sacrifice to Artemis; for the goddess was angry with Agamem-
non, because he had said when shooting a deer at a hunt on
Icarion, 'Not even Artemis* [could have shot as well as that],'
and because Atreus had failed to sacrifice the golden lamb to
her. 22 On hearing this oracle, Agamemnon sent Odysseus and
Talthybios to Clytemnestra to ask her for Iphigeneia, claim-
ing that he had promised to give her in marriage to Achilles
as a reward for taking part in the expedition. So Clytemnestra
sent her off, and Agamemnon brought her to the altar and was
just about to slaughter her when Artemis carried her off to the
land of the Taurians and installed her there as her priestess,
substituting a deer for her at the altar.* According to some
accounts, Artemis made her immortal.
The Greeks call in at Tenedos
23 After putting out from Aulis, they called in at Tenedos,

which was ruled by Tenes, son of Cycnos and Procleia, or
according to some, of Apollo. He lived there because he had
been sent into exile by his father. 24 For after having this son
Tenes and a daughter, Hemithea, by Procleia, daughter of
Laomedon, Cycnos* had later married Philonome, daughter
of Tragasos; and she fell in love with Tenes, and when she was
unable to win him over, made false accusations against him,
telling Cycnos that he had tried to seduce her and producing
150
as her witness a flute player named Eumolpos. 25 Cycnos

believed her, and put Tenes and his sister into a chest, which
he threw into the sea. When the chest ran ashore on the island
of Leucophrys, Tenes stepped out, and he settled on the
island, calling it Tenedos after himself. Later, when Cycnos
learned the truth, he had the flute player stoned and his wife
buried alive in the earth.
26
So when Tenes saw the Greeks sailing in towards
Tenedos, he tried to turn them away by pelting them with
stones; but he was killed by Achilles with a sword blow to the
breast, although Thetis had warned Achilles beforehand not to
kill Tenes, for if he did, he himself would die at the hand of
Apollo. 27 While the Greeks were offering a sacrifice to Apollo,*

a water-snake advanced from the altar and bit Philoctetes.
The wound failed to heal and began to stink, and because the
army could not abide the stench, Odysseus, on the orders of
Agamemnon, put Philoctetes ashore on Lemnos, together with
the bow of Heracles* which was now in his possession; and he
maintained himself in the wilderness by shooting birds with
it.
The landing at Troy, and the first nine years of the war
28 Leaving Tenedos, the Greeks set sail for Troy, sending
Odysseus and Menelaos* ahead to demand the return of Helen
and the treasures. But the Trojans, after they had summoned
an assembly, not only refused to return Helen, but even
wanted to kill the envoys. 29 Antenor saved the envoys, but
the Greeks, angered by the insolence of the barbarians, took up
their arms and sailed to attack them. Achilles had been warned
by Thetis not to be the first to disembark from the ships, because
the first man ashore would be the first to die. When the bar-
barians learned that the fleet was sailing against them, they hur-
ried to the sea under arms and tried to prevent the enemy from
landing by pelting them with stones. 30 The first of the Greeks
to disembark* from his ship was Protesilaos, who killed a good
many of the barbarians, but died at the hand of Hector. His
wife, Laodameia,* continued to love him even after his death,
and making an image in his likeness, she lived with it as though
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they were man and wife. The gods took pity on her, and Hermes
brought Protesilaos up from Hades. Seeing her husband and
thinking he had returned from Troy, Laodameia was overjoyed
at the time, but later, when he was taken back to Hades, she
took her own life.
31 After the death of Protesilaos, Achilles disembarked with
the Myrmidons, and killed Cycnos by hurling a stone at his
head.* When the barbarians saw that Cycnos was dead, they
and the Greeks, leaping ashore from their ships,
fled to the city,
filled the plain with dead bodies; and when they had penned
the Trojans in, they put them under siege, and hauled their
ships from the water. 32 Since the courage of the barbarians
had failed, Achilles laid an ambush for Troilos* in the sanc-
tuary of Thymbrian Apollo and slew him, and raided the city
by night and captured Lycaon.* And then, taking some of the
foremost warriors with him, he laid waste to the land, and went
to Mount Ida to rustle the cattle of Aeneas* [and] Priam. When
Aeneas fled, Achilles killed the herdsmen and Mestor, son of
Priam, and drove away the cattle. 33 He also captured Lesbos
and Phocaia, then Colophon and Smyrna, and Clazomenai,
and Cyme, and after these, Aigialos and Tenos [, the so-called
Hundred Cities]; and then, successively, Adramytion and
Side, and then Endion, Linaion, and Colone. He also cap-
tured Hypoplacian Thebes and Lyrnessos, and furthermore,
[Ant]andros, and many other cities.
34 After nine years had passed, the following allies* arrived
to help the Trojans. From the neighbouring cities came

Aeneas, son of Anchises, and with him Archelochos and
Acamas, sons of Antenor and Theano, leading the Dardanians.
Of the Thracians, Acamas, son of Eusoros; of the Ciconians,
Euphemos, son of Troizenos; of the Paeonians, Pyraichmes;
of the Paphlagonians, Pylaimenes, son of Bilsates; 35 from
Zelia, Pandaros, son of Lycaon; from Adrasteia, Adrastos
and Amphios, sons of Merops; from Arisbe, Asios, son of
Hyrtacos; from Larissa, Hippothoos, son of [Lethos] the
Pelasgian; from Mysia, Chromios and Ennomos, sons of
Arsinoos; of the Alizones, Odios and Epistrophos, sons of
Mecisteus; of the Phrygians, Phorcys and Ascanios, sons
of Aretaon; of the Maeonians, Mesthles and Antiphos, sons of
152
Talaimenes; of the Carians, Nastes and Amphimachos, sons of

Nomion; of the Lycians, Sarpedon, son of Zeus, and Glaucos,
son of Hippolochos.
The wrath of Achilles (a summary of the Iliad,)
1
In his anger over Briseis, the daughter of Chryses the priest,
Achilles would no longer go out to fight. As a result, the bar-
barians recovered their confidence and advanced outside the
city. Alexander fought in single combat against Menelaos, but
when Alexander faced defeat, Aphrodite snatched him away;
and Pandaros broke the truce by shooting an arrow at
Menelaos.
2 Diomedes performed deeds of valour* and wounded
Aphrodite when she came to the aid of Aeneas; and when he

encountered Glaucos, he remembered the friendship between
their fathers and exchanged armour* with him. Hector chal-
lenged the bravest man present to single combat. Although many
stepped forward, Aias was chosen by and engaged in com-
lot
bat; but the pair were separated at nightfall by the heralds.

3 To protect the anchorage, the Greeks constructed a wall
and a ditch; and after a battle on the plain, the Trojans chased
the Greeks to the safety of their wall. The Greeks dispatched
Odysseus, Phoenix, and Aias as envoys to Achilles, to ask
him to assist them in the fighting and promise him Briseis and
other gifts. 4 At nightfall, they sent Odysseus and Diomedes
on reconnaissance; and they killed Dolon, son of Eumelos, and
Rhesos the Thracian (who had arrived the previous day as an
ally of the Trojans, and because he had yet to enter battle, had
set up camp at some distance from the Trojan force, and

separately from Hector). They also killed the twelve men
who were sleeping around Rhesos and took their horses to
the ships. 5 The next day, a fierce battle developed. Agamem-
non, Diomedes, Odysseus, Eurypylos, and Machaon were
wounded, and the Greeks were put to flight; Hector breached
the wall and passed inside, and after Aias had retreated, set
fire to the ships.
6 When he saw the ship of Protesilaos in flames, Achilles
sent out Patroclos with the Myrmidons, equipping him with
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Epit.5 The Library
his own arms and lending him his horses. When the Trojans
saw Patroclos, they took him for Achilles, and turned to flee.
Patroclos pursued them up to the city wall, killing many of
them, including Sarpedon, son of Zeus, but met his own death
at the hand of Hector after first being wounded by Euphorbos.
7 In the fierce battle that developed for his corpse, Aias per-
formed deeds of valour and, with difficulty, rescued the body.
Achilles now put and recovered Briseis; and
his anger aside,
when a full set of arms was brought to him from Hephaistos,
he put on the armour and went out to fight. He chased the
Trojans in a mass as far as the Scamander, killing many of
them including Asteropaios, son of Pelagon, son of the River
Axios. The river rushed out at him in fury, 8 but Hephaistos
turned its flooding waters dry, and pursued it [back to its bed]
with a massive flame.* And Achilles killed Hector in single
combat, and tying him by the ankles to his chariot, dragged
him back to the ships. When he had buried Patroclos, he
celebrated games in his honour, in the course of which Dio-
medes won the chariot race, Epeios the boxing, and Aias
and Odysseus the wrestling. After the games, Priam visited
Achilles, and ransomed Hector's body and buried it.
Penthesileia the Amazon; Memnon and the death of Achilles;

the suicide of Aias
1
Penthesileia, daughter of Otrere and Ares, had accidentally
Hippolyte* and had been purified by Priam. She killed
killed
many Greeks in battle, including Machaon, but later died at
the hand of Achilles, who fell in love with the Amazon after
her death, and killed Thersites* for abusing him. 2 ]t
[
3 Memnon,* the son of Tithonos and Dawn, arrived at Troy
to fight the Greeks, accompanied by a large force of Ethiop-
and after killing many of the Greeks, including Antilochos,
ians,
he met his own death at the hand of Achilles. When Achilles
went in pursuit of the Trojans also, he was shot down in front
of the Scaean Gates* by Alexander and Apollo, with an arrow
in the ankle.* 4 In the fight for his body, Aias killed Glaucos,
and asking someone else to carry Achilles' arms to the ships,
he picked up the body, and surrounded by the enemy, carried
154
it away through a hail of missiles while Odysseus fought off

the attackers.
5 At the death of Achilles, the army was filled with gloom.
They buried him with Patroclos [on the White Island*], mix-
ing the bones of the pair together. It is said that Achilles lives
on after his death as the husband of Medea on the Isles of the
Blessed.* The Greeks held games in his honour, in the course
of which Eumelos won the chariot race and Diomedes the foot-
race, Aias the discus-throwing, and Teucros the archery. 6 When
Achilles'armour was offered as a prize to the bravest, Aias and
Odysseus entered the lists. With the Trojans acting as judges,*
or according to some, the allies,* Odysseus was picked as the
winner. Aias was so overcome by resentment that he planned
a night attack on the army; but Athene drove him out of his
wits and turned him against the cattle, sword in hand, and in
his delusion, he slaughtered the cattle along with their herds-
men, supposing them to be the Achaeans.* 7 Afterwards, how-
ever, when he had recovered his wits, Aias killed himself.*
Agamemnon ordered that his body should not be burned, so
Aias alone of the men who fell at Ilion lies in a coffin. His
grave is at Rhoiteion.
Philoctetes and the death of Paris;

conditions for the fall of Troy
8 When the war had already lasted for ten years and the Greeks
were losing heart, Calchas prophesied that Troy could not
be taken unless they had the bow of Heracles* to help them.
On hearing this prophecy, Odysseus made his way to Lemnos
with Diomedes to see Philoctetes,* and gaining possession
of his bow by a trick, he persuaded him to sail to Troy. So
Philoctetes arrived there, and after he had been cured by
Podaleirios,* killed Alexander with an arrow.
9 After the death of Alexander, Helenos and Deiphobos quar-
relled over Helen's hand; and because Deiphobos was preferred,

Helenos left Troy and went to live on Mount Ida. But when
Calchas declared that Helenos had knowledge of the oracles
that protected the city, Odysseus captured him in an ambush
and brought him to the camp; 10 and Helenos was forced to
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Epit.5 The Library
reveal* how be captured. This could be achieved

Ilion could
if, bones of Pelops* were brought to the
in the first place, the
Greeks, and then if Neoptolemos fought as their ally, and
thirdly, if the Palladion (which had fallen from heaven) was
stolen from Troy —
for while it remained inside the walls, the
city was impregnable.
11 When they heard this, the Greeks had the bones of
Pelops brought over, and sent Odysseus and Phoenix to
Lycomedes on Scyros to persuade him to allow Neoptolemos*
to go to war. So Neoptolemos arrived in the camp, where he
received his father's arms from Odysseus, who willingly sur-
rendered them; and he killed a large number of the Trojans.
12 Eurypylos, the son of Telephos, later arrived as an ally of
the Trojans, bringing with him a powerful force of Mysians.
He performed deeds of valour, but died at the hand of
Neoptolemos.*
13 Odysseus went up to the city with Diomedes by night.
Leaving Diomedes waiting outside, he assumed a mean appear-

ance and put on shabby clothing, and entered the city undetec-
ted in the guise of a beggar. He was recognized, however, by
Helen, and with her assistance he stole the Palladion, and then,
after killing many of the guards, he took it to the ships with
the aid of Diomedes.*
The wooden horse

14 Odysseus later had the idea of constructing a wooden horse,
and he suggested it to Epeios,* who was an architect. Using

timber felled on Mount Ida, Epeios constructed a horse that
was hollow within and opened up at the side. Odysseus urged
fifty — according
or to the author of the Little Iliad, three thou-
sand* —of the bravest men to enter this horse; as for all the
rest, they were to burn their tents when and put out
night fell
to sea, but then lie in wait off Tenedos, ready to sail back again
the following night. 15 Persuaded by his plan, the Greeks put
their bravest men inside the horse, making Odysseus their com-
mander; and they carved an inscription on it reading, Tor their
return home, a thank-offering to Athene from the Greeks.' The
others burned their tents, and leaving Sinon in place to light
156
a beacon for them, they put out to sea at night and lay in wait
off Tenedos.
16 When day came and the Trojans saw the Greek camp
deserted, they thought that the Greeks had fled. Overjoyed,
they hauled the horse to the city, stationed it beside the
palace of Priam, and debated what they should do. 17 When

Cassandra said that there was an armed force inside it and she
received support from the seer Laocoon, some proposed that
they should burn it, and others that they should throw it down
a cliff; but the majority decided that they should spare it
because was an offering sacred to a deity, and they turned

it
to sacrifice and feasting. 18 A sign was then sent to them by

Apollo; for two serpents swam across the sea from the islands
nearby and devoured the sons of Laocoon.* 19 When night fell
and all were fast asleep, the Greeks sailed over from Tenedos,
and Sinon lit a fire on the grave of Achilles to guide their way.
And Helen walked around the horse and called out to the heroes
within, imitating the voice of each of their wives; but when
Anticlos wanted to answer, Odysseus covered his mouth.* 20
When they judged that their enemies were asleep, they opened
up the horse and climbed out with their weapons. Echion, son
of Portheus, the first to emerge, was killed by the leap, but the
others lowered themselves on a rope, made their way to the
wall, and opened the gates to let in the Greeks who had sailed
back from Tenedos.
The sack of Troy

21 Advancing into the city fully armed, they entered the
houses and killed the Trojans as they Neoptolemos killed
slept.
Priam, who had taken refuge at the altar of Zeus of the
Courtyard. But when Odysseus and Menelaos recognized
Glaucos, son of Antenor, fleeing to his house, they came to his
rescue* arms in hand. Aeneas picked up his father Anchises
and fled, and the Greeks allowed him to pass because of his
piety.* 22 Menelaos killed Deiphobos and led Helen away to
the ships. Aithra,* the mother of Theseus, was led away also
by Demophon and Acamas, the sons of Theseus (for they say
that the two of them had later arrived at Troy*). The Locrian
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Epit.6 The Library
Aias saw Cassandra clinging to the wooden image of Athene

and raped her; and for that reason, they say, the statue looks
up towards the sky.*
23 After killing the Trojans, they set fire to the city and
divided the spoils. When they had sacrificed to all the gods,
they hurled Astyanax from the ramparts* and slaughtered
Polyxene* on the grave of Achilles. 24 As a special honour,
Agamemnon received Cassandra, and Neoptolemos received
Andromache, and Odysseus Hecuba. According to some
accounts, however, Hecuba was awarded to Helenos, who
crossed over to the Chersonese with her, where she turned into
a bitch and was buried by him at the place now called the Bitch's
Tomb.* 25 As for Laodice, the most beautiful of Priam's
daughters,* the earth swallowed her up in chasm in full view
of everyone. As the Greeks were about to sail off after sack-
ing Troy, they were held back by Calchas, who said that
Athene was angry with them because of the impiety of Aias.
And they intended to kill him, but he took refuge by the altar*
and they let him be.
14. The returns
Menelaos and Agamemnon quarrel; Calchas and Mopsos
1
After these events, the Greeks gathered together in assem-
bly, and Agamemnon and Menelaos quarrelled, Menelaos
advising that they should away and Agamemnon urging
sail
that they should remain and sacrifice to Athene.* Diomedes,

Nestor, and Menelaos set out to sea together, and the first two
had a favourable passage, but Menelaos ran into a storm, and
losing the rest of his vessels, arrived in Egypt with only five
ships.*
2Amphilochos, Calchas, Leonteus, Podaleirios, and Poly-
poses left their ships at Ilion and travelled on foot to Colophon,
where they buried Calchas the diviner; for he had been told
in an oracle that he would die if he met a better diviner than
himself. 3 Now they were received at Colophon by the diviner
Mopsos, who was a son of Apollo and Manto,* and this Mopsos
158
The Returns Epit.6
challenged Calchas to a contest in the art of divination. There

was a wild growing there, and when Calchas asked,
fig tree
'How many Mopsos replied, 'Ten thou-

figs is it carrying?',
sand, or a bushel with one fig left over/ which was discovered
to be the case. 4 Mopsos then questioned Calchas about a preg-
nant sow, asking, 'How many piglets is she carrying in her
womb?' When Calchas replied, 'Eight,' Mopsos smiled and said,
'The divination of Calchas is anything but exact, but I, who
am a son of Apollo and Manto, am richly provided with the
clarity of vision that arises from exact divination, and I main-
tain that there are not eight piglets, as Calchas says, but nine
piglets in her womb; and I can say, furthermore, that all of
them are males and be born tomorrow at the sixth hour
will
without a doubt.'* When this all turned out to be true, Calchas
was so dejected that he died. He was buried at Notion.
Agamemnon sailswith the main fleet; the storm at Tenos,

and Nauplios the wrecker
5 Agamemnon put to sea when he had offered his sacrifice,
and Tenedos. Neoptolemos was visited by Thetis,*
called in at
who persuaded him to remain for two days and then offer a
sacrifice; so he remained. But the others sailed off and were
caught in a storm at Tenos (for Athene had appealed to Zeus
to send a storm against the Greeks). And many ships were sunk.
6 Athene hurled a thunderbolt at the ship of Aias, but when
the ship broke up, Aias escaped to safety on a rock and pro-
claimed that he had saved himself against the goddess's will.
But Poseidon split the rock with a blow from his trident, and
Aias fell into the sea and was killed.* His body was washed
ashore and buried by Thetis at Myconos.
7 When the others were driven towards Euboea by night,
Nauplios* lit a beacon on Mount Caphereus, and the Greeks,

thinking that it came from some comrades who had escaped,
sailed towards it, only to have their vessels wrecked on the
Capherian Rocks, with the loss of many lives.
8 Now Palamedes, the son of Nauplios by Clymene, daugh-
ter of Catreus, had been stoned to death as a result of the

intrigues of Odysseus.* And when Nauplios had come to hear
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Epit.6 The Library
of it, he had sailed to the Greeks and demanded restitution for

the death of his son; 9 but turning back with nothing achieved
(because all the Greeks had wanted to gratify King Agamem-
non, who had been involved with Odysseus in the murder
of Palamedes), he had sailed along the coast of Greece con-
triving that the wives of the Greeks should be unfaithful to
their husbands, Clytemnestra with Aigisthos, Aigialeia* with
Cometes, son of Sthenelos, and Meda, wife of Idomeneus,*
with Leucos. 10 But Leucos killed Meda along with her daugh-
ter, Cleisithyra, who had taken refuge in a temple; and he then
arranged the defection of ten Cretan cities and became their
tyrant. And when Idomeneus landed in Crete after the Trojan
War, Leucos drove him out. n These, then, were the earlier
machinations of Nauplios, and later, when he learned that the
Greeks were returning home to their countries, he lit the bea-
con on Mount Caphereus, which is now called Xylophagos.*
It was there that the Greeks approached the shore, supposing
it to be a harbour, and met their deaths.
The fate of Neoptolemos; various wanderings and returns

12 After he had remained in Tenedos for two days as Thetis
had advised, Neoptolemos travelled by land to the country of
the Molossians,* accompanied by Helenos. Along the way,
Phoenix died, and Neoptolemos buried him. He became king
of the Molossians after defeating them in battle, and had a son,
Molossos, by Andromache. 13 Helenos founded a city in Molos-
sia, where he settled, and Neoptolemos gave him his mother,
Deidameia, as a wife. When Peleus was expelled from Phthia

by the sons of Acastos, and died, Neoptolemos recovered his
father's kingdom.*
14 And when Orestes went mad,* Neoptolemos abducted
his wife, Hermione, who had been promised to him pre-

viously at Troy,* and he was killed for that reason by Orestes
at Delphi. But some say that he went to Delphi to demand
reparation from Apollo for the death of his father,* and that
he plundered the votive offerings and set fire to the temple,
and was killed on that account by Machaireus* the Phocian.
15 After their wanderings, the Greeks landed in different
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The Returns Epit.6
countries and settled there, some in Libya, some in Italy, others

in Sicily, others again in the islands near Iberia, or along the
River Sangarios; and there were some who settled in Cyprus
too.
Agapenor settled in Cyprus. [Gouneus went to Libya, and
leaving his ships behind, he made his way to the River Cinyps,
where he settled. Meges and Prothoos were killed with many
others at Caphereus in Euboea and after Prothoos had
. . .
been shipwrecked at Caphereus, the Magnesians with him

were cast ashore on Crete and settled there.*]
[After the sack of Ilion, Menestheus, Pheidippos, and
Antiphos, and the companions of Elephenor, and Philoctetes
sailed together as far as Mimas. Then Menestheus went to Melos,
where he became king because the previous king, Polyanax,
had died. Antiphos, son of Thessalos, went to the land of the
Pelasgians, and after seizing control of it, named it Thessaly.
Pheidippos was driven to Andros with the Coans, and then to
Cyprus, where he settled. Elephenor had died at Troy, but
his companions were carried to the Ionian Gulf and settled at
Apollonia in Epirus. The companions of Tlepolemos called in
at Crete, and were then driven by the winds to the Iberian
Islands, where they settled. The companions of Protesilaos were
cast up on the [peninsula of] Pallene near the plain of Canas-
tron. Philoctetes was driven to the land of the Campanians
in Italy, and after a war against [the Lucanians], he settled at
Crimissa, near Croton and [Thourioi]. Now that his wander-
ings had reached an end, he founded a sanctuary of Apollo the
Wanderer, to whom, according to Euphorion, he dedicated his
bow.]
[The Navaithos, a river in Italy, bears that name (according
to Apollodorus and the rest) because after the capture of Ilion,
the daughters of Laomedon and sisters of Priam, Aithylla,
Astyoche, and Medesicaste, arrived in that part of Italy with
the other captives, and fearing that they might become slaves
in Greece, set fire to the ships. As a result, the river was called
Navaithos, and the women the Nauprestides* And the Greeks
who were with them settled there after the loss of their ships.]
16 Demophon* called in at the land of the Thracian Bisal-
tians with a small number of ships. Phyllis, the king's daughter,
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Epit.6 The Library
fell in love with him, and her father offered her in marriage
to Demophon with the kingdom for her dowry; but he wanted
to leave for his own country, and after much pleading, and
swearing to come back again, he departed. Phyllis accom-
panied him as far as the place known as Nine Ways,* and she
gave him a basket, telling him that it contained an object sacred
to Mother Rhea, and that he was not to open it unless he
had abandoned all hope of returning to he. 17 Demophon went
to Cyprus and settled there. When the appointed time had
elapsed, Phyllis called down curses on Demophon and killed
herself. Demophon opened the basket, and terror-struck,* he
jumped on to his horse and rode it at such a reckless pace that
he lost his life; for the horse stumbled, and Demophon was
thrown off and fell on his sword. His companions settled in
Cyprus.
18 Podaleirios arrived in
Delphi and asked the god where
he should and he received an oracle that he should
settle;
settle in the city where he would suffer no harm if the sur-

rounding heavens fell in. So he settled at a place in the Carian
Chersonese which is girded by mountains on every side.
19 Amphilochos, son of Alcmaion, who, according to some
accounts, had later arrived at Troy, was driven by a storm to

the land of King Mopsos; and according to some accounts,
they fought in single combat for the kingdom and killed one
another.*
20 The Locrians with some difficulty made their way back
to their own land; and when, three years later, Locris was struck
by a plague,* they received an oracle telling them to propiti-
ate Trojan Athene and to send her two maidens as suppliants
for the next thousand years. The first to be picked out by the
lot were Periboia and Cleopatra. 21 On their arrival at Troy,
they were pursued by the inhabitants and fled to the sanctu-

ary. Without ever approaching the goddess, they swept and
sprinkled her sanctuary; and they never went outside the
temple, and kept their heads shorn and wore only a single
tunic without any shoes. 22 When the first suppliants died, the
Locrians sent others. They entered the city by night to ensure
that they would not be seen outside the sacred precinct and
be put to death. Later, however, they sent them as babies with
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The Returns Epit.6
their nurses; and after the Phocian War,* when the thousand
years had elapsed, they stopped sending the suppliants.
The later history of the Pelopids

23 When Agamemnon arrived back at Mycenae with
Cassandra, he was killed by Aigisthos and Clytemnestra;* for
she gave him a tunic without sleeves or a neck, and he was
struck down he tried to put it on. Aigisthos became king of
as
Mycenae, and they killed Cassandra too.* 24 But Electra, one
of the daughters of Agamemnon, stole away her brother
Orestes, and entrusted him to Strophios the Phocian to rear;
and he brought him up with his own son, Py lades. On reach-
ing manhood, Orestes went to Delphi to ask the god whether
he should take vengeance on his father's murderers. 25 When
this was authorized by the god, he left Mycenae in secret, ac-
companied by Pylades, and killed his mother and Aigisthos.*
Not long afterwards, he was struck by madness, and pursued
by the Furies, he went to Athens, where he was put on trial
in the Areiopagos. According to some, he was indicted by the
Furies, or according to others, by Tyndareus, or again, by Eri-
gone, the daughter of Aigisthos and Clytemnestra, and when
the votes at his trial were evenly divided, he was acquitted.*
26 When Orestes asked the oracle how he could be deliv-
ered from his affliction, the god replied that this would be
achieved he fetched the wooden statue that lay in the land
if
of the Taurians.* Now the Taurians are part of the Scythian

race, who murder strangers and cast their bodies into the
sacred fire. The fire lay in the sanctuary and rose up from
Hades through a certain rock. 27 So when Orestes arrived with
Pylades in the land of the Taurians, they were discovered, cap-
tured, and taken in chains to Thoas, the king, who dispatched
the pair of them to the priestess. But Orestes was recognized
by his sister, who was performing the rites amongst the
Taurians, and he fled with her, taking the wooden statue with
him. It was brought to Athens, where it is now called the
Tauropolos Statue; but it is said by some that Orestes was
driven by a storm to the island of Rhodes, [where the statue
remained] and was dedicated in a defensive wall in obedience
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Epit.7 The Library
to an oracle. 28 Returning to Mycenae, he united his sister Electra
to Pylades, while he himself married Hermione, or according

to some, Erigone, and became the father of Tisamenos.* He
died from a snake-bite at Oresteion in Arcadia.
29 Menelaos, with a total of five ships under his command,
put in at Sounion, a headland of Attica; and when he was

driven away from there by the winds towards Crete, he was
carried a great distance, and wandered along the coasts of Libya,
Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Egypt collecting a wealth of treasure.*
30 According to some accounts, he discovered Helen at the
court of Proteus, king of Egypt; for until that time, Menelaos
had possessed only a phantom* of her, fashioned from clouds.
After wandering for eight years, he sailed back to Mycenae,
where he found Orestes, who was there after avenging his father's
murder. From there, he went to Sparta and recovered his own
kingdom; and after he had been made immortal by Hera, he
went to the Elysian Fields with Helen.*
The return of Odysseus (a summary of the Odyssey

1
Odysseus, according to some accounts, wandered to Libya,
or according to others, to Sicily, or again around the Ocean
and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
2 After putting to sea from he called in at Ismaros, a
Ilion,
city of the Ciconians, and seized by force of arms and pil-
it
laged it, sparing only Maron, who was a priest of Apollo. When
the Ciconians who lived on the mainland came to hear of this,
they armed themselves and advanced against him. Losing six
men from each ship, he put to sea and fled.
3 Landing at the country of the Lotos-Eaters, he sent some
of his men to discover who the inhabitants were. But they

tasted the lotos and remained where they were; for in that land,
there grew a delicious fruit called the lotos, which caused those
who tasted it to forget all else. When Odysseus learned of this,
he kept the others back, and dragged the men who had tasted
the lotos back to the ships by force. And he set sail for the
land of the Cyclopes and approached its shore.
4 Leaving the rest of his ships at the neighbouring island,
he approached the land of the Cyclopes with only a single ship,
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The Returns Epit.7
and disembarked with twelve companions. Close to the sea there

was a cave, which he entered, taking with him the wineskin
that Maron had given him. This cave was owned by Poly-
phemos, who was a son of Poseidon and the nymph Thoosa;
he was a man of enormous size, a savage man-eater with a
single eye on his forehead. 5 Lighting a fire, Odysseus and his
companions sacrificed some of the kids and began to feast; but
the Cyclops arrived, and after he had driven his flocks into the
cave and placed a huge stone at its entrance, he caught sight
of the men and devoured some of them. 6 Odysseus gave him
some of Maron's wine to drink. He drank it down and asked
for more, and then, when he had drunk for a second time, he
asked Odysseus to tell him his name. Odysseus replied that he
was called Nobody, and the Cyclops promised that he would
kill Nobody last and the others before him: such was the gift
of friendship that he promised him in return for the wine. And

overcome by drunkenness he fell asleep.
7 Odysseus found a club lying in the cave, and helped by
four of his comrades, he sharpened its point, and then, after

heating it in the fire, blinded the Cyclops with it. Polyphemos
cried out to the neighbouring Cyclopes and they came to help;
but when they asked who was hurting him, and he replied,
'Nobody/ they went away again, believing him to mean that
he was being injured by nobody. 8 When the flocks sought to
leave for their usual pasture, he opened up the cave, and stand-
ing at the entrance, stretched out his hands to feel the sheep
[as they passed]. But Odysseus tied three rams together and
slipping beneath the largest of them, he hid under its belly and
left with the sheep; and then, after releasing his companions
from their sheep, he drove the animals to the ships, and as he

was sailing away, shouted to the Cyclops that he was Odysseus
and had escaped from his hands. 9 Now the Cyclops had been
warned by a diviner that he would be blinded by Odysseus,
and when he heard the name, he tore rocks from the ground
and hurled them into the sea; and the ship only just escaped
them. It was these events that gave rise to Poseidon's anger
against Odysseus.
10 Sailing to sea with all [his ships], he came to the island
of Aiolia, where Aiolos was king. He had been appointed
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controller of the winds by Zeus, with power both to calm

them and send them forth. After entertaining Odysseus as his
guest, he gave him an oxhide bag in which he had imprisoned
the winds, and when he had shown him which he should use
on the voyage, he attached the bag securely to the ship. By
making use of the appropriate winds, Odysseus had a suc-
cessful passage, but when he drew close to Ithaca and could
already see the smoke rising from the town, he fell asleep; n
and his companions, thinking that he was carrying gold in the
bag, untied it, and released the winds. Swept away by the winds,
they travelled back the way they had come. Odysseus went to
Aiolos and asked him for a favourable wind, but Aiolos drove
him from the island, saying that he was unable to save a man
if the gods were working against him.
12 So he sailed on until he arrived at the land of the
Laistrygonians, [where he put in,] mooring his own ship

last in the line. The Laistrygonians were cannibals and their
king was Antiphates. Wanting to learn about the inhabitants,

Odysseus sent some of his men to investigate; and the king's
daughter met with them and took them to her father. 13 He
grasped hold of one of them and swallowed him down, but the
others fled, and he chased after them, shouting out to sum-
mon the rest of the Laistrygonians. And the Laistrygonians
rushed down where they broke up the vessels by
to the sea,
hurling rocks at them, and devoured the men. Odysseus cut
the cable of his ship and made his way out to sea, but all the
other ships were lost together with their crews.
14 Left with a single ship, he put in at the island of Aiaie,
the home of Circe, a daughter of the Sun and Perse and sis-
ter of Aietes, who had knowledge of all manner of drugs.
Separating his comrades into two groups, he himself remained

by the ship in accordance with the lot, while Eurylochos went
to visit Circe with twenty-two companions. 15 At her invita-
tion, all except Eurylochos went inside, and she offered each
of them a cup that she had filled with cheese, honey, barley-
meal, and wine, with a drug mixed in. And when they had
drunk, she touched them with her wand and transformed
them, turning some of them into wolves, and others into pigs,
or asses, or lions.* 16 Eurylochos saw everything and went to
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The Returns Epit.7
tellOdysseus. Obtaining some moly* from Hermes, Odysseus

went to Circe and sprinkled it into her potions, so that when
he drank from them, he alone escaped her enchantments. He
drew his sword, with the intention of killing her, but Circe
allayed his anger, and restored his comrades to their original
form. After he had received an oath from her that she would
cause him no harm, Odysseus went to bed with her, and she
bore him a son, Telegonos.*
17After delaying there for a year, he sailed on the Ocean,
and then, after offering sacrifices to the souls [of the dead],
he consulted the diviner Teiresias as Circe had advised, and
beheld the souls of heroes and heroines alike. He also saw his
mother Anticleia, and Elpenor, who had died from a fall in
Circe's house.
18 Hethen went back to Circe, who sent him on his way
again; and putting out to sea, he sailed past the island of the
Sirens. The Sirens* were daughters of Acheloos by Mel-
pomene, one of the Muses, and their names were Peisinoe,
Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia. One of them played the lyre, an-
other sang, and the third played the flute, and by these means
they caused passing sailors to want to remain with them. 19
From the thighs down, they were shaped like birds. Now
Odysseus wanted to hear their song as he sailed by; so fol-
lowing Circe's advice, he plugged the ears of his comrades with
wax, and ordered that he himself should be bound to the mast.
And when the Sirens prevailed on him to want to stay with
them, he pleaded to be released, but his men bound him all
the more firmly, and in this way he sailed by. There was a
prophecy that if a ship sailed past the Sirens, they themselves
would die; so they duly perished.
20 After this, Odysseus arrived at a point where he had a
choice of two different routes. On one side were the Wander-

ing Rocks, and on the other, two enormous cliffs. On one of
these cliffs was Scylla, a daughter of Crataiis and Trienos or
Phorcos, who had the face and chest of a woman, but from
her flanks down, six heads and twelve dogs' feet; 21 and on the
other was Charybdis, who sucked in the water and spewed it
out again three times a day. On Circe's instructions, he avoided
the passage around the Wandering Rocks, and sailed past the
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Epit.7 The Library
cliff of Scylla, standing fully armed at the stern. Scylla ap-

peared, snatched up six of his comrades, and devoured them.
22 From there he went to Thrinacia, an island of the Sun,
where were grazing; and held back by unfavourable
cattle*
weather, he remained there. When his companions slaughtered
some of the cattle and feasted on them for want of food, the
Sun reported the matter to Zeus; and when they set sail again,
Zeus struck them with a thunderbolt. 23 As the ship broke
up, Odysseus clung to the mast and was carried towards
Charybdis. But when Charybdis sucked down the mast, he seized
hold of an overhanging fig tree and waited; and when he saw
the mast rise up again, he threw himself on to it and was car-
ried across the sea to the island of Ogygia.
24 He was welcomed there by Calypso, daughter of Atlas,
who went to bed with him, and bore him a son, Latinos.* He
remained with her for five years,* and then built a raft and
sailed away. It was broken up at sea, however, through the
wrath of Poseidon, and he was cast ashore naked on the land
of the Phaeacians. 25 Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinoos,
was washing clothes there, and when Odysseus approached her
as a suppliant, she took him to Alcinoos,who welcomed him
as a guest. And then, after presenting him with gifts, he sent
him away to his native land accompanied by an escort. In his
anger against the Phaeacians, Poseidon turned the escorting
ship to stone and surrounded their city with a mountain.
26When Odysseus arrived in his native land, he found that
his house had been ruined; for believing that he was dead,
suitors* were courting Penelope. From Doulichion came fifty-
seven: 27 Amphinomos, Thoas, Demoptolemos, Amphimachos,
Euryalos, Paralos, Evenorides, Clytios, Agenor, Eurypylos,
Pylaimenes, Acamas, Thersilochos, Hagios, Clymenos, Philo-
demos, Meneptolemos, Damastor, Bias, Telmios, Polyidos,
Astylochos, Schedios, Antigonos, Marpsios, Iphidamas, Argeios,
Glaucos, Calydoneus, Echion, Lamas, Andraimon, Agero-
chos, Medon, Agrios, Promos, Ctesios, Acarnan, Cycnos, Pseras,
Hellanicos, Periphron, Megasthenes, Thrasymedes, Ormenios,
Diopithes,Mecisteus, Antimachos, Ptolemaios, Lestorides,
Nicomachos, Polypoites, and Ceraos. 28 From Same came
168
The Returns Epit.7
twenty-three: Agelaos, Peisandros, Elatos, Ctesippos, Hippo-

dochos, Eurystratos, Archemolos, Ithacos, Peisenor, Hyperenor,
Pheroites, Antisthenes, Cerberos, Perimedes, Cynnos, Thriasos,
Eteoneus, Clytios, Prothoos, Lycaithos, Eumelos, Itanos, and
Lyammos. 29 From Zacynthos came forty-four: Eurylochos,
Laomedes, Molebos, Phrenios, Indios, Minis, Leiocritos, Pro-
nomos, Nisas, Daemon, Archestratos, Hippo[machos, Euryalos,
Periallos, Evenorides, Clytios, Agenor], Polybos, Polydoros,
Thadytios, Stratios, [Phrenios, Indios,] Daisenor, Laome-
don, Laodicos, Halios, Magnes, Oloitrochos, Barthas, Theo-
phron, Nissaios, Alcarops, Periclymenos, Antenor, Pellas, Celtos,
Periphas, Ormenos, [Polybos,] and Andromedes. 30 And from
Ithaca there were twelve suitors: Antinoos, Pronoos,
itself,
Leiodes, Eurynomos, Amphimachos, Amphialos, Promachos,

Amphimedon, Aristratos, Helenos, Doulichieus, and Ctesippos.
31 These suitors had travelled to the palace and consumed
the herds of Odysseus at their feasts. Penelope had been forced

to promise that she would consent to marry when the shroud
of Laertes was finished, and she worked at it for three years,
weaving it by day and unravelling it by night. In this way, the
suitors were fooled by Penelope, until the day came when
she was caught in the act. 32 When Odysseus learned of the
situation in his household, he visited his servant Eumaios
disguised as a beggar. And then, after making himself known
to Telemachos, he went to the city with him. Melanthios the
goatherd, a mere servant, met them on the way and abused
them. On arriving at the palace, Odysseus begged food from
the suitors, and discovering a beggar there called Iros, he wres-
tled with him.* He revealed his identity to Eumaios and Philo-
itios, and together with them and Telemachos, he devised a
plot against the suitors. 33 Penelope gave the suitors the bow
of Odysseus (which he had received from Iphitos in earlier days),
and said that she would marry the one who could flex the bow.
When none of them succeeded, Odysseus took it and shot down
the suitors, helped by Eumaios, Philoitios, and Telemachos.
He also killed Melanthios, and the maidservants who had been
sleeping with the suitors; and he revealed his identity to his
wife and father.
169
Epit.7 The Library
The later history of Odysseus

34 After sacrificing to Hades, Persephone, and Teiresias, he
travelled on foot through Epirus, and arrived in the land of
the Thesprotians,* where he propitiated Poseidon* by offer-
ing the sacrifices that Teiresias had advised in his prophecy.*
Callidice, who was queen of the Thesprotians at the time, asked
him to remain and offered him the throne; 35 and she slept
with him and bore him a son, Polypoites. After he had mar-
ried Callidice, he became king of the Thesprotians, and de-
feated in battle the neighbouring peoples who attacked them.
When Callidice died, he transferred the throne to his son and
returned to Ithaca, where he discovered that Penelope had borne
him a son, Poliporthes.
36 When Telegonos learned from Circe that he was a son
of Odysseus, he sailed away in search of him. Arriving at the
island of Ithaca, he plundered some of the cattle,* and when
Odysseus came to their rescue, Telegonos wounded him with
the spear that he was carrying, which was tipped with the
needle [from a stingray*]; and Odysseus died. 37 When
Telegonos discovered his identity, he lamented bitterly, and
took his corpse, and Penelope too, to the land of Circe, where
he married Penelope;* and Circe sent the pair of them to the
Isles of the Blessed.
38 It is said by some, however, that Penelope was seduced
by Antinoos* and sent away by Odysseus to her father Icarios,

and that when she reached Mantineia in Arcadia, she gave birth
to Pan, as a son of Hermes.* 39 Others say that she was killed
by Odysseus himself because of Amphinomos;* for they claim
that she had been seduced by him. 40 And there are some who
say that when the relatives of the men killed by Odysseus made
accusations against him, he took as his judge Neoptolemos,*
who ruled the islands off Epirus; and Neoptolemos, thinking
he would gain possession of Cephallenia if Odysseus were out
of the way, condemned him to exile. And Odysseus went to
Thoas,* son of Andraimon, in Aetolia, where he married the
daughter of Thoas, and died at a great age leaving behind a
son by her, Leontophonos.
170
—
APPENDIX
SOME INTERPOLATIONS AND AN UNRELIABLE
PASSAGE FROM THE EPITOME
Indicated by a dagger (-\) in the text
1. 2. 4. 2 (p. 65)
Pindar and Hesiod in the Shield say of Perseus: 'The whole of his back
was covered by [the head of] a fearsome monster, [the Gorgon,] which
was enclosed in a kibisis? The kibisis bears that name because clothes
and food are placed in it.
2. 2. 5. 12 (p. 83)
Itwas unlawful at that time for foreigners to be initiated, for Heracles

was initiated only after he had become the adopted son of Pylios.
3. 3. 1.4 (p. 97)
He was the first to become master of the sea, and extended his rule to
almost all of the islands.
4. 3. 4. 4 (p. 102)
The names of Actaion's dogs in the . . . were these:
Now surrounding his beautiful body, as though it were that of a beast,

His powerful dogs tore it apart. Beside it, Arcena first,
[. . .] after her, her valiant offspring,
Lynceus, and Balios the finely footed, and Amarynthos [. . .]
And those that singled out by name are listed thus:

[. .] and they then killed Actaios, at the instigation of Zeus,
.
For the first who drank the black blood of their master
Were Spartos, and Omargos, and Bores swift on the scent.
These were the first to devour Actaios and lap his blood.
And after these, the others rushed on him in a frenzy [. .] .
To be a remedy for the grievous sorrows of men.

5. 3. 6. 7 (p. 110)
What was said by Teiresias to Zeus and Hera:
Of the ten parts, a man enjoys only one,

But a woman in her heart enjoys all ten in full.
171
Appendix
6. 3. 10. 3 (p. 119)
I have found some who are said to have been raised by him, namely,
Capaneus and Lycourgos, according to Stesichoros in the Eriphyle; and
Hippolytos, according to the author of the Naupactica, and Tyndareus,
according to Panyasis, and Hymenaios, according to the Orphics, and
finally, Glaucos, the son of Minos, according to Melesagoras.
7. 3. 15. 8 (p. 138)
And there, after Pasiphae had conceived a passion for the bull of
Poseidon, he assisted her by constructing a wooden cow, and he built
the Labyrinth, to which the Athenians sent seven boys and as many
girls every year to serve as food for the Minotaur.
8. Epitome 5. 2 (p. 154)
Hippolyte was the mother of Hippolytos; she is also called Glauce and
Melanippe. When Phaedra's marriage was being celebrated, Hippolyte
arrived under arms with her fellow Amazons and said that she would
kill those who were sharing the hospitality of Theseus. So a battle took
place, and she was killed, whether accidentally by her ally Penthesileia,
or by Theseus, or because the companions of Theseus, seeing the onset

of the Amazons, closed the door with all speed catching her inside, and
killed her.
Comments
1. A further explanation of the kibisis or wallet referred to in the sen-
tence preceding the interpolation. The verse quotation, from Hes.
Shield 223-4, is incomplete and has been corrected by two additions
from the surviving text of the poem. There is no reference to the kibi-
sis works and fragments of Pindar. The Shield goes on
in the surviving
to say that the kibisis was wondrous to behold and was made of silver
with golden tassels; it would need to be strong to carry the Gorgon's
head and prevent it from exercising its powers of petrifaction. The ety-
mology for kibisis, a weak effort even by the usual standards, seems to
appeal to the kei and sthe sounds in keisthai ekei estheta, 'clothes placed
there'.
2. It is said that Heracles and later the Dioscuri were the first non-
citizens be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries (Xenophon
to
Hellenica 6. 3. 6); each had to be adopted beforehand by a local citi-
zen, Heracles by Pylios, and the Dioscuri by Aphidnas (Plut. Thes. 33).
3. Although it is present in the Epitome also, this sentence interrupts
the narrative. The thought is a commonplace; compare in particular
Thucydides 1. 4.
172
Appendix
4. This passage contains two verse citations (or possibly three, depend-
ing on whether the isolated line at the end forms part of the second),
apparently of different origin, for different names are given for the
first dogs to attack Actaion's body. In saying that the attack was instig-
ated by Zeus the second passage follows the tradition reported for
Acousilaos in 3. 4. 4 that Zeus was angry with Actaion for courting
Semele. It is now known that this was the account offered in the Hesiodic
Catalogue (fr. 217a in Hesiod OCT, 1983 edn.), and some have argued
that the second passage at least comes from the Catalogue (but it is not
included by Merkelbach and West). The more familiar story that
Actaion died because he saw Artemis naked was of later origin; see
p. 102 and note. The remedy for human sorrows in the final line is
presumably wine, as bestowed by Dionysos, Semele's son by Zeus. The

verses are cited for the information that they offer on the names of
Actaion's dogs, a matter of some interest to later authors, as witnessed
by the catalogues in Collectanea Alexandrina 71-2, Ov. Met. 3. 155 ff.,
and Hyg. Fab. 181. (The passage is poorly preserved; Wagner's text,
which is somewhat different from that of Frazer, has been followed in
the translation. In the second citation, Actaion's name appears in an
alternative and presumably early form as Actaios.)
5. A citation from the Melampodeia, an early epic devoted primarily to
the seer Melampous and his family. The ancients ascribed the poem
to Hesiod (other testimonies relating to the present passage can be found
under Hes. fr. 275). This is Teiresias' judgement on the relative plea-
sure that men and women derive from love-making (see p. 1 10). It should
be noted that Teiresias' verdict in these lines from the Melampodeia is
not the same as that ascribed to him in Apollodorus' text; for here he
says that a man enjoys one part and a woman ten (on the same scale of
ten), while in the text he is reported to have said that a man enjoys
one part and a woman nine (as if there were ten available 'points' to be
divided between them). The nine-to-one division can also be found in
a collection of Wonders by Phlegon (cited under Hes. fr. 275), an author
of the second century ad, whose account of the episode is certainly
not derived from Apollodorus. (As it happens, the manuscripts give
Apollodorus' ratio as nine to ten rather than nine to one; but this is
improbable in itself, and it is generally accepted that it can be correct-

ed on the evidence of Tzetz. sc. Lycophr. 638 and the passage from
Phlegon.)
6. The fact that this passage is introduced in the first person, which is
unparalleled in the Library, confirms that it is a later gloss. It contains

a standard list, recorded in four other sources (Philodemus On Piety
45b, Gomperz 1865: Sextus Empiricus Adv. Math. 1. 260-2; sc. Eur.
Ale. 1; sc. Pind. Pyth. 3, 96); and because it was cited by Philodemus,
173
Appendix
who wrote in the first century bc, we can be sure that the author of
the Library was not responsible for its compilation. The
two names first
are of Argive leaders who fell in the First Theban War

Capaneus, (for
see p. 110; the present Lycourgos would be the son of Pronax, and
nephew of Adrastos, mentioned on p. 47, who is said to have fought
with Amphiaraos during the war, Paus. 3. 18. 12, although he is not
included in any surviving list of the seven champions). For the death
of Hippolytos, see p. 142; this becomes the prime example in the
literature on the mythology of the constellations (to explain how
Asclepios came to die and be transferred to the sky as the constella-
tion Ophiouchos or the Serpent-Holder, Catast. 6, cf. Hyg. Astr. 2. 14).
The most likely occasion for the death and revival of Tyndareus was
Heracles' campaign against Hippocoon, pp. 87 f. Hymenaios was a god
of marriage, specially associated with the wedding procession and
hymns. For this account of the revival of Glaucos, cf. Hyg. Astr. 2. 14;
Apollodorus offers a conflicting account on pp. 99 f.
7. This merely repeats matter from 3. 1. 4 and shortly before in the
same paragraph.
8. According to Epitome 5. 1, Penthesileia, the Amazon, came to Troy
to be purified after accidentally killing Hippolyte. The present para-

graph found only in the Vatican epitome) offers an explanation
(5. 2,
of who this Hippolyte was, and how Penthesileia came to kill her. This,
we are told, was the Hippolyte abducted by Theseus, and Penthesileia
killed her —
or may have killed her —
when the Amazons invaded Attica
after Theseus had put Hippolyte aside in favour of Phaedra (see
p. 141). But this attempt to explain an event that took place in the final
year of the Trojan War by an incident at Theseus' wedding involves a
gross anachronism (for it was universally agreed from Homer onwards
that Menestheus was king of the Athenians during the Trojan War and
that Theseus must have died some time before it began). So can this
paragraph be accepted as a reliable report on Apollodorus' text? Even
a brief comparison with 1. 17 (in the Sabbaitic epitome only), which is
largely the same, will suggest that it cannot. It seems, rather, that the
Vatican epitomist wrongly assumed that the present Hippolyte could
be identified with the Amazon of that name associated with Theseus,
and reworked material from earlier in the Library to put over the point;
and crucially, the phrase stating that Theseus' Hippolyte may have been
killed 'accidentally by her ally Penthesileia' is almost certainly the epi-
tomist's own contribution. For this is not stated as one of the alterna-
tives in 1. 17, and there is a marked awkwardness in the way in which
the text (as summarized above) has been rearranged to allow for its
insertion.
The alternative names for Hippolyte in 5. 2 do not correspond with
174
Appendix
those in the Sabbaitic epitome at 1. 16 (as translated in the main text).
The corresponding passage in the Vatican epitome mentions the names

Glauce and Melanippe (though not, as it happens, Hippolyte).
Although it is not explicitly attested in Proclus' summary or else-
where, it can be reasonably assumed that in reporting that the acci-
dental killing accounted for Penthesileia's presence at Troy (5. 1),
Apollodorus was following the Aethiopis in the epic cycle. It is surely
probable that the incident would have taken place in her native land
within Asia Minor to the east of Troy, as indicated in the surviving
accounts in Diodorus 2. 46. 5 and Quintus of Smyrna 1. 21 ff.
Diodorus is vague, merely stating that she killed her (unnamed) sister
and had to leave her native land, but according to Quintus, she killed
Hippolyte when throwing her spear at a stag (which may well be the
early tradition).
175
EXPLANATORY NOTES
References: these are included either to suggest passages for compari-

son and further reading in ancient works which are readily accessible
in translation, or to state the source of specific information given with-
in the note. In the latter case, the references are selective, and refer if
necessary to untranslated works.
The following abbreviations are used:
Aesch. Aeschylus (tragic poet, 525/4-456 bc).

[Aesch.] PV Prometheus Enchained, a play transmitted under
Aeschylus' name but of uncertain authorship.
AL Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses (compendium of
transformation myths, circa second century ad; for
translation see Select Bibliography).
Ap. Apollodorus, the author of the Library.
AR Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica (epic, third cen-
tury bc).
Bacch. Bacchylides (lyric poet, flourished fifth century bc; the
numbering follows SnelPs Teubner edition).
Catast. Pseudo-Eratosthenes, Catasterisms (compendium of con-
stellation myths; in Mythographi Graeci, Leipsig,
vol. 3).
DS Diodorus of Sicily, Library (a world history, first cen-
tury bc, translated in the Loeb series).
Eur. Euripides (tragic poet, fifth century bc).

fr. fragment.
Hdt. Herodotus, History (fifth century bc).
Hes. Hesiod. (For translations of the Hesiodic works, and of
some of the testimonies and fragments, see the Hesiod
volume in the Loeb series; the references for the frag-
ments are to the standard edition by Merkelbach and
West, Oxford, 1967.)
Hes. Cat. Catalogue of Women (a sixth-century genealogical epic,
not by the author of the Theogony; see Introduction and
Select Bibliography).
Hes. WD Hesiod, Works and Days.
HH Homeric Hymns (post-Homeric, of varying date up to
sixth century bc or later, translated in Hesiod and the
Homeric Hymns, Loeb series).
177
Explanatory Notes
Hyg. Hyginus, Fabulae (mythological compendium; for

translation see Select Bibliography).
Hyg. PA Hyginus, Poetic Astronomy (Book II of the Astronomy;
see Select Bibliography).
II. Homer's Iliad.
Od. Homer's Odyssey.
Ov. Met. Ovid's Metamorphoses.
P. Pausanias, Description of Greece (second century ad,
translated in the Loeb series and Penguin).
Par then. Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Stories (first century bc; in
Mythographi Graeci, Leipsig, vol. 2).
Pind. Pindar (lyric poet, 518-438 bc). Isth.: Isthmian Odes;
N
Nem.: erne an Odes; 01.: Olympian Odes; Pyth.: Pythian
Odes.
Plut. Thes. Plutarch (first-second century ad), Life of Theseus.
Procl. Proclus (of uncertain date, author of summaries of the
Trojan cycle; translated in Hesiod and
early epics in the
theHomeric Hymns, Loeb series).
QS Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica (epic poem on the fall
of Troy, fourth century ad; translated in the Loeb
series).
sc. scholion. (The scholia were marginal notes by ancient

and medieval scholars, which often preserve material
from lost mythographical works. French translations of
some of the scholia relevant to the text of the Library
can be found in the notes to Carriere's edition; see Select
Bibliography.)
NB. In references to scholia conventional abbreviations
have been used.
Theog. Hesiod's Theogony.
Thuc. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (fifth
century bc).
Tzetz. Johannes Tzetzes (Byzantine scholar, twelfth- century
ad).
VM The Vatican Mythographers (ed. G. H. Bode, Scriptores
Rerum Mythicarum Latini Tres, Celle, 1834; late Latin
compendia).
Dates: all are bc unless otherwise indicated.

Cross-references: these are selective, and the Index should also be
consulted.
Textual matters: notes on these, and on points of language, have been
kept to a bare minimum, except with regard to dubious passages and
178
—
Explanatory Notes
interpolations (marked by square brackets in the text) and to etymo-

logies, which depend on wordplay in the original Greek (indicated by
italics in the text).
Homer and Hesiod: it is convenient to refer to 'Homer', but this implies
no judgement as to whether the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed
by the same author, or on the extent to which each poem can be regard-
ed as the work of a single poet. There is disagreement on whether the
Hesiodic Theogony and Works and Days were written by the same author;
and other works attributed to Hesiod by the ancients, notably the
Catalogue of Women and the Shield, were certainly written at a later
period.
Modern authors: all references are to editors or translators of the Library
(see Select Bibliography).
Pherecydes, Acousilaos, and Hellanicos: for these early mythographer-
historians, who are important sources for Apollodorus, see the
Introduction.
27 Ouranos . . . Ge: respectively the Sky and the Earth (who was also
referred to as Gaia, the form preferred by Hesiod). For the early
history of the universe, cf. Theog. 116 ff., but the present account
sometimes diverges significantly (perhaps following a theogony
from the epic cycle, summarized by Proclus in Photius 319a). In
Theog., Chaos —
representing a yawning gap rather than disorder
comes into being first, followed by Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros (116
ff), and Gaia gives birth to Ouranos from herself (126 f.).
the Cyclopes: cf. Theog. 139 ff.; named the 'Round-Eyed' because
of their single round eye. Their individual names were suggested
by their prime function, as the beings who armed Zeus with his
thunder (see p. 28): (a)sterope means lightning, bronte, thunder,
and urges refers to the brightness associated with the thunderbolt.
For other kinds of Cyclops, see p. 63 and note and pp. 164 f.
in Hades: here used in a loose sense to refer to the Underworld as
was drawn
a whole. In the early tradition at least, a clear distinction
between Hades (where the souls of dead mortals dwell) and
Tartaros, a dungeon for gods and monsters that lay far beneath it
(cf. Theog. 720-819, //. 8. 13 ff.).
who had been thrown into Tartaros: only the Cyclopes and Hundred-
Handers; Hesiod's account, in which Ouranos also hides away their
Titan children {Theog. 154 ff.), diverges significantly.
adamantine: made of adamant, a mythical metal of extreme hardness.
from the drops of blood that flowed from those that fell on Ge,
out:
the Earth, causing her to conceive the Furies, and the Giants whom
179
Explanatory Notes
she will bring to birth later (p. 34); cf. Theog. 183 ff. (In Ap.'s
theogony the severed genitals play no part in the birth of
Aphrodite, see p. 29 and note.)
28 Mount Dicte: in most sources Mount Ida, in Theog. 484, Aigaion;

Dicte only in Hellenistic and later sources, e.g. AR 1. 509.
Although Dicte was associated with the cult of Zeus, there was no
cave there.
Curetes: Cretan semi-divinities associated with fertility; estimates

of their number vary from two to ten.
Amaltheia: either a nymph with a she-goat (see p. 89 and note) or
the goat itself, as here (cf. Callim. Hymn 1. 47 f.).
Metis: personifies practical or cunning intelligence. In Theog. 494

ff., where the stratagem is not explained, the advice is offered by
Gaia.
a helmet: this leather helmet or cap makes its wearer invisible. It
willbe used by Perseus, see pp. 65 f. and note. In Theog. 501 ff.
the Cyclopes arm Zeus alone, in gratitude for their release.
they shared power: following //. 15. 187 ff.
Pluto over the halls of Hades: Pluto, 'the Wealthy One', was a rit-
ual title for Hades, god of the Underworld; his name is also applied
to his realm (although in classical Greek a genitive form was used
in such cases, to indicate that the 'halls of Hades were being referred
to rather than the god himself).
Oceanides: the daughters of Oceanos and Tethys, who were
nymphs of springs and groves. Hes. names forty-one of the 'eldest'
daughters {Theog. 346 ff), but remarks that there were three thou-
sand (364); Ap. only gives the names of those who will be men-
tioned in the following genealogies. For Hesiod, Amphitrite was a
Nereid (243). The sons of Oceanos and Tethys were the rivers of
the earth (337 ff). Theog. should be consulted for further details
on all these divine genealogies (although Ap. sometimes chooses
variants from other sources).
29 Nice, Cratos, Zelos, and Bia: abstractions signifying Victory,
Power, Emulation, and Force (all needed by Zeus for his victory
against the Titans). See Theog. 383 ff.
oaths: specifically the oaths of the gods.

Pontos: Ap. offers no genealogy;
a personification of the Sea.
in Theog. he is borne by Gaia without prior intercourse.
132 ff.
An ancestor of marine beings, and also of monstrous beings not

easily associable with Zeus' immediate family, see Theog. 233-336.
180
.
Explanatory Notes
Nereids: beautiful sea nymphs, usually number,

said to be fifty in
who lived with their father in a cave at the bottom of the sea
(//. 18. 37 ff., Theog. 240 ff.). Most of their names were suggested
by aspects of the sea.
Hebe, Eileithuia, and Ares: respectively, the personification of youth

(who performed household duties for the gods, notably as cup-
bearer, and later married Heracles, p. 91), the goddess of child-
birth, and the god of war. For the genealogies in 3. 1 to 4. 6, cf.
Theog. 886-933.
Eirene, Eunomia, and Dice: the Horai, Seasons, were associated with
the seasons of growth in particular; these Hesiodic names (Theog.
901 f.) — Peace, Good Order, and Justice — point to the social con-
ditions favouring successful agriculture.
by Dione he had Aphrodite: as in

//. 5. 370 f.; but in Theog. 188 ff.
Aphrodite grows from the sea-foam (aphros) that surrounds the

severed genitals of Ouranos when they are cast into the sea.
Described above as a Titanid (but in Theog. 353, a daughter of
Oceanos and Tethys), Dione was honoured at Dodona as the con-
sort of Zeus, but otherwise she was of little importance in either
cult or myth.
30 by Styx, Persephone: the river encircling Hades is a suitable
mother for a goddess closely associated with the Underworld; but
Persephone is usually regarded as Zeus' daughter by Demeter, as
in Theog. 912 f. and HH
to Demeter 2-3 (and below on p. 33).
Linos: see p. 71, a musician like his brother Orpheus.

persuaded Pluto: he is said to have enchanted Persephone and /or
Pluto with his singing (DS 4. 25. 4, Conon 45).
Maenads: women possessed by Bacchic frenzy (see pp. 102 f.); in

most accounts they are angered by the scorn that Orpheus showed
for other women after he had lost Eurydice, e.g. Ov. Met. 11. 1 ff
Cleio . . . Adonis: when Cleio mocked Aphrodite for falling in love

with a mortal, Aphrodite caused her to become subject to a simi-
lar passion. Love for a mortal was acceptable for gods, but con-
sidered demeaning for goddesses (see Calypso's observations in Od.
5. 118 ff).
the first man to love other males: Laios, p. 104, and Minos, p. 97,
are other contenders for this title.
But Hyacinthos a discus: it was sometimes said that the West

. . .
(or North) Wind also sought his favour, and when he favoured
Apollo, blew the discus at Apollo's head (Lucian Dialogues of the
181
Explanatory Notes
Gods 14; see also P. 3. 19. 5, Ov. Met. 10. 162 ff.). Traditions vary
on his birth, see also p. 119.
30 challenged the Muses: cf. //. 2. 594 ff.
Rhesos . . . at Troy, see //. 10. 435 ff. and [Eur.] Rhesos.
Corybantes: semi-divine beings who attended deities with orgiastic
rites, associated primarily with the Phrygian goddess Cybele, but
also with Rhea and Dionysos.
31 Hera . . . by Zeus: Hera calls him a son of Zeus in //. 14. 338 f.;
but in Hesiod's account, Theog. 924 ff., Hera is so angered when
Zeus gives birth to Athene from his head that she decides to have
a child of her own without prior intercourse with her spouse, and
gives birth to Hephaistos.
Zeus threw him down to his rescue: in //. 1. 590 ff., Hephaistos
. . .
is said to have been thrown from heaven by Zeus for coming to

the aid of Hera (for her suspension, see //. 5. 18 ff.)^ but in //. 18.
394 by Hera, because she was ashamed of his lameness; in the
ff.,
latter account he was rescued by Thetis and Eurynome, daughter

of Oceanos, and taken to the cave of the Nereids beneath the sea.
Ge: inserted by Heyne; without this addition, the text would indi-
cate thatMetis herself gave the warning (placing her own safety
at grave Ge is the prime oracle in early mythical history. In
risk).
Theog. 886 ff., Zeus takes this action on the advice of Ge and
Ouranos.
near the River Triton: see p. 123 and note.
a city . . . called Delos: i.e. the island of Delos; its previous name
is also given as Ortygia, after ortyx, a quail (e.g. Hyg. 140). In
Pind. Paean5. 42 (cf. Callimachus Hymn 4. 36-8), the holy island
on which her sister Leto will give birth to Artemis and Apollo is
formed from Asteria's metamorphosed body.
Themis: a personification of law and the right; on the presiding
figures at Delphi before Apollo, see also Aesch. Eumenides 1 ff. and
P. 10. 5. 3.
chasm: said to be the source of exhalations which inspired the Delphic

priestesses to prophecy, although there is no sign of such a chasm
on the modern site.
32 Pytho: Delphi.
Tityos suffers punishment: cf. Od. 11. 576 ff. On his death, cf. Pind.
Pyth. 4. 90 ff.
disfigured her face: according to Hyg. 165, Hera and Aphrodite made
fun of her when she played her flute at a banquet of the gods because
182
Explanatory Notes
it puffed her cheeks out, which she found to be true when she
viewed herself in a spring on Mount Ida.
to do the same: as a wind instrument, his flute must be blown from

the right end. On Marsyas, a Phrygian, see also Hdt. 7. 26.
and Catast.
blinded him: according to the fuller story in Parthen. 20
32, Orion cleared the island of wild beasts, but when Oinopion
was reluctant to accept such a being as his son-in-law, he became
impatient and raped Merope while he was drunk. This would explain
Oinopion's extreme behaviour.
of Hephaistos: added by Heyne (but Ap. may have assumed that

the reader would understand that without explicit statement). It
lay on Lemnos; Orion could find his way there by following the
sound. In Catast. 32 Hephaistos takes pity on him and offers him
one of his helpers, Cedalion, as a guide.
with Ares: Aphrodite's lover, hence her anger.
shot by Artemis: in Od. 5. 121 ff. Artemis killed him because she
and the other gods were angry that Dawn had fallen in love with
a mortal. The later tradition is complex, but it was commonly said
that he tried to rape Artemis herself, and that Artemis either shot
him (Hyg. PA 34, referring to Callimachus) or sent a scorpion against
him (Aratus 635 ff. with sc. to 636, thus explaining the origin of
the two constellations); or Ge sent the scorpion because he
boasted that he would kill all the beasts on earth {Catast. 32).
Opis: Opis (or Upis), and Arge, another representative of this le-
gendary northern race, came to Delos after the birth of Artemis
and Apollo bringing a thank-offering, which had been vowed to
Eileithuia, the goddess of childbirth, in return for an easy labour
for Leto, see Hdt. 4. 35.
33 Rhode: a personification of the island of Rhodes, where there was

a notable cult of the Sun; also as Rhodos (again a feminine form).
See Pind. 01. 1. 54 ff.
abducted her: see Ap.'s main source, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter,
for further details on all the following. There (16 ff.) she is ab-
ducted from the Nysian plain (of uncertain location; but in later
writers, from Sicily, a land famed for its fertility). The abduction
is in accordance with the plans of Zeus, but he plays no active
part in it (ibid. 9; 30; and 77 ff.).
bearing torches: these played a significant role in the ritual asso-

ciated with the Eleusinian Mysteries, and were emblematic of
Demeter and her rites (ibid. 48).
183
Explanatory Notes
33 Hermion: not in the Hymn, but appropriate because there was said
to be a chasm there that communicated with the Underworld
(P. 2. 35. 7).
Thesmophoria: an autumn festival celebrated by women in honour

of Demeter to ensure fertility of the crops. The jokes were of an
obscene nature.
Praxithea: presumably Demophon's nurse. In the Hymn (242 ff.)
Metaneira keeps watch, and the child is not killed; Demeter

merely places him on the ground and renounces her plan to make
him immortal.
revealed her identity: and promised to teach the Eleusinians her rites
(HH Dem. 273-4), which ensured the initiates a better lot in the
afterlife.
she gave him wheat: knowledge of agriculture was revealed by

Demeter at Eleusis and spread by Triptolemos throughout the
inhabited world; a favourite theme in Athenian propaganda.
Kore: 'the Maiden', a cultic title for Persephone as worshipped in

conjunction with her mother.
a pomegranate seed to eat: a visitor who takes food in the other world
is obliged to stay there. Pomegranates were associated with blood
and death.
Ascalaphos bore witness against her: not in the Hymn, where
. . .
Persephone herself tells Demeter that she has eaten in Hades

(411 ff.) and the consequences follow necessarily from the action.
On Ascalaphos see further p. 84 and note.
34 a third of every year: cf. HH Dem. 398 ff. The agricultural sig-
nificance is evident: she departs in autumn and returns in spring.
In later sources the year is commonlv divided into equal parts (e.g.
Hyg. 146, Ov. Met. 5. 564 ff.).
conceived by Ouranos: from the blood that dripped from his severed
genitals, see p. 27 and note. Homer and Hesiod never refer to a
battle between the gods and Giants; the earliest surviving refer-
ences are in connection with Heracles' involvement in it (Pind.
Nem. 1. 67 ff., ps.-Hes. Shield 28, cf. Theog. 954, part of a later
addition to Hesiod's text). The battle appears in vase-paintings by
the end of the seventh century, and it may have been covered in
an early epic, the Titanomachy.
with a fir-cone ornament

thyrsos: a staff at the head, carried by
Dionysos and others who engaged in his rites.
184
Explanatory Notes
35 Nisyron: this explains the origin of Nisyros, a small island south

of Cos; it was part of Cos until Poseidon broke it off with his tri-
dent (cf. Strabo 10. 5. 16).
Gration: probably corrupt, but the proposed corrections are uncer-

tain; perhaps Aigaion.
Typhon: Hesiod offers a rather different account of his struggle
with Zeus, in Theog. 820 ff.
a hundred dragons' heads: following Theog. 824 ff., but in a con-

fused manner, for there 'a hundred heads of a serpent' grow from
his shoulders in place of a human head. The serpents' coils
beneath his thighs are derived from the standard depiction of him
in the visual arts.
took flight to Egypt: the following story, first attested for Pindar
(fr. 81 Bowra), explains why the Egyptians had gods in animal form.
In the earliest full account (AL 28, following Nicander) Hermes,
for example, turns into an ibis, and Artemis into a cat, identify-
ing them with Thoth and Bast respectively.
36 Aigipan: 'Goat-Pan'; some saw him as Pan himself in his quality

as a goat, others as a separate figure.
ephemeral fruits: nothing further is known of them, but their effect

is clearly the opposite of what the Fates suggested.
blood: haima in Greek, hence the name of Mount Haimos.
eruptions offire: cf. Pind. Pyth. 1. 15 ff., [Aesch.] PK363 ff., and
later, Ov. Met. 5. 352 ff.; in all these sources Typhon himself is
responsible for the eruptions.
fashioned men: not attested before the fourth century; in earlier

sources, Prometheus is a benefactor of the human race, but not its
creator (Hes. Theog. 510 ff. and WD 48 ff., cf. [Aesch.] PV). It
was commonly assumed at an early period that the first men sprang
directly from the earth, and different areas would have their own
'first man', e.g. Phoroneus in Argos, see p. 58 and note.
fennel: the narthex or giant fennel (a relative of the British cow-

parsley), whose stalks contain a slow-burning white pith; cf. Hes.
Theog. 565 ff., WD 50 ff.
as we will show: see p. 83.
37 Pandora . .woman: described by Hesiod as a 'beautiful

. the first
evil' moulded by Hephaistos on the orders
{Theog. 585), she was
of Zeus, as the price men would have to pay for having gained
possession of fire {Theog. 569 ff. and WD 60 ff.). Epimetheus
185
Explanatory Notes
('Afterthought'), the brother of Prometheus, was foolish enough

to accept her {WD 83 ff, Theog. 511 ff.).
37 the race of bronze: see Hes. 143 ff, where the members of this WD
violent primordial race are responsible for their own destruc-
tion; there is no mention of the flood there (or in Theog.). This
is the best mythographical account; for an imaginative portrayal,
see Ov. Met. 1 . 260 ff. For another explanation of its cause, see
p. 115.
laoi . . . u stone: the same etymology is implied in Pind. 01. 9. 44-

6; the two words were of separate origin. The story originally
accounted for the origin of the local people only (the Locrian Leleges,
Hes. Cat. fr. 234; the stone-throwing took place at Opous in east
Locris, Pind. 01. 9. 43 ff; but in Latin sources from Ovid onwards
it is often suggested that Deucalion and Pyrrha were the only human
beings to survive a universal flood). Here 'metaphor' means sim-
ply a transference of meaning (as often in Greek usage).
the Graicoi he named Hellenes: here the Hellenes are a Greek

people who lived in southern Thessaly, as in the Iliad (2. 683,
cf. 9. 395, although their name was later applied to the Greek
race as a whole), and the Graicoi, a tribe who lived to the west of
them in Epirus. For the present story, cf. Aristotle Meteorology
352a32 ff. The Graicoi remained prominent in the west, and the
Romans used their name as a general term for the Hellenes.
opposite the Peloponnese: i.e. north of the Corinthian Gulf; spe-

cifically the small region known as Doris, north-west of Mount
Parnassos (Strabo which the Peloponnesian Dorians
8. 7. 1),
regarded as their original home. In myth, this was the area ruled
by Doros' son, Aigimios (see p. 90 and note); the movement of
the Dorians to the Peloponnese occurs very late in mythological
history, see pp. 92 f.
38 halcyon: a fabulous bird that nests by, or on, the sea during the
halcyon days of winter.
sea-swallow: or tern, for the ceux, a poetical bird of uncertain iden-

tity. Ap.'s version of this story is probably derived from Hes. Cat.
(cf. frs. 15 and 16); in another version, Ceux is killed in a ship-
wreck and Alcyone throws herself into the sea for love of him,
arousing the pitv of the gods, who transform them into halcvons
(Ov. Met. 11. 410 ff., Hyg. 65).
known as the Aloads: 'sons of Aloeus' (for Aloeus was their puta-
tive father as the husband of Iphimedeia). For their storv, cf. Od.
11. 305 ff.
186
Explanatory Notes
a cubit a fathom: the English equivalents for the ancient mea-

. . .
surements representing the lengths of a man's forearm. and of his

outstretched arms {foethm in Old English). These measured about
eighteen inches and six feet respectively.
Ossa . . . Olympos . . . Pelion: tall mountains in the coastal region of

Thessaly. This story gave rise to the proverbial phrase, 'piling Pelion
on Ossa'.
imprisoned Ares: in a bronze jar, for thirteen months, and he would

have died if the Aloads' stepmother had not informed Hermes
(//. 5. 385 ff.).
met their death on Naxos: according to Od. 11. 318 they were killed
by Apollo, Hyg. 28); here their
for trying to climb to heaven (cf.
failure in that enterprise is left unexplained, and Artemis causes

their death on another occasion because of their designs on her-
self. It is said elsewhere that they set out to rape Artemis (Hyg.
28, cf. sc. Pind. Pyth. 4. 156) and that Apollo (Hyg.) or Artemis
(sc. //. 5. 385) sent a deer between them. Pindar knew a version
of this story (Pyth. 4. 88 f, cf. P. 9. 22. 5).
39 killed Apis, son of Phoroneus: according to P. 5. 1. 8, this Apis was

an Arcadian and a son of Jason (not the famous one); and Aitolos
drove over him accidentally at the funeral games for Azan, son of
Areas, an Arcadian king. The son of Phoroneus, an Argive, died
in another way, see p. 58.
the land of the Curetes: these Curetes, the aboriginal inhabitants of

Aetolia (and Acarnania), in the south-western part of mainland
Greece to the north of the Corinthian Gulf, should not be con-
fused with the Cretan demigods on p. 28; on the Curetes in gen-
eral, see Strabo 10. 3.
Evenos had a daughter . . . chasing after him: Homer mentions that

Idas drew his bow against Apollo for the sake of a girl (//. 9. 559
f). According to the scholion on ibid. 557, Evenos (like Oinomaos,
p. 144) challenged his daughter's suitors to a chariot race; if they
won, they would gain her hand, but when they were overtaken by
Evenos, he nailed their heads to the walls of his house. It is pos-
sible that the present passage refers to such a race rather than a
simple pursuit after an abduction. See also Bacch. 20.
Messene the land of Messenia, in the south-western Peloponnese,

:
lying to the west of Laconia (rather than the city of Messene, which
was of late foundation). Idas' father Aphareus was a Messenian
king, see p. 119 and note.
187
Explanatory Notes
40 Sterope . to Acheloos: probably following Hes. Cat.; later authors

. .
tended to give the Sirens a Muse as a mother (cf. p. 167, and AR

4. 895 f.), befitting their qualities as singers.
the first to receive a vine plant from Dionysos: a story in Hyg. 129
would explain this. When Dionysos fell in love with Althaia, Oineus
tactfully absented himself by pretending that he had some rites to
perform; and Dionysos slept with his wife, fathering Deianeira (a
tradition mentioned by Ap. below), and afterwards presented the
vine to Oineus, naming its product oinos, wine, after him.
for jumping over the ditch: an allusion to a lost story. (Some point
to the death of Remus in Livy 1. 7. 2, but the comparison is of
doubtful relevance.)
placed it in a chest: Bacchylides in the fifth century (5. 140 ff.) is
the earliest surviving source for this story.
To hunt this boar: on Meleager and the boar see also //. 9. 529 ff.
(without any mention of Atalante), Bacch. 5. 96 ff. (the earliest

surviving source for the story of the log, 136 ff), DS 4. 34, and
Ov. Met. 8. 270 ff. This was the first of the great adventures which
brought together major heroes from all parts of Greece; for other
catalogues of the participants see Ov. Met. 8. 299 ff. and Hyg. 173.
41 with a woman: on Atalante see also p. 116 and note.
the sons ofThestios: see p. 39 for their names. Thestios, the brother of
Meleager's mother Aithra, was king of Pleuron in Aetolia.
said by some: this alternative account is largely based on //. 9. 547
ff. (although Homer does not say that Meleager was killed).
transformed into birds: a later element in the story, often thought

to be of Hellenistic origin (though Sophocles may have known of
the transformation, see Pliny Nat. Hist. 37. 40). According to
Nicander (AL 2), they were transformed by Artemis with a touch
of her wand, to become guinea fowl (meleagrides), and transferred
to the island of Leros; Deianeira (who had to survive to become
Heracles' wife) and her sister Gorge were saved by the interven-
tion of Dionysos.
42 sent her . . . to Oineus: cf. DS 4. 35. 1 f.
the sons of Melas: Melas was another brother of Oineus, p. 39.
killed his own brother: according to Pherecydes (sc. //. 14. 120) Tydeus
attacked the sons of Agrios (another brother of Oineus) for plot-
ting against Oineus, and accidentally killed his brother (or his uncle
Melas, in sc. //. 14. 114), who happened to be present. For his
subsequent history, see pp. 109-11.
188
Explanatory Notes
Diomedes: the son of Tydeus remained in Argos, became one of

the Epigoni, p. 112, and succeeded to the throne of his father-in-
law Adrastos, to become ruler of Argos and Tiryns, and leader of
the Argives at Troy, p. 148.
Thersites: familiar from the Iliad, 2. 212 ff. (but in Homer he is
not of noble birth); and see p. 154.
43 parch the wheat-grain: roast it over a fire, killing the seed.
together with . . . He lie : the eponym of the Hellespont ('the Sea of

Helle', see below; cf. Aesch. Persians 68); late sources (e.g. P. 9.
34. 4) explain that she was due to be sacrificed with Phrixos.
the wrath of Hera: because Athamas and Ino (who was also driv-
en mad) had taken in the young Dionysos, her husband's child by
another woman, see p. 101. Pausanias (1. 44. 11) cites an alterna-
tive tradition that the deaths resulted from Athamas' anger when
he discovered how Ino had deceived him.
44 Athamantia: a plain in southern Thessaly (cf. AR 2. 514).
Ephyra, now known as Corinth: the exact location of Ephyra — the

home of Sisyphos that lay 'in a corner of horse-rearing Argos', //.
6. 152 f. — is unknown, but its identification with Corinth (which

is by
referred to separately in the Iliad as one of the towns ruled
Agamemnon, 2. seems that when the
570) is altogether dubious. It
Corinthians (notably the early epic poet Eumelos) found themselves

short of significant local myth, they annexed the material from
Ephyra, which had declined into obscurity.
who killed the . . . Chimaera: see p. 64; the full story is deferred
because he was exiled to Argos.
punishment in Hades: Homer describes it, Od. 11. 593 ff, but does
not explain the reason. For the present explanation, cf. P. 2. 5. 1;
for the abduction of Aegina, see p. 126.
Dawn carried him off: for Cephalos and Procris, see p. 134; the
. . .
Cephalos associated with Dawn is described below as a son of

Hermes, see p. 131 and note.
but ofCynortas: to give the father of Tyndareus (an important figure
in the Laconian genealogies) a purely Laconian descent, see p. 119,
and p. 120 and note.
Seriphos: a rocky island in the south-eastern Aegean, later of
proverbial insignificance, but important in myth for the involve-
ment of these sons of Magnes with Perseus and Danae, see p. 65.
45 founded a city: called Salmone (Strabo 7. 3. 31); Elis was in the north-
west Peloponnese. On Salmoneus, see also Virgil Aen. 6. 585 ff.
189
Explanatory Notes
45 Poseidon had intercourse with her. see Od. 11. 235 ff.
Pelias: so called because he had been left with a livid or black-
and-blue mark (pelion ft), resembling a bruise (or a birthmark).
Sidero: see DS 4. 68. 2, she married Salmoneus after the death of

Tyro's mother, Alcidice, and treated Tyro harshly 'as a stepmother
would'; seems that no further explanation
it is required. Her name
suggests that she had an iron nature.
in Messene, he founded Pylos: Nestor's 'sandy Pylos' (II. 9. 295 etc.)
lay in the south-western Peloponnese, but it has been disputed since

ancient times whether it should be identified with the Messenian
Pylos near Sphacteria (as assumed here) or with the Pylos that lay
further north in the west-central province of Triphylia. The archaeo-
logical evidence suggests that the former was the city behind the
legend (although there are elements in Homer's accounts, notably
in //. 11. 711 ff., which favour the more northerly location). Strabo
argued for the Triphylian location (8. 3. 7).
46 he mas killed by Heracles: for his attack on Pylos, see p. 87. The
story of Periclymenos' death was told in Hes. Cat. (fr. 33b):
Athene told him who the bee was, and Heracles killed it with an
arrow. In the later tradition Heracles is also said to have shot him
as an eagle (Ov. Met. 12. 549 ff, Hyg. 10) or swatted him as a fly
(sc. AR 1. 156). He was granted his powers of transformation by
his grandfather Poseidon (Hes. Cat. fr. 33a. 13 ff).
purified his ears: snakes, as chthonic creatures, are naturally asso-

ciated with prophecy, and other seers (e.g. Cassandra and Helenos,
according to one tradition, Tzetz. Arg. Lye.) are said to have acquired
their prophetic powers in this way.
could understand . . . the birds flying overhead: the interpretation of

bird-flights was an important aspect of technical divination, but
this takes us into the realm of magic.
Phylacos: for his birth, see p. 44; Phylace lay in south-eastern

Thessaly.
Melampous promised his assistance: the basic elements of the following

story can be found in Homer, Od. 11. 287 ff, without the name of
the seer, or, predictably, the talking woodworms; we are simply
told that Iphicles released Melampous in return for the oracles
that he had delivered for him (ibid. 297 f, cf. P. 4. 36. 3).
47 gelding lambs . . . took fright: in Pherecydes' version (sc. Od. 11, 287),
his fatherpursued him with his knife because he saw him doing
something improper (masturbating presumably) and there is no men-
190
Explanatory Notes
tion of the gelding; but the original story may have included both
elements. This caused Iphicles to become impotent.
scraped off the rust . . . in a drink: because the rust comes from the
instrument that inflicted the harm, it will also cure it, following a
basic principle of sympathetic magic (compare the cure of
Telephos on p. 150).
the women of Argos mad: see p. 63 (where this story is combined

with the story of the cure of Proitos' daughters) and note.
48 Apollo was serving him: for the circumstances, see pp. 119-20. Apollo
performs the following favours in gratitude for the kind treatment
that he has received from Admetos (cf. Hyg. 50).
of snakes: as creatures of the earth, they are portents of death;

coils
hence the favour that Apollo asks of the Fates.

Kore sent her back: out of pity and admiration for her self-sacrifice
(cf. Plato Symposium 179c). Kore is a name for Persephone (see
p. 33 and note).
Heracles fought with Hades for her: as in Eur. Alcestis (although the
theme goes back to Phrynichos, an early Athenian tragedian); after
blundering into Admetos' house at the time of Alcestis' funeral,
Heracles rescued her out of gratitude for Admetos' hospitality and
remorse for his own tactless behaviour. In the play, he wrestled
not with Hades personally, but with Death (Thanatos) when he
came up for his prey.
Pelias succeeded Cretheus: Jason's father, Aison, might have

. . .
been expected to succeed his father Cretheus on the Iolcian throne,

so the position of Pelias (the son of Tyro by Poseidon and thus
Aison's half-brother) was at least dubious. Ap. is uninformative on
the background; in Hes. Cat. fr. 40, and Pind. Pyth. 4. 102 ff. (where
Pelias is definitely a usurper), Jason was reared in the country by
the Centaur Cheiron.
49 the wrath of Hera: for its cause, see p. 45; Medea will return from
Colchis with Jason and cause Pelias' death, p. 57.
the golden fleece: for its origins see p. 43.
Colchis: a land south of the Caucasus at the eastern end of the

Black Sea; a remote area for the early Greeks.
the Argo after its builder: it is likely that its name was originally
derived from the adjective argos, meaning swift (mentioned in DS
4. 41. 3, as an alternative etymology).
Dodona: an ancient oracle of Zeus at Epirus in north-western
Greece (known to Homer, //. 16. 233-5). The great oak, whose
191
Explanatory Notes
rustling leaves were supposed to reveal the will of Zeus, was a suit-
able source for the speaking (and oracular) timber.
50 they set out to sea: for further details on all the following, see Ap.'s
main source, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes; this is a rel-

atively late epic dating from the third century bc, but it draws
extensively on early sources. Significant divergences will be noted.
51 Polyphemos: a Lapith from Thessaly, who is said by Homer, //. 1.

264 ff, to have played a heroic role in the war between the Lapiths
and the Centaurs (see p. 142): he was married to Heracles' sister
Laonome (sc. AR 1. 1241a).
away by nymphs: Hylas was drawn into the spring by a

snatched
water-nymph (AR 1. 1228 ff.) or nymphs (three in Theocritus Idyll
13. 43 ff.), and was never seen again; in AR 1. 1310 ff. the proph-
etic sea-god Glaucos appears to the Argonauts and tells them that
a nymph has made him her husband.
There they abandoned Heracles of the Argonauts: the ini-

. . . leader
tial narrative follows AR
Views on Heracles' involvement
1. 1207 ff.
in the expedition van greatly. Some deny that he ever joined the ex-
pedition (e.g. Herodoros, mentioned here, a fifth-fourth-century
rmthographer, and Ephoros, the fourth-century historian, and doubt-
less the earliest tradition). According to the sixth-century Hesiodic
Marriage o/Ceux he was left behind accidentally at Aphetai when
sent for water (sc. AR 1. 1289); but the Hylas story, probably of
later origin (fifth century?), is most favoured by later authors. Only
in late novelistic accounts (e.g. by Dionysios 'the leather-armed',
second /first century, cited here) does he travel all the way to Colchis
and, inevitably, overshadow Jason.
52 by Boreas . . . their stepmother: see p. 135 and note.

the Harpies: for their parentage see p. 29, cf. Theog. 265 ff. The
meaning of name, 'Snatchers', is reflected in their character-
their
istic action of swooping down and snatching away people (or here,
Phineus' food).
failed to catch those they pursued: so here both of them die, because
the Harpies fall down exhausted before they can catch them; for
the birth of the Boreads, and another account of their death, see
p. 134 and notes. Boreas was the North Wind, so it is natural that
his sons should be swift-moving and winged.
Ocypode according to Hesiod: not in Theog. 267, where the Harpies
are called Aello and Ocypete (meaning swift flier as against
Ocypode, swift of foot), but this may be a reference to Hes. Cat.
(which contained an account of the pursuit, frs. 150-7).
192
Explanatory Notes
Strophades: these islands, which lie to the west of the Peloponnese

opposite Messenia, mark the point where she 'turned' (estraphe).
Ap. is wrong to suggest that this name was given to the Echinadian
Islands (which were known under that name in historical times,
and lie further north, near the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf fac-
ing Acarnania); according to AR 2. 297, the islands thus renamed
were formerly known as the Plotai or 'Floating Islands'.
in the Argonautica: see 2. 284 ff. Iris (who was the messenger of
the gods, but was acting on her own initiative here, presumably as
a sister of the Harpies, Theog. 266 f.) intervened to say that the
Harpies were simply performing their duties as the 'hounds of Zeus'
and was unlawful to destroy them. AR is misreported on the oath,
it
for is Iris who swore that the Harpies would never approach
it
Phineus again. They departed to their den in Crete.

53 that Cadmos had sowed at Thebes: see p. 100; not of course the same
teeth, but half of the teeth from the Theban dragon that Athene
(or Athene and Ares, sc. Pind. Isth. 4. 13, citing Pherecydes) had
held back and given to Aietes, cf. AR 3. 1 183 f. This is a secondary
motif, directly modelled on the Theban story.
a potion: see AR 3. 844 from the Colchicum, or

ff; extracted
autumn crocus, which came when the blood from
into existence
the tormented Prometheus, p. 36, fell to the earth. The drug from
its seed, used until modern times for treating rheumatism and gout,
is here endowed with magical properties.
54 he put them under the yoke: on the bulls and their yoking by Jason,
see also Pind. Pyth. 4. 224-41.
murdered her brother: Ap. prefers an earlier and more primitive ver-
sion of this story to that in AR 4.
where Apsyrtos is of mil-
303 ff.
itary age and is Medea by his father,

sent in pursuit of Jason and
and is treacherously killed by Jason in a temple of Artemis on
an island at the mouth of the Danube. Ap.'s version is similar to
that in Pherecydes (sc. AR 4. 223 and 226), but there Medea takes
the infant child from his bed in Colchis on Jason's instructions,
and Jason participates in the killing and dismemberment. In the
earlier tradition and AR alike the murder is of central import-
ance as the cause of the Argonauts' diversion to the western
Mediterranean.
Tomoi: meaning 'Pieces'; on the western shore of the Black Sea.
cf. AR 4. 646 f. In AR (592 ff.)

55 past the Ligurian and Celtic peoples:
they from the Adriatic up the Eridanos (or Po), down the Rhone,
sail
and then towards Italy and along its coast. The Ligurians lived in
193
Explanatory Notes
north-western Italy and the eastern Riviera, and the Celts to the
west and north of that; the vagueness of the language here may be
deliberate, reflecting the author's awareness that the river voyage
is geographically impossible.
55 Aiaie: a mythical island, cf. Od. 10. 135 ff. Although Homer placed
her island in the remote east (in Od. 12. 3-4, it is described as
the home of Dawn and associated with the rising Sun), the fab-
ulous realms familiar from the Odyssey are now located firmly in
the west.
to counter their own: as the finest of singers himself, p. 30, Orpheus

could reasonably expect to outcharm the Sirens (cf. Hyg. 14); in
AR 4. 905 ff. it is largely a matter of volume.
the island of the Phaeacians: see Od. 6-8; here identified with
Corcyra, now Corfu.
a violent storm: the Argonauts encounter a storm in AR also when

they leave Phaeacia, but it drives them to the coast of Africa (4.
1232 ff.). It is all mention of the
surprising that Ap. should omit
traditions connecting the Argonauts with Libya, for the theme is
of early origin. The occasion for their visit varies. In one version,
they return from Colchis by an eastward route along the River
Phasis to the Ocean and thence the Red Sea, and then carry the
Argo from there to Libya (sc. AR 4. 259 and 282, cf. Pind. Pyth.
4. 25 ff); in Hdt. 4. 179 ff. they are driven there by a storm on
the voyage out, but in DS 4. 56. 6 on their return as in AR.
56 Anaphe: its name is traced to the way in which it 'appeared' (from

anaphainein) before the Argonauts. One of the southernmost
Aegean islands, next to Thera (Santorini); but it is north of Crete,
and in AR (4. 1717) they came to Anaphe after their encounter
with Talos in Crete, on their voyage north from Africa.
make jokes: see AR 4. 1720 ff; the story explains why the local
women directed obscene jokes at the men when sacrifices were made
to Apollo on Anaphe.
a man of bronze: to be understood literally, cf. AR 4. 1638 ff; and
it is thus natural that Hephaistos, famed as a creator of automata
(see //. 18. 373 ff. and 417 ff), should have constructed him. That
some (e.g. AR 4. 1641 f.) should have associated him with Hesiod's
race of bronze (see Hes. WD 143 ff.) is understandable, but Hesiod
was speaking metaphorically when he named his sequence of races
after different metals.
a bull: otherwise unattested, but not unduly surprising in the
Cretan context (cf. pp. 97 f).
194
Explanatory Notes
a single vein: AR speaks of a vein at his ankle covered by a thin

layer of skin (4. 1646 ff.), but there is no mention of the bronze nail
which acts as a stopper, an appealingly archaic element preserved

here. Talos would be invulnerable if it were not for this vein.
the ichor flowed away: the fluid of life (originally a term for the
fluid that takes the place of blood in the gods, //. 5. 339 ff., but
later used in a more general sense for animal serum). In AR 4.
1665 ff., Medea invokes the Keres, spirits of death, with songs and
prayers, and when Talos tries to hurl boulders to repel them, he
grazes his ankle on a rock, causing the ichor to pour out like molten
lead. The alternative in which Poias (the father of Philoctetes who
lit Heracles' pyre, p. 91) shoots him in the ankle implies the same
cause of death.
a competition developed: again explaining a local custom, see AR 4.
1765 ff. (cf. Callimachus fr. 198; Hellenistic scholars, and scholar-
poets, were much interested in local material of this kind).
put Aison to death: if Jason is dead, Pelias can safely consolidate his
rule by eliminating Jason's father Aison, who has a legitimate claim
to the throne as the son of Cretheus.
bull's blood: the Greeks believed that bull's blood was dangerous
to drink because its rapid coagulation would cause the drinker to
choke; there was a famous tale that Themistocles committed sui-
cide by drinking it (see Plut. Them. 31).
57 So she went to the palace . . . boiled him: cf. P. 8. 11. 2 f . and Ov.
Met. 7. 297 ff; Medea had power enough as a magician to re-
juvenate Pelias if she wished, but in his case she failed to put the
necessary potions into the cauldron. She is said to have made Jason
young again by boiling him (Arg. Eur. Med., reporting Simonides
and Pherecydes).
Creon: the son of Lycaithos, and his successor as king of Corinth;
not to be confused with Creon, son of Menoiceus, the king or re-
gent of Thebes, p. 111. His father ruled Corinth at the time of
Bellerophon's departure (sc. Eur. Med. 19). According to an ear-
lier tradition, ascribed to the Corinthian epic poet Eumelos, who
was probably the inventor of the genealogical scheme underlying
it, Medea was invited to Corinth to become queen in her own right
(sc. Eur. Med. 19, quoting Simonides to the same effect).
a raging fire: see Eur. Medea 1167 ff. She is said to have thrown
herself into a fountain named after her in Corinth (P. 2. 3. 6).
receivedfrom the Sun a chariot: following Eur. Medea (1317 ff.,
with Arg.; and for the murder of her two children, 1236 ff.). It
195
Explanatory Notes
should be remembered that her father Aietes was a son of the Sun,
p. 43.
57 the Corinthians forced them away: the local Corinthian tradition, see
P. 2. 3. 6; they stoned the children because they had carried the
fatal gifts to Glauce, but as a result of this murder the young chil-
dren of Corinth began to die. The Corinthians were ordered by
the oracle to offer sacrifices in their honour each year (which were
continued until the city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 bc)
and to raise an altar to Fear.
she married Aigeus- Aigeushad difficulty fathering children, p. 136,

and he is said to have married Medea when she promised to cure
the problem by her spells (Plut. Thes. 12). For her expulsion see
p. 139.
a son, Medos: either directly (P. 2. 3. 7) or through her son, she

becomes the eponym of the Medes, whose empire south-west of
the Caspian Sea was later absorbed into the Persian Empire.
According to another tradition, Medea bore Medos to an Asian
king after her expulsion from Athens, DS 4. 55. 7, and he then
succeeded to his father's kingdom.
she killed Perses: or Medos killed him and conquered Media there-
after (DS 4. 56. 1, cf. Hyg. 27).
58 Inachos: as one of the most prominent features in the landscape,

rivers often appear at an early stage in local genealogies. The state-
ment was named after him presents the matter in
that the river
a rationalized form; Inachos would originally have been the river
itself, which, in myth, can function as a person at the same time,
cf. Acheloos on p. 113.
Phoroneus and Aigialeus: in the mythology of their particular areas

each would be seen as the local earth-born 'first man', Phoroneus
in Argos, and Aigialeus in Aigialeia to the north of Argos (in the

region of Sicyon; compare his position in the local genealogies as
reported by P. 2. 5. 5). Here they are absorbed into a broader
genealogical scheme.
was called Sarapis: the cult of Sarapis, which was encouraged by

the Hellenistic kings of Egypt, developed from the cult of Apis,
the sacred bull worshipped at Memphis. The Argive Apis is here
identified with the Egyptian Apis, and thence with Sarapis, who
became the chief god in the cult of the Egyptian gods as cele-
brated outside Egypt.
196
Explanatory Notes
man' in Arcadia, in the central Peloponnese;

Pelasgos: the 'first
that he was born from the earth was the local tradition. Ap. will
return to Pelasgos and the mythology of Arcadia on p. 1 14.
Pelasgians: also used in a more general sense to refer to the abo-
riginal inhabitants of various parts of Greece, notably Thessaly.
calling the Peloponnese Argos: this continues a pattern in which
regional names are said to have originated as names for the
whole Peloponnese. (According to the context, the name Argos can
Pelopon-
refer either to the Argolid, as a region in the north-east
nese, or to Argos, as the main city within it.)
eyes all over his body: as with the hydra's heads, the numbers vary
according to the fancy of the author. That he had eyes 'all over'
may have been wrongly from his title Panoptes. In
inferred
Pherecydes (sc. Eur. Phoen. 1116) he had only a single extra eye,
on the back of his head, granted to him by Hera, who also made
him sleepless.
Echidna: a fearsome monster and progenitor of monsters, who lived

in a cave in a hollow of the earth and feasted on raw flesh, see
Theog. 295 ff.
59 Peiren: a son of the first Argos and Evadne; he can be identified

with Peiras two paragraphs previously.
Zeus seduced Io: for all the following, cf. Aesch. Suppliants 291 ff.;
there Io is transformed by Hera. See also [Aesch.] PV S6\ ff. and

Ov. Met. 1. 583 ff.
betrayed by Hierax: otherwise unknown. Since hierax means a hawk,

perhaps associated with a transformation story (as with another
Hierax in AL 3).
Argeiphontes: an ancienttitle (e.g. Od. 8. 338) of uncertain origin,
here interpreted as meaning 'Argos-slayer'.

Ionian Gulf, the Adriatic; for this explanation of its name, cf. [Aesch.]
/>F836ff.
Bosporos: 'the cow's strait', or 'ox ford'; a valid etymology.
60 Hera asked the Curetes . . . discovered Epaphos: as Ap. remarks, the

Greeks identified Io with the Egyptian goddess and the pre-
Isis,
sent story is based on the tale of Isis' search for the lost Osiris; for
a Greek account of the latter, see Plutarch's Isis and Osiris 355 ff.
Osiris was washed ashore at Byblos. In view of the Curetes' previ-
ous services to him, p. 28, it seems ungrateful of Zeus to kill them.
until later: see pp. 96 ff. for Agenor and the Cretan /Theban line.
Belos: the name is derived from the Phoenician Baal, strictly a god,
but often taken by the Greeks to be an early eastern king.
197
Explanatory Notes
60 Melampodes: 'Blackfeet', an epithet for the Egyptians found in late

authors only.
the first man to do so: but the Argo, p. 49,was more commonly
regarded as the first ship (which is why was turned into a con-
it
stellation by Athene, Catast. 35). In either case, the ship was built
with Athene's help.
Gelanor . . . surrendered the throne to him: according to P. 2. 16. 1,
Gelanor, son of Sthenelas, was a great-grandson of Agenor, Io's

uncle (or on p. 58, her great-grandfather); and Danaos too had a
legitimate claim as a descendant of Io. Pausanias gives the local
tradition (P. 2. 19. 3 f.). The Argives found their claims so evenly
balanced that they deferred the decision until the following day;
and early the next morning, a wolf attacked a herd of cattle graz-
ing outside the walls and killed the bull. So the Argives ceded the
throne to Danaos, taking this to be a sign from the gods (with the
wolf representing Danaos, the outsider). And Danaos, believing
that Apollo had sent the wolf, founded the most important cult in
the city of Argos, that of Apollo Lycaios ('Wolfish' Apollo).
After he . . . Danaans after himself: included with the preceding lines

in sc. //. 1. 42, as part of a citation from the second book of
Apollodorus; not accepted by all editors.
Poseidon . . . belonged to Hera: see p. 130 for a similar dispute at

Athens; these were in effect contests for special cultic honours from
the inhabitants. For further details, see P. 2. 15. 5; this explains
why the Argive rivers (including the Inachos) run dry in summer,
except at Lerna.
61 Lerna: there was a stream there called Amymone, p. 74, cf. P. 2.
37. 1. Lerna has more sinister associations as the home of the hydra,
p. 74.
62 Hypermnestra . . . spared Lynceus: they will be the ancestors of the

Argive royal line thereafter. See also P. 2. 25. 4 and 2. 19. 6.
they were purified: but in late sources the Danaids are listed
amongst those who suffer punishment in Hades (e.g. Ov. Met. 4.
462, Horace Odes 3. 11. 28 ff), where they attempt endlessly to
fill perforated vessels with water.
at an athletic contest: see Pind. Pyth. 9. 112 ff.
Amymone bore . . . in that very manner: Nauplios was conceived at

Lerna, p. 61. Since Nauplios' activities as a wrecker took place so
much later (after the Trojan War, see p. 159), this would mean
that he lived to an improbable age; some resolved the problem by
claiming that the wrecker was a descendant of the Nauplios born
198
Explanatory Notes
toAmymone (in AR 1. 134 ff., he is a great-great-great-grandson).

Seneca records that he was cast into the deep {Medea 658 f.), but
nothing is known of the exact circumstances.
Homer calls Anteia: in //. 6. 160; on Stheneboia see also p. 64, and
p. 115 where she is said to have been the daughter of Apheidas,
an Arcadian.
63 fortified . . . by the Cyclopes: imagining that the monumental archi-

tecture of theMycenaeans was beyond the power of man, the Greeks
supposed that the fortifications of Tiryns and their like must be
the work of giants or 'Cyclopes' (cf. P. 2. 25. 7). In view of the
popular origin of this tradition, there is little point in asking ex-
actly who these Cyclopes were, but the ancient mythographers
(e.g. sc. Theog. 139) thought that they should be distinguished
from the primordial Hesiodic Cyclopes on p. 27, and also from the
primitive pastoral Cyclopes of Homer, p. 165.
Acousilaos . . . Hera: the anger of Hera was generally regarded as

the cause of their madness. According to Bacch. 2. 47 ff., they were
sent mad for boasting in the precinct of Hera that their father was
wealthier than the goddess; the present story that they mocked her
primitive cultic image (xoanon) is probably of somewhat later ori-
gin. In Bacch. (2. 95 ff.) they were cured by Artemis after their
father prayed to her and vowed twenty oxen, but in Hes. Cat. by
Melampous (frs. 131 ff., cf. fr. 37).
the other women: the women of Argos, cf. p. 47, where the mad-
ness was attributed to Dionysos; the story was doubtless of sepa-
rate origin from that of the daughters of Proitos. Herodotus (9.
34) is the only other source for the raising of the fee (but there
the daughters of Proitos are not involved). Some date the madness
of the Argive women to a later period, when Anaxagoras, a grand-
son of Proitos, was on the throne (DS 4. 68. 4; P. 2. 18. 4).
agreed to the cure on these terms: this introduces a further complexity

into the pattern of rule in the Argolid. There are separate lines
within the Inachid royal family, relating to a division of the terri-
tory between Tiryns and Argos, pp. 62 f. (and later, Mycenae); and
now an additional Deucalionid royal family is inserted (which will
be the most important at the time of the Theban Wars, see p. 107
and note). These complexities are the result of the mythographers'
efforts to impose a modicum of order on an inherited mass of
largely irreconcilable myth. The threefold division of Argos does
not reflect a peculiarity in Argive institutions comparable to the
dual monarchy in Sparta; and one soon finds that it is impossible
199
Explanatory Notes
to trace clear lines of descent linking each of the main centres to

each family or branch of a family.
64 killed his brother: or a Corinthian nobleman named Belleros (sc.
Lycophr. 17, sc. //. 6. 155), hence his name Bellerophon (or
'Belleros-slayer', cf. Hermes 'Argeiphontes' on p. 59).
to be purified: this is a recurring pattern in these myths. A person

who spills another's blood becomes polluted, and thus a danger to
his native community (because he is liable to become the cause of
barrenness, plague, and the like). He must therefore go into exile
and be purified. That he is purified by a king rather than a priest
reflects in part the sacral character of early kingship, and in part
the social function of purification in enabling the polluted man to
be integrated into the community of the king who purifies him.
Stheneboia fell in love with him: the following accords with //. 6.
154 ff. (except that Homer calls her Anteia, as remarked above).
to Iobates: Proitos' father-in-law, see above, who lived in Lycia, in
the south-western corner of Asia Minor.
a third head in the middle: we are to understand that the dragon's

tail has a head at the end, Theog. 321 ff, and that this middle
cf.
head is on a neck that grows from the monster's back.

//. 16. 328 ff. A Lycian like Iobates (who is not named
Amisodaros: see
by Homer), and the father of two sons in Sarpedon's company.
as Hesiod records: Theog. 319 f. (but Hesiod's text is ambiguous and
he may have meant that the Lernaean hydra was its mother).
climbed on to . . . Pegasos: as in Theog. 325 and Hes. Cat. fr. 43a,

84 ff; there is no mention of him in Homer's account, II. 6. 179
ff. For the story of his birth, see p. 66 and Theog. 278 ff. He was
given to Bellerophon by Poseidon (sc. //. 6. 155), or by Athene,
who had tamed and bridled him with her own hands (P. 2. 4. 1);
or according to Pind. 01. 13. 63 ff, Bellerophon bridled Pegasos
himself after obtaining advice from a seer on how to obtain divine
favour for the enterprise. It was said that Bellerophon was killed
when he tried to fly to Olympos on Pegasos, Pind. Isth. 1. 44 ff.
the Solymoi: they lived in southern Asia Minor to the west of Lycia
(see Strabo 14. 3. 9).
in youthful vigour: following Zenobius 2. 87; the text is problematic.
65 some say by Proitos: although this variant (apparently derived from

Pindar, sc. //. 14. 319) is cited first, it was generally accepted that
Perseus was a son of Zeus; for the quarrel between the twins, see
pp. 62 f.
200
Explanatory Notes
when Acrisios learned: according to Pherecydes (sc. AR 4. 1091) he

heard the voice of the child while he was at play at three or four
years of age, and had Danae brought up from the chamber with
the child's nurse, whom he killed.
Polydectes . . . Dictys: for their birth and origin, see p. 44.
a marriage-offering: as in Homer, the bride would be purchased

from her father with a bride-gift, hedna, which was often substantial
(e.g. //. 11. 243 ff). For Hippodameia, see p. 144.
did not take the horses of Perseus: this seems to be Ap.'s meaning
(rather than that he failed to receive any horses from him, as in
Frazer's translation), as in the clearer account reported from
Pherecydes (in sc. AR. 4. 1515a; when Dictys asks him for a horse,
Perseus replies hyperbolically that he would give him the Gorgon's
head, and the following day, he refuses to accept Perseus' horse
alone, holding him instead to his 'promise').
the daughters of Phonos: the Graiai (Old Women). In Theog. 270

ff, there are only two, and although they were grey-haired from
birth, they are said to be fair-cheeked and beautifully robed. The
shared eye and tooth first appear in Pherecydes sc. AR 4. 1515a
and [Aesch.] PV 795 f.
winged sandals: belonging to Hermes, which Perseus needs to reach

the Gorgons, and then escape from them (the tradition that he
escaped on Pegasos, Ov. Amatoria 3. 12. 24, found little favour
e.g.
in antiquity). On the kibisis, see Appendix, 1 and note.
of Hades: inserted by Heyne, but not necessarily in the original, as

the reader could be expected to know (as in P. 3. 17. 3). The leather
helmet or cap belongs to Hades because his name suggests in-
visibility (a-ides). The notion that he was 'armed' with it by the
Cyclopes, p. 28, is a fancy from a relatively late period.
66 conceived them previously by Poseidon: she had slept with him in a

spring meadow, see Theog. 278 ff.
Cassiepeia: the form Cassiopeia, from the constellation, never

familiar
appears in ancient writings; seems
have originated as a hybrid
it to
between this and the ancient variant Cassiope (Ov. Met. 4. 738
etc.).
Ammon: he had an oracle at the oasis of Siwa in Egypt, which was

regarded by the Greeks as an oracle of Zeus.
67 claimed to rival the may seem surprising, but

goddess in beauty: this
we have seen that she was once attractive to Poseidon; according
to Ov. Met. 4. 798 ff, Athene transformed her into her familiar
201
—
Explanatory Notes
Gorgonic form because she had slept with Poseidon in the god-
dess' sanctuary.
67 what the oracle had predicted: that he would be killed by his daugh-
ter's son, pp. 64 f.
king of Larissa: this lay in the land of the (Thessalian) Pelasgians,

and we should understand that Acrisios went to stay with
Teutamides. In Pherecydes' account (sc. AR 4. 1091) Perseus went
there specifically to find Acrisios, and became involved in the games
by chance.
on the foot, killing him: this seems odd — the incident on p. 76, which
involves a poisoned arrow, is not comparable —but it accords with
Pherecydes' account in sc. AR 4. 1091. In Hyg. 63, the wind blows
the discus from his hand at Acrisios' head, so fulfilling the will of
the gods. Some said that Perseus himself invented the discus, and
was using the occasion to demonstrate his skill with it (P. 2. 16.
2).
fortified Mycenae: Perseus was commonly seen as its founder

. . .
(cf. P. 2. 3). Henceforth it will be one of the three great

16.
centres in the Argolid with Argos and Tiryns.
68 gone far: telou ebe, hence Teleboans. The etymology is forced; the
name probably means 'those whose (war-)<rn>s can be heard from
afar\
descendant of Perseus . . . about to be born: Zeus means Heracles (see

p. 70), his own son by Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, grand-
son of Perseus; but Hera's stratagem will ensure that Eurystheus,
a grandson of Perseus, will be born before Heracles, and thus rule
at Mycenae in accordance with this declaration by Zeus. Hera is
always jealous of Zeus' children by other women. (As is usual in

mythical history, Heracles' divine parentage does not exclude him
from the lineage of his putative mortal father; he is also des-
cended from Perseus through his mother.)
the Eileithuiai: there was a goddess Eileithuia specifically associ-
ated with childbirth, cf. p. 29, but the name was also used in the
plural as a generic term to refer to other divine beings in so far as

they helped (or hindered) childbirth. The story is told by Homer,
//. 19. 96 ff.; compare P. 9. 11. 2 and Ov. Met. 9. 292 ff. for later
developments. In Homer, Hera merely restrains the Eileithuiai (//.

19. 119) from helping Alcmene, but in the later tradition they act-
ively hinder the birth.
69 of their maternal grandfather: the text is confused. For the basis

of their claim, see p. 68; the succession runs: Perseus Mestor —
202
Explanatory Notes
Hippothoe —Taphios— Pterelaos — the sons of Pterelaos. Earlier in

the sentence I have kept the manuscript reading 'with Taphios' (cf.
Tzetz. Lycophr. 932; as against 'with some Taphians' follow-

sc.
ing Heyne's emendation); the fact that the sons of Pterelaos are
seeking to regain the kingdom of the maternal grandfather of Taphios
could well explain the original meaning of the text, or the proper
reference of the problematic phrase if it is a gloss. Note that
Electryon, a son of Perseus, is involved in a dispute with the great-
great-great-grandsons of Perseus! The islands of the Teleboans lay
opposite Acarnania near the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf.
striking him dead: by accident, but there is also an early tradition

that they argued over the cattle and Amphitryon killed him in a
fit of anger (see Hes. Shield 11 f. and 82). This gives Sthenelos a
pretext to take power in Mycenae, and Hera's stratagem will

ensure that his son Eurystheus rules there after him; and the expul-
sion of Amphitryon and Alcmene explains why Heracles will start
his life in exile at Thebes.
she would marry him: this corresponds with the account attributed
to Pherecydes in sc. //. 14. 323 and sc. Od. 11. 266, but in Hes.
Shield 14 ff. (in lines taken from Hes. Cat.) they were already mar-
ried (as one might well infer from the previous paragraph) and she
makes the consummation of the marriage conditional on the
vengeance. (Without a small emendation by Wagner, the passage
would read, 'she would marry the person who avenged .') . .
the vixen: the Teumessian fox, which had its lair on Mount
Teumessos in Boeotia; Dionysos is said to have sent it (P. 9. 19.
1) but we are not told why. (Perhaps because he was rejected by
Pentheus, p. 103.) Here the Cadmeia clearly means the territory
of Thebes (rather than just the citadel).
70 Cephalos, son ofDeioneus: for his birth, see p. 44 (Deioneus can be

identified with Deion).
name was Lailaps, 'Hurricane' (e.g. Hyg. 189); for

the dog: its how
Cephalos came to possess it, see also p. 134.
Zeus turned . . . them divine intervention was needed
to stone: this
to resolve, or at least remove, the intolerable contradiction which

arose when a beast that was fated to catch its prey was set in pursuit
of a beast that was fated never to be caught. In astral mythology
Zeus turns the dog into a constellation (Canis Major, Catast. 33).
put Comaitho to death: he is unwilling to accept the love of one
who has betrayed her father and city; compare the story of Scylla
on p. 137.
203
Explanatory Notes
70 Heracles: the only other complete life history to survive from an-
tiquity is that of Diodorus of Sicily (4. 8-39), which follows a
similar pattern, and should be consulted on all the following.
killed the serpents: cf. Pind. Nem. 1. 39 ff.
71 Linos had struck him: after losing patience at his 'sluggishness of

soul', DS 3. 67. 2. Surviving accounts are late, although the
episode is depicted in fifth-century vase-paintings.
Rhadamanthys: the Cretan lawmaker who became a judge in

Hades, see p. 97.
should all conceive children by Heracles: he is impressed by his extra-
ordinary strength and expects him to father fine children, cf. DS
4. 29. 3. According to the temple legend at Thespiai, P. 9. 27. 5,
he slept with all but one, who became his priestess at the temple,
and did so in a single night.
dressed in its skin: but according to some, it was the Nemean lion,
p. 73, who provided the skin (e.g. Theocritus 25. 163 ff.; as the
skin of an invulnerable beast, it had the advantage of being impen-
etrable —Heracles had to use the lion's own claws to cut it).
72 the Minyans: here the inhabitants of Orchomenos in north-

western Boeotia (cf. //. 2. 511).
charioteer of Menoiceus: his master, a grandson of Pentheus, was a

member of the Theban royal family; the killing was also attri-
buted to a group of Thebans (P. 9. 37. 1 f.).
by Eurytos: in the manuscripts, autou, 'by him', referring to

Rhadamanthys. Because this seems unlikely in itself, and Ap. said
above that Heracles was taught archery by Eurytos, most editors
favour the present emendation; but it is possible that there is a
more extensive corruption. In DS 4. 14. 3 he is taught archery by
Apollo.
73 the Pythia: the priestess who delivered the oracles at Delphi.
ten labours: corrected from twelve

in the manuscripts (Hercher).
According to the following account, Heracles was due to perform
ten labours, but he has to perform two extra labours (making up
the canonic twelve) because Eurystheus refuses to accept the sec-
ond and fifth.
be immortal: referring to his apotheosis, which takes place some
time after the completion of the labours, and is a relatively late
element in the tradition, see p. 91 and note.
invulnerable beast fathered by Typhon: in Theog. 326 f, the son of
Orthos, son of Typhon and Echidna; it was reared by Hera. There
204 •
Explanatory Notes
is another tradition, also of early origin, that grew up on the it
Moon, who shook it down 2 DK, cf. Hyg.

to earth (Epimenides, fr.
30). In these mythical contexts, invulnerability means quite liter-

ally insusceptibility to wounds; if such a being can be killed by a
means that does not entail the piercing of its body, it is not im-
mune to death (hence the strangling). Pindar is the earliest author
to refer to its invulnerability (Isth. 6. 47 f.; Bacch. 13. 50 ff. is more
explicit).
sacrifice . . . as a hero: exceptional men, legendary but also histori-

cal, who were thought to exercise power after their death, were
worshipped in a special cult; sacrifices to the gods above and those
to the heroized dead were performed according to a different rit-
ual (which is words here, thuein
reflected in the use of different
and enagizein respectively).
Copreus: cf. //. 15. 639 f. His name is suggestive of kopros, dung.
74 the Lernaean hydra: see Theog. 313 ff., a child of Echidna and
Typhon, raised by Hera to be an adversary for Heracles; hydra,
meaning a water-serpent, is not a proper name (although the
Lernaean hydra came to be thought of as 'the' hydra).
nine heads: Hesiod, ibid., does not say that the hydra has more than
one head. Although Pausanias, 2. 37. 4, claims that Peisandros, the
seventh-sixth-century author of an epic poem on Heracles, was
the first to give the hydra many heads, the artistic evidence shows
that he was not the inventor of the theme, for such representa-
tions can be traced to about 700. The number of heads varies accord-
ing to the fancy of the poet or artist; already in early lyric, Alcaeus
gives it nine heads, and Simonides fifty (sc. Hes. Theog. 313). The
immortality of the middle head is unattested elsewhere.
of Amymone: see p. 61.
Iolaos: the son of Heracles' half-brother Iphicles, p. 72; he ac-

companied Heracles on several of his adventures, acting as his
charioteer.
when Zeus wanted to rape Taygete, daughter of

sacred to Artemis:
Atlas, Artemis rescued her by turning her into a deer; on return-
ing to human form she dedicated the present deer to Artemis, and
attached an inscription to it stating this (Pind. 01. 3. 29 f., with
sc. to 53).
struckit with an arrow: to bring it down without harming it.
According to other accounts he used nets to trap it, or over-

powered it when it was asleep or exhausted (DS 4. 13. 1).
205
Explanatory Notes
75 the common property of the Centaurs: according to another tradition,

Dionysos left the jar with Pholos to be opened when Heracles arrived
four generations later, and the local Centaurs were driven into a
frenzy by the scent of the wine (DS 4. 12. 3 f).
Cheiron . . . by the Lapiths: he was driven out of Thessaly with the

other Centaurs by this Thessalian people under the command of
their king, Peirithoos (see also p. 142). Malea was a promontory
at the south-east corner of the Peloponnese, far to the south of
Pholoe in Arcadia.
Only when Prometheus . . . able to die: see p. 83 with note.
76 killing him instantly: it will be remembered that Heracles dipped

his arrows in the hydra's gall; the virulence of the poison explains
both their effect on the Centaurs and why Cheiron's wound is
incurable.
he refused to pay the reward: thus far he had some justification, as

he could reasonably claim that he had been deceived when he was
asked to pay for a task that Heracles had to perform anyhow as an
unpaid service to Eurystheus.
Phyleus . . against his father: cf. P. 5. 1. 10, where Phyleus

. testified
is admonishing his father (and there is no mention of

exiled for
the arbitration). Homer remarks that Phyleus went into exile in
anger at his father, but gives no details (//. 2. 628 ff.).
77 shoot them down: Heracles was not ordered to kill them, and in
some accounts he merely them off (P. 8. 22. 4, referring to
scares
Peisandros, DS 4. 13. 2). It would seem that the birds were a prob-
lem only because of their numbers (DS is more explicit on this);
Pausanias' suggestion (P. 8. 22. 4 ff.) that they may have been man-
eaters is based on a later tradition in which they were identified
with a fabulous race of Arabian birds.
Acousilaos . . . bull that had carried Europa: the earliest author

known to have referred to this labour, but the identification he
offered for the bull cannot be reconciled with the usual tradition
that Europa's bull was Zeus himself in animal form (p. 96, cf. Hes.
fr. 140).
sent up from the sea by Poseidon: see also p. 97; the identification
favoured by DS (4. 13. 4) and Pausanias (1. 27. 9).
arrived at Marathon: where it is conveniently available for Theseus

to kill, p. 139; Theseus' exploits as a killer of beasts and malefac-
tors were modelled on those of Heracles.
206
—
Explanatory Notes
78 man-eating mares: cf. Eur. Alcestis 481 ff.; in DS 4. 15. 3 f. he cap-

tures the mares after he has satisfied their hunger by feeding them
on Diomedes himself.
by the River Thermodon: in north-eastern Asia Minor.
pressed down: exethlibon, suggesting compression rather than
removal. According to the Hippocratic treatise Airs, Waters, Places,
17, an Amazon mother would apply a hot iron to her daughter's
breast while she was still a child to prevent it from growing; sim-
ilarly DS 2. 45. 3 (who cites the common etymology that they are
called Amazons because they are 'without a breast', a-mazos).
the belt —
of Ares: this zoster which came from the god of war
would be a heavy warrior's belt, not a woman's girdle {zone), although
it sometimes seems to have been taken as such in the later tradi-
tion (as Admete's desire to possess it may imply). In AR 2. 966 ff.

Heracles captures Melanippe, the queen's sister, in an ambush and
obtains the belt as a ransom; or he captures Melanippe, their com-
mander, after killing many Amazons in battle, and then ransoms
her for the belt, DS 4. 16. 1 ff.
79 Lycos, and when Lycos: added to fill a short gap in the text; his
kingdom lay in the north-western corner of Asia Minor, and the
land of his enemies the Bebryces (later Bithynia) to the north-west
of that. On Amycos, see also p. 51.
undertaken to fortify Pergamon: see //. 7. 452 ff. and 21. 441 ff. (in
the latter Apollo serves as a herdsman). They were acting on the
bidding of Zeus, 21. 444, apparently as a punishment for their
attempted revolt against Zeus (see //. 1. 398 ff, where Apollo is
not mentioned; cf. sc. //. 21. 444). In //. 21. 453 ff., not only does
Laomedon refuse to pay, but he threatens to tie them up, sell them
into slavery, and cut off their ears.
to Tros: added for clarity, cf. //. 5. 265 ff.; he was Laomedon's
grandfather. On Ganymede see p. 123.
at some future time: for his attack on Troy, see p. 86.
80 three men joined into one: in Theog. 287 he is merely three-headed;

but in Aesch. Agamemnon 870 he is three-bodied, and in Stesichorus
(mid-sixth century, as reported by sc. Theog. 287) he is six-handed
and six-footed (and winged).
killed many savage beasts: the killing of wild beasts, and of foreigners
who are hostile to strangers, is an important part of Heracles' activ-
ity as a furtherer of civilization (or as a hero who made the world
safe for Greek colonization). Diodorus is much more informative
207
Explanatory Notes
on this aspect of Heracles (see DS 4. 17. 3 ff . for the taming of

Crete and Libya).
80 two pillars: these marked the boundaries of the inhabited world,
oikoumene, to the west, as did those of Dionysos, p. 102, to the
east; commonly identified with Gibraltar and Ceuta on either side
of the entry to the Mediterranean.
a golden cup: the Sun passed from east to west across the sky, from
sunrise to sunset, in a fiery chariot, and sailed back again in this
golden cup by way of the Ocean (which encircles the earth). We
are to imagine that Erytheia, the Red Isle, lies in the Ocean beyond
Spain. Hdt. 4. 8 placed it near Cadiz, and it was later identified
with Cadiz (Gadeira) as Ap. remarks above.
81 Rhegion: or Rhegium, now Reggio, at the toe of Italy, was a Greek
colony, although its name was not of Greek origin. Here it is said
to owe its name to the fact that the bull aporrhegnusi, breaks free
there (from amongst Geryon's cattle). DS 4. 21-4 includes a mass
of Italian and Sicilian material which Ap. characteristically ignores.
called the bull italus: Heracles asked the local people if they had
seen the calf anywhere, and when he heard them talking about it
in their own language, he gave the name Italy to the country that
it had passed through, after vitulus, the Latin for a calf (Dionysius
of Halicarnassus Ant. Rom. 1. 35, following Hellanicos).
unless Heracles defeated him: or they fought on the terms that if
Heracles was victorious, he would take the land, but if Eryx was,
he would take all the cattfe of Geryon (DS 4. 23. 2, P. 3. 16. 4 f.).
In the early fifth century, Dorieus, a member of the Spartan royal

family which was supposedly descended from Heracles, went to
Sicily and laid claim to the land on these grounds (P. 3. 16. 4, cf.
Hdt. 5. 41 ff).
the gulf: the Adriatic.
golden apples from the Hesperides: according to Pherecydes, Ge gave

apple trees bearing golden fruit to Hera as a wedding present, and
Hera ordered that they should be planted in the garden of the gods
near Mount Atlas (sc. AR 4. 1396, Hyg. PA 3). In Theog. (213 ff.)
the Hesperides, the nymphs of the evening who helped guard the
fruit, were daughters of Night (but subsequent accounts vary).
in the land of the Hyperboreans: a mythical people who lived in the

far north. Although Ap. rejects the tradition that the Hesperides
lay in the west, that was certainly their original location; their name
alone is sufficient to associate them with the evening, and thus the
sunset and the west, and Atlas too was commonly associated with
208
Explanatory Notes
the western end of North Africa. In the present version (cf. DS

4. 26. 2 ff.) Heracles' journey takes him to all points of the com-
pass; he passes through Italy to Libya and the west, then east again
to Egypt, and south to Arabia, and finally north on the eastern
Ocean to the Caucasus and beyond.
82 to avenge him . . . engaged him in single combat: interpreting the phrase

Areos de touton ekdikountos kai sunistantos monomachia in a differ-
ent sense, Frazer translates, 'Ares championed the cause of Cycnos
and marshalled the combat,' which would allow us to assume that
the text is complete, but in the present translation I have followed
the example of Carriere, who argues that there is a short gap before-
hand and that Ap.'s account originally accorded with that in Hyg.
31; there Heracles kills Cycnos in single combat, but when Ares
is about to attack him to avenge the death of his son, Zeus hurls
a thunderbolt to separate Heracles and Ares. Frazer's version rais-
es serious problems; in all other accounts of the story (including
Ap.'s second version of it on p. 90), Heracles kills Cycnos (cf. Hes.
Shield 416 and Stesichorus in sc. Pind. 01. 10. 19), and the story
ff.
seems altogether pointless if he does not. And it is hard to see why

Zeus should intervene to protect Cycnos. (A discussion of the points
of language can be found in Carriere's note.) It should be men-
tioned, however, that there is some evidence from sixth-century
vase-paintings that there may have been a tradition in which Zeus
restrained the combatants.
Nereus . . . transformed himself, for Nereus, see p. 29; sea-gods, as

inhabitants of a formless medium, are naturally shape-shifters.
Nereus appears in no other mythical narrative; the present story
was probably suggested by Homer's account of Menelaos' en-
counter with Proteus, another old man of the sea (Od. 4. 382 ff.).
Antaios: he roofed Poseidon's temple with travellers' skulls, Pind.

Isth. 4. 54. His peculiar relationship with the Earth is first re-
corded in Roman sources (Ov. Met. 9. 183 f., Lucan 4. 593 ff.),
but the motif is surely of earlier origin.
a drover: in other versions, a ploughman (e.g. Conon 11). For a

similar incident see p. 89 and note.
he killed Emathion: for his birth, see p. 124 and Theog. 984 f. The
only indication of the reason for the killing is the remark in DS
4. 27. 3 that after Heracles had sailed up the Nile Emathion
attacked him without provocation in Ethiopia. Perhaps the signi-
ficance of the episode lay in the fact that it marked the southern-
most stage of his journey.
209
Explanatory Notes
83 through Libya: this may be an error; but it is unlikely that Ap. had
a clear conception of the geographical connections here.
He then . . . in Prometheus' place: for the cause of Prometheus' pun-
ishment, see p. 36. There was an ancient tradition that crowns and
garlands are symbolic of the shackles worn by Prometheus as a
result of his services to thehuman race (Athenaeus 672e ff.); so
presumably Heracles dons an olive crown as a symbolic substitute
for Prometheus' fetters. (The wild olive was especially associated
with Heracles, and he is said to have brought it to Greece from
the land of the Hyperboreans, P. 5. 7. 7.) The meaning of
Cheiron's exchange has been much disputed, and only a tentative
suggestion can be offered here. We know that Cheiron wants to
die because he is suffering from a painful and incurable wound,
p. 75. Since Prometheusimmortal by nature, there can be no is
question of Cheiron simply exchanging his immortality for the mor-

tality of Prometheus and thus becoming able to die (as might be
inferred from the phrase on p. 75). It would seem, on the con-

trary, that this is another symbolic exchange; by passing below,
Cheiron assumes the sufferings of Prometheus. The fact that
Heracles presents him to Zeus suggests that by giving himself up
to die, Cheiron is fulfilling a prior condition set by Zeus. A pas-
sage in [Aesch.] PV 1026 ff. may be relevant here, in which
Hermes Prometheus that there will be no end to his suffer-
tells
ings unless a godshows himself ready to succeed to them and offers

to descend to Hades. This would be a dire fate for an immortal
being; but because of Cheiron's special circumstances, the seem-
ingly impossible condition mentioned in PV could be fulfilled.
he said that . . . the sky back until: a passage from sc. AR 4. 1396
is inserted to fill a gap in the text; it is based on Pherecydes, Ap.'s
main source here.
It is said . . . guardian snake: cf. Soph. Trachiniae 1099 f., and Eur.
Hercules Furens, 394 ff.
unholy: these apples and the trees that bore them belonged to Hera
or Zeus (see p. 81 and note), and it is thus unholy for them to be
removed permanently from their appointed home.
to fetch Cerberos: Homer knew of this feat, //. 8. 367 f., Od. 11. 623
ff.; see also Bacch. 5. 56 ff.
with a view to being initiated: into the Eleusinian Mysteries, which

ensured a better fate for initiates in the Underworld after their
death, and could thus prepare Heracles for his premature journey
to Hades.
210
Explanatory Notes
purified by Eumolpos: the legendary founder of the Mysteries, see

also p. 135and note. There was another tradition that Demeter
founded the Lesser Mysteries (the preparatory rites at Agrai,
near Athens) to purify Heracles (DS 4. 14. 3). In historical times,
all who spoke Greek could be initiated, with the exception of
murderers.
84 the souls Meleager

. . Medusa: the souls are the shades of the
. . . .
dead. For the encounter with Meleager, see Bacch. 5. 71 ff.

Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon, was killed by Perseus, p. 66; the
present encounter was doubtless suggested by Od. 11. 633 ff,
where Odysseus hurries from the world of the dead in a panic,
afraid that Persephone may send some monstrous apparition like
the Gorgon's head.
Theseus there, and Peirithoos: see p. 143.
stone of Ascalaphos: see p. 33.
to procure blood for the souls: the souls are flimsy and witless; a drink
of blood increases their materiality and raises their level of con-
sciousness, making it possible for them to communicate with out-
siders, see Od. 1 1 . 23 ff.
gates of Acheron: Acheron was strictly a river in the Underworld,

but its name was
also used by later authors for Hades itself; these
are the gates of Hades mentioned above, symbolizing the bound-
ary between the lands of the living and the dead. This frontier was
guarded by Cerberos, who fawned on those who entered the realm
of Hades, but attacked anyone who tried to escape through its gates,
Theog. 770 ff.
into an owl: as a screech-owl (which is moreover a bird of ill omen)

he will still be confined to the dark; Demeter will not permit him
to escape punishment for his betrayal of her daughter. For an-
other version of this transformation, see Ov. Met. 5. 538 ff.
gave Megara madness and murder of their chil-

to Iolaos: after his
dren, p. 72, there is no future Megara;in Heracles' marriage with

for the gods are clearly against it. So he gives her to his nephew
Iolaos as a reward for his help in the labours (here in overcoming
the hydra, p. 74, but in other sources he is said to have assisted
in the labours of the lion, boar, and cattle of Geryoneus also).
at archery: Eurytos was Heracles' own teacher in the art, p. 71.
Eurytos died when he challenged Apollo himself to an archery con-

test, Od. 8. 226 ff; the bow that Odysseus used to kill the suitors
originally belonged to him, Od. 21. 13 ff.
211
Explanatory Notes
85 cattle were stolen: in all other sources, mares, cf. Od. 21. 22 ff.
in a fresh fit of madness: other accounts are less favourable to

Heracles. In the Odyssey, ibid., he treacherously killed Iphitos after
entertaining him as his guest, and then took the mares; in
Pherecydes (sc. Od. 21. 22) he killed Iphitos in anger at having
been denied Iole; in DS 4. 31. 2 f., Heracles himself stole the mares
for revenge, and when Iphitos came
Tiryns to seek for them, to
Heracles took him to the battlements and asked him if he could
see them —
and when he could not, Heracles claimed to have been
falsely accused, and hurled him down.
Neleus rejected him: this is the reason for his later attack on Pylos,
p. 87.
refused . . . a response: because he was defiled by the murder, see

further P. 10. 13. 4.
the Cercopes: two brothers who robbed passers-by; for details we

have to rely on late sources. According to Zenobius 5.10, they had
been warned by their mother to beware of the 'Black-Bottomed

One' (Melampygos). When they tried to rob Heracles, he hung them
by their feet from either end of a pole, and they saw too late that
his bottom, where it was not covered by the lion's skin, was black
because of the thickness of the hair. They laughed, and when
Heracles asked why and he learned the reason, he was amused and
released them.
in his vineyard: added for clarity, cf. DS 4. 31. 7; he killed Syleus

with his own mattock.
the body of Icaros: see pp. 140 f.
86 the voyage to Colchis: the voyage of the Argonauts; for the tradi-
tion on Heracles' involvement, see p. 51 and note.
the hunt . . . from Troezen: since Meleager was killed after the hunt,
p. 41, this is irreconcilable with the tradition that Heracles met

him in Hades during his final labour, p. 84; and likewise, if
Heracles brought Theseus up from Hades, Theseus could hardly
have performed his earliest feat (of clearing the Isthmus of male-
factors, see pp. 138 f.) at this later period.
he sailed against Ilion:known to Homer, //. 5. 640 ff. (where he

lemarks on the small size of the expedition, with only six ships;
although it is three times larger here, it is still far smaller than the
later expedition, cf. p. 148). For the reason for Heracles' attack,
see p. 79.
to Heracles the Noble Victor: Kallinikos, thus explaining a cultic title
of Heracles as a hero who could overcome and avert evil.
212
Explanatory Notes
Priam: according to this etymology, the name of the king of Troy

during the great Trojan War was derived from priamai, to buy.
Hera sent violent storms: see //. 14. 249 ff. and 15. 24 ff.
suspended her from Olympos: with two anvils hanging from her feet,
and her hands tied with a golden band, //. 15. 18-20. See also
p. 31 and note.
87 war against the Giants: see pp. 34 f.
against Augeias: who had refused to pay the agreed fee when
Heracles cleared his stables, p. 76. Heracles now embarks on a series
of campaigns in the Peloponnese, before his final campaigns in north-
ern Greece.
Eurytos and Cteatos: at //. 2. 621, Homer gives their names, and
calls them the Actoriones after their father, but at 1 1 . 709, the two
Moliones, apparently after their mother. At //. 23. 641 they are
said to be twins, but there is no indication that they are joined
together. See also Pind. 01. 10. 26 ff. (where they are separate).
Their depiction as 'Siamese' twins may have its origin in Hes. Cat.
(see fr. 18).
set an ambush: a highly dubious action because they were pro-

tected by a religious truce at such a time (cf. P. 5. 2.If, where
we are told that the Eleans demanded satisfaction, and when none
was offered, boycotted the Isthmian Games ever afterwards).
recalled Phyleus: the son of Augeias who had been exiled for sup-
porting Heracles, p. 76.
an altar of Pelops: this seems inappropriate, because Pelops was a

hero rather than a god; in P. 5. 13. 1 ff., the sanctuary of Pelops
is said to have contained not an altar but a pit, into which an-
nual sacrifices of a black ram were made, in the rite befitting the
heroized dead.
marched against Pylos: on sandy Pylos and Periclymenos, see p. 45

and notes; for the cause of the war, p. 85 and note. The story
explains why Nestor alone represented the sons of Neleus at Troy,
cf. //. 11. 690 ff.
Hades, who came to the aid of the Pylians: but see //. 5. 395-7, Heracles
struck him 'amongst the dead'; he was thus collecting the dead,
cf. Pind. 01. 9. 33 ff, rather than fighting in the battle. Ap.'s account
reflects a later misunderstanding. Heracles is said to have wounded
Hera also (II. 5. 392; and Ares in Hes. Shield 357 ff.).
88 the son of Licymnios: Oionos (P. 3. 15. 4 f), said to have been
the first Olympic victor in the foot-race (Pind. 01. 10. 64 ff).
213
Explanatory Notes
Licymnios, who went into exile with Amphitryon, p. 69, was the
half-brother of Heracles' mother, so Heracles was avenge bound to
the murder of This campaign is important dynastically
his son.
because it caused Tyndareus to be restored to the Spartan throne.
According to Pausanias, Heracles attacked at once in a fury, but
was wounded and withdrew (3. 15. 5), and returned later with an
army after he had been cured by Asclepios (3. 19. 7).
88 raped Auge . . . the daughter ofAleos: Aleos was king of Tegea, and
founder of the temple of Athene Alea (P. 8. 4. 8). The tradition
is complex and contradictory; Ap. follows the Tegean temple
legend, in which Heracles raped Auge by a fountain north of the
temple, P. 8. 47. 4, as against the tradition in which he fathered
the child in Asia Minor on the way to Troy (e.g. Hes. Cat. fr.
165). In another version of the Tegean story, the birth of Telephos
resulted from a love affair (P. 8. 4. 8 f., after Hecataeus) rather
than a rape.
by a plague: because of Auge's sacrilegious use of the sacred

precinct. When Ap. refers on p. 116, he says
to this episode again
that the sacrilege caused the land to become barren; Wagner's sug-
gestion that the original reading here was limoi, by a famine, rather
than loimoi, by a plague, is quite plausible.
Telephos: the name is explained as a combination of thele (teat) and

elaphos (deer).
Deianeira, the daughter ofOineus: see also p. 40; she was the sister
of Meleager, who is said to have suggested the marriage to
Heracles when they met in Hades (Bacch. 5. 165 ff, cf. sc. //. 21.
194).
wrestled with Acheloos: strictly a river (the largest in Greece, flowing

along the Acarnanian frontier of Aetolia for part of its course, and
thus no great distance from Calydon), but river gods were thought
to manifest themselves in the form of a bull. See also p. 113 and
note.
89 that of Amaltheia: the cornucopia. Here Amaltheia is the nymph

who fed the infant Zeus on milk from her goat (as against the goat
itself on Hyg. PA 13 for both versions). According
p. 28, cf.
to Zenobius, 2. 48, Zeus turned the goat into a constellation in

gratitude, but gave one of its horns to the nymphs who had cared
for him, endowing it with the power to produce whatever they
wished; in that case, Amaltheia's horn would not be a bull's horn
as stated here. DS 4. 35. 4 offers a rationalized account identify-
ing it with the horn broken from Acheloos.
214
Explanatory Notes
Ephyra: in Epirus, on the mainland in the north-west, not the Ephyra

identified with Corinth.
Tlepolemos: see p. 93. For this episode, cf. DS 4. 36. 1.
of his sons: by the fifty daughters of Thespios, see p. 71; he made

Iolaos the leader of the forty who colonized Sardinia (see further
DS 4. 29. 3 ff. with P. 7. 2. 2 and 9. 23. 1).
killed Eunomos: he hit him harder than he had intended, cf. DS 4.
36. 2; according to P. 2. 13. 8, he was angry because the boy, there

named Cyathos, had used water from the foot-bath.
Nessos had settled there: for how he came to be there, see p. 75.
if she wanted a love-potion: in reality it would be a dangerous

poison because the blood from his wound was tainted by the
hydra's poison from Heracles' arrows, see p. 90.
Theiodamas: compare the story on p. 82. In the present case,

Theiodamas is not a simple herdsman (as might be inferred), but
the king of the Dryopes (cf. AR 1. 1213 ff. with the sc. on 1212,
reporting Pherecydes). AR remarks that Heracles took the ox to
provoke a war with the Dryopes; and according to Pherecydes, he
returned to his city after Heracles took his ox, and mounted an
expedition against him, but he was eventually killed by Heracles,
who captured his son Hylas (see p. 51) and transferred the
Dryopes from the north to the frontiers of Phocis. See also DS 4.
37. If, where the king is named Phylas.
Ceux: a son of one of Amphitryon's brothers, and thus a relative

of Heracles Soph. Trach. 40; not the son of Heosphoros on
(sc.
p. 38, etc.); he sons of Heracles, p. 92. Heracles

later sheltered the
appeared in the Marriage of Ceux, a lost epic that the ancients
attributed to Hesiod.
90 as an ally of Aigimios, king of the Dorians: during Heracles' life-

time, the Dorians were still in their early home north of the
Corinthian Gulf (see p. 37 and note), but the Heraclids (his sons
and descendants) would maintain this alliance with the Dorians,
and lead them in an invasion of the Peloponnese, to displace the
last Pelopid and become rulers in the main centres (pp. 92 ff). As
Perseids they had a legitimate claim to Argos (and possibly to Laconia

and Messenia also, as Heracles had settled the succession there
during his campaigns). It was in fact the case that the Dorian in-
habitants of the Peloponnese had entered it from the north at a
relatively late period; and it was believed that their supposed in-
volvement with the Heraclids gave legitimacy to their occupation of
215
Explanatory Notes
the land. For the present war with the Lapiths, another Thessalian
people, see also DS 4. 37. 3.
90 Cycnos: see the battle with Cycnos, son of Ares, on p. 82, and note.
Although different names are given for Cycnos' mother, it can be
assumed that both accounts refer to the same event.
killed Amyntor. in DS 4. 37. 4 Heracles attacks and kills the king

(there calledOrmenios) because he refuses to surrender his daugh-
ter, Astydameia (and afterwards fathers Ctesippos by her, who is
mentioned as his son by the daughter of Amyntor on p. 92).

vengeance on Eurytos: for refusing to give him Iole after he had
won the contest for her hand, p. 84. This episode was treated in
an early epic, the Sack ofOichalia. There was disagreement on the
location ofOichalia (cf. P. 4. 2. 3), but Euboea was the most favoured
which is consistent with the indications here (notably the
locality,
remark on p. 85 that Eurytos' cattle were stolen from Euboea).

how matters stood with regard to Iole: DS 4. 38. 1 states explicitly
that she learned from Lichas that Heracles loved Iole; we are prob-
ably meant to assume that here. For the tunic, see p. 89.
into the Euboean Sea: following Ov. Met. 9. 218 (cf. Ibis 492, and
VM 1. 58 and 2. 165), to replace 'from Boeotia' in the manuscripts,
which is evidently corrupt because he was at Cenaion, the north-
western promontory of Euboea.
91 Poias: the Argonaut, p. 50, and father of Philoctetes, p. 121.
Although it was more commonly said that Philoctetes lit the pyre
and was given Heracles' bow in return (e.g. Soph. Philoctetes 801
ff., DS 4. 38. 4), this may well be the earlier tradition.
raised him up to heaven: the apotheosis of Heracles is a relatively

late element in the tradition. He is clearly regarded as mortal in
//. 18. 117 ff.; in the Odyssey, Odysseus meets Heracles in Hades,
11. 601-27 (although there is an awkward interpolation after the
first line, stating that the Heracles in Hades was only a phantom,
eidolon, and the real Heracles was in heaven with Hebe, 602-4;
a similar passage in Theog., 950 ff., that refers to his marriage in
Olympos is also regarded as a later interpolation). The evidence
from the visual arts suggests that the story of his apotheosis orig-
inated at the end of the seventh century. Before this promotion he
was worshipped solely as a hero.
married . . . Hebe: there is no myth associated with Heracles as

a god bevond this marriage to Hebe, the personification of youth
(cf. Pind". Nem. 1. 69 ff. and 10. 17 f., Isth. 4. 55 ff.). The names
for their children, otherwise unattested, are derived from Heracles'
216
Explanatory Notes
cultic titles as Alexikakos (Averter of Evil) and Kallinikos (the Noble

Victor, see p. 86).
the daughters ofThespios: see p. 91.
92 the altar of Pity: or Mercy, in the marketplace, see P. 1. 17. 1; an

unusual cult in Greece.
the Athenians . . . in a war with Eurystheus: under Theseus (P. 1.
32. 5) or Demophon, son of Theseus (AL 33, following

Pherecydes, cf. Eur. Heraclidae 111 ff.).
Hyllos . . . killed him: or Iolaos did, Pind. Pyth. 9. 79 ff., P. 1. 44.

14.
because the Heraclids were Perseids

their return: a return, kathodos,
from Argos, and were claiming their legitimate rights. After the
death of Eurystheus, it was the will of the gods that the Pelopids
should rule the main Peloponnesian centres, in Mycenae (see
p. 145 and note) and Sparta (see pp. 122 and 146 and note), and
that they should not be displaced until after the Trojan War (fifty
years after, it was usually said, when Tisamenos was killed, see
p. 94 with p. 164 and note; this was regarded as the last episode
in mythological history).
93 Tlepolemos . . . killed Licymmos: cf. //. 2. 653 ff., Pind. 01 7. 27 ff,

where the killing is not accidental as here; and see Strabo 14. 8. 6
ff. for the place of Tlepolemos in Rhodian mythology. On
Licymnios, Alcmene's brother, see p. 69; the incident took place
at Argos, where his grave was shown (P. 2. 22. 8).
with his army: the narrative is now interrupted by a gap in the

text. Hyllos must certainly have been defeated and killed. It was
generally accepted that he challenged the Peloponnesians to settle
the matter by single combat; and that when Echemos, king of
Tegea, took up the challenge and killed Hyllos, the Heraclids with-
drew in accordance with the agreed terms (Hdt. 9. 26. cf. DS 4.
58. 2-4, and P. 8. 5. 1; but we cannot be sure that Ap. told the
story in this way, because he talks of a 'further battle' in the next
invasion). And then, according to Eusebius {Prep. Evang. 5. 20),
Aristomachos, the son of Cleodaios and grandson of Hyllos, con-
sulted the oracle about how they should invade the Peloponnese,
and was told that they would be victorious if they travelled by the
narrow route. So he invaded by the Isthmus of Corinth, only to
be defeated and killed (as Ap. reports when the text resumes). This
oracle, so disastrously misinterpreted by Aristomachos, must have
been mentioned in the missing passage because it is referred to
without explanation shortly below.
217
Explanatory Notes
93 Tisamenos . . . was king of the Peloponnesians: as the last Pelopid,

ruling both Argos and Lacedaimon, Tisamenos was the most
important king in the Peloponnese, but by no means the only king
(cf. P. 2. 18. 7).
Aristomachos: in the manuscripts, Cleolaos, a mistake for

Cleodaios, the son of Hyllos and father of Aristomachos, but
Cleodaios was killed during Hyllos' invasion and Aristomachos dur-
ing the next, so the final return will be led by the sons of Aristo-
machos, Temenos and Cresphontes (Aristodemos, his other son,
being killed beforehand), as we will see below. There must surely
have been an account of the Heraclid line from Hyllos onwards in
the missing passage just above.
by the narrows, the broad-bellied sea: this is not as perverse as it
sounds. They had thought meant a narrow stretch

that the oracle
of land, the Isthmus of Corinth, but it really meant the Gulf of
Corinth (which is to the right of the Isthmus from the perspec-
tive of Delphi, to the north of it), which stretches a great dis-
tance from east to west (and is in that sense broad-bellied) but is
very narrow if one is crossing from its northern shore to the
Peloponnese at the south.
Naupactos: the name is said to be derived from naus epexato

(cf. P. 10. 38. 5). Naupactos lies in western Locris, where the
Corinthian Gulf is at its narrowest before it widens again at the
entrance.
Aristodemos'. one of the three sons of Aristomachos; for another

account of his death, see P. 3. 1. 6. According to the Lace-
daimonian tradition he survived to lead the conquest of Sparta (Hdt.

6. 52, Xenophon Agesilaos 8. 7).
because of the diviner: these disasters were caused by the anger of

Apollo, who had inspired the seer (named by Pausanias as Carnos,
an Acarnanian) with his gift of prophecy (P. 3. 13. 4).
94 Oxylos: compare P. 5. 3. 5 ff, where he is said to have been the

son of Haimon, son of Thoas, son of Andraimon; he had acci-
dentally killed his brother Thermios (or a certain Alcidocos, son
of Scopios) when throwing a discus.
Pamphylos and Dymas, the sons of Aigimios: see pp. 89-90. The
Heraclids were leading a Dorian army together with the descen-
dants of their king Aigimios (himself the son of Doros, eponym of
the Dorians). These sons of Aigimios (now allies of the great-great-
grandsons of Heracles!) were the eponymous ancestors of the
Pamphyloi and Dymanes, two of the three tribes into which the
218
Explanatory Notes
Dorians were divided in most of their communities, the third, the

Hylleis, being named after Hyllos (regarded as an adopted son of
Aigimios).
a clod of earth: cf. P. 4. 3. 4 f., essentially the same story, although

the stratagem is slightly different. There was rich agricultural land
in Messenia (which was conquered in the eighth to seventh cen-
turies by the Spartans, who reduced its inhabitants to serfdom).
Temenos spurned . . . Deiphontes: see P. 2. 19. 1 and 2. 28. 3 ff.
some men from Titana: reading Titanwus for titanas\ Titana lay near
Sicyon. Or perhaps simply Unas, 'some men'.
95 Cresphontes . . . was assassinated: presumably Polyphontes is respon-

sible, as in Hyg. 137; but in P. 4. 3. 7, where there is no mention
of Polyphontes, he is killed by the men of property because he has
been ruling in the interest of the common people, and Aipytos,

the son of Cresphontes who escaped, is placed on the throne by
the Arcadians and other Dorian kings when he grows up.
96 As we have said: see p. 60.
// is said by some: including Homer, //. 14. 321 f. There was much
disagreement on these genealogies.
whose breath smelled of roses: reading rhodou apopneon (apopleon in

the manuscripts). This may seem strange, but Hes. Cat. fr. 140
refers to an odour of saffron coming from the bull's mouth.
Carriere points to Eustathius on //. 14. 321, where it is further
stated that Europa came to love the bull because it smelt of roses.
according to Homer: see //. 6. 198 f.; but Homer's Sarpedon lived
at a much later period, for he commanded
the Lycians during the
Trojan War. Ap. claims below that the present Sarpedon was
granted an exceptionally long life by Zeus, while according to
DS (5. 78. 3), the Sarpedon at Troy was a separate figure, the
grandson of the present Sarpedon (who will settle in Lycia, see
below); such were the alternative ways in which the mythographers
resolved chronological problems of this kind.
the city of Thasos in Thrace: the island of Thasos, which contained

a city of the same name, lay off the coast of Thrace; this is poorly
expressed, if not corrupt. Thasos founded the is said to have
original settlement on the island with Phoenician followers (cf. Hdt.
6. 46 f. and P. 5. 25. 12, where Thasos is described as a son of
Phoenix and of Agenor respectively).

97 they quarrelled with one another: not all three of them, for it appears
from the following narrative that the conflict over Miletos involved
219
Explanatory Notes
Minos and Sarpedon alone (which is consistent with the account

in AL 30, following Nicander, is no mention of where there
Rhadamanthys). The present story is probably of Hellenistic ori-
gin; Herodotus (1. 173) speaks merely of a fight for the throne, in
which Minos gained the upper hand and expelled Sarpedon and
his followers.
97 Miletos landed in Carta: in the south-west corner of Asia Minor;

Lycia lay south-east of it, and Cilicia to the east of that. For the
foundation of Miletos, cf. P. 7. 2. 3.
for the islanders: although somewhat ambiguous, this is probably a

reference to the tradition that he laid down laws for the Aegean
islanders (cf. DS 5. 79). The Cretan constitution (which bore some
resemblance to that of Sparta and was highly regarded) was
attributed either to Rhadamanthys (DS 4. 60, Strabo 10. 4. 8) or
to Minos (e.g. DS 4. 78).
married Alcmene: Heracles' mother, see p. 72. The reason for his
flight is unclear.
sits as a judge with Minos in Hades: first attested by Plato in the

fourth century (Apol. 41a, probably referring to an earlier tradi-
tion, associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries); in Homer, Minos
judges in Hades, continuing his earthly function amongst the
shades (Od. 11. 568 ff.), while Rhadamanthys lives for ever in
Elysium (Od. 4. 563 f.) on the earth's surface. See also Pind. 01.
2. 75 ff.
98 exiled from Athens for murder: see p. 138.
the Minotaur: the 'Minos-bull'. See also DS 4. 77.
with a maze . . . passage out: a verse fragment of unknown origin

(Tr. Adesp. 34 Nauck).
we will speak of that later: see p. 140.
he consulted the oracle: according to the other main source, DS 5.
59. 1 ff., the oracle was revealed to Althaimenes himself when he

was enquiring about other things; this would make Catreus' sub-
sequent search for him more intelligible.
Atahyrion: the tallest mountain in Rhodes, over 4,000 feet; the cult
there was very ancient, perhaps of Phoenician origin. Cf. DS 5.
59.2.
99 Nauplios: see p. 62 and note; a great traveller who is enlisted else-
where to perform such services, see p. 88.
Pleisthenes married . . . Aerope: following Hes. Cat. (fr. 194-5,

where Pleisthenes is the son of Atreus); Agamemnon and Menelaos
220
Explanatory Notes
were more generally regarded as her children by Atreus, see also

p. 146 and note.
Idomeneus: he succeeded Catreus as king of Crete, was one of Helen's
suitors, p. 121, and led the Cretans in the Trojan War. Traditions
vary as to whether he recovered his throne after the war (as Od.
3. 191 seems to suggest) or was expelled by Leucos, p. 160.
Glaucos: a son of Minos and Pasiphae, see p. 97.
Polyidos: a descendant of the seer Melampous (either a great-

grandson or a great-great-grandson, P. 1. 43. 5 and sc. //. 13. 63
respectivelv); he is particularly associated with Corinth (//. 13. 663,
cf. Pind. 01. 13. 75).
to a blackberry: according to Hyg. 136,

compared the cow's colouring
the cow was not dappled, one might suppose, but changed colour
as
three times a day, and the colours were white, red, and black; a
blackberry passes through that sequence of colours as it ripens.
by a certain kind of divination: Hyg., ibid., reports that while

Polyidos was observing omens, he saw an owl (glaux, suggesting
Glaucos) sitting over the wine-cellar and putting bees (suggesting
honey) to flight.
100 a cow from the herds of Pelagon: according to the oracle as re-
ported by sc. Eur. Phoen. 638, he was told to seek for this herds-
man. This was no ordinary cow; on each flank it had a white mark
like the full moon (P. 9. 12. 1).
Spartoi: 'Sown Men'.

deliberately: the reading in the Epitome, hekousion, is surely prefer-
able to akousion y 'involuntarily', in the manuscripts. Otherwise the
antithesis is lost.
for an everlasting year: to atone for the killing of Ares' dragon (not
the death of the Spartoi); the text may well be corrupt here,
because Hellanicos, who is almost certainly Ap.'s source for this
story, says that Cadmos served Ares for a (normal) year (sc. //. 2.
494, where we are also told that Ares initially wanted to kill him,
but Zeus prevented it). The phrase explaining what an everlasting
or 'great' year means seems to be a gloss.
101 the Cadmeia: the eminence dominating Thebes and site of the citadel.
a deception by Hera: Hera assumed the form of her nurse, Beroe,

and appealed to her vanity: if Zeus really loved her, she should
ask him to come to her as he would to a goddess (Hyg. 179, VM
2. 79; see also Ov. Met. 3. 259 ff., this would also serve as a test
that he is not merely pretending to be a god).
221
Explanatory Notes
101 daughters ofCadmos . . . because of that: see Eur. Bacchae 23 ff. and
242 ff.; the slander is central to the plot of the Bacchae, because it
is this Dionysos to demonstrate his powers

that provokes in
Thebes and drive the women mad, as described below, p. 102.
Hera . . . drove them mad: see also p. 43 and note.
Leucothea: she became the 'White Goddess', who had a general

Mediterranean cult as a deity who protected seafarers. It was she
who saved Odysseus when Poseidon sent a storm against him after
he had left Calypso, Od. 5. 333 ff.
Isthmian Games . . . in honour of Melicertes: his body was cast
ashore on the Isthmus of Corinth; he is often said to have been
carried there by a dolphin, see P. 1. 44. 11. These games were held
at Corinth. For Sisyphos, king of Ephyra/ Corinth, see p. 44. His
hero-cult as Palaimon was centred in this area (see e.g. P. 2. 2. 3).
102 the Hyades: seven stars in the constellation Taurus, outlining the
face of the bull; it was commonly said that Zeus placed them there
for delivering Dionysos safely to Ino (ascribed to Pherecydes in

Hyg. PA 21).
saw Artemis bathing: this story, which first appears in Callimachus

{Hymn 5. 107 ff; cf. Hyg. 181), is generally accepted in the later
tradition; hunting on a hot day on Mount Cithairon in Boeotia, he
fell asleep by a spring, and awoke to see Artemis bathing. It dis-
places the earlier tradition, as represented in Hes. Cat. (see note

on Appendix, 4) and Stesichorus (P. 9. 2. 3) that the anger of Zeus
led to his death. Or according to Eur. Bacchae 339 ff, she killed
him because he boasted that he was a better hunter.
driven mad by Hera: because he was a son of Zeus by another woman.
rites of initiation: the rites of Cybele, the great mother-

learned the
goddess of Phrygia, who was worshipped with ecstatic rites and
mountain wandering, came to be identified with those of Rhea in
Crete. Accordingly, Dionysos is taught his ecstatic rites by Rhea
at Cybele's home in north-western Asia Minor.
Lycourgos: for his hostility and the flight of Dionysos, cf. //. 6.
130 ff; the land of the Edonians lay in north-eastern Macedonia,

bordering Thrace.
Bacchai: the women seized by Bacchic frenzy.

Satyrs: daemons who attended Dionysos. They had a thick tail like
that of a horse, and in many depictions, the lower half of their
body is like that of a goat or a horse and they are ithyphallic. The
behaviour of the Satyr on pp. 60-1 is characteristic.
222
Explanatory Notes
believing that he was pruning a vine branch: he was trying to elim-

inate the vines as a source of intoxication associated with Dionysos;
it is also said that he mutilated himself (Hyg. 132, VM 1. 122;
Carriere suggests a slight alteration in the text to give that mean-
ing here).
and the whole of India . . . pillars: marking the eastern limits of the
inhabited world, corresponding to the pillars of Heracles in the
west, see p. 80 and note. Some regard this phrase as an inter-
polation.
he arrived in Thebes: the following is a summary of Eur. Bacchae,

which contains much of interest on Dionysos.
103 When had him on board: see the fuller version of the follow-
they
ing story in the first Homeric Hymn to Dionysos; there he fright-
ened the sailors by causing a bear to appear and turning himself

into a lion (and it is not stated that the oars and mast were changed
into snakes). See also Ov. Met. 3. 605 ff.
Cadmos left Thebes . . . the Encheleans: resigning the throne to

Pentheus; the reason for his departure is unclear. The Encheleans,
like the Illyrians, lived in the western Balkans, north of Epirus.
into a snake: in hero-cult, a snake would often symbolize the hero
or represent the form in which he supposedly manifested himself;
but in late sources (e.g. Hyg. 6, cf. Ov. Met. 4. 562 ff.) it was sug-
gested that the metamorphosis was a punishment for the murder
of Ares' dragon.
thought in much the same way: with regard to the Bacchants, pre-
sumably; but there is no record of that elsewhere. Polydoros
became king after Pentheus was killed in the way described above,
and he was succeeded by Labdacos. According to P. 9. 5. 2,
Labdacos was a child when he came to the throne, and was placed
under the guardianship of Nycteus and then of Lycos, but ruled
briefly in his own right when he came of age (no reason is given
for his death); and Lycos then became guardian of the young Laios.
as long as Laios remained a child: but Lycos never restored the throne
to Laios, and the suggestion of a guardianship conflicts with the
previous statement (confirmed below) that Lycos usurped the
throne; perhaps a clumsy way of saying that Lycos initially took
power as Laios' guardian.
104 from Euboea . Hyria: a problematic passage. Ap. gives

. . settled at
two genealogies Lycos and Nycteus. The present story is irre-
for
concilable with that given just above, for if they were sons of
Chthonios, a 'Sown Man' (see p. 100), they would be native-born
223
Explanatory Notes
Thebans and their presence in Thebes would need no explanation.

But if they were sons of Hyrieus (as on p. 117, of Atlantid des-
cent), they would have been born in Hyria (near Aulis in Boeotia)
because their father was the eponymous king of the city, and would
not have come there from elsewhere. Furthermore, since Phlegyas,
whom they are said to have killed, was king of Orchomenos (P. 9.
36. 1), which lies on the mainland in Boeotia, and the brothers
themselves had no known connection with Euboea, it is not clear
why their killing of Phlegyas should have made them flee from
Euboea. (Perhaps in the original story this explained why they left
their native Hyria. There is a Euboean Lycos in Eur. Heracles.)
104 from there . . . to Thebes: following a suggestion by Heyne to fill a

short gap in the text.
polemarch: military commander.
to Epopeus: a son of Aiolos' daughter, Canace, p. 38, who left Thessaly

for Sicyon (in the north-eastern Peloponnese near the Isthmus of
Corinth), where he became king when the previous ruler died with-
out children, see P. 2. 6. 1 ff.
killed himself, or according to P. 2. 6. 2, he himself attacked

Epopeus, but was wounded, and gave the following orders before
he died.
the stones followed . . . Amphions lyre: cf. AR 1. 735 ff. and P. 9. 5.
3 f. Homer tells of their fortification of Thebes, Od. 11. 260 ff.,

but not of the power of Amphion's music; similar stories were told
of Orpheus' music, p. 30. These were the famous walls with the
seven gates.
105 Homer: he gives the essentials of the following story in //. 24.
602 ff., although the details vary greatly within the subsequent
tradition.
Amphion alone survived: presumably the father of the children

rather than a Niobid not mentioned above.
Chloris: see P. 2. 21. 10 (where this Chloris is identified with Meliboia

below; her name was changed to Chloris, 'pale', because she went
pale with fear and remained so ever afterwards). Ap. wrongly iden-
tifies this Chloris, the daughter of Amphion of Thebes, with the
daughter of Amphion of Orchomenos who married Neleus (see
Od. 11. 281 ff, P. 10. 29.2).
transformed into a stone: Homer records that she became a stone
(//. 24. 614 ff.) without explaining how. The rock, on Mount
Sipylos (in Lydia, Asia Minor), bore no resemblance to a woman
when viewed close at hand, but if the visitor drew back, he could
224
Explanatory Notes
make out the image of a weeping woman bowed in grief (accord-

ing to Pausanias, who claims to have seen it, 1. 21. 5, cf. QS 1.
299 ff.).
the death of Amphion: he is said to have reacted to the death of his

children by killing himself (Ov. Met. 6. 271), or by trying to storm
the temple of Apollo, provoking the god to shoot him (Hyg. 9).
For the death of Zethos, see P. 9. 5. 5.
others Epicaste: as in Od. 1 1. 271, when Odysseus meets her in Hades;

but Iocaste (Jocasta) is general in later writers.
called him Oedipus: the name Oidipous is derived from oidein,
to swell, and pous, a foot (a valid etymology); but the familiar

Latinized form of his name is used in the translation. For further
details on all the following see Ap.'s main sources, Sophocles' Oedipus
the King and Oedipus at Colonos.
supposititious child: i.e. as one who was not the child of his sup-
posed parents, but is passed off as being their child.
106 a certain narrow track: the 'Cleft Way', a mountain track leading
to Delphi, see P. 10. 5. 1 ff.
Creon, son of Menoiceus: and thus the great-grandson of Pentheus,

and a member of the Theban royal line. He was the brother of
Iocaste and uncle of Oedipus.
Hera sent the Sphinx: in Theog. 326, the daughter of Orthos and
Chimaira. In the absence of a settled tradition, different sources
point to various episodes in Theban history that might have caused
a deity to send her. Ap. may be referring to the tradition that Hera
sent her in anger at Laios' abduction of Chrysippos, p. 104 (sc.
Eur. Phoen. 1760); but it was also said that Ares sent her, still angry
at the murder of his dragon, p. 100 (Arg. Eur. Phoen.), or Dionysos
(sc. Theog. 326), angry at his rejection by Pentheus, p. 103.
a single voice: an obscure indication that the same being is involved

in each case.
by Euryganeia: according to Pherecydes (sc. Eur. Phoen. 53),

he first married Iocaste, who bore him two sons, Phrastos and
Leonytos, but he put her aside after his descent was revealed and
married Euryganeia, who bore him the sons ascribed elsewhere to
Iocaste. She was the mother of his children in the Oedipodia, an
early epic (P. 9. 5. 5).
107 cursing was also said that he cursed them for setting the
his sons: it
silver tableand golden goblet of Cadmos before him, so remind-
ing him of his birth (Athenaeus 465e f.), and for serving him meat
225
Explanatory Notes
from the haunch, considered a less honourable portion, rather than

the shoulder (sc. Soph. Oed. Col. 1375, both quoting the Thebais,
an early epic).
107 Arriving . . . at Colonos: following Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonos.

In early sources, he continued to rule in Thebes (Od. 11. 274 ff.,
cf. //. 678 ff., Hes. Cat. fr. 192); this is also implied in the
23.
traditions from early epic mentioned in the previous two notes.
Colonos (Sophocles' birthplace) lay a mile north of Athens.
the Eumenides: 'the gracious ones', a euphemism for the Erinyes
(Furies). On their sanctuary, see Soph. Oed. Col. 36 ff.; they had
another by the Areiopagos (P. 1. 28. 6).
Eteocles . . . refused to give up the throne: cf. Eur. Phoenissae 67 ff.;
this is the dominant tradition in later sources, but the names of

the brothers suggest that Polyneices, 'the man of many quarrels'
(cf. Aesch. Seven against Thebes 658), rather than Eteocles ('true
glory'), was originally the guilty party. Pherecydes and Hellanicos
offered conflicting accounts (sc. Eur. Phoen. 71), the one saying
that Polyneices was expelled by force, and the other that Poly-
neices was offered a choice between the throne and the Cadmeian
treasures and chose the latter, but then tried to seize the throne
as well.
Adrastos, son of Talaos: and thus a grandson of Bias, p. 47, while

Amphiaraos is a descendant of the seer Melampous (cf. Od. 15.
223 ff.).
Tydeus . . . had fled there front Calydon: see p. 42 and note.
a boar a lion: the emblem on Tydeus' shield refers to the

. . .
Calydonian boar, and that on Polyneices' to the lion-faced Sphinx

expelled by his father Oedipus (according to sc. Eur. Phoen. 409).
On this episode see also Eur. Phoenissae 408 ff. and Suppliants
132 ff.
108 went to Iphis: an Argive king descended from Proitos. Polyneices

may have wanted the benefit of his local knowledge; or perhaps
this is connected with the tradition that Eriphyle was the daugh-
ter of Iphis (sc. //. 11. 326).
conflict . . . between Amphiaraos and Adrastos: they had quarrelled

over the kingship, and Adrastos had been expelled for a time (see
DS 4. 65. 6, with Pind. Nem. 9. 13 f.); he went to Sicyon, and
ruled there after the previous king had died (P. 2. 6. 3).
allow Eriphyle to decide: as the sister of Adrastos and wife of

Amphiaraos, she might be expected to be even-handed. Homer
226
Explanatory Notes
alludes to her betrayal of her husband (Od. 11. 326 f.) without telling
the story.
seven leaders: corresponding to the seven gates in the walls of
Thebes, see below.
Lycourgos: son of Pheres, see p. 48; Nemea was on the northern
border of the Argolid.
Thoas had been spared: when the Lemnian women killed their men-
folk, Hypsipyle, their queen, spared her father, see p. 50.
109 Archemoros: meaning the beginning of death, or first to die; cf. Bacch.
9. 14, 'an omen of the coming slaughter'.
sent Tydeus ahead . . . to the camp: cf. //. 4. 382 ff.; portents from
the gods caused him to release Maion (ibid. 398).
advanced towards the on Thebes was recounted

walls: the attack in
an early epic, the and became a favourite theme
Thebais, in
tragedy, see Aesch. Seven against Thebes, and Eur. Phoenissae.
seven gates: see P. 9. 8. 4 ff. (who offers some explanation of the
names). Hypsistan means 'highest'; the name of the Crenidian sug-
gests that it was by a spring.
110 saw the goddess completely naked: preceded by a short gap in the
text. For the story, see Callimachus Hymn 5. 57 ff. (probably fol-
lowing Pherecydes). While Athene and Chariclo, the mother of
Amphiaraos, were bathing at noon in the Hippocrene, a spring on
Mount Helicon in Boeotia, Teiresias, who was out with his dogs,
happened to approach the waters, and caught sight of them.
purified his ears . . . the language of birds: compare the story of
Melampous on p. 46 and see notes.
Hesiod says: in the Melampodeia (Hes. fr. 275), see also Appendix,
4 and note. The following story is reported somewhat differently
in sc. Od. 10. 494. There he kills the female snake on the first occa-
sion, and becomes a man again when he kills the male snake on
the second; this has a certain logic, but we cannot tell whether it
is closer to the version in the Melampodeia in the absence of any
relevant quotation. It should be noted, however, that in all other

versions, he is said to have wounded or killed one snake or both
on the second occasion also (e.g. AL 17, Ov. Met. 3. 316 ff., Hyg.
75). Cyllene lay in Arcadia.
one part . . . nine parts: apparently a misinterpretation of the
Melampodeia, see Appendix, 5 and note.
to a considerable age: on the same occasion Zeus granted him the
privilege of living for seven generations (Phlegon under Hes. fr.
275).
227
Explanatory Notes
110 Menoiceus . . . as a sacrifice to Ares: see Eur. Phoenissae 930 ff.; to

gain the favour of Ares, a descendant of one of the Sown Men
must offer his life to atone for the murder of Ares' dragon (see
p. 100).
Zeus struck him down: as retribution for his impious arrogance, for
Capaneus boasted that he would sack the town whether Zeus
wished it or not, and said that the thunder and lightning of Zeus
were no worse than the midday sun (Aesch. Seven against Thebes
427 ff., cf. Eur. Suppl. 496 ff.). Or he climbed the ladder with two
torches, saying that one was thunder and the other lightning (sc.
Eur. Phoen. 1173), behaving rather like Salmoneus on p. 45. A
descendant of Proitos, Capaneus was a member of the native royal
line in Argos.
111 for Tydeus . . . killed Melanippos: in all other sources, Amphiaraos

himself killed him (e.g. sc. //. 5. 126, referring to Pherecydes). This
may well be an interpolation.
Zeus made him immortal: he was worshipped as a healer god and

had an oracle at Oropos (latterly in Attica, but previously in
Boeotia). See P. 1. 34. 2 (and, for the site of his disappearance,
9. 8. 2).
after having intercourse with him in the likeness of a Fury: but see
P. 8. 25. 4 ff Poseidon . wanted to have intercourse with her while
she was searching for her daughter; she turned herself into a mare,
but Poseidon responded by turning himself into a stallion, and so
achieved his desire; and she received the title of Fury (Erinys)
because of her anger afterwards (hence the cult of Demeter Erinys
at Thelpusa). It was this intercourse in horse-form that led
Demeter to give birth to Adrastos' horse, Areion. On Areion see
also //. 23. 346 f.
Creon . . . to the Theban throne: thus in Sophocles' Antigone, Ap.'s

source for the following; but the tradition that he was acting as
regent until Eteocles' son Laodamas came of age (P. 1. 39. 2 and
9. 10. 3) is easier to reconcile with other elements in the mytho-
logy of this period. It will be seen that Laodamas was king of the
Thebans when the Epigoni invaded (and there was indeed a tra-
dition that it was he who caused the death of Antigone, and her
sister Ismene too, Arg. Soph. Ant.).
suppliant s bough: an olive bough, placed on an altar as a symbolic

gesture when claiming divine protection. For the present altar, see
p. 92 and note.
228
Explanatory Notes
captured the city: it may be doubted that Theseus was ever said to
have captured the city, in the strict sense. He either forced the
Thebans to surrender the bodies by defeating them in a battle, or
persuaded them to do so by negotiation (see Plut. Thes. 29, P. 1.
39. 2, and cf. Eur. Suppliants 653 ff.).
the Epigoni: 'the afterborn', used as a proper name when referring

to these sons of the Argive leaders who mounted a second, and
now successful, expedition against Thebes.
112 Eriphyle . . . persuaded her sons also to take part: a reduplication of

the story of Eriphyle and Amphiaraos on p. 108; but it should be
noted that she does not have the same hold on her sons as she had
on her husband, and far from being fated to die, her sons will sur-
vive as leading figures in a successful expedition. Amphiaraos had
indeed ordered them to mount such an expedition, p. 108. The
story of the Second Theban War was told in an early epic, the
Alcmaionis; and there (sc. Od. 11. 326) Alcmaion kills his mother
before departing, leaving no place for the present story.
killed Aigialeus: just as Adrastos was the only leader to survive on

the first expedition, his son Aigialeus is the only leader to be killed
on the second (thus giving his life in place of his father, as Hyg.
71 explicitly states).
Hestiaia: in Thessaly; but they are also said to have travelled fur-
ther north, to Illyria (Hdt. 5. 61; P. 9. 5. 7).
113 the Fury of his mother s murder: those who shed blood, especially
within their own family, were liable to be pursued by an Erinys,
or avenging spirit.
a land . . . by the Sun: since the text is hopelessly corrupt at this

point, I follow Carriere's example and simply give the content
of the oracle as reported by Thucydides (2. 102). He must seek a
land that did not exist when the pollution was incurred (cf. P. 8.
24. 8). From Aetolia, he travels to the Thesprotians in Epirus in
north-western Greece, and thence to the springs of the River
Acheloos (also in Epirus) but founds his city much further south
at itsmouth, by the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf (at Oiniadai
in Acarnania, Thuc. 2. 102). Acheloos functions both as a person
and a river. On Acheloos see also p. 88 and note.
had been informed by an oracle: although one might infer from the
present narrative that Alcmaion is inventing this, he is said to have
received such an oracle (Athenaeus 232d ff. tells how it suppos-
edly ran).
229
Explanatory Notes
114 founded Acamania: to the west of Aetolia facing the Ionian Sea; see
also P. 8. 24. 9.
Euripides: in his lost tragedy Alcmaion in Corinth.
founded Amphilochian Argos: Thucydides' report (2. 68) that it was

founded by his uncle Amphilochos, son of Amphiaraos, on his return
from Troy reflects the older tradition; the present Amphilochos
was apparently invented by Euripides, and his late entry into the
family causes nothing but confusion, cf. p. 162 and note.
aswe observed above: see p. 58 and note. Pelasgos, the Arcadian

man', becomes the father of Lycaon, the founder of the com-
'first
mon cult of the Arcadian communities, that of Zeus Lycaios on

Mount Lycaion.
fifty sons: for the most part eponymous founders of Arcadian

towns. See also P. 8. 3.The list is one name short.
115a child . . . into the sacrifices: according to a similar account by
Nicolaus of Damascus, first century bc (see Frazer i. 390 n. 1 for
a translation), the pious Lycaon warned his subjects that Zeus made
constant visits to inspect their behaviour; and one day, when he
offered a sacrifice saying that the god was about to visit, some of
his sons performed the present action to check whether the god
really did come (for if he did, he would surely recognize what they
had done). There is a conflicting version of this story in which
Lycaon himself (angered by Zeus' seduction of Callisto, see below)
served his grandson Areas to Zeus, who reacted by overturn-
ing the table and transforming Lycaon into a wolf (see under
Hes. Cat. fr. 163, and Hyg. PA 4). See also P. 8. 2. 1 ff. for the
local tradition, and Ovid's portrait of a wicked Lycaon in Met. 1.
196 ff.
Trapezous: from trapeza, a table; but the town is also said to have
been named after one of Lycaon's sons (P. 8. 3. 3).
Hesiod . . . one of the nymphs: according to Catast. 1, Hesiod called

her a daughter of Lycaon; but Ap. may be reporting the Catalogue,
and Catast. the Hesiodic Astronomy.
Hera persuaded Artemis to shoot her: after discovering what had

. . .
happened, and leaving Artemis ignorant of the bear's identity; in

a somewhat different version, Callisto sleeps willingly with Zeus
and Hera herself transforms her (P. 8. 3. 6 f.; attested for
Callimachus in sc. //. 18. 487). But in the story attributed to Hesiod
in Catast. 1, it is Artemis who transforms her, angered to see that
her companion is pregnant when she is taking a bath. See also Ov.
Met. 2. 409 ff.
230
Explanatory Notes
naming him Areas: in Greek there is a similarity in sound between

arktos, a bear (his mother's present form), and Areas. He gave his
name to Arcadia (cf. P. 8. 4. 1, formerly named Pelasgia).
Areas had two sons: for a fuller account of the sons of Areas and
their descendants, see P. 8. 4. 2 ff.
Auge was raped by Heracles: see also p. 88 and note.

116 Iasos and Clymene had a daughter, Atalante: this genealogy (cf.
. . .
Theognis 1287 where her father is called Iasion, and Hyg. 99)
ff,
connects Atalante with Arcadia; but in the main alternative cited
below (that she is a daughter of Schoineus, as in Hes. Cat. fr. 72),
she is connected with Boeotia. Some details in the stories asso-
ciated with her vary according to the tradition (for instance, the
husband of the Boeotian Atalante is not Melanion, who is clearly
an Arcadian, cf. P. 3. 12. 9, but Hippomenes, son of Megareus, a
Boeotian), but the stories themselves are substantially the same,
and there is no reason to assume that there were two separate
Atalantes, one Arcadian and one Boeotian.
the hunt for the Calydonian boar: where her presence as the only
woman had important repercussions, see p. 41.
games held in honour of Pelias: for the death of Pelias, see p. 57;
the games were held by his son Acastos (see p. 127, which also
explains Peleus' presence there; and cf. Hyg. 273).
golden apples: from the Hesperides, see p. 81 and note (e.g. VM 1.
39), or according to Ovid (Met. 10. 644 ff.) from the sanctuary of
Aphrodite at Tamasos in Cyprus.
117 the Pleiades: familiar as the cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus.
According to the usual story, Orion pursued them (and their
mother) through Boeotia, and the gods, or Zeus, taking pity on
them, transferred them to the heavens (Hyg. PA 21; the story was
known to Pindar, see Netn. 2. 10 ff.).
gave birth to Hermes: most of the following derives from the fuller
account in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, q.v. (but the present nar-
rative differs on certain details).
118 Cyllene . . . Pieria: Hermes' birthplace was in Arcadia; Pieria lay

north of Mount Olympos in Thessaly.
pebbles: thriai, or divining pebbles, which were used none the less
in a subordinate role at Apollo's oracle at Delphi. It is not known

exactly how they were employed.
herald to the gods of the Underworld: he conducted the souls of the
dead between this world and Hades (cf. Od. 24. 1 ff. and p. 152).
231
. .
Explanatory Notes
1 18 Lelex: the local man', and eponym of the Leleges, the abori-
'first
ginal inhabitants; comparable to Pelasgos and the Pelasgians in

Arcadia, p. 58 and notes. His son Eurotas represents the main Laced-
aimonian river, and his granddaughter Sparta the main Laced-
aimonian town. See also P. 3. 1. 1 fif.
119 Hyacinthos: see p. 30 and note.
Aphareus: a Messenian king, see also P. 4. 2. 4 ff
but rather ofCoronis: as in Hes. Cat. This Thessalian descent
fr. 60.
is consistent with the tradition that Asclepios was reared by
Cheiron (on Mount Pelion in Thessaly). We know Apollo's own

view on this matter because an Arcadian asked the Delphic
oracle, and it declared in favour of Coronis (P. 2. 26. 6). For the
story of Asclepios' birth to Coronis, see also Pind. Pyth. 3. 8 ff
(where there is as yet no mention of the crow).
on the left side: as always, the side of ill omen.
Zeus . . him down: the story was told in Hes. Cat. (fr. 51).
. struck
In Pind. Pyth. 3. 54 ff., he raises a single man in return for a hand-
some bribe; a number of names are cited from early sources in an
interpolation here, see Appendix, 6. The theme becomes exag-
gerated in the later tradition and we find Hades complaining to
Zeus about a serious diminution of the dead (DS 4. 71. 2); but to
raise a single man is to transgress mortal bounds, meriting this
response from Zeus. Asclepios was worshipped initially as a hero,
and then as a healing god with an important cult at Epidaurus.
who had forged the thunderbolt: see p. 28.
120 Apollo went to Admetos: see also p. 48.

there are those . . . Bateia: Perieres was first introduced to us as a
Deucalionid king of Messenia, p. 44; but Tyndareus is a figure of
such importance in the Laconian genealogies that was natural it
that others preferred to regard him as being of purely Laconian

descent, and this was the tradition followed by Ap. in the pre-
ceding genealogies. Here we are told that some tried to reconcile
the conflicting traditions on his birth by claiming that there were
two Perieres, one the Messenian son of Aiolos, who fathered
Aphareus and Leucippos, two Messenian rulers, and the other the
Laconian son of Cynortas, who became the father of Tyndareus.
Hippocoon expelled Icarios and Tyndareus: Hippocoon (and his sons)
and Tyndareus disputed the throne after the death of the previ-
ous king, Oibalos (cf. P. 3. 1. 4). There are conflicting traditions
on the position of the third brother, for Icarios is also said to have
assisted Hippocoon in the expulsion of Tyndareus (P. 3. 1. 4, sc.
232
—
Explanatory Notes
Eur. Orest. 457; apparently the Lacedaimonian version). Some

claim that Hippocoon was an illegitimate son (e.g. sc. Eur. Orest.
457, where his mother is a certain Nicostrate).
Thestios: an Aetolian, see p. 39, the king of Pleuron; see also

P. 3. 13. 8.
Heracles had killed Hippocoon and his sons: see pp. 87 f.
Polydeuces . . . Helen . . . Castor, that Helen was a daughter of Zeus

was agreed from Homer onwards, but with regard to the Dioscuri
—Polydeuces (or under his Latin name, Pollux) and Castor
there was disagreement as to whether Castor was a mortal son of
Tyndareus or a son of Zeus like Polydeuces. Although Pindar agrees
with the present account in Nem. 10 (see 73 ff, though not in Pyth.
4. 171 f.) and Castor was mortal in the Cypria (Clem. Al. Protr.
2. 30), there was also an early tradition that both were sons of
Zeus, as the name Dioscuri implies (Hes. Cat. fr. 24, cf. HH to
the Dioscuri).
and Clytemnestra: most editors favour this addition; but since

Clytemnestra has been mentioned already with Timandra and
Phylonoe as one of Tyndareus' children by Leda, it cannot be
assumed that Ap. must have listed her as one of the children con-
ceived on this occasion (and Carriere remarks that she is not always
included in comparable lists, e.g. 2. 132). VM
a daughter of Zeus by Nemesis: they had intercourse at Rhamnos in
Attica (Catast. 25), where there was a sanctuary of Nemesis (P. 1.
33. 2); according to the local legend, Nemesis was her mother, but
Leda suckled and reared her The story goes back to
(P. 1. 33. 7).
early epic (the Cypria, see Athenaeus 334b ff, with a quotation).
Leda too is said to have laid an egg after her intercourse in bird
form (it was shown to visitors in Sparta, P. 3. 16. 1).
121 to Aphidnai: in Attica; see also p. 143 and note.
swear an oath: if eligible. This will be important later

they are to be
because when Helen abducted by Paris, all her previous suitors
is
will be obliged to go to war to help Menelaos recover her, p. 147.

a son, Nicostratos: in Homer, Hermione is her only child (Od. 4.
12 ff., cf. //. 3. would have been born after the

175). Nicostratos
Trojan War, as his name, 'Victorious Army', indicates. According
to P. 2. 18. 5, he was an illegitimate son of Menelaos by a slave-
woman, like Megapenthes below (who is mentioned in Od. 4. 11);
in any case, Menelaos was succeeded by Orestes, son of
Agamemnon, which would indicate that he had no legitimate male
heirs at the time of his death.
233
Explanatory Notes
122 because of their valour, the name of the Dioskouroi (kouros means a
boy, Dios is the genitive of Zeus) suggests that they are sons of
Zeus, but here Castor has been described as the son of Tyndareus,
so some explanation of their name is required, and it is claimed
that they owed it to their personal qualities rather than their joint
birth. Their part in two great adventures has already been men-
tioned, pp. 40 and 49; Ap. now tells of their later life, in par-
ticular the incident that leads to their death, thus explaining why
they are not present at Troy, and why Menelaos, a Pelopid, is
ruling in Lacedaimon at that time. Tyndareus has no other male
descendants.
the daughters of Leucippos: a Messenian king (see p. 44, cf. P. 4.

2. There was a tradition that Hilaeira and Phoebe were
4).
betrothed to Idas and Lynceus, the sons of his brother Aphareus,

and that this abduction (rather than the following incident) was
the cause of the quarrel that led to the death of the Dioscuri (e.g.
Hyg. 80).
Lynceus caught sight of Castor, on the fate of the Dioscuri Ap., and
Pindar in his more detailed account in Nem. 10. 55 ff., largely fol-
low the early epic the Cypria (judging by Proclus' summary); there
Lynceus saw both brothers hiding inside a hollow oak (sc. Pind.
Nem. 10. 114).
amongst mortals: amongst the dead; on their shared im-
strictly,
mortality, cf. The story rests on the assumption

Od. 11. 303-4.
that Castor was a son of Tyndareus, and thus of wholly mortal
birth.
123 he wanted to violate the goddess: she is commonly said to have actu-
ally slept with him, and willingly; according to Od. 5. 125 ff. on a
thrice-ploughed field, causing Zeus to strike him dead afterwards
when he came to hear of it. Demeter for her part gave birth to
Ploutos (Wealth, here as related to successful harvests) in Crete
(Theog. 969 ff.). See also DS 5. 77. 1 f.
went to the mainland opposite: his departure from Samothrace is often

associated with a great flood sent by Zeus (sometimes identified
with Deucalion's flood, p. 37), and he is said to have used inflated
skins to cross the waters (e.g. Lycophron 72 ff, with scholia, and
sc. //. 20. 215).
named the country Troy: although we commonly refer to the city

as Troy (as does Homer on occasion), this was strictly the name
of the Trojans' land (Troia, or Troas, the Troad). The city was
Ilios or Ilion (or in its Latin form, Ilium).
234
Explanatory Notes
Ganymede: cf. //. 20. 232 ff., HH to Aphrodite 202 ff, without as
yet the eagle (general in late accounts, e.g. Verg. Aen. 5. 253) or
any suggestion that he became the beloved of Zeus (first recorded
in Eur. Orestes 1392, cf. Plato Phdr. 255c).
aroused Aphrodite s amorous desire: the central theme of HH to
Aphrodite, cf. //. 2. 819 ff.
found a city . . . where the cow lay down: this story, which is not in
Homer, modelled on the Theban foundation myth,
is clearly
p. 100. Homer never expressly states that Ilos was the founder of
Ilion, although he refers several times to his tomb on the plain
(e.g. //. 11. 166). In //. 20. 231 ff, he is the son of Tros, but in
the passing references in 11 (166 and 372), the son of Dardanos,

which is probably the older tradition. Homer notes a movement
from the mountains (for the kingdom of Dardanos lay on the slopes
of Mount Ida, //. 20. 215-18) to a more civilized and prosperous
life on the rich farmland of the plains (ibid. 219 ff).
the Palladion: a talismanic image which protected the city, see
p. 156.
Triton: a sea-god (p. 33, Theog. 931 f), here as the god of the River
Triton in Libya (see Hdt. 4. 179 ff; P. 9. 33. 5 claims that Athene
was reared by a small river of that name in Boeotia). The myth
explains Athene's title Tritogeneia (which is very ancient, and prob-
ably of quite different origin).
124 aegis: the 'goatskin', an attribute of Zeus depicted as a short cloak

or a shield; see //. 5. 733 ff.
Electra . . . raped: the daughter of Atlas, by Zeus (see p. 122, but it
is not recorded there, or anywhere else, that she was raped by him).
with Ate: reading met'Ates for met'autes ('with her', i.e. with
Electra).This explains the name of the Hill of Ate mentioned above;
that she fell to earth at Ilion and the hill was named after her is
confirmed by sc. //. 19. 131. Ate is the personification of delusion;
when Zeus was deceived by Hera over his plans for Heracles,
p. 68, Zeus threw her down to earth (see //. 19. 91 ff), where her
actions are clear to see.
Dawn so loved Tithonos: see Theog. 984 ff. and HH to Aphrodite,

218 ff. On Emathion see p. 82 and note; Memnon will be an impor-
tant ally of the Trojans, p. 154.
as we mentioned: see p. 86.
Aisacos . . . was turned into a bird: the only other account, Ov. Met.
11. 749 ff, is quite different. Aisacos fell in love with the nymph
235
Explanatory Notes
Hesperia,who was bitten by a viper while he was pursuing her;

and when he threw himself into the sea in grief at her death, Tethys
transformed him into a bird (there a mergus, or diver, but the iden-
tification depends upon a purely Latin etymology).
124 Hecuba had a dream: cf. Pind. Paean 8 (rather different), Eur. Troades
920 ff, Cicero On Divination 1. 21. 42; not in Homer.
125 protecting: alexesas; Alexander (strictly, Alexandros) was thus the
man (aner, andros) who protected or defended.
he rediscovered his parents: Hyg. 91 gives the full story. Priam's ser-
vant came to fetch a bull for games that were to be held in hon-
our of Priam's lost son (i.e. Paris himself). Paris went to the city
and took part in the games, defeating his brothers; and when one
of them, Deiphobos, drew his sword on him, he took refuge at the
altar of Zeus Herceios. When Cassandra declared prophetically that
he was her brother, Priam accepted him as his son.
Apollo . . . art of prophecy: cf. Aesch. Ag. 1202 ff; there was an-
other story that serpents licked the ears (cf. p. 46) of Cassandra
and her brother Helenos when they were left overnight as chil-
dren in the sanctuary of Thymbraean Apollo (sc. //. 7. 44).
we should probably assume that she knows

if he were ever wounded:
by her prophetic powers that he will be wounded if he abducts
Helen (as explicitly stated in Parthen. 4); a pathetic tale that
appealed to later sentiment (Hellanicos in the fifth century is the
earliest recorded source, Parthen. 4).
126 learned from Sisyphos: see also p. 44 and note.

turned the ants into people: suggested by the etymological fancy that
the ancestors of the Myrmidons (the people commanded by
Aiacos' grandson Achilles at Troy) were created from ants,
myrmekes.
into a seal: she conceived Phocos, the eponym of the Phocians, while
she was in the form of a seal, phoke.
127 when Greece was gripped . . . delivered from its barrenness: see fur-
ther DS 4. 61. 1 ff, P. 2. 29. 6.
guards the keys of Hades: see also Plato Apol. 41a, where he judges
the dead, and Isocrates Evagoras 15, where he is said to sit beside
Pluto and Kore, and enjoy the highest honours.
Telamon . . . killed his brother: there is a varied tradition. In the

earliestrecorded source, the Alcmawnis, an early epic, both strike
him (sc. Eur. Andr. 687). Peleus is often said to deal the death-
blow (e.g. P. 2. 29. 7, where they are said to have killed him to
236
Explanatory Notes
please their mother, who would have been angry that Phocos was
born to another woman). In DS 4. 72. 6 the death is accidental.
because Heracles . . . Aias: for the full story see Pind. Isth. 6. 35 ff.
The appearance of an eagle, the bird of Zeus, indicates that Zeus

will respond positively to the prayer; the son is called Aias after
the aietos (eagle). Ajax is the Latinized form of his name. For
Telamon at Troy, see p. 86.
128 concealing magic sword made by Hephaistos; Acastos

his sword: a
who live on Mount

expects that Peleus will be killed by the Centaurs
Helicon while he is searching for it (cf. Hes. Cat. fr. 209). But he
is saved by the good Centaur Cheiron.
Polydora . . . River Spercheios: she is the mother of Menesthios by

this river in //. 16. 173; but there she is the daughter of Peleus and
wife of Boros, son of Perieres, as on p. 127. This report that Peleus
married Polydora is unattested elsewhere, and may be an error.
was told by Prometheus: alluded to in [Aesch.] PV907 ff.; cf. Hyg.
PA 15.
according to others: see Pind. Isth. 8. 27 ff., AR 4. 783 ff.
129 an ashwood spear . . . horses: later passed on to Achilles, see //. 16.
140 ff. and 19. 400 ff.
When Thetis gave birth went back to the Nereids: following AR . . .
4.869 ff. Ambrosia, the food of the gods, would foster what was
immortal in the child's nature. For the use of fire to burn away
what is mortal in the body, cf. p. 33. In some sources, Thetis is
said to have killed several children born before Achilles while try-
ing to immortalize them (sc. Aristoph. Clouds 1068a), or test
whether they were mortal (sc. AR 4. 816). The passages in the
Iliad where Homer refers to Thetis in her home under the sea at
the time of the Trojan War (e.g. //. 1. 358) seem to assume her
departure; but in other passages there is talk of her welcoming
Achilles home to the house of Peleus (e.g. 18. 441, cf. 332).
not lips: privative a (implied rather than directly stated) and

. . .
hence Achilles! By feeding on the flesh and marrow of

cheile,
powerful and courageous animals, Achilles would come to share

their qualities.
slaughtering Astydameia: she had falsely accused him to her hus-

band, p. 128.
Lycomedes: he ruled the island of Scyros, off Euboea.
Pyrrhos . . . later called Neoptolemos: because he was young, neos,

when he went to war, polemos, at Troy (see p. 156), or because his
237
Explanatory Notes
father was (P. 10. 26. 1, reporting the Cypria). His previous name
was explained by his red, pyrrhos, hair (Serv. on Aen. 2. 469). Achilles
refers to his son on Scyros in //. 19. 326 f.
129 causing a trumpet to be sounded: this is explained by Hyg. 96.
Odysseus placed women's finery in the courtyard of the palace with

a shield and spear amongst it. He then had a trumpet sounded,
accompanied by shouts and the clashing of arms. Thinking that
they were under attack, Achilles took off his women's clothing and
seized the shield and spear. Or more simply, when women's finery
with arms mixed amongst it was placed before Achilles and his
female companions, he instinctively seized the arms (sc. //. 19. 326).
In Homer's account, //. 11. 769 ff, Achilles remained with Peleus,
and was eager to go when Nestor and Odysseus came to fetch him
and Patroclos; and the present story was absent from the Cypria
also (for Achilles came to Scyros and married Deidameia after the
Greek attack on Mysia, Procl., cf. sc. 77. 19. 326 on the Little Iliad).
Because Achilles was too young to be one of Helen's suitors, he
was not bound by oath to join the expedition (and subsequently,
when Agamemnon offended him, he could threaten to go home,
//. 1. 169 ff., etc.).
Phoenix had been blinded . . . seduced her: in Homer's account, //. 9.
447 ff, he actually sleeps with her, at the instigation of his mother
(who is jealous of the concubine); he has to go into exile, but is
not blinded.
130 Patroclos had killed a boy: cf. //. 23. 84 ff.
Achilleshad become his lover, this is never stated by Homer; see also
Plato Symp. 180a. Patroclos was older than Achilles (//. 11. 787).
the Erechtheid Sea: not a sea in the literal sense, but a sea- water
well in the Erechtheum on the Acropolis, from which the sound
of waves could be heard to rise when the south wind was blowing
(see P. 1. 26. 6, with Hdt. 8. 55). This symbolic sea, and the mark
still be seen), were the evi-
of his trident in the rock (which can
dence that Poseidon produced to support his claim (P. 1. 26. 6).
the Pandroseion: an enclosure near the Erechtheum. The olive tree
survived until Roman times (after miraculously regrowing when
the Persians set fire to Athens, P. 1. 27. 2, Hdt. 8. 55).
flooded the Thriasian plain: to the north-west of the city. Not a per-
manent flood (although he wanted it to be, until Zeus sent Hermes
to forbid it, Hyg. 164).
name appears in the form

Agraulos, the daughter of Actaios: her
Aglauros elsewhere. Actaios was presumably invented to explain
238
Explanatory Notes
why Attica was previously called Acte (see above); Pausanias

(1. 2. 6) records a tradition that he was the first king of Attica and
that Cecrops succeeded to the throne by marrying his daughter.
131 was tried on the Areiopagos: the Areiopagos, the traditional
Athenian high court which dealt especially with cases involving
blood-guilt, met on the place of that name to the north-west of
the Acropolis. The present story explains its name (the 'Hill of
Ares') and prime function. Because his victim was trying to
its
rape a close relative, and was caught in the act, Ares' defence would
have been acceptable in classical Athens.
Herse . . . ff., Dawn bears Memnon and

Phaethon: in Theog. 984
Emathion Tithonos (as on p. 124), and Phaethon to Cephalos.
to
On p. 44 this Cephalos was said to be a son of Deion; but it seems
likely that Cephalos son of Deion, the hunter and husband of Procris,
p. 134, was originally not the same figure as the son of Hermes
associated with Dawn. In Theog. 986 ff. this Phaethon is ab-
ducted by Aphrodite and made guardian of one of her temples; he
should not be identified with the more famous son of the Sun who
borrowed his father's chariot and was struck by Zeus with a thun-
derbolt when he was unable to control the horses and almost set
the earth on fire, DS 5. 23, Ov. Met. 2. 19 ff.
slept with foreigners: presumably a reference to temple prostitution

in connection with the cult of Aphrodite -Astarte. The cause of
Aphrodite's anger (perhaps neglect of her cult) is not recorded.
Cinyras was associated with the cult of Paphian Aphrodite in
Cyprus (Pind. Pyth. 2. 15 ff., Tacitus Hist. 2. 3).
a son of Theias: the following story of incest between father and

daughter is most generally favoured to explain Adonis' birth,
whether the king in question is called Theias (cf. AL 34) or
Cinyras (e.g. Hyg. 58, where Cinyras is described as the king of
the Assyrians; cf. Ov. Met. 10. 298 ff.). As we see in Ovid, his
daughter is sometimes called Myrrha (in Greek, Smyrna was an
alternative word for myrrh).
132 born to Hephaistos and Athene:

it will be seen that this is a loose
expression, as he born from the earth as a son of Hephaistos.

is
The following story allows him to be earthborn (in a peculiar way)

and yet have a special connection with Athene although she is a
virgin goddess.
with a piece of wool: this was introduced into the story for ety-
mological reasons, to explain Erichthonios' name by his birth
from the ground, chthon, when the wool, erion, fell on it (as in Et.
239
Explanatory Notes
Magn.; others pointed to the struggle, eris, between Athene and

Hephaistos, e.g. Hyg. 166).
132 a snake: placed there by Athene to guard him (cf. Eur. Ion. 21-3,
where there are two snakes, and VM
2. 37); but the serpent is
sometimes identified with the earthborn Erichthonios himself

(Hyg. PA 13; in Hyg. 166, he is half serpent like Cecrops).
her sanctuary: the Erechtheum on the Acropolis.

thewooden image ofAthene: a primitive olive-wood statue (xoanon),
comparable to the Palladion at Troy, p. 123 (and said by some to
have fallen from the sky as the Palladion did, P. 1. 26. 7).
133 Panathenaia: the great summer festival celebrated in honour of
Athene as patroness of the city. There was a procession to the
Parthenon (as depicted in its frieze), bulls were sacrificed, and a
new robe was offered to the enormous statue of Athene in the
temple.
Demeter . . . at Eleusis: see p. 33. Eleusis was independent until the

seventh century. Demeter introduced corn, Dionysos wine.
Labdacos: king of Thebes, see p. 103, in Boeotia, which lay on Attica's
northern border; this is the only mythical tale associated with his
brief reign.
hid her away in the country: this is followed by a problematic phrase

omitted in the translation, 'and then, after marrying Philomela,
he went to bed with her'. There is no suggestion in any sur-
viving source that Tereus married Philomela, nor is it implied
elsewhere in the present account. On the contrary, he sleeps with
her secretly^ and Procne remains his wife. It was said that Tereus
had travelled to Athens to fetch Philomela because her sister
wanted to see her, and he raped her on the journev back (e.g. VM
1.8).
reached Daulis in Phocis: Phocis lay to the west of Boeotia and Attica.
Tereus was commonly been king of Daulis (Thuc. 2.
said to have
29, P. 1. Thrace
41. 8, etc.), but here he lives far to the north in
(as in Hyg. 45) and pursues the sisters to Daulis. It was gen-
erally accepted that he was of Thracian descent.
134 Philomela a swallow: her lack of a tongue explains the swallow's

inarticulate cries; her identification with the nightingale in medi-
eval and modern poetry is the result of a confusion in the Latin
tradition (see Hyg. 45).
Poseidon Erechtheus: following Heyne's emendation (from

Erichthoniou); a cult of this name is well attested for Athens.
240
Explanatory Notes
went to bed with Pteleon: in all other versions, Cephalos tests her
virtue, causing her to flee when found wanting. He returns in dis-
guise after travelling abroad for eight years, and offers her some
finery to sleep with him (Pherecydes in sc. Od. 11. 321), or he tells
a servant to offer her gold (AL 41), or Dawn changes his form to
allow him to test her (Hyg. 189). It is possible that this Pteleon,
who is unknown but is presumably the eponym of
otherwise the
Attic deme of Ptelea, may have been acting for Cephalos like the
servant in AL. See also Ov. Met. 7. 690 ff.
harmful beasts: snakes, scorpions, and millipedes, according to AL

41; Pasiphae was his wife.
a fast-running dog: for its subsequent fate, see p. 70, and note.
the Circaean root: this came from a plant of the milkweed family,
but here it is clearly viewed as a magical charm rather than a herbal
remedy. In AL 41 she finds a mechanical solution, by ensuring
that the beasts are discharged into a goat's bladder before Minos
has intercourse with her.
by the River Ilissos, off: not far from Athens, see

Boreas carried her
Plato Phdr. 229a where there is a vivid description of the local-
ff.,
ity (and Socrates makes some shrewd comments on the rational-
ization of such myths), and AR 1. 211 ff. There was an alternative

tradition that she was abducted from the Acropolis and conveyed
to Thrace to become his wife (sc. Od. 14. 533). Boreas was the
North Wind.
while pursuing the Harpies: see p. 52 and note.
killed by Heracles: for persuading the Argonauts not to return for

him when he was left behind in Mysia (AR 1. 1298 ff; for Heracles'
abandonment, see p. 51).
135 married Idaia . . . punished him for this: this version of the story, in
which Idaia brings a false accusation against her adult stepsons,
follows Sophocles' lost Phineus (sc. AR 2. 178); in another version,
she blinds them herself while they are still young with a weav-
ing pin (see Soph. Antigone 970 ff.). Boreas' presence with the
Argonauts is unusual, but DS (4. 44. 4, cf. Serv. on Aen. 3. 209)
records that according to some mythographers (presumably fol-
lowing the Phineus) Phineus blinded his sons and was blinded in
turn by Boreas (as the father of Phineus' first wife, Cleopatra). For
another version again, see DS 4. 43. 3 ff. (cf. sc. AR 2. 207).
fled to the Eleusinians: and became closely associated with the

Mysteries. He was the eponymous ancestor of the priestly family
241
Explanatory Notes
of the Eumolpidai, which provided the hierophant who presided

over the rites and revealed the mysteries to the initiates.
135 Poseidon destroyed Erechtheus: because the Athenians under

Erechtheus had killed Eumolpos, his son (cf. Eur. Ion 281 f). The
story presumably connected with the origin of the Poseidon-
is
Erechtheus cult, p. 136, in which the god and the heroized

Erechtheus shared the same shrine (P. 1. 26. 6).
136 transferred the kingdom to Pandion: see also P. 1. 5. 3 and 1. 39. 4;
Pandion's tomb could be seen in Megara.
founded Pylos:
. . the Elian Pylos in
. the north-western
Peloponnese. See also P. 6. 22. 5 and 4. 36. 1.
Pytho: Delphi.
mouth of the wineskin: the wineskin stands for his stomach, and its
mouth or neck for his penis (cf. sc. Eur. Med. 679, which reports
that the Greek word for the mouth of a wineskin, podeon, was often
used in such a sense); if he sleeps with another woman before he
returns to the height of Athens, meaning the Acropolis, he will
have a male child by her rather than by his wife.
by way of Troezen: south of the Isthmus in the Argolid, and thus

well out of his way; Plut. Thes. 2 suggests that he went there to
consult Pittheus about the oracle. For the place of Pittheus in
Troezenian mythology, see P. 2. 30. 5 ff; he later adopts Theseus'
son Hippolytos, see p. 142 and note.
Poseidon slept with her too: this paternity is associated with a spe-
cific story told in Bacch. 17. 33 ff. (cf. P. 1. 17. 3). When Minos
wanted one of the Athenian girls from the tribute
to sleep with
(see p. 137), Theseus withstood him, claiming to be the son of
Poseidon; and to prove this, he leapt into the sea and recovered
a golden ring thrown there by Minos, and was also given
a magnificent crown by Poseidon's wife Amphitrite (which later
became a constellation, Hyg. PA 5).
the bull of Marathon: for its origins, see p. 77 and note. Theseus
will kill it, p. 139. Here Androgeos is sent to almost certain death;
or he was treacherously murdered (cf. Plut. Thes. 15, and DS 4.
60. 5, where Aigeus fears Androgeos' friendship with his enemies,
the sons of Pallas). The following story of the ambush, which
absolves Aigeus from blame, was probablv of relativelv late origin.
See also P. 1. 27. 10.
137 Megareus: he came with an army of Boeotians, was buried where

he was killed, and the city, formerly called Nisa, was named
242
Explanatory Notes
Megara after him (see P. 1. 39. 5; this was a Boeotian tradition,

apparently followed here); he was often said to be a son of
Poseidon. Megara lay on the Isthmus of Corinth, bordering Attica.
drowned her. because he was shocked by her betrayal of her father
and city (cf. P. 2. 34. 7, and the similar story on p. 70). In Aesch.
Choephoroi 612 ff, Minos is said to have bribed Scylla with
bracelets of Cretan gold.
Their father, Hyacinthos: not the famous Hyacinthos who was loved
by Apollo, p. 119.
labyrinth: see p. 98.
138 a snake's jawbone: cf. DS 4. 76. 5 f, this led to the invention of

the iron saw.
Theseus: see Plutarch's life of Theseus for a fuller account of all
the following, with many Theseus was said to have
variants.
founded the Attic state by incorporating the communities outside
the city of Athens (Thuc. 2. 15; Plut. Thes. 24).
the sandals and the sword: the tokens of his birth, see p. 136.
cleared the road: z series of labours, emulating those of Heracles

(cf. DS 4. 59. 1), which establishes his heroic status. For the ear-
liest account, see Bacch. 18. 16 ff.
was referred to as Corynetes: a descriptive surname or nickname (as

with Pityocamptes below) rather than a proper name; it was doubt-
less suggested by //. 7. 138. It seems fitting that a son of the lame
god Hephaistos should have weak feet, although this is otherwise
unattested.
hurled into the air: or he attached the extremities of his victims to

two trees, causing them to be torn apart when the trees were released
(P. 2. 1. 4, DS 4. 59. 3; in Hyg. 38 Sinis helps them to bend a
tree back and they are thrown up when he lets go).
139 Polypemon: as in Bacch. 18. 27, but he is more familiar as Pro-
croustes (e.g. P. 1. 38. 5; this may have been mentioned in the full
text as a descriptive surname like those above, meaning 'he who

beats out'). In DS 4. 59. 5 the travellers are adjusted to fit a single
bed. In Hyg. 38, he stretches the legs of the short men by hang-
ing anvils from them.
Medea . . . schemed against him: to protect her position and that of
her son by Aigeus; see also p. 57.
the bull of Marathon: see p. 77 and note.
140 tribute . . . to the Minotaur: for the tribute, see p. 137; for the
Minotaur, p. 98.
243
Explanatory Notes
140 the children: the boys and girls saved from the tribute.
Dionysos fell in love with Ariadne: in Od. 11. 321 ff., she was killed
there by Artemis at the urging of Dionysos. For the varied tradi-
tion thereafter, see Plut. Thes. 20; she was often said to have been
deserted by Theseus (either for another woman or accidentally).
the sons of Pallas: Pallas was the brother of Aigeus; he and his sons
disputed the succession, alleging that Aigeus was not a true son of
Pandion (Plut. Thes. 13; Ap. points to a tradition that Aigeus was
a supposititious child on p. 136).
141 Icarian Sea: in the south-eastern Aegean, in the region of Icaria

and Samos.
accompanied Heracles . . . against the Amazons: this was generally
regarded as a separate and later expedition, made by Theseus alone,
or in conjunction with Peirithoos (see Plut. Thes. 26).
Amazons marched against Athens: see also DS 4. 28, Plut. Thes. 27.
by the Areiopagos: see Aesch. Eumenides 685 ff., where it is said that
the hill gained its name because they offered sacrifices there to
Ares (as god of war); but see also p. 131 and note.
Deucalion: the son of Minos and a successor as king of Crete, see
pp. 97 and 99.
142 Phaedra . . . asked him to sleep with her: Ap. gives the traditional
version of her story (cf. Ov. Met. 15. 497 ff., and Seneca's
Phaedra). Euripides' surviving Hippolytos (his second play on the
theme) is more sympathetic to Phaedra, presenting her as an
unwilling victim of Aphrodite who refuses to declare her love and
kills herself when her nurse betrays it to Hippolytos.
hated all women: he was a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis.
along the sea-shore: at Troezen in the Argolid, where Hippolytos

was the adopted heir of its king, Pittheus (the grandfather of
Theseus, see p. 136). Historically there was a cult of Hippolytos
there; girls made offerings of their hair to him at marriage (P. 2.
32. 1).
Ixion: his story is relevant to the subsequent account of Theseus'

association with Peirithoos (king of the Lapiths in Thessaly) and
their battle with the Centaurs, because Ixion was both the father
of Peirithoos and the ancestor of the Centaurs (through his son
Centauros, who fathered them by mating with mares near Mount
Pelion, Pind. Pyth. 2. 44 ff., except for the 'good' Centaurs
Cheiron and Pholos, who were of different birth, see pp. 29 and
75). Ixion's behaviour towards Hera was particularly reprehens-
244
Explanatory Notes
ible because Zeus had purified Ixion after he had murdered his
father-in-law, and welcomed him in heaven (DS 4. 69. 4); for a
fuller portraval of his transgression and punishment, see Pind. Pyth.

2. 21 ff.
Theseus joined Peirithoos: this paragraph is inserted from Zenobius

5. 33. Surviving accounts of the banquet are late (e.g. DS 4. 70.
3 f., Plut. Thes. 30), although the prowess of Peirithoos, Theseus,

and Caineus in fighting the Centaurs is referred to by Homer (//.
1. 262 ff.).
as relatives of the bride: thus Zenobius, but this is probably a mis-

take, because they were certainly relatives of the bridegroom (cf.
VM 1. where they are invited as Peirithoos' neighbours and
162,
relatives), and this connection would surely have been explained
in the preceding section on Ixion.
buried in the earth: the gods are said to have incited the Centaurs
against Caineus because of his violence and his presumption in
wanting to be honoured as a god (e.g. sc. //. 1. 264). On the lim-
its of invulnerability, see p. 73 on the Nemean lion and note.
143 captured Athens: according to the usual account, followed on p. 121,
she was hidden at Aphidnai, to the north-east of Athens, and was
recovered when the Dioscuri captured that city (cf. Plut. Thes. 32-3,
where it is were received into Athens afterwards
said that they
without a fight). It is reported, however, that in a poem in the epic
cycle they plundered Athens after taking Aphidnai (sc. //. 3. 242;
cf. P. 5. 19. 3 on the Cypselos chest). The Epitome may misrep-
resent the original text here.
took away became Helen's servant and was taken to

Aithra: she
Troy and //. 3. 143 f); and when it fell, she
(see Plut. Thes. 34,
was recovered by these two sons of Theseus, Demophon and
Acamas, see p. 157.
Menestheus: a great-grandson of Erechtheus, and thus in the royal
line; the leader of the Athenians in the Trojan War, p. 148, //. 2.
552.
became stuck to it: the rock grew to their flesh (P. 10. 29. 9, refer-
ring to Panyasis and contrasting this with the tradition that they
were pinioned to the chair; it seems that two versions from dif-
ferent sources are combined here). The name of the chair suggests
that it affected the mind also (see Horace Odes 4. 7. 27 f.).
Lycomedes: he ruled in Scyros, off Euboea, and either feared

Theseus' influence over his subjects or wanted to gratify Menes-
theus (see Plut. Thes. 35, P. 1. 17. 6). See also p. 129.
245
Explanatory Notes
143 Tantalos: son of Zeus and Pluto, daughter of Cronos (or accord-
ing to some, the son of Tmolos). A wealthy king in Lydia, in Asia
Minor, he is introduced here as the ancestor of the Pelopids, the
Peloponnesian line which provided the kings of Mycenae and
Sparta at the time of the Trojan War. For his punishment, cf. Od.
1 1. 582 ff. (without any mention of the stone, but Archilochus knew
of it in the seventh century, sc. Pind. 01. 1. 97).
share ambrosia with his friends: after he had been welcomed at the
table of the gods and made immortal with ambrosia, the food of
the gods, he wanted to share it with other mortals, Pind. 01. 1. 59
ff. For the betrayal of divine secrets, cf. DS 4. 74. 2. The darker
story that he served his son Pelops at a banquet of the gods (which
Pindar refused to believe, 01. 1. 26 ff.) must have been mentioned
in the full text, as it is referred to just below.
Broteas: the son of Tantalos; see also Ovid Ibis. 517 ff. and P. 3.
22.4.
144 a winged chariot: since Pindar talks of a golden chariot drawn by
horses with unwearying wings (01. 1. 87), and Pelops' horses were
portrayed with wings on the sixth-century chest of Cypselos (P.
5. 17. 7), the 'winged chariot' of the Epitome may be misleading.
In Pindar's account, this gift from Poseidon is sufficient to ensure
victory for Pelops (and probably elsewhere in the earlier tradition;
Pherecydes, in the fifth century, is the earliest author known to
have referred to Myrtilos in this connection, sc. AR 1. 752).
Pisa: in Elis, the north-western province of the Peloponnese.
failed to insert the axle-pins: or according to Pherecydes (ibid.) he

inserted axle-pins made of wax.
the Myrtoan Sea: lying to the east of the Peloponnese and south
of Attica; Geraistos was the southernmost cape of Euboea. It was
also said that Pelops had promised Myrtilos that he could spend
a night with Hippodameia, and pitched him overboard when he
reminded him of this (P. 8. 14. 11).
curses at the house of Pelops: amply fulfilled; it was said by some
that this caused Hermes, the father of Myrtilos, to send the
golden lamb that causes such trouble below (Eur. Orest. 989 ff.
with sc. to 990; but below it is sent by Artemis as a sign to con-
firm Atreus' kingship).
name of the Peloponnese,
145 Apia or Pelasgiotis: for Apia as a previous
see p. 58; Pelasgiotis must name, when it
likewise be a previous
was named after Pelasgos (cf. ibid., although we would expect the
form Pelasgia). It now gains its definitive name (as the 'island' of
246
Explanatory Notes
Pelops; but it should be noted that the story of Pelops' sons and
grandsons indicates that the main centres outside Elis could not
have been ruled by him at this time).
placed it in a chest: i.e. its fleece.
the Mycenaeans . . . had

and Thyestes: they are
sent for Atreus
kingdom of Pisa in Elis because they
already outside their father's
were summoned by Sthenelos, the father of Eurystheus, to Midea
in Argos when he banished Amphitryon, p. 69. In the meantime,
Sthenelos has died and Eurystheus has been killed by Hyllos,
p. 92, but the Perseid heirs, the Heraclids, have been told by the
oracle that they are not to return to the Peloponnese until later,
ibid. Correspondingly, it is the divine will that the Pelopids should
rule Mycenae in the intervening period; according to sc. Eur. Orest.
4, this was revealed by the Heraclids. It was

in the oracle received
also said that Pelops had expelled Atreus and Thyestes for mur-
dering his illegitimate son Chrysippos (ibid.).
the adultery: between his wife Aerope and Thyestes.

intercourse with his own daughter: her name was Pelopia. In one ver-
sion of this story, she submitted to the incest out of duty (e.g.
Hyg. 254), in another, Thyestes raped her unknowingly at Sicyon
during nocturnal rites (Hyg. 88). Here we can assume the former;
Thyestes is acting in direct obedience to the oracle.
146 sought refuge: i.e. from Agamemnon and Menelaos, when they
came of age.
But Agamemnon marrying his daughters: the gap in the text is

. . .
filled by an extract from Tzetzes, Chiliades 1. 456-62, which is
based on Ap. It explains how Agamemnon and Menelaos escaped

to safety after the murder of Atreus. Although they were described
above, p. 99, as sons of Pleisthenes (and thus grandsons of Atreus),
they are surely sons of Atreus here. Tyndareus fled to Aetolia
after he was expelled from Sparta by Hippocoon and his sons, see
p. 120 and note. After Heracles had killed them, Tyndareus was
able to return (see p. 88), bringing Agamemnon and Menelaos with
him. Later Agamemnon became king in
expelled Thyestes and
Mycenae, and Menelaos became king in Sparta after the death of
the Dioscuri deprived Tyndareus of his heirs, p. 122.
Alexander abducted Helen: we now pass to the events leading up to

the Trojan War. Ap.'s main source henceforth will be the poems
in the epic cycle that gave an account of the events not covered
by Homer; but he also introduces material from later sources. For
247
Explanatory Notes
all the following, compare the summaries of these epic poems by

Proclus (English translations of these can be found, with other rel-
evant material, in Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns in the Loeb series).
Events prior to the Iliad were covered in a single epic, the Cypria.
146 demigods: a term sometimes applied to the heroes of the Trojan
War and earlier adventures (see Hes. WD 159 ff, cf. //. 12. 23);
it need not imply divine parentage.
For one of these reasons: Homer remarks enigmatically in //. 1. 5
that the war fulfilled the will of Zeus, but offers no explanation.
Elsewhere two main reasons are adduced (which need not be
exclusive), one, as here, that it was to be a source of glory for those
involved, and another that Zeus wanted to lighten the burden on
the Earth, which was weighed down by an excessive number of
mortals (thus the Cypria as quoted in sc. //. 1. 5; some included
the Theban War as part of the plan, sc. Eur. Orest. 1641).
Eris threw an apple: Eris, discord personified, now sets in motion

the chain of events that will lead to the Trojan War. This takes
place at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (Procl.; for the mar-
riage see p. 129). The apple is first mentioned in late sources (e.g.
Hyg. 92) but the theme could well be early; it is inscribed 'to the
fairest', or Eris says that the fairest should take it. On Eris, see
also //. 4. 440 ff. The judgement of Paris is mentioned by Homer,
//. 24. 25 ff.
on Phereclos, see //. 5. 59 ff. The fleet

with ships built by Phereclos:
was suggested by Aphrodite, and she told Aeneas to sail with Paris
(Procl.).
147 the funeral of his maternal grandfather Catreus: after he had been
killed by his son Althaimenes, p. 99; Menelaos was his grandson
through Aerope.
the treasures: from the palace of Menelaos; this became an issue in
the war, see //.3. 70 ff. and 285 ff.
put in at Sidon: Homer alludes to his stay there in //. 6. 289 ff; in
the Cypria, he captured the city (Procl.).
a phantom of Helen: a theme invented by the lyric poet Stesichorus

(late seventh to early sixth century). According to a later (and doubt-
less apocryphal) story, he was struck blind after he had spoken

badly of Helen in one of his poems, and this caused him to write
a recantation saying that only her phantom was present at Troy
(thus absolving her from blame for the war); see Plato Phaed. 243a
f., with the verses quoted there. See also Eur. Helen (31 ff. and
passim) and Hdt. 2. 112 ff.
248
Explanatory Notes
to Agamemnon in Mycenae: as king of Mycenae he was the richest
and most powerful king in Greece, and undisputed leader of the

expedition. According to the Homeric catalogue he ruled the
north-eastern corner of the Peloponnese in an area also embracing
Corinth and Sicyon (//. 2. 569 ff, while Diomedes ruled Argos,
Tiryns, and much of the Argolid, ibid. 559 ff); but there are also
suggestions that he held wider authority (e.g. ibid. 107 ff).
the oaths: most of the Greek kings had been suitors for Helen's
hand, and had sworn to help the one who was chosen as her hus-
band if he should be wronged with regard to his marriage, see
p. 121.
pretended to be mad: he is said to have yoked an ox with a horse

(Hyg. 95), and sown the land with salt (VM 1. 35).
drew his sword: or he placed the child in front of Odysseus' plough

(Tzetz. sc. Lycophr. 818). Procl. is vague: he picked up the child
'to punish it'.
after capturing . . . as a traitor: this is Odysseus' later revenge for

his ignominious exposure. It was also said that Odysseus killed
Palamedes because he was envious of his cleverness (Xen. Mem.
4. 2. 33), or that Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Diomedes plotted
against him because they were jealous of his popularity with the
army for his inventions etc. (sc. Eur. Orest. 432). In the Cypria,
Odysseus and Diomedes drowned him while he was fishing (P. 10.
31. 1).
148 a breastplate: in the manuscripts, 'breastplates', but this is surely

a reference to the magnificent breastplate described in //. 11. 19
ff, a personal gift from one king to another rather than a practi-
cal contribution to the expedition. The ruse of the earthenware
ships, absent from Homer, may go back to the Cypria (although
Procl. makes no mention of it). For Cinyras, see p. 131.
Elais, Spermo, and Oino: their names refer to the oil, grain, and
wine elicited by them. They lived with their father, Anios, on Delos.
Ap.'s account in the original text was probably comparable with
that in Dictys of Crete, Trojan War 1. 23, where they send pro-
visions to the Greeks at Aulis. It was also said that Anios, who
knew Troy could not be taken until the tenth year, offered to
that
maintain the Greek army at Delos for the intervening period, using
his daughters to feed them (Tzetz. sc. Lycophr. 570, reporting the
Cypria and Pherecydes), or that his daughters came to help the
Greeks when they were suffering from hunger at Troy (ibid. 580,
reporting Callimachus).
249
Explanatory Notes
148 Those who took part: compare Homer's catalogue, //. 2. 494 ff.; some
of the names and numbers diverge.
149 a snake . . . after ten years: cf. //. 2. 308 ff. The nine birds eaten by
the snake represent nine years of war; Troy will be captured in
the tenth.
Mysia: in the north-western corner of Asia Minor; historically the

Troad lay within the province of that name.
Telephos, son of Heracles: see pp. 88 and 116.
entanglea in a vine branch: through the anger of Dionysos, because
Telephos had deprived him of his cult (sc. //. 1 . 59); hence the
vine, which is emblematic of the god.
lasted twenty years: this is clearly problematic, as the war would

then end twenty (rather than ten) years after the portent of the
sparrows (which is said to have been revealed at the first muster
by both Ap. above and Procl.). But there are indications that this
was not a fancy of late origin. In the Cypria (Procl.) and Little Iliad
(sc. II. 19. 326) Achilles married Deidameia (and thus fathered
Neoptolemos) on his way back from Mysia, and Neoptolemos

must have had time to grow to fighting age before joining the Greeks
in the final year of the war (see p. 156); and there is the anomal-
ous statement by Helen in //. 24. 765 f., where she says that it is
the twentieth year since she left her homeland.
150 scraping rust from his sym-
Pelian spear: following the principle of
on p. 47, that what inflicts
pathetic magic noted for Iphiclos' knife
harm can cure it. The Pelian spear was the ash wood spear cut
on Mount Pelion by Cheiron as a wedding present for Peleus, see
p. 129 with //. 16. 143 f.
Not even Artemis: following the Vatican epitome, where the mean-
ing of this is left to the reader's understanding; I have completed
the sentence following sc. //. 1. 108 (cf. sc. Eur. Orest. 658). The
reading in the Sabbaitic epitome, 'it could not escape alive even if
Artemis wanted it to,' is surely a misinterpretation of the state-

ment in its abbreviated form.
Agamemnon brought her . . . at the altar: as in the Cypria (Procl.).

See also Euripides' Iphigeneia in Aulis and the introductory speech
of his Iphigeneia in Tauris.
Cycnos: not the adversary of Heracles (pp. 82, 90) but a son of
Poseidon who ruled at Colonai in the Troad (cf. P. 10. 14. 1 ff).
Tenedos was a small island lying off the coast of the Troad.
151 While . . . offering a sacrifice to Apollo: on Tenedos, following the
Cypria (Procl.). Homer mentions the water-snake, hydros, as the
250
Explanatory Notes
cause of his wound, //. 2. 723. The later tradition varies; in Soph.
Philoct. 1327 f., he is bitten on Chryse, an island near Lemnos, by
a serpent guarding the local temple of Athene; or he is bitten where
his comrades abandon him, on Lemnos (e.g. Hyg. 102).
the bow of Heracles: Heracles gave it to his father Poias (or to

Philoctetes himself) for lighting his pyre, see p. 91 and note.
sending Odysseus and Menelaos: cf. //. 3. 205 ff.
first .to disembark: cf. //. 2. 701 f., where his killer is a nameless
. .
Dardanian (as against Hector in the Cypria, see Procl.); that Pro-
tesilaos would be the first to enter battle is suggested in his name.
Laodameia: there seems to have been some coverage of her story

in the Cypria (P. 4. 2. 7; there she was described as Polydora, daugh-
ter of Meleager, but the present name is general in later authors).
The pathetic tale appealed to later sentiment and was much devel-
oped and was to be released from Hades for a
varied. Protesilaos
limited period only. (See also Ovid Heroides 18. and Hyg. 103 and
104. In Hyg. 103, Laodameia prays to be allowed three hours with
him, and is unable to endure the sorrow when he dies for a sec-
ond time.)
his head: Cycnos (the father of Tenes, see above)
152 by hurling a stone at
was said to be invulnerable except in his head (sc. Lycophr. 232).
There was another tradition that he was wholly invulnerable and
Achilles had to strangle him as Heracles strangled the Nemean lion
(e.g. Ov. Met. 12. 144, with the thong of his helmet).
Troilos: a son of Priam (or Apollo, p. 125) and Hecuba (//. 24.
257). There was a tradition that Troy could not be taken if he
remained alive (Plautus Bacchides 953 f., or if he lived to the age
of twenty, VM 1. 210).
captured Lycaon: see II. 21. 34 ff. for the full story. Lycaon was
sold into slavery in Lemnos (also Procl.), but was ransomed, and
came up against Achilles on the twelfth day after his return, giv-
ing rise to the memorable scene in which he entreats the pitiless
Achilles to spare him.
rustle the cattle of Aeneas: cf. //. 20. 90 ff. and 188 ff.
the following allies: for the Trojan allies cf. Homer's catalogue, //.
2. 819 ff.
153 performed deeds of valour: for aristeuein; the aristeiai of the various
heroes, episodes in which an individual comes to the fore and remains
the centre of attention while he performs exceptional feats, formed
set-pieces in the epic narrative.
251
Explanatory Notes
153 exchanged armour: in Homer's account, Glaucos exchanged 'gold

for bronze' (the phrase became proverbial), provoking the poet to
observe, in a rare personal comment, that Zeus must have deprived
him of his wits (//. 6. 234 ff).
154 The river rushed out . . . massive flame: this is rather unsatisfactory
as a summary of //. 21. 211 ff.
accidentally killed Hippolyte: her sister, whom she killed with her
lance while aiming at a deer, according to QS 1. 21 ff.; see also
Appendix, 8 and note. The tradition that she came there to win
glory to enable her to marry (Tzetz. Posthom. 14, referring to
Hellanicos and others) reflects later ethnographical interests (see
Hdt. 4. 117).
Thersites: he abused Achilles 'for his alleged passion' (Procl.) for
the Amazon, apparently an accusation of necrophilia

(Eustath. on
//. 2. and gouged out her eyes with his spear-point (Tzetz.
219),
sc. Lycophr. 999). The Aethiopis (Procl.) went on to say that
Achilles sailed to Lesbos, sacrificed to Apollo, and was purified

from the murder of Thersites by Odysseus (the first known refer-
ence to such a purification in Greek literature, for none is men-
tioned in Homer). On Thersites, see also p. 42 and //. 2. 211 ff.
Memnon: to provide a suitable opponent for Achilles, a warrior who

resembles him in being the son of a goddess and having a set of
arms made by Hephaistos (Procl.; cf. Achilles' arms in //. 18. 457
ff.). Proclus further reports that Thetis told her son Achilles of
the fate in store for Memnon, and that Dawn asked Zeus to grant
him immortality.
shot down . . . Scaean Gates: as foretold in //. 22. 359 f.
in the ankle: it is said in late sources at least that his mother Thetis
held Achilles by the ankle when dipping him into the Styx, or the
fire (cf. p. 129), to make him immortal (e.g. Serv. on Aen. 6. 57).
155 on the White Island: in the Aethiopis (Procl.) Thetis, with the Muses
and her sisters, snatched Achilles' body from the
and conveyed fire
it to the White Island (Leuke, in the Black Sea). But the present
passage surely refers to the Homeric account in Od. 24. 43 ff, where
the Greeks mix the bones in a golden urn for burial in a mound
by the Hellespont; as Wagner observed, the phrase must have orig-
inated as a gloss on the Isles of the Blessed in the next sentence.
on the Isles of the Blessed: a home at the ends of the earth for those
whom the gods absolved from death, see Hes. WD 167 ff. In
Homer, descends to Hades, where he complains to
Achilles
Odysseus of his fate as king of the shades, Od. 11. 473 ff, but in
252
.
Explanatory Notes
the Aethiopis, it can be inferred from Proclus' summary that Thetis

would have revived him and made him immortal after taking him
to the White Island. In Pind. 01. 2. 79 ff., she conveyed him to
the Isles of the Blessed. Ibycus, a sixth-century lyric poet, and
Simonides are said to have placed him in Elysium (which was much
the same) with Medea (sc. AR 4. 816).
the Trojans acting as judges: in Od. 11. 542 ff., the Trojans and Athene
are said to be the judges. In the Little Iliad (sc. Aristophanes. Eq.
1056) spies are sent to listen under the walls of Troy, and they
hear two girls discussing the matter; when one says that Aias must
have been the bravest because he carried off the body of Achilles,
the other counters that Odysseus was even braver because he
covered their retreat. There was also a tradition that they simply
asked the Trojan prisoners (sc. Od. 11. 547).
the allies: cf. Pind. Nem. 8. 26, where the Greeks decide the mat-
ter by secret ballot.
the Achaeans: the Greeks (as in Homeric usage).
Aias killed himself: see Sophocles' Ajax.
Calchas prophesied bow of Heracles: in the Little Iliad (Procl.)

. . .
this was revealed by the Trojan Helenos, see below, and it seems
to have been his only prophecy; in the later tradition the prophe-
cies multiply, and are shared between Calchas and Helenos (to whom
three different prophecies are attributed below). For a fuller
account of the following see QS 9. 325 ff., which follows the same
pattern. For the bow of Heracles, now owned by Philoctetes, see
p. 151 and note. It was needed to kill Paris.
Odysseus . . . to see Philoctetes: cf. QS 9. 333 ff. In the Little Iliad

(Procl.) he was fetched by Diomedes alone.
cured by Podaleirios: as sons of Asclepios, he and his brother,

Machaon, performed valuable services as healers while serving with
the Greeks (cf. //. 2. 731 f.). In the Little Iliad he was healed by
Machaon (Procl.), here as in QS 9. 461 ff.
156 Helenos . . . to reveal: a son of Priam and Hecuba, p. 125, whose

qualities as a diviner are mentioned bv Homer (//. 6. 76, cf. 7.
44 ff.).
bones of Pelops: see also P. 5. 13. 4 ff
Neoptolemos: the son of Achilles by Deidameia, the daughter of

Lycomedes (see p. 129); he is still on Scyros, the island off Euboea
where he was born. For Odysseus' journey, cf. Od. 11. 506 ff. (where
there is no mention of Phoenix).
253
Explanatory Notes
156 Eurypylos . . . at the hand of Neoptolemos: cf. Od. 11. 519 ff., he was
killed with many others, 'for the sake of a woman's gifts'; for Priam
had bribed his mother, Astyoche, to send him by offering her a
golden vine made by Hephaistos (sc. Od. 11. 520, following
Acousilaos).
Odysseus went aid ofDiomedes: in the Little Iliad (Procl.), these

. . .
were two separate expeditions. In the first, in which Diomedes played

no part, Odysseus disguised himself to enter the city as a spy, where
he was recognized by Helen (compare Helen's own account in Od.
4.242 ff.); in the second, he stole the Palladion with the help of
Diomedes.
Odysseus . . . suggested it to Epeios: in the Little Iliad, Epeios acted
on Athene's advice (Procl.; cf. Od. 8. 493). It is understandable
that the idea should also have been attributed to the crafty
Odysseus.
three thousand: the text is surely defective here. Stesichorus said
that there were a hundred (Eustathius 1698), and later authors give
lower figures. Their function was merely to open the city to the
main army.
157 devoured the sons of Lao coon: in the Sack of Troy (Procl.) in the
epic cycle, Laocoon was killed with one of his two sons; the por-
tent signified that Troy would be destroyed along with the senior
branch of the Trojan royal family, and understanding its meaning,
Aeneas, who belonged to the junior branch, withdrew to Mount
Ida. Although later authors disagreed on the cause and significance
of the episode, it can be assumed here that the snakes are sent by
Apollo as a sign of the coming destruction.
Helen . . . Odysseus covered his mouth: see Od. 4. 274 ff.
came to his rescue: because his father Antenor had offered them his
hospitality and protection when they visited the city as ambassadors
before the Greek landing, see p. 151 and //. 3. 205 ff.
Aeneas . . . his piety: cf. Xen. On Hunting 1. 15 (where he takes the

household gods also); this is the tradition developed by Virgil Aen.
2. 699 ff. For the ancients, respect and care for parents was a reli-
gious duty (cf. Plato Lams 930e In the Sack of Troy (Procl.)
ff.).
Aeneas left before the sack, while in the Iliad (20. 307 ff.),
Poseidon prophesied that he and his descendants would rule in
Troy after the destruction of Priam's family.
Aithra: she was taken captive by the Dioscuri when they were recov-
ering Helen from Attica, p. 143, and became Helen's maid and
went to Troy with her (//. 3. 143 f., Plut. Thes. 34).
254
Explanatory Notes
had later arrived at Troy. i.e. after the period covered by the Iliad;
a similar phrase is used of Amphilochos on p. 162, another figure
not mentioned by Homer.
158 Locrian Aias towards the sky: 'lesser' Aias (cf. //. 2. 527 ff.), not
. . .
to be confused with the more famous son of Telamon (who killed

himself before the sack, p. 155). In early epic, Aias merely dragged
her away, pulling the statue over as he did so (Procl., cf. P. 5. 19.
5); the rape and the statue's shocked response are Hellenistic
developments (first attested for Callimachus in the third century,
sc. II. 13. 66). An important episode, because it gives rise to the
wrath of Athene, which plays such an important part in the story
of the return voyages.
they hurled Astyanax from the ramparts: as in Proclus' summary of
the Sack of Troy, the killing of Hector's son (and slaughter of
Polyxena) take place after the burning of Troy; Proclus states that
in the epic Odysseus killed him, but the full story may have
accorded with Eur. Troades 721 ff., where it is said that Odysseus
argued for his death before the assembly and the Greeks car-
ried out the sentence. In the Little Iliad, Neoptolemos hurled him
down during the sack, after seizing him from his nurse (quotation
in Tzetz. sc. Lycophr. 1268). His fate was predicted in the Iliad
(24. 734 ff.).
slaughtered Polyxene: a daughter of Priam and Hecuba not men-

tioned by Homer. This episode was portrayed in the Sack of Troy
according to Euripides Hecuba 37 ff, the ghost of Achilles
(Procl.);
appeared above his grave and claimed her as his prize of honour.
His son Neoptolemos slaughtered her (Ibycus, in sc. Eur. Hec. 40,
presumably following early epic).
Hecuba was awarded Bitch s Tomb: this curious story is referred
. . .
to in Eur. Hecuba 1260 ff. and in a lyric fragment of earlier date

(PMG fr. 965) and is thus no late invention. In Euripides it is
prophesied that she will turn into a dog, disappear into the sea,
and her grave, Cynossema (the dog's tomb), will become a land-
mark for sailors. It lay at the entrance to the Hellespont on the
Thracian bank (Strabo 13. 1. 28, cf. Thuc. 8. 104). Others say that
she was stoned rather than drowned (e.g. Ov. Met. 13. 565 ff).
There was an alternative tradition that she was conveyed to Lycia
by Apollo (P. 10. 27. 2, reporting Stesichorus).
the most beautiful of Priam s daughters: cf. //. 3. 122 ff, where she
is the wife of Antenor's son Helicaon. The earliest surviving source
for the present story is Lycophron 316 ff, fourth century. See also
Q_S 13. 544 ff.
255
Explanatory Notes
158 took refuge by the altar: that of Athene, which he had defiled (cf.
Procl.); this action, and the consequent failure of the Greeks to

punish him, merely increases Athene's anger.
the Greeks gathered . . . sacrifice to Athene: to appease her for the
defilement of her statue. According to Od. 3. 136 ff, and the
Returns (Procl.), the next poem in the epic cycle, this quarrel was
incited by Athene; and it was conducted in an ill-tempered man-
ner in front of the army while the troops were the worse for drink.
Diomedes . . . with only five ships: see Od. 3. 153 ff. and 276 ff.; for
the subsequent history of Menelaos, see p. 164.
Mopsos .Manto: with this daughter of the seer Teiresias (p. 112)
. .
as his mother and Apollo as his father, Mopsos might be ex-

pected to surpass even Calchas as a diviner; his kingdom of Colo-
phon lay south of the Troad in Lydia.
159 When Calchas replied . . . without a doubt: following the Sabbaitic
epitome. The made no
Vatican epitome reads, 'when he [Calchas]
reply, he himself [Mopsos] said that she was carrying ten piglets,
and that one of them was male, and that she would bring them
to birth on the following day.' On this duel between the diviners,
see also Strabo 14. 1. 27, where it is indicated that the fig-tree
question came from Hes. Cat. (= fr. 278), and that the pig ques-
tion was reported by Pherecydes (in a different form again, that
the sow would give birth to three piglets, and one would be
male).
Thetis: the goddess was his grandmother. In the Returns (Procl.) it
was she who advised him to travel overland (see below), and the
shade of Achilles tried to restrain Agamemnon and his followers
from departing (for Agamemnon's sacrifice was insufficient to
appease Athene and they would meet with storms at sea).
Athene hurled cf. Od. 4. 499 ff, where Poseidon

. . . was killed:
drives his ships Gyraean Rocks, which are located by

on to the
later authors either at the island of Tenos in the southern Aegean
(the place of the storm in the present account), where there was a
Mount Gyraios (Hesych.), or more commonly, at Cape Caphereus
in southern Euboea (e.g. Serv. on Aen. 1. 45, QS 14. 568 ff); here
Aias was presumably wrecked at Tenos (for he was washed ashore
at Myconos nearby), but in the Returns he was wrecked at the
Capherides Rocks (Procl.). In the Odyssey Poseidon wrecked Aias,
rescued him from the waves, but then killed him as here. Eur.
Troades 75 ff. is the first surviving source for Athene's use of her
father Zeus' thunderbolt.
256
Explanatory Notes
Nauplios: see p. 62 and note; the earliest surviving source for this
episode is Eur. Helen 766 f. and 1126 ff.
the intrigues of Odysseus: see p. 147.
160 Aigialeia: the wife of Diomedes, p. 43, king of Argos; her infidel-
ity was also attributed to the anger of Aphrodite (e.g. Ov. Met. 14.
476 ff), who was wounded by Diomedes during the fighting at

Troy (//. 5. 330 ff.).
wife of Idomeneus: the king of Crete, see p. 99 and note.

Xylophagos: literally 'Eater of Wood', i.e. of ships.
the country of the Molossians: Epirus, in north-western Greece. See
also P. 1. 11. If., and 2. 23. 6.
his father s kingdom: that of Peleus, at Phthia in Thessaly, which
his father Achilles would have inherited if he had survived.
when Orestes went mad: after killing Clytemnestra and Aigisthos,
see p. 163.
Hermione . . . at Troy: an allusion to the story that Menelaos had

given Hermione to Orestes, but afterwards offered her to
Neoptolemos if he captured Troy (see Eur. Andromache 967 ff;
some explain this as an accident, saying that Hermione had been
given to Orestes by her grandfather Tyndareus at Sparta, and that
Menelaos, who was away at Troy, remained unaware of it, e.g. sc.
Od. 4. 4).
for the death of his father: Apollo, together with Paris, had killed
Achilles, see p. 154, cf. //. 22. 359 f.
by Machaireus: a name surely suggested by the machaira or short y
sword (cf. Pind. Nem. 7. 42) used to kill him. It was also said (ibid.
40 ff.) that he was killed in an argument over the meat from his
sacrifice (he objected to the Delphians appropriating such meat,
according to Pherecydes in sc. Eur. Or. 1655). He was buried at
Delphi and honoured there as a presiding hero (Pind. Nem. 7. 44
ff., P. 10. 24. 5).
161 Gouneus . . . settled there: there is a gap in the text here. This pas-
sage, which is prefaced, 'Apollodorus and the rest say this', is taken
from Tzetzes sc. Lycophr. 902; the next two paragraphs are taken
from ibid. 911 and 921 respectively. There too Apollodorus is prob-
ably Tzetzes' main source; he is referred to explicitly in the sec-
ond passage.
Navaithos . . . Nauprestides: Navaithos is derived here from naus,
ship, aithein, burning. Similarly, the Nauprestides were burners
(from pimpre mi) of ships. Cf. Strabo 6. 1. 12.
257
Explanatory Notes
161 Demophon: a son of Theseus; the following story, of relatively late

origin, was also associated with his brother Acamas (e.g. Aeschines
Defals. leg. 31, apparently the earlier tradition).
162 Nine Ways: the earliername of Amphipolis (Thuc. 4. 103); said to

have been given that name because she ran down to the shore nine
times when Demophon failed to return on the appointed dav
(Hyg. 59).
terror-struck: the reason is unclear; Tzetzes (sc. Lycophr. 495, fol-

lowing Ap.) says that he was 'overcome by a phantom' rather than
struck by terror, but that may well be a mistake. The basket would
have contained sacred objects used in the Mysteries of Rhea.
Amphilochos . . . killed one another: on this Amphilochos, a relatively
late invention, see p. 114 and note. This story of a double kill-
ing was surely based on a similar story told about Amphilochos,

son of Amphiaraos (Strabo 14. 5. 16, cf. Tzetzes sc. Lycophr.
440): after founding Mallos (in Cilicia) with Mopsos, he went to
Amphilochian Argos and when Mopsos refused to
for a year,
accept him back as joint ruler on his return, they fought and killed
one another in a duel (thus explaining the origin of the famous
oracle at Mallos, in which both were involved, see Plut. Moralia
434d).
Locris was struck by a plague: yet another disaster provoked by the

Locrian Aias' desecration of Athene's image, p. 158; the need to
propitiate Athene provides a mythical explanation for the strange
custom of the Locrian tribute, which is well attested (e.g. Polybius
12. 5. 7; the girls were chosen by lot from the hundred foremost
families).
163 after the Phocian War.it ended in 346 bc; this could only mark the
end of the thousand years if the Trojan War took place at an ear-
lier period than the Greeks commonlv assumed; see also Strabo
13. 1. 40.
was killed by Aigisthos and Clytemnestra: in the Odyssey, 3. 193 ff.
and 4. 529 ff., Aigisthos kills him, in Aesch. Agamemnon 1373 ff.,
Clytemnestra; thereafter in tragedy they are often mentioned

together, e.g. Soph. Electra 97 ff. Ap. is probably following the
Returns here (for Proclus also reports that he was killed by both
in his summary of the poem); if so, it is possible that the motif of
the tunic, first mentioned in Aesch. Ag. 1382 ff., may also have
originated in early epic. Aigisthos, the son of Thyestes, p. 146,
came to Mycenae while Agamemnon was away at Troy and
seduced Clytemnestra, Od. 3. 263 ff. In Aesch. Ag. Clytemnestra's
258
Explanatory Notes
action is provoked by Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigeneia (1414

ff.) and Trojan captive women Chryseis and
his infidelity with the
Cassandra (1439 ff).
they killed Cassandra too: cf. Od. 11. 421-3; there she is killed by
Clytemnestra alone, and that is the usual account (e.g. Pind. Pyth.
11. 17 ff.).
left Mycenae killed his mother and Aigisthos: cf. Od. 1 298 ff.
. . . .
and 3. There is no mention of Pylades in Homer, but in

305 ff.
the Returns the murder of Agamemnon was 'avenged by Orestes

and Pylades' (Procl.). On the whole affair, see Aesch. Choephoroi,
and Soph, and Eur. Electra.
indicted by the Furies . . . acquitted: following Aesch. Eumenides;
when the votes are evenly divided, he is acquitted on Athene's
instructions (752 f).
the land of the Taurians: the Crimea. Hereafter Ap. follows Eur.
Iphigeneia in Tauris; for a divergent account of how the Taurians
dealt with their victims, see Hdt. 4. 103.
164 he himself married . . .father of Tisamenos: such is the text of the

Epitome, but Tzetzes (sc. Lycophr. 1374) states the alternative rather
differently, reporting that he either married Hermione and had a
son, Tisamenos, by her,
according to some, he married Erigone
or,
and became the father of Penthilos (cf. P. 2. 18. 6, where he is said
to have had an illegitimate son, Penthilos, by Erigone in addition
to Tisamenos, his legitimate son by Hermione). The suggestion
here that Erigone may have been the mother of Tisamenos almost
certainly misrepresents the original text. This Erigone was the daugh-
ter of Aigisthos and Clytemnestra, p. 163 (not to be confused with
the Athenian Erigone on p. Hermione, see p. 121. 133). On
Tisamenos succeeded Orestes (who became king of Argos, and later
succeeded Menelaos on the Spartan throne also), and he remained
the most powerful ruler in the Peloponnese until he was killed and
displaced by the returning Heraclids (see p. 94) and the Pelopid
line was brought to an end.
Menelaos . . . treasure: see Od. 3. 276 ff.
only a phantom: see p. 147 and note.
went to the Elysian Fields with Helen: thus fulfilling the prophecy
of Proteus in Od. 4. 561 they were sent there because Helen
ff.;
was a daughter of Zeus. Elysium was much like the Isles of the
Blessed, a home for immortalized human beings vaguely situated
'at the ends of the world', ibid. 563 (although in the later tradi-
tion it came to be regarded as a region of the Underworld).
259
Explanatory Notes
166 wolves . . . pigs, or asses, or lions: in the Odyssey they are turned into
pigs alone (10. 239, although some of her previous victims were
turned into wolves and lions, 212).
167 mbly: a mythical plant with white flowers, Od. 10. 302 ff., some-
times identified as a variety of wild onion; the details on Odysseus'
use of it are not derived from the Odyssey.
Telegonos: important for his role in the Telegonia, the last epic in the
Trojan cycle, as summarized in Epitome 7. 34-7; not in Homer.
The Sirens', cf. where there are only two;
Od. 12. 49 ff. and 165 ff,
their names, the statement that they were half bird, and the
prophecy regarding their death are not derived from the Odyssey.
168 cattle: owned by the Sun and not subject to a natural death, see
Od. 12. 127 ff.; Circe had warned that they should not be killed.
Latinos: not in Homer; in Theog. 1013 (part of a later addition to

Hesiod's text, probably sixth century), he is Odysseus' son by Circe,
and ruler of the Tyrsenians (i.e. Etruscans) with his brother Agrios.
In the Roman tradition, where he is usually a son of Faunus, Latinus
becomes an important figure as the king of the aboriginal inhabi-
tants of central Italy when Aeneas arrived (e.g. Verg. Aen. 7 ff).
for five years: in Od. 1. 259, seven years.
suitors: no catalogue of suitors in the Odyssey, although

there is
many are mentioned individually, and numbers are given for the
suitors from each place (16. 246 ff; only in the case of Ithaca does
the number coincide with the total here).
169 he wrestled with him: in Od. 18. 88 ff, a boxing match, settled by
Odysseus with a single blow.
170 the land of the Thesprotians: in Epirus, in north-western Greece.
propitiated Poseidon: for killing his son, the Cyclops Polyphemos,
p. 165.
Teiresias . . . in his prophecy: see Od. 11. 119 ff; Teiresias told him
to travel inland until he found a people who had no knowledge of
the sea and mistook an oar for a and then offer up
winnowing fan,
a ram, a bull, and a boar. But afterwards he was to return home
to Ithaca and offer sacrifices there to all the gods (ibid. 132 ff). In
the Telegonia, however, the epic that took up the story of Odysseus
where the Odyssey left off, the journey inland provided the occa-
sion for a new series of foreign adventures.
Ithaca, cattle: not realizing that he was in his
he plundered . . .
father's kingdom; according to Hyg. 127, he was carried there by

a storm, and was driven by hunger to ravage the land.
260
i
Explanatory Notes
from a added by Bucheler after kentron, translated as

stingray:
needle; this weapon (which was made by Hephaistos, sc. Od. 11.
134) was given to Telegonos by Circe (see Oppian On Fishing 2.
497 ff.).
Telegonos . . . married Penelope: the Telegonia concluded with a

double marriage (Procl.) because he also took Odysseus' son
Telemachos to Circe's island, and Telemachos married Circe! The
departure of Telegonos and Penelope to the Isles of the Blessed is
otherwise unattested, but the Telegonia is the most likely source.
seduced by Antinoos: the leader of the suitors in the Odyssey (where

Penelope is a model of wifely fidelity).
gave Pan, as a son of Hermes: see P. 8. 12. 6 for the local

birth to
Mantineian tradition that Penelope died there. Pan was particu-
larly associatedwith the wild country of Arcadia, where his cult
originated. Herodotus (2. 145) talks as if the present account of
his birth was generally accepted amongst the Greeks, but there
were many others; he was often said to have been a son of Hermes
by other mothers, and there was even a bizarre tradition that
Penelope bore him to the suitors, causing Odysseus to leave home
again in disgust (Servius on Aen. 2. 44). See also p. 31.
Amphinomos: in the Odyssey (16. 397 f.) he is cleverer and more

gentlemanly than the other suitors, and thus earns a measure of
approval from Penelope; doubtless conclusions were drawn from
that.
as his judge Neoptolemos: cf. Plut. Greek Questions 14 (where

Odysseus departs to Italy).
Thoas: leader of the Aetolians in the Trojan War, p. 148, see //.
2. 638 ff, and 13. 216 ff; the name of his daughter is unknown.
261
THE TWELVE GODS
From the classical period onwards it was commonly accepted that there
were twelve principal deities. This idea, which developed from cultic
rather than strictly mythological considerations, originated in the Greek
colonies of Asia Minor, but by the fifth century bc altars had been ded-
icated to the Twelve Gods at Athens and Olympia. A though there is
some variation in surviving lists, the standard list in later times was:
Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaistos,
Athene, Artemis, Apollo, and Hermes. Here we will exclude Hestia (who
is of some significance cultically as goddess of the hearth, but has
virtually no mythology because she never leaves home), and include
Dionysos in her place. The group then includes all the Olympian
deities who are most important in mythology and appear most frequently
in the present work. At Rome, most were identified with local deities;
the names of these are given in brackets.
Aphrodite (Venus). Birth, 29; incites love in Cleio, 30, in Dawn, 32;
afflicts the Lemnian women, 50; transfers Boutes to Sicily, 55;
mother of Harmonia, 101; gives golden apples to suitor of Atalante,

117; love for Anchises, 123, for Adonis, 30, 131-2; punishes daugh-
ters of Cinyras, 131; selected by Paris in judgement of goddesses,
146; saves him from Menelaos, but is wounded by Diomedes, 207.
Apollo. Birth, and arrival at Delphi, 31-2; kills Tityos and Marsyas,
32, the Giant Ephialtes, 34, the Cyclopes, 119; recovers his stolen
cattle from the infant Hermes, and is given a lyre, 118; Zeus assumes
his form, 115.
Grants divinatory powers to Melampous, 46, to Cassandra, 125;
serves and helps Admetos, 48, 120; helps Argonauts, 55-6; arms
Heracles, 72, meets him after he has caught the Cerynitian hind, 75,
fights him for the tripod at Delphi, 85; fortifies Troy for Laomedon,
but sends plague when denied fee, 79; shoots sons of Niobe, 105; his
part in death of Achilles, 151-4, Neoptolemos seeks reparation, 160.
Loves Hyacinthos, 30, 119, Coronis, mother of Asclepios,
119; rejected by Marpessa, 39, Cassandra, 125; his children, Linos
and the Corybantes, 30, Doros, Laodocos, Polypoites, 39, Miletos,
97, Eleuther, 117, Asclepios, 119, Troilos, 125, Anios, 148, Tenes,
150, Mopsos, 158.
Oracles of, 112, 114, 150; sends sign before fall of Troy, 157;
sacrifices to, 149, 151; sanctuary of, 90; Manto dedicated to, 112;
Zeus assumes his form, 115.
262
The Twelve Gods
Ares (Mars). Birth, 29; slept with Dawn, 32; enclosed in jar by Aloads,
38; conflict with Heracles over son Cycnos, 82, 90; spring and
dragon of, at Thebes, and death of dragon at hand of Cadmos, 100;
Menoitios sacrifices himself to, 110; tried on the Areiopagos for mur-
der, 131; gave arms and horses to Oinomaos, 144.
Father of Oxylos, 39, sons by Demonice, 39, Meleager, Dryas, 40,
Ascalaphos and Ialmenos, 50, 121, Diomedes of Thrace, 78, Cycnos,
82, 90, Harmonia, 101, Phlegyas, 104, Parthenopaios, 117, Alcippe,
130, Tereus, 132, Penthesileia, 154.
Grove of, at Colchis, 43; belt of, owned by queen of Amazons, 78.
Artemis (Diana). Birth, 31; shoots Tityos, 32; kills Orion, 32, a Giant,
35, the daughters of Niobe, 105, Callisto, 115; causes death of the
Aloads, 38, Actaion, 102, Adonis, 131, Broteas, 143; angry with
Oineus, and sends the Calydonian boar, 40, with Admetos, 48, with
Heracles for catching hind sacred to her, 74-5, with Agamemnon,
and causes sacrifice of his daughter Iphigeneia, but rescues her, 150;
Atreus fails to honour vow to, 145, 150; makes Phylonoe immortal,
120.
Athene (Athenaia or Athenaie, contracted to Athene, or to Athena
in fourth century Attic and later usage; at Rome identfied with
Minerva). Birth, 31; discards and Giants, 34-5, 87; reared
flute, 32;
by Triton, and conflict with Pallas, 123-4; wins contest with Posei-
don for Athens, 140; amongst the goddesses judged by Paris, 146.
Advises on the Argo 49, on the ship of Danaos, 60; helps Perseus,
y
65-7; gifts and aid to Heracles, 72, 77, 78; returns apples of the
Hesperides, 83; advises Cadmos, and confers kingdom on him, 100;
gives Gorgon's blood to Asclepios, 119, dragon's teeth to Aietes, 53;
involvement with the birth and rearing of Erichthonios, 132; purifies
the Danaids, 62; blinds Teiresias, but grants him divinatory powers,
110; plans to make Tydeus immortal, but is deterred, 111; drives Aias
mad, 155; angry with Locrian Aias and Greeks after her statue is
defiled, asks Zeus to send storm, 158-9, propitiated by Locrians, 162.
Images of, 60, 158; sanctuary of, 88, 116, 132, 133; priesthood of,
134; wooden horse dedicated to, 156.
Demeter (Ceres). Swallowed by her father Cronos, 28; seeks for her
daughter Persephone, received at Eleusis, 33, confers wheat, 33, 133;
punishes Ascalaphos, 33, 84; bears horse Areion to Poseidon, 111;
Iasion wants to violate her, 122-3; statue of her in Egypt as Isis, 60.
Dionysos. Birth and earlier life, 101-3; punishes Lycourgos, 102, Pen-
theus, 103, for rejecting him; transforms pirates, 103; drives mad the
women of Argos, 47, daughters of Proitos, 63; gives vine to Oineus,
40, wine to Icarios in Attica, 133; grants powers to daughters of Anios,
148; father of Deianeira, 40, love for Ariadne and children by her,
140; brings mother up from Hades and ascends to heaven, 103.
263
The Twelve Gods
Hephaistos (Vulcan). Birth, 30; thrown from heaven, 31; and birth
of Athene, 31; his forge on Lemnos, 32; kills a Giant, 34; nails
Prometheus to Caucasos, 36; gives bronze-footed bulls to Aietes, 53,
Talos to Minos, 56, a breastplate to Heracles, 72; makes castanets
used by Heracles, 77, necklace for Harmonia, 101, armour for
Achilles, 154; builds underground house for Oinopion, 32; looks after
cattle for Heracles, 81; purifies Pelops, 144; dries up Scamander, 154;
tries to violate Athene and becomes father of Erichthonios, 132; father
of Palaimon, 49, Periphetes, 138.
Hera (Juno). Swallowed by her father Cronos, 28; marriage to Zeus,
and their children, 29, given golden apples as wedding present, 81;
suspended from Olympos, 31, 86; assaulted by Giant, 34; wins con-
test with Poseidon for Argos, 60; amongst the goddesses judged by
Paris, 146; Thetis reared by, 128.
Behaviour to women loved by Zeus and their children: pursues
Leto, 31; tethers Io as cow, sends gadfly after her, 59, asks Curetes
to abduct her child, 59; delays birth of Heracles, 68, sends serpents
against him, 70, a storm, 31, 86, drives him mad, 72, hinders him
by inciting Amazons, 79, and dispersing cattle, 81, finally reconciled
with him, 91; deceives Semele, 101, drives Dionysos mad, 102, and
Athamas and Ino for looking after him, 43, 101; causes death of
Callisto, 115.
Throws Orion's wife into Hades, 32; acts against Pelias for failing
to honour her, 45, 46; helps Argonauts past Clashing Rocks, 53,
Wandering Rocks, 55; sends daughters of Proitos mad, 63; sends
Sphinx against Thebes, 106; blinds Teiresias, 110; assaulted by Ixion,
142; sends storm against Paris and Helen, 147; makes Menelaos
immortal, 164.
Sacrifices to, 81; altar of, 57, 146; Ceux says his wife is Hera, 38.
Hermes (Mercury). Birth and exploits as an infant, 117-18; kills
Giant, 35; recovers Zeus' tendons after they are removed by Typhon,
36; rescues Ares, 38; gives golden-fleeced ram to Nephele, 43; steals
Io as cow and Argos, 59; purifies Danaids, 62; aids Perseus, 65-6;
kills
gives Heracles sword, 72, advises him in Hades, 84, sells him, 85;
rapes Apemosyne, 98; gives moly to Odysseus, 167.
Appointed herald to the gods, 118, sent to Deucalion, 37, takes
infant Dionysos to Ino and Athamas, 102, sent to Atreus, 145, takes
goddesses to be judged by Paris, 146, Helen to Egypt, 147, Prote-
silaos up from Hades, 152.
Father of Eurvtos, 49, Abderos, 78, Cephalos, 131, Myrtilos, 144,
Pan, 170.
Poseidon (Neptune). Swallowed by Cronos, 28; given trident, and
becomes ruler of the sea, 29; marriage and children, 33; fights Giant,
264
The Twelve Gods
35; loses contest with Hera for Argos, 60, with Athene for Attica,
130; contends with Zeus for Thetis, 128; indicts Ares for murder,
131; fathers horse Areion by Demeter, 111.
Makes shelter for Oinopion, 32; gives a chariot to Idas, 39,
powers of transformation to Periclymenos, 45; blinds Phineus, 52;
sends flood and monster against Ethiopia, 66; makes Pterelaos im-
mortal, 68; hides away Centaurs, 75; sends bull from sea to Minos,
77, against Hippolytos, 142; fortifies Troy, but sends sea-monster
when denied fee, 79; gives Peleus immortal horses, 129; rescues
Eumolpos, destroys Erechtheus and house, 135; makes Caineus
invulnerable, 142; kills Locrian Aias, 159; angry with Odysseus for
blinding Polyphemos, 165, sends storm against him, and petrifies
Phaeacian ship, 168, propitiated, 170.
His children, Orion, 32, the Aloads, 38, by Tyro, 45, Phineus, 52,
Belos and Agenor, 60, 96, Nauplios by Amymone, 61-2, Pegasos, 64,
Chrysaor, 66, the Molionides, 87, by Atlantids, 117, Halirrhothios,
killed by Ares, 130-1, Eumolpos, 135, Theseus, 136, Polyphemos,
165, others, 38, 50, 51, 68, 76, 80, 82, 86, 96, 110, 139; loves Pelops,
gives him winged chariot, 144.
Sacrifice to, 49; sanctuary of 72; cult of Poseidon Erechtheus, 134,
Argo dedicated to, 57.
Zeus (Jupiter). Birth, childhood, and ascent to power, 28; marriage to

Hera, and children by her and others, 29-31; father of Dionysos by
Semele, 101, of Hermes by Maia, 117; aids abduction of Persephone,
33; defeat of Giants, 34-5, of Typhon, 35-6; punishes Prometheus,
36, his release, 75, 83; separates Apollo and Idas, 39, Apollo and
Heracles, 85, Athene and Poseidon, 130; places aegis between Pallas
and Athene, 124; gives remedy to Athene, 111; adjudicates between
Hermes and Apollo, 118; imposes servitude on Apollo, 119; contends
with Poseidon for Thetis, 128; judges dispute between goddesses over
Adonis, 131; causes oaths to be sworn by Styx, 29.
Transforms Ceux and Alcyone, 38, vixen and dog, 70, Nysian
nymphs, 102, Niobe, 105; destroys Salmoneus, 45, Capaneus, 110,
Lycaon and sons, 115, Asclepios, 119, companions of Odysseus,
168, causes death of Actaion, 102; punishes Sisyphos, 44, Ixion, 142;
sends great flood, 37; grants Endymion unending sleep, 38-9; incites
Oineus to passion for own daughter, 42; angry with Argonauts for
murder of Apsyrtos, 54-5; orders purification of Danaids, 62; saves
Heracles, 87; grants long life to Sarpedon, 97; gives Harmonia to
Cadmos, them to Elysium, 103; gives prophetic powers to

101, sends
Teiresias, 110; opens chasm for Amphiaraos, 111; helps Callirrhoe,
113; determines posthumous fate of Dioscuri, 122; abduction of
Ganymede, 79, 123; grants Minos vengeance on Athenians, 137;
265
The Twelve Gods
supports Atreus in claim to throne, 145; brings about the Trojan

War, 146, reveals its duration, 149; has Helen sent to Egypt, 147;
sends storm against Greeks, 159; made Aiolos controller of the
winds, 166.
Loves Niobe, 58, Io, 59, Danae, 65, Alcmene, 70, Europa, 77,
Semele, 101, Antiope, 104, Callirrhoe, 113, Callisto, 115, Maia, 117,
Leda, Nemesis, 120, Aegina, 126; his mortal children, Aethlios, 37,
Aiacos, 126,Amphion, 104, 117, Areas, 115, Argos, 58, Asopos, 126,
Atymnios, 97, Castor?, 44 cf. 120, Dardanos, 122, Epaphos, 59,
Helen, 120, Hellen, 37, Heracles, 70, Iasion, 122, Lacedaimon, 118,
Minos, Rhadamanthys, Sarpedon 96, Perseus, 65, Polydeuces, 120,
Tityos, 31, Zethos, 104, 117.
Altars to, 90, 98; sacrifices to, 43, 82; sanctuary of, 117.
266
REFERENCES TO ANIMALS
AND TRANSFORMATIONS
Asses, companions of Odysseus turned into, 166.

Bear, Callisto turned into, 115; Atalante, 116, Paris suckled by, 125;
Achilles fed on the marrow of bears, 129.
Bee, Periclymenos turns himself into, 45.
Birds, Melampous, 46, Teiresias, 110, come to understand their lan-
guage; Stymphalian, killed by Heracles, 77; women mourning Melea-
ger turned into, 41 (meleagrides, guinea-fowl, in other sources), and
Aisacos mourning his wife, 124 (a diver, in the Latin tradition).
Bitch, Hecuba turned into, 158.
Boar, Calydonian, sent by Artemis, 40-1, further references to the hunt
for it, 86, 116, 127, image on Tydeus' shield (which can be taken
to be of Calydonian boar), 107; Erymanthian, caught by Heracles,
75-6; Adonis killed by a, 132; suitors of Alcestis to yoke a boar to
a lion, 107.
Bull, Arcadian, killed by Argos, 58; Europa abducted by Zeus as, 96;
sent up to Minos by Poseidon, 97, mates with Pasiphae, fathering

the Minotaur, 98; Cretan killed by Heracles, 77, identifiable with
Europa's or with that sent by Poseidon?, 77; Marathonian, identifi-
by Theseus,
able with the previous, 77, killed Androgeos, 136, killed
139; bull sent against Hippolytos by Poseidon, 142; bronze-footed,
yoked by Jason, 53-4; Talos a bull?, 56; Aison killed by drinking
bull's blood, 56; Heracles takes and eats a bullock, 82, 89; Acheloos
takes form of, when fighting Heracles, 88; Dirce bound to, 105.
Cattle, of Admetos, 120, of Aeneas, rustled by Achilles, 152, of Apollo,
stolen by Hermes, 118, of Augeias, 76, of Electryon, stolen by sons
of Pterlaos, 69, of Eurytos, 85, of Geryon, taken by Heracles, 80-1,
of Hades, 80, 84, of Phylacos, gained by Melampous, 46-7, of the
Sun, 34, 55, 168; Arcadian, rustled by the Dioscuri and Idas and
Lynceus, 122; Theban tribute to Orchomenos, 71-2.
Cow, Io turned into, 59; guides Cadmos to site of Thebes, 100, Ilos to
site of Ilion, 123; three-coloured, owned by Minos, 99; wooden, made
for Pasiphae, 98.

Crow, turned from white to black by Apollo, 119.
Deer, Artemis turns herself into to cause death of Aloads, 38; Actaion
turned into, 102; killed by Agamemnon, 150; substituted for Iphi-
geneia at sacrifice, 150; Athamas hunts his son thinking him a deer,
101.
267
References to Animals and Transformation
Doe, Telephos suckled by, 88, 116.
Dog, unapproachable, guarding cattle of Phylacos, 46; of Minos, fated
to catch prey, 70, 134, turned to stone by Zeus, 70; Molossian, kills
son of Licymnios, 87-8; named Maira, leads Erigone to her father's
body, 133; monstrous, Cerberos, 83-4, Orthos, 80; dogs of Actaion
hunt their master, 102, catalogue of their names, 172.
Dolphins, Dionysos transforms pirates into, 103.
Dove, sent out by Argonauts to test passage between Clashing Rocks,
52-3.
Dragon, Delphyne, a she-dragon, 36; see further under serpents.
Eagle, eats liver of Prometheus, 36, shot by Heracles, 83; abducts Gany-
mede, 123; presages birth of Aias, hence his name, 127.
Fox, symbol of Messenia, 94; Teumessian, see vixen.
Gadfly, sent by Hera against Io as cow, 59, against cattle of Geryon, 81.
Goat, Amaltheia, whose milk is given to infant Zeus, 28. (Not expli-
citly named here as a goat; this can also be the name of the nymph
owning it, cf. 89 and note.)
Goose, Nemesis turns herself into, hoping to avoid intercourse with
Zeus, 120.
Halcyon (a mythical bird), Alcyone turned into, 38.
Hind, Cerynitian, golden-horned and sacred to Artemis, caught by
Heracles, 74-5.
Hoopoe, Tereus turned into, 134.
Horses, immortal, given to Peleus by Poseidon, 129, lent by Achilles
to Patroclos, 154; man-eating mares of Diomedes, kill Abderos, cap-
tured by Heracles, 77-8; winged horses of Zeus, 36; horses given by
Ares to Oinomaos, 144, by Zeus (to Tros) and thence to Laomedon,
79; Lycourgos killed by, 152; of Rhesos, 153; Pegasos, 64, 66; Areion,
offspring of Demeter and Poseidon, owned by Adrastos, 111;
Wooden horse at Troy, 156-7.
Hydra, Lernaean, killed by Heracles, 74, its poison, 90.
Keux (a semi-mythical bird, translated as sea-swallow), Ceux turned
into, 38.
Kid, Dionysos turned into, 101-2.
Lamb, golden, sent to Atreus by Artemis, 145, 150.
Lion, of Cithairon, 71, of Nemea, killed by Heracles, 73; Periclymenos
turns himself into, 45; Atalante and Melanion, 117, companions of
Odysseus, turned into, 166; suitors of Alcestis to yoke with boar,
107; on shield of Adrastos, 107.
Nightingale, Procne turned into, 133.
Owl, Ascalaphos turned into, 82.
Pigs, companions of Odysseus turned into, 166; Achilles fed on entrails
of wild swine, 129.
268
Quail, Asteria turns herself into, 31.
Ram, with golden fleece, carries Phrixos and Helle through sky, 43,
its fleece fetched by Jason, 49, 53-4.
Seal, Psamathe turns herself into, 126.

Sea-swallow, see Keux.
Sea-monster, Andromeda exposed to, 66, killed by Perseus, 67;
Hesione exposed to, killed by Heracles, 79.
Snakes (including dragons, which are typically of serpent form),
guarding oracle at Delphi, killed by Apollo, 31, guarding spring of
Ares at Thebes, killed by Cadmos, 100, sowing of latter's teeth, 53-4,
100; guarding apples of Hesperides, 81, 83; devastating Salamis,
by Telamon, 127. Eurydice killed by, 30, the companions of
killed
Cadmos, 100, Opheltes (Archemoros), 109, the daughters of Cecrops,
132, the sons of Laocoon, 157, Orestes, 164; coils of, found in
Admetos' marriage chamber, 48, hold down Theseus and Peirithoos
in Hades, 143. Periclymenos turns himself into, 45, Cadmos turned
into, 103; mast and oars of pirate ship turned into by Dionysos, 130;
Snakes confer divinatory powers on Melampous, 46, show Polyidos
how to bring Glaucos back to life, 99-100; Teiresias changes sex on
injuring copulating snakes, 110; portent of snake and sparrows at Aulis,
149; Cecrops half-serpent, 120; snake coiled round Erichthonios, 132;
Triptolemos', 33, Medea's, 57, chariot of winged dragons; Talos uses
jawbone of snake to make a saw, 138; symbol of Laconia, 34.
Sow, of Crommyon, Phaia, killed by Theseus, 139; riddle of pregnant
sow, 159.
Sparrows, portent of snake and, at Aulis, 149.
Swan, Zeus turns himself into, to have intercourse with Leda or
Nemesis, 120.
Toad, symbol of Argos, 94.
Tortoise, Hermes uses its shell to make lyre, 118.
Vixen, Teumessian, fated to catch its prey, petrified by Zeus, 70.
Vultures, feed on heart of Tityos, 32; vulture tells Melampous how to
cure Iphiclos, 47.
Wolves, Athamas offered hospitality by, 44; Stymphalian birds flee from,
77; companions of Odysseus turned into, 166.
Wood-worms, overheard by Melampous, 47.
Other transformations: Teiresias, turned into opposite sex and back,

110, Caineus originally a womanbut transformed into an invulnerable
man by Poseidon, 142; nymphs who reared Dionysos turned into the
constellation of the Hyades, 102, Callisto into the (Great) Bear, 115;
Smyrna into a myrrh-tree, 131; Polydectes and friends turned to stone
by Medusa's head, 67, Niobe by Zeus, 105, Phaeacian ship by Poseidon,
269
168; snake in portent at Aulis petrified, 149; stones thrown by
Deucalion and Pyrrha turn into men and women, 37; the children of
Callirhoe turned into adults by Zeus, 113; Metis, 31, Nereus, 82, turn
themselves into many different shapes, Thetis into fire, water, wild beast,
128-9; the gods flee to Egypt through fear of Typhon and turn them-
selves into animals, 35.
Transformations of the gods: Demeter, 33, Apollo and Poseidon, 79,
intohuman form; Hera into an Amazon, 79; Zeus into a shower of gold,
to seduce Dmae, 65, into Artemis or Apollo to seduce Callisto, 115,
Poseidon into the River Enipeus to seduce Tyro, 45; Demeter into a
Fury, 111.
270
INDEX OF NAMES
Content
The Library provides the fullest inventory of mythological characters

and genealogies to be found in any single ancient source; in view of
this, it was considered desirable that the index should be as full
as possible, even if many figures may be obscure or otherwise

unrecorded. All personal names are included, except for those listed
in the following five catalogues:
The Nereids, p. 29.

The fifty daughters of Danaos and fifty sons of Aigyptos, and their
respective mothers, p. 61-2.
The fifty daughters of Thespios and their sons by Heracles, pp. 91-2.
The fifty sons of Lycaon, p. 1 14 (one name missing).
The suitors of Penelope, p. 168-9 (one hundred and twenty-nine
names).
Since virtually none of these figures appears in any other connection

(and for the most part these catalogues are genealogical blind alleys),
improbable that anyone would seek them individually in an index;
it is
but the few who do appear elsewhere are included.
The Spelling and Pronunciation of Greek Names

With few exceptions (which are cross-referenced), the names are given
a
in their originalGreek form; please see p. xxix above for some brief
remarks on this matter. It should therefore be remembered that the
Greek diphthongs ai and oi will be found rather than their Latin
equivalents ae and oe (thus Aigeus and Oineus rather than Aegeus and
Oeneus), and that Greek ei will not be replaced by a long i (so if a
name Chiron or Tiresias seems to be missing,
like it should be sought
as Cheiron or Teiresias).
In ordinary speech, it is usual for English speakers to pronounce
Greek names in the way
seem most natural without attempting
that
to reproduce the exact pronunciation of the ancient Greeks. This
conventional (or compromise) pronunciation presents no great prob-
lems if a few rules are observed:
Vowels: There are no mute vowels. In particular, a final -e and the e
in final -es should always be sounded, as in familiar names like
Aphrodite and Socrates.
271
Index of Names
In Greek, ae and oo are never diphthongs, and each vowel should

, oe,
be sounded separately (e.g. in Danae, Iphinoe, Acheloos).
Of diphthongs, ai should be pronounced as in high, au as in how,

and oi as in boil; and eu is commonly pronounced as in eulogy, or when
followed by an r, as in Europe.
In names, ei is usually a diphthong, which can be pronounced as in
pay (e.g. in Teiresias, Deianeira), but not always (especially at the end
of names, e.g. Endeis, the Nereids).
Consonants: C is used for Greek kappa (although when transliterating

Greek it is usual This is properly a hard c (or k), but where
to use a k).
it seems natural for an English speaker, it is often pronounced as a
soft c (as in Alcibiades or Eurydice).
Ch is used for Greek chi, which represents an aspirated k. In names,
e.g. Achilles, it can be pronounced like a k. It should not be pro-
nounced like ch in chapter.
G is properly hard as in gallery, but again, where it seems natural

(as with the name Aigeus) it is often pronounced as in gin.
N.B. Genealogical indications, most commonly a patronymic, are

included for practical convenience, but it must be remembered that
there are often conflicting traditions, and if it is stated, for instance,
that somebody is the mother of a particular person, that may be only
one of several traditions recorded (whether in the present work or
elsewhere).
Information not derived from the text is bracketed.
Where there are more than two entries under a particular name,
bold type used to distinguish those which refer to mythical stories
is
or passages which give biographical (rather than purely genealogical)

information; and generally, where an entry is italicized, this indicates
that it refers to the inclusion of the character in one of the four main
heroic catalogues:
Those who joined the hunt for the Calydonian boar, pp. 40-1.
The Argonauts, pp. 49-50.
Helen's suitors, p. 121.
The Greeks who joined the expedition against Troy, page 148.
Abas, son of Lynceus 62,63 Acarnan, son of Alcmaion 113

Abas, son of Melampous 47 Acastos, son of Pelias 46, 49, 57, 127-8,
Abderos, son of Hermes 78 129, 130
Acalle, daughter of Minos 97 Acastos, the sons of 160
Acamas, son of Antenor 152 Achaios, son of Xouthos 37
Acamas, son of Eusoros 152 Acheloos 30, 38, 40, 88-9, 113-14, 167
Acamas, son of Theseus 141, 143, 157 Acheron, father of Ascalaphos 33
272
Index of Names
Achilles {strictly Achilleus), son of Agenor, son of Amphion 105

Peleus 129-30, 148, 149-55, 157 Agenor, son of Ecbasos 58
158 Agenor, son of Phegeus 113
Acrisios, son of Abas 62-3, 64-5, 67 Agenor, son of Pleuron 39
119 Agenor, son of Poseidon 60, 96
Actaion, son of Aristaios 102, 171 Aglaia, daughter of Mantineus 62
Actaios, father of Agraulos 130 Aglaie, a Grace 29
Actaios, father of Telamon 126 Aglaope, a Siren 167
Actor, father of Eurytos and Cteatos, Aglaos, son of Thyestes 145
87 Agraulos, daughter of Actaios 130
Actor, son of Deion 44, 49 Agraulos, daughter of Cecrops 130
Actor, son of Hippasos 49 Agrios, a Centaur 75
Actor, son of Myrmidon 38, 41, 127 Agrios, a Giant 35
Acousilaos (of Argos, historian, Agrios, son of Porthaon 39, 42
6th-5th cent, bc) 58 (2F25a, Aiacos, son of Zeus and Aegina 41, 49,
Jacoby), 59 (F26 and 27), 126
63 (F28), 77 (F29), 102 (F33), Aias, son of Oileus 121, 148, 157-8,
114(F25b), 121 (F41), 126 (F21), 159
134 (F31) Aias, son of Telamon 121, 127, 148,
Admete, daughter of Eurystheus 78 153-5
Admetos, son of Pheres 40, 48, 49, 85 Aietes, son of the Sun 43, 53-4, 57,
120, 121, 148 166
Adonis, loved by Aphrodite 30, 131-2 Aigialeia, daughter of Adrastos 43, 48,
Adrasteia, nurse of Zeus 28 160
Adrastos, father of Eurydice 124 Aigialeus, son of Adrastos 43, 48, 112
Adrastos, son of Merops 152 Aigialeus, son of Inachos 58
Adrastos, son of Talaos 42, 47, 107-9, Aigimios, king of the Dorians 89-90,
111, 112 94
Aegina (properly Aigina), daughter of Aigina, see Aegina
Asopos 44, 126 Aigioneus, son of Priam 125
Aello, aHarpy 29 Aigipan 36
Aellopous, a Harpy 52 Aigisthos, son of Thyestes 146, 160,
Aeneas (properly Aineias), son of 163
Anchises 123, 152, 153, 157 Aigle, one of the Hesperides 81
Aerope, daughter of Catreus 98, 99, Aigleis, daughter of Hyacinthos 137
145, 148 Aigyptos, son of Belos 60
Aethlios, son ofZeus 37, 38 Aigyptos, sons of 60-2
Agathon, son of Priam 125 Aineias, see Aeneas
Agamemnon, son of Pleisthenes or Ainetos, son of Deion 44
Atreus 99, 120, 146, 147-55, Aiolos, keeper of the winds 165-6
158-9, 160, 163 Aiolos, son of Hellen 37-8, 43, 44,
Agapenor, son of Ancaios 113, 121, 120
148, 161 Aipytos, son of Cresphontes 95
Agasthenes, father of Polyxenos 121 Aisacos, son of Priam 124-5
Agathon, son of Priam 125 Aison, son of Cretheus 40, 46, 48, 56
Agave, daughter of Cadmos 101, 103 Aithousa, daughter of Poseidon 117
Agelaos, a servant of Priam 125 Aithra, daughter of Pittheus 121, 136,
Agelaos, son of Heracles 92 138, 143, 157
Agelaos, son of Temenos 94 Aithylla, daughter of Laomedon 161
Agenor, father of Phineus 51 Aitolos, son of Endymion 39, 49
273
Index of Names
Ajax, see Aias Amphidamas, son of Cleitonymos 130

Alastor, son of Neleus 45 Amphidamas, son of Lycourgos 116
Alcaios, son of Androgeos 78 Amphidicos, son of Astacos 110
Alcaios, son of Perseus 68 Amphilochos, son of Alcmaion 1 14,
Alcathoos, son of Porthaon 39, 42 162
Alcatous, son of Pelops 72, 127 Amphilochos, son of Amphiaraos 112,
Alceides, earlier name of Heracles 73 121, 158
Alcestis, daughter of Pelias 46, 48, 85 Amphimachos, son of Cteatos 121, 148
Alcidice, wife of Salmoneus 45 Amphimachos, son of Electryon 68
Alcimenes, killed by Bellerophon 64 Amphimachos, son of Nomion 153
Alcinoos, father of Nausicaa 55, 168 Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope
Alcinous, son of Hippocoon 120 104-5, 117
Alcippe, daughter of Ares 130-1 Amphios, son of Merops 152
Alcmaion, son of Amphiaraos 42, Amphithea, daughter of Pronax 47
111-14, 162 Amphithea, wife of Lycourgos 48
Alcmaionid, the (an early epic) 42 Amphitrite, [daughter of Oceanos 28],
(fr. 4 Davies) 29 (as Nereid), 33, 135
Alcmene, daughter of Electryon 68, Amphitryon, father of Iphicles 40
69-70, 72, 92, 97 Amphitryon, son of Alcaios 68, 69-71,
Alcon, son of Hippocoon 120 72
Alcyone, daughter of Aiolos 38 Amphoteros, son of Alcmaion 113
Alcyone, daughter of Atlas 117 Amyclas, son of Amphion 105
Alcyone, daughter of Sthenelos 68 Amyclas, son of Lacedaimon 44, 115,
Alcyone, mother of Elephenor 148 118-19
Alcyoneus, a Giant 34 Amycos, son of Poseidon 51, 79
Alecto, a Fury 27 Amymone, daughter of Danaos 60-1,
Alector, father of Iphis 108 62
Alector, father of Leitos 50, 121 Amyntor, king of Ormenion 90, 92,
Aleos, son of Apheidas 49, 88, 92, 115 129
Aletes, son of Icarios 120 Amythaon, son of Cretheus 39, 46, 63
Alexander, see Paris Anactor, son of Electryon 68
Alexandros, son of Eurystheus 92 Anaxibia, daughter of Bias 46
Alexiares, son of Heracles 91 Anaxibia, daughter of Cratieus 46
Aloads, the (Aloadai) 38 Anaxo, daughter of Alcaios 68
Aloeus, son of Poseidon 38 Ancaios, son of Lycourgos 40, 49, 53,
Alphesiboia, mother of Adonis 131 116, 121
40-1
Althaia, daughter of Thestios 39, Anchinoe, daughter of the Nile 60
Althaimenes, son of Catreus 98-9 Anchises, son of Capys 123, 152, 157
Amaltheia (a goat) 28 Anchios, a Centaur 75
Amaltheia, daughter of Haimonios 89 Andraimon, father of Oxylos 94
Amarynceus, father of Hippostratos 42 Andraimon, nephew of Oineus 40, 42,
Amazons, the 64, 78, 141, 154, 172 148, 170
Amisodaros, who reared the Chimaera Androgeos, son of Minos 79, 80, 97,
64 98, 136-7
Ammon, an oracle by 66 Andromache, daughter of Eetion 125,
Amphianax, king of Lycia 62 158, 160
Amphiaraos, son of Oicles 41, 47, 49, Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus
107-9, 111, 112, 121 66-8
Amphictyon, son of Deucalion 37, 132 Anicetos, son of Heracles 91
Amphidamas, son of Bousiris 82 Anios, son of Apollo 148
274
5 5 5
Index of Names
Anogon, son of Castor 122 Arestor, father of Argos 59

Antaios, son of Poseidon or Ge 82 Arete, wife of Alcinoos 55, 56
Anteia, daughter of Iobates 62 Arethousa, one of the Hesperides 81
Antenor, father of Archelochus and Aretos, son of Nestor 46
Acamas 151, 152, 157 Aretos, son of Priam 125
Antheis, daughter of Hyacinthos 137 Arges, a Cyclops 27
Anticleia, mother of Odysseus 1 48, Argeia, daughter of Adrastos 48, 107
167 Argeia, daughter of Autesion 93
Anticleia, mother of Periphetes 138 Argiope, a nymph, mother of Cercyon
Anticlos, 157 139
Antigone, daughter of Eurytion 127 Argiope, a nymph, mother of Thamyris
Antigone, daughter of Oedipus 106, 30
107, 111 Argeios, son of Licymnios 90
Antilochos, son of Nestor 46, 121, 154 Argos, the All-Seeing 58-9
Antimache, daughter of Amphidamas Argos, son of Phrixos 43, 50
116 Argos, son of Zeus and Niobe 58, 59
Antinoos, suitor of Penelope 169, 170 Ariadne, daughter of Minos 97, 98,
Antiochos, son of Heracles 93 140
Antiochos, son of Melas 42 Arisbe, daughter of Merops 124
Antiochos, son of Pterelaos 68 husband of Autonoe 101, 102
Aristaios,
Antiope, an Amazon 141 Aristodeme, daughter of Priam 125
Antiope, daughter of Nycteus 104, 117 Aristodemos, a Heraclid 93, 94
Antiphates, king of the Laistrygonians Aristomachos, a Heraclid 93
166 Aristomachos, son of Talaos 47, 108
Antiphos, son of Myrmidon 38 Arneos, father of Megamede 71
Antiphos, son of Priam 125 Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippos 119
Antiphos, son of Talaimenes 152 Arsinoe, daughter of Phegeus 113
Antiphos, son of Thessalos 148, 161 Arsinoos, father of Chromios and
Apemosyne, daughter of Catreus 98 Ennomos 152
Aphareus, son of Perieres 39, 40, 44, Artemis, see 'The Twelve Gods', pp.
49, 119, 122 262-6
Apheidas, son of Areas 1 1 Ascalaphos, son of Acheron 33, 84
Aphrodite, see 'The Twelve Gods', pp. Ascalaphos, son of Ares 50, 121
262-6 Ascanios, son of Aretaon 152
Apis, son of Phoroneus 39, 58, 59 Ascanios, son of Priam 125
Apollo, see 'The Twelve Gods', pp. Asclepiades (of Tragilos, mythological
262-6 writer, 4th cent, bc) 59 (12F16
Apollonius (poet, 3rd cent, bc) 52, Jacoby), 97 (F17)
Argonautica (2, 284 ff.) Asclepius, son of Apollo 119, 121, 172
Apsyrtos, son of Aietes 54 Asia, an Oceanid 28
Areas, son of Zeus and Callisto 1 1 Asios (of Samos, early epic poet) 1 1
Arceisios, father of Laertes49 (fr. 9 Davies)

Archelaos, son of Electryon 68 Asios, son of Hyrtacos 1 52
Archelochos, son of Antenor 1 52 Asopos 44, 59, 126, 127
Archemachos, son of Priam 125 Assaracos, son of Tros 123
Archemoros, see Opheltes Astacos, the sons of 110
Architeles, father of Eunomos 89 Asteria, daughter of Coios 28, 29, 31
Arene, daughter of Oibalos 119 Asterios, king of Crete 97
Ares, see 'TheTwelve Gods', Asterios, offspring of Pasiphae, see
pp. 262-6 Minotaur
275
Index of Names
Asterios, son of Cometes 50 Bellerophon (properly Bellerophontes),
Asterios, son of Neleus 45 son of Sisyphos 44, 64, 96
Asterodia, daughter of Deion 44 Belos, son of Poseidon 60, 96
Asteropaios, son of Pelegon 154 Benthesicyme, daughter of Poseidon
Asterope, daughter of Cebren 124 135
Astraios, offspring of Ceios 29 Bias, uncle of Pylas 136
Astyanax (son of Hector) 158 Bias, son of Amythaon 46-7, 63
Amphion 105
Astycrateia, daughter of Bias, son of Priam 125
Astydameia, daughter of Amyntor 92 of Pylaimenes 152
Bilsates, father
Astydameia, daughter of Pelops 68 Boreas (North Wind) 49, 52, 134-5
Astydameia, wife of Acastos 128, 129 Boros, son of Perieres 127
Astygonos, son of Priam 125 Boucolion, son of Laomedon 124
Astynoos, son of Phaethon 131 Boucolos, son of Hippocoon 120
Astyoche, daughter of Amphion 105 Bousiris, king of Egypt 82
Astyoche, daughter of Laomedon 124, Boutes, son of Teleon 50, 55
161 Boutes, son of Pandion 133, 134
Astyoche, daughter of Phylas 89, 92, Braisia, daughter of Cinyras 131
148 Branchos, father of Cercyon 139
Astyoche, daughter of Simoeis 123 Briareus, a Hundred-Hander 27
Astypalaia, mother of Eurypylos 86 Briseis, daughter of Chryses 153, 154
Atalante, daughter of Iasos or Brontes, a Cyclops 27
Schoineus 41, 49, 116-17, 127 Broteas (son of Tantalos) 143
Atas, son of Priam 125
Ate 124 Cadmos, son of Agenor 53, 96, 100-1,
Athamas, son of Aiolos 38, 43-4 103
1
Athene, see 'The Twelve Gods ,
Caineus, a Lapith 142
pp. 262-6 Caineus, brother of Ischys 119
Atlas, son of Iapetos 29, 44, 83, 117, Caineus, son of Coronos 49
122, 168 Calais, son of Boreas 49, 52, 134
Atreus, son of Pelops 69, 121, 145-6, Calchas, a seer 129, 149, 150, 155,
148, 150 158-9
Atropos, a Fate 29 Callias, son ofTemenos 94
Atthis, daughter of Cranaos 132 Callidice, queen of the Thesprotians
Atymnios, son of Zeus 97 170
Auge, daughter of Aleos 88, 92, Callileon, son of Thyestes 145
115-16 Calliope, a Muse 30
Augeias or Augeas, son of the Sun 50, Callirrhoe, daughter of Acheloos 113
76, 81, 87, 92 Callirrhoe, daughter of Oceanos 80
Autesion, father of Argeia 93 Callirrhoe, daughter of Scamander 123
Autolycos, son of Hermes 48, 49, 71, Callisto, daughter of Lycaon 115
85 Calybe, a nymph, mother of Boucolion
Automedousa, daughter of Alcathos 72 124
Autonoe, daughter of Cadmos 101, Calyce, daughter of Aiolos 38
102 Calydon, son of Aitolos 39
Autonoe, daughter of Peireus 92 Calypso, daughter of Atlas 168
Axios, father of Pelagon 154 Campe, guards the Titans 28
Canace, daughter of Aiolos 38
Bateia, daughter of Teucros 123 Capaneus, son of Hipponous 108-10,
Bateia, wife of Oibalos 120 121, 172
Baton, charioteer of Amphiaraos 111 Capys, son of Assaracos 123
276
5
Index of Names
Cassandra, daughter of Priam 125, Chersidamas, son of Pterelaos 68

157, 158, 163 Chimaera, killed by Bellerophon 44,
Cassiepeia, mother of Atymnios 97 64
Cassiepeia, wife of Cepheus 66 Chione, daughter of Boreas 134, 135
Castor (of Rhodes, author of Cheirimachos, son of Electryon 68
chronologies, 1st cent, bc) 59 Cheiron, a Centaur 29, 75, 83, 102,
(250F8 Jacoby) 119, 128-9
Castor, son of Zeus 40, 49, 71, 120, Chloris, daughter of Amphion 45, 105,
122 148
Catreus, son of Minos 62, 98-9, 145, Chloris, wife of Neleus 105, 244
147, 159 Chromios, son of Arsinoos 1 52
Cebren, river, father of Asterope and Chromios, son of Priam 125
Oinone 124, 125 Chromios, son of Pterelaos 68
Cebriones, son of Priam 125 Chrysaor, father of Geryon 66, 80
Cecrops, first king of Attica 130-2 Chryses, a priest 153
Cecrops, son of Erechtheus 134, 135 Chryses, son of Minos 78, 97
Celaineus, son of Electryon 68 Chrysippos, son of Pelops 104
Celaino, daughter of Atlas 117 Chrysopeleia, a nymph 115
Celeos, king of Eleusis 33, 133 Chrysothemis, daughter of
Celeutor, son of Agrios 42 Agamemnon 146
Centauros, son of Ixion 142 Chthonia, daughter of Erechtheus 134
Centaurs, the 75, 128, 142 Chthonios, one of the Spartoi 100, 103
Cephalos, son of Deion or Deioneus Cilix, son of Agenor 96, 97
44, 70, 134 Cilia, daughter of Laomedon 124
Cephalos, son of Hermes 131 Cinyras, son of Sandocos 115, 131,
Cepheus, son of Aleos 49, 88, 115 148
Cepheus, son of Belos 60, 66-7, 68 Circe, daughter of the Sun 43, 55,
Cepheus, son of Lycourgos 40 166-7, 170
Cephisos, father of Diogeneia 134 Cisseus, father of Hecuba 124
Cerberos 83-4 Cleio, a Muse 30
Cercopes, the 85 Cleisithyra, daughter of Idomeneus,
Cercops (author of an early epic, 160
Aegimios, also attributed to Cleitonymos, son of Amphidamas 130
Hesiod) 62 (fr. 297 M-W) Cleoboia, mother of Eurythemis 39
Cercyon, son of Branchos 139 Cleochareia, wife of Lelex 118
Ceteus, father of Callisto 1 1 Cleochos, father of Areia 97
Ceto, daughter of Pontos 29, 65 Cleodoxa, daughter of Amphion 105
Ceuthonymos, father of Menoites 84 Cleopatra, a Locrian maiden 162
Ceux, son of Heosphoros 38 Cleopatra, daughter of Boreas 134-5
Ceux, king of Trachis 89-90, 92 Cleopatra, daughter of Idas 41
Chalciope daughter of Aietes 43 Cleopatra, daughter of Tros 123
Chalciope, daughter of Eurypylos 92 Cleophyle, wife of Lycourgos 116
Chalciope, daughter of Rhexenor 136 Clonia, a nymph, mother of Lycos and
Chalcodon, father of Elephenor 121, Nycteus 117
148 Clonios, son of Priam 125
Chariclo, a nymph, mother of Clotho, a Fate 29
Teiresias 109-10 Cloud,see Nephele
Charopos, father of Nireus 148 Clymene, daughter of Catreus 62, 98,

Charybdis 55, 167, 168 99, 159
Chersidamas, son of Priam 125 Clymenos, father of Erginos 72
277
Index of Names
Clymenos, son of Oineus 40 Cyclopes, Homeric 164-5
Clytemnestra {properly Clytaimnestra), Cyclopes, sons of Ouranos 27, 28, 119
daughter of Tyndareus 120,146, Cyclops, a, see Geraistos
150, 160, 163 Cycnos, father of Tenes 150-1, 152
Clytios, a Giant 34 Cycnos, son of Ares 82, 90
Clytios, son of Laomedon 124 Cyllene, wife of Pelasgos 1 14
Cnossia, a nymph 122 Cynortas, son of Amyclas 44, 119
Cocalos, king of Camicos 141 Cyrene, mother of Diomedes of
Coios, a Titan 27, 28, 31 Thrace 78
Coiranos, father of Polyidos 99 Cytisoros, son of Phrixos 43
Comaitho, daughter of Pterelaos 70 Cyzicos, king of the Doliones 50
Cometes, father of Asterios 50
Cometes, son of Sthenelos 160 Daidalos, son of Eupalamos 85, 95,
Copreus, son of Pelops 73 137-8, 140-1, 172
Corinthos, father of Sylea 138 Damasichthon, son of Amphion 104—5
Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas 119 Damasippos, son of Icarios 120
Coronos, father of Caineus 49 Damasistratos, king of Plataea 106
Coronos, father of Leonteus 90, 121 Damastes or Polypemon, killed by
Corybantes, the 30 Theseus 138, 139
Cottos, a Hundred-Hander 27 Danae, daughter of Acrisios 63, 64-5, 67
Couretes, see Curetes Danaos, son of Belos 60-2
Cranae, daughter of Cranaos 132 Dardanos, son of Zeus and Electra
Cranaichme, daughter of Cranaos 132 122-3, 135
Cranaos, king of Attica 37, 130, 132 Dascylos, father of Lycos 79
Crataiis, mother of Scylla 167 Dawn (Eos) 28, 29, 32, 34, 44, 124,
Cratieus, father of Anaxibia 46 131, 154
Cratos, son of Pallas 29 Deianeira, daughter of Oineus 40,
Creios, a Titan 27, 29 88-91
Creon, king of Corinth 57, 1 14 Deicoon, son of Heracles 72, 92
Creon, son of Menoiceus, of Thebes Deidameia, daughter of Lycomedes
69-70,72,92, 106, 110, 111 129, 160
Creontiades, son of Heracles 72, 92 Deimachos, father of Enarete 38
Cresphontes, a Heraclid 94-5 Deimachos, son of Neleus 45
Crete, daughter of Asterios 97 Deino, daughter of Phorcos 65
Crete, daughter of Deucalion 99 Deion or Deioneus, son of Aiolos 38,
Cretheus, son of Aiolos 38, 45, 46, 48 44, 70, 134
Creousa, daughter of Erechtheus 37, Deiopites, son of Priam 125
134 Deiphobos, son of Hippolytos 85
Creousa, daughter of Priam 125 Deiphobos, son of Priam 125, 155, 157
Criasos, son of Argos 58 Deiphontes, husband of Hyrnetho 94
Crocon, father of Meganeira 115 Deipyle, daughter of Adrastos 42, 48,
Croesus 92 107
Cronos, a Titan 27-8, 29 Deliades, killed by Bellerophon 64
Cteatos, son of Actor or Poseidon by Delphyne, a she-dragon 36
Molione 87, 121 Demaratos (Hellenistic mythological
Ctesippos, son of Heracles 92 writer) 51 (42F41a Jacoby),
Curetes, the (Kouretes) 28, 59, 99 105 (F56)
Cyanippos, son of Adrastos 48 Demeter,see 'The Twelve Gods',
Cychreus, son of Poseidon 127 pp.262-6

Cyclopes, builders 63 Democoon, son of Priam 125
278
1 1
Index of Names
Demonice, daughter of Agenor 39 Echion, a Spartos 100, 101, 103

Demophon, son of Celeos 33 Echion, son of Portheus 157
Demophon, son of Theseus 141, 143, Eetion, father of Andromache 125
157, 161-2 Eidomene, daughter of Pheres 46, 63
Deucalion, son of Minos 97, 99, 141, Eiduia, daughter of Oceanos 53
148 Eileithuia, daughter of Zeus 29
Deucalion, son of Prometheus 37, 58; Eileithuiai 68
flood of 115, 132 Eirene, a Season 28
Dexithea 97 Elais, daughter of Anios 148
Dice, a Season 28 Elare, daughter of Orchomenos 3
Dictys, son of Magnes 44, 65, 67 Elatos, a Centaur 75
Diogeneia, daughter of Cephisos 134 Elatos, father of Polyphemos 50
Diomede, daughter of Lapithes 119 Elatos, son of Areas 115
Diomede, daughter of Xouthos 44 Elaton, charioteer of Amphiaraos 1 1
Diomedes, son of Ares 77-8 Electra, an Oceanid 28, 29

Diomedes, son of Tydeus 30, 42-3, Electra, daughter of Agamemnon 146,
112, 121, 148, 153-4, 155, 156, 163, 164
158 Electra, daughter of Atlas 117, 122
Dione, a Titanid 27, 29 Electryon, son of Perseus 68-9
Dionysios (of Mytilene, mythological Elephenor, son of Chalcodon 121, 148,
writer, 2nd-lst cent, bc) 51 161
(32F6a Jacoby) Eleusis, father of Triptolemos 33
Dionysos, see 'The Twelve Gods', Eleuther, son of Apollo 117
pp. 262-6 Elpenor, companion of Odysseus 167
Dioscuri (Dioskouroi), the 119, 122, Emathion, son of Tithonos 82, 124
129, 143; see also Castor and Enarete, daughter of Deimachos 38
Polydeuces Enarophoros, son of Hippocoon 120
Dirce, wife of Lycos 104 Encelados, a Giant 35
Dolon, son of Eumelos 153 Endeis, daughter of Sceiron 126
Doris, an Oceanid 28, 29 Endymion, son of Aethlios 38-9
Doros, son of Apollo 39 Enipeus, 45
Doros, son of Hellen 37 Ennomos, son of Arsinoos 152
Dorycleus, son of Hippocoon 120 Enyo, daughter of Phorcos 65
Doryclos, son of Priam 125 Eos, see Dawn
Dotis, mother of Phlegyas 104 Epaphos, son of Zeus and Io 59-60,
Dry as, father of Lycourgos 102 82
Dryas, son of Ares 40 Epeios 154, 156
Dryas, son of Lycourgos 102 Ephialtes, a Giant 35
Dryops, son of Priam 125 Ephialtes, son of Poseidon 38
Dymas, father of Hecuba 124 Epicaste, daughter of Augeias 92
Dymas, son of Aigimios 94 Epicaste, daughter of Calydon 39
Epicaste, daughter of Menoiceus 105
Earth, see Ge Epidauros, son of Argos 58
Ecbasos, son of Argos 58 Epigoni (Epigonoi), the 47, 111-12
Echemmon, son of Priam 125 Epilaos, son of Neleus 45
Echemos, husband of Timandra 120 Epimetheus, son of Iapetos 29, 37
Echephron, son of Nestor 46 Epistrophos, son of Iphitos 121
Echephron, son of Priam 125 Epistrophos, son of Mecisteus 152
Echidna, daughter of Tartaros 58-9, Epochos, son of Lycourgos 116
64, 80, 81, 83, 106, 139 Epopeus, son of Poseidon 38, 104
279
Index of Names
Erato, a Muse 30 Euryale, mother of Orion 32
Erechtheus, son of Pandion 37, 44, Euryalos, son of Mecisteus 47, 50,
133, 134, 135 112
Erginos, son of Clymenos 71-2 Euryalos, son of Melas 42
Erginos, son of Poseidon 50 Eurybia, daughter of Pontos 29
Erichthonios, son of Dardanos 123 Eurybios, son of Eurystheus 92
Erichthonios, son of Hephaistos 132-3 Eurybios, son of Neleus 45
Erigone, daughter of Aigisthos 163, Eurydice, daughter of Adrastos 124
164 Eurydice, daughter of Lacedaimon 63,
Erigone, daughter of Icarios 133 '118-19
Erinyes, see Fates Eurydice, wife of Lycourgos 48, 108
Eriphyle, daughter of Talaos 47, 108, Eurydice, wife of Orpheus 30
112 Euryganeia, daughter of Hvperphas
Erysichthon, son of Cecrops 130 106
Erytheia, one of the Hesperides 81 Eurvlochos, companion of Odysseus
Erythrios, son of Athamas 44 166-7
Eryx, son of Poseidon 81 Eurymede, wife of Glaucos 44
Eteocles, son of Oedipus 106, 107, Eurymedon, son of Minos 78, 97
109-10, 112 Eurymenes, son of Neleus 45
Eteoclos, son of Iphis 108, 109, 110 Eurynome, an Oceanid 28, 29, 126
Ethodaia, daughter of Amphion 105 Eurynome, wife of Lycourgos 116
Eumaios, servant of Odysseus 169 Eurypylos, son of Evaimon 121, 149,
Eumedes, son of Melas 42 153
Eumelos (of Corinth, early epic poet) Eurypylos, son of Poseidon 86, 92
115 (frs. 10 and 11 Davies) Eurypylos, son of Telephos 156
Eumelos, father of Dolon 153 Eurypylos, son of Temenos 94
Eumelos, son of Admetos 121, 148, Eurypylos, son of Thestios 39
155 Eurysthenes, son of Aristodemos 93,
Eumenides, sanctuary of the 107 94
Eumolpos, son of Poseidon and Chione Eurvstheus, son of Sthenelos 68,
83, 135 73-84,92, 116
Eumolpos, a flautist 151 Euryte, a nymph 131
Euneus, son of Jason 50 Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas 39
Eunomia, a Season 29 Eurythemis, daughter of Cleoboia 39
Eunomos, son of Architeles 89 Eurytion, a Centaur 75, 76
Eupalamos, father of Daidalos 135, Eurytion, son of Actor 41, 127
137 Eurytos, a Giant 34
Euphemos, son of Poseidon 50 Eurytos, king of Oichalia 71, 84-5,
Euphemos, son of Troizenos 152 90
Euphorbos, a Trojan 154 Eurytos, son of Actor or Poseidon by
Euphorion (Hellenistic poet) 161 Molione 87, 121
Euphrosyne, a Grace 29 Eurytos, son of Hermes 49
Eupinytos, son of Amphion 104 Eurytos, son of Hippocoon 120
Euripides (tragic poet, 5th cent, bc) Eusoros, father of Acamas 152
60, UO (Phoen. 1157), 114, 117 Euteiches, son of Hippocoon 120
(Phoen. 1162) Euterpe, a Muse 29
Europa (Europe), daughter of Agenor Euxanthios, son of Minos 97
77, 96-7, 100, 101 Evadne, daughter of Iphis 111
Eurotas, son of Lelex 118 Evadne, daughter of Strymon 58
Euryale, a Gorgon 66 Evaimon, father of Eurypylos 121, 149
280
Index of Names
Evagoras, son of Neleus 45 Halirrhothios, son of Poseidon 130-1

Evagoras, son of Priam 125 Harmonia, daughter of Ares and
Evandros, son of Priam 125 Aphrodite 101, 103
Evenos, son of Ares 39 Harpies (Harpuiai), the 29, 52, 134
Everes, father of Teiresias 109 Hebe, daughter of Zeus and Hera 29,
Everes, son of Heracles 92 91
Everes, son of Pterelaos 68, 69 Hecate, daughter of Perses 29, 34
Evippos, son of Thestios 39 Hecatoncheires, see Hundred-Handers
Hector, son of Priam 124, 125, 151,
Fates (Moirai), the 29, 35, 36, 40, 48 153-4
Furies (Erinyes, the) 27, 163 Hecuba {properly Hecabe), daughter of
Fury, Demeter as a 111; Alcmaion Dymas 124, 158
pursued by a 113 Heleios, son of Perseus 68, 70
Helen (Helene), daughter of Zeus and
Ganvmede {properly Ganymedes), son Leda 120-1, 125, 143, 146-7,
of Tros 79, 123 149, 151, 155, 156, 157, 164
Ge (Earth) 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 45, 59, Helenos, son of Priam 125, 155-6,
81, 82, 115 158, 160
Gelanor, king of Argos 60 Helios, see Sun
Geraistos, a Cyclops 137 Helle, daughter of Athamas 43
Geryon, son of Chrysaor 66, 80 Hellen, son of Deucalion or Zeus 37
Giants (Gigantes), the 34-5, 87 Hemithea, daughter of Cycnos 150
Glauce, an Amazon 172 Heosphoros, son of Ceux 38
Glauce, daughter of Creon 57 Hephaistos, see 'The Twelve Gods',
Glauce, daughter of Cychreus 126 pp. 262-6
Glaucos, son of Antenor 157 Hera, see 'The Twelve Gods'
Glaucos, son of Hippolochos 153, 154 Heraclids, the 92-5, 96
Glaucos, son of Minos 97, 99-100, Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene
172 30, 31, 34-5, 36, 40, 45-6, 48,
Glaucos, son of Priam 125 49, 51, 68 (not named), 70-92,
Glaucos, son of Sisyphos 44, 64 93, 115-16, 120, 124, 127, 134,
Glenos, son of Heracles 92 141, 143, 148, 149, 155
Gorge, daughter of Oineus 40, 42, 148 Hermione, daughter of Menelaos 121,
Gorgons, the 29, 65-6 147, 160, 164
Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus 44, Herodoros (of Heracleia, mythological
68, 119 writer, late 5th-4th cent, bc) 56
Gorgophonos, son of Electryon 68 (31F41aJacoby)
Gorgyra, mother of Ascalaphos 32 Herse, daughter of Cecrops 130-1
Gorgythion, son of Priam 125 Hesiod (early epic poet) 64 {Theog.
Gouneus, father of Laonome 68 319)
Gouneus, son of Ocytos 148, 161 Hesiod (from later works attributed to)
Graces (Charites), the 29 42 (fr. 12 M-W), 52 (fr. 155), 58
Gration(?), a Giant 35 (fr. 160), 59 (fr. 124), 63 (fr. 131),
Gyes, a Hundred-Hander 27 105 (fr. 183), 114 (fr. 160), 115
(fr. 163), 117 (fr. 72), 131
Hades 87, cattle of 80, 84; cap or (fr. 139), 171 (fr. 275)
helmet of 28, 65-6; see also Pluto Hesione, daughter of Laomedon 79,
Hagnias, father of Tiphys 49 86, 124, 127
Haimon, son of Creon 106 Hesione, wife of Nauplios 62
Haimonios, father of Amaltheia 89 Hesperia, one of the Hesperides 81
281
1
Index of Names
Hesperides, the 81-3 Hyacinthos, a Lacedaimonian,
Hestia, daughter of Cronos 28 daughters of 137
Hicetaon, son of Laomedon 124 Hyacinthos, son of Pieros or Amyclas
Hierax 59 30, 119
Hieromneme, daughter of Simoeis 123 Hyades, the 102
Hilaeira, daughter of Leucippos 119, Hybris, mother of Pan 3
122 Hydra, the Lernaean 74, 81; poison
Hippalcimos, father of Peneleos 121 from 90
Hippasos, father of Actor 49 Hylaios, a Centaur 116
Hippasos, son of Ceux 90 Hylas, son of Theiodamas 51
Hippocoon, son of Oibalos, and his sons Hyleus, killed by Calydonian boar 41
87-8, 120 Hyllos, son of Heracles 91, 92, 93
Hippocorystes, son of Hippocoon 120 Hymenaios 172
Hippodamas, son of Acheloos 38 Hypeirochos, son of Priam 125
Hippodamas, son of Priam 125 Hyperboreans, the 32, 81, 83
Hippodameia, daughter of Oinomaos Hyperenor, a Spartan 100
65, 144 Hyperenor, son of Poseidon 117
Hippodameia, wife of Peirithoos 142 Hyperion, a Titan 27, 28
Hippolochos, father of Glaucos 153 Hyperion, son of Priam 125
Hippolyte, an Amazon 141, 172 Hyperlaos, son of Melas 42
Hippolyte, killed by Penthesileia 154, Hvpermnestra, daughter of Danaos 61.
172 {but see note, pp. 174-5) 62
Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons 78-9 Hypermnestra, daughter of Thestios
Hippolytos, a Giant 35 39
Hippolytos, father of Deiphobos 85 Hyperphas, father of Euryganeia 106
Hippolytos, son of Theseus 141-2, Hypseus, father of Themisto 44
172 Hypsipyle, daughter of Thoas 50,
Hippomedon, son of Aristomachos or 108-9
Talaos 108, 109, 110 Hyrieus, son of Poseidon 117
Hippomenes, father of Megareus 137 Hyrnetho, daughter of Temenos 94
Hippomenes, husband of Atalante 117 Hyrtacos, father of Asios 124, 152
Hipponome, daughter of Menoiceus
68 Ialebeion, son of Poseidon 80
Hipponoos, father of Periboia and Ialmenos, son of Ares 50, 121
Capaneus 42, 108 Iambe 33
Hipponoos, son of Priam 125 Iapetos, a Titan 27, 29
Hippostratos, son of Amarynceus 42 Iardanos, father of Omphale 85
Hippotes, son of Phylas 93 Iasion, son of Zeus 122
Hippothoe, daughter of Mestor 68 Iason, see Jason
Hippothoe, daughter of Pelias 46 Iasos, son of Argos 59
Hippothoos, son of Hippocoon 120 Iasos, son of Lycourgos 116, 117
Hippothoos (son of Lethos) 1 52 Icarios, an Athenian 133
Hippothoos, son of Priam 125 Icarios, son of Perieres or Oibalos 44,
Homer 30-1 (//. 1. 578), 62 (//. 6. 119, 120, 170
160), 64 (//. 16. 328), 96 (//. 6. Icaros, son of Daidalos 85, 140-1
198 f.), 105 (//. 24. 602 ff.) Ida, daughter of Melisseus 28
Hoples, father of Meta 136 Idaia, daughter of Dardanos 135
Hopleus, son of Poseidon 38 Idaia, mother of Teucros 123
Horai, see Seasons Idas, son of Aphareus or Poseidon 39,
Hundred-Handers 27, 28 40, 49, 119, 122
282
1 5
Index of Names
Idmon, a seer 53 Labdacos, son of Polydoros 103, 133

Idomoneus, son of Deucalion 99, 148, Lacedaimon, son of Zeus and Taygete
160 63, 118
Idomoneus, son of Priam 125 Lachesis, a Fate 29
Illyrios, son of Cadmos 103 Laertes, son of Arceisios 49, 121, 148,
Ilos, son of Dardanos 123 169
Ilos, son of Tros 123-4 Laios, son of Labdacos 103, 105-6;
Imeusimos, son of Icarios 120 games for 137
Inachos, son of Oceanos 58, 59, 60 Laistrygonians, the 166
Ino, daughter of Cadmos 43, 101 Lampos, son of Laomedon 124
Io, daughter of Iasos 59-60 Laocoon, a seer 157
Iobates, king of Lycia 62, 64 Laodamas, son of Eteocles 112
Iolaos, son of Iphicles 72, 74, 84 Laodameia, daughter of Bellerophon
Iole, daughter of Eurytos 84, 90-1, 96
93 Laodameia, wife of Protesilaos 151-2
Ion, son of Xouthos 37 Laodice, daughter of Cinyras 115
Iphianassa, daughter of Proitos 63 Laodice, daughter of Priam 125, 158
Iphianassa, wife of Endymion 39 Laodocos, son of Apollo 39
Iphicles, son of Amphitryon 40, 70-1, Laodocos, son of Priam 125
72,88 Laodocos, victor at first Nemean
Iphiclos, son of Phylacos 47, 121, 148 games 109
Iphiclos, son of Thestios 39, 41, 50 Laogoras, king of the Dryopes 90
Iphigeneia, daughter of Agamemnon Laogore, daughter of Cinyras 131
146, 150, 163-4 Laomedon, son of Ilos 79, 86, 124,
Iphimedeia, daughter of Triops 38 127, 150, 161
Iphimedon, son of Eurystheus 92 Laonome, daughter of Gouneus 68
Iphinoe, daughter of Proitos 63 Laophonte, daughter of Pleuron 39
Iphis, son of Alector 108, 1 1 Lapithes, father of Diomedes 119
Iphitos, killed by Copreus 73 Lapiths, the 75, 90
Iphitos, son of Eurytos 84-5, 169 Latinos, son of Odysseus 168
Iphitos, son of Naubolos 50, 121 Leades, son of Astacos 110
Iris, daughter of Thaumas 29 Leaneira, daughter of Amyclas 1 1
Iros, a beggar 169 Learchos, son of Athamas 43, 101

Ischys, brother of Caineus 119 Leda, daughter of Thestios 39, 40,
Isis 60 120-1, 122
Ismaros, son of Astacos 110 Leitos, son of Alector 50, 121
Ismaros, son of Eumolpos 135 Lelex, father of Eurotas 118
Ismene, daughter of Asopos 59 Lemnian women, the 50
Ismene, daughter of Oedipus 106 Leonteus, son of Coronos 121, 158
Ismenos, son of Amphion 104 Leontophonos, son of Odysseus 170
Ismenos, son of Asopos 126 Leto, daughter of Coios 28, 31, 105,
Itys, son of Tereus 133 119
Ixion, father of Centauros 40, 142 Leucippe, wife of Laomedon 124
Leucippos, son of Perieres 44, 119, 122
Jason (Iason), son of Aison 40, 48-57, Leucon, son of Athamas 44
129, 134 Leucopeus, son of Porthaon 39
Leucos, killer of Meda 160
Kore (the Maiden, cultic title of Leucothea, formerly Ino 101
Persephone) 33, 48; see also Libya (Libye), daughter of Epaphos
Persephone 60,96
283
Index of Names
Lichas, herald of Heracles 90 Maron, priest of Apollo 164-5
Licvmnios, son of Electryon 68, 69, Marpessa, daughter of Evenos 39, 41
88, 90, 93 Marsyas, son of Olympos 32
Ligyron, earlier name of Achilles 129 Mecisteus, father of Odios and
Linos, son of Oiagros 30, 71 Epistrophos 152
Little Iliad (early epic in the Trojan Mecisteus, son of Talaos 47, 50, 108,
cycle) 156 (fr. 10 Davies) 112
Lotos-Eaters, the 164 Meda, wife of Idomeneus 160
Lycaithos, son of Hippocoon 120 Medea {properly Medeia), daughter of
Lycaon, father of Pandaros 152 Aietes 49, 53-7, 139, 155
Lycaon, son of Pelasgos 114-15 Medesicaste, daughter of Laomedon
Lycaon, son of Priam 125, 152 161
Lycomedes, king of Scyros 129, 143, Medesicaste, daughter of Priam 125
156 Medos, son of Aigeus 57
Lycopeus, son of Agrios 42 Medusa (properly Medousa), a Gorgon
Lycos, son of Dascylos 53, 79 64, 66-7, 84
Lycos, son of Hyrieus or Chthonios Medusa, daughter of Priam 125
103-4, 117 Medusa, daughter of Sthenelos 68
Lycos, son of Pandion 136 Megaira, a Fury 27
Lycos, son of Poseidon 117 Megamede, daughter of Arneos 71
Lycourgos, son of Aleus 40, 50, 115, Meganeira, daughter of Crocon 115
116 Megapenthes, son of Menelaos 122
Lycourgos, son of Dryas 102 Megapenthes, son of Proitos 63, 67
Lycourgos, son of Pheres 48, 108 Megara, daughter of Creon 72, 84, 92
Lycourgos, son of Pronax 47, 172 Megareus, son of Hippomenes 137
Lynceus, son of Aphareus 40, 49, 119, Megassares, father of Pharnace 131
122 Meges, son of Phyleus 121, 148, 161
Lynceus, son of Aigyptos 61, 62 Melampous, son of Amythaon 46-7,
Lyros, son of Anchises and Aphrodite 63
123 Melanion, son of Amphidamas 108,
Lysianassa, daughter of Epaphos 82 116
Lysidice, daughter of Pelops 68 Melanippe, an Amazon 141, 172
Lysimache, daughter of Abas 47 Melanippos, son of Agrios 42
Lysimache, daughter of Priam 125 Melanippos, son of Astacos 42, 110
Lysinomos, son of Electryon 68 Melanippus, son of Priam 125
Lysippe, daughter of Proitos 63 Melanthios, a goatherd 169
Lysithoos, son of Priam 125 Melas, son of Licymnios 90
Lytaia, daughter of Hyacinthos 137 Melas, son of Phrixos 43
Melas, son of Porthaon 39, 42
Machaireus, a Phocian 160 Melas, sons of 42
Machaon, son of Asclepios 121, 148, Meleager (properly Meleagros), son of
153, 154 Oineus or Ares 40-1, 49, 84
Magnes, father of Pieros 30 Melesagoras (Hellenistic author) 172
Maia, daughter of Atlas 115, 117-18 Melia, daughter of Oceanos 58
Mainalos, father of Atalante 117 Meliboia, daughter of Amphion 105
Mainalos, son of Lycaon 114, 115 Meliboia, daughter of Oceanos 1 14
Maion, a Theban 109 Melicertes, son of Athamas and Ino
Mantineus, father of Aglaia 62 43, 44, 101
Manto, daughter of Teiresias 112, 114, Melisseus, father of the nymphs
158 Adrasteia and Ida 28
284
Index of Names
Melpomene, a Muse 29, 30 Mnesileos, son of Polydeuces 122

Memnon, son of Tithonos and Dawn Mnesimache, daughter of Dexamenos
124, 154 76
Memory, see Mnemosyne Molione, wife of Actor, mother of the
Memphis, daughter of the Nile 60 Molionides 87
Menelaos, son of Atreus or Pleisthenes Molionides, the 87
99, 121-2, 146-8, 151, 153, 157, Molorchos, a labourer 73
158, 164 Molos, son of Ares 39
Menestheus, son of Peteos 121, 143, Molos, son of Deucalion 99
148, 161 Molossos, son of Neoptolemos 160
Menesthios, son of Spercheios 128 Moon, the (Selene), daughter of
Menoiceus, father of Creon 68, 72, Hyperion 29, 34, 38
105, 106 Mopsos, son of Apollo, a seer 158-9,
Menoiceus, son of Creon 110 162
Menoites, son of Ceuthonymos 80, 84 Muses, the (Mousai), daughters of
Menoitios, son of Actor 49, 121, 130 Zeus 30, 106, 167
Menoitios, son of Iapetos 29 Mygdalion, the son of 148
Mentor, son of Eurystheus 92 Mylios, son of Priam 125
Mermeros, son of Jason and Medea 57 Mynes, father of Pedias 132
Merope, daughter of Atlas 44, 117 Myrmidon, father of Antiphos and
Merope, daughter of Oinopion 32 Actor 38
Merope, wife of Cresphontes 95 Myrtilos, son of Hermes 144
Merops, father of Arisbe and Adrastos
125, 152 Nastes, son of Nomion 153
Mesthles, son of Talaimenes 152 Naubolos, father of Iphitos 50
Mestor, son of Perseus 68, 69 Naucrate, mother of Icarios 140
Mestor, son of Priam 125, 152 Naupactica (early epic) 172 (fr. 10c
Mestor, son of Pterelaos 68 Davies)
Meta, daughter of Hoples 136 Nauplios, son of Poseidon 62, 88, 99,
Metaneira, wife of Celeos 33 116, 147, 159-60
Metharme, daughter of Pygmalion 131 Nauprestides, the 161
Metiadousa, daughter of Eupalamos Nausicaa, daughter of Alcinoos 168
135 Nausimedon, daughter of Nauplios 62
Metion, son of Erechtheus 134, 137 Neaira, daughter of Amphion 105
Metion, sons of 135-6 Neaira, daughter of Pereus 115
Metis, daughter of Oceanos 28, 31 Neaira, wife of Strymon 58
Metope, daughter of the River Ladon Neleus, son of Poseidon and Tyro
126 45-6, 50, 85, 87, 105, 148
Metope, mother of Hecuba 124 Nemesis, mother of Helen 120
Mideia, mother of Licymnios 68 Neoptolemos, son of Achilles 129,
Miletos, son of Apollo 97 156-60, 170
Mimas, a Giant 34 Nephalion, son of Minos 78, 97
Minos, son of Zeus and Europa 43, Nephele (Cloud), wife of Athamas 43
56, 70, 77, 78, 96-8, 99-100, 134, Nereids, the 29 (catalogue) 55, 66,
136-8, 140-1, 171 129
Minotaur, the, offspring of Pasiphae Nereus, son of Pontos 29, 82, 102,
and a bull 98, 137, 140 126, 128
Minyas, grandfather of Atalante 116 Nessos, a Centaur 75, 89, 90
Mnemosyne (Memory), a Titanid 27, Nestor, son of Neleus 45-6, 87, 121,
30 148, 158
285
Index of Names
Nice, daughter of Pallas 29 Orchomenos, father of Elare 31

Nicippe, daughter of Pelops 68 Orchomenos, son of Thyestes 145
Nicostratos, son of Menelaos 121 Orestes, son of Agamemnon 93, 94,
Nicothoe, a Harpy 52 146, 160, 163-4
Nile, the 59, 60 Orion 32
Niobe, daughter of Phoroneus 58, 114 Oreithuia, daughter of Erechtheus 134
Niobe, daughter of Tantalos 104-5 Orpheus, son of Oiagros 30, 49, 55,
Nireus, son of Charopos 148 71
Nireus, son of Poseidon 38 Orsedice, daughter of Cinyras 131
Nisos, son of Pandion 136, 137 Orseis, wife of Hellen 37
Nomion, father of Nastes 153 Orthaia, daughter of Hyacinthos 137
Nycteis, daughter of Nycteus 103 Orthos, son of Typhon, a dog 80
Nycteus, father of Callisto 115 Otos, son of Poseidon 38
Nvcteus, son of Hvrieus or Chthonios Otrere, mother of Penthesileia 154
103-4, 117 Ourania, a Muse 30
Nyctimos, son of Lycaon 115 Ouranos (Sky) 27, 29, 34
Oxylos, son of Andraimon 94
Oceanids, the 28 Oxylos, son of Ares 39
Oceanos, Titan 27, 28, 29, 33, 53,
a Oxyporos, son of Cinyras 131
58,80, 114, 117, 126
Ocypete, Ocythoe, or Ocypode, a Palaimon, formerly Melicertes, a sea-god
Harpy 52 101
Ocytos, father of Gouneus 148 Palaimon, son of Hephaistos or Aitolos
Odios, son of Mecisteus 152 49
Odvsseus, son of Laertes 30, 120, 727, Palaimon, son of Heracles 92
129, 147, 148, 150, 151, 153-8, Palamedes, son of Nauplios 62, 99,
159-60, 164-70 147, 159-60
Oedipus (properly Oidipous), son of Pallas, a Giant 35
Laios 105-7, 108, 111 Pallas, daughter of Triton 123-4
Oiagros, father of Linos and Orpheus Pallas, son of Creios 29
30,49 Pallas, son of Pandion 136; sons of
Oibalos, father of Arene 119, 120 140
Oicles, father of Amphiaraos 41, 49, Pammon, son of Priam 125
86, 107, 113 Pamphylos, son of Aigimios 94
Oileus, father of Locrian Aias 121, 148 Pan 31, 170
Oineus, son of Porthaon 39, 40-3, 49, Pandaros, son of Lycaon 152, 153
88-9, 92, 107, 108, 113, 146 Pandion, son of Cecrops 135-6, 137
Oino, daughter of Anios 148 Pandion, son of Erich thonios 133-4
Oinomaos, father of Hippodameia 65, Pandion, son of Phineus 134-5
117, 144 Pandora, the first woman 37
Oinone, daughter of Cebren 125-6 Pandoros, son of Erechtheus 134
Oinopion, son of Dionysos 32, 140 Pandrosos, daughter of Cecrops 130,
Olenias, brother of Tydeus 42 132
Omphale, daughter of Iardanos 51, 85, Panopeus, a Phocian 70
92 Panyasis (epic poet, 5th cent, bc) 33
Onchestes, son of Agrios 42 '(fr. 21 Davies), 131 (fr. 22a), 172
Oneites, son of Heracles 92 (fr. 19b)
Opheltes (called Archemoros), son of Pareia, a nymph 97
Lycourgos 48, 109 Paris, usually Alexander (Alexandres)
Opis, a Hyperborean maiden 32 124-6, 146-7, 153, 154, 155
286
5
Index of Names
Parthenopaios, son of Melanion or Perdix, mother of Talaos 137

Ares 108-10, 112, 117 Pereus, son of Elatos 1 1
Parthenopaios, son of Talaos 47 Periboia, a Locrian maiden 162

Parthenope, daughter of Stymphalos Periboia, daughter of Hipponoos 42
92 Periboia, wife of Icarios 120
Pasiphae, daughter of the Sun 43, 97, Periboia, wife of Polybos 105
98, 134, 172 Periclymenos, son of Neleus 45, 50, 87
Patroclos, son of Menoitios 121, 130, Periclymenos, son of Poseidon 1 10
153-4, 155 Perieres, charioteer of Menoiceus 72
Pedias, daughter of Mynes 132 Perieres, son of Aiolos 38, 44, 68, 120,
Pegasos, offspring of Poseidon, a 127, 128
winged horse 64, 66 Perieres, son of Cynortas 119, 120
Peiras, son of Argos 58 Perileos, son of Icarios 120
Peirithoos, son of Ixion 40, 84, 121, Perimede, daughter of Aiolos 38
142-3, 149 Perimede, wife of Licymnios 69
Peisandros (of Cameiros, early epic Perimedes, son of Eurystheus 92
poet) 42 Periopis, daughter of Pheres 130
Peisidice, daughter of Aiolos 38 Periphetes, son of Hephaistos 138
Peisidice, daughter of Nestor 46 Pero, daughter of Neleus 45, 46-7
Peisidice, daughter of Pelias 46 Perse, mother of Circe and Aietes 166
Peisinoe, a Siren 167 Perseis,mother of Pasiphae and Aietes,
Peisistratos, son of Nestor 46 43,97
Peisos, son of Aphareus 119 Persephone, daughter of Zeus 30,
Pelagon, son of Asopos 126 33-4, 84, 131, 143, 170
Pelasgos, son of Zeus, or earthborn 58, Perses, brother of Aietes 57
114 Perseus, son of Nestor 46
Pelegon, son of Axios 154 Perseus, son of Zeus 29, 44, 65-8, 70,
Peleus, son of Aiacos 40, 49, 116, 119
126-9, 148, 160 Peteos, father ofMenestheus 121
Pelias, son of Poseidon and Tyro Phaedra {properly Phaidra), daughter
45-6, 48-9, 53, 56-7; funeral of Minos 97,98, 141-2, 172
games for 116, 127; daughters of Phaethon, son of Tithonos 131
57 Phaia, sow of Crommyon, named after
Pelopeia, daughter of Pelias 46 the woman who reared it 139
Pelopia, daughter of Amphion 105 Phaidimos, son of Amphion 105
[Pelopia,] daughter of Thyestes 145 Phanos, son of Dionysos 50
Pelopia, mother of Cycnos 90 Pharnace, daughter of Megassares 131
Pelops, son of Tantalos 68, 69, 73, Phegeus, father of Arsinoe 113
104, 126, 127, 136, 139, 143-5; Pheneus, son of Melas 42
altar of 87; bones of 156 Phereclos, builder of ships for Paris
Peloros, a Spartos 100 146
Peneleos, son of Hippalcimos or Perecydes (of Athens, historian, 5th
Hippalmos(?) 50, 121 cent, bc) 32 (3F42 Jacoby),
Penelope, daughter of Icarios 120, 121, 33 (F53), 42 (F122a), 51 (Fllla),
147, 168-70 59 (F67), 71 (F69a), 89 (F42),
Penthesileia, daughter of Ares, an 96 (F87), 100 (F22c), 101 (F89),
Amazon 144, 172 110(F92a), 115 (F157), 126 (F60)
Pentheus, son of Echion 103 Pheres, son of Cretheus 40, 46, 48, 49,
Peparethos, son of Dionysos 140 120, 130
Pephredo, daughter of Phorcos 65 Pheres, son of Jason 57
287
Index of Names
1
Pheidippos, son of Thessalos '48, 161 Phylomache, daughter of Amphion 46
Philaimon, son of Priam 125 Phylonoe, daughter of Tyndareus 120
Philammon, father of Thamyris 30 Phylonomos, son of Electryon 68
Philocrates (Hellenistic author of a Pieris, slave of Menelaos 21-2
work on Thessaly) 130 (601 Fl Pieros, son of Magnes 30
Jacoby) Pittheus, son of Pelops 136, 143, 145
Philoctetes, son of Poias 121, 125, 148, Placia, daughter of Otreus 124
151, 155, 161 Pleiades, the 117
Philoitios 169 Pleione, daughter of Oceanos 117
Philolaos, son of Minos 78, 97 Pleisthenes (son of Pelops) 99
Philomela, daughter of Pandion 133-4 Pleuron, son of Aitolos 39
Philonoe, daughter of Iobates 64 Plexippos, son of Phineus 134-5
Philonome, daughter of Tragasos 150-1 Plexippos, son of Thestios 39
Philyra, mother of Cheiron 29 Pluto 28, 30, 33-4, 84, 127; see also
Philyra, wife of Nauplios 62 Hades
Phineus, son of Belos 60, 67 Podaleirios, son of Asclepios 121, 148,
Phineus, son of Poseidon or Agenor 155, 158, 162
51-3, 135 Podarces, later called Priam 86, 124
Phlegyas, son of Ares 104, 119 Podarces, son of Iphiclos 47
Phocos, son of Aiacos 126, 127 Poias, son of Thaumacos 50, 56, 91,
Phoebe {properly Phoibe), a Titanid 121, 148
27,28 Poliporthes, son of Odysseus 170
Phoebe, daughter of Leucippos 119, Polites, son of Priam 125
122 Pollux, see Polydeuces
Phoenix {properly Phoinix), son of Poltys, welcomes Heracles at Ainos 79
Agenor 96, 131 Polyanax, king of the Melians 161
Phoenix, son of Amyntor 129, 153, Polybos, king of Corinth 105
156, 160 Polybotes, a Giant 35
Pholos, son of Seilenos, a Centaur Polycaste, daughter of Nestor 46
75-6 Polydectes, son of Magnes 44, 65, 67
Phorbas, father of Augeias 76 Polydeuces, son of Zeus 40, 49, 51,
Phorbos, father of Pronoe 39 120, 122
Phorcides, the {or Graiai) 29, 65 Polydora, daughter of Peleus 127
Phorcos, son of Pontos 29, 65, 167 Polydora, daughter of Perieres 128
Phorcys, son of Aretaon 152 Polydoros, son of Cadmos 101, 103
Phoroneus, son of Inachos 39, 58 Polydoros, son of Priam 125
Phrasimos, father of Praxithea 134 Polygonos, son of Proteus 80
Phrasios, a seer 82 Polyidos, son of Coiranos 99-100
Phrasios, son of Neleus 45 Polymede, daughter of Autolycos 48,
Phrixos, son of Athamas 43, 49, 52 56 (not named)
Phrontis, son of Phrixos 43 Polymedon, son of Priam 125
Phthia, concubine of Amyntor 129 Polymele, son of Peleus 130
Phthia, daughter of Amphion 105 Polymnia, a Muse 30
Phthia, loved by Apollo 39 Polyneices, son of Oedipus 106,
Phylacos, son Deion 44, 46-7 107-10, 111, 112, 149
Phylas, king of Ephyra 89, 92 Polypemon, see Damastes
Phylas, son of Antiochos 93 Polypheides, king of Sicyon 146
Phyleus, son of Augeias 76, 87, 121, Polyphemos, son of Elatos 50, 51
148 Polyphemos, son of Poseidon, a
Phyllis 161-2 Cyclops 165
288
Index of Names
Polyphontes, a Heraclid 95 Pylaon, son of Neleus 45

Polyphontes, herald of Laios 106 Pylos, king of Megara 135-6
Polypoites, son of Apollo 39 Pylia, daughter of Pylas 135
Polypoites, son of Odysseus 170 Pylios, at Eleusis 171
Polypoites, son of Peirithoos 121, 149, Pylos, son of Ares 39
158 Pyraichmes, leader of the Paeonians
Polyxene, daughter of Priam 125 152
Polyxenos, king of the Eleans 69 Pyrene, mother of Cycnos 82
Polyxenos, son of Agasthenes 121 Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus 37
Polyxo, mother of Antiope 117 Pyrrhos, later Neoptolemos 129
Pontos (Sea) 29 Python, serpent at Delphi 31
Porphyrion, a Giant 34
Porthaon, son of Agenor 39 Rhadamanthys, son of Zeus 71, 72, 96,
Portheus, father of Echion 157 97
Poseidon, see 'The Twelve Gods', Rhea, a Titanid 27-8, 102, 125, 162
pp. 262-6 Rhesos, son of Strymon 30, 1 53
Praxithea, at Eleusis 33 Rhexenor, father of Chalciope 136
Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimos 134 Rhode, daughter of Poseidon 33
Praxithea, wife of Erichthonios 133 Rhoicos, a Centaur 116
Priam, son of Laomedon 86, 124-5,
147, 152, 154, 157, 161 Salamis, daughter of Asopos 127
Procles, son of Aristodemos 93, 94 Salmoneus, son of Aiolos 38, 44-5
Procne, daughter of Pandion 133 Sandocos, son of Astynoos 131
Procris, daughter of Erechtheus 44, Sarapis 58
70, 134 Sarpedon, son of Poseidon 80
[Procroustes], see Damastes Sarpedon, son of Zeus 96, 97, 153,
Proitos, son of Abas 62-4, 65, 67, 154
115 Satyr, a 58, 60-1
Promachos, son of Aison 56 Scaios, son of Hippocoon 120
Promachos, son of Parthenopaios 47, Scamander 123, 124, 154
112 Sceiron, son of Pelops 126, 139
Prometheus, son of Iapetos 29, 31, Schedios, son of Iphitos 121
36-7, 75, 83, 128 Schoineus, son of Athamas 41, 44, 49,
Pronax, son of Talaos 47 117
Pronoe, daughter of Phorbos 39 Scylla, a monster 55, 167
Pronoos, son of Phegeus 113 Scylla, daughter of Nisos 137
Protesilaos, son of Iphiclos 121, 148, Scyrios, father of Aigeus 136
151-2, 153, 161 Sea, see Pontos
Proteus, king of Egypt 102, 147, 164 Seasons (Horai), the 29
Proteus, son of Poseidon 80 Seilenos, father of Pholos 75
Prothoos, son of Agrios 42 Selene, see Moon
Prothoos, son of Tenthredon 149, 161 Semele, daughter of Cadmos 101, 102
Protogeneia, daughter of Calydon 39 Side, wife of Orion 32
Protogeneia, daughter of Deucalion 37 Sidero, stepmother of Tyro 45
Psamathe, daughter of Nereus 29, 126 Simoeis, father of Astyoche and
Pteleon, lover of Procris 134 Hieromneme 123
Pterelaos, son of Taphios 68-70 Simonides (lyric poet, 6th-5th cent, bc)
Pterelaos, the sons of 68-9 141
Ptoos, son ofAthamas 44 son of Polypemon 138
Sinis,
Pygmalion, king of Cyprus 131 Sinon 156-7
289
Index of Names
Sipylos, son of Amphion 104 Tantalos, son of Amphion 105
Sirens (Seirenes), the 30, 40, 55, 167 Tantalos, son of Thyestes 146
Sisvphos, son of Aiolos 38, 44, 64, Taphios, son of Poseidon 68
101, 117, 126 Tartaros 35, 59; as place 27-8, 119
Sky, see Ouranos Tauros, son of Neleus 45
Smyrna, daughter of Theias 131 Tebros, son of Hippocoon 120
Sparta, daughter of Eurotas 118 Tegyrios, king of Thrace 135
Spartoi (Sown Men), the 100, 109 Teiresias, son of Everes 70, 109-10,
Spercheios, son of Menesthios 128 112, 114, 167, 170, 171
Spermo, daughter of Anios 148 Telamon, son of Aiacos 40, 49, 86,
Sphinx, the 106 121, 126-7
Staphylos, son of Dionysos 50, 140 Telchis, kills Apis 58
Sternops, son of Melas 42 Teledice, wife of Phoroneus 58
Sterope, daughter of Acastos 128 Telegonos, king of the Egyptians 60
Sterope, daughter of Atlas 117 Telegonos, son of Odysseus 167, 170
Sterope, daughter of Cepheus 88 Telegonos, son of Proteus 80
Sterope, daughter of Pleuron 39 Telemachos, son of Odysseus 147, 169
Sterope, daughter of Porthaon 40 Teleon, father of Boutes 50
Steropes, a Cyclops 27 Telephassa, wife of Agenor 96, 100
Stesichoros (lyric poet, 7th-6th cent, bc) Telephos, son of Heracles 88, 92, 116
119, 172 Telesilla (lyric poet, 5th cent, bc) 105
Stheneboia, daughter of Apheidas or Telestes, son of Priam 125, 149-50,
Iobates 62,63,64, 115 156
Sthenelaos, son of Melas 42 Temenos (son of Aristomachos), a
Sthenele, daughter of Acastos 130 Heraclid 93-4
Sthenelos, father of Cometes 160 Tenes, son of Cycnos 150-1
Sthenelos, son of Androgeos 79 Tenthredon, father of Prothoos 149
Sthenelos, son of Capaneus 112, 121 Tereis, mother of Megapenthes 122
Sthenelos, son of Perseus 68, 69 Tereus, son of Ares 133-4
Stheno, a Gorgon 66 Terpsichore, a Muse 30
Stratobates, son of Electryon 68 Tethys, a Titanid 27, 28, 58, 126
Stratonice, daughter of Pleuron 39 Teucros, son of Scamander 123
Strophios, father of Pylades 163 Teucros, son of Telamon 121, 127, 155
Strymo, daughter of Scamander 124 Teutamides, king of Larissa 67
Stymphalos, son of Elatos 92, 115, 126 Teuthras, king of Teuthrania 88, 116
Styx, an Oceanid 28, 29 Thaleia, a Grace 29
Sun, the (Helios) 29, 33, 34, 43, 50, Thaleia, a Muse 30
55, 57, 76, 80, 83, 97, 166, 168 Thalpios, son of Eurytos 121
Sylea, daughter of Corinthos 138 Thamyris 30
Syleus, killed by Meracles 85 Thasos, son of Poseidon 96
Thaumacos, father of Poias 50
Talaimenes, father of Mesthles and Thaumas, son of Pontos 29
Antiphos 153 Theano, wife of Antenor 152
Talaos, son of Bias 47, 107, 108 Thebaid (early epic) 42 (fr. 8 Davies)
Talos, a man of bronze 56 Thebe, wife of Zetheus 104
Talos, nephew of Daidalos 137-8 Theia, a Titanid 27, 28
Talthybios, herald of Agamemnon 148, Theias, father of Adonis 131
150 Theiodamas, father of Hylas 51, 88
Tantalos, father of Pelops and Niobe Thelxiepeia, a Siren 167
105, 143 Thelxion 58
290
Index of Names
Themis, a Titanid 27, 29, 31, 82, 128 Tlepolemos, son of Heracles 89, 92,
Themiste, daughter of Uos 123 93, 148, 161
Themisto, daughter of Hypseus 44 Tmolos, husband of Omphale 85
Therimachos, son of Heracles 92 Toxeus, son of Oineus 40
Thersandros, son of Polyneices 112, Tragasos, father of Philonome 150
149 Trienos (Triton?) 167
Thersites, son of Agrios 42, 154 Triops, son of Poseidon 38
Theseus, son of Aigeus or Poseidon Triptolemos, son of Celeos 33
40, 49, 57, 84, 86, 98, 107, 111, Triton, father of Pallas 123-4
121, 138-43, 157, 172 Triton, son of Poseidon 33
Thespios, king of Thespiae 71, 72, 89, Troilos, son of Priam or Apollo 125,
91 152
Thessalos or Thettalos, son of Heracles Troizenos, father of Euphemos 152
92, 148, 161 Tros, son of Erichthonios 123
Thestalos, son of Heracles 92 Tydeus, son of Oineus 42, 107-11,
Thestios, son of Ares 39, 40, 41, 50, 112, 121, 148
120 Tyndareus, son of Perieres or Oibalos
Thestios, the sons of 41 44,88, 119, 120-1, 122, 146, 163,
Thetis, daughter of Nereus 29, 31, 55, 172
102, 128-9, 148, 151, 159, 160 Typhon, son of Tartaros 35-6, 64, 73
Thoas, father of Hypsipyle 50, 108 80, 81, 106, 139
Thoas, king of the Taurians 163 Tyrannos, son of Pterelaos 68
Thoas, son of Andraimon J 48, 170 Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus 45, 46
Thoas, son of Dionysos 140
Thoas, son of Icarios 120 Ulysses, see Odysseus
Thoosa, mother of Polyphemos 164
Thrasymedes, son of Nestor 46 Xanthippe, daughter of Doros 39
Thyestes, son of Pelops 69, 145-6 Xanthippos, son of Melas 42
Thyone, name o/Semele 103
later Xanthos, an immortal horse 129
Thyreus, son of Oineus 40 Xenodamas, son of Menelaos 122
Timandra, daughter of Tyndareus 120 Xenodice, daughter of Minos 97
Tiphys, son of Hagnias 49, 53 Xenodoce, daughter of Syleus 85
Tisamenos, son of Orestes 93-4, 164 Xouthos, son of Hellen 37, 44, 134
Tisiphone, a Fury 27
Tisiphone, daughter of Alcmaion 14 Zelos, son of Pallas 29
Titanides, the 27 Zetes, son of Boreas 49, 52, 134
Titans, the 27-9, 34 Zethos, son of Zeus and Antiope 104,
Tithonos, son of Cephalos 131 117
Tithonos, son of Laomedon 82, 124, Zeus, see 'The Twelve Gods', pp.
154 262-6
Tityos, son of Zeus 31-2 Zeuxippe, wife of Pandion 133
291
A SELECTION OF OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
Classical Literary Criticism
Greek Lyric Poetry
Myths from Mesopotamia
Apollodorus The Library of Greek Mythology

Apollonius of Rhodes Jason and the Golden Fleece
Apuleius The Golden Ass

Aristotle The Nicomachean Ethics
Physics
Politics
Caesar The Civil War

The Gallic War
Catullus The Poems of Catullus

Cicero The Nature of the Gods
Euripides Medea, Hippolytus, Electra, and Helen
Galen Selected Works
Herodotus The Histories
Hesiod Theogony and Works and Days
Homer The Iliad

The Odyssey
Horace The Complete Odes and Epodes
Juvenal The Satires

Livy The Rise of Rome
Lucan The Civil War
Marcus Aurelius The Meditations
Ovid The Love Poems

Metamorphoses
Sorrows of an Exile
Petronius The Satyricon

Plato Defence of Socrates, Euthyphro, and Crito
Gorgias
Phaedo
Republic
Symposium
Plautus Four Comedies
Plutarch Selected Essays and Dialogues
Propertius The Poems

Sophocles Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Electra
Statius Thebaid
Tacitus The Histories

Virgil The Aeneid
The Eclogues and Georgics
Thomas Aquinas Selected Philosophical Writings
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,
apollodorus
The Library of Greek
Mythology
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Robin Hard
The only work of its kind to survive from classical antiquity, the Library
of Apollodorus is a unique guide to Greek mythology, from the origins
of the universe to the Trojan War.
Apollodorus' Library has been an invaluable source book for early Greek
myths from the time of its compilation in the first/second century AD to
the present, influencing writers from the scholars of Byzantium to Robert
Graves. It provides a complete history of Greek myth, telling the story of
each of the families of heroic mythology and the various adventures
associated with the main heroes and heroines, from Jason and Perseus to
Heracles and Helen of Troy. As a primary source for Greek myth, as a
reference work, and as an indication of how the Greeks themselves viewed
their mythical traditions, the Library is indispensable to anyone who has
an interest in classical mythology.
Robin Hard's accessible and fluent translation is supplemented by

extensive editorial apparatus. The Introduction gives a detailed account
of the Library's sources and discusses the developing traditions of Greek
mythical narrative.
• INTRODUCTION • TEXTUAL NOTE • BIBLIOGRAPHY
• GENEALOGICAL TABLES • MAP • APPENDIX • EXPLANATORY NOTES

• NOTES ON GODS, ANIMALS, AND TRANSFORMATIONS
• INDEX OF NAMES
Cover illustration: Sinis tied to a tree by Theseus. Greek painting on a kylix cup, 490-480 BC. Ancient Art and
Architecture Collection.
ISBN 0-19-283924-1
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
9 780192"839244
OXFORD
£6.99 RRP
$10.95

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What is the Library of Apollodorus?

What is the Library of Apollodorus?

What sources did Apollodorus use to compile the Library?

What sources did Apollodorus use to compile the Library?

OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS

Robin Hard studied Greek at Aberystwyth and Reading, writing a

For almost ioo years Oxford World's Classics have brought

twentieth century's greatest novels — the series makes available

The pocket-sized hardbacks ofthe early years contained

and other literary figures which enriched the experience ofreading.

Translated with an Introduction and Notes by

Oxford New York

and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan

Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press

© Robin Hard igqj

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

at the address above

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Note on the Text and Translation xxviii

Select Bibliography xxxi

THE LIBRARY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY i

Appendix: Some Interpolations and an Unreliable

Explanatory Notes 177

The Twelve Gods 262

References to Animals and Transformations 267

Index of Names 271

The Library of Apollodorus is a concise but comprehensive guide

instance, or tales of transformation, and many of the stories con-

presents summaries of myths and various catalogues in many

is disorganized and sadly unreliable, and has to be approached

not nearly as complete as that in the Library, and much of it is

based on inferior Hellenistic sources.

ancient mythographers have been lost. Fortune, of course, plays

In the same volume, I read a small work by the scholar Apollodorus;

without imposing his own interpretations, or attempting to rec-

In the manuscripts, this book is entitled the Library of Apollo-

Whether this was by the original author is im-

The attribution of the work to Apollodorus of Athens, a distin-

highly regarded in antiquity for a treatise on Greek religion en-

after the death of Apollodorus of Athens.

was surely the case with Apollodorus' treatise on the gods), we

status attributed to them. Although it is explicitly attested that

can be confidently rejected.

period. We must therefore rely on Let us con-

devoted to the main early myths, there will inevitably be an

that Athenian myth occupied in the general tradition, and it can

There is no suggestion in Photius' review that he regarded the

lier times, or whether it was widely used. It may be suspected,

however, that readers of much education would have preferred

and the plot of Sophocles' Antigone in two sentences. Many have

brief confines it contains a remarkable quantity of information,

tions. Works of such a kind may have been aimed at a relatively

of the main cycles of myth, and thence a complete history of

episodes in heroic mythology. Most of these names appear in

In certain cases such catalogues could be of practical interest

centres, the economy of the pan-Hellenic genealogical system

families, and each family tree is sufficiently detailed to allow each

necessary to master this system. The genealogies in the Library