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ARTES
SCIENTIA VERITAS


4
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
57
EDITED BY
T. E. PAGE, LITT.D.
E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, LITT.D.
HESIOD
THE HOMERIC HYMNS AND HOMERICA

DIONYSUS CROSSING THE SEA.
FROM GERHARD AUSERLESENE VASENBILDER.
HESTOI
THE HOME
HUGH S
HOME LINE FA
AND
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINT MANN
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
M. XXXIX
SEA
AGENBILDER
HESIOD
THE HOMERIC HYMNS AND
HOMERICA
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
HUGH G. EVELYN-WHITE, M. A.
SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD
H
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
MCMXXIX
Grad, R.R. A
PA
4009
!
27
1914
copy 2
First printed 1914
Reprinted 1920, 1926, 1929
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
Corad. I
Classical
Barham
6-23-50
71209
add.cop
PREFACE
THIS Volume contains practically all that remains of
the post-Homeric and pre-academic epic poetry.
I have for the most part formed my own text. In
the case of Hesiod I have been able to use indepen-
dent collations of several MSS. by Dr. W. H. D.
Rouse; otherwise I have depended on the apparatus
criticus of the several editions, especially that of
Rzach (1902). The arrangement adopted in this
edition, by which the complete and fragmentary
poems are restored to the order in which they would
probably have appeared had the Hesiodic corpus
survived intact, is unusual, but should not need
apology; the true place for the Catalogues (for
example), fragmentary as they are, is certainly after
the Theogony.
In preparing the text of the Homeric Hymns my
chief debt-and it is a heavy one-is to the edition
of Allen and Sikes (1904) and to the series of articles
in the Journal of Hellenic Studies (vols. xv. sqq.) by
T. W. Allen. To the same scholar and to the
PREFACE
Delegates of the Clarendon Press I am greatly
indebted for permission to use the restorations of
the Hymn to Demeter, lines 387-401 and 462-470,
printed in the Oxford Text of 1912.
Of the fragments of the Epic Cycle I have given
only such as seemed to possess distinct importance or
interest, and in doing so have relied mostly upon
Kinkel's collection and on the fifth volume of the
Oxford Homer (1912).
The texts of the Batrachomyomachia and of the
Contest of Homer and Hesiod are those of Baumeister
and Flach respectively: where I have diverged from
these, the fact has been noted.
Owing to the circumstances of the present time
I have been prevented from giving to the Introduction
that full revision which I should have desired.
RAMPTON, NR. CAMBRIDGE.
Sept. 9th, 1914
vi
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HESIOD.
Works and Days
The Divination by Birds
V
ix
xliii
1-283
2
64
The Astronomy
66
The Precepts of Chiron
72
The Great Works
74
The Idaean Dactyls
76
The Theogony
78
The Catalogues of Women and the Eoiae
154
The Shield of Heracles
220
The Marriage of Ceyx
254
The Great Eoiae
256
The Melampodia
266
The Aegimius.
270
Fragments of Unknown Position
274
Doubtful Fragments.
280
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
285-463
1. To Dionysus
II. To Demeter
III.-To Apollo
IV. To Hermes
v.-To Aphrodite
VI.-To Aphrodite
VII.-To Dionysus
VIII.-To Ares
IX.-To Artemis
286
288
324
362
406
426
428
432
434
x.-To Aphrodite
434
XI.-To Athena .
436
XII. To Hera .
436
XIII.-To Demeter
436
XIV. To the Mother of the Gods
438
xv.-To Heracles the Lion-hearted
438
XVI.-To Asclepius.
440
vii
CONTENTS
THE HOMERIC HYMNS (continued) —
XVII. To the Dioscuri
XVIII.- -To Hermes
XIX.-To Pan
xx.-To Hephaestus
440
440
442
446
XXI.-To Apollo
446
XXII.-To Poseidon
448
XXIII. To the So
of Cronus, Most High
448
XXIV. To Hestia.
448
XXV. To the Muses and Apollo
450
XXVI.-To Dionysus
450
XXVII.-To Artemis
452
XXVIII.-To Athena
452
XXIX. To Hestia
454
XXX.-To Earth the Mother of All
456
XXXI.-To Helios
458
XXXII.-To Selene
458
XXXIII.-To the Dioscuri
460
THE EPIGRAMS OF HOMER
465
THE EPIC CYCLE.
The War of the Titans
The Story of Oedipus
The Thebais
The Epigoni
The Cypria.
The Aethiopis
The Little Iliad
The Sack of Ilium
The Returns
The Telegony
HOMERICA-
The Expedition of Amphiaraüs
The Taking of Oechalia
479
480
482
484
486
488
506
508
520
524
530
532
532
The Phocais
534
The Margites
536
The Cercopes
538
The Battle of the Frogs and Mice
541
•
THE CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
APPENDIX.
565
599
INDEX
611
viii
INTRODUCTION
General
THE early Greek epic-that is, epic poetry as a
natural and popular, and not (as it became later) an
artificial and academic literary form-passed through
the usual three phases, of development, of maturity,
and of decline.
No fragments which can be identified as belonging
to the first period survive to give us even a
general idea of the history of the earliest epic,
and we are therefore thrown back upon the evidence
of analogy from other forms of literature and of
inference from the two great epics which have come
down to us. So reconstructed, the earliest period
appears to us as a time of slow development in which
the characteristic epic metre, diction, and structure
grew up slowly from crude elements and were
improved until the verge of maturity was reached.
The second period, which produced the Iliad and
the Odyssey, needs no description here: but it is very
important to observe the effect of these poems on
the course of post-Homeric epic. As the supreme
perfection and universality of the Iliad and the
Odyssey cast into oblivion whatever pre-Homeric poets
had essayed, so these same qualities exercised a
paralysing influence over the successors of Homer.
If they continued to sing like their great predecessor
of romantic themes, they were drawn as by a kind of
ix
INTRODUCTION
magnetic attraction into the Homeric style and
manner of treatment, and became mere echoes of the
Homeric voice: in a word, Homer had so completely
exhausted the epic genre, that after him further
efforts were doomed to be merely conventional.
Only the rare and exceptional genius of Vergil and
Milton could use the Homeric medium without loss
of individuality: and this quality none of the later
epic poets seem to have possessed. Freedom from
the domination of the great tradition could only be
found by seeking new subjects, and such freedom
was really only illusionary, since romantic subjects
alone are suitable for epic treatment.
In its third period, therefore, epic poetry shows
two divergent tendencies. In Ionia and the islands
the epic poets followed the Homeric tradition,
singing of romantic subjects in the now stereotyped
heroic style, and showing originality only in their
choice of legends hitherto neglected or summarily
and imperfectly treated. In continental Greece,¹
on the other hand, but especially in Boeotia, a new
form of epic sprang up, which for the romance and
Tábos of the Ionian School substituted the practical
and matter-of-fact. It dealt in moral and practical
maxims, in information on technical subjects which
are of service in daily life-agriculture, astronomy,
augury, and the calendar-in matters of religion
and in tracing the genealogies of men. Its attitude
is summed up in the words of the Muses to the
writer of the Theogony: "We can tell many a feigned
tale to look like truth, but we can, when we will,
utter the truth" (Theog. 26-27). Such a poetry
1 8c. in Boeotia, Locris and Thessaly: elsewhere the move-
ment was forced and unfruitful.
i
X
INTRODUCTION
could not be permanently successful, because the
subjects of which it treats—if susceptible of poetic
treatment at all—were certainly not suited for epic
treatment, where unity of action which will sustain
interest, and to which each part should contribute,
is absolutely necessary. While, therefore, an epic
like the Odyssey is an organism and dramatic in
structure, a work such as the Theogony is a merely
artificial collocation of facts, and, at best, a pageant.
It is not surprising, therefore, to find that from the
first the Boeotian school is forced to season its matter
with romantic episodes, and that later it tends more
and more to revert (as in the Shield of Heracles) to
the Homeric tradition.
The Boeotian School
How did the continental school of epic poetry
arise? There is little definite material for an answer
to this question, but the probability is that there were
at least three contributory causes. First, it is likely
that before the rise of the Ionian epos there existed
in Boeotia a purely popular and indigenous poetry
of a crude form: it comprised, we may suppose,
versified proverbs and precepts relating to life in
general, agricultural maxims, weather-lore, and the
like. In this sense the Boeotian poetry may be
taken to have its germ in maxims similar to our
English
or
"Till May be out, ne'er cast a clout,"
"A rainbow in the morning
Is the Shepherd's warning."
xi
INTRODUCTION
Secondly and thirdly we may ascribe the rise of the
new epic to the nature of the Boeotian people and, as
already remarked, to a spirit of revolt against the
old epic. The Boeotians, people of the class of which
Hesiod represents himself to be the type, were
essentially unromantic; their daily needs marked the
general limit of their ideals, and, as a class, they
cared little for works of fancy, for pathos, or for fine
thought as such. To a people of this nature the
Homeric epos would be inacceptable, and the post-
Homeric epic, with its conventional atmosphere, its
trite and hackneyed diction, and its insincere
sentiment, would be anathema. We can imagine,
therefore, that among such folk a settler, of Aeolic
origin like Hesiod, who clearly was well acquainted
with the Ionian epos, would naturally see that the
only outlet for his gifts lay in applying epic poetry
to new themes acceptable to his hearers.
Though the poems of the Boeotian school¹ were
unanimously assigned to Hesiod down to the age of
Alexandrian criticism, they were clearly neither the
work of one man nor even of one period: some,
doubtless, were fraudulently fathered on him in
order to gain currency; but it is probable that most
came to be regarded as his partly because of their
general character, and partly because the names of
their real authors were lost. One fact in this
attribution is remarkable—the veneration paid to
Hesiod.
1 The extant collection of three poems, Works and Days,
Theogony, and Shield of Heracles, which alone have come
down to us complete, dates at least from the 4th century
A.D. the title of the Paris Papyrus (Bibl. Nat. Suppl
Gr. 1099) names only these three works.
xii
INTRODUCTION
Life of Hesiod.-Our information respecting Hesiod
is derived in the main from notices and allusions in
the works attributed to him, and to these must
be added certain traditions concerning his death and
burial gathered from later writers.
""
Hesiod's father (whose name, by a perversion of
Works and Days, 299 Πέρση διον γένος to Πέρση, Δίου
yévos, was thought to have been Dius) was a native of
Cyme in Aeolis, where he was a seafaring trader and,
perhaps, also a farmer. He was forced by poverty to
leave his native place, and returned to continental
Greece, where he settled at Ascra near Thespiae in
Boeotia (Works and Days, 636 ff.). Either in Cyme
or Ascra, two sons, Hesiod and Perses, were born to
the settler, and these, after his death, divided the
farm between them. Perses, however, who is re-
presented as an idler and spendthrift, obtained and
kept the larger share by bribing the corrupt "lords
who ruled from Thespiae (Works and Days, 37-39).
While his brother wasted his patrimony and ulti-
mately came to want (Works and Days, 34 ff.), Hesiod
lived a farmer's life until, according to the very early
tradition preserved by the author of the Theogony
(22-23), the Muses met him as he was tending
sheep on Mt. Helicon and "taught him a glorious
song"-doubtless the Works and Days. The only
other personal reference is to his victory in a poetical
contest at the funeral games of Amphidamas at
Chalcis in Euboea, where he won the prize, a tripod,
which he dedicated to the Muses of Helicon (Works
and Days, 651-9).
Before we go on to the story of Hesiod's death, it
will be well to inquire how far the "autobio-
graphical" notices can be treated as historical,
xiii
INTRODUCTION
especially as many critics treat some, or all of them,
as spurious. In the first place attempts have been
made to show that "Hesiod" is a significant name
and therefore fictitious: it is only necessary to
mention Goettling's derivation from inue and ódós
(which would make "Hesiod" mean the "guide"
in virtues and technical arts), and to refer to the
pitiful attempts in the Etymologicum Magnum (s.v.
Hoíodos), to show how prejudiced and lacking even
in plausibility such efforts are. It seems certain
that "Hesiod" stands as a proper name in the fullest
sense. Secondly, Hesiod claims that his father-if not
he himself-came from Aeolis and settled in Boeotia.
There is fairly definite evidence to warrant our
acceptance of this: the dialect of the Works and
Days is shown by Rzach¹ to contain distinct
Aeolisms apart from those which formed part of the
general stock of epic poetry. And that this Aeolic
speaking poet was a Boeotian of Ascra seems even
more certain, since the tradition is never once
disputed, insignificant though the place was, even
before its destruction by the Thespians.
Again, Hesiod's story of his relations with his
brother Perses have been treated with scepticism
(see Murray, Anc. Gk. Literature, pp. 53-54): Perses,
it is urged, is clearly a mere dummy, set up to be the
target for the poet's exhortations. On such a matter
precise evidence is naturally not forthcoming; but
all probability is against the sceptical view. For (1)
if the quarrel between the brothers were a fiction,
we should expect it to be detailed at length and not
noticed allusively and rather obscurely-as we find
1 Der Dialekt des Hesiodos, p. 464: examples are atvŋu
(W. and D. 683) and àpúµevai (ib. 22).
xiv
INTRODUCTION
it; (2) as MM. Croiset remark, if the poet needed
a lay-figure the ordinary practice was to introduce
some mythological person-as, in fact, is done in
the Precepts of Chiron. In a word, there is no more
solid ground for treating Perses and his quarrel with
Hesiod as fictitious than there would be for treating
Cyrnus, the friend of Theognis, as mythical.
Thirdly, there is the passage in the Theogony
relating to Hesiod and the Muses. It is surely an
error to suppose that lines 22-35 all refer to Hesiod:
rather, the author of the Theogony tells the story of
his own inspiration by the same Muses who once
taught Hesiod glorious song. The lines 22-3 are
therefore a very early piece of tradition about
Hesiod, and though the appearance of Muses must
be treated as a graceful fiction, we find that a writer,
later than the Works and Days by perhaps no more
than three-quarters of a century, believed in the
actuality of Hesiod and in his life as a farmer or
shepherd.
Lastly, there is the famous story of the contest in
song at Chalcis. In later times the modest version
in the Works and Days was elaborated, first by making
Homer the opponent whom Hesiod conquered, while
a later period exercised its ingenuity in working up
the story of the contest into the elaborate form in
which it still survives. Finally the contest, in which
the two poets contended with hymns to Apollo,¹
was transferred to Delos. These developments cer-
tainly need no consideration: are we to say the same
1 T. W. Allen suggests that the conjoined Delian and
Pythian hymns to Apollo (Homeric Hymns III) may have
suggested this version of the story, the Pythian hymn
showing strong continental influence.
XV
INTRODUCTION
of the passage in the Works and Days? Critics from
Plutarch downwards have almost unanimously re-
jected the lines 654-662, on the ground that Hesiod's
Amphidamas is the hero of the Lelantine war
between Chalcis and Eretria, whose death may be
placed circa 705 B.C.—a date which is obviously too
low for the genuine Hesiod. Nevertheless, there is
much to be said in defence of the passage. Hesiod's
claim in the Works and Days is modest, since he
neither pretends to have met Homer, nor to have sung
in any but an impromptu, local festival, so that the
supposed interpolation lacks a sufficient motive. And
there is nothing in the context to show that Hesiod's
Amphidamas is to be identified with that Amphi-
damas whom Plutarch alone connects with the
Lelantine War: the name may have been borne by
an earlier Chalcidian, an ancestor, perhaps, of the
person to whom Plutarch refers.
The story of the end of Hesiod may be told
in outline. After the contest at Chalcis, Hesiod
went to Delphi and there was warned that the "issue
of death should overtake him in the fair grove of
Nemean Zeus." Avoiding therefore Nemea on the
Isthmus of Corinth, to which he supposed the oracle
to refer, Hesiod retired to Oenoë in Locris where he
was entertained by Amphiphanes and Ganyctor, sons
of a certain Phegeus. This place, however, was also
sacred to Nemean Zeus, and the poet, suspected by
his hosts of having seduced their sister,¹ was mur-
dered there. His body, cast into the sea, was
brought to shore by dolphins and buried at Oenoë
(or, according to Plutarch, at Ascra): at a later time
his bones were removed to Orchomenus. The whole
1 She is said to have given birth to the lyrist Stesichorus.
xvi
INTRODUCTION
story is full of miraculous elements, and the various
authorities disagree on numerous points of detail.
The tradition seems, however, to be constant in
declaring that Hesiod was murdered and buried at
Oenoë, and in this respect it is at least as old as the
time of Thucydides. In conclusion it may be worth
while to add the graceful epigram of Alcaeus of
Messene (Palatine Anthology, vii 55).
Λοκρίδος ἐν νέμει σκιερῷ νέκυν Ἡσιόδοιο
Νύμφαι κρηνιάδων λοῦσαν ἀπὸ σφετέρων,
καὶ τάφον ὑψώσαντο· γάλακτι δὲ ποίμενες αἰγῶν
ἔρραναν, ξανθῷ μιξάμενοι μέλιτι·
τοίην γὰρ καὶ γῆρυν ἀπέπνεεν ἐννέα Μουσῶν
ὁ πρέσβεις καθαρῶν γευσάμενος λιβάδων.
"When in the shady Locrian grove Hesiod
lay dead, the Nymphs washed his body with
water from their own springs, and heaped high
his grave; and thereon the goat-herds sprinkled
offerings of milk mingled with yellow-honey:
such was the utterance of the nine Muses that
he breathed forth, that old man who had tasted
of their pure springs."
The Hesiodic Poems.-The Hesiodic poems fall into
two groups according as they are didactic (technical
or gnomic) or genealogical: the first group centres
round the Works and Days, the second round the
Theogony.
I. The Works and Days.-The poem consists of
four main sections (a) After the prelude, which
Pausanias failed to find in the ancient copy engraved
on lead seen by him on Mt. Helicon, comes a
general exhortation to industry. It begins with the
xvii
INTRODUCTION
allegory of the two Strifes, who stand for wholesome
Emulation and Quarrelsomeness respectively. Then
by means of the Myth of Pandora the poet shows
how evil and the need for work first arose, and goes
on to describe the Five Ages of the World, tracing the
gradual increase of evil, and emphasizing the present
miserable condition of the world, a condition in which
struggle is inevitable. Next, after the Fable of the
Hawk and Nightingale, which serves as a condem-
nation of violence and injustice, the poet passes on to
contrast the blessings which Righteousness brings to
a nation, and the punishment which Heaven sends
down upon the violent, and the section concludes with
a series of precepts on industry and prudent conduct
generally. (b) The second section shows how a man
may escape want and misery by industry and care both
in agriculture and in trading by sea. Neither subject,
it should be carefully noted, is treated in any way com-
prehensively. (c) The third part is occupied with mis-
cellaneous precepts relating mostly to actions of
domestic and everyday life and conduct which have
little or no connection with one another. (d) The
final section is taken up with a series of notices on
the days of the month which are favourable or
unfavourable for agricultural and other operations.
It is from the second and fourth sections that the
poem takes its name. At first sight such a work
seems to be a miscellany of myths, technical advice,
moral precepts, and folklore maxims without any
unifying principle; and critics have readily taken
the view that the whole is a cento of fragments or
short poems worked up by a redactor. Very
probably Hesiod used much material of a far older
date, just as Shakespeare used the Gesta Roman-
xviii
INTRODUCTION
orum, old chronicles, and old plays; but close
inspection will show that the Works and Days has a
real unity and that the picturesque title is somewhat
misleading. The poem has properly no technical
object at all, but is moral: its real aim is to show
men how best to live in a difficult world. So viewed
the four seemingly independent sections will be
found to be linked together in a real bond of unity.
Such a connection between the first and second
sections is easily seen, but the links between these
and the third and fourth are no less real: to make
life go tolerably smoothly it is most important to be
just and to know how to win a livelihood; but
happiness also largely depends on prudence and care
both in social and home life as well, and not least on
avoidance of actions which offend supernatural
powers and bring ill-luck. And finally, if your
industry is to be fruitful, you must know what days
are suitable for various kinds of work. This moral
aim-as opposed to the currently accepted technical
aim of the poem-explains the otherwise puzzling
incompleteness of the instructions on farming and
seafaring.
Of the Hesiodic poems similar in character to the
Works and Days, only the scantiest fragments survive.
One at least of these, the Divination by Birds, was, as
we know from Proclus, attached to the end of the
Works until it was rejected by Apollonius Rhodius:
doubtless it continued the same theme of how to live,
showing how man can avoid disasters by attending
to the omens to be drawn from birds. It is possible
that the Astronomy or Astrology (as Plutarch calls it)
was in turn appended to the Divination. It certainly
gave some account of the principal constellations, their
xix
b2
INTRODUCTION
dates of rising and setting, and the legends connected
with them, and probably showed how these influenced
human affairs or might be used as guides. The
Precepts of Chiron was a didactic poem made up of
moral and practical precepts, resembling the gnomic
sections of the Works and Days, addressed by the
Centaur Chiron to his pupil Achilles. Even less is
known of the poem called the Great Works: the title
implies that it was similar in subject to the second
section of the Works and Days, but longer. Possible
references in Roman writers¹ indicate that among
the subjects dealt with were the cultivation of the
vine and olive and various herbs. The inclusion of
the judgment of Rhadamanthys (frag. 1): "If a man
sow evil, he shall reap evil," indicates a gnomic
element, and the note by Proclus2 on Works and Days
126 makes it likely that metals also were dealt with.
It is therefore possible that another lost poem, the
Idaean Dactyls, which dealt with the discovery of
metals and their working, was appended to, or even.
was a part of the Great Works, just as the
Divination by Birds was appended to the Works and
Days.
II. The Genealogical Poems.-The only complete
poem of the genealogical group is the Theogony,
which traces from the beginning of things the descent
and vicissitudes of the families of the gods. Like
the Works and Days this poem has no dramatic plot;
but its unifying principle is clear and simple. The
gods are classified chronologically as soon as one
generation is catalogued, the poet goes on to detail
1 See Kinkel Epic. Graec. Frag. i. 158 ff.
2 See Great Works, frag. 2.
ΧΧ
INTRODUCTION
the offspring of each member of that generation. Ex-
ceptions are only made in special cases, as the Sons
of Iapetus (11. 507-616) whose place is accounted for
by their treatment by Zeus. The chief landmarks in
the poem are as follows: after the first 103 lines, which
contain at least three distinct preludes, three pri-
meval beings are introduced, Chaos, Earth and Eros
-here an indefinite reproductive influence. Of these
three, Earth produces Heaven to whom she bears the
Titans, the Cyclopes and the hundred-handed giants.
The Titans, oppressed by their father, revolt at the
instigation of Farth, under the leadership of Cronos,
and as a result Heaven and Earth are separated,¹ and
Cronos reigns over the universe. Cronos knowing
that he is destined to be overcome by one of his
children, swallows each one of them as they are
born, until Zeus, saved by Rhea, grows up and over-
comes Cronos in some struggle which is not described.
Cronos is forced to vomit up the children he had
swallowed, and these with Zeus divide the universe
between them, like a human estate. Two events
mark the early reign of Zeus, the war with the
Titans and the overthrow of Typhoeus, and as Zeus is
still reigning the poet can only go on to give a list
of gods born to Zeus by various goddesses. After
this he formally bids farewell to the cosmic and
Olympian deities and enumerates the sons born of
goddess to mortals. The poem closes with an
invocation of the Muses to sing of the "tribe of
women."
This conclusion served to link the Theogony to
what must have been a distinct poem, the Catalogues
of Women. This work was divided into four (Suidas
1 See note on p. 93.
xxi
INTRODUCTION
says five) books, the last one (or two) of which was
known as the Eoiac and may have been again a distinct
poem: the curious title will be explained presently.
The Catalogues proper were a series of genealogies
which traced the Hellenic race (or its more important
peoples and families) from a common ancestor. The
reason why women are so prominent is obvious: since
most families and tribes claimed to be descended
from a god, the only safe clue to their origin was
through the mortal woman beloved by that god; and
it has also been pointed out that mutterrecht still left
its traces in northern Greece in historical times.
The following analysis (after Marckscheffel ¹) will
show the principle of its composition. From Prome-
theus and Pronoia sprang Deucalion and Pyrrha,
the only survivors of the deluge, who had a son
Hellen (frag. 1), the reputed ancestor of the whole
Hellenic race. From the daughters of Deucalion
sprang Magnes and Macedon, ancestors of the
Magnesians and Macedonians, who are thus re-
presented as cousins to the true Hellenic stock.
Hellen had three sons, Dorus, Xuthus and Aeolus,
parents of the Dorian, Ionic and Aeolian races, and
the offspring of these was then detailed.
instance a considerable and characteristic section can
be traced from extant fragments and notices: Sal-
moneus, son of Aeolus, had a daughter Tyro who
bore to Poseidon two sons, Pelias and Neleus; the
latter of these, king of Pylos, refused Heracles
purification for the murder of Iphitus, whereupon
Heracles attacked and sacked Pylos, killing amongst
the other sons of Neleus Periclymenus, who had the
power of changing himself into all manner of shapes.
1 Hesiodi Fragmenta, pp. 119 f.
In one
xxii
INTRODUCTION
From this slaughter Neleus alone escaped (frags. 13,
and 10-12). This summary shows the general
principle of arrangement of the Catalogues: each
line seems to have been dealt with in turn, and the
monotony was relieved as far as possible by a brief
relation of famous adventures connected with any
of the personages-as in the case of Atalanta and
Hippomenes (frag. 14). Similarly the story of the
Argonauts appears from the fragments (37-42) to
have been told in some detail.
This tendency to introduce romantic episodes led
to an important development. Several poems are
ascribed to Hesiod, such as the Epithalamium of Peleus
and Thetis, the Descent of Theseus into Hades, or the
Circuit of the Earth (which must have been connected
with the story of Phineus and the Harpies, and so
with the Argonaut-legend), which yet seem to have
belonged to the Catalogues. It is highly probable
that these poems were interpolations into the Cata-
logues expanded by later poets from more summary
notices in the genuine Hesiodic work and sub-
sequently detached from their contexts and treated as
independent. This is definitely known to be true of
the Shield of Heracles, the first 53 lines of which
belong to the fourth book of the Catalogues, and
almost certainly applies to other episodes, such as
the Suitors of Helen, the Daughters of Leucippus, and
the Marriage of Ceyx, which last Plutarch mentions.
as "interpolated in the works of Hesiod."
To the Catalogues, as we have said, was appended
another work, the Eoiae. The title seems to have
1 Possibly the division of this poem into two books (see
p. 199) is a division belonging solely to this "developed
poem, ," which may have included in its second part a
summary of the Tale of Troy.
xxiii
INTRODUCTION
arisen in the following way¹: the Catalogues probably
ended (cp. Theogony 963 ff.) with some such passage
as this: "But now, ye Muses, sing of the tribes of
women with whom the Sons of Heaven were joined
in love, women pre-eminent above their fellows in
beauty, such (oin) as was Niobe (?)." Each succeeding
heroine was then introduced by the formula oin “Or
such as was..." (cp. frags. 88, 92, etc.). A large
fragment of the Eoiae is extant at the beginning of
the Shield of Heracles, which may be mentioned
here. The "supplement" (11. 57-480) is nominally
devoted to a description of the combat between
Heracles and Cycnus, but the greater part is taken
up with an inferior description of the shield of
Heracles, in imitation of the Homeric shield of
Achilles (Iliad xviii. 478 ff.). Nothing shows more
clearly the collapse of the principles of the Hesiodic
school than this ultimate servile dependence upon
Homeric models.
At the close of the Shield Heracles goes on to
Trachis to the house of Ceyx, and this warning
suggests that the Marriage of Ceyx may have come
immediately after the oin of Alcmena in the Eoiae:
possibly Halcyone, the wife of Ceyx, was one of
the heroines sung in the poem, and the original
section was "developed" into the Marriage, although
what form the poem took is unknown.
Next to the Eoiae and the poems which seemed to
have been developed from it, it is natural to place
the Great Eoiae. This, again, as we know from
fragments, was a list of heroines who bare children to
the gods: from the title we must suppose it to have
been much longer than the simple Eoiae, but its
1 Goettling's explanation.
xxiv
INTRODUCTION
extent is unknown. Lehmann, remarking that the
heroines are all Boeotian and Thessalian (while the
heroines of the Catalogues belong to all parts of the
Greek world), believes the author to have been either
a Boeotian or Thessalian.
Two other poems are ascribed to Hesiod. Of
these the Aegimius (also ascribed by Athenaeus to
Cercops of Miletus), is thought by Valckenaer to
deal with the war of Aegimius against the Lapithae
and the aid furnished to him by Heracles, and with
the history of Aegimius and his sons. Otto Müller
suggests that the introduction of Thetis and of
Phrixus (frags. 1-2) is to be connected with notices of
the allies of the Lapithae from Phthiotis and Iolchus,
and that the story of Io was incidental to a narrative of
Heracles' expedition against Euboea. The remaining
poem, the Melampodia, was a work in three books,
whose plan it is impossible to recover. Its subject,
however, seems to have been the histories of famous
seers like Mopsus, Calchas, and Teiresias, and it
probably took its name from Melampus, the most
famous of them all.
Date of the Hesiodic Poems.-There is no doubt
that the Works and Days is the oldest, as it is the
most original, of the Hesiodic poems. It seems to
be distinctly earlier than the Theogony, which refers
to it, apparently, as a poem already renowned.
Two considerations help us to fix a relative date for
the Works. (1) In diction, dialect and style it is
obviously dependent upon Homer, and is therefore
considerably later than the Iliad and Odyssey:
moreover, as we have seen, it is in revolt against the
romantic school, already grown decadent, and while
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INTRODUCTION
the digamma is still living, it is obviously growing
weak, and is by no means uniformly effective.
(2) On the other hand while tradition steadily
puts the Cyclic poets at various dates from 776 B.C.
downwards, it is equally consistent in regarding
Homer and Hesiod as "prehistoric." Herodotus
indeed puts both poets 400 years before his own
time; that is, at about 830-820 B.C., and the evidence
stated above points to the middle of the ninth
century as the probable date for the Works and
Days. The Theogony might be tentatively placed
a century later; and the Catalogues and Eoiae are
again later, but not greatly later, than the Theo-
gony the Shield of Heracles may be ascribed to
the later half of the seventh century, but there is
not evidence enough to show whether the other
developed" poems are to be regarded as of a date
so low as this.
66
Literary Value of Hesiod.-Quintilian's¹ judgment
on Hesiod that "he rarely rises to great heights.
and to him is given the palm in the middle-class of
speech" is just, but is liable to give a wrong
impression. Hesiod has nothing that remotely
approaches such scenes as that between Priam and
Achilles, or the pathos of Andromache's preparations
for Hector's return, even as he was falling before
the walls of Troy; but in matters that come within
the range of ordinary experience, he rarely fails to rise
to the appropriate level. Take, for instance, the
description of the Iron Age (Works and Days, 182 ff.)
with its catalogue of wrongdoing and violence ever
increasing until Aidôs and Nemesis are forced to
1 x. 1. 52.
xxvi
INTRODUCTION
leave mankind who thenceforward shall have "no
remedy against evil." Such occasions, however,
rarely occur and are perhaps not characteristic of
Hesiod's genius: if we would see Hesiod at his best,
in his most natural vein, we must turn to such a
passage as that which he himself-according to the
compiler of the Contest of Hesiod and Homer-
selected as best in all his work, "When the Pleiades,
Atlas' daughters, begin to rise..." (Works and Days,
383 ff). The value of such a passage cannot be
analysed: it can only be said that given such a
subject, this alone is the right method of treatment.
Hesiod's diction is in the main Homeric, but one
of his charms is the use of quaint allusive phrases
derived, perhaps, from a pre-Hesiodic peasant poetry :
thus the season when Boreas blows is the time when
"the Boneless One gnaws his foot by his fireless
hearth in his cheerless house"; to cut one's nails is
"to sever the withered from the quick upon that
which has five branches"; similarly the burglar
is the "day-sleeper," and the serpent is the "hairless
one." Very similar is his reference to seasons
through what happens or is done in that season:
"when the House-carrier, fleeing the Pleiades, climbs
up the plants from the earth," is the season for
harvesting; or "when the artichoke flowers and the
clicking grass-hopper, seated in a tree, pours down
his shrill song," is the time for rest.
Hesiod's charm lies in his child-like and sincere
naïveté, in his unaffected interest in and picturesque
view of nature and all that happens in nature.
These qualities, it is true, are those pre-eminently of
the Works and Days: the literary virtues of the
Theogony are of a more technical character, skill in
xxvii
INTRODUCTION
ordering and disposing long lists of names, sure
judgment in seasoning a monotonous subject with
marvellous incidents or episodes, and no mean
imagination in depicting the awful, as is shown in
the description of Tartarus (ll. 736–745). Yet it
remains true that Hesiod's distinctive title to a high
place in Greek literature lies in the very fact of his
freedom from classic form, and his grave, and yet
child-like, outlook upon his world.
The Ionic School
The Ionic School of Epic poetry was, as we have
seen, dominated by the Homeric tradition, and while
the style and method of treatment are Homeric, it is
natural that the Ionic poets refrained from cultivating
the ground tilled by Homer, and chose for treatment
legends which lay beyond the range of the Iliad and
Odyssey. Equally natural it is that they should
have particularly selected various phases of the tale
of Troy which preceded or followed the action of
the Iliad and Odyssey. In this way, without any pre-
conceived intention, a body of epic poetry was built
up by various writers which covered the whole
Trojan story. But the entire range of heroic legend
was open to these poets, and other clusters of epics
grew up dealing particularly with the famous story of
Thebes, while others dealt with the beginnings of
the world and the wars of heaven. In the end there
existed a kind of epic history of the world, as known
to the Greeks, down to the death of Odysseus, when
the heroic age ended. In the Alexandrian Age
these poems were arranged in chronological order,
apparently by Zenodotus of Ephesus, at the beginning
xxviii
INTRODUCTION
of the 3rd century B.C.
"round"
Cycle,
collection.
66
or
At a later time the term
""
course was given to this
Of all this mass of epic poetry only the scantiest
fragments survive; but happily Photius has preserved
to us an abridgment of the synopsis made of each
poem of the "Trojan Cycle" by Proclus, i.e. Eutychius
Proclus of Sicca.
The pre-Trojan poems of the Cycle may be noticed
first. The Titanomachy, ascribed both to Eumelus of
Corinth and to Arctinus of Miletus, began with a kind
of Theogony which told of the union of Heaven and
Earth and of their offspring the Cyclopes and the
Hundred-handed Giants. How the poem proceeded
we have no means of knowing, but we may suppose
that in character it was not unlike the short account
of the Titan War found in the Hesiodic Theogony
(617 ff.).
What links bound the Titanomachy to the Theban
Cycle is not clear. This latter group was formed of
three poems, the Story of Oedipus, the Thebais, and
the Epigoni. Of the Oedipodea practically nothing
is known, though on the assurance of Athenaeus
(vii. 277 E) that Sophocles followed the Epic Cycle
closely in the plots of his plays, we may suppose that
in outline the story corresponded closely to the
history of Oedipus as it is found in the Oedipus
Tyrannus. The Thebais seems to have begun with
the origin of the fatal quarrel between Eteocles and
Polyneices in the curse called down upon them by
their father in his misery. The story was thence
carried down to the end of the expedition under
Pólyneices, Adrastus and Amphiaraus against Thebes.
The Epigoni (ascribed to Antimachus of Teos) re-
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INTRODUCTION
counted the expedition of the " After-Born" against
Thebes, and the sack of the city.
The Trojan Cycle.-Six epics with the Iliad and
the Odyssey made up the Trojan Cycle-The Cyprian
Lays, the Iliad, the Aethiopis, the Little Iliad, the
Sack of Troy, the Returns, the Odyssey, and the
Telegony.
It has been assumed in the foregoing pages that
the poems of the Trojan Cycle are later than the
Homeric poems; but, as the opposite view has been
held, the reason for this assumption must now be given.
(1) Tradition puts Homer and the Homeric poems
proper back in the ages before chronological history
began, and at the same time assigns the purely
Cyclic poems to definite authors who are dated from
the first Olympiad (776 B.C.) downwards.
This
tradition cannot be purely arbitrary. (2) The Cyclic
poets (as we can see from the abstracts of Proclus)
were careful not to trespass upon ground already
occupied by Homer. Thus, when we find that in the
Returns all the prominent Greek heroes except
Odysseus are accounted for, we are forced to believe
that the author of this poem knew the Odyssey and
judged it unnecessary to deal in full with that hero's
adventures.¹ In a word, the Cyclic poems are
"written round" the Iliad and the Odyssey. (3) The
general structure of these epics is clearly imitative. As
MM. Croiset remark, the abusive Thersites in the Aethi-
opis is clearly copied from the Thersites of the Iliad:
in the same poem Antilochus, slain by Memnon and
avenged by Achilles, is obviously modelled on Patro-
clus. (4) The geographical knowledge of a poem like
¹ Odysseus appears to have been mentioned once only-and
that casually-in the Returns.
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INTRODUCTION
the Returns is far wider and more precise than that of
the Odyssey. (5) Moreover, in the Cyclic poems epic is
clearly degenerating morally-if the expression may
be used. The chief greatness of the Iliad is in the
character of the heroes Achilles and Hector rather
than in the actual events which take place: in the
Cyclic writers facts rather than character are the
objects of interest, and events are so packed together
as to leave no space for any exhibition of the play of
moral forces. All these reasons justify the view that
the poems with which we now have to deal were
later than the Iliad and Odyssey, and if we must
recognize the possibility of some conventionality in
the received dating, we may feel confident that it
is at least approximately just.
The earliest of the post-Homeric epics of Troy are
apparently the Aethiopis and the Sack of Ilium, both
ascribed to Arctinus of Miletus who is said to have
flourished in the first Olympiad (776 B.C.). He set
himself to finish the tale of Troy, which, so far as
events were concerned, had been left half-told by
Homer, by tracing the course of events after the
close of the Iliad. The Aethiopis thus included the
coming of the Amazon Penthesilea to help the
Trojans after the fall of Hector and her death, the
similar arrival and fall of the Aethiopian Memnon,
the death of Achilles under the arrow of Paris, and
the dispute between Odysseus and Aias for the arms
of Achilles. The Sack of Ilium¹ as analysed by
Proclus was very similar to Vergil's version in
¹ MM. Croiset note that the Aethiopis and the Sack were
originally merely parts of one work containing lays (the
Amazoneia, Aethiopis, Persis, etc.), just as the Iliad
contained various lays such as the Diomedeia.
xxxi
INTRODUCTION
Aeneid ii, comprising the episodes of the wooden
horse, of Laocoon, of Sinon, the return of the
Achaeans from Tenedos, the actual Sack of Troy, the
division of spoils and the burning of the city.
Lesches or Lescheos (as Pausanias calls him) of
Pyrrha or Mitylene is dated at about 660 B.C.
In his Little Iliad he undertook to elaborate the
Sack as related by Arctinus. His work included the
adjudgment of the arms of Achilles to Odysseus,
the madness of Aias, the bringing of Philoctetes
from Lemnos and his cure, the coming to the war of
Neoptolemus who slays Eurypylus, son of Telephus,
the making of the wooden horse, the spying of
Odysseus and his theft, along with Diomedes, of the
Palladium: the analysis concludes with the admission
of the wooden horse into Troy by the Trojans. It is
known, however (Aristotle, Poetics, xxiii; Pausanias,
x, 25-27), that the Little Iliad also contained a
description of the Sack of Troy. It is probable that
this and other superfluous incidents disappeared after
the Alexandrian arrangement of the poems in the
Cycle, either as the result of some later recension,
or merely through disuse. Or Proclus may have
thought it unnecessary to give the accounts by
Lesches and Arctinus of the same incident.
The Cyprian Lays, ascribed to Stasinus of Cyprus 1
(but also to Hegesinus of Salamis) was designed to do
for the events preceding the action of the Iliad what
Arctinus had done for the later phases of the Trojan
War. The Cypria begins with the first causes of the
war, the purpose of Zeus to relieve the overburdened
earth, the apple of discord, the rape of Helen. Then
1 No date is assigned to him, but it seems likely that he
was either contemporary or slightly earlier than Lesches.
xxxii
INTRODUCTION
follow the incidents connected with the gathering of
the Achaeans and their ultimate landing in Troy;
and the story of the war is detailed up to the quarrel
between Achilles and Agamemnon with which the
Iliad begins.
These four poems rounded off the story of the
Iliad, and it only remained to connect this enlarged
version with the Odyssey. This was done by means of
the Returns, a poem in five books ascribed to Agias
or Hegias of Troezen, which begins where the Sack
of Troy ends. It told of the dispute between
Agamemnon and Menelaus, the departure from Troy
of Menelaus, the fortunes of the lesser heroes, the
return and tragic death of Agamemnon, and the
vengeance of Orestes on Aegisthus. The story ends
with the return home of Menelaus, which brings the
general narrative up to the beginning of the
Odyssey.
But the Odyssey itself left much untold: what,
for example, happened in Ithaca after the slaying of
the suitors, and what was the ultimate fate of
Odysseus? The answer to these questions was
supplied by the Telegony, a poem in two books by
Eugammon of Cyrene (fl. 568 B.C.). It told of
the adventures of Odysseus in Thesprotis after the
killing of the Suitors, of his return to Ithaca, and his
death at the hands of Telegonus, his son by
Circe. The epic ended by disposing of the
surviving personages in a double marriage, Telema-
chus wedding Circe, and Telegonus Penelope.
The end of the Cycle marks also the end of the
Heroic Age.
xxxiii
INTRODUCTION
The Homeric Hymns.
The collection of thirty-three Hymns, ascribed to
Homer, is the last considerable work of the
Epic School, and seems, on the whole, to be later
than the Cyclic poems. It cannot be definitely
assigned either to the Ionian or Continental schools,
for while the romantic element is very strong,
there is a distinct genealogical interest; and in
matters of diction and style the influences of both
Hesiod and Homer are well-marked. The date
of the formation of the collection as such is unknown.
Diodorus Siculus (temp. Augustus) is the first to
mention such a body of poetry, and it is likely enough
that this is, at least substantially, the one which has
come down to us. Thucydides quotes the Delian
Hymn to Apollo, and it is possible that the Homeric
corpus of his day also contained other of the more
important hymns. Conceivably the collection was
arranged in the Alexandrine period.
Thucydides, in quoting the Hymn to Apollo, calls
it рооíμov, which ordinarily means a "prelude "
προοίμιον,
chanted by a rhapsode before recitation of a lay from
Homer, and such hymns as Nos. vi, x, xxxi, xxxii,
are clearly preludes in the strict sense; in No. xxxi,
for example, after celebrating Helios, the poet
declares he will next sing of the " race of mortal
men, the demi-gods." But it may fairly be doubted
whether such Hymns as those to Demeter (ii), Apollo
(iii), Hermes (iv), Aphrodite (v), can have been real
preludes, in spite of the closing formula "and now I
will pass on to another hymn.' The view taken by
Allen and Sikes, amongst other scholars, is doubtless
right, that these longer hymns are only technically
xxxiv
INTRODUCTION
preludes and show to what disproportionate lengths
a simple literary form can be developed. The
Hymns to Pan (xix), to Dionysus (xxvi), to Hestia and
Hermes (xxix), seem to have been designed for use
at definite religious festivals, apart from recitations.
With the exception perhaps of the Hymn to Ares
(viii), no item in the collection can be regarded as
either devotional or liturgical.
The Hymn is doubtless a very ancient form; but
if no examples of extreme antiquity survive this
must be put down to the fact that until the age of
literary consciousness, such things are not preserved.
First, apparently, in the collection stood the Hymn
to Dionysus, of which only two fragments now survive.
While it appears to have been a hymn of the longer
type, we have no evidence to show either its scope
or date.
The Hymn to Demeter, extant only in the MS.
discovered by Matthiae at Moscow, describes the
seizure of Persephone by Hades, the grief of
Demeter, her stay at Eleusis, and her vengeance on
gods and men by causing famine. In the end Zeus
is forced to bring Persephone back from the lower
world; but the goddess, by the contriving of Hades,
still remains partly a deity of the lower world. In
memory of her sorrows Demeter establishes the
Eleusinian mysteries (which, however, were purely
agrarian in origin).
This hymn, as a literary work, is one of the finest
1 Cp. Allen and Sikes, Homeric Hymns p. xv. In the
text I have followed the arrangement of these scholars,
numbering the Hymns to Dionysus and to Demeter, I and II
respectively to place Demeter after Hermes, and the Hymn
to Dionysus at the end of the collection seems to be merely
perverse.
:
XXXV
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INTRODUCTION
in the collection.
It is surely Attic or Eleusinian in
origin. Can we in any way fix its date? Firstly, it
is certainly not later than the beginning of the sixth
century, for it makes no mention of Iacchus, and the
Dionysiac element was introduced at Eleusis at about
that period. Further, the insignificance of Triptolemus
and Eumolpus point to considerable antiquity, and
the digamma is still active. All these considerations
point to the seventh century as the probable date
of the hymn.
The Hymn to Apollo consists of two parts, which
beyond any doubt were originally distinct, a Delian
hymn and a Pythian hymn. The Delian hymn
describes how Leto, in travail with Apollo, sought
out a place in which to bear her son, and how Apollo,
born in Delos, at once claimed for himself the lyre,
the bow, and prophecy. This part of the existing
hymn ends with an encomium of the Delian festival
of Apollo and of the Delian choirs. The second part
celebrates the founding of Pytho (Delphi) as the
oracular seat of Apollo. After various wanderings
the god comes to Telphusa, near Haliartus, but is
dissuaded by the nymph of the place from settling
there and urged to go on to Pytho where, after slaying
the she-dragon who nursed Typhaon, he builds his
temple. After the punishment of Telphusa for her
deceit in giving him no warning of the dragoness at
Pytho, Apollo, in the form of a dolphin, brings
certain Cretan shipmen to Delphi to be his priests;
and the hymn ends with a charge to these men to
behave orderly and righteously.
The Delian part is exclusively Ionian and insular
both in style and sympathy; Delos and no other is
Apollo's chosen seat: but the second part is as
xxxvi
INTRODUCTION
definitely continental; Delos is ignored and Delphi
alone is the important centre of Apollo's worship.
From this it is clear that the two parts need not be
of one date-The first, indeed, is ascribed (Scholiast
on Pindar Nem. ii, 2) to Cynaethus of Chios (A. 504
B.C.), a date which is obviously far too low; general
considerations point rather to the eighth century.
The second part is not later than 600 в.c.; for (1) the
chariot-races at Pytho, which commenced in 586 B.C.,
are unknown to the writer of the hymn, (2) the temple
built by Trophonius and Agamedes for Apollo (11.
294-299) seems to have been still standing when the
hymn was written, and this temple was burned in
548. We may at least be sure that the first part is
a Chian work, and that the second was composed by a
continental poet familiar with Delphi.
The Hymn to Hermes differs from others in its
burlesque, quasi-comic character, and it is also the
best-known of the Hymns to English readers in
consequence of Shelley's translation.
After a brief narrative of the birth of Hermes,
the author goes on to show how he won a place
among the gods. First the new-born child found a
tortoise and from its shell contrived the lyre; next,
with much cunning circumstance, he stole Apollo's
cattle and, when charged with the theft by Apollo,
forced that god to appear in undignified guise before
the tribunal of Zeus. Zeus seeks to reconcile the pair,
and Hermes by the gift of the lyre wins Apollo's
friendship and purchases various prerogatives, a share
in divination, the lordship of herds and animals,
and the office of messenger from the gods to Hades.
The hymn is hard to date. Hermes' lyre has
seven strings and the invention of the seven-stringed
Xxxvii
INTRODUCTION
lyre is ascribed to Terpander (flor. 676 B.c.). The
hymn must therefore be later than that date, though
Terpander, according to Weir Smyth,¹ may have only
modified the scale of the lyre; yet while the burlesque
character precludes an early date, this feature is far
removed, as Allen and Sikes remark, from the silliness
of the Battle of the Frogs and Mice, so that a date in
the earlier part of the sixth century is most probable.
The Hymn to Aphrodite is not the least remarkable,
from a literary point of view, of the whole collection,
exhibiting as it does in a masterly manner a divine
being as the unwilling victim of an irresistible force.
It tells how all creatures, and even the gods them-
selves, are subject to the will of Aphrodite, saving only
Artemis, Athena, and Hestia; how Zeus to humble her
pride of power caused her to love a mortal, Anchises;
and how the goddess visited the hero upon Mt. Ida.
A comparison of this work with the Lay of Demodocus
(Odyssey viii, 266 ff.), which is superficially similar, will
show how far superior is the former in which the
goddess is but a victim to forces stronger than herself.
The lines (247-255) in which Aphrodite tells of her
humiliation and grief are specially noteworthy.
There are only general indications of date. The
influence of Hesiod is clear, and the hymn has almost
certainly been used by the author of the Hymn to
Demeter, so that the date must lie between these two
periods, and the seventh century seems to be the
latest date possible.
The Hymn to Dionysus relates how the god was
seized by pirates and how with many manifestations
of power he avenged himself on them by turning them
into dolphins. The date is widely disputed, for while
1 Greek Melic Poets, p. 165.
Xxxviii
INTRODUCTION
Ludwich believes it to be a work of the fourth or
third century, Allen and Sikes consider a sixth or
seventh century date to be possible. The story is
figured in a different form on the reliefs from the
choragic monument of Lysicrates, now in the British
Museum.
Very different in character is the Hymn to Ares,
which is Orphic in character. The writer, after
lauding the god by detailing his attributes, prays to
be delivered from feebleness and weakness of soul,
as also from impulses to wanton and brutal violence.
The only other considerable hymn is that to Pan,
which describes how he roams hunting among the
mountains and thickets and streams, how he makes
music at dusk while returning from the chase, and
how he joins in dancing with the nymphs who sing
the story of his birth. This, beyond most works of
Greek literature, is remarkable for its fresh and
spontaneous love of wild natural scenes.
The remaining hymns are mostly of the briefest
compass, merely hailing the god to be celebrated and
mentioning his chief attributes. The Hymns to
Hermes (xvii) to the Dioscuri (xvii) and to Demeter
(xiii) are mere abstracts of the longer hymns iv,
xxxiii, and ii.
The Epigrams of Homer
The Epigrams of Homer are derived from the
pseudo-Herodotean Life of Homer, but many of them
occur in other documents such as the Contest of
Homer and Hesiod, or are quoted by various ancient
authors. These poetic fragments clearly antedate
the "Life" itself, which seems to have been so written
xxxix
INTRODUCTION
round them as to supply appropriate occasions for
their composition. Epigram iii. on Midas of Larissa
was otherwise attributed to Cleobulus of Lindus, one
of the Seven Sages; the address to Glaucus (xi) is
purely Hesiodic; xiii, according to MM. Croiset, is a
fragment from a gnomic poem. Epigram xiv is a
curious poem attributed on no very obvious grounds
to Hesiod by Julius Pollux. In it the poet invokes
Athena to protect certain potters and their craft, if
they will, according to promise, give him a reward for
his song; if they prove false, malignant gnomes are
invoked to wreck the kiln and hurt the potters.
The Burlesque Poems
To Homer were popularly ascribed certain bur-
lesque poems in which Aristotle (Poetics iv) saw
the germ of comedy. Most interesting of these,
were it extant, would be the Margites. The hero of
the epic is at once sciolist and simpleton, "knowing
many things, but knowing them all badly." It is
unfortunately impossible to trace the plan of the
poem, which presumably detailed the adventures of
this unheroic character: the metre used was a
curious mixture of hexametric and iambic lines.
The date of such a work cannot be high: Croiset
thinks it may belong to the period of Archilochus
(c. 650 B.c.), but it may well be somewhat later.
Another poem, of which we know even less, is the
Cercopes. These Cercopes (" Monkey-Men") were a
pair of malignant dwarfs who went about the world
mischief-making. Their punishment by Heracles
is represented on one of the earlier metopes from
Selinus. It would be idle to speculate as to the date
of this work.
xl
INTRODUCTION
Finally there is the Battle of the Frogs and Mice.
Here is told the story of the quarrel which arose
between the two tribes, and how they fought, until
Zeus sent crabs to break up the battle. It is a
parody of the warlike epic, but has little in it that is
really comic or of literary merit, except perhaps the
list of quaint arms assumed by the warriors. The
text of the poem is in a chaotic condition, and there
are many interpolations, some of Byzantine date.
Though popularly ascribed to Homer, its real
author is said by Suidas to have been Pigres, a
Carian, brother of Artemisia, "wife of Mausolus,"
who distinguished herself at the battle of Salamis.
Suidas is confusing the two Artemisias, but he may
be right in attributing the poem to about 480 B.C.
The Contest of Homer and Hesiod
This curious work dates in its present form from
the lifetime or shortly after the death of Hadrian,
but seems to be based in part on an earlier version
by the sophist Alcidamas (c. 400 B.C.). Plutarch
(Conviv. Sept. Sap., 40) uses an earlier (or at least a
shorter) version than that which we possess. The
extant Contest, however, has clearly combined with
the original document much other ill-digested matter
on the life and descent of Homer, probably drawing
on the same general sources as does the Herodotean
Life of Homer. Its scope is as follows: (1) the descent
(as variously reported) and relative dates of Homer
1 Cp. Marckscheffel, Hesiodi fragmenta, p. 35. The papyrus
fragment recovered by Petrie (Petrie Papyri, ed. Mahaffy,
70, No. xxv.) agrees essentially with the extant document,
but differs in numerous minor textual points.
p.
xli
INTRODUCTION
and Hesiod; (2) their poetical contest at Chalcis;
(3) the death of Hesiod; (4) the wanderings and
fortunes of Homer, with brief notices of the circum-
stances under which his reputed works were com-
posed, down to the time of his death.
The whole tract is, of course, mere romance; its
only values are (1) the insight it gives into ancient
speculations about Homer; (2) a certain amount of
definite information about the Cyclic poems; and
(3) the epic fragments included in the stichomythia
of the Contest proper, many of which-did we possess
the clue-would have to be referred to poems of the
Epic Cycle.
xli
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HESIOD.-The classification and numeration of MSS. here
followed is that of Rzach (1913). It is only necessary to add
that on the whole the recovery of Hesiodic papyri goes to
confirm the authority of the mediaeval MSS. At the same
time these fragments have produced much that is interesting
and valuable, such as the new lines, Works and Days
169 a-d, and the improved readings ib. 278, Theogony
91, 93. Our chief gains from the papyri are the numerous
and excellent fragments of the Catalogues which have been
recovered.
Works and Days :-
S Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1090.
A Vienna, Rainer Papyri L.P. 21-9 (4th cent.).
B Geneva, Naville Papyri Pap. 94 (6th cent.).
C Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2771 (11th cent.).
D Florence, Laur. xxxi 39 (12th cent.).
E Messina, Univ. Lib. Preexistens 11 (12th-13th cent.).
F Rome, Vatican 38 (14th cent.).
G Venice, Marc. ix 6 (14th cent.).
H Florence, Laur. xxxi 37 (14th cent.).
I
"2
""
""
99
xxxii 16 (13th cent.).
xxxii 2 (14th cent.).
K
L Milan, Ambros. G 32 sup. (14th cent.).
M Florence, Bibl. Riccardiana 71 (15th cent.).
N Milan, Ambros. J 15 sup. (15th cent.).
O Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2773 (14th cent.).
P Cambridge, Trinity College (Gale MS.), O. 9. 27 (13th-14th
cent.).
Q Rome, Vatican 1332 (14th cent.).
These MSS. are divided by Rzach into the following
families, issuing from a common original:-
:-
Qa -
ab
C
= FGH
Ya = D
yb = IKLM
фа = E
+b =
NOPQ
xliii
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Theogony :-
N Manchester, Rylands GK. Papyri No. 54 (1st cent. B.C.-
1st cent. A.D.).
O Oxyrhynchus Papyri 873 (3rd cent.).
A Paris, Bibl. Nat. Suppl. Graec. (papyrus) 1099 (4th-
5th cent.).
B London, British Museum clix (4th cent.).
R Vienna, Rainer Papyri L. P. 21-9 (4th cent.).
C Paris, Bibl. Nat. Suppl. Graec. 663 (12th cent.).
D Florence, Laur. xxxii 16 (13th cent.).
E
""
999
Conv. suppr. 158 (14th cent.).
F Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2833 (15th cent.).
G Rome, Vatican 915 (14th cent.).
H Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2772 (14th cent.).
Florence, Laur. xxxi 32 (15th cent.).
I
K Venice, Marc. ix 6 (15th cent.).
L
Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2708 (15th cent.).
These MSS. are divided into two families:
Ωα -
CD ab EF Oc:
=
Shield of Heracles:-
=
GHI
P Oxyrhynchus Papyri 689 (2nd cent.).
Y = KL
I
A Vienna, Rainer Papyri L.P. 21-29 (4th cent.).
Q Berlin Papyri, 9774 (1st cent.).
B Paris, Bibl. Nat., Suppl. Graec. 663 (12th cent.).
D Milan, Ambros. C 222 (13th cent.).
E Florence, Laur. xxxii 16 (13th cent.).
F Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2773 (14th cent.).
2772 (14th cent.).
H Florence, Laur. xxxi 32 (15th cent.).
G
I
99
""
99
(12th cent.).
London, British Museum Harleianus (14th cent.).
K Rome, Bibl. Casanat. 356 (14th cent.).
L Florence, Laur. Conv. suppr. 158 (14th cent.).
M Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2833 (15th cent.).
These MSS belong to two families :
na= BCDF ab: = GHI
Ya E yb = KLM
==
To these must be added two MSS. of mixed family:
N Venice, Marc. ix 6 (14th cent.).
O Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2708 (15th cent.).
xliv
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Editions of Hesiod:
Demetrius Chalcondyles, Milan (?) 1493 (?) (editio princeps,
containing, however, only the Works and Days).
Aldus Manutius (Aldine edition), Venice, 1495 (complete
works).
Juntine Editions, 1515 and 1540.
Trincavelli, Venice, 1537 (with scholia).
Of modern editions the following may be noticed :-
:-
Gaisford, Oxford, 1814-1820; Leipzig, 1823 (with scholia:
in Poett. Graec. Minn II).
Goettling, Gotha, 1831 (3rd edition, Leipzig 1878).
Didot Edition, Paris, 1840.
Schömann, 1869.
Koechly and Kinkel, Leipzig, 1870.
Flach, Leipzig, 1874-8.
Rzach, Leipzig, 1902 (larger edition), 1913 (smaller edition).
On the Hesiodic poems generally the ordinary Histories of
Greek Literature may be consulted, but especially the Hist.
de la Littérature Grecque I pp. 459 ff. of MM. Croiset. The
summary account in Prof. Murray's Anc. Gk. Lit. is written
with a strong sceptical bias. Very valuable is the appendix
to Mair's translation (Oxford, 1908) on The Farmer's Year in
Hesiod. Recent work on the Hesiodic poems is reviewed in
full by Rzach in Bursian's Jahresberichte vols. 100 (1899) and
152 (1911).
For the Fragments of Hesiodic poems the work of
Markscheffel, Hesiodi Fragmenta (Leipzig, 1840), is most
valuable important also is Kinkel's Epicorum Graecorum
Fragmenta I (Leipzig, 1877) and the editions of Rzach
noticed above. For recently discovered papyrus fragments
see Wilamowitz, Neue Bruchstücke d. Hesiod Katalog
(Sitzungsb. der k. preuss. Akad. für Wissenschaft, 1900, pp.
839-851.) A list of the papyri belonging to lost Hesiodic
works may here be added: all are from the Catalogues.
(1) Berlin Papyri 7497¹ (2nd cent.).
(2) Oxyrhynchus Papyri 421 (2nd cent.).} Frag. 7.
1 See Schubart, Berl. Klassikertexte v. 1. 22 ff.; the other
papyri may be found in the publications whose name they
bear.
xlv
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(3) Petrie Papyri iii 3.
Frag.
(4) Papiri greci e latine. No. 130 (2nd to 3rd cent.)Ì 14.
(5) Strassburg Papyri, 55 (2nd cent.) Frag. 58.
(6) Berlin Papyri 9739¹ (2nd cent.)
(7)
(8)
""
39
10560 (3rd cent.) Frag. 58.
97771 (4th cent.) Frag. 98.
(9) Papiri greci e latine, No. 131 (2nd-3rd cent.) Frag. 99.
(10) Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358-9.
The Homeric Hymns:-The text of the Homeric hymns is
distinctly bad in condition, a fact which may be attributed
to the general neglect under which they seem to have
laboured at all periods previously to the Revival of Learning.
Very many defects have been corrected by the various
editions of the Hymns, but a considerable number still defy
all efforts; and especially an abnormal number of undoubted
lacunae disfigure the text. Unfortunately no papyrus frag-
ment of the Hymns has yet emerged, though one such frag-
ment (Berl. Klassikertexte v. 1. pp. 7 ff.) contains a paraphrase
of a poem very closely parallel to the Hymn to Demeter.
The mediaeval MSS. are thus enumerated by Dr. T. W.
Allen :-
A Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2763.
At Athos, Vatopedi 587.
B Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2765.
C Paris, Bibl. Nat. 2833.
r Brussels, Bibl. Royale 11377-11380 (16th cent.).
D Milan, Ambros. B 98 sup.
E Modena, Estense iii E 11.
G Rome, Vatican, Regina 91 (16th cent.).
H London, British Mus. Harley 1752.
J
Modena, Estense, ii B 14.
K Florence, Laur. 31, 32.
L
L2
L3
22
99
32, 45.
,,
70, 35.
32, 4.
M Leyden (the Moscow MS.) 33 H (14th cent.).
Mon. Munich, Royal Lib. 333 c.
N Leyden, 74 c.
O Milan, Ambros. C 10 inf.
1 See note on page xlv.
2 Unless otherwise noted, all these MSS. are of the 15th
century.
!
I
xlvi
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P Rome, Vatican Pal. graec. 179.
П Paris, Bibl. Nat. Suppl. graec. 1095.
Q Milan, Ambros. S 31 sup.
R₁ Florence, Bibl. Riccard. 53 K ii 13.
52 K ii 14.
R2
99
99
S Rome, Vatican, Vaticani graec. 1880.
T Madrid, Public Library 24.
V Venice, Marc. 456.
The same scholar has traced all the MSS. back to a
common parent from which three main families are derived
(M had a separate descent and is not included in any
family) :-
x¹ = ET.
x²= LП (and more remotely) AtDSHJK.
y
=
ELIT (marginal readings).
p = ABCгGL2L³NOPQR₂R₂V Mon.
Editions of the Homeric Hymns, &c.
Demetrius Chalcondyles, Florence, 1488 (with the Epigrams
and the battle of the Frogs and Mice in the ed. pr. of
Homer).
Aldine Edition, Venice, 1504.
Juntine Edition, 1537.
Stephanus, Paris, 1566 and 1588.
More modern editions or critical works of value are:-
Martin (Variarum Lectionum libb. iv), Paris, 1605.
Barnes, Cambridge, 1711.
Ruhnken, Leyden, 1782 (Epist. Crit. and Hymn to Demeter).
Ilgen, Halle, 1796 (with Epigrams and the Battle of Frogs
and Mice).
Matthiae, Leipzig, 1806 (with the Battle of Frogs and Mice).
Hermann, Berlin, 1806 (with Epigrams).
Franke, Leipzig, 1828 (with Epigrams and the Battle of the
Frogs and Mice).
Dindorff (Didot edit ion), Paris, 1837.
Baumeister (Battle of the Frogs and Mice), Göttingen, 1852.
(Hymns), Leipzig, 1860.
Gemoll, Leipzig, 1886.
Goodwin, Oxford, 1893.
Ludwich (Battle of the Frogs and Mice), 1896.
Allen and Sikes, London, 1904.
Allen (Homeri Opera v), Oxford, 1912.
xlvii
BIBLIOGRAPHY
:
Of these editions that of Messrs Allen and Sikes is by far
the best not only is the text purged of the load of con-
jectures for which the frequent obscurities of the Hymns
offer a special opening, but the Introduction and the Notes
throughout are of the highest value. For a full discussion of
the MSS. and textual problems, reference must be made to
this edition, as also to Dr. T. W. Allen's series of articles
in the Journal of Hellenic Studies vols. xv ff. Among
translations those of J. Edgar (Edinburgh, 1891) and of
Andrew Lang (London, 1899) may be mentioned.
The Epic Cycle. The fragments of the Epic Cycle being
drawn from a variety of authors, no list of MSS. can be
given. The following collections and editions may be
mentioned :-
Muller, Leipzig, 1829.
Dindorff (Didot edition of Homer), Paris, 1837-56.
Kinkel (Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta i, Leipzig, 1877.
Allen (Homeri Opera v), Oxford, 1912.
The fullest discussion of the problems and fragments of
the epic cycle is F. G. Welcker's der epische Cyclus (Bonn,
vol. i, 1835: vol. ii, 1849: vol i, 2nd edition, 1865). The
Appendix to Monro's Homer's Odyssey xii-xxiv (pp. 340 ff.)
deals with the Cylic poets in relation to Homer, and a clear
and reasonable discussion of the subject is to be found in
Croiset's Hist. de la Littérature Grecque vol. i.
On Hesiod, the Hesiodic poems and the problems which
these offer see Rzach's most important article Hesiodos in
Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopädie xv (1912).
A discussion of the evidence for the date of Hesiod is to be
found in Journ. Hell. Stud. xxxv, 85 ff. (T. W. Allen).
Of translations of Hesiod the following may be noticed :-
The Georgicks of Hesiod, by George Chapman, London, 1618;
The Works of Hesiod translated from the Greek, by Thomas
Cooke, London, 1728; The Remains of Hesiod translated from
the Greek into English Verse, by Charles Abraham Elton; The
Works of Hesiod, Callimachus and Theognis, by the Rev. J.
Banks, M. A.; Hesiod, by Prof. James Mair, Oxford, 1908.
xlviii
HESIOD
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ ΕΡΓΑ ΚΑΙ ΗΜΕΡΑΙ
Μοῦσαι Πιερίηθεν ἀοιδῇσιν κλείουσαι
δεῦτε, Δί᾽ ἐννέπετε, σφέτερον πατέρ' ὑμνείουσαι·
ὅντε διὰ βροτοὶ ἄνδρες ὁμῶς ἄφατοί τε φατοί τε,
ῥητοί τ' ἄρρητοί τε Διὸς μεγάλοιο ἕκητι.
ῥέα μὲν γὰρ βριάει, ῥέα δὲ βριάοντα χαλέπτει,
ῥεῖα δ᾽ ἀρίζηλον μινύθει καὶ ἄδηλον ἀέξει,
ῥεῖα δέ τ' ιθύνει σκολιὸν καὶ ἀγήνορα κάρφει
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης, ὃς ὑπέρτατα δώματα ναίει.
κλύθι ἰδὼν ἀίων τε, δίκῃ δ᾽ ἴθυνε θέμιστας
τύνη· ἐγὼ δέ κε, Πέρση, ἐτήτυμα μυθησαίμην.
Οὐκ ἄρα μοῦνον ἔην Ερίδων γένος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ
γαλαν
εἰσὶ δύω· τὴν μέν κεν ἐπαινέσειε νοήσας,
ἡ δ᾽ ἐπιμωμητή· διὰ δ᾽ ἄνδιχα θυμὸν ἔχουσιν.
ἢ μὲν γὰρ πόλεμόν τε κακὸν καὶ δῆριν ὀφέλλει,
σχετλίη· οὔτις τήν γε φιλεῖ βροτός, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπ᾽
ἀνάγκης
ἀθανάτων βουλῇσιν Ἔριν τιμῶσι βαρείαν.
τὴν δ᾽ ἑτέρην προτέρην μὲν ἐγείνατο Νὺξ
ἐρεβεννή,
θῆκε δέ μιν Κρονίδης ὑψίζυγος, αἰθέρι ναίων,
γαίης ἐν ῥίζῃσι, καὶ ἀνδράσι πολλὸν ἀμείνω·
ἥτε καὶ ἀπάλαμόν περ ὁμῶς ἐπὶ ἔργον ἔγειρεν.
5
10
15
20
2
HESIOD'S WORKS AND DAYS
MUSES of Pieria who give glory through song,
come hither, tell of Zeus your father and chant his
praise. Through him mortal men are famed or un-
famed, sung or unsung alike, as great Zeus wills
For easily he makes strong, and easily he brings
the strong man low easily he humbles the proud
and raises the obscure, and easily he straightens the
crooked and blasts the proud, Zeus who thunders
aloft and has his dwelling most high. Attend thou
with eye and ear, and make judgements straight
with righteousness. And I, Perses, would tell of
true things
So, after all, there was not one kind of Strife
alone, but all over the earth there are two. As for
the one, a man would praise her when he came to
understand her; but the other is blameworthy and
they are wholly different in nature. For one fosters
evil war and battle, being cruel; her no man loves;
but perforce, through the will of the deathless gods,
men pay harsh Strife her honour due, But the other
is the elder daughter of dark Night, and the son of
Cronos who sits above and dwells in the aether, set
her in the roots of the earth: and she is far kinder to
men. She stirs up even the shiftless to toil; for a
3
B 2
HESIOD
εἰς ἕτερον γάρ τίς τε ἰδὼν ἔργοιο χατίζει 1
πλούσιον, ὃς σπεύδει μὲν ἀρώμεναι ἠδὲ φυτεύειν
οἰκόν τ' εὖ θέσθαι· ζηλοῖ δέ τε γείτονα γείτων
εἰς ἄφενος σπεύδοντ᾽ ἀγαθὴ δ' Ἔρις ἥδε
βροτοῖσιν.
καὶ κεραμεὺς κεραμεί κοτέει καὶ τέκτονι τέκτων,
καὶ πτωχὸς πτωχῷ φθονέει καὶ ἀοιδὸς ἀοιδῷ.
Ω Πέρση, σὺ δὲ ταῦτα τεῷ ἐνικάτθεο θυμῷ,
μηδέ σ' Ἔρις κακόχαρτος ἀπ᾽ ἔργου θυμὸν ἐρύκοι
νείκε᾽ ὀπιπεύοντ᾽ ἀγορῆς ἐπακουὸν ἐόντα.
ὤρη γάρ τ' ὀλίγη πέλεται νεικέων τ᾿ ἀγορέων τε,
ᾧτινι μὴ βίος ἔνδον ἐπηετανὸς κατάκειται
ὡραῖος, τὸν γαῖα φέρει, Δημήτερος ἀκτήν.
τοῦ κε κορεσσάμενος νείκεα καὶ δῆριν ὀφέλλοις
κτήμασ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀλλοτρίοις· σοὶ δ᾽ οὐκέτι δεύτερον
ἔσται
ὧδ᾽ ἔρδειν· ἀλλ᾽ αὖθι διακρινώμεθα νεῖκος
ἰθείῃσι δίκῃς, αἵ τ᾽ ἐκ Διός εἰσιν ἄρισται.
ἤδη μὲν γὰρ κλῆρον ἐδασσάμεθ', ἀλλὰ τὰ πολλὰ
ἁρπάζων ἐφόρεις μέγα κυδαίνων βασιλήας
δωροφάγους, οἳ τήνδε δίκην ἐθέλουσι δίκασσαι.
νήπιοι, οὐδὲ ἴσασιν ὅσῳ πλέον ἥμισυ παντὸς
οὐδ᾽ ὅσον ἐν μαλάχῃ τε καὶ ἀσφοδέλω μέγ' ὄνειαρ.
Κρύψαντες γὰρ ἔχουσι θεοὶ βίον ἀνθρώποισιν·
ῥηιδίως γάρ κεν καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἤματι ἐργάσσαιο,
ὥστε σε κεἰς ἐνιαυτὸν ἔχειν καὶ ἀεργὸν ἐόντα·
αἶψά κε πηδάλιον μὲν ὑπὲρ καπνοῦ καταθεῖο,
ἔργα βοῶν δ᾽ ἀπόλοιτο καὶ ἡμιόνων ταλαεργῶν.
ἀλλὰ Ζεὺς ἔκρυψε χολωσάμενος φρεσὶν ᾗσιν,
ὅττι μιν ἐξαπάτησε Προμηθεὺς ἀγκυλομήτης
τοὔνεκ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν ἐμήσατο κήδεα λυγρά.
1 CF: χατίζων, other MSS. 2 Guyet: ἄλλα τε, MSS.
25
30
35
35
40
45
4
WORKS AND DAYS
man grows eager to work when he considers his
neighbour, a rich man who hastens to plough and
plant and put his house in good order; and neighbour
vies with his neighbour as he hurries after wealth.
This Strife is wholesome for men. And potter is angry
with potter, and craftsman with craftsman, and beggar
is jealous of beggar, and minstrel of minstrel.
and
Perses, lay up these things in your heart, and do
not let that Strife who delights in mischief hold your
heart back from work, while you peep
and peer
listen to the wrangles of the court-house, Little con-
cern has he with quarrels and courts who has not a
year's victuals laid up betimes, even that which the
earth bears, Demeter's grain. When you have got
plenty of that, you can raise disputes and strive to
get another's goods, But you shall have no second
chance to deal so again; nay, let us settle our dis-
pute here with true judgement which is of Zeus and
is perfect. For we had already divided our inherit-
ance, but you seized the greater share and carried
it off, greatly swelling the glory of our bribe-swallow
ing lords who love to judge such a cause as this.
Fools! They know not how much more the half is
than the whole, nor what great advantage there is
in mallow and asphodel.¹
For the gods keep hidden from men the means of
life. Else you would easily do work enough in a day to
supply you for a full year even without working soon
would you put away your rudder over the smoke,
and the fields worked by ox and sturdy mule would
run to waste. But Zeus in the anger of his heart
hid it, because Prometheus the crafty deceived him;
therefore he planned sorrow and mischief against
1 That is, the poor man's fare, like "bread and cheese."
5
HESIOD
κρύψε δὲ πῦρ· τὸ μὲν αὖτις ἐὺς πάις Ιαπετοῖο
ἔκλεψ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι Διὸς πάρα μητιόεντος
ἐν κοΐλῳ νάρθηκι λαθὼν Δία τερπικέραυνον.
τὸν δὲ χολωσάμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζευς
Ιαπετιονίδη, πάντων πέρι μήδεα ειδώς,
50
χαίρεις πῦρ κλέψας καὶ ἐμὰς φρένας ἠπεροπεύσας, 55
σοί τ᾽ αὐτῷ μέγα πῆμα καὶ ἀνδράσιν ἐσσομένοισιν.
τοῖς δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἀντὶ πυρὸς δώσω κακόν, ᾧ κεν
ἅπαντες
τέρπωνται κατὰ θυμὸν ἑὸν κακὸν ἀμφαγαπώντες.
Ὣς ἔφατ'· ἐκ δ᾽ ἐγέλασσε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε
θεῶν τε.
"
εκειν
Ηφαιστον δ᾽ ἐκέλευσε περικλυτὸν ὅττι τάχιστα 60
γαῖαν ὕδει φύρειν, ἐν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπου θέμεν αὐλὴν
καὶ σθένος, ἀθανάτῃς δὲ θεῇς εἰς ὦπα εἶσκ
παρθενικῆς καλὸν εἶδος ἐπήρατον· αὐτὰρ Αθήνην
ἔργα διδασκῆσαι, πολυδαίδαλον ἱστὸν ὑφαίνειν·
καὶ χάριν ἀμφιχέαι κεφαλῇ χρυσέην Αφροδίτην
καὶ πόθον ἀργαλέον καὶ γυιοκόρους μελεδώνας
ἐν δὲ θέμεν κύνεόν τε νόον καὶ ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος
Ερμείην ἤνωγε, διάκτορον Αργειφόντην.
Ως ἔφαθ'· οἳ δ᾽ ἐπίθοντο Διὶ Κρονίωνι ἄνακτι.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἐκ γαίης πλάσσεν κλυτὸς ᾿Αμφιγυήεις
παρθένῳ αἰδοίῃ ἔκελον Κρονίδεω διὰ βουλάς
ζῶσε δὲ καὶ κόσμησε θεὰ γλαυκώπις Αθήνη·
ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ Χάριτές τε θεαὶ καὶ πότνια Πείθὼ
ὅρμους χρυσείους ἔθεσαν χροΐ· ἀμφὶ δὲ τήν γε
Ωραι καλλίκομοι στέφον ἄνθεσιν εἰαρινοῖσιν·
[πάντα δέ οἱ χροῒ κόσμον ἐφήρμοσε Παλλὰς
᾿Αθήνη.]
ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα οἱ στήθεσσι διάκτορος Αργειφόντης
ψεύδεά θ' αἱμυλίους τε λόγους καὶ ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος
65
70
75
6
WORKS AND DAYS
men. He hid fire; but that the noble son of
Iapetus stole again for men from Zeus the counsellor
in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who delights
in thunder did not see it. But afterwards Zeus who
gathers the clouds said to him in anger :
"Son of Iapetus, surpassing all in cunning, you
are glad that you have outwitted me and stolen fire
-a great plague to you yourself and to men that
shall be. But I will give men as the price for fire
an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart
while they embrace their own destruction"
So said the father of men and gods, and laughed
aloud. And he bade famous Hephaestus make haste
and mix earth with water and to put in it the voice
and strength of human kind, and fashion a sweet,
lovely maiden-shape, like to the immortal goddesses
in face and Athene to teach her needlework and
the weaving of the varied web; and golden Aphro-
dite to shed grace upon her head and cruel longing
and cares that weary the limb And he charged
Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argus, to put in
her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature
So he ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus
the son of Cronos, Forthwith the famous Lame God
moulded clay in the likeness of a modest maid, as the
son of Cronos purposed. And the goddess bright-
eyed Athene girded and clothed her, and the divine
Graces and queenly Persuasion put necklaces of gold
upon her, and the rich-haired Hours crowned her
head with spring flowers. And Pallas Athene
bedecked her form with all manner of finery. Also
the Guide, the Slayer of Argus, contrived within her
lies and crafty words and a deceitful nature at the
7
HESIOD
[τευξε Διὸς βουλῇσι βαρυκτύπου· ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα
φωνὴν]
θῆκε θεῶν κῆρυξ, ὀνόμηνε δὲ τήνδε γυναῖκα
Πανδώρην, ὅτι πάντες Ολύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες
δῶρον ἐδώρησαν, πῆμ᾽ ἀνδράσιν ἀλφηστῇσιν.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δόλον αἰπὺν ἀμήχανον ἐξετέλεσσεν,
εἰς Ἐπιμηθέα πέμπε πατὴρ κλυτὸν ᾿Αργεϊφόντην
δῶρον ἄγοντα, θεῶν ταχὺν ἄγγελον· οὐδ᾽ Επι-
μηθεὺς
ἐφράσαθ᾽, ὡς οἱ ἔειπε Προμηθεὺς μή ποτε δῶρον
δέξασθαι πὰρ Ζηνὸς Ολυμπίου, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπέμπειν
ἐξοπίσω, μή πού τι κακὸν θνητοῖσι γένηται.
αὐτὰρ ὃ δεξάμενος, ὅτε δὴ κακὸν εἶχ᾽, ἐνόησεν.
80
85
Πρὶν μὲν γὰρ ζώεσκον ἐπὶ χθονὶ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων 90
νόσφιν ἄτερ τε κακῶν καὶ ἄτερ χαλεποῖο πόνοιο
νούσων τ᾿ ἀργαλέων, αἵ τ᾽ ἀνδράσι Κῆρας ἔδωκαν.
[αἶψα γὰρ ἐν κακότητι βροτοὶ καταγηράσκουσιν.]
ἀλλὰ γυνὴ χείρεσσι πίθου μέγα πῶμ᾽ ἀφελοῦσα
ἐσκέδασ᾽· ἀνθρώποισι δ᾽ ἐμήσατο κήδεα λυγρά.
μούνη δ' αὐτόθι Ἐλπὶς ἐν ἀρρήκτοισι δόμοισιν
ἔνδον ἔμιμνε πίθου ὑπὸ χείλεσιν, οὐδὲ θύραζε
ἐξέπτη· πρόσθεν γὰρ ἐπέλλαβει πῶμα πίθοιο
[αἰγιόχου βουλῇσι Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο.]
95
ἄλλα δὲ μυρία λυγρὰ κατ᾽ ἀνθρώπους ἀλάληται· 100
πλείη μὲν γὰρ γαῖα κακῶν, πλείη δὲ θάλασσα·
νοῦσοι δ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν ἐφ' ἡμέρῃ, αἳ δ' ἐπὶ νυκτὶ
αὐτόματοι φοιτῶσι κακὰ θνητοῖσι φέρουσαι
σιγῇ, ἐπεὶ φωνὴν ἐξείλετο μητίετα Ζεύς.
οὕτως οὔτι πη ἔστι Διὸς νόον ἐξαλέασθαι.
1 CHK and Plutarch: ἐπέλαβε, DFIL: ἐπέμβαλε,
EHNOPQ.
105
8
WORKS AND DAYS
will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the
gods put speech in her. And he called this woman
Pandora,¹ because all they who dwelt on Olympus
gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread.
But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless
snare, the Father sent glorious Argus-Slayer, the
swift messenger of the gods, to take it to Epimetheus
as a gift And Epimetheus did not think on what
Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take
a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to send it back for
fear it might prove to be something harmful to men.
But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil
thing was already his, he understood
For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth
remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy
sicknesses which bring the Fates upon men; for in
misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took
off the great lid of the jar 2 with her hands and
scattered all these and her thought caused sorrow
and mischief to men Only Hope remained there
in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the
great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere
that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of
Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds, But
the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men;
for earth is full of evils and the sea is full
themselves diseases come upon men continually by
day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals
silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them.
So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus.
1 The All-endowed.
Of
2 The jar or casket contained the gifts of the gods men-
tioned in 1. 82.
9
HESIOD
Εἰ δ᾽ ἐθέλεις, ἕτερόν τοι ἐγὼ λόγον ἐκκορυφώσω
εὖ καὶ ἐπισταμένως· σὺ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν.
ὡς ὁμόθεν γεγάασι θεοὶ θνητοί τ᾽ ἄνθρωποι.
Χρύσεον μὲν πρώτιστα γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώ-
πων
ἀθάνατοι ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες.
οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ Κρόνου ἦσαν, ὅτ' οὐρανῷ ἐμβασίλευεν·
ὥστε θεοὶ δ᾽ ἔζωον ἀκηδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντες
νόσφιν ἄτερ τε πόνων καὶ ὀιζύος· οὐδέ τι δειλὸν
γῆρας ἐπῆν, αἰεὶ δὲ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ὁμοῖοι
τέρποντ᾽ ἐν θαλίῃσι κακῶν ἔκτοσθεν ἁπάντων·
θνῇσκον δ᾽ ὥσθ᾽ ὕπνῳ δεδμημένοι· ἐσθλὰ δὲ πάντα
τοῖσιν ἔην· καρπὸν δ᾽ ἔφερε ζείδωρος ἄρουρα
αὐτομάτη πολλόν τε καὶ ἄφθονον· οἳ δ᾽ ἐθελημοὶ
ἥσυχοι ἔργ᾽ ἐνέμοντο σὺν ἐσθλοῖσιν πολέεσσιν.
ἀφνειοὶ μήλοισι, φίλοι μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τοῦτο γένος κατὰ γαῖ᾽ ἐκάλυψε,
τοὶ μὲν δαίμονες ἁγνοὶ ἐπιχθόνιοι καλέονται 1
ἐσθλοί, ἀλεξίκακοι, φύλακες θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
[οἵ ῥα φυλάσσουσίν τε δίκας καὶ σχέτλια ἔργα
ἠέρα ἑσσάμενοι πάντη φοιτῶντες ἐπ᾽ αἶαν,]
πλουτοδόται· καὶ τοῦτο γέρας βασιλήιον ἔσχον—,
δεύτερον αὖτε γένος πολὺ χειρότερον μετόπισθεν
ἀργύρεον ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντες,
χρυσέῳ οὔτε φυὴν ἐναλίγκιον οὔτε νόημα.
ἀλλ᾽ ἑκατὸν μὲν παῖς ἔτεα παρὰ μητέρι κεδνῇ
ἐτρέφετ᾽ ἀτάλλων, μέγα νήπιος, ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἡβήσαι τε καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοιτο,
1 ἁγνοὶ, καλεονται, Plato (Cratylus), Aristeides, Olympio-
dorus, Theodoret. ἐπιχθόνιοι Plato (Repub.), Olymp., Theod.:
the MSS. read εἰσι Διὸς μεγάλου διὰ βουλάς.
2 Plato, Aristeides, Themistius and others: ἐπιχθόνιοι, MSS.
110
115
120
125
130
ΤΟ
WORKS AND DAYS
Or if you will, I will sum you up another tale
well and skilfully-and do you lay it up in your
heart, how the gods and mortal men sprang from
one source.
First of all the deathless gods who dwell on
Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who
lived in the time of Cronos when he was reigning in
heaven. And they lived like gods without sorrow
of heart, remote and free from toil and grief:
miserable age rested not on them; but with legs and
arms never failing they made merry with feasting
beyond the reach of all evils. When they died, it was
as though they were overcome with sleep, and they
had all good things; for the fruitful earth unforced
bare them fruit abundantly and without stint. They
dwelt in ease and peace upon their lands with
many good things, rich in flocks and loved by the
blessed gods
But after the earth had covered this generation-
they are called pure spirits dwelling on the earth, and
are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of
mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth,
clothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and
cruel deeds, givers of wealth; for this royal right
also they received; then they who dwell on
Olympus made a second generation which was
of silver and less noble by far, It was like the
golden race neither in body nor in spirit. A child was
brought up at his good mother's side an hundred
years, an utter simpleton, playing childishly in his
own home. But when they were full grown and
were come to the full measure of their prime, they
I!
HESIOD
παυρίδιον ζώεσκον ἐπὶ χρόνον, ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντες
ἀφραδίῃς· ὕβριν γὰρ ἀτάσθαλον οὐκ ἐδύναντο
ἀλλήλων ἀπέχειν, οὐδ᾽ ἀθανάτους θεραπεύειν
ἤθελον οὐδ᾽ ἔρδειν μακάρων ἱεροῖς ἐπὶ βωμοῖς,
ἢ θέμις ἀνθρώποις κατὰ ἤθεα. τοὺς μὲν ἔπειτα
Ζεὺς Κρονίδης ἔκρυψε χολούμενος, οἵνεκα τιμὰς
οὐκ ἔδιδον μακάρεσσι θεοῖς, οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτο γένος κατὰ γαῖ᾽ ἐκά-
λυψε,
τοὶ μὲν ὑποχθόνιοι μάκαρες θνητοῖς καλέονται,
δεύτεροι, ἀλλ' ἔμπης τιμὴ καὶ τοῖσιν ὀπηδεῖ,
Ζεὺς δὲ πατὴρ τρίτον ἄλλο γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώ-
πων
135
140
145
χάλκειον ποίησ᾽, οὐκ ἀργυρέῳ οὐδὲν ὁμοῖον,
ἐκ μελιᾶν, δεινόν τε καὶ ὄβριμον· οἷσιν Αρηος
ἔργ᾽ ἔμελεν στονόεντα καὶ ὕβριες· οὐδέ τι σῖτον
ἤσθιον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀδάμαντος ἔχον κρατερόφρονα θυμόν,
ἄπλαστοι· μεγάλη δὲ βίη καὶ χεῖρες ἄαπτοι
ἐξ ὤμων ἐπέφυκον ἐπὶ στιβαροῖσι μέλεσσιν.
τῶν δ᾽ ἦν χάλκεα μὲν τεύχεα, χάλκεοι δέ τε οἶκοι 150
χαλκῷ δ' εἰργάζοντο· μέλας δ᾽ οὐκ ἔσκε σίδηρος.
καὶ τοὶ μὲν χείρεσσιν ὕπο σφετέρῃσι δαμέντες
βῆσαν ἐς εὐρώεντα δόμον κρυεροῦ ᾿Αίδαο
νώνυμνοι· θάνατος δὲ καὶ ἐκπάγλους περ εόντας
εἷλε μέλας, λαμπρὸν δ᾽ ἔλιπον φάος ήελίοιο.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτο γένος κατὰ γαῖ᾽ ἐκάλυψεν,
αὖτις ἔτ᾽ ἄλλο τέταρτον ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ
Ζεὺς Κρονίδης ποίησε, δικαιότερον καὶ ἄρειον,
155
12
WORKS AND DAYS
lived only a little time and that in sorrow because of
their foolishness, for they could not keep from
sinning and from wronging one another, nor would
they serve the immortals, nor sacrifice on the holy
altars of the blessed ones as it is right for men to do
wherever they dwell. Then Zeus the son of Cronos
was angry and put them away, because they would
not give honour to the blessed gods who live on
Olympus.
But when earth had covered this generation also
-they are called blessed spirits of the underworld
by men, and, though they are of second order, yet
honour attends them also-Zeus the Father made a
third generation of mortal men, a brazen race, sprung
from ash-trees¹ and it was in no way equal to the
silver age, but was terrible and strong They loved
the lamentable works of Ares and deeds of violence;
they ate no bread, but were hard of heart like
adamant, fearful men. Great was their strength
and unconquerable the arms which grew from their
shoulders on their strong limbs. Their armour was
of bronze, and their houses of bronze, and of bronze
were their implements; there was no black iron
These were destroyed by their own hands and passed
to the dank house of chill Hades, and left no name :
terrible though they were, black Death seized them,
and they left the bright light of the sun☛
But when earth had covered this generation also,
Zeus the son of Cronos made yet another, the fourth,
upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and more
1 Eustathius refers to Hesiod as stating that men sprung
"from oaks and stones and ashtrees." Proclus believed that
the Nymphs called Meliae (Theogony, 187) are intended.
Goettling would render: "A race terrible because of their
(ashen) spears."
13
HESIOD
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων θεῖον γένος, οἳ καλέονται
ἡμίθεοι, προτέρη γενεὴ κατ᾽ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν πόλεμός τε κακὸς καὶ φύλοπις αἰνή,
τοὺς μὲν ὑφ᾽ ἑπταπύλῳ Θήβῃ, Καδμηίδι γαίῃ,
ὤλεσε μαρναμένους μήλων ἕνεκ' Οιδιπόδαο,
τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐν νήεσσιν ὑπὲρ μέγα λαῖτμα θα
λάσσης
ἐς Τροίην ἀγαγὼν Ἑλένης ἕνεκ᾽ ἠυκόμοιο.
ἔνθ᾽ ἤτοι τοὺς μὲν θανάτου τέλος ἀμφεκάλυψε,
τοῖς δὲ δίχ᾽ ἀνθρώπων βίοτον καὶ ἤθε᾽ ὀπάσσας
Ζεὺς Κρονίδης κατένασσε πατὴρ ἐς πείρατα
γαίης.
καὶ τοὶ μὲν ναίουσιν ἀκηδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντες
ἐν μακάρων νήσοισι παρ' Ὠκεανὸν βαθυδίνην,
ὄλβιοι ἥρωες, τοῖσιν μελιηδέα καρπὸν
τρὶς ἔτεος θάλλοντα φέρει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα.
τηλοῦ ἀπ᾿ ἀθανάτων· τοῖσιν Κρόνος ἐμβασι-
λεύει.1
160
165
170
173
169
τοῦ γὰρ δεσμὸν ἔλυσε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε. 169
τοῖσι δ' ὁμῶς ν]εάτοις τιμὴ καὶ κύδος ὀπηδεί. 169b
Πέμπτον δ᾽ αὖτις ἔτ᾽ ἄ]λλο γένος θῆκα [εὐρύοπα
169c
Ζεὺς
ἀνδρῶν, οἳ] γεγάασιν ἐπὶ [χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ.] 1694
Μηκέτ' ἔπειτ᾽ ὤφελλον ἐγὼ πέμπτοισι μετείναι 174
ἀνδράσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ πρόσθε θανεῖν ἢ ἔπειτα γε-
νέσθαι.
νῦν γὰρ δὴ γένος ἐστὶ σιδήρεον· οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἦμαρ
παύονται 2 καμάτου καὶ ὀιζύος, οὐδέ τι νύκτωρ
1 Preserved only by Proclus, from whom some inferior
MSS. have copied the verse. The four following lines occur
only in Geneva Papyri No. 94. For the restoration of
11. 169 b-e see Class. Quart. vii. 219-220.
2 Β: παύσονται, MSS.
175
14
WORKS AND DAYS
righteous, a god-like race of hero-men who are called
demi-gods, the race before our own, throughout the
boundless earth. Grim war and dread battle des-
troyed a part of them, some in the land of Cadmus
at seven-gated Thebe when they fought for the
flocks of Oedipus and some, when it had brought
them in ships over the great sea gulf to Troy for
rich-haired Helen's sake there death's end en-
shrouded a part of them. But to the others father Zeus
the son of Cronos gave a living and an abode apart
from men, and made them dwell at the ends of
earth, And they live untouched by sorrow in the
islands of the blessed along the shore of deep swirl-
ing Ocean, happy heroes for whom the grain-giving
earth bears honey-sweet fruit flourishing thrice a
year, far from the deathless gods, and Cronos rules
over them; for the father of men and gods released
him from his bonds. And these last equally have
honour and glory.
And again far-seeing Zeus made yet another gene-
ration, the fifth, of men who are upon the bounteous
earth.
Thereafter, would that I were not among the men
of the fifth generation, but either had died before or
been born afterwards, For now truly is a race of iron,
and men never rest from labour and sorrow by day,
and from perishing by night; and the gods shall lay
15
HESIOD
φθειρόμενοι. χαλεπὰς δὲ θεοὶ δώσουσι μερίμνας·
ἀλλ᾽ ἔμπης καὶ τοῖσι μεμείξεται ἐσθλὰ κακοῖσιν.
Ζεὺς δ᾽ ὀλέσει καὶ τοῦτο γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώ
πων,
εὖτ᾽ ἂν γεινόμενοι πολιοκρόταφοι τελέθωσιν.
οὐδὲ πατὴρ παίδεσσιν ὁμοίιος οὐδέ τι παῖδες,
οὐδὲ ξεῖνος ξεινοδόκῳ καὶ ἑταῖρος ἑταίρῳ,
οὐδὲ κασίγνητος φίλος ἔσσεται, ὡς τὸ πάρος περ.
αἶψα δὲ γηράσκοντας ἀτιμήσουσι τοκῆας·
μέμψονται δ' ἄρα τοὺς χαλεποῖς βάζοντες ἔπεσσι
σχέτλιοι οὐδὲ θεῶν ἔπιν εἰδότες· οὐδέ κεν οἵ γε
γηράντεσσι τοκεύσιν ἀπὸ θρεπτήρια δοῖεν
χειροδίκαι· ἕτερος δ᾽ ἑτέρου πόλιν ἐξαλαπάξει.
οὐδέ τις εὐόρκου χάρις ἔσσεται οὔτε δικαίου
οὔτ᾽ ἀγαθοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ κακῶν ῥεκτῆρα καὶ ὕβριν
ἀνέρες αἰνήσουσι· δίκη δ᾽ ἐν χερσί, καὶ αἰδὼς
οὐκ ἔσται· βλάψει δ᾽ ὁ κακὸς τὸν ἀρείονα φῶτα
μύθοισιν σκολιοῖς ἐνέπων, ἐπὶ δ᾽ ὅρκον ὀμεῖται.
ζῆλος δ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν ὀιζυροῖσιν ἅπασι
P
δυσκέλαδος κακόχαρτος ὁμαρτήσει, στυγερώπης.
καὶ τότε δὴ πρὸς Ολυμπον ἀπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυο-
δείης
λευκοῖσιν φάρεσσι καλυψαμένα χρόα καλόν
ἀθανάτων μετὰ φῦλον ἴτον προλιπόντ᾽ ἀνθρώ
πους
180
185
190
195
Αἰδὼς καὶ Νέμεσις· τὰ δὲ λείψεται ἄλγεα λυγρὰ 200
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισι· κακοῦ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔσσεται ἀλκή.
1 Tr. : ἀνέρα τιμήσουσι, MSS.
16
WORKS AND DAYS
sore trouble upon them. But, notwithstanding, even
these shall have some good mingled with their evilsə
And Zeus will destroy this race of mortal men also
when they come to have grey hair on the temples at
their birth The father will not agree with his child-
ren, nor the children with their father, nor guest
with his host, nor comrade with comrade; nor will
brother be dear to brother as aforetime Men will
dishonour their parents as they grow quickly old, and
will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words,
hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of the gods.
They will not repay their aged parents the cost of
their nurture, for might shall be their right: and
one man will sack another's city. There will be no
favour for the man who keeps his oath or for the
just or for the good; but rather men will praise the
evil-doer and his violent dealinga Strength will be
right and reverence will cease to be; and the
wicked will hurt the worthy man, speaking false
words against him, and will swear an oath upon
them. Envy, foul-mouthed, delighting in evil, with
scowling face, will go along with wretched men one
and all. And then Aidôs and Nemesis,2 with their
sweet forms wrapped in white robes, will go from
the wide-pathed earth and forsake mankind to join
the company of the deathless gods and bitter
sorrows will be left for mortal men, and there will
be no help against evil.
1 i.e. the race will so degenerate that at the last even
a new-born child will show the marks of old age.
Aidôs, as a quality, is that feeling of reverence or shame
which restrains men from wrong: Nemesis is the feeling of
righteous indignation aroused especially by the sight of the
wicked in undeserved prosperity (cf. Psalms, lxxii. 1-19).
17
HESIOD
Νῦν δ' αἶνον βασιλεῦσιν ἐρέω φρονέουσι καὶ
αὐτοῖς·
ὧδ᾽ ἴρηξ προσέειπεν ἀηδόνα ποικιλόδειρον
ὕψι μάλ' ἐν νεφέεσσι φέρων ὀνύχεσσι μεμαρπώς
ἣ δ᾽ ἐλεόν, γναμπτοῖσι πεπαρμένη αμφ᾽ ὀνύ
χεσσι,
μύρετο· τὴν ὅγ᾽ ἐπικρατέως πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·
Δαιμονίη, τί λέληκας; ἔχει νύ σε πολλὸν
ἀρείων·
τῇ δ᾽ εἰς, ᾗ σ᾽ ἂν ἐγώ περ ἄγω καὶ ἀοιδὸν ἐοῦσαν·
δεῖπνον δ᾽, αἴ κ' ἐθέλω, ποιήσομαι ἠὲ μεθήσω.
ἄφρων δ᾽, ὅς κ᾿ ἐθέλῃ πρὸς κρείσσονας ἀντιφερί
ζειν·
νίκης τε στέρεται πρός τ' αἴσχεσιν ἄλγεα πάσχει.
Ὣς ἔφατ᾽ ὠκυπέτης ἴρηξ, τανυσίπτερος ὄρνις.
↓
205
210
Ω Πέρση, σὺ δ᾽ ἄκουε δίκης, μηδ' ὕβριν
ὄφελλε
ὕβρις γάρ τε κακὴ δειλῷ βροτῷ· οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλὸς
ῥηιδίως φερέμεν δύναται, βαρύθει δέ θ᾽ ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς 215
ἐγκύρσας ἄτησιν· ὁδὸς δ᾽ ἑτέρηφι παρελθεῖν
κρείσσων ἐς τὰ δίκαια· Δίκη δ᾽ ὑπὲρ Ὕβριος ἴσχει
ἐς τέλος ἐξελθοῦσα· παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.
αὐτίκα γὰρ τρέχει Ορκος ἅμα σκολιῇσι δίκῃσιν.
τῆς δὲ Δίκης ῥόθος ἑλκομένης, ᾗ κ' ἄνδρες ἄγωσι 220
δωροφάγοι, σκολιῇς δὲ δίκῃς κρίνωσι θέμιστας.
ἡ δ᾽ ἕπεται κλαίουσα πόλιν καὶ ἤθεα λαῶν,
ἠέρα ἑσσαμένη, κακὸν ἀνθρώποισι φέρουσα,
οἵ τε μιν ἐξελάσωσι καὶ οὐκ ἰθεῖαν ἔνειμαν.
Οἱ δὲ δίκας ξείνοισι καὶ ἐνδήμοισι διδοῦσιν
ἰθείας καὶ μή τι παρεκβαίνουσι δικαίου,
τοῖσι τέθηλε πόλις, λαοὶ δ᾽ ἀνθεῦσιν ἐν αὐτῇ·
225
18
WORKS AND DAYS
And now I will tell a fable for princes who
themselves understand. Thus said the hawk to the
nightingale with speckled neck, while he carried her
high up among the clouds, gripped fast in his talons,
and she, pierced by his crooked talons, cried pitifully,
To her he spoke disdainfully: " Miserable thing, why
do you cry out? One far stronger than you now
holds you fast, and you must go wherever I take
you, songstress as you are, And if I please I will
make my meal of you, or let you go. He is a fool who
tries to withstand the stronger, for he does not get
the mastery and suffers pain besides his shame." So
said the swiftly flying hawk, the long-winged bird
But you, Perses, listen to right and do not foster
violence; for violence is bad for a poor man. Even
the prosperous cannot easily bear its burden, but is
weighed down under it when he has fallen into
delusion. The better path is to go by on the other
side towards justice; for Justice beats Outrage when
she comes at length to the end of the race. But only
when he has suffered does the fool learn this. For
Oath keeps pace with wrong judgements. There is
a noise when Justice is being dragged in the way
where those who devour bribes and give sentence
with crooked judgements, take her And she,
wrapped in mist, follows to the city and haunts of
the people, weeping, and bringing mischief to men,
even to such as have driven her forth in that they
did not deal straightly with her.
But they who give straight judgements to strangers
and to the men of the land, and go not aside from
what is just, their city flourishes, and the people
19
c 2
HESIOD
εἰρήνη δ᾽ ἀνὰ γῆν κουροτρόφος, οὐδέ ποτ' αὐτοις
ἀργαλέον πόλεμον τεκμαίρεται εὐρύοπα Ζεύς·
οὐδέ ποτ' ἰθυδίκῃσι μετ᾿ ἀνδράσι λιμὸς ὀπηδεῖ
οὐδ᾽ ἄτη, θαλίῃς δὲ μεμηλότα ἔργα νέμονται.
τοῖσι φέρει μὲν γαῖα πολὺν βίον, οὔρεσι δὲ δρῦς
ἄκρη μέν τε φέρει βαλάνους, μέσση δὲ μελίσσας·
εἰροπόκοι δ' ὄιες μαλλοῖς καταβεβρίθασιν·
τίκτουσιν δὲ γυναῖκες· ἐοικότα τέκνα γονεῦσιν·
θάλλουσιν δ᾽ ἀγαθοῖσι διαμπερές· οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ νηῶν
νίσσονται, καρπὸν δὲ φέρει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα.
Οἷς δ᾽ ὕβρις τε μέμηλε κακὴ καὶ σχέτλια ἔργα,
τοῖς δὲ δίκην Κρονίδης τεκμαίρεται εὐρύοπα Ζεύς.
πολλάκι καὶ ξύμπασα πόλις κακοῦ ἀνδρὸς
ἀπηύρα,
ὅς κεν ἀλιτραίνῃ· καὶ ἀτάσθαλα μηχανάαται.
τοῖσιν δ᾽ οὐρανόθεν μέγ' ἐπήγαγε πῆμα Κρονίων
λιμὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ λοιμόν· ἀποφθινύθουσι δὲ λαοί.
οὐδὲ γυναῖκες τίκτουσιν, μινύθουσι δὲ οἶκοι
230
235
240
Ζηνὸς φραδμοσύνῃσιν Ὀλυμπίου· ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε 245
ἢ τῶν γε στρατὸν εὐρὺν ἀπώλεσεν ἢ ὅ γε τεῖχος
ἢ νέας ἐν πόντῳ Κρονίδης ἀποαίνυται αὐτῶν.
Ω βασιλῆς, ὑμεῖς δὲ καταφράζεσθε καὶ αὐτοὶ
τήνδε δίκην· ἐγγὺς γὰρ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἐόντες
ἀθάνατοι φράζονται, ὅσοι σκολιῇσι δίκῃσιν
ἀλλήλους τρίβουσι θεῶν ὄπιν οὐκ ἀλέγοντες.
τρὶς γὰρ μύριοί εἰσιν ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ
ἀθάνατοι Ζηνὸς φύλακες θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων·
οἵ ῥα φυλάσσουσίν τε δίκας καὶ σχέτλια ἔργα
ἠέρα ἑσσάμενοι, πάντη φοιτῶντες ἐπ' αἶαν.
1 Aeschines : ὅς τις ἀλιτραίνει, MSS.
250
255
20
WORKS AND DAYS
prosper in it: Peace, the nurse of children, is abroad
in their land, and all-seeing Zeus never decrees
cruel war against them. Neither famine nor disaster
ever haunt men who do true justice; but light-
heartedly they tend the fields which are all their
care The earth bears them victual in plenty, and
on the mountains the oak bears acorns upon the
top and bees in the midst. Their woolly sheep
are laden with fleeces; their women bear children
like their parents, They flourish continually with
good things, and do not travel on ships, for the
grain-giving earth bears them fruit.
But for those who practise violence and cruel
deeds far-seeing Zeus, the son of Cronos, ordains
a punishment Often even a whole city suffers
for a bad man who sins and devises presumptuous
deeds, and the son of Cronos lays great trouble upon
the people, famine and plague together, so that
the men perish away, and their women do not bear
children, and their houses become few, through the
contriving of Olympian Zeus. And again, at another
time, the son of Cronos either destroys their wide
army, or their walls, or else makes an end of their
ships on the sea.
You princes, mark well this punishment you also;
for the deathless gods are near among men and
mark all those who oppress their fellows with crooked
judgements, and reck not the anger of the gods.
For upon the bounteous earth Zeus has thrice ten
thousand spirits, watchers of mortal men, and these
keep watch on judgements and deeds of
wrong as
they roam, clothed in mist, all over the earth.
And
21
HESIOD
ἡ δέ τε παρθένος ἐστὶ Δίκη, Διὸς ἐκγεγαυῖα,
κυδρή τ' αἰδοίη τε θεῶν, οἳ Ολυμπον ἔχουσιν.
καί
ρ
ὁπότ᾽ ἄν τίς μιν βλάπτῃ σκολιῶς ὀνοτάζων,
αὐτίκα πὰρ Διὶ πατρὶ καθεζομένη Κρονίωνι
γηρύετ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἄδικον νόον, ὄφρ᾽ ἀποτίσῃ
δῆμος ἀτασθαλίας βασιλέων, οἳ λυγρὰ νοεῦντες
ἄλλῃ παρκλίνωσι δίκας σκολιῶς ἐνέποντες.
ταῦτα φυλασσόμενοι, βασιλῆς, ἰθύνετε †δίκας
δωροφάγοι, σκολιέων δὲ δικέων ἐπὶ πάγχυ
λάθεσθε.
2
Οἱ γ᾽ αὐτῷ κακὰ τεύχει ἀνὴρ ἄλλῳ κακὰ
τεύχων,
ἡ δὲ κακὴ βουλὴ τῷ βουλεύσαντι κακίστη.
Πάντα ἰδὼν Διὸς ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ πάντα νοήσας
καί νυ τάδ', αἴ κ᾽ ἐθέλῃσ᾽, ἐπιδέρκεται, οὐδέ ἑ λήθει,
οἵην δὴ καὶ τήνδε δίκην πόλις ἐντὸς ἐέργει.
νῦν δὴ ἐγὼ μήτ' αὐτὸς ἐν ἀνθρώποισι δίκαιος
εἴην μήτ' ἐμὸς υἱός· ἐπεὶ κακὸν ἄνδρα δίκαιον
ἔμμεναι, εἰ μείζω γε δίκην ἀδικώτερος ἕξει·
ἀλλὰ τά γ᾽ οὔ πω ἔολπα τελεῖν Δία μητιόεντα.
Ω Πέρση, σὺ δὲ ταῦτα μετὰ φρεσὶ βάλλεο
σῇσι,
260
265
270
καί νυ δίκης ἐπάκουε, βίης δ' ἐπιλήθεο πάμπαν. 275
τόνδε γὰρ ἀνθρώποισι νόμον διέταξε Κρονίων
ἰχθύσι μὲν καὶ θηρσὶ καὶ οἰωνοῖς πετεηνοῖς
ἐσθέμεν· ἀλλήλους, ἐπεὶ οὐ δίκη ἐστὶ μετ' 5
αὐτοῖς·
1 Οχ. Ραρ. 1090 : θεοῖς, MSS.
* CHD etc. (Ox. Pap. βασιλῆς) : other MSS. read μύθους.
3 Οχ Pap. : δικῶν MSS.
4 Clement of Alexandria, Rzach: ἔσθειν, MSS.
* A, Plutarch, Aelian: μετ᾿ αὐτῶν, Clement, Porphyry:
μετ' αὖ . Οχ. Pap. : ἐν αὐτοῖς, MSS.
22
WORKS AND DAYS
there is virgin Justice, the daughter of Zeus, who is
honoured and reverenced among the gods who
dwell on Olympus, and whenever anyone hurts her
with lying slander, she sits beside her father, Zeus
the son of Cronos, and tells him of men's wicked
heart until the people pay for the mad folly of
their princes who, evilly minded, pervert judgement
and give sentence crookedly. Keep watch against
this, you princes, and make straight your judge-
ments, you who devour bribes; put crooked judge-
ments altogether from your thoughts.
He does mischief to himself who does mischief to
another, and evil planned harms the plotter most,
The eye of Zeus, seeing all and understanding all,
beholds these things too, if so he will, and fails not
to mark what sort of justice is this that the city
keeps within it. Now, therefore, may neither I
myself be righteous among men, nor my son-for
then it is a bad thing to be righteous-if indeed the
unrighteous shall have the greater right. But I think
that all-wise Zeus will not yet bring that to pass.
But you, Perses, lay up these things within your
heart and listen now to right, ceasing altogether to
think of violence. For the son of Cronos has or-
dained this law for men, that fishes and beasts and
winged fowls should devour one another, for right is
not in them but to mankind he gave right which
*
23
HESIOD
ἀνθρώποισι δ᾽ ἔδωκε δίκην, ἢ πολλὸν ἀρίστη
γίγνεται· εἰ γάρ τίς κ' ἐθέλῃ τὰ δίκαι᾽ ἀγορεῦσαι 280
γιγνώσκων, τῷ μέν τ᾿ ὄλβον διδοῖ εὐρύοπα Ζεύς·
ὃς δέ κε μαρτυρίῃσι ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσας
ψεύσεται, ἐν δὲ δίκην βλάψας νήκεστον ἀασθῇ,
τοῦ δέ τ᾽ ἀμαυροτέρη γενεὴ μετόπισθε λέλειπται·
ἀνδρὸς δ' εὐόρκου γενεὴ μετόπισθεν ἀμείνων.
Σοὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἐσθλὰ νοέων ἐρέω, μέγα νήπιε
Πέρση.
τὴν μέν τοι κακότητα καὶ ἐλαδὸν ἔστιν ἑλέσθαι
ῥηιδίως· λείη μὲν ὁδός, μάλα δ' ἐγγύθι ναίει·
τῆς δ᾽ ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶτα θεοὶ προπάροιθεν ἔθηκαν
ἀθάνατοι· μακρὸς δὲ καὶ ὄρθιος οἶμος ἐς αὐτὴν
καὶ τρηχὺς τὸ πρῶτον· ἐπὴν δ᾽ εἰς ἄκρον ἵκηται,
ῥηιδίη δὴ ἔπειτα πέλει, χαλεπή περ ἐοῦσα.
Οὗτος μὲν πανάριστος, ὃς αὐτὸς πάντα νοήσῃ
φρασσάμενος, τά κ᾽ ἔπειτα καὶ ἐς τέλος ᾖσιν
ἀμείνω·
ἐσθλὸς δ᾽ αὖ κἀκεῖνος, ὃς εὖ εἰπόντι πίθηται·
ὃς δέ κε μήτ' αὐτὸς νοέῃ μήτ᾽ ἄλλου ἀκούων
ἐν θυμῷ βάλληται, ὃ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἀχρήιος ἀνήρ.
ἀλλὰ σύ γ' ἡμετέρης μεμνημένος αἰὲν ἐφετμῆς
ἐργάζευ, Πέρση, δῖον γένος, ὄφρα σε λιμὸς
ἐχθαίρῃ, φιλέῃ δέ σ᾽ ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ
αἰδοίη, βιότου δὲ τεὴν πιμπλῇσι καλιήν·
λιμὸς γάρ τοι πάμπαν ἀεργῷ σύμφορος ἀνδρί.
τῷ δὲ θεοὶ νεμεσῶσι καὶ ἀνέρες, ὅς κεν ἀεργὸς
ζώῃ, κηφήνεσσι κοθούροις εἴκελος ὀργήν,
οἵ τε μελισσάων κάματον τρύχουσιν ἀεργοὶ
ἔσθοντες· σοὶ δ᾽ ἔργα φίλ᾽ ἔστω μέτρια κοσμεῖν,
ὥς κέ τοι ὡραίου βιότου πλήθωσι καλιαί.
ἐξ ἔργων δ᾽ ἄνδρες πολύμηλοί τ᾽ ἀφνειοί τε·
285
290
295
300
305
24
WORKS AND DAYS
proves far the best. For whoever knows the right
and is ready to speak it, far-seeing Zeus gives him
prosperity; but whoever deliberately lies in his wit-
ness and forswears himself, and so hurts Justice and
sins beyond repair, that man's generation is left
obscure thereafter. But the generation of the man
who swears truly is better thenceforward,
To you, foolish Perses, I will speak good sense.
Badness can be got easily and in shoals; the road to
her is smooth, and she lives very near us. But be-
tween us and Goodness the gods have placed the
sweat of our brows: long and steep is the path that
leads to her, and it is rough at the first; but when a
man has reached the top, then is she easy to reach,
though before that she was hard,
That man is altogether best who considers all
things himself and marks what will be better after-
wards and at the end; and he, again, is good who
listens to a good adviser; but whoever neither thinks
for himself nor keeps in mind what another tells him,
he is an unprofitable man, But do you at any rate,
always remembering my charge, work, high-born
Perses, that Hunger may hate you, and venerable
Demeter richly crowned may love you and fill your
barn with food for Hunger is altogether a meet
comrade for the sluggard. Both gods and men are
angry with a man who lives idle, for in nature he is
like the stingless drones who waste the labour of the
bees, eating without working; but let it be your care
to order your work properly, that in the right season
barns may
be full of victual, Through work men
grow rich in flocks and substance, and working they
your
25
HESIOD
καὶ ἐργαζόμενοι πολὺ φίλτεροι 1 ἀθανάτοισιν.
ἔργον δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὄνειδος, ἀεργίη δέ τ' ὄνειδος.
εἰ δέ κε ἐργάζῃ, τάχα σε ζηλώσει ἀεργὸς
πλουτεῦντα· πλούτῳ δ᾽ ἀρετὴ καὶ κῦδος ὀπηδεῖ.
δαίμονι δ᾽ οἷος ἔησθα, τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι ἄμεινον,
εἴ κεν ἀπ᾽ ἀλλοτρίων κτεάνων ἀεσίφρονα θυμὸν
εἰς ἔργον τρέψας μελετᾷς βίου, ὥς σε κελεύω.
αἰδὼς δ᾽ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ κεχρημένον ἄνδρα κομίζει,
αἰδώς, ἥ τ' ἄνδρας μέγα σίνεται ἠδ᾽ ὀνίνησιν.
αἰδώς τοι πρὸς ἀνολβίῃ, θάρσος δὲ πρὸς ὄλβῳ,
Χρήματα δ᾽ οὐχ ἁρπακτά, θεόσδοτα πολλὸν
ἀμείνω.
εἰ γάρ τις καὶ χερσὶ βίῃ μέγαν ὄλβον ἕληται,
ἢ ὅ γ᾽ ἀπὸ γλώσσης ληίσσεται, οἷά τε πολλὰ
γίγνεται, εὖτ᾽ ἂν δὴ κέρδος νόον ἐξαπατήσῃ
ἀνθρώπων, αἰδῶ δέ τ᾽ ἀναιδείη κατοπάζῃ·
ῥεῖα δέ μιν μαυροῦσι θεοί, μινύθουσι δὲ οἶκον
ἀνέρι τῷ, παῦρον δέ τ᾽ ἐπὶ χρόνον ὄλβος ὀπηδεῖ.
ἶσον δ᾽ ὅς θ᾽ ἱκέτην ὅς τε ξεῖνον κακὸν ἔρξῃ,
ὅς τε κασιγνήτοιο ἑοῦ ἀνὰ δέμνια βαίνῃ
κρυπταδίης εὐνῆς ἀλόχου, παρακαίρια ῥέζων,
ὅς τέ τευ ἀφραδίῃς ἀλιταίνεται ὀρφανὰ τέκνα,
ὅς τε γονῆα γέροντα κακῷ ἐπὶ γήραος οὐδῷ
νεικείῃ χαλεποῖσι καθαπτόμενος ἐπέεσσιν·
τῷ δ᾽ ἦ τοι Ζεὺς αὐτὸς ἀγαίεται, ἐς δὲ τελευτὴν
ἔργων ἀντ᾽ ἀδίκων χαλεπὴν ἐπέθηκεν ἀμοιβήν.
ἀλλὰ σὺ τῶν μὲν πάμπαν ἔεργ᾽ ἀεσίφρονα
θυμόν.
κὰδ δύναμιν δ᾽ ἔρδειν ἱέρ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν
...
1 CFH: ἐργαζόμενος . . . φίλτερος, other MSS. Line 310,
ἔσσεαι ἠδὲ βροτοῖς· μάλα γὰρ στυγέουσιν ἀεργούς, is omitted by
ACD and Stobaeus.
309
311
315
320
325
335
26
WORKS AND DAYS
are much better loved by the immortals.¹ Work is
no disgrace it is idleness which is a disgrace, But
if you work, the idle will soon envy you as you grow
rich, for fame and renown attend on wealth. And
whatever be your lot, work is best for you, if you
turn your misguided mind away from other men's
property to your work and attend to your livelihood
as I bid you. An evil shame is the needy man's
companion, shame which both greatly harms and
prospers men: shame is with poverty, but confidence
with wealth
Wealth should not be seized; god-given wealth
is much better; for if a man take great wealth
violently and perforce, or if he steal it through his
tongue, as often happens when gain deceives men's
sense and dishonour tramples down honour, the
gods soon blot him out and make that man's
house low, and wealth attends him only for a little
time Alike with him who does wrong to a sup-
pliant or a guest, or who goes up to his brother's bed
and commits unnatural sin in lying with his wife, or
who infatuately offends against fatherless children,
or who abuses his old father at the cheerless thres-
hold of old age and attacks him with harsh words,
truly Zeus himself is angry, and at the last lays on
him a heavy requittal for his evil doing. But do you
turn your foolish heart altogether away from these
things, and, as far as you are able, sacrifice to the death-
1 The alternative version is: "and, working, you will be
much better loved both by gods and men; for they greatly
dislike the idle."
27
HESIOD
ἁγνῶς καὶ καθαρῶς, ἐπὶ δ᾽ ἀγλαὰ μηρία καίειν·
ἄλλοτε δὲ σπονδῇσι θύεσσί τε ἱλάσκεσθαι,
ἠμὲν ὅτ᾽ εὐνάζῃ καὶ ὅτ᾽ ἂν φάος ἱερὸν ἔλθῃ,
ως κέ τοι ἵλαον κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἔχωσιν,
ὄφρ᾽ ἄλλων ὠνῇ κλῆρον, μὴ τὸν τεὸν ἄλλος.
Τὸν φιλέοντ᾽ ἐπὶ δαῖτα καλεῖν, τὸν δ᾽ ἐχθρὸν
ἐᾶσαι·
τὸν δὲ μάλιστα καλεῖν, ὅς τις σέθεν ἐγγύθι ναίει·
εἰ γάρ τοι καὶ χρῆμ᾽ ἐγχώριον ἄλλο γένηται,
γείτονες ἄζωστοι ἔκιον, ζώσαντο δὲ πηοί.
πῆμα κακὸς γείτων, ὅσσον τ᾿ ἀγαθὸς μέγ' ὄνειαρ.
ἔμμορέ τοι τιμῆς, ὅς τ᾽ ἔμμορε γείτονος ἐσθλοῦ.
οὐδ᾽ ἂν βοῦς ἀπόλοιτ', εἰ μὴ γείτων κακὸς εἴη.
εὖ μὲν μετρεῖσθαι παρὰ γείτονος, εὖ δ᾽ ἀποδοῦναι,
αὐτῷ τῷ μέτρῳ, καὶ λώιον, αἴ κε δύνηαι,
ὡς ἂν χρηίζων καὶ ἐς ὕστερον ἄρκιον εὕρῃς.
340
345
350
355
Μὴ κακὰ κερδαίνειν· κακὰ κέρδεα ἶσ᾽ ἀάτῃσιν.
τὸν φιλέοντα φιλεῖν, καὶ τῷ προσιόντι προσεῖναι.
καὶ δόμεν, ὅς κεν δῷ, καὶ μὴ δόμεν, ὅς κεν μὴ δῷ.
δώτῃ μέν τις ἔδωκεν, ἀδώτῃ δ᾽ οὔτις ἔδωκεν.
δὼς ἀγαθή, ἅρπαξ δὲ κακή, θανάτοιο δότειρα.
ὃς μὲν γάρ κεν ἀνὴρ ἐθέλων, ὅ γε, κεί 2 μέγα δοίη,
χαίρει τῷ δώρῳ καὶ τέρπεται ὃν κατὰ θυμόν·
ὃς δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕληται ἀναιδείηφι πιθήσας,
και τε σμικρὸν ἐόν, τό γ' ἐπάχνωσεν φίλον ἦτορ. 360
ὃς δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐόντι φέρει, ὃ δ' ἀλέξεται αἴθοπα λιμόν 363
εἰ γάρ κεν καὶ σμικρὸν ἐπὶ σμικρῷ καταθεῖο
καὶ θαμὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἔρδοις, τάχα κεν μέγα καὶ τὸ
γένοιτο.
1 ἶσα άτῃσι, ACDE, etc.
2 Schoemann, Paley: kal, A and all MSS.
* Line 363 seems to be misplaced in the MSS.
D
361
362
28
WORKS AND DAYS
less gods purely and cleanly, and burn rich meats also,
and at other times propitiate them with libations and
incense, both when you go to bed and when the holy
light has come back, that they may be gracious to
you in heart and spirit, and so you may buy another's
holding and not another yours,
your
Call friend to a feast; but leave your enemy
alone; and especially call him who lives near you :
for if any mischief happen in the place, neighbours
come ungirt, but kinsmen stay to gird themselves.¹
A bad neighbour is as great a plague as a good one
is a great blessing; he who enjoys a good neighbour
has a precious possession. Not even an ox would die
but for a bad neighbour. Take fair measure from
your neighbour and pay him back fairly with the
same measure, or better, if you can; so that if you
are in need afterwards, you may find him sure
Do not get base gain: base gain is as bad as
ruin. Be friends with the friendly, and visit him
who visits you Give to one who gives, but do not
give to one who does not give、 A man gives
to the free-handed, but no one gives to the close-
fisted Give is a good girl, but Take is bad and she
brings death For the man who gives willingly,
even though he gives a great thing, rejoices in his
gift and is glad in heart; but whoever gives way to
shamelessness and takes something himself, even
though it be a small thing, it freezes his heart. He
who adds to what he has, will keep off bright-eyed
hunger; for if you add only a little to a little and do
this often, soon that little will become great. What
¹i.e. neighbours come at once and without making
preparations, but kinsmen by marriage (who live at a
distance) have to prepare, and so are long in coming.
29
HESIOD
οὐδὲ τό γ' ἐν οἴκῳ κατακείμενον ἀνέρα κήδει.
οἴκοι βέλτερον εἶναι, ἐπεὶ βλαβερὸν τὸ θύρηφιν. 365
ἐσθλὸν μὲν παρεόντος ἑλέσθαι, πῆμα δὲ θυμῷ
χρηίζειν ἀπεόντος, ἅ σε φράζεσθαι ἄνωγα.
ἀρχομένου δὲ πίθου καὶ λήγοντος κορέσασθαι,
μεσσόθι φείδεσθαι· δειλὴ δ᾽ ἐνὶ πυθμένι φειδώ.
Μισθὸς δ᾽ ἀνδρὶ φίλῳ εἰρημένος ἄρκιος ἔστω.
καί τε κασιγνήτῳ γελάσας ἐπὶ μάρτυρα θέσθαι.
πίστεις γάρι τοι ὁμῶς καὶ ἀπιστίαι ὤλεσαν ἄν-
δρας.
Μὴ δὲ γυνή σε νόον πυγοστόλος εξαπατάτω
αἱμύλα κωτίλλουσα, τεὴν διφῶσα καλιήν.
370
ὃς δὲ γυναικὶ πέποιθε, πέποιθ᾽ ὅ γε φηλήτῃσιν. 375
Μουνογενὴς δὲ πάις εἴη πατρώιον οἶκον
φερβέμεν ὡς γὰρ πλοῦτος ἀέξεται ἐν μεγάροισιν.
γηραιὸς δὲ θάνοις ἕτερον παῖδ᾽ ἐγκαταλείπων.
ῥεῖα δέ κεν πλεόνεσσι πόροι Ζεὺς ἄσπετον ὄλβον.
πλείων μὲν πλεόνων μελέτη, μείζων δ᾽ ἐπιθήκη. 380
Σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ πλούτου θυμὸς ἐέλδεται ἐν φρεσὶν ᾗσιν,
ὧδ᾽ ἔρδειν, καὶ ἔργον ἐπ᾽ ἔργῳ ἐργάζεσθαι.
Πληιάδων Ατλαγενέων ἐπιτελλομενάων
ἄρχεσθ᾽ ἀμήτου, ἀρότοιο δὲ δυσομενάων.
αἳ δή τοι νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα τεσσαράκοντα
κεκρύφαται, αὖτις δὲ περιπλομένου ἐνιαυτοῦ
φαίνονται τὰ πρῶτα χαρασσομένοιο σιδήρου.
οὗτός τοι πεδίων πέλεται νόμος, οἵ τε θαλάσσης
ἐγγύθι ναιετάουσ', οἵ τ᾽ ἄγκεα βησσήεντα,
πόντου κυμαίνοντος ἀπόπροθι, πίονα χῶρον
ναίουσιν· γυμνὸν σπείρειν, γυμνὸν δὲ βοωτεῖν,
γυμνὸν δ᾽ ἀμάειν, εἴ χ᾿ ὥρια πάντ᾽ ἐθέλησθα
1 Bentley : δ᾽ ἄρα, G.
385
390
30
WORKS AND DAYS
a man has by him at home does not trouble him: it
is better to have your stuff at home, for whatever is
abroad may mean loss, It is a good thing to draw
on what you have; but it grieves your heart to need
something and not to have it, and I bid you mark
this Take your fill when the cask is first opened and
when it is nearly spent, but midways be sparing: it
is poor saving when you come to the lees
Let the wage promised to a friend be fixed; even
with your brother smile--and get a witness; for trust
and mistrust, alike ruin men.
Do not let a flaunting woman coax and cozen and
deceive you she is after your barn. The man who
trusts womankind trusts deceivers
There should be an only son, to feed his father's
house, for so wealth will increase in the home; but
if you leave a second son you should die old. Yet
Zeus can easily give great wealth to a greater
number. More hands mean more work and more
increase.
If your heart within you desires wealth, do these
things and work with work upon work.
When the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas, are rising,¹
begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they are
going to set Forty nights and days they are hidden
and appear again as the year moves round, when first
you sharpen your sickle. This is the law of the plains,
and of those who live near the sea, and who inhabit
rich country, the glens and dingles far from the
tossing sea, strip to sow and strip to plough and
strip to reap, if you wish to get in all Demeter's
fruits in due season, and that each kind may grow in
2 In November.
1 Early in May.
31
HESIOD
ἔργα κομίζεσθαι Δημήτερος· ως τοι ἕκαστα
ὥρι᾽ ἀέξηται, μή πως τὰ μέταζει χατίζων
πτώσσῃς ἀλλοτρίους οἴκους καὶ μηδὲν ἀνύσσῃς. 395
ὡς καὶ νῦν ἐπ᾽ ἔμ᾽ ἦλθες· ἐγὼ δέ τοι οὐκ ἐπιδώσω
οὐδ᾽ ἐπιμετρήσω· ἐργάζευ, νήπιε Πέρση,
ἔργα, τά τ᾿ ἀνθρώποισι θεοὶ διετεκμήραντο,
μή ποτε σὺν παίδεσσι γυναικί τε θυμὸν ἀχεύων
ζητεύῃς βίοτον κατὰ γείτονας, οἳ δ᾽ ἀμελῶσιν.
δὶς μὲν γὰρ καὶ τρὶς τάχα τεύξεαι· ἦν δ᾽ ἔτι
λυπῇς,
χρῆμα μὲν οὐ πρήξεις, σὺ δ᾽ ἐτώσια πόλλ' ἀγο-
ρεύσεις·
ἀχρεῖος δ᾽ ἔσται ἐπέων νομός. ἀλλά σ᾽ ἄνωγα
φράζεσθαι χρειῶν τε λύσιν λιμοῦ τ᾿ ἀλεωρήν.
Οἶκον μὲν πρώτιστα γυναῖκά τε βοῦν τ᾿ ἀρο-
τῆρα,
κτητήν, οὐ γαμετήν, ἥτις καὶ βουσὶν ἕποιτο,
χρήματα δ' ἐν οἴκῳ πάντ᾽ ἄρμενα ποιήσασθαι,
μὴ σὺ μὲν αὐτῇς ἄλλον, ὃ δ᾽ ἀρνῆται, σὺ δὲ τητᾷ,
ἡ δ' ὥρη παραμείβηται, μινύθῃ δὲ τὸ ἔργον.
μηδ' ἀναβάλλεσθαι ἔς τ' αὔριον ἔς τε ἔνηφιν·
οὐ γὰρ ἐτωσιοεργὸς ἀνὴρ πίμπλησι καλιὴν
οὐδ᾽ ἀναβαλλόμενος· μελέτη δὲ τὸ ἔργον ὀφέλλει·
αἰεὶ δ᾽ ἀμβολιεργὸς ἀνὴρ ἄτῃσι παλαίει.
Ημος δὴ λήγει μένος ὀξέος ἠελίοιο
καύματος ἰδαλίμου, μετοπωρινὸν ὀμβρήσαντος
Ζηνὸς ἐρισθενέος, μετὰ δὲ τρέπεται βρότεος χρὼς
πολλὸν ἐλαφρότερος· δὴ γὰρ τότε Σείριος ἀστὴρ
βαιὸν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς κηριτρεφέων ἀνθρώπων
ἔρχεται ἠμάτιος, πλεῖον δέ τε νυκτὸς ἐπαυρεῖ·
τῆμος ἀδηκτοτάτη πέλεται τμηθεῖσα σιδήρῳ
1 Herodian : μεταξύ, MSS.
400
405
410
415
420
32
WORKS AND DAYS
measure.
its season.
Else, afterwards, you may chance to be
in want, and go begging to other men's houses, but
without avail; as you have already come to me,
But I will give you no more nor give you further
Foolish Perses! Work the work which
the gods ordained for men, lest in bitter anguish of
spirit you with your wife and children seek your
livelihood amongst your neighbours, and they do not
heed you Two or three times, may be, you will
succeed, but if you trouble them further, it will not
avail you, and all talk will be in vain, and your
word-play unprofitable, Nay, I bid you find a way to
pay your debts and avoid hunger
your
First of all, get a house, and a woman and an ox
for the plough—a slave woman and not a wife, to
follow the oxen as well-and make everything ready
at home, so that you may not have to ask of another,
and he refuse you, and
are in lack,
so, because you
the season pass by and your work come to nothing.
Do not put your work off till to-morrow and the day
after; for a sluggish worker does not fill his barn,
nor one who puts off his work: industry makes work
go well, but a man who puts off work is always at
hand-grips with ruin,
When the piercing power and sultry heat of the sun
abate, and almighty Zeus sends the autumn rains,¹
and men's flesh comes to feel far easier,—for then
the star Sirius passes over the heads of men, who
are born to misery, only a little while by day and
takes greater share of night—, then, when it
showers its leaves to the ground and stops sprouting,
1 In October.
33
D
HESIOD
ὕλη, φύλλα δ' ἔραζε χέει, πτόρθοιό τε λήγει·
τῆμος ἄρ᾽ ὑλοτομεῖν μεμνημένος ὥρια ἔργα.
ὄλμον μὲν τριπόδην τάμνειν, ὕπερον δὲ τρίπηχυν,
ἄξονα δ᾽ ἑπταπόδην· μάλα γάρ νύ τοι ἄρμενον
οὕτω
ει
εἰ δέ κεν ὀκταπόδην, ἀπὸ καὶ σφυράν κε τάμοιο. 425
τρισπίθαμον δ᾽ ἄψιν τάμνειν δεκαδώρῳ ἀμάξῃ.
πόλλ' ἐπικαμπύλα καλα· φέρειν δὲ γύην, ὅτ᾽ ἂν
εὕρης,
ἐς οἶκον, κατ' ὄρος διζήμενος ἢ κατ᾽ ἄρουραν,
πρίνινον· ὃς γὰρ βουσὶν ἀροῦν ὀχυρώτατός ἐστιν,
εὖτ᾽ ἂν Αθηναίης δμῷος ἐν ἐλύματι πήξας
γόμφοισιν πελάσας προσαρήρεται ἱστοβοῆι.
δοιὰ δὲ θέσθαι ἄροτρα, πονησάμενος κατὰ οἶκον,
αὐτόγυον καὶ πηκτόν, ἐπεὶ πολὺ λώιον οὕτω·
εἴ χ᾽ ἕτερον ἄξαις, ἕτερόν κ᾿ ἐπὶ βουσὶ βάλοιο.
δάφνης δ' ἢ πτελέης ἀκιώτατοι ἱστοβοῆες,
δρυὸς ἔλυμα, γύης πρίνου· βόε δ᾽ ἐνναετήρω
ἄρσενε κεκτῆσθαι, τῶν γὰρ σθένος οὐκ ἀλαπαδνόν,
ἥβης μέτρον ἔχοντε· τὼ ἐργάζεσθαι ἀρίστω.
οὐκ ἂν τώ γ᾽ ἐρίσαντε ἐν αὔλακι κὰμ μὲν ἄροτρον
ἄξειαν, τὸ δὲ ἔργον ἐτώσιον αὖθι λίποιεν.
τοῖς δ᾽ ἅμα τεσσαρακονταετὴς αἰζηὸς ἕποιτο
ἄρτον δειπνήσας τετράτρυφον, ὀκτάβλωμον,
ὃς ἔργου μελετῶν ἰθεῖάν κ' αὔλακ᾽ ἐλαύνοι,
μηκέτι παπταίνων μεθ᾽ ὁμήλικας, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ ἔργῳ
430
435
440
34
WORKS AND DAYS
the wood you cut with your axe is least liable to
worm. Then remember to hew your timber: it is
the season for that work Cut a mortar¹ three feet
wide and a pestle three cubits long, and an axle of
seven feet, for it will do very well so; but if you
make it eight feet long, you can cut a beetle2 from
it as well. Cut a felloe three spans across for a
waggon of ten palms' width, Hew also many bent
timbers, and bring home a plough-tree when you have
found it, and look out on the mountain or in the
field for one of holm-oak; for this is the strongest
for oxen to plough with when one of Athena's hand-
men has fixed in the share-beam and fastened it to
the pole with dowels. Get two ploughs ready and
work on them at home, one all of a piece, and the
other jointed. It is far better to do this, for if you
should break one of them, you can put the oxen to
the other. Poles of laurel or elm are most free from
worms, and a share-beam of oak and a plough-tree of
holm-oak. Get two oxen, bulls of nine years; for
their strength is unspent and they are in the prime
of their age they are best for work They will not
fight in the furrow and break the plough and then
leave the work undone. Let a brisk fellow of forty
years follow them, with a loaf of four quarters ³ and
eight slices for his dinner, one who will attend to his
work and drive a straight furrow and is past the age
for gaping after his fellows, but will keep his mind
1 For pounding corn.
2 A mallet for breaking clods after ploughing.
The loaf is a flattish cake with two intersecting lines
scored on its upper surface which divide it into four equal parts.
The meaning is obscure. A scholiast renders " giving
eight mouthfuls"; but the elder Philostratus uses the word
in contrast to "leavened."
35
D 2
HESIOD
θυμὸν ἔχων· τοῦ δ᾽ οὔτι νεώτερος ἄλλος ἀμείνων 445
σπέρματα δάσσασθαι καὶ ἐπισπορίην ἀλέασθαι.
κουρότερος γὰρ ἀνὴρ μεθ᾽ ὁμήλικας ἐπτοίηται.
Φράζεσθαι δ', εὖτ᾽ ἂν γεράνου φωνὴν ἐπακούσῃς
ὑψόθεν ἐκ νεφέων ἐνιαύσια κεκληγνιης·
ἥτ᾽ ἀρότοιό τε σῆμα φέρει καὶ χείματος ὥρην
δεικνύει ὀμβρηροῦ· κραδίην δ' ἔδακ᾽ ἀνδρὸς
ἀβούτεω·
450
δὴ τότε χορτάζειν ἕλικας βόας ἔνδον ἐόντας·
ῥηίδιον γὰρ ἔπος εἰπεῖν· βόε δὸς καὶ ἄμαξαν·
ῥηίδιον δ᾽ ἀπανήνασθαι· πάρα ἔργα βόεσσιν.
φησὶ δ᾽ ἀνὴρ φρένας ἀφνειὸς πήξασθαι ἄμαξαν, 455
νήπιος, οὐδὲ τὸ οἶδ'· ἑκατὸν δέ τε δούρατ᾽ ἀμάξης,
τῶν πρόσθεν μελέτην ἐχέμεν οἰκήια θέσθαι.
Εἶτ᾽ ἂν δὲ πρώτιστ᾽ ἄροτος θνητοῖσι φανεί,
δὴ τότ᾽ ἐφορμηθῆναι ὁμῶς ὁμῶές τε καὶ αὐτὸς
αὔην καὶ διερὴν ἀρόων ἀρότοιο καθ' ὥρην,
πρωὶ μάλα σπεύδων, ἵνα τοι πλήθωσιν ἄρουραι.
ἦρι πολεῖν· θέρεος δὲ νεωμένη οὔ σ᾽ ἀπατήσει.
νειὸν δὲ σπείρειν ἔτι κουφίζουσαν ἄρουραν
νειὸς ἀλεξιάρη παίδων εὐκηλήτειρα.
Εὔχεσθαι δὲ Διὶ χθονίῳ Δημήτερί θ᾽ ἁγνῇ,
ἐκτελέα βρίθειν Δημήτερος ἱερὸν ἀκτήν,
ἀρχόμενος τὰ πρῶτ᾽ ἀρότου, ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἄκρον ἐχέτλης
χειρὶ λαβὼν ὅρπηκα βοῶν ἐπὶ νῶτον ἵκηαι
ἔνδρυον ἑλκόντων μεσάβων. ὁ δὲ τυτθὸς ὄπισθε
δμῷος ἔχων μακέλην πόνον ὀρνίθεσσι τιθείη
σπέρμα κατακρύπτων· ἐυθημοσύνη γὰρ ἀρίστη
460
465
470
36
WORKS AND DAYS
on his work, No younger man will be better than
he at scattering the seed and avoiding double-sow-
ing; for a man less staid gets disturbed, hankering
after his fellows.
Mark, when you hear the voice of the crane¹ who
cries year by year from the clouds above, for she
gives the signal for ploughing and shows the season
of rainy winter; but she vexes the heart of the
man who has no oxen. Then is the time to feed up
your horned oxen in the byre; for it is easy to say:
"Give me a yoke of oxen ånd a waggon," and it is
easy to refuse : "I have work for my oxen." The
man who is rich in fancy thinks his waggon as good as
built already the fool! he does not know that there
are a hundred timbers to a wàggon. Take care to
lay these up beforehand at home
So soon as the time for ploughing is proclaimed to
men, then make haste, you and your slaves alike, in
wet and in dry, to plough in the season for plough-
ing, and bestir yourself early in the morning so that
your fields may be full. Plough in the spring; but
fallow broken up in the summer will not belie
your hopes. Sow fallow land when the soil is still
getting light fallow land is a defender from harm
and a soother of children
Pray to Zeus of the Earth and to pure Demeter to
make Demeter's holy grain sound and heavy, when
first you begin ploughing, when you hold in your
hand the end of the plough-tail and bring down your
stick on the backs of the oxen as they draw on the
pole-bar by the yoke-straps. Let a slave follow a
little behind with a mattock and make trouble for
the birds by hiding the seed for good management
:
1 About the middle of November.
37
HESIOD
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις, κακοθημοσύνη δὲ κακίστη.
ὧδέ κεν ἀδροσύνῃ στάχυες νεύοιεν ἔραζε,
εἰ τέλος αὐτὸς ὄπισθεν Ολύμπιος ἐσθλὸν ὀπάζοι,
ἐκ δ᾽ ἀγγέων ἐλάσειας ἀράχνια· καί σε ἔολπα
γηθήσειν βιότου αἰρεύμενον ἔνδον ἐόντος.
εὐοχθέων δ᾽ ἵξεαι πολιὸν ἔαρ, οὐδὲ πρὸς ἄλλους
αὐγάσεαι· σέο δ᾽ ἄλλος ἀνὴρ κεχρημένος ἔσται.
475
480
Εἰ δέ κεν ἠελίοιο τροπῇς ἀρόῳς χθόνα διαν,
ἥμενος ἀμήσεις ὀλίγον περὶ χειρὸς ἐέργων,
ἀντία δεσμεύων κεκονιμένος, οὐ μάλα χαίρων,
οἴσεις δ᾽ ἐν φορμῷ· παῦροι δέ σε θηήσονται.
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἀλλοῖος Ζηνὸς νόος αιγιόχοιο,
ἀργαλέος δ' ἄνδρεσσι καταθνητοῖσι νοῆσαι.
εἰ δέ κεν ὄψ᾽ ἀρόσῃς, τόδε κέν τοι φάρμακον εἴη· 485
ἦμος κόκκυξ κοκκύζει δρυὸς ἐν πετάλοισι
τὸ πρῶτον, τέρπει δὲ βροτοὺς ἐπ᾽ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν,
τῆμος Ζεὺς ὕοι τρίτῳ ἤματι μηδ᾽ ἀπολήγοι,
μήτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὑπερβάλλων βοὸς ὁπλὴν μήτ᾽ ἀπολείπων·
οὕτω κ᾿ ὀψαρότης πρῳηρότῃ 1 ἰσοφαρίζοι.
ἐν θυμῷ δ' εὖ πάντα φυλάσσει· μηδέ σε λήθοι
μήτ᾽ ἔαρ γιγνόμενον πολιὸν μήθ' ὥριος ὄμβρος.
Πὰρ δ᾽ ἴθι χάλκειον θῶκον καὶ ἐπαλέα λέσχην
ὥρῃ χειμερίῃ, οπότε κρύος ἀνέρα ἔργων
490
ἰσχάνει, ἔνθα κ᾿ ἄοκνος ἀνὴρ μέγα οἶκον ὀφέλλοι, 495
μή σε κακοῦ χειμῶνος ἀμηχανίη καταμάρψη
σὺν πενίῃ, λεπτῇ δὲ παχὺν πόδα χειρὶ πιέζῃς.
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀεργὸς ἀνήρ, κενεὴν ἐπὶ ἐλπίδα μίμνων,
χρηίζων βιότοιο, κακὰ προσελέξατο θυμῷ.
1 Kirchof: προηρύτη, CD: πρωτηρότῃ, GIKL.
38
WORKS AND DAYS
is the best for mortal men as bad management is the
worst. In this way your corn-ears will bow to the
ground with fullness if the Olympian himself gives a
good result at the last, and you will sweep the
cobwebs from your bins and you will be glad, I ween,
as you take of your garnered substance. And so you
will have plenty till you come to grey¹ springtime,
and will not look wistfully to others, but another
shall be in need of your help.
But if you plough the good ground at the solstice,2
you will reap sitting, grasping a thin crop in your
hand, binding the sheaves awry, dust-covered, not
glad at all; so you will bring all home in a basket
and not many will admire you Yet the will of Zeus
who holds the aegis is different at different times;
and it is hard for mortal men to tell it; for if you
should plough late, you may find this remedy-when
the cuckoo first calls 3 in the leaves of the oak and
makes men glad all over the boundless earth, if Zeus
should send rain on the third day and not cease until
it rises neither above an ox's hoof nor falls short of it,
then the late-plougher will vie with the early. Keep
all this well in mind, and fail not to mark grey spring
as it comes and the season of rain“
Pass by the smithy and its crowded lounge in winter
time when the cold keeps men from field work, for
then an industrious man can greatly prosper his
house-lest bitter winter catch you helpless and
poor and you chafe a swollen foot with a shrunk
hand. The idle man who waits on empty hope,
lacking a livelihood, lays to heart mischief-making;
1 Spring is so described because the buds have not yet cast
their iron-grey husks.
8 In December.
3 In March.
39
HESIOD
ἐλπὶς δ᾽ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ κεχρημένον ἄνδρα κομίζει,
ἥμενον ἐν λέσχῃ, τῷ μὴ βίος ἄρκιος εἴη.
Δείκνυε δὲ δμώεσσι θέρευς ἔτι μέσσου ἐόντος·
οὐκ αἰεὶ θέρος ἐσσεῖται, ποιεῖσθε καλιάς.
Μῆνα δὲ Ληναιῶνα, κάκ' ἤματα, βουδόρα
πάντα,
τοῦτον ἀλεύασθαι, καὶ πηγάδας, αἵτ᾽ ἐπὶ γαῖαν
πνεύσαντος Βορέαο δυσηλεγέες τελέθουσιν,
ὅστε διὰ Θρᾴκης ἱπποτρόφου εὐρέι πόντῳ
ἐμπνεύσας ὤρινε· μέμυκε δὲ γαῖα καὶ ὕλη·
πολλὰς δὲ δρῦς ὑψικόμους ἐλάτας τε παχείας
οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς πιλνᾷ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ
ἐμπίπτων, καὶ πᾶσα βοᾷ τότε νήριτος ὕλη.
θῆρες δὲ φρίσσουσ', οὐρὰς δ᾽ ὑπὸ μέζε᾽ ἔθεντο,
τῶν καὶ λάχνῃ δέρμα κατάσκιον· ἀλλά νυ καὶ
τῶν
ψυχρὸς ἐὼν διάησι δασυστέρνων περ ἐόντων.
καί τε διὰ ῥινοῦ βοὺς ἔρχεται, οὐδέ μιν ἴσχει
καί τε δι' αἶγα ἄησι τανύτριχα· πώεα δ᾽ οὔ τι,
οὕνεκ᾽ ἐπηεταναὶ τρίχες αὐτῶν, οὐ διάησιν
ὃς ἀνέμου Βορέου· τροχαλὸν δὲ γέροντα τίθησιν.
καὶ διὰ παρθενικῆς ἁπαλόχροος οὐ διάησιν,
ἦτε δόμων ἔντοσθε φίλῃ παρὰ μητέρι μίμνει
οὔ πω ἔργα ἰδυῖα πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης·
εὖ τε λοεσσαμένη τέρενα χρόα καὶ λίπ᾽ ἐλαίῳ
χρισαμένη μυχίη καταλέξεται ἔνδοθι οἴκου
ἤματι χειμερίῳ, ὅτ᾽ ἀνόστεος ὃν πόδα τένδει
ἔν τ᾽ ἀπύρῳ οἴκῳ καὶ ἤθεσι λευγαλέοισιν.
οὐδέ οἱ 1 ἠέλιος δείκνυ νομὸν ὁρμηθῆναι·
1 Hermann : οὐ γάρ οἱ, MSS.
500
505
510
515
520
525
40
WORKS AND DAYS
it is not an wholesome hope that accompanies a
needy man who lolls at ease while he has no sure
livelihood.
While it is yet midsummer command your slaves :
"It will not always be summer, build barns."
Avoid the month Lenacon,' wretched days, all of
them fit to skin an ox, and the frosts which are cruel
when Boreas blows over the earth. He blows across
horse-breeding Thrace upon the wide sea and stirs it
up, while earth and the forest howl, On many a
high-leafed oak and thick pine he falls and brings
them to the bounteous earth in mountain glens:
then all the immense wood roars and the beasts
shudder and put their tails between their legs, even
those whose hide is covered with fur; for with his
bitter blast he blows even through them although
they are shaggy-breasted. He goes even through
an ox's hide; it does not stop him. Also he blows
through the goat's fine hair. But through the
fleeces of sheep, because their wool is abundânt, the
keen wind Boreas pierces not at all; but it makes the
old man curved as a wheel. And it does not blow
through the tender maiden who stays indoors with her
dear mother, unlearned as yet in the works of golden
Aphrodite, and who washes her soft body and anoints
herself with oil and lies down in an inner room
within the house, on a winter's day when the Boneless
One2 gnaws his foot in his fireless house and wretched
home for the sun shows him no pastures to make
1 The latter part of January and earlier part of February.
2 i.e. the octopus or cuttle.
41
HESIOD
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ κυανέων ἀνδρῶν δῆμόν τε πόλιν τε
στρωφᾶται, βράδιον δὲ Πανελλήνεσσι φαείνει.
καὶ τότε δὴ κεραοὶ καὶ νήκεροι ὑληκοῖται
λυγρὸν μυλιόωντες ἀνὰ δρία βησσήεντα
φεύγουσιν· καὶ πᾶσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ τοῦτο μέμηλεν,
ὡς σκέπα μαιόμενοι πυκινοὺς κευθμῶνας ἔχωσι
καὶ γλάφυ πετρῆεν· τότε δὴ τρίποδι βροτῳ ἶσοι,
οὗ τ᾽ ἐπὶ νῶτα ἔαγε, κάρη δ' εἰς οἶδας ὁρᾶται,
τῷ ἴκελοι φοιτῶσιν, ἀλευόμενοι νίφα λευκήν.
Καὶ τότε σσασθαι ἔρυμα χροός, ὥς σε κελεύω,
χλαινάν τε μαλακὴν καὶ τερμιόεντα χιτῶνα·
στήμονι δ᾽ ἐν παύρῳ πολλὴν κρόκα μηρύσασθαι·
τὴν περιέσσασθαι, ἵνα τοι τρίχες ἀτρεμέωσι,
μηδ' ὀρθαὶ φρίσσωσιν ἀειρόμεναι κατὰ σῶμα.
ἀμφὶ δὲ ποσσὶ πέδιλα βοὸς ἶφι κταμένοιο
ἄρμενα δήσασθαι, πίλοις ἔντοσθε πυκάσσας.
πρωτογόνων δ᾽ ἐρίφων, ὁπότ᾽ ἂν κρύος ὥριον
ἔλθῃ,
δέρματα συρράπτειν νεύρῳ βοός, ὄφρ᾽ ἐπὶ νώτῳ
ὑετοῦ ἀμφιβάλῃ ἀλέην· κεφαλῆφι δ᾽ ὕπερθεν
πῖλον ἔχειν ἀσκητόν, ἵν᾽ οὔατα μὴ καταδεύῃ·
ψυχρὴ γάρ τ' ἠὼς πέλεται Βορέαο πεσόντος
ἠώιος δ᾽ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος
ἀὴρ πυροφόρος τέταται μακάρων ἐπὶ ἔργοις·
ὥστε ἀρυσσάμενος ποταμῶν ἄπο αἰεναόντων,
ὑψοῦ ὑπὲρ γαίης ἀρθεὶς ἀνέμοιο θυέλλῃ
ἄλλοτε μέν θ' νει ποτὶ ἕσπερον, ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄησι
πυκνὰ Θρηικίου Βορέου νέφεα κλονέοντος.
τὸν φθάμενος ἔργον τελέσας οἰκόνδε νέεσθαι,
• Peppmuller: et . . . ἔχουσι, MSS.
530
535
540
545
550
42
WORKS AND DAYS
for, but goes to and fro over the land and city of
dusky men,¹ and shines more sluggishly upon the
whole race of the Hellenes. Then the horned and
unhorned denizens of the wood, with teeth chattering
pitifully, flee through the copses and glades, and all,
as they seek shelter, have this one care, to gain
thick coverts or some hollow rock. Then, like the
Three-legged One 2 whose back is broken and whose
head looks down upon the ground, like him, I say,
they wander to escape the white snow,
Then put on, as I bid you, a soft coat and a tunic
to the feet to shield your body, and you should
weave thick woof on thin warp. In this clothe your-
self so that your hair may keep still and not bristle
and stand upon end all over your body. Lace on your
feet close-fitting boots of the hide of a slaughtered
ox, thickly lined with felt inside, And when the
season of frost comes on, stitch together skins of
firstling kids with ox-sinew, to put over your back
and to keep off the rain, On your head above wear
a shaped cap of felt to keep your ears from getting
wet, for the dawn is chill when Boreas has once made
his onslaught, and at dawn a fruitful mist is spread
over the earth from starry heaven upon the fields of
blessed men : it is drawn from the ever flowing
rivers and is raised high above the earth by wind-
storm, and sometimes it turns to rain towards
evening, and sometimes to wind when Thracian
Boreas huddles the thick clouds. Finish your work
and return home ahead of him, and do not let the
1 i.e. the dark-skinned people of Africa, the Egyptians or
Aethiopians.
-
2 i.e. an old man walking with a staff (the "third leg”–
as in the riddle of the Sphinx).
43
HESIOD
μή ποτέ σ᾽ οὐρανόθεν σκοτόεν νέφος ἀμφικαλύψῃ, 555
χρῶτα δὲ μυδαλέον θήῃ κατά θ᾽ εἵματα δεύσῃ.
ἀλλ᾽ ὑπαλεύασθαι· μεὶς γὰρ χαλεπώτατος οὗτος,
χειμέριος, χαλεπὸς προβάτοις, χαλεπὸς δ᾽ ἀνθρώ-
ποις.
τῆμος τὤμισυ βουσίν, ἐπ᾽ ἀνέρι δὲ πλέον εἴη
ἁρμαλιῆς· μακραὶ γὰρ ἐπίρροθοι εὐφρόναι εἰσίν. 560
ταῦτα φυλασσόμενος τετελεσμένον εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν
ἰσοῦσθαι νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα, εἰσόκεν αὖτις
γῆ πάντων μήτηρ καρπὸν σύμμικτον ἐνείκῃ.
Εὖτ᾽ ἂν δ᾽ ἑξήκοντα μετὰ τροπὰς ἠελίοιο
χειμέρι᾽ ἐκτελέσῃ Ζεὺς ἤματα, δή ῥα τότ' ἀστὴρ 565
Αρκτοῦρος προλιπὼν ἱερὸν ῥόον Ωκεανοῖο
πρῶτον παμφαίνων ἐπιτέλλεται ἀκροκνέφαιος.
τὸν δὲ μέτ' ὀρθογόη Πανδιονὶς ώρτο χελιδὼν
ἐς φάος ἀνθρώποις, ἔαρος νέον ἱσταμένοιο.
τὴν φθάμενος οἴνας περιταμνέμεν· ὡς γὰρ ἄμεινον. 570
Αλλ᾿ ὁπότ᾽ ἂν φερέοικος ἀπὸ χθονὸς ἂμ φυτὰ
βαίνῃ
Πληιάδας φεύγων, τότε δὴ σκάφος οὐκέτι οἰνέων·
ἀλλ᾽ ἅρπας τε χαρασσέμεναι καὶ ὁμῶας ἐγείρειν·
φεύγειν δὲ σκιεροὺς θώκους καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἦόα 1 κοῖτον
ὥρῃ ἐν ἀμήτου, ὅτε τ' ἠέλιος χρόα κάρφει.
τημοῦτος σπεύδειν καὶ οἴκαδε καρπὸν ἀγινεῖν
ὄρθρου ἀνιστάμενος, ἵνα τοι βίος ἄρκιος εἴη.
ἠὼς γὰρ ἔργοιο τρίτην ἀπομείρεται αἶσαν,
ἠώς τοι προφέρει μὲν ὁδοῦ, προφέρει δὲ καὶ ἔργου,
ἠώς, ἥτε φανεῖσα πολέας ἐπέβησε κελεύθου
ἀνθρώπους πολλοῖσί τ᾽ ἐπὶ ζυγὰ βουσὶ τίθησιν.
1 Gerhard : ήω, MSS.
575
580
L
44
WORKS AND DAYS
dark cloud from heaven wrap round you and make
your body clammy and soak your clothes. Avoid it;
for this is the hardest month, wintry, hard for sheep and
hard for men. In this season let your oxen have half
their usual food, but let your man have more; for the
helpful nights are long. Observe all this until the
year is ended and you have nights and days of equal
length, and Earth, the mother of all, bears again her
various fruit.
When Zeus has finished sixty wintry days after
the solstice, then the star Arcturus¹ leaves the holy
stream of Ocean and first rises brilliant at dusk.
After him the shrilly wailing daughter of Pandion,
the swallow, appears to men when spring is just
beginning. Before she comes, prune the vines, for
it is best so,
But when the House-carrier 2 climbs up the plants
from the earth to escape the Pleiades, then it
is no longer the season for digging vineyards, but
to whet your sickles and rouse up your slaves.
Avoid shady seats and sleeping until dawn in the
harvest season, when the sun scorches the body,
Then be busy, and bring home your fruits, getting up
early to make livelihood sure
your
For dawn takes
away a third part of your work, dawn advances a man
on his journey and advances him in his work, -dawn
which appears and sets many men on their road, and
puts yokes on many oxen,
1 February to March.
i.e. the snail. The season is the middle of May.
45
HESIOD
Ημος δὲ σκόλυμός τ᾿ ἀνθεῖ καὶ ἠχέτα τέττιξ
δενδρέῳ ἐφεζόμενος λιγυρὴν καταχεύετ᾽ ἀοιδὴν
πυκνὸν ὑπὸ πτερύγων, θέρεος καματώδεος ὥρῃ,
τῆμος πιόταταί τ' αἶγες καὶ οἶνος ἄριστος,
μαχλόταται δὲ γυναῖκες, ἀφαυρότατοι δέ το
ἄνδρες
εἰσίν, ἐπεὶ κεφαλὴν καὶ γούνατα Σείριος ἄζει,
αὐαλέος δέ τε χρὼς ὑπὸ καύματος· ἀλλὰ τότ᾽ ἤδη
εἴη πετραίη τε σκιὴ καὶ βίβλινος οἶνος,
μάζα τ᾿ ἀμολγαίη γάλα τ' αἰγῶν σβεννυμενάων,
καὶ βοὸς ὑλοφάγοιο κρέας μή πω τετοκυίης
πρωτογόνων τ᾽ ἐρίφων· ἐπὶ δ᾽ αἴθοπα πινέμε
οἶνον,
585
590
ἐν σκιῇ ἑζόμενον, κεκορημένον ἦτορ ἐδωδῆς,
ἀντίον ἀκραέος Ζεφύρου τρέψαντα πρόσωπα,
κρήνης τ' αἰενάου καὶ ἀπορρύτου, ἥτ᾽ ἀθόλωτος, 595
τρὶς ὕδατος προχέειν, τὸ δὲ τέτρατον ἱέμεν οἴνου.
Δμωσὶ δ᾽ ἐποτρύνειν Δημήτερος ἱερὸν ἀκτὴν
δινέμεν, εὖτ᾽ ἂν πρῶτα φανῇ σθένος Ωαρίωνος,
χώρῳ ἐν εὐαέι καὶ ἐυτροχάλῳ ἐν ἀλωῇ.
μέτρῳ δ' εὖ κομίσασθαι ἐν ἄγγεσιν· αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν δὴ 600
πάντα βίον κατάθηαι ἐπάρμενον ἔνδοθι οἴκου,
θῆτά τ᾽ ἄοικον ποιεῖσθαι καὶ ἄτεκνον ἔριθον
δίζησθαι κέλομαι· χαλεπὴ δ᾽ ὑπόπορτες ἔριθος·
καὶ κύνα καρχαρόδοντα κομεῖν, μὴ φείδεο σίτου,
μή ποτέ σ' ἡμερόκοιτος ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ χρήμαθ'
ἕληται.
χόρτον δ᾽ ἐσκομίσαι καὶ συρφετόν, ὄφρα τοι εἴη
βουσὶ καὶ ἡμιόνοισιν ἐπηετανόν. αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
ὁμῶας ἀναψύξαι φίλα γούνατα καὶ βόε λῦσαι.
605
46
WORKS AND DAYS
But when the artichoke flowers,¹ and the chirping
grass-hopper sits in a tree and pours down his shrill
song continually from under his wings in the season
of wearisome heat, then goats are plumpest and wine
sweetest; women are most wanton, but men are
feeblest, because Sirius parches head and knees and
the skin is dry through heat. But at that time let
me have a shady rock and wine of Biblis, a clot of
curds and milk of drained goats with the flesh of an
heifer fed in the woods, that has never calved, and
of firstling kids; then also let me drink bright wine,
sitting in the shade, when my heart is satisfied with
food, and so, turning my head to face the fresh
Zephyr, from the everflowing spring which pours
down unfouled thrice pour an offering of water, but
make a fourth libation of wine.
Set your slaves to winnow Demeter's holy grain,
when strong Orion 2 first appears, on a smooth
threshing-floor in an airy place. Then measure it
and store it in jars. And so soon as you have safely
stored all your stuff indoors, I bid you put your
bondman out of doors and look out a servant-girl
with no children;—for a servant with a child to
nurse is troublesome. And look after the dog with
jagged teeth; do not grudge him his food, or some
time the Day-sleeper 3 may take your stuff. Bring
in fodder and litter so as to have enough for your
oxen and mules. After that, let your men rest their
poor knees and unyoke your pair of oxen.
1 In June.
2 July.
i.e. a robber.
47
HESIOD
615
620
Εἶτ᾽ ἂν δ' Ωαρίων καὶ Σείριος ἐς μέσον ἔλθῃ
οὐρανόν, Αρκτοῦρον δ᾽ ἐσίδῃ ροδοδάκτυλος Ηώς, 610
ὦ Πέρση, τότε πάντας ἀποδρέπεν οἴκαδε βότρυς
δεῖξαι δ' ἠελίῳ δέκα τ᾽ ἤματα καὶ δέκα νύκτας,
πέντε δὲ συσκιάσαι, ἕκτῳ δ' εἰς ἄγγε᾽ ἀφύσσαι
δῶρα Διωνύσου πολυγηθέος. αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν δὴ
Πληιάδες θ' Υάδες τε τό τε σθένος Ωαρίωνος
δύνωσιν, τότ᾽ ἔπειτ' ἀρότου μεμνημένος εἶναι
ὡραίου· πλειὼν δὲ κατὰ χθονὸς ἄρμενος εἰσιν.
Εἰ δέ σε ναυτιλίης δυσπεμφέλου ἵμερος αἱρεῖ,
εὖτ᾽ ἂν Πληιάδες σθένος ἄβριμον Ωαρίωνος
φεύγουσαι πίπτωσιν ἐς ἠεροειδέα πόντον,
δὴ τότε παντοίων ἀνέμων θυίουσιν' ἀῆται·
καὶ τότε μηκέτι νῆας ἔχειν ἐνὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ,
γῆν ἐργάζεσθαι μεμνημένος, ὥς σε κελεύω.
νῆα δ' ἐπ' ἠπείρου ἐρύσαι πυκάσαι τε λίθοισι
πάντοθεν, ὄφρ᾽ ἴσχωσ᾽ ἀνέμων μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντων, 625
χείμαρον ἐξερύσας, ἵνα μὴ πύθῃ Διὸς ὄμβρος.
ὅπλα δ' ἐπάρμενα πάντα τεῷ ἐγκάτθεο οἴκῳ
εὐκόσμως στολίσας νηὸς πτερὰ ποντοπόροιο
πηδάλιον δ' ἐνεργὲς ὑπὲρ καπνοῦ κρεμάσασθαι.
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ὡραῖον μίμνειν πλόον, εἰσόκεν ἔλθῃ·
καὶ τότε νῆα θοὴν ἅλαδ᾽ ἑλκέμεν, ἐν δέ τε φόρτου
ἄρμενον ἐντύνασθαι, ἵν' οἴκαδε κέρδος ἄρηαι,
ὥς περ ἐμός τε πατὴρ καὶ σός, μέγα νήπιε Πέρσῃ,
πλωίζεσκ᾽ ἐν νηυσί, βίου κεχρημένος ἐσθλοῦ·
630
ὅς ποτε καὶ τῇδ᾽ ἦλθε, πολὺν διὰ πόντον ἀνύσσας, 635
Κύμην Αιολίδα προλιπών, ἐν νηὶ μελαίνῃ·
οὐκ ἄφενος φεύγων οὐδὲ πλοῦτόν τε καὶ ὄλβον,
1 Rzach : θνουσιν, MSS.
48
WORKS AND DAYS
But when Orion and Sirius are come into mid-
heaven, and rosy-fingered Dawn sees Arcturus,¹ then
cut off all the grape-clusters, Perses, and bring them
home. Show them to the sun ten days and ten
nights then cover them over for five, and on the
sixth day draw off into vessels the gifts of joyful
Dionysus. But when the Pleiades and Hyades and
strong Orion begin to set,2 then remember to plough
in season and so the completed year 3 will fitly pass
beneath the earth.
But if desire for uncomfortable sea-faring seize
you; when the Pleiades plunge into the misty sea ¹
to escape Orion's rude strength, then truly gales of
all kinds rage. Then keep ships no longer on the
sparkling sea, but bethink you to till the land as I
bid you. Haul up your ship upon the land and pack
it closely with stones all round to keep off the
power of the winds which blow damply, and draw
out the bilge-plug so that the rain of heaven may
not rot it. Put away all the tackle and fittings in
your house, and stow the wings of the sea-going
ship neatly, and hang up the well-shaped rudder
over the smoke. You yourself wait until the season
for sailing is come, and then haul your swift ship
down to the sea and stow a convenient cargo in it,
so that you may bring home profit, even as your
father and mine, foolish Perses, used to sail on ship-
board because he lacked sufficient livelihood And
one day he came to this very place crossing over a
great stretch of sea; he left Aeolian Cyme and fled,
not from riches and substance, but from wretched
2 The end of October.
1 September.
3 That is, the succession of stars which make up the full year.
The end of October or beginning of November.
49
E
HESIOD
ἀλλὰ κακὴν πενίην, τὴν Ζεὺς ἄνδρεσσι δίδωσιν·
νάσσατο δ᾽ ἄγχ᾽ Ἑλικῶνος οιζυρῇ ἐνὶ κώμῃ,
"Ασκρῃ, χείμα κακῇ, θέρει ἀργαλέῃ, οὐδέ ποτ'
ἐσθλῇ.
640
Τύνη δ᾽, ὦ Πέρση, ἔργων μεμνημένος εἶναι
ὡραίων πάντων, περὶ ναυτιλίης δὲ μάλιστα.
νῆς ὀλίγην αἰνεῖν, μεγάλῃ δ' ἐνὶ φορτία θέσθαι.
μείζων μὲν φόρτος, μεῖζον δ᾽ ἐπὶ κέρδει κέρδος
ἔσσεται, εἴ κ' ἄνεμοί γε κακὰς ἀπέχωσιν ἀήτας. 645
Εὖτ᾽ ἂν ἐπ᾿ ἐμπορίην τρέψας ἀεσίφρονα θυμὸν
βούληαι χρέα τε προφυγεῖν καὶ λιμὸν ἀτερπέα,
δείξω δή του μέτρα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης,
οὔτε τι ναυτιλίης σεσοφισμένος οὔτε τι νηῶν.
οὐ γάρ πώ ποτε νηί γ᾽ ἐπέπλων εὐρέα πόντον,
εἰ μὴ ἐς Εὔβοιαν ἐξ Αὐλίδος, ᾗ ποτ' Αχαιοὶ
μείναντες χειμῶνα πολὺν σὺν λαὸν ἄγειραν
Ἑλλάδος ἐξ ἱερᾶς Τροίην ἐς καλλιγύναικα.
ἔνθα δ' ἐγὼν ἐπ᾽ ἄεθλα δαίφρονος Αμφιδάμαντος
Χαλκίδα τ᾽ εἰς ἐπέρησα· τὰ δὲ προπεφρασμένα
πολλὰ
ἄεθλ᾽ ἔθεσαν παῖδες μεγαλήτορος· ἔνθα μέ φημι
ὕμνῳ νικήσαντα φέρειν τρίποδ᾽ ὠτώεντα.
τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ Μούσῃς Ελικωνιάδεσσ᾽ ἀνέθηκα,
ἔνθα με τὸ πρῶτον λιγυρῆς ἐπέβησαν ἀοιδῆς.
τόσσον τοι νηῶν γε πεπείρημαι πολυγόμφων
ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἐρέω Ζηνὸς νόον αἰγιόχοιο·
Μοῦσαι γάρ μ' ἐδίδαξαν ἀθέσφατον ὕμνον ἀείδειν.
Ἤματα πεντήκοντα μετὰ τροπὰς ἠελίοιο,
ἐς τέλος ἐλθόντος θέρεος καματώδεος ὥρης,
ὡραῖος πέλεται θνητοῖς πλόος· οὔτε κε νῆα
καυάξαις οὔτ᾽ ἄνδρας ἀποφθείσειε θάλασσα,
650
655
660
665
50
WORKS AND DAYS
poverty which Zeus lays upon men, and he settled
near Helicon in a miserable hamlet, Ascra, which is
bad in winter, sultry in summer, and good at no
time.
But you, Perses, remember all works in their season
but sailing especially. Admire a small ship, but put
your freight in a large one; for the greater the
lading, the greater will be your piled gain, if only
the winds will keep back their harmful gales.
If ever you turn your misguided heart to trading
and wish to escape from debt and joyless hunger, I
will show you the measures of the loud-roaring sea,
though I have no skill in sea-faring nor in ships; for
never yet have I sailed by ship over the wide sea,
but only to Euboea from Aulis where the Achaeans
once stayed through much storm when they had
gathered a great host from divine Hellas for Troy
the land of fair women. Then I crossed over to
Chalcis, to the games of wise Amphidamas where
the sons of the great-hearted hero proclaimed and
appointed prizes. And there I boast that I gained
the victory with a song and carried off an handled
tripod which I dedicated to the Muses of Helicon, in
the place where they first set me in the way of clear
song. Such is all my experience of many-pegged
ships; nevertheless I will tell you the will of Zeus
who holds the aegis; for the Muses have taught me
to sing in marvellous song.
Fifty days after the solstice,¹ when the season of
wearisome heat is come to an end, is the right time
for men to go sailing. Then you will not wreck your
ship, nor will the sea destroy the sailors, unless
1 July-August.
51
E 2
HESIOD
εἰ δὴ μὴ πρόφρων γε Ποσειδάων ενοσίχθων
* Ζεὺς ἀθανάτων βασιλεὺς ἐθέλῃσιν ὀλέσσαι·
ἐν τοῖς γὰρ τέλος ἐστὶν ὁμῶς ἀγαθῶν τε κακῶν τε.
τῆμος δ᾽ εὐκρινέες τ᾽ αὖραι καὶ πόντος ἀπήμων·
εὔκηλος τότε νῆα θοὴν ἀνέμοισι πιθήσας
ἑλκέμεν ἐς πόντον φόρτον τ᾽ ἐς πάντα τίθεσθαι,
σπεύδειν δ᾽ ὅττι τάχιστα πάλιν οἶκόνδε νέεσθαι·
μηδὲ μένειν οἶνόν τε νέον καὶ ὀπωρινὸν ὄμβρον
καὶ χειμῶν ἐπιόντα Νότοιό τε δεινὰς ἀήτας,
ὅστ᾽ ὤρινε θάλασσαν ὁμαρτήσας Διὸς ὄμβρῳ
πολλῷ ὀπωρινῷ, χαλεπὸν δέ τε πόντον ἔθηκεν.
Αλλος δ᾽ εἰαρινὸς πέλεται πλόος ἀνθρώποισιν·
ἦμος δὴ τὸ πρῶτον, ὅσον τ᾽ ἐπιβᾶσα κορώνη
ἴχνος ἐποίησεν, τόσσον πέταλ᾽ ἀνδρὶ φανείῃ
ἐν κράδῃ ἀκροτάτῃ, τότε δ᾽ ἄμβατός ἐστι θάλασσα
εἰαρινὸς δ᾽ οὗτος πέλεται πλόος. οὐ μιν ἔγωγε
αἴνημ᾽· οὐ γὰρ ἐμῷ θυμῷ κεχαρισμένος ἐστίν·
ἁρπακτός· χαλεπῶς κε φύγοις κακόν· ἀλλά νυ
καὶ τὰ
ἄνθρωποι ῥέζουσιν ἀιδρείῃσι νόοιο·
χρήματα γὰρ ψυχὴ πέλεται δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν.
δεινὸν δ᾽ ἐστὶ θανεῖν μετὰ κύμασιν. ἀλλά σ' ἄνωγα
φράζεσθαι τάδε πάντα μετὰ φρεσίν, ὡς ἀγορεύω.
μηδ' ἐν νηυσὶν ἅπαντα βίον κοΐλῃσι τίθεσθαι·
ἀλλὰ πλέω λείπειν, τὰ δὲ μείονα φορτίζεσθαι.
δεινὸν γὰρ πόντου μετὰ κύμασι πήματι κύρσαι.
δεινὸν δ᾽, εἴ κ' ἐπ᾽ ἄμαξαν ὑπέρβιον ἄχθος ἀείρας
ἄξονα καυάξαις καὶ φορτία μαυρωθείη.
μέτρα φυλάσσεσθαι· καιρὸς δ᾽ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἄριστος.
Ὡραῖος δὲ γυναῖκα τεὸν ποτὶ οἶκον ἄγεσθαι,
μήτε τριηκόντων ἐτέων μάλα πόλλ᾽ ἀπολείπων
670
675
680
685
690
695
52
WORKS AND DAYS
Poseidon the Earth-Shaker be set upon it, or Zeus,
the king of the deathless gods, wish to slay them
for the issues of good and evil alike are with them.
At that time the winds are steady, and the sea is
harmless. Then trust in the winds without care,
and haul your swift ship down to the sea and put
all the freight on board; but make all haste you
can to return home again and do not wait till the
time of the new wine and autumn rain and oncoming
storms with the fierce gales of Notus who accom-
panies the heavy autumn rain of Zeus and stirs up
the sea and makes the deep dangerous
Another time for men to go sailing is in spring
when a man first sees leaves on the topmost shoot of
a fig-tree as large as the foot-print that a crow makes;
then the sea is passable, and this is the spring sailing
time. For my part I do not praise it, for my heart
does not like it. Such a sailing is snatched, and you
will hardly avoid mischief. Yet in their ignorance
men do even this, for wealth means life to poor mor-
tals; but it is fearful to die among the waves. But
I bid you consider all these things in your heart as I
say. Do not put all your goods in hollow ships;
leave the greater part behind, and put the lesser
part on board; for it is a bad business to meet with
disaster among the waves of the sea, as it is bad if
you put too great a load on your waggon and break
the axle, and your goods are spoiled. Observe due
measure and proportion is best in all things.
Bring home a wife to your house when you are of
the right age, while you are not far short of thirty
53
HESIOD
μήτ' ἐπιθεὶς μάλα πολλά· γάμος δέ τοι ὥριος
οὗτος
ἡ δὲ γυνὴ τέτορ᾽ ἡβώοι, πέμπτῳ δὲ γαμοῖτο.
παρθενικὴν δὲ γαμεῖν, ὡς κ᾽ ἤθεα κεδνὰ διδάξῃς.
τὴν δὲ μάλιστα γαμεῖν, ἥ τις σέθεν ἐγγύθι ναίει, 700
πάντα μάλ' ἀμφιιδών, μὴ γείτοσι χάρματα γήμῃς.
οὐ μὲν γάρ τι γυναικὸς ἀνὴρ ληίζετ᾽ ἄμεινον
τῆς ἀγαθῆς, τῆς δ᾽ αὖτε κακῆς οὐ ῥίγιον ἄλλο,
δειπνολόχης· ἦτ᾽ ἄνδρα καὶ ἴφθιμόν περ εόντα
εὔει ἄτερ δαλοῖο καὶ ὠμῷ γήραϊ δῶκεν.2
Εὖ δ᾽ ἔπιν ἀθανάτων μακάρων πεφυλαγμένος
εἶναι.
μηδὲ κασιγνήτῳ ἶσον ποιεῖσθαι ἑταῖρον·
εἰ δέ κε ποιήσῃς, μή μιν πρότερος κακὸν ἔρξης.
μηδὲ ψεύδεσθαι γλώσσης χάριν· εἰ δὲ σέ γ' ἄρχῃ
ἤ τι ἔπος εἰπὼν ἀποθύμιον ἠὲ καὶ ἔρξας,
δις τόσα τίνυσθαι μεμνημένος· εἰ δὲ σέ γ' αὖτις
ἡγῆτ᾽ ἐς φιλότητα, δίκην δ᾽ ἐθέλῃσι παρασχεῖν,
δέξασθαι· δειλός τοι ἀνὴρ φίλον ἄλλοτε ἄλλον
ποιεῖται, σὲ δὲ μή τι νόον κατελεγχέτω εἶδος.
Μηδὲ πολύξεινον μηδ' ἄξεινον καλέεσθαι,
μηδὲ κακῶν ἕταρον μηδ᾽ ἐσθλῶν νεικεστῆρα.
705
710
715
Μηδέ ποτ' οὐλομένην πενίην θυμοφθόρον ἀνδρὶ
τέτλαθ᾽ ὀνειδίζειν, μακάρων δόσιν αἰὲν ἐόντων.
γλώσσης τοι θησαυρὸς ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἄριστος
φειδωλῆς, πλείστη δὲ χάρις κατὰ μέτρον ἰούσης. 720
εἰ δὲ κακὸν εἴποις, τάχα κ᾿ αὐτὸς μεῖζον ἀκού-
σαις.
1 Heyne: ἀμφὶς ἰδών, MSS.
2 Another recension has δαλοῦ καὶ ἐν ὠμῷ γήραϊ θῆκεν : 80
AENOPQ, Plutarch, Stobaeus.
54
WORKS AND DAYS
years nor much above; this is the right age for
marriage. Let your wife have been grown up four
years, and marry her in the fifth. Marry a maiden,
so that
you can teach her careful ways, and especially
marry one who lives near you, but look well about
you and see that your marriage will not be a joke to
your neighbours. For a man wins nothing better
than a good wife, and, again, nothing worse than a
bad one, a greedy soul who roasts her man without
fire, strong though he may be, and brings him to a
raw ¹ old age.
Be careful to avoid the anger of the deathless
gods. Do not make a friend equal to a brother; but
if you do, do not wrong him first, and do not lie to
please the tongue. But if he wrong you first, offend-
ing either in word or in deed, remember to repay
him double; but if he ask you to be his friend
again and be ready to give you satisfaction, welcome
him. He is a worthless man who makes now one
and now another his friend; but as for you, do not
let your face put your heart to shame.2
Do not get a name either as lavish or as churlish;
as a friend of rogues or as a slanderer of good men.
Never dare to taunt a man with deadly poverty
which eats out the heart; it is sent by the deathless
gods. The best treasure a man can have is a sparing
tongue, and the greatest pleasure, one that moves
orderly; for if you speak evil, you yourself will soon
be worse spoken of.
1 i.e. untimely, premature. Juvenal similarly speaks of
"cruda senectus" (caused by gluttony).
2 The thought is parallel to that of "O, what a goodly
outside falsehood hath."
55
HESIOD
Μηδὲ πολυξείνου δαιτὸς δυσπέμφελος εἶναι
ἐκ κοινοῦ· πλείστη δὲ χάρις, δαπάνη τ' ὀλιγίστη.
Μηδέ ποτ᾽ ἐξ ἐοῦς Διὶ λειβέμεν αἴθοπα οἶνον
χερσὶν ἀνίπτοισιν μηδ' ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν· 725
οὐ γὰρ τοί γε κλύουσιν, ἀποπτύουσι δέ τ' ἀράς.
Μηδ᾽ ἄντ᾽ ἠελίου τετραμμένος ὀρθὸς ὀμιχεῖν·
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε δύῃ, μεμνημένος, ἔς τ᾿ ἀνιόντα·
μήτ' ἐν ὁδῷ μήτ' ἐκτὸς ὁδοῦ προβάδην οὐρήσῃς
μηδ᾽ ἀπογυμνωθείς· μακάρων τοι νύκτες ἔασιν·
ἑζόμενος δ' ὅ γε θεῖος ἀνήρ, πεπνυμένα εἰδώς,
ἢ ὅ γε πρὸς τοῖχον πελάσας ἐνερκέος αὐλῆς.
Μηδ' αἰδοῖα γονῇ πεπαλαγμένος ἔνδοθι οἴκου
ἱστίῃ ἐμπελαδὸν παραφαινέμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλέασθαι.
μηδ' ἀπὸ δυσφήμοιο τάφου ἀπονοστήσαντα
σπερμαίνειν γενεήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀθανάτων ἀπὸ δαιτός.
Μηδέ ποτ' αἰενάων ποταμῶν καλλίρροον ὕδωρ
ποσσὶ περᾶν, πρίν γ' εὔξῃ ἰδὼν ἐς καλὰ ῥέεθρα,
χεῖρας νιψάμενος πολυηράτῳ ὕδατι λευκῷ.
ὃς ποταμὸν διαβῇ κακότητ᾿ ἰδὲ χεῖρας ἄνιπτος,
τῷ δὲ θεοὶ νεμεσῶσι καὶ ἄλγεα δῶκαν ὀπίσσω.
Μηδ' ἀπὸ πεντόζοιο θεῶν ἐν δαιτὶ θαλείη
αὖον ἀπὸ χλωροῦ τάμνειν αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ.
Μηδέ ποτ' οἰνοχόην τιθέμεν κρητῆρος ὕπερθε
πινόντων· ὀλοὴ γὰρ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ μοῖρα τέτυκται.
730
735
740
745
56
WORKS AND DAYS
Do not be boorish at a common feast where there
are many guests; the pleasure is greatest and the
expense is least,¹
Never pour a libation of sparkling wine to Zeus
after dawn with unwashen hands, nor to others of the
deathless gods; else they do not hear your prayers
but spit them back..
Do not stand upright facing the sun when you
make water, but remember to do this when he has
set and towards his rising, And do not make water
as you go, whether on the road or off the road, and
do not uncover yourself: the nights belong to the
blessed gods. A scrupulous man who has a wise heart
sits down or goes to the wall of an enclosed court.
Do not expose yourself befouled by the fireside in
your house, but avoid this. Do not beget children
when you are come back from ill-omened burial, but
after a festival of the gods.
Never cross the sweet-flowing water of ever-rolling
rivers afoot until you have prayed, gazing into the
soft flood, and washed your hands in the clear, lovely
water. Whoever crosses a river with hands unwashed
of wickedness, the gods are angry with him and
bring trouble upon him afterwards.
At a cheerful festival of the gods do not cut the
withered from the quick upon that which has five
branches 2 with bright steel.
Never put the ladle upon the mixing-bowl at a wine
party, for malignant ill-luck is attached to that.
1 The " common feast" is one to which all present sub-
scribe. Theognis (line 495) says that one of the chief pleasures
of a banquet is the general conversation. Hence the present
passage means that such a feast naturally costs little, while
the many present will make pleasurable conversation.
2 i.e.
"do not cut your finger-nails."
57
HESIOD
Μηδὲ δόμον ποιῶν ἀνεπίξεστον καταλείπειν,
μή τοι ἐφεζομένη κρώξῃ λακέρυζα κορώνη.
Μηδ' ἀπὸ χυτροπόδων ἀνεπιρρέκτων ἀνελόντα
ἔσθειν μηδὲ λόεσθαι· ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῖς ἔνι ποινή.
Μηδ' ἐπ᾽ ἀκινήτοισι καθιζέμεν, οὐ γὰρ ἄμεινον, 750
παῖδα δυωδεκαταῖον, ὅτ᾽ ἀνέρ᾽ ἀνήνορα ποιεῖ,
μηδὲ δυωδεκάμηνον· ἴσον καὶ τοῦτο τέτυκται.
μηδὲ γυναικείῳ λουτρῷ χρόα φαιδρύνεσθαι
ἀνέρα· λευγαλέη γὰρ ἐπὶ χρόνον ἔστ' ἐπὶ καὶ τῷ
ποινή, μηδ' ἱεροῖσιν ἐπ᾽ αἰθομένοισι κυρήσας
μωμεύειν ἀίδηλα· θεός νύ τι καὶ τὰ νεμεσσᾷ.
μηδέ ποτ' ἐν προχοῇς ποταμῶν ἅλαδε προρεόντων
μηδ' ἐπὶ κρηνάων οὐρεῖν, μάλα δ' ἐξαλέασθαι·
μηδ᾽ ἐναποψύχειν· τὸ γὰρ οὔ τοι λώιόν ἐστιν.
Ωδ' ἔρδειν· δεινὴν δὲ βροτῶν ὑπαλεύει φήμην. 760
φήμη γάρ τε κακὴ πέλεται, κούφη μὲν ἀεῖραι
ῥεῖα μάλ', ἀργαλέη δὲ φέρειν, χαλεπὴ δ᾽ ἀπο-
θέσθαι.
φήμη δ᾽ οὔτις πάμπαν ἀπόλλυται, ἥν τινα πολλοὶ
λαοὶ φημίξωσι· θεός νύ τίς ἐστι καὶ αὐτή.
Ἤματα δ᾽ ἐκ Διόθεν πεφυλαγμένος εὖ κατὰ
μοῖραν
πεφραδέμεν δμώεσσι· τριηκάδα μηνὸς ἀρίστην
ἔργα τ᾽ ἐποπτεύειν ἠδ᾽ ἁρμαλιὴν δατέασθαι.
Αἵδε γὰρ ἡμέραι εἰσὶ Διὸς πάρα μητιόεντος,
εὖτ᾽ ἂν ἀληθείην λαοὶ κρίνοντες ἄγωσιν.
755
765
769
768
Πρῶτον ἔνη τετράς τε καὶ ἑβδόμη ἱερὸν ἦμαρ· 770
τῇ γὰρ ᾿Απόλλωνα χρυσάορα γείνατο Λητώ·
ὀγδοάτη δ᾽ ἐνάτη τε, δύω γε μὲν ἤματα μηνὸς
58
WORKS AND DAYS
When you are building a house, do not leave it rough-
hewn, or a cawing crow may settle on it and croak.
Take nothing to eat or to wash with from
uncharmed pots, for in them there is mischief.
Do not let a boy of twelve years sit on things
which may not be moved,¹ for that is bad, and makes
a man unmanly; nor yet a child of twelve months, for
that has the same effect. A man should not clean
his body with water in which a woman has washed,
for there is bitter mischief in that also for a time.
When you come upon a burning sacrifice, do not
make a mock of mysteries, for Heaven is angry at
this also. Never make water in the mouths of rivers
which flow to the sea, nor yet in springs; but be
careful to avoid this. And do not ease yourself in
them it is not well to do this.
:
So do and avoid the talk of men. For Talk is
mischievous, light, and easily raised, but hard to
bear and difficult to be rid of. Talk never wholly
dies
away when many people voice her: even Talk
is in some ways
divine..
Mark the days which come from Zeus, duly
telling your slaves of them, and that the thirtieth
day of the month is best for one to look over the
work and to deal out supplies..
For these are days which come from Zeus the all-
wise, when men discern aright.
To begin with, the first, the fourth, and the
seventh-on which Leto bare Apollo with the
blade of gold-each is a holy day. The eighth and
1 i.e. things which it would be sacrilege to disturb, such as
tombs.
59
HESIOD
;
775
ἔξοχ᾽ ἀεξομένοιο βροτήσια ἔργα πένεσθαι·
ἑνδεκάτη δὲ δυωδεκάτη τ', ἄμφω γε μὲν ἐσθλαί,
ἠμὲν ὄις πείκειν ἠδ᾽ εὔφρονα καρπὸν ἀμᾶσθαι·
ἡ δὲ δυωδεκάτη τῆς ἑνδεκάτης μέγ᾽ ἀμείνων·
τῇ γάρ τοι νῇ νήματ᾽ ἀερσιπότητος ἀράχνης
ἤματος ἐκ πλείου, ὅτε ἴδρις σωρὸν ἀμᾶται·
τῇ δ᾽ ἱστὸν στήσαιτο γυνὴ προβάλοιτό τε ἔργον.
Μηνὸς δ᾽ ἱσταμένου τρισκαιδεκάτην ἀλέασθαι 780
σπέρματος ἄρξασθαι· φυτὰ δ᾽ ἐκθρέψασθαι
ἀρίστη.
Εκτη δ᾽ ἡ μέσση μάλ᾽ ἀσύμφορός ἐστι φυτοῖσιν,
ἀνδρογόνος δ᾽ ἀγαθή· κούρῃ δ᾽ οὐ σύμφορός ἐστιν,
οὔτε γενέσθαι πρῶτ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἂρ γάμου ἀντιβολῆσαι.
οὐδὲ μὲν ἡ πρώτη ἕκτη κούρῃ γει γενέσθαι
ἄρμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐρίφους τάμνειν καὶ πώεα μήλων
σηκόν τ' ἀμφιβαλεῖν ποιμνήιον ἤπιον ἦμαρ·
ἐσθλὴ δ᾽ ἀνδρογόνος φιλέοι δ' ὅ γε κέρτομα
2
βάζειν
ψεύδεά θ' αἱμυλίους τε λόγους κρυφίους τ
ὀαρισμούς.
Μηνὸς δ᾽ ὀγδοάτῃ κάπρον καὶ βοῦν ἐρίμυκον
ταμνέμεν, οὐρῆας δὲ δυωδεκάτῃ ταλαεργούς.
Εἰκάδι δ᾽ ἐν μεγάλῃ, πλέῳ ἤματι, ἵστορα φῶτα
γείνασθαι μάλα γάρ τε νόον πεπυκασμένος
ἐστίν.
785
790
ἐσθλὴ δ᾽ ἀνδρογόνος δεκάτη, κούρῃ δέ τε τετρὰς
μέσση· τῇ δέ τε μῆλα καὶ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς 795
καὶ κύνα καρχαρόδοντα καὶ οὐρῆας ταλαεργοὺς
πρηΰνειν ἐπὶ χεῖρα τιθείς.
1 Rzach : κούρῃ τε, AFGH etc. :
2 Α : φιλέοι οι φιλέει δέ ΚΕ, MSS.
πεφύλαξο δὲ θυμῷ
κούρῃσι τε, KL: : κουρῃσι,
Ε.
60
WORKS AND DAYS
the ninth, two days at least of the waxing month,¹
are specially good for the works of man. Also the
eleventh and twelfth are both excellent, alike for
shearing sheep and for reaping the kindly fruits; but
the twelfth is much better than the eleventh, for on
it the airy-swinging spider spins its web in full day,
and then the Wise One,2 gathers her pile. On that
day a woman should set up her loom and get forward
with her work.
Avoid the thirteenth of the waxing month for
beginning to sow yet it is the best day for setting
plants.
The sixth of the mid-month is very unfavourable
for plants, but is good for the birth of males, though
unfavourable for a girl either to be born at all or to
be married. Nor is the first sixth a fit day for a girl
to be born, but a kindly for gelding kids and sheep
and for fencing in a sheep-cote. It is favourable for
the birth of a boy, but such will be fond of sharp
speech, lies, and cunning words, and stealthy
converse.
On the eighth of the month geld the boar and
loud-bellowing bull, but hard-working mules on the
twelfth..
On the great twentieth, in full day, a wise man
should be born. Such an one is very sound-witted.
The tenth is favourable for a male to be born; but,
for a girl, the fourth day of the mid-month. On that
day tame sheep and shambling, horned oxen, and
the sharp-fanged dog and hardy mules to the touch
of the hand. But take care to avoid troubles which
1 The month is divided into three periods, the waxing, the
mid-month, and the waning, which answer to the phases of
i.e. the ant.
the moon.
2
61
HESIOD
τετράδ᾽ ἀλεύασθαι φθίνοντός θ' ἱσταμένου τε
ἄλγε' ἃ θυμβορεῖ 1 μάλα γὰρ 2 τετελεσμένον ἦμαρ.
Ἐν δὲ τετάρτῃ μηνὸς ἄγεσθαι 3 οἶκον ἄκοιτιν
οἰωνοὺς κρίνας, οἳ ἐπ᾽ ἔργματι τούτῳ ἄριστοι.
Πέμπτας δ' ἐξαλέασθαι, ἐπεὶ χαλεπαί τε καὶ
αἰναί·
ἐν πέμπτῃ γάρ φασιν Ερινύας ἀμφιπολεύειν
Ορκον γεινόμενον, τὸν Ἔρις τέκε πῆμ᾽ ἐπιόρκοις.
Μέσσῃ δ᾽ ἑβδομάτῃ Δημήτερος ἱερὸν ἀκτὴν
εὖ μάλ᾽ ὀπιπεύοντα ἐυτροχάλῳ ἐν ἀλωῇ
βαλλέμεν, ὑλοτόμον τε ταμεῖν θαλαμήια δούρα
νήιά τε ξύλα πολλά, τά τ' ἄρμενα νηυσὶ
πέλονται.
τετράδι δ᾽ ἄρχεσθαι νῆας πήγνυσθαι ἀραιάς.
Εἰνὰς δ᾽ ἡ μέσση ἐπὶ δείελα λώιον ἦμαρ,
πρωτίστη δ᾽ εἰνὰς παναπήμων ἀνθρώποισιν·
ἐσθλὴ μὲν γάρ θ' ἥ γε 4 φυτευέμεν ἠδὲ γενέσθαι
ἀνέρι τ' ἠδὲ γυναικί· καὶ οὔποτε πάγκακον ἦμαρ.
800
805
810
815
Παῦροι δ' αὖτε ἴσασι τρισεινάδα μηνὸς ἀρίστην
ἄρξασθαί τε πίθου καὶ ἐπὶ ζυγὸν αὐχένι θεῖναι
βουσὶ καὶ ἡμιόνοισι καὶ ἵπποις ὠκυπόδεσσι,
νῆα πολυκλήιδα θοὴν εἰς οἴνοπα πόντον
εἰρύμεναι· παῦροι δέ τ᾽ ἀληθέα κικλήσκουσιν.
Τετράδι δ᾽ οἶγε πίθον· περὶ πάντων ἱερὸν ἦμαρ
μέσση· παῦροι δ᾽ αὖτε μετ᾿ εἰκάδα μηνὸς ἀρίστην 820
ἠοῦς γιγνομένης· ἐπὶ δείελα δ᾽ ἐστὶ χερείων.
1 Guyet: θυμοβορεῖν, MSS.
8 Sittl : ἄγεσθ᾽ εἰς, MSS.
2 Α : τοι, MSS.
4 ΑΜ : ἥδε, most MSS.
62
WORKS AND DAYS
eat out the heart on the fourth of the beginning and
ending of the month; it is a day very fraught with fate.
On the fourth of the month bring home your
bride, but choose the omens which are best for this
business.
Avoid fifth days: they are unkindly and terrible,
On a fifth, they say, the Erinyes assisted at the birth
of Horcus (Oath) whom Eris (Strife) bare to trouble
the forsworn,
Look about you very carefully and throw out
Demeter's holy grain upon the well-rolled ¹ threshing
floor on the seventh of the mid-month. Let the
woodman cut beams for house building and plenty of
ships' timbers, such as are suitable for ships. On the
fourth day begin to build narrow ships.
The ninth of the mid-month improves towards
evening; but the first ninth of all is quite harmless
for men. It is a good day on which to beget or to
be born both for a male and a female: it is never an
wholly evil day.
Again, few know that the twenty-seventh of the
month is best for opening a wine-jar, and putting
yokes on the necks of oxen and mules and swift-
footed horses, and for hauling a swift ship of many
thwarts down to the sparkling sea; few call it by its
right name.
On the fourth day open a jar. The fourth of the
mid-month is a day holy above all. And again, few
men know that the fourth day after the twentieth
is best while it is morning: towards evening it is
less good.
1 Such seems to be the meaning here, though the epithet
is otherwise rendered "well-rounded." Corn was threshed
by means of a sleigh with two runners having three or four
rollers between them, like the modern Egyptian nurag.
63
HESIOD
Λἵδε μὲν ἡμέραι εἰσὶν ἐπιχθονίοις μέγ' όνειαρ,
αἱ δ᾽ ἄλλαι μετάδουποι, ἀκήριοι, οὔ τι φέρουσαι.
ἄλλος δ᾽ ἀλλοίην αἰνεῖ, παῦροι δὲ ἴσασιν.
ἄλλοτε μητρυιὴ πέλει ἡμέρη, ἄλλοτε μήτηρ.
τάων εὐδαίμων τε καὶ ὄλβιος, ὃς τάδε πάντα
εἰδὼς ἐργάζηται ἀναίτιος ἀθανάτοισιν,
ὄρνιθας κρίνων καὶ ὑπερβασίας ἀλεείνων.
825
ΟΡΝΙΘΟΜΑΝΤΕΙΑ
Proclus on Works and Days, 828. Τούτοις δὲ
ἐπάγουσί τινες τὴν Ορνιθομαντείαν ἅτινα Απολ
λώνιος ο Ρόδιος ἀθετεῖ.
64
WORKS AND DAYS
These days are a great blessing to men on earth ;
but the rest are changeable, luckless, and bring
nothing. Everyone praises a different day but few
know their nature. Sometimes a day is a step
mother, sometimes a mother. That man is happy
and lucky in them who knows all these things and
does his work without offending the deathless gods,
who discerns the omens of birds and avoids
transgression.
THE DIVINATION BY BIRDS
Some make the Divination by Birds, which
Apollonius of Rhodes rejects as spurious, follow
this verse (Works and Days, 828).
65
HESIOD
ΑΣΤΡΟΝΟΜΙΑ
1.
αἰεὶ
Athenaeus xi. p. 491 d. καὶ ὁ τὴν εἰς Ἡσίοδον
δὴ ἀναφερομένην ποιήσας Αστρονομίαν
Πελειάδας αὐτὰς λέγει·
τὰς δὲ βροτοὶ καλέουσι Πελειάδας.
καὶ πάλιν·
χειμέριαι δύνουσι Πελειάδες.
καὶ πάλιν·
τῆμος ἀποκρύπτουσι Πελειάδες . . . .
....
Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. ii. 16. Πλειάδας ...
ὧν οἱ ἀστέρες οὗτοι·
Τηϋγέτη τ᾽ ἐρόεσσα καὶ Ηλέκτρη κυανωπις
᾿Αλκυόνη τε καὶ ᾿Αστερόπη δίη τε Κελαινὼ
Μαϊά τε καὶ Μερόπη, τὰς γείνατο φαίδιμος
Ατλας.
Κυλλήνης ἐν ὄρεσσι θεῶν κήρυκα τέχ
Ἑρμῆν.
2.
Scholiast on Aratus 254. Ζεὺς δὲ ἀστέρας
αὐτὰς τὰς αντος ἀδελφὰς) πεποίηκε, τὰς
66
THE ASTRONOMY
THE ASTRONOMY
1.
AND the author of the Astronomy, which is attri-
buted forsooth to Hesiod, always calls them (the
Pleiades) Peleiades: "but mortals call them
Peleiades"; and again, "the stormy Peleiades go
down"; and again, "then the Peleiades hide
away
""
The Pleiades . . . whose stars are these:-"Lovely
Teÿgeta, and dark-faced Electra, and Alcyone, and
bright Asterope, and Celaeno, and Maia, and Merope,
whom glorious Atlas begot . . . . In the mountains
of Cyllene she (Maia) bare Hermes, the herald of
the gods."
2.
But Zeus made them (the
sisters of Hyas)
into the stars which are called Hyades. Hesiod
67
T 2
HESIOD
καλουμένας Ὑάδας. ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα Ἡσίοδος
ἐν τῇ ᾿Αστρικῇ αὐτοῦ βίβλῳ διδάσκει λέγων·
Νύμφαι Χαρίτεσσιν ὁμοῖαι,
1
Φαισύλη ἠδὲ Κορωνὶς ἐυστέφανός τε Κλέεια
Φαιώ θ᾽ ἱμερόεσσα ἰδ' Ευδώρη τανύπεπλος,
ἃς άδας καλέουσιν ἐπὶ χθονὶ φύλ' ἀνθρώ-
πων.
3.
Pseudo-Eratosthenes Catast. frag. 1.2 Αρκτος ἡ
μεγάλη] ταύτην Ἡσίοδός φησι Λυκάονος θυγα-
τέρα ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ οἰκεῖν, ἑλέσθαι δὲ μετὰ
Αρτέμιδος τὴν περὶ τὰς θήρας ἀγωγὴν ἐν τοῖς
ὄρεσι ποιεῖσθαι· φθαρεῖσαν δὲ ὑπὸ Διὸς ἐμμεῖναι
λανθάνουσαν τὴν θεόν· φωραθῆναι δὲ ὕστερον
ἐπίτοκον ἤδη οὖσαν ὀφθεῖσαν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς λουο-
μένην· ἐφ᾽ ᾧ ὀργισθεῖσαν τὴν θεὸν ἀποθηριῶσαι
αὐτήν· καὶ οὕτως τεκεῖν ἄρκτον γενομένην τὸν
κληθέντα Αρκάδα. οὖσαν δ' ἐν τῷ ὄρει θηρευ
θῆναι ὑπὸ αἰπόλων τινῶν καὶ παραδοθῆναι μετὰ
τοῦ βρέφους τῷ Λυκάονι· μετὰ χρόνον δέ τινα
δόξαι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸ τοῦ Διὸς ἄβατον [ἱερὸν]
ἀγνοήσασαν τὸν νόμον. ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ
διωκομένην καὶ τῶν ᾿Αρκάδων, καὶ ἀναιρεῖσθαι
μέλλουσαν διὰ τὸν εἰρημένον νόμον, ὁ Ζεὺς διὰ
τὴν συγγένειαν αὐτὴν ἐξείλετο καὶ ἐν τοῖς
ἄστροις αὐτὴν ἔθηκεν. ῎Αρκτον δὲ αὐτὴν ὠνό
μασε διὰ τὸ συμβεβηκὸς αὐτῇ σύμπτωμα.
Comm. Supplem. on Aratus, p. 547 Μ. 8. περὶ
τοῦ Βοώτου τοῦ καὶ ᾿Αρκτοφύλακος. περὶ τούτου
1 This half verse is added by the Scholiast on Aratus, 172.
2 The Catasterismi ("Placings among the Stars") is a col-
lection of legends relating to the various constellations.
68
THE ASTRONOMY
in his Book about Stars tells us their names as
follows: "Nymphs like the Graces, Phaesyle and
Coronis and rich-crowned Cleeia and lovely Phaeo
and long-robed Eudora, whom the tribes of men
upon the earth call Hyades."
3.
The Great Bear.]-Hesiod says she (Callisto) was
the daughter of Lycaon and lived in Arcadia. She
chose to occupy herself with wild-beasts in the
mountains together with Artemis, and, when she
was seduced by Zeus, continued some time un-
detected by the goddess, but afterwards, when she
was already with child, was seen by her bathing
and so discovered. Upon this, the goddess was
enraged and changed her into a beast. Thus she
became a bear and gave birth to a son called Arcas.
But while she was in the mountain, she was hunted
by some goat-herds and given up with her babe to
Lycaon. Some while after, she thought fit to go
into the forbidden precinct of Zeus, not knowing
the law, and being pursued by her own son and
the Arcadians, was about to be killed because of the
said law; but Zeus delivered her because of her
connection with him and put her among the stars,
giving her the name Bear because of the misfortune
which had befallen her.
Of Boötes, also called the Bear-warden. The
story goes that he is Arcas the son of Callisto and
Go
HESIOD
λέγεται, ὅτι ᾿Αρκάς ἐστιν ὁ Καλλιστοῦς καὶ Διὸς
γεγονώς· ᾤκησε δὲ περὶ τὸ Λύκαιον. φθείραντος
αὐτὴν Διός, οὐ προσποιησάμενος ὁ Λυκάων, τὸν
Δία ἐξένιζεν, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος, καὶ τὸ βρέφος
κατακόψας παρέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν.
4.
Pseudo-Eratosthenes, Catast. fr. xxxii. Ωρίων]
τοῦτον Ησίοδός φησιν Εὐρυάλης τῆς Μίνωος
καὶ Ποσειδῶνος εἶναι, δοθῆναι δὲ αὐτῷ δωρεὰν
ὥστε ἐπὶ τῶν κυμάτων πορεύεσθαι καθάπερ ἐπὶ
τῆς γῆς. ἐλθόντα δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς Χίον Μερόπην
τὴν Οινοπίωνος βιάσασθαι οἰνωθέντα, γνόντα
δὲ τὸν Οἰνοπίωνα καὶ χαλεπῶς ἐνεγκόντα τὴν
ὕβριν ἐκτυφλῶσαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκ τῆς χώρας
ἐκβαλεῖν· ἐλθόντα δὲ εἰς Λῆμνον ἀλητεύοντα
Ηφαίστῳ συμμίξαι· ὃς αὐτὸν ἐλεήσας δίδωσιν
αὐτῷ Κηδαλίωνα τὸν αὑτοῦ [οἰκεῖον] οἰκέτην, ὅπως
ὁδηγῇ· ὃν λαβὼν ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἔφερε σημαίνοντα
τὰς ὁδούς. ἐλθὼν δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀνατολὰς καὶ Ἡλίῳ
συμμίξας δοκεῖ ὑγιασθῆναι καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸν
Οινοπίωνα ἐλθεῖν πάλιν τιμωρίαν αὐτῷ ἐπιθή-
σων.
ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν ὑπὸ γῆν ἐκέκρυπτο.
ἀπελπίσας δὲ τὴν ἐκείνου ζήτησιν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς
Κρήτην καὶ περὶ τὰς θήρας διῆγε κυνηγετῶν
τῆς ᾿Αρτέμιδος παρούσης καὶ τῆς Λητούς, καὶ
δοκεῖ ἀπειλήσασθαι ὡς πᾶν θηρίον ἀνελεῖν τῶν
ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς γινομένων. θυμωθεῖσα δὲ αὐτῷ Γῆ
ἀνῆκε σκορπίον εὐμεγέθη, ἐφ᾽ οὗ τῷ κέντρῳ
πληγεὶς ἀπώλετο. ὅθεν διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνδρίαν
ἐν τοῖς ἄστροις αὐτὸν ἔθηκεν ὁ Ζεὺς ὑπὸ ᾿Αρτέ
70
THE ASTRONOMY
Zeus, and he lived in the country about Lycaeum.
After Zeus had seduced Callisto, Lycaon, pretend-
ing not to know of the matter, entertained Zeus, as
Hesiod says, and set before him on the table the
babe which he had cut up.
4.
Orion. Hesiod says that he was the son of
Euryale, the daughter of Minos, and of Poseidon,
and that there was given him as a gift the power
of walking upon the waves as though upon land.
When he was come to Chios, he outraged Merope,
the daughter of Oenopion, being drunken; but
Oenopion when he learned of it was greatly vexed
at the outrage and blinded him and cast him out of
the country. Then he came to Lemnos as a beggar
and there met Hephaestus who took pity on him
and gave him Cedalion his own servant to guide
him. So Orion took Cedalion upon his shoulders
and used to carry him about while he pointed out the
roads. Then he came to the east and appears to have
met Helius (the Sun) and to have been healed, and
so returned back again to Oenopion to punish him;
but Oenopion was hidden away by his people under-
ground. Being disappointed, then, in his search for
the king, Orion went away to Crete and spent his
tine hunting in company with Artemis and Leto.
It seems that he threatened to kill every beast there
was on earth; whereupon, in her anger, Earth sent
up against him a scorpion of very great size by which
he was stung and so perished. After this Žeus, at
the prayer of Artemis and Leto, put him among the
71
HESIOD
μιδος καὶ Λητοῦς ἀξιωθείς, ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ θηρίον
τοῦ εἶναι μνημόσυνον καὶ τῆς πράξεως.
5.
Diodorus iv. 85. ἔνιοι δὲ λέγουσι σεισμών
μεγάλων γενομένων διαρραγῆναι τὸν αὐχένα τῆς
ἠπείρου καὶ γενέσθαι τὸν πορθμόν, διειργούσης
τῆς θαλάσσης τὴν ἤπειρον ἀπὸ τῆς νήσου.
Ἡσίοδος δὲ ὁ ποιητής φησι τοὐναντίον, ἀνα-
πεπταμένου τοῦ πελάγους Ωρίωνα προσχῶσαι
τὸ κατὰ τὴν Πελωρίδα κείμενον ἀκρωτήριον καὶ
τὸ τέμενος τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος κατασκευάσαι, τιμώ
μενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων διαφερόντως· ταῦτα δὲ
διαπραξάμενον εἰς Εὔβοιαν μεταναστῆσαι κἀκεῖ
κατοικῆσαι· διὰ δὲ τὴν δόξαν ἐν τοῖς κατ᾽ οὐρανὸν
ἄστροις καταριθμηθέντα τυχεῖν ἀθανάτου μνήμης.
ΧΕΙΡΩΝΟΣ ΥΠΟΘΗΚΑΙ
1.
Scholiast on Pindar, Pyth. vi. 19.
Εὖ νῦν μοι τὰ ἕκαστα μετὰ φρεσὶ πευκαλίμῃσι
φράζεσθαι· πρῶτον μέν, ὅτ᾽ ἂν δόμον εἰσαφίκηαι,
ἐρδέμεν ἱερὰ καλὰ θεοῖς αἰειγενέτησιν.
Plutarch Mor. 1034 E.
2.
μηδὲ δίκην δικάσῃς, πρὶν ἂν ἀμφοῖν μῦθον
ἀκούσῃς.
72
THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON
stars, because of his manliness, and the scorpion also
as a memorial of him and of what had occurred.
5.
Some say that great earthquakes occurred, which
broke through the neck of land and formed the
straits,¹ the sea parting the mainland from the island.
But Hesiod, the poet, says just the opposite: that
the sea was open, but Orion piled up the promontory
by Peloris, and founded the close of Poseidon which
is especially esteemed by the people thereabouts.
When he had finished this, he went away to Euboea
and settled there, and because of his renown was
taken into the number of the stars in heaven, and
won undying remembrance.
THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON
1.
"AND now, pray, mark all these things well in
a wise heart. First, whenever you come to your
house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal gods."

"D
2.
it until you have heard both sides
The Strai
73
HESIOD
3.
Plutarch de Orac. defectu ii. 415 c.
ἐννέα τοι ζώει γενεὰς λακέρυζα κορώνη
ἀνδρῶν γηράντων· ἔλαφος δέ τε τετρακόρωνος•
τρεῖς δ᾽ ἐλάφους ὁ κόραξ γηράσκεται· αὐτὰρ ὁ
φοίνιξ
ἐννέα μὲν κόρακας, δέκα φοίνικας δέ τοι ἡμεῖς
Νύμφαι ευπλόκαμοι, κοῦραι Διὸς αιγιόχοιο.
4.
Quintilian, i. 1. 15. Quidam litteris instituendos,
qui minores septem annis essent, non putaverunt
. . . in qua sententia Hesiodum esse plurimi tradunt,
qui ante Grammaticum Aristophanem fuerunt, nam
is primus Ὑποθήκας, in quo libro scriptum hoc
invenitur, negavit esse huius poetae,
ΜΕΓΑΛΑ ΕΡΓΑ
1.
Comm. on Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. v. 8.
τὸ μέντοι ἔπος (τὸ τοῦ Ραδαμάνθυος) ἐστὶ παρ'
Ησιόδῳ ἐν τοῖς Μεγάλοις Ἔργοις οὕτως ἔχον·
εἰ κακά τις σπείραι, κακὰ κέρδεα κ' ἀμήσειεν
εἴ κε πάθοι τά τ' ἔρεξε, δίκη κ᾿ ἰθεῖα γένοιτο.
2.
Proclus on Hesiod, Works and Days, 126. τὸ
δὲ ἀργύρεον ἔνιοι τῇ γῇ ἀκούουσι λέγοντες ὅτι
ἐν τοῖς Μεγάλοις Ἔργοις τὸ ἀργύριον τῆς γῆς
γενεαλογεί.
74
THE GREAT WORKS
3.
"A chattering crow lives out nine generations of
aged men, but a stag's life is four times a crow's,
and a raven's life makes three stags old, while the
phoenix outlives nine ravens, but we, the rich-haired
Nymphs, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder, outlive
ten phoenixes."
4.
Some consider that children under the age of
seven should not receive a literary education
That Hesiod was of this opinion very many writers
affirm who were earlier than the critic Aristophanes ;
for he was the first to reject the Precepts, in which
book this maxim occurs, as a work of that poet.
THE GREAT WORKS
1.
THE verse, however (the saying of Rhadamanthys),
is in Hesiod in the Great Works and is as follows:
"If a man sow evil, he shall reap evil increase; if
men do to him as he has done, it will be true
justice."
2.
Some believe that the Silver Race (is to be attri-
buted to) the earth, declaring that in the Great
Works Hesiod makes silver to be of the family of
Earth.
75
HESIOD
ΙΔΑΙΟΙ ΔΑΚΤΥΛΟΙ
Pliny, Natural History vii. 56, 197. . . . Ferrum
conflare et temperare Hesiodus in Creta eos (mon-
strasse) qui vocati sunt Dactyli Idaei.
Clement, Stromateis i. 16. 75. Κέλμις τε απ
καὶ Δαμναμενεύς, οἱ τῶν Ἰδαίων Δακτύλων
πρῶτοι, σίδηρον εὗρον ἐν Κύπρῳ, Δέλας δὲ ἄλλος
Ἰδαῖος εὗρε χαλκοῦ κρᾶσιν, ὡς δὲ Ἡσίοδος,
Σκύθης.
76
THE IDAEAN DACTYLS
THE IDAEAN DACTYLS
HESIOD says that those who are called the Idaean
Dactyls taught the smelting and tempering of iron in
Crete.
Celmis, again, and Damnameneus, the first of the
Idaean Dactyls, discovered iron in Cyprus; but
bronze-smelting was discovered by Delas, another
Idaean, though Hesiod calls him Scythes.¹
1 Or perhaps
66
a Scythian."
77
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ ΘΕΟΓΟΝΙΑ
5
10
Μουσάων Ελικωνιάδων ἀρχώμεθ᾽ ἀείδειν,
αἴθ᾽ Ἑλικῶνος ἔχουσιν ὄρος μέγα τε ζάθεόν τε
καί τε περὶ κρήνην ἰοειδέα πόσσ᾽ ἁπαλοῖσιν
ὀρχεῦνται καὶ βωμὸν ἐρισθενέος Κρονίωνος.
καί τε λοεσσάμεναι τέρενα χρόα Περμησσοίο
ἢΙππου κρήνης ἢ Ολμειοῦ ζαθέοιο
ἀκροτάτῳ Ἑλικῶνι χοροὺς ἐνεποιήσαντο
καλούς, ἱμερόεντας· ἐπερρώσαντο δὲ ποσσίν.
ἔνθεν ἀπορνύμεναι, κεκαλυμμέναι ἠέρι πολλῇ,
ἐννύχιαι στεῖχον περικαλλέα ὄσσαν ἱεῖσαι,
ὑμνοῦσαι Δία τ' αἰγίοχον καὶ πότνιαν "Ηρην
᾿Αργείην, χρυσέοισι πεδίλοις ἐμβεβανίαν,
κούρην τ' αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς γλαυκῶπιν ᾿Αθήνην
Φοϊβόν τ' ᾿Απόλλωνα καὶ "Αρτεμιν ἰοχέαιραν
ἠδὲ Ποσειδάωνα γεήοχον, ἐννοσίγαιον,
καὶ Θέμιν αἰδοίην ἑλικοβλέφαρόν τ' Αφροδίτην
"Ήβην τε χρυσοστέφανον καλήν τε Διώνην
Λητώ τ' Ιαπετόν τε ἰδὲ Κρόνον ἀγκυλομήτην
Ηῶ τ᾽ Ηέλιόν τε μέγαν λαμπράν τε Σελήνην
Γαϊάν τ᾽ Ὠκεανόν τε μέγαν καὶ Νύκτα μέλαιναν 20
ἄλλων τ᾿ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων.
αἵ νύ ποθ' Ησίοδον καλὴν ἐδίδαξαν ἀοιδήν,
15
78
THE THEOGONY OF HESIOD
FROM the Heliconian Muses let us begin to sing,
who hold the great and holy mount of Helicon, and
dance on soft feet about the deep-blue spring and
the altar of the almighty son of Cronos, and, when
they have washed their tender bodies in Permessus
or in the Horse's Spring or Olmeius, make their fair,
lovely dances upon highest Helicon and move with
vigorous feet. Thence they arise and go abroad by
night, veiled in thick mist, and utter their song with
lovely voice, praising Zeus the aegis-holder and
queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals
and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-
eyed Athene, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who
delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth-holder who
shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and quick-
glancing¹ Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold,
and fair Dione, Leto, Iapetus, and Cronos the crafty
counsellor, Eos and great Helius and Bright Selene,
Earth too, and great Oceanus, and dark Night, and
the holy race of all the other deathless ones that are
for ever. And one day they taught Hesiod glorious
song while he was shepherding his lambs under holy
1 The epithet probably indicates coquettishness.
79
HESIOD
ἄρνας ποιμαίνονθ᾽ Ἑλικῶνος ὕπο ζαθέοιο.
τόνδε δέ με πρώτιστα θεαὶ πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπον,
Μοῦσαι Ολυμπιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο·
Ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκ' ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον,
ἴδμεν ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγειν ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα,
ἴδμεν δ', εὖτ᾽ ἐθέλωμεν, ἀληθέα γηρύσασθαι.
Ὣς ἔφασαν κουραι μεγάλου Διὸς ἀρτιέπειαι·
καί μοι σκήπτρον ἔδον δάφνης ἐριθηλέος ὄζον
δρέψασαι, θηητόν· ἐνέπνευσαν δέ μοι ἀυδὴν
θέσπιν, ἵνα κλείοιμι τά τ' ἐσσόμενα πρό τ᾽ ἐόντα.
καί μ' ἐκέλονθ᾽ ὑμνεῖν μακάρων γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων,
σφᾶς δ᾽ αὐτὰς πρῶτόν τε καὶ ὕστατον αἰὲν ἀείδειν.
ἀλλὰ τί ἢ μοι ταῦτα περὶ δρῦν ἢ περὶ πέτρην;
Τύνη, Μουσάων ἀρχώμεθα, ταὶ Διὶ πατρὶ
ὑμνοῦσαι τέρπουσι μέγαν νόον ἐντὸς Ολύμπου,
εἰρεῦσαι τά τ' ἐόντα τά τ' ἐσσόμενα πρό τ' εόντα,
φωνῇ ὁμηρεῦσαι· τῶν δ᾽ ἀκάματος ῥέει αὐδὴ
ἐκ στομάτων ἡδεῖα· γελᾷ δέ τε δώματα πατρὸς
Ζηνὸς ἐριγδούποιο θεᾶν ἐπὶ λειριοέσσῃ
σκιδναμένῃ· ἠχεῖ δὲ κάρη νιφόεντος Ολύμπου
δώματά τ᾽ ἀθανάτων. αἱ δ᾽ ἄμβροτον ὄσσαν ἱεῖσαι
θεῶν γένος αἰδοῖον πρῶτον κλείουσιν ἀοιδῇ
25
25
30
35
40
ἐξ ἀρχῆς, οὓς Γαῖα καὶ Οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ἔτικτεν, 45
οἵ τ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἐγένοντο θεοί, δωτῆρες ἐάων.
δεύτερον αὖτε Ζῆνα, θεῶν πατέρ' ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν,
ἀρχόμεναί θ' ὑμνεῦσι καὶ ἐκλήγουσαι· ἀοιδῆς,
1 Ludwich: θεαὶ λήγουσαι τ', MSS.
80
THEOGONY
Helicon, and this word first the goddesses said to
me-the Muses of Olympus, daughters of Zeus who
holds the aegis :
"Shepherds of the wilderness, wretched things of
shame, mere bellies, we know how to speak many
false things as though they were true; but we know,
when we will, to utter true things."
So said the ready-voiced daughters of great Zeus,
and they plucked and gave me a rod,, a shoot of
sturdy olive, a marvellous thing, and breathed into
me a divine voice to celebrate things that shall be and
things that were aforetime; and they bade me sing
of the race of the blessed gods that are eternally,
but ever to sing of themselves both first and last. But
why all this about oak or stone? 1
Come thou, let us begin with the Muses who gladden
the great spirit of their father Zeus in Olympus with
their songs, telling of things that are and that shall
be and that were aforetime with consenting voice,
Unwearying flows the sweet sound from their lips,
and the house of their father Zeus the loud-thunderer
is glad at the lily-like voice of the goddesses as it
spreads abroad, and the peaks of snowy Olympus
resound, and the homes of the immortals. And they
uttering their immortal voice, celebrate in song first
of all the reverend race of the gods from the
beginning, those whom Earth and wide Heaven
begot, and the gods sprung of these, givers of good
things. Then, next, the goddesses sing of Zeus, the
father of gods and men, as they begin and end their
strain, how much he is the most excellent among the
1 A proverbial saying meaning, "why enlarge on irrele-
vant topics?"
81
G
HESIOD
ὅσσον φέρτατός ἐστι θεῶν κράτει τε μέγιστος.
αὖτις δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων τε γένος κρατερῶν τε Γιγάντων 50
ὑμνοῦσαι τέρπουσι Διὸς νόον ἐντὸς Ὀλύμπου
Μοῦσαι Ολυμπιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αιγιόχοιο.
Τὰς ἐν Πιερίῃ Κρονίδῃ τέκε πατρὶ μιγεῖσα
Μνημοσύνη, γουνοῖσιν Ἐλευθῆρος μεδέουσα,
λησμοσύνην τε κακῶν ἄμπαυμά τε μερμηράων.
ἐννέα γάρ οἱ νύκτος ἐμίσγετο μητίετα Ζεὺς
νόσφιν ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν λέχος εἰσαναβαίνων
ἀλλ' ὅτε δή ῥ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸς ἔην, περὶ δ᾽ ἔτραπον ὡραι
μηνῶν φθινόντων, περὶ δ᾽ ἤματα πόλλ᾽ ἐτελέσθη,
ἡ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ ἐννέα κούρας ὁμόφρονας, ᾗσιν ἀοιδὴ
μέμβλεται ἐν στήθεσσιν, ἀκηδέα θυμὸν ἐχούσαις,
τυτθὸν ἀπ' ἀκροτάτης κορυφῆς νιφόεντος Ολύμ
που.
ἔνθα σφιν λιπαροί τε χοροὶ καὶ δώματα καλά.
πὰρ δ' αὐτῇς Χάριτές τε καὶ Ίμερος οἰκί᾽ ἔχουσιν
ἐν θαλίῃς· ἐρατὴν δὲ διὰ στόμα ὄσσαν ἱεῖσαι
μέλπονται πάντων τε νόμους καὶ ἤθεα κεδνὰ
ἀθανάτων κλείουσιν, ἐπήρατον ὄσσαν ἱεῖσαι.
αἳ τότ᾽ ἴσαν πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἀγαλλόμεναι ἐπὶ καλῇ,
ἀμβροσίῃ μολπῇ· περὶ δ᾽ ἴαχε γαῖα μέλαινα
ὑμνεύσαις, ἐρατὸς δὲ ποδῶν ὕπο δοῦπος ὀρώρει
νισσομένων πατέρ᾽ εἰς ὅν· ὃ δ᾽ οὐρανῷ ἐμβασιλεύει,
αὐτὸς ἔχων βροντὴν ἠδ᾽ αἰθαλόεντα κεραυνόν,
κάρτεϊ νικήσας πατέρα Κρόνον· εὖ δὲ ἕκαστα
ἀθανάτοις διέταξεν ὁμῶς καὶ ἐπέφραδε τιμάς.
Ταῦτ᾽ ἄρα Μοῦσαι ἄειδον, Ολύμπια δώματ'
ἔχουσαι,
ἐννέα θυγατέρες μεγάλου Διὸς ἐκγεγαυῖαι,
Κλειώ τ' Ευτέρπη τε Θάλειά τε Μελπομένη τε
Τερψιχόρη τ' Ερατώ τε Πολύμνιά τ' Ουρανίη τε
55
60
65
70
75
82
THEOGONY
gods and supreme in power. And again, they chant
the race of men and strong giants, and gladden the
heart of Zeus within Olympus,-the Olympian
Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder.
Them in Pieria did Mnemosyne (Memory), who
reigns over the hills of Eleuther, bear of union with
the father, the son of Cronos, a forgetting of ills and
a rest from sorrow. For nine nights did wise Zeus lie
with her, entering her holy bed remote from the im-
mortals. And when a year was passed and the
seasons came round as the months waned, and many
days were accomplished, she bare nine daughters,
all of one mind, whose hearts are set upon song and
their spirit free from care, a little way from the top-
most peak of snowy Olympus, There are their bright
dancing-places and beautiful homes, and beside them
the Graces and Himerus (Desire) live in delight.
And they, uttering through their lips a lovely voice,
sing the laws of all and the goodly ways of the
immortals, uttering their lovely voice. Then went
they to Olympus, delighting in their sweet voice,
with heavenly song, and the dark earth resounded
about them as they chanted and a lovely sound rose
up beneath their feet as they went to their father.
And he was reigning in heaven, himself holding the
lightning and glowing thunderbolt, when he had
overcome by might his father Cronos; and he distri-
buted fairly to the immortals their portions and
declared their privileges.
These things, then, the Muses sang who dwell
on Olympus, nine daughters begotten by great
Zeus, Cleio and Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene and
Terpsichore, and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania
83
G 2
HESIOD
Καλλιόπη θ'· ἡ δὲ προφερεστάτη ἐστὶν ἁπασέων.
ἡ γὰρ καὶ βασιλεῦσιν ἅμ᾽ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ.
ὅν τινα τιμήσωσι Διὸς κοῦραι μεγάλοιο
γεινόμενόν τε ἴδωσι 1 διοτρεφέων βασιλήων,
τῷ μὲν ἐπὶ γλώσσῃ γλυκερὴν χείουσιν ἐέρσην,
τοῦ δ᾽ ἔπε᾽ ἐκ στόματος ῥεῖ μείλιχα· οἱ δέ τε λαοὶ
πάντες ἐς αὐτὸν ὁρῶσι διακρίνοντα θέμιστας
ἰθείῃσι δίκῃσιν· ὃ δ᾽ ἀσφαλέως ἀγορεύων
αἶψά κει και μέγα νεῖκος ἐπισταμένως κατέ-
παυσεν
80
85
90
τοὔνεκα γὰρ βασιλῆες ἐχέφρονες, οἵνεκα λαοῖς
βλαπτομένοις ἀγορῆφι μετάτροπα ἔργα τελεῦσι
ῥηιδίως, μαλακοῖσι παραιφάμενοι ἐπέεσσιν.
ἐρχόμενον δ᾽ ἀν᾿ ἀγῶνα θεὸν ὡς ἱλάσκονται
αἰδοῖ μειλιχίῃ, μετὰ δὲ πρέπει ἀγρομένοισιν·
τοίη 4 Μουσάων ἱερὴ δόσις ἀνθρώποισιν.
ἐκ γάρ τοι Μουσέων καὶ ἑκηβόλου Απόλλωνος
ἄνδρες ἀοιδοὶ ἔασιν ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ κιθαρισταί,
ἐκ δὲ Διὸς βασιλῆες· ὃ δ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὅν τινα Μοῦσαι
φίλωνται· γλυκερή οἱ ἀπὸ στόματος ῥέει αὐδή.
εἰ γάρ τις καὶ πένθος ἔχων νεοκηδέι θυμῷ
ἄζηται κραδίην ἀκαχήμενος, αὐτὰρ ἀοιδὸς
Μουσάων θεράπων κλέεα 5 προτέρων ἀνθρώπων 100
ὑμνήσῃ μακαράς τε θεούς, οἳ Όλυμπον ἔχουσιν,
αἶψ' ὅ γε δυσφροσυνέων ἐπιλήθεται οὐδέ τι
κηδέων
μέμνηται· ταχέως δὲ παρέτραπε δῶρα θεάων.
Χαίρετε, τέκνα Διός, δότε δ᾽ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδήν.
1 Themistius, Stobaeus: τ᾽ ἐσίδωσι οι ἐπίδωσι, MSS.
2 Α: τε, MSS.
* Α: οἷά τε, MSS.
8 A and Scholiasts: ἀνὰ ἄστυ, MSS.
* Nauck : κλεία, MSS.
95
84
THEOGONY
and Calliope,¹ who is the chiefest of them all, for
she attends on worshipful princes: whomsoever
of heaven-nourished princes the daughters of great
Zeus honour, and behold him at his birth, they
pour sweet dew upon his tongue, and from his lips
flow gracious words. All the people look towards
him while he settles causes with true judgements:
and he, speaking surely, would soon make wise end
even of a great quarrel ; for therefore are there princes
wise in heart, because when the people are being
misguided in their assembly, they set right the matter
again with ease, persuading them with gentle words.,
And when he passes through a gathering, they greet
him as a god with gentle reverence, and he is con-
spicuous amongst the assembled: such is the holy
gift of the Muses to men. For it is through the
Muses and far-shooting Apollo that there are singers
and harpers upon the earth; but princes are of
Zeus, and happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet
flows speech from his mouth. For though a man
have sorrow and grief in his newly-troubled soul and
live in dread because his heart is distressed, yet,
when a singer, the servant of the Muses, chants the
glorious deeds of men of old and the blessed gods
who inhabit Olympus, at once he forgets his heavi-
ness and remembers not his sorrows at all; but the
gifts of the goddesses soon turn him away from these,
Hail, children of Zeus! Grant lovely song and
1 "She of the noble voice": Calliope is queen of Epic
poetry.
85
HESIOD
1
105
κλείετε δ᾽ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων,
οἳ Γῆς τ᾽ ἐξεγένοντο καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος,
Νυκτός τε δνοφερῆς, οὕς θ᾽ ἁλμυρὸς ἔτρεφε Πόντος.
εἴπατε δ', ὡς τὰ πρῶτα θεοὶ καὶ γαῖα γένοντο
καὶ ποταμοὶ καὶ πόντος ἀπείριτος, οἴδματι θυίων,
ἄστρα τε λαμπετόωντα καὶ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθεν 110
[οἵ τ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἐγένοντο θεοί, δωτῆρες ἐάων 2]
ὥς τ᾽ ἄφενος δάσσαντο καὶ ὡς τιμὰς διέλοντο
ἠδὲ καὶ ὡς τὰ πρῶτα πολύπτυχον ἔσχον
Ολυμπον.
ταῦτά μοι ἔσπετε Μοῦσαι, Ὀλύμπια δώματ'
ἔχουσαι
ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καὶ εἴπαθ᾽, ὅ τι πρῶτον γένετ᾽ αὐτῶν.
Η τοι μὲν πρώτιστα Χάος γένετ', αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
Γαϊ᾽ εὐρύστερνος, πάντων ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεὶ
[ἀθανάτων, οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος Ολύμπου,]
Τάρταρά τ' ἠερόεντα μυχῷ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης,
ἠδ᾽ Ἔρος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι,
λυσιμελής, πάντων δὲ θεῶν πάντων τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων
δάμναται ἐν στήθεσσι νόον καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν.
ἐκ Χάεος δ' Ερεβός τε μέλαινά τε Νὺξ ἐγένοντο·
Νυκτὸς δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ Αἰθήρ τε καὶ Ἡ μέρη ἐξεγένοντο,
οὓς τέκε κυσαμένη Ερέβει φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.
Γαῖα δέ τοι πρῶτον μὲν ἐγείνατο ἶσον ἑαυτῇ 4
Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόενθ᾽, ἵνα μιν περὶ πάντα καλύ-
πτοι,
115
120
125
1 Rzach (cf. 1. 131) : θύων, MSS.
2 Omitted by A, Theophilus, Hippolytus.
* Theophilus, Hippolytus, and all MSS. Plato, Aristotle
and others do not know the line, which is clearly spurious.
4 MSS. : ἑωυτῇ, A, Theophilus.
86
THEOGONY
celebrate the holy race of the deathless gods who
are for ever, those that were born of Earth and starry
Heaven and gloomy Night and them that briny Sea
did rear.
Tell how at the first gods and earth came
to be, and rivers, and the boundless sea with its
raging swell, and the gleaming stars, and the wide
heaven above, and the gods who were born of them,
givers of good things, and how they divided their
wealth, and how they shared their honours amongst
them, and also how at the first they took many-
folded Olympus. These things declare to me from
the beginning, ye Muses who dwell in the house of
Olympus, and tell me which of them first came to
be.
Verily at the first Chaos came to be, but next
wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundation of all ¹
the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy
Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-
pathed Earth, and Eros (Love), fairest among the
deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and over-
comes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all
men within them. From Chaos came forth Erebus
and black Night; but of Night were born Aether 2
and Day, whom she conceived and bare from union
in love with Erebus, And Earth first bare starry
Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every
1 Earth, in the cosmology of Hesiod, is a disk surrounded
by the river Oceanus and floating upon a waste of waters. It is
called the foundation of all (the qualification "the deathless
." etc. is an interpolation), because not only trees,
men, and animals, but even the hills and seas (11. 129, 131)
are supported by it.
ones
2 Aether is the bright, untainted upper atmosphere, as
distinguished from Aër, the lower atmosphere of the earth.
87
HESIOD
ὄφρ᾽ εἴη μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί.
γείνατο δ' Οὔρεα μακρά, θεῶν χαρίεντας ἐναύλους,
Νυμφέων, αἳ ναίουσιν ἀν᾽ οὔρεα βησσήεντα.
ἡ δὲ καὶ ἀτρύγετον πέλαγος τέκεν, οἴδματι θυῖον,
Πόντον, ἄτερ φιλότητος ἐφιμέρου· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
Οὐρανῷ εὐνηθεῖσα τέκ᾿ Ωκεανὸν βαθυδίνην,
Κοϊόν τε Κριόν θ' Ὑπερίονά τ' Ιαπετόν τε
Θείαν τε Ρείαν τε Θέμιν τε Μνημοσύνην τε
Φοίβην τε χρυσοστέφανον Τηθύν τ᾽ ἐρατεινήν.
τοὺς δὲ μέθ᾽ ὁπλότατος γένετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλο-
μήτης,
δεινότατος παίδων· θαλερὸν δ᾽ ἤχθηρε τον λα.
Γείνατο δ᾽ αὖ Κύκλωπας ὑπέρβιον ἦτορ
ἔχοντας,
Βρόντην τε Στερόπην τε καὶ Αργην ὀβριμό-
θυμον,
οἳ Ζηνὶ βροντήν τε δόσαν τεῦξάν τε κεραυνόν.
οἳ δή τοι τὰ μὲν ἄλλα θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιοι ἦσαν,
μοῦνος δ᾽ ὀφθαλμὸς μέσσῳ ἐνέκειτο μετώπῳ.
Κύκλωπες δ' ὄνομ᾽ ἦσαν ἐπώνυμον, οὕνεκ᾽ ἄρα
σφέων
κυκλοτερὴς ὀφθαλμὸς ἕεις ἐνέκειτο μετώπῳ·
ἰσχὺς δ' ἠδὲ βίη καὶ μηχαναὶ ἦσαν ἐπ᾽ ἔργοις.
Αλλοι δ' αὖ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἐξεγένοντο
τρεῖς παῖδες μεγάλοι τε καὶ ὄβριμοι, οὐκ ὀνομαστοί,
Κόττος τε Βριάρεώς τε Γύης θ', ὑπερήφανα τέκνα.
τῶν ἑκατὸν μὲν χεῖρες ἀπ᾽ ὤμων ἀίσσοντο
ἄπλαστοι, κεφαλαὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ πεντήκοντα
ἐξ ὤμων ἐπέφυκον ἐπὶ στιβαροῖσι μέλεσσιν
1 Α : θύον, MSS.
2 In place of this line Crates read-
οἱ δ᾽ ἐξ ἀθανάτων θνητοὶ τράφεν αὐδήεντες.
130
135
140
145
150
88
THEOGONY
side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the
blessed gods. And she brought forth long Hills,
graceful haunts of the goddess-Nymphs who dwell
amongst the glens of the hills. She bare also the
fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without
sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with
Heaven and bare deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and
Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea,
Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe
and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos
the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children,
and he hated his lusty sire,
And again, she bare the Cyclopes, overbearing in
spirit, Brontes, and Steropes and stubborn-hearted
Arges,¹ who gave Zeus the thunder and made the
thunderbolt: in all else they were like the gods,
but one eye only was set in the midst of their fore-
heads, And they were surnamed Cyclopes (Orb-eyed)
because one orbed eye was set in their foreheads.
Strength and might and craft were in their works.
And again, three other sons were born of Earth
and Heaven, great and doughty beyond telling,
Cottus and Briareos and Gyes, presumptuous
children, From their shoulders sprang an hundred
arms, not to be approached, and each had fifty heads
upon his shoulders on their strong limbs, and
1 Brontes is the Thunderer; Steropes, the Lightener; and
Arges, the Vivid One.
89
HESIOD
ἰσχὺς δ᾽ ἄπλητος κρατερὴ μεγάλῳ ἐπὶ εἴδει.
ὅσσοι γὰρ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἐξεγένοντο,
δεινότατοι παίδων, σφετέρῳ δ' ἤχθοντο τοκῆι
ἐξ ἀρχῆς· καὶ τῶν μὲν ὅπως τις πρῶτα γένοιτο,
πάντας ἀποκρύπτασκε, καὶ ἐς φάος οὐκ ἀνίεσκε,
Γαίης ἐν κευθμῶνι, κακῷ δ᾽ ἐπετέρπετο ἔργῳ
Οὐρανός. ἡ δ᾽ ἐντὸς στοναχίζετο Γαῖα πελώρη
στεινομένη· δολίην δὲ κακήν τ' ἐφράσσατο
τέχνην.
αἶψα δὲ ποιήσασα γένος πολιοῦ ἀδάμαντος
τευξε μέγα δρέπανον καὶ ἐπέφραδε παισὶ φίλοισιν·
εἶπε δὲ θαρσύνουσα, φίλον τετιημένη ἦτορ·
Παῖδες· ἐμοὶ καὶ πατρὸς ἀτασθάλου, αἴ κ'
ἐθέλητε
πείθεσθαι, πατρός κε κακὴν τισαίμεθα λώβην
ὑμετέρου· πρότερος γὰρ ἀεικέα μήσατο ἔργα.
Ὣς φάτο· τοὺς δ᾽ ἄρα πάντας ἕλεν δέος, οὐδέ
τις αὐτῶν
φθέγξατο. θαρσήσας δὲ μέγας Κρόνος ἀγκυλο-
μήτης
ἂψ αὖτις μύθοισι προσηύδα μητέρα κεδνήν·
Μῆτερ, ἐγώ κεν τοῦτό γ᾽ ὑποσχόμενος τελέ-
σαιμι
155
160
165
170
ἔργον, ἐπεὶ πατρός γε δυσωνύμου οὐκ ἀλεγίζω
ἡμετέρου· πρότερος γὰρ ἀεικέα μήσατο ἔργα.
Ως φάτο γήθησεν δὲ μέγα φρεσὶ Γαῖα πελώρη.
εἶσε δέ μιν κρύψασα λόχῳ· ἐνέθηκε δὲ χερσὶν
ἅρπην καρχαρόδοντα· δόλον δ᾽ ὑπεθήκατο πάντα. 175
Ἦλθε δὲ νύκτ᾽ ἐπάγων μέγας Οὐρανός, ἀμφὶ δὲ
Γαίῃ
ἱμείρων φιλότητος ἐπέσχετο καί ῥ᾽ ἐτανύσθη
90
THEOGONY
irresistible was the stubborn strength that was in
their great forms. For of all the children that were
born of Earth and Heaven, these were the most
terrible, and they were hated by their own father
from the first. And he used to hide them all away
in a secret place of Earth so soon as each was
born, and would not suffer them to come up into the
light and Heaven rejoiced in his evil doing. But
vast Earth groaned within, being straitened, and she
thought a crafty and an evil wile. Forthwith she
made the element of grey flint and shaped a great
sickle, and told her plan to her dear sons. And she
spoke, cheering them, while she was vexed in her
dear heart:
"My children, gotten of a sinful father, if you will
obey me, we should punish the vile outrage of your
father; for he first thought of doing shameful things."
So she said; but fear seized them all, and none
of them uttered a word. But great Cronos the wily
took courage and answered his dear mother:
"Mother, I will undertake to do this deed, for I
reverence not our father of evil name, for he first
thought of doing shameful things."
So he said and vast Earth rejoiced greatly in
spirit, and set and hid him in an ambush, and put in
his hands a jagged sickle, and revealed to him the
whole plot.
And Heaven came, bringing on night and longing
for love, and he lay about Earth spreading himself full
91
HESIOD
πάντη· ὃ δ᾽ ἐκ λοχεοῖο πάις ὠρέξατο χειρὶ
σκαιῇ, δεξιτερῇ δὲ πελώριον ἔλλαβεν ἅρπην
μακρὴν καρχαρόδοντα, φίλου δ᾽ ἀπὸ μήδεα πα-
τρὸς
ἐσσυμένως ἤμησε, πάλιν δ᾽ ἔρριψε φέρεσθαι
ἐξοπίσω· τὰ μὲν οὔ τι ἐτώσια ἔκφυγε χειρός
ὅσσαι γὰρ ῥαθάμιγγες ἀπέσσυθεν αἱματόεσσαι,
πάσας δέξατο Γαῖα· περιπλομένων δ᾽ ἐνιαυτῶν
γείνατ' Ερινύς τε κρατερὰς μεγάλους τε Γίγαν
τας,
τεύχεσι λαμπομένους, δολίχ᾽ ἔγχεα χερσὶν ἔχον-
τας,
Νύμφας θ᾽ ἃς Μελίας καλέουσ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν.
μήδεα δ' ὡς τὸ πρῶτον ἀποτμήξας ἀδάμαντι
κάββαλ' ἀπ' ἠπείροιο πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ,
ὡς φέρετ᾽ ἂμ πέλαγος πουλὺν χρόνον, ἀμφὶ δὲ
λευκὸς
ἀφρὸς ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτου χροὸς ὤρνυτο· τῷ δ᾽ ἔνι κούρη
ἐθρέφθη· πρῶτον δὲ Κυθήροισιν ζαθέοισιν
ἔπλητ᾽, ἔνθεν ἔπειτα περίρρυτον ἵκετο Κύπρον.
ἐκ δ᾽ ἔβη αἰδοίη καλὴ θεός, ἀμφὶ δὲ ποίη
180
185
190
ποσσὶν ὕπο ῥαδινοῖσιν ἀέξετο· τὴν δ᾽ Αφροδίτην 195
[ἀφρογενέα τε θεὰν καὶ ἐυστέφανον Κυθέρειαν ]
κικλήσκουσι θεοί τε καὶ ἀνέρες, οὔνεκ᾽ ἐν ἀφρῷ
θρέφθη· ἀτὰρ Κυθέρειαν, ὅτι προσέκυρσε Κυ-
θήροις·
Κυπρογενέα δ᾽, ὅτι γέντο πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ Κύπρῳ·
ἠδὲ φιλομμηδέα, ὅτι μηδέων ἐξεφαάνθη.
1 The line possibly belongs to another recension: it was
rejected by Heyne as interrupting the sense.
200
92
THEOGONY
upon her.¹ Then the son from his ambush stretched
forth his left hand and in his right took the great
long sickle with jagged teeth, and swiftly lopped off
his own father's members and cast them away to fall
behind him. And not vainly did they fall from his
hand; for all the bloody drops that gushed forth
Earth received, and as the seasons moved round she
bare the strong Erinyes and the great Giants with
gleaming armour, holding long spears in their hands,
and the Nymphs whom they call Meliae² all over the
boundless earth, And so soon as he had cut off
the members with flint and cast them from the land
into the surging sea, they were swept away over the
main a long time and a white foam spread around
them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew
a maiden. First she drew near holy Cythera, and
from there, afterwards, she came to sea-girt Cyprus,
and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass
grew up about her beneath her shapely feet. Her
gods and men call Aphrodite, and the foam-born
goddess and rich-crowned Cytherea, because she
grew amid the foam, and Cytherea because she
reached Cythera, and Cyprogenes because she was
born in billowy Cyprus, and Philommedes because
1 The myth accounts for the separation of Heaven and
Earth. In Egyptian cosmology Nut (the Sky) is thrust and
held apart from her brother Geb (the Earth) by their father
Shu, who corresponds to the Greek Atlas.
2 Nymphs of the ash-trees (uéλiai), as Dryads are nymphs
of the oak-trees. Cp. note on Works and Days, 1. 145.
3 "Member-loving": the title is perhaps only a perversion
of the regular piλoμeidhs (laughter-loving).
93
HESIOD
205
τῇ δ' Ερος ὡμάρτησε καὶ Ίμερος ἕσπετο καλὸς
γεινομένῃ τὰ πρῶτα θεῶν τ᾽ ἐς φῦλον ἰούσῃ.
ταύτην δ' ἐξ ἀρχῆς τιμὴν ἔχει ἠδὲ λέλεγχε
μοῖραν ἐν ἀνθρώποισι καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι,
παρθενίους τ᾽ ὀάρους μειδήματά τ᾽ ἐξαπάτας τε
τέρψιν τε γλυκερὴν φιλότητά τε μειλιχίην τε.
Τοὺς δὲ πατὴρ Τιτῆνας ἐπίκλησιν καλέεσκε
παῖδας νεικείων μέγας Οὐρανός, οὓς τέκεν αὐτός·
φάσκε δὲ τιταίνοντας ἀτασθαλίῃ μέγα ρέξαι
ἔργον, τοῖς δ᾽ ἔπειτα τίσιν μετόπισθεν ἔσεσθαι. 210
Νὺξ δ᾽ ἔτεκεν στυγερόν τε Μόρον καὶ Κῆρα
μέλαιναν
καὶ Θάνατον, τέκε δ᾽ Ὕπνον, ἔτικτε δὲ φῦλον
Ονείρων·
δεύτερον αὖ Μῶμον καὶ Οιζὺν ἀλγινόεσσαν
οὔ τινι κοιμηθεῖσα θεὰ τέκε Νὺξ ερεβεννή,
2
214
213
Εσπερίδας θ', ᾖς μῆλα πέρην κλυτοῦ Ωκεανοίο 215
χρύσεα καλὰ μέλουσι φέροντά τε δένδρεα καρπόν.
καὶ Μοίρας καὶ Κῆρας ἐγείνατο νηλεοποίνους,
Κλωθώ τε Λάχεσίν τε καὶ Ατροπον, αἵτε βροτοῖσι
γεινομένοισι διδοῦσιν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε,
αἴτ᾿ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε παραιβασίας ἐφέπουσιν· 220
οὐδέ ποτε λήγουσι θεαὶ δεινοῖο χόλοιο,
πρίν γ᾽ ἀπὸ τῷ δώωσι κακὴν ἔπιν, ὅς τις ἁμάρτῃ.
τίκτε δὲ καὶ Νέμεσιν, πῆμα θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσι,
Νυξ ὀλοή· μετὰ τὴν δ᾽ Απάτην τέκι καὶ
Φιλότητα
Γῆράς τ᾽ οὐλόμενον, καὶ Ἔριν τέκε καρτερόθυμον. 225
1 Schoemann's order.
Rzach: als, MSS.
94
THEOGONY
she sprang from the members. And with her went
Eros, and comely Desire followed her at her birth at
the first and as she went into the assembly of the gods.
This honour she has from the beginning, and this is
the portion allotted to her amongst men and undying
gods, the whisperings of maidens and smiles and
deceits with sweet delight and love and graciousness.
But these sons whom he begot himself great
Heaven used to call Titans (Strainers) in reproach,
for he said that they strained and did presumptuously
a fearful deed, and that vengeance for it would come
afterwards.
And Night bare hateful Doom and black Fate and
Death, and she bare Sleep and the tribe of Dreams,
And again the goddess murky Night, though she
lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the
Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and
the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean.
Also she bare the Destinies and ruthless avenging
Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos,¹ who give
men at their birth both evil and good to have, and
they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods:
and these goddesses never cease from their dread
anger until they punish the sinner with a sore
penalty. Also deadly Night bare Nemesis (Indig-
nation) to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit
and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted
Strife,
1 Clotho (the Spinner) is she who spins the thread of
man's life; Lachesis (the Disposer of Lots) assigns to each
man his destiny; Atropos (She who cannot be turned) is the
"Fury with the abhorred shears."
95
HESIOD
Αὐτὰρ Ἔρις στυγερὴ τέκε μὲν Πόνον ἀλγινό-
εντα
Λήθην τε Λιμόν τε καὶ Αλγεα δακρυόεντα
Υσμίνας τε Μάχας τε Φόνους τ' Ανδροκτασίας
ΤΕ
Νείκεά τε ψευδέας τε Λόγους ᾿Αμφιλλογίας τε
Δυσνομίην τ' Ατην τε, συνήθεας ἀλλήλῃσιν,
Ορκον θ', ὃς δὴ πλεῖστον ἐπιχθονίους ανθρώ-
πους
πημαίνει, ὅτε κέν τις ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ.
Νηρέα δ᾽ ἀψευδέα καὶ ἀληθέα γείνατο Πόντος,
πρεσβύτατον παίδων· αὐτὰρ καλέουσι γέροντα,
οὕνεκα νημερτής τε καὶ ἤπιος, οὐδὲ θεμιστέων
λήθεται, ἀλλὰ δίκαια καὶ ἤπια δήνεα οἶδεν·
αὖτις δ᾽ αὖ Θαύμαντα μέγαν καὶ ἀγήνορα Φόρκυν
Γαίῃ μισγόμενος καὶ Κητὼ καλλιπάρηον
Εὐρυβίην τ᾽ ἀδάμαντος ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸν ἔχουσαν.
Νηρῆος δ᾽ ἐγένοντο μεγήρατα τέκνα θεάων
πόντῳ ἐν ἀτρυγέτῳ καὶ Δωρίδος ήυκόμοιο,
κούρης Ωκεανοῖο, τελήεντος ποταμοίο,
Πλωτώ 1 τ᾽ Εὐκράντη τε Σαώ τ' Αμφιτρίτη τε
Εὐδώρη τε Θέτις τε Γαλήνη τε Γλαύκη τε
Κυμοθόη Σπειώ τε Θόη θ' ῾Αλίη τ' ερόεσσα
Πασιθέη τ' Ερατώ τε καὶ Εὐνίκη ροδόπηχυς
καὶ Μελίτη χαρίεσσα καὶ Εὐλιμένη καὶ ᾿Αγαυὴ
Δωτώ τε Πρωτώ τε Φέρουσά τε Δυναμένη τε
Νησαίη τε καὶ ᾿Ακταίη καὶ Πρωτομέδεια
Δωρὶς καὶ Πανόπεια2 καὶ εὐειδὴς Γαλάτεια
Ἱπποθόη τ' ερόεσσα καὶ Ἱππονόη ῥοδόπηχυς
1 Rzach: Πρωτώ, MSS.
2 Hermann: Πανόπη, MSS.
280
235
240
245
250
96
THEOGONY
But abhorred Strife bare painful Toil and
Forgetfulness and Famine and tearful Sorrows,
Fightings also, Battles, Murders, Manslaughters,
Quarrels, Lying Words, Disputes, Lawlessness and
Ruin, all of one nature, and Oath who most troubles
men upon earth when anyone wilfully swears a false
oath.
And Sea begat Nereus, the eldest of his children,
who is true and lies not: and men call him the Old
Man because he is trusty and gentle and does not
forget the laws of righteousness, but thinks just and
kindly thoughts. And yet again he got great Thaumas
and proud Phorcys, being mated with Earth, and
fair-cheeked Ceto and Eurybia who has a heart of
flint within her.
And of Nereus and rich-haired Doris, daughter
of Ocean the perfect river, were born children,¹
passing lovely amongst goddesses, Ploto, Eucrante,
Sao, and Amphitrite, and Eudora, and Thetis, Galene
and Glauce, Cymothoë, Speo, Thoë and lovely Halie,
and Pasithea, and Erato, and rosy-armed Eunice, and
gracious Melite, and Eulimene, and Agaue, Doto,
Proto, Pherusa, and Dynamene, and Nisaea, and
Actaea, and Protomedea, Doris, Panopea, and comely
Galatea, and lovely Hippothoë, and rosy-armed
1 Many of the names which follow express various qualities
or aspects of the sea: thus Galene is "Calm," Cymothoë is
the "Wave-swift," Pherusa and Dynamene are "She who
speeds (ships)" and "She who has power."
97
H
HESIOD
.
Κυμοδόκη θ', ἣ κύματ' ἐν ἠεροειδέι πόντῳ
πνοιάς τε ζαέων ἀνέμων σὺν Κυματολήγη
ῥεῖα πρηΰνει καὶ ἐυσφύρῳ ᾿Αμφιτρίτῃ,
Κυμώ τ' Ηιόνη τε ἐυστέφανός θ' Αλιμήδη
Γλαυκονόμη τε φιλομμειδὴς καὶ Ποντοπόρεια
Ληαγόρη τε καὶ Εὐαγόρη καὶ Λαομέδεια
Πουλυνόη 2 τε καὶ Αὐτονόη καὶ Λυσιάνασσα
Εὐάρνη τε φυήν τ' ἐρατὴ καὶ εἶδος ἄμωμος
καὶ Ψαμάθη χαρίεσσα δέμας δίη τε Μενίππη
Νησώ τ' Εὐπόμπη τε Θεμιστώ τε Προνόη τε
Νημερτής θ', ἣ πατρὸς ἔχει νόον ἀθανάτοιο.
αὗται μὲν Νηρῆος ἀμύμονος ἐξεγένοντο
κοῦραι πεντήκοντα, ἀμύμονα ἔργα ἰδυῖαι.
255
260
265
Θαύμας δ' Ωκεανοῖο βαθυρρείταο θύγατρα
ἠγάγετ᾽ Ηλέκτρην· ἡ δ᾽ ὠκεῖαν τέκεν Τριν
ἠυκόμους θ' ῾Αρπυίας Αελλώ τ᾿ Ωκυπέτην τε,
αἵ ῥ᾽ ἀνέμων πνοιῇσι καὶ οἰωνοῖς ἅμ᾽ ἕπονται
ὠκείῃς πτερύγεσσι· μεταχρόνιαι γὰρ ἴαλλον.
Φόρκυϊ δ' αὖ Κητὼ Γραίας τέκε καλλιπαρῄους 270
ἐκ γενετῆς πολιάς, τὰς δὴ Γραίας καλέουσιν
ἀθάνατοί τε θεοὶ χαμαὶ ἐρχόμενοί τ᾽ ἄνθρωποι,
Πεμφρηδώ τ' εύπεπλον Ενυώ τε κροκόπεπλον,
Γοργούς θ', αἳ ναίουσι πέρην κλυτοῦ Ωκεανοῖο
ἐσχατιῇ πρὸς Νυκτός, ἵν᾿ Εσπερίδες λιγύφωνοι, 275
Σθεννώ τ' Ευρυάλη τε Μέδουσά τε λυγρὰ πα-
θοῦσα.
ἡ μὲν ἔην θνητή, αἳ δ᾽ ἀθάνατοι καὶ ἀγήρῳ,
αἱ δύο· τῇ δὲ μιῇ παρελέξατο Κυανοχαίτης
ἐν μαλακῷ λειμῶνι καὶ ἄνθεσιν εἰαρινοῖσιν.
τῆς δ' ὅτε δὴ Περσεὺς κεφαλὴν ἀπεδειροτόμησεν, 280
1 Bergk : ζαθέων, MSS.
2 Peppmüller : Πουλυνόμη, MSS.
98
THEOGONY
Hipponoë, and Cymodoce who with Cymatolege¹ and
Amphitrite easily calms the waves upon the misty
sea and the blasts of raging winds, and Cymo, and
Eïone, and rich-crowned Alimede, and Glauconome,
fond of laughter, and Pontoporea, Leagore, Euagore,
and Laomedea, and Polynoë, and Autonoë, and
Lysianassa, and Euarne, lovely of shape and without
blemish of form, and Psamathe of charming figure
and divine Menippe, Neso, Eupompe, Themisto,
Pronoë, and Nemertes² who has the nature of her
deathless father. These fifty daughters sprang from
blameless Nereus, skilled in excellent crafts.
And Thaumas wedded Electra the daughter of
deep-flowing Ocean, and she bare him swift Iris and
the long-haired Harpies, Aëllo (Storm-swift) and
Ocypetes (Swift-flier) who on their swift wings keep
pace with the blasts of the winds and the birds; for
quick as time they dart along,
And again, Ceto bare to Phorcys the fair-cheeked
Graiae, sisters grey from their birth and both
deathless gods and men who walk on earth call
them Graiae, Pemphredo well-clad, and saffron-robed
Enyo, and the Gorgons who dwell beyond glorious
Ocean in the frontier land towards Night where are
the clear-voiced Hesperides, Sthenno, and Euryale,
and Medusa who suffered a woeful fate: she was
mortal, but the two were undying and grew not old.
With her lay the Dark-haired One³ in a soft meadow
amid spring flowers. And when Perseus cut off her
1 The "Wave-receiver" and the "Wave-stiller."
2 "The Unerring" or "Truthful"; cp. 1. 235.
i.e. Poseidon.
99
K 2
HESIOD
ἔκθορε Χρυσάωρ τε μέγας καὶ Πήγασος ἵππος.
τῷ μὲν ἐπώνυμον ἦεν, ὅτ' Ωκεανοῦ περὶ πηγὰς
γένθ᾽, ὃ δ᾽ ἄορ χρύσειον ἔχων μετὰ χερσὶ φίλῃσιν.
χὼ μὲν ἀποπτάμενος προλιπών χθόνα, μητέρα
μήλων,
ἵκετ᾽ ἐς ἀθανάτους· Ζηνὸς δ᾽ ἐν δώμασι ναίει
βροντήν τε στεροπήν τε φέρων Διὶ μητιόεντι.
Χρυσάωρ δ' ἔτεκεν τρικέφαλον Γηρυονῆα
μιχθεὶς Καλλιρόῃ κούρῃ κλυτοῦ Ωκεανοῖο.
τὸν μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἐξενάριξε βίη Ηρακληείη
βουσὶ παρ᾽ εἰλιπόδεσσι περιρρύτῳ εἶν Ερυθείῃ
ἤματι τῷ ὅτε περ βοὺς ἤλασεν εὐρυμετώπους
Τίρυνθ᾽ εἰς ἱερὴν διαβὰς πόρον Ωκεανοῖο
Ορθον τε κτείνας καὶ βουκόλον Εὐρυτίωνα
σταθμῷ ἐν ἠερόεντι πέρην κλυτοῦ Ωκεανοῖο.
285
290
300
“Η δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ ἄλλο πέλωρον ἀμήχανον, οὐδὲν ἐοικὸς 295
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὐδ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν,
στῆι ἔνι γλαφυρῷ θείην κρατερόφρον Εχιδναν,
ἥμισυ μὲν νύμφην ἑλικώπιδα καλλιπάρῃον,
ἥμισυ δ' αὖτε πέλωρον ὄφιν δεινόν τε μέγαν τε
αἰόλον ὠμηστὴν ζαθέης ὑπὸ κεύθεσι γαίης.
ἔνθα δέ οἱ σπέος ἐστὶ κάτω κοΐλῃ ὑπὸ πέτρῃ
τηλοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν θνητῶν τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων·
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρα οἱ δάσσαντο θεοὶ κλυτὰ δώματα ναίειν.
ἡ δ᾽ ἔρυτ᾽ εἶν Αρίμοισιν ὑπὸ χθόνι λυγρὴ Εχιδνα,
ἀθάνατος νύμφη καὶ ἀγήραος ἤματα πάντα.
Τῇ δὲ Τυφάονά φασι μιγήμεναι ἐν φιλότητι
δεινόν θ' ὑβριστήν τ᾽ ἄνομόν θ' ἑλικώπιδι κούρῃ·
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη τέκετο κρατερόφρονα τέκνα.
Ορθον μὲν πρῶτον κύνα γείνατο Γηρυονῆι·
δεύτερον αὖτις ἔτικτεν ἀμήχανον, οὔ τι φατειὸν
Κέρβερον ὠμηστήν, Αίδεω κύνα χαλκεόφωνον,
305
310
100
THEOGONY
head, there sprang forth great Chrysaor and the horse
Pegasus who is so called because he was born near
the springs (pegae) of Ocean; and that other, because
he held a golden blade (aor) in his hands. Now
Pegasus flew away and left the earth, the mother of
flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he
dwells in the house of Zeus and brings to wise Zeus
the thunder and lightning. But Chrysaor was joined
in love to Callirrhoë, the daughter of glorious Ocean,
and begot three-headed Geryones. Him mighty
Heracles slew in sea-girt Erythea by his shambling
oxen on that day when he drove the wide-browed
oxen to holy Tiryns, and had crossed the ford of
Ocean and killed Orthus and Eurytion the herdsman
in the dim stead out beyond glorious Ocean.
And in a hollow cave she bare another monster,
irresistible, in no wise like either to mortal men or
to the undying gods, even the goddess fierce Echidna
who is half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair
cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and
awful, with speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath
the secret parts of the holy earth. And there she has
a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the
deathless gods and mortal men. There, then, did the
gods appoint her a glorious house to dwell in: and she
keeps guard in Arima beneath the earth, grim Echid-
na, a nymph who dies not nor grows old all her days!
Men say that Typhaon the terrible, outrageous and
lawless, was joined in love to her, the maid with
glancing eyes. So she conceived and brought forth
fierce offspring; first she bare Orthus the hound of
Geryones, and then again she bare a second, a
monster not to be overcome and that may not be
described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-
ΙΟΙ
HESIOD
πεντηκοντακέφαλον, ἀναιδέα τε κρατερόν τε
τὸ τρίτον Ὕδρην αὖτις ἐγείνατο λυγρὰ ἰδυῖαν
Λερναίην, ἣν θρέψε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ηρη
ἄπλητον κοτέουσα βίῃ Ηρακληείη.
καὶ τὴν μὲν Διὸς υἱὸς ἐνήρατο νηλέι χαλκῷ
Αμφιτρυωνιάδης σὺν ἀρηιφίλῳ Ἰολάῳ
Ἡρακλέης βουλῇσιν Αθηναίης ἀγελείης.
ἡ δὲ Χίμαιραν ἔτικτε πνέουσαν ἀμαιμάκετον πῦρ,
δεινήν τε μεγάλην τε ποδώκεά τε κρατερήν τε
τῆς δ᾽ ἦν τρεῖς κεφαλαί· μία μὲν χαροποῖο
λέοντος,
ἡ δὲ χιμαίρης, ἡ δ᾽ ὄφιος, κρατεροῖο δράκοντος,
[πρόσθε λέων, ἔπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ
χίμαιρα,
δεινὸν ἀποπνείουσα πυρὸς μένος αιθομένοιο.]
315
320
τὴν μὲν Πήγασος εἷλε καὶ ἐσθλὸς Βελλεροφόντης. 325
ἡ δ᾽ ἄρα Φικ᾽ ὀλοὴν τέκε Καδμείοισιν ὄλεθρον
Ορθῳ ὑποδμηθεῖσα Νεμειαῖόν τε λέοντα,
τόν ῥ᾽ Ἥρη θρέψασα Διὸς κυδρὴ παράκοιτις
γουνοῖσιν κατένασσε Νεμείης, πημ᾽ ἀνθρώποις.
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὁ οἰκείων ἐλεφαίρετο φύλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων,
κοιρανέων Τρητοῖο Νεμείης ἠδ᾽ ᾿Απέσαντος·
ἀλλά ὁ ἃς ἐδάμασσε βίης Ηρακληείης.
330
Κητὼ δ᾽ ὁπλότατον Φόρκυι φιλότητι μιγεῖσα
γείνατο δεινὸν ὄφιν, ὃς ἐρεμνῆς κεύθεσι γαίης
πείρασιν ἐν μεγάλοις παγχρύσεα μῆλα φυλάσσει. 335
τοῦτο μὲν ἐκ Κητοῦς καὶ Φόρκυνος γένος ἐστίν.
Τηθὺς δ᾽ Ωκεανῷ Ποταμοὺς τέκε δινήεντας,
Νεϊλόν τ' Αλφειόν τε καὶ Ηριδανὸν βαθυδίνην
Στρυμόνα Μαίανδρόν τε καὶ Ἴστρον καλλιρέεθρον
1 Rejected by Wolf as superfluous here and borrowed from
Homer, Iliad vi. 181-2.
102
THEOGONY
voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and
strong. And again she bore a third, the evil-minded
Hydra of Lerna, whom the goddess, white-armed
Hera nourished, being angry beyond measure with
the mighty Heracles. And her Heracles, the son of
Zeus, of the house of Amphitryon, together with
warlike Iolaus, destroyed with the unpitying sword
through the plans of Athene the spoil-driver. She
was the mother of Chimaera who breathed raging
fire, a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong,
who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion, an-
other of a goat, and another of a snake, a fierce
dragon; in her forepart she was a lion; in her
hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat,
breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Her
did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay; but Echid-
na was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth
the deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans,
and the Nemean lion, which Hera, the good wife of
Zeus, brought up and made to haunt the hills of
Nemea, a plague to men. There he preyed upon
the tribes of her own people and had power over
Tretus of Nemea and Apesas: yet the strength of
stout Heracles overcame him.
And Ceto was joined in love to Phorcys and bare
her youngest, the awful snake who guards the apples
all of gold in the secret places of the dark earth at
its great bounds. This is the offspring of Ceto and
Phorcys.
And Tethys bare to Ocean eddying rivers, Nilus,
and Alpheus, and deep-swirling Eridanus, Strymon,
and Meander, and the fair stream of Ister, and
103
HESIOD
Φασίν τε Ῥῆσόν τ' Αχελώιόν τ' ἀργυροδίνην
Νέσσον τε Ροδίον θ' Αλιάκμονά θ᾽ Ἑπτάπορόν
ΤΕ
Γρήνικόν τε καὶ Αἴσηπον θεῖόν τε Σιμοῦντα
Πηνειόν τε καὶ Ερμον ἐυρρείτην τε Κάικον
Σαγγάριόν τε μέγαν Λάδωνά τε Παρθένιόν τε
Εὔηνόν τε καὶ Αρδησκον θεῖόν τε Σκάμανδρον.
Τίκτε δὲ θυγατέρων ἱερὸν γένος, αἳ κατὰ γαῖαν
ἄνδρας κουρίζουσι σὺν Απόλλωνι ἄνακτι
καὶ Ποταμοῖς, ταύτην δὲ Διὸς πάρα μοῖραν
ἔχουσι,
Πειθώ τ' Αδμήτη τε Ἰάνθη τ' Ηλέκτρη τε
Δωρίς τε Πρυμνώ τε καὶ Οὐρανίη θεοειδὴς
Ἱππώ τε Κλυμένη τε Ρόδειά τε Καλλιρόη τε
Ζευξώ τε Κλυτίη τε Ιδυϊά τε Πασιθόη τε
Πληξαύρη τε Γαλαξαύρη τ' ἐρατή τε Διώνη
Μηλόβοσίς τε Θόη τε καὶ εὐειδὴς Πολυδώρη
Κερκηίς τε φυὴν ἐρατὴ Πλουτώ τε βοῶπις
Περσηίς τ' Ιάνειρά τ' 'Ακάστη τε Ξάνθη τε
Πετραίη τ᾽ ἐρόεσσα Μενεσθώ τ' Εὐρώπη τε
Μητίς τ' Ευρυνόμη τε Τελεστώ τε κροκόπεπλος
Χρυσηίς τ' Ασίη τε καὶ ἱμερόεσσα Καλυψὼ
Εὐδώρη τε Τύχη τε καὶ ᾿Αμφιρὼ Ωκυρόη τε
καὶ Στύξ, ἣ δή σφεων προφερεστάτη ἐστὶν
ἁπασέων.
αὗται δ' Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Τηθύος ἐξεγένοντο
πρεσβύταται κοῦραι· πολλαί γε μέν είσι καὶ
ἄλλαι.
τρὶς γὰρ χίλιαί εἰσι τανύσφυροι Ωκεανῖναι,
αἅ ῥα πολυσπερέες γαῖαν καὶ βένθεα λίμνης
340
345
350
355
360
365
104
THEOGONY
Phasis, and Rhesus, and the silver eddies of
Achelous, Nessus, and Rhodius, Haliacmon, and
Heptaporus, Granicus, and Aesepus, and holy Simoïs,
and Peneüs, and Hermus, and Caicus' fair stream,
and great Sangarius, Ladon, Parthenius, Euenus,
Ardescus, and divine Scamander.
Also she brought forth a holy company of
daughters who with the lord Apollo and the
Rivers have youths in their keeping to this charge
Zeus appointed them-Peitho, and Admete, and
Ianthe, and Electra, and Doris, and Prymno, and
Urania divine in form, Hippo, Clymene, Rhodea,
and Callirrhoë, Zeuxo and Clytie, and Idyia, and
Pasithoë, Plexaura, and Galaxaura, and lovely Dione,
Melobosis and Thoë and handsome Polydora, Cerceïs
lovely of form, and soft eyed Pluto, Perseïs, Ianeira,
Acaste, Xanthe, Petraea the fair, Menestho, and
Europa, Metis, and Eurynome, and Telesto saffron-
clad, Chryseis and Asia and charming Calypso,
Eudora, and Tyche, Amphirho, and Ocyrrhoë, and
Styx who is the chiefest of them all. These are the
eldest daughters that sprang from Ocean and Tethys ;
but there are many besides. For there are three
thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean who are
dispersed far and wide, and in every place alike
serve the earth and the deep waters, children who
1 Goettling notes that some of these nymphs derive their
names from lands over which they preside, as Europa, Asia,
Doris, Ianeira ("Lady of the Ionians "), but that most are
called after some quality which their streams possessed: thus
Xanthe is the "Brown" or "Turbid," Amphirho is the
'Surrounding" river, Ianthe is "She who delights,” and
Ocyrrhoë is the "Swift-flowing."
66
105
HESIOD
πάντη ὁμῶς ἐφέπουσι, θεάων ἀγλαὰ τέκνα.
τόσσοι δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἕτεροι ποταμοὶ καναχηδὰ ῥέοντες,
υἱέες Ωκεανοῦ, τοὺς γείνατο πότνια Τηθύς·
τῶν ὄνομ᾽ ἀργαλέον πάντων βροτὸν ἀνέρ᾽ ἐνιστεῖν,
οἱ δὲ ἕκαστοι ἴσασιν, οἷς ἂν περιναιετάωσιν.
Θεία δ' Ηέλιόν τε μέγαν λαμπράν τε Σελήνην
Ηῶ θ', ἢ πάντεσσιν ἐπιχθονίοισι φαείνει
ἀθανάτοις τε θεοῖσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι,
γείναθ᾽ ὑποδμηθεῖσ᾽ Ὑπερίονος ἐν φιλότητι.
Κρίῳ δ' Ευρυβίη τέκεν ἐν φιλότητι μιγείσα
Αστραίόν τε μέγαν Πάλλαντά τε δια θεάων
Πέρσην θ', ὃς καὶ πᾶσι μετέπρεπεν ἰδμοσύνῃσιν.
Αστραίῳ δ' Ηὼς ἀνέμους τέκε καρτεροθύμους,
ἀργέστην Ζέφυρον Βορέην τ' αιψηροκέλευθον
καὶ Νότον, ἐν φιλότητι θεὰ θεῷ εὐνηθεῖσα.
τοὺς δὲ μέτ' ἀστέρα τίκτεν Εωσφόρον Ἠριγένεια
ἄστρα τε λαμπετόωντα, τά τ᾽ οὐρανὸς ἐστεφά-
νωται.
Στὺξ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ Ὠκεανοῦ θυγάτηρ Πάλλαντι
μιγείσα
Ζῆλον καὶ Νίκην καλλίσφυρον ἐν μεγάροισιν·
καὶ Κράτος ἠδὲ Βίην ἀριδείκετα γείνατο τέκνα,
τῶν οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἀπάνευθε Διὸς δόμος, οὐδέ τις ἕδρη,
οὐδ᾽ ὁδός, ὅππη μὴ κείνοις θεὸς ἡγεμονεύῃ,
ἀλλ᾽ αἰεὶ πὰρ Ζηνὶ βαρυκτύπῳ ἑδριόωνται.
ὡς γὰρ ἐβούλευσεν Στὺξ ἄφθιτος Ωκεανίνη
ἤματι τῷ, ὅτε πάντας Ολύμπιος ἀστεροπητὴς
ἀθανάτους ἐκάλεσσε θεοὺς ἐς μακρὸν Ολυμπον,
εἶπε δ᾽, ὃς ἂν μετὰ εἶο θεῶν Τιτησι μάχοιτο,
370
375
380
385
390
106
THEOGONY
are glorious among goddesses. And as many other
rivers are there, babbling as they flow, sons of Ocean,
whom queenly Tethys bare, but their names it is hard
for a mortal man to tell, but people know those by
which they severally dwell.
And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and
bare great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and
Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth
and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide
heaven.
And Eurybia, bright goddess, was joined in love to
Crius and bare great Astraeus, and Pallas, and
Perses who also was eminent among all men in
wisdom.
And Eos bare to Astraeus the strong-hearted
wirds, brightening Zephyrus, and Boreas, headlong
in his course, and Notus,-a goddess mating in love
with a god. And after these Erigeneia ¹ bare the star
Eosphorus (Dawn-bringer), and the gleaming stars
with which heaven is crowned.
1
And Styx the daughter of Ocean was joined to
Pallas and bare Zelus (Emulation) and trim-ankled
Nike (Victory) in the house. Also she brought
forth Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force), wonderful
children. These have no house apart from Zeus,
nor any dwelling nor path except that wherein God
leads them, but they dwell always with Zeus the
loud-thunderer. For so did Styx the deathless
daughter of Ocean plan on that day when the
Olympian Lightener called all the deathless gods to
great Olympus, and said that whosoever of the gods
would fight with him against the Titans, he would
1 i.e. Eos, the "Early-born."
107
HESIOD
μή τιν' ἀπορραίσειν γεράων, τιμὴν δὲ ἕκαστον
ἑξέμεν, ἣν τὸ πάρος γε μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν
τὸν δ᾽ ἔφαθ', ὅστις ἄτιμος ὑπὸ Κρόνου ἠδ᾽ ἀγέ-
ραστος,
395
405
τιμῆς καὶ γεράων ἐπιβησέμεν, ἡ θέμις ἐστίν.
ἦλθε δ᾽ ἄρα πρώτη Στὺξ ἄφθιτος Οὔλυμπόνδε
σὺν σφοῖσιν παίδεσσι φίλου διὰ μήδεα πατρός.
τὴν δὲ Ζεὺς τίμησε, περισσὰ δὲ δῶρα δέδωκεν.
αὐτὴν μὲν γὰρ ἔθηκε θεῶν μέγαν ἔμμεναι ὅρκον, 400
παῖδας δ' ἤματα πάντα ἑοῦ μεταναιέτας εἶναι.
ὡς δ' αὕτως πάντεσσι διαμπερές, ὥς περ ὑπέστη,
ἐξετέλεσσ᾽· αὐτὸς δὲ μέγα κρατεῖ ἠδὲ ἀνάσσει.
Φοίβη δ᾽ αὖ Κοίου πολυήρατον ἦλθεν ἐς εὐνήν·
κυσαμένη δὴ ἔπειτα θεὰ θεοῦ ἐν φιλότητι
Λητὼ κυανόπεπλον ἐγείνατο, μείλιχον αἰεί,
ἤπιον ἀνθρώποισι καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν,
μείλιχον ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀγανώτατον ἐντὸς Ὀλύμπου.
γείνατο δ' Αστερίην ἐυώνυμον, ἥν ποτε Πέρσης
ἠγάγετ᾽ ἐς μέγα δῶμα φίλην κεκλῆσθαι ἄκοιτιν. 410
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη Εκάτην τέκε, τὴν περὶ πάντων
Ζεὺς Κρονίδης τίμησε πόρεν δέ οἱ ἀγλαὰ δῶρα,
μοῖραν ἔχειν γαίης τε καὶ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης.
ἡ δὲ καὶ ἀστερόεντος ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ ἔμμορε τιμῆς
ἀθανάτοις τε θεοῖσι τετιμένη ἐστὶ μάλιστα.
καὶ γὰρ νῦν, ὅτε πού τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
ἔρδων ἱερὰ καλὰ κατὰ νόμον ἱλάσκηται,
κικλήσκει Εκάτην. πολλή τέ οἱ ἕσπετο τιμὴ
ῥεῖα μάλ', ᾧ πρόφρων γε θεὰ ὑποδέξεται εὐχάς,
καί τέ οἱ ὄλβον ὀπάζει, ἐπεὶ δύναμίς γε πάρ-
εστιν.
ὅσσοι γὰρ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἐξεγένοντο
415
420
108
THEOGONY
not cast him out from his rights, but each should
have the office which he had before amongst the
deathless gods. And he declared that he who was
without office or right under Cronos, should be raised
to both office and rights as is just. So deathless
Styx came first to Olympus with her children through
the wit of her dear father. And Zeus honoured her,
and gave her very great gifts, for her he appointed
to be the great oath of the gods, and her children to
live with him always. And as he promised, so he
performed fully unto them all. But he himself
mightily reigns and rules.
Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of
Coeus. Then the goddess through the love of the
god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned Leto,
always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods,
mild from the beginning, gentlest in all Olympus.
Also she bare Asteria of happy name, whom Perses
once led to his great house to be called his dear wife.
And she conceived and bare Hecate whom Zeus the
son of Cronos honoured above all. He
gave her
splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the un-
fruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven,
and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.
For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth
offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to
custom, he calls upon Hecate. Great honour comes
full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives
favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for
the power surely is with her. For as many as were
born of Earth and Ocean amongst all these she has
109
HESIOD
καὶ τιμὴν ἔλαχον, τούτων ἔχει αἶσαν ἁπάντων.
οὐδέ τί μιν Κρονίδης ἐβιήσατο οὐδέ τ᾽ ἀπηύρα,
ὅσσ᾽ ἔλαχεν Τιτῆσι μετὰ προτέροισι θεοῖσιν,
ἀλλ᾽ ἔχει, ὡς τὸ πρῶτον ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς ἔπλετο
δασμός,
καὶ γέρας ἐν γαίῃ τε καὶ οὐρανῷ ἠδὲ θαλάσσῃ· 1
οὐδ᾽, ὅτι μουνογενής, ἧσσον θεὰ ἔμμορε τιμῆς,
ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον, ἐπεὶ Ζεὺς τίεται
αὐτήν.
T
2
425
427
426.
428
434
430
433
8
435
ᾧ δ᾽ ἐθέλει, μεγάλως παραγίγνεται ἠδ᾽ ὀνίνησιν·
ἔν τε δίκῃ βασιλεῦσι παρ' αἰδοίοισι καθίζει,
ἔν τ᾿ ἀγορῇ λαοῖσι μεταπρέπει, ὅν κ᾿ ἐθέλῃσιν·
ἠδ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἐς πόλεμον φθεισήνορα θωρήσσωνται
ἀνέρες, ἔνθα θεὰ παραγίγνεται, οἷς κ᾿ ἐθέλῃσι
νίκην προφρονέως ὀπάσαι καὶ κῦδος ὀρέξαι.
ἐσθλὴ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἄνδρες ἀεθλεύωσιν ἀγῶνι,
ἔνθα θεὰ καὶ τοῖς παραγίγνεται ἠδ᾽ ὀνίνησιν·
νικήσας δὲ βίῃ καὶ κάρτεϊ καλὸν ἄεθλον
ῥεῖα φέρει χαίρων τε, τοκεῦσι δὲ κῦδος ὀπάζει.
ἐσθλὴ δ᾽ ἱππήεσσι παρεστάμεν, οἷς κ᾿ ἐθέλῃσιν.
καὶ τοῖς, οἳ γλαυκὴν δυσπέμφελον ἐργάζονται,
εὔχονται δ᾽ Ἑκάτῃ καὶ ἐρικτύπῳ Ἐννοσιγαίῳ,
ῥηιδίως ἄγρην κυδρὴ θεὸς ὤπασε πολλήν,
ῥεῖα δ᾽ ἀφείλετο φαινομένην, ἐθέλουσά γε θυμῷ.
ἐσθλὴ δ᾽ ἐν σταθμοῖσι σὺν Ἑρμῇ ληίδ᾽ ἀέξειν·
βουκολίας δ᾽ ἀγέλας τε καὶ αἰπόλια πλατέ
αἰγῶν
ποίμνας τ᾽ εἰροπόκων οίων, θυμῷ γ᾽ ἐθέλουσα,
ἐξ ὀλίγων βριάει καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν μείονα θῆκεν.
οὕτω τοι καὶ μουνογενὴς ἐκ μητρὸς ἐοῦσα
1 Goettling's order.
2 Schoemann's order.
3 Koechly : ἀγῶνι ἀεθλεύωσιν, DGHI: ἀθλεύωσιν, other MSS.
440
445
ΠΙΟ
THEOGONY
her due portion.
The son of Cronos did her no
wrong nor took anything away of all that was her
portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds,
as the division was at the first from the beginning,
privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea.
Also, because she is an only child, the goddess
receives not less honour, but much more still, for
Zeus honours her. Whom she will she greatly aids
and advances: she sits by worshipful kings in judge-
ment, and in the assembly whom she will is distin-
guished among the people. And when men arm
themselves for the battle that destroys men, then
the goddess is at hand to give victory and grant
glory readily to whom she will. Good is she also
when men contend at the games, for there too the
goddess is with them and profits them: and he who
by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich
prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents.
And she is good to stand by horsemen, whom she
will and to those whose business is in the grey
discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the
loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious god-
dess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away
as soon as seen, if so she will. She is good in the
byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The droves
of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy
sheep, if she will, she increases from a few, or
makes many to be less. So, then, albeit her mother's
only child,¹ she is honoured amongst all the deathless
:
1 Van Lennep explains that Hecate, having no brothers to
support her claim, might have been slighted.
III
HESIOD
πᾶσι μετ' ἀθανάτοισι τετίμηται γεράεσσιν.
θῆκε δέ μιν Κρονίδης κουροτρόφον, οἳ μετὰ κείνην
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἴδοντο φάος πολυδερκέος Ποῦς.
οὕτως ἐξ ἀρχῆς κουροτρόφος, αἳ δέ τε τιμαί.
Ῥείη δὲ δμηθεῖσα Κρόνῳ τέκε φαίδιμα τέκνα,
Ιστίην Δήμητρα καὶ Ηρην χρυσοπέδιλον
ἔφθιμόν τ' Αίδην, ὃς ὑπὸ χθονὶ δώματα ναίει
νηλεὲς ἦτορ ἔχων, καὶ ἐρίκτυπον Εννοσίγαιον
Ζῆνά τε μητιόεντα, θεῶν πατέρ᾽ ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν,
τοῦ καὶ ὑπὸ βροντῆς πελεμίζεται εὐρεῖα χθών.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν κατέπινε μέγας Κρόνος, ὥς τις
ἕκαστος
νηδύος ἐξ ἱερᾶς μητρὸς πρὸς γούναθ' ἵκοιτο,
τὰ φρονέων, ἵνα μή τις ἀγανῶν Οὐρανιώνων
ἄλλος ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἔχοι βασιληίδα τιμήν.
πεύθετο γὰρ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος,
οὔνεκά οἱ πέπρωτο ἑῷ ὑπὸ παιδὶ δαμῆναι
450
455
460
καὶ κρατερῷ περ ἐόντι, Διὸς 1 μεγάλου διὰ βουλάς· 465
τῷ ὅ γ᾽ ἄρ᾽ οὐκ ἀλαὸς σκοπιὴν ἔχεν, ἀλλὰ
δοκεύων
παῖδας ἑοὺς κατέπινε· Ρέην δ' ἔχε πένθος
ἄλαστον.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ Δί᾽ ἔμελλε θεῶν πατέρ' ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν
τέξεσθαι, τότ᾽ ἔπειτα φίλους λιτάνευε τοκῆας
τοὺς αὐτῆς, Γαϊάν τε καὶ Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα,
μῆτιν συμφράσσασθαι, ὅπως λελάθοιτο τεκοῦσα
παῖδα φίλον, τίσαιτο δ᾽ ἐρινῦς πατρὸς ἑοῖο
παίδων θ', οὓς κατέπινε μέγας Κρόνος ἀγκυ
λομήτης.
1 Ε (later land) GHI and a Scholiast read πατρός.
470
112
THEOGONY
gods. And the son of Cronos made her a nurse of
the young who after that day saw with their eyes the
light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the beginning
she is a nurse of the young, and these are her
honours.
But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare
splendid children, Hestia,¹ Demeter, and gold-shod
Hera and strong Hades, pitiless in heart, who dwells
under the earth, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker,
and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose
thunder the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronos
swallowed as each came forth from the womb to his
mother's knees with this intent, that no other of the
proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office
amongst the deathless gods. For he learned from
Earth and starry Heaven that he was destined to
be overcome by his own son, strong though he was,
through the contriving of great Zeus.2 Therefore
he kept no blind outlook, but watched and swallowed
down his children: and unceasing grief seized Rhea.
But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of
gods and men, then she besought her own dear
parents, Earth and starry Heaven, to devise some plan
with her that the birth of her dear child might be
concealed, and that retribution might overtake great,
crafty Cronos for his own father and also for the
The goddess of the hearth (the Roman Vesta), and so of
the house. Cp. Homeric Hymns v. 22 ff.; xxix. 1 ff.
The
2 The variant reading "of his father" (sc. Heaven) rests
on inferior MS. authority and is probably an alteration due
to the difficulty stated by a Scholiast: "How could Zeus,
being not yet begotten, plot against his father?"
phrase is, however, part of the prophecy. The whole line
may well be spurious, and is rejected by Heyne, Wolf,
Gaisford and Guyet.
113
I
HESIOD
οἱ δὲ θυγατρὶ φίλῃ μάλα μὲν κλύον ἠδ᾽ ἐπίθοντο,
καί οἱ πεφραδέτην, ὅσα περ πέπρωτο γενέσθαι
ἀμφὶ Κρόνῳ βασιλῆι καὶ υἱέι καρτεροθύμῳ.
πέμψαν δ᾽ ἐς Λύκτον, Κρήτης ἐς πίονα δῆμον,
ὁππότ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὁπλότατον παίδων τέξεσθαι ἔμελλε,
Ζῆνα μέγαν· τὸν μέν οἱ ἐδέξατο Γαία πελώρη
Κρήτῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ τραφέμεν ἀτιταλλέμεναί τε.
ἔνθα μιν ἱκτο φέρουσα θοὴν διὰ νύκτα μέλαιναν
πρώτην ἐς Λύκτον· κρύψεν δέ ἑ χερσὶ λαβοῦσα
ἄντρῳ ἐν ἠλιβάτῳ, ζαθέης ὑπὸ κεύθεσι γαίης,
Αἰγαίῳ ἐν ὄρει πεπυκασμένῳ ὑλήεντι.
τῷ δὲ σπαργανίσασα μέγαν λίθον ἐγγυάλιξεν
Οὐρανίδῃ μέγ' ἄνακτι, θεῶν προτέρῳ βασιλῆι.
τὸν τόθ' ἑλὼν χείρεσσιν ἑὴν ἐσκάτθετο νηδύν
σχέτλιος· οὐδ᾽ ἐνόησε μετὰ φρεσίν, ὥς οἱ ὀπίσσω
ἀντὶ λίθου ἑὸς υἱὸς ἀνίκητος καὶ ἀκηδὴς
λείπεθ᾽, ὅ μιν τάχ᾽ ἔμελλε βίῃ καὶ χερσὶ δαμάσε
σας
τιμῆς ἐξελάειν, ὃ δ᾽ ἐν ἀθανάτοισι ἀνάξειν.
Καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπειτα μένος καὶ φαίδιμα
γυία
ηὔξετο τοῖο ἄνακτος· ἐπιπλομένων δ᾽ ἐνιαυτῶν
Γαίης ἐννεσίῃσι πολυφραδέεσσι δολωθεὶς
475
480
485
490
ὃν γόνον ἂψ ἀνέηκε μέγας Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης 495
[νικηθεὶς τέχνῃσι βίηφί τε παιδὸς ἑοῖο.1]
πρῶτον δ᾽ ἐξέμεσεν λίθον, ὃν πύματον κατέπινεν. 2
τὸν μὲν Ζεὺς στήριξε κατὰ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης
Πυθοῖ ἐν ἠγαθέῃ γυάλοις ὕπο Παρνησοῖο
σῆμ᾽ ἔμεν ἐξοπίσω, θαῦμα θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσιν.
¹ Rejected by Heyne as interrupting and disagreeing with
the context.
• Peppmüller : ἐξήμησε (or ἐξήμεσε) λίθον, πύματον κατα
πίνων, MSS.
500
114
THEOGONY
children whom he had swallowed down. And they
readily heard and obeyed their dear daughter, and told
her all that was destined to happen touching Cronos
the king and his stout-hearted son. So they sent her
to Lyctus, to the rich land of Crete, when she was
ready to bear great Zeus, the youngest of her children.
Him did vast Earth receive from Rhea in wide Crete
to nourish and to bring up. Thither came Earth
carry-
ing him swiftly through the black night to Lyctus first,
and took him in her arms and hid him in a remote
cave beneath the secret places of the holy earth on
thick-wooded Mount Aegeum; but to the mightily
ruling son of Heaven, the earlier king of the gods,
she gave a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Then he took it in his hands and thrust it down into
his belly wretch! he knew not in his heart that in
place of the stone his son was left behind, un-
conquered and untroubled, and that he was soon to
overcome him by force and might and drive him
from his honours, himself to reign over the deathless
gods.
After that, the strength and glorious limbs of the
prince increased quickly, and as the years rolled on,
great Cronos the wily was beguiled by the deep
suggestions of Earth, and brought up again his
offspring, vanquished by the arts and might of his
own son, and he vomited up first the stone which he
had swallowed last. And Zeus set it fast in the
wide-pathed earth at goodly Pytho under the glens
of Parnassus, to be a sign thenceforth and a marvel
to mortal men.¹ And he set free from their deadly
1 Pausanias (x. 24. 6) saw near the tomb of Neoptolemus
"a stone of no great size," which the Delphians anointed
every day with oil, and which he says was supposed to be
the stone given to Cronos.
115
1 2
HESIOD
λῦσε δὲ πατροκασιγνήτους ὀλοῶν ὑπὸ δεσμῶν
Οὐρανίδας, οὓς δῆσε πατὴρ ἀεσιφροσύνῃσιν·
οἵ οἱ ἀπεμνήσαντο χάριν ἐνεργεσιάων,
δῶκαν δὲ βροντὴν ἠδ᾽ αἰθαλόεντα κεραυνὸν
καὶ στεροπήν· τὸ πρὶν δὲ πελώρη Γαϊα κεκεύθει· 505
τοῖς πίσυνος θνητοῖσι καὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ἀνάσσει.
510
Κούρην δ᾽ Ἰαπετὸς καλλίσφυρον Ωκεανίνην
ἠγάγετο Κλυμένην καὶ ὁμὸν λέχος εἰσανέβαινεν.
ἢ δέ οἱ Ατλαντα κρατερόφρονα γείνατο παῖδα·
τίκτε δ᾽ ὑπερκύδαντα Μενοίτιον ἠδὲ Προμηθέα
ποικίλον αἰολόμητιν, ἁμαρτίνοόν τ' Επιμηθέα,
ὃς κακὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γένετ᾽ ἀνδράσιν ἀλφηστῇσιν·
πρῶτος γάρ ῥα Διὸς πλαστὴν ὑπέδεκτο γυναῖκα
παρθένον. ὑβριστὴν δὲ Μενοίτιον εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
εἰς Ερεβος κατέπεμψε βαλὼν ψολόεντι κεραυνῷ 515
εἵνεκ᾽ ἀτασθαλίης τε καὶ ἠνορέης ὑπερόπλου.
Ατλας δ' οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχει κρατερῆς ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης
πείρασιν ἐν γαίης, πρόπαρ Εσπερίδων λιγυφώνων,
ἑστηὼς κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ἀκαμάτῃσι χέρεσσιν
ταύτην γάρ οἱ μοῖραν ἐδάσσατο μητίετα Ζεύς.
δῆσε δ᾽ ἀλυκτοπέδῃσι Προμηθέα ποικιλόβουλον
δεσμοῖς ἀργαλέοισι μέσον διὰ κίον᾽ ἐλάσσας·
καί οἱ ἐπ᾽ αἰετὸν ὦρσε τανύπτερον· αὐτὰρ ὅ γ'
παρ
ἤσθιεν ἀθάνατον, τὸ δ᾽ ἀέξετο ἶσον ἁπάντη
νυκτός, ὅσον πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἔδοι τανυσίπτερος
ὄρνις.
τὸν μὲν ἄρ᾽ Αλκμήνης καλλισφύρου ἄλκιμος υἱὸς
Ἡρακλέης ἔκτεινε, κακὴν δ᾽ ἀπὸ νοῦσον ἄλαλκεν
Ιαπετιονίδῃ καὶ ἐλύσατο δυσφροσυνάων
οὐκ ἀέκητι Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου ὑψιμέδοντος,
520
525
116
THEOGONY
bonds the brothers of his father, sons of Heaven
whom his father in his foolishness had bound. And
they remembered to be grateful to him for his kind-
ness, and gave him thunder and the glowing thunder-
bolt and lightning: for before that, huge Earth had
hidden these. In them he trusts and rules over
mortals and immortals.
Now Iapetus took to wife the neat-ankled maid
Clymene, daughter of Ocean, and went up with her
into one bed. And she bare him a stout-hearted
son, Atlas: also she bare very glorious Menoetius
and clever Prometheus, full of various wiles, and
scatter-brained Epimetheus who from the first was a
mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he who
first took of Zeus the woman, the maiden whom he
had formed. But Menoetius was outrageous, and far-
seeing Zeus struck him with a lurid thunderbolt
and sent him down to Erebus because of his mad
presumption and exceeding pride. And Atlas through
hard constraint upholds the wide heaven with un-
wearying head and arms, standing at the borders of
the earth before the clear-voiced Hesperides; for
this lot wise Zeus assigned to him. And ready-witted
Prometheus he bound with inextricable bonds, cruel
chains, and drove a shaft through his middle, and
set on him a long-winged eagle, which used to eat
his immortal liver; but by night the liver grew as
much again everyway as the long-winged bird de-
voured in the whole day. That bird Heracles, the
valiant son of shapely-ankled Alcmene, slew; and
delivered the son of Iapetus from the cruel plague,
and released him from his affliction-not without
the will of Olympian Zeus who reigns on high, that
117
HESIOD
ὄφρ' Ηρακλῆος Θηβαγενέος κλέος εἴη
πλεῖον ἔτ᾽ ἢ τὸ πάροιθεν ἐπὶ χθόνα πουλυ-
βότειραν.
ταῦτ᾽ ἄρα ἁζόμενος τίμα ἀριδείκετον υἱόν·
καί περ χωόμενος παύθη χόλου, ὃν πρὶν ἔχεσκεν,
οὕνεκ᾽ ἐρίζετο βουλὰς ὑπερμενέι Κρονίωνι.
καὶ γὰρ ὅτ᾽ ἐκρίνοντο θεοὶ θνητοί τ᾽ ἄνθρωποι
Μηκώνῃ, τότ᾽ ἔπειτα μέγαν βοῦν πρόφρονι θυμῷ
δασσάμενος προέθηκε, Διὸς νόον ἐξαπαφίσκων.
τοῖς μὲν γὰρ σάρκας τε καὶ ἔγκατα πίονα δημῷ
ἐν ῥινῷ κατέθηκε καλύψας γαστρὶ βοείῃ,
τῷ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ὀστέα λευκὰ βοὸς δολίῃ ἐπὶ τέχνῃ
εὐθετίσας κατέθηκε καλύψας ἀργέτι δημῷ.
δὴ τότε μιν προσέειπε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
Ιαπετιονίδη, πάντων ἀριδείκετ᾽ ἀνάκτων,
ὦ πέπον, ὡς ἑτεροζήλως διεδάσσας μοίρας.
530
535
540
Ὣς φάτο κερτομέων Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδώς. 545
τὸν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπε Προμηθεὺς ἀγκυλομήτης
ἦκ᾽ ἐπιμειδήσας, δολίης δ᾽ οὐ λήθετο τέχνης
Ζεῦ κύδιστε μέγιστε θεῶν αἰειγενετάων,
τῶν δ᾽ ἕλε', ὁπποτέρην σε ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἀνωγει.
Φῆ ῥα δολοφρονέων· Ζεὺς δ᾽ ἄφθιτα μήδεα
εἰδὼς
γνῶ ῥ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἠγνοίησε δόλον· κακὰ δ᾽ ὄσσετο θυμῷ
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισι, τὰ καὶ τελέεσθαι ἔμελλεν.
χερσὶ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἀμφοτέρῃσιν ἀνείλετο λευκὸν
ἄλειφαρ.
χώσατο δὲ φρένας ἀμφί, χόλος δέ μιν ἵκετο θυμόν,
ὡς ἴδεν ὀστέα λευκὰ βοὸς δολίῃ ἐπὶ τέχνῃ.
ἐκ τοῦ δ᾽ ἀθανάτοισιν ἐπὶ χθονὶ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
καίουσ᾽ ὀστέα λευκὰ θυηέντων ἐπὶ βωμῶν.
τὸν δὲ μέγ᾽ ὀχθήσας προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς
550
555
118
THEOGONY
the glory of Heracles the Theban-born might be yet
greater than it was before over the plenteous earth.
This, then, he regarded, and honoured his famous
son; though he was angry, he ceased from the wrath
which he had before because Prometheus matched
himself in wit with the almighty son of Cronos.
For when the gods and mortal men had a dispute at
Mecone, even then Prometheus was forward to cut
up a great ox and set portions before them, trying
to befool the mind of Zeus. Before the rest he set
flesh and inner parts thick with fat upon the hide,
covering them with an ox paunch; but for Zeus he
put the white bones dressed up with cunning art and
covered with shining fat.
Then the father of men
and of gods said to him:
"Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all lords, good
sir, how unfairly you have divided the portions!
So said Zeus whose wisdom is everlasting, rebuking
him. But wily Prometheus answered him, smiling
softly and not forgetting his cunning trick:
"Zeus, most glorious and greatest of the eternal
gods, take which ever of these portions your heart
within you bids." So he said, thinking trickery.
But Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, saw and
failed not to perceive the trick, and in his heart he
thought mischief against mortal men which also was
to be fulfilled. With both hands he took up the
white fat and was angry at heart, and wrath came to
his spirit when he saw the white ox-bones craftily
tricked out and because of this the tribes of men
upon earth burn white bones to the deathless gods
upon fragrant altars. But Zeus who drives the clouds
was greatly vexed and said to him:
119
HESIOD
1
560
565
Ιαπετιονίδη, πάντων πέρι μήδεα ειδώς,
ὦ πέπον, οὐκ ἄρα πω δολίης ἐπιλήθεο τέχνης.
Ὣς φάτο χωόμενος Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδώς·
ἐκ τούτου δὴ ἔπειτα δόλου μεμνημένος αἰεὶ
οὐκ ἐδίδου Μελίῃσι πυρὸς μένος ἀκαμάτοιο
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οἳ ἐπὶ χθονὶ ναιετάουσιν.
ἀλλά μιν ἐξαπάτησεν ἐὺς πάις Ιαπετοῖο
κλέψας ἀκαμάτοιο πυρὸς τηλέσκοπον αὐγὴν
ἐν κοίλῳ νάρθηκι· δάκεν δέ ἑ νειόθι θυμόν,
Ζῆν ὑψιβρεμέτην, ἐχόλωσε δέ μιν φίλον ήτορ,
ὡς ἴδ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισι πυρὸς τηλέσκοπον αὐγήν.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀντὶ πυρὸς τευξεν κακὸν ἀνθρώποισιν· 570
γαίης γὰρ σύμπλασσε περικλυτὸς ᾿Αμφιγυήεις
παρθένῳ αἰδοίῃ ἴκελον Κρονίδεω διὰ βουλάς.
ζῶσε δὲ καὶ κόσμησε θεὰ γλαυκώπις Αθήνη
ἀργυφέῃ ἐσθῆτι· κατὰ κρῆθεν δὲ καλύπτρην
δαιδαλέην χείρεσσι κατέσχεθε, θαῦμα ιδέσθαι·
[ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ στεφάνους, νεοθηλέος ἄνθεα ποίης,
ἱμερτοὺς περίθηκε καρήατι Παλλάς Αθήνη.]
ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ στεφάνην χρυσέην κεφαλῆφιν ἔθηκε,
τὴν αὐτὸς ποίησε περικλυτὸς ᾿Αμφιγυήεις
ἀσκήσας παλάμῃσι, χαριζόμενος Διὶ πατρί.
τῇ δ᾽ ἐνὶ δαίδαλα πολλὰ τετεύχατο, θαῦμα
ἰδέσθαι,
κνώδαλ᾽, ὅσ᾽ ἤπειρος πολλὰ τρέφει ἠδὲ θάλασσα,
τῶν ὅ γε πόλλ᾽ ἐνέθηκε,χάρις δ᾽ ἀπελάμπετο
πολλή,
θαυμάσια, ζῴοισιν ἐοικότα φωνήεσσιν.
1 Bergk (after scholiast): μελίῃσι, DEGHI: μελίοισι,
FKL.
2 11. 576-7 appear to belong to a different recension.
575
580
120
THEOGONY
"Son of Iapetus, clever above all! So, sir, you
have not yet forgotten your cunning arts!"
So spake Zeus in anger, whose wisdom is ever-
lasting; and from that time he was always mindful
of the trick, and would not give the power of
unwearying fire to the Melian¹ race of mortal men
who live on the earth. But the noble son of
Iapetus outwitted him and stole the far-seen gleam
of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And
Zeus who thunders on high was stung in spirit, and
his dear heart was angered when he saw amongst
men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made
an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the
very famous Limping God formed of earth the
likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronos
willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded
and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down
from her head she spread with her hands a broidered
veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put
about her head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown
herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of gold
which the very famous Limping God made himself
and worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus
his father. On it was much curious work, wonderful
to see; for of the many creatures which the land
and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful
things, like living beings with voices and great
beauty shone out from it.
1 A Scholiast explains: "Either because they (men) sprang
from the Melian nymphs (cp. 1. 187); or because, when they
were born (?), they cast themselves under the ash-trees
(uéλia), that is, the trees." The reference may be to the
origin of men from ash-trees: cp. Works and Days, 145 and
note.
121
HESIOD
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τεῦξε καλὸν κακὸν ἀντ᾽ ἀγαθοῖο, 585
ἐξάγαγ᾽, ἔνθα περ ἄλλοι ἔσαν θεοὶ ἠδ᾽ ἄνθρωποι,
κόσμῳ ἀγαλλομένην γλαυκώπιδος ὀβριμοπάτρης.
θαῦμα δ᾽ ἔχ᾽ ἀθανάτους τε θεοὺς θνητούς τ᾽
ἀνθρώπους,
ὡς εἶδον δόλον αἰπύν, ἀμήχανον ἀνθρώποισιν.
595
600
Ἐκ τῆς γὰρ γένος ἐστὶ γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων,1 590
[τῆς γὰρ ὀλώιόν ἐστι γένος καὶ φῦλα γυναικῶν,]
πῆμα μέγ' αἳ θνητοῖσι μετ᾿ ἀνδράσι ναιετάουσιν
οὐλομένης πενίης οὐ σύμφοροι, ἀλλὰ κόροιο.
ὡς δ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἐν σμήνεσσι κατηρεφέεσσι μέλισσαι
κηφῆνας βόσκωσι, κακῶν ξυνήονας ἔργων—
αἳ μέν τε πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
ἠμάτιαι σπεύδουσι τιθεῖσί τε κηρία λευκά,
οἳ δ᾽ ἔντοσθε μένοντες ἐπηρεφέας κατὰ σίμβλους
ἀλλότριον κάματον σφετέρην ἐς γαστέρ᾽ ἀμῶνται—
ὣς δ' αύτως ἄνδρεσσι κακὸν θνητοῖσι γυναῖκας
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης θῆκεν, ξυνήονας ἔργων
ἀργαλέων· ἕτερον δὲ πόρεν κακὸν ἀντ᾿ ἀγαθοῖο·
ὅς κε γάμον φεύγων καὶ μέρμερα ἔργα γυναικῶν
μὴ γῆμαι ἐθέλῃ, ὀλοὸν δ᾽ ἐπὶ γῆρας ἵκοιτο
χήτεϊ γηροκόμοιο· ὅ γ᾽ οὐ βιότου ἐπιδευὴς
ζώει, ἀποφθιμένου δὲ διὰ κτῆσιν δατέονται
χηρωσταί· ᾧ δ᾽ αὖτε γάμου μετὰ μοῖρα γένηται,
κεδνὴν δ᾽ ἔσχεν ἄκοιτιν ἀρηρυῖαν πραπίδεσσι,
τῷ δέ τ' ἀπ' αἰῶνος κακὸν ἐσθλῷ ἀντιφερίζει
ἐμμενές· ὃς δέ κε τέτμῃ ἀταρτηροῖο γενέθλης,
ζώει ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔχων ἀλίαστον ἀνίην
θυμῷ καὶ κραδίῃ, καὶ ἀνήκεστον κακόν ἐστιν.
Ὣς οὐκ ἔστι Διὸς κλέψαι νόον οὐδὲ παρελθεῖν.
οὐδὲ γὰρ Ιαπετιονίδης ἀκάκητα Προμηθεύς
1 11. 590-1 belong to different recensions.
605
610
122
THEOGONY
But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the
price for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting
in the finery which the bright-eyed daughter of a
mighty father had given her, to the place where the
other gods and men were. And wonder took hold of
the deathless gods and mortal men when they saw that
which was sheer guile, not to be withstood by men.
For from her is the race of women and female
kind of her is the deadly race and tribe of women
who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,
no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.
And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones whose
nature is to do mischief-by day and throughout
the day until the sun goes down the bees are busy
and lay the white combs, while the drones stay at
home in the covered skeps and reap the toil of others
into their own bellies-even so Zeus who thunders
on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with
a nature to do evil. And he gave them a second evil
to be the price for the good they had: whoever avoids
marriage and the sorrows that women cause, and will
not wed, reaches deadly old age without anyone to
tend his years, and though he at least has no lack of
livelihood while he lives, yet, when he is dead, his
kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them. And
as for the man who chooses the lot of marriage and
takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil continually
contends with good; for whoever happens to have
mischievous children, lives always with unceasing
grief in his spirit and heart within him; and this
evil cannot be healed.
So it is not possible to deceive or go beyond the
will of Zeus; for not even the son of Iapetus, kindly
123
HESIOD
τοῖό γ' ὑπεξήλυξε βαρὺν χόλον, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης 615
καὶ πολύιδριν ἐόντα μέγας κατὰ δεσμὸς ἐρύκει.
625
Οβριάρεῳ δ᾽ ὡς πρῶτα πατὴρ ὠδύσσατο θυμῷ
Κόττῳ τ' ἠδὲ Γύῃ, δῆσεν κρατερῷ ἐνὶ δεσμῷ
ἠνορέην ὑπέροπλον ἀγώμενος ἠδὲ καὶ εἶδος
καὶ μέγεθος· κατένασσε δ' ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης. 620
ἔνθ' οἵ γ᾽ ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντες ὑπὸ χθονὶ ναιετάοντες
εἵατ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχατιῇ, μεγάλης ἐν πείρασι γαίης,
δηθὰ μάλ' ἀχνύμενοι, κραδίῃ μέγα πένθος ἔχοντες.
ἀλλά σφεας Κρονίδης τε καὶ ἀθάνατοι θεοὶ ἄλλοι,
οὓς τέκεν ἠύκομος Ρείη Κρόνου ἐν φιλότητι,
Γαίης φραδμοσύνῃσιν ἀνήγαγον ἐς φάος αὖτις·
αὐτὴ γάρ σφιν ἅπαντα διηνεκέως κατέλεξε
σὺν κείνοις νίκην τε καὶ ἀγλαὸν εὖχος ἀρέσθαι.
δηρὸν γὰρ μάρναντο πόνον θυμαλγέ᾽ ἔχοντες
Τιτῆνές τε θεοὶ καὶ ὅσοι Κρόνου ἐξεγένοντο,
ἀντίον ἀλλήλοισι διὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας,
οἱ μὲν ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλῆς Όθρυος Τιτῆνες ἀγανοί,
οἳ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀπ᾽ Οὐλύμποιο θεοί, δωτῆρες ἐάων,
οὓς τέκεν ἠύκομος Ῥείη Κρόνῳ εὐνηθεῖσα.
οἵ ῥα τότ᾽ ἀλλήλοισι χόλον θυμαλγέ᾽ ἔχοντες
συνεχέως ἐμάχοντο δέκα πλείους ἐνιαυτούς·
οὐδέ τις ἦν ἔριδος χαλεπῆς λύσις οὐδὲ τελευτὴ
οὐδετέροις, ἴσον δὲ τέλος τέτατο πτολέμοιο.
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ κείνοισι παρέσχεθεν ἄρμενα πάντα,
νέκταρ τ᾽ ἀμβροσίην τε, τά περ θεοὶ αὐτοὶ ἔδουσι, 640
πάντων ἐν στήθεσσιν ἀέξετο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ.
ὡς νέκταρ τ᾽ ἐπάσαντο καὶ ἀμβροσίην ἐρατεινήν,
δὴ τότε τοῖς μετέειπε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
630
635
124
THEOGONY
Prometheus, escaped his heavy anger, but of neces-
sity strong bands confined him, although he knew
many a wile.
But when first their father was vexed in his heart
with Obriareus and Cottus and Gyes, he bound
them in cruel bonds, because he was jealous of their
exceeding manhood and comeliness and great size :
and he made them live beneath the wide-pathed
earth, where they were afflicted, being set to dwell
under the ground, at the end of the earth, at its
great borders, in bitter anguish for a long time and
with great grief at heart. But the son of Cronos
and the other deathless gods whom rich-haired Rhea
bare from union with Cronos, brought them up again
to the light at Earth's advising. For she herself
recounted all things to the gods fully, how that with
these they would gain victory and a glorious cause
to vaunt themselves. For the Titan gods and as
many as sprang from Cronos had long been fighting
together in stubborn war with heart-grieving toil,
the lordly Titans from high Othrys, but the gods,
givers of good, whom rich-haired Rhea bare in union
with Cronos, from Olympus. So they, with bitter
wrath, were fighting continually with one another at
that time for ten full years, and the hard strife had
no close or end for either side, and the issue of the
war hung evenly balanced. But when he had pro-
vided those three with all things fitting, nectar and
ambrosia which the gods themselves eat, and when
their proud spirit revived within them all after they
had fed on nectar and delicious ambrosia, then it
was that the father of men and gods spoke amongst
them:
125
HESIOD
Κέκλυτέ μευ, Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀγλαὰ
τέκνα,
ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω, τά με θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι κελεύει.
ἤδη γὰρ μάλα δηρὸν ἐναντίοι ἀλλήλοισι
νίκης καὶ κράτεος πέρι μαρνάμεθ᾽ ἤματα πάντα
Τιτηνές τε θεοὶ καὶ ὅσοι Κρόνου ἐκγενόμεσθα.
ὑμεῖς δὲ μεγάλην τε βίην καὶ χεῖρας ἀάπτους
φαίνετε Τιτήνεσσιν ἐναντίοι ἐν δαὶ λυγρῇ
μνησάμενοι φιλότητος ἐνηέος, ὅσσα παθόντες
ἐς φάος ἂψ ἀφίκεσθε δυσηλεγέος ὑπὸ δεσμοῦ
ἡμετέρας διὰ βουλὰς ὑπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος.
“Ως φάτο· τὸν δ᾽ ἐξαῦτις ἀμείβετο Κόττος
ἀμύμων·
Δαιμόνι, οὐκ ἀδάητα πιφαύσκεαι· ἀλλὰ καὶ
αὐτοὶ
645
650
655
ἴδμεν, ὅ τοι περὶ μὲν πραπίδες, περὶ δ᾽ ἐστὶ νόημα,
ἀλκτὴρ δ᾽ ἀθανάτοισιν ἀρῆς γένεο κρυεροῖο.
σῇσι δ᾽ ἐπιφροσύνῃσιν ὑπὸ ζόφου κερόεντος
ἄψορρον δ'† ἐξαῦτις ἀμειλίκτων ὑπὸ δεσμῶν
ἠλύθομεν, Κρόνου υἱὲ ἄναξ, ἀνάελπτα παθόντες. 660
τῷ καὶ νῦν ἀτενεῖ τε νόῳ καὶ ἐπίφρονι βουλῇ
ῥυσόμεθα κράτος ὑμὸν ἐν αἰνῇ δηϊοτῆτι
μαρνάμενοι Τιτῆσιν ἀνὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας.
Ὣς φάτ'· ἐπήνεσσαν δὲ θεοί, δωτήρες εάων,
μῦθον ἀκούσαντες· πολέμου δ᾽ ἐλιλαίετο θυμὸς
μᾶλλον ἔτ᾽ ἢ τὸ πάροιθε· μάχην δ᾽ ἀμέγαρτον
ἔγειραν
πάντες, θήλειαί τε καὶ ἄρσενες, ἤματι κείνῳ,
Τιτῆνές τε θεοὶ καὶ ὅσοι Κρόνου ἐξεγένοντο,
οὕς τε Ζεὺς Ερέβευσφιν ὑπὸ χθονὸς ἧκε φόωσδε
δεινοί τε κρατεροί τε, βίην ὑπέροπλον ἔχοντες.
1 DEFKLR : Ερέβεσφιν, GHI.
665
670
126
THEOGONY
"Hear me, bright children of Earth and Heaven,
that I may say what my heart within me bids. A
long while now have we, who are sprung from
Cronos and the Titan gods, fought with each other
every day to get victory and to prevail. But do you
show your great might and unconquerable strength,
and face the Titans in bitter strife; for remember
our friendly kindness, and from what sufferings you
are come back to the light from your cruel bondage
under misty gloom through our counsels."
So he said. And blameless Cottus answered him
again: "Divine one, you speak that which we know
well: nay, even of ourselves we know that your
wisdom and understanding is exceeding, and that
you became a defender of the deathless ones from
chill doom. And through your devising we are
come back again from the murky gloom and from
our merciless bonds, enjoying what we looked not
for, O lord, son of Cronos. And so now with fixed
purpose and deliberate counsel we will aid your
power in dreadful strife and will fight against the
Titans in hard battle."
So he said: and the gods, givers of good things,
applauded when they heard his word, and their spirit
longed for war even more than before, and they all,
both male and female, stirred up hated battle that
day, the Titan gods, and all that were born of
Cronos together with those dread, mighty ones of
overwhelming strength whom Zeus brought up to
the light from Erebus beneath the earth.
An
137
HESIOD
τῶν ἑκατὸν μὲν χεῖρες ἀπ᾽ ὤμων αίσσοντο
πᾶσιν ὁμῶς, κεφαλαὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ πεντήκοντα
ἐξ ὤμων ἐπέφυκον ἐπὶ στιβαροῖσι μέλεσσιν.
οἳ τότε Τιτήνεσσι κατέσταθεν ἐν δαὶ λυγρῇ
πέτρας ἠλιβάτους στιβαρῇς ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες.
Τιτῆνες δ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ἐκαρτύναντο φάλαγγας
προφρονέως, χειρῶν τε βίης θ' ἅμα ἔργον ἔφαινον
ἀμφότεροι· δεινὸν δὲ περίαχε πόντος ἀπείρων,
γῆ δὲ μέγ' ἐσμαράγησεν, ἐπέστενε δ᾽ οὐρανὸς
εὐρὺς
σειόμενος, πεδόθεν δὲ τινάσσετο μακρὸς Ολυμ-
πος
ῥιπῇ ὑπ᾽ ἀθανάτων, ἔνοσις δ᾽ ἵκανε βαρεῖα
Τάρταρον ἠερόεντα, ποδῶν τ' αἰπεῖα ἰωὴ
ἀσπέτου ἰωχμοῖο βολάων τε κρατεράων
ὡς ἄρ᾽ ἐπ' ἀλλήλοις ἵεσαν βέλεα στονόεντα.
φωνὴ δ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἵκετ᾽ οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα
κεκλομένων· οἱ δὲ ξύνισαν μεγάλῳ ἀλαλητῷ.
Οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτι Ζεὺς ἔσχεν ἑὸν μένος, ἀλλά νυ τοῦ γε
εἶθαρ μὲν μένεις πλῆντο φρένες, ἐκ δέ τε πᾶσαν
φαῖνε βίην· ἄμυδις δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ ἠδ᾽ ἀπ'
Ολύμπου
ἀστράπτων ἔστειχε συνωχαδόν· οἱ δὲ κεραυνοὶ
ἴκταρ ἅμα βροντῇ τε καὶ ἀστεροπῇ ποτέοντο
χειρὸς ἄπο στιβαρῆς, ἱερὴν φλόγα εἰλυφόωντες
ταρφέες· ἀμφὶ δὲ γαῖα φερέσβιος ἐσμαράγιζε
καιομένη, λάκε δ᾽ ἀμφὶ πυρὶ μεγάλ᾽ ἄσπετος ὕλη.
ἔζεε δὲ χθὼν πᾶσα καὶ Ωκεανοῖο ῥέεθρα
πόντος τ᾽ ἀτρύγετος· τοὺς δ᾽ ἄμφεπε θερμὸς
ἀυτμὴ
Τιτῆνας χθονίους, φλὸξ δ' αἰθέρα 1 δίαν ἵκανεν
1 Naber: ηέρα, MSS.
675
680
685
695
128
THEOGONY
hundred arms sprang from the shoulders of all alike,
and each had fifty heads growing upon his shoulders
upon stout limbs. These, then, stood against the
Titans in grim strife, holding huge rocks in their
strong hands. And on the other part the Titans
eagerly strengthened their ranks, and both sides at
one time showed the work of their hands and their
might. The boundless sea rang terribly around, and
the earth crashed loudly: wide Heaven was shaken
and groaned, and high Olympus reeled from its
foundation under the charge of the undying gods,
and a heavy quaking reached dim Tartarus and the
deep sound of their feet in the fearful onset and of
their hard missiles. So, then, they launched their
grievous shafts upon one another, and the cry of
both armies as they shouted reached to starry heaven;
and they met together with a great battle-cry.
Then Zeus no longer held back his might; but
straight his heart was filled with fury and he showed
forth all his strength. From Heaven and from
Olympus he came forthwith, hurling his lightning:
the bolts flew thick and fast from his strong hand
together with thunder and lightning, whirling an
awesome flame. The life-giving earth crashed around
in burning, and the vast wood crackled loud with fire
all about. All the land seethed, and Ocean's streams
and the unfruitful sea. The hot vapour lapped round
the earthborn Titans: flame unspeakable rose to the
129
K
HESIOD
ἄσπετος, ὄσσε δ' ἄμερδε καὶ ἰφθίμων περ ἐόντων
αὐγὴ μαρμαίρουσα κεραυνοῦ τε στεροπῆς τε.
καῦμα δὲ θεσπέσιον κάτεχεν Χάος· εἴσατο δ'
ἄντα
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδεῖν ἠδ᾽ οὔασι ὅσσαν ἀκοῦσαι
αὔτως, ὡς εἰ Γαῖα καὶ Οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθε
πίλνατο· τοῖος γάρ κε μέγας ὑπὸ δοῦπος ὀρώρει
τῆς μὲν ἐρειπομένης, τοῦ δ᾽ ὑψόθεν ἐξεριπόντος·
τόσσος δοῦπος ἔγεντο θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνιόντων.
σὺν δ᾽ ἄνεμοι ἔνοσίν τε κονίην τ᾽ ἐσφαραγιζον
βροντήν τε στεροπήν τε καὶ αἰθαλόεντα κεραυνόν,
κῆλα Διὸς μεγάλοιο, φέρον δ' ἰαχήν τ᾽ ἐνοπήν τε
ἐς μέσον ἀμφοτέρων· ἔτοβος δ᾽ ἄπλητος ὀρώρει
σμερδαλέης ἔριδος, κάρτος δ᾽ ἀνεφαίνετο ἔργων.
ἐκλίνθη δὲ μάχη· πρὶν δ᾽ ἀλλήλοις ἐπέχοντες
ἐμμενέως ἐμάχοντο διὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας.
Οἱ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐνὶ πρώτοισι μάχην δριμείαν ἔγειραν
Κόττος τε Βριάρεώς τε Γύης τ' ἄατος πολέμοιο,
οἵ ῥα τριηκοσίας πέτρας στιβαρῶν ἀπὸ χειρῶν
πέμπον ἐπασσυτέρας, κατὰ δ᾽ ἐσκίασαν βελέεσσι
Τιτῆνας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης
πέμψαν καὶ δεσμοῖσιν ἐν ἀργαλέοισιν ἔδησαν
χερσὶν νικήσαντες ὑπερθύμους περ ἐόντας,
τόσσον ἔνερθ᾽ ὑπὸ γῆς, ὅσον οὐρανός ἐστ᾽ ἀπὸ
γαίης·
τόσσον γάρ τ' ἀπὸ γῆς ἐς Τάρταρον ἠερόεντα.
ἐννέα γὰρ νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα χάλκεος ἄκμων
οὐρανόθεν κατιὼν δεκάτῃ κ᾿ ἐς γαῖαν ἵκοιτο·
ἐννέα δ᾽ αὖ νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα χάλκεος ἄκμων
ἐκ γαίης κατιὼν δεκάτῃ κ᾿ ἐς Τάρταρον ἵκοι.
τὸν πέρι χάλκεον ἕρκος ἐλήλαται· ἀμφὶ δέ μιν νὺξ
τριστοιχεί κέχυται περὶ δειρήν· αὐτὰρ ὕπερθεν
700
705
710
715
720
725
130
THEOGONY
bright upper air: the flashing glare of the thunder-
stone and lightning blinded their eyes for all that
they were strong. Astounding heat seized Chaos :
and to see with eyes and to hear the sound with ears
it seemed even as if Earth and wide Heaven above
came together; for such a mighty crash would have
arisen if Earth were being hurled to ruin, and
Heaven from on high were hurling her down; so
great a crash was there while the gods were meeting
together in strife. Also the winds brought rumbling
earthquake and duststorm, thunder and lightning
and the lurid thunderbolt, which are the shafts of
great Zeus, and carried the clangour and the warcry
into the midst of the two hosts. An horrible uproar
of terrible strife arose mighty deeds were shown
and the battle inclined. But until then, they kept
at one another and fought continually in cruel war.
And amongst the foremost Cottus and Briareos and
Gyes insatiate for war raised fierce fighting: three
hundred rocks, one upon another, they launched
from their strong hands and overshadowed the Titans
with their missiles, and hurled them beneath the
wide-pathed earth, and bound them in bitter chains
when they had conquered them by their strength for
all their great spirit, as far beneath the earth
as heaven is above earth; for so far is it from earth
to Tartarus. For a brazen anvil falling down from
heaven nine nights and days would reach the earth
upon the tenth and again, a brazen anvil falling
from earth nine nights and days would reach
Tartarus upon the tenth. Round it runs a fence of
bronze, and night spreads in triple line all about it
131
K 2
HESIOD
γῆς ῥίζαι πεφύασι καὶ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης.
ἔνθα θεοὶ Τιτῆνες ὑπὸ ζόφῳ ήερόεντι
κεκρύφαται βουλῇσι Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο
χώρῳ ἐν εὐρώεντι, πελώρης ἔσχατα γαίης.
τοῖς οὐκ ἐξιτόν ἐστι. θύρας δ᾽ ἐπέθηκε Ποσειδέων
χαλκείας, τεῖχος δὲ περοίχεται ἀμφοτέρωθεν.
ἔνθα Γύης Κόττος τε καὶ Ὀβριάρεως μεγάθυμος
ναίουσιν, φύλακες πιστοὶ Διὸς αιγιόχοιο.
Ενθα δὲ γῆς δνοφερῆς καὶ Ταρτάρου ἠερόεντος
πόντου τ᾽ ἀτρυγέτοιο καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος
ἑξείης πάντων πηγαὶ καὶ πείρατ' ἔασιν
ἀργαλέ᾽ εὐρώεντα, τά τε στυγέουσι θεοί περ,
χάσμα μέγ', οὐδέ κε πάντα τελεσφόρον εἰς
ἐνιαυτὸν
οἶδας ἵκοιτ', εἰ πρῶτα πυλέων ἔντοσθε γένοιτο,
ἀλλά κεν ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα φέροι πρὸ θύελλα θυέλλη
ἀργαλέη· δεινὸν δὲ καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι
τοῦτο τέρας. Νυκτὸς δ᾽ ἐρεβεννῆς οἰκία δεινὰ
ἔστηκεν νεφέλῃς κεκαλυμμένα κυανέησιν.
τῶν πρόσθ' Ιαπετοῖο πάις ἔχει οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν
ἑστηὼς κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ἀκαμάτῃσι χέρεσσιν
ἀστεμφέως, ὅθι Νύξ τε καὶ Ημέρη ἄσσον ἰοῦσαι
ἀλλήλας προσέειπον, ἀμειβόμεναι μέγαν οὐδὸν
χάλκεον· ἡ μὲν ἔσω καταβήσεται, ἡ δὲ θύραζε
ἔρχεται, οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμφοτέρας δόμος ἐντὸς ἐέργει,
ἀλλ᾽ αἰεὶ ἑτέρη γε δόμων ἔκτοσθεν ἐοῦσα
γαῖαν ἐπιστρέφεται, ἣ δ᾽ αὖ δόμου ἐντὸς ἐοῦσα
μίμνει τὴν αὐτῆς ὥρην ὁδοῦ, ἔστ᾽ ἂν ἵκηται,
ἢ μὲν ἐπιχθονίοισι φάος πολυδερκὲς ἔχουσα,
730
735
740
745
750
755
132
THEOGONY
like a neck-circlet, while above grow the roots of
the earth and unfruitful sea. There by the counsel
of Zeus who drives the clouds the Titan gods are
hidden under misty gloom, in a dank place where
are the ends of the huge earth. And they may not
go out; for Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon it,
and a wall runs all round it on every side. There
Gyes and Cottus and great-souled Obriareus live,
trusty warders of Zeus who holds the aegis.
And there, all in their order, are the sources and
ends of gloomy earth and misty Tartarus and the un-
fruitful sea and starry heaven, loathsome and dank,
which even the gods abhor. It is a great gulf, and
if once a man were within the gates, he would not
reach the floor until a whole year had reached its
end, but cruel blast upon blast would carry him this
way and that.
And this marvel is awful even to
the deathless gods.
There stands the awful home of murky Night
wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it the son of
Iapetus¹ stands immovably upholding the wide
heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where
Night and Day draw near and greet one another as
they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while
the one is about to go down into the house, the
other comes out at the door. And the house never
holds them both within; but always one is without
the house passing over the earth, while the other stays
at home and waits until the time for her journeying
come; and the one holds all-seeing light for them on
earth, but the other holds in her arms Sleep the
1 sc. Atlas, the Shu of Egyptian mythology: cp. note on
line 177.
133
HESIOD
ἡ δ᾽ Ὕπνον μετὰ χερσί, κασίγνητον Θανάτοιο,
Νὺξ ὀλοή, νεφέλῃ κεκαλυμμένη ἠεροειδεῖ.
760
Ενθα δὲ Νυκτὸς παῖδες ἐρεμνῆς οἰκί ἔχουσιν,
Ὕπνος καὶ Θάνατος, δεινοὶ θεοί· οὐδέ ποτ' αὐτοὺς
Ηέλιος φαέθων ἐπιδέρκεται ἀκτίνεσσιν
οὐρανὸν εἰς ἀνιὼν οὐδ᾽ οὐρανόθεν καταβαίνων.
τῶν δ᾽ ἕτερος γαϊάν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης
ἥσυχος ἀνστρέφεται καὶ μείλιχος ἀνθρώποισι,
τοῦ δὲ σιδηρέη μὲν κραδίη, χάλκεον δέ οἱ ἦτορ
νηλεὲς ἐν στήθεσσιν· ἔχει δ' ὃν πρῶτα λάβῃσιν 765
ἀνθρώπων· ἐχθρὸς δὲ καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν.
Ἔνθα θεοῦ χθονίου πρόσθεν δόμοι ἠχήεντες
ὀφθίμου τ' Αίδεω καὶ ἐπαινῆς Περσεφονείης
ἑστᾶσιν, δεινὸς δὲ κύων προπάροιθε φυλάσσει
νηλειής, τέχνην δὲ κακὴν ἔχει· ἐς μὲν ἰόντας
σαίνει ὁμῶς οὐρῇ τε καὶ οὔασιν ἀμφοτέροισιν,
ἐξελθεῖν δ᾽ οὐκ αὐτις ἐᾷ πάλιν, ἀλλὰ δοκεύων
ἐσθίει, ὅν κε λάβῃσι πυλέων ἔκτοσθεν ἰόντα.
[ἰφθίμου τ' Αίδεω καὶ ἐπαινῆς Περσεφονείης.1]
Ενθα δὲ ναιετάει στυγερὴ θεὸς ἀθανάτοισι,
δεινὴ Στύξ, θυγάτηρ ἀψορρόου Ωκεανοίο
πρεσβυτάτη νόσφιν δὲ θεῶν κλυτὰ δώματα ναίει
μακρῇσιν πέτρῃσι κατηρεφέ· ἀμφὶ δὲ πάντη
κίοσιν ἀργυρέοισι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται.
770
775
παῦρα δὲ Θαύμαντος θυγάτηρ πόδας ὠκέα Ιρις 780
ἀγγελίην πωλεῖται ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης.
ὁππότ᾽ ἔρις καὶ νεῖκος ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ὄρηται
καί ῥ᾽ ὅστις ψεύδηται Ολύμπια δώματ' ἐχόντων,
Ζεὺς δέ τε Ἶριν ἔπεμψε θεῶν μέγαν ὅρκον ἐνεῖκαι
τηλόθεν ἐν χρυσέῃ προχόῳ πολυώνυμον ὕδωρ
1 This line (a repetition of 768) is not found in the better
MSS.
785
134
THEOGONY
brother of Death, even evil Night, wrapped in a
vaporous cloud.
And there the children of dark Night have their
dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The
glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams,
neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes
down from heaven. And the former of them roams
peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back
and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of
iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze:
whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds
fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods.
There, in front, stand the echoing halls of the god
of the lower-world, strong Hades, and of awful
Persephone. A fearful hound guards the house in
front, pitiless, and he has a cruel trick. On those
who go in he fawns with his tail and both his ears,
but suffers them not to go out back again, but keeps
watch and devours whomsoever he catches going out
of the gates of strong Hades and awful Persephone.
And there dwells the goddess loathed by the
deathless gods, terrible Styx, eldest daughter of back-
flowing ¹ Ocean. She lives apart from the gods in
her glorious house vaulted over with great rocks and
propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars.
Rarely does the daughter of Thaumas, swift-footed
Iris, come to her with a message over the sea's wide
back. But when strife and quarrel arise among the
deathless gods, and when any one of them who live
in the house of Olympus lies, then Zeus sends Iris
to bring in a golden jug the great oath of the gods
1 Oceanus is here regarded as a continuous stream enclosing
the earth and the seas, and so as flowing back upon himself.
135
HESIOD
ψυχρόν, ὅτ᾽ ἐκ πέτρης καταλείβεται ἠλιβάτοιο
ὑψηλῆς· πολλὸν δὲ ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης
ἐξ ἱεροῦ ποταμοῖο ῥέει διὰ νύκτα μέλαιναν
Ωκεανοῖο κέρας· δεκάτη δ᾽ ἐπὶ μοῖρα δέδασται·
ἐννέα μὲν περὶ γῆν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης 790
δίνῃς ἀργυρέῃς εἱλιγμένος εἰς ἅλα πίπτει,
795
ἡ δὲ μία ἐκ πέτρης προρέει μέγα πῆμα θεοῖσιν.
ὅς κεν τὴν ἐπίορκον ἀπολλείψας ἐπομόσσῃ
ἀθανάτων, οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος Ολύμπου,
κεῖται νήυτμος τετελεσμένον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν·
οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἔρχεται ἆσσον
βρώσιος, αλλά τε κεῖται ἀνάπνευστος καὶ ἄναυδος
στρωτοῖς ἐν λεχέεσσι, κακὸν δέ ἑ κῶμα καλύπτει.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ νοῦσον τελέσῃ μέγαν εἰς ἐνιαυτόν,
ἄλλος γ᾽ ἐξ ἄλλου δέχεται χαλεπώτερος ἄεθλος. 800
εἰνάετες δὲ θεῶν ἀπαμείρεται αἰὲν ἐόντων,
οὐδέ ποτ' ἐς βουλὴν ἐπιμίσγεται οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ δαῖτας
ἐννέα πάντα ἔτεα· δεκάτῳ δ᾽ ἐπιμίσγεται αὖτις
εἴρας ἐς ἀθανάτων, οἳ Ολύμπια δώματ' ἔχουσιν.
τοῖον ἄρ᾽ ὅρκον ἔθεντο θεοὶ Στυγὸς ἄφθιτον ὕδωρ 805
ὠγύγιον, τὸ δ᾽ ἵησι καταστυφέλου διὰ χώρου.
Ενθα δὲ γῆς δνοφερῆς καὶ Ταρτάρου κερόεντος
πόντου τ᾽ ἀτρυγέτοιο καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος
ἑξείης πάντων πηγαὶ καὶ πείρατ᾽ ἔασιν
ἀργαλέ᾽ εὐρώεντα, τάτε στυγέουσι θεοί περ.
ἔνθα δὲ μαρμάρεαί τε πύλαι καὶ χάλκεος οὐδὸς
ἀστεμφής, ῥίζῃσι διηνεκέεσσιν ἀρηρώς,
810
136
THEOGONY
from far away, the famous cold water which trickles
down from a high and beetling rock. Far under the
wide-pathed earth a branch of Oceanus flows through
the dark night out of the holy stream, and a tenth
part of his water is allotted to her. With nine silver-
swirling streams he winds about the earth and the
sea's wide back, and then falls into the main¹; but
the tenth flows out from a rock, a sore trouble to the
gods. For whoever of the deathless gods that hold
the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of her
water and is forsworn, lies breathless until a full year
is completed, and never comes near to taste ambrosia
and nectar, but lies spiritless and voiceless on a
strewn bed and a heavy trance overshadows him.
But when he has spent a long year in his sickness,
another penance and an harder follows after the
first. For nine years he is cut off from the eternal
gods and never joins their councils or their feasts,
nine full years. But in the tenth year he comes again
to join the assemblies of the deathless gods who live
in the house of Olympus. Such an oath, then, did
the gods appoint the eternal and primaeval water of
Styx to be and it spouts through a rugged place.
And there, all in their order, are the sources and
ends of the dark earth and misty Tartarus and the
unfruitful sea and starry heaven, loathsome and
dank, which even the gods abhor. And there are
shining gates and an immoveable threshold of bronze
having unending roots and it is grown of itself.2 And
1 The conception of Oceanus is here different: he has nine
streams which encircle the earth and the flow out into the
"main" which appears to be the waste of waters on which,
according to early Greek and Hebrew cosmology, the disk.
like earth floated.
2 i.e. the threshold is of "native" metal, and not artificial.
137
HESIOD
αὐτοφυής· πρόσθεν δὲ θεῶν ἔκτοσθεν ἁπάντων
Τιτῆνες ναίουσι, πέρην Χάεος ζοφεροῖο.
αὐτὰρ ἐρισμαράγοιο Διὸς κλειτοὶ ἐπίκουροι
δώματα ναιετάουσιν ἐπ᾿ Ωκεανοῖο θεμέθλοις,
Κόττος τ' ἠδὲ Γύης Βριάρεών γε μὲν ἠὺν ἐόντα
γαμβρὸν ἑὸν ποίησε βαρύκτυπος Εννοσίγαιος,
δῶκε δὲ Κυμοπόλειαν ὀπυίειν, θυγατέρα ἦν.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ Τιτῆνας ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ ἐξέλασεν
Ζεύς,
815
820
825
ὁπλότατον τέκε παῖδα Τυφωέα Γαῖα πελώρη
Ταρτάρου ἐν φιλότητι διὰ χρυσέην Αφροδίτην
οὗ χεῖρες μὲν ἔασιν ἐπ᾿ ἰσχύι, ἔργματ᾽ ἔχουσαι,
καὶ πόδες ἀκάματοι κρατεροῦ θεοῦ· ἐκ δέ οἱ ὤμων
ἦν ἑκατὸν κεφαλαὶ ὄφιος, δεινοῖο δράκοντος,
γλώσσῃσιν δνοφερῇσι λελιχμότες, ἐκ δέ οἱ ὄσσων
θεσπεσίης κεφαλῇσιν ὑπ᾽ ὀφρύσι πῦρ ἀμάρυσσεν·
πασέων δ᾽ ἐκ κεφαλέων πῦρ καίετο δερκομένοιο·
φωναὶ δ᾽ ἐν πάσῃσιν ἔσαν δεινῇς κεφαλῇσι
παντοίην ἔπ᾿ ἰεῖσαι ἀθέσφατον· ἄλλοτε μὲν γὰρ 830
φθέγγονθ᾽ ὥστε θεοῖσι συνιέμεν, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε
ταύρου ἐριβρύχεω, μένος ἀσχέτου, ὅσσαν ἀγαύρου,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε λέοντος ἀναιδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντος,
ἄλλοτε δ' αὖ σκυλάκεσσιν εοικότα, θαύματ
ἀκοῦσαι,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖ ῥοίζεσχ', ὑπὸ δ' ἤχεεν οὔρεα μακρά. 835
καί νύ κεν ἔπλετο ἔργον ἀμήχανον ἤματι κείνῳ
καί κεν ὅ γε θνητοῖσι καὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ἄναξεν,
εἰ μὴ ἄρ᾽ ὀξὺ νόησε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε.
σκληρὸν δ᾽ ἐβρόντησε καὶ ὄβριμον, ἀμφὶ δὲ γαῖα
σμερδαλέον κονάβησε καὶ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθε 840
πόντος τ' Ὠκεανοῦ τε ῥοαὶ καὶ τάρταρα γαίης.
138
THEOGONY
beyond, away from all the gods, live the Titans,
beyond gloomy Chaos. But the glorious allies of
loud-crashing Zeus have their dwelling upon Ocean's
foundations, even Cottus and Gyes; but Briareos,
being goodly, the deep-roaring Earth-Shaker made
his son-in-law, giving him Cymopolea his daughter
to wed.
But when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven,
huge Earth bare her youngest child Typhoeus of
the love of Tartarus, by the aid of golden Aphrodite.
Strength was with his hands in all that he did and
the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his
shoulders grew an hundred heads of a snake, a
fearful dragon, with dark, flickering tongues, and
from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous
heads flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as
he glared. And there were voices in all his dreadful
heads which uttered every kind of sound unspeak-
able; for at one time they made sounds such that the
gods understood, but at another, the noise of a bull
bellowing aloud in proud ungovernable fury; and at
another, the sound of a lion, relentless of heart; and
at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear;
and again, at another, he would hiss, so that the
high mountains re-echoed. And truly a thing past
help would have happened on that day, and he
would have come to reign over mortals and immortals,
had not the father of men and gods been quick to
perceive it. But he thundered hard and mightily:
and the earth around resounded terribly and the
wide heaven above, and the sea and Ocean's streams
and the nether parts of the earth. Great Olympus
139
HESIOD
ποσσὶ δ᾽ ὕπ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μέγας πελεμίζετε Ολυμ
πος
ὀρνυμένοιο ἄνακτος· ἐπεστενάχιζε δὲ γαῖα.
καῦμα δ' ὑπ' ἀμφοτέρων κάτεχεν ἰοειδέα πόντον
βροντῆς τε στεροπῆς τε, πυρός τ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῖο
πελώρου,
πρηστήρων ἀνέμων τε κεραυνοῦ τε φλεγέθοντος.
ἔζει δὲ χθὼν πᾶσα καὶ οὐρανὸς ἠδὲ θάλασσα
θυῖει δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀμφ' ἀκτὰς περί τ᾽ ἀμφί τε κύματα
μακρὰ
845
ῥιπῇ ὑπ᾽ ἀθανάτων, ἔνοσις δ᾽ ἄσβεστος ορώρει·
τρέε δ' Αίδης, ἐνέροισι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσων, 850
Τιτῆνές θ᾽ ὑποταρτάριοι, Κρόνον ἀμφὶς ἐόντες,
ἀσβέστου κελάδοιο καὶ αἰνῆς δηιοτῆτος.
Ζεὺς δ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν κόρθυνεν ἑὸν μένος, εἵλετο δ'
ὅπλα,
βροντήν τε στεροπήν τε καὶ αἰθαλόεντα κεραυνόν,
πλῆξεν ἀπ᾿ Οὐλύμποιο ἐπάλμενος· ἀμφὶ δὲ πάσας 855
ἔπρεσε θεσπεσίας κεφαλὰς δεινοῖο πελώρου.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δή μιν δάμασεν πληγῇσιν ἱμάσσας,
ἤριπε γειωθείς, στενάχιζε δὲ γαῖα πελώρη.
φλὸξ δὲ κεραυνωθέντος ἀπέσσυτο τοῖο ἄνακτος
οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃσιν ἀιδνῇς 3 παιπαλοέσσης,
πληγέντος. πολλὴ δὲ πελώρη καίετο γαῖα
ἀτμῇ θεσπεσίῃ καὶ ἐτήκετο κασσίτερος ὡς
τέχνῃ ὑπ᾽ αἰζηῶν ἐν ἐντρήτοις χοάνοισι
860
θαλφθείς, ἠὲ σίδηρος, ὅ περ κρατερώτατός ἐστιν,
οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃσι δαμαζόμενος πυρὶ κηλέφ
865
1 R: 60€, MSS.
2 Schol.: τρέσσε, MSS.
* MSS. and schol.: ῎Αιτνης, Tzetzes.
140
THEOGONY
reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose
and earth groaned thereat. And through the two
of them heat took hold on the dark-blue sea, through
the thunder and lightning, and through the fire from
the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing
thunderbolt. The whole earth seethed, and sky
and sea: and the long waves raged along the
beaches round and about, at the rush of the death-
less gods: and there arose an endless shaking.
Hades trembled where he rules over the dead
below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live
with Cronos, because of the unending clamour and
the fearful strife. So when Zeus had raised up his
might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning
and lurid thunderbolt, he leaped from Olympus.
and struck him, and burned all the marvellous heads
of the monster about him. But when Zeus had con-
quered him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was
hurled down, a maimed wreck, so that the huge earth
groaned. And flame shot forth from the thunder-
stricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount,¹
when he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was
scorched by the terrible vapour and melted as tin
melts when heated by men's art in channelled 2
crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things,
is sortened by glowing fire in mountain glens and
1 According to Homer Typhoeus was overwhelmed by Zeus
amongst the Arimi in Cilicia. Pindar represents him as
buried under Aetna, and Tzetzes read Aetna in this passage.
2 The epithet (which means literally well-bored) seems to
refer to the spout of the crucible.
141
HESIOD
τηκεται ἐν χθονὶ δίῃ ὑφ' Ηφαίστου παλάμησιν.
ὡς ἄρα τήκετο γαῖα σέλαι πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο.
ῥῖψε δέ μιν θυμῷ ἀκαχὼν ἐς Τάρταρον εὐρύν.
Ἐκ δὲ Τυφωέος ἔστ᾽ ἀνέμων μένος ὑγρὸν
ἀέντων,
870
875
νόσφι Νότου Βορέω τε καὶ ἀργέστεω Ζεφύροιο·
οἵ γε μὲν ἐκ θεόφιν γενεή, θνητοῖς μέγ᾽ ὄνειαρ·
οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι μαψαῦραι ἐπιπνείουσι θάλασσαν
αἳ δή τοι πίπτουσαι ἐς ἠεροειδέα πόντον,
πῆμα μέγα θνητοῖσι, κακῇ θυίουσιν ἀέλλῃ·
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἄλλαι ἄεισι διασκιδνᾶσί τε νῆας
ναύτας τε φθείρουσι· κακοῦ δ᾽ οὐ γίγνεται ἀλκὴ
ἀνδράσιν, οἳ κείνῃσι συνάντωνται κατὰ πόντον
αἱ δ᾽ αὖ καὶ κατὰ γαῖαν ἀπείριτον ἀνθεμόεσσαν
ἔργ᾽ ἐρατὰ φθείρουσι χαμαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων
πιμπλεῖσαι κόνιός τε καὶ ἀργαλέου κολοσυρτοῦ. 880
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥα πόνον μάκαρες θεοὶ ἐξετέλεσσαν,
Τιτήνεσσι δὲ τιμάων κρίναντο βίηφι,
δή ῥα τότ᾽ ὤτρυνον βασιλευέμεν ἠδὲ ἀνάσσειν
Γαίης φραδμοσύνῃσιν Ολύμπιον εὐρύοπα Ζῆν
ἀθανάτων· ὃ δὲ τοῖσιν ἑὰς διεδάσσατο τιμάς.
Ζεὺς δὲ θεῶν βασιλεὺς πρώτην ἄλοχον θέτο
Μήτιν
πλεῖστα τε ἰδυΐαν ἰδὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ ἄρ᾽ 1 ἔμελλε θεὰν γλαυκῶπιν ᾿Αθήνην
τέξεσθαι, τότ' ἔπειτα δόλῳ φρένας ἐξαπατήσας
αἱμυλίοισι λόγοισιν ἑὴν ἐσκάτθετο νηδύν
Γαίης φραδμοσύνῃσι καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος.
1 Fick : δή ῥα, DGHI: δή δ', EF : δή δ' ἤμελλε, ΚΙ.
885
890
142
THEOGONY
melts in the divine earth through the strength of
Hephaestus. Even so, then, the earth melted in
the glow of the blazing fire. And in the bitterness
of his anger Zeus cast him into wide Tartarus.
And from Typhoeus come boisterous winds which
blow damply, except Notus and Boreas and clear
Zephyr. These are a god-sent kind, and a great
blessing to men; but the others blow fitfully upon the
sea. Some rush upon the misty sea and work great
havoc among men with their evil, raging blasts; for
varying with the season they blow, scattering ships
and destroying sailors. And men who meet these
upon the sea have no help against the mischief.
Others again over the boundless, flowering earth
spoil the fair fields of men who dwell below, filling
them with dust and cruel uproar.
But when the blessed gods had finished their toil,
and settled by force their struggle for honours with
the Titans, they pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus
to reign and to rule over them, by Earth's prompting.
So he divided their dignities amongst them.
Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife
first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men.
But when she was about to bring forth the goddess
bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her with
cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth
and starry Heaven advised. For they advised him
1 The fire god. There is no reference to volcanic action :
iron was smelted on Mount Ida; cp. Epigrams of Homer,
ix. 2-4.
143
HESIOD
τως γάρ οἱ φρασάτην, ἵνα μὴ βασιληίδα τιμὴν
ἄλλος ἔχοι Διὸς ἀντὶ θεῶν αἰειγενετάων.
ἐκ γὰρ τῆς εἵμαρτο περίφρονα τέκνα γενέσθαι·
πρώτην μὲν κούρην γλαυκώπιδα Τριτογένειαν
ἶσον ἔχουσαν πατρὶ μένος καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν.
αὐτὰρ ἔπειτ᾽ ἄρα παῖδα θεῶν βασιλῆα καὶ ἀνδρῶν
ἤμελλεν τέξεσθαι, ὑπέρβιον ἦτορ ἔχοντα·
ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα μιν Ζεὺς πρόσθεν ἑὴν ἐσκάτθετο νηδύν,
ὡς δή οἱ φράσσαιτο θεὰ ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε.
Δεύτερον ἠγάγετο λιπαρὴν Θέμιν, ἣ τέκεν
Ώρας,
Εὐνομίην τε Δίκην τε καὶ Εἰρήνην τεθαλυίαν,
αἱ ἔργ᾽ ὠρεύουσι καταθνητοῖσι βροτοῖσι,
Μοίρας θ', ἧς πλείστην τιμὴν πόρε μητίετα Ζεύς,
Κλωθώ τε Λάχεσίν τε καὶ Ατροπον, αἵτε δι-
δοῦσι
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε.
Τρεῖς δέ οἱ Εὐρυνόμη Χάριτας τέκε καλλι
παρῄους,
895
900
905
Ωκεανοῦ κούρη, πολυήρατον εἶδος ἔχουσα,
᾿Αγλαίην τε καὶ Εὐφροσύνην Θαλίην τ᾽ ἐρατεινήν·
τῶν καὶ ἀπὸ βλεφάρων ἔρος εἴβετο δερκομενάων 910
λυσιμελής· καλὸν δέ θ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ὀφρύσι δερκιόωνται.
Αὐτὰρ ὁ Δήμητρος πολυφόρβης ἐς λέχος ἦλθεν,
ἡ τέκε Περσεφόνην λευκώλενον, ἣν ᾿Αιδωνεὺς
ἥρπασε ἧς παρὰ μητρός· ἔδωκε δὲ μητίετα Ζεύς.
Μνημοσύνης δ᾽ ἐξαῦτις ἐράσσατο καλλικόμοιο, 915
ἐξ ἧς οἱ Μοῦσαι χρυσάμπυκες ἐξεγένοντο
ἐννέα, τῇσιν ἅδον θαλίαι καὶ τέρψις ἀοιδῆς.
Λητώ δ' ᾿Απόλλωνα καὶ "Αρτεμιν ἰοχέαιραν,
ἱμερόεντα γόνον περὶ πάντων Οὐρανιώνων,
γείνατ᾽ ἄρ᾽ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.
920
144
THEOGONY
so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway
over the eternal gods in place of Zeus ; for very wise
children were destined to be born of her, first the
maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father
in strength and in wise understanding; but after-
wards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit,
king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his
own belly first, that the goddess might devise for
him both good and evil.
Next he married bright Themis who bare the
Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Diké (Justice),
and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works
of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise
Zeus gave the greatest honour, Clotho, and Lachesis,
and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to
have.
And Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, beautiful
in form, bare him three fair-cheeked Charites
(Graces), Aglaea, and Euphrosyne, and lovely
Thaleia, from whose eyes as they glanced flowed love
that unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance
beneath their brows.
Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing
Demeter, and she bare white-armed Persephone
whom Aïdoneus carried off from her mother; but
wise Zeus gave her to him.
And again, he loved Mnemosyne with the
beautiful hair and of her the nine gold-crowned
Muses were born who delight in feasts and the
pleasures of song.
And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who
holds the aegis, and bare Apollo and Artemis
delighting in arrows, children lovely above all the
sons of Heaven.
145
HESIOD
Λοισθοτάτην δ᾽ Ἥρην θαλερὴν ποιήσατ᾽ ἄκοι-
τιν
ἡ δ᾽ Ηβην καὶ ῎Αρηα καὶ Ειλείθυιαν ἔτικτε
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι θεῶν βασιλῆι καὶ ἀνδρῶν.
925
Αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἐκ κεφαλῆς γλαυκώπιδα Τριτογένειαν
δεινὴν ἐγρεκύδοιμον ἀγέστρατον ἀτρυτώνην
πότνιαν, ᾗ κέλαδοί τε ἅδον πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε,
Ηρη δ' Ήφαιστον κλυτὸν οὐ φιλότητι μιγεῖσα
γείνατο, καὶ ζαμένησε καὶ ἤρισε ᾧ παρακοίτῃ,
ἐκ πάντων τέχνῃσι κεκασμένον Οὐρανιώνων.
<Ἥρη δὲ ζαμένησε καὶ ἤρισε ᾧ παρακοίτῃ. 9298
ἐκ ταύτης δ᾽ ἔριδος ἢ μὲν τέκε φαίδιμον υἱὸν
Ηφαιστον, φιλότητος ἄτερο Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο,
ἐκ πάντων παλάμῃσι κεκασμένον Οὐρανιώνων·
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ' Ωκεανοῦ καὶ Τηθύος ήυκόμοιο
κούρῃ νοσφ' Ηρης παρελέξατο καλλιπαρήῳ,
*
ἐξαπαφὼν Μῆτιν καίπερ πολυδήνε᾽ ἐοῦσαν.
συμμάρψας δ' ὅ γε χερσὶν ἑὴν ἐγκάτθετο νηδὺν
δείσας, μὴ τέξῃ κρατερώτερον ἄλλο κεραυνοῦ.
τοὔνεκά μιν Κρονίδης ὑψίζυγος αἰθέρι ναίων
κάππιεν ἐξαπίνης· ἡ δ᾽ αὐτίκα Παλλάδ' Αθήνην
κύσατο· τὴν μὲν ἔτικτε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε
πὰρ κορυφὴν Τρίτωνος ἐπ᾽ ὄχθῃσιν ποταμοῖο.
Μῆτις δ' αὖτε Ζηνὸς ὑπὸ σπλάγχνοις λελαθυῖα
ἧστο, ᾿Αθηναίης μήτηρ, τέκταινα δικαίων
πλεῖστα θεῶν τε ἰδυῖα καταθνητῶν τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων,
ἔνθα θεὰ παρέδεκτο ὅθεν 3 παλάμαις περὶ πάντων
1 Restored by Peppinüller. The nineteen following lines
from another recension of lines 889-900, 924-9 are quoted
by Chrysippus (in Galen).
2 Rzach : τέχνῃσιν ἄνευ, MSS.
3 Hermann : παρέλεκτο Θέμις, MSS.
146
THEOGONY
Lastly, he made Hera his blooming wife: and she
was joined in love with the king of gods and men,
and brought forth Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia.
But Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to
bright-eyed Tritogeneia,¹ the awful, the strife-stirring,
the host-leader, the unwearying, the queen, who
delights in tumults and wars and battles. But Hera
without union with Zeus-for she was very angry and
quarrelled with her mate-bare famous Hephaestus,
who is skilled in crafts more than all the sons of
Heaven.
But Hera was very angry and quarrelled with her
mate. And because of this strife she bare without
union with Zeus who holds the aegis a glorious son,
Hephaestus, who excelled all the sons of Heaven
in crafts. But Zeus lay with the fair-cheeked
daughter of Ocean and Tethys apart from Hera . . .
deceiving Metis (Thought) although she was full wise.
But he seized her with his hands and put her in his
belly, for fear that she might bring forth something
stronger than his thunderbolt: therefore did Zeus,
who sits on high and dwells in the aether, swallow
her down suddenly. But she straightway conceived
Pallas Athene: and the father of men and gods gave
her birth by way of his head on the banks of the
river Trito. And she remained hidden beneath the
inward parts of Zeus, even Metis, Athena's mother,
worker of righteousness, who was wiser than gods and
mortal men. There the goddess (Athena) received
that 2 whereby she excelled in strength all the death-
1 i.e. Athena, who was born "on the banks of the river
Trito" (cp. 1. 9291).
2 8c. the aegis. Line 929s is probably spurious, since it
disagrees with 9294 and contains a suspicious reference to
Athens.
147
L 2
HESIOD
ἀθανάτων ἐκέκασθ᾽ οἳ Ολύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσιν,
[αἰγίδα ποιήσασα φοβέστρατον ἔντος ᾿Αθήνης·]
σὺν τῇ ἐγείνατό μιν πολεμήια τεύχε' ἔχουσαν.> 929€
Ἐκ δ' Αμφιτρίτης καὶ ἐρικτύπου Εννοσιγαίου 930
Τρίτων εὐρυβίης γένετο μέγας, ὅστε θαλάσσης
πυθμέν᾽ ἔχων παρὰ μητρὶ φίλῃ καὶ πατρὶ ἄνακτι
ναίει χρύσεα δῶ, δεινὸς θεός. αὐτὰρ Αρηι
ῥινοτόρῳ Κυθέρεια Φόβον καὶ Δεῖμον ἔτικτε
δεινούς, οἵτ᾽ ἀνδρῶν πυκινὰς κλονέουσι φά-
λαγγας
ม
ἐν πολέμῳ κρυόεντι σὺν Αρηι πτολιπόρθῳ,
Αρμονίην θ', ἣν Κάδμος ὑπέρθυμος θέτ᾽ ἄκοιτιν.
Ζηνὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Ατλαντίς Μαίη τέκε κύδιμον
Ἑρμῆν,
935
940
κήρυκ᾽ ἀθανάτων, ἱερὸν λεχος εἰσαναβᾶσα.
Καδμείη δ' ἄρα οἱ Σεμέλη τέκε φαίδιμον υἱὸν
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι, Διώνυσον πολυγηθέα,
ἀθάνατον θνητή· νῦν δ᾽ ἀμφότεροι θεοί εἰσιν.
᾿Αλκμήνη δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτικτε βίην Ηρακληείην
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο.
Αγλαίην δ' "Ηφαιστος, ἀγακλυτὸς ἀμφιγυήεις, 945
ὁπλοτάτην Χαρίτων θαλερὴν ποιήσατ᾽ ἄκοιτιν.
Χρυσοκόμης δὲ Διώνυσος ξανθὴν ᾿Αριάδνην,
κούρην Μίνωος, θαλερὴν ποιήσατ᾽ ἄκοιτιν.
τὴν δέ οἱ ἀθάνατον καὶ ἀγήρω θῆκε Κρονίων.
Ηβην δ' Αλκμήνης καλλισφύρου ἄλκιμος
υἱός,
ἰς Ἡρακλῆος, τελέσας στονόεντας ἀέθλους,
παῖδα Διὸς μεγάλοιο καὶ Ἥρης χρυσοπεδίλου,
αἰδοίην θέτ᾽ ἄκοιτιν ἐν Οὐλύμπῳ νιφόεντι,
950
148
THEOGONY
less ones who dwell in Olympus, she who made the
host-scaring weapon of Athena. And with it (Zeus)
gave her birth, arrayed in arms of war.
And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-
Shaker was born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he
owns the depths of the sea, living with his dear
mother and the lord his father in their golden house,
an awful god.
Also Cytherea bare to Ares the shield-piercer
Panic and Fear, terrible gods who drive in disorder
the close ranks of men in numbing war, with the
help of Ares, sacker of towns; and Harmonia whom
high-spirited Cadmus made his wife.
And Maia, the daughter of Atlas, bare to Zeus
glorious Hermes, the herald of the deathless gods,
for she went up into his holy bed.
And Semele, daughter of Cadmus was joined with
him in love and bare him a splendid son, joyous
Dionysus, a mortal woman an immortal son.
now they both are gods.
And
And Alcmena was joined in love with Zeus who
drives the clouds and bare mighty Heracles.
And Hephaestus, the famous Lame One, made
Aglaea, youngest of the Graces, his buxom wife.
And golden-haired Dionysus made brown-haired
Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, his buxom wife:
and the son of Cronos made her deathless and
unageing for him.
And mighty Heracles, the valiant son of neat-
ankled Alcmena, when he had finished his grievous
toils, made Hebe the child of great Zeus and gold-
shod Hera his shy wife in snowy Olympus. Happy
he! For he has finished his great work and lives
149
HESIOD
ὄλβιος, ὃς μέγα ἔργον ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἀνύσσας
ναίει ἀπήμαντος καὶ ἀγήραος ἤματα πάντα.
Ἠελίῳ δ᾽ ἀκάμαντι τέκεν κλυτὸς Ωκεανίνη
Περσηὶς Κίρκην τε καὶ Αἰήτην βασιλῆα.
Αἰήτης δ' υἱὸς φαεσιμβρότου Ηελίοιο
κούρην Ωκεανοῖο τελήεντος ποταμοῖο
γῆμε θεῶν βουλῇσιν Ἰδυῖαν καλλιπάρηον.
ἢ δέ οἱ Μήδειαν εύσφυρον ἐν φιλότητι
γείναθ᾽ ὑποδμηθεῖσα διὰ χρυσέην Αφροδίτην.
Ὑμεῖς μὲν νῦν χαίρετ', Ολύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες,
νῆσοί τ᾽ ἤπειροί τε καὶ ἁλμυρὸς ἔνδοθι πόντος.
νῦν δὲ θεάων φῦλον ἀείσατε, ἡδυέπειαι
Μοῦσαι Ολυμπιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αιγιόχοιο,
ὅσσαι δὴ θνητοῖσι παρ᾽ ἀνδράσιν εὐνηθεῖσαι
ἀθάναται γείναντο θεοῖς ἐπιείκελα τέκνα.
Δημήτηρ μὲν Πλοῦτον ἐγείνατο, δια θεάων,
Ἰασίων ἥρωι μιγεῖσ᾽ ἐρατῇ φιλότητι
νειῷ ἔνι τριπόλῳ, Κρήτης ἐν πίονι δήμῳ,
ἐσθλόν, ὃς εἶσ᾽ ἐπὶ γῆν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης
πάντη· τῷ δὲ τυχόντι καὶ οὗ κ᾿ ἐς χεῖρας ἵκηται,
τὸν δ᾽ ἀφνειὸν ἔθηκε, πολὺν δέ οἱ ὤπασεν ὄλβον.
Κάδμῳ δ' ῾Αρμονίη, θυγάτηρ χρυσέης Αφρο-
δίτης,
Ἰνὼ καὶ Σεμέλην καὶ ᾿Αγαυὴν καλλιπάρηον
Αὐτονόην θ᾽, ἣν γῆμεν ᾿Αρισταῖος βαθυχαίτης,
γείνατο καὶ Πολύδωρον ἐυστεφάνῳ ἐνὶ Θήβῃ.
Κούρη δ' Ωκεανοῦ, Χρυσάορι καρτεροθύμῳ
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης,
Καλλιρόη τέκε παῖδα βροτῶν κάρτιστον ἁπάντων,
Γηρυονέα, τὸν κτεῖνε βίη Ηρακληείη
βοῶν ἕνεκ᾽ εἰλιπόδων ἀμφιρρύτῳ εἶν Ερυθείῃ.
955
960
965
970
975
980
150
THEOGONY
amongst the undying gods, untroubled and unageing
all his days.
And Perseïs, the daughter of Ocean, bare to
unwearying Helios Circe and Aeëtes the king. And
Aeëtes, the son of Helios who shows light to men,
took to wife fair-cheeked Idyia, daughter of Ocean
the perfect stream, by the will of the gods: and she
was subject to him in love through golden Aphrodite
and bare him neat-ankled Medea.
And now farewell, you dwellers on Olympus and
you islands and continents and thou briny sea within.
Now sing the company of goddesses, sweet-voiced
Muses of Olympus, daughter of Zeus who holds the
aegis,—even those deathless ones who lay with mortal
men and bare children like unto gods.
Demeter, bright goddess, was joined in sweet
love with the hero Iasion in a thrice-ploughed fallow
in the rich land of Crete, and bare Plutus, a kindly
god who goes everywhere over land and the sea's
wide back, and him who finds him and into whose
hands he comes he makes rich, bestowing great
wealth upon him.
And Harmonia, the daughter of golden Aphrodite,
bare to Cadmus Ino and Semele and fair-cheeked
Agave and Autonoë whom long haired Aristaeus
wedded, and Polydorus also in rich-crowned Thebe.
And the daughter of Ocean, Callirrhoë was joined
in the love of rich Aphrodite with stout hearted
Chrysaor and bare a son who was the strongest of all
men, Geryones, whom mighty Heracles killed in sea-
girt Erythea for the sake of his shambling oxen.
151
HESIOD
Τιθωνῷ δ᾽ Ἠὼς τέκε Μέμνονα χαλκοκορυστήν,
Αἰθιόπων βασιλῆα, καὶ Ημαθίωνα ἄνακτα.
αὐτὰρ ὑπαὶ Κεφάλῳ φιτύσατο φαίδιμον υἱόν,
ἴφθιμον Φαέθοντα, θεοῖς ἐπιείκελον ἄνδρα.
τόν ῥα νέον τέρεν ἄνθος ἔχοντ᾽ ἐρικυδέος ἥβης
παῖδ᾽ ἀταλὰ φρονέοντα φιλομμειδὴς ᾿Αφροδίτη
ὦρτ᾽ ἀναρεψαμένη, καί μιν ζαθέοις ἐνὶ νηοῖς
νηοπόλον νύχιον ποιήσατο, δαίμονα δῖον.
Κούρην δ' Αιήταο διοτρεφέος βασιλῆος
Αἰσονίδης βουλῇσι θεῶν αἰειγενετάων
ἦγε παρ' Αιήτεω, τελέσας στονόεντας ἀέθλους,
τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπέτελλε μέγας βασιλεὺς ὑπερ-
ήνωρ,
ὑβριστὴς Πελίης καὶ ἀτάσθαλος, ὀβριμοεργός.
τοὺς τελέσας Ἰαωλκὸν ἀφίκετο, πολλὰ μογήσας,
ὠκείης ἐπὶ νηὸς ἄγων ἑλικώπιδα κούρην
985
990
995
Αισονίδης, καί μιν θαλερὴν ποιήσατ᾽ ἄκοιτιν.
καί ῥ' ἥ γε δμηθεῖσ᾽ ὑπ᾽ Ἰήσονι, ποιμένι λαῶν, 1000
Μήδειον τέκε παῖδα, τὸν οὔρεσιν ἔτρεφε Χείρων
Φιλυρίδης· μεγάλου δὲ Διὸς νόος ἐξετελεῖτο.
Αὐτὰρ Νηρῆος κοῦραι, ἁλίοιο γέροντος,
ἦ τοι μὲν Φῶκον Ψαμάθη τέκε δια θεάων
Αἰακοῦ ἐν φιλότητι διὰ χρυσέην ᾿Αφροδίτην,
Πηλέι δὲ δμηθεῖσα θεὰ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα
γείνατ' Αχιλλῆα ῥηξήνορα θυμολέοντα.
Αἰνείαν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτικτεν ἐυστέφανος Κυθέρεια
Αγχίσῃ ἥρωι μιγεῖσ᾽ ἐρατῇ φιλότητι
Ἴδης ἐν κορυφῇσι πολυπτύχου ὑληέσσης.
Κίρκη δ', Ηελίου θυγάτηρ Ὑπεριονίδαο,
γείνατ' Οδυσσήος ταλασίφρονος ἐν φιλότητι
Αγριον ἠδὲ Λατῖνον ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε
1005
1010
152
THEOGONY
And Eos bare to Tithonus brazen-crested Memnon,
king of the Ethiopians, and the Lord Emathion.
And to Cephalus she bare a splendid son, strong
Phaethon, a man like the gods, whom, when he was
a young boy in the tender flower of glorious youth
with childish thoughts, laughter-loving Aphrodite
seized and caught up and made a keeper of her
shrine by night, a divine spirit.
And the son of Aeson by the will of the gods led
away from Aeëtes the daughter of Aeëtes the
heaven-nurtured king, when he had finished the
many grievous labours which the great king, over-
bearing Pelias, that outrageous and presumptuous doer
of violence, put upon him. But when the son of
Aeson had finished them, he came to Iolcus after
long toil bringing the coy-eyed girl with him on his
swift ship, and made her his buxom wife. And she
was subject to Iason, shepherd of the people, and
bare a son Medeus whom Cheiron the son of Philyra
brought up in the mountains.
And the will of great
Zeus was fulfilled.
But of the daughters of Nereus, the Old man of the
Sea, Psamathe the fair goddess, was loved by Aeacus
through golden Aphrodite and bare Phocus. And
the silver-shod goddess Thetis was subject to Peleus
and brought forth lion-hearted Achilles, the destroyer
of men.
And Cytherea with the beautiful crown was
joined in sweet love with the hero Anchises and bare
Aeneas on the peaks of Ida with its many wooded
glens.
And Circe the daughter of Helius, Hyperion's son,
loved steadfast Odysseus and bare Agrius and Latinus
who was faultless and strong: also she brought forth
153
HESIOD
[Τηλέγονον δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτικτε διὰ χρυσέην Αφροδί
την.]
οἳ δή τοι μάλα τῆλε μυχῷ νήσων ἱεράων
πᾶσιν Τυρσηνοῖσιν ἀγακλειτοῖσιν ἄνασσον.
Ναυσίθοον δ' Οδυσῆι Καλυψὼ δια θεάων
γείνατο Ναυσίνοόν τε μιγεῖσ᾽ ἐρατῇ φιλότητι.
Αὗται μὲν θνητοῖσι παρ' ἀνδράσιν εὐνηθεῖσαι
ἀθάναται γείναντο θεοῖς ἐπιείκελα τέκνα.
Νῦν δὲ γυναικῶν φῦλον ἀείσατε, ἡδυέπειαι
Μοῦσαι Ολυμπιάδες, κοῦραι Διός αιγιόχοιο.
1015
1020
ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΙ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΩΝ. HOΙΑΙ
1.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius Arg. iii. 1086.
ὅτι Προμηθέως καὶ Προνοίης” υἱὸς Δευκαλίων
Ἡσίοδος ἐν πρώτῳ Καταλόγῳ φησί, καὶ ὅτι Δευ-
καλιῶνος καὶ Πύρρας Ελλην.
3
2.
Ioannes Lydus, de Mens. i. 13.
Λατίνους μὲν
τοὺς ἐπιχωριάζοντας, Γραικοὺς δὲ τοὺς ἑλληνί
ζοντας ἐκάλουν ἀπὸ Λατίνου . . . καὶ Γραίκου τῶν
ἀδελφῶν, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος ἐν Καταλόγοις·
1 Omitted by D, Eustathius, and Laurentian Scholiast on
Apollonius Rhodius iii. 200. 2 Sittl: Πανδώρας, scholiast.
3 An antiquarian writer of Byzantium, c. 490-570 A.D.
154
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
Telegonus by the will of golden Aphrodite. And
they ruled over the famous Tyrsenians, very far off
in a recess of the holy islands.
And the bright goddess Calypso was joined to
Odysseus in sweet love, and bare him Nausithoüs and
Nausinoüs.
These are the immortal goddesses who lay with
mortal men and bare them children like unto gods.
But now, sweet-voiced Muses of Olympus, daughters
of Zeus who holds the aegis, sing of the company of
women.
THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND
EOIAE¹
1.
That Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and
Pronoea, Hesiod states in the first Catalogue, as also
that Hellen was the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha.
2.
They came to call those who followed local
manners Latins, but those who followed Hellenic
customs Greeks, after the brothers Latinus and
Graecus; as Hesiod says:
1 A catalogue of heroines each of whom was introduced
with the words oln, "Or like her."
155
HESIOD
κούρη δ' ἐν μεγάροισιν ἀγαυοῦ Δευκαλίωνος
Πανδώρη Διὶ πατρί, θεῶν σημάντορι πάντων,
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι τέκεν Γραϊκον μενεχάρμην.
3.
Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, de Them. 2 p. 48 Β.
Μακεδονία ἡ χώρα (ὠνομάσθη ἀπὸ Μακεδόνος
τοῦ Διὸς καὶ Θυίας τῆς Δευκαλίωνος, ὥς φησιν
Ἡσίοδος·
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη Διὶ γείνατο τερπικεραύνῳ
υδε δύω Μάγνητα Μακηδόνα θ' ἱππιοχάρμην,
οἱ περὶ Πιερίην καὶ Ὄλυμπον δώματ᾽ ἔναιον.
Μάγνης δ᾽ αὖ Δίκτυν τε καὶ ἀντίθεον Πολυ-
δεκτεα.
4.
Plutarch, Mor. p. 747; Schol. on Pindar Pyth.
iv. 263.
Ελληνος δ᾽ ἐγένοντο φιλοπτολέμου βασιλῆος
Δῶρός τε Ξουθός τε καὶ Αἴολος ἱππιοχάρμης.
Αἰολίδαι δ᾽ ἐγένοντο θεμιστοπόλοι βασιλῆες
Κρηθεὺς ἠδ᾽ ᾿Αθάμας καὶ Σίσυφος αιολόμητις
Σαλμωνεύς τ᾽ ἄδικος καὶ ὑπέρθυμος Περιήρης.
5.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 266. oi
ἀπὸ Δευκαλίωνος τὸ γένος ἔχοντες ἐβασίλευον
Θεσσαλίας, ὥς φησιν Εκαταῖος καὶ Ἡσίοδος.
6.
Idem, i. 482. ᾿Αλωιάδας . . . . Ἡσίοδος δὲ Αλω
έως καὶ Ἰφιμεδείας κατ᾽ ἐπίκλησιν, ταῖς δὲ ἀλη-
156
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
"And in the palace Pandora the daughter of noble
Deucalion was joined in love with father Zeus, leader
of all the gods, and bare Graecus, staunch in battle."
3.
from
The district Macedonia took its name
Macedon the son of Zeus and Thyia, Deucalion's
daughter, as Hesiod says:
"And she conceived and bare to Zeus who delights
in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon,
rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria
and Olympus. . . . And Magnes again (begot) Dictys
and godlike Polydectes."
4.
"And from Hellen the war-loving king sprang
Dorus and Xuthus and Aeolus delighting in horses.
And the sons of Aeolus, kings dealing justice, were
Cretheus, and Athamas, and clever Sisyphus, and
wicked Salmoneus and overbold Perieres."
5.
Those who were descended from Deucalion used
to rule over Thessaly as Hecataeus and Hesiod say.
6.
Aloïadae. Hesiod said they were sons of Aloëus,
-called so after him,—and of Iphimedea, but in
1 Constantine VII. "Born in the Porphyry Chamber,"
905-959 A.D.
157
HESIOD
θείαις Ποσειδῶνος καὶ Ἰφιμεδείας ἔφη, καὶ Αλον
πόλιν Αἰτωλίας ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν ἐκτίσθαι.
7.
Berlin Papyri 7497 and Oryrhynchus Papyri, 421.1
[Ευρυνόμη Νίσου θυγάτηρ Παν]διονίδαο,
[τὴν πᾶσαν τέχνην ἐδιδ]άξατο Παλλὰς ᾿Αθήνη,
[μήδεα ἰδμοσύνην τ᾽ ἐπί· οἶδ]ε 2 γαρ ἶσα θεοῖσι.
θεσπεσίη δ' ὀδμὴ παρὰ εἵματος ἀργυφεοῖο
[ὄρνυτο κινυμένης· βλεφάρων] δ᾽ ἀπὸ εἶδος ἄητο.
[τῆς δ᾽ ἄρ Γλαῦκος Αθηναί]ης πειρήσατο βουλαῖς,
βοῦς ἐλάσα[ς· ἀλλ᾽ οὔ τι Διὸ]ς νόον αἰγιόχοιο
ἔγνω· ὁ μὲν δώροις διζ]ήμενος ἦλθε γυναῖκα
βουλῇ ᾿Αθηναίης· ὁ δ᾽ ἄναξ] νεφεληγερέτα Ζεὺ[ς
ἀθανάτων [ἀνένευε κ]αρήατι μήποτ᾽ ὀπάτ[ρους
ἔσσεσθαι παῖδας . . . ]ντου Σισυφίδας.
ἡ δὲ Ποσε[ιδαῶνος ἐν] ἀγκοίνῃσι μιγεῖσα
4
3
Γλαύκου ἐν· [οἴκῳ ἔτικτεν] ἀμυμόνα Βελλ[εροφόν
την
ἔξοχον ἀνθ[ρώπων . .]κτηι ἐπ᾽ ἀπείρονα πόντον.
τῷ δὲ καὶ ἠ[λάσκοντι πα]τὴρ πόρε Πήγασο[ν, ὃς
δὴ
ὠκύτατον [πτερύγεσσι φέρων γέ] μιν ἔπτε[τ᾽ ἀτειρὴς
πάντη ἀν[ὰ χθονὰ . . . ἐπεὶ ἠύτ᾽ ἀ]ήται ἴαλ[λε
5
10
15
σὺν τῷ πῦ[ρ πνείουσαν ἑλὼν κατέπεφνε Χίμειραν, 20
γῆμε δὲ π[αῖδα φίλην μεγαλητόρος Ἰοβάταο
αιδοίου βασιλῆος
κοίρανος α . . .
ἡ τέ[κε . . .
1 Berlin Papyri, 7497 (left-hand fragment) and Oxy-
rhynchus Papyri, 421 (right-hand fragment). For the
restoration see Class. Quart. vii. 217-8.
* οἶδ]ε : ]τε, Οx. Pap. 8 ὕπα[τρους, ἀπασ]σαι, Οχ. Pap.
4 Γλαυκω ey (not ετ), Berl. Pap.
158
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
reality, sons of Poseidon and Iphimedea, and that
Alus a city of Aetolia was founded by their father.
7.
"... Eurynome the daughter of Nisus, Pandion's
son, to whom Pallas Athena taught all her art, both
wit and wisdom too; for she was as wise as the
gods. A marvellous scent rose from her silvern
raiment as she moved, and beauty was wafted from
her eyes. Her, then, Glaucus sought to win by
Athena's advising, and he drove oxen ¹ for her. But
he knew not at all the intent of Zeus who holds the
aegis. So Glaucus came seeking her to wife with
gifts; but cloud-driving Zeus, king of the deathless.
gods, bent his head in oath that the . . . son of Sisy-
phus should never have children born of one father.²
So she lay in the arms of Poseidon and bare in the
house of Glaucus blameless Bellerophon, surpassing
all men in... over the boundless sea. And when
he began to roam, his father gave him Pegasus who
would bear him most swiftly on his wings, and flew
unwearying everywhere over the earth, for like the
gales he would course along. With him Bellerophon
caught and slew the fire-breathing Chimera. And
he wedded the dear child of the great-hearted
Iobates, the worshipful king... lord (of)... and
she bare...."
:
1 As the price to be given to her father for her so in
Iliad xviii. 593 maidens are called "earners of oxen." Possibly
Glaucus, like Aias (fr. 68, 11. 55 ff.), raided (Boûs èλáσas) the
cattle of others.
2 i.e. Glaucus should father the children of others. The
curse of Aphrodite on the daughters of Tyndareus (fr. 67)
may be compared.
159
HESIOD
8.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius Arg. iv. 57. τὸν
δὲ Ενδυμίωνα Ἡσίοδος μὲν 'Αεθλίου τοῦ Διὸς
καὶ Καλύκης, παρὰ Διὸς εἰληφότα τὸ δῶρον
ἣν δ᾽ αὐτῷ θανάτου ταμίης ὅτε μέλλοι ὀλέσθαι.
...
9.
Scholiast Ven. on Homer, Il. xi. 750. ᾿Ακτορίωνε
Μολίονε. Ησίοδος Ακτορος κατ᾽ ἐπίκλησιν
καὶ Μολιόνης αὐτοὺς γεγενεαλόγηκεν, γόνῳ δὲ
Ποσειδώνος.
Porphyrius, Quaest. Hom. ad Iliad. pert., 265.
᾿Αρίσταρχος δὲ διδύμους ἀκούει οὐχ . . . οἷοι ἦσαν
καὶ οἱ Διόσκοροι, ἀλλὰ τοὺς διφυεῖς, δύω ἔχοντας
σώματα, Ἡσιόδῳ μάρτυρι χρώμενος, καὶ τοὺς
συμπεφυκότας ἀλλήλοις.
10.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 156.
Ἡσίοδος δὲ μεταβληθέντα εἴς τινα τῶν συνήθων
μορφῶν ἐπικαθεσθῆναι τῷ ὀμφαλῷ τοῦ ζυγοῦ τῶν
Ἡρακλέους ἵππων, βουλόμενον εἰς μάχην κατα
στῆναι τῷ ἥρωι, τὸν δὲ Ἡρακλέα καιρίως αὐτὸν
κατατοξεῦσαι τῆς ᾿Αθηνᾶς ὑποδειξάσης. φησὶ δὲ
οὕτως·
Περικλύμενόν τ' ἀγέρωχον
ὄλβιον, ᾧ πόρε δῶρα Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων
παντοῖ· ἄλλοτε μὲν γὰρ ἐν ὀρνίθεσσι φανεσκεν
αἰετός, ἄλλοτε δ' αὖτε πελέσκετο, θαῦμα ιδέ
σθαι,
μύρμηξ, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε μελισσέων ἀγλαὸ φῦλα,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αἰνὸς ὄφις καὶ ἀμείλιχος. εἶχε δὲ δῶρα
16ο
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
8.
Hesiod says that Endymion was the son of
Aethlius the son of Zeus and Calyce, and received
the gift from Zeus: "(To be) keeper of death for his
own self when he was ready to die."
9.
...
The two sons of Actor and Molione. Hesiod
has given their descent by calling them after Actor
and Molione; but their father was Poseidon.
But Aristarchus is informed that they were twins,
not... such as were the Dioscuri, but, on Hesiod's
testimony, double in form and with two bodies and
joined to one another.
10.
But Hesiod says that he changed himself in one
of his wonted shapes and perched on the yoke-boss
of Heracles' horses, meaning to fight with the hero;
but that Heracles, secretly instructed by Athena,
wounded him mortally with an arrow.
And he says
as follows:
"... and lordly Periclymenus. Happy he! For
earth-shaking Poseidon gave him all manner of
gifts. At one time he would appear among birds,
an eagle; and again at another he would be an ant,
a marvel to see; and then a shining swarm of bees;
and again at another time a dread relentless snake.
161
M
HESIOD
παντοῖ᾽, οὐκ ὀνομαστά, τά μιν καὶ ἔπειτα δόλωσε
βουλῇ ᾿Αθηναίης.
11.
Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Γερηνία.
κτεῖνε δὲ Νηλῆος ταλασίφρονος υἱέας ἐσθλοὺς
ἕνδεκα, δωδέκατος δὲ Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ
ξεῖνος ἐὼν ἐτύχησε παρ' ἱπποδάμοισι Γερηνοῖς.
Νέστωρ οἷος ἄλυξεν ἐν ἀνθεμόεντι Γερήνῳ.
12.
Eustathius, Hom. 1796. 39.
Τηλεμάχῳ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτικτεν εύζωνος Πολυκάστη,
Νέστορος ὁπλοτάτη κούρη Νηληιάδαο,
Περσέπολιν μιχθεῖσα διὰ χρυσέην Αφροδίτην.
13.
Scholiast on Homer, Od. xii. 69. Τυρὼ ἡ Σαλ-
μωνέως ἔχουσα δύο παῖδας ἐκ Ποσειδῶνος, Νηλέα
τε καὶ Πελίαν, ἔγημε Κρηθέα, καὶ ἴσχει παῖδας
ἐξ αὐτοῦ τρεῖς, Αἴσονα καὶ Φέρητα καὶ ᾿Αμυθάονα.
Αἴσονος δὲ καὶ Πολυμήδης καθ' Ησίοδον γίνεται
Ιάσων.
Αἴσων, ὃς τέκεθ' υἱὸν Ἰήσονα, ποιμένα λαῶν,
ὃν Χίρων ἔθρεψ᾽ ἐνὶ Πηλίῳ ὑλήεντι.
14.
Petrie Papyri (ed. Mahaffy), Pl. III. 3.
ἀγακλειτοῖο ἄνακτος
]ποδώκης δι' ᾿Αταλάντη
Σχοινῆος θυγάτηρ,] Χαρίτων ἀμαρύγματ᾽ ἔχουσα,
ὡραίη περ ἐοῦσ᾽ ἀπ]αναίνετο φῦλον ὁμοῖον
ἀνδρῶν βουλομένη φεύγε]ιν γάμον ἀλφηστάων.
162
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
And he possessed all manner of gifts which cannot
be told, and these then ensnared him through the
devising of Athene."
11.
"(Heracles) slew the noble sons of steadfast Neleus,
eleven of them; but the twelfth, the horseman
Gerenian Nestor chanced to be staying with the
horse-taming Gerenians. . . Nestor alone escaped in
flowery Gerenon.”
12.
"So well-girded Polycaste, the youngest daughter
of Nestor, Neleus' son, was joined in love with
Telemachus through golden Aphrodite and bare
Persepolis."
13.
Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus, having two sons
by Poseidon, Neleus and Pelias, married Cretheus,
and had by him three sons, Aeson, Pheres and
Amythaon. And of Aeson and Polymede, according
to Hesiod, Iason was born.
"Aeson, who begot a son Iason, shepherd of the
people, whom Chiron brought up in woody Pelion."
66
·
14.
of the glorious lord . . . fair Atalanta,
swift of foot, the daughter of Schoeneus, who had
the beaming eyes of the Graces, though she was
ripe for wedlock rejected the company of her equals
and sought to avoid marriage with men who eat
bread."
163
M 2
HESIOD
Scholiast on Homer, Iliad xxiii. 683. νεώτερος
οὖν Ησίοδος γυμνῖν εἰσάγων Ιππομένη ἀγωνιζό-
μενον 'Αταλάντη.
Papiri greci e latini, ii. No. 130 (2nd-3rd
century).
Τῷ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐπ' αὐτίκ᾽ ἔπειτα τ]ανίσφυρ[ος] ὤρνυτο
κούρη 1
ἔξοχον εἶδος ἔχουσ]α· πολὺς δ᾽ ἀμφίσταθ᾽ ὅμιλος
δεινὸν δερκομένῃ· θάμβος δ' ἔχε πάντας ὁρῶντας.
τῆς μὲν κινυμένης πν]οίη ζεφύροιο χιτῶνα
σιγαλόεντ᾽ ἐλέλιξε πε]ρὶ στήθεσσ᾽ ἁπαλοῖσι. 5 [10]
στῆ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ Ἱππομένης· πολ]λὸς δ᾽ ἐπεγείρετο λαός.
τοὶ δὴ ἀκὴν ἦσαν Σχ]οινεὺς δὲ γέγωνε βοήσας·
Κέκλυτέ μευ πάντες ἠμ]ὲν ν[έ]οι ἠδὲ γέροντες,
ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω τά με θυμὸς] ἐνὶ στήθεσσι κελεύει.
Ἱππομένης μνηστεύει] ἐμὴν ἑλικώπιδα κούρην. 10 [15]
μῦθος δ᾽ ὅσθ᾽ ὑγιὴς νῦν] οἱ εἰρημένος ἔστω·
οὔ
μιν ἀέθλου ἄτερ κεκτ]ήσεται. εἰ δέ κεν οὗτος
νικήσας θάνατόν τε φύγῃ καὶ] κῦδος ἀρέσθαι
ἀθάνατοι δώωσ᾽ οἳ Ὀλύμ]πια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσιν, 15 [20]
ἦ τοι νοστήσοντι φί]λην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν
παῖδα φίλην δώσω, ἔτι δ᾽ ὠκυ]πόδων σθένος ἵππων,
τούς ῥα δόμονδ᾽ ἄξει κει]μήλια· καί νύ κε θυμῷ
τερφθείη μὲν ἔχων, αἰεὶ] δ' ἀνιηρὸν ἄεθλον
μεμνέωτ᾽ εὐφροσύνῃσι, πατὴρ] δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν τε
θεῶν τε
20 [25]
1 Slight remains of five lines precede line 1 in the original :
after line 20 an unknown number of lines have been lost,
and traces of a verse preceding line 21 are here omitted.
Between lines 29 and 30 are fragments of six verses which
do not suggest any definite restoration. The numbering of
the original publication is given in brackets.
164
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
Hesiod is therefore later in date than Homer since
he represents Hippomenes as stripped when con-
tending with Atalanta.¹
"Then straightway there rose up against him the
trim-ankled maiden (Atalanta), peerless in beauty:
a great throng stood round about her as she gazed
fiercely, and wonder held all men as they looked
upon her. As she moved, the breath of the west
wind stirred the shining garment about her tender
bosom; but Hippomenes stood where he was: and
much people was gathered together. All these kept
silence; but Schoeneus cried and said :
"Hear me all, both young and old, while I speak
as my spirit within my breast bids me. Hippomenes
seeks my coy-eyed daughter to wife; but let him
now hear my wholesome speech. He shall not win
her without contest; yet, if he be victorious and
escape death, and if the deathless gods who dwell
on Olympus grant him to win renown, verily he shall
return to his dear native land, and I will give him
my dear child and strong, swift-footed horses besides
which he shall lead home to be cherished possessions;
and may he rejoice in heart possessing these, and
ever remember with gladness the painful contest.
May the father of men and of gods (grant that
splendid children may be born to him 2)'
1 In the earliest times a loin-cloth was worn by athletes,
but was discarded after the 14th Olympiad.
2 The end of Schoeneus' speech, the preparations and the
beginning of the race are lost.
165
HESIOD
δεξιτερῇ δ[
•
κ]αί μιν ἐπαίσσων ἐπ[
ἦχ᾽ ὑποχωρήσας [ἐπ᾽] ἀριστερά. [τοῖς δ᾽ ἀμέγαρτον
ἆθλον ἔκειθ᾽· ἥ μέν ῥα π[οδώκης δι' Αταλάντη
ἵετ᾽ ἀναινομένη δῶρα [χρυσέης Αφροδίτης, 25 [31]
τῷ δὲ περὶ ψυχῆς πέλε[το δρόμος, ἢ μόρον εὑρεῖν
ἠ]ὲ φυγεῖν· τῷ καί ῥα δολ[οφρονέων προσέειπε·
Ω θύγατερ Σχοινῆος, ἀμ[είλιχον ἦτορ ἔχουσα,
δ]έξο τάδ᾽ ἀγλαὰ δῶρα θε[ᾶς, χρυσέης Αφροδίτης
*
*
*
*
αὐτὰρ ὁ [ρίμφα πό]δεσσι μ[ετελθὼν ἧκε τὸ
πρῶτον,
>
30 [42]
ἣ δ' αἶψ' ὥσθ' Αρπυια μετ[αστρεφθεῖσα τὸ μῆλον
ἔμμαρψ· αὐτὰρ ὁ χειρὶ τὸ δεύτερον ἦ[κε χαμάζε.
καὶ δὴ ἔχει δύο μῆλα ποδώκης δι᾽ Ατ[αλάντη,
ἐγγὺς δ᾽ ἦν τέλεος· ὃ δὲ τὸ τρίτον ἧκε [χαμάζε,
σὺν τῷ δ᾽ ἐξέφυγεν θάνατον καὶ κ[ῆρα μέλαιναν 35 [47]
ἔστη δ᾽ ἀμπνείων καὶ
Strabo, i. p. 42.
15
καὶ κούρην ᾿Αράβοιο, τὸν Ἑρμάων ἀκάκητα
γείνατο καὶ Θρονίη, κούρη Βήλοιο ἄνακτος.
16.
Eustathius, Hom. 461. 2.
*Αργος ἄνυδρον ἐὸν Δαναὸς ποίησεν ἔνυδρον.
17.
Hecataeus 1 in Scholiast on Euripides, Orestes, 872.
ὁ δὲ Αἴγυπτος αὐτὸς μὲν οὐκ ἦλθεν εἰς "Αργος,
παῖδας δὲ [ἀπέστειλεν], ὡς μὲν Ἡσίοδος ἐποίησε,
πεντήκοντα.
1 Of Miletus, flourished about 520 B.C. His work, a mix-
ture of history and geography, was used by Herodotus.
166
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
66
on the right . . . and he, rushing upon her,
drawing back slightly towards the left. And on
them was laid an unenviable struggle: for she, even
fair, swift-footed Atalanta, ran scorning the gifts of
golden Aphrodite; but with him the race was for
his life, either to find his doom, or to escape it.
Therefore with thoughts of guile he said to her :
"O daughter of Schoeneus, pitiless in heart, re-
ceive these glorious gifts of the goddess, golden
Aphrodite...'
:
*
*
*
"But he, following lightly on his feet, cast the first
apple and, swiftly as a Harpy, she turned back and
snatched it. Then he cast the second to the ground
with his hand. And now fair, swift-footed Atalanta
had two apples and was near the goal; but Hippo-
menes cast the third apple to the ground, and
therewith escaped death and black fate. And he
stood panting and . . .”
15.
•
"And the daughter of Arabus, whom worthy
Hermaon begat with Thronia, daughter of the lord
Belus."
16.
66
Argos which was waterless Danaus made well-
watered."
17.
Aegyptus himself did not go to Argos, but sent
his sons, fifty in number, as Hesiod represented.
1 Of the three which Aphrodite gave him to enable him to
overcome Atalanta.
167
HESIOD
18.
Strabo, viii. p. 370. καὶ ᾿Απολλόδωρος . . . φησίν
. . . Ἡσίοδον μέντοι καὶ ᾿Αρχίλοχον ἤδη εἰδέναι
καὶ Ἕλληνας λεγομένους τοὺς σύμπαντας καὶ
Πανέλληνας, . . . περὶ τῶν Προιτίδων λέγοντα ὡς
Πανέλληνες ἐμνήστευον αὐτάς.
Apollodorus, ii. 2. 1. 4. ᾿Ακρίσιος μὲν "Αργους
βασιλεύει, Προῖτος δὲ Τίρυνθος. καὶ γίνεται
᾿Ακρισίῳ μὲν ἐξ Ευρυδίκης τῆς Λακεδαίμονος
Δανάη, Προίτῳ δὲ ἐκ Σθενεβοίας
Λυσίππη [τε] καὶ Ἰφινόη καὶ Ἰφιάνασσα
αὗται δὲ . . . ἐμάνησαν, ὡς μὲν Ἡσίοδός φησιν,
ὅτι τὰς Διονύσου τελετὰς οὐ κατεδέχοντο.
Probus” on Vergil, Eclogue vi. 48. Has, quod
Iunonis contempserant numen, insania exterritas,
quae crederent se boves factas, patriam Argos
reliquisse, postea a Melampode Amythaonis filio
sanatas.
Suidas s.v. μαχλοσύνη.
εἵνεκα μαχλοσύνης στυγερής τέρεν ὤλεσαν
ἄνθος.
Eustathius, Hom. 1746. 7.
καὶ γάρ σφιν κεφαλῇσι κατὰ κνύος αἰνὸν ἔχευεν·
ἀλφὸς γὰρ χρόα πάντα κατέσχεθεν, ἐκ δέ νυ
χαῖται
ἔρρεον ἐκ κεφαλέων, ψιλοῦτο δὲ καλὰ κάρηνα.
1 The geographer; fl. c. 24 B.C.
2 Fl. 56-88 A.D.: he is best known for his work on Vergil.
168
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
18.1
And Apollodorus says that Hesiod already knew
that the whole people were called both Hellenes and
Panhellenes, as when he says of the daughters of
Proetus that the Panhellenes sought them in
marriage.
Acrisius was king of Argos and Proetus of Tiryns.
And Acrisius had by Eurydice the daughter of
Lacedemon, Danae; and Proetus by Stheneboea
"Lysippe and Iphinoë and Iphianassa." And these
fell mad, as Hesiod states, because they would not
receive the rites of Dionysus.
These (the daughters of Proetus), because they
had scorned the divinity of Juno, were overcome
with madness, such that they believed they had been
turned into cows, and left Argos their own country.
Afterwards they were cured by Melampus, the son
of Amythaon.
"Because of their hideous wantonness they lost
their tender beauty. . . For he shed upon their
heads a fearful itch: and leprosy covered all their
flesh, and their hair dropped from their heads, and
their fair scalps were made bare."
1 The Hesiodic story of the daughters of Proetus can be
reconstructed from these notices. They were sought in
marriage by all the Greeks (Panhellenes), but having offended
Dionysus (or, according to Servius, Juno), were afflicted with
a disease which destroyed their beauty (or were turned into
cows). They were finally healed by Melampus.
169
HESIOD
19.
Scholiast on Homer, Il. xii. 292. Εὐρώπην τὴν
Φοίνικος Ζεὺς θεασάμενος ἔν τινι λειμῶνι μετὰ
νυμφῶν ἄνθη ἀναλέγουσαν ἠράσθη καὶ κατελθὼν
ἤλλαξεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ταῦρον καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος
κρόκον ἔπνει· οὕτως τε τὴν Εὐρώπην ἀπατήσας
ἐβάστασε καὶ διαπορθμεύσας εἰς Κρήτην ἐμίγη
αὐτῇ· εἶθ᾽ οὕτως συνῴκισεν αὐτὴν ᾿Αστερίωνι τῷ
Κρητῶν βασιλεῖ· γενομένη δὲ ἔγκυος ἐκείνη τρεῖς
παῖδας ἐγέννησε, Μίνωα, Σαρπηδόνα καὶ Ῥαδά-
μανθυν. ἡ ἱστορία παρ' Ησιόδῳ καὶ Βακχυλίδῃ.
20.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 178. ws
δὲ Ἡσίοδός φησιν, (Φινεύς) Φοίνικος τοῦ ᾿Αγήνο-
ρος καὶ Κασσιεπείας.
21.
Apollodorus, iii. 14. 4. 1. Ἡσίοδος δὲ αὐτὸν
( Αδωνιν) Φοίνικος καὶ ᾿Αλφεσιβοίας λέγει.
2
22.
Porphyrius, Quaest. Hom. ad Iliad. pert. p. 189.
ὡς παρ' Ησιόδῳ ἐν Γυναικῶν Καταλόγῳ ἐπὶ τῆς
᾿Αγήνορος παιδὸς Δημοδόκης
[Δημοδόκη] τὴν πλεῖστοι ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
μνήστευον καὶ πολλὰ καὶ ἀγλαὰ δῶρ᾽ ὀνόμηναν
ἴφθιμοι βασιλῆες, ἀπειρέσιον κατὰ εἶδος.
1 Apollodorus of Athens (fl. 144 B.C.) was a pupil of Aris-
tarchus. He wrote a Handbook of Mythology, from which
the extant work bearing his name is derived.
2 Porphyry, scholar, mathematician, philosopher and his-
torian, lived 233-305 (?) A.D. He was a pupil of the neo-
Platonist Plotinus.
170
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
19.
Zeus saw Europa the daughter of Phoenix gather-
ing flowers in a meadow with some nymphs and fell
in love with her. So he came down and changed
himself into a bull and breathed from his mouth
a crocus.1
In this way he deceived Europa, carried
her off and crossed the sea to Crete where he had
intercourse with her. Then in this condition he
made her live with Asterion the king of the Cretans.
There she conceived and bore three sons, Minos,
Sarpedon and Rhadamanthys. The tale is in Hesiod
and Bacchylides.
20.
But according to Hesiod (Phineus) was the son of
Phoenix, Agenor's son and Cassiopea.
21.
But Hesiod says that he (Adonis) was the son of
Phoenix and Alphesiboea.
22.
As it is said in Hesiod in the Catalogue of Women
concerning Demodoce the daughter of Agenor:
"Demodoce whom very many of men on earth,
mighty princes, wooed, promising splendid gifts,
because of her exceeding beauty."
1 The crocus was to attract Europa, as in the very similar
story of Persephone: cp. Homeric Hymns ii. lines 8 ff.
171
HESIOD
23.
Apollodorus, iii. 5. 6. 2. Ησίοδος δὲ δέκα μὲν
υἱούς, δέκα δὲ θυγατερὰς ('Αμφίονος καὶ Νιόβης).
Aelian, Var. Hist. xii. 36. Ησίοδος δὲ (λέγει)
ἐννέα (ἄρρενας) καὶ δέκα (κόρας), εἰ μὴ ἄρα οὐκ
ἐστὶν Ἡσιόδου τὰ ἔπη, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα
κατέψευσται αὐτοῦ.
24.
Scholiast on Homer, Il. xxiii. 679. καὶ Ἡσίοδος
δέ φησιν ἐν Θήβαις αὐτοῦ (Οἰδίποδος) ἀποθανόν-
τος, ᾿Αργείαν τὴν ᾿Αδράστου σὺν ἄλλοις ἐλθεῖν
ἐπὶ τὴν κηδείαν τοῦ Οἰδίποδος.
25.
Herodian2 in Etymologicum Magnum, p. 60, 40.
Εἰλαρίδην Τιτυόν.
26.
Argument: Pindar, Οl. xiv. Κηφισὸς δὲ ποταμὸς
ἐν Ορχομενῷ, ἔνθα καὶ αἱ Χάριτες τιμῶνται·
ταύταις Ετέοκλος ὁ Κηφισοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πρῶ-
τος ἔθυσεν, ὥς φησιν Ησίοδος.
Schol. on Homer, Il. ii. 522.
ὅστε Λιλαίηθεν προΐει καλλίρροον ὕδωρ.
Strabo, ix. 424.
ὅστε παρὲκ Πανοπῆα διὰ Γλήχωνά τ᾽ ἐρυμνὴν
καί τε δι' Ερχομενοῦ εἱλιγμένος εἰσι δράκων ὥς.
27.
Scholiast on Homer, Il. vii. 9. ὁ γὰρ τοῦ Μενε
σθίου πατὴρ ᾿Αρηίθους Βοιωτὸς ἦν κατοικῶν
Αρνην· ἔστι δὲ αὕτη Βοιωτίας, ὡς καὶ Ἡσίοδός
φησιν·
172
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
23.
Hesiod says that (the children of Amphion and
Niobe) were ten sons and ten daughters.
But Hesiod says they were nine boys and ten
girls;—unless after all the verses are not Hesiod's
but are falsely ascribed to him as are many others.
24.
And Hesiod says that when Oedipus had died at
Thebes, Argea the daughter of Adrastus came with
others to the funeral of Oedipus.
25.
Tityos the son of Elara.
26.
Cephisus is a river in Orchomenus where also the
Graces are worshipped. Eteoclus the son of the
river Cephisus first sacrificed to them, as Hesiod
says:
"which from Lilaea spouts forth its sweet-
flowing water
And which flows on by Panopeus
and through fenced Glechon and through Orcho-
menus, winding like a snake."
27.
For the father of Menesthius, Areïthous was a
Boeotian living at Arnae; and this is in Boeotia, as
also Hesiod says.
1 Priest at Praeneste. He lived c. 170-230 A.D.
2 Son of Apollonius Dyscolus, lived in Rome under Marcus
Aurelius. His chief work was on accentuation.
173
HESIOD
28.
Stephanus of Byzantium. Ογχηστός ἄλσος·
κεῖται δὲ ἐν τῇ Αλιαρτίων χώρᾳ, ἱδρυθὲν δὲ
ὑπὸ Ογχηστοῦ τοῦ Βοιωτοῦ, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος.
...
29.
Stephanus of Byzantium.
Αἰγά ἔστι καὶ
Αἰγαῖον πεδίον συνάπτον τῇ Κίρρᾳ, ὡς Ἡσίοδος.
30.
Apollodorus, ii. 1. 1. 5. Ἡσίοδος δὲ τὸν Πε-
λασγὸν αὐτόχθονά φησιν εἶναι.
31.
Strabo, v. p. 221. τῷ δ' Ἐφόρῳ τοῦ ἐξ ᾿Αρκαδίας
εἶναι τὸ φῦλον τοῦτο (τοὺς Πελασγούς) ἦρξεν
Ἡσίοδος· φησὶ γάρ·
υἱέες εξεγένοντο Λυκάονος ἀντιθέοιο
ὅν ποτε τίκτε Πελασγός.
32.
Stephanus of Byzantium. Παλλάντιον πόλις
᾿Αρκαδίας, ἀπὸ Πάλλαντος, ἑνὸς τῶν Λυκάονος
παίδων, ὡς Ἡσίοδος.
33.
Φέλλον ἐυμμελίην τέκετο κλειτὴ Μελίβοια.
34.
Herodian, On Peculiar Diction, p. 18. παρ'
Ἡσιόδῳ ἐν δευτέρῳ (Καταλόγῳ)
οἱ πρόσθε φανὴν ἔντοσθεν ἔκευθον.
1 Author of a geographical lexicon, produced after
400 A.D., and abridged under Justinian.
174
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
28.
Onchestus: a grove.
It is situate in the country
of Haliartus and was founded by Onchestus the
Boeotian, as Hesiod says.
29.
There is also a plain of Aega bordering on Cirrha,
according to Hesiod.
30.
But Hesiod says that Pelasgus was autochthonous.
31.
That this tribe (the Pelasgi) were from Arcadia,
Ephorus states on the authority of Hesiod; for he
says:
"Sons were born to god-like Lycaon whom
Pelasgus once begot."
32.
Pallantium. A city of Arcadia, so named after
Pallas, one of Lycaon's sons, according to Hesiod.
33.
"Famous Meliboea bare Phellus the good spear-
man."
34.
In Hesiod in the second Catalogue:
"Who once hid the torch 2 within."
1 Sacred to Poseidon. For the custom observed there, cp.
Homeric Hymns iii. 231 ff.
2 The allusion is obscure.
175
HESIOD
35.
Herodian, On Peculiar Diction, p. 42. 'Hoíodos
ἐν τρίτῳ (Καταλόγῳ)
νοῦθος δὲ ποδῶν ὑπόδουπος ορώρει.
36.
Apollonius Dyscolus,¹ On the Pronoun, p. 125.
σφὶν δ᾽ αὐτοῖς μέγα πῆμα.
37.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 45. o❞TE
Ὅμηρος οὔτε Ἡσίοδος . . . λέγουσι τὸν Ἴφικλον
σὺν τοῖς ᾿Αργοναύταις.
""
38.
Eratosthenes,”2 Catast. xix. p. 124. Κριός] οὗτος
ὁ Φρίξον διακομίσας καὶ Ἕλλην· ἄφθιτος δὲ
ὢν ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ Νεφέλης τῆς μητρός· εἶχε
δὲ χρυσῆν δοράν, ὡς Ἡσίοδος καὶ Φερεκύδης
εἰρήκασιν.
39.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 181.
πεπηρῶσθαι δὲ Φινέα φησὶν Ἡσίοδος ἐν μεγάλαις
Ηοίαις, ὅτι Φρίξῳ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐμήνυσεν, ἐν δὲ τῷ γ
Καταλόγῳ, ἐπειδὴ τὸν μακρὸν χρόνον τῆς ὄψεως
προέκρινεν.
Ib. παῖδας δέ φησιν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι Ησίοδος
δύο, Θυνὸν καὶ Μαριανδυνόν.
""
1 Apollonius “ the Crabbed was a grammarian of Alex-
andria under Hadrian. He wrote largely on Grammar and
Syntax.
176
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
35.
Hesiod in the third Catalogue writes:
"And a resounding thud of feet rose up."
36.
"And a great trouble to themselves."
37.
Neither Homer nor Hesiod speak of Iphiclus as
amongst the Argonauts.
38.
The Ram. This it was that transported Phrixus
and Helle. It was immortal and was given them by
their mother Nephele, and had a golden fleece, as
Hesiod and Pherecydes say.
39.
Hesiod in the Great Eoiae says that Phineus was
blinded because he revealed to Phrixus the road; but
in the third Catalogue, because he preferred long
life to sight.
Hesiod says he had two sons, Thynus and
Mariandynus.
2 275–195 (?) B.C., mathematician, astronomer, scholar, and
head of the Library at Alexandria.
177
N
HESIOD
Ephorus in Strabo, vii. 302.
καλουμένῃ γῆς περιόδῳ τὸν
Αρπυιῶν ἄγεσθαι
Ησίοδον δ᾽ ἐν τῇ
Φινέα ὑπὸ τῶν
γλακτοφάγων ἐς γαῖαν ἀπήνας οἰκί᾽ ἐχόντων.
Strabo, vii. p. 300.
40.
Αιθίοπάς τε Λίγυς τε ἰδὲ Σκύθας ἱππημολγούς.
41.
Apollodorus, i. 9. 21. 6. διωκομένων δὲ τῶν ῾Αρ-
πυιῶν ἡ μὲν κατὰ Πελοπόννησον εἰς τὸν Τίγρην
ποταμὸν ἐμπίπτει, ὃς νῦν ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνης Αρπυς και
λεῖται· ταύτην δὲ οἱ μὲν Νικοθόην, οἱ δὲ ᾽Αελλό-
πουν καλοῦσιν. ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα καλουμένη Ωκυπέτη,
ὡς δὲ ἔνιοι Ωκυθόη (Ἡσίοδος δὲ λέγει αὐτὴν
Ωκυπόδην), αὕτη κατὰ τὴν Προποντίδα φεύγουσα
μέχρι Εχινάδων ἦλθε νήσων, αἳ νῦν ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνης
Στροφάδες καλοῦνται.
42.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 297, 296.
ὅτι δὲ ηὔξαντο οἱ περὶ Ζήτην τῷ Διί στραφέντες
λέγει καὶ Ἡσίοδος·
ἔνθ' οἵ τ᾽ εὐχέσθην Αἰνηίῳ ὑψιμέδοντι.
᾿Απολλώνιος μὲν οὖν τὴν ἀποστρέψασαν τοὺς
περὶ Ζήτην Ἶριν λέγει, Ἡσίοδος δὲ Ἑρμῆν.
οἱ δὲ Στροφάδας φασὶν αὐτὰς κεκλῆσθαι, καθὸ
ἐπιστραφέντες αὐτόθι ηὔξαντο τῷ Διὶ καταλαβεῖν
1 Of Cyme. He wrote a universal history covering the
period between the Dorian Migration and 340 B.C.
178
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
Hesiod, in the so-called Journey round the Earth,
says that Phineus was brought by the Harpies" to
the land of milk-feeders¹ who have waggons for
houses."
40.
"The Aethiopians and Ligurians and mare-milk-
ing Scythians."
41.
As they were being pursued, one of the Harpies
fell into the river Tigres, in Peloponnesus which is
now called Harpys after her. Some call this one
Nicothoë, and others Aëllopus.
The other who was
called Ocypete, or as some say Ocythoë (though
Hesiod calls her Ocypus), fled down the Propontis
and reached as far as to the Echinades islands which
are now called because of her, Strophades (Turning
Islands).
42.
Hesiod also says that those with Zetes 2 turned
and prayed to Zeus :
"There they prayed to the lord of Aenos who
reigns on high."
Apollonius indeed says it was Iris who made Zetes
and his following turn away, but Hesiod says Hermes.
Others say (the islands) were called Strophades,
because they turned there and prayed Zeus to seize
1 i.e. the nomad Scythians, who are described by Herodo-
tus as feeding on mares' milk and living in caravans.
2 Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas, who were amongst the
Argonauts, delivered Phineus from the Harpies. The Stro-
phades (“Islands of Turning ") are here supposed to have
been so called because the sons of Boreas were there turned
back by Iris from pursuing the Harpies.
179
N 2
HESIOD
τὰς Αρπυίας. κατὰ δὲ Ἡσίοδον ... οὐ κτεί-
νονται.
43.
Philodemus, On Piety, 10. οὐδ᾽ Ἡσιόδῳ μή τις
ἐγγελᾶ, ὃς ... ἢ καὶ τῶν Κατουδαίων καὶ τῶν
Πυγμαίων μνημονεύει.
44.
Strabo, i. p. 43. Ἡσιόδου δ᾽ οὐκ ἄν τις αἰτιάσαιτο
ἄγνοιαν Ημίκυνας λέγοντος καὶ Μακροκεφάλους
καὶ Πυγμαίους.
45.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 284.
Ἡσίοδος δὲ διὰ Φάσιδος αὐτοὺς τοὺς ᾿Αργο-
ναύτας) εἰσπεπλευκέναι λέγει.
Id. iv. 259. Ἡσίοδος δὲ . . . διὰ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ
ἐλθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς Λιβύην καὶ βαστάσαντες
τὴν ᾿Αργὼ εἰς τὸ ἡμέτερον πέλαγος γενέσθαι.
...
46.
Id. iii. 311. φησὶ δὲ ᾿Απολλώνιος Ἡσιόδῳ
ἑπόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ ἅρματος τοῦ Ἡλίου εἰς τὴν
κατὰ Τυρρηνίαν κειμένην νῆσον τὴν Κίρκην
ἐλθεῖν· Εσπερίαν δὲ αὐτὴν εἶπεν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς
δυσμὰς κεῖται.
47.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 892.
ἠκολούθησεν Ἡσιόδῳ οὕτως ὀνομάζοντι τὴν νῆσον
τῶν Σειρήνων—
νῆσον ἐς ᾿Ανθεμόεσσαν, ἵνα σφίσι δῶκε Κρονίων.
ὀνόματα δὲ αὐτῶν, Θελξιόπη ἢ Θελξινόη, Μολπή,
Αγλαόφωνος.
1 An Epicurean philosopher, fl. 50 в.C.
13ο
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
the Harpies. But according to Hesiod. . . they
were not killed.
43.
Nor let anyone mock at Hesiod who mentions
or even the Troglodytes and the Pygmies.
44.
No one would accuse Hesiod of ignorance though
he speaks of the Half-dog people and the Great-
Headed people and the Pygmies.
45.
But Hesiod says they (the Argonauts) had sailed
in through the Phasis.
But Hesiod (says).
they came through the
Ocean to Libya, and so, carrying the Argo, reached
our sea.
46.
Apollonius, following Hesiod, says that Circe came
to the island over against Tyrrhenia on the chariot
of the Sun. And he called it Hesperian, because
it lies towards the west.
47.
He (Apollonius) followed Hesiod who thus names
the island of the Sirens:
"To the island Anthemoessa (Flowery) which the
son of Cronos gave them."
And their names are Thelxiope or Thelxinoe,
Molpe and Aglaophonus.¹
1 "Charming-with-her-voice" (or "Charming-the-mind "),
"Song," and "Lovely-sounding."
181
HESIOD
Scholiast on Homer, Od. xii. 168. ἐντεῦθεν Ἡσίο
δος καὶ τοὺς ἀνέμους θέλγειν αὐτὰς ἔφη.
48.
Scholiast on Homer, Od. i. 85. Tǹv µèv yàp ’Nyv-
γίαν ἐντὸς εἶναι πρὸς ἑσπέραν, τὴν δὲ Ωγυλίαν
κατὰ Κρήτην Ἡσίοδός φησι κεῖσθαι·
[πόν]τον δ' Ωγύλιον ἠδ᾽ Ωγυλίην . . . . νῆσον.
49.
Id. Od. vii. 54. Ἡσίοδος δὲ ἀδελφὴν ᾿Αλκινόου
τὴν ᾿Αρήτην ὑπέλαβεν.
50.
Schol. on Pindar, Ol. x. 46.
τὴν δ᾽ Αμαρυγκείδης Ιππόστρατος, ὄζος "Αρηος,
Φυκτέος ἀγλαὸς υἱός, Επειῶν ὄρχαμος ἀν
δρῶν . . .
...
...
51.
Apollodorus i. 8. 4. 1. ᾿Αλθαίας δὲ ἀποθανούσης
ἔγημεν Οἰνεὺς Περίβοιαν τὴν Ἱππονόου. ταύτην
δὲ . . . Ἡσίοδος ἐξ Ωλένου τῆς ᾿Αχαίας,
ἐφθαρμένην ὑπὸ Ἱπποστράτου τοῦ ᾿Αμαρυγκέως,
Ἱππόνουν τὸν πατέρα πέμψαι πρὸς Οἰνέα πόρρω
τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὄντα ἐντειλάμενον ἀποκτεῖναι.
ᾤκεε δ' Ωλενίην πέτρην ποταμοιο παρ' ὄχθας
εὐρῆος Πείροιο.
52.
•
Diodorusl v. 81. ἦν δ᾽ ὁ Μακαρεὺς υἱὸς μὲν
Κρινάκου τοῦ Διός, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος
κατοικῶν δ᾽ ἐν Ωλένῳ τῆς τότε μὲν Ἰάδος, νῦν
δ' Αχαίας καλουμένης.
1 Diodorus Siculus, fl. 8 B. C., author of an universal history
ending with Caesar's Gallic Wars.
182
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
Hence Hesiod said that they charmed even the
winds.
48.
Hesiod says that Ogygia is within towards the
west, but Ogylia lies over against Crete: “... the
Ogylian sea and . . . the island Ogylia.”
...
49.
Hesiod regarded Arete as the sister of Alcinous.
50.
Her Hippostratus (did wed), a scion of Ares, the
splendid son of Phyctes, of the line of Amarynces,
leader of the Epeians.
51.
When Althea was dead, Oeneus married Periboea,
the daughter of Hipponoüs. Hesiod says that she
was seduced by Hippostratus the son of Amarynces
and that her father Hipponoüs sent her from Olenus
in Achaea to Oeneus because he was far away from
Hellas, bidding him kill her.
"She used to dwell on the cliff of Olenus by the
banks of wide Peirus."
52.
Macareus was a son of Crinacus the son of Zeus as
Hesiod says . . . and dwelt in Olenus in the country
then called Ionian, but now Achaean.
183
HESIOD
53.
Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. iii. 21. περὶ τῶν
Μυρμιδόνων Ησίοδος μὲν οὕτω φησίν·
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη τέκεν Αἰακὸν ἱππιοχάρμην.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἥβης πολυηράτου ἵκετο μέτρον,
μοῦνος ἐὼν ἤσχαλλε πατὴρ δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν
ΤΕ,
ὅσσοι ἔσαν μύρμηκες ἐπηράτου ἔνδοθι νήσου,
τοὺς ἄνδρας ποίησε βαθυζώνους τε γυναῖκας.
οἳ δή τοι πρῶτοι ζεῦξαν νέας ἀμφιελίσσας,
πρῶτοι δ᾽ ἱστί᾽ ἔθεν νηὸς πτερὰ ποντοπόροιο.
Polybius v. 2.
54.
Αιακίδας πολέμῳ κεχαρηότας ήύτε δαιτί.
55.
Porphyrius, Quaest. Hom. ad Iliad. pertin. p. 93.
συντόμως δὲ τὰ αἰσχρὰ δεδήλωκε μιγῆναι οὐκ
ἐθελούσῃ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὥσπερ Ἡσίοδος τὰ περὶ τοῦ
Πηλέως καὶ τῆς ᾿Ακάστου γυναικὸς διὰ μακρῶν
ἐπεξελθών.
56.
Schol. on Pindar, Nem. iv. 95.
ἥδε δέ οἱ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀρίστη φαίνετο βουλή,
αὐτὸν μὲν σχέσθαι, κρύψαι δ᾽ ἀδόκητα μάχαιραν
καλήν, ὧν οἱ ἔτευξε περίκλυτος Αμφιγυήεις,
ὡς τὴν μαστεύων οἶος κατὰ Πήλιον αἰπὺ
αἶψ᾽ ὑπὸ Κενταύροισιν ὀρεσκῴοισι δαμείη.
57.
Voll. Herculan. (Papyri from Herculaneum), 2nd
Collection, viii. 105. ὁ δὲ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας Ηρα
5
184
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
53.
Concerning the Myrmidons Hesiod speaks thus :
"And she conceived and bare Aeacus, delighting in
horses. Now when he came to the full measure of
desired youth, he chafed at being alone. And the
father of men and gods made all the ants that were
in the lovely isle into men and wide-girdled women.
These were the first who fitted with thwarts ships
with curved sides, and the first who used sails, the
wings of a sea-going ship."
54.
"The sons of Aeacus who rejoiced in battle as
though a feast."
66
55.
He has indicated the shameful deed briefly by the
phrase to lie with her against her will," and not
like Hesiod who recounts at length the story of
Peleus and the wife of Acastus.
56.
"And this seemed to him (Acastus) in his mind
the best plan; to keep back himself, but to hide be-
yond guessing the beautiful knife which the very
famous Lame One had made for him, that in seeking
it alone over steep Pelion, he (Peleus) might be slain
forthwith by the mountain-bred Centaurs.
57.
The author of the Cypria¹ says that Thetis avoided
1 The first epic in the "Trojan Cycle": like all ancient
epics it was ascribed to Homer, but also, with more pro-
bability, to Stasinus of Cyprus.
185
HESIOD
χαριζομένην (Θέτιν) φεύγειν αὐτοῦ Διὸς) τὸν
γάμον· Δία δὲ ὀμόσαι χολωθέντα διότι θνητῷ
συνοικίσει. καὶ παρ' Ησιόδῳ δὲ κεῖται τὸ παρα-
πλήσιον.
58.
Strassburg Greek Papyri 55 (2nd cent. A.D.).
Φθίην ἐξίκετο, μητέρα μήλων,
πολλὰ κ]τήματ᾽ ἄγων ἐξ εὐρυχόρου Ἰαωλκοῦ
Πηλεὺς] Αἰακίδης, φίλος ἀθανάτοισι θεοίσιν,
λαοῖσιν] δὲ ἰδοῦσιν ἀγαίετο θυμὸς ἅπασιν,
ὥς τε πό]λιν ἀλάπαξεν ἐύκτιτον ὥς τ᾽ ἐτέλεσσεν
ἱμερόεντα γά]μον· καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔπος εἶπαν ἅπαντες·
Τρὶς μάκαρ Αιακίδη καὶ τετράκις, ὄλβιε Πηλεῦ,
ᾧ τ᾽ ἄλοχον πολύ]δωρον Ὀλύμπιος εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
ὤπασεν ἠδὲ γάμον μ]άκαρες θεοὶ ἐξετέλεσσαν,
ὃς τοῖσδ᾽ ἐν μεγάροις ἱερὸν λέχος εἰσαναβαίνεις 1
Νηρείδος· μάλα δή σε πα]τὴρ ποίησε Κρονίων
ἔξοχον ἡρώων περί] τ᾽ ἄλλων ἀλφηστάων
τιμήεντ᾽ ἀνδρῶν, χθονὸ]ς ὅ[σσοι καρ]πὸν ἔδουσιν.
T
59.
Origen, Against Celsus, iv. 79.
ξυναὶ γὰρ τότε δαῖτες ἔσαν, ξυνοὶ δὲ θόωκοι
ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι καταθνητοῖς τ᾿ ἀνθρώποις.
60.
...
Scholiast on Homer I. xvi. 175. . . . Ἡσιόδου καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων Πολυδώρην αὐτὴν τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ
Πηλέως) καλούντων.
61.
Eustathius, Hom. 112. 44 sq. ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι τὸν
1 Tzetzes: εἰσαναβαίνων, Strassburg papyrus.
* Archbishop of Thessalonica 1175–1192 (?) A.D., author of
commentaries on Pindar and on the Iliad and Odyssey.
5
10
186
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
wedlock with Zeus to please Hera; but that Zeus
was angry and swore that she should mate with a
mortal. Hesiod also has the like account.
58.
"Peleus the son of Aeacus, dear to the deathless
gods, came to Phthia the mother of flocks, bringing
great possessions from spacious Iolcus. And all the
people envied him in their hearts seeing how he had
sacked the well-built city, and accomplished his
joyous marriage; and they all spake this word:
'Thrice, yea, four times blessed son of Aeacus, happy
Peleus! For far-seeing Olympian Zeus has given
you a wife with many gifts and the blessed gods
have brought your marriage fully to pass, and in
these halls you go up to the holy bed of a daughter
of Nereus. Truly the father, the son of Cronos,
made you very pre-eminent among heroes and
honoured above other men who eat bread and con-
sume the fruit of the ground.""
59.1
"For in common then were the banquets, and
in common the seats of deathless gods and mortal
men."
...
60.
whereas Hesiod and the rest call her (Peleus'
daughter) Polydora.
61.
It should be observed that the ancient narrative
1 This fragment is placed by Spohn after Works and Days
120.
187
HESIOD
Πάτροκλον ἡ παλαιὰ ἱστορία καὶ συγγενῆ τῷ
᾿Αχιλλεί παραδίδωσι λέγουσα, ὅτι Ησίοδός φησι
Μενοίτιον, τὸν Πατρόκλου πατέρα, Πηλέως εἶναι
ἀδελφόν, ὡς εἶναι αὐτανεψίους οὕτως ἀμφοτέρους
ἀλλήλοις.
62.
Scholiast on Pindar, Ol. x. 83. τινὲς γράφουσι
Σῆρος Αλιρροθίου, οὗ μέμνηται Ἡσίοδος
ἢ τοι ὃ μὲν Σῆρον καὶ ᾿Αλάζυγον, υἱέας ἐσθλούς.
ἦν δὲ ὁ Σῆρος τοῦ ῾Αλιρροθίου τοῦ Περιήρους καὶ
Αλκυόνης.
63.
Pausanias 1 ii. 26. 7. οὗτος ὁ χρησμὸς δηλοῖ
μάλιστα οὐκ ὄντα Ασκληπιὸν ᾿Αρσινόης, ἀλλὰ
Ἡσίοδον, ἢ τῶν τινὰ ἐμπεποιηκότων εἰς τὰ Ἡσιό-
δου, τὰ ἔπη συνθέντα εἰς τὴν Μεσσηνίων χάριν.
Scholiast on Pindar, Pyth. iii. 14. οἱ μὲν
᾿Αρσινόης, οἱ δὲ Κορωνίδος φασὶν αὐτὸν εἶναι.
Ασκληπιάδης δέ φησι τὴν ᾿Αρσινόην Λευκίππου
εἶναι τοῦ Περιήρους, ἧς καὶ ᾿Απόλλωνος Ασκλη
πιὸς καὶ θυγάτηρ Εριῶπις·
ἡ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ ἐν μεγάροις Ασκληπιόν, ὄρχαμον
ἀνδρῶν,
Φοίβῳ ὑποδμηθεῖσα, εὐπλόκαμόν τ' Εριῶπιν.2
καὶ †'Αρσινόης ὁμοίως.
᾿Αρσινόη δὲ μιγεῖσα Διὸς καὶ Λητόος υἱῷ
τίκτ᾽ ᾿Ασκληπιὸν υἱὸν ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε.
1 A Greek of Asia Minor, author of the Description of
Greece (on which he was still engaged in 173 a.d.).
2 Wilamowitz thinks one or other of these citations belongs
to the Catalogue.
188
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
hands down the account that Patroclus was even a
kinsman of Achilles; for Hesiod says that Menoetius
the father of Patroclus, was a brother of Peleus, so
that in that case they were first cousins.
62.
Some write "Serus the son of Halirrhothius,"
whom Hesiod mentions: "He (begot) Serus and
Alazygus, goodly sons." And Serus was the son
of Halirrhothius Perieres' son, and of Alcyone.
63.
This oracle most clearly proves that Asclepius was
not the son of Arsinoë, but that Hesiod or one of
Hesiod's interpolators composed the verses to please
the Messenians.
Some say (Asclepius) was the son of Arsinoë,
others of Coronis. But Asclepiades says that
Arsinoë was the daughter of Leucippus, Perieres'
son, and that to her and Apollo Asclepius and a
daughter, Eriopis, were born:
"And she bare in the palace Asclepius, leader of
men, and Eriopis with the lovely hair, being subject
in love to Phoebus "
And of Arsinoë likewise :
"And Arsinoë was joined with the son of Zeus
and Leto and bare a son Asclepius, blameless and
strong."
189
HESIOD
64.
Scholiast on Hesiod, Theogony, 142.
πῶς γὰρ
τοὺς αὐτοὺς (Κύκλωπας) θεοῖς ἐναλιγκίους λέγει
καὶ ἐν τῷ τῶν Λευκιππίδων Καταλόγῳ ὑπὸ
᾿Απόλλωνος ἀνῃρῆσθαι ποιεῖ;
65.
Scholiast on Pindar, Ol. xi. 79.
Τιμάνδρην Ἔχεμος θαλερὴν ποιήσατ᾽ ἄκοιτιν.
66.
Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. x. 150. ὁ μὲν Ἡσίοδος
ἀμφοτέρους (Κάστορα καὶ Πολυδεύκη) Διὸς εἶναι
γενεαλογεί.
Ib. ὁ μέντοι Ἡσίοδος οὔτε Λήδας οὔτε
Νεμεσέως δίδωσι τὴν Ελένην, ἀλλὰ θυγατρὸς
Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Διός.
67.
Scholiast on Euripides, Orestes 249. Στησίχορός
φησιν, ὡς θύων τοῖς θεοῖς Τυνδάρεως ᾿Αφροδίτης
ἐπελάθετο, διὸ ὀργισθεῖσαν τὴν θεὸν διγάμους τε
καὶ τριγάμους καὶ λειψάνδρους αὐτοῦ τὰς θυγα-
τέρας ποιῆσαι . . . καὶ Ἡσίοδος δέ·
...
Τῇσιν δὲ φιλομμειδής Αφροδίτη
ἠγάσθη προσιδοῦσα, κακῇ δέ σφ' ἔμβαλε φήμῃ.
Τιμάνδρη μὲν ἔπειτ᾽ Ἔχεμον προλιποῦσ᾽ ἐβε-
βήκει,
ἵκετο δ᾽ ἐς Φυλῆα, φίλον μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν·
ὡς δὲ Κλυταιμνήστρη προλιποῦσ᾽ Αγαμέμνονα
διον
Αἰγίσθῳ παρέλεκτο καὶ εἵλετο χείρον᾽ ἀκοίτην·
ὡς δ᾽ Ἑλένη ᾔσχυνε λέχος ξανθοῦ Μενελάου.
5
190
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
64.
For how does he say that the same persons (the
Cyclopes) were like the gods, and yet represent them
as being destroyed by Apollo in the Catalogue of
the Daughters of Leucippus ?
65.
"Echemus made Timandra his buxom wife."
66.
Hesiod in giving their descent makes them (Castor
and Polydeuces) both sons of Zeus.
Hesiod, however, makes Helen the child neither
of Leda nor Nemesis, but of a daughter of Ocean
and Zeus.
67.
Stesichorus says that while sacrificing to the gods
Tyndareus forgot Aphrodite and that the goddess
was angry and made his daughters twice and thrice
wed and deserters of their husbands.
Hesiod also says:
•
And
"And laughter-loving Aphrodite felt jealous when
she looked on them and cast them into evil report.
Then Timandra deserted Echemus and went and
came to Phyleus, dear to the deathless gods; and
even so Clytemnestra deserted god-like Agamemnon
and lay with Aegisthus and chose a worse mate;
and even so Helen dishonoured the couch of golden-
haired Menelaus."
191
HESIOD
68.
Μνᾶτο Φιλοκτή]της ἀγὸς ἀνδρῶν [αἰχμ]ητάων
]ης, πάντων ἀριδε[ίκετ]ος ἀνδρῶν
•
τοξάζεσθαι ἑκ]άς τε καὶ ἔγχεῖ ὀξ[υόε]ντι.
βῆ δ᾽ ἐς Τυνδαρέ]ου λιπαρὴν πόλι[ν ε]ἵνεκα κούρης
Αργείης ἢ εἶ]δος ἔχει χρυσέης Αφ[ροδί]της
τὴν δ᾽ . . . ἔτεκε]ν Χαρίτων ἀμαρ[ύγμ]ατ᾽ ἔχουσαν
Ζηνὸς ἐν ἀγκοίνῃς καὶ] Τυνδάρεω βασ[ιλῆ]ος
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν λαμπ]ροῖσι δόμοις [κούρη] κυανωπις
Ὠκεανοῦ θυγάτηρ] μέγ' ἐ[πήρατον εἶδος ἔχουσα
τοσσαύτας δὲ γυναῖκας ἀμύμονα ἔργα ἰδυίας
πάσας χρυσείας φιάλας ἐν χερσὶν ἐχούσας.
καί νύ κε δὴ Κάστωρ τε καὶ ὁ κρατερὸς Πολυ-
δεύκης
γαμβρὸν ποιήσαντο κατὰ κράτος· ἀλλ᾿ ᾿Αγαμέ
μνων
γαμβρὸς ἐὼν ἐμνᾶτο κασιγνήτῳ Μενελάῳ.
Υἱὼ δ' ᾿Αμφιαράου Οικλείδαο ἄνακτος
ἐξ] Αρ[γ]εος ἐμνῶντο μά[λ' ἐγ]γύθεν ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα
καὶ τοὺς
βλάψ]ε θεῶν [αἴδως μακαρων νέ]μεσίς τ᾽ ἀ[ν-
θρώπων
*
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἦν ἀπάτης ἔργον παρὰ Τυνδαρίδῃσιν.
5
10
15
192
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
men,
•
•
68.1
Philoctetes sought her, a leader of spear-
most famous of all men at shooting
from afar and with the sharp spear. And he came
to Tyndareus' bright city for the sake of the Argive
maid who had the beauty of golden Aphrodite, and
the sparkling eyes of the Graces; and the dark-
faced daughter of Ocean, very lovely of form, bare
her when she had shared the embraces of Zeus and
the king Tyndareus in the bright palace. . .
And
(And sought her to wife offering as gifts)
and as many woman skilled in blameless arts,
each holding a golden bowl in her hands.
truly Castor and strong Polydeuces would have made
him 2 their brother perforce, but Agamemnon, being
son-in-law to Tyndareus, wooed her for his brother
Menelaus.
And the two sons of Amphiaraus the lord, Oecleus'
son, sought her to wife from Argos very near at hand;
yet. fear of the blessed gods and the indig-
nation of men caused them also to fail.
*
*
*
*
but there was no deceitful dealing in the sons of
Tyndareus.
1 Lines 1-51 are from Berlin Papyri, 9739; lines 52-106
with B. 1-50 (and following fragments) are from Berlin Papyri
10560. A reference by Pausanias (iii. 24. 10) to 11. 100 ff.
proves that the two fragments together come from the
Catalogue of Women. The second book (the beginning of
which is indicated after 1. 106) can hardly be the second
book of the Catalogue proper: possibly it should be assigned
to the 'Hola, which were sometimes treated as part of the
Catalogue, and sometimes separated from it.
The remains of the thirty-seven lines following B. 50 in
the Papyrus are too slight to admit of restoration.
2 sc. the Suitor whose name is lost.
193
HESIOD
Ἐκ δ᾽ Ἰθάκης ἐμνᾶτο Οδυσσῆος ἱερὴ ἴς,
υἱὸς Λαέρταο πολύκροτα μήδεα εἰδώς.
δῶρα μὲν οὔ ποτ᾽ ἔπεμπε τανυσφύρου εἵνεκα κούρης·
ᾔδες γὰρ κατὰ θυμὸν ὅτι ξανθὸς Μενέλαος
νικήσει· κτήνει γὰρ ᾿Αχαιῶν φέρτατος ἦεν·
ἀγγελίην δ' αἰεὶ Λακεδαιμονάδε προίαλλε
Κάσ[τ]ορ[ι θ' ἱ]πποδάμῳ καὶ ἀεθλοφόρῳ Πολυ-
δεύκει.
μνᾶτο δ' [
•
•
25
·
ο]νος υἱός
ἔε]δια
]λ[έ]βητας
30
Ꮎ
Κάστορι θ' ἱπποδάμῳ καὶ ἀεθλοφόρῳ Πολυδεύκει
ἱμείρων Ἑλένης πόσις ἔμμεναι ήυκόμοιο
εἶδος οὔτι ἰδών, ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλων μῦθον ἀκούων.
Ἐκ Φυλάκης δ᾽ ἐμνῶντο δι' ἀνέρες ἔξοχ
ἄριστοι,
υἱός τ' Ιφίκλοιο Ποδάρκης Φυλακίδαο,
ἠύς τ' ᾿Ακτορίδης ὑπερήνωρ Πρωτεσίλαος·
ἄμφω δ᾽ ἀγγελίην Λακεδαιμονάδε προΐαλλον
Τυνδαρέου π[οτ]ὶ δῶμα δαίφρονος Οἰβαλίδαο
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἔεδν[α δίδον], μέγα γὰρ κλέος [ἔσκε γυ]-
ναικός,
χαλκ
χρυ[σ
Αργείης Ελένης πόσις ἔμμενα[ι ήυκόμοιο.
Ἐκ δ᾽ ἀρ' Αθηνέων μνᾶθ' υἱὸς Π[ετεῶο Μενε-
σθεύς,
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἔεδνα δίδου· κειμήλια γ[ὰρ μάλα πολλὰ
35
40
194
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
And from Ithaca the sacred might of Odysseus,
Laërtes' son, who knew many-fashioned wiles, sought
her to wife. He never sent gifts for the sake of the
neat-ankled maid, for he knew in his heart that
golden-haired Menelaus would win, since he was
greatest of the Achaeans in possessions and was ever
sending messages¹ to horse-taming Castor and prize-
winning Polydeuces.
And
·
•
on's son sought her to wife (and
brought). . . bridal-gifts.
*
*
·
cauldrons
*
to horse-taming Castor and prize-winning Polydeuces,
desiring to be the husband of rich-haired Helen,
though he had never seen her beauty, but because he
heard the report of others.
And from Phylace two men of exceeding worth
sought her to wife, Podarces son of Iphiclus, Phylacus'
son, and Actor's noble son, overbearing Protesilaus.
Both of them kept sending messages to Lacedaemon,
to the house of wise Tyndareus, Oebalus' son, and
they offered many bridal-gifts, for great was the girl's
renown, brazen golden.
*
•
*
•
*
*
(desiring) to be the husband of rich-haired Helen.
From Athens the son of Peteöus, Menestheus,
sought her to wife, and offered many bridal-gifts;
for he possessed very many stored treasures, gold and
1 Wooing was by proxy; so Agamemnon wooed Helen for
his brother Menelaus (11. 14-15), and Idomeneus, who came
in person and sent no deputy, is specially mentioned as an
exception, and the reason for this-if the restoration printed
in the text be right-is stated (11. 69 ff.).
195
o 2
HESIOD
ἔκτητο, χρυσόν τε λέβητάς τ[ε τρίποδας τε,
καλά, τά ρ' ἔνδοθι κεῦθε δόμος [Πετεώο ἄνακτος
οἷς μιν θυμὸς ἀνῆκεν ἐεδνώσ[ασθαι ἄκοιτιν
πλεῖστα πορόντ᾽ ἐπεὶ ο[ὔ] τιν' ἐέλπε[το φέρτερον
είναι
πάντω]ν ἡρώων κτήνεσσί τε δω[τίναις τε.
Ικετο δ᾽ Οἰβα]λιδάο 1 δόμους κρατερὸς [Λυκο-
μήδης
νηυσὶν ἐκ Κρήτης Ελένη]ς ἕνεκ' ήυ[κόμοιο.
μνᾶτο· πλεῖστα δὲ δῶρα μετὰ ξανθὸν Μενέλαον
μνηστήρων ἐδίδου· μάλα δ' ἤθελε ὅν κατὰ θυμὸν
Αργείης Ελένης πόσις ἔμμεναι ήυκόμοιο.
Αἴας δ᾽ ἐκ Σαλαμῖνος ἀμώμητος πολεμιστής
μνᾶτο· δίδου δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔεδνα ἐ[οι]κότα, θαυματὰ ἔργα
οἱ γὰρ ἔχον Τροιζῆνα καὶ ἀγχίαλον Επίδαυρον
νῆσόν τ' Αἴγιναν Μάσητά τε κούροι Αχαιῶν
καὶ Μέγαρα σκιόεντα καὶ ὀφρυόεντα Κόρινθον
Ερμιόνην Ασίνην τε παρὲξ ἅλα ναιεταώσας,
τῶν ἔφατ᾽ εἰλίποδας τε βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα
συνελάσας δώσειν, ἐκέκαστο γὰρ ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ.
Αὐτὰρ ἀπ᾽ Εὐβοίης Ελεφήνωρ, ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν,
Χαλκωδοντιάδης, μεγαθύμων ἀρ[χὸς ᾿Αβάντων
μνᾶτο· πλεῖστα δὲ δῶρα δίδου· μάλα δ' [ἤθελε
θυμῷ
᾿Αργείης Ελένης πόσις ἔμμενα[ι ήυκόμοιο.
Ἐκ Κρήτης δ' ἐμνᾶτο μέγα σθένο[ς Ἰ]δομ[ενῆος,
Δευκαλίδης Μίνωος ἀγακλειτοῖο γ[εν]έ[θλη,
οὐδέ τινα μνηστῆρα μετάγγελον ἄλλ[ον ἔπεμψεν,
ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς σὺν νηὶ πολυκλήιδι μελαίνῃ
1 ]είδαο, Berlin Papyrus.
45
50
55
60
65
70
196
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
cauldrons and tripods, fine things which lay hid in
the house of the lord Peteöus, and with them his
heart urged him to win his bride by giving more
gifts than any other; for he thought that no one
of all the heroes would surpass him in possessions and
gifts.
There came also by ship from Crete to the house of
the son of Oebalus strong Lycomedes for rich-haired
Helen's sake.
*
*
*
*
sought her to wife. And after golden-haired Menelaus
he offered the greatest gifts of all the suitors, and
very much he desired in his heart to be the husband
of Argive Helen with the rich hair.
And from Salamis Aias, blameless warrior, sought
her to wife, and offered fitting gifts, even wonderful
deeds; for he said that he would drive together and
give the shambling oxen and strong sheep of all
those who lived in Troezen and Epidaurus near the
sea, and in the island of Aegina and in Mases, sons of
the Achaeans, and shadowy Megara and frowning
Corinthus, and Hermione and Asine which lie along
the sea for he was famous with the long spear.
But from Euboea Elephenor, leader of men, the
son of Chalcodon, prince of the bold Abantes, sought
her to wife. And he offered very many gifts, and
greatly he desired in his heart to be the husband of
rich-haired Helen.
And from Crete the mighty Idomeneus sought her
to wife, Deucalion's son, offspring of renowned Minos.
He sent no one to woo her in his place, but came
himself in his black ship of many thwarts over the
197
HESIOD
βῆ ὑπὲρ Ωγυλίου πόντου διὰ κῦμα κελαι[νὸν
Τυνδαρέου ποτὶ δῶμα δαίφρονος, ὄφρα [ἴδοιτο
Α]ρ[γείην] Ελένην, μήδ᾽ ἄλλος 1 οἱ κατάγοιτο
κούρην, τῆς κ]λέα πᾶσαν ἐπὶ χθόνα διαν ἵκανεν.
Ικετο δ᾽ ἐνν]εσίῃ Ζηνὸς μέγα [μηδομένοιο
(Thirteen lines lost.)
Τυνδάρεος δὲ ἄναξ, ὅποσοι] κ[ίον] εἵνεκα κούρης,
οὔτ᾽ ἀπέπεμψεν ἑκὼν] οὔτ᾽ [αὐθ'] ἕλε [δῶρο]ν ἑκά-
[στου
πάντας δὲ μνηστῆρας ἀπῄτεεν ὅρκ[ια πιστὰ
ὀμνύμεναί τ᾽ ἐκέλευσε καὶ [ἀκρή]τῳ ἀ[ρά]ασθαι
σπονδῇ, μή τιν᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἄλλον ἄνευ ὅθεν ἄλλα π[ένεσθαι
ἀμφὶ γάμῳ κούρης εὐ[ω]λ[ένου· ὅ]ς δέ κεν ἀνδρῶν
αὐτὸς ἕλοιτο βίῃ νέμεσίν τ' ἀποθεῖτο καὶ αἰδῶ,
τὸν μέτα πάντας ἄνωγεν ἀολλέας ὁρμηθῆναι
ποινὴν τισόμενους. τοὶ δ᾽ ἀπτερέως ἐπίθοντο
ἐλπόμενοι τελέειν πάντες γάμον· ἀλλ᾽ ἅ[μα πάντας
Ατρείδης [νίκησε]ν ἀρηίφιλος Μενέλαος
πλεῖστα πορών· Χείρων δ᾽ ἐνὶ Πηλίῳ ὑλήεντι
Πηλείδην ἐκόμιζε πόδας ταχὺν ἔξοχον ἀνδρῶν,
παῖδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντ᾽· οὐ γάρ κεν ἀρηίφιλος Μενέλαος
νίκησ᾽ οὐδέ τις ἄλλος ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
μνηστεύων Ἑλένην, εἴ μιν κίχε παρθένον οὖσαν
οἴκαδε νοστήσας ἐκ Πηλίου ὠκὺς ᾿Αχιλλεύς.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα τὴν πρίν γ' ἔσχεν ἀρηίφιλος Μενέλαος.
B
Ἡ τέκεν Ερμιόνην καλλίσφυρον ἐν μεγάροισιν
ἄελπτον. πάντες δὲ θεοὶ δίχα θυμὸν ἔθεντο
ἐξ ἔριδος· δὴ γὰρ τότε μήδετο θέσκελα ἔργα
75
30
90
95
100
105
1 αλλος οἶον ακο
....
Papyrus.
198
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
Ogylian sea across the dark wave to the home of
wise Tyndareus, to see Argive Helen and that no
one else should bring back for him the girl whose
renown spread all over the holy earth.
And at the prompting of Zeus the all-wise came.
*
*
*
*
But of all who came for the maid's sake, the lord
Tyndareus sent none away, nor yet received the gift
of any, but asked of all the suitors sure oaths, and bade
them swear and vow with unmixed libations that no
one else henceforth should do aught apart from him as
touching the marriage of the maid with shapely arms;
but if any man should cast off fear and reverence and
take her by force, he bade all the others together
follow after and make him pay the penalty. And
they, each of them hoping to accomplish his marriage,
obeyed him without wavering.
But warlike Mene-
laus, the son of Atreus, prevailed against them all
together, because he gave the greatest gifts.
But Chiron was tending the son of Peleus, swift-
footed Achilles, pre-eminent among men, on woody
Pelion; for he was still a boy. For neither warlike
Menelaus nor any other of men on earth would have
prevailed in suit for Helen, if fleet Achilles had
found her unwed. But, as it was, warlike Menelaus
won her before.
II.1
And she (Helen) bare neat-ankled Hermione in
the palace, a child unlooked for.
Now all the gods were divided through strife; for
1 The Papyrus here marks the beginning of a second book,
possibly of the Eoiae. The passage (11. 2-50) probably led
up to an account of the Trojan (and Theban ?) war, in which,
199
HESIOD
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης, μεῖξαι κατ᾽ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν
τυρβασίας, ἤδη δὲ γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
πολλὸν ἀιστῶσαι σπεῦδε, πρόφασιν μὲν ὀλέσσαι
ψυχὰς ἡμιθέω[ν ἵνα μὴ δειλ]οῖσι βροτοῖσιν
τέκνα θεῶν μι[γέῃ, μόρον ὀφ]θαλμοῖσιν ὁρῶντα,
ἀλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν μάκαρες [καὶ ἐς ὕστερο]ν ὡς τὸ πάρος
περ
χωρὶς ἀπ᾽ ἀνθρώπων [βίοτον κα]ὶ ἤθε᾽ ἔχωσιν.
τοῖς δὲ] μάλ' [ἀθα]νάτ[ων τε καὶ ἐκ] θνητῶν
ἀνθρώπων
K
[γειναμένοις ἐπέθηκε πόνον τε κ]αὶ ἄλγος ἐπ᾽ ἄλγει
Ζεὺ[ς
5
10
ἥρ]ωας ἔκερσε
15
μηδέ τις ἀνδρῶν
(Two lines missing.)
·
•
νηῶν τε] μελαινάων ἔπι βαίη
χερσίν τε β]ίηφι τε φέρτατος εἶναι
]ε καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
ὅσσα τ᾽ ἔην ὅσα τ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ ὁππόσα μέλλει
ἔσεσθαι
πᾶσι θεμιστεύων μέγ]α μήδεται ἠδὲ γεραίρει
βουλὰς πατρὸς ἑοῖο], Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο·
οὐ γάρ τις σάφα ᾔδε] ὅττι φράσσασθαι ἔμελλεν
οὔτε θ]εῶν μακάρων οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
παμπ]όλλας ᾿Αίδῃ κεφαλὰς ἀπὸ χαλκῷ ἰάψειν
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων ἐνὶ δηιοτῆτι πεσόντων.
ἀλλ᾽ οὔπω τότε πατρὸς ἐπῃσθάνετο φρενὸς ὁρμήν,
οἷα τε κῆρ᾽ ἀλεείνοντες σφετέροισι τέκεσσι
τέρποντ᾽ ἄνθρωποι· πραπίδων [δ'] ἐπετέρπετ' ἐρωῇ
πατρὸς ἐρισθενέος μεγάλ᾽ ἀνδράσι μηδομένοιο.
Πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀπὸ βλωθρῶν δένδρων ἀμύοντα
χαμάζε
20
25
30
200
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
at that very time Zeus who thunders on high was
meditating marvellous deeds, even to mingle storm
and tempest over the boundless earth, and already
he was hastening to make an utter end of the
race of mortal men, declaring that he would
destroy the lives of the demi-gods, that the children
of the gods should not mate with wretched mortals,
seeing their fate with their own eyes; but that the
blessed gods henceforth even as aforetime should have
their living and their habitations apart from men.
But on those who were born of immortals and of man-
kind verily Zeus laid toil and sorrow upon sorrow.
.
*
*
nor any one of men . . . should go upon black
ships to be strongest in the might of his
hands of mortal men declaring to all those
things that were, and those that are, and those that
shall be, he brings to pass and glorifies the counsels
of his father Zeus who drives the clouds. For no
one, either of the blessed gods or of mortal men,
knew surely that he would contrive through the
sword to send to Hades full many a one of heroes
fallen in strife. But at that time he knew not as
yet the intent of his father's mind, and how men
delight in protecting their children from doom. And
he delighted in the desire of his mighty father's heart
who rules powerfully over men.
From stately trees the fair leaves fell in abun-
according to Works and Days 161-166, the Race of Heroes
perished. The opening of the Cypria is somewhat similar.
Somewhere in the fragmentary lines 13-19 a son of Zeus--
almost certainly Apollo-was introduced, though for what
purpose is not clear.
With 1. 31 the destruction of man (cp.
Il. 4-5) by storms which spoil his crops begins: the remain-
ing verses are parenthetical, describing the snake "which
bears its young in the spring season.'
""
201
HESIOD
χεύετο καλὰ πέτηλα, ῥέεσκε δὲ καρπὸς ἔραζε
πνείοντος Βορέαο περιζαμενὲς Διὸς αἴσῃ·
ἔζεσκεν δὲ θάλασσα, τρόμεεσκε δὲ πάντ' ἀπὸ τοῖο,
τρύζεσκεν δὲ μένος βρότεον, μινύθεσκε δὲ καρπὸς 35
ὥρῃ ἐν εὐαρινῇ, ὅτε τ' ἄτριχος οὔρεσι τίκτει
γαίης ἐν κευθμῶνι τρίτῳ ἔτει τρία τέκνα.
ἔαρο]ς μὲν κατ᾿ ὄρος καὶ ἀνὰ δρυμὰ πυκνὰ καὶ
ὕλην
νόσφι]ν ἀλυσκάζων καὶ ἀπεχθαίρων πάτον ἀνδρῶν
ἄγκεα καὶ κνημοὺς κατα[ναίεται ὑληέντας·
χειμῶνος δ᾽ ἐπιόντος ὑπὸ [χθονὶ πυκνῷ ἐν ἄντρῳ
κεῖται πόλλ᾽ ἐπιεσσάμενος ἐ[ριθηλέα (?) φύλλα,
δεινὸς ὄφις κατὰ νῶτα δα[φοινὸς στίγμασιν αἰνοῖς.
ἀλλά μιν ὑβριστήν τε καὶ [ἄγριον, οὔ τι φατείον,
κῆλα Διὸς δαμνα· φῆ [
ψυχὴ τοῦ γ' οἴη καταλείπε[ται ἐν χθονὶ δίῃ.
ἡ δ᾽ ἀμφ' αὐτόχυτον θαλάμην τρίζουσα ποτᾶται
ἠβαιήν· ἐπί θ᾽ ἱρὰ κατὰ χθ[ονὸς εὐρυοδείης
εἰσιν ἀμαυρωθεῖσα ποθ
κεῖται δὲ
(Traces of 37 following lines.)
69.
Tzetzes, Exeg. Iliad. 68. 19 π. ὁ ᾿Αγαμέμνων,
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Μενέλαος καθ' Ησίοδον καὶ ᾿Αι-
σχύλον Πλεισθένους υἱοῦ ᾿Ατρέως παῖδες νομί
ζονται . κατὰ δὲ Ἡσίοδον. . . Ατρέως καὶ
Αερόπης Πλεισθένης. Πλεισθένους δὲ καὶ Κλεόλ-
λας τῆς Δίαντος ᾿Αγαμέμνων, Μενέλαος καὶ
᾿Αναξιβία.
1 c. 1110-1180 A.D. His chief work was a poem, Chiliades,
in accentual verse of nearly 13,000 lines,
40
45
50
202
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
dance fluttering down to the ground, and the fruit
fell to the ground because Boreas blew very fiercely
at the behest of Zeus; the deep seethed and all
things trembled at his blast: the strength of
mankind consumed away
and the fruit failed in
the season of spring, at that time when the Hairless
One ¹ in a secret place in the mountains gets three
young every three years. In spring he dwells upon
the mountain among tangled thickets and brushwood,
keeping afar from and hating the path of men, in
the glens and wooded glades. But when winter
comes on, he lies in a close cave beneath the earth
and covers himself with piles of luxuriant leaves,
a dread serpent whose back is speckled with awful
spots.
But when he becomes violent and fierce
unspeakably, the arrows of Zeus lay him low.
Only his soul is left on the holy earth, and that
flits gibbering about a small unformed den. And
it comes enfeebled to sacrifices beneath the broad-
pathed earth . . . . and it lies
69.
·
"
Agamemnon and Menelaus likewise according to
Hesiod and Aeschylus are regarded as the sons of
Pleisthenes, Atreus' son. And according to Hesiod,
Pleisthenes was a son of Atreus and Aërope, and
Agamemnon, Menelaus and Anaxibia were the
children of Pleisthenes and Cleolla the daughter of
Dias.
¹i.e. the snake; as in Works and Days 524, the "Boneless
One" is the cuttle-fish.
203
HESIOD
70.
Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles' Electra 539.
ἢ τέκεθ᾽ Ἑρμιόνην δουρικλειτῷ Μενελάῳ·
ὁπλότατον δ᾽ ἔτεκεν Νικόστρατον ὄζον Αρηος.
71.
Pausanias, i. 43. 1. οἶδα δὲ Ἡσίοδον ποιήσαντα
ἐν Καταλόγῳ γυναικῶν Ιφιγένειαν οὐκ ἀποθανεῖν,
γνώμῃ δὲ ᾿Αρτέμιδος Εκάτην εἶναι.
72.
Eustathius, Hom. 13. 44. sq. ἦν δέ, φασι, Βούτης
ὑιὸς Ποσειδῶνος, ὡς Ἡσίοδος ἐν Καταλόγῳ.
•
73.
Pausanias, ii. 6. 5. . . Ἡσίοδος . . . ἐποιησεν
ὡς Ερεχθέως εἴη Σικυών.
74.
Plato, Minos, p. 320. D.
ὃς βασιλεύτατος ἔσκε καταθνητῶν βασιλήων
καὶ πλείστων ἤνασσε περικτιόνων ἀνθρώπων
Ζηνὸς ἔχων σκῆπτρον· τῷ καὶ πολέων βασίλευεν.
75.
Hesychius, ἐπ᾽ Εὐρυγύῃ ἀγών. Μελησαγόρας
τὸν ᾿Ανδρόγεων Εὐρυγύην εἰρῆσθαί φησι τὸν
Μίνωος, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ τὸν ἀγῶνα τίθεσθαι ἐπιτάφιον
᾿Αθήνησιν ἐν τῷ Κεραμεικῷ. καὶ Ἡσίοδος·
Εὐρυγύης δ᾽ ἔτι κοῦρος ᾿Αθηνάων ἱεράων.
1 Of Alexandria. He lived in the 5th century, and com-
piled a Greek Lexicon.
204
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
70.
"And she (Helen) bare to Menelaus, famous with
the spear, Hermione and her youngest-born, Nico-
stratus, a scion of Ares."
71.
I know that Hesiod in the Catalogue of Women
represented that Iphigeneia was not killed but, by
the will of Artemis, became Hecate.¹
72.
Butes, it is said, was a son of Poseidon: so Hesiod
in the Catalogue.
73.
Hesiod represented Sicyon as the son of Erech-
theus.
66
74.
(Minos) who was most kingly of mortal kings
and reigned over very many people dwelling round
about, holding the sceptre of Zeus wherewith he ruled
many."
75.
The athletic contest in memory of Eurygyes.
Melesagoras says that Androgeos the son of Minos
was called Eurygyes, and that a contest in his honour
is held near his tomb at Athens in the Ceramicus.
And Hesiod writes:
"And Eurygyes,2 while yet a
Athens....
""
lad in holy
1 According to this account Iphigeneia was carried by
Artemis to the Tauric Chersonnese (the Crimea). The Tauri
(Herodotus iv. 103) identified their maiden-goddess with
Iphigeneia; but Euripides (Iph. in Tauris) makes her
merely priestess of the goddess.
2 For his murder Minos exacted a yearly tribute of boys and
girls, to be devoured by the Minotaur, from the Athenians.
205
HESIOD
76.
Plutarch, Theseus 20.
πολλοὶ δὲ λόγοι
• ..
περὶ τῆς ᾿Αριάδνης . . . ἀπολειφθῆναι δὲ τοῦ
Θησέως ἐρῶντος ἑτέρας—
δεινὸς γὰρ μιν ἔτειρεν ἔρος Πανοπηίδος Αἴγλης.
τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἔπος ἐκ τῶν Ἡσιόδου Πεισίστρατον
ἐξελεῖν φησιν Ηρέας ὁ Μεγαρεύς.
1
Athenaeus, xiii. 557 Α. Ησίοδος δέ φησιν καὶ
Ιππην καὶ Αἴγλην (τὸν Θησέα νομίμως γῆμαι).
77.
Strabo, ix. p. 393. Κυχρείδης ὄφις· ὅν φησιν
Ἡσίοδος τραφέντα ὑπὸ Κυχρέως ἐξελαθῆναι ὑπὸ
Ευρυλόχου λυμαινόμενον τὴν νῆσον, ὑποδέξασθαι
δὲ αὐτὸν τὴν Δήμητρα εἰς Ἐλευσῖνα καὶ γενέσθαι
ταύτης ἀμφίπολον.
78.
Argument I. to the Shield of Heracles. Απολ-
λώνιος δὲ ὁ Ρόδιος . . . φησὶν αὐτοῦ (Ησιόδου)
εἶναι ἔκ τε τοῦ χαρακτῆρος καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πάλιν τὸν
Ιόλαον ἐν τῷ Καταλόγῳ εὑρίσκειν ἠνιοχοῦντα
Ηρακλεῖ.
79.
Schol. on Soph. Trach. 266.
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη καλλίζωνος Στρατονίκη
Ευρυτον ἐν μεγάροισιν ἐγείνατο φίλτατον υἱόν·
τοῦ δ᾽ υἱεῖς ἐγένοντο Διδαίων τε Κλυτίος τε
Τοξεύς τ᾿ ἀντίθεος ἰδὲ Ἴφιτος, ὄζος "Αρηος·
τοὺς δὲ μεθ᾽ ὁπλοτάτην τέκετο ξανθὴν Ἰόλειαν
᾿Αντιόπη κρείουσα παλαιοῦ Ναυβολίδαο.
1 Of Naucratis. His Deipnosophistae ('' Dons at Dinner”)
is an encyclopædia of miscellaneous topics in the form of a
dialogue. His date is c. 230 a.d.
5
206
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
76.
• ..
There are many tales about Ariadne..., how
that she was deserted by Theseus for love of another
woman:
"For strong love for Aegle the daughter of
Panopeus overpowered him.”
For Hereas of Megara says that Peisistratus re-
moved this verse from the works of Hesiod.
But Hesiod says that Theseus wedded both Hippe
and Aegle lawfully.
77.
The snake of Cychreus: Hesiod says that it was
brought up by Cychreus, and was driven out by
Eurylochus as defiling the island, but that Demeter
received it into Eleusis, and that it became her
attendant.
78.
But Apollonius of Rhodes says that it (the Shield
of Heracles) is Hesiod's both from the general
character of the work and from the fact that in the
Catalogue we again find Iolaus as charioteer of
Heracles.
79.
"And fair-girdled Stratonica conceived and bare
in the palace Eurytus her well-loved son. Of him
sprang sons, Didaeon and Clytius and god-like
Toxeus and Iphitus, a scion of Ares. And after
these Antiope the queen, daughter of the aged
son of Naubolus, bare her youngest child, golden-
haired lolea."
207
HESIOD
80.
Herodian.
ἢ τέκεν Αυτόλυκόν τε Φιλάμμονά τε κλυτὸν αὐδήν
Etymologicum Magnum.
ὅττι κε χερσὶ λάβεσκεν, ἀείδελα πάντα τίθεσκεν.
81.
Apollonius, Hom. Lexicon.
Αἴπυτος αὖ τέκετο Τλησήνορα Πειρίθοόν τε.
Strabo vii. p. 322.
82.
ἦ τοι γὰρ Λοκρὸς Λελέγων ἡγήσατο λαῶν,
τούς ῥά ποτε Κρονίδης Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδὼς
λεκτοὺς ἐκ γαίης λᾶας 1 πόρε Δευκαλίωνι.
ἐκ δὲ λίθων ἐγένοντο βροτοὶ λαοὶ δὲ καλεῦντο.
83.
Tzetzes, Schol. in Exeg. Iliad. 126.
Ιλέα, τὸν ῥ᾽ ἐφίλησε ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ᾿Απόλλων
καί οἱ τοῦτ᾽ ὀνόμην᾽ ὄνομ᾽ ἔμμεναι, οἵνεκα νύμφην
εὑρόμενος ἵλεων μίχθη ἐρατῇ φιλότητι
ἤματι τῷ ὅτε τεῖχος ἐνδμήτοιο πόληος
ὑψηλὸν ποίησε Ποσειδάων καὶ ᾿Απόλλων.
84.
Scholiast on Homer, Od. xi. 326. Κλυμένη Μινύου
τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος καὶ Ευρυανάσσης τῆς Ὑπέρ-
φαντος γαμηθεῖσα Φυλάκῳ τῷ Δηίονος Ιφικλον
τίκτει ποδώκη παῖδα. τοῦτον λέγεται διὰ τὴν τῶν
1 Heyne: ἁλέας, Villebrun: ἀλέους, Strabo. Line 4
(quoted by Scholiast on Pindar, Ol. ix. 68) was added by
Bergk to Strabo's citation.
208
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
80.
"Who bare Autolycus and Philammon, famous in
speech... All things that he (Autolycus) took
in his hands, he made to disappear."
81.
"Aepytus again, begot Tlesenor and Peirithöus.”
82.
"For Locrus truly was leader of the Lelegian
people, whom Zeus the Son of Cronos, whose wis-
dom is unfailing, gave to Deucalion, stones gathered
out of the earth. So out of stones mortal men
were made, and they were called people." 1
66
...
83.
Ileus whom the lord Apollo, son of
Zeus, loved. And he named him by this name,
because he found a nymph complaisant 2 and was
joined with her in sweet love, on that day when
Poseidon and Apollo raised high the wall of the
well-built city."
84.
Clymene the daughter of Minyas the son of
Poseidon and of Euryanassa, Hyperphas' daughter,
was wedded to Phylacus the son of Deïon, and bare
Iphiclus, a boy fleet of foot. It is said of him that
1 There is a fancied connection between λâas (stone) and
Aaós (people). The reference is to the stones which Deucalion
and Pyrrha transformed into men and women after the Flood.
2 Eustathius identifies Ileus with Oïleus, father of Aias.
Here again there is fanciful etymology, 'Iλeús being similar
to news (complaisant, gracious).
209
P
HESIOD
ποδῶν ἀρετὴν συναμιλλᾶσθαι τοῖς ἀνέμοις, ἐπί ΤΕ
τῶν ἀσταχύων διέρχεσθαι
Ἡσιόδῳ
·
·
ἡ δὲ ἱστορία παρ'
ἄκρον ἐπ᾽ ἀνθερίκων καρπὸν θέεν οὐδὲ κατέκλα,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πυραμίνων ἀθέρων δρομάασκε πόδεσσι
καὶ οὐ σινέσκετο καρπόν.
85.
Choeroboscus,¹ i. 123, 22 í.
ἡ δὲ Θόαν τέκεν υἱόν.
86.
Eustathius, Hom. 1623. 44. τὸν δὲ Μάρωνα .
οὗ τὸν πατέρα Ευάνθην Ησίοδος Οινοπίωνος,
φασιν, ἱστορεῖ υἱοῦ Διονύσου,
87.
Athenaeus x. 428 B, C.
οἷα Διώνυσος δῶκ᾽ ἀνδράσι χάρμα καὶ ἄχθος.
ὅστις ἄδην πίνῃ, οἶνος δέ οἱ ἔπλετο μάργος,
σὺν δὲ πόδας χειράς τε δέει γλῶσσάν τε νόον τε
δεσμοῖς ἀφράστοισι· φιλεῖ δέ ἑ μαλθακὸς ὕπνος.
Strabo ix. p. 442.
88.
Η οἵη Διδύμους ἱεροὺς ναίουσα κολωνοὺς
Δωτίῳ ἐν πεδίῳ πολυβότρυος ἄντ' Αμύροιο
νίψατο Βοιβιάδος λίμνης πόδα παρθένος ἀδμής.
89.
Schol. on Pindar, Pyth. iii. 48.
τῷ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἄγγελος ἦλθε κόραξ ἱερῆς ἀπὸ δαιτὸς
Πυθὼ ἐς ἠγαθέην, φράσσεν δ' ἄρα ἔργ᾽ ἀίδηλα
1 c. 600 A.D., a lecturer and grammarian of Constantinople.
1
210
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
through his power of running he could race the
winds and could move along upon the ears of
corn 1
The tale is in Hesiod:
•
"He would run over the fruit of the asphodel and
not break it; nay, he would run with his feet upon
wheaten ears and not hurt the fruit."
85.
"And she bare a son Thoas."
86.
Maro, whose father, it is said, Hesiod relates to
have been Euanthes the son of Oenopion, the son of
Dionysus.
87.
"Such gifts as Dionysus gave to men, a joy and a
sorrow both.
Who ever drinks to fullness, in him
wine becomes violent and binds together his hands
and feet, his tongue also and his wits with fetters
unspeakable and soft sleep embraces him."
88.
"Or like her (Coronis) who lived by the holy Twin
Hills in the plain of Dotium over against Amyrus
rich in grapes, and washed her feet in the Boebian
lake, a maid unwed."
89.
"To him, then, there came a messenger from the
sacred feast to goodly Pytho, a crow,³ and he told
1 Imitated by Vergil, Aen. vii. 808, describing Camilla.
2 Priest of Apollo, and, according to Homer, discoverer of
wine. Maronea in Thrace is said to have been called after him.
8 The crow was originally white, but was turned black by
Apollo in his anger at the news brought by the bird.
211
P 2
HESIOD
Φοίβῳ ἀκερσοκόμῃ ὅτι Ἴσχυς ἔγημε Κόρωνιν
Ελλατίδης, Φλεγύαο διογνήτοιο θύγατρα.
90.
Athenagoras, Petition for the Christians, 29.
περὶ δὲ Ασκληπιοῦ Ἡσίοδος μέν
πατὴρ δ' ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε
χώσατ', ἀπ᾿ Οὐλύμπου δὲ βαλὼν ψολόεντι
κεραυνῷ
ἔκτανε Λητοίδην, Φοίβῳ σὺν θυμὸν ὀρίνων.
91.
Philodemus, On Piety, 34. Ἡσίοδος δέ (λέγει τὸν
Απόλλωνα) . . . μέλλειν μὲν εἰς τὸν Τάρταρον
ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς ἐμβληθῆναι, τῆς Λητοῦς δ᾽ ἱκετ
σάσης, ἀνδρὶ θητεῦσαι.
92.
Schol. on Pindar, Pyth. ix. 6.
ἱκετευ
Η οἵη Φθίῃ Χαρίτων ἄπο κάλλος ἔχουσα
Πηνειοῦ παρ' ὕδωρ καλὴ ναίεσκε Κυρήνη.
93.
Servius on Vergil, Georg. i. 14. Aristaeum in-
vocat, id est, Apollinis et Cyrenes filium, quem
Hesiodus dicit Apollinem pastoralem.
94.
Scholiast on Vergil, Georg. iv. 361.
at illum
Curvata in montis faciem circumstetit unda.
Hunc versum ex Hesiodi Gynaecon transtulit.
A philosopher of Athens under Hadrian and Antoninus.
He became a Christian and wrote a defence of the Christians
addressed to Antoninus Pius.
212
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
unshorn Phoebus of secret deeds, that Ischys son of
Elatus had wedded Coronis the daughter of Phlegyas
of birth divine.
90.
Concerning Asclepius Hesiod says: "And the
father of men and gods was wrath, and from Olympus
he smote the son of Leto with a lurid thunder-
bolt and killed him, arousing the anger of Phoebus."
91.
But Hesiod (says that Apollo) would have been
cast by Zeus into Tartarus¹; but Leto interceded for
him, and he became bondman to a mortal.
92.
"Or like her, beautiful Cyrene, who dwelt in Phthia
by the water of Peneus and had the beauty of the
Graces."
93.
He invokes Aristaeus, that is, the son of Apollo
and Cyrene, whom Hesiod calls "the shepherd
Apollo." 2
94.
“But the water stood all round him, bowed into
the semblance of a mountain."
This verse he has taken over from Hesiod's
Catalogue of Women.
1 Zeus slew Asclepius (fr. 90) because of his success as a
healer, and Apollo in revenge killed the Cyclopes (fr. 64).
In punishment Apollo was forced to serve Admetus as herds-
man. (Cp. Euripides, Alcestis, 1–8.)
2 For Cyrene and Aristaeus, cp. Vergil, Georgics, iv. 315 ff.
213
HESIOD
95.
Schol. on Homer, Iliad ii. 469.
Η οἵην Υρίη Βοιωτίη ἔτρεφε κούρην.
1
96.
Palaephatus, c. 42. περὶ Ζήθου καὶ ᾿Αμφίονος·
ἱστοροῦσιν ἄλλοι τε καὶ Ἡσίοδος, ὅτι κιθάρα τὸ
τεῖχος τῶν Θηβῶν ἐτείχισαν.
97.
Schol. on Soph. Trach. 1167.
Εστι τις Ελλοπίη πολυλήιος ἠδ᾽ ἐυλείμων,
ἀφνειὴ μήλοισι καὶ εἰλιπόδεσσι βόεσσιν
ἐν δ᾽ ἄνδρες ναίουσι πολύρρηνες πολυβοῦται
πολλοὶ ἀπειρέσιοι, φῦλα θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων·
ἔνθα δὲ Δωδώνη τις ἐπ᾿ ἐσχατιῇ πεπόλισται·
τὴν δὲ Ζεὺς ἐφίλησε καὶ ὃν χρηστήριον εἶναι
τίμιον ἀνθρώποις .
...
..
ναῖον δ᾽ ἐν πυθμένι φηγοῦ·
ἔνθεν ἐπιχθόνιοι μαντήια πάντα φέρονται,
ὃς δὴ κεῖθι μολὼν θεὸν ἄμβροτον ἐξερεείνῃ
δῶρα φέρων τ' ἔλθῃσι σὺν οἰωνοῖς ἀγαθοῖσιν.
98.
5
10
Berlin Papyri, Νο. 9777.2
ὑσμίν[η . . θνητῶν δέ γε τίς κεν ἀνέτλη
ἔγχεϊ μάρνασθαι καὶ ἐναντίον ὁρμηθῆναι,
πλήν γ' Ἡρακλῆ[ος μεγαλήτορος Αλκαίοιο;
αὐτεοιατ + ἀρηίφιλος κρατερὸς Μελέαγρος
ξανθοκόμης [Οινῆος ἴδ᾽ ᾿Αλθαίης φίλος υἱός·
τοῦ καὶ ἀπ᾿ ὀφθ[αλμῶν ἀπελάμπετο θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ
γοργῶν· ὑψηλ[ῷ δέ ποτ' ἐν Καλυδῶνι δάμασσε
1 A writer on mythology of uncertain date.
2 The fragment is part of a leaf from a papyrus book of
the 4th century A.D.
5
214
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
95.
"Or like her (Antiope) whom Boeotian Hyria
nurtured as a maid."
96.
Of Zethus and Amphion. Hesiod and some
others relate that they built the walls of Thebes by
playing on the lyre.
97.
"There is a land Ellopia with much glebe and rich
meadows, and rich in flocks and shambling kine.
There dwell men who have many sheep and many
oxen, and they are in number past telling, tribes of
mortal men. And there upon its border is built a city,
Dodona¹; and Zeus loved it and (appointed) it to be
his oracle, reverenced by men... And they (the
doves) lived in the hollow of an oak. From them
men of earth carry away all kinds of prophecy,-
whosoever fares to that spot and questions the
deathless god, and comes bringing gifts with good
omens."
98.
66 ... strife... Of mortals who would have dared
to fight him with the spear and charge against him,
save only Heracles, the great-hearted offspring of
Alcaeus? Such an one was (?) strong Meleager
loved of Ares, the golden-haired, dear son of
Oeneus and Althaea. From his fierce eyes there
shone forth portentous fire: and once in high Caly-
don he slew the destroying beast, the fierce wild
1 In Epirus. The oracle was first consulted by Deucalion
and Pyrrha after the Flood. Later writers say that the
god responded in the rustling of leaves in the oaks for which
the place was famous.
215
HESIOD
θῆρ᾽ ὀ[λοὸν χλούνην σῦν ἄγριον ἀργιόδοντα.
οὔτε τις ἐν πολέμῳ [οὔτ᾽ αἰνῇ δηιοτῆτι
ἔτλη ἐς ἄντα ἰδ[ὼν σχεδὸν ἐλθέμεν οὐδὲ μάχεσθαι 10
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων, ὁπότ᾽ [ἐν προμάχοισι φανείη
ἀλλ᾽ ὑπ᾽ Απόλλωνος χερ[σὶν βέλεσιν τ᾽ ἐδαμάσθη
μαρνάμενος Κού[ρησιν ὑπὲρ Καλυδῶνος ἐραννῆς.
τοὺς δ᾽ ἄλλους Ὀινῆ[ι τέκεν, Πορθάονος υἱῷ,
Φηρέα θ' ἱππόδαμ[ον ᾿Αγέλαόν τ' ἔξοχον ἄλλων
Τοξέα τε Κλύμεν[όν τε καὶ ἀντίθεον Περίφαντα
Γόργην τ' ἠύκομον [καὶ ἐπίφρονα Δηιάνειραν,
ἢ τέχ᾽ ὑποδμηθεῖ[σα βίῃ Ηρακληείῃ
Ὕλλον καὶ Γλῆνον καὶ [Κτήσιππον καὶ Ὀδίτην
τοὺς τέκε, καὶ δειν[ὸν ἐν ἀϊδρείῃσιν ἔρεξε
ὁππότε φαρμακό[εν.
•
λῶπ[ος] κῆ[ρα μέλαιναν ἔχον
99A.
•
Schol. on Homer, Iliad. xxiii. 679. καὶ Ἡσίοδος
δέ φησιν ἐν Θήβαις αὐτοῦ ἀποθανόντος, Αργείαν
τὴν ᾿Αδράστου σὺν ἄλλοις ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν κηδείαν
τοῦ Οἰδιπόδος.
99.
Papyri greci e latine, No. 131 (2nd-3rd century).1
τῷ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ ἐν μεγάροις] ᾿Αλκμάονα π[οιμέ]να
λα[ῶν.
τόν ῥ᾽ ὑπὲρ Αργεί]ους Καδμηίδες ἑλκεσίπε[πλοι,
1 Most of the smaller restorations appear in the original
publication, but the larger are new: these last are highly
conjectural, there being no definite clue to the general sense.
15
20
216
CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE
boar with gleaming tusks. In war and in dread
strife no man of the heroes dared to face him and to
approach and fight with him when he appeared in
the forefront. But he was slain by the hands and
arrows of Apollo, while he was fighting with the
Curetes for pleasant Calydon. And these others
(Althaea) bare to Oeneus, Porthaon's son; horse-
taming Pheres, and Agelaus surpassing all others,
Toxeus and Clymenus and godlike Periphas, and rich-
haired Gorga and wise Deianeira, who was subject.
in love to mighty Heracles and bare him Hyllus and
Glenus and Ctesippus and Odites. These she bare
and in ignorance she did a fearful thing: when
(she had received)... the poisoned robe that held
black doom....
99A.
And yet Hesiod says that after he had died in
Thebes, Argeia the daughter of Adrastus together
with others (cp. frag. 99) came to the lamentation
over Oedipus.
99.2
And (Eriphyle) bare in the palace Alcmaon,³
shepherd of the people, to Amphiaraus. Him (Am-
1 According to Homer and later writers Meleager wasted
away when his mother Althea burned the brand on which
his life depended, because he had slain her brothers in the
dispute for the hide of the Calydonian boar. (Cp. Bacchylides,
Ode v. 136 ff.)
2 The fragment probably belongs to the Catalogues proper
rather than to the Eoiae; but, as its position is uncertain,
it may conveniently be associated with Frags. 99A and the
Shield of Heracles.
3 Alcmaon (who took part in the second of the two heroic
Theban expeditions) is perhaps mentioned only incidentally
as the son of Amphiaraus, who seems to be clearly indicated
in il. 7-8, and whoso story occupies 11. 5-10. At 1. 11 the
subject changes and Electryon is introduced as father of
Alcmena.
217
HESIOD
...
5
ὄμματα τ᾽ εὐμεγεθές τε δέμας εἰσάντα ἰδοῦ[σαι,
ἀμφιέποντα] ταφὰς πολυκηδέος Οιδιπό[δαο,
θαύμασαν . . .].. ενουκ . τινουπο [. . .]ρε[.
τῷ δὲ ποτ᾽ εἰς Θῆβα]ς Δαναοὶ θεράποντες "Αρη[ος
ἔσπονθ' ὥς κε . . .] Πολυνείκεϊ κῦδος 1 [ἄροιντο.
εὖ δὲ καὶ εἰδότα περ] Ζηνὸς παρὰ θέσφατα [πάντα
γαῖα χανοῦσά ἑ τηλοῦ] ἀπ᾿ Αλφειοῦ βαθυδί[νεω
κάππιε σύν θ᾽ ἵππ]οισι καὶ ἅρμασι κολλητ[οῖσι. 10
Γῆμεν δ' Ἠλεκτρύων] Πέλοπος περικαλλέα
[κούρην·
γείνατο δ᾽ ἐν μεγάροισιν] ὁμὸν λεχος εἰσαναβ[αίνων
Περσείδης] ἥρωα καὶ αἰχμητήν περ [ἐόντα
] Φυλόνομόν τε Κελαινέα τ' ᾿Αμ]φίμαχόν τε
] τε καὶ Εὐρύβιον κλειτόν τε [ . .. 15
τοὺς πάντας] Τάφιοι ναυσίκλυτοι ἐξενά[ριξαν
βοῦσιν ἐπ᾽ εἰλι]πόδεσσιν, ἑλεῖν α[ . ]να[ . .
ν]ήεσσιν ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θα[λάσσης
᾿Αλκμήνη δ᾽ ἄρα] μούνη [ἐλείπ]ετο χάρμα γο νεῦσιν
]. . κα[ὶ Ἠλ]εκτρυών[η 2
•
*
*
ἡ τέχ᾽ ὑποδμηθεῖσα] κ[ελαι]νεφέϊ Κρονίωνι
100.
Argument to the Shield of Heracles, i. τῆς ᾿Ασπίδος
ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ Καταλόγῳ φέρεται μέχρι
στίχων ν' καὶ ς'.
1 ηταφο[ν (?), original publication.
2 For scansion cf. Shield, 11. 16, 82.
20
218
SHIELD OF HERACLES
HESIOD'S SHIELD OF HERACLES
OR like her who left home and country and came
to Thebes, following warlike Amphitryon,-even
Alcmena, the daughter of Electryon, gatherer of the
people. She surpassed the tribe of womankind in
beauty and in height; and in wisdom none vied with
her of those whom mortal women bare of union with
mortal men. Her face and her dark eyes wafted
such charm as comes from golden Aphrodite. And
she so honoured her husband in her heart as none of
womankind did before her. Verily he had slain her
noble father violently when he was angry about
oxen; so he left his own country and came to
Thebes and was suppliant to the shield-carrying men
of Cadmus. There he dwelt with his modest wife
without the joys of love, nor might he go in unto
the neat-ankled daughter of Electryon until he had
avenged the death of his wife's great-hearted
brothers and utterly burned with blazing fire the
villages of the heroes, the Taphians and Teleboans;
for this thing was laid upon him, and the gods were
witnesses to it. And he feared their anger, and
hastened to perform the great task to which Zeus had
bound him. With him went the horse-driving
Boeotians, breathing above their shields, and the
Locrians who fight hand to hand, and the gallant
Phocians eager for war and battle. And the noble
son of Alcaeus led them, rejoicing in his host.
But the father of men and gods was forming
221
HESIOD
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ ΑΣΠΙΣ
*Η οἵη προλιποῦσα δόμους καὶ πατρίδα γαῖαν
ἤλυθεν ἐς Θήβας μετ᾿ ἀρήιον ᾿Αμφιτρύωνα
Αλκμήνη, θυγάτηρ λαοσσόου Ηλεκτρύωνος·
ἡ ῥα γυναικῶν φῦλον ἐκαίνυτο θηλυτεράων
εἴδει τε μεγέθει τε· νόον γε μὲν οὔ τις ἔριζε
τάων, ἃς θνηταὶ θνητοῖς τέκον εὐνηθεῖσαι.
τῆς καὶ ἀπὸ κρῆθεν βλεφάρων τ᾽ ἄπο κυανεάων
τοῖον ἄηθ᾽ οἷόν τε πολυχρύσου ᾿Αφροδίτης.
ἢ δὲ καὶ ὡς κατὰ θυμὸν ἑὸν τίεσκεν ἀκοίτην,
ὡς οὔ πώ τις ἔτισε γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων·
ἢ μέν οἱ πατέρ᾽ ἐσθλὸν ἀπέκτανε ἶφι δαμάσσας,
χωσάμενος περὶ βουσί· λιπών δ᾽ ὅ γε πατρίδα
γαῖαν
ἐς Θήβας ἱκέτευσε φερεσσακέας Καδμείους.
ἔνθ᾽ ὅ γε δώματ' ἔναιε σὺν αἰδοίῃ παρακοίτι
νόσφιν ἄτερ φιλότητος ἐφιμέρου, οὐδέ οἱ δεν
πρὶν λεχέων ἐπιβῆναι ἐυσφύρου Ηλεκτρυώνης,
πρίν γε φόνον τίσαιτο κασιγνήτων μεγαθύμων
ἧς ἀλόχου, μαλερῷ δὲ καταφλέξαι πυρὶ κώμας
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων Ταφίων ἰδὲ Τηλεβοάων.
τὼς 1 γάρ οἱ διέκειτο, θεοὶ δ᾽ ἐπὶ μάρτυροι ἦσαν·
τῶν ὅ γ᾽ ὀπίζετο μῆνιν, ἐπείγετο δ' ὅττι τάχιστα
ἐκτελέσαι μέγα ἔργον, ὅ οἱ Διόθεν θέμις ήεν.
τῷ δ᾽ ἅμα ἱέμενοι πολέμοιό τε φυλόπιδός τε
Βοιωτοὶ πλήξιπποι, ὑπὲρ σακέων πνείοντες,
Λοκροί τ᾿ ἀγχέμαχοι καὶ Φωκῆες μεγάθυμοι
ἕσποντ᾽· ἦρχε δὲ τοῖσιν ἐὺς πάις Αλκαίοιο
κυδιόων λαοῖσι. πατὴρ δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε
1 Δ : &ς, MSS.
5
10
15
20
25
25
220
SHIELD OF HERACLES
HESIOD'S SHIELD OF HERACLES
OR like her who left home and country and came
to Thebes, following warlike Amphitryon,-even
Alcmena, the daughter of Electryon, gatherer of the
people. She surpassed the tribe of womankind in
beauty and in height; and in wisdom none vied with
her of those whom mortal women bare of union with
mortal men. Her face and her dark eyes wafted
such charm as comes from golden Aphrodite. And
she so honoured her husband in her heart as none of
womankind did before her. Verily he had slain her
noble father violently when he was angry about
oxen; so he left his own country and came to
Thebes and was suppliant to the shield-carrying men
of Cadmus. There he dwelt with his modest wife
without the joys of love, nor might he go in unto
the neat-ankled daughter of Electryon until he had
avenged the death of his wife's great-hearted
brothers and utterly burned with blazing fire the
villages of the heroes, the Taphians and Teleboans;
for this thing was laid upon him, and the gods were
witnesses to it. And he feared their anger, and
hastened to perform the great task to which Zeus had
bound him. With him went the horse-driving
Boeotians, breathing above their shields, and the
Locrians who fight hand to hand, and the gallant
Phocians eager for war and battle. And the noble
son of Alcaeus led them, rejoicing in his host.
But the father of men and gods was forming
221
HESIOD
35
ἄλλην μῆτιν ὕφαινε μετὰ φρεσίν, ὥς ῥα θεοῖσιν
ἀνδράσι τ᾽ ἀλφηστῇσιν ἀρῆς ἀλκτῆρα φυτεύσαι.
ὦρτο δ᾽ ἀπ' Ουλύμποιο δόλον φρεσὶ βυσσοδομεύων, 30
ἱμείρων φιλότητος ευζώνοιο γυναικός,
ἐννύχιος· τάχα δ' ΐξε Τυφαόνιον· τόθεν αὖτις
Φίκιον ἀκρότατον προσεβήσατο μητίετα Ζεύς.
ἔνθα καθεζόμενος φρεσὶ μήδετο θέσκελα ἔργα
αὐτῇ μὲν γὰρ νυκτὶ τανυσφύρου Ηλεκτρυώνης
εὐνῇ καὶ φιλότητι μίγη, τέλεσεν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐέλδωρ·
αὐτῇ δ᾽ ᾿Αμφιτρύων λαοσσόος, ἀγλαὸς ἥρως,
ἐκτελέσας μέγα ἔργον ἀφίκετο ὅνδε δόμονδε.
οὐδ᾽ ὅ γ' ἐπὶ ὁμῶας καὶ ποιμένας ἀγροιώτας
ὦρτ᾽ ἰέναι, πρίν γ' ἧς ἀλόχου ἐπιβήμεναι εὐνῆς·
τοῖος γὰρ κραδίην πόθος αἴνυτο ποιμένα λαῶν.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἀνὴρ ἀσπαστὸν ὑπεκπροφύγῃ κακότητα
νούσου ὕπ᾽ ἀργαλέης ἢ καὶ κρατεροῦ ὑπὸ δεσμοῦ,
ὥς ῥα τότ' Αμφιτρύων χαλεπὸν πόνον ἐκτο-
λυπεύσας
40
45
ἀσπασίως τε φίλως τε ἑὸν δόμον εἰσαφίκανεν.
παννύχιος δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔλεκτο σὺν αἰδοίῃ παρακοίτι
τερπόμενος δώροισι πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης.
ἡ δὲ θεῷ δμηθεῖσα καὶ ἀνέρι πολλὸν ἀρίστῳ
Θήβῃ ἐν ἑπταπύλῳ διδυμάονε γείνατο παῖδε,
οὐ καθ᾽ ὁμὰ φρονέοντες κασιγνήτω γε μὲν ἤστην· 50
τὸν μὲν χειρότερον, τὸν δ᾽ αὖ μέγ' αμείνονα φῶτα,
δεινόν τε κρατερόν τε, βίην Ηρακληείην·
τὸν μὲν ὑποδμηθεῖσα κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι,
τὸν δ᾽ ἄρα Ἰφικλῆα δορυσσόῳι Αμφιτρύωνι,
κεκριμένην γενεήν· τὸν μὲν βροτῷ ἀνδρὶ μιγεῖσα,
τὸν δὲ Διὶ Κρονίωνι, θεῶν σημάντορι πάντων.
1 λαοσσόφ, KLM.
55
"
Η
222
SHIELD OF HERACLES
another scheme in his heart, to beget one to defend
against destruction gods and men who eat bread. So
he arose from Olympus by night pondering guile in
the deep of his heart, and yearned for the love of the
well-girded woman. Quickly he came to Typhao-
nium, and from there again wise Zeus went on and
trod the highest peak of Phicium ¹: there he sat and
planned marvellous things in his heart.
So in one
night Zeus shared the bed and love of the neat-ankled
daughter of Electryon and fulfilled his desire;
and in the same night Amphitryon, gatherer of the
people, the glorious hero, came to his house when he
had ended his great task. He hastened not to go
to his bondmen and shepherds afield, but first went
in unto his wife: such desire took hold on the
shepherd of the people. And as a man who has
escaped joyfully from misery, whether of sore disease
or cruel bondage, so then did Amphitryon, when he
had wound up all his heavy task, come glad and wel-
come to his home. And all night long he lay with
his modest wife, delighting in the gifts of golden
Aphrodite. And she, being subject in love to a god
and to a man exceeding goodly, brought forth twin
sons in seven-gated Thebe. Though they were
brothers, these were not of one spirit; for one was
weaker but the other a far better man, one terrible
and strong, the mighty Heracles. Him she bare
through the embrace of the son of Cronos lord of dark
clouds and the other, Iphicles, of Amphitryon the
spear-wielder-offspring distinct, this one of union
with a mortal man, but that other of union with
Zeus, leader of all the gods.
1 A mountain peak near Thebes which took its name from
the Sphinx (called in Theog. 326 Þî¿).
223
HESIOD
Ὃς καὶ Κύκνον ἔπεφνεν, ᾿Αρητιάδην μεγάθυμον.
εὗρε γὰρ ἐν τεμένει ἑκατηβόλου Απόλλωνος
αὐτὸν καὶ πατέρα ὃν Αρην, ἄατον πολέμοιο,
τεύχεσι λαμπομένους σέλας ὣς πυρὸς αιθομένοιο, 60
ἑσταότ᾽ ἐν δίφρῳ· χθόνα δ' ἔκτυπον ὠκέες ἵπποι
νύσσοντες χηλῇσι, κόνις δέ σφ' ἀμφιδεδήει
κοπτομένη πλεκτοῖσιν ὑφ᾽ ἅρμασι καὶ ποσὶν ἵππων.
ἅρματα δ᾽ εὐποίητα καὶ ἄντυγες ἀμφαράβιζον
ἵππων ἱεμένων· κεχάρητο δὲ Κύκνος ἀμύμων,
ἐλπόμενος Διὸς υἱὸν ἀρήιον ἡνίοχόν τε
χαλκῷ δηιώσειν καὶ ἀπὸ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δύσειν.
ἀλλά οἱ εὐχωλέων οὐκ ἔκλυε Φοίβος Απόλλων
αὐτὸς γάρ οἱ ἐπῶρσε βίην Ηρακληείην.
65
75
πᾶν δ᾽ ἄλσος καὶ βωμὸς ᾿Απόλλωνος Παγασαίου 70
λάμπεν ὑπὸ δεινοῖο θεοῦ τευχέων τε καὶ αὐτοῦ·
πῦρ δ᾽ ὡς ὀφθαλμῶν ἀπελάμπετο. τίς κεν ἐκείνου
ἔτλη θνητὸς ἐὼν κατεναντίον ὁρμηθῆναι
πλήν γ᾽ Ἡρακλῆος καὶ κυδαλίμου Ἰολάου;
κείνων γὰρ μεγάλη τε βίη καὶ χεῖρες ἄαπτοι
ἐξ ὤμων ἐπέφυκον ἐπὶ στιβαροῖσι μέλεσσιν.
ὅς ῥα τόθ᾽ ἡνίοχον προσέφη κρατερὸν Ἰόλαον·
Ηρως ὦ Ιόλαε, βροτῶν πολὺ φίλτατε πάντων,
ἦ τε μέγ᾽ ἀθανάτους μάκαρας, τοὶ Ὄλυμπον
ἔχουσιν,
1
ἤλιτεν ᾿Αμφιτρύων, ὅτ᾽ ἐυστέφανον ποτὶ Θήβην
ἦλθε λιπὼν Τίρυνθα, ευκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,
κτείνας Ηλεκτρύωνα βοῶν ἕνεκ᾽ εὐρυμετώπων·
ἵκετο δ' ἐς Κρείοντα καὶ Ηνιόχην τανύπεπλον,
οἵ ῥά μιν ἠσπάζοντο καὶ ἄρμενα πάντα παρείχον,
ἣ δίκη ἔσθ᾽ ἱκέτῃσι, τίον δέ ἑ2 κηρόθι μᾶλλον.
1 Μ: τίρυνθ᾽, GHI: Τίρυνθον, most MSS. : τήρνυθον, Β.
2 Ranke: δέ γε, GHI : δ' ἄρα, other MSS.
80
85
224
SHIELD OF HERACLES
And he slew Cycnus, the gallant son of Ares.
For he found him in the close of far-shooting Apollo,
him and his father Ares, never sated with war.
Their armour shone like a flame of blazing fire as
they two stood in their car: their swift horses struck
the earth and pawed it with their hoofs, and the
dust rose like smoke about them, pounded by the
chariot wheels and the horses' hoofs, while the
well-made chariot and its rails rattled around them
as the horses plunged. And blameless Cycnus was
glad, for he looked to slay the warlike son of Zeus
and his charioteer with the sword, and to strip off
their splendid armour. But Phoebus Apollo would
not listen to his vaunts, for he himself had stirred
up mighty Heracles against him.
And all the grove
and altar of Pagasaean Apollo flamed because of the
dread god and because of his arms; for his eyes
flashed as with fire. What mortal man would have
dared to meet him face to face save Heracles and
glorious Iolaus? For great was their strength and
unconquerable were the arms which grew from their
shoulders on their strong limbs. Then Heracles
spake to his charioteer strong Iolaus :
"O hero Iolaus, best beloved of all men, truly
Amphitryon sinned deeply against the blessed gods
who dwell on Olympus when he came to sweet-
crowned Thebe and left Tiryns, the well-built citadel,
because he slew Electryon for the sake of his wide-
browed oxen. Then he came to Creon and long-
robed Eniocha, who received him kindly and gave
him all fitting things, as is due to suppliants, and
honoured him in their hearts even more. And he
225
HESIOD
ζῶς δ᾽ ἀγαλλόμενος σὺν ἐυσφύρῳ Ἠλεκτρυώνῃ,
ᾗ ἀλόχῳ· τάχα δ' ἄμμες ἐπιπλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν
γεινόμεθ᾽ οὔτε φυὴν ἐναλίγκιοι οὔτε νόημα,
σός τε πατὴρ καὶ ἐγώ· τοῦ μὲν φρένας ἐξέλετο
Ζεύς,
ὃς προλιπών σφέτερον τε δόμον σφετέρους τε
τοκήας
90
ᾤχετο, τιμήσων ἀλιτήμενον Εὐρυσθῆα,
σχέτλιος· ἦ που πολλὰ μετεστεναχίζετ᾽ ὀπίσσω
ἣν ἄτην ὀχέων· ἡ δ᾽ οὐ παλινάγρετός ἐστιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ δαίμων χαλεποὺς ἐπετέλλετ᾽ ἀέθλους.
*Ω φίλος, ἀλλὰ σὺ θᾶσσον ἔχ᾽ ἡνία φοινικόεντα 95
ἵππων ὠκυπόδων· μέγα δὲ φρεσὶ θάρσος ἀέξων
ἰθὺς ἔχειν θοὸν ἅρμα καὶ ὠκυπόδων σθένος ἵππων,
μηδὲν ὑποδδείσας κτύπον Αρεος ἀνδροφόνοιο,
ὃς νῦν κεκληγὼς περιμαίνεται ἱερὸν ἄλσος
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος, ἑκατηβελέταο ἄνακτος·
ἢ μὴν καὶ κρατερός περ ἐὼν ἄαται πολέμοιο.
Τὸν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπεν ἀμώμητος Ιόλαος
ἠθεῖς, ἢ μάλα δή τι πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε
τιμᾷ σὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ ταύρεος Εννοσίγαιος,
ὃς Θήβης κρήδεμνον ἔχει ῥύεταί τε πόληα·
οἷον δὴ καὶ τόνδε βροτον κρατερόν τε μέγαν τε
σὰς ἐς χεῖρας ἄγουσιν, ἵνα κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἄρηαι.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε δύσεο τεύχε' ἀρήια, ὄφρα τάχιστα
δίφρους ἐμπελάσαντες "Αρηός θ᾽ ἡμέτερόν τε
μαρνώμεσθ', ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι ἀτάρβητον Διὸς υἱὸν
οὐδ᾽ Ἰφικλεΐδην δειδίξεται, ἀλλά μιν οἴω
φεύξεσθαι δύο παῖδας ἀμύμονος Αλκείδαο,
οἳ δή σφι σχεδόν εἰσι, λιλαιόμενοι πολέμοιο
φυλόπιδα στῆσαι, τά σφιν πολὺ φίλτερα θοίνης.
1 BCDF : ἀχέων, other MSS.
100
105
110
226
SHIELD OF HERACLES
lived joyfully with his wife the neat-ankled daughter
of Electryon and presently, while the years rolled
on, we were born, unlike in body as in mind, even
your father and I. From him Zeus took away sense,
so that he left his home and his parents and went to
do honour to the wicked Eurystheus-unhappy man!
Deeply indeed did he grieve afterwards in bearing
the burden of his own mad folly; but that cannot be
taken back. But on me fate laid heavy tasks.
"Yet, come, friend, quickly take the red-dyed
reins of the swift horses and raise high courage in
your heart and guide the swift chariot and strong
fleet-footed horses straight on. Have no secret fear
at the noise of man-slaying Ares who now rages
shouting about the holy grove of Phoebus Apollo,
the lord who shoots from afar. Surely, strong
though he be, he shall have enough of war."
And blameless Iolaus answered him again : "Good
friend, truly the father of men and gods greatly
honours your head and the bull-like Earth-Shaker
also, who keeps Thebe's veil of walls and guards
the city, so great and strong is this fellow they
bring into your hands that you may win great
glory. But come, put on your arms of war that
with all speed we may bring the car of Ares and our
own together and fight; for he shall not frighten
the dauntless son of Zeus, nor yet the son of
Iphiclus rather I think he will flee before the two
sons of blameless Alcides who are near him and eager
to raise the war cry for battle; for this they love
better than a feast."
227
Q 2
HESIOD
Ὣς φάτο μείδησεν δὲ βίη Ηρακληείη
θυμῷ γηθήσας· μάλα γάρ νύ οἱ ἄρμενα εἶπεν·
καί μιν ἀμειβόμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Ηρως ὦ Ἰόλαε, διοτρεφές, οὐκέτι τηλοῦ
ὑσμίνη τρηχεία· σὺ δ᾽ ὡς πάρος ἦσθα δαίφρων,
ὡς καὶ νῦν μέγαν ἵππον ᾿Αρίονα κυανοχαίτην
πάντη ἀναστρωφᾶν καὶ ἀρηγέμεν, ὥς κε δύνηαι.
Ὣς εἰπὼν κνημῖδας ὀρειχάλκοιο φαεινοῦ,
Ηφαίστου κλυτὰ δῶρα, περὶ κνήμῃσιν ἔθηκεν·
δεύτερον αὖ θώρηκα περὶ στήθεσσιν ἔδυνε
καλὸν χρύσειον πολυδαίδαλον, ὅν οἱ ἔδωκε
Παλλὰς Αθηναίη, κούρη Διός, ὁππότ᾽ ἔμελλε
τὸ πρῶτον στονόεντας ἐφορμήσεσθαι ἀέθλους.
θήκατο δ' ἀμφ' ὤμοισιν ἀρῆς ἀλκτῆρα σίδηρον
δεινὸς ἀνήρ· κοίλην δὲ περὶ στήθεσσι φαρέτρην
καββάλετ᾽ ἐξόπιθεν πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἔντοσθεν ὀιστοὶ
ῥιγηλοί, θανάτοιο λαθιφθόγγοιο δοτῆρες.
πρόσθεν μὲν θάνατόν τ᾽ εἶχον καὶ δάκρυσι μῦρον,
μέσσοι δὲ ξεστοί, περιμήκεις, αὐτὰρ ὄπισθε
μόρφνοιο φλεγύαο καλυπτόμενοι πτερύγεσσιν.
εἵλετο δι ὄβριμον ἔγχος, ἀκαχμένον αἴθοπι
χαλκῷ,
κρατί δ᾽ ἔπ᾽ ὀφθίμῳ κυνέην εύτυκτον ἔθηκε,
δαιδαλέην ἀδάμαντος, ἐπὶ κροτάφοις αραρυίαν,
ἦτ᾽ εἴρυτο κάρη Ἡρακλῆος θείοιο.
Χερσί γε μὴν σάκος εἷλε παναίολον, οὐδέ τις
αὐτὸ
115
120
125
130
135
οὔτ᾽ ἔρρηξε βαλὼν οὔτ᾽ ἔθλασε, θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι. 140
πᾶν μὲν γὰρ κύκλῳ τιτάνῳ λευκῷ τ᾽ ἐλέφαντι
ἠλέκτρῳ θ᾽ ὑπολαμπὲς ἔην χρυσῷ τε φαεινῷ
1 Hermann : ἦσαν· ὁ δ᾽, MSS.
228
SHIELD OF HERACLES
So he said. And mighty Heracles was glad ir
heart and smiled, for the other's words pleased him
well, and he answered him with winged words:
"O hero Iolaus, heaven-sprung, now is rough battle
hard at hand. But, as you have shown your skill at
other times, so now also wheel the great black-maned
horse Arion about every way, and help me as you
may be able."
So he said, and put upon his legs greaves of
shining bronze, the splendid gift of Hephaestus.
Next he fastened about his breast a fine golden
breast-plate, curiously wrought, which Pallas Athene
the daughter of Zeus had given him when first he
was about to set out upon his grievous labours. Over
his shoulders the fierce warrior put the steel that
saves men from doom, and across his breast he slung
behind him a hollow quiver. Within it were many
chilling arrows, dealers of death which makes speech
forgotten in front they had death, and trickled
with tears; their shafts were smooth and very long:
and their butts were covered with feathers of a
brown eagle. And he took his strong spear, pointed
with shining bronze, and on his valiant head set a
well-made helm of adamant, cunningly wrought,
which fitted closely on the temples; and that guarded
the head of god-like Heracles.
In his hands he took his shield, all glittering: no
one ever broke it with a blow or crushed it. And
a wonder it was to see; for its whole orb was
a-shimmer with enamel and white ivory and electrum,
and it glowed with shining gold; and there were
229
HESIOD
λαμπόμενον, κυάνου δὲ διὰ πτύχες ἠλήλαντο.
ἑν μέσσῳ δ᾽ ἀδάμαντος1 ἔην Φόβος οὔ τι φατειός,
ἔμπαλιν ὄσσοισιν πυρὶ λαμπομένοισι δεδορκώς·
τοῦ καὶ ὀδόντων μὲν πλῆτο στόμα λευκὰ θεόντων,
δεινῶν ἀπλήτων, ἐπὶ δὲ βλοσυροίο μετώπου
δεινὴ Ἔρις πεπότητο κορύσσουσα κλόνον ἀνδρῶν,
σχετλίη, ἥ ῥα νόον τε καὶ ἐκ φρένας εἵλετο φωτῶν,
οἵτινες ἀντιβίην πόλεμον Διὸς υἱι φέροιεν.
τῶν καὶ ψυχαὶ μὲν χθόνα δύμεναι ῎Αιδος εἴσω
κάκκιον, ὀστέα δέ σφι περὶ ῥινοῖο σαπείσης
Σειρίου ἀζαλέοιο μελαίνῃ πύθεται αἴῃ.
2
Ἐν δὲ Προΐωξίς τε Παλίωξις τε τέτυκτο,
145
150
ἐν δ᾽ Ομαδός τε Φόβος το Ανδροκτασίη τε δεδήει, 155
ἐν δ᾽ Ἔρις, ἐν δὲ Κυδοιμὸς ἐθύνεον, ἐν δ᾽ ὀλοὴ Κὴρ
ἄλλον ζωὸν ἔχουσα νεούτατον, ἄλλον ἄουτον,
ἄλλον τεθνηῶτα κατὰ μόθον ἕλκε ποδοῖιν.
εἶμα δ᾽ ἔχ᾽ ἄμφ᾽ ὤμοισι δαφοινεὸν αἵματι φωτῶν,
δεινὸν δερκομένη καναχῇσί τε βεβρνχνία.
160
Ἐν δ᾽ ὀφίων κεφαλαὶ δεινῶν ἔσαν, οὔ τι φατειῶν,
δώδεκα, ταὶ φοβέεσκον ἐπὶ χθονὶ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων,
οἵ τινες ἀντιβίην πόλεμον Διὸς υἱι φέροιεν·
τῶν καὶ ὀδόντων μὲν καναχὴ πέλεν, εὔτε μάχοιτο
Αμφιτρυωνιάδης, τὰ δ᾽ ἐδαίετο θαυματὰ ἔργα.
στίγματα δ' ὡς ἐπέφαντο ἰδεῖν δεινοῖσι δράκουσιν·
κυάνεοι κατὰ νῶτα, μελάνθησαν δὲ γένεια.
1 Schol. : δὲ δράκοντος, MSS.
2 (= κατέκιον : ep. l. 254), Tr.: αὐτῶν, MSS.
165
230
SHIELD OF HERACLES
zones of cyanus¹ drawn upon it. In the centre was
Fear worked in adamant, unspeakable, staring
backwards with eyes that glowed with fire. His
mouth was full of teeth in a white row, fearful and
daunting, and upon his grim brow hovered frightful
Strife who arrays the throng of men: pitiless she,
for she took away the mind and senses of poor
wretches who made war against the son of Zeus.
Their souls passed beneath the earth and went down
into the house of Hades; but their bones, when the
skin is rotted about them, crumble away on the dark
earth under parching Sirius.
Upon the shield Pursuit and Flight were wrought,
and Tumult, and Panic, and Slaughter. Strife
also, and Uproar were hurrying about, and deadly
Fate was there holding one man newly wounded,
and another unwounded; and one, who was dead,
she was dragging by the feet through the tumult.
She had on her shoulders a garment red with the
blood of men, and terribly she glared and gnashed
her teeth.
And there were heads of snakes unspeakably
frightful, twelve of them; and they used to frighten
the tribes of men on earth whosoever made war
against the son of Zeus; for they would clash their
teeth when Amphitryon's son was fighting and
brightly shone these wonderful works. And it was
as though there were spots upon the frightful
snakes and their backs were dark blue and their
jaws were black.
:
1 Cyanus was a glass-paste of deep blue colour: the "zones"
were concentric bands in which were the scenes described by
the poet. The figure of Fear (1.144) occupied the centre of
the shield, and Oceanus (1. 314) enclosed the whole.
231
HESIOD
170
175
Ἐν δὲ συῶν ἀγέλαι χλούνων ἔσαν ἠδὲ λεόντων
ἐς σφέας δερκομένων, κοτεόντων θ' ἱεμένων τε.
τῶν καὶ ὁμιληδὸν στίχες ἤισαν· οὐδέ νυ τώ γε
οὐδέτεροι τρεέτην φρίσσόν γε μὲν αὐχένας ἄμφω.
ἤδη γάρ σφιν ἔκειτο μέγας λῖς, ἀμφὶ δὲ κάπροι
δοιοί, ἀπουράμενοι ψυχάς, κατὰ δέ σφι κελαινὸν
αἱμ' ἀπελείβετ᾽ ἔραζ'· οἳ δ' αὐχένας ἐξεριπόντες
κείατο τεθνηώτες ὑπὸ βλοσυροίσι λέουσιν.
τοὶ δ᾽ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐγειρέσθην κοτέοντε μάχεσθαι,
ἀμφότεροι, χλοῦναί τε σύες χαροποί τε λέοντες.
Ἐν δ᾽ ἦν ὑσμίνη Λαπιθάων αἰχμητάων
Καινέα τ᾽ ἀμφὶ ἄνακτα Δρύαντά τε Πειρίθοόν τε
Ὁπλέα τ᾽ Εξάδιόν τε Φάληρόν τε Πρόλοχόν τε 180
Μόψον τ' Αμπυκίδην, Τιταρήσιον, ὄζον Αρηος,
Θησέα τ' Αἰγεΐδην, ἐπιείκελον ἀθανάτοισιν·
ἀργύρεοι, χρύσεια περὶ χροῒ τεύχε' ἔχοντες.
Κένταυροι δ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ἐναντίοι ἠγερέθοντο
ἀμφὶ μέγαν Πετραῖον ἰδ᾽ Ασβολον οἰωνιστὴν
'Αρκτον τ᾽ Οὔρειόν τε μελαγχαίτην τε Μίμαντα
καὶ δύο Πευκεΐδας, Περιμήδεά τε Δρύαλόν τε,
ἀργύρεοι, χρυσέας ἐλάτας ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες.
καί τε συναίγδην ὡς εἰ ζωοί περ εόντες
ἔγχεσιν ἠδ᾽ ἐλάτῃς αὐτοσχεδὸν ὠριγνῶντο.
185
190
Ἐν δ' Αρεος βλοσυροῖο ποδώκεις ἕστασαν ἵπποι
χρύσεοι, ἐν δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐναρσφόρος οὔλιος "Αρης
αἰχμὴν ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔχων, πρυλέεσσι κελεύων,
αἵματι φοινικόεις, ὡς εἰ ζωοὺς ἐναρίζων
δίφρου ἐπεμβεβαώς· παρὰ δὲ Δεῖμός τε Φόβος τε 195
ἕστασαν ἱέμενοι πόλεμον καταδύμεναι ἀνδρῶν.
Ἐν δὲ Διὸς θυγάτηρ ἀγελείη Τριτογένεια,
232
SHIELD OF HERACLES
Also there were upon the shield droves of boars
and lions who glared at each other, being furious
and eager the rows of them moved on together,
and neither side trembled but both bristled up their
manes. For already a great lion lay between them
and two boars, one on either side, bereft of life, and
their dark blood was dripping down upon the ground;
they lay dead with necks outstretched beneath the
grim lions. And both sides were roused still more
to fight because they were angry, the fierce boars
and the bright-eyed lions.
And there was the strife of the Lapith spearmen
gathered round the prince Caeneus and Dryas and
Peirithöus, with Hopleus, Exadius, Phalereus, and
Prolochus, Mopsus the son of Ampyce of Titaresia, a
scion of Ares, and Theseus, the son of Aegeus, like
unto the deathless gods. These were of silver, and
had armour of gold upon their bodies. And the Cen-
taurs were gathered against them on the other side
with Petraeus and Asbolus the diviner, Arctus, and
Ureus, and black-haired Mimas, and the two sons of
Peuceus, Perimedes and Dryalus: these were of
silver, and they had pinetrees of gold in their hands,
and they were rushing together as though they were
alive and striking at one another hand to hand with
spears and with pines.
And on the shield stood the fleet-footed horses
of grim Ares made of gold, and deadly Ares the spoil-
winner himself. He held a spear in his hands and
was urging on the footmen: he was red with blood
as if he were slaying living men, and he stood in his
chariot. Beside him stood Fear and Flight, eager to
plunge amidst the fighting men.
There, too, was the daughter of Zeus, Tritogeneia
233
HESIOD
τῇ ἰκέλη ὡς εἴ τε μάχην ἐθέλουσα κορύσσειν,
ἔγχος ἔχουσ᾽ ἐν χερσὶν ἰδὲ χρυσέην τρυφάλειαν
αἰγίδα τ᾽ ἀμφ' ὤμοις· ἐπὶ δ᾽ ᾤχετο φύλοπιν αἰνήν. 200
Ἐν δ᾽ ἦν ἀθανάτων ἱερὸς χορός· ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα
μέσσῳ
ἱμερόεν κιθάριζε Διὸς καὶ Λητοὺς υἱὸς
χρυσείη φόρμιγγι· [θεῶν δ᾽ ἕδος ἁγνὸς Ὄλυμπος·
ἐν δ᾽ ἀγορή, περὶ δ᾽ ὄλβος ἀπείριτος ἐστεφάνωτο
ἀθανάτων ἐν ἀγῶνι· 1] θεαὶ δ᾽ ἐξῆρχον ἀοιδῆς
Μοῦσαι Πιερίδες, λιγὺ μελπομένῃς ἐικυῖαι.
Ἐν δὲ λιμὴν ἐνορμος ἀμαιμακέτοιο θαλάσσης
κυκλοτερὴς ἐτέτυκτο πανέφθου κασσιτέροιο
κλυζομένῳ ἔκελος· [πολλοί γε μὲν ἂμ μέσον αὐτοῦ
δελφίνες τῇ καὶ τῇ ἐθύνεον ἰχθυάοντες
νηχομένοις ἴκελοι· 2] δοιὼ δ᾽ ἀναφυσιόωντες
ἀργύρεοι δελφίνες ἐθοινῶντ᾽ ἔλλοπας ἰχθύς.
8
205
210
τῶν δ᾽ ὕπο χάλκειοι τρέον ἰχθύες· αὐτὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἀκταῖς
ἧστο ἀνὴρ ἁλιεὺς δεδοκημένος· εἶχε δὲ χερσὶν
ἰχθύσιν ἀμφίβληστρον ἀπορρίψοντι ἐοικώς.
215
Ἐν δ᾽ ἦν ἠυκόμου Δανάης τέκος, ἱππότα Περσεύς,
οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐπιψαύων σάκεος ποσὶν οὔθ᾽ ἑκὰς αὐτοῦ,
θαῦμα μέγα φράσσασθ᾽, ἐπεὶ οὐδαμῇ ἐστήρικτο.
τὼς γάρ μιν παλάμαις τευξεν κλυτὸς ᾿Αμφιγυήεις
χρύσεον· ἀμφὶ δὲ ποσσὶν ἔχεν πτερόεντα πέδιλα. 220
ὤμοισιν δέ μιν ἀμφὶ μελάνδετον ἃορ ἔκειτο
χαλκέου ἐκ τελαμῶνος· ὃ δ᾽ ὥς τε νόημ᾽ ἐποτᾶτο
1 11. 203-5 are clearly intrusive and are rejected by
Baumeister.
2 11. 209-11 are not found in Q, and are rejected by Pepp-
müller. They appear to be an alternative version of ll. 211-
212.
• Ranke: ἐφοίνεον, Q: ἐφοιβον, Γ: ἐφοίτων, other MSS.
234
SHIELD OF HERACLES
who drives the spoil.¹ She was like as if she would
array a battle, with a spear in her hand, and a
golden helmet, and the aegis about her shoulders.
And she was going towards the awful strife.
And there was the holy company of the deathless
gods and in the midst the son of Zeus and Leto
played sweetly on a golden lyre. There also was
the abode of the gods, pure Olympus, and their
assembly, and infinite riches were spread around in
the gathering of the deathless gods. Also the
goddesses, the Muses of Pieria were beginning a song
like clear-voiced singers.
And on the shield was a harbour with a safe
haven from the irresistible sea, made of refined tin
wrought in a circle, and it seemed to heave with
waves. In the middle of it were many dolphins
rushing this way and that, fishing: and they seemed
to be swimming. Two dolphins of silver were
spouting and devouring the mute fishes. And
beneath them fishes of bronze were trembling. And
on the shore sat a fisherman watching: in his hands
he held a casting net for fish, and seemed as if about
to cast it forth.
There, too, was the son of rich-haired Danaë, the
horseman Perseus: his feet did not touch the shield
and yet were not far from it-very marvellous to
remark, since he was not supported anywhere; for
so did the famous Lame One fashion him of gold
with his hands. On his feet he had winged sandals,
and his black-sheathed sword was slung across his
shoulders by a cross-belt of bronze. He was flying
1 "She who drives herds," i.e. "The Victorious," since
herds were the chief spoil gained by the victor in ancient
warfare.
235
HESIOD
πᾶν δὲ μετάφρενον εἶχε κάρη δεινοῖο πελώρου,
Γοργούς· ἀμφὶ δέ μιν κίβισις θέε, θαῦμα ιδέσθαι,
ἀργυρέη· θύσανοι δὲ κατῃωρεῦντο φαεινοὶ
χρύσειοι· δεινὴ δὲ περὶ κροτάφοισιν ἄνακτος
κεῖτ' "Αιδος κυνέη νυκτὸς ζόφον αἰνὸν ἔχουσα.
αὐτὸς δὲ σπεύδοντι καὶ ἐρρίγοντι ἐοικὼς
Περσεύς Δαναΐδης ἐτιταίνετο. ταὶ δὲ μετ᾿ αὐτὸν
Γοργόνες ἄπλητοί τε καὶ οὐ φαταὶ ἐρρώοντο
ἱέμεναι μαπέειν. ἐπὶ δὲ χλωροῦ ἀδάμαντος
βαινουσέων ἰάχεσκε σάκος μεγάλῳ ὀρυμαγδῷ
ὀξέα καὶ λιγέως· ἐπὶ δὲ ζώνῃσι δράκοντε
δοιὼ ἀπῃωρεῦντ᾽ ἐπικυρτώοντε κάρηνα.
225
230
236
λίχμαζον δ' ἄρα τώ γε· μένει δ᾽ ἐχάρασσον ὀδόντας
ἄγρια δερκομένω. ἐπὶ δὲ δεινοῖσι καρήνοις
Γοργείοις ἐδονεῖτο μέγας Φόβος. οἳ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτέων
ἄνδρες ἐμαρνάσθην πολεμήια τεύχε᾽ ἔχοντες,
τοὶ μὲν ὑπὲρ σφετέρης πόλιος σφετέρων τε τοκήων
λοιγὸν ἀμύνοντες, τοὶ δὲ πραθέειν μεμαώτες.
πολλοὶ μὲν κέατο, πλέονες δ᾽ ἔτι δῆριν ἔχοντες
μάρνανθ᾽· αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες ἐνδμήτων ἐπὶ πύργων
χαλκέων ὀξὺ βόων, κατὰ δ᾽ ἐδρύπτοντο παρειάς,
ζωῇσιν ἴκελαι, ἔργα κλυτοῦ Ηφαίστοιο.
240
ἄνδρες δ', οἳ πρεσβῆες ἔσαν γῆρας τε μέμαρπεν, 245
ἀθρόοι ἔκτοσθεν πυλέων ἔσαν, ἂν δὲ θεοῖσι
χεῖρας ἔχον μακάρεσσι, περὶ σφετέροισι τέκεσσι
δειδιότες· τοὶ δ᾽ αὖτε μάχην ἔχον. αἱ δὲ μετ᾿
αὐτοὺς
Κῆρες κυάνεαι, λευκοὺς ἀραβεῦσαι ὀδόντας,
δεινωπαὶ βλοσυραί τε δαφοιναί τ᾽ ἄπληταί τε
δῆριν ἔχον περὶ πιπτόντων· πᾶσαι δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἵεντο
αἷμα μέλαν πιέειν· ὃν δὲ πρῶτον μεμάποιεν
250
236
SHIELD OF HERACLES
སྙས པ ༩° ་ ་ ་ ་ ་་་་་སྙ
swift as thought. The head of a dreadful monster,
the Gorgon, covered the broad of his back, and a
bag of silver-a marvel to see-contained it and
from the bag bright tassels of gold hung down.
Upon the head of the hero lay the dread cap¹ of
Hades which had the awful gloom of night. Perseus
himself, the son of Danaë, was at full stretch, like
one who hurries and shudders with horror. And
after him rushed the Gorgons, unapproachable and
unspeakable, longing to seize him: as they trod
upon the pale adamant, the shield rang sharp and
clear with a loud clanging. Two serpents hung
down at their girdles with heads curved forward:
their tongues were flickering, and their teeth
gnashing with fury, and their eyes glaring fiercely.
And upon the awful heads of the Gorgons great
Fear was quaking.
237 And beyond these there were men fighting in
warlike harness, some defending their own town and
parents from destruction, and others eager to sack
it; many lay dead, but the greater number still
strove and fought. The women on well-built towers
of bronze were crying shrilly and tearing their
cheeks like living beings-the work of famous
Hephaestus. And the men who were elders and on
whom age had laid hold were all together outside
the gates, and were holding up their hands to the
blessed gods, fearing for their own sons.
But these
again were engaged in battle: and behind them the
dusky Fates, gnashing their white fangs, lowering,
grim, bloody, and unapproachable, struggled for
those who were falling, for they all were longing to
drink dark blood. So soon as they caught a man
¹ The cap of darkness which made its wearer invisible.
237
HESIOD
κείμενον ἢ πίπτοντα νεούτατον, ἀμφὶ μὲν αὐτῷ
βάλλ᾽ ὄνυχας μεγάλους, ψυχὴ δ᾽ Αιδόσδε κατῇεν
Τάρταρον ἐς κρυόενθ'. αἱ δὲ φρένας εὖτ᾽ ἀρέσαντο 255
αἵματος ἀνδρομέου, τὸν μὲν ῥίπτασκον ὀπίσσω,
ἂψ δ' ὅμαδον καὶ μᾶλον ἐθύνεον αὖτις ἰοῦσαι.
Κλωθώ καὶ Λάχεσίς σφιν ἐφέστασαν· ἡ μὲν
ὑφήσσων
261
Ατροπος οὔ τι πέλεν μεγάλη θεός, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα ἥ γε
τῶν γε μὲν ἀλλάων προφερής τ᾽ ἦν πρεσβυτάτη τε.
πᾶσαι δ᾽ ἀμφ' ἑνὶ φωτὶ μάχην δριμεῖαν ἔθεντο.
δεινὰ δ᾽ ἐς ἀλλήλας δράκον ὄμμασι θυμήνασαι,
ἐν δ᾽ ὄνυχας χεῖράς τε θρασείας ἰσώσαντο.
πὰρ δ' Αχλὺς εἱστήκει ἐπισμυγερή τε καὶ αἰνή,
χλωρὴ ἀυσταλέη λιμῷ καταπεπτηυία,
γουνοπαχής, μακροὶ δ᾽ ὄνυχες χείρεσσιν ὑπῆσαν.
τῆς ἐκ μὲν ῥινῶν μύξαι ῥέον, ἐκ δὲ παρειῶν
αἷμ᾽ ἀπελείβετ᾽ ἔραζ'· ἡ δ᾽ ἄπλητον σεσαρυΐα
εἱστήκει, πολλὴ δὲ κόνις κατενήνοθεν ὤμους,
δάκρυσι μυδαλέη. παρὰ δ᾽ εὔπυργος πόλις
ἀνδρῶν·
χρύσειαι δέ μιν εἶχον ὑπερθυρίοις ἀραρυίαι
ἑπτὰ πύλαι· τοὶ δ᾽ ἄνδρες ἐν ἀγλαΐῃς τε χοροῖς τε
τέρψιν ἔχον· τοὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐυσσώτρου ἐπ᾽ ἀπήνης
ἤγοντ᾽ ἀνδρὶ γυναῖκα, πολὺς δ᾽ ὑμέναιος ορώρει·
τῆλε δ᾽ ἀπ' αἰθομένων δαΐδων σέλας εἰλύφαζε
χερσὶν ἔνι δμῳῶν· ταὶ δ᾽ ἀγλαΐῃ τεθαλυῖαι
πρόσθ᾽ ἔκιον· τῇσιν δὲ χοροὶ παίζοντες ἕποντο,
τοὶ μὲν ὑπὸ λιγυρῶν συρίγγων ἵεσαν αὐδὴν
ἐξ ἁπαλῶν στομάτων, περὶ δέ σφισιν ἄγνυτο ἠχώ.
αἳ δ' ὑπὸ φορμίγγων ἄναγον χορὸν ἱμερόεντα.
ἔνθεν δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἑτέρωθε νέοι κώμαζον ὑπ᾽ αὐλοῦ,
265
270
275
280
238
SHIELD OF HERACLES
overthrown or falling newly wounded, one of them
would clasp her great claws about him, and his soul
would go down to Hades to chilly Tartarus. And when
they had satisfied their souls with human blood, they
would cast that one behind them, and rush back
again into the tumult and the fray. Clotho and
Lachesis were over them and Atropos less tall than
they, a goddess of no great frame, yet superior to
the others and the eldest of them. And they all
made a fierce fight over one poor wretch, glaring
evilly at one another with furious eyes and fighting
equally with claws and hands. By them stood Dark-
ness of Death, mournful and fearful, pale, shrivelled,
shrunk with hunger, swollen-kneed. Long nails
tipped her hands, and she dribbled at the nose, and
from her cheeks blood dripped down to the ground.
She stood leering hideously, and much dust sodden
with tears lay upon her shoulders.
270 Next, there was a city of men with goodly
towers; and seven gates of gold, fitted to the lintels,
guarded it. The men were making merry with festivi-
ties and dances; some were bringing home a bride to
her husband on a well-wheeled car, while the bridal-
song swelled high, and the glow of blazing torches
held by handmaidens rolled in waves afar. And
these maidens went before, delighting in the festival;
and after them came frolicsome choirs, the youths
singing soft-mouthed to the sound of shrill pipes,
while the echo was shivered around them, and the
girls led on the lovely dance to the sound of lyres.
Then again on the other side was a rout of young
men revelling, with flutes playing; some frolicking
239
HESIOD
τοί γε μὲν αὖ παίζοντες ὑπ᾽ ὀρχηθμῷ καὶ ἀοιδῇ
τοί γε μὲν αὖ γελόωντες ὑπ᾽ αὐλητῆρι ἕκαστος
πρόσθ᾽ ἔκιον· πᾶσαν δὲ πόλιν θαλίαι τε χοροί τε
ἀγλαΐαι τ᾽ εἶχον. τοὶ δ᾽ αὖ προπάροιθε πόληος
νωθ᾽ ἵππων ἐπιβάντες ἐθύνειν. οἱ δ᾽ ἀροτῆρες
ἤρεικον χθόνα διαν, ἐπιστολάδην δὲ χιτῶνας
ἐστάλατ. αὐτὰρ ἔην βαθὺ λήιον· οἵ γε μὲν ἤμων
αἰχμῇς ὀξείῃσι κορωνιόωντα πέτηλα,
βριθόμενα σταχύων, ὡς εἰ Δημήτερος ἀκτήν·
οἳ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐν ἐλλεδανοῖσι δέον καὶ ἔπιτνον ἀλωήν,
οἳ δ᾽ ἐτρύγων οἴνας δρεπάνας ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες,
οἳ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἐς ταλάρους ἐφόρευν ὑπὸ τρυγητήρων
λευκοὺς καὶ μέλανας βότρυας μεγάλων ἀπὸ ὄρχων,
βριθομένων φύλλοισι καὶ ἀργυρέῃς ἑλίκεσσιν.
οἱ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἐς ταλάρους ἐφόρουν. παρὰ δέ σφισιν
ὄρχος
285
290
295
299
χρύσεος ἦν, κλυτὰ ἔργα περίφρονος Ηφαίστοιο, 297
σειόμενος φύλλοισι καὶ ἀργυρέῃσι κάμαξι,
βριθόμενος σταφυλῇσι· μελάνθησαν γε μὲν αἵδε. 300
οἵ γε μὲν ἐτράπεον, τοὶ δ᾽ ἤρυον· οἳ δ᾽ ἐμάχοντο
πύξ τε καὶ ἑλκηδόν· τοὶ δ᾽ ὠκύποδας λαγὸς ἥρευν
ἄνδρες θηρευταί, καὶ καρχαρόδοντε κύνε πρό,
ἱέμενοι μαπέειν, οἳ δ᾽ ἱέμενοι ὑπαλύξαι.
Πὰρ δ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἱππῆες ἔχον πόνον, ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἀέθλῳ
δῆριν ἔχον καὶ μόχθον. ἐνπλεκέων δ᾽ ἐπὶ δίφρων 306
ἡνίοχοι βεβαῶτες ἐφίεσαν ὠκέας ἵππους
ῥυτὰ χαλαίνοντες, τὰ δ᾽ ἐπικροτέοντα πέτοντο
1 GH have the alternative reading ἔπιπλον.
298 τοί γε μὲν αὖ παίζοντες ὑπ᾽ αὐλητῆρι ἕκαστος
This line, which is perhaps an alternative for ll. 282–3
and may have once stood at the foot of a MS. page, is
omitted by many MSS.
240
SHIELD OF HERACLES
with dance and song, and others were going forward
in time with a flute player and laughing. The
whole town was filled with mirth and dance and
festivity.
285 Others again were mounted on horseback and
galloping before the town. And there were plough-
men breaking up the good soil, clothed in tunics girt
up. Also there was a wide cornland and some men
were reaping with sharp hooks the stalks which
bended with the weight of the ears-as if they were
reaping Demeter's grain: others were binding the
sheaves with bands and were spreading the threshing
floor. And some held reaping hooks and were gather-
ing the vintage, while others were taking from the
reapers into baskets white and black clusters from
the long rows of vines which were heavy with leaves
and tendrils of silver. Others again were gathering
them into baskets. Beside them was a row of vines
in gold, the splendid work of cunning Hephaestus :
it had shivering leaves and stakes of silver and was
laden with grapes which turned black.¹ And there
were men treading out the grapes and others
drawing off the liquor. Also there were men boxing
and wrestling, and huntsmen chasing swift hares
with a leash of sharp-toothed dogs before them, they
eager to catch the hares, and the hares eager to
escape.
Next to them were horsemen hard set, and they
contended and laboured for a prize. The charioteers
standing on their well-woven cars, urged on their
swift horses with loose rein; the jointed cars flew
1 The existing text of the vineyard scene is a compound of
two different versions, clumsily adapted, and eked out with
some makeshift additions.
241
R
HESIOD
ἅρματα κολλήεντ᾽, ἐπὶ δὲ πλῆμναι μέγ᾽ ἀύτευν.
οἱ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἀίδιον εἶχον πόνον οὐδέ ποτέ σφιν
νίκη ἐπηνύσθη, ἀλλ᾽ ἄκριτον εἶχον ἄεθλον.
τοῖσιν δὲ προέκειτο μέγας τρίπος ἐντὸς ἀγῶνος,
χρύσειος, κλυτὰ ἔργα περίφρονος Ηφαίστοιο.
᾿Αμφὶ δ᾽ ἴτυν ῥέεν Ὠκεανὸς πλήθοντι ἐοικώς,
πᾶν δὲ συνεῖχε σάκος πολυδαίδαλον, οἳ δὲ κατ'
αὐτὸν
κύκνοι ἀερσιπόται μεγάλ᾽ ἤπυον, οἵ ῥά τε πολλοὶ
νῆχον ἐπ᾿ ἄκρον ὕδωρ· παρὰ δ᾽ ἰχθύες ἐκλο-
νέοντο.
Θαῦμα ἰδεῖν καὶ Ζηνὶ βαρυκτύπῳ, οὗ διὰ
βουλὰς
310
315
Ηφαιστος ποίησε σάκος μέγα τε στιβαρόν τε,
ἀρσάμενος παλάμῃσι. τὸ μὲν Διὸς ἄλκιμος υἱὸς 320
πάλλεν ἐπικρατέως· ἐπὶ δ᾽ ἱππείου θόρε δίφρου,
εἴκελος ἀστεροπῇ πατρὸς Διὸς αιγιόχοιο,
κοῦφα βιβάς· τῷ δ᾽ ἡνίοχος κρατερὸς Ιόλαος
δίφρου ἐπεμβεβαὼς ἰθύνετο καμπύλον ἅρμα.
ἀγχίμολον δέ σφ᾽ ἦλθε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Αθήνη,
καί σφεας θαρσύνουσα ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Χαίρετε, Λυγκῆος γενεὴ τηλεκλειτοῖο·
νῦν δὴ Ζεὺς κράτος ἔμμι διδοῖ μακάρεσσιν ἀνάσσων
Κύκνον τ᾽ ἐξεναρεῖν καὶ ἀπὸ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δῦσαι.
ἄλλο δέ τοί τι ἔπος ἐρέω, μέγα φέρτατε λαῶν·
εὖτ᾽ ἂν δὴ Κύκνον γλυκερῆς αἰῶνος ἀμέρσῃς,
τὸν μὲν ἔπειτ᾽ αὐτοῦ λιπέειν καὶ τεύχεα τοῖο,
αὐτὸς δὲ βροτολοιγὸν ῎Αρην ἐπιόντα δοκεύσας,
ἔνθα κε γυμνωθέντα σάκευς ὕπο δαιδαλέοιο
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἴδῃς, ἔνθ᾽ οὐτάμεν ὀξέι χαλκῷ·
ἂψ δ᾽ ἀναχάσσασθαι· ἐπεὶ οὔ νύ τοι αἴσιμόν ἐστιν
οὔθ᾽ ἵππους ἑλέειν οὔτε κλυτὰ τεύχεα τοῖο.
325
330
335
242
SHIELD OF HERACLES
along clattering and the naves of the wheels shrieked
loudly. So they were engaged in an unending toil,
and the end with victory came never to them, and
the contest was ever unwon. And there was set out
for them within the course a great tripod of gold,
the splendid work of cunning Hephaestus.
And round the rim Ocean was flowing, with a full
stream as it seemed, and enclosed all the cunning
work of the shield. Over it swans were soaring and
calling loudly, and many others were swimming
upon the surface of the water; and near them were
shoals of fish.
A wonderful thing the great strong shield was to
see—even for Zeus the loud-thunderer, by whose will
Hephaestus made it and fitted it with his hands.
This shield the valiant son of Zeus wielded masterly,
and leaped upon his horse-chariot like the lightning
of his father Zeus who holds the aegis, moving
lithely. And his charioteer, strong Iolaus, standing
upon the car, guided the curved chariot.
Then the goddess grey-eyed Athene came near
them and spoke winged words, encouraging them:
"Hail, offspring of far-famed Lynceus! Even now
Zeus who reigns over the blessed gods gives you
power to slay Cycnus and to strip off his splendid
armour. Yet I will tell you something besides,
mightiest of the people. When you have robbed
Cycnus of sweet life, then leave him there and his
armour also, and you yourself watch man-slaying
Ares narrowly as he attacks, and wherever you shall
see him uncovered below his cunningly-wrought
shield, there wound him with your sharp spear.
Then draw back; for it is not ordained that you
should take his horses or his splendid armour."
243
R 2
HESIOD
Ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ἐς δίφρον ἐβήσατο δια θεάων,
νίκην ἀθανάτῃς χερσὶν καὶ κῦδος ἔχουσα,
ἐσσυμένως. τότε δή ῥα διόγνητος Ιόλαος
σμερδαλέον ἵπποισιν ἐκέκλετο· τοὶ δ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ὀμοκλῆς
ῥίμφ᾽ ἔφερον θοὸν ἅρμα κονίοντες πεδίοιο.
ἐν γάρ σφιν μένος ἧκε θεὰ γλαυκώπις Αθήνη
αἰγίδ᾽ ἀνασσείσασα· περιστονάχησε δὲ γαῖα.
τοὶ δ᾽ ἄμυδις προγένοντ᾽ ἴκελοι πυρὶ ἠὲ θυέλλῃ,
Κύκνος θ᾽ ἱππόδαμος καὶ ῎Αρης ἀκόρητος αυτῆς.
τῶν ἵπποι μὲν ἔπειθ᾽ ὑπεναντίοι ἀλλήλοισιν
ὀξεῖα χρέμισαν, περὶ δέ σφισιν ἄγνυτο ἠχώ.
τὸν πρότερος προσέειπε βίη Ηρακληείη·
Κύκνε πέπον, τί νυ νῶιν ἐπίσχετον ὠκέας
ἵππους
ἀνδράσιν, οἵ τε πόνου καὶ ὀιζύος ἴδριές εἰμεν;
ἀλλὰ παρὲξ ἔχε δίφρον εύξοον ἠδὲ κελεύθου
εἶκε παρεξ ἰέναι. Τρηχίνα δέ τοι παρελαύνω
ἐς Κήυκα ἄνακτα· ὃ γὰρ δυνάμι τε καὶ αἰδοῖ
Τρηχίνος προβέβηκε, σὺ δ' εὖ μάλα οἶσθα καὶ
αὐτός
τοῦ γὰρ ὀπυίεις παῖδα Θεμιστονόην κυανῶπιν.
ὦ πέπον, οὐ μὲν γάρ τοι Αρης θανάτοιο τελευτὴν
ἀρκέσει, εἰ δὴ νῶι συνοισόμεθα πτολεμίζειν.
ἤδη μέν τέ ἕ φημι καὶ ἄλλοτε πειρηθῆναι
ἔγχεος ἡμετέρου, ὅθ᾽ ὑπὲρ Πύλου ἠμαθόεντος
ἀντίος ἔστη ἐμεῖο, μάχης ἄμοτον μενεαίνων.
τρὶς μὲν ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ τυπεὶς ἠρείσατο γαίῃ
οὐταμένου σάκεος, τὸ δὲ τέτρατον ἤλασα μηρὸν
παντὶ μένει σπεύδων, διὰ δὲ μέγα σαρκὸς ἄραξα.
πρηνὴς δ᾽ ἐν κονίῃσι χαμαὶ πέσεν ἔγχεος ὁρμῇ.
ἔνθα κε δὴ λωβητὸς ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἐτύχθη
χερσὶν ὑφ᾽ ἡμετέρῃσι λιπὼν ἔναρα βροτόεντα.
840
345
350
355
360
365
I
244
SHIELD OF HERACLES
So said the bright-eyed goddess and swiftly got up
into the car with victory and renown in her hands.
Then heaven-nurtured Iolaus called terribly to the
horses, and at his cry they swiftly whirled the fleet
chariot along, raising dust from the plain; for the
goddess bright-eyed Athene put mettle into them
by shaking her aegis. And the earth groaned all
round them. And they, horse-taming Cycnus and
Ares, insatiable in war, came on together like fire
or whirlwind. Then their horses neighed shrilly,
face to face; and the echo was shivered all round
them. And mighty Heracles spoke first and said to
that other :
"Cycnus, good sir! Why, pray, do you set your
swift horses at us, men who are tried in labour and
pain? Nay, guide your fleet car aside and yield and
go out of the path. It is to Trachis I am driving on,
to Ceyx the king, who is the first in Trachis for
power and for honour, and that you yourself know
well, for you have his daughter dark-eyed Themisti-
noë to wife. Fool! For Ares shall not deliver
you from the end of death, if we two meet together
in battle. Another time ere this I dec.are he has
made trial of my spear, when he defended sandy
Pylos and stood against me, fiercely longing for
fight. Thrice was he stricken by my spear and
dashed to earth, and his shield was pierced; but
the fourth time I struck his thigh, laying on with all
my strength, and tare deep into his flesh. And he
fell headlong in the dust upon the ground through
the force of my spear-thrust; then truly he would
have been disgraced among the deathless gods,
if by my hands he had left behind his bloody
spoils."
245
HESIOD
Ὣς ἔφατ'· οὐδ᾽ ἄρα Κύκνος ἐυμμελίης ἐμενοίνα
τῷ ἐπιπειθόμενος ἐχέμεν ἐρυσάρματας ἵππους.
δὴ τότ᾽ ἀπ᾿ εὐπλεκέων δίφρων θόρον αἶψ᾽ ἐπὶ
γαλαν
370
παῖς τε Διὸς μεγάλου καὶ Ενυαλίοιο ἄνακτος.
ἡνίοχοι δ᾽ ἔμπλην ἔλασαν καλλίτριχας ἵππους·
τῶν δ᾽ ὕπο σευομένων κανάχιζε πόσ᾽ εὐρεῖα χθών.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλῆς κορυφῆς ὄρεος μεγάλοιο
πέτραι ἀποθρώσκωσιν, ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλῃς δὲ πέσωσι, 375
πολλαὶ δὲ δρῦς ὑψίκομοι, πολλαὶ δέ τε πεῦκαι
αἴγειροί τε τανύρριζοι ῥήγνυνται ὑπ᾽ αὐτέων
ρίμφα κυλινδομένων, εἴως πεδίονδ᾽ ἀφίκωνται,
ὡς οἱ ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοισι πέσον μέγα κεκλήγοντες.
πᾶσα δὲ Μυρμιδόνων τε πόλις κλειτή τ' Ιαωλκὸς 380
Αρνη τ' ἠδ᾽ Ἑλίκη ῎Ανθειά τε ποιήεσσα
φωνῇ ὑπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων μεγάλ᾽ ἴαχον· οἳ δ᾽ ἀλαλητῷ
θεσπεσίῳ σύνισαν· μέγα δ᾽ ἔκτυπε μητίετα Ζεύς.
κὰδ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀπ᾽ οὐρανόθεν ψιάδας βάλεν αἱματοέσσας,
σῆμα τιθεὶς πολέμοιο ἑῷ μεγαθαρσέι παιδί.
Οἷος δ' ἐν βήσσῃς ὅρεος χαλεπὸς προϊδέσθαι
κάπρος χαυλιόδων φρονέει θυμῷ μαχέσασθαι
ἀνδράσι θηρευτῇς, θήγει δέ τε λευκὸν ὀδόντα
δοχμωθείς, ἀφρὸς δὲ περὶ στόμα μαστιχόωντι
λείβεται, ὄσσε δέ οἱ πυρὶ λαμπετόωντι ἔικτον,
ὀρθὰς δ' ἐν λοφιῇ φρίσσει τρίχας ἀμφί τε δειρήν·
τῷ ἔκελος Διὸς υἱὸς ἀφ᾽ ἱππείου θόρε δίφρου.
ἦμος δὲ χλοερῷ κυανόπτερος ἠχέτα τέττιξ
ὄζῳ ἐφεζόμενος θέρος ἀνθρώποισιν ἀείδειν
ἄρχεται, ᾧ τε πόσις καὶ βρῶσις θῆλυς ἐέρση,
καί τε πανημέριός τε καὶ ἠώιος χέει αὐλὴν
ἴδει ἐν αἰνοτάτῳ, ὅτε τε χρόα Σείριος ἄζει,
385
390
395
246
SHIELD OF HERACLES
So said he. But Cycnus the stout spearman cared
not to obey him and to pull up the horses that drew
his chariot. Then it was that from their well-woven
cars they both leaped straight to the ground, the son
of Zeus and the son of the Lord of War. The
charioteers drove near by their horses with beauti-
ful manes, and the wide earth rang with the beat of
their hoofs as they rushed along. As when rocks
leap forth from the high peak of a great mountain,
and fall on one another, and many towering oaks
and pines and long-rooted poplars are broken by
them as they whirl swiftly down until they reach the
plain; so did they fall on one another with a great
shout and all the town of the Myrmidons, and
famous Iolcus, and Arne, and Helice, and grassy
Anthea echoed loudly at the voice of the two. With
an awful cry they closed: and wise Zeus thundered
loudly and rained down drops of blood, giving the
signal for battle to his dauntless son.
As a tusked boar, that is fearful for a man to see
before him in the glens of a mountain, resolves to
fight with the huntsmen and whets his white tusks,
turning sideways, while foam flows all round his
mouth as he gnashes, and his eyes are like glowing
fire, and he bristles the hair on his mane and around
his neck—, like him the son of Zeus leaped from his
horse-chariot. And when the dark-winged whirring
grasshopper, perched on a green shoot, begins to
sing of summer to men-his food and drink is the
dainty dew-and all day long from dawn pours forth
his voice in the deadliest heat, when Sirius scorches
the flesh (then the beard grows upon the millet
247
HESIOD
400
τῆμος δὴ κέγχροισι πέρι γλῶχες τελέθουσι
τούς τε θέρει σπείρουσιν, ὅτ' ἔμφακες αἰόλλονται,
οἷα Διώνυσος δῶκ᾽ ἀνδράσι χάρμα καὶ ἄχθος·
τὴν ὥρην μάρναντο, πολὺς δ᾽ ὀρυμαγδὸς ὀρώρει.
ὡς δὲ λέοντε δύω ἀμφὶ κταμένης ελάφοιο
ἀλλήλοις κοτέοντες ἐπὶ σφέας ὁρμήσωσι,
δεινὴ δέ σφ' ἰαχὴ ἄραβός θ᾽ ἅμα γίγνετ᾽ ὀδόντων·
οἱ δ᾽ ὡς τ᾿ αἰγυπιοι γαμψώνυχες, ἀγκυλοχεῖλαι, 405
πέτρῃ ἔφ' ὑψηλῇ μεγάλα κλάζοντε μάχονται
αἰγὸς ὀρεσσινόμου ἢ ἀγροτέρης ἐλάφοιο
πίονος, ἥν τ' ἐδάμασσε βαλὼν αἰζήιος ἀνὴρ
ἰῷ ἀπὸ νευρῆς, αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἀπαλήσεται ἄλλῃ
χώρου ἄιδρις ἐών· οἳ δ᾽ ὀτραλέως ἐνόησαν,
ἐσσυμένως δέ οἱ ἀμφὶ μάχην δριμείαν ἔθεντο·
ὡς οἱ κεκλήγοντες ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοισιν ὄρουσαν.
Ἔνθ᾽ ἦ τοι Κύκνος μὲν ὑπερμενέος Διὸς υἱὸν
κτεινέμεναι μεμαώς σάκει ἔμβαλε χάλκεον ἔγχος,
οὐδ᾽ ἔρρηξεν χαλκόν· ἔρυτο δὲ δῶρα θεοῖο.
᾿Αμφιτρυωνιάδης δέ, βίη Ηρακληείη,
410
415
μεσσηγὺς κόρυθός τε καὶ ἀσπίδος ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ
αὐχένα γυμνωθέντα θοῶς ὑπένερθε γενείου
ἤλασ᾽ ἐπικρατέως· ἀπὸ δ᾽ ἄμφω κέρσε τένοντε
ἀνδροφόνος μελίη· μέγα γὰρ σθένος έμπεσε φωτός. 420
ἤριπε δ', ὡς ὅτε τις δρὺς ἤριπεν ἢ ὅτε πεύκη
ἠλίβατος, πληγεῖσα Διὸς ψολόεντι κεραυνῷ·
ὡς ἔριπ'· ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ βράχε τεύχεα ποικίλα χαλκῷ.
Τὸν μὲν ἔπειτ᾽ εἴασε Διὸς ταλακάρδιος υἱός,
αὐτὸς δὲ βροτολοιγὸν "Αρην προσιόντα δοκεύσας, 425
δεινὸν ὁρῶν ὄσσοισι, λέων ὣς σώματι κύρσας,
248
SHIELD OF HERACLES
which men sow in summer), when the crude grapes
which Dionysus gave to men-a joy and a sorrow
both-begin to colour, in that season they fought
and loud rose the clamour.
As two lions¹ on either side of a slain deer spring
at one another in fury, and there is a fearful snarling
and a clashing also of teeth-, like vultures with
crooked talons and hooked beak that fight and
scream aloud on a high rock over a mountain goat or
fat wild-deer which some active man has shot with
an arrow from the string, and himself has wandered
away elsewhere, not knowing the place; but they
quickly mark it and vehemently do keen battle
about it, like these they two rushed upon one
another with a shout.
Then Cycnus, eager to kill the son of almighty
Zeus, struck upon his shield with a brazen spear, but
did not break the bronze; and the gift of the
god saved his foe. But the son of Amphitryon,
mighty Heracles, with his long spear struck Cycnus
violently in the neck beneath the chin, where it was
unguarded between helm and shield. And the
deadly spear cut through the two sinews; for the
hero's full strength lighted on his foe. And Cycnus
fell as an oak falls or a lofty pine that is stricken by
the lurid thunderbolt of Zeus; even so he fell,
and his armour adorned with bronze clashed about
him.
Then the stout hearted son of Zeus let him be,
and himself watched for the onset of manslaying Ares:
fiercely he stared, like a lion who has come upon a
1 The conception is similar to that of the sculptured group
at Athens of Two Lions devouring a Bull (Dickens, Cat. of
the Acropolis Museum, No. 3).
249
HESIOD
1
436
ὅς τε μάλ᾽ ἐνδυκέως ῥινὸν κρατεροῖς ὀνύχεσσι
σχίσσας ὅττι τάχιστα μελίφρονα θυμὸν ἀπηύρα·
ἐμ μένεος δ' ἄρα τοῦ γε κελαινὸν πίμπλαται ἦτορ
γλαυκιόων δ᾽ ὄσσοις δεινὸν πλευράς τε καὶ ὤμους 430
οὐρῇ μαστιόων ποσσὶν γλάφει, οὐδέ τις αὐτὸν
ἔτλη ἐς ἄντα ἰδὼν σχεδὸν ἐλθέμεν 2 οὐδὲ μάχεσθαι·
τοῖος ἄρ᾽ Αμφιτρυωνιάδης, ἀκόρητος ἀυτῆς,
ἀντίος ἔστη Αρηος, ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θάρσος ἀέξων,
ἐσσυμένως· ὃ δέ οἱ σχεδὸν ἤλυθεν ἀχνύμενος κῆρ
ἀμφότεροι δ' ἰάχοντες ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοισιν ὄρουσαν.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἀπὸ μεγάλου πέτρη πρηῶνος ὀρούσῃ,
μακρὰ δ᾽ ἐπιθρώσκουσα κυλίνδεται, ἡ δέ τε ἠχῇ
ἔρχεται ἐμμεμαυῖα, πάγος δέ οἱ ἀντεβόλησεν
ὑψηλός· τῷ δὴ συνενείκεται, ἔνθα μιν ἴσχει·
τόσσῃ ὁ μὲν ἰαχῇ βρισάρματος οὔλιος "Αρης
Ô
κεκληγὼς ἐπόρουσεν· ὃ δ᾽ ἐμματέως ὑπέδεκτο.
Αὐτὰρ Αθηναίη, κούρη Διὸς αιγιόχοιο,
ἀντίῃ ἦλθεν Αρηος ἐρεμνὴν αἰγίδ᾽ ἔχουσα·
δεινὰ δ᾽ ὑπόδρα ἰδοῦσα ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα· 445
Αρες, ἔπισχε μένος κρατερὸν καὶ χεῖρας
αάπτους
οὐ γάρ τοι θέμις ἐστὶν ἀπὸ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δῦσαι
Ἡρακλέα κτείναντα, Διὸς θρασυκάρδιον υἱόν·
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε πανε μάχην, μηδ' ἀντίος ἵστασ᾽ ἐμεῖο.
Ὣς ἔφατ' ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πεῖθ᾽ Αρεος μεγαλήτορα
θυμόν,
ἀλλὰ μέγα ἰάχων φλογὶ εἴκελά τ᾽ ἔγχεα πάλλων
καρπαλίμως ἐπόρουσε βίῃ Ηρακληείῃ
κακτάμεναι μεμαώς· καί ῥ᾽ ἔμβαλε χάλκεον ἔγχος,
1 Dindorf, Meyer: εμμενέως, MSS.
2 Α: ἐλθεῖν, MSS.
440
450
250
SHIELD OF HERACLES
body and full eagerly rips the hide with his strong
claws and takes away the sweet life with all speed:
his dark heart is filled with rage and his eyes glare
fiercely, while he tears up the earth with his paws
and lashes his flanks and shoulders with his tail so
that no one dares to face him and go near to give
battle. Even so, the son of Amphitryon, unsated
of battle, stood eagerly face to face with Ares,
nursing courage in his heart. And Ares drew near
him with grief in his heart; and they both sprang
at one another with a cry. As it is when a rock
shoots out from a great cliff and whirls down with
long bounds, careering eagerly with a roar, and a
high crag clashes with it and keeps it there where
they strike together; with no less clamour did
deadly Ares, the chariot-borne, rush shouting at
Heracles. And he quickly received the attack.
66
But Athene the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus
came to meet Ares, wearing the dark aegis, and she
looked at him with an angry frown and spoke
winged words to him. Ares, check your fierce anger
and matchless hands; for it is not ordained that you
should kill Heracles, the bold-hearted son of Zeus,
and strip off his rich armour. Come, then, cease
fighting and do not withstand me."
So said she, but did not move the courageous spirit
of Ares. But he uttered a great shout and waving
his spears like fire, he rushed headlong at strong
Heracles, longing to kill him, and hurled a brazen
spear upon the great shield, for he was furiously
251
HESIOD
ΚΗΥΚΟΣ ΓΑΜΟΣ
1.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 1289.
Ἡσίοδος ἐν τῷ Κήυκος γάμῳ ἐκβάντα φησὶν αὐτὸν
ἐφ᾽ ὕδατος ζήτησιν τῆς Μαγνησίας περὶ τὰς ἀπὸ
τῆς ἀφέσεως αὐτοῦ ᾿Αφετὰς καλουμένας ἀπολει
φθῆναι.
1
Zenobius, ii. 19. οὕτως Ἡσίοδος ἐχρήσατο τῇ
παροιμία, ὡς Ἡρακλέους ἐπιφοιτήσαντος ἐπὶ τὴν
οἰκίαν Κήυκος τοῦ Τραχινίου καὶ οὕτως εἰπόντος·
αὐτόματοι δ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ ἀγαθῶν ἐπὶ δαῖτας ἵενται.
3.
Schol. on Homer, Il. xiv. 119.
ἰδὼν δ᾽ ἱππηλάτα Κήυξ.
4.
Athenaeus, ii. p. 496. Ησίοδος ἐν Κήυκος γάμῳ
κἂν γὰρ γραμματικῶν παῖδες ἀποξενῶσι τοῦ
ποιητοῦ τὰ ἔπη ταῦτα, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ ἀρχαῖα
εἶναι—τρίποδας τὰς τραπέζας φησί
5.
Gregory of Corinth, On Forms of Speech (Rhett.
Gr. vii. 776).
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δαιτὸς μὲν εἴσης ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,
[δὴ τόθ' οἳ ἐξ ὕλης τὴν] μητέρα μητρὸς ἄγοντο
αὐαλέην τε καὶ ὀπταλέην σφετέροισι τέκεσσι
τεθνάμεναι.
1 A Greek sophist who taught rhetoric at Rome in the
time of Hadrian. He is the author of a collection of proverbs
in three books.
254
SHIELD OF HERACLES
angry because of his dead son; but bright-eyed
Athene reached out from the car and turned aside
the force of the spear. Then bitter grief seized Ares
and he drew his keen sword and leaped upon bold-
hearted Heracles. But as he came on, the son of
Amphitryon, unsated of fierce battle, shrewdly
wounded his thigh where it was exposed under his
richly-wrought shield, and tare deep into his flesh
with the spear-thrust and cast him flat upon the
ground. And Panic and Dread quickly drove his
smooth-wheeled chariot and horses near him and
lifted him from the wide-pathed earth into his richly-
wrought car, and then straight lashed the horses and
came to high Olympus.
But the son of Alcmena and glorious Iolaus
stripped the fine armour off Cycnus' shoulders and
went, and their swift horses carried them straight to
the city of Trachis. And bright-eyed Athene went
thence to great Olympus and her father's house.
As for Cycnus, Ceyx buried him and the countless
people who lived near the city of the glorious king,
in Anthe and the city of the Myrmidons, and famous
Iolcus, and Arne, and Helice: and much people were
gathered doing honour to Ceyx, the friend of the
blessed gods. But Anaurus, swelled by a rain-storm,
blotted out the grave and memorial of Cycnus; for
so Apollo, Leto's son, commanded him, because he
used to watch for and violently despoil the rich
hecatombs that any might bring to Pytho.
253
HESIOD
ΚΗΥΚΟΣ ΓΑΜΟΣ
1.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 1289.
Ἡσίοδος ἐν τῷ Κήυκος γάμῳ ἐκβάντα φησὶν αὐτὸν
ἐφ᾽ ὕδατος ζήτησιν τῆς Μαγνησίας περὶ τὰς ἀπὸ
τῆς ἀφέσεως αὐτοῦ ᾿Αφετὰς καλουμένας ἀπολει
φθῆναι.
2.
Zenobius, ii. 19. οὕτως Ἡσίοδος ἐχρήσατο τῇ
παροιμία, ὡς Ἡρακλέους ἐπιφοιτήσαντος ἐπὶ τὴν
οἰκίαν Κήυκος τοῦ Τραχινίου καὶ οὕτως εἰπόντος·
αὐτόματοι δ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ ἀγαθῶν ἐπὶ δαῖτας ἵενται.
3.
Schol. on Homer, Il. xiv. 119.
ἰδὼν δ᾽ ἱππηλάτα Κῆυξ.
4.
Athenaeus, ii. p. 496. Ἡσίοδος ἐν Κήυκος γάμῳ
κἂν γὰρ γραμματικῶν παῖδες ἀποξενῶσι τοῦ
ποιητοῦ τὰ ἔπη ταῦτα, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ ἀρχαῖα
εἶναι—τρίποδας τὰς τραπέζας φησί
5.
Gregory of Corinth, On Forms of Speech (Rhett.
Gr. vii. 776).
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δαιτὸς μὲν εἴσης ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,
[δὴ τόθ' οἱ ἐξ ὕλης τὴν] μητέρα μητρὸς ἄγοντο
αὐαλέην τε καὶ ὀπταλέην σφετέροισι τέκεσσι
τεθνάμεναι.
1 A Greek sophist who taught rhetoric at Rome in the
time of Hadrian. He is the author of a collection of provers
in three books.
254
THE MARRIAGE OF CEYX
THE MARRIAGE OF CEYX
1.
HESIOD in the Marriage of Ceyx says that he
(Heracles) landed (from the Argo) to look for water
and was left behind in Magnesia near the place
called Aphetae because of his desertion there.
2.
Hesiod used the proverb in the following way:
Heracles is represented as having constantly visited
the house of Ĉeyx of Trachis and spoken thus:
"Of their own selves the good make for the
feasts of the good."
3.
"And horse-driving Ceyx beholding...."
4.
Hesiod in the Marriage of Ceyx-for though
grammar-school boys alienate it from the poet, yet
I consider the poem ancient-calls the tables
tripods.
5.
"But when they had done with desire for the
equal-shared feast, even then they brought from the
forest the mother of a mother (sc. wood), dry and
parched, to be slain by her own children" (sc. to be
burnt in the flames).
255
HESIOD
ΜΕΓΑΛΑΙ ΗΟΙΑΙ
•
1.
Pausanias, ii. 26. 3. Ἐπίδαυρος δὲ ἀφ᾽ οὗ τὸ
ὄνομα τῇ γῇ ἐτέθη κατὰ δὲ ᾿Αργείων δόξαν
καὶ τὰ ἔπη τὰς Μεγάλας Ποίας ἦν Επιδαύρῳ
πατὴρ Αργος ὁ Διός.
2.
Anonymous Comment. on Aristotle, Nicomachean
Ethics, iii. 7. καὶ ὅτι, φασί, τὸ πονηρὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ
ἐπιπόνου τάττεται καὶ δυστυχοῦς, ἱκανὸς Ησίο-
δος παραστῆσαι ἐν ταῖς Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις τὴν
᾿Αλκμήνην ποιῶν πρὸς τὸν Ἡρακλέα λέγουσαν
ὦ τέκος, ή μάλα δή σε πονηρότατον καὶ ἄριστον
Ζεὺς τέκνωσε πατήρ.
καὶ πάλιν
αἱ Μοῖραί σε πονηρότατον καὶ ἄριστον.
3.
Scholiast on Pindar, Isthm. v. 53. είληπται δὲ
ἐκ τῶν Μεγάλων Ἠοιῶν ἡ ἱστορία· ἐκεῖ γὰρ
εὑρίσκεται ἐπιξενούμενος ὁ Ἡρακλῆς τῷ Τελαμώνι
καὶ ἐμβαίνων τῇ δορᾷ. καὶ εὐχόμενος καὶ οὕτως
ὁ διόπομπος αἰετός, ἀφ᾽ οὗ τὴν προσωνυμίαν
ἔλαβεν Αἴας.
256
THE GREAT EOIAE
THE GREAT EOIAE
1.
EPIDAURUS. According to the opinion of the
Argives and the epic poem, the Great Eoiae, Argos
the son of Zeus was father of Epidaurus.
2.
sense
as
And, they say, Hesiod is sufficient to prove that
the word poneros (bad) has the same
"laborious or "ill-fated"; for in the Great Eoiae
he represents Alcmene as saying to Heracles:
66
""
My son, truly Zeus your father begot you to
be the most toilful as the most excellent . . ;
and again :
"The Fates (made) you the most toilful and the
most excellent . . .”
3.
The story has been taken from the Great Eoiae;
for there we find Heracles entertained by Telamon,
standing dressed in his lion-skin and praying, and
there also we find the eagle sent by Zeus, from which
Aias took his name.¹
When Heracles prayed that a son might be born to
Telamon and Eriboea, Zeus sent forth an eagle in token that
the prayer would be granted. Heracles then bade the parents
call their son Aias after the eagle (aietos).
257
HESIOD
4.
ἀλλὰ Ὕλλου μὲν τοῦ
Pausanias, iv. 2. 1.
Ἡρακλέους θυγατρὶ Εὐαίχμῃ συνοικῆσαι Πολυ-
κάονα υἱὸν Βούτου λεγούσας τὰς Μεγάλας οἶδα
Ἠοίας.
Pausanias, ix. 40. 6.
5.
Φύλας δ᾽ ὤπυιεν κούρην κλειτοῦ Ἰολάου
Λειπεφίλην, ἢ εἶδος Ὀλυμπιάδεσσιν ὁμοίη,
Ἱπποτάδην τέ οἱ υἱὸν ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτικτε
Θηρώ τ᾽ εὐειδέα, ικέλην φαέεσσι σελήνης.
Θηρὼ δ' Απόλλωνος ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσι πεσοῦσα
γείνατο Χαίρωνος κρατερὸν μένος ἱπποδάμοιο.
6.
Schol. on Pindar, Pyth. iv. 35.
Η οἵη Τρίῃ πυκινόφρων Μηκιονίκη,
ἢ τέκεν Εὔφημον γαιηόχῳ Εννοσιγαίῳ
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης.
Pausanias, ix. 36. 7.
7.
Ὕηττος δὲ Μόλουρον ᾿Αρίσβαντος φίλον υἱὸν
κτείνας ἐν μεγάροις εὐνῆς ἕνεχ᾿ ἧς ἀλόχοιο
οἶκον ἀποπρολιπών φεῦγ᾽ Αργεος ἱπποβότοιο,
ἶξεν δ' Ορχόμενον Μινυήιον· καί μιν ὅ γ' ἥρως
δέξατο καὶ κτεάνων μοῖραν πόρεν, ὡς ἐπιεικές.
8.
Pausanias, ii. 2. 3. πεποίηται δὲ ἐν Ηοίαις
Μεγάλαις Οἰβάλου θυγατέρα εἶναι Πειρήνην.
9.
Pausanias, ii. 16. 4. ταύτην (Μυκήνην) είναι
θυγατέρα Ινάχου, γυναῖκα δὲ ᾿Αρέστορος τὰ ἔπη
258
THE GREAT EOIAE
4.
But I know that the so-called Great Eoiae say
that Polycaon the son of Butes married Euaechme,
daughter of Hyllus, Heracles' son.
5.
"And Phylas wedded Leipephile the daughter of
famous Iolaus: and she was like the Olympians in
beauty. She bare him a son Hippotades in the
palace, and comely Thero who was like the beams of
the moon. And Thero lay in the embrace of Apollo
and bare horse-taming Chaeron of hardy strength."
6.
"Or like her in Hyria, careful-minded Mecionice,
who was joined in the love of golden Aphrodite
with the Earth-holder and Earth-Shaker, and bare
Euphemus."
7.
"And Hyettus killed Molurus the dear son of
Aristas in his house because he lay with his wife.
Then he left his home and fled from horse-rearing
Argos and came to Minyan Orchomenus. And the
hero received him and gave him a portion of his
goods, as was fitting."
8.
But in the Great Eoiae Peirene is represented to
be the daughter of Oebalus.
9.
The epic poem, which the Greek call the Great
Eoiae, says that she (Mycene) was the daughter of
259
8 2
HESIOD
λέγει ἃ δὴ Ελληνες καλοῦσιν Ηοίας Μεγάλας
ἀπὸ ταύτης οὖν γεγονέναι καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ πόλει
φασίν.
10.
Pausanias, vi. 21. 10 sq. ἀπέθανον δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ
Οινομάου κατὰ τὰ ἔπη τὰς Μεγάλας Ἠοίας
᾿Αλκάθους ὁ Πορθάονος, δεύτερος οὗτος ἐπὶ τῷ
Μάρμακι, μετὰ δὲ Αλκάθουν Ευρύαλος καὶ Εὐρύ
μαχός τε καὶ Κρόταλος. . . . τὸν δὲ ἀποθανόντα
ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ᾿Ακρίαν τεκμαίροιτο ἄν τις Λακεδαι-
μόνιόν τε εἶναι καὶ οἰκιστὴν ᾿Ακριῶν. ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ
Ακρίᾳ Κάπετόν φασιν ὑπὸ τοῦ Οἰνομάου φονευ-
θῆναι καὶ Λυκοῦργον Λάσιόν τε καὶ Χαλκώδοντα
καὶ Τρικόλωνον Τρικολώνου δὲ ὕστερον
ἐπέλαβεν ἐν τῷ δρόμῳ τὸ χρεών ᾿Αριστόμαχόν
τε καὶ Πρίαντα, ἔτι δὲ Πελάγοντα καὶ Αἰόλιόν
τε καὶ Κρόνιον.
•
11.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 57. ἐν
δὲ ταῖς Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις λέγεται τὸν Ενδυμίωνα
ἀνενεχθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς εἰς οὐρανόν· ἐρασθέντα
δὲ Ηρας εἰδώλῳ παραλογισθῆναι νεφέλης καὶ ἐκ-
βληθέντα κατελθεῖν εἰς "Αιδου.
12.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 118. ἐν
δὲ ταῖς Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις λέγεται ὡς ἄρα Μελάμ
πους φίλτατος ὢν τῷ ᾿Απόλλωνι ἀποδημήσας κατέ-
λυσε παρὰ Πολυφάντῃ. βοὸς δὲ αὐτῷ τεθυμένου
δράκοντος ἀνερπύσαντος παρὰ τὸ θῦμα διαφθεῖραι
26ο
THE GREAT EOIAE
Inachus and wife of Arestor: from her, then, it is
said, the city received its name.
10.
According to the poem the Great Eoiae, these
were killed by Oenomäus¹: Alcathöus the son of
Porthaon next after Marmax, and after Alcathöus,
Euryalus, Eurymachus and Crotalus.
The man
killed next after them, Acrias, we should judge to
have been a Lacedemonian and founder of Acria.
And after Acrias, they say, Capetus was done to death
by Oenomäus, and Lycurgus, Lasius, Chalcodon and
Tricolonus. And after Tricolonus fate overtook
Aristomachus and Prias on the course, as also Pelagon
and Aeolius and Cronius.
11.
In the Great Eorae it is said that Endymion was
transported by Zeus into heaven, but when he fell in
love with Hera, was befooled with a shape of cloud,
and was cast out and went down into Hades.
12.
In the Great Eoiae it is related that Melampus,
who was very dear to Apollo, went abroad and
stayed with Polyphantes. But when the king had
sacrificed an ox, a serpent crept up to the sacrifice and
1 Oenomäus, king of Pisa in Elis, warned by an oracle that
he should be killed by his son-in-law, offered his daughter
Hippodamia to the man who could defeat him in a chariot
race, on condition that the defeated suitors should be slain
by him. Ultimately Pelops, through the treachery of the
charioteer of Oenomäus, became victorious.
361
HESIOD
αὐτὸν τοὺς θεράποντας τοῦ βασιλέως. τοῦ δὲ
βασιλέως χαλεπήναντος [καὶ ἀποκτείναντος],
τὸν Μελάμποδα λαβεῖν καὶ θάψαι. τὰ δὲ τούτου
ἔγγονα τραφέντα ὑπὸ τούτου λείχειν τὰ ὦτα καὶ
ἐμπνεῦσαι αὐτῷ τὴν μαντικήν. διόπερ κλέπτοντα
αὐτὸν τὰς βόας τοῦ Ἰφίκλου εἰς Αἴγιναν τὴν
πόλιν περιληφθέντα δεθῆναι καὶ τοῦ οἴκου μέλ
λοντος πεσεῖν ἐν ᾧ ἦν ὁ Ἴφικλος, τῇ διακόνων
πρεσβύτιδι μηνῦσαι τοῦ Ἰφίκλου καὶ τούτου
χάριν ἀφεθῆναι.
13.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 828.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις Φόρβαντος καὶ Ἑκα-
της ἡ Σκύλλα.
14.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 181.
πεπηρῶσθαι δὲ Φινέα φησὶν Ἡσίοδος ἐν Μεγάλαις
Ηοίαις, ὅτι Φρίξῳ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐμήνυσεν.
15.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 1122.
*Αργος] εἷς τῶν Φρίξου παίδων οὗτος. τούτους δὲ
Ἡσίοδος ἐν ταῖς Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις φασὶν ἐξ
Ἰοφώσσης τῆς Αἰήτου. καὶ οὗτος μέν φησιν
αὐτοὺς τέσσαρας, "Αργον Φρόντιν Μέλανα Κυ-
τίσωρον.
16.
Antoninus Liberalis, xxiii. Βάττος· ἱστορεῖ ..
Ἡσίοδος ἐν Μεγάλαις Ηοίαις. . . .
Αργου τοῦ Φρίξου καὶ Περιμήλης τῆς ᾿Αδμή-
του θυγατρὸς ἐγένετο Μάγνης. οὗτος ᾤκησεν
262
THE GREAT EOIAE
destroyed his servants. At this the king was angry
and killed the serpent, but Melampus took and
buried it. And its offspring, brought up by him,
used to lick his ears and inspire him with prophecy.
And so, when he was caught while trying to steal
the cows of Iphiclus and taken bound to the city of
Aegina, and when the house, in which Iphiclus was,
was about to fall, he told an old woman, one of the
servants of Iphiclus, and in return was released.
13.
In the Great Eoiae Scylla is the daughter of
Phoebus and Hecate.
14.
Hesiod in the Great Eoiae says that Phineus was
blinded because he told Phrixus the way.¹
15.
Argus. This is one of the children of Phrixus.
These... Hesiod in the Great Eoiae says were
born of Iophossa the daughter of Aeëtes. And he
says there were four of them, Argus, Phrontis,
Melas, and Cytisorus.
16.
Battus. Hesiod tells the story in the Great
Eoiae. Magnes was the son of Argus, the son
of Phrixus and Perimele, Admetus' daughter, and
1 sc. to Scythia.
263
HESIOD
>
ἐγγὺς Θεσσαλίας καὶ τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ
Μαγνησίαν προσηγόρευσαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι. ἐγένετο
δ᾽ αὐτῷ παῖς περίβλεπτος τὴν ὄψιν Υμέναιος.
ἐπεὶ δὲ Απόλλωνα ἰδόντα ἔρως ἔλαβε τοῦ παι
δὸς καὶ οὐκ ἐξελίμπανε τὰ οἰκία τοῦ Μάγνητος,
Ἑρμῆς ἐπιβουλεύει τῇ ἀγέλῃ τῶν βοῶν τοῦ ᾿Απόλ-
λωνος. αἱ δὲ ἐνέμοντο, ἵνα περ ἦσαν αἱ ᾿Αδμήτου
βόες. καὶ πρῶτα μὲν ἐμβάλλει ταῖς κυσίν, αἳ
ἐφύλαττον αὐτάς, λήθαργον καὶ κυνάγχην· αἱ δὲ
ἐξελάθοντο τῶν βοῶν καὶ τὴν ὑλακὴν ἀπώλεσαν
εἶτα δ᾽ ἀπελαύνει πόρτιας δώδεκα καὶ ἑκατὸν
βοῦς ἄζυγας καὶ ταῦρον, ὃς ταῖς βουσὶν ἐπέ-
βαινεν. ἐξῆπτε δὲ ἐκ τῆς οὐρᾶς πρὸς ἕκαστον
ὕλην, ὡς ἂν τὰ ἴχνη τῶν βοῶν ἀφανίσῃ.
καὶ ἦγεν αὐτὰς ἐλαύνων διά τε Πελασγῶν καὶ
δι' ᾿Αχαΐας τῆς Φθιώτιδος καὶ διὰ Λοκρίδος καὶ
Βοιωτίας και Μεγαρίδος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν εἰς Πελο-
πόννησον διὰ Κορίνθου καὶ Λαρίσσης ἄχρι
Τεγέας. καὶ ἐντεῦθεν παρὰ τὸ Λύκαιον ὄρος ἐπο-
ρεύετο καὶ παρὰ τὸ Μαινάλιον καὶ τὰς λεγομένας
Βάττου σκοπιάς. ᾤκει δὲ ὁ Βάττος οὗτος ἐπ᾿
ἄκρῳ τῷ σκοπέλῳ καὶ ἐπεὶ τῆς φωνῆς ἤκουσε παρε-
λαυνομένων τῶν μόσχων, προελθὼν ἐκ τῶν οἰκί-
ων ἔγνω περὶ τῶν βοῶν ὅτι κλοπιμαίας ἄγει·
καὶ μισθὸν ᾔτησεν, ἵνα πρὸς μηδένα φράσῃ περὶ
αὐτῶν. Ἑρμῆς δὲ δώσειν ἐπὶ τούτοις ὑπέσχετο,
καὶ ὁ Βάττος ὤμοσε περὶ τῶν βοῶν πρὸς μηδένα
κατερεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὰς Ἑρμῆς ἔκρυψεν ἐν τῷ
πρηῶνι παρὰ τὸ Κορυφάσιον εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον
εἰσελάσας ἄντικρυς Ιταλίας καὶ Σικελίας, αὖθις
ἀφίκετο πρὸς τὸν Βάττον ἀλλάξας ἑαυτὸν καὶ
πειρώμενος, εἰ αὐτῷ συμμένειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁρκίοις
264
THE GREAT EOIAE
lived in the region of Thessaly, in the land which
men called after him Magnesia.
remarkable beauty, Hymenaeus.
He had a son of
And when Apollo
saw the boy, he was seized with love for him, and
would not leave the house of Magnes. Then
Hermes made designs on Apollo's herd of cattle
which were grazing in the same place as the cattle of
Admetus. First he cast upon the dogs which were
guarding them a stupor and strangles, so that the
dogs forgot the cows and lost the power of barking.
Then he drove away twelve heifers and a hundred
cows never yoked, and the bull who mounted the
cows, fastening to the tail of each one brushwood
to wipe out the footmarks of the cows. He drove
them through the country of the Pelasgi, and
Achaea in the land of Phthia, and through Locris,
and Boeotia and Megaris, and thence into Pelo-
ponnesus by way of Corinth and Larissa, until he
brought them to Tegea. From there he went on
by the Lycaean mountains, and past Maenalus and
what are called the watch-posts of Battus. Now
this Battus used to live on the top of the rock and
when he heard the voice of the heifers as they
were being driven past, he came out from his own
place, and knew that the cattle were stolen. So he
asked for a reward to tell no one about them.
Hermes promised to give it him on these terms,
and Battus swore to say nothing to anyone about the
cattle. But when Hermes had hidden them in the
cliff by Coryphasium, and had driven them into a
cave facing towards Italy and Sicily, he changed him-
self and came again to Battus and tried whether he
would be true to him as he had vowed. So, offering
265
HESIOD
ἐθέλει. διδοὺς δὲ μισθὸν χλαῖναν ἐπυνθάνετο παρ'
αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ κλοπιμαίας βοῦς ἔγνω παρελαθεί
σας. ὁ δὲ Βάττος ἔλαβε τὴν χλαμύδα καὶ ἐμήνυσε
περὶ τῶν βοῶν. Ἑρμῆς δὲ χαλεπήνας, ὅτι διχόμυ
θος ἦν, ἐρράπισεν αὐτὸν τῇ ῥάβδῳ καὶ μετέβαλεν
εἰς πέτρον. καὶ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐκλείπει κρύος οὐδὲ
καῦμα.
ΜΕΛΑΜΠΟΔΕΙΑ
1.
Strabo, xiv. p. 642. λέγεται δὲ ὁ Κάλχας ὁ μάν
τις μετ' ᾿Αμφιλόχου τοῦ ᾿Αμφιαράου κατὰ τὴν ἐκ
Τροίας ἐπάνοδον πεζῇ δεῦρο ἀφικέσθαι, περιτυ-
χών δ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ κρείττονι μάντει κατὰ τὴν Κλάρον
Μόψῳ τῷ Μαντοῦς τῆς Τειρεσίου θυγατρός, διὰ
λύπην ἀποθανεῖν. Ἡσίοδος μὲν οὖν οὕτω πως
διασκευάζει τὸν μῦθον· προτεῖναι γάρ τι τοιοῦτο
τῷ Μόψῳ τὸν Κάλχαντα·
Θαῦμά μ' ἔχει κατὰ θυμόν, ἐρινεὸς ὅσσον
ὀλύνθων
οὗτος ἔχει μικρός περ ἐών· εἴποις ἂν ἀριθμόν;
τὸν δὲ ἀποκρίνασθαι·
Μύριοί εἰσιν ἀριθμόν, ἀτὰρ μέτρον γε μέδιμνος
εἰς δὲ περισσεύει, τὸν ἐπενθέμεν οὔ κε δύναιο.
Ὣς φάτο· καί σφιν ἀριθμὸς ἐτήτυμος εἴδετο
μέτρου
καὶ τότε δὴ Κάλχαντα τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψεν.
266
THE MELAMPODIA
him a robe as a reward, he asked of him whether he
had noticed stolen cattle being driven past. And
Battus took the robe and told him about the cattle.
But Hermes was angry because he was double-
tongued, and struck him with his staff and changed
him into a rock. And either frost or heat never
leaves him.¹
THE MELAMPODIA
1.
It is said that Calchas the seer returned from Troy
with Amphilochus the son of Amphiaraus and came
on foot to this place. But happening to find near
Clarus a seer greater than himself, Mopsus, the son
of Manto, Teiresias' daughter, he died of vexation,
Hesiod, indeed, works up the story in some such form
as this: Calchas set Mopsus the following problem:
"I am filled with wonder at the quantity of figs
this wild fig-tree bears though it is so small.
you tell their number?”
And Mopsus answered: "Ten thousand is their
number, and their measure is a bushel: one fig is
left over, which you would not be able to put into
the measure."
So said he; and they found the reckoning of the
measure true. Then did the end of death shroud
Calchas.
In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes Battus almost dis-
appears from the story, and a somewhat different account of
the stealing of the cattle is given.
2 sc. Colophon. Proclus in his abstract of the Returns (sc.
of the heroes from Troy) says Calchas and his party were
present at the death of Teiresias at Colophon, perhaps
indicating another version of this story.
267
HESIOD
2.
Tzetzes on Lycophron, 682. . . . νῦν δὲ τὸν Τει-
ρεσίαν λέγει, ἐπειδή φασιν αὐτὸν ἑπτὰ γενεὰς
ζῆσαι· ἄλλοι δὲ ἐννέα· ἀπὸ γὰρ Κάδμου ἦν καὶ
κατωτέρω Ετεοκλέους καὶ Πολυνείκους, ὥς φησι
καὶ ὁ τῆς Μελαμποδίας ποιητής παρεισάγει γὰρ
τὸν Τειρεσίαν λέγοντα·
Ζεῦ πάτερ, εἴθε μοι ἥσσον᾽ ἔχειν αἰῶνα βίοιο
ὤφελλες δοῦναι καὶ ἴσα [φρεσὶ] μήδεα ἴδμεν
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις· νῦν δ᾽ οὐδέ με τυτθὸν ἔτισας,
ὅς γέ με μακρὸν ἔθηκας ἔχειν αἰῶνα βίοιο
ἑπτά τ᾽ ἐπὶ ζώειν γενεὰς μερόπων ἀνθρώπων.
3.
Scholiast on Homer, Odyssey, x. 494. φασὶν ὡς
δράκοντας δύο ἐν Κιθαιρῶνι μιγνυμένους ἰδὼν
(Τειρεσίας) ἀνεῖλε τὴν θήλειαν καὶ οὕτως μεταβέ
βληται εἰς γυναῖκα, καὶ πάλιν τὸν ἄρρενα καὶ
ἀπέλαβε τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν. τοῦτον Ζεὺς καὶ Ἥρα
κριτὴν εἵλοντο, τίς μᾶλλον ἥδεται τῇ συνουσίᾳ,
τὸ ἄρρεν ἢ τὸ θῆλυ· ὁ δὲ εἶπεν·
οἴην μὲν μοῖραν δέκα μοιρεων τέρπεται ἀνήρ,
τὰς δέκα δ᾽ ἐμπίπλησι γυνὴ τέρπουσα νόημα.
διόπερ ἡ μὲν Ἥρα ὀργισθεῖσα ἐπήρωσεν, ὁ δὲ
Ζεὺς τὴν μαντείαν δωρεῖται.
4.
ἡδὺ [μέν] ἐστ᾽ ἐν δαιτὶ καὶ εἰλαπίνῃ τεθαλυίῃ
τέρπεσθαι μύθοισιν, ἐπὴν δαιτὸς κορέσωνται,
ἡδὺ δὲ καὶ τὸ πυθέσθαι, ὅσα θνητοῖσιν ἔνειμαν
ἀθάνατοι, δειλῶν τε καὶ ἐσθλῶν τέκμαρ ἐναργές.
268
THE MELAMPODIA
2.
But now he is speaking of Teiresias, since it is said
that he lived seven generations-though others say
nine. He lived from the times of Cadmus down to
those of Eteocles and Polyneices, as the author
of Melampodia also says: for he introduces Teiresias
speaking thus:
a
"Father Zeus, would that you had given me
shorter span of life to be mine and wisdom of heart
like that of mortal men! But now you have
honoured me not even a little, though you ordained
me to have a long span of life, and to live through
seven generations of mortal kind.”
3.
They say that Teiresias saw two snakes mating
on Cithaeron and that, when he killed the female,
he was changed into a woman, and again, when he
killed the male, took again his own nature. This
same Teiresias was chosen by Zeus and Hera to de-
cide the question whether the male or the female
has most pleasure in intercourse. And he said:
"Of ten parts a man enjoys one only; but a
woman's sense enjoys all ten in full.”
For this Hera was angry and blinded him, but Zeus
gave him the seer's power.
4.1
"For pleasant it is at a feast and rich banquet to
tell delightful tales, when men have had enough of
feasting; and pleasant also it is to know a clear
token of ill or good amid all the signs that the
deathless ones have given to mortal men."
111. 1-2 are quoted by Athenaeus ii. p. 40; 11. 3-4 by
Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis vi. 2. 26. Buttmann saw
that the two fragments should be joined.
269
HESIOD
5.
Athenaeus, xi. 498. Α.
..
τῷ δὲ Μάρης θοὸς ἄγγελος ἦλθε δι' οἴκου
λήσας δ' ἀργύρεον σκύφον φέρε, δῶκε δ᾽ ἄνακτι.
Ib. Β.
6.
καὶ τότε Μάντης μὲν δεσμὸν βοὸς αἴνυτο χερσίν,
Ιφικλος δ᾽ ἐπὶ νῶτ᾽ ἐπεμαίετο. τῷ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὄπισθεν
σκύφον ἔχων ἑτέρῃ, ἑτέρῃ δὲ σκῆπτρον ἀείρας
ἔστειχεν Φύλακος καὶ ἐνὶ δμώεσσιν ἔειπεν.
7.
Athenaeus, xiii. p. 609 e. Ἡσίοδος δ᾽ ἐν τρίτῳ
Μελαμποδίας τὴν ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ Χαλκίδα καλλι
γυναικα είπεν.
8.
Strabo, xiv. p. 676. Ἡσίοδος δ᾽ ἐν Σόλοις ὑπὸ
Απόλλωνος ἀναιρεθῆναι τὸν ᾿Αμφίλοχον φησιν.
9.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, v. p. 259.
μάντις δ᾽ οὐδείς ἐστιν ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
ὅστις ἂν εἰδείη Ζηνὸς νόον αιγιόχοιο.
ΑΙΓΙΜΙΟΣ
1.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iii. 587. ὁ
δὲ τὸν Αἰγίμιον ποιήσας διὰ [τὸ] δέρας αὐτὸν
αὐθαιρέτως φησὶ προσδεχθῆναι. λέγει δὲ ὅτι
μετὰ τὴν θυσίαν ἁγνίσας τὸ δέρας οὕτως
κῶας ἔχων ἔστειχεν ἐς Αιήταο μέλαθρα
1 Restored by Schenkl.
270
AEGIMIUS
5.
"And Mares, swift messenger, came to him
through the house and brought a silver goblet which
he had filled, and gave it to the lord."
6.
"And then Mantes took in his hands the ox's
halter and Iphiclus lashed him upon the back. And
behind him, with a cup in one hand and a raised
sceptre in the other, walked Phylacus and spake
amongst the bondmen."
7.
Hesiod in the third book of the Melampodia
called Chalcis in Euboea "the land of fair women."
8.
But Hesiod says that Amphilochus was killed by
Apollo at Soli.
9.
"And now there is no seer among mortal men
such as would know the mind of Zeus who holds the
aegis."
AEGIMIUS
1.
BUT the author of the Aegimius says that he
(Phrixus) was received without intermediary because
of the fleece. He says that after the sacrifice he
purified the fleece and so
"Holding the fleece he walked into the halls of
Aeëtes."
1 sc. the golden fleece of the ram which carried Phrixus
and Helle away from Athamas and Ino. When he reached
Colchis Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus.
271
HESIOD
2.
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 816.
τὸν Αἰγίμιον ποιήσας ἐν δευτέρῳ φησὶν ὅτι ἡ
Θέτις εἰς λέβητα ὕδατος ἔβαλλεν τοὺς ἐκ Πηλέως
γεννωμένους, γνῶναι βουλομένη εἰ θνητοί εἰσιν
καὶ δὴ πολλῶν διαφθαρέντων ἀγανακτήσαι
τὸν Πηλέα καὶ κωλῦσαι τὸν ᾿Αχιλλέα ἐμβλη-
θῆναι εἰς λέβητα.
•
3.
Apollodorus, ii. 1. 3. 1. Ἡσίοδος δὲ καὶ ᾿Ακουσί-
λαος Πειρῆνος αὐτήν (Ιώ) φασιν εἶναι. ταύτην
ἱερωσύνην τῆς "Ηρας ἔχουσαν Ζεὺς ἔφθειρε. φω-
ραθεὶς δὲ ὑφ' "Ηρας τῆς μὲν κόρης ἁψάμενος εἰς
βοῦν μετεμόρφωσε λευκήν, ἀπωμόσατο δὲ ταύτῃ
μὴ συνελθεῖν. διό φησιν Ἡσίοδος οὐκ ἐπι
σπᾶσθαι τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν ὀργὴν τοὺς γινομένους
ὅρκους ὑπὲρ ἔρωτος.
ἐκ τοῦ δ᾽ ὅρκον ἔθηκεν ἀποίνιμον ἀνθρώποισι
νοσφιδίων ἔργων πέρι Κύπριδος.
4.
Herodian in Stephanus of Byzantium.
νήσῳ ἐν ᾿Αβαντίδι δίῃ,
τὴν πρὶν ᾿Αβαντίδα κίκλησκον θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες,
Εὔβοιαν δὲ βοὺς τότ᾽ ἐπώνυμον ὠνόμασεν Ζεύς.
5.
Schol. on Euripides Phoen. 1116.
καὶ οἱ ἐπίσκοπον Αργον ἵει κρατερόν τε μέγαν τε,
τέτρασιν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὁρώμενον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα·
ἀκάματον δέ οἱ ὧρσε θεὰ μένος, οὐδέ οἱ ὕπνος
πίπτεν ἐπὶ βλεφάροις, φυλακὴν δ᾽ ἔχεν ἔμπεδον
αἰεί.
οι
272
AEGIMIUS
2.
The author of the Aegimius says in the second
book that Thetis used to throw the children she had
by Peleus into a cauldron of water, because she
wished to learn whether they were mortal. . . . And
that after many had perished Peleus was annoyed,
and prevented her from throwing Achilles into the
cauldron.
3.
Hesiod and Acusilaus say that she (Io) was the
daughter of Peiren. While she was holding the office
of priestess of Hera, Zeus seduced her, and being
discovered by Hera, touched the girl and changed
her into a white cow, while he swore that he had no
intercourse with her. And so Hesiod says that oaths
touching the matter of love do not draw down anger
from the gods.
"And thereafter he ordained that an oath con-
cerning the secret deeds of the Cyprian should be
without penalty for men."
4.
"(Zeus changed Io) in the fair island Abantis,
which the gods, who are eternally, used to call
Abantis aforetime, but Zeus then called it Euboea
after the cow." 1
5.
"And (Hera) set a watcher upon her (Io), great
and strong Argus, who with four eyes looks every
way. And the goddess stirred in him unwearying
strength: sleep never fell upon his eyes; but he kept
sure watch always."
1 Euboea properly means the "Island of finc Cattle (or
Cows)."
273
T
HESIOD
6.
Scholiast on Homer, Il. xxiv. 24. Αργειφόντην
κατὰ τοὺς Ἡσιόδου μύθους τον βουκόλον
Ἰοῦς ἐφόνευσεν (Ἑρμῆς).
•
7.
Athenaeus, xi. p. 503 d. καὶ ὁ τὸν Αἰγίμιον
ποιήσας, εἴθ᾽ Ἡσίοδός ἐστιν ἢ Κέρκωψ ὁ Μιλή
σιος,
ἔνθα ποτ᾽ ἔσται ἐμὸν ψυκτήριον, ὄρχαμε λαῶν.
8.
Etym. Gen. Ἡσίοδος δὲ διὰ τὸ τριχῇ αὐτοὺς
οἰκῆσαι,
πάντες δὲ τριχαίκες καλέονται,
τρισσὴν οἵνεκα γαῖαν ἑκὼς πάτρης ἐδάσαντο.
τρία γὰρ Ἑλληνικὰ ἔθνη τῆς Κρήτης ἐποικῆσαι,
Πελασγούς, ᾿Αχαιούς, Δωριείς. οὕς τριχαίκας
κεκλήκασι.
INCERTAE SEDIS FRAGMENTA
1.
Diogenes Laertius, viii. 1. 25.
Οὐρανίη δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτικτε Λίνον πολυήρατον υἱόν,
ὃν δή, ὅσοι βροτοί εἰσιν ἀοιδοὶ καὶ κιθαρισταί,
πάντες μὲν θρηνεῦσιν ἐν εὐλαπίναις τε χοροῖς τε,
ἀρχόμενοι δὲ Λίνον καὶ λήγοντες καλέουσιν
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. i. p. 121.
παντοίης σοφίης δεδαηκότα.
2.
Schol. on Homer, Odyssey, iv. 232.
εἰ μὴ ᾿Απόλλων Φοῖβος ὑπὲκ θανάτοιο σαώσαι
ἢ αὐτὸς Παιήων, ὃς ἁπάντων φάρμακα οἶδεν.
274
FRAGMENTS OF UNKNOWN POSITION
6.
"Slayer of Argus." According to Hesiod's tale
he (Hermes) slew (Argus) the herdsman of Io.
7.
And the author of the Aegimius, whether he is
Hesiod or Cercops of Miletus (says)
"There, some day, shall be my place of refresh-
ment, O leader of the people."
8.
Hesiod (says they were so called) because they
settled in three groups: "And they all were called
the Three-fold people, because they divided in three
the land far from their country." For (he says) that
three Hellenic tribes settled in Crete, the Pelasgi,
Achaeans and Dorians. And these have been called
Three-fold People.
FRAGMENTS OF UNKNOWN POSITION
1.
"So Urania bare Linus, a very lovely son: and him
all men who are singers and harpers do bewail at
feasts and dances, and as they begin and as they end
they call on Linus * * * who was skilled in all
manner of wisdom."
2.
"Unless Phoebus Apollo should save him from
death, or Paean himself who knows the remedies for
all things."
275
T 2
HESIOD
3.
Clement of Alexandria, Protrept, c. vii. p. 21.
αὐτὸς γὰρ πάντων βασιλεὺς καὶ κοίρανός ἐστιν
ἀθανάτων τέ οἱ οὔ τις ἐρήρισται κράτος ἄλλος.
4.
Anecd. Oxon (Cramer), i. p. 148.
δῶρα θεῶν μακάρων πλῆσθαι χθονί.
5.
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. i. p. 123.
Μουσάων, αἵτ᾽ ἄνδρα πολυφραδέοντα τιθεῖσι
θέσπιον αὐδήεντα.
Strabo, x. p. 471.
6.
[τάων δ'] οὔρειαι Νύμφαι θεαὶ ἐξεγένοντο
καὶ γένος οὐτιδανῶν Σατύρων καὶ ἀμηχανοεργῶν
Κουρητές τε θεοὶ φιλοπαίγμονες ὀρχηστήρες.
7.
Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. Arg. i. 824.
θεσσάμενος γενεὴν Κλεοδαίου κυδαλίμοιο.
Suidas, s.v. ἀλκή.
8.
ἀλκὴν μὲν γὰρ ἔδωκεν Ολύμπιος Αἰακίδῃσι,
νοῦν δ᾽ Αμυθαονίδαις, πλοῦτον δ᾽ ἔπορ' Ατρείδῃσιν.
9.
Schol. on Homer, Iliad, xiii. 155.
τῇδε γὰρ ἀξυλίῃ κατεπύθετο κήλεα νηῶν.
10.
Etymologicum Magnum.
οὐκέτι δὴ βαίνουσι λαροῖς ποσίν.
11.
Schol. on Homer, Iliad, xxiv. 624.
ὤπτησαν μὲν πρῶτα, περιφραδέως δ' ἐρύσαντο.
1
276
FRAGMENTS OF UNKNOWN POSITION
3.
"For he alone is king and lord of all the undying
gods, and no other vies with him in power."
66
4.
(To cause ?) the gifts of the blessed gods to come
near to earth."
5.
"Of the Muses who make a man very wise,
marvellous in utterance."
6.
"But of them (sc. the daughters of Hecaterus)
were born the divine mountain Nymphs and the
tribe of worthless, helpless Satyrs, and the divine
Curetes, sportive dancers."
7.
"Beseeching the offspring of glorious Cleodaeus."
8.
"For the Olympian gave might to the sons of
Aeacus, and wisdom to the sons of Amythaon, and
wealth to the sons of Atreus."
9.
"For through this lack of wood the timber of the
ships rotted."
10.
"No longer do they walk with delicate feet."
11.
"First of all they roasted (pieces of meat), and
drew them carefully off the spits."
277
HESIOD
12.
Chrysippus, Fragg. ii. 254. 11.
τοῦ γὰρ ἀέξετο θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλοισιν.
Ib. 15.
13.
οἷον ἐνὶ στήθεσσι χόλον θυμαλγέ ἔχουσα.
Strabo, vii. p. 327.
14.
Δωδώνην φηγόν τε, Πελασγῶν ἕδρανον, ᾖεν.
15.
Anecd. Oxon (Cramer), iii. p. 318. not.
πίσσης τε δνοφερῆς καὶ κέδρου νηλέι καπνῷ.
16.
Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. Arg. i. 757.
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἐν πλήσμῃσι διιπετέος ποταμοίο.
17.
Stephanus of Byzantium, Παρθένιος.
ὡς ἀκαλὰ προρέων ὡς ἁβρὴ παρθένος εἰσιν.
18.
Schol. on Theocritus, xi. 75.
νήπιος, ὅστις ἕτοιμα λιπὼν ἀνέτοιμα διώκει.
Harpocration.
19.
ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γεροντων.
20.
Porphyr, On Abstinence, ii. 18. p. 134.
ὥς κε πόλις ῥέζῃσι, νόμος δ' ἀρχαῖος ἄριστος.
21.
Schol. on Nicander, Theriaca, 452.
χρὴ δέ σε πατρὶ . . . κτίλον ἔμμεναι.
...
278
FRAGMENTS OF UNKNOWN POSITION
12.
"For his spirit increased in his dear breast."
13.
"With such heart-grieving anger in her breast.”
14.
"He went to Dodona and the oak-grove, the
dwelling place of the Pelasgi."
15.
"With the pitiless smoke of black pitch and of
cedar."
16.
"But he himself in the swelling tide of the rain-
swollen river."
(The river) Parthenius
17.
"Flowing as softly as a dainty maiden goes."
18.
"Foolish the man who leaves what he has, and
follows after what he has not."
19.
"The deeds of the young, the counsels of the
middle-aged, and the prayers of the aged."
20.
"Howsoever the city does sacrifice, the ancient
custom is best."
21.
"But you should be gentle towards your father."
279
HESIOD
22.
Plato, Epist. xi. 358.
ὃ εἰπόντος μὲν ἐμεῖο
φαῦλόν κεν δόξειεν ἔμεν, χαλεπὸν δὲ νοῆσαι.
23.
Bacchylides, v. 191-3. Βοιωτὸς ἀνὴρ τάδε
φών[ησεν γλυκειᾶν] | Ἡσίοδος πρόπολος | Μουσάν,
ὃν <ἂν> ἀθάνατοι τιμῶσι, τούτῳ | καὶ βροτῶν
φήμαν ἕπεσθαι.
FRAGMENTA DUBIA
1.
Galen, de plac. Hipp. et Plat. i. 266. 7.
καὶ τότε δὴ στηθέων ᾿Αθάμα φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς.
Schol. on Homer, Od. vii. 104.
ἀλετρεύουσι μύλης ἔπι μήλοπα καρπόν.
3.
Schol. on Pindar, Nem. ii. 1.
ἐν Δήλῳ τότε πρῶτον ἐγὼ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἀοιδοὶ
μέλπομεν, ἐν νεαροῖς ὕμνοις ῥάψαντες ἀοιδήν,
Φοῖβον ᾿Απόλλωνα χρυσάορον, ὃν τέκε Λητώ.
4.
Julian, Misopogon, p. 369 в.
χαλεπὸς δ᾽ ἐπὶ δράγματι λιμός.
5.
Servius on Vergil, Aen. iv. 484. Hesiodus has
Hesperidas . . . Noctis filias ultra Oceanum mala
aurea habuisse dicit.
Αἴγλη τ᾽ ἤδ᾽ Ερύθεια καὶ Ἑσπερέθουσα βοῶπις.1
1 Cf. Scholion on Clement, Protrept. i. Ρ. 302.
280
DOUBTFUL FRAGMENTS
22.
"And if I said this, it would seem a poor thing
and hard to understand."
23.
Thus spake the Boeotian, even Hesiod,¹ servant
of the sweet Muses: "whomsoever the immortals
honour, the good report of mortals also followeth
him."
DOUBTFUL FRAGMENTS
1.
"AND then it was Zeus took away sense from the
heart of Athamas."
2.
"They grind the yellow grain at the mill."
3.
"Then first in Delos did I and Homer, singers
both, raise our strain-stitching song in new hymns-
Phoebus Apollo with the golden sword, whom Leto
bare."
4.
"But starvation on a handful is a cruel thing."
5.
Hesiod says that these Hesperides..., daughters
of Night, guarded the golden apples beyond Ocean.
Aegle and Erythea and ox-eyed Hesperethusa."
1 cp. Hes. Theog. 81 ff. But Theognis 169, "Whomso
the gods honour, even a man inclined to blame praiseth him,"
is much nearer.
281
HESIOD
6.
Plato, Republic, iii. 390 E.
δῶρα θεοὺς πείθει, δῶρ᾽ αἰδοίους βασιλῆας.
7.1
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. v. p. 256.
ἑβδομάτῃ δ᾽ αὖτις λαμπρὸν φάος ἠελίοιο.
8.
Apollonius, Lex. Hom. Φοΐβος.
φοῖβον ὕδωρ ἐπάγων κέρασ' Ωκεανοῖο ῥοῇσι.
9.
Stephanus of Byzantium.
Ασπληδὼν Κλύμενός τε καὶ ᾿Αμφίδοκος θεοειδής.
10.
Schol. on Pindar, Nem. iii. 64.
Τελαμὼν ἀκόρητος αὐτῆς
ἡμετέροις ἑτάροισι φόως πρώτιστος ἔθηκε
κτείνας ἀνδρολέτειραν ἀμώμητον Μελανίππην,
αὐτοκασιγνήτην χρυσοζώνοιο ἀνάσσης.
1 This line may once have been read in the text of Works
and Days after 1. 771.
282
DOUBTFUL FRAGMENTS
6.
"Gifts move the gods, gifts move worshipful
princes."
7.
"On the seventh day again the bright light of the
sun
"
8.
"He brought pure water and mixed it with
Ocean's streams."
66
9.
Aspledon and Clymenus and god-like Amphi-
docus" (sons of Orchomenus).
10.
"Telamon never sated with battle first brought
light to our comrades by slaying blameless Melanippe,
destroyer of men, own sister of the golden-girdled
queen.
283
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
I
ΕΙΣ ΔΙΩΝΥΣΟΝ 1
οἱ μὲν γὰρ Δρακάνῳ σ', οἳ δ᾽ Ἰκάρῳ ἠνεμοέσσῃ
φάσ', οἳ δ᾽ ἐν Νάξῳ, δῖον γένος, εἰραφιῶτα,
οἱ δέ σ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ᾿Αλφειῷ ποταμῷ βαθυδινήεντι
κυσαμένην Σεμέλην τεκέειν Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ·
ἄλλοι δ' ἐν Θήβῃσιν, ἄναξ, σε λέγουσι γενέσθαι,
ψευδόμενοι· σὲ δ᾽ ἔτικτε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε
πολλὸν ἀπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων, κρύπτων λευκώλενον
Ηρην.
ἔστι δέ τις Νύση, ὕπατον ὄρος, ἀνθέον ὕλῃ,
τηλοῦ Φοινίκης, σχεδὸν Αἰγύπτοιο ῥοάων,
καί οἱ ἀναστήσουσιν ἀγάλματα πόλλ' ἐνὶ νηοῖς.
ὡς δὲ τὰ μὲν τρία, σοὶ πάντως τριετηρίσιν αἰεὶ
ἄνθρωποι ῥέξουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας.
Η καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων·
ἀμβρόσιαι δ' ἄρα χαῖται ἐπερρώσαντο ἄνακτος
κρατὸς ἀπ᾿ ἀθανάτοιο· μέγαν δ᾽ ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμ-
5
10
που.
15
111. 1-9 are preserved by Diodorus Siculus iii. 66. 3;
11. 10-21 are extant only in M.
286
I
TO DIONYSUS
*
FOR Some say, at Dracanum; and some, on windy
Icarus; and some, in Naxos, O Heaven-born,
Insewn¹; and others by the deep-eddying river
Alpheus that pregnant Semele bare you to Zeus the
thunder-lover. And others yet, lord, say you were
born in Thebes; but all these lie. The Father of
men and gods gave you birth remote from men and
secretly from white-armed Hera. There is a certain
Nysa, a mountain most high and richly grown with
woods, far off in Phoenice, near the streams of
Aegyptus
*
*
"and men will lay up for her 2 many offerings in her
shrines. And as these things are three, so shall
mortals ever sacrifice perfect hecatombs to you at
your feasts each three years."
The Son of Cronos spoke and nodded with his
dark brows. And the divine locks of the king flowed
forward from his immortal head, and he made great
1 Dionysus, after his untimely birth from Semele, was
sewn into the thigh of Zeus.
2 sc. Semele. Zeus is here speaking.
3 The reference is apparently to something in the body of
the hymn, now lost.
287
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ὡς εἰπὼν ἐπένευσε καρήατι μητίετα Ζεύς.
Ἵληθ᾽, εἰραφιῶτα, γυναιμανές· οἱ δέ σ᾽ ἀοιδοὶ
ᾄδομεν ἀρχόμενοι λήγοντές τ᾽ οὐδέ πῃ ἔστι
σεῖ᾽ ἐπιληθομένῳ· ἱερᾶς μεμνήσθαι ἀοιδῆς.
καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διώνυσ᾽ εἰραφιῶτα,
σὺν μητρὶ Σεμέλῃ, ἥν περ καλέουσι Θυώνην.
20
II
ΕΙΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΑΝ
Δήμητρ' ηύκομον, σεμνὴν θεόν, ἄρχομ' ἀείδειν,
αὐτὴν ἠδὲ θύγατρα τανύσφυρον, ἣν Αιδωνεὺς
ἥρπαξεν, δῶκεν δὲ βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα Ζεύς,
νόσφιν Δήμητρος χρυσαόρου, ἀγλαοκάρπου,
παίζουσαν κούρῃσι σὺν Ὠκεανοῦ βαθυκόλποις
ἄνθεά τ' αἰνυμένην, ῥόδα καὶ κρόκον ἠδ᾽ ἴα καλὰ
λειμῶν᾽ ἂμ μαλακὸν καὶ ἀγαλλίδας ἠδ᾽ ὑάκινθον
νάρκισσόν θ', ὃν φῦσε δόλον καλυκώπιδι κούρη
Γαΐα Διὸς βουλῇσι χαριζομένη Πολυδέκτη,
θαυμαστὸν γανόωντα· σέβας τό γε πᾶσιν ἰδέσθαι 10
ἀθανάτοις τε θεοῖς ἠδὲ θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις·
τοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἑκατὸν κάρα ἐξεπεφύκει·
κώς᾽ ἥδιστ᾽ ὀδμή, πᾶς τ᾽ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθεν
γαλά τε πᾶσ᾽ ἐγέλασσε καὶ ἁλμυρὸν οἶδμα
θαλάσσης.
ἡ δ᾽ ἄρα θαμβήσασ᾽ ὠρέξατο χερσὶν ἅμ᾽ ἄμφω 15
καλὸν ἄθυρμα λαβεῖν· χάνε δὲ χθὼν εὐρυάγυια
1 Allen : ἐπιλαθόμενοι, Μ. 2 Tyrrell: κώδις τ᾽ ὀδμῆ, Μ.
288
II. TO DEMETER, 1-16
Olympus reel. So spake wise Zeus and ordained it
with a nod.
Be favourable, O Insewn, Inspirer of frenzied
women! we singers sing of you as we begin and as
we end a strain, and none forgetting you may call
holy song to mind. And so, farewell, Dionysus,
Insewn, with your mother Semele whom men call
Thyone.
II
TO DEMETER
I BEGIN to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful god-
dess of her and her trim-ankled daughter whom
Aïdoneus rapt away, given to him by all-seeing Zeus
the loud-thunderer.
Apart from Demeter, lady of the golden sword
and glorious fruits, she was playing with the deep-
bosomed daughters of Oceanus and gathering flowers
over a soft meadow, roses and crocuses and beautiful
violets, irises also and hyacinths and the narcissus,
which Earth made to grow at the will of Zeus and to
please the Host of Many, to be a snare for the bloom-
like girl-a marvellous, radiant flower. It was a
thing of awe whether for deathless gods or mortal
men to see from its root grew a hundred blooms
and it smelled most sweetly, so that all wide heaven
above and the whole earth and the sea's salt swell
laughed for joy. And the girl was amazed and
reached out with both hands to take the lovely toy;
but the wide-pathed earth yawned there in the plain
289
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Νύσιον ἂμ πεδίον, τῇ ὄρουσεν ἄναξ Πολυδέγμων
ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι, Κρόνου πολυώνυμος υἱός.
Αρπάξας δ' ἀέκουσαν ἐπὶ χρυσέοισιν ὄχοισιν
ἦγ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένην· ἰάχησε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὄρθια φωνῇ,
κεκλομένη πατέρα Κρονίδην ὕπατον καὶ ἄριστον.
οὐδέ τις ἀθανάτων οὐδὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἤκουσεν φωνῆς, οὐδ᾽ ἀγλαόκαρποι ἐλαῖαι†
εἰ μὴ Περσαίου θυγάτηρ ἀταλὰ φρονέουσα
ἄιεν ἐξ ἄντρου, Εκάτη λιπαροκρήδεμνος,
Ηέλιός τε ἄναξ, Ὑπερίονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
κούρης κεκλομένης πατέρα Κρονίδην· ὃ δὲ νόσφιν
ἧστο θεῶν ἀπάνευθε πολυλλίστῳ ἐνὶ νηῷ,
δέγμενος ἱερὰ καλὰ παρὰ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
τὴν δ᾽ ἀεκαζομένην ἡγεν Διὸς ἐννεσίῃσι
πατροκασίγνητος, Πολυσημάντωρ Πολυδέγμων,
ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι, Κρόνου πολυώνυμος υἱός.
Ὄφρα μὲν οὖν γαϊάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα
λεῦσσε θεὰ καὶ πόντον ἀγάρροον ἰχθυόεντα
αὐγάς τ' ἠελίου, ἔτι δ᾽ ἤλπετο μητέρα κεδνὴν
ὄψεσθαι καὶ φῦλα θεῶν αἰειγενετάων,
τόφρα οἱ ἐλπὶς ἔθελγε μέγαν νόον αχνυμένης περ
*
*
ἤχησαν δ᾽ ὀρέων κορυφαὶ καὶ βένθεα πόντου
φωνῇ ὑπ᾽ ἀθανάτῃ· τῆς δ᾽ ἔκλυε πότνια μήτηρ.
Ὀξὺ δέ μιν κραδίην ἄχος ἔλλαβεν, ἀμφὶ δὲ
χαίταις
ἀμβροσίαις κρήδεμνα δαΐζετο χερσὶ φίλῃσι,
20
25
30
35
40
290
II. TO DEMETER, 17-41
of Nysa, and the lord, Host of Many, with his im-
mortal horses sprang out upon her-the Son of
Cronos, He who has many names.¹
He caught her up reluctant on his golden car and
bare her away lamenting. Then she cried out shrilly
with her voice, calling upon her father, the Son of
Cronos, who is most high and excellent. But no one,
either of the deathless gods or of mortal men, heard
her voice, nor yet the olive-trees bearing rich fruit:
only tender-hearted Hecate, bright-coiffed, the
daughter of Persaeus, heard the girl from her cave,
and the lord Helios, Hyperion's bright son, as she
cried to her father, the Son of Cronos. But he was
sitting aloof, apart from the gods, in his temple
where many pray, and receiving sweet offerings from
mortal men. So he, that Son of Cronos, of many
names, who is Ruler of Many and Host of Many,
was bearing her away by leave of Zeus on his
immortal chariot-his own brother's child and all
unwilling.
And so long as she, the goddess, yet beheld earth
and starry heaven and the strong-flowing sea where
fishes shoal, and the rays of the sun, and still hoped
to see her dear mother and the tribes of the eternal
gods, so long hope calmed her great heart for all her
trouble. . . . and the heights of the mountains and
the depths of the sea rang with her immortal voice:
and her queenly mother heard her.
Bitter pain seized her heart, and she rent the
covering upon her divine hair with her dear hands:
1 The Greeks feared to name Pluto directly and mentioned
him by one of many descriptive titles, such as "Host of
Many": compare the Christian use of 8 diáßoλos or our
"Evil One."
3CT
U 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
45
55
κυάνεον δὲ κάλυμμα κατ᾿ ἀμφοτέρων βάλετ᾽ ὤμων,
σεύατο δ᾽ ὥστ᾽ οἰωνός, ἐπὶ τραφερήν τε καὶ ὑγρὴν
μαιομένη· τῇ δ᾽ οὔτις ἐτήτυμα μυθήσασθαι
ἤθελεν οὔτε θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
οὔτ᾽ οἰωνῶν τις τῇ ἐτήτυμος ἄγγελος ἦλθεν.
ἐννῆμαρ μὲν ἔπειτα κατὰ χθόνα πότνια Δηὼ
στρωφατ᾽ αἰθομένας δαΐδας μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχουσα,
οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἡδυπότοιο
πάσσατ᾽ ἀκηχεμένη, οὐδὲ χρόα βάλλετο λουτροῖς. 50
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ δεκάτη οἱ ἐπήλυθε φαινολὶς ἠώς,
ἤντετό οἱ Εκάτη, σέλας ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔχουσα
καί ῥά οἱ ἀγγελέουσα ἔπος φάτο φώνησέν τε
Πότνια Δημήτηρ, ὡρηφόρε, ἀγλαόδωρε,
τίς θεῶν οὐρανίων ἠὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἥρπασε Περσεφόνην καὶ σὸν φίλον ἤκαχε θυμόν;
φωνῆς γὰρ ἤκουσ', ἀτὰρ οὐκ ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν,
ὅστις ἔην· σοὶ δ᾽ ὦκα λέγω νημερτέα πάντα.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη Εκάτη· τὴν δ᾽ οὐκ ἠμείβετο μύθῳ
Ῥείης ἠυκόμου θυγάτηρ, ἀλλ᾽ ὦκα σὺν αὐτῇ
ἤιξ' αἰθομένας δαΐδας μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχουσα.
Ἠέλιον δ᾽ ἵκοντο, θεῶν σκοπὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν,
στὰν δ᾽ ἵππων προπάροιθε καὶ εἴρετο δια θεάων·
Ἠέλι, αἴδεσσαί με θεὰν σύ περ, εἴ ποτε δή σεν
ἢ ἔπει ἢ ἔργῳ κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἴηνα·
κούρην τὴν ἔτεκον, γλυκερὸν θάλος, εἴδεῖ κυδρήν,
τῆς ἀδινὴν ὄπ᾽ ἄκουσα δι᾽ αἰθέρος ἀτρυγέτοιο
ὥστε βιαζομένης, ἀτὰρ οὐκ ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν.
ἀλλά, σὺ γὰρ δὴ πᾶσαν ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ κατὰ πόν
τον
1
αἰθέρος ἐκ δίης καταδέρκεαι ἀκτίνεσσι,
νημερτέως μοι ἔνισπε φίλον τέκος, εἴ που ὄπωπας,
1 Ludwich: θέας ὕπερ, Μ.
60
65
70
292
II. TO DEMETER, 42-71
her dark cloak she cast down from both her shoulders
and sped, like a wild-bird, over the firm land and
yielding sea, seeking her child. But no one would
tell her the truth, neither god nor mortal man; and
of the birds of omen none came with true news for
her. Then for nine days queenly Deo wandered over
the earth with flaming torches in her hands, so grieved
that she never tasted ambrosia and the sweet
draught of nectar, nor sprinkled her body with
water. But when the tenth enlightening dawn had
come, Hecate, with a torch in her hands, met her,
and spoke to her and told her news:
"Queenly Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver
of good gifts, what god of heaven or what mortal
man has rapt away Persephone and pierced with
sorrow your dear heart? For I heard her voice, yet
saw not with my eyes who it was. But I tell you
truly and shortly all I know."
So, then, said Hecate. And the daughter of rich-
haired Rhea answered her not, but sped swiftly with
her, holding flaming torches in her hands. So they
came to Helios, who is watchman of both gods and
men, and stood in front of his horses: and the bright
goddess enquired of him: "Helios, do you at least
regard me, goddess as I am, if ever by word or deed of
mine I have cheered your heart and spirit. Through
the fruitless air I heard the thrilling cry of my
daughter whom I bare, sweet scion of my body and
lovely in form, as of one seized violently; though
with my eyes I saw nothing. But you-for with
your beams look down from the bright upper air
over all the earth and sea-tell me truly of my dear
you
293
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ὅστις νόσφιν ἐμεῖο λαβὼν ἀέκουσαν ἀνάγκῃ
οἴχεται ἠὲ θεῶν ἢ καὶ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Ὣς φάτο· τὴν δ᾽ Ὑπεριονίδης ἠμείβετο μύθῳ·
Ῥείης ἠυκόμου θύγατερ, Δήμητερ ἄνασσα,
εἰδήσεις· δὴ γὰρ μέγα σ' ἕζομαι ἠδ᾽ ἐλεαίρω
ἀχνυμένην περὶ παιδὶ τανυσφύρῳ· οὐδέ τις ἄλλος
αἴτιος ἀθανάτων, εἰ μὴ νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς,
ὅς μιν ἔδωκ' ᾿Αίδῃ θαλερὴν κεκλῆσθαι ἄκοιτιν
αὐτοκασιγνήτῳ· ὃ δ᾽ ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα
ἁρπάξας ἵπποισιν ἄγεν μεγάλα ἰάχουσαν.
ἀλλά, θεά, κατάπαυε μέγαν γόον· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
μὰψ αὔτως ἄπλητον ἔχειν χόλον· οὔ τοι ἀεικὴς
γαμβρὸς ἐν ἀθανάτοις Πολυσημάντωρ ᾿Αιδωνεύς,
αὐτοκασίγνητος καὶ ὁμόσπορος· ἀμφὶ δὲ τιμὴν
ἔλλαχεν ὡς τὰ πρῶτα διάτριχα δασμὸς ἐτύχθη,
τοῖς μεταναιετάειν, τῶν ἔλλαχε κοίρανος εἶναι.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἵπποισιν ἐκέκλετο· τοὶ δ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ὀμοκλῆς
ῥίμφα φέρον θοὸν ἅρμα τανύπτεροι ὥστ᾽ οἰωνοί.
75
80
85
Τὴν δ᾽ ἄχος αἰνότερον καὶ κύντερον ἵκετο θυμόν· 90
χωσαμένη δὴ ἔπειτα κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι
νοσφισθεῖσα θεῶν ἀγορὴν καὶ μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον
ᾤχετ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώπων πόλιας καὶ πίονα ἔργα
εἶδος ἀμαλδύνουσα πολὺν χρόνον· οὐδέ τις ἀνδρῶν
εἰσορόων γίγνωσκε βαθυζώνων τε γυναικῶν,
πρίν γ' ὅτε δὴ Κελεοῖο δαΐφρονος ἵκετο δῶμα,
ὃς τότ᾽ Ελευσίνος θυοέσσης κοίρανος ἦεν.
ἕζετο δ᾽ ἐγγὺς ὁδοῖο φίλον τετιημένη ἦτορ,
Παρθενίῳ φρέατι, ὅθεν ὑδρεύοντο πολῖται,
1 Puntoni: μετά ναίεται, Μ.
95
294
II. TO DEMETER, 72-99
child, if you have seen her anywhere, what god or
mortal man has violently seized her against her will
and mine, and so made off."
So said she. And the Son of Hyperion answered
her: "Queen Demeter, daughter of rich-haired Rhea,
I will tell you the truth; for I greatly reverence and
pity you in your grief for your trim-ankled daughter.
None other of the deathless gods is to blame, but
only cloud-gathering Zeus who gave her to Hades,
her father's brother, to be called his buxom wife.
And Hades seized her and took her loudly crying in
his chariot down to his realm of mist and gloom.
Yet, goddess, cease your loud lament and keep not
vain anger unrelentingly: Aïdoneus, the Ruler of
Many, is no unfitting husband among the deathless
gods for your child, being your own brother and born
of the same stock : also, for honour, he has that third
share which he received when division was made at
the first, and is appointed lord of those among whom
he dwells."
So he spake, and called to his horses: and at his
chiding they quickly whirled the swift chariot along,
like long-winged birds.
But grief yet more terrible and savage came into
the heart of Demeter, and thereafter she was so an-
gered with the dark-clouded Son of Cronos that she
avoided the gathering of the gods and high Olympus,
and went to the towns and rich fields of men, dis-
figuring her form a long while. And no one of men
or deep-bosomed women knew her when they saw
her, until she came to the house of wise Celeus who
then was lord of fragrant Eleusis. Vexed in her dear
heart, she sat near the wayside by the Maiden Well,
from which the women of the place were used to
295
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἐν σκιῇ, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε πεφύκει θάμνος ἐλαίης,
γρηὶ παλαιγενέι ἐναλίγκιος, ἥτε τόκοιο
εἴργηται δώρων τε φιλοστεφάνου ᾿Αφροδίτης,
οἷαί τε τροφοί εἰσι θεμιστοπόλων βασιλήων
παίδων καὶ ταμίαι κατὰ δώματα ἠχήεντα.
τὴν δὲ ἴδον Κελεοῖο Ελευσινίδαο θύγατρες
ἐρχόμεναι μεθ᾽ ὕδωρ εὐήρυτον, ὄφρα φέροιεν
κάλπισι χαλκείῃσι φίλα πρὸς δώματα πατρός,
τέσσαρες, ὥστε θεαί, κουρήιον ἄνθος ἔχουσαι,
Καλλιδίκη καὶ Κλεισιδίκη Δημώ τ' ἐρόεσσα
Καλλιθόη θ', ἢ τῶν προγενεστάτη ἦεν ἁπασῶν·
οὐδ᾽ ἔγνον· χαλεποὶ δὲ θεοὶ θνητοῖσιν ὁρᾶσθαι.
ἀγχοῦ δ᾽ ἱστάμεναι ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων·
Τίς πόθεν ἐσσί, γρῆν, παλαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων;
τίπτε δὲ νόσφι πόληος ἀπέστιχες, οὐδὲ δόμοισι
πίλνασαι; ἔνθα γυναῖκες ἀνὰ μέγαρα σκιόεντα
τηλίκαι, ὡς σύ περ ὧδε καὶ ὁπλότεραι γεγάασιν,
αἵ κέ σε φίλωνται ἠμὲν ἔπει ἠδὲ καὶ ἔργῳ.
Ὣς ἔφαν· ἡ δ᾽ ἐπέεσσιν ἀμείβετο πότνα θεάων·
τέκνα φίλ', αἵ τινές ἐστε γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων,
χαίρετ'· ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὑμῖν μυθήσομαι· οὔ τοι ἀεικὲς
ὑμῖν εἰρομένῃσιν ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι.
2
Δωσὼ ἐμοί γ᾽ ὄνομ᾽ ἐστί· τὸ γὰρ θέτο πότνια
μήτηρ.
νῦν αὐτε Κρήτηθεν ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης
ἤλυθον οὐκ ἐθέλουσα, βίῃ δ᾽ ἀέκουσαν ἀνάγκῃ
ἄνδρες ληιστῆρες ἀπήγαγον. οἱ μὲν ἔπειτα
νηὶ θοῇ Θόρικόνδε κατέσχεθον, ἔνθα γυναῖκες
ἠπείρου ἐπέβησαν ἀολλέες ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτοί,
δεῖπνόν τ' ἐπηρτύνοντο παρὰ πρυμνήσια νηός·
ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ οὐ δόρποιο μελίφρονος ἤρατο θυμός·
1 Cobet: ἔγνων, Μ. 2 Passow: Δὼς, Μ.
100
105
110
115
120
125
296
II. TO DEMETER, 100-129
draw water, in a shady place over which grew an
olive shrub. And she was like an ancient woman
who is cut off from childbearing and the gifts of
garland-loving Aphrodite, like the nurses of king's
children who deal justice, or like the house-keepers
in their echoing halls. There the daughters of
Celeus, son of Eleusis, saw her, as they were coming
for easy-drawn water, to carry it in pitchers of bronze
to their dear father's house: four were they and like
goddesses in the flower of their girlhood, Callidice
and Cleisidice and lovely Demo and Callithoë who
was the eldest of them all. They knew her not,
-for the gods are not easily discerned by mortals—,
but standing near by her spoke winged words:
"Old mother, whence and who are you of folk
born long ago? Why are you gone away from the
city and do not draw near the houses? For there
in the shady halls are women of just such age as
you, and others younger; and they would welcome
you both by word and by deed."
Thus they said. And she, that queen among
goddesses answered them saying: "Hail, dear chil-
dren, whosoever you are of woman-kind. I will tell
you my story; for it is not unseemly that I should
tell you truly what you ask. Doso is my name, for
my stately mother gave it me.
And now I am come
from Crete over the sea's wide back,-not willingly;
but pirates brought me thence by force of strength
against my liking. Afterwards they put in with
their swift craft to Thoricus, and there the women
landed on the shore in full throng and the men
likewise, and they began to make ready a meal
by the stern-cables of the ship. But my heart
craved not pleasant food, and I fled secretly across
297
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
130
λάθρη δ' ὁρμηθεῖσα δι' ἠπείροιο μελαίνης
φεύγον ὑπερφιάλους σημάντορας, ὄφρα κε μή με
ἀπριάτην περάσαντες ἐμῆς ἀποναίατο τιμῆς.
οὕτω δεῦρ᾽ ἱκόμην ἀλαλημένη, οὐδέ τι οἶδα,
ἥ τις δὴ γαῖ᾽ ἐστι καὶ οἵ τινες ἐγγεγάασιν.
ἀλλ᾽ ὑμῖν μὲν πάντες Ολύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντες
δοῖεν κουριδίους ἄνδρας, καὶ τέκνα τεκέσθαι,
ὡς ἐθέλουσι τοκῆες· ἐμὲ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ οἰκτείρατε, κουραι.
[τοῦτο δέ μοι σαφέως ὑποθήκατε, ὄφρα πύθωμαι, ] 1370
προφρονέως, φίλα τέκνα, τέων πρὸς δώμαθ'
ἵκωμαι
ἀνέρος ἠδὲ γυναικός, ἵνα σφίσιν ἐργάζωμαι
135
πρόφρων, οἷα γυναικὸς ἀφήλικος ἔργα τέτυκται· 140
καί κεν παῖδα νεογνὸν ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἔχουσα
καλὰ τιθηνοίμην καὶ δώματα τηρήσαιμι
καί κε λέχος στορέσαιμι μυχῷ θαλάμων εὐπήκτων
δεσπόσυνον καί κ᾽ ἔργα διδασκήσαιμι γυναῖκας.
Φῆ ῥα θεά· τὴν δ᾽ αὐτίκ᾽ ἀμείβετο παρθένος
ἀδμής,
Καλλιδίκη, Κελεοῖο θυγατρῶν εἶδος ἀρίστη
Μαῖα, θεῶν μὲν δῶρα καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἀνάγκῃ
τέτλαμεν ἄνθρωποι· δὴ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτεροί εἰσι.
ταῦτα δέ τοι σαφέως ὑποθήσομαι ἠδ᾽ ὀνομήνω
ἀνέρας οἶσιν ἔπεστι μέγα κράτος ἐνθάδε τιμῆς
δήμου τε προὔχουσιν ἰδὲ κρήδεμνα πόληος
εἰρύαται βουλῇσι καὶ ἰθείῃσι δίκῃσιν·
ἠμὲν Τριπτολέμου πυκιμήδεος ἠδὲ Διόκλου
ἠδὲ Πολυξείνου καὶ ἀμύμονος Εὐμόλποιο
καὶ Δολίχου καὶ πατρὸς ἀγήνορος ἡμετέροιο,
τῶν πάντων ἄλοχοι κατὰ δώματα πορσαίνουσι·
τάων οὐκ ἄν τίς σε κατὰ πρώτιστον ὀπωπὴν
1 Allen.
145
150
155
1
¦
298
II. TO DEMETER, 130-157
And so I wandered
not at all what land
But may all those
the dark country and escaped my masters, that
they should not take me unpurchased across the
sea, there to win a price for me.
and am come here: and I know
this is or what people are in it.
who dwell on Olympus give you husbands and birth
of children as parents desire, so you take pity on me,
maidens, and show me this clearly that I may learn,
dear children, to the house of what man and woman
I may go, to work for them cheerfully at such tasks
as belong to a woman of my age. Well could I nurse
a new born child, holding him in my arms, or keep
house, or spread my masters' bed in a recess of
the well-built chamber, or teach the women their
work."
So said the goddess. And straightway the unwed
maiden Callidice, goodliest in form of the daughters
of Celeus, answered her and said:
"Mother, what the gods send us, we mortals bear
perforce, although we suffer; for they are much
stronger than
we. But now I will teach you
clearly, telling you the names of men who have
great power and honour here and are chief among
the people, guarding our city's coif of towers by
their wisdom and true judgements: there is wise
Triptolemus and Dioclus and Polyxeinus and blame-
less Eumolpus and Dolichus and our own brave
father. All these have wives who
manage in
the house, and no one of them, so soon as she
299
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
εἶδος ἀτιμήσασα δόμων ἀπονοσφίσσειεν,
ἀλλά σε δέξονται· δὴ γὰρ θεοείκελός ἐσσι.
εἰ δ᾽ ἐθέλεις, ἐπίμεινον, ἵνα πρὸς δώματα πατρὸς 160
ἔλθωμεν καὶ μητρὶ βαθυζώνῳ Μετανείρῃ
εἴπωμεν τάδε πάντα διαμπερές, αἴ κέ σ᾿ ἀνώγῃ
ἡμέτερόνδ' ἰέναι μηδ᾽ ἄλλων δώματ' ἐρευνᾶν.
τηλύγετος δέ οἱ υἱὸς ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ εὐπήκτῳ
ὀψίγονος τρέφεται, πολυεύχετος ἀσπάσιός τε.
εἰ τόν γ' ἐκθρέψαιο καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοιτο,
ῥεῖά κέ τίς σε ἰδοῦσα γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων
ζηλώσαι· τόσα κέν τοι ἀπὸ θρεπτήρια δοίη.
“Ως ἔφαθ'· ἡ δ᾽ ἐπένευσε καρήατι· ταὶ δὲ φαεινὰ
πλησάμεναι ὕδατος φέρον ἄγγεα κυδιάουσαι.
ῥίμφα δὲ πατρὸς ἵκοντο μέγαν δόμον, ὦκα δὲ
μητρὶ
ει
ἔννεπον, ὡς εἶδόν τε καὶ ἔκλυον. ἡ δὲ μάλ᾽ ὦκα
ἐλθούσας ἐκέλευε καλεῖν ἐπ᾽ ἀπείρονι μισθῷ.
αἳ δ᾽ ὥστ᾽ ἢ ἔλαφοι ἢ πόρτιες εἴαρος ὥρῃ
165
170
ἅλλοντ᾽ ἂν λειμῶνα κορεσσάμεναι φρένα φορβῇ, 175
ὡς αἱ ἐπισχόμεναι ἑανῶν πτύχας ἱμεροέντων
ἤιξαν κοίλην κατ᾽ ἀμαξιτόν· ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται
ὤμοις ἀίσσοντο κροκηίῳ ἄνθει ὁμοῖαι.
τέτμον δ᾽ ἐγγὺς ὁδοῦ κυδρὴν θεόν, ἔνθα πάρος περ
κάλλιπον· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα φίλου πρὸς δώματα
πατρὸς
ἡγεῦνθ᾽· ἡ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὄπισθε φίλον τετιημένη ἦτορ
στεῖχε κατὰ κρῆθεν κεκαλυμμένη· ἀμφὶ δὲ
πέπλος
κυάνεος ῥαδινοῖσι θεᾶς ἐλελίζετο ποσσίν.
Αἶψα δὲ δώμαθ' ἵκοντο διοτρεφέος Κελεοίο,
βὰν δὲ δι' αιθούσης, ἔνθα σφίσι πότνια μήτηρ
1 Matthiae: φίλα, Μ.
180
185
300
II. TO DEMETER, 158-185
had seen you, would dishonour you and turn you
from the house, but they will welcome you; for
indeed you are godlike. But if you will, stay here;
and we will go
to our father's house and tell Metan-
eira, our deep-bosomed mother, all this matter fully,
that she may bid you rather come to our home than
search after the houses of others. She has an only
son, late-born, who is being nursed in our well-built
house, a child of many prayers and welcome: if you
could bring him up until he reached the full measure
of youth, any one of womankind who should see you
would straightway envy you, such gifts would our
mother give for his upbringing."
So she spake and the goddess bowed her head in
assent. And they filled their shining vessels with
water and carried them off rejoicing. Quickly they
came to their father's great house and straightway
told their mother according as they had heard and
seen. Then she bade them go with all speed and
invite the stranger to come for a measureless hire.
As hinds or heifers in spring time, when sated with
pasture, bound about a meadow, so they, holding up
the folds of their lovely garments, darted down the
hollow path, and their hair like a crocus flower
streamed about their shoulders. And they found
the good goddess near the wayside where they had
left her before, and led her to the house of their
dear father. And she walked behind, distressed in
her dear heart, with her head veiled and wearing a
dark cloak which waved about the slender feet of the
goddess.
Soon they came to the house of heaven-nurtured
Celeus and went through the portico to where their
301
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἧστο παρὰ σταθμὸν τέγεος πύκα ποιητοῖο
παῖδ᾽ ὑπὸ κόλπῳ ἔχουσα, νέον θάλος· αἱ δὲ παρ
αὐτὴν
ἔδραμον· ἡ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐπ᾽ οὐδὸν ἔβη ποσὶ καί ῥα
μελάθρου
κῦρε κάρη, πλῆσεν δὲ θύρας σέλαος θείοιο.
τὴν δ᾽ αἰδώς τε σέβας τε ἰδὲ χλωρὸν δέος εἷλεν·
εἶξε δέ οἱ κλισμοῖο καὶ ἑδριάασθαι ἄνωγεν.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ Δημήτηρ ὡρηφόρος, ἀγλαόδωρος,
ἤθελεν ἑδριάασθαι ἐπὶ κλισμοῖο φαεινοῦ,
ἀλλ᾽ ἀκέουσ᾽ ἀνέμιμνε κατ᾿ ὄμματα καλὰ βαλοῦσα,
πρίν γ᾽ ὅτε δή οἱ ἔθηκεν Ἰάμβη κέδν' εἰδυνα
πηκτὸν ἕδος, καθύπερθε δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἀργύφεον βάλε
κώας.
ἔνθα καθεζομένη προκατέσχετο χερσὶ καλύπτρην·
δηρὸν δ᾽ ἄφθογγος τετιημένη ἧστ᾽ ἐπὶ δίφρου,
οὐδέ τιν' οὔτ᾽ ἔπει προσπτύσσετο οὔτε τι ἔργῳ,
ἀλλ᾽ ἀγέλαστος, ἄπαστος ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος
ἧστο πόθῳ μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός,
πρίν γ' ὅτε δὴ χλεύῃς μιν Ἰάμβη κέδν' εἰδυνα
πολλὰ παρασκώπτουσ᾽ ἐτρέψατο πότνιαν ἁγνήν,
μειδῆσαι γελάσαι τε καὶ ἵλαον σχεῖν θυμόν·
ἣ δή οἱ καὶ ἔπειτα μεθύστερον εὔαδεν ὀργαῖς.
τῇ δὲ δέπας Μετάνειρα δίδου μελιηδέος οἴνου
πλήσασ'· ἡ δ᾽ ἀνένευσ᾽· οὐ γὰρ θεμιτόν οἱ ἔφασκε
πίνειν οἶνον ἐρυθρόν· ἄνωγε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἄλφι καὶ ὕδωρ
δοῦναι μίξασαν πιέμεν γλήχωνι τερείνῃ.
ἡ δὲ κυκεῶ τεύξασα θεᾷ πόρεν, ὡς ἐκέλευε·
δεξαμένη δ᾽ ὁσίης ἕνεκεν πολυπότνια Δηώ
190
195
200
205
210
302
II. ---
TO DEMETER, 186-211
queenly mother sat by a pillar of the close-fitted
roof, holding her son, a tender scion, in her bosom.
And the girls ran to her. But the goddess walked
to the threshold: and her head reached the roof and
she filled the doorway with a heavenly radiance.
Then awe and reverence and pale fear took hold of
Metaneira, and she rose up from her couch before
Demeter, and bade her be seated. But Demeter,
bringer of seasons and giver of perfect gifts,
would not sit upon the bright couch, but stayed
silent with lovely eyes cast down until careful Iambe
placed a jointed seat for her and threw over it a
silvery fleece. Then she sat down and held her veil in
her hands before her face. A long time she sat
upon the stool¹ without speaking because of her
sorrow, and greeted no one by word or by sign, but
rested, never smiling, and tasting neither food nor
drink, because she pined with longing for her deep-
bosomed daughter, until careful Iambe-who pleased
her moods in aftertime also-moved the holy lady
with many a quip and jest to smile and laugh and
cheer her heart. Then Metaneira filled a cup with
sweet wine and offered it to her; but she refused it,
for she said it was not lawful for her to drink red
wine, but bade them mix meal and water with soft
mint and give her to drink. And Metaneira mixed
the draught and gave it to the goddess as she bade.
So the great queen Deo received it to observe the
sacrament 2
*
*
*
*
1 Demeter chooses the lowlier seat, supposedly as being
more suitable to her assumed condition, but really because
in her sorrow she refuses all comforts.
2 An act of communion-the drinking of the potion (KUKEV)
here described-was one of the most important pieces of
ritual in the Eleusinian mysteries, as commemorating the
sorrows of the goddess.
303
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
τῇσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχεν εύζωνος Μετάνειρα·
Χαῖρε, γύναι, ἐπεὶ οὔ σε κακῶν ἄπ᾽ ἔολπα
τοκήων
ἔμμεναι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθῶν· ἐπί τοι πρέπει ὄμμασιν
αἰδὼς
καὶ χάρις, ὡς εἴ πέρ τε θεμιστοπόλων βασιλήων. 215
ἀλλὰ θεῶν μὲν δῶρα καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἀνάγκῃ
τέτλαμεν ἄνθρωποι· ἐπὶ γὰρ ζυγὸς αὐχένι κεῖται.
νῦν δ᾽, ἐπεὶ ἵκεο δεῦρο, παρέσσεται ὅσσα τ' ἐμοί
περ.
παῖδα δέ μοι τρέφε τόνδε, τὸν ὀψίγονον καὶ
ἄελπτον
ὤπασαν ἀθάνατοι, πολυάρητος δέ μοί ἐστιν.
εἰ τόν γε θρέψαιο καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοιτο,
ῥεῖά κέ τίς σε ἰδοῦσα γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων
ζηλώσαι· τόσα κέν τοι ἀπὸ θρεπτήρια δοίην.
Τὴν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπεν ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ
καὶ σύ, γύναι, μάλα χαῖρε, θεοὶ δέ τοι ἐσθλὰ
πόροιεν·
220
225
παῖδα δέ τοι πρόφρων ὑποδέξομαι, ὥς με κελεύεις,
θρέψω κοὔ μιν, ἔολπα, κακοφραδίῃσι τιθήνης
οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐπηλυσίη δηλήσεται οὔθ᾽ ὑποτάμνον·
οἶδα γὰρ ἀντίτομον μέγα φέρτερον ὑλοτόμοιο,
οἶδα δ᾽ ἐπηλυσίης πολυπήμονος ἐσθλὸν ἐρυσμόν. 230
Ὣς ἄρα φωνήσασα θυώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ
χείρεσσ᾽ ἀθανάτῃσι· γεγήθει δὲ φρένα μήτηρ.
ὣς ἢ μὲν Κελεοῖο δαίφρονος ἀγλαὸν υἱὸν
Δημοφόωνθ᾽, ὃν ἔτικτεν εύζωνος Μετάνειρα,
ἔτρεφεν ἐν μεγάροις· ὃ δ᾽ ἀέξετο δαίμονι ἶσος,
οὔτ᾽ οὖν σῖτον ἔδων, οὐ θησάμενος [γάλα μητρὸς
ἡματίη μὲν γὰρ καλλιστέφανος 2] Δημήτηρ
1 Hermann's restoration. 2 Voss' restoration.
1
235
236ª
304
II. TO DEMETER, 212-236ª
And of them all, well-girded Metaneira first
began to speak: "Hail, lady! For I think you are
not meanly but nobly born; truly dignity and grace
are conspicuous upon your eyes as in the eyes of
kings that deal justice. Yet we mortals bear per-
force what the gods send us, though we be grieved;
for a yoke is set upon our necks.
But now, since
you are come here, you shall have what I can be-
stow and nurse me this child whom the gods gave
me in my old age and beyond my hope, a son much
prayed for. If you should bring him up until he
reach the full measure of youth, any one of woman-
kind that sees you will straightway envy you, so
great reward would I give for his upbringing."
Then rich-haired Demeter answered her: "And
to you, also, lady, all hail, and may the gods give you
good! Gladly will I take the boy to my breast, as
you bid me, and will nurse him. Never, I ween,
through any heedlessness of his nurse shall witchcraft
hurt him nor yet the Undercutter: for I know a
charm far stronger than the Woodcutter, and I know
an excellent safeguard against woeful witchcraft."
When she had so spoken, she took the child in
her fragrant bosom with her divine hands: and his
mother was glad in her heart. So the goddess
nursed in the palace Demophoön, wise Celeus'
goodly son whom well-girded Metaneira bare. And
the child grew like some immortal being, not fed
with food nor nourished at the breast: for by day
rich-crowned Demeter would anoint him with
1 Undercutter and Woodcutter are probably popular names
(after the style of Hesiod's "Boneless One") for the worm
thought to be the cause of teething and toothache.
305
X
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
χρίεσκ᾽ ἀμβροσίῃ ὡσεὶ θεοῦ ἐκγεγαώτα
ἡδὺ καταπνείουσα καὶ ἐν κόλποισιν ἔχουσα·
νύκτας δὲ κρυπτεσκε πυρὸς μένει ἠύτε δαλὸν
λάθρα φίλων γονέων· τοῖς δὲ μέγα θαῦμ'
ἐτέτυκτο,
ὡς προθαλὴς τελέθεσκε· θεοῖσι γὰρ ἄντα ἐῴκει.
καί κέν μιν ποίησεν ἀγήρων τ᾿ ἀθάνατόν τε,
εἰ μὴ ἄρ᾽ ἀφραδίῃσιν εύζωνος Μετάνειρα
νύκτ᾽ ἐπιτηρήσασα θυώδεος ἐκ θαλάμοιο
σκέψατο κώκυσεν δὲ καὶ ἄμφω πλήξατο μηρὼ
δείσασ᾽ ᾧ περὶ παιδὶ καὶ ἀάσθη μέγα θυμῷ
καί ῥ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Τέκνον Δημοφόων, ξείνη σε πυρὶ ἔνι πολλῷ 1
κρύπτει, ἐμοὶ δὲ γόον καὶ κήδεα λυγρὰ τίθησιν.
Ὣς φάτ᾽ ὀδυρομένη· τῆς δ᾽ ἄιε δια θεάων.
τῇ δὲ χολωσαμένη καλλιστέφανος Δημήτηρ
παῖδα φίλον, τὸν ἄελπτον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτικτε,
χείρεσσ᾽ ἀθανάτῃσιν ἀπὸ ἕθεν ἧκε πέδονδε,
ἐξανελοῦσα πυρός, θυμῷ κοτέσασα μάλ' αἰνῶς,
καί ῥ᾽ ἄμυδις προσέειπεν ἐύζωνον Μετάνειραν
Νήιδες ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἀφράδμονες οὔτ᾽ ἀγαθοῖο
αἶσαν ἐπερχομένου προγνώμεναι οὔτε κακοῖο·
καὶ σὺ γὰρ ἀφραδίῃσι τεῇς νήκεστον ἀάσθης.
ἴστω γὰρ θεῶν ὅρκος, ἀμείλικτον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ,
ἀθάνατόν κέν τοι καὶ ἀγήραον ἤματα πάντα
παῖδα φίλον ποίησα καὶ ἄφθιτον ὤπασα τιμήν·
νῦν δ᾽ οὐκ ἔσθ' ὥς κεν θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξαι·
τιμὴ δ᾽ ἄφθιτος αἰὲν ἐπέσσεται, οὔνεκα γούνων
1 Μ: πυρῇ ἔνι πολλῇ, Berlin Papyrus 44.
* Cobet: ο θῆκε, Μ.
240
245
250
255
260
306
II. TO DEMETER, 237-263
ambrosia as if he were the offspring of a god and
breathe sweetly upon him as she held him in her
bosom. But at night she would hide him like a
brand in the heart of the fire, unknown to his dear
parents. And it wrought great wonder in these that
he grew beyond his age; for he was like the gods face
to face. And she would have made him deathless
and unageing, had not well-girded Metaneira in her
heedlessness kept watch by night from her sweet-
smelling chamber and spied. But she wailed
and smote her two hips, because she feared for her
son and was greatly distraught in her heart; so she
lamented and uttered winged words:
Demophoön, my son, the strange woman buries
you deep in fire and works grief and bitter sorrow
for me
""
Thus she spoke, mourning. And the bright
goddess, lovely-crowned Demeter, heard her, and
was wroth with her. So with her divine hands she
snatched from the fire the dear son whom Metaneira
had born unhoped-for in the palace, and cast him
from her to the ground; for she was terribly angry
in her heart. Forthwith she said to well-girded
Metaneira:
"Witless are you mortals and dull to foresee your
lot, whether of good or evil, that comes upon you.
For now in your heedlessness you have wrought
folly past healing; for-be witness the oath of
the gods, the relentless water of Styx-I would
have made your dear son deathless and unageing
all his days and would have bestowed on him ever-
lasting honour, but now he can in no way escape
death and the fates. Yet shall unfailing honour
307
x 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
265
ἡμετέρων ἐπέβη καὶ ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἴαυσεν.
ὥρῃσιν δ᾽ ἄρα τῷ γε περιπλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν
παῖδες Ελευσινίων πόλεμον καὶ φύλοπιν αἰνὴν
αἰὲν ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν συνάξουσ᾽ ἤματα πάντα.
εἰμὶ δὲ Δημήτηρ τιμάοχος, ἥτε μέγιστον
ἀθανάτοις θνητοῖς τ᾿ ὄνεαρ καὶ χάρμα τέτυκται.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε μοι νηόν τε μέγαν καὶ βωμὸν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ 270
τευχόντων πᾶς δῆμος ὑπαὶ πόλιν αἰπύ τε τεῖχος
Καλλιχόρου καθύπερθεν ἐπὶ προὔχοντι κολωνῷ.
ὄργια δ᾽ αὐτὴ ἐγὼν ὑποθήσομαι, ὡς ἂν ἔπειτα
εὐαγέως ἔρδοντες ἐμὸν νόον ἱλάσκοισθε.
Ὣς εἰποῦσα θεὰ μέγεθος καὶ εἶδος ἄμειψε
γῆρας ἀπωσαμένη· περί τ᾽ ἀμφί τε κάλλος ἄητο·
ὀδμὴ δ᾽ ἱμερόεσσα θυηέντων ἀπὸ πέπλων
σκίδνατο, τῆλε δὲ φέγγος ἀπὸ χροὸς ἀθανάτοιο
λάμπε θεᾶς, ξανθαὶ δὲ κόμαι κατενήνοθεν ὤμους,
αὐγῆς δ᾽ ἐπλήσθη πυκινὸς δόμος ἀστεροπῆς ὥς·
βῆ δὲ διὲκ μεγάρων· τῆς δ᾽ αὐτίκα γούνατ᾽ ἔλυντο,
δηρὸν δ᾽ ἄφθογγος γένετο χρόνον, οὐδέ τι παιδὸς
μνήσατο τηλυγέτοιο ἀπὸ δαπέδου ἀνελέσθαι.
τοῦ δὲ κασίγνηται φωνὴν ἐσάκουσαν ἐλεινήν,
κὰδ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀπ᾿ εὐστρώτων λεχέων θόρον· ἡ μὲν
ἔπειτα
παῖδ᾽ ἀνὰ χερσὶν ἑλοῦσα ἑῷ ἐγκάτθετο κόλπῳ·
ἡ δ᾽ ἄρα πῦρ ἀνέκαι'· ἡ δ᾽ ἔσσυτο πόσσ᾽ ἁπαλοῖσι
μητέρ᾽ ἀναστήσουσα θυώδεος ἐκ θαλάμοιο.
ἀγρόμεναι δέ μιν ἀμφὶς ἐλούεον ἀσπαίροντα
ἀμφαγαπαζόμεναι· τοῦ δ᾽ οὐ μειλίσσετο θυμός·
χειρότεραι γὰρ δή μιν ἔχον τροφοὶ ἠδὲ τιθῆναι.
275
280
285
290
308
II. TO DEMETER, 264-291
always rest upon him, because he lay upon my knees
and slept in my arms. But, as the years move round
and when he is in his prime, the sons of the Eleusi-
nians shall ever wage war and dread strife with one
another continually. Lo! I am that Demeter who
has share of honour and is the greatest help and
cause of joy to the undying gods and mortal men.
But now, let all the people build me a great temple
and an altar below it and beneath the city and its
sheer wall upon a rising hillock above Callichorus.
And I myself will teach my rites, that hereafter you
may reverently perform them and so win the favour
of
my heart.'
When she had so said, the goddess changed her
stature and her looks, thrusting old age away from
her beauty spread round about her and a lovely
fragrance was wafted from her sweet-smelling robes,
and from the divine body of the goddess a light
shone afar, while golden tresses spread down over her
shoulders, so that the strong house was filled with
brightness as with lightning. And so she went out
from the palace.
And straightway Metaneira's knees were loosed
and she remained speechless for a long while and
did not remember to take up her late-born son from
the ground. But his sisters heard his pitiful wailing
and sprang down from their well-spread beds: one of
them took up the child in her arms and laid him in
her bosom, while another revived the fire, and a third
rushed with soft feet to bring their mother from her
fragrant chamber. And they gathered about the
struggling child and washed him, embracing him lov-
ingly; but he was not comforted, because nurses and
handmaids much less skilful were holding him now.
309
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Αἱ μὲν παννύχιαι κυδρὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκοντο
δείματι παλλόμεναι, ἅμα δ' ἠοῖ φαινομένηφιν
εὐρυβίῃ Κελεῷ νημερτέα μυθήσαντο,
ὡς ἐπέτελλε θεά, καλλιστέφανος Δημήτηρ.
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ' εἰς ἀγορὴν καλέσας πολυπείρονα λαὸν
ἤνωγ' ἠυκόμῳ Δημήτερι πίονα νηὸν
ποιῆσαι καὶ βωμὸν ἐπὶ προὔχοντι κολωνῷ.
295
οἱ δὲ μάλ' αἶψ᾽ ἐπίθοντο καὶ ἔκλυον αὐδήσαντος,
τεῦχον δ᾽, ὡς ἐπέτελλ᾽. ὁ δ᾽ ἀέξετο δαίμονι ἶσος.1 300
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τέλεσαν καὶ ἐρώησαν καμάτοιο,
βάν ῥ᾽ ἴμεν οἴκαδ᾽ ἕκαστος· ἀτὰρ ξανθὴ Δημήτηρ
ἔνθα καθεζομένη μακάρων ἀπὸ νόσφιν ἁπάντων
μίμνε πόθῳ μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός.
αἰνότατον δ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπὶ χθόνα πουλυβότειραν 305
ποίησ᾽ ἀνθρώποις καὶ κύντατον· οὐδέ τι γαῖα
σπέρμ᾽ ἀνίει, κρύπτεν γὰρ ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ·
πολλὰ δὲ καμπύλ᾽ ἄροτρα μάτην βόες εἵλκον
ἀρούραις·
πολλὸν δὲ κρῖ λευκὸν ἐτώσιον ἔμπεσε γαίῃ·
315
καί νύ κε πάμπαν ὄλεσσε γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων 310
λιμοῦ ὑπ᾽ ἀργαλέης, γεράων τ' ἐρικυδέα τιμὴν
καὶ θυσιῶν ἤμερσεν Ολύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντας,
εἰ μὴ Ζεὺς ἐνόησεν ἑῷ τ᾽ ἐφράσσατο θυμῷ.
Ιριν δὲ πρῶτον χρυσόπτερον ὦρσε καλέσσαι
Δήμητρα ἠύκομον, πολυήρατον εἶδος ἔχουσαν.
ὡς ἔφαθ'· ἡ δὲ Ζηνὶ κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι
πείθετο καὶ τὸ μεσηγὺ διέδραμεν ὦκα πόδεσσιν.
ἵκετο δὲ πτολίεθρον Ἐλευσῖνος θυοέσσης,
εὗρεν δ᾽ ἐν νηῷ Δημήτερα κυανόπεπλον
καί μιν φωνήσασ᾽ ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
1 Tr. (cp. 235) : δαίμονος αἴσῃ, MSS.
320
310
II. TO DEMETER, 292-320
All night long they sought to appease the glorious
goddess, quaking with fear. But, as soon as dawn
began to show, they told powerful Celeus all things
without fail, as the lovely-crowned goddess Demeter
charged them. So Celeus called the countless
people to an assembly and bade them make a goodly
temple for rich-haired Demeter and an altar upon
the rising hillock. And they obeyed him right
speedily and harkened to his voice, doing as he
commanded. As for the child, he grew like an
immortal being.
Now when they had finished building and had
drawn back from their toil, they went every man to
his house. But golden-haired Demeter sat there
apart from all the blessed gods and stayed, wasting
with yearning for her deep-bosomed daughter.
Then she caused a most dreadful and cruel year for
mankind over the all-nourishing earth: the ground
would not make the seed sprout, for rich-crowned
Demeter kept it hid. In the fields the oxen drew
many a curved plough in vain, and much white barley
was cast upon the land without avail. So she
would have destroyed the whole race of man with
cruel famine and have robbed them who dwell on
Olympus of their glorious right of gifts and sacrifices,
had not Zeus perceived and marked this in his
heart. First he sent golden-winged Iris to call rich-
haired Demeter, lovely in form. So he commanded.
And she obeyed the dark-clouded Son of Cronos,
and sped with swift feet across the space between.
She came to the stronghold of fragrant Eleusis, and
there finding dark-cloaked Demeter in her temple,
spake to her and uttered winged words:
311
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Δήμητερ, καλέει σε πατὴρ Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα εἰδὼς
ἐλθέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν αἰειγενετάων.
ἄλλ᾽ ἴθι, μηδ' ἀτέλεστον ἐμὸν ἔπος ἐκ Διὸς ἔστω.
Ὣς φάτο λισσομένη· τῇ δ᾽ οὐκ ἐπεπείθετο θυμός.
αὖτις ἔπειτα πατὴρ μάκαρας θεοὺς αἰὲν ἐόντας
πάντας ἐπιπροΐαλλεν· ἀμοιβηδὶς δὲ κιόντες
κίκλησκον καὶ πολλὰ δίδον περικαλλέα δῶρα
τιμάς θ', τᾶς κ' ἐθέλοιτο† μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισιν ἑλέσθαι.
ἀλλ᾽ οὔτις πεῖσαι δύνατο φρένας οὐδὲ νόημα
θυμῷ χωομένης· στερεῶς δ᾽ ἠναίνετο μύθους.
οὐ μὲν γάρ ποτ' ἔφασκε θυώδεος Οὐλύμποιο
πρίν γ' ἐπιβήσεσθαι, οὐ πρὶν γῆς καρπὸν ἀνήσειν,
πρὶν ἴδοι ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἑὴν εὐώπιδα κούρην.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τό γ᾽ ἄκουσε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα
Ζεύς,
εἰς Ερεβος πέμψε χρυσόρραπιν ᾿Αργειφόντην,
ὄφρ' Αίδην μαλακοῖσι παραιφάμενος ἐπέεσσιν
ἁγνὴν Περσεφόνειαν ὑπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος
ἐς φάος ἐξαγάγοι μετὰ δαίμονας, ὄφρα ἑ μήτηρ
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα μεταλήξειε χόλοιο.
325
330
335
Ἑρμῆς δ᾽ οὐκ ἀπίθησεν, ἄφαρ δ' ὑπὸ κεύθεα γαίης 340
ἐσσυμένως κατόρουσε λιπὼν ἕδος Οὐλύμποιο.
τέτμε δὲ τόν γε ἄνακτα δόμων ἔντοσθεν εόντα,
ἥμενον ἐν λεχέεσσι σὺν αἰδοίῃ παρακοίτι,
πόλλ᾽ ἀεκαζομένῃ μητρὸς πόθῳ· ἡ δ᾽ ἀποτηλοῦ
ἔργοις θεῶν μακάρων [δεινὴν] μητίσετο βουλήν. 345
ἀγχοῦ δ᾽ ἱστάμενος προσέφη κρατὺς ᾿Αργειφόντης·
1 Ilgen: ἐπ' ἀτλήτων, Μ. 2 Voss: βουλῇ, Μ.
312
II. TO DEMETER, 321-346
"Demeter, father Zeus, whose wisdom is everlast-
ing, calls you to come join the tribes of the eternal
gods: come therefore, and let not the message I
bring from Zeus pass unobeyed."
Thus said Iris imploring her.
But Demeter's
heart was not moved. Then again the father sent
forth all the blessed and eternal gods besides: and
they came, one after the other, and kept calling her
and offering many very beautiful gifts and whatever
rights she might be pleased to choose among the
deathless gods. Yet no one was able to persuade
her mind and will, so wrath was she in her heart;
but she stubbornly rejected all their words: for she
vowed that she would never set foot on fragrant
Olympus nor let fruit spring out of the ground,
until she beheld with her eyes her own fair-faced
daughter.
Now when all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer
heard this, he sent the Slayer of Argus whose wand
is of gold to Erebus, so that having won over
Hades with soft words, he might lead forth chaste
Persephone to the light from the misty gloom to
join the gods, and that her mother might see her
with her eyes and cease from her anger.
And
Hermes obeyed, and leaving the house of Olympus,
straightway sprang down with speed to the hidden
places of the earth. And he found the lord Hades
in his house seated upon a couch, and his shy mate
with him, much reluctant, because she yearned for
her mother. But she was afar off, brooding on her
fell design because of the deeds of the blessed
gods. And the strong Slayer of Argus drew near
and said:
313
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
"Αιδη κυανοχαίτα, καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσων,
Ζεύς με πατὴρ ἤνωγεν ἀγαυὴν Περσεφόνειαν
ἐξαγαγεῖν Ερέβευσφι μετὰ σφέας, ὄφρα ἑ μήτηρ
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα χόλου καὶ μήνιος αἰνῆς
ἀθανάτοις λήξειεν· ἐπεὶ μέγα μήδεται ἔργον,
φθῖσαι φῦλ᾽ ἀμενηνὰ χαμαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων,
σπέρμ' ὑπὸ γῆς κρύπτουσα, καταφθινύθουσα δὲ
τιμὰς
350
355
ἀθανάτων· ἡ δ᾽ αἰνὸν ἔχει χόλον, οὐδὲ θεοῖσι
μίσγεται, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπάνευθε θυώδεος ἔνδοθι νηοῦ
ἧσται Ελευσῖνος κραναὸν πτολίεθρον ἔχουσα.
Ὣς φάτο· μείδησεν δὲ ἄναξ ἐνέρων Αιδωνεὺς
ὀφρύσιν, οὐδ᾽ ἀπίθησε Διὸς βασιλῆος ἐφετμῇς·
ἐσσυμένως δ' ἐκέλευσε δαΐφρονι Περσεφονείῃ·
Ερχεο, Περσεφόνη, παρὰ μητέρα κυανόπεπλον 360
ἤπιον ἐν στήθεσσι μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἔχουσα,
μηδέ τι δυσθύμαινε λίην περιώσιον ἄλλων·
οὔ τοι ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἀεικὴς ἔσσομ᾽ ἀκοίτης,
αὐτοκασίγνητος πατρὸς Διός· ἔνθα δ' ἐοῦσα
δεσπόσσεις πάντων ὁπόσα ζώει τε καὶ ἕρπει,
τιμὰς δὲ σχήσησθα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι μεγίστας.
τῶν δ᾽ ἀδικησάντων τίσις ἔσσεται ήματα πάντα,
οἵ κεν μὴ θυσίῃσι τεὸν μένος ἱλάσκωνται
εὐαγέως ἔρδοντες, ἐναίσιμα δῶρα τελοῦντες.
365
Ὣς φάτο γήθησεν δὲ περίφρων Περσεφόνεια, 370
καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἀνόρουσ᾽ ὑπὸ χάρματος· αὐτὰρ ὅ
γ' αὐτὸς
ῥοιῆς κόκκον ἔδωκε φαγεῖν μελιηδέα λάθρῃ,
ἀμφὶ ἓ νωμήσας, ἵνα μὴ μένοι ἤματα πάντα
αὖθι παρ' αἰδοίῃ Δημήτερι κυανοπέπλῳ.
ἵππους δὲ προπάροιθεν ὑπὸ χρυσέοισιν ὄχεσφιν 375
ἔντυεν ἀθανάτους Πολυσημάντωρ Αιδωνεύς.
314
II. TO DEMETER, 347-376
"Dark-haired Hades, ruler over the departed,
father Zeus bids me bring noble Persephone forth
from Erebus unto the gods, that her mother may
see her with her eyes and cease from her dread
anger with the immortals; for now she plans an
awful deed, to destroy the weakly tribes of earth-
born men by keeping seed hidden beneath the earth,
and so she makes an end of the honours of the
undying gods. For she keeps fearful anger and does
not consort with the gods, but sits aloof in her
fragrant temple, dwelling in the rocky hold of
Eleusis."
So he said. And Aïdoneus, ruler over the dead,
smiled grimly and obeyed the behest of Zeus the king.
For he straightway urged wise Persephone, saying:
"Go
now, Persephone, to your dark-robed
mother, go, and feel kindly in your heart towards
me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall
be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless
gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And
while you are here, you shall rule all that lives
and moves and shall have the greatest rights among
the deathless gods: those who defraud you and
do not appease your power with offerings, reverently
performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished
for evermore.'"
""
When he said this, wise Persephone was filled
with joy and hastily sprang up for gladness. But he
on his part secretly gave her sweet pomegranate
seed to eat, taking care for himself that she might
not remain continually with grave, dark-robed
Demeter. Then Aïdoneus the Ruler of Many
openly got ready his deathless horses beneath the
golden chariot. And she mounted on the chariot,
315
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἡ δ᾽ ὀχέων ἐπέβη, πάρα δὲ κρατὺς ᾿Αργειφόντης
ἡνία καὶ μάστιγα λαβὼν μετὰ χερσὶ φίλῃσι
σεῦε διὲκ μεγάρων· τὼ δ᾽ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.
ῥίμφα δὲ μακρὰ κέλευθα διήνυσαν· οὐδὲ θάλασσα 380
οὔθ᾽ ὕδωρ ποταμῶν οὔτ᾽ ἄγκεα ποιήεντα
ἵππων ἀθανάτων οὔτ᾽ ἄκριες ἔσχεθον ὁρμήν,
ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτάων βαθὺν ἠέρα τέμνον ἰόντες.
στῆσε δ᾽ ἄγων, ὅθι μίμνεν ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ,
νηοῖο προπάροιθε θυώδεος· ἡ δὲ ἰδοῦσα
ἤιξ', ἠύτε μαινὰς ὄρος κάτα δάσκιον ὕλῃ.
Περσεφόνη δ' ἑτέρ[ωθεν ἐπεὶ ἴδεν ὄμματα καλὰ 1]
μητρὸς ἑῆς κατ' [ἄρ᾽ ἦ γ᾽ ὄχεα προλιποῦσα καὶ
ἵππους]
385
395
ἆλτο θέει[ν, δειρῇ δέ οἱ ἔμπεσε ἀμφιχυθεῖσα·]
τῇ δὲ [φίλην ἔτι παῖδα ἑῇς μετὰ χερσὶν ἐχούσῃ] 390
αίψα δόλον θυμός τιν' οίσατο, τρέσσε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ αἰνῶς]
παυομ[ένη φιλότητος, ἄφαρ δ' ἐρεείνετο μύθῳ·]
τέκνον, μή ῥά τι μοι σύ γε πάσσαο νέρθεν ἐοῦσα]
βρώμης; ἐξαύδα, μ[ὴ κεῦθ᾽, ἵνα εἴδομεν ἄμφω·]
ὣς μὲν γάρ κεν ἐοῦσα π[αρὰ στυγεροῦ ᾿Αίδαο]
καὶ παρ' ἐμοὶ καὶ πατρὶ κελ[αινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι]
ναιετάοις πάντεσσι τετιμ[ένη ἀθανάτοι]σιν.
εἰ δ᾽ ἐπάσω, πάλιν αὐτις ἰοῦσ᾽ ὑπ[ὸ κεύθεσι γαίης]
οἰκήσεις ὡρέων τρίτατον μέρ[ος εἰς ἐνιαυτόν,]
τὰς δὲ δύω παρ' ἐμοί τε καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν. 400
ὁππότε δ᾽ ἄνθεσι γαῖ᾽ εὐώδε[σιν] εἰαρινο[ῖσι]
παντοδαποῖς θάλλῃ, τόθ᾽ ὑπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος
αὖτις ἄνει μέγα θαῦμα θεοῖς θνητοῖς τ᾿ ἀνθρώποις.
[εἶπε δὲ πῶς σ' ἥρπαξεν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα 2] 403
καὶ τίνι σ᾽ ἐξαπάτησε δόλῳ κρατερὸς Πολυδέγμων;
1 The restorations of this and the following lines are those
printed in the Oxford (1911) text.
9 Allen.
316
II. TO DEMETER, 377-404
and the strong Slayer of Argus took reins and whip
in his dear hands and drove forth from the hall, the
horses speeding readily. Swiftly they traversed their
long course, and neither the sea nor river-waters nor
grassy glens nor mountain-peaks checked the career
of the immortal horses, but they clave the deep air
above them as they went.
And Hermes brought
them to the place where rich-crowned Demeter was
staying and checked them before her fragrant temple.
And when Demeter saw them, she rushed forth
as does a Maenad down some thick-wooded mountain,
while Persephone on the other side, when she saw her
mother's sweet eyes, left the chariot and horses, and
leaped down to run to her, and falling upon her
neck, embraced her. But while Demeter was still
holding her dear child in her arms, her heart
suddenly misgave her for some snare, so that she
feared greatly and ceased fondling her daughter
and asked of her at once: "My child, tell me, surely
you have not tasted any food while you were below?
Speak out and hide nothing, but let us both know.
For if you have not, you shall come back from
loathly Hades and live with me and your father, the
dark-clouded Son of Cronos and be honoured by
all the deathless gods; but if you have tasted food,
you must go back again beneath the secret places of
the earth, there to dwell a third part of the seasons
every year yet for the two parts you shall be with
me and the other deathless gods. But when the earth
shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring in
every kind, then from the realm of darkness and
gloom thou shalt come up once more to be a wonder
for gods and mortal men. And now tell me how he
rapt you away to the realm of darkness and gloom,
and by what trick did the strong Host of Many
beguile you?"
317
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Τὴν δ᾽ αὖ Περσεφόνη περικαλλὴς ἀντίον ηὔδα· 405
τοιγὰρ ἐγώ τοι, μῆτερ, ἐρέω νημερτέα πάντα·
εὐτέ μοι Ἑρμῆς ἦλθ᾽ ἐριούνιος ἄγγελος ὠκὺς
πὰρ πατέρος Κρονίδαο καὶ ἄλλων Ουρανιώνων,
ἐλθεῖν ἐξ Ερέβευς, ἵνα μ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα
λήξαις ἀθανάτοισι χόλου καὶ μήνιος αἰνῆς,
αὐτίκ᾽ ἐγὼν ἀνόρουσ᾽ ὑπὸ χάρματος· αὐτὰρ ὁ
λάθρη
410
415
420
ἔμβαλέ μοι ῥοιῆς κόκκον, μελιηδέ ἐδωδήν,
ἄκουσαν δὲ βίῃ με προσηνάγκασσε πάσασθαι.
ὡς δέ μ' ἀναρπάξας Κρονίδεω πυκινὴν διὰ μῆτιν
ᾤχετο πατρὸς ἐμοῖο, φέρων ὑπὸ κεύθεα γαίης,
ἐξερέω, καὶ πάντα διίξομαι, ὡς έρεείνεις.
ἡμεῖς μὲν μάλα πᾶσαι ἀν᾽ ἱμερτὸν λειμῶνα,
Λευκίππη Φαινώ τε καὶ Ἠλέκτρη καὶ Ἰάνθη
καὶ Μελίτη Ἰάχη τε Ρόδειά τε Καλλιρόη τε
Μηλόβοσίς τε Τύχη τε καὶ Ωκυρόη καλυκῶπις
Χρυσηίς τ' Ιάνειρά τ' ᾿Ακάστη τ' Αδμήτη τε
καὶ Ροδόπη Πλουτώ τε καὶ ἱμερόεσσα Καλυψὼ
καὶ Στὺξ Οὐρανίη τε Γαλαξαύρη τ᾽ ἐρατεινὴ
Παλλάς τ' ἐγρεμάχη καὶ "Αρτεμις ιοχέαιρα,
παίζομεν ἠδ᾽ ἄνθεα δρέπομεν χείρεσσ᾽ ἐρόεντα,
μίγδα κρόκον τ᾿ ἀγανὸν καὶ ἀγαλλίδας ἠδ᾽ ὑάκινθον
καὶ ῥοδέας κάλυκας καὶ λείρια, θαῦμα ιδέσθαι,
νάρκισσόν θ', ὃν ἔφυσ᾿ ὥς περ κρόκον εὐρεῖα χθών.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ δρεπόμην περὶ χάρματι· γαῖα δ᾽ ἔνερθε
χώρησεν· τῇ δ᾽ ἔκθορ᾽ ἄναξ κρατερὸς Πολυδέγμων· 430
βῆ δὲ φέρων ὑπὸ γαῖαν ἐν ἅρμασι χρυσείοισι
πόλλ᾽ ἀεκαζομένην· ἐβόησα δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὄρθια φωνῇ.
ταῦτά τοι ἀχνυμένη περ ἀληθέα πάντ᾽ ἀγορεύω.
425
318
II. TO DEMETER, 405-433
Then beautiful Persephone answered her thus:
"Mother, I will tell you all without error. When
luck-bringing Hermes came, swift messenger from
my father the Son of Cronos and the other Sons of
Heaven, bidding me come back from Erebus that
you might see me with your eyes and so cease from
your anger and fearful wrath against the gods, I
sprang up at once for joy; but he secretly put in my
mouth sweet food, a pomegranate seed, and forced
me to taste against my will. Also I will tell how he
rapt me away by the deep plan of my father the
Son of Cronos and carried me off beneath the depths
of the earth, and will relate the whole matter as
you ask. All we were playing in a lovely meadow,
Leucippe¹ and Phaeno and Electra and Ianthe,
Melita also and Iache with Rhodea and Callirhoë
and Melobosis and Tyche and Ocyrhoë, fair as a
flower, Chryseïs, Ianeira, Acaste and Admete and
Rhodope and Pluto and charming Calypso; Styx
too was there and Urania and lovely Galaxaura with
Pallas who rouses battles and Artemis delighting in
arrows: we were playing and gathering sweet flowers
in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and
hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to
see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused
to grow yellow as a crocus. That I plucked in my
joy; but the earth parted beneath, and there the
strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in
his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling,
beneath the earth: then I cried with a shrill cry.
All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell
the tale."
1 The list of names is taken-with five additions-from
Hesiod, Theogony 349 ff. for their general significance see
note on that passage.
319
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
· Ως τότε μὲν πρόπαν ήμαρ ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν
ἔχουσαι
πολλὰ μάλ᾽ ἀλλήλων κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἴαινον
ἀμφαγαπαζόμεναι· ἀχέων δ᾽ ἀπεπαύετο θυμός.
γηθοσύνας δ᾽ ἐδέχοντο παρ' ἀλλήλων ἔδιδόν τε.
τῇσιν δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθ᾽ Ἑκάτη λιπαροκρήδεμνος·
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀμφαγάπησε κόρην Δημήτερος ἁγνήν
ἐκ τοῦ οἱ πρόπολος καὶ ὀπάων ἔπλετ᾽ ἄνασσα.
Ταῖς δὲ μέτ' ἄγγελον ἧκε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα
Ζεὺς
Ῥείην ηύκομον, Δημήτερα κυανόπεπλον
ἀξέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν, ὑπέδεκτο δὲ τιμὰς
δωσέμεν, ἅς κεν ἕλοιτο μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι·
νεῦσε δέ οἱ κούρην ἔτεος περιτελλομένοιο
τὴν τριτάτην μὲν μοῖραν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα,
τὰς δὲ δύω παρὰ μητρὶ καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν.
ὡς ἔφατ'· οὐδ᾽ ἀπίθησε θεὰ Διὸς ἀγγελιάων.
ἐσσυμένως δ᾽ ἤιξε κατ᾽ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων,
ἐς δ' ἄρα Ῥάριον ἶξε, φερέσβιον οὖθαρ ἀρούρης
τὸ πρίν, ἀτὰρ τότε γ᾽ οὔτι φερέσβιον, ἀλλὰ
ἕκηλον
ἑστήκει πανάφυλλον· ἔκευθε δ' ἄρα κρὶ λευκὸν
μήδεσι Δήμητρος καλλισφύρου· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
μέλλεν ἄφαρ ταναοῖσι κομήσειν ἀσταχύεσσιν
ἦρος ἀεξομένοιο, πέδῳ δ᾽ ἄρα πίονες ὄγμοι
βρισέμεν ἀσταχύων, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν ἐλλεδανοῖσι δεδέσθαι.
ἔνθ᾽ ἐπέβη πρώτιστον ἀπ' αἰθέρος ἀτρυγέτοιο·
ἀσπασίως δ᾽ ἴδον ἀλλήλας, κεχάρηντο δὲ θυμῷ.
τὴν δ᾽ ὧδε προσέειπε Ρέη λιπαροκρήδεμνος·
Δεῦρο τέκος, καλέει σε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα
Ζεὺς
ἐλθέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν, ὑπέδεκτο δὲ τιμὰς
435
440
445
450
455
460
320
II. TO DEMETER, 434-461
So did they then, with hearts at one, greatly cheer
each the other's soul and spirit with many an
embrace their hearts had relief from their griefs
while each took and gave back joyousness.
Then bright-coiffed Hecate came near to them,
and often did she embrace the daughter of holy
Demeter and from that time the lady Hecate was
minister and companion to Persephone.
And all-seeing Zeus sent a messenger to them,
rich-haired Rhea, to bring dark-cloaked Demeter to
join the families of the gods: and he promised to
give her what rights she should choose among the
deathless gods and agreed that her daughter should
go down for the third part of the circling year to
darkness and gloom, but for the two parts should
live with her mother and the other deathless gods.
Thus he commanded. And the goddess did not dis-
obey the message of Zeus; swiftly she rushed down
from the peaks of Olympus and came to the plain of
Rharus, rich, fertile corn-land once, but then in
nowise fruitful, for it lay idle and utterly leafless,
because the white grain was hidden by design of
trim-ankled Demeter. But afterwards, as spring-
time waxed, it was soon to be waving with long ears
of corn, and its rich furrows to be loaded with grain
upon the ground, while others would already be
bound in sheaves. There first she landed from the
fruitless upper air: and glad were the goddesses to
see each other and cheered in heart. Then bright-
coiffed Rhea said to Demeter :
"Come, my daughter; for far-seeing Zeus the loud-
thunderer calls you to join the families of the gods,
and has promised to give you what rights you please
321
Y
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
[δωσέμεν, ἅς κ᾿ ἐθέλῃσθα] μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.
[νεῦσε δέ σοι κούρην ἔτεος περιτελλομένοιο
[τὴν τριτάτην μὲν μοῖραν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠ]ερόεντα,
[τὰς δὲ δύω παρὰ σοί τε καὶ ἄλλοις] ἀθανάτοισιν. 465
[ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη τελέ]εσθαι· ἑῷ δ᾽ ἐπένευσε κάρητι.
[ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, τέκνον] ἐμόν, καὶ πείθεο, μηδέ τι λίην
ἀ[ζηχὲς μεν]έαινε κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι,
α[ἶψα δὲ κα]ρπὸν ἄεξε φερέσβιον ἀνθρώποισιν.
Ω[ς ἔφατ'. οὐ]δ᾽ ἀπίθησεν ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ 470
αἶψα δὲ καρπὸν ἀνῆκεν ἀρουράων ἐριβώλων·
πᾶσα δὲ φύλλοισίν τε καὶ ἄνθεσιν εὐρεῖα χθὼν
ἔβρισ᾽· ἡ δὲ κιοῦσα θεμιστοπόλοις βασιλεῦσι
δείξεν Τριπτολέμῳ τε Διοκλεῖ τε πληξίππῳ
Εὐμόλπου τε βίῃ Κελεῷ θ᾽ ἡγήτορι λαῶν
δρησμοσύνην θ' ἱερῶν καὶ ἐπέφραδεν ὄργια πᾶσι,
Τριπτολέμῳ τε Πολυξείνῳ, ἐπὶ τοῖς δὲ Διοκλεῖ
σεμνά, τά τ᾽ οὔπως ἔστι παρεξίμεν οὔτε πυθέσθαι
οὔτ᾽ ἀχέειν· μέγα γάρ τι θεῶν σέβας ἰσχάνει
αὐδήν.
ὄλβιος, ὃς τάδ' ὄπωπεν ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων·
ὃς δ᾽ ἀτελὴς ἱερῶν ὅς τ᾽ ἄμμορος, οὔποθ᾽ ὁμοίων
αἶσαν ἔχει φθίμενός περ ὑπὸ ζόφῳ ἠερόεντι.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπειδὴ πάνθ' ὑπεθήκατο δια θεάων,
βάν ῥ᾽ ἴμεν Οὔλυμπόνδε θεῶν μεθ᾽ ὁμήγυριν
ἄλλων.
ἔνθα δὲ ναιετάουσι παραὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ
σεμναί τ' αἰδοῖαί τε μέγ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὅν τιν' ἐκεῖναι
προφρονέως φίλωνται ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων·
αἶψα δέ οἱ πέμπουσιν ἐφέστιον ἐς μέγα δῶμα
Πλοῦτον, ὃς ἀνθρώποις ἄφενος θνητοῖσι δίδωσιν.
1 The restorations of this and the following lines are those
printed in the Oxford (1911) text.
475
480
485
322
II. TO DEMETER, 462-489
among the deathless gods, and has agreed that for a
third part of the circling year your daughter shall go
down to darkness and gloom, but for the two parts
shall be with you and the other deathless gods: so
has he declared it shall be and has bowed his head
in token. But come, my child, obey, and be not too
angry unrelentingly with the dark-clouded Son of
Cronos; but rather increase forthwith for men the
fruit that gives them life.”
So spake Rhea. And rich-crowned Demeter did
not refuse but straightway made fruit to spring up
from the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth
was laden with leaves and flowers. Then she went,
and to the kings who deal justice, Triptolemus and
Diocles, the horse-driver, and to doughty Eumolpus
and Celeus, leader of the people, she showed the con-
duct of her rites and taught them all her mysteries, to
Triptolemus and Polyxeinus and Diocles also,-awful
mysteries which no one may in any way transgress or
pry into or utter, for deep awe of the gods checks
the voice. Happy is he among men upon earth who
has seen these mysteries; but he who is uninitiate
and who has no part in them, never has lot of like
good things once he is dead, down in the darkness
and gloom.
But when the bright goddess had taught them all,
they went to Olympus to the gathering of the other
gods. And there they dwell beside Zeus who
delights in thunder, awful and reverend goddesses.
Right blessed is he among men on earth whom they
freely love soon they do send Plutus as guest to
his great house, Plutus who gives wealth to mortal
men.
323
Y 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Αλλ᾽ ἄγ' 1 Ἐλευσῖνος θυοέσσης δῆμον ἔχουσα 490
καὶ Πάρον ἀμφιρύτην ᾿Αντρῶνά τε πετρήεντα,
πότνια, ἀγλαόδωρο, ὡρηφόρε, Δηοῖ ἄνασσα,
αὐτὴ καὶ κούρη περικαλλὴς Περσεφόνεια·
πρόφρονες ἀντ᾽ ᾠδῆς βίοτον θυμήρε᾽ ὄπαζε.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
495
III
ΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΑ [ΔΗΛΙΟΝ]
Μνήσομαι οὐδὲ λάθωμαι ᾿Απόλλωνος ἑκάτοιο,
ὅντε θεοὶ κατὰ δῶμα Διὸς τρομέουσιν ἰόντα·
καί ῥά τ᾽ ἀναΐσσουσιν ἐπὶ σχεδὸν ἐρχομένοιο
πάντες ἀφ' ἑδράων, ὅτε φαίδιμα τόξα τιταίνει.
Λητὼ δ' οἴη μίμνε παραὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ,
ἡ ῥα βιόν τ' ἐχάλασσε καὶ ἐκλήισσε φαρέτρην,
καί οἱ ἀπ᾿ ἰφθίμων ὤμων χείρεσσιν ἑλοῦσα
τόξα κατεκρέμασε πρὸς κίονα πατρὸς ἑοῖο
πασσάλου ἐκ χρυσέου· τὸν δ᾽ ἐς θρόνον εἶσεν
ἄγουσα.
τῷ δ᾽ ἄρα νέκταρ ἔδωκε πατὴρ δέπαϊ χρυσείῳ
δεικνύμενος φίλον υἱόν· ἔπειτα δὲ δαίμονες ἄλλοι
ἔνθα καθίζουσιν· χαίρει δέ τε πότνια Λητώ,
οὔνεκα τοξοφόρον καὶ καρτερὸν υἱὸν ἔτικτε.
χαῖρε, μάκαιρ' ὦ Λητοῖ, ἐπεὶ τέκες ἀγλαὰ τέκνα,
Απόλλωνα τ' ἄνακτα καὶ "Αρτεμιν ἰοχέαιραν,
τὴν μὲν ἐν Ορτυγίῃ, τὸν δὲ κραναῇ ἐνὶ Δήλῳ,
κεκλιμένη πρὸς μακρὸν ὄρος καὶ Κύνθιον ὄχθον,
ἀγχοτάτω φοίνικος, ἐπ᾽ Ἰνωποῖο ῥεέθροις.
1 Ruhnken : ἀλλὰ θελευσῖνος, Μ.
5
10
15
324
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 1-18
And now, queen of the land of sweet Eleusis and
sea-girt Paros and rocky Antron, lady, giver of good
gifts, bringer of seasons, queen Deo, be gracious, you
and your daughter all beauteous Persephone, and
for my song grant me heart-cheering substance.
And now I will remember you and another song
also.
III
TO DELIAN APOLLO
I WILL remember and not be unmindful of Apollo
who shoots afar. As he goes through the house of
Zeus, the gods tremble before him and all spring up
from their seats when he draws near, as he bends his
bright bow. But Leto alone stays by the side of Zeus
who delights in thunder; and then she unstrings his
bow, and closes his quiver, and takes his archery from
his strong shoulders in her hands and hangs them on
a golden peg against a pillar of his father's house.
Then she leads him to a seat and makes him sit: and
the Father gives him nectar in a golden cup wel-
coming his dear son, while the other gods make
him sit down there, and queenly Leto rejoices
because she bare a mighty son and an archer.
Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bare glorious chil-
dren, the lord Apollo and Artemis who delights
in arrows; her in Ortygia, and him in rocky
Delos, as you rested against the great mass of the
Cynthian hill hard by a palm-tree by the streams
of Inopus.
3
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Πῶς τ᾽ ἄρ σ᾽ ὑμνήσω πάντως εὔυμνον ἐόντα;
πάντη γάρ τοι, Φοῖβε, νόμοι βεβλήατ᾽ ἀοιδῆς,
ἠμὲν ἀν᾽ ἤπειρον πορτιτρόφον ἠδ᾽ ἀνὰ νήσους·
πᾶσαι δὲ σκοπιαί τοι ἅδον καὶ πρώονες ἄκροι
ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων ποταμοί θ᾽ ἅλαδε προρέοντες
ἀκταί τ᾽ εἰς ἅλα κεκλιμέναι λιμένες τε θαλάσσης.
ἢ ὡς σε πρῶτον Λητὼ τέκε, χάρμα βροτοῖσι,
κλινθεῖσα πρὸς Κύνθου ὄρος κραναῇ ἐνὶ νήσῳ,
Δήλῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ; ἑκάτερθε δὲ κῦμα κελαινὸν
ἐξῄει χέρσονδε λιγυπνοίοις ἀνέμοισιν,
ἔνθεν ἀπορνύμενος πᾶσι θνητοῖσιν ἀνάσσεις.
ὅσσους Κρήτη τ᾽ ἐντὸς ἔχει καὶ δῆμος ᾿Αθηνῶν
νῆσός τ᾽ Αἰγίνη ναυσικλειτή τ᾽ Εὔβοια,
Αἰγαί, Πειρεσίαι 1 τε καὶ ἀγχιάλη Πεπάρηθος
Θρηίκιός τ' ᾿Αθόως καὶ Πηλίου ἄκρα κάρηνα
Θρηικίη τε Σάμος Ἴδης τ᾿ ὄρεα σκιόεντα,
Σκύρος καὶ Φώκαια καὶ Αὐτοκάνης ὄρος αἰπύ,
Ἴμβρος τ᾽ εὐκτιμένη καὶ Λῆμνος ἀμιχθαλόεσσα
Λέσβος τ' ἠγαθέη, Μάκαρος ἕδος Αἰολίωνος,
καὶ Χίος, ἣ νήσων λιπαρωτάτη εἶν ἁλὶ κεῖται,
παιπαλόεις τε Μίμας καὶ Κωρύκου ἄκρα κάρηνα
καὶ Κλάρος αἰγλήεσσα καὶ Αἰσαγέης ὄρος αἰπὺ
καὶ Σάμος ὑδρηλὴ Μυκάλης τ' αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα
Μίλητός τε Κόως τε, πόλις Μερόπων ἀνθρώπων,
καὶ Κνίδος αἰπεινὴ καὶ Κάρπαθος ήνεμόεσσα
Νάξος τ᾽ ἠδὲ Πάρος Ρήναιά τε πετρήεσσα,
τόσσον ἔπ᾽ ὠδίνουσα Ἑκηβόλον ἵκετο Λητώ,
εἴ τίς οἱ γαιέων υἱεῖ θέλοι οἰκία θέσθαι.
αἳ δὲ μάλ' ἐτρόμεον καὶ ἐδείδισαν, οὐδέ τις ἔτλη
Φοῖβον δέξασθαι, καὶ πιοτέρη περ ἐοῦσα·
Τ
1 Ruhnken : τ' Εἰρεσίαι, MSS.
20
25
25
30
35
40
45
326
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 19-48
How, then, shall I sing of you who in all ways are
a worthy theme of song? For everywhere, O Phoebus,
the whole range of song is fallen to you, both over
the mainland that rears heifers and over the isles.
All mountain-peaks and high headlands of lofty hills
and rivers flowing out to the deep and beaches
sloping seawards and havens of the sea are your
delight. Shall I sing how at the first Leto bare you
to be the joy of men, as she rested against Mount
Cynthus in that rocky isle, in sea-girt Delos-while
on either hand a dark wave rolled on landwards
driven by shrill winds-whence arising you rule over
all mortal men?
Among those who are in Crete, and in the township
of Athens, and in the isle of Aegina and Euboea,
famous for ships, in Aegae and Eiresiae and Pepare-
thus near the sea, in Thracian Athos and Pelion's
towering heights and Thracian Samos and the shady
hills of Ida, in Scyros and Phocaea and the high hill
of Autocane and fair-lying Imbros and smouldering
Lemnos and rich Lesbos, home of Macar, the son of
Aeolus, and Chios, brightest of all the isles that lie
in the sea, and craggy Mimas and the heights of
Corycus and gleaming Claros and the sheer hill of
Aesagea and watered Samos and the steep heights of
Mycale, in Miletus and Cos, the city of Meropian
men, and steep Cnidos and windy Carpathos, in Naxos
and Paros and rocky Rhenaea-so far roamed Leto
in travail with the god who shoots afar, to see if any
land would be willing to make a dwelling for her
son. But they greatly trembled and feared, and
none, not even the richest of them, dared receive
327
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πρίν γ' ὅτε δή ῥ᾽ ἐπὶ Δήλου ἐβήσατο πότνια
Λητώ
καί μιν ἀνειρομένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Δῆλ', εἰ γάρ κ' ἐθέλοις ἕδος ἔμμεναι υἱος ἐμοῖο,
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος, θέσθαι τ᾽ ἔνι πίονα νηόν,
ἄλλος δ᾽ οὔτις σεῖό ποθ᾽ ἅψεται, οὐδέ σε λήσει·
οὐδ᾽ εὔβων σέ γ᾽ ἔσεσθαι δἴομαι οὔτ᾽ εὔμηλον,
οὐδὲ τρύγην οἴσεις οὔτ᾽ ἂρ φυτὰ μυρία φύσεις.
εἰ δέ κ' ᾿Απόλλωνος ἑκαέργου νηὸν ἔχῃσθα,
ἄνθρωποί τοι πάντες ἀγινήσουσ᾽ ἑκατόμβας
ἐνθάδ' ἀγειρόμενοι, κνίσση δέ τοι ἄσπετος αἰεὶ
δημοῦ ἀναίξει βοσκήσεις θ᾽ οἵ κέ σ᾽ ἔχωσι
50
55
χειρὸς ἀπ᾽ ἀλλοτρίης, ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι πίαρ ὑπ᾽ οἶδας. 60
ὣς φάτο· χαῖρε δὲ Δῆλος, ἀμειβομένη δὲ προσ-
ηύδα·
65
Λητοί, κυδίστη θύγατερ μεγάλου Κοίοιο,
ἀσπασίη κεν ἐγώ γε γονὴν ἑκάτοιο ἄνακτος
δεξαίμην· αἰνῶς γὰρ ἐτήτυμόν εἰμι δυσηχὴς
ἀνδράσιν· ὧδε δέ κεν περιτιμήεσσα γενοίμην.
ἀλλὰ τόδε τρομέω, Λητοῖ, ἔπος, οὐδέ σε κεύσω·
λίην γάρ τινά φασιν ἀτάσθαλον Απόλλωνα
ἔσσεσθαι, μέγα δὲ πρυτανευσέμεν ἀθανάτοισι
καὶ θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσιν ἐπὶ ζείδωρον ἄρουραν.
τῷ ῥ᾽ αἰνῶς δείδοικα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν, το
μή, ὁπότ᾽ ἂν τὸ πρῶτον ἴδῃ φάος ἠελίοιο,
νῆσον ἀτιμήσας, ἐπεὶ ἡ κραναήπεδός εἰμι,
ποσσὶ καταστρέψας ὤσῃ ἁλὸς ἐν πελάγεσσιν,
ἔνθ᾽ ἐμὲ μὲν μέγα κῦμα κατὰ κρατὸς ἅλις αἰεὶ
κλύσσει· ὁ δ᾽ ἄλλην γαῖαν ἀφίξεται, ἥ κεν ἅδῃ οἱ, 75
τεύξασθαι νηόν τε καὶ ἄλσεα δενδρήεντα
πουλύποδες δ᾽ ἐν ἐμοὶ θαλάμας φῶκαί τε μέλαιναι
οἰκία ποιήσονται ἀκηδέα, χήτεϊ λαῶν.
328
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 49-78
Phoebus, until queenly Leto set foot on Delos and
uttered winged words and asked her :
"Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode
of my son Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich
temple-; for no other will touch you, as you will
find: and I think you will never be rich in oxen and
sheep, nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants
abundantly. But if you have the temple of far-
shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs
and gather here, and incessant savour of rich sacrifice
will always arise, and you will feed those who dwell
in you from the hand of strangers; for truly your
own soil is not rich."
So spake Leto. And Delos rejoiced and answered
and said: "Leto, most glorious daughter of great
Coeus, joyfully would I receive your child the far-
shooting lord; for it is all too true that I am ill-
spoken of among men, whereas thus I should become
very greatly honoured. But this saying I fear, and
I will not hide it from you, Leto. They say that
Apollo will be one that is very haughty and will
greatly lord it among gods and men all over the
fruitful earth. Therefore, I greatly fear in heart
and spirit that as soon as he sees the light of the
sun, he will scorn this island- for truly I have but a
hard, rocky soil-and overturn me and thrust me
down with his feet in the depths of the sea; then
will the great ocean wash deep above my head for
ever, and he will go to another land such as will
please him, there to make his temple and wooded
groves. So, many-footed creatures of the sea will
make their lairs in me and black seals their dwel-
lings undisturbed, because I lack people. Yet if
329
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
80
81
ἀλλ᾽ εἴ μοι τλαίης γε, θεά, μέγαν ὅρκον ομόσσαι,
ἐνθάδε μιν πρῶτον τεύξειν περικαλλέα νηὸν
ἔμμεναι ἀνθρώπων χρηστήριον, αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
[τεύξασθαι νηούς τε καὶ ἄλσεα δενδρηέντα 1]
πάντας ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώπους, ἐπεὶ ἢ πολυώνυμος ἔσται.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη· Λητὼ δὲ θεῶν μέγαν ὅρκον ὅμοσσε·
ἴστω νῦν τάδε Γαῖα καὶ Οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθεν
καὶ τὸ κατειβόμενον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ, ὅστε μέγιστος 85
ὅρκος δεινότατός τε πέλει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν·
ἢ μὴν Φοίβου τῇδε θυώδης ἔσσεται αἰεὶ
βωμὸς καὶ τέμενος, τίσει δέ σέ γ' ἔξοχα πάντων.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ὄμοσέν τε τελεύτησέν τε τὸν
ὅρκον,
Δῆλος μὲν μάλα χαῖρε γονῇ” ἑκάτοιο ἄνακτος·
Λητὼ δ᾽ ἐννῆμάρ τε καὶ ἐννέα νύκτας ἀέλπτοις
ὠδίνεσσι πέπαρτο. θεαὶ δ᾽ ἔσαν ἔνδοθι πᾶσαι,
ὅσσαι ἄρισται ἔασι, Διώνη τε Ρείη τε
Ιχναίη τε Θέμις καὶ ἀγάστονος ᾿Αμφιτρίτη
ἄλλαι τ' ἀθάναται νόσφιν λευκωλένου "Ηρης
ἧστο γὰρ ἐν μεγάροισι Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο·
μούνη δ᾽ οὐκ ἐπέπυστο μογοστόκος Εἰλείθυια·
ἧστο γὰρ ἄκρῳ Ὀλύμπῳ ὑπὸ χρυσέοισι νέφεσσιν,
Ηρης φραδμοσύνης λευκωλένου, ἥ μιν ἔρυκε
ζηλοσύνῃ, ὅτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ υἱὸν ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε
Λητὼ τέξεσθαι καλλιπλόκαμος τότ᾽ ἔμελλεν.
Αἳ δ' Ἶριν προὔπεμψαν ἐυκτιμένης ἀπὸ νήσου,
ἀξέμεν Εἰλείθυιαν, ὑποσχόμεναι μέγαν ὅρμον,
χρυσείοισι λίνοισιν ἐερμένον, ἐννεάπηχυν
νόσφιν δ' ἤνωγον καλέειν λευκωλένου "Ηρης,
μή μιν ἔπειτ᾽ ἐπέεσσιν ἀποστρέψειεν ἰοῦσαν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τό γ' ἄκουσε ποδήνεμος ὠκέα Ιρις,
2 Franke : γόνῳ, MSS.
1 Allen.
90
95
100
105
330
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 79-107
you will but dare to sware a great oath, goddess, that
here first he will build a glorious temple to be an
oracle for men, then let him afterwards make tem-
ples and wooded groves amongst all men; for surely
he will be greatly renowned.
So said Delos. And Leto sware the great oath of
the gods: "Now hear this, Earth and wide Heaven
above, and dropping water of Styx (this is the
strongest and most awful oath for the blessed gods),
surely Phoebus shall have here his fragrant altar
and precinct, and you he shall honour above all."
Now when Leto had sworn and ended her oath,
Delos was very glad at the birth of the far-shooting
lord. But Leto was racked nine days and nine
nights with pangs beyond wont. And there were
with her all the chiefest of the goddesses, Dione
and Rhea and Ichnaea and Themis and loud-moaning
Amphitrite and the other deathless goddesses save
white-armed Hera, who sat in the halls of cloud-
gathering Zeus. Only Eilithyia, goddess of sore
travail, had not heard of Leto's trouble, for she sat
on the top of Olympus beneath golden clouds by
white-armed Hera's contriving, who kept her close
through envy, because Leto with the lovely tresses
was soon to bear a son faultless and strong.
But the goddesses sent out Iris from the well-set
isle to bring Eilithyia, promising her a great neck-
lace strung with golden threads, nine cubits long.
And they bade Iris call her aside from white-armed
Hera, lest she might afterwards turn her from coming
with her words. When swift Iris, fleet of foot as
the wind, had heard all this, she set to run; and
331
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
βῆ ῥα θέειν, ταχέως δὲ διήνυσε πᾶν τὸ μεσηγύ.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἵκανε θεῶν ἕδος, αἰπὸν Ὄλυμπον,
αὐτίκ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Ειλείθυιαν ἀπὲκ μεγάροιο θύραζε
ἐκπροκαλεσσαμένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα,
πάντα μάλ', ὡς ἐπέτελλον Ολύμπια δώματ'
ἔχουσαι.
τῇ δ᾽ ἄρα θυμὸν ἔπειθεν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλοισι·
βὰν δὲ ποσὶ τρήρωσι πελειάσιν ἔθμαθ᾽ ὁμοῖαι.
εὖτ᾽ ἐπὶ Δήλου ἔβαινε μαγοστόκος Ειλείθυια,
δὴ τότε τὴν τόκος εἷλε, μενοίνησεν δὲ τεκέσθαι.
ἀμφὶ δὲ φοίνικι βάλε πήχες, γοῦνα δ᾽ ἔρεισε
λειμῶνι μαλακῷ· μείδησε δὲ γαῖ᾽ ὑπένερθεν
ἐκ δ᾽ ἔθορε πρὸ φόωσδε· θεαὶ δ᾽ ὀλόλυξαν ἅπασαι.
Ἔνθα σέ, ἤιε Φοῖβε, θεαὶ λόον ὕδατι καλῷ
ἁγνῶς καὶ καθαρῶς, σπάρξαν δ᾽ ἐν φάρεϊ λευκῷ,
λεπτῷ, νηγατέῳ· περὶ δὲ χρύσεον στρόφον ἧκαν.
Οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Απόλλωνα χρυσάορα θήσατο μήτηρ,
ἀλλὰ Θέμις νέκταρ τε καὶ ἀμβροσίην ἐρατεινὴν
ἀθανάτῃσιν χερσὶν ἐπήρξατο· χαῖρε δὲ Λητώ,
οὕνεκα τοξοφόρον καὶ καρτερὸν υἱὸν ἔτικτεν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δή, Φοῖβε, κατέβρως ἄμβροτον εἶδαρ,
οὔ σέ γ' ἔπειτ᾽ ἴσχον χρύσεοι στρόφοι ἀσπαί
ροντα,
110
115
120
125
οὐδ᾽ ἔτι δέσματ᾽ ἔρυκε, λύοντο δὲ πείρατα πάντα.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀθανάτῃσι μετηύδα Φοίβος Απόλλων· 130
Εἴη μοι κιθαρίς τε φίλη καὶ καμπύλα τόξα,
χρήσω δ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι Διὸς νημερτέα βουλήν.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἐβίβασκεν ἐπὶ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης
Φοῖβος ἀκερσεκόμης, ἑκατηβόλος· αἱ δ᾽ ἄρα
πᾶσαι
I
!
1
332
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 108-134
quickly finishing all the distance she came to the
home of the gods, sheer Olympus, and forthwith
called Eilithyia out from the hall to the door and
spoke winged words to her, telling her all as the
goddesses who dwell on Olympus had bidden her.
So she moved the heart of Eilithyia in her dear
breast; and they went their way, like shy wild-doves
in their going.
And as soon as Eilithyia the goddess of sore
travail set foot on Delos, the pains of birth seized
Leto, and she longed to bring forth; so she cast
her arms about a palm tree and kneeled on the soft
meadow while the earth laughed for joy beneath.
Then the child leaped forth to the light, and all the
goddesses raised a cry. Straightway, great Phoebus,
the goddesses washed you purely and cleanly with
sweet water, and swathed you in a white garment of
fine texture, new-woven, and fastened a golden band
about you.
Now Leto did not give Apollo, bearer of the
golden blade, her breast; but Themis duly poured
nectar and ambrosia with her divine hands: and
Leto was glad because she had borne a strong son
and an archer. But as soon as you had tasted that
divine heavenly food, O Phoebus, you could no
longer then be held by golden cords nor confined
with bands, but all their ends were undone. Forth-
with Phoebus Apollo spoke out among the deathless
goddesses:
"The lyre and the curved bow shall ever be dear
to me, and I will declare to men the unfailing will
of Zeus."
So said Phoebus, the long-haired god who shoots
afar and began to walk upon the wide-pathed earth;
333
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
145
θάμβεον ἀθάναται· χρυσῷ δ' ἄρα Δῆλος ἅπασα 135
[βεβρίθει, καθορῶσα Διὸς Λητοὺς τε γενέθλην,
γηθοσύνῃ, ὅτι μιν θεὸς εἵλετο οἰκία θέσθαι
νήσων ἠπείρου τε, φίλησε δὲ κηρόθι μᾶλλον 1.]
ἤνθησ', ὡς ὅτε τε ῥίον οὔρεος ἄνθεσιν ὕλης.
Αὐτὸς δ᾽, ἀργυρότοξε, ἄναξ ἑκατηβόλο "Απολλον, 140
ἄλλοτε μέν τ' ἐπὶ Κύνθου ἐβήσαο παιπαλόεντος,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἂν νήσους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἠλάσκαζες.
πολλοί τοι νηοί τε καὶ ἄλσεα δενδρήεντα·
πᾶσαι δὲ σκοπιαί τε φίλαι καὶ πρώονες ἄκροι
ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων ποταμοί θ᾽ ἅλαδε προρέοντες·
ἀλλὰ σὺ Δήλῳ, Φοῖβε, μάλιστ᾽ ἐπιτέρπεαι ἦτορ,
ἔνθα τοι ἑλκεχίτωνες Ιάονες ἠγερέθονται
αὐτοῖς σὺν παίδεσσι καὶ αἰδοίῃς ἀλόχοισιν.
οἱ δέ σε πυγμαχίῃ τε καὶ ὀρχηθμῷ καὶ ἀοιδῇ
μνησάμενοι τέρπουσιν, ὅτ᾽ ἂν στήσωνται ἀγῶνα. 150.
φαίη κ᾿ ἀθανάτους καὶ ἀγήρως ἔμμεναι αἰεί,
ὃς τόθ᾽ ὑπαντιάσει᾽, ὅτ᾽ Ἰάονες ἀθρόοι εἶεν·
πάντων γάρ κεν ἴδοιτο χάριν, τέρψαιτο δὲ θυμὸν
ἄνδρας τ᾽ εἰσορόων καλλιζώνους τε γυναῖκας
νῆάς τ᾽ ὠκείας ἠδ᾽ αὐτῶν κτήματα πολλά.
πρὸς δὲ τόδε μέγα θαῦμα, ὅου κλέος οὔποτ᾽ ὀλεῖται,
κοῦραι Δηλιάδες, ἑκατηβελέταο θεράπναι·
αἵ τ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἂρ πρῶτον μὲν ᾿Απόλλων᾽ ὑμνήσωσιν,
αὖτις δ᾽ αὖ Λητώ τε καὶ "Αρτεμιν ἰοχέαιραν,
μνησάμεναι ἀνδρῶν τε παλαιῶν ἠδὲ γυναικῶν
ὕμνον ἀείδουσιν, θέλγουσι δὲ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων.
1 11. 136-8 are intrusive, being alternative for 1. 139.
They are found in II and the edition of Stephanus (in text),
and in the margin of ETL (with the note "in another copy
these verses also are extant "). In D they are added by a
second hand.
155
160
334
III. TO DELIAN APOLLO, 135–161
and all the goddesses were amazed at him. Then
with gold all Delos [was laden, beholding the child
of Zeus and Leto, for joy because the god chose her
above the islands and shore to make his dwelling in
her: and she loved him yet more in her heart.]
blossomed as does a mountain-top with woodland
flowers.
And you, O lord Apollo, god of the silver bow,
shooting afar, now walked on craggy Cynthus, and
now kept wandering about the islands and the
people in them. Many are your temples and wooded
groves, and all peaks and towering bluffs of lofty
mountains and rivers flowing to the sea are dear to
you, Phoebus, yet in Delos do you most delight your
heart; for there the long robed Ionians gather in
your honour with their children and shy wives:
mindful, they delight you with boxing and dancing
and song, so often as they hold their gathering.
A
man would say that they were deathless and un-
ageing if he should then come upon the Ionians so
met together. For he would see the graces of them
all, and would be pleased in heart gazing at the men
and well-girded women with their swift ships and
great wealth. And there is this great wonder
besides and its renown shall never perish, the
girls of Delos, hand-maidens of the Far-shooter; for
when they have praised Apollo first, and also Leto
and Artemis who delights in arrows, they sing a
strain telling of men and women of past days, and
charm the tribes of men.
Also they can imitate the
335
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πάντων δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων φωνὰς καὶ βαμβαλιαστὺν
μιμεῖσθ᾽ ἴσασιν· φαίη δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕκαστος
φθέγγεσθ᾽· οὕτω σφιν καλὴ συνάρηρεν ἀοιδή.
᾿Αλλ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽ ἱλήκοι μὲν ᾿Απόλλων Αρτέμιδι
ξύν,
χαίρετε δ' ὑμεῖς πᾶσαι· ἐμεῖο δὲ καὶ μετόπισθεν
μνήσασθ᾽, ὁππότε κέν τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
ἐνθάδ᾽ ἀνείρηται ξεῖνος ταλαπείριος ἐλθών·
ὦ κοῦραι, τίς δ' ύμμιν ἀνὴρ ἥδιστος ἀοιδῶν
ἐνθάδε πωλεῖται, καὶ τέῳ τέρπεσθε μάλιστα;
ὑμεῖς δ᾽ εὖ μάλα πᾶσαι ὑποκρίνασθαι ἀφήμως·
τυφλὸς ἀνήρ, οἰκεῖ δὲ Χίῳ ἔνι παιπαλοέσση
τοῦ πᾶσαι μετόπισθεν ἀριστεύσουσιν ἀοιδαί.
ἡμεῖς δ᾽ ὑμέτερον κλέος οἴσομεν, ὅσσον ἐπ' αἶαν
ἀνθρώπων στρεφόμεσθα πόλεις εὖ ναιεταώσας·
οἳ δ᾽ ἐπὶ δὴ πείσονται, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐτήτυμόν ἐστιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν οὐ λήξω ἑκηβόλον Απόλλωνα
ὑμνέων ἀργυρότοξον, ὃν ἠύκομος τέκε Λητώ.
165
170
175
180
[ΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΑ ΠΥΘΙΟΝ]
Ὦ ἄνα, καὶ Λυκίην καὶ Μηονίην ἐρατεινὴν
καὶ Μίλητον ἔχεις, ἔναλον πόλιν ἱμερόεσσαν,
αὐτὸς δ᾽ αὖ Δήλοιο περικλύστοιο μέγ᾽ ἀνάσσεις.
Εἰσι δὲ φορμίζων Λητοῦς ἐρικυδέος υἱὸς
φόρμιγγι γλαφυρῇ πρὸς Πυθὼ πετρήεσσαν,
ἄμβροτα εἵματ᾽ ἔχων τεθυωμένα· τοῖο δὲ φόρμιγξ
χρυσέου ὑπὸ πλήκτρου καναχὴν ἔχει ὑμερόεσσαν. 185
ἔνθεν δὲ πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἀπὸ χθονός, ὥστε νόημα,
εἰσι Διὸς πρὸς δῶμα θεῶν μεθ᾽ ὁμήγυριν ἄλλων.
1 ETLA : κρεμβαλιαστὺν, other MSS. The former word is
connected with βαμβαίνειν = to chatter with the teeth, and is
usually taken to mean castanet-playing”; but since imita-
66
336
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 162-187
tongues of all men and their clattering speech :
each would say that he himself were singing, so
close to truth is their sweet song.
And now may Apollo be favourable and Artemis ;
and farewell all you maidens. Remember me in after
time whenever any one of men on earth, a stranger
who has seen and suffered much, comes here and asks
of you:
"Whom think ye, girls, is the sweetest singer
that comes here, and in whom do you
most delight?"’
Then answer, each and all, with one voice: "He is
a blind man, and dwells in rocky Chios: his lays are
evermore supreme." As for me, I will carry your
renown as far as I roam over the earth to the well-
placed cities of man, and they will believe also; for
indeed this thing is true. And I will never cease to
praise far-shooting Apollo, god of the silver bow,
whom rich-haired Leto bare.
TO PYTHIAN APOLLO
O LORD, Lycia is yours and lovely Maeonia and
Miletus, charming city by the sea, but over wave-
girt Delos you greatly reign your own self.
Leto's all-glorious son goes to rocky Pytho, playing
upon his hollow lyre, clad in divine, perfumed
garments; and at the touch of the golden key his
lyre sings sweet. Thence, swift as thought, he
speeds from earth to Olympus, to the house of Zeus, to
join the gathering of the other gods: then straightway
tion of castanet playing would hardly be worthy of mention
as a feat of skill, it seems more likely that the stammering or
harsh dental pronunciation of foreigners is to be understood.
337
Z
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
190
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μέλει κίθαρις καὶ ἀοιδή·
Μοῦσαι μέν θ᾽ ἅμα πᾶσαι ἀμειβόμεναι ἐπὶ καλῇ
ὑμνεῦσίν ῥα θεῶν δῶρ᾽ ἄμβροτα ἠδ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
τλημοσύνας, ὅσ᾽ ἔχοντες ὑπ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι
ζώουσ᾽ ἀφραδέες καὶ ἀμήχανοι, οὐδὲ δύνανται
εὑρέμεναι θανάτοιό τ᾽ ἄκος καὶ γήραος ἄλκαρ·
αὐτὰρ ἐυπλόκαμοι Χάριτες καὶ εύφρονες Ωραι
Αρμονίη θ' Ηβη τε Διὸς θυγάτηρ τ' Αφροδίτη 195
ὀρχεῦντ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἐπὶ καρπῷ χεῖρας ἔχουσαι·
τῇσι μὲν οὔτ᾽ αἰσχρὴ μεταμέλπεται οὔτ᾽ ἐλάχεια,
ἀλλὰ μάλα μεγάλη τε ἰδεῖν καὶ εἶδος ἀγητή,
Αρτεμις ιοχέαιρα ὁμότροφος Απόλλωνι.
ἐν δ᾽ αὖ τῇσιν Αρης καὶ εύσκοπος Αργειφόντης 200
παίζουσ'· αὐτὰρ ὁ Φοῖβος Απόλλων ἐγκιθαρίζει
καλὰ καὶ ὕψι βιβάς· αἴγλη δέ μιν ἀμφιφαείνει
μαρμαρυγαί τε ποδῶν καὶ ἐυκλώστοιο χιτῶνος.
οἱ δ᾽ ἐπιτέρπονται θυμὸν μέγαν εἰσορόωντες
Λητώ τε χρυσοπλόκαμος καὶ μητίετα Ζεὺς
υἱα φίλον παίζοντα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.
Πῶς τ᾽ ἄρ σ᾽ ὑμνήσω πάντως εὔυμνον ἐόντα;
ἠέ σ᾽ ἐνὶ μνηστῆρσιν ἡ ἀείδω καὶ φιλότητι,
ὅππως μνωόμενος 2 ἔκιες Αζαντίδα κούρην
Ἴσχυ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἀντιθέῳ, Ελατιονίδῃ εὐίππῳ;
ἢ ἅμα Φόρβαντι Τριοπέῳ 3 γένος, ἢ ἅμ᾽ Ερευθεῖ;
ἢ ἅμα Λευκίππῳ καὶ Λευκίπποιο δάμαρτι
*
*
*
πεζός, ὁ δ᾽ ἵπποισιν· οὐ μὴν Τρίοπός γ᾽ ἐνέλειπεν.
ἢ ὡς τὸ πρῶτον χρηστήριον ἀνθρώποισι
205
210
ζητεύων κατὰ γαῖαν ἔβης, ἑκατηβόλ᾽ Απολλον; 215
1 Martin: μνηστῇσιν, MSS.
2 Martin : ὁππόταν ἱέμενος, Μ: the other MSS. are still
more corrupt.
• Allen-Sikes : τριόπω, τριοπῶ and τριοπόω, MSS.
338
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 188-215
the undying gods think only of the lyre and song,
and all the Muses together, voice sweetly answering
voice, hymn the unending gifts the gods enjoy and
the sufferings of men, all that they endure at the
hands of the deathless gods, and how they live
witless and helpless and cannot find healing for
death or defence against old age. Meanwhile the
rich-tressed Graces and cheerful Seasons dance with
Harmonia and Hebe and Aphrodite, daughter of
Zeus, holding each other by the wrist.
And among
them sings one, not mean nor puny, but tall to
look upon and enviable in mien, Artemis who
delights in arrows, sister of Apollo. Among them
sport Ares and the keen-eyed Slayer of Argus, while
Apollo plays his lyre stepping high and featly and a
radiance shines around him, the gleaming of his
feet and close-woven vest. And they, even gold-
tressed Leto and wise Zeus, rejoice in their great
hearts as they watch their dear son playing among
the undying gods.
How then shall I sing of you-though in all ways
you are a worthy theme for song? Shall I sing of
you as wooer and in the fields of love, how you went
wooing the daughter of Azan along with god-like
Ischys the son of well-horsed Elatius, or with
Phorbas sprung from Triops, or with Ereutheus, or
with Leucippus and the wife of Leucippus .
you on foot, he with his chariot, yet he fell not
short of Triops. Or shall I sing how at the first
you went about the earth seeking a place of
oracle for men, O far-shooting Apollo? To Pieria
2
339
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Πιερίην μὲν πρῶτον ἀπ᾿ Οὐλύμποιο κατῆλθες·
Λέκτον τ' ἠμαθοέντα παρέστιχες ἠδ᾽ Ενιῆνας1
καὶ διὰ Περραιβούς· τάχα δ' εἰς Ἰαωλκὸν ἵκανες,
Κηναίου τ᾽ ἐπέβης ναυσικλειτῆς Εὐβοίης.
στῆς δ᾽ ἐπὶ Ληλάντῳ πεδίῳ· τό τοι οὐχ ἅδε θυμῷ 220
τεύξασθαι νηόν τε καὶ ἄλσεα δενδρήεντα.
ป
ἔνθεν δ' Εὔριπον διαβάς, ἑκατηβόλο Απολλον,
βῆς ἄν᾿ ὄρος ζάθεον, χλωρόν· τάχα δ' ἶξες ἀπ' αὐτοῦ
ἐς Μυκαλησσὸν ἰὼν καὶ Τευμησσὸν λεχεποίην.
Θήβης δ᾽ εἰσαφίκανες ἕδος καταειμένον ὕλῃ·
οὐ
γάρ πώ τις ἔναιε βροτῶν ἱερῇ ἐνὶ Θήβῃ,
οὐδ᾽ ἄρα πω τότε γ᾽ ἦσαν ἀταρπιτοὶ οὐδὲ κέλευθοι
Θήβης ἀμ πεδίον πυρηφόρον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔχεν ὕλη.
Ενθεν δὲ προτέρω ἔκιες, ἑκατηβόλο Απολλον,
Ογχηστὸν δ᾽ ἕξες, Ποσιδήιον ἀγλαὸν ἄλσος·
ἔνθα νεοδμὴς πωλος ἀναπνέει ἀχθόμενός περ
ἕλκων ἅρματα καλά· χαμαὶ δ᾽ ἐλατὴρ ἀγαθός περ
ἐκ δίφροιο θορὼν ὁδὸν ἔρχεται· οἳ δὲ τέως μὲν
κείν᾽ ὄχεα κροτέουσι ἀνακτορίην ἀφιέντες.
εἰ δέ κεν ἅρματ᾽ ἀγῇσιν ἐν ἄλσεϊ δενδρήεντι,
ἵππους μὲν κομέουσι, τὰ δὲ κλίναντες ἐῶσιν·
ὡς γὰρ τὰ πρώτισθ᾽ ὁσίη γένεθ'· οἳ δὲ ἄνακτι
εὔχονται, δίφρον δὲ θεοῦ τότε μοῖρα φυλάσσει.
Ενθεν δὲ προτέρω ἔκιες, ἑκατηβόλ᾽ Απολλον·
Κηφισσὸν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπειτα κιχήσαο καλλιρέεθρον,
ὅς τε Λιλαίηθεν προχέει καλλίρροον ὕδωρ.
τὸν διαβάς, Εκάεργε, καὶ Ὠκαλέην πολύπυργον
ἔνθεν ἄρ᾽ εἰς ῾Αλίαρτον ἀφίκεο ποιήεντα.
225
230
235
240
245
Βῆς δ' ἐπὶ Τελφούσης· τόθι τοι ἅδε χῶρος ἀπήμων
τεύξασθαι νηόν τε καὶ ἄλσεα δενδρήεντα·
στῆς δὲ μάλ᾽ ἄγχ᾽ αὐτῆς καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπες·
1 Matthiae: Αγνιήνας, Μ.
340
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 216-246
first you went down from Olympus and passed by
sandy Lectus and Enienae and through the land
of the Perrhaebi. Soon you came to Iolcus and set
foot on Cenaeum in Euboea, famed for ships: you
stood in the Lelantine plain, but it pleased not your
heart to make a temple there and wooded groves.
From there you crossed the Euripus, far-shooting
Apollo, and went up the green, holy hills, going on
to Mycalessus and grassy-bedded Teumessus, and
so came to the wood-clad abode of Thebe; for as
yet no man lived in holy Thebe, nor were there
tracks or ways about Thebe's wheat-bearing plain
as yet.
And further still you went, O far-shooting Apollo,
and came to Onchestus, Poseidon's bright grove:
there the new-broken colt distressed with drawing
the trim chariot gets spirit again, and the skilled
driver springs from his car and goes on his way.
Then the horses for a while rattle the empty car,
being rid of guidance; and if they break the chariot
in the woody grove, men look after the horses, but
tilt the chariot and leave it there; for this was the
rite from the very first. And the drivers pray to the
lord of the shrine; but the chariot falls to the lot
of the god.
Further yet you went, O far-shooting Apollo, and
reached next Cephissus' sweet stream which pours
forth its sweet-flowing water from Lilaea, and
crossing over it, O worker from afar, you passed many-
towered Ocalea and reached grassy Haliartus.
Then you went towards Telphusa: and there the
pleasant place seemed fit for making a temple and
wooded grove.
You came very near and spoke to
341
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Τελφοῦσ᾽, ἐνθάδε δὴ φρονέω περικαλλέα νηὸν
ἀνθρώπων τεῦξαι χρηστήριον, οἵτε μοι αἰεὶ
ἐνθάδ᾽ ἀγινήσουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας,
ἠμὲν ὅσοι Πελοπόννησον πίειραν ἔχουσιν
ἠδ᾽ ὅσοι Εὐρώπην τε καὶ ἀμφιρύτας κατὰ νήσους,
χρησόμενοι· τοῖσιν δέ κ' ἐγὼ νημερτέα βουλὴν
πᾶσι θεμιστεύοιμι χρέων ἐνὶ πίονι νηῷ.
250
255
260
Ὣς εἰπὼν διέθηκε θεμείλια Φοίβος Απόλλων
εὐρέα καὶ μάλα μακρὰ διηνεκές· ἡ δὲ ἰδοῦσα
Τελφοῦσα κραδίην ἐχολώσατο εἶπέ τε μῦθον·
Φοῖβε ἄναξ ἑκάεργε, ἔπος τί τοι ἐν φρεσὶ θήσω.
ἐνθάδ' ἐπεὶ φρονέεις τεύξαι περικαλλέα νηὸν
ἔμμεναι ἀνθρώποις χρηστήριον, οἵτε τοι αἰεὶ
ἐνθάδ' ἀγινήσουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας
ἀλλ᾽ ἔκ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσι,
πημανέει σ᾽ αἰεὶ κτύπος ἵππων ὠκειάων
ἀρδόμενοί τ᾽ οὐρῆες ἐμῶν ἱερῶν ἀπὸ πηγέων·
ἔνθα τις ἀνθρώπων βουλήσεται εἰσοράασθαι
ἅρματά τ᾽ εὐποίητα καὶ ὠκυπόδων κτύπον ἵππων 265
ἢ νηόν τε μέγαν καὶ κτήματα πόλλ᾽ ἐνεόντα.
ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δή τι πίθοιο, σὺ δὲ κρείσσων καὶ ἀρείων
ἐσσί, ἄναξ, ἐμέθεν, σεῦ δὲ σθένος ἐστὶ μέγιστον,
ἐν Κρίσῃ ποίησαι ὑπὸ πτυχὶ Παρνησοῖο.
ἔνθ᾽ οὔθ᾽ ἅρματα καλὰ δονήσεται οὔτε τοι ἵππων 270
ὠκυπόδων κτύπος ἔσται εύδμητον περὶ βωμόν,
ἀλλά τοι ὡς προσάγοιεν Ἰηπαιήονι δῶρα
ἀνθρώπων κλυτὰ φύλα· σὺ δὲ φρένας ἀμφιγε-
γηθὼς
δέξαι ἱερὰ καλὰ περικτιόνων ἀνθρώπων.
ὡς εἰποῦσ᾽ Ἑκάτου πέπιθε φρένας, ὄφρα οἱ αὐτῇ 275
Τελφούσῃ κλέος εἴη ἐπὶ χθονί, μηδ' Εκάτοιο.
Ενθεν δὲ προτέρω ἔκιες, ἑκατηβόλο Απολλον
342
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 247-277
her: "Telphusa, here I am minded to make a
glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they
will always bring perfect hecatombs, both those
who live in rich Peloponnesus and those of Europe
and all the wave-washed isles, coming to seek
oracles. And I will deliver to them all counsel
that cannot fail, giving answer in my rich temple."
you
So said Phoebus Apollo, and laid out all the
foundations throughout, wide and very long. But
when Telphusa saw this, she was angry in heart and
spoke, saying: "Lord Phoebus, worker from afar, I
will speak a word of counsel to your heart, since
are minded to make here a glorious temple to be an
oracle for men who will always bring hither perfect
hecatombs for you; yet I will speak out, and do you
lay up my words in your heart. The trampling of
swift horses and the sound of mules watering at my
sacred springs will always irk you, and men will like
better to gaze at the well-made chariots and stamp-
ing, swift-footed horses than at your great temple
and the many treasures that are within.
But if you
will be moved by me-for you, lord, are stronger and
mightier than I, and your strength is very great-
build at Crisa below the glades of Parnassus: there
no bright chariot will clash, and there will be no
noise of swift-footed horses near your well-built
altar. But so the glorious tribes of men will bring
gifts to you as Iepaeon (Hail-Healer'), and you
will receive with delight rich sacrifices from the
people dwelling round about." So said Telphusa,
that she alone, and not the Far-Shooter, should
have renown there; and she persuaded the Far-
Shooter.
Further yet you went, far-shooting Apollo, until
343
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
280
ἶξες δ᾽ ἐς Φλεγύων ἀνδρῶν πόλιν ὑβριστάων,
οἱ Διὸς οὐκ ἀλέγοντες ἐπὶ χθονι ναιετάασκον
ἐν καλῇ βήσσῃ Κηφισίδος ἐγγύθι λίμνης.
ἔνθεν καρπαλίμως προσέβης πρὸς δειράδα θύων
ἵκεο δ᾽ ἐς Κρίσην ὑπὸ Παρνησὸν νιφόεντα,
κνημὸν πρὸς Ζέφυρον τετραμμένον, αὐτὰρ ὑπερθεν
πέτρη ἐπικρέμαται, κοίλη δ᾽ ὑποδέδρομε βῆσσα,
τρηχεῖ· ἔνθα ἄναξ τεκμήρατο Φοῖβος Απόλλων 285
νηὸν ποιήσασθαι ἐπήρατον είπέ τε μῦθον·
Ενθάδε δὴ φρονέω τεῦξαι περικαλλέα νηὸν
ἔμμεναι ἀνθρώποις χρηστήριον, οἵτε μοι αἰεὶ
ἐνθάδ᾽ ἀγινήσουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας,
ἠμὲν ὅσοι Πελοπόννησον πίειραν ἔχουσιν,
ἠδ᾽ ὅσοι Εὐρώπην τε καὶ ἀμφιρύτας κατὰ νήσους,
χρησόμενοι· τοῖσιν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐγὼ νημερτέα βουλὴν
πᾶσι θεμιστεύοιμι χρέων ἐνὶ πίονι νηῷ.
290
Ὣς εἰπὼν διέθηκε θεμείλια Φοῖβος Απόλλων
εὐρέα καὶ μάλα μακρὰ διηνεκές· αὐτὰρ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς 295
λάινον οὐδὸν ἔθηκε Τροφώνιος ἠδ᾽ ᾿Αγαμήδης,
υἱέες Εργίνου, φίλοι ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν·
ἀμφὶ δὲ νηὸν ἔνασσαν ἀθέσφατα φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
ξεστοῖσιν λάεσσιν, ἀοίδιμον ἔμμεναι αἰεί.
᾿Αγχοῦ δὲ κρήνη καλλίρροος, ἔνθα δράκαιναν 300
κτεῖνεν ἄναξ, Διὸς υἱός, ἀπὸ κρατεροῖο βιοῖο,
ζατρεφέα, μεγάλην, τέρας ἄγριον, ἣ κακὰ πολλὰ
ἀνθρώπους ἔρδεσκεν ἐπὶ χθονί, πολλὰ μὲν αὐτούς,
πολλὰ δὲ μῆλα ταναύποδ᾽, ἐπεὶ πέλε πῆμα
δαφοινόν.
καί ποτε δεξαμένη χρυσοθρόνου ἔτρεφεν Ηρης
δεινόν τ᾿ ἀργαλέον τε Τυφάονα, πῆμα βροτοῖσιν·
ὅν ποτ' ἄρ' Ηρη ἔτικτε χολωσαμένη Διὶ πατρί,
305
344
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 278-307
you came to the town of the presumptuous Phlegyae
who dwell on this earth in a lovely glade near
the Cephisian lake, caring not for Zeus. And
thence you went speeding swiftly to the mountain
ridge, and came to Crisa beneath snowy Parnassus,
a foothill turned towards the west a cliff hangs
over it from above, and a hollow, rugged glade
runs under. There the lord Phoebus Apollo
resolved to make his lovely temple, and thus he
said:
"In this place I am minded to build a glorious
temple to be an oracle for men, and here they will
always bring perfect hecatombs, both they who
dwell in rich Peloponnesus and the men of Europe
and from all the wave-washed isles, coming to
question me. And I will deliver to them all
counsel that cannot fail, answering them in my rich
temple."
When he had said this, Phoebus Apollo laid out
all the foundations throughout, wide and very long;
and upon these the sons of Erginus, Trophonius and
Agamedes, dear to the deathless gods, laid a footing
of stone. And the countless tribes of men built
the whole temple of wrought stones, to be sung of
for ever.
But near by was a sweet flowing spring, and there
with his strong bow the lord, the son of Zeus, killed
the bloated, great she-dragon, a fierce monster wont
to do great mischief to men upon earth, to men them-
selves and to their thin-shanked sheep; for she was
a very bloody plague. She it was who once received
from gold-throned Hera and brought up fell, cruel
Typhaon to be a plague to men. Once on a time
Hera bare him because she was angry with father
345
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἥνικ᾽ ἄρα Κρονίδης ἐρικυδέα γείνατ' Αθήνην
ἐν κορυφῇ· ἡ δ' αἶψα χολώσατο πότνια "Ηρη
ἠδὲ καὶ ἀγρομένοισι μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισιν ἔειπε·
310
315
317a
320
Κέκλυτέ μευ, πάντες τε θεοὶ πᾶσαί τε θέαιναι,
ὡς ἔμ' ἀτιμάζειν ἄρχει νεφεληγερέτα Ζεὺς
πρῶτος, ἐπεί μ' ἄλοχον ποιήσατο κέδν᾽ εἰδυῖαν
καὶ νῦν νόσφιν ἐμεῖο τέκε γλαυκῶπιν ᾿Αθήνην,
ἢ πᾶσιν μακάρεσσι μεταπρέπει ἀθανάτοισιν·
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ' ἠπεδανὸς γέγονεν μετὰ πᾶσι θεοῖσι
παῖς ἐμὸς Ηφαιστος, ῥικνὸς πόδας, ὃν τέκον αὐτή
[αἶσχος ἐμοὶ καὶ ὄνειδος ἐν οὐρανῷ ὅντε καὶ
αὐτή 2]
ῥῖψ᾽ ἀνὰ χερσὶν ἑλοῦσα καὶ ἔμβαλον εὐρέι πόντῳ·
ἀλλά ὁ Νηρήος θυγάτηρ Θέτις αργυρόπεζα
δέξατο καὶ μετὰ ᾖσι κασιγνήτῃσι κόμισσεν.
ὡς ὄφελ᾽ ἄλλο θεοῖσι χαρίζεσθαι μακάρεσσι.
σχέτλιε, ποικιλομῆτα, τί νῦν μητίσεαι ἄλλο;
πῶς ἔτλης οἷος τεκέειν γλαυκώπιν ᾿Αθήνην;
οὐκ ἂν ἐγὼ τεκόμην; καὶ σὴ κεκλημένη ἔμπης
ἦα ῥ' 3 ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν, οἳ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι. 325
φράζεο νῦν μή τοί τι κακὸν μητίσομ᾽ ὀπίσσω.
καὶ νῦν μέντοι ἐγὼ τεχνήσομαι, ὥς κε γένηται
παῖς ἐμός, ὅς κε θεοῖσι μεταπρέποι ἀθανάτοισιν,
οὔτε σὸν αἰσχύνασ᾽ ἱερὸν λέχος οὔτ᾽ ἐμὸν αὐτῆς.
οὐδέ τοι εἰς εὐνὴν πωλήσομαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ σεῖο
τηλόθ᾽ ἐοῦσα 4 θεοῖσι μετέσσομαι ἀθανάτοισιν.
Ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ἀπὸ νόσφι θεῶν κίε χωομένη κῆρ.
αὐτίκ᾽ ἔπειτ᾽ ἠρᾶτο βοῶπις πότνια "Ηρη,
χειρὶ καταπρηνεῖ δ᾽ ἔλασε χθόνα καὶ φάτο μύθον
1 Allen-Sikes: ἥνεκ᾽ ἄρα, Μ.
2 Suggested by Allen-Sikes to fill up the lacuna.
3 Matthiae : 7 ', MSS.
4 Hermann : τηλόθεν οὖσα, MSS.
325a
330
346
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 308-333
Zeus, when the Son of Cronos bare all-glorious
Athena in his head. Thereupon queenly Hera was
angry and spoke thus among the assembled gods:
"Hear from me, all gods and goddesses, how cloud-
gathering Zeus begins to dishonour me wantonly,
when he has made me his true-hearted wife. See
now, apart from me he has given birth to bright-eyed
Athena who is foremost among all the blessed gods.
But my son Hephaestus whom I bare was weakly
among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot, a
shame and a disgrace to me in heaven, whom I my-
self took in my hands and cast out so that he fell in
the great sea.
But silver-shod Thetis the daughter
of Nereus took and cared for him with her sisters:
would that she had done other service to the blessed
gods! O wicked one and crafty! What else will
you now devise? How dared you by yourself give
birth to bright-eyed Athena ? Would not I have
borne you a child-I, who was at least called your
wife among the undying gods who hold wide heaven.
Beware now lest I devise some evil thing for you
hereafter yes, now I will contrive that a son be
born me to be foremost among the undying gods-
and that without casting shame on the holy bond of
wedlock between you and me. And I will not come
to your bed, but will consort with the blessed gods
far off from you."
When she had so spoken, she went apart from the
gods, being very angry. Then straightway large-
eyed queenly Hera prayed, striking the ground
flatwise with her hand, and speaking thus:
347
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Κέκλυτε νῦν μευ, Γαῖα καὶ Οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς
ὕπερθεν
335
Τιτῆνές τε θεοί, τοὶ ὑπὸ χθονὶ ναιετάοντες
Τάρταρον ἀμφὶ μέγαν, τῶν ἐξ ἄνδρες τε θεοί τε·
αὐτοὶ νῦν μευ πάντες ἀκούσατε καὶ δότε παῖδα
νόσφι Διός, μηδέν τι βίην ἐπιδενέα κείνου·
ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γε φέρτερος ἔστω, ὅσον Κρόνου εὐρύοπα Ζεύς.
ὡς ἄρα φωνήσασ᾽ ἵμασε χθόνα χειρὶ παχείῃ·
κινήθη δ᾽ ἄρα Γαῖα φερέσβιος· ἡ δὲ ἰδοῦσα
τέρπετο ὃν κατὰ θυμόν· δίετο γὰρ τελέεσθαι.
ἐκ τούτου δὴ ἔπειτα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν
οὔτε πότ᾽ εἰς εὐνὴν Διὸς ἤλυθε μητιόεντος,
οὔτε πότ᾽ ἐς θῶκον πολυδαίδαλον, ὡς τὸ πάρος
περ
αὐτῷ ἐφεζομένη πυκινὰς φράζεσκετο βουλάς
ἀλλ᾽ ἡ γ' ἐν νηοῖσι πολυλλίστοισι μένουσα
τέρπετο οἷς ἱεροῖσι βοῶπις πότνια Ηρη.
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ μῆνές τε καὶ ἡμέραι ἐξετελεῦντο
ἂψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὡραι,
ἡ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ οὔτε θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιον οὔτε βροτοῖσι,
δεινόν τ' ἀργαλέον τε Τυφάονα, πῆμα βροτοῖσιν.
αὐτίκα τόνδε λαβοῦσα βοῶπις πότνια "Ηρη
δῶκεν ἔπειτα φέρουσα κακῷ κακόν· ἡ δ᾽ ὑπέδεκτο.
ὃς κακὰ πόλλ᾽ ἔρδεσκεν ἀγακλυτὰ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώ-
πων
ὃς τῇ γ' ἀντιάσειε, φέρεσκέ μιν αἴσιμον ἦμαρ,
πρίν γέ οἱ ἰὸν ἐφῆκε ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων
καρτερόν· ἡ δ᾽ ὀδύνῃσιν ἐρεχθομένη χαλεπῇσι
κεῖτο μέγ᾽ ἀσθμαίνουσα κυλινδομένη κατὰ χῶρον.
θεσπεσίη δ' ἐνοπὴ γένετ᾽ ἄσπετος· ἡ δὲ καθ'
ὕλην
1 Allen-Sikes: ἐστιν, Μ.
340
345
350
355
360
348
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 334-360
"Hear now, I pray, Earth and wide Heaven above,
and you Titan gods who dwell beneath the earth
about great Tartarus, and from whom are sprung both
gods and men! Harken you now to me, one and
all, and grant that I may bear a child apart from
Zeus, no wit lesser than him in strength-nay, let
him be as much stronger than Zeus as all-seeing Zeus
than Cronos." Thus she cried and lashed the earth
with her strong hand. Then the life-giving earth
was moved: and when Hera saw it she was glad in
heart, for she thought her prayer would be fulfilled.
And thereafter she never came to the bed of wise
Zeus for a full year, nor to sit in her carved chair as
aforetime to plan wise counsel for him, but stayed in
her temples where many pray, and delighted in her
offerings, large-eyed queenly Hera. But when the
months and days were fulfilled and the seasons duly
came on as the earth moved round, she bare one
neither like the gods nor mortal men, fell, cruel
Typhaon, to be a plague to men. Straightway large-
eyed queenly Hera took him and bringing one evil
thing to another such, gave him to the dragoness;
and she received him. And this Typhaon used to
work great mischief among the famous tribes of
men. Whosoever met the dragoness, the day of
doom would sweep him away, until the lord Apollo,
who deals death from afar, shot a strong arrow at
her. Then she, rent with bitter pangs, lay drawing
great gasps for breath and rolling about that place.
An awful noise swelled up unspeakable as she writhed
349
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πυκνὰ μάλ᾽ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα ἑλίσσετο, λεῖπε δὲ
θυμὸν
φοινὸν ἀποπνείουσ'· ὃ δ᾽ ἐπηύξατο Φοίβος Απόλλων·
Ενταυθοῖ νῦν πύθευ ἐπὶ χθονὶ βωτιανείρῃ·
οὐδὲ σύ γε ζώουσα κακὸν δήλημα βροτοῖσιν
ἔσσεαι, οἳ γαίης πολυφόρβου καρπὸν ἔδοντες
ἐνθάδ' ἀγινήσουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας·
οὐδέ τί τοι θάνατόν γε δυσηλεγέ᾽ οὔτε Τυφωεὺς
ἀρκέσει οὔτε Χίμαιρα δυσώνυμος, ἀλλά σέ γ'
αὐτοῦ
πύσει Γαῖα μέλαινα καὶ ἠλέκτωρ Ὑπερίων.
Ὣς φάτ᾽ ἐπευχόμενος· τὴν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε
κάλυψε.
τὴν δ᾽ αὐτοῦ κατέπυσ᾽ ἱερὸν μένος Ηελίοιο,
ἐξ οὗ νῦν Πυθώ κικλήσκεται· οἱ δὲ ἄνακτα
Πύθιον ἀγκαλέουσιν· ἐπώνυμον, οἵνεκα κεῖθι
αὐτοῦ πῦσε πέλωρ μένος ὀξέος Ηελίοιο.
Καὶ τότ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔγνω ῇσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ Φοῖβος
᾿Απόλλων,
οὔνεκά μιν κρήνη καλλίρροος ἐξαπάφησε
βῆ δ᾽ ἐπὶ Τελφούσῃ κεχολωμένος, αἶψα δ᾽ ἵκανε
στῆ δὲ μάλ᾽ ἄγχ᾽ αὐτῆς καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
Τελφοῦσ᾽, οὐκ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλες ἐμὸν νόον ἐξαπαφοῦσα
χῶρον ἔχουσ᾽ ἐρατὸν προρέειν καλλίρροον ύδωρ.
ἐνθάδε δὴ καὶ ἐμὸν κλέος ἔσσεται, οὐδὲ σὸν οἴης.
Η καὶ ἐπὶ ῥίον ὦσε ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων
πετραίῃς προχυτῇσιν, ἀπέκρυψεν δὲ ῥέεθρα
καὶ βωμὸν ποιήσατ᾽ ἐν ἄλσεϊ δενδρήεντι,
ἄγχι μάλα κρήνης καλλιρρόου· ἔνθαδ᾽ ἄνακτι
πάντες ἐπίκλησιν Τελφουσίῳ εὐχετόωνται,
οὕνεκα Τελφούσης ἱερῆς ᾔσχυνε ῥέεθρα.
1 Hermann : Πύθιον καλέουσιν, MSS.
365
370
375
380
385
350
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 361-387
continually this way and that amid the wood: and
so she left her life, breathing it forth in blood. Then
Phoebus Apollo boasted over her:
"Now rot here upon the soil that feeds man'
You at least shall live no more to be a fell bane to
men who eat the fruit of the all-nourishing earth,
and who will bring hither perfect hecatombs.
Against cruel death neither Typhoeus shall avail
you nor ill-famed Chimera, but here shall the Earth
and shining Hyperion make you rot."
Thus said Phoebus, exulting over her: and dark-
ness covered her eyes. And the holy strength of
Helios made her rot away there; wherefore the
place is now called Pytho, and men call the lord
Apollo by another name, Pythian; because on that
spot the power of piercing Helios made the monster
rot away.
Then Phoebus Apollo saw that the sweet-flowing
spring had beguiled him, and he started out in anger
against Telphusa; and soon coming to her, he stood
close by and spoke to her:
"Telphusa, you were not, after all, to keep to
yourself this lovely place by deceiving my mind, and
pour forth your clear flowing water: here my renown
shall also be and not yours alone?"
Thus spoke the lord, far-working Apollo, and
pushed over upon her a crag with a shower of rocks,
hiding her streams: and he made himself an altar
in a wooded grove very near the clear-flowing stream.
In that place all men pray to the great one by the
name Telphusian, because he humbled the stream of
holy Telphusa.
351
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Καὶ τότε δὴ κατὰ θυμὸν ἐφράζετο Φοῖβος
Απόλλων,
390
395
οὕστινας ἀνθρώπους ὀργείονας εἰσαγάγοιτο,
οἳ θεραπεύσονται Πυθοῖ ἔνι πετρηέσσῃ·
ταῦτ᾽ ἄρα ὁρμαίνων ἐνόησ᾽ ἐπὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ
νῆα θοήν· ἐν δ᾽ ἄνδρες ἔσαν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοί,
Κρῆτες ἀπὸ Κνωσοῦ Μινωίου, οἵ ῥα ἄνακτι
ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι καὶ ἀγγέλουσι θέμιστας
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος χρυσαόρου, ὅττι κεν εἴπῃ
χρείων ἐκ δάφνης γυάλων ὕπο Παρνησοῖο.
οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ πρήξιν καὶ χρήματα νηὶ μελαίνῃ
ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα Πυλοιγενέας τ᾿ ἀνθρώπους
ἔπλεον· αὐτὰρ ὃ τοῖσι συνήντετο Φοῖβος Απόλλων·
ἐν πόντῳ δ᾽ ἐπόρουσε δέμας δελφίνι ἐοικὼς
νηὶ θοῇ καὶ κεῖτο πέλωρ μέγα τε δεινόν τε
τῶν δ᾽ οὔτις κατὰ θυμὸν ἐπεφράσαθ᾿ ὥστε νοῆσαι
[ἐκβάλλειν δ᾽ ἔθελον δελφῖν᾽· ὁ δὲ νῆα μέλαιναν 2] 402
πάντοσ᾽ ἀνασσείσασκε, τίνασσε δὲ νήια δοῦρα.
οἱ δ᾽ ἀκέων ἐνὶ νηὶ καθήατο δειμαίνοντες·
400
οὐδ᾽ οἵ γ᾽ ὅπλ᾽ ἔλυον κοίλην ἀνὰ νῆα μέλαιναν, 405
οὐδ᾽ ἔλυον λαῖφος νηὸς κυανοπρώροιο,
ἀλλ᾽ ὡς τὰ πρώτιστα κατεστήσαντο βοεῦσιν,
ὡς ἔπλεον· κραιπνὸς δὲ Νότος κατόπισθεν ἔπειγε
νῆα θοήν· πρῶτον δὲ παρημείβοντο Μάλειαν,
πὰρ δὲ Λακωνίδα γαῖαν ἁλιστέφανον πτολίεθρον 410
ἕξον καὶ χῶρον τερψιμβρότου Ηελίοιο,
Ταίναρον, ἔνθα τε μῆλα βαθύτριχα βόσκεται αἰεὶ
Ἠελίοιο ἄνακτος, ἔχει δ᾽ ἐπιτερπέα χῶρον.
οἱ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἔνθ᾽ ἔθελον νῆα σχεῖν ἠδ᾽ ἀποβάντες
1 Tr.: ἐπεφράσατο νοῆσαι, Μ. For the absolute use of
ἐπιφράζω ep. Herodotus iv. 200 ὧδε ἐπιφρασθείς. ὥστε νοῆσαι
expresses the natural result of reflection.
* Allen-Sikes's supplement.
352
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 388-414
Then Phoebus Apollo pondered in his heart what
men he should bring in to be his ministers in
sacrifice and to serve him in rocky Pytho. And
while he considered this, he became aware of a
swift ship upon the wine-like sea in which were
many men and goodly, Cretans from Cnossos,¹ the
city of Minos, they who do sacrifice to the prince
and announce his decrees, whatsoever Phoebus
Apollo, bearer of the golden blade, speaks in
answer from his laurel tree below the dells of Par-
nassus. These men were sailing in their black
ship for traffic and for profit to sandy Pylos and to
the men of Pylos. But Phoebus Apollo met them: in
the open sea he sprang upon their swift ship, like a
dolphin in shape, and lay there, a great and awesome
monster, and none of them gave heed so as to
understand 2; but they sought to cast the dolphin
overboard. But he kept shaking the black ship
every way and making the timbers quiver. So they
sat silent in their craft for fear, and did not loose
the sheets throughout the black, hollow ship, nor
lowered the sail of their dark-prowed vessel, but as
they had set it first of all with oxhide ropes, so they
kept sailing on; for a rushing south wind hurried on
the swift ship from behind. First they passed by
Malea, and then along the Laconian coast they came to
Taenarum, sea-garlanded town and country of Helios
who gladdens men, where the thick-fleeced sheep of
the lord Helios feed continually and occupy a glad-
some country. There they wished to put their ship
Inscriptions show that there was a temple of Apollo
Delphinius (cp. 11. 495-6) at Cnossus and a Cretan month
bearing the same name.
2 sc. that the dolphin was really Apollo.
353
A A
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
φράσσασθαι μέγα θαῦμα καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδέσθαι, 415
εἰ μενέει νηὸς γλαφυρῆς δαπέδοισι πέλωρον
ἢ εἰς οἶδμ᾽ ἅλιον πολυΐχθυον αὐτις ὀρούσει.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πηδαλίοισιν ἐπείθετο νηὺς εὐεργής,
ἀλλὰ παρὲκ Πελοπόννησον πίειραν ἔχουσα
ἤι' ὁδόν· πνοιῇ δὲ ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων
ῥηιδίως ἴθυν᾽· ἡ δὲ πρήσσουσα κέλευθον
Αρήνην ἵκανε καὶ ᾿Αργυφέην ἐρατεινὴν
ήι
καὶ Θρύον, ᾿Αλφειοῖο πόρον, καὶ ἐύκτιτον Αἶπυ
καὶ Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα Πυλοιγενέας τ᾿ ἀνθρώπους.
βῆ δὲ παρὰ Κρουνοὺς καὶ Χαλκίδα καὶ παρὰ
Δύμην
420
ἠδὲ παρ' Ηλιδα διαν, ὅθι κρατέουσιν Επειοί.
εὖτε Φερὰς ἐπέβαλλεν, ἀγαλλομένη Διὸς οὔρῳ,
καί σφιν ὑπὲκ νεφέων Ἰθάκης τ᾿ ὄρος αἰπὺ πέφαντο
Δουλίχιόν τε Σάμη
τε Σάμη τε καὶ ὑλήεσσα Ζάκυνθος.
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ Πελοπόννησον παρενίσατο πᾶσαν
καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ Κρίσης κατεφαίνετο κόλπος ἀπείρων,
ὅστε διὲκ Πελοπόννησον πίειραν ἐέργει·
ἦλθ᾽ ἄνεμος Ζέφυρος μέγας, αἴθριος, ἐκ Διὸς αἴσης,
λάβρος ἐπαιγίζων ἐξ αἰθέρος, ὄφρα τάχιστα
νηὺς ἀνύσειε θέουσα θαλάσσης ἁλμυρὸν ὕδωρ.
ἄψορροι δὴ ἔπειτα πρὸς ἠῶ τ᾽ ἠέλιόν τε
ἔπλεον· ἡγεμόνευε δ᾽ ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ᾿Απόλλων
ΐξον δ' ἐς Κρίσην εὐδείελον, ἀμπελόεσσαν,
ἐς λιμέν᾽· ἡ δ᾽ ἀμάθοισιν ἐχρίμψατο ποντοπόρος
νηύς.
425
430
435
Ἔνθ᾽ ἐκ νηὸς ὄρουσε ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων, 440
ἀστέρι εἰδόμενος μέσῳ ἤματι· τοῦ δ᾽ ἀπὸ πολλαὶ
σπινθαρίδες πωτῶντο, σέλας δ᾽ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἱκεν·
ἐς δ᾽ ἄδυτον κατέδυσε διὰ τριπόδων ἐριτίμων.
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὅ γε φλόγα δαῖε πιφαυσκόμενος τὰ ἃ κῆλα·
354
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 415-444
to shore, and land and comprehend the great marvel
and see with their eyes whether the monster would
remain upon the deck of the hollow ship, or spring
back into the briny deep where fishes shoal. But
the well-built ship would not obey the helm, but
went on its way all along Peloponnesus: and the lord,
far-working Apollo, guided it easily with the breath of
the breeze. So the ship ran on its course and came to
Arena and lovely Argyphea and Thryon, the ford of
Alpheus, and well-placed Aepy and sandy Pylos and the
men of Pylos; past Cruni it went and Chalcis and past
Dyme and fair Elis, where the Epei rule. And at the
time when she was making for Pherae, exulting in the
breeze from Zeus, there appeared to them below the
clouds the steep mountain of Ithaca, and Dulichium
and Same and wooded Zacynthus. But when they
were passed by all the coast of Peloponnesus, then,
towards Crisa, that vast gulf began to heave in sight
which through all its length cuts off the rich isle
of Pelops. There came on them a strong, clear west-
wind by ordinance of Zeus and blew from heaven
vehemently, that with all speed the ship might finish
coursing over the briny water of the sea. So they
began again to voyage back towards the dawn and
the sun and the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, led them
on until they reached far-seen Crisa, land of vines,
and into haven: there the sea-coursing ship grounded
on the sands.
Then, like a star at noonday, the lord, far-working
Apollo, leaped from the ship: flashes of fire flew
from him thick and their brightness reached to
heaven. He entered into his shrine between price-
less tripods, and there made a flame to flare up
bright, showing forth the splendour of his shafts, so
355
AA 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πᾶσαν δὲ Κρίσην κάτεχεν σέλας· αἳ δ᾽ ὀλόλυξαν 445
Κρισαίων ἄλοχοι καλλίζωνοί τε θύγατρες
Φοίβου ὑπὸ ῥιπῆς· μέγα γὰρ δέος ἔμβαλ᾽ ἑκάστῳ.
ἔνθεν δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἐπὶ νῆα νόημ᾽ ὡς ἄλτο πέτεσθαι,
ἀνέρι εἰδόμενος αἰζηῷ τε κρατερῷ τε,
πρωθήβῃ, χαίτῃς εἰλυμένος εὐρέας ὤμους·
καί σφεας φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
450
Ω ξεῖνοι, τίνες ἐστέ; πόθεν πλεῖθ᾽ ὑγρὰ κέλευθα;
ἤ τι κατὰ πρῆξιν ἢ μαψιδίως ἀλάλησθε
460
οἷά τε ληιστῆρες ὑπεὶρ ἅλα, τοί τ' ἀλόωνται
ψυχὰς παρθέμενοι, κακὸν ἀλλοδαποῖσι φέροντες; 455
τίφθ᾽ οὕτως ἧσθον τετιηότες, οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ γαῖαν
ἐκβῆτ', οὐδὲ καθ᾽ ὅπλα μελαίνης νηὸς ἔθεσθε;
αὕτη μέν γε δίκη πέλει ἀνδρῶν ἀλφηστάων,
ὁππότ᾽ ἂν ἐκ πόντοιο ποτὶ χθονὶ νηὶ μελαίνῃ
ἔλθωσιν καμάτῳ ἀδηκότες, αὐτίκα δέ σφεας
σίτοιο γλυκεροῖο περὶ φρένας ἵμερος αἱρεῖ.
Ως φάτο καί σφιν θάρσος ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔθηκε.
τὸν καὶ ἀμειβόμενος Κρητῶν ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·
ξεῖν, ἐπεὶ οὐ μὲν γάρ τι καταθνητοῖσι ἔοικας,
οὐ δέμας οὐδὲ φυήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν,
οὖλέ τε καὶ μέγα χαῖρε, θεοὶ δέ τοι ὄλβια δοῖεν.
καί μοι τοῦτ᾽ ἀγόρευσον ἐτήτυμον, ὄφρ' εὖ εἰδῶ·
τίς δῆμος; τίς γαῖα; τίνες βροτοὶ ἐγγεγάασιν;
ἄλλῃ γὰρ φρονέοντες ἐπεπλέομεν μέγα λαίτμα
ἐς Πύλον ἐκ Κρήτης, ἔνθεν γένος εὐχόμεθ᾽ εἶναι· 470
νῦν δ᾽ ὧδε ξὺν νηὶ κατήλθομεν οὔ τι ἑκόντες,
νόστου ἱέμενοι, ἄλλην ὁδόν, ἄλλα κέλευθα·
ἀλλά τις ἀθανάτων δεῦρ᾽ ἤγαγεν οὐκ ἐθέλοντας.
465
356
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 445-473
that their radiance filled all Crisa, and the wives and
well-girded daughters of the Crisaeans raised a cry at
that outburst of Phoebus; for he cast great fear
upon them all.
From his shrine he sprang forth
again, swift as a thought, to speed again to the ship,
bearing the form of a man, brisk and sturdy, in the
prime of his youth, while his broad shoulders were
covered with his hair: and he spoke to the Cretans,
uttering winged words:
Whence come you
"Strangers, who are you?
sailing along the paths of the sea? Are you for
traffic, or do you wander at random over the sea as
pirates do who put their own lives to hazard and
bring mischief to men of foreign parts as they
roam? Why rest you so and are afraid, and do not
go ashore nor stow the gear of
your black ship?
For that is the custom of men who live by bread,
whenever they come to land in their dark ships
from the main, spent with toil: at once desire for
sweet food catches them about the heart."
So speaking, he put courage in their hearts, and
the master of the Cretans answered him and said:
"Stranger-though you are nothing like mortal men
in shape or stature, but are as the deathless gods-
hail and all happiness to you, and may the gods give
you good. Now tell me truly that I may surely know
it: what country is this, and what land, and what
men live herein? As for us, with thoughts set other-
wards, we were sailing over the great sea to Pylos
from Crete (for from there we declare that we are
sprung), but now are come on shipboard to this
place by no means willingly-another way and other
paths and gladly would we return. But one of the
deathless gods brought us here against our will.”
357
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Τοὺς δ᾽ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη ἑκάεργος
Απόλλων
ξεῖνοι, τοὶ Κνωσὸν πολυδένδρεον ἀμφενεμεσθε
τὸ πρίν, ἀτὰρ νῦν οὐκ ἔθ᾽ ὑπότροποι αὖτις ἔσεσθε
ἔς τε πόλιν ἐρατὴν καὶ δώματα καλὰ ἕκαστος
ἔς τε φίλας αλόχους· ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδε πίονα νηὸν
ἕξετ᾽ ἐμὸν πολλοῖσι τετιμένον ἀνθρώποισιν.
475
485
εἰμὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ Διὸς υἱός, ᾿Απόλλων δ' εὔχομαι εἶναι· 480
ὑμέας δ᾽ ἤγαγον ἐνθάδ' ὑπὲρ μέγα λαῖτμα θαλάσσης,
οὔ τι κακὰ φρονέων, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδε πίονα νηὸν
ἕξετ᾽ ἐμὸν πᾶσιν μάλα τίμιον ἀνθρώποισι,
βουλάς τ᾽ ἀθανάτων εἰδήσετε, τῶν ἰότητι
αἰεὶ τιμήσεσθε διαμπερὲς ἤματα πάντα.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽, ὡς ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω, πείθεσθε τάχιστα·
ἱστία μὲν πρῶτον κάθετον λύσαντε βοείας,
νῆα δ᾽ ἔπειτα θοὴν μὲν ἐπ' ἠπείρου ἐρύσασθε,
ἐκ δὲ κτήμαθ᾽ ἕλεσθε καὶ ἔντεα νηὸς είσης
καὶ βωμὸν ποιήσατ᾽ ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης·
πῦρ δ' ἐπικαίοντες ἐπί τ᾽ ἄλφιτα λευκὰ θύοντες
εὔχεσθαι δὴ ἔπειτα παριστάμενοι περὶ βωμόν.
ὡς μὲν ἐγὼ τὸ πρῶτον ἐν ἠεροειδέι πόντῳ
εἰδόμενος δελφίνι θοῆς ἐπὶ νηὸς ὄρουσα,
ὡς ἐμοὶ εὔχεσθαι Δελφινίῳ· αὐτὰρ ὁ βωμὸς
αὐτὸς Δελφίνιος καὶ ἐπόψιος ἔσσεται αἰεί.
δειπνῆσαί τ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπειτα θοῇ παρὰ νηὶ μελαίνῃ
καὶ σπεῖσαι μακάρεσσι θεοῖς, οἳ Ὄλυμπον
ἔχουσιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν σίτοιο μελίφρονος ἐξ ἔρον ἦσθε,
ἔρχεσθαί θ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἐμοὶ καὶ ἰηπαιήον᾽ ἀείδειν,
εἰς ὅ κε χῶρον ἵκησθον, ἵν᾿ ἕξετε πίονα νηόν.
490
495
500
358
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 474-501
Then far-working Apollo answered them and said :
"Strangers who once dwelt about wooded Cnossos
but now shall return no more each to his loved city
and fair house and dear wife; here shall you keep
my rich temple that is honoured by many men.
I am the son of Zeus; Apollo is my name: but
you I brought here over the wide gulf of the sea,
meaning you no hurt; nay, here you shall keep my
rich temple that is greatly honoured among men,
and you shall know the plans of the deathless gods,
and by their will you shall be honoured continually
for all time. And now come, make haste and do
as I say. First loose the sheets and lower the sail,
and then draw the swift ship up upon the land.
Take out your goods and the gear of the straight
ship, and make an altar upon the beach of the sea:
light fire upon it and make an offering of white meal.
Next, stand side by side around the altar and pray :
and in as much as at the first on the hazy sea I
sprang upon the swift ship in the form of a dolphin,
pray to me as Apollo Delphinius; also the altar
itself shall be called Delphinius and overlooking ¹
for ever. Afterwards, sup beside your dark ship
and pour an offering to the blessed gods who dwell
on Olympus. But when you have put away craving
for sweet food, come with me singing the hymn
Ie Paean (Hail, Healer!), until you come to the
place where you shall keep my rich temple."
66
1
1 The epithets are transferred from the god to his altar
"Overlooking" is especially an epithet of Zeus, as in
Apollonius Rhodius ii. 1124.
359
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Ὣς ἔφαθ'· οἱ δ᾽ ἄρα τοῦ μάλα μὲν κλύον ἠδ᾽
ἐπίθοντο.
505
ἱστία μὲν πρῶτον κάθεσαν, λῦσαν δὲ βοείας,
ἱστὸν δ᾽ ἱστοδόκῃ πέλασαν προτόνοισιν ὑφέντες·
ἐκ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ βαῖνον ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης.
ἐκ δ᾽ ἁλὸς ἤπειρόνδε θοὴν ἀνὰ νῆς ἐρύσαντο
ὑψοῦ ἐπὶ ψαμάθοις, ὑπὸ δ' ἔρματα μακρὰ τάνυσσαν·
καὶ βωμὸν ποίησαν ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης·
πῦρ δ᾽ ἐπικαίοντες ἐπί τ' ἄλφιτα λευκὰ θύοντες
εὔχονθ᾽, ὡς ἐκέλευε, παριστάμενοι περὶ βωμόν.
δόρπον ἔπειθ᾽ εἵλοντο θοῇ παρὰ νηί μελαίνῃ
καὶ σπείσαν μακάρεσσι θεοῖς, οἳ Ολυμπον
ἔχουσιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,
βάν ῥ᾽ ἴμεν· ἦρχε δ' ἄρα σφιν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς
Απόλλων,
φόρμιγγ᾽ ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔχων, ἐρατὸν κιθαρίζων,
καλὰ καὶ ὕψι βιβάς· οἱ δὲ ῥήσσοντες ἕποντο
Κρῆτες πρὸς Πυθὼ καὶ ἰηπαιήον᾽ ἄειδον,
οἷοί τε Κρητῶν παιήονες, οἶσί τε Μοῦσα
ἐν στήθεσσιν ἔθηκε θεὰ μελίγηρυν ἀοιδήν.
510
515
ἄκμητοι δὲ λόφον προσέβαν ποσίν, αἶψα δ᾽ ἵκοντο 520
Παρνησὸν καὶ χῶρον ἐπήρατον, ἔνθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλον
οἰκήσειν πολλοῖσι τετιμένοι ἀνθρώποισι·
δεῖξε δ᾽ ἄγων ἄδυτον ζάθεον καὶ πίονα νηόν.
Τῶν δ᾽ ὠρίνετο θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλοισι·
τὸν καὶ ἀνειρόμενος Κρητῶν ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·
Ὦ ἄνα, εἰ δὴ τῆλε φίλων καὶ πατρίδος αἴης
ἤγαγες· οὕτω που τῷ σῷ φίλον ἔπλετο θυμῷ·
...
1 Pierson: ἔμελλεν . τετιμένοι, MSS.
2 Hermann: ὦ ἄν᾽ ἐπειδή, MSS.
525
360
III. TO PYTHIAN APOLLO, 502-527
So said Apollo. And they readily harkened to
him and obeyed him. First they unfastened the
sheets and let down the sail and lowered the mast
by the forestays upon the mast-rest. Then, landing
upon the beach of the sea, they hauled up the ship
from the water to dry land and fixed long stays
under it. Also they made an altar upon the beach
of the sea, and when they had lit a fire, made an
offering of white meal, and prayed standing around
the altar as Apollo had bidden them. Then they
took their meal by the swift, black ship, and poured
an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on
Olympus. And when they had put away craving
for drink and food, they started out with the lord
Apollo, the son of Zeus, to lead them, holding a
lyre in his hands, and playing sweetly as he stepped
high and featly. So the Cretans followed him to
Pytho, marching in time as they chanted the e
Paean after the manner of the Cretan paean-singers
and of those in whose hearts the heavenly Muse has
put sweet-voiced song. With tireless feet they
approached the ridge and straightway came to
Parnassus and the lovely place where they were
to dwell honoured by many men. There Apollo
brought them and showed them his most holy
sanctuary and rich temple.
But their spirit was stirred in their dear breasts,
and the master of the Cretans asked him, saying:
Lord, since you have brought us here far from
our dear ones and our fatherland,--for so it seemed
66
361
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πῶς καὶ νῦν βιόμεσθα; τό σε φράζεσθαι ἄνωγμεν.
οὔτε τρυγηφόρος ἥδε γ᾽ ἐπήρατος οὔτ᾽ εὐλείμων,
ὥστ᾽ ἀπό τ᾽ εὖ ζώειν καὶ ἅμ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν
ὀπάζειν.
530
535
Τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπιμειδήσας προσέφη Διὸς υἱὸς ᾿Απόλλων·
Νήπιοι ἄνθρωποι, δυστλήμονες, οἳ μελεδώνας
βούλεσθ᾽ ἀργαλέους τε πόνους καὶ στείνεα θυμῷ·
ῥηίδιον ἔπος ἔμμ᾽ ἐρέω καὶ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θήσω,
δεξιτερῇ μάλ᾽ ἕκαστος ἔχων ἐν χειρὶ μάχαιραν,
σφάζειν αἰεὶ μῆλα· τὰ δ᾽ ἄφθονα πάντα παρέσται,
ὅσσα τ᾽ ἐμοί κ᾿ ἀγάγωσι περικλυτὰ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων·
νηὸν δὲ προφύλαχθε, δέδεχθε δὲ φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
ἐνθάδ᾽ ἀγειρομένων καὶ ἐμὴν ἰθύν τε μάλιστα.
[δείκνυσθε θνητοῖσι· σὺ δὲ φρεσὶ δέξο θέμιστα.
εἰ δέ τις ἀφραδίῃς οὐ πείσεται, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλογήσει 1] 539b
ἠέ τι τηΰσιον ἔπος ἔσσεται ἠέ τι ἔργον
ὕβρις θ', ἣ θέμις ἐστὶ καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
ἄλλοι ἔπειθ' ὑμῖν σημάντορες ἄνδρες ἔσονται,
τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἀναγκαίῃ δεδμήσεσθ᾽ ἤματα πάντα.
εἴρηταί τοι πάντα· σὺ δὲ φρεσὶ σῇσι φύλαξαι.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διὸς καὶ Λητούς υἱέ·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
5394
540
545
IV
ΕΙΣ ΕΡΜΗΝ
Ἑρμῆν ὕμνει, Μοῦσα, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱόν,
Κυλλήνης μεδέοντα καὶ ᾿Αρκαδίης πολυμήλου,
ἄγγελον ἀθανάτων ἐριούνιον, ὃν τέκε Μαΐα,
1 Allen suggests these two lines to fill the lacuna.
362
IV. TO HERMES, 1-3
good to your heart,-tell us now how we shall live.
That we would know of you. This land is not to be
desired either for vineyards or for pastures so that
we can live well thereon and also minister to
men.'
Then Apollo, the son of Zeus, smiled upon them
and said: "Foolish mortals and poor drudges are
you, that you seek cares and hard toils and straits!
Easily will I tell you a word and set it in your
hearts. Though each one of you with knife in
hand should slaughter sheep continually, yet would
you always have abundant store, even all that the
glorious tribes of men bring here for me. But
guard you my temple and receive the tribes of
men that gather to this place, and especially show
mortal men my will, and do you keep righteousness
in your heart. But if any shall be disobedient and
pay no heed to my warning, or if there shall be
any idle word or deed and outrage as is common
among mortal men, then other men shall be your
masters and with a strong hand shall make you
subject for ever. All has been told you: do you
keep it in your heart."
And so, farewell, son of Zeus and Leto; but I will
remember you and another hymn also.
IV
TO HERMES
MUSE, Sing of Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia,
lord of Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, the luck-
bringing messenger of the immortals whom Maia
bare, the rich-tressed nymph, when she was joined in
363
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
5
10
15
νύμφη ἐυπλόκαμος, Διὸς ἐν φιλότητι μιγεῖσα,
αἰδοίη· μακάρων δὲ θεῶν ἠλεύαθ᾽ ὅμιλον,
ἄντρον ἔσω ναίουσα παλισκίον, ἔνθα Κρονίων
νύμφῃ ἐυπλοκάμῳ μισγέσκετο νυκτὸς ἀμολγῷ,
ὄφρα
κατὰ γλυκὺς ὕπνος ἔχοι λευκώλενον "Ηρην,
λήθων ἀθανάτους τε θεοὺς θνητούς τ᾿ ἀνθρώπους.
ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ μεγάλοιο Διὸς νόος ἐξετελεῖτο,
τῇ δ᾽ ἤδη δέκατος μεὶς οὐρανῷ ἐστήρικτο,
εἴς τε φόως ἄγαγεν ἀρίσημά τε ἔργα τέτυκτο·
καὶ τότ᾽ ἐγείνατο παῖδα πολύτροπον, αἱμυλομήτην,
ληιστῆρ᾽, ἐλατῆρα βοῶν, ἡγήτορ᾽ ὀνείρων,
νυκτὸς ὀπωπητῆρα, πυληδόκον, ὃς τάχ᾽ ἔμελλεν
ἀμφανέειν κλυτὰ ἔργα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν.
ἠφος γεγονὼς μέσῳ ἤματι ἐγκιθάριζεν,
ἑσπέριος βοῦς κλέψεν ἑκηβόλου Απόλλωνος
τετράδι τῇ προτέρῃ, τῇ μιν τέκε πότνια Μαῖα.
ὃς καί, ἐπειδὴ μητρὸς ἀπ' ἀθανάτων θόρε γυίων,
οὐκέτι δηρὸν ἔκειτο μένων ἱερῷ ἐνὶ λίκνῳ,
ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἀναΐξας ζήτει βόας ᾿Απόλλωνος
οὐδὸν ὑπερβαίνων ὑψηρεφέος ἄντροιο.
ἔνθα χέλυν εὑρὼν ἐκτήσατο μυρίον ὄλβον·
Ἑρμῆς τοι πρώτιστα χέλυν τεκτήνατ᾽ ἀοιδόν·
ἅ ῥά οἱ ἀντεβόλησεν ἐπ᾽ αὐλείῃσι θύρῃσι
βοσκομένη προπάροιθε δόμων ἐριθηλέα ποίην,
σαῦλα ποσὶν βαίνουσα· Διὸς δ᾽ ἐριούνιος υἱὸς
ἀθρήσας ἐγέλασσε καὶ αὐτίκα μῦθον ἔειπε·
Σύμβολον ἤδη μοι μέγ' ὀνήσιμον· οὐκ ὀνοτάζω. 30
χαῖρε, φυὴν ἐρόεσσα, χοροίτυπε, δαιτὸς ἑταίρη,
ἀσπασίη προφανεῖσα· πόθεν τόδε καλὸν ἄθυρμα
αἰόλον ὄστρακον ἔσσοι χέλυς ὄρεσι ζώουσα;
ἀλλ᾽ οἴσω σ' ἐς δῶμα λαβών· ὄφελός τι μοι ἔσσῃ,
οὐδ᾽ ἀποτιμήσω· σὺ δέ με πρώτιστον ὀνήσεις
1 Tyrrell : ἐσσὶ, MSS.
20
25
25
25
35
364
IV. TO HERMES, 4-35
love with Zeus,-a shy goddess, for she avoided
the company of the blessed gods, and lived within a
deep, shady cave. There the son of Cronos used to
lie with the rich-tressed nymph, unseen by deathless
gods and mortal men, at dead of night that sweet
sleep might hold white-armed Hera fast. And when
the purpose of great Zeus was fulfilled, and the
tenth moon with her was fixed in heaven, she was
delivered and a notable thing was come to pass.
For then she bare a son, of many shifts, blandly cun-
ning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams,
a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who
was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the
deathless gods. Born with the dawning, at mid-day
he played on the lyre, and in the evening he stole
the cattle of far-shooting Apollo on the fourth day
of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him.
So soon as he had leaped from his mother's heavenly
womb, he lay not long waiting in his holy cradle, but
he sprang up and sought the oxen of Apollo. But as
he stepped over the threshold of the high-roofed
cave, he found a tortoise there and gained endless
delight. For it was Hermes who first made the
tortoise a singer. The creature fell in his way at
the courtyard gate, where it was feeding on the rich.
grass before the dwelling, waddling along. When
he saw it, the luck-bringing son of Zeus laughed
and said:
"An omen of great luck for me so soon! I do
not slight it. Hail, comrade of the feast, lovely
in shape, sounding at the dance! With joy I meet
you! Where got you that rich gaud for covering, that
spangled shell-a tortoise living in the mountains?
But I will take and carry you within: you shall
help me and I will do you no disgrace, though first
365
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
40
45
οἴκοι βέλτερον εἶναι, ἐπεὶ βλαβερὸν τὸ θύρηφιν·
ἡ γὰρ ἐπηλυσίης πολυπήμονος ἔσσεαι ἔχμα
ζώουσ᾽· ἦν δὲ θάνῃς, τότε κεν μάλα καλὸν ἀείδοις.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη· καὶ χερσὶν ἅμ᾽ ἀμφοτέρησιν ἀείρας
ἂψ εἴσω κίε δῶμα φέρων ἐρατεινὸν ἄθυρμα.
ἔνθ᾽ ἀναπηρώσας ! γλυφάνῳ πολιοῖο σιδήρου
αἰῶν ἐξετόρησεν ὀρεσκῴοιο χελώνης.
ὡς δ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ὠκὺ νόημα διὰ στέρνοιο περήσῃ
ἀνέρος, ὅν τε θαμειαὶ ἐπιστρωφῶσι μέριμναι,
ἢ ὅτε δινηθῶσιν ἀπ᾽ ὀφθαλμῶν ἀμαρυγαί,
ὡς ἅμ᾽ ἔπος τε καὶ ἔργον ἐμήδετο κύδιμος Ἑρμῆς.
πῆξε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐν μέτροισι ταμὼν δόνακας καλάμοιο
πειρήνας διὰ νῶτα διὰ ῥίνοιο χελώνης.
ἀμφὶ δὲ δέρμα τάνυσσε βοὸς πραπίδεσσιν ἑῇσι
καὶ πήχεις ἐνέθηκ', ἐπὶ δὲ ζυγὸν ἤραρεν ἀμφοῖν,
ἑπτὰ δὲ θηλυτέρων οίων ἐτανύσσατο χορδάς.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τεῦξε, φέρων, ἐρατεινὸν ἄθυρμα,
πλήκτρῳ ἐπειρήτιζε κατὰ μέρος· ἡ δ᾽ ὑπὸ χειρὸς
σμερδαλέον κονάβησε· θεὸς δ᾽ ὑπὸ καλὸν ἄειδεν
ἐξ αὐτοσχεδίης πειρώμενος, ἠύτε κοῦροι
ἡβηταὶ θαλίῃσι παραιβόλα κερτομέουσιν,
ἀμφὶ Δία Κρονίδην καὶ Μαιάδα καλλιπέδιλον,
ὡς πάρος ὠρίζεσκον ἑταιρείῃ φιλότητι,
ἥν τ᾽ αὐτοῦ γενεὴν ὀνομακλυτὸν ἐξονομάζων·
ἀμφιπόλους τε γέραιρε καὶ ἀγλαὰ δώματα νύμφης 60
καὶ τρίποδας κατὰ οἶκον ἐπηετανούς τε λέβητας.
Καὶ τὰ μὲν οὖν ἤειδε, τὰ δὲ φρεσὶν ἄλλα μενείνα.
καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκε φέρων ἱερῷ ἐνὶ λίκνῳ,
1 Tr.: ἀναπηλήσας, MSS.
2 Antigonus Carystius: συμφώνους, MSS.
• Guttmann: φέρων, MSS.
50
55
366
IV. TO HERMES, 36-63
of all you must profit me. It is better to be at home:
harm may come out of doors. Living, you shall be a
spell against mischievous witchcraft ¹; but if you die,
then shall make sweetest song.'
you
""
Thus speaking, he took up the tortoise in both
hands and went back into the house carrying his
charming toy. Then he cut off its limbs and scooped
out the marrow of the mountain-tortoise with a scoop
of grey iron.
As a swift thought darts through the
heart of a man when thronging cares haunt him, or
as bright glances flash from the eye, so glorious
Hermes planned both thought and deed at once.
He cut stalks of reed to measure and fixed them,
fastening their ends across the back and through the
shell of the tortoise, and then stretched ox hide
all over it by his skill. Also he put in the horns
and fitted a cross-piece upon the two of them, and
stretched seven strings of sheep-gut. But when he
had made it he proved each string in turn with
the key, as he held the lovely thing. At the
touch of his hand it sounded marvellously; and,
as he tried it, the god sang sweet random
snatches, even as youths bandy taunts at festivals.
He sang of Zeus the son of Cronos and neat-shod
Maia, the converse which they had before in the
comradeship of love, telling all the glorious tale
of his own begetting. He celebrated, too, the
handmaids of the nymph, and her bright home, and
the tripods all about the house, and the abundant
cauldrons.
But while he was singing of all these, his heart
was bent on other matters. And he took the hollow
1 Pliny notices the efficacy of the flesh of a tortoise against
witchcraft. In Geoponica i. 14. 8 the living tortoise is
prescribed as a charm to preserve vineyards from hail.
367
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
φόρμιγγα γλαφυρήν· ὁ δ᾽ ἄρα κρειῶν ἐρατίζων
ἆλτο κατὰ σκοπιὴν εὐώδεος ἐκ μεγάροιο
ὁρμαίνων δόλον αἰπὺν ἐνὶ φρεσίν, οἷά τε φῶτες
φηληταὶ διέπουσι μελαίνης νυκτὸς ἐν ὥρῃ.
Ηέλιος μὲν ἔδυνε κατὰ χθονὸς Ωκεανόνδε
αὐτοῖσίν θ᾽ ἵπποισι καὶ ἅρμασιν· αὐτὰρ ἄρ᾽ Ἑρμῆς
Πιερίης ἀφίκανε θέων ὄρεα σκιοεντα,
ἔνθα θεῶν μακάρων βόες ἄμβροτοι αὖλιν ἔχεσκον
βοσκόμεναι λειμῶνας ἀκηρασίους, ἐρατεινούς.
τῶν τότε Μαιάδος υἱός, εύσκοπος Αργειφόντης,
πεντήκοντ᾽ ἀγέλης ἀπετάμνετο βοῦς ἐριμύκους.
πλανοδίας δ' ἤλαυνε διὰ ψαμαθώδεα χῶρον
ἴχνι᾽ ἀποστρέψας· δολίης δ᾽ οὐ λήθετο τέχνης
ἀντία ποιήσας ὁπλάς, τὰς πρόσθεν ὄπισθεν,
τὰς δ᾽ ἔπιθεν πρόσθεν· κατὰ δ᾽ ἔμπαλιν αὐτὸς
ἔβαινε.
σάνδαλα δ' αὐτίκα ῥιψὶν ἐπὶ ψαμάθοις ἁλίῃσιν,
ἄφραστ' ἠδ᾽ ἀνόητα διέπλεκε, θαυματὰ ἔργα,
συμμίσγων μυρίκας καὶ μυρσινοειδέας ὄζους.
τῶν τότε συνδήσας νεοθηλέος ἄγκαλον ὕλης
ἀβλαβέως ὑπὸ ποσσὶν ἐδήσατο σάνδαλα κούφα
αὐτοῖσιν πετάλοισι τὰ κύδιμος ᾿Αργειφόντης
ἔσπασε Πιερίηθεν ὁδοιπορίην ἀλεγύνων,
οἷά τ᾽ ἐπειγόμενος δολιχὴν ὁδόν, αὐτοτροπήσας.†
Τὸν δὲ γέρων ἐνόησε δέμων ἀνθοῦσαν ἀλωὴν
ἱέμενον πεδίονδε δι' Ογχηστὸν λεχεποίην·
1 Postgate: ἔριψεν, MSS.
2 Windisch : ἀλεείνων, MSS.
2
65
70
75
80
85
368
IV. TO HERMES, 64-88
lyre and laid it in his sacred cradle, and sprang from
the sweet-smelling hall to a watch-place, pondering
sheer trickery in his heart-deeds such as knavish
folk pursue in the dark night-time; for he longed to
taste flesh.
The Sun was going down beneath the earth towards
Ocean with his horses and chariot when Hermes
came hurrying to the shadowy mountains of Pieria,
where the divine cattle of the blessed gods had their
steads and grazed the pleasant, unmown meadows.
Of these the Son of Maia, the sharp-eyed slayer of
Argus then cut off from the herd fifty loud-lowing
kine, and drove them straggling-wise across a sandy
place, turning their hoof-prints aside. Also, he
bethought him of a crafty ruse and reversed the
marks of their hoofs, making the front behind and
the hind before, while he himself walked the other
way. Then he wove sandals with wicker-work by
the sand of the sea, wonderful things, unthought
of, unimagined; for he mixed together tamarisk
and myrtle-twigs, fastening together an armful of
their fresh, young wood, and tied them, leaves and
all securely under his feet as light sandals. That
brushwood the glorious Slayer of Argus plucked in
Pieria as he was preparing for his journey, making
shift 2 as one making haste for a long journey.
But an old man tilling his flowering vineyard saw
him as he was hurrying down the plain through
Hermes makes the cattle walk backwards way, so that
they seem to be going towards the meadow instead of leaving
it (cp. 1. 345); he himself walks in the normal manner,
relying on his sandals as a disguise.
Such seems to be the meaning indicated by the context,
though the verb is taken by Allen and Sikes to mean, "to
be like oneself," and so "to be original."
369
BB
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
τὸν πρότερος προσέφη Μαίης ἐρικυδέος υἱός·
Ω γέρον, ὥστε φυτὰ σκάπτεις ἐπικαμπύλος
ὤμους,
2
90
95
35
ἡ πολυοινήσεις, εὖτ᾽ ἂν τάδε πάντα φέρῃσι,
[εἴ κε πίθῃ, μάλα περ μεμνημένος ἐν φρεσὶ σῇσι 1]91
καί τε ἰδὼν μὴ ἰδὼν εἶναι καὶ κωφὸς ἀκούσας,
καὶ σιγᾶν ὅτε μή τι καταβλάπτῃ τὸ σὸν αὐτοῦ.
Τόσσον φὰς συνέσευε βοῶν ἔφθιμα κάρηνα.
πολλὰ δ᾽ ὄρη σκιόεντα καὶ αὐλῶνας κελαδεινοὺς
καὶ πεδί᾽ ἀνθεμόεντα διήλασε κύδιμος Ἑρμῆς.
ὀρφναίη δ' ἐπίκουρος ἐπαύετο δαιμονίη νύξ,
ἡ πλείων, τάχα δ' ὄρθρος ἐγίγνετο δημιουργός
ἡ δὲ νέον σκοπιὴν προσεβήσατο δια Σελήνη,
Πάλλαντος θυγάτηρ Μεγαμηδείδαο ἄνακτος.
τῆμος ἐπ᾿ ᾿Αλφειὸν ποταμὸν Διὸς ἄλκιμος υἱὸς
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος βοῦς ἤλασεν εὐρυμετώπους.
ἀκμῆτες δ᾽ ἵκανον ἐπ᾿ αὔλιον ὑψιμέλαθρον
καὶ ληνοὺς προπάροιθεν ἀριπρεπέος λειμῶνος.
ἔνθ᾽ ἐπεὶ εὖ βοτάνης ἐπεφόρβει βοῦς ἐριμύκους
καὶ τὰς μὲν συνέλασσεν ἐς αὔλιον ἀθρόας οὔσας,
λωτὸν ἐρεπτομένας ἠδ᾽ ἑρσήεντα κύπειρον·
σὺν δ᾽ ἐφόρει ξύλα πολλά, πυρὸς δ᾽ ἐπεμαίετο
τέχνην.
>
δάφνης ἀγλαὸν ὄζον ἑλὼν ἀπέλεψε σιδήρῳ
*
100
105
ἄρμενον ἐν παλάμῃ· ἄμπνυτο δὲ θερμὸς ἀντμή· 110
Ἑρμῆς τοι πρώτιστα πυρήια πῦρ τ᾽ ἀνέδωκε.
πολλὰ δὲ κάγκανα καλα κατουδαίῳ ἐνὶ βόθρῳ
οὖλα λαβὼν ἐπέθηκεν ἐπηετανά· λάμπετο δὲ
φλοξ
τηλόσε φῦσαν ἱεῖσα πυρὸς μέγα δαιομένοιο.
1 Translator.
2 Demetrius : φασὶν ἔσευε, MSS.
370
IV. TO HERMES, 89-114
grassy Onchestus. So the Son of Maia began and
said to him:
"Old man, digging about your vines with bowed
shoulders, surely you shall have much wine when
all these bear fruit, if you obey me and strictly
remember not to have seen what you have seen,
and not to have heard what you have heard, and
to keep silent when nothing of your own is harmed."
When he had said this much, he hurried the strong
cattle on together: through many shadowy mountains
and echoing gorges and flowery plains glorious
Hermes drove them. And now the divine night,
his dark ally, was mostly passed, and dawn that
sets folk to work was quickly coming on, while
bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes'
son, had just climbed her watch-post, when the
strong Son of Zeus drove the wide-browed cattle of
Phoebus Apollo to the river Alpheus. And they
came unwearied to the high-roofed byres and the
drinking-troughs that were before the noble meadow.
Then, after he had well-fed the loud-bellowing cattle
with fodder and driven them into the byre, close-
packed and chewing lotus and dewy galingal, he
gathered a pile of wood and began to seek the art
of fire. He chose a stout laurel branch and trimmed
it with the knife . . .¹ held firmly in his hand: and
the hot smoke rose up. For it was Hermes who
first invented fire-sticks and fire. Next he took
many dried sticks and piled them thick and plenty
in a sunken trench and flame began to glow,
spreading afar the blast of fierce-burning fire.
...
1 Kuhn points out that there is a lacuna here. In 1. 109
the borer is described, but the friction of this upon the fire-
block (to which the phrase "held firmly" clearly belongs)
must also have been mentioned.
371
в в 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Ὄφρα δὲ πῦρ ἀνέκαιε βίη κλυτοῦ Ἡφαίστοιο, 115
τόφρα δ' ὑποβρύχους ἕλικας βοῦς εἶλκε θύραζε
δοιὰς ἄγχι πυρός· δύναμις δέ οἱ ἔσπετο πολλή.
ἀμφοτέρας δ' ἐπὶ νῶτα χαμαὶ βάλε φυσιοώσας·
ἀγκλίνων' δ᾽ ἐκύλινδε δι' αἰῶνας τετορήσας.
ἔργῳ δ᾽ ἔργον ὄπαζε ταμὼν κρέα πίονα δημῷ·
ὤπτα δ᾽ ἀμφ' ὀβελοῖσι πεπαρμένα δουρατέοισι
σάρκας ὁμοῦ καὶ νῶτα γεράσμια καὶ μέλαν αἷμα
ἐργμένον ἐν χολάδεσσι· τὰ δ᾽ αὐτοῦ κεῖτ᾽ ἐπὶ
χώρης·
ῥινοὺς δ᾽ ἐξετάνυσσε καταστυφέλῳ ἐνὶ πέτρῃ,
ὡς ἔτι νῦν τὰ μέτασσα πολυχρόνιοι πεφύασι,
δηρὸν δὴ μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἄκριτον αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
Ἑρμῆς χαρμόφρων εἰρύσατο πίονα ἔργα
λείῳ ἐπὶ πλαταμῶνι καὶ ἔσχισε δώδεκα μοίρας
κληροπαλεῖς· τέλεον δὲ γέρας προσέθηκεν
ἑκάστῃ.
120
125
130
ἔνθ᾽ ὁσίης κρεάων ἠράσσατο κύδιμος Ἑρμῆς·
ὀδμὴ γάρ μιν ἔτειρε καὶ ἀθάνατόν περ ἐόντα
ἡδεῖ'· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὥς οἱ ἐπείθετο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ,
καί τε μάλ᾽ ἱμείροντι, περῆν† ἱερῆς κατὰ δειρῆς.
ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐς αὔλιον ὑψιμέλαθρον,
δημὸν καὶ κρέα πολλά, μετήορα δ' αἶψ᾽ ἀνάειρε, 135
σῆμα νέης φωρῆς· ἐπὶ δὲ ξύλα κάγκαν᾽ ἀγείρας 2
οὐλόποδ᾽, οὐλοκάρηνα πυρὸς κατεδάμνατ᾽ ἀυτμῇ.
1 Gemoll: ἐγκλίνων, MSS. 8 Ilgen : ἀείρας, MSS.
1 The cows being on their sides on the ground, Hermes
bends their heads back towards their flanks and so can reach
their backbones.
2 O. Müller thinks the "hides" were a stalactite forma-
tion in the "Cave of Nestor" near Messenian Pylos,-though
the cave of Hermes is near the Alpheus (l. 139). Others
372
IV. TO HERMES, 115-137
And while the strength of glorious Hephaestus
was beginning to kindle the fire, he dragged out two
lowing, horned cows close to the fire; for great
strength was with him. He threw them both
panting upon their backs on the ground, and rolled
them on their sides, bending their necks over,¹ and
pierced their vital chord. Then he went on from
task to task: first he cut up the rich, fatted meat,
and pierced it with wooden spits, and roasted flesh
and the honourable chine and the paunch full of
dark blood all together.
He laid them there upon
the ground, and spread out the hides on a rugged
rock and so they are still there many ages after-
wards, a long, long time after all this, and are
continually.2 Next glad-hearted Hermes dragged
the rich meats he had prepared and put them on
a smooth, flat stone, and divided them into twelve
portions distributed by lot, making each portion
wholly honourable. Then glorious Hermes longed
for the sacrificial meat, for the sweet savour wearied
him, god though he was; nevertheless his proud.
heart was not prevailed upon to devour the flesh,
although he greatly desired.3
But he put away
the fat and all the flesh in the high-roofed byre,
placing them high up to be a token of his youthful
theft. And after that he gathered dry sticks and
utterly destroyed with fire all the hoofs and all the
heads.
suggest that actual skins were shown as relics before some
cave near Triphylian Pylos.
3 Gemoll explains that Hermes, having offered all the
meat as sacrifice to the Twelve Gods, remembers that he
himself as one of them must be content with the savour
instead of the substance of the sacrifice. Can it be that by
eating he would have forfeited the position he claimed as
one of the Twelve Gods?
373
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεί τοι πάντα κατὰ χρέος ἤνυσε
δαίμων,
σάνδαλα μὲν προέηκεν ἐς ᾿Αλφειὸν βαθυδίνην·
ἀνθρακιὴν δ᾽ ἐμάρανε, κόνιν δ᾽ ἀμάθυνε μέλαιναν 140
παννύχιος· καλὸν δὲ φόως κατέλαμπε Σελήνης.
Κυλλήνης δ' αἶψ᾽ αὖτις ἀφίκετο δια κάρηνα
ὄρθριος, οὐδέ τί οἱ δολιχῆς ὁδοῦ ἀντεβόλησεν
οὔτε θεῶν μακάρων οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
οὐδὲ κύνες λελάκοντο· Διὸς δ᾽ ἐριούνιος Ἑρμῆς 145
δοχμωθεὶς μεγάροιο διὰ κλήιθρον ἔδυνεν
αὔρῃ ὀπωρινῇ ἐναλίγκιος, ἠύτ᾽ ὀμίχλη.
ἰθύσας δ᾽ ἄντρου ἐξίκετο πίονα νηὸν
ἧκα ποσὶ προβιβῶν· οὐ γὰρ κτύπεν, ὥσπερ ἐπ᾽
οὔδει.
ἐσσυμένως δ᾽ ἄρα λίκνον ἐπῴχετο κύδιμος Ἑρμῆς· 150
σπάργανον ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοις εἰλυμένος, ἠύτε τέκνον
νήπιον, ἐν παλάμῃσι περὶ ἰγνύσι λαῖφος ἀθύρων
κεῖτο, χέλυν ἐρατὴν ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερὰ χειρὸς ἐέργων.
μητέρα δ᾽ οὐκ ἄρ᾽ ἔληθε θεὰν θεὸς εἰπέ τε μῦθον·
Τίπτε σύ, ποικιλομῆτα, πόθεν τόδε νυκτὸς ἐν
ὥρῃ
155
ἔρχῃ, ἀναιδείην ἐπιειμένε; νῦν σε μάλ' οἴω
ἢ τάχ᾽ ἀμήχανα δεσμὰ περὶ πλευρῇσιν ἔχοντα
Λητοΐδου ὑπὸ χερσὶ διὲκ προθύροιο περήσειν
ἢ σὲ φέροντα μεταξὺ κατ᾽ ἄγκεα φηλητεύσειν.
ἔρρε πάλιν· μεγάλην σε πατὴρ ἐφύτευσε μέριμναν 160
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισι καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοίσι.
Τὴν δ᾽ Ἑρμῆς μύθοισιν ἀμείβετο κερδαλέοισι·
μῆτερ ἐμή, τί με ταῦτα δεδίσκεαι, ήύτε τέκνον
νήπιον, ὃς μάλα παῦρα μετὰ φρεσὶν αἴσυλα οἶδε,
1 Pierson : τιτύσκεαι, MSS.
374
IV. TO HERMES, 138-164
And when the god had duly finished all, he
threw his sandals into deep-eddying Alpheus, and
quenched the embers, covering the black ashes with
sand, and so spent the night while Selene's soft
light shone down. Then the god went straight
back again at dawn to the bright crests of Cyllene,
and no one met him on the long journey either of
the blessed gods or mortal men, nor did any dog
bark. And luck-bringing Hermes, the son of Zeus,
passed edgeways through the key-hole of the hall like
the autumn breeze, even as mist: straight through
the cave he went and came to the rich inner
chamber, walking softly, and making no noise as one
might upon the floor. Then glorious Hermes went
hurriedly to his cradle, wrapping his swaddling
clothes about his shoulders as though he were a
feeble babe, and lay playing with the covering
about his knees; but at his left hand he kept close
his sweet lyre.
But the god did not pass unseen by the goddess
his mother; but she said to him: "How now, you
rogue! Whence come you back so at night-time,
you that wear shamelessness as a garment? And
now I surely believe the son of Leto will soon have
you forth out of doors with unbreakable cords
about your ribs, or you will live a rogue's life in
the glens robbing by whiles. Go to, then; your
father got you to be a great worry to mortal
men and deathless gods."
Then Hermes answered her with crafty words:
66 Mother, why do you seek to frighten me like a
feeble child whose heart knows few words of blame,
375
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
165
175
ταρβαλέον, καὶ μητρὸς ὑπαιδείδοικεν ἐνιπάς;
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ τέχνης ἐπιβήσομαι, ἥ τις ἀρίστη,
βουκολέων 1 ἐμὲ καὶ σὲ διαμπερές· οὐδὲ θεοῖσι
νῶι μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισιν ἀδώρητοι καὶ ἄλιστοι
αὐτοῦ τῇδε μένοντες ἀνεξόμεθ', ὡς σὺ κελεύεις.
βέλτερον ἤματα πάντα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοις ὀαρίζειν, 170
πλούσιον, ἀφνειόν, πολυλήιον, ἢ κατὰ δῶμα
ἄντρῳ ἐν ἠερόεντι θαασσέμεν· ἀμφὶ δὲ τιμῆς,
κἀγὼ τῆς ὁσίης ἐπιβήσομαι, ἧς περ ᾿Απόλλων.
εἰ δέ κε μὴ δώῃσι πατὴρ ἐμός, ἢ τοι ἔγωγε
πειρήσω, δύναμαι, φηλητέων ὄρχαμος εἶναι.
εἰ δέ μ' ἐρευνήσει Λητοῦς ἐρικυδέος υἱός,
ἄλλο τί οἱ καὶ μεῖζον δίομαι ἀντιβολήσειν.
εἶμι γὰρ ἐς Πυθῶνα μέγαν δόμον ἀντιτορήσων·
ἔνθεν ἅλις τρίποδας περικαλλέας ἠδὲ λέβητας
πορθήσω καὶ χρυσόν, ἅλις τ' αἴθωνα σίδηρον
καὶ πολλὴν ἐσθῆτα· σὺ δ᾽ ὄψεαι, αἴ κ' ἐθέλησθα.
Ὣς οἳ μέν ῥ᾽ ἐπέεσσι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον,
υἱός τ' αιγιόχοιο Διὸς καὶ πότνια Μαλα.
Ἠὼς δ' ἠριγένεια φόως θνητοῖσι φέρουσα
ὤρνυτ' ἀπ' Ωκεανοῖο βαθυρρόου· αὐτὰρ Απόλλων
Ογχηστόνδ' ἀφίκανε κιών, πολυήρατον ἄλσος
ἁγνὸν ἐρισφαράγου Γαιηόχου· ἔνθα γέροντα
κνώδαλον εὗρε νέμοντα παρ᾽ ἔξοδον ἕρκεος αὐλῆς.
τὸν πρότερος προσέφη Λητοῦς ἐρικυδέος υἱός·
Ω γέρον, Ογχηστοῖο βατοδρόπε ποιήεντος,
βοῦς ἀπὸ Πιερίης διζήμενος ἐνθάδ' ἱκάνω,
πάσας θηλείας, πάσας κεράεσσιν ἑλικτάς,
ἐξ ἀγέλης· ὁ δὲ ταῦρος ἐβόσκετο μοῦνος ἀπ᾿ ἄλλων
1 Ludwich : βουλεύων, MSS.
2 Tr.: παρὲξ ὁδοῦ ἕρκος ἀλωῆς, MSS.
2
180
186
190
376
IV. TO HERMES, 165-193
a fearful babe that fears its mother's scolding?
Nay, but I will try whatever plan is best, and so
feed myself and you continually. We will not
be content to remain here, as you bid, alone of all
the gods unfee'd with offerings and prayers. Better
to live in fellowship with the deathless gods con-
tinually, rich, wealthy, and enjoying stores of grain,
than to sit always in a gloomy cave: and, as regards
honour, I too will enter upon the rite that Apollo has.
If
my father will not give it me, I will seek—and I
am able to be a prince of robbers. And if Leto's
most glorious son shall seek me out, I think another
and a greater loss will befall him. For I will go to
Pytho to break into his great house, and will plunder
therefrom splendid tripods, and cauldrons, and gold,
and plenty of bright iron, and much apparel; and
you
shall see it if you will."
With such words they spoke together, the son of
Zeus who holds the aegis, and the lady Maia. Now
Eros the early born was rising from deep-flowing
Ocean, bringing light to men, when Apollo, as he
went, came to Onchestus, the lovely grove and
sacred place of the loud-roaring Holder of the
Earth. There he found an old man grazing his
beast along the pathway from his court-yard fence,
and the all-glorious Son of Leto began and said to
him.
"Old man, hedger of grassy Onchestus, I am
come here from Pieria seeking cattle, cows all of
them, all with curving horns, from my herd. The
black bull was grazing alone away from the rest,
1 Lit. " thorn-plucker."
377
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
κυάνεος· χαροποὶ δὲ κύνες κατόπισθεν ἕποντο
τέσσαρες, ἠύτε φῶτες, ὁμόφρονες· οἱ μὲν ἔλειφθεν, 195
οἵ τε κύνες ὅ τε ταῦρος· ὃ δὴ περὶ θαῦμα τέτυκται·
ταὶ δ᾽ ἔβαν ἠελίοιο νέον καταδυομένοιο
ἐκ μαλακοῦ λειμῶνος ἀπὸ γλυκεροῖο νομοῖο.
ταῦτά μοι εἰπέ, γεραιὲ παλαιγενές, εἴ που ὄπωπας
ἀνέρα ταῖσδ᾽ ἐπὶ βουσὶ διαπρήσσοντα κέλευθον. 200
Τὸν δ᾽ ὁ γέρων μύθοισιν ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπεν·
ὦ φίλος, ἀργαλέον μέν, ὅσ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἴδοιτο,
πάντα λέγειν· πολλοὶ γὰρ ὁδὸν πρήσσουσιν ὁδῖται,
τῶν οἳ μὲν κακὰ πολλὰ μεμαότες, οἳ δὲ μάλ᾽ ἐσθλὰ
φοιτῶσιν· χαλεπὸν δὲ δαήμεναί ἐστιν ἕκαστον·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
ἔσκαπτον περὶ γουνὸν ἀλωῆς οἰνοπέδοιο·
205
παῖδα δ' ἔδοξα, φέριστε, σαφὲς δ᾽ οὐκ οἶδα, νοῆσαι,
ὅς τις ὁ παῖς, ἅμα βουσὶν ἐυκραίρῃσιν ὀπήδει
νήπιος, εἶχε δὲ ῥάβδον· ἐπιστροφάδην δ' ἐβάδιζεν. 210
ἐξοπίσω δ' ἀνέεργε, κάρη δ᾽ ἔχεν ἀντίον αὐτῷ.
Φῆ ῥ᾽ ὁ γέρων· ὃ δὲ θᾶσσον ὁδὸν κίε μῦθον
ἀκούσας·
οἰωνὸν δ᾽ ἐνόει τανυσίπτερον, αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἔγνω
φηλητὴν γεγαῶτα Διὸς παῖδα Κρονίωνος.
ἐσσυμένως δ᾽ ἤιξεν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ᾿Απόλλων
ἐς Πύλον ἠγαθέην διζήμενος εἰλίποδας βοῦς,
πορφυρέη νεφέλῃ κεκαλυμμένος εὐρέας ὤμους·
ἴχνιά τ᾽ εἰσενόησεν Εκηβόλος είπέ τε μῦθον·
Ω πόποι, ἢ μέγα θαῦμα τόδ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν
ὁρῶμαι·
ἴχνια μὲν τάδε γ᾽ ἐστὶ βοῶν ὀρθοκραιράων,
ἀλλὰ πάλιν τέτραπται ἐς ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα·
βήματα δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀνδρὸς τάδε γίγνεται οὔτε γυναικὸς
215
220
378
IV. TO HERMES, 194-222
but fierce-eyed hounds followed the cows, four of
them, all of one mind, like men. These were left
behind, the dogs and the bull-which is a great
marvel; but the cows strayed out of the soft
meadow, away from the pasture when the sun was
just going down. Now tell me this, old man born
long ago have you seen one passing along behind
those cows?"
Then the old man answered him and said: " My
son, it is hard to tell all that one's eyes see; for
many wayfarers pass to and fro this way, some bent
on much evil, and some on good: it is difficult to know
each one. However, I was digging about my plot
of vineyard all day long until the sun went down,
and I thought, good sir, but I do not know for
certain, that I marked a child, whoever the child
was, that followed long-horned cattle-an infant
who had a staff and kept walking from side to side:
he was driving them backwards way, with their
heads towards him."
So said the old man. And when Apollo heard
this report, he went yet more quickly on his way,
and presently, seeing a long-winged bird, he knew
at once by that omen that the thief was the child of
Zeus the son of Cronos. So the lord Apollo, son of
Zeus, hurried on to goodly Pylos seeking his
shambling oxen, and he had his broad shoulders
covered with a dark cloud. But when the Far-
Shooter perceived the tracks, he cried:
"Oh, oh! Truly this is a great marvel that my eyes
behold! These are indeed the tracks of straight-
horned oxen, but they are turned backwards towards
the flowery meadow. But these others are not the
footprints of man or woman or grey wolves or bears
379
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
οὔτε λύκων πολιῶν οὔτ᾽ ἄρκτων οὔτε λεόντων·
οὔτε τι Κενταύρου λασιαύχενος ἔλπομαι εἶναι,
ὅς τις τοῖα πέλωρα βιβᾷ ποσὶ καρπαλίμοισιν·
αἰνὰ μὲν ἔνθεν ὁδοῖο, τὰ δ᾽ αἰνότερ᾽ ἔνθεν ὁδοῖο.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἤιξεν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ᾿Απόλλων·
Κυλλήνης δ' ἀφίκανεν ὄρος καταείμενον ὕλῃ,
πέτρης ἐς κευθμῶνα βαθύσκιον, ἔνθα τε νύμφη
ἀμβροσίη ἐλόχευσε Διὸς παῖδα Κρονίωνος.
ὀδμὴ δ᾽ ἱμερόεσσα δι᾽ οὔρεος ἠγαθέοιο
225
230
κίδνατο, πολλὰ δὲ μῆλα ταναύποδα βόσκετο ποίην.
ἔνθα τότε σπεύδων κατεβήσατο λάινον οὐδὸν
ἄντρον ἐς ἠερόεν ἑκατηβόλος αὐτὸς Απόλλων.
235
240
Τὸν δ᾽ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱὸς
χωόμενον περὶ βουσὶν ἑκηβόλον ᾿Απόλλωνα,
σπάργαν᾽ ἔσω κατέδυνε θυήεντ᾽· ηύτε πολλὴν
τρέμνων ἀνθρακιὴν ὕλης σποδὸς ἀμφικαλύπτει,
ὣς Ἑρμῆς Εκάεργον ἰδὼν ἀνέειλεν 1 ἑαυτόν.
ἐν δ᾽ ὀλίγῳ συνέλασσε κάρη χεῖράς τε πόδας τε,
φή ῥα νεόλλουτος, προκαλεύμενος ἥδυμον ὕπνον,
ἐγρήσσων ἐτεόν γε· χέλυν δ᾽ ὑπὸ μασχάλῃ εἶχε.
γνῶ δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἠγνοίησε Διὸς καὶ Λητοὺς υἱὸς
νύμφην τ᾽ οὐρείην περικαλλέα καὶ φίλον υἱόν,
παῖδ᾽ ὀλίγον, δολίῃς εἰλυμένον ἐντροπίῃσι.
παπτήνας δ᾽ ἀνὰ πάντα μυχὸν μεγάλοιο δόμοιο
τρεῖς ἀδύτους ἀνέῳγε λαβὼν κληῖδα φαεινὴν
νέκταρος ἐμπλείους ἠδ᾽ ἀμβροσίης ἐρατεινῆς·
πολλὸς δὲ χρυσός τε καὶ ἄργυρος ἔνδον ἔκειτο,
πολλὰ δὲ φοινικόεντα καὶ ἄργυφα εἵματα νύμφης, 250
οἷα θεῶν μακάρων ἱεροὶ δόμοι ἐντὸς ἔχουσιν·
ἔνθ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἐξερέεινε μυχοὺς μεγάλοιο δόμοιο
Λητοΐδης, μύθοισι προσηύδα κύδιμον Ἑρμῆν·
1 Lohsee: ἀλέεινεν, MSS.
245
380
IV. TO HERMES, 223-253
or lions, nor do I think they are the tracks of a
rough-maned Centaur-whoever it be that with
swift feet makes such monstrous footprints; won-
derful are the tracks on this side of the way, but
yet more wonderful are those on that."
When he had so said, the lord Apollo, the Son of
Zeus hastened on and came to the forest-clad
mountain of Cyllene and the deep-shadowed cave in
the rock where the divine nymph brought forth the
child of Zeus who is the son of Cronos. A sweet
odour spread over the lovely hill, and many thin-
shanked sheep were grazing on the grass. Then
far-shooting Apollo himself stepped down in haste
over the stone threshold into the dusky cave.
Now when the Son of Zeus and Maia saw Apollo
in a rage about his cattle, he snuggled down in his
fragrant swaddling-clothes; and as wood-ash covers
over the deep embers of tree-stumps, so Hermes
cuddled himself up when he saw the Far-Shooter.
He squeezed head and hands and feet together in a
small space, like a new born child seeking sweet
sleep, though in truth he was wide awake, and he
kept his lyre under his armpit. But the Son of
Leto was aware and failed not to perceive the
beautiful mountain-nymph and her dear son, albeit
a little child and swathed so craftily. He peered
in every corner of the great dwelling and, taking
a bright key, he opened three closets full of nectar
and lovely ambrosia. And much gold and silver was
stored in them, and many garments of the nymph,
some purple and some silvery white, such as are kept
in the sacred houses of the blessed gods. Then,
after the Son of Leto had searched out the recesses
of the great house, he spake to glorious Hermes :
381
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Ὦ παῖ, ὃς ἐν λίκνῳ κατάκειαι, μήνυέ μοι βοῦς
θᾶσσον· ἐπεὶ τάχα νῶι διοισόμεθ᾽ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον. 255
ρίψω γάρ σε λαβὼν ἐς Τάρταρον ήερόεντα,
ἐς ζόφον αἰνόμορον καὶ ἀμήχανον· οὐδέ σε μήτηρ
ἐς φάος οὐδὲ πατὴρ ἀναλύσεται, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ γαίῃ
ἐρρήσεις ὀλίγοισι μετ᾿ ἀνδράσιν ἡγεμονεύων.
Τὸν δ᾽ Ἑρμῆς μύθοισιν ἀμείβετο κερδαλέοισι· 260
Λητοΐδη, τίνα τοῦτον ἀπηνέα μῦθον ἔειπας;
καὶ βοῦς ἀγραύλους διζήμενος ἐνθάδ' ἱκάνεις;
οὐκ ἴδον, οὐ πυθόμην, οὐκ ἄλλου μῦθον ἄκουσα·
οὐκ ἂν μηνύσαιμ', οὐκ ἂν μήνυτρον ἀροίμην·
οὐδὲ βοῶν ἐλατῆρι, κραταιῷ φωτί, ἔοικα.
265
οὐκ ἐμὸν ἔργον τοῦτο, πάρος δέ μοι ἄλλα μέμηλεν·
ὕπνος ἐμοί γε μέμηλε καὶ ἡμετέρης γάλα μητρὸς
σπάργανά τ' ἀμφ' ὤμοισιν ἔχειν καὶ θερμὰ λοετρά.
μή τις τοῦτο πύθοιτο, πόθεν τόδε νεῖκος ἐτύχθη
καί κεν δὴ μέγα θαῦμα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι γένοιτο, 270
παῖδα νέον γεγαῶτα διὲκ προθύροιο περῆσαι
βουσὶν ἐπ᾽ ἀγραύλοισι· τὸ δ᾽ ἀπρεπέως ἀγορεύεις.
χθὲς γενόμην, ἁπαλοὶ δὲ πόδες, τρηχεῖα δ᾽ ὕπο
χθών.
εἰ δ᾽ ἐθέλεις, πατρὸς κεφαλὴν μέγαν ὅρκον
ὀμοῦμαι·
μὴ μὲν ἐγὼ μήτ' αὐτὸς ὑπίσχομαι αἴτιος εἶναι,
μήτε τιν᾽ ἄλλον ὄπωπα βοῶν κλοπὸν ὑμετεράων,
αἴ τινες αἱ βόες εἰσί· τὸ δὲ κλέος οἷον ἀκούω.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη καὶ πυκνὸν ἀπὸ βλεφάρων άμα
ρύσσων
ὀφρῦς ῥιπτάζεσκεν ὁρώμενος ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,
275
1 Schneidewin : μετ', MSS.
382
IV. TO HERMES, 254-279
Child, lying in the cradle, make haste and tell
me of my cattle, or we two will soon fall out angrily.
For I will take and cast you into dusky Tartarus and
awful hopeless darkness, and neither your mother
nor your father shall free you or bring you up again
to the light, but you will wander under the earth
and be the leader amongst little folk."¹
Then Hermes answered him with crafty words:
"Son of Leto, what harsh words are these you have
spoken? And is it cattle of the field you are come
here to seek? I have not seen them: I have not
heard of them: no one has told me of them. I
cannot give news of them, nor win the reward for
news. Am I like a cattle-lifter, a stalwart person?
This is no task for me: rather I care for other things:
I care for sleep, and milk of my mother's breast, and
wrappings round my shoulders, and warm baths. Let
no one hear the cause of this dispute; for this would
be a great marvel indeed among the deathless gods,
that a child newly born should pass in through the
forepart of the house with cattle of the field: herein
you speak extravagantly. I was born yesterday, and
my feet are soft and the ground beneath is rough;
nevertheless, if you will have it so, I will swear a great
oath by my father's head and vow that neither am I
guilty myself, neither have I seen any other who
stole your cows-whatever cows may be; for I know
them only by hearsay."
So, then, said Hermes, shooting quick glances from
his eyes and he kept raising his brows and looking
1 Hermes is ambitious (1. 175), but if he is cast into Hades
he will have to be content with the leadership of mere
babies like himself, since those in Hades retain the state of
growth-whether childhood or manhood-in which they are
at the moment of leaving the upper world.
383
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
μάκρ᾽ ἀποσυρίζων, ἅλιον τὸν μῦθον ἀκούων.
Τὸν δ᾽ ἁπαλὸν γελάσας προσέφη ἑκάεργος
Απόλλων
280
ὦ πέπον, ἠπεροπευτά, δολοφραδές, ή σε μάλ' οἴω
πολλάκις ἀντιτοροῦντα δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας
ἔννυχον οὐχ ἕνα μοῦνον ἐπ᾽ οὔδεϊ φῶτα καθίσσαι,
σκευάζοντα κατ' οἶκον ἄτερ ψόφου, οἳ᾽ ἀγορεύεις· 285
πολλοὺς δ᾽ ἀγραύλους ἀκαχήσεις μηλοβοτῆρας
οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς, ὁπότ᾽ ἂν κρειῶν ἐρατίζων
ἀντᾷς βουκολίοισι καὶ εἰροπόκοις δεσσιν.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, μὴ πύματόν τε καὶ ὕστατον ὕπνον ἰαύσῃς,
ἐκ λίκνου κατάβαινε, μελαίνης νυκτὸς ἑταῖρε.
τοῦτο γὰρ οὖν καὶ ἔπειτα μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοις γέρας
ἕξεις.
ἀρχὸς φηλητέων κεκλήσεαι ἤματα πάντα.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη καὶ παῖδα λαβὼν φέρε Φοῖβος
Απόλλων.
σὺν δ᾽ ἄρα φρασσάμενος τότε δὴ κρατὺς ᾿Αργει-
φόντης
οἰωνὸν προέηκεν ἀειρόμενος μετὰ χερσί,
290
295
300
τλήμονα γαστρὸς ἔριθον, ατάσθαλον ἀγγελιώτην.
ἐσσυμένως δὲ μετ' αὐτὸν ἐπέπταρε· τοῖο δ' Απόλλων
ἔκλυεν, ἐκ χειρῶν δὲ χαμαὶ βάλε κύδιμον Ερμήν.
ἕζετο δὲ προπάροιθε καὶ ἐσσύμενός περ ὁδοῖο
Ἑρμῆν κερτομέων καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
Θάρσει, σπαργανιῶτα, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱέ·
εὑρήσω καὶ ἔπειτα βοῶν ἴφθιμα κάρηνα
τούτοις οἰωνοῖσι· σὺ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ὁδὸν ἡγεμονεύσεις.
Ὣς φάθ'· ὃ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἀνόρουσε θεῶς Κυλλήνιος
Ἑρμῆς,

384
IV. TO HERMES, 280-304
this way and that, whistling long and listening to
Apollo's story as to an idle tale.
But far-working Apollo laughed softly and said to
him: "O rogue, deceiver, crafty in heart, you talk
so innocently that I most surely believe that you
have broken into many a well-built house and stripped
more than one poor wretch bare this night,¹ gathering
his goods together all over the house without noise.
You will plague many a lonely herdsman in mountain
glades, when you come on herds and thick-fleeced
sheep, and have a hankering after flesh. But come
now, if you would not sleep your last and latest
sleep, get out of your cradle, you comrade of dark
night. Surely hereafter this shall be your title
amongst the deathless gods, to be called the prince
of robbers continually."
So said Phoebus Apollo, and took the child and
began to carry him. But at that moment the strong
Slayer of Argus had his plan, and, while Apollo held
him in his hands, sent forth an omen, a hard-worked
belly-serf, a rude messenger, and sneezed directly
after. And when Apollo heard it, he dropped
glorious Hermes out of his hands on the ground: then
sitting down before him, though he was eager to
go on his way, he spoke mockingly to Hermes :
"Fear not, little swaddling baby, son of Zeus and
Maia. I shall find the strong cattle presently by
these omens, and shall lead the way."
you
When Apollo had so said, Cyllenian Hermes
1 Literally, "you have made him sit on the floor," i.e.
"you have stolen everything down to his last chair."
385
C C
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
305
σπουδῇ ἰών· ἄμφω δὲ παρ᾽ οὔατα χερσὶν ἐώθει
σπάργανον ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοισιν ἐελμένος, εἶπε δὲ μῦθον·
Πῆ με φέρεις, Εκάεργε, θεῶν ζαμενέστατε πάντων;
ἦ με βοῶν ἕνεχ᾽ ὧδε χολούμενος ὀρσολοπεύεις;
ὦ πόποι, εἴθ᾽ ἀπόλοιτο βοῶν γένος· οὐ γὰρ ἐγώ γε
ὑμετέρας έκλεψα βόας οὐδ᾽ ἄλλον ὄπωπα,
αἵτινες αἱ βόες εἰσί· τὸ δὲ κλέος οἶον ἀκούω.
δὸς δὲ δίκην καὶ δέξο παρὰ Ζηνὶ Κρονίωνι.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τὰ ἕκαστα διαρρήδην ἐρίδαινον
Ἑρμῆς τ' οἰοπόλος καὶ Λητοῦς ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
ἀμφὶς θυμὸν ἔχοντες. ὃ μὲν νημερτέα φωνὴν
*
310
315
320
οὐκ ἀδίκως ἐπὶ βουσὶν ἐλάζυτο κύδιμον Ἑρμῆν,
αὐτὰρ ὁ τέχνῃσίν τε καὶ αἱμυλίοισι λόγοισιν
ἤθελεν ἐξαπατῶν Κυλλήνιος ᾿Αργυρότοξον.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πολύμητις ἐὼν πολυμήχανον εὗρεν,
ἐσσυμένως δὴ ἔπειτα διὰ ψαμάθοιο βάδιζε
πρόσθεν, ἀτὰρ κατόπισθε Διὸς καὶ Λητοὺς υἱός.
αἶψα δὲ τέρθρον ἵκοντο θυώδεος Οὐλύμποιο
ἐς πατέρα Κρονίωνα Διὸς περικαλλέα τέκνα·
κεῖθι γὰρ ἀμφοτέροισι δίκης κατέκειτο τάλαντα.
οὐμιλίη 1 δ᾽ ἔχ᾽ Ολυμπον ἀγάννιφον, ἀθάνατοι δὲ 325
ἄφθιτοι ἠγερέθοντο μετὰ χρυσόθρονον Ηώ.
Εστησαν δ᾽ Ἑρμῆς τε καὶ ἀργυρότοξος Απόλλων
πρόσθε Διὸς γούνων· ὃ δ᾽ ἀνείρετο φαίδιμον υἱὸν
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
Φοίβε, πόθεν ταύτην μενοεικέα ληίδ᾽ ἐλαύνεις, 330
παῖδα νέον γεγαῶτα, φυὴν κήρυκος ἔχοντα;
σπουδαῖον τόδε χρῆμα θεῶν μεθ᾽ ὁμήγυριν ἦλθε.
1 Allen's (Oxf. Text) suggestion : εὐμιλίη, Μ: εὐμυλίη,
other MSS.
2 E and L (in margin): ποτὶ πτύχας Οὐλύμποιο, other MSS.
386
IV. TO HERMES, 305-332
€ 324
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33
Vi
ντων.
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3
sprang up quickly, starting in haste. With both
hands he pushed up to his ears the covering that he
had wrapped about his shoulders, and said:
"Where are you carrying me, Far-Worker, hastiest
of all the gods? Is it because of your cattle that
you are so angry and harass me? O dear, would
that all the sort of oxen might perish; for it is not
I who stole your cows, nor did I see another steal
them-whatever cows may be, and of that I have
only heard report. Nay, give right and take it
before Zeus, the Son of Cronos.'
""
So Hermes the shepherd and Leto's glorious son
kept stubbornly disputing each article of their quarrel:
Apollo, speaking truly
not unfairly sought to seize glorious Hermes because
of the cows; but he, the Cyllenian, tried to deceive
the God of the Silver Bow with tricks and cunning
words. But when, though he had many wiles, he
found the other had as many shifts, he began to
walk across the sand, himself in front, while the
Son of Zeus and Leto came behind. Soon they
came, these lovely children of Zeus, to the top of
fragrant Olympus, to their father, the Son of
Cronos; for there were the scales of judgement set
for them both. There was an assembly on snowy
Olympus, and the immortals who perish not were
gathering after the hour of gold-throned Dawn.
Then Hermes and Apollo of the Silver Bow stood
at the knees of Zeus and Zeus who thunders on
high spoke to his glorious son and asked him :
"Phoebus, whence come you driving this great
spoil, a child new born that has the look of a herald?
This is a weighty matter that is come before the
council of the gods."
387
cc 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
335
340
345
Τὸν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπεν ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων·
ὦ πάτερ, ἢ τάχα μῦθον ἀκούσεαι οὐκ ἀλαπαδνόν,
κερτομέων ὡς οἶος ἐγὼ φιλολήιός εἰμι.
παῖδά τιν' εὗρον τόνδε διαπρύσιον κεραϊστὴν
Κυλλήνης ἐν ὄρεσσι, πολὺν διὰ χῶρον ἀνύσσας,
κέρτομον, οἷον ἐγώ γε θεῶν οὐκ ἄλλον ὄπωπα
οὐδ᾽ ἀνδρῶν, ὁπόσοι λησίμβροτοί εἰσ᾽ ἐπὶ γαίῃ.
κλέψας δ᾽ ἐκ λειμῶνος ἐμὰς βοῦς ᾤχετ᾽ ἐλαύνων
ἑσπέριος παρὰ θῖνα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης,
εὐθὺ Πύλονδ᾽ ἐλάων· τὰ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἴχνια δοῖα πέλωρα,
οἷά τ' ἀγάσσασθαι, καὶ ἀγαυοῦ δαίμονος ἔργα.
τῇσιν μὲν γὰρ βουσὶν ἐς ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα
ἀντία βήματ᾽ ἔχουσα κόνις ἀνέφαινε μέλαινα·
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἐκτὸς ὁδοῦ, τις ἀμήχανος, οὔτ᾽ ἄρα ποσσὶν
οὔτ᾽ ἄρα χερσὶν ἔβαινε διὰ ψαμαθώδεα χῶρον·
ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλην τινὰ μῆτιν ἔχων διέτριβε κέλευθα
τοῖα πέλωρ᾽ ὡς εἴ τις ἀραιῇσι δρυσὶ βαίνοι.
ὄφρα μὲν οὖν ἐδίωκε διὰ ψαμαθώδεα χώρον,
ῥεῖα μάλ᾽ ἴχνια πάντα διέπρεπεν ἐν κονίῃσιν·
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ ψαμάθοιο μέγαν στίβον ἐξεπέρησεν,
ἄφραστος γένετ᾽ ὦκα βοῶν στίβος ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτοῦ
χῶρον ἀνὰ κρατερόν· τὸν δ᾽ ἐφράσατο βροτὸς ἀνὴρ
ἐς Πύλον εὐθὺς ἐλῶντα βοῶν γένος εὐρυμετώπων. 355
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τὰς μὲν ἐν ἡσυχίῃ κατέερξε
καὶ διαπυρπαλάμησεν ὁδοῦ τὸ μὲν ἔνθα, τὸ δ᾽ ἔνθα,
ἐν λίκνῳ κατέκειτο μελαίνῃ νυκτὶ ἐοικώς,
ἄντρῳ ἐν ἠερόεντι κατὰ ζόφον· οὐδέ κεν αὐτὸν
αἰετὸς ὀξὺ λάων ἐσκέψατο· πολλὰ δὲ χερσὶν
αὐγὰς ὠμόργαζε δολοφροσύνην ἀλεγύνων.
αὐτὸς δ᾽ αὐτίκα μῦθον ἀπηλεγέως ἀγόρευεν·
1 Translator: οὗτος ὅδ᾽ ἐκτός, MSS.
350
360
388
IV. TO HERMES, 333-362
Then the lord, far-working Apollo, answered
him: "O my father, you shall soon hear no trifling
tale though you reproach me that I alone am
fond of spoil. Here is a child, a burgling robber,
whom I found after a long journey in the hills of
Cyllene for my part I have never seen one so
pert either among the gods or all men that catch
folk unawares throughout the world. He stole away
my cows from their meadow and drove them off in
the evening along the shore of the loud-roaring sea,
making straight for Pylos. There were double
tracks, and wonderful they were, such as one might
marvel at, the doing of a clever sprite; for as for
the cows, the dark dust kept and showed their foot-
prints leading towards the flowery meadow; but he
himself bewildering creature-crossed the sandy
ground outside the path, not on his feet nor yet on
his hands; but, furnished with some other means
he trudged his way-wonder of wonders!—as though
one walked on slender oak-trees. Now while he
followed the cattle across sandy ground, all the
tracks showed quite clearly in the dust; but when
he had finished the long way across the sand,
presently the cows' track and his own could not
be traced over the hard ground. But a mortal
man noticed him as he drove the wide-browed
kine straight towards Pylos. And as soon as he
had shut them up quietly, and had gone home by
crafty turns and twists, he lay down in his cradle in
the gloom of a dim cave, as still as dark night, so
that not even an eagle keenly gazing would have
spied him. Much he rubbed his eyes with his hands
as he prepared falsehood, and himself straightway
said roundly: 'I have not seen them: I have not
389
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
οὐκ ἴδον, οὐ πυθόμην, οὐκ ἄλλου μῦθον ἄκουσα
οὐδέ κε μηνύσαιμ', οὐδ᾽ ἂν μήνυτρον ἀροίμην.
Η τοι ἄρ᾽ ὡς εἰπὼν κατ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἕζετο Φοίβος
Απόλλων
1
365
370
375
Ἑρμῆς δ᾽ αὖθ' ἑτέρωθεν ἀμειβομενος ἔπος ηὔδα,
δείξατο δ' ἐς Κρονίωνα, θεῶν σημάντορα πάντων·
Ζεῦ πάτερ, ή τοι ἐγώ σοι ἀληθείην καταλέξω·
νημερτής τε γάρ εἰμι καὶ οὐκ οἶδα ψεύδεσθαι.
ἦλθεν ἐς ἡμετέρου διζήμενος εἰλίποδας βοῦς
σήμερον ἠελίοιο νέον ἐπιτελλομένοιο·
οὐδὲ θεῶν μακάρων ἄγε μάρτυρας οὐδὲ κατόπτας,
μηνύειν δ᾽ ἐκέλευεν ἀναγκαίης ὑπὸ πολλῆς,
πολλὰ δέ μ' ἠπείλησε βαλεῖν ἐς Τάρταρον εὐρύν,
οὕνεχ᾽ ὁ μὲν τέρεν ἄνθος ἔχει φιλοκυδέος ἥβης,
δ
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ χθιζὸς γενόμην, τὰ δέ τ᾽ οἶδε καὶ αὐτός,
οὔτι βοῶν ἐλατῆρι, κραταιῷ φωτί, ἐοικώς.
πείθεο· καὶ γὰρ ἐμεῖο πατὴρ φίλος εὔχεαι εἶναι,
ὡς οὐκ οἴκαδ᾽ ἔλασσα βόας, ὡς ὄλβιος εἴην,
οὐδ᾽ ὑπὲρ οὐδὲν ἔβην· τὸ δέ τ᾽ ἀτρεκέως ἀγορεύω. 380
Ἠέλιον δὲ μάλ' αἰδέομαι καὶ δαίμονας ἄλλους,
καί σε φιλῶ καὶ τοῦτον ἐπίζομαι· οἶσθα καὶ αὐτός,
ὡς οὐκ αἴτιός εἰμι· μέγαν δ᾽ ἐπιδώσομαι” ὅρκον·
οὐ μὰ τάδ᾽ ἀθανάτων εὐκόσμητα προθύραια.
καί πους ἐγὼ τούτῳ τίσω ποτὲ νηλέα φώρην,
καὶ κρατερῷ περ ἐόντι· σὺ δ᾽ ὁπλοτέροισιν ἄρηγε.
Ὣς φάτ᾽ ἐπιλλίζων Κυλλήνιος ᾿Αργειφόντης·
καὶ τὸ σπάργανον εἶχεν ἐπ᾽ ὠλένῃ οὐδ᾽ ἀπέβαλλε.
Ζεὺς δὲ μέγ᾽ ἐξεγέλασσεν ἰδὼν κακομηδέα παῖδα
1 Most MSS.: ἄλλον μῦθον ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἔειπεν (“told
another story among the immortals "), E and L (in margin).
2 Barnes: ἐπιδεύομαι, Μ: ἐπιδαίομαι, other MSS.
* Hermann : ποτ', MSS.
385
390
IV. TO HERMES, 363-389
heard of them: no man has told me of them. Ι
could not tell you of them, nor win the reward of
telling.'"
When he had so spoken, Phoebus Apollo sat down.
But Hermes on his part answered and said, point-
ing at the Son of Cronos, the lord of all the
gods:
"Zeus, my father, indeed I will speak truth to
you; for I am truthful and I cannot tell a lie.
He
came to our house to-day looking for his shambling
cows, as the sun was newly rising. He brought no
witnesses with him nor any of the blessed gods who
had seen the theft, but with great violence ordered
me to confess, threatening much to throw me into
wide Tartarus. For he has the rich bloom of glorious
youth, while I was born but yesterday—as he too
knows, nor am I like a cattle-lifter, a sturdy fellow.
Believe my tale (for you claim to be my own father),
that I did not drive his cows to my house-so may I
prosper --nor crossed the threshold: this I say truly.
I reverence Helios greatly and the other gods, and
you I love and him I dread. You yourself know
that I am not guilty: and I will swear a great oath
upon it :-No! by these rich-decked porticoes of the
gods. And some day I will punish him, strong as he
is, for this pitiless inquisition; but now do you help
the younger."
So spake the Cyllenian, the Slayer of Argus, while
he kept shooting sidelong glances and kept his
swaddling-clothes upon his arm, and did not cast
them away.
But Zeus laughed out loud to see his
391
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
390
εὖ καὶ ἐπισταμένως ἀρνεύμενον ἀμφὶ βόεσσιν.
ἀμφοτέρους δ᾽ ἐκέλευσεν ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχοντας
ζητεύειν, Ἑρμῆν δὲ διάκτορον ἡγεμονεύειν
καὶ δεῖξαι τὸν χῶρον ἐπ᾽ ἀβλαβίῃσι νόοιο,
ὅππη δὴ αὐτ᾽ ἀπέκρυψε βοῶν ἴφθιμα κάρηνα.
νεῦσεν δὲ Κρονίδης, ἐπεπείθετο δ' ἀγλαὸς Ἑρμῆς· 395
ῥηιδίως γὰρ ἔπειθε Διὸς νόος αιγιόχοιο.
400
Τὰ δ᾽ ἄμφω σπεύδοντε Διὸς περικαλλέα τέκνα
ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα ἐπ᾿ ᾿Αλφειοῦ πόρον ἶξον·
ἀγροὺς δ᾽ ἐξίκοντο καὶ αὔλιον ὑψιμέλαθρον,
ἡχοῦ 1 δὴ τὰ χρήματ᾽ ἀτάλλετο νυκτὸς ἐν ὥρῃ.
ἔνθ᾽ Ἑρμῆς μὲν ἔπειτα κιὼν παρὰ λάινον ἄντρον
ἐς φῶς ἐξήλαυνε βοῶν ἴφθιμα κάρηνα
Λητοίδης δ' ἀπάτερθεν ἰδὼν ἐνόησε βοείας
πέτρῃ ἐπ' ἠλιβάτῳ, τάχα δ' εἴρετο κύδιμον Ἑρμῆν
Πῶς ἐδύνω, δολομῆτα, δύω βόε δειροτομῆσαι, 405
ὧδε νεογνὸς ἐὼν καὶ νήπιος; αὐτὸς ἐγώ γε
θαυμαίνω κατόπισθε τὸ σὸν κράτος· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
μακρὸν ἀέξεσθαι, Κυλλήνιε, Μαιάδος υἱέ.
409a
409b
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη καὶ χερσὶ περίστρεφε καρτερὰ δεσμὰ
[ἐνδῆσαι μεμαώς Ἑρμῆν κρατεραῖσι λύγοισι.2
τὸν δ᾽ οὐκ ἴσχανε δεσμά, λύγοι δ᾽ ἀπὸ τηλόσε
πίπτον 3]
ἄγνου· ταὶ δ᾽ ὑπὸ ποσσὶ κατὰ χθονὸς αἶψα φύοντο
αὐτόθεν, ἐμβολάδην ἐστραμμέναι ἀλλήλῃσι,
ῥεῖά τε καὶ πάσῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ἀγραύλοισι βόεσσιν,
Ἑρμέω βουλῇσι κλεψίφρονος· αὐτὰρ ᾿Απόλλων
θαύμασεν ἀθρήσας. τότε δὴ κρατὺς ᾿Αργειφόντης
χῶρον ὑποβλήδην ἐσκέψατο, πῦρ ἀμαρύσσων,
1 Fick : ἦχ᾽ οὐ and ἦχ᾽ οὗ, MSS: ὅχου, Μ.
2 Allen.
* Hymn to Dionysus, 13.
411
415
392
IV. TO HERMES, 390-415
evil-plotting child well and cunningly denying guilt
about the cattle. And he bade them both to be
of one mind and search for the cattle, and guiding
Hermes to lead the way and, without mischievous-
ness of heart, to show the place where now he had
hidden the strong cattle. Then the Son of Cronos
bowed his head and goodly Hermes obeyed him;
for the will of Zeus who holds the aegis easily
prevailed with him.
Then the two all-glorious children of Zeus
hastened both to sandy Pylos, and reached the ford of
Alpheus, and came to the fields and the high-roofed
byre where the beasts were cherished at night-time.
Now while Hermes went to the cave in the rock and
began to drive out the strong cattle, the son of Leto,
looking aside, saw the cowhides on the sheer rock.
And he asked glorious Hermes at once:
"How were you able, you crafty rogue, to flay
two cows, new-born and babyish as you are? For
my part, I dread the strength that will be yours:
there is no need you should keep growing long,
Cyllenian, son of Maia!"
So saying, Apollo twisted strong withes with his
hands meaning to bind Hermes with firm bands;
but the bands would not hold him, and the withes
of osier fell far from him and began to grow at once
from the ground beneath their feet in that
very place.
And intertwining with one another, they quickly
grew and covered all the wild-roving cattle by the
will of thievish Hermes, so that Apollo was astonished
as he gazed.
Then the strong slayer of Argus looked furtively
upon the ground with eyes flashing fire ...
desiring to hide . . . Very easily he softened the
393
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἐγκρύψαι μεμαώς· Λητοῦς δ' ἐρικυδέος υἱὸν
ῥεῖα μάλ' ἐπρήυνεν ἑκηβόλον, ὡς ἔθελ᾽ αὐτός,
καὶ κρατερόν περ ἐόντα· λαβὼν δ᾽ ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ
χειρὸς
πλήκτρῳ ἐπειρήτιζε κατὰ μέρος· ἡ δ᾽ ὑπὸ χειρὸς
σμερδαλέον κονάβησε γέλασσε δὲ Φοῖβος Απόλλων
γηθήσας, ἐρατὴ δὲ διὰ φρένας ἤλυθ᾿ ἰωὴ
421
θεσπεσίης ἐνοπῆς καί μιν γλυκὺς ἵμερος ᾕρει
θυμῷ ἀκουάζοντα· λύρῃ δ᾽ ἐρατὸν κιθαρίζων
στῆ ῥ᾽ ὅ γε θαρσήσας ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερὰ Μαιάδος υἱὸς
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος· τάχα δὲ λιγέως κιθαρίζων 425
γηρύετ᾽ ἀμβολάδην—ἐρατὴ δέ οἱ ἔσπετο φωνή—
κραίνων ἀθανάτους τε θεοὺς καὶ γαῖαν ἐρεμνήν,
ὡς τὰ πρῶτα γένοντο καὶ ὡς λάχε μοῖραν ἕκαστος.
Μνημοσύνην μὲν πρῶτα θεῶν ἐγέραιρεν ἀοιδῇ,
μητέρα Μουσάων· ἡ γὰρ λάχε Μαιάδος υἱόν·
τοὺς δὲ κατὰ πρέσβιν τε καὶ ὡς γεγάασιν ἕκαστος
ἀθανάτους ἐγέραιρε θεοὺς Διὸς ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
πάντ᾽ ἐνέπων κατὰ κόσμον, ἐπωλένιον κιθαρίζων.
τὸν δ᾽ ἔρος ἐν στήθεσσιν ἀμήχανος αἴνυτο θυμόν,
καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Βουφόνε, μηχανιῶτα, πονεύμενε, δαιτὸς ἑταίρε,
πεντήκοντα βοῶν ἀντάξια ταῦτα μέμηλας.
ἡσυχίως καὶ ἔπειτα διακρινέεσθαι οίω·
430
435
νῦν δ᾽ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπέ, πολύτροπε Μαιάδος υἱέ,
ἢ σοί γ' ἐκ γενετῆς τάδ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἕσπετο θαυματὰ ἔργα 440
ἠέ τις ἀθανάτων ἠὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
δῶρον ἀγανὸν ἔδωκε καὶ ἔφρασε θέσπιν ἀοιδήν;
θαυμασίην γὰρ τήνδε νεήφατον ὄσσαν ἀκούω,
ἣν οὐ πώ ποτέ φημι δαήμεναι οὔτε τιν᾿ ἀνδρῶν
οὔτε τιν᾽ ἀθανάτων, οἳ Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσι, 445
νόσφι σέθεν, φηλῆτα, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱε.
394
IV. TO HERMES, 416-446
son of all-glorious Leto as he would, stern though
the Far-shooter was. He took the lyre upon his
left arm and tried each string in turn with the key,
so that it sounded awesomely at his touch. And
Phoebus Apollo laughed for joy; for the sweet throb
of the marvellous music went to his heart, and a soft
longing took hold on his soul as he listened. Then
the son of Maia, harping sweetly upon his lyre, took
courage and stood at the left hand of Phoebus
Apollo; and soon, while he played shrilly on his
lyre, he lifted up his voice and sang, and lovely was
the sound of his voice that followed. He sang the
story of the deathless gods and of the dark earth,
how at the first they came to be, and how each one
received his portion. First among the gods he
honoured Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses, in his
song; for the son of Maia was of her following. And
next the goodly son of Zeus hymned the rest of the
immortals according to their order in age, and told
how each was born, mentioning all in order as he
struck the lyre upon his arm. But Apollo was seized
with a longing not to be allayed, and he opened his
mouth and spoke winged words to Hermes :
66
Slayer of oxen, trickster, busy one, comrade of
the feast, this song of yours is worth fifty cows, and
I believe that presently we shall settle our quarrel
peacefully. But come now, tell me this, resourceful
son of Maia has this marvellous thing been with
you from your birth, or did some god or mortal man
give it you-a noble gift-and teach you heavenly
song? For wonderful is this new-uttered sound I
hear, the like of which I vow that no man nor god
dwelling on Olympus ever yet has known but
thievish son of Maia. What skill is this?
you,
O
What
395
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
τίς τέχνη, τίς μοῦσα ἀμηχανέων μελεδώνων,
τίς τρίβος; ἀτρεκέως γὰρ ἅμα τρία πάντα πάρ
εστιν,
455
εὐφροσύνην καὶ ἔρωτα καὶ ἥδυμον ὕπνον ἑλέσθαι.
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ Μούσῃσιν Ολυμπιάδεσσιν ὀπηδός, 450
τῇσι χοροί τε μέλουσι καὶ ἀγλαὸς οἶμος1 ἀοιδῆς
καὶ μολπὴ τεθαλυῖα καὶ ἱμερόεις βρόμος αὐλῶν·
ἀλλ᾽ οὔ πω τί μοι ὧδε μετὰ φρεσὶν ἄλλο μέλησεν,
οἷα νέων θαλίῃς ἐνδέξια ἔργα πέλονται.
θαυμάζω, Διὸς υἱέ, τάδ', ὡς ἐρατὸν κιθαρίζεις.
νῦν δ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν ὀλίγος περ ἐὼν κλυτὰ μήδεα οἶδας,
ΐζε, πέπον, καὶ μῦθον· ἐπαίνει πρεσβυτέροισι·
νῦν γάρ τοι κλέος ἔσται ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι
σοί τ᾽ αὐτῷ καὶ μητρί· τὸ δ᾽ ἀτρεκέως ἀγορεύσω·
ναὶ μὰ τόδε κρανέινον ἀκόντιον, ἢ μὲν ἐγώ σε
κυδρὸν ἐν ἀθανάτοισι καὶ ὄλβιον ἡγεμόν᾽ εἴσω 3
δώσω τ᾿ ἀγλαὰ δῶρα καὶ ἐς τέλος οὐκ ἀπατήσω.
Τὸν δ᾽ Ἑρμῆς μύθοισιν ἀμείβετο κερδαλέοισιν·
εἰρωτᾷς μ', Εκάεργε, περιφραδές· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ σοι
τέχνης ἡμετέρης ἐπιβήμεναι οὔ τι μεγαίρω.
σήμερον εἰδήσεις· ἐθέλω δέ τοι ήπιος είναι
βουλῇ καὶ μύθοισι. σὺ δὲ φρεσὶ πάντ᾽ εὖ οἶδας·
πρῶτος γάρ, Διὸς υἱέ, μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι θαάσσεις,
ἠύς τε κρατερός τε φιλεῖ δέ σε μητίετα Ζεὺς
ἐκ πάσης ὁσίης, ἔπορεν δέ τοι ἀγλαὰ δῶρα.
καὶ τιμάς σέ γέ φασι δαήμεναι ἐκ Διὸς ὀμφῆς
μαντείας θ' Εκάεργε, Διὸς παρά, θέσφατα πάντα
τῶν νῦν αὐτὸς ἐγώ σε μαλ' ἀφνειὸν 4 δεδάηκα·
σοὶ δ᾽ αὐτάγρετόν ἐστι δαήμεναι, ὅττι μενοινᾷς.
1 Most MSS: ὕμνος, Μ with E and L (margin).
2 Ruhnken : θυμὸν, Μ. * Tyrrell : ἡγεμονεύσω, MSS.
4 Translator: ἔγωγε παῖδ᾽ ἀφνειόν, MSS.
460
465
470
396
IV. TO HERMES, 447-474
song for desperate cares? What way of song? For
verily here are three things to hand all at once from
which to choose,-mirth, and love, and sweet sleep.
And though I am a follower of the Olympian Muses
who love dances and the bright path of song-the
full-toned chant and ravishing thrill of flutes—yet I
never cared for any of those feats of skill at young
men's revels, as I do now for this: I am filled with
wonder, O son of Zeus, at your sweet playing. But
now, since you, though little, have such glorious skill,
sit down, dear boy, and respect the words of your
elders. For now you shall have renown among the
deathless gods, you and your mother also. This 1
will declare to you exactly: by this shaft of cornel
wood I will surely make you a leader renowned
among the deathless gods, and fortunate, and will
give you glorious gifts and will not deceive you from
first to last."
Then Hermes answered him with artful words:
"You question me carefully, O Far-worker; yet I
am not jealous that you should enter upon my art :
this day you shall know it. For I seek to be friendly
with you both in thought and word, Now you well
know all things in your heart, since you sit foremost
among the deathless gods, O son of Zeus, and are
goodly and strong. And wise Zeus loves you as all
right is, and has given you splendid gifts. And they
say that from the utterance of Zeus you have learned
both the honours due to the gods, O Far-worker,
and oracles from Zeus, even all his ordinances. Of
all these I myself have already learned that you have
great wealth. Now, you are free to learn whatever.
397
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
475
480
ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ οὖν τοι θυμὸς ἐπιθύει κιθαρίζειν,
μέλπεο καὶ κιθάριζε καὶ ἀγλαίας ἀλέγυνε
δέγμενος ἐξ ἐμέθεν· σὺ δέ μοι, φίλε, κῦδος ἔπαζε.
εὐμόλπει μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχων λιγύφωνον ἑταίρην,
καλὰ καὶ εὖ κατὰ κόσμον ἐπιστάμενος ἀγορεύειν.
εὔκηλος μὲν ἔπειτα φέρειν ἐς δαῖτα θάλειαν
καὶ χορὸν ἱμερόεντα καὶ ἐς φιλοκυδέα κώμον
εὐφροσύνην νυκτός τε καὶ ἤματος. ὅς τις ἂν αὐτὴν
τέχνῃ καὶ σοφίῃ δεδαημένος ἐξερεείνῃ,
φθεγγομένη παντοῖα νόῳ χαρίεντα διδάσκει
ῥεῖα συνηθείῃσιν ἀθυρομένη μαλακῇσιν,
ἐργασίην φεύγουσα δυήπαθον· ὃς δέ κεν αὐτὴν
νῆις ἐὼν τὸ πρῶτον ἐπιζαφελῶς ἐρεείνῃ,
μὰψ αὕτως κεν ἔπειτα μετήορά τε θρυλλίζοι.
σοὶ δ᾽ αὐτάγρετόν ἐστι δαήμεναι, ὅττι μενοινᾷς.
καί τοι ἐγὼ δώσω ταύτην, Διὸς ἀγλαὸ κοῦρε·
ἡμεῖς δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ὄρεός τε καὶ ἱπποβότου πεδίοιο
βουσὶ νομούς, Εκάεργε, νομεύσομεν ἀγραύλοισιν.
ἔνθεν ἅλις τέξουσι βόες ταύροισι μιγεῖσαι
μίγδην θηλείας τε καὶ ἄρσενας· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
κερδαλέον περ ἐόντα περιζαμενῶς κεχολώσθαι.
485
490
495
Ως εἰπὼν ὤρεξ'· ὃ δ᾽ ἐδέξατο Φοῖβος Απόλλων,
Ἑρμῇ δ᾽ ἐγγυάλιξεν ἑκὼν 1 μάστιγα φαεινήν,
βουκολίας τ᾽ ἐπέτελλεν· ἔδεκτο δὲ Μαιάδος υἱὸς
γηθήσας· κίθαριν δὲ λαβὼν ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ χειρὸς
Λητοῦς ἀγλαὸς υἱός, ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Απόλλων,
πλήκτρῳ ἐπειρήτιζε κατὰ μέρος· ἡ δ᾽ ὑπένερθε
σμερδαλέον κονάβησε· θεὸς δ᾽ ὑπὸ καλὸν ἄεισεν.
Ενθα βόας μὲν ἔπειτα ποτὶ ζάθεον λειμῶνα
ἐτραπέτην· αὐτοὶ δέ, Διὸς περικαλλέα τέκνα,
1 Martin: ἔχων, MSS. 2 Μ: ἱμερόεν, other MSS.
500
398
IV. --
TO HERMES, 475-504
you please; but since, as it seems, your heart is so
strongly set on playing the lyre, chant, and play
upon it, and give yourself to merriment, taking
this as a gift from me, and do you, my friend,
bestow glory on me. Sing well with this clear-
voiced companion in your hands; for you are skilled
in good, well-ordered utterance. From now on bring
it confidently to the rich feast and lovely dance and
glorious revel, a joy by night and by day. Whoso
with wit and wisdom enquires of it cunningly, him
it teaches through its sound all manner of things
that delight the mind, being easily played with
gentle familiarities, for it abhors toilsome drudgery;
but whoso in ignorance enquires of it violently, to
him it chatters mere vanity and foolishness. But
you are able to learn whatever you please. So then,
I will give you this lyre, glorious son of Zeus, while
I for my part will graze down with wild-roving
cattle the pastures on hill and horse-feeding plain :
so shall the cows covered by the bulls calve abun-
dantly both males and females. And now there is
no need for you, bargainer though you are, to be
furiously angry."
When Hermes had said this, he held out the lyre:
and Phoebus Apollo took it, and readily put his
shining whip in Hermes' hand, and ordained him
keeper of herds. The son of Maia received it
joyfully, while the glorious son of Leto, the lord
far-working Apollo, took the lyre upon his left
arm and tried each string with the key. Awe-
somely it sounded at the touch of the god, while
he sang sweetly to its note.
Afterwards they two, the all-glorious sons of Zeus
turned the cows back towards the sacred meadow,
399
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
505
510
ἄψορροι πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἀγάννιφον ἐρρώσαντο
τερπόμενοι φόρμιγγι· χάρη δ' ἄρα μητιέτα Ζεύς,
ἄμφω δ' ἐς φιλότητα συνήγαγε· καὶ τὰ μὲν Ἑρμῆς
Λητοΐδην ἐφίλησε διαμπερὲς ὡς ἔτι καὶ νῦν,
σήματ᾽ ἐπεὶ κίθαριν μὲν Ἑκηβόλῳ ἐγγυάλιξεν
ἱμερτήν, δεδαώς, ὁ δ᾽ ἐπωλένιον κιθάριζεν·
αὐτὸς δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἑτέρης σοφίης ἐκμάσσατο τέχνην·
συρίγγων ἐνοπὴν ποιήσατο τηλόθ᾽ ἀκουστήν.
Και τότε Λητοίδης Ἑρμῆν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
δείδια, Μαιάδος υιέ, διάκτορε, ποικιλομήτα,
μή μοι ἅμα κλέψῃς κίθαριν καὶ καμπύλα τόξα·
τιμὴν γὰρ πὰρ Ζηνὸς ἔχεις ἐπαμοίβια ἔργα
θήσειν ἀνθρώποισι κατὰ χθόνα πουλυβότειραν.
ἀλλ᾽ εἴ μοι τλαίης γε θεῶν μέγαν ὅρκον ομόσσαι,
ἢ κεφαλῇ νεύσας ἢ ἐπὶ Στυγὸς ὄβριμον ὕδωρ,
πάντ᾽ ἂν ἐμῷ θυμῷ κεχαρισμένα καὶ φίλα ἔρδοις. 520
Καὶ τότε Μαιάδος υἱὸς ὑποσχόμενος κατένευσε,
μή ποτ' ἀποκλέψειν, ὅσ᾽ Ἑκηβόλος ἐκτεάτισται,
μηδέ ποτ' ἐμπελάσειν πυκινῷ δόμῳ· αὐτὰρ
Απόλλων
515
Λητοίδης κατένευσεν ἐπ᾿ ἀρθμῷ καὶ φιλότητι,
μή τινα φίλτερον ἄλλον ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἔσεσθαι, 525
μήτε θεὸν μήτ' ἄνδρα Διὸς γόνον· ἐκ δὲ τέλειον
[αἰετὸν ἧκε πατήρ· ὁ δ᾽ ἐπώμοσεν· ἦ σε μάλ᾽ οἶον ] 5268
σύμβολον ἀθανάτων ποιήσομαι ἠδ᾽ ἅμα πάντων,
πιστὸν ἐμῷ θυμῷ καὶ τίμιον· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
ὄλβου καὶ πλούτου δώσω περικαλλέα ῥάβδον,
χρυσείην, τριπέτηλον, ἀκήριον ἥ σε φυλάξει
πάντας ἐπικραίνουσ᾽ ἄθλους 2 ἐπέων τε καὶ ἔργων
τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὅσα φημὶ δαήμεναι ἐκ Διὸς ὀμφῆς.
1 Allen's supplement. 2 Sikes : θεούς, MSS.
530
400
IV. TO HERMES, 505-532
but themselves hastened back to snowy Olympus,
delighting in the lyre. Then wise Zeus was glad and
made them both friends. And Hermes loved the
son of Leto continually, even as he does now, when
he had given the lyre as token to the Far-shooter,
who played it skilfully, holding it upon his arm. But
for himself Hermes found out another cunning art
and made himself the pipes whose sound is heard
afar.
Then the son of Leto said to Hermes : "Son of
Maia, guide and cunning one, I fear you may steal
from me the lyre and my curved bow together; for
you have an office from Zeus, to establish deeds of
barter amongst men throughout the fruitful earth.
Now if you would only swear me the great oath of
the gods, either by nodding your head, or by the
potent water of Styx, you would do all that can
please and ease my heart."
Then Maia's son nodded his head and promised
that he would never steal anything of all the Far-
shooter possessed, and would never go near his
strong house; but Apollo, son of Leto, swore to
be fellow and friend to Hermes, vowing that he
would love no other among the immortals, neither
god nor man sprung from Zeus, better than Hermes:
and the Father sent forth an eagle in confirmation.
And Apollo sware also: "Verily I will make you
only to be an omen for the immortals and all alike,
trusted and honoured by my heart. Moreover, I
will give you a splendid staff of riches and wealth:
it is of gold, with three branches, and will keep you
scatheless, accomplishing every task, whether of
words or deeds that are good, which I claim to
know through the utterance of Zeus. But as for
401
D D
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
390
εὖ καὶ ἐπισταμένως ἀρνεύμενον ἀμφὶ βόεσσιν.
ἀμφοτέρους δ᾽ ἐκέλευσεν ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχοντας
ζητεύειν, Ἑρμῆν δὲ διάκτορον ἡγεμονεύειν
καὶ δεῖξαι τὸν χῶρον ἐπ᾽ ἀβλαβίῃσι νόοιο,
ὅππη δὴ αὖτ᾽ ἀπέκρυψε βοῶν ἴφθιμα κάρηνα.
νεῦσεν δὲ Κρονίδης, ἐπεπείθετο δ᾽ ἀγλαὸς Ἑρμῆς· 395
ῥηιδίως γὰρ ἔπειθε Διὸς νόος αιγιόχοιο.
400
Τὰ δ᾽ ἄμφω σπεύδοντε Διὸς περικαλλέα τέκνα
ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αλφειοῦ πόρον ἕξον·
ἀγροὺς δ' ἐξίκοντο καὶ αὔλιον ὑψιμέλαθρον,
ἡχοῦ 1 δὴ τὰ χρήματ' ἀτάλλετο νυκτὸς ἐν ὥρῃ.
ἔνθ᾽ Ἑρμῆς μὲν ἔπειτα κιὼν παρὰ λάινον ἄντρον
ἐς φῶς ἐξήλαυνε βοῶν ἔφθιμα κάρηνα
Λητοίδης δ' ἀπάτερθεν ἰδὼν ἐνόησε βοείας
πέτρῃ ἐπ᾽ ἠλιβάτῳ, τάχα δ' εἴρετο κύδιμον Ἑρμῆν
Πῶς ἐδύνω, δολομῆτα, δύω βόε δειροτομῆσαι, 405
ὧδε νεογνὸς ἐὼν καὶ νήπιος; αὐτὸς ἐγώ γε
θαυμαίνω κατόπισθε τὸ σὸν κράτος· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
μακρὸν ἀέξεσθαι, Κυλλήνιε, Μαιάδος υἱέ.
409a
409b
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη καὶ χερσὶ περίστρεφε καρτερὰ δεσμὰ
[ἐνδῆσαι μεμαὼς Ἑρμῆν κρατεραῖσι λύγοισι.2
τὸν δ᾽ οὐκ ἴσχανε δεσμά, λύγοι δ᾽ ἀπὸ τηλόσε
πίπτον 3]
ἄγνου· ταὶ δ᾽ ὑπὸ ποσσὶ κατὰ χθονὸς αἶψα φύοντο
αὐτόθεν, ἐμβολάδην ἐστραμμέναι ἀλλήλῃσι,
ρειά τε καὶ πάσῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ἀγραύλοισι βόεσσιν,
Ερμέω βουλῇσι κλεψίφρονος· αὐτὰρ Απόλλων
θαύμασεν ἀθρήσας, τότε δὴ κρατὺς ᾿Αργειφόντης
χῶρον ὑποβλήδην ἐσκέψατο, πῦρ ἀμαρύσσων,
*
*
1 Fick : ἦχ᾽ οὐ and ἦχ᾽ οὗ, MSS: ὅχου, Μ.
2 Allen.
* Hymn to Dionysus, 13.
411
415
392
IV. TO HERMES, 390-415
evil-plotting child well and cunningly denying guilt
about the cattle. And he bade them both to be
of one mind and search for the cattle, and guiding
Hermes to lead the way and, without mischievous-
ness of heart, to show the place where now he had
hidden the strong cattle. Then the Son of Cronos
bowed his head: and goodly Hermes obeyed him;
for the will of Zeus who holds the aegis easily
prevailed with him.
Then the two all-glorious children of Zeus
hastened both to sandy Pylos, and reached the ford of
Alpheus, and came to the fields and the high-roofed
byre where the beasts were cherished at night-time.
Now while Hermes went to the cave in the rock and
began to drive out the strong cattle, the son of Leto,
looking aside, saw the cowhides on the sheer rock.
And he asked glorious Hermes at once:
"How were you able, you crafty rogue, to flay
two cows, new-born and babyish as you are? For
my part, I dread the strength that will be yours:
there is no need you should keep growing long,
Cyllenian, son of Maia!"
So saying, Apollo twisted strong withes with his
hands meaning to bind Hermes with firm bands;
but the bands would not hold him, and the withes
of osier fell far from him and began to grow at once
from the ground beneath their feet in that very place.
And intertwining with one another, they quickly
grew and covered all the wild-roving cattle by the
will of thievish Hermes, so that Apollo was astonished
as he gazed.
Then the strong slayer of Argus looked furtively
upon the ground with eyes flashing fire . . .
desiring to hide. Very easily he softened the
393
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
μαντείην δέ, φέριστε, διοτρεφές, ἣν ἐρεείνεις,
οὔτε σὲ θέσφατόν ἐστι δαήμεναι οὔτε τιν᾽ ἄλλον
ἀθανάτων· τὸ γὰρ οἶδε Διὸς νόος· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε 535
πιστωθεὶς κατένευσα καὶ ὤμοσα καρτερὸν ὅρκον,
μή τινα νόσφιν ἐμεῖο θεῶν αἰειγενετάων
ἄλλον γ᾽ εἴσεσθαι Ζηνὸς πυκινόφρονα βουλήν.
καὶ σύ, κασίγνητε χρυσόρραπι, μή με κέλευε
θέσφατα πιφαύσκειν, ὅσα μήδεται εὐρύοπα Ζεύς. 540
ἀνθρώπων δ᾽ ἄλλον δηλήσομαι, ἄλλον ὀνήσω,
πολλὰ περιτροπέων ἀμεγάρτων φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων.
καὶ μὲν ἐμῆς ὀμφῆς ἀπονήσεται, ὅς τις ἂν ἔλθῃ
φωνῇ καὶ πτερύγεσσι τεληέντων οἰωνῶν·
οὗτος ἐμῆς ὀμφῆς ἀπονήσεται, οὐδ᾽ ἀπατήσω.
ὃς δέ κε μαψιλόγοισι πιθήσας οἰωνοῖσι
μαντείην ἐθέλῃσι παρὲκ νόον ἐξερεείνειν
ἡμετέρην, νοέειν δὲ θεῶν πλέον αἰὲν ἐοντων,
φήμ᾽, ἁλίην ὁδὸν εἰσιν. ἐγὼ δέ κε δῶρα δεχοιμην.
*Αλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, Μαίης ἐρικυδέος υἱὲ
καὶ Διὸς αιγιόχοιο, θεῶν ἐριούνιε δαῖμον·
σεμναὶ γάρ τινες εἰσί, κασίγνηται γεγαυῖαι,
παρθένοι, ὠκείῃσιν ἀγαλλόμεναι πτερύγεσσι,
τρεῖς κατὰ δὲ κρατὸς πεπαλαγμέναι ἄλφιτα
λευκά,
545
550
555
οἰκία ναιετάουσιν ὑπὸ πτυχὶ Παρνησοῖο,
μαντείης απάνευθε διδάσκαλοι, ἣν ἐπὶ βουσὶ
παῖς ἔτ᾽ ἐὼν μελέτησα· πατὴρ δ᾽ ἐμὸς οὐκ ἀλέγιζεν,
ἐντεῦθεν δὴ ἔπειτα ποτώμεναι ἄλλοτε ἄλλη
κηρία βόσκονται καί τε κραίνουσιν ἕκαστα.
402
IV. TO HERMES, 533-559
sooth-saying, noble, heaven-born child, of which
you ask, it is not lawful for you to learn it, nor
for any other of the deathless gods: only the mind
of Zeus knows that. I am pledged and have vowed
and sworn a strong oath that no other of the eternal
gods save I should know the wise-hearted counsel of
Zeus. And do not you, my brother, bearer of the
golden wand, bid me tell those decrees which all-
seeing Zeus intends. As for men, I will harm one
and profit another, sorely perplexing the tribes of
unenviable men. Whosoever shall come guided by
the call and flight of birds of sure omen, that man
shall have advantage through my voice, and I will
not deceive him. But whoso shall trust to idly-
chattering birds and shall seek to invoke my
prophetic art contrary to my will, and to under-
stand more than the eternal gods, I declare that
he shall come on an idle journey; yet his gifts I
would take.
But I will tell you another thing, Son of all-
glorious Maia and Zeus who holds the aegis, luck-
bringing genius of the gods. There are certain holy
ones, sisters born-three virgins ¹ gifted with wings:
their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and
they dwell under a ridge of Parnassus. These are
teachers of divination apart from me, the art which
I practised while yet a boy following herds, though
my father paid no heed to it. From their home
they fly now here, now there, feeding on honey-comb
The Thriae, who practised divination by means of
pebbles (also called epiaí). In this hymn they are repre-
sented as aged maidens (ll. 553-4), but are closely associated
with bees (11. 559-563) and possibly are here conceived as
having human heads and breasts with the bodies and wings
of bees. See the edition of Allen and Sikes, Appendix III.
403
DD 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
αἳ δ᾽ ὅτε μὲν θυΐωσιν ἐδηδυῖαι μέλι χλωρόν,
προφρονέως ἐθέλουσιν ἀληθείην ἀγορεύειν
ἦν δ᾽ ἀπονοσφισθῶσι θεῶν ἡδεῖαν ἐδωδήν,
ψεύδονται δὴ ἔπειτα δι' ἀλλήλων δονέουσαι.
τάς τοι ἔπειτα δίδωμι· σὺ δ᾽ ἀτρεκεως ἐρεείνων
σὴν αὐτοῦ φρένα τέρπε, καὶ εἰ βροτὸν ἄνδρα
δαείῃς,
560
565
πολλάκι σῆς ὀμφῆς ἐπακούσεται, αἴ κε τύχῃσι.
ταῦτ᾽ ἔχε, Μαιάδος υἱέ, καὶ ἀγραύλους ἕλικας βοῦς
ἵππους τ᾽ ἀμφιπόλευε καὶ ἡμιόνους ταλαεργούς.
[ὡς ἔφατ'· οὐρανόθεν δὲ πατὴρ Ζεὺς αὐτὸς ἔπεσσι 5684
θῆκε τέλος· πᾶσιν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὅ γ' οἰωνοῖσι κέλευσεν 2] 568
καὶ χαροποῖσι λέουσι καὶ ἀργιόδουσι σύεσσι
καὶ κυσὶ καὶ μήλοισιν, ὅσα τρέφει εὐρεῖα χθών, 570
πᾶσι δ᾽ ἐπὶ προβάτοισιν ἀνάσσειν κύδιμον Ἑρμῆν,
οἶον δ᾽ εἰς ᾿Αΐδην τετελεσμένον ἄγγελον εἶναι,
ὅς τ᾽ ἄδοτός περ ἐὼν δώσει γέρας οὐκ ἐλάχιστον.
Οὕτω Μαιάδος υἱὸν ἄναξ ἐφίλησεν ᾿Απόλλων
παντοίῃ φιλότητι· χάριν δ᾽ ἐπέθηκε Κρονίων.
πᾶσι δ᾽ ὅ γε θνητοῖσι καὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμιλεῖ.
παῦρα μὲν οὖν ὀνίνησι, τὸ δ᾽ ἄκριτον ήπεροπεύει
νύκτα δι' ὀρφναίην φῦλα θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱέ·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
1 E and L : πειρῶνται δὴ ἔπειτα παρὲξ ὁδὸν ἡγεμονεύειν (“Tien
they try to lead men aside out of the way "), other MSS.
2 Allen's supplement.
575
580
404
IV. TO HERMES, 560-580
and bringing all things to pass.
And when they
are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are
willing to speak truth; but if they be deprived of
the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as
they swarm in and out together. These, then, I
give you; enquire of them strictly and delight your
heart and if you should teach any mortal so to do,
often will he hear your response-if he have good
fortune. Take these, Son of Maia, and tend the
wild roving, horned oxen and horses and patient
mules."
So he spake. And from heaven father Zeus
himself gave confirmation to his words, and com-
manded that glorious Hermes should be lord over
all birds of omen and grim-eyed lions, and boars
with gleaming tusks, and over dogs and all flocks
that the wide earth nourishes, and over all sheep;
also that he only should be the appointed messenger
to Hades, who, though he takes no gift, shall give
him no mean prize.
Thus the lord Apollo showed his kindness for the
Son of Maia by all manner of friendship: and the
Son of Cronos gave him grace besides. He consorts
with all mortals and immortals: a little he profits,
but continually throughout the dark night he cozens
the tribes of mortal men.
And so, farewell, Son of Zeus and Maia; but I
will remember you and another song also.
405
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
V
ΕΙΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ
Μουσά μοι
ἐννέπε ἔργα πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης,
Κύπριδος, ἥτε θεοῖσιν ἐπὶ γλυκὺν ἵμερον ώρσε
καί τ' ἐδαμάσσατο φύλα καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
οἰωνούς τε διιπετέας καὶ θηρία πάντα,
ἠμὲν ὅσ᾽ ἤπειρος πολλὰ τρέφει ἠδ᾽ ὅσα πόντος·
πᾶσιν δ' ἔργα μέμηλεν ἐυστεφάνου Κυθερείης.
Τρισσὰς δ᾽ οὐ δύναται πεπιθεῖν φρένας οὐδ᾽
ἀπατῆσαι·
κούρην τ' αἰγιόχοιο Διός, γλαυκῶπιν ᾿Αθήνην·
οὐ γάρ οἱ εὔαδεν ἔργα πολυχρύσου Αφροδίτης,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα οἱ πόλεμοί τε ἅδον καὶ ἔργον Αρηος
ὑσμῖναί τε μάχαι τε καὶ ἀγλαὰ ἔργ᾽ ἀλεγύνειν.
πρώτη τέκτονας ἄνδρας ἐπιχθονίους ἐδίδαξε
ποιῆσαι σατίνας τε καὶ ἅρματα ποικίλα χαλκῷ.
ἢ δέ τε παρθενικὰς ἁπαλόχροας ἐν μεγάροισιν
ἀγλαὰ ἔργ᾽ ἐδίδαξεν ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θεῖσα ἑκάστῃ.
οὐδέ ποτ' Αρτέμιδα χρυσηλάκατον, κελαδεινὴν
δάμναται ἐν φιλότητι φιλομμειδής Αφροδίτη.
καὶ γὰρ τῇ ἅδε τόξα καὶ οὔρεσι θῆρας ἐναίρειν,
φόρμιγγές τε χοροί τε διαπρύσιοί τ' ὀλολυγαὶ
ἄλσεά τε σκιόεντα δικαίων τε πτόλις ἀνδρῶν.
οὐδὲ μὲν αἰδοίῃ κούρῃ ἅδε ἔργ᾽ Αφροδίτης,
Ἱστίῃ, ἣν πρώτην τέκετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης,
αὖτις δ᾽ ὁπλοτάτην, βουλῇ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο,
5
10
15
20
20
406
V. TO APHRODITE, 1-23
V
TO APHRODITE
MUSE, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the
Cyprian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and
subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in
air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears,
and all that the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-
crowned Cytherea.
Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend
nor yet ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus
who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athene; for she
has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite,
but delights in wars and in the work of Ares,
in strifes and battles and in preparing famous
crafts. She first taught earthly craftsmen to
make chariots of war and cars variously wrought
with bronze, and she, too, teaches tender maidens
in the house and puts knowledge of goodly arts in
each one's mind. Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite
ever tame in love Artemis, the huntress with shafts
of gold; for she loves archery and the slaying of wild
beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing
and thrilling cries and shady woods and the cities of
upright men. Nor yet does the pure maiden Hestia
love Aphrodite's works. She was the first-born child
of wily Cronos and youngest too,¹ by will of Zeus who
holds the aegis,-a queenly maid whom both
1 Cronos swallowed each of his children the moment that
they were born, but ultimately was forced to disgorge them.
Hestia, being the first to be swallowed, was the last to be
disgorged, and so was at once the first and latest born of the
children of Cronos. Cp. Hesiod Theogony, 11. 495-7.
407
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
πότνιαν, ἣν ἐμνῶντο Ποσειδάων καὶ ᾿Απόλλων
ἡ δὲ μαλ᾽ οὐκ ἔθελεν, ἀλλὰ στερεῶς ἀπέειπεν·
ὤμοσε δὲ μέγαν ὅρκον, ὃ δὴ τετελεσμένος ἐστίν,
ἁψαμένη κεφαλῆς πατρὸς Διὸς αὐγιόχοιο,
παρθένος ἔσσεσθαι πάντ᾽ ἤματα, δια θεάων.
τῇ δὲ πατὴρ Ζεὺς δῶκε καλὸν γέρας ἀντὶ γάμοιο
καί τε μέσῳ οἴκῳ κατ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἕζετο πῖαρ ἑλοῦσα.
πᾶσιν δ᾽ ἐν νηοῖσι θεῶν τιμάοχός ἐστι
καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι βροτοῖσι θεῶν πρέσβειρα τέτυκται.
Τάων οὐ δύναται πεπιθεῖν φρένας οὐδ᾽ ἀπατῆσαι·
τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων οὔ πέρ τι πεφυγμένον ἔστ᾽ Αφροδίτην
οὔτε θεῶν μακάρων οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
καί τε παρὲκ Ζηνὸς νόον ἤγαγε τερπικεραύνου,
ὅστε μέγιστός τ᾽ ἐστὶ μεγίστης τ᾽ ἔμμορε τιμῆς.
καί τε τοῦ, εἶτ᾽ ἐθέλοι, πυκινὰς φρένας ἐξαπαφοῦσα
ῥηιδίως συνέμιξε καταθνητῇσι γυναιξίν,
Ηρης ἐκλελαθοῦσα, κασιγνήτης αλόχου τε,
ἢ μέγα εἶδος ἀρίστη ἐν ἀθανάτῃσι θεῇσι.
κυδίστην δ᾽ ἄρα μιν τέκετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης
μήτηρ τε Ρείη· Ζεὺς δ᾽ ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδὼς
αἰδοίην ἄλοχον ποιήσατο κέδν᾽ εἰδυίαν.
Τῇ δὲ καὶ αὐτῇ Ζεὺς γλυκὺν ἵμερον ἔμβαλε θυμῷ
ἀνδρὶ καταθνητῷ μιχθήμεναι, ὄφρα τάχιστα
μηδ' αὐτὴ βροτέης εὐνῆς ἀποεργμένη εἴη,
καί ποτ' ἐπευξαμένη εἴπῃ μετὰ πᾶσι θεοίσιν
ἡδὺ γελοιήσασα, φιλομμειδής Αφροδίτη,
ὥς ῥα θεοὺς συνέμιξε καταθνητῇσι γυναιξί,
καί τε καταθνητοὺς υἱεῖς τέκον ἀθανάτοισιν,
ὥς τε θεὰς ἀνέμιξε καταθνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
25
25
30
35
40
46
50
408
V. TO APHRODITE, 24-52
Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed. But she was
wholly unwilling, nay, stubbornly refused; and
touching the head of father Zeus who holds the
aegis, she, that fair goddess, sware a great oath
which has in truth been fulfilled, that she would
be a maiden all her days. So Zeus the Father
gave her an high honour instead of marriage, and
she has her place in the midst of the house and
has the richest portion. In all the temples of the
gods she has a share of honour, and among all
mortal men she is chief of the goddesses.
Of these three Aphrodite cannot bend or ensnare
the hearts. But of all others there is nothing
among the blessed gods or among mortal men that
has escaped Aphrodite. Even the heart of Zeus,
who delights in thunder, is led astray by her;
though he is greatest of all and has the lot of
highest majesty, she beguiles even his wise heart
whensoever she pleases, and mates him with mortal
women, unknown to Hera, his sister and his wife,
the grandest far in beauty among the deathless
goddesses-most glorious is she whom wily Cronos
with her mother Rhea did beget: and Zeus, whose
wisdom is everlasting, made her his chaste and
careful wife.
But upon Aphrodite herself Zeus cast sweet
desire to be joined in love with a mortal man, to
the end that, very soon, not even she should be
innocent of a mortal's love; lest laughter-loving
Aphrodite should one day softly smile and say
mockingly among all the gods that she had joined.
the gods in love with mortal women who bare
sons of death to the deathless gods, and had mated
the goddesses with mortal men.
409
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
᾿Αγχίσεω δ᾽ ἄρα οἱ γλυκὺν ἵμερον ἔμβαλε θυμῷ,
ὃς τότ᾽ ἐν ἀκροπόλοις ὄρεσιν πολυπιδάκου Ιδης
βουκολέεσκεν βοῦς δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ἐοικώς.
τὸν δὴ ἔπειτα ἰδοῦσα φιλομμειδὴς ᾿Αφροδίτη
ἠράσατ', ἔκπαγλος δὲ κατὰ φρένας ἵμερος εἷλεν.
ἐς Κύπρον δ᾽ ἐλθοῦσα θυώδεα νηὸν ἔδυνεν,
ἐς Πάφον· ἔνθα δέ οἱ τέμενος βωμός τε θυώδης.
ἐνθ᾽ ἡ γ᾽ εἰσελθοῦσα θύρας ἐπέθηκε φαεινάς·
ἔνθα δέ μιν Χάριτες λοῦσαν καὶ χρῖσαν ἐλαίῳ
ἀμβρότῳ, οἷα θεοὺς ἐπενήνοθεν αἰὲν ἐόντας,
ἀμβροσίῳ ἑδανῷ, τό ῥά οἱ τεθυωμένον ἦεν.
ἑσσαμένη δ' εὖ πάντα περὶ χροὶ εἵματα καλὰ
χρυσῷ κοσμηθεῖσα φιλομμειδὴς Αφροδίτη
σεύατ᾽ ἐπὶ Τροίης προλιποῦσ᾽ εὐώδεα Κύπρον,
ὕψι μετὰ νέφεσιν ῥίμφα πρήσσουσα κέλευθον.
Ιδην δ᾽ ἵκανεν πολυπίδακα, μητέρα θηρῶν,
βῆ δ᾽ ἐθὺς σταθμοῖο δι᾽ οὔρεος· οἳ δὲ μετ᾿ αὐτὴν
σαίνοντες πολιοί τε λύκοι χαροποί τε λέοντες,
ἄρκτοι παρδάλιές τε θοαὶ προκάδων ἀκόρητοι
ἤισαν· ἡ δ᾽ ὁρόωσα μετὰ φρεσὶ τέρπετο θυμὸν
καὶ τοῖς ἐν στήθεσσι βάλ᾽ ἵμερον· οἳ δ᾽ ἅμα πάντες
σύνδυο κοιμήσαντο κατὰ σκιόεντας ἐναύλους.
Αὐτὴ δ᾽ ἐς κλισίας εὐποιήτους ἀφίκανε·
τὸν δ' εὗρε σταθμοῖσι λελειμμένον οἶον ἀπ᾽ ἄλλων
᾿Αγχίσην ἥρωα, θεῶν ἄπο κάλλος ἔχοντα.
οἱ δ᾽ ἅμα βουσὶν ἕποντο νομοὺς κατὰ ποιήεντας
πάντες· ὃ δὲ σταθμοῖσι λελειμμένος οἶος ἀπ᾽ ἄλλων
πωλεῖτ᾽ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα διαπρύσιον κιθαρίζων.
στῆ δ᾽ αὐτοῦ προπάροιθε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Αφροδίτη
παρθένῳ ἀδμήτῃ μέγεθος καὶ εἶδος ὁμοίη,
1 Clarke: ἑανῷ, MSS.
55
09
65
70
75
80
410
V. TO APHRODITE, 53-82
And so he put in her heart sweet desire for
Anchises who was tending cattle at that time among
the steep hills of many-fountained Ida, and in shape
was like the immortal gods. Therefore, when
laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him, she loved him,
and terribly desire seized her in her heart. She
went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where her precinct
is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-
smelling temple. There she went in and put to the
glittering doors, and there the Graces bathed her
with heavenly oil such as blooms upon the bodies
of the eternal gods-oil divinely sweet, which she
had by her, filled with fragrance. And laughter-
loving Aphrodite put on all her rich clothes,
and when she had decked herself with gold,
she left sweet-smelling Cyprus and went in haste
towards Troy, swiftly travelling high up among
the clouds. So she came to many-fountained
Ida, the mother of wild creatures and went
straight to the homestead across the mountains.
After her came grey wolves, fawning on her, and
grim-eyed lions, and bears, and fleet leopards,
ravenous for deer: and she was glad in heart to see
them, and put desire in their breasts, so that they all
mated, two together, about the shadowy coombes.
But she herself came to the neat-built shelters,
and him she found left quite alone in the home-
stead-the hero Anchises who was comely as the
gods. All the others were following the herds over
the grassy pastures, and he, left quite alone in the
homestead, was roaming hither and thither and
playing thrillingly upon the lyre. And Aphrodite,
the daughter of Zeus stood before him, being like a
pure maiden in height and mien, that he should not
411
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
85
μή μιν ταρβήσειεν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖσι νοήσας.
Αγχίσης δ' ὁρόων ἐφράζετο θαύμαινέν τε
εἶδός τε μέγεθός τε καὶ εἵματα σιγαλόεντα.
πέπλον μὲν γὰρ ἕεστο φαεινότερον πυρὸς αὐγῆς,
καλόν, χρύσειον, παμποίκιλον· ὡς δὲ σελήνη 89
στήθεσιν ἀμφ᾽ ἁπαλοῖσιν ἐλάμπετο,θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι· 90
εἶχε δ᾽ ἐπιγναμπτὰς ἕλικας κάλυκάς τε φαεινάς·
ὅρμοι δ᾽ ἀμφ' ἁπαλῇ δειρῇ περικαλλέες ἦσαν.
᾿Αγχίσην δ᾽ ἔρος εἷλεν, ἔπος δέ μιν ἀντίον ηὔδα· 91
χαῖρε, ἄνασσ', ἥ τις μακάρων τάδε δώμαθ' ἱκάνεις,
Αρτεμις ἢ Λητὼ ἠὲ χρυσέη Αφροδίτη
ἢ Θέμις ἠυγενὴς ἠὲ γλαυκῶπις ᾿Αθήνη,
ἤ πού τις Χαρίτων δεῦρ᾽ ἤλυθες, αἵτε θεοῖσι
πᾶσιν ἑταιρίζουσι καὶ ἀθάνατοι καλέονται,
ἤ τις Νυμφάων, αἵτ᾽ ἄλσεα καλὰ νέμονται
ἢ Νυμφῶν, αἳ καλὸν ὄρος τόδε ναιετάουσι
καὶ πηγὰς ποταμῶν καὶ πίσεα ποιήεντα.
σοὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἐν σκοπιῇ, περιφαινομένῳ ἐνὶ χώρῳ,
βωμὸν ποιήσω, ῥέξω δέ τοι ἱερὰ καλὰ
ὥρῃσιν πάσῃσι. σὺ δ' εὔφρονα θυμὸν ἔχουσα
δός με μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ἀριπρεπέ᾽ ἔμμεναι ἄνδρα,
ποίει δ᾽ ἐξοπίσω θαλερὸν γόνον, αὐτὰρ ἔμ' αὐτὸν
δηρὸν ἐὺ ζώειν καὶ ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο,
ὄλβιον ἐν λαοῖς, καὶ γήραος οὐδὸν ἱκέσθαι.
Τὸν δ᾽ ἀμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα Διὸς θυγάτηρ Αφροδίτη
᾿Αγχίση, κύδιστε χαμαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων,
οὔ τίς τοι θεός εἰμι· τί μ' ἀθανάτῃσιν είσκεις;
ἀλλὰ καταθνητή τε, γυνὴ δέ με γείνατο μήτηρ.
Ὀτρεὺς δ᾽ ἐστὶ πατὴρ ὀνομακλυτός, εἴ που ἀκούεις,
1 Wakefield, καλοί etc., MSS.
87
88
95
100
105
110
412
V. TO APHRODITE, 83-111
be frightened when he took heed of her with his
eyes. Now when Anchises saw her, he marked
her well and wondered at her mien and height
and shining garments.
For she was clad in a robe
out-shining the brightness of fire, a splendid robe of
gold, enriched with all manner of needlework, which
shimmered like the moon over her tender breasts, a
marvel to see. Also she wore twisted brooches and
shining earrings in the form of flowers; and round
her soft throat were lovely necklaces.
And Anchises was seized with love, and said to
her: "Hail, lady, whoever of the blessed ones you
are that are come to this house, whether Artemis,
or Leto, or golden Aphrodite, or high-born Themis,
or bright-eyed Athene. Or, maybe, you are one of
the Graces come hither, who bear the gods company
and are called immortal, or else one of the Nymphs
who haunt the pleasant woods, or of those who
inhabit this lovely mountain and the springs of
rivers and grassy meads. I will make you an altar
upon a high peak in a far seen place, and will sacri-
fice rich offerings to you at all seasons.
And do you
feel kindly towards me and grant that I may become
a man very eminent among the Trojans, and give
me strong offspring for the time to come. As for
my own self, let me live long and happily, seeing
the light of the sun, and come to the threshold
of old age, a man prosperous among the people."
Thereupon Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus
answered him: "Anchises, most glorious of all men
born on earth, know that I am no goddess: why do
you liken me to the deathless ones? Nay, I am but
a mortal, and a woman was the mother that bare me.
Otreus of famous name is my father, if so be you
413
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ὃς πάσης Φρυγίης ευτειχήτοιο ἀνάσσει.
γλῶσσαν δ᾽ ὑμετέρην τε καὶ ἡμετέρην σάφα οἶδα.
Τρφὰς γὰρ μεγάρῳ με τροφὸς τρέφεν· ἡ δὲ διαπρὸ
σμικρὴν παῖδ᾽ ἀτίταλλε, φίλης παρὰ μητρὸς
ἑλοῦσα.
115
ὣς δή τοι γλῶσσάν γε καὶ ὑμετέρην εὖ οἶδα.
νῦν δέ μ' ἀνήρπαξε χρυσόρραπις Αργειφόντης
ἐκ χοροῦ ᾿Αρτέμιδος χρυσηλακάτου, κελαδεινῆς.
πολλαὶ δὲ νύμφαι καὶ παρθένοι ἀλφεσίβοιαι
παίζομεν, ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ὅμιλος ἀπείριτος ἐστεφάνωτο. 120
ἔνθεν μ' ἥρπαξε χρυσόρραπις Αργειφόντης·
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἔπ᾽ ἤγαγεν ἔργα καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
πολλὴν δ᾽ ἄκληρόν τε καὶ ἄκτιτον, ἣν διὰ θῆρες
ὠμοφάγοι φοιτῶσι κατὰ σκιόεντας ἐναύλους·
οὐδὲ ποσὶ ψαύσειν ἐδόκουν φυσιζόου αἴης·
᾿Αγχίσεω δέ με φάσκε παραὶ λέχεσιν καλέεσθαι
κουριδίην ἄλοχον, σοὶ δ᾽ ἀγλαὰ τέκνα τεκεῖσθαι.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ δεῖξε καὶ ἔφρασεν, ἢ τοι ὅ γ' αὖτις
ἀθανάτων μετὰ φυλ᾽ ἀπέβη κρατὺς ᾿Αργειφόντης:
αὐτὰρ ἐγώ σ' ἱκόμην, κρατερὴ δέ μοι ἔπλετ'
ἀνάγκη.
125
130
ἀλλά σε πρὸς Ζηνὸς γουνάζομαι ἠδὲ τοκήων
ἐσθλῶν· οὐ μὲν γάρ κε κακοὶ τοιόνδε τέκοιεν·
ἀδμήτην μ' ἀγαγὼν καὶ ἀπειρήτην φιλότητος
πατρί τε σῷ δεῖξον καὶ μητέρι κέδν᾽ εἰδυίῃ
σοῖς τε κασιγνήτοις, οἵ τοι ὁμόθεν γεγάασιν.
οὔ σφιν ἀεικελίη νυὸς ἔσσομαι, ἀλλ᾽ εἰκυῖα.1
πέμψαι δ' ἄγγελον ὦκα μετὰ Φρύγας αἰολοπώλους
εἰπεῖν πατρί τ' ἐμῷ καὶ μητέρι κηδομένῃ περ·
1 MELIT give the alternative verse:
εἴ τοι ἀεικελίη γυνὴ ἔσσομαι ἠὲ καὶ οὐκί.
(“to see whether I shall be an ill-liking wife for you or no.”)
135
414
V. TO APHRODITE, 112-138
have heard of him, and he reigns over all Phrygia
rich in fortresses. But I know your speech well
beside my own, for a Trojan nurse brought me up at
home she took me from my dear mother and
reared me thenceforth when I was a little child. So
comes it, then, that I well know your tongue also.
And now the Slayer of Argus with the golden wand
has caught me up from the dance of huntress
Artemis, her with the golden arrows. For there
were many of us, nymphs and marriageable¹
maidens, playing together; and an innumerable
company encircled us: from these the Slayer of
Argus with the golden wand rapt me away. He
carried me over many fields of mortal men and
over much land untilled and unpossessed, where
savage wild-beasts roam through shady coombes,
until I thought never again to touch the life-
giving earth with my feet. And he said that I
should be called the wedded wife of Anchises, and
should bear you goodly children. But when he
had told and advised me, he, the strong Slayer of
Argos, went back to the families of the deathless
gods, while I am now come to you: for unbending
necessity is upon me. But I beseech you by Zeus
and by your noble parents-for no base folk could
get such a son as you take me now, stainless and
unproved in love, and show me to your father and
careful mother and to your brothers sprung from
the same stock. I shall be no ill-liking daughter
for them, but a likely. Moreover, send a messenger
quickly to the swift-horsed Phrygians, to tell my
father and my sorrowing mother; and they will send
1 "Cattle-earning," because an accepted suitor paid for
his bride in cattle.
415
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
οἱ δέ κέ τοι χρυσόν τε ἅλις ἐσθῆτά θ᾽ ὑφαντὴν
πέμψουσιν· σὺ δὲ πολλὰ καὶ ἀγλαὰ δέχθαι ἄποινα.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσας δαίνυ γάμον ἱμερόεντα,
τίμιον ἀνθρώποισι καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοίσιν.
141
Ὣς εἰποῦσα θεὰ γλυκὺν ἵμερον ἔμβαλε θυμῷ.
᾿Αγχίσην δ' ἔρος εἷλεν ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζεν·
Εἰ μὲν θνητή τ᾽ ἐσσί, γυνὴ δέ σε γείνατο μήτηρ, 145
Ὀτρεὺς δ᾽ ἐστὶ πατὴρ ὀνομακλυτός, ὡς ἀγορεύεις,
ἀθανάτου δὲ ἕκητι διακτόρου ἐνθάδ᾽ ἱκάνεις
Ἑρμέω, ἐμὴ δ᾽ ἄλοχος κεκλήσεαι ἤματα πάντα·
οὔ τις ἔπειτα θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἐνθάδε με σχήσει, πρὶν σῇ φιλότητι μιγῆναι
αὐτίκα νῦν· οὐδ᾽ εἴ κεν ἑκηβόλος αὐτὸς Απόλλων
τόξου ἀπ' ἀργυρέου προΐῃ βέλεα στονόεντα.
βουλοίμην κεν ἔπειτα, γύναι ἐικυῖα θεῇσι,
σῆς εὐνῆς ἐπιβὰς δῦναι δόμον "Αιδος εἴσω.
150
Ὣς εἰπὼν λάβε χεῖρα· φιλομμειδής δ' ᾿Αφροδίτη
ἕρπε μεταστρεφθεῖσα κατ᾿ ὄμματα καλὰ βαλοῦσα 156
ἐς λέχος εὔστρωτον, ὅθι περ πάρος ἔσκεν ἄνακτι
χλαίνῃσιν μαλακῇς ἐστρωμένον· αὐτὰρ ὕπερθεν
ἄρκτων δέρματ᾽ ἔκειτο βαρυφθόγγων τε λεόντων,
τοὺς αὐτὸς κατέπεφνεν ἐν οὔρεσιν ὑψηλοῖσιν.
οἳ δ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν λεχέων εὐποιήτων ἐπέβησαν,
κόσμον μέν οἱ πρῶτον ἀπὸ χροὸς εἶχε φαεινόν,
πόρπας τε γναμπτάς θ᾽ ἕλικας κάλυκάς τε καὶ
ὅρμους.
λῦσε δέ οἱ ζώνην ἰδὲ εἵματα σιγαλόεντα
ἔκδυε καὶ κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ θρόνου ἀργυροήλου
᾿Αγχίσης· ὃ δ᾽ ἔπειτα θεῶν ἰότητι καὶ αἴσῃ
ἀθανάτῃ παρέλεκτο θεᾷ βροτός, οὐ σάφα εἰδώς.
Ημος δ' άψ εἰς αὐλιν ἀποκλίνουσι νομες
βοῦς τε καὶ ἴφια μῆλα νομῶν ἐξ ἀνθεμοέντων
160
165
416
V. TO APHRODITE, 139-169
you gold in plenty and woven stuffs, many splendid
gifts; take these as bride-piece. So do, and then
prepare the sweet marriage that is honourable in the
eyes of men and deathless gods."
When she had so spoken, the goddess put sweet
desire in his heart. And Anchises was seized with
love, so that he opened his mouth and said:
"If you are a mortal and a woman was the mother
who bare you, and Otreus of famous name is your
father as you say, and if you are come here by the
will of Hermes the immortal Guide, and are to be
called my wife always, then neither god nor mortal
man shall here restrain me till I have lain with you
in love right now; no, not even if far-shooting Apollo
himself should launch grievous shafts from his silver
bow. Willingly would I go down into the house of
Hades, O lady, beautiful as the goddesses, once I
had
gone up to your bed."
So speaking, he caught her by the hand. And
laughter-loving Aphrodite, with face turned away and
lovely eyes downcast, crept to the well-spread couch
which was already laid with soft coverings for the
hero; and upon it lay skins of bears and deep-
roaring lions which he himself had slain in the
high mountains. And when they had gone up upon
the well-fitted bed, first Anchises took off her bright
jewelry of pins and twisted brooches and earrings and
necklaces, and loosed her girdle and stripped off her
bright garments and laid them down upon a silver-
studded seat. Then by the will of the gods and
destiny he lay with her, a mortal man with an
immortal goddess, not clearly knowing what he did.
But at the time when the herdsmen drive their
oxen and hardy sheep back to the fold from the
417
E E
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
1
τῆμος ἄρ᾽ ᾿Αγχίσῃ μὲν ἐπὶ γλυκὺν ὕπνον ἔχευε
νήδυμον, αὐτὴ δὲ χροῒ ἕννυτο εἵματα καλά.
ἑσσαμένη δ' εὖ πάντα περὶ χροῒ δια θεάων
ἔστη πὰρ κλισίῃ, κεὐποιήτοιο 2 μελάθρου
κῦρε κάρη· κάλλος δὲ παρειάων ἀπέλαμπεν
ἄμβροτον, οἷόν τ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐυστεφάνου Κυθερείης,
ἐξ ὕπνου τ᾿ ἀνέγειρεν ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζεν
Ὄρσεο, Δαρδανίδη· τί νυ νήγρετον ὕπνον ἰαύεις ;
καὶ φράσαι, εἴ τοι ὁμοίη ἐγὼν ἰνδάλλομαι εἶναι,
οἵην δή με τὸ πρῶτον ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖσι νόησας ;
170
175
Ὣς φάθ'· ὃ δ᾽ ἐξ ὕπνοιο μάλ' ἐμματέως ὑπάκουσεν.
ὡς δὲ ἴδεν δειρήν τε καὶ ὄμματα κάλ' Αφροδίτης, 181
τάρβησέν τε καὶ ὄσσε παρακλιδὸν ἔτραπεν ἄλλῃ·
ἂψ δ' αὖτις χλαίνῃ τε καλύψατο καλὰ πρόσωπα
καί μιν λισσόμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Αὐτίκα σ᾿ ὡς τὰ πρῶτα, θεά, ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν, 185
ἔγνων ὡς θεὸς ἦσθα· σὺ δ᾽ οὐ νημερτὲς ἔειπες.
ἀλλά σε πρὸς Ζηνὸς γουνάζομαι αιγιόχοιο,
μή με ζῶντ᾽ ἀμενηνὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἐάσῃς
ναίειν, ἀλλ' ἐλέαιρ᾽· ἐπεὶ οὐ βιοθάλμιος ἀνὴρ
γίγνεται, ὅς τε θεαῖς εὐνάζεται ἀθανάτῃσι.
Τὸν δ᾽ ἀμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα Διὸς θυγάτηρ Αφροδίτη
Αγχίση, κύδιστε καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
θάρσει, μηδέ τι σῇσι μετὰ φρεσὶ δείδιθι λίην·
οὐ γάρ τοί τι δέος παθέειν κακὸν ἐξ ἐμέθεν γε,
οὐδ᾽ ἄλλων μακάρων· ἐπεὶ ἡ φίλος ἐσσὶ θεοῖσι.
σοὶ δ᾽ ἔσται φίλος υἱός, ὃς ἐν Τρώεσσιν ἀνάξει
καὶ παῖδες παίδεσσι διαμπερὲς ἐκγεγάοντες 3
τῷ δὲ καὶ Αἰνείας ὄνομ᾽ ἔσσεται, οὕνεκά μ' αἰνὸν
1 Stephanus: ἄρα, MSS.
2 Sikes.
* Baumeister : ἐγγεγάονται, MSS.
190
195
418
V. TO APHRODITE, 170-198
flowery pastures, even then Aphrodite poured soft
sleep upon Anchises, but herself put on her rich
raiment. And when the bright goddess had fully
clothed herself, she stood by the couch, and her
head reached to the well-hewn roof-tree; from her
cheeks shone unearthly beauty such as belongs to
rich-crowned Cytherea. Then she aroused him from
sleep and opened her mouth and said:
"Up, son of Dardanus!-why sleep you SO
heavily?—and consider whether I look as I did
when first you saw me with your eyes."
So she spake. And he awoke in a moment and
obeyed her. But when he saw the neck and lovely
eyes of Aphrodite, he was afraid and turned his
eyes aside another way, hiding his comely face with
his cloak. Then he uttered winged words and
entreated her:
"So soon as ever I saw you with my eyes, goddess,
I knew that you were divine; but you did not tell
me truly. Yet by Zeus who holds the aegis I
beseech you, leave me not to lead a palsied life
among men, but have pity on me; for he who
lies with a deathless goddess is no hale man
afterwards."
Then Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered
him: "Anchises, most glorious of mortal men, take
courage and be not too fearful in your heart. You
need fear no harm from me nor from the other
blessed ones, for you are dear to the gods and you
shall have a dear son who shall reign among the
Trojans, and children's children after him, springing
up continually. His name shall be Aeneas, because
1 The name Aeneas is here connected with the epithet
ainos (awful): similarly the name Odysseus is derived
(in Od. i. 62) from idúσσoμai (I grieve).
419
EE 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἔσχεν ἄχος, ἕνεκα βροτοῦ ἀνέρος ἔμπεσον εὐνῇ·
ἀγχίθεοι δὲ μάλιστα καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
αἰεὶ ἀφ᾽ ὑμετέρης γενεῆς εἶδός τε φυήν τε.
Η τοι μὲν ξανθὸν Γανυμήδεα μητιέτα Ζεὺς
ἥρπασε ὃν διὰ κάλλος, ἵν᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μετείη
καί τε Διὸς κατὰ δῶμα θεοῖς ἐπιοινοχοεύοι,
θαῦμα ἰδεῖν, πάντεσσι τετιμένος ἀθανάτοισι,
χρυσέου ἐκ κρητῆρος ἀφύσσων νέκταρ ἐρυθρόν.
Τρῶα δὲ πένθος ἄλαστον ἔχε φρένας, οὐδέ τι ᾔδει,
ὅππη οἱ φίλον υἱὸν ἀνήρπασε θέσπις ἄελλα·
τὸν δὴ ἔπειτα γόασκε διαμπερές ἤματα πάντα
καί μιν
Ζεὺς ἐλέησε, δίδου δέ οἱ υἱος ἄποινα,
ἵππους ἀρσίποδας, τοί τ᾽ ἀθανάτους φορἕουσι.
τούς οἱ δῶρον ἔδωκεν ἔχειν· εἶπεν δὲ ἕκαστα
Ζηνὸς ἐφημοσύνῃσι διάκτορος Αργειφόντης,
ὡς ἔοι ἀθάνατος καὶ ἀγήρως ἶσα θεοῖσιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπειδὴ Ζηνὸς ὅ γ᾽ ἔκλυεν ἀγγελιάων,
οὐκέτ᾽ ἔπειτα γόασκε, γεγήθει δὲ φρένας ἔνδον,
γηθόσυνος δ᾽ ἵπποισιν ἀελλοπόδεσσιν ὀχεῖτο.
Ὣς δ᾽ αὖ Τιθωνὸν χρυσόθρονος ἥρπασεν Ηώς,
ὑμετέρης γενεῆς, ἐπιείκελον ἀθανάτοισι.
βῆ δ᾽ ἴμεν αἰτήσουσα κελαινεφέα Κρονίωνα,
ἀθάνατόν τ᾽ εἶναι καὶ ζώειν ἤματα πάντα·
τῇ δὲ Ζεὺς ἐπένευσε καὶ ἐκρήηνεν ἐέλδωρ.
νηπίη, οὐδ᾽ ἐνόησε μετὰ φρεσὶ πότνια Ηὼς
ἥβην αἰτῆσαι ξῦσαί τ᾽ ἄπο γῆρας ὀλοιόν.
τὸν δ᾽ ἦ τοι εἵως μὲν ἔχεν πολυήρατος ἥβη,
Ἠοι τερπόμενος χρυσοθρόνῳ, ἠριγενείῃ
200
205
210
215
220
225
420
V-TO APHRODITE, 199-226
I felt awful grief in that I laid me in the bed of a
mortal man: yet are those of your race always the
most like to gods of all mortal men in beauty and
in stature.1
Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Gany-
medes because of his beauty, to be amongst the
Deathless Ones and pour drink for the gods in the
house of Zeus-a wonder to see-, honoured by all
the immortals as he draws the red nectar from the
golden bowl. But grief that could not be soothed
filled the heart of Tros; for he knew not whither
the heaven-sent whirlwind had caught up his dear
son, so that he mourned him always, unceasingly,
until Zeus pitied him and gave him high-stepping
horses such as carry the immortals as recompense for
his son.
These he gave him as a gift. And at the
command of Zeus, the Guide, the slayer of Argus,
told him all, and how his son would be deathless
and unageing, even as the gods. So when Tros
heard these tidings from Zeus, he no longer kept
mourning but rejoiced in his heart and rode joyfully
with his storm-footed horses.
So also golden-throned Eos rapt away Tithonus
who was of your race and like the deathless gods.
And she went to ask the dark-clouded Son of Cronos
that he should be deathless and live eternally; and
Zeus bowed his head to her prayer and fulfilled her
desire. Too simple was queenly Eos: she thought
not in her heart to ask youth for him and to strip
him of the slough of deadly age. So while he enjoyed
the sweet flower of life he lived rapturously with
golden-throned Eos, the early-born, by the streams
1 Aphrodite extenuates her disgrace by claiming that the
race of Anchises is almost divine, as is shown in the persons
of Ganymedes and Tithonus.
421
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ναι παρ' Ωκεανοῖο ῥοῇς ἐπὶ πείρασι γαίης·
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πρῶται πολιαὶ κατέχυντο ἔθειραι
καλῆς ἐκ κεφαλῆς εὐηγενέος τε γενείου,
τοῦ δ᾽ ἦ τοι εὐνῆς μὲν ἀπείχετο πότνια Ηώς,
αὐτὸν δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἀτίταλλεν ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔχουσα,
σίτῳ τ᾽ ἀμβροσίῃ τε καὶ εἵματα καλὰ διδοῦσα.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ πάμπαν στυγερὸν κατὰ γῆρας ἔπειγεν,
οὐδέ τι κινῆσαι μελέων δύνατ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀναεῖραι,
ἥδε δέ οἱ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀρίστη φαίνετο βουλή·
ἐν θαλάμῳ κατέθηκε, θύρας δ᾽ ἐπέθηκε φαεινάς.
τοῦ δ᾽ ἦ τοι φωνὴ ῥέει 1 ἄσπετος, οὐδέ τι κίκυς
ἔσθ', οἵη πάρος ἔσκεν ἐνὶ γναμπτοῖσι μέλεσσιν.
Οὐκ ἂν ἐγώ γε σὲ τοῖον ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἑλοίμην
ἀθάνατόν τ᾽ εἶναι καὶ ζώειν ἤματα πάντα.
ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὲν τοιοῦτος ἐὼν εἶδός τε δέμας τε
ζώοις ἡμέτερός τε πόσις κεκλημένος εἴης,
οὐκ ἂν ἔπειτά μ' ἄχος πυκινὰς φρένας ἀμφικα-
λύπτοι.
230
235
240
245
νῦν δέ σε μὲν τάχα γῆρας ὁμοίιον ἀμφικαλύψει
νηλειές, τό τ᾽ ἔπειτα παρίσταται ἀνθρώποισιν,
οὐλόμενον, καματηρόν, ὅτε στυγέουσι θεοί περ.
Αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ μέγ᾽ ὄνειδος ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν
ἔσσεται ἤματα πάντα διαμπερές εἵνεκα σεῖο,
οἳ πρὶν ἐμοὺς ὀάρους καὶ μήτιας, αἷς ποτε πάντας
ἀθανάτους συνέμιξα καταθνητῇσι γυναιξί,
τάρβεσκον· πάντας γὰρ ἐμὸν δάμνασκε νόημα.
νῦν δὲ δὴ οὐκέτι μοι στόμα χείσεται ἐξονομῆναι
τοῦτο μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισιν, ἐπεὶ μάλα πολλὸν ἀάσθην,
σχέτλιον, οὐκ ὀνοταστόν, ἀπεπλάγχθην δὲ νόοιο,
παῖδα δ' ὑπὸ ζώνῃ ἐθέμην βροτῷ εὐνηθεῖσα.
3
2
1 Wolf: ῥεῖ, MSS. 2 Martin: στοναχήσεται, MSS.
• Clarke: ὀνοτατόν, MSS.
250
255
422
V. TO APHRODITE, 227-255
of Ocean, at the ends of the earth; but when the
first grey hairs began to ripple from his comely head
and noble chin, queenly Eos kept away from his bed,
though she cherished him in her house and nourished
him with food and ambrosia and gave him rich
clothing. But when loathsome old age pressed full
upon him, and he could not move nor lift his limbs,
this seemed to her in her heart the best counsel:
she laid him in a room and put to the shining
doors. There he babbles endlessly, and no more
has strength at all, such as once he had in his
supple limbs.
I would not have you be deathless among the
deathless gods and live continually after such sort.
Yet if you could live on such as now you are in look
and in form, and be called my husband, sorrow
would not then enfold my careful heart. But, as
it is, harsh old age will soon enshroud you— ruth-
less age which stands someday at the side of every
man, deadly, wearying, dreaded even by the gods.
1
And now because of you I shall have great shame
among the deathless gods henceforth, continually.
For until now they feared my jibes and the wiles by
which, or soon or late, I mated all the immortals with
mortal women, making them all subject to my will.
But now my mouth shall no more have this power
among the gods; for very great has been my madness,
my miserable and dreadful madness, and I went
astray out of my mind who have gotten a child
beneath my girdle, mating with a mortal man.
1 So Christ connecting the word with wuós. L. and S.
give = ὁμοῖος, common to all."
66
423
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
τὸν μέν, ἐπὴν δὴ πρῶτον ἴδῃ φάος ἠελίοιο,
Νύμφαι μιν θρέψουσιν ὀρεσκῷοι βαθύκολποι,
αϊ τόδε ναιετάουσιν ὄρος μέγα τε ζάθεόν τε
αἵ ῥ᾽ οὔτε θνητοῖς οὔτ᾽ ἀθανάτοισιν ἕπονται.
δηρὸν μὲν ζώουσι καὶ ἄμβροτον εἶδαρ ἔδουσι
καί τε μετ᾿ ἀθανάτοισι καλὸν χορὸν ἐρρώσαντο.
τῇσι δὲ Σειληνοὶ καὶ εύσκοπος ᾿Αργειφόντης
μίσγοντ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι μυχῷ σπείων ἐροέντων.
τῇσι δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἢ ἐλάται ἠὲ δρύες ὑψικάρηνοι
γεινομένῃσιν ἔφυσαν ἐπὶ χθονὶ βωτιανείρῃ,
καλαί, τηλεθάουσαι, ἐν οὔρεσιν ὑψηλοῖσιν.
ἑστᾶσ᾽ ἠλίβατοι, τεμένη δέ ἑ κικλήσκουσιν
ἀθανάτων· τὰς δ᾽ οὔ τι βροτοὶ κείρουσι σιδήρῳ·
ἀλλ' ὅτε κεν δὴ μοῖρα παρεστήκῃ θανάτοιο,
ἀζάνεται μὲν πρῶτον ἐπὶ χθονὶ δένδρεα καλά,
φλοιὸς δ᾽ ἀμφιπεριφθινύθει, πίπτουσι δ᾽ ἄπ᾽ ὄζοι,
τῶν δέ θ᾽ ὁμοῦ ψυχὴ λείπει φάος ἠελίοιο.
αἱ μὲν ἐμὸν θρέψουσι παρὰ σφίσιν υἱὸν ἔχουσαι.
τὸν μὲν ἐπὴν δὴ πρῶτον ὅλῃ πολυήρατος ἥβη,
ἄξουσίν σοι δεῦρο θεαὶ δείξουσί τε παῖδα.
σοὶ δ᾽ ἐγώ, ὄφρα κε ταῦτα μετὰ φρεσὶ πάντα
διέλθω,
ἐς πέμπτον ἔτος αὖτις ἐλεύσομαι υἱὸν ἄγουσα.
τὸν μὲν ἐπὴν δὴ πρῶτον ἴδῃς θάλος ὀφθαλμοῖσι,
γηθήσεις ὁρόων· μάλα γὰρ θεοείκελος ἔσται·
ἄξεις δ᾽ αὐτίκα νιν ποτὶ Ἴλιον ήνεμόεσσαν.
ὴν δέ τις εἴρηταί σε καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων,
ἥ τις σοι φίλον υἱὸν ὑπὸ ζώνῃ θέτο μήτηρ,
τῷ δὲ σὺ μυθεῖσθαι μεμνημένος, ὥς σε κελεύω·
φάσθαι τοι Νύμφης καλυκώπιδος ἔκγονον εἶναι,
αἳ τόδε ναιετάουσιν ὄρος καταειμένον ὕλῃ.
1 Matthiae: φασί, MSS.
260
265
270
275
280
285
424
V. TO APHRODITE, 256-285
As for the child, as soon as he sees the light of the
sun, the deep-breasted mountain Nymphs who inhabit
this great and holy mountain shall bring him up.
They rank neither with mortals nor with immortals :
long indeed do they live, eating heavenly food and
treading the lovely dance among the immortals, and
with them the Sileni and the sharp-eyed Slayer of
Argus mate in the depths of pleasant caves; but at
their birth pines or high-topped oaks spring up with
them upon the fruitful earth, beautiful, flourishing
trees, towering high upon the lofty mountains (and
men call them holy places of the immortals, and never
mortal lops them with the axe); but when the fate
of death is near at hand, first those lovely trees
wither where they stand, and the bark shrivels away
about them, and the twigs fall down, and at last the
life of the Nymph and of the tree leave the light of
the sun together. These Nymphs shall keep my son
with them and rear him, and as soon as he is come
to lovely boyhood, the goddesses will bring him here
to you and show you your child. But, that I may
tell you all that I have in mind, I will come here
again towards the fifth year and bring you my son.
So soon as ever you have seen him-a scion to
delight the eyes, you will rejoice in beholding
him; for he shall be most godlike: then bring him
at once to windy Ilion. And if any mortal man ask
you who got your dear son beneath her girdle,
remember to tell him as I bid you: say he is
the offspring of one of the flower-like Nymphs
who inhabit this forest-clad hill.
But if you
425
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
εἰ δέ κεν ἐξείπῃς καὶ ἐπεύξεαι ἄφρονι θυμῷ
ἐν φιλότητι μιγῆναι ἐυστεφάνῳ Κυθερείῃ,
Ζεύς σε χολωσάμενος βαλέει ψολόεντι κεραυνῷ.
εἴρηταί τοι πάντα· σὺ δὲ φρεσὶ σῇσι νοήσας,
ἴσχεο μηδ' ὀνόμαινε, θεῶν δ᾽ ἐποπίζεο μῆνιν.
Ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ἤιξε πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἠνεμόεντα.
Χαῖρε, θεά, Κύπροιο ἐυκτιμένης μεδέουσα·
σεῦ δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἀρξάμενος μεταβήσομαι ἄλλον ἐς
ὕμνον.
290
VI
ΕΙΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ
Αἰδοίην, χρυσοστέφανον, καλὴν ᾿Αφροδίτην
ᾄσομαι, ἢ πάσης Κύπρου κρήδεμνα λελογχεν
εἰναλίης, ὅθι μιν Ζεφύρου μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντος
ἤνεικεν κατὰ κῦμα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης
ἀφρῷ ἔνι μαλακῷ· τὴν δὲ χρυσάμπυκες Ωραι
δέξαντ᾽ ἀσπασίως, περὶ δ᾽ ἄμβροτα εἵματα ἕσσαν·
κρατὶ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀθανάτῳ στεφάνην εὔτυκτον ἔθηκαν
καλήν, χρυσείην· ἐν δὲ τρητοῖσι λοβοῖσιν
ἄνθεμ᾽ ὀρειχάλκου χρυσοϊό τε τιμήεντος·
δειρῇ δ᾽ ἀμφ᾽ ἁπαλῇ καὶ στήθεσιν ἀργυφέοισιν
ὅρμοισι χρυσέοισιν ἐκόσμεον, οἶσί περ αὐταὶ
Ωραι κοσμείσθην χρυσάμπυκες, ὁππότ᾽ ἴοιεν
ἐς χορὸν ἱμερόεντα θεῶν καὶ δώματα πατρός.
αὐτὰρ ἐπειδὴ πάντα περὶ χροῒ κόσμον ἔθηκαν,
ἦγον ἐς ἀθανάτους· οἳ δ᾽ ἐσπάζοντο ἰδόντες
χερσί τ᾽ ἐδεξιόωντο καὶ ἠρήσαντο ἕκαστος
εἶναι κουριδίην ἄλοχον καὶ οἴκαδ᾽ ἄγεσθαι,
εἶδος θαυμάζοντες ἰοστεφάνου Κυθερείης.
5
10
15
426
VI. TO APHRODITE, 1-18
tell all and foolishly boast that you lay with rich-
crowned Aphrodite, Zeus will smite you in his anger
with a smoking thunderbolt. Now I have told you
all. Take heed: refrain and name me not, but have
regard to the anger of the gods."
When the goddess had so spoken, she soared up to
windy heaven.
Hail, goddess, queen of well-builded Cyprus !
with you have I begun; now I will turn me to
another hymn.
VI
TO APHRODITE
I WILL sing of stately Aphrodite, gold-crowned and
beautiful, whose dominion is the walled cities of all
sea-set Cyprus. There the moist breath of the
western wind wafted her over the waves of the loud-
moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-
filleted Hours welcomed her joyously.
They
clothed her with heavenly garments: on her head
they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in
her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichalc
and precious gold, and adorned her with golden
necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts,
jewels which the gold-filleted Hours wear themselves
whenever they go to their father's house to join the
lovely dances of the gods. And when they had
fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who
welcomed her when they saw her, giving her their
hands. Each one of them prayed that he might
lead her home to be his wedded wife, so greatly
were they amazed at the beauty of violet-crowned
Cytherea.
427
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Χαῖρ᾽ ἑλικοβλέφαρε, γλυκυμείλιχε· δὸς δ᾽ ἐν
ἀγωνι
νίκην τῷδε φέρεσθαι, ἐμὴν δ᾽ ἔντυνον ἀοιδήν.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
VII
ΕΙΣ ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΝ
᾿Αμφὶ Διώνυσον, Σεμέλης ἐρικυδέος υἱόν,
μνήσομαι, ὡς ἐφάνη παρὰ θῖν᾽ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο
ἀκτῇ ἔπι προβλῆτι νεηνίῃ ἀνδρὶ ἐοικώς,
πρωθήβῃ· καλαὶ δὲ περισσείοντο ἔθειραι,
κυάνεαι, φᾶρος δὲ περὶ στιβαροῖς ἔχεν ὤμοις
πορφύρεον· τάχα δ' ἄνδρες ἐυσσέλμου ἀπὸ νηὸς
ληισταὶ προγένοντο θοῶς ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον,
Τυρσηνοί· τοὺς δ᾽ ἦγε κακὸς μόρος· οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες
νεῦσαν ἐς ἀλλήλους, τάχα δ' ἔκθορον. αἶψα δ'
ἑλόντες
εἶσαν ἐπὶ σφετέρης νηὸς κεχαρημένοι ἦτορ.
υἱὸν γάρ μιν ἔφαντο διοτρεφέων βασιλήων
εἶναι καὶ δεσμοῖς ἔθελον δεῖν ἀργαλέοισι.
τὸν δ᾽ οὐκ ἴσχανε δεσμά, λύγοι δ᾽ ἀπὸ τηλόσε
πίπτον
χειρῶν ἠδὲ ποδῶν· ὃ δὲ μειδιάων ἐκάθητο
ὄμμασι κυανέοισι· κυβερνήτης δὲ νοήσας
αὐτίκα οἷς ἑτάροισιν ἐκέκλετο φώνησέν τε·
Δαιμόνιοι, τίνα τόνδε θεὸν δεσμεύεθ᾽ ἑλόντες,
καρτερόν; οὐδὲ φέρειν δύναταί μιν νηὺς εὐεργής.
ἡ γὰρ Ζεὺς ὅδε γ᾽ ἐστὶν ἢ ἀργυρότοξος Απόλλων
ἠὲ Ποσειδάων· ἐπεὶ οὐ θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσιν
20
5
10
15
20
428
VII. TO DIONYSUS, 1-20
Hail, sweetly-winning, coy-eyed goddess! Grant
that I may gain the victory in this contest, and order
you my song. And now I will remember you and
another song also.
VII
TO DIONYSUS
I WILL tell of Dionysus, the son of glorious Semele,
how he appeared on a jutting headland by the shore
of the fruitless sea, seeming like a stripling in the
first flush of manhood: his rich, dark hair was waving
about him, and on his strong shoulders he wore a
purple robe. Presently there came swiftly over the
sparkling sea Tyrsenian¹ pirates on a well-decked
ship-a miserable doom led them on.
When they
saw him they made signs to one another and sprang
out quickly, and seizing him straightway, put him on
board their ship exultingly; for they thought him
the son of heaven-nurtured kings. They sought to
bind him with rude bonds, but the bonds would not
hold him, and the withes fell far away from his hands
and feet and he sat with a smile in his dark eyes.
Then the helmsman understood all and cried out at
once to his fellows and said:
"Madmen! what god is this whom you have taken
and bind, strong that he is? Not even the well-
built ship can carry him. Surely this is either
Zeus or Apollo who has the silver bow, or Poseidon,
for he looks not like mortal men but like the gods
1 Probably not Etruscans, but the non-Hellenic peoples of
Thrace and (according to Thucydides) of Lemnos and Athens.
Cp. Herodotus i. 57; Thucydides iv. 109.
429
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
εἴκελος, ἀλλὰ θεοῖς, οἱ Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχουσιν.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγετ', αὐτὸν ἀφῶμεν ἐπ᾽ ἠπείροιο μελαίνης
αὐτίκα· μηδ' ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἰάλλετε, μή τι χολωθεὶς
ὄρσῃ ἔπ᾿ ἀργαλέους τ᾽ ἀνέμους καὶ λαίλαπα πολλήν.
Ὣς φάτο· τὸν δ᾽ ἀρχὸς στυγερῷ ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ· 25
δαιμόνι', οὗρον ὅρα, ἅμα δ᾽ ἱστίον ἕλκεο νηὸς
σύμπανθ' ὅπλα λαβών· ὅδε δ' αὖτ᾽ ἄνδρεσσι
μελήσει.
ἔλπομαι, ἢ Αἴγυπτον ἀφίξεται ἢ ὅ γε Κύπρον
ἢ ἐς Ὑπερβορέους ἢ ἑκαστέρω· ἐς δὲ τελευτὴν
ἔκ ποτ᾽ ἐρεῖ αὐτοῦ τε φίλους καὶ κτήματα πάντα
οὕς τε κασιγνήτους, ἐπεὶ ἡμῖν ἔμβαλε δαίμων.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἱστόν τε καὶ ἱστίον ἕλκετο νηός.
ἔμπνευσεν δ' ἄνεμος μέσον ἱστίον· ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὅπλα
καττάνυσαν τάχα δέ σφιν ἐφαίνετο θαυματὰ ἔργα.
οἶνος μὲν πρώτιστα θοὴν ἀνὰ νῆα μέλαιναν
ἡδύποτος κελάρυζ᾽ εὐώδης, ὤρνυτο δ᾽ ὀδμὴ
ἀμβροσίη· ναύτας δὲ τάφος λάβε πάντας ἰδόντας.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀκρότατον παρὰ ἱστίον ἐξετανύσθη
ἄμπελος ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα, κατεκρημνῶντο δὲ πολλοὶ
βότρυες· ἀμφ' ἱστὸν δὲ μέλας εἱλίσσετο κισσός,
ἄνθεσι τηλεθάων, χαρίεις δ᾽ ἐπὶ καρπὸς ὀρώρει·
πάντες δὲ σκαλμοὶ στεφάνους ἔχον· οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες,
νῆς ἤδη τότ᾽ ἔπειτα κυβερνήτην ἐκέλευον
1
γῇ πελάαν· ὁ δ᾽ ἄρα σφι λέων γένετ᾽ ἔνδοθι νηὸς
δεινὸς ἐπ᾽ ἀκροτάτης, μέγα δ᾽ ἔβραχεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα
μέσσῃ
ἄρκτον ἐποίησεν λασιαύχενα, σήματα φαίνων·
ἂν δ᾽ ἔστη μεμαυῖα· λέων δ᾽ ἐπὶ σέλματος ἄκρου
δεινὸν ὑπόδρα ἰδών· οἳ δ᾽ ἐς πρύμνην ἐφόβηθεν,
1 Hermann: μὴ δ' ἤδη, Μ (other MSS. are further
corrupted).
30
35
40
45
430
VII. TO DIONYSUS, 21-48
who dwell on Olympus. Come, then, let us set him
free upon the dark shore at once: do not lay hands
on him, lest he grow angry and stir up dangerous
winds and heavy squalls."
:
So said he but the master chid him with taunting
words: "Madman, mark the wind and help hoist sail
on the ship: catch all the sheets. As for this fellow
we men will see to him: I reckon he is bound for
Egypt or for Cyprus or to the Hyperboreans or
further still. But in the end he will speak out and
tell us his friends and all his wealth and his brothers,
now that providence has thrown him in our way."
But
When he had said this, he had mast and sail
hoisted on the ship, and the wind filled the sail and
the crew hauled taut the sheets on either side.
soon strange things were seen among them. First
of all sweet, fragrant wine ran streaming throughout
all the black ship and a heavenly smell arose, so that
all the seamen were seized with amazement when
they saw it. And all at once a vine spread out both
ways along the top of the sail with many clusters
hanging down from it, and a dark ivy-plant twined
about the mast, blossoming with flowers, and with
rich berries growing on it; and all the thole-pins were
covered with garlands. When the pirates saw all
this, then at last they bade the helmsman to put the
ship to land. But the god changed into a dreadful
lion there on the ship, in the bows, and roared
loudly amidships also he showed his wonders and
created a shaggy bear which stood up ravening,
while on the forepeak was the lion glaring fiercely
with scowling brows. And so the sailors fled into the
431
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
50
ἀμφὶ κυβερνήτην δὲ σαόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχοντα
ἔσταν ἄρ᾽ ἐκπληγέντες· ὃ δ᾽ ἐξαπίνης ἐπορούσας
ἀρχὸν ἕλ', οἳ δὲ θύραζε κακὸν μόρον ἐξαλύοντες
πάντες ὁμῶς πήδησαν, ἐπεὶ ἴδον, εἰς ἅλα δίαν,
δελφίνες δ᾽ ἐγένοντο· κυβερνήτην δ' ἐλεήσας
ἔσχεθε καί μιν ἔθηκε πανόλβιον εἰπέ τε μῦθον·
Θάρσει, διε κάτωρ†, τῷ ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ· 55
εἰμὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ Διόνυσος ἐρίβρομος, ὃν τέκε μήτηρ
Καδμηὶς Σεμέλη Διὸς ἐν φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.
Χαῖρε, τέκος Σεμέλης ενώπιδος· οὐδέ πη ἔστι
σε ό γε ληθόμενον γλυκερὴν κοσμῆσαι ἀοιδήν.
VIII
ΕΙΣ ΑΡΕΑ
*Αρες ὑπερμενέτα, βρισάρματε, χρυσεοπήληξ,
ὀβριμόθυμε, φέρασπι, πολισσός, χαλκοκορυστά,
καρτερόχειρ, ἀμόγητε, δορισθενές, ἕρκος Ολύμπου,
Νίκης εὐπολέμοιο πάτερ, συναρωγὲ Θέμιστος,
ἀντιβίοισι τύραννε, δικαιοτάτων ἀγὲ φωτῶν,
ἠνορέης σκηπτούχε, πυραυγέα κύκλον ἑλίσσων
αιθέρος ἑπταπόροις ἐνὶ τείρεσιν, ἔνθα σε πῶλοι
ζαφλεγέες τριτάτης ὑπὲρ ἄντυγος αἰὲν ἔχουσι·
κλύθι, βροτῶν ἐπίκουρε, δοτὴρ εὐθαρσέος1 ἥβης,
πρηὺ καταστίλβων σέλας ὑψόθεν ἐς βιότητα
ἡμετέρην καὶ κάρτος ἀρήιον, ὥς κε δυναίμην
σεύασθαι κακότητα πικρὴν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῖο καρήνου,
καὶ ψυχῆς ἀπατηλὸν ὑπογνάμψαι φρεσὶν ὁρμήν,
1 Μ: εὐθαλέος σε flourishing," ET.
5
10
432
VIII. TO ARES, 1-13
stern and crowded bemused about the right-minded
helmsman, until suddenly the lion sprang upon the
master and seized him; and when the sailors saw it
they leapt out overboard one and all into the bright
sea, escaping from a miserable fate, and were
changed into dolphins. But on the helmsman
Dionysus had mercy and held him back and made
him altogether happy, saying to him:
"Take courage, good .; you have found favour
with my heart. I am loud-crying Dionysus whom
Cadmus' daughter Semele bare of union with Zeus."
Hail, child of fair-faced Semele! He who forgets
you can in no wise order sweet song.
VIII
TO ARES
ARES, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-
helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Saviour of
cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, un-
wearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of
Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis,
stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous
men, sceptred King of manliness, who whirl your
fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold
courses through the aether wherein your blazing
steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of
heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless
youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon
my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to
drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush
down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain
433
Y F
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
θυμοῦ τ' αὖ μένος ὀξὺ κατισχέμεν, ὅς μ' ἐρέθησι
φυλόπιδος κρυερῆς ἐπιβαινέμεν· ἀλλὰ σὺ θάρσος 15
δός, μάκαρ, εἰρήνης τε μένειν ἐν ἀπήμοσι θεσμοῖς
δυσμενέων προφυγόντα μόθον Κῆράς τε βιαίους.
บ
IX
ΕΙΣ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΝ
Αρτεμιν ὕμνει, Μοῦσα, κασιγνήτην Εκάτοιο,
παρθένον ἰοχέαιραν, ὁμότροφον ᾿Απόλλωνος,
ἥθ᾽ ἵππους ἄρσασα βαθυσχοίνοιο Μέλητος
ῥίμφα διὰ Σμύρνης παγχρύσεον ἅρμα διώκει
ἐς Κλάρον ἀμπελόεσσαν, ὅθ᾽ ἀργυρότοξος Απόλλων
ἧσται μιμνάζων ἑκατηβόλον ἰοχέαιραν.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε θεαί θ᾽ ἅμα πᾶσαι ἀοιδῇ·
αὐτὰρ ἐγώ σε πρῶτα καὶ ἐκ σέθεν ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
σεῦ δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἀρξάμενος μεταβήσομαι ἄλλον ἐς ὕμνον.
X
ΕΙΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ
Κυπρογενῆ Κυθέρειαν ἀείσομαι, ἥτε βροτοῖσι
μείλιχα δῶρα δίδωσιν, ἐφ᾽ ἱμερτῷ δὲ προσώπῳ
αἰεὶ μειδιάει καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἱμερτὸν θέει ἄνθος.
Χαῖρε, θεά, Σαλαμῖνος 1 ἐυκτιμένης μεδέουσα
εἰναλίης τε Κύπρου· δὸς δ᾽ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδήν.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
1 All MSS. save M which has χαῖρε μάκαιρα, Κυθήρης,
"hail, blessed one, (queen of) Cythera."
6
5
434
X. TO APHRODITE
also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me
to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather,
O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within
the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and
hatred and the violent fiends of death.
IX
TO ARTEMIS
MUSE, Sing of Artemis, sister of the Far-shooter,
the virgin who delights in arrows, who was fostered
with Apollo. She waters her horses from Meles
deep in reeds, and swiftly drives her all-golden
chariot through Smyrna to vine-clad Claros where
Apollo, god of the silver bow, sits waiting for the
far-shooting goddess who delights in arrows.
And so hail to you, Artemis, in my song and to all
goddesses as well. Of you first I sing and with you
I begin; now that I have begun with you, I will turn
to another song.
X
TO APHRODITE
OF Cytherea, born in Cyprus, I will sing. She
gives kindly gifts to men: smiles are ever on her
lovely face, and lovely is the brightness that plays
over it.
Hail, goddess, queen of well-built Salamis and sea-
girt Cyprus; grant me a cheerful song.
And now
I will remember you and another song also.
435
FF 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ΧΙ
ΕΙΣ ΑΘΗΝΑΝ
Παλλάδ' Αθηναίην ἐρυσίπτολιν ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
δεινήν, ᾗ σὺν Αρηι μέλει πολεμήια ἔργα
περθόμεναί τε πόληες αυτή τε πτόλεμοί τε,
καί τ᾽ ἐρρύσατο λαὸν ἰόντα τε νισσόμενόν τε.
Χαῖρε, θεά, δὸς δ᾽ ἄμμι τύχην εὐδαιμονίην τε.
5
1
XII
ΕΙΣ ΗΡΑΝ
Ηρην ἀείδω χρυσόθρονον, ἣν τέκε Ρείη,
ἀθανάτων βασίλειαν, ὑπείροχον εἶδος ἔχουσαν,
Ζηνὸς ἐριγδούποιο κασιγνήτην ἄλοχόν τε,
κυδρήν, ἣν πάντες μάκαρες κατὰ μακρὸν Ολυμπον
ἁζόμενοι τίουσιν ὁμῶς Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ.
5
XIII
ΕΙΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΑΝ
Δημήτηρ ἠύκομον, σεμνὴν θεάν, ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
αὐτὴν καὶ κούρην, περικαλλέα Περσεφόνειαν.
Χαῖρε, θεά, καὶ τήνδε σάου πόλιν· ἄρχε δ'
ἀοιδῆς.
1 Matthiae: ἀθανάτην, MSS.
436
XIII. TO DEMETER
ΧΙ
TO ATHENA
Or Pallas Athene, guardian of the city, I begin
to sing. Dread is she, and with Ares she loves deeds
of war, the sack of cities and the shouting and the
battle. It is she who saves the people as they go out
to war and come back.
Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune with
happiness!
XII
TO HERA
I SING of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bare.
Queen of the immortals is she, surpassing all in
beauty: she is the sister and the wife of loud-
thundering Zeus,-the glorious one whom all the
blessed throughout high Olympus reverence and
honour even as Zeus who delights in thunder.
XIII
TO DEMETER
I BEGIN to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful
goddess, of her and of her daughter lovely
Persephone.
Hail, goddess! Keep this city safe, and govern
my song.
437
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XIV
ΕΙΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΘΕΩΝ
Μητέρα μοι πάντων τε θεῶν πάντων τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων
ὕμνει, Μοῦσα λίγεια, Διὸς θυγάτηρ μεγάλοιο,
ᾗ κροτάλων τυπάνων τ' ἰαχὴ σύν τε βρόμος αὐλῶν
εὔαδεν ἠδὲ λύκων κλαγγὴ χαροπῶν τε λεόντων
οὔρεά τ' ἠχήεντα καὶ ὑλήεντες ἔναυλοι.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε θεαί θ᾽ ἅμα πᾶσαι ἀοιδῇ.
5
XV
ΕΙΣ ΗΡΑΚΛΕΑ ΛΕΟΝΤΟΘΥΜΟΝ
Ηρακλέα, Διὸς υἱόν, ἀείσομαι, ὃν μέγ᾽ ἄριστον
γείνατ᾽ ἐπιχθονίων Θήβῃς ἔνι καλλιχόροισιν
Αλκμήνη μιχθεῖσα κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι·
ὃς πρὶν μὲν κατὰ γαῖαν ἀθέσφατον ἠδὲ θάλασσαν
πλαζόμενος πομπῇσιν ὑπ᾽ Εὐρυσθῆος ἄνακτος 1
πολλὰ μὲν αὐτὸς ἔρεξεν ἀτάσθαλα, πολλὰ δ᾽
ἀνέτλη
νῦν δ᾽ ἤδη κατὰ καλὸν ἕδος νιφόεντος Ολύμπου
ναίει τερπόμενος καὶ ἔχει καλλίσφυρον Ηβην.
Χαῖρε, ἄναξ, Διὸς υἱέ· δίδου δ' ἀρετήν τε καὶ
ὄλβον.
1 Most MSS. : πημαίνετ᾽ ἀεθλεύων < δε> κραταιῶς, Μ.
• Most MSS. : ἔξοχα ἔργα, Μ.
5
438
XV. TO HERACLES THE LION-HEARTED
XIV
TO THE MOTHER OF THE GODS
I PRITHEE, clear-voiced Muse, daughter of mighty
Zeus, sing of the mother of all gods and men. She
is well-pleased with the sound of rattles and of
timbrels, with the voice of flutes and the outcry
of wolves and bright-eyed lions, with echoing hills
and wooded coombes.
And so hail to you in my song and to all goddesses
as well!
XV
TO HERACLES THE LION-HEARTED
I WILL sing of Heracles, the son of Zeus and much
the mightiest of men on earth. Alcmena bare him
in Thebes, the city of lovely dances, when the dark-
clouded Son of Cronos had lain with her. Once he
used to wander over unmeasured tracts of land and
sea at the bidding of King Eurystheus, and himself
did many deeds of violence and endured many;
but now he lives happily in the glorious home of
snowy Olympus, and has neat-ankled Hebe for his
wife.
Hail, lord, son of Zeus! Give me success and
prosperity.
439
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XVI
ΕΙΣ ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟΝ
Ἰητῆρα νόσων Ασκληπιὸν ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
υἱὸν ᾿Απόλλωνος, τὸν ἐγείνατο δια Κορωνίς
Δωτίῳ ἐν πεδίῳ, κούρη Φλεγύου βασιλῆος,
χάρμα μέγ' ἀνθρώποισι, κακῶν θελκτῆρ᾽ ὀδυνάων.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, ἄναξ· λίτομαι δέ σ'
ἀοιδῇ.
5
XVII
ΕΙΣ ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΟΥΣ
Κάστορα καὶ Πολυδεύκε᾽ ἀείσεο, Μοῦσα λίγεια,
Τυνδαρίδας, οἳ Ζηνὸς Ολυμπίου ἐξεγένοντο·
τοὺς ὑπὸ Τηϋγέτου κορυφῇς τέκε πότνια Λήδη
λάθρη ὑποδμηθεῖσα κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι.
Χαίρετε, Τυνδαρίδαι, ταχέων ἐπιβήτορες ἵππων. 5
XVIII
ΕΙΣ ΕΡΜΗΝ
Ἑρμῆν ἀείδω Κυλλήνιον, Αργειφόντην,
Κυλλήνης μεδέοντα καὶ ᾿Αρκαδίης πολυμήλου,
ἄγγελον ἀθανάτων ἐριούνιον, ὃν τέκε Μαῖα,
Ατλαντος θυγάτηρ, Διὸς ἐν φιλότητι μιγεῖσα,
αἰδοίη· μακάρων δὲ θεῶν ἀλέεινεν ὅμιλον,
ἄντρῳ ναιετάουσα παλισκίῳ· ἔνθα Κρονίων
νύμφῃ ἐυπλοκάμῳ μισγέσκετο νυκτὸς ἀμολγῷ,
5
440
XVIII. TO HERMES, 1-7
XVI
TO ASCLEPIUS
I BEGIN to sing of Asclepius, son of Apollo and
healer of sicknesses. In the Dotian plain fair
Coronis, daughter of King Phlegyas, bare him, a great
joy to men, a soother of cruel pangs.
And so hail to you, lord: in my song I make my
prayer to thee!
XVII
TO THE DIOSCURI
SING, clear-voiced Muse, of Castor and Polydeuces,
the Tyndaridae, who sprang from Olympian Zeus.
Beneath the heights of Taygetus stately Leda bare
them, when the dark-clouded Son of Cronos had
privily bent her to his will.
Hail, children of Tyndareus, riders upon swift
horses!
XVIII
TO HERMES
I SING of Cyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argus,
lord of Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, luck-
bringing messenger of the deathless gods.
He was
born of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, when she had
mated with Zeus,-a shy goddess she. Ever she
avoided the throng of the blessed gods and lived
in a shadowy cave, and there the Son of Cronos
used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph at dead
44T
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
εὖτε κατὰ γλυκὺς ὕπνος ἔχοι λευκώλενον Ηρην
λάνθανε δ᾽ ἀθανάτους τε θεοὺς θνητούς τ᾿ ἀνθρώπους.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱέ·
σεῦ δ᾽ ἐγὼ ἀρξάμενος μεταβήσομαι ἄλλον ἐς
ὕμνον.
[χαῖρ᾽, Ἑρμῆ χαριδῶτα, διάκτορε, δῶτορ ἐάων.]
XIX
ΕΙΣ ΠΑΝΑ
Αμφί μοι Ερμείαο φίλον γόνον ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα,
αἰγιπόδην, δικέρωτα, φιλόκροτον, ὅστ᾽ ἀνὰ πίση
δενδρήεντ᾽ ἄμυδις φοιτᾷ χορογηθέσι νύμφαις,
αἵ τε κατ' αἰγίλιπος πέτρης στείβουσι κάρηνα
Πᾶν ἀνακεκλόμεναι, νόμιον θεόν, ἀγλαέθειρον,
αὐχμήενθ', ὃς πάντα λόφον νιφόεντα λέλογχε
καὶ κορυφὰς ὀρέων καὶ πετρήεντα κάρηνα.
φοιτᾷ δ᾽ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα διὰ ῥωπήια πυκνά,
ἄλλοτε μὲν ρείθροισιν ἐφελκόμενος μαλακοῖσιν,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖ πέτρῃσιν ἐν ἠλιβάτοισι διοιχνεῖ,
ἀκροτάτην κορυφὴν μηλοσκόπον εἰσαναβαίνων.
πολλάκι δ' ἀργινόεντα διέδραμεν οὔρεα μακρά,
πολλάκι δ᾽ ἐν κνημοῖσι διήλασε θῆρας ἐναίρων,
ὀξέα δερκόμενος· τότε δ᾽ ἕσπερος ἔκλαγεν οἶον
ἄγρης ἐξανιών, δονάκων ὕπο μοῦσαν ἀθύρων
νήδυμον· οὐκ ἂν τόν γε παραδράμοι ἐν μελέεσσιν
ὄρνις, ἥτ᾽ ἔαρος πολυανθέος ἐν πετάλοισι
θρῆνον ἐπιπροχέουσ᾽ ἀχέει μελίγηρυν ἀοιδήν.
σὺν δέ σφιν τότε Νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες λιγύμολποι
2
1 This line appears to be an alternative to ll. 10-11.
2 Ilgen: ἐπιπροχέουσα χέει, MSS.
10
5
10
15
442
XIX.-TO PAN, 1-19
of night, while white-armed Hera lay bound in
sweet sleep and neither deathless god nor mortal
man knew it.
:
And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with
you I have begun: now I will turn to another song!
Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of
good things!
XIX
TO PAN
MUSE, tell me about Pan, the dear son of Hermes,
with his goat's feet and two horns-a lover of merry
noise. Through wooded glades he wanders with
dancing nymphs who foot it on some sheer cliff's
edge, calling upon Pan, the shepherd-god, long-
haired, unkempt. He has every snowy crest and the
mountain peaks and rocky crests for his domain;
hither and thither he goes through the close thickets,
now lured by soft streams, and now he presses on
amongst towering crags and climbs up to the
highest peak that overlooks the flocks. Often he
courses through the glistening high mountains, and
often on the shouldered hills he speeds along slaying
wild beasts, this keen-eyed god. Only at evening,
as he returns from the chase, he sounds his note,
playing sweet and low on his pipes of reed: not even
she could excel him in melody-that bird who in
flower-laden spring pouring forth her lament utters
honey-voiced song amid the leaves. At that hour
the clear-voiced nymphs are with him and move
443
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
φοιτῶσαι πύκα ποσσὶν ἐπὶ κρήνῃ μελανύδρῳ
μέλπονται· κορυφὴν δὲ περιστένει οὔρεος Ηχώ
δαίμων δ᾽ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα χορῶν, τοτὲ δ᾽ ἐς μέσον
ἕρπων,
πυκνὰ ποσὶν διέπει, λαῖφος δ᾽ ἐπὶ νῶτα δαφοινὸν
λυγκὸς ἔχει, λιγυρῇσιν ἀγαλλόμενος φρένα μολπαῖς
ἐν μαλακῷ λειμῶνι, τόθι κρόκος ἠδ᾽ ὑάκινθος
εὐώδης θαλέθων καταμίσγεται ἄκριτα ποίῃ.
20
25
Ὑμνεῦσιν δὲ θεοὺς μάκαρας καὶ μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον·
οἷόν θ' Ερμείην ἐριούνιον ἔξοχον ἄλλων
ἔννεπον, ὡς ὅ γ᾽ ἅπασι θεοῖς θοὸς ἄγγελος ἐστι,
καί ῥ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐς ᾿Αρκαδίην πολυπίδακα, μητέρα
μήλων,
ἐξίκετ᾽, ἔνθα τέ οἱ τέμενος Κυλληνίου ἐστίν.
ἔνθ᾽ ὅ γε καὶ θεὸς ὢν ψαφαρότριχα μῆλ' ἐνόμευεν
ἀνδρὶ πάρα θνητῷ· θάλε γὰρ πόθος ὑγρὸς ἐπελθὼν
νύμφῃ ἐυπλοκάμῳ Δρύοπος φιλότητι μιγῆναι·
ἐκ δ᾽ ἐτέλεσσε γάμον θαλερόν. τέκε δ᾽ ἐν με
γάροισιν
30
35
40
Ερμείῃ φίλον υἱόν, ἄφαρ τερατωπὸν ἰδέσθαι,
αἰγιπόδην, δικέρωτα, φιλόκροτον, ἡδυγέλωτα·
φεῦγε δ᾽ ἀναΐξασα, λίπεν δ᾽ ἄρα παῖδα τιθήνη
δεῖσε γάρ, ὡς ἴδεν ὄψιν ἀμείλιχον, ἠυγένειον.
τὸν δ' αἶψ' Ερμείας ἐριούνιος εἰς χέρα θῆκε
δεξάμενος, χαῖρεν δὲ νόῳ περιώσια δαίμων.
ῥίμφα δ' ἐς ἀθανάτων ἕδρας κίε παῖδα καλύψας
δέρμασιν ἐν πυκινοῖσιν ὀρεσκῴοιο λαγωοῦ·
πὰρ δὲ Ζηνὶ κάθιζε καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισι,
δεῖξε δὲ κοῦρον ἑόν· πάντες δ᾽ ἄρα θυμὸν ἔτερφθεν 45
444
XIX.-TO PAN, 20-45
with nimble feet, singing by some spring of dark
water, while Echo wails about the mountain-top,
and the god on this side or on that of the choirs,
or at times sidling into the midst, plies it nimbly
with his feet. On his back he wears a spotted
lynx-pelt, and he delights in high-pitched songs
in a soft meadow where crocuses and sweet-smelling
hyacinths bloom at random in the grass.
They sing of the blessed gods and high Olympus.
and choose to tell of such an one as luck-bringing
Hermes above the rest, how he is the swift messenger
of all the gods, and how he came to Arcadia, the land
of many springs and mother of flocks, there where his
sacred place is as god of Cyllene. For there, though
a god, he used to tend curly-fleeced sheep in the
service of a mortal man, because there fell on him
and waxed strong melting desire to wed the rich-
tressed daughter of Dryops, and there he brought
about the merry marriage. And in the house she
bare Hermes a dear son who from his birth was
marvellous to look upon, with goat's feet and two
horns-a noisy, merry-laughing child. But when
the nurse saw his uncouth face and full beard, she
was afraid and sprang up and fled and left the
child. Then luck-bringing Hermes received him
and took him in his arms: very glad in his heart
was the god. And he went quickly to the abodes
of the deathless gods, carrying his son wrapped in
warm skins of mountain hares, and set him down
beside Zeus and showed him to the rest of the
gods. Then all the immortals were glad in heart
445
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἀθάνατοι, περίαλλα δ' ὁ Βάκχειος Διόνυσος
Πᾶνα δέ μιν καλέεσκον, ὅτι φρένα πᾶσιν ἔτερψε.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, ἄναξ, ἵλαμαι δέ σ'
ἀοιδῇ·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ' ἀοιδῆς.
XX
ΕΙΣ ΗΦΑΙΣΤΟΝ
Ηφαιστον κλυτόμητιν ἀείσεο, Μούσα λίγεια,
ὃς μετ' Αθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἀγλαὰ ἔργα
ἀνθρώπους ἐδίδαξεν ἐπὶ χθονός, οἳ τὸ πάρος περ
ἄντροις ναιετάασκον ἐν οὔρεσιν, ἠύτε θῆρες.
νῦν δὲ δι' Ηφαιστον κλυτοτέχνην ἔργα δαέντες
ῥηιδίως αἰῶνα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν
εὔκηλοι διάγουσιν ἐνὶ σφετέροισι δόμοισιν.
᾿Αλλ᾽ ἵληθ', Ηφαιστε· δίδου δ' ἀρετήν τε καὶ
ὄλβον.
XXI
ΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΑ
Φοῖβε, σὲ μὲν καὶ κύκνος ὑπὸ πτερύγων λίγ
ἀείδει,
ὄχθῃ ἐπιθρώσκων ποταμὸν πάρα δινήεντα,
Πηνειόν· σὲ δ᾽ ἀοιδὸς ἔχων φόρμιγγα λίγειαν
ἡδυεπὴς πρῶτόν τε καὶ ὕστατον αἰὲν ἀείδει.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, ἄναξ, ἵλαμαι δέ σ'
ἀοιδῇ.
5
5
446
XXI. TO APOLLO
and Bacchic Dionysus in especial; and they called
the boy Pan¹ because he delighted all their hearts.
And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with
And now I will remember you and another
a song.
song also.
XX
TO HEPHAESTUS
SING, clear-voiced Muse, of Hephaestus famed for
inventions. With bright-eyed Athene he taught men
glorious crafts throughout the world,-men who
before used to dwell in caves in the mountains like
wild beasts. But now that they have learned crafts
through Hephaestus the famed worker, easily they
live a peaceful life in their own houses the whole
year round.
Be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant me success
and prosperity!
XXI
TO APOLLO
PHOEBUS, of you even the swan sings with clear
voice to the beating of his wings, as he alights upon
the bank by the eddying river Peneus; and of you
the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched
lyre, always sings both first and last.
And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with
my song.
1 The name Pan is here derived from návres "all." Cp.
Hesiod, Works and Days 80-82, Hymn to Aphrodite (v) 198,
for the significance of personal names.
447
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XXII
ΕΙΣ ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝΑ
᾿Αμφὶ Ποσειδάωνα, μεγαν θεόν, ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
γαίης κινητῆρα καὶ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης,
πόντιον, ὅσθ᾽ Ἑλικῶνα καὶ εὐρείας ἔχει Αἰγάς.
διχθά τοι, Εννοσίγαιε, θεοὶ τιμὴν ἐδάσαντο,
ἵππων τε δμητηρ' ἔμεναι σωτηρά τε νηῶν.
Χαῖρε, Ποσείδαον γαιήοχε, κυανοχαῖτα,
καί, μάκαρ, εὐμενὲς ἦτορ ἔχων πλώουσιν ἄρηγε.
XXIII
ΕΙΣ ΥΠΑΤΟΝ ΚΡΟΝΙΔΗΝ
Ζῆνα θεῶν τὸν ἄριστον ἀείσομαι ἠδὲ μέγιστον,
εὐρύοπα, κρείοντα, τελεσφόρον, ὅστε Θέμιστι
ἐγκλιδὸν ἑζομένῃ πυκινοὺς ὀάρους ὀαρίζει.
Ιληθ᾽, εὐρύοπα Κρονίδη, κύδιστε μέγιστε
XXIV
ΕΙΣ ΕΣΤΙΑΝ
Ἑστίη, ἥτε ἄνακτος ᾿Απόλλωνος ἑκάτοιο
Πυθοῖ ἐν ἀγαθέῃ ἱερὸν δόμον ἀμφιπολεύεις,
αἰεὶ σῶν πλοκάμων ἀπολείβεται ὑγρὸν ἔλαιον·
ἔρχει τόνδ' ἀνὰ οἶκον, ἕν᾿ ἔρχεοὶ θυμὸν ἔχουσα
σὺν Διὶ μητιόεντι· χάριν δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ὄπασσον ἀοιδῇ.
Tucker: ἐπέρχει.
1
5
5
448
XXIV. TO HESTIA
XXII
TO POSEIDON
I BEGIN to sing about Poseidon, the great god,
mover of the earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep
who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae. A two-
fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the
Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships!
Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired
lord! O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help
those who voyage in ships!
XXIII
TO THE SON OF CRONOS, MOST HIGH
I WILL Sing of Zeus, chiefest among the gods and
greatest, all-seeing, the lord of all, the fulfiller who
whispers words of wisdom to Themis as she sits lean-
ing towards him.
Be gracious, all-seeing Son of Cronos, most
excellent and great '
XXIV
TO HESTIA
HESTIA, you who tend the holy house of the lord
Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil
dripping ever from your locks, come now into this
house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise
-draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my
song.
449
GG
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XXV
ΕΙΣ ΜΟΥΣΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΑ
Μουσάων ἄρχωμαι Απόλλωνός τε Διός τε
ἐκ γὰρ Μουσάων καὶ ἑκηβόλου ᾿Απόλλωνος
ἄνδρες ἀοιδοὶ ἔασιν ἐπὶ χθονὶ καὶ κιθαρισταί,
ἐκ δὲ Διὸς βασιλῆες· ὃ δ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὅν τινα Μοῦσαι
φίλωνται· γλυκερή οἱ ἀπὸ στόματος ῥέει αὐδή.
Χαίρετε, τέκνα Διός, καὶ ἐμὴν τιμήσατ' ἀοιδήν
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ὑμέων τε καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ' ἀοιδῆς.
XXVI
ΕΙΣ ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΝ
Κισσοκόμην Διόνυσον ἐρίβρομον ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν,
Ζηνὸς καὶ Σεμέλης ἐρικυδέος ἀγλαὸν υἱόν,
ὃν τρέφον ἠύκομοι Νύμφαι παρὰ πατρὸς ἄνακτος
δεξάμεναι κόλποισι καὶ ἐνδυκέως ἀτίταλλον
Νύσης ἐν γυάλοις· ὃ δ᾽ ἀέξετο πατρὸς ἕκητι
ἄντρῳ ἐν εὐώδει μεταρίθμιος ἀθανάτοισιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπειδὴ τόνδε θεαὶ πολύυμνον ἔθρεψαν,
δὴ τότε φοιτίζεσκε καθ᾽ ὑλήεντας ἐναύλους,
κισσῷ καὶ δάφνῃ πεπυκασμένος· αἳ δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἕποντο
Νύμφαι, ὃ δ᾽ ἐξηγεῖτο βρόμος δ᾽ ἔχεν ἄσπετον
ὕλην.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, πολυστάφυλ᾽ ὦ
Διόνυσε
δὸς δ᾽ ἡμᾶς χαίροντας ἐς ὥρας αὐτις ἱκέσθαι,
ἐκ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ὡράων εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐνιαυτούς.
5
10
5
450
XXVI. TO DIONYSUS
XXV
TO THE MUSES AND APOLLO
I WILL begin with the Muses and Apollo and Zeus.
For it is through the Muses and Apollo that there
are singers upon the earth and players upon the
lyre; but kings are from Zeus. Happy is he whom
the Muses love sweet flows speech from his lips.
Hail, children of Zeus! Give honour to my song!
And now I will remember you and another song
also.
XXVI
TO DIONYSUS
I BEGIN to sing of ivy-crowned Dionysus, the loud-
crying god, splendid son of Zeus and glorious
Semele. The rich-haired Nymphs received him in
their bosoms from the lord his father and fostered
and nurtured him carefully in the dells of Nysa,
where by the will of his father he grew up in a sweet-
smelling cave, being reckoned among the immortals.
But when the goddesses had brought him up, a god
oft hymned, then began he to wander continually
through the woody coombes, thickly wreathed with
ivy and laurel. And the Nymphs followed in his
train with him for their leader; and the boundless
forest was filled with their outcry.
And so hail to you, Dionysus, god of abundant
clusters! Grant that we may come again rejoicing
to this season, and from that season onwards for
many a year.
451
GG 2
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XXVII
ΕΙΣ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΝ
5
10
Αρτεμιν ἀείδω χρυσηλάκατον, κελαδεινήν,
παρθένον αἰδοίην, ἐλαφηβόλον, ἰοχέαιραν,
αὐτοκασιγνήτην χρυσαόρου Απόλλωνος,
ἡ κατ' ὄρη σκιόεντα καὶ ἄκριας ήνεμοέσσας
ἄγρῃ τερπομενη παγχρύσεα τόξα τιταίνει
πέμπουσα στονόεντα βέλη· τρομέει δὲ κάρηνα
ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων, ἰάχει δ᾽ ἔπι δάσκιος ὕλη
δεινὸν ὑπὸ κλαγγῆς θηρῶν, φρίσσει δέ τε γαῖα
πόντος τ' ἰχθυόεις· ἡ δ᾽ ἄλκιμον ἦτορ ἔχουσα
πάντη ἐπιστρέφεται θηρῶν ὀλέκουσα γενέθλην.
αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν τερφθῇ θηροσκόπος ἰοχέαιρα,
εὐφρήνῃ δὲ νόον, χαλάσασ᾽ εὐκαμπέα τόξα
ἔρχεται ἐς μέγα δῶμα κασιγνήτοιο φίλοιο,
Φοίβου Απόλλωνος, Δελφῶν ἐς πίονα δῆμον,
Μουσῶν καὶ Χαρίτων καλὸν χορὸν ἀρτυνέουσα.
ἔνθα κατακρεμάσασα παλίντονα τόξα καὶ ἰοὺς
ἡγεῖται χαρίεντα περὶ χροῒ κόσμον ἔχουσα,
ἐξάρχουσα χορούς· αἱ δ᾽ ἀμβροσίην ἔπ᾿ ἰεῖσαι
ὑμνοῦσιν Λητὼ καλλίσφυρον, ὡς τέκε παῖδας
ἀθανάτων βουλῇ τε καὶ ἔργμασιν ἔξοχ᾽ ἀρίστους. 20
Χαίρετε, τέκνα Διὸς καὶ Λητούς ήυκόμοιο·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ὑμέων τε καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ' ἀοιδῆς.
XXVIII
ΕΙΣ ΑΘΗΝΑΝ
Παλλάδ' Αθηναίην, κυδρὴν θεόν, ἄρχομ᾽ ἀείδειν
γλαυκώπιν, πολύμητιν, ἀμείλιχον ἦτορ ἔχουσαν,
15
452
XXVIII.—TO ATHENA
XXVII
TO ARTEMIS
I SING of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who
cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of
stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo
with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and
windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in
the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops
of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood
echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earth
quakes and the sea also where fishes shoal. But the
goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying
the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and
has cheered her heart, this huntress who delights in
arrows slackens her supple bow and goes to the
great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo, to
the rich land of Delphi, there to order the lovely
dance of the Muses and Graces. There she hangs
up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and
leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they
utter their heavenly voice, singing how neat-ankled
Leto bare children supreme among the immortals
both in thought and in deed.
Hail to you,
children of Zeus and rich-haired
Leto! And now I will remember you and another
song also.
XXVIII
TO ATHENA
I BEGIN to sing of Pallas Athene, the glorious
goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart,
453
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
παρθένον αἰδοίην, ἐρυσίπτολιν, ἀλκήεσσαν,
Τριτογενῆ, τὴν αὐτὸς ἐγείνατο μητίετα Ζεὺς
σεμνῆς ἐκ κεφαλῆς, πολεμήια τεύχε' ἔχουσαν,
χρύσεα, παμφανόωντα· σέβας δ' ἔχε πάντας
ὁρῶντας
ἀθανάτους· ἡ δὲ πρόσθεν Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο
ἐσσυμένως ὤρουσεν ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτοιο καρήνου,
σείσασ᾽ ὀξὺν ἄκοντα· μέγας δ᾽ ἐλελίζετ᾽ Ὄλυμπος
δεινὸν ὑπὸ βρίμης γλαυκώπιδος· ἀμφὶ δὲ γαῖα
σμερδαλέον ἰάχησεν· ἐκινήθη δ᾽ ἄρα πόντος,
κύμασι πορφυρέοισι κυκώμενος· ἔκχυτοι δ᾽ ἅλμη
ἐξαπίνης· στῆσεν δ' Ὑπερίονος ἀγλαὸς υἱὸς
ἵππους ὠκύποδας δηρὸν χρόνον, εἰσότε κούρη
εἵλετ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτων ὤμων θεοείκελα τεύχη
Παλλὰς Αθηναίη· γήθησε δὲ μητίετα Ζεύς.
Καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διὸς τέκος αἰγιόχοιο·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
XXIX
ΕΙΣ ΕΣΤΙΑΝ
Ἑστίη, ἢ πάντων ἐν δώμασιν ὑψηλοῖσιν
ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων
ἕδρην αίδιον ἔλαχες, πρεσβηίδα τιμήν,
καλὸν ἔχουσα γέρας καὶ τίμιον· οὐ γὰρ ἄτερ σοῦ
εἰλαπίναι θνητοίσιν, ἵν᾿ οὐ πρώτῃ πυμάτη τε
Ἑστίῃ ἀρχόμενος σπένδει μελιηδέα οἶνον·
καὶ σύ μοι, Αργειφόντα, Διὸς καὶ Μαιάδος υἱέ,
ἄγγελε τῶν μακάρων, χρυσόρραπι, δῶτορ ἐάων,
ἵλαος ὢν ἐπάρηγε σὺν αἰδοίῃ τε φίλῃ τε.
1 Baumeister: ἔσχετο, MSS.
5
10
15
5
10
454
XXIX.-TO HESTIA
pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia.
From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her
arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe
seized all the gods as they gazed. But Athena
sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood
before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp
spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly at the
might of the bright-eyed goddess, and earth round
about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and
tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth
suddenly the bright Son of Hyperion stopped his
swift-footed horses a long while, until the maiden
Pallas Athene had stripped the heavenly armour
from her immortal shoulders. And wise Zeus was
glad.
:
And so hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds
the aegis! Now I will remember you and another
song as well.
XXIX
TO HESTIA
HESTIA, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless
gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an
everlasting abode and highest honour: glorious is your
portion and your right. For without you mortals
hold no banquet,-where one does not duly pour
sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and
last.
And you, Slayer of Argus, Son of Zeus and Maia,
messenger of the blessed gods, bearer of the golden
rod, giver of good, be favourable and help us, you
and Hestia, the worshipful and dear. Come and
455
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ναίετε δώματα καλά, φίλα φρεσὶν ἀλλήλοισιν
εἰδότες· ἀμφότεροι γὰρ ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
εἰδότες ἔργματα καλὰ νόῳ θ᾽ ἕσπεσθε καὶ ἥβῃ.
Χαῖρε, Κρόνου θύγατερ, σύ τε καὶ χρυσόρραπις
Ἑρμῆς·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ὑμέων τε καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
9
11
XXX
ΕΙΣ ΓΗΝ ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΠΑΝΤΩΝ
5
Γαίαν παμμήτειραν ἀείσομαι, ἠυθέμεθλον,
πρεσβίστην, ἢ φέρβει ἐπὶ χθονὶ πάνθ᾽ ὁπόσ᾽ ἐστίν,
ἠμὲν ὅσα χθόνα δῖαν ἐπέρχεται ἠδ᾽ ὅσα πόντον
ἠδ᾽ ὅσα πωτῶνται, τάδε φέρβεται ἐκ σέθεν ὄλβου.
ἐκ σέο δ᾽ εὐπαιδές τε καὶ εὔκαρποι τελέθουσι,
πότνια, σεῦ δ᾽ ἔχεται δοῦναι βίον ἠδ᾽ ἀφελέσθαι
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν· ὃ δ᾽ ὄλβιος, ὅν κε σὺ θυμῷ
πρόφρων τιμήσῃς· τῷ τ᾿ ἄφθονα πάντα πάρεστι.
βρίθει μέν σφιν ἄρουρα φερέσβιος ἠδὲ κατ᾿ ἀγροὺς
κτήνεσιν εὐθηνεῖ, οἶκος δ᾽ ἐμπίπλαται ἐσθλῶν·
αὐτοὶ δ᾽ εὐνομίῃσι πόλιν κάτα καλλιγύναικα
κοιρανέουσ', ὄλβος δὲ πολὺς καὶ πλοῦτος ὀπηδεῖ·
παῖδες δ᾽ εὐφροσύνῃ νεοθηλέι κυδιόωσι
παρθενικαί τε χοροῖς πολυανθέσιν εὔφρονι θυμῷ
παίζουσαι σκαίρουσι κατ᾽ ἄνθεα μαλθακὰ ποίης, 15
οὕς κε σὺ τιμήσῃς, σεμνὴ θεά, ἄφθονε δαῖμον.
Χαῖρε, θεῶν μήτηρ, ἄλοχ᾽ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος,
πρόφρων δ᾽ ἀντ᾽ ᾠδῆς βίοτον θυμήρε όπαζε
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
1 Translator : Ἑστίῃ, MSS.
10
456
XXX.-TO EARTH THE MOTHER OF ALL
dwell in this glorious house in friendship together;
for you two, well knowing the noble actions of
men, aid on their wisdom and their strength.
Hail, Daughter of Cronos, and you also, Hermes,
bearer of the golden rod! Now I will remember you
and another song also.
XXX
TO EARTH THE MOTHER OF ALL
I WILL Sing of well-founded Earth, mother of all,
eldest of all beings. She feeds all creatures that are
in the world, all that go upon the goodly land, and
all that are in the paths of the seas, and all that fly :
all these are fed of her store. Through you, O
queen, men are blessed in their children and blessed
in their harvests, and to you it belongs to give means
of life to mortal men and to take it away. Happy is
the man whom you delight to honour! He has all
things abundantly: his fruitful land is laden with
corn, his pastures are covered with cattle, and his
house is filled with good things. Such men rule
orderly in their cities of fair women: great riches
and wealth follow them their sons exult with ever-
fresh delight, and their daughters in flower-laden
bands play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of
the field. Thus is it with those whom you honour
O holy goddess, bountiful spirit.
Hail, Mother of the gods, wife of starry Heaven;
freely bestow upon me for this my song substance
that cheers the heart! And now I will remember
you and another song also.
457
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
XXXI
ΕΙΣ ΗΛΙΟΝ
5
"Ηλιον ὑμνεῖν αὐτε Διὸς τέκος ἄρχεο Μοῦσα,
Καλλιόπη, φαέθοντα, τὸν Εὐρυφάεσσα βοῶπις
γείνατο Γαίης παιδὶ καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος·
γῆμε γὰρ Εὐρυφάεσσαν ἀγακλειτὴν Ὑπερίων,
αὐτοκασιγνήτην, ἢ οἱ τέκε κάλλιμα τέκνα,
Ηῶ τε ῥοδόπηχυν ἐυπλόκαμόν τε Σελήνην
Ηέλιόν τ' ἀκάμαντ', ἐπιείκελον ἀθανάτοισιν,
ὃς φαίνει θνητοῖσι καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοίσιν
ἵπποις ἐμβεβαώς· σμερδνὸν δ᾽ ὅ γε δέρκεται ὄσσοις
χρυσέης ἐκ κόρυθος· λαμπραὶ δ᾽ ἀκτῖνες ἀπ' αὐτοῦ 10
αἰγλῆεν στίλβουσι παρὰ κροτάφων δέ τ' ἔθειραι
λαμπραὶ ἀπὸ κρατὸς χαρίεν κατέχουσι πρόσωπον
τηλαυγές· καλὸν δὲ περὶ χροῒ λάμπεται ἔσθος
λεπτουργές, πνοιῇ ἀνέμων· ὅπο δ᾽ ἄρσενες ἵπποι.
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὅ γε στήσας χρυσόζυγον ἅρμα καὶ ἵππους, 15
[αὔτοθι παύεται ἄκρου ἐπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ, εἰσόκεν αὐτις] 158
θεσπέσιος πέμπῃσι δι᾽ οὐρανοῦ Ωκεανόνδε.
Χαῖρε, ἄναξ, πρόφρων δὲ βίον θυμήρε ἔπαζε.
ἐκ σέο δ' ἀρξάμενος κλήσω μερόπων γένος ἀνδρῶν
ἡμιθέων, ὧν ἔργα θεαὶ θνητοῖσιν ἔδειξαν.
XXXII
ΕΙΣ ΣΕΛΗΝΗΝ
Μήνην ἀείδειν τανυσίπτερον ἔσπετε, Μοῦσαι,
ἡδυεπεῖς κοῦραι Κρονίδεω Διός, ἵστορες «δῆς·
1 Matthiae : τε παρειαί, MSS.
458
XXXII. TO SELENE
XXXI
TO HELIOS
AND now, O Muse Calliope, daughter of Zeus,
begin to sing of glowing Helios whom mild-eyed
Euryphaëssa, the far-shining one, bare to the Son of
Earth and starry Heaven. For Hyperion wedded
glorious Euryphaëssa, his own sister, who bare him
lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed
Selene and tireless Helios who is like the deathless
gods. As he rides in his chariot, he shines upon men
and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his
eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam
dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming
from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his
far-seen face a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon
his body and flutters in the wind: and stallions carry
him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked
chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest
point of heaven, until he marvellously drives them
down again through heaven to Ocean.
Hail to you, lord! Freely bestow on me substance
that cheers the heart. And now that I have begun
with you, I will celebrate the race of mortal men
half-divine whose deeds the Muses have showed to
mankind.
XXXII
TO SELENE
AND next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus,
well-skilled in song, tell of the long-winged¹ Moon.
¹ The epithet is a usual one for birds, cp. Hesiod, Works
and Days, 210: as applied to Selene it may merely indicate
her passage, like a bird, through the air, or mean "far-flying."
459
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
ἧς ἄπο αἴγλη γαῖαν ἑλίσσεται οὐρανόδεικτος
κρατὸς ἀπ᾿ ἀθανάτοιο, πολὺς δ᾽ ὑπὸ κόσμος ὄρωρεν
αἴγλης λαμπούσης· στίλβει δέ τ' ἀλάμπετος ἀὴρ 5
χρυσέου ἀπὸ στεφάνου, ἀκτῖνες δ᾽ ἐνδιάονται,
εὖτ᾽ ἂν ἀπ᾿ Ωκεανοῖο λοεσσαμένη χρόα καλόν,
εἵματα ἑσσαμένη τηλαυγέα δια Σελήνη,
ζευξαμένη πώλους ἐριαύχενας, αἰγλήεντας,
ἐσσυμένως προτέρωσ᾽ ἐλάσῃ καλλίτριχας ἵππους, 10
ἑσπερίη, διχόμηνος· ὃ δὲ πλήθει μέγας ὄγμος
λαμπρόταταί τ᾽ αὐγαὶ τότ᾽ ἀεξομένης τελέθουσιν
οὐρανόθεν· τέκμωρ δὲ βροτοῖς καὶ σῆμα τέτυκται.
Τῇ ῥά ποτε Κρονίδης ἐμίγη φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ·
ἡ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη Πανδείην γείνατο κούρην,
ἐκπρεπὲς εἶδος ἔχουσαν ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.
Χαῖρε, ἄνασσα, θεὰ λευκώλενε, δια Σελήνη,
πρόφρον, ἐυπλόκαμος· σέο δ᾽ ἀρχόμενος κλέα
φωτῶν
ᾄσομαι ἡμιθέων, ὧν κλείουσ᾽ ἔργματ᾽ ἀοιδοί,
Μουσάων θεράποντες, ἀπὸ στομάτων ἐροέντων.
XXXIII
ΕΙΣ ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΟΥΣ
᾿Αμφὶ Διὸς κούρους, ἑλικώπιδες ἔσπετε Μούσαι,
Τυνδαρίδας, Λήδης καλλισφύρου ἀγλαὰ τέκνα,
Κάστορά θ' ἱππόδαμον καὶ ἀμώμητον Πολυδεύκεα,
τοὺς ὑπὸ Ταϋγέτου κορυφῇ ὄρεος μεγάλοιο
μιχθεῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι
σωτῆρας τέκε παῖδας ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
ὠκυπόρων τε νεῶν, ὅτε τε σπέρχωσιν ἄελλαι
1 Baumeister: ὅ τε, MSS.
15
20
5
460
XXXIII.-TO THE DIOSCURI
From her immortal head a radiance is shown from
heaven and embraces earth; and great is the beauty
that ariseth from her shining light. The air, unlit
before, glows with the light of her golden crown,
and her rays beam clear, whensoever bright Selene
having bathed her lovely body in the waters of
Ocean, and donned her far-gleaming raiment, and
yoked her strong-necked, shining team, drives on
her long-maned horses at full speed, at eventime
in the mid-month: then her great orbit is full and
then her beams shine brightest as she increases.
So she is a sure token and a sign to mortal men.
Once the Son of Cronos was joined with her in
love; and she conceived and bare a daughter Pandia,
exceeding lovely amongst the deathless gods.
Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild,
bright-tressed queen And now I will leave you and
sing the glories of men half divine, whose deeds
minstrels, the servants of the Muses, celebrate with
lovely lips.
XXXIII
TO THE DIOSCURI
BRIGHT-EYED Muses, tell of the Tyndaridae, the
Sons of Zeus, glorious children of neat-ankled Leda,
Castor the tamer of horses, and blameless Polydeuces.
When Leda had lain with the dark-clouded Son of
Cronos, she bare them beneath the peak of the
great hill Taygetus,-children who are deliverers of
men on earth and of swift-going ships when stormy
gales rage over the ruthless sea. Then the shipmen
461
THE HOMERIC HYMNS
χειμέριαι κατὰ πόντον ἀμείλιχον· οἳ δ᾽ ἀπο νηῶν
εὐχόμενοι καλέουσι Διὸς κούρους μεγάλοιο
ἄρνεσσιν λευκοῖσιν, ἐπ᾽ ἀκρωτήρια βάντες
10
πρύμνης· τὴν δ᾽ ἄνεμός τε μέγας καὶ κῦμα θαλάσσης
θῆκαν ὑποβρυχίην· οἳ δ᾽ ἐξαπίνης ἐφάνησαν
ξουθῇσι πτερύγεσσι δι' αἰθέρος αίξαντες,
αὐτίκα δ' ἀργαλέων ἀνέμων κατέπαυσαν ἀέλλας,
κύματα δ᾽ ἐστόρεσαν λευκῆς ἁλὸς ἐν πελάγεσσι,
σήματα καλά, πόνου ἀπονόσφισιν· οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες
γήθησαν, παύσαντο δ᾽ ὀιζυροίο πόνοιο.
Χαίρετε, Τυνδαρίδαι, ταχέων ἐπιβήτορες ἵππων·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ὑμέων τε καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ᾽ ἀοιδῆς.
1 Bury : ναύταις σήματα καλά, πόνου σφίσιν, MSS.
15
462
XXXIII.-TO THE DIOSCURI
call upon the sons of great Zeus with vows of white
lambs, going to the forepart of the prow; but the
strong wind and the waves of the sea lay the ship
under water, until suddenly these two are seen darting
through the air on tawny wings. Forthwith they allay
the blasts of the cruel winds and still the waves upon
the surface of the white sea: fair signs are they and
deliverance from toil. And when the shipmen see
them they are glad and have rest from their pain and
labour.
Hail, Tyndaridae, riders upon swift horses! Now
I will remember you and another song also.
463
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
H H
ΟΜΗΡΟΥ ΕΠΙΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ
I
Αἰδεῖσθε ξενίων κεχρημένον ἠδὲ δόμοιο,
οἱ πόλιν αἰπεινήν, Κύμην ἐριώπιδα κούρην,
ναίετε, Σαρδήνης πόδα νείατον ὑψικόμοιο,
ἀμβρόσιον πίνοντες ὕδωρ θείου ποταμοῖο,
Ερμου δινήεντος, ὃν ἀθάνατος τέκετο Ζεύς.
II
Αίψα πόδες με φέροιεν ἐς αἶδοιων πόλιν ἀνδρῶν·
τῶν γὰρ καὶ θυμὸς πρόφρων καὶ μῆτις ἀρίστη.
III
Χαλκέη παρθένος εἰμί, Μίδεω δ᾽ ἐπὶ σήματι
κείμαι·
ἔστ᾽ ἂν ὕδωρ τε νάῃ καὶ δένδρεα μακρὰ τεθήλῃ,
ἠέλιος τ᾿ ἀνιὼν λάμπῃ λαμπρά τε σελήνη,
καὶ ποταμοί γε ῥέωσιν ἀνακλύζῃ δὲ θάλασσα,
αὐτοῦ τῇδε μένουσα πολυκλαύτου ἐπὶ τύμβου
ἀγγελέω παριοῦσι, Μίδης ὅτι τῇδε τέθαπται.
IV
Οἵη μ' αἴσῃ δῶκε πατὴρ Ζεὺς κυρμα γενέσθαι,
νήπιον αἰδοίης ἐπὶ γούνασι μητρὸς ἀτάλλων.
ἥν ποτ᾽ ἐπύργωσαν βουλῇ Διὸς αιγιόχοιο
1 Plato, Diogenes, Contest of Homer: ῥάῃ, pseudo-
Herodotus.
5
5
466
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS¹
I
HAVE reverence for him who needs a home and
stranger's dole, all ye who dwell in the high city
of Cyme, the lovely maiden, hard by the foothills
of lofty Sardene, ye who drink the heavenly water
of the divine stream, eddying Hermus, whom death-
less Zeus begot.
II
SPEEDILY may my feet bear me to some town of
righteous men; for their hearts are generous and
their wit is best.
III
I AM a maiden of bronze and am set upon the
tomb of Midas. While the waters flow and tall trees
flourish, and the sun rises and shines and the bright
moon also; while rivers run and the sea breaks on
the shore, ever remaining on this mournful tomb, I
tell the passer-by that Midas here lies buried.
IV
To what a fate did Zeus the Father give me a prey
even while he made me to grow, a babe at my
mother's knees! By the will of Zeus who holds the
1 The Epigrams are preserved in the pseudo-Herodotean
Life of Homer. Nos. III, XIII, and XVII are also found in
the Contest of Homer and Hesiod, and No. I is also extant at
the end of some MSS. of the Homeric Hymns.
467
ни 2
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
λαοὶ Φρίκωνος, μάργων ἐπιβήτορες ἵππων,
ὁπλότεροι μαλεροῖο πυρὸς κρίνοντες "Αρηα,
Αἰολίδα Σμύρνην ἁλιγείτονα, ποντοτίνακτον,
ἥντε δι' ἀγλαὸν εἰσιν ὕδωρ ἱεροῖο Μέλητος
ἔνθεν ἀπορνύμεναι κουραι Διός, ἀγλαὰ τέκνα,
ἠθελέτην κλῇσαι δῖαν χθόνα καὶ πόλιν ἀνδρῶν.
οἱ δ᾽ ἀπανηνάσθην ἱερὴν ὄπα, φῆμιν ἀοιδῆς,
ἀφραδίῃ· τῶν μέν τε παθών τις φράσσεται αὖτις,
ὅς σφιν ὀνείδεσσιν τὸν ἐμὸν διεμήσατο πότμον.
κῆρα δ᾽ ἐγώ, τήν μοι θεὸς ὤπασε γεινομένῳ περ,
τλήσομαι ἀκράαντα φέρων τετληότι θυμῷ·
οὐδέ τί μοι φίλα γυῖα μένειν ἱεραῖς ἐν ἀγυιαῖς
Κύμης ὁρμαίνουσι, μέγας δέ με θυμὸς ἐπείγει
δῆμον ἐς ἀλλοδαπῶν ἰέναι, ὀλίγον περ εόντα.
V
Θεστορίδη, θνητοῖσιν ἀνωίστων πολέων περ,
οὐδὲν ἀφραστότερον πέλεται νόου ἀνθρώποισιν.
VI
Κλύθι, Ποσείδαον, μεγαλοσθενες, ἐννοσίγαιε,
εὐρυχόρου μεδέων ἠδὲ ξανθοῦ Ἑλικῶνος,
δὸς δ᾽ οὗρον καλὸν καὶ ἀπήμονα νόστον ἰδέσθαι
ναύταις, οἳ νηὸς πομποὶ ἠδ᾽ ἀρχοὶ ἔασι·
δὸς δ᾽ ἐς ὑπωρείην ὑψικρήμνοιο Μίμαντος
αἰδοίων μ' ἐλθόντα βροτῶν ὁσίων τε κυρῆσαι,
φωτά τε τισαίμην, ὃς ἐμὸν νόον ἠπεροπεύσας
ὠδύσατο Ζῆνα ξένιον ξενίην τε τράπεζαν.
5
10
15
5
468
EPIGRAMS IV-VI
aegis the people of Phricon, riders on wanton horses,
more active than raging fire in the test of war, once
built the towers of Aeolian Smyrna, wave-shaken
neighbour to the sea, through which glides the
pleasant stream of sacred Meles; thence arose the
daughters of Zeus, glorious children, and would fain
have made famous that fair country and the city of
its people. But in their folly those men scorned the
divine voice and renown of song, and in trouble
shall one of them remember this hereafter-he who
with scornful words to them² contrived my fate. Yet
I will endure the lot which heaven gave me even at
my birth, bearing my disappointment with a patient
heart. My dear limbs yearn not to stay in the
sacred streets of Cyme, but rather my great heart
urges me to go unto another country, small though
I am.
V
THESTORIDES, full many things there are that
mortals cannot sound; but there is nothing more
unfathomable than the heart of man.
VI
HEAR me, Poseidon, strong shaker of the earth,
ruler of wide-spread, tawny Helicon! Give a fair
wind and sight of safe return to the shipmen who
speed and govern this ship. And grant that when I
come to the nether slopes of towering Mimas I may
find honourable, god-fearing men. Also may I avenge
me on the wretch who deceived me and grieved
Zeus the lord of guests and his own guest-table.
18c. from Smyrna, Homer's reputed birth-place.
The councillors of Cyme who refused to support Homer
at the public expense.
469
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
VII
Πότνια Γῆ, πάνδωρε, δότειρα μελίφρονος ὄλβου,
ὡς ἄρα δὴ τοῖς μὲν φωτῶν εὔοχθος ἐτύχθης,
τοῖσι δὲ δύσβωλος καὶ τρηχεῖ', οἷς ἐχολώθης.
VIII
Ναῦται ποντοπόροι, στυγερῇ ἐναλίγκιοι ἄτῃ
πτωκάσιν αἰθυίῃσι, βίον δύσζηλον ἔχοντες,
αἰδεῖσθε ξενίοιο Διὸς σέβας ὑψιμέδοντος·
δεινὴ γὰρ μέτ᾽ ἔπις ξενίου Διός, ὅς κ᾿ ἀλίτηται.
IX 1
Ὑμέας, ὦ ξεῖνοι, ἄνεμος λάβεν ἀντίος ἐλθών·
ἀλλ᾿ ἐμὲ νῦν δέξασθε, καὶ ὁ πλόος ἔσσεται ὑμῖν.
X
*Αλλη τίς σευ πεύκη ἀμείνονα καρπὸν ἵησιν
Ἴδης ἐν κορυφῇσι πολυπτύχου ἠνεμοέσσης,
ἔνθα σίδηρος "Αρηος ἐπιχθονίοισι βροτοῖσιν
ἔσσεται, εὖτ᾽ ἄν μιν Κεβρήνιοι ἄνδρες ἔχωσι.
ΧΙ
Γλαῦκε, βοτῶν 2 ἐπίοπτα, ἔπος τί τοι ἐν φρεσὶ
θήσω·
πρῶτον μὲν κυσὶ δεῖπνον ἐπ᾽ αὐλείῃσι θύρῃσι
δοῦναι· τὼς γὰρ ἄμεινον· ὃ γὰρ καὶ πρῶτον ἀκούει
ἀνδρὸς ἐπερχομένου καὶ ἐς ἕρκεα θηρὸς ἰόντος.
1 Restored to metrical form by Barnes.
4 Kuester: πέπον, βροτῶν, MSS.
470
EPIGRAMS VII-XI
VII
QUEEN Earth, all bounteous giver of honey-hearted
wealth, how kindly, it seems, you are to some, and
how intractable and rough for those with whom you
are angry.
VIII
SAILORS, who rove the seas and whom a hateful
fate has made as the shy sea-fowl, living an unenviable
life, observe the reverence due to Zeus who rules on
high, the god of strangers; for terrible is the ven-
geance of this god afterwards for whosoever has
sinned.
IX
STRANGERS, a contrary wind has caught you: but
even now take me aboard and you shall make your
voyage.
X
ANOTHER Sort of pine shall bear a better fruit' than
you upon the heights of furrowed, windy Ida. For
there shall mortal men get the iron that Ares loves,
so soon as the Cebrenians shall hold the land.
XI
GLAUCUS, watchman of flocks, a word will I put in
your heart. First give the dogs their dinner at the
courtyard gate, for this is well. The dog first hears
a man approaching and the wild-beast coming to
the fence.
1 The "better fruit" is apparently the iron smelted out in
fires of pine-wood.
471
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
XII
Κλύθί μευ εὐχομένου, Κουροτρόφε, δὸς δὲ γυναῖκα
τήνδε νέων μὲν ἀναίνεσθαι φιλότητα καὶ εὐνήν·
ἡ δ᾽ ἐπιτερπέσθω πολιοκροτάφοισι γέρουσιν,
ὧν ὥρη μὲν ἀπήμβλυνται, θυμὸς δὲ μενοινᾷ.
XIII
᾿Ανδρὸς μὲν στέφανος παῖδες, πύργοι δὲ πόληος,
ἵπποι δ' αὖ πεδίου κόσμος, νῆες δὲ θαλάσσης,
χρήματα δ' αὔξει οἶκον, ἀτὰρ γεραροὶ βασιλῆες
ἥμενοι εἶν ἀγορῇ κόσμος λαοῖσιν· ὁρᾶσθαι·
αιθομένου δὲ πυρὸς γεραρώτερος οἶκος ἰδέσθαι
ἤματι χειμερίῳ, ὁπότ᾽ ἂν νίφῃσι Κρονίων.
XIV
5
Εἰ μὲν δώσετε μισθὸν ἀείσω, ὦ κεραμῆες.
δεῦρ᾽, ἄγ', Αθηναίη καὶ ὑπέρσχεθε χεῖρα καμίνου.
εὖ δὲ περανθεῖεν 2 κότυλοι καὶ πάντα κάναστρα
φρυχθῆναί τε καλῶς καὶ τιμῆς ὦνον ἀρέσθαι,
πολλὰ μὲν εἶν ἀγορῇ πωλεύμενα, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀγυιαῖς, 5
πολλὰ δὲ κερδῆναι, ἡμῖν δὲ δή, ὥς σφιν ἀεῖσαι.
ἦν δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀναιδείην τρεφθέντες ψεύδε ἄρησθε,
συγκαλέω δὴ ἔπειτα καμίνων δηλητῆρας,
Συντριβ᾽ ὁμῶς Σμάραγόν τε καὶ ῎Ασβετον ἠδὲ
Σαβάκτην
Ωμόδαμόν τ', ὃς τῇδε τέχνῃ κακὰ πολλὰ πορίζοι· 10
πέρθε πυραίθουσαν καὶ δώματα, σὺν δὲ κάμινος
πᾶσα κυκηθείη κεραμέων μέγα κωκύσαντων.
ὡς γνάθος ἱππείη βρύκει, βρύκοι δὲ κάμινος,
1 Ruhnken : τ' ἄλλοισιν, Sources : The Contest of Homer adds
the verse :
λαὸς δ᾽ εἰν ἀγορᾶσι καθήμενος εἰσοράασθαι.
• Pollux: μελανθοῖεν, μελανθεῖεν, Life of Homer.
472
EPIGRAMS XII-XIV
XII
1
GODDESS-NURSE of the young, give ear to my
prayer, and grant that this woman may reject the
love-embrace of youth and dote on grey-haired old
men whose powers are dulled, but whose hearts still
desire.
XIII
CHILDREN are a man's crown, towers of a city;
horses are the glory of a plain, and so are ships of
the sea; wealth will make a house great, and
reverend princes seated in assembly are a goodly
sight for the folk to see. But a blazing fire makes a
house look more comely upon a winter's day, when
the Son of Cronos sends down snow.
XIV
POTTERS, if you will give me a reward, I will sing
for you. Come, then, Athena, with hand upraised 2
over the kiln. Let the pots and all the dishes turn
out well and be well fired: let them fetch good prices
and be sold in plenty in the market, and plenty in
the streets. Grant that the potters may get great
gain and grant me so to sing to them. But if
you turn shameless and make false promises, then I
call together the destroyers of kilns, Shatter and
Smash and Charr and Crash and Crudebake who can
work this craft much mischief. Come all of you and
sack the kiln-yard and the buildings: let the whole
kiln be shaken up to the potter's loud lament.
As a horse's jaw grinds, so let the kiln grind to
1 Hecate cp. Hesiod, Theogony, 450.
2 i.e. in protection.
473
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
πάντ᾽ ἔντοσθ᾽ αὐτῆς κεραμήια λεπτὰ ποιοῦσα.
δεῦρο καὶ Ηελίου θύγατερ, πολυφάρμακα Κίρκη, 15
ἄγρια φάρμακα βάλλε, κάκου δ' αὐτούς τε καὶ ἔργα.
δεῦρο δὲ καὶ Χείρων ἀγέτω πολέας Κενταύρους,
οἴθ' Ηρακλῆος χεῖρας φύγον οἵτ᾽ ἀπόλοντο,
τύπτοιεν τάδε ἔργα κακῶς, πίπτοι δὲ κάμινος·
αὐτοὶ δ᾽ οἰμώζοντες ὁρῴατο ἔργα πονηρά.
γηθήσω δ' ὁρόων αὐτῶν κακοδαίμονα τέχνην·
ὃς δέ χ᾽ ὑπερκύψῃ, πυρὶ τούτου πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον
φλεχθείη, ὡς πάντες ἐπίστωντ᾽ αἴσιμα ρέζειν.
XV
Δῶμα προσετραπόμεσθ᾽ ἀνδρὸς μέγα δυναμενοιο,
ὃς μέγα μὲν δύναται, μέγα δὲ πρέπει 1 ὄλβιος αἰεί.
αὐταὶ ἀνακλίνεσθε θύραι· Πλοῦτος γὰρ ἔσεισι
πολλός, σὺν Πλούτῳ δὲ καὶ Εὐφροσύνη τεθαλυία
Εἰρήνη τ' ἀγαθή· ὅσα δ᾽ ἄγγεα, μεστὰ μὲν εἴη,
κυρβαίη δ' αἰεὶ κατὰ καρδόπου ἔρποι μᾶζα.
νῦν μὲν κριθαίην, εὐώπιδα, σησαμόεσσαν
Τοῦ παιδὸς δὲ γυνὴ κατὰ δίφραδα βήσεται ὕμμιν·
ἡμίονοι δ᾽ ἄξουσι κραταίποδες ἐς τόδε δῶμα·
αὐτὴ δ᾽ ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοι ἐπ' ὀλέκτρῳ βεβανία.
Νεῦμαί τοι, νεῦμαι ἐνιαύσιος, ὥστε χελιδών
ἕστηκ᾽ ἐν προθύροις ψιλὴ πόδας· ἀλλὰ φέρ' αἶψα
†πέρσαι τῷ ᾿Απόλλωνος γυιάτιδος.
1 Ilgen : βρεμει, MSS.
20
10
5
474
EPIGRAMS XIV-XV
powder all the pots inside. And you, too, daughter
of the Sun, Circe the witch, come and cast cruel
spells; hurt both these men and their handiwork.
Let Chiron also come and bring many Centaurs-all
that escaped the hands of Heracles and all that were
destroyed: let them make sad havoc of the pots and
overthrow the kiln, and let the potters see the
mischief and be grieved; but I will gloat as I behold
their luckless craft. And if anyone of them stoops
to peer in, let all his face be burned up, that all men
may learn to deal honestly.
XV1
LET us betake us to the house of some man of great
power,-one who bears great power and is greatly
prosperous always. Open of yourselves, you doors, for
mighty Wealth will enter in, and with Wealth comes
jolly Mirth and gentle Peace. May all the corn-bins
be full and the mass of dough always overflow the
kneading-trough. Now (set before us) cheerful
barley-pottage, full of sesame
Your son's wife, driving to this house with strong-
hoofed mules, shall dismount from her carriage to
greet you; may she be shod with golden shoes as she
stands weaving at the loom.
I come, and I come yearly, like the swallow that
perches light-footed in the fore-part of your house.
But quickly bring . .
1 This song is called by pseudo-Herodotus Eipnoiúvn.
The word properly indicates a garland wound with wool
which was worn at harvest-festivals, but came to be applied
first to the harvest song and then to any begging song. The
present is akin to the Swallow-Song (Xeλidóvioua), sung at
the beginning of spring, and answering to the still surviving
English May-Day songs. Cp. Athenaeus, viii. 360 B.
475
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS
XVI
Εἰ μέν τι δώσεις· εἰ δὲ μή, οὐχ ἑστήξομεν·
οὐ γὰρ συνοικήσοντες ἐνθάδ' ἤλθομεν.
1
XVII
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
*Ανδρες ἄγρης ἁλίης θηρήτορες, ἢ ῥ᾽ ἔχομέν τι;
ΑΛΙΕΙΣ
Οσσ᾽ ἕλομεν, λιπόμεσθ'· ὅσα δ᾽ οὐχ ἕλομεν,
φερόμεσθα.
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Τοίων γὰρ πατέρων ἐξ αἵματος ἐκγεγάασθε,
οὔτε βαθυκλήρων οὔτ᾽ ἄσπετα μῆλα νεμόντων.
1 Koechly: ἀπ' ᾿Αρκαδίης, MSS.
476
EPIGRAMS XVI-XVII
XVI
IF you will give us anything (well). But if not, we
will not wait, for we are not come here to dwell
with you.
XVII
HOMER
HUNTERS of deep sea prey, have we caught
anything?
FISHERMEN
All that we caught we left behind, and all that we
did not catch we carry home.¹
HOMER
Ay, for of such fathers you are sprung as neither
hold rich lands nor tend countless sheep.
1 The lice which they caught in their clothes they left
behind, but carried home in their clothes those which they
could not catch.
477
+
1
1
I
1
FRAGMENTS OF
THE EPIC CYCLE
ΕΠΙΚΟΥ ΚΥΚΛΟΥ ΛΕΙΨΑΝΑ
ΤΙΤΑΝΟΜΑΧΙΑ
1.
Photius, Epitome of the Chrestomathy of Proclus.
Αρχεται μὲν (ὁ ἐπικὸς κύκλος) ἐκ τῆς Οὐρανοῦ
καὶ Γῆς μυθολογουμένης μίξεως, ἐξ ἧς αὐτῷ καὶ
τρεῖς παῖδας ἑκατοντάχειρας καὶ τρεῖς γεννῶσι
Κύκλωπας.
2.
Anecdota Oxon. (Cramer) i. 75. Αἰθέρος δ' υἱὸς
Οὐρανός, ὡς ὁ τὴν Τιτανομαχίαν γράψας.
3.
Schol. on Ap. Rhod. i. 1165. Εὔμηλος.... τὸν
Αἰγαίωνα Γῆς καὶ Πόντου φησὶ παῖδα, κατοι-
κοῦντα δὲ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ τοῖς Τιτᾶσι συμμαχεῖν.
4.
Athenaeus, vii. 277 D. ὁ τὴν Τιτανομαχίαν
ποιήσας εἴτ᾿ Εὔμηλός ἐστιν ὁ Κορίνθιος ἢ
᾿Αρκτῖνος . . . . ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ οὕτως εἴρηκεν·
ἐν δ᾽ αὐτῇ πλωτοὶ χρυσώπιδες ἰχθύες ἑλλόι
νήχοντες παίζουσι δι᾽ ὕδατος ἀμβροσίοιο.
5.
Εὔμηλος
τον Δία
...
Athenaeus, i. 22 c.
ὀρχούμενόν που παράγει λέγων·
μεσσοῖσιν δ᾽ ὀρχεῖτο πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε.
480
THE EPIC CYCLE
THE WAR OF THE TITANS
1.
THE Epic Cycle begins with the fabled union of
Heaven and Earth, by which they make three
hundred-handed sons and three Cyclopes to be born
to him.
2.
According to the writer of the War of the Titans
Heaven was the son of Aether.
3.
Eumelus says that Aegaeon was the son of Earth
and Sea and, having his dwelling in the sea, was an
ally of the Titans.
4.
The poet of the War of the Tilans, whether
Eumelus of Corinth or Arctinus, writes thus in his
second book: "Upon the shield were dumb fish
afloat, with golden faces, swimming and sporting
through the heavenly water."
5.
Eumelus somewhere introduces Zeus dancing: he
says "In the midst of them danced the Father of
men and gods."
481
I I
THE EPIC CYCLE
6.
Schol. on Ap. Rhod. i. 554. ὁ δὲ τὴν Γιγαντο-
μαχίαν ποιήσας φησὶν ὅτι Κρόνος μεταμορφωθεὶς
εἰς ἵππον ἐμίγη Φιλύρᾳ τῇ Ωκεανοῦ, διόπερ καὶ
ἱπποκένταυρος ἐγεννήθη ὁ Χείρων· τούτου δὲ γυνὴ
Χαρικλώ.
7.
Athenaeus, xi. 470 Β. Θεόλυτος . . . ἐπὶ λέβητός
φησιν αὐτὸν διαπλεῦσαι, τοῦτο πρώτου εἰπόντος
τοῦ τὴν Τιτανομαχίαν ποιήσαντος.
8.
Philodemus, On Piety. ὁ δὲ τὴν Τιτανομαχίαν,
τὰ μὲν μῆλα φυλάττειν
...
ΟΙΔΙΠΟΔΕΙΑ
1.
C.I.G. Ital. et Sic. 1292. ii. 11.
...
τὴν Οἰδιπο-
δείαν τὴν ὑπὸ Κιναίθωνος τοῦ . . . ἐπῶν οὖσαν σχ.
2.
Paus. ix. 5. 10. παῖδας δὲ ἐξ αὐτῆς (Ιοκάστης)
οὐ δοκῶ οἱ γενέσθαι μάρτυρι Ὁμήρῳ χρώμενος
ἐξ Εὐρυγανείας δὲ τῆς Ὑπέρφαντος ἐγεγόνε
σαν· δηλοῖ δὲ καὶ ὁ τὰ ἔπη ποιήσας & Οιδιποδία
ὀνομάζουσι.
...
3.
Schol. on Eur. Phoen. 1750. οἱ τὴν Οἰδιποδίαν
γράφοντες περὶ τῆς Σφιγγός
ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι κάλλιστόν τε καὶ ἱμεροέστατον ἄλλων
παῖδα φίλον Κρείοντος ἀμύμονος Αἵμονα δῖον . . .
1 Odyssey, xii. 271-4.
482
THE STORY OF OEDIPUS
6.
The author of the War of the Giants says that
Cronos took the shape of a horse and lay with
Philyra, the daughter Ocean. Through this cause
Cheiron was born a centaur: his wife was Chariclo.
7.
Theolytus says that he (Heracles) sailed across the
sea in a cauldron ¹; but the first to give this story is
the author of the War of the Titans.
8.
The author of the War of the Titans says that the
apples (of the Hesperides) were guarded.
•
THE STORY OF OEDIPUS
1.
the Story of Oedipus by Cinaethon in six
thousand six hundred verses.
2.
Judging by Homer I do not believe that Oedipus
had children by Iocasta: his sons were born of
Euryganeia as the writer of the Epic called the Story
of Oedipus clearly shows.
3.
The authors of the Story of Oedipus (say) of the
Sphinx: "But furthermore (she killed) noble Haemon,
the dear son of blameless Creon, the comeliest and
loveliest of boys."
1 See the cylix reproduced by Gerhard, Abhandlungen,
taf. 5, 4. Cp. Stesichorus, Frag. 3 (Smyth).
483
112
THE EPIC CYCLE
ΘΗΒΑΙΣ
1.
•
Contest of Homer and Hesiod. ὁ δὲ Όμηρος
περιερχόμενος ἔλεγε τὰ ποιήματα, πρῶτον μὲν
τὴν Θηβαίδα, ἔπη ζ, ἧς ἡ ἀρχὴ
Αργος ἄειδε θεὰ πολυδίψιον ἔνθεν ἄνακτες.
Athenaeus, xi. 465 E.
2.
αὐτὰρ ὁ διογενὴς ἥρως ξανθὸς Πολυνείκης
πρῶτα μὲν Οἰδιπόδῃ καλὴν παρέθηκε τράπεζαν
ἀργυρέην Κάδμοιο θεόφρονος· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
χρύσεον ἔμπλησεν καλὸν δέπας ἡδέος οἴνου.
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ' ὡς φράσθη παρακείμενα πατρὸς ἑοῖο
τιμήεντα γέρα, μέγα οἱ κακὸν ἔμπεσε θυμῷ.
αἶψα δὲ παισὶν ἑοῖσι μετ᾿ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἐπαρὰς
ἀργαλέας ἠρᾶτο· θεῶν δ᾽ οὐ λανθάν᾽ ἐρινύν.
ὡς οὔ οἱ πατρώϊ᾽ ἐν ἠθείῃ φιλότητι
δάσσαιντ', ἀμφότεροισι δ᾽ ἀεὶ πόλεμοί τε μάχαι
ΤΕ . ··
3.
Schol. Laur. on Soph. O.C. 1375.
ἰσχίον ὡς ἐνόησε χαμαι βάλε είπέ τε μῦθον
ὤμοι ἐγώ, παῖδες μὲν ὀνειδείοντες ἔπεμψαν
*
*
*
*
εύκτο Διὶ βασιλῆι καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισι
χερσὶν ὑπ᾽ ἀλλήλων καταβήμεναι ῎Αϊδος εἴσω.
4.
Paus. viii. 25. 8. Αδραστος ἔφευγεν ἐκ Θηβῶν
εἵματα λυγρὰ φέρων σὺν Αρείονι κυανοχαίτη.
484
THE THEBAID
THE THEBAID
1.
HOMER travelled about reciting his epics, first the
Thebaid, in seven thousand verses, which begins:
"Sing, goddess, of parched Argos, whence lords..
2.
"Then the heaven-born hero, golden-haired Poly-
neices, first set beside Oedipus a rich table of silver
which once belonged to Cadmus the divinely wise:
next he filled a fine golden cup with sweet wine.
But when Oedipus perceived these treasures of his
father, great misery fell on his heart, and he straight-
way called down bitter curses there in the presence
of both his sons. And the avenging Fury of the
gods failed not to hear him as he prayed that they
might never divide their father's goods in loving
brotherhood, but that war and fighting might be ever
the portion of them both."
3.
"And when Oedipus noticed the haunch¹ he threw
it on the ground and said: 'Oh! Oh! my sons have
sent this mocking me So he prayed to Zeus
the king and the other deathless gods that each might
fall by his brother's hand and go down into the house
of Hades."
4.
Adrastus fled from Thebes "wearing miserable
garments, and took black-maned Areion 2 with him."
1 The haunch was regarded as a dishonourable portion.
2 The horse of Adrastus, offspring of Poseidon and
Demeter, who had changed herself into a mare to escape
Poseidon.
485
THE EPIC CYCLE
5.1
ἑπτὰ δ᾽ ἔπειτα τελεσθέντων νεκύων ἔνι Θήβῃ,
οἴμωξεν Ταλαϊονίδης μετέειπέ τε μῦθον·
ὤμοι ἐγώ· ποθέω γὰρ ἐμοῦ στρατοῦ ὄμμα φαεινόν,
ἀμφότερον μάντιν τ᾿ ἀγαθὸν καὶ δουρὶ μάχεσθαι.
6.
Apollodorus, i. 74. ἔγημεν Οἰνεὺς Περίβοιαν
τὴν Ἱππονόου. ταύτην δὲ ὁ μὲν γράψας τὴν
Θηβαίδα πολεμηθείσης Ωλένου λέγει λαβεῖν
Οινέα γέρας.
7.
Pausanias, ix. 18. 6. πρὸς δὲ τῇ πηγῇ τάφος
ἐστὶν Ασφοδίκου· καὶ ὁ Ασφόδικος οὗτος ἀπέκτει
νεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τῇ πρὸς ᾿Αργείους Παρθενοπαῖον
τὸν Ταλαοῦ καθὰ οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσιν, ἐπεὶ τά γε
ἐν Θηβαίδι ἔπη τὰ ἐς τὴν Παρθενοπαίου τελευτὴν
Περικλύμενον τὸν ἀνελόντα φησὶν εἶναι.
ΕΠΙΓΟΝΟΙ
1.
Contest of Homer and Hesiod. εἶτα Επιγόνους,
ἔπη ζ, ἧς ἡ ἀρχὴ
νῦν αὖθ᾽ ὁπλοτέρων ἀνδρῶν ἀρχώμεθα Μοῦσαι.
2.
Photius, Lexicon. Τευμησία· περὶ τῆς Τευμησίας
ἀλώπεκος οἱ τὰ Θηβαϊκὰ γεγραφηκότες ἱκανῶς
1 Restored from Pindar Ol. vi. 15 who, according to
Asclepiades, derives the passage from the Thebais.
486
THE EPIGONI
5.
"But when the seven dead had received their last
rites in Thebes, the Son of Taläus lamented and
spoke thus among them: Woe is me, for I miss the
bright eye of my host, a good seer and a stout
spearman alike.'
6.
Oeneus married Periboea the
daughter of
Hipponoüs. The author of the Thebais says that
when Olenus had been stormed, Oeneus received her
as a prize.
7.
Near the spring is the tomb of Asphodicus. This
Asphodicus killed Parthenopaeus the son of Talaus
in the battle against the Argives, as the Thebans say;
though that part of the Thebais which tells of the
death of Parthenopaeus says that it was Periclymenus
who killed him.
THE EPIGONI
1.
NEXT (Homer composed) the Epigoni in seven
thousand verses, beginning, " And now, Muses, let us
begin to sing of younger men."
Teumesia.
2.
Those who have written on Theban
affairs have given a full account of the Teumesian fox.¹
1 So called from Teumessus, a hill in Boeotia. For the
derivation of Teumessus cp. Antimachus Thebais fr. 3
(Kinkel).
487
THE EPIC CYCLE
ἱστορήκασι . . . ἐπιπεμφθῆναι μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ θεῶν
τὸ θηρίον τοῦτο τοῖς Καδμείοις· διὸ τῆς βασιλείας
ἐξέκλειον τοὺς ἀπὸ Κάδμου γεγονότας. Κέφαλον
δὲ φασὶ τὸν Δηϊόνος ᾿Αθηναῖον ὄντα καὶ κύνα
κεκτημένον ὃν οὐδὲν διέφευγεν τῶν θηρίων, ὡς
ἀπέκτεινεν ἄκων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα Πρόκριν,
καθηράντων αὐτὸν τῶν Καδμείων, διώκειν τὴν
ἀλώπεκα μετὰ τοῦ κυνός· καταλαβομένους δὲ περὶ
τὸν Τευμησσὸν λίθους γενέσθαι τόν τε κύνα καὶ
τὴν ἀλώπεκα. εἰλήφασι δ᾽ οὗτοι τὸν μῦθον ἐκ τοῦ
ἐπικοῦ κύκλου.
3.
Schol. on Ap. Rhod. i. 308. οἱ δὲ τὴν Θηβαίδα
γεγραφότες φασὶν ὅτι ὑπὸ τῶν Ἐπιγονὼν ἀκρο-
θίνιον ἀνετέθη Μαντώ ἡ Τειρεσίου θυγάτηρ εἰς
Δελφοὺς πεμφθεῖσα, καὶ κατὰ χρησμὸν ᾿Απόλ
λωνος ἐξερχομένη περιέπεσε Ρακίῳ τῷ Λέβητος
υἱῷ Μυκηναίῳ τὸ γένος. καὶ γημαμένη αὐτῷ
τοῦτο γὰρ περιεῖχε τὸ λογίον, γαμεῖσθαι ᾧ ἂν
συναντήσῃ—[καὶ] ἐλθοῦσα εἰς Κολοφῶνα καὶ
ἐκεῖ δυσθυμήσασα ἐδάκρυσε διὰ τὴν τῆς πατρίδος
πόρθησιν.
ΚΥΠΡΙΑ
1.
Proclus, Chrestomathy, i. Επιβάλλει τούτοις τὰ
λεγόμενα Κύπρια ἐν βιβλίοις φερόμενα ἕνδεκα.
. . . τὰ δὲ περιέχοντά ἐστι ταῦτα.
Ζεὺς βουλεύεται μετὰ τῆς Θέμιδος περὶ τοῦ
Τρωϊκοῦ πολέμου· παραγενομένη δὲ Ἔρις εὐωχου-
μένων τῶν θεῶν ἐν τοῖς Πηλέως γάμοις, νεῖκος
488
THE CYPRIA
They relate that the creature was sent by the gods
to punish the descendants of Cadmus, and that the
Thebans therefore excluded those of the house of
Cadmus from the kingship. But (they say) a certain
Cephalus, the son of Deïon, an Athenian, who owned
a hound which no beast ever escaped, had accidentally
killed his wife Procris, and being purified of the homi-
cide by the Cadmeans, hunted the fox with his hound,
and when they had overtaken it both hound and fox
were turned into stones near Teumessus. These
writers have taken the story from the Epic Cycle.
3.
The authors of the Thebaïs say that Manto the
daughter of Teiresias was sent to Delphi by the
Epigoni as a first fruit of their spoil, and that in
accordance with an oracle of Apollo she went out and
met Rhacius, the son of Lebes, a Mycenaean by race.
This raan she married-for the oracle also contained
the command that she should marry whomsoever she
might meet-and coming to Colophon, was there
much cast down and wept over the destruction of her
country.
THE CYPRIA
1.
THIS¹ is continued by the epic called Cypria which
is current in eleven books. Its contents are as
follows.
war.
Zeus plans with Themis to bring about the Trojan
Strife arrives while the gods are feasting at
the marriage of Peleus and starts a dispute between
1 The preceding part of the Epic Cycle (?).
489
THE EPIC CYCLE
περὶ κάλλους ἐνίστησιν ᾿Αθηνᾷ, Ηρᾳ καὶ ᾿Αφρο-
δίτῃ, αἳ πρὸς ᾿Αλέξανδρον ἐν ἴδῃ κατὰ Διὸς
προσταγὴν ὑφ᾽ Ἑρμοῦ πρὸς τὴν κρίσιν ἄγονται·
καὶ προκρίνει τὴν ᾿Αφροδίτην ἐπαρθεὶς τοῖς
Ἑλένης γάμοις ᾿Αλέξανδρος.
Επειτα δέ, ᾿Αφροδίτης ὑποθεμένης, ναυπηγεί
ται, καὶ Ἕλενος περὶ τῶν μελλόντων αὐτῷ προ-
θεσπίζει. καὶ ᾿Αφροδίτη Αἰνείαν συμπλεῖν αὐτῷ
κελεύει. καὶ Κασσάνδρα περὶ τῶν μελλόντων
προδηλοῖ. ἐπιβὰς δὲ τῇ Λακεδαιμονίᾳ Αλέξανδρος
ξενίζεται παρὰ τοῖς Τυνδαρίδαις, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα
ἐν τῇ Σπάρτῃ παρὰ Μενελάῳ· καὶ Ἑλένῃ παρὰ
τὴν εὐωχίαν δίδωσι δῶρα ὁ ᾿Αλέξανδρος.
Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Μενέλαος εἰς Κρήτην ἐκπλεῖ,
κελεύσας τὴν Ἑλένην τοῖς ξένοις τὰ ἐπιτήδεια
παρέχειν ἕως ἂν ἀπαλλαγῶσιν. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ
Αφροδίτη συνάγει τὴν Ἑλένην τῷ ᾿Αλεξάνδρῳ.
καὶ μετὰ τὴν μίξιν τὰ πλεῖστα κτήματα ἐνθέ-
μενοι, νυκτὸς ἀποπλέουσι. χειμῶνα δὲ αὐτοῖς
ἐφίστησιν Ηρα. καὶ προσενεχθεὶς Σιδῶνι ὁ
Αλέξανδρος αἱρεῖ τὴν πόλιν. καὶ ἀποπλεύσας
εἰς Ἴλιον γάμους τῆς Ἑλένης ἐπέτελεσεν.
Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ Κάστωρ μετὰ Πολυδεύκους τὰς
Ἴδα καὶ Λυγκέως βοῦς ὑφαιρούμενοι έφωράθησαν,
καὶ Κάστωρ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἴδα ἀναιρεῖται,
Λυγκεὺς δὲ καὶ Ἴδας ὑπὸ Πολυδεύκους· καὶ
Ζεὺς αὐτοῖς ἑτερήμερον νέμει τὴν ἀθανασίαν.
Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Ιρις ἀναγγέλλει τῷ Μενελάῳ
τὰ γεγονότα κατὰ τὸν οἶκον. ὁ δὲ παραγενόμενος
περὶ τῆς ἐπ᾿ Ἴλιον στρατείας βουλεύεται μετὰ
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ πρὸς Νέστορα παραγίνεται
490
THE CYPRIA
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to which of them is
fairest. The three are led by Hermes at the command
of Zeus to Alexandrus ¹ on Mount Ida for his decision,
and Alexandrus, lured by his promised marriage with
Helen, decides in favour of Aphrodite.
Then Alexandrus builds his ships at Aphrodite's
suggestion, and Helenus foretells the future to him,
and Aphrodite orders Aeneas to sail with him, while
Cassandra prophesies as to what will happen after-
wards. Alexandrus next lands in Lacedaemon and is
entertained by the sons of Tyndareus, and afterwards
by Menelaus in Sparta, where in the course of a feast
he gives gifts to Helen.
After this, Menelaus sets sail for Crete, ordering
Helen to furnish the guests with all they require
until they depart. Meanwhile, Aphrodite brings
Helen and Alexandrus together, and they, after their
union, put very great treasures on board and sail
away by night. Hera stirs up a storm against them
and they are carried to Sidon, where Alexandrus
takes the city. From there he sailed to Troy and
celebrated his marriage with Helen.
In the meantime Castor and Polydeuces, while
stealing the cattle of Idas and Lynceus, were caught
in the act, and Castor was killed by Idas, and Lyn-
ceus and Idas by Polydeuces. Zeus gave them im-
mortality every other day.
Iris next informs Menelaus of what has happened
at his home. Menelaus returns and plans an exped-
ition against Ilium with his brother, and then goes on
1 8c. Paris.
491
THE EPIC CYCLE
Μενέλαος. Νέστωρ δὲ ἐν παρεκβάσει διηγεῖται
αὐτῷ ὡς Ἐπωπεὺς φθείρας τὴν Λύκου θυγατέρα
ἐξεπορθήθη, καὶ τὰ περὶ Οἰδίπουν καὶ τὴν
Ἡρακλέους μανίαν καὶ τὰ περὶ Θησέα καὶ
Αριάδνην. ἔπειτα τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἀθροίζουσιν
ἐπελθόντες τὴν Ἑλλάδα. καὶ μαίνεσθαι προσ-
ποιησάμενον τὸν Ὀδυσσέα ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ θέλειν
συστρατεύεσθαι ἐφώρασαν, Παλαμήδους ὑπο-
θεμένου τὸν υἱὸν Τηλέμαχον ἐπὶ κόλασιν ἐξαρπά-
σαντες.
Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα συνελθόντες εἰς Αὐλίδα
θυούσι· καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν δράκοντα καὶ τοὺς
στρουθοὺς γενόμενα δείκνυται, καὶ Κάλχας περὶ
τῶν ἀποβησομένων προλέγει αὐτοῖς. ἔπειτα ἀνα-
χθέντες Τευθρανίᾳ προσίσχουσι καὶ ταύτην ὡς
Ιλιον ἐπόρθουν. Τήλεφος δὲ
δὲ ἐκβοηθήσας
Θερσανδρόν τε τὸν Πολυνείκους κτείνει καὶ
αὐτὸς ὑπὸ ᾿Αχιλλέως τιτρώσκεται. ἀποπλέουσι
δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς Μυσίας χειμὼν ἐπιπίπτει καὶ
διασκεδάννυνται. ᾿Αχιλλεὺς δὲ Σκύρῳ προσσχὼν
γαμεῖ τὴν Λυκομήδους θυγατέρα Δηϊδάμειαν.
ἔπειτα Τήλεφον κατὰ μαντείαν παραγενόμενον
εἰς ῎Αργος ἰᾶται ᾿Αχιλλεὺς ὡς ἡγεμόνα γενησό
μενον τοῦ ἐπ᾿ Ἴλιον πλοῦ.
Καὶ τὸ δεύτερον ἠθροισμένου τοῦ στόλου ἐν
Αὐλίδι, ᾿Αγαμέμνων ἐπὶ θήρας βαλὼν ἔλαφον,
ὑπερβάλλειν ἔφησε καὶ τὴν ῎Αρτεμιν. μηνίσασα
δὲ ἡ θεὸς ἐπέσχεν αὐτοὺς τοῦ πλοῦ χειμῶνας
ἐπιπέμπουσα. Κάλχαντος δὲ εἰπόντος τὴν τῆς
θεοῦ μῆνιν καὶ Ἰφιγένειαν κελεύσαντος θύειν τῇ
᾿Αρτέμιδι, ὡς ἐπὶ γάμον αὐτὴν ᾿Αχιλλεῖ μετα-
492
THE CYPRIA
.
to Nestor. Nestor in a digression tells him how
Epopeus was utterly destroyed after seducing the
daughter of Lycus, and the story of Oedipus, the
madness of Heracles, and the story of Theseus and
Ariadne. Then they travel over Hellas and gather
the leaders, detecting Odysseus when he pretends to
be mad, not wishing to join the expedition, by seiz-
ing his son Telemachus for punishment at the
suggestion of Palamedes.
All the leaders then meet together at Aulis and
sacrifice. The incident of the serpent and the spar-
rows¹ takes place before them, and Calchas foretells
what is going to befall. After this, they put out to
sea, and reach Teuthrania and sack it, taking it for
Ilium. Telephus comes out to the rescue and kills
Thersander the son of Polyneices, and is himself
wounded by Achilles. As they put out from Mysia
a storm comes on them and scatters them, and
Achilles first puts in at Scyros and marries Deïda-
meia, the daughter of Lycomedes, and then heals
Telephus, who had been led by an oracle to go
to Argos, so that he might be their guide on the
voyage to Ilium.
When the expedition had mustered a second time
at Aulis, Agamemnon, while at the chase, shot a stag
and boasted that he surpassed even Artemis. At
this the goddess was so angry that she sent stormy
winds and prevented them from sailing. Calchas
then told them of the anger of the goddess and bade
them sacrifice Iphigeneia to Artemis. This they
attempt to do, sending to fetch Iphigeneia as though
1 While the Greeks were sacrificing at Aulis, a serpent
appeared and devoured eight young birds from their nest
and lastly the mother of the brood. This was interpreted
by Calchas to mean that the war would swallow up nine full
years. Cp. Iliad ii, 299 ff.
493
THE EPIC CYCLE
πεμψάμενοι, θύειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν. "Αρτεμις δὲ
αὐτὴν ἐξαρπάσασα, εἰς Ταύρους μετακομίζει καὶ
ἀθάνατον ποιεῖ· ἔλαφον δὲ ἀντὶ τῆς κόρης
παρίστησι τῷ βωμῷ.
Ἔπειτα καταπλέουσιν εἰς Τένεδον. καὶ
εὐωχουμένων αὐτῶν Φιλοκτήτης ὑφ᾽ ὕδρου
πληγεὶς διὰ τὴν δυσοσμίαν ἐν Λήμνῳ κατελείφθη,
καὶ ᾿Αχιλλεὺς ὕστερον κληθείς, διαφέρεται πρὸς
᾿Αγαμέμνονα. ἔπειτα ἀποβαίνοντας αὐτοὺς εἰς
Ἴλιον εἴργουσιν οἱ Τρῶες, καὶ θνῄσκει Πρω
τεσίλαος ὑφ᾽ Εκτορος. ἔπειτα ᾿Αχιλλεὺς αὐτοὺς
τρέπεται ἀνελὼν Κύκνον τὸν Ποσειδῶνος. καὶ
τοὺς νεκροὺς ἀναιροῦνται, καὶ διαπρεσβεύονται
πρὸς τοὺς Τρῶας, τὴν Ἑλένην καὶ τὰ χρήματα
ἀπαιτοῦντες. ὡς δὲ οὐχ ὑπήκουσαν ἐκεῖνοι,
ἐνταῦθα δὴ τειχομαχοῦσι. ἔπειτα τὴν χώραν
ἐπεξελθόντες πορθοῦσι καὶ τὰς περιοίκους πόλεις.
καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ᾿Αχιλλεὺς Ελένην ἐπιθυμεῖ
θεάσασθαι, καὶ συνήγαγον αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ
Αφροδίτη καὶ Θέτις. εἶτα ἀπονοστεῖν ὡρμη-
μένους τοὺς ᾿Αχαιοὺς ᾿Αχιλλεὺς κατέχει. κἄπειτα
ἀπελαύνει τὰς Αἰνείου βόας, καὶ Λυρνησὸν καὶ
Πήδασον πορθεῖ καὶ συχνὰς τῶν περιοικίδων
πόλεων, καὶ Τρωίλον φονεύει. Λυκάονά
Πάτροκλος εἰς Λῆμνον ἀγαγὼν ἀπεμπολᾷ, καὶ
ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων ᾿Αχιλλεὺς μὲν Βρισηίδα γέρας
λαμβάνει, Χρυσηΐδα δὲ ᾿Αγαμέμνων. ἔπειτα ἐστι
Παλαμήδους θάνατος, καὶ Διὸς βουλὴ ὅπως
ἐπικουφίσῃ τοὺς Τρῶας Αχιλλέα τῆς συμμαχίας
τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς ἀποστήσας, καὶ κατάλογος τῶν
τοῖς Τρωσὶ συμμαχησάντων.
ΤΕ
494
THE CYPRIA
for marriage with Achilles. Artemis, however,
snatched her away and transported her to the Tauri,
making her immortal, and putting a stag in place of
the girl upon the altar.
Next they sail as far as Tenedos : and while they are
feasting, Philoctetes is bitten by a snake and is left
behind in Lemnos because of the stench of his sore.
Here, too, Achilles quarrels with Agamemnon because
he is invited late. Then the Greeks tried to land at
Ilium, but the Trojans prevent them, and Protesilaus
is killed by Hector. Achilles then kills Cycnus, the
son of Poseidon, and drives the Trojans back. The
Greeks take up their dead and send envoys to the
Trojans demanding the surrender of Helen and the
treasure with her. The Trojans refusing, they first
assault the city, and then go out and lay waste the
country and cities round about. After this, Achilles
desires to see Helen, and Aphrodite and Thetis
contrive a meeting between them. The Achaeans
next desire to return home, but are restrained by
Achilles, who afterwards drives off the cattle of
Aeneas, and sacks Lyrnessus and Pedasus and many
of the neighbouring cities, and kills Troilus. Patro-
clus carries away Lycaon to Lemnos and sells him
as a slave, and out of the spoils Achilles receives
Briseïs as a prize, and Agamemnon Chryseïs. Then
follows the death of Palamedes, the plan of Zeus
to relieve the Trojans by detaching Achilles from
the Hellenic confederacy, and a catalogue of the
Trojan allies.
495
THE EPIC CYCLE
2.
Tzetzes, Chil. xiii. 638.
Στασινος ὁ τὰ Κύπρια συγγράμματα ποιήσας
ἅπερ οἱ πλείους λέγουσι Ομήρου πεφυκέναι
ἐς προῖκα δὲ σὺν χρήμασι δοθῆναι τῷ Στασίνῳ.
+3
Schol. on Homer, Il. i. 5.
ἦν ὅτε μυρία φύλα κατὰ χθόνα πλαζομένων περ
[ἀνθρώπων ἐβάρυνε] βαθυστέρνου πλάτος αἴης,
Ζεὺς δὲ ἰδὼν ἐλέησε καὶ ἐν πυκιναῖς πραπίδεσσι
σύνθετο κουφίσαι ἀνθρώπων παμβώτορα γαῖαν,
ῥιπίσσας πολέμου μεγάλην ἔριν Ιλιακοῖο
ὄφρα κενώσειεν θανάτου βάρος· οἱ δ' ἐνὶ Τροίῃ
ἥρωες κτείνοντο· Διὸς δ᾽ ἐτελείετο βουλή.
4.
Volumina Herculan. II. viii. 105. ὁ δὲ τὰ Κύπρια
ποιήσας "Ηρα χαριζομένην φεύγειν αὐτοῦ τὸν
γάμον, Δία δὲ ὀμόσαι χολωθέντα διότι θνητῷ
συνοικίσει.
5.
Schol. on I. xvii. 140. κατὰ γὰρ τὸν Πηλέως
καὶ Θέτιδος γάμον οἱ θεοὶ συναχθέντες εἰς τὸ
Πήλιον ἐπ᾿ εὐωχίᾳ ἐκόμιζον Πηλεῖ δῶρα, Χείρων
δὲ μελίαν εὐθαλῆ τεμὼν εἰς δόρυ παρέσχεν. φασὶ
μὲν ᾿Αθηνῶν ξέσαι αὐτό, "Ηφαιστον δὲ κατα-
σκευάσαι . . . ἡ ἱστορία παρὰ τῷ τὰ Κύπρια
ποιήσαντι.
6.
Athenaeus, xv. 682 D, F. ἀνθῶν δὲ στεφανωτικῶν
μέμνηται ὁ μὲν τὰ Κύπρια πεποιηκὼς Ηγησίας ἢ
496
THE CYPRIA
2.
Stasinus composed the Cypria which the more
part say was Homer's work and by him given to
Stasinus as a dowry with money besides.
3.
"There was a time when the countless tribes of
men, though wide-dispersed, oppressed the surface
of the deep-bosomed earth, and Zeus saw it and had
pity and in his wise heart resolved to relieve the all-
nurturing earth of men by causing the great
struggle of the Ilian war, that the load of death
might empty the world. And so the heroes were
slain in Troy, and the plan of Zeus came to pass."
The author of the Cypria says that Thetis, to
please Hera, avoided union with Zeus, at which he
was enraged and swore that she should be the wife
of a mortal.
5.
For at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the
gods gathered together on Pelion to feast and
brought Peleus gifts. Cheiron gave him a stout
ashen shaft which he had cut for a spear, and
Athena, it is said, polished it, and Hephaestus fitted
it with a head. The story is given by the author of
the Cypria.
6.
The author of the Cypria, whether Hegesias or
Stasinus, mentions flowers used for garlands. The
497
K K
THE EPIC CYCLE
Στασινος . . . λέγει δ' οὖν ὅστις ἐστὶν ὁ ποιήσας
αὐτὰ ἐν τῷ α' ούτωσί·
εἵματα μὲν χροὶ ἕστο τά οἱ Χάριτές τε καὶ Ωραι
ποίησαν καὶ ἔβαψαν ἐν ἄνθεσιν εἰαρινοῖσι,
οἷα φοροῦσ᾽ Ωραι, ἔν τε κρόκῳ ἔν θ᾽ ὑακίνθῳ
ἔν τε ἴῳ θαλέθοντι ῥόδου τ᾽ ἐνὶ ἄνθεῖ καλῷ
ἡδέι νεκταρέῳ ἔν τ᾽ ἀμβροσίαις καλύκεσσι
ἄνθεσι ναρκίσσου καὶ λειρίου· τοῖς 1 Αφροδίτη
ὥραις παντοίαις τεθυωμένα εἵματα ἕστο.
*
*
*
ἡ δὲ σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι φιλομμειδής Αφροδίτη
πλεξάμεναι στεφάνους εὐώδεας, ἄνθεα γαίης,
ἂν κεφαλαῖσιν ἔθεντο θεαὶ λιπαροκρήδεμνοι
Νύμφαι καὶ Χάριτες, ἅμα δὲ χρυσῆ Αφροδίτη,
καλὸν ἀείδουσαι κατ᾿ ὄρος πολυπιδάκου Ἴδης.
7.
Clement of Alexandria, Protrept ii. 30. 5.
Κάστωρ μὲν θνητός, θανάτου δέ οἱ αἶσα πέπρωται
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἀθάνατος Πολυδεύκης, ὄζος Αρηος
8.
Athenaeus, viii. 334 B.
τοὺς δὲ μετὰ τριτάτην Ελένην τέκε, θαῦμα
βροτοῖσι,
τήν ποτε καλλίκομος Νέμεσις φιλότητι μιγεῖσα
Ζηνὶ θεῶν βασιλῆϊ τέκε κρατερῆς ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης·
φεῦγε γάρ, οὐδ᾽ ἔθελεν μιχθήμεναι ἐν φιλότητι
πατρὶ Διὶ Κρονιώνι· ἐτείρετο γὰρ φρένας αἰδοῖ
καὶ νεμέσει· κατὰ γῆν δὲ καὶ ἀτρύγετον μέλαν
ὕδωρ
1 Meineke: καλλιρρόου δ᾽ οἷ', MS.
5
10
498
THE CYPRIA
poet, whoever he was, writes as follows in his first
book: "She clothed herself with garments which
the Graces and Hours had made for her and dyed in
flowers of spring-such flowers as the Seasons wear
-in crocus and hyacinth and flourishing violet and
the rose's lovely bloom, so sweet and delicious, and
heavenly buds, the flowers of the narcissus and lily.
In such perfumed garments is Aphrodite clothed at all
seasons. * * * Then laughter-loving Aphrodite
and her handmaidens wove sweet-smelling crowns
of flowers of the earth and put them upon their
heads the bright-coiffed goddesses, the Nymphs
and Graces, and golden Aphrodite too, while they
sang sweetly on the mount of many-fountained
Ida."
7.
"Castor was mortal, and the fate of death was
destined for him; but Polydeuces, scion of Ares,
was immortal."
8.
"And after them she bare a third child, Helen, a
marvel to men. Rich-tressed Nemesis once gave
her birth when she had been joined in love with Zeus
the king of the gods by harsh violence. For Nemesis
tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love with
her father Zeus the Son of Cronos; for shame and
indignation vexed her heart: therefore she fled
him over the land and fruitless dark water. But
499
KK 2
THE EPIC CYCLE
φεύγε, Ζεὺς δ' ἐδίωκε· λαβεῖν δ᾽ ἐλιλαίετο θυμῷ·
ἄλλοτε μὲν κατὰ κῦμα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης,
ἄλλοτ᾽ ἀν᾿ Ωκεανοῦ ποταμὸν καὶ πείρατα Γαίης,
ἰχθύι εἰδομένη πόντον πολὺν ἐξορόθυνεν,
ἄλλοτ᾽ ἀν᾽ ἤπειρον πολυβώλακα· γίγνετο δ' αἰεὶ
θηρί ὅσ᾽ ἤπειρος αἰνὰ τρέφει, ὄφρα φύγοι νιν.
9.
Schol. on Eur. Andr. 898. ὁ δὲ τὰς Κυπριακὰς
ἱστορίας συντάξας Πλεισθένην φησί, μεθ᾽ οὗ εἰς
Κύπρου αφίχθαι, καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέντα
Αλεξάνδρῳ "Αγανον.
10.
Herodotus, ii. 117. ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖσι Κυπρίοισι
εἴρηται ὡς τριταῖος ἐκ Σπάρτης ᾿Αλέξανδρος ἀπί-
κετο ἐς τὸ Ἴλιον ἄγων Ελένην, εὐαέι τε πνεύματι
χρησάμενος καὶ θαλάσσῃ λείῃ.
11.
Schol. on Il. iii. 242. ἐπειδὴ προτέρως ὑπὸ
Θησέως ἡρπάσθη . . . διὰ γὰρ τὴν τότε γενομένην
ἁρπαγὴν Αφιδνα πόλις Αττικῆς πορθεῖται, καὶ
τιτρώσκεται Κάστωρ ὑπὸ ᾿Αφίδνου τοῦ τότε βα-
σιλέως κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν μηρόν. οἱ δὲ Διόσκουροι
Θησέως μὴ τυχόντες λαφυραγωγοῦσι τὰς ᾿Αθήνας.
ἡ ἱστορία παρὰ . . . τοῖς κυκλικοῖς. . .
Plutarch, Thes. 32. Ἡρέας δ' ὑπὸ Θησέως αὐτοῦ
περὶ ᾿Αφίδνας ἀποθανεῖν τὸν ᾿Αλυκον ἱστόρηκε,
καὶ μαρτύρια ταυτὰ τὰ ἔπη παρέχεται .
...
τὸν ἐν εὐρυχόρῳ ποτ' ᾿Αφίδνῃ
μαρνάμενον Θησεὺς Ελένης ἕνεκ' ήυκόμοιο
κτείνεν.1
1 Cp. Allen C. R. xxvii. 190.
500
THE CYPRIA
Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch
her. Now she took the form of a fish and sped over
the waves of the loud-roaring sea, and now over
Ocean's stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and
now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning
into such dread creatures as the dry land nurtures,
that she might escape him."
9.
The writer of the Cyprian histories says that
(Helen's third child was) Pleisthenes and that she
took him with her to Cyprus, and that the child she
bore Alexandrus was Aganus.
10.
For it is said in the Cypria that Alexandrus came
with Helen to Ilium from Sparta in three days,
enjoying a favourable wind and calm sea.
11.
For Helen had been previously carried off by
Theseus, and it was in consequence of this earlier
rape that Aphidna, a town in Attica, was sacked and
Castor was wounded in the right thigh by Aphidnus
who was king at that time. Then the Dioscuri,
failing to find Theseus, sacked Athens. The story
is in the Cyclic writers.
Hereas relates that Alycus was killed by Theseus
himself near Aphidna, and quotes the following
verses in evidence:
"In spacious Aphidna Theseus slew him in battle
long ago for rich-haired Helen's sake."
1 i.e. Stasinus (or Hegesias: cp. fr. 6): the phrase "Cyprian
histories" is equivalent to "The Cypria."
501
THE EPIC CYCLE
12.
Schol. on Pindar, Nem. x. 114.
αἶψα δὲ Λυγκεύς
Ταΰγετον προσέβαινε ποσὶν ταχέεσσι πεποιθώς.
ἀκρότατον δ᾽ ἀναβὰς διεδέρκετο νῆσον ἅπασαν
Τανταλίδου Πέλοπος, τάχα δ᾽ εἴσιδε κύδιμος ἥρως
δεινοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἔσω δρυὸς ἄμφω κοίλης
Κάστορά θ᾽ ἱππόδαμον καὶ ἀεθλοφόρον Πολυ-
δεύκεα.
Philodemus, On Piety. Κάστορα δὲ ὑπὸ Ἴδα
τοῦ ᾿Αφάρεω κατηκοντίσθαι γέγραφε . .
Athenaeus, 35 c.
13.
...
οἶνόν τοι, Μενέλαε, θεοὶ ποίησαν ἄριστον
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν ἀποσκεδάσαι μελεδῶνας.
14.
Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles, Elect. 157.
† Ὁμήρῳ ἀκολουθεῖ εἰρηκότι τὰς τρεῖς θυγατέρας
τοῦ ᾿Αγαμέμνονος, ἢ ὡς ὁ τὰ Κύπρια, δ' φησίν,
Ιφιγένειαν καὶ Ἰφιάνασσαν.
15.1
Contest of Homer and Hesiod.
ὡς οἱ μὲν δαίνυντο πανήμεροι οὐδὲν ἔχοντες
οἴκοθεν, ἀλλὰ παρεῖχεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν ᾿Αγαμέμνων.
Louvre Papyrus.
16.
οὐκ ἐφάμην ᾿Αχιλῆϊ χολωσέμεν ἄλκιμον ἦτορ
ὧδε μαλ᾽ ἐκπάγλως, ἐπεὶ ἢ μάλα μοι φίλος ἦεν.
These two lines possibly belong to the account of the
feast given by Agamemnon at Lemnos.
5
502
THE CYPRIA
12.
"Straightway Lynceus, trusting in his swift feet,
made for Taygetus. He climbed its highest peak
and looked throughout the whole isle of Pelops, son
of Tantalus; and soon the glorious hero with his
dread eyes saw horse-taming Castor and athlete
Polydeuces both hidden within a hollow oak."
(Stasinus?) writes that Castor was killed with a
spear shot by Idas the son of Aphareus.
13.
"Menelaus, know that the gods made wine the
best thing for mortal man to scatter cares."
14.
Either he follows Homer who spoke of the three
daughters of Agamemnon, or-like the writer of
the Cypria―he makes them four, (distinguishing)
Iphigeneia and Iphianassa.
15
"So they feasted all day long, taking nothing
from their own houses; for Agamemnon, king of
men, provided for them."
16.
"I never thought to enrage so terribly the stout
heart of Achilles, for very well I loved him.”
503
THE EPIC CYCLE
17.
Pausanias, iv. 2. 7. ὁ δὲ τὰ ἔπη ποιήσας τὰ
Κύπρια Πρωτεσιλάου φησίν, ὃς ὅτε κατὰ τὴν
Τρῳάδα ἔσχον Ἕλληνες ἀποβῆναι πρῶτος ἐτόλ
μησε, Πρωτεσιλάου τούτου τὴν γυναῖκα Πολυ-
δώραν μὲν τὸ ὄνομα, θυγατέρα δὲ Μελεάγρου
φησὶν εἶναι τοῦ Οινέως.
18.
Eustathius, 119. 4. ἱστοροῦσι δέ τινες ὅτι ἐκ τῶν
Ὑποπλακίων Θηβῶν ἡ Χρυσηὶς ἐλήφθη, οὔτε
καταφυγοῦσα ἐκεῖ, οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ θυσίαν ᾿Αρτέμιδος
ἐλθοῦσα, ὡς ὁ τὰ Κύπρια γράψας ἔφη, ἀλλὰ
πολιτῖς . . . ᾿Ανδρομάχης οὖσα.
19.
Pausanias, x. 31. 2. Παλαμήδην δὲ ἀποπνιγῆναι
προελθόντα ἐπὶ ἰχθύων θήραν, Διομήδην δὲ τὸν
ἀποκτείναντα εἶναι καὶ Ὀδυσσέα ἐπιλεξάμενος ἐν
ἔπεσιν οἶδα τοῖς Κυπρίοις.
20.
Plato, Euthyphron, 12 a.
Ζῆνα δὲ τόν τ᾽ ἔρξαντα καὶ ὃς τάδε πάντ᾽ ἐφύτευσεν
οὐκ ἐθέλεις εἰπεῖν· ἵνα γὰρ δέος ἔνθα καὶ αἰδώς.
21.
Herodian, On Peculiar Diction.
τῷ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη τέκε Γοργόνας αἰνὰ πέλωρα,
αἱ Σαρπηδόνα ναῖον ἐπ᾿ Ὠκεανῷ βαθυδίνῃ,
νῆσον πετρήεσσαν.
504
THE CYPRIA
17.
The poet of the Cypria says that the wife of
Protesilaus-who, when the Hellenes reached the
Trojan shore, first dared to land-was called Poly-
dora, and was the daughter of Meleager, the son of
Oeneus.
18.
Some relate that Chryseïs was taken from Hypo-
placian ¹ Thebes, and that she had not taken refuge
there nor gone there to sacrifice to Artemis, as the
author of the Cypria states, but was simply a fellow
townswoman of Andromache.
19.
I know, because I have read it in the epic Cypria,
that Palamedes was drowned when he had gone out
fishing, and that it was Diomedes and Odysseus who
caused his death.
20.
"That it is Zeus who has done this, and brought
all these things to pass, you do not like to say;
for where fear is, there too is shame."
21.
"By him she conceived and bare the Gorgons,
fearful monsters who lived in Sarpedon, a rocky
island in deep-eddying Oceanus."
1 sc. the Asiatic Thebes at the foot of Mt. Placius.
505
THE EPIC CYCLE
22.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis vii. 2. 19. πάλιν
Στασίνου εἰπόντος
νήπιος ὃς πατέρα κτείνας παῖδας καταλείπει.
ΑΙΘΙΟΠΙΣ
1.
Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii. Επιβάλλει δὲ τοῖς
προειρημένοις (sc. Κυπρίοις ἐν τῇ πρὸ ταύτης
βίβλῳ Ἰλιάς Ὁμήρου, μεθ᾽ ἣν ἐστιν Αιθιόπιδος
βιβλία έ 'Αρκτίνου Μιλησίου περιέχοντα τάδε.
Αμαζὼν Πενθεσίλεια παραγίνεται Τρωσί συμμα-
χήσουσα, ῎Αρεως μὲν θυγάτηρ, Θρᾷσσα δὲ τὸ
γένος· καὶ κτείνει αὐτὴν ἀριστεύουσαν ᾿Αχιλλεύς,
οἱ δὲ Τρῶες αὐτὴν θάπτουσι. καὶ ᾿Αχιλλεὺς
Θερσίτην ἀναιρεῖ λοιδορηθεὶς πρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ
ὀνειδισθεὶς τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ Πενθεσιλείᾳ λεγόμενον
ἔρωτα. καὶ ἐκ τούτου στάσις γίνεται τοῖς ᾿Αχαιοῖς
περὶ τοῦ Θερσίτου φόνου. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Αχιλ
λεὺς εἰς Λέσβον πλεῖ, καὶ θύσας ᾿Απόλλωνι καὶ
Αρτέμιδι καὶ Λητοῖ καθαίρεται του φόνου ὑπ᾽
Οδυσσέως.
Μέμνων δὲ ὁ Ηοὺς υἱὸς ἔχων ἡφαιστότευκτον
πανοπλίαν παραγίνεται τοῖς Τρωσι βοηθήσων·
καὶ Θέτις τῷ παιδὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Μέμνονα προ-
λέγει, καὶ συμβολῆς γενομένης ᾿Αντίλοχος ὑπὸ
Μέμνονος ἀναιρεῖται, ἔπειτα ᾿Αχιλλεὺς Μέμνονα
κτείνει. καὶ τούτῳ μὲν Ἠὼς παρὰ Διὸς αίτησα-
μένη ἀθανασίαν δίδωσι· τρεψάμενος δ' ᾿Αχιλλεὺς
τοὺς Τρώας καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν συνεισπεσὼν ὑπὸ
506
THE AETHIOPIS
22.
Again, Stasinus says:
"He is a simple man who kills the father and lets
the children live."
THE AETHIOPIS
1.
THE Cypria, described in the preceding book, has
its sequel in the Iliad of Homer, which is followed in
turn by the five books of the Aethiopis, the work of
Arctinus of Miletus. Their contents are as follows
The Amazon Penthesileia, the daughter of Ares and
of Thracian race, comes to aid the Trojans, and after
showing great prowess, is killed by Achilles and
buried by the Trojans. Achilles then slays Ther-
sites for abusing and reviling him for his supposed
love for Penthesileia. As a result a dispute arises
amongst the Achaeans over the killing of Thersites,
and Achilles sails to Lesbos and after sacrificing to
Apollo, Artemis, and Leto, is purified by Odysseus
from bloodshed.
Then Memnon, the son of Eos, wearing armour
made by Hephaestus, comes to help the Trojans, and
Thetis tells her son about Memnon. A battle takes
place in which Antilochus is slain by Memnon and
Memnon by Achilles. Eos then obtains of Zeus and
bestows upon her son immortality; but Achilles
routs the Trojans, and, rushing into the city with
507
THE EPIC CYCLE
Πάριδος ἀναιρεῖται καὶ ᾿Απόλλωνος· καὶ περὶ
τοῦ πτώματος γενομένης ἰσχυράς μάχης "Αιας
ἀνελόμενος ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς κομίζει, Ὀδυσσέως
ἀπομαχομένου τοῖς Τρωσίν. ἔπειτα Αντίλοχόν
τε θάπτουσι καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν τοῦ ᾿Αχιλλέως προ-
τίθενται· καὶ Θέτις ἀφικομένη σὺν Μούσαις καὶ
ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς θρηνεῖ τὸν παῖδα· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα
ἐκ τῆς πυρᾶς ἡ Θέτις ἀναρπάσασα τὸν παῖδα εἰς
τὴν Λευκὴν Νῆσον διακομίζει. οἱ δὲ ᾿Αχαιοὶ τὸν
τάφον χώσαντες ἀγῶνα τιθέασιν, καὶ περὶ τῶν
᾿Αχιλλέως ὅπλων Ὀδυσσεῖ καὶ Αἴαντι στάσις
ἐμπίπτει.
2.
Schol. on Il. xxiv. 804. τινὲς γράφουσιν·
ὣς οἵ γ᾽ ἀμφίεπον τάφον Εκτορος. ἦλθε δ' Αμαζὼν
"Αρηος θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο.
3.
Schol. on Pindar, Isth. iii. 53. ὁ γὰρ τὴν ᾿Αιθιο
πίδα γράφων περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον φησὶ τὸν Αἴαντα
ἑαυτὸν ἀνελεῖν.
ΙΛΙΑΣ ΜΙΚΡΑ
1.
Εξῆς δ᾽ ἐστὶν Ιλιάδος μικρᾶς βιβλία τέσσερα
Λέσχεω Μιτυληναίου περιέχοντα τάδε. ἡ τῶν
ὅπλων κρίσις γίνεται καὶ Ὀδυσσεύς κατά βού
λησιν ᾿Αθηνᾶς λαμβάνει. Αἴας δ' ἐμμανὴς γενό-
μενος τήν τε λείαν τῶν ᾿Αχαιῶν λυμαίνεται καὶ
ἑαυτὸν ἀναιρεῖ. μετὰ ταῦτα Ὀδυσσεὺς λοχήσας
508
THE LITTLE ILIAD
them, is killed by Paris and Apollo. A great struggle
for the body then follows, Aias taking up the body
and carrying it to the ships, while Odysseus drives off
the Trojans behind. The Achaeans then bury
Antilochus and lay out the body of Achilles, while
Thetis, arriving with the Muses and her sisters,
bewails her son, whom she afterwards catches away
from the pyre and transports to the White Island.
After this, the Achaeans pile him a cairn and hold
games in his honour. Lastly a dispute arises
between Odysseus and Aias over the arms of
Achilles.
2.
Some read: "Thus they performed the burial of
Hector. Then came the Amazon, the daughter of
great-souled Ares the slayer of men."
3.
The author of the Aethiopis says that Aias killed
himself about dawn.
THE LITTLE ILIAD
1.
NEXT comes the Little Iliad in four books by
Lesches of Mitylene: its contents are as follows.
The adjudging of the arms of Achilles takes place,
and Odysseus, by the contriving of Athena, gains
them. Aias then becomes mad and destroys the
herd of the Achaeans and kills himself. Next
Odysseus lies in wait and catches Helenus, who
509
THE EPIC CYCLE
Ελενον λαμβάνει, καὶ χρήσαντος περὶ τῆς ἁλώ-
σεως τούτου, Διομήδης ἐκ Λήμνου Φιλοκτήτην
ἀνάγει. ἰαθεὶς δὲ οὗτος ὑπὸ Μαχάονος καὶ
μονομαχήσας ᾿Αλεξάνδρῳ κτείνει· καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν
ὑπὸ Μενελάου καταικισθέντα ἀνελόμενοι θάπ-
τουσιν οἱ Τρῶες. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Δηίφοβος
Ἑλένην γαμεῖ, καὶ Νεοπτόλεμον Οδυσσεὺς
ἐκ Σκύρου ἀγαγὼν τὰ ὅπλα δίδωσι τὰ τοῦ πατρός·
καὶ ᾿Αχιλλεὺς αὐτῷ φαντάζεται.
Ευρύπυλος δὲ ὁ Τηλέφου ἐπίκουρος τοῖς Τρωσὶ
παραγίνεται, καὶ ἀριστεύοντα αὐτὸν ἀποκτείνει
Νεοπτόλεμος, καὶ οἱ Τρῶες πολιορκοῦνται. καὶ
Επειὸς κατ᾽ Αθηνᾶς προαίρεσιν τὸν δούρειον
ἵππον κατασκευάζει, Οδυσσεύς τε αἰκισάμενος
ἑαυτὸν κατάσκοπος εἰς Ἴλιον παραγίνεται, καὶ
ἀναγνωρισθεὶς ὑφ᾽ Ἑλένης περὶ τῆς ἁλώσεως τῆς
πόλεως συντίθεται, κτείνας τέ τινας τῶν Τρώων
ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς ἀφικνεῖται. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα σὺν
Διομήδει τὸ παλλάδιον ἐκκομίζει ἐκ τῆς Ἰλίου.
ἔπειτα εἰς τὸν δούρειον ἵππον τοὺς ἀρίστους
ἐμβιβάσαντες τάς τε σκηνὰς καταφλέξαντες, οἱ
λοιποὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἰς Τένεδον ἀνάγονται· οἱ
δὲ Τρῶες τῶν κακῶν ὑπολαβόντες ἀπηλλάχθαι,
τόν τε δούρειον ἵππον εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσδέχονται,
διελόντες μέρος τι τοῦ τείχους, καὶ εὐωχοῦνται ὡς
νενικηκότες τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
2.
Herodotus, Life of Homer.
Ἴλιον ἀείδω καὶ Δαρδανίην εὔπωλον
ἧς πέρι πολλὰ πάθον Δαναοὶ θεράποντες "Αρηος.
510
THE LITTLE ILIAD
prophesies as to the taking of Troy, and Diomede
accordingly brings Philoctetes from Lemnos. Philoc.
tetes is healed by Machaon, fights in single combat
with Alexandrus and kills him the dead body is
outraged by Menelaus, but the Trojans recover and
bury it. After this Deïphobus marries Helen, Odys-
seus brings Neoptolemus from Scyros and gives him
his father's arms, and the ghost of Achilles appears
to him.
Eurypylus the son of Telephus arrives to aid the
Trojans, shows his prowess and is killed by Neo-
ptolemus. The Trojans are now closely beseiged, and
Epeius, by Athena's instruction, builds the wooden
horse. Odysseus disfigures himself and goes in to
Ilium as a spy, and there being recognized by Helen,
plots with her for the taking of the city; after
killing certain of the Trojans, he returns to the ships.
Next he carries the Palladium out of Troy with the
help of Diomedes. Then after putting their best
men in the wooden horse and burning their huts, the
main body of the Hellenes sail to Tenedos. The
Trojans, supposing their troubles over, destroy a part
of their city wall and take the wooden horse into
their city and feast as though they had conquered
the Hellenes.
2.
"I sing of Ilium and Dardania, the land of fine
horses, wherein the Danaï, followers of Ares, suffered
many things."
511
THE EPIC CYCLE
3.
Schol. on Aristoph. Knights 1056 and Aristo-
phanes ib. ἡ ἱστορία τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἔχει.
ὅτι διεφέροντο περὶ τῶν ἀριστείων ὅ τε Αἴας
καὶ ὁ Ὀδυσσεύς, ὥς φησιν ὁ τὴν μικρὰν Ιλιάδα
πεποιηκώς. τὸν Νέστορα δὲ συμβουλεῦσαι τοῖς
Ελλησι πέμψαι τινὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν ὑπὸ τὰ τείχη
τῶν Τρώων ὠτακουστήσοντας περὶ τῆς ἀνδρείας
τῶν προειρημένων ἡρώων. τοὺς δὲ πεμφθέντας
ἀκοῦσαι παρθένων διαφερομένων πρὸς ἀλλήλας,
ὧν τὴν μὲν λέγειν ὡς ὁ Αἴας πολὺ κρείττων ἐστὶ
τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως, διερχομένην οὕτως·
Αἴας μὲν γὰρ ἄειρε καὶ ἔκφερε δηιοτῆτος
ἥρω Πηλείδην οὐδ᾽ ἤθελε δῖος Οδυσσεύς.
τὴν δ᾽ ἑτέραν ἀντειπεῖν ᾿Αθηνᾶς προνοίᾳ·
πῶς ἐπεφωνήσω; πῶς οὐ κατὰ κόσμον ἔειπες
ψεύδος;
καί κε γυνὴ φέροι ἄχθος ἐπεί κεν ἀνὴρ ἀναθείη,
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν μαχέσαιτο χέσειτο γὰρ εἰ μαχέσαιτο.
4.
Eustathius, 285. 34. ὁ τὴν μικρὰν Ιλιάδα γρά
ψας ἱστορεῖ μηδὲ καυθῆναι συνήθως τὸν Αἴαντα,
τεθῆναι δὲ οὕτως ἐν σορῷ διὰ τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ
βασιλέως.
5.
Eustathius on Homer, I. 326. ὁ δὲ τὴν μικρὰν
Ιλιάδα γράψας ἀναζευγνύντα αὐτὸν ἀπο Τηλέφου
προσορμισθῆναι ἐκεῖ.
Πηλείδην δ' Αχιλῆα φέρε Σκυρόνδε θύελλα,
ἔνθα γ᾽ ἐς ἀργαλέον λιμέν᾽ ἵκετο νυκτὸς ἐκείνης.
512
THE LITTLE ILIAD
3.
The story runs as follows: Aias and Odysseus
were quarrelling as to their achievements, says the
poet of the Little Iliad, and Nestor advised the
Hellenes to send some of their number to go to the
foot of the walls and overhear what was said about
the valour of the heroes named above. The eaves-
droppers heard certain girls disputing, one of them
saying that Aias was by far a better man than
Odysseus and continuing as follows:
"For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the
hero, Peleus' son: this great Odysseus cared not to do."
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance :
66
Why, what is this you say? A thing against
reason and untrue! . . . . Even a woman could carry
a load once a man had put it on her shoulder; but
she could not fight. For she would fail with fear if
she should fight."
4.
The writer of the Little Iliad says that Aias was
not buried in the usual way, but was simply buried
in a coffin, because of the king's anger.
5.
The author of the Little Iliad says that Achilles
after putting out to sea from the country of Telephus
came to land there.
"The storm carried Achilles the son of Peleus to
Scyros, and he came into an uneasy harbour there in
that same night."
1
sc. after cremation.
513
LL
THE EPIC CYCLE
6.
Schol. on Pindar, Nem. vi. 85.
ἀμφὶ δὲ πόρκης
χρύσεος ἀστράπτει καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ δίκροος αἰχμή.
7.
Schol. on Eur. Troades, 822.
ἄμπελον ἥν Κρονίδης ἔπορεν οὗ παιδὸς ἄποινα
χρυσείοις φύλλοισιν † ἀγανοῖσιν † κομόωσαν
βότρυσί θ᾽ οὓς Ηφαιστος ἐπασκήσας Διὶ πατρὶ
δῶχ', ὁ δὲ Λαομέδοντι πόρεν Γανυμήδεος ἀντί.
8.
Pausanias, iii. 26. 9. Μαχάονα δὲ ὑπὸ Εὐρυ-
πύλου τοῦ Τηλέφου τελευτῆσαι φησὶν ὁ τὰ ἔπη
ποιήσας τὴν μικρὰν Ιλιάδα.
9.
Homer, Odyssey iv. 247 and Schol.
ἄλλῳ δ' αὐτὸν φωτὶ κατακρύπτων ἤισκε
δέκτῃ, ὃς οὐδὲν τοῖος ἔην ἐπὶ νηυσὶν ᾿Αχαιών.
ὁ κυκλικὸς τὸ δέκτῃ ὀνοματικῶς ἀκούει, παρ᾽ οὗ
φησι τὸν Ὀδυσσέα τὰ ῥάκη λαβόντα μετημφιά-
σθαι, ὃς οὐκ ἦν ἐν ταῖς νηυσὶ τοιοῦτος οἷος Ὀδυσ
σεὺς ἀχρεῖος.
10.
Plutarch, Moralia, p. 153 F. καὶ προὔβαλ'
"Ομηρος, ὥς φησι Λέσχης
Μοῦσά μοι ἔννεπ᾽ ἐκεῖνα τὰ μήτ' ἐγένοντο πάροιθεν,
μήτ' ἔσται μετόπισθεν.
514
THE LITTLE ILIAD
6.
"About the spear-shaft was a hoop of flashing
gold, and a point was fitted to it at either end."
66
...
7.
The vine which the son of Cronos gave him
as a recompense for his son. It bloomed richly with
soft leaves of gold and grape clusters; Hephaestus
wrought it and gave it to his father Zeus: and he
bestowed it on Laomedon as a price for Ganymedes."
8.
The writer of the epic Little Iliad says that
Machaon was killed by Eurypylus, the son of
Telephus.
9.
"He disguised himself, and made himself like
another person, a beggar, the like of whom was not
by the ships of the Achaeans."
The Cyclic poet uses "beggar" as a substantive,
and so means to say that when Odysseus had changed
his clothes and put on rags, there was no one so
good for nothing at the ships as Odysseus.
10.1
And Homer put forward the following verses as
Lesches gives them :
"Muse, tell me of those things which neither
happened before nor shall be hereafter."
This fragment comes from a version of the Contest of
Homer and Hesiod widely different from that now extant.
The words "as Lesches gives them (says)" seem to indicate
that the verse and a half assigned to Homer came from the
Little Iliad. It is possible they may have introduced some
unusually striking incident, such as the actual Fall of Troy.
515 -
LL 2
THE EPIC CYCLE
ἀπεκρίνατο δὲ Ἡσίοδος·
ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἀμφὶ Διὸς τύμβῳ καναχήποδες ἵπποι
ἅρματα συντρίψωσιν ἐπειγόμενοι περὶ νίκης.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο λέγεται μάλιστα θαυμασθεὶς τοῦ
τρίποδος τυχεῖν.
11.
Schol. Lycophr. 344. ὁ Σίνων ὡς ἦν αὐτῷ συν-
τεθειμένον, φρυκτὸν ὑποδείξας τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὡς
ὁ Λέσχης φησὶν ἡνίκα
νὺξ μὲν ἔην μέσση, λαμπρὴ δ᾽ ἐπέτελλε σελήνη.
12.
...
Pausanias x. 25. 5. τέτρωται δὲ τὸν βραχίονα
ὁ Μέγης, καθὰ δὴ καὶ Λέσχεως ὁ Αἰσχυλίνου
Πυρραῖος ἐν Ιλίου Πέρσιδι ἐποίησε· τρωθῆναι δὲ
ὑπὸ τὴν μάχην τοῦτον ἣν ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ἐμαχέσαντο
οἱ Τρῶες ὑπὸ ᾿Αδμήτου φησὶ τοῦ ᾿Αυγείου. γέ-
γραπται δὲ καὶ Λυκομήδης . . . ἔχων τραῦμα ἐπὶ
τῷ καρπῷ· Λέσχεως δ᾽ οὕτω φησὶν αὐτὸν ὑπ᾽
Αγήνορος τρωθήναι. ib. 26. 4) Αστύνοον δέ, οὗ
δὴ ἐποιήσατο καὶ Λέσχεως μνήμην, πεπτωκότα
ἐς γόνυ ὁ Νεοπτόλεμος ξίφει παίει. (ib. 26. 8)
Λέσχεως δὲ τετρωμένον τὸν Ἑλικάονα ἐν τῇ
νυκτομαχία γνωρισθῆναί τε ὑπὸ Ὀδυσσέως και
ἐξαχθῆναι ζῶντα ἐκ τῆς μάχης φησίν. ib. 27. 1)
καὶ αὐτῶν Λέσχεως Ηιονέα ὑπὸ Νεοπτολέμου, τὸν
δὲ ὑπὸ Φιλοκτήτου φησὶν ἀποθανεῖν τὸν "Αδμητον
Πρίαμον δὲ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖν ἔφη Λέσχεως ἐπὶ
τῇ ἐσχάρᾳ τοῦ Ἑρκείου, ἀλλὰ ἀποσπασθέντα ἀπὸ
τοῦ βωμοῦ πάρεργον τῷ Νεοπτολέμῳ πρὸς ταῖς
τῆς οἰκίας γενέσθαι θύραις . . . Αξίονα δὲ παῖδα
εἶναι Πριάμου Λέσχεως καὶ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ
- 516
THE LITTLE ILIAD
And Hesiod answered:
"But when horses with rattling hoofs wreck
chariots, striving for victory about the tomb of Zeus."
And it is said that, because this reply was specially
admired, Hesiod won the tripod (at the funeral
games of Amphidamas).
11.
Sinon, as it had been arranged with him, secretly
showed a signal-light to the Hellenes. Thus Lesches
writes :-
"It was midnight, and the clear moon was rising."
12.
Meges is represented ¹ wounded in the arm just as
Lescheos the son of Aeschylinus of Pyrrha describes in
his Sack of Ilium where it is said that he was wounded
in the battle which the Trojans fought in the night
by Admetus, son of Augeias. Lycomedes too is in
the picture with a wound in the wrist, and Lescheos
says he was so wounded by Agenor... Lescheos also
mentions Astynoüs, and here he is, fallen on one knee,
while Neoptolemus strikes him with his sword
The same writer says that Helicaon was wounded in
the night-battle, but was recognised by Odysseus and
by him conducted alive out of the fight... Of them,2
Lescheos says that Eïon was killed by Neoptolemus,
and Admetus by Philoctetes... He also says that
Priam was not killed at the hearth of Zeus Herceius,
but was dragged away from the altar and destroyed
offhand by Neoptolemus at the doors of the house...
Lescheos says that Axion was the son of Priam and
1 i.e. in the paintings by Polygnotus at Delphi.
2 i.e. the dead bodies in the picture.
517
THE EPIC CYCLE
Ευρυπύλου τοῦ Ευαίμονός φησι. τοῦ ᾿Αγήνορος
δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν ποιητὴν Νεοπτόλεμος αὐτόχειρ
ἐστί.
13.
Aristoph. Lysistr. 155 and Schol.
ὁ γῶν Μενέλαος τᾶς Ελένας τὰ μᾶλά πα
γυμνᾶς παραυιδὼν ἐξέβαλ' οἰῶ τὸ ξίφος.
τὰ δ᾽ αὐτὰ καὶ Λέσχης ὁ Πυρραῖος ἐν τῇ
μικρᾷ Ιλιάδι.
...
Pausanias x. 25. 8. Λέσχεως δὲ εἰς τὴν Αἴθραν
ἐποίησεν ἡνίκα ἡλίσκετο Ἴλιον ὑπεξελθοῦσαν εἰς
τὸ στρατόπεδον αὐτὴν ἀφικέσθαι τὸ Ἑλλήνων
καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων γνωρισθῆναι τῶν Θησέως, καὶ
ὡς παρ' Αγαμέμνονος αἰτήσαι Δημοφῶν αὐτήν.
ὁ δ᾽ ἐκείνῳ μὲν ἐθέλειν χαρίζεσθαι, ποιήσειν δὲ οὐ
πρότερον ἔφη πρὶν Ελένην πεῖσαι· ἀποστείλαντι
δὲ αὐτῷ κήρυκα ἔδωκεν Ελένη τὴν χάριν.
14.
Schol. Lycophr. Alex. 1268.
αὐτὰρ Αχιλλῆος μεγαθύμου φαίδιμος υἱὸς
Εκτορέην ἄλοχον κάταγεν κοίλας ἐπὶ νῆας·
παῖδα δ᾽ ἑλὼν ἐκ κόλπου ἐυπλοκάμοιο τιθήνης
ῥίψε ποδὸς τεταγὼν ἀπὸ πύργου· τὸν δὲ πεσόντα
ἔλλαβε πορφύρεος θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή.
ἐκ δ᾽ ἕλεν ᾿Ανδρομάχην, ἠύζωνον παράκοιτιν
Εκτορος, ἥντε οἱ αὐτῷ ἀριστῆες Παναχαιών
δῶκαν ἔχειν ἐπίηρον ἀμειβόμενοι γέρας ἀνδρί,
αὐτὸν τ' Αγχίσαο κλυτὸν γόνον ἱπποδάμοιο
Αινείαν ἐν νηυσὶν ἐβήσατο ποντοπόροισιν
ἐκ πάντων Δαναῶν ἀγέμεν γέρας ἔξοχον ἄλλων.
518
THE LITTLE ILIAD
was slain by Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon.
Agenor-according to the same poet-was butchered
by Neoptolemus.
13.
"Menelaus at least, when he caught a glimpse
somehow of the breasts of Helen unclad, cast away
his sword, methinks." Lesches the Pyrrhaean also
has the same account in his Little Iliad.
Concerning Aethra Lesches relates that when
Ilium was taken she stole out of the city and came
to the Hellenic camp, where she was recognised by
the sons of Theseus; and that Demophon asked her
of Agamemnon. Agamemnon wished to grant him
this favour, but he would not do so until Helen
consented. And when he sent a herald, Helen
granted his request.
14.
"Then the bright son of bold Achilles led the wife of
Hector to the hollow ships; but her son he snatched
from the bosom of his rich-haired nurse and seized him
by the foot and cast him from a tower. So when he had
fallen bloody death and hard fate seized on Astyanax.
And Neoptolemus chose out Andromache, Hector's
well-girded wife, and the chiefs of all the Achaeans
gave her to him to hold requiting him with a welcome
prize. And he put Aeneas, the famous son of
horse-taming Anchises, on board his sea-faring ships,
a prize surpassing those of all the Danaäns."
1 According to this version Aeneas was taken to Pharsalia.
Better known are the Homeric account (according to which
Aeneas founded a new dynasty at Troy), and the legends
which make him seek a new home in Italy.
519
THE EPIC CYCLE
ΙΛΙΟΥ ΠΕΡΣΙΣ
1.
Επεται δὲ τούτοις Ιλίου Πέρσιδος βιβλία β
᾿Αρκτίνου Μιλησίου, περιέχοντα τάδε. ὡς τὰ
περὶ τὸν ἵππον οἱ Τρῶες ὑπόπτως ἔχοντες
περιστάντες βουλεύονται ὅ τι χρὴ ποιεῖν· καὶ
τοῖς μὲν δοκεῖ κατακρημνίσαι αὐτόν, τοῖς δὲ
καταφλέγειν· οἱ δὲ ἱερὸν αὐτὸν ἔφασαν δεῖν τῇ
᾿Αθηνᾷ ἀνατεθῆναι· καὶ τέλος νικᾷ ἡ τούτων
γνώμη. τραπέντες δὲ εἰς εὐφροσύνην εὐωχοῦνται
ὡς ἀπηλλαγμένοι τοῦ πολέμου. ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ
τούτῳ δύο δράκοντες ἐπιφανέντες τόν τε Λαο-
κόωντα καὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῶν παίδων διαφθείρουσιν·
ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ τέρατι δυσφορήσαντες οἱ περὶ τὸν
Αἰνείαν ὑπεξῆλθον εἰς τὴν Ἴδην· καὶ Σίνων τοὺς
πυρσοὺς ἀνίσχει τοῖς ᾿Αχαιοῖς, πρότερον εἰσελη
λυθὼς προσποίητος. οἱ δὲ ἐκ Τενέδου προσπλεύ-
σαντες καὶ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ δουρείου ἵππου ἐπιπίπτουσι
τοῖς πολεμίοις, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνελόντες τὴν πόλιν
κατὰ κράτος λαμβάνουσι. καὶ Νεοπτόλεμος μὲν
ἀποκτείνει Πρίαμον ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ἑρκείου
βωμὸν καταφυγόντα. Μενέλαος δὲ ἀνευρὼν Ἑλέ-
νην ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς κατάγει, Δηίφοβον φονεύσας.
Κασσάνδραν δὲ Αἴας ὁ Ἰλέως 1 πρὸς βίαν ἀποσπῶν
συνεφέλκεται τὸ τῆς ᾿Αθηνᾶς ξόανον· ἐφ᾽ ᾧ παρο
ξυνθέντες οἱ Ἕλληνες καταλεῦσαι βουλεύονται
τὸν Αἴαντα, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς ᾿Αθηνᾶς βωμὸν
καταφεύγει καὶ διασῴζεται ἐκ τοῦ ἐπικειμένου
1 So MSS. This form is confirmed (as against Heyne's
Οϊλέως) by Hesiod, Catalogues, frag. 83.
520
THE SACK OF ILIUM
THE SACK OF ILIUM
1.
NEXT come two books of the Sack of Ilium, by
Arctinus of Miletus with the following contents. The
Trojans were suspicious of the wooden horse and stand-
ing round it debated what they ought to do. Some
thought they ought to hurl it down from the rocks,
others to burn it up, while others said they ought to
dedicate it to Athena. At last this third opinion
prevailed. Then they turned to mirth and feasting
believing the war was at an end. But at this very
time two serpents appeared and destroyed Laocöon
and one of his two sons, a portent which so alarmed
the followers of Aeneas that they withdrew to Ida.
Sinon then raised the fire-signal to the Achaeans,
having previously got into the city by pretence.
The Greeks then sailed in from Tenedos, and those
in the wooden horse came out and fell upon their
enemies, killing many and storming the city.
Neoptolemus kills Priam who had fled to the altar
of Zeus Herceius¹; Menelaus finds Helen and
takes her to the ships, after killing Deïphobus; and
Aias the son of Ileus, while trying to drag Cassandra
away by force, tears away with her the image of
Athena. At this the Greeks are so enraged that
they determine to stone Aias, who only escapes from
the danger threatening him by taking refuge at the
1 Zeus is so called because it was customary for an altar
dedicated to him to be placed in the forecourt (épkos) of a
house. Cp. Homer, Odyssey xxii. 334-5.
521
THE EPIC CYCLE
κινδύνου. ἔπειτα ἐμπρήσαντες τὴν πόλιν Πολυ-
ξείνην σφαγιάζουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ ᾿Αχιλλέως
τάφον. καὶ Ὀδυσσέως Αστυάνακτα ἀνελόντος
Νεοπτόλεμος ᾿Ανδρομάχην γέρας λαμβάνει. καὶ
τὰ λοιπὰ λάφυρα διανέμονται· Δημοφῶν δὲ καὶ
Ακάμας Αἴθραν εὑρόντες ἄγουσι μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν.
ἔπειτα ἀποπλέουσιν οἱ Ἕλληνες καὶ φθορὰν
αὐτοῖς ἡ ᾿Αθηνᾶ κατὰ τὸ πέλαγος μηχανᾶται.
2.
Dionysius Halicarn. Rom. Antig. i. 68. ᾿Αρκτῖνος
δέ φησιν ὑπὸ Διὸς δοθῆναι Δαρδάνῳ παλλάδιον
ἓν καὶ εἶναι τοῦτο ἐν Ἰλίῳ τέως ἡ πόλις ἡλίσκετο
κεκρυμμένον ἐν ἀβάτῳ, εἰκόνα δ᾽ ἐκείνου κατε-
σκευασμένην ὡς μηδὲν τῆς ἀρχετύπου διαφέρειν
ἀπάτης τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων ἕνεκα ἐν φανερῷ
τεθῆναι καὶ αὐτὴν Ἀχαιοὺς ἐπιβουλεύσαντας
λαβεῖν.
3.
Schol. on Eur. Andromache 10. καὶ τὸν τὴν
Πέρσιδα συντεταχότα κυκλικὸν ποιητὴν ὅτι καὶ
ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους ῥιφθείη (sc. Αστυάναξ).
4.
Schol. on Eur. Troades 31. μηδὲν γὰρ εἰληφέναι
τοὺς περὶ ᾿Ακάμαντα καὶ Δημοφῶντα ἐκ τῶν λα-
φύρων ἀλλὰ μόνην τὴν Αἴθραν, δι᾿ ἣν καὶ ἀφίκοντο
εἰς Ἴλιον, Μενεσθέως ἡγουμένου. Λυσίμαχος δὲ
τὸν τὴν Πέρσιδα πεποιηκότα φησὶ γράφειν οὕτως•
Θησείδαις δ᾽ ἔπορεν δῶρα κρείων Αγαμέμνων
ἠδὲ Μενεσθῆι μεγαλήτορι ποιμένι λαών.
522
THE SACK OF ILIUM
altar of Athena. The Greeks, after burning the city,
sacrifice Polyxena at the tomb of Achilles: Odysseus
murders Astyanax; Neoptolemus takes Andromache
as his prize, and the remaining spoils are divided.
Demophon and Acamas find Aethra and take her
with them. Lastly the Greeks sail away and Athena
plans to destroy them on the high seas.
2.
According to Arctinus, one Palladium was given
to Dardanus by Zeus, and this was in Ilium until the
city was taken. It was hidden in a secret place, and
a copy was made resembling the original in all points
and set up for all to see, in order to deceive those
who might have designs against it. This copy the
Achaeans took as a result of their plots.
3.
The Cyclic poet who composed the Sack says that
Astyanax was also hurled from the city wall.
4.
For the followers of Acamas and Demophon took
no share it is said-of the spoils, but only Aethra,
for whose sake, indeed, they came to Ilium with
Menestheus to lead them. Lysimachus, however,
says that the author of the Sack writes as follows:
"The lord Agamemnon gave gifts to the Sons
of Theseus and to bold Menestheus, shepherd of
hosts."
523
THE EPIC CYCLE
5.
Eustathius on Iliad xiii. 515. ἔνιοι δέ φασιν ὡς
οὐδὲ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἰατροὺς ὁ ἔπαινος οὗτος
ἐστι κοινός, ἀλλὰ ἐπὶ τὸν Μαχάονα, ὃν μόνον
χειρουργεῖν τινες λέγουσι· τὸν γὰρ Ποδαλείριον
διαιτᾶσθαι νόσους . . . τοῦτο ἔοικε καὶ ᾿Αρκτῖνος
ἐν Ἰλίου Πορθήσει νομίζειν ἐν οἷς φησι
αὐτὸς γάρ σφιν ἔδωκε πατὴρ κλυτὸς Εννοσίγαιος
ἀμφοτέροις, ἕτερον δ᾽ ἑτέρου κυδίον᾽ ἔθηκε·
τῷ μὲν κουφοτέρας χεῖρας πόρεν ἔκ τε βέλεμνα
σαρκὸς ἑλεῖν τμῆξαί τε καὶ ἕλκεα παντ᾽ ἀκέσασθαι,
τῷ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀκριβέα πάντα ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔθηκεν
ἄσκοπά τε γνῶναι καὶ ἀναλθέα ήσασθαι·
ὅς ῥα καὶ Αἴαντος πρῶτος μάθε χωομένοιο
ὄμματά τ᾽ ἀστράπτοντα βαρυνόμενόν τε νόημα.
6.
Diomedes in Gramm. Lat. i. 477.
ὁ Ιαμβος
ἐξ ὀλίγου διαβὰς προφόρῳ ποδὶ ὄφρ' οἱ γυῖα
τεινόμενα ῥώοιτο καὶ εὐσθενὲς εἶδος ἔχῃσι.
ΝΟΣΤΟΙ
1.
Proclus, Chrestomathy. Συνάπτει δὲ τούτοις τὰ
τῶν Νόστων βιβλία έ 'Αγίου Τροιζηνίου περι-
έχοντα τάδε. ᾿Αθηνᾶ ᾿Αγαμέμνονα καὶ Μενέλαον
εἰς ἔριν καθίστησι περὶ τοῦ ἔκπλου. ᾿Αγαμέμνων
μὲν οὖν τὸν τῆς ᾿Αθηνᾶς ἐξιλασόμενος χόλον
ἐπιμένει, Διομήδης δὲ καὶ Νέστωρ ἀναχθέντες
524
THE RETURNS
5.
Some say that such praise as this¹ does not apply
to physicians generally, but only to Machaon: and
some say that he only practised surgery, while
Podaleirius treated sicknesses. Arctinus in the Sack
of Ilium seems to be of this opinion when he
says:
"For their father the famous Earth-Shaker gave
both of them gifts, making each more glorious than
the other. To the one he gave hands more light to
draw or cut out missiles from the flesh and to heal
all kinds of wounds; but in the heart of the other
he put full and perfect knowledge to tell hidden
diseases and cure desperate sicknesses. It was he
who first noticed Aias' flashing eyes and clouded
mind when he was enraged."
6.
"Iambus stood a little while astride with foot
advanced, that so his strained limbs might get power
and have a show of ready strength."
THE RETURNS
1.
AFTER the Sack of Ilium follow the Returns in five
books by Agias of Troezen. Their contents are as
follows. Athena causes a quarrel between Agamem-
non and Menelaus about the voyage from Troy.
Agamemnon then stays on to appease the anger of
Athena. Diomedes and Nestor put out to sea and
1 sc. knowledge of both surgery and of drugs.
525
THE EPIC CYCLE
εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν διασῴζονται· μεθ' οὓς ἐκπλεύσας
ὁ Μενέλαος, μετὰ πέντε νεῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον παρα-
γίνεται, τῶν λοιπῶν διαφθαρεισῶν νεῶν ἐν τῷ
πελάγει. οἱ δὲ περὶ Κάλχαντα καὶ Λεοντέα καὶ
Πολυποίτην πεζῇ πορευθέντες εἰς Κολοφῶνα, Τει-
ρεσίαν ἐνταῦθα τελευτήσαντα θάπτουσι. τῶν δὲ
περὶ τὸν ᾿Αγαμέμνονα ἀποπλεόντων ᾿Αχιλλέως
εἴδωλον ἐπιφανὲν πειρᾶται διακωλύειν προλέγον
τὰ συμβησόμενα. εἶθ᾽ ὁ περὶ τὰς Καφηρίδας
πέτρας δηλοῦται χειμὼν καὶ ἡ Αἴαντος φθορὰ
τοῦ Λοκροῦ. Νεοπτόλεμος δὲ Θέτιδος ὑποθεμένης
πεζῇ ποιεῖται τὴν πορείαν, καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς
Θράκην Ὀδυσσέα καταλαμβάνει ἐν τῇ Μαρωνείᾳ,
καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἀνύει τῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ τελευτήσαντα
Φοίνικα θάπτει· αὐτὸς δὲ εἰς Μολοσσοὺς ἀφικό-
μενος ἀναγνωρίζεται Πηλεῖ. ἔπειτα ᾿Αγαμέμνονος
ὑπὸ Αἰγίσθου καὶ Κλυταιμνήστρας ἀναιρεθέντος
ὑπ᾽ Ορέστου καὶ Πυλάδου τιμωρία, καὶ Μενελάου
εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀνακομιδή.
2.
Argument to Eur. Medea.
αὐτίκα δ' Αἴσονα θῆκε φίλον κόρον ἡβώοντα
γῆρας ἀποξύσασα ἰδυίῃσι πραπίδεσσι,
φάρμακα πολλ᾽ ἕψουσ᾽ ἐπὶ χρυσείοισι λέβησιν
3.
Pausanias, i. 2. Ἡρακλέα Θεμίσκυραν πολι-
ορκοῦντα τὴν ἐπὶ Θερμώδοντι ἑλεῖν μὴ δύνασθαι,
Θησέως δὲ ἐρασθεῖσαν Αντιόπην-στρατεύσαι
γὰρ ἅμα Ἡρακλεῖ καὶ Θησέα-παραδοῦναι τὸ
χωρίον. τάδε μὲν Ἡγίας πεποίηκεν.
526
THE RETURNS
get safely home. After them Menelaus sets out
and reaches Egypt with five ships, the rest having
been destroyed on the high seas. Those with
Calchas, Leontes, and Polypoetes go by land to
Colophon and bury Teiresias who died there. When
Agamemnon and his followers were sailing away,
the ghost of Achilles appeared and tried to prevent
them by foretelling what should befall them. The
storm at the rocks called Capherides is then described,
with the end of Locrian Aias. Neoptolemus, warned
by Thetis, journeys overland and, coming into Thrace,
meets Odysseus at Maronea, and then finishes the
rest of his journey after burying Phoenix who dies
on the way.
He himself is recognized by Peleus on
reaching the Molossi. Then comes the murder
of Agamemnon by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra,
followed by the vengeance of Orestes and Pylades.
Finally, Menelaus returns home.
2.
"Forthwith Medea made Aeson a sweet young
boy and stripped his old age from him by her
cunning skill, when she had made a brew of many
herbs in her golden cauldrons."
3.
The story goes that Heracles was besieging
Themiscyra on the Thermodon and could not take
it; but Antiope, being in love with Theseus who
was with Heracles on this expedition, betrayed the
place. Hegias gives this account in his poem.
527
THE EPIC CYCLE
4.
Eustathius, 1796. 45. ὁ δὲ τοὺς Νόστους ποιήσας
Κολοφώνιος Τηλέμαχον μέν φησι τὴν Κίρκην
ὕστερον γῆμαι, Τηλέγονον δὲ τὸν ἐκ Κίρκης ἀντι-
γῆμαι Πηνελόπην.
5.
Clement of Alex. Strom. vi. 2. 12. 8.
δῶρα γὰρ ἀνθρώπων νοῦν ἤπαφεν ἠδὲ καὶ ἔργα.
6.
Pausanias, x. 28. 7. ἡ δὲ Ὁμήρου ποίησις .
καὶ οἱ Νόστοι—μνήμη γὰρ δὴ ἐν ταύταις καὶ
Αιδου καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ δειμάτων ἐστίν—ἴσασιν
οὐδένα Εὐρύνομον δαίμονα.
Athenaeus, 281 B. ὁ γοῦν τὴν τῶν ᾿Ατρειδῶν
ποιήσας κάθοδον ἀφικόμενον αὐτὸν λέγει πρὸς
τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ συνδιατρίβοντα ἐξουσίας τυχεῖν
παρὰ τοῦ Διὸς αἰτήσασθαι ὅτου ἐπιθυμεῖ. τὸν δὲ
πρὸς τὰς ἀπολαύσεις ἀπλήστως διακείμενον, ὑπὲρ
αὐτῶν τε τούτων μνείαν ποιήσασθαι καὶ τοῦ ζῆν
τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τοῖς θεοῖς· ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἀγανακτή
σαντα τὸν Δία, τὴν μὲν εὐχὴν ἀποτελέσαι διὰ τὴν
ὑπόσχεσιν, ὅπως δὲ μηδὲν ἀπολαύῃ τῶν παρα-
κειμένων ἀλλὰ διατελῇ ταραττόμενος, ὑπὲρ τῆς
κεφαλῆς ἐξήρτησεν αὐτῷ πέτρον, δι᾿ ὃν οὐ δύναται
τῶν παρακειμένων τυχεῖν οὐδενός.
1 Clement attributes this line to Augias: probably Agias
is intended.
528
THE RETURNS
4.
The Colophonian author of the Returns says that
Telemachus afterwards married Circe, while Telegonus
the son of Circe correspondingly married Penelope.
5.
"For gifts beguile men's minds and their deeds as
well."
6.
The poetry of Homer and the Returns-for here
too there is an account of Hades and the terrors
there-know of no spirit named Eurynomus.
The writer of the Return of the Atreidae¹ says
that Tantalus came and lived with the gods, and was
permitted to ask for whatever he desired. But the
man was so immoderately given to pleasures that he
asked for these and for a life like the life of the gods.
At this Zeus was annoyed, but fulfilled his prayer
because of his own promise; but to prevent him
from enjoying any of the pleasures provided, and to
keep him continually harassed, he hung a stone
over his head which prevents him from ever
reaching any of the pleasant things near by.
1 Identical with the Returns, in which the Sons of Atreus
occupy the most prominent parts.
529
M&M
THE EPIC CYCLE
ΤΗΛΕΓΟΝΙΑ
1.
Proclus, Chrestomathy. Μετὰ ταῦτά ἐστιν Ὁμή
ρου Οδύσσεια· ἔπειτα Τηλεγονίας βιβλία δύο
Εὐγάμμωνος Κυρηναίου, περιέχοντα τάδε. οἱ
μνήστορες ὑπὸ τῶν προσηκόντων θάπτονται· καὶ
Οδυσσεύς θύσας Νύμφαις εἰς Ηλιν ἀποπλεί
ἐπισκεψόμενος τὰ βουκόλια καὶ ξενίζεται παρὰ
Πολυξένῳ δῶρόν τε λαμβάνει κρατῆρα, καὶ ἐπὶ
τούτῳ τὰ περὶ Τρωφώνιον καὶ ᾿Αγαμήδην καὶ
Αιγέαν. ἔπειτα εἰς Ἰθάκην καταπλεύσας τὰς ὑπὸ
Τειρεσίου ῥηθείσας τελεῖ θυσίας. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα
εἰς Θεσπρωτοὺς ἀφικνεῖται καὶ γαμεῖ Καλλιδίκην
βασιλίδα τῶν Θεσπρωτῶν. ἔπειτα πόλεμος συνί-
σταται τοῖς Θεσπρωτοῖς πρὸς Βρύγους, Οδυσσέως
ἡγουμένου· ἐνταῦθα ῎Αρης τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα
τρέπεται, καὶ αὐτῷ εἰς μάχην Αθηνα καθίσταται.
τούτους μὲν ᾿Απόλλων διαλύει· μετὰ δὲ τὴν Καλ
λιδίκης τελευτήν, τὴν μὲν βασιλείαν διαδέχεται
Πολυποίτης Οδυσσέως υἱός, αὐτὸς δ᾽ εἰς Ιθάκην
ἀφικνεῖται· κἀν τούτῳ Τηλέγονος ἐπὶ ζήτησιν τοῦ
πατρὸς πλέων, ἀποβὰς εἰς τὴν Ἰθάκην τέμνει τὴν
νῆσον· ἐκβοηθήσας δ' Οδυσσεὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ παιδὸς
ἀναιρεῖται κατ᾽ ἄγνοιαν. Τηλέγονος δ᾽ ἐπιγνοὺς
τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τό τε τοῦ πατρὸς σῶμα καὶ τὸν
Τηλέμαχον καὶ τὴν Πηνελόπην πρὸς τὴν μητέρα
μεθίστησιν· ἡ δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀθανάτους ποιεῖ, καὶ
συνοικεῖ τῇ μὲν Πηνελόπῃ Τηλέγονος, Κίρκῃ δὲ
Τηλέμαχος.
539
THE TELEGONY
THE TELEGONY
1.
AFTER the Returns comes the Odyssey of Homer,
and then the Telegony in two books by Eugammon of
Cyrene, which contain the following matters. The
suitors of Penelope are buried by their kinsmen, and
Odysseus, after sacrificing to the Nymphs, sails to
Elis to inspect his herds. He is entertained there by
Polyxenus and receives a mixing bowl as a gift; the
story of Trophonius and Agamedes and Augeas then
follows. He next sails back to Ithaca and performs
the sacrifices ordered by Teiresias, and then goes to
Thesprotis where he marries Callidice, queen of the
Thesprotians. A war then breaks out between the
Thesprotians, led by Odysseus, and the Brygi. Ares
routs the army of Odysseus and Athena engages
with Ares, until Apollo separates them. After the
death of Callidice Polypoetes, the son of Odysseus,
succeeds to the kingdom, while Odysseus himself
returns to Ithaca. In the meantime Telegonus,
while travelling in search of his father, lands on
Ithaca and ravages the island: Odysseus comes out
to defend his country, but is killed by his son unwit-
tingly. Telegonus, on learning his mistake, transports
his father's body with Penelope and Telemachus to
his mother's island, where Circe makes them im-
mortal, and Telegonus marries Penelope, and
Telemachus Circe.
531
мм 2
THE EPIC CYCLE
2.
Eustathius, 1796. 35. Ὁ δὲ τὴν Τηλεγονείαν
γράψας Κυρηναῖος ἐκ μὲν Καλυψούς Τηλέγονον
υἱὸν Ὀδυσσεῖ ἀναγράφει ἢ Τηλέδαμον, ἐκ δὲ
Πηνελόπης Τηλέμαχον καὶ ᾿Ακουσίλαον.
ΑΜΦΙΑΡΑΟΥ ΕΞΕΛΑΣΙΣ
...
Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer. κατήμενος ἐν
τῷ σκυτείῳ . τήν τε ποίησιν αὐτοῖς ἐπεδείκνυτο
᾿Αμφιαράου τε τὴν ἐξελασίαν τὴν ἐς Θήβας καὶ
τοὺς ὕμνους τοὺς ἐς θεοὺς πεποιημένους αὐτῷ.
ΟΙΧΑΛΙΑΣ ΑΛΩΣΙΣ
1.
Eustathius 330. 41. εἴρηται δὲ καὶ περὶ Εὐ-
ρύτου ἐκεῖ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ θυγατρὸς Ιόλης δι᾽ ἣν
ἐπόρθησεν Ἡρακλῆς τὴν Οιχαλίαν. εἰς ἣν δοκεῖ
γράψαι καὶ Ομηρος ὡς δηλοῖ ὁ ἱστορήσας ὅτι
Κρεώφυλος ὁ Σάμιος ξενίᾳ ποτε δεξάμενος τὸν
Ὅμηρον ἔλαβε δῶρον ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν
τοῦ ποιήματος ὃ καλοῦσιν Οἰχαλίας "Αλωσιν . . .
τινὲς δὲ ἀνάπαλίν φασι Κρεώφυλον μὲν γράψαι,
Ὁμήρῳ δὲ ἐπιγραφῆναι τὸ βιβλίον διὰ τὴν
ξενίαν· διὸ καὶ Καλλίμαχος·
τοῦ Σαμίου πόνος εἰμί, δόμῳ ποτὲ θεῖον Ομηρον
δεξαμένου· κλείω δ' Εὔρυτον ὅσσ᾽ ἔπαθεν
καὶ ξανθὴν Ἰόλειαν, Ομήρειον δὲ καλοῦμαι
γράμμα· Κρεωφύλῳ, Ζεῦ φίλε, τοῦτο μέγα.
532
THE TAKING OF OECHALIA
2.
The author of the Telegony, a Cyrenaean, relates
that Odysseus had by Calypso a son Telegonus or
Teledamus, and by Penelope Telemachus and Acusi-
laus.
THE EXPEDITION OF AMPHIARAUS¹
SITTING there in the tanner's yard, Homer recited
his poetry to them, the Expedition of Amphiaraus to
Thebes and the Hymns to the Gods composed by
him.
THE TAKING OF OECHALIA
1.
AN account has there been given of Eurytus and
his daughter Iole, for whose sake Heracles sacked
Oechalia. Homer also seems to have written on this
subject, as that historian shows who relates that
Creophylus of Samos once had Homer for his guest
and for a reward received the attribution of the
poem which they call the Taking of Oechalia. Some
however, assert the opposite; that Creophylus wrote
the poem, and that Homer lent his name in return
for his entertainment. And so Callimachus writes:
"I am the work of that Samian who once received
divine Homer in his house. I sing of Eurytus and
all his woes and of golden-haired Ioleia, and am
reputed one of Homer's works. Dear Heaven! how
great an honour this for Creophylus!"
1 The Expedition of Amphiaraus, The Taking of Oechalia
and The Phocais were not included in the Epic Cycle.
533
THE EPIC CYCLE
2.
Cramer, Anec. Oxon. i. 327.
ῥωγαλέα, τὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ὀφθαλμοίσιν ὅρηαι.
τοῦτο δὲ εὑρήσομεν καὶ ἐν τῇ Οἰχαλίας ἁλώσει.
3.
Schol. on Soph. Trach. 266. διαφωνεῖται δὲ ὁ
τῶν Εὐρυτιδῶν ἀριθμός· Ἡσίοδος μὲν γὰρ δ'
φησιν ἐξ Εὐρύτου καὶ ᾿Αντιόχης παῖδας οὕτως,
Κρεώφυλος δὲ β'.
4.
Schol. on Eur. Medea, 273. Δίδυμος δέ . ..
παρατίθεται τὰ Κρεωφύλου ἔχοντα οὕτως· τὴν
γὰρ Μήδειαν λέγεται διατρίβουσαν ἐν Κορίνθῳ
τὸν ἄρχοντα τότε τῆς πόλεως Κρέοντα ἀποκτεῖναι
φαρμάκοις. δείσασαν δὲ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς
συγγενεῖς αὐτοῦ φυγεῖν εἰς ᾿Αθήνας, τοὺς δὲ
υἱούς, ἐπεὶ νεώτεροι ὄντες οὐκ ἠδύναντο ἀκολου-
θεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν τῆς ᾿Ακραίας Ηρας καθίσαι
νομίσασαν τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν φροντιεῖν τῆς σω
τηρίας αὐτῶν. τοὺς δὲ Κρέοντος οἰκείους ἀπο-
κτείναντας αὐτοὺς διαδοῦναι λόγον ὅτι ἡ Μήδεια
οὐ μόνον τὸν Κρέοντα ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῆς
παῖδας ἀπέκτεινε.
ΦΩΚΑΙΣ
Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer. διατρίβων δὲ
παρὰ τῷ Θεστορίδῃ ποιεῖ Ιλιάδα τὴν ἐλάσσω ...
καὶ τὴν καλουμένην Φωκαίδα, ἣν φασιν οἱ
Φωκαιείς "Ομηρον παρ' αὐτοῖσι ποιῆσαι.
534
THE PHOCAIS
2.
"Ragged garments, even those which now you
see."
This verse (Odyssey xiv. 343) we shall also
find in the Taking of Oechalia.
3.
There is a disagreement as to the number of the
sons of Eurytus. For Hesiod says Eurytus and
Antioche had as many as four sons; but Creophylus
says two.
4.
Didymus contrasts the following account given by
Creophylus, which is as follows: while Medea was
living in Corinth, she poisoned Creon, who was ruler
of the city at that time, and because she feared his
friends and kinsfolk, fled to Athens. However, since
her sons were too young to go along with her, she
left them at the altar of Hera Acraea, thinking that
their father would see to their safety. But the
relatives of Creon killed them and spread the story
that Medea had killed her own children as well as
Creon.
THE PHOCAIS
While living with Thestorides, Homer composed
the Lesser Iliad and the Phocais; though the Pho-
caeans say that he composed the latter among
them.
535
THE EPIC CYCLE
ΜΑΡΓΙΤΗΣ
1.
Suidas. Πίγρης Κὰρ ἀπὸ ῾Αλικαρνασσού,
ἀδελφὸς ᾿Αρτεμισίας τῆς ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις δια-
φανοῦς, Μαυσώλου γυναικός 1 . ἔγραψε καὶ
τὸν εἰς Ομηρον ἀναφερόμενον Μαργίτην καὶ
Βατραχομυομαχίαν.
2.
Atilius Fortunatianus, p. 286, Keil.
ἦλθέ τις εἰς Κολοφῶνα γέρων καὶ θεῖος ἀοιδός,
Μουσάων θεράπων καὶ ἑκηβόλου ᾿Απόλλωνος,
φίλῃς ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν εὔφθογγον λύραν.
3.
Plato, Alcib. ii. p. 147 a.
πολλ᾽ ἠπίστατο ἔργα, κακῶς δ' ήπίστατο πάντα.
Aristotle, Nic. Eth. vi. 7, 1141.
τὸν δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ σκαπτῆρα θεοὶ θέσαν οὔτ᾽ ἀροτῆρα
οὔτ᾽ ἄλλως τι σοφόν· πάσης δ᾽ ἡμάρτανε τέχνης.
4.
Schol. on Aeschines in Ctes. § 160. Μαργίτην
φησὶν ἄνθρωπον γεγονέναι ὃς ἐτῶν πολλῶν
γενόμενος οὐκ ᾔδη ὅστις αὐτὸν ἔτεκεν, πότερον
ὁ πατὴρ ἢ ἡ μήτηρ, τῇ δὲ γαμετῇ οὐκ ἐχρῆτο·
1 This Artemisia, who distinguished herself at the battle
of Salamis (Herodotus vii. 99) is here confused with the
later Artemisia, the wife of Mausolus, who died 350 Β.Ο.
536
THE MARGITES
THE MARGITES
1.
PIGRES. A Carian of Halicarnassus and brother of
Artemisia, wife of Mausolus, who distinguished her-
self in war . . .
He also wrote the Margites attri-
buted to Homer and the Battle of the Frogs and
Mice.
2.
"There came to Colophon an old man and divine
singer, a servant of the Muses and of far-shooting
Apollo. In his dear hands he held a sweet-toned
lyre."
3.
"He knew many things but knew all badly
.
The gods had taught him neither to dig
nor to plough, nor any other skill; he failed in
every craft."
4.
He refers to Margites, a man who, though well
grown up, did not know whether it was his
father or his mother who gave him birth, and
would not lie with his wife, saying that he was
537
THE EPIC CYCLE
δεδιέναι γὰρ ἔλεγε μὴ διαβάλλοι αὐτὸν πρὸς
τὴν μητέρα.
Zenobius, v. 68.
5.
πόλλ᾽ οἶδ᾽ ἀλώπηξ ἀλλ' ἐχῖνος ἓν μέγα.
ΚΕΡΚΩΠΕΣ
Suidas. Κέρκωπες· δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν ἐπὶ γῆς,
πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, καὶ ἐλέγοντο Κέρ-
κωπες, ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἔργων δεινότητος οὕτως ἐπο-
νομαζόμενοι. ὁ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν Πάσσαλος ἐλέγετο,
ὁ δὲ ῎Ακμων. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ Μεμνονὶς ταῦτα ὁρῶσα
ἔλεγε μὴ περιπτυχεῖν Μελαμπύγῳ· τουτέστι τῷ
Ἡρακλεῖ. οὗτοι οἱ Κέρκωπες Θείας καὶ Ωκεάνου.
οὕς φασιν ἀπολιθωθῆναι διὰ τὸ ἐγχειρεῖν ἀπατῆ-
σαι τὸν Δία
ψεύστας, ἠπεροπῆας, ἀμήχανά τ' ἔργα δαέντας,
ἐξαπατητῆρας· πολλὴν δ᾽ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ιόντες
ἀνθρώπους ἀπάτασκον, ἀλώμενοι ήματα πάντα.
Attributed to Homer by Zenobius, and by Bergk to the
Margites. 3 Lobeck : ἔργ᾽ ἀνύσαντες, Suidas.
2
538
THE CERCOPES
afraid she might give a bad account of him to her
mother.
5.
"The fox knows many a wile; but the hedge-hog's
one trick can beat them all."
:
THE CERCOPES
CERCOPES. These were two brothers living upon.
the earth who practised every kind of knavery. They
were called Cercopes: 2 because of their cunning
doings one of them was named Passalus and the
other Acmon. Their mother, a daughter of Memnon,
seeing their tricks, told them to keep clear of Black-
bottom, that is, of Heracles. These Cercopes were
sons of Theia and Ocean, and are said to have been
turned to stone for trying to deceive Zeus.
"Liars and cheats, skilled in deeds irremediable, ac-
complished knaves. Far over the world they roamed
deceiving men as they wandered continually."
1.e. the fox knows many ways to baffle its foes, while
the hedge-hog knows one only which is far more effectual.
2 i.e. monkey-men."
539
·
THE BATTLE OF THE FROGS
AND MICE
BATPAXOMYOMAXIA
᾿Αρχόμενος πρῶτον Μουσῶν χορὸν ἐξ Ἑλικῶνος
ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἐμὸν ἦτορ ἐπεύχομαι εἵνεκ᾽ ἀοιδῆς,
ἣν νέον ἐν δέλτοισιν ἐμοῖς ἐπὶ γούνασι θῆκα,
δῆριν ἀπειρεσίην, πολεμόκλονον ἔργον Αρηος,
εὐχόμενος μερόπεσσιν ἐν οὔατα πᾶσι βαλέσθαι,
πῶς μύες ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀριστεύσαντες ἔβησαν,
γηγενέων ἀνδρῶν μιμούμενοι ἔργα Γιγάντων,
ὡς ἔπος ἐν θνητοῖσιν ἔην· τοίην δ' ἔχει ἀρχήν.
Μῦς ποτε διψαλέος, γαλέης κίνδυνον ἀλύξας,
πλησίον ἐν λίμνῃ ἁπαλὸν προσέθηκε γένειον,
ὕδατι τερπόμενος μελιηδέι· τὸν δὲ κατεῖδεν
λιμνοχαρὴς πολύφημος, ἔπος δ᾽ ἐφθέγξατο τοῖον·
Ξεῖνε, τίς εἰ; πόθεν ἦλθες ἐπ᾽ ᾖόνα; τίς δέ σ᾽ ὁ
φύσας;
πάντα δ' ἀλήθευσον· μὴ ψευδόμενόν σε νοήσω.
εἰ γάρ σε γνοίην φίλον ἄξιον, ἐς δόμον ἄξω·
δῶρα δέ τοι δώσω ξεινήια πολλὰ καὶ ἐσθλά.
εἰμὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ βασιλεὺς Φυσίγναθος, ὃς κατὰ λίμνην
τιμῶμαι βατράχων ἡγούμενος ἤματα πάντα·
καί με πατὴρ Πηλεὺς ἀνεθρέψατο, Ὑδρομεδούσῃ
μιχθεὶς ἐν φιλότητι παρ᾽ ὄχθας Ηριδανοῖο.
καὶ σὲ δ' ὁρῶ καλόν τε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἔξοχον ἄλλων,
σκηπτοῦχον βασιλῆα καὶ ἐν πολέμοισι μαχητὴν
ἔμμεναι· ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε θᾶσσον ἑὴν γενεὴν ἀγόρευε.
10
15
20
542
THE BATTLE OF THE FROGS
AND MICE
HERE I begin: and first I pray the choir of the
Muses to come down from Helicon into my heart to
aid the lay which I have newly written in tablets
upon my knee. Fain would I sound in all men's
ears that awful strife, that clamorous deed of war,
and tell how the Mice proved their valour on the
Frogs and rivalled the exploits of the Giants, those
earth-born men, as the tale was told among mortals.
Thus did the war begin.
One day a thirsty Mouse who had escaped the
ferret, dangerous foe, set his soft muzzle to the
lake's brink and revelled in the sweet water. There
a loud-voiced pond-larker spied him: and uttered
such words as these.
66
Stranger, who are you? Whence come you to
this shore, and who is he who begot you? Tell
me all this truly and let me not find you lying.
For if I find you worthy to be my friend, I will take
you to my house and give you many noble gifts such
as men give to their guests. I am the king Puff-jaw,
and am honoured in all the pond, being ruler of
the Frogs continually. The father that brought me
up was Mud-man who mated with Waterlady by
the banks of Eridanus. I see, indeed, that you
are well-looking and stouter than the ordinary, a
sceptred king and a warrior in fight; but, come,
make haste and tell me your descent."
543
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
25
35
Τὸν δ᾽ αὖ Ψιχάρπαξ ἀπαμείβετο φώνησέν τε
τίπτε γένος τοὐμὸν ζητεῖς; δῆλον δ᾽ ἐν ἅπασιν
ἀνθρώποις τε θεοῖς τε καὶ οὐρανίοις πετεηνοῖς.
Ψιχάρπαξ μὲν ἐγὼ κικλήσκομαι· εἰμὶ δὲ κοῦρος
Τρωξάρταο πατρὸς μεγαλήτορος· ἡ δέ νυ μήτηρ
Λειχομύλη, θυγατὴρ Πτερνοτρώκτου βασιλῆος.
γείνατο δ' ἐν καλύβῃ με καὶ ἐξεθρέψατο βρωτοῖς, 30
σύκοις καὶ καρύοις καὶ ἐδέσμασι παντοδαποῖσιν.
πῶς δὲ φίλον ποιῇ με, τὸν ἐς φύσιν οὐδὲν ὁμοῖον;
σοὶ μὲν γὰρ βίος ἐστὶν ἐν ὕδασιν· αὐτὰρ ἔμοιγε,
ὅσσα παρ᾽ ἀνθρώποις, τρώγειν ἔθος· οὐδέ με λήθει
ἄρτος δισκοπάνιστος ἀπ᾿ εὐκύκλου κανέοιο,
οὐ πλακόεις τανύπεπλος ἔχων πολὺ σησαμότυρον,
οὐ τόμος ἐκ πτέρνης, οὐχ ἥπατα λευκοχίτωνα,
οὐ τυρὸς νεόπηκτος ἀπὸ γλυκεροῖο γάλακτος,
οὐ χρηστὸν μελίτωμα, τὸ καὶ μάκαρες ποθέουσιν,
οὐδ᾽ ὅσα πρὸς θοίνας μερόπων τεύχουσι μάγειροι, 40
κοσμοῦντες χύτρας ἀρτύμασι παντοδαποῖσιν.
[οὐδέποτ᾽ ἐκ πολέμοιο κακὴν ἀπέφευγον αυτήν,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐθὺς μετὰ μᾶλον ἰὼν προμάχοισιν ἐμίχθην.
οὐ δέδι᾽ ἄνθρωπον καίπερ μέγα σῶμα φοροῦντα,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ λέκτρον ἰὼν καταδάκνω δάκτυλον ἄκρον, 45
καὶ πτέρνης λαβόμην, καὶ οὐ πόνος ἄνδρα ἵκανεν,
νήδυμος οὐκ ἀπέφευγεν ὕπνος δάκνοντος ἐμεῖο.
ἀλλὰ δύω πάντων μάλα δείδια πᾶσαν ἐπ᾿ αἶαν,
κίρκον καὶ γαλέην, οἵ μοι μέγα πένθος ἄγουσιν,
καὶ παγίδα στονόεσσαν, ὅπου δολόεις πέλε πότμος·
πλεῖστον δὴ γαλέην περιδείδια, ἥτις ἀρίστη,
ἡ καὶ τρωγλοδύοντα κατὰ τρώγλην ἐρεείνει.1]
1 Lines 42-52 are intrusive ; the list of vegetables which
the Mouse cannot eat must follow immediately after the
various dishes of which he does eat.
51
544
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 24-52
Then Crumb-snatcher answered him and said:
"Why do you ask my race, which is well-known
amongst all, both men and gods and the birds of
heaven? Crumb-snatcher am I called, and I am the son
of Bread-nibbler-he was my stout-hearted father—-
and my mother was Quern-licker, the daughter of
Ham-gnawer the king: she bare me in the mouse-
hole and nourished me with food, figs and nuts and
dainties of all kinds. But how are you to make me
your friend, who am altogether different in nature?
For you get your living in the water, but I am used
to eat such foods as men have: I never miss the thrice-
kneaded loaf in its neat, round basket, or the thin-
wrapped cake full of sesame and cheese, or the slice
of ham, or liver vested in white fat, or cheese just
curdled from sweet milk, or delicious honey-cake
which even the blessed gods long for, or any of all
those cates which cooks make for the feasts of
mortal men, larding their pots and pans with
spices of all kinds. In battle I have never flinched
from the cruel onset, but plunged straight into the
fray and fought among the foremost. I fear not man
though he has a big body, but run along his bed and
bite the tip of his toe and nibble at his heel; and
the man feels no hurt and his sweet sleep is not
broken by my biting. But there are two things I
fear above all else the whole world over, the hawk
and the ferret-for these bring great grief on me--
and the piteous trap wherein is treacherous death.
Most of all I fear the ferret of the keener sort which
follows you still even when you dive down your hole.
545
NN
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
οὐ τρώγω ῥαφάνας, οὐ κράμβας, οὐ κολοκύντας,
οὐ πράσσοις χλωροῖς ἐπιβόσκομαι, οὐδὲ σελίνοις·
ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμέτερ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐδέσματα τῶν κατὰ λίμνην.
Πρὸς τάδε μειδιάσας Φυσίγναθος ἀντίον ηὔδα· 56
ξεῖνε, λίην αὐχεῖς ἐπὶ γαστέρι· ἔστι καὶ ἡμῖν
πολλὰ μάλ' ἐν λίμνῃ καὶ ἐπὶ χθονὶ θαύματ᾿ ἰδέσθαι.
ἀμφίβιον γὰρ ἔδωκε νομὴν βατράχοισι Κρονίων,
[στοιχείοις διττοῖς μεμερισμένα δώματα ναίειν,]
σκιρτῆσαι κατὰ γῆν καὶ ὑφ᾽ ὕδασι σῶμα καλύψαι.
εἰ δ᾽ ἐθέλεις καὶ ταῦτα δαήμεναι, εὐχερές ἐστιν.
βαῖνέ μοι ἐν νώτοισι, κράτει δέ με, μήποτ' ὄληαι,
ὅππως γηθόσυνος τὸν ἐμὸν δόμον εἰσαφίκηαι.
60
70
70
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη καὶ νῶτ᾽ ἐδίδου· ὁ δ᾽ ἔβαινε τάχιστα 65
χεῖρας ἔχων τρυφεροῖο κατ᾽ αὐχένος ἅλματι κούφῳ.
καὶ τὸ πρῶτον ἔχαιρεν, ὅτ' ἔβλεπε γείτονας ὅρμους,
νήξει τερπόμενος Φυσιγνάθου· ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δή ῥα
κύμασι πορφυρέοισιν ἐκλύζετο, πολλὰ δακρύων
ἄχρηστον μετάνοιαν ἐμέμφετο, τίλλε δὲ χαίτας,
καὶ πόδας ἔσφιγγεν κατὰ γαστέρα, ἐν δέ οἱ ἦτορ
πάλλετ᾽ ἀηθείῃ, καὶ ἐπὶ χθόνα βούλεθ᾽ ἱκέσθαι·
δεινὰ δ᾽ ὑπεστονάχιζε φόβου κρυόεντος ἀνάγκῃ.
[οὐρὴν μὲν προπέτασσεν ἐφ᾽ ὕδασιν, ἠύτε κώπην
σύρων, εὐχόμενός τε θεοῖς ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι,
ὕδασι πορφυρέοισιν ἐκλύζετο, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἐβῶσεν·
καὶ τοῖον φάτο μῦθον ἀπὸ στόματός τ᾿ ἀγόρευσεν·
Οὐχ οὕτω νώτοισιν ἐβάστασε φόρτον ἔρωτος
ταῦρος, ὅτ᾽ Εὐρώπην διὰ κύματος ἦγ᾽ ἐπὶ Κρήτην,
ὡς ἔμ᾽ ἐπιπλώσας ἐπινώτιον ἦγεν ἐς οἶκον
βάτραχος ἀμπετάσας ὠχρὸν δέμας ὕδατι λευκῷ.]
Υδρος δ᾽ ἐξαίφνης ἀνεφαίνετο, δεινὸν ὅραμα
πᾶσιν ὁμῶς· ὀρθὸν δ᾽ ὑπὲρ ὕδατος εἶχε τράχηλον.
75
80
546
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 53-83
I gnaw no radishes and cabbages and pumpkins, nor
feed on green leeks and parsley; for these are food
for you who live in the lake."
66
Then Puff-jaw answered him with a smile :
Stranger you boast too much of belly-matters: we
too have many marvels to be seen both in the lake
and on the shore. For the Son of Cronos has given
us Frogs the power to lead a double life, dwelling at
will in two separate elements; and so we both leap
on land and plunge beneath the water.
If you
would learn of all these things, 'tis easy done: just
mount upon my back and hold me tight lest you be
lost, and so you shall come rejoicing to my house."
So said he, and offered his back. And the Mouse
mounted at once, putting his paws upon the other's
sleek neck and vaulting nimbly. Now at first, while
he still saw the land near by, he was pleased, and
was delighted with Puff-jaw's swimming; but when
dark waves began to wash over him, he wept loudly
and blamed his unlucky change of mind: he tore
his fur and tucked his paws in against his belly,
while within him his heart quaked by reason of the
strangeness: and he longed to get to land, groaning
terribly through the stress of chilling fear. He put
out his tail upon the water and worked it like a
steering oar, and prayed to heaven that he might
get to land.
But when the dark waves washed over
him he cried aloud and said: "Not in such wise
did the bull bear on his back the beloved load,
when he brought Europa across the sea to Crete,
as this Frog carries me over the water to his house,
raising his yellow back in the pale water."
Then suddenly a water-snake appeared, a horrid
sight for both alike, and held his neck upright above
547
NN 2
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
τοῦτον ἰδὼν κατέδυ Φυσίγναθος, οὔτι νοήσας,
οἷον ἑταῖρον ἔμελλεν ἀπολλύμενον καταλείπειν.
δῦ δὲ βάθος λίμνης καὶ ἀλεύατο κῆρα μέλαιναν.
κεῖνος δ᾽ ὡς ἀφέθη, πέσεν ὕπτιος εὐθὺς ἐφ᾽ ὕδωρ,
καὶ χεῖρας ἔσφιγγε καὶ ὀλλύμενος κατέτριζε.
πολλάκι μὲν κατέδυνεν ὑφ᾽ ὕδατι, πολλάκι δ' αύτε
λακτίζων ἀνέδυνε· μόρον δ᾽ οὐκ ἦν ὑπαλύξαι.
δευόμεναι δὲ τρίχες πλεῖστον βάρος ἦσαν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ·
ὕστατα δ᾽ ὀλλύμενος τοίους ἐφθέγξατο μύθους·
Οὐ λήσεις δολίως, Φυσίγναθε, ταῦτα ποιήσας,
ναυηγὸν ῥίψας ἀπὸ σώματος, ὡς ἀπὸ πέτρης.
οὐκ ἄν μου κατὰ γαῖαν ἀμείνων ἦσθα, κάκιστε,
παγκρατίῳ τε πάλῃ τε καὶ εἰς δρόμον· ἀλλὰ
πλανήσας
εἰς ὕδωρ μ' ἔρριψας. ἔχει θεὸς ἔκδικον ὄμμα.
ἢ ποινὴν τίσεις σὺ μυῶν στρατῷ, οὐδ᾽ ὑπαλύξεις.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἀπέπνευσεν ἐφ᾽ ὕδατι· τὸν δὲ κατεῖδεν
Λειχοπίναξ ὄχθησιν ἐφεζόμενος μαλακῇσιν·
δεινὸν δ᾽ ἐξολόλυξε, δραμὼν δ᾽ ἤγγειλε μύεσσιν.
ὡς δ᾽ ἔμαθον τὴν μοῖραν, ἔδυ χόλος αἰνὸς ἅπαντας.
καὶ τότε κηρύκεσσιν ἑοῖς ἐκέλευσαν ὑπ᾽ ὄρθρον
κηρύσσειν ἀγορήνδ' ἐς δώματα Τρωξάρταο,
πατρὸς δυστήνου Ψιχάρπαγος, ὃς κατὰ λίμνην
ὕπτιος ἐξήπλωτο νεκρὸν δέμας, οὐδὲ παρ᾽ ὄχθαις
ἦν ἤδη τλήμων, μέσσῳ δ᾽ ἐπενήχετο πόντῳ.
ὡς δ᾽ ἦλθον σπεύδοντες ἅμ᾽ ἐοῖ, πρῶτος ἀνέστη
Τρωξάρτης ἐπὶ παιδὶ χολούμενος, εἶπέ τε μῦθον·
"Ω φίλοι, εἰ καὶ μοῦνος ἐγὼ κακὰ πολλὰ
πεπόνθειν
ἐκ βατράχων, ἢ πεῖρα κακὴ πάντεσσι τέτυκται.
85
90
95
100
105
110
548
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 84-III
the water. And when he saw it, Puff-jaw dived at
once, and never thought how helpless a friend he
would leave perishing; but down to the bottom of
the lake he went, and escaped black death. But the
Mouse, so deserted, at once fell on his back, in the
water. He wrung his paws and squeaked in agony
of death many times he sank beneath the water
and many times he rose up again kicking. But he
could not escape his doom, for his wet fur weighed
him down heavily. Then at the last, as he was
dying, he uttered these words.
"Ah, Puff-jaw, you shall not go unpunished for
this treachery! You threw me, a castaway, off your
body as from a rock. Vile coward! On land you
would not have been the better man, boxing, or
wrestling, or running; but now you have tricked me
and cast me in the water. Heaven has an avenging
eye, and surely the host of Mice will punish you and
not let you escape."
With these words he breathed out his soul upon
the water. But Lick-platter as he sat upon the soft
bank saw him die and, raising a dreadful cry, ran and
told the Mice. And when they heard of his fate, all
the Mice were seized with fierce anger, and bade
their heralds summon the people to assemble towards
dawn at the house of Bread-nibbler, the father of
hapless Crumb-snatcher who lay outstretched on the
water face up, a lifeless corpse, and no longer near
the bank, poor wretch, but floating in the midst of the
deep. And when the Mice came in haste at dawn,
Bread-nibbler stood up first, enraged at his son's
death, and thus he spoke.
"Friends, even if I alone had suffered great wrong
from the Frogs, assuredly this is a first essay at
•
549
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
εἰμὶ δὲ νῦν ἐλεεινός, ἐπεὶ τρεῖς παῖδας ὄλεσσα.
καὶ τὸν μὲν πρῶτόν γε κατέκτανεν ἁρπάξασα
ἔχθιστος γαλέη, τρώγλης ἔκτοσθεν ἑλοῦσα.
τὸν δ᾽ ἄλλον πάλιν ἄνδρες ἀπηνέες ἐς μόρον εἷλξαν 115
καινοτέραις τέχναις ξύλινον δόλον ἐξευρόντες,
ἣν παγίδα καλέουσι, μυῶν ὀλέτειραν ἐοῦσαν.
ὃ τρίτος ἦν, ἀγαπητὸς ἐμοὶ καὶ μητέρι κεδνῇ,
τοῦτον ἀπέπνιξεν Φυσίγναθος ἐς βυθὸν ἄξας.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽ ὁπλισόμεσθα καὶ ἐξέλθωμεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς 120
σώματα κοσμήσαντες ἐν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν.
Ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν ἀνέπεισε καθοπλίζεσθαι ἅπαντας.
καὶ τοὺς μέν ῥ᾽ ἐκόρυσσεν῎Αρης πολέμοιο μεμηλώς·
κνημίδας μὲν πρῶτον ἐφήρμοσαν εἰς δύο μοίρας
ῥήξαντες κυάμους χλωρούς, κνήμας δ᾽ ἐκάλυπτον, 125
οὓς αὐτοὶ διὰ νυκτὸς ἐπιστάντες κατέτρωξαν.
θώρηκας δ' εἶχον καλαμοστεφέων ἀπὸ βυρσῶν,
οὓς γαλέην δείραντες ἐπισταμένως ἐποίησαν.
ἀσπὶς δ᾽ ἦν λύχνου τὸ μεσόμφαλον· ἡ δέ νυ λόγχη
εὐμήκεις βελόναι, παγχάλκεον ἔργον Αρηος·
ἡ δὲ κόρυς τὸ λέπυρον ἐπὶ κροτάφοις ἐρεβίνθου.
Οὕτω μὲν μύες ἦσαν ἐν ὅπλοις· ὡς δ᾽ ἐνόησαν
βάτραχοι, ἐξανέδυσαν ἀφ᾽ ὕδατος, ἐς δ᾽ ἕνα χῶρον
ἐλθόντες βουλὴν ξύναγον πολέμοιο κακοῖο.
σκεπτομένων δ᾽ αὐτῶν, πόθεν ἡ στάσις, ἢ τίς ὁ
θυμός,
κῆρυξ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθε φέρων ῥάβδον μετὰ χερσίν,
Τυρογλύφου υἱὸς μεγαλήτορος Έμβασίχυτρος,
ἀγγέλλων πολέμοιο κακὴν φάτιν, εἶπέ τε τοῖα·
Ὦ βάτραχοι, μύες ὔμμιν ἀπειλήσαντες ἔπεμψαν
εἰπεῖν ὁπλίζεσθαι ἐπὶ πτόλεμόν τε μάχην τε.
εἶδον γὰρ καθ᾽ ὕδωρ Ψιχάρπαγα, ὅνπερ ἔπεφνεν
130
135
140
550
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 112-141
mischief for you all. And now I am pitiable, for I
have lost three sons. First the abhorred ferret
seized and killed one of them, catching him outside
the hole; then ruthless men dragged another to his
doom when by unheard-of arts they had contrived a
wooden snare, a destroyer of Mice, which they call a
trap. There was a third whom I and his dear
mother loved well, and him Puff-jaw has carried out
into the deep and drowned. Come, then, and let us
arm ourselves and go out against them when we have
arrayed ourselves in rich-wrought arms."
With such words he persuaded them all to gird
themselves. And Ares who has charge of war
equipped them. First they fastened on greaves and
covered their shins with green bean-pods broken into
two parts which they had gnawed out, standing over
them all night. Their breast plates were of skin
stretched on reeds, skilfully made from a ferret they
had flayed. For shields each had the centre-piece of
a lamp, and their spears were long needles all of
bronze, the work of Ares, and the helmets upon their
temples were pea-nut shells.
So the Mice armed themselves. But when the Frogs
were aware of it, they rose up out of the water and
coming together to one place gathered a council of
grievous war. And while they were asking whence
the quarrel arose, and what the cause of this anger,
a herald drew near bearing a wand in his paws,
Pot-visitor the son of great-hearted Cheese-carver.
He brought the grim message of war, speaking
thus:
66
'Frogs, the Mice have sent me with their threats
against you, and bid you arm yourselves for war and
battle; for they have seen Crumb-snatcher in the
551
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
ὑμέτερος βασιλεὺς Φυσίγναθος. ἀλλὰ μάχεσθε,
οἵτινες ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀριστες γεγάασθε.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἀπέφηνε· λόγος δ᾽ εἰς οὔατ᾽ ἀμύμων
εἰσελθὼν ἐτάραξε φρένας βατράχων ἀγερώχων· 145
μεμφομένων δ᾽ αὐτῶν Φυσίγναθος εἶπεν ἀναστάς·
Ω φίλοι, οὐκ ἔκτεινον ἐγὼ μῦν, οὐδὲ κατεῖδον
ὀλλύμενον· πάντως δ᾽ ἐπνίγη παίζων παρὰ λίμνην,
νήξεις τὰς βατράχων μιμούμενος· οἱ δὲ κάκιστοι
νῦν ἐμὲ μέμφονται τὸν ἀναίτιον· ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε βουλὴν 150
ζητήσωμεν, ὅπως δολίους μύας ἐξολέσωμεν.
τοιγὰρ ἐγὼν ἐρέω, ὥς μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἄριστα.
σώματα κοσμήσαντες ἐν ὅπλοις στῶμεν ἅπαντες
ἄκροις πὰρ χείλεσσιν, ὅπου κατάκρημνος ὁ χῶρος·
ἡνίκα δ' ὁρμηθέντες ἐφ' ἡμέας ἐξέλθωσι,
δραξάμενοι κορύθων, ὅστις σχεδὸν ἀντίος ἔλθῃ,
ἐς λίμνην αὐτοὺς σὺν ἐκείναις εὐθὺ βάλωμεν.
οὕτω γὰρ πνίξαντες ἐν ὕδασι τοὺς ἀκολύμβους
στήσομεν εὐθύμως τὸ μυοκτόνον ὧδε τρόπαιον.
155
160
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἀνέπεισε καθοπλίζεσθαι ἅπαντας.
φύλλοις μὲν μαλαχῶν κνήμας ἑὰς ἀμφεκάλυψαν,
θώρηκας δ' εἶχον καλῶν χλοερῶν ἀπὸ σεύτλων,
φύλλα δὲ τῶν κραμβῶν εἰς ἀσπίδας εὖ ἤσκησαν,
ἔγχος δ᾽ ὀξύσχοινος ἑκάστῳ μακρὸς ἀρήρει,
καὶ τὰ κέρα κοχλιῶν λεπτῶν ἐκάλυπτε κάρηνα. 165
φραξάμενοι δ' ἔστησαν ἐπ᾽ ὄχθῃς ὑψηλῇσιν
σείοντες λόγχας, θυμοῦ δ᾽ ἔμπληντο ἕκαστος.
Ζεὺς δὲ θεοὺς καλέσας εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα,
καὶ πολέμου πληθὺν δείξας κρατερούς τε μαχητάς,
πολλοὺς καὶ μεγάλους ἠδ᾽ ἔγχεα μακρὰ φέροντας, 170
οἷος Κενταύρων στρατὸς ἔρχεται ἠδὲ Γιγάντων,
552
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 142-171
So
water whom your king Puff-jaw slew. Fight, then,
as many of you as are warriors among the Frogs."
With these words he explained the matter.
when this blameless speech came to their ears, the
proud Frogs were disturbed in their hearts and
began to blame Puff-jaw. But he rose up and said :
66
Friends, I killed no Mouse, nor did I see one
perishing. Surely he was drowned while playing by
the lake and imitating the swimming of the Frogs,
and now these wretches blame me who am guiltless.
Come then; let us take counsel how we may utterly
destroy the wily Mice. Moreover, I will tell you
what I think to be the best. Let us all gird on our
armour and take our stand on the very brink of the
lake, where the ground breaks down sheer: then
when they come out and charge upon us, let each
seize by the crest the Mouse who attacks him, and cast
them with their helmets into the lake; for so we shall
drown these dry-bobs¹ in the water, and merrily set
up here a trophy of victory over the slaughtered Mice."
By this speech he persuaded them to arm them-
selves They covered their shins with leaves of
mallows, and had breastplates made of fine green
beet-leaves, and cabbage-leaves, skilfully fashioned,
for shields. Each one was equipped with a long,
pointed rush for a spear, and smooth snail-shells to
cover their heads. Then they stood in close-locked
ranks upon the high bank, waving their spears, and
were filled, each of them, with courage.
Now Zeus called the gods to starry heaven and
showed them the martial throng and the stout
warriors so many and so great, all bearing long
spears; for they were as the host of the Centaurs
1 lit. "those unable to swim."
553
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
ἡδὺ γελῶν ἐρέεινε· τίνες βατράχοισιν ἀρωγοί
ἢ μυσὶν ἀθανάτων; καὶ ᾿Αθηναίην προσέειπεν·
175
'Ω θύγατερ, μυσὶν ἢ ῥα βοηθήσουσα πορεύσῃ;
καὶ γάρ σου κατὰ νηὸν ἀεὶ σκιρτῶσιν ἅπαντες
κνίσσῃ τερπόμενοι καὶ ἐδέσμασι παντοδαποῖσιν.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη Κρονίδης· τὸν δὲ προσέειπεν ᾿Αθήνη·
ὦ πάτερ, οὐκ ἂν πώποτ᾽ ἐγὼ μυσὶ τειρομένοισιν
ἐλθοίην ἐπαρωγός, ἐπεὶ κακὰ πολλὰ μ᾽ ἔοργαν
στέμματα βλάπτοντες καὶ λύχνους εἵνεκ᾽ ἐλαίου. 180
ταῦτο δέ μου λίην ἔδακε φρένας, οἷον ἔρεξαν.
πέπλον μου κατέτρωξαν, ὃν ἐξύφανα καμουσα
ἐκ ῥοδάνης λεπτῆς καὶ στήμονα λεπτὸν ἔνησα,
καὶ τρώγλας ἐτέλεσσαν· ὁ δ᾽ ἠπητής μοι ἐπέστη
καὶ πράσσει με τόκον· τὸ δὲ ῥίγιον ἀθανάτοισιν. 185
χρησαμένη γὰρ ὕφανα καὶ οὐκ ἔχω ἀνταποδοῦναι.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὡς βατράχοισιν ἀρηγέμεν οὐκ ἐθελήσω.
εἰσὶ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ αὐτοὶ φρένας ἔμπεδοι, ἀλλά με πρώην
ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιοῦσαν, ἐπεὶ λίην ἐκοπώθην,
ὕπνου δευομένην οὐκ εἴασαν θορυβοῦντες
οὐδ᾽ ὀλίγον καταμῦσαι· ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἄυπνος κατεκείμην,
τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀλγοῦσα, ἕως ἐβόησεν ἀλέκτωρ.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε παυσώμεσθα, θεοί, τούτοισιν ἀρήγειν,
μή νύ τις ἡμείων τρωθῇ βέλει ὀξυόεντι·
εἰσὶ γὰρ ἀγχέμαχοι, καὶ εἰ θεὸς ἀντίον ἔλθοι·
πάντες δ᾽ οὐρανόθεν τερπώμεθα δῆριν ὁρῶντες.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη· τῇ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἐπεπείθοντο θεοὶ ἄλλοι,
πάντες ὁμῶς δ᾽ εἰσῆλθον ἀολλέες εἰς ἕνα χῶρον.
190
195
Καὶ τότε κώνωπες μεγάλας σάλπιγγας ἔχοντες
δεινὸν ἐσάλπιγξαν πολέμου κτύπον· οὐρανόθεν δὲ 200
Ζεὺς Κρονίδης βρόντησε, τέρας πολέμοιο κακοῖο.
Πρῶτος δ' Ὑψιβόας Λειχήνορα οὔτασε δουρί
554
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 172-202
and the Giants. Then he asked with a sly smile;
"Who of the deathless gods will help the Frogs and
who the Mice?" And he said to Athena;
"My daughter, will you go aid the Mice? For
they all frolic about your temple continually, delight-
ing in the fat of sacrifice and in all kinds of food.'
So then said the son of Cronos. But Athena
answered him: "I would never go to help the Mice
when they are hard pressed, for they have done me
much mischief, spoiling my garlands and my lamps
too, to get the oil. And this thing that they have
done vexes my heart exceedingly: they have eaten
holes in my sacred robe, which I wove painfully spin-
ning a fine woof on a fine warp, and made it full of holes.
And now the money-lender is at me and charges me
interest which is a bitter thing for immortals. For
I borrowed to do my weaving, and have nothing with
which to repay.
Yet even so I will not help the
Frogs; for they also are not considerate: once, when
I was returning early from war, I was very tired, and
though I wanted to sleep, they would not let me
even doze a little for their outcry; and so I lay sleep-
less with a headache until cock-crow. No, gods, let
us refrain from helping these hosts, or one of us may
get wounded with a sharp spear; for they fight hand
to hand, even if a god comes against them. Let
us rather all amuse ourselves watching the fight from
heaven."
So said Athena.
And the other gods agreed with
her, and all went in a body to one place.
Then gnats with great trumpets sounded the fell
note of war, and Zeus the son of Cronos thundered
from heaven, a sign of grievous battle.
First Loud-croaker wounded Lickman in the belly,
555
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
ἑσταότ' ἐν προμάχοις κατὰ γαστέρα ἐς μέσον παρ'
κὰδ δ᾽ ἔπεσεν πρηνής, ἁπαλὰς δ᾽ ἐκόνισσεν ἐθείρας.
[δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ.] 205
Τρωγλοδύτης δὲ μετ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀκόντισε Πηλείωνα,
πῆξεν δ᾽ ἐν στέρνῳ στιβαρὸν δόρυ τὸν δὲ πεσόντα
εἷλε μέλας θάνατος, ψυχὴ στόματος δ᾽ ἐξέπτη.
Σευτλαῖος δ᾽ ἂρ ἔπεφνε βαλὼν κέαρ Εμβασίχυτρον.
᾿Αρτοφάγος δὲ Πολύφωνον κατὰ γαστέρα τύψεν: 210
ἤριπε δὲ πρηνής, ψυχὴ δὲ μελέων ἐξέπτη.
215
Λιμνόχαρις δ᾽ ὡς εἶδεν ἀπολλύμενον Πολύφωνον,
Τρωγλοδύτην ἁπαλοῖο δι᾽ αὐχένος [τρώσεν ἐπιφθὰς
πέτρῳ μυλοειδέϊ· τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψε 1] 2134
Ωκιμίδην δ' ἄχος εἷλε καὶ ἤλασεν ὀξέι σχοίνῳ
οὐδ᾽ ἐξέσπασεν ἔγχος ἐναντίον· ἤριπε δ᾽ εὐθύς·
Λειχήνωρ δ' αὐτοῖο τιτύσκετο δουρὶ φαεινῷ
καὶ βάλεν, οὐδ᾽ ἀφάμαρτε, καθ' ἥπατος· ὡς δ᾽ ἐνόησε
Κοστοφάγον φεύγοντα, βαθείαις ἔμπεσεν ὄχθαις·
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὡς ἀπέληγε μάχης, ἀλλ᾽ ἤλασεν αὐτόν·
κάππεσε δ᾽, οὐδ᾽ ἀνένευσεν· ἐβάπτετο δ' αἵματι
λίμνη
πορφυρέῳ, αὐτὸς δὲ παρ᾽ ἠιόν᾽ ἐξετανύσθη
χορδῇσιν λιπαρῇσί τε πειρόμενος λαγόνεσσιν.
Τυροφάγον δ' αὐτῇσιν ἐπ᾽ ὄχθαις ἐξενάριξεν.
*
Πτερνογλύφον δ᾽ ἐπιδὼν Καλαμίνθιος ἐς φόβον
ἦλθεν,
220
ἥλατο δ' ἐς λίμνην φεύγων, τὴν ἀσπίδα ῥίψας. 225
Φιλτραῖον δ᾽ ἀρ᾽ ἔπεφνεν ἀμύμων Εμβασίχυτρος.
[Υδρόχαρις δέ τ᾽ ἔπεφνεν Πτερνοφάγον βασιλῆα,]
χερμαδίῳ πλήξας κατὰ βρέγματος· ἐγκέφαλος δὲ
ἐκ ῥινῶν ἔσταξε, παλάσσετο δ' αἵματι γαῖα.
1 Omitted by Baumeister and by many MSS.
556
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 203-229
right through the midriff. Down fell he on his face
and soiled his soft fur in the dust: he fell with a
thud and his armour clashed about him. Next
Troglodyte shot at the son of Mudman, and drove
the strong spear deep into his breast; so he fell, and
black death seized him and his spirit flitted forth
from his mouth. Then Beety struck Pot-visitor to
the heart and killed him, and Bread-nibbler hit
Loud-crier in the belly, so that he fell on his face
and his spirit flitted forth from his limbs. Now when
Pond-larker saw Loud-crier perishing, he struck in
quickly and wounded Troglodyte in his soft neck
with a rock like a mill-stone, so that darkness veiled
his eyes.
Thereat Ocimides was seized with grief,
and struck out with his sharp reed and did not
draw his spear back to him again, but felled his
enemy there and then. And Lickman shot at him
with a bright spear and hit him unerringly in the
midriff. And as he marked Cabbage-eater running
away, he fell on the steep bank, yet even so did not
cease fighting but smote that other so that he fell
and did not rise again: and the lake was dyed with
red blood as he lay outstretched along the shore,
pierced through the guts and shining flanks. Also
he slew Cheese-eater on the very brink
But Reedy took to flight when he saw Ham-nibbler,
and fled, plunging into the lake and throwing away
his shield. Then blameless Pot-visitor killed Brewer
and Water-larker killed the lord Ham-nibbler, striking
him on the head with a pebble, so that his brains
flowed out at his nostrils and the earth was bespattered
557
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
Λειχοπίνακα δ᾽ ἔπεφνεν ἀμύμων Βορβοροκοίτης, 230
ἔγχει ἐπαίξας· τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψεν.
Πρασσαῖος δ᾽ ἐπιδὼν ποδὸς εἵλκυσε νεκρὸν ἐόντα,
ἐν λίμνῃ δ᾽ ἀπέπνιξε κρατήσας χειρὶ τένοντα.
Ψιχάρπαξ δ' ήμυν᾽ ἑτάρων περὶ τεθνειώτων
καὶ βάλε Πρασσαῖον μήπω γαίης ἐπιβάντα·
πῖπτε δὲ οἱ πρόσθεν, ψυχὴ δ' Αιδόσδε βεβήκει.
Κραμβοβάτης δ᾽ ἐσιδὼν πηλοῦ δράκα ῥίψεν ἐπ'
αὐτόν,
235
καὶ τὸ μέτωπον ἔχρισε καὶ ἐξετύφλου παρὰ μικρόν.
ὠργίσθη δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐκεῖνος, ἑλὼν δέ τε χειρὶ παχείῃ
κείμενον ἐν πεδίῳ λίθον ὄμβριμον, ἄχθος ἀρούρης, 240
τῷ βάλε Κραμβοβάτην ὑπὸ γούνατα· πᾶσα δ'
ἐκλάσθη
245
κνήμη δεξιτερή, πέσε δ᾽ ὕπτιος ἐν κονίῃσιν.
Κραυγασίδης δ' ἤμυνε καὶ αὖθις βαῖνεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν,
τύψε δέ μιν μέσσην κατὰ γαστέρα· πᾶς δέ οἱ εἴσω
ὀξύσχοινος ἔδυνε, χαμαὶ δ᾽ ἔκχυντο ἅπαντα
ἔγκατ᾽ ἐφελκομένῳ ὑπὸ δούρατι χειρὶ παχείῃ·
Τρωγλοδύτης δ᾽ ὡς εἶδεν ἐπ᾽ ὄχθῃσιν ποταμοῖο,
σκάζων ἐκ πολέμου ἀνεχάζετο, τείρετο δ' αἰνῶς·
ἥλατο δ᾽ ἐς τάφρους, ὅππως φύγῃ αὐτὸν ὄλεθρον.
Τρωξάρτης δ' ἔβαλεν Φυσίγναθον ἐς πόδα ἄκρον. 250
ἔσχατα δ᾽ ἐκ λίμνης ἀνεδύσατο, τείρετο δ᾽ αἰνῶς·
*
*
Πρασσαῖος δ᾽ ὡς εἶδεν ἔθ᾽ ἡμίπνουν προπεσόντα,
ἦλθε διὰ προμάχων καὶ ἀκόντισεν ὀξέι σχοίνῳ·
οὐδ᾽ ἔρρηξε σάκος, σχέτο δ᾽ αὐτοῦ δουρὸς ἀκωκή.
τοῦ δ᾽ ἔβαλε τρυφάλειαν ἀμύμονα καὶ τετράχυτρον 255
δῖος Οριγανίων, μιμούμενος αὐτὸν ῎Αρηα,
[ὃς μόνος ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀρίστευεν καθ' ὅμιλον·]
558
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 230-257
with blood. Faultless Muck-coucher sprang upon
Lick-platter and killed him with his spear and
brought darkness upon his eyes: and Leeky saw it,
and dragged Lick-platter by the foot, though he was
dead, and choked him in the lake. But Crumb-
snatcher was fighting to avenge his dead comrades,
and hit Leeky before he reached the land; and he fell
forward at the blow and his soul went down to Hades.
And seeing this, Cabbage-climber took a clod of mud
and hurled it at the Mouse, plastering all his forehead
and nearly blinding him. Thereat Crumb-snatcher
was enraged and caught up in his strong hand a huge
stone that lay upon the ground, a heavy burden for
the soil: with that he hit Cabbage-climber below the
knee and splintered his whole right shin, hurling him
on his back in the dust. But Croakerson kept him
off, and rushing at the Mouse in turn, hit him in the
middle of the belly and drove the whole reed-spear
into him, and as he drew the spear back to him with
his strong hand, all his foe's bowels gushed out upon
the ground. And when Troglodyte saw the deed, as
he was limping away from the fight on the river
bank, he shrank back sorely moved, and leaped into a
trench to escape sheer death. Then Bread-nibbler hit
Puff-jaw on the toes he came up at the last from
the lake and was greatly distressed . . . And when
Leeky saw him fallen forward, but still half alive,
he pressed through those who fought in front and
hurled a sharp reed at him; but the point of the
spear was stayed and did not break his shield. Then
noble Rueful, like Ares himself, struck his flawless
head-piece made of four pots-he only among the
559
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
ὥρμησεν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· ὁ δ᾽ ὡς ἔδεν, οὐχ ὑπέ-
μεινεν
ἥρωα κρατερόφρον᾽, ἔδυ δ᾽ ἐν βενθεσι λίμνης.
2
260
Ην δέ τις ἐν μύεσιν Μεριδάρπαξ, ἔξοχος
ἄλλων,
Κναίσωνος 1 φίλος υἱὸς ἀμύμονος Αρτεπιβούλου,
οἴκαδ᾿ ἰὼν πολέμοιο μετασχεῖν παῖδ᾽ ἐκέλευσεν
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἑστήκει γαυρούμενος ὡς κατὰ λίμνην.
οὗτος ἀναρπάξαι βατράχων γενεὴν ἐπαπείλει,
καὶ ῥήξας καρύου μέσσην ῥάχιν εἰς δύο μοίρας
φράγδην ἀμφοτέροισιν ἐν ὤμοις χεῖρας ἔθηκεν·
οἱ δὲ τάχος δείσαντες ἔβαν πάντες κατὰ λίμνην·
καί νύ κεν ἐξετέλεσσεν, ἐπεὶ μέγα οἱ σθένος ἦεν,
εἰ μὴ ἄρ᾽ ὀξὺ νόησε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε.
καὶ τότ᾽ ἀπολλυμένους βατράχους ᾤκτειρε Κρονίων·
κινήσας δὲ κάρη τοίην ἐφθέγξατο φωνήν·
265
271
Ω πόποι, ἢ μέγα ἔργον ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὁρῶμαι·
οὐ μικρὸν ἐκπλήσσει Μεριδάρπαξ, ὃς κατὰ λίμνην
ἅρπαξ ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀμείβεται· ἀλλὰ τάχιστα
Παλλάδα πέμψωμεν πολεμόκλονον, ἢ καὶ ῎Αρηα, 275
οἵ μιν ἐπισχήσουσι μάχης κρατερόν περ ἐόντα.
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη Κρονίδης· "Ηρη δ' ἀπαμείβετο μῦθον·
οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Αθηναίης, Κρονίδη, σθένος, οὔτε "Αρηος
ἰσχύσει βατράχοισιν ἀρηγέμεν αἰπὸν ὄλεθρον.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε πάντες ἴωμεν ἀρηγόνες· ἢ τὸ σὸν ὅπλον 280
κινείσθω μέγα Τιτανοκτόνον ὀβριμοεργόν,
ᾧ ποτε καὶ Καπανῆα κατέκτανες ὄβριμον ἄνδρα
καὶ μέγαν Εγκέλαδον καὶ ἄγρια φύλα Γιγάντων,
κινείσθω· οὕτω γὰρ ἁλώσεται, ὅστις ἄριστος.
1 Κρείωνος, Baumeister.
* This may be a parody of Orion's threat in Hesiod,
Astronomy, frag. 4.
560
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 258-284
Frogs showed prowess in the throng. But when he
saw the other rush at him, he did not stay to meet
the stout-hearted hero but dived down to the depths
of the lake.
Now there was one among the Mice, Slice-
snatcher, who excelled the rest, dear son of Gnawer
the son of blameless Bread-stealer. He went to his
house and bade his son take part in the war; but he
himself stood exulting by the lake. This warrior
threatened to destroy the race of Frogs utterly, and
splitting a chestnut-husk into two parts along the
joint, put the two hollow pieces as armour on his paws:
then straightway the Frogs were dismayed and all
rushed down to the lake, and he would have made
good his boast-for he had great strength-had not
the Son of Cronos, the Father of men and gods, been
quick to mark the thing and pitied the Frogs as
they were perishing. He shook his head, and
uttered this word:
"Dear, dear, how fearful a deed do my eyes be-
hold! Slice-snatcher makes no small panic rushing
to and fro among the Frogs by the lake. Let us then
make all haste and send warlike Pallas or even
Ares, for they will stop his fighting, strong though
he is."
So said the Son of Cronos; but Hera answered
him: "Son of Cronos, neither the might of Athena
nor of Ares can avail to deliver the Frogs from utter
destruction. Rather, come and let us all go to help
them, or else let loose your weapon, the great and for-
midable Titan-killer with which you killed Capaneus,
that doughty man, and great Enceladus and the wild
tribes of Giants; ay, let it loose, for so the most
valiant will be slain."
561
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE
Ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη· Κρονίδης δ' ἔβαλε ψολόεντα
285
κεραυνόν.
πρῶτα μὲν ἐβρόντησε, μέγαν δ᾽ ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον,
αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα κεραυνόν, δειμαλέον Διὸς ὅπλον,
ἧκ᾽ ἐπιδινήσας· ὁ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπτατο χειρὸς ἄνακτος.
πάντας μέν ῥ᾽ ἐφόβησε βαλὼν ἐπὶ τούσδε [κεραυνόν·]
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὡς ἀπέληγε μυῶν στρατός, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι
μᾶλλον
ἔλπετο πορθήσειν βατράχων γένος αἰχμητάων,
εἰ μὴ ἀπ᾽ Οὐλύμπου βατράχους ᾤκτειρε Κρονίων,
ὅς ῥα τότ᾽ ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀρωγοὺς εὐθὺς ἔπεμψεν.
Ἦλθον δ' ἐξαίφνης νωτάκμονες, ἀγκυλοχῆλαι,
λοξοβάται, στρεβλοί, ψαλιδόστομοι, ὀστρακό
δερμοι,
290
295
ὀστοφυείς, πλατύνωτοι, ἀποστίλβοντες ἐν ὤμοις,
βλαισοί, χειροτένοντες, ἀπὸ στέρνων ἐσορῶντες,
ὀκτάποδες, δικέραιοι, ἀτειρέες, οἱ δὲ καλεῦνται
καρκίνοι, οἵ ῥα μυῶν οὐρὰς στομάτεσσιν ἔκοπτον
ἠδὲ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας· ἀνεγνάμπτοντο δὲ λόγχαι. 300
τοὺς δὴ ὑπέδδεισαν πάντες μύες, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔμειναν,
ἐς δὲ φυγὴν ἐτράποντο· ἐδύσετο δ' ἥλιος ἤδη,
καὶ πολέμου τελετὴ μονοημέρου ἐξετελέσθη.
562
BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE, 285-303
So said Hera: and the Son of Cronos cast a lurid
thunderbolt: first he thundered and made great
Olympus shake, and then cast the thunderbolt, the
awful weapon of Zeus, tossing it lightly forth. Thus
he frightened them all, Frogs and Mice alike, hurl-
ing his bolt upon them. Yet even so the army of
the Mice did not relax, but hoped still more to
destroy the brood of warrior Frogs. Only, the Son
of Cronos, on Olympus, pitied the Frogs and then
straightway sent them helpers.
So there came suddenly warriors with mailed
backs and curving claws, crooked beasts that walked
sideways, nut-cracker-jawed, shell-hided: bony they
were, flat-backed, with glistening shoulders and
bandy legs and stretching arms and eyes that looked
behind them. They had also eight legs and two
feelers-persistent creatures who are called crabs.
These nipped off the tails and paws and feet of the
Mice with their jaws, while spears only beat on
them. Of these the Mice were all afraid and no
longer stood up to them, but turned and fled.
Already the sun was set, and so came the end of the
one-day war.
563
0 0.2
OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND
HESIOD, AND THEIR CONTEST
ΠΕΡΙ ΟΜΗΡΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ
ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΩΝΟΣ ΑΥΤΩΝ
3131 Όμηρον καὶ Ἡσίοδον τοὺς θειοτάτους ποιητὰς
πάντες ἄνθρωποι πολίτας ἰδίους εὔχονται γενέ-
σθαι. ἀλλ᾽ Ἡσίοδος μὲν τὴν ἰδίαν ὀνομάσας
πατρίδα πάντας τῆς φιλονεικίας ἀπήλλαξεν εἰπὼν
ὡς ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ 2
εἴσατο δ᾽ ἄγχ᾽ Ἑλικῶνος ἀιζυρῇ ἐνὶ κώμῃ
"Ασκρῃ, χείμα κακῇ, θέρει ἀργαλέῃ, οὐδέ ποτ'
ἐσθλῇ.
Ομηρον δὲ πᾶσαι ὡς εἰπεῖν αἱ πόλεις καὶ οἱ
ἄποικοι αὐτῶν παρ' ἑαυτοῖς γεγενῆσθαι λέγουσιν.
καὶ πρῶτοί γε Σμυρναῖοι Μέλητος ὄντα τοῦ παρ'
αὐτοῖς ποταμοῦ καὶ Κρηθηίδος νύμφης κεκλῆσθαί
φασι πρότερον Μελησιγένη, ὕστερον μέντοι τυ
φλωθέντα Ομηρον μετονομασθῆναι διὰ τὴν παρ'
αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων συνήθη προσηγορίαν.
Χῖοι δὲ πάλιν τεκμήρια φέρουσιν ἴδιον εἶναι
πολίτην λέγοντες καὶ περισῴζεσθαί τινας ἐκ τοῦ
γένους αὐτοῦ παρ' αὑτοῖς Ὁμηρίδας καλουμένους.
Κολοφώνιοι δὲ καὶ τόπον δεικνύουσιν, ἐν ᾧ φασιν
αὐτὸν γράμματα διδάσκοντα τῆς ποιήσεως ἄρ-
ξασθαι καὶ ποιῆσαι πρῶτον τὸν Μαργίτην.
Περὶ δὲ τῶν γονέων αὐτοῦ πάλιν πολλὴ δια-
φωνία παρὰ πᾶσίν ἐστιν. Ελλάνικος μὲν γὰρ
1 Goettling's paging. 2 Works and Days, 639 f.
566
OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND
HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST
EVERYONE boasts that the most divine of poets,
Homer and Hesiod, are said to be his particular
countrymen. Hesiod, indeed, has put a name to his
native place and so prevented any rivalry, for he
Isaid that his father "settled near Helicon in a
wretched hamlet, Ascra, which is miserable in winter
sultry in summer, and good at no season." But, as
for Homer, you might almost say that every city
with its inhabitants claims him as her son. Foremost
are the men of Smyrna who say that he was the Son
of Meles, the river of their town, by a nymph
Cretheïs, and that he was at first called Melesigenes.
He was named Homer later, when he became blind,
this being their usual epithet for such people. The
Chians, on the other hand, bring forward evidence
to show that he was their countrymen, saying that
there actually remain some of his descendants among
them who are called Homeridae. The Colophonians
even show the place where they declare that he
began to compose when a schoolmaster, and say that
his first work was the Margites.
As to his parents also, there is on all hands great
disagreement. Hellanicus and Cleanthes say his
567
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
314 καὶ Κλεάνθης Μαίονα λέγουσιν, Εὐγαίων δὲ Μέ-
λητα, Καλλικλῆς δὲ Μνασαγόραν, Δημόκριτος δὲ
6 Τροιζήνιος Δαήμονα ἔμπορον, ἔνιοι δὲ Θαμύραν,
Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ Μενέμαχον ἱερογραμματέα, εἰσὶ δέ,
οἳ Τηλέμαχον τὸν Ὀδυσσέως· μητέρα δὲ οἱ μὲν
Μῆτιν, οἱ δὲ Κρηθηίδα, οἱ δὲ Θεμίστην, οἱ δὲ
Εὐγνηθώ, ἔνιοι δὲ Ἰθακησίαν τινὰ ὑπὸ Φοινίκων
ἀπεμποληθεῖσαν, οἱ δὲ Καλλιόπην τὴν Μοῦσαν,
τινὲς δὲ Πολυκάστην τὴν Νέστορος.
Ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Μέλης, ὡς δέ τινές φασι, Μελη-
σιγένης, ὡς δὲ ἔνιοι, ῎Αλτης. ὀνομασθῆναι δὲ
αὐτόν φασί τινες Ομηρον διὰ τὸ τὸν πατέρα
αὐτοῦ ὅμηρον δοθῆναι ὑπὸ Κυπρίων Πέρσαις,
οἱ δὲ διὰ τὴν πήρωσιν τῶν ὀμμάτων· παρὰ γὰρ
τοῖς Αἰολεῦσιν οὕτως οἱ πηροὶ καλοῦνται. ὅπερ
δὲ ἀκηκόαμεν ἐπὶ τοῦ θειοτάτου αὐτοκράτορος
Αδριανοῦ εἰρημένον ὑπὸ τῆς Πυθίας περὶ Ὁμή
ρου, ἐκθησόμεθα. τοῦ γὰρ βασιλέως πυθομένου,
πόθεν Ομηρος καὶ τίνος, ἀπεφοίβασε δι᾿ ἑξαμέ
τρου τόνδε τὸν τρόπον·
Αγνωστόν μ' ἔρεαι γενεὴν καὶ πατρίδα γαῖαν
ἀμβροσίου σειρῆνος; ἕδος δ' Ιθακήσιος ἐστιν,
Τηλέμαχος δὲ πατὴρ καὶ Νεστορέη Επικάστη
μήτηρ, ἥ μιν ἔτικτε βροτῶν πολὺ πάνσοφον
ἄνδρα.
οἷς μάλιστα δεῖ πιστεύειν διά τε τὸν πυθόμενον
καὶ τὸν ἀποκρινάμενον, ἄλλως τε οὕτως τοῦ
ποιητοῦ μεγαλοφυῶς τὸν προπάτορα διὰ τῶν
ἐπῶν δεδοξακότος.
1 Rzach: Ταύραν, Flach.
568
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
father was Maeon, but Eugaeon says Meles; Callicles
is for Mnesagoras, Democritus of Troezen for Daemon,
a merchant-trader. Some, again, say he was the son
of Thamyras, but the Egyptians say of Menemachus,
a priest-scribe, and there are even those who father
him on Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. As for
his mother, she is variously called Metis, Cretheïs,
Themista, and Eugnetho. Others say she was an
Ithacan woman sold as a slave by the Phoenicians;
others, Calliope the Muse; others again Polycasta,
the daughter of Nestor.
Homer himself was called Meles or, according to
different accounts, Melesigenes or Altes. Some
authorities say he was called Homer, because his
father was given as a hostage to the Persians by the
men of Cyprus; others, because of his blindness; for
amongst the Aeolians the blind are so called. We
will set down, however, what we have heard to have
been said by the Pythia concerning Homer in the
time of the most sacred Emperor Hadrian. When
the monarch inquired from what city Homer came,
and whose son he was, the priestess delivered a
response in hexameters after this fashion:
"Do you ask me of the obscure race and country
of the heavenly siren? Ithaca is his country, Tele-
machus his father, and Epicasta, Nestor's daughter,
the mother that bare him, a man by far the wisest
of mortal kind." This we must most implicitly
believe, the inquirer and the answerer being who
they are—especially since the poet has so greatly
glorified his grandfather in his works.
569
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
Ἔνιοι μὲν οὖν αὐτὸν προγενέστερον Ἡσιόδου
φασὶν εἶναι· τινὲς δὲ νεώτερον καὶ συγγενῆ.
γενεαλογοῦσι δὲ οὕτως· Απόλλωνός φασι καὶ
Αἰθούσης τῆς Ποσειδῶνος γενέσθαι Λίνον, Λίνου
δὲ Πίερον, Πιέρου δὲ καὶ νύμφης Μεθώνης Οἴα-
γρον, Οἰάγρου δὲ καὶ Καλλιόπης Ορφέα, Ορφέως
δὲ Δρῆν, [τοῦ δὲ Εὐκλέα 1], τοῦ δὲ Ἰαδμονίδην,
315 τοῦ δὲ Φιλοτέρπην, τοῦ δὲ Εὔφημον, τοῦ δὲ Επι-
φράδην, τοῦ δὲ Μελάνωπον, τούτου δὲ Δῖον καὶ
᾿Απελλῆν, Δίου δὲ καὶ Πυκιμήδης τῆς ᾿Απόλ
λωνος θυγατρὸς Ἡσίοδον καὶ Πέρσην Απελλού
δὲ Μαίονα, Μαίονος δὲ καὶ θυγατρός Μέλητος
τοῦ ποταμοῦ Ὅμηρον.
Τινὲς δὲ συνακμάσαι φασὶν αὐτοὺς ὥστε καὶ
ἀγωνίσασθαι ὁμόσε ἐν Χαλκίδι τῆς Εὐβοίας.2
ποιήσαντα γὰρ τὸν Μαργίτην Ομηρον περιέρχε-
σθαι κατὰ πόλιν ῥαψῳδοῦντα, ἐλθόντα δὲ καὶ εἰς
Δελφοὺς περὶ τῆς πατρίδος αὑτοῦ πυνθάνεσθαι,
τίς εἴη, τὴν δὲ Πυθίαν εἰπεῖν·
ἔστιν Ἴος νῆσος μητρὸς πατρίς, ἥ σε θανόντα
δέξεται· ἀλλὰ νέων παίδων αἴνιγμα φύλαξαι.
τὸν δὲ ἀκούσαντα περιίστασθαι μὲν τὴν εἰς Ἴον
ἄφιξιν, διατρίβειν δὲ περὶ τὴν ἐκεῖ χώραν. κατὰ
δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον Γανύκτωρ ἐπιτάφιον τοῦ
πατρὸς ᾿Αμφιδάμαντος, βασιλέως Εὐβοίας, ἐπι-
τελῶν πάντας τοὺς ἐπισήμους ἄνδρας οὐ μόνον
ῥώμῃ καὶ τάχει, ἀλλὰ καὶ σοφίᾳ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα
μεγάλαις δωρεαῖς τιμῶν συνεκάλεσεν. καὶ οὗτοι
οὖν ἐκ τύχης, ὥς φασι, συμβαλόντες ἀλλήλοις
1 Goettling's supplement.
2 Nietzsche : ἐν ᾿Αυλίδι τῆς Βοιωτίας, MSS.
570
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
Now some say that he was earlier than Hesiod,
others that he was younger and akin to him. They
give his descent thus: Apollo and Ethusa, daughter
of Poseidon, had a son Linus, to whom was born
Pierus. From Pierus and the nymph Methone sprang
Oeager; and from Oeager and Calliope Orpheus; from
Orpheus, Dres; and from him, Eucles. The descent is
continued through Iadmonides, Philoterpes, Euphe-
mus, Epiphrades and Melanopus who had sons Dius
and Apelles. Dius by Pycimede, the daughter of
Apollo had two sons Hesiod and Perses; while
Apelles begot Maeon who was the father of Homer
by a daughter of the River Meles.
According to one account they flourished at the
same time and even had a contest of skill at
Chalcis in Euboea. For, they say, after Homer had
composed the Margites, he went about from city to
city as a minstrel, and coming to Delphi, inquired
who he was and of what country? The Pythia
answered:
"The Isle of Ios is your mother's country and it
shall receive you dead; but beware of the riddle
of the young children." 1
Now
Hearing this, it is said, he hesitated to go to Ios,
and remained in the region where he was.
about the same time Ganyctor was celebrating the
funeral rites of his father Amphidamas, king of
Euboea, and invited to the gathering not only all
those who were famous for bodily strength and
fleetness of foot, but also those who excelled in
wit, promising them great rewards. And so, as the
story goes, the two went to Chalcis and met by
1 sc. the riddle of the fisher-boys which comes at the end
of this work.
571
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
ἦλθον εἰς τὴν Χαλκίδα. τοῦ δὲ ἀγῶνος ἄλλοι τέ
τινες τῶν ἐπισήμων Χαλκιδέων ἐκαθέζοντο κριταὶ
καὶ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν Πανείδης, ἀδελφὸς ὢν τοῦ τετελευ-
τηκότος. ἀμφοτέρων δὲ τῶν ποιητῶν θαυμαστῶς
ἀγωνισαμένων νικῆσαί φασι τὸν Ἡσίοδον τὸν τρό-
πον τοῦτον· προελθόντα γὰρ εἰς τὸ μέσον πυν
θάνεσθαι τοῦ Ὁμήρου καθ᾿ ἓν ἕκαστον, τὸν δὲ
"Ομηρον ἀποκρίνασθαι. φησὶν οὖν Ἡσίοδος·
Υἱὲ Μέλητος, Ὅμηρε, θεῶν ἄπο μήδεα ειδώς,
εἴπ᾽ ἄγε μοι πάμπρωτα, τί φέρτατόν ἐστι
βροτοῖσιν;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
᾿Αρχὴν μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον,
φύντα δ' ὅπως ὤκιστα πύλας Αίδαο περῆσαι.
316 Ἡσίοδος τὸ δεύτερον·
Εἴπ᾽ ἄγε μοι καὶ τοῦτο, θεοῖς ἐπιείκελ' Όμηρε,
τί θνητοῖς κάλλιστον δίεαι ἐν φρεσὶν εἶναι;
ὁ δέ
Οππότ᾽ ἂν εὐφροσύνη μὲν ἔχῃ κάτα δῆμον
ἅπαντα,
δαιτυμόνες δ᾽ ἀνὰ δώματ' ἀκουάζωνται ἀοιδοῦ
ἥμενοι ἑξείης, παρὰ δὲ πλήθωσι τράπεζαι
σίτου καὶ κρεέων, μέθυ δ᾽ ἐκ κρητῆρος ἀφύσσων
οἰνοχόος φορέῃσι καὶ ἐγχείῃ δεπάεσσιν.
τοῦτό τί μοι κάλλιστον ἐνὶ φρεσὶν εἴδεται εἶναι.
Ῥηθέντων δὲ τούτων τῶν ἐπῶν, οὕτω σφοδρῶς
φασι θαυμασθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τους στί
χους ὥστε χρυσοῦς αὐτοὺς προσαγορευθῆναι, καὶ
ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐν ταῖς κοιναῖς θυσίαις πρὸ τῶν δεί-
πνων καὶ σπονδῶν προκατεύχεσθαι πάντας. ὁ δὲ
572
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
chance. The leading Chalcidians were judges to-
gether with Paneides, the brother of the dead king;
and it is said that after a wonderful contest between
the two poets, Hesiod won in the following manner :
he came forward into the midst and put Homer one
question after another, which Homer answered.
Hesiod, then, began:
"Homer, son of Meles, inspired with wisdom
from heaven, come, tell me first what is best for
mortal man?"
HOMER
"For men on earth 'tis best never to be born at
all; or being born, to pass through the gates of
Hades with all speed."
Hesiod then asked again :
“Come, tell me now this also, godlike Homer:
what think you in your heart is most delightsome
to men?"
Homer answered:
"When mirth reigns throughout the town, and
feasters about the house, sitting in order, listen to
a minstrel; when the tables beside them are laden
with bread and meat, and a wine-bearer draws sweet
drink from the mixing-bowl and fills the cups: this
I think in my heart to be most delightsome."
It is said that when Homer had recited these
verses, they were so admired by the Greeks as to be
called golden by them, and that even now at public
sacrifices all the guests solemnly recite them before
feasts and libations. Hesiod, however, was annoyed
573
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
317
Ἡσίοδος ἀχθεσθεὶς ἐπὶ τῇ Ὁμήρου εὐημερίᾳ ἐπὶ
τὴν τῶν ἀπόρων ὥρμησεν ἐπερώτησιν καί φησι
ιούσδε τοὺς στίχους·
Μοῦσ᾽ ἄγει μοι τά τ' ἐόντα τά τ' ἐσσόμενα πρό
τ᾽ ἐόντα,
τῶν μὲν μηδὲν ἄειδε, σὺ δ᾽ ἄλλης μνῆσαι ἀοιδῆς.
ὁ δὲ Ὅμηρος, βουλόμενος ἀκολούθως τὸ ἄπορον
λῦσαι, φησίν·
Οὐδέ ποτ' ἀμφὶ Διὸς τύμβῳ καναχήποδες ἵπποι
ἅρματα συντρίψουσιν ἐρίζοντες περὶ νίκης.
Καλῶς δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἀπαντήσαντος ἐπὶ τὰς
ἀμφιβόλους γνώμας ὥρμησεν ὁ Ἡσίοδος, καὶ
πλείονας στίχους λέγων ἠξίου καθ᾽ ἕνα ἕκαστον
συμφώνως ἀποκρίνασθαι τὸν Ομηρον. ἔστιν οὖν
ὁ μὲν πρῶτος Ἡσιόδου, ὁ δὲ ἑξῆς Ὁμήρου, ἐνίοτε
δὲ καὶ διὰ δύο στίχων τὴν ἐπερώτησιν ποιουμένου
τοῦ Ἡσιόδου·
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Δεῖπνον ἔπειθ' εἵλοντο βοῶν κρέα, καὐχένας
ἵππων
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Ἔκλυον ἱδρώοντας, ἐπεὶ πολέμοιο κορέσθην.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Καὶ Φρύγες, οἳ πάντων ἀνδρῶν ἐπὶ νηυσὶν
ἄριστοι
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
᾿Ανδράσι ληιστήρσιν ἐπ᾽ ἀκτῆς δόρπον ἑλέσθαι.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
2
Χερσὶ βαλέων ἰοὺς οὔλων κατὰ φύλα
γιγάντων
1 MSS. : ἅ γέ μοι, Flach. 2 Nietzsche : ἰοῖσιν, ΜS.
8 Rzach : ἄλλων, MS.
574
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
by Homer's felicity and hurried on to pose him with
hard questions. He therefore began with the fol-
lowing lines:
"Come, Muse; sing not to me of things that are,
or that shall be, or that were of old; but think of
another song."
Then Homer, wishing to escape from the impasse
by an apt answer, replied :-
-
"Never shall horses with clattering hoofs break
chariots, striving for victory about the tomb of Zeus."
Here again Homer had fairly met Hesiod, and so
the latter turned to sentences of doubtful meaning ¹:
he recited many lines and required Homer to com-
plete the sense of each appropriately. The first of the
following verses is Hesiod's and the next Homer's:
but sometimes Hesiod puts his question in two lines.
HESIOD
"Then they dined on the flesh of oxen and their
horses' necks-"
HOMER
"They unyoked dripping with sweat, when they
had had enough of war.'
HESIOD
"And the Phrygians, who of all men are handiest
at ships--"
HOMER
"To filch their dinner from pirates on the
beach.
""
HESIOD
"To shoot forth arrows against the tribes of cursed
giants with his hands—”
1 The verses of Hesiod are called doubtful in meaning
because they are, if taken alone, either incomplete or
absurd.
575
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Ἡρακλέης ἀπέλυσεν ἀπ᾽ ὤμων καμπύλα τόξα.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Οὗτος ἀνὴρ ἀνδρός τ᾿ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ ἀνάλκιδός ἐστι
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Μητρός, ἐπεὶ πόλεμος χαλεπὸς πάσῃσι γυναιξίν.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Αὐτάρι σοί γε πατὴρ ἐμίγη καὶ πότνια μήτηρ
2
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Σῶμα τό γε σπείραντε διὰ χρυσέην Αφροδίτην.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δμήθη γάμῳ "Αρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Καλλιστὼ κατέπεφνεν ἀπ᾿ ἀργυρέοιο βιοῖο.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ὣς οἱ μὲν δαίνυντο πανήμεροι, οὐδὲν ἔχοντες
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
318 Οἴκοθεν· ἀλλὰ παρεῖχεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν ᾿Αγαμέ
μνων.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Δεῖπνον δειπνήσαντες ἐνὶ σποδῷ αἰθαλοέσσῃ
σύλλεγον ὀστέα λευκὰ Διὸς κατατεθνηώτος
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Παιδὸς ὑπερθύμου Σαρπηδόνος ἀντιθέοιο.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ἡμεῖς δ᾽ ἂμ πεδίον Σιμοέντιον ἥμενοι αὕτως
ἴομεν ἐκ νηῶν ὁδὸν ἀμφ' ὤμοισιν ἔχοντες
1 Ludwich : οὔτ᾽ ἂρ, MS. 2 τότε, Flach.
576
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
HOMER
"Heracles unslung his curved bow from his
shoulders."
HESIOD
"This man is the son of a brave father and a
weakling-"
HOMER
"Mother; for war is too stern for any woman."
HESIOD
"But for you, your father and lady mother lay in
love-"
HOMER
"When they begot you by the aid of golden Aphro-
dite."
HESIOD
"But when she had been made subject in love,
Artemis, who delights in arrows-'
HOMER
""
"Slew Callisto with a shot of her silver bow."
HESIOD
"So they feasted all day long, taking nothing-"
HOMER
"From their own houses; for Agamemnon, king
of men, supplied them."
HESIOD
"When they had feasted, they gathered among
the glowing ashes the bones of the dead Zeus-'
HOMER
""
"Born Sarpedon, that bold and godlike man."
HESIOD
"Now we have lingered thus about the plain of
Simoïs, forth from the ships let us go our way, upon
our shoulders-"
577
P P
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
319
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Φάσγανα κωπήεντα καὶ αἰγανέας δολιχαύλους.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Δὴ τότ᾽ ἀριστῆες κοῦροι χείρεσσι θαλάσσης
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Ασμενοι ἐσσυμένως τε ἀπείρυσαν ὠκύαλον ναῦν.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Κολχίδ᾽ ἔπειτ᾽ ἤγοντο καὶ Αἰήτην βασιλήα 1
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Φεῦγον, ἐπεὶ γίγνωσκον ἀνέστιον ἠδ᾽ ἀθέμιστον.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ σπεῖσάν τε καὶ ἔκπιον οἶδμα
θαλάσσης
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Ποντοπορεῖν ἔμελλον ἐυσσέλμων ἐπὶ νηῶν.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Τοῖσιν δ' Ατρείδης μεγάλ' εὔχετο πᾶσιν
ὀλέσθαι
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Μηδέποτ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ, καὶ φωνήσας ἔπος ηὔδα·
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ἐσθίετ᾽, ὦ ξεῖνοι, καὶ πίνετε· μηδέ τις ὑμέων
οἴκαδε νοστήσειε φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαϊαν
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Πημανθείς, ἀλλ᾽ αὖτις ἀπήμονες οἴκαδ᾽ ἵκοισθε,
Πρὸς πάντα δὲ τοῦ Ὁμήρου καλῶς ἀπαντήσαντος
πάλιν φησὶν ὁ Ἡσίοδος·
1 Flach follows Nietzsche in transposing this and the
following verse and in reading ἔπειθ᾽ ἵκοντο,
2 Goettling's arrangement: Flach assigns the three fol-
lowing verses also to Hesiod.
578
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
HOMER
"Having our hilted swords and long-helved spears."
HESIOD
"Then the young heroes with their hands from the
sea-
""
HOMER
"Gladly and swiftly hauled out their fleet ship."
HESIOD
"Then they came to Colchis and king Æëtes—”
HOMER
"They avoided; for they knew he was inhospitable
and lawless."
HESIOD
"Now when they had poured libations and deeply
drunk, the surging sea-'
HOMER
"They were minded to traverse on well-built ships."
HESIOD
"The Son of Atreus prayed greatly for them that
they all might perish-"
HOMER
"At no time in the sea: and he opened his mouth
and said:
""
HESIOD
"Eat, my guests, and drink, and may no one of
you return home to his dear country-"
HOMER
"Distressed; but may you all reach home again
unscathed."
When Homer had met him fairly on every point
Hesiod said:
579
PP 2
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
320
Τοῦτό τι δή μοι μοῦνον ἐειρομένῳ κατάλεξον,
πόσσοι ἅμ᾽ Ατρείδῃσιν ἐς Ἴλιον ἦλθον ᾿Αχαιοί;
ὁ δὲ διὰ λογιστικοῦ προβλήματος ἀποκρίνεται
οὕτως·
Πεντήκοντ᾽ ἦσαν πυρὸς ἐσχάραι, ἐν δὲ ἑκάστῃ
πεντήκοντ᾽ ὀβελοί, περὶ δὲ κρέα πεντήκοντα·
τρὶς δὲ τριηκόσιοι περὶ ἓν κρέας ἦσαν ᾿Αχαιοί.
Τοῦτο δὲ εὑρίσκεται πλῆθος ἄπιστον· τῶν γὰρ
ἐσχαρῶν οὐσῶν πεντήκοντα, ὀβελίσκοι γίνονται
πεντακόσιοι καὶ χιλιάδες β', κρεῶν δὲ δεκαδύο
μυριάδες . . . .
Κατὰ πάντα δὴ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ὑπερτεροῦντος
φθονῶν ὁ Ἡσίοδος ἄρχεται πάλιν·
Υἱὲ Μέλητος Ομηρ', εἴπερ τιμῶσί σε Μοῦσαι,
ὡς λόγος, ὑψίστοιο Διὸς μεγάλοιο θύγατρες,
λέξον μέτρον ἐναρμόζων, ὅ τι δὴ θνητοῖσι
κάλλιστόν τε καὶ ἔχθιστον· ποθέω γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι.
ὁ δέ φησι·
Ἡσίοδ᾽, ἔκγονε Δίου, ἑκόντα με ταῦτα κελεύεις
εἰπεῖν· αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ μάλα τοι πρόφρων ἀγορεύσω.
κάλλιστον μὲν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔσται μέτρον εἶναι
αὐτὸν ἑαυτῷ· τῶν δὲ κακῶν ἔχθιστον ἁπάντων.
ἄλλο δὲ πᾶν, ὅ τι σῷ θυμῷ φίλον ἐστίν, ἐρώτα.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Πῶς ἂν ἄριστ᾽ οἰκοῦντο πόλεις καὶ ἐν ἤθεσι
ποίοις;
1 Flach, following Nietzsche, marks a lacuna after this
line.
580
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
66
Only tell me this thing that I ask: How many
Achaeans went to Ilium with the sons of Atreus?”
Homer answered in a mathematical problem,
thus:
"There were fifty hearths, and at each hearth
were fifty spits, and on each spit were fifty carcases,
and there were thrice three hundred Achaeans to
each joint."
This is found to be an incredible number; for
as there were fifty hearths, the number of spits is
two thousand five hundred; and of carcasses, one
hundred and twenty thousand
Homer, then, having the advantage on every
point, Hesiod was jealous and began again:
"Homer, son of Meles, if indeed the Muses,
daughters of great Zeus the most high, honour you
as it is said, tell me a standard that is both best
and worst for mortal-men; for I long to know it."
Homer replied: "Hesiod, son of Dius, I am willing
to tell you what you command, and very readily will
I answer you.
For each man to be a standard to
himself is most excellent for the
bad it is the worst of all things.
whatever else your heart desires."
good, but for the
And now ask me
HESIOD
"How would men best dwell in cities, and with
what observances ?"
581
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
321
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Εἰ μὴ κερδαίνειν ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἐθέλοιεν,
οἱ δ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ τιμῷντο, δίκη δ᾽ ἀδίκοισιν ἐπείη.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Εὔχειθαι δὲ θεοῖσι τί πάντων ἐστὶν ἄμεινον;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Εὔνουν εἶναι ἑαυτῷ ἀεὶ χρόνον ἐς τὸν ἅπαντα.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ἐν δ᾽ ἐλαχίστῳ ἄριστον ἔχεις ὅ τι φύεται
εἰπεῖν;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Ὡς μὲν ἐμῇ γνώμῃ, φρένες ἐσθλαὶ σώμασιν
ἀνδρῶν.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ἡ δὲ δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἀνδρείη δύναται τί;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Κοινὰς ὠφελίας ἰδίοις μόχθοισι πορίζειν.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Τῆς σοφίης δὲ τί τέκμαρ ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι
πέφυκεν;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Γιγνώσκειν τὰ παρόντ᾽ ὀρθῶς, καιρῷ δ᾽ ἅμ᾽
ἕπεσθαι.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Πιστεῦσαι δὲ βροτοῖς ποῖον χρέος ἄξιόν ἐστιν;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Οἷς αὐτὸς κίνδυνος ἐπὶ πραχθεῖσιν ἕπηται.
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ
Ἡ δ᾽ εὐδαιμονίη τί ποτ᾽ ἀνθρώποισι καλεῖται;
ΟΜΗΡΟΣ
Λυπηθέντ᾽ ἐλάχιστα θανεῖν ἡσθέντα τε πλεῖστα.
582
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
HOMER
"By scorning to get unclean gain and if the good
were honoured, but justice fell upon the unjust.'
HESIOD
""
"What is the best thing of all for a man to ask of
the gods in prayer?"
HOMER
"That he may be always at peace with himself
continually."
HESIOD
"Can you tell me in briefest space what is best of
all?"
HOMER
"A sound mind in a manly body, as I believe."
HESIOD
"Of what effect are righteousness and courage?
HOMER
"
"To advance the common good by private pains."
HESIOD
"What is the mark of wisdom among men?”
HOMER
"To read aright the present, and to march with
the occasion."
HESIOD
"In what kind of matter is it right to trust in men?"
HOMER
"Where danger itself follows the action close.”
HESIOD
"What do men mean by happiness?"
HOMER
"Death after a life of least pain and greatest
pleasure."
583
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
322
Ῥηθέντων δὲ καὶ τούτων, οἱ μὲν Ἕλληνες πάντες
τὸν Ὅμηρον ἐκέλευον στεφανοῦν, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς
Πανείδης ἐκέλευσεν ἕκαστον τὸ κάλλιστον ἐκ τῶν
ἰδίων ποιημάτων εἰπεῖν. Ἡσίοδος οὖν ἔφη πρῶ-
τος
Πληιάδων ᾿Ατλαγενέων ἐπιτελλομενάων
ἄρχεσθ᾽ ἀμήτου, ἀρότοιό τε δυσομενάων·
αϊ δή τοι νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα τεσσαράκοντα
κεκρύφαται, αὖτις δὲ περιπλομένου ἐνιαυτοῦ
φαίνονται, τὰ πρῶτα χαρασσομένοιο σιδήρου.
οὗτός τοι πεδίων πέλεται νόμος, οἵ τε θαλάσσης
ἐγγύθι ναιετάουσ᾽, οἵ τ᾽ ἄγκεα βησσήεντα
πόντου κυμαίνοντος ἀπόπροθι, πίονα χῶρον
ναίουσιν· γυμνὸν σπείρειν, γυμνὸν δὲ βοωτεῖν
γυμνόν τ' ἀμάειν, ὅταν ὥρια πάντα πέλωνται.
Μεθ᾿ ὃν Ομηρος
᾿Αμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Αἴαντας δοιοὺς ἵσταντο φάλαγγες
καρτεραί, ἃς οὔτ᾽ ἄν κεν Αρης ὀνόσαιτο μετελθὼν
οὔτε κ᾿ Αθηναίη λαοσσόος. οἱ γὰρ ἄριστοι
κρινθέντες Τρωάς τε καὶ Ἕκτορα δῖον ἔμιμνον
φράξαντες δόρυ δουρί, σάκος σάκεϊ προθελύμνῳ·
ἀσπὶς ἄρ᾽ ἀσπίδ᾽ ἔρειδε, κόρυς κόρυν, ἀνέρα δ'
ἀνήρ,
ψαῦον δ᾽ ἱππόκομοι κόρυθες λαμπροῖσι φίλοισι
νευόντων· ὡς πυκνοὶ ἐφέστασαν ἀλλήλοισιν.
ἔφριξεν δὲ μάχη φθισίμβροτος ἐγχείησι
μακραῖς, ἃς εἶχον ταμεσίχροας. ὄσσε δ' ἄμερδεν
αὐγὴ χαλκείη κορύθων ἄπο λαμπομενάων
θωρήκων τε νεοσμήκτων σακέων τε φαεινῶν
ἐρχομένων ἄμυδις. μάλα κεν θρασυκάρδιος εἴη,
ὃς τότε γηθήσειεν ἰδὼν πόνον οὐδ᾽ ἀκάχοιτο.
584
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
After these verses had been spoken, all the
Hellenes called for Homer to be crowned. But
King Paneides bade each of them recite the finest
passage from his own poems. Hesiod, therefore,
began¹ as follows:
"When the Pleiads, the daughters of Atlas, begin
to rise begin the harvest, and begin ploughing ere
they set. For forty nights and days they are hidden,
but appear again as the year wears round, when first
the sickle is sharpened. This is the law of the
plains and for those who dwell near the sea or live
in the rich-soiled valleys, far from the wave-tossed
deep strip to sow, and strip to plough, and strip to
reap when all things are in season.”
Then Homer 2:
"The ranks stood firm about the two Aiantes,
such that not even Ares would have scorned them
had he met them, nor yet Athena who saves armies.
For there the chosen best awaited the charge of the
Trojans and noble Hector, making a fence of spears
and serried shields. Shield closed with shield, and
helm with helm, and each man with his fellow, and
the peaks of their head-pieces with crests of horse-
hair touched as they bent their heads: so close they
stood together. The murderous battle bristled with
the long, flesh-rending spears they held, and the
flash of bronze from polished helms and new-
burnished breast-plates and gleaming shields blinded
the eyes. Very hard of heart would he have been,
who could then have seen that strife with joy and
felt no pang."
1 Works and Days, 383-392.
2 Iliad xiii. 126-133, 339-344.
585
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
Θαυμάσαντες δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸν Ὅμηρον οἱ
“Έλληνες ἐπῄνουν, ὡς παρὰ τὸ προσῆκον γεγονό-
των τῶν ἐπῶν, καὶ ἐκέλευον διδόναι τὴν νίκην. ὁ
δὲ βασιλεὺς τὸν Ἡσίοδον ἐστεφάνωσεν εἰπὼν δί-
καιον εἶναι τὸν ἐπὶ γεωργίαν καὶ εἰρήνην προκαλού-
μενον νικᾶν, οὐ τὸν πολέμους καὶ σφαγὰς διεξιόντα.
τῆς μὲν οὖν νίκης οὕτω φασὶ τυχεῖν τὸν Ἡσίοδον
καὶ λαβόντα τρίποδα χαλκοῦν ἀναθεῖναι ταῖς
Μούσαις ἐπιγράψαντα·
Ἡσίοδος Μούσαις Ελικωνίσι τόνδ' ἀνέθηκεν
ὕμνῳ νικήσας ἐν Χαλκίδι θεῖον Όμηρον.
Τοῦ δὲ ἀγῶνος διαλυθέντος διέπλευσεν ὁ Ἡσίο
δος εἰς Δελφοὺς χρησόμενος καὶ τῆς νίκης ἀπαρ-
χὰς τῷ θεῷ ἀναθήσων. προσερχομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ
τῷ ναῷ ἔνθεον γενομένην τὴν προφῆτίν φασιν
εἰπεῖν·
Ολβιος οὗτος ἀνήρ, ὃς ἐμὸν δόμον ἀμφιπολεύει,
Ἡσίοδος Μούσῃσι τετιμένος ἀθανάτῃσιν·
τοῦ δ᾽ ἦτοι κλέος ἔσται, ὅσον τ᾽ ἐπικίδναται ἠώς.
ἀλλὰ Διὸς πεφύλαξο Νεμείου κάλλιμον ἄλσος·
κεῖθι δέ τοι θανάτοιο τέλος πεπρωμένον ἐστίν.
Ὁ δὲ Ἡσίοδος ἀκούσας τοῦ χρησμοῦ, τῆς
Πελοποννήσου μὲν ἀνεχώρει νομίσας τὴν ἐκεῖ
Νεμέαν τὸν θεὸν λέγειν, εἰς δὲ Οἰνόην τῆς Λοκρί
δος ἐλθὼν καταλύει παρ' ᾿Αμφιφάνει καὶ Γανύ-
κτορι, τοῖς Φηγέως παισίν, ἀγνοήσας τὸ μαντεῖον.
ὁ γὰρ τόπος οὗτος ἅπας ἐκαλεῖτο Διὸς Νεμείου
323 ἱερόν. διατριβῆς δὲ αὐτῷ πλείονος γενομένης ἐν
τοῖς Οἰνοεῦσιν, ὑπονοήσαντες οἱ νεανίσκοι τὴν
ἀδελφὴν αὐτῶν μοιχεύειν τὸν Ἡσίοδον, ἀποκτεί-
586
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
Here, again, the Hellenes applauded Homer
admiringly, so far did the verses exceed the
ordinary level; and demanded that he should be
adjudged the winner. But the king gave the crown
to Hesiod, declaring that it was right that he who
called upon men to follow peace and husbandry
should have the prize rather than one who dwelt on
war and slaughter. In this way, then, we are told,
Hesiod gained the victory and received a brazen
tripod which he dedicated to the Muses with this
inscription:
"Hesiod dedicated this tripod to the Muses of
Helicon after he had conquered divine Homer at
Chalcis in a contest of song.
After the gathering was dispersed, Hesiod crossed
to the mainland and went to Delphi to consult the
oracle and to dedicate the first fruits of his victory to
the god. They say that as he was approaching the
temple, the prophetess became inspired and said:
"Blessed is this man who serves my house,-
Hesiod, who is honoured by the deathless Muses:
surely his renown shall be as wide as the light of
dawn is spread. But beware of the pleasant grove
of Nemean Zeus; for there death's end is destined
to befall you."
When Hesiod heard this oracle, he kept away
from the Peloponnesus, supposing that the god
meant the Nemea there; and coming to Oenoë in
Locris, he stayed with Amphiphanes and Ganyctor
the sons of Phegeus, thus unconsciously fulfilling the
oracle; for all that region was called the sacred
place of Nemean Zeus. He continued to stay a
somewhat long time at Oenoë, until the young men,
suspecting Hesiod of seducing their sister, killed
587
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
ναντες εἰς τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς ᾿Αχαΐας καὶ τῆς Λοκρί-
δος πέλαγος κατεπόντισαν. τοῦ δὲ νεκροῦ τρι-
ταίου πρὸς τὴν γῆν ὑπὸ δελφίνων προσενεχθέντος,
ἑορτῆς τινος ἐπιχωρίου παρ' αὐτοῖς οὔσης Αριαδ
νείας, πάντες ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν ἔδραμον καὶ τὸ
σῶμα γνωρίσαντες, ἐκεῖνο μὲν πενθήσαντες ἔθα-
ψαν, τοὺς δὲ φονεῖς ἀνεζήτουν. οἱ δὲ φοβηθέντες
τὴν τῶν πολιτῶν ὀργὴν κατασπάσαντες ἁλιευτι
κὸν σκάφος διέπλευσαν εἰς Κρήτην· οὓς κατὰ
μέσον τὸν πλοῦν ὁ Ζεὺς κεραυνώσας κατεπόν-
τωσεν, ὥς φησιν ᾿Αλκιδάμας ἐν Μουσείῳ. Ερα-
τοσθένης δέ φησιν ἐν Ἡσιόδῳ3 Κτίμενον καὶ
Αντιφον τοὺς Γανύκτορος ἐπὶ τῇ προειρημένῃ
αἰτίᾳ ἐναλόντας 4 σφαγιασθῆναι θεοῖς τοῖς ξενίοις
ὑπ᾽ Εὐρυκλέους τοῦ μάντεως. τὴν μέντοι παρθένον,
τὴν ἀδελφὴν τῶν προειρημένων, μετὰ τὴν φθορὰν
ἑαυτὴν ἀναρτῆσαι· φθαρῆναι δὲ ὑπό τινος ξένου
συνόδου τοῦ Ἡσιόδου Δημώδους ὄνομα· ὃν καὶ
αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν φησιν. ὕστερον
δὲ Ορχομένιοι κατὰ χρησμὸν μετενέγκαντες
αὐτὸν παρ' αὑτοῖς ἔθαψαν καὶ ἐπέγραψαν ἐπὶ τῷ
τάφῳ·
῎Ασκρη μὲν πατρὶς πολυλήιος, ἀλλὰ θανόντος
ὀστέα πλήξιππος γῆ Μινυὰς κατέχει
Ἡσιόδου, τοῦ πλεῖστον ἐν ἀνθρώποις κλέος ἐστὶν
ἀνδρῶν κρινομένων ἐν βασάνῳ σοφίης.
Καὶ περὶ μὲν Ἡσιόδου τοσαῦτα· ὁ δὲ Ομηρος
1 Westermann : Εὐβοίας, MS.
2 So MS. : Ρίου ἁγνείας, Flach (after Nietzsche).
• Goettling : ἐνηπόδω, MS.
4 Friedel : ἀνελόντας, MS.; ἀνελθόντας, Flach (after
Stephanus).
588
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
But
him and cast his body into the sea which separates
Achaea and Locris. On the third day, however, his
body was brought to land by dolphins while some
local feast of Ariadne was being held. There-
upon, all the people hurried to the shore, and
recognizing the body, lamented over it and buried
it, and then began to look for the assassins.
these, fearing the anger of their countrymen,
launched a fishing boat, and put out to sea for Crete:
they had finished half their voyage when Zeus sank
them with a thunderbolt, as Alcidamas states in his
Museum. Eratosthenes, however, says in his Hesiod
that Ctimenus and Antiphus, sons of Ganyctor,
killed him for the reason already stated, and were
sacrificed by Eurycles the seer to the gods of
hospitality. He adds that the girl, sister of the
above-named, hanged herself after she had been
seduced, and that she was seduced by some stranger,
Demodes by name, who was travelling with Hesiod,
and who was also killed by the brothers.
At a
later time the men of Orchomenus removed his body
as they were directed by an oracle, and buried him
in their own country where they placed this in-
scription on his tomb:
"Ascra with its many cornfields was his native
land; but in death the land of the horse-driving
Minyans holds the bones of Hesiod, whose renown
is greatest among men of all who are judged by the
test of wit."
So much for Hesiod. But Homer, after losing the
589
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
324
ἀποτυχὼν τῆς νίκης περιερχόμενος ἔλεγε τὰ
ποιήματα, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν Θηβαΐδα, ἔπη,ζ, ἧς
ἡ ἀρχή·
*Αργος ἄειδε, θεά, πολυδίψιον, ἔνθεν ἄνακτες·
εἶτα Επιγόνους, ἔπη ζ, ὧν ἡ ἀρχή
νῦν αὖθ᾽ ὁπλοτέρων ἀνδρῶν ἀρχώμεθα, Μοῦσαι
φασὶ γάρ τινες καὶ ταῦτα Ομήρου εἶναι. ἀκού-
σαντες δὲ τῶν ἐπῶν οἱ Μίδου τοῦ βασιλέως
παῖδες, Ξάνθος καὶ Γόργος, παρακαλοῦσιν αὐτὸν
ἐπίγραμμα ποιῆσαι ἐπὶ τοῦ τάφου τοῦ πατρὸς
αὐτῶν, ἐφ᾽ οὗ ἦν παρθένος χαλκἢ τὸν Μίδου
θάνατον οἰκτιζομένη. καὶ ποιεῖ οὕτως·
Χαλκέη παρθένος εἰμί, Μίδεω δ᾽ ἐπὶ σήμα, ος
ἡμαι.
ἔστ᾽ ἂν ὕδωρ τε νάῃ καὶ δένδρεα μακρὰ τεθήλῃ
καὶ ποταμοὶ πλήθωσι, περικλύζῃ δὲ θάλασσα,
ἠέλιος δ᾽ ἀνιὼν φαίνῃ λαμπρά τε σελήνη,
αὐτοῦ τῇδε μένουσα πολυκλαύτῳ ἐπὶ τύμβῳ
σημανέω παριοῦσι, Μίδης ὅτι τῇδε τέθαπται.
Λαβὼν δὲ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν φιάλην ἀργυρᾶν ἀνατί
θησιν ἐν Δελφοῖς τῷ ᾿Απόλλωνι, ἐπιγράψας
Φοῖβε ἄναξ, δωρόν του Όμηρος καλὸν ἔδωκα
σῇσιν ἐπιφροσύναις· σὺ δέ μοι κλέος αἰὲν ὀπάζοις.
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ποιεῖ τὴν Ὀδύσσειαν, ἔπη Μβ',
πεποιηκὼς ἤδη τὴν Ἰλιάδα ἐπῶν Μεφ'. παρα-
γενόμενον δὲ ἐκεῖθεν εἰς ᾿Αθήνας αὐτὸν ξενισθῆναί
φασι παρὰ Μέδοντι τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων.
ἐν δὲ τῷ βουλευτηρίῳ ψύχους ὄντος καὶ πυρὸς
590
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
victory, went from place to place reciting his poems;
and first of all the Thebaïs in seven thousand verses
which begins: "Goddess, sing of parched Argos
whence kings...," and then the Epigoni in seven
thousand verses beginning: "And now, Muses, let
us begin to sing of men of later days"; for some say
that these poems also are by Homer. Now Xanthus
and Gorgus, son of Midas the king, heard his epics
and invited him to compose a epitaph for the tomb
of their father on which was a bronze figure of a
maiden bewailing the death of Midas. He wrote
the following lines :-
"I am a maiden of bronze and sit upon the tomb
of Midas. While water flows, and tall trees put
forth leaves, and rivers swell, and the sea breaks on
the shore; while the sun rises and shines and the
bright moon also, ever remaining on this mournful
tomb I tell the passer-by that Midas here lies
buried."
For these verses they gave him a silver bowl
which he dedicated to Apollo at Delphi with this
inscription: "Lord Phoebus, I, Homer, have given
you a noble gift for the wisdom I have of you: do
you ever grant me renown."
After this he composed the Odyssey in twelve
thousand verses, having previously written the Iliad
in fifteen thousand five hundred verses.¹ From
Delphi, as we are told, he went to Athens and was
entertained by Medon, king of the Athenians. And
being one day in the council hall when it was cold
1 The accepted text of the Iliad contains 15,693 verses;
that of the Odyssey, 12,110.
591
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
325
καιομένου σχεδιάσαι λέγεται τούσδε τους στί
χους.
᾿Ανδρὸς μὲν στέφανοι παῖδες, πύργοι δὲ πόληος,
ἵπποι δ' αὖ πεδίου κόσμος, νῆες δὲ θαλάσσης,
λαὸς δ᾽ εἰν ἀγορῇσι καθήμενος εἰσοράασθαι.
αἰθομένου δὲ πυρὸς γεραρώτερος οἶκος ἰδέσθαι
ἤματι χειμερίῳ, ὁπότ᾽ ἂν νείφῃσι Κρονίων.
᾿Εκεῖθεν δὲ παραγενόμενος εἰς Κόρινθον, έρρα-
ψώδει τὰ ποιήματα. τιμηθεὶς δὲ μεγάλως παρα
γίνεται εἰς Αργος καὶ λέγει ἐκ τῆς Ἰλιάδος τὰ
ἔπη τάδε·
Οἱ δ' Αργος τ᾽ εἶχον Τίρυνθα τε τειχιόεσσαν
Ερμιόνην τ' Ασίνην τε, βαθὺν κατὰ κόλπον
ἐχούσας,
Τροιζῆν” Ηιόνας τε καὶ ἀμπελόεντ' Επίδαυρον
νῆσόν τ' Αἴγιναν Μάσητά τε κούροι Αχαιών,
τῶν αὖθ᾽ ἡγεμόνευε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης
Τυδείδης, οὗ πατρὸς ἔχων μένος Οἰνεΐδαο,
καὶ Σθένελος, Καπανῆος ἀγακλειτοῦ φίλος υἱός·
τοῖσι δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ Εὐρύπυλος τρίτατος κίεν, ισόθεος
φώς,
Μηκιστέως υἱὸς Ταλαϊονίδαο ἄνακτος.
ἐκ πάντων δ᾽ ἡγεῖτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης.
τοῖσι δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ὀγδώκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο
ἐν δ᾽ ἄνδρες πολέμοιο δαήμονες ἐστιχόωντο
Αργέιοι λινοθώρηκες, κέντρα πτολέμοιο.
Τῶν δὲ ᾿Αργείων οἱ προεστηκότες, ὑπερβολῇ
χαρέντες ἐπὶ τῷ ἐγκωμιάζεσθαι τὸ γένος αὐτῶν
ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐνδοξοτάτου τῶν ποιητῶν, αὐτὸν μὲν
1 This and the preceding line are not found in the received
text.
592
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
and a fire was burning there, he threw off the
following lines:
"Children are a man's crown, and towers of a city,
horses are the ornament of a plain, and ships of the
sea; and good it is to see a people seated in assembly.
But with a blazing fire a house looks worthier upon a
wintry day when the Son of Cronos sends down snow."
From Athens he went on to Corinth, where he
sang snatches of his poems and was received with
distinction. Next he went to Argos and there
recited these verses from the Iliad 1:
"The sons of the Achaeans who held Argos and
walled Tiryns, and Hermione and Asine which lie
along a deep bay, and Troezen, and Eïones, and vine-
clad Epidaurus, and the island of Aegina, and Mases,
-these followed strong-voiced Diomedes, son of
Tydeus, who had the spirit of his father the son of
Oeneus, and Sthenelus, dear son of famous Capaneus.
And with these two there went a third leader,
Eurypylus, a godlike man, son of the lord Mecisteus,
sprung of Talais; but strong-voiced Diomedes was
their chief leader. These men had eighty dark ships
wherein were ranged men skilled in war, Argives
with linen jerkins, very goads of war."
This praise of their race by the most famous of
all pocts so exceedingly delighted the leading Ar-
gives, that they rewarded him with costly gifts and
1 ii. 559--568 (with two additional verses).
593
Q Q
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
πολυτελέσι δωρεαῖς ἐτίμησαν, εἰκόνα δὲ χαλ·
κῆν ἀναστήσαντες ἐψηφίσαντο θυσίαν ἐπιτελεῖν
Ὁμήρῳ καθ' ἡμέραν καὶ κατὰ μῆνα καὶ κατ'
ἐνιαυτόν, καὶ ἄλλην θυσίαν πενταετηρίδα εἰς
Χίον ἀποστέλλειν. ἐπιγράφουσι δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς
εἰκόνος αὐτοῦ·
Θείος Όμηρος ὅδ᾽ ἐστίν, ὃς Ἑλλάδα τὴν
μεγάλαυχον
πᾶσαν ἐκόσμησεν καλλιεπεῖ σοφίῃ,
ἔξοχα δ' Αργείους, οἳ τὴν θεοτειχέα Τροίην
ἤρειψαν, ποινὴν ἠυκόμου Ελένης.
οὗ χάριν ἔστησεν δῆμος μεγαλόπτολις αὐτὸν
ἐνθάδε καὶ τιμαῖς ἀμφέπει ἀθανάτων.
Ενδιατρίψας δὲ τῇ πόλει χρόνον τινὰ διέπλευ-
σεν εἰς Δῆλον εἰς τὴν πανήγυριν. καὶ σταθεὶς
ἐπὶ τὸν κεράτινον βωμὸν λέγει ὕμνον εἰς Απόλ
λωνα, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή·
Μνήσομαι οὐδὲ λάθωμαι ᾿Απόλλωνος ἑκάτοιο.
ῥηθέντος δὲ τοῦ ὕμνου οἱ μὲν Ἴωνες πολίτην
αὐτὸν κοινὸν ἐποιήσαντο, Δήλιοι δὲ γράψαντες
326 τὰ ἔπη εἰς λεύκωμα ἀνέθηκαν ἐν τῷ τῆς ᾿Αρτέ
μιδος ἱερῷ. τῆς δὲ πανηγύρεως λυθείσης ὁ
ποιητὴς εἰς Ιον ἔπλευσε πρὸς Κρεώφυλον κἀκεῖ
χρόνον διέτριβε πρεσβύτης ὢν ἤδη. ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς
θαλάσσης καθήμενος παίδων τινῶν ἀφ᾽ ἁλείας
ἐρχομένων, ὥς φασι, πυθόμενος
*Ανδρες ἄγρης ἁλίης θηρήτορες, ἡ ῥ᾽ ἔχομέν τι;
1 Koechly: ἀπ᾿ ᾿Αρκαδίης, MS. (so Flach).
594
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
set up a brazen statue to him, decreeing that sacrifice
should be offered to Homer daily, monthly, and
yearly; and that another sacrifice should be sent to
Chios every five years. This is the inscription they
cut upon his statue :
"This is divine Homer who by his sweet-voiced
art honoured all proud Hellas, but especially the
Argives who threw down the god-built walls of
Troy to avenge rich-haired Helen. For this cause
the people of a great city set his statue here and
serve him with the honours of the deathless gods."
After he had stayed for some time in Argos, he
crossed over to Delos, to the great assembly, and
there, standing on the altar of horns, he recited the
Hymn to Apollo1 which begins: "I will remember
and not forget Apollo the far-shooter." When the
hymn was ended, the Ionians made him a citizen of
each one of their states, and the Delians wrote
the poem on a whitened tablet and dedicated it in
the temple of Artemis. The poet sailed to Ios,
after the assembly was broken up, to join Creophylus,
and stayed there some time, being now an old man.
And, it is said, as he was sitting by the sea he asked
some boys who were returning from fishing :
"Sirs, hunters of deep-sea prey, have we caught
anything?"
1 Homeric Hymns, iii.
595
9 0 2
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
εἰπόντων δὲ ἐκείνων
Οσσ᾿ ἕλομεν λιπόμεσθ᾽, ὅσα δ᾽ οὐχ ἕλομεν
φερόμεσθα,
οὐ νοήσας τὸ λεχθέν, ἤρετο αὐτοὺς ὅ τι λέγοιεν.
οἱ δέ φασιν ἐν ἁλείᾳ μὲν ἀγρεῦσαι μηδέν, ἐφθει-
ρίσθαι δέ, καὶ τῶν φθειρῶν οὓς ἔλαβον καταλι-
πεῖν, οὓς δὲ οὐκ ἔλαβον ἐν τοῖς ἱματίοις φέρειν.
ἀναμνησθεὶς δὲ τοῦ μαντείου, ὅτι τὸ τέλος αὐτοῦ
ἥκοι τοῦ βίου, ποιεῖ τὸ τοῦ τάφου αὑτοῦ ἐπί-
γραμμα. ἀναχωρῶν δὲ ἐκεῖθεν, ὄντος πηλοῦ,
ὀλισθὼν καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν πλευράν, τριταίος,
ὥς φασι, τελευτᾷ. καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν Ἴῳ. ἔστι δὲ τὸ
ἐπίγραμμα τόδε·
Ενθάδε τὴν ἱερὴν κεφαλὴν κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτει,
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων κοσμήτορα, θεῖον Όμηρον.
596
CONTEST OF HOMER AND HESIOD
To this they replied:
"All that we caught, we left behind, and carry
away all that we did not catch."
Homer did not understand this reply and asked
what they meant. They then explained that they
had caught nothing in fishing, but had been
catching their lice, and those of the lice which they
caught, they left behind; but carried away in their
clothes those which they did not catch. Hereupon
Homer remembered the oracle and, perceiving that
the end of his life had come composed his own
epitaph. And while he was retiring from that place,
he slipped in a clayey place and fell upon his side,
and died, it is said, the third day after.
He was
buried in Ios, and this is his epitaph:
"Here the earth covers the sacred head of divine
Homer, the glorifier of hero-men."
597
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΙ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΩΝ
19A.
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 1¹ (3rd cent. A.D.).
ἐ]πέρησε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἁλμυρὸν ὕδωρ
τηλόθεν εἰς Κρήτην,] Διὸς δμηθεῖσα δόλοισι.
τήν ῥα λαθὼν ἥρπαξε] πατὴρ καὶ δῶρον ἔδωκεν
ὅρμον χρύσειον ὃν Η]φαιστος κλυτοτέχνης
ποίησέν ποτ' ἄγαλμα ἰδυί]ῃσιν πραπίδεσσι
καὶ κτέανον πόρε πατρὶ] φέρων· ὁ δ᾽ ἐδέξατο
δώρο[ν.
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἂρ δώκεν κούρῃ] Φοίνικ[ο]ς ἀγανοῦ.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ οὕτω τ]ῆλε τανισφύρῳ Εὐρωπε[ί]ῃ
μίχθη ῥ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι] πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶ[ν τε,
αὖτις ἔπειτ᾽ ἀπέβη νυμφῆς παρὰ καλλικόμ[οιο.
ἡ δ᾽ ἄρα παῖδας ἔτικτ]εν ὑπερμενέι Κρον[ίωνι,
κυδαλίμους εὐηφε]νέων ἡγητόρας ἀνδ[ρῶν,
Μίνω τε κρείοντα] δίκαιόν τε Ραδάμανθυν
καὶ Σαρπηδόνα διον] ἀμύμονά τε κρατερ[όν τε.
τοῖσιν ἑὰς τιμὰς δι]εδ[ά]σσατο μητίετα Ζεύς.
ἦτοι ὁ μὲν Λυκίης εὐργείης ίφι ἄνασσε
παμπολέας τ᾽ ἴθυνε πό]λεις ἐϋ ναιετάωσας
1 For the restoration of 11. 1-16 see Ox. Pap. pt. xi. pp.
46-7 : the supplements of ll. 17-31 are by the Translator (cp.
Class. Quart. x. (1916), pp. 65-67).
5
10
15
600
APPENDIX
HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN 1
19A.
So she (Europa) crossed the briny water
from afar to Crete, beguiled by the wiles of Zeus.
Secretly did the Father snatch her away and gave
her a gift, the golden necklace, the toy which He-
phaestus the famed craftsman once made by his
cunning skill and brought and gave it to his father
for a possession. And Zeus received the gift, and
gave it in turn to the daughter of proud Phoenix.
But when the Father of men and of gods had mated
so far off with trim-ankled Europa, then he departed
back again from the rich-haired girl. So she
bare sons to the almighty Son of Cronos, glorious
leaders of wealthy men-Minos the ruler, and just
Rhadamanthys and noble Sarpedon the blameless
and strong. To these did wise Zeus give each a share
of his honour. Verily Sarpedon reigned mightily
over wide Lycia and ruled very many cities filled
1 The following fragments from the Hesiodic Catalogues
were published after this edition had been stereotyped, and
are therefore here added as an appendix.
601
APPENDIX
Ζηνὸς ἔχων σκῆπτρον· πολ]λὴ δ᾽ ἑοῖ ἕσπετο τιμή,
τὴν οἱ δῶκε πατὴρ μεγαλήτορι ποιμένι λαῶν·
τρεῖς γὰρ ἐπὶ ζώειν γενεὰ]ς μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
μηδ᾽ ἀπογηράσκειν ἐνετεί]λατο μητίετα Ζεύς·
πέμπε δέ μιν Τροίηνδε. πολ]ὺν δ᾽ ἐκρίνατο λαόν,
λεκτοὺς ἐκ Λυκίης φῶτας, Τρ]ώεσσ᾽ ἐπίκουρους·
τοὺς ἄγε Σαρπηδὼν κρυεροῦ] πολέμοιο δαήμων.
οὐράνοθεν δὲ οἱ ἧκεν ὅ γ᾽ ἀστ]έρα, σήματα φαίνων
νόστον θ' υἱι φίλῳ, Ζεὺς] ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδώς.
λατοι ἀμφιβαλούσαις
εὖ γὰρ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ οἶδ' ὅτι δὴ] Δίοθεν τέρας ἦεν.
ἢ μέγ᾽ ἀρίστευσέν τε μεθ᾿ Εκτ]ορος ἀνδροφόνοιο
καὶ τεῖχος ῥῆξεν· Δαναοῖσι] δὲ κήδε᾽ ἔθηκεν.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔμπνευσεν κρατερὸν μένο]ς ᾿Αργεί[ο]ισι
[Πάτροκλος . ..
•
40A.
(Cp. 43 and 44.)
]κα[
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 2¹ (3rd cent. A.D.).
(Slight remains of 7 lines.)
Μασσαγετῶν τ] ἐπὶ ἔργα καὶ Ἡ[μικύνων ἀγε-
ρώχων
ἠδὲ Κατουδ]αίων καὶ Πυγ[μαίων ἀμενηνῶν,
20
25
25
30
φῦλα τ᾽ ἀπειρεσίων Μελανο[χρώτων Λιβύων τε 10
τοὺς Ἐπάφῳ] τέκε Γαῖα πελώ[ρη χρησμολόγ
ους τε
μαντοσύν]ας τε πανομφαίο[υ Διὸς εἰδότας αἴσῃ,
ψεύστας δ', ὄ]φρα θεοῖσιν ὑφε[ιμ]ένοι ἀτασ[θῶσ]ιν
1 The restorations are mainly those adopted or suggested
in Ox. Pap. pt. xi. pp. 48 ff.: for those of Il. 8-14 see Class.
Quart. x. (1916) pp. 67-69.
602
HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN
with people, wielding the sceptre of Zeus: and great
honour followed him, which his father gave him,
the great-hearted shepherd of the people. For wise
Zeus ordained that he should live for three genera-
tions of mortal men and not waste away with old age.
He sent him to Troy; and Sarpedon gathered a great
host, men chosen out of Lycia to be allies to the
Trojans. These men did Sarpedon lead, skilled in
bitter war. And Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting,
sent him forth from heaven a star, showing tokens
for the return of his dear son for well he (Sar-
pedon) knew in his heart that the sign was indeed
from Zeus. Very greatly did he excel in war to-
gether with man-slaying Hector and brake down
the wall, bringing woes upon the Danaans. But so
soon as Patroclus had inspired the Argives with
hard courage..
...
40A.
(The Sons of Boreas pursued the Harpies) to the
lands of the Massagetae and of the proud Half-Dog
men, of the Underground-folk and of the feeble
Pygmies; and to the tribes of the boundless Black-
skins and the Libyans. Huge Earth bare these to
Epaphus-soothsaying people, knowing seercraft by
the will of Zeus the lord of oracles, but deceivers,
to the end that men whose thought passes their
603
APPENDIX
ἄνθρωποι,] τῶν μέν τε νόος [γλωσσῆς καθ[ύπ]-
ερθεν
Αιθίοπάς] τε Λίβυς τε ἰδὲ Σκύ[θ]ας ἱππη-
μο[λγού]ς.
ἡ ῥ᾽ Ἔπαφος γ]ένεθ' υἱὸς ὑπερ[μ]ενέος Κρονίωνος·
τοῖο Λίβυς] μέλανές τε καὶ ᾿Αι[θ]ίοπες μεγάθυμοι
ἠδὲ Κατου]δαῖοι καὶ Πυγμαῖ[οι] ἀμενηνοί.
οἱ πάντες] κρείοντος Ερικτύπου εἰσι γενέθλη.
καὶ τούτου]ς πέρι κύκλ[ῳ] ἐθύνεον ἀΐσσοντες
]νεα μ. [. . . Υ]περβορέων ἐυίππων,
οὓς τέκε Γῆ] φέρβουσα π[ολ]υσπερέας πολύ-
φορβος
τῆλε παρ' Ηριδανοῖ]ο βα[θυρρ]όου αἰπὰ ῥέεθρα
] πρ. [. . . . .] ἠλέκτροιο
Νεβρώδες τ᾿ ὄρος] αἰπὺ κ[αὶ Αἴτν]ην παιπαλό
εσσαν,
νῆσον ἐπ᾽ Ο]ρτυγίην, Λαιστ[ρυγον]ίην τε γεν-
έθλην,
ὅς τε Ποσει]δάωνος ἐρισθ[ε]νέος γένεθ' υἱός.
τὴν πάρα δ]ὶς πόλεσαν περί τ᾽ ἀμφί τε κυκλώ
σαντο
15
20
20
25
30
ἱέμενοι] μάρψαι· ταὶ δ᾽ ἐκφυγέειν καὶ ἀλύξαι
ἔς τε Κεφαλλ]ήνων ἀγερώχων φῦλον ὄρουσαν,
[δῆμον Ὀδυσσήος ταλασίφρονος, ὃν μετέπειτα]ι 300
εἶργε Ποσει]δάωνι Καλύψω πότνια νύμφη.
ἐνθ᾽ ἵκοντ᾽ ἐπὶ γ]αῖαν ᾿Αρητιάδαο ἄνακτος
]ι[. . .]α κλύον· ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα καὶ τὰς
αἰὲν ὁμῶς ἐδίωκον ἐπι]χρονίοισι πόδεσσι.
αἳ δ᾽ ἀρ' ὑπὲρ πόντο]ν διὰ τ᾿ αἰθέρος ἀτρυγέτοιο 35
1 The restoration of the apparent lacuna is by Mr. Lobel:
see Ox. Pap. pt. xi. p. 51.
604
HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN
utterance¹ might be subject to the gods and suffer
harm-Aethiopians and Libyans and mare-milking
Scythians. For verily Epaphus was the child of
the almighty Son of Cronos, and from him sprang
the dark Libyans, and high-souled Aethiopians, and
the Underground-folk and feeble Pygmies. All
these are the offspring of the lord, the Loud-
thunderer. Round about all these (the Sons of
Boreas) sped in darting flight . . . of the well-horsed
Hyperboreans-whom Earth the all-nourishing bare
far off by the tumbling streams of deep-flowing
Eridanus. . . of amber, feeding her wide-scattered
offspring, and about the steep Fawn mountain and
rugged Etna to the isle Ortygia and the people
sprung from Laestrygon who was the son of wide-
reigning Poseidon. Twice ranged the Sons of
Boreas along this coast and wheeled round and
Harpies, while they
about yearning to catch the
strove to escape and avoid them. And they sped to
the tribe of the haughty Cephallenians, the people
of patient-souled Odysseus whom in aftertime
Calypso the queenly nymph detained for Poseidon.
Then they came to the land of the lord the son of
Ares... they heard. Yet still (the Sons of Boreas)
ever pursued them with instant feet. So they (the
Harpies) sped over the sea and through the fruitless
air
1 i.e. those who seek to outwit the oracle, or to ask of it
more than they ought, will be deceived by it and be led to
ruin: cp. Hymn to Hermes, 541 ff.
605
APPENDIX
[UNCERTAIN POSITION.]
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1359 fr. 1 (early 3rd cent. A.D.).
(Slight remains of 3 lines.)
εἰ δή ῥ᾽ ἤ]με[λλ]έν τε καὶ εἰ δίε μῦ[θον] ἀκούσ[αι
ἀθανάτων οἵ οἱ τότ᾽ ἐναργεὲς ἀντεφάνησ[αν.
κείνη]ν δ' [ἐ]ν μεγάροισιν ἐὺ τρέφεν ἠδ᾽ ἀτ[ίταλλε
δεξάμ]εν[ο]ς, ἶσον δὲ θυγατράσιν ᾗσιν ἐτίμ[α.
ἣ τέκε] Τήλεφον ᾿Αρκασίδην Μυσών βασιλῆ[α
μιχθε]ῖσ᾽ ἐν φιλότητι βίῃ Ηρακληείῃ
ὅς ῥα μεθ᾽ ἵ]ππους στεῖχεν ἀγαυοῦ Λαομέδοντο[ς 10
οἱ δὴ πόσσι]ν ἄριστοι ἐν ᾿Ασ[ί]δι ἔτραφεν αἴῃ·
ἐκ δ᾽ ὅ γ' Αμαζον]ίδων μεγαθύμων φύλον ἔναιρ[ε
μαρνάμενος, κλεινῆς δέ τε γῆς ἐξήλασε πάσης.
αὐτὰρ ὁ Τήλεφος] ἔτραπ᾽ ᾿Αχαίων χαλκοχιτών[ων
ἀσπιστὰς καὶ ἔβησ]ε μελαινάων ἐπὶ ν[ηῶν.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πολλοὺς] πέλασεν χθονι βω[ιανείρῃ,
αὐτοῦ δέδμητ]ο βίη τ' ἀνδροκτασίη τ[ε
(Slight remains of 8 lines.)
15
5
[UNCERTAIN POSITION.]
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1359 frs. 2 and 3 (early
3rd cent. A.D.).
Ηλέκτρ[η
(Remains of 4 lines.)
γείναθ᾽ [ὑποδμηθεῖσα κελαινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι
Δάρδανον . . .
Ηετίωνα τε . . .
...
ὅς ποτε Δ[ήμητρος μέγ' ἐράσσατο καλλικόμοιο.
5
606
HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN
[UNCERTAIN POSITION.]
If indeed he (Teuthras) delayed, and if he
feared to obey the word of the immortals who then
appeared plainly to them. But her (Auge) he re-
ceived and brought up well, and cherished in the
palace, honouring her even as his own daughters.
And Auge bare Telephus of the stock of Arcas, king
of the Mysians, being joined in love with the mighty
Heracles when he was journeying in quest of the
horses of proud Laomedon-horses the fleetest of
foot that the Asian land nourished,-and destroyed
in battle the tribe of the dauntless Amazons and
drove them forth from all that land. But Telephus
routed the spearmen of the bronze-clad Achaeans
and made them embark upon their black ships. Yet
when he had brought down many to the ground
which nourishes meu, his own might and deadliness
were brought low
•
[UNCERTAIN POSITION.]
Electra. was subject to the dark-clouded
..
Son of Cronos and bare Dardanus
•
and Eëtion
who once greatly loved rich-haired Demeter.
607
APPENDIX
καὶ τὸν μὲν φλογερῷ δάμασεν πληχθέντα
κεραυνῷ
Ηετίωνα [χολωσάμενος νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς,
οὕνεκα Δ[ήμητρ᾽ ἠυκόμῳ ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔβαλλεν.
αὐτὰρ Δά[ρδανος ἦλθεν ἐπ᾽ ἄκτην ἠπείροιο·
ἐκ τοῦ Ἐρ[ιχθόνιος καὶ Τρῶς μετέπειτα γένοντο
Ιλος [τ᾽ Ασσάρακος τε καὶ ἀντίθεος Γανυμήδης
νηῒ [πολυκλήϊδι λιπὼν ἱερὴν Σαμοθράκην
*
*
*
] Κλεο[πάτρη
]δαο θυγατρ
1
*
Ζηνὶ δ᾽ ἀνήρπαξεν Γανυμήδε Ερι]χθονίοιο
αἰετός, οὕνεκ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀθανάτοις περ]ὶ κάλλος ἔ[ριζε.
ἐυπλ]όκομον Δ[ιομ]ήδ[ην·
ἢ δ' Υάκινθον γείνατ' ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε
]α· τὸν ῥά ποτ' αὐτὸς
Φοῖβος ἀϊδρείῃσι κατέκτανε νηλέϊ δίσκῳ.
1 The association of ll. 1-16 with 11. 17-24 is presumed
from the apparent mention of Erichthonius in 1. 19. A new
section must then begin at 1. 21. See Ox. Pap. pt. xi. p. 55
(and for restoration of 11. 5-16, ib. p. 53). LI. 19-20 are
restored by the Translator.
10
15
20
608
HESIOD, CATALOGUES OF WOMEN
And cloud-gathering Zeus was wroth and smote him,
Eëtion, and laid him low with a flaming thunderbolt,
because he sought to lay hands upon rich-haired
Demeter. But Dardanus came to the coast of the
mainland-from him Erichthonius and thereafter
Tros were sprung, and Ilus, and Assaracus, and
godlike Ganymedes,-when he had left holy Samo-
thrace in his many-benched ship.
*
*
*
*
But an eagle
Cleopatra. . . the daughter of . .
caught up Ganymedes for Zeus because he vied with.
the immortals in beauty . . . rich-tressed Diomede;
and she bare Hyacinthus, the blameless one and
strong . . . whom, on a time Phoebus himself slew
unwittingly with a ruthless disk . . .
609
R R
dau., daus.
f. = father.
n. = note.
INDEX
=
daughter, daughters.
Abantes (people of Euboea), 197
Abantis, island of - renamed
Euboea, 273
Acamas, s. of Theseus, 523
Acaste, 105, 319
Acastus, k. of Iolcus, plots the death
of Peleus, 185
Achaea, 183, 265, 589
Achaeans, xxxii, xxxiii, 51, 195,
197; in Crete, 275, 495, 507, 515,
519, 521, 523, 581, 593
Acheloüs (river in Aetolia),
Achilles, xx; shield of
105
xxiv,
xxxi ;
xxxi,
xxvi, xxx; death of
contest for arms of
xxxii; quarrels with Agamem-
non, xxxiii, xxxviii; 8. of
Peleus and Thetis, 153, 189; edu.
cated by Chiron, 199; wounds
Telephus, marries Deïdameia,
heals Telephus, 493; quarrels
with Agamemnon, desires to see
Helen, receives Briseis as a prize,
495; enraged with Agamemnon,
503, 507; slain by Paris, arms of
awarded to Odysseus, 509;
ghost of - appears to Neopto-
lemus, 511; reaches Scyros, 513,
519; Polyxena sacrificed to -,
523; ghost of -warns Agamem-
non and the Achaeans, 527
Acmon (one of the Cercopes), 539
Acria, 261
Acrias, 261
Acrisius, f. of Danaë, 169
Actaea, 97
Actor, 161; f. of Protesilaüs, 195
HESIOD.
8. = son.
W. = wife.
k.=king.
Acusilaüs, 273; s. of Odysseus and
Penelope, 533
Admete, 105, 310
Admetus, 213 n., 263, 265; s. of
Augeias, 517
Adonis, s. of Phoenix, 171
Adrastus, xxix, 173, 217, 485 and
n.
Aeacus, 153; and the Myrmidons,
185, 187; sons of -,277
Aeëtes, s. of Helios, 151; f. of
Medea, 153, 263, 271, 579
Aega, 175
Aegae, 327; Poseidon lord of
449
-
Aegaeon, s. of Earth and Sea, aids
the Titans, 481
Aegeum, Mt., 115
Aegeus, f. of Theseus, 233
Aegimius, doubtful authorship of
the -, XXV, xxix, 271, 273, 275
Aegina, 197, 263, 327, 593
Aegis, the, 149, 251
Aegis-wearing, passim
Aegisthus, xxxiii, 191; murders
Agamemnon, 527
Aegle, wedded to Theseus, 207; a
Hesperid, 281
Aegyptus, 167, 287
Aello (a Harpy), 99
Aellopus (a Harpy,
foregoing), 179
Aeneas, s. of Anchises and Aphro-
dite, 153; significance of name,
419 and n.; sails with Paris, 491;
cattle of driven off by Achilles,
495; given as a prize to Neopto-
lemus, and other accounts of -,
―
611
RR 2
INDEX
519 and n.;
Troy, 521
withdraws from
Aenos, Zeus lord of, 179
Aeolians, their name for the blind,
569
Aeolian, epithet of Smyrna, 469
Aeolic race, sprung from Aeolus,
xxii
Aeolis, xiii, xiv, 49
Aeolisms in Hesiod, xiv
Aeolius, 261
Aeolus, s. of Hellen, xxii, 157
Aepy, 355
Aepytus, 209
Aërope, w. of Atreus, 203
Aesagca, 327
Aeschylinus of Pyrrha, f. of Lesches
the Cyclic poet, 517
Aeschylus, 203
Aesepus, 105
Aeson, son of
(Iason), 153, 163;
made young by Medea, 527
Aether, s. of Night, 87; f. of
Heaven, 481
Aethiopians, 43 n., 179
Aethiopis (a Cyclic poem), contents
of, xxxi; by Arctinus of
Miletus, 507, 509
Aëthlius, 161
Aethra (mother of Theseus), 523
Aethusa, 571
Aetna, 141 n.
Aetolia, 157
Africa, 43 n.
Agamedes, xxxvii; with Tropho-
nius builds temple of Apollo at
Delphi, 345; story of, 531
Agamemnon, quarrels with Achilles,
-
death of, xxxiii, 191; woos
Helen for Menelaüs, 193, 195 n.;
8. of Pleisthenes, 203; offends
Artemis, 493; quarrels with
Achilles, 495; receives Chryseis
as a prize, ib.; gives feast at
Lemnos, 502 n.; daus. of 503,
519, 523; quarrels with Mene-
laus about return from Troy,
525; sails from Troy, murdered
by Aegisthus, 527, 577
Aganus, s. of Paris by Helen, 501
Agave, dau. of Nereus, 97; dau. of
Cadmus, 151
Age (personified), 95
Ages, the Five of the world, xvii
Agelaüs, 217
Agenor, f. of Phoenix, 171, 517, 519
Agias of Troezen, author of the
Returns, xxxiii, 525, (as Hegias)
527
Aglaea (one of the Graces), 145;
wedded to Hephaestus, 149
Aglaophonus (one of the Sirens),
181
Agrius, s. of Odysseus and Circe, 153
Aiantes (the two), 585
Aias (s. of Telamon), contest with
Odysseus, xxxi; madness of —,
xxxii, 197, named after the eagle
sent by Zeus, 257 and n.; rescues
the body of Achilles, disputes
with Odysseus for arms of Achilles,
kills himself, madness and death
509; dispute with Odys-
513
of
--
seus, burial of
Aias (s. of Oileus), offends Athena,
521; death of -, 527
Aidone us (Pluto), 145, 289, 295;
gives Persephone pomegranate
seed, 315
Aidôs, xxvi, 17 and n.
Alazygus, 189
Alcaeus of Messene, epigram of
on Hesiod, xvii
Alcaeus, 215, 221
Alcathoüs, 261
Sophist), xll;
Museum of - 589
Alcidamas (the
Alcides, 227
Alcinoüs, 183
Alcmaon, s. of Amphiaraüs, 217
Alcmene, xxiv; mother of Heracles
117, 149, 219; follows Amphi-
tryon to Thebes, 221, 253, 257,
439
Alcyone (one of the Pleiades), 67,
189
-
Alexandrine, Alexandrian, -critic-
ism and Hesiodic poems, xii;
age, xxviii; collection of Homeric
Hymns possibly formed in
period, xxxiv
Alexandrus (Paris) decides the
contest of beauty between the
goddesses, sails to Sparta, carries
off Helen, 491; son of
Helen, 501; slays Achilles, 509;
killed by Philoctetes, 511
by
Allen (T. W.) and Sikes, xxxiv,
xxxv n., xxxviii, xxxix
Aloëus, 157
612
INDEX
Aloiadae, 157
Alpheus, 103, 218, 219, 287, 355,
371, 372 n., 375, 393
Alphesiboea, w. of Phoenix, 171
Altes (Homer), 569
Althaea (mother of Meleager), 183,
215, 217 and n.
Alus (in Aetolia), 159
Alycus, slain by Theseus, 501
Amarynces, 183
Amazon, 507, 509
-
Amphiaraüs, xxix; sons of -, 193;
story of, 217 and n., 219, 267
Expedition of - to Thebes attri-
buted to Homer, 533
Amphidamas, funeral games of —,
xiii, xvi, 51, 517, 571
Amphidocus, s. of Orchomenus, 283
Amphilochus, s. of Amphiaraüs,
267; slain by Apollo, 271
Amphimachus, 219
Amphion, sons of, 173; builds
walls of Thebes, 215
Amphiphanes, murderer of Hesiod,
xvi, 587
Amphirho, 105
Amphitrite, 97, 99; present at birth
of Apollo, 331
Amphitryon, 103, 221, 223, 225,
231, 249, 251, 253
Ampyce, 233
Amyrus, 211
Amythaon, 163; f. of Melampus,
169; sons of 277
Anaurus, 253
Anaxibia, sister of Agamemnon,
208
Anchises, xxxviii; f. of Aeneas, 153;
loved by Aphrodite, 411, 413, 415,
417, 419, 421 n., 519
Androgeos (Eurygyes), s. of Minos,
205
Andromache, xxvi, 505; given as a
prize to Neoptolemus, 519, 523
Antilochus, slain by Memnon, xxx,
507; burial of -, 509
Antioche, w. of Eurytus, 535
Antiope, 207, 215; loves Theseus,
527
Antiphus, 589
Antimachus, Thebais of -, 487 n.
Antimachus (of Teos), reputed
author of the Epigoni, xxix
Anthe, 253
Anthea, 247
Anthemoëssa (island of the Sirens),
181
Antron, 325
Apelles, 571
Aphareus, 503
Aphetae (in Magnesia), 255
Aphidna (in Attica), sacked by the
Dioscuri, 501
Aphidnus, k. of Aphidna, 501
Aphrodite, xxxviii, 7, 41,
79;
derivation of her name, 93, 139,
151; carries off Phaethon, 153,
155, 163, 167 n.; lays curse on
daus. of Tyndareus, 191, 193, 221,
223, 259, 297, 339, 407-427
passim; adorned by the Hours,
427; queen of Salamis and
Cyprus, 435; rivalry with Hera
and Athena, urges Paris to go
to Sparta, 491, 495, 499, 577, and
passim
Apollo, xv and n., xxxvi; born on
a seventh day, 59, 79; patron of
minstrels, 85; protector of youth,
105; s. of Zeus and Leto, 145;
f. of Asclepius, 189; slays the
Cyclopes, 191; as prophet, 201 n.;
builds walls of Troy with Posei-
don, 209, 211 n., 213 and n.; slays
Meleager, 217; called Pagasaean,
225, 227; plays the lyre amid
the gods, 235, 253; f. of Chaeron,
259, 261, 271, 275; Hymns to,
281, 325, 329; claims the lyre,
the bow, and prophetic arts as
prerogatives, 333, 335, 337, 339,
341, 343, 345; kills the she-
dragon at Delphi, punishes Tel-
phusa, why called Pythian, 351;
guides Cretans to Delphi to be
his ministers, 353, 363, 365, 371;
seeks cattle stolen by Hermes,
377, 385; pleads against Hermes
before Zeus, 389-391; tries to
bind Hermes, 393, 395; receives
the lyre from Hermes, 399;
gives staff of riches to Hermes,
401, 405; seeks to wed Hestia,
409, 417, 429, 435, 441; temple
of- at Pytho, 449; patron of
minstrels, 451, 453, 489, 507;
aids Paris in slaying Achilles,
509; separates Athena and Ares,
531, 539, 571; dedication to -
by Homer, 591; Homeric Hymn
613
INDEX
to- recited at Delos, 595, and
passim
Apollodorus, 169
Apollonius (of Rhodes) on the Divi-
nation by Birds, xix, 65, 179, 181;
on the Shield of Heracles, 207,
359 n.
Arabus, 167
Arcadia, 69; Pelasgians in, 175;
Hermes lord of, 363, 441, 445
Arcas, s. of Callisto and Zeus, 69
Archilochus, xl
Arctinus (of Miletus), possible
author of the Titanomachy, xxix;
author of the Aethiopis and Sack
of Ilium, xxxi, xxxii, 481, 507,
521, 513, 525
Arcturus, rising of —, 45, 49
Arctus, 223
Ardescus, 105
Areion, the horse of Heracles,
229; the horse of Adrastus, 485
and n.
Areïthoüs, 173
Arena, 355
Ares, 13; s. of Zeus and Hera, 147,
149, 183, 205, 207, 215, 219, 225,
227, 233, 243, 245, 249, 251;
wounded by Heracles, 253, 339,
407; course of - through the
heavens, 433, 471, 499, 507; f. of
Penthesileia, 509, 511; routs
the army of Odysseus, repelled
by Athena, 531, 551, 559, 561,
585
Arestor, 261
Arete, w. of Alcinoüs, 183
Argea, Argeia, dau. of Adrastus,
173, 217
Arges, one of the Cyclopes, 89
Argive, Argives, 193, 197, 199, 257,
487, 593
Argo, 181, 255
Argonauts, xxiii, 175, 181
Argos, 167, 169, 193; (s. of Zeus),
257, 259; (s. of Phrixus), 263,
485, 493, 591; visit of Homer to
-,593';
decrees honours to
Homer, 595
Argus, watcher of Io, 273; slain
by Hermes, 275
Argus, Slayer of - (Hermes), 313,
315, 339, 369, 385, 391, 393, 415,
421, 425, 441; associated with
Hestia, 455
Argyphaea, 355
Ariadne (dau. of Minos), wedded
by Dionysus, 149; deserted by
Theseus, 207, 493; feast of —
589
Arima, dwelling-place of Echidna,
101
Arimi, the, 141 n.
Aristaeus, 151; s. of Apollo and
Cyrene, 203
Aristas, 259
Aristarchus, 161
Aristomachus, 261
Aristophanes (of Byzantium), 75
Aristotle, on the Little Iliad, xxxii;
on the burlesque Homeric poems,
xl
Arnae, 173
Arne, 247, 253
Arsinoë, 189
Artemis, xxxviii, 69, 71, 79; dau.
of Zeus and Leto, 145, 205; com-
panion of Persephone, 319;
born in Ortygia, 325; hymned
at Delos, 337, 339; unsubdued
by Aphrodite, 407, 413, 415;
drives to meet Apollo at Claros,
435; as huntress, 453; delays
sailing of Greek host to Troy,
493; transports Iphigeneia to
the land of the Tauri, 495, 505,
507, 577; temple of at Delos,
595
-
Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus,
xli, 537
Asbolus (a Centaur), 233
Asclepiades, 189
Asclepius, s. of Apollo and Arsinoe,
189; slain by Zeus, 213; healer
of sickness, 441
Ascra (in Boeotia), xiii, xiv; Hesiod
buried at-, xvi; Hesiod's father
settles at, 51, 567, 589
Asia (dau. of Tethys), 105
Asine (in Laconia), 197, 593
Aspledon, s. of Orchomenus, 283
Asteria, dau. of Phoebe and Coeus,
109
Asterion, k. of the Cretans, 171
Asterope, one of the Pleiades, 67
Astraeus, s. of Crius and Eurybia,
107
Astronomy, the (or Astrology),
contents of -, xix, 67
Astyanax, 8. of Hector, killed by
614
INDEX
Neoptolemus, 519; killed by
Odysseus, 523; death of, 523
Astynoüs, 517
Atalanta, dau. of Schoeneus, 163;
race of
with Hippomenes,
xxiii, 165, 167
Athamas, 157, 271 n., 281
Athena, xxxviii, xl; decks Pan-
dora, 7, 35, 79, 103; decks Pan-
dora, 121; dau. of Metis, 143;
born of Metis through head of
Zeus, 147, 149; instructs Eury-
nome, 159, 161, 163, 167, 229,
243, 251, 253; birth of
347,
407, 413; as war-goddess, 437;
teaches men handicrafts, 447,
453; birth of —, 455, 473; rivalry
with Hera and Aphrodite, 491,
497, 499; aids Odysseus to win
the arms of Achilles, 509, 511,
513, 521; plans to destroy the
Greeks, 523; causes quarrel
between Agamemnon and Mene-
laüs, 525; fights with Ares, 531,
555, 585,
Athenaeus, on authorship of the
Aegimius, xxv, xxix
Athens, 195; contest in memory
of Eurygyes at, 205, 327, 429
n.; Medea flees from Corinth to
535; sacked by the Dioscuri,
501; visited by Homer, 591, 593
Athos, 327
Atlas, f. of the Pleiades, 67; s. of
Iapetus, 115; upholds Heaven,
117, 133 n., 149, 441
Atreidae, 529
Atreus, 199; grandfather of Aga-
and Menelaüs, 203;
memnon
sons of, 277, 529 n., 579, 581
Atropos, 95 and n., 145; chief of
the Fates, 239
Attic, xxxvi
Attica, 501
Augeas, 531
Aulis, gathering-place of the
Achaean host against Troy, 51,
493
Autocane, 327
Autolycus, powers of thieving of -,
209
Autonoě, dau. of Cadmus, 99,
151
Axion, 517
Azan, dau. of 339
Bacchic (a title of Dionysus), 447
Bacchylides, 171, 217 n., 281
Badness, the way to -, 25
Battle of the Frogs and Mice
(Batrachomyomachia), author-
ship of the, xli, 537, 543
Battles, offspring of Strife, 97
Battus, story of -, 263, 265, 267
and n.
Bear-warden, the
- 69
Beetle (agricultural implement), 35
Beety (a Frog) 557
Bellerophon, slays Chimaera, 103;
s. of Poseidon, slays Chimaera,
159
Belus, f. of Thronia, 167
Bia (Force), child of Styx, 107
Biblis, wine of -, 47
Blackbottom (Heracles), 539
Blame, child of Night, 95
Boebian Lake, the, 211
Boeotia, Boeotians, new form of
Epic in, x, xiv, 173, 175, 215,
221, 265, 281, 487 n.
Boeotian School, origin of -, xi,
xii; poems of —, xii, xxv
Boneless One, the (octopus), 41
Boötes, the Bear-warden, sc. Arcas,
s. of Callisto, 69
Boreas, xxvii, 41, 43; s. of Astraeus,
107, 143; sons of —, 179 and n.,
203
Bread-nibbler (a Mouse), 545, 549
557, 559
Bread-stealer (a Mouse), 561
Brewer (a Frog), 557
Briareos, s. of Heaven, 89; (Obria-
reus), 125, 131; weds Cymopolea,
139
Briseïs, the prize of Achilles, 495
Brontes, one of the Cyclopes, 89
Bronze, use of - in the Third Age
of the World, 13; invented by
the Idaean Dactyls, 77
Brygi, war of the with Thespro.
tians, 531
Butes, 205, 259
Byzantine interpolations, xli
Cabbage-climber (a Frog), 559
Cabbage-eater (a Frog), 557
Cadmeans (Thebans), destroyed by
Sphinx, 103, 219, 489
Cadmus, land of (Thebes), 15;
615
INDEX
weds Harmonia, 149; daus. of -,
151; men of
221, 269, 433,
485; descendants of -, 489
Caeneus, 231
Caïcus (river in Mysia), 105
Calais, s. of Boreas, 179 n.
Calchas, death of, 267 and n.; at
Aulis, 493 and n.; at Colophon,
527
Callichorus, a spring near Eleusis,
309
Callidice,
297; eldest dau. of
Celeus, 299; queen of the Thes-
protians, marries Odysseus, 531
Callimachus, epigram of on the
Taking of Oechalia, 533
Calliope, chief of the Muses, inspirer
of eloquence, 85, 459, 569, 571
Callirhoë, 101, 105; wedded by
Chrysaor, 151, 319
Callithoë, 297
Callisto, dau. of Lycaon, 69, 71, 577
Calyce, 161
Calydon, boar of, 215, 217 and n.
Calypso, 105, 153; loves Odysseus,
155, 319; son of by Odysseus,
533
Camilla, 211 n.
--
Capaneus, slain by Zeus, 561, 593
Capetus, 261
Capherides Rocks, storm at
Carpathos, 327
-
527
Cassandra, 491; violated by Aias,
521
Cassiopea, 171
Castor, 191, 193, 195, 441; tamer
of horses, 461; slain by Idas,
491; of mortal nature, 499;
wounded by Aphidnus, 501, 503
Catalogues of Women, appended to
the Theogony, xxi; contents and
nature of, xxii; interpolated
episodes in, xxiii; ending of
-, xxiv
Cebrenians, 471
Cedalion guides Orion when blinded
71
Celaeno (one of the Pleiades), 67
Celaenus, 219
Celeus, lord of Eleusis, 295; s. of
Eleusis, daus. of, 297, 299, 301,
305; builds a temple for Demeter,
311; instructed by Demeter in
her mysteries, 323
Celmis (an Idaean Dactyl), 77
Cenaeum, 341
Centaur, Centaurs, xx, 185; battle
of- with Lapithae, 233, 381;
slain by Heracles, 553
Cephalus, husband of Eos, 153;
s. of Defon, an Athenian, 489
Cephisus, 173, 341
Cephisian Lake, 345
Ceramicus, the -at Athens, 205
Cerberus, the hound of Hades, 101,
103, 135
Cerceis, 105
Cercopes, the two-, xl, 539 and n.
Cercops of Miletus, possible author
of the Aegimius, xxv, 275
Ceto, 97, 99, 103
Ceyx, k. of Trachis, xxiv, 245;
buries Cycnus, 253; the Marriage
of-, 255
Chaeron, s. of Apollo and Thero,
259
Chaos, first of all beings, 87, 131,
139
war
Chalcis (in Euboea), xiii, xv;
between and Eretría, xvi, 51,
271; (in Peloponnesus), 355;
contest of Homer and Hesiod at
-,571, 573, 587
Chalcidians, xvi, 573
Chalcodon, 197, 261
Chariclo, w. of Chiron, 483
Charites (Graces), daus. of Zeus,
names of . 145
Char, a gnome, the plague of
potters, 473
Cheese-carver, (a Mouse) 551
Chians, xxxvii; claim Homer for
their countryman, 567
Chimaera, slain by Bellerophon,
103, 159, 351
Chios, sacrifice in honour of Homer
sent from Argos to, 595; the
blind poet of -, 337
Chiron (the Centaur), Precepts of·
XV, xx, 72; educates Medeus, 153;
educates Iason, 163; educates
Achilles, 199, 475; s. of Cronos
by Philyra, 485; gives Peleus a
spear-shaft, 497
Chryseïs, dau. of Ocean and Tethys,
105, 319; the prize of Agamem-
non, 495, 505
Chrysaor (Golden-Sword), 101; f.
of Geryones, 151
Cilicia, 141 n.
616
INDEX
Cinaethon, author of the Story of
Oedipus, 483
Circe, xxxiii; dau. of Helios, 151,
153, 181, 475; marries Telema-
chus, 531
Circuit of the Earth (a Hesiodic
poem), xxiii, 179
Cirrha, 175
Claros, Calchas dies at
Cleisidice, 297
the seat of Apollo, 435
267, 327;
Cleeia (one of the Hyades), 69
Cleio (one of the Muses), 83
Cleobulus of Lindus, author of the
"Homeric
xl
Cleodaeus, 277
Cleanthes, 567
epigram on Midas,
Cleolla, mother of Agamemnon and
Menelaus, 203
Clotho (one of the Fates), 95 and n.,
145, 239
Clymene, 105; dau. of Ocean,
weds Iapetus, 117; dau. of
Minyas, 209
Clymenus, s. of Oeneus, 217; s. of
Orchomenus, 283
Clytaemnestra, false to Agamem-
non, 191; aids Aegisthus to
murder Agamemnon, 527
Clytie, 105
Clytius, 207
Cnidos, 327
Cnossus (in Crete), 353, 359
Coëus, s. of Heaven, 89; weds
Phoebe, 109, 329
Colchis, 271 n., 579
Colophon, 267 n.; destruction of --
489; Teiresias buried at -, 527,
537
Colophonian, the - author of the
Returns, 529; claim to Homer,
567
Communion by ritual-draught in
Eleusinian mysteries, 303 and n.
Contest of Homer and Hesiod,
composite nature of main con-
tents of, xli, xlii; value of -,
xlii
Continental Greece, Epic poetry
in, x, xiii, xxxiv
Corinthus, Isthmus of, xvi, 197,
265; Medea kills Creon at
535; visit of Homer to --, 593
Coronis (one of the Hyades), 69, 189,
211; dau. of Thlegyas, weds
Ischys, 213; bears Asclepius to
Apollo, 441
Corycus, 327
Coryphasium (Pylos), Hermes hides
Apollo's cattle at - 265
Cos, 327
Cottus, s. of Heaven, 89; bound by
Cronos, released by Zeus, 125,
127, 131; lives in Tartarus, 133,
139
Cratos (Strength), 107
Crane, the, 37
Creon, k. of Thebes, 225; f. of
Haemon, 483; k. of Corinth,
poisoned by Medea, 535
Creophylus (of Samos), reputed
author of the Taking of Oechalia,
533, 535, 595
Cretans, xxxvi; ministers of Apollo
at Delphi, 353, 357; paean-
singers, 361
Crete, 71, 77, 115, 151, 171, 197, 275,
297, 327, 357, 491, 547, 589
Cretheis, mother of Homer, 567,
569
Cretheus, s. of Aeolus, 157, 163
Crinacus, s. of Zeus, 183
Crisa, 343, 345, 355, 357
Crisaeans, 357
Crius, s. of Heaven, 89; weds
Eurybia, 107
Croakerson (a Frog), 559
Croiset, MM., xv, xxx, xl
Crow, life of the - 75
Cronius, 261
Cronos, story of -, xxi; reigns in
the Golden Age, 11; rules over
the departed heroes, 15, 79; over-
come by Zeus, 83; s. of Earth
and Heaven, 89; plots against
Heaven, 91; mutilates his father,
93, 109; swallows his children,
113; swallows a stone in place
of Zeus, vomits up his children,
115; confines Briareus, Cottus.
and Gyes, 125, 127, 141, 349, 407
and n.; dau. of (Hestia), 457;
f. of Chiron by Philyra, 483
Cronos, son of -, passim
Crotalus, 261
Crumb-snatcher (a Mouse), 454 ff.
Cruni, 355
Crudebake, a gnome harmful to
potters, 473
617
INDEX
Ctesippus, 217
Ctimenus, 589
Cuckoo, the
Curetes, 277
- 39
Cyanus, 231 n.
Cybele, mother of the gods, 439
Cychreus, the snake of, 207
Cycle, the Epic -, meaning of the
term, xxix
Cyclic poets, date of the —, xxvi ;
characteristic of, xxxi, 501, 515,
523
Cyclopes, the names of - 89;
killed by Apollo, 191, 213 n.;
sons of Earth and Heaven, 481
Cycnus, s. of Ares, killed by Hera-
cles, xxiv, 225-253 passim ; s. of
Poseidon, slain by Achilles, 495
Cyllene (in Arcadia), 67; Hermes
lord of, 363, 375, 387, 441
Cyllenian (Hermes), 385, 387, 391,
393, 441
Cymatolege, 99
Cyme (in Aeolis) xiil; home of
Hesiod's father, 49, 467, 469 and
n.
Cymo, 99
Cymopolea, dau. of Poseidon, w.
of Briareus, 139
Cymothoë, 97
Cynaethus of Chios, reputed author
of the Delian part of the Hymn
to Apollo, xxxvii
Cynthus, a hill in Delos, 325, 327,
335
Cypria, doubtful authorship of
xxxii; contents of -, xxxii,
xxxiii, 185, 201; first poem in the
Trojan Cycle composed by
Stasinus, 489; given by Homer to
Stasinus as a dowry, Hegesias
possible author of, 497, 503,
505, 507
Cyprian, the (Aphrodite), 273, 407
Cyprian Histories (the Cypria)
Cyprogenes (Aphrodite,
Cyprian-born "), 93
the
Cyprus, 77, 93, 411, 427, 431;
birthplace of Aphrodite, 435;
Helen in 501, 569
Cyrenaean, 533
Cyrene, xxxiii, 213, 531
Cyrnus, the comrade of Theognis,
XV
Cythera, 93
Cytherea (Aphrodite), 93, 149, 153,
407, 419, 427, 435
Cytisorus, s. of Phrixus, 263
Dactyls, the Idaean, 77
Daemon, 569
Damnameneus (an Idaean Dactyl),
77
Danaë, 169, 235, 237
Danal, 219, 511, 519
Danaus, 167
Dardanía (land of Troy), 511
Dark-haired One (Poseidon), 99
Darkness of Death, 239
Dardanus, s. of -, (Anchises), 419;
Palladium given to-by Zeus, 523
Daughters of Leucippus (a Hesiodic
poem), xxiii, 191
-
Day, dau. of Night, 87; journey-
ings of - 133
Day-sleeper, the (the burglar), 47
Dawn (see also Eos), 49, 113, 387
Death, seizes the Brazen Race, 13,
95; the brother of Sleep, 135
Deceit, 95
Defaneira, and the poisoned robe,
217
Deïdameia, dau. of Lycomedes, 493
Deïon, 209; an Athenian, 489
Deiphobus, marries Helen, 511;
slain by Menelaüs, 521
Delas, the inventor of bronze-
smelting, 77
Delians, 595
Delian Hymn to Apollo, festival,
choirs, xxxvi, 335 f.
Delphi, xvi, xxxvi, xxxvii; temple
of Apollo at -, 453, 489, 517 n.,
571, 587, 591
Delphians, anoint the stone swal-
lowed by Cronos, 115
Delphinius (title of Apollo), 353 n.,
359
Delos, xv, xxxvi, xxxvii; contest
of Homer and Hesiod at -, 281;
Apollo born at -, 325, 327, 329,
331, 333; the special delight of
Apollo, girl-choirs at -, 335, 337;
Homer recites the Hymn to
Apollo on the Altar of Horns at
-
595
Demeter, story of
phone, xxxv, 5, 25,
and Perse-
31, 47, 63;
wedded to Zeus, 145; wedded to
618
INDEX
Iasion, 151; receives the snake of
Cychreus at Eleusis, 207, 231,
289; seeks Persephone, 293;
wroth with Zeus, 295; received
by Metaneira at Eleusis, drinks
the ritual potion, 303; nurses
Demophoön, 305; places Demo-
phoön in the fire, 307; resumes
her shape, 309; temple of - at
Eleusis, 311; causes a famine,
311; refuses to obey the sum-
mons of Zeus, 313, 315; meets
Persephone, 317, 321; allows
the fruits of the earth to grow
again, instructs the Eleusinians
in her mysteries, 323; bears the
horse Areion to Poseidon, 485 n.
Demo, 297
Democritus (of Troezen), 569
Demodes, 589
Demodoce, 171
Demodocus, Lay of
contrasted
with the Hymn to Aphrodite,
xxxviii
Demophon, s. of Theseus, 519, 523
Demophoön, s. of Celeus, nursed
by Demeter, 305, 307
Deo (Demeter), 293, 303, 325
Descent of Theseus into Hades, a
Hesiodic poem, xxiii
Desire (Himerus), 83, 93
Destinies, 95
Deucalion, xxii; s. of Prometheus,
155, 157; s. of Minos, 197, 209
Dias, f. of Cleolla, 203
Dictys, s. of Magnes, 157
Didaeon, s. of Eurytus, 207
Didymus, 535
Dike (Justice), 145
Diocles, Dioclus, a prince of Eleusis,
299, 323
Diodorus Siculus, mentions a collec-
tion of Hymns, xxxiv
Diomedes, xxxii, 505; brings
Philoctetes from Lemnos, aids
Odysseus to steal the Palladium,
511; returns home from Troy,
525;
followers of 593
Dione, 79; dau. of Tethys, 105;
present at birth of Apollo, 331
Dionysiac element at Éleusis,
xxxvi
-
Dionysus, xxxviii, 49; 8. of Zeus
and Semele, 149; weds Ariadne,
149; rites of, 169, 211; gives
grapes to men, 249; birthplace
of, 287 and n.; adventure of
with pirates, 429-433;
Bacchic, 447; reared and accom-
panied by Nymphs, 451
Dioscuri, 161; sack Athens, 501
Disputes, offspring of Strife, 97
Divination by Birds, the-, attached
to the Works and Days, rejected
by Apollonius Rhodius, probable
purpose of, xix, 65
Dius, supposed f. of Hesiod and
Perses, xiii, 571, 581
Dodona, oracle at, 215; the oak-
grove at, 279
Dogs, treatment of -, 47; taming
of-, 61, 471
Dolichus, a prince of Eleusis, 299
Doom, s. of Night, 95
Dorian race sprung from Dorus,
xxii
Dorians in Crete, 275
Doris, w. of Nereus, 97; dau. of
Nereus, ib.; dau. of Tethys and
Ocean, 105
Dorus, s. of Hellen, xxii, 157
Dotian plain, 441
Dotium, 211
Doto, 97
Doso, assumed name of Demeter,
297
Dread, attendant of Ares, 253
Dreams, offspring of Night, 95
Dres, 571
Dryalus (a Centaur), 233
Dryas (a Lapith), 231
Dryops, 445
Dulichium, 355
Dyme, 355
Dynamene, 97
Earth, xxi, xxix; causes death of
Orion, 71; source of the Race of
Silver, 75, 79, 81, 87; second of
the three primeval beings, 87 and
n.; plots against Heaven, 91;
mates with Sea, 97, 109, 113;
receives Zeus from Rhea, 115;
keeps thunder and lightning
hidden, 117, 127, 131; gives
birth to Typhoeus, 139; prompts
the gods to make Zeus their king,
143, 321, 349, 351; the Mother
of All, who cnriches men, 457,
619
INDEX
-
with Heaven,
471; union of
481, 501
Earth-holder (Poseidon), 79, 259,
377
Earth-shaker (Poseidon), 53, 79,
111; 8. of Rhea and Cronos, 113,
149, 227, 259, 449; gives gifts of
healing to Machaon and Poda-
leirius, 525
Echemus, k. of Arcadia, deserted
by his wife Timandra, 191
Echidna, dwelling of, mother of
Orthus and Cerberus, 101;
mother of the Lernaean Hydra,
103
Echinades Islands (off coast of
Acarnania), 179
Echo, 445
Egypt, 431; Menelaus in, 527
Egyptians, 43 n.; mode of thresh-
ing amongst the modern -, 63
n.; cosmology of the ancient
93 n., 569
-
Eileithyia, dau. of Zeus and Hera,
assists at birth of
147, 331;
Apollo, 333
Eion, 517
Eïones, 593
Eione, dau. of Nereus, 99
Eirene (Peace), 145
Eiresiae, 327
Elara, mother of Tityos by Zeus,
173
Elatus, one of the Lapithae, f. of
Ischys, 213; s. of (Ischys), 339
Electra, one of the Pleiades, 67;
dau. of Ocean, mother of Iris
and the Harpies by Thaumas,
99; a river-nymph, dau. of
Tethys and Ocean, 105, 319
Electryon, 217 n., 219; dau. of
(Alcmena), 221, 227
Elephenor, of Euboea, woos Helen,
197
Eleusis, XXXV; snake of Cychreus
at, 207; f. of Celeus, 297, 311,
325
Eleusinian, Eleusinians, XXXV,
Xxxvi; war amongst the -, 309;
-mysteries, 303 and n., 323
Eleuther, hills of the domain of
Mnemosyne, 83
Elis, 261, 355, 531
Emathion, s. of Eos and Tithonus,
153
Emulation, one of the two Strifes,
xviii
Enceladus, s. of Tartarus and Earth,
overthrown by Zeus, 561
Endymion, s. of Zeus and Calyce,
161; cast out from Heaven into
Hades, 261
Enienae, 341
Eniocha, w. of Creon k. of Thebes,
225
Envy, the curse of the Iron Age, 17
Enyo, one of the Graiae, 99
Eoiae, the, part of the Catalogues
of Women, xxii; meaning of the
title, xxiii, xxiv
Eos (Dawn), 79; dau. of Hyperion,
107; bears Memnon to Tithonus,
Phaethon to Cephalus, 153, 377;
story of and Tithonus, 421-
423; dau. of Hyperion and
Euryphaessa, 459; obtains im-
mortality for Memnon, 507
Eosphorus (the Morning Star),
107
Epei, Epeians, 183; rulers of Elis,
353
Epeius, builds the Wooden Horse,
511
Ephorus on the Pelasgi, 175
Epic, the early Greek
three
periods of -, ix, xi; Cycle,
the beginning of the, 481, 489
Epicasta (otherwise Polycasta),
dau. of Nestor, mother of Homer,
569
Epidaurus, 197; s. of Argos, 257,
593
Epigoni (i) a poem of the Epic
Cycle, xxix; attributed to
Homer, 487; composition of, 591
(ii) "The After-born," send first-
fruits of the spoils from Thebes
to Delphi, 489
Epimetheus, receives Pandora from
Zeus, 9; 8. of Iapetus and
Clymene, how he did mischief to
men, 117
Epiphrades, 571
Epithalamium of Peleus and Thetis,
a Hesiodic poem, xxiii
Epopeus, story of, told by Nestor,
493
589
Erato, one of the Muses, 83, 97
Eratosthenes, the Hesiod of
Erebus. s. of Chaos. 87; (as a
620
INDEX
region) Menoetius cast down to --,
117, 127, 313, 315
Erechtheus, f. of Sicyon, 205
Eretria, war between-and Chalcis
for the Lelantine plain, xvi
Ereutheus, rival of Apollo, 339
Erginus, sons of - (Trophonius and
Agamedes), 345
n.
Eriboea, w. of Telamon, 257
Eridanus, s. of Tethys and Ocean,
103, 543
Erigeneia (Eos, the "Early-born "),
107
Erinyes (the Furies), assist at birth
of Horcus (Oath), 63; spring
from the blood of Heaven, 93;
Erinys, see Fury
Eriopis, dau. of Apollo and Arsinoë,
189
Eriphyle, w. of Amphiaraüs, 217 n.
Eris (Strife), mother of Horcus
(Oath), 63
Eros (Love), one of the three prime-
val beings, xxi, 87, 95
Erythea, one of the Hesperides,
101, 151, 281
Eteocles, s. of Oedipus, xxix, 269
Eteoclus, s. of Cephisus, 173
Ethiopia, 215
Ethiopians, 153
Etruscans, 429 n.
Euaechme, 259
Euaemon, 519
Euagore, 99
Euanthes, 211
Euarne, 99
Euboea, xiii, xxv, 51, 73, 197, 271,
273 and n., 327, 341, 571
Eucles, 571
Eucrante, 97
Eudora, one of the Hyades, 69;
dau. of Nereus, 97; dau. of
Ocean, 105
Euenus, 105
Eugaeon, 569
Eugammon, of Cyrene, author of
the Telegony, xxxiii, 531
Eugnatho, 569
Eulimene, 97
Eumelus,
of Corinth, reputed
author of the Titanomachy,
xxix, 481
Eumolpus, a prince of Eleusis,
Xxxvi, 299, 323
Eunice, 97
Eunomia (Order), 145
Euphemus, s. of Apollo and Mecio-
nice, 259, 571
Euphrosyne, one of the Graces.
101
Eupompe, 97
Euripides, 205 n., 313 n.
Euripus, 341
Europa, carried
171, 547
Europe, 343, 345
off by Zeus, 105,
Euryale, dau. of Minos, mother of
Orion, 71; one of the Gorgons,
99
Euryalus, 261
Euryanassa, 219
Eurybia, dau. of Sea and Earth, 97;
weds Crius, 107
Eurybius, s. of Electryon, slain by
the Taphians, 219
Eurycles the Seer, sacrifices Cti-
menus and Antiphus the mur-
derers of Hesiod, 589
Eurydice, dau. of Lacedemon, 169
Euryganeia, first wife of Oedipus,
483
Eurygyes (Androgeos), s. of Minos,
205
Eurylochus and the snake of
Cychreus, 207
Eurymachus, 261
Eurynome, 105;
mother of the
Graces, 145; dau. of Nisus, 159
Eurynomus, a daemon in Hades, 529
Euryphaëssa, w. of Hyperion, 459
Eurypylus, s. of Telephus, aids the
Trojans, slain by Neoptolemus,
511; slays Machaon, 515, 519;
a leader of the Argives, 593
Eurystheus, 227; imposes labours
on Heracles, 439
Eurytion, herdsman of Geryones,
101
Eurytus, s. of Stratonica, 207, 533;
k. of Oechalia, 535
Evil One, the, 291 n.
Exadius, one of the Lapithae, 233
Fable, the of the Hawk and the
Nightingale, xviii, 19
Fallow-land, 37
Famine, 97
Far-shooter, the
(Apollo), 335,
343, 379, 381, 395, 401, 435, 449
621
INDEX
Far-worker, the
397
(Apollo), 387,
(Desti-
Fate, child of Night, 95, 231
Fates, 9; names of the
nies), 95 and n., 145, 237; names
of the 239, 257
Fear, 149, 231, 233, 237
Felloe, the making of a-, 35
Fightings, offspring of Strife, 97
Fire, hidden by Zeus, stolen for
men by Prometheus, 7, 121;
invented by Hermes, 371
Fire-sticks, invented by Hermes,
371
Flight, 231, 233
Forgetfulness, child of Strife, 97
Friendship, child of Night, 95
Frogs, 543-563 passim
Fury (Erinys), hears the curses of
Oedipus on his sons, 485
Galaxaura, dau. of Tethys and
Ocean, 105, 319
Galatea, dau. of Nereus, 97
Galene, dau. of Nereus, 97
Ganyctor, (i) s. of Amphidamas,
571; (ii) s. of Phegeus, murderer
of Hesiod, xvi, 587, 589
Ganymedes, carried off to be the
cup-bearer of Zeus, 421, 515
Geb, the Egyptian counterpart of
Earth, 93 n.
Gelding, the right season for - 61
Gerenon in Messenia, 163
Geryones, s. of Chrysaor, slain by
Heracles, 101, 151
Geoponica, the, 367 n.
Giants, xxi; spring from the blood
of Heaven, 93; War of the -,
483, 543, 555, 561, 575
Give (personified), 29
Glauce, 97
Glauconome, 99
Glaucus, (i) s. of Sisyphus and f. of
Bellerophon, 159; (ii) the herds-
man, 471
Glechon (in Boeotia), 173
Glenus, 8. of Heracles, 217
Gnawer (a Mouse), 561
Goettling, on the significance of the
"
name Hesiod,
xiv
Goodness, the path to -, 25
Gorga, dau. of Oeneus, 217
Gorgus, s. of Midas, 591
Gorgons, the -, daus. of Phorcys
and Ceto, names of, 99; head of
the Gorgon (Medusa), 237; live
in the isle of Sarpedon, 505
Graces, 7; companions of the
Muses, 83; daus. of Zeus, 145,
149; worshipped by Eteoclus at
Orchomenus, 173, 193, 213, 339,
417; dance of the at Delphi,
453; deck Aphrodite, 499
Graecus, s. of Zeus and Pandora,
155, 157
Graiae, daus. of Ceto and Phorcys,
99
Granicus, river in Mysia, 105
Great Eoiae, the, subject of, xxiv ;
by a Thessalian or Boeotian
author, xxv, 257-263, passim
Great Works, nature of the -, XX,
75
Greeks, origin of the name, 155,
495, 521, 523, 573
Guide, the (Hermes), 417, 421
Gyes, one of the Hundred-handed
Giants, s. of Heaven, 89; bound
by Cronos, released by Zeus, 125,
131; lives in Tartarus, 133, 139
Hades (Pluto, Aidoneus), seizes
Persephone, XXXV, xxxvii, 13,
103; s. of Rhea and Cronos, 113;
home of - 135, 141, 201, 231;
cap of, 237, 239, 261; carries
off Persephone, 295, 313, 315, 317,
383 n., 417, 485; terrors of
529, 559, 573
Hadrian, the Emperor, xli;
con-
sults the Delphic oracle as to
Homer's birthplace and parent-
age, 569
Haemon, 8.
Sphinx, 483
of Creon, slain by
Hairless One, the
(the snake), 203
Halcyone, w. of Ceyx, xxiv
Haliacmon, river in Macedonia,
105
Halicarnassus, 573
Haliartus, in Boeotia, xxxvi, 175
Halie, dau. of Nereus, 97
Halimede, dau. of Nereus, 99
Halirrhothius, 8. of Perieres, 189
Ham-gnawer (a Mouse), 545
Ham-nibbler (a Mouse), 557
Harpies, the
xxiii, 99, 167;
622
INDEX
Phineus delivered from
-
by
Zetes and Calaïs, 179, 181
Harpys, river in Peloponnesus, 179
Harmonia, dau. of Ares and w. of
Cadmus, 149, 151, 339
Harvesting, 31, 45, 61
Heaven, xxi, xxix; husband of
Earth, 81; offspring and husband
of Earth, 87; imprisons his
children, 91; mutilated by
Cronos, 92; calls his sons Titans,
95, 113; sons of -, 117, 127, 129,
131, 143, 145; sons of - 319,
331, 349; husband of Earth, 457
union of with Earth and their
offspring, 481
Heaven, Sons of —, passim
Hebe, dau. of Zeus and Hera, 79,
147; w. of Heracles, 149, 339, 439
Hecataeus, 157
Hecate, dau. of Perses and Asteria,
honoured by Zeus, her preroga-
tives, 109-111, 205; mother of
Scylla, 263; dau. of Persaeus,
hears cry of Persephone when
carried off by Pluto, 291; gives
Demeter news of Persephone,
293; nurse of the young, 473
and n.
Hecaterus, daus. of, 275
Hector, xxvi; slays Protesilaus,
495; burial of -, 509, 519, 585
Hegesías of Salamis in Cyprus,
possible author of the Cypria,
Xxxii, 497
Hegias (sc. Agias), author of the
Returns, xxxiii, 527
Helen, rape of - xxxii; cause of
Trojan war, 15; birth of -, 191,
195, 197; won by Menelaüs,
bears Hermione, 199, 205; carried
off by Paris, 491; dau. of
Nemesis and Zeus, 499; sur-
render of demanded by the
Greeks, 501; carried off by
Theseus, 501; married by Deï-
phobus, 511, 519, 521, 595
Helenus, s. of Priam, 491;
tured by Odysseus, 509
Helice, 247, 253
Helicaon, 517
Helicon, Mt.
cap-
in Boeotia xiii,
xvii, 51; Muses appear
to
Hesiod on 81; Poseidon lord
of, 449, 543, 567, 587
Heliconian Muses, 79
Helios (the Sun), xxxiv; cures
Orion of his blindness, 71, 79;
8. of Hyperion, 107; weds
Perseis, 151; f. of Circe, 153;
hears cry of Persephone carried
off by Hades, 291, 293; tells
Demeter of the rape of Perse-
phone, 295, 351; sheep of
353, 391; stays his horses at birth
of Athena, 455; the birth and
course of 459
Hellanicus, 567
Hellas, 51, 79, 183, 493, 595
Helle, sister of Phrixus, 177
Hellen, ancestor of the Hellenic
race, xxii; s. of Deucalion, 155;
sons of, 157
Hellenic, genealogies of the
--
race,
xxii, 155, 495, 519
Hellenes, 43, 169, 275, 505, 511, 513,
517
Hephaestus, forms Pandora, 7, 71;
forms Pandora, 121, 141; crafts-
man, s. of Hera, 147; weds
Aeglaea, 149; greaves of Heracles
made by 229, 237, 241, 243;
cast into the sea by Hera, 347,
373; teacher of human crafts,
447, 497
Heptaporus, the river - ("Seven-
fords "), 105
-
Hera, hymned by the Muses, 97;
sets the Nemean lion against
Heracles, 103; dau. of Rhea and
Cronos, 113; w. of Zeus, quarrels
with Zeus, bears Hephaestus,
147, 149, 187; beloved by
Endymion, 261, 269; sets Argus
to watch Io, 273, 287; keeps
Eilithyia from aiding Leto, 331;
gives Typhaon to the she-dragon
of Pytho to nurse, 345 ff., 365,
409; sister and wife of Zeus, 437,
443; rivalry of with Athena
and Aphrodite, stirs up a storm
against Paris, 491, 497; altar of
-Acrea ("Hera of the Heights")
at Corinth, 535, 561, 563
Heracles, xxii, xxív, xxv, xl; slays
Geryones, 101; slays the Lerna-
ean Hydra, 103; slays the eagle
which plagued Prometheus, 117;
the Theban-born," 119; s. of
Zeus and Alcmena, weds Hebe,
-
623
INDEX
149 lives in Olympus, 151;
slays Geryones, 151; kills Peri-
clymenus and the sons of
Neleus, 161-163, 207, 215; weds
Delaneira, 217; s. of Zeus and
Alcmena, 219; born in Thebes,
223 ff. passim; left by the Argo-
nauts, 225; visits the house of
Ceyx, ib.; entertained by Tela-
mon, 257; toils and reward of
439; crosses Ocean in the caul-
dron of the Sun, 483; madness
of related by Nestor, 493;
takes Themiscyra, 527; and
the Cercopes, 539, 577
Hereas of Megara, accuses Peisi-
stratus of tampering with the
Hesiodic poems, 207
Hermaon, f. of Arabus, 167
Hermes, xxxvii, 7; s. of Maia, 67;
god of cattle (with Hecate), 179,
265; steals Apollo's cattle, 265,
267; slays Argus, 275, 317, 319;
8. of Zeus and Maia, 363-405
passim; makes the lyre, 365-
367; steals Apollo's cattle, 369-
373; the Shepherd, 387; ap-
pointed lord of herds, 399, 417,
441, 443; f. of Pan, 445, 457, 491,
515
Hermione, (i) in Peloponnesus, 197,
593; (ii) dau. of Menelaüs and
Helen, 199, 205
Hermus, the river, 105, 467
Herodotus, on the date of Homer
and Hesiod, xxvi; on the Scy-
thians, 179 n.; pseudo-, 475 n.,
585, 587
-
Heroes, the race of -, ,15, 201 n.
Hesiod, poems falsely attributed
to, xii; Life of —, xiii-xvii ;
supposed significance of the name,
xiv literary value of -, xxvi-
xxvii; influence of shown in
Hymn to Aphrodite, xxxviii;
Homeric epigram attributed to
-, xl; Contest with Homer, and
death of, xlii, 67, 71, 73, 75,
77; taught by the Muses, 79,
155, passim; works of
tam-
pered with by Peisistratus, 207;
author of Marriage of Ceyx, 255
quoted by Bacchylides, 281, 517;
birthplace of 567; ancestry
related to Homer, 571;
of -
-
Contest of with Homer, 571 ff.;
warned of his death by the Pythia,
killed at Oenoë, 587; his body
brought to land by dolphins and
removed from Oenoë to Orcho-
menus, 589; his epitaph, ib.
567-597, passim
Hesiodic Poems, general character
of —, xvii; date of, xxv-xxvi
Hesperethusa, one of the Hespe-
rides, 281
Hesperian, 181
Hesperides, daus. of Night, guard
the golden apples, 95, 99, 117;
names of the -, 281; apples of
the, 483
Hestia, xxxviii; dau. of Rhea and
Cronos, 113; unsubdued by
Aphrodite, 407 and n.; VOWS
virginity, 409; tends the temple
of Apollo at Pytho, 449; hon-
oured at banquets, associated
with Hermes, 455
Hills, the offspring of Earth, 89
Himérus (Desire), 83
Hippe, w. of Theseus, 207
Hippodameia, dau. of Oenomaüs,
won by Pelops, 261 n.
Hippomenes, xxlii; race of
Atalanta, 165, 167
-
Hipponoë, dau. of Nereus, 99
Hipponoüs, 183, 487
Hippostratus, 183
-
with
Hippotades, s. of Phylas, 259
Hippothoë, dau. of Nereus, 97
Homer, exhausted the field of Epic
Poetry, x; Contest of with
Hesiod, xv; Epigrams of
xxxix-xl; Herodotean Life of
- xxxix; supposed author of
the Battle of the Frogs and Mice,
xli;
life and descent of -
xli; date of relatively to
Hesiod, xlii; and Introduction
passim, 141 n., 165, 175, 185 n.;
contest with Hesiod at Delos,
281; birthplace of 469 n.;
author of the Thebais, 485
author of the Epigoni, 487;
gives the Cypria to Stasinus as
a dowry, 497, 503, 507, 515 n.,
529, 531; author of the Expedi-
tion of Amphiaraüs and the
Hymns to the Gods, 533; author
of the Margites, 537; disputed
624
INDEX
birthplace of called Melesi-
genes, meaning of the name,
author of the Margites, 567;
descent of, the reply of the
Pythia to Hadrian on the birth-
place of, 569; pedigree of
Homer and Hesiod, Contest of
-
with Hesiod at Chalcis, 571
ff.; composes the Thebais, the
Epigoni, the epitaph on Midas,
and the Odyssey, 591; visits
Athens, Corinth, and Argos,
sacrifices to at Argos, 593; re-
cites the Hymn to Apollo at
Delos, visits Ios, 595; death
of, 597 and 567-597 pussim
Homeridae (descendants of Homer)
in Chios, 567
Hope, confined in Pandora's jar,
9
Hopleus, one of the Lapithae, 233
Horae (Hours, Seasons), 145, 339
Horcus (Oath), child of Strife, 63
Horse's Spring, the-(Hippocrene),
79
Host of Many (Pluto), 289; carries
off Persephone, 291, 317, 319
Hours (see also Horae), 7, 145, 427,
499
House-carrier, the (the snail), 45
Hundred-handed Giants, the three
xxi, xxv; names of- 89; aid
Zeus against the Titans, 125, 127,
129 ff.; offspring of Earth and
Heaven, 481
Hunger, the Sluggard's companion
25
Hyades, sisters of Hyas, turned into
stars, 67; names of the
-, 69
Hyas, 67
Hydra, the
of Lerna, killed by
Heracles, 103
Hyettus, slays Molurus, 259
Hyllus, s. of Heracles, 217, 259
Hymenaeus, s. of Magnes and be-
loved by Apollo, 265
Hymns to the Gods, ascribed to
Homer, 533; Hymn to Apollo,
quoted by Thucydides, xxxiv;
two parts of the, contents of
the, xxxvi; recited by Homer
at Delos, 595
Hymns, the Homeric, Ionian and
Continental influences in —, date
of collection unknown, nature of,
HESIOD
XXXIV; to Dionysus, xxxiv: to
Demeter, contents of, xxxiv ;
date of
parts of
date of
XXXV; to Apollo, two
contents of, xxxvi ;
Xxxvii; to Hermes,
character of - contents of
xxxvii ; date of
xxxvii-
Xxxviii; to Aphrodite, contents and
date of - Xxxviii; to Dionysus,
uncertain date of xxxviii-
xxxix; to Ares, xxxix'; to Pan,
love of nature in -, xxxix
Hyperboreans, the, 431
Hyperphas, f. of Euryanassa, 209
Hyperion, s. of Heaven, 89, 107,
153, 291, 295, 351; s. of (Helios),
455, 459
Hypoplacian Thebes, 505 n.
Hyria in Boeotia, 213, 259
Iacchus, xxxvi
Iache, dau. of Tethys and Ocean,
319
Iadmonides, 571
Iambe, cheers Demeter with her
jests, 303
Iambus, 525
Ianeira, dau. of Ocean, 105 and n.
319
Ianthe, 105, 319
Iapetus, s. of Heaven, 89; weds
Clymene, 117; Sons of --, xxi;
(Atlas), 133: (Prometheus),
steals fire, 7, 79, 117, 119
Iasion, f. of Plutus by Demeter, 151
Iason, labours of 153; s. of
Aeson, educated by Chiron, 163
Icarus, an island in the Aegean, 287
Ichnaea, present at the birth of
Apollo, 331
-
Ida, Mt. 143 n.; birthplace of
Aeneas, 153, 327, 411; iron-
smelting on
471 and n.;
contest of beauty between the
goddesses held on -, 491, 499,
521
Idaean Dactyls, the, a Hesiodic
poem dealing with the discovery
of metals, xx, 77
Idas, killed by Polydeuces, 491;
kills Castor, 503
Idomeneus, 195 n.; suitor of Helen,
197
Idyia, 105; w. of Aeëtes, mother
of Medea, 151
SS
625
INDEX
Ie Paean ("Hail, Healer !), a hymn
to Apollo, 359, 361
Iepaeon (Apollo), 343
Iliad, effect of the
---
―
on later epic
poetry, ix; greatness of in
characterisation, xxxi; length of
591 and n., 593; The Little —,
subject of, xxxil, 509, 513, 515
and n., 535
Ilian War, the 497
Ileus (Oileus), beloved by Apollo,
209 and n.; f. of the lesser Aias,
521
Ilium, Menelaüs plans the expedi-
tion against, 491, 493, 495, 501,
511: Sack of, 517, by Arctinus
of Miletus, 521, 523, 525, 581
Imbros, 327
Inachus, f. of Mycene, 259
Ino, dau. of Cadmus, 151, 271 n.
Inopus, a stream in Delos, 325
Insewn, a title of Dionysus indi-
cating his birth from the thigh
of Zeus, 287 and n., 289
Io, xxv; loved by Zeus and trans-
formed into a cow, 273, 275
Iobates, 159
Iocasta, mother and w. of Oedipus,
483
Iola or Ioleia, 207, 533
Iolaus, 103; charioteer of Heracles,
207, 225-253 passim; f. of
Leipephile, 259
Iolcus, xxv, 153, 187, 247, 253, 341
Ionia, Homeric type of epic fol-
lowed in
Ionian, the
-
X
race sprung from
Xuthus, xxii; the School of
Epic Poetry, x, xxviii ff.; forms
a corpus of heroic story, xxviii-
xxxiv, 183
Ionians, festival of the
-
at Delos,
335; make Homer a citizen of
each of their states, 595
Iophossa, w. of Phrixus, 263
Ios, Isle of reputed birthplace of
Homer, 571; Homer sails to -,
595; dies at 597
Iphianassa, (i) dau. of Proetus, 169;
(ii) dau. of Agamemnon, 503.
Iphiclus, 177, 195; powers of
running of —, 209, 211; s. of
Amphitryon, 223, 227; COWS
of, 263, 271
Iphigeneia, becomes Hecate, 205
and n.; sacrificed to Artemis,
493; transported to the land
of the Tauri, 495; distinguished
from Iphianassa, 503
Iphimedea, w. of Aloëus, 157, 159
Iphinoë, dau. of Proetus, 169
Iphitus, xxii, 307
Iris, dau. of Thaumas, 99; fetches
the water of Styx, 135, 179; sent
by Zeus to summon Demeter, 311,
313; sent to bring Ellithyia to
aid Leto, 331, 491
-
Iron, 13; Race of, 15 f.; discov
ered by the Idaean Dactyls, 77;
smelting of 141, 143 n.;
smelted on Mt. Ida, 471 and n.
Iron Age, the —, xxvi, 15 f.
Ischys, s. of Elatus, weds Coronis,
213, 339
Ister, the river, 103
Italy, 265, 519 n.
-
of Pandora, 9
Jar, the
Julius Pollux, xl
Juno, drives mad the daus. of
Proetus, 169
Justice (personified), 19; dau. of
Zeus, 23, 25, 145
Lacedaemon, (i) f. of Eurydice, 169;
(ii) (= Sparta), 195, 491
Lacedaemonian, 261
Lachesis, one of the Fates, 95 and
n., 145, 239
Laconian, 353
Ladon, the river, 105
Lame One, the
149, 185, 235
Laocoön, xxxii;
serpents, 521
(Hephaestus),
destroyed by
Laomedea, dau. of Nereus, 99
Laomedon, f. of Ganymedes, 515
Lapithae, xxv; battle of with
Centaurs, 231
-
Larissa, xl; (in the Peloponnesus),
265
Lasius, slain by Oenomaüs, 261
Latins, named after Latinus, 155
Latinus, s. of Circe and Odysseus,
153, 155
Lawlessness, child of Strife, 97
Leagore, 99
Lebes, 489
626
INDEX
Lectus, 341
sons of
,175; (ii) the Trojan,
Leda, 191; mother of the Dios-
curi, 441, 461
Leeky (a Frog). 559
Lehmann, xxv
Leipephile, dau. of Iolaüs, w. of
Phylas, 259
Lelantine Plain, war for the
341
Leleges, 209
xvi,
Lemnos, xxxii, 71, 327, 429 n., 495,
511
Lenaeon, month of, 41 and n.
Leontes, 527
Lerna, the Hydra of, 103
Lesbos, 327, 507
Lesches of Mitylene, author of the
Little Iliad, xxxii, 509, 515 and
n., 517, 519
Lescheos (Lesches), xxxii, 517
Leto, xxxvi; mother of Apollo,
59, 71, 79; dau. of Coeus and
Phoebe, 109; wedded to Zeus,
145, 189, 213, 235, 253, 281, 325;
wanderings of 327, 329;
swears that Deios shall be
Apollo's chief abode, 331, 335,
337, 339, 363, 375, 377, 381, 383,
395, 401
Leucippe, dau. of Ocean, 319
Leucippus, 189; daus. of
W. of
339
Libya, 181
-191:
Lickman (a Mouse), 555, 557
Lickplatter (a Mouse), 549, 559
Ligurians, 179
Lilaea, 173, 341
Limping God, the
121
-
Lindus (in Rhodes), xl
(Hephaestus),
Linus, invoked by minstrels, 275;
s. of Apollo and Aethusa, 571
Locrians, aid Amphitryon against
the Taphians, 221
Locrian, the - Aias, 527; the
grove, (Oenoë), xvii
Locris, x n., xvi, 265, 587, 589
-
Locrus, leader of the Leleges, 209
Loud-crier (a Frog), 557
Loud-croaker (a Frog), 555
Love (Eros), 87
Ludwich on the date of the Hymn
to Dionysus, xxxix
Lycaeum (in Arcadia), 71, 265
Lycaon, (i) k. of Arcadia, 69, 71;
captured by Patroclus, 495
Lycia, 337
Lycomedes, suitor of Helen, 197,
493, 517
Lyctus (in Crete), 115
Lying Words, offspring of Strife, 97
Lycurgus, 261
Lycus, dau. of —, 493
Lynceus, offspring of
243; killed
by Polydeuces, 491, 503
Lyrnessus (in the Troad), 495
Lysianassa, dau. of Nereus, 99
Lysicrates, choragic monument of
- xxxix
Lysimachus, 523
Lysippe, dau. of Proetus, 169
Macar, s. of Aeolus. 327
Macareus, 183
Macedon, s. of Zeus, xxii, 157
Macedonia, Macedonians, xxii, 157
Machaon, heals Philoctétes. 511;
killed by Eurypylus, 515; re-
ceives gift of surgery from
Poseidon, 525
Maenad, 317
Maenalus, 265
Maeon, 569, 571
Maeonia, 337
Magnes, s. of Zeus, xxii, 157; s. of
Argos, 263, 265
Magnesia, xxii, 255, 265
Maia, one of the Pleiades, 69;
bears Hermes to Zeus, 149, 363-
405 passim, 441, 443; Son of -,
passim
Maiden Well, the
Malea, 353
――
at Eleusis, 295
Manslaughters, offspring of Strife, 97
Mantes, 271
Manto, dau. of Teiresias, 489
Marckscheffel, xxii, xli n.
Mares, 271
Margites, the -, xl, 537, 567, 571
Mariandynus, s. of Phineus, 177
Marmax, 261
Maro, 211 and n.
Maronea, in Turace, 211 n., 527
Marriage of Ceyx, a Hesiodic poem
xxiii, xxiv
Mases, 197, 593
Matthiae, discovers the Hymn to
Demeter, XXXV
627
ss 2
INDEX
Mausolus, prince of Halicarnassus,
xli, 537
May-day Songs, 475 n.
Meander, 103
Mecionice, 259
Mecisteus, f. of Eurypylus, 593
Mecone, division between gods and
men at, 119
Medea, dau. of Aeêtes, 151, 153;
renews youth of Aeson, 527;
poisons Creon k. of Corinth, 535
Medeus, s. of Iason and Medea, 153
Medon, k. of Athens, 591
Medusa, story of, 99, 101
Megamedes, f. of Pallas, 371
Megara, 197, 207
Megaris, 265
Melampodia, subject of the -, xxv
Melampus, XXV; cures daus. of
Proteus, 169; dear to Apollo,
261; inspired by serpents, 263
Melanippe, an Amazon, 283
Melanopus, 571
Melas, s. of Phrixus, 263
Meleager, story of, 215, 217;
dau. of
505
Meles, the river of Smyrna, 435,
469; f. of Homer, 567, 569, 571,
573, 581
Melesagoras, 205
Melesigenes (Homer), 567, 569
Meliae, nymphs of ash-trees, 13 n.
93 and n.
Melian Race (men sprung from the
Meliae), 121 and n.
Melite, 97, 319
Meliboea, 175
Melobosis, dau. of Ocean, 105, 319
Melpomene, one of the Muses, 83
Memnon, xxx, xxxi; s. of Eos and
Tithonus, 153; aids the Trojans
and slain by Achilles, 507; dau.
of, 539
Menelaus, return of ,xxxiii; de-
serted by Helen, 191; suitor of
Helen, 193, 195; chosen as
husband of Helen, 199; s. of
Pleisthenes, 205; entertains
Paris, plans expedition against
Ilium, 491, 503, 511, 519, 521;
quarrels with Agamemnon, 525;
reaches Egypt, returns home, 527
Menemachus, 569
Menestheus, suitor of Helen, 195,
523
Menesthius, 173
Menestho, 105
Menippe, 99
Menoetius, s. of Iapetus, struck by
the thunderbolt of Zeus, 117; f.
of Patroclus, 189
Merope, (i) one of the Pleiades, 67
(ii) dau. of Oenopion, 71
Meropes, inhabitants of Cos, 327
Messene, xvii
Messenians, 189
Messina, Straits of, 71 n.
Metaneira, w. of Celeus, 301; re-
ceives Demeter, 303; gives De-
mophoön to Demeter to nurse,
305; spies on Demeter, 307, 309
Methone, a nymph, 571
Metis, 105; w. of Zeus and swal-
lowed by him, 143, 147; mother
of Homer, 569
Mice, the, 543-563 passim
Midas, xl, 467; epitaph on - by
Homer, 591
Miletus, 327, 507, 521
Milton, x
Mimas, (i) a Centaur, 233; (ii) a
promontory in Ionia, 327, 469
Minos, 71, 149; s. of Zeus and
Europa, 171, 197; wide rule
of 205 and n. 353
Minyan, title of Orchomenus in
Boeotia, 259
Minyans, 589
Minyas, 209
Mirth, 475
Mitylene, xxxii
145;
Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses,
83; dau. of Heaven, 89; wedded
to Zeus,
hymned by
Hermes, 395
Mnesagoras, 569
Moerae (Fates), 145
Molione, 161
Molossi, Neoptolemus returns to
the, 527
Molpe, one of the Sirens, 181
Molurus, slain by Hyettus, 259
Moon, the (Selene), 459
Mopsus, (i) a Lapith, s. of Ampyce,
233; (ii) the seer, s. of Manto,
XXV, 267
Mortar, dimensions of a -, 35 and
n.
Mother of the Gods (Cybele), 439
Mother of All (Earth), 457
628
INDEX
Moscow, Hymn to Demeter found at,
XXXV
Muck-coucher (a Frog), 559
Mudman (Peleus), a Frog, 543, 557
Müller, Otto, on the Aegimius,
XXV
Murders, offspring of Strife, 97
Murray, G., Ancient Greek Literature
of -, xiv
---
of
Muse, 363; dau. of Zeus, 439, 443,
447, 459, 515, 569, 573
Muses, x, xiii; and Hesiod, xv,
xvii, xxi ; of Pieria, 3;
Helicon, 51, 79; of Olympus
teach Hesiod, 81; sing in Olym-
pus, 81; names of the -, 83;
patronesses of minstrels, 85, 87,
145, 151; of Olympus, 155;
of Pieria, 235, 275, 281, 339,
395; Olympian, 395, 451; dance
of the
at Delphi, 453; cele-
brate the deeds of the demigods,
459, 461, 487, 509, 539;
-
-
of
Helicon, 543, 581; tripod dedi-
cated by Hesiod to, 587, 591
Museum, the, of Alcidamas, 589
Mycale, 327
Mycalessus, 341
Mycenaean, 489
Mycene, dau. of Inachus, 259
Myrmidons, ants transformed into
-, 185; town of the -, 247, 253
Mysia, 493
-
Mysteries, the of Eleusis, 303
and n.; taught by Demeter to the
princes of Eleusis, 323
created by Earth
to ensnare Persephone, 289
Narcissus, the
Naubolus, 207
Nausinous, s. of Odysseus, 155
Nausithoüs, s. of Odysseus, 155
Naxos, 287, 327
Neleus, sons of - killed by
Heracles, xxii, xxiii, 163
Nemea, xvi; lion of - killed by
Heracles, 103, 587
Nemean Zeus, grove of -, xvi, 587
Nemertes, dau. of Nereus, 99
Nemesis, xxvi, 17 and n., 95 and n.,
191; mother of Helen by Zeus,
499
Neoptolemus, xxxii; tomb of
Delphi, 115 n.; brought
at
by
Odysseus from Scyros, slays
Eurypylus, 511, 517; murders
Astyanax, 519; murders Priam,
521, 523; meets Odysseus at
Maronea, 527
Nephele, gives the Ram to Phrixus
and Helle, 177
Nereus, s. of Sea, called the Old
Man, 97; daus. of —, ib., 99, 153,
187, 347
Neso, 99
Nessus, the river
-105
Nestor, s. of Neleus, 163; so-called
Cave of, 372 n., 493, 513;
returns from Troy, 525, 569
Nicostratus, s. of Menelaüs, 205
Nicothoë, one of the Harpies, 179
Night, mother of Strife, 3, 79, 87;
dau. of Chaos, 87; children
of-, 95, 99; house and journey-
ings of, 133, 135; mother of
the Hesperides, 281
Nike (Victory), dau. of Styx, 107
Nilus (the River Nile), 103
Niobe, children of -, 173
Nisaea, dau. of Nereus, 97
Nisus, 159
Notus, 53; s. of Astraeus, 107,
143
Nut (the Egyptian counterpart of
Heaven), 93 n.
Nymphs, wash the corpse of Hesiod,
xvii, 13; daus. of Zeus, 75, 89;
of mountains, 275; - of ash-
trees, 93 n., 417; tree-nymphs of
Mt. Ida, 425; companions of Pan,
443; companions of Aphrodite,
499, 531
Nysa, in Phoenice, the birthplace
of Dionysus, 287; plain of
291; Dionysus nurtured in dells
of —,
45
Oath (Horcus), dogs unjust judge-
ments, 19; birth of, 63; child
of Strife, 97; - by the water of
Styx described, 135, 137
Obriareus (= Briareus, q.v.), one of
the Hundred-handed Giants,
bound by Cronos and released by
Zeus, 125; lives in Tartarus, 133
Ocalea, 341
Ocean, the river, 15, 45, 79, 89, 95,
97, 99, 101; f. of rivers, 103;
629
INDEX
daus. of, 105, 109, 115, 129,
135; streams of, 137, 139, 145,
147, 151, 181, 191, 193, 231, 243,
281, 283; daus. of 289, 319,
369, 377, 423, 459, 461, 483, 501,
505, 539
Ocimedes (a Frog), 557
Ocypete (or Ocythoë), one of the
Harpies, 99, 179
Ocypus, one of the Harpies, 179
Ocyrrhoë, dau. of Ocean, 105, 319
Ocythoë, see Ocypete
---
-
Odites, s. of Heracles, 217
Odysseus, xxviii; omission of — in
the Returns, xxx and n.; rivalry
with Aias, xxxi; wins arms of
Achilles, xxxii; fortunes of
after return to Ithaca, xxxiii;
sons of
by Circe, 153; sons
of by Calypso, 155; suitor of
Helen, 193, 419 n.; feigns mad-
ness, 493, 505; aids in the rescue
of body of Achilles, 509; wins
the arms of Achilles, captures
Helenus, 509; brings Neoptole-
mus from Scyros, spies in Troy,
511; rivalry with Aias, 513;
disguised, 515, 517; murders
Astyanax, 523; at Maronea, 527;
story of after close of Odyssey,
531, 569
Odyssey, the, effect of the Iliad and
on post-Homeric epic, ix;
structure of, xi, 531; com-
position and length of the
591 and n.
Oeager, f. of Orpheus, 571
Oebalus, 195, 197
Oechalia, the Taking of
533, 535
Oenopion, blinds Orion, 71; s. of
Dionysus, 211
Ogygia, the island of Calypso, 183
Ogylia, an island off Crete, 183
Ogylian Sea, the, 183, 199
Old Man, the-of the Sea (Nereus),
97, 153
Olenus (in Achaea), 183, 487
Olmeius, 79
Olympiads, xxx
Olympians, xxi, 259
Olympian, the
(Zeus), 277;
Muses, 395, 441
Olympus, Muses of, 79; birth-
place of the Muses, 83; occupied
by the gods, 87, 107, 109; strong-
hold of the Sons of Cronos in the
war with the Titans, 125, 129,
139, 141, 149, 157, 213, 223, 235,
253, 289, 295, 299, 313, 321, 323,
331, 333, 337, 341, 359, 361, 387,
395, 401, 431, 433, 437, 439, 445,
455, 563, and passim
Onchestus, 175; grove of Poseidon
at, and custom there, 341, 371,
377
Orchomenus, Hesiod's bones re-
moved to, xvi, 173; Minyan,
259; sons of, 283; men of
remove the body of Hesiod from
Oenoë, 589
Order (Eunomia), dau. of Zeus and
Themis, 145
Orestes, xxxiii; avenges his father,
Agamemnon, 527
Orion, rising of -, 47, 49; story of
71, 73
Orpheus, 571
by Creo-
Orphic, the
phylus of Samos or by Homer,
Oedipodea, the -, xxix
Oedipus, war for the flocks of
-
15; funeral of, 173, 217, 219;
Story of (Oedipodea), 483;
sons of, ib.; curses his sons,
485; story of related by
Nestor, 493
Oeneus, 183; f. of Meleager, 215,
217; marries l'eriboea, 487, 505,
593
Oenoë in Locris, Hesiod murdered
and buried at, xvi, xvii, 587
Oenomaüs, persons slain by -
and n.
261
-
character of the
Hymn to Ares, xxxix
Orthus, the hound of Geryones,
born of Echidna and Typhaon,
slain by Heracles, 101; 1. of
Sphinx, 103
Othrys, Mt. - the stronghold of
the Titans, 125
Otreus, k. of Phrygia, 415, 417
Outrage (personified), 19
Overlooking, a title of the altar of
Apollo, 539; a title of Zeus, ib. n.
Paean (the Healer), 275
Paean-singers, Cretan -, 361
Pagasaean, a title of Apollo, 225
630
INDEX
Palamedes, 493, 495; drowned by
Odysseus and Diomedes, 505
Palladium, xxxii; stolen from Troy
by Diomedes and Odysseus, 511,
523
Pallantium (in Arcadia), 175
Pallas, (i) Athena (q.v.), 7, 121,
147, 159, 229, 319, 437, 453, 561;
(ii) s. of Lycaon, 175; (iii) s. of
Crius and Eurybia, 107; f. of
Selene, 371
Pan, s. of Hermes, haunts of
plays on pipes at eventide, 443
birth of -
445; why so named
by the gods, 447 and n.
Pandia, dau. of Zeus and Selene,
461
-
121,
Pandion, the dau. of 45, 159
Pandora, (i) myth of xviii ;
creation of -, 7; meaning of the
name, 9 n.; lets loose the
plagues, 9; creation of
123; (ii) dau. of Deucalion, 157
Paneides, brother of Amphidamas
of Chalcis, 573, 585
Panhellenes, 43, 169
Panopea, 97
Panic, 149, 231;
Ares, 253-
Panopeus, 173, 207
Paphos, 411
Paris (Alexandrus,
Achilles, xxxi, 509
attendant on
q.v.) slays
Parnassus, 115, 343, 345, 353, 361,
403
Paros, 325, 327
Parthenius, the river 105, 279
Parthenopaeus, s. of Talaüs, 487
Patroclus, XXX, 189; captures
Lycaon, 495
Pasithea, dau. of Nereus, 97
Pasithoë, dau. of Ocean, 105
Passalus, one of the Cercopes, 539
Pausanias, xxxii; on the stone
swallowed by Cronos, 115 n., 193 n.
Peace, nurse of children, 21, 145,
475
Pedasus, a town n the Troad, 495
Pegasus, born from the blood of
Medusa brings thunder to Zeus,
101, 103; the horse of Bellero-
phon, 159
Peiren, f. of Io, 273
Peirene, dau. of Oebalus, 259
Peirithoüs, 8. of Aepytus, 209;
fights with the Lapithae against
Centaurs, 233
Peirus, the river, 183
Peisistratus, tampers with the text
of Hesiod, 207
Peitho, dau. of Ocean, 105
Pelagon, 261
Pelasgi, 175, 265; in Crete, 275; at
Dodona, 279
Pelasgus, 175
Peleiades (Pleiades), 67
Peleus, f. of Achilles, 153; adven-
ture of with Acastus, 185;
epithalamium of, 187, 189, 199,
273; dispute of gods at the
marriage of -, 489; marriage
497, 513; recognises
of
Neoptolemus, 527
Pelias, s. of Poseidon, xxii, 163
Pelion, Mt. 163, 185, 199, 327:
marriage of Peleus on, 497
Peloponnesus, 179, 265, 343, 345,
353, 587
Pelops, dau. of
219; wins
Hippodameia from Oenomaüs,
261; isle of -, 355, 503
Peloris, 73
Pemphredo, one of the Graiae, 99
Penelope, xxxiii; burial of suitors
of -, 531; marries Telegonus,
531; sons of by Odysseus,
533
Peneus, the river —,
Penthesileia, xxxi ;
Achilles, 507, 509
Peparethus, 327
105, 213, 447
killed by
Periboea, w. of Oeneus, 183
Periclymenus, s. of Neleus killed
by Heracles, xxii, 161, 487
Perieres, s. of Aeolus, 157, 189
Perimedes, a Centaur, 233
Perimele, 263
Periphas, s. of Oeneus, 217
Permessus, 79
Perrhaebi, the, 341
Persaeus, f. of Hecate, 291
Persephone, carried off by Hades,
XXXV; W. of Hades, 135; dau.
of Zeus and Demeter carried off
by Aïdoneus, 145, 171 n., 289 ff..
313 eats pomegranate seed in
Hades, 315; returns to De-
meter, 317; tells the story of
her seizure, 319, 325, 437
Persepolis, 163
631
INDEX
Perseis, 105; w. of Helios and
mother of Circe and Aeëtes, 151
Perses, (i) s. of Crius and Eurybia,
107; weds Asteria, 109; s. of —
219; (ii) Hesiod's brother, xiii,
xiv, xv; his quarrel with Hesiod,
5; exhorted to deal justly, 19,
23, 25, 33, 49, 571
Perseus, s. of Danaë, slays Medusa,
99, 235, 237
Persians, 569
Persuasion (Peitho), 7
Pestle, 35
Peteous, s. of, 195, 197
Petraea, dau. of Ocean, 105
Petraeus, a Centaur, 233
Petrie, recovers papyrus fragments
of the Contest of Homer and
Hesiod, xli n.
Peuceus, sons of -,233
Phaeo, one of the Hyades, 69
Phaeno, dau. of Ocean, 319
Phaesyle, one of the Hyades, 69
Phaethon, s. of Eos, carried off by
Aphrodite, 153
Phalereus, one of the Lapithae, 233
Pharsalia, 519 n.
Phasis, the river, 105, 181
Phegeus, xvi, 587
Phellus, 175
Pherae, 355
Pheres, 163; 8. of Oeneus, 217
Pherusa, dau. of Nereus, 97
Phicium, 223
Philammon, 209
Philoctetes, xxxii; suitor of Helen,
193; deserted in Lemnos, 495;
brought to Troy and healed, 511,
517
Philommedes (Aphrodite), 93 and n.
Philoterpes, 571
Philyra, s. of
(Chiron), 153;
mother of Chiron by Cronos,
483
Phineus, xxiii; s. of Phoenix, 171;
blinded, 177, 179, 263
Phlegyae, the
-345
Phlegyas, 213, 441
Phocaea, 327; Phocaeans, 535
Phocaïs, a poem ascribed to Homer,
533 n.,
535
Phocians, 221
Phocus, s. of Aeacus, 153
Phoebe, dau. of Heaven, 89; wedded
to Coeus, 109
Phoebus (Apollo), 79, 189, 213, 225,
227, 263, 275; hymns to -, 281,
327, 329, 331, 333, 335, 343, 345,
351, 353, 357, 371, 385, 387, 391,
395, 399; sung of by minstrels,
447, 453, 591
Phoenice, 287
Phoenician, 569
Phoenix, (i) the life of a -,
(ii) f. of Europa, Phineus, and
Adonis, 171; (ii) dies on return
from Troy, 527
75;
Phorbas, rival of Apollo, 339
Phorcys, s. of Sea and Earth, 97;
f. of the Graiae, 99, 103
Photius, compiler of an abstract of
the Trojan Cycle, xxix
Phricon, the people of - 469
Phrixus, xxv; the Ram of -, 177,
263, 271 and n.
Phrontis, child of Phrixus and
Iophossa, 263
Phrygia, 415
Phrygians, 415, 575
Phthia, 187, 213, 265
Phthiotis, xxv
Phyctes, k. of the Epeians, 183
Phylace, 195
Phylacus, s. of, (Iphiclus), 195;
f. of Iphiclus, 209, 271
Phylas, f. of Hippotades, 259
Phyleus, 191
Phylonomus, s. of Electryon, 219
Pieria, 3; the birthplace of the
Muses, 83, 157, 235, 339, 369, 377
Pierus, an ancestor of Homer, 571
Pigres, the Carian, brother of Arte-
misia, author of the Margites and
of the Battle of the Frogs and Mice,
xli, 537
Pindar, 141 n.
Pisa, 261
Placius, Mt., 505 n.
61
Planting, the proper day for -
Pleiades, xxvii; daus. of Atlas,
mark seasons for harvesting and
ploughing, 31, 45, 49, 67, 585
Pleisthenes, (i) f. of Agamemnon and
Menelaus, 203; (ii) s. of Helen,
501
Plexaura, dau. of Ocean, 105
Pliny, 367 n.
Ploto, dau. of Nereus, 97
Plough, directions for making —,
and parts of, 35, 37
632
INDEX
Ploughing, the season for, 31, 37,
39; ox for—, 33, 35
Plutarch, discredits the notice of
Hesiod's victory at Chalcis,
authority for Hesiod's burial at
Ascra, xvi, xix, xxiii; uses
shorter version of the Contest of
Homer and Hesiod, xli
Pluto, (i) dau. of Ocean, 105, 319;
(ii) (Hades) indirectly named,
291 n.
Plutus, s. of Demeter and Iasion,
god of wealth, 151, 323
Podaleirius, receives the gift of
medicine from Poseidon, 525
Podarces, suitor of Helen, 195
Polycaon, 259
Polycasta, dau. of Nestor, 163;
reputed mother of Homer, 569
Polydectes, s. of Magnes, 157
Polydeuces, 189, 193, 195, 441, 461;
slays Lynceus and Idas, 491;
enjoys immortality, 499, 503
Polydora, dau. of Ocean, 105; dau.
of Peleus, 187; w. of Protesilaüs
(according to the Cypria), 505
Polydorus, s. of Cadmus, 151
Polygnotus, 517 n.
Polyhymnia, one of the Muses, 83
Polymede, w. of Aeson, 163
Polyneices, xxix, 219, 269; cursed
by Oedipus, 485
Polyphantes, 261
Polypoetes, 527; s. of Odysseus and
Callidice, 531
Polynoë, dau. of Nereus, 99
Polyxeinus, prince of Eleusis, 299;
instructed in the mysteries by
Demeter, 323
Polyxena, sacrificed at the tomb of
Achilles, 523
Polyxenus, 531
Pondlarker (a Frog), 557
Pontomedea, dau. of Nereus, 97
Pontoporea, dau. of Nereus, 99
Pontus, s. of Earth, 89
Porthaon, f. of Oeneus, 217, 261
Poseidon (see also Earth-shaker,
Earth-holder), xxii, 53; sanctu
ary of at Peloris, 73, 79;
and Medusa, 99, 133, 157, 159,
161; weds Tyro, 163; grove of
at Onchestus, 175 n., 205, 341;
woos Hestia, 409, 429; tamer of
horses and saviour of ships, 449;
lord of Helicon, 469; f. of the
horse Areion, 485, 495, 569
Pot-visitor (a Mouse), 551, 557
Precepts of Chiron, xv, XX, 75
Priam, xxvi; murdered by Neo-
ptolemus, 517, 521
Proclus, xix, xx; makes synopsis of
the Trojan Cycle, xxix, xxx, xxxi,
xxxii, 13 n., 267 n.
Procris, w. of Cephalus the Athe-
nian, 489
Proetus, k. of Tiryns, daus. of —,
169
Prolochus, one of the Lapithae, 233
Prometheus, xxii; deceives Zeus,
5; steals fire for men, 7; pun-
ished by Zeus, 117; befools
Zeus, 119; steals fire, 121, 125;
f. of Deucalion, 155
Pronoë, dau. of Nereus, 99
Pronoea, w. of Prometheus, xxii,
155
Propontis, the
- 179
Protesilaus, suitor of Helen, 195;
killed by Hector, 495; first of
the Hellenes to land at Troy, 505
Proto, dau. of Nereus, 97
Prymno, dau. of Ocean, 105, 153
Psamathe, dau. of Nereus, 99
Puff-jaw, k. of the Frogs, 543 ff.
Pursuit (personified), 231
Pycimede, mother of Hesiod and
Perses, 571
Pygmies, the
-, 181
Pylades aids Orestes to avenge
Agamemnon, 527
-
Pylos, xxii; Heracles wounds Ares
at - 245, 353, 355, 357; Messe-
nian 372 n.; Triphylian
373 n., 379, 389, 393
Pyrrha, (i) in Mitylene, xxxii, 517;
(ii) w. of Deucalion, xxii, 155
Pyrrhaean, 519
Pythia (the Delphic priestess), 569,
571
Pythian, the Hymn to Apollo,
XXXVI; a title of Apollo, 351
Pytho (Delphi), xxxvi; chariot-
races at, xxxvii; Zeus sets up
the stone swallowed by Cronos
at, 115, 211; Cycnus robs pil-
grims to , 253, 337; Apollo
slays the dragoness at, deriv-
ation of the name, 351, 353, 361,
377; temple of Apollo at - 449
633
INDEX
Quarrels, offspring of Strife, 97
Quarrelsomeness, xvii
Quern-licker (a Mouse), 545
Quintilian on Hesiod's literary
value, xxvi
-
Race, the of Gold, 11; of Silver,
11, 13, 75; of Bronze, 13; of
Heroes or demi-gods, 13, 15; of
Iron, 15, 17
Ram, the of Phrixus, 177
Raven, the life of a -,75
Reedy (a Frog), 557
Returns, the its relation to the
Odyssey, XXX; geographical
knowledge of -, xxxi; contents
and authorship of -, xxxiii; also
called the Return of the Atreidae,
by Agias of Troezen, 525, 527,
529 and n., 531
Rhacius, a Mycenaean, 489
Rhadamanthys, x; saying of
75; 8. of Zeus and Europa, 171
Rharus, plain of -, 321
Rhea, xxi; dau. of Heaven, 89;
children of -, 113, 125; mother
of Demeter by Zeus, 321, 323;
present at the birth of Apollo,
331
Rhenaea, 327
Rhesus, the river -, 105
Rhodea, dau. of Ocean, 105, 319
Rhodius, the river, 105
Rhodope, dau. of Ocean, 319
Rivers, sons of Ocean, protectors
of youths, 105
Rueful (a Frog), 559
Ruler of Many (Pluto, Hades), 291,
295
Ruin, child of Strife, 97
Rzach on Aeolisms in Hesiod, xiv
and n.
Sack of Ilium, xxxi and n., xxxiii,
517, 521, 523, 525
Salamis, (i) the Isle of - xli; the
home of Aias, 197; (ii) in Cyprus,
435
Salmoneus, s. of Aeolus, xxii, 157,
163
Same, 355
Samos, 327
Sangarius, the river, 105
Sao, dau. of Nereus, 97
Sardene, Mt., 467
Sarpedon, (i) s. of Zeus and Europa,
171, 577; (ii) the island of the
Gorgons, 505
Satyrs, the 277
Scamander, the river, 105
Schoeneus, f. of Atalanta, 163, 165
Scorpion, created by Earth to
destroy Orion, placed by Zeus
in the sky, 73
Scylla, 263
Scyros, the Isle of —, 327, 493, 511;
Achilles at
513
Scythes, 77
Scythia, 263 n.
Scythians, 77 n.; Herodotus on
the 179 and n.
-
Sea, 87, 97
Seasons (Horae), 339, 499
Sea-faring, 49 ff., 63, 143
Selene (the Moon), 79; dau. of
Hyperion, 107; dau. of Pallas,
371, 375; dau. of Hyperion and
Euryphaëssa, 459; a token to
men, 461
Selinus, metope from represent-
ing punishment of the Cercopes,
xl
Semele, dau. of Cadmus, mother of
Dionysus, 149, 151, 287, 289,
429, 433
Serus, 189
-
Shakespeare, use of old material
by-, xviii
Shatter, a gnome hurtful to potters,
473
Sheep-cotes, 61
Sheep-shearing, 61
Shelley, translation of Hymn to
Hermes by -, xxxvii
Shield of Heracles, the, xi, xxiii,
xxiv; genuineness of 207;
beginning of the
part of the
fourth book of the Catalogues,
219
Shu (the Egyptian counterpart of
Atlas), 93 n., 133 n.
Sicily, 265
Sicycon, s. of Erectheus, 205
Sidon, taken by Alexandrus (Paris)
491
Sileni, 425
Simoïs, the river, 105, 577
634
INDEX
Sinon, xxxii; shows signal light to
181
the Greeks, 517, 521
Sirens, names of the
Sirius (the Dog-star), 33, 47, 49,
231, 247
Sisyphus, s. of Aeolus, 157, 159
Slaughter, 231
Sleep, 95; brother of Death, 133, 135
Slice-snatcher (a Mouse), 561
Smash, a malignant kiln-gnome, 473
Smyrna, 435; building of -, 469;
birthplace of Homer, 567
Smyth, Weir -
-, on Terpander's im-
provement of the lyre, xxxviii
Soli, 271
Sophocles, use of the Epic Cycle
by -, xxix
Sorrows, offspring of Strife, 97
Sparta, Paris at -, 491, 501
Speo, dau. of Nereus, 97
Sphinx, 43 n.; offspring of Orthus
and Echidna, 103; slays Hae-
mon, 483
Staff of Riches, given by Apollo to
Hermes, 401
Stag, the life of a -, 75
Stasinus of Cyprus, author of the
Cypria, xxxii, 185 n.; author or
recipient of the Cypria, 497, 507
Steropes, one of the Cyclopes, 89
and n.
Stesichorus, reputed s. of Hesiod,
xvi n., 191, 483 n.
Stheneboea, w. of Proetus, 169
Sthenelus, s. of Capaneus, 593
Sthenno, one of the Graiae, 99
Stratonica, 207
Strife, dau. of Night, 3, 95, 97, 231,
489
Strophades Islands, 179
Strifes, the two-, xviii, 3, 5
Strymon, the river, 103
Styx, chief of the daus. of Ocean
and Tethys, 105; wedded to
Pallas, 107; home and water
of 135, 137; water of -,
307, 319, 331; oath by the water
of 401
Suidas, xxi, xli
Suitors of Helen, the, a Hesiodic
poem, xxiii and n.
Sun, the (see also Helios), 135;
chariot of, 181, 369; f. of
Circe, 475
Swallow-Song, 475 n.
Taenarum, the town of Helios, 353
Take (personified), 29
Talaüs, son of -, 487, 593
Talk (personified), 59
Taming, the right day for
mals, 61
-
ani-
Tantalus, 503; punishment of —,
-
529
Taphians, the slay the sons of
Electryon, 219, 221
Tartarus, description of, xxviii
the three primeval
one
beings, 87, 129; depth of
below the earth, 131; f. of
Typhoeus, 139, 141; Typhoeus
cast into, 143, 213, 239, 349,
383, 391
Tauri, the, 205 n.
Taurić Chersonnese, Iphigeneia at
205 n.
Taygetus, Mt.
the Dioscuri, 441, 461, 503
Tegea, 265
Teiresias, death of
the birthplace of
267 n.; age
and change of sex of
269; the
dau. of, (Manto), 489; dies
at Colophon, 527, 531
Telamon, f. of Aias, 257 and n.;
slays Melanippe the Amazon, 283
Teleboans, 221
Teledamus (or Telegonus), s. of
Odysseus and Calypso (sc. Circe),
533
Telegonus, xxxiii; s. of Odysseus
and Circe, 155; marries Penelope
529; kills Odysseus, marries
Penelope, 531; s. of Odysseus by
Calypso (sic), 533
Telegony, the - by Engammon of
Cyrene, xxxiii, 531, 533
Telephus, k. of Mysia, xxxii;
wounded by Achilles, 493, 511,
513, 515
Telemachus, x n., xxxiii; weds
Polycaste, 163, 493; marries
Circe, 529, 531, 533; reputed f.
of Horner, 569
Telesto, dau. of Ocean, 105
Telphusa, xxxvi, 341; dissuades
Apollo from building a temple,
343, punished by Apollo, 351
Telphusian, a title of Apollo, 351
Tenedos, xxxii, 495; Greeks sail
from Troy to—, 511, 521
Teos, xxix
635
INDEX
Terpander, reputed inventor of the
seven-stringed lyre, xxxviii
Terpsichore, one of the Muses, 83
Tethys, dau. of Heaven, 89;
mother of the Rivers, 103, 105,
147
Teÿgeta, one of the Pleiades, 67
Teumesían Fox, the, 487, 489
Teumessus, 341, 487 n., 489
Teuthrania, sacked by the Greeks
in mistake for Troy, 493
Thaleia, one of the Graces, 83, 145
Thamyras, 569
Thaumas, 97, 99, 135
Thebais, the, xxix, 485, 487, 489;
composition of
591
Thebe (sc. Thebes), wars of the
heroes at, 15, 151, 223, 225,
227, 341
-
built
Thebes, the story of, treated by
the Cyclic poets, xxviii; Oedipus
dies at, 173; walls of
by Zethus and Amphion, 215,
217, 219, 221, 287; Heracles
born at, 439, 485, 487, 533;
Hypoplacian 505 and n.
Theban, poems of the Cycle,
xxix ; born (Heracles), 119;
wars, 199 n., 217 n.;
women, 219, 487, 489
Theia, dau. of Heaven, 89; w. of
Hyperion, 107; mother of the
Cercopes, 539
-
Thelxinoë (or Thelxiope), one of the
Sirens, 181
Themis, 79; dau. of Heaven, 89;
w. of Zeus, 145; present at
birth of Apollo, 331; feeds
Apollo with nectar and ambrosia,
333, 413; aided by Ares, 433,
449, 489
Themiscyra, betrayed to Heracles
and Theseus by Antiope, 527
Themista, reputed mother of Homer,
569
Themisto, dau. of Nereus, 99
Themistonoë, dau. of Ceyx and w.
of Cycnus, 245
Theogony, the, x; structure of
-, xi; analysis of —, xx, xxi
Theognis, xv, 57 n., 281 n.
Theolytus, 483
Thermodon, the river -. 527
Thero, dau. of Phylas, wedded to
Apollo, 259
Thersander, s. of Polyneices, 493
Thersites, in the Aethiopis and the
Iliad, xxx; slain by Achilles, 507
Theseus, deserts Ariadne for Aegle,
207; fights with the Lapithae
against the Centaurs, 233; story
of related by Nestor, 493;
sons of, 519; carries off Helen,
501; loved by Antiope, 527
Thespiae, in Boeotia, xiii
Thespians, Ascra destroyed by
the Xiv
Thesprotis, adventures of Odysseus
in, xxxiii, 531
Thessaly ruled by the descendants
of Deucalion, 157
Thessalian authorship of the Great
Eoiae, xxv
Thestorides, 469, 535
Thetis, xxv, 97; w. of Peleus and
mother of Achilles, 153; rejects
wedlock with Zeus, 185; throws
her children into a cauldron, 273;
tends Hephaestus when cast out
of Heaven by Hera, 347, 495,
497; carries off Achilles to the
White Island, 509, 527
Thoas, 211
Thoë, (i), dau. of Nereus, 97; (ii)
dau. of Ocean, 105
Thoricus, 297
Thrace, 41, 211 n., 429 n.,
Thracian, 43, 327, 507
Threefold People, the
chaikes), of Crete, 275
Three-legged One, the -
man), 43
Threshing, 63 and n.
Thriae, the
403 and n.
529
- (Tri-
(an old
Thronía, w. of Arabus, 167
Thryon, ford of the Alpheus, 353
Thucydides, authority for the tradi-
tion of Hesiod's murder at Oenoë,
xvii; quotes the Hymn to Apollo
as a prelude," xxxiv
"6
Thyia, dau. of Deucalion, 157
Thynus, s. of Phineus, 177
Thyone (Semele), 289
Tigres, the river, in Peloponnesus,
179
Tiryns, 101, 169, 225, 593
Timandra, deserts Echemus, 191
Tin, smelting of -,
Titan-killer, the
bolt), 561
141
(the thunder-
636
INDEX
Titanomachy, first poem in the
Epic Cycle, disputed authorship
of-, xxix
Titans, xxi; names of, 89; de-
rivation of the name, 95; war
of with Zeus, 107, 111; war
of with Olympians, 125 ff.,
127, 129, 131; imprisoned in
Tartarus, 133, 137, 139, 141, 143,
349; The War of the -, 481, 483
Titaresia, 233
Tithonus, f. of Memnon, 153;
story of and Eos, 421, 423
Tityos, 173
Tlesenor, s. of Aepytus, 209
Toil, child of Strife, 97
Toxeus, (i) s. of Eurytus, 207; (ii)
s. of Oeneus, 217
Trading by sea, 51
Trachis, xxiv, 245, 253, 255
Tricolonus, 261
Tretus, 103
Triptolemus, prince of Eleusis,
Xxvi; instructed by Demeter in
the Mysteries, 299, 323
Trito, the river, 147
Tritogeneia (Athena), 145, 233, 455
Triton, s. of Poseidon and Amphi-
trite, 149
Troezen, xxxiii, 197, 525, 569, 593
Troglodyte (a Mouse), 557, 559
Troglodytes, 181
Troilus, slain by Achilles, 495
Trojan, relative date of poems of
the Cycle to Homer, xxx, 185
n.; War, 199 n., 413, 415, 419,
495; - allies, ib., 507, 509, 511,
517, 521, 585
Trophonius, xxxvii; builds temple
of Apollo, 345; story of, 531
Tros, f. of Ganymedes, 421
Troy, xxviii, xxxii; expedition of
the heroes to, , 15, 51, 267, 411,
491; heroes slain at
497;
taking of - foretold by Helenus,
511; dynasty of Aeneas at
519 n.; return of heroes from
525 ff., 595
Tumult (personified), 231
Tyche, dau. of Ocean, 105, 319
Tydeus, f. of Diomedes, 593
Tyndareus, incurs the anger of
Aphrodite, 191, 193; imposes an
oath on the suitors of Helen, 199,
441; sons of —, 491
to
345
Tyndaridae, 441; birth of
saviours of ships, 461, 463
Typhaon, xxxvi; wedded
Echidna, 101; story of -
ff.; born of Hera, 349
Typhaonium, 223
Typhoeus, xxi; s. of Earth and
Tartarus, 139; destroyed by
Zeus, 141; f. of the winds, 143,
351
Tyro, dau. of Salmoneus, xxii, 163
Tyrrhenia (Etruria), 181
Tyrsenians, 429 n.
Twelve Gods, the
Twin Hills, the - 211
373
Undercutter, 305 and n.
Uproar (personified), 231
Urania, (i) one of the Muses, 83;
mother of Linus, 275, 319; (ii)
dau. of Tethys and Ocean, 105
Ureus, a Centaur, 233
Valckenaer, on the subject-matter
of the Aegimius, xxv
Vergil, x; his account of the sack
of Troy, xxxi, 211 n., 213 n.
Vesta, 113 n.
Victory, dau. of Ares, 433
Vine-pruning, 45
Vineyards, 45
Vintage, the season of
49
Waterlady (a Frog), 543
Waterlarker (a Frog), 557
Wealth (see also Plutus), 475
Weaving, the right day for -, 61
White Island, Achilles transported
by Thetis to the 509
Winnowing, 47
Wise One, the -, (the Ant), 61
Woe, child of Night, 95
Women, 31, 33, 53, 55; originate
from Pandora, evils caused to
men by
- 123
Woodcutter, the, 305 and n.
Woodcutting, 33, 35
Works and Days, ancient leaden
copy of the
--seen by Pausanias,
xvii; analysis of, xviii; its
aim, moral and not technical, xix
Xanthe, dau. of Ocean, 105
Xanthus, s. of Midas, 591
Xuthus, s. of Hellen, xxii, 157
637
INDEX
Zacynthus, 355
Zelus (Emulation), s. of Styx, 107
Zenodotus of Ephesus, probable
editor or redactor of the Cyclic
Poems, xxviii
Zephyr, 47; s. of Astraeus, 107, 143
Zetes, s. of Boreas, delivers Phineus
from the Harpies, 179 and n.
Zethus, builds the walls of Thebes,
215
Zeus (the Son of Cronos, the Father
of Men and Gods), Nemean, xvi;
punishes the sons of Iapetus, xxi;
overcomes Cronos, xxi;
causes
the Trojan War, xxxii, xxxv,
Xxxvii, xxxviii, xli; f. of the
Muses, 3; hides the means of
life from men, 5; hides fire, 7;
makes the plagues speechless, 9;
ends the Silver Age, 13; makes
the Bronze Age, ib.; places the
heroes in the Isles of the Blessed,
15; makes the Race of Iron, 15;
will destroy the Race of Iron, 17;
punishes injustice,
21; his
guardian spirits among men, 21;
the eye of — 23; blesses the
righteous, 25; his anger against
sinners, 27; giver of wealth, 31;
sends the autumn rains, 33, 53,
57; days appointed for special
work by, 59; turns the Hyades
into stars, 67; f. of Arcas by
Callisto, 69; entertained by
Lycaon, 71; places Orion
amongst the stars, 71; hymned
by the Muses, 79, 81; weds
Mnemosyne, 83; patron of
princes, 85, 105; accompanied
by Cratos and Bia, 107; honours
Styx, 109; honours Hecate, 109,
111; s. of Rhea and Cronos, 113;
birth of 115; sets up the stone
swallowed by Cronos at Pytho,
115; punishes Menoetius and
Prometheus, appoints Atlas to
uphold Heaven, 117; befooled
by Prometheus at Mecone, 119;
hides fire from men, orders
creation of Pandora, 121, 123;
fights with the Titans, 129;
weapons of, 131; imprisons the
Titans in Tartarus, 133; sends
Iris to fetch the water of Styx,
135; destroys Typhoeus, 139 ff.;
assigns to the gods their portions,
143; weds Metis, ib.; swallows
her, ib., 145; weds Themis,
Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemo-
syne, Leto, ib.; gives Persephone
to Aidoneus, ib.; swallows Metis,
147; gives birth to Athena, 149;
f. of Hermes by Maia, of Dionysus
by Semele, of Heracles by Alc-
mena, 149, 153, 155; f. of
Graecus by Pandora, of Macedon
by Thyia, 157; curse of - on
Glaucus, 159, 161; carries off
Europa, 171; lord of Aenos, 179,
183; rejected by Thetis, 187;
f. of the Dioscuri, 191, 193, 199;
plans to destroy the race of
mortals, 201, 203; sceptre of
205; creates men out of stones
for Deucalion, 209; slays Ascle-
pius, 213; founds an oracle at
Dodona, 215, 219; weds Alc-
mena, 219, 221; begets Heracles,
223, 225, 227, 229, 233, 235, 243,
247, 249; 1. of Argos, 257;
transports Endymion to Heaven,
261, 269, 271; seduces Io, 271;
changes the name of Abantis to
Euboea, 273; gifts of to sons
of Aeacus and Atreus, 277, 281;
f. of Dionysus, 287, 289; suffers
Pluto to carry off Persephone,
291; sends Iris to Demeter, 311;
sends Hermes to bring Perse-
phone back from Hades, 313, 315,
317, 319; sends Rhea to De-
meter, 321, 323; welcomes
Apollo, 325, 335, 337, 339, 345;
gives birth to Athena, 347, 349,
355, 357, 361, 363; f. of Hermes,
365, 367, 377, 379; judges be-
tween Apollo and Hermes, 387-
393, 395; giver of gift of pro-
phecy to Apollo, 397, 401, 403;
confirms the prerogatives of
Hermes, 405; honours Hestia,
casts love for Anchises on Aphro-
dite, 409, 411, 419; carries off
Ganymedes, 421; promises Eos
immortality for Tithonus, 421,
427, 429, 433; husband of Hera,
437, 439; f. of the Dioscuri, f.
of Hermes, 441, 443, 445; con-
fers with Themis, 449;
the
support of kings, f. of Dionysus,
638
INDEX
451; bears Athena, 455; f. of
Calliope, 459; f. of Pandia by
Selene, 461; f. of the Tyndaridae,
461, 463; f. of the river Hermus,
467; the god of guests, 469,
471; sender of snow,
473;
dances, 481; invoked by Oedipus
to destroy his sons, 485; plans
the Trojan War, 489; gives the
Dioscuri partial immortality,
491; plans to relieve the Trojans,
.495; plans to relieve the over-
burdened earth, swears Thetis
shall wed a mortal, 497; f. of
Helen by Nemesis, 499, 501, 505,
507; recompenses Laomedon for
Ganymedes, 515; tomb of
517; Herceius, ib., 521; gives the
Palladium to Dardanus, 523;
punishes Tantalus, 529, 539,
547, 553, 555, 561; sends Crabs
to aid the Frogs against the Mice,
563; tomb of - 573, 577, 581;
destroys Hesiod's murderers, 589
and passim.
639
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SENECA: TRAGEDIES. F. J. Miller. 2 Vols. (2nd Imp.
revised.)
STATIUS. J. H. Mozley. 2 Vols.
SUETONIUS. J. C. Rolfe.
revised, Vol. II. 3rd Imp.)
TACITUS: DIALOGUS.
COLA AND GERMANIA.
TACITUS: HISTORIES.
2 Vols.
(Vol. I. 4th Imp.
Sir Wm. Peterson and AGRI-
Maurice Hutton. (3rd Imp.)
C. H. Moore. 2 Vols.
TERENCE. John Sargeaunt.
2 Vols. (5th Imp.)
VELLEIUS PATERCULUS AND RES GESTAE.
Shipley.
Vol. I.
F. W.
VIRGIL. H. R. Fairclough. 2 Vols. (Vol. I. 7th Imp.,
Vol. II. 5th Imp.)
Greek Authors
ACHILLES TATIUS. S. Gaselee.
AENEAS TACTICUS: ASCLEPIODOTUS AND ONA-
SANDER. The Illinois Greek Club.
AESCHINES. C. D. Adams.
AESCHYLUS. H. Weir Smyth. 2 Vols.
APOLLODORUS. Sir James G. Frazer.
(Vol. I. 2nd Imp.)
2 Vols.
APOLLONIUS RHODIUS. R. C. Seaton. (3rd Imp.)
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. Kirsopp Lake. 2 Vols.
(Vol. I. 4th Imp., Vol. II. 3rd Imp.)
APPIAN'S ROMAN HISTORY. Horace White. 4 Vols.
(Vols. I. and IV. 2nd Imp.)
ARISTOPHANES. Benjamin Bickley Rogers.
(2nd Imp.) Verse trans.
3 Vols.
ARISTOTLE: THE "ART" OF RHETORIC. J. H.
Freese.
ARISTOTLE: THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS. H.
Rackham.
ARISTOTLE: POETICS AND LONGINUS. W. Hamilton
Fyfe; DEMETRIUS ON STYLE. W. Rhys Roberts.
ATHENAEUS: DEIPNOSOPHISTAE. C. B. Gulick. 7
Vols. Vols. I-III.
CALLIMACHUS AND LYCOPHRON.
ARATUS. G. R. Mair.
A. W. Mair;
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. Rev. G. W. Butterworth.
DAPHNIS AND CHLOE. Thornley's Translation revised by
J. M. Edmonds; AND PARTHENIUS. S. Gaselee. (2nd
Imp.)
DEMOSTHENES,
DE CORONA AND DE FALSA
LEGATIONE. C. A. Vince and J. H. Vince.
DIO CASSIUS: ROMAN HISTORY. E. Cary. 9 Vols.
DIOGENES LAERTIUS. R. D. Hicks.
EPICTETUS. W. A. Oldfather. 2 Vols.
2 Vols.
EURIPIDES. A. S. Way. 4 Vols. (Vol.
I. 3rd Imp.
Vols. II. and IV. 4th Imp., Vol. III. 2nd Imp.) Verse trans.
EUSEBIUS: ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Kirsopp
Lake. 2 Vols. Vol. I.
GALEN: ON THE NATURAL FACULTIES. A. J.
Brock. (2nd Imp.)
THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY. W. R. Paton. 5 Vols.
(Vol. I. 3rd Imp., Vol. II. 2nd Imp.) .
THE GREEK BUCOLIC POETS
(THEOCRITUS,
BION, MOSCHUS). J. M. Edmonds. (5th Imp. revised.)
HERODOTUS. A. D. Godley. 4 Vols.
2nd Imp.)
HESIOD AND THE HOMERIC HYMNS.
White. (4th Imp.)
HIPPOCRATES.
(Vols. I.-III.
H. G. Evelyn
W. H. S. Jones and E. T. Withington.
4 Vols. Vols. I.-III.
HOMER: ILIAD.
A. T. Murray. 2 Vols. (2nd Imp.)
HOMER: ODYSSEY. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols. (3rd
Imp.)
ISAEUS. E. W. Forster.
ISOCRATES. G. B. Norlin. 3 Vols.
Vols. I. and II.
Vols. I.-III.
JOSEPHUS: H. St. J. Thackeray. 8 Vols.
JULIAN. Wilmer Cave Wright. 3 Vols.
LUCIAN. A. M. Harmon. 8 Vols. Vols. I.-IV. (Vol. I.
3rd Imp., Vol. II. 2nd Imp.)
LYRA GRAECA. J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols. (Vol. I. 2nd
Ed. revised and enlarged.)
MARCUS AURELIUS. C. R. Haines. (2nd Imp.)
MENANDER. F. G. Allinson.
OPPIAN, COLLUTHUS, TRYPHIODORUS. A. W. Mair.
PAUSANIAS: DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. W. H. S.
Jones. 5 Vols. and Companion Vol. Vols. I. and II.
PHILO. F. M. Colson and Rev. G. H. Whitaker. 10 Vols.
Vols. I. and II.
PHILOSTRATUS: THE LIFE OF APOLLONIUS OF
TYANA. F. C. Conybeare. 2 Vols. (Vol. I. 3rd Imp.,
Vol. II. 2nd Imp.)
PHILOSTRATUS AND EUNAPIUS: LIVES OF THE
SOPHISTS. Wilmer Cave Wright.
PINDAR. Sir J. E. Sandys. (4th Imp.)
PLATO: CHARMIDES, ALCIBIADES, HIPPARCHUS,
THE LOVERS, THEAGES, MINOS AND EPINOMIS.
W. R. M. Lamb.
5
PLATO: CRATYLUS, PARMENIDES, GREATER HIP-
PIAS, LESSER HIPPIAS. H. N. Fowler.
PLATO: EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO,
PHAEDRUS. H. N. Fowler. (6th Imp.)
PLATO: LACHES, PROTAGORAS, MENO, EUTHY.
DEMUS. W. R. M. Lamb.
PLATO: LAWS.
Rev. R. G. Bury. 2 Vols.
PLATO: LYSIS, SYMPOSIUM, GORGIAS. W. R. M.
Lamb.
PLATO: STATESMAN, PHILEBUS. H. N. Fowler ;
ION. W. R. M. Lamb.
PLATO: THEAETETUS AND SOPHIST. H. N. Fowler.
(2nd Imp.)
PLUTARCH: MORALIA. F. C. Babbitt. 14 Vols. Vols.
I. and II.
PLUTARCH: THE PARALLEL LIVES. B. Perrin. II
Vols. (Vols. I., II. and VII. 2nd Imp.)
POLYBIUS. W. R. Paton. 6 Vols.
PROCOPIUS: HISTORY
Dewing. 7 Vols. I.-V.
OF THE WARS. H. B.
QUINTUS SMYRNAEUS. A. S. Way. Verse trans.
SOPHOCLES. F. Storr. 2 Vols. (Vol. I. 5th Imp., Vol.
II. 3rd Imp.) Verse trans.
ST. BASIL: LETTERS. R. J. Deferrari. 4 Vols. Vols. I.
and II.
ST. JOHN DAMASCENE: BARLAAM AND IOASAPH.
Rev. G. R. Woodward and Harold Mattingly.
STRABO: GEOGRAPHY. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.
Vols. I.-VI.
THEOPHRASTUS: CHARACTERS. J. M. Edmonds;
HERODES, etc. A. D. Knox.
THEOPHRASTUS: ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS. Sir
Arthur Hort, Bart. 2 Vols.
THUCYDIDES. C. F. Smith.
4 Vols.
revised.)
(Vol. I. 2nd Imp.
Walter Miller. 2 Vols.
XENOPHON: CYROPAEDIA.
(Vol. I. 2nd Imp.)
XENOPHON: HELLENICA, ANABASIS, APOLOGY
AND SYMPOSIUM. C. L. Brownson and O. J. Todd.
3 Vols.
XENOPHON: MEMORABILIA AND OECONOMICUS.
E. C. Marchant.
XENOPHON: SCRIPTA MINORA. E. C. Marchant.
6
IN PREPARATION
Greek Authors
ARISTOTLE, METAPHYSICS.
II. Tredennick.
ARISTOTLE, ON THE MOTION AND PROGRESSION
OF ANIMALS. E. S. Forster.
ARISTOTLE, ORGANON. W. M. L. Hutchinson.
ARISTOTLE, PHYSICS. Rev. P. Wicksteed.
ARISTOTLE, POLITICS AND ATHENIAN CONSTI-
TUTION. H. Rackham.
ARRIAN, HIST. OF ALEXANDER AND INDICA. Rev.
E. Iliffe Robson. 2 Vols.
DEMOSTHENES, OLYNTHIACS, PHILIPPICS, LEP-
TINES AND MINOR SPEECHES. J. H. Vince.
DEMOSTHENES, MEIDIAS, ANDROTION, ARISTO-
CRATES, TIMOCRATES. J. H. Vince.
DEMOSTHENES, PRIVATE ORATIONS. G. M. Calhoun.
DIO CHRYSOSTOM. W. E. Waters.
GREEK IAMBIC AND ELEGIAC POETS AND THE
ANACREONTEA. J. M. Edmonds.
LYSIAS. W. R. M. Lamb.
MANETHO. S. de Ricci.
PAPYRI. A. S. Hunt.
PHILOSTRATUS, IMAGINES. Arthur Fairbanks.
PLATO, REPUBLIC. Paul Shorey.
PLATO, TIMAEUS, CRITIAS, CLITOPHO, MENEXE-
NUS, EPISTULAE.
SEXTUS EMPIRICUS.
Rev. R. G. Bury.
Rev. R. G. Bury.
7
Latin Authors
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS. J. C. Rolfe.
BEDE, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. J. E. King.
CICERO, IN CATILINAM, PRO MURENA, PRO
SULLA. B. L. Ullmann.
CICERO, DE NATURA DEORUM. H. Rackham.
CICERO, DE ORATORE, ORATOR, BRUTUS.
Stuttaford.
Charles
CICERO, IN PISONEM, PRO SCAURO, PRO FONTEIO,
PRO MILONE, etc. N. H. Watts.
CICERO, PRO QUINCTIO, PRO ROSCIO AMERINO,
PRO ROSCIO COMOEDO, CONTRA RULLUM. J. H.
Freese.
CICERO, PRO SEXTIO, IN VATINIUM, PRO CAELIO,
PRO PROVINCIIS CONSULARIBUS, PRO BALBO.
CORNELIUS NEPOS. J. C. Rolfe.
ENNIUS, LUCILIUS and other specimens of Old Latin.
E. H. Warmington.
FLORUS. E. S. Forster.
MINUCIUS FELIX.
W. C. A. Ker.
OVID: ARS AMATORIA, REMEDIA AMORIS, etc.
J. H. Mozley.
OVID, FASTI.
Sir J. G. Frazer.
PLINY, NATURAL HISTORY. W. H. S. Jones and L. F.
Newman.
ST. AUGUSTINE, MINOR WORKS.
ST. JEROME'S LETTERS. F. A. Wright.
SIDONIUS, LETTERS. E. V. Arnold and W. B. Anderson.
TACITUS, ANNALS. John Jackson.
TERTULLIAN: APOLOGY. T. R. Glover.
VALERIUS FLACCUS. A. F. Scholfield.
VITRUVIUS, DE ARCHITECTURA. F. Granger.
descriptive prospectus on application
London
New York
8
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