Hyginus, Fabulae

ToposText · Hyginus · 262 sections

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§ 184 PENTHEUS AND AGAVE: Pentheus, son of Echion and Agave, denied that Liber was a god, and refused to introduce his Mysteries. Because of this, Agave his mother, along with her sisters Ino and Autonoe, in madness sent by Liber tore him limb from limb. When Agave came to her senses and saw that at Liber's instigation she had committed such a crime, she fled from Thebes. In her wanderings she came to the territory of Illyria to King Lycotherses, who received her.
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§ 185 ATALANTA: Schoeneus is said to have had a most beautiful daughter, Atalanta, who by her swiftness used to surpass men in the race. She asked her father that she might remain a virgin. And so, since she was sought by many in marriage, her father set up a contest, that her suitors should contend with her first in a foot-race; then a limit being set, that the man, unarmed, should flee, and she should pursue him with a weapon; the one she overtook within the limits of the course, she should kill, and fix his head up in the stadium. When she had overtaken and killed many, she was finally defeated by Hippomenes, son of Megareus and Merope. For he had received from Venus three apples of exceptional beauty, and had been instructed how to use them. By throwing them down in the contest. He had slowed up the speed of the girl, for as she picked them up and admired the gold, she lost time, and gave victory to the youth. Schoeneus willingly gave him his daughter because of his ingenuity, but as he was taking her home, forgetting that he had won by the favour of Venus, he did not give thanks to her. While he was sacrifice to Jove Victor on Mount Parnassus, inflamed with passion through the anger of Venus, he lay with Atalanta in the shrine, and Jupiter because of this changed them into lion and lioness, animals to whom the gods deny intercourse of love.
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§ 186 MELANIPPE: Neptune seduced Melanippe, a very beautiful girl, daughter of Desmontes or as other poets say, of Aeolus, and begat by her two sons. When Desmontes found this out, he blinded Melanippe, and shut her in a prison, with commands that only scant food and water be given to her, and that the children be thrown to wild beasts. When they had been thrown out, a cow in milk came to the children and offered them her udders, and cowherds, seeing this, took the children to rear. In the meantime Metapontus, King of Icaria, demanded of his wife Theano that she bear children to him, or leave the kingdom. She, in fear, sent to the shepherds asking them to find a child she could present to the king. They sent her the two babies they had found, and she presented them to king Metapontus as her own. Theano later bore two sons to Metapontus. Since, however, Metapontus, was exceedingly fond of the first two, because they were very handsome, Theano sought to get rid of them and save the kingdom for her own sons. A day came when Metapontus went out to perform sacrifices to Diana Metapontina, and Theano, seizing the opportunity, revealed to her sons that the older boys were not her own. “So, when they go out to hunt, kill them with hunting knives.” When they had gone out in the mountains, at their mother's instructions, they started fighting. But with the aid of Neptune, Neptune's sons overcame them and killed them. When their bodies were borne into the palace, Theano killed herself with a hunting knife. The avengers, Boeotus and Aeolus, fled to the shepherds where they had been reared, and there Neptune revealed to them that they were his sons and that their mother was held in custody. They went to Desmontes, killed him, and freed their mother, whose sight Neptune restored. Her sons brought her to Icaria to King Metapontus, and revealed Theano's treachery to him. After this, Metapontus married Melanippe, and adopted the two as his sons. In Propontis they founded towns called by their names — Boeotus, Boeotia, and Aeolus, Aeolia.
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§ 187 ALOPE: Since Alope, daughter of Cercyon, was very beautiful, Neptune embraced her, and from this embrace she bore a child which she gave to her nurse to expose, since she did not know its father. When the child was exposed, a mare came and furnished it milk. A certain shepherd, following the mare, saw the child and took it up. When he had taken it home, clothed in its royal garments, a fellow shepherd asked that it be given to him. The first gave it without the garments, and when strife rose between them, the one who had taken the child demanding signs it was free-born, but the other refusing to give them, they came to King Cercyon and presented their arguments. The one who had taken the child again demanded the garments, and when they were brought, Cercyon knew that they were taken from the garments of his daughter. Alope's nurse, in fear, revealed to the King that the child was Alope's, and he ordered that his daughter be imprisoned and slain, and the child exposed. Again the mare fed it; shepherds again found the child, and took him up, and reared him, feeling that he was being guarded by the will of the gods. They gave him the name Hippothous. When Theseus was journeying from Troezene, he killed Cercyon; Hippothous, however, came to Theseus and asked for his father's kingdom. Theseus willingly gave it to him when he learned he was the son of Neptune, from whom he claimed his own birth. The body of Alope, Neptune turned into a fountain, called by the name Alope.
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§ 188 THEOPHANE: Theophane, a most beautiful maiden, was the daughter of Bisaltes. When many suitors sought her from her father, Neptune carried her off and took her to the island of Crumissa. When the suitors knew she was staying there, they secured a ship and hastened to Crumissa. To deceive them, Neptune changed Theophane into a very beautiful ewe, himself into a ram, and the citizens of Crumissa into cattle. When the suitors came there and found no human beings, they began to slaughter the herds and use them for food. Neptune saw that the men who had been changed to cattle were being destroyed, and changed the suitors into wolves. He himself, in ram form, lay with Theophane, and from this union was born the golden-fleeced ram which carried Phrixus to Colchis, and whose fleece, hung in the grove of Mars, Jason took away.
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§ 189 PROCRIS: Procris was the daughter of Pandion. Cephalus, son of Deion, had her to wife, and since they were bound by mutual love, they promised each other never to be untrue. However, when Cephalus, who was fond of hunting, had gone to the mountain in the early morning, Aurora, wife of Tithonus, fell passionately in love with him, and begged for his embrace. He refused, since he had given his promise to Procris. Then Aurora said: “I don't want you to break faith, unless she has done so before you.” And so she changed his form into that of a stranger, and gave him beautiful gifts to give to Procris. When Cephalus had come in his changed form, he gave the gifts to Procris and lay with her. Then Aurora took away his new appearance. When Procris saw Cephalus, she knew she had been deceived by Aurora, and fled to the island of Crete, where Diana used to hunt. When Diana saw her, she said to her: “virgins hunt with me, but you are not a virgin, leave my company.” Procris revealed to her her misfortune and told her that she had been deceived by Aurora. Diana, moved by pity, gave her a javelin which no one could avoid, and the dog Laelaps which no wild beast could escape, and bade her go contend with Cephalus. With her hair cut, and in young man's attire, by the will of Diana, she came to Cephalus and challenged him, and surpassed him in the hunt. When Cephalus saw that javelin and dog were so irresistible, he asked the stranger to sell them to him, not knowing she was his wife. She refused. He promised her also a share in his kingdom; she still refused. “But if,” she said, “you really continue to want this, grant me what boys are wont to grant.” Inflamed by desire for the javelin and the dog, he promised he would. When they had come into the bed-chamber, Procris took off her tunic and showed that she was a woman and his wife. Cephalus took the gifts and came again into her favor. Neverthless out of fear of Aurora she followed him to watch him in the early morning, and hid among the bushes. When Cephalus saw the bushes stir, he hurled the unavoidable javelin, and killed his wife, Procris. By her Cephalus had a son Arcesius, whose son was Laertes, Ulysses' father.
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§ 190 THEONOE: The prophet Thestor had a son Calchas, and daughters Leucippe and Theonoe. When Theonoe was playing, pirates from the sea stole her and took her to Caria, where King Icarus bought her for a concubine. Thestor, however, went in search of his lost daughter, and as a result of shipwreck, came to the land of Caria, and was cast into chains at the place where Theonoe was staying. Leucippe, now that her father and sister were lost, asked Delphi whether she should search for them. Then Apollo replied: “Go throughout the earth as my priest, and you will find them.” Leucippe, on hearing this response, cut her hair, and as a youthful priest went from country to country to find them. When she had come to Caria, Theonoe saw her, and thinking she was a priest, fell in love with “him,” and bade “him” be brought that she lie with “him.” But she, because she was a woman, said it could not be done. Then Theonoe in anger gave orders that the priest be shut in a room and that someone from the servants' quarters come to kill him. The old man Thestor was sent unknowingly to his daughter to do the slaying. Theonoe did not recognize him and gave him a sword, bidding him kill the priest. When he had entered, sword in hand, he said his name was Thestor; he had lost his two daughters, Leucippe and Theonoe, and had come to this pitch of misfortune, that he had been ordered to commit a crime. When he had turned the weapon (?) and was about to kill himself, Leucippe, hearing her father's name, wrested the sword from him. In order to go and kill the queen, she called on her father Thestor to aid her. Theonoe, when she heard her father's name, gave proof she was his daughter. Then Icarus the king, after this recognition, sent him back into his country with gifts.
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§ 191 KING MIDAS: Midas, Mygdonian king, son of the Mother goddess from Timolus... was taken [as judge] at the time when Apollo contested with Marsyas, or Pan, on the pipes. When Timolus gave the victory to Apollo, Midas said it should rather have been given to Marsyas. Then Apollo angrily said to Midas: “You will have ears to match the mind you have in judging”, and with these words he caused him to have ass's ears. At the time when Father Liber was leading his army into India, Silenus wandered away; Midas entertained him generously, and gave him a guide to conduct him to Liber's company. Because of this favour, Father Liber gave Midas the privilege of asking him for whatever he wanted. Midas asked that whatever he touched should become gold. When he had been granted the wish, and came to his palace, whatever he touched became gold. When now he was being tortured with hunger, he begged Liber to take away the splendid gift. Liber bade him bathe in the River Pactolus, and when his body touched the water it became a golden colour. The river in Lydia is now called Chrysorrhoas.
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§ 192 HYAS: Atlas by Pleione or an Oceanid had twelve daughters, and a son, Hyas. The son was killed by a wild boar or a lion, and the sisters, grieving for him, died of this grief. The five of them first put among the stars have their place between the horns of the bull — Phaesyla, Ambrosia, Coronis, Eudora, Polyxo — and are called, from their brother's name, Hyades. In Latin they are called Suculae. Some say that since they are arranged in the form of the letter Upsilon they are called Hyades; some, they are so called because they bring rain when they rise, for “to rain” is hyein in Greek. There are those who think they are among the stars because they were the nurses of Father Liber whom Lycurgus drove out from the island Naxos. The rest of the sisters, later dying from grief, were made stars, and because they were many, were called Pleiades. Some think they were so named because they are joined together, that is, plesion, for they are so close together that they can scarcely be counted, nor can anyone be sure whether they are six or seven in number. Their names are as follows: Electra, Alcyone, Celaeno, Merope, Sterope, Taygeta, and Maia. Of these, they say Electra does not appear, because of the death of Dardanus and the loss of Troy. Others think that Merope appears to blush because she had a mortal as husband, though the others had gods. Driven from the band of her sisters because of this, she wears her hair long in grief, and is called a comet, or longodes because she trails out for a long distance, or xiphias because she shows the shape of a sword-point. This star, too, portends grief
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§ 193 HARPALYCUS: Harpalycus, a Thracian, King of the Amymnei, had a daughter Harpalyce. When her mother died, he fed her from the teats of cows and mares, and as she grew, trained her in arms, intending to have her later as successor to his kingdom. And the girl did not fail her father's hopes, for she proved to be such a good warrior as to bring safety to her parent. For when Neoptolemus, returning from Troy, attacked Harpalycus and wounded him severely, she saved her father from death by making an attack and putting the enemy to flight. But after Harpalycus was killed in an insurrection of the citizens, Harpalyce, taking her father's death to heart, betook herself to the woods, and there because she plundered the herds of cattle, she perished at length in an attack by the herdsmen.
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§ 194 ARION: Since Arion of Methymna was very skilful in playing the lyre, King Pyranthus of Corinth was fond of him. When he had gained permission from the king to make known his art throughout the state and had acquired a great fortune, his servants, together with the sailors, plotted to kill him. Apollo appeared to him in a dream and bade him sing in his poet's garland crown, and surrender himself to those who would come to aid him. When the servants and sailors were about to kill him, he asked to be allowed to sing first. But when the sound of the lyre and his voice were heard, dolphins came about the ship, and at sight of them he threw himself into the sea. They raised him up and bore him to Corinth to King Pyranthus. When he reached land, being eager for his journey, he failed to push the dolphin into the sea and it perished there. After he had told his misfortunes to Pyranthus, the King ordered the dolphin to be buried, and monument raised to it. Shortly after, word came to Pyranthus that the ship in which Arion had sailed had been brought to Corinth by a storm. He ordered the crew to be led before him, and inquired about Arion, but they replied that he had died and that they had buried him. The King replied: “Tomorrow you will swear to that at the Dolphin's Monument.” Because of this he ordered them to be kept under guard, and instructed Arion to hide in the monument of the dolphin the next morning, attired as he was when he threw himself into the sea. When the King had brought them there, and ordered them to swear by the departed spirit of the dolphin that Arion was dead, Arion came out of the monument. In amazement, wondering by what divinity he had been saved, they were silent. The King ordered them to be crucified at the monument of the dolphin, but Apollo, because of Arion's skill with the cithara, placed him and the dolphin among the stars.
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§ 195 ORION: Jove, Neptune, and Mercury came as guests to King Hyrieus in Thrace. Since they were received hospitably by him, they promised him whatever he should ask for. He asked for children. Mercury brought out the hide of the bull which Hyrieus had sacrificed to them; they urinated in it, and buried it in the earth, and from it Orion was born. When he tried to violate Diana, she killed him. Later he was placed by Jove among the stars, and called Orion.
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§ 196 PAN: When the god in Egypt feared the monster Typhon, Pan bade them transform themselves into wild beasts the more easily to deceive him. Jove later killed him with a thunderbolt. By the will of the gods, since by his warning they had avoided Typhon's violence, Pan was put among the number of the stars, Since at that time he had changed himself into a goat, he was called Aegocerus. We call him Capricorn.
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§ 197 VENUS: Into the Euphrates River an egg of wonderful size is said to have fallen, which the fish rolled to the bank. Doves sat on it, and when it was heated, it hatched out Venus, who was later called the Syrian goddess. Since she excelled the rest in justice and uprightness, by a favour granted by Jove, the fish were put among the number of the stars, and because of this the Syrians do not eat fish or doves, considering them as gods.
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§ 198 NISUS: Nisus, son of Mars, or as others say, of Deion, and king of the Megarians, is said to have had a purple lock of hair on his head. An oracle had told him that he would rule as long as he preserved that lock. When Minos, son of Jove, had come to attack him, Scylla, daughter of Nisus, fell in love with him at the instigation of Venus. To make him the victor, she cut the fatal lock from her sleeping father, and so Nisus was conquered by Minos. He said that holy Crete would not receive such a criminal. She threw herself into the sea to avoid pursuit [?]. Nisus, however, in pursuit of his daughter, was changed into a halliaetos, that is, a sea- eagle. Scylla, his daughter, was changed into a fish which they call the ciris, and today, if ever that bird sees the fish swimming, he dives into the water, seizes it, and rends it with his claws.
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§ 199 THE OTHER SCYLLA: Scylla, daughter of the River Crataeis, is said to have been a most beautiful maiden. Glaucus loved her, but Circe, daughter of Sol, loved Glaucus. Since Scylla was accustomed to bathe in the sea, Circe, daughter of Sol, out of jealousy poisoned the water with drugs, and when Scylla went down into it, dogs sprang from her thighs, and she was made a monster. She avenged her injuries, for as Ulysses sailed by, she robbed him of his companions.
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§ 200 CHIONE: Apollo and Mercury are said to have slept the same night with Chione, or, as other poets say, with Philonis, daughter of Daedalion. By Apollo she bore Philammon, and by Mercury, Autolycus. Later on she spoke too haughtily against Diana in the hunt, and so was slain by her arrows. But the father Daedalion, because of his grief for his only daughter, was changed by Apollo into the bird Daedalion, that is, the hawk.
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§ 201 AUTOLYCUS: Mercury gave to Autolycus, whom he begat by Chione, the gift of being such a skilful thief that he could not be caught, making him able to change whatever he stole into some other form — from white to black, or from black to white, from a hornless animal to a horned one, or from horned one to a hornless. When he kept continually stealing from the herds of Sisyphus and couldn't be caught, Sisyphus was convinced he was stealing because Autolycus' number was increasing while his was growing smaller. In order to catch him, he put a mark on the hooves of his cattle. When Autolycus had stolen in his usual way, Sisyphus came to him and identified the cattle he had stolen by their hooves, and took them away. While he was delaying there, he seduced Anticleia, the daughter of Autolycus. She was later given in marriage to Laertes, and bore Ulysses. Some writers accordingly call him Sisyphean; because of this parentage he was shrewd.
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§ 202 CORONIS: When Apollo had made Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas, pregnant, he put a crow in guard, so that no one should violate her. But Ischys, son of Elatus, lay with her, and because of this he was killed by the thunderbolt of Zeus. Apollo struck the pregnant Coronis, and killed her. He took Asclepius from her womb and reared him, but the crow who had guarded her he turned from white to black.
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§ 203 DAPHNE: When Apollo was pursuing the virgin Daphne, daughter of the river Peneus, she begged for protection from Earth, who received her, and changed her into a laurel tree. Apollo broke a branch from it and placed it on his head.
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§ 204 NYCTIMENE: Nyctimene, daughter of Epopeus, king of the Lesbians, is said to have been a most beautiful girl. Her father, Epopeus, smitten by passion, embraced her, and overcome by shame, she hid herself in the woods. Minerva out of pity changed her into an owl, which, out of shame, does not come into the light but appears at night.
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§ 205 ARGE: When Arge, a huntress was pursuing a stag, she is said to have told it: “Though you equal the speed of the sun, yet I will catch up with you.” Sol, in anger, changed her into a doe.
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§ 206 HARPALYCE: Clymenus, son of Schoeneus, king of Arcadia, overcome by passion, lay with his daughter Harpalyce. When she gave birth, she served her son at a banquet. The father, realizing it, killed Harpalyce.
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§ 207 CCVII — CCXVIII ARE MISSING
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§ 219 ARCHELAUS: Archelaus, son of Temenus, when driven into exile by his brothers, came to Macedonia to King Cisseus. The King, who was under siege by his neighbors, promised to give him (since he was descended from Hercules, Temenus being a son of Hercules ) his kingdom and his daughter in marriage, if he would protect him from his enemies. He put the enemy to flight in one battle, and asked the King for what he had promised. But he, dissuaded by friends, went back on his word, and tried to kill him by treachery. And so he ordered a pit to be dug, coals to put in and set afire, and light branches spread over, so that Archelaus might fall in when he came. A slave of the King revealed this to Archelaus. When he learned of it, he said he wanted to talk with the King in private. After the guards were withdrawn, Archelaus seized the King, threw him in the pit, and thus destroyed him. He fled from there, in accordance with a response of Apollo, to Macedonia, a she- goat leading him, and founded a town called Aegeae from the name of the goat. From him Alexander the Great is said to have sprung.
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§ 220 CURA: When Cura was crossing a certain river, she saw some clayey mud. She took it up thoughtfully and began to fashion a man. While she was pondering on what she had done, Jove came up; Cura asked him to give the image life, and Jove readily grant this. When Cura wanted to give it her name, Jove forbade, and said that his name should be given it. But while they were disputing about the name, Tellus arose and said that it should have her name, since she had given her own body. They took Saturn for judge; he seems to have decided for them: Jove, since you gave him life [take his soul after death; since Tellus offered her body] let her receive his body; since Cura first fashioned him, let her possess him as long as he lives, but since there is controversy about his name, let him be called homo, since he seems to be made from humus.
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§ 221 SEVEN WISE MEN: Pittacus of Mitylene, Periander of Corinth, Thales of Miletus, Solon of Athens, Chilon of Sparta, Cleobulus of Lindus, Bias of Priene. Their sayings are as follows: Moderation is best, says Cleobulus of Lindus; Everything should be carefully studied, comes from Periander of Ephyre; Know thy opportunity, says Pittacus of Mitylene; Bias, he of Priene, avers that most men are bad: and Thales of Miletus says: Suretyship is the precursor of ruin; Know thyself, says Chilon, sprung from Lacedemon; and Cecropian Solon enjoins: Nothing in excess.
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§ 222 SEVEN LYRIC POETS (MISSING)
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§ 223 SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD: The temple of Diana at Ephesus which the Amazon Otrera, wife of Mars, made. The Monument of King Mausolus made of marble blocks, 80 feet high, 1,340 feet around. The bronze statue of the Sun at Rhodes, which is colossal, being 90 feet high. The statue of Olympian Jove which Phidias made, a seated statue of gold and ivory, 60 feet high. The palace of Cyrus the King in Ecbatana, which Memnon made, of many colored and shining white stones bound with gold. The wall in Babylon, which Semiramis, daughter of Dercetis, made, of baked brick and bitumen, bound with iron, 25 feet broad, 60 feet high, and 300 stades in circuit. The pyramids in Egypt, whose shadow isn't seen, 60 feet high.
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§ 224 MORTALS WHO WERE MADE IMMORTAL: Hercules, son of Jove and Alcmena; Liber, son of Jove [ Zeus ] and Semele; Castor and Pollux, brothers of Helen, sons of Jove and Leda. Perseus, son of Jove and Danae, put among the stars; Arcas, son of Jove and Callisto, placed among the stars; Ariadne, whom Father Liber called Libera, daughter of Minos and Pasiphae. Callisto, daughter of Lycaon, put in the constellation Septentrio; Cynosura, the nurse of Jove, put in the other Septentrio; Crotos, son of Pan and Eupheme, foster-brother of the Muses, put into the constellation Sagittarius; Icarus and Erigone, his daughter, placed among the stars — Icarus as Arcturus, Erigone as the sign Virgo. Ganymede, son of Assaracus, into Aquarius of the twelve signs; Myrtilus, son of Mercury and Theobule, as the Charioteer; Asclepius, son of Apollo and Coronis; Pan, son of Mercury and Penelope; Ino, daughter of Cadmus, into Leucothea, whom we call Mater Matuta; Melicertes, son of Athamas, into the god Palaemon.
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§ 225 THOSE WHO FIRST BUILT TEMPLES TO THE GODS: Pelasgus, son of Triopas, first made a temple to Olympian Jove in Arcadia. Thessalus raised the temple [which is in Macedonia ] of Jove of Dodona in the land of the Molossi. Eleuther first set up a statue to Father Liber and showed how it was to be tended. Phoroneus, son of Inachus, first made a temple to Juno in Argos. Otrera, an Amazon, wife of Mars, first founded the temple of Diana at Ephesus, which later by King... restored. Lycaon, son of Pelasgus, built a temple to Mercury of Cyllene in Arcadia. Peirius...
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§ 226 CCXXVI — CCXXVIII MISSING
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§ 238 CCXXXVIII. THOSE WHO KILLED THEIR DAUGHTERS: Agamemnon, son of Atreus, killed Iphigenia, but Diana saved her. [The same says that Callisthenes of Euboea killed his daughter for the sake of the country, according to the oracle.] Clymenus, son of Schoeneus, killed Harpalyce, because she served his son to him at a banquet. Hyacinthus, a Spartan, killed Antheis his daughter according to an oracle on behalf of the Athenians. Erechtheus, son of Pandion, killed Chthonia in accordance with oracles on behalf of the Athenians; her other sisters committed suicide. Cercyon, son of Vulcan, killed Alope, because of intercourse with Neptune. Aeolus killed Canace, because of incest with her brother Macareus, which she confessed.
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§ 239 MOTHERS WHO KILLED THEIR SONS: Medea, daughter of Aeetes, killed Mermerus and Pheres, her sons by Jason. Progne, daughter of Pandion, killed Itys, her son by Tereus, son of Mars. Ino, daughter of Cadmus, killed her son Melicertes by Athamas, son of Aeolus, when she was fleeing from Athama. Althaea, daughter of Thestius, killed her son Meleager by Oineus, son of Parthaon, because he had killed his uncles. Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, killed her sons Sphincius and Orchomenus by Athamas, son of Aeolus, at the instigation of Ino, daughter of Cadmus. Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus, killed her two sons by Sisyphus, son of Aeolus, in accordance with the oracle of Apollo. Agave, daughter of Cadmus, killed Pentheus, son of Echion, at the instigation of Father Liber. Harpalyce, daughter of Clymenus, because of the crime of her father, in that she had lain with him unwillingly, killed the child she had conceived by him.
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§ 240 WOMEN WHO KILLED THEIR HUSBANDS: Clytemnestra, daughter of Thestius, killed Agamemnon, son of Atreus. Helen, daughter of Jove and Leda, killed Deiphobus, son of Priam. Agave killed Lycotherses in Illyria, in order to give the rule to Cadmus her father. Dejanira, daughter of Oineus, killed Hercules, son of Jove and Alcumena, at the instigation of Nessus. Iliona, daughter of Priam killed Polymnestor, King of the Thracians. Semiramis killed Ninus in Babylonia.
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§ 241 MEN WHO KILLED THEIR WIVES: Hercules, son of Jove, killed Megara, daughter of Creon, in a fit of insanity. Theseus, son of Aegeus, killed Antiopa, the Amazon, daughter of Mars, because of an oracle of Apollo. Cephalus, son of Deion or of Mercury, killed Procris, daughter of Pandion, unwittingly.
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§ 242 MEN WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE: Aegeus, son of Neptune, threw himself into the sea, and the Aegean Sea is called from this. Evenus, son of Hercules, threw himself into the river Lycormas, now called Chrysorrhoas. Ajax, son of Telamon, killed himself because of the Judgement of Arms. Lycurgus, son of Dryas, killed himself in madness sent by Liber. Macareus, son of Aeolus, killed himself on account of Canace, his sister, his beloved. Agrius, son of Parthaon, when driven from his kingdom by Diomede, killed himself. Caeneus, son of Elatus, killed himself. Menoeceus, father of Jocaste, threw himself from the wall on account of the pestilence at Thebes. Nisus, son of Mars, when he lost his fatal lock of hair, killed himself. Clymenus, son of Schoeneus, King of Arcadia, killed himself because he had lain with his daughter. Cinyras, son of Paphos, King of the Assyrians, because he had lain with his daughter Smyrna. Hercules, son of Jove, cast himself into the fire. Adrastus and Hipponous his son, threw themselves into the fire because of an oracle of Apollo. Pyramus in Babylonia out of love for Thisbe killed himself. Oidipus, son of Laius, because of his mother Jocaste, killed himself after being blinded.
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§ 243 WOMEN WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE: Hecuba, daughter of Cisseus or of Dymas, wife of Priam, threw herself into the sea; for this reason the sea is called Cynean, since she was changed into a dog. Ino, daughter of Cadmus, hurled herself into the sea with her son, Melicertes. Anticlia, daughter of Autolycus and mother of Ulysses, killed herself on hearing a false report about Ulysses. Stheneboea, daughter of Iobas, and wife of Proetus, killed herself out of love for Bellerophon. Evadne, daughter of Phylacus, because Capaneus, her husband, perished at Thebes, threw herself on the same funeral pyre. Aethra, daughter of Pittheus, killed herself because of the death of her sons. Deianira, daughter of Oineus, killed herself on account of Hercules; deceived by Nessus, she had sent him a tunic in which he was burned. Laodamia, daughter of Acastus, killed herself out of longing for her husband Protesilaus. Hippodamia, daughter of Oinomaus and wife of Pelops, killed herself because by her urging, Chrysippus was killed. Neaera, daughter of Autolycus, killed herself on account of the death of her son Hippothous. Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, for the sake of her husband, Admetus, died a vicarious death. Iliona, daughter of Priam, killed herself on account of the misfortunes of her parents. Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, killed herself because, at the instigation of Ino, she had killed her sons. Erigone, daughter of Icarus, killed herself by hanging because of the death of her father. Phaedra, daughter of Minos, killed herself by hanging because of her love for her stepson, Hippolytus. Phyllis killed herself by hanging on account of Demophoon, son of Theseus. Canace, daughter of Aeolus, because of her love for Macareus her brother, killed herself. Biblis, daughter of Miletus, out of love for Caunus killed herself. Calypso, daughter of Atlas, out of love for Ulysses, killed herself. Dido, daughter of Belus, out of love for Aeneas killed herself. Jocasta, daughter of Menoecus, killed herself on account of the death of her sons and the disgrace. Antigona, daughter of Oidipus, killed herself on account of the burial of Polynices. Pelopia, daughter of Thyestes, killed herself on account of her father's crime. Thisbe of Babylon killed herself because Pyramus had killed himself. Semiramis in Babylon, when her horse was lost, threw herself on the pyre.
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§ 244 MEN WHO KILLED THEIR RELATIVES: Theseus, son of Aegeus, killed Pallas...... son of his brother Neleus. Amphitryon killed Electryon, son of Perseus. Meleager son of Oineus killed his uncles Plexippus and Agenor on account of Atalanta, daughter of Schoeneus. Telephus, son of Hercules, killed Hippothous and Nerea, son of his grandmother. Aegisthus killed Atreus, and Agamemnon, son of Atreus. Orestes killed Aegisthus, son of Thyestes. Megapenthes, son of Proetus, killed Perseus, son of Jove and Danae on account of the death of his father. Abas, on account of his father, Lynceus, killed Megapenthes. Phegeus, son of Alpheus, killed the daughter of his daughter Alphesiboea. Amphion, son of Tereus, killed the sons of his grandfather. Atreus, son of Pelops, served the infant sons of Thyestes, Tantalus and Plisthenes, to their father at a banquet. Hyllus, son of Hercules, killed Sthenelus, brother of his great-grandfather Electryon. Medus, son of Aegeus, killed Perses, brother of Aeetes and son of Sol. Daedalus, son of Eupalamus, killed Perdix, son of his sister, out of envy of his artistic skill.
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§ 245 THOSE WHO KILLED FATHERS-IN-LAW AND SONS-IN-LAW: Jason, son of Aeson... Phegyona. Pelops, son of Tantalus, killed Oinomaus, son of Mars. Those who killed their sons-in-law: Phegeus, son of Alpheus, killed Alcmaeon, son of Amphiaraus; he also killed Eurypylus. Aeetes, son of Sol, killed Phrixus, son of Athamas.
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§ 246 THOSE WHO ATE THE FLESH OF THEIR CHILDREN AT BANQUETS: Tereus, son of Mars, his son Itys by Progne. Thyestes, son of Pelops, his children by Aerope — Tantalus and Plisthenes. Clymenus, son of Schoeneus, his son by his daughter Harpalyce.
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§ 247 THOSE DESTROYED BY THEIR DOGS: Actaeon, son of Aristaeus. Thasius, at Delos, son of Anius, priest of Apollo; this reason there are no dogs on Delos. Euripides, writer of tragedies, was destroyed in a temple.
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§ 248 CCXLVIII. THOSE WHO DIED FROM WOUNDS BY A WILD BOAR: Adonis, son of Cinyras. Ancaeus, son of Lycurgus, from Calydon. Idmon, son of Apollo, who had gone out with the Argonauts to fetch straw, when they were staying with King Lycus. Hyas, son of Atlas and Pleione, by a boar, or by a lion.
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§ 249 FATAL FIREBRANDS: The firebrand which Hecuba, daughter of Cisseus or of Dymas, thought she brought forth. That of Nauplius at the Capharean Rocks, when the Achaeans were shipwrecked. That of Helen, which she displayed from the walls and betrayed Troy. That of Althaea, which destroyed Meleager.
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§ 250 TEAMS WHICH DESTROYED THEIR DRIVERS: They destroyed Phaethon, son of Sol by Clymene. Laomedon, son of Ilus by Leucippe. Oinomaus, son of Mars by Asterie, daughter of Atlas. Diomedes, son of Mars, by the same. Hippolytus, son of Theseus, by the Amazon Antiope. Amphiaraus, son of Oicleus by Hypermnestra, daughter of Thestius. His own mares devoured Glaucus, son of Sisyphus, at the funeral games of Pelias. Horses destroyed Iasion, son of Jove by Electra, daughter of Atlas. Salmoneus, who sitting in his chariot, imitated the thunder, was struck by a thunderbolt, and the chariot, too.
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§ 251 THOSE WHO, BY PERMISSION OF THE PARCAE, RETURNED FROM THE LOWER WORLD: Ceres, seeking Proserpine, her daughter. Father Liber; he descended for Semele, his mother, daughter of Cadmus. Hercules, son of Jove, to bring up the dog Cerberus. Asclepius, son of Apollo and Coronis. Castor and Pollux, sons of Jove and Leda, return in alternate death. Protesilaus, son of Iphiclus, on account of Laodamia, daughter of Acastus. Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, on account of her husband Admetus. Theseus, son of Aegeus, on account of Pirithous. Hippolytus, son of Theseus, by wish of Diana; he was afterwards called Virbius. Orpheus, son of Oiagrus, on account of Eurydice, his wife. Adonis, son of Cinyras and Zmyrna, by wish of Venus. Glaucus, son of Minos, restored to life by Polyidus, son of Coeranus. Ulysses, son of Laertes, on account of his country. Aeneas, son of Anchises, on account of his father. Mercurius, son of Maia, in constant trips.
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§ 252 THOSE SUCKLED BY ANIMALS Telephus, son of Hercules and Auge, by a deer. Aegisthus, son of Thyestes and Pelopia, by a goat. Aeolus and Boeotus, sons of Neptune and Melanippe, by a heifer. Hippothous, son of Neptune and Alope, by a mare. Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars and Ilia, by a she- wolf. Antilochus, son of Nestor, exposed on Mt. Ida, by a bitch. Harpalyce, daughter of Harpalycus, King of the Amymnei, by a heifer and a mare. Camilla, daughter of Metabus, King of the Volscians, by a mare.
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§ 253 THOSE GUILTY OF INCEST: Jocasta with Oidipus her son. Pelopia with Thyestes her father. Harpalyce with Clymenus her father. Hippodamia with Oinomaus her father. Procris with Erechtheus her father, by whom she bore Aglaurus. Nyctimene with Epopeus her father, king of the Lesbians. Menephron with Cyllene his daughter in Arcadia, and with Bliade [?] his mother.
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§ 254 THOSE WHO WERE EXCEPTIONALLY DUTIFUL: Antigone, daughter of Oidipus, gave burial to her brother, Polynices. Electra, daughter of Agamemnon, was dutiful toward her brother Orestes. Iliona, daughter of Priam, toward her brother Polydorus and her parents. Pelopia, daughter of Thyestes, toward her father to vindicate him. Hypsipyle, daughter of Thoas, to her father, for whom she gave her life. Chalciope, daughter of Aeetes, did not desert her father, though his realm was lost. Harpalyce, daughter of Harpalycus, saved her father in war and put to flight the enemy. Erigone, daughter of Icarus, killed herself by hanging when her father was lost. Agave, daughter of Cadmus, in Illyrica killed King Lycotherses and gave the kingdom to her father. Xanthippe, when her father Mycon was shut up in prison, nourished him with her own milk. Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus, killed her sons on account of her father. In Sicily when Mount Aetna first began to burn, Damon rescued his mother from the fire, and Phintias his father, too. Aeneas, likewise, in Troy bore out from the fire his father Anchises on his shoulders, and rescued Ascanius his son. Cleops and Bitias were sons of Cydippe, a priestess of Argive Juno. She had sent the oxen to pasture, and they had not appeared, and were dead at the time when the sacrifices were to be made and taken to the temple of Juno on the mountain. If the sacrifices were not performed at the proper time, the priestess was to be killed. Out of fear of this, Cleops and Bitias put on the yoke as if they were oxen, and drew the sacrifices and their mother Cydippe to the shrine in the wagon. When the rite was completed, Cydippe prayed to Juno, that if she had worshipped her purely, and if her sons had been dutiful towards her, that whatever good could happen to mortals might befall her sons. When the prayer was over, the sons brought mother and wagon home, and weary, rested in sleep... but Cydippe thoughtfully realized that there was nothing better for mortals than to die, and because of this, she died a willing death.
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§ 255 WOMEN WHO WERE IMPIOUS: Scylla, daughter of Nisus, killed her father. Ariadne, daughter of Minos, killed her brother.... and her sons. Progne, daughter of Pandion, killed her son. The daughters of Danaus killed their cousin-husbands. The Lemnian women on the island of Lemnos killed their fathers and their sons. Harpalyce, daughter of Clymenus, killed the son whom she had conceived by her father. Tullia of the Romans drove a chariot over the body of her father, and the Vicu Sceleratus was named for that.
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§ 256 WOMEN WHO WERE MOST CHASTE: Penelope, daughter of Icarius, wife of Ulysses. Evadne, daughter of Phylas, wife of Capaneus. Laodamia, daughter of Acastus, wife of Protesilaus. Hecuba, daughter of Cisseus, wife of Priam. Theonoe, daughter of Thestor... Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, wife of Admetus. Of the Romans, Lucretia, daughter of Lucretius, wife of Collatinus.
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§ 257 THOSE WHO WERE THE MOST LOYAL FRIENDS: Pylades, son of Strophius, with Orestes, son of Agamemnon. Pirithous, son of Ixion, with Theseus, son of Aegeus. Achilles, son of Peleus, with Patroclus, son of Menoetius. Diomede, son of Tydeus, with Sthenelus, son of Capaneus. Peleus, son of Aeacus, with Phoenix, son of Amyntor. Hercules son of Jove, with Philoctetes, son of Poeas. Nisus was friend to Euryalus, and died for him. Harmodius and Aristogiton in brotherly love. In Sicily, since Dionysius the tyrant was very cruel, and put his citizens to death by torture, Moeros wanted to kill the tyrant. When the guards found him armed, they led him to the King. On being questioned, he said he wanted to kill the King. The King gave orders that he be crucified, but Moeros begged for a delay of three days, in order to arrange his sister's marriage, saying that he would give the tyrant his friend and companion Seluntius as a pledge that he would come on the third day. The King granted the delay for giving his sister in marriage, and told Seluntius that unless Moeros came on the day set, he would suffer the same punishment, and that Moeros was being dismissed. He was returning after giving away his sister, when a sudden rainstorm came up, and the river became swollen so that it could be crossed neither by fording nor by swimming. Moeros sat on the bank and wept lest his friend should have to die for him. When Phalaris ordered Seluntius to be crucified, because six hours of the third day had passed and Moeros had not yet come, Seluntius replied that the day had not yet gone. When nine hours had passed, the King ordered Seluntius led to the cross. As he was being led away, Moeros, having at length with difficulty crossed the river, followed the executioner, and cried out when a long way off: “Stop, executioner! Here am I whom he vouched for!” This fact was reported to the King, who bade them be brought before him. He granted life to Moeros, and begged that they become his friends. HARMODIUS AND ARISTOGON Likewise in Sicily, when Harmodius wanted to kill this same Phalaris, in pretense he killed a sow with young, came to his friend Aristogiton with his bloody sword, said he had killed his mother, and asked him to hide him. When he was hidden, he asked Aristogiton to go out and bring back to him any rumors about his mother. He reported that there were no rumors. Thus until evening they carried on the strife, each one trying to force on the other more convincing proofs, nor did Aristogiton wish to reproach him with having killed his mother. Harmodius revealed to him that he had killed a pig with young, and so had used the word “mother”; he told him that he wanted to kill the King, and asked him to be his accomplice. When they came to kill the King, they were seized with arms upon them by guards. When led to the tyrant, Aristogiton escaped the guards, and Harmodius alone was brought before the King. On being questioned as to his companion, in order not to betray his friend he bit off his tongue with his teeth, and spat it in the King's face.
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§ 258 CCLVIII — CCLXI ARE ATTRIBUTED TO SERVIUS
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§ 267 CCLXII — CCXVIII ARE MISSING
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§ 269 THOSE WHO WERE MOST FAMOUS:... son of Jove and Europa. Another Cygnus, son of Mars, whom the same Hercules killed.
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§ 270 THOSE WHO WERE MOST HANDSOME: Iasion, son of Ilithius, whom Ceres is said to have loved [credible, since vouched for by old histories]. Cinyras, son of Paphos, king of the Assyrians. Anchises, son of Assaracus, whom Venus loved. Alexander Paris, son of Priam and Hecuba, whom Helen followed. Nireus, son of Charops. Cephalus, son of Pandion, whom Aurora loved. Tithonus, husband of Aurora. Parthenopaeus, son of Meleager and Atalanta. Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis. Patroclus, son of Menoetius. Idomeneus, who loved Helen. Theseus, son of Aegeus and Aethra, whom Ariadne loved.
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§ 271 YOUTHS WHO WERE MOST HANDSOME: Adonis, son of Cinyras and Smyrna, whom Venus loved. Endymion, son of Aetolus, whom Luna loved. Ganymede, son of Erichthonius, whom Jove loved. Hyacinthus, son of Oibalus, whom Apollo loved. Narcissus, son of the river Cephisus, who loved himself. Atlantius, son of Mercury and Venus, who is called Hermaphroditus. Hylas, son of Theodamas, whom Hercules loved. Chrysippus, son of Pelops, whom Theseus stole from the games. CCLXXII IS MISSING
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§ 273 CCLXXIII. THOSE WHO FIRST CONDUCTED GAMES UP TO THE FIFTEENTH BY AENEAS:... Fifth, those which Danaus, son of Belus, conducted at Argos for the wedding of his daughters, with singing contests. The hymenaeus,'wedding-hymn', was so called from these. Sixth, those which Lynceus, son of Egyptus, conducted once more at Argos for Argive Juno. They are called aspis en arge'. In these Games, whoever wins receives a shield instead of a crown, because, when Abas, son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra, announced to his parents that Danaus had perished, Lynceus took down from the temple of Argive Juno the shield which Danaus had carried in his youth and had dedicated to Juno, and gave it to Abas his son as a reward. In these Games the law is that whoever wins and again enters the contest... unless he wins again... so that he often enter. [In these games the law is that whoever wins and again enters the contest is penalized unless he wins a second time, so that the same person may not enter often.] Seventh, Perseus, son of Jove and Danae, established funeral games for Polydectes, his guardian, in the island of Seriphos, and when he was wrestling [contending? ] he struck his grandfather Acrisius and killed him. And so, what he wouldn't have done by his own will, he did by the will of the gods. Eighth, Hercules established gymnastic contests at Olympia for Pelops, son of Tantalus, in which he himself competed with Achareus in the pammachium which we call “pancratium.” Ninth, Games were performed in Nemea for Archemorus, son of Lycus and Eurydice. The seven leaders who went to attack Thebes established these. Later on in these games Euneus and Deipylus, sons of Jason and Hypsipyle, won the race. In these Games, too, the Pythaules had seven (singers?) dressed in the pallium who sang the Pythia. Because of this he was later called the Choraules. Tenth, the Isthmian, which Eratocles is said to have performed for Melicertes, son of Athamas and Ino. Other poets name Theseus. Eleventh, those which the Argonauts conducted in Propontis with contests in leaping and javelin-throwing for Cyzicus the King and his son, whom Jason unknowingly killed at night on the shore. Twelfth, those which Acastus, son of Pelias, conducted for the Argives. In these Games Zetes, son of Aquilo, won in the long race; Calais, son of the same, in the double course; Castor, son of Jove, in the stade; Pollux, son of the same, with the cestus; Telamon, son of Aeacus, with the discus; Peleus, son of the same, in wrestling; Hercules, son of Jove, in the pancratium; Meleager, son of Oineus, with the javelin. Cygnus, son of Mars, with weapons killed Pilus, son of Diodotus. Bellerophon won in the horse-race; in the four-horse chariot race, Iolaus, son of Iphicles, won over Glaucus, son of Sisyphus, and Glaucus' snappish horses tore him apart; Eurytus, son of Mercury, won with arrows; Cephalus, son of Deion, with the sling; Olympus, pupil and son of Marsyas, with the flutes; Orpheus, son of Oiagrus, with the lyre; Linus, son of Apollo, in singing; Eumolpus, son of Neptune, to the flutes of Olympus, with the voice. Thirteenth. Priam made a cenotaph in Ilium for Paris, the son whom he had ordered killed, and held gymnastic contents. The contestants in running were Nestor, son of Neleus, Helenus, son of Priam, Deiphobus, son of the same, Polites, son of the same. Telephus, son of Hercules, Cygnus, son of Neptune, Sarpedon, son of Jove, Paris Alexander, unrecognized son of Priam. However, Paris won, and was found to be the son of Priam. Fourteenth. Achilles held funeral games for Patroclus, in which Ajax won the wrestling match, and received as prize a golden caldron; then Menelaus won with the javelin, and received as gift a golden javelin. When these games were over, Achilles threw twelve captives on the pyre of Patroclus, together with his horse and his dog. Fifteenth, Aeneas, son of Venus and Anchises, conducted them in Sicily at the home of Acestes, his host, son of the river Crinisus. There Aeneas commemorated the death of his father, and with games paid the honors due to the dead. The first event was a ship race... Mnestheus had the ship Pistris, Gyas the ship Chimaera, and Sergestus the ship Centaur. Cloanthus won with the ship Scylla, and received as prize a talent of silver, and a gold-embroidered chlamys with the figure of Ganymede wove in purple; Mnestheus received a corselet; Gyas bore away caldrons and engraved silver cups, and Sergestus a slave girl named Pholoe with her two sons. In the second contest, a foot race, were entered Nisus, Euryalus, Diorees, Salius, Helymus, Panopes. Euryalus won, and received as prize a horse with handsome trappings. Helymus received an Amazonian quiver for the second prize, Diores an Argolis helmet for the third. To Salius he gave the skin of a lion; to Nisus, a shield, the work of Didymaon. Next in the third contest Dares and Entellus boxed. Entellus won, and received a bull as a prize; to Dares he gave a sword and a dagger. In the fourth contest Hippocoon, Mnestheus, Acestes, Eurytion vied in bowmanship. He [?] received a helmet as a gift, since [in the judgment of Aeneas?] on account of an omen he gave the honor to Acestes. In the fifth, with the boy Ascanius as leader, the boys did the Trojan Games.
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§ 274 INVENTORS AND THEIR INVENTIONS:... A certain man named Cerasus mixed wine with the river Achelous in Aitolia, and from this “to mix” is called kerasai. Then, too, the ancient men of our race had on the posts of their dining-couches heads of asses bound with vines to signify that the ass had discovered the sweetness of the vine. The vine, too, which a goat had nibbled, brought fort more fruit, and from this they invented pruning. Pelethronius first invented bits and saddles for horses. Belona first invented the needle, which in Greek is called Belone. Cadmus, son of Agenor, first produced bronze at Thebes. Aeacus, son of Jove, first discovered gold in Panchaia on Mount Tasus. Indus, king in Scythia, first discovered silver which Erichthonius was first to bring to Athens. At Elis, a city in the Peloponnesus, races of four-horse chariots were first established. King Midas, a Phrygian, son of Cybele, first discovered black and white lead. The Arcadians first made offerings [?] to the gods. Phoroneus, son of Inachus, first made arms for Juno, and because of this first obtained authority to rule. Chiron, son of Saturn, first used herbs in the medical art of surgery; Apollo first practiced the art of treating eyes, and third, Asclepius, son of Apollo, began the art of clinical medicine. The ancients didn't have obstetricians, and as a result, women because of modesty perished. For the Athenians forbade slaves and women to learn the art of medicine. A certain girl, Hagnodice, a virgin desired to learn medicine, and since she desired it, she cut her hair, and in male attire came to a certain Herophilus for training. When she had learned the art, and had heard that a woman was in labor, she came to her. And when the woman refused to trust herself to her, thinking that she was a man, she removed her garment to show that she was a woman, and in this way she treated women. When the doctors saw that they were not admitted to women, they began to accuse Hagnodice, saying that “he” was a seducer and corruptor of women, and that the women were pretending to be ill. The Areopagites, in session, started to condemn Hagnodice, but Hagnodice removed her garment for them and showed that she was a woman. Then the doctors began to accuse her more vigorously, and as a result the leading women came to the Court and said: “You are not husbands, but enemies, because you condemn her who discovered safety for us.” Then the Athenians amended the law, so that free-born women could learn the art of medicine. Perdix, son of Daedalus' sister, invented the compass, and also the saw from the spine of a fish. Daedalus, son of Eupalamus, first made statues of the gods. Oannes, who in Chaldaea is said to have come from the sea, interpreted astrology. The Lydians first dyed raw wool with a substance from twigs, and afterward learned to dye the thread. Pan first invented the music of the pipes. In Sicily Ceres first invented grain. Tyrrhenus, son of Hercules, first invented a trumpet for this reason: When his comrades were apparently feasting on human flesh, the inhabitants of the region around fled from the cruel practice. So when any one of them died he blew on a hollow conch-shell and called the district together, and declared they were giving burial to the dead and not devouring them. Thus the trumpet is called the Tyrrhenian melody. The Romans today have this custom: whenever anyone dies, trumpeters sound and friends are called together, to testify that he did not die from poison or the sword. Summoners, too, invented the horn [?]. Egyptians first fought with clubs; later Belus, son of Neptune, fought with a sword, and bellum, “war,” is named from this.
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§ 275 TOWN AND THEIR FOUNDERS: Jove founded Thebes in India, named from Thebais, his nurse; it is called hecatompylae, because it has a hundred gates. Minerva founded Athens in Chalcis, which she called from her name. Epaphus, son of Jove, founded Memphis, in Egypt. Arcas, son of Jove, founded Trapezus in Arcadia. Apollo, son of Jove, founded Arnae. Eleusinus, son of Mercury, founded Eleusis. Dardanus, son of Jove, founded Dardania. Argus, son of Agenor, founded Argos, which... Cadmus, son of Agenor, Thebes Heptapylae, which is said to have seven gates. Perseus, son of Jove, founded Perseis. Castor and Pollux, sons of Jove, founded Dioscoris. Medus, son of Aegeus and Medea, Meda in Ecbatana. Camirus, son of Sol, founded Camira. Liber in India, founded Hammon. The Nymphe Ephyre, daughter of Oceanus, founded Ephyre, which later they called Corinth. Sardo, daughter of Sthenelus, founded Sardis. Cinyras, son of Paphos, founded Smyrna, from the name of his daughter. Perseus, son of Jove, founded Mycenae. Semiramis, daughter of Dercetis, Babylon in Syria.
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§ 276 LARGEST ISLANDS: Mauretania, situated in the west, 76 stades in circuit. Egypt, which the Nile surrounds, situated in the heat of the south, in circuit... stades. Sicily, triangular in form, in circuit 3570 stades. Sardinia, in circuit 1250 stades. Crete, in length... with a hundred towns on either side, in circuit 2100 stades. Cyprus, situated between Egypt and Africa, like a Gallic shield, in a bow, in circuit 11 stades. Rhodes placed in the round, circuit 2100 stades; Euboea like an arc, circuit 2200 stades; Corcyra, good land, in circuit 80 stades. Sikyon [sic], good land, in circuit 1100 stades. Tenedos, island near Troy, in circuit 1200 stades. Corsica, very poor soil, in circuit 1120 stades. The Cyclades are nine islands — namely, Andros, Myconos, Delos, Tenos, Naxos, Seriphos, Gyarus, Paros, Rhenia.
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§ 277 FIRST INVENTORS: The Parcae, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters — Alpha, Beta, Eta, Tau, Iota, Ypsilon. Others say that Mercury invented them from the flight of cranes, which, when they fly, form letters. Palamedes, too, son of Nauplius, invented eleven letters; Simonides, too, invented four letters — Omega, Epsilon, Zeta, and Phi; Epicharmus of Sicily, two — Pi and Psi. The Greek letters Mercury is said to have brought to Egypt, and from Egypt Cadmus took them to Greece. Evander in exile from Arcadia, took them to Italy, and his mother Carmenta changed them to Latin to the number of 15. Apollo on the lyre added the rest. The same Mercury first taught wrestling to mortals. Ceres showed how to tame oxen, and taught her foster-son Triptolemus [to sow grain]. When he had sown it, and a pig rooted up what he had planted, he seized the pig, took it to the altar of Ceres, and putting grain on its head, sacrificed it to Ceres. From this came the custom of putting salted meal on the victim. Isis first invented sails, for while seeking her son Harpocrates, she sailed on a ship. Minerva first built a two-prowed ship for Danaus in which he fled from Egyptus his brother.

Via ToposText (topostext.org), a project of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation created by Brady Kiesling. Translated by Mary Amelia Grant (1890-1987). Composed ca. 150 CE. Licence: public domain. Source.