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Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses

§ 1  CTESYLLA:Nicander tells this tale in the third book of his Metamorphoses.Ctesylla, born on the island ofCeos, was daughter ofAlcidamas and came from a family atIulis. At thePythian feastHermochares theAthenian saw her dancing round the altar ofApollo atCarthaea and fell in love with her. He wrote on an apple and threw it inside the sanctuary ofArtemis.Ctesylla picked it up and read out what was on it. Written on it was an oath: 'Yes, byArtemis, I will marryHermochares theAthenian.'Ctesylla then hurled away the apple, blushing, badly upset at being tricked asAcontius had trickedCydippe.Hermochares went to her father for her hand and received approval for the marriage. Her father swore an oath toApollo about this, grasping a laurel tree. But after the period of the Pythian feast was over,Alcidamas forgot the oath he had sworn and betrothed his daughter to someone else. The girl was already taking part in prenuptial sacrifices in the sanctuary ofArtemis. Angry at being thwarted of his marriage,Hermochares raced to the Artemisium. Seeing him, the girl fell in love with him, as was divinely intended. With the help of her nurse she came to an understanding with him and, evading her father, sailed off by night toAthens where she marriedHermochares. WhenCtesylla gave birth to a child, she badly miscarried — by divine will — and died because her father had been false to his oath about her. They took her body and carried it away to prepare it for burial. But a dove flew up from the bier and the body ofCtesylla disappeared.Hermochares went to consult the oracle and the god declared that he should set up atIulis a sanctuary ofAphroditeCtesylla. He also enjoined the same to the people ofCeos. To this day they offer sacrifices, theIulitans addressing her asAphroditeCtesylla, the rest calling herCtesyllaHecaerge (working from afar).

§ 2  THE MELEAGRIDES:Nicander tells this tale in the third book of his Metamorphoses.Oineus, son ofPortheus the son ofAres, was king ofCalydon. His wifeAlthaea, daughter ofThestius, gave him as sonsMeleager, Phereus, Ageleos,Toxeus,Clymenus andPeriphas, and as daughters,Gorge,Eurymede,Deianira andMelanippe. Once, when he was sacrificing first-fruits on behalf of his country, he forgot aboutArtemis. In her anger she set on them a savageboar that ravaged the land, slaying many. ThenMeleager and the sons ofThestius assembled the flower of Greece against theboar. They arrived and slew the beast.Meleager assigned the flesh of theboar to the heroes, keeping the head and the hide as his privilege. Because they had slain aboar sacred to her,Artemis was even more angry and inflicted discord among them. So the sons ofThestius and the otherCuretes seized the hide declaring that it was the half-share of the perquisites due to them.Meleager took it away from them forcibly and killed the sons ofThestius. Because of this war arose between theCuretes and theCalydonians. ButMeleager did not go out to war, full of reproaches because his mother had put a curse on him for the killing of her brothers. By this time theCuretes were just on the point of capturing the city whenCleopatra, his wife, persuadedMeleager to defend theCalydonians. He rose up against the army of theCuretes and himself died because his mother had burnt the brand which had been given to her by theFates. For they had assigned him a stretch of life to last only as long as the brand. The other sons ofOineus also died in battle. A great sorrow came upon theCalydonians because ofMeleager. His sisters mourned continually at his tomb untilArtemis touched them with her wand and changed them into birds which she settled on the isle ofLeros, calling themMeleagrides. It is said that up to now they make mourning forMeleager when the due season of the year comes. Two of the daughters ofAlthaea,Gorge andDeianira, were not changed, it is said, by the good will ofDionysus becauseArtemis granted this favour.

§ 3  HIERAX: In the land of theMariandyni livedHierax, a man of justice and distinction. He set up sanctuaries toDemeter and received plenteous harvests from her. But when the Teucrians omitted neglectfully to make sacrifices toPoseidon at the due season, the god became angry and destroyed the crops of the goddess. And he set on them a prodigious monster that came out of the sea. Unable to endure the monster and the famine, the Teucrians sent a message toHierax begging him to save them from the famine. He sent them barley as well as wheat and other foods.Poseidon, infuriated withHierax for doing away with his prerogatives, turned him into a bird which to this day is called the hierax [hawk]. In making him disappear he also changed his character. He who had been greatly loved by mankind was made most hateful to birds. He who had saved many of mankind from death was turned into a slaughterer of many a bird.

§ 4  CRAGALEUS:Nicander tells this tale in the first book of his Metamorphoses, as doesAthanadas in his Ambracica.Cragaleus, son ofDryops, lived in the land ofDryopis near the Baths ofHeracles which, tellers of myths say,Heracles caused to well up when he struck the mountain's table-top with his club. ThisCragaleus was at this time already an old man and was considered by his countrymen to be just and wise. While he was pasturing hiscattle,Apollo,Artemis andHeracles introduced themselves to him since they wanted a decision aboutAmbracia inEpirus.Apollo said that the city belonged to him becauseMelaneus — his son — had become king of theDryopes having taken in war the whole ofEpirus.Melaneus had as childrenEurytus andAmbracia, after whom the city ofAmbracia is named.Apollo himself had shown great favour to this city. At his behest the Sisyphides had arrived to help theAmbracians win the war they had started against theEpirotes. It was because of his oracular answers thatGorgus, brother ofCypselus, led a settlement of colonists fromCorinth toAmbracia. Also, because of his oracles theAmbraciotes arose againstPhalaecus, tyrant of the city. And as a result of this,Phalaecus lost many of his men. On the whole, thoughApollo had many a time stirred up intestine war, discord and factions in the city, he had also, in contrast, created order, law and justice, for which to this day he was lauded byAmbracians as thePythianSaviour in feasts and ceremonies.Artemis on her part was for keeping her dispute withApollo within bounds, but claimed that she had acquiredAmbracia with his consent. She wanted to have the city on the following argument. WhenPhalaecus had ruled as tyrant over the city, no one could kill him because they feared him. But it was she who one day made alion cub appear beforePhalaecus when he was hunting. The moment he took it up into his hands, its mother raced out of the forest, fell on him and ripped open his chest. TheAmbraciotes, having escaped his enslavement, made expiatory offerings to her asArtemis the Queen and set up an image of the Huntress by which they placed a bronze statue of the animal.Heracles in his turn put forward the argument thatAmbracia and the whole ofEpirus belonged to him. All the peoples that had made war with him,Celts,Chaonians,Thesprotians and all theEpirotes, had been defeated by him after they had formed an alliance to steal thecattle ofGeryon. Some time after, a settlement of colonists fromCorinth had expelled the original settlers and foundedAmbracia. All theCorinthians are descended fromHeracles.Cragaleus heard these arguments through to the end and recognized that the city belonged toHeracles.Apollo became enraged, touchedCragaleus with his hand and turned him into a stone where he stood. TheAmbraciotes sacrifice toApollo as theSaviour, but they have acknowledged that the city was that ofHeracles and his sons. To this day they make sacrifices toCragaleus after the feast ofHeracles.

§ 5  AEGYPIUS:Antheus, son ofNomion, had a sonAegypius, who lived on the furthermost borders ofThessaly. The gods loved him for his piety and mortals because he was generous and just. When he sawTimandre he fell in love with her. Learning that she was a widow with no man in her life, he won her over with money and visited her house regularly to make love.Neophron, son ofTimandre, disapproved of this affair — he was the same age asAegypius — and devised a trap for him. Offering many presents toBulis the mother ofAegypius, he seduced her and took her home to sleep with him. He had learned in advance at what hourAegypius was accustomed to visitTimandre and found a pretext for keeping his own mother away from her house. In her place he brought into the house the mother ofAegypius, saying that he would return to her later, deceiving both.Aegypius, having no inkling of whatNeophron was plotting against him, had intercourse with his mother, thinking she wasTimandre. When sleep overcame him,Bulis recognized her own son. She picked up a sword and was about to put out his eyes and then to kill herself when, by the will ofApollo, sleep let go its hold onAegypius. Realizing whatNeophron had plotted against him, he looked up to heaven and prayed that he should vanish — and all with him.Zeus turned them into birds.Aegypius andNeophron became vultures, each under the same name but different in size and colour.Neophron became the smaller kind of vulture.Bulis became a heron andZeus ordained that she was to eat nothing that grew out the ground and instead to feed on the eyes of fishes, birds andsnakes, since she had been about to put out the eyes of her sonAegypius.Timandre he turned into a tit. And henceforth these birds never appeared together in the same spot.

§ 6  PERIPHAS: There was once inAttica a certainPeriphas, of earth-sprung stock, who lived there even beforeCecrops, son ofEarth, had emerged. He ruled the men of old and was just, rich and pious. He made many sacrifices toApollo and numerous were his fair judgments. No one could reproach him with anything. His leadership was willingly accepted by all. Because of the pre-eminence of his good works, men took away honours due toZeus and decided that they belonged toPeriphas. They set up sanctuaries and temples to him and addressed him by the name ofZeus theSaviour, the Epopsios (Overseer) andMeilichios (gracious).Zeus, indignant, wanted to incinerate the entire household ofPeriphas with a thunderbolt, butApollo asked that he should not be utterly annihilated since he had been assiduously honoured byPeriphas. ThisZeus granted toApollo and he went on to the house ofPeriphas and caught him in converse with his wife. He pressed both hands on him and turned him into a bird, aneagle. His wife askedZeus to turn her into a bird too so that she would be a companion forPeriphas. So he turned her into a vulture.Zeus grantedPeriphas certain honours for the piety he had shown when he was human. He made him king of all birds and gave him the task of guarding his sacred sceptre, together with the right of approaching his throne. To the wife ofPeriphas, whom he had turned into a vulture (φήνη, lammergeier?), he granted the privilege of being a sign of good omen in all the affairs of mankind.

§ 7  ANTHUS:Boeus tells this tale in the first book of his Origins of Birds.Autonous, son ofMelaneus andHippodamia, had as sonsErodius,Anthus,Schoeneus andAcanthus, with a daughterAcanthis to whom the gods granted great beauty.Autonous acquired many herds ofhorses which were pastured by his wifeHippodamia and their children. Now because he neglected husbandry, no crops were produced by the extensive lands ofAutonous which bore only rushes and thistles. For this reason he named his children after such plants:Acanthus,Schoeneus andAcanthis, and his oldest sonErodius, because his lands had been eroded.Erodius was extremely fond of these herds ofhorses which he pastured in the meadows. WhenAnthus, son ofAutonous, drove the mares out of the meadows, keeping them out from their pastures, they were infuriated and set uponAnthus. They began to devour him as he uttered many a cry to the gods to save him. Now his father, panic-stricken through distress, faltered — as did the servant of the youth — and failed to drive off the mares. The mother went on battling with the mares, but because of weakness of body was unable to do anything to avert the slaughter. While these people were bewailingAnthus who was hardly dead,Zeus andApollo felt pity for them and turned them all into birds.Autonous was made a quail because, though father ofAnthus, he had quailed at driving off thehorses. The mother was turned into a lark with a crested head because she had headed for the mares to fight for her son against them. They turnedAnthus himself, as well asErodius,Schoeneus,Acanthus andAcanthis into birds called by the same names as they had before they were metamorphosed. They turned the servant who had attendedAnthus into a heron [erodios] — the same as happened toErodius the brother of the lad,Anthus — but not the same sort of heron. For it is distinguishably smaller than the dark variety. Now this heron does not associate with the anthus bird just as the anthus bird does not associate withhorses, becauseAnthus had suffered so much fromhorses. To this day when it hears ahorse neigh, this bird flies away while imitating its cries.

§ 8  LAMIA or SYBARISBoeus [?] tells this tale in the fourth book of his Origins of Birds. By the foothills ofParnassus, towards the south, there is a mountain calledCirphis, lying nearCrisa. Inside it there is to this day a huge cave in which lived a great and prodigious beast. Some called itLamia, though others called itSybaris. Every day this monster would issue forth, snatching flocks in the fields, as well as people. The inhabitants ofDelphi had for some time been considering emigration and they asked the oracle to what land they should emigrate. The god told them that they would be delivered from this menace if they remained and were willing to abandon by the cave a youth chosen from the citizens. They did as the god told them. By lotAlcyoneus, son ofDiomus and Meganira, was chosen. Only son of his father, he possessed beauty in both appearance and the nature of his character. The priests crownedAlcyoneus and led him towards the cave ofSybaris. By divine inspiration,Eurybarus son ofEuphemus, a descendant of the RiverAxius, a young man but brave, happened to be coming fromCuretis and encountered the youth as he was being led forward. Stricken by love for him, and asking why they were so proceeding, he thought it dreadful not to defend him to the utmost and just allow the youth to perish wretchedly. Tearing off the chaplets fromAlcyoneus, he placed them on his own head and gave orders that he himself should be led forward instead of the youth. As soon as the priests had led him up to the cavern, he ran in and hauled outSybaris from her lair, carrying her into the open and hurling her from the crags. Tumbling down, she struck her head against the footings ofCrisa. Because of this wound she faded from sight. From that rock sprang a fountain and the locals call it Sybaris. And theLocrians founded a city inItaly, calledSybaris after her.

§ 9  EMATHIDES:Nicander tells this tale in the fourth book of his Metamorphoses.Zeus made love toMnemosyne inPieria and became father of theMuses. Around about that timePierus was king ofEmathia, sprung from its very soil. He had nine daughters. They were the ones who formed a choir in opposition to theMuses. And there was a musical contest onHelicon. Whenever thedaughters of Pierus began to sing, all creation went dark and no one would give an ear to their choral performance. But when theMuses sang, heaven, the stars, the sea and rivers stood still, while MountHelicon, beguiled by the pleasure of it all, swelled skywards till, by the will ofPoseidon,Pegasus checked it by striking the summit with his hoof. Since these mortals had taken upon themselves to strive with goddesses, theMuses changed them into nine birds. To this day people refer to them as the grebe, the wryneck, the ortolan, the jay, the greenfinch, the goldfinch, the duck, the woodpecker and the dracontis pigeon.

§ 10  MINYADES:Nicander tells this tale in the fourth book of his Metamorphoses, as doesCorinna. The daughters ofMinyas, son ofOrchomenus, wereLeucippe,Arsippe andAlcathoe. They turned out to be startlingly diligent. They strongly criticized other women because they abandoned the city to go asBacchantes in the hills, untilDionysus took on the likeness of a girl and urged the Minyades not to miss out on the rites or mysteries of the god. But they paid no heed to him. At this — not surprisingly —Dionysus was angered and instead of a girl became abull, then alion, then a leopard. From the beams of their looms there flowed for him milk and nectar. At these portents terror gripped the maidens. Without delay the three threw lots into a pot and shook it. The lot fell toLeucippe and she vowed to offer as a sacrifice to the god her own sonHippasus whom she tore to pieces with the help of her sisters. Abandoning their paternal home, they went asBacchantes in the mountains, browsing on ivy, honeysuckle and laurel, untilHermes touched them with his wand and changed them into flying creatures. One of them became a bat, another anowl and the third aneagleowl. And all three continuously avoided the light of the sun.

§ 11  AEDON or NIGHTINGALE:Boeus tells this tale in his Origins of Birds.Pandareos dwelt in the territories ofEphesus, on the craggy headland next to the city. To himDemeter did grant the gift of never feeling full in the stomach after eating, whatever quantity he might take in.Pandareos had a daughter calledAedon.Polytechnus the carpenter, who lived atColophon inLydia, married her. For a long time their life together was a delight for them. They had an only child,Itys. While they honoured the gods they were happy, but one day they blurted out the needless remark that they loved each other more than didHera andZeus.Hera found what was said to be insupportable and sentEris (Discord) between them to create strife in their activities.Polytechnus was on the point of finishing off a standing board for a chariot andAedon of completing the web she was weaving. They agreed that whoever of the two would finish the task more quickly would hand over a female servant to the other.Aedon was the quicker in finishing off her web (Hera had helped her in the task).Polytechnus was infuriated by the victory ofAedon and went toPandareos pretending that he had been sent byAedon to fetch her sister,Chelidon,Pandareos, suspecting nothing sinister, handed her over to take back with him.Polytechnus, when he had got hold of the girl, used her shamefully in a copse. He then gave her different clothes and cut the hair on her head short, threatening her with death if she should ever mention the incident toAedon. Returning to his house he handed over her sister toAedon as a servant, according to the agreement.Aedon ground her down with work until one dayChelidonis, holding her pitcher, made many lamentations at a spring andAedon overheard what she was saying. After they had recognized each other and embraced, they plotted vengeance againstPolytechnus. They chopped up the son ofAedon, put his flesh in a cauldron and cooked it. ThenAedon called on a neighbour of hers to bidPolytechnus feast on the meat. She then went off with her sister to her fatherPandareos and described the sorrows they had undergone. WhenPolytechnus realized that he had eaten the flesh of his son he set off in pursuit of them, to their father's. The servants ofPandareos took hold of him and tied him with inescapable bonds because he had committed such an outrage on the house ofPandareos. They smeared his body with honey and hurled him into a sheepfold. Flies descended and began to do their worst with him.Aedon took pity on him because of their former love and kept the flies offPolytechnus. When her parents and her brother observed what she was doing, they were overcome by a hatred for her and set about killing her.Zeus, before a greater evil should befall the house ofPandareos, took pity on them and turned them all into birds. Some took wing for the sea while others took wing for the sky.Pandareos became a seaeagle and the mother ofAedon a halcyon (kingfisher). They immediately wanted to hurl themselves into the sea, butZeus prevented this. These birds became propitious for those who sailed the sea.Polytechnus, when he changed, became a woodpecker becauseHephaestus had given him an axe for his work as a carpenter. This bird is of good omen for carpenters. The brother ofAedon became a hoopoe, a bird of good omen when it appears, both for sailors as well as for landfarers, especially when in company with the seaeagle and more so if with the halcyon. As toAedon andChelidonis, the former mourns her sonItys by streams and in copses while the latter has become by the will ofArtemis a sharer of the dwelling places of mankind. For she had forcibly lost her virginity and had made many cries toArtemis for help.

§ 12  CYCNUS or SWAN:Nicander tells this tale in the third book of his Metamorphoses, as alsoAreus theLaconian in his Ode toCycnus.Apollo andThyrie, daughter ofAmphinomus, had a son calledCycnus. He was of fine appearance, but graceless and boorish in character. He was extraordinarily devoted to hunting. He lived in the country betweenPleuron andCalydon. There were many who became his lovers because of his beauty. Because of his disdainfulnessCycnus attained understanding with no one. Very soon he came to be thoroughly disliked by his admirers and abandoned by them.Phylius alone stood by him. ButCycnus treated him with immoderate arrogance. At that time there appeared among theAitolians a great monster of alion that savaged the inhabitants and their flocks.Cycnus orderedPhylius to kill thelion without using a weapon. He promised to do so and made away with the animal by the following trick. Knowing at what hour thelion was going to go prowling, he filled his stomach with a great deal of food and wine. When the beast came up,Phylius sicked up the food. Thelion, hungry, availed himself of this food and was spiked down by the wine.Phylius, throwing his arm round thelion, blocked his maw with the clothing he wore. Having killed the beast, he put it on his shoulders and carried it toCycnus. He gained wide renown for this achievement.Cycnus then demanded an even stranger feat. There had appeared in this land some vultures, monstrous and enormous. They killed many people.Cycnus ordered him to catch them alive and to bring them to him, by whatever method.Phylius was wondering how he was to achieve this task when, by divine intervention, aneagle that had snatched up a hare let it fall half-dead before it could take it to its eyrie.Phylius tore open the hare, besmeared himself with the blood and lay on the ground. The birds swooped on him as a cadaver.Phylius caught hold of two birds by their legs and, getting a good hold, carried them off toCycnus.Cycnus then imposed on him an even more difficult feat. He ordered him to carry abull away from its herd, using only his hands, and to haul it off all the way to the altar ofZeus.Phylius, not knowing how he was to accomplish the task, prayed toHeracles to assist him in this. In answer to this prayer there came into view twobulls, both in rut for acow; they butted with their horns hurling each other to the ground. When he saw thebulls sprawling helplessly,Phylius caught one by the leg and dragged it off to the altar.Heracles desired him to pay no more attention to the orders of that youth.Cycnus felt fearsomely and unexpectedly disgraced. In his depression he flung himself into the lake calledConope and was seen no more. After his death, his mother,Thyrie, threw herself into the same lake. By the will ofApollo they both became lake birds. After their disappearance, the lake's name was changed and became the Swan Lake. Many swans appear there at ploughing time. The tomb ofPhylius stands nearby.

§ 13  ASPALIS:Zeus and the nymphOthreis had a child,Meliteus. In fear ofHera because of her own intercourse withZeus, his mother exposed the child in a wood. By the will ofZeus the child was not lost to sight but was fed bybees and began to grow. As he was pasturing hissheep, Phagrus, son ofApollo andOthreis the nymph (the same as the mother of this babe in the wood), chanced to come across him. Marvelling at how well-fed the child was, and even more at thebees, he gathered him up and took him home. He brought him up with great care and gave him the nameMeliteus because he had been nourished bybees. He also recalled the oracle in which the god had once told him that he was the one to save someone of the same kin that had been reared bybees. The lad, as soon as he had become of age, grew into a man of nobility and came to rule over many people of the region and founded a city inPhthia which he calledMelite. But there arose in this sameMelite a violent and arrogant tyrant whom the inhabitants could not bring themselves to name. By foreigners he was calledTartarus. Whenever any maiden from the neighbourhood began to be famed for her beauty, he would lead her off and have forcible intercourse with her before her marriage. Thus it was that one day he bade his men fetchAspalis, daughter ofArgaeus, one of the notables. When the girl heard about this order, she hanged herself before the arrival of those who were to fetch her away. This deed had not yet got about when her brother,Astygites, swore to slay the tyrant before his sister's body was cut down. He swiftly put on garments ofAspalis and hid a sword on his left side and escaped scrutiny, being still a youngster. Entering the house, he killed the tyrant who was unarmed and unguarded. TheMeliteans put a festal crown onAstygites and led him in procession with paeans. The body of the tyrant was thrown into a river and pushed under. From that time the river has been calledTartarus. They made every effort to find the body ofAspalis in order to offer it splendid obsequies, but they could not find it. For it had disappeared by divine will. Instead of the body, there appeared her statue standing by that ofArtemis, This statue is called by local peopleAspalis AmeileteHecaerge. Every year maidens suspended on it a young she-goat untouched by the male becauseAspalis was a virgin when she hanged herself.

§ 14  MUNICHUS:Munichus, son ofDryas and king of theMolossians, was an excellent seer and a just man. By his wifeLelante he had as childrenAlcander, a better seer than himself, andMegaletor andPhilaeus, as well as a daughterHyperippe. They were all good and just and the gods loved them. When one night they were in the fields some raiders came up and tried to capture them. The family shot at them from towers (not being able to equal them in fight) but the robbers sent fiery arrows into the buildings.Zeus, because of their piety, could not overlook that their lives were ending in a pitiable death. He changed them all into birds.Hyperippe, who had fled the flames by diving into water, was turned into a shearwater. The others who flew up out of the flames wereMunichus who became a buzzard andAlcander who became a wren.Megaletor andPhilaeus, escaping the flames through the stockade at ground level, turned into two tiny birds. The former became an ichneumon bird whilePhilaeus became a dog bird. Their mother became an insect-eating woodpecker. Theeagle and the heron are ever at war with her because she breaks their eggs when she chops into oaks looking for insects. The rest of these birds feed together in woods and hollows, except the shearwater which lives by lakes and the sea.

§ 15  MEROPIS:Eumelus, son ofMerops, had children who were haughty and arrogant:Byssa,Meropis andAgron. They lived onCos, theMeropid isle. Their land furnished them with plentiful crops because they worshipped its goddess alone and cultivated her soil diligently. They had nothing to do with people and did not go to town for solemn banquets and festivals of the gods, instead, if someone about to sacrifice toAthena invited the girls, their brother would decline the invitation. He said he had no affection for a goddess with grey eyes because these girls had black eyes — and he utterly disliked theowl as a bird. If there were invitations to a feast ofArtemis, he said that he hated a goddess who wandered about at night. If asked to go to pour libations toHermes, he said he did not respect a god who was a thief. They frequently went in for this this sort of insult.Hermes andAthena andArtemis were infuriated and one night made their way to their house.Athena andArtemis were in the shape of girls whileHermes wore the smock of a shepherd. He addressedEumelus andAgron, inviting them to go to a banquet, to offer sacrifices toHermes with other shepherds. He also urged him to sendByssa andMeropis to join the other girls of their age at the grove sacred toAthena andArtemis. So spokeHermes.Meropis when she heard the name ofAthena poured scorn on it. The goddess turned her into a littleowl.Byssa is now the bird ofLeucothea, called by the same name as before. WhenAgron became aware of all this he snatched up a spit and ran out butHermes turned him into a plover.Eumelus abusedHermes for changing his son, so the god turned him into a long-earedowl, omen of evil.

§ 16  OENOE:Boeus tells this tale in the second book of his Origins of Birds. Among the people we callPygmies there was born a girl calledOinoe who was of flawless beauty but she was graceless by nature and overweening. She cared not a rap forArtemis andHera. She was married to one of the citizens, Nicodamas, a good and sensible man, and gave birth to a child calledMopsus. And all thePygmies, who loved to show kindliness, brought her many gifts to celebrate the birth of the child. ButHera found fault withOinoe for not honouring her and turned her into a crane, elongating her neck, ordaining that she should be a bird that flew high. She also causedwar to arise between her and thePygmies. Yearning for her childMopsus, Oinoe flew over houses and would not go away. But all thePygmies armed themselves and chased her away. Because of this there arose a state of war then as well as now between thePygmies and cranes.

§ 17  LEUCIPPUS:Nicander tells this tale in the second book of his Metamorphoses.Galatea, daughter ofEurytius, who was son ofSparton, married atPhaestus inCretePandion's son,Lamprus, a man of good family but without means. WhenGalatea became pregnant,Lamprus prayed to have a son and said plainly to his wife that she was to expose her child if it was a daughter. WhenLamprus had gone off to tend his flocks,Galatea gave birth to a daughter. Feeling pity for her babe, she counted on the remoteness of their house and — backed by dreams and seers telling her to bring up the girl as a boy - deceivedLamprus by saying she had given birth to a son and brought the child up as a boy, giving it the nameLeucippus. As the girl grew up she became unutterably beautiful. Because it was no longer possible to hide this,Galatea, fearingLamprus, fled to the sanctuary ofLeto and made many a prayer to her that the child might become a boy instead of a girl, just as had happened toCaenis, daughter ofAtrax, who by the will ofPoseidon becameCaeneus theLapith. So alsoTiresias changed from man to woman because he had encountered and killed twosnakes that had been mating at a crossroads. He changed again from woman back to man by killing anotherserpent.Hypermestra had frequently sold her body in the form of a woman for a fee, becoming a man to bring food for her father,Aethon. TheCretan,Siproites, had also been turned into a woman for having seenArtemis bathing when out hunting.Leto took pity onGalatea because of her unremitting and distressed prayers and changed the sex of the child into a boy's. In memory of this change the citizens ofPhaestus still sacrifice toLeto the Grafter because she had grafted organs on the girl and they give her festival the name of Ecdysia ['Stripping'] because the girl had stripped off her maidenly peplus. It is now an observance in marriages to lie down beforehand beside the statue ofLeucippus.

§ 18  EEROPUS or BEE-EATER:Boeus tells this tale in the second book of his Origins of Birds.Eumelus, son ofEugnotus, settled atThebes inBoeotia and had a son calledBotres. ThisEumelus reveredApollo, offering him generous sacrifices. One day when he was sacrificing, his sonBotres, who was present, ate the brain of thesheep before it was offered up on the altar. Realizing what had happened,Eumelus angrily picked up a brand from the altar and hit the boy on the head with it. The boy, streaming with blood, fell down in convulsions. When his mother saw this, as did the father and their servants, they made great lamentations.Apollo took pity sinceEumelus had revered him and turned the boy into a bee-eater which to this day lays its eggs underground and is ever busied with flying about.

§ 19  THE THIEVES: InCrete there is said to be a sacred cave full ofbees. In it, as storytellers say,Rhea gave birth toZeus; it is a sacred place and no one is to go near it, whether god or mortal. At the appointed time each year a great blaze is seen to come out of the cave. Their story goes on to say that this happens whenever the blood from the birth ofZeus begins to boil up. The sacredbees that were the nurses ofZeus occupy this cave.Laius,Celeus,Cerberus andAegolius were bold enough to approach the cave to collect a great quantity of honey. With their bodies enclosed all over with bronze, they gathered thebees' honey and gazed on the swaddling clothes ofZeus, Their bronze armour split away from their bodies.Zeus thundered and brandished his thunderbolt, but theFates andThemis stopped him. It was impious for anyone to die there. SoZeus turned them all into birds. From them is descended the race of birds of omen, blue rock thrushes, woodpeckers, kerberoi and aigolioiowls. Their appearance effectively augurs well, better than other birds, because they have seen the blood ofZeus.

§ 20  CLINIS:Boeus tells this tale in his second book, as alsoSimmias ofRhodes in hisApollo. In the land calledMesopotamia, near the city ofBabylon, dwelt a rich man namedClinis who respected the gods. He had manycattle,asses andsheep.Apollo andArtemis had a very great affection for him and he frequently attended with these gods the temple ofApollo in the land of theHyperboreans where he saw the consecration of the sacrifices ofasses to the god. Returning toBabylon, he too wanted to worship the god as among theHyperboreans and arranged by the altar a hecatomb ofasses.Apollo appeared and threatened him with death if he did not cease from this sacrifice and did not offer up to him the usualgoats,sheep andcattle. For this sacrifice ofasses was a source of pleasure for the god only if carried out by theHyperboreans. Terrified by this threat,Clinis sent theasses away from the altar and passed on to his children the words he had heard. By his wifeHarpe he had three sonsLycius,Ortygius and Harpasus, and a daughter Artemiche. NowLycius and Harpasus heard their father but went on telling him to sacrifice theasses and to enjoy the festival. ButOrtygius and Artemiche urged him to obeyApollo. ThoughClinis was more persuaded by the latter two, Harpasus andLycius undid the halters of theasses and set to driving them towards the altar. The god infected theasses with a madness and they began to eat up the children, their servants andClinis too. As they were perishing they cried out to the gods for help.Poseidon felt sorry forHarpe and Harpasus and turned them into birds called by the same names as they had before.Leto andArtemis saw fit to saveClinis, Artemiche andOrtygius for they had not been the cause of these impieties.Apollo granted this favour toLeto andArtemis and changed them all into birds before they could be killed.Clinis became a hupaietos, an under-eagle. He is second after theeagle and is not difficult to recognize. The former, a slayer of fawns, is dark, large and strong; the hupaietos is blacker and smaller.Lycius was changed into a raven that was white but later, by the wish ofApollo, he became of a sable colour, because he had been the first to announce the marriage ofCoronis, daughter ofPhlegyas, toAlcyoneus. Artemiche became a lark, a bird that gods and humans are fond of.Ortygius became a billy-tit because he had urged his father to sacrifice billy-goats instead ofasses toApollo.

§ 21  POLYPHONTE:Thrassa was daughter ofAres and ofTereine daughter ofStrymon.Hipponous, son of Triballos, married her and they had a daughter calledPolyphonte. She scorned the activities ofAphrodite and went to the mountains as a companion and sharer of sports withArtemis.Aphrodite, whose activitiesPolyphonte had failed to honour, made her fail in love with a bear and drove her mad. By demonic urge she went on heat and coupled with this bear.Artemis seeing her was utterly disgusted with her and turned all beasts against her.Polyphonte, fearing that the beasts would make an end of her, fled and reached her father's house. She brought forth two children,Agrius andOrius, huge and of immense strength. They honoured neither god nor man but scorned them all. If they met a stranger they would haul him home to eat,Zeus loathed them and sentHermes to punish them in whatever way he chose.Hermes decided to chop off their hands and feet. ButAres, since the family ofPolyphonte descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help ofHermes he changed them into birds.Polyphonte became a smallowl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind.Orius became aneagleowl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears.Agrius was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men. These gods gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Their female servant was changed into a woodpecker. As she was changing her shape she prayed to the gods not to become a bird evil for mankind.Hermes andAres heard her prayer because she had by necessity done what her masters had ordered. This is a bird of good omen for someone going hunting or to feasts.

§ 22  CERAMBUS:Cerambus, son ofEusirus, who was the son ofPoseidon and ofEidothea the nymph ofOthreis, lived in the land of theMelians on the spurs of MountOthrys. He had numerous flocks and herded them himself.Nymphs would help him since he delighted them as he sang among the mountains. He is said to have been the best singer of those days and was famous for his rural songs. In those hills he devised the shepherd's pipes and was the first of mankind to play the lyre, composing many beautiful songs. It is said that because of this the nymphs one day became visible toCerambus as they danced to the strumming of his lyre.Pan, in good will, gave him this advice: to leaveOthrys and pasture his flocks on the plain, for the coming winter was going to be exceptionally and unbelievably severe.Cerambus, with the arrogance of youth, decided — as though smitten by some god — not to drive his beasts fromOthrys to the plain. He also uttered graceless and mindless things to the nymphs, saying they were not descended fromZeus, but thatDeino had given birth to them, with the RiverSpercheius as the father. He also said thatPoseidon, for lust of one of them,Diopatra, had made her sisters put down roots and turned them into poplars until, satiated with his desires, he had returned them to their original shapes. Thus didCerambus taunt the nymphs. After a short while there came a sudden frost and the streams froze. Much snow fell on the flocks ofCerambus and they were lost to sight as well as were the trees and paths. The nymphs, in anger againstCerambus because of his slanders, changed him into a wood-gnawingCerambyx beetle. He can be seen on trunks and has hook-teeth, ever moving his jaws together. He is black, long and has hard wings like a great dung beetle. He is called the ox that eats wood and, among theThessalians,Cerambyx. Boys use him as a toy, cutting off his head, to wear as a pendant. The head looks like the horns of a lyre made from a tortoiseshell.

§ 23  BATTUS:Nicander tells this tale in the first book of his Metamorphoses, as doesHesiod in his GreatEoeae,Didymarchus in the third book of his Metamorphoses,Antigonus in his Changes,Apollonius Rhodius in his Epigrams, as doesPamphilus in his first book.Argos, son ofPhrixus, andPerimele, daughter ofAdmetus, had a son,Magnes. He lived nearThessaly and people named this landMagnesia after him. He had a son,Hymenaeus, admired by all around for his appearance.Apollo saw the lad and fell in love with him and would not leave the house ofMagnes. Because of thisHermes plotted to get the herd ofcattle belonging toApollo that pastured with those ofAdmetus. First he made the bitches that guarded them lethargic and also gave them dog-quinsy. They forgot about thecattle and lost the ability to bark. Then he drove off twelve heifers and a hundredoxen that had not yet been yoked, as well as abull for mounting thecows. He tied branches to the tails of each beast so that the trail of thecattle would be lost. He herded and drove them across the lands of thePelasgians, throughAchaeanPhthiotis,Locris,Boeotia, theMegarid and from there to thePeloponnese, throughCorinth andLarissa toTegea. From there he passed on byMount Lykaion and MountMaenalus till he came to a place now called the Lookouts ofBattus. ThisBattus lived on the top of a peak. When he heard the sounds of the heifers as they were being driven, he strode out of his house. He saw that thecattle had been rustled and asked for a bribe not to tell anyone about the matter.Hermes agreed to provide one on these terms andBattus swore not to tell anyone about thecattle.Hermes then hid the beasts in a headland by MountCoryphasium, driving them into a cave facingItaly andSicily. Then he returned toBattus in disguise, testing him to see if he would abide by his oath. Offering a woollen cloak as a bribe, he asked if he had seen rustledcattle being driven by.Battus accepted the cloak and told him all about thecattle.Hermes, indignant because he was double-tongued, struck him with his staff and turned him into a rock. And he is never without either heat or cold. To this day the place is called by passers-by the Lookouts ofBattus.

§ 24  ASCALABUS:Demeter, when she was a wanderer traversing the whole earth in search of her daughter, stopped for a rest inAttica.Misme took her in when she was parched in the great heat. She gave her a drink of water with pennyroyal and barley groats in it Because of her thirstDemeter swallowed the drink in one draught. When he saw this,Ascalabus, the son ofMisme, burst into laughter and ordered that a deep basin or jar be offered to her.Demeter in anger poured over him what was left of her drink. He was changed bodily into a multi-coloured gecko [askalabos] which is hated by gods and mankind. He passes his life along ditches. Whoever kills him is cherished byDemeter.

§ 25  METIOCHE AND MENIPPE:Nicander tells this tale in the fourth book of his Metamorphoses, as doesCorinna in the first book of her Weroia. InBoeotiaOrion, son ofHyrieus, had as daughtersMetioche andMenippe. AfterArtemis had taken him away from the sight of mankind, they were brought up by their mother.Athena taught them to weave on the loom andAphrodite gave them beauty. When plague seized the whole ofAonia and many died, there were sent a sacred embassy toGortynianApollo. The god replied that they should make an appeal to the two gods of the underworld. He said that they would cease from their anger if two willing maidens were sacrificed to the Two. Of course not one of the maidens in the city complied with the oracle until a servant-woman reported the answer of the oracle to the daughters ofOrion. They were at work at their loom and, as soon as they heard about this, they willingly accepted death on behalf of their fellow citizens before the plague epidemic had smitten them too. They cried out three times to the gods of the underworld saying that they were willing sacrifices. They thrust their bodkins into themselves at their shoulders and gashed open their throats. And they both fell down into the earth,Persephone andHades took pity on the maidens and made their bodies disappear, sending them instead up out of the earth as heavenly bodies. When they appeared, they were borne up into the sky. And men called them comets. All theAonians set up atOrchomenus inBoeotia a notable sanctuary to these two maidens. Every year young men and young women bring propitiatory offerings to them. To this day theAonians call them theCoronid Maidens.

§ 26  HYLAS: WhenHeracles set sail with theArgonauts he was acknowledged as their leader. He also brought aboard with himHylas, orphaned son ofCeyx, a young and good-looking lad. When they reached the narrows of theBlack Sea and were sailing past the headland ofArganthone, the waves began to toss in a storm. They dropped anchors and let the ship ride. MeanwhileHeracles prepared dinner for the heroes. The boyHylas went carrying a pail to the RiverAscanius to fetch water for the leaders. And when the nymphs, who were the daughters of this river, saw and fell in love with him, they pulled him in, dragging him down into the spring. AfterHylas had disappeared,Heracles saw that he was not coming back to him and deserted the heroes, searching everywhere in the thickets, calling 'Hylas' again and again. The nymphs, fearing thatHeracles might discover that they had hidden the lad among them, changed him into an echo which again and again echoed back the cries ofHeracles. After all his unavailing efforts to findHylas, he returned to the ship and sailed away with the heroes. He leftPolyphemus on the spot to search and, if he could, findHylas for him. ButPolyphemus died before he could succeed. To this day local people make sacrifices toHylas by the spring. The priest calls him by his name three times and an echo replies three times.

§ 27  IPHIGENIA:Theseus andHelen, daughter ofZeus, had a daughter,Iphigenia.Helen's sisterClytaemestra brought her up saying toAgamemnon that she had given birth to her. ForHelen had told her brothers who had questioned her that she was still a virgin when she leftTheseus. When the army of theAchaeans was held up atAulis for lack of winds, the seers foretold that it would be possible to sail only if they sacrificedIphigenia toArtemis. At the insistence of theAchaeans,Agamemnon handed her over to be put to the knife and she was dragged to the altar. But the leaders could not bear to look on and, to a man, they turned their eyes elsewhere.Artemis made abull calf appear by the altar instead ofIphigenia whom she carried off far away from Greece, to the Sea ofPontus with its welcoming name ofEuxine, toThoas son ofBorysthenes. She called the tribe of nomads thereTaurians because abull [tauros] had appeared instead ofIphigenia on the altar. She also named herTauropolos. After the passage of time,Artemis transferredIphigenia to what is called theWhite Island [Leuke] to be withAchilles and changed her into an ageless immortal deity, calling her Orsilochia instead ofIphigenia. She became the companion ofAchilles.

§ 28  TYPHON:Typhon was the son ofEarth, a deity monstrous because of his strength, and of outlandish appearance. There grew out of him numerous heads and hands and wings, while from his thighs came huge coils ofsnakes. He emitted all kinds of roars and nothing could resist his might. He felt an urge to usurp the rule ofZeus and not one of the gods could withstand him as he attacked. In panic they fled toEgypt, all exceptAthena andZeus, who alone were left.Typhon hunted after them, on their track. When they fled they had changed themselves in anticipation into animal forms.Apollo became a hawk,Hermes an ibis,Ares became a fish, the lepidotus,Artemis acat,Dionysus took the shape of agoat,Heracles a fawn,Hephaestus anox andLeto a shrewmouse. The rest of the gods each took on what transformations they could. WhenZeus struckTyphon with a thunderbolt,Typhon, aflame, hid himself and quenched the blaze in the sea.Zeus did not desist but piled the highest mountain,Etna, onTyphon and setHephaestus on the peak as a guard. Having set up his anvils, he works his red hot blooms onTyphon's neck.

§ 29  GALINTHIAS: AtThebesProetus had a daughterGalinthias. This maiden was playmate and companion ofAlcmene, daughter ofElectryon. As the birth throes forHeracles were pressing onAlcmene, theFates andEileithyia, as a favour toHera, keptAlcmene in continuous birth pangs. They remained seated, each keeping their arms crossed.Galinthias, fearing that the pains of her labour would driveAlcmene mad, ran to theFates andEileithyia and announced that by desire ofZeus a boy had been born toAlcmene and that their prerogatives had been abolished. At all this, consternation of course overcame theFates and they immediately let go their arms.Alcmene's pangs ceased at once andHeracles was born. TheFates were aggrieved at this and took away the womanly parts ofGalinthias since, being but a mortal, she had deceived the gods. They turned her into a deceitful weasel, making her live in crannies and gave her a grotesque way of mating. She is mounted through the ears and gives birth by bringing forth her young through the throat.Hecate felt sorry for this transformation of her appearance and appointed her a sacred servant to herself.Heracles, when he grew up, remembered the favour she had done for him and made an image of her to set by his house and offered her sacrifices. TheThebans even now maintain these rites and, before the festival ofHeracles, sacrifice toGalinthias first.

§ 30  BYBLIS: InCreteApollo andAcacallis, daughter ofMinos, had a child calledMiletus. FearingMinos,Acacallis exposed him in a wood. By the will ofApollowolves would turn up to guard him and to give milk in turn. Then herdsmen came across him and gathered him up and brought him up in their huts. As the lad grew, becoming handsome and active,Minos felt the urge to take him by force. So, on the advice ofSarpedon,Miletus boarded a boat one night and escaped toCaria. There he built the city ofMiletus and marriedEidothee, daughter ofEurytus king ofCaria. She became the mother of twins,Caunus andByblis after whom are named to this day theCarian cities ofCaunus and of Byblis.Byblis attracted many local suitors and, because of her fame, some from nearby cities as well. She did not pay them much attention since an unspeakable desire forCaunus was driving her mad. Because she did all she could to hide this passion, she kept it from her parents. But daily she was being gripped by an even more unmanageable demon and one night she decided to throw herself from a rock. She went to a nearby mountain and set about throwing herself off. But nymphs, pitying her, held her back. Casting her into a deep sleep they changed her from a mortal to a deity, into a nymph called a hamadryad namedByblis. They made her their companion and sharer of their way of life. The stream which flows from that rock is called to this day by local people the Tears ofByblis.

§ 31  THE MESSAPIANS:Nicander tells this tale in the second book of his Metamorphoses.Lycaon, sprung from the soil, had as sonsIapyx, Daunius andPeucetius. They gathered an army and arrived on theAdriatic side ofItaly. They drove out theAusonians who were living there and, instead, settled themselves there. Most of their army consisted ofIllyrian settlers led byMessapius. When the army and the land was divided into three, they took the names of each of their leaders,Daunians,Peucetians andMessapians. The land fromTarentum to the tip ofItaly became that of theMessapians, where stands the city ofBrentesium. The land to this side ofTarentum became that of thePeucetians and, further on, theDaunians held most of the coast. The whole nation was called that of theIapygians. This occurred long before the campaign ofHeracles. In those days they made a living from animals in pastures. Tellers of stories say that in the land of theMessapians near the so-called Sacred Rocks there appeared the choral troupe of theEpimelid nymphs. YoungMessapians left their flocks to view them. They declared they could themselves dance better. What they said irritated the nymphs and rivalry arose increasingly over their dancing. Because the youths did not know that they were competing with deities, they danced as they would in a contest with mortals of their own age. Their manner of dancing, being that of shepherds, was without art, while that of the nymphs was entirety dedicated to beauty. In their dancing they surpassed the youths and they said to them: "Young men, did you want to compete againstEpimelid nymphs? So, you foolish fellows, now that you have been beaten, you will be punished." The youths, as they stood by the sanctuary of the nymphs, were changed into trees. Even today one hears at night the sound of groans coming from the trunks. The place is called that of theNymphs and the Youths.

§ 32  DRYOPE:Nicander tells this tale in the first book of his Metamorphoses.Dryops was the son of the RiverSpercheius and ofPolydore, one of the daughters ofDanaus. He was king inOite and he had an only daughter,Dryope. She herself herded the flocks of her father. Now, theHamadryadNymphs were very much attached to her and made her their playmate, teaching her to sing to the gods and to dance.Apollo, seeing her dancing, felt an urge to couple with her. He first changed himself into a tortoise.Dryope, with the other nymphs, was amused by it and they made a toy of the tortoise. She placed it in her bosom. He changed from a tortoise to aserpent. The frightened nymphs abandonedDryope.Apollo coupled with her and she ran full of fear to her father's house, saying nothing to her parents. WhenAndraemon, son ofOxylus, later married her, she gave birth toAmphissus, the son ofApollo. As soon as he came of age he proved to be a man stronger than all others and founded a town by MountOite which took the name of the mountain. He became the king of the places thereabouts. InDryopis he established a sanctuary ofApollo. One day, asDryope was approaching the shrine, theHamadryad nymphs gathered her up affectionately and hid her in the woods. In her place they caused a poplar to appear out of the ground. Beside it they made a spring to gush forth.Dryope was changed from mortal to nymph.Amphissus, in honour of the favour shown to his mother, set up a shrine to theNymphs and was the first to inaugurate a foot-race there. To this day local people maintain this race. It is not holy for women to be present there because two maidens told local people thatDryope had been snatched away by nymphs. The nymphs were angry at this and turned the maidens into pines.

§ 33  ALCMENE: This is told byPherecydes. AfterHeracles had passed out of the sight of mankind,Eurystheus drove his children from their paternal lands and ruled them himself. TheHeraclidae fled toDemophon, son ofTheseus, and dwelt in the Four Towns ofAttica.Eurystheus sent a messenger toAthens threatening war with theAthenians if they did not drive out theHeraclidae. TheAthenians did not refuse war andEurystheus invadedAttica and, after line of battle had been established, he himself died in battle. Most of theArgives were put to flight. WithEurystheus dead,Hyllus and the otherHeraclidae and their allies re-established themselves inThebes. At that timeAlcmene died of old age and theHeraclidae performed her obsequies. They dwelled by theElectran Gate whereHeracles led his public life.Zeus sentHermes, ordering him to stealAlcmene's body and to take her to theIsles of the Blest and give her as wife toRhadamanthys. Obeying,Hermes stole awayAlcmene leaving a stone instead of her in the coffin. When theHeraclidae were carrying the casket, they found it to be very heavy. They put it on the ground and took off the lid. They found a stone instead ofAlcmene. They took this and set it up in the grove where now stands the heroon ofAlcmene inThebes.

§ 34  SMYRNA: On MountLebanonThias son ofBelus andOrithyia, one of the nymphs, had a daughter,Smyrna, Because of her beauty many came from many a city as her suitors. She devised numerous tricks to deceive her parents and to put off the day of decision, because a dreadful lust, for her father, had driven her mad. At first she hid this fever through shame. But as her passion spurred her on, she told the whole story to her nurseHippolyte who promised to find her a remedy for this inordinate passion. She went toThias with the message that a girl of exalted parentage desired to lie with him, but secretly.Thias, who had no idea what was being devised against him, welcomed the proposal. In the dark of the night he waited on his bed for the girl. Then the nurse led in Smyrna with her clothes swathed over her. For a long time this disgraceful and unlawful activity was carried on undiscovered. When Smyrna became pregnant,Thias felt an urge to learn who the mother of his child was. He hid a light in his quarters and, whenSmyrna came to him, she was revealed as the light was suddenly brought out, Smyrna gave birth prematurely to her child and she raised up her arms and prayed that she might no more be seen among the living, nor among the dead.Zeus changed her into a tree which was called the Smyrna after her name. It is said that each year the tree weeps tears from the wood as its fruit.Thias, father ofSmyrna, did away with himself for this unlawful act. By desire ofZeus the child was brought up and he was calledAdonis.Aphrodite fell utterly in love with him because of his beauty.

§ 35  THE HERDSMEN:Menecrates fromXanthus tells this tale in his Lyciaca; alsoNicander.Leto, after giving birth toApollo andArtemis on the isle ofAsteria, went toLycia, taking her children with her, to the baths ofXanthus. As soon as she arrived in that land, she came first upon the spring ofMelite and wanted very much to bathe her children there before going on toXanthus. But some herdsmen drove her away so that their owncattle could drink at the spring.Leto made off and leftMelite. Wolves came out to meet her and, wagging their tails, led the way, guiding her to the RiverXanthus. She drank the water and bathed the babes and consecrated theXanthus toApollo while the land which had been called Tremilis she renamedLycia [Wolf Land] from thewolves that had guided her. Then she returned to the spring to inflict a penalty on the herdsmen who had driven her away. They were then still washing theircattle besides the spring.Leto changed them all intofrogs whose backs and shoulders she scratched with a rough stone. Throwing them all into the spring she made them live in water. To this day they croak away by rivers and ponds.

§ 36  PANDAREUS: WhenRhea, fearingCronus, hidZeus in theCretan cavern, agoat offered her udder and gave him nourishment. By the will ofRhea a goldendog guarded thegoat. AfterZeus drove out theTitans and deprivedCronus of power, he changed thegoat into an immortal. There is a representation of her among the stars to this day. He ordered the goldendog to guard this sacred spot inCrete.Pandareus son ofMerops stole thedog and carried it off to MountSipylus. He gave it toTantalus, son ofZeus andPluto, to guard. After a timePandareus went to MountSipylus and asked for thedog.Tantalus swore he had never received it. To punish him for the theftZeus turnedPandareus into a rock where he stood.Tantalus, for going back on his oath, he struck down with a thunderbolt and set MountSipylus on top of his head.

§ 37  THE DORIANS: After the capture ofTroy,Diomedes arrived inArgos and denounced his wifeAegialia for her behaviour when she was stirred byAphrodite. He went toCalydon inAitolia where he made away withAgrius and his sons. He handed over the rule of the place to his grandfatherOineus. He then sailed forArgos but was swept into theIonian Sea by a storm. WhenDaunius, king of theDaunians, saw who it was that had arrived, he begged him for help in warring against theMessapians, for a share of the land and marriage to his daughter.Diomedes agreed to the proposal, drew up his men and routed theMessapians, He took his land which he assigned to theDorians, his followers. The daughter ofDaunius gave him two sons,Diomedes andAmphinomus. He died of old age in the lands of theDaunians and theDorians buried him with honours on the isle which they calledDiomedia after him. They cultivated the lands that had been assigned to them adjoining those of the king. It brought them much produce because of their experience in farming. After the death ofDaunius, the barbarianIllyrians coveted their lands and plotted against them. They appeared suddenly on the island and theIllyrians slaughtered all theDorians as they were sacrificing victims. By the will ofZeus the bodies of the Greeks disappeared and their souls were changed into birds. Even today when a ship of the Greeks is brought into harbour, these birds go up to them, but they flee from anIllyrian ship and all disappear from the island.

§ 38  WOLF:Nicander tells this tale in the first book of his Metamorphoses.Aeacus, son ofZeus and ofAigina daughter ofAsopus, had as sonsTelamon andPeleus and a third,Phocus, born ofPsamathe, daughter ofNereus.Aeacus was extremely fond of this third son because he was as handsome as he was good.Peleus andTelamon envied him and killed him in secret. For thisAeacus drove them away and they left the isle ofAigina.Telamon settled in the isle ofSalamis whilePeleus went toEurytion son ofIrus and prayed for and received from him purification from the murder. Later, when hunting, he aimed at aboar and unintentionally killedEurytion. Again a fugitive, he betook himself toAcastus whose wife's amorous behaviour led to his being marooned alone on MountPelion. In his wanderings he encounteredChiron thecentaur, sought his help and was received into his cave. ThenPeleus brought together manysheep andcattle and led them toIrus as blood money for the slaying of his son.Irus would not accept this price soPeleus led them away and set them free in accordance with the oracle of the god. Awolf, coming upon the animals unattended by herdsmen, ate them all. By divine will thiswolf was changed into a rock which stood for a long time betweenLocris and the land of thePhocians.

§ 39  ARCEOPHON:Arceophon, son of Minnyrides, of the town ofSalamis inCyprus, did not come from a distinguished family (they were fromPhoenicia) but they were pre-eminent in wealth and all kinds of prosperity. When he saw the daughter ofNicocreon, king ofSalamis, he fell in love with her. The family ofNicocreon were descended fromTeucer who had helpedAgamemnon takeTroy. Because of thisArceophon desired a marriage with the girl all the more and he promised to bring many gifts, more than all the other suitors.Nicocreon refused the proposal because the family ofArceophon was shamefully ignoble, since his ancestors werePhoenicians.Arceophon, failing to win this marriage, went into a greater turmoil of love and every evening frequented the house ofArsinoe and made a night-serenade in company with young men of his own age. Since this activity achieved nothing, he cajoled the girl's nurse to help him with an attempt to seduce her, sending many gifts. He wanted somehow to make love to her without her parents knowing. After the nurse had delivered this proposition, the girl denounced her to her parents. They cut off the tip of the nurse's tongue and her nose as well as her fingers. After this mutilation they pitilessly drove her out of the palace. This act enraged the goddess.Arceophon, because of his utter distress at the way his marriage had been scorned, died voluntarily of starvation. His fellow citizens felt pity for his death and mourned him. On the third day his relatives brought out his body uncovered. While they were about to carry out the last rites,Arsinoe felt an arrogant urge to lean her body out of the window to view the corpse ofArceophon being cremated. As she cast glances at him,Aphrodite, loathing her character, changed her from her human form into a stone with her feet rooted into the ground.

§ 40  BRITOMARTIS:Cassiepia, daughter ofArabius, andPhoenix, son ofAgenor, had a daughterCarme.Zeus made love to her and fatheredBritomartis who avoided the company of mankind and yearned to be a virgin for always. First she arrived inArgos fromPhoenicia, entering into the company of the daughters ofErasinus,Byze,Melite,Maera andAnchirhoe. Then she went fromArgos toCephallenia. TheCephallenians gave her the name ofLaphria and made sacrifices to her as a god. Then she went toCrete. WhenMinos saw her he lusted after her and pursued her. She took refuge among some fishermen who hid her in their nets. Because of this theCretans called herDictynna, She of the Nets, and offered sacrifices to her. Having escaped fromMinos,Britomartis arrived atAegina on a boat of the fishermanAndromedes. But he lusted for her and laid hands on her.Britomartis jumped off the boat and fled into a grove, the very spot where today there is asanctuary of hers. She then disappeared from sight and they called herAphaea, the One Who Disappeared. The people ofAegina consecrated the spot in thesanctuary ofArtemis. whereBritomartis disappeared, naming herAphaea and offering her sacrifices as to a god.

§ 41  ALOPEX:Cephalus, son ofDeion, married atThoricus inAtticaProcris, daughter ofErechtheus.Cephalus was a handsome and brave youth and the goddess ofDawn fell in love with him because of his beauty. She kidnapped him, keeping him at home as a lover. ... And thenCephalus putProcris to a test to see if she was inclined to remain faithful to him. He pretended that he was going out hunting and sent in toProcris one of his servants who was not known to her, with a great deal of gold. He was instructed to say that a foreign gentleman had fallen in love with her and offered her this gold if she would have intercourse with him. At firstProcris refused the gold but when the man sent double the quantity, she agreed and accepted the proposition. WhenCephalus saw her approaching the house in order to lie with the foreigner, he brought out a flaming torch and discovered her. In her shameProcris forsookCephalus and went off as a fugitive toMinos the king ofCrete. She found on arrival that he was afflicted by childlessness and promised a cure, showing him how to beget children. NowMinos would ejaculatesnakes, scorpions and millipedes, killing the women with whom he had intercourse. But his wifePasiphae, daughter of theSun, was immortal.Procris accordingly devised the following to makeMinos fertile. She inserted the bladder of agoat into a woman andMinos first emitted thesnakes into the bladder; then he went over toPasiphae and entered her. And when children were born to them,Minos gaveProcris his spear and hisdog. No animal could escape these two and they always reached their target. Accepting them,Procris went toThoricus inAttica, whereCephalus lived, and became a hunter with him. She had altered her clothes and had cut her hair as a man; no one who saw her recognized her. WhenCephalus saw that he never caught anything when hunting, while everything went the way ofProcris, he yearned to have that spear for himself.Procris promised to give him thedog as well, if he would agree to enjoy her youthful charms.Cephalus accepted the proposition and when they lay down together,Procris revealed who she was and reproached him for having committed something far more disgraceful. ButCephalus acquired thedog and the spear.Amphitryon, who needed thedog, went toCephalus and asked him if he would be willing to join him, with thedog, in going after theFox. He promised to hand over to him a share of the booty which he would take from theTeleboeans. For at that time there had appeared in the land of the people ofCadmus, afox that was a monstrous creature. It would regularly issue out ofTeumessus snatching upCadmeans. Every thirty days they would put out a child for it and theFox would take it and eat it up.Amphitryon had askedCreon and theCadmeans to help in making war against theTeleboeans. They refused unless he helped them do away with theFox.Amphitryon accepted these conditions from theCadmeans and went toCephalus and told him about the agreement and urged him to go toThebes with thedog.Cephalus accepted the proposal and set out to hunt theFox. But it had been ordained that theFox could not be taken by any hunter, and that nothing should escape thatdog when it went hunting.Zeus saw them when they reached the Plain ofThebes and turned them both into stones.