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Conon, Narrations (Photius)

§ i  A version of the Greek text is on-line (3/2016) atremacle.org, digitized by Marc Szwajcer together with an 18th century French rendering by Abbe Gedoyn. Conon's dedication of his text to Archelaos, the last king of Cappadocia, places the text somewhere between 36 BCE and 17 CE. Conon's versions of the myths are sometimes unique, with an effort to explain away miraculous events. For a scholarly treatment, consult Malcolm Brown, The Narratives of Konon: Text, Translation and Commentary of the Diegeseis (Beitrage Zur Altertumskunde, 2003).

§ P  I [Photius] read the Narrations,Conon's little book, an exercise he dedicates to KingArchelaos Philopator, which contains fifty narratives drawn together from many ancient sources.

§ 1  In the first, aboutMidas and the Brigans, how chancing on a treasure he came into great wealth and having become an auditor ofOrpheus at thePierian mountain he reigned over the Brigans with many arts. And howSeilenos was sighted, whileMidas was king, nearBremion mountain, at the foot of which his very numerous people were dwelling. And how the animal was brought to him, transformed to human appearance. And how everything, even the food put before him, became gold; and how on account of this he persuaded his subject people to cross theHellespont from Europe to beyondMysia and settled thePhrygians, instead of Brigans, renaming them with a small change of the word.Midas had many people reporting to him what was being said and done by his subjects, keeping his kingdom safe from conspiracies and reaching old age. For this reason, he was said to have long ears, and little by little rumor changed long ears into ass's ears, and from mockery in the beginning the story came to be believed as fact.

§ 2  Second the account ofByblis, a child ofMiletos, who had a brotherKaunos. They lived inMiletos ofAsia, which later theIonians and those who came withNeleos attacked and settled, but then was occupied byCarians, a large ethnos settled in villages. Helpless love sprang up inKaunos for his sisterByblis. How, having failed in many efforts he left that land. And when he disappeared,Byblis was seized with infinite grief and she herself left her paternal home. Having wandered through a vast wasteland, she renounced her vain longings, fastened her belt as a noose to a chestnut tree and hanged herself. Where she wept her flowing tears opened a fountain, calledByblis by the locals.Kaunos arrives inLycia during his wanderings andPronoe (she was aNaiad) rises from her river and tells him what happened toByblis, asEros the judge had foretold, and persuades him to settle down with her on condition of taking up the rule of the country (for he has the hots for her too).Kaunos has a child withPronoe,Aigialos, who takes over the kingdom when his father dies. He assembled the people, who were living scattered, and built a great and prosperous city on the river, calledKaunos after his father.

§ 3  Third, the islandScheria in theIonian sea, not far from the mainland and theKeraunian mountains, had thePhaiakians as the first settlers, autochthones, a people who got their name from some king of the locals. Later a segment of theCorinthians settled it and changed the name toKerkyra, and ruled over the sea around. WhenPhaiax, who reigned on the island, died, his sonsAlkinous andLokros after quarreling came together again on the basis thatAlkinous would be king of Phaiakis, andLokros would take the heirlooms and part of the ethnos to make a colony. He sailed forItaly and was hosted byLatinus the king of theItalians, who gave him his daughter Laurine in marriage. For this reason thePhaiakians claim theLokrians inItaly as relatives.Herakles at about that time was drivingGeryon's beautifulcows fromErytheia. He arrived and was hosted kindly byLokros.Latinus came to visit his daughter, saw and fancied thecows and drove them away. Discovering this,Herakles shot with his bow and killed him, and brought back thecows.Lokros, fearingHerakles might suffer something terrible at the hands ofLatinus, who was strong in body and spirit, had hastened to the aid of his guest, having put on military gear.Herakles seeing him running and thinking he was someone rushing to supportLatinus, loosed a shaft and killed him. After he learned he mourned loudly and conducted the rites for him. And when he had passed from among men he appeared to the people as a ghost and ordered them to establish a city by the tomb ofLokros. And the city keeps the name in honor ofLokros. So this is the third narrative. But why should I recopy these things almost, when much more weighty matters impend?

§ 4  Now then, the fourth narrative talks aboutOlynthos the city andStrymon, who ruled theThracians and gave his name to theriver formerly known asEioneus. He had three sons,Brangas and Ressos andOlynthos. Ressos went to fight alongsidePriam atTroy and was killed byDiomedes.Olynthos confronted alion in a hunt and died.Brangas his brother mourned the misfortune greatly and buriedOlynthos where he fell. Then coming toSithonia he built a great and prosperous city which he namedOlynthos after the boy.

§ 5  In the fifth he tells the story aboutReginos andEunomos the son ofLokros, the cithara players, and how they were coming toDelphi, theRegians andLokrians are separated by a river (Alex is the river's name), and though the cicadas of the former are voiceless,Lokris has cicadas that sing. And howEunomos, when he was competing withReginos, prevailed over his adversary with the song of a cicada. At that time, harmony was seven-stringed, and when one of the strings broke, a cicada landed on the kithara and filled in the missing part of the music.

§ 6  Sixth, howMopsos the seer, the son ofApollo, when his mother died inherited the oracle ofApollon inKlaros.Kalchas arrived inKolophon, wandering after the fall ofTroy, just whenMopsos had take over the oracle. They contended with one another for a long time, andAmphimachos king of theLycians ended their strife. ForMopsos would prevent him from going to war by foretelling his defeat.Kalchas permitted him, indicating victory. He was defeated, and whileMopsos was honored greatly,Kalchas did away with himself.

§ 7  The seventh narrates howPhilammon was the son ofPhilonis, who was born from Heosphoros and Kleoboia inThorikos ofAttica. ThisPhilammon was unnaturally beautiful. One of the nymphs seduced the youth and became pregnant. Ashamed she leaves thePeloponnese and comes to the Akte (shore) where she gives birth to a boy,Thamyris, who when he reached puberty became so accomplished in singing to the cithara that theScythians made him their king even though he was an interloper. When he competed with theMuses in singing, and prizes were set for the victor, his prize would be marriages with theMuses, whereas if they won they could take whatever they wanted of his. He was defeated and slashed out his eyes.

§ 8  The eighth tells aboutProteus theEgyptian seer, whose daughterTheonoe fell in love withKanobos (the steersman ofMenelaus fromTroy), unrequited. And howKanobos, who was handsome and young, was bitten by aviper and his leg rotted whenMenelaus was takingHelen away fromEgypt and they landed their ship. After a little he died andMenelaus andHelen buried him inEgypt where thecity named for him now stands. And the last mouth of theNile, Kanobos or Kanobic, takes its name from the steersman.

§ 9  The ninth talks aboutSemiramis, not the wife ofNinos as others say but the daughter. And for one reason, that what others write aboutAtossa theAssyrian, he ascribes toSemiramis, I cannot say whether he thinks the same woman was called by two names or the things aboutSemiramis were mistaken. He says thatSemiramis having slept with her son whether secretly and unaware or else knowingly, took him openly as her husband and from that, what was disgusting before, having sex with your mother, became good and legal for theMedes andPersians.

§ 10  The tenth, howSithon the son ofPoseidon andOssa, was king of the ThracianCherronesos. He had a daughterPallene with the nymph Mendeis. Since she had many suitors, he made his daughter and his kingdom the prize to the victor in battle against him. SoMerops the king ofAnthemousia andPeriphetes ofMygdonia are killed contending for the marriage. So thenSithon decrees that the suitors will not fight him but each other, with the same prize to the victor. NowDryas andKlitos compete, andDryas falls throughPallene's cheating. When this was detected,Sithon was about to condemnPallene to death, had notAphrodite by consorting with all the citizens snatched the girl from death. And when the father diedPallene andKlitos inherited the kingdom, and from her the country took the namePallene.

§ 11  The eleventh tells about the sacrifice forHerakles, which theLindians make to him with imprecations, and how it began from someLindian plowman. WhenHerakles asked for food for his sonHyllos, who, quite young, was accompanying him on the road, he insulted them instead of providing food.Herakles took it badly. Slaughtering one of theoxen he had a feast and gave some to the child. The plowman cursed from afar. AndHerakles laughed off the curses, and loudly opined that he had never enjoyed a pleasanter feast then the one with imprecations.

§ 12  The twelfth, aboutTroos the son ofErichthonios theDardanian, who reigned over the villages aroundIda. WithKallirroe the daughter ofSkamandros he hadIlos (whence the nameIlion),Asarakos, andGanymede, the oneZeus snatched.Asarakos ruledDardania together with his father, and this was the realm of theTrojans.Ilos, who foundedIlion, defeated in battle the king of theBebrykes, named Byzos, and raisedIlion up greatly.

§ 13  The 13th recounts the tale ofAithilla, who was the daughter ofLaomedon and sister ofPriam.Protesilaos took her away fromIlion in his ships along with other captives. After many storms they just landed betweenMende andSkione andProtesilaos and all his men went up from the shore to get water.Aithilla told her fellow captives various things, and that if they came with the Greeks to Greece, the ills ofTroy would seem like gold to them. She persuaded them to set fire to the ships. So the Greece remained with them in the country, though against their will, and founded a citySkione and lived together.

§ 14  The 14th tells the history ofEndymion, how he was the child ofAethnos the son ofZeus and ofProtogeneia the daughter ofDeukalion. He had two childrenEurypyle andAitolos. The latter left his ancestral rule in thePeloponnese and crossed to the land opposite followed by part of his people. He threw out theKouretes, settled the land, and caused the land to be called Aitolis rather than Kouretis.Elis, the child ofEurypyle andPoseidon, succeeded to the kingdom whenEndymion, his mother's father, died. He gave his name toElis, the city founded byEndymion.

§ 15  The 15th, about thePheneates andDemeter andKore, whomPlouton kidnapped and, evading her mother, took to his underground domain. And how, because thePheneates showedDemeter the place where the descent took place (a certain chasm inKyllene), she granted them other good things and never to permit the death of one hundred men ofPheneos in war.

§ 16  The 16th aboutPromachos andLeukokomas the Knossians (Knossos is a city ofCrete).Promachos yearned for the handsome youthLeukokomas, and offered to perform great trials for him full of risk.Promachos undertakes all these in hopes of success, but doesn't win the boy, so he spitesLeukokomas by putting the last prize (a celebrated helmet) on another handsome young man whileLeukokomas is watching. Unable to bear his jealousy he took a sword and did away with himself.

§ 17  The 17th, how the brothersDikaios andSyleus, sons ofPoseidon, lived near Mt.Pelion inThessaly. And one of them was indeed just [dikaios], as he was named, while the other was a transgressor andHerakles killed him.Herakles was being hosted byDikaios, and he fell in love with the daughter ofSyleus when he saw her being brought up there, and he took her to wife. WhenHerakles departed, she died, overcome by love and yearning for him.Herakles returned just in time for the funeral and would have burned himself with her on the pyre, had the others present not managed to prevent him with consoling words. AfterHerakles went away the locals the locals built up her tomb but called it ashrine ofHerakles instead of a funerary monument.

§ 18  The 18th; when theLokrians fought, sinceAjax was a relative of theirs, they used to leave an empty space in the formation, in whichAjax supposedly stationed himself. When they were arrayed in battle against theKrotoniats,Autoleon ofKroton advised that they burst through the gap and surround the enemy. Tormented by a ghost he turned his thigh and was becoming gangrenous, until, in accordance with an oracle, he showed up at theisland ofAchilles in thePontus (reached by sailing past theIster river beyond theTauric peninsula) and appeased the other heroes and particularly the soul ofAjax theLokrian. He was healed, and returning from there he conveyed toStesichorosHelen's command that he sing her a retraction if sight was dear to him.Stesichoros straightaway composed hymns toHelen and recovered his vision.

§ 19  The 19th, howPsamathe the daughter ofKrotopos got pregnant byApollo and because she feared her father she exposed the child, whom she namedLinos. The shepherd who received him raised him as his own, and one day the sheepdogs tore him apart. Deeply grieving, she was detected by her father, who sentenced her to death, assuming she had been a harlot and lied aboutApollo.Apollo, however, is incensed at the killing of his lover and punishes theArgives with plague. To those consulting the oracle on how to be freed of it he responds that they must appeasePsamathe andLinos. They honored them in other ways and sent women and girls to mournLinos. They mixed the laments with entreaties and wept for his fate and their own. And thus the mourning overLinos was distinguished. And from this, by later poetsLinos is sung as a counterpoint of any pathos. They named the month Arneion (lamb-month) becauseLinos was raised together withlambs. And they conduct a sacrifice and Arnis festival, on that day killing all thedogs they find. But not even in this way did the evil abate, untilKrotopos in accordance with an oracle leftArgos and founded a city in theMegarid. He called itTripodiskion, and settled there.

§ 20  The 20th, how Theoklos theChalcidian, taken captive by theBisaltians (a Thracian ethnos, living across fromPallene), sent secretly to theChalcidians to betray theBisaltians. And first they harassed theBisaltians with a surprise attack, then walled them off. Through the treachery of a cowherd they captured they took the city and expelled theBisaltians. Violating their treaty they killed the traitor cowherd, which provoked the wrath of the gods. So in accordance with an oracle they heaped up a beautiful tomb for the cowherd and by sacrificing to him as a hero they freed themselves of the evil.

§ 21  The 21st;Dardanos andIason were the sons ofZeus withElectra the daughter ofAtlantis, and they lived on the island ofSamothrace. ButIason was struck by lightning while attempting to dishonor a phantasm ofDemeter.Dardanos distraught at what happened to his brother crossed over by a raft (there was not yet any use of ships) to the opposite shore, where there was much flat land and Mt.Ida. Then the country was ruled byTeukros the son of a nymph and the riverScamandros, whence the Teukrian inhabitants and Teukria the country.Dardanos comes to terms with him, by which he takes half of it and builds a cityDardania where he disembarked from the raft. Later whenTeukros died all the land came under his rule.

§ 22  The 22nd; the lover of aCretan youth gives him the offspring of aserpent. He nursed and cared for it until theserpent grew large and inspired fear in the locals. They in turn forced the young man to abandon the beast in the desert, and he did so with much weeping. Later, when the young man went out hunting and fell into the hands ofpirates, theserpent recognized his voice when he was calling for help and destroyed thepirates, coiling around each of them, while indicating his old feeling for the boy, and was freed of suspicion.

§ 23  The 23rd, how the boyKorythos was born toAlexandros ofParis andOinone, whom he married before kidnappingHelen. He excelled his father in beauty. His mother sent him toHelen, arousing the jealousy ofAlexandros and plotting something bad againstHelen. As usual,Korythos went toHelen, andAlexandros passing into the room and seeingKorythos sitting besideHelen, was inflamed by suspicion and killed him straightaway. After this outrage to her and killing of her sonOinone cursedAlexandros, and prayed (for she was inspired with prophecy and the knowledge of preparing potions) that he would be wounded by theAchaeans and, unable to find treatment, would ask for her. And she went home. LaterAlexandros was wounded byPhiloctetes in the battle forTroy with theAchaeans. Suffering terribly, he was taken to Mt.Ida in a wagon, and sending ahead a herald asked forOinone. She insultingly rejected the herald, sayingAlexandros should go toHelen instead. AndAlexandros died of his wound on the road. She meanwhile, not knowing of his end, had repented and was feeling terrible. Having harvested herbs she was hastening to reach him. How she learned from the herald that he had died and that she killed him, and she killed the herald, smashing his head with a stone for the insult. After draping herself over the deadAlexandros and reproaching their shared daimon, she hanged herself with her belt.

§ 24  The 24th; inThespeia ofBoeotia (a city not far fromHelikon) a child was born,Narcissus, very handsome and dismissive of bothEros and lovers. While all the other lovers tried and gave up,Ameinias kept insisting and beseeching.Narcissus did not yield and sent him a sword instead. He did away with himself atNarcissus' doorway, after beseeching the god to avenge him.Narcissus saw his own image and shape reflected in the water of a spring and becomes his own first and only true love, an unnatural one. Finally, at a loss and thinking he was suffering justly for having insulted the love ofAmeinias, he did himself in. And from that theThespians honor and reverenceEros especially, and learned to sacrifice to him both in the common rituals and privately. The locals believe that the narcissus flower first sprang up on that ground where the blood ofNarcissus was spilt.

§ 25  The 25th, howMinos the son ofZeus andEuropa, who ruledCrete, sailed toSikania (now calledSicily) with his fleet to search forDaidalos and was killed by the daughters ofKokalos (who reigned over theSicels). TheCretan force goes to war with theSicels on account of their king, and is defeated. Retreating, they are driven by a storm toIapygia, where they settle, becomeIapygians instead ofCretans. After a time a certain part of them is driven out of the country during an internal dispute. They get an oracular response that they should settle wherever someone holds out earth and water to them. So they settledBottiaia, because some children there were playing with figures of bread and other foods they had formed out of clay, and when they asked for bread they gave them the clay loaves instead. Believing the oracle had been fulfilled they asked the king of theMacedonians and got permission to live in the land of theBottiaians, and though theBottiaians areCretans by race they changed their lot and now areMacedonians.

§ 26  The 26th tells how a spectral appearance [phasma, other writers say lover] ofApollo namedKarnos was following theDorians, andHippotes one of the descendants ofHerakles killed it when theHerakleidai were going down into thePeloponnese. When a plague fell upon them in consequence, they consulted the oracle and expelledHippotes from the camp. The spectre was a seer for theDorians. TheHerakleidai made their descent into thePeloponnese. The outcast Ippotes has a son whom he callsAletes (vagabond) from the circumstances who grows up and collects a detachment ofDorians and expels the Sisyphids who were kings ofCorinth, and theIonians with them, and resettles the city. And he attacksAttica, when he gets an oracle that he will conquer if keeps his hands off of theAthenian king. When theAthenians learn of the oracle, they persuadeKodros, now 70 years old, to voluntarily sacrifice himself for the fatherland. So changing his gear, to appear as one of the wood-carriers, he gets killed by one of theDorians. TheDorians afterwards learn this and despairing of victory made peace with theAthenians.

§ 27  The 27th tells aboutDeukalion, who was rulingPhthiotis, and the great flood in Greece during his time. And aboutHellen his son, whom some say was the child ofZeus, who succeeded to the kingdom whenDeukalion died, and had three children, of whomAiolos the first claimed by right to reign over the land, delimiting his realm by two rivers,Asopos andEnipeos, whence theAiolic race is descended.Doros, the second, took part of the people from his father to emigrate, and built cities under Mt.Parnassos,Boion,Kytinion,Erineos, whence theDorians. The youngest came toAthens and built the so-called AtticTetrapolis, and weddedKreousa the daughter ofErechtheus, and hadAchaios andIon with her. AndAchaios having committed involuntary homicide was driven out and came to thePeloponnese, where he built a tetrapolis, whence theAchaians.Ion, when his mother's father died, because of his manly virtue and merit was chosen to rule theAthenians, from which theAthenians began to be calledIonians and all the rest Ionic.

§ 28  The 28th, howTennes andHemithea were children ofKyknos, king of theTroad, andKyknos, when his wife died brought in another woman. She becomes infatuated withTennes and not getting her way falsely denounces the child, and the father without trial locksTennes in a chest, along withHemithea who is grieving for her brother, and throws it in the sea. It floats to an island, and the locals carry off the chest.Tennes andHemithea take over control of the land, which is renamedTenedos instead ofLeukophrys.Kyknos repents and anchors by the island, and from the ship asks his son to forgive and forget. But he, in order that his father not land on the island, grabs an axe and cuts the anchor ropes of the ship. And from this people invoke the axe ofTennes for any sudden act.

§ 29  The 29th, how theMagnetes, who now inhabit theMagnesia inAsia, first lived around thePeneios river and Mt.Pelion and joined the expedition with the Achaians againstTroy, led byProthoos, and they were calledMagnetes. Then theMagnesians who were bringing a tithe fromTroy settled atDelphi in accordance with a vow. After time they rose up from the sanctuary and going down to the sea crossed over toCrete. Later they were force to leaveCrete. They sailed toAsia and rescued from their plight the newly settledIonia andAiolis, fighting alongside them against the attackers. From there they came to where they now are, and built a city which they namedMagnesia from their ancient homeland.

§ 30  The 40th aboutPeithenios theApolloniate who pastured the sacred flocks of the sun and when sixtywolves tore them to pieces, thinking he had been neglectful, the citizens cut out his eyes. Then the land ceased to bear fruit for theApolloniates because the god was angry at them, until they propitiatedPeithenios by craft, and by two suburbs and a house he picked out, and they escaped the blight.Peithenios was one of the notables, and so were the others with hereditary oversight of the sacred flocks. AndApollonia is a Greek city inIllyria; it lies on the sea and the riverAoos runs through it and flows into theIonian Sea.

§ 31  The 31st, howTereus, king of theThracians nearDaulia and the rest ofPhokis, tookProkne to wife, the daughter ofPandion who ruledAthens, and how in a mad passion he had sex withPhilomela the sister ofProkne against her will, and cut out her tongue fearing the triumph (sic) of her words. She wove a peplos with her sufferings written into the knots. AndProkne learned and retaliated by serving his own offspring for dinner.Tereus learning her defilement of the dinner drove her away and killed her sister with a sword as her accomplice. From there the myth makesProkne a nightingale andPhilomela a swallow, and they sing perpetually of their misfortune. ButTereus as well gets turned into a hoopoe in the myth, and they say these birds never gave up their anger, but hoopoes always chase nightingales and swallows.

§ 32  The 32nd, aboutEuropa the daughter of Phoinix who disappears, and so the father sent his sons to look for their sister, one of whom wasKadmos, andProteus ofEgypt goes with him, fearing the reign ofBousiris. And how, after much wandering and finding nothing they end up inPallene, and howProteus hostedKlitos and became his friend (Klitos was a wise and just king of theSithonians, a Thracian ethnos).Proteus married his daughter Chrysonoe. And when theBisaltians were driven out of their land by the warKlitos andProteus fought against them,Proteus ruled over the country. But he had children not like himself but instead crude lawbreakers, whomHerakles, who hated evildoers, killed. And the father heaped a mound of dirt over them and cleansedHerakles (who was polluted by this bloodshed) of the murder.

§ 33  The 33rd, how Demoklos theDelphian had a handsome son namedSmikros. He sailed toMiletos in accordance with an oracle, his adolescent son with him. And in his haste to sail away he unknowingly left the thirteen-year-old behind. A goatherd, the son ofEritharses, noticed the despairingSmikros and took him to his father.Eritharses, no less than his son, when he learnedSmikros's lineage and misfortune, treated him kindly. How a swan was caught by both of the boys and their strife, and how the spectre of Leukothea told the boys to tell theMilesians to honor her and hold a boys' athletic contest for her, since she delighted in boys' strife. HowSmikros married the daughter of a distinguishedMilesian and she, when giving birth, saw an image of the sun coming in through her mouth, passing through her stomach, and emerging from her genitals. To the seers the vision was a fine one. She had a son, and called himBranchos because the sun had passed through her bronchia. And this boy was the handsomest of men.Apollo found him working as a shepherd, fell in love, and kissed him, and an altar ofApollo of the Kiss was established there. AndBranchos, having had the gift of prophecy breathed into him byApollo, established himself in the hamlet ofDidyma. And up to the present day the oracle of theBranchidai is recognized as the best, afterDelphi, of all the Greek oracular sites we know.

§ 34  The 34th, how after the end ofAlexandros the son ofParis the children ofPriamHelenos andDeiphobos quarreled over who would wedHelen, andDeiphobos prevailed by force and by paying court to the powerful, despite being younger thanHelenos.Helenos was unable to bear this outrage and went away toIda where he calmed down. By the advice ofKalchas the Greeks besiegingTroy capturedHelenos in an ambush. And partly by threats and partly with gifts, but more because of his anger at theTrojan,Helenos disclosed to them that it wasIlion's destiny to be taken with aWooden Horse, and last, when the Achaians took thePalladion ofAthena, which fell fromZeus and was the smallest of many.Diomedes andOdysseus are sent to steal thePalladion, andDiomedes climbs on the wall, standing on the shoulders ofOdysseus. But he doesn't pull upOdysseus although he reaches up his hands; he goes to thePalladion and takes it and turns back towardOdysseus. And as they go down through the plain, whenOdysseus questions himDiomedes knows the cunning of the man and answers that he didn't take thePalladionHelenos had said but a different one. Then thePalladion moved, by some daimon, andOdysseus understood it was that one, and a little later draws his sword, wanting to killDiomedes and bring thePalladion to the Achaians himself. But as he is about to strike (there was a moon),Diomedes saw the glint of the sword.Odysseus was prevented from killing him, since he too drew his sword, and reproaching him for cowardice for not wanting to go in front,Diomedes drove him along striking his back with the flat of his sword. From this comes the proverb "DiomedeanNecessity" used for everything done unwillingly.

§ 35  The 35th introduces two shepherds grazing under Mt. Lysson in theEphesian territory who spot a swarm ofbees in some deep and inaccessible cave. However, one of them gets into a basket to go down, and well tethered he descends. The one who descends finds honey and also much gold, and filling up the basket three times he called for it to be drawn up. When the gold was finished he shouted that he himself was going to get in, but as he said it the idea of treachery came to him, so he put a stone in the basket instead of himself, and called for it to be drawn up. When it was near the crown, the lifter let go. Then, thinking he had killed the other he went away to some gorge and buried the gold. He then crafted plausible excuses to use with those who asked about the disappeared shepherd. Completely at a loss how to save himself, the shepherd in the cave was commanded byApollo in a dream to slash his body with a sharp rock and to lie quiet. When he does what is commanded, vultures grabbed onto him as to a corpse with their claws; some to his cloak, others fixing onto his clothing, they lifted up and bore him safe to the hollow below. He came to the archive and told everything. And theEphesians questioned the plotter and punished him after making him divulge the buried gold. Half the gold they gave to the wronged man, and the other half they allotted toArtemis andApollo. The rescued shepherd, now very rich, installed an altar ofApollo at the summit of the mountain, and he called it Gypaieus (Vulturian) as a memorial of those who lifted him up together.

§ 36  The 36th, howPhilonomos theSpartiate betrayedLakedaimon to theDorians and tookAmyklai as a gift, which he settles fromImbros andLemnos. In the third generation there is an uprising against theDorians in whichAmyklai takes part, and collecting some of theSpartiates, with Polis andDelphos as their leaders they sail toCrete. When the fleet sails by, Apodasmos settlesMelos, and the race of theMelians here claims theSpartiates as kinsmen. All the rest tookGortyn, no one hindering them, and settled it together with theCretans living nearby.

§ 37  The 37th, how the island ofThasos got its name fromThasos the brother ofKadmos. For his brother left him there, giving him part of the army. Also howKadmos, himself very powerful among thePhoenicians, was sent by the king of thePhoenicians afterEuropa. ThePhoenicians were then (the story says) very strong and had destroyed much ofAsia and seized the kingship inEgyptianThebes.Kadmos was sent, not as the Greeks say to look forEuropa, who was a child of Phoinix kidnapped byZeus in the shape of abull, but plotting domination in Europe, so he contrived the story of searching for a kidnapped sister. The myth ofEuropa reached the Greeks from this. Sailing around Europe he left his brotherThasos, as mentioned, on the island, and he himself sailed toBoiotia and went inland to what is now calledThebes, which he named from his own fatherland. When theBoiotians united in battle against them, thePhoenicians were defeated. But then they prevailed by means of surprises and ambushes and by the unaccustomed form of their weapons. For helmet and shield were as yet unknown to the Greeks. AndKadmos conquered the land of theBoiotians. Once the survivors fled to their own cities he settledPhoenicians inThebes and marriedHarmonia the daughter ofAres andAphrodite. Due to the surprise of their weapons and ambushes and surprise attacks, they gained the reputation among theBoiotians, of springing up from the ground with their weapons, and they called them Spartous (sown men) from their seeming to sprout up from the place. This is the true account ofKadmos and the founding ofThebes. The other is a myth to charm the hearer.

§ 38  The 38th, how a certainMilesian, when his homeland was threatened byHarpagos the son ofCyrus, went toTauromenion inSicily and deposited his gold with a friend there, a banker. He sailed home.Miletos was then subjugated byCyrus, but suffered nothing else terrible of the things he had suspected. TheMilesian came toTauromenion to take back his deposit. The recipient, however, admitted having taken it but claimed he had given it back. So after much strife and shouting theMilesian challenged the unjust man to swear an oath. The banker devised the following. He hollowed out a fennel stalk like a flute and melting the deposit he poured it into the fennel and sealed it. Going to the oath-taking, he brought it and leaned on it as if it were a cane, on the pretext of a weakness in the legs. As he was about to swear he handed the fennel to the Milesian, who was standing next to him, as if he were going to take it back again immediately after. As he lifted his hands and swore that he had given back the deposit to the depositor, the Milesian in outrage threw down the fennel stalk to leave in disgust, while denouncing human faithlessness. But the fennel broke open, and the sight of the gold made the cunning of the perjury evident to all. So the Milesian got his property back, and the banker, out of shame and the abuse showered upon him by everyone, ended his life with a noose.

§ 39  The 39th;Melanthos was by descent one of theNeleids who ruled inPylos andMessene fromPoseidon. TheHerakleidai rose up in war and took the land. He in accordance with an oracle came toAthens and became a citizen, and was among those honored. War arose between theAthenians andBoiotians overOinoe and it was decided to settle the issue by single combat of the kings. Thymoites who was king of theAthenians feared the struggle, and he gave over the kingdom to anyone willing to run the risk againstXanthos, who ruled theBoiotians. AndMelanthos, to gain the kingdom as his prize, undertakes the contest, and the agreement goes foreward. When they come into battle,Melanthos sees the likeness of a beardless man following behindXanthos. So he shouts thatXanthos is behaving unjustly in violation of the agreement by bringing a helper.Xanthos turns, startled by the accusation, and just thenMelanthos launches his spear and kills him, so in one contest theAthenians gainOinoe and he gains the kingdom. The lineage of theErechtheids yields to the Melanthids, of whomKodros was one, from this. TheAthenians later in accordance with an oracle founded a sanctuary of MelanthidDionysos and sacrifice every year, and they make offerings toZeusApatourios because the victorious outcome was the result of deception (apate).

§ 40  The 40th story tells the history ofAndromeda quite differently from the myth of the Greeks. Two brothers were born,Kepheus andPhineas, and the kingdom ofKepheus is what is later renamedPhoenicia but at the time was called Ioppa, taking its name fromIoppe the seaside city. And the borders of his realm ran from our sea [the Mediterranean] up to theArabs who live on theRed Sea.Kepheus has a very fair daughterAndromeda, and Phoinix woos her and so doesPhineas the brother ofKepheus.Kepheus decides after much calculation on both sides to give her to Phoinix but, by having the suitor kidnap her, conceal that it was intentional.Andromeda was snatched from a desert islet where she was accustomed to go and sacrifice toAphrodite. When Phoinix kidnapped her in a ship (which was called Ketos [sea monster], whether by chance or because it had a likeness to the animal),Andromeda began screaming, assuming she was being kidnapped without her father's knowledge, and called for help with groans.Perseus the son ofDanae by some daimonic chance was sailing by, and at first sight of the girl, was overcome by pity and love. He destroyed the ship Sea Monster and killed those aboard, who were only surprised, not actually turned to stone. And for the Greeks this became the sea monster of the myth and the people turned to stone by theGorgon's head. So he makesAndromeda his wife and she sails withPerseus to Greece and they live inArgos where he becomes king.

§ 41  The 41st, how thePelasgians settledAntandros; some sayAskanios gave it to them as ransom when he was captured by them in an ambush, and released, hence the nameAntandros, because they took the city in exchange for a man (anti andros).Askanios was the son ofAineias, and after the sack ofTroy he ruled overIda. Others say thePelasgians settledAntandros from the following:Anios was the son ofApollo andKreousa, and his son wasAndros, who settled one of theislands and left it his name. Driven out of there in an revolution, and seeing a place underIda very similar toAndros, he builds a city there and names itAntandros from the similarity. SinceAndros was deserted, people of thePelasgians settled in it. AlsoKyzikos hadPelasgian settlers. For Kyzikos the son ofApollo, who ruled thePelasgians inThessaly, and being deposed by theAiolians along with thePelasgians, builds cities in the peninsula ofAsia giving his name to it. And the realm of Kyzikos, modest at first, grew great, after he married Kleite the daughter of Meropos, who ruled the lands around theRhyndakos.Iason and his crew tied up theArgo atKyzikos as they went for the Fleece. When thePelasgians learned that the ship wasThessalian, still angry at their expulsion they attacked theArgo at night.Iason accidentally killed Kyzikos who was intervening to stop the battle, and otherPelasgians fell. And theArgo sailed forKolchis. But thePelasgians were excessively grieved at the death of the king, and entrusted affairs of the city to the powerful among them (there was no child of Kyzikos to succeed him). Later they were removed by theTyrrhenians, andTyrrhenians held the peninsula. These were defeated in battle by a group ofMilesians, who settledKyzikos.

§ 42  The 42nd, howGelon theSicilian intending to impose a tyranny flattered the commonwealth [demos] of theHimerans and fought on their behalf as much as possible, and the crowd loved him and hastened to give him a bodyguard when he requested it.Stesichoros theHimeran poet suspected that he would attempt a tyranny, and stood up to tell the crowd a parable, a picture of its future plight. Ahorse in pasture, he said, used to drink from a spring. A deer used to run through the plain trampling the grass and disrupting the flow of water. And thehorse, yearning to punish the offender but lacking the speed of foot necessary, called a hunter for help, who readily promised to defend thehorse if it would accept a bit and rider. And so it happened, and the deer lay dead, pierced by javelins, and thehorse felt enslaved by the hunter. This, he said, he himself feared, OHimerans, lest while still a commonwealth you useGelon to overcome your enemies and later you end up slaves toGelon. For the recipient enjoys all power over the giver whenever the giver can no long take it back in the same way he handed it over.

§ 43  The 43rd; the craters ofAitna gushed forth once with a river of fire descending on the country, and theKatanaians (Katane is a Greek city inSicily) thought their city would be completely destroyed and left as quickly as they could, some of them carrying gold and silver, others whatever would help them in their flight. But Anapias andAmphinomos fled carrying their aged parents on their shoulders instead. The flame caught up with and destroyed all the others, but the fire parted on either side of these ones and the space around them formed an island in the flames. Because of this theSicilians called that space the land of the pious and set up statues of them there, a memorial of divine and human deeds.

§ 44  The 44th story tells howLeodamas and Phitres quarreled over the kingship of theMilesians, both being of royal lineage. The people being harmed by their conflict after much suffering from their rivalry, judged that he would rule who brought about the greatest benefits for theMilesians. They had two wars then, with theKarystians and theMelians. And Phitres led an army againstMelos [orMelia] (for drawing lots that was the war he picked) but came back without results.Leodamas behaved with brilliant courage against theKarystians and took the city by storm and enslaved them. He returned toMiletos and reigned in accordance with the decision. In accordance with an oracle he sent a captiveKarystian woman, carrying an infant she was nursing, up toBranchidai along with many other offerings, which made up the tenth of the spoils.Branchos himself then presided over the sanctuary and the oracle that dealt with the captive woman and her son. The boy grew not in the ordinary way but by some divine fortune and took on wisdom beyond his years.Branchos made him the messenger of the oracular pronouncements, naming him Euangelos. When he came to adulthood he inherited the oracle fromBranchos and became the beginning of the lineage of the Euangelids among theMilesians.

§ 45  The 45th, howOrpheus, the son ofOiagros andKalliope, one of theMuses, ruled over theMacedonians andOdrysians and practiced music and particularly singing to the kithara. And (for theThracians andMacedonians are a muse-loving race) he pleased the crowd outstandingly. He had the repute of having gone intoHades for love of his wifeEurydike, and how he charmedPlouton andKore with his songs and took his wife as a gift. But he did not benefit from the favor of having her brought back to life, because he forgot his instructions regarding her. He was so wise in charming and enchanting with his songs that beasts and birds and even sticks and stones followed along out of pleasure. He died when the Thracian andMacedonian women tore him apart because he did not give them a share in his rites (orgia), and perhaps for other reasons too. He says that having been made unhappy by a woman he became the enemy of the whole race of women. On fixed days he used to gather with a crowd of armedThracians andMacedonians inLibethra, in a large building well built for ceremonies. Whenever they went in to conduct their rites they left their weapons outside the doors. The women observed this and seizing the weapons fell upon them in rage at his disrespect, defeating them utterly. They dismemberedOrpheus and scattered his limbs in the sea. The country was then hit by a plague, because the women did not pay a penalty, and they received an oracle that they must find and bury the head ofOrpheus to obtain relief. And it was found by a fisherman at the outflow of theMelas river, still singing and having suffered nothing from the sea, nor any of the other disfigurements dead bodies suffer, but in the bloom of health and still with living blood despite the long time. They took it and buried it under a great tomb, fencing it around, and it was formerly a hero shrine but then it prevailed as a holy place. For it is honored with the same sacrifices and other rites with which the gods are honored. Entry is completely barred to women.

§ 46  The 46th, how whenTroy was besiegedPriam sent two sons ofHektor, Oxynios and Skamandros, toLydia for safety. WhenIlion was taken,Aineias the son ofAnchises andAphrodite, escaping the Achaians, first settledIda, but when Oxynios and Skamandros came fromLydia and claimed the lands aroundIlion as their ancestral portion, he took his fatherAnchises and as many of his fellow refugees as he could and set out toward the sunset in accordance with the injunction ofAphrodite. So he crossed theHellespont and when he came to theThermaic gulfAnchises died and he buried him, and he, when the locals asked him to be their king, did not accept. Then he came to the land of Brousias. He charmed everyone he met thanks to the favor ofAphrodite. There, when thecow that had followed him fromIda bellowed (for this was whatAphrodite ordained) he took command of the land the locals gave him and sacrificed thecow toAphrodite and built the city which then wasAineia from the founder but later by alteration of the name was calledAinos. So this is one account told by the Greeks among many others. The other, which makes him the origin of the Roman race and the founder ofAlba, where the oracle permits him to settle when he and his companions have sacrificed and after eating the food then eat the tables, this one is very old and stale.

§ 47  The 47th, howAlthaimenes of the lineage of theHerakleidai, the third generation fromTemenos, rebelled against his brothers (he was the youngest) and emigrated from thePeloponnese, taking an army ofDorians and some of thePelasgians. TheAthenians were then sending a colony withNeleus and the Kodrides. Similarly theLakedaimonians were sending out the people ofPhilonomos, led byDelphos and Polis. Each group askedAlthaimenes to join with them, theDorians to sail toCrete, since it was also Dorian, theIonians to cross over toAsia with their own kind. It seemed best to him to sail with neither side but, in accordance with an oracle he had been given, to attend toZeus and theSun, and from them to ask land to settle.Crete belongs toZeus, andRhodes toHelios. Setting forth from thePeloponnese he approachedCrete, and he left behind part of his people, the ones who wanted to settle there. He himself with most of theDorians sailed toRhodes. In ancient times an autochthonous people dwelt onRhodes, ruled by the lineage of theHeliads. ThePhoenicians forced them out and held the island. Expelling thePhoenicians, theCarians held it, when they also settled the other islands around theAegean. TheDorians sailed against them and destroyed theCarian force in a war. They built three cities,Lindos,Ialysos, andKameiros. So theDorians who began fromAlthaimenes ended up here. But the three cities, closing up into one large and prosperous one, gave it the same name as the island,Rhodes.

§ 48  The 48th tells aboutRomos andRomylos, diverging from other accounts in some things. He says thatAmolios plotted to kill his brotherNemetor and made his daughterIlia the priestess ofHestia so she would not have a child or husband.Ares had sex with her and when their intercourse was over he declared who he was and that she would bear two sons from him and she should be brave. ButAmolios put her in prison as she was giving birth, and gave the newborns to a certain shepherd he trusted to kill them. But he who took them did not accept having the pollution on his own hands and cast them loose in a boat to be carried down theTiber. After a long journey it was caught in the roots of a huge wild fig tree that grew where the bank jutted out. And there the boat dumped the children on the soft, sandy earth of the bank. Awolf that had just given birth came across the boys and straddling them offered her teats when they wailed and reached out their hands. She nursed them, and they relieved thewolf's distress.Phaistylos a shepherd saw this and thought it supernatural. He took the children and raised them as his own. At a later time he meets the shepherd who was to expose them and learns all about the children, and he tells them, now adolescents already, that they are of royal lineage and offspring ofAres, and what their mother and grandfather had suffered. They (both were handsome of appearance and of indomitable strength and brave in daring) immediately grabbed and concealed their daggers and left forAlba. MeetingAmolios, they exacted their punishment, killing him with swords, since it was unexpected and he took no precaution against a plot. They freed their mother from her bonds and were accepted by the crowd and reigned inAlba and the lands around it. When a great crowd of people came to join them, they emigrate fromAlba and built a city naming itRome, meaning having dominance over humanity. There is on display among the Romans as witness of what happened then a sacred wild fig tree by the forum, fenced round by the bronze latticework of the council house, and a hut in the sanctuary ofZeus, a testament to the way of life ofPhaistylos, which they preserve by incorporating new sticks and scraps.

§ 49  The 49th, how inAnaphe island (which is beyondThera island not far from theLakedaimonians) asanctuary of AigletanApollo has been established in which the locals sacrifice with taunts for the following reason. WhenIason was sailing home from theKolchians after kidnappingMedeia, a blinding storm surrounded them and they were at a loss. After those in theArgo had vowed many things and beseeched him,Apollo lifted his bow over them and dispelled all the fearful things, and a ray of light darted across, and the earth raised up an island from the depths. They came to shore there, and since it was seen by the sun then for the first time, they called itAnaphe from the circumstances. They founded ashrine of AigletanApollo, and they celebrated their unexpected escape from evils with other feasting.Medeia and the women with her, who were a wedding present fromIason, were playing drunkenly, and they mocked the heroes during the all-night feast. The heroes mocked the women in turn. From this, accordingly, the people ofAnaphe (for the island became settled) every year have a festival to AigletanApollo where they taunt each other in imitation of them.

§ 50  The 50th, howAlexandros the tyrant is killed byThebe his own wife. She was the daughter ofIason, who was then tyrant ofThessaly, and had three brothers,Tisiphonos,Lykophron, and Pytholaos, by the same mother but their father was Eualkes. ThisAlexandros ofPherai held them in suspicion and planned to kill them. Knowing thatThebe could not ignore the murder of her half-brothers, he decided to kill her too. While he was sober he hid the plot, but getting drunk (wine was his weakness) he let slip and uncovered it.Thebe learned of the plot. Giving her brothers daggers she urged them to ready themselves for the slaughter. DrowningAlexandros with much wine and putting him to bed she sent the guards from the bedroom on the pretext of using the bath. And she summoned her brothers for the deed. They were losing their nerve, particularly the youngest of them. She made various threats, including that she would wake upAlexandros right there and accuse them of murder, and blackmailed them to take courage. They killedAlexandros as he slept.Thebe called in the chiefs of the guards and partly by threats, partly wooing them with promises, she persuaded them to be complicit in her tyranny. So they permitted her, and she took the power while giving the name and prestige of the tyranny toTisiphonos the oldest of her brothers.

§ 51  This much from the Narrations ofKonon. He isAttic in his diction, graceful and seductive in his syntax and vocabulary, a bit compressed and in many places recondite.