XX. Κλεῖνις
[Ἱστορεῖ Βοῖος ⟨ὀρνιθογονίας⟩ β΄ καὶ Σιμμίας ὁ Ῥόδιος Ἀπόλλωνι.]
Τῆς λεγομένης Μεσοποταμίας περὶ Βαβυλῶνα πόλιν ᾤκησεν ἀνὴρ θεοφιλὴς καὶ πλούσιος ὄνομα Κλεῖνις, ἔχων πολλοὺς βοῦς καὶ ὄνους καὶ πρόβατα. τοῦτον ἐκτόπως ἐφίλησαν Ἀπόλλων καὶ Ἄρτεμις καὶ πλειστάκις ὁμοῦ τοῖς θεοῖς τούτοις ἀφίκετο πρὸς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τοῦ ἐν Ὑπερβορέοις καὶ εἶδεν ἱερουργουμένας αὐτῷ τὰς θυσίας τῶν ὄνων.
20. Clinis
[Boeus tells this story in Book 2 ⟨of the Ornithogonia⟩, and Simmias of Rhodes in his Apollo.]
In what is called Mesopotamia, near the city of Babylon, there lived a man named Clinis, dear to the gods and rich, with many cattle, asses and sheep. Apollo and Artemis loved him exceedingly, and very often he went together with these gods to the temple of Apollo among the Hyperboreans and saw the sacrifices of asses that were offered to him there.
παραγενόμενος δὲ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐβούλετό ⟨ποτε⟩ καθάπερ ἐν Ὑπερβορέοις ἱερεύειν τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὴν ἑκατόμβην τῶν ὄνων ἔστησε παρὰ τὸν βωμόν· Ἀπόλλων δὲ παραγενόμενος ἠπείλησεν ἀποκτενεῖν αὐτόν, εἰ μὴ παύσαιτο τῆς θυσίας ταύτης καὶ κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες αἶγας αὐτῷ καὶ πρόβατα καὶ βοῦς ἱερεύσειεν.
On his return to Babylon he too wanted ⟨one day⟩ to sacrifice to the god as the Hyperboreans did, and he set a hecatomb of asses beside the altar; but Apollo appeared and threatened to kill him if he did not stop this sacrifice and offer him goats, sheep and cattle in the usual way.
τὴν γὰρ τῶν ὄνων θυσίαν ἐν Ὑπερβορέοις ⟨μόνοις⟩ ἀγομένην αὐτῷ καθ’ ἡδονὴν εἶναι. καὶ ὁ Κλεῖνις δείσας τὴν ἀπειλὴν ἀπῆγεν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ τοὺς ὄνους καὶ τὸν λόγον, ὃν ἤκουσεν, ἐξέφερε πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας. ἦσαν δὲ αὐτῷ παῖδες Λύκιος καὶ Ὀρτύγιος καὶ Ἅρπασος καὶ θυγάτηρ Ἀρτεμίχη [παῖδες] ἐκ μητρὸς Ἅρπης.
For the sacrifice of asses, when performed among the Hyperboreans ⟨alone⟩, was pleasing to him. Clinis, frightened by the threat, led the asses away from the altar and reported what he had heard to his children. He had sons, Lycius, Ortygius and Harpasus, and a daughter, Artemiche, [children] by their mother Harpe.
Λύκιος μὲν οὖν καὶ Ἅρπασος ἀκούσαντες ἐκέλευον ἱερεύειν τοὺς ὄνους καὶ τέρπεσθαι τῇ ἑορτῇ, Ὀρτύγιος δὲ καὶ Ἀρτεμίχη πείθεσθαι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι προσέτασσον καὶ δὴ τούτοις ὁ Κλεῖνις ἐπείθετο μᾶλλον. Ἅρπασος δὲ καὶ Λύκιος κατὰ βίαν ἐκλύσαντες τῶν δεσμῶν τοὺς ὄνους ἀπήλαυνον παρὰ τὸν βωμόν.
When they heard it, Lycius and Harpasus told him to sacrifice the asses and enjoy the festival, but Ortygius and Artemiche urged him to obey Apollo, and Clinis was more inclined to listen to them [?]. But Harpasus and Lycius loosed the asses from their tethers by force and drove them to the altar.
καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐνέβαλε τοῖς ὄνοις λύσσαν· οἱ δὲ τούς τε παῖδας καὶ τοὺς θέραπας αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν Κλεῖνιν κατήσθιον. οἱ δὲ ἀπολλύμενοι τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπεβοῶντο. καὶ Ἅρπην μὲν καὶ Ἅρπασον ᾤκτειρε Ποσειδῶν καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς ὄρνιθας τῷ αὐτῷ λεγομένους ὀνόματι, Λητὼ δὲ καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἔγνωσαν ἀνασῶσαι τὸν Κλεῖνιν καὶ τὴν Ἀρτεμίχην καὶ τὸν Ὀρτύγιον, ὅτι οὐκ αἴτιοι τῶν ἀσεβημάτων ἦσαν·
The god sent madness into the asses, and they devoured the children, their servants and Clinis. As they were dying, they called upon the gods. Poseidon took pity on Harpe and Harpasus and made them into birds called by the same names; and Leto and Artemis decided to save Clinis, Artemiche and Ortygius, because they were not guilty of the impious acts.
Ἀπόλλων δὲ Λητοῖ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι δίδωσι τὴν χάριν καὶ πρόσθεν ἢ ἀποθανεῖν μεταβαλὼν ἐποίησε πάντας ὄρνιθας. καὶ ἐγένετο Κλεῖνις μὲν ὑψιαίετος· οὗτός ἐστι δεύτερος ὀρνίθων μετὰ τὸν αἰετόν, διαγνῶναι δ’ οὐ χαλεπός· ὁ μὲν γάρ ἐστι νεβροφόνος ἐρεμνὸς μέγας τε καὶ ἄλκιμος, ὁ δὲ ἀετὸς μελάντερος καὶ ἐλάσσων ἐκείνου·
Apollo granted this favour to Leto and Artemis, and before they died he changed them all and made them birds. Clinis became a hypsiaietos (high-flying eagle) [?]; it is second among the birds after the eagle, but not hard to tell apart: for the one is a fawn-killer, dark, large and strong, while the other is blacker and smaller than that one [?].
Λύκιος δὲ μεταβαλὼν ἐγένετο κόραξ τὸ χρῶμα λευκός, αὖτις δὲ βουλῇ Ἀπόλλωνος ἐγένετο κυάνεος, ὅτι πρῶτος ἤγγειλε Κορωνίδα τὴν Φλεγύου θυγατέρα γαμηθεῖσαν Ἀλκυονεῖ.
Lycius was changed and became a raven, white in colour, but later, by the will of Apollo, he was made black, because he was the first to bring the news that Coronis, the daughter of Phlegyas, had married Alcyoneus.
Ἀρτεμίχη δ’ ἐγένετο πίφιγξ, θεοῖς τε καὶ ἀνθρώποις προσφιλὴς ὄρνις, Ὀρτύγιος δὲ αἰγίθαλλος, ὅτι τὸν πατέρα Κλεῖνιν ἀνέπειθεν αἶγας ἀντὶ τῶν ὄνων ἱερεύειν Ἀπόλλωνι.
Artemiche became a piphinx, a bird dear to gods and men, and Ortygius a titmouse (aigithallos), because he urged his father Clinis to sacrifice goats (aiges) to Apollo instead of asses.
XXI. Πολυφόντη
[Ἱστορεῖ Βοῖος ὀρνιθογονίας β΄.]
Τερείνης τῆς Στρύμονος καὶ Ἄρεως ἐγένετο θυγάτηρ Θρᾷσσα. ταύτην δ’ ἔγημεν Ἱππόνους ὁ Τριβαλλοῦ παῖς καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο θυγάτηρ ὄνομα Πολυφόντη. αὕτη τὰ μὲν ἔργα τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἐξύβρισεν, ἐλθοῦσα δ’ εἰς τὸ ὄρος Ἀρτέμιδος ἐγένετο συμπαίκτρια καὶ συνήθης.
21. Polyphonte
[Boeus tells this story in Book 2 of the Ornithogonia.]
Tereine, the daughter of Strymon, and Ares had a daughter, Thrassa. She was married by Hipponous, the son of Triballus, and they had a daughter named Polyphonte. She treated the works of Aphrodite with contempt, went to the mountain and became the playmate and companion of Artemis.
Ἀφροδίτη δέ, ὅτι αὐτῆς ἠτίμασε τὰ ἔργα, ἔρωτα ἐνέβαλεν ἄρκτου καὶ ἐξέμηνεν αὐτήν· ἡ δὲ κατὰ δαίμονα οἰστρήσασα ἐμίγνυτο τῷ ἄρκτῳ. καὶ αὐτὴν ἡ Ἄρτεμις ἰδοῦσα ἐκτόπως ἐμίσησε καὶ πάντα εἰς αὐτὴν ἔτρεψε τὰ θηρία.
Aphrodite, because she had slighted her works, cast into her a passion for a bear and drove her mad; and she, stung to frenzy by a divinity, lay with the bear. When Artemis saw her, she hated her exceedingly and turned all the wild beasts against her.
Πολυφόντη δὲ δείσασα μὴ θῆρες αὐτὴν διεργάσωνται φεύγουσα ἐξίκετο εἰς τὰ οἰκία τοῦ πατρός· καὶ ἔτεκε δύο παῖδας Ἄγριον καὶ Ὄρειον, μεγίστους ⟨ὄντας⟩ καὶ δύναμιν ἔχοντας ἄπλετον. οὗτοι ἐτίμων οὔτε θεὸν οὔτε ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ’ ἐξύβριζον εἰς πάντας καὶ εἴ τῳ ξένῳ ἐντύχοιεν ἀπάγοντες εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα κατήσθιον.
Polyphonte, afraid that the beasts would kill her, fled and came to her father's house; and she bore two sons, Agrius and Oreius, ⟨who were⟩ huge and had boundless strength. They honoured neither god nor man, but treated everyone with outrage, and whenever they met a stranger they would carry him off to their home and eat him.
Ζεὺς δὲ μισήσας αὐτοὺς ἀπέστειλεν Ἑρμῆν, ὅπως ἥν ἐθέλει δίκην αὐτοῖς ἐπιβάλῃ· καὶ ὁ μὲν Ἑρμῆς ἐβούλευσεν ἀποκόψαι τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς χεῖρας· Ἄρης δ’, ἐπεὶ τὸ γένος εἰς αὐτὸν ἀνέφερε Πολυφόντη. τούτου μὲν ἐξείλετο τοῦ μόρου τοὺς παῖδας. ἤλλαξε δὲ μετὰ Ἑρμοῦ τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν εἰς ὄρνιθας.
Zeus hated them and sent Hermes to inflict on them whatever punishment he wished; and Hermes decided to cut off their feet and their hands. But Ares, because Polyphonte traced her descent back to him, rescued the boys from this fate, and together with Hermes he changed their nature into birds.
καὶ ἐγένετο Πολυφόντη μὲν στὺξ φθεγγομένη νυκτὸς ἄτερ σίτου καὶ ποτοῦ, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἴσχουσα κάτω, τοὺς δὲ πόδας ἄκρους ἄνω, πολέμου καὶ στάσεως ἀνθρώποις ἄγγελος· Ὄρειος δ’ ἐγένετο λαγῶς, ὄρνις ἐπ’ οὐδενὶ φαινόμενος ἀγαθῷ· Ἄγριος δὲ μετέβαλεν εἰς γῦπα, πάντων ὀρνίθων ἔχθιστον θεοῖς τε καὶ ἀνθρώποις· καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἵμερον αὐτῷ κρέως καὶ αἵματος ἐνέβαλον ἀνθρωπείου.
Polyphonte became a styx, which cries at night, without food or drink, holding its head downwards and the tips of its feet upwards, a messenger of war and civil strife to men; Oreius became a lagos, a bird whose appearance bodes no good; Agrius was changed into a vulture, of all birds the most hateful to gods and men; and they gave him an everlasting craving for human flesh and blood.
τὴν δὲ θεράπαιναν αὐτῶν ἐποίησαν ἴπνην. ἡ δὲ μεταβάλλουσα τὴν φύσιν ηὔξατο θεοῖς μὴ κακὸς ὄρνις ἀνθρώποις γενέσθαι· καὶ αὐτῆς ὑπήκουσαν Ἑρμῆς καὶ Ἄρης, ἐπεὶ κατ’ ἀνάγκας ἔδρασεν ἃ προσέτασσον οἱ δεσπόται· καὶ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸς οὗτος ὁ ὄρνις ἐπὶ θήραν ἰόντι καὶ δαῖτα.
Their servant-woman they made an ipne. As she was changing her nature, she prayed to the gods that she might not become a bird of ill omen for men; and Hermes and Ares listened to her, because she had done under compulsion what her masters ordered; and this bird is a good sign for one going out to hunt or to a feast.
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