XXXI. Μεσσάπιοι
[Ἱστορεῖ Νίκανδρος ἑτεροιουμένων β΄.]
Λυκάονος τοῦ αὐτόχθονος ἐγένοντο παῖδες Ἰάπυξ καὶ Δαύνιος καὶ Πευκέτιος. οὗτοι λαὸν ἀθροίσαντες ἀφίκοντο τῆς Ἰταλίας παρὰ τὴν Ἀδρίαν· ἐξελάσαντες δὲ τοὺς ἐνταυθοῖ οἰκοῦντας Αὔσονας αὐτοὶ καθιδρύθησαν.
31. The Messapians
[Nicander tells this story in Book 2 of the Heteroeumena.]
Lycaon, born from the earth, had sons, Iapyx, Daunius and Peucetius. They gathered a host and came to the part of Italy by the Adriatic; they drove out the Ausonians who lived there and settled there themselves.
ἦν δὲ τὸ πλέον αὐτοῖς τῆς στρατιᾶς ἔποικον, [Ἰλλυριοί.] ⟨οἱ⟩ Μεσσάπιοι. ἔπει⟨τα⟩ δὲ τὸν στρατὸν ἅμα καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐμέρισαν τριχῇ καὶ ὠνόμασαν ὡς ἑκάστοις ἡγεμόνος ⟨ὄνομα⟩ εἶχε Δαυνίους καὶ Πευκετίους καὶ Μεσσαπίους· ⟨καὶ⟩ τὸ μὲν ἀπὸ Τάραντος ἄχρι πρὸς τὴν ἐσχατιὰν τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐγένετο Μεσσαπίων, ἐν ᾗ πόλις ᾤκηται Βρεντέσιον, τὸ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ⟨χώραν ταύτην⟩ ἐντὸς τοῦ Τάραντος ἐγένετο Πευκετίων, ἐνδοτέρω δὲ τούτου †τῆς θαλάσσης ἐπέπλεον† Δαύνιοι, τὸ δὲ σύμπαν ἔθνος ὠνόμασαν Ἰαπύγων.
The greater part of their army were settlers, [Illyrians,] ⟨the⟩ Messapians. ⟨Then⟩ they divided the army, and the land with it, into three parts, and named them after the ⟨name⟩ of the leader each had, Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians; ⟨and⟩ the land from Taras to the furthest point of Italy became the Messapians', and in it lies the city of Brentesium (Brundisium); the land beside ⟨this region⟩, on the near side of Taras, became the Peucetians'; and further in than this †…† the Daunians; and the whole people they called Iapygians.
καὶ ἐγένετο ταῦτα πολὺ πρὸ τῆς Ἡρακλέους στρατείας. ἦν δὲ τοῖς τότε βίος ἀπὸ θρεμμάτων καὶ νομῆς. μυθολογοῦσιν οὖν ἐν τῇ Μεσσαπίων γῇ παρὰ τὰς λεγομένας ἱερὰς πέτρας φανῆναι νύμφας ἐπιμηλίδας χορευούσας, τοὺς δὲ παῖδας τῶν Μεσσαπίων καταλιπόντας τὰ ποίμνια καὶ θεωμένους εἰπεῖν, ὅτι βέλτιον αὐτοὶ χορεύουσιν.
This happened long before the expedition of Heracles. The people of that time lived from their flocks and from grazing. The story goes that in the land of the Messapians, by the place called the Sacred Rocks, the Epimelid nymphs (nymphs of the flocks) appeared dancing, and the boys of the Messapians left their flocks, watched them and said that they themselves danced better.
οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἤλγυνε τὰς νύμφας καὶ τὸ νεῖκος ἐπὶ πλέον ἐγένετο περὶ τῆς χορείας. οἱ δὲ παῖδες, ὅτι μὲν ἦν αὐτοῖς ἅμιλλα πρὸς δαίμονας ἠγνόουν, ἐχόρευον δ᾽ οἷα πρὸς ὁμηλίκας θνητὰς καὶ ὁ τρόπος αὐτοῖς τῆς ὀρχήσεως ἅτε ποιμένων ἄμουσος ἦν. ταῖς δὲ νύμφαις πᾶν ὅσον [ἢ] πλεῖστον ἐπέδωκεν εἰς κάλλος.
This remark stung the nymphs, and the rivalry over the dancing grew greater. The boys did not know that they were competing with divinities, and they danced as if against mortal girls of their own age; and their manner of dancing, being that of shepherds, was unrefined. For the nymphs, on the other hand, everything advanced as far as possible [or] towards beauty [?].
καὶ ἐπεκράτησαν χορεύουσαι τῶν παίδων καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς αὐτοὺς τάδε· “ὦ κοῦροι, τὸ νεῖκος ἤρασθε πρὸς ἐπιμηλίδας νύμφας, οὐκοῦν, ὦ ἄφρονες, νικώμενοι δώσετε δίκην.” καὶ οἱ παῖδες, ἵναπερ ἑστήκεσαν παρὰ τὸ ἱερὸν τῶν νυμφῶν, ἐγένοντο δένδρη. καὶ ἔτι νῦν ἀκούεται φωνὴ νυκτὸς ἐκ τῆς ὕλης οἷα θρηνούντων, ὁ δὲ τόπος ὀνομάζεται νυμφῶν τε καὶ παίδων.
They prevailed over the boys in the dancing and said to them: 'Young men, you have taken up a quarrel with the Epimelid nymphs; so, you fools, now that you are beaten, you shall pay the penalty.' And the boys, where they stood beside the sanctuary of the nymphs, became trees. And even now a voice is heard at night from the wood, as of people lamenting, and the place is called the place of the Nymphs and the Boys.
XXXII. Δρυόπη
[Ἱστορεῖ Νίκανδρος ἑτεροιουμένων α΄.]
Δρύοψ ἐγένετο Σπερχειοῦ παῖς τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ Πολυδώρης μιᾶς τῶν Δαναοῦ θυγατέρων. οὗτος ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν τῇ Οἴτῃ καὶ θυγάτηρ αὐτῷ μονογενὴς ἐγένετο Δρυόπη καὶ ἐποίμαινεν αὐτὴ τὰ πρόβατα τοῦ πατρός· ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὴν ἠγάπησαν ὑπερφυῶς ἁμαδρυάδες νύμφαι καὶ ἐποιήσαντο συμπαίκτριαν ἑαυτῶν, ἐδίδαξαν ὑμνεῖν θεοὺς καὶ χορεύειν.
32. Dryope
[Nicander tells this story in Book 1 of the Heteroeumena.]
Dryops was the son of the river Spercheus and of Polydore, one of the daughters of Danaus. He was king in the region of Oeta, and had an only daughter, Dryope, who herself tended her father's sheep; and since the hamadryad nymphs loved her exceedingly and made her their playmate, they taught her to sing hymns to the gods and to dance.
ταύτην ἰδὼν Ἀπόλλων χορεύουσαν ἐπεθύμησε μιχθῆναι. καὶ ἐγένετο πρῶτα μὲν κλεμμύς, ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἡ Δρυόπη γέλωτα μετὰ τῶν νυμφῶν καὶ παίγνιον ἐποιήσατο τὴν κλεμμὺν καὶ αὐτὴν ἐνέθετο εἰς τοὺς κόλπους, μεταβαλὼν ἀντὶ τῆς κλεμμύος ἐγένετο δράκων.
Apollo saw her dancing and desired to lie with her. First he became a tortoise; and when Dryope, with the nymphs, made a joke and a plaything of the tortoise and put it in her lap, he changed and became a snake instead of the tortoise.
καὶ αὐτὴν κατέλιπον αἱ νύμφαι πτοηθεῖσαι· Ἀπόλλων δὲ Δρυόπῃ μίγνυται. ἡ δὲ ᾤχετο φεύγουσα περίφοβος εἰς τὰ οἰκέα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ οὐδὲν ἔφρασε πρὸς τοὺς γονεῖς. ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἔγημεν αὐτὴν ὕστερον Ἀνδραίμων ὁ Ὀξύλου, γεννᾷ παῖδα ἐξ Ἀπόλλωνος Ἄμφισσον. οὗτος ἐπεὶ τάχιστα ἠνδρώθη, ἀνὴρ ἐγένετο πάντων κρατῶν καὶ ἔκτισε παρὰ τὴν Οἴτην πόλιν ὁμώνυμον τῷ ὄρει καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ τόπων ἐβασίλευεν.
The nymphs, frightened, left her; and Apollo lay with Dryope. She ran off in terror to her father's house and said nothing to her parents. When Andraemon, the son of Oxylus, later married her, she bore a son to Apollo, Amphissus. As soon as he reached manhood, he became a man who surpassed everyone, founded beside Oeta a city named after the mountain [?] and was king of the places there.
ἱδρύσατο δὲ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερὸν ἐν τῇ Δρυοπίδι. καὶ εἰς τοῦτο παροῦσαν τὸ ἱερὸν Δρυόπην ἥρπασαν ἁμαδρυάδες νύμφαι κατ᾽ εὐμένειαν καὶ αὐτὴν μὲν ἀπέκρυψαν εἰς τὴν ὕλην, ἀντὶ δ᾽ ἐκείνης αἴγειρον ἀνέφηναν ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ παρὰ τὴν αἴγειρον ὕδωρ ἀνέρρηξαν, Δρυόπη δὲ μετέβαλε καὶ ἀντὶ θνητῆς ἐγένετο νύμφη.
He also founded a sanctuary of Apollo in Dryopis. Dryope came to this sanctuary, and the hamadryad nymphs, out of goodwill, carried her off and hid her in the wood, and in her place they made a poplar appear out of the earth and made water burst forth beside the poplar; and Dryope was changed and became a nymph instead of a mortal.
Ἄμφισσος δὲ ἀντὶ τῆς πρὸς τὴν μητέρα χάριτος ἱερὸν ἱδρύσατο νυμφῶν καὶ πρῶτος ἀγῶνα ἐπετέλεσε δρόμου· καὶ ἔτι νῦν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι τὸν ἀγῶνα διαφυλάσσουσι τοῦτον· γυναικὶ δ᾽ οὐχ ὅσιον παρατυχεῖν, ὅτι Δρυόπην ἀφανισθεῖσαν ὑπὸ νυμφῶν δύο παρθένοι τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις ἐδήλωσαν, πρὸς ἃς ἐχαλέπηναν αἱ νύμφαι καὶ αὐτὰς ἀντὶ παρθένων ἐλάτας ἐποίησαν.
Amphissus, in gratitude for what had been done for his mother, founded a sanctuary of the nymphs and was the first to hold a foot-race; and the local people still keep up this contest. It is not lawful for a woman to be present, because two maidens told the local people that Dryope had been made to vanish by the nymphs, and the nymphs were angry with them and made them fir-trees instead of maidens.
XXXIII. Ἀλκμήνη
[Ἱστορεῖ Φερεκύδης.]
Μετὰ τὸν Ἡρακλέους ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανισμὸν Εὐρυσθεὺς ἐξελάσας αὐτοῦ ⟨τοὺς παῖδας⟩ τῆς πατρίδος αὐτὸς ἐβασίλευεν. οἱ δὲ Ἡρακλεῖδαι καταφυγόντες πρὸς Δημοφῶντα τὸν Θησέως ᾤκησαν τὴν τετράπολιν τῆς Ἀττικῆς· Εὐρυσθεὺς δὲ πέμψας ἄγγελον εἰς Ἀθήνας πόλεμον προέλεγε τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, εἰ μὴ τοὺς Ἡρακλείδας ἐξελάσωσιν.
33. Alcmena
[Pherecydes tells this story.]
After Heracles had vanished from among men, Eurystheus drove ⟨his children⟩ out of their homeland and became king himself. The Heraclidae took refuge with Demophon, the son of Theseus, and settled in the Tetrapolis of Attica; Eurystheus sent a herald to Athens and declared war on the Athenians unless they drove out the Heraclidae.
οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἀθηναῖοι τὸν πόλεμον οὐκ ἀπολέγονται, Εὐρυσθεὺς δ᾽ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν καὶ παραταξάμενος αὐτὸς μὲν ἀποθνήσκει μαχόμενος, ἡ δὲ πληθὺς ἐτράπη τῶν Ἀργείων. Ὕλλος δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἡρακλεῖδαι καὶ ⟨οἱ⟩ σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀποθανόντος Εὐρυσθέως κατοικίζονται πάλιν ἐν Θήβαις.
The Athenians did not refuse the war, and Eurystheus invaded Attica and drew up his army for battle; he himself was killed fighting, and the mass of the Argives was routed. After the death of Eurystheus, Hyllus and the other Heraclidae and ⟨those⟩ with them settled again in Thebes.
ἐν δὲ τούτῳ καὶ Ἀλκμήνη κατὰ γῆρας ἀποθνήσκει καὶ αὐτὴν ἐξεκόμισαν Ἡρακλεῖδαι· ᾤκουν δὲ παρὰ τὰς Ἠλέκτρας πύλας, ὅθιπερ καὶ Ἡρακλῆς ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ὥρᾳ. Ζεὺς δὲ Ἑρμῆν πέμπει κελεύων Ἀλκμήνην ἐκκλέψαι καὶ ἀπενεγκεῖν εἰς μακάρων νήσους καὶ δοῦναι Ῥαδαμάνθυι γυναῖκα· Ἑρμῆς δὲ πεισθεὶς Ἀλκμήνην ἐκκλέπτει, λίθον δ᾽ ἀντ᾽ αὐτῆς ἐντίθησιν εἰς τὴν σορόν.
Meanwhile Alcmena died of old age, and the Heraclidae carried her out for burial; they lived by the Electran Gates, where Heracles too had lived in his early years [?]. Zeus sent Hermes, ordering him to steal Alcmena away, carry her to the Islands of the Blessed and give her as wife to Rhadamanthys; and Hermes obeyed, stole Alcmena away and put a stone in the coffin in her place.
οἱ δ᾽ Ἡρακλεῖδαι ἐπεὶ τὴν λάρνακα φέροντες ἐβαρύνοντο, κατατίθενται καὶ ἀποκαλύψαντες εὗρον ἀντὶ τῆς Ἀλκμήνης λίθον καὶ αὐτὸν ἐξελόντες ἔστησαν ἐν τῷ ἄλσει, ὅθιπέρ ἐστι τὸ ἡρῷον τὸ τῆς Ἀλκμήνης ἐν Θήβῃσιν.
The Heraclidae, finding the coffin heavy as they carried it, set it down, uncovered it and found a stone instead of Alcmena; they took it out and set it up in the grove where the hero-shrine of Alcmena is at Thebes.
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