Δαίδαλος ἦν τὸ μὲν γένος Ἀθηναῖος, εἷς τῶν Ἐρεχθειδῶν ὀνομαζόμενος· ἦν γὰρ υἱὸς Μητίονος τοῦ Εὐπαλάμου τοῦ Ἐρεχθέως· φύσει δὲ πολὺ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας ὑπεραίρων ἐζήλωσε τά τε περὶ τὴν τεκτονικὴν τέχνην καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀγαλμάτων κατασκευὴν καὶ λιθουργίαν. εὑρετὴς δὲ γενόμενος πολλῶν τῶν συνεργούντων εἰς τὴν τέχνην, κατεσκεύασεν ἔργα θαυμαζόμενα κατὰ πολλοὺς τόπους τῆς οἰκουμένης.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀγαλμάτων κατασκευὴν τοσοῦτο τῶν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων διήνεγκεν ὥστε τοὺς μεταγενεστέρους μυθολογῆσαι περὶ αὐτοῦ διότι τὰ κατασκευαζόμενα τῶν ἀγαλμάτων ὁμοιότατα τοῖς ἐμψύχοις ὑπάρχει· βλέπειν τε γὰρ αὐτὰ καὶ περιπατεῖν, καὶ καθόλου τηρεῖν τὴν τοῦ ὅλου σώματος διάθεσιν, ὥστε δοκεῖν εἶναι τὸ κατασκευασθὲν ἔμψυχον ζῷον.
πρῶτος δʼ ὀμματώσας καὶ διαβεβηκότα τὰ σκέλη ποιήσας, ἔτι δὲ τὰς χεῖρας διατεταμένας ποιῶν, εἰκότως ἐθαυμάζετο παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· οἱ γὰρ πρὸ τούτου τεχνῖται κατεσκεύαζον τὰ ἀγάλματα τοῖς μὲν ὄμμασι μεμυκότα, τὰς δὲ χεῖρας ἔχοντα καθειμένας καὶ ταῖς πλευραῖς κεκολλημένας.
ὁ δʼ οὖν Δαίδαλος κατὰ τὴν φιλοτεχνίαν θαυμαζόμενος ἔφυγεν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος, καταδικασθεὶς ἐπὶ φόνῳ διὰ τοιαύτας αἰτίας. τῆς ἀδελφῆς τῆς Δαιδάλου γενόμενος υἱὸς Τάλως ἐπαιδεύετο παρὰ Δαιδάλῳ, παῖς ὢν τὴν ἡλικίαν·
Daedalus was an Athenian by birth and was known as one of the clan named Erechthids, since he was the son of Metion, the son of Eupalamus, the son of Erechtheus. In natural ability he towered far above all other men and cultivated the building art, the making of statues, and the working of stone. He was also the inventor of many devices which contributed to the advancement of his art and built works in many regions of the inhabited world which arouse the wonder of men. In the carving of his statues he so far excelled all other men that later generations invented the story about him that the statues of his making were quite like their living models; they could see, they said, and walk and, in a word, preserved so well the characteristics of the entire body that the beholder thought that the image made by him was a being endowed with life. And since he was the first to represent the open eye and to fashion the legs separated in a stride and the arms and hands as extended, it was a natural thing that he should have received the admiration of mankind; for the artists before his time had carved their statues with the eyes closed and the arms and hands hanging and attached to the sides.
But though Daedalus was an object of admiration because of his technical skill, yet he had to flee from his native land, since he had been condemned for murder for the following reason. Talos, a son of the sister of Daedalus, was receiving his education in the home of Daedalus, while he was still a lad in years.
εὐφυέστερος δʼ ὢν τοῦ διδασκάλου τόν τε κεραμευτικὸν τροχὸν εὗρε καὶ σιαγόνι περιτυχὼν ὄφεως, καὶ ταύτῃ ξυλήφιον μικρὸν διαπρίσας, ἐμιμήσατο τὴν τραχύτητα τῶν ὀδόντων· διόπερ κατασκευασάμενος ἐκ σιδήρου πρίονα, καὶ διὰ τούτου πρίζων τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις ξυλίνην ὕλην, ἔδοξεν εὔχρηστον εὑρηκέναι μέγα πρὸς τὴν τεκτονικὴν τέχνην. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸν τόρνον εὑρὼν καὶ ἕτερά τινα φιλοτεχνήματα,
δόξαν ἀπηνέγκατο μεγάλην. ὁ δὲ Δαίδαλος φθονήσας τῷ παιδί, καὶ νομίζων αὐτὸν πολὺ τῇ δόξῃ προέξειν τοῦ διδασκάλου, τὸν παῖδα ἐδολοφόνησε. θάπτων δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ περικατάληπτος γενόμενος, ἐπηρωτήθη τίνα θάπτει, καὶ ἔφησεν ὄφιν καταχωννύειν. θαυμάσαι δʼ ἄν τις τὸ παράδοξον, ὅτι διὰ τὸ ζῷον ἐξ οὗ τοῦ πρίονος ἐνεθυμήθη τὴν κατασκευήν, διὰ τούτου καὶ τοῦ φόνου τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν συνέβη γενέσθαι.
κατηγορηθεὶς δὲ καὶ καταδικασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀρεοπαγιτῶν φόνου, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔφυγεν εἰς ἕνα τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἀττικὴν δήμων, ἐν ᾧ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἀπʼ ἐκείνου Δαιδαλίδας ὀνομασθῆναι.
But being more gifted than his teacher he invented the potter’s wheel, and then, when once he had come by chance upon a jawbone of a snake and with it had sawn through a small piece of wood, he tried to imitate the jaggedness of the serpent’s teeth. Consequently he fashioned a saw out of iron, by means of which he would saw the lumber which he used in his work, and for this accomplishment he gained the reputation of having discovered a device which would be of great service to the art of building. He likewise discovered also the tool for describing a circle and certain other cunningly contrived devices whereby he gained for himself great fame. But Daedalus, becoming jealous of the youth and feeling that his fame was going to rise far above that of his teacher, treacherously slew the youth. And being detected in the act of burying him, he was asked what he was burying, whereupon he replied, “I am inhuming a snake.” Here a man may well wonder at the strange happening, that the same animal that led to the thought of devising the saw should also have been the means through which the murder came to be discovered. And Daedalus, having been accused and adjudged guilty of murder by the court of the Areopagites, at first fled to one of the demes of Attica, the inhabitants of which, we are told, were named after him Daedalidae.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα διαδρὰς εἰς Κρήτην, καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ δόξαν θαυμαζόμενος, φίλος ἐγένετο Μίνωος τοῦ βασιλέως. κατὰ δὲ τὸν παραδεδομένον μῦθον Πασιφάης τῆς Μίνωος γυναικὸς ἐρασθείσης τοῦ ταύρου, μηχάνημα ποιήσας ὡμοιωμένον βοΐ συνήργησε τῇ Πασιφάῃ πρὸς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν.
μυθολογοῦσι γὰρ πρὸ τούτων τῶν χρόνων Μίνωα κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν συνήθως καθιεροῦν τὸν κάλλιστον τῶν γινομένων ταύρων τῷ Ποσειδῶνι καὶ θύειν τοῦτον τῷ θεῷ· γενομένου δὲ τότε ταύρου κάλλει διαφέροντος ἕτερον τῶν ἡττόνων ταύρων θῦσαι· τὸν δὲ Ποσειδῶνα μηνίσαντα τῷ Μίνῳ ποιῆσαι τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ Πασιφάην ἐρασθῆναι τοῦ ταύρου.
διὰ δὲ τῆς τούτου φιλοτεχνίας τὴν Πασιφάην μιγεῖσαν τῷ ταύρῳ γεννῆσαι τὸν μυθολογούμενον Μινώταυρον. τοῦτον δέ φασι διφυῆ γεγονέναι, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἀνώτερα μέρη τοῦ σώματος ἄχρι τῶν ὤμων ἔχειν ταύρου, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἀνθρώπου.
τῷ δὲ τέρατι τούτῳ πρὸς διατροφὴν λέγεται κατασκευάσαι Δαίδαλον λαβύρινθον, τὰς διεξόδους σκολιὰς ἔχοντα καὶ τοῖς ἀπείροις δυσευρέτους, ἐν ᾧ τρεφόμενον τὸν Μινώταυρον τοὺς ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἀποστελλομένους ἑπτὰ κόρους καὶ κόρας κατεσθίειν, περὶ ὧν προειρήκαμεν.
τὸν οὖν Δαίδαλον πυθόμενον τὴν ἀπειλὴν τοῦ Μίνωος διὰ τὴν κατασκευὴν τῆς βοός φασι φοβηθέντα τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης ἐκπλεῦσαι, συνεργούσης τῆς Πασιφάης καὶ πλοῖον δούσης πρὸς τὸν ἔκπλουν.
Afterwards Daedalus made his escape out of Attica to Crete, where, being admired because of the fame of his art, he became a friend of Minos who was king there. Now according to the myth which has been handed down to us Pasiphaê, the wife of Minos, became enamoured of the bull, and Daedalus, by fashioning a contrivance in the shape of a cow, assisted Pasiphaê to gratify her passion. In explanation of this the myths offer the following account: Before this time it had been the custom of Minos annually to dedicate to Poseidon the fairest bull born in his herds and to sacrifice it to the god; but at the time in question there was born a bull of extraordinary beauty and he sacrificed another from among those which were inferior, whereupon Poseidon, becoming angry at Minos, caused his wife Pasiphaê to become enamoured of the bull. And by means of the ingenuity of Daedalus Pasiphaê had intercourse with the bull and gave birth to the Minotaur, famed in the myth. This creature, they say, was of double form, the upper parts of the body as far as the shoulders being those of a bull and the remaining parts those of a man. As a place in which to keep this monstrous thing Daedalus, the story goes, built a labyrinth, the passage-ways of which were so winding that those unfamiliar with them had difficulty in making their way out; in this labyrinth the Minotaur was maintained and here it devoured the seven youths and seven maidens which were sent to it from Athens, as we have already related.
But Daedalus, they say, on learning that Minos had made threats against him because he had fashioned the cow, became fearful of the anger of the king and departed from Crete, Pasiphaê helping him and providing a vessel for his escape.
μετὰ δὲ τούτου τὸν υἱὸν Ἴκαρον φυγόντα κατενεχθῆναι πρός τινα νῆσον πελαγίαν, πρὸς ἣν τὸν Ἴκαρον παραβόλως ἀποβαίνοντα πεσεῖν εἰς θάλατταν καὶ τελευτῆσαι, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τὸ πέλαγος Ἰκάριον ὀνομασθῆναι καὶ τὴν νῆσον Ἰκαρίαν κληθῆναι. τὸν δὲ Δαίδαλον ἐκ τῆς νήσου ταύτης ἐκπλεύσαντα κατενεχθῆναι τῆς Σικελίας πρὸς χώραν ἧς βασιλεύοντα Κώκαλον ἀναλαβεῖν τὸν Δαίδαλον, καὶ διὰ τὴν εὐφυΐαν καὶ δόξαν ποιήσασθαι φίλον ἐπὶ πλέον.
τινὲς δὲ μυθολογοῦσι, κατὰ τὴν Κρήτην ἔτι Δαιδάλου διατρίβοντος καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς Πασιφάης κρυπτομένου, Μίνωα μὲν τὸν βασιλέα βουλόμενον τιμωρίας ἀξιῶσαι τὸν Δαίδαλον, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον εὑρεῖν, τά τε πλοῖα πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὴν νῆσον ἐρευνᾶν καὶ χρημάτων πλῆθος ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι δώσειν τῷ τὸν Δαίδαλον ἀνευρόντι.
ἐνταῦθα τὸν Δαίδαλον ἀπογνόντα τὸν διὰ τῶν πλοίων δρασμόν, κατασκευάσαι παραδόξως πτέρυγας πεφιλοτεχνημένας καὶ διὰ κηροῦ θαυμαστῶς ἠσκημένας· ἐπιθέντα δὲ ταύτας τῷ τε τοῦ υἱοῦ σώματι καὶ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ παραδόξως ἐκπετασθῆναι καὶ διαδρᾶναι τὸ πλησίον τῆς Κρήτης νήσου πέλαγος.
καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἴκαρον διὰ τὴν νεότητα μετέωρον τὴν πτῆσιν ποιούμενον πεσεῖν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος, τακέντος διὰ τὸν ἥλιον τοῦ συνέχοντος τὰς πτέρυγας κηροῦ, αὐτὸν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλατταν πετόμενον καὶ παρʼ ἕκαστον τέγγοντα τὰς πτέρυγας διασωθῆναι παραδόξως εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων εἰ καὶ παράδοξός ἐστιν ὁ μῦθος, ὅμως ἐκρίναμεν μὴ παραλιπεῖν αὐτόν.
With him fled also his son Icarus and they put in at a certain island which lay in the open sea. But when Icarus was disembarking onto the island in a reckless manner, he fell into the sea and perished, and in memory of him the sea was named the Icarian and the island was called Icaria. Daedalus, however, sailing away from this island, landed in Sicily near the territory over which Cocalus reigned as king, who courteously received Daedalus and because of his genius and his renown made him his close friend.
But certain writers of myths have the following account: Daedalus remained a while longer in Crete, being kept hidden by Pasiphaê, and king Minos, desiring to wreak vengeance upon him and yet being unable to find him, caused all the boats which were on the island to be searched and announced that he would give a great sum of money to the man who should discover Daedalus. Thereupon Daedalus, despairing of making his escape by any boat, fashioned with amazing ingenuity wings which were cleverly designed and marvellously fitted together with wax; and fastening these on his son’s body and his own he spread them out for flight, to the astonishment of all, and made his escape over the open sea which lies near the island of Crete. As for Icarus, because of the ignorance of youth he made his flight too far aloft and fell into the sea when the wax which held the wings together was melted by the sun, whereas Daedalus, by flying close to the sea and repeatedly wetting the wings, made his way in safety, marvellous to relate, to Sicily. Now as for these matters, even though the myth is a tale of marvel, we none the less have thought it best not to leave it unmentioned.
Δαίδαλος δὲ παρά τε τῷ Κωκάλῳ καὶ τοῖς Σικανοῖς διέτριψε πλείω χρόνον, θαυμαζόμενος ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὴν τέχνην ὑπερβολῇ. κατεσκεύασε δʼ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ταύτῃ τινὰ τῶν ἔργων ἃ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν διαμένει. πλησίον μὲν γὰρ τῆς Μεγαρίδος φιλοτέχνως ἐποίησε τὴν ὀνομαζομένην κολυμβήθραν, ἐξ ἧς μέγας ποταμὸς εἰς τὴν πλησίον θάλατταν ἐξερεύγεται καλούμενος Ἀλαβών.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν νῦν Ἀκραγαντίνην ἐν τῷ Καμικῷ καλουμένῳ πόλιν ἐπὶ πέτρας οὖσαν πασῶν ὀχυρωτάτην κατεσκεύασε καὶ παντελῶς ἐκ βίας ἀνάλωτον· στενὴν γὰρ καὶ σκολιὰν τὴν ἀνάβασιν αὐτῆς φιλοτεχνήσας ἐποίησε δύνασθαι διὰ τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων ἀνθρώπων φυλάττεσθαι. διόπερ ὁ Κώκαλος ἐν ταύτῃ ποιήσας τὰ βασίλεια καὶ τὰ χρήματα κατατιθέμενος ἀνάλωτον ἔσχεν αὐτὴν διὰ τῆς ἐπινοίας τοῦ τεχνίτου.
τρίτον δὲ σπήλαιον κατὰ τὴν Σελινουντίαν χώραν κατεσκεύασεν, ἐν ᾧ τὴν ἀτμίδα τοῦ κατʼ αὐτὴν πυρὸς οὕτως εὐστόχως ἐξέλαβεν ὥστε διὰ τὴν μαλακότητα τῆς θερμασίας ἐξιδροῦν λεληθότως καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν τοὺς ἐνδιατρίβοντας καὶ μετὰ τέρψεως θεραπεύειν τὰ σώματα μηδὲν παρενοχλουμένους ὑπὸ τῆς θερμότητος.
κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἔρυκα πέτρας οὔσης ἀποτομάδος εἰς ὕψος ἐξαίσιον, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἀφροδίτης στενοχωρίας ἀναγκαζούσης ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς πέτρας ἀπόκρημνον ποιήσασθαι τὴν οἰκοδομίαν, κατεσκεύασεν ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ κρημνοῦ τοῖχον, προβιβάσας παραδόξως τὸ ὑπερκείμενον τοῦ κρημνοῦ.
χρυσοῦν τε κριὸν τῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ τῇ Ἐρυκίνῃ φασὶν αὐτὸν φιλοτεχνῆσαι περιττῶς εἰργασμένον καὶ τῷ κατʼ ἀλήθειαν κριῷ ἀπαρεγχειρήτως ὡμοιωμένον. ἄλλα τε πολλά φασιν αὐτὸν φιλοτεχνῆσαι κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν, ἃ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ χρόνου διέφθαρται.
Daedalus spent a considerable time with Cocalus and the Sicani, being greatly admired for his very great skill in his art. And on this island he constructed certain works which stand even to this day. For instance, near Megaris he ingeniously built a kolumbethra, as men have named it, from which a great river, called the Alabon, empties into the sea which is not far distant from it. Also in the present territory of Acragas on the Camicus river, as it is called, he built a city which lay upon a rock and was the strongest of any in Sicily and altogether impregnable to any attack by force; for the ascent to it he made narrow and winding, building it in so ingenious a manner that it could be defended by three or four men. Consequently Cocalus built in this city the royal residence, and storing his treasures there he had them in a city which the inventiveness of its designer had made impregnable. A third construction of his, in the territory of Selinus, was a grotto where he so successfully expelled the steam caused by the fire which burned in it that those who frequented the grotto got into a perspiration imperceptibly because of the gentle action of the heat, and gradually, and actually with pleasure to themselves, they cured the infirmities of their bodies without experiencing any annoyance from the heat. Also at Eryx, where a rock rose sheer to an extraordinary height and the narrow space, where the temple of Aphroditê lay, made it necessary to build it on the precipitous tip of the rock, he constructed a wall upon the very crag, by this means extending in an astonishing manner the overhanging ledge of the crag. Moreover, for the Aphroditê of Mt. Eryx, they say, he ingeniously constructed a golden ram, working it with exceeding care and making it the perfect image of an actual ram. Many other works as well, men say, he ingeniously constructed throughout Sicily, but they have perished because of the long time which has elapsed.
Μίνως δʼ ὁ τῶν Κρητῶν βασιλεὺς θαλαττοκρατῶν κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, καὶ πυθόμενος τὴν Δαιδάλου φυγὴν εἰς Σικελίαν, ἔγνω στρατεύειν ἐπʼ αὐτήν. παρασκευασάμενος δὲ δύναμιν ναυτικὴν ἀξιόλογον ἐξέπλευσεν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης, καὶ κατῆρε τῆς Ἀκραγαντίνης εἰς τὴν ἀπʼ ἐκείνου Μινῴαν καλουμένην. ἀποβιβάσας δὲ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ πέμψας ἀγγέλους πρὸς Κώκαλον τὸν βασιλέα ἐξῄτει τὸν Δαίδαλον εἰς τιμωρίαν.
ὁ δὲ Κώκαλος εἰς σύλλογον προκαλεσάμενος καὶ πάντα ποιήσειν ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἐπὶ τὰ ξένια παρέλαβε τὸν Μίνω. λουμένου δʼ αὐτοῦ, Κώκαλος μὲν παρακατασχὼν πλείονα χρόνον ἐν τῷ θερμῷ τὸν Μίνωα διέφθειρε, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀπέδωκε τοῖς Κρησί, πρόφασιν ἐνεγκὼν τοῦ θανάτου διότι κατὰ τὸν λουτρῶνα ὠλίσθηκε καὶ πεσὼν εἰς τὸ θερμὸν ὕδωρ ἐτελεύτησε.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦθʼ οἱ μὲν συνεστρατευμένοι τὸ σῶμα τοῦ βασιλέως ἔθαψαν μεγαλοπρεπῶς, καὶ διπλοῦν τάφον οἰκοδομήσαντες κατὰ μὲν τὸν κεκρυμμένον τόπον ἔθεσαν τὰ ὀστᾶ, κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἀνεῳγμένον ἐποίησαν Ἀφροδίτης νεών. οὗτος δʼ ἐπὶ γενεὰς πλείους ἐτιμᾶτο, θυόντων τῶν ἐγχωρίων ὡς Ἀφροδίτης ὄντος τοῦ νεώ·
κατὰ δὲ τοὺς νεωτέρους καιροὺς κτισθείσης μὲν τῆς τῶν Ἀκραγαντίνων πόλεως, γνωσθείσης δὲ τῆς τῶν ὀστῶν θέσεως, συνέβη |τὸν μὲν τάφον καθαιρεθῆναι, τὰ δʼ ὀστᾶ τοῖς Κρησὶν ἀποδοθῆναι, Θήρωνος δυναστεύοντος τῶν Ἀκραγαντίνων.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἱ κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν Κρῆτες μετὰ τὴν Μίνωος τελευτὴν ἐστασίασαν διὰ τὴν ἀναρχίαν, τῶν δὲ νεῶν ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Κώκαλον Σικανῶν ἐμπυρισθεισῶν τὴν μὲν εἰς τὰς πατρίδας ἐπάνοδον ἀπέγνωσαν, κρίναντες δʼ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ κατοικεῖν, οἱ μὲν ἐνταῦθα πόλιν ᾤκισαν ἣν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐτῶν Μινῴαν ὠνόμασαν, οἱ δὲ διὰ τῆς μεσογείου πλανηθέντες καὶ καταλαβόμενοι χωρίον ὀχυρὸν ἔκτισαν πόλιν ἣν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ πόλει ῥεούσης πηγῆς ὠνόμασαν Ἔγγυον.
ὕστερον δὲ μετὰ τὴν τῆς Τροίας ἅλωσιν Μηριόνου τοῦ Κρητὸς προσενεχθέντος τῇ Σικελίᾳ, προσεδέξαντο τοὺς καταπλεύσαντας Κρῆτας διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν καὶ τῆς πολιτείας μετέδοσαν, ὁρμώμενοι δʼ ἐξ ὀχυρᾶς πόλεως καὶ καταπολεμήσαντές τινας τῶν περιοίκων ἱκανὴν κατεκτήσαντο χώραν.
ἀεὶ δὲ μᾶλλον αὐξόμενοι, καὶ κατασκευάσαντες ἱερὸν τῶν Μητέρων, διαφόρως ἐτίμων τὰς θεάς, ἀναθήμασι πολλοῖς κοσμοῦντες τὸ ἱερὸν αὐτῶν. ταύτας δʼ ἀφιδρυθῆναί φασιν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης διὰ τὸ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Κρησὶ τιμᾶσθαι τὰς θεὰς ταύτας διαφερόντως.
Minos, the king of the Cretans, who was at that time the master of the seas, when he learned that Daedalus had fled to Sicily, decided to make a campaign against that island. After preparing a notable naval force he sailed forth from Crete and landed at a place in the territory of Acragas which was called after him Minoa. Here he disembarked his troops and sending messengers to King Cocalus he demanded Daedalus of him for punishment. But Cocalus invited Minos to a conference, and after promising to meet all his demands he brought him to his home as a guest. And when Minos was bathing Cocalus kept him too long in the hot water and thus slew him; the body he gave back to the Cretans, explaining his death on the ground that he had slipped in the bath and by falling into the hot water had met his end. Thereupon the comrades of Minos buried the body of the king with magnificent ceremonies, and constructing a tomb of two storeys, in the part of it which was hidden underground they placed the bones, and in that which lay open to gaze they made a shrine of Aphroditê. Here Minos received honours over many generations, the inhabitants of the region offering sacrifices there in the belief that the shrine was Aphroditê’s; but in more recent times, after the city of the Acragantini had been founded and it became known that the bones had been placed there, it came to pass that the tomb was dismantled and the bones were given back to the Cretans, this being done when Theron was lord over the people of Acragas.
However, the Cretans of Sicily, after the death of Minos, fell into factious strife, since they had no ruler, and, since their ships had been burned by the Sicani serving under Cocalus, they gave up any hope they had had of returning to their native land; and deciding to make their home in Sicily, a part of them established on that island a city to which they gave the name Minoa after their king, and others, after wandering about through the interior of the island, seized a place which was naturally strong and founded a city to which they gave the name Engyum after the spring which flowed forth within the city. And at a later time, after the capture of Troy, when Meriones the Cretan came to shore in Sicily, they welcomed, because of their kinship to them, the Cretans who landed with him and shared with them their citizenship; and using as their base a well-fortified city and having subdued certain of the neighbouring peoples, they secured for themselves a fairly large territory. And growing steadily stronger all the while they built a temple to the Mothers and accorded these goddesses unusual honours, adorning their temple with many votive offerings. The cult of these goddesses, so men say, they moved from their home in Crete, since the Cretans also hold these goddesses in special honour.
μυθολογοῦσι δʼ αὐτὰς τὸ παλαιὸν θρέψαι τὸν Δία λάθρᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς Κρόνου, ἀνθʼ ὧν αὐτὰς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβιβασθῆναι καὶ καταστερισθείσας ἄρκτους προσαγορευθῆναι·
περὶ ὧν καὶ τὸν Ἄρατον συμφωνοῦντα τούτοις τεθεικέναι κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἄστρων ποίησιν, ἔμπαλιν εἰς ὤμους τετραμμέναι· εἰ ἐτεόν γε Κρήτηθεν κεῖναί γε Διὸς μεγάλου ἰότητι οὐρανὸν εἰσανέβησαν, ὅ μιν τότε κουρίζοντα Δίκτῳ ἐν εὐώδει ὄρεος σχεδὸν Ἰδαίοιο ἄντρῳ ἐγκατέθεντο καὶ ἔτρεφον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν, Δικταῖοι Κούρητες ὅτε Κρόνον ἐψεύσαντο.
οὐκ ἄξιον δὲ παραλιπεῖν τὴν περὶ τὰς θεὰς ἁγνείαν τε καὶ τὴν κατʼ ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφάνειαν. τιμῶσι δʼ αὐτὰς οὐ μόνον οἱ ταύτην τὴν πόλιν οἰκοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καί τινες τῶν ἄλλων περιοίκων θυσίαις τε μεγαλοπρεπέσι καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις τιμαῖς ἀποσεμνύνουσι τὰς θεάς.
ἐνίαις δὲ πόλεσι καὶ πυθόχρηστοι χρησμοὶ προσέταξαν τιμᾶν τὰς θεάς· ἔσεσθαι γὰρ τοῖς τοιούτοις τούς τε τῶν ἰδιωτῶν βίους εὐδαίμονας καὶ τὰς πόλεις εὐθενήσειν. τέλος δὲ προβαινούσης ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς κατὰ τὰς θεὰς ἐπιφανείας, οἱ μὲν ἐγχώριοι πολλοῖς ἀναθήμασιν ἀργυροῖς καὶ χρυσοῖς διετέλεσαν τιμῶντες ἄχρι τῶνδε τῶν ἱστοριῶν γραφομένων.
The account which the myths preserve of the Mothers runs like this: They nurtured Zeus of old without the knowledge of his father Cronus, in return for which Zeus translated them into the heavens and designated them as a constellation which he named the Bears. And Aratus agrees with this account when he states in his poem on the stars:
Turned backwards then upon their shoulders are
The Bears; if true it be that they from Crete
Into the heavens mounted by the will
Of mighty Zeus, for that when he was babe
In fragrant Dicton near th’ Idaean mount
They set him in a cave and nurtured him
A year, the while Curetes Dictaean
Practised deceit on Cronus.
There is no reason why we should omit to mention the sanctity of these goddesses and the renown which they enjoy among mankind. They are honoured, indeed, not only by the inhabitants of this city, but certain of the neighbouring peoples also glorify these goddesses with magnificent sacrifices and every other kind of honour. Some cities were indeed commanded by oracles from the Pythian god to honour the goddesses, being assured that in this way the lives of their private citizens would be blessed with good fortune and their cities would flourish. And in the end the renown of the goddesses advanced to such a degree that the inhabitants of this region have continued to honour them with many votive offerings in silver and gold down to the time of the writing of this history.
νεὼν μὲν γὰρ αὐταῖς κατεσκεύασαν οὐ μόνον τῷ μεγέθει διάφορον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ πολυτελείᾳ τῇ κατὰ τὴν οἰκοδομίαν θαυμαζόμενον· οὐκ ἔχοντες γὰρ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν χώραν λίθον ἀξιόλογον παρὰ τῶν ἀστυγειτόνων Ἀγυριναίων ἤγαγον, τῶν μὲν πόλεων διεστηκυιῶν ὡς ἑκατὸν σταδίους, τῆς δʼ ὁδοῦ διʼ ἧς ἀνάγκη κομίζεσθαι τοὺς λίθους ὑπαρχούσης τραχείας καὶ παντελῶς δυσπορεύτου· δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν κατασκευάσαντες ἁμάξας τετρακύκλους ἑκατὸν ζεύγεσι βοῶν ἐκόμισαν τὸν λίθον.
διὰ γὰρ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἱερῶν χρημάτων εὐπορούμενοι, τῇ δαψιλείᾳ τῆς εὐπορίας ὑπερεῖδον τῶν ἀναλωμάτων· βραχὺ γὰρ πρὸ ἡμῶν εἶχον αἱ θεαὶ βοῦς μὲν ἱερὰς τρισχιλίας, χώρας δὲ πλῆθος ὥστε λαμβάνειν μεγάλας προσόδους.
For instance, a temple was built there for them which not only excels in size but also occasions wonder by reason of the expense incurred in its construction; for since the people had no suitable stone in their own territory they brought it from their neighbours, the inhabitants of Agyrium, though the cities were nearly one hundred stades apart and the road by which they had to transport the blocks were rough and altogether hard to traverse. For this reason they constructed wagons with four wheels and transported the stone by the use of one hundred span of oxen. Indeed, because of the vast quantity of the sacred properties of the temple they were so plentifully supplied with means that, by reason of their abundant prosperity, they took no account of the expense; for only a short time before our day the goddesses possessed three hundred head of sacred cattle and vast holdings of land, so that they were the recipients of great revenues.
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