⟨CXXXVIII Philyra⟩
Saturnus Iovem cum quaereret per terras, in Thracia cum Philyra Oceani filia in equum conversus concubuit; quae ex eo peperit Chironem centaurum, qui artem medicam primus invenisse dicitur. Philyra postquam invisitatam speciem se peperisse vidit, petit ab Iove, ut se in ali[qu]am speciem commutaret, quae in arborem philyram hoc est tiliam commutata est.
138. Philyra
While Cronus was searching the lands for Zeus, he changed himself into a horse and lay with Philyra, daughter of Oceanus, in Thrace; she bore him Chiron the centaur, who is said to have been the first to discover the medical art. When Philyra saw that she had borne a form that had never been seen before, she begged Zeus to change her into some other shape, and she was changed into the tree called philyra, that is, the linden.
⟨CXXXIX Curetes⟩
Postquam Opis Iovem ex Saturno peperit, petit Iuno ut sibi eum concederet, quoniam Saturnus Orcum sub tartara deiecerat et Neptunum sub undas, quod sciret, si quis ex eo natus ⟨superesset fatum⟩ esse ⟨u⟩t se regno privaret. qui cum Opem rogaret, ubi esset quod [illa] peperisset, illa lapidem involutum ostendit: eum Saturnus devoravit. quod cum sensisset, coepit Iovem quaerere per terras, Iuno autem Iovem in Creten[si] insula⟨m⟩ detulit. at Amalthea pueri nutrix eum in cunis in arbore suspendit, ut neque coelo neque terra neque mari inveniretur: et ne pueri vagitus exaudiretur, impuberes convocavit eisque clipeola aenea et hastas dedit et iussit eos circum arborem euntes crepare. qui Graece Curetes sunt appellati; alii Corybantes dicuntur, hi autem Lares appellantur.
139. The Curetes
After Rhea (Ops) had borne Zeus to Cronus, Hera asked that she hand him over to her, since Cronus had hurled Hades (Orcus) down beneath Tartarus and Poseidon beneath the waves, because he knew that, if any child born of him ⟨survived, it was fated⟩ that he would deprive him of his kingdom. When Cronus asked Rhea where the child was that she had borne, she showed him a stone wrapped up, and Cronus swallowed it. When he realised this, he began to search for Zeus throughout the lands, but Hera carried Zeus to the island of Crete. Amalthea, the boy's nurse, hung him in his cradle from a tree, so that he could be found neither in heaven nor on earth nor in the sea; and so that the child's crying should not be heard, she called together some boys not yet grown and gave them small bronze shields and spears, and told them to walk around the tree and clash them. In Greek these are called Curetes; others call them Corybantes, and these are also called Lares.
⟨CXL Python⟩
Python Terrae filius draco ingens. hic ante Apollinem ex oraculo in monte Parnasso responsa dare solitus erat. huic ex Latonae partu interitus erat fato futurus. eo tempore Iovis cum Latona Poli filia concubuit. hoc cum Iuno resciit, facit ut Latona ibi pareret, quo Sol non accederet. Python ubi sensit, Latonam ex Iove gravidam esse, persequi coepit ut eam interficeret: at Latonam Iovis iussu ventus Aquilo sublatam ad Neptunum pertulit. ille eam tutatus est, sed ne rescinderet Iunonis factum, in insulam eam Ortygiam detulit, quam insulam fluctibus cooperuit. quod cum Python eam non invenisset, Parnassum redit: at Neptunus insulam Ortygiam in superiorem partem retulit, quae postea insula Delos est appellata. ibi Latona oleam tenens parit Apollinem et Dianam, quibus Vulcanus sagittas dedit donum. post diem quartum quam essent nati, Apollo matris poenas executus est. nam Parnassum venit et Pythonem sagittis interfecit, unde Pythius est dictus ossaque eius in cortinam coniecit et in templo suo posuit, ludosque funebres ei fecit, qui ludi Pythia dicuntur.
140. Python
Python, a son of Earth, was an enormous serpent. Before Apollo's time he used to give oracular responses on Mount Parnassus. It was fated that he would be killed through the child of Leto. At that time Zeus lay with Leto, daughter of Polus. When Hera found this out, she arranged that Leto should give birth in a place where the Sun did not come. When Python learned that Leto was pregnant by Zeus, he began to pursue her in order to kill her; but at Zeus' command the North Wind (Aquilo) lifted Leto up and carried her to Poseidon. He protected her, but so as not to undo Hera's act he carried her to the island of Ortygia and covered the island with waves. When Python could not find her, he went back to Parnassus; Poseidon then raised the island of Ortygia to the surface, and it was afterwards called the island of Delos. There Leto, holding an olive tree, bore Apollo and Artemis, to whom Hephaestus gave arrows as a gift. On the fourth day after their birth Apollo took vengeance for his mother. He went to Parnassus and killed Python with arrows, and from this he was called Pythius; he threw the serpent's bones into a cauldron (cortina) and placed it in his temple, and he held funeral games in his honour, which are called the Pythian Games.
⟨CXLI Sirenes⟩
Sirenes Acheloi fluminis et Melpomenes Musae filiae Proserpinae raptu aberrantes ad Apollinis petram venerunt ibique Cereris voluntate, quod Proserpinae auxilium non tulerant, volaticae sunt factae. his responsum erat tamdiu eas victuras, quamdiu cantantes eos audiens nemo esset praetervectus. quibus fatalis fuit Ulysses: astutia enim sua cum praeternavigasset scopulos, in quibus morabantur, praecipitarunt se in mare. a quibus locus Sirenides cognominatur, qui est inter Siciliam et Italiam.
141. The Sirens
The Sirens, daughters of the river Achelous and the Muse Melpomene, wandering after the abduction of Persephone, came to Apollo's rock, and there, by the will of Demeter, because they had not brought help to Persephone, they were made winged. An oracle had told them that they would live only as long as no one who heard them singing sailed past. Odysseus was fatal to them: by his cunning he sailed past the rocks on which they lingered, and they threw themselves into the sea. From them the place between Sicily and Italy is called the Sirenides.
⟨CXLII Pandora⟩
Prometheus Iapeti filius primus homines ex luto finxit. postea Vulcanus Iovis iussu ex luto mulieris effigiem fecit, cui Minerva animam dedit c[a]eterique dii alius aliud donum dederunt ob idque Pandoram nominarunt. ea data in coniugium Epimetheo fratri, inde nata est Pyrrha, quae mortalis dicitur prima esse creata.
142. Pandora
Prometheus, son of Iapetus, was the first to fashion human beings out of clay. Afterwards Hephaestus, at Zeus' command, made the likeness of a woman out of clay; Athena gave her life, and the other gods each gave a different gift, and for this reason they named her Pandora. She was given in marriage to his brother Epimetheus, and from this union was born Pyrrha, who is said to have been the first mortal woman created.
⟨CXLIII Phoroneus⟩
Inachus Oceani filius ex Argia sorore sua procreavit Phoroneum qui primus mortalium dicitur regnasse. Homines ante s⟨a⟩ecula multa sine oppidis legibusque vitam exegerunt una lingua loquentes ‘sub Iovis imperio’: sed postquam Mercurius sermones hominum interpretatus est (unde ἑρμηνευτής dicitur esse interpres; Mercurius enim graece Ἑρμῆς vocatur) id est, nationes distribuit, tum discordia inter mortales esse coepit, quod Iovi placitum non est. itaque exordium regnandi tradidit Phoroneo. ob id beneficium [quod] Iunoni sacra primus fecit.
143. Phoroneus
Inachus, son of Oceanus, begat Phoroneus by his sister Argia; Phoroneus is said to have been the first of mortals to reign. For many ages human beings lived without cities or laws, all speaking one language, 'under the rule of Zeus'; but after Mercury (Hermes) interpreted the speech of men (this is why an interpreter is called in Greek ἑρμηνευτής; for Mercury is called Hermes in Greek), that is, divided up the nations, discord began among mortals, which did not please Zeus. So Zeus gave Phoroneus the beginning of kingship. In return for this favour [that] he was the first to establish rites for Hera.
⟨CXLIIII Prometheus⟩
Homines antea ab immortalibus ignem petebant neque in perpetuum servare sciebant. quod postea Prometheus in ferula detulit in terras hominibusque monstravit, quomodo cinere obrutum servarent. ob hanc rem Mercurius Iovis iussu deligavit eum in monte Caucaso ad saxum clavis ferreis et aquilam apposuit, quae cor eius exesset. ⟨quae⟩ quantum die ederat tantum nocte crescebat. hanc aquilam post triginta annos Hercules interfecit eumque liberavit.
144. Prometheus
Formerly human beings used to ask the immortals for fire and did not know how to keep it permanently. Prometheus afterwards brought it down to earth in a fennel stalk and showed people how to keep it covered with ashes. For this, at Zeus' command, Hermes bound him to a rock on Mount Caucasus with iron nails and set an eagle on him to eat his heart. ⟨It⟩ grew back at night as much as it had eaten by day. Thirty years later Heracles killed this eagle and freed him.
⟨CXLV Niobe sive Io⟩
Ex Phoroneo et †Cinna nati Apis et Nioba. hanc Iupiter mortalem primam compressit: ex ea natus est Argus qui suo nomine Argos oppidum cognominavit. Ex Argo et Euadne Criasus Piranthus Ecbasus nati; ex Pirantho ⟨et⟩ Callirhoe Argus Arestorides Triopas, hic * * ex hoc ⟨et⟩ †Eurisabe Anthus Pelasgus Agenor; ex [Triope et] Arestoride Xanthus et Inachus; ex Pelasgo Larisa, ex Inacho et Argia Io. Hanc Iupiter dilectam compressit et in vaccae figuram convertit, ne Iuno eam cognosceret. id Iuno cum rescivit Argum, cui undique oculi refulgebant, custodem ei misit: hunc Mercurius Iovis iussu interfecit; at Iuno formidinem ei ⟨im⟩misit, cuius timore exagitatam coegit eam ut se in mare praecipitaret, quod mare Ionium est appellatum; inde in Scythiam transnavit, unde †Bosphorum fines sunt dictae; inde in Aegyptum, ubi parit Epaphum. Iovis cum sciret suapte [propter] opera tot eam aerumnas tulisse, formam suam ei propriam restituit, deamque Aegyptiorum esse fecit, quae Isis nuncupatur.
145. Niobe or Io
From Phoroneus and †Cinna were born Apis and Niobe. Zeus lay with her, the first mortal woman. From her was born Argus, who named the town Argos after himself. From Argus and Euadne were born Criasus, Piranthus and Ecbasus; from Piranthus ⟨and⟩ Callirhoe, Argus son of Arestor, and Triopas; this one * * from him ⟨and⟩ †Eurisabe: Anthus, Pelasgus, Agenor; from [Triopes and] Arestorides: Xanthus and Inachus; from Pelasgus, Larisa; from Inachus and Argia, Io. Zeus loved her and lay with her, and turned her into the shape of a cow so that Hera should not recognise her. When Hera found out, she sent Argus, whose eyes shone all around, to guard her; Hermes killed him at Zeus' command. Then Hera sent a terror upon Io, and driven in fear she forced her to throw herself into the sea, which was called the Ionian Sea; from there she swam across to Scythia, from which the †Bosphorum fines were named; from there to Egypt, where she bore Epaphus. When Zeus learned that she had suffered so many hardships through his own doing [propter], he restored to her her own shape and made her a goddess of the Egyptians, who is called Isis.
⟨CXLVI Proserpina⟩
Pluton petit ab Iove Proserpinam filiam eius et Cereris in coniugium [daret]. Iovis negavit Cererem passuram ut filia sua in tartaro tenebricoso sit, sed iubet eum rapere eam flores legentem in monte Aetna, qui est in Sicilia. in quo Proserpina dum flores cum Venere et Diana et Minerva legit, Pluton quadrigis venit et eam rapuit. quod postea Ceres ab Iove impetravit, ut dimidia parte anni apud se, dimidia apud Plutonem esset.
146. Persephone
Pluto asked Zeus to give him Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, in marriage [to give]. Zeus said that Demeter would not tolerate her daughter being in murky Tartarus, but he told him to seize her while she was picking flowers on Mount Etna, which is in Sicily. There, while Persephone was picking flowers with Aphrodite, Artemis and Athena, Pluto came with a four-horse chariot and carried her off. Demeter afterwards obtained from Zeus that she should be half the year with her and half with Pluto.
⟨CXLVII Triptolemus⟩
Cum Ceres Proserpinam filiam suam quaereret devenit ad Eleusinum regem, cuius uxor Cothonea puerum Triptolemum pepererat, seque nutricem lactantem simulavit. hanc regina libens nutricem filio suo recepit. Ceres cum vellet alumnum suum immortalem reddere, interdiu lacte divino alebat, ⟨noctu⟩ clam [in] igne obruebat; itaque praeterquam solebant mortales crescebat. Id sic fieri cum mirarentur parentes eam observaverunt. cum Ceres eum vellet in ignem mittere pater expavit: illa irata Eleusinum exanimavit, at Triptolemo alumno suo aeternum beneficium tribuit; nam fruges propagatum currum draconibus iunctum tradidit, quibus vehens orbem terrarum frugibus obsevit. postquam domum rediit, Celeus eum pro benefacto interfici iussit; sed re cognita iussu Cereris Triptolemo regnum dedit * * quod ex patris nomine Eleusinum nominavit Cererique sacra instituit, quae thesmophoria graece dicuntur.
147. Triptolemus
When Demeter was looking for her daughter Persephone, she came to King Eleusinus, whose wife Cothonea had borne a boy, Triptolemus, and she pretended to be a wet-nurse. The queen gladly took her in as nurse for her son. Demeter, wishing to make her foster-child immortal, nourished him by day with divine milk and ⟨by night⟩ secretly covered him [in] fire; so he grew beyond what mortal children do. His parents, wondering why this happened, watched her. When Demeter was about to put him into the fire, the father cried out in terror; she, angry, killed Eleusinus, but gave her foster-son Triptolemus an everlasting benefit: she handed him a chariot yoked with serpents for spreading the grain, and, carried in it, he sowed the world with crops. When he returned home, Celeus ordered him to be put to death in return for his good deed; but when the truth was known, at Demeter's command he gave Triptolemus the kingdom * * which he named Eleusinum after his father, and he established rites of Demeter, which in Greek are called thesmophoria.
⟨CXLVIII Vulcanus⟩
Vulcanus cum resciit Venerem cum Marte clam concubere et se virtuti eius obsistere non posse, catenam ex adamante fecit et circa lectum posuit, ut Martem astutia deciperet. ille cum ad constitutum venisset, concidit cum Venere in plagas, adeo ut se exolvere non posset. id Sol cum Vulcano nuntiasset, ille eos nudos cubantes ⟨ut⟩ vidit, deos omnes convocavit †viderunt ex eo Martem id ni faceret pudor terruit. ex eo conceptu nata est Harmonia, cui Minerva et Vulcanus vestem sceleribus tinctam muneri dederunt, ob quam rem progenies eorum scelerata extitit. Soli autem Venus ob indicium †ad progeniem eius semper fuit inimica.
148. Hephaestus
When Hephaestus found out that Aphrodite was secretly sleeping with Ares and that he could not resist his strength, he made a chain of adamant and placed it around the bed, to trick Ares by cunning. When Ares came at the appointed time, he fell with Aphrodite into the snares, so that he could not free himself. When Helios had reported this to Hephaestus, he, as soon as he saw them lying naked, called all the gods together; †viderunt; shame deterred Ares from doing it again [?]. From that union Harmonia was born; Athena and Hephaestus gave her as a gift a robe stained with crimes, and because of this her offspring became wicked. Aphrodite, because of his informing, was always hostile †ad progeniem eius to the Sun's offspring.
⟨CXLVIIII Epaphus⟩
Iupiter Epaphum, quem ex Io procreaverat, Aegypto oppida communire ibique regnare iussit. Is oppidum primum Memphim et alia plura constituit et ex Cassiopia uxore procreavit filiam Libyen * *, a qua terra est appellata.
149. Epaphus
Zeus ordered Epaphus, whom he had fathered by Io, to fortify cities in Egypt and to reign there. Epaphus founded first the city of Memphis and many others, and by his wife Cassiopeia he begat a daughter, Libya * *, after whom the land is named.
⟨CL Titanomachia⟩
Postquam Iuno vidit Epapho ex pellice nato tantam regni potestatem esse, curat, in venatu ut Epaphus necetur, Titanosque hortatur, Iovem ut regno pellant Saturnoque restituant. hi cum conarentur in coelum ascendere, eos Iovis cum Minerva et Apolline et Diana in tartarum deiecit, Atlanti autem, qui dux eorum fuit, coeli fornicem super humeros imposuit. qui adhuc dicitur coelum sustinere.
150. The war with the Titans
When Hera saw that Epaphus, born of her husband's concubine, held such great power over a kingdom, she arranged for him to be killed on a hunt, and urged the Titans to drive Zeus from his kingdom and restore it to Cronus. When they tried to climb up to heaven, Zeus, with Athena, Apollo and Artemis, hurled them down into Tartarus, and on Atlas, who was their leader, he placed the vault of heaven on his shoulders. He is said to be holding up the sky to this day.
⟨CLI ex Typhone et Echidna nati⟩
[Ex Typhone gigante et Echidna Gorgon; canis Cerberus triceps; draco qui mala Hesperidum trans oceanum servabat; hydra quam ad fontem Lernaeum Hercules interfecit; draco qui pellem arietis Colchis servabat; Scylla quae superiorem partem mulieris inferiorem canis et canes sex ex se natos habebat; Sphinx quae in Boeotia fuit; Chimaera in Lycia quae priorem partem leonis figuram posteriorem draconis habebat ‘media ipsa Chimaera’. — Ex Medusa Gorgonis filia et Neptuno nati sunt Chrysaor et equus Pegasus, ex Chrysaore et Calli⟨r⟩rhoe Geryon trimembris.]
151. Offspring of Typhon and Echidna
[From Typhon the giant and Echidna: the Gorgon; the three-headed dog Cerberus; the serpent that guarded the apples of the Hesperides across the ocean; the Hydra, which Heracles killed at the Lernaean spring; the serpent that guarded the ram's fleece in Colchis; Scylla, who had the upper part of a woman, the lower part of a dog, and six dogs born from herself; the Sphinx who was in Boeotia; the Chimaera in Lycia, who had the front part of a lion and the rear of a serpent, ‘in the middle the Chimaera herself’. — From Medusa, daughter of the Gorgon, and Poseidon were born Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus, and from Chrysaor and Calli⟨r⟩rhoe, Geryon, the three-bodied.]
⟨CLII Typhon⟩
[Tartarus ex Terra procreavit Typhonem immani magnitudine specieque portentosa cui centum capita draconum ex humeris enata erant. hic Iovem provocavit si vellet secum de regno certare⟨t⟩. Iovis fulmine ardenti pectus eius percussit; qui cum flagraret montem Aetnam qui est in Sicilia super eum imposuit, qui ex eo adhuc ardere dicitur.]
Phaethon Solis et Clymenes filius cum clam patris currum conscendisset et altius a terra esset elatus, prae timore decidit in flumen Eridanum. hunc Iuppiter cum fulmine percussisset, omnia * * ardere coeperunt. Iovis ut omne genus mortalium cum causa interficeret, simulavit se id velle extinguere: amnes undique irrigavit, omneque genus mortalium interiit praeter Pyrrham et Deucalionem. at sorores Phaethontis quod equos iniussu patris iunxerant in arbores populos commutatae sunt.
152. Typhon; Phaethon
[Tartarus begat Typhon by Earth, of immense size and monstrous appearance, from whose shoulders a hundred serpents' heads had grown. He challenged Zeus to say whether he wished to contend with him for the kingdom. Zeus struck his chest with a blazing thunderbolt; and as he burned, Zeus set on top of him Mount Etna, which is in Sicily, which from that time is said to burn still.]
Phaethon, son of the Sun and Clymene, secretly mounted his father's chariot and was carried too high above the earth; from fear he fell into the river Eridanus. When Zeus had struck him with a thunderbolt, everything * * began to burn. Zeus, so as to destroy the whole race of mortals with a pretext, pretended that he wished to put the fire out: he flooded the earth with rivers from all sides, and the whole race of mortals perished except Pyrrha and Deucalion. Phaethon's sisters, because they had yoked the horses without their father's order, were changed into poplar trees.
⟨CLIII Deucalion et Pyrrha⟩
Cataclysmus quod nos diluvium vel irrigationem dicimus cum factum est, omne genus humanum interiit praeter Deucalionem et Pyrrham, qui in montem Aetnam, qui altissimus in Sicilia esse dicitur, fugerunt. hi propter solitudinem cum vivere non possent, petierunt ab Iove ut aut homines daret, aut eos pari calamitate afficeret. tum Iovis iussit eos lapides post se iactare. quos Deucalion iactavit viros esse iussit, quos Pyrrha mulieres. ob eam rem λαός dictus, λᾶας enim graece lapis dicitur.
153. Deucalion and Pyrrha
When the cataclysm, which we call the flood or inundation, took place, the whole human race perished except Deucalion and Pyrrha, who fled to Mount Etna, said to be the highest in Sicily. Since they could not live because of their loneliness, they asked Zeus either to give them people or to afflict them with the same calamity. Then Zeus told them to throw stones behind them. Those that Deucalion threw he ordered to be men, those that Pyrrha threw women. For this reason the people were called λαός, because λᾶας is the Greek word for stone.
⟨CLIIII Phaethon. Heliades⟩
Phaethon Clymeni Solis filii et Meropes nymphae filius, quam Oceanitidem accepimus, cum indicio patris avum Solem cognovisset, impetratis curribus male usus est. nam cum esset propius terram vectus vicino igni omnia conflagrarunt et fulmine ictus in flumen Padum cecidit. [hic amnis a Graecis Eridanus dicitur, quem Pherecydes primus vocavit.] Indi autem, quod calore vicini ignis sanguis in atrum colorem versus est, nigri sunt facti: sorores autem Phaethontis dum interitum deflent fratris in arbores sunt populos versae. [harum lacrimae, ut Hesiodus indicat, in electrum sunt duratae.] [Heliades tamen nominantur; sunt autem Merope Helie Aegle Lampetie Phoebe Aetherie Dioxippe.] Cygnus autem rex Liguriae, qui fuit Phaethonti propinquus, dum deflet propinquum, in cygnum conversus est. is quoque moriens flebile canit.
154. Phaethon and the Heliades
Phaethon was the son of Clymenus, himself a son of the Sun, and of the nymph Merope, whom we have understood to be an Oceanid. When, through his father's disclosure, he had recognised the Sun as his grandfather, he obtained the chariot and made a bad use of it. For when he was carried too near the earth, everything burst into flame from the nearby fire, and, struck by a thunderbolt, he fell into the river Po. [This river is called Eridanus by the Greeks; Pherecydes was the first to call it so.] The Indians, because their blood was turned to a black colour by the heat of the neighbouring fire, were made black; and Phaethon's sisters, while mourning their brother's death, were turned into poplar trees. [Their tears, as Hesiod indicates, hardened into amber.] [They are nevertheless called the Heliades; they are Merope, Helie, Aegle, Lampetie, Phoebe, Aetherie, Dioxippe.] Cygnus, king of Liguria, who was a relative of Phaethon, while he mourned his kinsman was changed into a swan. He too sings plaintively as he dies.
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