XL. Περὶ Ἀλκήστιδος
Περὶ Ἀλκήστιδος εἴρηται μῦθος τραγικώδης, ὡς δή, μέλλοντός ποτὲ Ἀδμήτου ἀποθανεῖσθαι, αὕτη εἵλετο ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ θανεῖν, καὶ ὡς Ἡρακλῆς αὐτὴν διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἀφελόμενος τὸν Θάνατον [καὶ ἀναγαγὼν ἐκ τοῦ Ἅιδου] ἀπέδωκεν Ἀδμήτῳ. ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκεῖ μηδένα ἀποθανόντα δύνασθαί τινὰ ἀναβιῶναι ποιῆσαι· ἀλλ᾽ ἐγένετο τοιόνδε τι. ἐπειδὴ Πελίαν ἀπέκτειναν αἱ θυγατέρες, Ἄκαστος ὁ Πελίου ἐδίωκεν αὐτὰς ἀνταποκτεῖναι θέλων ἀντὶ τοῦ πατρός. καὶ τὰς μὲν ἄλλας λαμβάνει· Ἄλκηστις δὲ φεύγει εἰς Φερὰς πρὸς Ἄδμητον ἀνεψιὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ καθεζομένην ἐπὶ τῆς ἑστίας οὐκ ἠδύνατο Ἄδμητος Ἀκάστῳ ἔκδοτον ἐξαιτουμένῳ δοῦναι. ὁ δὲ παρακαθίσας στρατιὰν πολλὴν περὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐπυρπόλει αὐτούς. ἐπεξιὼν δὲ ὁ Ἄδμητος νύχτωρ, ἐντυχὼν λοχαγοῖς συνελήφθη ζῶν. ἠπείλει δὲ Ἄκαστος ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτόν, εἰ μὴ παραδώσει τὴν ⟨Ἄλκηστιν⟩ ἱκέτιν οὖσαν. πυθομένη οὖν Ἄλκηστις ὅτι μέλλει ἀναιρεῖσθαι Ἄδμητος δι᾽ αὐτήν, ἐξελθοῦσα ἑαυτὴν παρέδωκε. τὸν μὲν οὖν Ἄδμητον ἀφίησιν Ἄκαστος, ἐκείνην δὲ συλλαμβάνει. ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι „ἀνδρεία γε ἡ Ἄλκηστις· ἑκοῦσα ὑπεραπέθανεν Ἀδμήτου.“ τοῦτο μέντοι οὐκ ἐγένετο, ὡς ὁ μῦθός φησι. κατὰ γὰρ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν Ἡρακλῆς ἧκεν ἔκ τινος τόπου ἄγων τὰς Διομήδους ἵππους. τοῦτον ἐκεῖσε πορευόμενον ἐξένισεν Ἄδμητος. ὀδυρομένου δὲ τοῦ Ἀδμήτου τὴν συμφορὰν τῆς Ἀλκήστιδος, ἀνακτησάμενος Ἡρακλῆς ἐπιτίθεται τῷ Ἀκάστῳ καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν αὐτοῦ διαφθείρει· καὶ τὰ μὲν λάφυρα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ στρατιᾷ διανέμει, τὴν δὲ Ἀλκηστιν τῷ Ἀδμήτῳ παραδίδωσιν. ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὡς ἐντυχὼν Ἡρακλῆς ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου ἐρρύσατο τὴν Ἄλκηστιν. τούτων γενομένων ὁ μῦθος ἀνεπλάσθη.
40. Alcestis
About Alcestis a tragic myth is told: that when Admetus was once about to die, she chose to die in his place, and that Heracles, for her piety, took Death off [and brought her up out of Hades] and gave her back to Admetus. But it seems to me that nobody who has died can make someone live again. What happened was something like this. When the daughters killed Pelias, Acastus, the son of Pelias, pursued them, wishing to kill them in return in place of his father. He seizes the others; but Alcestis flees to Pherae to Admetus, her cousin, and as she sat on the hearth Admetus could not hand her over to Acastus, who demanded her. Acastus, camping with a large army around the city, set fire to them. Admetus, sallying out by night, fell in with some captains and was taken alive. Acastus threatened to kill him unless he surrendered Alcestis, a suppliant. When Alcestis heard that Admetus was going to be killed on her account, she came out and gave herself up. So Acastus let Admetus go, and took her. People said: “Brave woman, Alcestis; she died of her own will for Admetus.” But this did not happen as the myth says. For at that time Heracles was coming from somewhere bringing the horses of Diomedes. Admetus entertained him on his way there. When Admetus lamented the misfortune of Alcestis, Heracles, having recovered [?] (his composure?), attacked Acastus and destroyed his army; and distributed the spoils to his own army, and handed Alcestis to Admetus. So people said that Heracles, having come upon [the scene], had rescued Alcestis from death. From these events the myth was invented.
XLI. Περὶ Ζήθου καὶ Ἀμφίονος
Περὶ Ζήθου καὶ Ἀμφίονος ἱστοροῦσιν ἄλλοι τὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος ὅτι κιθάρᾳ τὸ τεῖχος τῆς Θήβης ἐτείχισαν. δοκοῦσι δὲ ἔνιοι κιθαρίζειν ⟨μὲν⟩ αὐτούς, τοὺς δὲ λίθους αὐτομάτως ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος. τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς ἔχει ὧδε. κιθαρῳδοὶ οὗτοι ἄριστοι ἐγένοντο καὶ ἐπεδείκνυντο μισθῷ. ἀργύριον δὲ οὐκ εἶχον οἱ τότε ἄνθρωποι. ἐκέλευον οὖν οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀμφίονα, εἴ τις βούλοιτο ἀκούειν αὐτῶν, ἐρχόμενον ἐργάζεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ τεῖχος· οὐ μέντοι οἱ λίθοι εἵποντο ἀκροώμενοι. εὐλόγως οὖν ἔλεγον οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὅτι λύρᾳ τὸ τεῖχος ἐτειχίσθη.
41. Zethus and Amphion
About Zethus and Amphion others report, and Hesiod too, that they walled Thebes with the lyre. Some think that they ⟨on the one hand⟩ played the lyre, and the stones climbed of themselves onto the wall. The truth is this. They were excellent lyre-singers and gave performances for pay. But the people of that time had no money. So Amphion and his men said that whoever wished to hear them should come and work on the wall; the stones did not follow as listeners. So the people reasonably said that the wall had been built with the lyre.
XLII. Περὶ Ἰοῦς
Φασὶ τὴν Ἰὼ ὡς ἐκ γυναικὸς βοῦς γενομένη καὶ οἰστρήσασα, διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐξ Ἄργους ἀφίκετο. ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀπίθανον, τὸ *** καὶ τοσαύτας ἡμέρας ἄσιτον μένειν. τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς ἔχει ὧδε. Ἰὼ βασιλέως τῶν Ἀργείων ἦν θυγάτηρ. ταύτῃ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως τιμὴν ἔδωκαν ἱέρειαν εἶναι τῆς Ἥρας τῆς Ἀργείας. αὕτη ἔγκυος γενομένη καὶ δείσασα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τοὺς πολίτας ἔφυγεν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως. οἱ δὲ Ἀργεῖοι κατὰ ζήτησιν ἐξιόντες, ὅπου δ᾽ ἂν εὗρον συλλαμβάνοντες ἐν δεσμοῖς εἶχον. ἔλεγον οὖν „ὥσπερ βοῦς οἰστρήσασα διαφεύγει“ **** καὶ τελευταῖον ἐμπόροις τισὶ ξένοις δίδωσιν ἑαυτὴν καὶ ἱκετεύει ἐξάγειν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἔνθα ἀφικομένη τίκτει. καὶ ὁ μῦθος προσανεπλάσθη.
42. Io
They say that Io, having become a cow instead of a woman and driven by a gadfly, came through the sea from Argos to Egypt. That is unbelievable: that *** also … should remain so many days without food. The truth is this. Io was the daughter of the king of the Argives. The people of the city gave her the honour of being priestess of Argive Hera. She became pregnant, and fearing her father and the citizens she fled from the city. The Argives, going out to search, wherever they found her seized her and kept her in chains. So they said that, like a cow driven by a gadfly, she escapes **** and finally she gives herself to some foreign merchants and begs them to take her to Egypt, where on arriving she gives birth. And the myth was added.
XLIII. Περὶ Μηδείας
Ἡ Μήδεια φασὶ ⟨μὲ⟩ν ὡς ἀφέψουσα τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους νέους ἐποίει, οὐδένα δὲ δείκνυται νέον ποιήσασα· ὃν δὲ ἥψησε πάντως ἀπέκτεινεν. ἐγένετο δέ τι τοιοῦτον. Μήδεια πρώτη ἐφεῦρεν ἄνθος τὸ πυρρὸν καὶ τὸ μέλαν. τοὺς οὖν γέροντας ἐκ πολιῶν μέλανας ⟨καὶ πυρροὺς⟩ ἐποίει φαίνεσθαι· βάπτουσα γὰρ αὐτοὺς τὰς λευκὰς τρίχας εἰς μελαίνας καὶ πυρρὰς μετέβαλεν. *** πυρίαν πρώτη Μήδεια ἐφεῦρεν ἀνθρώποις ὄφελος. ἐπυρία οὖν τοὺς βουλομένους, οὐκ ἐν τῷ προφανεῖ, ἵνα μή τις μάθῃ τῶν ἰατρῶν, πυριῶσα δὲ ὥρκου μηδενὶ μηνύειν. ὄνομα δὲ ἦν τῷ πυριάματι παρέψησις. ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ κουφότεροι καὶ ὑγιεινότεροι ἐγίνοντο οἱ ἄνθρωποι πυριώμενοι. ἐκ δὴ τούτου, ὁρῶντες παρ᾽ αὐτῇ λέβητας καὶ πῦρ, ἐπείσθησαν ὡς ἔψει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. ὁ δὲ Πελίας, ἄνθρωπος γέρων καὶ ἀσθενής, πυριώμενος ἀπέθανεν. ἐντεῦθεν ὁ μῦθος.
43. Medea
Medea, they say (⟨on the one hand⟩), made old people young by boiling them, but nobody is shown to have been made young by her; and whomever she boiled she killed outright. Something like this happened. Medea was the first to discover a flower, the red and the black. So she made old men appear dark ⟨and red-haired⟩ instead of grey: dyeing their white hair she changed it to black and red. *** the steam-bath Medea was the first to discover, as a benefit to people. She gave steam-baths to those who wished, not in the open, so that none of the doctors should learn it, and binding them by oath to tell no one. The name of the steam-bath was “parepsesis” (“simmering”). And so people became lighter and healthier from the steam-baths. From this, seeing cauldrons and fire in her house, they were persuaded that she boiled people. And Pelias, an old and weak man, died in the steam-bath. Hence the myth.
XLIV. Περὶ Ὀμφάλης
Εἴρηται περὶ Ὀμφάλης ὡς Ἡρακλῆς λατρεύει παρ᾽ αὐτῇ. μάταιος δὲ ὁ λόγος. ἐξὸν γὰρ κἀκείνης καὶ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῇ δεσπόζειν *****. ἐγένετο οὖν τοιόνδε τι. Ὀμφάλη ἦν Ἰαρδάνου θυγάτηρ Λυδῶν βασιλέως. αὕτη ἀκούσασα τὴν ἰσχὺν Ἡρακλέους, προσεποιήθη ἐρᾶν αὐτοῦ. πλησιάσας δὲ Ἡρακλῆς ἔρωτι ἑάλω αὐτῆς, γεννᾷ δὲ ἐξ αὐτῆς υἱόν· ἡδόμενος δὲ αὐτῇ ἐποίει ὅ τι προστάττοι Ὀμφάλη. οἱ δὲ εὐήθεις ὑπέλαβον λατρεύειν αὐτὸν αὐτῇ.
44. Omphale
It is said of Omphale that Heracles served as a slave to her. But the story is vain. For though he could have mastered her and her property *****. What happened was this. Omphale was the daughter of Iardanus, king of the Lydians. She, hearing of Heracles’ strength, pretended to be in love with him. When Heracles came near he was captured by love of her, and had a son by her; and, delighted with her, he did whatever Omphale commanded. Simple people supposed that he was serving her as a slave.
XLV. Περὶ τοῦ κέρατος τῆς Ἀμαλθείας
Φασὶν ὡς Ἡρακλῆς τὸ Ἀμαλθείας κέρας καλούμενον πανταχοῦ περιέφερεν, ἐξ οὗ ἐγίνετο αὐτῷ ὅσα ἐβούλετο εὐξαμένῳ. ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια ἥδε. Ἡρακλῆς ἀποδημῶν κατὰ Βοιωτίαν μετὰ Ἰολάου τοῦ ἀδελφιδοῦ καταλύει ἐν Θεσπιαῖς ἔν τινι πανδοχείῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐτύγχανε γυνὴ καλουμένη Ἀμάλθεια πανδοκεύουσα, ὡραία καὶ καλὴ σφόδρα. Ἡρακλῆς δὲ ἡδόμενος αὐτῇ πλείονα χρόνον ἐπεξενοῦτο. Ἰόλαος δὲ βαρέως φέρων ἐπινοεῖ τὴν ἐμπολὴν τῆς Ἀμαλθείας ἐν κέρατι κειμένην ἀφελέσθαι, ἐξ ἧς ἐμπολῆς ὅ τι ἤθελεν ὠνεῖτο ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ. ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ συνέκδημοι „Ἡρακλῆς τὸ Ἀμαλθείας κέρας ἔσχεν, ἐξ οὗ ὠνεῖτο ὅσα βούλοιτο ἑαυτῷ.“ ἐκ τούτων οὖν ὁ μῦθος προσανεπλάσθη, καὶ οἱ γραφεῖς γράφοντες ⟨τὸν Ἡρακλέα⟩ προσγράφουσι τὸ Ἀμαλθείας κέρας.
45. The Horn of Amalthea
They say that Heracles carried everywhere the so-called horn of Amalthea, from which he got whatever he wished by praying. The truth is this. Heracles, travelling in Boeotia with his nephew Iolaus, stayed at an inn in Thespiae, in which there happened to be a woman called Amalthea who kept the inn, very beautiful and fair. Heracles, delighted with her, was a guest there for a long time. Iolaus, taking it ill, thought of taking away the trade of Amalthea, lying in a horn, from which trade he bought whatever he wanted for himself and Heracles. So the fellow-travellers said: “Heracles has the horn of Amalthea, from which he buys whatever he wishes for himself.” From this the myth was added. And painters, painting Heracles, add to him the horn of Amalthea.
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