Ὑψικρέων δὲ Μιλήσιος καὶ Προμέδων Νάξιος μάλιστα φίλω ἤστην. Ἀφικομένου οὖν ποτε Προμέδοντος εἰς Μίλητον, θατέρου λέγεται τὴν γυναῖκα Νέαιραν ἐρασθῆναι αὐτοῦ. Καὶ παρόντος μὲν τοῦ Ὑψικρέοντος μὴ τολμᾶν αὐτὴν διαλέγεσθαι τῷ ξένῳ·
μετὰ δὲ χρόνον ὡς ὁ μὲν Ὑψικρέων ἐτύγχανεν ἀποδημῶν, ὁ δὲ αὖτις ἀφίκετο, νύκτωρ αὐτοῦ κοιμωμένου ὑπεισέρχεται ἡ Νέαιρα καὶ πρῶτον μὲν οἵα τε ἦν πείθειν αὐτόν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἐνεδίδου, Δία τε Ἑταιρήιον καὶ Ξένιον αἰδούμενος, προσέταξεν ἡ Νέαιρα ταῖς θεραπαίναις ἀποκλεῖσαι τὸν θάλαμον, καὶ οὕτως, πολλὰ ἐπαγωγὰ ποιούσης, ἠναγκάσθη μιγῆναι αὐτῇ·
τῇ μέντοι ὑστεραίᾳ δεινὸν ἡγησάμενος εἶναι τὸ πραχθὲν ᾤχετο πλέων ἐπὶ τῆς Νάξου. ἔνθα δὴ καὶ ἡ Νέαιρα δείσασα τὸν Ὑψικρέοντα διέπλευσεν εἰς τὴν Νάξον· κἀπειδὴ αὐτὴν ἐζήτει ὁ Ὑψικρέων, ἱκέτις προσκαθίζετο ἐπὶ τῆς ἑστίας τῆς ἐν τῷ Πρυτανείῳ.
Οἱ δὲ Νάξιοι λιπαροῦντι τῷ Ὑψικρέοντι ἐκδώσειν μὲν οὐκ ἔφασαν, ἐκέλευον μέντοι πείσαντα αὐτὴν ἄγεσθαι· δόξας δὲ ὁ Ὑψικρέων ἀσεβεῖσθαι, πείθει τοὺς Μιλησίους πολεμεῖν τοῖς Ναξίοις.
From the first book of Theophrastus’ Political History
1. Hypsicreon of Miletus and Promedon of Naxos were two very great friends. The story is that when on one occasion Promedon was on a visit to Miletus, his friend’s wife fell in love with him. While Hypsicreon was there, she did not venture to disclose the state of her affections to her guest; but later, when Hypsicreon happened to be abroad and Promedon was again there, she went in to him at night when he was asleep. 2. To begin with she tried to persuade him to consent; when he would not give in, fearing Zeus the god of Comradeship and Hospitality, she bade her serving-maids lock the doors of the chamber upon them; and so at last, overcome by the multitude of her blandishments, he was forced to content her. 3. On the morrow, however, feeling that he had committed an odious crime, he left her and sailed away for Naxos; and then Neaera, in fear of Hypsicreon, also journeyed to Naxos; and, when her husband came to fetch her, took up a suppliant’s position at the altar-hearth of the Prytaneum. 4. When Hypsicreon asked the Naxians to give her up, they refused, rather advising him to do what he could to get her away by persuasion; but he, thinking that this treatment of him was against all the canons of right, induced Miletus to declare war upon Naxos.
Σκέλλις τε καὶ Κασσαμενὸς κήτορος οἱ Θρᾴκης ὁρμήσαντες ἀπὸ νήσου τῆς πρότερον μὲν Στρογγύλης, ὕστερον δὲ Νάξου κληθείσης, ἐληίζοντο μὲν τήν τε Πελοπόννησον καὶ τὰς πέριξ νήσους, προσσχόντες δὲ Θεσσαλίᾳ πολλάς τε ἄλλας γυναῖκας κατέσυραν, ἐν δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἀλωέως γυναῖκα Ἰφιμέδην καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτῆς Παγκρατώ· ἧς ἀμφότεροι εἰς ἔρωτα ἀφικόμενοι ἀλλήλους κατέκτειναν.
From the second book of the Naxiaca of Andriscus
SCELLIS and Agassamenus, the sons of Hecetor, who came from Thrace, started from the island originally called Strongyle but afterwards Naxos, and plundered the Peloponnese and the islands about it: when reaching Thessaly they carried a great number of women into captivity; among them Iphimede the wife of Haloeus and her daughter Pancrato. With this maiden they both of them fell in love, and fought for her and killed each other.
Λέγεται δὲ καὶ Οἰνοπίωνος καὶ Νύμφης Ἑλίκης Αἱρὼ κόρην γενέσθαι· ταύτης δὲ Ὠρίωνα τὸν Ὑριέως ἐρασθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῦ παραιτεῖσθαι τὴν κόρην, καὶ διὰ ταύτην τήν τε νῆσον ἐξημερῶσαι τότε θηρίων ἀνάπλεων οὖσαν, λείαν τε πολλὴν περιελαύνοντα τῶν προσχώρων ἕδνα διδόναι.
Τοῦ μέντοι Οἰνοπίωνος ἑκάστοτε ὑπερτιθεμένου τὸν γάμον διὰ τὸ ἀποστυγεῖν αὐτῷ γαμβρὸν τοιοῦτον γενέσθαι, ὑπὸ μέθης ἔκφρονα γενόμενον τὸν Ὠρίωνα κατᾶξαι τὸν θάλαμον, ἔνθα ἡ παῖς ἐκοιμᾶτο, καὶ βιαζόμενον ἐκκαῆναι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ Οἰνοπίωνος.
1. AERO, so the story runs, was the daughter of Oenopion and the nymph Helice. Orion, the son of Hyrieus, fell in love with her, and asked her father for her hand; for her sake he rendered the island where they lived habitable (it was formerly full of wild beasts), and he also gathered together much booty from the folk who lived there and brought it as a bridal-gift for her. 2. Oenopion however constantly kept putting off the time of the wedding, for he hated the idea of having such a man as his daughter’s husband. Then Orion, maddened by strong drink, broke in the doors of the chamber where the girl was lying asleep, and as he was offering violence to her Oenopion attacked him and put out his eyes with a burning brand.
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