Λεύκιππος δέ, Ξανθίου παῖς, γένος τῶν ἀπὸ Βελλεροφόντου, διαφέρων ἰσχύι μάλιστα τῶν καθ’ ἑαυτόν, ἤσκει τὰ πολεμικά. Διὸ πολὺς ἦν λόγος περὶ αὐτοῦ παρά τε Λυκίοις καὶ τοῖς προσεχέσι τούτοις, ἅτε δὴ ἀγομένοις καὶ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν δυσχερὲς πάσχουσιν.
Οὗτος κατὰ μῆνιν Ἀφροδίτης εἰς ἔρωτα ἀφικόμενος τῆς ἀδελφῆς, τέως μὲν ἐκαρτέρει, οἰόμενος ῥᾷστα ἀπαλλάξεσθαι τῆς νόσου· ἐπεὶ μέντοι χρόνου διαγενομένου οὐδὲ ἐπ’ ὀλίγον ἐλώφα τὸ πάθος, ἀνακοινοῦται τῇ μητρὶ καὶ πολλὰ καθικέτευε, μὴ περιιδεῖν αὐτὸν ἀπολλύμενον· εἰ γὰρ αὐτῷ μὴ συνεργήσειεν, ἀποσφάξειν αὑτὸν ἠπείλει.
Τῆς δὲ παραχρῆμα τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν φαμένης τελέσειν, ῥᾴων ἤδη γέγονεν· ἀνακαλεσαμένη δὲ τὴν κόρην συγκατακλίνει τἀδελφῷ, κἀκ τούτου συνῆσαν οὐ μάλα τινὰ δεδοικότες, ἕως τις ἐξαγγέλλει τῷ κατηγγυημένῳ τὴν κόρην μνηστῆρι.
Ὁ δὲ τόν τε αὑτοῦ πατέρα παραλαβὼν καί τινας τῶν προσηκόντων, πρόσεισι τῷ Ξανθίῳ καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν καταμηνύει, μὴ δηλῶν τοὔνομα τοῦ Λευκίππου. Ξάνθιος δὲ δυσφορῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς προσηγγελμένοις πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἐτίθετο φωρᾶσαι τὸν φθορέα, καὶ διεκελεύσατο τῷ μηνυτῇ, ὁπότε ἴδοι συνόντας, αὐτῷ δηλῶσαι·
τοῦ δὲ ἑτοίμως ὑπακούσαντος καὶ αὐτίκα τὸν πρεσβύτην ἐπαγαγομένου τῷ θαλάμῳ, ἡ παῖς, αἰφνιδίου ψόφου γενηθέντος, ἵετο διὰ θυρῶν, οἰομένη λήσεσθαι τὸν ἐπιόντα· καὶ αὐτὴν ὁ πατὴρ ὑπολαβὼν εἶναι τὸν φθορέα πατάξας μαχαίρᾳ καταβάλλει.
Τῆς δὲ περιωδύνου γενομένης καὶ ἀνακραγούσης, ὁ Λεύκιππος ἐπαμύνων αὐτῇ καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐκπεπλῆχθαι μὴ προϊδόμενος ὅστις ἦν, κατακτείνει τὸν πατέρα. δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν ἀπολιπὼν τὴν οἰκίαν Θετταλοῖς ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν εἰς Κρήτην ἡγήσατο, κἀκεῖθεν ἐξελαθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν προσοίκων εἰς τὴν Ἐφεσίαν ἀφίκετο, ἔνθα χωρίον ᾤκησε τὸ Κρητιναῖον ἐπικληθέν.
Τοῦ δὲ Λευκίππου τούτου λέγεται τὴν Μανδρολύτου θυγατέρα Λευκοφρύην ἐρασθεῖσαν προδοῦναι τὴν πόλιν τοῖς πολεμίοις, ὧν ἐτύγχανεν ἡγούμενος ὁ Λεύκιππος, ἑλομένων αὐτὸν κατὰ θεοπρόπιον τῶν δεκατευθέντων ἐκ Φερῶν ὑπ’ Ἀδμήτου.
From the Leontium of Hermesianax
1. Now Leucippus the son of Xanthius, a descendant of Bellerophon, far outshone his contemporaries in strength and warlike valour. Consequently he was only too well known among the Lycians and their neighbours, who were constantly being plundered and suffering all kinds of ill treatment at his hands: 2. Through the wrath of Aphrodite he fell in love with his own sister: at first he held out, thinking that he would easily be rid of his trouble; but when time went on and his passion did not abate at all, he told his mother of it, and implored her earnestly not to stand by and see him perish; for he threatened that, if she would not help him, he would kill himself. She promised immediately that she would help him to the fulfilment of his desires, and he was at once much relieved: 3. she summoned the maiden to her presence and united her to her brother, and they consorted thenceforward without fear of anybody, until someone informed the girl’s intended spouse, who was indeed already betrothed to her. But he, taking with him his father and certain of his kinsfolk, went to Xanthius and informed him of the matter, concealing the name of Leucippus. 4. Xanthius was greatly troubled at the news, and exerted all his powers to catch his daughter’s seducer, and straitly charged the informer to let him know directly he saw the guilty pair together. The informer gladly obeyed these instructions, and had actually led the father to her chamber, when the girl jumped up at the sudden noise they made, and tried to escape by the door, hoping so to avoid being caught by whoever was coming: her father, thinking that she was the seducer, struck her with his dagger and brought her to the ground. 5. She cried out, being in great pain; Leucippus ran to her rescue, and, in the confusion of the moment not recognising his adversary, gave his father his deathblow. For this crime he had to leave his home: he put himself at the head of a party of Thessalians who had united to invade Crete, and after being driven thence by the inhabitants of the island, repaired to the country near Ephesus, where he colonised a tract of land which gained the name of Cretinaeum. 6. It is further told of Leucippus that, by the advice of an oracle, he was chosen as leader by a colony of one in ten sent out from Pherae by Admetus, and that, when he was besieging a city, Leucophrye the daughter of Mandrolytus fell in love with him, and betrayed the town to her father’s enemies.
Λέγεται καὶ Σίθωνα τὸν Ὀδομάντων βασιλέα γεννῆσαι θυγατέρα Παλλήνην καλήν τε καὶ ἐπίχαριν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πλεῖστον χωρῆσαι τὸ κλέος αὐτῆς, φοιτᾶν τε μνηστῆρας οὐ μόνον ἀπ’ αὐτῆς τῆς Θρᾴκης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι πρόσωθέν τινας, ἀπό τε Ἰλλυρίδος καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ Τανάιδος ποταμοῦ κατῳκημένων· τὸν δὲ Σίθωνα πρῶτον μὲν κελεύειν τοὺς ἀφικνουμένους μνηστῆρας πρὸς μάχην ἰέναι τὴν κόρην ἔχοντα, εἰ δὲ ἥττων φανείη, τεθνάναι, τούτῳ τε τῷ τρόπῳ πάνυ συχνοὺς ἀνῃρήκει.
Μετὰ δὲ ὡς αὐτόν τε ἡ πλείων ἰσχὺς ἐπιλελοίπει, ἔγνωστό τε αὐτῷ τὴν κόρην ἁρμόσασθαι, δύο μνηστῆρας ἀφιγμένους, Δρύαντά τε καὶ Κλεῖτον, ἐκέλευεν, ἄθλου προκειμένου τῆς κόρης, ἀλλήλοις διαμάχεσθαι, καὶ τὸν μὲν τεθνάναι, τὸν δὲ περιγενόμενον τήν τε βασιλείαν καὶ τὴν παῖδα ἔχειν.
Τῆς δὲ ἀφωρισμένης ἡμέρας παρούσης, ἡ Παλλήνη ʽἔτυχε γὰρ ἐρῶσα τοῦ Κλείτοὐ πάνυ ὠρρώδει περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ σημῆναι μὲν οὐκ ἐτόλμα τινὶ τῶν ἀμφ’ αὑτήν, δάκρυα δὲ πολλὰ κατεχεῖτο τῶν παρειῶν αὐτῆς, ἕως οὗ ὁ τροφεὺς αὐτῆς πρεσβύτης ἀναπυνθανόμενος καὶ ἐπιγνοὺς τὸ πάθος τῇ μὲν θαρρεῖν παρεκελεύσατο, ὡς ᾗ βούλεται, ταύτῃ τοῦ πράγματος χωρήσοντος·
αὐτὸς δὲ κρύφα ὑπέρχεται τὸν ἡνίοχον τοῦ Δρύαντος, καὶ αὐτῷ χρυσὸν πολὺν ὁμολογήσας πείθει διὰ τῶν ἁρματηίων τροχῶν μὴ διεῖναι τὰς περόνας. Ἔνθα δὴ ὡς ἐς μάχην ἐξῄεσαν καὶ ἤλαυνεν ὁ Δρύας ἐπὶ τὸν Κλεῖτον, οἱ τροχοὶ περιερρύησαν αὐτῷ τῶν ἁρμάτων· καὶ οὕτως πεσόντα αὐτὸν ἐπιδραμὼν ὁ Κλεῖτος ἀναιρεῖ.
Αἰσθόμενος δὲ ὁ Σίθων τόν τε ἔρωτα καὶ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τῆς θυγατρός, μάλα μεγάλην πυρὰν νήσας καὶ ἐπιθεὶς τὸν Δρύαντα οἷος ἦν ἐπικατασφάζειν καὶ τὴν Παλλήνην· φαντάσματος δὲ θείου γενομένου καὶ ἐξαπιναίως ὕδατος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πολλοῦ καταρραγέντος, μετέγνω τε καὶ γάμοις ἀρεσάμενος τὸν παρόντα Θρᾳκῶν ὅμιλον ἐφίησι τῷ Κλείτῳ τὴν κόρην ἄγεσθαι.
From Theagenes and the Palleniaca of Hegesippus
1. The story is told that Pallene was the daughter of Sithon, king of the Odomanti, and was so beautiful and charming that the fame of her went far abroad, and she was sought in marriage by wooers not only from Thrace, but from still more distant parts, such as from Illyria and those who lived on the banks of the river Tanais. 2. At first Sithon challenged all who came to woo her to fight with him for the girl, with the penalty of death in case of defeat, and in this matter caused the destruction of a considerable number. 3. But later on, when his vigour began to fail him, he realised that he must find her a husband, and when two suitors came, Dryas and Clitus, he arranged that they should fight one another with the girl as the prize of victory; the vanquished was to be killed, while the survivor was to have both her and the kingship. 4. When the day appointed for the battle arrived, Pallene (who had fallen deeply in love with Clitus) was terribly afraid for him: she dared not tell what she felt to any of her companions, but tears coursed down and down over her cheeks until her old tutor realised the state of affairs, and, after he had become aware of her passion, encouraged her to be of good cheer, as all would come about according to her desires: and he went off and suborned the chariot-driver of Dryas, inducing him, by the promise of a heavy bribe, to leave undone the pins of his chariot-wheels. 5. In due course the combatants came out to fight: Dryas charged Clitus, but the wheels of his chariot came off, and Clitus ran upon him as he fell and put an end to him. 6. Sithon came to know of his daughter’s love and of the stratagem that had been employed; and he constructed a huge pyre, and, setting the body of Dryas upon it, proposed to slay Pallene at the same time; but a heaven-sent prodigy occurred, a tremendous shower bursting suddenly from the sky, so that he altered his intention and, deciding to give pleasure by the celebration of a marriage to the great concourse of Thracians who were there, allowed Clitus to take the girl to wife.
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