Καθ’ ὃν δὲ χρόνον ἐπὶ Ναξίους Μιλήσιοι ἔβησαν σὺν ἐπικούροις καὶ τεῖχος πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐνοικοδομησάμενοι τήν τε χώραν ἔτεμνον καὶ καθείρξαντες τοὺς Ναξίους ἐφρούρουν, τότε παρθένος ἀπολειφθεῖσα κατά τινα δαίμονα ἐν Δηλίῳ ἱερῷ, ὃ πλησίον τῆς πόλεως κεῖται, ʽΠολυκρίτη ὄνομα αὐτᾖ τὸν τῶν Ἐρυθραίων ἡγεμόνα Διόγνητον εἷλεν, ὃς οἰκείαν δύναμιν ἔχων συνεμάχει τοῖς Μιλησίοις.
Πολλῷ δὲ συνεχόμενος πόθῳ διεπέμπετο πρὸς αὐτήν· οὐ γὰρ δή γε θεμιτὸν ἦν ἱκέτιν οὖσαν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ βιάζεσθαι· ἡ δ’ ἕως μέν τινος οὐ προσίετο τοὺς παραγινομένους· ἐπεὶ μέντοι πολὺς ἐνέκειτο, οὐκ ἔφη πεισθήσεσθαι αὐτῷ, εἰ μὴ ὀμόσειεν ὑπηρετήσειν αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἂν βουληθῇ.
Ὁ δὲ Διόγνητος οὐδὲν ὑποτοπήσας τοιόνδε μάλα προθύμως ὤμοσεν Ἄρτεμιν χαριεῖσθαι αὐτῇ ὅ τι ἂν προαιρῆται· κατομοσαμένου δὲ ἐκείνου, λαβομένη τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ἡ Πολυκρίτη μιμνήσκεται περὶ προδοσίας τοῦ χωρίου, καὶ πολλὰ καθικετεύει αὐτήν τε οἰκτείρειν καὶ τὰς συμφορὰς τῆς πόλεως.
Ὁ δὲ Διόγνητος ἀκούσας τοῦ λόγου ἐκτός τε ἐγένετο αὑτοῦ καὶ σπασάμενος τὴν μάχαιραν ὥρμησεν διεργάσασθαι τὴν κόρην. Ἐν νῷ μέντοι λαβὼν τὸ εὔγνωμον αὐτῆς καὶ ἅμα ὑπ’ ἔρωτος κρατούμενος ʽἔδει γάρ, ὡς ἔοικε, Ναξίοις μεταβολὴν γενέσθαι τῶν παρόντων κακῶν’ τότε μὲν οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο, βουλευόμενος τί ποιητέον εἴη· τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ καθωμολογήσατο προδώσειν.
κἀν τῷδε τοῖς Μιλησίοις ἑορτὴ μετὰ τρίτην ἡμέραν Θαργήλια ἐπῄει, ἐν ᾗ πολύν τε ἄκρατον ἐμφοροῦνται καὶ τὰ πλείστου ἄξια καταναλίσκουσι· τότε οὖν παρεσκευάζετο προδιδόναι τὸ χωρίον· καὶ εὐθέως διὰ τῆς Πολυκρίτης ἐνθέμενος εἰς ἄρτον μολυβδίνην ἐπιστολὴν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτῆς ʽἐτύγχανον δὲ ἄρα τῆς πόλεως ἡγεμόνες οὗτοἰ ὅπως εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα παρασκευασάμενοι ἥκωσιν· σημεῖον δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀνασχήσειν αὐτὸς ἔφη λαμπτῆρα.
Καὶ ἡ Πολυκρίτη δὲ τῷ κομίζοντι τὸν ἄρτον φράζειν ἐκέλευε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μὴ ἐνδοιασθῆναι, ὡς τῆς πράξεως ἐπὶ τέλος ἀχθησομένης, εἰ μὴ ἐκεῖνοι ἐνδοιασθεῖεν. Τοῦ δὲ ἀγγέλου ταχέως εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐλθόντος, Πολυκλῆς, ὁ τῆς Πολυκρίτης ἀδελφός, ἐν πολλῇ φροντίδι ἐγίνετο εἴτε πεισθείη τοῖς ἐπεσταλμένοις εἴτε μή·
τέλος δέ, ὡς ἐδόκει πᾶσι πείθεσθαι καὶ νὺξ ἐπῆλθεν, ἐν ᾗ προσετέτακτο παραγίνεσθαι, πολλὰ κατευξάμενοι τοῖς θεοῖς, εἰσδεχομένων αὐτοὺς τῶν ἀμφὶ Διόγνητον, ἐσπίπτουσιν εἰς τὸ τεῖχος τῶν Μιλησίων οἱ μέν τινες κατὰ τὴν ἀνεῳγμένην πυλίδα, οἱ δὲ καὶ τὸ τεῖχος ὑπερελθόντες, ἀθρόοι τε ἐντὸς γενόμενοι κατέκαινον τοὺς Μιλησίους. ἔνθα δὴ κατ’ ἄγνοιαν ἀποθνήσκει καὶ Διόγνητος.
Τῇ δὲ ἐπιούσῃ οἱ Νάξιοι πάντες πολὺν πόθον εἶχον θεάσασθαι τὴν κόρην· καὶ οἱ μέν τινες αὐτὴν μίτραις ἀνέδουν, οἱ δὲ ζώναις, αἷς βαρηθεῖσα ἡ παῖς διὰ πλῆθος τῶν ἐπιρριπτουμένων ἀπεπνίγη. Καὶ αὐτὴν δημοσίᾳ θάπτουσιν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ, πάντα ἑκατὸν ἐναγίσαντες αὐτῇ· φασὶ δέ τινες καὶ Διόγνητον ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καῆναι, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἡ παῖς, σπουδασάντων τῶν Ναξίων.
From the first book of the Naxiaca of Andriscus; and the story is also related by Theophrastus in the fourth book of his Political History
1. Once the men of Miletus made an expedition against the Naxians with strong allies; they built a wall round their city, ravaged their country, and blockaded them fast. By the providence of some god, a maiden named Polycrite had been left in the temple of the Delian goddess near the city: and she captured by her beauty the love of Diognetus, the leader of the Erythraeans, who was fighting on the side of the Milesians at the head of his own forces. 2. Constrained by the strength of his desire, he kept sending messages to her (for it would have been impiety to ravish her by force in the very shrine); at first she would not listen to his envoys, but when she saw his persistence she said that she would never consent unless he swore to accomplish whatever wish she might express. 3. Diognetus had no suspicion of what she was going to exact, and eagerly swore by Artemis that he would perform her every behest: and after he had taken the oath, Polycrite seized his hand and claimed that he should betray the blockade, beseeching him vehemently to take pity upon her and the sorrows of her country. 4. When Diognetus heard her request, he became quite beside himself, and, drawing his sword, was near putting an end to her. But when, however, he came to ponder upon her patriotism, being at the same time mastered by his passion,— for it was appointed, it seems, that the Naxians should be relieved of the troubles that beset them—for the moment he returned no answer, taking time to consider his course of action, and on the morrow consented to the betrayal. 5. Meanwhile, three days later, came the Milesians’ celebration of the Thargelia—a time when they indulge in a deal of strong wine and make merry with very little regard to the cost; and he decided to take advantage of this for the occasion of his treachery. He then and there enclosed a letter, written on a tablet of lead, in a loaf of bread, and sent it to Polycrite’s brothers, who chanced to be the citizens’ generals, in which he bade them get ready and join him that very night; and he said that he would give them the necessary direction by holding up a light: 6. and Polycrite instructed the bearer of the loaf to tell her brothers not to hesitate; for if they acted without hesitation the business would be brought to a successful end. When the messenger had arrived in the city, Polycles, Polycrite’s brother, was in the deepest anxiety as to whether he should obey the message or no: 7. finally universal opinion was on the side of action and the night-time came on, when they were bidden to make the sally in force. So, after much prayer to the gods, they joined Diognetus’ company and then made an attack on the Milesians’ blockading wall, some through a gate left open for them and others by scaling the wall; and then, when once through, joined together again and inflicted a terrible slaughter upon the Milesians, 8. and in the fray Diognetus was accidentally killed. On the following day all the Naxians were most desirous of doing honour to the girl: but they pressed on her such a quantity of head-dresses and girdles that she was overcome by the weight and quantity of the offerings, and so was suffocated. They gave her a public funeral in the open country, sacrificing a hundred sheep to her shade: and some say that, at the Naxians’ particular desire, the body of Diognetus was burnt upon the same pyre as that of the maiden.
Ἐν δὲ Θεσσαλίᾳ Κυάνιππος, υἱὸς Φάρακος, μάλα καλῆς παιδὸς εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν Λευκώνης ἐλθών, παρὰ τῶν πατέρων αἰτησάμενος αὐτὴν ἠγάγετο γυναῖκα. Ἦν δὲ φιλοκύνηγος· καὶ μεθ’ ἡμέραν μὲν ἐπί τε λέοντας καὶ κάπρους ἐφέρετο, νύκτωρ δὲ κατῄει πάνυ κεκμηκὼς πρὸς τὴν κόρην, ὥστε μηδὲ διὰ λόγων ἔσθ’ ὅτε γινόμενον αὐτῇ εἰς βαθὺν ὕπνον καταφέρεσθαι.
Ἡ δὲ ἄρα ὑπό τε ἀνίας καὶ ἀλγηδόνων συνεχομένη ἐν πολλῇ ἀμηχανίᾳ ἦν σπουδήν τε ἐποιεῖτο κατοπτεῦσαι τὸν Κυάνιππον, ὅ τι ποιῶν ἥδοιτο τῇ κατ’ ὄρος διαίτῃ· αὐτίκα δὲ εἰς γόνυ ζωσαμένη κρύφα τῶν θεραπαινίδων εἰς τὴν ὕλην καταδύνει.
Αἱ δὲ τοῦ Κυανίππου κύνες ἐδίωκον μὲν ἔλαφον, οὖσαι δὲ οὐ πάνυ κτίλοι, ἅτε δὴ ἐκ πολλοῦ ἠγριωμέναι, ὡς ὠσφρήσαντο τῆς κόρης, ἐπηνέχθησαν αὐτῇ, καὶ μηδενὸς παρόντος πᾶσαν διεσπάραξαν. καὶ ἡ μὲν διὰ πόθον ἀνδρὸς κουριδίου ταύτῃ τέλος ἔσχε·
Κυάνιππος δέ, ὡς ἐπελθὼν κατέλαβε λελωβημένην τὴν Λευκώνην, μεγάλου τε ἄχους ἐπληρώθη, καὶ ἀνακαλεσάμενος τοὺς ἀμφ’ αὑτόν, ἐκείνην μὲν πυρὰν νηήσας ἐπέθετο, αὐτὸς δὲ πρῶτον μὲν τὰς κύνας ἐπικατέσφαξε τῇ πυρᾷ, ἔπειτα δὲ πολλὰ ἀποδυράμενος τὴν παῖδα διεχρήσατο ἑαυτόν.
1. In Thessaly there was one Cyanippus, the son of Pharax, who fell in love with a very beautiful girl named Leucone: he begged her hand from her parents, and married her. Now he was a mighty hunter; all day he would chase lions and wild boars, and when night came he used to reach the damsel utterly tired out, so that sometimes he was not even able to talk to her before he fell into a deep sleep. 2. At this she was afflicted by grief and care; and, not knowing how things stood, determined to take all pains to spy upon Cyanippus, to find out what was the occupation which gave him such delight during his long periods of staying out on the mountains. So she girded up her skirts above the knee, and, taking care not to be seen by her maid-servants, slipped into the woods. 3. Cyanippus’ hounds were far from tame; they had indeed become extremely savage from their long experience of hunting: and when they scented the damsel, they rushed upon her, and, in the huntsman’s absence, tore her to pieces; and that was the end of her, all for the love she bore to her young husband. 4. When Cyanippus came up and found her all torn by the dogs, he called together his companions and made a great pyre, and set her upon it; first he slew his hounds on the pyre, and then, with much weeping and wailing for his wife, put an end to himself as well.
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