τῶν δὲ γυναικῶν τῶν μεταξὺ τῆς τε Αἴθρας καὶ Νέστορος, εἰσὶν ἄνωθεν τούτων αἰχμάλωτοι καὶ αὗται Κλυμένη τε καὶ Κρέουσα καὶ Ἀριστομάχη καὶ Ξενοδίκη. Κλυμένην μὲν οὖν Στησίχορος ἐν Ἰλίου πέρσιδι κατηρίθμηκεν ἐν ταῖς αἰχμαλώτοις· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ Ἀριστομάχην ἐποίησεν ἐν Νόστοις θυγατέρα μὲν Πριάμου, Κριτολάου δὲ γυναῖκα εἶναι τοῦ Ἱκετάονος· Ξενοδίκης δὲ μνημονεύσαντα οὐκ οἶδα οὔτε ποιητὴν οὔτε ὅσοι λόγων συνθέται. ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ Κρεούσῃ λέγουσιν ὡς ἡ θεῶν μήτηρ καὶ Ἀφροδίτη δουλείας ἀπὸ Ἑλλήνων αὐτὴν ἐρρύσαντο, εἶναι γὰρ δὴ καὶ Αἰνείου τὴν Κρέουσαν γυναῖκα· Λέσχεως δὲ καὶ ἔπη τὰ Κύπρια διδόασιν Εὐρυδίκην γυναῖκα Αἰνείᾳ.
γεγραμμέναι δὲ ἐπὶ κλίνης ὑπὲρ ταύτας Δηινόμη τε καὶ Μητιόχη καὶ Πεῖσίς ἐστι καὶ Κλεοδίκη· τούτων ἐν Ἰλιάδι καλουμένῃ μικρᾷ μόνης ἐστὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς Δηινόμης, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν συνέθηκε τὰ ὀνόματα ὁ Πολύγνωτος. γέγραπται δὲ καὶ Ἐπειὸς γυμνὸς καταβάλλων ἐς ἔδαφος τῶν Τρώων τὸ τεῖχος· ἀνέχει δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ κεφαλὴ τοῦ ἵππου μόνη τοῦ δουρείου. Πολυποίτης δὲ ὁ Πειρίθου δεδεμένος τὴν κεφαλὴν ταινίᾳ καὶ παρʼ αὐτὸν Ἀκάμας ἐστὶν ὁ Θησέως ἐπικείμενος τῇ κεφαλῇ κράνος·
λόφος δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ κράνει πεποίηται. καὶ Ὀδυσσεύς τέ ἐστι καὶ ἐνδέδυκε θώρακα Ὀδυσσεύς. Αἴας δὲ ὁ Οἰλέως ἔχων ἀσπίδα βωμῷ προσέστηκεν, ὀμνύμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐς Κασσάνδραν τολμήματος· ἡ δὲ κάθηταί τε ἡ Κασσάνδρα χαμαὶ καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἔχει τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, εἴγε δὴ ἀνέτρεψεν ἐκ βάθρων τὸ ξόανον, ὅτε ἀπὸ τῆς ἱκεσίας αὐτὴν ὁ Αἴας ἀφεῖλκε. γεγραμμένοι δὲ καὶ οἱ παῖδές εἰσιν οἱ Ἀτρέως, ἐπικείμενοι καὶ οὗτοι κράνη, Μενελάῳ δὲ ἀσπίδα ἔχοντι δράκων ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι ἐστὶν εἰργασμένος τοῦ ἐν Αὐλίδι φανέντος ἐπὶ τοῖς ἱερείοις τέρατος ἕνεκα. ὑπὸ τούτοις τοῖς τὸν Αἴαντα ἐξορκοῦσιν, κατʼ εὐθὺ δὲ τοῦ ἵππου τοῦ
παρὰ τῷ Νέστορι Νεοπτόλεμος ἀπεκτονώς ἐστιν Ἔλασον, ὅστις δὴ ὁ Ἔλασος. οὗτος μὲν δὴ ὀλίγον ἐμπνέοντι ἔτι εἴκασται· Ἀστύνοον δέ, οὗ δὴ ἐποιήσατο καὶ Λέσχεως μνήμην, πεπτωκότα ἐς γόνυ ὁ Νεοπτόλεμος ξίφει παίει. Νεοπτόλεμον δὲ μόνον τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ φονεύοντα ἔτι τοὺς Τρῶας ἐποίησεν ὁ Πολύγνωτος, ὅτι ὑπὲρ τοῦ Νεοπτολέμου τὸν τάφον ἡ γραφὴ πᾶσα ἔμελλεν αὐτῷ γενήσεσθαι. τοῦ δὲ Ἀχιλλέως τῷ παιδὶ Ὅμηρος μὲν Νεοπτόλεμον ὄνομα ἐν ἁπάσῃ οἱ τίθεται τῇ ποιήσει· τὰ δὲ Κύπρια ἔπη φησὶν ὑπὸ Λυκομήδους μὲν Πύρρον, Νεοπτόλεμον δὲ ὄνομα ὑπὸ Φοίνικος αὐτῷ τεθῆναι, ὅτι Ἀχιλλεὺς ἡλικίᾳ ἔτι νέος πολεμεῖν ἤρξατο.
γέγραπται δὲ βωμός τε καὶ ὑπὸ δείματος παῖς μικρὸς ἐχόμενος τοῦ βωμοῦ· κεῖται δὲ καὶ θώραξ ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ χαλκοῦς. κατὰ δὴ ἐμὲ σπάνιον τῶν θωράκων τὸ σχῆμα ἦν τούτων, τὸ δὲ ἀρχαῖον ἔφερον αὐτούς. δύο ἦν χαλκᾶ ποιήματα, τὸ μὲν στέρνῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὴν γαστέρα ἁρμόζον, τὸ δὲ ὡς νώτου σκέπην εἶναι —γύαλα ἐκαλοῦντο—· τὸ μὲν ἔμπροσθεν τὸ δὲ ὄπισθεν προσῆγον, ἔπειτα περόναι συνῆπτον πρὸς ἄλληλα.
ἀσφάλειαν δὲ ἀποχρῶσαν ἐδόκει παρέχεσθαι καὶ ἀσπίδος χωρίς· ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ Ὅμηρος Φόρκυνα τὸν Φρύγα οὐκ ἔχοντα ἀσπίδα ἐποίησεν, ὅτι αὐτῷ γυαλοθώραξ ἦν. ἐγὼ δὲ γραφῇ μεμιμημένον τοῦτον ἐθεασάμην ὑπὸ τοῦ Πολυγνώτου, καὶ ἐν Ἀρτέμιδος τῆς Ἐφεσίας Καλλιφῶν ὁ Σάμιος Πατρόκλῳ τοῦ θώρακος τὰ γύαλα ἁρμοζούσας ἔγραψε γυναῖκας.
τοῦ βωμοῦ δὲ ἐπέκεινα Λαοδίκην ἔγραψεν ἑστῶσαν. ταύτην οὔτε ὑπὸ ποιητοῦ κατειλεγμένην ἐν ταῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ταῖς Τρῳάσιν εὕρισκον οὔτε ἄλλως ἐφαίνετο ἔχειν μοι τὸ εἰκὸς ἢ ἀφεθῆναι τὴν Λαοδίκην ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων. Ὅμηρος μέν γε ἐδήλωσεν ἐν Ἰλιάδι Μενελάου καὶ Ὀδυσσέως ξενίαν παρὰ Ἀντήνορι καὶ ὡς Ἑλικάονι ἡ Λαοδίκη συνοικοίη τῷ Ἀντήνορος·
Λέσχεως δὲ τετρωμένον τὸν Ἑλικάονα ἐν τῇ νυκτομαχίᾳ γνωρισθῆναί τε ὑπὸ Ὀδυσσέως καὶ ἐξαχθῆναι ζῶντα ἐκ τῆς μάχης φησίν. ἕποιτο ἂν οὖν τῇ Μενελάου καὶ Ὀδυσσέως κηδεμονίᾳ περὶ οἶκον τὸν Ἀντήνορος μηδὲ ἐς τοῦ Ἑλικάονος τὴν γυναῖκα ἔργον δυσμενὲς ὑπὸ Ἀγαμέμνονος καὶ Μενελάου γενέσθαι· Εὐφορίων δὲ ἀνὴρ Χαλκιδεὺς σὺν οὐδενὶ εἰκότι τὰ ἐς τὴν Λαοδίκην ἐποίησεν.
ἐφεξῆς δὲ τῇ Λαοδίκῃ ὑποστάτης τε λίθου καὶ λουτήριόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῷ ὑποστάτῃ χαλκοῦν, Μέδουσα δὲ κατέχουσα ταῖς χερσὶν ἀμφοτέραις τὸ ὑπόστατον ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους κάθηται· ἐν δὲ ταῖς Πριάμου θυγατράσιν ἀριθμήσαι τις ἂν καὶ ταύτην κατὰ τοῦ Ἱμεραίου τὴν ᾠδήν. παρὰ δὲ τὴν Μέδουσαν ἐν χρῷ κεκαρμένη πρεσβῦτις ἢ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν εὐνοῦχος, παιδίον δὲ ἐν τοῖς γόνασιν ἔχει γυμνόν· τὸ δὲ τὴν χεῖρα ὑπὸ δείματος ἐπίπροσθε τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν πεποίηται.
Above the women grouped between Aethra and Nestor are other captive women, Clymene, Creusa, Aristomache, and Xenodice. Stesichorus, in his Sack of Ilium, reckons Clymene among the captive women; also in the Returns (Nostoi) he represents Aristomache as a daughter of Priam and wife of Critolaus son of Hicetaon ; but I know of no poet or prose writer who mentions Xenodice. Touching Creusa, they say that the Mother of the Gods and Aphrodite rescued her from Greek slavery because she was the wife of Aeneas. But Lescheos and the author of the epic called the Cypria say that Aeneas’ wife was Eurydice. Above these are painted sitting on a couch, Deinome, Metioche, Pisis, and Cleodice. Of these, Deinome alone is mentioned in the Little Iliad, as it is called: the names of the others, I suppose, were invented by Polygnotus. Epeus is painted naked, in the act of razing to the ground the wall of Troy: above the wall appears the head alone of the Wooden Horse. Polypoetes, son of Pirithous, is represented with a fillet tied round his head, and beside him is Acamas, son of Theseus, wearing a helmet on his head, and there is a crest on the helmet. Ulysses is also represented . . . and Ulysses is clad in a corselet. And Ajax, son of Oileus, holding a shield, is standing beside an altar, taking an oath with regard to the outrage on Cassandra. Cassandra herself is seated on the ground and is holding the image of Athena, for she overturned the wooden image from its pedestal when Ajax dragged her out of sanctuary. The sons of Atreus are also depicted wearing helmets. Menelaus holds a shield, and on the shield is wrought a serpent, in allusion to the prodigy which appeared at Aulis. They are swearing Ajax on the sacrificial victims. In a straight line with the horse which stands by Nestor’s side, is Neoptolemus: he has just slain Elasus, whoever Elasus may be. Elasus is represented still faintly breathing. Astynous, who is also mentioned by Lescheos, has fallen on his knees, and Neoptolemus is smiting him with his sword. Neoptolemus is the only one of the Grecian host whom Polygnotus depicted as still engaged in slaughtering the Trojans, and the reason is that the whole painting was to be executed over the grave of Neoptolemus. The son of Achilles is always named Neoptolemus by Homer ; but in the epic called the Cypria it is said that he was named Pyrrhus by Lycomedes, and Neoptolemus (‘young warrior’) by Phoenix, because Achilles began to make war at an early age.
In the painting is seen an altar and a little boy clinging to it for fear, and on the altar is a bronze corselet. Corselets of the sort represented are scarce nowadays, but they were worn in the olden time. They consisted of two bronze pieces called gyala: one fitted the breast and the parts about the belly ; the other was meant to protect the back. One was put on in front, the other behind; then they were joined by buckles. Such a corselet was thought to be a sufficient protection even without a shield ; hence Homer represents Phorcys, the Phrygian, without a shield, because he had one of these corselets. I have seen a corselet of this sort depicted, not only in Polygnotus’ painting, but also in a painting by Calliphon the Samian in the temple of Ephesian Artemis, where women are represented buckling on the gyala of Patroclus’ corselet. 2. On the farther side of the altar Laodice is painted standing. I do not find Laodice included by any poet in the list of captive Trojan women, and probability appears to me entirely in favour of the supposition that she was released by the Greeks. For Homer in the Iliad describes the hospitable reception of Menelaus and Ulysses in the house of Antenor, and how Laodice was the wife of Antenor’s son Helicaon. And Lescheos says that Helicaon, wounded in the nocturnal battle, was recognised by Ulysses and carried alive out of the fray. Hence the regard which Menelaus and Ulysses had for the house of Antenor would make it natural that Agamemnon and Menelaus should do no ill turn to the wife of Helicaon. The tale which Euphorion, a Chalcidian poet, tells about Laodice is wholly improbable. Next to Laodice in the picture is a bronze wash-basin on a stone stand. Medusa is seated on the ground grasping the stand in both hands. She, if we were to follow the ode of the Himeraean poet, would have to be reckoned among the daughters of Priam. Beside Medusa is an old woman or eunuch, with closely cropped hair, holding a naked child on his or her knees. The child is represented holding its hand before its eyes for fear.
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