Ἄργος δὲ Φορωνέως θυγατριδοῦς βασιλεύσας μετὰ Φορωνέα ὠνόμασεν ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ τὴν χώραν. Ἄργου δὲ Πείρασος γίνεται καὶ Φόρβας, Φόρβαντος δὲ Τριόπας, Τριόπα δὲ Ἴασος καὶ Ἀγήνωρ. Ἰὼ μὲν οὖν Ἰάσου θυγάτηρ, εἴτε ὡς Ἡρόδοτος ἔγραψεν εἴτε καθʼ ὃ λέγουσιν Ἕλληνες, ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἀφικνεῖται Κρότωπος δὲ ὁ Ἀγήνορος ἔσχε μετὰ Ἴασον τὴν ἀρχήν, Κροτώπου δὲ Σθενέλας γίνεται, Δαναὸς δʼ ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου πλεύσας ἐπὶ Γελάνορα τὸν Σθενέλα τοὺς ἀπογόνους τοὺς Ἀγήνορος βασιλείας ἔπαυσεν. τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ οἱ πάντες ὁμοίως ἴσασι, θυγατέρων τῶν Δαναοῦ τὸ ἐς τοὺς ἀνεψιοὺς τόλμημα καὶ ὡς ἀποθανόντος Δαναοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν Λυγκεὺς ἔσχεν.
οἱ δὲ Ἄβαντος τοῦ Λυγκέως παῖδες τὴν βασιλείαν ἐνείμαντο, καὶ Ἀκρίσιος μὲν αὐτοῦ κατέμεινεν ἐν τῷ Ἄργει, Προῖτος δὲ τὸ Ἡραῖον καὶ Μιδείαν καὶ Τίρυνθα ἔσχε καὶ ὅσα πρὸς θαλάσσῃ τῆς Ἀργείας· σημεῖά τε τῆς ἐν Τίρυνθι οἰκήσεως Προίτου καὶ ἐς τόδε λείπεται. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἀκρίσιος Περσέα αὐτόν τε περιεῖναι πυνθανόμενος καὶ ἔργα ἀποδείκνυσθαι, ἐς Λάρισαν ἀπεχώρησε τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Πηνειῷ. Περσεὺς δὲ—ἰδεῖν γὰρ πάντως ἤθελε τὸν γονέα τῆς μητρὸς καὶ λόγοις τε χρηστοῖς καὶ ἔργοις δεξιώσασθαι—ἔρχεται παρʼ αὐτὸν ἐς τὴν Λάρισαν· καὶ ὁ μὲν οἷα ἡλικίᾳ τε ἀκμάζων καὶ τοῦ δίσκου χαίρων τῷ εὑρήματι ἐπεδείκνυτο ἐς ἅπαντας, Ἀκρίσιος δὲ λανθάνει κατὰ δαίμονα ὑποπεσὼν τοῦ δίσκου τῇ ὁρμῇ.
καὶ Ἀκρισίῳ μὲν ἡ πρόρρησις τοῦ θεοῦ τέλος ἔσχεν, οὐδὲ ἀπέτρεψέν οἱ τὸ χρεὼν τὰ ἐς τὴν παῖδα καὶ τὸν θυγατριδοῦν παρευρήματα· Περσεὺς δὲ ὡς ἀνέστρεψεν ἐς Ἄργος—ᾐσχύνετο γὰρ τοῦ φόνου τῇ φήμῃ—, Μεγαπένθην τὸν Προίτου πείθει οἱ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀντιδοῦναι, παραλαβὼν δὲ αὐτὸς τὴν ἐκείνου Μυκήνας κτίζει. τοῦ ξίφους γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἐξέπεσεν ὁ μύκης αὐτῷ, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον ἐς οἰκισμὸν ἐνόμιζε συμβῆναι πόλεως. ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ ὡς διψῶντι ἐπῆλθεν ἀνελέσθαι οἱ μύκητα ἐκ τῆς γῆς, ῥυέντος δὲ ὕδατος πιὼν καὶ ἡσθεὶς Μυκήνας ἔθετο τὸ ὄνομα τῷ χωρίῳ.
Ὅμηρος δὲ ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ γυναικὸς Μυκήνης ἐν ἔπει τῷδε ἐμνήσθη Τυρώ τʼ Ἀλκμήνη τε ἐυστέφανός τε Μυκήνη. / ταύτην εἶναι θυγατέρα Ἰνάχου γυναῖκα δὲ Ἀρέστορος τὰ ἔπη λέγει, ἃ δὴ Ἕλληνες καλοῦσιν Ἠοίας μεγάλας· ἀπὸ ταύτης οὖν γεγονέναι καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ πόλει φασίν. ὃν δὲ προσποιοῦσιν Ἀκουσιλάῳ λόγον, Μυκηνέα υἱὸν εἶναι Σπάρτωνος, Σπάρτωνα δὲ Φορωνέως, οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε ἀποδεξαίμην, διότι μηδὲ αὐτοὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. Λακεδαιμονίοις γὰρ Σπάρτης μὲν γυναικὸς εἰκών ἐστιν ἐν Ἀμύκλαις, Σπάρτωνα δὲ Φορωνέως παῖδα θαυμάζοιεν ἂν καὶ ἀρχὴν ἀκούσαντες.
Μυκήνας δὲ Ἀργεῖοι καθεῖλον ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπίας. ἡσυχαζόντων γὰρ τῶν Ἀργείων κατὰ τὴν ἐπιστρατείαν τοῦ Μήδου, Μυκηναῖοι πέμπουσιν ἐς Θερμοπύλας ὀγδοήκοντα ἄνδρας, οἳ Λακεδαιμονίοις μετέσχον τοῦ ἔργου· τοῦτο ἤνεγκεν ὄλεθρόν σφισι τὸ φιλοτίμημα παροξῦναν Ἀργείους. λείπεται δὲ ὅμως ἔτι καὶ ἄλλα τοῦ περιβόλου καὶ ἡ πύλη, λέοντες δὲ ἐφεστήκασιν αὐτῇ· Κυκλώπων δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἔργα εἶναι λέγουσιν, οἳ Προίτῳ τὸ τεῖχος ἐποίησαν ἐν Τίρυνθι.
Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐρειπίοις κρήνη τέ ἐστι καλουμένη Περσεία καὶ Ἀτρέως καὶ τῶν παίδων ὑπόγαια οἰκοδομήματα, ἔνθα οἱ θησαυροί σφισι τῶν χρημάτων ἦσαν. τάφος δὲ ἔστι μὲν Ἀτρέως, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ὅσους σὺν Ἀγαμέμνονι ἐπανήκοντας ἐξ Ἰλίου δειπνίσας κατεφόνευσεν Αἴγισθος. τοῦ μὲν δὴ Κασσάνδρας μνήματος ἀμφισβητοῦσι Λακεδαιμονίων οἱ περὶ Ἀμύκλας οἰκοῦντες· ἕτερον δέ ἐστιν Ἀγαμέμνονος, τὸ δὲ Εὐρυμέδοντος τοῦ ἡνιόχου, καὶ Τελεδάμου τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ Πέλοπος— τούτους γὰρ τεκεῖν διδύμους Κασσάνδραν φασί,
νηπίους δὲ ἔτι ὄντας ἐπικατέσφαξε τοῖς γονεῦσιν Αἴγισθος—καὶ Ἠλέκτρας· Πυλάδῃ γὰρ συνῴκησεν Ὀρέστου δόντος. Ἑλλάνικος δὲ καὶ τάδε ἔγραψε, Μέδοντα καὶ Στρόφιον γενέσθαι Πυλάδῃ παῖδας ἐξ Ἠλέκτρας. Κλυταιμνήστρα δὲ ἐτάφη καὶ Αἴγισθος ὀλίγον ἀπωτέρω τοῦ τείχους· ἐντὸς δὲ ἀπηξιώθησαν, ἔνθα Ἀγαμέμνων τε αὐτὸς ἔκειτο καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐκείνῳ φονευθέντες.
Argos, the son of Phoroneus’ daughter, reigned after Phoroneus, and gave his name to the district. Argos begat Pirasus and Phorbas, Phorbas begat Triopas, and Triopas begat Iasus and Agenor. Io, daughter of Iasus, went to Egypt either in the way that Herodotus states, or in the way commonly alleged by the Greeks. Iasus was succeeded on the throne by Crotopus, son of Agenor, and Crotopus had a son Sthenelas. But Danaus sailed from Egypt against Gelanor, son of Sthenelas, and deposed the house of Agenor. Every one knows the sequel, how the daughters of Danaus wrought a bold bad deed on their cousins, and how Lynceus came to the throne on the death of Danaus.
But the sons of Abas, son of Lynceus, divided the kingdom amongst themselves, Acrisius remaining in Argos, and Proetus taking the Heraeum, Midea, Tiryns, and the coast of Argolis. Traces still remain of the house of Proetus at Tiryns. Afterwards Acrisius, learning that Perseus was alive and distinguishing himself, retired to Larisa on the Peneus. But Perseus, bent on seeing his mother’s father, and showing him kindness by word and deed, went to him at Larisa. Being in the prime of youthful vigour, and delighting in his invention of the quoit, he was exhibiting his skill in public. But as fate would have it, Acrisius unwittingly got in the way of the quoit as it was being thrown. Thus the prophecy of the god was fulfilled on Acrisius, nor did the precautions which he took with reference to his daughter and her son avail to avert his doom.
When Perseus returned to Argos, ashamed at the notoriety of the homicide, he persuaded Megapenthes, son of Proetus, to change kingdoms with him. So when he had received the kingdom of Proetus he founded Mycenae, because there the cap (mykes) of his scabbard had fallen off, and he regarded this as a sign to found a city. I have also heard that being thirsty he chanced to take up a mushroom (mykes), and that water flowing from it he drank, and being pleased gave the place the name of Mycenae. In the Odyssey Homer mentions a woman Mycene in the following verse :— Tyro and Alcmena and well-crowned Mycene. That she was the daughter of Inachus and wife of Arestor is affirmed in the epic which the Greeks call the Great Eoeae. They say, then, that from her the city got its name. But I cannot accept the account which they attribute to Acusilaus, that Myceneus was a son of Sparton, and Sparton a son of Phoroneus; for the Lacedaemonians themselves do not admit it. The Lacedaemonians certainly have in Amyclae a statue of a woman Sparta, but it would surprise them even to hear of Sparton son of Phoroneus. 4. The Argives destroyed Mycenae out of jealousy. For while they remained inactive at the time of the invasion of the Medes, the Mycenaeans sent eighty men to Thermopylae, who fought side by side with the Lacedaemonians. But this spirited conduct of the Mycenaeans proved their ruin, by exasperating the Argives. However, parts of the circuit wall are still left, including the gate, which is surmounted by lions. These also are said to be the work of the Cyclopes, who made the walls of Tiryns for Proetus.
Among the ruins of Mycenae is a conduit called Persea, and there are underground buildings of Atreus and his children, where their treasures were kept. There is a grave of Atreus, and graves of all those who on their return from Ilium with Agamemnon were murdered by Aegisthus after a banquet which he gave them. The tomb of Cassandra is disputed: the Lacedaemonians of Amyclae claim that it is at Amyclae. Another tomb is that of Agamemnon; another is that of Eurymedon the charioteer ; another is that of Teledamus and Pelops. The two last are said to have been twin children of Cassandra, who were murdered by Aegisthus in their infancy after he had murdered their parents . . . . for Orestes gave her in marriage to Pylades. Hellanicus adds that Pylades had Medon and Strophius by Electra. But Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus were buried at a little distance from the wall; for they were deemed unworthy to be buried within the walls, where Agamemnon himself and those who had been murdered with him were laid.
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