ἔτεσι δὲ οὐ πολλοῖς ὕστερον Μέδων καὶ Νειλεὺς πρεσβύτατοι τῶν Κόδρου παίδων ἐστασίασαν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀρχῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἔφασκεν ὁ Νειλεὺς ἀνέξεσθαι βασιλευόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Μέδοντος, ὅτι ὁ Μέδων τὸν ἕτερον ἦν τῶν ποδῶν χωλός· δόξαν δέ σφισιν ἀνενεγκεῖν ἐς τὸ χρηστήριον τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, δίδωσι Μέδοντι ἡ Πυθία βασιλείαν τὴν Ἀθηναίων. οὕτω δὴ ὁ Νειλεὺς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Κόδρου παίδων ἐς ἀποικίαν ἀπεστάλησαν, ἀγαγόντες μὲν καὶ αὐτῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸν βουλόμενον, τὸ δὲ πλεῖστόν σφισιν ἦσαν τοῦ στρατεύματος οἱ Ἴωνες.
ἐκ δὲ τῆς Ἑλλάδος τρίτος δὴ οὗτος στόλος ὑπὸ βασιλεῦσιν ἀλλοίοις ὄχλοις τε ἀλλοίοις ἐστάλησαν. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχαιότατα Ἰόλαος Θηβαῖος, ἀδελφιδοῦς ὁ Ἡρακλέους, Ἀθηναίοις ἐς Σαρδὼ καὶ Θεσπιεῦσιν ἡγήσατο· γενεᾷ δὲ μιᾷ πρότερον ἢ ἐξέπλευσαν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν Ἴωνες, Λακεδαιμονίους τε καὶ Μινύας τοὺς ἐκβληθέντας ὑπὸ Πελασγῶν ἐκ Λήμνου Θήρας ὁ Αὐτεσίωνος Θηβαῖος ἤγαγεν ἐς τὴν νῆσον τὴν νῦν μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θήρα τούτου, πρότερον δὲ ὀνομαζομένην Καλλίστην.
τρίτον δὲ τότε οἱ Κόδρου παῖδες ἐπετάχθησαν Ἴωσιν ἄρχοντες, οὐδέν σφισι γένους τοῦ Ἴωνος μετόν, ἀλλὰ Μεσσήνιοι μὲν τῶν ἐκ Πύλου τὰ πρὸς Κόδρου καὶ Μελάνθου, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ ὄντες τὰ πρὸς μητρός. Ἴωσι δὲ τοῦ στόλου μετασχόντες ἦσαν οἵδε Ἑλλήνων, Θηβαῖοί τε οἱ ὁμοῦ Φιλώτᾳ γεγονότι ἀπογόνῳ Πηνέλεω καὶ Ὀρχομένιοι Μινύαι συγγενείᾳ τῶν Κόδρου παίδων·
μετέσχον δὲ καὶ Φωκεῖς οἱ ἄλλοι πλὴν Δελφῶν καὶ Ἄβαντες ἐξ Εὐβοίας. τοῖς δὲ Φωκεῦσι Φιλογένης καὶ Δάμων οἱ Εὐκτήμονος Ἀθηναῖοι ναῦς τε διδόασιν ἐς τὸν πλοῦν καὶ αὐτοί σφισιν ἐς τὴν ἀποικίαν ἐγένοντο ἡγεμόνες· ὡς δὲ ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν κατῆραν, ἐπʼ ἄλλην ἐτρέποντο ἄλλοι τῶν ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ πόλεων, Νειλεὺς δὲ καὶ ἡ σὺν αὐτῷ μοῖρα ἐς Μίλητον.
Μιλήσιοι δὲ αὐτοὶ τοιάδε τὰ ἀρχαιότατά σφισιν εἶναι λέγουσιν· ἐπὶ γενεὰς μὲν δύο Ἀνακτορίαν καλεῖσθαι τὴν γῆν Ἄνακτός τε αὐτόχθονος καὶ Ἀστερίου βασιλεύοντος τοῦ Ἄνακτος, Μιλήτου δὲ κατάραντος στόλῳ Κρητῶν ἥ τε γῆ τὸ ὄνομα μετέβαλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Μιλήτου καὶ ἡ πόλις. ἀφίκετο δὲ ἐκ Κρήτης ὁ Μίλητος καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸς Μίνω τὸν Εὐρώπης φεύγοντες, οἱ δὲ Κᾶρες οἱ πρότερον νεμόμενοι τὴν χώραν σύνοικοι τοῖς Κρησὶν ἐγένοντο·
τότε δὲ ὡς ἐκράτησαν τῶν ἀρχαίων Μιλησίων οἱ Ἴωνες, τὸ μὲν γένος πᾶν τὸ ἄρσεν ἀπέκτειναν πλὴν ὅσοι τῆς πόλεως ἁλισκομένης ἐκδιδράσκουσι, γυναῖκας δὲ καὶ θυγατέρας τὰς ἐκείνων γαμοῦσι. τοῦ δὲ Νειλέως ὁ τάφος ἰόντων ἐς Διδύμους ἐστὶν οὐ πόρρω τῶν πυλῶν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ· τὸ δὲ ἱερὸν τὸ ἐν Διδύμοις τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ τὸ μαντεῖόν ἐστιν ἀρχαιότερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν Ἰώνων ἐσοίκησιν, πολλῷ δὲ πρεσβύτερα ἔτι ἢ κατὰ Ἴωνας τὰ ἐς τὴν Ἄρτεμιν τὴν Ἐφεσίαν ἐστίν.
οὐ μὴν πάντα γε τὰ ἐς τὴν θεὸν ἐπύθετο ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν Πίνδαρος, ὃς Ἀμαζόνας τὸ ἱερὸν ἔφη τοῦτο ἱδρύσασθαι στρατευομένας ἐπὶ Ἀθήνας τε καὶ Θησέα. αἱ δὲ ἀπὸ Θερμώδοντος γυναῖκες ἔθυσαν μὲν καὶ τότε τῇ Ἐφεσίᾳ θεῷ, ἅτε ἐπιστάμεναι ἐκ παλαιοῦ τὸ ἱερόν, καὶ ἡνίκα Ἡρακλέα ἔφυγον, αἱ δὲ καὶ Διόνυσον τὰ ἔτι ἀρχαιότερα, ἱκέτιδες ἐνταῦθα ἐλθοῦσαι· οὐ μὴν ὑπὸ Ἀμαζόνων γε ἱδρύθη, Κόρησος δὲ αὐτόχθων καὶ Ἔφεσος—Καΰστρου δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸν Ἔφεσον παῖδα εἶναι νομίζουσιν—, οὗτοι τὸ ἱερόν εἰσιν οἱ ἱδρυσάμενοι, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἐφέσου τὸ ὄνομά ἐστι τῇ πόλει.
Λέλεγες δὲ τοῦ Καρικοῦ μοῖρα καὶ Λυδῶν τὸ πολὺ οἱ νεμόμενοι τὴν χώραν ἦσαν· ᾤκουν δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἄλλοι τε ἱκεσίας ἕνεκα καὶ γυναῖκες τοῦ Ἀμαζόνων γένους. Ἄνδροκλος δὲ ὁ Κόδρου—οὗτος γὰρ δὴ ἀπεδέδεικτο Ἰώνων τῶν ἐς Ἔφεσον πλευσάντων βασιλεύς—Λέλεγας μὲν καὶ Λυδοὺς τὴν ἄνω πόλιν ἔχοντας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τῆς χώρας· τοῖς δὲ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν οἰκοῦσι δεῖμα ἦν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ Ἴωσιν ὅρκους δόντες καὶ ἀνὰ μέρος παρʼ αὐτῶν λαβόντες ἐκτὸς ἦσαν πολέμου. ἀφείλετο δὲ καὶ Σάμον Ἄνδροκλος Σαμίους, καὶ ἔσχον Ἐφέσιοι χρόνον τινὰ Σάμον καὶ τὰς προσεχεῖς νήσους·
Σαμίων δὲ ἤδη κατεληλυθότων ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα Πριηνεῦσιν ἤμυνεν ἐπὶ τοὺς Κᾶρας ὁ Ἄνδροκλος, καὶ νικῶντος τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ ἔπεσεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ. Ἐφέσιοι δὲ ἀνελόμενοι τοῦ Ἀνδρόκλου τὸν νεκρὸν ἔθαψαν τῆς σφετέρας ἔνθα δείκνυται καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἔτι τὸ μνῆμα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ παρὰ τὸ Ὀλυμπιεῖον καὶ ἐπὶ πύλας τὰς Μαγνήτιδας· ἐπίθημα δὲ τῷ μνήματι ἀνήρ ἐστιν ὡπλισμένος.
οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες οἱ Μυοῦντα ἐσοικισάμενοι καὶ Πριήνην, Κᾶρας μὲν καὶ οὗτοι τὰς πόλεις ἀφείλοντο· οἰκισταὶ δὲ Μυοῦντος μὲν Κυάρητος ἐγένετο ὁ Κόδρου, Πριηνεῖς δὲ Ἴωσιν ἀναμεμιγμένοι Θηβαῖοι Φιλώταν τε τὸν ἀπόγονον Πηνέλεω καὶ Αἴπυτον Νειλέως παῖδα ἔσχον οἰκιστάς. Πριηνεῖς μὲν δὴ ὑπὸ Ταβούτου τε τοῦ Πέρσου καὶ ὕστερον ὑπὸ Ἱέρωνος ἀνδρὸς ἐπιχωρίου κακωθέντες ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον ὅμως τελοῦσιν ἐς Ἴωνας· Μυοῦντος δὲ οἱ οἰκήτορες ἐπὶ τύχῃ τοιᾷδε ἐξέλιπον τὴν πόλιν.
κατὰ τὴν Μυουσίαν χώραν θαλάσσης κόλπος ἐσεῖχεν οὐ μέγας· τοῦτον λίμνην ὁ ποταμὸς ἐποίησεν ὁ Μαίανδρος, ἀποτεμόμενος τὸν ἔσπλουν τῇ ἰλύι· ὡς δὲ ἐνόστησε τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ οὐκέτι ἦν θάλασσα, οἱ κώνωπες ἄπειρον πλῆθος ἐγίνοντο ἐκ τῆς λίμνης, ἐς ὃ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἠνάγκασαν ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν πόλιν. ἀπεχώρησαν δὲ ἐς Μίλητον Μυούσιοι τά τε ἄλλα ἀγώγιμα καὶ τῶν θεῶν φερόμενοι τὰ ἀγάλματα, καὶ ἦν κατʼ ἐμὲ οὐδὲν ἐν Μυοῦντι ὅτι μὴ Διονύσου ναὸς λίθου λευκοῦ· Μυουσίοις δέ γε κατέλαβεν ἐοικότα καὶ Ἀταρνείτας παθεῖν τοὺς ὑπὸ Περγάμῳ.
Not many years afterwards Medon and Nileus, the eldest of the sons of Codrus, quarrelled about the sovereignty, and Nileus declared that he would not endure to be ruled by Medon, because Medon was lame of one leg. They agreed to refer the question to the Delphic oracle, and the Pythian priestess gave the kingdom of Athens to Medon. So Nileus and the rest of the sons of Codrus set out to found a colony, taking with them such of the Athenians as chose to follow them, but the bulk of their army was composed of the Ionians.
This was the third expedition sent out by Greece in which the kings were of a different stock from the common folk. The most ancient of such expeditions was when the Theban Iolaus, nephew of Hercules, led a body of Athenians and Thespians to Sardinia; and one generation before the Ionians sailed away from Athens, some Lacedaemonians and the Minyans who had been expelled from Lemnos by the Pelasgians were conducted by the Theban Theras, son of Autesion, to the island which is now named after him, but which was formerly named Calliste. The third occasion was that referred to, when the sons of Codrus were appointed to lead the Ionians, with whom they had no ties of blood ; for through Codrus and Melanthus they were sprung from the Messenians of Pylus, and on the mother’s side they were Athenians. The Greeks who shared in the expedition of the Ionians were these: some Thebans led by Philotas, a descendant of Peneleus ; some Minyans of Orchomenus, because of their kinship with the sons of Codrus; likewise all the Phocians except the Delphians ; and besides the Phocians the Abantes from Euboea. The Phocians were supplied with ships for the voyage by the Athenians Philogenes and Damon, sons of Euctemon, who themselves took the lead of the emigrants. When they landed in Asia, they divided and attacked different cities on the coast. Nileus and his division turned their steps to Miletus.
The Milesians themselves give the following account of their early history. For two generations, they say, the land was called Anactoria, the kings being Anax, an aboriginal, and his son Asterius. But when Miletus had put into their shores with a host of Cretans, both the land and the city took their new name from him. Miletus and his army came from Crete, fleeing from Minos, son of Europa. And the Carians, the former inhabitants of the land, fused with the Cretans. But to return. The Ionians, having conquered the ancient Milesians, put the whole male sex to the sword except such as made their escape when the city fell; but the wives and daughters of the Milesians they married. The grave of Nileus is on the left of the road not far from the gate as you go to Didymi.
The sanctuary of Apollo at Didymi and the oracle are older than the Ionian immigration, and very much more ancient than that event is the worship of the Ephesian Artemis. But Pindar, it seems to me, was not fully informed touching the goddess, for he says that this sanctuary was founded by the Amazons on their expedition against Athens and Theseus. It is true that the women from the Thermodon, knowing the sanctuary from of old, sacrificed to the Ephesian goddess both on that occasion and when they fled from Hercules ; and some of them had sacrificed there at a still remoter time when they fled from Dionysus and sought the protection of the sanctuary. But it was not by them that the sanctuary was founded. The founders were Coresus, an aboriginal, and Ephesus, who is supposed to have been a son of the river Cayster ; and from Ephesus the city took its name. The inhabitants of the land were partly Leleges, a section of the Carian race, but the bulk were Lydians. Besides these a certain number of persons, including some of the Amazons, dwelt in sanctuary round about the holy place.
Androclus, son of Codrus (for it was he who had been made king of the Ionians who sailed against Ephesus), expelled from the country the Leleges and the Lydians who inhabited the upper city. But those who dwelt round about the sanctuary had nothing to fear: they plighted faith with the Ionians and were left in peace. Androclus further wrested Samos from the Samians, and for a while the Ephesians held Samos and the neighbouring islands.
After the Samians had returned to their own land, Androclus helped the people of Priene against the Carians. The Greeks were victorious, but Androclus fell in the battle. The Ephesians carried off his body and buried it in their own land, at the spot where the tomb is shown to this day, on the road that leads from the sanctuary past the Olympieum towards the Magnesian gate. Over the tomb is the figure of an armed man.
The Ionians who settled in Myus and Priene also wrested these cities from Carians. Myus had for its founder Cyaretus, son of Codrus: the Prienians, a mixed population of Thebans and Ionians, had for their founders Philotas, the descendant of Peneleus, and Aepytus, son of Nileus. Priene, though it suffered very severely at the hands of Tabalus the Persian, and afterwards at the hands of Hiero, a native, is still a city of Ionia. But the inhabitants of Myus abandoned their city in consequence of the following occurrence. A creek of the sea used to run up into the land of Myus; but it was turned into a swamp by the river Maeander, which choked up the mouth with mud. When the water became fresh and ceased to be salt, countless swarms of gnats were bred by the swamp, till the people were forced to quit the city. They withdrew to Miletus, taking with them the images of their gods and their other movables, and in my time there was nothing at Myus save a temple of Dionysus of white marble. A like calamity befell the people of Atarneus, a town situated down from Pergamus.
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