γενομένης δὲ Ἐτεοκλεῖ τῆς τελευτῆς ἡ βασιλεία περιῆλθεν ἐς τὸ Ἄλμου γένος. Ἄλμῳ δὲ αὐτῷ μὲν θυγατέρες Χρυσογένεια ἐγένετο καὶ Χρύση· Χρύσης δὲ τῆς Ἄλμου καὶ Ἄρεως ἔχει φήμη γενέσθαι Φλεγύαν, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν Ἐτεοκλέους ἀποθανόντος ἄπαιδος ὁ Φλεγύας ἔσχεν οὗτος. τῇ μὲν δὴ χώρᾳ τῇ πάσῃ Φλεγυαντίδα ὄνομα εἶναι μετέθεντο ἀντὶ Ἀνδρηίδος,
πόλις δὲ ἐγένετο ἥ τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἰκισθεῖσα ἡ Ἀνδρηὶς καὶ προσέκτισεν ὁ Φλεγύας ὁμώνυμον αὑτῷ, τοὺς τὰ πολεμικὰ ἀρίστους Ἑλλήνων συλλέξας ἐς αὐτήν. καὶ ἀπέστησάν τε ἀνὰ χρόνον ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων Ὀρχομενίων ὑπὸ ἀνοίας καὶ τόλμης οἱ Φλεγύαι καὶ ἦγον καὶ ἔφερον τοὺς προσοίκους· τέλος δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν συλήσοντες στρατεύουσι τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, ὅτε καὶ Φιλάμμων λογάσιν Ἀργείων ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς βοηθήσας αὐτός τε ἀπέθανεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ καὶ οἱ τῶν Ἀργείων λογάδες.
τοὺς δὲ Φλεγύας πολέμῳ μάλιστα Ἑλλήνων χαίρειν μαρτυρεῖ μοι καὶ ἔπη τῶν ἐν Ἰλιάδι περὶ Ἄρεως καὶ Φόβου τοῦ Ἄρεως πεποιημένα, τὼ μὲν ἄρʼ εἰς Ἐφύρους πόλεμον μέτα θωρήσσεσθον / ἠὲ μετὰ Φλεγύας μεγαλήτορας· / Ἐφύρους δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν τοὺς ἐν τῇ Θεσπρωτίδι ἠπείρῳ λέγει. τὸ μὲν δὴ Φλεγυῶν γένος ἀνέτρεψεν ἐκ βάθρων ὁ θεὸς κεραυνοῖς συνεχέσι καὶ ἰσχυροῖς σεισμοῖς· τοὺς δὲ ὑπολειπομένους νόσος ἐπιπεσοῦσα ἔφθειρε λοιμώδης, ὀλίγοι δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν Φωκίδα διαφεύγουσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν.
Φλεγύᾳ δὲ οὐ γενομένων παίδων ἐκδέχεται Χρύσης τὴν ἀρχήν, Χρυσογενείας τε ὢν τῆς Ἄλμου καὶ Ποσειδῶνος. τούτῳ δὲ υἱὸς γίνεται τῷ Χρύσῃ Μινύας, καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ Μινύαι καὶ νῦν ἔτι ὧν ἦρχεν ὀνομάζονται. πρόσοδοι δὲ ἐγίνοντο τῷ Μινύᾳ τηλικαῦται μέγεθος ὡς ὑπερβαλέσθαι τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ πλούτῳ· θησαυρόν τε ἀνθρώπων ὧν ἴσμεν Μινύας πρῶτος ἐς ὑποδοχὴν χρημάτων ᾠκοδομήσατο.
Ἕλληνες δὲ ἄρα εἰσὶ δεινοὶ τὰ ὑπερόρια ἐν θαύματι τίθεσθαι μείζονι ἢ τὰ οἰκεῖα, ὁπότε γε ἀνδράσιν ἐπιφανέσιν ἐς συγγραφὴν πυραμίδας μὲν τὰς παρὰ Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπῆλθεν ἐξηγήσασθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον, θησαυρὸν δὲ τὸν Μινύου καὶ τὰ τείχη τὰ ἐν Τίρυνθι οὐδὲ ἐπὶ βραχὺ ἤγαγον μνήμης, οὐδὲν ὄντα ἐλάττονος θαύματος.
Μινύου δὲ ἦν Ὀρχομενός, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου βασιλεύοντος ἥ τε πόλις Ὀρχομενὸς καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἐκλήθησαν Ὀρχομένιοι· διέμεινε δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον καὶ Μινύας ἐπονομάζεσθαι σφᾶς ἐς διάκρισιν ἀπὸ Ὀρχομενίων τῶν ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ. παρὰ τοῦτον τὸν Ὀρχομενὸν βασιλεύοντα Ὕηττος ἀφίκετο ἐξ Ἄργους, φεύγων ἐπὶ τῷ Μολούρου φόνῳ τοῦ Ἀρίσβαντος, ὅντινα ἀπέκτεινεν ἐπὶ γυναικὶ ἑλὼν γαμετῇ· καὶ αὐτῷ τῆς χώρας ἀπένειμεν Ὀρχομενὸς ὅση νῦν περί τε Ὕηττόν ἐστι τὴν κώμην καὶ ταύτῃ προσεχής.
Ὑήττου δὲ ἐποιήσατο μνήμην καὶ ὁ τὰ ἔπη συνθεὶς ἃς μεγάλας Ἠοίας καλοῦσιν Ἕλληνες· Ὕηττος δὲ Μόλουρον Ἀρίσβαντος φίλον υἱόν / κτείνας ἐν μεγάροις εὐνῆς ἕνεχʼ ἧς ἀλόχοιο, / οἶκον ἀποπρολιπὼν φεῦγʼ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο, / ἷξεν δʼ Ὀρχομενὸν Μινυήιον· καί μιν ὅ γʼ ἥρως / δέξατο καὶ κτεάνων μοῖραν πόρεν ὡς ἐπιεικές. /
πρῶτος δὲ οὗτος ὁ Ὕηττος δίκην μοιχείας λαβὼν δῆλός ἐστι· καὶ χρόνῳ ὕστερον Δράκοντος Ἀθηναίοις θεσμοθετήσαντος ἐκ τῶν ἐκείνου κατέστη νόμων, οὓς ἔγραφεν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἄλλων τε ὁπόσων ἄδειαν εἶναι χρὴ καὶ δὴ καὶ τιμωρίας μοιχοῦ. τὸ δὲ ἀξίωμα τῶν Μινυῶν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο ἤδη προῆκτο, ὥστε καὶ Νηλεὺς Κρηθέως βασιλεύων Πύλου γυναῖκα ἔσχεν ἐξ Ὀρχομενοῦ Χλῶριν Ἀμφίονος τοῦ Ἰασίου.
On the death of Eteocles the kingdom devolved on the house of Almus. Almus had two daughters, Chrysogenia and Chryse, and tradition runs that Chryse had by Ares a son Phlegyas, who, when Eteocles died childless, succeeded to the throne. The name of the whole country was now changed from Andreis to Phlegyantis ; and besides the original city of Andreis, Phlegyas founded another city, named after himself, whither he gathered all the best warriors of Greece.
In course of time the reckless and daring Phlegyans renounced their connection with Orchomenus and began to harry their neighbours, till at last they actually made a raid on the sanctuary at Delphi. On that occasion Philammon led a picked body of Argives against them ; but he fell in the battle, he and his men. That the Phlegyans delighted in war beyond any of the Greeks is proved also by the lines in the Iliad about Ares and Terror, the son of Ares :— The two were arming for battle to go forth to the Ephyrians Or to the great-hearted Phlegyans. By the Ephyrians the poet, I think, here means the Ephyrians of Thesprotis. But the god utterly overthrew the Phlegyan race by continual thunderbolts and violent earthquakes ; and the survivors were wasted by a pestilence, but a few of them escaped to Phocis.
As Phlegyas had no children he was succeeded by Chryses, a son of Poseidon by Chrysogenia, daughter of Almus. Chryses had a son Minyas, after whom the people he ruled over are still named Minyans. So great were the revenues of Minyas, that he outdid his predecessors in riches, and he was the first man we know of who built a treasury to store his wealth in. It appears to be a characteristic of the Greeks to admire what they see abroad more than what they see at home. For while distinguished historians have given us the minutest descriptions of the Egyptian pyramids, they have not even mentioned the treasury of Minyas and the walls of Tiryns, which are not a whit less wonderful.
Minyas had a son Orchomenus, in whose reign the city was called Orchomenus and the people Orchomenians ; nevertheless they continued to be called Minyans also, to distinguish them from the Orchomenians in Arcadia. To the court of King Orchomenus came Hyettus from Argos, exiled from his native land for the murder of Molurus, son of Arisbas, whom he had caught with his wedded wife. Orchomenus assigned to him all the land about what is now the village of Hyettus, together with the neighbouring territory. Hyettus is also mentioned by the author of the epic which the Greeks call the Great Eoeae :— But Hyettus slew Molurus, the dear son of Arisbas, In the hall on account of his wife’s bed ; And he left his home and fled from horse-breeding Argos, And he came to Minyan Orchomenus, and the hero Received him and gave him a share of his possessions, as was meet. This Hyettus is the first man who is known to have exacted punishment for adultery. Afterwards when Draco legislated for the Athenians, it was laid down in the code which he drew up during his term of office that vengeance inflicted on an adulterer should be one of the deeds to which no legal penalty was attached. So high did the dignity of the Minyans stand, that even Neleus, son of Cretheus, king of Pylus, took a wife from Orchomenus, to wit, Chloris, daughter of Amphion, son of Iasius.
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