The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

by Apollodorus

  It is said by some,* however, that Meleager met his end not in that way, but as follows. The sons of Thestios raised an argument about the hunt, saying that Iphiclos had been the first to hit the boar, and because of this a war broke out between the Curetes and the Calydonians. When Meleager marched out and killed some of the sons of Thestios, Althaia cursed him, which so enraged him that he confined himself to his house. But when the enemy forces were drawing close to the walls, and the citizens approached him as suppliants and asked him to come to their aid, he was persuaded by his wife, though with difficulty, to march out, and after he had killed the other sons of Thestios, he met his own death in the fighting. After the death of Meleager, Althaia and Cleopatra hanged themselves, and the women who wailed over his dead body were transformed into birds.*

  The later history of Oineus, and the birth and exile of Tydeus

  4 After Althaia’s death, Oineus married Periboia, the daughter of Hipponoos. According to the author of the Thebaid, Oineus received her as a prize after the sack of Olenos, but according to Hesiod she had been seduced by Hippostratos, son of Amarynceus, and her father sent her away from Olenos in Achaea to Oineus,* who lived some distance from Greece, with orders that he kill her. 5 Or according to some, Hipponoos discovered that his daughter had been seduced by Oineus, and he sent her away to him when she was already pregnant. It was by her that Oineus fathered Tydeus. Peisandros says, however, that Tydeus was born to Gorge; for in accordance with the will of Zeus, Oineus conceived a passion for his own daughter.

  When Tydeus grew to manhood, he was exiled for having killed, according to some accounts, Alcathoos, a brother of Oineus, or according to the author of the Alcmaeonid, the sons of Melas* who had plotted against Oineus, namely Pheneus, Euryalos, Hyperlaos, Antiochos, Eumedes, Sternops, Xanthippos, and Sthenelaos. According to Pherecydes, however, he killed his own brother,* Olenias. When Agrios tried to bring charges against him, he fled to Adrastos in Argos, and married Adrastos’ daughter, Deipyle, who bore him a son, Diomedes.*

  6 Tydeus joined Adrastos in the expdition against Thebes, where he was wounded by Melanippos and died. The sons of Agrios—Thersites,* Onchestos, Prothoos, Celeutor, Lycopeus, and Melanippos—robbed Oineus of his kingdom and gave it to their father, and furthermore they imprisoned Oineus (who was still alive) and ill-treated him. Afterwards, however, Diomedes arrived in secret from Argos with Alcmaion and killed all the sons of Agrios, apart from Onchestos and Thersites, who had fled beforehand to the Peloponnese; and since Oineus was now an old man, Diomedes gave the kingdom to Andraimon, who had married Oineus’ daughter, and took Oineus back with him to the Peloponnese. But the two sons of Agrios who had managed to escape laid an ambush for the old man near the Hearth of Telephos in Arcadia, and killed him. Diomedes took his body to Argos, and buried him at the place where a city called Oinoe, which is named after him, now lies. After his marriage to Aigialeia, the daughter of Adrastos (or according to some, of Aigialeus), Diomedes took part in the expeditions against Thebes and Troy.

  Athamas, Ino, and the origin of the golden fleece

  1 To proceed to the sons of Aiolos, Athamas ruled in Boeotia,

  9

  and had a son, Phrixos, and a daughter, Helle, by Nephele. He then married Ino, and had two sons by her, Learchos and Melicertes. But Ino began to scheme against the children of Nephele and persuaded the women to parch the wheat-grain;* and they took the grain and did so, in secret from the men. When the earth was sown with this parched grain, it failed to produce its annual crop, so Athamas sent envoys to Delphi to ask how they could be delivered from this barrenness. But Ino persuaded the envoys to say that, according to the oracle, the infertility would come to an end if Phrixos were sacrificed to Zeus. When Athamas heard this, he was compelled by the inhabitants of the land to bring Phrixos to the altar; but Nephele snatched him away together with her daughter Helle,* and gave them a ram with a golden fleece which she had received from Hermes. Carried through the sky by this ram, they passed over land and sea alike; but while they were over the stretch of sea that lies between Sigeia and the Chersonese, Helle slipped into the waters, and the sea where she died was named the Hellespont after her. Phrixos for his part went to the land of the Colchians, which was ruled by Aietes, son of the Sun and Perseis, and brother of Circe and of Pasiphae, who became the wife of Minos. Aietes welcomed Phrixos and offered him one of his daughters, Chalciope, as a wife. Phrixos sacrificed the ram with the golden fleece to Zeus God of Escape, and gave its fleece to Aietes, who nailed it to an oak in a grove sacred to Ares. By Chalciope Phrixos had four sons, Argos, Melas, Phrontis, and Cytisoros.

  2 Later, through the wrath of Hera,* Athamas was also deprived of his children by Ino; for he himself, in a fit of madness, killed Learchos with an arrow, and Ino threw herself into the sea with Melicertes. Exiled from Boeotia, he asked the gods where he should settle, and was told by the oracle to settle at the place where he was offered hospitality by wild beasts. After he had crossed large expanses of land, he chanced upon some wolves as they were sharing out morsels of sheep; and when they caught sight of him, they fled, leaving behind the food that they were sharing. So Athamas founded a colony there, calling the land Athamantia* after himself, and married Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, who bore him four sons, Leucon, Erythrios, Schoineus, and Ptoos.

  Sisyphos, Salmoneus, and other sons of Aiolos

  3 Sisyphos, son of Aiolos, founded Ephyra, now known as Corinth,* and married Merope, daughter of Atlas. A son, Glaucos, was born to them, and by Eurymede, Glaucos had a son, Bellerophon, who killed the fire-breathing Chimaera.* Sisyphos undergoes the punishment in Hades* of rolling a rock with his hands and head in an attempt to roll it over the top of a hill; but however hard he pushes it, it forces its way back down again. He suffers this punishment because of Aegina, daughter of Asopos; for Zeus had carried her off in secret, and Siyphos is said to have revealed this to Asopos, who went in search of her.

  4 Deion, who reigned over Phocis, married Diomede, daughter of Xouthos, who bore him a daughter, Asterodia, and four sons, Ainetos, Actor, Phylacos, and Cephalos, who married Procris, daughter of Erechtheus. But afterwards Dawn fell in love with him and carried him off*

  5 Perieres took possession of Messene, and married Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus, who bore him several sons, Aphareus, and Leucippos and Tyndareus, and also Icarios. But many say that Perieres was a son not of Aiolos, but of Cynortas,* son of Amyclas; and for that reason, we will tell the story of his descendants in our account of the family of Atlas.

  6 Magnes married a naiad nymph, and had two sons, Polydectes and Dictys, who colonized Seriphos.*

  7 Salmoneus lived in Thessaly at first, but later went to Elis and founded a city* there. A man of great arrogance, he wanted to put himself on a level with Zeus and suffered punishment for his impiety. For he claimed that he himself was Zeus, and depriving the god of his sacrifices, he ordered that they should be offered to himself instead. And he dragged dried animal skins and bronze kettles behind his chariot, saying that he was making thunder; and he hurled flaming torches into the sky, saying that he was making lightning. Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt, and destroyed the city that he had founded, with all its inhabitants.

  Pelias and Neleus

  8 Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus and Alcidice, was raised by Cretheus, the brother of Salmoneus, and she fell in love with the River Enipeus. She would constantly wander down to its flowing waters and tell them of her sorrows. Taking on the appearance of Enipeus, Poseidon had intercourse with her,* and she gave birth in secret to twin sons, whom she exposed. As the babies lay abandoned on the ground, a mare belonging to some passing horse-trainers knocked one of them with its hoof, leaving a black and blue patch on its face. The horse-trainer recovered the two children and brought them up, calling the one with the black-and-blue patch Pelias* and the other Neleus. When they were grown up, they found their mother and killed her stepmother, Sidero.* For learning that their mother had been ill-treated by
Sidero, they set out against her, but she forestalled them by taking refuge at the sanctuary of Hera, only to be killed on the very altars by Pelias, who refused ever afterwards to pay due honour to Hera.

  9 Later the brothers quarrelled, and Neleus was driven into exile. Arriving in Messene, he founded Pylos,* and married Chloris, daughter of Amphion, who bore him a daughter, Pero, and twelve sons, Tauros, Asterios, Pylaon, Deimachos, Eurybios, Epilaos, Phrasios, Eurymenes, Evagoras, Alastor, Nestor, and Periclymenos. Poseidon granted the last of these the power to change his form; and when Pylos was sacked by Heracles, he transformed himself as he fought, now into a lion, now into a snake, now into a bee, but he was killed by Heracles* along with the other sons of Neleus. Nestor alone survived because he was brought up amongst the Gerenians; and he married Anaxibia, daughter of Cratieus, who bore him two daughters, Peisidice and Polycaste, and seven sons, Perseus, Stratichos, Aretos, Echephron, Peisistratos, Antilochos, and Thrasymedes.

  10 Pelias settled in Thessaly and married Anaxibia, daughter of Bias (or according to some, Phylomache, daughter of Amphion), and fathered a son, Acastos, and four daughters, Peisidice, Pelopeia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis.

  The earlier history of Bias and Melampous

  11 Cretheus founded Iolcos and married Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus, by whom he had three sons, Aison, Amythaon, and Pheres.

  Amythaon, who lived in Pylos, married Eidomene, daughter of Pheres, who bore him two sons, Bias and Melampous. Now Melampous lived in the country, and in front of his house there was an oak tree which housed a nest of snakes. After these snakes had been killed by his servants, Melampous gathered some wood and burned the reptiles, and then reared their young. When they were fully grown, they came up to him while he was asleep, and placing themselves at either shoulder, purified his ears* with their tongues. Melampous rose up in great alarm, to find that he could understand the cries of the birds* flying overhead; and making use of what he discovered from them, he began to predict the future to mankind. He also learned how the victims at sacrifices can be used for divination, and after he had met with Apollo on the banks of the Alpheios, he was the best of diviners from that day forth.

  12 Bias sought to marry Pero, the daughter of Neleus; but since his daughter had many suitors, Neleus said that he would give her to the one who brought him the cattle of Phylacos.* These cattle were kept at Phylace, and were guarded by a dog which neither man nor beast could approach without being detected. Finding himself unable to steal the cattle, Bias sought his brother’s help. Melampous promised his assistance,* and predicted that he would be caught in the act as he tried to steal the cattle, but would finally acquire them after he had been imprisoned for a year. After offering this promise, he departed for Phylace and, as he had predicted, he was caught in the act when he attempted the theft, and was then put in chains and kept under guard in a cell. When the year had almost elapsed, he heard the woodworms talking in the hidden part of the roof: one of them was asking how much of the beam had already been consumed, and the other replied that hardly any of it remained. Without delay, Melampous asked to be moved to a different cell, and not long afterwards, the first cell collapsed. Phylacos was astonished, and realizing that Melampous was an excellent diviner, he released him and asked him to say how his son Iphiclos could come to have children. Melampous promised to tell him if he were given the cattle in return; and then, after sacrificing two bulls and cutting them up, he summoned the birds. When a vulture arrived, he learned from it that Phylacos, as he was gelding lambs one day, had laid down the knife, still covered with blood, next to Iphiclos; and when the child took fright* and ran away, Phylacos had stuck the knife into the sacred oak, and its bark had grown around it and covered it over. The bird went on to say that if the knife were found, and Melampous scraped off the rust and gave it to Iphiclos to take in a drink* for ten days, he would father a son. Discovering all this from the vulture, Melampous found the knife, scraped off the rust, and gave it to Iphiclos for ten days in a drink; and a son, Podarces, was duly born to him. So Melampous drove the cattle to Pylos, and when he was given the daughter of Neleus, passed her on to his brother. He remained in Messene for a time, but when Dionysos drove the women of Argos mad,* he cured them in return for a share of the kingdom and settled there with Bias.

  13 Bias and Pero had a son, Talaos, who had six children by Lysimache, daughter of Abas, son of Melampous, namely Adrastos, Parthenopaios, Pronax, Mecisteus, Aristomachos, and Eriphyle, who became the wife of Amphiaraos. Parthenopaios had a son, Promachos, who joined the Epigoni in the expedition against Thebes, and Mecisteus had a son Euryalos, who went to Troy. Pronax had a son, Lycourgos; and Adrastos and Amphithea, daughter of Pronax, had three daughters, Argeia, Deipyle, and Aigialeia, and two sons, Aigialeus and Cyanippos.

  Admetos and Alcestis

  14 Pheres, son of Cretheus, founded Pherae in Thessaly, and fathered Admetos and Lycourgos. Lycourgos settled near Nemea, and, marrying Eurydice (or according to some, Amphithea), he had a son, Opheltes, who was later called Archemoros. 15 Admetos for his part became king of Pherae, and at the time when Apollo was serving him* as a labourer, he wanted to win the hand of Alcestis, daughter of Pelias. Now Pelias had announced that he would give his daughter to the man who could yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot; so Apollo yoked them and gave them to Admetos, who took them to Pelias and obtained Alcestis as his wife. While offering the sacrifices at his marriage, however, he forgot to sacrifice to Artemis; and as a result, when he opened up the marriage chamber, he found it to be filled with coils of snakes.* Apollo advised him to propitiate the goddess, and demanded of the Fates that when Admetos was about to die, he should be released from death if somebody would freely choose to die in his place. When the day came for him to die, neither his father nor his mother was willing to die for him, so Alcestis died in his place. But Kore sent her back* to earth again, or, according to some accounts, Heracles fought with Hades for her* [and returned her to Admetos].

  3. Jason and the Argonauts

  Pelias orders Jason to fetch the golden fleece

  16 To Aison, son of Cretheus, and Polymede, daughter of Autolycos, a son, Jason, was born; and Jason lived at Iolcos, which was ruled by Pelias, who had succeeded Cretheus.* When Pelias consulted the oracle about his kingdom, the god told him to beware of the man with one sandal. At first he could make no sense of the oracle, but afterwards he came to under stand it. For when he was about to offer a sacrifice by the sea to Poseidon, he summoned Jason, together with many others, to take part in it. Jason, who lived in the country because of his passion for farming, hurried off to the sacrifice, but as he was crossing the River Anauros, he emerged with only one sandal, after losing the other in the current. So when Pelias caught sight of him, he knew what the oracle meant; and going up to Jason, he asked him what he would do (assuming he had the power) if he had received an oracle saying that he would be murdered by one of his fellow citizens. In response—whether as chance would have it, or as a result of the wrath of Hera,* who wanted Medea to come as an affliction to Pelias (for he had failed to honour the goddess)—Jason declared, ‘I would order him to fetch the golden fleece.’* As soon as Pelias heard his reply, he told Jason to set out for the fleece. It was to be found at Colchis* in a grove sacred to Ares, hanging on an oak tree and guarded by a dragon that never slept.

  When he was sent for the fleece, Jason summoned the assistance of Argos, son of Phrixos; and Argos, on the advice of Athene, built a ship with fifty oars, which was named the Argo after its builder.* To the prow of the ship, Athene fitted a piece of wood that came from the oak at Dodona* and had the power of speech. When the ship was built, Jason consulted the oracle, and was told by the god that he could sail after he had gathered together the finest men in Greece.

  Catalogue of the Argonauts

  The men who assembled were the following: Tiphys, son of Hagnias, who steered the ship; Orpheus, son of Oiagros; Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas; Castor and Polydeuces, sons of Zeus; Telamon and Pe
leus, sons of Aiacos; Heracles, son of Zeus; Theseus, son of Aigeus; Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus; Amphiaraos, son of Oicles; Caineus, son of Coronos; Palaimon, son of Hephaistos or of Aitolos; Cepheus, son of Aleos; Laertes, son of Arceisios; Autolycos, son of Hermes; Atalante, daughter of Schoineus; Menoitios, son of Actor; Actor, son of Hippasos; Admetos, son of Pheres; Acastos, son of Pelias; Eurytos, son of Hermes; Meleager, son of Oineus; Ancaios, son of Lycourgos; Euphemos, son of Poseidon; Poias, son of Thaumacos; Boutes, son of Teleon; Phanos and Staphylos, sons of Dionysos; Erginos, son of Poseidon; Periclymenos, son of Neleus; Augeas, son of the Sun; Iphiclos, son of Thestios; Argos, son of Phrixos; Euryalos, son of Mecisteus; Peneleos, son of Hippalmos; Leitos, son of Alector; Iphitos, son of Naubolos; Ascalaphos and Ialmenos, sons of Ares; Asterios, son of Cometes; and Polyphemos, son of Elatos.