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

by Apollodorus

  7 When they had informed their mother of what had happened, they went to Delphi, and dedicated the necklace and the robe, on the instructions of Acheloos. Then they travelled to Epirus, gathered together some settlers, and founded Acarnania.*

  Euripides* says that during the time of his madness Alcmaion had two children by Manto, daughter of Teiresias, namely Amphilochos and a daughter, Tisiphone; and that he took the babies to Corinth and gave them to Creon, king of Corinth, to bring up; and because of her exceptional beauty, Tisiphone was sold into slavery by Creon’s wife, who was afraid that Creon might take her as his wife, and she was purchased by Alcmaion, who kept her as a servant girl without realizing that she was his daughter; and when he returned to Corinth to reclaim his children, he recovered his son also; and Amphilochos, in obedience to oracles from Apollo, founded Amphilochian Argos.*

  8. Arcadian mythology (the Pelasgids)

  Lycaon and his sons

  1 Let us return now to Pelasgos, who is described by

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  Acousilaos as a son of Zeus and Niobe, as we observed above,* while Hesiod says that he was born from the earth. By Meliboia, daughter of Oceanos, or according to others, by a nymph, Cyllene, he had a son, Lycaon, who became king of the Arcadians, and by many different women fathered fifty sons:* Melaineus, Thesprotos, Helix, Nyctimos, Peucetios, Caucon, Mecisteus, Hopleus, Macareus, Macednos, Horos, Polichos, Acontes, Evaimon, Ancyor, Archebates, Carteron, Aigaion, Pallas, Eumon, Canethos, Prothoos, Linos, Corethon, Mainalos, Teleboas, Physios, Phassos, Phthios, Lycios, Halipheros, Genetor, Boucolion, Socleus, Phineus, Eumetes, Harpaleus, Portheus, Plato, Haimon, Cynaithos, Leon, Harpalycos, Heraieus, Titanas, Mantineus, Cleitor, Stymphalos, and Orchomenos. They outstripped all men in arrogance and impiety; and Zeus, wanting to test their impiety, visited them in the guise of a labourer. They invited him to share their hospitality, and slaughtering a child from the local population, they mixed his entrails into the sacrifices* and served them up to him, at the instigation of the eldest brother, Mainalos. Zeus, in revulsion, overturned the table at the place which is now known as Trapezous* and struck Lycaon and his sons with thunderbolts, with the exception of the youngest, Nyctimos, for Ge interceded beforehand by grasping the right hand of Zeus and calming his anger. 2 When Nyctimos succeeded to the throne, Deucalion’s flood took place; some said that it had been brought about by the impiety of Lycaon’s sons.

  Callisto and the birth of Areas; early Arcadian genealogies

  According to Eumelos and some other sources, Lycaon had a daughter too, named Callisto (though Hesiod says that she was one of the nymphs,* Asios that she was a daughter of Nycteus, and Pherecydes that she was a daughter of Ceteus). A companion of Artemis in the hunt, she wore the same clothing, and had sworn to her that she would remain a virgin. But Zeus conceived a passion for her, and despite her unwillingness, had intercourse with her, taking on the form, some say, of Artemis, or according to others, of Apollo; and wanting Hera to remain ignorant of the matter, he turned her into a bear. Hera persuaded Artemis, however, to shoot her* down as a wild beast (though some say that Artemis shot her because she had failed to preserve her virginity). After Callisto’s death, Zeus gathered up her baby son and gave him to Maia to bring up in Arcadia, naming him Areas.* As for Callisto, he turned her into a constellation and called it the Bear.

  l Areas had two sons,* Elatos and Apheidas, by Leaneira,

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  daughter of Amyclas (or by Meganeira, daughter of Crocon, or according to Eumelos, by a nymph, Chrysopeleia). They divided the land between them, but Elatos held all the power. Elatos had two sons, Stymphalos and Pereus, by Laodice, daughter of Cinyras; and Apheidas had a son, Aleos, and a daughter, Stheneboia, who became the wife of Proitos. Aleos in turn had a daughter, Auge, and two sons, Cepheus and Lycourgos, by Neaira, daughter of Pereus.

  Auge was raped by Heracles,* and hid her baby in the sanctuary of Athene, whose priesthood she held. When the land became infertile and the oracles revealed that there was something sacrilegious in the sanctuary of Athene, she was found out, and delivered by her father to Nauplios to be put to death; but Nauplios passed her on to Teuthras, the ruler of the Mysians, who married her. Her baby was exposed on Mount Parthenion, where a doe offered him her teat, which is how he came to be called Telephos. After he had been reared by the herdsmen of Corythos, he went to Delphi in the hope of discovering his parents, and following the advice of the god, he made his way to Mysia, where he became the adopted son of Teuthras, and later, when Teuthras died, his successor as king.

  Atalante

  2 Lycourgos had four sons, Ancaios, Epochos, Amphidamas, and Iasos, by Cleophyle or Eurynome. Amphidamas had a son, Melanion, and a daughter, Antimache, who became the wife of Eurystheus. Iasos and Clymene, daughter of Minyas, had a daughter, Atalante.* She was exposed by her father, who desired male children, but a she-bear came along frequently to suckle her until she was discovered by some hunters, who brought her up amongst themselves. When she was fully grown, Atalante preserved her virginity, and spent her time hunting in the wilderness, arms in hand. The Centaurs Rhoicos and Hylaios tried to rape her, but she shot them down with her arrows and killed them. She was present, moreover, amongst the heroes at the hunt for the Calydonian boar,* and at the games held in honour of Pelias* she wrestled with Peleus and defeated him. Later she discovered her parents, and when her father tried to persuade her to marry, she went to a place which was well fitted to be a race-course, and halfway along it she placed a three-cubit stake. From this point, she caused her suitors to set out in advance of her in a race, which she would run fully armed; and if she caught up with any of the suitors, his penalty was death on the spot, and if she did not, his reward was marriage. When many suitors had already perished, Melanion fell in love with her and arrived to take part in the race. He brought with him some golden apples*which he had acquired from Aphrodite, and as Atalante was chasing after him, he threw them down; and when Atalante delayed to pick them up, she was defeated in the race. So Melanion became her husband. And one day, so it is said, while they were out hunting, they entered the sanctuary of Zeus, and when they ventured to make love there, they were turned into lions.

  According to Hesiod and some other sources, Atalante was a daughter not of Iasos, but of Schoineus, while according to Euripides, she was a daughter of Mainalos, and her husband was not Melanion, but Hippomenes. She bore to Melanion (or Ares) a son, Parthenopaios, who took part in the expedition against Thebes.

  9. Laconian and Trojan mythology (the Atlantids)

  The Pleiades

  1 To Atlas and Pleione, daughter of Oceanos, seven daughters

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  were born at Cyllene in Arcadia, who were known as the Pleiades,* namely, Alcyone, Merope, Celaino, Electra, Sterope, Taygete, and Maia. Of these, Sterope became the wife of Oinomaos, and Merope the wife of Sisyphos; and Poseidon had intercourse with two of them, first with Celaino, who bore him a son, Lycos, whom he settled in the Isles of the Blessed, and secondly with Alcyone, who bore him a daughter, Aithousa (who bore Eleuther to Apollo), and two sons, Hyrieus and Hyperenor. Hyrieus and a nymph, Clonie, had two sons, Nycteus and Lycos; and by Polyxo, Nycteus became the father of Antiope, who bore Zethos and Amphion to Zeus.

  The birth and early exploits of Hermes

  2 Zeus had intercourse with the three remaining daughters of Atlas. After the eldest of them, Maia, had slept with him, she gave birth to Hermes* in a cave on Mount Cyllene. He was laid on a winnowing fan in his swaddling clothes, but freed himself from them and made his way to Pieria,* where he stole the cattle which were being pastured there by Apollo. So as not to be given away by their tracks, he put shoes over their feet, and took them to Pylos, where he concealed them in a cave, except for two that he sacrificed. He nailed the skins of these to some rocks, and some of their flesh he boiled and ate, and some of it he burned; and he then returned swiftly to Cyllene. And in front of the cave there, he found a tortoise grazing. Clearing out the shell, he st
retched across it some strings made from the guts of the sacrificed cattle; and after creating a lyre by this means, he also invented the plectrum.

  As Apollo was searching for his cattle, he arrived in Pylos and questioned the inhabitants. They said that they had seen a boy driving the cattle away, but were unable to say where they had been driven, because they could find no tracks. Discovering the identity of the thief by divination, Apollo went to Maia in Cyllene and accused Hermes. She pointed to him in his swaddling clothes; and Apollo took him to Zeus, and demanded the return of his cattle. When Zeus ordered him to give them back, Hermes denied that he had them, but meeting with disbelief, he took Apollo to Pylos and handed the cattle back. On hearing his lyre, however, Apollo gave him the cattle in exchange for it; and while Hermes was pasturing them, he made a shepherd’s pipe and played on that. Wanting to acquire the pipe as well, Apollo offered him the golden staff that he possessed as a herdsman. But as well as receiving this in exchange for the pipe, Hermes wanted to acquire the art of divination also. So he handed over the pipe, and learned from Apollo how to divine by the use of pebbles.* And Zeus made him his own herald and herald to the gods of the Underworld.*

  Early Lacedaimonian genealogies; the story of Asclepios

  3 Taygete bore to Zeus a son, Lacedaimon, from whom the land of Lacedaimon derives its name; and by Sparta, daughter of Eurotas (who was a son of Lelex,* who had been born from the earth, and of Cleochareia, a naiad nymph), Lacedaimon had a son, Amyclas, and a daughter, Eurydice, who became the wife of Acrisios. Amyclas and Diomede, daughter of Lapithes, had two sons, Cynortas and Hyacinthos.* This last is said to have been the beloved of Apollo, who accidentally killed him when throwing a discus. Cynortas had a son, Perieres, who married Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus, according to Stesichoros, and fathered Tyndareus, Icarios, Aphareus, and Leucippos. Aphareus* and Arene, daughter of Oibalos, had three sons, Lynceus, Idas, and Peisos; but it is said by many that the father of Idas was in fact Poseidon. Lynceus was remarkable for the sharpness of his sight, which was so acute that he could even see what lay beneath the earth. Leucippos had two daughters, Hilaeira and Phoebe, who were carried off by the Dioscuri, and became their wives.

  In addition to these, he had a third daughter, Arsinoe, who gave birth to Asclepios after Apollo had made love with her. Some say, however, that Asclepios was not the daughter of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippos, but rather of Coronis,* daughter of Phlegyas in Thessaly; and they say that Apollo fell in love with her and immediately had intercourse with her, but that she, against her father’s wishes, preferred Ischys, the brother of Caineus, and became his wife. Apollo cursed the crow that brought him this news, and turned it black, instead of white as it had been hitherto. Coronis he put to death; and as she was consigned to the flames, he seized her [unborn] baby from the pyre, and took him to Cheiron the Centaur, who brought him up and taught him the arts of medicine and hunting. Asclepios became a surgeon, and he developed the art to such a degree that he not only prevented some people from dying, but even raised them from the dead. For he had received from Athene blood that had flowed from the veins of the Gorgon; and he used the blood that had flowed from the veins on the left side* to put people to death, and that which had flowed from the right, to save them—and it was by this means that he raised the dead.t4 But Zeus, fearing that human beings would acquire the art of healing from him and be able to come to one another’s rescue, struck him down* with a thunderbolt. Angered by this, Apollo killed the Cyclopes who had forged the thunderbolt* for Zeus. As Zeus was about to hurl him into Tartaros, Leto interceded on his behalf, and he ordered him instead to serve a man as a labourer for a year. So Apollo went to Admetos,* son of Pheres, at Pherae, and served him as a herdsman, causing all his cows to deliver twins at every birth.

  Tyndareus, Leda, and their children

  But there are those who say that Aphareus and Leucippos were born to Perieres, son of Aiolos, and that Perieres, son of Cynortas, was the father of Oibalos, who fathered Tyndareus, Hippocoon, and Icarios by a naiad nymph, Bateia.*

  5 Hippocoon became father of the following sons: Dorycleus, Scaios, Enarophoros, Euteiches, Boucolos, Lycaithos, Tebros, Hippothoos, Eurytos, Hippocorystes, Alcinous, and Alcon. With the help of his sons, Hippocoon expelled Icarios and Tyndareus* from Lacedaimon. They took refuge with Thestios,* and joined him as allies in the war he was waging against his neighbours; and Tyndareus married Thestios’ daughter, Leda. Afterwards, however, when Heracles had killed Hippocoon and his sons,* they returned to Lacedaimon and Tyndareus succeeded to the throne.

  6 Icarios and a naiad nymph, Periboia, had five sons, Thoas, Damasippos, Imeusimos, Aletes, and Perileos, and a daughter, Penelope, who became the wife of Odysseus; Tyndareus and Leda had some daughters, namely, Timandra, who became the wife of Echemos, and Clytemnestra, who became the wife of Agamemnon, and also Phylonoe, who was made immortal by Artemis.

  7 Taking the form of a swan, Zeus had intercourse with Leda, as did Tyndareus on the same night, and she bore Polydeuces and Helen to Zeus, and Castor* [and Clytemnestra*] to Tyndareus. According to some, however, Helen was a daughter of Zeus by Nemesis;* for when Nemesis tried to avoid intercourse with Zeus by changing herself into a goose, Zeus in turn took the form of a swan and had intercourse with her. As the fruit of their intercourse, she laid an egg, which was discovered in the woods by a shepherd, who took it to Leda and presented it to her. She placed it in a chest and kept it safe, and when in due time Helen hatched out, Leda brought her up as her own daughter.

  Helen and her suitors

  Helen grew into a girl of such remarkable beauty that Theseus carried her off and took her to Aphidnai;* but while he was in Hades, Polydeuces and Castor marched against the city, captured it, and recovered Helen, and also took away Theseus’ mother, Aithra, as a captive.

  8 The kings of Greece came to Sparta to seek the hand of Helen. These were her suitors: Odysseus, son of Laertes; Diomedes, son of Tydeus; Antilochos, son of Nestor; Agapenor, son of Ancaios; Sthenelos, son of Capaneus; Amphimachos, son of Cteatos; Thalpios, son of Eurytos; Meges, son of Phyleus; Amphilochos, son of Amphiaraos; Menestheus, son of Peteos; Schedios [and] Epistrophos[, sons of Iphitos]; Polyxenos, son of Agasthenes; Peneleos[, son of Hippalcimos]; Leitos[, son of Alector]; Aias, son of Oileus; Ascalaphos and Ialmenos, sons of Ares; Elephenor, son of Chalcodon; Eumelos, son of Admetos; Polypoites, son of Peirithoos; Leonteus, son of Coronos; Podaleirios and Machaon, sons of Asclepios; Philoctetes, son of Poias; Eurypylos, son of Evaimon; Protesilaos, son of Iphiclos; Menelaos, son of Atreus; Aias and Teucros, sons of Telamon; and Patroclos, son of Menoitios.

  9 When Tyndareus saw the throng of suitors, he was afraid that if he picked out one of them, the rest would turn to violence. Odysseus promised, however, that if Tyndareus would help him to gain the hand of Penelope, he would suggest a means by which all dissension could be averted; and when Tyndareus promised his help, Odysseus told him to make all the suitors swear an oath* that they would come to the aid of the chosen bridegroom if he were ever injured by another with regard to his marriage. On hearing this advice, Tyndareus made the suitors swear the oath, and while he himself chose Menelaos as a bridegroom for Helen, he asked Icarios to grant Penelope in marriage to Odysseus.

  1 By Helen, Menelaos had a daughter, Hermione, and according

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  to some accounts, a son, Nicostratos;* and by a slave-woman, Pieris, of Aetolian descent (or according to Acousilaos, by Tereis), he had a son, Megapenthes, and by a nymph, Cnossia, he had, according to Eumelos, a son, Xenodamos.

  The fate of the Dioscuri

  2 Of the two sons born to Leda, Castor devoted himself to the arts of war, and Polydeuces to boxing; and because of their valour,* the pair were called the Dioscuri. Wishing to marry the daughters of Leucippos,* they abducted them from Messene and took them as their wives; and Polydeuces became the father of Mnesileos by Phoebe, and Castor the father of Anogon by Hilaeira. After driving some plundered cattle from Arcadia wi
th the aid of Idas and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, they entrusted them to Idas for division. Cutting a cow into four, he said that whoever ate his share first should have half of the plunder, and the one who ate his share second should have the remainder. And before the others had a chance, Idas swallowed down his own portion and then his brother’s too, and with his brother’s help, drove the plunder to Messene. The Dioscuri responded by marching against Messene and taking away the plundered cattle and much else besides; and they waited in ambush for Idas and Lynceus. But Lynceus caught sight of Castor* and revealed his presence to Idas, who killed him. Polydeuces chased after them, and killed Lynceus with a javelin throw, but as he was pursuing Idas, he was hit on the head by a stone that Idas had thrown, and fell unconscious. And Zeus struck Idas with a thunderbolt and carried Polydeuces up to heaven; and when Polydeuces was unwilling to accept immortality while Castor lay dead, Zeus granted that both of them should live alternate days amongst the gods and amongst mortals.* After the Dioscuri had been raised to the gods, Tyndareus summoned Menelaos to Sparta and transferred the kingdom to him.