by Pausanias
[1.9] Eleius had a son Augeas. Those who exaggerate his glory give a turn to the name Eleius and make Helius to be the father of Augeas. This Augeas had so many cattle and flocks of goats that actually most of his land remained untilled because of the dung of the animals. Now he persuaded Heracles to cleanse for him the land from dung, either in return for a part of Elis or possibly for some other reward.
[10] καὶ ὁ μὲν καὶ τοῦτο ἐξειργάσατο ἐκτρέψας τοῦ Μηνίου τὸ ῥεῦμα ἐς τὴν κόπρον: Αὐγέας δέ, ὅτι τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ σοφίᾳ πλέον καὶ οὐ σὺν πόνῳ τὸ ἔργον ἤνυστο, αὐτός τε ἀποδοῦναί οἱ τὸν μισθὸν ἀπηξίου καὶ τῶν παίδων τῶν ἀρσένων τὸν πρεσβύτερον Φυλέα ἐξέβαλεν ἀντειπόντα ὡς οὐ δίκαια ποιοῖτο πρὸς ἄνδρα εὐεργέτην. αὐτὸς δὲ τά τε ἄλλα παρεσκευάζετο ὡς τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἀμυνούμενος, ἢν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἦλιν στρατεύηται, καὶ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς Ἄκτορος καὶ Ἀμαρυγκέα ἐπηγάγετο ἐς φιλίαν:
[1.10] Heracles accomplished this feat too, turning aside the stream of the Menius into the dung. But, because Heracles had accomplished his task by cunning, without toil, Augeas refused to give him his reward, and banished Phyleus, the elder of his two sons, for objecting that he was wronging a man who had been his benefactor. He made preparations himself to resist Heracles, should he attack Elis; more particularly he made friends with the sons of Actor and with Amarynceus. Amarynceus, besides being a good soldier,
[11] ἦν δὲ ὁ Ἀμαρυγκεὺς ἄλλως μὲν ἀγαθὸς τὰ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον, ὁ δέ οἱ πατὴρ Πυττίος Θεσσαλὸς τὰ ἄνωθεν ἦν καὶ ἐς τὴν Ἠλείαν ἀφίκετο ἐκ Θεσσαλίας. Ἀμαρυγκεῖ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἀρχῆς ἐν Ἠλείᾳ μετέδωκεν ὁ Αὐγέας, Ἄκτορι δὲ καὶ τοῖς παισὶ γένος τε ἦν ἐπιχώριον βασιλείας τε μετῆν σφισιν: Ἄκτωρ γὰρ πατρὸς μὲν Φόρβαντος ἦν τοῦ Λαπίθου, μητρὸς δὲ Ὑρμίνης τῆς Ἐπειοῦ, καὶ ᾤκισεν ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς Ἄκτωρ πόλιν Ὑρμίναν ἐν τῇ Ἠλείᾳ.
[1.11] had a father, Pyttius, of Thessalian descent, who came from Thessaly to Elis. To Amarynceus, therefore, Augeas also gave a share in the government of Elis; Actor and his sons had a share in the kingdom and were natives of the country. For the father of Actor was Phorbas, son of Lapithus, and his mother was Hyrmina, daughter of Epeius. Actor named after her the city of Hyrmina, which he founded in Elis.
2. τῷ δὲ Ἡρακλεῖ πρὸς τὸν Αὐγέαν πολεμοῦντι οὐδὲν ὑπῆρχεν ἀποδείκνυσθαι λαμπρόν: ἅτε γὰρ καὶ τόλμῃ καὶ ταῖς ἡλικίαις τοῦ Ἄκτορος τῶν παίδων ἀκμαζόντων, ἐτρέπετο ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἀεὶ τὸ συμμαχικὸν τοῦ Ἡρακλέους, ἐς ὃ Ἰσθμικὰς σπονδὰς Κορινθίων ἐπαγγειλάντων καὶ θεωρῶν ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐρχομένων τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Ἄκτορος ἀπέκτεινε σφᾶς λοχήσας ὁ Ἡρακλῆς ἐν Κλεωναῖς. ἀφανοῦς δὲ ὄντος τοῦ εἰργασμένου τὸν φόνον μάλιστα ἐποιεῖτο ἡ Μολίνη σπουδὴν τῶν παίδων τὸν αὐτόχειρα ἐξευρεῖν.
[2.1] II. Heracles accomplished no brilliant feat in the war with Augeas. For the sons of Actor were in the prime of courageous manhood, and always put to flight the allies under Heracles, until the Corinthians proclaimed the Isthmian truce, and the sons of Actor came as envoys to the meeting. Heracles set an ambush for then, at Cleonae and murdered them. As the murderer was unknown, Moline, more than any of the other children, devoted herself to detecting him.
[2] ὡς δὲ ἔμαθεν, ἐνταῦθα οἱ Ἠλεῖοι δίκας τοῦ φόνου παρὰ Ἀργείων ἀπῄτουν: τηνικαῦτα γὰρ ἔτυχεν Ἡρακλῆς ἐν Τίρυνθι οἰκῶν. μὴ διδόντων δέ σφισι δίκας τῶν Ἀργείων, οἱ δὲ δεύτερα ἐνέκειντο Κορινθίοις ἔκσπονδον τὸ Ἀργολικὸν πᾶν τοῦ ἀγῶνος γενέσθαι τοῦ Ἰσθμικοῦ. ὡς δὲ ἡμάρτανον καὶ τούτου, Μολίνην θέσθαι φασὶν ἐπὶ τοῖς πολίταις κατάρας, ἢν Ἰσθμίων μὴ θέλωσιν εἴργεσθαι. φυλάσσουσι δὲ τῆς Μολίνης καὶ ἐς τόδε ἔτι τὰς κατάρας, καὶ ὅσοι τὰ σώματα ἀσκοῦσιν Ἠλείων, οὔ σφισιν ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐσελθεῖν καθέστηκε τὸν Ἰσθμικόν.
[2.2] When she discovered him, the Eleans demanded satisfaction for the crime from the Argives, for at the time Heracles had his home at Tiryns. When the Argives refused them satisfaction, the Eleans as an alternative pressed the Corinthians entirely to exclude the Argive people from the Isthmian games. When they failed in this also, Moline is said to have laid curses on her countrymen, should they refuse to boycott the Isthmian festival. The curses of Moline are respected right down to the present day, and no athlete of Elis is wont to compete in the Isthmian games.
[3] διάφοροι δὲ τῷ εἰρημένῳ δύο εἰσὶν ἄλλοι λόγοι. τούτων δὲ ὁ μὲν Κύψελον τὸν τυραννήσαντα Κορινθίων φησὶν ἄγαλμα ἀναθεῖναι τῷ Διὶ χρυσοῦν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν, προαποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ Κυψέλου πρὶν ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναθήματι τὸ ὄνομα ἐπιγράψαι τὸ αὑτοῦ, τοὺς Κορινθίους παρὰ Ἠλείων αἰτεῖν δοῦναί σφισιν ἐπιγράψαι δημοσίᾳ τὴν πόλιν ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναθήματι, οὐ τυχόντας δὲ ὀργῇ τε ἐς τοὺς Ἠλείους χρῆσθαι καὶ προειπεῖν σφισιν Ἰσθμίων εἴργεσθαι. πῶς ἂν οὖν Κορινθίοις αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀγῶνος μετῆν τοῦ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ, εἰ δὴ ἄκοντάς γε Ἠλείους ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰσθμίων εἶργον;
[2.3] There are two other accounts, differing from the one that I have given. According to one of them Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth, dedicated to Zeus a golden image at Olympia. As Cypselus died before inscribing his own name on the offering, the Corinthians asked of the Eleans leave to inscribe the name of Corinth on it, but were refused. Wroth with the Eleans, they proclaimed that they must keep away from the Isthmian games. But how could the Corinthians themselves take part in the Olympic games if the Eleans against their will were shut out by the Corinthians from the Isthmian games?
[4] ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἔχει τῶν λόγων Προλάῳ παῖδας ἀνδρὶ παρὰ Ἠλείοις δοκίμῳ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ Λυσίππῃ Φίλανθον καὶ Λάμπον γενέσθαι: τούτους ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐλθόντας τῶν Ἰσθμίων παγκρατιάσοντας ἐν παισί, τὸν δὲ αὐτῶν παλαίσοντα, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνταγωνιστῶν, πρὶν ἢ ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐσελθεῖν, ἀποπνιγῆναι σφᾶς ἢ καὶ ἄλλῳ τῷ τρόπῳ διαχρησθῆναι: καὶ οὕτω τὰς ἐπὶ τοῖς Ἠλείοις, ἢν Ἰσθμίων μὴ ἑκόντες εἴργωνται, Λυσίππης ἀρὰς εἶναι. δείκνυται δὲ καὶ ὅδε εὐήθης ὢν ὁ λόγος.
[2.4] The other account is this. Prolaus, a distinguished Elean, had two sons, Philanthus and Lampus, by his wife Lysippe. These two came to the Isthmian games1 to compete in the boys’ pancratium, and one of them intended t
o wrestle. Before they entered the ring they were strangled or done to death in some other way by their fellow competitors. Hence the curses of Lysippe on the Eleans, should they not voluntarily keep away from the Isthmian games. But this story too proves on examination to be silly.
[5] Τίμωνι γὰρ ἀνδρὶ Ἠλείῳ γεγόνασι πεντάθλου νῖκαι τῶν ἐν Ἕλλησιν ἀγώνων, καί οἱ καὶ εἰκών ἐστιν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ καὶ ἐλεγεῖον, στεφάνους τε ὁπόσους ἀνείλετο ὁ Τίμων λέγον καὶ δὴ καὶ αἰτίαν δι᾽ ἥντινα Ἰσθμικῆς οὐ μέτεστιν αὐτῷ νίκης: καὶ ἔχει τὰ ἐς τοῦτο τὸ ἐλεγεῖον:”Σισυφίαν δὲ μολεῖν χθόν᾽ ἐκώλυεν ἀνέρα νείκη
ἀμφὶ Μολιονιδᾶν οὐλομένῳ θανάτῳ.
“
τάδε μὲν ἡμῖν ἐς τοσοῦτο ἐξητάσθω:
[2.5] For Timon, a man of Elis, won victories in the pentathlum at the Greek games, and at Olympia there is even a statue of him, with an elegiac inscription giving the crowns he won and also the reason why he secured no Isthmian victory. The inscription sets forth the reason thus:–
But from going to the land of Sisyphus he was hindered by a quarrel
About the baleful death of the Molionids.
If the proposed emendation be adopted the meaning will be: “one to compete in the boys’ pancratium, the other in wrestling.”
3. Ἡρακλῆς δὲ εἷλεν ὕστερον καὶ ἐπόρθησεν Ἦλιν, στρατιὰν παρά τε Ἀργείων καὶ ἐκ Θηβῶν ἀθροίσας καὶ Ἀρκάδας: ἤμυναν δὲ καὶ Ἠλείοις οἱ ἐκ Πύλου τοῦ ἐν τῇ Ἠλείᾳ καὶ οἱ Πισαῖοι. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐτιμωρήσατο αὐτῶν ὁ Ἡρακλῆς, τῆς δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς Πισαίους στρατείας αὐτὸν χρησμὸς ἐπέσχεν ἐκ Δελφῶν ἔχων οὕτω:”πατρὶ μέλει Πίσης, Πυθοῦς δέ μοι ἐν γυάλοισι.
“τοῦτο μὲν δὴ σωτηρία Πισαίοις τὸ μάντευμα ἐγένετο: Φυλεῖ δὲ Ἡρακλῆς τήν τε χώραν ἀνέδωκε τὴν Ἠλείαν καὶ τἄλλα, αἰδοῖ τοῦ Φυλέως μᾶλλον ἢ αὐτὸς ἑκουσίως: τά τε γὰρ αἰχμάλωτα ἐφίησιν ἔχειν αὐτῷ καὶ Αὐγέαν μὴ ὑποσχεῖν δίκην.
[3.1] III. Enough of my discussion of this question. Heracles afterwards took Elis and sacked it, with an army he had raised of Argives, Thebans and Arcadians. The Eleans were aided by the men of Pisa and of Pylus in Elis. The men of Pylus were punished by Heracles, but his expedition against Pisa was stopped by an oracle from Delphi to this effect
My father cares for Pisa, but to me in the hollows of Pytho.
This oracle proved the salvation of Pisa. To Phyleus Heracles gave up the land of Elis and all the rest, more out of respect for Phyleus than because he wanted to do so: he allowed him to keep the prisoners, and Augeas to escape punishment.
[2] τῶν δὲ Ἠλείων αἱ γυναῖκες, ἅτε τῶν ἐν ἡλικίᾳ σφίσιν ἠρημωμένης τῆς χώρας, εὔξασθαι τῇ Ἀθηνᾷ λέγονται κυῆσαι παραυτίκα, ἐπειδὰν μιχθῶσι τοῖς ἀνδράσι: καὶ ἥ τε εὐχή σφισιν ἐτελέσθη καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν ἐπίκλησιν Μητρὸς ἱδρύσαντο. ὑπερησθέντες δὲ ἀμφότεροι τῇ μίξει καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες, ἔνθα συνεγένοντο ἀλλήλοις πρῶτον, αὐτό τε τὸ χωρίον Βαδὺ ὀνομάζουσι καὶ ποταμὸν τὸν ῥέοντα ἐνταῦθα ὕδωρ Βαδὺ ἐπιχωρίῳ φωνῇ.
[3.2] The women of Elis, it is said, seeing that their land had been deprived of its vigorous manhood, prayed to Athena that they might conceive at their first union with their husbands. Their prayer was answered, and they set up a sanctuary of Athena surnamed Mother. Both wives and husbands were so delighted at their union that they named the place itself, where they first met, Bady (sweet), and the river that runs thereby Bady Water, this being a word of their native dialect.
[3] Φυλέως δέ, ὡς τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἤλιδι κατεστήσατο, αὖθις ἐς Δουλίχιον ἀποχωρήσαντος, Αὐγέαν μὲν τὸ χρεὼν ἐπέλαβε προήκοντα ἐς γῆρας, βασιλείαν δὲ τὴν Ἠλείων Ἀγασθένης ἔσχεν ὁ Αὐγέου καὶ Ἀμφίμαχός τε καὶ Θάλπιος: Ἄκτορος γὰρ τοῖς παισὶν ἀδελφὰς ἐσαγαγομένοις διδύμας ἐς τὸν οἶκον, Δεξαμενοῦ θυγατέρας ἐν Ὠλένῳ βασιλεύοντος, τῷ μὲν ἐκ Θηρονίκης Ἀμφίμαχος, Εὐρύτῳ δὲ ἐκ Θηραιφόνης ἐγεγόνει Θάλπιος.
[3.3] When Phyleus had returned to Dulichium after organizing the affairs of Elis, Augeas died at an advanced age, and the kingdom of Elis devolved on Agasthenes, the son of Augeas, and on Amphimachus and Thalpius. For the sons of Actor married twin sisters, the daughters of Dexamenus who was king at Olenus; Amphimachus was born to one son and Theronice, Thalpius to her sister Theraephone and Eurytus.
[4] οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ Ἀμαρυγκεὺς οὔτε αὐτὸς διέμεινεν ἰδιωτεύων οὔτε Διώρης ὁ Ἀμαρυγκέως. ἃ δὴ καὶ Ὅμηρος παρεδήλωσεν ἐν καταλόγῳ τῶν Ἠλείων, τὸν μὲν σύμπαντα αὐτῶν στόλον ποιήσας τεσσαράκοντα εἶναι νεῶν, τούτων δὲ τὰς ἡμισείας ὑπὸ Ἀμφιμάχῳ τετάχθαι καὶ Θαλπίῳ, τῶν λοιπῶν δὲ εἴκοσι δέκα μὲν ναυσὶ Διώρην τὸν Ἀμαρυγκέως ἡγεῖσθαι, τοσαύταις δὲ ἑτέραις Πολύξενον τὸν Ἀγασθένους. Πολυξένῳ δὲ ἀνασωθέντι ἐκ Τροίας ἐγένετο υἱὸς Ἀμφίμαχος — τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῷ παιδὶ ἔθετο ὁ Πολύξενος κατὰ φιλίαν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν πρὸς Ἀμφίμαχον τὸν Κτεάτου τελευτήσαντα ἐν Ἰλίῳ — , Ἀμφιμάχου δὲ Ἠλεῖος:
[3.4] However, neither Amarynceus himself nor his son Diores remained common people. Incidentally this is shown by Homer in his list of the Eleans; he makes their whole fleet to consist of forty ships, half of them under the command of Amphimachus and Thalpius, and of the remaining twenty he puts ten under Diores, the son of Amarynceus, and ten under Polyxenus, the son of Agasthenes. Polyxenus came back safe from Troy and begat a son, Amphimachus. This name I think Polyxenus gave his son because of his friendship with Amphimachus, the son of Cteatus, who died at Troy.
[5] καὶ ἐπὶ Ἠλείου βασιλεύοντος ἐν Ἤλιδι, τηνικαῦτα ὁ Δωριέων στόλος σὺν τοῖς Ἀριστομάχου παισὶν ἠθροίζετο ἐπὶ καθόδῳ τῇ ἐς Πελοπόννησον. γίνεται δὲ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν αὐτῶν λόγιον τόδε, ἡγεμόνα τῆς καθόδου ποιεῖσθαι τὸν τριόφθαλμον. ἀποροῦσι δέ σφισιν ὅ τι ὁ χρησμὸς ἐθέλοι συνέτυχεν ἐλαύνων ἀνὴρ ἡμίονον, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος διέφθαρτο τῷ ἡμιόνῳ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν:
[3.5] Amphimachus begat Eleius, and it was while Eleius was king in Elis that the assembly of the Dorian army under the sons of Aristomachus took place, with a view to returning to the Peloponnesus. To their kings was delivered this oracle, that they were to choose the “one with three eyes” to lead them on their return. When they were at a loss as to the meaning of the oracle, they were met by a man driving a mule, which was blind of one eye.<
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[6] Κρεσφόντου δὲ συμφρονήσαντος ὡς ἐς τοῦτον τὸν ἄνδρα ἔχοι τὸ μάντευμα, οὕτως ᾠκειώσαντο αὐτὸν οἱ Δωριεῖς. ὁ δὲ σφᾶς ναυσὶν ἐκέλευεν ἐς Πελοπόννησον κατιέναι μηδὲ στρατῷ πεζῷ διὰ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ πειρᾶσθαι. ταῦτά τε δὴ παρῄνεσε καὶ ἅμα τὸν ἐς Μολύκριον ἐκ Ναυπάκτου πλοῦν καθηγήσατο αὐτοῖς: οἱ δὲ ἀντὶ τούτου δεηθέντι τὴν Ἠλείαν γῆν συνέθεντο αὐτῷ δώσειν. ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἦν Ὄξυλος Αἵμονος τοῦ Θόαντος: Θόας δὲ ἦν οὗτος ὃς καὶ τοῖς Ἀτρέως παισὶν ἀρχὴν συγκαθεῖλε τὴν Πριάμου, γενεαὶ δὲ ἀπὸ Θόαντος ἀνήκουσιν ἓξ ἐς Αἰτωλὸν τὸν Ἐνδυμίωνος.
[3.6] Cresphontes inferred that this was the man indicated by the oracle, and so the Dorians made him one of themselves. He urged them to descend upon the Peloponnesus in ships, and not to attempt to go across the Isthmus with a land army. Such was his advice, and at the same time he led them on the voyage from Naupactus to Molycrium. In return they agreed to give him at his request the land of Elis. The man was Oxylus, son of Haemon, the son of Thoas. This was the Thoas who helped the sons of Atreus to destroy the empire of Priam, and from Thoas to Aetolus the son of Endymion are six generations.