by Pausanias
They twain were arming themselves for war to go to the Ephyrians,
Or to the great-hearted Phlegyans. Hom. Il. 13.301-2
By Ephyrians in this passage Homer means, I think, those in Thesprotis. The Phlegyan race was completely overthrown by the god with continual thunderbolts and violent earthquakes. The remnant were wasted by an epidemic of plague, but a few of them escaped to Phocis.
[4] Φλεγύᾳ δὲ οὐ γενομένων παίδων ἐκδέχεται Χρύσης τὴν ἀρχήν, Χρυσογενείας τε ὢν τῆς Ἄλμου καὶ Ποσειδῶνος. τούτῳ δὲ υἱὸς γίνεται τῷ Χρύσῃ Μινύας, καὶ ἀπ᾽ 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.
[36.4] Phlegyas had no sons, and Chryses succeeded to the throne, a son of Poseidon by Chrysogeneia, daughter of Almus. This Chryses had a son called Minyas, and after him the people over whom he ruled are still called Minyans. The revenues that Minyas received were so great that he surpassed his predecessors in wealth, and he was the first man we know of to build a treasury to receive his riches.
[5] 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.
[36.5] The Greeks appear apt to regard with greater wonder foreign sights than sights at home. For whereas distinguished historians have described the Egyptian pyramids with the minutest detail, they have not made even the briefest mention of the treasury of Minyas and the walls of Tiryns, though these are no less marvellous.
[6] 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 ἡ ταύτῃ προσεχής.
[36.6] Minyas had a son Orchomenus, in whose reign the city was called Orchomenus and the men Orchomenians. Nevertheless, they continued to bear the additional name of Minyans, to distinguish them from the Orchomenians in Arcadia. To this Orchomenus during his kingship came Hyettus from Argos, who was an exile because of the slaying of Molurus, son of Arisbas, whom he caught with his wedded wife and killed. Orchomenus assigned to him such of the land as is now around the village Hyettus, and the land adjacent to this.
[7] Ὑήττου δὲ ἐποιήσατο μνήμην καὶ ὁ τὰ ἔπη συνθεὶς ἃς μεγάλας Ἠοίας καλοῦσιν Ἕλληνες:”Ὕηττος δὲ Μόλουρον Ἀρίσβαντος φίλον υἱόν
κτείνας ἐν μεγάροις εὐνῆς ἕνεχ᾽ ἧς ἀλόχοιο,
οἶκον ἀποπρολιπὼν φεῦγ᾽ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο,
ἷξεν δ᾽ Ὀρχομενὸν Μινυήιον: καί μιν ὅ γ᾽ ἥρως
δέξατο καὶ κτεάνων μοῖραν πόρεν ὡς ἐπιεικές.
“The Great Eoeae, unknown location.
[36.7] Hyettus is also mentioned by the poet who composed the poem called by the Greeks the Great Eoeae:–
And Hyettus killed Molurus, the dear son of Arisbas,
In the halls, because of his wife’s bed;
Leaving his home he fled from horse-breeding Argos,
And reached Minyan Orchomenus, and the hero
Welcomed him, and bestowed on him a portion of his possessions, as was fitting.
The Great Eoeae, unknown location.
[8] 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.
[36.8] This Hyettus was the first man known to have exacted punishment from an adulterer. Later on, when Dracon was legislator for the Athenians, it was enacted in the laws which he drew up for the Athenians that the punishment of an adulterer should be one of the acts condoned by the State. So high did the reputation of the Minyans stand, that even Neleus, son of Cretheus, who was king of Pylus, took a wife from Orchomenus, namely Chloris, daughter of Amphion, son of Iasius.
37. ἔδει δὲ ἄρα παυσθῆναι καὶ τὸ Ἄλμου γένος: οὐχ ὑπολείπεται γὰρ παῖδα Ὀρχομενός, καὶ οὕτως ἐς Κλύμενον τὸν Πρέσβωνος τοῦ Φρίξου περιῆλθεν ἡ ἀρχή. Κλυμένου δὲ γίνονται παῖδες, πρεσβύτατος μὲν Ἐργῖνος, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῷ Στράτιος καὶ Ἄρρων καὶ Πύλεος, νεώτατος δὲ Ἀζεύς. Κλύμενον μὲν ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ τοῦ Ὀγχηστίου Ποσειδῶνος Θηβαίων φονεύουσιν ἄνδρες ἐξ ἀφορμῆς μικρᾶς ἐς ἅπαν θυμοῦ προαχθέντες: Ἐργῖνος δὲ ὁ πρεσβύτατος τῶν Κλυμένου παίδων τὴν βασιλείαν παραλαμβάνει.
[37.1] XXXVII. But it was destined for the race of Almus too to come to an end. For Orchomenus left no child, and so the kingdom devolved on Clymenus, son of Presbon, son of Phrixus. Sons were born to Clymenus; the eldest was Erginus, the next after him were Stratius, Arrhon and Pyleus, while the youngest was Azeus. Clymenus was murdered at the feast of Onchestian Poseidon by men of Thebes, whom a trivial cause had thrown into a violent passion. So Erginus, the eldest of the sons of Glymenus, received the kingdom.
[2] δύναμιν δὲ αὐτίκα αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ συλλέξαντες ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὰς Θήβας: καὶ μάχῃ μὲν ἐκράτησαν, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου χωροῦσιν ἐς ὁμολογίαν Θηβαίους κατὰ ἔτος ἕκαστον τελεῖν δασμὸν τοῦ Κλυμένου φόνου. Ἡρακλέους δὲ ἐπιτραφέντος ἐν Θήβαις, οὕτω τοῦ δασμοῦ τε ἠλευθερώθησαν οἱ Θηβαῖοι καὶ οἱ Μινύαι μεγάλως τῷ πολέμῳ προσέπταισαν:
[37.2] Immediately he and his brothers gathered a force and attacked Thebes. Victorious in the battle, they then came to an agreement that the Thebans should pay tribute each year for the murder of Clymenus. But when Heracles had grown to manhood in Thebes, the Thebans w
ere thus relieved of the tribute, and the Minyans suffered a grievous defeat in the war.
[3] Ἐργῖνος δὲ ἅτε κεκακωμένων ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς μὲν τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἐποιήσατο εἰρήνην, πλοῦτον δὲ τὸν πρότερον καὶ εὐδαιμονίαν ἐκείνην ἀνασώσασθαι ζητῶν ἠμέλησεν ἁπάντων ὁμοίως τῶν ἄλλων, ὥστε καὶ ἔλαθεν ἄγαμος καὶ ἄπαις ἀφικόμενος ἐς γῆρας. ὡς δὲ αὐτῷ χρήματα συνείλεκτο, ἐνταῦθα ἐπεθύμησέν οἱ γενέσθαι παῖδας:
[37.3] Erginus, as his citizens had been utterly crushed, made peace with Heracles, but in his efforts to restore his former wealth and prosperity neglected everything else, so that unconsciously he came to a wifeless and childless old age. But when he had gathered riches, the desire seized him to have children.
[4] ἐλθόντι δὲ ἐς Δελφοὺς καὶ ἐρομένῳ περὶ παίδων χρᾷ τάδε ἡ Πυθία: “Ἐργῖνε Κλυμένοιο πάι Πρεσβωνιάδαο,
ὄψ᾽ ἦλθες γενεὴν διζήμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι καὶ νῦν
ἱστοβοῆι γέροντι νέην ποτίβαλλε κορώνην.
“λαβόντι δὲ αὐτῷ νέαν γυναῖκα κατὰ τὸ μάντευμα Τροφώνιος γίνεται καὶ Ἀγαμήδης.
[37.4] So going to Delphi he inquired of the oracle about children, and the Pythian priestess gave this reply:–
Erginus, son of Clymenus Presboniades,
Late thou camest seeking offspring, but even now
To the old plough-tree put a new tip.
Obeying the oracle he took to himself a young wife, and had children, Trophonius and Agamedes.
[5] λέγεται δὲ ὁ Τροφώνιος Ἀπόλλωνος εἶναι καὶ οὐκ Ἐργίνου: καὶ ἐγώ τε πείθομαι καὶ ὅστις παρὰ Τροφώνιον ἦλθε δὴ μαντευσόμενος. τούτους φασίν, ὡς ηὐξήθησαν, γενέσθαι δεινοὺς θεοῖς τε ἱερὰ κατασκευάσασθαι καὶ βασίλεια ἀνθρώποις: καὶ γὰρ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι τὸν ναὸν ᾠκοδόμησαν τὸν ἐν Δελφοῖς καὶ Ὑριεῖ τὸν θησαυρόν. ἐποίησαν δὲ ἐνταῦθα τῶν λίθων ἕνα εἶναί σφισιν ἀφαιρεῖν κατὰ τὸ ἐκτός: καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀεί τι ἀπὸ τῶν τιθεμένων ἐλάμβανον: Ὑριεὺς δὲ εἴχετο ἀφασίᾳ, κλεῖς μὲν καὶ σημεῖα τὰ ἄλλα ὁρῶν ἀκίνητα, τὸν δὲ ἀριθμὸν ἀεὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἐλάττονα.
[37.5] Trophonius is said to have been a son of Apollo, not of Erginus. This I am inclined to believe, as does everyone who has gone to Trophonius to inquire of his oracle. They say that these, when they grew up, proved clever at building sanctuaries for the gods and palaces for men. For they built the temple for Apollo at Delphi and the treasury for Hyrieus. One of the stones in it they made so that they could take it away from the outside. So they kept on removing something from the store. Hyrieus was dumbfounded when he saw keys and seals untampered with, while the treasure kept on getting less.
[6] ἵστησιν οὖν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀγγείων, ἐν οἷς ὅ τε ἄργυρος ἐνῆν καὶ ὁ χρυσός οἱ, πάγας ἤ τι καὶ ἄλλο ὃ τὸν ἐσελθόντα καὶ ἁπτόμενον τῶν χρημάτων καθέξειν ἔμελλεν. ἐσελθόντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀγαμήδους τὸν μὲν ὁ δεσμὸς κατεῖχε, Τροφώνιος δὲ ἀπέτεμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλήν, ὅπως μὴ ἡμέρας ἐπισχούσης ἐκεῖνος γένοιτο ἐν αἰκίαις καὶ αὐτὸς μηνυθείη μετέχων τοῦ τολμήματος.
[37.6] So he set over the vessels, in which were his silver and gold, snares or other contrivance, to arrest any who should enter and lay hands on the treasure. Agamedes entered and was kept fast in the trap, but Trophonius cut off his head, lest when day came his brother should be tortured, and he himself be informed of as being concerned in the crime.
[7] καὶ Τροφώνιον μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἐδέξατο ἡ γῆ διαστᾶσα, ἔνθα ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἄλσει τῷ ἐν Λεβαδείᾳ βόθρος τε Ἀγαμήδους καλούμενος καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ στήλη: τὴν δὲ ἀρχὴν τῶν Ὀρχομενίων ἔσχεν Ἀσκάλαφος καὶ Ἰάλμενος Ἄρεως εἶναι λεγόμενοι, μητρὸς δὲ Ἀστυόχης ἦσαν τῆς Ἄκτορος τοῦ Ἀζέως τοῦ Κλυμένου: καὶ ὑπὸ τούτοις ἡγεμόσι Μινύαι στρατεύουσιν ἐς Τροίαν.
[37.7] The earth opened and swallowed up Trophonius at the point in the grove at Lebadeia where is what is called the pit of Agamedes, with a slab beside it. The kingdom of Orchomenus was taken by Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, said to be sons of Ares, while their mother was Astyoche, daughter of Actor, son of Azeus, son of Clymenus. Under the leadership of these the Minyans marched against Troy.
[8] μετέσχον Ὀρχομένιοι καὶ τοῖς Κόδρου παισὶν ἐς Ἰωνίαν τοῦ στόλου. γενομένους δὲ ἀναστάτους ὑπὸ Θηβαίων κατήγαγεν αὖθις ἐς Ὀρχομενὸν Φίλιππος ὁ Ἀμύντου: τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ δαιμονίου σφίσιν ἐς τὸ ἀσθενέστερον ἔμελλεν ἀεὶ ῥέψειν.
[37.8] Orchomenians also joined with the sons of Codrus in the expedition to Ionia. When expelled from their city by the Thebans they were restored again to Orchomenus by Philip the son of Amyntas. But Providence was to drag them ever lower and lower into decay.
ORCHOMENUS
38. Ὀρχομενίοις δὲ πεποίηται καὶ Διονύσου, τὸ δὲ ἀρχαιότατον Χαρίτων ἐστὶν ἱερόν. τὰς μὲν δὴ πέτρας σέβουσί τε μάλιστα καὶ τῷ Ἐτεοκλεῖ αὐτὰς πεσεῖν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ φασιν: τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα τὰ σὺν κόσμῳ πεποιημένα ἀνετέθη μὲν ἐπ᾽ ἐμοῦ, λίθου δέ ἐστι καὶ ταῦτα.
[38.1] XXXVIII. At Orchomenus is a sanctuary of Dionysus, but the oldest is one of the Graces. They worship the stones most, and say that they fell for Eteocles out of heaven. The artistic images were dedicated in my time, and they too are of stone.
[2] ἔστι δέ σφισι καὶ κρήνη θέας ἀξία: καταβαίνουσι δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν ὕδωρ οἴσοντες. θησαυρὸς δὲ ὁ Μινύου, θαῦμα ὂν τῶν ἐν Ἑλλάδι αὐτῇ καὶ τῶν ἑτέρωθι οὐδενὸς ὕστερον, πεποίηται τρόπον τοιόνδε: λίθου μὲν εἴργασται, σχῆμα δὲ περιφερές ἐστιν αὐτῷ, κορυφὴ δὲ οὐκ ἐς ἄγαν ὀξὺ ἀνηγμένη: τὸν δὲ ἀνωτάτω τῶν λίθων φασὶν ἁρμονίαν παντὶ εἶναι τῷ οἰκοδομήματι.
[38.2] They have also a fountain worth seeing, and go down to it to fetch water. The treasury of Minyas, a wonder second to none either in Greece itself or elsewhere, has been built in the following way. It is made of stone; its shape is round, rising to a rather blunt apex; they say that the highest stone is the keystone of the whole building.
[3] τάφοι δὲ Μινύου τε καὶ Ἡσιόδου: καταδέξασθαι δέ φασιν οὕτω τοῦ Ἡσιόδου τὰ ὀστᾶ. νόσου καταλαμβανούσης λοιμώδους καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὰ βοσκήματα ἀποστέλλουσι θεωροὺς παρὰ τὸν θεόν: τούτοις δὲ ἀποκρίνασθαι λέγουσι τ
ὴν Πυθίαν, Ἡσιόδου τὰ ὀστᾶ ἐκ τῆς Ναυπακτίας ἀγαγοῦσιν ἐς τὴν Ὀρχομενίαν, ἄλλο δὲ εἶναί σφισιν οὐδὲν ἴαμα. τότε δὲ ἐπερέσθαι δεύτερα, ὅπου τῆς Ναυπακτίας αὐτὰ ἐξευρήσουσι: καὶ αὖθις τὴν Πυθίαν εἰπεῖν ὡς μηνύσοι κορώνη σφίσιν.
[38.3] There are graves of Minyas and Hesiod. They say that they thus recovered the bones of Hesiod. A pestilence fell on men and beasts, so that they sent envoys to the god. To these, it is said, the Pythian priestess made answer that to bring the bones of Hesiod from the land of Naupactus to the land of Orchomenus was their one and only remedy. Whereupon the envoys asked a further question, where in the land of Naupactus they would find the bones; to which the Pythian priestess answered again that a crow would indicate to them the place.
[4] οὕτω τοῖς θεοπρόποις ἀποβᾶσιν ἐς τὴν γῆν πέτραν τε οὐ πόρρω τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ τὴν ὄρνιθα ἐπὶ τῇ πέτρᾳ φασὶν ὀφθῆναι: καὶ τοῦ Ἡσιόδου δὲ τὰ ὀστᾶ εὗρον ἐν χηραμῷ τῆς πέτρας. καὶ ἐλεγεῖα ἐπὶ τῷ μνήματι ἐπεγέγραπτο: “Ἄσκρη μὲν πατρὶς πολυλήιος, ἀλλὰ θανόντος
ὀστέα πληξίππων γῆ Μινυῶν κατέχει
Ἡσιόδου, τοῦ πλεῖστον ἐν Ἑλλάδι κῦδος ὀρεῖται
ἀνδρῶν κρινομένων ἐν βασάνῳ σοφίης.
“
[38.4] So when the envoys landed, they saw, it is said, a rock not far from the road, with the bird upon the rock; the bones of Hesiod they found in a cleft of the rock. Elegiac verses are inscribed on the tomb:–
Ascra rich in corn was his native land, but when Hesiod died,
The land of the horse-striking Minyans holds his bones,
Whose fame will rise very high in Greece