938-939) And Maia, the daughter of Atlas, bare to Zeus glorious
Hermes, the herald of the deathless gods, for she went up into his holy
bed.
Hermes, the herald of the deathless gods, for she went up into his holy
bed.
Hesiod
And the son of Cronos made her a nurse of the young who after
that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the
beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honours.
(ll. 453-491) But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare splendid
children, Hestia [1618], Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades,
pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing
Earth-Shaker, and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder
the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronos swallowed as each came
forth from the womb to his mother's knees with this intent, that no
other of the proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office amongst
the deathless gods. For he learned from Earth and starry Heaven that
he was destined to be overcome by his own son, strong though he was,
through the contriving of great Zeus [1619]. Therefore he kept no blind
outlook, but watched and swallowed down his children: and unceasing
grief seized Rhea. But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of
gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry
Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child
might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty
Cronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had
swallowed down. And they readily heard and obeyed their dear daughter,
and told her all that was destined to happen touching Cronos the king
and his stout-hearted son. So they sent her to Lyetus, to the rich land
of Crete, when she was ready to bear great Zeus, the youngest of her
children. Him did vast Earth receive from Rhea in wide Crete to nourish
and to bring up. Thither came Earth carrying him swiftly through the
black night to Lyctus first, and took him in her arms and hid him in a
remote cave beneath the secret places of the holy earth on thick-wooded
Mount Aegeum; but to the mightily ruling son of Heaven, the earlier king
of the gods, she gave a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then
he took it in his hands and thrust it down into his belly: wretch!
he knew not in his heart that in place of the stone his son was left
behind, unconquered and untroubled, and that he was soon to overcome him
by force and might and drive him from his honours, himself to reign over
the deathless gods.
(ll. 492-506) After that, the strength and glorious limbs of the prince
increased quickly, and as the years rolled on, great Cronos the wily
was beguiled by the deep suggestions of Earth, and brought up again
his offspring, vanquished by the arts and might of his own son, and he
vomited up first the stone which he had swallowed last. And Zeus set
it fast in the wide-pathed earth at goodly Pytho under the glens of
Parnassus, to be a sign thenceforth and a marvel to mortal men [1620].
And he set free from their deadly bonds the brothers of his father,
sons of Heaven whom his father in his foolishness had bound. And they
remembered to be grateful to him for his kindness, and gave him thunder
and the glowing thunderbolt and lightening: for before that, huge
Earth had hidden these. In them he trusts and rules over mortals and
immortals.
(ll. 507-543) Now Iapetus took to wife the neat-ankled mad Clymene,
daughter of Ocean, and went up with her into one bed. And she bare him
a stout-hearted son, Atlas: also she bare very glorious Menoetius and
clever Prometheus, full of various wiles, and scatter-brained Epimetheus
who from the first was a mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he
who first took of Zeus the woman, the maiden whom he had formed. But
Menoetius was outrageous, and far-seeing Zeus struck him with a lurid
thunderbolt and sent him down to Erebus because of his mad presumption
and exceeding pride. And Atlas through hard constraint upholds the wide
heaven with unwearying head and arms, standing at the borders of
the earth before the clear-voiced Hesperides; for this lot wise Zeus
assigned to him. And ready-witted Prometheus he bound with inextricable
bonds, cruel chains, and drove a shaft through his middle, and set on
him a long-winged eagle, which used to eat his immortal liver; but by
night the liver grew as much again everyway as the long-winged bird
devoured in the whole day. That bird Heracles, the valiant son of
shapely-ankled Alcmene, slew; and delivered the son of Iapetus from the
cruel plague, and released him from his affliction--not without the
will of Olympian Zeus who reigns on high, that the glory of Heracles the
Theban-born might be yet greater than it was before over the plenteous
earth. This, then, he regarded, and honoured his famous son; though
he was angry, he ceased from the wrath which he had before because
Prometheus matched himself in wit with the almighty son of Cronos.
For when the gods and mortal men had a dispute at Mecone, even then
Prometheus was forward to cut up a great ox and set portions before
them, trying to befool the mind of Zeus. Before the rest he set flesh
and inner parts thick with fat upon the hide, covering them with an ox
paunch; but for Zeus he put the white bones dressed up with cunning art
and covered with shining fat. Then the father of men and of gods said to
him:
(ll. 543-544) 'Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all lords, good sir, how
unfairly you have divided the portions! '
(ll. 545-547) So said Zeus whose wisdom is everlasting, rebuking him.
But wily Prometheus answered him, smiling softly and not forgetting his
cunning trick:
(ll. 548-558) 'Zeus, most glorious and greatest of the eternal gods,
take which ever of these portions your heart within you bids. ' So he
said, thinking trickery. But Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, saw and
failed not to perceive the trick, and in his heart he thought mischief
against mortal men which also was to be fulfilled. With both hands he
took up the white fat and was angry at heart, and wrath came to his
spirit when he saw the white ox-bones craftily tricked out: and because
of this the tribes of men upon earth burn white bones to the deathless
gods upon fragrant altars. But Zeus who drives the clouds was greatly
vexed and said to him:
(ll. 559-560) 'Son of Iapetus, clever above all! So, sir, you have not
yet forgotten your cunning arts! '
(ll. 561-584) So spake Zeus in anger, whose wisdom is everlasting; and
from that time he was always mindful of the trick, and would not give
the power of unwearying fire to the Melian [1621] race of mortal men who
live on the earth. But the noble son of Iapetus outwitted him and stole
the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And Zeus
who thunders on high was stung in spirit, and his dear heart was angered
when he saw amongst men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made an
evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping
God formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronos
willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded and clothed her with
silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands a
broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put about her
head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her
head a crown of gold which the very famous Limping God made himself and
worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus his father. On it was much
curious work, wonderful to see; for of the many creatures which the
land and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, like living
beings with voices: and great beauty shone out from it.
(ll. 585-589) But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price
for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the finery which
the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father had given her, to the place
where the other gods and men were. And wonder took hold of the deathless
gods and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer guile, not to be
withstood by men.
(ll. 590-612) For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her
is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men
to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in
wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones whose nature is to
do mischief--by day and throughout the day until the sun goes down the
bees are busy and lay the white combs, while the drones stay at home
in the covered skeps and reap the toil of others into their own
bellies--even so Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to
mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And he gave them a second evil
to be the price for the good they had: whoever avoids marriage and
the sorrows that women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old age
without anyone to tend his years, and though he at least has no lack of
livelihood while he lives, yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide
his possessions amongst them. And as for the man who chooses the lot
of marriage and takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil continually
contends with good; for whoever happens to have mischievous children,
lives always with unceasing grief in his spirit and heart within him;
and this evil cannot be healed.
(ll. 613-616) So it is not possible to deceive or go beyond the will of
Zeus; for not even the son of Iapetus, kindly Prometheus, escaped his
heavy anger, but of necessity strong bands confined him, although he
knew many a wile.
(ll. 617-643) But when first their father was vexed in his heart with
Obriareus and Cottus and Gyes, he bound them in cruel bonds, because he
was jealous of their exceeding manhood and comeliness and great size:
and he made them live beneath the wide-pathed earth, where they were
afflicted, being set to dwell under the ground, at the end of the earth,
at its great borders, in bitter anguish for a long time and with great
grief at heart. But the son of Cronos and the other deathless gods whom
rich-haired Rhea bare from union with Cronos, brought them up again to
the light at Earth's advising. For she herself recounted all things
to the gods fully, how that with these they would gain victory and a
glorious cause to vaunt themselves. For the Titan gods and as many as
sprang from Cronos had long been fighting together in stubborn war with
heart-grieving toil, the lordly Titans from high Othyrs, but the gods,
givers of good, whom rich-haired Rhea bare in union with Cronos, from
Olympus. So they, with bitter wrath, were fighting continually with
one another at that time for ten full years, and the hard strife had
no close or end for either side, and the issue of the war hung evenly
balanced. But when he had provided those three with all things fitting,
nectar and ambrosia which the gods themselves eat, and when their
proud spirit revived within them all after they had fed on nectar and
delicious ambrosia, then it was that the father of men and gods spoke
amongst them:
(ll. 644-653) 'Hear me, bright children of Earth and Heaven, that I
may say what my heart within me bids. A long while now have we, who are
sprung from Cronos and the Titan gods, fought with each other every
day to get victory and to prevail. But do you show your great might
and unconquerable strength, and face the Titans in bitter strife; for
remember our friendly kindness, and from what sufferings you are come
back to the light from your cruel bondage under misty gloom through our
counsels. '
(ll. 654-663) So he said. And blameless Cottus answered him again:
'Divine one, you speak that which we know well: nay, even of ourselves
we know that your wisdom and understanding is exceeding, and that you
became a defender of the deathless ones from chill doom. And through
your devising we are come back again from the murky gloom and from our
merciless bonds, enjoying what we looked not for, O lord, son of Cronos.
And so now with fixed purpose and deliberate counsel we will aid your
power in dreadful strife and will fight against the Titans in hard
battle. '
(ll. 664-686) So he said: and the gods, givers of good things, applauded
when they heard his word, and their spirit longed for war even more than
before, and they all, both male and female, stirred up hated battle
that day, the Titan gods, and all that were born of Cronos together with
those dread, mighty ones of overwhelming strength whom Zeus brought up
to the light from Erebus beneath the earth. An hundred arms sprang from
the shoulders of all alike, and each had fifty heads growing upon his
shoulders upon stout limbs. These, then, stood against the Titans in
grim strife, holding huge rocks in their strong hands. And on the other
part the Titans eagerly strengthened their ranks, and both sides at one
time showed the work of their hands and their might. The boundless sea
rang terribly around, and the earth crashed loudly: wide Heaven was
shaken and groaned, and high Olympus reeled from its foundation under
the charge of the undying gods, and a heavy quaking reached dim Tartarus
and the deep sound of their feet in the fearful onset and of their
hard missiles. So, then, they launched their grievous shafts upon one
another, and the cry of both armies as they shouted reached to starry
heaven; and they met together with a great battle-cry.
(ll. 687-712) Then Zeus no longer held back his might; but straight his
heart was filled with fury and he showed forth all his strength. From
Heaven and from Olympus he came forthwith, hurling his lightning: the
bolts flew thick and fast from his strong hand together with thunder
and lightning, whirling an awesome flame. The life-giving earth crashed
around in burning, and the vast wood crackled loud with fire all about.
All the land seethed, and Ocean's streams and the unfruitful sea. The
hot vapour lapped round the earthborn Titans: flame unspeakable rose
to the bright upper air: the flashing glare of the thunder-stone and
lightning blinded their eyes for all that there were strong. Astounding
heat seized Chaos: and to see with eyes and to hear the sound with ears
it seemed even as if Earth and wide Heaven above came together; for such
a mighty crash would have arisen if Earth were being hurled to ruin, and
Heaven from on high were hurling her down; so great a crash was there
while the gods were meeting together in strife. Also the winds brought
rumbling earthquake and duststorm, thunder and lightning and the
lurid thunderbolt, which are the shafts of great Zeus, and carried the
clangour and the warcry into the midst of the two hosts. An horrible
uproar of terrible strife arose: mighty deeds were shown and the
battle inclined. But until then, they kept at one another and fought
continually in cruel war.
(ll. 713-735) And amongst the foremost Cottus and Briareos and Gyes
insatiate for war raised fierce fighting: three hundred rocks, one upon
another, they launched from their strong hands and overshadowed the
Titans with their missiles, and buried them beneath the wide-pathed
earth, and bound them in bitter chains when they had conquered them by
their strength for all their great spirit, as far beneath the earth to
Tartarus. For a brazen anvil falling down from heaven nine nights and
days would reach the earth upon the tenth: and again, a brazen anvil
falling from earth nine nights and days would reach Tartarus upon the
tenth. Round it runs a fence of bronze, and night spreads in triple
line all about it like a neck-circlet, while above grow the roots of the
earth and unfruitful sea. There by the counsel of Zeus who drives the
clouds the Titan gods are hidden under misty gloom, in a dank place
where are the ends of the huge earth. And they may not go out; for
Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon it, and a wall runs all round it
on every side. There Gyes and Cottus and great-souled Obriareus live,
trusty warders of Zeus who holds the aegis.
(ll. 736-744) And there, all in their order, are the sources and ends
of gloomy earth and misty Tartarus and the unfruitful sea and starry
heaven, loathsome and dank, which even the gods abhor.
It is a great gulf, and if once a man were within the gates, he would
not reach the floor until a whole year had reached its end, but cruel
blast upon blast would carry him this way and that. And this marvel is
awful even to the deathless gods.
(ll. 744-757) There stands the awful home of murky Night wrapped in
dark clouds. In front of it the son of Iapetus [1622] stands immovably
upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where
Night and Day draw near and greet one another as they pass the great
threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the
house, the other comes out at the door.
And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without
the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home
and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds
all-seeing light for them on earth, but the other holds in her arms
Sleep the brother of Death, even evil Night, wrapped in a vaporous
cloud.
(ll. 758-766) And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings,
Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with
his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from
heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the
sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of
iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of
men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the
deathless gods.
(ll. 767-774) There, in front, stand the echoing halls of the god of
the lower-world, strong Hades, and of awful Persephone. A fearful hound
guards the house in front, pitiless, and he has a cruel trick. On those
who go in he fawns with his tail and both his ears, but suffers them not
to go out back again, but keeps watch and devours whomsoever he catches
going out of the gates of strong Hades and awful Persephone.
(ll. 775-806) And there dwells the goddess loathed by the deathless
gods, terrible Styx, eldest daughter of back-flowing [1623] Ocean. She
lives apart from the gods in her glorious house vaulted over with great
rocks and propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars. Rarely
does the daughter of Thaumas, swift-footed Iris, come to her with a
message over the sea's wide back.
But when strife and quarrel arise among the deathless gods, and when any
of them who live in the house of Olympus lies, then Zeus sends Iris
to bring in a golden jug the great oath of the gods from far away, the
famous cold water which trickles down from a high and beetling rock. Far
under the wide-pathed earth a branch of Oceanus flows through the dark
night out of the holy stream, and a tenth part of his water is allotted
to her. With nine silver-swirling streams he winds about the earth and
the sea's wide back, and then falls into the main [1624]; but the tenth
flows out from a rock, a sore trouble to the gods. For whoever of the
deathless gods that hold the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of
her water is forsworn, lies breathless until a full year is completed,
and never comes near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lies spiritless
and voiceless on a strewn bed: and a heavy trance overshadows him. But
when he has spent a long year in his sickness, another penance and an
harder follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the
eternal gods and never joins their councils of their feasts, nine full
years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of
the deathless gods who live in the house of Olympus. Such an oath, then,
did the gods appoint the eternal and primaeval water of Styx to be: and
it spouts through a rugged place.
(ll. 807-819) And there, all in their order, are the sources and ends
of the dark earth and misty Tartarus and the unfruitful sea and starry
heaven, loathsome and dank, which even the gods abhor.
And there are shining gates and an immoveable threshold of bronze having
unending roots and it is grown of itself [1625]. And beyond, away from
all the gods, live the Titans, beyond gloomy Chaos. But the glorious
allies of loud-crashing Zeus have their dwelling upon Ocean's
foundations, even Cottus and Gyes; but Briareos, being goodly, the
deep-roaring Earth-Shaker made his son-in-law, giving him Cymopolea his
daughter to wed.
(ll. 820-868) But when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, huge
Earth bare her youngest child Typhoeus of the love of Tartarus, by the
aid of golden Aphrodite. Strength was with his hands in all that he did
and the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his shoulders grew
an hundred heads of a snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering
tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous heads
flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as he glared. And there
were voices in all his dreadful heads which uttered every kind of
sound unspeakable; for at one time they made sounds such that the gods
understood, but at another, the noise of a bull bellowing aloud in proud
ungovernable fury; and at another, the sound of a lion, relentless of
heart; and at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear; and again,
at another, he would hiss, so that the high mountains re-echoed. And
truly a thing past help would have happened on that day, and he would
have come to reign over mortals and immortals, had not the father of men
and gods been quick to perceive it. But he thundered hard and mightily:
and the earth around resounded terribly and the wide heaven above, and
the sea and Ocean's streams and the nether parts of the earth. Great
Olympus reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose and
earth groaned thereat. And through the two of them heat took hold on the
dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire
from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The
whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the
beaches round and about, at the rush of the deathless gods: and there
arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead
below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live with Cronos, because of
the unending clamour and the fearful strife. So when Zeus had raised
up his might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning and lurid
thunderbolt, he leaped from Olympus and struck him, and burned all the
marvellous heads of the monster about him. But when Zeus had conquered
him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was hurled down, a maimed
wreck, so that the huge earth groaned. And flame shot forth from the
thunder-stricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount [1626], when
he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible
vapour and melted as tin melts when heated by men's art in channelled
[1627] crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is
softened by glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth
through the strength of Hephaestus [1628]. Even so, then, the earth
melted in the glow of the blazing fire. And in the bitterness of his
anger Zeus cast him into wide Tartarus.
(ll. 869-880) And from Typhoeus come boisterous winds which blow damply,
except Notus and Boreas and clear Zephyr. These are a god-sent kind,
and a great blessing to men; but the others blow fitfully upon the seas.
Some rush upon the misty sea and work great havoc among men with their
evil, raging blasts; for varying with the season they blow, scattering
ships and destroying sailors. And men who meet these upon the sea have
no help against the mischief. Others again over the boundless, flowering
earth spoil the fair fields of men who dwell below, filling them with
dust and cruel uproar.
(ll. 881-885) But when the blessed gods had finished their toil, and
settled by force their struggle for honours with the Titans, they
pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus to reign and to rule over them, by
Earth's prompting. So he divided their dignities amongst them.
(ll. 886-900) Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first,
and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to
bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her
with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry
Heaven advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should
hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise
children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed
Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding;
but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods
and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess
might devise for him both good and evil.
(ll. 901-906) Next he married bright Themis who bare the Horae (Hours),
and Eunomia (Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who
mind the works of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus
gave the greatest honour, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos who give
mortal men evil and good to have.
(ll. 907-911) And Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, beautiful in form,
bare him three fair-cheeked Charites (Graces), Aglaea, and Euphrosyne,
and lovely Thaleia, from whose eyes as they glanced flowed love that
unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance beneath their brows.
(ll. 912-914) Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she
bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus carried off from her mother;
but wise Zeus gave her to him.
(ll. 915-917) And again, he loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and
of her the nine gold-crowned Muses were born who delight in feasts and
the pleasures of song.
(ll. 918-920) And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis,
and bare Apollo and Artemis delighting in arrows, children lovely above
all the sons of Heaven.
(ll. 921-923) Lastly, he made Hera his blooming wife: and she was joined
in love with the king of gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares
and Eileithyia.
(ll. 924-929) But Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to
bright-eyed Tritogeneia [1629], the awful, the strife-stirring, the
host-leader, the unwearying, the queen, who delights in tumults and wars
and battles. But Hera without union with Zeus--for she was very angry
and quarrelled with her mate--bare famous Hephaestus, who is skilled in
crafts more than all the sons of Heaven.
(ll. 929a-929t) [1630] But Hera was very angry and quarrelled with her
mate. And because of this strife she bare without union with Zeus who
holds the aegis a glorious son, Hephaestus, who excelled all the sons of
Heaven in crafts. But Zeus lay with the fair-cheeked daughter of Ocean
and Tethys apart from Hera. . . . ((LACUNA)) . . . . deceiving Metis (Thought)
although she was full wise. But he seized her with his hands and put
her in his belly, for fear that she might bring forth something stronger
than his thunderbolt: therefore did Zeus, who sits on high and dwells
in the aether, swallow her down suddenly. But she straightway conceived
Pallas Athene: and the father of men and gods gave her birth by way
of his head on the banks of the river Trito. And she remained hidden
beneath the inward parts of Zeus, even Metis, Athena's mother, worker of
righteousness, who was wiser than gods and mortal men. There the goddess
(Athena) received that [1631] whereby she excelled in strength all
the deathless ones who dwell in Olympus, she who made the host-scaring
weapon of Athena. And with it (Zeus) gave her birth, arrayed in arms of
war.
(ll. 930-933) And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-Shaker was
born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he owns the depths of the sea,
living with his dear mother and the lord his father in their golden
house, an awful god.
(ll. 933-937) Also Cytherea bare to Ares the shield-piercer Panic and
Fear, terrible gods who drive in disorder the close ranks of men in
numbing war, with the help of Ares, sacker of towns: and Harmonia whom
high-spirited Cadmus made his wife.
(ll.
938-939) And Maia, the daughter of Atlas, bare to Zeus glorious
Hermes, the herald of the deathless gods, for she went up into his holy
bed.
(ll. 940-942) And Semele, daughter of Cadmus was joined with him in
love and bare him a splendid son, joyous Dionysus,--a mortal woman an
immortal son. And now they both are gods.
(ll. 943-944) And Alcmena was joined in love with Zeus who drives the
clouds and bare mighty Heracles.
(ll. 945-946) And Hephaestus, the famous Lame One, made Aglaea, youngest
of the Graces, his buxom wife.
(ll. 947-949) And golden-haired Dionysus made brown-haired Ariadne,
the daughter of Minos, his buxom wife: and the son of Cronos made her
deathless and unageing for him.
(ll. 950-955) And mighty Heracles, the valiant son of neat-ankled
Alcmena, when he had finished his grievous toils, made Hebe the child of
great Zeus and gold-shod Hera his shy wife in snowy Olympus. Happy he!
For he has finished his great works and lives amongst the undying gods,
untroubled and unageing all his days.
(ll. 956-962) And Perseis, the daughter of Ocean, bare to unwearying
Helios Circe and Aeetes the king. And Aeetes, the son of Helios who
shows light to men, took to wife fair-cheeked Idyia, daughter of Ocean
the perfect stream, by the will of the gods: and she was subject to him
in love through golden Aphrodite and bare him neat-ankled Medea.
(ll. 963-968) And now farewell, you dwellers on Olympus and you islands
and continents and thou briny sea within. Now sing the company of
goddesses, sweet-voiced Muses of Olympus, daughter of Zeus who holds
the aegis,--even those deathless one who lay with mortal men and bare
children like unto gods.
(ll. 969-974) Demeter, bright goddess, was joined in sweet love with the
hero Iasion in a thrice-ploughed fallow in the rich land of Crete, and
bare Plutus, a kindly god who goes everywhere over land and the sea's
wide back, and him who finds him and into whose hands he comes he makes
rich, bestowing great wealth upon him.
(ll. 975-978) And Harmonia, the daughter of golden Aphrodite, bare
to Cadmus Ino and Semele and fair-cheeked Agave and Autonoe whom long
haired Aristaeus wedded, and Polydorus also in rich-crowned Thebe.
(ll. 979-983) And the daughter of Ocean, Callirrhoe was joined in the
love of rich Aphrodite with stout hearted Chrysaor and bare a son who
was the strongest of all men, Geryones, whom mighty Heracles killed in
sea-girt Erythea for the sake of his shambling oxen.
(ll. 984-991) And Eos bare to Tithonus brazen-crested Memnon, king
of the Ethiopians, and the Lord Emathion. And to Cephalus she bare a
splendid son, strong Phaethon, a man like the gods, whom, when he was a
young boy in the tender flower of glorious youth with childish thoughts,
laughter-loving Aphrodite seized and caught up and made a keeper of her
shrine by night, a divine spirit.
(ll. 993-1002) And the son of Aeson by the will of the gods led away
from Aeetes the daughter of Aeetes the heaven-nurtured king, when he had
finished the many grievous labours which the great king, over bearing
Pelias, that outrageous and presumptuous doer of violence, put upon him.
But when the son of Aeson had finished them, he came to Iolcus after
long toil bringing the coy-eyed girl with him on his swift ship, and
made her his buxom wife. And she was subject to Iason, shepherd of the
people, and bare a son Medeus whom Cheiron the son of Philyra brought up
in the mountains. And the will of great Zeus was fulfilled.
(ll. 1003-1007) But of the daughters of Nereus, the Old man of the Sea,
Psamathe the fair goddess, was loved by Aeacus through golden Aphrodite
and bare Phocus. And the silver-shod goddess Thetis was subject to
Peleus and brought forth lion-hearted Achilles, the destroyer of men.
(ll. 1008-1010) And Cytherea with the beautiful crown was joined in
sweet love with the hero Anchises and bare Aeneas on the peaks of Ida
with its many wooded glens.
(ll. 1011-1016) And Circe the daughter of Helius, Hyperion's son, loved
steadfast Odysseus and bare Agrius and Latinus who was faultless
and strong: also she brought forth Telegonus by the will of golden
Aphrodite. And they ruled over the famous Tyrenians, very far off in a
recess of the holy islands.
(ll. 1017-1018) And the bright goddess Calypso was joined to Odysseus in
sweet love, and bare him Nausithous and Nausinous.
(ll. 1019-1020) These are the immortal goddesses who lay with mortal men
and bare them children like unto gods.
(ll. 1021-1022) But now, sweet-voiced Muses of Olympus, daughters of
Zeus who holds the aegis, sing of the company of women.
THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE (fragments) [1701]
Fragment #1--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iii. 1086: That
Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and Pronoea, Hesiod states in the
first "Catalogue", as also that Hellen was the son of Deucalion and
Pyrrha.
Fragment #2--Ioannes Lydus [1702], de Mens. i. 13: They came to call
those who followed local manners Latins, but those who followed Hellenic
customs Greeks, after the brothers Latinus and Graecus; as Hesiod says:
'And in the palace Pandora the daughter of noble Deucalion was joined in
love with father Zeus, leader of all the gods, and bare Graecus, staunch
in battle. '
Fragment #3--Constantinus Porphyrogenitus [1703], de Them. 2 p. 48B: The
district Macedonia took its name from Macedon the son of Zeus and Thyia,
Deucalion's daughter, as Hesiod says: 'And she conceived and bare to
Zeus who delights in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon,
rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria and Olympus. . . .
((LACUNA)) . . . . And Magnes again (begot) Dictys and godlike Polydectes. '
Fragment #4--Plutarch, Mor. p. 747; Schol. on Pindar Pyth. iv. 263:
'And from Hellen the war-loving king sprang Dorus and Xuthus and Aeolus
delighting in horses. And the sons of Aeolus, kings dealing justice,
were Cretheus, and Athamas, and clever Sisyphus, and wicked Salmoneus
and overbold Perieres. '
Fragment #5--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 266: Those who
were descended from Deucalion used to rule over Thessaly as Hecataeus
and Hesiod say.
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 482: Aloiadae.
Hesiod said that they were sons of Aloeus,--called so after him,--and of
Iphimedea, but in reality sons of Poseidon and Iphimedea, and that Alus
a city of Aetolia was founded by their father.
Fragment #7--Berlin Papyri, No. 7497; Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 421 [1704]:
(ll. 1-24) '. . . . Eurynome the daughter of Nisus, Pandion's son, to whom
Pallas Athene taught all her art, both wit and wisdom too; for she was
as wise as the gods. A marvellous scent rose from her silvern raiment
as she moved, and beauty was wafted from her eyes. Her, then, Glaucus
sought to win by Athena's advising, and he drove oxen [1705] for her.
But he knew not at all the intent of Zeus who holds the aegis. So
Glaucus came seeking her to wife with gifts; but cloud-driving Zeus,
king of the deathless gods, bent his head in oath that the. . . . son of
Sisyphus should never have children born of one father [1706]. So she
lay in the arms of Poseidon and bare in the house of Glaucus blameless
Bellerophon, surpassing all men in. . . . over the boundless sea. And when
he began to roam, his father gave him Pegasus who would bear him most
swiftly on his wings, and flew unwearying everywhere over the earth, for
like the gales he would course along. With him Bellerophon caught and
slew the fire-breathing Chimera. And he wedded the dear child of the
great-hearted Iobates, the worshipful king. . . . lord (of). . . . and she
bare. . . . '
Fragment #8--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodes, Arg. iv. 57: Hesiod says
that Endymion was the son of Aethlius the son of Zeus and Calyee, and
received the gift from Zeus: '(To be) keeper of death for his own self
when he was ready to die. '
Fragment #9--Scholiast Ven. on Homer, Il. xi. 750: The two sons of Actor
and Molione. . . Hesiod has given their descent by calling them after
Actor and Molione; but their father was Poseidon.
Porphyrius [1707], Quaest. Hom. ad Iliad. pert. , 265: But Aristarchus is
informed that they were twins, not. . . . such as were the Dioscuri, but,
on Hesiod's testimony, double in form and with two bodies and joined to
one another.
Fragment #10--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 156: But Hesiod
says that he changed himself in one of his wonted shapes and perched on
the yoke-boss of Heracles' horses, meaning to fight with the hero; but
that Heracles, secretly instructed by Athena, wounded him mortally with
an arrow. And he says as follows: '. . . and lordly Periclymenus. Happy he!
For earth-shaking Poseidon gave him all manner of gifts. At one time he
would appear among birds, an eagle; and again at another he would be
an ant, a marvel to see; and then a shining swarm of bees; and again at
another time a dread relentless snake. And he possessed all manner of
gifts which cannot be told, and these then ensnared him through the
devising of Athene. '
Fragment #11--Stephanus of Byzantium [1708], s. v. : '(Heracles) slew the
noble sons of steadfast Neleus, eleven of them; but the twelfth, the
horsemen Gerenian Nestor chanced to be staying with the horse-taming
Gerenians. ((LACUNA)) Nestor alone escaped in flowery Gerenon. '
Fragment #12--Eustathius [1709], Hom. 1796. 39: 'So well-girded
Polycaste, the youngest daughter of Nestor, Neleus' son, was joined in
love with Telemachus through golden Aphrodite and bare Persepolis. '
Fragment #13--Scholiast on Homer, Od. xii. 69: Tyro the daughter of
Salmoneus, having two sons by Poseidon, Neleus and Pelias, married
Cretheus, and had by him three sons, Aeson, Pheres and Amythaon. And
of Aeson and Polymede, according to Hesiod, Iason was born: 'Aeson, who
begot a son Iason, shepherd of the people, whom Chiron brought up in
woody Pelion. '
Fragment #14--Petrie Papyri (ed. Mahaffy), Pl. III. 3: '. . . . of the
glorious lord . . . . fair Atalanta, swift of foot, the daughter of
Schoeneus, who had the beaming eyes of the Graces, though she was ripe
for wedlock rejected the company of her equals and sought to avoid
marriage with men who eat bread. '
Scholiast on Homer, Iliad xxiii. 683: Hesiod is therefore later in date
than Homer since he represents Hippomenes as stripped when contending
with Atalanta [1710].
Papiri greci e latini, ii. No. 130 (2nd-3rd century) [1711]: (ll. 1-7)
'Then straightway there rose up against him the trim-ankled maiden
(Atalanta), peerless in beauty: a great throng stood round about her as
she gazed fiercely, and wonder held all men as they looked upon her. As
she moved, the breath of the west wind stirred the shining garment about
her tender bosom; but Hippomenes stood where he was: and much people was
gathered together. All these kept silence; but Schoeneus cried and said:
(ll. 8-20) '"Hear me all, both young and old, while I speak as my spirit
within my breast bids me. Hippomenes seeks my coy-eyed daughter to wife;
but let him now hear my wholesome speech. He shall not win her without
contest; yet, if he be victorious and escape death, and if the deathless
gods who dwell on Olympus grant him to win renown, verily he shall
return to his dear native land, and I will give him my dear child and
strong, swift-footed horses besides which he shall lead home to be
cherished possessions; and may he rejoice in heart possessing these, and
ever remember with gladness the painful contest. May the father of men
and of gods (grant that splendid children may be born to him)' [1712]
((LACUNA))
(ll. 21-27) 'on the right. . . . and he, rushing upon her,. . . . drawing back
slightly towards the left. And on them was laid an unenviable struggle:
for she, even fair, swift-footed Atalanta, ran scorning the gifts of
golden Aphrodite; but with him the race was for his life, either to find
his doom, or to escape it. Therefore with thoughts of guile he said to
her:
(ll. 28-29) '"O daughter of Schoeneus, pitiless in heart, receive these
glorious gifts of the goddess, golden Aphrodite. . . '
((LACUNA))
(ll. 30-36) 'But he, following lightly on his feet, cast the first apple
[1713]: and, swiftly as a Harpy, she turned back and snatched it.
Then he cast the second to the ground with his hand. And now fair,
swift-footed Atalanta had two apples and was near the goal; but
Hippomenes cast the third apple to the ground, and therewith escaped
death and black fate. And he stood panting and. . . '
Fragment #15--Strabo [1714], i. p.
that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the
beginning she is a nurse of the young, and these are her honours.
(ll. 453-491) But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare splendid
children, Hestia [1618], Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades,
pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing
Earth-Shaker, and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder
the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronos swallowed as each came
forth from the womb to his mother's knees with this intent, that no
other of the proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office amongst
the deathless gods. For he learned from Earth and starry Heaven that
he was destined to be overcome by his own son, strong though he was,
through the contriving of great Zeus [1619]. Therefore he kept no blind
outlook, but watched and swallowed down his children: and unceasing
grief seized Rhea. But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of
gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry
Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child
might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty
Cronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had
swallowed down. And they readily heard and obeyed their dear daughter,
and told her all that was destined to happen touching Cronos the king
and his stout-hearted son. So they sent her to Lyetus, to the rich land
of Crete, when she was ready to bear great Zeus, the youngest of her
children. Him did vast Earth receive from Rhea in wide Crete to nourish
and to bring up. Thither came Earth carrying him swiftly through the
black night to Lyctus first, and took him in her arms and hid him in a
remote cave beneath the secret places of the holy earth on thick-wooded
Mount Aegeum; but to the mightily ruling son of Heaven, the earlier king
of the gods, she gave a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then
he took it in his hands and thrust it down into his belly: wretch!
he knew not in his heart that in place of the stone his son was left
behind, unconquered and untroubled, and that he was soon to overcome him
by force and might and drive him from his honours, himself to reign over
the deathless gods.
(ll. 492-506) After that, the strength and glorious limbs of the prince
increased quickly, and as the years rolled on, great Cronos the wily
was beguiled by the deep suggestions of Earth, and brought up again
his offspring, vanquished by the arts and might of his own son, and he
vomited up first the stone which he had swallowed last. And Zeus set
it fast in the wide-pathed earth at goodly Pytho under the glens of
Parnassus, to be a sign thenceforth and a marvel to mortal men [1620].
And he set free from their deadly bonds the brothers of his father,
sons of Heaven whom his father in his foolishness had bound. And they
remembered to be grateful to him for his kindness, and gave him thunder
and the glowing thunderbolt and lightening: for before that, huge
Earth had hidden these. In them he trusts and rules over mortals and
immortals.
(ll. 507-543) Now Iapetus took to wife the neat-ankled mad Clymene,
daughter of Ocean, and went up with her into one bed. And she bare him
a stout-hearted son, Atlas: also she bare very glorious Menoetius and
clever Prometheus, full of various wiles, and scatter-brained Epimetheus
who from the first was a mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he
who first took of Zeus the woman, the maiden whom he had formed. But
Menoetius was outrageous, and far-seeing Zeus struck him with a lurid
thunderbolt and sent him down to Erebus because of his mad presumption
and exceeding pride. And Atlas through hard constraint upholds the wide
heaven with unwearying head and arms, standing at the borders of
the earth before the clear-voiced Hesperides; for this lot wise Zeus
assigned to him. And ready-witted Prometheus he bound with inextricable
bonds, cruel chains, and drove a shaft through his middle, and set on
him a long-winged eagle, which used to eat his immortal liver; but by
night the liver grew as much again everyway as the long-winged bird
devoured in the whole day. That bird Heracles, the valiant son of
shapely-ankled Alcmene, slew; and delivered the son of Iapetus from the
cruel plague, and released him from his affliction--not without the
will of Olympian Zeus who reigns on high, that the glory of Heracles the
Theban-born might be yet greater than it was before over the plenteous
earth. This, then, he regarded, and honoured his famous son; though
he was angry, he ceased from the wrath which he had before because
Prometheus matched himself in wit with the almighty son of Cronos.
For when the gods and mortal men had a dispute at Mecone, even then
Prometheus was forward to cut up a great ox and set portions before
them, trying to befool the mind of Zeus. Before the rest he set flesh
and inner parts thick with fat upon the hide, covering them with an ox
paunch; but for Zeus he put the white bones dressed up with cunning art
and covered with shining fat. Then the father of men and of gods said to
him:
(ll. 543-544) 'Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all lords, good sir, how
unfairly you have divided the portions! '
(ll. 545-547) So said Zeus whose wisdom is everlasting, rebuking him.
But wily Prometheus answered him, smiling softly and not forgetting his
cunning trick:
(ll. 548-558) 'Zeus, most glorious and greatest of the eternal gods,
take which ever of these portions your heart within you bids. ' So he
said, thinking trickery. But Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, saw and
failed not to perceive the trick, and in his heart he thought mischief
against mortal men which also was to be fulfilled. With both hands he
took up the white fat and was angry at heart, and wrath came to his
spirit when he saw the white ox-bones craftily tricked out: and because
of this the tribes of men upon earth burn white bones to the deathless
gods upon fragrant altars. But Zeus who drives the clouds was greatly
vexed and said to him:
(ll. 559-560) 'Son of Iapetus, clever above all! So, sir, you have not
yet forgotten your cunning arts! '
(ll. 561-584) So spake Zeus in anger, whose wisdom is everlasting; and
from that time he was always mindful of the trick, and would not give
the power of unwearying fire to the Melian [1621] race of mortal men who
live on the earth. But the noble son of Iapetus outwitted him and stole
the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow fennel stalk. And Zeus
who thunders on high was stung in spirit, and his dear heart was angered
when he saw amongst men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made an
evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping
God formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronos
willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded and clothed her with
silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands a
broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put about her
head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her
head a crown of gold which the very famous Limping God made himself and
worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus his father. On it was much
curious work, wonderful to see; for of the many creatures which the
land and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, like living
beings with voices: and great beauty shone out from it.
(ll. 585-589) But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price
for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the finery which
the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father had given her, to the place
where the other gods and men were. And wonder took hold of the deathless
gods and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer guile, not to be
withstood by men.
(ll. 590-612) For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her
is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men
to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in
wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones whose nature is to
do mischief--by day and throughout the day until the sun goes down the
bees are busy and lay the white combs, while the drones stay at home
in the covered skeps and reap the toil of others into their own
bellies--even so Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to
mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And he gave them a second evil
to be the price for the good they had: whoever avoids marriage and
the sorrows that women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old age
without anyone to tend his years, and though he at least has no lack of
livelihood while he lives, yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide
his possessions amongst them. And as for the man who chooses the lot
of marriage and takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil continually
contends with good; for whoever happens to have mischievous children,
lives always with unceasing grief in his spirit and heart within him;
and this evil cannot be healed.
(ll. 613-616) So it is not possible to deceive or go beyond the will of
Zeus; for not even the son of Iapetus, kindly Prometheus, escaped his
heavy anger, but of necessity strong bands confined him, although he
knew many a wile.
(ll. 617-643) But when first their father was vexed in his heart with
Obriareus and Cottus and Gyes, he bound them in cruel bonds, because he
was jealous of their exceeding manhood and comeliness and great size:
and he made them live beneath the wide-pathed earth, where they were
afflicted, being set to dwell under the ground, at the end of the earth,
at its great borders, in bitter anguish for a long time and with great
grief at heart. But the son of Cronos and the other deathless gods whom
rich-haired Rhea bare from union with Cronos, brought them up again to
the light at Earth's advising. For she herself recounted all things
to the gods fully, how that with these they would gain victory and a
glorious cause to vaunt themselves. For the Titan gods and as many as
sprang from Cronos had long been fighting together in stubborn war with
heart-grieving toil, the lordly Titans from high Othyrs, but the gods,
givers of good, whom rich-haired Rhea bare in union with Cronos, from
Olympus. So they, with bitter wrath, were fighting continually with
one another at that time for ten full years, and the hard strife had
no close or end for either side, and the issue of the war hung evenly
balanced. But when he had provided those three with all things fitting,
nectar and ambrosia which the gods themselves eat, and when their
proud spirit revived within them all after they had fed on nectar and
delicious ambrosia, then it was that the father of men and gods spoke
amongst them:
(ll. 644-653) 'Hear me, bright children of Earth and Heaven, that I
may say what my heart within me bids. A long while now have we, who are
sprung from Cronos and the Titan gods, fought with each other every
day to get victory and to prevail. But do you show your great might
and unconquerable strength, and face the Titans in bitter strife; for
remember our friendly kindness, and from what sufferings you are come
back to the light from your cruel bondage under misty gloom through our
counsels. '
(ll. 654-663) So he said. And blameless Cottus answered him again:
'Divine one, you speak that which we know well: nay, even of ourselves
we know that your wisdom and understanding is exceeding, and that you
became a defender of the deathless ones from chill doom. And through
your devising we are come back again from the murky gloom and from our
merciless bonds, enjoying what we looked not for, O lord, son of Cronos.
And so now with fixed purpose and deliberate counsel we will aid your
power in dreadful strife and will fight against the Titans in hard
battle. '
(ll. 664-686) So he said: and the gods, givers of good things, applauded
when they heard his word, and their spirit longed for war even more than
before, and they all, both male and female, stirred up hated battle
that day, the Titan gods, and all that were born of Cronos together with
those dread, mighty ones of overwhelming strength whom Zeus brought up
to the light from Erebus beneath the earth. An hundred arms sprang from
the shoulders of all alike, and each had fifty heads growing upon his
shoulders upon stout limbs. These, then, stood against the Titans in
grim strife, holding huge rocks in their strong hands. And on the other
part the Titans eagerly strengthened their ranks, and both sides at one
time showed the work of their hands and their might. The boundless sea
rang terribly around, and the earth crashed loudly: wide Heaven was
shaken and groaned, and high Olympus reeled from its foundation under
the charge of the undying gods, and a heavy quaking reached dim Tartarus
and the deep sound of their feet in the fearful onset and of their
hard missiles. So, then, they launched their grievous shafts upon one
another, and the cry of both armies as they shouted reached to starry
heaven; and they met together with a great battle-cry.
(ll. 687-712) Then Zeus no longer held back his might; but straight his
heart was filled with fury and he showed forth all his strength. From
Heaven and from Olympus he came forthwith, hurling his lightning: the
bolts flew thick and fast from his strong hand together with thunder
and lightning, whirling an awesome flame. The life-giving earth crashed
around in burning, and the vast wood crackled loud with fire all about.
All the land seethed, and Ocean's streams and the unfruitful sea. The
hot vapour lapped round the earthborn Titans: flame unspeakable rose
to the bright upper air: the flashing glare of the thunder-stone and
lightning blinded their eyes for all that there were strong. Astounding
heat seized Chaos: and to see with eyes and to hear the sound with ears
it seemed even as if Earth and wide Heaven above came together; for such
a mighty crash would have arisen if Earth were being hurled to ruin, and
Heaven from on high were hurling her down; so great a crash was there
while the gods were meeting together in strife. Also the winds brought
rumbling earthquake and duststorm, thunder and lightning and the
lurid thunderbolt, which are the shafts of great Zeus, and carried the
clangour and the warcry into the midst of the two hosts. An horrible
uproar of terrible strife arose: mighty deeds were shown and the
battle inclined. But until then, they kept at one another and fought
continually in cruel war.
(ll. 713-735) And amongst the foremost Cottus and Briareos and Gyes
insatiate for war raised fierce fighting: three hundred rocks, one upon
another, they launched from their strong hands and overshadowed the
Titans with their missiles, and buried them beneath the wide-pathed
earth, and bound them in bitter chains when they had conquered them by
their strength for all their great spirit, as far beneath the earth to
Tartarus. For a brazen anvil falling down from heaven nine nights and
days would reach the earth upon the tenth: and again, a brazen anvil
falling from earth nine nights and days would reach Tartarus upon the
tenth. Round it runs a fence of bronze, and night spreads in triple
line all about it like a neck-circlet, while above grow the roots of the
earth and unfruitful sea. There by the counsel of Zeus who drives the
clouds the Titan gods are hidden under misty gloom, in a dank place
where are the ends of the huge earth. And they may not go out; for
Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon it, and a wall runs all round it
on every side. There Gyes and Cottus and great-souled Obriareus live,
trusty warders of Zeus who holds the aegis.
(ll. 736-744) And there, all in their order, are the sources and ends
of gloomy earth and misty Tartarus and the unfruitful sea and starry
heaven, loathsome and dank, which even the gods abhor.
It is a great gulf, and if once a man were within the gates, he would
not reach the floor until a whole year had reached its end, but cruel
blast upon blast would carry him this way and that. And this marvel is
awful even to the deathless gods.
(ll. 744-757) There stands the awful home of murky Night wrapped in
dark clouds. In front of it the son of Iapetus [1622] stands immovably
upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where
Night and Day draw near and greet one another as they pass the great
threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the
house, the other comes out at the door.
And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without
the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home
and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds
all-seeing light for them on earth, but the other holds in her arms
Sleep the brother of Death, even evil Night, wrapped in a vaporous
cloud.
(ll. 758-766) And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings,
Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with
his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from
heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the
sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of
iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of
men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the
deathless gods.
(ll. 767-774) There, in front, stand the echoing halls of the god of
the lower-world, strong Hades, and of awful Persephone. A fearful hound
guards the house in front, pitiless, and he has a cruel trick. On those
who go in he fawns with his tail and both his ears, but suffers them not
to go out back again, but keeps watch and devours whomsoever he catches
going out of the gates of strong Hades and awful Persephone.
(ll. 775-806) And there dwells the goddess loathed by the deathless
gods, terrible Styx, eldest daughter of back-flowing [1623] Ocean. She
lives apart from the gods in her glorious house vaulted over with great
rocks and propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars. Rarely
does the daughter of Thaumas, swift-footed Iris, come to her with a
message over the sea's wide back.
But when strife and quarrel arise among the deathless gods, and when any
of them who live in the house of Olympus lies, then Zeus sends Iris
to bring in a golden jug the great oath of the gods from far away, the
famous cold water which trickles down from a high and beetling rock. Far
under the wide-pathed earth a branch of Oceanus flows through the dark
night out of the holy stream, and a tenth part of his water is allotted
to her. With nine silver-swirling streams he winds about the earth and
the sea's wide back, and then falls into the main [1624]; but the tenth
flows out from a rock, a sore trouble to the gods. For whoever of the
deathless gods that hold the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of
her water is forsworn, lies breathless until a full year is completed,
and never comes near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lies spiritless
and voiceless on a strewn bed: and a heavy trance overshadows him. But
when he has spent a long year in his sickness, another penance and an
harder follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the
eternal gods and never joins their councils of their feasts, nine full
years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of
the deathless gods who live in the house of Olympus. Such an oath, then,
did the gods appoint the eternal and primaeval water of Styx to be: and
it spouts through a rugged place.
(ll. 807-819) And there, all in their order, are the sources and ends
of the dark earth and misty Tartarus and the unfruitful sea and starry
heaven, loathsome and dank, which even the gods abhor.
And there are shining gates and an immoveable threshold of bronze having
unending roots and it is grown of itself [1625]. And beyond, away from
all the gods, live the Titans, beyond gloomy Chaos. But the glorious
allies of loud-crashing Zeus have their dwelling upon Ocean's
foundations, even Cottus and Gyes; but Briareos, being goodly, the
deep-roaring Earth-Shaker made his son-in-law, giving him Cymopolea his
daughter to wed.
(ll. 820-868) But when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, huge
Earth bare her youngest child Typhoeus of the love of Tartarus, by the
aid of golden Aphrodite. Strength was with his hands in all that he did
and the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his shoulders grew
an hundred heads of a snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering
tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous heads
flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as he glared. And there
were voices in all his dreadful heads which uttered every kind of
sound unspeakable; for at one time they made sounds such that the gods
understood, but at another, the noise of a bull bellowing aloud in proud
ungovernable fury; and at another, the sound of a lion, relentless of
heart; and at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear; and again,
at another, he would hiss, so that the high mountains re-echoed. And
truly a thing past help would have happened on that day, and he would
have come to reign over mortals and immortals, had not the father of men
and gods been quick to perceive it. But he thundered hard and mightily:
and the earth around resounded terribly and the wide heaven above, and
the sea and Ocean's streams and the nether parts of the earth. Great
Olympus reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose and
earth groaned thereat. And through the two of them heat took hold on the
dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire
from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The
whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the
beaches round and about, at the rush of the deathless gods: and there
arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead
below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live with Cronos, because of
the unending clamour and the fearful strife. So when Zeus had raised
up his might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning and lurid
thunderbolt, he leaped from Olympus and struck him, and burned all the
marvellous heads of the monster about him. But when Zeus had conquered
him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was hurled down, a maimed
wreck, so that the huge earth groaned. And flame shot forth from the
thunder-stricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount [1626], when
he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible
vapour and melted as tin melts when heated by men's art in channelled
[1627] crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is
softened by glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth
through the strength of Hephaestus [1628]. Even so, then, the earth
melted in the glow of the blazing fire. And in the bitterness of his
anger Zeus cast him into wide Tartarus.
(ll. 869-880) And from Typhoeus come boisterous winds which blow damply,
except Notus and Boreas and clear Zephyr. These are a god-sent kind,
and a great blessing to men; but the others blow fitfully upon the seas.
Some rush upon the misty sea and work great havoc among men with their
evil, raging blasts; for varying with the season they blow, scattering
ships and destroying sailors. And men who meet these upon the sea have
no help against the mischief. Others again over the boundless, flowering
earth spoil the fair fields of men who dwell below, filling them with
dust and cruel uproar.
(ll. 881-885) But when the blessed gods had finished their toil, and
settled by force their struggle for honours with the Titans, they
pressed far-seeing Olympian Zeus to reign and to rule over them, by
Earth's prompting. So he divided their dignities amongst them.
(ll. 886-900) Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first,
and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to
bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her
with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry
Heaven advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should
hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise
children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed
Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding;
but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods
and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess
might devise for him both good and evil.
(ll. 901-906) Next he married bright Themis who bare the Horae (Hours),
and Eunomia (Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who
mind the works of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus
gave the greatest honour, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos who give
mortal men evil and good to have.
(ll. 907-911) And Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, beautiful in form,
bare him three fair-cheeked Charites (Graces), Aglaea, and Euphrosyne,
and lovely Thaleia, from whose eyes as they glanced flowed love that
unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance beneath their brows.
(ll. 912-914) Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she
bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus carried off from her mother;
but wise Zeus gave her to him.
(ll. 915-917) And again, he loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and
of her the nine gold-crowned Muses were born who delight in feasts and
the pleasures of song.
(ll. 918-920) And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis,
and bare Apollo and Artemis delighting in arrows, children lovely above
all the sons of Heaven.
(ll. 921-923) Lastly, he made Hera his blooming wife: and she was joined
in love with the king of gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares
and Eileithyia.
(ll. 924-929) But Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to
bright-eyed Tritogeneia [1629], the awful, the strife-stirring, the
host-leader, the unwearying, the queen, who delights in tumults and wars
and battles. But Hera without union with Zeus--for she was very angry
and quarrelled with her mate--bare famous Hephaestus, who is skilled in
crafts more than all the sons of Heaven.
(ll. 929a-929t) [1630] But Hera was very angry and quarrelled with her
mate. And because of this strife she bare without union with Zeus who
holds the aegis a glorious son, Hephaestus, who excelled all the sons of
Heaven in crafts. But Zeus lay with the fair-cheeked daughter of Ocean
and Tethys apart from Hera. . . . ((LACUNA)) . . . . deceiving Metis (Thought)
although she was full wise. But he seized her with his hands and put
her in his belly, for fear that she might bring forth something stronger
than his thunderbolt: therefore did Zeus, who sits on high and dwells
in the aether, swallow her down suddenly. But she straightway conceived
Pallas Athene: and the father of men and gods gave her birth by way
of his head on the banks of the river Trito. And she remained hidden
beneath the inward parts of Zeus, even Metis, Athena's mother, worker of
righteousness, who was wiser than gods and mortal men. There the goddess
(Athena) received that [1631] whereby she excelled in strength all
the deathless ones who dwell in Olympus, she who made the host-scaring
weapon of Athena. And with it (Zeus) gave her birth, arrayed in arms of
war.
(ll. 930-933) And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-Shaker was
born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he owns the depths of the sea,
living with his dear mother and the lord his father in their golden
house, an awful god.
(ll. 933-937) Also Cytherea bare to Ares the shield-piercer Panic and
Fear, terrible gods who drive in disorder the close ranks of men in
numbing war, with the help of Ares, sacker of towns: and Harmonia whom
high-spirited Cadmus made his wife.
(ll.
938-939) And Maia, the daughter of Atlas, bare to Zeus glorious
Hermes, the herald of the deathless gods, for she went up into his holy
bed.
(ll. 940-942) And Semele, daughter of Cadmus was joined with him in
love and bare him a splendid son, joyous Dionysus,--a mortal woman an
immortal son. And now they both are gods.
(ll. 943-944) And Alcmena was joined in love with Zeus who drives the
clouds and bare mighty Heracles.
(ll. 945-946) And Hephaestus, the famous Lame One, made Aglaea, youngest
of the Graces, his buxom wife.
(ll. 947-949) And golden-haired Dionysus made brown-haired Ariadne,
the daughter of Minos, his buxom wife: and the son of Cronos made her
deathless and unageing for him.
(ll. 950-955) And mighty Heracles, the valiant son of neat-ankled
Alcmena, when he had finished his grievous toils, made Hebe the child of
great Zeus and gold-shod Hera his shy wife in snowy Olympus. Happy he!
For he has finished his great works and lives amongst the undying gods,
untroubled and unageing all his days.
(ll. 956-962) And Perseis, the daughter of Ocean, bare to unwearying
Helios Circe and Aeetes the king. And Aeetes, the son of Helios who
shows light to men, took to wife fair-cheeked Idyia, daughter of Ocean
the perfect stream, by the will of the gods: and she was subject to him
in love through golden Aphrodite and bare him neat-ankled Medea.
(ll. 963-968) And now farewell, you dwellers on Olympus and you islands
and continents and thou briny sea within. Now sing the company of
goddesses, sweet-voiced Muses of Olympus, daughter of Zeus who holds
the aegis,--even those deathless one who lay with mortal men and bare
children like unto gods.
(ll. 969-974) Demeter, bright goddess, was joined in sweet love with the
hero Iasion in a thrice-ploughed fallow in the rich land of Crete, and
bare Plutus, a kindly god who goes everywhere over land and the sea's
wide back, and him who finds him and into whose hands he comes he makes
rich, bestowing great wealth upon him.
(ll. 975-978) And Harmonia, the daughter of golden Aphrodite, bare
to Cadmus Ino and Semele and fair-cheeked Agave and Autonoe whom long
haired Aristaeus wedded, and Polydorus also in rich-crowned Thebe.
(ll. 979-983) And the daughter of Ocean, Callirrhoe was joined in the
love of rich Aphrodite with stout hearted Chrysaor and bare a son who
was the strongest of all men, Geryones, whom mighty Heracles killed in
sea-girt Erythea for the sake of his shambling oxen.
(ll. 984-991) And Eos bare to Tithonus brazen-crested Memnon, king
of the Ethiopians, and the Lord Emathion. And to Cephalus she bare a
splendid son, strong Phaethon, a man like the gods, whom, when he was a
young boy in the tender flower of glorious youth with childish thoughts,
laughter-loving Aphrodite seized and caught up and made a keeper of her
shrine by night, a divine spirit.
(ll. 993-1002) And the son of Aeson by the will of the gods led away
from Aeetes the daughter of Aeetes the heaven-nurtured king, when he had
finished the many grievous labours which the great king, over bearing
Pelias, that outrageous and presumptuous doer of violence, put upon him.
But when the son of Aeson had finished them, he came to Iolcus after
long toil bringing the coy-eyed girl with him on his swift ship, and
made her his buxom wife. And she was subject to Iason, shepherd of the
people, and bare a son Medeus whom Cheiron the son of Philyra brought up
in the mountains. And the will of great Zeus was fulfilled.
(ll. 1003-1007) But of the daughters of Nereus, the Old man of the Sea,
Psamathe the fair goddess, was loved by Aeacus through golden Aphrodite
and bare Phocus. And the silver-shod goddess Thetis was subject to
Peleus and brought forth lion-hearted Achilles, the destroyer of men.
(ll. 1008-1010) And Cytherea with the beautiful crown was joined in
sweet love with the hero Anchises and bare Aeneas on the peaks of Ida
with its many wooded glens.
(ll. 1011-1016) And Circe the daughter of Helius, Hyperion's son, loved
steadfast Odysseus and bare Agrius and Latinus who was faultless
and strong: also she brought forth Telegonus by the will of golden
Aphrodite. And they ruled over the famous Tyrenians, very far off in a
recess of the holy islands.
(ll. 1017-1018) And the bright goddess Calypso was joined to Odysseus in
sweet love, and bare him Nausithous and Nausinous.
(ll. 1019-1020) These are the immortal goddesses who lay with mortal men
and bare them children like unto gods.
(ll. 1021-1022) But now, sweet-voiced Muses of Olympus, daughters of
Zeus who holds the aegis, sing of the company of women.
THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE (fragments) [1701]
Fragment #1--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iii. 1086: That
Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and Pronoea, Hesiod states in the
first "Catalogue", as also that Hellen was the son of Deucalion and
Pyrrha.
Fragment #2--Ioannes Lydus [1702], de Mens. i. 13: They came to call
those who followed local manners Latins, but those who followed Hellenic
customs Greeks, after the brothers Latinus and Graecus; as Hesiod says:
'And in the palace Pandora the daughter of noble Deucalion was joined in
love with father Zeus, leader of all the gods, and bare Graecus, staunch
in battle. '
Fragment #3--Constantinus Porphyrogenitus [1703], de Them. 2 p. 48B: The
district Macedonia took its name from Macedon the son of Zeus and Thyia,
Deucalion's daughter, as Hesiod says: 'And she conceived and bare to
Zeus who delights in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon,
rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria and Olympus. . . .
((LACUNA)) . . . . And Magnes again (begot) Dictys and godlike Polydectes. '
Fragment #4--Plutarch, Mor. p. 747; Schol. on Pindar Pyth. iv. 263:
'And from Hellen the war-loving king sprang Dorus and Xuthus and Aeolus
delighting in horses. And the sons of Aeolus, kings dealing justice,
were Cretheus, and Athamas, and clever Sisyphus, and wicked Salmoneus
and overbold Perieres. '
Fragment #5--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 266: Those who
were descended from Deucalion used to rule over Thessaly as Hecataeus
and Hesiod say.
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 482: Aloiadae.
Hesiod said that they were sons of Aloeus,--called so after him,--and of
Iphimedea, but in reality sons of Poseidon and Iphimedea, and that Alus
a city of Aetolia was founded by their father.
Fragment #7--Berlin Papyri, No. 7497; Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 421 [1704]:
(ll. 1-24) '. . . . Eurynome the daughter of Nisus, Pandion's son, to whom
Pallas Athene taught all her art, both wit and wisdom too; for she was
as wise as the gods. A marvellous scent rose from her silvern raiment
as she moved, and beauty was wafted from her eyes. Her, then, Glaucus
sought to win by Athena's advising, and he drove oxen [1705] for her.
But he knew not at all the intent of Zeus who holds the aegis. So
Glaucus came seeking her to wife with gifts; but cloud-driving Zeus,
king of the deathless gods, bent his head in oath that the. . . . son of
Sisyphus should never have children born of one father [1706]. So she
lay in the arms of Poseidon and bare in the house of Glaucus blameless
Bellerophon, surpassing all men in. . . . over the boundless sea. And when
he began to roam, his father gave him Pegasus who would bear him most
swiftly on his wings, and flew unwearying everywhere over the earth, for
like the gales he would course along. With him Bellerophon caught and
slew the fire-breathing Chimera. And he wedded the dear child of the
great-hearted Iobates, the worshipful king. . . . lord (of). . . . and she
bare. . . . '
Fragment #8--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodes, Arg. iv. 57: Hesiod says
that Endymion was the son of Aethlius the son of Zeus and Calyee, and
received the gift from Zeus: '(To be) keeper of death for his own self
when he was ready to die. '
Fragment #9--Scholiast Ven. on Homer, Il. xi. 750: The two sons of Actor
and Molione. . . Hesiod has given their descent by calling them after
Actor and Molione; but their father was Poseidon.
Porphyrius [1707], Quaest. Hom. ad Iliad. pert. , 265: But Aristarchus is
informed that they were twins, not. . . . such as were the Dioscuri, but,
on Hesiod's testimony, double in form and with two bodies and joined to
one another.
Fragment #10--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 156: But Hesiod
says that he changed himself in one of his wonted shapes and perched on
the yoke-boss of Heracles' horses, meaning to fight with the hero; but
that Heracles, secretly instructed by Athena, wounded him mortally with
an arrow. And he says as follows: '. . . and lordly Periclymenus. Happy he!
For earth-shaking Poseidon gave him all manner of gifts. At one time he
would appear among birds, an eagle; and again at another he would be
an ant, a marvel to see; and then a shining swarm of bees; and again at
another time a dread relentless snake. And he possessed all manner of
gifts which cannot be told, and these then ensnared him through the
devising of Athene. '
Fragment #11--Stephanus of Byzantium [1708], s. v. : '(Heracles) slew the
noble sons of steadfast Neleus, eleven of them; but the twelfth, the
horsemen Gerenian Nestor chanced to be staying with the horse-taming
Gerenians. ((LACUNA)) Nestor alone escaped in flowery Gerenon. '
Fragment #12--Eustathius [1709], Hom. 1796. 39: 'So well-girded
Polycaste, the youngest daughter of Nestor, Neleus' son, was joined in
love with Telemachus through golden Aphrodite and bare Persepolis. '
Fragment #13--Scholiast on Homer, Od. xii. 69: Tyro the daughter of
Salmoneus, having two sons by Poseidon, Neleus and Pelias, married
Cretheus, and had by him three sons, Aeson, Pheres and Amythaon. And
of Aeson and Polymede, according to Hesiod, Iason was born: 'Aeson, who
begot a son Iason, shepherd of the people, whom Chiron brought up in
woody Pelion. '
Fragment #14--Petrie Papyri (ed. Mahaffy), Pl. III. 3: '. . . . of the
glorious lord . . . . fair Atalanta, swift of foot, the daughter of
Schoeneus, who had the beaming eyes of the Graces, though she was ripe
for wedlock rejected the company of her equals and sought to avoid
marriage with men who eat bread. '
Scholiast on Homer, Iliad xxiii. 683: Hesiod is therefore later in date
than Homer since he represents Hippomenes as stripped when contending
with Atalanta [1710].
Papiri greci e latini, ii. No. 130 (2nd-3rd century) [1711]: (ll. 1-7)
'Then straightway there rose up against him the trim-ankled maiden
(Atalanta), peerless in beauty: a great throng stood round about her as
she gazed fiercely, and wonder held all men as they looked upon her. As
she moved, the breath of the west wind stirred the shining garment about
her tender bosom; but Hippomenes stood where he was: and much people was
gathered together. All these kept silence; but Schoeneus cried and said:
(ll. 8-20) '"Hear me all, both young and old, while I speak as my spirit
within my breast bids me. Hippomenes seeks my coy-eyed daughter to wife;
but let him now hear my wholesome speech. He shall not win her without
contest; yet, if he be victorious and escape death, and if the deathless
gods who dwell on Olympus grant him to win renown, verily he shall
return to his dear native land, and I will give him my dear child and
strong, swift-footed horses besides which he shall lead home to be
cherished possessions; and may he rejoice in heart possessing these, and
ever remember with gladness the painful contest. May the father of men
and of gods (grant that splendid children may be born to him)' [1712]
((LACUNA))
(ll. 21-27) 'on the right. . . . and he, rushing upon her,. . . . drawing back
slightly towards the left. And on them was laid an unenviable struggle:
for she, even fair, swift-footed Atalanta, ran scorning the gifts of
golden Aphrodite; but with him the race was for his life, either to find
his doom, or to escape it. Therefore with thoughts of guile he said to
her:
(ll. 28-29) '"O daughter of Schoeneus, pitiless in heart, receive these
glorious gifts of the goddess, golden Aphrodite. . . '
((LACUNA))
(ll. 30-36) 'But he, following lightly on his feet, cast the first apple
[1713]: and, swiftly as a Harpy, she turned back and snatched it.
Then he cast the second to the ground with his hand. And now fair,
swift-footed Atalanta had two apples and was near the goal; but
Hippomenes cast the third apple to the ground, and therewith escaped
death and black fate. And he stood panting and. . . '
Fragment #15--Strabo [1714], i. p.
