Submergence of Helice and Worship of Poseidon — Strabo, Geography Book 8 (8.7.2), Greek & English

§8.7.2

ἐξαρθὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ σεισμοῦ τὸ πέλαγος κατέκλυσε καὶ αὐτὴν καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἑλικωνίου Ποσειδῶνος, ὃν καὶ νῦν ἔτι τιμῶσιν Ἴωνες, καὶ θύουσιν ἐκεῖ τὰ Πανιώνια. μέμνηται δʼ, ὡς ὑπονοοῦσί τινες, ταύτης τῆς θυσίας Ὅμηρος ὅταν φῇ "αὐτὰρ ὁ θυμὸν ἄισθε¹ καὶ ἤρυγεν, ὡς ὅτε ταῦρος ἤρυγεν ἑλκόμενος Ἑλικώνιον ἀμφὶ ἄνακτα." τεκμαίρονταί τε νεώτερον εἶναι τῆς Ἰωνικῆς ἀποικίας τὸν ποιητήν,² μεμνημένον γε τῆς Πανιωνικῆς θυσίας ἣν ἐν τῇ Πριηνέων χώρᾳ συντελοῦσιν Ἴωνες τῷ Ἑλικωνίῳ Ποσειδῶνι, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ Πριηνεῖς ἐξ Ἑλίκης εἶναι λέγονται· καὶ δὴ πρὸς τὴν θυσίαν ταύτην καθιστᾶσιν ἄνδρα νέον Πριηνέα τὸν τῶν ἱερῶν ἐπιμελησόμενον.³ τεκμηριοῦνται δʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον τὸ προκείμενον ἐκ τῶν περὶ τοῦ ταύρου πεφρασμένων· τότε γὰρ νομίζουσι καλλιερεῖν περὶ τὴν θυσίαν ταύτην Ἴωνες, ὅταν θυόμενος ὁ ταῦρος μυκήσηται. οἱ δʼ ἀντιλέγοντες μεταφέρουσιν εἰς τὴν Ἑλίκην τὰ λεχθέντα τεκμήρια περὶ τοῦ ταύρου καὶ τῆς θυσίας, ὡς ἐκεῖ νενομισμένων τούτων καὶ τοῦ ποιητοῦ παραβάλλοντος τὰ ἐκεῖ συντελούμενα. κατεκλύσθη δʼ ἡ Ἑλίκη δυσὶν ἔτεσι πρὸ τῶν Λευκτρικῶν. Ἐρατοσθένης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἰδεῖν φησι τὸν τόπον, καὶ τοὺς πορθμέας λέγειν ὡς ἐν τῷ πόρῳ ὀρθὸς ἑστήκει Ποσειδῶν χάλκεος, ἔχων ἱππόκαμπον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ κίνδυνον φέροντα τοῖς δικτυεῦσιν. Ἡρακλείδης δέ φησι κατʼ αὐτὸν γενέσθαι τὸ πάθος νύκτωρ, δώδεκα σταδίους διεχούσης τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ θαλάττης καὶ τούτου τοῦ χωρίου παντὸς σὺν τῇ πόλει καλυφθέντος, δισχιλίους δὲ παρὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πεμφθέντας ἀνελέσθαι μὲν τοὺς νεκροὺς μὴ δύνασθαι, τοῖς δʼ ὁμόροις νεῖμαι τὴν χώραν. συμβῆναι δὲ τὸ πάθος κατὰ μῆνιν Ποσειδῶνος· τοὺς γὰρ ἐκ τῆς Ἑλίκης ἐκπεσόντας Ἴωνας αἰτεῖν πέμψαντας παρὰ τῶν Ἑλικέων μάλιστα μὲν τὸ βρέτας τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος, εἰ δὲ μή, τοῦ γε ἱεροῦ τὴν ἀφίδρυσιν·⁴ οὐ δόντων δὲ πέμψαι πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν· τῶν δὲ ψηφισαμένων οὐδʼ ὣς ὑπακοῦσαι· τῷ δʼ ἑξῆς χειμῶνι συμβῆναι τὸ πάθος, τοὺς δʼ Ἀχαιοὺς ὕστερον δοῦναι τὴν ἀφίδρυσιν τοῖς Ἴωσιν. Ἡσίοδος δὲ καὶ ἄλλης Ἑλίκης μέμνηται Θετταλικῆς.

For the sea, raised aloft by an earthquake, engulfed both Helice itself and the temple of Heliconian Poseidon, whom the Ionians still honor even now, and they celebrate the Panionia there. And Homer, as some suspect, is mindful of this sacrifice when he says: “αὐτὰρ ὁ θυμὸν ἄισθε καὶ ἤρυγεν, ὡς ὅτε ταῦρος ἤρυγεν ἑλκόμενος Ἑλικώνιον ἀμφὶ ἄνακτα.” And they infer that the poet was later than the Ionian colonization, since he is mindful of the Panionian sacrifice which the Ionians perform to Heliconian Poseidon in the territory of Priene; for the Prienians themselves are also said to be from Helice; and indeed, for this sacrifice, they appoint a young man of Priene to take charge of the sacred rites. And they support the aforesaid proposition still more from what has been said about the bull; for the Ionians believe that they obtain a favorable sacrifice when the bull bellows while being sacrificed. But those who contradict this transfer the aforementioned evidence concerning the bull and the sacrifice to Helice, on the ground that these were customary there and that the poet was comparing the rites performed there. Helice was submerged two years before the Battle of Leuctra. Eratosthenes says that he himself saw the place, and that the ferrymen said that a bronze Poseidon stood upright in the passage, holding a hippocampus in his hand, which brought danger to the net-fishers. But Heraclides says that the disaster occurred by night in his own time, when the city was twelve stadia distant from the sea and all this territory, along with the city, was submerged, and that two thousand men sent by the Achaeans were unable to recover the dead bodies, but distributed the land to the neighboring peoples. And he says that the disaster occurred through the wrath of Poseidon; for the Ionians who had been driven out of Helice sent to ask from the citizens of Helice, first and foremost, the image of Poseidon, but if not that, at least the replication of the temple; and when they did not grant it, the Ionians sent to the common assembly of the Achaeans; and though the Achaeans voted to grant it, the citizens of Helice still did not obey; and in the following winter the disaster occurred, and the Achaeans later gave the replication to the Ionians. And Hesiod mentions another Helice, in Thessaly.

Syntax notes4 items

8.7.2ἄισθε
Quoted from Homer's Iliad (20.403). It is the third person singular active indicative (imperfect or aorist with poetic abbreviation) of ἀίσθω (or ἀίω), meaning 'gasped out his life' or 'expired'.
8.7.2νεώτερον εἶναι τῆς Ἰωνικῆς ἀποικίας τὸν ποιητήν
An accusative-and-infinitive construction functioning as the object clause of the main verb τεκμαίρονται (they infer). The subject accusative of the infinitive εἶναι is τὸν ποιητήν (the poet, i.e., Homer), and νεώτερον is the predicate adjective. The comparative νεώτερον (later, younger) governs the genitive of comparison τῆς Ἰωνικῆς ἀποικίας (the Ionian colonization).
8.7.2τὸν τῶν ἱερῶν ἐπιμελησόμενον
A future participle with the article, modifying the preceding noun phrase ἄνδρα νέον Πριηνέα (a young man of Priene). The future middle participle ἐπιμελησόμενον expresses purpose or intention ('to take charge of'), and because the verb governs the genitive, the object τῶν ἱερῶν (the sacred rites/objects) is placed in the genitive case.
8.7.2ἀφίδρυσιν
Accusative of the noun ἀφίδρυσις, which refers to the founding of a temple, or the setting up of a replica or dedication of a branch shrine. In this context, since the original statue (βρέτας) was denied, they requested a 'replica' or the 'establishment of a branch cult,' showcasing an important concept in ancient Greek colonization and religious transfer.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.7.2