§3.72.1τοῦ δʼ οὖν Διονύσου μέλλοντος στρατεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν Κρόνον καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐκ τῆς Νύσης ἐξιούσης, μυθολογοῦσιν Ἀρισταῖον τὸν ἐπιστάτην αὐτοῦ θυσίαν τε παραστῆσαι καὶ πρῶτον ἀνθρώπων ὡς θεῷ θῦσαι.
So, when Dionysus was about to campaign against Cronus and his army was marching out of Nysa, they relate in myth that Aristaeus, his guardian, prepared a sacrifice and was the first of men to sacrifice to him as to a god.
συστρατεῦσαι δέ φασι καὶ τῶν Νυσαίων τοὺς εὐγενεστάτους, οὓς ὀνομάζεσθαι Σειληνούς.
And they say that the most noble of the Nysaeans also campaigned with him, who were named Sileni.
§3.72.2πρῶτον γὰρ τῶν ἁπάντων βασιλεῦσαί φασι Σειληνόν, οὗ τὸ γένος ὅθεν ἦν ὑπὸ πάντων ἀγνοεῖσθαι διὰ τὴν ἀρχαιότητα.
For they say that Silenus was the first of them all to rule as king, and because of its antiquity his origin was unknown to all as to where it was.
ἔχοντος δʼ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν ὀσφῦν οὐράν, διατελέσαι καὶ τοὺς ἐκγόνους τὸ παράσημον τοῦτο φοροῦντας διὰ τὴν τῆς φύσεως κοινωνίαν.
And because he had a tail at his loins, his descendants also continued to bear this distinctive mark due to their shared nature.
τὸν δʼ οὖν Διόνυσον ἀναζεύξαντα μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ διελθόντα πολλὴν μὲν ἄνυδρον χώραν, οὐκ ὀλίγην δʼ ἔρημον καὶ θηριώδη, καταστρατοπεδεῦσαι περὶ πόλιν Λιβυκὴν τὴν ὀνομαζομένην Ζάβιρναν.
So Dionysus, having set out with his army and having passed through much waterless country and not a little desert infested with wild beasts, encamped near a Libyan city named Zabirna.
§3.72.3πρὸς δὲ ταύτῃ γηγενὲς ὑπάρχον θηρίον καὶ πολλοὺς ἀναλίσκον τῶν ἐγχωρίων, τὴν ὀνομαζομένην Κάμπην, ἀνελεῖν καὶ μεγάλης τυχεῖν δόξης ἐπʼ ἀνδρείᾳ παρὰ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις.
Near this city he slew a earth-born beast which was destroying many of the inhabitants, named Campe, and won great fame for courage among the natives.
ποιῆσαι δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ χῶμα παμμέγεθες ἐπὶ τῷ φονευθέντι θηρίῳ, βουλόμενον ἀθάνατον ἀπολιπεῖν ὑπόμνημα τῆς ἰδίας ἀρετῆς, τὸ καὶ διαμεῖναν μέχρι τῶν νεωτέρων χρόνων.
He also raised a huge mound over the slain beast, wishing to leave an immortal monument of his own virtue, which indeed has endured down to more recent times.
§3.72.4ἔπειτα τὸν μὲν Διόνυσον προάγειν πρὸς τοὺς Τιτᾶνας, εὐτάκτως ποιούμενον τὰς ὁδοιπορίας καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις φιλανθρώπως προσφερόμενον καὶ τὸ σύνολον ἑαυτὸν ἀποφαινόμενον στρατεύειν ἐπὶ κολάσει μὲν τῶν ἀσεβῶν, εὐεργεσίᾳ δὲ τοῦ κοινοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Then Dionysus advanced against the Titans, making his marches in an orderly manner and behaving humanely toward all the inhabitants, and declaring on the whole that he was campaigning for the punishment of the impious and for the benefit of the common race of mankind.
τοὺς δὲ Λίβυας θαυμάζοντας τὴν εὐταξίαν καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς μεγαλοπρεπές, τροφάς τε παρέχεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δαψιλεῖς καὶ συστρατεύειν προθυμότατα.
And the Libyans, admiring his good order and the nobility of his soul, supplied abundant provisions for his men and campaigned with him most eagerly.
§3.72.5συνεγγιζούσης δὲ τῆς δυνάμεως τῇ πόλει τῶν Ἀμμωνίων, τὸν Κρόνον πρὸ τοῦ τείχους παρατάξει λειφθέντα τὴν μὲν πόλιν νυκτὸς ἐμπρῆσαι, σπεύδοντα εἰς τέλος καταφθεῖραι τοῦ Διονύσου τὰ πατρῷα βασίλεια, αὐτὸν δʼ ἀναλαβόντα τὴν γυναῖκα Ῥέαν καί τινας τῶν συνηγωνισμένων φίλων λαθεῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως διαδράντα.
As the army drew near the city of the Ammonians, Cronus, having been defeated in a battle before the wall, set fire to the city by night, hastening to utterly destroy the ancestral palace of Dionysus, while he himself, taking his wife Rhea and some of the friends who had fought with him, succeeded in escaping secretly from the city.
οὐ μὴν τόν γε Διόνυσον ὁμοίαν ἔχειν τούτῳ προαίρεσιν· λαβόντα γὰρ τόν τε Κρόνον καὶ τὴν Ῥέαν αἰχμαλώτους οὐ μόνον ἀφεῖναι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρακαλέσαι τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον γονέων ἔχειν πρὸς αὐτὸν εὔνοιάν τε καὶ τάξιν καὶ συζῆν τιμωμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μάλιστα πάντων.
Dionysus, however, did not have a similar purpose to his; for, having taken both Cronus and Rhea captive, he not only released them from the charges on account of their kinship, but also entreated them for the future to maintain toward him the goodwill and position of parents, and to live with him, being honoured by him above all others.
§3.72.6τὴν μὲν οὖν Ῥέαν διατελέσαι πάντα τὸν βίον ὡς υἱὸν ἀγαπῶσαν, τὸν δὲ Κρόνον ὕπουλον ἔχειν τὴν εὔνοιαν.
Thus Rhea indeed continued for the whole of her life to love him as a son, but Cronus kept his goodwill insincere.
γενέσθαι δʼ αὐτοῖς περὶ τούτους τοὺς χρόνους υἱόν, ὃν προσαγορευθῆναι Δία, τιμηθῆναι δὲ μεγάλως ὑπὸ τοῦ Διονύσου, καὶ διʼ ἀρετὴν ἐν τοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις γενέσθαι πάντων βασιλέα.
And about this time a son was born to them, who was called Zeus; and he was greatly honoured by Dionysus, and because of his virtue became in later times king of all.