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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.37.1-4.37.5

Defeat of Phylas and Later Campaigns of Heracles

Passage 273 of 406 · Greek

Summary

Heracles defeats Phylas and gives his land to the Malians, assists Aegimius by subduing the Lapiths in exchange for a third of their land, and conquers Cycnus, Ormenius, and Eurytus, taking Astydameia and Iole captive.

§4.37.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Φύλαντος τοῦ Δρυόπων βασιλέως δόξαντος εἰς τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἱερὸν παρανενομηκέναι, στρατεύσας μετὰ Μηλιέων τόν τε βασιλέα τῶν Δρυόπων ἀνεῖλε καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἐξαναστήσας Μηλιεῦσι παρέδωκε τὴν χώραν·
After these things, Phylas, the king of the Dryopes, being thought to have committed sacrilege against the temple at Delphi, Heracles campaigned with the Malians, slew the king of the Dryopes, and having expelled the others from the land, handed over the territory to the Malians.
τὴν δὲ Φύλαντος θυγατέρα λαβὼν αἰχμάλωτον καὶ μιγεὶς αὐτῇ υἱὸν Ἀντίοχον ἐγέννησεν.
And taking the daughter of Phylas captive and lying with her, he begat a son Antiochus.
ἐτέκνωσε δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς Δηιανείρας νεωτέρους τοῦ Ὕλλου υἱοὺς δύο, §4.37.2Γληνέα καὶ Ὁδίτην.
He also begat from Deianira two sons younger than Hyllus, Glenus and Hodites.
τῶν δʼ ἐκπεσόντων Δρυόπων οἱ μὲν εἰς τὴν Εὔβοιαν καταντήσαντες ἔκτισαν πόλιν Κάρυστον, οἱ δʼ εἰς Κύπρον τὴν νῆσον πλεύσαντες καὶ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις ἀναμιχθέντες ἐνταῦθα κατῴκησαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ τῶν Δρυόπων καταφυγόντες ἐπὶ τὸν Εὐρυσθέα βοηθείας ἔτυχον διὰ τὴν ἔχθραν τὴν πρὸς Ἡρακλέα· τούτου γὰρ αὐτοῖς συνεργοῦντος τρεῖς πόλεις ᾤκισαν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ, Ἀσίνην καὶ Ἑρμιόνην, ἔτι δʼ Ἠιόνα.
Of the expelled Dryopes, some, having arrived in Euboea, founded the city of Carystus, and others, having sailed to the island of Cyprus and mingled with the inhabitants, settled there, while the rest of the Dryopes, having fled to Eurystheus, obtained assistance because of his hatred toward Heracles; for with him cooperating with them, they settled three cities in the Peloponnese, Asine and Hermione, and furthermore Eion.
§4.37.3μετὰ δὲ τὴν Δρυόπων ἀνάστασιν, πολέμου συνεστῶτος τοῖς Δωριεῦσι τοῖς τὴν Ἑστιαιῶτιν καλουμένην οἰκοῦσιν, ὧν ἐβασίλευεν Αἰγίμιος, καὶ τοῖς Λαπίθαις τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ὄλυμπον ἱδρυμένοις, ὧν ἐδυνάστευε Κόρωνος ὁ Καινέως, ὑπερεχόντων δὲ τῶν Λαπιθῶν πολὺ ταῖς δυνάμεσιν, οἱ Δωριεῖς κατέφυγον ἐπὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα, καὶ σύμμαχον αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσαν ἐπὶ τρίτῳ μέρει τῆς Δωρίδος χώρας καὶ τῆς βασιλείας· πείσαντες δὲ κοινῇ τὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς Λαπίθας στρατείαν ἐποιήσαντο.
After the expulsion of the Dryopes, when a war had arisen between the Dorians who inhabited the land called Hestiaeotis, of whom Aegimius was king, and the Lapiths who were settled around Olympus, over whom Coronus, the son of Caeneus, ruled, and since the Lapiths were far superior in their forces, the Dorians fled to Heracles and called him to be an ally on the condition of a third part of the Dorian land and of the kingship; and having persuaded him, they jointly made the campaign against the Lapiths.
ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς ἔχων ἀεὶ τοὺς μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ στρατεύσαντας Ἀρκάδας, καὶ μετὰ τούτων χειρωσάμενος τοὺς Λαπίθας, αὐτόν τε τὸν βασιλέα Κόρωνον ἀνεῖλε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τοὺς πλείστους κατακόψας ἠνάγκασεν ἐκχωρῆσαι τῆς ἀμφισβητησίμου χώρας.
And Heracles, always having with him the Arcadians who campaigned with him, and having subdued the Lapiths with them, both slew the king Coronus himself and, having cut down most of the others, forced them to withdraw from the disputed territory.
§4.37.4τούτων δὲ πραχθέντων, Αἰγιμίῳ μὲν τὸ ἐπιβάλλον τῆς χώρας τρίτον μέρος παρέθετο καὶ παρεκελεύσατο φυλάττειν τοῖς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ· ἐπανιὼν δʼ εἰς Τραχῖνα, καὶ προκληθεὶς ὑπὸ Κύκνου τοῦ Ἄρεος, τοῦτον μὲν ἀπέκτεινεν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς Ἰτώνου πορευόμενος καὶ διὰ τῆς Πελασγιώτιδος γῆς βαδίζων Ὀρμενίῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ συνέμιξεν, οὗ τὴν θυγατέρα ἐμνήστευεν Ἀστυδάμειαν· οὐ προσέχοντος δʼ αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ ἔχειν αὐτὸν γαμετὴν Δηιάνειραν τὴν Οἰνέως, στρατεύσας ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τήν τε πόλιν εἷλε καὶ τὸν ἀπειθοῦντα βασιλέα ἀπέκτεινε, τὴν δʼ Ἀστυδάμειαν αἰχμάλωτον λαβών, §4.37.5καὶ μιγεὶς αὐτῇ, Κτήσιππον υἱὸν ἐγέννησε.
These things having been done, he deposited the third share of the land which fell to him with Aegimius, and exhorted him to guard it for his descendants; and returning to Trachis, and being challenged by Cycnus the son of Ares, he slew him, and proceeding from Itonus and walking through the Pelasgiotis land, he met with king Ormenius, whose daughter Astydameia he wooed; but since he did not pay attention to him because he had as his wife Deianira the daughter of Oeneus, he campaigned against him, took the city, and killed the disobedient king, and having taken Astydameia captive, and lying with her, he begat a son Ctesippus.
ταῦτα δὲ διαπραξάμενος ἐστράτευσεν εἰς τὴν Οἰχαλίαν ἐπὶ τοὺς Εὐρύτου παῖδας, ὅτι τὴν Ἰόλην μνηστεύσας ἀπέτυχε· συναγωνιζομένων δʼ αὐτῷ τῶν Ἀρκάδων, τήν τε πόλιν εἷλε καὶ τοὺς Εὐρύτου παῖδας ἀπέκτεινε, Τοξέα καὶ Μολίονα καὶ Κλυτίον.
Having accomplished these things, he campaigned into Oechalia against the sons of Eurytus, because having wooed Iole he had failed; and with the Arcadians fighting along with him, he both took the city and killed the sons of Eurytus, Toxeus and Molion and Clytius.
λαβὼν δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἰόλην αἰχμάλωτον ἀπῆλθε τῆς Εὐβοίας ἐπὶ τὸ ἀκρωτήριον τὸ καλούμενον Κηναῖον.
And having taken Iole also captive, he departed from Euboea to the promontory called Cenaeum.

Notes

  1. 4.37.1Φύλαντος τοῦ Δρυόπων βασιλέως δόξαντος — A genitive absolute construction led by the participle `δόξαντος`, with `Φύλαντος` acting as the subject. The participle `δόξαντος` takes the infinitive `παρανενομηκέναι` as its complement.
  2. 4.37.2τούτου γὰρ αὐτοῖς συνεργοῦντος — Genitive absolute. The pronoun `τούτου` refers to `Εὐρυσθέα` (Eurystheus) in the preceding sentence, and `αὐτοῖς` refers to `λοιποὶ τῶν Δρυόπων` (the rest of the Dryopes), meaning "for with him (Eurystheus) cooperating with them."
  3. 4.37.4τοῖς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ — The pronoun `αὐτοῦ` refers to the subject Heracles. In light of the historical context regarding the "Return of the Heracleidae" (descendants of Heracles), it signifies that Heracles deposited the land for his own descendants.
  4. 4.37.4οὐ προσέχοντος δʼ αὐτοῦ — Genitive absolute. The pronoun `αὐτοῦ` refers to the king `Ὀρμενίῳ` (Ormenius), meaning "since he (Ormenius) did not pay attention," distinguished from the following `αὐτὸν` in `διὰ τὸ ἔχειν αὐτὸν...` which refers to Heracles.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.37.1-4.37.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.37.1-4.37.5

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