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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.49.1-4.49.8

Heracles' Capture of Troy and the Accession of Priam

Passage 285 of 406 · Greek

Summary

The Argonauts pay their vows to the gods in the land of Byzas and sail to the Troad, where Heracles' imprisoned envoys escape with Priam's aid. Heracles slays King Laomedon, transfers the kingdom to Priam, and the expedition departs for Samothrace.

§4.49.1ἔπειτα τὸν μὲν Γλαῦκον δῦναι πάλιν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος, τοὺς δʼ Ἀργοναύτας κατὰ στόμα τοῦ Πόντου γενομένους προσπλεῦσαι τῇ γῇ, βασιλεύοντος τότε τῆς χώρας Βύζαντος, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τὴν πόλιν τῶν Βυζαντίων ὠνομάσθαι.
Then Glaucus sank back into the sea, and the Argonauts, having come to the mouth of the Pontus, sailed to the land, which was then ruled by Byzas, after whom the city of the Byzantines was also named.
§4.49.2ἐνταῦθα δὲ βωμοὺς ἱδρυσαμένους καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς τὰς εὐχὰς ἀποδόντας καθιερῶσαι τὸν τόπον τὸν ἔτι καὶ νῦν τιμώμενον ὑπὸ τῶν παραπλεόντων.
There they set up altars, paid their vows to the gods, and consecrated the place, which is even to this day honored by those who sail past.
§4.49.3μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἀναχθέντας, καὶ διαπλεύσαντας τήν τε Προποντίδα καὶ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, προσενεχθῆναι τῇ Τρῳάδι.
After this, they put to sea and, having sailed through both the Propontis and the Hellespont, were brought to the Troad.
ἐνταῦθα δʼ Ἡρακλέους πέμψαντος εἰς τὴν πόλιν Ἴφικλόν τε τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ Τελαμῶνα τάς τε ἵππους καὶ τὴν Ἡσιόνην ἀπαιτήσοντας, λέγεται τὸν Λαομέδοντα τοὺς μὲν πρεσβευτὰς εἰς φυλακὴν ἀποθέσθαι, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις Ἀργοναύταις διʼ ἐνέδρας βουλεῦσαι θάνατον· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους υἱοὺς ἔχειν τῇ πράξει συνεργούς, Πρίαμον δὲ μόνον ἐναντιοπραγοῦντα· τοῦτον γὰρ ἀποφήνασθαι δεῖν τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ξένους δίκαια τηρεῖν, καὶ τήν τε ἀδελφὴν καὶ τὰς ὡμολογημένας ἵππους ἀποδιδόναι.
There, when Heracles sent into the city his brother Iphicles and Telamon to demand the horses and Hesione, it is said that Laomedon put the ambassadors into prison and planned death by ambush for the other Argonauts; and that he had his other sons as accomplices in this deed, Priam alone opposing it; for he declared that they ought to maintain justice toward the strangers and return both his sister and the promised horses.
§4.49.4οὐδενὸς δʼ αὐτῷ προσέχοντος, φασὶν εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν δύο ξίφη παρενέγκαντα λάθρᾳ δοῦναι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Τελαμῶνα, καὶ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς προαίρεσιν ἐξηγησάμενον αἴτιον γενέσθαι τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτοῖς.
Since no one paid attention to him, they say that having brought two swords secretly into the prison, he gave them to Telamon and his companion, and by explaining his father's purpose, became the cause of safety for them.
§4.49.5εὐθὺς γὰρ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Τελαμῶνα φονεῦσαι μὲν τῶν φυλάκων τοὺς ἀντεχομένους, φυγόντας δʼ ἐπὶ θάλατταν ἀπαγγεῖλαι τὰ κατὰ μέρος τοῖς Ἀργοναύταις.
For immediately Telamon and his companion slew those of the guards who resisted, and having fled to the sea, reported the details to the Argonauts.
διόπερ τούτους μὲν ἑτοίμους γενομένους πρὸς μάχην ἀπαντῆσαι τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐκχεομένοις μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως·
Therefore, these, having become ready for battle, met those who were pouring out of the city with the king.
§4.49.6γενομένης δὲ μάχης ἰσχυρᾶς, καὶ τῶν ἀριστέων διὰ τὰς ἀρετὰς ἐπικρατούντων, μυθολογοῦσι τὸν Ἡρακλέα πάντων ἄριστα διαγωνίσασθαι· τόν τε γὰρ Λαομέδοντα φονεῦσαι, καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐξ ἐφόδου κρατήσαντα κολάσαι μὲν τοὺς μετασχόντας τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς, Πριάμῳ δὲ διὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην παραδοῦναι τὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ φιλίαν συνθέμενον ἐκπλεῦσαι μετὰ τῶν Ἀργοναυτῶν.
When a fierce battle took place and the chieftains prevailed by their virtues, they relate in myth that Heracles fought best of all; for he slew Laomedon, and having captured the city on the attack, he punished those who had shared in the king's plot, but delivered the kingdom to Priam because of his justice, and having concluded a friendship, sailed out with the Argonauts.
§4.49.7ἔνιοι δὲ τῶν ἀρχαίων ποιητῶν παραδεδώκασιν οὐ μετὰ τῶν Ἀργοναυτῶν, ἀλλʼ ἰδίᾳ στρατεύσαντα τὸν Ἡρακλέα ναυσὶν ἓξ ἕνεκα τῶν ἵππων ἑλεῖν τὴν Τροίαν· προσμαρτυρεῖν δὲ τούτοις καὶ Ὅμηρον ἐν τοῖσδε τοῖς ἔπεσιν, "ἀλλʼ οἷόν τινά φασι βίην Ἡρακληείην εἶναι, ἐμὸν πατέρα θρασυμέμνονα, θυμολέοντα, ὅς ποτε δεῦρʼ ἐλθὼν ἕνεχʼ ἵππων Λαομέδοντος ἓξ οἴῃς σὺν νηυσὶ καὶ ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισιν Ἰλίου ἐξαλάπαξε πόλιν, χήρωσε δʼ ἀγυιάς. " §4.49.8τοὺς δʼ Ἀργοναύτας φασὶν ἐκ τῆς Τρῳάδος ἀναχθέντας εἰς Σαμοθρᾴκην κομισθῆναι, καὶ τοῖς μεγάλοις θεοῖς τὰς εὐχὰς ἀποδόντας πάλιν ἀναθεῖναι τὰς φιάλας εἰς τὸ τέμενος τὰς ἔτι καὶ νῦν διαμενούσας.
But some of the ancient poets have handed down that Heracles captured Troy, not with the Argonauts, but campaigning on his own with six ships on account of the horses; and that Homer also bears witness to these things in these verses: "But what a man they say the mighty Heracles was, my bold-hearted, lion-spirited father, who once coming here for the sake of the horses of Laomedon, with only six ships and fewer men, sacked the city of Ilium and widowed her streets." And they say that the Argonauts, putting to sea from the Troad, were carried to Samothrace, and having paid their vows to the great gods, dedicated again in the sacred precinct the bowls which remain even to this day.

Notes

  1. §4.49.1βασιλεύοντος τότε τῆς χώρας Βύζαντος — A genitive absolute construction expressing time ('when Byzas was then ruling the country'). The noun Βύζαντος acts as the logical subject, and the present participle βασιλεύοντος as the predicate.
  2. §4.49.4τοῖς περὶ τὸν Τελαμῶνα — This idiomatic construction 'οἱ περί + Accusative' refers to Telamon and his companion (here, Iphicles, who was sent with him as an envoy in §4.49.3). It is used to denote a specific group or companion centered around a main figure, rather than a vague 'those around Telamon.'
  3. §4.49.7ἀλλʼ οἷόν τινά φασι βίην Ἡρακληείην εἶναι — The syntax of an exclamation in the Homeric quotation (Iliad 5.638). The relative pronoun οἷος is used exclamatorily ('what kind of man...'), with the accusative-and-infinitive clause βίην Ἡρακληείην εἶναι (a periphrastic epic expression for 'the mighty Heracles') serving as the object of φασί ('they say').

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.49.1-4.49.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.49.1-4.49.8

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