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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.79.1-4.79.7

Expedition and Death of Minos in Sicily

Passage 315 of 406 · Greek

Summary

Minos campaigns to Sicily in pursuit of Daedalus but is murdered by Cocalus. The stranded Cretans, giving up their return, settle in Sicily, founding Minoa and Engyon, and eventually prosper.

§4.79.1Μίνως δʼ ὁ τῶν Κρητῶν βασιλεὺς θαλαττοκρατῶν κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, καὶ πυθόμενος τὴν Δαιδάλου φυγὴν εἰς Σικελίαν, ἔγνω στρατεύειν ἐπʼ αὐτήν.
Minos, the king of the Cretans, who ruled the sea in those times, upon learning of the flight of Daedalus to Sicily, resolved to make a campaign against it.
παρασκευασάμενος δὲ δύναμιν ναυτικὴν ἀξιόλογον ἐξέπλευσεν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης, καὶ κατῆρε τῆς Ἀκραγαντίνης εἰς τὴν ἀπʼ ἐκείνου Μινῴαν καλουμένην.
Having prepared a notable naval force, he sailed out from Crete, and landed in the territory of Akragas at the place called Minoa after him.
ἀποβιβάσας δὲ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ πέμψας ἀγγέλους πρὸς Κώκαλον τὸν βασιλέα ἐξῄτει τὸν Δαίδαλον εἰς τιμωρίαν.
Having disembarked his force and sent messengers to King Cocalus, he demanded Daedalus for punishment.
§4.79.2ὁ δὲ Κώκαλος εἰς σύλλογον προκαλεσάμενος καὶ πάντα ποιήσειν ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἐπὶ τὰ ξένια παρέλαβε τὸν Μίνω.
And Cocalus, inviting him to a conference and promising to do everything demanded, received Minos for hospitality.
λουμένου δʼ αὐτοῦ, Κώκαλος μὲν παρακατασχὼν πλείονα χρόνον ἐν τῷ θερμῷ τὸν Μίνωα διέφθειρε, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀπέδωκε τοῖς Κρησί, πρόφασιν ἐνεγκὼν τοῦ θανάτου διότι κατὰ τὸν λουτρῶνα ὠλίσθηκε καὶ πεσὼν εἰς τὸ θερμὸν ὕδωρ ἐτελεύτησε.
But while he was bathing, Cocalus, keeping Minos for a longer time in the hot water, did away with him, and gave the body back to the Cretans, offering as a pretext for his death that he had slipped in the bathhouse and, falling into the hot water, had died.
§4.79.3μετὰ δὲ ταῦθʼ οἱ μὲν συνεστρατευμένοι τὸ σῶμα τοῦ βασιλέως ἔθαψαν μεγαλοπρεπῶς, καὶ διπλοῦν τάφον οἰκοδομήσαντες κατὰ μὲν τὸν κεκρυμμένον τόπον ἔθεσαν τὰ ὀστᾶ, κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἀνεῳγμένον ἐποίησαν Ἀφροδίτης νεών.
After this, those who had campaigned with him buried the body of the king magnificently, and having constructed a double tomb, they deposited the bones in the concealed part, and in the open part they made a temple of Aphrodite.
οὗτος δʼ ἐπὶ γενεὰς πλείους ἐτιμᾶτο, θυόντων τῶν ἐγχωρίων ὡς Ἀφροδίτης ὄντος τοῦ νεώ· §4.79.4κατὰ δὲ τοὺς νεωτέρους καιροὺς κτισθείσης μὲν τῆς τῶν Ἀκραγαντίνων πόλεως, γνωσθείσης δὲ τῆς τῶν ὀστῶν θέσεως, συνέβη %5τὸν μὲν τάφον καθαιρεθῆναι, τὰ δʼ ὀστᾶ τοῖς Κρησὶν ἀποδοθῆναι, Θήρωνος δυναστεύοντος τῶν Ἀκραγαντίνων.
And this temple was honored for many generations, with the inhabitants of the region offering sacrifices as if the temple belonged to Aphrodite; but in later times, when the city of the Akragantines was founded and the location of the bones became known, it happened that the tomb was demolished and the bones were given back to the Cretans, during the time when Theron was ruler of the Akragantines.
§4.79.5οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οἱ κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν Κρῆτες μετὰ τὴν Μίνωος τελευτὴν ἐστασίασαν διὰ τὴν ἀναρχίαν, τῶν δὲ νεῶν ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Κώκαλον Σικανῶν ἐμπυρισθεισῶν τὴν μὲν εἰς τὰς πατρίδας ἐπάνοδον ἀπέγνωσαν, κρίναντες δʼ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ κατοικεῖν, οἱ μὲν ἐνταῦθα πόλιν ᾤκισαν ἣν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐτῶν Μινῴαν ὠνόμασαν, οἱ δὲ διὰ τῆς μεσογείου πλανηθέντες καὶ καταλαβόμενοι χωρίον ὀχυρὸν ἔκτισαν πόλιν ἣν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ πόλει ῥεούσης πηγῆς ὠνόμασαν Ἔγγυον.
Nevertheless, the Cretans in Sicily fell into strife after the death of Minos because of the anarchy, and since their ships had been burned by the Sicani under Cocalus, they gave up hope of returning to their homelands, and deciding to dwell in Sicily, some of them founded a city there which they named Minoa after their king, while others, wandering through the interior and occupying a strong place, founded a city which they named Engyon after the spring flowing in the city.
§4.79.6ὕστερον δὲ μετὰ τὴν τῆς Τροίας ἅλωσιν Μηριόνου τοῦ Κρητὸς προσενεχθέντος τῇ Σικελίᾳ, προσεδέξαντο τοὺς καταπλεύσαντας Κρῆτας διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν καὶ τῆς πολιτείας μετέδοσαν, ὁρμώμενοι δʼ ἐξ ὀχυρᾶς πόλεως καὶ καταπολεμήσαντές τινας τῶν περιοίκων ἱκανὴν κατεκτήσαντο χώραν.
And later, after the capture of Troy, when Meriones the Cretan was carried to Sicily, they received the Cretans who landed because of their kinship and shared citizenship with them; and making their base in a strong city and subduing some of the neighboring peoples, they acquired sufficient land.
§4.79.7ἀεὶ δὲ μᾶλλον αὐξόμενοι, καὶ κατασκευάσαντες ἱερὸν τῶν Μητέρων, διαφόρως ἐτίμων τὰς θεάς, ἀναθήμασι πολλοῖς κοσμοῦντες τὸ ἱερὸν αὐτῶν.
And always increasing more and more, and constructing a temple of the Mothers, they honored the goddesses exceedingly, adorning their temple with many votive offerings.
ταύτας δʼ ἀφιδρυθῆναί φασιν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης διὰ τὸ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Κρησὶ τιμᾶσθαι τὰς θεὰς ταύτας διαφερόντως.
And they say that these goddesses were established there from Crete, because these goddesses are also honored outstandingly among the Cretans.

Notes

  1. 4.79.1ἀπʼ ἐκείνου — Genitive of the demonstrative pronoun ἐκεῖνος, referring back to Μίνως (Minos) in the preceding clause. It indicates that the place was named "Minoa" after him.
  2. 4.79.2παρακατασχὼν πλείονα χρόνον ἐν τῷ θερμῷ — πλείονα is the comparative form used as an absolute comparative, meaning "longer than normal" or "too long (enough to cause death)." ἐν τῷ θερμῷ is the substantivized neuter singular dative of the adjective θερμός, contextually referring to "the hot water (or bath)."
  3. 4.79.3ὡς Ἀφροδίτης ὄντος τοῦ νεώ — ὡς with the participle in the genitive absolute (ὄντος τοῦ νεώ). It expresses a subjective reason or pretext, indicating that the local inhabitants worshipped there believing (or on the ground) that the temple belonged to Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτης is a possessive genitive).
  4. 4.79.4Θήρωνος δυναστεύοντος τῶν Ἀκραγαντίνων — Genitive absolute with the present participle δυναστεύοντος, functioning as a temporal clause indicating the period under the reign of Theron, the tyrant of Akragas. The verb δυναστεύω governs the genitive.
  5. 4.79.5οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ — An idiomatic adversative particle phrase meaning "nevertheless" or "but indeed." It transitions the narrative from the death of the king and the later repatriation of his bones to the struggles and new developments of the remaining Cretan soldiers.
  6. 4.79.7ἀφιδρυθῆναι — Passive infinitive of the verb ἀφιδρύω (to transplant a cult or dedicate a statue from one place to another). It is part of the accusative with infinitive construction governed by φασί, indicating that the worship of the goddesses was transferred from Crete to Sicily.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.79.1-4.79.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.79.1-4.79.7

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