§4.81.1ἡμεῖς δὲ περὶ τούτων ἀρκούντως διεληλυθότες περὶ Ἀρισταίου γράφειν ἐγχειρήσομεν. Ἀρισταῖος γὰρ ἦν υἱὸς μὲν Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Κυρήνης τῆς Ὑψέως θυγατρὸς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ· περὶ δὲ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ μυθολογοῦσί τινες οὕτως. Ἀπόλλωνα, περὶ τὸ Πήλιον τρεφομένης κόρης ὄνομα Κυρήνης κάλλει διαφερούσης, ἐρασθῆναι τῆς παρθένου, καὶ μετενεγκεῖν αὐτὴν τῆς Λιβύης εἰς ταύτην τὴν χώραν, ἐν ᾗ κατὰ τοὺς ὕστερον χρόνους τινὰ κτίσαντα πόλιν ἀπʼ ἐκείνης ὀνομάσαι Κυρήνην.
And we, having sufficiently discussed these matters, shall attempt to write about Aristaeus. For Aristaeus was the son of Apollo and Cyrene, the daughter of Hypseus the son of Peneius; and concerning his birth some relate as follows: Apollo, having fallen in love with a maiden named Cyrene, who was being brought up in the region of Mount Pelion and was outstanding in beauty, carried her away from Libya to that region in which, in later times, a certain person, having founded a city, named it Cyrene after her. And we, having sufficiently discussed these matters, shall attempt to write about Aristaeus. For Aristaeus was the son of Apollo and Cyrene, the daughter of Hypseus the son of Peneius; and concerning his birth some relate as follows: Apollo, having fallen in love with a maiden named Cyrene, who was being brought up in the region of Mount Pelion and was outstanding in beauty, carried her away from Libya to that region in which, in later times, a certain person, having founded a city, named it Cyrene after her.
§4.81.2τὸν δʼ οὖν Ἀπόλλω κατὰ ταύτην τὴν χώραν ἐκ Κυρήνης γεννήσαντα υἱὸν Ἀρισταῖον τοῦτον μὲν νήπιον ὄντα παραδοῦναι ταῖς Νύμφαις τρέφειν· ταύτας δὲ τῷ παιδὶ τρεῖς ὀνομασίας προσάψαι· καλεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν Νόμιον, Ἀρισταῖον, Ἀγρέα.
At any rate, Apollo, having begotten in this region from Cyrene a son, this Aristaeus, delivered him, while he was still an infant, to the Nymphs to bring up; and they bestowed three names upon the child, calling him Nomius, Aristaeus, and Agreus.
τοῦτον δὲ παρὰ τῶν Νυμφῶν μαθόντα τήν τε τοῦ γάλακτος πῆξιν καὶ τὴν κατασκευὴν τῶν σμήνων, ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἐλαιῶν τὴν κατεργασίαν, §4.81.3διδάξαι πρῶτον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους.
And he, having learned from the Nymphs both the curdling of milk and the construction of beehives, and furthermore the cultivation of olives, taught these things first to mankind.
διὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχρηστίαν τὴν ἐκ τούτων τῶν εὑρημάτων τοὺς εὐεργετηθέντας ἀνθρώπους τιμῆσαι τὸν Ἀρισταῖον ἰσοθέοις τιμαῖς, καθὰ καὶ τὸν Διόνυσον.
And on account of the usefulness derived from these inventions, the men who benefited honored Aristaeus with honors equal to the gods, just as they did Dionysus.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτά φασιν αὐτὸν εἰς Βοιωτίαν καταντήσαντα γῆμαι τῶν Κάδμου θυγατέρων Αὐτονόην, ἐξ ἧς φασιν Ἀκτέωνα γενέσθαι τὸν κατὰ τοὺς μύθους ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων κυνῶν διασπασθέντα.
And after these things, they say that he, having arrived in Boeotia, married Autonoe, one of the daughters of Cadmus, from whom they say was born Actaeon, who, according to the myths, was torn to pieces by his own dogs.
§4.81.4τὴν δʼ αἰτίαν ἀποδιδόασι τῆς ἀτυχίας οἱ μὲν ὅτι κατὰ τὸ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερὸν διὰ τῶν ἀνατιθεμένων ἀκροθινίων ἐκ τῶν κυνηγίων προῃρεῖτο τὸν γάμον κατεργάσασθαι τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος, οἱ δʼ ὅτι τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος αὑτὸν πρωτεύειν ταῖς κυνηγίαις ἀπεφήνατο.
And some attribute the cause of this misfortune to the fact that in the temple of Artemis, by means of the first-fruits offered from his hunting, he chose to bring about a marriage with Artemis, while others say that he declared himself to excel Artemis in hunting. And some attribute the cause of this misfortune to the fact that in the temple of Artemis, by means of the first-fruits offered from his hunting, he chose to bring about a marriage with Artemis, while others say that he declared himself to excel Artemis in hunting.
§4.81.5οὐκ ἀπίθανον δὲ ἐπʼ ἀμφοτέροις τούτοις μηνῖσαι τὴν θεόν· εἴτε γὰρ τοῖς ἁλισκομένοις πρὸς τὴν ἀκοινώνητον τοῖς γάμοις κατεχρῆτο πρὸς τὸ συντελέσαι τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπιθυμίαν, εἴτε καὶ ταύτης ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν αἱρετώτερον αὑτὸν εἶναι κυνηγόν ᾗ καὶ θεοὶ παρακεχωρήκασι τῆς ἐν τούτοις ἁμίλλης, ὁμολογουμένην καὶ δικαίαν ὀργὴν ἔσχε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ θεός. καθόλου δὲ πιθανῶς εἰς τὴν τῶν ἁλισκομένων θηρίων μεταμορφωθεὶς ἰδέαν ὑπὸ τῶν καὶ τἄλλα θηρία χειρουμένων κυνῶν διεφθάρη.
And it is not improbable that the goddess was angry at both of these; for whether he made use of the beasts he caught to accomplish his own desire toward her who was averse to marriage, or whether he dared to say that he was a preferable hunter to her to whom even gods have yielded the rivalry in these matters, the goddess held an acknowledged and just anger against him. And on the whole, probably having been transformed into the likeness of the beasts that are caught, he was destroyed by the dogs which also master other beasts. And it is not improbable that the goddess was angry at both of these; for whether he made use of the beasts he caught to accomplish his own desire toward her who was averse to marriage, or whether he dared to say that he was a preferable hunter to her to whom even gods have yielded the rivalry in these matters, the goddess held an acknowledged and just anger against him. And on the whole, probably having been transformed into the likeness of the beasts that are caught, he was destroyed by the dogs which also master other beasts.