§8.3.33Ἔφορος δέ φησιν Αἰτωλὸν ἐκπεσόντα ὑπὸ Σαλμωνέως τοῦ βασιλέως Ἐπειῶν τε καὶ Πισατῶν ἐκ τῆς Ἠλείας εἰς τὴν Αἰτωλίαν, ὀνομάσαι τε ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ τὴν χώραν καὶ συνοικίσαι τὰς αὐτόθι πόλεις·
Ephorus says that Aetolus, having been expelled from Elis by Salmoneus, the king of the Epeians and Pisatans, went to Aetolia, named the country after himself, and founded the cities there.
τούτου δʼ ἀπόγονον ὑπάρξαντα Ὄξυλον φίλον τοῖς περὶ Τήμενον Ἡρακλείδαις ἡγήσασθαί τε τὴν ὁδὸν κατιοῦσιν εἰς τὴν Πελοπόννησον καὶ μερίσαι τὴν πολεμίαν αὐτοῖς χώραν καὶ τἆλλα ὑποθέσθαι τὰ περὶ τὴν κατάκτησιν τῆς χώρας, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων λαβεῖν χάριν τὴν εἰς τὴν Ἠλείαν κάθοδον, προγονικὴν οὖσαν, κατελθεῖν δὲ ἀθροίσαντα στρατιὰν ἐκ τῆς Αἰτωλίας ἐπὶ τοὺς κατέχοντας Ἐπειοὺς τὴν Ἦλιν·
Oxylus, who was a descendant of this man, became a friend of the Heracleidae under Temenus, guided them on their way as they returned to the Peloponnese, partitioned the enemy country among them, and advised them on other matters regarding the conquest of the land. In return for these services, he received as a favor the return to Elis, which was his ancestral home, and he returned there after assembling an army from Aetolia against the Epeians who held Elis.
ἀπαντησάντων δὲ τῶν Ἐπειῶν μεθʼ ὅπλων, ἐπειδὴ ἀντίπαλοι ἦσαν αἱ δυνάμεις, εἰς μονομαχίαν προελθεῖν κατὰ ἔθος τι παλαιὸν τῶν Ἑλλήνων Πυραίχμην Αἰτωλὸν Δέγμενόν τʼ Ἐπειόν, τὸν μὲν Δέγμενον μετὰ τόξου ψιλόν, ὡς περιεσόμενον ῥᾳδίως ὁπλίτου διὰ τῆς ἑκηβολίας, τὸν δὲ μετὰ σφενδόνης καὶ πήρας λίθων, ἐπειδὴ κατέμαθε τὸν δόλον·
When the Epeians met them in arms, since the forces were evenly matched, Pyraechmes the Aetolian and Degmenus the Epeian came forward to fight in single combat according to an ancient custom of the Greeks. Degmenus was light-armed with a bow, intending to overcome a heavy-armed soldier easily by shooting from a distance, but Pyraechmes, having detected the trick, went with a sling and a bag of stones.
τυχεῖν δὲ νεωστὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν εὑρημένον τὸ τῆς σφενδόνης εἶδος· μακροβολωτέρας δʼ οὔσης τῆς σφενδόνης πεσεῖν τὸν Δέγμενον, καὶ κατασχεῖν τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς τὴν γῆν ἐκβαλόντας τοὺς Ἐπειούς·
It happened that this type of sling had recently been invented by the Aetolians; and since the sling had a longer range, Degmenus fell, and the Aetolians took possession of the land, expelling the Epeians.
παραλαβεῖν δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ Ὀλυμπίασιν, ἣν εἶχον οἱ Ἀχαιοί·
They also took over the care of the temple at Olympia, which the Achaeans had held.
διὰ δὲ τὴν τοῦ Ὀξύλου φιλίαν πρὸς τοὺς Ἡρακλείδας συνομολογηθῆναι ῥᾳδίως ἐκ πάντων μεθʼ ὅρκου τὴν Ἠλείαν ἱερὰν εἶναι τοῦ Διός, τὸν δʼ ἐπιόντα ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν ταύτην μεθʼ ὅπλων ἐναγῆ εἶναι, ὡς δʼ αὕτως ἐναγῆ καὶ τὸν μὴ ἐπαμύνοντα εἰς δύναμιν·
Because of Oxylus' friendship with the Heracleidae, it was easily agreed by all under oath that Elis should be sacred to Zeus, and that anyone who invaded this country with arms should be accursed, and likewise accursed should be anyone who did not defend it to the best of his power.
ἐκ δὲ τούτου καὶ τοὺς κτίσαντας τὴν Ἠλείων πόλιν ὕστερον ἀτείχιστον ἐᾶσαι, καὶ τοὺς διʼ αὐτῆς τῆς χώρας ἰόντας στρατοπέδῳ τὰ ὅπλα παραδόντας ἀπολαμβάνειν μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ὅρων ἔκβασιν·
For this reason, those who founded the city of the Eleans later left it unfortified, and those who passed through the country with an army surrendered their weapons and received them back after departing from the borders.
Ἴφιτόν τε θεῖναι τὸν Ὀλυμπικὸν ἀγῶνα, ἱερῶν ὄντων τῶν Ἠλείων.
And Iphitus established the Olympic games, since the Eleans were sacred.
ἐκ δὴ τῶν τοιούτων αὔξησιν λαβεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· τῶν γὰρ ἄλλων πολεμούντων ἀεὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, μόνοις ὑπάρξαι πολλὴν εἰρήνην, οὐκ αὐτοῖς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ξένοις, ὥστε καὶ εὐανδρῆσαι μάλιστα πάντων παρὰ τοῦτο.
As a result of such circumstances, the people grew in prosperity; for while others were always warring with one another, they alone enjoyed abundant peace, not only themselves but also their foreign guests, so that they became exceptionally populous as a consequence of this.
Φείδωνα δὲ τὸν Ἀργεῖον, δέκατον μὲν ὄντα ἀπὸ Τημένου, δυνάμει δʼ ὑπερβεβλημένον τοὺς κατʼ αὐτόν, ἀφʼ ἧς τήν τε λῆξιν ὅλην ἀνέλαβε τὴν Τημένου διεσπασμένην εἰς πλείω μέρη, καὶ μέτρα ἐξεῦρε τὰ Φειδώνια καλούμενα καὶ σταθμοὺς καὶ νόμισμα κεχαραγμένον τό τε ἄλλο καὶ τὸ ἀργυροῦν, πρὸς τούτοις ἐπιθέσθαι καὶ ταῖς ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους αἱρεθείσαις πόλεσι, καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἀξιοῦν τιθέναι αὐτόν, οὓς ἐκεῖνος ἔθηκε· τούτων δὲ εἶναι καὶ τὸν Ὀλυμπικόν·
Pheidon the Argive, who was tenth from Temenus and surpassed his contemporaries in power—whence he recovered the entire inheritance of Temenus, which had been split into several parts, and invented the measures called Pheidonian, and weights, and coined money, both of other kinds and of silver—in addition to these, attacked the cities captured by Heracles, and claimed the right to hold the games which Heracles had established; among these was the Olympic game.
καὶ δὴ βιασάμενον ἐπελθόντα θεῖναι αὐτόν, οὔτε τῶν Ἠλείων ἐχόντων ὅπλα ὥστε κωλύειν διὰ τὴν εἰρήνην τῶν τε ἄλλων κρατουμένων τῇ δυναστείᾳ·
And indeed, having forced his way in, he held the games himself, since the Eleans had no arms to prevent him because of the peace, and the others were dominated by his hegemony.
οὐ μὴν τούς γε Ἠλείους ἀναγράψαι τὴν θέσιν ταύτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅπλα κτήσασθαι διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀρξαμένους ἐπικουρεῖν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς· συμπράττειν δὲ καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους, εἴτε φθονήσαντας τῇ διὰ τὴν εἰρήνην εὐτυχίᾳ εἴτε καὶ συνεργοὺς ἕξειν νομίσαντας πρὸς τὸ καταλῦσαι τὸν Φείδωνα, ἀφῃρημένον αὐτοὺς τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τῶν Πελοποννησίων, νοι προεκέκτηντο·
However, the Eleans did not record this celebration, but rather acquired arms because of this and began to defend themselves; and the Lacedaemonians also assisted them, either because they envied their prosperity due to peace, or because they thought they would have them as allies to overthrow Pheidon, who had deprived them of the leadership of the Peloponnesians, which they had previously held.
καὶ δὴ καὶ συγκαταλῦσαι τὸν Φείδωνα· τοὺς δὲ συγκατασκευάσαι τοῖς Ἠλείοις τήν τε Πισᾶτιν καὶ τὴν Τριφυλίαν.
And indeed they helped to overthrow Pheidon, and they helped the Eleans to secure both Pisatis and Triphylia.
ὁ δὲ παράπλους ἅπας ὁ τῆς νῦν Ἠλείας μὴ κατακολπίζοντι χιλίων ὁμοῦ καὶ διακοσίων ἐστὶ σταδίων.
The entire coastal voyage of what is now Elis, if one does not follow the curves of the gulfs, is one thousand two hundred stadia.
ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τῆς Ἠλείας.
So much for Elis.