§9.2.32τὸ δʼ οὕτω ῥηθέν
οἵ θʼ ὑπὸ Θήβας εἶχον
οἱ μὲν δέχονται πολείδιόν τι Ὑποθήβας καλούμενον, οἱ δὲ τὰς Ποτνίας· τὰς γὰρ Θήβας ἐκλελεῖφθαι διὰ τὴν τῶν Ἐπιγόνων στρατείαν καὶ μὴ μετασχεῖν τοῦ Τρωικοῦ πολέμου·
As for the expression thus spoken: 'and those who held under-Thebes,' some take it to mean a certain small town called Hypothebae, while others take it to mean Potniae; for they say that Thebes had been abandoned because of the expedition of the Epigoni and did not take part in the Trojan War.
οἱ δὲ μετασχεῖν μὲν οἰκεῖν δὲ ὑπὸ τῇ Καδμείᾳ τότε ἐν τοῖς ἐπιπέδοις χωρίοις μετὰ τὴν τῶν Ἐπιγόνων ἄφοδον, τὴν Καδμείαν ἀδυνατοῦντας ἀνακτίσαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ Καδμεία ἐκαλεῖτο Θῆβαι, ὑπὸ Θήβας εἰπεῖν ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑπὸ τῇ Καδμείᾳ οἰκοῦντας τὸν ποιητὴν τοὺς τότε Θηβαίους. §9.2.33Ὀγχηστὸς δʼ ἐστίν, ὅπου τὸ Ἀμφικτυονικὸν συνήγετο ἐν τῇ Ἁλιαρτίᾳ πρὸς τῇ Κωπαΐδι λίμνῃ καὶ τῷ Τηνερικῷ πεδίῳ, ἐν ὕψει κείμενος ψιλός, ἔχων Ποσειδῶνος ἱερὸν καὶ αὐτὸ ψιλόν.
But others say that they did indeed take part, but dwelt at that time in the flat districts below the Cadmeia after the departure of the Epigoni, since they were unable to rebuild the Cadmeia; and since the Cadmeia was called Thebes, they say that the poet used the expression 'under-Thebes' instead of saying 'the Thebans of that time dwelling below the Cadmeia.' Onchestus is where the Amphictyonic Council used to assemble, in the territory of Haliartus near the Copais lake and the Teneric plain; it is situated on a height, bare of trees, and has a sanctuary of Poseidon which is also itself bare.
οἱ δὲ ποιηταὶ κοσμοῦσιν, ἄλση καλοῦντες τὰ ἱερὰ πάντα κἂν ᾖ ψιλά·
But the poets embellish them, calling all sanctuaries 'groves,' even if they are bare of trees.
τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ τοῦ Πινδάρου περὶ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος λεγόμενον
"
νηθεὶς ἐπῄει
γᾶν τε καὶ θάλασσαν, καὶ σκοπιαῖσιν ς ὀρέων ὕπερ ἔστα,
καὶ μύλους δινάσατο βαλλό κρηπῖδας ἀλσέων. "
οὐκ εὖ δʼ ὁ Ἀλκαῖος, ὥσπερ τὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὄνομα παρέτρεψε τοῦ Κουαρίου, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ Ὀγχηστοῦ κατέψευσται πρὸς ταῖς ἐσχατιαῖς τοῦ Ἑλικῶνος αὐτὸν τιθείς· ὁ δʼ ἐστὶν ἄπωθεν ἱκανῶς τούτου τοῦ ὄρους.
Such also is the statement of Pindar concerning Apollo: 'He went, newly born, over land and sea, and stood upon the lookouts of the mountains, and whirled and threw [stones], laying the foundations of the groves.' And Alcaeus did not do well; just as he distorted the name of the river Cuarius, so also he lied about Onchestus by placing it near the outer borders of Helicon, whereas it is quite far away from this mountain.
§9.2.34τὸ δὲ Τηνερικὸν πεδίον ἀπὸ Τηνέρου προσηγόρευται μυθεύεται δʼ Ἀπόλλωνος υἱὸς ἐκ Μελίας, προφήτης τοῦ μαντείου κατὰ τὸ Πτῷον ὄρος, ὅ φησιν εἶναι τρικόρυφον ὁ αὐτὸς ποιητής
"
καί ποτε τὸν τρικάρανον Πτωίου κευθμῶνα κατέσχεθε· "
καὶ τὸν Τήνερον καλεῖ
"
ναοπόλον μάντιν δαπέδοισιν ὁμοκλέα. "
ὑπέρκειται δὲ τὸ Πτῷον τοῦ Τηνερικοῦ πεδίου καὶ τῆς Κωπαΐδος λίμνης πρὸς Ἀκραιφίῳ· Θηβαίων δʼ ἦν τό τε μαντεῖον καὶ τὸ ὄρος·
The Teneric plain is named after Tenerus, who in myth is the son of Apollo by Melia, and a prophet of the oracle at Mount Ptoum, which the same poet [Pindar] says is triple-peaked: 'And once he occupied the three-headed recess of Ptouios.' And he calls Tenerus: 'the temple-serving prophet, sharing the same name with the land.' And Mount Ptoum lies above the Teneric plain and the Copais lake, near Acraephium; both the oracle and the mountain belonged to the Thebans.
τὸ δʼ Ἀκραίφιον καὶ αὐτὸ κεῖται ἐν ὕψει.
Acraephium itself also lies on a height.
φασὶ δὲ τοῦτο καλεῖσθαι Ἄρνην ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ, ὁμώνυμον τῇ Θετταλικῇ.
And they say that this is the place called Arne by the poet, homonymous with the Thessalian one.
§9.2.35οἱ δέ φασι καὶ τὴν Ἄρνην ὑπὸ τῆς λίμνης καταποθῆναι καὶ τὴν Μίδειαν.
But others say that both Arne and Midea were swallowed up by the lake.
Ζηνόδοτος δὲ γράφων
οἳ δὲ πολυστάφυλον Ἄσκρην ἔχον,
οὐκ ἔοικεν ἐντυχόντι τοῖς ὑπὸ Ἡσιόδου περὶ τῆς πατρίδος λεχθεῖσι καὶ τοῖς ὑπʼ Εὐδόξου πολὺ χείρω λέγοντος περὶ τῆς Ἄσκρης.
And Zenodotus, writing: 'and those who held Ascra rich in vines,' does not seem to have read what was said by Hesiod about his homeland, and by Eudoxus, who speaks much worse of Ascra.
πῶς γὰρ ἄν τις πολυστάφυλον τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ λέγεσθαι πιστεύσειεν;
For how could anyone believe that such a place was called 'rich in vines' by the poet?
οὐκ εὖ δὲ οὐδὲ οἱ Τάρνην ἀντὶ τῆς Ἄρνης γράφοντες· οὐδὲ γὰρ μία δείκνυται Τάρνη παρὰ τοῖς Βοιωτοῖς, ἐν δὲ Λυδοῖς ἐστιν, ἧς καὶ Ὅμηρος μέμνηται
Ἰδομενεὺς δʼ ἄρα Φαῖστον ἐνήρατο Μῄονος υἱὸν Βώρου, ὃς ἐκ Τάρνης ἐριβώλακος εἰληλούθει. λοιπαὶ δʼ εἰσὶ τῶν μὲν περικειμένων τῇ λίμνῃ αἵ τε Ἀλαλκομεναὶ καὶ τὸ Τιλφώσσιον, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων Χαιρώνεια καὶ Λεβάδεια καὶ Λεῦκτρα, περὶ ὧν ἄξιον μνησθῆναι.
And those who write 'Tarne' instead of 'Arne' are also not correct; for not a single Tarne is shown among the Boeotians, but it is in Lydia, which Homer also mentions: 'Then Idomeneus slew Phaestus, the son of Maeonian Borus, who had come from fertile Tarne.' Of the places situated around the lake, those that remain are Alalcomenae and Tilphossium, and of the others, Chaeroneia, Lebadeia, and Leuctra, which are worthy of mention.
§9.2.36Ἀλαλκομενῶν τοίνυν μέμνηται ὁ ποιητής, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν καταλόγῳ
Ἥρη τʼ Ἀργείη καὶ Ἀλαλκομενηὶς Ἀθήνη. ἔχει δʼ ἀρχαῖον ἱερὸν Ἀθηνᾶς σφόδρα τιμώμενον, καί φασί γε τὴν θεὸν γεγενῆσθαι ἐνθάδε, καθάπερ καὶ τὴν Ἥραν ἐν Ἄργει, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸν ποιητὴν ὡς ἀπὸ πατρίδων τούτων ἀμφοτέρας οὕτως ὀνομάσαι.
Now the poet mentions Alalcomenae, but not in the Catalogue: 'both Argive Hera and Alalcomenean Athena.' The place has an ancient temple of Athena, which is highly revered, and they say indeed that the goddess was born here, just as Hera was born in Argos, and that for this reason the poet named them both in this way, as if after their birthplaces.
διὰ τοῦτο δʼ ἴσως οὐδʼ ἐν τῷ καταλόγῳ μέμνηται τῶν ἐνταῦθα ἀνδρῶν, ἐπειδὴ ἱεροὶ ὄντες παρεῖντο τῆς στρατείας.
And perhaps for this reason he does not even mention the men of this place in the Catalogue, since, being sacred, they were exempted from the expedition.
καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἀπόρθητος ἀεὶ διετέλεσεν ἡ πόλις, οὔτε μεγάλη οὖσα οὔτʼ ἐν εὐερκεῖ χωρίῳ κειμένη, ἀλλʼ ἐν πεδίῳ· τὴν δὲ θεὸν σεβόμενοι πάντες ἀπείχοντο πάσης βίας, ὥστε καὶ Θηβαῖοι κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἐπιγόνων στρατείαν ἐκλιπόντες τὴν πόλιν ἐκεῖσε λέγονται καταφεύγειν καὶ εἰς τὸ ὑπερκείμενον ὄρος ἐρυμνὸν τὸ Τιλφώσσιον, ὑφʼ ᾧ Τιλφῶσσα κρήνη καὶ τὸ τοῦ Τειρεσίου μνῆμα ἐκεῖ τελευτήσαντος κατὰ τὴν φυγήν.
For indeed, the city always remained unsacked, although it was neither large nor situated in a well-fortified place, but in a plain; but all people, out of reverence for the goddess, abstained from all violence, so that even the Thebans, when they abandoned their city at the time of the expedition of the Epigoni, are said to have fled there and to the overhanging fortified mountain, Tilphossium, under which are the Tilphossa spring and the tomb of Teiresias, who died there during the flight.