§10.31.1εἰ δὲ ἀπίδοις πάλιν ἐς τὸ ἄνω τῆς γραφῆς, ἔστιν ἐφεξῆς τῷ Ἀκταίωνι Αἴας ὁ ἐκ Σαλαμῖνος, καὶ Παλαμήδης τε καὶ Θερσίτης κύβοις χρώμενοι παιδιᾷ, τοῦ Παλαμήδους τῷ εὑρήματι· Αἴας δὲ ὁ ἕτερος ἐς αὐτοὺς ὁρᾷ παίζοντας.
If you should look back to the upper part of the painting, next to Actaeon is Ajax from Salamis, and Palamedes and Thersites playing with dice, the invention of Palamedes; and the other Ajax is looking at them playing.
τούτῳ τῷ Αἴαντι τὸ χρῶμά ἐστιν οἷον ἂν ἀνδρὶ ναυαγῷ γένοιτο ἐπανθούσης τῷ χρωτὶ ἔτι τῆς ἅλμης.
This Ajax has a skin color such as would belong to a shipwrecked man, with brine still efflorescing on his skin.
§10.31.2ἐς δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐπίτηδες τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἤγαγεν ὁ Πολύγνωτος·
Polygnotus purposely brought the enemies of Odysseus to the same place.
ἀφίκετο δὲ ἐς Ὀδυσσέως δυσμένειαν ὁ τοῦ Ὀιλέως Αἴας, ὅτι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν Ὀδυσσεὺς παρῄνει καταλιθῶσαι τὸν Αἴαντα ἐπὶ τῷ ἐς Κασσάνδραν τολμήματι·
Ajax the son of Oileus came into the hostility of Odysseus, because Odysseus advised the Greeks to stone Ajax to death for his outrage against Cassandra.
Παλαμήδην δὲ ἀποπνιγῆναι προελθόντα ἐπὶ ἰχθύων θήραν, Διομήδην δὲ τὸν ἀποκτείναντα εἶναι καὶ Ὀδυσσέα ἐπιλεξάμενος ἐν ἔπεσιν οἶδα τοῖς Κυπρίοις.
As for Palamedes, that he was drowned having gone out for a catch of fish, and that Diomedes and Odysseus were his killers, I know from having read it in the epic poem Cypria.
§10.31.3Μελέαγρος δὲ ὁ Οἰνέως ἀνωτέρω μὲν ἢ ὁ τοῦ Ὀιλέως Αἴας ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ, ἔοικε δὲ ὁρῶντι ἐς τὸν Αἴαντα.
Meleager, the son of Oeneus, is higher up in the painting than Ajax the son of Oileus, and he seems to be looking at Ajax.
τούτοις πλὴν τῷ Παλαμήδει γένειά ἐστι τοῖς ἄλλοις.
These others, except Palamedes, have beards.
ἐς δὲ τοῦ Μελεάγρου τὴν τελευτὴν Ὁμήρῳ μέν ἐστιν εἰρημένα ὡς Ἐρινὺς καταρῶν ἀκούσαι τῶν Ἀλθαίας καὶ ἀποθάνοι κατὰ ταύτην ὁ Μελέαγρος τὴν αἰτίαν, αἱ δὲ Ἠοῖαί τε καλούμεναι καὶ ἡ Μινυὰς ὡμολογήκασιν ἀλλήλαις· Ἀπόλλωνα δὴ αὗταί φασιν αἱ ποιήσεις ἀμῦναι Κούρησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς καὶ ἀποθανεῖν Μελέαγρον ὑπὸ Ἀπόλλωνος.
Regarding the death of Meleager, Homer has said that the Erinys heard the curses of Althaea and that Meleager died for this reason, but the so-called Eoiae and the Minyad agree with each other; for these poems say that Apollo aided the Curetes against the Aetolians and that Meleager was killed by Apollo.
§10.31.4τὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ δαλῷ λόγον, ὡς δοθείη μὲν ὑπὸ Μοιρῶν τῇ Ἀλθαίᾳ, Μελεάγρῳ δὲ οὐ πρότερον ἔδει τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι πρὶν ἢ ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἀφανισθῆναι τὸν δαλὸν καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ καταπρήσειεν αὐτὸν ἡ Ἀλθαία, τοῦτον τὸν λόγον Φρύνιχος ὁ Πολυφράδμονος πρῶτος ἐν δράματι ἔδειξε Πλευρωνίαις· "
κρυερὸν γὰρ οὐκ
ἤλυξεν μόρον, ὠκεῖα δέ νιν φλὸξ κατεδαίσατο,
δαλοῦ περθομένου ματρὸς ὑπʼ αἰνᾶς κακομηχάνου. "
οὐ μὴν φαίνεταί γε ὁ Φρύνιχος προαγαγὼν τὸν λόγον ἐς πλέον ὡς εὕρημα ἄν τις οἰκεῖον, προσαψάμενος δὲ αὐτοῦ μόνον ἅτε ἐς ἅπαν ἤδη διαβεβοημένου τὸ Ἑλληνικόν.
The story about the brand, how it was given by the Fates to Althaea, and that Meleager was not destined to meet his end before the brand was destroyed by fire, and how Althaea burned it in her anger, this story Phrynichus the son of Polyphradmon was the first to show in a drama, the Pleuronian Women: "For he did not escape cold death, and a swift flame devoured him, as the brand was destroyed by his terrible, scheming mother." Indeed, Phrynichus does not seem to have developed the story further as if it were his own invention, but only touched upon it since it was already widely rumored throughout the Greek world.
§10.31.5ἐν δὲ τοῖς κάτω τῆς γραφῆς μετὰ τὸν Θρᾷκά εἰσι Θάμυριν Ἕκτωρ μὲν καθεζόμενος—ἀμφοτέρας ἔχει τὰς χεῖρας περὶ τὸ ἀριστερὸν γόνυ, ἀνιωμένου σχῆμα ἐμφαίνων—, μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸν Μέμνων ἐστὶν ἐπὶ πέτρᾳ καθεζόμενος καὶ Σαρπηδὼν συνεχὴς τῷ Μέμνονι· ἐπικέκλιται δὲ τὸ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀμφοτέρας ὁ Σαρπηδών, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ Μέμνονος ἐπὶ τῷ ὤμῳ τοῦ Σαρπηδόνος κεῖται.
In the lower parts of the painting, after the Thracian Thamyris, Hector is sitting—he has both hands around his left knee, showing the appearance of a man in grief—, and after him is Memnon sitting on a rock, and Sarpedon next to Memnon; Sarpedon's face is leaned upon both his hands, and one of the hands of Memnon is laid on the shoulder of Sarpedon.
§10.31.6γένεια μὲν πᾶσίν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς, ἐν δὲ τοῦ Μέμνονος τῇ χλαμύδι καὶ ὄρνιθές εἰσιν ἐπειργασμέναι· Μεμνονίδες ταῖς ὄρνισίν ἐστιν ὄνομα, κατὰ δὲ ἔτος οἱ Ἑλλησπόντιοί φασιν αὐτὰς ἐν εἰρημέναις ἡμέραις ἰέναι τε ἐπὶ τοῦ Μέμνονος τὸν τάφον, καὶ ὁπόσον τοῦ μνήματος δένδρων ἐστὶν ἢ πόας ψιλόν, τοῦτο καὶ σαίρουσιν αἱ ὄρνιθες καὶ ὑγροῖς τοῖς πτεροῖς τοῦ Αἰσήπου τῷ ὕδατι ῥαίνουσι.
They all have beards, and on Memnon's cloak birds are also wrought; the name of the birds is Memnonides, and the Hellespontines say that every year on specified days they go to the tomb of Memnon, and whatever part of the monument is bare of trees or grass, this the birds sweep and sprinkle with water from the Aesepus, wetting their wings.