§3.1.1μετὰ δὲ τοὺς Ἑρμᾶς ἐστιν ἤδη Λακωνικὴ τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέρας.
After the Herms, the territory to the west is already Laconia.
ὡς δὲ αὐτοὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι λέγουσι, Λέλεξ αὐτόχθων ὢν ἐβασίλευσε πρῶτος ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου Λέλεγες ὧν ἦρχεν ὠνομάσθησαν.
As the Lacedaemonians themselves say, Lelex, who was an autochthon, was the first to rule as king in this land, and from him the people whom he ruled were named Leleges.
Λέλεγος δὲ γίνεται Μύλης καὶ νεώτερος Πολυκάων.
To Lelex was born Myles, and a younger son, Polycaon.
Πολυκάων μὲν δὴ ὅποι καὶ διʼ ἥντινα αἰτίαν ἀπεχώρησεν, ἑτέρωθι δηλώσω· Μύλητος δὲ τελευτήσαντος παρέλαβεν ὁ παῖς Εὐρώτας τὴν ἀρχήν.
Where Polycaon departed to and for what reason, I will make clear elsewhere; but when Myles died, his son Eurotas succeeded to the rule.
οὗτος τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ λιμνάζον ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ διώρυγι κατήγαγεν ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἀπορρυέντος δὲ—ἦν γὰν δὴ τὸ ὑπόλοιπον ποταμοῦ ῥεῦμα— ὠνόμασεν Εὐρώταν.
He led the water that was stagnating in the plain down to the sea by means of a trench, and when it had drained away—for what was left was indeed the current of a river—he named it Eurotas.
§3.1.2ἅτε δὲ οὐκ ὄντων· αὐτῷ παίδων ἀρρένων βασιλεύειν καταλείπει Λακεδαίμονα, μητρὸς μὲν Ταϋγέτης ὄντα, ἀφʼ ἧς καὶ τὸ ὄρος ὠνομάσθη, ἐς Δία δὲ πατέρα ἀνήκοντα κατὰ τὴν φήμην· συνῴκει δὲ ὁ Λακεδαίμων Σπάρτῃ θυγατρὶ τοῦ Εὐρώτα.
Since he had no male children, he left Lacedaemon to rule, who was the son of Taygete as mother, after whom also the mountain was named, but according to rumor traced his father to Zeus; and Lacedaemon lived with Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas.
τότε δὲ ὡς ἔσχε τὴν ἀρχήν, πρῶτα μὲν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μετέθετο ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ τὰ ὀνόματα, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ᾤκισέ τε καὶ ὠνόμασεν ἀπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς πόλιν, ἣ Σπάρτη καλεῖται καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς.
At that time, when he obtained the rule, he first changed the names of the land and the people after himself, and after this he founded and named after his wife a city, which is called Sparta even to our day.
§3.1.3Ἀμύκλας δὲ ὁ Λακεδαίμονος, βουλόμενος ὑπολιπέσθαι τι καὶ αὐτὸς ἐς μνήμην, πόλισμα ἔκτισεν ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ.
Amyclas, the son of Lacedaemon, wishing to leave something of himself also for remembrance, founded a small town in Laconia.
γενομένων δέ οἱ παίδων Ὑάκινθον μὲν νεώτατον ὄντα καὶ τὸ εἶδος κάλλιστον κατέλαβεν ἡ πεπρωμένη πρότερον τοῦ πατρός, καὶ Ὑακίνθου μνῆμά ἐστιν ἐν Ἀμύκλαις ὑπὸ τὸ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος.
When children were born to him, Hyacinthus, who was the youngest and most beautiful in appearance, was overtaken by fate before his father, and there is a tomb of Hyacinthus in Amyclae under the statue of Apollo.
ἀποθανόντος δὲ Ἀμύκλα ἐς Ἄργαλον τὸν πρεσβύτατον τῶν Ἀμύκλα παίδων καὶ ὕστερον ἐς Κυνόρταν Ἀργάλου τελευτήσαντος ἀφίκετο ἡ ἀρχή.
When Amyclas died, the rule came to Argalus, the eldest of the sons of Amyclas, and later, when Argalus died, to Cynortas.
§3.1.4Κυνόρτα δὲ ἐγένετο Οἴβαλος.
To Cynortas was born Oebalus.
οὗτος Γοργοφόνην τε τὴν Περσέως γυναῖκα ἔσχεν ἐξ Ἄργους καὶ παῖδα ἔσχε Τυνδάρεων, ᾧ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας Ἱπποκόων ἠμφισβήτει καὶ κατὰ πρεσβείαν ἔχειν ἠξίου τὴν ἀρχήν.
He took Gorgophone, the daughter of Perseus, as wife from Argos, and had a son Tyndareus, with whom Hippocoon disputed over the kingship, claiming he had the right to the rule according to seniority.
προσλαβὼν δὲ Ἰκάριον καὶ τοὺς στασιώτας παρὰ πολύ τε ὑπερεβάλετο δυνάμει Τυνδάρεων καὶ ἠνάγκασεν ἀποχωρῆσαι δείσαντα, ὡς μὲν Λακεδαιμόνιοί φασιν, ἐς Πελλάναν, Μεσσηνίων δέ ἐστιν ἐς αὐτὸν λόγος Τυνδάρεων φεύγοντα ἐλθεῖν ὡς Ἀφαρέα ἐς τὴν Μεσσηνίαν εἶναί τε Ἀφαρέα τὸν Περιήρους ἀδελφὸν Τυνδάρεω πρὸς μητρός· καὶ οἰκῆσαί τε αὐτὸν τῆς Μεσσηνίας φασὶν ἐν Θαλάμαις καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἐνταῦθα οἰκοῦντι αὐτῷ γενέσθαι.
Having allied himself with Icarius and his faction, Hippocoon far surpassed Tyndareus in power and forced him to withdraw in fear—as the Lacedaemonians say, to Pellana, but there is a story of the Messenians regarding him that Tyndareus fled and came to Aphareus in Messenia, and that Aphareus, the son of Perieres, was Tyndareus’ brother on his mother’s side; and they say that he dwelt in Thalamae in Messenia, and that his children were born to him while he was dwelling there.
§3.1.5χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον κατῆλθέ τε ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους Τυνδάρεως καὶ ἀνενεώσατο τὴν ἀρχὴν· ἐβασίλευσαν δὲ καὶ οἱ Τυνδάρεω παῖδες καὶ Μενέλαος ὁ Ἀτρέως Τυνδάρεω γαμβρὸς ὢν Ὀρέστης τε Ἑρμιόνῃ τῇ Μενελάου συνοικῶν.
Some time later, Tyndareus was restored by Heracles and renewed his rule; and the children of Tyndareus also ruled, as did Menelaus, the son of Atreus, who was the son-in-law of Tyndareus, and Orestes, who lived with Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus.
κατελθόντων δὲ Ἡρακλειδῶν ἐπὶ Τισαμενοῦ τοῦ Ὀρέστου βασιλεύοντος, Μεσσήνη μὲν καὶ Ἄργος ἑκατέρα μοῖρα Τήμενον, ἡ δὲ Κρεσφόντην ἔσχεν ἄρχοντας· ἐν Λακεδαίμονι δὲ ὄντων διδύμων τῶν Ἀριστοδήμου παίδων οἰκίαι δύο βασίλειαι γίνονται· §3.1.6συναρέσαι γὰρ τῇ Πυθίᾳ φασίν.
When the Heracleidae returned during the reign of Tisamenus, the son of Orestes, Messene and Argos each had Temenus as ruler, and the other portion had Cresphontes; but in Lacedaemon, since the children of Aristodemus were twins, two royal houses came into being; for they say that this pleased the Pythia.
Ἀριστοδήμῳ δὲ αὐτῷ πρότερον τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι λέγουσιν ἐν Δελφοῖς πρὶν ἢ Δωριέας κατελθεῖν ἐς Πελοπόννησον.
They say that death came to Aristodemus himself in Delphi before the Dorians returned to the Peloponnese.
οἱ μὲν δὴ ἀποσεμνύνοντες τὰ ἐς αὐτὸν τοξευθῆναι λέγουσιν Ἀριστόδημον ὑπὸ Ἀπόλλωνος, ὅτι οὐκ ἀφίκοιτο ἐπὶ τὸ μαντεῖον, παρὰ δὲ Ἡρακλέους ἐντυχόντος οἱ πρότερον πύθοιτο ὡς ἐς Πελοπόννησον Δωριεῦσι γενήσεται ἥδε ἡ κάθοδος· ὁ δὲ ἀληθέστερος ἔχει λόγος Πυλάδου τοὺς παῖδας καὶ Ἠλέκτρας, ἀνεψιοὺς ὄντας Τισαμενῷ τῷ Ὀρέστου, φονεῦσαι τὸν Ἀριστόδημον.
Those who glorify what concerns him say that Aristodemus was shot by Apollo because he did not come to the oracle, having previously learned from Heracles, whom he had met, how this return would happen for the Dorians to the Peloponnese; but the truer story is that the children of Pylades and Electra, who were cousins to Tisamenus, the son of Orestes, slew Aristodemus.
§3.1.7ὀνόματα μὲν δὴ τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ Προκλῆς καὶ Εὐρυσθένης ἐτέθη, δίδυμοι δὲ ὄντες διάφοροι τὰ μάλιστα ἦσαν.
Now, the names Procles and Eurysthenes were given to his children, and though they were twins, they were at greatest variance.
προεληλυθότες δὲ ἐπὶ μέγα ἀπεχθείας ὅμως ἐν κοινῷ Θήρᾳ τῷ Αὐτεσίωνος, ἀδελφῷ τῆς μητρὸς σφῶν ὄντι Ἀργείας, ἐπιτροπεύσαντι δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν, συνήραντο ἐς ἀποικίαν.
Having advanced to a great height of hatred, they nevertheless jointly helped Theras, the son of Autesion, who was the brother of their mother Argeia and had also been their guardian, in establishing a colony.
τὴν δὲ ἀποικίαν ὁ Θήρας ἔστελλεν ἐς τὴν νῆσον τὴν τότε ὀνομαζομένην Καλλίστην, τοὺς ἀπογόνους οἱ τοῦ Μεμβλιάρου παραχωρήσεσθαι τῆς βασιλείας ἐλπίζων ἑκόντας, ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐποίησαν §3.1.8λαβόντες λογισμὸν ὅτι Θήρᾳ μὲν ἐς αὐτὸν ἀνῄει Κάδμον τὸ γένος, οἱ δὲ ἦσαν ἀπόγονοι Μεμβλιάρου· Μεμβλίαρον δὲ ἄνδρα ὄντα τοῦ δήμου Κάδμος ἐν τῇ νήσῳ κατέλιπεν ἡγεμόνα εἶναι τῶν ἐποίκων.
Theras was sending the colony to the island then called Calliste, hoping that the descendants of Membliarus would yield the kingship to him voluntarily, which indeed they did, taking into consideration that the lineage of Theras went back to Cadmus himself, whereas they were descendants of Membliarus; and Cadmus had left Membliarus, who was a man of the common people, on the island to be a leader of the settlers.
καὶ Θήρας μὲν τῇ τε νήσῳ μετέβαλεν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα καί οἱ καὶ νῦν ἔτι οἱ Θηραῖοι κατὰ ἔτος ἐναγίζουσιν ὡς οἰκιστῇ· Προκλεῖ δὲ καὶ Εὐρυσθένει μέχρι μὲν τῆς προθυμίας τῆς ἐς τὸν Θήραν ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ συνῆλθον αἱ γνῶμαι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ διειστήκει σφίσιν ἐπὶ παντὶ τὰ βουλεύματα.
And Theras changed the name of the island after himself, and even now the Therans still make annual offerings to him as founder; but as for Procles and Eurysthenes, up to the point of their eagerness toward Theras their opinions came together, but in all other matters their designs were at variance.
§3.1.9οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ὁμονοησάντων τοὺς ἀπογόνους αὐτῶν ἐς κοινὸν κατάλογον ὑπάξειν ἂν ἔμελλον· οὐ γάρ τι τὰ πάντα ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ συνεληλύθασιν ἡλικίας, ὡς ἀνεψιόν τε ἀνεψιῷ καὶ ἀνεψιῶν παῖδας, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τοὺς κατωτέρω κατὰ ἀριθμὸν τυχεῖν ἀλλήλοις γεγονότας τὸν ἴσον.
Indeed, even if they had agreed, they would not have brought their descendants into a common catalog; for they did not at all come together in the same degree of age, so that cousin to cousin, and children of cousins, and likewise those further down should happen to be born in equal number to one another.
ἑκατέραν οὖν τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπέξειμι αὐτῶν ἰδίως καὶ οὐκ ἀμφοτέρας ἅμα ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ ἀναμίξας.
I will therefore go through each of their houses individually, and not mix them both together at the same time.