§5.18.1τῆς χώρας δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ λάρνακι τῆς δευτέρας ἐξ ἀριστερῶν μὲν γίνοιτο ἂν ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς περιόδου, πεποίηται δὲ γυνὴ παῖδα λευκὸν καθεύδοντα ἀνέχουσα τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρί, τῇ δὲ ἑτέρᾳ μέλανα ἔχει παῖδα καθεύδοντι ἐοικότα, ἀμφοτέρους διεστραμμένους τοὺς πόδας.
On the second band of the chest, the beginning of the circuit would be from the left: there is depicted a woman holding up in her right hand a white child sleeping, and in her other hand she has a black child, resembling one that sleeps, both of them having their feet distorted.
δηλοῖ μὲν δὴ καὶ τὰ ἐπιγράμματα, συνεῖναι δὲ καὶ ἄνευ τῶν ἐπιγραμμάτων ἔστι Θάνατόν τε εἶναι σφᾶς καὶ Ὕπνον καὶ ἀμφοτέροις Νύκτα αὐτοῖς τροφόν.
The inscriptions indeed make this plain, but even without the inscriptions one can understand that they are Death and Sleep, and that Night is the nurse to them both.
§5.18.2γυνὴ δὲ εὐειδὴς γυναῖκα αἰσχρὰν κολάζουσα καὶ τῇ μὲν ἀπάγχουσα αὐτήν, τῇ δὲ ῥάβδῳ παίουσα, Δίκη ταῦτα Ἀδικίαν δρῶσά ἐστι·
A beautiful woman is punishing an ugly woman, choking her with one hand and beating her with a staff with the other; this is Justice doing this to Injustice.
δύο δὲ ἄλλας γυναῖκας ἐς ὅλμους καθικνουμένας ὑπέροις, φάρμακα εἰδέναι σφᾶς νομίζουσιν, ἐπεὶ ἄλλως γε οὐδὲν ἐς αὐτάς ἐστιν ἐπίγραμμα.
As for two other women who are striking into mortars with pestles, people think that they know magic drugs, since otherwise there is no inscription concerning them.
τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν ἄνδρα τε καὶ γυναῖκα ἑπομένην αὐτῷ τὰ ἔπη δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξάμετρα· λέγει γὰρ δὴ οὕτως· "
Ἴδας Μάρπησσαν καλλίσφυρον, ἃν οἱ Ἀπόλλων
ἅρπασε, τὰν Εὐανοῦ ἄγει πάλιν οὐκ ἀέκουσαν. "
The hexameter verses make plain the scene of the man and the woman following him; for they run thus: "Idas leads back again, not against her will, Marpessa of the fair ankles, whom Apollo once snatched from him, the daughter of Evenus.
§5.18.3χιτῶνα δὲ ἐνδεδυκὼς ἀνὴρ τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ κύλικα, τῇ δὲ ἔχων ἐστὶν ὅρμον, λαμβάνεται δὲ αὐτῶν Ἀλκμήνη· πεποίηται δὲ ἐς τὸν λόγον τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὡς συγγένοιτο Ἀλκμήνῃ Ζεὺς Ἀμφιτρύωνι εἰκασθείς.
"A man wearing a tunic has a cup in his right hand and a necklace in the other, and Alcmene is taking them; this is depicted in accordance with the legend of the Greeks, how Zeus associated with Alcmene having likeness to Amphitryon.
Μενέλαος δὲ θώρακά τε ἐνδεδυκὼς καὶ ἔχων ξίφος ἔπεισιν Ἑλένην ἀποκτεῖναι, δῆλα ὡς ἁλισκομένης Ἰλίου.
Menelaus, wearing a breastplate and having a sword, is coming on to kill Helen, clearly at the taking of Ilium.
Μηδείας δὲ ἐπὶ θρόνου καθημένης Ἰάσων ἐν δεξιᾷ, τῇ δὲ Ἀφροδίτη παρέστηκε· γέγραπται δὲ καὶ ἐπίγραμμα ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς· "
Μήδειαν Ἰάσων γαμέει, κέλεται δʼ Ἀφροδίτα. "
While Medea is seated on a throne, Jason is on her right, and Aphrodite stands by her; and there is also written an inscription over them: "Jason marries Medea, as Aphrodite bids.
§5.18.4πεποίηνται δὲ καὶ ᾄδουσαι Μοῦσαι καὶ Ἀπόλλων ἐξάρχων τῆς ᾠδῆς, καί σφισιν ἐπίγραμμα γέγραπται· "
Λατοΐδας οὗτος τάχʼ ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων· Μοῦσαι δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτόν, χαρίεις χορός, αἷσι κατάρχει. "
Ἄτλας δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ὤμων κατὰ τὰ λεγόμενα οὐρανόν τε ἀνέχει καὶ γῆν, φέρει δὲ καὶ τὰ Ἑσπερίδων μῆλα.
"There are also depicted the Muses singing, and Apollo leading the song, and an inscription is written for them: "This is Latoidas, perhaps the lord, far-shooting Apollo; and the Muses are around him, a graceful chorus, whom he leads. "Atlas, according to what is said, supports both heaven and earth on his shoulders, and he also carries the apples of the Hesperides.
ὅστις δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ ἔχων τὸ ξίφος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄτλαντα ἐρχόμενος, ἰδίᾳ μὲν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ γεγραμμένον ἐστὶν οὐδέν, δῆλα δὲ ἐς ἅπαντας Ἡρακλέα εἶναι.
As for who the man is who has the sword and is coming toward Atlas, there is nothing written individually upon him, but it is clear to all that he is Heracles.
γέγραπται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις· "
Ἄτλας οὐρανὸν οὗτος ἔχει, τὰ δὲ μᾶλα μεθήσει. "
There is also written over these: "This is Atlas who holds up heaven, but he will let go the apples.
§5.18.5ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἄρης ὅπλα ἐνδεδυκώς, Ἀφροδίτην ἄγων· ἐπίγραμμα δὲ Ἐνυάλιός ἐστιν αὐτῷ.
"There is also Ares clad in armor, leading Aphrodite; the inscription for him is Enyalius.
πεποίηται δὲ καὶ Θέτις παρθένος, λαμβάνεται δὲ αὐτῆς Πηλεύς, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς Θέτιδος ὄφις ἐπὶ τὸν Πηλέα ἐστὶν ὁρμῶν.
There is also depicted the virgin Thetis, and Peleus is seizing her, and from the hand of Thetis a snake is darting at Peleus.
αἱ δὲ ἀδελφαὶ Μεδούσης ἔχουσαι πτερὰ πετόμενον Περσέα εἰσὶ διώκουσαι· τὸ δὲ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τῷ Περσεῖ γέγραπται μόνῳ.
The sisters of Medusa, having wings, are pursuing Perseus who is flying; his name is written on Perseus alone.
§5.18.6στρατιωτικὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ τρίτῃ χώρᾳ τῆς λάρνακος· τὸ μὲν πολύ εἰσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς οἱ πεζοί, πεποίηνται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ συνωρίδων ἱππεῖς.
There are military scenes on the third band of the chest; for the most part they are infantry, but there are also horsemen depicted on pairs of horses.
ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς στρατιώταις ἔστιν εἰκάζειν συνιέναι μὲν σφᾶς ἐς μάχην, συνιέναι δὲ καὶ ἀσπασομένους τε καὶ ἀναγνωριοῦντας ἀλλήλους.
As for the soldiers, one may conjecture that they are coming together for battle, or else that they are coming together to greet and recognize one another.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἐς ἀμφότερα ὑπὸ τῶν ἐξηγητῶν, καὶ τοῖς μέν ἐστιν εἰρημένον Αἰτωλοὺς τοὺς μετὰ Ὀξύλου καὶ Ἠλείους εἶναι τοὺς ἀρχαίους, ἀπαντᾶν δὲ σφᾶς γένους τε μνήμῃ τοῦ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ εὔνοιαν ἐνδεικνυμένους ἐς ἀλλήλους· οἱ δὲ συνιέναι φασὶν ἐς ἀγῶνα τὰ στρατιωτικά, Πυλίους δὲ εἶναι καὶ Ἀρκάδας παρά τε Φειὰν πόλιν καὶ ποταμὸν μαχουμένους Ἰάρδανον.
Both stories are told by the guides; by some it is said that they are the Aetolians with Oxylus and the ancient Eleans, and that they are meeting in memory of their original kinship and showing goodwill to one another; but others say that the military forces are coming together for battle, and that they are Pylians and Arcadians who are about to fight near the city of Pheia and the river Iardanus.
§5.18.7ταῦτα μὲν δὴ οὐδὲ ἀρχὴν ἀποδέξαιτο ἄν τις, ὡς ὁ τοῦ Κυψέλου πρόγονος Κορίνθιός τε ὢν καὶ τὴν λάρνακα αὑτῷ ποιούμενος κτῆμα, ὁπόσα μὲν Κορινθίοις ἦν ἐπιχώρια, ἑκὼν ὑπερέβαινεν, ἃ δὲ ξενικά τε καὶ οὐδὲ ἄλλως ἥκοντα ἐς δόξαν, ἐτεχνᾶτο ἐπὶ τῇ λάρνακι· αὐτῷ μέντοι παρίστατο ἐμοὶ ταῦτα εἰκάζειν.
These explanations indeed no one would accept at all, on the ground that the ancestor of Cypselus, being a Corinthian and making the chest a possession for himself, would voluntarily have passed over all that was local to Corinthians, and have had worked on the chest foreign scenes which besides had not otherwise attained to fame; however, the following conjecture occurred to myself.
Κυψέλῳ καὶ τοῖς προγόνοις ἐκ Γονούσσης ἦν γένος ἐξ ἀρχῆς τῆς ὑπὲρ Σικυῶνος, καὶ πρόγονός σφισιν ἦν Μέλας ὁ Ἀντάσου·
Cypselus and his ancestors had their family originally from Gonussa above Sicyon, and their ancestor was Melas the son of Antas.
§5.18.8Μέλανα δὲ καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν κατὰ τὰ προειρημένα μοι καὶ ἐν τῇ Κορινθίᾳ συγγραφῇ οὐκ ἤθελεν Ἀλήτης συνοίκους δέξασθαι, γεγονός οἱ μάντευμα ἐκ Δελφῶν ὑφορώμενος, ἐς ὃ θεραπείᾳ τε τῇ πάσῃ χρώμενον Μέλανα καὶ ὁπότε ἀπελασθείη σὺν δεήσει ἐπανιόντα αὖθις ἐδέξατο καὶ ἄκων Ἀλήτης.
As I have already related in my Corinthian history, Aletes was unwilling to receive Melas and the army with him as fellow-settlers, being suspicious of an oracle given him from Delphi; until Melas, using every kind of entreaty, and, whenever he was driven away, returning again with supplication, was at last received by Aletes even against his will.
τοῦτο τὸ στρατιωτικὸν τεκμαίροιτο ἄν τις τοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ λάρνακι εἰργασμένους εἶναι.
One might conjecture that this is the military force represented on the chest.