§7.19.1ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τοῦ ναοῦ τε τῆς Λαφρίας καὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ πεποιημένον μνῆμα Εὐρυπύλου.
And between the temple of Laphria and the altar is built the tomb of Eurypylus.
τὰ δὲ ὅστις τε ὢν καὶ καθʼ ἥντινα αἰτίαν ἀφίκετο ἐς τὴν γῆν ταύτην, δηλώσει μοι καὶ ταῦτα ὁ λόγος προδιηγησαμένῳ πρότερον ὁποῖα ὑπὸ τοῦ Εὐρυπύλου τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῖς ἐνταῦθα ἦν τὰ παρόντα ἀνθρώποις.
As to who he was and for what reason he came to this land, this narrative will also make clear to me after I have first related what was the present state of things for the people here about the time of the arrival of Eurypylus.
Ἰώνων τοῖς Ἀρόην καὶ Ἄνθειαν καὶ Μεσάτιν οἰκοῦσιν ἦν ἐν κοινῷ τέμενος καὶ ναὸς Ἀρτέμιδος Τρικλαρίας ἐπίκλησιν, καὶ ἑορτὴν οἱ Ἴωνες αὐτῇ καὶ παννυχίδα ἦγον ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος.
For the Ionians who inhabited Aroe, Antheia, and Mesatis, there was in common a sanctuary and temple of Artemis surnamed Triclaria, and the Ionians celebrated a festival and a night-vigil for her every year.
ἱερωσύνην δὲ εἶχε τῆς θεοῦ παρθένος, ἐς ὃ ἀποστέλλεσθαι παρὰ ἄνδρα ἔμελλε.
And a maiden held the priesthood of the goddess, until she was to be sent to a husband.
§7.19.2λέγουσιν οὖν συμβῆναί ποτε ὡς ἱερᾶσθαι μὲν τῆς θεοῦ Κομαιθὼ τὸ εἶδος καλλίστην παρθένον, τυγχάνειν δὲ αὐτῆς ἐρῶντα Μελάνιππον, τά τε ἄλλα τοὺς ἡλικιώτας καὶ ὄψεως εὐπρεπείᾳ μάλιστα ὑπερηρκότα.
They say, then, that it once happened that Comaetho, a maiden most beautiful in appearance, held the priesthood of the goddess, and that Melanippus happened to fall in love with her, a youth who in other respects and especially in the beauty of his appearance far surpassed his contemporaries.
ὡς δὲ ὁ Μελάνιππος ἐς τὸ ἴσον τοῦ ἔρωτος ὑπηγάγετο τὴν παρθένον, ἐμνᾶτο αὐτὴν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός.
When Melanippus had led the maiden to an equal measure of love, he wooed her from her father.
ἕπεται δέ πως τῷ γήρᾳ τά τε ἄλλα ὡς τὸ πολὺ ἐναντιοῦσθαι νέοις καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐς τοὺς ἐρῶντας τὸ ἀνάλγητον, ὅπου καὶ Μελανίππῳ τότε ἐθέλοντι ἐθέλουσαν ἄγεσθαι Κομαιθὼ οὔτε παρὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ γονέων οὔτε παρὰ τῶν Κομαιθοῦς ἥμερον ἀπήντησεν οὐδέν.
But somehow it attends old age, as a rule, to oppose the young in other things and not least to have a lack of feeling toward those in love, so that indeed at that time, though Melanippus wished to marry Comaetho and she was willing to be married, no gentle response came either from his own parents or from those of Comaetho.
§7.19.3ἐπέδειξε δὲ ἐπὶ πολλῶν τε δὴ ἄλλων καὶ ἐν τοῖς Μελανίππου παθήμασιν, ὡς μέτεστιν ἔρωτι καὶ ἀνθρώπων συγχέαι νόμιμα καὶ ἀνατρέψαι θεῶν τιμάς, ὅπου καὶ τότε ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερῷ Κομαιθὼ καὶ Μελάνιππος ἐξέπλησαν τοῦ ἔρωτος τὴν ὁρμήν.
And it was shown in many other instances and indeed in the sufferings of Melanippus, that love has the power to confound the laws of men and to subvert the honors of the gods, since indeed even then, in the sanctuary of Artemis, Comaetho and Melanippus fulfilled the impulse of their love.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἔμελλον τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ ἐς τὸ ἔπειτα ἴσα καὶ θαλάμῳ χρήσεσθαι· τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους αὐτίκα ἐξ Ἀρτέμιδος μήνιμα ἔφθειρε, τῆς τε γῆς καρπὸν οὐδένα ἀποδιδούσης καὶ νόσοι σφίσιν οὐ κατὰ τὰ εἰωθότα καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν θάνατοι πλείονες ἢ τὰ πρότερα ἐγίνοντο.
And they were going to use the sanctuary thereafter just as a bridal chamber; but a wrath from Artemis immediately destroyed the people, for the earth yielded no fruit and diseases occurred among them not according to what was usual, and because of these, deaths became more numerous than before.
§7.19.4καταφυγόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ χρηστήριον τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, ἤλεγχεν ἡ Πυθία Μελάνιππον καὶ Κομαιθώ· καὶ ἐκείνους τε αὐτοὺς μάντευμα ἀφίκετο θῦσαι τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι καὶ ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος παρθένον καὶ παῖδα οἳ τὸ εἶδος εἶεν κάλλιστοι τῇ θεῷ θύειν.
And when they fled to the oracle at Delphi, the Pythia accused Melanippus and Comaetho; and an oracle came to sacrifice those very persons to Artemis, and every year to sacrifice to the goddess a maiden and a boy who were most beautiful in appearance.
ταύτης μὲν δὴ τῆς θυσίας ἕνεκα ὁ ποταμὸς ὁ πρὸς τῷ ἱερῷ τῆς Τρικλαρίας Ἀμείλιχος ἐκλήθη· §7.19.5τέως δὲ ὄνομα εἶχεν οὐδέν.
Indeed, because of this sacrifice, the river near the sanctuary of Triclaria was called Ameilichos; previously it had no name.
παίδων δὲ καὶ παρθένων ὁπόσοι μὲν ἐς τὴν θεὸν οὐδὲν εἰργασμένοι Μελανίππου καὶ Κομαιθοῦς ἕνεκα ἀπώλλυντο, αὐτοί τε οἰκτρότατα καὶ οἱ προσήκοντές σφισιν ἔπασχον, Μελάνιππον δὲ καὶ Κομαιθὼ συμφορᾶς ἐκτὸς γενέσθαι τίθεμαι· μόνον γὰρ δὴ ἀνθρώπῳ ψυχῆς ἐστιν ἀντάξιον κατορθῶσαί τινα ἐρασθέντα.
As for all the boys and maidens who, having done nothing against the goddess, perished for the sake of Melanippus and Comaetho, they themselves and their relatives suffered most piteously, but Melanippus and Comaetho I place outside of misfortune; for to succeed in one's love is indeed the only thing for a human being that is worth as much as life itself.