§9.5.1γῆν δὲ τὴν Θηβαΐδα οἰκῆσαι πρῶτον λέγουσιν Ἔκτηνας, βασιλέα δὲ εἶναι τῶν Ἐκτήνων ἄνδρα αὐτόχθονα Ὤγυγον· καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν ποιητῶν ἐπίκλησις ἐς τὰς Θήβας ἐστὶν Ὠγύγιαι.
They say that the Ectenes first inhabited the Theban land, and that Ogygus, an aboriginal man, was the king of the Ectenes; and from him most of the poets have the surname "Ogygian" for Thebes.
καὶ τούτους μὲν ἀπολέσθαι λοιμώδει νόσῳ φασίν, ἐσοικίσασθαι δὲ μετὰ τοὺς Ἔκτηνας ἐς τὴν χώραν Ὕαντας καὶ Ἄονας, Βοιώτια ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν γένη καὶ οὐκ ἐπηλύδων ἀνθρώπων.
And they say that these perished by a pestilential disease, and that after the Ectenes, the Hyantes and Aones settled in the country, who were, in my opinion, Boeotian races and not foreigners.
Κάδμου δὲ καὶ τῆς Φοινίκων στρατιᾶς ἐπελθούσης μάχῃ νικηθέντες οἱ μὲν Ὕαντες ἐς τὴν νύκτα τὴν ἐπερχομένην ἐκδιδράσκουσι, τοὺς δὲ Ἄονας ὁ Κάδμος γενομένους ἱκέτας καταμεῖναι καὶ ἀναμιχθῆναι τοῖς Φοίνιξιν εἴασε.
But when Cadmus and the Phoenician army invaded, the Hyantes, having been defeated in battle, fled into the succeeding night, while Cadmus allowed the Aones, who had become suppliants, to remain and mingle with the Phoenicians.
§9.5.2τοῖς μὲν οὖν Ἄοσι κατὰ κώμας ἔτι ἦσαν αἱ οἰκήσεις· Κάδμος δὲ τὴν πόλιν τὴν καλουμένην ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς Καδμείαν ᾤκισεν.
So the dwellings for the Aones were still in villages; but Cadmus founded the city which is still called Cadmea even down to our time.
αὐξηθείσης δὲ ὕστερον τῆς πόλεως, οὕτω τὴν Καδμείαν ἀκρόπολιν συνέβη τῶν κάτω γενέσθαι Θηβῶν.
Later, when the city grew, it so happened that Cadmea became the acropolis of the lower Thebes.
Κάδμῳ δὲ γάμος τε ἐπιφανὴς ὑπῆρξεν, εἰ δὴ θυγατέρα Ἀφροδίτης καὶ Ἄρεως κατὰ λόγον τὸν Ἑλλήνων ἔσχε, καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες εἰλήφασιν αὐτῷ φήμην, Σεμέλη μὲν τεκεῖν ἐκ Διός, Ἰνὼ δὲ θεῶν εἶναι τῶν θαλασσίων.
And Cadmus had an illustrious marriage, if indeed he married a daughter of Aphrodite and Ares according to the story of the Greeks, and his daughters brought him fame, Semele having given birth by Zeus, and Ino being of the sea deities.
§9.5.3ἐπὶ μὲν δὴ Κάδμου μέγιστον μετά γε αὐτὸν Κάδμον ἠδύναντο οἱ Σπαρτοί, Χθόνιος καὶ Ὑπερήνωρ καὶ Πέλωρος καὶ Οὐδαῖος· Ἐχίονα δὲ ὡς προέχοντα κατʼ ἀνδραγαθίαν γαμβρὸν ἠξίωσεν ὁ Κάδμος ποιήσασθαι.
Now in the time of Cadmus, the Spartoi had the greatest power after Cadmus himself: Chthonius, Hyperenor, Pelor, and Udaeus; and Cadmus deemed Echion worthy to be made his son-in-law, as he excelled in manliness.
τοὺς δὲ ἄνδρας τούτους—οὐ γάρ τι ἠδυνάμην ἐς αὐτοὺς παρευρεῖν—ἕπομαι τῷ μύθῳ Σπαρτοὺς διὰ τὸν τρόπον ὅντινα ἐγένοντο ὀνομασθῆναι.
As for these men—for I could not discover anything else about them—I follow the myth that they were named Spartoi because of the manner in which they were born.
Κάδμου δὲ ἐς Ἰλλυριοὺς καὶ Ἰλλυριῶν ἐς τοὺς καλουμένους Ἐγχελέας μετοικήσαντος Πολύδωρος ὁ Κάδμου τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔσχε.
And when Cadmus migrated to the Illyrians and, among the Illyrians, to those called Enchelees, Polydorus the son of Cadmus held the rule.
§9.5.4Πενθεὺς δὲ ὁ Ἐχίονος ἴσχυε μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ γένους ἀξίωμα καὶ φιλίᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως· ὢν δὲ ἐς τὰ λοιπὰ ὑβριστὴς καὶ ἀσεβὴς Διονύσου, δίκην ἔσχεν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
Pentheus the son of Echion was also powerful himself by virtue of the dignity of his birth and his friendship with the king; but being in other respects insolent and impious towards Dionysus, he suffered punishment from the god.
Πολυδώρου δὲ ἦν Λάβδακος· ἔμελλε δὲ ἄρα αὐτόν, ὥς οἱ παρίστατο ἡ τελευτή, παῖδα ἔτι ἀπολείψειν, καὶ ἐπιτρέπει τόν τε υἱὸν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν Νυκτεῖ.
And Polydorus had a son Labdacus; and it so happened that Polydorus, as his end drew near, was about to leave him still a child, and he committed both his son and the rule to Nycteus.
§9.5.5τὰ δὲ ἐφεξῆς μοι τοῦ λόγου προεδήλωσεν ἡ Σικυωνία συγγραφή, τοῦ τε Νυκτέως τὸν θάνατον, ὅντινα γένοιτο τρόπον, καὶ ὡς ἐς Λύκον ἀδελφὸν Νυκτέως ἥ τε ἐπιμέλεια τοῦ παιδὸς περιῆλθε καὶ ἡ Θηβαίων δυναστεία.
The sequel of my account has already been made clear by the Sicyonian history: both the death of Nycteus, in what manner it occurred, and how the care of the child and the sovereignty of the Thebans devolved upon Lycus, the brother of Nycteus.
Λύκος δὲ παρέδωκε μὲν αὐξηθέντι Λαβδάκῳ τὴν ἀρχήν· γενομένης δὲ οὐ μετὰ πολὺ καὶ τούτῳ τῆς τελευτῆς, ὁ δὲ ἐπετρόπευσεν αὖθις Λάιον Λαβδάκου παῖδα.
Lycus indeed delivered the rule to Labdacus when he was grown up; but when the death of Labdacus also occurred not long afterwards, Lycus again acted as guardian for Laius, the son of Labdacus.
§9.5.6Λύκου δὲ ἐπιτροπεύοντος δεύτερον κατίασιν Ἀμφίων καὶ Ζῆθος δύναμιν ἀγείραντες.
While Lycus was acting as guardian for the second time, Amphion and Zethus returned, having gathered a force.
καὶ Λάιον μὲν ὑπεκκλέπτουσιν οἷς ἦν ἐπιμελὲς μὴ γενέσθαι τὸ Κάδμου γένος ἐς τοὺς ἔπειτα ἀνώνυμον, Λάκου δὲ οἱ τῆς Ἀντιόπης παῖδες τῇ μάχῃ κρατοῦσιν· ὡς δὲ ἐβασίλευσαν, τὴν πόλιν τὴν κάτω προσῴκισαν τῇ Καδμείᾳ καὶ Θήβας ὄνομα ἔθεντο κατὰ συγγένειαν τὴν Θήβης.
And those who were anxious that the race of Cadmus should not become nameless for posterity stole Laius away, while the sons of Antiope defeated Lycus in battle; and when they became kings, they built the lower city adjacent to Cadmea and named it Thebes after their kinship with Thebe.
§9.5.7μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι τῷ λόγῳ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν τῇ Ὀδυσσείᾳ· "
οἳ πρῶτοι Θήβης ἕδος ἔκτισαν ἑπταπύλοιο
πύργωσάν τʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐ μὲν ἀπύργωτόν γʼ ἐδύναντο
ναιέμεν εὐρύχορον Θήβην, κρατερώ περ ἐόντε. "
ὅτι δὲ Ἀμφίων ᾖδε καὶ τὸ τεῖχος ἐξειργάζετο πρὸς τὴν λύραν, οὐδένα ἐποιήσατο λόγον ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι· δόξαν δὲ ἔσχεν Ἀμφίων ἐπὶ μουσικῇ, τήν τε ἁρμονίαν τὴν Λυδῶν κατὰ κῆδος τὸ Ταντάλου παρʼ αὐτῶν μαθὼν καὶ χορδὰς ἐπὶ τέσσαρσι ταῖς πρότερον τρεῖς ἀνευρών.
Homer also bears witness to my account in the Odyssey: "Who first founded the seat of seven-gated Thebes, And walled it; since indeed, they could not, Unwalled, dwell in spacious Thebes, strong though they were." But that Amphion sang and constructed the wall to the music of his lyre, he made no mention in his verses; but Amphion won fame for music, having learned from the Lydians their mode because of his alliance with Tantalus, and having invented three strings in addition to the four previously existing.
§9.5.8ὁ δὲ τὰ ἔπη τὰ ἐς Εὐρώπην ποιήσας φησὶν Ἀμφίονα χρήσασθαι λύρᾳ πρῶτον Ἑρμοῦ διδάξαντος· πεποίηκε δὲ καὶ περὶ λίθων καὶ θηρίων, ὅτι καὶ ταῦτα ᾄδων ἦγε.
And the poet who wrote the epic verses on Europa says that Amphion first used the lyre after Hermes taught him; and he also wrote concerning stones and beasts, that he led even these by his singing.
Μυρὼ δὲ Βυζαντία, ποιήσασα ἔπη καὶ ἐλεγεῖα, Ἑρμῇ βωμόν φησιν ἱδρύσασθαι πρῶτον Ἀμφίονα καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ λύραν παρʼ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν.
And Myro of Byzantium, who composed epic and elegiac poetry, says that Amphion first erected an altar to Hermes, and in return received the lyre from him.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐν Ἅιδου δίκην δίδωσιν ὁ Ἀμφίων ὧν ἐς Λητὼ καὶ τοὺς παῖδας καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπέρριψε·
And it is also said that in Hades Amphion suffers punishment for the insults which he himself hurled against Leto and her children;