92B. The Corinthian state was ordered in such manner as I will show.There was an oligarchy, and this group of men, called the Bacchiadae, held sway in the city, marrying and giving in marriage among themselves. Now Amphion, one of these men, had a crippled daughter, whose name was Labda.1 Since none of the Bacchiadae would marry her, she was wedded to Eetion son of Echecrates, of the township of Petra, a Lapith by lineage and of the posterity of Caeneus.
[2]
When no sons were born to him by this wife or any other, he set out to Delphi to enquire concerning the matter of acquiring offspring. As soon as he entered, the Pythian priestess spoke these verses to him:
“Eetion,worthy of honor, no man honors you.
Labda is with child, and her child will be a millstone
Which will fall upon the rulers and will bring justice to Corinth.
”
[3]
This oracle which was given to Eetion was in some way made known to the Bacchiadae. The earlier oracle sent to Corinth had not been understood by them, despite the fact that its meaning was the same as the meaning of the oracle of Eetion, and it read as follows:
“An eagle in the rocks has conceived, and will bring forth a lion,
Strong and fierce. The knees of many will it loose.
This consider well, Corinthians,
You who dwell by lovely Pirene and the overhanging heights of Corinth.
”
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Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.
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- Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander, The Late Archaic City-State
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