1.
Having now gone through the family of Deucalion, we have next to speak of that of
Inachus.
Ocean and Tethys had a son Inachus, after whom a river in Argos is called Inachus.1 He and Melia, daughter of Ocean, had sons, Phoroneus, and
Aegialeus. Aegialeus having died childless, the whole country was called Aegialia; and
Phoroneus, reigning over the whole land afterwards named Peloponnese, begat Apis and Niobe by a nymph Teledice. Apis converted his
power into a tyranny and named the Peloponnese
after himself Apia; but being a stern tyrant he
was conspired against and slain by Thelxion and Telchis. He left no child, and being
deemed a god was called Sarapis.2 But Niobe had by Zeus （ and she was the
first mortal woman with whom Zeus cohabited） a son
Argus, and also, so says Acusilaus, a son Pelasgus, after whom
the inhabitants of the Peloponnese were called
Pelasgians. However, Hesiod says that Pelasgus was a son of the soil.
[2]
About him I shall speak again.3 But Argus received the kingdom and
called the Peloponnese after himself Argos; and having married Evadne, daughter of Strymon
and Neaera, he begat Ecbasus, Piras, Epidaurus,
and Criasus,4 who also succeeded to the
kingdom.
Ecbasus had a son Agenor, and Agenor had a son Argus, the one who is called the
All-seeing. He had eyes in the whole of his body,5 and being exceedingly strong he killed the
bull that ravaged Arcadia and clad himself in its
hide;6 and when a satyr wronged the Arcadians and
robbed them of their cattle, Argus withstood and killed him. It is said, too, that
Echidna,7 daughter of Tartarus and
Earth, who used to carry off passers-by, was caught asleep and slain by Argus. He also
avenged the murder of Apis by putting the guilty to death.
[3]
Argus and Ismene, daughter of Asopus, had a son Iasus, who is said to have been the
father of Io.8 But
the annalist Castor and many of the tragedians allege that Io was a daughter of
Inachus;9 and Hesiod and Acusilaus say that she was a daughter of Piren. Zeus seduced her while she held the
priesthood of Hera, but being detected by Hera he by a touch turned Io into a white
cow10 and swore that he had not known her; wherefore Hesiod remarks that
lover's oaths do not draw down the anger of the gods. But Hera requested the cow from Zeus
for herself and set Argus the All-seeing to guard it. Pherecydes says that this Argus was
a son of Arestor;11 but Asclepiades
says that he was a son of Inachus, and Cercops says that he was a son of Argus and Ismene,
daughter of Asopus; but Acusilaus says that he was earth-born.12 He tethered her to the
olive tree which was in the grove of the Mycenaeans. But Zeus ordered Hermes to steal the
cow, and as Hermes could not do it secretly because Hierax had blabbed, he killed Argus by
the cast of a stone;13 whence he was called
Argiphontes.14 Hera next
sent a gadfly to infest the cow,15 and the animal came first to what is called after her the
Ionian gulf. Then she journeyed through Illyria
and having traversed Mount Haemus she crossed what was then called the Thracian Straits
but is now called after her the Bosphorus.16 And having gone away to Scythia and the Cimmerian land she wandered over great
tracts of land and swam wide stretches of sea both in Europe and Asia until at last she came to Egypt, where she recovered
her original form and gave birth to a son Epaphus beside the river Nile.17 Him Hera besought the Curetes to make away
with, and make away with him they did. When Zeus learned of it, he slew the Curetes; but
Io set out in search of the child. She roamed all over Syria, because there it was revealed to her that the wife of the king of
Byblus was nursing her son;18 and having found Epaphus she came to Egypt and was married to Telegonus, who then reigned over
the Egyptians. And she set up an image of Demeter, whom the Egyptians called Isis,19 and Io
likewise they called by the name of Isis.20
[4]
Reigning over the Egyptians Epaphus married Memphis, daughter of Nile, founded
and named the city of Memphis after her, and
begat a daughter Libya, after whom the region of
Libya was called.21
Libya had by Poseidon twin sons, Agenor and
Belus.22 Agenor departed to Phoenicia and reigned there, and there he became the ancestor of the great
stock; hence we shall defer our account of him.23 But Belus remained in Egypt, reigned over the country, and married Anchinoe,
daughter of Nile, by whom he had twin sons, Egyptus and Danaus,24 but according to Euripides, he had also Cepheus and Phineus.
Danaus was settled by Belus in Libya, and Egyptus
in Arabia; but Egyptus subjugated the country of
the Melampods and named it Egypt < after
himself>. Both had children by many wives; Egyptus had fifty sons, and Danaus fifty
daughters. As they afterwards quarrelled concerning the kingdom, Danaus feared the sons of
Egyptus, and by the advice of Athena he built a ship, being the first to do so, and having
put his daughters on board he fled. And touching at Rhodes he set up the image of Lindian Athena.25 Thence he
came to Argos and the reigning king Gelanor
surrendered the kingdom to him;26 < and having made himself master of the country he named the
inhabitants Danai after himself>. But the country being waterless,
because Poseidon had dried up even the springs out of anger at Inachus for testifying that
the land belonged to Hera,27 Danaus sent his daughters to draw water. One of them,
Amymone, in her search for water threw a dart at a deer and hit a sleeping satyr, and he,
starting up, desired to force her; but Poseidon appearing on the scene, the satyr fled,
and Amymone lay with Poseidon, and he revealed to her the springs at Lerna.28
[5]
But the sons of Egyptus came to Argos, and
exhorted Danaus to lay aside his enmity, and begged to marry his daughters. Now Danaus
distrusted their professions and bore them a grudge on account of his exile; nevertheless
he consented to the marriage and allotted the damsels among them.29 First, they picked out Hypermnestra as the
eldest to be the wife of Lynceus, and Gorgophone to be the wife of Proteus; for Lynceus
and Proteus had been borne to Egyptus by a woman of royal blood, Argyphia; but of the rest
Busiris, Enceladus, Lycus, and Daiphron obtained by lot the daughters that had been borne
to Danaus by Europe, to wit, Automate, Amymone,
Agave, and Scaea. These daughters were borne to Danaus by a queen; but Gorgophone and
Hypermnestra were borne to him by Elephantis. And
Istrus got Hippodamia; Chalcodon got Rhodia; Agenor got Cleopatra; Chaetus
got Asteria; Diocorystes got Hippodamia; Alces got Glauce; Alcmenor got Hippomedusa;
Hippothous got Gorge; Euchenor got Iphimedusa; Hippolytus got Rhode. These ten sons were
begotten on an Arabian woman; but the maidens were begotten on Hamadryad nymphs, some
being daughters of Atlantia, and others of Phoebe. Agaptolemus got Pirene; Cercetes got
Dorium; Eurydamas got Phartis; Aegius got Mnestra; Argius got Evippe; Archelaus got
Anaxibia; Menemachus got Nelo. These seven sons were begotten on a Phoenician woman, and
the maidens on an Ethiopian woman. The sons of Egyptus by Tyria got as their wives,
without drawing lots, the daughters of Danaus by Memphis in virtue of the similarity of their names; thus Clitus got Clite;
Sthenelus got Sthenele; Chrysippus got Chrysippe. The twelve sons of Egyptus by the Naiad
nymph Caliadne cast lots for the daughters of Danaus by the Naiad nymph Polyxo: the sons
were Eurylochus, Phantes, Peristhenes, Hermus, Dryas, Potamon, Cisseus,
Lixus, Imbrus, Bromius, Polyctor, Chthonius; and the
damsels were Autonoe, Theano, Electra, Cleopatra, Eurydice, Glaucippe, Anthelia, Cleodore,
Evippe, Erato, Stygne, Bryce. The sons of Egyptus by Gorgo, cast lots for the daughters of
Danaus by Pieria, and Periphas got Actaea, Oeneus got Podarce, Egyptus got
Dioxippe, Menalces got Adite, Lampus got Ocypete, Idmon got Pylarge. The youngest sons of
Egyptus were these: Idas got Hippodice; Daiphron got Adiante （ the mother who
bore these damsels was Herse）; Pandion got Callidice; Arbelus got Oeme; Hyperbius
got Celaeno; Hippocorystes got Hyperippe; the mother of these men was Hephaestine, and the
mother of these damsels was Crino.
When they had got their brides by lot, Danaus made a feast and gave his daughters
daggers; and they slew their bridegrooms as they slept, all but Hypermnestra; for she
saved Lynceus because he had respected her virginity:30 wherefore Danaus
shut her up and kept her under ward. But the rest of the daugters of Danaus buried the
heads of their bridegrooms in Lerna31 and paid funeral honors to
their bodies in front of the city; and Athena and Hermes purified them at the command of
Zeus. Danaus afterwards united Hypermnestra to Lynceus; and bestowed his other daughters
on the victors in an athletic contest.32
Amymone had a son Nauplius by Poseidon.33 This Nauplius lived to a
great age, and sailing the sea he used by beacon lights to lure to death such as he
fell in with.34 It came to pass, therefore, that
he himself died by that very death. But before his death he married a wife; according to
the tragic poets, she was Clymene, daughter of Catreus; but according to the author of The Returns,35 she was Philyra; and according to Cercops she was Hesione. By her he had
Palamedes, Oeax, and Nausimedon.
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1 As to Inachus and his descendants, see Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 177 （who follows Apollodorus）; Paus. 2.15.5; Scholiast on Eur. Or. 932; Scholiast on Hom. Il. i.22. According to Apion, the flight of the Israelites from Egypt took place during the reign of Inachus at Argos. See Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelii, x.10.10ff. On the subject of Phoroneus there was an ancient epic Phoronis, of which a few verses have survived. See Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. G. Kinkel, pp. 209ff.
2 Apollodorus identifies the Argive Apis with the Egyptian bull Apis, who was in turn identified with Serapis （Sarapis）. As to the Egyptian Apis, see Hdt. 2.153 （with Wiedemann's note）, iii.27, 28. As to Apia as a name for Peloponnese or Argos, see Aesch. Supp. 260ff.; Paus. 2.5.7; Scholiast on Hom. Il. i.22; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 177; Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. Ἀπία.
3 See below, Apollod. 3.8.1.
4 Compare Scholiast on Eur. Or. 932; Hyginus, Fab. 145.
5 As to Argus and his many eyes, compare Aesch. Supp. 303ff.; Scholiast on Eur. Ph. 1116; Ov. Met. 1.625ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 145; Serv. Verg. A. 7.790; Scriptores rerum mythicarum Latini, ed. Bode, i. pp. 5ff. (First Vatican Mythographer 18).
6 Compare Dionysius, quoted by the Scholiast on Eur. Ph. 1116, who says merely that Argus was clad in a hide and had eyes all over his body.
7 As to the monster Echidna, half woman, half snake, see Hes. Th. 295ff.
8 Compare Paus. 2.16.1; Scholiast on Eur. Or. 932.
9 Compare Aesch. PB 589ff.; Hdt. 1.1; Plut. De Herodoti malignitate 11; Lucian, Dial. Deorum iii.; Lucian, Dial. Marin. vii.1; Paus. 3.18.13; Ov. Met. 1.583ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 145.
10 Compare Aesch. Supp. 291ff.; Scholiast on Hom. Il. 2.103 （who cites the present passage of Apollodorus）; Ov. Met. 1.588ff.
11 The passage of Pherecydes is quoted by the Scholiast on Eur. Ph. 1116.
12 So Aesch. PB 305.
13 Compare Scholiast on Aesch. Prom. 561; Scholiast on Hom. Il. ii.103.
14 That is, slayer of Argus.
15 For the wanderings of Io, goaded by the gadfly, see Aesch. Supp. 540ff., Aesch. PB 786(805)ff.; Ov. Met. 1.724ff.
16 Bosphoros, ”Cow's strait” or ” Oxford.”
17 Compare Aesch. PB 846(865)ff.; Hdt. 2.153 Hdt. 3.27; Ov. Met. 1.748ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 145.
18 Isis, whom the ancients sometimes identified with Io （see below）, is said to have nursed the infant son of the king of Byblus. See Plut. Isis et Osiris 15ff. Both stories probably reflect the search said to have been instituted by Isis for the body of the dead Osiris.
19 For the identification of Demeter with Isis, see Hdt. 2.59, Hdt. 2.156; Diod. 1.13.5, Diod. 1.25.1, Diod. 1.96.5.
20 Herodotus remarked （Hdt. 2.41） that in art Isis was represented like Io as a woman with cow's horns. For the identification of Io and Isis, see Diod. 1.24.8; Lucian, Dial. Deorum iii.; Clement of Alexandria, Strom. i.21.106, p. 382, ed. Potter; Prop. iii.20.17ff.; Juvenal vi.526ff.; Statius, Sylv. iii.2.101ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 145.
21 Compare Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 894.
22 Compare Tzetzes, Chiliades vii.349ff.
23 See below, Apollod. 3.1.
24 The following account of Egyptus and Danaus, including the settlement of Danaus and his daughters at Argos, is quoted verbally, with a few omissions and changes, by the Scholiast on Hom. Il. i.42, who mentions the second book of Apollodorus as his authority. Compare Aesch. Supp. 318ff.; Scholiast on Eur. Hec. 886, and Scholiast on Eur. Or. 872; Hyginus, Fab. 168; Serv. Verg. A. 10.497.
25 Compare Hdt. 2.182; Marmor Parium 15-17, pp. 544, 546, ed. C. Müller (Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. i); Diod. 5.58.1; Strab. 14.2.11; Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelii iii.8. As to the worship of the goddess, see Cecil Torr, Rhodes in Ancient Times （Cambridge, 1885）, pp. 74ff., 94 sq. In recent years a chronicle of the temple of Lindian Athena has been discovered in Rhodes: it is inscribed on a marble slab. See Chr. Blinkenberg, La Chronique du temple Lindien （Copenhagen, 1912）.
26 Compare Paus. 2.16.1, Paus. 2.19.3.
27 Compare Paus. 2.15.5.
28 Compare Eur. Ph. 187ff.; Lucian, Dial. Marin. vi.; Philostratus, Imagines, i.8; Scholiast on Hom. Il. iv.171; Prop. iii.18.47ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 169. There was a stream called Amymone at Lerna. See Strab. 8.6.8; Paus. 2.37.1, Paus. 2.37.4; Hyginus, Fab. 169.
29 For the marriage of the sons of Egyptus with the daughters of Danaus, and its tragic sequel, see Zenobius, Cent. ii.6; Scholiast on Eur. Hec. 886 and Or. 872; Scholiast on Hom. Il. iv.171; Hyginus, Fab. 168; Serv. Verg. A. 10.497. With the list of names of the bridal pairs as recorded by Apollodorus, compare the list given by Hyginus, Fab. 170.
30 Compare Pind. N. 7.1.6(10), with the Scholiast; Paus. 2.19.6, Paus. 2.20.7, Paus. 2.21.1; Hor. Carm. 3.11.30ff.; Ovid, Her. xiv.
31 Compare Zenobius, Cent. iv.86. According to Paus. 2.24.2） the heads of the sons of Egyptus were buried on the Larisa, the acropolis of Argos, and the headless trunks were buried at Lerna.
32 Compare Pind. P. 9.112(195), with the Scholiasts; Paus. 3.12.2. The legend may reflect an old custom of racing for a bride. See The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, ii.299ff. It is said that Danaus instituted games which were celebrated every fifth （or, as we should say, every fourth） year, and at which the prize of the victor in the footrace was a shield. See Hyginus, Fab. 170.
33 Compare Strab. 8.6.2; Paus. 2.38.2, Paus. 4.35.2.>
34 See below, Apollod. E. E.6.7-11.
35 Nostoi, an epic poem describing the return of the Homeric heroes from Troy. See Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. G. Kinkel, pp. 52ff.; D. B. Monro, in his edition of Homer, Odyssey, Bks. xiii.- xxiv. pp. 378-382.
Apollodorus. Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Includes Frazer's notes.
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