[27]
Then one comes to the mountain Gallesius, and to Colophon, an Ionian city, and to the sacred precinct of Apollo Clarius, where there was once an ancient oracle. The story is told that Calchas the prophet, with Amphilochus the son of Amphiaräus, went there on foot on his return from Troy, and that having met near Clarus a prophet superior to himself, Mopsus, the son of Manto, the daughter of Teiresias, he died of grief. Now Hesiod revises the myth as follows, making Calchas propound to Mopsus this question:“I am amazed in my heart at all these figs on this wild fig tree, small though it is; can you tell me the number?
”And he makes Mopsus reply:“They are ten thousand in number, and their measure is a medimnus;1 but there is one over, which you cannot put in the measure.
”2 "Thus he spake," Hesiod adds,“and the number the measure could hold proved true. And then the eyes of Calchas were closed by the sleep of death.
”3But Pherecydes says that the question propounded by Calchas was in regard to a pregnant sow, how many pigs she carried, and that Mopsus said, "three, one of which is a female," and that when Mopsus proved to have spoken the truth, Calchas died of grief. Some say that Calchas propounded the question in regard to the sow, but that Mopsus propounded the question in regard to the wild fig tree, and that the latter spoke the truth but that the former did not, and died of grief, and in accordance with a certain oracle. Sophocles tells the oracle in his Reclaiming of Helen, that Calchas was destined to die when he met a prophet superior to himself, but he transfers the scene of the rivalry and of the death of Calchas to Cilicia. Such are the ancient stories.
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Strabo. ed. H. L. Jones, The Geography of Strabo. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
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[27]
εἶτα τὸ Γαλλήσιον ὄρος
καὶ ἡ Κολοφὼν πόλις Ἰωνικὴ καὶ τὸ πρὸ αὐτῆς ἄλσος τοῦ Κλαρίου
Ἀπόλλωνος, ἐν ᾧ καὶ μαντεῖόν ἐστι παλαιόν. λέγεται δὲ Κάλχας ὁ
μάντις μετ᾽ Ἀμφιλόχου τοῦ Ἀμφιαράου κατὰ τὴν ἐκ Τροίας ἐπάνοδον
πεζῇ δεῦρο ἀφικέσθαι, περιτυχὼν δ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ κρείττονι μάντει κατὰ τὴν
Κλάρον, Μόψῳ τῷ Μαντοῦς τῆς Τειρεσίου θυγατρός, διὰ λύπην
ἀποθανεῖν. Ἡσίοδος μὲν οὖν οὕτω πως διασκευάζει τὸν μῦθον:
προτεῖναι γάρ τι τοιοῦτο τῷ Μόψῳ τὸν Κάλχαντα“
θαῦμά μ᾽ ἔχει κατὰ θυμόν, ὅσους ἐρινειὸς
ὀλύνθους
οὗτος ἔχει μικρός περ ἐών: εἴποις ἂν ἀριθμόν;
” τὸν δ᾽ ἀποκρίνασθαι“ μύριοί εἰσιν ἀριθμόν, ἀτὰρ μέτρον γε μέδιμνος:
εἷς δὲ περισσεύει, τὸν ἐπενθέμεν οὔ κε δύναιο.
ὣς φάτο: καί σφιν ἀριθμὸς ἐτήτυμος εἴδετο μέτρου.
καὶ τότε δὴ Κάλχανθ᾽ ὕπνος θανάτοιο κάλυψε.
”1 Φερεκύδης δέ φησιν ὗν προβαλεῖν ἔγκυον τὸν Κάλχαντα πόσους ἔχει χοίρους, τὸν δ᾽ εἰπεῖν ὅτι τρεῖς, ὧν ἕνα θῆλυν: ἀληθεύσαντος δ᾽ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ λύπης. οἱ δὲ τὸν μὲν Κάλχαντα προβαλεῖν τὴν ὗν φασι τὸν δὲ ἐρινεόν, καὶ τὸν μὲν εἰπεῖν τἀληθὲς τὸν δὲ μή, ἀποθανεῖν δὲ ὑπὸ λύπης καὶ κατά τι λόγιον. λέγει δ᾽ αὐτὸ Σοφοκλῆς ἐν Ἑλένης ἀπαιτήσει ὡς εἱμαρμένον εἴη ἀποθανεῖν, ὅταν κρείττονι ἑαυτοῦ μάντει περιτύχῃ: οὗτος δὲ καὶ εἰς Κιλικίαν μεταφέρει τὴν ἔριν καὶ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Κάλχαντος. τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ τοιαῦτα.
οὗτος ἔχει μικρός περ ἐών: εἴποις ἂν ἀριθμόν;
” τὸν δ᾽ ἀποκρίνασθαι“ μύριοί εἰσιν ἀριθμόν, ἀτὰρ μέτρον γε μέδιμνος:
εἷς δὲ περισσεύει, τὸν ἐπενθέμεν οὔ κε δύναιο.
ὣς φάτο: καί σφιν ἀριθμὸς ἐτήτυμος εἴδετο μέτρου.
καὶ τότε δὴ Κάλχανθ᾽ ὕπνος θανάτοιο κάλυψε.
”1 Φερεκύδης δέ φησιν ὗν προβαλεῖν ἔγκυον τὸν Κάλχαντα πόσους ἔχει χοίρους, τὸν δ᾽ εἰπεῖν ὅτι τρεῖς, ὧν ἕνα θῆλυν: ἀληθεύσαντος δ᾽ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ λύπης. οἱ δὲ τὸν μὲν Κάλχαντα προβαλεῖν τὴν ὗν φασι τὸν δὲ ἐρινεόν, καὶ τὸν μὲν εἰπεῖν τἀληθὲς τὸν δὲ μή, ἀποθανεῖν δὲ ὑπὸ λύπης καὶ κατά τι λόγιον. λέγει δ᾽ αὐτὸ Σοφοκλῆς ἐν Ἑλένης ἀπαιτήσει ὡς εἱμαρμένον εἴη ἀποθανεῖν, ὅταν κρείττονι ἑαυτοῦ μάντει περιτύχῃ: οὗτος δὲ καὶ εἰς Κιλικίαν μεταφέρει τὴν ἔριν καὶ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Κάλχαντος. τὰ μὲν παλαιὰ τοιαῦτα.
1 Hes. fr. 160 (Rzach)
[27] Next follows the mountain Gallesius, and Colophon, an Ionian city, in front of which is the grove of Apollo Clarius, where was once an ancient oracle.1 It is said that the prophet Calchas came hither on foot, on his return from Troy with Amphilochus, the son of Amphiaraus, and that meeting at Clarus with a prophet superior to himself, Mopsus, the son of Mantus, the daughter of Teiresias, he died of vexation. Hesiod relates the fable somewhat in this manner: Calchas propounds to Mopsus something of this kind: “‘I am surprised to see how large a quantity of figs there is on this small tree; can you tell the number?’” Mopsus answered: “‘There are ten thousand; they will measure a medimnus, and there is one over, which you cannot comprehend.’” Thus he spoke; the number and measure were exact. Then Calchas closed his eyes in the sleep of death. But Pherecydes says, that Calchas proposed a question respecting a pregnant sow, and asked how many young she had; the other answered, ‘three, one of which is a sow.’ Upon his giving the true answer, Calchas died of vexation. According to others, Calchas propounded the question of the sow, and Mopsus that of the fig-tree; that Mopsus returned the true answer, and that Calchas was mistaken, who died of vexation, according to some oracular prophecy. Sophocles, in his ‘Helen Claimed,’ says that he was destined by fate to die when he should meet with a prophet superior to himself. But this writer transfers the scene of the rivalry, and of the death of Calchas, to Cilicia. These are ancient traditions.
1 It must have been in existence in the time of Strabo.—Tacit. Ann. ii. 54
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- Apollodorus, Epitome, Apollod. Epit. E.6
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