1. Herodotus, Histories, 7.183-7.193 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 7.183. The Greeks who were stationed at Artemisium were informed of these matters by beacons from Sciathus. They were frightened by this and accordingly changed their anchorage from Artemisium to Chalcis, proposing to guard the Euripus and leaving watchmen on the heights of Euboea. ,Three of the ten barbarian ships ran aground on the reef called the Ant, which lies between Sciathus and Magnesia. The barbarians then brought a pillar of stone and set it on the reef, and when their course was plain before them, the whole fleet set forth and sailed from Therma, eleven days after the king had marched from there. ,It was Pammon of Scyros who showed them where in the strait the reef lay. After sailing along all day, the foreign fleet reached Sepias in Magnesia and the beach between the town of Casthanaea and the Sepiad headland. 7.184. Until the whole host reached this place and Thermopylae it suffered no hurt, and calculation proves to me that its numbers were still such as I will now show. The ships from Asia were twelve hundred and seven in number, and including the entire host of nations involved, there were a total of two hundred and forty-one thousand and four hundred men, two hundred being reckoned for each ship. ,On board all these ships were thirty fighting men of the Persians and Medes and Sacae in addition to the company which each had of native fighters; the number of this added contingent is thirty-six thousand, two hundred and ten. ,To this and to the first number I add the crews of the ships of fifty oars, calculating eighty men for each, whether there were actually more or fewer. Now seeing that, as has already been said, three thousand of these vessels were assembled, the number of men in them must have been two hundred and forty thousand. ,These, then, were the ships' companies from Asia, and the total number of them was five hundred and seventeen thousand, six hundred and ten. There were seven hundred thousand and one hundred footsoldiers and eighty thousand cavalrymen; to these I add the Arabian camel-riders and Libyan charioteers, estimating them to have been twenty thousand in number. ,The forces of sea and land added together would consist of two million, three hundred and seventeen thousand, six hundred and ten men. So far I have spoken of the force which came from Asia itself, without the train of servants which followed it and the companies of the grain-bearing craft. 7.185. I must, however, also take into account the force brought from Europe, and I will rely on my best judgment in doing so. The Greeks of Thrace and the islands off Thrace furnished one hundred and twenty ships, and the companies of these ships must then have consisted of twenty-four thousand men. ,As regards the land army supplied by all the nations—Thracians, Paeonians, Eordi, Bottiaei, Chalcidians, Brygi, Pierians, Macedonians, Perrhaebi, Enienes, Dolopes, Magnesians, Achaeans, dwellers on the coast of Thrace—of all these I suppose the number to have been three hundred thousand. ,When these numbers are added to the numbers from Asia, the sum total of fighting men is two million, six hundred and forty-one thousand, six hundred and ten. 7.186. This then is the number of soldiers. As for the service-train which followed them and the crews of the light corn-bearing vessels and all the other vessels besides which came by sea with the force, these I believe to have been not fewer but more than the fighting men. ,Suppose, however, that they were equal in number, neither more nor fewer. If they were equal to the fighting contingent, they made up as many tens of thousands as the others. The number, then, of those whom Xerxes son of Darius led as far as the Sepiad headland and Thermopylae was five million, two hundred and eighty-three thousand, two hundred and twenty. 7.187. That is the number of Xerxes' whole force. No one, however, can say what the exact number of cooking women, and concubines, and eunuchs was, nor can one determine the number of the beasts of draught and burden, and the Indian dogs which accompanied the host; so many of them were there. It is accordingly not surprising to me that some of the streams of water ran dry. I do, however, wonder how there were provisions sufficient for so many tens of thousands, ,for calculation shows me, that if each man received one choenix of wheat a day and no more, eleven hundred thousand and three hundred and forty bushels would be required every day. In this calculation I take no account of the provisions for the women, eunuchs, beasts of burden and dogs. of all those tens of thousands of men, there was not one, as regards looks and grandeur, worthier than Xerxes himself to hold that command. 7.188. The Persian fleet put to sea and reached the beach of the Magnesian land, between the city of Casthanaea and the headland of Sepia. The first ships to arrive moored close to land, with the others after them at anchor; since the beach was not large, they lay at anchor in rows eight ships deep out into the sea. ,They spent the night in this way, but at dawn a storm descended upon them out of a clear and windless sky, and the sea began to boil. A strong east wind blew, which the people living in those parts call Hellespontian. ,Those who felt the wind rising or had proper mooring dragged their ships up on shore ahead of the storm and so survived with their ships. The wind did, however, carry those ships caught out in the open sea against the rocks called the Ovens at Pelion or onto the beach. Some ships were wrecked on the Sepian headland, others were cast ashore at the city of Meliboea or at Casthanaea. The storm was indeed unbearable. 7.189. The story is told that because of an oracle the Athenians invoked Boreas, the north wind, to help them, since another oracle told them to summon their son-in-law as an ally. According to the Hellenic story, Boreas had an Attic wife, Orithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus, ancient king of Athens. ,Because of this connection, so the tale goes, the Athenians considered Boreas to be their son-in-law. They were stationed off Chalcis in Euboea, and when they saw the storm rising, they then, if they had not already, sacrificed to and called upon Boreas and Orithyia to help them by destroying the barbarian fleet, just as before at Athos. ,I cannot say whether this was the cause of Boreas falling upon the barbarians as they lay at anchor, but the Athenians say that he had come to their aid before and that he was the agent this time. When they went home, they founded a sacred precinct of Boreas beside the Ilissus river. 7.190. They say that at the very least no fewer than 400 ships were destroyed in this labor, along with innumerable men and abundant wealth. This shipwreck proved useful to Ameinocles son of Cretines, a man of Magnesia who owned land around Sepia, for he later picked up many gold and silver cups cast up on shore, found the Persian treasures, and acquired other untold riches. Although he became very rich from his findings, he did not enjoy luck in everything, for he suffered greatly when his son was murdered. 7.191. There was no counting how many grain-ships and other vessels were destroyed. The generals of the fleet were afraid that the Thessalians might attack them now that they had been defeated, so they built a high palisade out of the wreckage. ,The storm lasted three days. Finally the Magi made offerings and cast spells upon the wind, sacrificing also to Thetis and the Nereids. In this way they made the wind stop on the fourth day—or perhaps it died down on its own. They sacrificed to Thetis after hearing from the Ionians the story that it was from this place that Peleus had carried her off and that all the headland of Sepia belonged to her and to the other Nereids. 7.192. The storm, then, ceased on the fourth day. Now the scouts stationed on the headlands of Euboea ran down and told the Hellenes all about the shipwreck on the second day after the storm began. ,After hearing this they prayed to Poseidon as their savior and poured libations. Then they hurried to Artemisium hoping to find few ships opposing them. So they came to Artemisium a second time and made their station there. From that time on they call Poseidon their savior. 7.193. The barbarians, when the wind ceased and the waves no longer ran high, put to sea and coasted along the mainland; they sailed around the headland of Magnesia and sailed straight into the gulf which stretches toward Pagasae. ,There is a place on this gulf in Magnesia, where, it is said, Heracles was sent for water and was left behind by Jason and his comrades of the Argo, when they were sailing to Aea in Colchis for the fleece; their purpose was to draw water from there and then to put out to sea. This is the reason why that place has been called Aphetae. Here Xerxes' men made their anchorage. |
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2. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica, 1.212-1.214, 1.553-1.558, 1.587-1.590, 1.861-1.862, 2.1172-2.1279 (3rd cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
1.212. οὕς ποτʼ Ἐρεχθηὶς Βορέῃ τέκεν Ὠρείθυια 1.213. ἐσχατιῇ Θρῄκης δυσχειμέρου· ἔνθʼ ἄρα τήνγε 1.214. Θρηίκιος Βορέης ἀνερέψατο Κεκροπίηθεν 1.553. αὐτὰρ ὅγʼ ἐξ ὑπάτου ὄρεος κίεν ἄγχι θαλάσσης 1.554. χείρων Φιλλυρίδης, πολιῇ δʼ ἐπὶ κύματος ἀγῇ 1.555. τέγγε πόδας, καὶ πολλὰ βαρείῃ χειρὶ κελεύων 1.556. νόστον ἐπευφήμησεν ἀκηδέα νισσομένοισιν. 1.557. σὺν καί οἱ παράκοιτις ἐπωλένιον φορέουσα 1.558. Πηλεΐδην Ἀχιλῆα, φίλῳ δειδίσκετο πατρί. 1.587. καί μιν κυδαίνοντες ὑπὸ κνέφας ἔντομα μήλων 1.588. κεῖαν, ὀρινομένης ἁλὸς οἴδματι· διπλόα δʼ ἀκταῖς 1.589. ἤματʼ ἐλινύεσκον· ἀτὰρ τριτάτῳ προέηκαν 1.590. νῆα, τανυσσάμενοι περιώσιον ὑψόθι λαῖφος. 1.861. ἀμβολίη δʼ εἰς ἦμαρ ἀεὶ ἐξ ἤματος ἦεν 1.862. ναυτιλίης· δηρὸν δʼ ἂν ἐλίνυον αὖθι μένοντες 2.1172. στιάων· εἴσω δὲ μέλας λίθος ἠρήρειστο 2.1173. ἱερός, ᾧ ποτε πᾶσαι Ἀμαζόνες εὐχετόωντο. 2.1174. οὐδέ σφιν θέμις ἦεν, ὅτʼ ἀντιπέρηθεν ἵκοιντο 2.1175. μήλων τʼ ἠδὲ βοῶν τῇδʼ ἐσχάρῃ ἱερὰ καίειν· 2.1176. ἀλλʼ ἵππους δαίτρευον, ἐπηετανὸν κομέουσαι. 2.1177. αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ ῥέξαντες ἐπαρτέα δαῖτʼ ἐπάσαντο 2.1178. δὴ τότ ἄρʼ Αἰσονίδης μετεφώνεεν, ἦρχέ τε μύθων· 2.1179. ‘Ζεὺς ἐτεῇ τὰ ἕκαστʼ ἐπιδέρκεται· οὐδέ μιν ἄνδρες 2.1180. λήθομεν ἔμπεδον, οἵ τε θεουδέες οὐδὲ δίκαιοι. 2.1181. ὡς μὲν γὰρ πατέρʼ ὑμὸν ὑπεξείρυτο φόνοιο 2.1182. μητρυιῆς, καὶ νόσφιν ἀπειρέσιον πόρεν ὄλβον· 2.1183. ὧς δὲ καὶ ὑμέας αὖτις ἀπήμονας ἐξεσάωσεν 2.1184. χείματος οὐλομένοιο. πάρεστι δὲ τῆσδʼ ἐπὶ νηὸς 2.1185. ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα νέεσθαι, ὅπῃ φίλον, εἴτε μετʼ Αἶαν 2.1186. εἶτε μετʼ ἀφνειὴν θείου πόλιν Ὀρχομενοῖο. 2.1187. τὴν γὰρ Ἀθηναίη τεχνήσατο, καὶ τάμε χαλκῷ 2.1188. δούρατα Πηλιάδος κορυφῆς πέρι· σὺν δέ οἱ Ἄργος 2.1189. τεῦξεν. ἀτὰρ κείνην γε κακὸν διὰ κῦμʼ ἐκέδασσεν 2.1190. πρὶν καὶ πετράων σχεδὸν ἐλθεῖν, αἵ τʼ ἐνὶ πόντῳ 2.1191. στεινωπῷ συνίασι πανήμεροι ἀλλήλῃσιν. 2.1192. ἀλλʼ ἄγεθʼ ὧδε καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐς Ἑλλάδα μαιομένοισιν 2.1193. κῶας ἄγειν χρύσειον ἐπίρροθοι ἄμμι πέλεσθε 2.1194. καὶ πλόου ἡγεμονῆες, ἐπεὶ Φρίξοιο θυηλὰς 2.1195. στέλλομαι ἀμπλήσων, Ζηνὸς χόλον Αἰολίδῃσιν.’ 2.1196. ἴσκε παρηγορέων· οἱ δʼ ἔστυγον εἰσαΐοντες. 2.1197. οὐ γὰρ ἔφαν τεύξεσθαι ἐνηέος Αἰήταο 2.1198. κῶας ἄγειν κριοῖο μεμαότας, ὧδε δʼ ἔειπεν 2.1199. Ἄργος, ἀτεμβόμενος τοῖον στόλον ἀμφιπένεσθαι· 2.1200. ‘ὦ φίλοι, ἡμέτερον μὲν ὅσον σθένος, οὔποτʼ ἀρωγῆς 2.1201. σχήσεται, οὐδʼ ἠβαιόν, ὅτε χρειώ τις ἵκηται. 2.1202. ἀλλʼ αἰνῶς ὀλοῇσιν ἀπηνείῃσιν ἄρηρεν 2.1203. Αἰήτης· τῶ καὶ περιδείδια ναυτίλλεσθαι. 2.1204. στεῦται δʼ Ἠελίου γόνος ἔμμεναι· ἀμφὶ δὲ Κόλχων 2.1205. ἔθνεα ναιετάουσιν ἀπείρονα· καὶ δέ κεν Ἄρει 2.1206. σμερδαλέην ἐνοπὴν μέγα τε σθένος ἰσοφαρίζοι. 2.1207. οὐ μὰν οὐδʼ ἀπάνευθεν ἑλεῖν δέρος Αἰήταο 2.1208. ῥηίδιον, τοῖός μιν ὄφις περί τʼ ἀμφί τʼ ἔρυται 2.1209. ἀθάνατος καὶ ἄυπνος, ὃν αὐτὴ Γαῖʼ ἀνέφυσεν 2.1210. Καυκάσου ἐν κνημοῖσι, Τυφαονίη ὅθι πέτρη 2.1211. ἔνθα Τυφάονά φασι Διὸς Κρονίδαο κεραυνῷ 2.1212. βλήμενον, ὁππότε οἱ στιβαρὰς ἐπορέξατο χεῖρας 2.1213. θερμὸν ἀπὸ κρατὸς στάξαι φόνον· ἵκετο δʼ αὔτως 2.1214. οὔρεα καὶ πεδίον Νυσήιον, ἔνθʼ ἔτι νῦν περ 2.1215. κεῖται ὑποβρύχιος Σερβωνίδος ὕδασι λίμνης.’ 2.1216. ὧς ἄρʼ ἔφη· πολέεσσι δʼ ἐπὶ χλόος εἷλε παρειὰς 2.1217. αὐτίκα, τοῖον ἄεθλον ὅτʼ ἔκλυον. αἶψα δὲ Πηλεὺς 2.1218. θαρσαλέοις ἐπέεσσιν ἀμείψατο, φώνησέν τε· 2.1219. ‘μηδʼ οὕτως, ἠθεῖε, λίην δειδίσσεο θυμῷ. 2.1220. οὔτε γὰρ ὧδʼ ἀλκὴν ἐπιδευόμεθʼ, ὥστε χερείους 2.1221. ἔμμεναι Αἰήταο σὺν ἔντεσι πειρηθῆναι. 2.1222. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμέας οἴω ἐπισταμένους πολέμοιο 2.1223. κεῖσε μολεῖν, μακάρων σχεδὸν αἵματος ἐκγεγαῶτας. 2.1224. τῶ εἰ μὴ φιλότητι δέρος χρύσειον ὀπάσσει 2.1225. οὔ οἱ χραισμήσειν ἐπιέλπομαι ἔθνεα Κόλχων.’ 2.1226. ὧς οἵγʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ἀμοιβαδὸν ἠγορόωντο 2.1227. μέσφʼ αὖτις δόρποιο κορεσσάμενοι κατέδαρθεν. 2.1228. ἦρι δʼ ἀνεγρομένοισιν ἐυκραὴς ἄεν οὖρος· 2.1229. ἱστία δʼ ἤειραν, τὰ δʼ ὑπαὶ ῥιπῆς ἀνέμοιο 2.1230. τείνετο· ῥίμφα δὲ νῆσον ἀποπροέλειπον Ἄρηος. 2.1231. νυκτὶ δʼ ἐπιπλομένῃ Φιλυρηίδα νῆσον ἄμειβον· 2.1232. ἔνθα μὲν Οὐρανίδης Φιλύρῃ Κρόνος, εὖτʼ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ 2.1233. Τιτήνων ἤνασσεν, ὁ δὲ Κρηταῖον ὑπʼ ἄντρον 2.1234. Ζεὺς ἔτι Κουρήτεσσι μετετρέφετʼ Ἰδαίοισιν 2.1235. Ῥείην ἐξαπαφών παρελέξατο· τοὺς δʼ ἐνὶ λέκτροις 2.1236. τέτμε θεὰ μεσσηγύς· ὁ δʼ ἐξ εὐνῆς ἀνορούσας 2.1237. ἔσσυτο χαιτήεντι φυὴν ἐναλίγκιος ἵππῳ· 2.1238. ἡ δʼ αἰδοῖ χῶρόν τε καὶ ἤθεα κεῖνα λιποῦσα 2.1239. Ὠκεανὶς Φιλύρη εἰς οὔρεα μακρὰ Πελασγῶν 2.1240. ἦλθʼ, ἵνα δὴ Χείρωνα πελώριον, ἄλλα μὲν ἵππῳ 2.1241. ἄλλα θεῷ ἀτάλαντον, ἀμοιβαίῃ τέκεν εὐνῇ. 2.1242. κεῖθεν δʼ αὖ Μάκρωνας ἀπειρεσίην τε Βεχείρων 2.1243. γαῖαν ὑπερφιάλους τε παρεξενέοντο Σάπειρας 2.1244. Βύζηράς τʼ ἐπὶ τοῖσιν· ἐπιπρὸ γὰρ αἰὲν ἔτεμνον 2.1245. ἐσσυμένως, λιαροῖο φορεύμενοι ἐξ ἀνέμοιο. 2.1246. καὶ δὴ νισσομένοισι μυχὸς διεφαίνετο Πόντου. 2.1247. καὶ δὴ Καυκασίων ὀρέων ἀνέτελλον ἐρίπναι 2.1248. ἠλίβατοι, τόθι γυῖα περὶ στυφελοῖσι πάγοισιν 2.1249. ἰλλόμενος χαλκέῃσιν ἀλυκτοπέδῃσι Προμηθεὺς 2.1250. αἰετὸν ἥπατι φέρβε παλιμπετὲς ἀίσσοντα. 2.1251. τὸν μὲν ἐπʼ ἀκροτάτης ἴδον ἕσπερον ὀξέι ῥοίζῳ 2.1252. νηὸς ὑπερπτάμενον νεφέων σχεδόν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔμπης 2.1253. λαίφεα πάντʼ ἐτίναξε, παραιθύξας πτερύγεσσιν. 2.1254. οὐ γὰρʼ ὅγʼ αἰθερίοιο φυὴν ἔχεν οἰωνοῖο 2.1255. ἶσα δʼ ἐυξέστοις ὠκύπτερα πάλλεν ἐρετμοῖς 2.1256. δηρὸν δʼ. οὐ μετέπειτα πολύστονον ἄιον αὐδὴν 2.1257. ἧπαρ ἀνελκομένοιο Προμηθέος· ἔκτυπε δʼ αἰθὴρ 2.1258. οἰμωγῇ, μέσφʼ αὖτις ἀπʼ οὔρεος ἀίσσοντα 2.1259. αἰετὸν ὠμηστὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν εἰσενόησαν. 2.1260. ἐννύχιοι δʼ Ἄργοιο δαημοσύνῃσιν ἵκοντο 2.1261. Φᾶσίν τʼ εὐρὺ ῥέοντα, καὶ ἔσχατα πείρατα πόντοι 2.1262. αὐτίκα δʼ ἱστία μὲν καὶ ἐπίκριον ἔνδοθι κοίλης 2.1263. ἱστοδόκης στείλαντες ἐκόσμεον· ἐν δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν 2.1264. ἱστὸν ἄφαρ χαλάσαντο παρακλιδόν· ὦκα δʼ ἐρετμοῖς 2.1265. εἰσέλασαν ποταμοῖο μέγαν ῥόον· αὐτὰρ ὁ πάντῃ 2.1266. καχλάζων ὑπόεικεν. ἔχον δʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ χειρῶν 2.1267. Καύκασον αἰπήεντα Κυταιίδα τε πτόλιν Αἴης 2.1268. ἔνθεν δʼ αὖ πεδίον τὸ Ἀρήιον ἱερά τʼ ἄλση 2.1269. τοῖο θεοῦ, τόθι κῶας ὄφις εἴρυτο δοκεύων 2.1270. πεπτάμενον λασίοισιν ἐπὶ δρυὸς ἀκρεμόνεσσιν. 2.1271. αὐτὸς δʼ Αἰσονίδης χρυσέῳ ποταμόνδε κυπέλλῳ 2.1272. οἴνου ἀκηρασίοιο μελισταγέας χέε λοιβὰς 2.1273. γαίῃ τʼ ἐνναέταις τε θεοῖς ψυχαῖς τε καμόντων 2.1274. ἡρώων· γουνοῦτο δʼ ἀπήμονας εἶναι ἀρωγοὺς 2.1275. εὐμενέως, καὶ νηὸς ἐναίσιμα πείσματα δέχθαι. 2.1276. αὐτίκα δʼ Ἀγκαῖος τοῖον μετὰ μῦθον ἔειπεν· 2.1277. ‘Κολχίδα μὲν δὴ γαῖαν ἱκάνομεν ἠδὲ ῥέεθρα 2.1278. Φάσιδος· ὥρη δʼ ἧμιν ἐνὶ σφίσι μητιάασθαι 2.1279. εἴτʼ οὖν μειλιχίῃ πειρησόμεθʼ Αἰήταο | |
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