Herodotus' HISTORY BOOK 5 (TERPSICHORE) Complete

Translated by G. Macaulay.

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58. Now these Phenicians who came with Cadmos, of whom were the Gephyraians, brought in among the Hellenes many arts when they settled in this land of Boeotia, and especially letters, which did not exist, as it appears to me, among the Hellenes before this time; and at first they brought in those which are used by the Phenician race generally, but afterwards, as time went on, they changed with their speech the form of the letters also. During this time the Ionians were the race of Hellenes who dwelt near them in most of the places where they were; and these, having received letters by instruction of the Phenicians, changed their form slightly and so made use of them, and in doing so they declared them to be called "phenicians," as was just, seeing that the Phenicians had introduced them into Hellas. Also the Ionians from ancient time call paper "skins," because formerly, paper being scarce, they used skins of goat and sheep; nay, even in my own time many of the Barbarians write on such skins. 59. I myself too once saw Cadmeian characters in the temple of Ismenian Apollo at Thebes of the Boeotians, engraved on certain[49a] tripods, and in most respects resembling the Ionic letters: one of these tripods has the inscription,

"Me Amphitryon offered from land Teleboian returning:"[50]

this inscription would be of an age contemporary with Laïos the son of Labdacos, the son of Polydoros, the son of Cadmos. 60. Another tripod says thus in hexameter rhythm:

"Me did Scaios offer to thee, far-darting Apollo, Victor in contest of boxing, a gift most fair in thine honour:"

now Scaios would be the son of Hippocoön (at least if it were really he who offered it, and not another with the same name as the son of Hippocoön), being of an age contemporary with Œdipus the son of Laïos: 61, and the third tripod, also in hexameter rhythm, says:

"Me Laodamas offered to thee, fair-aiming Apollo, He, of his wealth,[51] being king, as a gift most fair in thine honor:"

now it was in the reign of this very Laodamas the son of Eteocles that the Cadmeians were driven out by the Argives and turned to go to the Enchelians; and the Gephyraians being then left behind were afterwards forced by the Boeotians to retire to Athens. Moreover they have temples established in Athens, in which the other Athenians have no part, and besides others which are different from the rest, there is especially a temple of Demeter Achaia and a celebration of her mysteries.

49a. {tisi}: many Editors adopt the conjecture {trisi}, three.

50. {anetheken eon}: various conjectures have been made here, e.g. {anetheken elon}, {anetheken ion}, {anetheke theo}, {anetheken eont}, {anetheke neon}: the last, which is Bentley's, is perhaps the best; but it is doubtful whether the active form of the verb is admissible.

51. {autos}: the MSS. have {auton}. If {autos} is right, the meaning is "from his own property."

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