TZETZES, CHILIADES 6

CHILIADES BOOK 6, TRANSLATED BY KONSTANTINOS RAMIOTIS

6.1 CONCERNING TIMARCHUS (STORY 36)

[4] Timarchus was an orator, son of Arizelus and a lewd man.
He was a friend to Demosthenes and greatly honoured.
Through his mouth he uttered filthy words against Dionysius,
It spat forth mud of unmentionable obscenities,
Such that not even some whore would utter in a brothel!
To the noblest of men, Aeschines, did he speak –
[10] Whom lines of men indecorous call immodest and immoral,
Distorting thus the truth of things –
In some brothel, dear Aeschines, did your mother, as they say,
Herself to a hero give.
She raised you to be a real man, among other things.
But of Demades speaks she ill, waffles and gossips;
He calls Philip an adulterer
But unlike them was Demades a lover of peace
Speaking thus: I do not summon the cowardly, like Demosthenes did,
[20] Lashing my whip on the face of war and going the way of peace,
A coward I become, of peace a lover.
I do not go by the clashes of battle and the roars of war,
To such feats I hold no aspiration.
Listen to me, O men, when I speak of peace,
Not to a man mingling with crowds, doing so in vain.
For war makes things go up and down
And fathers bury their own sons, the elderly their guardians!
If only did the Thebans have their own Demades,
A city living still they ‘d be, Demosthenes.
[30] But teeming now it is with men and empty fields,
Even the enemy will shed tears, should he pass by.
Upon Demades so dirtily spoke pure-mouthed Dionysius.
And so he considered peace as superior to war.

Again with fake courtesy he speaks to Neaira,
That she did the work of three-hole filling
And spits forth mud-talk of her other misdeeds,
Ones that to Dionysius seemed like mere perfumes.
The term they call “work of three piercings”
[40] The one Lysias introduced with elegance and eloquence,
That one he stole and turned into an accusation.
For Antiope, said Lysias, is a whore
For having made love from two cavities
And openly he took this a step further,
Saying that Neaira managed all three.

That son of Arizelus, Timarchus, a lewd man,
The friend of the decent-mouthed Demosthenes
Together with delegates and orators of the Athenians
And seven more ambassadors of Athenian origin
[50] -All these had the approval of the city of Athens-
Took Aeschines to court, accusing him of forming an embassy unapproved.
Even Synteus would as a prosecutor beat them in court,
But Aeschines had the last word;
First he shut down Timarchus, showing what a lascivious man he was,
A friend of Misgolaus, the paedophile
And a friend of Pitollakus, the bird-lover.

After he proved Timarchus to be an indecent man,
He proved the fallacy of the Athenians
And led Timarchus to death by suicide.
[60] Thus did Aeschines do upon Timarchus.
And Demosthenes he presented as an open-mouthed greedy wolf, but in vain.
And so, he went to trial and emerged victorious,
Even though it was just Eubulus that stood at his side.

6.2 CONCERNING DEMOSTHENES AND OTHERS (STORY 37)

From oblivion have I now recovered the matters concerning Demosthenes,
From which a hundred you shall hear from Tzetzes, if you wish so.
So for the rest of them, should you just ask,
For Tzetzes doesn’t hold back, although a disease torments him,
A shortness of breath so terrible it suffocates him.
But from fountains hidden will he gush streams of knowledge forward:
[70] So, listen once more about Demosthenes.
Demosthenes was a strategist, son of Alcisthenus,
He loved wine and vineyards he held dear.

Demosthenes the orator was Demosthenes’ son,
A freeman from Paiania and from a Scythian mother.
But hear this: the father of the orator’s mother was someone name Glykon,
Who betrayed the city of Nymphaeon of Pontus to the enemy
And sentenced was he to death but fled to the Bosporus,
[80] Where the enemy hands him gifts, the so called “gardens”
And weds one of the rich Scythian women.
She bestows him with two daughters, whom he sent to Athens.
From them the one became the mother of Demosthenes
And the other married some Athenian man.
So, Demosthenes, the orator, was, as we’ve told, a Scythian.

Listen to what we briefly have to say about his morals and character:
Chlanidas, a man most prominent who dressed in a female manner,
Dragging his gown on the ground would shout in a loud voice.
He walked around scratching his head
[90] And then he began advocating and speaking publicly,
Moving his hand incessantly. He was indeed cunning,
Like almost every orator.
In Hyperides’ speech Against the Criminals
Aristogeiton speaks thus, as they say:
“Such damned beasts they are, such scamps!”,
Pointing to Demosthenes and Lycurgus.
He tells of how Diopethes from Sounio sold Demosthenes to Lycurgus as slave
After the naval battle that went down in Hellespont.
[100] But they refused to pay him
And dragged him instead to court.
And he would have lost his life, poor fellow,
Had it not been for Callicles and Demeas, who stood at his side.

Again of Timarchus he speaks and Demosthenes:
Send Timarchus as delegate, O men,
If you are out of your minds and have no moral principles!
Send Timarchus, who has an effeminate body
And does hateful deeds.
To Lycurgus he is no friend, but he is one to Demosthenes.
[110] The rest think of him as filthy and although Lycurgus despises him,
Demosthenes holds him dear. I omit the rest.

And Demades says he will destroy Demosthenes,
That petty silver-tongued man,
A flatterer and seducer,
Whose words cause pain and who wails and causes disturbances
And turmoil and angst and tens of thousands of troubles,
Shedding fake tears.
Again, turning against the Halonesians, he says:
For such a small island with such petty resources
[120] Are you willing to stand against Philip, O men?
Because of a man that steers the crowd and delivers speeches of rebellious nature?
Because of a man with effeminate manners,
Who acts like a woman, who dresses in extravagant clothes,
Who, carrying along his garment and shouting out loud,
Accuses as cowards and unmanly the consultants of good conduct?
And then, scratching his head and moving around excessively,
As if he wished to take over the assembly with sheer words
And make the land of Greece tremble and muzzle everyone,
- But they know of him and of his motherland -
[130] Of his status and roots he boasts
And puckers his eyebrows, just like Critias,
One of the Thirty Tyrants, himself no son of a dagger-crafter,
Atrocious and brutal, deceptive and seductive,
An orator not of their kin, a foreigner, a Scythian,
Who, despite being a sword maker’s son from a Scythian mother,
Moans and shouts and disturbs all Greece.

Aeschines accuses Timarchus of being active in the Fellowships
And of being a lewd man; and he speaks of Demosthenes’
Elegant garments and soft tunics
[140] As being clear signs of his hollow nature
And of none of his body parts being unavailable to sale,
Not even that from which speech gushes forth, so deceitful is his tongue.
That cunning stutterer Demosthenes, of whom I speak, sly and tricky and shrewd.
And in some other place is written that he bursts into tears,
Even when those around him laugh.
That prick inflicts pain to the whole city.
And apart from that he committed adultery with Cnesion’s wife,
Need one say more on this?
And then, they say in some other work, Demosthenes rose
[150] And spoke rubbing his head, such was his habit.
Which writer could ever mention all that is said regarding Demosthenes?

Demosthenes calls himself a man of riches,
Having acquired a fortune of sixty two thousand four hundred drachmas.
But elsewhere they say otherwise: if I were rich,
There’ d be no need of making public praises,
Or if I had harvesters and child nurses and private workers.
And it is also said that his very own father
Let his mother as a concubine to Therippides in his will.
[160] “They accused my father of being a foreigner among other things”, he said.
When his mother died, he pleaded to the Athenians,
To bury her in their ancestral graves.
Now, having covered most facts, I have to tell of how he died.
There was someone named Harpalus, a commander under Alexander,
Who was a military general in Phoenice and a financial steward,
Who, after having embezzled money, took off to Athens,
And gives a great quantity of money to his friend, Demosthenes.
When Alexander wrote of these to the Athenians,
And asked for both Harpalus and Demosthenes to be turned in,
[170] Demosthenes instantly took off for Calabria
An island lying in the proximity of the Troezenian land
And found shelter in Poseidon’s temple.
When Alexander died, Antipater and Cassandrus became leaders of the Macedonians,
So Demosthenes and the rest of the orators came to be punished.
As Argias from Boures was sent to kill orators everywhere in Greece,
The Athenians asked only for Demades to be spared
And the rest had their tongues cut off,
[180] Being, thus, put to trial according to the Athenian vote and law.
When Demosthenes was in Calabria,
Argias reached this island
And tried to draw Demosthenes out of that temple
But he, having drunk the poison from his bullet ring,
Surrendered to death.

6.3. CONCERNING PYTHO OF BYZANTIUM, WHOM I THINK DEMOSTHENES SCORNS EVEN IN THE AFTERLIFE (STORY 38)

Pytho of Byzantium was a secretary and orator and advisor to Philip the Great,
Whom Demosthenes fears, when he sees him even in Hades
As Aeschines tells, Demosthenes said
[190] That he would put a full leash on Philip’s mouth,
So he took off for the court of Philip and came across Pytho
And astonished he was by the oratory skills of that Byzantine man;
Thrice he lost his voice, thrice did he regain it
And thrice did he forget what he had set off to say.
And so, he merely muttered and out came an obscure and weak introductory speech.

But Aeschines listened to Demosthenes, for he was true to the cause,
It was clear that this Pytho was fluent in his speech,
And he did not boast of victory.
[200] So, now you’ve learned who this Pytho of Byzantium was.

6.4 CONCERNING CLUSINUS, THE SECRETARY OF PORSENNA, KING OF THE TYRRHENIANS, WHOM MOCIUS THE ROMAN KILLED, JUST LIKE HE KILLED PORSENNA (STORY 39)

Lartas Porsenna or Clara Porsenna marched against Rome, great was his army.
Some Roman, Mocius, who was a brave soldier,
Dressed like a Tyrrhenian, bearing their weapons and garments,
And sets off as a spy against the Tyrrhenians, in order to kill Porsenna.
As the secretary was during that time sitting next to the king,
A secretary going by the name of Clusinus in the Tyrrhenian tongue,
Maucius killed him, not knowing which one of them was the king.
[210] Porsenna seized him and interrogated him:
“Why did you do this, what’s your motive?”
“I am no Tyrrhenian”, he replied, “I am a Roman,
And three hundred others just like me are seeking to kill you”,
-This was a lie-. And when they put his right hand in the fire,
He kept staring at Porsenna, as if this was happening to someone else.
And Porsenna said to him: “Why do you stare at me with that empty look?”
And Mocius replied: “Because I erred
And killed another man whom I thought to be you.”
[220] And when Porsenna said, “You will become my ally”,
Mocius replied: “Of course, if you are a Roman by birth.”
Porsenna admired the virtue of that man,
Made truce with the Romans and put, thus, a stop to the war.

6.5 CONCERNING DIONYSIUS, WHO WAS TYRANT IN SICILY AND THEN A SECRETARY OF STATE IN CORINTH AND WHO REGAINED HIS CROWN (STORY 40)

(This story is told in the famous first epistle. Some soldiers in the palace found many little books of mine In a cell of one of my fellow men, and when he died, they sold them; one for four copper coins, another For six and so on. While I was looking for them, I learned the following regarding the king’s court):

This Dionysius, the first one with that name,
Was a private scribe, son of Thermocrates.
But he came to be in debt that he managed to pay off
And then turned with murderous treachery against his superiors
And, doubling the soldiers’ salary, he took the throne for himself.
He did plenty of harm.
But when his life was threatened, he fled to Corinth,
[240] Where he began teaching in the middle of the street
And spent his time in brothels, quarrelling with the most vulgar of men,
Always arguing and uttering uncountable blasphemies,
So that he seemed a mad man to the ones who saw him.
Then, not relying on the numbers of men,
He found an ideal time and, allying himself with his network of friend,
Regained the kingship.

6.6 CONCERNING PERSEUS, SON OF THE MACEDONIAN KING, WHO HAS CAPTURED AND BECAME A PERSONAL ADVISOR TO A MAN OF LATIUM WHO WAS NOT A KING (STORY 41)

Perseus, a lover of money, king of the Macedonians,
Fell into demise with his allies, because of matters concerning money.
As he was carried off a slave to Rome,
[250] He was thrown in a dark cage to die, as if he were a pig.
His son, whose name, I think, was Alexander,
Becomes secretary for some Latin man.

6.7 CONCERNING SOMNA AND ELOACEIM, SCRIBES OF EZEKIEL, KING OF JERUSALEM (STORY 42)

Ezekiel was the king of Jerusalem.
He had two scribes, Somna and Eloaceim.
He revolted and did not pay the tribute due
To the Assyrian king, the one they had agreed on,
Which comprised of three hundred golden talents
And three hundred silver ones.
The Assyrian king, who went by the name of Senachereim,
[260] On the fourteenth year of Ezekiel’s reign
Went and laid siege on the cities of Judea.
And to Jerusalem, in a demonstration of high power,
He sends Tharthan and Rafi and Rapsaces as delegates
To take the tribute that had been withheld.
For that reason Eloaceim, the treasure warden,
And Somna and Ioas were with him,
Opened his mouth with blasphemy to the sky
And named Egypt, a withered and broken staff, as one of their allies.
[270] From them murdered the messenger thousands during the night
A hundred and five and eighty more
As this kingly book of mine teaches.

6.8 CONCERNING DIOPHANTES, SECRETARY OF HEROD THE KING (STORY 43)

Diophantes was a secretary to Herod
And he could imitate any handwriting
Just like Titus, the once king of the Romans.
He lost his life caught forging a letter,
While Titus died after eating a sea rabbit.

6.9 CONCERNING THE SECRETARIES OF QUEEN CLEOPATRA (STORY 44)

The beautiful and wise Cleopatra,
[280] Superior to all others,
Had Charmiune and Taera to take care of her hair and nails. What proves that?
See how Tzetzes now, who is an Ismailite,
Will tell you of these in their language.
In the Hebrew and Syrian language
Charmi means vine and Uno means dove
According to the Ismailites, the descendants of Agar.
And Taera, methinks, means dove.
[290] These women were responsible for the queen’s hair and nails.
She had tens of thousands of others that served her
As engineers and doctors and secretaries, orators and advisors
And Dexiphanes himself, an engineer from Cnidus,
Adept at making the most efficient of concoctions.
He managed to turn four stadiums of sea into land,
And raised a light house in the city of Alexandria itself,
A beacon for salvation to those travelling by night.
She acquired Dexiphanes as an engineer, the Ephesian doctors
[300] Sorate and Rufus to gladden and embellish her face,
And take care of her matters of female nature and her medical needs.

6.10 CONCERNING PHILOSTRATUS THE ORATOR, WHO SERVED QUEEN JULIA AS A SECRETARY (STORY 45)

Flavius Philostratus, who I think was an orator from Tyros,
(The one from Attica was someone else). This Tyrian was,
As he himself writes in his books,
One of the orators and secretaries in the service of Julia, the powerful queen,
Who, they say, was wife to no king.

6.11 CONCERNING SOME OTHER ANONYMOUS STATESMAN (STORY 46)

[310] One Solonius, a secretary, took Cato the first –not the second- to trial
Because he did not hand him his son to learn oratory
So that he didn’t have to owe him money.
So, he guided the child through acts and words
And when the mother of Cato’s child died,
Cato married Solonius’ daughter and said to him:
“Have you bound yourself to the child?”
He answered: “I shall not, not without your permission.
O Cato, I have found you to be a flawless son in law.
If you do not hate me for my old age, take my daughter in marriage”.
[320] And his son said to Cato, his father:
“Have I somehow annoyed you and you went off to marry again?”
“Of course not”, said Cato, “and I will not have other children”.
To him, as we have said, the first Cato, was Solonius' secretary
And Sarpedo to the second. Those were both grammarians and philosophers.
I shall tell you of Brutus and his grammarian
And of Julian and Himerius
And of Themistius himself, the son of Theobosius
[330] And all the rest of them, and I shall not gabble about these things.

6.12 CONCERNING LEMPHO, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED CORYZA, AND THE FACT THAT FISH HAVE NO VOICE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SCARUS AND CASTORIS (STORY 47)

Coryza and snot and mucus and lemphic liquid are all the same thing to me.
The lembus happens to be a kind of ship –and there are many kinds:
Siege ships, military ships, horse carriers, ships with three rows,
Rowboats and long ships and transport ships and tow ships
And many others, needless to say, it would be burdensome.
All fish are voiceless, except for the scarus and castorides.
Scarus sends of a rambling voice equal to speech
[340] And ruminates, just like sheep.
And castorides wails. If someone listens to it,
He departs early from this tormenting life.

6.13 CONCERNING BATTUS, THE KING OF CYRENE AND SILPHIUM (STORY 48)

Battus was from the island of Thera and then he built Cyrene.
Aristotle himself says that he was called Battus because of his distorted voice.
Wanting to improve his voice he came to the oracle,
With the desire to correct his mumbling.
The god turned to him and said:
“Battus, you came to inquire about your voice,
[350] But Phoebus the god sends you off to Libya, abundant in sheep, to found a city.”

Thus, he sets off from Thera right away,
He comes to Libya and builds the city of Cyrene.
After that he became a great benefactor to the Cyreneans;
They gave him the plant silphium as a gift.
Synesius tells me that this silphium is a kind of cabbage.
And everyone says that this plant is of great value
And one that is hard to find
And that its stem is to be found in the Pythian oracle
Where it is taken care of and flourishes and shoots sprouts.
[360] If it is cultivated, it leaves the country of its origin.
And the silphium is of two kinds:
One that the mules eat and the other that is highly praised,
The one the Cyreneans offered to Battus for his benefaction.
And Battus, as a reward to this, cut new coins
And on them he depicted the Cyreneans bearing carrying this plant.

6.14 CONCERNING ANDOCIDES, WHOM LYSIAS MENTIONS AS HAVING SEWED HIS FATHER (STORY 49)

Leogoras was Andocides’, the orator’s, father.
He was betrayed by his own son but won the trial
And begged the judges to let him marry a woman,
[370] So that he may have children that are rightfully his.
Because Andocides had been adopted by Leogoras,
For he had paid for him, since he was childless.
And his own niece he sold to the king of the Cyprians in exchange for wheat;
That child of Aristides; and she was still a young girl.

6.15 CONCERNING DEMOSTHENES, WHO TOOK HIS NEPHEW, DEMOMELES, TO TRIAL, AS AESCHINES TELLS US (STORY 50)

Demosthenes took his nephew to trial.
His nephew was Demomeles, thus tells Aeschines.
Cousins are they by habit called the sons of brothers
And Adelphides to a brother his own brother’s children
[380] The ones that are called nephews in everyday speech.
The sons of cousins you may call mere cousins, just like the others.
They are, however, cousins of second grade
And they call second nephews the children of such cousins,
The sons of daughters and the sons of sons
They call second sons.
But look at me trying to cram all these information in one place.
If I, Tzetzes, go about talking incessantly when I write my History,
[390] Many stories from those that have been added to the whole board of stories would be omitted. And this book would not suffice in width for them all.
I am afraid it might be too narrow.
Up to this point a thorough counting I have done
And can only write up to seventy three stories;
Now I am writing the fiftieth. Therefore, I have to keep them short,
So that I may include every story in the present book.
[400] If one looks upon the story as being too synoptic,
He will immediately judge me as an amateur writer of history.
“But the Dardanian Trojans will not be convinced
Nor will the wives of the brave shield carrying Trojans,
Whose robust spouses he put to the ground”.
The poets and authors and orators and writers of legal speeches,
With the books of whom in my hand I wrote down my thoughts,
Which are now filling up this work of mine.

6.16 CONCERNING PARMENION AND NICANOR (STORY 51)

[410] Parmenion was badmouthing Nicanor to Philip,
Saying: “He is scornful to you, O king!”
As Philip was investigating the cause of this defamation,
He found that it was the lack of money and, so, he sent him money.
And then he asked for money again, as someone told Philip.
So Philip turned and told him:
“We are the lords of those that are responsible
For uttering defamatory words or praises against us.”
Tyrtameus Theophrastus, I think, said
That even though Plato was once called Aristocles,
[420] He was given the name Plato, which means wide, by Socrates, due to his size.
Likewise, Tyrtamus, because of his magnificent speeches
Was later called Theophrastus, which means “having divine speech”
By Aristotle, his wise master.

6.17 CONCERNING THE CHILDREN OF HEROD, AS MENTIONED BY JOSEPHUS (STORY 52)

Herod the crown-bearer had three children
And he himself was son of Antipater and Cypris
Or maybe an Arab by some Judean woman called Doris.
That Antipater was a cunning man.
Mariam, the daughter of Alexander, son of Aristobulus,
Happened king Herod to have as a wife,
[430] And she gave him a son, Alexander, his grandfather’s name.

This Antipater, son of Doris,
Badmouthed Mariam’s son to Herod
And Alexander would have almost died,
Were it not for his father in law, Glaphyra’s father,
Whose name was Archelaus, king of the Cappadocians,
Who, taking mercy on his son in law and his daughter
And riding on one horse after another, travelling, thus, fast,
Reached Herod and asked:
[440] Is this petty man still alive? Does he still see the light of the sun?
O by the king’s reason, fatherly care and deterrence of evil
I choose to separate him from my daughter,
Because I do not want this parricide to be my son in law.

So he acted with a cunning mind he said
And not succumbing to his emotions of anger
He manipulated as much as his powers permitted him. For he was an adept orator.
Regarding that matter which angered him, Herod asked
That the man be separated from his daughter.

Herod’s son and son in law of that Archelaus
[450] Found then unexpected salvation
And Archelaus himself had even more unexpectedly good fortune,
For he saved his son in law from death and acquired gifts as well.
Seventy golden talents and a throne made with precious stones and other such things,
He hands to Archelaus and all around him upon their arrival.
And the whole fellowship of Herod gave them gifts as well,
Because Archelaus managed to keep his son-in-law.
Glad as he was, he turned to Herod and said:
“Take care, o King, for this accusations might be false,
They might be schemes against this child”.
[460] And then Diophantus was put to death,
Because he had made a forgery, so as to seem that it was Alexander who had written the letter.

Apart from his sons Herod had a daughter,
Whom he had wedded to his brother, Pheroras,
And he had given three hundred talents for her dowry.
But he discarded these and fell in love with a slave woman.
Do not go about having such relationships with slaves!
Take these four as a perfect example of mingling with slaves:
Aristotle, Plato, Menelaus and Pheroras,
The last two were brothers of kings and the former two philosophers.

6.18 CONCERNING XERMODIGESTUS, WHOM DIODORUS MENTIONS (STORY 53)

[470] This Xermodigestus, as Diodorus narrates,
I think, was a most faithful friend to Audoleon, king of the Paeonians.
He betrayed the location of a treasure to Lysimachus or some other Thracian king.
“But it is tormenting to me every god to describe”.
But you know of what matters I speak.
To the lord of Thrace he disclosed the location of the treasures,
The ones lying under the Sargentian river,
The ones he himself had hidden along with the captives,
Changing the course of the river and then burying them deep down.
[480] Then he rearranged the river flow and slew the captives.

6.19 CONCERNING CANDAULUS’ WIFE, WHO BETRAYED HER HUSBAND (STORY 54)

Nyssia was Myrtillus’, Candaulus’ son’s, wife.
The name Candaulus means “dog strainer” in the Lydian tongue.
When Candaulus showed her naked to Gyges,
He persuaded him to kill her husband.

6.20 CONCERNING LAETUS AND ECLECTUS, WHOM HERODIAN MENTIONS IN HIS CHRONICLES (STORY 55)

Laetus was first general in Commodus’ army
And Eclectus was a military associate to him
Who, also happened to commit adultery with Laetus’ concubine, Marcia.
As the first day of the year was upon them,
(Which happens to be a great celebration,
Where the Romans exchange gifts)
Commodus decided to organize a parade
[490] But one that started in front of the arena and not the palace.
But it was Marcia that hindered him
Together with Eclectus and Laetus. He (Herodian) says that they were sentenced to death
Marcia, the concubine, and they as well.
Under his bed he hid the death sentence.
But a young boy that loved Commodus,
Philocommodus was his name, came across the map while playing.
Maria was holding him, kissing him, when she saw the map
And, knowing that Commodus was too powerful, she plots a scheme against him.
[500] She makes a poison by herself and handles it to him to drink
And while Commodus was vomiting, Narcissus strangles him-
He was a strong young lad and so he killed Commodus-
Who had held the throne for thirteen years.

6.21 CONCERNING PHAEDRA AND HIPPOLYTUS, WHOM EURIPIDES AND OTHERS MENTION (STORY 56)

The story of Phaedra and Hippolytus is one known to all.
How Phaedra loved him deeply, although he was her son
But he rejected her, so she accused him falsely
To Theseus, his father, and, thus, he died a shameful death.

6.22 CONCERNING HELENUS, WHO BETRAYED TROY THROUGH HIS DIVINATIONS (STORY 57)

Helenus, son of Priam, was an oracle.
He, knowing that Troy would be conquered,
[510] Came to the Greeks alone and disclosed his prophecy to them.
As Orpheus first and Euripides after him said,
It was by jealousy towards his own relative Deiphobus
That Helenus came to commit this treachery.
And Sophocles tells of how Odysseus chased him away,
Saying that he didn’t really want the Greeks to capture Troy.

6.23 CONCERNING WHAT THE CHALCIDEAN POET SAYS ABOUT ANTENOR (STORY 58)

Lycophron says that it was Antenor who betrayed Troy:
“Twice did his hands feel the belly of the horse”.

6.24 CONCERNING WHAT THE AUTHOR FROM CHAIRONEIA TELLS ABOUT VINDICIUS (STORY 59)

In the Parallel Lives Plutarch tells
Of Titus and Valerius and Collatinus’ sons,
[520] How they sacrificed a man in a muddy drench
And swore an oath to eat his guts,
So that they could reign over the city of Rome.
But a slave, Vindicius, who had hidden himself somewhere nearby,
Reveals this scheme to Collatinus and Brutus.
Brutus confirmed the fact and slew his sons with an axe,
And in a similar manner had Collatinus judged his own sons.

6.25 CONCERNING WHAT COCCEIANUS WRITES ABOUT CORIOLANUS (STORY 60)

Cassius Dio and thousands of others
Of those that wrote down the history of the Romans
Tell the story of Marcus Coriolanus.
[530] This Marcus, who was also formerly called Gnaeus,
Was later named Coriolanus due to the facts that follow:
Rome laid siege against the city of Coriolanum
And everyone found shelter in it,
It was only him that turned against it and burned it,
When he found an opening in its defences.
And when the bright flames rose up high,
He rode his horse and threw himself against the barbarian enemies,
The ones that had in the past made the Romans fall back and flee.
Well, when they turned around and saw the fire that burned the city,
[540] They thought they were under attack and fled to all directions.
And he saved the Romans and took over the city,
Which, as we’ve said before, had the name of Coriolanum.
So he also took that honorary name of Coriolanus, apart from the ones he already had, Marcus and Gnaeus.
What jealousy holds in stock for people of good demeanour,
That after some time bring only harm to a man’s reasoning!
For he was taken over by his over-righteous soul
And left his homeland, mother, wife
And comes to the citizens of Coriolanum, who accept him as one of their own.
[550] They took battle positions against the Romans
And were it not for the fact that, after the war broke out,
His mother and wife ran hitherto and tore apart their garments
And stood there naked-
Veturnia and Velumnia were their names-
And so caused the battle against the Romans to seize,
Rome would not have learned to honour its benefactors.
But being held back by the pleas of his mother and wife
He put a stop to the war against the Romans.
So he, leaving the city of Coriolanum and the Romans alone,
[560] Fled to another land, his heart full of sorrow.

6.26 CONCERNING WHAT THE AUTHOR FROM ANTIOCH WRITES ABOUT AGAVE, WHO BETRAYED HER OWN SON AND CAUSED HIS DEATH (STORY 61)

Cadmus had five children from Harmony,
Polydorus was one of them and four of them were daughters:
Ino, Semele, Agave and Autonoe among them.
Labdacus, son of Polydorus from Nucneis,
Learchus Melicertes, son of Io and Athamas
And Pentheus was the son of Echio and Agave.
Autonoe and Aristaeus had a son
The one that found how to cultivate crops, Actaeon his name was.
He, hunting on Citheron, was eaten by dogs.
[570] From Zeus and Semele Dionysus was born,
Who, running off to Thebes accompanied by flutes and groups of dancers,
Made acts of wonder, but Pentheus captured him.
He cut his shackles and on the mountain stayed in company of the Bacchants,
To whom also belonged the mother of Pentheus.
So, Pentheus, wanting to spy on them,
Went to Citheron and climbed a pine-tree.
But they spotted him and thought he was a bull
And so they tore him apart, limb by limb, his mother first.
Then, realizing what she did, she grieves deeply.

[580] So does Euripides describe the story of the Bacchants
And John the Chronicler seeks to interpret them in realistic terms.
Pentheus and Labdacus, but more so Pentheus,
Seeing that the rest of Cadmus’ grandsons had died,
Actaeon by his very dogs,
Learchus and Melicertes by their parents,
Aspired to seize the sceptre and the throne.
But when he heard of Dionysus, Cadmus’ bastard
How he might oppose his aspirations, he takes him captive.
He came to free him, then, listening to his mother’s pleas
And Dionysus slew him.
[590] Thus did they make the myth that t’ was his mother that killed him.
But I, as I told above, see this as a betrayal.

6.27 “YOU THINK I AM MARGITES?” (STORY 62)

In my second board of stories, in the fourth book of History
You'll find the story of Margites with an epigram
Regarding Melitides and other imbeciles.
This Margites was an old man of most tender nature,
Inquired as to whether it was his mother or his father that bore him in the womb.
Homer dedicated a book to this Margites.

6.28 CONCERNING THE STONE NIOBE WHO SHED TEARS IN SIPYLUM (STORY 63)

[600] Niobe turned into stone on the Lydian mountain of Sipylum
On the day her children died
And grieved, as the myths tell us.
This story you should find,
If you go a hundred and forty one stories back;
It is plain and lacking in detail, for the reasons I mentioned.

6.29 CONCERNING THE COLUMN OF MEMNON IN THE THEBES OF EGYPT (STORY 64)

Memnon was the son of Tithonus, brother to Priam,
Who, coming from Ethiopia, allied himself to Troy
And died in battle by Achilles’ hand.
He was taken back to his fatherland and there was buried.
[610] In his honour was a column raised, made of reddish stone,
That sent forth a joyful melody during the day,
As if it rejoiced by the presence of his mother.
And by night it produced a mournful sound.

6.30 CONCERNING THE PROPHECIES REGARDING THE IRON STONE (STORY 65)

According to Orpheus, if someone were to wash the iron stone in the eternal fountains and then ask questions to it,
He would receive an answer regarding all things
In the sublime voice of a child.
Then it turn would cold, as if it was dead.
[620] Through such divinations, they say, did Helenus predict the fall of Troy.

6.31 CONCERNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MAGNESIAN STONE, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED HERACLEAN, AND THE IRON STONE (STORY 66)

The magnesian stone attracts iron
And is similar to it in shape and matter and other traits.
We’ve told before of how it draws the power of the iron;
Now we shall narrate other things.
Someone, hiding this stone under a woman’s bedsheets,
May ask her and she would tell you of her every sin
Or roll down fast from the bed and fall to your feet.
But if she is sinless, if she is chaste,
[630] She will reach out to your neck and hang her arms around you.
I also know for sure that to him who asks it unveils everything
Men and women do when lying together.
Two brothers possessed that stone
And managed to turn an enmity into friendship.
And the one who has the stone can draw attention through his words
And the stone itself fulfils the wishes of its holders.

6.32 CONCERNING LIQUID SILVER (STORY 67)

They say that everyone prefers mercury to gold.
[640] The ones wanting to steal mercury from the river banks
Make ditches far away from the river
And then they send forth a rider dressed with a golden fleece
And fall back as fast as possible.
The mercury then chases him and falls into the ditches
And they come, bearing no gold on them, to pick it up.

6.33 CONCERNING OTHER STONES I WILL NOT SAY MUCH (STORY 68)

Some precious stone draws all other stones to it
Even gold or some stone from the deeps,
Just as the magnesian stone can attract iron,
[650] So does the one called berenicean
And it can draw grain seeds to it,
Being itself a kind of tree spore.
I shall not keep on talking about amber, which looks like copper.
The rest of such properties regarding stones and metals I leave untold.

6.34 CONCERNING THE RIGIDITY OF SOPHOCLES, SOPHILUS' SON (STORY 69)

Sophocles the tragedian, who was Sophilus’ son,
In his play Ajax, apart from the whip-bearer,
He brings Ajax, son of Telamon,
To Eurysaces, his son from Tecmessa,
Saying: “Lack of clear thought is no dangerous evil.”

6.35 CONCERNING THE PROVERB “WHATEVER HAS CAUSED A WOUND ONLY THAT CAN CURE IT” (STORY 70)

[660] When the Greeks set off with their ships to fight the Trojans,
The anchored in Mysia near Caecus
And they were devastated, cause Telephus brought great battle upon them.
This Telephus was Heracles’ and Dawn’s son.
When Achilles wounded him on the thigh,
Telephus then came to him and was healed.

6.36 CONCERNING THE VOICE THAT MARCUS CEDICIUS HEARD FROM THE SKIES (STORY 71)

Somewhere in the Parallel Lives, the author from Charoneia mentions
That Camillus was a consul of the Romans
And that he was exiled to the land of the Ardeats.
Someone with the name of Marcus Cedicius, coming from the fields,
[670] Heard a voice from the sky that said:
“O you, Marcus Cedicius, tell the Roman people
That because of your sins, you will suffer greatly from the Gauls”.
After a short time, this prophecy was realized;
For Brettus, the Gaulish king, managed to conquer Rome.

6.37 CONCERNING THE CITY OF MEDIA (STORY 72)

Medea, daughter of Aeetes, has an eta and the diphthong in her name;
Media, land of the Medeans, an eta and an iota,
And takes its name after Medus, son of Medeia.
The city of Mideia has an iota and the diphthong;
Midas, lover of gold, built it.
[680] The cities have their diphthong, the lands an iota.
So, Media is the land but Medeia the city.
In a similar manner, Italy is called the land of the Calabrians
And of the Longibarbs as well.
But Attaleia happens to be a city in Pamphylia.

So Media is the land but Mideia the city,
The one built by this lover of gold, as they tell,
Coming to be king through great toil,
Just like Saul and David and Tullius and Servius,
Like Leo and Basilius, the great Macedonian king, and others.
[690] This Midas was a chariot driver
And he took the cows and plough and went out to plow the field.
But the Phrygians seized him and made him king.
For they had lost their king and had made a compromise
To make the first man they stumbled upon king.
And he was the first one they came by and the state prospered greatly
Under him, the founder of the city of Medeia.
The one you must write with iota and a diphthong.
Meidias is a proper name, of the man that hit Demosthenes,
Written with a diphthong. and then iota, meaning the one that smiles or laughs.

6.38 CONCERNING THE TERMS DIAULUS, STADION AND SIMILAR THINGS (STORY 73)

[700] Before, they named stadion the track to be run carrying weapons,
And the course was flat, no ups and down whatsoever. This is what’s known as stadion.
But diaulus is a double track, with one single bend.
Dolichus is a seven-road track with three turns
And no weapons are to be carried.
Tetrorus was a course with twelve rounds.

6.39 CONCERNING THE LOTUS (STORY 74)

There is the wild herb they call lotus,
But also a tree, as Diodorus tells us,
[710] In Gadeira and Egypt, one that bears seeds like beans,
From which they make bread.
Herodotus also mentions this lotus of which I speak.
Some people say that lotus is some reed-like plant on the Nile.

6.40 CONCERNING THE SIRENS (STORY 75)

The Sirens, who lured everyone with their songs, were three in number,
Leucosia, Ligeia and Parthenope.
Others say they were Aglaopheme and Aglaonoe
And the third one was Thelxiepeia.
They were the daughters of the river Achelous and Terpsichore, the Muse.
You’ll find more about the latter in the stories mentioned above,
Namely in the fourteenth story.

6.41 CONCERNING POLYDAMNEIA’S REMEDIES (STORY 76)

[720] Homer says that Polydamneia the Egyptian
Was wife of Thonus, king of Egypt.
These two welcomed Menelaus and Helen in Egypt,
When they were carried there by violent winds,
And they gave them noteworthy gifts-
Thon to Menelaus and queen Polydamneia to Helen.
She gave her a drug that drives sad memories away,
One to pour and drink in wine and immediately become oblivious of grieves
And shed no tear, were he to attend the executions
[730] Of his father or brother or even his dear son.
I have already told of Helen’s seductive speech,
Which, when accompanied by wine,
Makes one forget his sorrows, like in the Odyssey.
So, Egypt acquired those remedies
Of past pains, remedies of unbearable sorrows.
And so I hear of the Ethiops,
Who do not suffer from wounds or cuts or burns or other mishaps
And who can withstand every pain with ease,
As if these were happening to someone else, with the help, methinks, of some such remedy.

6.42 CONCERNING ODYSSEUS, WHO THOUGHT OF SMOKE EMANATING FROM HIS HOMELAND AS SUPERIOR TO THE GREATEST OF BLESSINGS, IMMORTALITY (STORY 77)

Homer tells of Odysseus in the Odyssey,
[740] Of how Calypso offered him the gift of immortality,
Were he to stay and live with her together,
But he refused and chose the mortal path,
As long as he could only see the smoke of Ithaca.

6.43 CONCERNING HOW TIMIDITY LEADS TO UNHAPPINESS, BUT COURAGE TO HAPPINESS (STORY 78)

Hesiod, deterring his brother from procrastination,
Said to Perses: “Do not be timid, brother,
So that you do not become poor and unhappy.
It is bravery and courage that lead to happiness and riches”.

6.44 CONCERNING HOW TO TRAIN YOURSELF THROUGH PREPARATION (STORY 79)

Know that the lawyer’s art is called rhetoric,
The one Hermogenes’ handbook names sophistry.
[750] This handbook of new knowledge on rhetoric
Is a five-fold book, divided in five chapters:
One on preparation, another on discourse, one on finding a topic,
One on ideas and the last one on rhetoric expertise.

In the first he teaches how to write
The stages of preparation, fourteen in number.
In the discourse part he teaches all discourse styles
And in how many and which parts is each of them divided.
In the third chapter he teaches how to find ideas
Regarding the introduction, presentation, main part and conclusion,
[760] How to counter the opponent’s arguments and how to present one’s own
As well as in how many and which ways this should be done.
Presenting and countering arguments, what one may call oratorical battles,
This is what he teaches.
In the chapter regarding the topic he presents the seven categories:
Precision and length, beauty and speed,
Moral and sincerity and eloquence.
Precision, length and moral he names general topics, for they consist of others,
[770] The rest are called specific.
But the wise Hermogenes, puts sincerity and moral together,
And thus he makes the seven six.
And each one of the specific ideas
Consists of eight integral parts, now you shall learn what they are:
Concept and method, words and patterns,
Punctuation, composition, pausing and rhythm.
Know, thus, that an idea is the quality of a speech
That mostly regards people, necessary for matters of discussion.
[780] And there are also other types, most similar to legal speeches,
Public advice is one of them, the other laudatory speeches.
In some no conclusion is reached and others are ambiguous,
And few go beyond the truth. So, you have learned
What powers these ideas have, the purpose of their teaching.
Regarding the methods of oratory mastery
They teach matters noteworthy, matters unworthy or ambiguous,
Matters that reach beyond what’s true
And how each one of them ought be taught.
So he, after having peed in the bath,
[790] Wishing to teach those things to the rest of the orators
And stealing everyone from which he had once benefited;
Regarding Style it was Phobammom and Minucion who helped him
And in topic finding Dionysius, among not few others,
And although he made promises everywhere he went
To teach these matters,
Those promises he then broke.
So some prosperous people reached an agreement with him
And ended up giving him thirty five talents
Ploughs and a windmill and a big oven.
[800] So he came upon such things by scheming and plotting
And it was by help of others as well not different from him.
So Tzetzes shall draw you the picture of these matters
With brevity, as he has not much paper available.
So learn now the method of oratorical expertise
And learn how in every technical or other part of oratory
You may insert an introduction and how it should look like
And how long should it be
And where should one prepare the crowd for matters to follow
And where should he present them
[810] Where should he put forth his arguments and where not
And where should one place his conclusion and where not
So should he approach every part in matters of composition and length
What matters should he put forward in each and every one of them
And all else comprises the eight parts,
Concept and method, words and patterns,
Punctuation, composition, pausing and rhythm
And writing as skilfully as possible,
Even when it comes to petty matters
Or matters that are ambiguous or seem unreal.
Such is the power of technical knowledge.
[820] So may Hermogenes and his wise sources with him
Write or speak about these things, which come naturally to them.

6.45 CONCERNING NOAH’S ARK (STORY 80)

The facts regarding Noah and his ark are facts well known,
How he placed every clean and unclean animal in the ark,
To be the seed of all future species.

6.46 CONCERNING THE FLIGHT OF THE CROW AND THE DOVE FROM THE ARK (STORY 81)

When the levels of that cataclysmic water came down
He first let a crow from the ark into the air,
Wanting to know whether the disaster had not stopped,
Should it return.
But the crow flew away and did not return,
[830] It took on feeding on the corpses of those that had perished.
So, Noah then let a dove fly away from the ark
And the dove grabbed a branch from an olive tree and came back.
This was a clear sign that the levels of the water had dropped.

6.47 CONCERNING PROMETHEUS (STORY 82)

Hesiod says in his Works and Days
That Zeus once wanted to send an evil upon men
And that Prometheus told his brother, Epimetheus,
That he should not accept anything sent from Zeus.
So Epimetheus came to realize how terrible it is
Not to listen to good counsels, after disregarding this advice.
[840] So these things that I had formerly found in Hesiod I now present as allegories,
How Prometheus is the foreseeing mind
And how Epimetheus is the one that learns from the consequences of bad decisions.

6.48 CONCERNING PHILOPOEMEN, SON OF CRAUGIS (STORY 84)¹

This story is to be found in the small epistle.
Philopoemen was Craugis’ son, king of Greece
And he had a hideous appearance.
Upon receiving an invitation from someone also belonging to the nobility,
He went ahead of the time scheduled
[850] But the one that had invited him was not there.
His wife thought him to be a beggar because of his appearance
And like to a servant ordered him to cut wood.
He, being very obedient as a man, carried out the order.
When the nobleman came and saw the whole thing
He shouted: “What is going on? This is Philopoemen!
What else could this be than the price I pay for my ugly form?”
So now you also have this story in your arsenal.

6.49 CONCERNING THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD PAROINIA (STORY 85)

Learn what a jeering is and what is paroinia
And the games of latage and cottavus and eōlocrasia.
[860] Jeering (propēlakismos), according to some ignorant fools, has that name
Because the men joke around by covering themselves in clay (pēlos).
But Tzetzes says that they all take their name from wine.
For wine is also called pēlos and kapēlos is derived from this word.

And Tryphiodorus also agrees with Tzetzes, when he says:
“The earth that odours with well poured wine (pēlos)”.
They say that the act of jeering took its name from harvesting the phlos,
Which the comedian smeared on their faces
And scorned everyone in Athens.
[870] So jeering is the sheer act of hybris and comedy
While paroinia is hybris and chattering.
How latage and cottavus and eolocrasia came to take their names
Listen now carefully and learn:

One Tragillus Suetinus, in his work regarding the games of the Greeks,
Tells of many games as well as dinner habits.
One of the symposium habits is eolocrasia
Another is cottavus and so is latage.
Young people hanging around in specific places
Around noon, put down the cups and vessels
[880] And, in demonstration of courage, drank the house wine.
The one not managing to drink the whole thing
Would pour it on himself, while the others would laugh.
This is eolocrasia. Now you shall learn what cottavus is.
In the symposium there were a scale and small bowls.
Those bowls had small man-like statues in the middle
Which were then called manes,
So the attenders of the symposium would fill their mouths with wine
Which is the meaning of lataks and latage, liquid and pouring
And they threw the liquid into each basin,
[890] Which means that they spew it out and emptied their mouths.
This act and the whole thing is called cottavus.
If the rod followed the course of the spat wine
And landed on the head of the statue,
The one who carried out the feat deemed as most adept to the rest of the attenders.
If he did not succeed, he would receive tons of laughter,
As if he was a sick and weak man.
So, the hybris and scorn that derives from such games
Is called propēlakismos and paroinia
Latagē, cottavus and eōlokrasia.

6.49 CONCERNING A VERSE FROM PINDAR (STORY 86)

[900] Pindar, they say, wanted to prove that the story regarding Pelops eating his child was in fact a lie.
I do not think of the gods as gluttons
But some liars make up and spread thousands of lies.
But those things times proves to be utterly true and not falsifiable.
“Let the days to follow be the direst proof”,
Is what Pindar said. It is not what I said, though.
But I pointed out that, should you not do the right thing,
The effects of our infliction upon you will become apparent with time.

6.50 CONCERNING METAMELEIA, EPIMETHEUS’ DAUGHTER (STORY 87)

[910] The mind that foresees things is that of Prometheus;
It can look ahead before the event occurs.
But the one looking back at what has already happened,
That one is Epimetheus, whose daughter we now mention,
Metameleia, her name meaning regret of what has occurred.
Those that do not plan ahead, will only feel sorrow,
When calamity strikes.

6.51 CONCERNING HELICON (STORY 88)

Helicon and Cithaeron are mountains in Boeotia,
That derive the names from two brothers,
Who killed each other just like Oedipus’ sons,
[920] As Lysimachus from Cyrene has written.

6.52 CONCERNING THE MUSES (STORY 89)

They say that the Muses are Zeus’ and Mnemosyne’s children
And that it is them that come bearing gifts to the poets,
Gifts of poetic form and content,
Just like Hermes does when it comes to oratory and prose speech.
But this is nothing more than an allegory
For the Muses are called thus, because it’s knowledge that they seek
And wisdom.
[930] So it is Zeus, the great and all-knowing mind that gives birth to these Muses, masking normal speech in poetic form.

6.53 CONCERNING PIERIA (STORY 90)

Pieria is a mountain in Boeotia
But also a town that was built by Pierus,
Who was brother to Methone and father of Linus.
This Pieria later changed its name to Lyngus.
According to Melisseus in his book on Delphi
It was Aeropus, son of Hemathion the one who first reigned in it.
And truly, Pieria is a mountain like Helicon
And a town, as I have already said.
They say that the Muses were born in Pieria
[940] And praise their father with dances on the mountain of Helicon.
But this allegory is dark. See Pieria as the instrument of reason
Where knowledge is born and Helicon are the books and their pages
Which turn like mountain slopes, bringing fame to their creators.

6.54 CONCERNING LEIBETHRION (STORY 91)

Leibethrion is also a mountain as well as a town
In the Odrysseian land of the Thracians, where Orpheus resided.
This man writes in one of his books:
“Go on, Muse of Leibethrion, sing to me old tales in verse”.

6.55 CONCERNING YOUR HAVING BECOME LIKE THE BARBARIANS AFTER SPENDING MANY YEARS LIVING AMONG THEM (STORY 92)

Euripides in his work Orestes tells
[950] Of how Menelaus tries to defend Orestes
And how Tyndareus responds enraged to Menelaus:
“You have most certainly become a barbarian yourself, after living so long among them.”

6.56 CONCERNING MELITTUS FROM HYMETTUS OF ATTICA (STORY 93)

Hymettus, the Athenian mountain produces honey most superb;
I shall now state what makes it stand out.
No dregs does one found in this hemyttian honey,
Cause the bees make wax from thyme
Which never leaves any sediment.

6.57 CONCERNING THE THESSALIAN CHEIRON, HALF MAN HALF BEAST, TEACHER OF HEROES (STORY 94)

Cheiron, who was the teacher of many great men,
[960] From Asclepius to Jason and then Achilles himself,
The old storytellers describe as half man and half horse,
Man down to the belly and horse thereunder.
And thus also writes the emperor Julian in epic verse that the horse comes from a man’s behinds.
He, sitting down on his animal members
Taught the students the arts of hunting and archery
And medicine and herbalism and many others.
But here is the truth: Cheiron was a philosopher
[970] And, being one of the first to teach the art of horsemanship,
He fell victim to becoming a myth himself
And came to be known as the horseman teaching herbalism and other skills.

6.58 CONCERNING THE MOUNTAIN OF PELION (STORY 95)

Pelion is a mountain of Thessaly,
Close to Magnesia, which is now called Petra.
Who first made this observation I know not
But it is on Pelion that Cheiron had his lair.

6.59 CONCERNING THE STORY OF JASON (STORY 96)

Jason was son of Aison, son of Critheus
And three candidates we have for his mother:
Roio and Alcimede and Polymele;
[980] The first a daughter of Staphylus, the others of Autolycus.
When Pelias murdered all the descendants of Aeolus,
An oracle foretold that he would die by the hand of one of them
And when Jason was born right thereafter
They present him as being dead, fearing Pelias,
(Jason’s grandfather Critheus, of the Aeolian bloodline)
And place him in a box as dead and hand him over to Cheiron.
And he, having been nurtured and instructed by Cheiron, of whom we spoke above,
Becomes the most glorious revenger of the massacre of the Aeolids.

6.60 CONCERNING THE STORY OF ASCLEPIUS (STORY 97)

Asclepius, son of Coronis and Apollo,
[990] Learned the art of medicine from Cheiron
And took the name of Asclepius, though he was formerly called Hepius,
Because he healed Asclen, tyrant of Epidaurus,
Or because he did not let men whither (skellesthai) and die.

6.61 CONCERNING ACHILLES (STORY 98)

Achilles was son of Peleus and Thetis,
Not the sea nymph but a mortal woman
And daughter of Cheiron, the philosopher,
Whom we described above as being the teacher of many heroes.
He was instructed in hunting and archery and medicine and many arts
By his very own grandfather.

1. Story 83 is skipped in the original.