HYGINUS FABULAE [1] I. THEMISTO

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1 HYGINUS FABULAE [1] I. THEMISTO Athamas, son of Aeolus, had by his wife Nebula a son Phrixus and a daughter Helle, and by Themisto, daughter of Hypseus, two son, Sphincius and Orchomenus, and by Ino, daughter of Cadmus, two sons, Learchus and Melicertes. Themisto, robbed of her marriage by Ino, wished to kill Ino s children. She hid, therefore, in the palace, and when an opportunity presented itself, thinking she was killing the sons of her rival, unwittingly killed her own, deceived by the nurse who had put the wrong garments on them. When Themisto discovered this, she killed herself. [2] II. INO Ino, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, wishing to kill Phrixus and Helle, Nebula s children, formed a plan with the women of the entire tribe, and conspired to parch the seed grain to make it unfertile, so that, when the sterility and scarcity of grain resulted, the whole state should perish, some by starvation, others by sickness. With regard to this situation Athamas sent a servant to Delphi, but Ino instructed him to bring back a false reply that the pestilence would end if he sacrificed Phrixus to Jove. When Athamas refused to do this, Phrixus voluntarily and readily promised that he alone would free the state from its distress. Accordingly he was led to the altar, wearing fillets (of sacrifice), but the servant, out of pity for the youth, revealed Ino s plans to Athamas. The king, thus informed of the crime, gave over his wife Ino and her son Melicertes to be put to death, but Father Liber cast mist around her, and saved Ino his nurse. Later, Athamas, driven mad by Jove, slew his son Learchus. But Ino, with Melicertes her son, threw herself into the sea. Liber would have her called Leucothea, and Melicertes, her son the god Palaemon, butwe call her Mater Matuta, and him Portunus. In his honor every fifth year gymnastic contests are held, which are called Isthmian. [3] III. PHRIXUS While Phrixus and Helle under madness sent by Liber were wandering in a forest, Nebula their mother is said to have come there bringing a gilded ram, offspring of Neptune and Theophane. She bade her children to mount it, and journey to Colchis to King Aeetes, son of Sol, and there sacrifice the ram to Mars. This they were said to have done, but when they had mounted, and the ram had carried them over the sea, Helle fell from the ram; from this sea was called Hellespont. Phrixus, however, was carried to Colchis, where, as his mother had bidden, he sacrificed the ram, and placed its gilded fleece in the temple of Mars - the very fleece which, guarded by a dragon, it is said Jason, son of Aeson and Alcimede, came to secure. But Aeetes gladly welcomed Phrixus, and gave him his daughter Chalciope in marriage. She later bore him children, but Aeetes feared that they would drive him from his kingdom, because he had been warned by prodigies to beware of death at the hands of a foreigner, a son of Aeolus. Therefore he killed Phrixus. But Phrixus sons Argus, Melas, and Cylindrus took ship to go to their grandfather Athamas. They were

2 shipwrecked, however, and Jason, on his trip for the fleece, rescued them from the island of Dia, and took them back to their mother Chalciope. By her favour he was recommended to her sister Medea. [4] IV. INO OF EURIPIDES When Athamas, king in Thessaly, thought that his wife Ino, by whom he begat two sons, had perished, he married Themisto, the daughter of a nymph, and had twin sons by her. Later he discovered that Ino was on Parnassus, where she had gone for the Bacchic revels. He sent someone to bring her home, and concealed her when she came. Themisto discovered she had been found, but didn t know her identity. She conceived the desire of killing Ino s sons, and made Ino herself, whom she believed to be a captive, a confidant in the plan, telling her to cover her children with white garments, but Ino s with black. Ino covered her own with white, and Themisto s with dark; then Themisto mistakenly slew her own sons. When she discovered this, she killed herself. Moreover, Athamas, while hunting, in a fit of madness killed his older son Learchus; but Ino with the younger, Melicertes, cast herself intot he sea and was made a goddess. [5] V. ATHAMAS Because Semele had lain with Jove, Juno was hostile to her whole race; and so Athamas, son of Aeolus, through madness killed his son with arrows while hunting. [6] VI. CADMUS Cadmus, son of Agenor and Argiope, along with Harmonia his wife, daughter of Venus and Mars, after their children had been killed, were truned into snakes in the region of Illyria by the wrath of Mars, because Cadmus ahd slain the dragon, guardian of the fountain of Castalia. [7] VII. ANTIOPA Antiopa, daughter of Nycteus, was by a trick violated by Epaphus, and as a consequence was cast of by her husband Lycus. Thus widowed, Jupiter embraced her. But Lycus married Dirce. She, suspecting that her husband had secretly lain with Antiopa, ordered her servants to keep her bound in darkness. When her time was approaching, by the will of Jove she escaped from her chains to Mount Cithaeron, and when birth was imminent and she sought for a place to bear he child, pain compelled her to give birth at the very crossroads. Shephers reared her sons as their own, and called one Zetos, from seeking a place, and the other Amphion, because she gave birth at the crossroads, or by the road. When the sons found out who their mother was, they put Dirce to death by binding her to an untamed bull; by the kindness of Liber, whose votary she was, on Mount Cithaeron a spring was formed from her body, which was called Dirce.

3 [8] VIII. ANTIOPA OF EURIPIDES [WHICH ENNIUS WROTE] Antiopa was the daughter of Nycteus, king in Boeotia; entranced by her great beauty, Jupiter made her pregnant. When her father wished to punish her on account of her disgrace, and threatened harm, Antiopa fled. By chance Epaphus, a Sicyonian, was staying in the place to which she came, and he brought the woman to his house and married her. Nycteus took this hard, and as he was dying, bound by oath his brother Lycus, to whom he left his kingdom, not to leave Antiopa unpunished. After his death, Lycus came to Sicyon, and slaying Epaphus, brought Antiopa bound to Cithaeron. She bore sons, and left them there, but a shepherd reared them, naming them Zetus and Amphion. Antiopa had been given over to Dirce, Lycus wife, for punishment. When opportunity presented itself, she fled, and came to her sons. But Zetus, thinking her a runaway, did not accept her. Dirce, in the revels of Liber, was brought to the same place. There she found Antiopa and was dragging her to death. But the youths, informed by the shepherd who had reared them that she was their mother, quickly pursued and rescued their mother, but slew Dirce, binding her by the hair to a bull. When they were about to kill Lycus, Mercurius forbade them, and at the same time ordered Lycus to yield the kingdom to Amphion. [Απολλόδωρος] Βιβλιοθήκη τῶν δὲ Αἰόλου παίδων Ἀθάμας, Βοιωτίας δυναστεύων, ἐκ Νεφέλης τεκνοῖ παῖδα μὲν Φρίξον θυγατέρα δὲ Ἕλλην. αὖθις δὲ Ἰνὼ γαμεῖ, ἐξ ἧς αὐτῷ Λέαρχος καὶ Μελικέρτης ἐγένοντο. ἐπιβουλεύουσα δὲ Ἰνὼ τοῖς Νεφέλης τέκνοις ἔπεισε τὰς γυναῖκας τὸν πυρὸν φρύγειν. λαμβάνουσαι δὲ κρύφα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοῦτο ἔπρασσον. γῆ δὲ πεφρυγμένους πυροὺς δεχομένη καρποὺς ἐτησίους οὐκ ἀνεδίδου. διὸ πέμπων ὁ Ἀθάμας εἰς Δελφοὺς ἀπαλλαγὴν ἐπυνθάνετο τῆς ἀφορίας. Ἰνὼ δὲ τοὺς πεμφθέντας ἀνέπεισε λέγειν ὡς εἴη κεχρησμένον παύσεσθαι τὴν ἀκαρπίαν, ἐὰν σφαγῇ Διὶ ὁ Φρίξος. τοῦτο ἀκούσας Ἀθάμας, συναναγκαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν τὴν γῆν κατοικούντων, τῷ βωμῷ παρέστησε Φρίξον. Νεφέλη δὲ μετὰ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνήρπασε, καὶ παρ Ἑρμοῦ λαβοῦσα χρυσόμαλλον κριὸν ἔδωκεν, ὑφ οὗ φερόμενοι δι οὐρανοῦ γῆν ὑπερέβησαν καὶ θάλασσαν. ὡς δὲ ἐγένοντο κατὰ τὴν μεταξὺ κειμένην θάλασσαν Σιγείου καὶ Χερρονήσου, ὤλισθεν εἰς τὸν βυθὸν ἡ Ἕλλη, κἀκεῖ θανούσης αὐτῆς ἀπ ἐκείνης Ἑλλήσποντος ἐκλήθη τὸ πέλαγος. Φρίξος δὲ ἦλθεν εἰς Κόλχους, ὧν Αἰήτης ἐβασίλευε παῖς Ἡλίου καὶ Περσηίδος, ἀδελφὸς δὲ Κίρκης καὶ Πασιφάης, ἣν Μίνως ἔγημεν. οὗτος αὐτὸν ὑποδέχεται, καὶ μίαν τῶν θυγατέρων Χαλκιόπην δίδωσιν. ὁ δὲ τὸν χρυσόμαλλον κριὸν Διὶ θύει φυξίῳ, τὸ δὲ τούτου δέρας Αἰήτῃ δίδωσιν: ἐκεῖνος

4 δὲ αὐτὸ περὶ δρῦν ἐν Ἄρεος ἄλσει καθήλωσεν. ἐγένοντο δὲ ἐκ Χαλκιόπης Φρίξῳ παῖδες Ἄργος Μέλας Φρόντις Κυτίσωρος Ἀθάμας δὲ ὕστερον διὰ μῆνιν Ἥρας καὶ τῶν ἐξ Ἰνοῦς ἐστερήθη παίδων: αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ μανεὶς ἐτόξευσε Λέαρχον, Ἰνὼ δὲ Μελικέρτην μεθ ἑαυτῆς εἰς πέλαγος ἔρριψεν. ἐκπεσὼν δὲ τῆς Βοιωτίας ἐπυνθάνετο τοῦ θεοῦ ποῦ κατοικήσει: χρησθέντος δὲ αὐτῷ κατοικεῖν ἐν ᾧπερ ἂν τόπῳ ὑπὸ ζῴων ἀγρίων ξενισθῇ, πολλὴν χώραν διελθὼν ἐνέτυχε λύκοις προβάτων μοίρας νεμομένοις: οἱ δέ, θεωρήσαντες αὐτόν, ἃ διῃροῦντο ἀπολιπόντες ἔφυγον. Ἀθάμας δὲ κτίσας τὴν χώραν Ἀθαμαντίαν ἀφ ἑαυτοῦ προσηγόρευσε, καὶ γήμας Θεμιστὼ τὴν Ὑψέως ἐγέννησε Λεύκωνα Ἐρύθριον Σχοινέα Πτῶον Σεμέλης δὲ Ζεὺς ἐρασθεὶς Ἥρας κρύφα συνευνάζεται. ἡ δὲ ἐξαπατηθεῖσα ὑπὸ Ἥρας, κατανεύσαντος αὐτῇ Διὸς πᾶν τὸ αἰτηθὲν ποιήσειν, αἰτεῖται τοιοῦτον αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν οἷος ἦλθε μνηστευόμενος Ἥραν. Ζεὺς δὲ μὴ δυνάμενος ἀνανεῦσαι παραγίνεται εἰς τὸν θάλαμον αὐτῆς ἐφ ἅρματος ἀστραπαῖς ὁμοῦ καὶ βρονταῖς, καὶ κεραυνὸν ἵησιν. Σεμέλης δὲ διὰ τὸν φόβον ἐκλιπούσης, ἑξαμηνιαῖον τὸ βρέφος ἐξαμβλωθὲν ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς ἁρπάσας ἐνέρραψε τῷ μηρῷ. ἀποθανούσης δὲ Σεμέλης, αἱ λοιπαὶ Κάδμου θυγατέρες διήνεγκαν λόγον, συνηυνῆσθαι θνητῷ τινι Σεμέλην καὶ καταψεύσασθαι Διός, καὶ ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεραυνώθη. κατὰ δὲ τὸν χρόνον τὸν καθήκοντα Διόνυσον γεννᾷ Ζεὺς λύσας τὰ ῥάμματα, καὶ δίδωσιν Ἑρμῇ. ὁ δὲ κομίζει πρὸς Ἰνὼ καὶ Ἀθάμαντα καὶ πείθει τρέφειν ὡς κόρην. ἀγανακτήσασα δὲ Ἥρα μανίαν αὐτοῖς ἐνέβαλε, καὶ Ἀθάμας μὲν τὸν πρεσβύτερον παῖδα Λέαρχον ὡς ἔλαφον θηρεύσας ἀπέκτεινεν, Ἰνὼ δὲ τὸν Μελικέρτην εἰς πεπυρωμένον λέβητα ῥίψασα, εἶτα βαστάσασα μετὰ νεκροῦ τοῦ παιδὸς ἥλατο κατὰ βυθοῦ. καὶ Λευκοθέα μὲν αὐτὴν καλεῖται, Παλαίμων δὲ ὁ παῖς, οὕτως ὀνομασθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν πλεόντων: τοῖς χειμαζομένοις γὰρ βοηθοῦσιν. ἐτέθη δὲ ἐπὶ Μελικέρτῃ ὁ ἀγὼν τῶν Ἰσθμίων, Σισύφου θέντος. Διόνυσον δὲ Ζεὺς εἰς ἔριφον ἀλλάξας τὸν Ἥρας θυμὸν ἔκλεψε, καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν Ἑρμῆς πρὸς νύμφας ἐκόμισεν ἐν Νύσῃ κατοικούσας τῆς Ἀσίας, ἃς ὕστερον Ζεὺς καταστερίσας ὠνόμασεν Ὑάδας.

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