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Amphion and Zethus, the musicians of the country of Boeotia. and immediately Amphion the lyricist builds a very great city, with twelve gates, which was formerly a village called Enchilia; which the brothers themselves named the city of Thebes in the name of their father at the command of their mother, Antiope. And they reigned for many years over Thebes; and henceforth that country was called Thebes. But Lycus the king, the husband of Dirce, their uncle, died in the war. Cephalion wrote these things with truth; for the most wise Euripides poetically set forth a drama that Zeus, having been changed into a Satyr, seduced Antiope, and from there Zethus and Amphion the musicians were born. But he said that by a transfer of reincarnation their father Theoboos was brought down from Picus Zeus, and that Zeus, having been changed into a Satyr, which is, according to the Boeotian tongue, into another more humble body, seduced Antiope. And after the reign of Amphion and Zethus, their descendants reigned over Thebes until the reign of Oedipus, son of Laius and Jocasta. This Laius, 50 king of Thebes, had a son Iokkas, who was renamed the aforementioned Oedipus. And having received an oracle that he would have intercourse with his own mother Jocasta, he ordered the soldiers who attended him to take this Oedipus into the woods, and for his feet to be put into a carved piece of wood that had holes, and for the wood to be nailed; from this, therefore, was devised what is called by the soldiers even until now the kouspos; and the soldiers, having done as they were ordered, left Oedipus in the woods, so that he might be devoured by wild beasts. And a certain rustic named Meliboeus, having gone to the woods to cut wood, found him crawling on the ground and his feet swollen. and taking the axe which he was carrying, he broke the wood where his feet were fastened, and taking him, he raised him, calling him Oedipus because his feet were swollen; and having grown up, he became noble. And in that country there appeared a certain widow woman named Sphinx, ugly, large-breasted, a country-dweller; who, after the loss of her own husband, having gathered a multitude of rustic brigands of like mind with her in her own village called Moabe, which lay between two mountains that had a single narrow road between them, and sitting on one peak of the mountain, having her band of brigands with her, killed all the passing wayfarers and merchants and took all their possessions. She became infamous in Thebes, and although many gen 51 erals went out, and with them a large army from King Laius, no one was able to overcome her because of the strength of the mountains and because of the multitude of rustic brigands with her who shared in the spoils of the passing strangers and citizens. But Oedipus, having become a man, learned that he was descended from the city of Thebes; and hearing that a certain woman named Sphinx, a bandit, was ravaging all those coming to Thebes, and straitening the city; Therefore, having devised a clever plan to destroy the Sphinx, he took noble rustics from the estate where he was raised, pretending he wanted to be a brigand with the Sphinx. And he went to her, asking her to be a brigand with her; who, seeing the appearance of the young man and of those with him, received him and those with him; and he himself also began to attack those passing by. And having found an opportunity when she did not have a crowd of brigands with her, he took a spear and killed her, and took away all her things, killing many of her people along with her. And he brought her remains into the city of Thebes, as he was due to receive money along with his men from King Laius. And all the Theban citizens, admiring him, praised him and acclaimed him to become king of Thebes. And 52 he was indignant

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Ἀμφίων καὶ ὁ Ζῆθος τῆς Βοιωτίας χώρας οἱ μουσικοί. καὶ εὐθέως Ἀμφίων ὁ λυρικὸς κτίζει πόλιν μεγάλην πάνυ, δωδεκάπυλον, τὴν πρώην μὲν οὖσαν κώμην λεγομένην Ἐνχιλίαν· ἣν ὠνόμασαν οἱ αὐτοὶ ἀδελφοὶ πόλιν Θήβας εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ αὐτῶν πατρὸς κατὰ κέλευσιν τῆς αὐτῶν μητρός, τῆς Ἀντιόπης. καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν ἔτη πολλὰ τῶν Θηβῶν· καὶ λοιπὸν ἐκλήθη ἡ αὐτὴ χώρα Θῆβαι. ὁ δὲ Λύκος βασιλεύς, ὁ τῆς ∆ίρκης ἀνήρ, ὁ θεῖος αὐτῶν, ἐτελεύτα ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ. ἅτινα συνεγράψατο Κεφαλίων μετὰ ἀληθείας· ὁ γὰρ σοφώτατος Εὐριπίδης ποιητικῶς ἐξέθετο δρᾶμα ὡς ὅτι ὁ Ζεὺς εἰς Σάτυρον μεταβληθεὶς ἔφθειρε τὴν Ἀντιόπην, κἀκεῖθεν ἐγεννήθη ὁ Ζῆθος καὶ ὁ Ἀμφίων οἱ μουσικοί. κατὰ δὲ μετάστασιν μετεμψυχώσεως καταχθέντα τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν Θεόβοον ἐκ τοῦ Πίκου ∆ιὸς εἶπεν, ὅτι ὁ Ζεὺς μεταβληθεὶς εἰς Σάτυρον, ὅ ἐστι κατὰ τὴν Βοιωτῶν γλῶσσαν εἰς ἄλλο σῶμα εὐτελέστερον, ἔφθειρε τὴν Ἀντιόπην. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Ἀμφίονος καὶ τοῦ Ζήθου ἐβασίλευσαν οἱ ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν τῶν Θηβῶν ἕως τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Οἰδίποδος, υἱοῦ Λαΐου καὶ τῆς Ἰοκάστης. ὅστις Λάϊος, 50 βασιλεὺς Θηβῶν, ἔσχεν υἱὸν Ἰώκκαν, μετακληθέντα τὸν αὐτὸν προειρημένον Οἰδίποδα. καὶ χρησμοδοτηθεὶς ὅτι τῇ ἰδίᾳ αὐτοῦ μητρὶ Ἰοκάστῃ συμμιγήσεται, ἐκέλευσε τοῖς παραμένουσιν αὐτῷ στρατιώταις λαβεῖν τὸν αὐτὸν Οἰδίποδα εἰς τὰς ὕλας, καὶ βληθῆναι τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ἐν ξύλῳ γλυφέντι καὶ ἔχοντι ὀπὰς καὶ ἡλωθῆναι τὸ ξύλον· ἐξ αὐτοῦ οὖν ἐπινενόηται ὁ λεγόμενος παρὰ τοῖς στρατιώταις ἕως τῆς νῦν κοῦσπος· καὶ ποιήσαντες ὡς ἐκελεύσθησαν οἱ στρατιῶται εἴασαν τὸν Οἰδίποδα εἰς τὰς ὕλας, ὅπως θηριόβρωτος γένηται. καὶ ἐλθών τις ἄγροικος ὀνόματι Μελίβοιος ἐπὶ τὴν ὕλην κόψαι ξύλα, εὗρεν αὐτὸν συρόμενον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ὀγκωθέντας. καὶ λαβὼν ἐν ᾗ ἐβάσταζεν ἀξίνῃ ἔκλασε τὸ ξύλον ὅπου ἐσφάληντο οἱ αὐτοῦ πόδες, καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν ἀνεθρέψατο, καλέσας αὐτὸν Οἰδίποδα διὰ τὸ οἰδάνειν τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐγένετο γενναῖος αὐξηθείς. ἐν δὲ τῇ χώρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀνεφάνη γυνή τις χήρα ὀνόματι Σφίγξ, δυσειδής, κατάμασθος, χωρική· ἥτις μετὰ τὴν ἀποβολὴν τοῦ ἰδίου αὐτῆς ἀνδρὸς συναγαγοῦσα πλῆθος ἀγροίκων λῃστῶν ὁμοφρόνων αὐτῇ ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ αὐτῆς κώμῃ τῇ λεγομένῃ Μωάβῃ, κειμένῃ δὲ μεταξὺ δύο ὀρέων, ἐχόντων ἐν μέσῳ στενὴν ὁδὸν μίαν μόνην, καὶ καθημένη ἐν τῇ μιᾷ κορυφῇ τοῦ ὄρους, ἔχουσα τὴν ἅμα αὐτῇ λῃστρικὴν χεῖρα, καὶ πάντας τοὺς παριόντας ὁδοιπόρους καὶ πραγματευτὰς ἐφόνευσε καὶ τὰ αὐτῶν πάντα ἐκομίζετο. ἥτις περιβόητος ἐγένετο εἰς τὰς Θήβας, καὶ πολλῶν ἐξελθόντων στρα 51 τηγῶν, καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν στρατὸς πολὺς ἐκ τοῦ Λαΐου βασιλέως, καὶ ταύτης οὐδεὶς ἠδυνήθη περιγενέσθαι διὰ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν τῶν ὀρέων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀγροίκων λῃστῶν τῶν μετ' αὐτῆς συμμεριζομένων τὰ τῶν παριόντων ξένων καὶ πολιτῶν. ὁ δὲ Οἰδίπους τέλειος γενόμενος ἔμαθεν ὅτι ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως κατάγεται τῶν Θηβῶν· καὶ ἀκούσας ὅτι γυνή τις ὀνόματι Σφίγξ, λῃστρίς, ἐλυμαίνετο πάντας τοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς Θήβας ἐρχομένους, καὶ στενὸν τὴν πόλιν· σοφὸν οὖν τι βουλευσάμενος εἰς τὸ ἀναιρεῖν τὴν Σφίγγα ἔλαβεν ἐκ τοῦ κτήματος ὅπου ἀνετράφη ἀγροίκους γενναίους, ὡς, φησί, θέλων ἅμα τῇ Σφιγγὶ λῃστεύειν. καὶ ἀπῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὴν αἰτῶν αὐτὴν συλλῃστεύειν αὐτῇ· ἥτις θεασαμένη τοῦ νεωτέρου τὴν θέαν καὶ τῶν μετ' αὐτοῦ, ἐδέξατο αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐπήρχετο καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς παριοῦσιν. εὑρηκὼς δὲ καιρὸν ὅτε οὐκ ἔσχεν ὄχλον λῃστῶν μετ' αὐτῆς, λαβὼν λόγχην ἀνεῖλεν αὐτήν, καὶ ἀφείλετο πάντα τὰ αὐτῆς, φονεύσας ἅμα τοῖς αὐτῆς πολλούς. καὶ εἰσήγαγε τὸ λείψανον αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ τῶν Θηβῶν πόλει, ὡς ὀφείλων κομίσασθαι ἅμα τοῖς αὐτοῦ χρήματα ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Λαΐου. καὶ θαυμάζοντες πάντες οἱ Θηβαῖοι πολῖται ἀνύμνουν αὐτὸν καὶ ἔκραζον αὐτὸν βασιλέα τῶν Θηβῶν γενέσθαι. καὶ 52 ἠγανάκτησεν