Previous Page
| Next Page
|
city. When they were engaged in dividing the booty, and in
sacrificing, the Epeii, having assembled in multitudes, on the
third day marched against them with an army of horse and
foot, and encamped about Thryum, which is situated on the
Alpheius. The Pylians were no sooner informed of this than
they immediately set out to the relief of this place, and having
passed the night on the river Minyeius near Arene, thence
arrive at the Alpheius at noon. After sacrificing to the gods,
and passing the night on the banks of the river, they immediately, in the morning, engaged in battle. The rout of the
enemy was complete, and they did not desist from the pursuit
and slaughter, till they came to Buprasium,
and the Olenian rock, where is a tumulus of Alesius, whence again
Minerva repulsed the multitudes; note
and adds below,
but the Achaei
29
Turned back their swift horses from Buprasium to Pylus.
From these verses how can it be supposed that Eleian
or Messenian Pylus is meant. I say the Eleian, because when
this was destroyed by Hercules, the country of the Epeii also
was ravaged at the same time, that is, Eleia. How then could
those, who were of the same tribe, and who had been plundered at that time, show such pride and insult to persons, who
were suffering under the same injuries? How could they
overrun and ravage their own country? How could Augeas
and Neleus be kings of the same people, and yet be mutual
enemies; for to Neleus
a great debt was owing at the divine Elis; four horses, which had won
the prize; they came with their chariots to contend for prizes; they were
about to run in the race for a tripod; and Augeas, king of men, detained
them there, but dismissed the charioteer. note
If Neleus lived there, there Nestor also lived. How then
were there
four chiefs of Eleians and Buprasians, with ten swift ships accompanying each, and with many Epeii embarked in them?
The country also was divided into four parts, none of which
was subject to Nestor, but those tribes were under his com-
mand,
who lived at Pylns, and the pleasant Arēnē,
and at the places that follow next as far as Messene
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
Strabo, Geography (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Str.].