fr. 1 Fowler [= FGrHist 2 1 = Vorsokr. 9 B 21 = Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.9–10]
- **1
- Ὠκεανὸς δὲ γαμεῖ Τηθὺν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφήν· τῶν δὲ γίνονται τρισχίλιοι ποταμοί· Ἀχελῶιος δὲ αὐτῶν πρεσβύτατος καὶ τετίμηται μάλιστα.
- Macrob. Sat. 5.18.9 (322.3 Willis). Didymus enim (p. 85 Schmidt), grammaticorum omnium facile eruditissimus, posita causa quam superius Ephorus (FGrHist 70 F 20) dixit, alteram quoque adiecit his verbis: ἄμεινον δὲ ἐκεῖνο λέγειν ὅτι διὰ τὸ πάντων τῶν ποταμῶν πρεσβύτατον εἶναι Ἀχελῷον τιμὴν ἀπονέμοντας αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πάντα ἁπλῶς τὰ νάματα τῷ ἐκείνου ὀνόματι προσαγορεύειν. ὁ γοῦν Ἀκουσίλαος διὰ τῆς πρώτης ἱστορίας δεδήλωκεν ὅτι Ἀχελῷος πάντων τῶν ποταμῶν πρεσβύτατος. ἔφη γάρ: "Ὠκεανὸς—μάλιστα."
- 9. ... Didymus enim grammaticorum omnium facile eruditissimus, posita causa quam superius Ephorus dixit, alteram quoque adiecit his verbis:
- 10. ἄμεινον δὲ ἐκεῖνο λέγειν ὅτι διὰ τὸ πάντων τῶν ποταμῶν πρεσβύτατον εἶναι Ἀχελῷον τιμὴν ἀπονέμοντας αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πάντα ἁπλῶς τὰ νάματα τῷ ἐκείνου ὀνόματι προσαγορεύειν. ὁ γοῦν Ἀγησίλαος234 διὰ τῆς πρώτης ἱστορίας δεδήλωκεν ὅτι Ἀχελῷος πάντων τῶν ποταμῶν πρεσβύτατος. ἔφη γαρ· Ὠκεανὸς δὲ γαμεῖ Τηθὺν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφήν, τῶν δὲ γίνονται τρισχίλιοι ποταμοί, Ἀχελῷος δὲ αὐτῶν πρεσβύτατος καὶ τετίμηται μάλιστα.
- 234 Ἀγησίλαος] Ἀκουσίλαος ed. Lugd. Bat. 1670
- 9. ... For Didymus—easily the most learned of all grammarians—cited the explanation given by Ephorus above and added a second, as follows (Tragic Diction fr. 2):
- 10. "Better to say that humankind honors Akheloös for being the oldest of all rivers by addressing simply all rivers with his name; Agêsilaos,74 at any rate, in Book 1 of his History, makes it plain that the Akheloös is the oldest river, saying, “Ôkean wed his own sister, Têthys, and from them were born 3,000 rivers, with Akheloös oldest among them and much the most honored."
- Andolfi, Book 1 fr. *1, pp. 34–38
- Book 1
- fr. *1
- Ὠκεανὸς δὲ γαμεῖ Τηθὺν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφήν· τῶν δὲ γίνονται τρισχίλιοι ποταμοί ·
- Ἀχελῶιος δὲ αὐτῶν πρεσβύτατος καὶ τετίμηται μάλιστα.
- Macr. Sat. 5.18.9 (322.3 Willis). Didymus enim (p. 85 Schmidt), grammaticorum omnium facile eruditissimus, posita causa quam superius Ephorus (FGrHist 70 F 20a) adiecit his verbis: ἄμεινον δὲ ἐκεῖνο ... ἔφη γάρ. «Ὠκεανὸς—μάλιστα».
- 21 (Achelôo is the oldest of rivers): Ocean marries Tethys his own sister; from them spring three thousand rivers, but Achelôos is the oldest and most honoured.
- Akousilaos fr. 1 reports the marriage of Okeanos to his own sister Tethys; unfortunately nothing indicates to which generation the couple might have belonged. As he follows Hesiod (Th. 367) in giving 3,000 as the number of rivers, it is probable that he follows him also for the genealogy. In the same fragment Akousilaos says that Acheloos is eldest, and most honoured; he is perhaps expanding a hint from Homer (Il. 21.194), ...
fr. 450 Campbell [= BNJ 1 F35b]
- p. 436
- 450 (Voigt) Comes Natalis Myth. 7. 2 (p. 714 ed. Francof. 1581)
- Alcaeus Oceani et Terrae filium esse (Acheloum) sensit.
- p. 436
- 450 Comes Natalis, Mythology
- Alcaeus saw that Achelous1 was the son of Ocean and Earth.
- 1 River, boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia; cf. Sa. 212.
- Hecataeus ... ascribing to Achelous, for example, a different divine parentage (Sun and Earth) than the one he is accorded in Alcaeus (fr. 450 Campbell = BNJ I F35b) or in Hesiod (Th. 337-40; Hecataeus: BNJ I F35b, with Pwnall (BNJ) ad loc.).54
1.3.4
- and Melpomene had by Achelous the Sirens,
1.7.3
- Perimede had Hippodamas and Orestes by Achelous;
1.7.10
- Porthaon and Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas, had sons, Oeneus, Agrius, Alcathous, Melas, Leucopeus, and a daughter Sterope, who is said to have been the mother of the Sirens by Achelous.
1.8.1
- This Deianira drove a chariot and practised the art of war, and Hercules wrestled for her hand with Achelous.
2.7.5 [= Pherecydes of Athens fr. 42 Fowler]
- And having come to Calydon, Hercules wooed Deianira, daughter of Oeneus. He wrestled for her hand with Achelous, who assumed the likeness of a bull; but Hercules broke off one of his horns.2 So Hercules married Deianira, but Achelous recovered the horn by giving the horn of Amalthea in its stead. Now Amalthea was a daughter of Haemonius, and she had a bull's horn, which, according to Pherecydes, had the power of supplying meat or drink in abundance, whatever one might wish.
- 2 On the struggle of Herakles with the river Achelous, see Soph. Trach. 9-21; Diod. 4.35.3ff.; Dio Chrysostom lx.; Scholiast on Hom. Il. xxi.194; Ov. Met. 9.1-88; Hyginus, Fab. 31; Scriptores rerum mythicarum Latini, ed. Bode, i. pp. 20, 131 (First Vatican Mythographer 58; Second Vatican Mythographer 165). According to Ovid, the river-god turned himself first into a serpent and then into a bull. The story was told by Archilochus, who represented the river Achelous in the form of a bull, as we learn from the Scholiast on Hom. Il.xxi.194. Diodorus rationalized the legend in his dull manner by supposing that it referred to a canal which the eminent philanthropist Herakles dug for the benefit of the people of Calydon.
3.7.5
- After the capture of Thebes, when Alcmaeon learned that his mother Eriphyle had been bribed to his undoing also,1 he was more incensed than ever, and in accordance with an oracle given to him by Apollo he killed his mother.2 Some say that he killed her in conjunction with his brother Amphilochus, others that he did it alone. But Alcmaeon was visited by the Fury of his mother's murder, and going mad he first repaired to Oicles3 in Arcadia, and thence to Phegeus at Psophis. And having been purified by him he married Arsinoe, daughter of Phegeus,4 and gave her the necklace and the robe. But afterwards the ground became barren on his account,5 and the god bade him in an oracle to depart to Achelous and to stand another trial on the river bank.6 At first he repaired to Oeneus at Calydon and was entertained by him; then he went to the Thesprotians, but was driven away from the country; and finally he went to the springs of Achelous, and was purified by him,7 and received Callirrhoe, his daughter, to wife. Moreover he colonized the land which the Achelous had formed by its silt, and he took up his abode there.8 But afterwards Callirrhoe coveted the necklace and robe, and said she would not live with him if she did not get them. So away Alcmaeon hied to Psophis and told Phegeus how it had been predicted that he should be rid of his madness when he had brought the necklace and the robe to Delphi and dedicated them.9 Phegeus believed him and gave them to him. But a servant having let out that he was taking the things to Callirrhoe, Phegeus commanded his sons, and they lay in wait and killed him.10 When Arsinoe upbraided them, the sons of Phegeus clapped her into a chest and carried her to Tegea and gave her as a slave to Agapenor, falsely accusing her of Alcmaeon's murder.
3.7.7
- Having acquainted their mother with these things, they went to Delphi and dedicated the necklace and robe24 according to the injunction of Achelous.
E 7.18
- And having come to Circe he was sent on his way by her, and put to sea, and sailed past the isle of the Sirens.1 Now the Sirens were Pisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepia, daughters of Achelous and Melpomene, one of the Muses.
- 1 Homer does not name the Sirens individually nor mention their parentage, but by using the dual in reference to them (Hom. Od. 12.52; Hom. Od. 12.167) he indicates that they were two in number. Sophocles, in his play Ulysses, called the Sirens daughters of Phorcus, and agreed with Homer in recognizing only two of them. See Plut. Quaest. Conviv. ix.14.6; The Fragments of Sophocles, ed. A. C. Pearson, iii.66, frag. 861. Apollonius Rhodius says that the Muse Terpsichore bore the Sirens to Achelous (Ap. Rhod., Argon. iv.895ff.). Hyginus names four of them, Teles, Raidne, Molpe, and Thelxiope (Hyginus, Fab. praefat. p. 30, ed. Bunte), and, in agreement with Apollodorus, says that they were the offspring of Achelous by the Muse Melpomene. Tzetzes calls them Parthenope, Leucosia, and Ligia, but adds that other people named them Pisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepia, and that they were the children of Achelous and Terpsichore. With regard to the parts which they took in the bewitching concert, he agrees with Apollodorus. See Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 712. According to a Scholiast on Ap. Rhod., Argon.iv.892, their names were Thelxiope, or Thelxione, Molpe, and Aglaophonus. As to their names and parents see also Eustathius on Hom. Od. 12. p. 1709, Scholiast on Hom. Od. xii.39, who mention the view that the father of the Sirens was Achelous, and that their mother was either the Muse Terpsichore, or Sterope, daughter of Porthaon.
Argonautica
- 4.893
- [Race's Loeb translation: The brisk wind propelled the ship, and soon they spotted the beautiful island of Anthemoessa, where the clear-voiced Sirens, the daughters of Achelous, enchanted anyone who moored there with their sweet songs and destroyed him. Beautiful Terpsichore, one of the Muses, had slept with Achelous and bore them.
fr. 286 West [= Dio Chrysostom, 60.1]
- 286 Dio Chrys. 60.1
- 286 Dio Chrysostom, Orations
- Can you solve this problem for me, whether or not some are right to find fault with Archilochus and others with Sophocles for their treatment of Nessus and Deianeira? For some say that Archilochus is talking nonsense when he makes Deianeira speak at length to Heracles while she is being sexually assaulted by the centaur, as she reminds him of the wooing of Achelous and of the events that took place then, with the result that Nessus had ample time to do what he wanted. And others say that Sophocles introduced the shooting of the arrow too early, while they were still crossing the river.
- Perhaps even earlier [than the Ehoiai] is a lost poem by Archilochos in which, as Nessos attempts to ravish Deianeira, she reminds Herakles of her wooing by Acheloos, and of his combat with that god in the latter's form as a bull (286 W). Our source Dion of Prusa, ...
fr. 287 West [= Scholiast on Homer, Iliad 21.237]
- 287 Schol. Hom. Il. 21.237, “μεμυκὼς ἠΰτε ταῦρος”
- 287 Scholiast on Homer, Iliad (“bellowing like a bull”)
- From this starting point they represented Achelous as a bull in his fight with Heracles. Archilochus did not dare to pit Achelous as a river against Heracles, but as a bull, whereas Homer was the first to make river and hero contend in battle. Each therefore adapted the same topic to his own talent.
- The story of this offspring's transformation into a bull and his combat with Herakles for Deianeira was apparently recounted by Archilochos (287 W)
fr. 365 Henderson [= fr. 365 PCG = Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.5]
- 365 Macrobius, Sat. 5.18.4
- ἤμουν ἄγροιν
- βάρος, ἤγειρεν γάρ τοι μ᾿ οἴνος
- ∗∗∗
- οὐ μείξας πῶμ᾿ Ἀχελῴῳ
- 365 (on calling water “Achelous” the river god)
- I had a savage fit
- of vomiting, for the wine stirred me up,
- having no admixture of Achelous
Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.5
- Aristophanes, a poet of the Old Comedy, says in his Rooster (fr. 365 PCG 3,2:205),
- I was puking up a nasty
- burden—for the wine was weighing me down—
- . . .
- I had not mixed the drink with Akheloös.
- I was being weighed down (he says) by the wine that had not been mixed with water, that is, by pure wine.
Metaphysics 1.983b
- For they4 represented Oceanus and Tethys to be the parents of creation, and the oath of the gods to be by water— Styx,5 as they call it. Now what is most ancient is most revered, and what is most revered is what we swear by.
- McKeon, p. 694
- ... for they made Ocean and Tethys the parents of creation,5 and described the oath of the gods as being by water,6 to which they gave the name of Styx; for what is oldest is most honorable, and the most honourable thing is that by which one swears.
- 5 Hom. Il. xiv, 201, 246.
- Fowler 2103, p. 12–13
- in Aristotle, as in Hesiod (Th. 777) it is Styx not Acheloos who is eldest and most honoured,
- p. 92
- In columns xx-xxii of the [Derveni] papyrus the commentator is concerned with Zeus' creation of Oceanus and the rivers ('sinews of Achelous'), and of the sun, moon, and stars. The verb used in the verse about the creation of Oceanus was μήσατο, 'contrived'. Again the deliberate intelligence of the creation is conveyed. Achelous apparently stands for the world's fresh-water streams; they form a network like the sinews of the body.39
- 39 ... Achelous was the greatest of rivers (cf. Il. 21.194-5, Acusil. 2 F 1). For use of the name to stand for water see LSJ, and Dodds on E. Bacch. 635-6; Servius ascribes it to Orpheus (= fr. 344 K.).
- p. 115
- 36 μήσατο δ' Ὠκεανοῖο ...
- 37 ἶνας δ' ἐγκα[tέλα]σσ' Ἀχελωίον ἀργυ[ρ]οδίνο[υ.
- p. 20
- 2. ACHELOIOS IN THE DERVENI 'THEOGONY'
- ... The first two fragmentary verses, which in the London papyrus [P.Oxy. 221] are to be read as
- ]νασ[.ἐ]γκατέλεξα / Ἀχελωίου ἀργυροδίνεω ['silver-eddying'. LSJ s.v. ἀργυροδίνης]
- ,ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα θάλασσα
- p. 21
- ...is, as has been seen by K. Tsantsanoglou, practically identical to one of the the lines from the Orphic 'Theogony' interpreted in col. 23 of the Derveni papyrus. Previous reconstructions of the relevant portions of this papyrus, too, did not prove entirely reliable,9 and prevented its identification with with the first verse quoted in the London papyrus. Only very recently has a revised transcript of the relevant portion been published. The line [in the Derveni P.] now reads:
- ἶνας δ' ἐγκατ[έλε]ξ' Ἀχελωίου ἀργυ[ρ]οδίνε[ω.
- ... There can be no doubt that the two lines were in fact identical. On the other hand, to establish whether the two papyri are referring to the same verse of the same poem is a quite different issue.
- p. 22
- I would argue that the quotation from the Orphic ίερὸς λόγος did not come from some Hellenistic scholar, but that it went back to an erlier discussion of the Homeric passage, which may well even be roughly contemporary with the Derveni text, if not dating back to the fifth century. ... if this is correct, the verse would belong, if not exactly to the poem discussed in the Derveni papyrus, to some roughly contemporary or not much later version. ...
- The verse has been reconstructed by West (1983) 115, ... as μήσατο δ' Ὠκεανοῖο μέγα σθένος εὺρὺ ῥέοντος, 'and he (sc. Zeus) contrived the great strength of wide-flowing Ocean', a verse ...
4.35.3–4
- But Heracles, desiring to do a service to the Calydonians, diverted the river Acheloüs, and making another bed for it he recovered a large amount of fruitful land which was now irrigated by this stream. [4] Consequently certain poets, as we are told, have made this deed into a myth; for they have introduced Heracles as joining battle with Acheloüs, the river assuming the form of a bull, and as breaking off in the struggle one of his horns, which he gave to the Aetolians. This they call the "Horn of Amaltheia," and represent it as filled with a great quantity of every kind of autumn fruit, such as grapes and apples and the like, the poets signifying in this obscure manner by the horn of Acheloüs the stream which ran through the canal, and by the apples and pomegranates and grapes the fruitful land which was watered by the river and the multitude [p. 459] of its fruit-bearing plants. Moreover, they say that the phrase "Amaltheia's Horn" is used as of a quality incapable of being softened (a-malakistia), whereby is indicated the tense vigour of the man who built the work.
FGrHist 70 20a = Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.6–8
- 6. Furthermore, Ephorus, the well known author, shows in Book 2 of his Histories why they adopted this usage (no. 70 fr. 20 FGrH): "Now, only the inhabitants nearby sacrifice to other rivers; the Akheloös alone happens to be honored by all humankind, who refer to other rivers by their proper names, not by one or another common term, whereas they adopt the Akheloös’ proper name as the common term."
- 7. "For we generally call "water" (as the common term has it) "Akheloös," from the river’s proper name, whereas in the case of other names we often use the common terms in place of the proper, for example calling Athenians "Hellenes" or Spartans "Peloponnesians." As the best explanation of this puzzle I can offer only the oracles from Dodona."
- 8. "For in nearly all his pronouncements the god was accustomed to enjoin sacrifice to Akheloös, with the result that many people came to believe that by "Akheloös" the oracle meant, not the river that flows through Akarnania,73 but "water" tout court, and so they imitate the terms of address used by the god. As a token of this, there’s the fact that we usually speak that way in referring to the divine: for we call water "Akheloös" above all in oaths and in prayers and in sacrifices, all the things that concern the gods."
A'lessio, p. 32
- The equation between the god's name and 'water' in general is well attested since the fifth century. It is fairly common in Attic texts and continues into Hellenistic epigrams. Ephoros (FGrHist 70 F 20b), quoted by both te London papyrus [P.Oxy. 221] and Macrob. Sat. 5.18.6 (via Didymos), traces it back to Dodonean ritual usage, where oaths were sworn in Acheloios' name.
Andolfi, fr. 1
- ... Macrobius, via Didymus, quotes a passage from Ephorus (FGrHist 70 F 20a) explaining why men usually call streams by Achelous' name:75 the historian saw the influence of a ritual occuring in Dodona in this usage, where people used to sear oaths in Achelous' name.76 He states that three thousand rivers were born from Oceanus' union with Thethys, but the most anceint and honorable one was the Achelous.
Andromache
- 165–168
- [165] and cower in humility, fall at my feet, and sweep my house, scattering Achelous' water by hand from my gold-wrought vessels, and know where in the world it is you live.
Bacchae
- 519–520
- Daughter of Achelöus,
- Lady Dirce, fair maiden
- 625
- ᾖσσ᾿ ἐκεῖσε κᾆτ᾿ ἐκεῖσε, δμωσὶν Ἀχελῷον φέρειν
- ordering his servants to bring water [Ἀχελῷον]
Hypsipyle
- fr. 753 [= Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.12]
- 753
- <Hypsipyle>
- Macrobius, Saturnalia 5.18.2 (= Didymus, Tragic Words fr. 2, p. 85 Schmidt)
- I’ll show the Argives Achelous’ stream.1
- 1 The great river Achelous could be regarded as the source or parent of minor rivers and springs throughout Greece.
- "Euripides, in his Hypsipylê, uses ‘Akheloös’ to mean water of every sort: for in speaking about water located quite far from Akarnania, home of the river Akheloös, he says (fr. 753 TGrF 5,1:758):
- I shall show the Argives Akheloös’ stream.75
fr. 35b Brill's New Jacoby =? Natalis Comes Myth. 7.2 =? fr. 35 bis Jacoby and/or fr. 35 ter Jacoby
- Alcaeus thinks that Achelous was the son of Ocean and of Earth, Hecateus suggests the Sun and Earth, and Nymphis (in the first book of his Heraclea) claims that they were Thetis or Earth [sic]72
- Hecataeus ... ascribing to Achelous, for example, a different divine parentage (Sun and Earth) than the one he is accorded in Alcaeus (fr. 450 Campbell = BNJ I F35b) or in Hesiod (Th. 337-40; Hecataeus: BNJ I F35b, with Pownall (BNJ) ad loc.).54
- p. 141
- p. 384
Catalogue of Women
- Hes. fr. 10.34–45 Most
- Most, pp. 54–55
- fair-formed Perimede.
- Perimede's Children
- With her, fair-flowing Achelous] mingled with love [35]
- ...
- [Hippodamas] ... [45]
Theogony
- 337–370.
- And Tethys bore to Ocean eddying rivers, Nilus, and Alpheus, and deep-swirling Eridanus, Strymon, and Meander, and the fair stream of Ister, [340] and Phasis, and Rhesus, and the silver eddies of Achelous, Nessus, and Rhodius, Haliacmon, and Heptaporus, Granicus, and Aesepus, and holy Simois, and Peneus, and Hermus, and Caicus' fair stream, and great Sangarius, Ladon, Parthenius, [345] Euenus, Ardescus, and divine Scamander. Also she brought forth a holy company of daughters who with the lord Apollo and the Rivers have youths in their keeping—to this charge Zeus appointed them—Peitho, and ... and Styx who is the chiefest of them all. These are the eldest daughters that sprang from Ocean and Tethys; but there are many besides. For there are three thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean who are dispersed far and wide, [365] and in every place alike serve the earth and the deep waters, children who are glorious among goddesses. And as many other rivers are there, babbling as they flow, sons of Ocean, whom queenly Tethys bare, but their names it is hard for a mortal man to tell, [370] but people know those by which they severally dwell.
- 777
- terrible Styx, eldest daughter of backflowing Ocean.
Iliad
- 21.194–199
- With [Zeus] doth not even king Achelous vie, [195] nor the great might of deep-flowing Ocean, from whom all rivers flow and every sea, and all the springs and deep wells; howbeit even he hath fear of the lightning of great Zeus, and his dread thunder, whenso it crasheth from heaven.”
- 24.614–617
- And now somewhere amid the rocks, on the lonely mountains, [615] on Sipylus, where, men say, are the couching-places of goddesses, even of the nymphs that range swiftly in the dance about Achelous, there, albeit a stone, she broodeth over her woes sent by the gods.
Fabulae
- Theogony
- [6] From Ocean and Tethys came ... also the Rivers: Strymon, Nilus, ... Achelous, ...
- [30] From Achelous and Melpomene came the Sirens, ...
- 31
- [7] The river Achelous could change himself into any form he wanted, and when he and Heracles were fighting over the right to marry deianira, he turned himself into a bull. Hercules broke off one of his horns and gave it to the Hesperides (or Nymphs); these goddesses filled the horn with fruit and called it Cornucopia {"Horn of Plenty"}.
- 125
- [13] Then Ulysses came to the Sirens, the daughters of the Muse Melomene and the river Achelous.
Progymnasmata
- Narration 1: "On Deianira"]
- Gibson, p. 11
- Narration 1: On Deianira1
- Heracles wanted to marry Deianira, the daughter of Oeneus, but the river Achelous was in love with the girl, too. Fearing both of them, Oeneus freely offered her to neither. And so, setting his daughter as the prize he ordered them to compete for her. And Heracles won at wrestling by pulling off the river's horn. And the blood flowed and Earth received it; from this the Sirens were born.2
- 1 C.f. Narrations 31. For the myth, see Sophocles, Trach. 9-21; Ovid, Metam. 9.1-88; Apollodorus, Bibl. 1.8.1; 2.7.5.
- 2 Elsewhere the Sirens are said to be the offspring of Achelous by Melpomene (Apollodorus, Bibl. 1.3.4) or Sterope (Bibl. 1.7.10), or to be the offspring of Earth (Euripides, Hel. 167-169) or Phorcys (Sophocles frg. 861 Radt).
- Narration 31: "On Deianira"]
- Gibson, p. 33
- Narration 1: On Deianira59
- Heracles longed for Deinira, daughter of Oeneus, but the river Achelous longed for her, as well. Coming into conflict because of their desire, they decided the issue with a contest and set marriage to the girl as the prize. And [p. 35] having attacked him Heracles pulled off Achelous's horn, and the blood of the wound running down sowed the birth of the Sirens.
- 59 C.f. Narration 1 with notes.
Alexandra
- 712–716
- And he shall slay the triple daughters,o of Tethys’ son, who imitated the strains of their melodious motherp: self-hurledq from the cliff’s top they dive with their wings into the Tyrrhenian sea, where the bitter thread spun by the Fates shall draw them.
- o Sirens, daughter of Acheloüs, son of Tethys. Here three, while Hom. Od. xii. 52 and 167 uses the dual.
- p Melpomene.
- q The Sirens were doomed to die when anyone passed their shores safely (Hygin. Fab. 125 and 141). When Odysseus did so, they threw themselves from the Sirenes rocks (Strabo 247) into the sea.
Saturnalia
- 5.18.3
- ...But no one asks why Virgil named the Acheloüs, among all other rivers, when he intended "water" to be understood, and no one suspects that some more profound bit of learning might be present.
- 5.18.4
- 4. But after examining the matter more deeply I have found that the learned poet has spoken (as my evidence will show) in the manner of the most ancient Greeks, who used "Akheloös" as the proper term for "water"—nor did they do that to no purpose: rather, the reason has been carefully recorded. But before I explain the reason, I shall use the testimony of an ancient poet to show that this manner of speaking—using "Akheloös" to mean "water" in general—was pervasive.72
- 72 Cf. (D)Serv. on G. 1.8 (citing but not quoting Aristophanes and Ephorus).
- 5.18.5
- 5. Aristophanes, a poet of the Old Comedy, says in his Rooster (fr. 365 PCG 3,2:205), "I was puking up a nasty burden—for the wine was weighing me down— . . . I had not mixed the drink with Akheloös." I was being weighed down (he says) by the wine that had not been mixed with water, that is, by pure wine.
- 5.18.6
- 6. Furthermore, Ephorus, the well known author, shows in Book 2 of his Histories why they adopted this usage (no. 70 fr. 20 FGrH): "Now, only the inhabitants nearby sacrifice to other rivers; the Akheloös alone happens to be honored by all humankind, who refer to other rivers by their proper names, not by one or another common term, whereas they adopt the Akheloös’ proper name as the common term."
- 5.18.7
- 7. "For we generally call "water" (as the common term has it) "Akheloös," from the river’s proper name, whereas in the case of other names we often use the common terms in place of the proper, for example calling Athenians "Hellenes" or Spartans "Peloponnesians." As the best explanation of this puzzle I can offer only the oracles from Dodona."
- 5.18.8
- 8. "For in nearly all his pronouncements the god was accustomed to enjoin sacrifice to Akheloös, with the result that many people came to believe that by "Akheloös" the oracle meant, not the river that flows through Akarnania,73 but "water" tout court, and so they imitate the terms of address used by the god. As a token of this, there’s the fact that we usually speak that way in referring to the divine: for we call water "Akheloös" above all in oaths and in prayers and in sacrifices, all the things that concern the gods."
- 73 Acarnania lay on the Ionian Sea in NW Greece: the Acheloüs marked the boundary with Aetolia to the east, the Ambracian Gulf the boundary with Epirus on the north.
- 5.18.9
- 9. Can there be any clearer demonstration that the ancient Greeks were in the habit of using "Acheloüs” to refer to water of any sort? That’s how Virgil came to make the very learned statement that father Liber mixed wine with Acheloüs. And though I think that in quoting the comic poet Aristophanes and the historian Ephorus I’ve given enough testimony on this point, we will nonetheless go a step further. For Didymus—easily the most learned of all grammarians—cited the explanation given by Ephorus above and added a second, as follows (Tragic Diction fr. 2):
- 5.18.10
- 10. Better to say that humankind honors Akheloös for being the oldest of all rivers by addressing simply all rivers with his name; Agêsilaos,74 at any rate, in Book 1 of his History, makes it plain that the Akheloös is the oldest river, saying, "Ôkean wed his own sister, Têthys, and from them were born 3,000 rivers, with Akheloös oldest among them and much the most honored."
- 5.18.11
- 11. Though all that is more than enough to establish the customary ancient turn of phrase whereby “Acheloüs” was treated as a common term for “water” in general, let the following verse of Euripides, the most noble tragic poet, add still further authority, as the same Didymus cites it, in his books on Tragic Diction, in these words (ibid.):
- 5.18.12
- 12. "Euripides, in his Hypsipylê, uses 'Akheloös' to mean water of every sort: for in speaking about water located quite far from Akarnania, home of the river Akheloös, he says (fr. 753 TGrF 5,1:758):
- I shall show the Argives Akheloös’ stream.75
[2]
- Alcaeus thinks that Achelous was the son of Ocean and of Earth, Hecateus suggests the Sun and Earth, and Nymphis (in the first book of his Heraclea) claims that they were Thetis or Earth [sic]72
- p. 436
- 450 (Voigt) Comes Natalis Myth. 7. 2 (p. 714 ed. Francof. 1581)
- Alcaeus Oceani et Terrae filium esse (Acheloum) sensit.
- p. 436
- 450 Comes Natalis, Mythology
- Alcaeus saw that Achelous1 was the son of Ocean and Earth.
- 1 River, boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia; cf. Sa. 212.
Smith s.v. Achelous
- He with 3000 brother-rivers is described as a son of Oceanus and Thetys (Hes. Th. 340), or of Oceanus and Gaea, or lastly of Helios and Gaea. (Natal. Com. 7.2.)
Dionysiaca
- 13.313–315
- Lake Catana near the Sirens, whom rosy Terpsichore brought forth by the stormy embraces of her bull-horned husband Akheloos;c
- c A river rising in Mount Pindos and falling into the Ionion sea. Rivers were represented as with heads or horns of bulls.
- 17.238–239
- as they sing of horned Akheloos,d when Heracles cut off his horn and took it to adorn his wedding.
- d Acheloos the river-god and Hracles both wooed Deianeira daughter of Oineus; they fought for her, and Heracles, wrestling with the god in his bull-shape, broke off one of his horns, whereat Acheloos yielded, and Heracles married Deianeria.
- 43.12–15
- Deianeira, who once in that noisy strife for a bride preferred Herakles, and stood there fearing the wedding with a fickle bullhorn River.b
- b An allusion to Sophocles, Trach. 9-27, cf. ibid. 503-530.
Amores
- 3.6.35–36
- Ask Achelous who his horns did drub,
- Straight he complains of Hercules's club.
Fasti
- 2.43–46
- The son of Amphiarausf said to Naupactiang Achelous, “O rid me of my sin,” and the other did rid him of his sin. Fond fools alack! to fancy murder’s gruesome stain by river water could be washed away!
- f Alcmaeon, who had slain his mother Eriphyle, for accepting the bribe of a necklace to persuade him to attack Thebes. He was purified by water from the Achelous.
- g A mistake: Naupactus was far from the Achelous.
Heroides
- 9.137–140
- Me, too, you have possessed among your many loves—but me with no reproach. Regret it not—twice you have fought for the sake of me. In tears Achelous gathered up his horns on the wet banks of his stream, and bathed in its clayey tide his mutilated brow;
- 16.263–268
- Ah, might the gods make you the prize in a mighty contest, and let the victor have you for his couch!—as Hippomenes bore off, the prize of his running, Schoeneus’ daughter, as Hippodamia came to Phrygian embrace, as fierce Hercules broke the horns of the Achelous while aspiring to thy embraces, Deianira.
Metamorphoses
- 5.552–555
- But, daughters of Acheloüs, why have you the feathers and feet of birds, though you still have maidens’ features? is it because, when Proserpina was gathering the spring flowers, you were among the number of her companions, ye Sirens, skilled in song?
- 8.547–564
- Meanwhile Theseus, having done his part in the confederate task, was on his way back to Tritonia’s city where Erechtheus ruled. But Acheloüs, swollen with rain, blocked his way and delayed his journey. “Enter my house, illustrious hero of Athens,” said the river-god, “and do not entrust yourself to my greedy waters. The current is wont to sweep down solid trunks of trees and huge boulders in zigzag course with crash and roar. I have seen great stables that stood near by the bank swept away, cattle and all, and in that current neither strength availed the ox nor speed the horse. Many a strong man also has been overwhelmed in its whirling pools when swollen by melting snows from the mountain-sides. It is safer for you to rest until the waters shall run within their accustomed bounds, until its own bed shall hold the slender stream.” The son of Aegeus replied: “I will use both your house, Acheloüs, and your advice.” And he did use them both. He entered the river-god’s dark dwelling, built of porous pumice and rough tufa; the floor was damp with soft [cont.] moss, conchs and purple-shells panelled the ceiling.
- 8.574–591
- What place is that? Tell me the name which that island bears. And yet it seems not to be one island.” The river-god replied: “No, what you see is not one island. There are five islands lying there together; but the distance hides their divisions. And, that you may wonder the less at what Diana did when she was slighted, those islands once were nymphs, who, when they had slaughtered ten bullocks and had invited all the other rural gods to their sacred feast, forgot me as they led the festal dance. I swelled with rage, as full as when my flood flows at the fullest; and so, terrible in wrath, terrible in flood, I tore forests from forests, fields from fields; and with the place they stood on, I swept the nymphs away, who at last remembered me then, into the sea. There my flood and the sea, united, cleft the undivided ground into as many parts as now you see the Echinades yonder amid the waves. But, as you yourself see, away, look, far away beyond the others is one island that I love: the sailors call it Perimele.
- 8.592–610
- She was beloved by me, and from her I took the name of maiden. Her father, Hippodamas, was enraged with this, and he hurled his daughter to her death down from a high cliff into the deep. I caught her, and supporting her as she swam, I cried: ‘O thou god of the trident, to whom the lot gave the kingdom next to the world, even the wandering waves, bring aid, and to one drowned by a father’s cruelty, I pray, give a place, O Neptune, or else let her become a place herself.’ While I prayed a new land embraced her floating form and a solid island grew from her transformed shape.”
- 9.1–100
- The Neptunian hero1 asked the god why he groaned and what was the cause of his mutilated forehead; to whom the Calydonian river, binding, up his rough locks with a band of reeds, thus replied: “’Tis an unpleasant task you set; for who would care to chronicle his defeats? Still I will tell the story as it happened: nor was it so much a disgrace to be defeated as it was an honour to have striven at all, and the thought that my conqueror was so mighty is a great comfort to me. Deianira (if you have ever heard of her) was once a most beautiful maiden and the envied hope of many suitors. When along with them I entered the house of the father2 of the maid I sought, I said: ‘Take me for son-in-law, O son of Parthaon.’ Hercules said the same, and the others yielded their claims to us two. He pleaded the fact that Jove was his father, pleaded his famous labours and all that he had overcome at the command of his stepmother. In reply I said: ‘It is a shame for a god to give place to a mortal’ (Hercules had not yet been made a god); ‘you behold in me the lord of the [cont.]
- 1 Theseus was the reputed son of Aegeus; but there was a current tradition that he was really the son of Neptune.
- 2 Oeneus.
- 9.1–100 [Brooks:]
- To him the hero, who proclaimed himself
- a favored son of Neptune, answered now;
- "Declare the reason of your heavy sighs,
- and how your horn was broken?" And at once
- the Calydonian River-God replied,
- binding with reeds his unadorned rough locks:
- "It is a mournful task you have required,
- for who can wish to tell his own disgrace?
- But truly I shall speak without disguise,
- for my defeat, if rightly understood,
- should be my glory.—Even to have fought
- in battle with a hero of such might,
- affords me consolation.
- ... So, worsted in my strength,
- I sought diversion by an artifice,
- and changed me to a serpent.
- “Twice was I vanquished, there remained to me
- a third form so again I changed to seem
- a savage bull, and with my limbs renewed
- in that form fought once more. ...
- Not yet content he laid his fierce right hand
- on my tough horn, and broke and tore it from
- my mutilated head.—This horn, now heaped
- with fruits delicious and sweet-smelling flowers,
- the Naiads have held sacred from that hour,
- devoted to the bounteous goddess Plenty.’
- 14.87–88
- the Sirens, daughters of Acheloüs.
D'Alessio, p. 18
- ... P.Oxy. 221 ... attributed ... to one Ammonios. ... The discussion on line 195 started in the last portion of Column 8, and occupies most of Column 9, ...
- [1] σανταί[...] ( )κα[..] [Column 9?] πασ[..(.)] νκατέλεξα
- [2] Ἀχελω[ΐου] ἀργυροδ[ί]νεω, / ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα
- [3] θάλασ[σα". ...
- [4] ...
- [8] εἶναι [Σέλ]ευκος δ' †ἐν ε΄ [Ἡρ]ακλείας· “πῶ[ς]
- [9] δ᾿ ἐπορ[εύθ]ης ῥεῦμα Ἀ[χ]ελ[ω]ΐου ἀργυ[ρο-]
- [10] δίνα, / Ὠκεανοῦ ποταμοῖο [δι᾿] εὐρέος ὑγ[ρ]ὰ
- [11] κέλευθα;”
- [12] ...
- [18] πολλούς πρό Δήμητρο[ς] θύειν ... Ἀ-
- [19] χελώιωι, ὅτι πάντων πο[τα]μῶν ὄνο-
- [20] μα ὁ Ἀχελῶιος κα[ὶ] ἐξ ὕδα[τος] ὁ καρπός.
...
Col. 9, line 1
- 12 "Ammonius" in Il. 21.195 (P.Oxy.221 ix 1; v.93 Erbse)
- κ]ύμασ[ιν] ἐνκατέλεξα Ἀχελω[ΐου] ἀργυροδ[ί]νεω, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα θάλασσα.
- 12 "Ammonius," commentary on Iliad 21
- "I laid (him?) in the [wat]ers of silver-eddying Achelous, from which is the whole sea."
- P.Oxy 221 (1st century. CE), attributed to the scholar Ammonius, comments on Iliad XXI:
- p. 18
- The preserved portion first quotes at least two fragmentary hexameters to the effect that Acheloios was the origin of the whole sea.
- p. 20
- ... The first two fragmentary verses, which in the London papyrus [P.Oxy. 221] are to be read as
- ]νασ[.ἐ]γκατέλεξα / Ἀχελωίου ἀργυροδίνεω
- ,ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα θάλασσα
Col. 9, lines 8–11
- 13 "Ammonius" in Il. 21.195 (P. Oxy. 221 ix 8; v.93 Erbse)
- [Σέλ]ευκος δὲ <τὸν αὐτὸν Ὠκεανῶι τὸν Ἀχελῶιον εἶναι
- Πανύασσιν ἀποφαίνει λέγοντα> ἐν ε΄ [Ἡρ]ακλείας·
- “π[ς] δ᾿ ἐπορ[εύθ]ς ῥεῦμ᾿ Ἀ[χ][ω]ΐου
- ἀργυ[ρο]δίνα,
- Ὠκεανοῦ ποταμο [δι᾿] εὐρέος ὑγ[ρ]ὰ κέλευα;”
- <τὸν αὐτὸν - λέγοντα> suppl. West.
- 13 "Ammonius," commentary on Iliad 21
- Seleucus <points out that Panyassis identified Achelous with Oceanus> in Book 5 of the Heraclea:
- "And how did you travel the stream of silver-eddying Achelous, over the watery ways of the broad river Oceanus?"15
- 15 The addressee is Heracles, the speaker perhaps Geryon.
- Particularly relevant are archaic verses quoted by Seleukos in P.Oxy. 221 ix 8-11 (from a commentary on this passage of the Iliad; Erbse 5.93-4), in which Acheloos and Okeanos are simply equated. Wilamowitz, who attributed the lines to Panyassls (fr. 13), could well be right that Acheloos was the original, Hellenic god, Okeanos the parvenu.37.
- 37 Wilamowitz, GGA 162 (1900) 42; ... See further D'Alessio, 'Textual fluctuations'.
- Seleucus, a grammarian of the first century CE, on the other hand, quoted Pindar and Panyassis to show that Achelous was identical with Oceanus; see P.Oxy. 221, ix, 8-20, and also Sch. Il. 21.195c (ex. [Did.]); this probably suggests that Seleucus too was in favor of omitting line 195 as unecessay. Cf. Schmidt 1976, 113-114; D'Alessio 2004, 30-33.
- [the identification of Achelous with Ocean] is exactly what we see in the next poetic passage quoted by the London papyrus, two hexameters introduced by the word[s] 'Seleukos in the fifth book of the Herakleia':
- πῶ[ς] δ᾿ ἐπορ[εύθ]ης ῥεῦμ' Ἀ[χ]ελ[ω]ΐου ἀργυ[ρο]δίνα,
- Ὠκεανοῦ ποταμοῖο [δι᾿] εὐρέος ὑγ[ρ]ὰ κέλευθα;
- Somebody seems to be asking somebody else (probably Herakles) 'how did you cross the stream of silver-eddying Acheloios / through River Ocean's wet paths?'
Col. 9, lines 18–20
- The clue, once again, is offered by the London papyrus: Seleukos [says] that 'many people sacrifice to Achelois before sacrificing to Demeter, since Acheloios is the name of all rivers and the crop comes from water'.
fr. 2 West [= Pausanias, 10.8.9 = fr. 2.2 Bernabé]
- 2 Paus. 10.8.9
- Πανύασσις δὲ ὁ Πολυάρχου πεποιηκὼς ἐς Ἡρακλέα ἔπη θυγατέρα Ἀχελώιου τὴν Κασταλίαν φησὶν εἶναι. λέγει γὰρ δὴ περὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους·
- Παρνησσὸν νιφόεντα θοοῖς διὰ ποσσὶ περήσας
- ἵκετο Κασταλίης Ἀχελωΐδος ἄμβροτον ὕδωρ.
- 2 Pausanias, Description of Greece
- Panyassis the son of Polyarchus, the author of a Heracles epic, makes Castalia a daughter of Achelous. For he says of Heracles:
- Crossing snowy Parnassus with swift feet, he came to Acheloian Castalia’s immortal water.
- Panyassis deals with Acheloios' problems in at least two other fragments: in fr. 2.2 Bernabé he mentions Κασταλίης Ἀχελωΐδος ἄμβροτον ὕδωρ, sharing with many other fifth-century authors the idea that all springs derive from Achelois;
fr. 13 West
- 13 "Ammonius" in Il. 21.195 (P. Oxy. 221 ix 8; v.93 Erbse)
- [Σέλ]ευκος δὲ <τὸν αὐτὸν Ὠκεανῶι τὸν Ἀχελῶιον εἶναι
- Πανύασσιν ἀποφαίνει λέγοντα> ἐν ε΄ [Ἡρ]ακλείας·
- “π[ς] δ᾿ ἐπορ[εύθ]ς ῥεῦμ᾿ Ἀ[χ][ω]ΐου
- ἀργυ[ρο]δίνα,
- Ὠκεανοῦ ποταμο [δι᾿] εὐρέος ὑγ[ρ]ὰ κέλευα;”
- <τὸν αὐτὸν - λέγοντα> suppl. West.
- 13 "Ammonius," commentary on Iliad 21
- Seleucus <points out that Panyassis identified Achelous with Oceanus> in Book 5 of the Heraclea:
- "And how did you travel the stream of silver-eddying Achelous, over the watery ways of the broad river Oceanus?"15
- 15 The addressee is Heracles, the speaker perhaps Geryon.
- Particularly relevant are archaic verses quoted by Seleukos in P.Oxy. 221 ix 8-11 (from a commentary on this passage of the Iliad; Erbse 5.93-4), in which Acheloos and Okeanos are simply equated. Wilamowitz, who attributed the lines to Panyassls (fr. 13),
- Centuries later, the Homeric scholar Seleucus (1st cent. AD) followed Zenodtus' instincts in athetizing the line, as reported by P.Oxy. 221 (col. IX, ll. 8-11)
- Seleucus, a grammarian of the first century CE, on the other hand, quoted Pindar and Panyassis to show that Achelous was identical with Oceanus; see P.Oxy. 221, ix, 8-20, and also Sch. Il. 21.195c (ex. [Did.]); this probably suggests that Seleucus too was in favor of omitting line 195 as unecessay. Cf. Schmidt 1976, 113-114; D'Alessio 2004, 30-33.
- [the identification of Achelous with Ocean] is exactly what we see in the next poetic passage quoted by the London papyrus, two hexameters introduced by the word[s] 'Seleukos in the fifth book of the Herakleia':
- πῶ[ς] δ᾿ ἐπορ[εύθ]ης ῥεῦμ' Ἀ[χ]ελ[ω]ΐου ἀργυ[ρο]δίνα,
- Ὠκεανοῦ ποταμοῖο [δι᾿] εὐρέος ὑγ[ρ]ὰ κέλευθα;
- Somebody seems to be asking somebody else (probably Herakles) 'how did you cross the stream of silver-eddying Acheloios / through River Ocean's wet paths?' Wilamowitz ((1900) 42) argued that the two hexameters do, in fact, belong to a quotation of Panyassis, an opinion shared by Matthews in his edition in 1974, and, with some doubts, by Bernabé (fr. dub. 31). M. West, reviewing Matthews' edition has argued that the lines may rather belong to some unknown poet called Seleukos.46 This is very unlikely. ... There are several reasons for thinking that the lines do belong to Panyassis: ... Panyassis deals with Acheloios' problems in at least two other fragments: in fr. 2.2 Bernabé he mentions Κασταλίης Ἀχελωΐδος ἄμβροτον ὕδωρ, sharing with many other fifth-century authors the idea that all springs derive from Achelois; from fr. 20 Bernabé it appears that he spoke of ...
- 46 West (1976) 172-3, I notice that West (2003) 200 has abandoned this hypothesis.
fr. 23 West
- 23 Schol. (T) Il. 24.616b, “αἵ τ᾿ ἀμφ᾿ Ἀχελώϊον”
- τινὲς “αἵ τ᾿ ἀμφ᾿ Ἀχελήσιον”· ποταμὸς δὲ Λυδίας, ἐξ οὗ πληροῦται ὁ Ὕλλος· καὶ Ἡρακλέα νοσήσαντα ἐπὶ τῶν τόπων, ἀναδόντων αὐτῶι θερμὰ λουτρὰ τῶν ποταμῶν, τοὺς παῖδας Ὕλλον καλέσαι καὶ τὸν ἐξ Ὀμφάλης Ἀχέλητα, ὃς Λυδῶν ἐβασίλευσεν. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ νύμφαι Ἀχελήτιδες, ὥς φησι Πανύασσις.
- 23 23 Scholiast on the Iliad, “the nymphs who dance about the Achelous”
- Some read “about the Achelesius”; this is a river in Lydia, a tributary of the Hyllus, and (they say) that after Heracles fell sick in these parts, and the rivers provided him with warm bathing, he named his sons Hyllus, and the one born to Omphale Acheles—he became king of Lydia. There are also Achelesian nymphs, as Panyassis says.
- Scholiast on Apollonius of Rhodes
- Panyassis says that Heracles fell sick in Lydia and obtained therapy from the river Hyllus, which is in Lydia; and this is why his two sons were both named Hyllus.
- Panyassis deals with Acheloios' problems in at least two other fragments: ... from fr. 20 Bernabé it appears that he spoke of Ἀχελήτιδες nymphs when talking of the same Lydian river known as Ἀχελώιος in most versions od Iliad 24.616 (a variant Ἀχελήσιον was known in antiquity, perhaps also connected with the Panyassis passage).47 Within a Herakleia, the lines preserved by [p. 31] the London papyrus [P.Oxy. 221] would fit very well when speaking of Herakles' ... The attribution to Panyssis leads ...
1.34.3
- [3] The altar [at the Amphiareion of Oropos] shows parts. One part is to Heracles... The fifth is dedicated to the nymphs and to Pan, and to the rivers Achelous and Cephisus.
1.41.2
- [2] From this place [near Megara] the local guide took us to a place which he said was named Rhus (Stream), for that water once flowed here from the mountains above the city. But Theagenes, who was tyrant at that time, turned the water into another direction and made here an altar to Achelous.
2.2.3
- The names of the Corinthian harbors were given them by Leches and Cenchrias, said to be the children of Poseidon and Peirene the daughter of Achelous, though in the poem called The Great Eoeae Peirene is said to be a daughter of Oebalus.
3.18.16
- There is represented the fight between Heracles and Oreius the Centaur, and also that between Theseus and the Bull of Minos. There are also represented the wrestling of Heracles with Achelous,
6.19.12
- The Megarians who are neighbors of Attica built a treasury and dedicated in it offerings, small cedar-wood figures inlaid with gold, representing the fight of Heracles with Achelous. The figures include Zeus, Deianeira, Achelous, Heracles, and Ares helping Achelous.
8.24.8
- Alcmaeon, after killing his mother, fled from Argos and came to Psophis, which was still called Phegia after Phegeus, and married Alphesiboea, the daughter of Phegeus. Among the presents that he naturally gave her was the necklace. While he lived among the Arcadians his disease did not grow any better, so he had recourse to the oracle at Delphi. The Pythian priestess informed him that the only land into which the avenging spirit of Eriphyle would not follow him was the newest land, one brought up to light by the sea after the pollution of his mother's death.
8.24.9
- On discovering the alluvial deposit of the Achelous he settled there, and took to wife Callirhoe, said by the Acarnanians to have been the daughter of Achelous.
8.38.9
- This it is their custom to do. To the north of Mount Lycaeus is the Theisoan territory. The inhabitants of it worship most the nymph Theisoa. There flow through the land of Theisoa the following tributaries of the Alpheius, the Mylaon, Nus, Achelous, Celadus, and Naliphus. There are two other rivers of the same name as the Achelous in Arcadia, and more famous than it.
8.38.10
- One, falling into the sea by the Echinadian islands, flows through Acarnania and Aetolia, and is said by Homer in the Iliad1 to be the prince of all rivers. Another Achelous, flowing from Mount Sipylus, along with the mountain also, he takes occasion to mention in connection with his account of Niobe.2 The third river called the Achelous is the one by Mount Lycaeus.
- 1 See Hom. Il. 21.194.
- 2 Hom. Il. 24.615.
10.8.9 [= Panyassis fr. 2 West]
- Ascending from the gymnasium along the way to the sanctuary you reach, on the right of the way, the water of Castalia, which is sweet to drink and pleasant to bathe in. Some say that the spring was named after a native woman, others after a man called Castalius. But Panyassis, son of Polyarchus, who composed an epic poem on Heracles, says that Castalia was a daughter of Achelous. For about Heracles he says:—“Crossing with swift feet snowy Parnassus He reached the immortal water of Castalia, daughter of Achelous."
Imagines 4
- p. 303
- 4. Heracles or Acheloüs1
- Probably you are asking what these three figures have to do with each other—a serpent “ruddy of back”2 which rises there lifting its long form, a beard hanging beneath an erect serrated crest, its glare terrible and its glance one that cannot but work consternation; a bull that curves its neck beneath those mighty horns and, pawing the earth at its feet, rushes as for a charge;3 and here a man that is half animal, for he has the forehead of a bull and a spreading beard, while streams of water run in floods from his chin.4 The multitude that has gathered as for a spectacle; the girl in their midst, a bride, I suppose (for this must be inferred from the ornaments she wears); an old man yonder of sad countenance; a youth who is divesting himself of a lion’s skin and holding in his hands a club; and here a heroine of sturdy form who has been crowned [cont.]
- 1 The contest between Heracles and Acheloüs was a favourite subject in art from early times (cf. Paus 6 19, 22 for the description of a group at Olympia, which included Ares, Athena, Zeus and Deianeira as well as Heracles and Acheloüs). In early drawings Acheloüs is given the form of a centaur, but by the fifth century he is regularly represented as a bull with a human face. As pointed out by Jahn (Eph. Arch. 1682, p. 317f.), Acheloüs here has the form of a man, but with the horns of a bull springing from his forehead. While the presence of the serpent and the bull with Acheloüs is not explained in the description, apparently the painter intended to depict two of the forms that the river assumed during the struggle. The failure of Philostratus to understand what he described may be regarded as direct evidence that he was dealing with an actual picture. Evi- dently the picture gave two scenes (if not three): first the situation before the conflict, and secondly the outcome of the conflict; for the latter can hardly be treated as mere rhetoric on the part of Philostratus. The subject is depicted on a tripod base in the Constantinople Museum (Mitth. d. deutsch. Palaestrina-vereins VII, PI. III), where Acheloüs appears as a bearded man with horns of a bull; one horn lies at the feet of Heracles, and blood spouts from the head where it had been broken off. (Benndorf.)
- 2 Quoted from Homer, Il. 2. 308.
- 3 Cf. Eur. Her. Fur. 869: “Like a bull in act to charge.”
- 4 Cf. Soph. Trach. 8f.: “For my wooer was a river-god, Acheloüs, who in three shapes was ever asking me from my sire—coming now as a bull in bodily form, now as a serpent with sheeny coils, now with trunk of man and front of ox, while from a shaggy beard the streams of fountain-water flowed abroad.” Trans. Jebb.
- p. 305
- with beech leaves in harmony with the story of her Arcadian nurture—all this, I think, is Calydon.
- What is the meaning of the painting? The river Acheloüs, my boy, in love with Deianeira the daughter of Oeneus, presses for the marriage;1 and Persuasion has no part in what he does, but by assuming now one and now another of the shapes we see here, he thinks to frighten Oeneus. For you are to recognize the figure in the painting as Oeneus, despondent on account of his daughter Deianeira, who looks so dolefully at her suitor. For she is painted, not with cheek reddening through modesty, but as greatly terrified at the thought of what she will suffer in union with that unnatural husband. But the noble Heracles willingly assumes the task as an “incident of his journey,” to use a popular phrase.
- So much by way of prelude; but now see how the contestants have already joined battle, and you must imagine for yourself all that has transpired in the first bouts of the struggle between god and irresistible hero. Finally, however, the river, assuming the form of a horned bull, rushes at Heracles, but he, grasping the right horn with his left hand, uproots the other horn from its forehead with the aid of his club; thereupon the river-god, now emitting streams of blood instead of water, gives up the struggle, while Heracles, full of joy at his deed, looks at Deianeira, and throwing his club on the ground holds out to her the horn of Acheloüs as his nuptial gift.
- 1 It must be remembered that Deianeira had been promised to Acheloüs by Oeneus.
fr. 42 Fowler (p. 303) [= Apollodorus, 2.7.5]
- According to Apollodorus (Bibl. 2.148), he wrestled Acheloos in the form of a bull, and broke off one of his horns; Acheloos then gave him the horn of Amaltheia in its place. Here Apollodorus cites Pher. fr. 42, which says that the horn provided any quantity of food or drink one might wish for.
fr. 76 Fowler (p. 315)
fr. 249a
- and Pindar (fr. 249a SM); our summary of the latter also says that Herakles broke off one of his horns. and that the river god ransomed it back by offering a horn acquired from Amaltheia, daughter of Okeanos
- Pindar, in a lost poem,—of what class, is unknown,—told the story somewhat as follows4. Heracles, having gone down to Hades for Cerberus, there met the departed Meleager, who recommended his sister Deianeira as a wife for the hero. On returning to the upper world, Heracles went at once to Aetolia, where he found that Deianeira was being wooed by the river-god Acheloüs. He fought with this formidable rival,—who wore the shape of a bull,—and broke off one of his horns. In order to recover it, Acheloüs gave his conqueror the wondrous ‘cornucopia’ which he himself had received from Amaltheia, daughter of Oceanus. ...
- 4 Schol. on Iliad 21. 194. The schol. on Il.8. 368 probably has the same passage in view when he quotes Pindar as saying that Cerberus had a hundred heads.
Phaedrus
- 230b
- Socrates
- By Hera, it is a charming resting place. For this plane tree is very spreading and lofty, and the tall and shady willow is very beautiful, and it is in full bloom, so as to make the place most fragrant; then, too, the spring is very pretty as it flows under the plane tree, and its water is very cool, to judge by my foot. And it seems to be a sacred place of some nymphs and of Achelous, judging by [230c] the figurines and statues.
- 263d
- Socrates
- Oh, how much more versed the nymphs, daughters of Achelous,
Elegies 2.34.33–34
- For though you should tell of the course of Aetolian Achelous, how its waters flowed broken by the power of love ...
De fluviis
- 22
- ACHELOUS is a river of Aetolia, formerly called Thestius. This Thestius was the son of Mars and Pisidice, who upon some domestic discontent travelled as far as Sicyon, where [p. 505] after he had resided for some time, he returned to his native home. But finding there his son Calydon and his mother both upon the bed together, believing him to be an adulterer, he slew his own child by a mistake. But when he beheld the unfortunate and unexpected fact he had committed, he threw himself into the river Axenos, which from thence was afterwards called Thestius. And after that, it was called Achelous upon this occasion.
- Achelous, the son of Oceanus and the Nymph Nais, having deflowered his daughter Cletoria by mistake, flung himself for grief into the river Thestius, which then by his own name was called Achelous.
fr. 212 Campbell
- p. 194
- 212 Comes Natalis Myth. 7. 2 (p. 716 ed. Francof. 1581)
- memoriae prodit Sappho primum Acheloum vini mistionem . . . invenisse.
- p. 195
- 212 Comes Natalis, Mythology
- Sappho records that Achelous1 invented the mixing of wine.
- 1 See Alc. 450 (Voigt).
On Virgil's Georgics 1.8
Latin:
CHAONIAM P. G. M. A. [line 8]
Epiroticam, a loco, in quo abundant glandes, quibus antea homines vescebantur. et modo speciem pro genere posuit; non enim aut in Epiro tantum glandes fuerunt, aut de solo Acheloo homines potare consueverant. sane 'Acheloia' non praeter rationem dixit: nam, sicut Orpheus docet, generaliter aquam veteres Acheloum vocabant. sed quia specialiter quidam fluvius Achelous dicitur, aut species est pro genere, aut secundum antiquitatem est locutus.
PINGVI ARISTA [line 8]
aristam modo pro frumento posuit. et adfectate ait pinguem aristam, cum proprie arista ab ariditate sit dicta.
CHAONIAM P. G. M. A. [line 8]
Epiroticam. quae cur Chaonia dicta sit, in tertio Aeneidis plenius habes. et hic ideo Epiroticam a loco, in quo abundant glandes, quibus antea homines vescebantur: vel quod ibi quercus Iovi Dodonaeo sacrata, quae homi- nibus responsa reddebat. ex hac, cum fuisset excisa, columbae, quae vaticinabantur, volasse dicuntur. et modo speciem pro genere posuit; non enim aut in Epiro tantum glandes fuerunt, aut de solo Acheloo homines potare consuerant. 'pingui' autem 'arista' modo pro frumento posuit. et affectate ait pinguem aristam, cum proprie arista ab ariditate sit dicta. 'glandem' vero 'mutavit arista' ita ait, ut 'togam paludamento mutavit'.
poculaque inuentis acheloia miscvit uvis [line 9]
Achelous Terrae fuisse filius dicitur, [Achelous is said to have been the son of Earth] ut solet de his dici, quorum per antiquitatem latent parentes.
hic cum de Melpomene vel, ut quidam dicunt, de Calliope musa sirenas habens filias amisisset et maerore conficeretur, auxilium matris oravit, ut sibi seni luctus remedium praestaret.
[Google translate: This was the Melpomene, or, as some say, Calliope, the Muse sirens, having lost and overwhelmed prepared mother prayed for help to the elderly grief remedy kept.]
quae miserans filium patefactis antris intra se obruit, cui postea ut perennem famam nominis daret, in Aetolica regione fluvium eiusdem vocabuli nasci fecit, quem nonnulli de Pindo, monte Thessaliae, oriri adserunt. [which is, being convicted by their dens, said within himself, was overwhelmed by the kindness of the son, who was afterwards known by the unscrupulous to give his name, his reputation, he made him in the Aetolian in the region of the river of the same term, which not a few of the Pindus, or on the mountain of Thessaly, and a selfish sort of insult to.]
circa hunc Staphylus, Oenei pastor, cum animadvertisset ex capellis unam esse pinguissimam, intellexit id pabuli ubertate fieri. secutus itaque eandem cum vidisset uvis vesci, admiratus et novitatem et dulcedinem, decerptum fructum pertulit regi. qui cum liquorem expressisset, a suo nomine appellavit οἶνον, ab inventore σταφυλήν. sed Hercules cum propter uxorem Deianiram cum Acheloo contenderet, cornu eius unum fregit, quod graece κέρας dicitur, unde miscere pocu- lum apud Graecos κεράσαι dicitur. sed hic Acheloum non praeter rationem dixit: nam, sicut Orpheus docet, et Aristophanes comicus et Ephorus historicus tradunt, Ἀχελῷον generaliter propter antiquitatem fluminis omnem aquam veteres vocabant. ergo quia specialiter Achelous Graeciae fluvius dicitur, aut species est pro genere, aut secundum antiquitatem est locutus.
[Google translate: in regard to this Staphylus, Oeneus is the shepherd, the fattest, when he observed the existence of one of the chapels together, David perceived that the richness of the conveyance of fodder to be done. , therefore, when he saw that he wholly followed the same grapes are fit to it, he wondered, and of the novelty and beauty of being, the plucked the fruit of the bore to the king. those who were with the liquor, it had expressed to him by his name, he called the οἶνον called after the discoverer σταφυλήν. When Hercules because of his wife Deianira, but Achelous he could contend with, his horn will be one and broke it, and that in the Greek κέρας is said to be, among the Greeks κεράσαι from which it is said, held out the cup to mix. But it is here said, Achelous was not in disaccord with reason; for, as Orpheus teaches, and Aristophanes, the comic poet, the historian Ephorus, and also say that, in general, for the sake of their ancient state of the river, every stream of water Ἀχελῷον the ancients called it. Therefore a special AchSlous said Greek river or appearance for the class, or, as Page said.]
- Fowler 2013, p. 12
Women of Trachis
- 9–26
- Deianeira
- For my suitor was a river-god, Achelous, [10] who in three shapes was always asking me from my father—coming now as a bull in visible form, now as a serpent, sheeny and coiled, now ox-faced with human trunk, while from his thick-shaded beard wellheads of fountain-water sprayed. [15] In the expectation that such a suitor would get me, I was always praying in my misery that I might die, before I should ever approach that marriage-bed.
- But at last, to my joy, the glorious son of Zeus and Alcmena came and [20] closed with him in combat and delivered me. The manner of their fighting I cannot clearly recount. I know it not, but if there be anyone who watched that sight without trembling, he might give an account of it. But I, as I sat there, was struck with terror, [25] lest my beauty should win me sorrow in the end. But Zeus, Arbiter of Contests, accomplished a good ending—
- 497–506
- Chorus
- Great and mighty is the victory which the Cyprian queen always bears away. I bypass the tales of the gods, [500] and do not narrate how she beguiled the son of Cronus, and Hades, the lord of darkness, or Poseidon, shaker of the earth. But, when this bride was to be won, [505] who were the massive rivals that entered the contest for her nuptials? Who stepped forward to the ordeal of battle full of blows and raising dust?
- 507–516
- Chorus
- One was a mighty river-god, the form of a bull, high-horned and four-legged, [510] Achelous, from Oeniadae. The other came from Thebes, home of Bacchus, brandishing his resilient bow, his spears and club; he was the son of Zeus. These two then met in a mass, lusting to win a bride, [515] and the Cyprian goddess of nuptial joy was there with them, acting as sole umpire.
- 517–525
- Chorus
- There was clatter of fists and clang of bow and crash of a bull's horns mixed together; [520] then there were close-locked grapplings and deadly blows from foreheads and loud deep cries from both. Meanwhile the delicate beauty sat on the side of a hill that could be seen from afar, [525] awaiting the husband that would be hers.
fr. 5 Lloyd-Jones
- Lloyd-Jones, p. 13
- So Achelousa runs with wine in our place.
- a The name of the Achelous, which is by far the greatest river of Greece, is sometimes used to mean "water" in general.
Thebaid
- 4.106
- The riverd whose face the athlete Hercules did mar: even yet scarce dares he raise his stricken visage from the water's depth, but mourns with head sunk far below in his green cave, while the river-banks pant and sicken with dust
- d The Achelous.
8.2.3
- The Corinthian Gulf begins, on the one side, at the outlets of the Evenus (though some say at the outlets of the Acheloüs, the river that separates the Acarnanians and the Aetolians),
8.3.11
- The Teutheas empties into the Acheloüs which flows by Dyme2 and has the same name as the Acarnanian river. It is also called the "Peirus"; by Hesiod, for instance, when he says: “"he dwelt on the Olenian Rock along the banks of a river, wide Peirus."
- 2 CP. 10. 2. 1]
9.5.10
- for here too, near Lamia, is a river Acheloüs, on whose banks live the Paracheloïtae.
10.2.1
- Now the Aetolians and the Acarnanians border on one another, having between them the Acheloüs River, which flows from the north and from Pindus on the south through the country of the Agraeans, an Aetolian tribe, and through that of the Amphilochians, the Acarnanians holding the western side of the river as far as that part of the Ambracian Gulf which is near Amphilochi and the temple of the Actian Apollo, but the Aetolians the eastern side as far as the Ozalian Locrians and Parnassus and the Oetaeans. Above the Acarnanians, in the interior and the parts towards the north, are situated the Amphilochians, and above these the Dolopians and Pindus, and above the Aetolians are the Perrhaebians and Athamanians and a part of the Aenianians who hold Oeta. The southern side, of Acarnania and Aetolia alike, is washed by the sea which forms the Corinthian Gulf, into which empties the Acheloüs River, which forms the boundary between the coast of the Aetolians and that of Acarnania. In earlier times the Acheloüs was called Thoas. The river which flows past Dyme bears the same name as this, as I have already said,1 and also the river near Lamia.,2 I have already stated, also, that the Corinthian Gulf is said to begin at the mouth of this river.,3
- 1 8. 3. 11.
- 2 9. 5. 10.
- 3 8. 2. 3.
10.2.19
- To the east of Zacynthos and Cephallenia are situated the Echinades Islands, ... lie off the outlet of the Acheloüs, the farthermost being fifteen stadia distant and the nearest five. In earlier times they lay out in the high sea, but the silt brought down by the Acheloüs has already joined some of them to the mainland and will do the same to others. It was this silt which in early times caused the country called Paracheloïtis, which the river overflows, to be a subject of dispute, since it was always confusing the designated boundaries between the Acarnanians and the Aetolians; for they would decide the dispute by arms, since they had no arbitrators, and the more powerful of the two would win the victory; and this is the cause of the fabrication of a certain myth, telling how Heracles defeated Acheloüs and, as the prize of his victory, won the hand of Deïaneira, the daughter of Oeneus, whom Sophocles represents as speaking as follows: "For my suitor was a river-god, I mean Acheloüs, who would demand me of my father in three shapes, coming now as a bull in bodily form, now as a gleaming serpent in coils, now with trunk of man and front of ox."3 4 Some writers add to the myth, saying that this was the horn of Amaltheia,5 which Heracles broke off from Acheloüs and gave to Oeneus as a wedding gift. Others, conjecturing the truth from the myths, say that the Acheloüs, like the other rivers, was called "like a bull" from the roaring of its waters, and also from the the bendings of its streams, which were called Horns, and "like a serpent" because of its length and windings, and "with front of ox"6 for the same reason that he was called "bull-faced"; and that Heracles, who in general was inclined to deeds of kindness, but especially for Oeneus, since he was to ally himself with him by marriage, regulated the irregular flow of the river by means of embankments and channels, and thus rendered a considerable part of Paracheloïtis dry, all to please Oeneus; and that this was the horn of Amaltheia.7
- 3 Soph. Trach. 7-11
- 4 One vase-painting shows Acheloüs fighting with Achilles as a serpent with the head and arms of a man, and with ox horns, and another as a human figure, except that he had the forehead, horns, and ears of an ox (Jebb, note ad loc.).
- 5 Cf. 3. 2. 14 and footnote.
- 6 Literally, "ox-prowed" (see Jebb, loc. cit.).
- 7 Cp. 3. 2. 14.
2.102.2–6
- [2] For the town4 is in the midst of a marsh formed by the river Achelous, which, rising in Mount Pindus and passing first through the territory of the Dolopians, Agraeans, and Amphilochians, and then through the Acarnanian plain, at some distance from its mouth flows by the city of Stratus and finds an exit into the sea near Oeniadae: an expedition in winter is thus rendered impossible by the water. [3] Most of the islands called Echinades are situated opposite to Oeniadae and close to the mouth of the Achelous. The consequence is that the river, which is large, is always silting up: some of the islands have been already joined to the mainland, and very likely, at no distant period, they may all be joined to it. The stream is wide and strong and full of mud; [4] and the islands are close together and serve to connect the deposits made by the river, not allowing them to dissolve in the water. For, lying irregularly and not one behind the other, they prevent the river from finding a straight channel into the sea. These islands are small and uninhabited. [5] The story is that when Alcmaeon the son of Amphiaraus was wandering over the earth after the murder of his mother, he was told by Apollo that here he should find a home, the oracle intimating that he would never obtain deliverance from his terrors until he discovered some country which was not yet in existence and not seen by the sun at the time when he slew his mother; there he might settle, but the rest of the earth was accursed to him. [6] He knew not what to do, until at last, according to the story, he spied the deposit of earth made by the Achelous, and he thought that a place sufficient to support life must have accumulated in the long time during which he had been wandering since his mother's death. There, near Oeniadae, he settled, and, becoming ruler, left to the country the name of his son Acarnan. Such is the tradition which has come down to us concerning Alcmaeon.
- 4 Oeniadae was inaccessible, owing to the flooding of the Achelous. Opposite to the town lie the Echinades, islands formed by the deposits of the river. Here Alcmaeon, after the murder of his mother is said to have found a home which was indicated to him by the oracle of Apollo.
Georgics
- 1.8–9
- Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista,
- poculaque inventis Acheloia miscuit uvis;
- Chaonian acorn for the plump wheat-ear,
- And mingled with the grape, your new-found gift,
- The draughts of Achelous;