The consent of time disciphering the errors of the Grecians in their Olympiads, the vncertaine computation of the Romanes in their penteterydes and building of Rome, of the Persians in their accompt of Cyrus, and of the vanities of the Gentiles in fables of antiquities, disagreeing with the Hebrewes, and with the sacred histories in consent of time. VVherein is also set downe the beginning, continuance, succession, and ouerthrowes of kings, kingdomes, states, and gouernments. By Lodovvik Lloid Esquire.

CHAP. II.

Of the building of Athens▪ of their beginning, and of their first lawes vnder 17 kings, being the thirde kingdome of Greece in antiquitie after the Sicionians and the Argiues.

CEcrops of whom mention is made be∣fore, builded Athens in Achaia, and here∣of it was named first Cecropia: after that it was called of one Ati, Attica: and last of all it was named of Minerua, A∣thens: for in the Greeke tongue Athenae is called Minerua, though in ancient time it had other names, as Mopsopia, or * 1.1 Ionia, Diadas, and Orchomenon, and now at this time of no great * 1.2 fame, but a poore fisher towne, which Mahomet the eight Em∣perour of the Turkes hath brought vnder.

In the dayes of Cecrops, raigned that Pharao which was with * 1.3 all his nobilitie and chiualrie of Egypt drowned in the read sea for his wickednes and tyrannie against God and his people: he was by his proper name called Chencres. There happened in Cecrops time, two great wonders in Greece: the one a great deluge in Thessalia called Deucaleons floud: the other that great harme of fire called Incēdium Phaetontis: at what time the * 1.4 Grecians were named Helenes after the name of Hellenes the sonne of Deucaleon and Pyrrha.

After this Cecrops folowed Cranaus the second king of Athens, which raigned nine yeeres. Hermes Trismegistus a great Philo∣sopher, * 1.5 and a priest of Egypt, flourished, though Suydas saith, that he liued before Abrahams time: yea some of the best lear∣ned that are best acquainted with histories, thinke it a name fained, and a booke framed of late vnder the name of Trisme∣gistus. Now folowed Marathus the foureteenth king of Pelopo∣nesus, Erictherus the 15. king, & Choar the 16. king of Pelopone∣sus * 1.6 (as Functius saith:) Ruffinus nameth this king Astades. I passe * 1.7 ouer the names without any matter to be written of them, for Greece was yet as the Chaldeans and the Assyrians in the begin∣ning, building and beginning to frame kingdomes: for all this

time no part of Greece was knowen but Sicyonum, which is the countrey of the Peloponesians, after them the Argiues, and now the Thessalians and the Athenians start vp and beginne a king∣dom as the third and fourth gouernours of Greece in antiqui∣tie. About this time the citie of Corinth was builded: this was first called Epira, and grewe afterwarde to be one of the strongest cities and holdes in all Greece.

Nowe was the citie Epidaurus, and the citie Bythinia buil∣ded: now Memphis was builded in Egypt, for the world was * 1.8 then busie onely in building: at what time in Athens raigned * 1.9 Amphitrion the thirde king, and after him succeeded Erictho∣nius the fourth king of Athens. About which time came Phae∣nix and Cadmus from Thebes to Egypt, and from Egypt vnto Sy∣ria, and gouerned Tyre and Sidon: at what time raigned in Creete Asterius, and ouer the Argiues the ninth king cal∣led Stelenus.

I thought for obseruation of time very necessary to set downe the time and beginning of euery kingdome as they began in one place after another, though I finde nothing yet in Greece worth the writing, concerning either warres or go∣uernment. Now beganne in Phrigia a new kingdome called Dardania, after one Dardanius name, who both builded this * 1.10 towne and raigned there the first king 31. yeres: though Ma∣nethon setteth downe 64. I wil folow Archilochus in this histo∣rie, whose assertion is more probable concerning time then Manethon is. It was called before Meonia: this kingdome be∣ganne 830. yeeres after the flood, when Amyntas the 19. king of the Assyrians kept his Court at Niniue. About which time Moses died, after whom succeeded Iosua. In Egypt then go∣uerned Aegyptius, after he had driuen his brother Danaus then king out of Egypt, vsurped the kingdome, after whose name E∣gypt was named (before called Mizraim) and had to his sir∣name Ramesses.

About this time in Egypt the first Labyrinth was builded * 1.11 by Menophis, by some called Miris: after which example De∣dalus imitated the like worke, and made the second Labyrinth * 1.12

in Creete, at what time Minoes raigned king in Creete. This Mi∣noes * 1.13 was the first lawmaker in Creete, when likewise Radaman∣thus ordained lawes in Licya. Bellopares now king in Assyria go∣uerned, and Epopeus the 17. king of the Peloponesians. For that I see not much matters in following the course and order of these kings of Greece, and for that I finde (as I said before) no∣thing historicall, because yet time seemed raw in Greece, and farre from the ciuil dissentions which long after happened in Greece, & from the forren warres which the Grecians had with the kings of Persia and Macedonia (for now all the warres that were, was in Assyria & Chaldea:) I wil hasten therefore to come to the histories of Greece, & wil passe ouer these fragments of places and persons, vntil I shall find matters to write of: only I will set downe the names of the kings of the Argiues as they raigned orderly.

• 1 Inachus the first king, raigned 50. yeres.
• 2 Phoroneus. 60. * 1.14
• 3 Apis. 35.
• 4 Argos. 70.
• 5 Crassus. 54.
• 6 Abas Phorbas. 35.
• 7 Troiphas 46. In this kings time the kingdome of A∣thens beganne.
• 8 Crotopus. 21.
• 9 Stelenus. 11.
• 10 Danaus which was dri∣uen by his brother Rame∣ses out of Egypt, came to Argos and raigned 50.
• 11 Lynceus. 41.
• 12 Abas. 23.
• 13 Protheus. 17.
• 14 Agrisius. 13.

Now the kingdom of the Argiues ended, & their foueraigntie was taken away into Mycena by Perseus, a noble valiant cap∣taine, which had diuers victories ouer diuers countreis, as o∣uer the Persians, and now ouer the Argiues in the time of Agri∣sius, after they had gouerned Argos 544. yeres: where Eristheus * 1.15 a man most famous, & named another Hercules, for his great courage and enterprises, he was of the stocke of Atrides: for A∣treus, which was Agamemnon & Menelaus father, was his owne vncle, and therfore he gouerned the most part of Greece. In his time (which yet had growen to no strēgth) he established the kingdom of Mycena, and broght many subiects vnder it, that

Mycena became populous and strong, and the Mycenians be∣came * 1.16 to be conquerors of many prouinces, & therefore wri∣ters omit the name of Perseus and of Stelenus, and they begin the kingdom frō the time of Eristheus: after whom succeeded 6. kings, who waxed strong, & mighty, that then Mycena ruled al Greece. These had the 10. yeres warres with the Troyans, and at last conquered them, which warre was the cause of their own destruction, & for that they began together at one time, and both had equall nomber of kings: for 6. kings raigned in Mycena, and 6. in Troy, whose names I haue here layd downe.

The kings of MYCENA.	The kings of TROY.
Eristheus raigned 45. yeres.	Dardanus the first king. 31.
Atreus, and Thiestes. 65.	Ericthonius. 2. 57. Tros. 3. 60. * 1.17
Agamemnon Atreussonne 18.	Ilus the 4. king. 54.
This came frō Mycena vn∣to Troy with 1202. shippes.	Laomedon the 5. raigned 36. In whose time Troy was de∣stroyed by Hercules with his company going to Colchos.
Aegistus after Agamemnon. 2.	Priamus the 6. and last king, was by Agamemnō subdued, and his citie conquered.
Orestes 15. yeeres. In whose time Mycena was subdued by the stocke of Heraclides vnder the Peloponesians.

Thus ended the kings of Mycena and of Troy, the one being destroyed by the other: yet after Orestes was slaine by Pirrhus in the temple of Apollo, Tisamenus Orestes sonne raigned 15. * 1.18 yeres after his fathers death: and after Tisamenus raigned but two more, which were called Penthillus and Cometes. But there is scant any mention made of these after Orestes time.

Now after that these two kingdomes were destroyed, and ouerthrowen, presently the kingdome of the Latines begin∣neth in the person of Aeneas, who trauailing from Troy vnto Italy after the destruction therof, maried king Latinus daugh∣ter and heire, which is spoken of in the originall antiquitie of the Latines, by Halcarnassaeus, Ruffinus, Eusebius, and others.

The Peloponesians raigned 860. yeeres, and ended in the time of Samson the last Iudge of Israel, which ended the go∣uernment * 1.19 of the Iudges in Israel, which continued from Mo∣ses

vntill Samsons time 400. yeeres, and after Samsons death 40. yeeres, kings began to raigne in Israel. After that the kings en∣ded in Sicyonum, priestes raigned in that countrey of Pelopone∣sus called Carnij, which gouerned vntill the comming of that * 1.20 strong and ancient people called Heraclides: who afterwarde grew of great force, that the long ciuill warres which con∣tinued * 1.21 27. yeeres, to the last destruction of all Greece, as more at large in Thucydides is mentioned, and shalbe spoken of me when the time of these ciuil warres shall come to be handled in this historie.

I in the meane season will returne to the state of Athens, which by this time grewe to some fame, though before (as * 1.22 other parts of Greece) obscured by reason of no action done worth the writing vntill Theseus time, which raigned (as you heard before) in Poliphedes time the 24. king of Pelopones. he brought vnto Athens al the whole prouince of Attica, and dis∣persed people from other parts of Greece, and made them all one corporation, which were before dispersed vnto diuers villages: he erected a council hall, and made a towne house, which the Athenians called Asti: he instituted great feasts and sacrifices vnto Minerua called Panathaenea: this was for all the * 1.23 countrey of Attica, and he ordeined another feast which they called Metaecia, for strangers and forreners that should come * 1.24 to dwel at Athens. That done, he began to set vp an estate of a common wealth: he made distinctions of degrees, and diffe∣rence of states: moreouer Theseus coyned money, & marked the coyne thereof with the stampe of an oxe, in memorie of the bul of Marathon, or of Taurus, chiefe captaine of king Mi∣nos, which Theseus subdued by combate appointed. The * 1.25 stampe of the oxe continued in Athens vntill Pericles time, at what season the owle was stamped in the coine of Athens.

The renowne of this Theseus was marueilously blowen through all Greece, after diuers victories gotten against the Amazones, the slaughter of king Deucaleon king Minos sonne, of the vanquishing of the huge monster Minotaurus, of the warres of Lapithes, of the ouerthrowe of Captaine Taurus,

and of infinite more victories, so that all Greece rang of The∣sius * 1.26 fame, that his acts came to certaine prouerbs in all parts of Greece, Hic alter Theseus, this is another Theseus: Hoc sine Theseo nōfit, This was not done without Theseus. He dischar∣ged Athens of their tribute vnto king Minos, & appointed cer∣taine games called Isthmia after the imitation and order of * 1.27 Hercules, that euen as the Grecians did celebrate the games of Olympia in the honour of Iupiter by Hercules ordinance, so they should likewise celebrat the feast of Isthmia games which The∣seus made in the honour of Neptune: for he imitated Hercules in all his actions.

The great admiration which Theseus had of Hercules cou∣rage, * 1.28 made him in like sort with Themistocles to say, that as the victories and triumphes of Miltiades would not suffer Themi∣stocles to sleepe, so the renowme and fame of Hercules could not keepe Theseus backe from the imitation thereof: for they both were neere kinsmen. He was so great a benefactor vnto Athens, that on the 8. of October the Athenians doe most so∣lemne sacrifice in remembrance of his returne frō Creete with the children of Athens, after the killing of king Deucaleon and Minotaurus, & in the honor of Neptune (as Plutarch saith.) The * 1.29 Athenians honour the name of Theseus, which of some is sup∣posed to be the sonne of Neptune, euery 8. day of euery mo∣neth, so much Greece was beholden vnto Theseus. Plutarch in the life of Theseus saith, that Aegeus his father descended of the linage of the great Erictheus, & of the first inhabitants which occupied the coūtrey of Attica: for there is no mention made that they came out of any other countrey, but they were cal∣led Autochthones, borne of themselues in the lande of Attica, (for so the Athenians would haue it.)

This was the first that erected Athens: and hauing ioyned the citie of Megara and all the territories thereabout vnto At∣tica, * 1.30 he caused (as Plutarch affirmeth) foure square pillars to be set vp for the confines within the streight of Isthmis in Pe∣loponesus, with this sentence written on the pillars: All from these pillars Eastwarde, is in Ionia which is Attica: and all * 1.31

from thence Westward was in Peloponesus, to separate the countrey of Attica from Peloponesus: for in Ionia Attica lay.

After this Theseus, succeeded in Athens Mnestheus the eleuenth king, which raigned foure and twentie yeeres. This * 1.32 time gouerned Agamemnon in Mycena, when Helen Menelaus his brothers wife was rauished and taken away by Paris, who likewise being very yong was before rauished by Theseus. I will briefly rehearse the rest of the kings of Athens: for after Mnestheus, Demophon succeeded in Athens the twelfth king ouer the Athenians, and raigned 33. yeeres. In whose time Aeneas maried Lauinia king Latinus daughter, who gouerned them three yeeres and died, and left to Ascanius his sonne the kingdome after him: he raigned after his father thirtie eight yeeres. This time raigned in Assyria Tauteus the twentie and * 1.33 ninth king of the Assyrians. Eli the priest now iudged Israel, and Samuel the Prophet was borne. Oxintes the thirteenth king of Athens raigned twelue yeeres: about which time Ascanius be∣gan to build a towne, and named it Alba longa, where he with * 1.34 all his Court remooued, leauing Lauinium to his fathers wife Lauinia, thirtie yeeres after his father Aeneas had builded the citie of Lauinium. In this kings raigne the Amazones burned the temple of Diana in Ephesus.

Now followed in Athens the foureteenth king ouer the Athenians, who raigned but one yeere: after him raigned Thi∣moetes the 15. king he raigned eight yeeres. This was the last king of the stocke of Erictheus: after this time raigned Sil∣uius the thirde king of the Latins: here of all the kings of Alba * 1.35 were afterward called Syluij. In the 70. yeeres after the de∣struction of Troy, and foureteene yeeres after the kings fai∣led in Peloponesus, came certaine people from Greece vnto Pe∣loponesus, and possessed a great part of the countrey, which were called Dores: of this Thucydides onely can best report, for it is his proper historie. * 1.36

Now was Melanthus the sixteenth king ouer the Athenians which raigned 37. yeeres: in this kings time raigned in Assy∣ria Dercillus the 31. king. About this time Samuel the Prophet

iudged Israel, with whom gouerned afterward king Saul: du∣ring which gouernment, the prophet Dauid was borne, when * 1.37 Aeneas raigned the sixt king of the Latins: at what time the stocke and familie called Heraclides entred Peloponesus, who waxed so strong and fierce, that they waged warres against the Athenians, with whom they had diuers battels.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Strabo lib. 8.
• * 1.2

  Ruffinus de ori∣gine Grecorum.
• * 1.3

  Thucyd. lib. 2.
• * 1.4

  Deucal. flood.
• * 1.5

  Hermes Tris∣megistus.
• * 1.6

  Erictherus.
• * 1.7

  Functius.
• * 1.8

  Called first Mariandina.
• * 1.9

  Ruf. de orig. Graecor.
• * 1.10

  Dardania.
• * 1.11

  Labyrinth.
• * 1.12

  Diod. lib. 1. cap. 2.
• * 1.13

  Creete.
• * 1.14

  The names of the kings of the Argiues.
• * 1.15

  Euristheus ac∣compted ano∣ther Hercules.
• * 1.16

  Mycena.
• * 1.17

  The kings of Mycena, and of Dardania.
• * 1.18

  Ruf. de orig. Graecor.
• * 1.19

  The kings of Peloponesus.
• * 1.20

  Carnij.
• * 1.21

  Heraclides.
• * 1.22

  Theseus the 10. king of Athens and first ad∣uanced the fame and state of Athens.
• * 1.23

  Plutarch in vita Thes•…•…i.
• * 1.24

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.25

  The fame of Theseus.
• * 1.26

  The fame of Theseus.
• * 1.27

  Thucyd. lib. 2.
• * 1.28

  Theseus emu∣lated Hercules.
• * 1.29

  Ruffinus de orig. Graecor.
• * 1.30

  The deuision betweene the Peloponesians and the Athe∣nians.
• * 1.31

  Strabo lib. 9.
• * 1.32

  Mnestheus.
• * 1.33

  Eli the hie Priest iudged Israel 70. yeres before this time.
• * 1.34

  Alba longa.
• * 1.35

  Of Erictheus stocke the kings of A∣thens descen∣ded.
• * 1.36

  Thucyd. lib. 2. 3.
• * 1.37

  Aeneas came to Italy about Dauids birth.