The poetical histories being a compleat collection of all the stories necessary for a perfect understanding of the Greek and Latine poets and other ancient authors / written originally in French, by the learned Jesuite, P. Galtruchius ; now Englisht and enricht with observations concerning the gods worshipped by our ancestors in this island, by the Phœnicians, and Syrians in Asia ... ; unto which are added two treatises, one of the curiosities of old Rome, and of the difficult names relating to the affairs of that city, the other containing the most remarkable hieroglyphicks of Ægypt, by Marius d'Assigny ...

CHAP. VII.

Of Cadmus, and of the City of Thebs.

VVHen Jupiter ravisht Europa, the Daughter of Agenor, King of the Phaenicians, as we have said in the third Chapter of the first Book, this Prince sent his Son to seek her out into many places of the World, with a Command to never ap∣pear before him until he had found her: But Cadmus, after many tedious voyages, could never learn what was become of her; there∣fore he went to consult the Oracle of Apollo in Delphos, to know what was best for him * 1.1to do: The answer was, that a Cow, some say an Oxe, should meet him, and that he was to follow the directions of this Beast, to build a City, and settle his habitation. He met the Oxe in a Province of Greece, called from thence Boeotia: And that in a business of so great a concern, he might obtain the assistance of Heaven, he resolved first to of∣fer the wearied beast in sacrifice to the God∣dess Minerva. In order to this Religious performance, he dispatches his followers to

the next Fountain, named Dirce, to fetch from thence water, but it happened that a * 1.2fearful Dragon surprized them there una∣wares, and devoured them alive. Minerva advised him immediately to destroy this Dra∣gon, and to sow the Teeth of his head in the Earth, which when he had done, seve∣ral Companies of armed men sprung up out of this seed, but they could not suffer one another, therefore they destroyed themselves, only five were remaining, that offered their assistance to Cadmus, in building a City to dwell, and in furnishing it with Inhabitants. This City was Thebs, where he reigned ma∣ny * 1.3years, and left many Children: Ino, Se∣mcle the Mother of Bacchus, and Agave, who being transported with fury in the company of the Menades, she kill'd her own Son Pen∣theus, that had by his speech discovered a dislike of the mad Ceremonies of this God.

Cadmus did live to see all his Posterity fall into extreme misery, and himself and Wife * 1.4banished into Illyria, or Sclavonia, where, according to their desire, they were changed into Serpents; for Amphion forced them out of their own City, and built the walls of it by the harmony of his Lute, as we have al∣ready said in the fifth Chapter; but was af∣terwards kill'd by Diana for his unconside∣rate speeches of her, and of her Brother A∣pollo.

But I think it will not be amiss if we take notice here, that there have been several Ci∣ties

of Thebs, one in Cilicia, where Andro∣medes the Wife of Hector was born, which was sackt by the Greeks when they marcht to the Siege of Troy: There was another in E∣gypt, the largest of that Name; it had a hun∣dred Gates; from it that fruitful and re∣nowned Province Thebais was so called, which hath been the retreat of so many Religious Anachorets, that built there their Covents in the first Ages of Christianity.

But Thebs in Boeotia was the most famous of all these Cities, not only because of the grievous Wars that it suffered, and the great Captains that it furnished to Greece, such as * 1.5were Epaminondas, and Pelopidas, but also because the drunken God Bacchm, Hercules, and Pindarus, the Prince of the Lyrick Poets, were born in it. It is reported of the last, that the Bees did prognosticate and signifie what he should one day be; for whiles he was yet in the Cradle, they pitcht upon his * 1.6lips, and there laid up their honey, and Pan, with the Nymphs of the Neighbourhood, did keep a Feastival on the day that he came into the World. Alexander the Great did mightily honour him; for when he com∣manded all the City to be destroyed with fire and Sword, he gave an express Order to his Souldiers, that they should spare the house of Pindarus, with all his Relations.

* 1.7 Cadmus, and most of the famous men of Antiquity, cannot much glory in a Noble Pe∣digrce:

If the truth was known, he was but the Cook of Agenor, King of Tyre or Sidon; * 1.8he ran away from his Prince for no good deed with Harmonia a noted Strumpet, yet he was so happy as to have laid the foundations of the City of Thebs.

* 1.9 Herodotus saith, that he brought sixteen Letters into Greece, and taught the people the Art of Writing: Somesay, that Pentheus the Son of Agave, and Echion his Grand-child, afterwards by his furious Mother succeeded him in his Kingdom.

The Poets make Europa bir Sister, Thasus his Brother. Cilix, from whom Cilicia borrows the Name, and Phoenix, who hath called a Province of Asia Phoenicia, were his other Bre∣thren, Electra and Taygete his other Sisters, by several Mothers. Europa was the most re∣markable of them for her extraordinary beauty, which caused Jupiter to send some of his Sub∣jects * 1.10to steal her away. They took her and car∣ried her on board a Ship where a Bulls Image was placed in the Stern, which caused the Fa∣ble of Europa's being ravisht by a Bull. Her afflicted Father sent his Sons Thassus and Cad∣mus after her, but to little purpose; for when they could not find her, they setled themselves, and built each of them a City; Thassus in an Isle of the Aegean Sea, and Cadmus in Greece. The Phaenicians to comfort their disconsolate Prince, invented and promoted the Fable of Eu∣ropa's being carried away by Jupiter, therefore they reckoned her amongst the Goddesses, and

appointed Sacrifices and Altars to her, causing Money to be stampt in honour of her: In one side was Europa sitting upon a white Bull.

The City of Thebs was famous in Greece, but never so much as when Epaminondas the great Warriour and Philosopher overcame the * 1.11Lacedemonians. Pindarus was a Citizen of this place, he was much respected for his Poe∣tical Art: The Oracle enrich't him for it, & com∣manded that a half part of the gifts dedicated to Apollo, should be presented to him, because he did sing and compose so many excellent Hymns in honour of that God, and of the others. The Bees, when he was yet a Child sleeping in the open air, powred forth upon his lips their de∣lightful honey. The same thing is reported of Plato, as it is said of Midas, that when he was yet in his Cradle, the Ants carried into his mouth several grains of Wheat. These pas∣sages were Prognosticks of the future splendour and fame of these men in that kind of life which they did imbrace.

Notes

• * 1.1

  He was to build a City where the Oxe did lye down when it was weary of its journey.
• * 1.2

  The Dragon did proceed from Mars, it kill'd Seriphus and Daileon, the servants of Cadmus. The truth is, this Dragon was a famous Robber.
• * 1.3

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a violent grief, for she drowned her self in despair. Others add Autonoe and Polydorus, sons of Cadmus.
• * 1.4

  The Oracle told the Illyri∣ans, that they should obtain the victory a∣gainst their E∣nemies, if Cadmus was their Captain. By that means he reigned in Illyria.
• * 1.5

  Epaminondas was a Scholar of Pythagoras. Diog. Laert. lib. 8.
• * 1.6

  Thebs was re∣built by Alex∣anders com∣mand, for the sake of a great Wrastler that had been thrice crown∣ed at the O∣lympick Games.
• * 1.7

  Addit. Not.
• * 1.8

  Ʋlpian.
• * 1.9

  The Greek Letters are called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 an unhappy Victory.
• * 1.10

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Euripid. in Medea.
• * 1.11

  After his death his Suc∣cessors did enjoy a porti∣on of all the gifts offered to Apollo in Delphos. Some say Pindarus was a Child cast away in the Woods, and that he was nourisht by Honey in∣stead of Milk.