Μόξος
Moxos, Moxus
Translated by Bethany Burklund29 Jul 2009Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
A Lydian; [a man] who carried out many fine deeds and [sc. especially], when relieving Meles of his tyrannical rule,1 ordered the Lydians to return a tenth, in accordance with what he had vowed, to the gods. They obeyed and, counting up their possessions, chose a tenth of everything and sacrificed it. As a result of this2 a great drought3 seized Lydia. And he is said to have made many expeditions. And his glory was very great among the Lydians, both for courage and for justice. Having done these things, he set out for Krabos4 and took it and plundered it, and taking the men to the nearby lake/marsh drowned them.5
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μόξος, Λυδός· ὃς πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἐργασάμενος καὶ τὸν Μήλην τῆς τυραννίδος καθελὼν τοῖς Λυδοῖς παρεκελεύσατο τὴν δεκάτην ἀποδοῦναι, καθ' ὃ ηὔξατο, τοῖς θεοῖς. οἱ δὲ ἐπείθοντο καὶ ἀπαριθμοῦντες τὰ κτήματα ἐξῄρουν δεκάτην ἁπάντων καὶ κατέθυον. ἐκ τούτου μέγιστος αὐχμὸς καταλαμβάνει Λυδίαν. καὶ πολλὰς στρατιὰς λέγεται πεποιῆσθαι. καὶ ἦν αὐτοῦ κλέος μέγιστον ἐν Λυδοῖς ἐπί τε ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ. ταῦτα πράξας ἐπὶ τὴν Κράβον ἐστάλη καὶ ταύτην εἷλε καὶ ἐπόρθησε, τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους εἰς τὴν πλησίον λίμνην ἀγαγὼν κατεπόντωσε.
Betacode
*mo/cos, *ludo/s: o(\s polla\ kai\ kala\ e)rgasa/menos kai\ to\n *mh/lhn th=s turanni/dos kaqelw\n toi=s *ludoi=s parekeleu/sato th\n deka/thn a)podou=nai, kaq' o(\ hu)/cato, toi=s qeoi=s. oi( de\ e)pei/qonto kai\ a)pariqmou=ntes ta\ kth/mata e)ch/|roun deka/thn a(pa/ntwn kai\ kate/quon. e)k tou/tou me/gistos au)xmo\s katalamba/nei *ludi/an. kai\ polla\s stratia\s le/getai pepoih=sqai. kai\ h)=n au)tou= kle/os me/giston e)n *ludoi=s e)pi/ te a)ndrei/a| kai\ dikaiosu/nh|. tau=ta pra/cas e)pi\ th\n *kra/bon e)sta/lh kai\ tau/thn ei(=le kai\ e)po/rqhse, tou\s de\ a)nqrw/pous ei)s th\n plhsi/on li/mnhn a)gagw\n katepo/ntwse.
Notes (5)
- Nicolaus of Damascus [nu 393] FGrH 90 F16; besides here, preserved in the Excerpta de virtutibus made for Constantine Porphyrogenitus (1.338.17-27).
This 'Moxos/Moxus' is routinely identified with the man elsewhere called 'Mopsos/Mopsus' (Xanthus [xi 9] FGrH 765 F17 = Athenaeus, Deipnosophists 8.346E (8.37 Kaibel)); and the events related appear to belong in the eighth century BCE or earlier. - 1The term seems to be used as a value-judgement here; Meles (on whom see the parenthesis in Herodotus 1.84) was actually Lydia's king at the time. ↩
- 2Though the Suda and the Excerpta both have
ek tou/tou , Jacoby printed his own emendatione)pi\ tou/tou ["during his reign"], which makes better sense. ↩ - 3Mss AV, as well as the Excerpta, give "drought" (
au)xmo\s ); GM have "struggle" (a)gw\n ). ↩ - 4Mss GVM read Krambos; G also has Kambros. Mueller (in FHG) suggested Syrian Nerabos, the toponym in Nicolaus' F17 immediately-following; and this finds some corroboration in F17 of Xanthus (see above). ↩
- 5"as godless men", adds the Excerpta. ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 18 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- coding — Catharine Roth
- more keywords; tweaking — David Whitehead
- augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- tweaks, keywords, status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Bethany Burklund