---
title: Phrygian Histories and Myths
title_greek: Ἀποσπάσματα
author: Hermesianax of Cyprus
eul_wid: iiy-aa
eul_aid: iiy
canonical: "https://eulogikon.org/works/hermesianax-cyprus-histories-myths-iiy-aa"
period: Hellenistic
dialect: Koine
domain: History
format: Prose
license: "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"
---

# Phrygian Histories and Myths

*Ἀποσπάσματα*

**Author:** Hermesianax of Cyprus

**eul_wid:** `iiy-aa` · [HTML page](https://eulogikon.org/works/hermesianax-cyprus-histories-myths-iiy-aa)

The Phrygian Histories and Myths is a lost prose work attributed to Hermesianax of Cyprus, a figure distinct from the Hellenistic poet Hermesianax of Colophon. Compiled in four books, it was a collection concerning the legendary history, mythology, and local antiquities of the Phrygian region. The work’s existence is known solely from a 10th-century entry in the Byzantine encyclopedia known as the Suda, which records its title and structure; it is not cited in any other extant ancient literature. The Suda’s notice indicates the work was available in Constantinople and was considered notable for lexicographical purposes. It represents one of many lost Hellenistic-era local histories that compiled regional myths, reflecting the period’s scholarly interest in antiquarian research.

## Text

## ΦΡΥΓΙΑΚΑ. E LIBRO SECUNDO. Plutarch.

### 1

De fluv. 12, 4: Γεννᾶται δ’ ἐν αὐτῷ λίθος καλούμενος ἀστήρ. Οὗτος εἴωθε νυκτὸς βαθείας πυρὸς δίκην λάμπειν, τοῦ φθινοπώρου τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνοντος· προσαγορεύεται δὲ τῇ διαλέκτῳ τῶν ἐγχωρίων βαλλὴ ν , ὅπερ μεθερμηνευόμενόν ἐστι βασιλεύς· καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Ἑρμησιάναξ Κύπριος ἐν βʹ Φρυγιακῶν. E SCRIPTIS INCERTIS. [5]

### 2

Idem ibid. 2, 3: Ἑρμησιάναξ δὲ ὁ Κύπριος ἱστορίας μέμνηται τοιαύτης. Ἑλικὼν καὶ Κιθαιρὼν ἀδελφοὶ τυγχάνοντες διαφόρους ἔσχον τῶν τρόπων τὰς διαθέσεις· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἑλικὼν, πρᾳότερος ὑπάρχων καὶ προσηνὴς, συμπαθῶς γηροβοσκεῖ τοὺς γονεῖς· ὁ δὲ Κιθαιρὼν, πλεονέκτης τυγχάνων καὶ θέλων εἰς ἑαυτὸν μεταστῆσαι τὴν οὐσίαν, πρῶτον μὲν ἐφόνευσε τὸν γεννήσαντα, τὸν δ’ ἀδελφὸν ἐξ ἐνέδρας κατακρημνίζων καὶ αὐτὸς συγκατηνέχθη. Κατὰ δὲ θεῶν πρόνοιαν εἰς ὁμώνυμα ὄρη μεταμορφηθέντες ἐγένοντο. Κιθαιρὼν μὲν διὰ τὴν ἀσέβειαν Ἐριννύων μυχὸς, Ἑλικὼν δὲ διὰ φιλοστοργίαν Μουσῶν ἐνδιαίτημα. Id. [10]

### 3

Ibid. 24, 1: Ἑρμησιάναξ δὲ ὁ Κύπριος ἱστορίας μέμνηται τοιαύτης· Διόνυσος ἐρασθεὶς Ἀλφεσιβοίας νύμφης, καὶ μήτε δώροις μήτε δεήσεσι πεῖσαι δυνάμενος, εἰς τὴν προειρημένην Τίγριν μετέβαλε τὴν μορφὴν τοῦ σώματος· καὶ φόβῳ πείσας τὴν ἀγαπωμένην, ἀνέλαβεν αὐτήν· καὶ διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κομίσας, ἐγέννησεν υἱὸν Μῆδον, ὃς ἀκμάσας εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ συγκυρήματος τὸν ποταμὸν Τίγριν μετωνόμασε· καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Ἀριστώνυμος ἐν γʹ. [5]

## License and provenance

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