7.19.1 Between the temple [nāos] of [Artemis] Laphria and the altar [bōmos] has been built the tomb [mnēma] of Eurypylos. Before my narrative [logos] about who he was and for what reason [aitiā] he came to this land I will first tell about the existing state of affairs at the time of his arrival. The Ionians who inhabited [oikeîn] Aroe, Antheia, and Mesatis had in-common [en koinōi] a precinct [temenos] and a temple [nāos] of Artemis with the surname [epiklēsis] Triklaria, and for her the Ionians used to celebrate [agein] every year a festival [heortē] and an all-night-festivity [pannukhis]. The sacred-title-of-priest(ess) [hierōsunē] of the goddess [theos (feminine)] was to be held by someone who was to be a virgin [parthénos] until the time came for her to be sent to a husband.

7.19.2 Now they say that once upon a time it happened that the one who was serving-as-priestess [hierâsthai] for the goddess was Komaitho, a most-beautiful [kallistē] virgin [parthénos]. Melanippos—that was his name—was-passionately-in-love [erân] with her. He was far better in good looks than others of his age. When Melanippos led the girl [parthénos] to a degree of passionate-love [erōs] that reached the point of being equal to his own [es tò ison], he approached her father, seeking-permission-to-marry [mnâsthai] her. Somehow old age has a way of opposing the young in very many things, and, most of all, it has a way of being insensitive-to-the-pain [an-algēton] with regard to those who are-passionately-in-love [erân]. That is how it was for Melanippos. Even though Komaitho was ready and willing to get married off just as he was ready and willing to marry her, the response he got even from his own parents, not only from the parents of Komaitho, was anything but gentle [hēmeron].

7.19.3 The passionate-experiences [pathēmata] of Melanippos, like those of many others, gave-proof [epi-deixai] that passionate-love [erōs] has a way of confusing [sun-kheai] the customary-laws [nomima] of humans [anthrōpoi] and of turning-upside-down [ana-trepsai] the acts-of-honor [tīmai] that are due to the gods [theoi]. That is what happened back then in this case as well. Right inside the sanctuary [hieron] of Artemis, Komaitho and Melanippos had their fill of passionate-love [erōs] in full swing. And, after that, they even got into the habit of using the sanctuary [hieron] as a bridal-chamber [thalamos]. In due time, the anger [mēnīma] of Artemis began to destroy the humans [anthrōpoi]. The earth yielded no harvest [karpos], and there were diseases [nosoi] quite out of the ordinary, since they resulted in an unaccountable number of deaths.

7.19.4 The people appealed to the oracle [khrēstērion] at Delphi, and the Pythian-priestess [Puthia] accused Melanippos and Komaitho. The oracular-pronouncement [manteuma], reaching the people, ordered that they must sacrifice [thuein] those two [= Melanippos and Komaitho] to Artemis, and that every year [thereafter] they must sacrifice [thuein] to the goddess [theos (feminine)] whoever was the most beautiful girl [parthénos] and boy [pais]. Because of this sacrifice [thusiā], the river flowing by the sanctuary [hieron] of [Artemis] Triklaria was named Ameilikhos [‘not-benign’]. Previously it had no name.

7.19.5 None of the boys [paides] and girls [parthénoi] who perished because of Melanippos and Komaitho had done anything wrong against the goddesss [theos (feminine)], and yet they still suffered [paskhein] in a most pitiful way, as did also those who were near-and-dear [pros-(h)ēkontes] to them, but those two [= Melanippos and Komaitho], I propose, escaped from misfortune [sumphorā]. I say this because the only thing there is for a human [anthrōpos] that is worth one’s own life in exchange is this: achieving-success [katorthōsai] in loving-passionately [erân].

7.19.6 It is said that their practice of sacrificing [thuein] humans [anthrōpoi] was put to an end for them [= the people of Patrai] in the following way. Before all this, there-had-been-an-oracular-pronouncement [khrēsthai] for them from Delphi, saying that a king [basileus] who is alien [xenos] will come to the land, bringing with him a superhuman-power [daimōn] who is likewise alien [xenikos], and that this king will put an end to the things having to do with the sacrifice [thusiā] to [Artemis] Triklaria. When Troy [Ilion] was captured, and the Greeks divided the spoils, Eurypylos the son of Euaimon got a chest [larnax]. In the chest was a statue [agalma] of Dionysus, the work [ergon], so they say, of Hephaistos, and given as a gift by Zeus to Dardanos.

7.19.7 But there are two other narratives [logoi] with regard to this [= the chest]. One is that this chest [larnax] was left behind by Aeneas when he fled [from Troy]; the other, that it was thrown away by Cassandra to become a misfortune [sumphorā] for the one among the Greeks who finds it. Be that as it may, Eurypylos opened the chest [larnax], saw the statue [agalma], and, right after the vision [théā], he went out-of-his-mind [ek-phrōn]. He went on being-in-a-mental state [mainesthai] for the greater part of the time, though occasionally he would get back inside himself. Being in this state, he did not proceed on his sea voyage to Thessaly, but headed for Kirrha and the gulf there. Going uphill to Delphi, he consulted-the-oracle [khrâsthai] about his illness [nosos].

7.19.8 They say that an oracular-pronouncement [manteuma] was given to him: at whatever place he finds humans [anthrōpoi] who are-sacrificing [thuein] a sacrifice [thusiā] that is alien [xenē], at that place he should set down the chest [larnax] and be-at-home [oikeîn]. Now the ships of Eurypylos were carried down by the wind to the sea off Aroe. On landing he came across a boy [pais] and a girl [parthénos] who had just been brought to the altar [bōmos] of [Artemis] Triklaria. So Eurypylos found it easy to understand the things having to do with the sacrifice [thusiā], while the local-people [epikhōrioi] got themselves back to a remembrance [mnēmē] of the oracular pronouncement [khrēsmos] now that they saw a king [basileus] whom they had never seen before. And they suspected [hupo-noeîn] that the chest [larnax] had some god [theos] inside it.

7.19.9 So it was, then, that the illness [nosos] of Eurypylos and the things having to do with the sacrifice [thusiā] practiced by these humans [anthrōpoi] came to an end. Also, the river was now given its present name Meilikhos [‘benign’]. Some have written, concerning the things I have just said, that these things happened not to the Thessalian Eurypylos but to Eurypylos the son of Dexamenos who was king in Olenos. They want to have it the following way: that this one [= the other Eurypylos] joined Hēraklēs in his campaign against Troy [Ilion] and received the chest [larnax] from Hēraklēs. The rest of what they say corresponds to what I have said.

7.19.10 The thing is, though, that I cannot be persuaded to believe that Hēraklēs did not know the things to be known about the chest, if these things really were such as they were said to be, nor, if he was aware of them, do I think that he would ever have given it to an ally as a gift. Further, the people of Patrai have in their memory [mnēmē] no Eurypylos other than the son of Euaimon, and to him every year they make-sacrifice [enagizein] [as to a hero] when they celebrate [agein] the festival [heortē] in honor of Dionysus.