Histories

Herodotus

Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).

This was the affair referred to by that oracle which the Pythian priestess gave to the Argives and Milesians in common, which ran thus:

  1. When the female defeats the male[*](This would be fulfilled by a victory of the female *spa/rth over the male *)argos.)
  2. And drives him away, winning glory in Argos [22.7333,37.6417] (Perseus) Argos,
  3. She will make many Argive women tear their cheeks.
  4. As someday one of men to come will say:
  5. The dread thrice-coiled serpent died tamed by the spear.

All these things coming together spread fear among the Argives. Therefore they resolved to defend themselves by making use of the enemies' herald, and they performed their resolve in this way: whenever the Spartan herald signalled anything to the Lacedaemonians, the Argives did the same thing.