Page:Key to Easy Latin Stories for beginners.djvu/49

 

131.Now, already from of old the family of the Alcmaeonidae was illustrious at Athens; for from Alcmaeon himself, most distinguished men appeared in this family. Formerly Alcmaeon had been sent by Croesus, king of Lydia, to consult the oracle of Delphi. And when Cyrus had learnt his services to himself, he invited him to Sardis; and when he arrived he presented him (lit. the same) with as great a weight of gold as he could carry off on his own body at one time. Then Alcmaeon arrived prepared in this way to receive the gift. Clad in a large tunic, in which a great fold had been left, and shod with the largest buskins he could find, he entered the treasure house. There, on coming across a heap of gold shavings, first he stuffed in around his legs as much gold as the buskins would hold. Then, after filling the whole of the fold of his garment, and sprinkling his hair with gold shavings, and at length taking others into his mouth, he came out of the treasure house, dragging along his buskins with difficulty. And when Cyrus had seen him, he did not restrain his laughter, moreover he gave him not only (all) these things, but even added others. So this family was strengthened by great wealth. And the same Alcmaeon, who used to keep horses for yoking to four-horse chariots, carried off the victory at Olympia.

132.Then, indeed, in the succeeding generation, Clisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, made the same family so renowned, that it became actually much more distinguished among the Greeks than it had been before. Now, Clisthenes, since he had a daughter, by name Agariste, had determined to give her in marriage to the most distinguished youth he could find of all the Greeks (lit. to the youth whomsoever most distinguished, &c) And when the Olympic games took place, at which Clisthenes was victorious in the race for four-horse chariots, he had given orders that it should be proclaimed by the herald, ‘Whoever of the Greeks thinks himself worthy of becoming son-in-law to 