[tied] Re: Glen & Joseph's Tyrrhenian

Herodotus, The Histories


4.145
houtos men nun tauta eprêsse. ton auton de touton chronon egineto
epi
Libuên allos stratiês megas stolos, dia prophasin tên egô
apêgêsomai
prodiêgêsamenos proteron tade. [2] tôn ek tês Argous
epibateôn*
paidôn paides exelasthentes hupo Pelasgôn tôn ek
Braurônos
lêisamenôn tas Athênaiôn gunaikas, hupo toutôn
exelasthentes ek,
Lêmnou oichonto pleontes es Lakedaimona, hizomenoi de en tôi
Têügetôi
pur anekaion. [3] Lakedaimonioi de idontes angelon epempon peusomenoi
tines te kai hokothen eisi: hoi de tôi angelôi eirôtônti
elegon hôs
eiêsan men Minuai, paides de eien tôn en têi Argoi
pleontôn hêrôôn,
prosschontas de toutous es Lêmnon phuteusai spheas.

rendering
In this case at this time [it] happen, that at the same time this
passed also a great army [was] outfitted [and] sent onto Libuên.
By means alleged to be the cause I direct [your] attention before
hand [to] this. Those [born] out of the Argous children's children
embarked [were] driven out by the Pelasgôn [born] out of
Braurônos [whom had] seized as booty the Athênaiôn women.
After they
[were] driven out from Lêmnou [they] went by sea to Lakedaimona,
to
sit there [at] Têügetôi [and] light up fires. When the
Lakedaimonioi
beheld [this] an envoy [was] sent to learn by inquiry whom and
whence [they] were. Thereupon, the envoy asked thus, [to find] in
this case Minuai, children [that] had sailed with the Argoi warriors,
they to plant [and] hold onto this Lêmnon.

traditional rendering
At the same time that he was doing this, another great force was sent
against Libya, for the reason that I shall give after I finish the
story that I am going to tell now. [2] The descendants of the crew of
the Argo were driven out by the Pelasgians who carried off the
Athenian women from Brauron; after being driven out of Lemnos by
them, they sailed away to Lacedaemon, and there camped on Teügetum
and kindled a fire. [3] Seeing it, the Lacedaemonians sent a
messenger to inquire who they were and where they came from. They
answered the messenger that they were Minyae, descendants of the
heroes who had sailed in the Argo and put in at Lemnos and there
begot their race.

The reference to a large military expedition to Libya indicates that
this episode occurred during the period of the Sea Peoples. The text
says the Pelasgians arrived on Lemnos and drove out the earlier
Minyae people in the Late Bronze Age. This appears to be part of a
general Sardinian Tyyrhenian-Pelasgian migration from Anatolia.
Regardless, this text indicates that from the exodus of the Minyae
people to the arrival of the Athenians (around 500) the population of
Lemnos was Pelasgian. Actually, Pelasgians were still the dominant
demographic group on Lemnos in Herodot's day (mid 400s). Thus, again
Lemnian and
by extension Tyyrhenian are Pelasgian.

Any questions?

JS Crary