BOHN’S CLASSICAL LIBRARY.

PAUSANIAS’
DESCRIPTION OF GREECE,

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

WITH NOTES AND INDEX

BY ARTHUR RICHARD SHILLETO, M.A.,

Sometime Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge.

VOLUME I.

“Pausanias est un homme qui ne manque ni de bon sens ni de bonne foi, mais qui croit ou au moins voudrait croire à ses dieux.” —Champagny.

LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS,
YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1886.

CHISWICK PRESS:—C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

Of Pausanias personally we know very little, but that he lived during the Reign of the Antonines, and travelled all round Greece, and wrote his famous Tour round Greece, or Description of Greece, in 10 Books, describing what he had seen and heard. His chief merit is his showing to us the state of the works of art still remaining in his day in the Greek cities, which have since been swept away by the various invasions that have devastated that once happy land. “When Pausanias travelled through Greece, during the age of the Antonines, about 1690 years ago, he found every city teeming with life and refinement; every Temple a Museum of Art; and every spot hallowed by some tradition which contributed to its preservation. The ruthless destruction of these works of art, in subsequent ages, has reduced them to a small number; and the Traveller now pauses, with a melancholy interest, to reflect upon the objects described by Pausanias, but which no longer exist.”[1]

Pausanias’ Description of Greece is also full of various information on many topics. It is for example a mine of Mythology. For its various matter it has been happily compared to a “County History.” There is often a quiet vein of humour in Pausanias, who seems to have been almost equally a believer in Providence and in Homer.

I have translated from Schubart’s Text in the Teubner[Pg vi] Series, (1875), but have taken the liberty always, where the text seemed hopeless, to adopt a reading that seemed preferable from any other source. I have constantly had before me the valuable edition of Siebelis, (Lipsiæ, 1827), to whom I am much indebted, especially for his Illustrations, still veracity obliges me to state that occasionally he too gives one reason to remember the famous lines of a well-known Rector of Welwyn in the Eighteenth Century.

“The commentators each dark passage shun,

And hold their farthing candle to the Sun.”

In the Index it is hardly necessary to state that I owe much to Schubart.

Cambridge,
May, 1886.

On the mainland of Greece, facing the islands called the Cyclades and the Ægean sea, the promontory of Sunium stands out on Attic soil: and there is a harbour for any one coasting along the headland, and a temple of Athene of Sunium on the summit of the height. And as one sails on is Laurium, where the Athenians formerly had silver mines, and a desert island of no great size called after Patroclus; for he had built a wall in it and laid a palisade, when he sailed as admiral in the Egyptian triremes, which Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, sent to punish the Athenians, Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, in person making a raid into their territory with a land force and ravaging it, and the fleet simultaneously hemming them in by sea. Now the Piræus was a township in ancient times, but was not a port until Themistocles ruled the Athenians; but their port was Phalerum, (for here the sea is nearest to Athens), and they say that it was from thence that Menestheus sailed with the ships to Troy, and before him Theseus to exact vengeance from Minos for the death of Androgeos. But when Themistocles was in power, because the Piræus appeared to him to be more convenient as a harbour, and it was certainly better to have three harbours than one as at Phalerum, he made this the port. And even up to my time there were stations for ships, and at the largest of the three harbours the tomb of Themistocles; for they say that the Athenians repented of their conduct to him, and that his[Pg 2] relatives exhumed his remains and brought them home from Magnesia. Certain it is that the sons of Themistocles returned from exile, and hung up a painting of Themistocles in the Parthenon. Now of all the things in the Piræus best worth seeing is the temple of Athene and Zeus; both their statues are of gold, and Zeus has a sceptre and Victory, while Athene is armed with a spear. Here, too, is a painting by Arcesilaus of Leosthenes and his sons, that famous hero who at the head of the Athenians and all the Greeks defeated the Macedonians in battle in Bœotia, and again beyond Thermopylæ, and drove them into Lamia over against Mount Œta and shut them up there. And it is in the long portico, where those near the sea have their market, (for there is another market for those more inland), and in the back of the portico near the sea are statues of Zeus and Demos, the design of Leochares. And near the sea is a temple erected to Aphrodite by Conon, after his victory over the Lacedæmonian fleet off Cnidus in the peninsula of Caria. For Aphrodite is the tutelary saint of the men of Cnidus, and they have several temples of the goddess; the most ancient celebrates her as Doritis, the next in date as Acræa, and latest of all that which everybody else calls Athene of Cnidus, but the Cnidians themselves call it Athene of the Fair Voyage.

The Athenians have also another harbour at Munychia, and a temple of Artemis of Munychia, and another at Phalerum, as has been stated by me before, and near it a temple of Demeter. Here too is a temple of Sciradian Athene, and of Zeus at a little distance, and altars of gods called unknown, and of heroes, and of the children of Theseus and Phalerus; for this Phalerus, the Athenians say, sailed with Jason to Colchis. There is also an altar of Androgeos the son of Minos, though it is only called altar of a hero, but those who take pains to know more accurately than others their country’s antiquities are well aware that it is the altar of Androgeos. And twenty stades[2] further is the promontory Colias; when the fleet of the Persians was destroyed the tide dashed the wrecks against it. There is here also a statue of Aphrodite of Colias and the goddesses who are called Genetyllides. I[Pg 3] am of opinion that the Phocian goddesses in Ionia, that they call by the name of Gennaides, are the same as these at Colias called Genetyllides. And there is on the road to Athens from Phalerum a temple of Hera without doors or roof; they say that Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, burnt it. But the statue there now is (as they say) the work of Alcamenes; this, indeed, the Persian cannot have touched.

As one enters into the city there is a monument of Antiope the Amazon. Pindar says that this Antiope was carried off by Pirithous and Theseus, but the account by Hegias of Trœzen is as follows: that Hercules besieging Themiscyra near the river Thermodon could not take it; but that Antiope being enamoured of Theseus, (who was besieging the place with Hercules), handed the place over to him. This is the account Hegias has given. But the Athenians say that, when the Amazons came, Antiope was shot by Molpadia with an arrow, and that Molpadia was slain by Theseus. There is a monument also to Molpadia among the Athenians. And as one ascends from the Piræus there are remains of the walls which Conon re-erected after the sea-fight off Cnidus; for those which Themistocles had built after the defeat of the Persians had been pulled down during the rule of The Thirty Tyrants, as they were called. And along the way the most notable tombs are those of Menander the son of Diopeithes, and a cenotaph of Euripides without the body. For Euripides was buried in Macedonia, having gone to the court of King Archelaus; and the manner of his death, for it has been told by many, let it be as they say. Poets even in those days lived with kings and earlier still, for when Polycrates was tyrant at Samos Anacreon lived at his court, and Æschylus and Simonides journeyed to Syracuse to the court of Hiero; and to Dionysius, who was afterwards tyrant in Sicily, went Philoxenus; and to Antigonus, king of the Macedonians, went Antagoras of Rhodes and Aratus of Soli. On the other hand Hesiod and Homer either did[Pg 4] not get the chance of living at kings’ courts, or of their own accord didn’t value it, the former because he lived in the country and shrank from travelling, and the latter, having gone on his travels to very distant parts, depreciated pecuniary assistance from the powerful in comparison with the glory he had amongst most men, for from him too we have the description of Demodocus’ being at the court of Alcinous, and that Agamemnon left a poet with his wife. There is also a tomb not far from the gates, with the statue of a soldier standing near a horse; who the soldier is I don’t know, but Praxiteles modelled both the horse and the soldier.

As one enters into the city there is a building for the getting ready of processions, which they conduct some annually, some at various intervals. And near is the temple of Demeter, and the statues in it are her and her daughter and Iacchus with a torch; and it is written on the wall in Attic letters that they are the production of Praxiteles. And not far from this temple is Poseidon on horseback, in the act of hurling his spear at the giant Polybotes, in respect to whom there is a story among the Coans as to the promontory of Chelone; but the inscription of our days assigns the statue to another and not to Poseidon. And there are porticoes from the gates to the Ceramicus, and in front of them brazen statues of women and men who have obtained some celebrity. And one of the porticoes has not only shrines of the gods, but also what is called the gymnasium of Hermes; and there is in it the house of Polytion, in which they say the most notable of the Athenians imitated the Eleusinian mysteries. But in my time it was consecrated to Dionysus. And this Dionysus they call Melpomenos for the same reason that they call Apollo Musagetes. Here are statues of Pæonian Athene and Zeus and Mnemosyne and the Muses, and Apollo (the votive offering and work of Eubulides), and Acratus a satellite of Dionysus: his face alone is worked in the wall. And next to the shrine of Dionysus is a room with statues of earthenware, Amphictyon the king of the Athenians feasting Dionysus and all the other gods. Here too is Pegasus Eleutherensis, who introduced Dionysus to the Athenians; and he was assisted by the oracle at Delphi, which foretold[Pg 5] that the god would come and settle there in the days of Icarius. And this is the way Amphictyon got the kingdom. They say that Actæus was first king of what is now Attica; and on his death Cecrops succeeded to the kingdom having married Actæus’ daughter, and he had three daughters, Erse, and Aglaurus, and Pandrosus, and one son, Erysichthon. He never reigned over the Athenians, for he chanced to die in his father’s lifetime, and the kingdom of Cecrops fell to Cranaus, the foremost of the Athenians in power and influence. And they say that Cranaus had among other daughters Atthis; from her they named the country Attica, which was before called Actæa. And Amphictyon rose up in insurrection against Cranaus, although he was married to his daughter, and deposed him from the kingdom; but was himself afterwards ejected by Erichthonius and his fellow conspirators. And they say that Erichthonius had no mortal father, but that his parents were Hephæstus and Mother Earth.

Now the place Ceramicus gets its name from the hero Ceramus, he too reputed to be the son of Dionysus and Ariadne; and the first portico on the right is called the royal portico, for there the king sits during his yearly office which is called kingdom. On the roof of this portico are statues of earthenware, Theseus hurling Sciron into the sea, and Aurora carrying off Cephalus, who, being most handsome, was, they say, carried off by enamoured Aurora, and his son was Phaethon. And he made him sacristan of the temple. All this has been told by others, and by Hesiod in his poem about women. And near the portico are statues of Conon and his son Timotheus, and Evagoras, the king of the Cyprians, who got the Phœnician triremes given to Conon by King Artaxerxes; and he acted as an Athenian and one who had ancestral connection with Salamis, for his pedigree went up to Teucer and the daughter of Cinyras. Here too are statues of Zeus, surnamed Eleutherius, and the Emperor Adrian, a benefactor to all the[Pg 6] people he ruled over, and especially to the city of the Athenians. And the portico built behind has paintings of the so-called twelve gods. And Democracy and Demos and Theseus are painted on the wall beyond. The painting represents Theseus restoring to the Athenians political equality. The popular belief has prevailed almost universally that Theseus played into the hands of the people, and that from his time they remained under a democratical government, till Pisistratus rose up and became tyrant. There are other untrue traditions current among the mass of mankind, who have no research and take for gospel all they heard as children in the choruses and tragedies. One such tradition is that Theseus himself was king, and that after the death of Menestheus his descendants continued kings even to the fourth generation. But if I had a fancy for genealogies, I should certainly have enumerated all the kings from Melanthus to Cleidicus the son of Æsimidas as well as these.

Here too is painted the action of the Athenians at Mantinea, who were sent to aid the Lacedæmonians. Xenophon and others have written the history of the entire war, the occupation of Cadmeia, and the slaughter of the Lacedæmonians at Leuctra, and how the Bœotians made a raid into the Peloponnese, and of the help that came to the Lacedæmonians from the Athenians. And in the picture is the cavalry charge, the most noted officers in which were on the Athenian side Gryllus, the son of Xenophon, and in the Bœotian cavalry Epaminondas the Theban. These paintings were painted for the Athenians by Euphranor, and in the temple hard by he represented Apollo under the name Patrous. And in front of the temple Leochares represented another Apollo, and Calamis the Apollo who is called Averter of Evil. And they say the god got this name by stopping from his oracle at Delphi the noisome pestilence, that smote them at the same time as the Peloponnesian war. There is also a temple to the Mother of the Gods wrought by Phidias, and next to it a council chamber for those who are called The Five Hundred, who are appointed annually. And in the council chamber are erected statues to Zeus the Counsellor, and to Apollo (the artistic design of Pisias), and to Demos (the work of[Pg 7] Lyson). And the legislators were painted by the Caunian Protogenes, but Olbiades painted Callippus, who led the Athenians to Thermopylæ to prevent the invasion of the Galati into Greece.

Now these Galati inhabit the remotest parts of Europe, near a mighty sea, not navigable where they live: it has tides and breakers and sea monsters quite unlike those in any other sea: and through their territory flows the river Eridanus, by whose banks people think the daughters of the sun lament the fate of their brother Phaethon. And it is only of late that the name Galati has prevailed among them: for originally they were called Celts both by themselves and by all other nations. And an army gathered together by them marched towards the Ionian Sea, and dispossessed all the nations of Illyria and all that dwelt between them and the Macedonians, and even the Macedonians themselves, and overran Thessaly. And when they got near to Thermopylæ, most of the Greeks did not interfere with their onward march, remembering how badly handled they had formerly been by Alexander and Philip, and how subsequently Antipater and Cassander had nearly ruined Greece; so that, on account of their weakness, they did not consider it disgraceful individually that a general defence should be abandoned. But the Athenians, although they had suffered more than any other of the Greeks during the long Macedonian war, and had had great losses in battles, yet resolved to go forth to Thermopylæ with those of the Greeks who volunteered, having chosen this Callippus as their General. And having occupied the narrowest pass they endeavoured to bar the passage of the barbarians into Greece. But the Celts having discovered the same defile by which Ephialtes the Trachinian had formerly conducted the Persians, and having routed those of the Phocians who were posted there in battle array, crossed Mount Œta unbeknown to the Greeks. Then it was that the Athenians displayed themselves to the Greeks as most[Pg 8] worthy, by their brave defence against the barbarians, being taken both in front and flank. But those suffered most that were in their ships, inasmuch as the Lamiac Gulf was full of mud near Thermopylæ; the explanation is, as it seems to me, that here warm springs have their outlet into the sea. Here therefore they suffered much. For, having taken on board their comrades, they were obliged to sail over mud in vessels heavy with men and armour. Thus did the Athenians endeavour to save the Greeks in the manner I have described. But the Galati having got inside Pylæ, and not caring to take the other fortified towns, were most anxious to plunder the treasures of the god at Delphi. And the people of Delphi, and those of the Phocians who dwelt in the cities round Parnassus, drew up in battle array against them. A contingency of the Ætolians also arrived: and you must know that at that era the Ætolians were eminent for manly vigour. And when the armies engaged not only did lightnings dismay the Galati, and fragments of rock coming down on them from Parnassus, but three mighty warriors pressed them hard, two, they say, came from the Hyperboreans, Hyperochus and Amadocus, and the third was Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles. And in consequence of this aid the Delphians offer sacrifice to Pyrrhus, though before they held his tomb in dishonour as that of an enemy. But the greater part of the Galati having crossed into Asia Minor in their ships, ravaged its maritime parts. And some time afterwards the inhabitants of Pergamum, which in old times was called Teuthrania, drove the Galati from the sea into the region now called Galatia. They lived in the region east of the river Sangarius, having captured Ancyra, a city of the Phrygians which Midas the son of Gordias had formerly built. And the anchor which Midas found was still, even in my time, in the temple of Zeus, and the well shown which was called Midas’ well: which Midas, they say, poured wine into that he might capture Silenus. As well as Ancyra they captured Pessinus near the mountain Agdistis, where they say Atte was buried. And the people of Pergamum have spoils of the Galati, and there is a painting of their action with the Galati. And the region which the people of Pergamum inhabit was in old times, they say, sacred to the Cabiri.[Pg 9] And they claim to be Arcadians who crossed over with Telephus into Asia Minor. Of their other wars, if they fought any, the fame has not universally spread: but three most notable exploits have been performed by them, their gaining dominion over the southern part of Asia Minor, and their expulsion of the Galati from thence, and their venture under Telephus against the forces of Agamemnon, when the Greeks, unable to find Ilium, ravaged the Mysian plain, thinking it was Trojan territory. But I return to where I made my digression from.

Near the council chamber of The Five Hundred is the room called the Rotunda, and here the Prytanes sacrifice, and there are some silver statues not very large. And higher up are some statues of the heroes, from whom the tribes of the Athenians in later times got their names. And who made the tribes ten instead of four, and changed their names from the old ones, has been told by Herodotus. And of the heroes who gave their names to the tribes, (Eponymus is the name they give them), are Hippothoon, the son of Poseidon by Alope the daughter of Cercyon, and Antiochus, one of the sons of Hercules by Meda the daughter of Phylas, and the third Ajax, the son of Telamon; and of the Athenians Leo, who is said to have devoted all his daughters for the public weal at the bidding of the oracle. Erechtheus also is among the Eponymi, who conquered the Eleusinians in battle, and slew their commander Immaradus, the son of Eumolpus; also Ægius, and Œneus the illegitimate son of Pandion, and of the sons of Theseus Acamas. And what Cecrops and Pandion they hold in honour, (for I saw their statues too among the Eponymi), I do not know, for there were two of each; the first Cecrops, that was king, married the daughter of Actæus, and the other, who settled at Eubœa, was the son of Erechtheus, the grandson of Pandion and the great grandson of Erichthonius, and the two Pandion kings were the son of Erichthonius and the son of Cecrops the younger. The latter[Pg 10] was deposed from his kingdom by the Metionidæ, and when he fled to Megara, the daughter of whose king he had married, his sons were banished with him. And it is said that Pandion died there of illness, and his tomb is near the sea in Megara, on the rock that is called the rock of Athene the Diver. But his sons returned from exile at Megara, and expelled the Metionidæ, and Ægeus, being the eldest, had the sovereignty over the Athenians. Pandion also reared daughters, but not with good fortune, nor had they any sons to avenge him. And yet for the love of power he had made affinity with the king of Thrace. But man has no power to escape what is willed by the Deity. They say that Tereus (though married to Procne) dishonoured Philomela, not acting according to the law of the Greeks: and, having still further murdered the damsel, he compelled the women to punish him. There is also another statue erected to Pandion in the Acropolis, well worth seeing. These are the ancient Eponymi of the Athenians. And after these they have as Eponymi Attalus the Mysian, and Ptolemy the Egyptian, and, in my time, the Emperor Adrian, who worshipped the gods more religiously than anyone, and who contributed most to the individual happiness of his subjects. And he never willingly undertook any war, only he punished the revolt of the Hebrews who live beyond the Syrians. And as to the temples of the gods, part of which he originally built, and part of which he adorned with votive offerings and decorations, or of the gifts which he gave to the Greek cities and to those of the barbarians who asked for them, all these good deeds of his are written up at Athens, in the temple common to all the gods.

As to the actions of Attalus and Ptolemy, not only are they become more ancient from the progress of time, so that the fame of them no longer remains, but also those who lived with those kings in former days neglected to register their exploits. I thought it well therefore to record whatever works they did, and how it was that the[Pg 11] government of Egypt and of the Mysi, and of the neighbouring nations, fell to their fathers. Ptolemy, the Macedonians think, was really the son of Philip the son of Amyntas, (but putatively the son of Lagus), for his mother, they say, was pregnant when she was given to Lagus to wife by Philip. And they say that Ptolemy not only distinguished himself brilliantly in Asia Minor, but, when danger befel Alexander at Oxydracæ, he of all his companions was foremost to bring him aid. And upon the death of Alexander, he it was who mainly resisted those who wished to give all the dominions of Alexander to Aridæus the son of Philip, and he again was responsible for the different nationalities being divided into kingdoms. And he himself crossed into Egypt and slew Cleomenes, whom Alexander had made satrap of Egypt, thinking him friendly to Perdiccas and therefore not loyal to himself, and persuaded those of the Macedonians who were appointed to carry the dead body of Alexander to Ægæ to hand it over to him, and buried him at Memphis with the customary Macedonian rites; but, feeling sure that Perdiccas would go to war with him, he filled Egypt with garrisons. And Perdiccas, to give a specious colour to his expedition, led about with him Aridæus the son of Philip, and the lad Alexander, the son of Alexander by Roxana the daughter of Oxyartes, but really was plotting to take away the kingdom of Egypt from Ptolemy. But having been thrust out of Egypt, and consequently losing his former prestige as a general, and having incurred odium among the Macedonians on other grounds, he was assassinated by his bodyguard. The death of Perdiccas roused Ptolemy to immediate action: simultaneously he seized Syria and Phœnicia, welcomed Seleucus the son of Antiochus, a fugitive who had been driven into exile by Antigonus, and made preparations to take the field in person against Antigonus. And Cassander the son of Antipater, and Lysimachus king of Thrace, he persuaded to join him in the war, saying that the exile of Seleucus and the aggrandisement of Antigonus was a common danger to all of them. Now Antigonus for a time went on with his preparations, but by no means courted war. But when he heard that Ptolemy had gone to Libya to put down a revolt of the people of Cyrene, forthwith[Pg 12] he took Syria and Phœnicia by a coup-de-main, and, handing them over to his son Demetrius, a boy in years a man in intellect, returned to the Hellespont. But before getting there, on hearing that Demetrius had been beaten in battle by Ptolemy, he led his army back again. But Demetrius, so far from yielding ground altogether to Ptolemy, planned an ambush and cut to pieces a few of the Egyptians. And now, upon Antigonus’ coming up, Ptolemy did not wait for him, but retired into Egypt. And when the winter was over Demetrius sailed to Cyprus and beat Menelaus, Ptolemy’s satrap, in a naval engagement, and then Ptolemy himself, as he tried to force his way through. And he fled into Egypt and was blockaded both by land and sea by Antigonus and Demetrius. But Ptolemy, although in great straits, yet preserved his kingdom by stationing himself with his army at Pelusium on the qui vive, and by keeping the enemy from the river with his fleet. And Antigonus had no further hope that he could take Egypt in the present state of affairs, so he despatched Demetrius to the Rhodians with a large army and ships, hoping that, if he could get possession of Rhodes, he could use it as his base against the Egyptians. But not only did the Rhodians exhibit great daring and ingenuity against their besiegers, but also Ptolemy himself to the utmost of his power assisted them in the war. And Antigonus, though unsuccessful with Rhodes and Egypt, ventured not long afterwards to fight against Lysimachus and Cassander and the army of Seleucus, and lost the greater part of his forces, and himself died mainly from being worn out by the length of the war against Eumenes. And of the kings that put down the power of Antigonus I think the most unscrupulous was Cassander, who, having preserved his rule over the Macedonians only owing to Antigonus, went and fought against a man that had been his benefactor. And after the death of Antigonus, Ptolemy again took Syria and Cyprus, and restored Pyrrhus to Thesprotian Epirus. And when Cyrene revolted, Magas the son of Berenice, who was at this time the wife of Ptolemy, took it in the fifth year after the revolt. Now if this Ptolemy was really the son of Philip the son of Amyntas, it will be clear that he inherited this madness for women from his father, who,[Pg 13] though married to Eurydice, the daughter of Antipater, and having children by her, yet fell in love with Berenice, (whom Antipater had sent into Egypt as a companion to Eurydice), and so enamoured was he of her that he had children by her, and when his end was near willed to reign over Egypt Ptolemy, (from whom the Athenians name one tribe), his son by Berenice and not by Eurydice.

This Ptolemy being enamoured of Arsinoe, his sister on both sides, married her, doing what was by no means usual among the Macedonians, but not uncommon among his Egyptian subjects. And next he slew his brother Argæus plotting against him, as was said. And he brought the corpse of Alexander from Memphis. And he slew also another brother, the son of Eurydice, observing that he was trying to make the Cyprians revolt. And Magas the uterine brother of Ptolemy, (being the son of Berenice and one Philip, a Macedonian but one of the common people and otherwise unknown), who had been chosen by his mother to be governor of Cyrene, at this time persuaded the people of Cyrene to revolt from Ptolemy and marched with an army for Egypt. And Ptolemy, having guarded the approaches, awaited the arrival of the men of Cyrene; but Magas having had news brought him on the road that the Marmaridæ had revolted from him, (now the Marmaridæ are a tribe of Libyan Nomads), endeavoured to get back to Cyrene at once. And Ptolemy, intending to follow him, was prevented by the following reason. Among some of his defensive operations against Magas, he had invited in some foreign mercenaries, and among others some 4,000 Galati; but finding that they were plotting to make themselves masters of Egypt, he sent them down to the Nile to a desert island. And here they perished, partly by one another’s sword, partly by famine. And Magas being the husband of Apame, the daughter of Antiochus the son of Seleucus, persuaded Antiochus to violate the conditions which his father Seleucus had made with Ptolemy,[Pg 14] and to lead an army into Egypt. But as he was preparing to do so, Ptolemy sent into all parts of Antichus’ dominions guerilla troops to ravage the country where the defenders were weak, and more formidable bodies he checked with his army, so that Antiochus had no longer the chance to invade Egypt. I have previously described how this Ptolemy sent a fleet to aid the Athenians against Antigonus and the Macedonians; but, indeed, the Athenians derived no great benefit from it. Now his sons were not by Arsinoe his sister, but by the daughter of Lysimachus, for although he was married to his sister and lived with her, she pre-deceased him and was childless, and the district Arsinoites is named after her.

Our subject now demands that we should relate the doings of Attalus, for he is also one of the Athenian Eponymi. A Macedonian by name Docimus, one of Antigonus’ generals, who afterwards gave himself and his fortune into the hands of Lysimachus, had a Paphlagonian eunuch called Philetærus. Now all the circumstances of Philetærus’ revolt from Lysimachus, and how he invited in Seleucus, shall be narrated by me in my account of Lysimachus. But this Attalus was the son of Attalus, and nephew of Philetærus, and got the kingdom from Eumenes his cousin handing it over to him. And this is the greatest of his exploits, that he compelled the Galati to leave the coast and go inland to Galatia, the country which they now inhabit.

And next to the statues of the Eponymi are images of the gods, Amphiaraus and Peace with Wealth as a boy in her arms. Here, too, are statues in bronze of Lycurgus the son of Lycophron, and of Callias who negotiated peace, as most of the Athenians say, between the Greeks and Artaxerxes the son of Xerxes. Here, too, is Demosthenes, whom the Athenians drove into exile to Calauria, the island near Trœzen, and after having recalled him drove him into exile a second time after the defeat at Lamia. And when[Pg 15] Demosthenes went into exile the second time, he crossed over again to Calauria, where he died by taking poison. And he was the only exile who was not handed over to Antipater and the Macedonians by Archias. Now this Archias, who was a native of Thurii, acted very inhumanly. All who had opposed the Macedonians before the disaster which befel the Greeks in Thessaly, Archias handed over to Antipater for punishment. Now this was the end of Demosthenes’ excessive affection for the Athenians. And it seems to me deserving of record, that a man who had been cruelly exiled for his policy, and had yet believed in the democracy, came to a bad end.

And near the statue of Demosthenes is the temple of Ares, where are two images of Aphrodite, and one of Ares designed by Alcamenes, and one of Athene designed by a Parian by name Locrus. Here too is an image of Enyo by the sons of Praxiteles. And round the temple are statues of Hercules, and Theseus, and Apollo with his long hair in a fillet: and statues of Calades, who was a legislator of the Athenians according to tradition, and of Pindar, who amongst other honour obtained this statue from the Athenians because he praised them in an Ode. And at no great distance are statues of Harmodius and Aristogiton, the murderers of Hipparchus: the motive and manner of this murder has been told by others. And of these statues some are by Critias, but the oldest ones by Antenor. And although Xerxes when he captured Athens, (the Athenians having left the city), took them off as booty, Antiochus sent them back afterwards to the Athenians.

And in the theatre, which they call Odeum, there are statues, in the entrance, of the Egyptian kings. Their names are all Ptolemy alike, but each has another distinguishing name also. Thus they call one Philometor, and another Philadelphus, and the son of Lagus Soter, a name the Rhodians gave him. Philadelphus is the one whom I have before made mention of as one of the Eponymi. And near him is also a statue of his sister Arsinoe.

Now the Ptolemy called Philometor is the eighth in descent from Ptolemy the son of Lagus, and he got his name in irony; for none of these kings that we know of was so hated by their mother as he was; for though he was the eldest of her sons she would not allow them to call him to the kingdom, but got him banished to Cyprus by his father previously. Now of this dislike of Cleopatra to her son they allege other motives, but especially this one, that she thought Alexander, the younger of her sons, would be more obsequious to her. And therefore she urged the Egyptians to choose Alexander for their king. And when the people opposed her in this, she sent Alexander to Cyprus, nominally as general, but really because she wished through him to make herself more formidable to Philometor. And at last having mutilated those of the eunuchs whom she thought most friendly, she brought them before the populace, and pretended that she was plotted against by Philometor, and that the eunuchs had been treated in that shameful manner by him. And the Alexandrians were eager to kill Philometor, but, as he got on shipboard and escaped them, they made Alexander king on his return from Cyprus. But Cleopatra was punished eventually for her getting Philometor banished by being slain by Alexander, whom she had got appointed king over the Egyptians. And the crime being detected, and Alexander fleeing from fear of the citizens, Philometor quietly returned from exile and a second time held Egypt, and warred against the Thebans who had revolted. And having reduced them in the third year after the revolt, he punished them so severely that there was no vestige left them of their ancient prosperity, which had reached such a pitch that they excelled in wealth the wealthiest of the Greeks, even the treasures of the temple at Delphi and the Orchomenians. And Philometor not long after meeting the common fate, the Athenians who had been well treated by him in many respects that I need not enumerate, erected a brazen statue both of him and Berenice, his only legitimate[Pg 17] child. And next to the Egyptian kings are statues of Philip and his son Alexander. They performed greater exploits than to be mere appendages to an account of something else. To the other Egyptian kings gifts were given as being of real merit and benefactors, but to Philip and Alexander more, from the flattery of the community towards them, for they also honoured Lysimachus by a statue, not so much out of good will as thinking him useful under existing circumstances.

Now this Lysimachus was by birth a Macedonian and the armour-bearer of Alexander, whom Alexander once in anger shut up in a building with a lion and found him victorious over the beast. In all other respects he continued to admire him, and held him in honour as among the foremost of the Macedonians. And after Alexander’s death Lysimachus ruled over those Thracians who were contiguous to the Macedonians, over whom Alexander had ruled, and still earlier Philip. And these would be no very great portion of Thrace. Now no nations are more populous than all the Thracians, except the Celts, if one compares one race with another; and that is why none of the Romans ever subdued all Thrace at an earlier period. But all Thrace is now subject to the Romans, and as much of the Celtic land as they think useless from the excessive cold and inferiority of the soil has been purposely overlooked by them, but the valuable parts they stick to. Now Lysimachus at this period fought with the Odrysæ first of all his neighbours, and next went on an expedition against Dromichetes and the Getæ. And fighting with men not inexperienced in war, and in number far superior, he himself getting into the greatest danger, fled for his life; and his son Agathocles, now first accompanying his father on campaign, was captured by the Getæ. And Lysimachus after this, being unfortunate in battles and being greatly concerned at the capture of his son, made a peace with Dromichetes, abandoning to Getes his possessions across the Ister, and giving him his daughter in marriage, more of necessity than choice. But some say that it was not Agathocles who was captured, but Lysimachus himself, and that he was ransomed by Agathocles negotiating with Getes on his account. And when he returned he brought[Pg 18] with him for Agathocles a wife in Lysandra, the daughter of Ptolemy Lagus and Eurydice. And he crossed over into Asia Minor in his fleet, and destroyed the rule of Antigonus. And he built the present city of the Ephesians near the sea, bringing into it as settlers Lebedians and Colophonians, after destroying their cities, so that Phœnix, the Iambic writer, laments the capture of Colophon. Hermesianax, the Elegiac writer, could not have lived, it seems to me, up to this date; for else he would surely have written an elegy over the capture of Colophon. Lysimachus also waged war against Pyrrhus the son of Æacides. And watching for his departure from Epirus, as indeed he was wandering most of his time, he ravaged all the rest of Epirus, and even meddled with the tombs of the kings. I can scarce believe it, but Hieronymus of Cardia has recorded that Lysimachus took up the tombs of the dead and strewed the bones about. But this Hieronymus has the reputation even on other grounds of having written with hostility against all the kings except Antigonus, and of not having been altogether just even to him. And in this account of the tombs in Epirus he clearly must have invented the calumny, that a Macedonian would interfere with the tombs of the dead. And besides it appears that Lysimachus did not know that the people of Epirus were not only the ancestors of Pyrrhus but also of Alexander; for Alexander was not only a native of Epirus, but on his mother’s side one of the Æacidæ. And the subsequent alliance between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus proves that if they did fight together there was no irreconcilable animosity between them. But perhaps Hieronymus had other causes of complaint against Lysimachus besides the chief one that he destroyed the city of Cardia, and built instead of it Lysimachia on the Isthmus of the Thracian Chersonese.

Now as long as Aridæus, and after him Cassander and his sons, ruled, there was friendship between Lysimachus and the Macedonians; but when the kingdom[Pg 19] came to Demetrius the son of Antigonus, then at once Lysimachus thought war would be waged against him by Demetrius, and preferred to take the initiative himself, knowing that it was a family tradition with Demetrius to wish to be grasping something, and at the same time observing that he had come to Macedonia on being sent for by Alexander the son of Cassander, and on his arrival had killed Alexander and taken in his stead the kingdom of the Macedonians. For these reasons he fought with Demetrius at Amphipolis and was within an ace of being ejected from Thrace, but through the help of Pyrrhus he retained Thrace and afterwards ruled the Nestians and Macedonians also. But the greater part of Macedonia Pyrrhus kept for himself, coming with a force from Epirus and being useful to Lysimachus at that time. But when Demetrius crossed over into Asia Minor and fought with Seleucus, as long as the fortunes of Demetrius lasted the alliance between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus remained unbroken; but when Demetrius got into the power of Seleucus the friendship was dissolved, and Lysimachus fought with Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, and with Pyrrhus himself, and was easily victorious and got Macedonia and compelled Pyrrhus to return to Epirus. Now many misfortunes are wont to come on men through love. For Lysimachus being already advanced in age, and being reputed fortunate in respect to his offspring, and although his son Agathocles had children by Lysandra, yet married Arsinoe Lysandra’s sister. And it is said that this Arsinoe, fearing for her children that after the death of Lysimachus they would be in the hands of Agathocles, for these reasons conspired against Agathocles. And some writers have alleged that Arsinoe was violently in love with Agathocles, but being disappointed in this plotted his death. And they say that afterwards Lysimachus came to know of the awful doings of his wife, when it was too late to be of any service to him, being entirely deprived of his friends. For when Lysimachus permitted Arsinoe to put Agathocles to death, Lysandra fled to Seleucus, taking with her her sons and brothers, and in consequence of what had happened they fled for refuge to Ptolemy. And these fugitives to the court of Seleucus were accompanied by Alexander also, the son of[Pg 20] Lysimachus by his wife Odrysiades. And they, having got to Babylon, besought Seleucus to go to war with Lysimachus; and Philetærus at the same time, who had had all the money of Lysimachus entrusted to him, indignant at the death of Agathocles and thinking the conduct of Arsinoe suspicious, occupied Pergamum beyond the river Caicus, and sent an envoy and offered himself and his money to Seleucus. And Lysimachus, learning all this, crossed into Asia Minor forthwith, and himself began the war, and encountering Seleucus was badly beaten and himself killed. And Alexander, who was his son by his wife Odrysiades, after much entreaty to Lysandra recovered his corpse, and subsequently conveyed it to the Chersonese and buried it there, where even now his tomb is to be seen, between the village Cardia and Pactye. Such was the fate of Lysimachus.

The Athenians also have a statue of Pyrrhus. This Pyrrhus was only related to Alexander by ancestry. For Pyrrhus was the son of Æacides the son of Arybbas, whereas Alexander was the son of Olympias the daughter of Neoptolemus. Now, Neoptolemus and Arybbas had the same father, Alcetas the son of Tharypus. And from Tharypus to Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, are fifteen generations. For he first, after the capture of Ilium, neglected, returning home to Thessaly, and removed to Epirus and dwelt there in accordance with the oracles of Helenus. And he had no son by Hermione, but by Andromache he had Molossus and Pielus and the youngest Pergamus. And Helenus also had a son Cestrinus by Andromache, whom he married after the death of Pyrrhus at Delphi. And when Helenus died having handed over the kingdom to Molossus the son of Pyrrhus, Cestrinus with the Epirotes who volunteered to go with him occupied the region across the river Thyamis, and Pergamus, crossing into Asia Minor, killed Arius the king of Teuthrania in single combat for the sovereignty of the country, and gave the[Pg 21] city his own name, which it now has. There is also to this day a temple of Andromache, who accompanied him, in the city. But Pielus remained at home in Epirus, and it was to him and not to Molossus that Pyrrhus the son of Æacides and his fathers traced up their ancestry. Now up to the days of Alcetas the son of Tharypus Epirus was under one king; but the sons of Alcetas after some quarrelling changed the government to an equal share for each, and remained loyal to that agreement; and afterwards Alexander the son of Neoptolemus died in Lucania, and Olympias returned to Epirus from fear of Antipater, and Æacides, the son of Arybbas, in all respects remained loyal to Olympias, and even joined her in fighting against Aridæus and the Macedonians, though the people of Epirus were unwilling to enter into it. But as Olympias, when she conquered, had acted infamously in connection with the death of Aridæus, and far more so to the Macedonians, and consequently was thought afterwards to have only met with her deserts from Cassander, the Epirotes would not receive Æacides for a time owing to their hostility against Olympias; and when he obtained pardon from them some time after Cassander again prevented his return to Epirus. And a battle being fought between Philip (the brother of Cassander) and Æacides at Œnidæ, Æacides was wounded and died no long time after. And the people of Epirus made Alcetas king, the son of Arybbas and elder brother of Æacides, a man on previous occasions of ungovernable temper, and for that very reason banished by his father. And now on his arrival he immediately so madly raged against the people of Epirus, that they rose up against him by night and killed him and his sons. And when they had killed him they brought back from exile Pyrrhus the son of Æacides. And immediately on his arrival Cassander marched against him, as being young and not firmly established in the sovereignty. But Pyrrhus, on the invasion of the Macedonians, went to Egypt to Ptolemy the son of Lagus; and Ptolemy gave him as wife the uterine sister of his own children, and restored him with a force of Egyptians. And Pyrrhus, on becoming king, attacked the Corcyræans first of the Greeks, seeing that the island of Corcyra lay opposite to his own territory, and not wishing[Pg 22] it to be a base for operations against him. And after the capture of Corcyra all the defeats he met with fighting against Lysimachus, and how after he had driven Demetrius out of Macedonia he ruled there until he in turn was ejected by Lysimachus,—all these, the most important events at that time in Pyrrhus’ life, have been already narrated by me in connection with Lysimachus. And we know of no Greek before Pyrrhus that warred with the Romans. For there is no record of any engagement between Æneas and Diomede and the Argives with him; and the Athenians, who were very ambitious and desired to reduce all Italy, were prevented by the disaster at Syracuse from attacking the Romans; and Alexander the son of Neoptolemus, of the same race as Pyrrhus but older in age, was prevented by his death in Lucania from coming to blows with the Romans.

So Pyrrhus is the first that crossed the Ionian Sea from Greece to fight against the Romans. And he crossed at the invitation of the people of Tarentum, who had had earlier than this a war of long standing with the Romans: and being unable to resist them by themselves, (and they had already done services to Pyrrhus, for they had aided him with their fleet when he was warring against Corcyra), their envoys won Pyrrhus over, giving him to understand that it would be for the happiness of all Greece, and that it would not be honourable for him to leave them in the lurch, inasmuch as they were friends and on the present occasion suppliants. And as the envoys urged these things, the remembrance of the capture of Ilium came to Pyrrhus, and he hoped the same would happen to him: for he, a descendant of Achilles, would be warring against colonies of Trojans. And as the idea pleased him, (and he was not the man to loiter at anything he had a mind for), he forthwith equipped men-of-war and transports and got ready cavalry and infantry to take with him. Now,[Pg 23] there are some books written by men not remarkable for historical power still extant, called Commentaries of Events. As often as I read them I am inclined to marvel, not only at the daring of Pyrrhus which he displayed in action, but also at the forethought which he always exhibited. On this occasion he crossed over into Italy in his ships unbeknown to the Romans, and his arrival was unknown to them until, (an attack being made by them upon the people of Tarentum), he first showed himself at the head of his army, and, attacking them contrary to their expectation, threw them into confusion as was only likely. And, knowing full well that he was not a match for the Romans in fighting, he contrived to let loose elephants upon them. Now Alexander was the first European who had elephants, after the conquest of Porus and India: and on his death other European kings had them, and Antigonus a very large quantity of them: and the elephants of Pyrrhus were captured by him in the battle with Demetrius. And now on their appearance a panic seized the Romans, who thought they were something superhuman. For the use of ivory indeed all nations have clearly known from the earliest times; but the animals themselves, until the Macedonians crossed into Asia, no nations had seen at all except the Indians and Libyans and the adjacent nations. And Homer proves this, who has represented the beds and houses of the wealthier of the kings as decked with ivory, but has made no mention whatever of the elephant. And if he had seen or heard of them he would, I think, have recorded them rather than the battle of the Pygmies and cranes. Pyrrhus was also invited into Sicily by an embassy of Syracusans. For the Carthaginians used to cross over and take the Greek cities in Sicily, and Syracuse the only one left they were blockading and besieging. And Pyrrhus, hearing this from the envoys, left Tarentum and the Italians that dwelt on the headland, and crossed over into Sicily and compelled the Carthaginians to raise the siege. And, having overweening self-confidence, he was elated to fight on sea against the Carthaginians, (who were the greatest maritime nation of all the barbarians of that day, having been originally Tyrians and Phœnicians), with the natives of Epirus only, who even after the capture of Ilium were most of them[Pg 24] unacquainted with the sea, and knew not the use of salt. As that line of Homer, in the “Odyssey,” bears me out:

“Men who know not the sea, nor eat food seasoned with salt.”[3]

Then Pyrrhus, after his defeat, sailed for Tarentum with the remnant of his fleet. There his fortunes suffered great reverses, and he contrived his flight in the following manner, (for he knew that the Romans would not let him go scot-free). On his return from Sicily he first sent letters everywhere to Asia Minor and Antigonus, asking for soldiers from some of the kings and for money from others, and for both from Antigonus. And when the messengers returned and their letters were given to him, he called together a council of the chief men of Epirus and Tarentum, and read none of the letters which he had with him but merely said that aid would come. And quickly a report spread among the Romans, that the Macedonians and other tribes of Asia Minor were going to come over to the help of Pyrrhus. So the Romans when they heard this remained quiet, and Pyrrhus under the shelter of the next night crossed over to the mountains which they call Ceraunia. And after this reverse in Italy he remained quiet with his forces for some time, and then proclaimed war against Antigonus, bringing other charges against him but mainly because he had failed to bring reinforcements to Italy. And having beaten Antigonus’ own troops, and the foreign contingent with him of the Galati, he pursued them to the maritime cities, and became master of Upper Macedonia and Thessaly. And the greatness of the battle and the magnitude of Pyrrhus’ victory are shown by the arms of the Galati hung up in the temple of Athene Itonia between Pheræ and Larissa, and the inscription on them is as follows:

“Molossian Pyrrhus hung up these shields of the brave Galati to Itonian Athene, when he had destroyed all the[Pg 25] host of Antigonus. No great wonder. The Æacidæ are warriors now as formerly.”

The shields of the Galati he put here, but those of the Macedonians he hung up to Zeus of the Macedonians at Dodona. And the following is the inscription on them:

“These formerly ravaged the wealthy Asian territory,

These also brought slavery to the Greeks;

But now hang up on the pillars in the house of Zeus

The spoils snatched from boasting Macedonia.”

But Pyrrhus was prevented from overthrowing the Macedonians entirely, though he came within an ace of it, and was only too ready always to seize whatever was at his feet, by Cleonymus. Now this Cleonymus, who had persuaded Pyrrhus to leave Macedonia and come to the Peloponnese, although a Lacedæmonian led a hostile force into the territory of the Lacedæmonians, for the reason which I shall give after his pedigree. Pausanias that led the Greeks at Platæa had a son Pleistoanax, and he a son Pausanias, and he a son Cleombrotus, who fought against Epaminondas and the Thebans, and was killed at Leuctra. And Cleombrotus had two sons Agesipolis and Cleomenes, and the former dying childless Cleomenes had the kingdom. And he had two sons, the elder Acrotatus and the younger Cleonymus. And Acrotatus dying first and after him Cleomenes, there was a dispute who should be king between Acrotatus’ son, Areus, and Cleonymus. And Cleonymus, determined to get the kingdom whether or no, called in Pyrrhus into the country. And the Lacedæmonians before Leuctra had met with no reverse, so that they would not admit they could be conquered by a land army: for in the case of Leonidas they said his followers were not sufficient to completely destroy the Persians, and as for the exploit of Demosthenes and the Athenians at the island of Sphacteria, they said that was a fluke of war and not a genuine victory. But after their first reverse in Bœotia, they had a second severe one with Antipater and the Macedonians: and thirdly the war with Demetrius came on the land as an unexpected evil. And when fourthly Pyrrhus invaded them, when they saw the enemy’s army, they drew up in battle array together with their allies from Argos and Messene. And[Pg 26] Pyrrhus conquered and was within an ace of taking Sparta at the first assault; but after having ravaged their territory and got much booty he rested for awhile. And the Spartans prepared for a siege, Sparta even before in the war with Demetrius having been fortified by deep trenches and strong palisades, and in the weakest parts by special works. And during this time and the long Laconian war Antigonus having fortified the towns of the Macedonians pressed into the Peloponnese, perceiving that Pyrrhus, if he should subdue Sparta and most of the Peloponnese, would not go into Epirus, but into Macedonia again and to the war sure to come there. And when Antigonus was intending to move his army from Argos into Spartan territory, Pyrrhus himself had arrived at Argos. And, being victorious, he followed the fugitives and entered the city with them, and, as was likely, his army dispersed into all quarters of the city. And as they were fighting in the temples and houses and alleys and in all parts of the city promiscuously, Pyrrhus was left all alone and got wounded in the head. They say Pyrrhus was killed by a tile thrown by a woman: but the Argives say it was not a woman that slew him, but Demeter in the form of a woman. This is the account which the Argives themselves give of the death of Pyrrhus; this is also what Lyceas, the expounder of his country’s usages, has written in his verses. And on the spot where Pyrrhus died was erected a temple to Demeter in accordance with the oracle of the god: and in it was Pyrrhus buried. I am astonished that of all those who were called Æacidæ their end happened in the same supernatural manner, since Homer says Achilles was slain by Alexander the son of Priam and by Apollo; and Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, was ordered to be slain by the Pythian oracle at Delphi; and this son of Æacides met his fate as has been recorded by the Argives and sung by Lyceas. And yet this is different to the account given by Hieronymus of Cardia: for one that lives with a king must needs write history like a courtier. And if Philistus, hoping for a return to Syracuse, was justified in concealing the most flagitious acts of Dionysius, then Hieronymus, I ween, had good excuse for writing to please Antigonus. Such was the end of the glory of Epirus.

And as one enters the Odeum at Athens, there is a Dionysus and other things worth seeing. And near is a spring called the Nine Springs constructed so by Pisistratus: for there are wells all over the city but this is the only spring. And two temples have been built over the spring, one to Demeter and the other to Proserpine; in one of them is a statue to Triptolemus, about whom I will record the traditions, omitting what is said about Deiope. Now the Argives are those of the Greeks who chiefly dispute with the Athenians their rival claims to antiquity, and assert that they have received gifts from the gods, just as among the barbarians the Egyptians have similar disputes with the Phrygians. The story goes then that when Demeter came to Argos Pelasgus received her into his house, and that Chrysanthis, knowing of the rape of Proserpine, informed her of it: and afterwards Trochilus the initiating priest fled they say from Argos in consequence of the hatred of Agenor, and came to Attica, and there married a wife from Eleusis, and had children by her, Eubules and Triptolemus. This is the account of the Argives. But the Athenians and neighbouring tribes know that Triptolemus, the son of Celeus, was the first who sowed corn in the fields. And it is sung by Musæus, (if indeed the lines are by Musæus), that Triptolemus was the son of Ocean and Earth, and it is sung by Orpheus, (if these lines again are by Orpheus, which I doubt), that Dysaules was the father of Eubules and Triptolemus, and that Demeter taught them how to sow corn because they had given her information about the rape of her daughter. But the Athenian Chœrilus, in the play called “Alope,” says that Cercyon and Triptolemus were brothers, that their mother was a daughter of Amphictyon, and that the father of Triptolemus was Rharus, and the father of Cercyon Poseidon. And as I was intending to go further into the account, and narrate all things appertaining to the temple at Athens called the Eleusinium, a vision in the night checked me: but what it is lawful for me to write for everybody, to this I will turn. In front of[Pg 28] this temple, where is also a statue of Triptolemus, there is a brazen bull being led to sacrifice, and Epimenides the Gnossian is pourtrayed in a sitting posture, who is recorded to have gone into a field and entered into a cave and slept there, and woke not from that sleep till forty years had rolled by, and afterwards wrote epic poems and visited Athens and other cities. And Thales, who stopped the plague at Lacedæmon, was no relation of his, nor of the same city as Epimenides: for the latter was a Gnossian, whereas Thales is declared to have been a Gortynian by the Colyphonian Polymnastus, who wrote a poem on him for the Lacedæmonians. And a little further is the temple of Euclea, (Fair Fame), a votive offering for the victory over the Persians at Marathon. And I think the Athenians prided themselves not a little on this victory: Æschylus, at any rate, on his death-bed, remembered none of his other exploits, though he was so remarkable as a Dramatist and had fought both at Artemisium and Salamis: and he wrote in the Poem he then composed his own name and the name of his city, and that he had as witnesses of his prowess the grove at Marathon and the Persians who landed there.

And beyond the Ceramicus and the portico called The Royal Portico is a temple of Hephæstus, and that a statue of Athene was placed in it I was not at all surprised at when I remembered the story about Erichthonius. But seeing that the statue of Athene had grey eyes, I found that this was a legend of the Libyans, who record that she was the daughter of Poseidon and the Tritonian Marsh, and that therefore her eyes were grey as those of Poseidon. And near is a temple of Celestial Aphrodite, who was first worshipped by the Assyrians, and after them by the Paphians of Cyprus, and by the Phœnicians who dwell at Ascalon in Palestine. And from the Phœnicians the people of Cythera learned her worship. And among the Athenians her worship was instituted by Ægeus, thinking that he had no children, (for he had none then), and that his sisters were unfortunate, owing to the wrath of the Celestial One. And her statue is still among us of Parian stone, the design of Phidias. And the Athenians have a township of the Athmoneans, who say that Porphyrion, who reigned even before Actæus, erected among them a temple[Pg 29] to the Celestial Aphrodite. But the traditions of townships and the dwellers in cities are widely different.

And as one goes into the portico, which they call The Painted Chamber from the paintings, there is a brazen statue of Hermes of the Market-Place, and a gate near, and by it is a trophy of the Athenians who overcame Plistarchus in a cavalry engagement, who, being the brother of Cassander, had brought his cavalry and a foreign force against them. Now, this portico has first the Athenians drawn up in battle array, at Œnoe in Argive territory, against the Lacedæmonians: and it is painted not in the height of the action, nor when the time had come for the display of reckless valour in the heady fight, but at the commencement of the engagement, and when they were just coming to blows. And in the middle of the walls are painted the Athenians and Theseus fighting with the Amazons. Now these are the only women as it seems from whom reverses in war did not take away a relish for danger; for after the capture of Themiscyra by Hercules, and later on after the destruction of the army which they sent against Athens, they yet went to Ilium and fought with the Athenians and other Greeks. And next to the Amazons you may see painted the Greeks at the capture of Ilium, and the kings gathered together on account of Ajax’s violence to Cassandra: and the painting has Ajax himself, and Cassandra among the other captive women. And at the end of the painting are the Greeks that fought at Marathon, of the Bœotians the Platæans, and all the Attic contingent are marching against the barbarians. And in this part of the painting the valour is equal on both sides, but in the middle of the battle the barbarians are fleeing and pushing one another into the marsh. And at the end of this painting are the Phœnician ships, and the Greeks slaying the barbarians who are trying to get on board. Here too is a painting of the hero Marathon from whom the plain is named, and Theseus in the guise of putting out to sea, and[Pg 30] Athene and Hercules: for by the people of Marathon first, as they themselves allege, was Hercules considered a god. And of the combatants there stand out most plainly in the painting Callimachus, who was chosen by the Athenians as Polemarch, and Miltiades, one of the generals, and the hero who was called Echetlus, of whom I shall make mention hereafter. Here also are fixed up brazen shields, and these have an inscription that they are from the Scionæans and their allies, and others smeared over with pitch, that neither time nor rust should hurt them, are said to have belonged to the Lacedæmonians who were captured in the island of Sphacteria.

And before the portico are brazen statues of Solon, the Athenian legislator, and a little further Seleucus, to whom came beforehand clear indications of his future prosperity. For when he started from Macedonia with Alexander, as he was sacrificing to Zeus at Pella, the wood laid on the altar moved to the statue of the god of its own accord, and burst into a blaze without fire. And on the death of Alexander Seleucus, fearing the arrival of Antigonus at Babylon, fled to Ptolemy the son of Lagus, but returned some time after to Babylon, and on his return defeated the army of Antigonus and slew Antigonus himself, and afterwards captured Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, who came against him with an army. And as all these things succeeded with him, and not long after the power of Lysimachus collapsed, he handed over all his power in Asia Minor to his son Antiochus, and himself hurried into Macedonia, and took with him an army of Greeks and barbarians. But Ptolemy the brother of Lysandra, who had fled to Seleucus from Lysimachus, and who was generally speaking a very bold and daring fellow and on that account called Lightning, when the army of Seleucus reached Lysimachia privately slew Seleucus, and, allowing the other kings to take Seleucus’ money, became king of Macedonia, until venturing first of all the kings we know to fight against the Galati, he was killed by the barbarians,[Pg 31] and Antigonus the son of Demetrius recovered the kingdom. And Seleucus, I am persuaded, was an especially upright king, pious and religious. I infer this partly because he restored to the Milesians at Branchidæ the brazen Apollo, that had been carried away to Ecbatana in Persia by Xerxes; and partly because, when he built Seleucia on the river Tigris and introduced Babylonians to dwell there, he destroyed neither the wall of Babylon nor the temple of Bel, but allowed the Chaldæans to dwell in its vicinity.

And the Athenians have in the market-place among other things not universally notable an altar of Mercy, to whom, though most useful of all the gods to the life of man and its vicissitudes, the Athenians alone of all the Greeks assign honours. And not only is philanthropy more regarded among them; but they also exhibit more piety to the gods than others. For they have also an altar to Shame, and Rumour, and Energy. And it is clear that those people who have a larger share of piety than others have also a larger share of good fortune. And in the gymnasium of the market-place, which is not far off and is called after Ptolemy because he established it, are Hermæ in stone worth seeing, and a brazen statue of Ptolemy; and the Libyan Juba is here, and Chrysippus of Soli. And near the gymnasium is a temple of Theseus, where are paintings of the Athenians fighting against the Amazons. And this war has also been represented on the shield of Athene, and on the base of Olympian Zeus. And in the temple of Theseus is also painted the fight between the Centaurs and Lapithæ. Theseus is represented as just having slain a Centaur, but with all the rest in the picture the fight seems to be on equal terms. But the painting on the third wall is not clear to those who do not know the story, partly as the painting has faded from age, partly because Micon has not pourtrayed the whole story. When Minos took Theseus and the rest of the band of boys to Crete, he was enamoured of Peribœa, and when Theseus[Pg 32] was very opposed to this, he in his rage among other sarcasms that he hurled against him said that he was not the son of Poseidon, for if he threw the ring which he chanced to be wearing into the sea he could not get it again, Minos is said at once to have thrown the ring into the sea when he had said this. And they say that Theseus jumped into the sea and came up with the ring and a golden crown, the gift of Amphitrite. And as to the death of Theseus many varying accounts have been given. For they say that he was once bound by Pluto until he was liberated by Hercules. But the most credible account I have heard is that Theseus having invaded Thesprotia, intending to carry off the wife of the king of the country, lost the greater part of his army, and himself and Pirithous were taken prisoners, (for Pirithous also came on the expedition marriage-hunting), and confined by the king of Thesprotia at Cichyrus.

Now among other things worth seeing in Thesprotia are the temple of Zeus at Dodona, and a beech-tree sacred to the god. And near Cichyrus there is a marsh called Acherusia and the river Acheron, and there too flows Cocytus with most unpleasant stream. And I fancy that Homer, having seen these, ventured to introduce them in his account of the rivers of Hades, and to borrow his names from these rivers in Thesprotia. However that may be, Theseus being detained there, the sons of Tyndarus led an expedition to Aphidna, and captured it, and restored Menestheus to the kingdom. And Menestheus paid no attention to the sons of Theseus, who had gone to Eubœa for shelter to Elephenor; but as to Theseus himself, thinking he would be a dangerous adversary if ever he returned from Thesprotia, he coaxed the people so that if Theseus ever returned he would be sent back again. Accordingly Theseus was sent to Crete to Deucalion, and being carried out of his way by storms to the island Scyrus, the Scyrians gave him a brilliant reception, both for the splendour of his race and the renown of his exploits; and it was owing to this that Lycomedes planned his death. And the shrine of Theseus at Athens was after the time that the Persians were at Marathon, for it was Miltiades’ son, Cimon, that drove out the inhabitants of Scyrus to revenge the hero’s death, and that conveyed his bones to Athens.

Now the temple of the Dioscuri is ancient; they are designed standing, and their sons seated on horseback. Here too is a painting by Polygnotus of the marriage of the daughters of Leucippus, and by Micon of the Argonauts who sailed with Jason to Colchi: in this painting Acastus and his horses stand out remarkably well. And above the temple of the Dioscuri is the grove of Aglaurus, to whom and to her sisters Erse and Pandrosus they say Athene gave Erichthonius, after putting him in a chest and forbidding them to pry into the contents. Pandrosus they say obeyed, but the other two opened the chest, and went mad when they saw Erichthonius, and threw themselves down the Acropolis at the very steepest place. It was on that very spot that the Persians landed, and slew those Athenians who thought they understood the oracle better than Themistocles, and fortified the Acropolis with wooden palisades. And next is the Prytaneum, where the laws of Solon are written up, and where are images of the goddesses Peace and Vesta, and among other statues one to Autolycus the pancratiast; for Miltiades and Themistocles have been removed for a Roman and a Thracian! As one goes thence to the lower parts of the city is the temple of Serapis, whose worship the Athenians introduced to please Ptolemy. Of the Egyptian temples to Serapis the most famous is that at Alexandria, but the oldest is that at Memphis, into which strangers may not enter, nor even priests except during the ritual in connection with Apis. And not far from the temple of Serapis is the place where they say Pirithous and Theseus agreed to go to Lacedæmon, and afterwards to Thesprotia. And next is a temple erected to Ilithyia, who they say came from the Hyperborean regions to assist Leto in her travail-throes, and of whom other nations learnt from the people of Delos, who sacrifice to her and sing at her altar the Hymn of Olen. But the Cretans consider her to have been born at Amnisus in Gnossian territory, and to have been the daughter of Hera. And among the Athenians alone her statues are draped to the bottom of her feet. Two of her statues the women[Pg 34] said were Cretan and votive offerings of Phædra, while the oldest was brought by Erysichthon from Delos.

And before going into the temple of Olympian Zeus—which Adrian the Roman Emperor built, and in which he placed that remarkable statue of Olympian Zeus (larger than any works of art except the Colossuses at Rhodes and Rome); it is in ivory and gold, and elegant if you consider the size—are two statues of Adrian in Thasian stone, and two in Egyptian stone: and brazen statues in front of the pillars of what the Athenians call their colonial cities. The whole circuit of the temple is about four stades, and is full of statues; for from each city is a statue of the Emperor Adrian, and the Athenians outdid them by the very fine colossal statue of the Emperor which they erected at the back of the temple. And in the temple precincts is an ancient statue of Zeus in brass and a shrine of Cronos and Rhea, and a grove to Earth by the title of Olympian. Here there is about a cubit’s subsidence of soil, and they say that after Deucalion’s flood the water came in and escaped there, and they knead every year a cake of barley meal with honey and throw it into the cavity. And there is on a pillar a statue of Isocrates, who left behind him 3 notable examples, his industry (for though he lived to the age of 98 he never left off taking pupils), his wisdom (for all his life he kept aloof from politics and public business), and his love of liberty (for after the news of the battle of Chæronea he pined away and died of voluntary starvation). And there are some Persians in stone holding up a brazen tripod, both themselves and the tripod fine works of art. And they say that Deucalion built the old temple of Olympian Zeus, bringing as evidence that Deucalion lived at Athens his tomb not far from this very temple. Adrian erected also at Athens a temple of Hera and Pan-Hellenian Zeus, and a temple for all the gods in common. But the most remarkable things are 100 pillars wrought in Phrygian stone, and the walls in the porticoes corresponding. And there is a room here with a roof of gold and alabaster stone, adorned also with statues and paintings: and books are stored up in it. And there is a gymnasium called the Adrian gymnasium: and here too are 100 pillars of stone from Libyan quarries.

And next to the temple of Olympian Zeus is a statue of Pythian Apollo, as also a temple of Delphian Apollo. And they say that, when this temple was completed except the roof, Theseus came to the city incognito. And having a long garment down to his feet and his hair being elegantly plaited, when he came near this temple, those who were building the roof asked him jeeringly why a maiden ripe for marriage was wandering about alone. And his only answer was, it is said, unyoking the oxen from the waggon which stood by, and throwing it in the air higher than the roof they were building. And with respect to the place that they call The Gardens, and the temple of Aphrodite, there is no account given by the Athenians, nor in respect to the statue of Aphrodite which stands next the temple, and is square like the Hermæ, and the inscription declares that Celestial Aphrodite is the oldest of those that are called Fates. The statue of Aphrodite in The Gardens is the work of Alcamenes, and is among the few things at Athens best worth seeing. There is also a temple of Hercules called Cynosarges: (i.e., of the white dog); the history of the white dog may be learnt by those who have read the oracle. And there are altars to Hercules and Hebe, (the daughter of Zeus), who, they think, was married to Hercules. There is also an altar of Alcmene and Iolaus, who was associated with Hercules in most of his Labours. And the Lyceum gets its name from Lycus the son of Pandion, but is now as of old considered a temple of Apollo, for Apollo was here called Lyceus originally. And it is also said that the natives of Termilæ, where Lycus went when he fled from Ægeus, are called Lycians from the same Lycus. And behind the Lyceum is the tomb of Nisus who was king of Megara and slain by Minos, and the Athenians brought his corpse here and buried it. About this Nisus there is a story that he had purple hair, and that the oracle said he would die if it was shorn off. And when the Cretans came into the land, they took all the other cities of Megaris by storm, but[Pg 36] had to blockade Nisæa, into which Nisus had fled for refuge. And here they say the daughter of Nisus, who was enamoured of Minos, cut off her father’s locks. This is the story. Now the rivers of Attica are the Ilissus and the Eridanus that flows into it, having the same name as the Celtic Eridanus. The Ilissus is the river where they say Orithyia was playing when carried off by the North Wind, who married her, and because of his affinity with the Athenians aided them and destroyed many of the barbarians’ ships. And the Athenians think the Ilissus sacred to several gods, and there is an altar also on its banks to the Muses. The place is also shewn where the Peloponnesians slew Codrus, the son of Melanthus, the king of Athens. After you cross the Ilissus is a place called Agræ, and a temple of Artemis Agrotera, (The Huntress), for here they say Artemis first hunted on her arrival from Delos: accordingly her statue has a bow. And what is hardly credible to hear, but wonderful to see, is a stadium of white marble; one can easily conjecture its size in the following manner. Above the Ilissus is a hill, and this stadium extends from the river to the hill in a crescent-shaped form. It was built by Herodes an Athenian, and most of the Pentelican quarry was used in its construction.

Now there is a way from the Prytaneum called The Tripods, so called from some large temples of the gods there and some brazen tripods in them, which contain many works of art especially worthy of mention. For there is a Satyr on which Praxiteles is said to have prided himself very much: and when Phryne once asked which was the finest of his works, they say that he offered to give it her like a lover, but would not say which he thought his finest work. A servant of Phryne at this moment ran up, and said that most of Praxiteles’ works were destroyed by a sudden fire that had seized the building where they were, but that they were not all burnt. Praxiteles at once rushed[Pg 37] out of doors, and said he had nothing to show for all his labour, if the flames had consumed his Satyr and Cupid. Phryne then bade him stay and be of good cheer, for he had suffered no such loss, but it was only her artifice to make him confess which were his finest works. She then selected the Cupid. And in the neighbouring temple is a boy Satyr handing a cup to Dionysus. And there is a painting by Thymilus of Cupid standing near Dionysus. But the most ancient temple of Dionysus is at the theatre. And inside the sacred precincts are two shrines of Dionysus and two statues of him, one by Eleuthereus, and one by Alcamenes in ivory and gold. There is a painting also of Dionysus taking Hephæstus to Heaven. And this is the story the Greeks tell. Hera exposed Hephæstus on his birth, and he nursing up his grievance against her sent her as a gift a golden seat with invisible bonds, so that when she sat in it she was a prisoner, and Hephæstus would not obey any of the gods, and Dionysus, whose relations with Hephæstus were always good, made him drunk and took him to Heaven. There are paintings also of Pentheus and Lycurgus paying the penalty for their insults to Dionysus, and of Ariadne asleep, Theseus putting out to sea, and Dionysus coming to carry her off. And there is near the temple of Dionysus and the theatre a work of art, said to have been designed in imitation of Xerxes’ tent. It is a copy, for the original one was burnt by Sulla the Roman general when he took Athens. And this is how the war came about. Mithridates was king of the barbarians in the neighbourhood of the Euxine Sea. Now his pretext for fighting against the Romans, and how he crossed into Asia, and the cities he reduced by war or won over by diplomacy, let those who wish to know the whole history of Mithridates concern themselves about all this: I shall merely relate the circumstances attending the capture of Athens. There was an Athenian called Aristion, whom Mithridates employed as ambassador to the Greek States: he persuaded the Athenians to prefer the friendship of Mithridates to that of the Romans. However he persuaded only the democracy and the fiercer spirits, for as to the more respectable Athenians they of their own accord joined the Romans. And in the[Pg 38] battle that ensued the Romans were easily victorious, and pursued Aristion and the fleeing Athenians to the city, and Archelaus and the barbarians to the Piræus. Now Archelaus was the general of Mithridates, whom before this the Magnesians who inhabit Sipylus wounded, as he was ravaging their territory, and killed many of the barbarians. So Athens was blockaded, and Taxilus another general of Mithridates happened to be investing Elatea in the Phocian district, but when tidings of this came to him he withdrew his forces into Attica. And the Roman general learning this left part of his army to continue the siege of Athens, but himself went with the greater part of his force to encounter Taxilus in Bœotia. And the third day after news came to both the Roman camps, to Sulla that the walls at Athens had been carried, and to the force besieging Athens that Taxilus had been defeated at Chæronea. And when Sulla returned to Attica, he shut up in the Ceramicus all his Athenian adversaries, and ordered them to be decimated by lot. And Sulla’s rage against the Athenians not a whit relaxing, some of them secretly went to Delphi: and when they enquired if it was absolutely fated that Athens should be destroyed, the Pythian priestess gave them an oracular response about the bladder.[4] And Sulla after this had the same complaint with which I learn Pherecydes the Syrian was visited. And the conduct of Sulla to most of the Athenians was more savage than one would have expected from a Roman: but I do not consider this the cause of his malady, but the wrath of Zeus the God of Suppliants, because when Aristion fled for refuge to the temple of Athene he tore him away and put him to death. Athens being thus injured by the war with the Romans flourished again when Adrian was Emperor.

Now the Athenians have statues in the theatre of their tragic and comic dramatists, mostly mediocrities, for except Menander there is no Comedian of first-rate powers,[Pg 39] and Euripides and Sophocles are the great lights of Tragedy. And the story goes that after the death of Sophocles the Lacedæmonians made an incursion into Attica, and their leader saw in a dream Dionysus standing by him, and bidding him honour the new Siren with all the honours paid to the dead: and the dream seemed manifestly to refer to Sophocles and his plays. And even now the Athenians are wont to compare the persuasiveness of his poetry and discourses to a Siren’s song. And the statue of Æschylus was I think completed long after his death, and subsequently to the painting which exhibits the action at Marathon. And Æschylus used to tell the story that when he was quite a lad, he slept in a field watching the grapes, and Dionysus appeared to him and bade him write tragedy: and when it was day, he wished to obey the god, and found it most easy work. This was his own account. And on the South Wall, which looks from the Acropolis to the theatre, is the golden head of Medusa the Gorgon, with her ægis. And at the top of the theatre there is a crevice in the rocks up to the Acropolis: and there is a tripod also here. On it are pourtrayed Apollo and Artemis carrying off the sons of Niobe. I myself saw this Niobe when I ascended the mountain Sipylus: the rock and ravine at near view convey neither the idea of a woman, nor a woman mourning, but at a distance you may fancy to yourself that you see a woman all tears and with dejected mien.

As you go from the theatre to the Acropolis is the tomb of Calus. This Calus, his sister’s son and art-pupil, Dædalus murdered and fled to Crete: and afterwards escaped into Sicily to Cocalus. And the temple of Æsculapius, in regard to the statues of the god and his sons and also the paintings, is well worth seeing. And there is in it a spring, in which they say Halirrhothius the son of Poseidon was drowned by Ares for having seduced his daughter, and this was the first case of trial for murder. Here too among other things is a Sarmatic coat of mail: anyone looking at it will say that the Sarmatians come not a whit behind the Greeks in the arts. For they have neither iron that they can dig nor do they import it, for they have less idea of barter than any of the barbarians in those parts. This deficiency they meet by the following invention. On[Pg 40] their spears they have bone points instead of iron, and bows and arrows of cornel wood, and bone points to their arrows: and they throw lassoes at the enemy they meet in battle, and gallop away and upset them when they are entangled in these lassoes. And they make their coats of mail in the following manner. Everyone rears a great many mares, being as they are a nomadic tribe, the land not being divided into private allotments, and indeed growing nothing but forest timber. These mares they use not only for war, and sacrifice to the gods of the country, but also for food. And after getting together a collection of hoofs they clean them and cut them in two, and make of them something like dragons’ scales. And whoever has not seen a dragon has at any rate seen a pine nut still green: anyone therefore comparing the state of the hoof to the incisions apparent on pine nuts would get a good idea of what I mean. These they perforate, and having sewn them together with ligaments of horses and oxen make them into coats of mail no less handsome and strong than Greek coats of mail: for indeed whether they are struck point-blank or shot at they are proof. But linen coats of mail are not equally useful for combatants, for they admit the keen thrust of steel, but are some protection to hunters, for the teeth of lions and panthers break off against them. And you may see linen coats of mail hung up in other temples and in the Gryneum, where is a most beautiful grove of Apollo, where the trees both cultivated and wild please equally both nose and eye.

Next to the temple of Æsculapius as you go to the Acropolis is the temple of Themis. And before it is the sepulchre of Hippolytus. His death they say came to him in consequence of the curses of his father. But the story of the guilty love of Phædra, and the bold forwardness of her nurse, is well known even to any barbarians who know Greek. There is also a tomb of Hippolytus among the Træzenians, and their legend is as follows. When Theseus intended to marry Phædra, not wishing if he had children[Pg 41] by her that Hippolytus should either be their subject or king, he sent him to Pittheus, to be brought up at Træzen and to be king there. And some time after Pallas and his sons revolted against Theseus, and he having slain them went to Træzen to be purified of the murder, and there Phædra first saw Hippolytus, and became desperately enamoured of him, and (being unsuccessful in her suit) contrived his death. And the people of Træzen have a myrtle whose leaves are perforated throughout, and they say it did not grow like that originally, but was the work of Phædra which she performed in her love-sickness with her hairpin. And Theseus established the worship of the Pandemian Aphrodite and of Persuasion, when he combined the Athenians into one city from several townships. Their old statues did not exist in my time: but those in my time were by no mean artists. There is also a temple to Earth, the Rearer of Children, and to Demeter as Chloe. The meaning of these names may be learnt from the priests by enquirers. To the Acropolis there is only one approach: it allows of no other, being everywhere precipitous and walled off. The vestibules have a roof of white marble, and even now are remarkable both for their beauty and size. As to the statues of the horsemen I cannot say with precision, whether they are the sons of Xenophon, or merely put there for decoration. On the right of the vestibules is the shrine of Wingless Victory. From it the sea is visible, and there Ægeus drowned himself as they say. For the ship which took his sons to Crete had black sails, but Theseus told his father, (for he knew there was some peril in attacking the Minotaur), that he would have white sails, if he should sail back a conqueror. But he forgot this promise in his loss of Ariadne. And Ægeus seeing the ship with black sails, thinking his son was dead, threw himself in and was drowned. And the Athenians have a hero-chapel to his memory. And on the left of the vestibules is a building with paintings: and among those that time has not destroyed are Diomede and Odysseus, the one taking away Philoctetes’ bow in Lemnos, the other taking the Palladium from Ilium. Among other paintings here is Ægisthus being slain by Orestes, and Pylades slaying the sons of Nauplius that came to Ægisthus’ aid.[Pg 42] And Polyxena about to have her throat cut near the tomb of Achilles. Homer did well not to mention this savage act. He also appears to me to have done well, in his account of the capture of Scyrus by Achilles, to have said not a word about what others relate, of Achilles having lived at Scyrus among the maidens, which Polygnotus has painted; who has also painted Odysseus suddenly making his appearance as Nausicaa and her maids were bathing in the river, just as Homer has described it. And among other paintings is Alcibiades, and there are traces in the painting of the victory of his horses at Nemea. There too is Perseus sailing to Seriphus, carrying to Polydectes the head of Medusa. But I am not willing to tell the story of Medusa under ‘Attica.’ And, among other paintings, to pass over the lad carrying the waterpots, and the wrestler painted by Timænetus, is one of Musæus. I have read verses in which it is recorded that Musæus could fly as a gift of Boreas, but it seems to me that Onomacritus wrote the lines, and there is nothing certainly of Musæus’ composition except the Hymn to Demeter written for the Lycomidæ. And at the entrance to the Acropolis is a Hermes, whom they call Propylæus, and the Graces, which they say were the work of Socrates the son of Sophroniscus, whom the Pythian priestess testified to have been the wisest of men, a thing which was not said to Anacharsis, though he went to Delphi on purpose.

Now the Greeks among other things say that they had the seven wise men. And among these they include the Lesbian tyrant and Periander the son of Cypselus: and yet Pisistratus and his son Hippias were far more humane and wise than Periander, both in war and in all that appertained to citizen life, until Hippias because of the death of Hipparchus acted with great cruelty, especially to a woman called Leæna, (Lioness). For after the death of Hipparchus, (I speak now of what has never before been[Pg 43] recorded in history, but yet is generally believed by the Athenians), Hippias tortured her to death, knowing that she had been Aristogiton’s mistress, and thinking that she could not have been ignorant of the plot against Hipparchus. In return for this, when the Pisistratidæ had been deposed from the kingdom, a brazen lioness was erected by the Athenians to her memory, and near her a statue of Aphrodite, which they say was a votive offering of Callias, designed by Calamis.

And next is a brazen statue of Diitrephes pierced with arrows. This Diitrephes, among other things which the Athenians record, led back the Thracian mercenaries who came too late, for Demosthenes had already sailed for Syracuse. And when he got to the Euripus near Chalcis, and opposite Mycalessus in Bœotia, he landed and took Mycalessus: and the Thracians slew not only the fighting men, but also the women and children. And this proves what I say, that all the cities of the Bœotians, whom the Thebans had dispossessed, were inhabited in my time by those who had fled at their capture. Therefore if the barbarians had not landed and slain all the Mycalessians, those that were left would afterwards have repeopled the city. A very wonderful fact about this statue of Diitrephes is that it was pierced with arrows, seeing that it was not customary for any Greeks but the Cretans to shoot with the bow. For we know that the Opuntian Locrians were so armed as early as the Persian war, for Homer described them as coming to Ilium with bows and slings. But the use of bows did not long remain even with the Malienses: and I think that they did not use them before the days of Philoctetes, and soon afterwards ceased to use them. And next to Diitrephes, (I shall not mention the more obscure images), are some statues of goddesses, as Hygiea, (Health), who they say was the daughter of Æsculapius, and Athene by the same name of Hygiea. And there is a small stone such as a little man can sit on, on which they say Silenus rested, when Dionysus came to the land. Silenus is the name they give to all old Satyrs. About the Satyrs I have conversed with many, wishing to know all about them. And Euphemus a Carian told me that sailing once on a time to Italy he was driven out[Pg 44] of his course by the winds, and carried to a distant sea, where people no longer sail. And he said that here were many desert islands, some inhabited by wild men: and at these islands the sailors did not like to land, as they had landed there before and had experience of the natives, but they were obliged on that occasion. These islands he said were called by the sailors Satyr-islands, the dwellers in them were red-haired, and had tails at their loins not much smaller than horses. When they perceived the sailors they ran down to the ship, spoke not a word, but began to handle the women on board. At last the sailors in dire alarm landed a barbarian woman on the island: and the Satyrs treated her in such a way as we will not venture to describe.

I noticed other statues in the Acropolis, as the boy in brass with a laver in his hand by Lycius the son of Myron, and Perseus having slain Medusa by Myron. And there is a temple of Brauronian Artemis, the statue the design of Praxiteles, but the goddess gets her name from Brauron. And the ancient statue is at Brauron, called Tauric Artemis. And a brazen model of the Wooden Horse is here, and that this construction of Epeus was a design to break down the walls, every one knows who does not consider the Phrygians plainly fatuous. And tradition says of that Horse that it had inside it the bravest of the Greeks, and this model in brass corresponds in every particular, and Menestheus and Teucer are peeping out of it, as well as the sons of Theseus. And of the statues next the Horse, Critias executed that of Epicharinus training to run in heavy armour. And Œnobius did a kindness to Thucydides the son of Olorus. For he passed a decree that Thucydides should be recalled from exile to Athens, and as he was treacherously murdered on his return, he has a tomb not far from the Melitian gates. As to Hermolycus the Pancratiast, and Phormio the son of Asopichus, as others have written about them I pass them by: only I have this little bit more to say about Phormio. He being one of the noblest of the Athenians, and illustrious from the renown of his ancestors, was heavily in debt. He went therefore to the Pæanian township, and had his maintenance there until the Athenians chose him as Admiral. He however declined on the score that he[Pg 45] owed money, and that he would have no influence with the sailors till he had paid it. Accordingly the Athenians paid his debts, for they would have him as Admiral.

Here too is Athene pourtrayed striking Marsyas the Silenus, because he would take up her flutes, when the goddess wished them thrown away. Besides those which I have mentioned is the legendary fight between Theseus and the Minotaur, a man or a beast according to different accounts. Certainly many more wonderful monsters than this have been born of woman even in our times. Here too is Phrixus the son of Athamas, who was carried to Colchi by the ram. He has just sacrificed the ram to some god, (if one might conjecture to the god who is called Laphystius among the Orchomenians), and having cut off the thighs according to the Greek custom, he is looking at them burning on the altar. And next, among other statues, is one of Hercules throttling snakes according to the tradition. And there is Athene springing out of the head of Zeus. And there also is a bull, the votive offering of the council of the Areopagus. Why they offered it is not known, but one might make many guesses if one liked. I have said before that the Athenians more than any other Greeks have a zeal for religion. For they first called Athene the worker, they first worshipped the mutilated Hermæ, and in their temple along with these they have a God of the Zealous. And whoever prefers modern works of real art to the antique, may look at the following. There is a man with a helmet on, the work of Cleœtas, and his nails are modelled in silver. Here is also a statue of Earth supplicating to Zeus for rain, either wanting showers for the Athenians, or a drought impending on all Greece. Here too is Timotheus, the son of Conon, and Conon himself. Here too are cruel Procne and her son Itys, by Alcamenes. Here too is Athene represented showing the olive tree, and Poseidon showing water. And there is a statue by Leochares of Zeus the Guardian[Pg 46] of the city, in recording whose customary rites I do not record the reasons assigned for them. They put barley on the altar of this Zeus Guardian of the city, and do not watch it: and the ox kept and fattened up for the sacrifice eats the corn when it approaches the altar. And they call one of the priests Ox-killer, and he after throwing the axe at the ox runs away, for that is the usage: and (as if they did not know who had done the deed) they bring the axe into court as defendant. They perform the rites in the way indicated.

And as regards the temple which they call the Parthenon, as you enter it everything pourtrayed on the gables relates to the birth of Athene, and behind is depicted the contest between Poseidon and Athene for the soil of Attica. And this work of art is in ivory and gold. In the middle of her helmet is an image of the Sphinx—about whom I shall give an account when I come to Bœotia—and on each side of the helmet are griffins worked. These griffins, says Aristæus the Proconnesian in his poems, fought with the Arimaspians beyond the Issedones for the gold of the soil which the griffins guarded. And the Arimaspians were all one-eyed men from their birth, and the griffins were beasts like lions, with wings and mouth like an eagle. Let so much suffice for these griffins. But the statue of Athene is full length, with a tunic reaching to her feet, and on her breast is the head of Medusa worked in ivory, and in one hand she has a Victory four cubits high, in the other hand a spear, and at her feet a shield, and near the spear a dragon which perhaps is Erichthonius. And on the base of the statue is a representation of the birth of Pandora, the first woman according to Hesiod and other poets, for before her there was no race of women. Here too I remember to have seen the only statue here of the Emperor Adrian, and at the entrance one of Iphicrates the celebrated Athenian general.

And outside the temple is a brazen Apollo said to be by Phidias: and they call it Apollo Averter of Locusts, because when the locusts destroyed the land the god said he would drive them out of the country. And they know that he did so, but they don’t say how. I myself know of locusts having been thrice destroyed on Mount[Pg 47] Sipylus, but not in the same way, for some were driven away by a violent wind that fell on them, and others by a strong blight that came on them after showers, and others were frozen to death by a sudden frost. All this came under my own notice.

There are also in the Acropolis at Athens statues of Pericles the son of Xanthippus and Xanthippus himself, who fought against the Persians at Mycale. The statue of Pericles stands by itself, but near that of Xanthippus is Anacreon of Teos, the first after Lesbian Sappho who wrote erotic poetry mainly: his appearance is that of a man singing in liquor. And near are statues by Dinomenes of Io the daughter of Inachus, and Callisto the daughter of Lycaon, both of whom had precisely similar fates, the love of Zeus and the hatred of Hera, Io being changed into a cow, and Callisto into a she-bear. And on the southern wall Attalus has pourtrayed the legendary battle of the giants, who formerly inhabited Thrace and the isthmus of Pallene, and the contest between the Amazons and the Athenians, and the action at Marathon against the Persians, and the slaughter of the Galati in Mysia, each painting two cubits in size. There too is Olympiodorus, illustrious for the greatness of his exploits, notably at that period when he infused spirit in men who had been continually baffled, and on that account had not a single hope for the future. For the disaster at Chæronea was a beginning of sorrows for all the Greeks, and made slaves alike of those who were absent from it, and of those who fought at it against the Macedonians. Most of the Greek cities Philip captured, and though he made a treaty with the Athenians nominally, he really hurt them most, robbing them of their islands, and putting down their naval supremacy. And for some time they were quiet, during the reign of Philip and afterwards of Alexander, but when Alexander was dead and the Macedonians chose Aridæus as his successor, though the whole power[Pg 48] fell to Antipater, then the Athenians thought it no longer endurable that Greece should be for all time under Macedonia, but themselves took up arms and urged others to do the same. And the cities of the Peloponnesians which joined them were Argos, Epidaurus, Sicyon, Trœzen, Elis, Phlius, Messene, and outside the Peloponnese the Locrians, the Phocians, the Thessalians, the Carystians, and those Acarnanians who ranked with the Ætolians. But the Bœotians who inhabited the Theban territory which had been stripped of Thebans, fearing that the Athenians would eject them from Thebes, not only refused to join the confederate cities but did all they could to further the interests of the Macedonians. Now the confederate cities were led each by their own general, but the Athenian Leosthenes was chosen generalissimo, partly from his city’s renown, partly from his own reputation for experience in war. He had besides done good service to all the Greeks. For when Alexander wished to settle in Persia all of those who had served for pay with Darius and the satraps, Leosthenes was beforehand with him and conveyed them back to Europe in his ships. And now too, after having displayed more brilliant exploits than they expected, he infused dejection in all men by his death, and that was the chief reason of their failure. For a Macedonian garrison occupied first Munychia, and afterwards the Piræus and the long walls. And after the death of Antipater Olympias crossed over from Epirus and ruled for some time, after putting Aridæus to death, but not long after she was besieged by Cassander, and betrayed by the multitude. And when Cassander was king, (I shall only concern myself with Athenian matters), he captured Fort Panactus in Attica and Salamis, and got Demetrius the son of Phanostratus, (who had his father’s repute for wisdom), appointed king over the Athenians. He was however, deposed by Demetrius the son of Antigonus, a young man well disposed to the Greeks: but Cassander, (who had a deadly hatred against the Athenians), won over Lachares, who had up to this time been the leader of the democracy, and persuaded him to plot to be king: and of all the kings we know of he was most savage to men and most reckless to the gods. But Demetrius the son of Antigonus, though he had not been[Pg 49] on the best of terms with the Athenian democracy, yet was successful in putting down the power of Lachares. And when the town was taken Lachares fled into Bœotia. But as he had taken the golden shields from the Acropolis, and had stripped the statue of Athene of all the ornaments that were removable, he was supposed to be very rich, and was killed for his money’s sake by the people of Corone. And Demetrius the son of Antigonus, having freed the Athenians from the yoke of Lachares, did not immediately after the flight of Lachares give up to them the Piræus, but after being victorious in war with them put a garrison in the town, and fortified what is called the Museum. Now the Museum is within the old town walls, on a hill opposite the Acropolis, where they say that Musæus sang, and died of old age, and was buried. And on the same place afterwards a tomb was erected to a Syrian. This hill Demetrius fortified.

Some time after a few remembered the fame of their ancestors, and when they considered what a change had come over the glory of Athens, they elected Olympiodorus as their general. And he led against the Macedonians old men and lads alike, hoping that by zeal rather than strength their fortunes in war would be retrieved. And when the Macedonians came out against him he conquered them in battle, and when they fled to the Museum he took it. So Athens was delivered from the Macedonians. And of the Athenians that distinguished themselves so as to deserve special mention, Leocritus the son of Protarchus is said to have displayed most bravery in action. For he was the first to scale the wall and leap into the Museum: and as he fell in the fight, among other honours conferred on him by the Athenians, they dedicated his shield to Zeus Eleutherius, writing on it his name and his valour. And this is the greatest feat of Olympiodorus, though he also recovered the Piræus and Munychia: and when the Macedonians invaded Eleusis he collected a[Pg 50] band of Eleusinians and defeated them. And before this, when Cassander intended to make a raid into Attica, he sailed to Ætolia and persuaded the Ætolians to give their help, and this alliance was the chief reason why they escaped war with Cassander. And Olympiodorus has honours at Athens in the Acropolis and Prytaneum, and a painting at Eleusis. And the Phocians who dwell at Elatea have erected a brazen statue to him at Delphi, because he also helped them when they revolted from Cassander.

And next the statue of Olympiodorus is a brazen image of Artemis called Leucophryene, and it was erected to her by the sons of Themistocles: for the Magnesians, over whom Themistocles ruled, having received that post from the king, worship Artemis Leucophryene. But I must get on with my subject, as I have all Greece to deal with. Endœus was an Athenian by race, and the pupil of Dædalus, and accompanied Dædalus to Crete, when he fled there on account of his murder of Calus. The statue of Athene sitting is by him, with the inscription that Callias dedicated it and Endœus designed it.

There is also a building called the Erechtheum: and in the vestibule is an altar of Supreme Zeus, where they offer no living sacrifice, but cakes without the usual libation of wine. And as you enter there are three altars, one to Poseidon, (on which they also sacrifice to Erechtheus according to the oracle,) one to the hero Butes, and the third to Hephæstus. And on the walls are paintings of the family of Butes. The building is a double one, and inside there is sea water in a well. And this is no great marvel, for even those who live in inland parts have such wells, as notably the Aphrodisienses in Caria. But this well is represented as having a roar as of the sea when the South wind blows. And in the rock is the figure of a trident. And this is said to have been Poseidon’s proof in regard to the territory Athene disputed with him.

Sacred to Athene is all the rest of Athens, and similarly all Attica: for although they worship different gods in different townships, none the less do they honour Athene generally. And the most sacred of all is the statue of Athene in what is now called the Acropolis, but was then called the Polis (city), which was universally worshipped[Pg 51] many years before the various townships formed one city: and the rumour about it is that it fell from heaven. As to this I shall not give an opinion, whether it was so or not. And Callimachus made a golden lamp for the goddess. And when they fill this lamp with oil it lasts for a whole year, although it burns continually night and day. And the wick is of a particular kind of cotton flax, the only kind imperishable by fire. And above the lamp is a palmtree of brass reaching to the roof and carrying off the smoke. And Callimachus the maker of this lamp, although he comes behind the first artificers, yet was remarkable for ingenuity, and was the first who perforated stone, and got the name of Art-critic, whether his own appellation or given him by others.

In the temple of Athene Polias is a Hermes of wood, (said to be a votive offering of Cecrops,) almost hidden by myrtle leaves. And of the antique votive offerings worthy of record, is a folding chair the work of Dædalus, and spoils taken from the Persians, as a coat of mail of Masistius, who commanded the cavalry at Platæa, and a scimetar said to have belonged to Mardonius. Masistius we know was killed by the Athenian cavalry: but as Mardonius fought against the Lacedæmonians and was killed by a Spartan, they could not have got it at first hand, nor is it likely that the Lacedæmonians would have allowed the Athenians to carry off such a trophy. And about the olive they have nothing else to tell but that the goddess used it as a proof of her right to the country when it was contested by Poseidon. And they record also that this olive was burnt when the Persians set fire to Athens, but though burnt it grew the same day two cubits. And next to the temple of Athene is the temple of Pandrosus; who was the only one of the three sisters who didn’t peep into the forbidden chest. Now the things I most marvelled at are not universally known. I will therefore write of them as they occur to me. Two maidens live not far from the temple of[Pg 52] Athene Polias, and the Athenians call them the carriers of the holy things: for a certain time they live with the goddess, but when her festival comes they act in the following way by night. Putting upon their heads what the priestess of Athene gives them to carry, (neither she nor they know what these things are,) these maidens descend, by a natural underground passage, from an enclosure in the city sacred to Aphrodite of the Gardens. In the sanctuary below they deposit what they carry, and bring back something else closely wrapped up. And these maidens they henceforth dismiss, and other two they elect instead of them for the Acropolis. And near the temple of Athene is an old woman, about a cubit in size, well-modelled, with an inscription saying that she is the handmaid Lysimache, and there are large brazen statues of two men standing apart as for a fight: the one they call Erechtheus and the other Eumolpus. And yet all that know Athenian Antiquities are aware that it was Eumolpus’ son, Immaradus, that was slain by Erechtheus. And at the base are statues of Tolmides’ prophet, and Tolmides himself, who was the Athenian Admiral, and did great damage especially to the maritime region of the Peloponnesians, and burnt the dockyards of the Lacedæmonians at Gythium, and took Bœæ in the neighbouring country, and the island of Cytherus, and made a descent on Sicyonia, and, when the Sicyonians fought against him as he was ravaging their land, routed them and pursued them up to the city. And afterwards when he returned to Athens, he conducted colonies of the Athenians to Eubœa and Naxos, and attacked the Bœotians with a land force: and, having laid waste most of the country, and taken Chæronea after a siege, when he got to Haliartia was himself killed in battle and his whole army defeated. Such I learnt were the fortunes of Tolmides. And there are old statues of Athene: they are entire but rather grimy, and too weak to bear a knock, for fire passed upon them when Xerxes found the city bare of fighting men, as they had all gone to man the fleet. There is also a representation of a boar-hunt, (about which I know nothing for certain unless it is the Calydonian boar,) and of the fight between Cycnus and Hercules. This Cycnus they say killed among others the[Pg 53] Thracian Lycus in a prize fight: but was himself slain by Hercules near the river Peneus.

Of the legends that they tell at Trœzen about Theseus one is that Hercules, visiting Pittheus at Trœzen, threw down during dinner his lion’s skin, and that several Trœzenian lads came into the room with Theseus, who was seven years of age at most. They say that all the other boys when they saw the lion’s skin fled helter skelter, but Theseus not being afraid kept his ground, and plucked an axe from one of the servants, and began to attack it fiercely, thinking the skin was a live lion. This is the first Trœzenian legend about him. And the next is that Ægeus put his boots and sword under a stone as means of identifying his son, and then sailed away to Athens, and Theseus when he was eighteen lifted the stone and removed what Ægeus had left there. And this legend is worked in bronze, all but the stone, in the Acropolis. They have also delineated another exploit of Theseus. This is the legend. A bull was ravaging the Cretan territory both elsewhere and by the river Tethris. In ancient times it appears wild beasts were more formidable to men, as the Nemean and Parnasian lions, and dragons in many parts of Greece, and boars at Calydon and Erymanthus and Crommyon in Corinth, of whom it was said that some sprang out of the ground, and others were sacred to the gods, and others sent for the punishment of human beings. And this bull the Cretans say Poseidon sent into their land, because Minos, who was master of the Grecian sea, held Poseidon in no greater honour than any other god. And they say that this bull crossed over from Crete to the Peloponnese, and that one of the twelve Labours of Hercules was to fetch it to Eurystheus. And when it was afterwards let go on the Argive plain, it fled through the Isthmus of Corinth, and into Attica to the township of Marathon, and killed several people whom it met, and among them Androgeos the son of Minos. And Minos sailed to Athens, (for he could not be persuaded that the Athenians had had no hand in the death of Androgeos,) and did great damage, until it was covenanted to send annually seven maidens and seven boys to Crete to the Minotaur, who was fabled to live in the Labyrinth at Gnossus. As to the bull that[Pg 54] had got to Marathon, it is said to have been driven by Theseus into the Acropolis, and sacrificed to Athene. And the township of Marathon has a representation of it.

Why they erected a brazen statue to Cylon, although he plotted for the sovereignty, I cannot clearly tell. But I conjecture the reason was that he was very handsome in person and not unknown to fame, as he had won the victory at Olympia in the double course, and it was his good fortune to wed the daughter of Theagenes the king of Megara. And besides those I have mentioned there are two works of art especially famous, made out of Athenian spoil, a brazen statue of Athene, the work of Phidias, made out of spoil taken from the Persians who landed at Marathon: (the battle of the Lapithæ with the Centaurs, and all the other things represented on her shield, are said to have been carved by Mys, but Parrhasius is said to have drawn for Mys the outline of these and of his other works.) The spearpoint of this Athene, and the plume of her helmet, are visible from Sunium as you sail in. And there is a brazen chariot made out of spoil of the Bœotians and Chalcidians in Eubœa. And there are two other votive offerings, a statue of Pericles the son of Xanthippus, and, (one of the finest works of Phidias,) a statue of Athene, called the Lemnian Athene because an offering from the people of Lemnos. The walls of the Acropolis, (except what Cimon the son of Miltiades built,) are said to have been drawn out by Pelasgians who formerly lived under the Acropolis. Their names were Agrolas and Hyperbius. When I made enquiries who they were, all that I could learn of them was that they were originally Sicilians, who had emigrated to Acarnania.

As you descend, not into the lower part of the city but only below the Propylæa, there is a well of water, and near it a temple of Apollo in a cave. Here they think Apollo had an amour with Creusa the daughter of Erechtheus. And as to Pan, they say that Philippides, (who was sent[Pg 55] as a messenger to Lacedæmon when the Persians landed), reported that the Lacedæmonians were deferring their march: for it was their custom not to go out on a campaign till the moon was at its full. But he said that he had met with Pan near the Parthenian forest, and he had said that he was friendly to the Athenians, and would come and help them at Marathon. Pan has been honoured therefore for this message. Here is also the Areopagus, so called because Ares was first tried here. I have before stated how and why he slew Halirrhothius. And they say that subsequently Orestes was tried here for the murder of his mother. And there is an altar of Athene Area, which Orestes erected when he escaped punishment. And the two white stones, on which both defendants and plaintiffs stand in this court, are respectively called Rigour-of-the-law and Impudence.

And not far off is the temple of the Goddesses whom the Athenians call The Venerable Ones, but Hesiod in his Theogony calls them the Erinnyes. And Æschylus first represented them with snakes twined in their hair: but in the statues here, either of these or of any other infernal gods, there is nothing horrible. Here are statues of Pluto and Hermes and Earth. Here all that have been acquitted before the Areopagus offer their sacrifices, besides foreigners and citizens occasionally. Within the precincts is also the tomb of Œdipus. After many enquiries I found that his bones had been brought there from Thebes: for I could not credit Sophocles’ account about the death of Œdipus, since Homer records that Mecisteus went to Thebes after the death of Œdipus and was a competitor in the funeral games held in his honour there.[5]

The Athenians have other Courts of Law, but not so famous as the Areopagus. One they call Parabystum and another Trigonum, [that is Crush and Triangle,] the former being in a low part of the city and crowds of litigants in very trumpery cases frequenting it, the other gets its name from its shape. And the Courts called Froggy and Scarlet preserve their names to this day from their colours. But the largest Court, which has also the greatest number of litigants, is called Heliæa. Murder-cases are taken in[Pg 56] the Court they call the Palladium, where are also tried cases of manslaughter. And that Demophon was the first person tried here no one disputes: but why he was tried is debated. They say that Diomede, sailing home after the capture of Ilium, put into Phalerum one dark night, and the Argives landed as on hostile soil, not knowing in the dark that it was Attica. Thereupon they say Demophon rushed up, being ignorant that the men in the ships were Argives, and slew several of them, and went off with the Palladium which he took from them, and an Athenian not recognized in the melée was knocked down and trodden underfoot by Demophon’s horse. For this affair Demophon had to stand his trial, prosecuted some say by the relations of this Athenian, others say by the Argives generally. And the Delphinium is the Court for those who plead that they have committed justifiable homicide, which was the plea of Theseus when he was acquitted for killing Pallas and his sons who rose up against him. And before the acquittal of Theseus every manslayer had to flee for his life, or if he stayed to suffer the same death as he had inflicted. And in the Court called the Prytaneum they try iron and other inanimate things. I imagine the custom originated when Erechtheus was king of Athens, for then first did Ox-killer kill an ox at the temple of Zeus Guardian of the City: and he left the axe there and fled the country, and the axe was forthwith acquitted after trial, and is tried annually even nowadays. Other inanimate things are said to have spontaneously committed justifiable homicide: the best and most famous illustration of which is afforded by the scimetar of Cambyses.[6] And there is at the Piræus near the sea a Court called Phreattys: here fugitives, if (after they have once escaped) a second charge is brought against them, make their defence on shipboard to their hearers on land. Teucer first (the story goes) thus made his defence before Telamon that he had had no hand in the death of Ajax. Let this suffice for these matters, that all who care may know everything about the Athenian law-courts.

Near the Areopagus is shewn the ship that is made for the procession at the Panathenæa. And this perhaps has been outdone. But the ship at Delos is the finest I have ever heard of, having nine banks of rowers from the decks.

And the Athenians in the townships, and on the roads outside the city, have temples of the gods, and tombs of men and heroes. And not far distant is the Academy, once belonging to a private man, now a gymnasium. And as you go down to it are the precincts of Artemis, and statues of her as Best and Beautifullest: I suppose these titles have the same reference as the lines of Sappho, another account about them I know but shall pass over. And there is a small temple, to which they carry every year on appointed days the statue of Dionysus Eleuthereusis. So many temples to the gods are there here. There are also tombs, first of Thrasybulus the son of Lycus, in all respects one of the most famous of the Athenians either since his day or before him. Most of his exploits I shall pass by, but one thing will be enough to prove my statement. Starting from Thebes with only sixty men he put down the Thirty Tyrants, and persuaded the Athenians who were in factions to be reconciled to one another and live on friendly terms. His is the first tomb, and near it are the tombs of Pericles and Chabrias and Phormio. And all the Athenians have monuments here that died in battle either on land or sea, except those that fought at Marathon. For those have tombs on the spot for their valour. But the others lie on the road to the Academy, and slabs are on their tombs recording the name and township of each. First come those whom the Edoni unexpectedly fell upon and slew in Thrace, when they had made themselves masters of all the country up to Drabescus: and it is said also that hailstones fell on them. And among generals are Leagrus, who had the greatest amount of power committed to him, and Sophanes of Decelea, who slew the Argive Eurybates, (who was helping the Æginetans), the victor in five contests[Pg 58] at Nemea. And this is the third army the Athenians sent out of Greece. For all the Greeks by mutual consent fought against Priam and the Trojans: but the Athenians alone sent an army into Sardinia with Iolaus, and again to Ionia, and the third time to Thrace. And before the monument is a pillar with a representation of two cavalry officers fighting, whose names are Melanopus and Macartatus, who met their death contending against the Lacedæmonians and Bœotians, at the border of the Eleonian and Tanagræan territory. And there is the tomb of the Thessalian cavalry who remembered their ancient friendship to Athens, when the Peloponnesians under Archidamas first invaded Attica: they are near the Cretan archers. And again there are tombs of the Athenians, as of Clisthenes, (who made the regulations for the tribes which are observed even now,) and the cavalry who were slain on that day of danger, when the Thessalians brought aid. Here too are the Cleonæi, who came with the Argives into Attica: why they came I shall tell when I come to Argos. Here too is the tomb of the Athenians who fought with the Æginetans before the Persian War. And that was I ween a just decree of the people that, if the Athenians gave a public burial to the slaves, their names should be written on a pillar. And this proves that they behaved well to their masters in the wars. And there are also monuments of other valiant men, who fell fighting in various places: the most illustrious of those that fought at Olynthus, and Melesander (who sailed in his ships up the Mæander in Upper Caria), and those who fell in the war with Cassander, and those Argives who were formerly the allies of the Athenians. This alliance came about (they say) in the following manner. There was an earthquake at Lacedæmon, and the Helots revolted and went to Ithome: and when they revolted the Lacedæmonians sent for aid to the Athenians and others: and they despatched to them picked men under Cimon the son of Miltiades. These the Lacedæmonians sent back moved by suspicion. And the Athenians thought such an outrage insufferable, and, on their return home again, made an offensive and defensive alliance with the Argives, who had always been the enemies of the Lacedæmonians. And afterwards, when a battle between the Athenians and Bœotians[Pg 59] and Lacedæmonians was on the eve of taking place at Tanagra, the Argives came to the aid of the Athenians. And when the Argives were having the better of it, night came on and took away the certainty of victory, and the next day the Lacedæmonians won the victory, the Thessalians having betrayed the Athenians. I ought also to mention Apollodorus the leader of the mercenaries, who was an Athenian, but had been sent by Arsites, the satrap of Phrygia near the Hellespont, and had relieved Perinthia, when Philip attacked it with an army. He is buried here, with Eubulus the son of Spintharus, and other men who although they deserved it did not meet with good fortune; some fell conspiring against the tyrant Lachares, and others counselled the seizure of the Piræus when the Macedonians guarded it, but before they could carry out their plan they were informed against by their fellow-conspirators and put to death. Here too are the tombs of those who fell at Corinth: and it was palpably shewn here (and afterwards at Leuctra) by the Deity, that those whom the Greeks call brave were nothing without good fortune, since the Lacedæmonians who had formerly conquered the Corinthians and Athenians, and moreover the Argives and Bœotians, were afterwards so completely routed at Leuctra by the Bœotians alone. And next to the tombs of those that fell at Corinth, some elegiac lines testify that the pillar was erected not only to them, but also to those that died at Eubœa and Chios, as also to some whom it declares were slain in the remote parts of the continent of Asia Minor, and in Sicily. And all the Generals are inscribed on it except Nicias, and the Platæan soldiers and citizens together. Nicias was passed over for the following reason: I give the same account as Philistus, who said that Demosthenes made conditions of surrender for everybody but himself, and when he was taken attempted suicide, whereas Nicias surrendered voluntarily. And so his name was not written on the pillar, as he was shewn to be a willing captive and not a man fit for war. On another pillar are the names of those who fought in Thrace, and at Megara, and when Alcibiades persuaded the Mantinæans and Eleans to revolt from the Lacedæmonians, and those who conquered the Syracusans before Demosthenes came to Sicily. Those also[Pg 60] are buried here who fought the naval engagement at the Hellespont, and those who fought against the Macedonians at Chæronea, and those who served with Cleon at Amphipolis, and those who fell at Delium in the territory of the Tanagræans, and those whom Leosthenes led to Thessaly, and those who sailed to Cyprus with Cimon, and those, thirteen only, who with Olympiodorus drove out the Macedonian garrison. And the Athenians say that, when the Romans were fighting against one of their neighbours, they sent a small force to their aid, and certainly afterwards there were five Attic triremes present at the sea-fight between the Romans and Carthaginians. These also have their tomb here. The exploits of Tolmides and his men, and the manner of their death, I have already described: but let any one to whom their memory is dear know that they too lie buried on this road. They too lie here who on the same day won under Cimon a glorious victory both by land and sea. Here too lie Conon and Timotheus, father and son, second only to Miltiades and Cimon in their brilliant feats. Here too lie Zeno the son of Mnaseas, and Chrysippus of Soli, and Nicias the son of Nicomedes, (the best painter of animals in his day,) and Harmodius and Aristogiton who murdered Hipparchus the son of Pisistratus, and the orators Ephialtes, (who did his best to discredit the legislation of the Areopagus,) and Lycurgus the son of Lycophron. This Lycurgus put into the public treasury 6,500 talents more than Pericles the son of Xanthippus got together, and furnished elaborate apparatus for the processions of Athene, and golden Victories, and dresses for 100 maidens, and for war arms and darts, and 400 triremes for naval engagements. And as for buildings he finished the theatre though others began it, and during his term of office built docks at the Piræus, and a gymnasium at the Lyceum. All his silver and gold work Lachares plundered when he was in power: but the buildings remain to this day.

Before the entrance into the Academy is an altar of Eros, with the inscription that Charmus was the first of the Athenians to offer votive offerings to Eros. And they say that the altar in the city called the altar of Anteros is the offering of the resident aliens, for Meles an Athenian, tired of Timagoras, a resident alien who was enamoured of him, bade him go to the highest part of the rock and throw himself down. And Timagoras careless of his life, and wishing in all things to gratify the stripling’s commands, threw himself down accordingly. But Meles, when he saw that Timagoras was dead, was so stricken with remorse, that he threw himself down from the same rock, and so perished. And in consequence it was ordained that the resident aliens should worship as a god Anteros, the avenger of Timagoras. And in the Academy is an altar of Prometheus, and they run from it to the city with lighted torches. The game is to keep the torch alight as they run. And if the torch goes out there is no longer victory to the first, but the second wins instead. And if his is out, then the third. And so on. And if the torches of all go out, then there is no one who can win the game. There is also an altar of the Muses, and another of Hermes, and in the interior one of Athene, and another of Hercules. And there is an olive-tree, which is said to have been the second that ever was. And not far from the Academy is the tomb of Plato, to whom the Deity foretold that he would be most excellent in Philosophy, and foretold it in the following way. Socrates, the night before Plato was going to be his pupil, dreamed that a swan flew into his bosom. Now the swan is a bird that has a fame for music, for they say that Cycnus [Swan], king of the Ligyans across the Eridanus in Celtic territory, was fond of music, and when he died was at Apollo’s desire changed into a bird. I daresay a musical man reigned over the Ligyans, but I can hardly believe that a man became a bird. Here too is seen the tower of Timon, who was the only person who thought one can be happy in no way except by shunning[Pg 62] one’s kind. There is also shewn here a place called Colonus, sacred to Poseidon the creator of horses, the first place in Attica which they say Œdipus came to: this is however different from the account of Homer, still it is the account they give. There is also an altar of Poseidon God of Horses and of Athene Goddess of Horses, and a hero-chapel of Pirithous and Theseus and Œdipus and Adrastus. But Poseidon’s grove and temple were burnt by Antigonus, when he invaded Attica and ravaged it with his army.

Now the small townships of Attica, founded by haphazard, have the following records. The Alimusii have a temple to Law-giving Demeter and her daughter Proserpine; and in Zoster [Belt] by the sea is an altar to Athene and Apollo and Artemis and Leto. They say that Leto did not give birth to her children here, but loosed her belt as if she were going to, and that was why the place got that name. The Prospaltii also have a temple to Proserpine and Demeter, and the Anagyrasians have a temple to the Mother of the Gods. And at Cephalæ Castor and Pollux are held in highest honour: for they call them the Great Gods.

And the people of Prasiæ have a temple of Apollo: here came (they say) the firstfruits of the Hyperboreans, handed over by them to the Arimaspians, and by the Arimaspians to the Issedones, and brought thence by the Scythians to Sinope, and thence carried by the Greeks to Prasiæ, and by the Athenians to Delos: these firstfruits are hidden in an ear of wheat, and may be looked at by nobody. At Prasiæ there is also a monument to Erysichthon, who died on his passage home, as he sailed back from Delos after his mission there. That Cranaus the king of the Athenians was expelled by Amphictyon, though he was his kinsman, I have before narrated: and they say that when he fled with his adherents to the Lamprian township he was killed and buried there: and his tomb is there to this day. And Ion the son of Xuthus, (for he too dwelt in Attica,[Pg 63] and commanded the Athenians in the war against the Eleusinians,) has a tomb in the place called Potami.

So far tradition goes. And the Phlyenses have altars to Dionysus-giving Apollo and Lightgiving Artemis, and to Dionysus Crowned with flowers, and to the Nymphs of the River Ismenus, and to Earth whom they call the Great Goddess: and another temple has altars to Fruitbearing Demeter, and Zeus the Protector of Property, and Tithronian Athene, and Proserpine the Firstborn, and to the goddesses called The Venerable Ones, (i.e. the Eumenides.) And at Myrrhinus there is a statue to Colænian Artemis. And the Athmonenses worship Amarynthian Artemis. And when I enquired of the Interpreters and Experts as to these Goddesses, I could obtain no accurate information, but I conjecture as follows. Amarynthus is in Eubœa, and there too they worship the Amarynthian Artemis. And the Athenians at her feast bestow as much honour on her as the Eubœans. In this way I think she got her name among the Athmonenses, and Colænian Artemis at Myrrhinus from Colænus. I have written already elsewhere that it is the opinion of many in the townships that there were kings at Athens before Cecrops. Now Colænus is the name of a king who ruled at Athens before Cecrops, according to the tradition of the people of Myrrhinus. And there is a township at Acharnæ: the Acharnians worship among other gods Apollo of the Streets and Hercules. And there is an altar to Athene Hygiea: they also worship Athene by the name of Horse-lover, and Dionysus by that of Songster, and Ivy-God, for they say ivy grew here first.

And the mountains of Attica are Pentelicus, famous for its stonequarries, and Parnes, which affords good hunting of wild boars and bears, and Hymettus, which is the best place for bees next to the territory of the Alazones. For among the Alazones the bees are so tame that they live with the people, and go freely about for their food anywhere, and are not confined in hives: and they make honey anywhere, and it is so firm and compact that you[Pg 64] cannot separate it from the comb. And on the mountains of Attica also are statues of the gods. At Pentelicus there is a statue of Athene, and at Hymettus one of Zeus of Hymettus: there are altars also to Rainy Zeus, and Apollo the Fore-seer. And at Parnes there is a brazen statue of Parnesian Zeus, and an altar to Semalean Zeus. There is also another altar at Parnes, and they sacrifice on it sometimes to Zeus the Rainy, sometimes to Zeus the Averter of Ill. There is also the small mountain called Anchesmus, and on it the statue of Anchesmian Zeus.

Before I turn to the description of the islands, I will enter again into the history of the townships. The township of Marathon is about equidistant from Athens and Carystus in Eubœa. It was this part of Attica that the Persians landed at, and were defeated, and lost some of their ships as they were putting out to sea in retreat. And in the plain is the tomb of the Athenians, and on it are pillars with the names of the dead according to their tribes. And another for the Platæans of Bœotia and their slaves: for this was the first engagement in which slaves fought. And there is apart a monument to Miltiades the son of Cimon, whose death occurred afterwards, when he failed to capture Paros, and was on that account put on his trial by the Athenians. Here every night one may hear horses neighing and men fighting: those who come on purpose to see the sight suffer for their curiosity, but if they are there as spectators accidentally the wrath of the gods harms them not. And the people of Marathon highly honour those that fell in the battle, calling them heroes, as also they pay honours to Marathon (from whom the township gets its name), and Hercules, whom they say they first of all the Greeks worshipped as a god. And it chanced, as they say, in the battle that a man of rustic appearance and dress appeared, who slew many of the Persians with a ploughshare, and vanished after the fight: and when the Athenians made enquiry of the oracle, the god gave no other answer, but bade them honour the hero Echetlæus. And a trophy of white stone was erected there. And the Athenians say that they buried the Persians, (it being a matter of decency to bury in the ground a man’s corpse,) but I could find no tomb. For there was no mound[Pg 65] nor any other visible trace of burial. So they must have carried them to some hole and thrown them in pell mell. And there is at Marathon a fountain called Macaria, and this is the tradition about it. When Hercules fled from Eurystheus at Tiryns, he went to his friend Ceyx the king of Trachis. And when Hercules left mankind Eurystheus asked for his children, and Ceyx sent them to Athens, pleading his own weakness, and suggesting that Theseus might be able to protect them. And coming to Athens as suppliants, they brought about the first war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, as Theseus would not give them up to Eurystheus, though he begged hard for them. And they say that an oracle told the Athenians that one of the children of Hercules must voluntarily die, or else they would not get the victory. Hereupon Macaria, the daughter of Deianira and Hercules, sacrificed herself that the Athenians might conquer in the war, and the fountain gets its name from her. And there is at Marathon a lake for the most part muddy: into it the fugitive Persians fell not knowing the way, and most of the slaughter happened they say here. And above the lake are the mangers of the horses of Artaphernes in stone, and among the rocks vestiges of a tent. And a river flows from the lake, affording pleasant water to the herds that come to the lake, but at its outlet into the sea it is salt and full of sea fish. And at a little distance from the plain is a mountain of Pan, and a cave well worth seeing. The entrance to it is narrow, but when you get well in there are rooms and baths, and what is called Pan’s herd of goats, rocks very like goats in shape.

And not far from Marathon is Brauron, where they say Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, landed in her flight from the Tauri, bringing with her the statue of Artemis, and, having left it here, went on to Athens and afterwards to Argos. Here is indeed an ancient statue of Artemis. But those who have the Tauric statue of the goddess in my opinion, I shall show in another part of my[Pg 66] work. And about sixty stades from Marathon is Rhamnus, as you go along the shore to Oropus. And there are buildings near the sea for men, and a little way from the sea on the cliff is a temple of Nemesis, who is the most implacable of all the gods to haughty men. And it seems that those Persians who landed at Marathon met with vengeance from this goddess: for despising the difficulty of capturing Athens, they brought Parian marble to make a trophy of, as if they had already conquered. This marble Phidias made into a statue of Nemesis, and on the goddess’ head is a crown with some figures of stags, and some small statues of Victory: in one hand she has a branch of an apple tree, in the other a bowl, on which some Ethiopians are carved. As to these Ethiopians I could not myself conjecture what they referred to, nor could I accept the account of those who thought they knew, who say that they were carved on the bowl because of the river Oceanus: for the Ethiopians dwelt by it, and Oceanus was Nemesis’ father. For indeed Oceanus is not a river but a sea, the remotest sea sailed on by men, and on its shore live the Spaniards and Celts, and in it is the island of Britain. But the remotest Ethiopians live beyond Syene by the Red Sea, and are fisheaters, from which circumstance the gulf near which they live is called Fish-eater. But the most upright ones[7] inhabit the city Meroe, and what is called the Ethiopian plain: these shew the Table of the Sun, but have no sea or river except the Nile. And there are other Ethiopians (who live near the Mauri), that extend to the territory of the Nasamones. For the Nasamones, whom Herodotus calls the Atlantes, but geographers call Lixitæ, are the remotest of the Libyans who live near Mount Atlas. They sow nothing, and live on wild vines. And neither these Ethiopians nor the Nasamones have any river. For the water near Mount Atlas, though it flows in three directions, makes no river, for the sand sucks it all in. So the Ethiopians live by no river or ocean. And the water from Mount Atlas is muddy, and at its source there are crocodiles two cubits long, and when men approach they dive down into the water. And many have[Pg 67] the idea that this water coming up again out of the sand makes the river Nile in Egypt. Now Mount Atlas is so high that its peaks are said to touch the sky, and it is inaccessible from the water and trees which are everywhere. The neighbourhood of the Nasamones has been explored, but we know of no one who has sailed by the parts near the sea. But let this account suffice. Neither this statue of Nemesis nor any other of the old statues of her are delineated with wings, not even the most holy statues at Smyrna: but in later times people, wishing to shew this goddess as especially following upon Love, gave Nemesis wings as well as Love. I shall describe what is at the base of the statue, only clearing up the following matter. They say Nemesis was the mother of Helen, but Leda suckled her and brought her up: but her father the Greeks generally think was Zeus and not Tyndareus. Phidias having heard this represented on the base of the statue Helen being carried by Leda to Nemesis, and Tyndareus and his sons, and a man called Hippeus with a horse standing by. There too are Agamemnon and Menelaus, and Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, the first husband of Hermione, the daughter of Helen. Orestes was passed over for the murder of his mother, though Hermione remained with him all her life and bore him a son. And next come Epochus, and another young man. I have heard nothing else of them than that they are the brothers of Œnoe, who gave her name to the township.

The land about Oropus between Attica and Tanagra, which originally belonged to Bœotia, is now Athenian. The Athenians fought for it continually, but got no firm hold of it till Philip gave it them after the capture of Thebes. The city is near the sea and has played no great part in history: about 12 stades from it is the temple of Amphiaraus. And it is said that, when Amphiaraus fled from Thebes, the earth opened and swallowed up him and his chariot: but it did not they say[Pg 68] happen here but at a place called Harma (Chariot), on the way from Thebes to Chalcis. And the Oropians first made Amphiaraus a god, and since all the Greeks have so accounted him. I can mention others who were once men, who have honours paid to them as gods, and cities dedicated to them, as Eleus in the Chersonese to Protesilaus, and Lebadea in Bœotia to Trophonius: so Amphiaraus has a temple at Oropus, and a statue in white stone. And the altar has five divisions: one belongs to Hercules and Zeus and Pæonian Apollo, and another is dedicated to heroes and heroes’ wives. And the third belongs to Vesta and Hermes and Amphiaraus and the sons of Amphilochus: but Alcmæon, owing to the murder of Eriphyle, has no honour with Amphiaraus, nor with Amphilochus. And the fourth division of the altar belongs to Aphrodite and Panacea, and also to Jason and Hygiea and Pæonian Athene. And the fifth has been set apart for the Nymphs and Pan, and the rivers Achelous and Cephisus. And Amphilochus has also an altar at Athens, and at Mallus in Cilicia an oracle most veracious even in my day. And the Oropians have a fountain near the temple, which they call Amphiaraus’, but they neither sacrifice at it, nor use it for lustrations or washing their hands. But when any disease has been cured by means of the oracle, then it is customary to throw into the fountain some gold or silver coin: and here they say Amphiaraus became a god. And the Gnossian Iophon, one of the interpreters of Antiquities, has preserved some oracular responses of Amphiaraus in Hexameters, given he says to the Argives who were despatched to Thebes. These lines had irresistible attraction for the general public. Now besides those who are said of old to have been inspired by Apollo, there was no oracle-giving seer, but there were people good at explaining dreams, and inspecting the flights of birds and the entrails of victims. Amphiaraus was I think especially excellent in divination by dreams: and it is certain when he became a god that he instituted divination by dreams. And whoever comes to consult Amphiaraus has first (such is the custom) to purify himself, that is to sacrifice to the god. They sacrifice then to all the other gods whose names are on the altar. And after all these preliminary[Pg 69] rites, they sacrifice a ram, and wrapping themselves up in its skin go to sleep, and expect divine direction through a dream.

And the Athenians have various islands not far from Attica, one called after Patroclus, about which I have already given an account, and another a little beyond Sunium, as you sail leaving Attica on the left: here they say Helen landed after the capture of Ilium, so the Island is called Helena. And Salamis lies over against Eleusis and extends towards Megaris. The name Salamis was they say originally given to this island from Salamis the mother of Asopus, and afterwards the Æginetans under Telamon inhabited the island: and Philæus, the son of Eurysaces and grandson of Ajax, became an Athenian and handed it over to Athens. And many years afterwards the Athenians expelled the people of Salamis, condemning them for having been slack of duty in the war with Cassander, and for having surrendered their city to the Macedonians more from choice than compulsion: and Ascetades (who had been chosen as Governor of Salamis) they condemned to death, and swore that for all time they would remember this treason of the people of Salamis. And there are yet ruins of the market, and a temple of Ajax, and his statue in ebony. And divine honours are to this day paid by the Athenians to Ajax and Eurysaces: the latter has also an altar at Athens. And a stone is shown at Salamis not far from the harbour: on which they say Telamon sate and gazed at the vessel in which his sons were sailing away to Aulis, to join the general expedition of the Greeks against Ilium. And the natives of Salamis say that after the death of Ajax a flower first appeared on their island: white and red, smaller than the lily especially in its petals, with the same letters on it as the hyacinth.[8] And I have heard the tradition of the Æolians (who afterwards inhabited Ilium)[Pg 70] as to the controversy about the arms of Achilles, and they say that after the shipwreck of Odysseus these arms were washed ashore by the sea near the tomb of Ajax. And some particulars as to his great size were given me by a Mysian. He told me that the sea washed his tomb which was on the seashore, and made entrance to it easy, and he bade me conjecture the huge size of his body by the following detail. His kneepans, (which the doctors call mills,) were the size of the quoits used by any lad practising for the Pentathlum. I do not wonder at the size of those who are called Cabares, who, remotest of the Celts, live in a region thinly peopled from the extreme cold, for their corpses are not a bit bigger than Egyptian ones. I will now relate some remarkable cases of dead bodies. Among the Magnesians at Lethæus one of the citizens, called Protophanes, was victor on the same day at Olympia in the pancratium and in the wrestling: some robbers broke into his tomb, thinking to find something valuable there, and after them came others to see his corpse: his ribs were not separated as is usual, but he was all bone from his shoulders to the lowest ribs, which are called by the doctors false ribs. And the Milesians have in front of their city the island Lade, which breaks off into two little islands, one of which is called Asterius. And they say that Asterius was buried here, and that he was the son of Anax, and Anax was the son of Earth: his corpse is two cubits, no less. The following circumstance also appears to me wonderful. In Upper Lydia there is a small town called the Gates of Temenus. Some bones were discovered here, when a piece of cliff broke off in a storm, in shape like those of a man, but on account of their size no one would have thought them a man’s. And forthwith a rumour spread among the populace that it was the dead body of Geryon the son of Chrysaor, and that a man’s seat fashioned in stone on the hillside was his seat. And they called the mountain torrent Oceanus, and said that people ploughing often turned up horns of oxen, for the story goes that Geryon bred most excellent oxen. But when I opposed their theory, and proved to them that Geryon lived at Gades, and that he has no known tomb but a tree of various forms, hereupon the Lydian Antiquarians told the real truth, that it was the dead body[Pg 71] of Hyllus, and that Hyllus was the son of Earth, and gave his name to the river Hyllus. They said also that Hercules on account of his former intercourse with Omphale called his son Hyllus after the same river.

At Salamis, to return to my subject, there is a temple of Artemis, and a trophy erected for the victory which Themistocles the son of Neocles won for the Greeks. There is also a temple to Cychreus. For when the Athenians were fighting the naval engagement with the Persians it is said that a dragon was seen in the Athenian fleet, and the oracle informed the Athenians that it was the hero Cychreus. And there is an island facing Salamis called Psyttalea, on which they say as many as 400 Persians landed: who after the defeat of Xerxes’ fleet were they say slain by the Greeks who passed over into Psyttalea. There is not one statue in the island which is a work of art, but there are some rude images of Pan made anyhow.

And as you go to Eleusis from Athens, by the way which the Athenians call the Sacred Way, is the tomb of Anthemocritus, to whom the Megarians acted most unscrupulously, inasmuch as they killed him though he came as a herald, to announce to them that henceforth they were not to cultivate the sacred land. And for this act of theirs the wrath of the two goddesses[9] still abides, since they are the only Greeks that the Emperor Adrian was not able to aggrandise. And next to the column of Anthemocritus is the tomb of Molottus, who was chosen as General of the Athenians when they crossed over into Eubœa to the aid of Plutarch. And near this is a village called Scirus for the following reason. When the people of Eleusis were at war with Erechtheus, a prophet came from Dodona Scirus by name, who also built at Phalerum the old temple of Sciradian Athene. And as he fell in battle the Eleusinians buried him near a mountain torrent, and both the village and torrent get their name from the hero. And near[Pg 72] is the tomb of Cephisodorus, who was the leader of the people, and especially opposed Philip the son of Demetrius, the king of the Macedonians. And Cephisodorus got as allies for the Athenians the Mysian king Attalus, and the Egyptian king Ptolemy, and independent nations as the Ætolians, and islanders as the Rhodians and Cretans. And as the succours from Egypt and Mysia and Crete came for the most part too late, and as the Rhodians (fighting by sea only) could do little harm to heavy-armed soldiers like the Macedonians, Cephisodorus sailed for Italy with some of the Athenians, and begged the Romans to aid them. And they sent them a force and a general, who so reduced Philip and the Macedonians that eventually Perseus, the son of Philip, lost his kingdom, and was carried to Italy as a captive. This Philip was the son of Demetrius: who was the first of the family who was king of Macedonia, after slaying Alexander the son of Cassander, as I have before related.

And next to the tomb of Cephisodorus are buried Heliodorus the Aliensian, (you may see a painting of him in the large temple of Athene): and Themistocles the son of Poliarchus, the great grandson of the Themistocles that fought the great sea-fight against Xerxes and the Medes. All his other descendants except Acestius I shall pass by. But she the daughter of Xenocles, the son of Sophocles, the son of Leo, had the good fortune to have all her ancestors torchbearers even up to her great grandfather Leo, and in her life she saw first her brother Sophocles a torchbearer, and after him her husband Themistocles, and after his death her son Theophrastus. Such was the good fortune she is said to have had.

And as you go a little further is the grove of the hero Lacius, who gives his name to a township. There too is the tomb of Nicocles of Tarentum, who won the greatest fame of all harpers. There is also an altar to Zephyrus, and a temple of Demeter and Proserpine: Athene and[Pg 73] Poseidon have joint honours with them. Here they say Phytalus received Demeter into his house, and the goddess gave him in return a fig tree. My account is confirmed by the inscription on Phytalus’ tomb.

“Here Phytalus king-hero once received

Holy Demeter, when she first vouchsafed

The fruit that mortals call the fig: since when

The race of Phytalus has deathless fame.”

And before crossing over the river Cephisus, is the tomb of Theodorus, one of the best tragic actors of his day. And there are two statues near the river, Mnesimaches, and his son cutting off his hair as a votive offering to the Cephisus. That it was an ancient custom for all the Greeks to cut off locks of their hair to rivers one would infer from the verses of Homer, who describes Peleus as vowing to cut off his hair to the river Spercheus if his son Achilles returned safe from Troy.[10]

On the other side of the Cephisus is an ancient altar to Milichian (i.e. mild) Zeus, where Theseus got purified after slaying the progeny of Phytalus. He had slain other robbers, and Sinis, who was his relation by Pittheus his maternal grandfather. And there are the tombs here of Theodectes the son of Phaselites, and of Mnesitheus. This last they say was a noted doctor, and dedicated several statues, and among them one of Iacchus. And by the roadside is a small temple called the temple of Cyamites (Bean-man): but I have no certain information, whether he first sowed beans, or whether they gave the name to some hero, because it was not lawful to ascribe the invention of beans to Demeter. And whoever has seen the Eleusinian mysteries, or has read the Orphic poems, knows what I mean. And of the tombs that are finest for size and beauty are two especially, one of a Rhodian who had migrated to Athens, the other of Pythionice, made by Harpalus a Macedonian, who had fled from Alexander and sailed to Europe from Asia, and coming to Athens was arrested by the Athenians, but escaped by bribing the friends of Alexander and others, and before this had married Pythionice, whose extraction I don’t know, but she was a courtesan both at Athens and Corinth. He was so enamoured of her that, when she[Pg 74] died, he raised this monument to her, the finest of all the ancient works of art in Greece.

And there is a temple in which are statues of Demeter and Proserpine and Athene and Apollo: but originally the temple was built to Apollo alone. For they say that Cephalus the son of Deioneus went with Amphitryon to the Teleboæ, and was the first dweller in the island which is now called from him Cephallenia: and that he fled from Athens, and lived for some time at Thebes, because he had murdered his wife Procris. And in the tenth generation afterwards Chalcinus and Dætus his descendants sailed to Delphi, and begged of the god permission to return to Athens: and he ordered them first to sacrifice to Apollo on the spot where they should see a trireme on land moving. And when they got to the mountain called Pœcilus a dragon appeared eagerly running into its hole: and here they sacrificed to Apollo, and afterwards on their arrival at Athens the Athenians made them citizens. Next to this is a temple of Aphrodite, and before it a handsome wall of white stone.

Now the channels called Rheti are like rivers only in their flow, for their water is sea water. And one might suppose that they flow from the Euripus near Chalcis underground, falling into a sea with a lower level. These Rheti are said to be sacred to Proserpine and Demeter, and their priests only may catch the fish in them. And they were, as I hear, in old times the boundaries between the territory of the Eleusinians and Athenians. And the first inhabitant on the other side of the Rheti was Crocon, and that district is called to this day the kingdom of Crocon. This Crocon the Athenians say married Sæsara the daughter of Celeus. This at least is the tradition of the occupants of the township of Scambonidæ. Crocon’s tomb indeed I could not find, but Eumolpus’ tomb the Athenians and Eubœans both show. This Eumolpus they say came from Thrace, and was the son of Poseidon and Chione: and Chione was they say the daughter of Boreas and[Pg 75] Orithyia. Homer has not indeed given us his pedigree, but he calls him in his poem a noble man. And in the battle between the people of Eleusis and the Athenians Erechtheus the king of Athens was slain, and also Immaradus the son of Eumolpus: and peace was concluded on these conditions, that the people of Eleusis should be in all other respects Athenians, but should have the private management of their Mysteries. And the rites of the two goddesses, Demeter and Proserpine, were performed by the daughters of Celeus. Pamphus and Homer alike call them by the names Diogenea, and Pammerope, and Sæsara. But on the death of Eumolpus Ceryx the youngest son was the only one left, who (the heralds say) was not the son of Eumolpus at all, but the son of Hermes by Aglaurus the daughter of Cecrops.

There is also a hero-chapel to Hippothoon, from whom a tribe gets its name, and near it one to Zarex, who is said to have learnt music of Apollo. But my own idea is that Zarex was a stranger, a Lacedæmonian who had come into Attica, and that the city Zarex in Laconia by the sea was called after him. But if the hero Zarex was a native of Attica, I know nothing about him. And the river Cephisus flows near the Eleusinian territory with greater speed than before: and here is a place called Erineus, where Pluto they say descended, when he carried off Proserpine. On the banks of this river Theseus slew the robber Polypemon, who was surnamed Procrustes. And the Eleusinians have a temple to Triptolemus, and to Propylæan Artemis, and to Father Poseidon, and a well called Callichorus, where the Eleusinian women first danced and sang songs to the goddess. And the Rharian plain was the first sown and the first that produced crops according to tradition, and this is the reason why it is the custom to use barley from it to make cakes for the sacrifices. Here is shown Triptolemus’ threshing-floor and altar. But what is inside the sacred wall I am forbidden by a dream to divulge, for those who are uninitiated, as they are forbidden sight of them, so also clearly may not hear of the mysteries. And the hero Eleusis, from whom the city gets its name, was according to some the son of Hermes and Daira the daughter of Oceanus, others make him the son of Ogygus. For[Pg 76] the ancients, when they had no data for their pedigrees, invented fictitious ones, and especially in the pedigrees of heroes.

And as you turn from Eleusis to Bœotia the boundary of Attica is the Platæan district. That was the old boundary between the Athenians and the people of Eleutheræ. But when the people of Eleutheræ became Athenians then Mount Cithæron in Bœotia became the boundary. And the people of Eleutheræ became Athenians not by compulsion, but from hatred to the Thebans and a liking for the Athenian form of government. In this plain too is a temple of Dionysus, and a statue of the god was removed thence to Athens long ago: the one at Eleutheræ now is an imitation of it. And at some distance is a small grotto, and near it a spring of cold water. And it is said that Antiope gave birth to twins and left them in this grotto, and a shepherd finding them near the spring gave them their first bath in it, having stript them of their swaddling clothes. And there was still in my day remains of a wall and buildings at Eleutheræ. This makes it clear that it was a town built a little above the plain towards Mount Cithæron.

And another road leads from Eleusis to Megara: as you go along this road is a well called the Well of Flowers. Pamphus records that it was at this well that Demeter sat in the guise of an old woman after the rape of Proserpine: and that she was taken thence as an old woman of the country by the daughters of Celeus to their mother, and that Metanira entrusted her with the education of her son. And not far from the well is the temple of Metanira, and next to it the tombs of those that fell at Thebes. For Creon, who was at that time the ruler at Thebes (being Regent for Laodamas the son of Eteocles), would not allow their relations to bury the dead: and Adrastus having supplicated Theseus, and a battle having been fought between the Athenians and Bœotians, when Theseus was the victor,[Pg 77] he conveyed the dead bodies to Eleusis and there buried them. But the Thebans say that they surrendered the dead bodies of their own free will, and did not fight on this question. And next to the tombs of the Argives is the monument of Alope, who they say was the mother of Hippothoon by Poseidon, and was in consequence put to death by her father Cercyon. Now this Cercyon is said in other respects to have been harsh to strangers, and especially to those who would not contend with him in wrestling: and this place was called even in my day Cercyon’s wrestling ground, at a little distance from the tomb of Alope. And Cercyon is said to have killed all that wrestled with him but Theseus. But Theseus wrestled against him cunningly throw for throw and beat him: for he was the first who elevated wrestling into a science, and afterwards established training schools for wrestling: for before the time of Theseus only size and strength were made use of in wrestling.

Such in my opinion are the most noteworthy among Athenian traditions or sights. And in my account I have selected out of a mass of material that only which was important enough to be considered history.

Next to Eleusis is the district called Megaris: it too belonged originally to the Athenians, having been bequeathed to Pandion by (its) king Pylas. Proofs of what I assert are the tomb of Pandion in that district, and the fact that Nisus, though he conceded the kingdom of Attica to Ægeus the head of the family, yet himself was selected to be king of Megara and the whole district up to Corinth: and even now the Megarians have a dockyard called Nisæa after him. And afterwards, when Codrus was king, the Peloponnesians marched against Athens: and not having any brilliant success there they went home again, but took Megara from the Athenians, and gave it to the Corinthians and others of their allies that wished to dwell in it. Thus the Megarians changed their customs and dialect and became Dorians. And they say the city got its name in the days of Car, the son of Phoroneus, who was king in this district: in his day they say first temples were built to Demeter among them, and the inhabitants called them Halls.[11] This is at any rate the tradition of the Megarians.[Pg 78] But the Bœotians say that Megareus the son of Poseidon lived at Onchestus, and went with an army of Bœotians to aid Nisus in his war against Minos, and that he fell in the battle, and got buried there, and the city which had been formerly called Nisa, got its name Megara from him. And years afterwards, in the 12th generation from Car, the son of Phoroneus, the Megarians say Lelex came from Egypt and became king, and during his reign the Megarians were called Leleges. And he had a son Cleson, and a grandson Pylas, and a great-grandson Sciron, who married the daughter of Pandion, and afterwards, (Sciron having a controversy with Nisus the son of Pandion about the sovereignty), Æacus was arbitrator, and gave his decision that the kingdom was to belong to Nisus and his descendants, but the command of the army was to devolve upon Sciron. And Megareus the son of Poseidon, having married Iphinoe the daughter of Nisus, succeeded Nisus they say in the kingdom. But of the Cretan war, and the capture of the city in the days of King Nisus, they pretend to know nothing.

There is in the city a conduit erected by Theagenes, of whom I mentioned before that he married his daughter to Cylon an Athenian. This Theagenes when he was king erected this conduit, well worth seeing for its size and beauty and the number of its pillars. And the water that flows into is called after the Sithnidian Nymphs, who, according to the Megarian tradition, are natives, and one of them bare a son to Zeus, whose name was Megarus, and who escaped Deucalion’s flood by getting to the top of Mount Gerania (Cranemountain), which was not the original name of the mountain, but was so called because he followed in his swimming the flight of some cranes by their cry. And not far from this conduit is an ancient temple, and there are some statues in it of Roman Emperors, and an image of Artemis in brass by the name of Saviour. The story goes that some men in the army of Mardonius who had overrun Megaris wished to return to Thebes to join Mardonius, but[Pg 79] by the contrivance of Artemis wandered about all night, and lost their way, and got into the mountainous part of the country, and, endeavouring to ascertain if the enemy’s army was about, shot some arrows, and the rock shot at returned a groan, and they shot again and again furiously. And at last their arrows were expended in shooting at their supposed foes. And when day dawned, and the Megarians really did attack them, (well armed against men badly armed and now minus ammunition), they slew most of them. And this is why they put up an image to Artemis the Saviour. Here too are images of the so-called 12 gods, the production of Praxiteles. He also made an Artemis of the Strongylii. And next, as you enter the sacred enclosure of Zeus called the Olympieum, there is a temple well worth seeing: the statue of Zeus is not finished in consequence of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, in which the Athenians every year by land and by sea injured the Megarians both publicly and privately, ravaging their territory, and bringing them individually to the greatest poverty. And the head of this statue of Zeus is of ivory and gold, but the other parts are of clay and earthenware: and they say it was made by Theocosmus a native, assisted by Phidias. And above the head of Zeus are the Seasons and the Fates: it is plain to all that Fate is his servant, and that he orders the Seasons as is meet. In the back part of the temple there are some wooden figures only half finished: Theocosmus intended to finish them when he had adorned the statue of Zeus with ivory and gold. And in the temple there is the brazen ram of a trireme, which was they say taken at Salamis, in the sea fight against the Athenians. The Athenians do not deny that there was for some time a defection on the part of Salamis to the Megarians, but Solon they say by his elegiac verses stirred the Athenians up, and they fought for it, and eventually retook it. But the Megarians say that some of their exiles, called Doryclei, mixed themselves among the inhabitants and betrayed Salamis to the Athenians. And next to the enclosure of Zeus, as you ascend the Acropolis still called the Carian from Car the son of Phoroneus, is the temple of Nyctelian Dionysus, and the temple of Aphrodite the[Pg 80] Procuress, and the Oracle of Night, and a roofless temple of dusty Zeus. And statues of Æsculapius and Hygiea, both the work of Bryaxis. Here too is the sacred Hall of Demeter: which they say was erected by Car when he was king.

As you descend from the Acropolis in a Northerly direction, you come to the sepulchre of Alcmene near the Olympieum. She died they say at Megara on her journey from Argos to Thebes, and the sons of Hercules had a dispute, some wishing to take her dead body to Argos, others to Thebes: for the sons of Hercules by Megara were buried at Thebes, as also Amphitryon’s sons. But Apollo at Delphi gave the oracular response that it would be better for them to bury Alcmena at Megara. From this place the interpreter of national Antiquities took me to a place called Rhun (Flow), so called because some water flowed here from the hills above the city, but Theagenes when he was king diverted the water into another direction, and erected here an altar to Achelous. And at no great distance is the monument of Hyllus the son of Hercules, who fought in single combat with the Arcadian Echemus, the son of Aeropus. Who this Echemus was that slew Hyllus I shall shew in another place, but Hyllus is buried at Megara. The expedition to the Peloponnese, when Orestes was king, might rightly be called an expedition of the sons of Hercules. And not far from the monument of Hyllus is the temple of Isis, and near it the temple of Apollo and Artemis. This last they say was built by Alcathous, after he had slain the lion that was called the lion of Mount Cithæron. This lion had they say devoured several Megarians and among them the king’s son Euippus: whose elder brother Timalcus had been killed by Theseus still earlier, when he went with Castor and Pollux to the siege of Aphidna. Megareus therefore promised his daughter in marriage, and the succession to the kingdom, to whoever should kill the lion of Mount Cithæron. So Alcathous (the son of Pelops) attacked the beast and slew him, and, when he became king built[Pg 81] this temple, dedicating it to Huntress Artemis and Hunter Apollo. This at any rate is the local tradition. But though I don’t want to contradict the Megarians, I cannot find myself in agreement with them entirely, for though I quite admit that the lion of Mount Cithæron was killed by Alcathous, yet who ever recorded that Timalcus the son of Megareus went to Aphidna with Castor and Pollux? And how (if he had gone there) could he have been thought to have been killed by Theseus, seeing that Alcman in his Ode to Castor and Pollux, recording how they took Athens, and carried away captive the mother of Theseus, yet says that Theseus was away? Pindar also gives a very similar account, and says that Theseus wished to be connected by marriage with Castor and Pollux, till he went away to help Pirithous in his ambitious attempt to wed Proserpine. But whoever drew up the genealogy plainly knew the simplicity of the Megarians, since Theseus was the descendant of Pelops. But indeed the Megarians purposely hide the real state of things, not wishing to own that their city was captured when Nisus was king, and that Megareus who succeeded to the kingdom was the son in law of Nisus, and that Alcathous was the son in law of Megareus. But it is certain that it was not till after the death of Nisus, and a revolution at Megara, that Alcathous came there from Elis. And this is my proof. He built up the wall anew, when the whole of the old wall had been demolished by the Cretans. Let this suffice for Alcathous and the lion, whether he slew the lion on Mount Cithæron or somewhere else, before he erected the temple to Huntress Artemis and Hunter Apollo.

As you descend from this temple is the hero-chapel of Pandion, who, as I have already shewn, was buried at what is called the rock of Athene the Diver. He has also divine honours paid to him at Megara. And near the hero-chapel of Pandion is the monument of Hippolyta. This is the Megarian tradition about her. When the Amazons, on account of Antiope, made an expedition against the Athenians, they were beaten by Theseus, and most of them (it so happened) fell in battle, but Hippolyta (the sister of Antiope), who was at that time leader of the Amazons, fled to Megara with the remnant of them, and there, having been unsuccessful with her army, and dejected at the present[Pg 82] state of things, and still more despondent about getting safe home again to Themiscyra, died of grief and was buried. And the device on her tomb is an Amazon’s shield. And not far distant is the tomb of Tereus, who married Procne the daughter of Pandion. Tereus was king (according to the Megarian tradition) of Pagæ in Megaris, but in my opinion (and there are still extant proofs of what I state) he was king of Daulis N.W. of Chæronea: for most of what is now called Hellas was inhabited in old time by barbarians. And his subjects would no longer obey Tereus after his vile conduct to Philomela, and after the murder of Itys by Procne and Philomela. And he committed suicide at Megara, and they forthwith piled up a tomb for him, and offer sacrifices to him annually, using pebbles in the sacrifice instead of barley. And they say the hoopoe was first seen here. And Procne and Philomela went to Athens, and lamenting what they had suffered and done melted away in tears: and the tradition that they were changed into a nightingale and swallow is, I fancy, simply that these birds have a sorrowful and melancholy note.

There is also another citadel at Megara that gets its name from Alcathous. As one goes up to it, there is on the right hand a monument of Megareus, who started from Onchestus to aid the Megarians in the Cretan War. There is also shown an altar of the gods called Prodromi: and they say that Alcathous first sacrificed to them when he was commencing to build his wall. And near this altar is a stone, on which they say Apollo put his harp down, while he assisted Alcathous in building the wall. And the following fact proves that the Megarians were numbered among the Athenians: Peribœa the daughter of Alcathous was certainly sent by him to Crete with Theseus in connection with the tribute. And Apollo, as the Megarians say, assisted him in building the wall, and laid his harp down on the stone: and if one chances to hit it with a pebble, it sounds like a harp being played. This inspired[Pg 83] great wonder in me, but not so much as the Colossus in Egypt. At Thebes in Egypt, when you cross the Nile, at a place called the Pipes (Syringes), there is a seated statue that has a musical sound, most people call it Memnon: for he they say went from Ethiopia to Egypt and even to Susa. But the Thebans say it was a statue not of Memnon, but Phamenophes a Theban, and I have heard people say it was Sesostris. This statue Cambyses cut in two: and now the head to the middle of the body lies on the ground, but the lower part remains in a sitting posture, and every morning at sunrise resounds with melody, and the sound it most resembles is that of a harp or lyre with a chord broken.

And the Megarians have a council chamber, which was once as they say the tomb of Timalcus, who, as I said a little time back, was killed by Theseus. And on the hill where the citadel stands is a temple of Athene, and a brazen statue of the goddess, except the hands and the toes, which as well as the face are of ivory. And there is another temple here of Athene called Victory, and another of her as Aiantis. As regards the latter, all mention of it is passed over by the interpreters of curiosities at Megara, but I will write my own ideas. Telamon the son of Æacus married Peribœa the daughter of Alcathous. I imagine then that Aias, having succeeded to the kingdom of Alcathous, made this statue of Athene Aiantis.

The old temple of Apollo was made of brick: but afterwards the Emperor Adrian built it of white stone. The statues called Apollo Pythius and Apollo Decataphorus are very like Egyptian statues, but the one they call Archegetes is like Æginetan handiwork. And all alike are made of ebony. I heard a Cyprian, a cunning herbalist, say that the ebony has neither leaves nor fruit, and that it is never seen exposed to the sun, but its roots are underground, and the Ethiopians dig them up, and there are men among them who know how to find it. There is also a temple of Law-giving Demeter. And as you go down from thence is the tomb of Callipolis the son of Alcathous. Alcathous had also an elder son called Ischepolis, whom his father sent to assist Meleager in Ætolia against the Calydonian boar. And when he was killed Callipolis heard the news first in this place: and he ran[Pg 84] to the citadel, where his father was sacrificing to Apollo, and threw down the wood from the altar. And Alcathous, not having yet heard the news about Ischepolis, was vexed with Callipolis for his irreverence, and in his wrath killed him instantaneously by striking him on the head with one of the pieces of wood he had thrown down from the altar.

On the road to the Prytaneum there is a hero-chapel of Ino, and a cornice of stone round it. Some olive-trees also grow there. The Megarians are the only Greeks that say that the dead body of Ino was cast on the shore of Megaris, and that Cleso and Tauropolis, the daughters of Cleso and granddaughters of Lelex, found it and buried it. And they say that Ino was called by them first Leucothea, and they sacrifice to her every year.

They also lay claim to the possession of a mortuary-chapel of Iphigenia, for she too they say died at Megara. But I have heard a different account of Iphigenia from the Arcadians, and I know that Hesiod in his Catalogue of Women describes Iphigenia as not dying, but being changed into Hecate by the will of Artemis. And Herodotus[12] wrote not dissimilarly to this, that the Tauric people in Scythia after shipwreck sacrifice to a virgin, who is they say Iphigenia the daughter of Agamemnon. Adrastus also has divine honours among the Megarians: he too they say died among them (when he was leading the army back after the capture of Thebes), of old age and sorrow for the death of Ægialeus. And Agamemnon erected an altar to Artemis at Megara, when he went to Calchas, a native of the place, to persuade him to join the expedition to Ilium. And in the Prytaneum they say Euippus the son of Megareus was buried, and also Ischepolis the son of Alcathous. And there is a rock near the Prytaneum called The Calling Rock, because Demeter (if there is any truth in the tale), when she wandered about seeking her daughter, called out for her here. And the Megarian[Pg 85] women still perform a kind of mimic representation of this. And the Megarians have tombs in the city: one they erected for those who fell fighting against the Medes, the other, called Æsymnian, is a monument to heroes. For when Hyperion, the last king of Megara, the son of Agamemnon, was killed by Sandion on account of his greed and haughtiness, they chose no longer to be under kingly government, but to have chief magistrates annually chosen, so as to be under one another’s authority by turn. Then it was that Æsymnus, second to none of the Megarians in fame and influence, went to Apollo at Delphi, and asked how they were to have prosperity. And the god among other things told them they would fare well if they deliberated on affairs with the majority. Thinking these words had reference to the dead, they built here a council chamber, that the tomb of the heroes might be inside their council chamber. As you go from thence to the hero-chapel of Alcathous, which the Megarians now use as a Record Office, there are two tombs, one they say of Pyrgo, the wife of Alcathous before he married Euæchma the daughter of Megareus, the other of Iphinoe the daughter of Alcathous, who they say died unmarried. At her tomb it is the custom of maidens before marriage to pour libations, and sacrifice some of their long hair, as the maidens of Delos used to do to Hecaerge and Opis. And near the entrance to the temple of Dionysus are the tombs of Astycratea and Manto, the daughters of Polyidus, (the son of Cœranus, the son of Abas, the son of Melampus,) who went to Megara, and purged Alcathous for the murder of his son Callipolis. And Polyidus also built the temple of Dionysus, and erected a statue of the god veiled in my day except the face: that is visible. And a Satyr is near Dionysus, the work of Praxiteles in Parian marble. And this they call Tutelary Dionysus, and another they call Dionysus Dasyllius (the Vine-ripener), and this statue they say was erected by Euchenor the son of Cœranus the son of Polyidus. And next to the temple of Dionysus is the shrine of Aphrodite, and a statue of the goddess in ivory, under the title Praxis (Action). This is the oldest statue in the shrine. And Persuasion and another goddess whom they call Consolation are by Praxiteles: and by Scopas Love and Desire and Yearning, each statue expressing the particular[Pg 86] shade of meaning marked by the words. And near the shrine of Aphrodite is the temple of Chance: this too is by Praxiteles. And in the neighbouring temple Lysippus has made the Muses and a brazen Zeus.

The Megarians also have the tomb of Corœbus: the verses about him I shall relate here though they are also Argive intelligence. In the days when Crotopus was king in Argos, his daughter Psamathe they say had a child by Apollo, and being greatly afraid of her father knowing it exposed the child. And some sheep dogs of Crotopus lit upon the child and killed it, and Apollo sent upon the city Punishment, a monster who took children away from their mothers (they say), till Corœbus killed it to ingratiate himself with the Argives. And after killing it, as a second plague came on them and vexed them sore, Corœbus of his own accord went to Delphi, and offered to submit to the punishment of the god for killing Punishment. The Pythian priestess forbade Corœbus to return to Argos, but told him to carry a tripod from the temple, and wherever the tripod should fall, there he was to build a temple to Apollo and himself dwell. And the tripod slipt out of his hand and fell (without his contrivance) on the mountain Gerania, and there he built the village Tripodisci. And his tomb is in the market-place at Megara: and there are some elegiac verses on it that relate to Psamathe and Corœbus himself, and a representation on the tomb of Corœbus killing Punishment. These statues are the oldest Greek ones in stone that I have myself seen.

Next Corœbus is buried Orsippus, who, though the athletes according to olden custom had girdles round their loins, ran naked at Olympia in the race and won the prize. And they say that he afterwards as general cut off a slice of his neighbours’ territory. But I think at Olympia he dropped his girdle on purpose, knowing that it is easier for a man to run naked than with a girdle on. And as you descend from the market-place by the way called[Pg 87] Straight, there is on the right hand a temple of Protecting Apollo: you can find it by turning a little out of the way. And there is in it a statue of Apollo well worth seeing, and an Artemis and Leto, and other statues, and Leto and her sons by Praxiteles. And there is in the ancient gymnasium, near the gates called Nymphades, a stone in shape like a small pyramid. This they call Apollo Carinus, and there is here a temple to Ilithyia also. Such are the notable things the city contains. And as you descend to the dockyard, which is still called Nisæa, is a temple of Demeter the Wool-bearer. Several explanations are given of this title, among them that those who first reared sheep in this country gave her that name. And one would conjecture that the roof had fallen from the temple by the lapse of time. There is here also a citadel called Nisæa. And as you descend from it there is near the sea a monument of Lelex the king, who is said to have come from Egypt, and to have been the son of Poseidon by Libye the daughter of Epaphus. There is an island too near Nisæa of no great size called Minoa. Here the navy of the Cretans was moored in the war with Nisus. And the mountainous part of Megaris is on the borders of Bœotia, and contains two towns, Pagæ and Ægosthena. As you go to Pagæ, if you turn a little off from the regular road, there is shewn the rock which has arrows fixed in it everywhere, into which the Medes once shot in the night. At Pagæ too well worth seeing is a brazen statue of Artemis under the title of Saviour, in size and shape like the statues of the goddess at Megara. There is also here a hero-chapel of Ægialeus the son of Adrastus. He, when the Argives marched against Thebes the second time, was killed in the first battle at Glisas, and his relations carried him to Pagæ in Megaris, and buried him there, and the hero-chapel is still called after his name. And at Ægosthena is a temple of Melampus the son of Amythaon, and a man of no great size is carved on a pillar. And they sacrifice to Melampus and have a festival to him every year. But they say that he has no prophetic powers either in dreams or in any other way. And I also heard at Erenea a village of Megaris, that Autonoe the daughter of Cadmus, excessively grieving at the death of Actæon, and the circumstances of it which tradition records, and the[Pg 88] general misfortunes of her father’s house, migrated there from Thebes: and her tomb is in that village.

And as you go from Megara to Corinth there are several tombs, and among them that of the Samian flute-player Telephanes. And they say that this tomb was erected by Cleopatra, the daughter of Philip the son of Amyntas. And there is a monument of Car the son of Phoroneus, originally only a mound of earth, but afterwards in consequence of the oracle it was beautified with a shell-like stone. And the Megarians are the only Greeks who possess this peculiar kind of stone, and many things in their city are made of it. It is very white, and softer than other stone, and seashells are everywhere in it. Such is this kind of stone. And the road, called the Scironian road after Sciron, is so called because Sciron, when he was commander in chief of the Megarians, first made it a road for travellers according to tradition. And the Emperor Adrian made it so wide and convenient that two chariots could drive abreast.

Now there are traditions about the rocks which project in the narrow part of the road; with regard to the Molurian rock, that Ino threw herself into the sea from it with Melicerta, the younger of her sons: for Learchus the oldest was killed by his father. Athamas also is said to have acted in the same way when mad, and to have exhibited ungovernable rage to Ino and her children, thinking that the famine which befell the Orchomenians, which also apparently caused the death of Phrixus, was not the visitation of God, but a stepmother’s contrivance against them all. So she to escape him threw herself and her boy Melicerta into the sea from the Molurian rock. And the boy, being carried it is said by a dolphin to the Isthmus of Corinth, had various honours paid to him under the name of Palæmon, and the Isthmian games were celebrated in his honour. This Molurian rock they consider sacred to Leucothea and Palæmon, but the rocks next to it they consider accursed, because Sciron lived near them, who threw into the sea all strangers that chanced to come there. And a tortoise used to swim about near these rocks, so as to devour those that were thrown in: these sea tortoises are like land tortoises, except in size and the shape of their feet which are like those of seals. But the whirligig of time[Pg 89] which brought on Sciron punishment for all this, for he himself was thrown by Theseus into the same sea. And on the top of the mountain is a temple to Zeus called the Remover. They say that Zeus was so called because when a great drought once happened to the Greeks, and Æacus in obedience to the oracle prayed to Pan-Hellenian Zeus at Ægina, he took it away and removed it. Here are also statues of Aphrodite and Apollo and Pan. And as you go on a little further is the tomb of Eurystheus. They say that he fled here from Attica after the battle with the Heraclidæ, and was killed by Iolaus. As you descend this road is a temple of Latoan Apollo, and near to it the boundaries between Megaris and Corinth, where they say Hyllus the son of Hercules had a single combat with the Arcadian Echemus.

The Corinthian territory, a part of Argolis, gets its name from Corinthus, and that he was the son of Zeus I know of none who seriously assert but most Corinthians, for Eumelus the son of Amphilytus of the race called Bacchidæ, who is also said to have been a poet, says in his History of Corinth (if indeed he is the author of it), that Ephyre the daughter of Oceanus, dwelt first in this land, and that afterwards Marathon the son of Epopeus, the son of Aloeus, the son of the Sun, fled from the lawless insolence of his father, and took a colony into the maritime parts of Attica, and when Epopeus was dead returned to the Peloponnese, and after dividing the kingdom among his sons went back into Attica, and from his son Sicyon Asopia got the name of Sicyonia, and Ephyrea got called Corinth from his son Corinthus.

Now Corinth is inhabited by none of the ancient Corinthians, but by colonists who were sent there by the Romans. And this is owing to the Achæan confederacy. For the Corinthians joined it, and took their part in the war with the Romans which Critolaus, who had been appointed commander in chief of the Achæans, brought about, having persuaded the Achæans and most of the Greeks outside the Peloponnese to revolt against Rome. And the Romans, after conquering all the other Greeks in battle, took away from them their arms, and razed the fortifications of all the fortified cities: but they destroyed Corinth under Mummius the General of the Roman army, and they say it was rebuilt by Julius Cæsar, who instituted the present form of government at Rome, (the Imperial). Carthage also was rebuilt in his term of power.

Now the place called Crommyon in the Corinthian territory[Pg 91] is so called from Cromus the son of Poseidon. Here they say was the haunt of the Phæan boar, and the scene of Theseus’ legendary exploits against Pityocamptes, (the Pinebender). As you go forward the famous pine was to be seen even in my time near the seashore; and there was an altar to Melicerta there, for it was here they say that he was conveyed by the dolphin: and Sisyphus, finding him lying dead on the shore, buried him at the Isthmus, and established the Isthmian games in honour of him. Now it is at the head of the Isthmus that the robber Sinis took two pine-trees and bent them down to the ground: and whoever he conquered in battle he tied to these pine-trees, and let the pines go up into the air again: and each of these pines dragged the poor fellow tied to it, and (neither yielding but pulling with equal vigour) the victim tied to them was torn asunder. In this way Sinis himself was killed by Theseus. For Theseus cleared all the road from Trœzen to Athens of evildoers, having killed those whom I mentioned before, and, at Epidaurus the Holy, Periphetes the putative son of Hephæstus, whose weapon in fighting was a brazen club. The Isthmus of Corinth extends in one direction to the sea near Cenchreæ, and in the other to the sea near Lechæum. This Isthmus makes the Peloponnese a Peninsula. And whoever attempted to make the Peloponnese an island died before the completion of a canal across the Isthmus. And where they began to dig is now plainly visible, but they didn’t make much progress because of the rock. The Peloponnese remains therefore what it was by nature main land. And when Alexander, the son of Philip, wished to make a canal through Mimas, the work was all but completed. But the oracle at Delphi forbade the navvies to complete the work. So difficult is it for man to oppose the divine ordinances. And the Corinthians are not alone in their boasting about their country, but it seems to me that the Athenians even earlier used tall talk in regard to Attica. The Corinthians say that Poseidon had a controversy with the Sun about their land, and that Briareus was the Arbitrator, awarding the Isthmus and all in that direction to Poseidon, and giving the height above the city to the Sun. From this time they say the Isthmus belongs to Poseidon.

[Pg 92]

The great sights at Corinth are the Theatre, and the Stadium of white stone. And as you approach the temple of the god, there are statues of the Athletes who have been conquerors in the Isthmian games on one side, and on the other pine-trees planted in a row, mostly in a straight line. And at the temple, which is not very large, there stand some Tritons in brass. And there are statues in the porch two of Poseidon, and one of Amphitrite, and a brazen Sea. And inside Herod an Athenian placed in our time 4 horses all gold except the hoofs, which are of ivory. And two golden Tritons are near the horses, ivory below the waist. And Amphitrite and Poseidon are standing in a chariot, and their son Palæmon is seated bolt upright on the dolphin’s back: and these are made of ivory and gold. And on the middle of the base, on which the chariot rests, is the Sea supporting the child Aphrodite rising from it, and on each side are the so-called Nereids, who have I know altars in other parts of Greece, and some have temples dedicated to them as Shepherdesses, in places where Achilles is also honoured. And at Doto among the Gabali there is a holy temple, where the peplus is still kept, which the Greeks say Eriphyle took for her son Alcmæon. And on the base of Poseidon’s statue are in bas relief the sons of Tyndareus, because they are the patron saints of ships and sailors. And the other statues are Calm and Sea, and a horse like a sea-monster below the waist, and Ino and Bellerophon and Pegasus.

And inside the precincts there is on the left hand a temple of Palæmon, and some statues in it of Poseidon and Leucothea and Palæmon himself. And there is also a crypt, approached by an underground passage, where they say Palæmon is buried: whatever Corinthian or foreigner commits perjury here has no chance of escaping punishment. There is also an ancient temple called the altar of the Cyclopes, to whom they sacrifice upon it. But the tombs of Sisyphus and Neleus, (for they say that Neleus[Pg 93] came to Corinth, and died there of some disease, and was buried near the Isthmus), no one could find from the account in the poems of Eumelus. As to Neleus they say that his tomb was not even shewn to Nestor by Sisyphus: for it was to be unknown to all alike. But that Sisyphus was buried at the Isthmus, and indeed the very site of his tomb, a few Corinthians who were his contemporaries know. And the Isthmian games did not fall into disuse when Corinth was taken by Mummius, but as long as the city lay desolate, these games took place at Sicyon, and when the city was rebuilt the old honour came back to Corinth.

The Corinthian seaports got their names from Leches and Cenchrias, who were reputed to be the sons of Poseidon by Pirene the daughter of Achelous: though in Hesiod’s poem the great Eœæ Pirene is said to be the daughter of Œbalus. And there is at Lechæum a temple and brazen statue of Poseidon, and as you go to Cenchreæ from the Isthmus a temple of Artemis, and old wooden statue of the goddess. And at Cenchreæ there is a shrine of Aphrodite and her statue in stone, and next it, on the breakwater near the sea, a brazen statue of Poseidon. And on the other side of the harbour are temples of Æsculapius and Isis. And opposite Cenchreæ is the bath of Helen: where much salt water flows into the sea from the rock, like water just with the chill off.

As you go up the hill to Corinth there are several tombs along the wayside, and at the gate is buried Diogenes of Sinope, whom the Greeks nickname the Cynic. And in front of the city is a grove of cypress trees called Craneum. Here is a temple of Bellerophon, and a shrine of Melænian Aphrodite, and the tomb of Lais, with a lioness carved on it with a ram in its front paws. And there is another monument of Lais said to exist in Thessaly: for she went to Thessaly when she was enamoured of Hippostratus. She is said to have come originally from Hyccara in Sicily, and to have been taken prisoner as a child by Nicias and the Athenians, and to have been sold at Corinth, and to have outstripped in beauty all the courtesans there, and so admired was she by the Corinthians that even now they claim her as a Corinthian.

The notable things in the city are partly the remains[Pg 94] of antiquity still to be seen there, partly works of art more recent, when Corinth was at the height of all her glory. In the market-place, for most of the temples are there, is Ephesian Artemis, and there are two wooden statues of Dionysus gilt except the faces, which are painted with red paint, one they call Lysian Dionysus, and the other Dionysus the Reveller. The tradition about these statues I will record. Pentheus they say, when he outraged Dionysus, among other acts of reckless daring actually at last went to Mount Cithæron to spy the women, and climbed up into a tree to see what they were doing: and when they detected him, they forthwith dragged him down, and tore him limb from limb. And afterwards, so they say at Corinth, the Pythian Priestess told them to discover that tree and pay it divine honours. And that is why these statues are made of that very wood. There is also a Temple of Fortune: her statue is in a standing posture, in Parian marble. And near it is a temple to all the gods. And near it is a conduit, and a brazen Poseidon on it, and a dolphin under Poseidon’s feet passing the water. And there is a brazen statue of Apollo called the Clarian, and a statue of Aphrodite by Hermogenes of Cythera. And both the statues of Hermes are of brass and in a standing posture, and one of them has a shrine built for it. And there are three statues of Zeus in the open air, one has no special title, the second is called Zeus of the Nether World, and the third Zeus of Highest Heaven.

And in the middle of the market-place is a statue of Athene in brass: on the base are sculptured effigies of the Muses. And above the market-place is a temple of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, who was Emperor of the Romans after Cæsar, the founder of modern Corinth.

And as you go from the market-place towards Lechæum there are vestibules, on which are golden chariots, one with Phaethon in it (the son of the Sun), and the other with the Sun himself in it. And at a little distance from the vestibules on the right as you enter is a brazen statue[Pg 95] of Hercules. And next to it is the approach to the well of Pirene. They say that Pirene became a well from a woman through the tears she shed, bewailing the death of her son Cenchrias at the hands of Artemis. And the well is beautified with white stone, and there are cells like caves to match, from which the water trickles into that part of the well which is in the open air, and it has a sweet taste, and they say that Corinthian brass when hissing hot is dipped into this water. There is also a statue of Apollo near Pirene, and some precincts of the god. There is also a painting of Odysseus taking vengeance on the suitors.

And as you go straight on for Lechæum, you will see a brazen Hermes in a sitting posture, and by it a ram, for Hermes more than any of the gods is thought to watch over and increase flocks, as indeed Homer has represented him in the Iliad “The son of Phorbas rich in flocks and herds, whom Hermes loved most of the Trojans, and increased his substance.”[13] But the tradition about Hermes and the ram in the rites of the Great Mother (though I know it) I purposely pass over. And next to the statue of Hermes are Poseidon and Leucothea, and Palæmon on the dolphin’s back. And there are several baths in various parts of Corinth, some erected at the public expense, and others by the Emperor Adrian. And the most famous of them is near the statue of Poseidon. It was erected by Eurycles a Spartan, who beautified it with various stones, amongst others by the stone they dig at Croceæ in Laconia. On the left of the entrance is a statue of Poseidon, and next to him one of Artemis hunting. And many conduits have been built in various parts of the city, as there is abundance of water, as well as the water which the Emperor Adrian brought from Stymphelus: the handsomest is the conduit by the statue of Artemis, and on it is a figure of Bellerophon, and the water flows by the hoof of Pegasus.

As you go from the market-place towards Sicyon, there is visible on the right of the road a temple and brazen statue of Apollo, and at a little distance a well called the well of Glauce: for she threw herself into it, thinking the water would be an antidote against the poison of[Pg 96] Medea. Above this well is what is called the Odeum. And near it is the tomb of the sons of Medea, whose names were Mermerus and Pheres, who are said to have been stoned by the Corinthians because of the gifts which they took Glauce. But because their death was violent and unjust, the children of the Corinthians wasted away in consequence, until at the oracular response of the god yearly sacrifices were ordained for them, and a statue of Panic erected. This statue still remains to our day, the figure of a woman represented as feeling the greatest terror. But since the capture of Corinth by the Romans and the decay of the old Corinthians, the sacrifices are no longer continued by the new settlers, nor do their children continue to shear their hair, or wear black raiment. And Medea when she went to Athens, lived with Ægeus, but some time after (being detected plotting against Theseus) she had to fly from Athens also, and going to the country which was then called Aria, gave her name to its inhabitants, so that they were called Medes from her. And the son whom she carried off with her when she fled to the Arians was they say her son by Ægeus, and his name was Medus. But Hellanicus calls him Polyxenus, and says Jason was his father. And there are poems among the Greeks called Naupactian: in which Jason is represented as having migrated from Iolcus to Corcyra after the death of Pelias, and Mermerus (the elder of his sons) is said to have been torn to pieces by a lioness, as he was hunting on the mainland opposite: but about Pheres nothing is recorded. And Cinæthon the Lacedæmonian, who also wrote Genealogical Poems, said that Jason had by Medea a son Medeus and a daughter Eriopis: but of any children more he too has made no mention. But Eumœlus’ account is that the Sun gave Asopia to Aloeus, and Ephyræa to Æetes: and Æetes went to Colchis, and left the kingdom to Bunus the son of Hermes and Alcidamea, and after Bunus’ death, Epopeus reigned over the Ephyræans. And when in after days Corinthus the son of Marathon died childless, the Corinthians sent for Medea from Iolcus to hand over the kingdom to her: and it was through her that Jason became king of Corinth, and Medea had children, by[Pg 97] Jason, but whenever each was born she took it to the temple of Hera and hid it there, for she thought that by hiding them they would be immortal: but eventually she learned that she was wrong in this expectation, and, being at the same time detected by Jason, he would not forgive her though she pleaded hard for forgiveness, but sailed away to Iolcus. Eventually Medea herself went away too, and handed over the kingdom to Sisyphus. This is the account I have read.

And not far from the tomb of Mermerus and Pheres is the temple of Athene the Bridler: who they say helped Bellerophon more than any of the gods in various ways, and gave him Pegasus, after having broken it in and bridled it herself. Her statue is of wood, but the head and hands and toes are of white stone. That Bellerophon was not absolute king at Corinth, but limited in his power by Prœtus and the Argives I am positive, as every one will be who has read Homer carefully. And when Bellerophon migrated into Lycia, the Corinthians seem just the same to have obeyed those who were in power at Argos or Mycenæ. And they had no separate commander-in-chief of their own in the expedition against Troy, but took part in the expedition only as a contingent with the men of Mycenæ; and Agamemnon’s other troops. And Sisyphus had as sons not only Glaucus the father of Bellerophon, but also Ornytion, and Thersander, and Almus. And Phocus was the son of Ornytion, though nominally the son of Poseidon. And he colonized Tithorea in what is now called Phocis, but Thoas, the younger son of Ornytion, remained at Corinth. And Demophon was the son of Thoas, Propodas the son of Demophon, Doridas and Hyanthidas the sons of Propodas. During the joint reign of Doridas and Hyanthidas the Dorians led an expedition against Corinth, under the command of Aletes the son of Hippotas, (the son of Phylas, the son of Antiochus, the son of Hercules). Doridas and Hyanthidas handed over the kingdom to[Pg 98] Aletes, and were permitted to remain at Corinth, but the Corinthian people were expelled, after being beaten in battle by the Dorians. And Aletes himself and his descendants reigned for five generations, down to Bacchis the son of Prumnis, and his descendants the Bacchidæ reigned five more generations, down to Telestes the son of Aristodemus. And Telestes was slain by Arieus and Perantas out of hatred, and there were no longer any kings, but Presidents elected annually from the Bacchidæ, till Cypselus the son of Eetion drove out the Bacchidæ, and made himself king. He was the descendant of Melas the son of Antasus. And when Melas joined the Dorian expedition against Corinth from Gonussa beyond Sicyon, Aletes at first according to the oracle told him to go to other Greeks, but afterwards disregarded the oracle and took him as associate. Such is the result of my researches about the kings of the Corinthians.

Now the temple of Athene the Bridler is near the theatre, and not far off is a wooden statue of a naked Hercules, which they say is the work of Dædalus. All the works of Dædalus are somewhat odd to look at, but there is a wonderful inspiration about them. And above the theatre is a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in the Roman diction, in Greek it would be Zeus Coryphæus. And not far from this theatre is an old gymnasium, and a well called Lerna. And there are pillars round it, and seats to refresh those who come in in summertime. In this gymnasium there are shrines of the gods, one of Zeus, one of Æsculapius: and statues of Æsculapius and Hygiea (Health) in white stone, and one of Zeus in brass. As you ascend to Acro-Corinthus, (it is the top of the hill above the city, Briareus gave it to the Sun, after litigation, and the Sun, as the Corinthians say, let Aphrodite have it), there are two temples of Isis, one they call the Pelagian and the other the Egyptian, and two of Serapis, one under the name of Canobus. And next them are altars to the Sun, and a temple of Necessity and Force, into which it is not customary to enter. Above this is a temple of the Mother of the Gods, and a stone pillar and seat. The temples of the Fates and Demeter and Proserpine have statues rather dim with age. Here too is a[Pg 99] temple of Bunæan Hera, which Bunus the son of Hermes erected. Hence the goddess got the title Bunæan.

On the ascent to Acro-Corinthus there is also a temple of Aphrodite: and statues of her in full armour, and the Sun, and Cupid with a bow. And the fountain behind the temple is they say the gift of Asopus to Sisyphus: for he, though he knew that Zeus had carried off Ægina the daughter of Asopus, refused to tell him unless he would give him this water on Acro-Corinthus. And Asopus giving this water he vouchsafed the required information, and for his information pays the penalty in Hades, if indeed this is credible. But I have heard people say that this fountain is Pirene, and that the water in the city flows down from it. This river Asopus has its rise in the neighbourhood of Phlius, flows through the Sicyonian district, and has its outlet in the Corinthian Gulf. And the people of Phlius say that Asopus’ daughters were Corcyra and Ægina and Thebe: and that from Corcyra and Ægina the islands Scheria and Œnone got their present names, and that Thebe gave its name to Thebes the city of Cadmus. But the Thebans do not admit this, for they say that Thebe was the daughter of the Bœotian Asopus, and not the Asopus that has its rise at Phlius. The Phliasians and Sicyonians say further about this river that it is foreign and not indigenous, for Mæander they say flowing down from Celænæ through Phrygia and Caria, and falling into the sea at Miletus, travelled to the Peloponnese and made the river Asopus. And I remember to have heard something of the same kind from the people of Delos of the river Inopus, which they say came to them from the Nile. And moreover there is a tradition that the same Nile is the river Euphrates, which was lost in a lake and re-emerged as the Nile in the remote part of Ethiopia. This is what I heard about the Asopus. As you turn towards the mountains from Acro-Corinthus is the Teneatic gate, and a temple of Ilithyia. Now Tenea is about 60 stades from Corinth. And the people of Tenea say that they are Trojans,[Pg 100] and were carried away captive by the Greeks from Tenedos, and located here by Agamemnon: and accordingly Apollo is the god they hold in highest honour.

And as you go from Corinth along the coast in the direction of Sicyon there is a temple, which was burnt down, not far from the city on the left hand of the way. There have been several wars in the neighbourhood of Corinth, and fire has consumed, as one would indeed expect, both houses and temples outside the city walls: this was they say a temple of Apollo, and burnt down by Pyrrhus the son of Achilles. I have also heard another account, that the Corinthians erected this temple to Olympian Zeus, and that it was some accidental fire that burnt it down. And the people of Sicyon, who are near neighbours to the Corinthians, say of their region that Ægialeus the Autochthon first dwelt there, and that what is now called Ægialus in the Peloponnese was called after him its king, and that he was founder of Ægialea a city in the plain: and that the site of the temple of Apollo was the citadel. And they say that the son of Ægialeus was Europs, and the son of Europs Telchis, and the son of Telchis Apis. Now this Apis had grown to such magnitude before Pelops came to Olympia, that all the land inside the Isthmus was called after him Apian. And the son of Apis was Thelxion, and the son of Thelxion was Ægyrus, and his son was Thurimachus, and the son of Thurimachus was Leucippus, and Leucippus had no male children, and only one daughter Chalcinia, who they say bore a child to Poseidon, who was called Peratus, and was brought up by Leucippus, and on his death succeeded to the kingdom as his heir. And the history of Plemnæus the son of Peratus seems to me most marvellous. All his children died that his wife bare to him directly they were born and had uttered the first cry, till Demeter took compassion on him, and coming to Ægialea as a stranger to Plemnæus reared his child Orthopolis. And Orthopolis had a daughter Chrysorthe: she had a child, supposed to be Apollo’s, called Coronus. And Coronus had Corax and a younger son Lamedon.

And Corax dying childless, about this time Epopeus came from Thessaly and obtained the kingdom. In his reign first (they say) did a hostile army ever come into their country, as they had heretofore in all time lived in peace. And the origin of the war was this. Antiope the daughter of Nycteus had a great reputation for beauty among the Greeks, and there was a rumour about her that she was the daughter of Asopus, the river that forms the boundary between Thebes and Platæa, and not the daughter of Nycteus. I know not whether Epopeus asked her in marriage, or carried her off with more audacious designs from the beginning. But the Thebans came with an army, and Nycteus was wounded, and Epopeus too (though he won the victory). Nycteus though very bad they took back to Thebes, and, when he was on the point of death, he gave orders that Lycus his brother should be ruler of the Thebans for the present: for Nycteus himself was Regent for Labdacus, (the son of Polydorus, the son of Cadmus), who was still a child, and now he left the Regency to Lycus. He also begged Lycus to go with a larger force to Ægialea and punish Epopeus, and even to illtreat Antiope if he could get hold of her. And Epopeus at first offered sacrifices for his victory and built a temple to Athene, and when it was finished prayed that the goddess would shew by some sign if it was to her mind, and after the prayer they say oil trickled in front of the temple. But afterwards Epopeus chanced to die of his wound which had been originally neglected, so Lycus had no longer any need of war, for Lamedon (the son of Coronus) the king after Epopeus gave Antiope up. And she, as she was being conducted to Thebes, gave birth to a child on the road near Eleutheræ. And it is in reference to this event that Asius the son of Amphiptolemus has written the lines, “Antiope, the daughter of the deep-eddying river Asopus, bare Zethus and divine Amphion, being pregnant both by Zeus, and Epopeus shepherd of his people.”

[Pg 102]

But Homer[14] has given them a finer pedigree, and says that they first built Thebes, distinguishing as it seems to me the lower city from the city built by Cadmus. And King Lamedon married a wife from Athens, Pheno the daughter of Clytius: and afterwards, when there was war between him and Archander and Architeles, the sons of Achæus, he invited Sicyon from Attica to help him, and gave him his daughter Zeuxippe in marriage, and when he became king the region got called after him Sicyonia, and the town Sicyon instead of Ægialea. And the Sicyonians say that Sicyon was not the son of Marathon the son of Epopeus, but the son of Metion the son of Erechtheus. And Asius agrees with them. But Hesiod has represented Sicyon as the son of Erechtheus, and Ibycus says he was the son of Pelops. However Sicyon had a daughter Chthonophyle, who is said to have had a son Polybus by Hermes: and afterwards Phlias the son of Dionysus married her, and she had a son Androdamas. And Polybus gave his daughter Lysianassa to Talaus, the son of Bias, the king of the Argives: and when Adrastus fled from Argos he went to Polybus at Sicyon, and after Polybus’ death he obtained the chief power at Sicyon. But when Adrastus was restored to Argos, then Ianiscus the descendant of Clytius, the father in law of Lamedon, came from Attica and became king, and on his death Phæstus, who was reputed to be one of the sons of Hercules. And Phæstus having migrated to Crete in accordance with an oracle, Zeuxippus, the son of Apollo and the nymph Syllis, is said to have become king. And after the death of Zeuxippus Agamemnon led an army against Sicyon and its king Hippolytus, the son of Rhopalus, the son of Phæstus. And Hippolytus fearing the invading army agreed to be subject to Agamemnon and Mycenæ. And this Hippolytus had a son Lacestades. And Phalces, the son of Temenus, having seized Sicyon by night in conjunction with the Dorians, did no harm to Lacestades (as being himself also a descendant of Hercules), but shared the royal power with him.

And the Sicyonians became Dorians after this, and a part of Argolis. And their city, built by Ægialeus in the plain, Demetrius the son of Antigonus razed to the ground, and built the present city on the site of what was in former times the citadel. And the reason of the low fortunes of the Sicyonians one could not find out by investigation, but one would have to be content with what is said by Homer about Zeus,[15]

“Who hath brought down the pride of many cities.”

And when they were in a far from favourable condition an earthquake came on them, and made the city almost bare of men, and robbed them of many works of art. This earthquake also injured the cities of Caria and Lycia, and the island of Rhodes suffered especially, insomuch that the oracle of the Sibyl about Rhodes was fulfilled.

And as you go from Corinth towards Sicyon you come to the tomb of Messenian Lycus, whoever this Lycus was. For I find no Messenian Lycus that practised in the pentathlum, or carried off the prize at Olympia. This tomb is a mound of earth, and the Sicyonians mostly bury in the following manner. The body they deposit in the ground, and over it a stone slab with pillars on the top, on which are figures, generally like the eagles in the temples. But they write no epitaph, but simply the name of the deceased, not even his parentage, and bid the dead farewell. And next to the tomb of Lycus, when you have crossed over the Asopus, is on the right hand the temple of Olympian Zeus, and a little further on, on the left side of the road, is the tomb of Eupolis the Athenian Comedian. Further on in the direction of the city is the tomb of Xenodice, who died in childbirth: it is unlike the tombs in this part of the country, and has a painting, which is very fine. A little further is the tomb of the Sicyonians, who died at Pellene, and Dyme in Achaia, and[Pg 104] at Megalopolis and Sellasia, whose exploits I shall relate fully later on. And they have near the gate a well in a cave, which oozes through the roof of the cave, so it is called the Dripping Well.

And in the present citadel there is a temple to Fortune Dwelling on the Heights, and next it one to the Dioscuri. Both these and the statue of Fortune are of wood. And in the theatre built under the citadel the person represented on the stage-curtain is, they say, Aratus the son of Clinias. And next to the theatre is a temple of Dionysus: the god is fashioned in gold and ivory, and near him some Bacchantes in white stone. These women they say are sacred to Dionysus, and full of Bacchic fury. And the Sicyonians have other statues in a secret place, which one night in every year they bring to the temple of Dionysus from the place called Ornament Room, and they bring them with lighted torches and national Hymns. The leader of the procession is called Baccheus, this functionary was appointed by Androdamas the son of Phlias, and the next in the procession is called Lysius, whom the Theban Phanes brought from Thebes at the bidding of the Pythian Priestess. And Phanes came to Sicyon, when Aristomachus the son of Cleodæus, mistaking the oracle, lost thereby his return to the Peloponnese. And as you go from the temple of Dionysus to the market-place there is a shrine of Artemis Limnæa on the right hand. And that the roof has fallen in is clear to the spectator. But as to the statue of the goddess—for there is none now—the people of Sicyon do not say whether it was carried away to some other place, or how it was destroyed (if destroyed).

And as you enter the market-place is a temple of Persuasion, also without a statue. Persuasion is worshipped by them on the following ground. Apollo and Artemis after slaying Pytho went to Ægialea to purify themselves. But being seized with some panic fear in the place which they now call Fear, they turned aside to Crete to Carmanor, and a pestilence came upon the people at Ægialea, and they were ordered by the seers to propitiate Apollo and Artemis. And they sent 7 lads and 7 maidens to the river Sythas to supplicate Apollo and Artemis, and persuaded by them these deities went to what was then the citadel,[Pg 105] and the place they first reached was the temple of Persuasion. A Pageant of all this goes on to this day. On the Festival of Apollo the lads go to the river Sythas, and, after bringing Apollo and Artemis to the temple of Persuasion, take them back again to the temple of Apollo. And that temple is in the middle of the present market-place, and they say it was originally built by Prœtus, because his daughters got cured of madness here. They say also that Meleager hung up in this temple the spear with which he killed the Calydonian boar: here too (they say) are deposited the flutes of Marsyas: for after his awful death the river Marsyas carried them to Mæander, and they turned up again at the Asopus and were landed at Sicyon, and given to Apollo by a shepherd who found them. Of these votive offerings there is no vestige: for they were burnt with the temple. And the temple and statue were re-erected in my time by Pythocles.

The sacred enclosure near the temple of Persuasion, consecrated to the Roman emperors, was formerly the house of Cleon the king. For Clisthenes the son of Aristonymus, the son of Myro, was king of the Sicyonians in the lower part of the city, but Cleon in what is now the city (i.e. the upper part). In front of this house is a hero-chapel to Aratus, who did the greatest exploits of all the Greeks in his time: and this is what he did. After the death of Cleon there came on those in authority such unbridled lust for power, that Euthydemus and Timoclidas usurped the chief power. These the people afterwards drove out, and put in their place Clinias the father of Aratus: and not many years afterwards Abantidas got the chief power, (after the death of Clinias), and either exiled Aratus, or Aratus retired of his own free will. However the men of the country killed Abantidas, and Pascas his father succeeded him, and Nicocles killed him, and reigned in his room. Against him came Aratus with some Sicyonian refugees and mercenaries from Argos, and slipping[Pg 106] by some of the garrison in the darkness (for he made his attack by night), and forcing others back, got inside the walls: and (for by now it was day) leading his men to the tyrant’s house, he made a fierce attack on it. And he took it by storm with no great difficulty, and Nicocles slipt out at a back door and fled. And Aratus granted the Sicyonians isonomy, reconciling them to the refugees, and giving back to the refugees all their houses and goods that had been sold, but not without full compensation to former purchasers. And because all the Greeks were greatly afraid of the Macedonians and Antigonus (the Regent for Philip the son of Demetrius), he forced the Sicyonians, though they were Dorians, into the Achæan league. And forthwith he was chosen commander in chief by the Achæans, and he led them against the Locrians that live at Amphissa, and into the territory of the hostile Ætolians, and ravaged it. And although Antigonus held Corinth with a Macedonian garrison, he dismayed them by the suddenness of his attack, and in a battle defeated and killed many of them, and among others Persæus the head of the garrison, who had been a disciple of Zeno (the son of Mnaseas) in philosophy. And when Aratus had set Corinth free, then the Epidaurians and the Trœzenians who occupy the coast of Argolis, and the Megarians beyond the Isthmus, joined the Achæan league, and Ptolemy also formed an alliance with them. But the Lacedæmonians and Agis (the son of Eudamidas) their king were beforehand with them, and took Pellene by a coup de main, but when Aratus and his army came up they were beaten in the engagement, and evacuated Pellene, and returned home again on certain conditions. And Aratus, as things had prospered so well in the Peloponnese, thought it monstrous that the Piræus and Munychia, and moreover Salamis and Sunium, should be allowed to continue in Macedonian hands, and, as he did not expect to be able to take them by storm, he persuaded Diogenes, who was Governor of these Forts, to surrender them for 150 talents, and of this money he himself contributed one sixth part for the Athenians. He also persuaded Aristomachus, who was king at Argos, to give a democratical form of government to the Argives, and to join the Achæan league. And he took Mantinea from[Pg 107] the Lacedæmonians. But indeed all things do not answer according to a man’s wish, since even Aratus was obliged eventually to become the ally of the Macedonians and Antigonus. This is how it happened.

Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas, and grandson of Cleonymus, when he succeeded to the kingdom in Sparta, imitated Pausanias in desiring to be an autocrat, and not to obey the established laws. And as he was more impetuous than Pausanias, and brave as a lion, he quickly moulded everything to his will by his sagacity and boldness, and took off by poison Eurydamidas, the king of the other royal branch, while quite a lad, and vested the power of the Ephors in his brother Epiclidas, and having put down the power of the Senate, he established instead of them The Great Council of Patronomi (as they were called). And being very ambitious of greater fortunes, and even the supremacy over Greece, he attacked the Achæans first, hoping to have them as allies if he conquered them, and not wishing to give them the chance to hinder his actions. And he attacked them and beat them at Dyme above Patræ, Aratus being in this action the Achæan general, and this defeat it was that compelled Aratus to invite the aid of Antigonus, being afraid for the Achæans, and even for the safety of Sicyon. And Cleomenes having violated his conditions with Antigonus, (having openly acted against the terms of the treaty in other respects, and especially by turning out the inhabitants of Megalopolis,) Antigonus crossed into the Peloponnese, and in concert with the Achæans attacked Cleomenes at Sellasia. And the Achæans were victorious, and Sellasia was enslaved, and Lacedæmon captured. Antigonus and the Achæans then gave back to the Lacedæmonians their old Polity: and of Leonidas’s sons, Epiclidas was killed in battle, and Cleomenes, (who fled to Egypt and received the greatest honours from Ptolemy), was cast into prison subsequently for inciting the Egyptians to revolt. And[Pg 108] he escaped out of prison, and caused some trouble at Alexandria: but at last he was taken and committed suicide. And the Lacedæmonians, glad to get rid of Cleomenes, chose to submit to kingly government no longer, but from thenceforth until now had the republican form of government. And Antigonus continued friendly to Aratus, as he had done him many good and splendid services. But when Philip took the government into his own hands, because Aratus did not praise his frequent exhibition of temper to his subjects, and sometimes even checked him in his outbursts, he murdered him, giving him poison when he didn’t expect it. And from Ægium, for here fate took him, they took his body to Sicyon and buried him, and the hero-chapel Arateum is still called after him. And Philip acted in just the same way to Euryclides and Micon, who were Athenians: for them too, (being orators and not unpersuasive with the people), he took off by poison. But poison was it seems destined to bring disaster to Philip himself: for his son Demetrius was poisoned by Perseus, his youngest brother, and so caused his father’s death by sorrow. And I have gone out of my way to give this account, remembering the divine saying of Hesiod, that he who plots mischief for another brings it first on his own pate.[16]

And next to the hero-chapel of Aratus is an altar to Poseidon Isthmius, and rude statues of Milichian Zeus and Tutelary Artemis. Milichian Zeus is in the shape of Pyramid, Artemis in that of a Pillar. Here too has been built a Council Chamber, and a Porch called the Clisthenic from its builder Clisthenes, who built it out of spoil which he took in the war against Cirrha, as an ally of the Amphictyones. And in the part of the market-place which is in the open air there is a Zeus in brass, the work of Lysippus, and near it a golden Artemis. And next is the temple of Lycian (Wolf-god) Apollo, in a very dilapidated condition. When wolves used to devour the flocks so that there was no profit in keeping sheep, Apollo pointed out a certain place where some dry wood lay, and ordered the bark of this wood and flesh to be laid together before the wolves. And this bark killed the wolves immediately[Pg 109] they tasted it. This wood is kept stored up in the temple of the Wolf-god: but what tree it is of none of the Sicyonian antiquaries know. And next are some brazen statues, said to be the daughters of Prœtus, but the inscription has other women’s names. There is also a Hercules in brass, by Sicyonian Lysippus. And near it is a statue of Hermes of the Market.

Not far from the market-place in the gymnasium is a Hercules in stone, the work of Scopas. There is also elsewhere a temple of Hercules: the precincts of which they call Pædize, and the temple is in the middle of the precincts, and in it is an old wooden statue of Hercules by Laphaes of Phlius. And the sacrifices they are wont to conduct as follows. They say that Phæstus, when he went to Sicyon, found that the people there offered victims to Hercules as a hero, whereas he thought they ought to sacrifice to him as to a god. And now the Sicyonians sacrifice lambs and burn their thighs on the altar, and part of the meat they eat and part they offer as to a hero. And the first of the days of the Feast which they keep to Hercules they call Names, and the second Hercules’ Day.

A road leads from here to the temple of Æsculapius. In the precincts there is on the left hand a double building: in the outer room is a statue of Sleep, and there is nothing of it remaining but the head. And the inner room is dedicated to Carnean Apollo, and none but the priests may enter it. In the Porch is the huge bone of a sea-monster, and next it the statue of Dream, and Sleep, called the Bountiful, lulling a lion to rest. And as you go up to the temple of Æsculapius, on one side is a statue of Pan seated, on the other one of Artemis erect. At the entrance is the god himself (Æsculapius) beardless, in gold and ivory, the work of Calamis: he has his sceptre in one hand, and in the other the fruit of the pine-tree. And they say that the god was brought to them from Epidaurus by a pair of mules, and that he was like a[Pg 110] dragon, and that he was brought by Nicagora a native of Sicyon, the mother of Agasicles, and the wife of Echetimus. There are also some small statues fastened to the ceiling. The woman seated on the dragon is they say Aristodama the mother of Aratus, and they consider Aratus the son of Æsculapius. Such are the notable things to be seen in these precincts.

And there are other precincts there sacred to Aphrodite: and in them first is the statue of Antiope. For they say her sons were born at Sicyon, and this is the connection with Antiope. Next is the temple of Aphrodite. None may enter into it but a maiden Sacristan, who must never marry, and another maiden who performs the annual rites. This maiden they call bath-carrier. All others alike must only look at the goddess from the porch and worship her there. Her figure seated is the design of Canachus a native of Sicyon, (who also designed the Didymæan Apollo for the Milesians, and the Ismenian Apollo for the Thebans). It is in gold and ivory. The goddess wears on her head a cap, and in one hand holds a poppy, in the other an apple. And they offer in sacrifice to her the thighs of any victims but wild boars, all other parts they burn with juniper wood, and when they burn the thighs they burn up together with them the leaves of pæderos; which is a plant that grows in the precincts of the goddess’ temple in the open air, and grows in no other land, nor in any other part of Sicyonia. And its leaves are smaller than the leaves of the beech, but larger than those of the holm oak, and their shape is that of the oak-leaf, partly black, partly white like the silvery white of the poplar tree.

And as you go hence to the gymnasium, on the right is the temple of Pheræan Artemis: the wooden statue of the goddess was they say brought from Pheræ. Clinias built this gymnasium, and they educate boys there still. There is an Artemis also in white stone, carved only down to the waist, and a Hercules in his lower parts like the square Hermæ.

And as you turn from thence to the gate called The Holy Gate, not far from the gate is a shrine of Athene, which Epopeus formerly erected, in size and beauty surpassing those of its time. But time has obscured its fame. The god struck it with lightning: and now there remains only the altar, for the lightning did not light on it. And in front of the altar is the tomb of Epopeus, and near his tomb are the Gods the Averters of Evil, to whom they sacrifice (as the Greeks generally) to avert evil. And they say that Epopeus built the neighbouring temple to Artemis and Apollo, and Adrastus the one next to Hera: but no statues remain in either temple. Adrastus also built behind the temple of Hera two altars, one to Pan, and one to the Sun God in white stone. And as you descend to the plain is a temple of Demeter, and they say Plemnæus built it in gratitude to the goddess for rearing his son. And at a little distance from the temple of Hera, which Adrastus built, is the temple of Carnean Apollo. There are only the pillars of it left, you will find neither walls nor roof nor anything else there—nor in the temple of Hera the Guide: which was built by Phalces the son of Temenus, who said that Hera was his guide on the way to Sicyon. And as you go from Sicyon on the straight road to Phlius, about ten stades, and then turn off to the left, is the grove called Pyræa, and in it a temple of Demeter Prostasia, and Proserpine. Here the men have a festival to themselves, and give up what is called the Nymphon to the women to celebrate their festival in, and there are statues of Dionysus and Demeter and Proserpine (showing only their faces) in the Nymphon. And the road to Titane is sixty stades, and because of its narrowness it is impassable by a carriage and pair: and 20 stades further you cross the Asopus, and see on the left a grove of holm-oaks, and a temple of the Goddesses whom the Athenians call the Venerable, but the Sicyonians[Pg 112] the Eumenides. And every year they keep a feast to them on one day, sacrificing ewes big with young, and they are wont to pour libations of honey and milk, and to use flowers as chaplets. They go through the same rites on the altar of the Fates in the open air, in the grove. And as you turn back again to the road, and cross the Asopus again, you come to a mountain-top, where the natives say Titan first dwelt, who was the brother of the Sun, and gave the name Titane to this place. This Titan seems to me to have been wonderfully clever in watching the seasons of the year, as when the Sun fructified and ripened seeds and fruit, and this was why he was considered the Sun’s brother. And afterwards Alexanor, the son of Machaon, the son of Æsculapius, came to Sicyon, and built a temple of Æsculapius at Titane. A few people dwell there, but for the most part only the suppliants of the god, and there are within the precincts some old cypress trees. But it is not possible to learn of what wood or metal Æsculapius’ statue is made, nor do they know who made it, though some say Alexanor himself. The only parts of the statue that are visible are the face and fingers and toes, for a white woollen tunic and cloak are thrown round it. And there is a statue of Hygiea somewhat similar. You can not see it either easily, so hidden is it by the hair of the women which they shear to the goddess, and by the folds of a Babylonish garment. And whichever of these any one wishes to propitiate, he is instructed to worship Hygiea. Alexanor and Euamerion have also statues, to the former they offer sacrifices after sunset as to a hero, but to the latter they sacrifice as to a god. And (if my conjecture is correct) this Euamerion is called Telesphorus (according to some oracle) by the people of Pergamum, but by the people of Epidaurus Acesis. There is also a wooden statue of Coronis, but not anywhere in the temple: but when bull or lamb or pig are sacrificed to the goddess, then they take Coronis to the temple of Athene and honour her there. Nor are they contented merely with cutting off the thighs of the victims, but they burn all the victims whole on the ground except birds, and these they burn on the altar. On the gable ends are figures of Hercules, and several Victories. And in the porch[Pg 113] are statues of Dionysus and Hecate and Aphrodite and The Mother of the Gods and Fortune: these are all in wood, and one of Gortynian Æsculapius in stone. And people are afraid to approach the sacred dragons: but if their food is put at the entrance they give no further trouble. There is also within the precincts a statue of Granianus, a native of Sicyon, in brass. He won two victories at Olympia in the pentathlum, and a third in the stadium, and two in the double course, which he ran both in armour and out of armour.

And at Titane there is also a temple of Athene, into which they carry the statue of Coronis. And in it is an old wooden statue of Athene. This too is said to have been struck by lightning. As you descend from the hill, for the temple is built on the hill, is the altar of the winds, on which the priest sacrifices to them one night in every year. And he performs mysterious rites at four pits, to tame their violence, chanting, so they say, the incantations of Medea.

And as you go from Titane to Sicyon, and descend towards the sea, there is on the left a temple of Hera, with neither statue nor roof. They say Prœtus the son of Abas built it. And as you go down to what is called the harbour of the Sicyonians, and turn to Aristonautæ, the port of the people of Pellene, there is, a little above the road, on the left a temple of Poseidon. And as you go on along the high road you come to the river Helisson, and next the river Sythas, both rivers flowing into the sea.

Next to Sicyonia is Phliasia. Its chief town Phlius is 40 stades at most distant from Titane, and the road to it from Sicyon is straight. That the Phliasians have no connection with the Arcadians is plain from the catalogue of the Arcadians in Homer’s Iliad, for they are not included among them. And that they were Argives originally, and became Dorians after the return of the Heraclidæ to the Peloponnese, will appear in the course of my narrative. As[Pg 114] I know there are many different traditions about among the Phliasians, I shall give those which are most generally accepted among them. The first person who lived in this land was they say Aras an Autochthon, and he built a city on that hill which is still in our time called the Arantine hill, (not very far from another hill, on which the Phliasians have their citadel and a temple of Hebe.) Here he built his city, and from him both land and city got called of old Arantia. It was in his reign that Asopus (said to be the son of Celusa and Poseidon) found the water of the river which they still call Asopus from the name of the person who found it.[17] And the sepulchre of Aras is in a place called Celeæ, where they say also Dysaules, an Eleusinian, is buried. And Aras had a son Aoris and a daughter Aræthyrea, who the Phliasians say were cunning hunters and brave in war. And, Aræthyrea dying first, Aoris changed the name of the city into Aræthyrea. Homer has made mention of it (when recording those who went with Agamemnon to Ilium) in the line

“They lived at Orneæ and lovely Aræthyrea.”[18]

And I think the tombs of the sons of Aras are on the Arantine hill. And at their tombs are some remarkable pillars, and before the rites which they celebrate to Ceres they look at these tombs, and call Aras and his sons to the libations. As to Phlias, the third who gave his name to the land, I cannot at all accept the Argive tradition that he was the son of Cisus the son of Temenus, for I know that he was called the son of Dionysus, and was said to have been one of those who sailed in the Argo. And the lines of the Rhodian poet bear me out, “Phlias also came with the men of Aræthyrea, where he dwelt, wealthy through his sire Dionysus, near the springs of Asopus.” And Aræthyrea was the mother of Phlias and not Chthonophyle, for Chthonophyle was his wife and he had Andromedas by her.

By the return of the Heraclidæ all the Peloponnese was disturbed except Arcadia, for many of the cities had to take Dorian settlers, and frequent changes of inhabitants took place. The following were the changes at Phlius. Rhegnidas a Dorian (the son of Phalces the son of Temenus) marched against it from Argos and Sicyon. And some of the Phliasians were content with his demands, that they should remain in their own land, that he should be their king, and that the Dorians and he should have lands assigned to them. But Hippasus and his party stood out for a vigorous defence, and not for yielding up to the Dorians their numerous advantages without a fight. But as the people preferred the opposite view, Hippasus and those who agreed with him fled to Samos. And the great grandson of this Hippasus was Pythagoras, surnamed the Wise: who was the son of Mnesarchus, the son of Euphron, the son of Hippasus. This is the account the Phliasians give of their own history, and in most particulars the Sicyonians bear them out.

The most notable public sights are as follows. There is in the citadel at Phlius a cypress grove, and a temple hoary from old antiquity. The deity to whom the temple belongs is said by the most ancient of the Phliasians to have been Ganymeda, but by later ones Hebe: of whom Homer has made mention in the single combat between Menelaus and Paris, saying that she was the cupbearer of the gods, and again in the descent of Odysseus to Hades he has said that she was the wife of Hercules. But Olen in his Hymn to Hera says that she was reared by the Seasons, and was mother of Ares and Hebe. And among the Phliasians this goddess has various honours and especially in regard to slaves; for they give them entire immunity if they come as suppliants here, and when prisoners are loosed of their fetters they hang them up on the trees in the grove. And they keep a yearly feast[Pg 116] which they call Ivy-cuttings. But they have no statue in any secret crypt, nor do they display one openly: and they have a sacred reason for acting so, for on the left as you go out there is a temple of Hera with a statue in Parian marble. And in the citadel there are some precincts sacred to Demeter, and in them a temple and statue of Demeter and Persephone, and also a brazen statue of Artemis, which seemed to me ancient. And as you go down from the citadel there is on the right a temple and beardless statue of Æsculapius. Under this temple is a theatre. And not far from it is a temple of Demeter, and some old statues of the goddess in a sitting posture.

And in the market-place there is a brazen she-goat, mostly gilt. It got honours among the Phliasians for the following reason. The constellation which they call the She-Goat does continuous harm to vines at its rise. And that no serious detriment might result from it, they paid various honours to this brazen goat, and decked its statue with gold. Here too is a monument of Aristias the son of Pratinas. The Satyrs carved by Aristias and Pratinas are reckoned the best carving next to that of Æschylus. In the back part of the market-place is a house called by the Phliasians the seer’s house. Into it Amphiaraus went (so they say) and lay all night in sleep before giving his oracular responses: and according to their account he for some time lived there privately and not as a seer. And since his time the building has been shut up entirely. And not far off is what is called Omphalus, the centre of all the Peloponnese, if indeed their account is correct. Next you come to an ancient temple of Dionysus, and another of Apollo, and another of Isis. The statue of Dionysus may be seen by anybody, as also that of Apollo: but that of Isis may only be seen by the priests. The following is also a tradition of the Phliasians, that Hercules, when he returned safe from Libya with the apples of the Hesperides, went to Phlius for some reason or other, and when he was living there was visited by Œneus, who was a connexion by marriage. On his arrival from Ætolia either he feasted Hercules, or Hercules feasted him. However this may be, Hercules struck the lad Cyathus, the cupbearer of Œneus, on the head with one of his fingers,[Pg 117] not being pleased with the drink he offered him: and as this lad died immediately from the blow, the Phliasians erected a chapel to his memory. It was built near the temple of Apollo, and has a stone statue of Cyathus in the act of handing the cup to Hercules.

Now Celeæ is about five stades from Phlius, and they sacrifice to Demeter there every fourth year and not annually. Nor is the presiding priest appointed for life, but a different one is chosen on each occasion, who may marry if he chooses. In this respect they differ from the Eleusinian mysteries, though generally speaking, as the Phliasians themselves admit, their mysteries are an imitation of those. They say that Dysaules the brother of Celeus came to their country and established these rites, when he was driven from Eleusis by Ion the son of Xuthus, who had been chosen commander in chief by the Athenians in the war against the people of Eleusis. This statement of the Phliasians I cannot assent to, that an Eleusinian should have been conquered in battle and gone into exile, when before the war was fought out the matter was submitted to arbitration, and Eumolpus remained at Eleusis. But it is quite possible that Dysaules may have gone to Celeæ for some other reason, and not that which the Phliasians allege. Nor indeed had he, as it seems to me, any other relation with the Eleusinian chiefs than as brother of Celeus, for else Homer would not have passed him over in his Hymn to Demeter: where in his list of those who were taught the mysteries by the goddess he ignores Dysaules. These are his lines. “She shewed Triptolemus, and Diocles tamer of horses, and powerful Eumolpus, and Celeus leader of the people, the due performance of her rights and mysteries.”[19] However, according to the Phliasian tradition, this Dysaules established the mysteries here, and also gave the name Celeæ to the place. There is also here as I have said[Pg 118] the tomb of Dysaules, but subsequent to the date of the tomb of Aras: for according to the Phliasian account Dysaules came after the days when Aras was king. For they say Aras was a contemporary of Prometheus the son of Iapetus, and lived three generations earlier than Pelasgus the son of Arcas, and those who were called the Autochthons at Athens. And they say the chariot of Pelops is attached to the roof of the temple called the Anactorum. Such are the most important traditions of the Phliasians.

On the road from Corinth to Argos you come to the small town of Cleonæ. Some say Cleone was the daughter of Pelops, others that she was one of the daughters of Asopus, the river that flows by Sicyon: however the town got its name from her. There is a temple of Athene there, and a statue of the goddess by Scyllis and Dipœnus, pupils of Dædalus. But some say that Dædalus took a wife from Gortyns, and that Dipœnus and Scyllis were his sons by her. At Cleonæ beside this temple is the tomb of Eurytus and Cteatus, who had gone from Elis to be spectators of the Isthmian games, and whom Hercules shot with arrows there, charging them with having fought against him in the battle with Augeas.

From Cleonæ there are two roads to Argos, one convenient for rapid walkers and the shorter route, the other called Tretus (Bored), more convenient for a carriage, though it too is narrow and has mountains on both sides. Among these mountains is still shown the lair of the Nemean lion, for Nemea is only about 15 stades distant.

At Nemea is a temple well worth seeing of Nemean Zeus, only the roof has tumbled in, and there is no longer any statue there: but there is a cypress grove near the temple, where they say that Opheltes, placed on the grass there by his nurse, was devoured by a dragon. The Argives also sacrifice to Zeus at Nemea, and select the[Pg 119] priest of Nemean Zeus, and have a contest in running for men in armour at the winter meeting at Nemea. Here too is the tomb of Opheltes, and round it a wall of stones, and altars within the precincts: and there is a piled up mound of earth as a monument to Lycurgus the father of Opheltes. And the fountain they call Adrastea, whether for some other reason or because Adrastus discovered it. And they say the name Nemea was given to the place by Nemea the daughter of Asopus. And above Nemea is the Mountain Apesas, where they say Perseus sacrificed first to Apesantian Zeus. And as you go up to Argos by the road called Tretus you will see on the left hand the ruins of Mycenæ. All Greeks know that Perseus founded Mycenæ, and I shall relate the circumstances of the founding, and why the Argives afterwards dispossessed the old inhabitants. For in what is now called Argolis they mention no older town, and they say that Inachus the king gave his name to the river, and sacrificed to Hera. They also say that Phoroneus was the first mortal in this land, and that Inachus his father was not a man but a river: and that he and Cephisus and Asterion were the arbitrators between Poseidon and Hera in their dispute about the land: and when they judged that it was Hera’s, then Poseidon took away all their water. And this is the reason why neither Inachus nor any other of these rivers mentioned have any water except after rain. And in summer their streams are dry except at Lerna. And Phoroneus the son of Inachus first gathered men together in communities, who before lived scattered and solitary: so the city in which they were first gathered together was called Phoronicum.

And Argos his daughter’s son, who reigned after Phoroneus, gave Argos his own name. And to Argos were born Pirasus and Phorbas, and to Phorbas Triopas, and to Triopas Iasus and Agenor. Io the daughter of Iasus went to Egypt, either as Herodotus tells the story or as the Greeks tell the story, and Crotopus the son of Agenor had the rule after Iasus, and the son of Crotopus was Sthenelas. And Danaus sailed from Egypt against Gelanor the son of Sthenelas, and expelled from the kingdom the descendants of Agenor. All the world knows the history, how his daughters acted to their cousins, and how after his death Lynceus had the kingdom. And his grandsons, the sons of Abas, divided the kingdom, Acrisius remained at Argos, and Prœtus had Heræum and Midea and Tiryns and all the maritime parts of Argolis: and there are to this day remains of Prœtus’ palace at Tiryns. And some time afterwards Acrisius, hearing that Perseus was alive and a mighty man of valour, retired to Larissa by the river Peneus. And Perseus, as he wished excessively to see his mother’s father and greet him with kind words and deeds, went to him to Larissa. And being in the prime of life, and rejoicing in the invention of the game of quoits, he displayed his prowess to all, and by fatality Acrisius was unintentionally killed by the throw of his quoit. Thus was the prophecy of the god fulfilled to Acrisius, nor did his contrivances against his daughter and her son turn away his fate. But when Perseus returned to Argos, for he was ashamed of the infamy of this murder of his grandfather, he persuaded Megapenthes the son of Prœtus to exchange kingdoms with him, and founded Mycenæ, where the scabbard of his sword fell off, for he thought this an indication that he should build a city there. Another tradition is that when thirsty he took up a fungus from the ground, and when some water flowed from it he drank it and was pleased, and called the name of the place Mycenæ [which means both scabbard and fungus.] Homer indeed in[Pg 121] the Odyssey[20] has recorded the lady Mycene in the following line,

“Tyro and Alcmene and Mycene adorned with garlands;”

and the poem called the Great Eœæ, by Hesiod, represents her as the daughter of Inachus and the wife of Arestor: and from her some say the city got its name. But the tradition of Acusilaus which they also add, that Myceneus was the son of Sparton, and Sparton the son of Phoroneus, I could not accept, far less would the Lacedæmonians. For they have at Amyclæ the image of a woman called Sparta, and if they heard that Sparton was the son of Phoroneus they would marvel at once.

Now the Argives destroyed Mycenæ in jealousy. For though they took no part against the Medes, the people of Mycenæ sent to Thermopylæ 80 men, who shared in the glory of the famous 300. This public spirit brought about their destruction, by provoking the Argives to jealousy. But there are still some remains of the precincts and the gate, and there are some lions on it: which were they say executed by the Cyclopes, who built the wall at Tiryns for Prœtus. And among the ruins at Mycenæ is a fountain called Perseus’, and some underground buildings belonging to Atreus and his sons, where their treasures were. And there is the tomb of Atreus, and of those whom Ægisthus slew at a banquet on their return from Ilium with Agamemnon. As to Cassandra’s tomb the Lacedæmonians of Amyclæ claim that they have it. And there is the tomb of Agamemnon there, and that of Eurymedon the charioteer, and the joint-tomb of Teledamus and Pelops, who were twins of Cassandra, and were butchered by Ægisthus (while still babes) after their parents. There is also the tomb of Electra, who married Pylades, and Orestes gave her away. And Hellanicus has recorded that Medon and Strophius were the issue of the marriage. And Clytæmnestra and Ægisthus were buried a little outside the walls, for they were thought unworthy to lie within the city, and mingle their ashes with Agamemnon and those who were murdered with him.

About fifteen stades from Mycenæ on the left is a temple of Hera. By the road flows the river Eleutherius. And the priestesses use it for lustrations and for private sacrifices. And this temple is on the more level part of Eubœa, for Eubœa is a mountain, and they say the daughters of the river god Asterion were Eubœa and Prosymna and Acræa, and that they were nurses of Hera. And Acræa gave her name to all the mountain opposite the temple of Hera, and Eubœa to the mountain near the temple, and Prosymna to the ground below the temple. And this Asterion flows above the temple of Hera and falls into a ravine and so disappears. And the flower called Asterion grows on its banks: they carry this flower to Hera and plait her crowns of its leaves. The architect of the temple was they say Eupolemus the Argive: and all the carved work above the pillars relates partly to the birth of Zeus and the gods and the battle with the Giants, and partly to the Trojan war and the capture of Ilium. And there are some statues in the porch, of the priestesses of Hera, and of Orestes and other heroes. For they say the one bearing the inscription that it is the Emperor Augustus is really Orestes. In the Ante-chapel are some old statues of The Graces, and on the right hand the bed of Hera, and a votive offering, the spear which Menelaus took from Euphorbus at Ilium. And there is a huge statue of Hera seated on a throne, in gold and ivory, the design of Polycletus. And she has a crown on her head composed of Graces and Seasons, and in one hand she has the fruit of the pomegranate, and in the other her sceptre. As to the pomegranate let me pass that over, for I am forbid to speak of it. But as to the cuckoo which sits on the sceptre, they say that Zeus, when he was enamoured of Hera while still a maid, changed himself into that bird, and that Hera chased the supposed cuckoo in sport. This tradition and similar ones about the gods I do not record because I believe them, but I record them just the same. And near Hera is[Pg 123] a statue of Hebe said to be by Naucydes, this too in ivory and gold. And near it on a pillar is an old statue of Hera. But the oldest statue of Hera was made of wild pear tree, and was placed at Tiryns by Pirasus the son of Argus, and the Argives when they took Tiryns conveyed it to the temple of Hera, and I myself have seen it, a statue not very large seated. And the votive offerings worthy of record are a silver altar, with the legendary marriage of Hebe and Hercules carved upon it, and a peacock of gold and precious stones, an offering of the Emperor Adrian: he made this present because the peacock is sacred to Hera. There is also a golden crown and purple robe, the offerings of Nero. And there are above this temple the foundations of an older one and whatever the flames have spared. That temple was burnt by Chryseis, the priestess of Hera, falling asleep, and her lamp first setting fire to the decorations. And Chryseis went to Tegea and supplicated Alean Athene: and the Argives, although such a misfortune had befallen them, did not remove the effigy of Chryseis, but it is there to this day in front of the burnt temple.

And as you go from Mycenæ to Argos there is on the left hand a hero-chapel of Perseus near the road. He has honours here from the people in the neighbourhood, but the greatest honours are paid him at Seriphus, and he has also a temple among the Athenians, and in it an altar to Dictys and Clymene, who are called the Saviours of Perseus. And as you advance on the road to Argos a little way from this hero-chapel is the tomb of Thyestes on the right hand: and on it is a ram in stone, for Thyestes stole the golden sheep, when he seduced his brother’s wife. And Atreus could not be satisfied with the law of Tit for Tat, but slaughtered the children of Thyestes and served them up to him at table. But afterwards I cannot pronounce decidedly whether Ægisthus began the injury, or whether it began with the murder of Tantalus the son of Thyestes by Agamemnon: for they say he married Clytæmnestra as[Pg 124] her first husband having received her from Tyndareus. And I do not wish to accuse them of wickedness incarnate. But if the crime of Pelops and the ghost of Myrtilus haunted the family so ruthlessly, it reminds one of the answer of the Pythian Priestess to Glaucus the son of Epicydes the Spartan, when he purposed perjury, that punishment would come on his descendants.

As you go on a little to the left from the Rams, for so they call the tomb of Thyestes, is a place called Mysia, and a temple of Mysian Demeter, so called from a man called Mysius, who was as the Argives say a host of Demeter. It has no roof. And in it is a shrine of baked brick, and images of Proserpine and Pluto and Demeter. And a little further is the river Inachus, and on the other side of the river is an altar of the Sun. And you will go thence to the gate called from the neighbouring temple, the temple of Ilithyia.

The Argives are the only Greeks I know of who were divided into three kingdoms. For in the reign of Anaxagoras, the son of Argos, the son of Megapenthes, a madness came on the women, they went from their homes and wandered up and down the country, till Melampus the son of Amythaon cured them of that complaint, on condition that he and his brother Bias should share alike with Anaxagoras. And five kings of Bias’ race reigned for four generations to Cyanippus the son of Ægialeus, being all descended from Neleus on the mother’s side, and from Melampus six generations and six kings to Amphilochus the son of Amphiaraus. But the native race, the descendants of Anaxagoras, reigned longer. For Iphis, the son of Alector, the son of Anaxagoras, left the kingdom to Sthenelus the son of his brother Capaneus: and Amphilochus after the capture of Ilium having migrated to what is now called Amphilochi, and Cyanippus dying childless, Cylarabes the son of Sthenelus had the kingdom alone. And he too had no children, and so Orestes the son of Agamemnon got Argos, as he was a near neighbour, and besides his hereditary sway had added to his dominions much Arcadian territory, and as he had also got the kingdom in Sparta, and had ever ready help in the alliance of the Phocians. And he was king of the Lacedæmonians at[Pg 125] their own request. For they thought the sons of Tyndareus’ daughters better entitled to the kingdom than Nicostratus and Megapenthes, the sons of Menelaus by a bondmaid. And when Orestes died Tisamenus, the son of Orestes by Hermione the daughter of Menelaus, had the kingdom. And Penthilus, Orestes’ bastard son by Erigone the daughter of Ægisthus, is mentioned by Cinæthon in his Verses. It was in the reign of this Tisamenus that the Heraclidæ returned to the Peloponnese, viz. Temenus and Cresphontes the sons of Aristomachus, and, as Aristodemus had died earlier, his sons came too. And they laid claim to Argos and its kingdom on it seems to me the justest grounds, for Tisamenus was a descendant of Pelops, but the Heraclidæ derived from Perseus. And they represented that Tyndareus had been turned out by Hippocoon, and they said that Hercules had slain Hippocoon and his sons, and had given the country back to Tyndareus. Similarly they said about Messenia, that it was given to Nestor as a charge by Hercules when he took Pylos. They turned out therefore Tisamenus from Lacedæmon and Argos, and the descendants of Nestor from Messenia, viz. Alcmæon the son of Sillus the son of Thrasymedes, and Pisistratus the son of Pisistratus, and the sons of Pæon the son of Antilochus, and besides them Melanthus the son of Andropompus, the son of Borus, the son of Penthilus, the son of Periclymenus. So Tisamenus and his sons went to what is now called Achaia with his army: and all the other sons of Neleus but Pisistratus, (for I don’t know to what people he betook himself), went to Athens, and the Pæonidæ and the Alcmæonidæ were called after them. Melanthus also had the kingdom, after driving out Thymœtes, the son of Oxyntas, who was the last of the descendants of Theseus that reigned at Athens.

As to Cresphontes and the sons of Aristodemus there is nothing pressing to narrate about them. But Temenus openly made use of Deiphontes (the son of Antimachus, the son of Thrasyanor, the son of Ctesippus, the son of Hercules) as general for his battles instead of his sons, and made him his associate in all things, and gave him as wife his daughter Hyrnetho whom he loved more than all his children, and was suspected of intending to make her and Deiphontes his heirs in the kingdom. And for these reasons he was slain by his sons, and Cisus the eldest of them became king. But the Argives, who had from the most ancient times loved equality and home rule, reduced the kingly power so low, that Medon, the son of Cisus, and his descendants were left the royal title only. And Meltas the son of Lacedas, the 10th descendant of Medon, the people sentenced to deprivation of his kingdom altogether.

Of the temples in the city of the Argives the most notable is that of Lycian (Wolf-God) Apollo. The statue in our day was the work of an Athenian, Attalus, but originally the temple and wooden statue was the offering of Danaus. I think all statues were wooden in those days, and especially Egyptian ones. Now Danaus built a temple to Apollo the Wolf-God for the following reason. When he came to Argos, he and Gelanor the son of Sthenelas were rival competitors for the kingdom. And many ingratiating words having been spoken by both of them to the people, and Gelanor’s speech seeming rather the best, the people, they say, put off the decision to the next day. And at break of day a wolf attacked a herd of cattle that were feeding near the walls, and had a fierce encounter with the bull, the leader of the herd. And it occurred to the Argives that Gelanor was like the bull, Danaus like the wolf, for just as this animal does not live with human beings so Danaus had not up to that time lived with them. And as the wolf mastered the bull, so Danaus got the kingdom. And he thinking that Apollo had sent that[Pg 127] wolf against the herd, built a temple to Apollo the Wolf-God. In it is the throne of Danaus, and an image of Biton, the man who carried a bull on his shoulders (as Lyceas has represented), for, when the Argives were sacrificing to Zeus at Nemea, Biton took up a bull by sheer strength and carried it to the altar. And they light the fire close to this image, and they call it the fire of Phoroneus: for they do not admit that Prometheus gave fire to men, but they attribute the invention of fire to Phoroneus. Here also are wooden statues of Aphrodite and Hermes, the latter the work of Epeus, and the former the offering of Hypermnestra. For she, the only one of his daughters who disobeyed his cruel order, was brought to trial by Danaus, partly because he thought his own safety compromised by that of Lynceus, and partly because her not joining with her sisters in their atrocious deed augmented the disgrace of the contriver of the deed. And, being acquitted by the Argives, she erected as a votive offering in this temple a statue of Victorious Aphrodite. And there is inside the temple a statue of Ladas, who excelled all his contemporaries in fleetness of foot, and one of Hermes making a lyre out of a tortoise. And there is in front of the temple an amphitheatre with a representation of the fight between the bull and the wolf, and a maiden throwing a stone at the bull. They think this maiden represents Artemis. Danaus had all this constructed, and some pillars near, and wooden statues of Zeus and Artemis.

Here also are the tombs of Linus the son of Apollo, and of Psamathe the daughter of Crotopus, and this is that Linus they say who wrote poetry. I pass him by now as more meet to be discussed in another place, and as regards Psamathe I have already given a full account of her in what I have written about Megara. Next is a statue of Apollo the Guardian of the Streets, and the altar of Rainy Zeus, where those who conspired the return of Polynices to Thebes swore that they would die if unsuccessful in taking Thebes. As to the sepulchre of Prometheus, the Argives seem to me to give a less credible account than the Opuntians, but they stick to their account all the same.

And passing by the effigy of Creux the boxer, and the trophy erected over the Corinthians, you come to the statue of Milichian Zeus seated, the work of Polycletus in white stone. I ascertained that the following was the reason why it was made. When the Lacedæmonians began the war with the Argives, they continued hostilities till Philip the son of Amyntas compelled them to remain within their original boundaries. For during all previous time the Lacedæmonians never interfered outside the Peloponnese, but were always cutting a slice off Argolis, or the Argives, if the Lacedæmonians were engaged in war, would at such a time make a swoop on their borders. And when their mutual animosity was at its height, the Argives resolved to keep a standing army of 1000 picked men, and their captain was Bryas the Argive, who in other respects was insolent to the people, and outraged a maiden, who was being led in procession to her bridegroom’s house, tearing her away from her escort. But during the night catching him asleep she blinded Bryas: and being arrested at daybreak implored protection from the people. As they would not abandon her to the vengeance of the thousand, there ensued a fight, and the people were victorious, and in the heat of victory left not one of the 1000 alive. But afterwards they made expiation for this shedding of kinsmen’s blood, and erected a statue to Milichian Zeus. And near are statues in stone of Cleobis and Bito, who themselves drew the car with their mother in it to the temple of Hera.[21] And opposite these is the temple of Nemean Zeus, and in it a brazen statue of the god erect, the design of Lysippus. And next to it, as you go forward, on the right hand, is the tomb of Phoroneus: to whom they still offer victims. And opposite the temple of Nemean Zeus is a temple of Fortune of most ancient date, since Palamedes the inventor of dice made a votive offering of his dice to this temple. And the tomb near they call that of the Mænad Chorea, who they say with the other women accompanied Dionysus to Argos, and Perseus being[Pg 129] victorious in the battle slew most of the women: the others they buried all together, but for her they had a tomb separately, as she excelled the others in merit. And at a little distance is a temple of the Seasons. And as you go on there are some full-length statues of Polynices, the son of Œdipus, and all the chief warriors that died with him in battle fighting against Thebes. These men Æschylus has described as only seven in number, though more must have come from Argos and Messene and Arcadia. And near these seven, (for the Argives also follow the description of Æschylus), are the statues of those that took Thebes, Ægialeus the son of Adrastus, and Promachus the son of Parthenopæus the son of Talaus, and Polydorus the son of Hippomedon, and Thersander, and Alcmæon and Amphilochus the sons of Amphiaraus, and Diomede and Sthenelus: also Euryalus the son of Mecisteus, and Adrastus and Timeas, the sons of Polynices. And not far from these statues is exhibited the sepulchre of Danaus, and a cenotaph of the Argives whom fate seized in Ilium or on the journey home. And there is here also a temple of Zeus Soter, at a little distance from which is a building where the Argive women bewail Adonis. And on the right hand of the entrance a temple has been built to the river Cephisus: the water of this river they say was not altogether dried up by Poseidon, but flowed under ground on the site of the temple. And near the temple of the Cephisus is a head of the Medusa in stone: this also they say is the work of the Cyclopes. And the place behind they call to this day Judgement Hall, because they say that Hypermnestra was put upon her trial there by Danaus. And not far distant is a theatre: and in it among other things well worth seeing is Perilaus the Argive, the son of Alcenor, slaying Othryades the Spartan. Perilaus before this had had the good luck to carry off the prize for wrestling in the Nemean games. And beyond the theatre is a temple of Aphrodite, in front of which is a statue of Telesilla the poetess on a pillar: at her feet lie her volumes of poetry, and she herself is looking at a helmet, which she holds in her hand and is about to put on her head. This Telesilla was otherwise remarkable among women, besides being honoured for her poetic gifts. For when upon the Argives fell[Pg 130] disaster untold at the hands of Cleomenes (the son of Anaxandrides) and the Lacedæmonians, and most of them perished in the battle, and when all that fled for refuge to the grove at Argos perished also, at first coming out for quarter, but when they found that the promised quarter was not granted, setting themselves and the grove on fire together, then Cleomenes led the Lacedæmonians to an Argos stript of men. Then it was that Telesilla manned the walls with all the slaves who through youth or age were reckoned unfit to carry arms, and herself getting together all the arms which were left in the houses or the temples, and mustering all the women in the prime of life, armed them, and drew them up in battle array where she knew the enemy would approach. And when the Lacedæmonians came up, and the women so far from being dismayed at their war cry received their attack stoutly, then the Lacedæmonians considering that if they killed all the women their victory would be discreditable, and if they themselves were beaten their reverse would be disgraceful, yielded to the women. Now the Pythian Priestess had foretold this, and Herodotus, whether understanding the oracle or not, had recorded it as follows.[22] “But when the female conquering the male shall drive him out and win fame for the Argives, then shall the god make many of the Argive women wretched.” These words of the oracle describe the action of the women.

And as you descend from thence and turn to the market-place you see the tomb of Cerdo, the wife of Phoroneus, and the temple of Æsculapius. And the temple of Artemis, under the name Persuasion, was erected also by Hypermnestra, when she was victorious over her father in the trial about Lynceus. There is also a brazen statue of Æneas, and a place called Delta, but why it is called Delta I purposely pass over, for I didn’t like the explanation. And in front of it is a temple of Zeus Promoter of[Pg 131] Flight, and near it is the sepulchre of Hypermnestra the mother of Amphiaraus, and the sepulchre of Hypermnestra the daughter of Danaus, who lies in the same grave with Lynceus. And opposite them is the tomb of Talaus the son of Bias, about whom and his descendants I have spoken already. And there is a temple of Athene under the name of Trumpet, which they say Hegeleus built. This Hegeleus they say was the son of Tyrsenus, who was the son of Hercules and a Lydian woman, and Tyrsenus was the first who invented the trumpet, and Hegeleus his son taught the Dorians who followed Temenus the use of it, and that was why he called Athene Trumpet. And before the temple of Athene is they say the tomb of Epimenides: for the Lacedæmonians when they fought against the Gnossians took Epimenides alive, but killed him afterwards because he did not prophesy auspiciously for them, and they say they brought his remains, and buried them, here. And the building of white stone, nearly in the middle of the market-place, is not a trophy over Pyrrhus the king of Epirus, as the Argives say, but a memorial that his body was burnt here, inasmuch as elephants and all other things which he used in battle are represented here. This was the building for his funeral pyre: but his bones lie in the temple of Demeter, where in my account of Attica I have shown that he died. And at the entrance of this temple of Demeter you may see his brazen shield hanging over the door.

And not far from the building in the market-place of the Argives is a mound of earth. They say the head of the Gorgon Medusa lies under it. To omit fable, it has been recorded of her that she was the daughter of Phorcus, and that after the death of her father she ruled over the people that live near the Tritonian marsh, and used to go out hunting and led the Libyans in battle, and moreover resisted with her army the power of Perseus, though picked men followed him from the Peloponnese, but she was treacherously slain by night, and Perseus, marvelling at her beauty even after death, cut her head off and brought it home to display to the Greeks. But Procles the Carthaginian, the son of Eucrates, has another account more plausible than this one. The desert of Libya produces monsters scarce[Pg 132] credible to those that hear of them, and there both wild men and wild women are born: and Procles said he had seen one of those wild men that had been taken to Rome. He conjectured therefore that Medusa was a woman who had wandered from them, and gone to the Tritonian marsh, and illtreated the inhabitants till Perseus slew her: and Athene he thought assisted Perseus in the work, because the men in the neighbourhood of the Tritonian marsh were sacred to her. And in Argos close to this monument of the Gorgon is the tomb of the Gorgon-slayer Perseus. Why she was called Gorgon is plain to the hearer at once.[23] They say she was the first woman who ever married a second husband, for she married one Œbalus, when her husband Perieres the son of Æolus was dead, with whom she had lived from her virginity. Previously it was customary for women to remain widows if their husband died. And before this tomb is a trophy erected in stone to the Argive Laphaes, whom, according to the Argive tradition, the people rose up against and expelled when he was king, and when he fled to Sparta the Lacedæmonians endeavoured to restore him, but the Argives being victorious in the battle slew Laphaes and most of the Lacedæmonians. And not far from this trophy is the temple of Leto, and a statue of her by Praxiteles. And the figure near the goddess is the maiden they call Chloris, who they say was the daughter of Niobe, and was originally called Melibœa. And when the children of Amphion and Niobe were slain by Apollo and Artemis, she alone and Amyclas were saved alive, as they supplicated Leto. But fear turned Melibœa so pale that she remained so all the rest of her life, insomuch that her name was changed from Melibœa into Chloris (pale). This Chloris and Amyclas the Argives say built the original temple of Leto. But I myself am of opinion, (for I lean more than most people to the authority of Homer,) that none of the children of Niobe survived. The following line bears me out.

“Two arrows only slew the whole family.”[24]

Homer therefore describes the whole family of Amphion as cut off.

Now the temple of Flowery Hera is on the right hand of the temple of Leto, and in front of it is the tomb of the women who fell in the fight between the Argives and Perseus, and had marched with Dionysus from the islands in the Ægean, and who were called Marines from that circumstance. And right opposite the sepulchre of those women is the temple of Demeter, surnamed Pelasgian because Pelasgus the son of Triopas built it, and at no great distance from the temple is Pelasgus’ tomb. And beyond the tomb is a brazen shrine not very large, which contains old statues of Artemis and Zeus and Athene. Lyceas in his verses has represented it as a votive offering to Zeus the Contriver, and said that the Argives who went on the expedition to Ilium swore here that they would not give over fighting, till they should either capture Ilium or be killed fighting there. But others have said that the remains of Tantalus are in that brazen shrine. I will not dispute that the Tantalus who was the son of Thyestes or Broteus, (for both traditions are current), who married Clytæmnestra before Agamemnon, was buried here. But the Tantalus who was said to be son of Zeus or Pluto was buried at Sipylus in a very handsome tomb which I have myself seen. And moreover there was no necessity for him to flee from Sipylus, as happened afterwards to Pelops when Ilus the Phrygian came against him with an army. But let the enquiry proceed no further. As for the rites which take place at the neighbouring trench, they say they were instituted by Nicostratus, a man of those parts. To this day they place in the trench lighted torches to Proserpine the daughter of Demeter. There too is a temple of Poseidon under the name of the Flood-god—for Poseidon flooded most of the region, because Inachus and the other arbitrators decided that the land was Hera’s and not his. But Hera afterwards got Poseidon to draw the water off: and the Argives, at the place where the stream retired, built a temple to Poseidon the Flood-god. And as you go a little further is the tomb of Argos, who was reputed to be the son of Zeus[Pg 134] and Niobe the daughter of Phoroneus: and next is the temple of the Dioscuri. And there are statues of them and their sons, Anaxis and Mnasinous, and with them their mothers Hilaira and Phœbe, in black ebony wood, by Dipœnus and Scyllis. Even the horses are mostly made of ebony, though partly of ivory. And near this temple of the Dioscuri is a temple of Ilithyia, the offering of Helen, when Theseus went with Pirithous to Thesprotia, and Aphidna was captured by the Dioscuri, and Helen was taken to Lacedæmon. For they say she was pregnant by Theseus, and bare a child in Argos and built this temple to Ilithyia, and gave the child to Clytæmnestra, who was now the wife of Agamemnon, and the child afterwards became the wife of Menelaus. Euphorion the Chalcidian and Alexander the Pleuronian have mentioned it in their poems, and still earlier Stesichorus of Himera, and they say like the Argives that Iphigenia was the daughter of Theseus by Helen. And beyond the temple of Ilithyia is the temple of Hecate, and the statue is the work of Scopas. It is of stone and right opposite are two brazen statues of Hecate, one by Polycletus, and the other by his brother Naucydes the son of Mothon. And as you go straight for the gymnasium, which is called Cylarabis after Cylarabus, the son of Sthenelus, you come to the tomb of Licymnius the son of Electryon. Homer says he was slain by Tleptolemus the son of Hercules, who had to fly from Argos in consequence of this murder. And, as you turn off a little towards Cylarabis and the gate in this direction, is the sepulchre of Sacadas, who was the first who played the Hymn to Apollo at Delphi on the flute: and it seems the anger of Apollo against flute-players (which he had in consequence of the contest with Marsyas the Silenus) was appeased by this Sacadas. In this gymnasium of Cylarabus is a bust of Athene Capanea, and they show the tomb of Sthenelus, and of Cylarabus himself. And not far from this gymnasium is a monument to the Argives who sailed with the Athenians to reduce Syracuse and Sicily.

As you go thence on the road called the Hollow Way, there is on the right hand a temple of Dionysus: the statue of the god they say came from Eubœa. For when the Greeks returning from Ilium were shipwrecked at Caphareus, those of the Argives who contrived to escape to shore were in evil plight from cold and hunger. But when they prayed that one of the gods would save them in their present emergency, immediately as they went forward they saw a cave of Dionysus, and a statue of the god in the cave, and some wild goats that had taken refuge from the cold were huddled together in it. These the Argives killed, and eat their flesh, and used their skins for clothing. And when the winter was over, they repaired their vessels and sailed homewards, and took with them the wooden statue from the cave, and worship it to this day. And very near the temple of Dionysus you will see the house of Adrastus, and at some distance from it the temple of Amphiaraus, and beyond that the tomb of Eriphyle. And next these is the shrine of Æsculapius, and close to it the temple of Bato, who was of the family of Amphiaraus and one of the Melampodidæ, and was Amphiaraus’ charioteer when he went out to battle: and when the rout from Thebes came about, the earth opened and swallowed up Amphiaraus and the chariot and Bato all together. And as you return from the Hollow Way you come to the reputed tomb of Hyrnetho. If it is a cenotaph and merely in memory of her, their account is probable enough, but if they say that the body of Hyrnetho lies there I cannot believe them, but let him believe them who knows nothing about Epidaurus. The most famous of the temples of Æsculapius at Argos has a statue still to be seen, Æsculapius seated, in white stone, and next to him a statue of Hygiea. There are also seated near them those who designed these statues, Xenophilus and Strato. That temple was originally built by Sphyrus, the son of Machaon, and the brother of the Alexanor who has honours among the Sicyonians at Titane. And the[Pg 136] statue of Pheræan Artemis, (for the Argives worship Pheræan Artemis as well as the Athenians and Sicyonians,) was they say brought from Pheræ in Thessaly. But I cannot agree with the Argives who say that they have at Argos the tombs of Deianira the daughter of Œneus, and of Helenus the son of Priam, and that they have the statue of Athene that was carried away from Ilium, and whose loss caused its fall. The Palladium, for that is its name, was certainly carried by Æneas to Italy. As to Deianira, we know she died at Trachis and not at Argos, and her tomb is near that of Hercules on Mount Œta. And as to Helenus the son of Priam, I have already shown that he went with Pyrrhus the son of Achilles to Epirus, and married Andromache, and was Regent for the sons of Pyrrhus, and that Cestrine in Epirus took its name from his son Cestrinus. Not that the Argive antiquarians are ignorant that all their traditions are not true, still they utter them: for it is not easy to get the mass of mankind to change their preconceived opinions. There are other things at Argos worth seeing, as the underground building, (in which is the brazen chamber which Acrisius formerly got constructed for the safe custody of his daughter, Perilaus deposed and succeeded him,) and the tomb of Crotopus, and the temple of Cretan Dionysus. For they say that Dionysus, after he had warred with Perseus and got friendly again with him, was highly honoured by the Argives in various respects, and was given as a special honour this enclosure. And afterwards it was called the temple of Cretan Dionysus, because they buried Ariadne here. And Lyceas says that when the temple was restored an earthenware cinerary urn was found that contained the ashes of Ariadne: which he said several Argives had seen. And near this temple of Dionysus is the temple of Celestial Aphrodite.

And the citadel they call Larissa from the daughter of Pelasgus, and from two cities of that name in Thessaly, one on the coast, and one by the river Peneus. And as you go up to the citadel there is a temple of Hera Dwelling on the Heights, there is also a temple of Apollo, which Pythæus, who first came from Delphi, is said to have erected. The statue is of brass erect, and is called Apollo of the Ridgeway, for the place is called Ridge. Oracular responses, for there is an oracle there even to our day, are given in the following manner. The prophetess is debarred from marriage: and when a lamb is sacrificed every month, she tastes of the blood and becomes possessed by the god. And next to the temple of Apollo of the Ridgeway is the temple of Athene called Sharp-eyed, the votive offering of Diomede, because when he was fighting at Ilium the goddess upon one occasion took a mist from his eyes.[25] And close by is the race-course where they hold the games to Nemean Zeus and to Hera. On the left of the road to the citadel is a monument to the sons of Ægyptus. Their heads are here apart from their bodies, for the bodies are at Lerna where the murder of the young men was perpetrated, and when they were dead their wives cut their heads off, to show their father their desperate deed. And on the summit of Larissa is the temple of Larissæan Zeus, which has no roof to it: and the statue, which is made of wood, stands no longer on its base. And there is a temple of Athene well worth seeing. There are several votive offerings there, and a wooden statue of Zeus, with the usual two eyes, and a third in the forehead. This Zeus they say was the tutelary god of Priam the son of Laomedon, and was placed in his hall in the open air, and when Ilium was taken by the Greeks, it was to his altar that Priam fled for refuge. And when they divided the spoil Sthenelus the son of Capaneus got it, and placed it here. One might conjecture that the god has three eyes for the following reason. That he reigns in[Pg 138] heaven is the universal tradition of all mankind. And that he reigns also under the earth the line of Homer proves, speaking of him as

“Zeus the lord of the under world, and dread Proserpine.”[26]

And Æschylus the son of Euphorion calls him also Zeus of the sea. The sculptor therefore whoever he was represented him with three eyes to denote that the god rules in these three departments of the universe.

Among the roads from Argos to various parts of the Peloponnese, is one to Tegea a town in Arcadia. On the right of this road is the mountain Lycone, full of cypress trees. And on the top of the mountain is a temple to Orthian Artemis, and there are statues of Apollo and Leto and Artemis in white stone; said to be by Polycletus. And as you go down from the mountain there is on the left of the road a temple of Artemis. And at a little distance on the right is the mountain called Chaon. And underneath it trees are planted, and manifestly here the Erasinus has its rise: for a while it flows from Stymphalus in Arcadia, as the Rheti flow from Euripus to Eleusis and so to the sea. And where the river Erasinus gushes out on the mountain-side they sacrifice to Dionysus and Pan, and keep the feast of Dionysus called Medley. And as you return to the Tegean road, you come to Cenchreæ on the right of what is called Trochus. Why it was called Cenchreæ they do not tell us, except the name came from Cenchreus the son of Pirene. There is here a general tomb of the Argives who conquered the Lacedæmonians in battle near Hysiæ. I ascertained that this battle was fought when Pisistratus was ruler at Athens, and in the 4th year of the Olympiad in which Eurybotus the Athenian won the prize in the course. And as you descend to the plain are the ruins of the town Hysiæ in Argolis, and here they say the reverse happened to the Lacedæmonians.

The road to Mantinea from Argos is not the same as the road to Tegea, but you start from the gates near the ridge. And on this road there is a temple with a double entrance, one facing west, another east. At the east end is a wooden statue of Aphrodite, at the west one of Ares. These statues are they say votive offerings of Polynices and the Argives who were associated with him in his expedition. And as you go on from thence after crossing the winter torrent called Ravine you come to Œnoe, which gets its name (so the Argives say) from Œneus, who was king in Ætolia, and expelled they say from his kingdom by the sons of Agrius, and went to Argos to Diomede. And he helped him somewhat by leading an army into Calydonia, but he couldn’t he said stay there: but recommended him if he liked to accompany him to Argos. And when he went there, he treated him in all respects well, as one would expect a person to treat his grandfather, and when he died he buried him here. The place got called Œnoe by the Argives after him. And above Œnoe is the Mountain Artemisium, and a temple of Artemis on the top of the mountain. And on this mountain are the sources of the Inachus: for it has its rise here, though it flows underground for some way. There is nothing else to see here.

And another road from the gates near the Ridge goes to Lyrceia. This is the place to which Lynceus alone of all the 50 brothers is said to have escaped, and when he got there safe, he held up a lighted torch there. For it was no doubt agreed between Hypermnestra and him that he should do so as a signal, if he should escape from Danaus and get to a place of safety. And she also they say kindled another at Larissa, manifestly to show that she too was in no danger. And in memory of this the Argives every year have a torch procession. And in those days the place was called Lynceia, but afterwards, because Lyrcus an illegitimate son of Abas lived there, it got the name Lyrceia from him. There is nothing very notable among the ruins but[Pg 140] the effigy of Lyrcus on a pillar. From Lyrceia to Argos is about 60 stades, and it is about the same distance from Lyrceia to Orneæ. Homer has made no mention of Lyrceia in his catalogue, as the city was already depopulated at the time of the expedition to Ilium: but Orneæ, which was still inhabited, Homer[27] has recorded before Phlius and Sicyon, according to its geographical situation in Argolis. And it got its name from Orneus the son of Erechtheus: and this Orneus had a son Peteos, and he had a son Menestheus, who aided Agamemnon with a force from Athens to put down the dominion of Priam. From Orneus then the city got its name, and the Argives afterwards dispossessed the people of Orneæ; and when they were dispossessed they were naturalized among the Argives. And there is at Orneæ a temple of Artemis, and a wooden statue of the goddess in an erect posture, and another temple to all the gods in common. And beyond Orneæ are Sicyonia and Phliasia.

And as you go from Argos to the district of Epidaurus there is a building on the right hand like a pyramid, with some Argolic shields worked on it as a design. Here Prœtus fought with Acrisius for the supremacy, and their contest was they say drawn, and they had a peace afterwards, as neither of them could conquer the other. And they say that they engaged first with shields, and then they and the army on both sides in full armour. And those who fell on both sides, as they were fellow citizens and kinsmen, had one tomb and monument in common. And as you go on from thence and turn to the right you come to the ruins of Tiryns. And the Argives dispossessed the inhabitants of Tiryns, wishing to take them in as settlers to aggrandize Argos. And they say the hero Tiryns, from whom the city got its name, was the son of Argus the son of Zeus. And the walls of the city, which are the only ruins left, are the work of the Cyclopes made of rude stones, each stone of so gigantic a size that the smallest of them could hardly be moved by a pair of mules. And in ancient times small stones were inserted so as to dovetail in with the large stones. And as you go down to the sea, are the chambers of the daughters of Prœtus. And when you[Pg 141] return to the high road you will come to Midea on the left. They say that Electryon the father of Alcmena was king of Midea. But now nothing is left of Midea but the site. And on the direct road to Epidaurus is the village Lessa, and there is a temple of Athene in it, and a wooden statue very similar to that in the citadel at Larissa. And above Lessa is the Mountain Arachnæum, which in old times in the days of Inachus had the name of Sapyselaton. And there are altars on it to Zeus and Hera. They sacrifice to these gods here when there is a deficiency of rain.

And near Lessa is Epidaurus in Argolis, and before you get to the town itself, you will come to the temple of Æsculapius. I do not know who dwelt in this place before Epidaurus came to it: nor could I learn from any of the people of the neighbourhood anything about his descendants. But the last king they say before the Dorians came to the Peloponnese was Pityreus, the descendant of Ion the son of Xuthus. He they say gave up the land without fighting for it to Deiphontes and the Argives: and retired to Athens with his subjects and dwelt there, and Deiphontes and the Argives who espoused his cause occupied Epidauria. For there was a split among the Argives at the death of Temenus, Deiphontes and Hyrnetho being hostile to the sons of Temenus, and the army with them favouring Deiphontes and Hyrnetho more than Cisus and his brothers. Epidaurus, from whom the country got its name, was, as the people of Elis say, the son of Pelops: but according to the opinion of the Argives, and the poem of Hesiod called The Great Eœæ, the father of Epidaurus was Argus the son of Zeus. But the Epidaurians make Epidaurus the son of Apollo. And the district was generally held sacred to Æsculapius for the following reason. The Epidaurians say that Phlegyas came to the Peloponnese on the pretext of seeing the country, but really to spy out the population, and see if the number of fighting men was large. For Phlegyas was the greatest warrior of that day, and, whoever[Pg 142] he attacked, used to carry off their corn and fruit and booty of all kinds. But when he came to the Peloponnese his daughter followed him, who though her father knew it not was with child by Apollo. And when she bore her child on Epidaurian soil, she exposed it on the mountain called in our day Titthion, but which was then called Myrgion. And as he was exposed there one of the she-goats feeding on the mountain gave him milk, and the watch-dog of the flock guarded him. And Aresthanas, for that was the name of the goat-herd, when he found the number of the goats not tallying and that the dog was also absent from the flock, went in search everywhere, and when he saw the child desired to take him away, but when he got near saw lightning shining from the child, and thinking there was something divine in all this, as indeed there was, he turned away. And it was forthwith noised abroad about the lad both by land and sea that he could heal sicknesses, and raise the dead. There is also another tradition told of him, that Coronis, when pregnant with Æsculapius, lay with Ischys the son of Elatus, and that she was put to death by Artemis who thus punished her unfaithfulness to Apollo, and when the funeral pyre was already lighted Hermes is said to have plucked the child from the flame. And a third tradition is as it seems to me the least likely of all, which makes Æsculapius the son of Arsinoe, the daughter of Leucippus. For when Apollophanes the Arcadian went to Delphi and enquired of the god, whether Æsculapius was the son of Arsinoe and a citizen at Messene, Apollo answered from his oracle, “O Æsculapius, that art born a great joy to all mortals, whom lovely Coronis, the daughter of Phlegyas, bare to me the child of love, at rocky Epidaurus.” This oracular response shows plainly that Æsculapius was not the son of Arsinoe, but that Hesiod, or somebody that interpolated Hesiod, inserted that legend to please the people of Messene. And this too bears me out that Æsculapius was born at Epidaurus, that his worship is derived from thence. For the Athenians call the day on which they worship Æsculapius Epidauria, and they say the god is worshipped by them from Epidaurus; and also Archias the son of Aristæchmus, being healed in Epidauria of a convulsion[Pg 143] that seized him when he was hunting near Pindasus, introduced the worship of the god at Pergamum. And from the people of Pergamum it passed in our time to the people of Smyrna. And at Balagræ amongst the Cyrenæans the Epidaurian Æsculapius is called Doctor. And from the Cyrenæans Æsculapius got worshipped in Labene among the Cretans. And there is this difference between the Cyrenæan and Epidaurian customs of worshipping Æsculapius, that the former sacrifice goats, which is not customary with the latter. And I find that Æsculapius was considered as a god from the beginning, and not merely as he got fame as time went on, from other proofs, and the testimony of Homer in what Agamemnon says about Machaon,

“Talthybius, call here as quickly as possible Machaon the mortal, the son of Æsculapius,”

as if he said the man the son of the god.[28]

The sacred grove of Æsculapius is walled in on all sides: nor do any deaths or births take place in the precincts of the god, just as is the case at the island Delos. And the sacrifices, whether any native of Epidaurus or stranger be the sacrificer, they consume in the precincts. The same I know happens at Titane. And the statue of Æsculapius is in size half that of Olympian Zeus at Athens, and is made of ivory and gold: and the inscription shows that it was by the Parian Thrasymede the son of Arignotus. The god sits on a seat holding a staff in one hand, and the other hand he has on a dragon’s head, and a dog is seated at his feet. And on the seat are represented the actions of Argive heroes, as Bellerophon killing the Chimæra, and Perseus with the[Pg 144] head of Medusa. And beyond the temple is a sleeping-place for suppliants. And a round building has been built near well worth seeing, of white stone, called the Rotunda. And in it there is a painting by Pausias of Cupid throwing away his bow and arrows and taking up a lyre instead. There is also here a painting of Drunkenness, also by Pausias, drinking out of a glass bowl. You may see in the painting the glass bowl and in it a woman’s face reflected. And six pillars to this day stand in the precincts, but in old time there were more. On these are recorded the names of men and women healed by Æsculapius, and the complaint from which each suffered, and how they were cured, written in Doric. And apart from the rest is an ancient pillar, which states that Hippolytus offered 20 horses to the god. And the people of Aricia have a tradition corresponding to the inscription on this pillar, that, when Hippolytus died in consequence of the imprecations of Theseus, Æsculapius restored him to life again: and when he came to life again, he refused to pardon his father, and disregarding his entreaties went into Italy to the people of Aricia, and there became king and built a temple to Artemis, where in my time the prize for victory in single combat was to become the priest of the goddess. But the contest was not for freemen, but for slaves who had run away from their masters. And the Epidaurians have a theatre in their temple, especially well worth seeing in my opinion: for the Roman theatres beat all in the world in magnificence, and for size the Arcadian theatre at Megalopolis carries the day: but for beauty of proportion what architect could compete with Polycletus? And Polycletus it was that designed this theatre and round building. And within the grove there is a temple of Artemis, and a statue of Epione, and a temple of Aphrodite and Themis, and a stadium, as generally among the Greeks, consisting of a mound of earth, and a fountain well worth seeing for its roof and other decoration. And Antonine the Senator constructed in our days a bath of Æsculapius, and a temple of the gods they call the Bountiful Gods. He built also a temple for Hygiea and for Æsculapius and for Apollo under the title of Egyptian gods. He restored also Cotys’ porch for the roof had fallen in and it[Pg 145] had all come to ruin as it had been built of unbaked brick. And the Epidaurians who lived near the temple were especially unfortunate, for their women might not bear children under a roof but only in the open air. But Antonine set this right and erected a building where it was lawful both to die and bear children. And there are two mountains above the grove, one called Titthion and the other Cynortion, and on the latter a temple to Maleatian Apollo. The building is ancient, but everything else in connection with the temple, as the reservoir e.g. in which rainwater is stored up, was put there by Antonine for the benefit of the Epidaurians.

Now all kinds of dragons, and especially those which incline to tawny in colour, are considered sacred to Æsculapius, and are tame, and the Epidaurian country alone breeds them. I find similar phenomena in other countries. Thus Libya alone breeds land crocodiles no smaller than two cubits, and from India alone come parrots and other birds. For the great snakes in size as big as 30 cubits, which are produced in India and in Libya, the Epidaurians say are not dragons but another species altogether. And as you ascend the mountain called Coryphon there is an olive tree called Twisted, its having been so moulded by Hercules’ hand is the origin of the name. I can hardly believe that he meant this for a boundary for the Asinæi in Argolis, for as the country on both sides lies waste one could find no clear boundary here. And on the top of the mountain Coryphon is the temple of Artemis, which Telesilla has mentioned in a poem. And as you go down to the city of the Epidaurians is a place, called Hyrnethium, full of wild olives that grow there. I shall record the Epidaurian tradition and the probable truth. Cisus and the other sons of Temenus knew that they would greatly vex Deiphontes, if they could by any means get Hyrnetho from him. Cerynes and Phalces therefore went alone to Epidaurus: for Argæeus the youngest did not approve[Pg 146] of their plot. And they leaving their travelling carriage near the walls sent a messenger to their sister, wishing they said to have a conversation with her. And when she complied with their invitation, the young men at once brought various charges against Deiphontes, and begged her earnestly to return to Argos, making various promises, and that they would give her in marriage to a man in every respect better than Deiphontes, to the ruler of a larger population and a more fertile country. And Hyrnetho vexed at their words gave them back as good as they brought, and said that Deiphontes was acceptable to her as a husband, and that to be Temenus’ son in law was not to be despised, but they ought to be called rather Temenus’ murderers than his sons. And they made no reply to her, but took hold of her, put her into the travelling carriage, and drove off. And an Epidaurian took the news to Deiphontes that Cerynes and Phalces had gone off with Hyrnetho against her will. And he came to the rescue with all speed, and the Epidaurians when they heard what the matter was came to the rescue with him. And Deiphontes when he came up with Cerynes shot at him and killed him with an arrow, but as Phalces was close to Hyrnetho he did not dare to shoot at him, lest he should miss him and kill her, but he closed with him and endeavoured to get her away. But Phalces resisting and pulling Hyrnetho too violently killed her, for she was pregnant. And he perceiving what he had done to his sister, drove the travelling carriage at full speed, hastening to be off before the Epidaurians could come up: and Deiphontes with his sons (for he had had by Hyrnetho Antimenes and Xanthippus and Argeus, and one daughter Orsobia, who afterwards married Pamphylus the son of Ægimius), took the dead body of Hyrnetho and conveyed it to the place which is now called Hyrnethium. And they built a chapel to her memory and paid her other honours, and with regard to the olive trees that grow in her grove, or any other trees there, it is an established custom that no one should break pieces of them off and carry them away, nor use them for any purpose, but leave them intact as sacred to Hyrnetho. And not far from the city is the sepulchre of Melissa, who was the wife of Periander the[Pg 147] son of Cypselus, and the sepulchre of Proclees the father of Melissa. And he was king at Epidaurus, as his son in law Periander was at Corinth.

Epidaurus has the following things most worthy of record. There is a temple of Æsculapius, and statues of Æsculapius and Epione, who they say was his wife. These are in the open air, and are of Parian marble. And there are temples of Dionysus and Artemis, the latter as a Huntress. There is a temple also built to Aphrodite: and near the harbour on the cliff jutting out into the sea is they say one of Hera. And the Athene in the citadel, a wooden statue well worth seeing, they call Cissæan Athene.

The Æginetans inhabit the island opposite Epidauria. And they say there were no inhabitants there originally, but Zeus having taken Ægina the daughter of Asopus there to that desert island, it was called Ægina after her instead of its old name Œnone, and when Æacus was grown up he asked of Zeus for settlers, and then they say that Zeus produced men from the soil. And they can tell of no king reigning there but Æacus, for we know of none of the sons of Æacus continuing there, for Peleus and Telamon had to flee for the murder of Phocus, and the sons of Phocus again dwelt near Parnassus in what is now called Phocis. And the name Phocis was given to the district when Phocus of the family of Ornytion first came to it. In the days of this Phocus the country near Tithorea and Parnassus was called Phocis: but in the days of Æacus the name Phocis included everybody from Minyæ near Orchomenus to Scarphea in Locris. And Peleus’ sons were kings in Epirus, and of Telamon’s sons the family of Ajax was rather obscure (as he lived in a retired way privately), except Miltiades, who led the Athenians at Marathon, and his son Cimon, both of whom were exceedingly illustrious. And the descendants of Teucer were kings of Cyprus down to Evagoras. And according to the poet Asius Phocus’ sons were Panopeus and Crisus: and[Pg 148] the son of Panopeus was Epeus, who according to Homer was the contriver of the wooden horse, and the grandson of Crisus was Pylades, the son of Strophius, the son of Crisus by Anaxibia the daughter of Agamemnon. Such is the pedigree of the so-called Æacidæ, but they branched off from the beginning into other directions. And in after time a part of the Argives that had occupied Epidaurus with Deiphontes crossed over to Ægina, and, mixing among the old settlers at Ægina, introduced into the island the Doric language and manners. And the Æginetans became a great power, so that they were even a greater naval power than the Athenians, and in the Persian War furnished the greatest number of vessels next to the Athenians, but their prosperity did not last, for they were turned out of Ægina by the Athenians, and went and dwelt at Thyrea in Argolis, which the Lacedæmonians gave them. They recovered Ægina indeed, when the Athenian triremes were captured at the Hellespont, but never regained their former wealth and power. Of all the Greek islands Ægina is the most difficult of access. For there are rocks under the sea all round it, and sunken reefs. And they say that Æacus contrived this on purpose from fear of pirates, and that he might not be exposed to enemies. And near the chief harbour is a temple of Aphrodite, and in the most conspicuous part of the city what is called the Hall of Æacus, a square court of white stone: at the entrance of which are statues of the envoys who were sent by the Greeks to Æacus. All give the same account of this as the Æginetans. A drought for some time afflicted Greece, and there was no rain either beyond the Isthmus or in the Peloponnese, until they sent messengers to Delphi, to enquire the cause, and at the same time to beg to be rid of the evil. The Pythian Priestess told them to propitiate Zeus, and that, if he was to listen to them, Æacus must be the suppliant. Accordingly they sent envoys from every city to beg Æacus to do so. And he offered sacrifices and prayers to Pan-Hellenian Zeus and caused rain to come on the earth: and the Æginetans made these effigies of all the envoys that had come to him. And within the precincts are some olive trees planted a long time ago, and an altar not much[Pg 149] higher than the ground, which it is secretly whispered is a memorial of Æacus. And near the Hall of Æacus is the tomb of Phocus, a mound of earth with a base in the shape of a circle, and on it is a rough stone: and when Telamon and Peleus invited Phocus to the contest of the pentathlum, and it was Peleus’ turn to throw the stone, which served them for a quoit, he purposely threw it at Phocus and hit him. And in this they gratified their mother, for they were the sons of Endeis the daughter of Sciron, and Phocus was the son of her sister Thetis, if the Greeks speak the truth. And Pylades appears to me for this reason, and not merely in friendship to Orestes, to have contrived the death of Neoptolemus. But when Phocus was struck by the quoit and fell down dead, then the sons of Endeis got on board ship and fled. And Telamon later on sent a messenger, and endeavoured to clear himself of having contrived the death of Phocus. But Æacus would not let him land on the island, but bade him if he liked pile up a mole in the sea and make his defence there. Accordingly he sailed to the harbour called Secret, and by night produced a mole, which remains to this day. And being pronounced guilty of the death of Phocus he sailed back again to Salamis. And not far from this harbour Secret is a theatre well worth seeing, in size and workmanship very similar to the one at Epidaurus. And behind it is built one side of a stadium, upholding the theatre and serving as a prop for it.

And near one another are temples of Apollo, and Artemis, and Dionysus. The wooden statue of Apollo is naked and of native art, but Artemis and Dionysus are draped, and Dionysus is represented with a beard. But the temple of Æsculapius is on the other side and not here, and the statue of stone, seated. And of all the gods the people of Ægina honour Hecate most, and celebrate her rites annually, saying that Orpheus the Thracian introduced those rites. And within the precincts is a temple,[Pg 150] containing a wooden statue of Hecate by Myron, with only one head and one body. Alcamenes as it seems to me was the first who made the statue of Hecate with three heads and three bodies which the Athenians call Hecate Epipurgidia: it stands near the temple of Wingless Victory. And in Ægina as you go to the mountain of Pan-Hellenian Zeus is the temple of Aphæa, about whom Pindar wrote an ode for the Æginetans. And the Cretans say, (for her worship is indigenous among them too), that Eubulus was the son of that Carmanor who purged Apollo of the murder of Python, and that Britomartis was the daughter of Zeus by Carme the daughter of Eubulus: and that she rejoiced in races and hunting, and was a very great friend of Artemis. And fleeing from Minos, who was enamoured of her, she threw herself into some nets set for catching fish. Artemis made her a goddess, and she is worshipped not only by the Cretans but also by the Æginetans, who say that Britomartis was seen in their island. And she is called Aphæa in Ægina, but Dictynna in Crete. And the mountain Pan-Hellenium has nothing of note but the temple of Zeus, which they say Æacus erected. As to what concerns Auxesia and Lamia, how there was no rain at Epidaurus, and how after receiving olive trees from Athens they made wooden statues according to the bidding of the oracle, and how the Epidaurians did not pay to the Athenians their charge for the Æginetans having these statues, and how the Athenians who crossed over to Ægina to exact payment perished, all this has been told accurately and circumstantially by Herodotus. I do not therefore care to write again what has been so well told before, but this much I may say that I have seen the statues and sacrificed to them as they are accustomed to sacrifice at Eleusis.

Let so much suffice for Ægina, and Æacus and his exploits. And next to Epidauria come the people of Trœzen, who are proud of their country if any people are. And they say that Orus was a native of their country. To me however the name Orus seems decidedly Egyptian and not at all Greek. However they say he was their king, and that the country was called Oræa after him, and Althepus the son of Poseidon by Leis the daughter of Orus, succeeding[Pg 151] to Orus, called the country Althepia. When he was king they say that Athene and Poseidon had a dispute about the country, and resolved to hold it in common, for so Zeus ordered them to do. And so they worship Athene under the names Polias and Sthenias, and Poseidon under the name of king. And so their ancient coins have on them a trident and the head of Athene. And next to Althepus Saron was king, who they say built the temple to Saronian Artemis near the sea where it was muddy on the surface, insomuch that it was called the Phœbæan marsh. And it chanced that Saron, who was very fond of hunting, was pursuing a stag and followed it to the sea as it fled. And it swam further and further from the land, and Saron continued to follow it up, till in his impetuosity he got out to open sea, and, as he was by now tired, and the waves were too much for him, he was drowned. And his dead body was cast on shore on the Phœbæan marsh, and they buried him in the grove of Artemis, and they call the sea here after him the Saronian marsh instead of the Phœbæan. The names of the kings that followed him they do not know till Hyperes and Anthas, who they say were the sons of Poseidon by Alcyone the daughter of Atlas, and built the cities in that country called Hyperea and Anthea. And Aetius the son of Anthas, succeeding his father and uncle in the kingdom, called one of these two cities Poseidonias. And when Trœzen and Pittheus joined Aetius, there were three kings instead of one, and the sons of Pelops were the stronger. And this proves it. After the death of Trœzen Pittheus joined together Hyperea and Anthea, and combined the inhabitants into one city, which he called Trœzen from the name of his brother. And many years afterwards the descendants of Aetius, the son of Anthas, were sent on a colony from Trœzen, and colonized Halicarnassus in Caria, and Myndus. And the sons of Trœzen, Anaphlystus and Sphettus, migrated to Attica, and gave their names to two townships. And as regards Theseus the son of Pittheus’ daughter I do not write to people who know all the history. But I must narrate thus much. When the Heraclidæ returned to the Peloponnese the people of Trœzen received as colonists the Dorians from Argos, having been formerly[Pg 152] subject to the Argives. And Homer in his catalogue says that they were under the rule of Diomede. Diomede at least and Euryalus the son of Mecisteus, who were Regents for Cyanippus the son of Ægialeus, led the Argives to Troy. But Sthenelus, as I have shown before, was of more illustrious birth, being of the family of the Anaxagoridæ, and the kingdom of the Argives was more his by right. Such are all the historical details about Trœzen, except a list of the cities which are said to have been colonized from Trœzen. I will now describe the contents of the temples and other notable things in Trœzen.

In the market-place is a temple, and statues, of Artemis the Saviour. And it is said that Theseus built it and called her Saviour, when he returned from Crete after having killed Asterion the son of Minos. This seems to me to have been the most notable of all his exploits, not so much because Asterion excelled in bravery all who were killed by Theseus, but because he escaped the hidden snares of the labyrinth, and all this makes it clear that Theseus and his companions were saved by providence. In this temple are altars of the gods said to rule in the lower world: and they say that Semele was brought here from Hades by Dionysus, and that Hercules brought Cerberus here from Hades. But I do not think that Semele died at all, as she was the wife of Zeus: and as to Cerberus I shall elsewhere tell what I think.

And behind the temple there is a monument of Pittheus, and three seats are on it of white stone: and Pittheus and two others with him are said to be giving sentence on these seats. And at no great distance is a temple of the Muses, built they say by Ardalus, the son of Hephæstus: who they think discovered the use of the flute, and so they call the Muses Ardalian after him. Here they say Pittheus taught the art of language, and I have myself read a book written by Pittheus, that was given me by an Epidaurian.[Pg 153] And not far from, the temple of the Muses is an ancient altar, erected as they say also by Ardalus. And they sacrifice on it to the Muses and Sleep, saying that Sleep is the god most friendly to the Muses. And near the theatre is a temple of Lycean Artemis, which Hippolytus built. Why the goddess was so called I could not find from the antiquarians, but it seems to me it was either because Hippolytus drove out the wolves that ravaged Trœzen and the neighbourhood, or that it was a title of Artemis among the Amazons, of whom his mother was one. Or there may be some other explanation which I do not know. And the stone in front of the temple called the holy stone was they say the stone on which formerly the 9 men of Trœzen cleared Orestes of the murder of his mother. And not far from the temple of Lycean Artemis are altars at no great distance from one another.

The first of them is one of Dionysus, called Saviour in accordance with some oracle, and the second is called Themidon, Pittheus dedicated it they say. And they very likely built an altar to the Sun the Liberator when they escaped the slavery of Xerxes and the Persians. And they say Pittheus built the temple of Thearian Apollo, which is the oldest of all I know. There is indeed an old temple of Athene among the Phocians in Ionia, which Harpagus the Persian burnt, old also is the temple of Pythian Apollo among the Samians, but far later are both than this one at Trœzen. And the statue of the god is still to be seen, the votive offering of Auliscus, and the design of Hermon of Trœzen, who also made wooden statues of the Dioscuri. And there are also in the porch in the market-place stone statues of the women and children whom the Athenians committed to the charge of the people of Trœzen, when they resolved to leave Athens, and not to encounter the attack of the Mede with a land force. And they are said to have put here statues not of all those women, for they are not many here, but only of those who were especially remarkable for merit. And there is a building in front of the temple of Apollo, called the tent of Orestes. For before he was cleared of his mother’s blood, none of the people of Trœzen would receive him in their houses: but they put him here and gradually cleared him and fed him[Pg 154] here, till the expiatory rites were completed. And to this day the descendants of those that cleared him feast here on appointed days. And the expiations having been buried not far from this tent, they say a laurel sprang up from them, which is still to be seen in front of the tent. And they say that Orestes among other purgations used water from Hippocrene. For the people of Trœzen have a well called Hippocrene, and the tradition about it is the same as the Bœotian tradition. For they too say that water sprang up from the ground when Pegasus touched the ground with his hoof, and that Bellerophon came to Trœzen to ask for Æthra as his wife from Pittheus, but it so chanced that before the marriage came off he fled from Corinth.

And there is here a statue of Hermes called Polygius, and they say Hercules offered his club to it, and the club was of wild olive, and, (believe it who will,) sprouted in the earth and grew, and is now a tree, for Hercules they say discovered the wild olive in the Saronian marsh and cut a club of it. There is also a temple of Zeus Soter, built they say by King Aetius the son of Anthas. And they call their river Chrysorrhoe (golden stream), for when there was a drought in the land and no rain for nine years, and all other water they say dried up, this Chrysorrhoe continued to flow as usual.

And Hippolytus the son of Theseus has precincts and a temple in them and ancient statue. Diomede they say erected all these, and was the first to sacrifice to Hippolytus: and the people of Trœzen have a priest of Hippolytus who serves for life, and they have yearly sacrifices, and the following custom. Every maiden cuts off a lock of her hair before marriage, and takes it and offers it at this temple. And they don’t represent Hippolytus as having died through being torn in pieces by his horses, nor do they point out his tomb if they know it:[Pg 155] but they try to make out that Hippolytus is called in heaven the Charioteer, and has this honour from the gods. And within his precincts is the temple of Apollo Epibaterius, the votive offering of Diomede when he escaped the storm which fell on the Greeks as they were returning from Ilium: they say also that Diomede first established the Pythian games in honour of Apollo. And as to Lamia and Auxesia (for they also have their share of honour) the people of Trœzen do not give the same account as the Epidaurians and Æginetans, but say that they were virgins who came from Crete, and in a general commotion in the city were stoned by one of the rival factions, and they have a festival to them called Stonethrowing. And in another part of the precincts is what is called Hippolytus’ race-course, and overlooking it a temple of Peeping Aphrodite: where, when Hippolytus was training, Phædra would gaze at him in her love. Here too grows the myrtle with the leaves pricked, as I described before: for when Phædra was in despair and found no relief for her love-pains, she wreaked her agony on the leaves of the myrtle. And Phædra’s tomb is here, not very far from the monument of Hippolytus, or that myrtle tree. And there is a statue of Æsculapius by Timotheus, but the people of Trœzen say it is not Æsculapius but Hippolytus. I saw also the house of Hippolytus, and in front of it is what is called the Well of Hercules, the water (as the people of Trœzen say) which Hercules discovered. And in the citadel there is a temple of Athene Sthenias, the wooden statue of the goddess is by Callon of Ægina; who was the pupil of Tectæus and Angelion, who designed the statue of Apollo at Delos; and they were pupils of Dipœnus and Scyllis. And as you go down from thence you come to the temple of Pan the Deliverer, for he shewed dreams to the chief people of the Trœzenians which brought about deliverance from the plague, which pressed so hard on the Athenians. And in the environs of Trœzen you will see a temple of Isis, and above it one of Aphrodite of the Height: the temple the Halicarnassians built for Trœzen their mother city; but the statue of Isis was a votive offering of the people of Trœzen.

As you go along the mountains to Hermione you see the[Pg 156] source of the river Hyllicus, which was originally called Taurius, and a rock called Theseus’ rock, which used in former times to be called the altar of Sthenian Zeus, but had its name changed to Theseus’ rock because Theseus found under it the shoes and sword of Ægeus. And near this rock is the temple of Bridal Aphrodite, which was built by Theseus when he married Helen. And outside the walls is a temple of Fruit-giving Poseidon: for they say that Poseidon in wrath threatened to make their land fruitless, by casting brine on the seeds and roots of their plants, till mollified by their sacrifices and prayers he sent brine on their land no longer. And above the temple of Poseidon is Law-giving Demeter, which was built they say by Althepus. And as you descend to the harbour near what is called Celenderis, is the place which they call Natal-place, because they say Theseus was born there. And in front of this place is a temple of Ares on the spot where Theseus conquered the Amazons in battle: they must have been some of that band who fought in Attica with Theseus and the Athenians. And as you go towards the Psiphæan sea there is a wild olive tree called twisted Rhachus. The people of Trœzen give that name to every kind of olive that bears no fruit, whether its general name is κοτινός, or φυλίας, or ἔλαιος. And they call it twisted because, the reins catching in it, the chariot of Hippolytus got overturned. And at no great distance from this is the temple of Saronian Artemis, about which I have already given an account. But this much more shall be stated, that they keep an annual feast called Saronia to Artemis.

Of the islands near Trœzen one is so close to the mainland, that you can wade over to it at low water. It was called Sphæria in former days, and Sacred for the following reason. It contains the tomb of Sphærus, who they say was the charioteer of Pelops. He had a dream from[Pg 157] Athene, that Æthra crossed over into the island with offerings for the dead, and when she crossed over there ’tis said that Poseidon had an intrigue with her. Accordingly Æthra built a temple here to Injurious Athene, and called the island Sacred instead of Sphæria: she also imposed the custom on the maidens of Trœzen that they should before marriage dedicate their maiden-girdle to Injurious Athene. And they say the island Calaurea was in ancient days sacred to Apollo, when Delphi belonged to Poseidon, it is also said that they exchanged these places with one another. And they produce in support of their statement the following oracle,

“It is all one whether you dwell at Delos or Calaurea

At sacred Pytho or the wind-swept Tænarus.”

There is also at Calaurea a sacred temple to Poseidon, and the priestess is a maiden till the period for marriage. And within the precincts is the tomb of Demosthenes. Fortune seems to have shown especial malignity to Demosthenes as earlier to Homer, since Homer was not only blind but overwhelmed by such poverty that he was a strolling beggar on every soil, and Demosthenes in his old age had to taste the bitterness of exile, and came to a violent end. Much has been said about Demosthenes by others and by himself, by which it is clear that he had no share in the money which Harpalus brought from Asia, but what was said afterwards I will relate. Harpalus, after having fled from Athens and crossed over with the fleet to Crete, was murdered not long afterwards by some of his attendant slaves: but some say he was treacherously murdered by the Macedonian Pausanias. And the dispenser of the money fled to Rhodes, and was arrested by Philoxenus the Macedonian, who had also demanded the extradition of Harpalus from the Athenians. And getting this lad he cross-questioned him, until he obtained full intelligence of those who had had any money from Harpalus: and when he ascertained their names he sent letters to Athens. Although in those letters he enumerated the names of those who had had any money from Harpalus, and the precise sum which each of them had, he made no mention whatever of Demosthenes, though he was most bitterly hated by Alexander, and[Pg 158] although Philoxenus himself was privately his enemy. Demosthenes had honours paid to him in other parts of Greece also as well as by the inhabitants of Calaurea.

In the Trœzenian district there is an isthmus jutting out some way into the sea, and on it has been built a small town near the sea called Methana. And there is a temple of Isis there, and a statue in the market-place of Hermes, and another of Hercules. And at the distance of about 30 stades from this small town are some warm baths. And they say that water first appeared there when Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, was King of the Macedonians, and water did not first appear, but fire bubbled up from the ground, and when this burnt itself out then water began to flow, which bubbles up even to this day warm and very salt. And if one bathes here the water is not cold near the shore, but if you go well out to sea swimming is dangerous, for there are many kinds of sea-monsters and especially sea dogs. But the most wonderful thing at Methana I will now record. The South West Wind when the vines are growing blows upon them from the Saronic Gulf, and scorches them up. And when the wind is still sweeping down on them, two men take a cock with white feathers only, and tear it in half, and run round the vines in different directions, each with half the cock, and when they come back to the place where they started, they bury it there. This is their invention and contrivance against the South West Wind. The little islands, which lie just off the coast, 9 in number, they call the islands of Pelops, and they say when it rains rain never comes on one of them. Whether this is so I do not know, but the people about Methana say so, and I have heard of people trying to avert hail by sacrifices and incantations. Methana then is an Isthmus in the Peloponnese: and inside the Trœzenian Isthmus is the neighbouring town of Hermione. And the people of Hermione say that the founder of the old city[Pg 159] was one Hermion the son of Europs. And this Europs, who was certainly the son of Phoroneus, was said by Herophanes of Trœzen to be illegitimate, on the ground that the kingdom of Argos would not have come to Argus the daughter’s son of Phoroneus, had Phoroneus had a legitimate son. But, even if Europs was legitimate and died before Phoroneus, I know very well that a son of his would not have been considered equal to Niobe’s son, who was reckoned to be the son of Zeus. And afterwards Dorians from Argos colonized Hermione, but amicably I think, for had there been a war it would have been mentioned by the Argives.

And there is a road to Hermione from Trœzen along the rock which was formerly called the altar of Zeus Sthenius, but after Theseus removed the shoes and sword of Ægeus, it was called Theseus’ rock. As you go by this rock on the mountain side, you come to the temple of Apollo called The God of the Plane-Trees, and the hamlet is called Ilei, and in it are temples of Demeter and her daughter Proserpine. And near the sea, on the border of the territory of Hermione, is a temple of Demeter under the title Thermasia. And at the distance of about eighty stades is the promontory called Scyllæum from Scylla, the daughter of Nisus. For after Minos took Nisæa and Megara through her treason, he refused to marry her though he had promised, and even ordered the Cretans to throw her overboard, and the tide washed her dead body on to this promontory. And they exhibit no tomb of her, for they say that her body was neglected, and carried away by sea birds bit by bit. And as you sail from Scyllæum in the direction of the city is another promontory called Bucephala, and next to it 3 islands, of which the first is Haliusa, which affords a convenient harbour for ships to ride at anchor, and next is Pityusa, and the third they call Aristeræ. And as you coast along by these islands, there is another promontory called Colyergia jutting out from the mainland, and next it an island called Tricrana, and a mountain Buporthmus jutting out into the sea from the Peloponnese. And at Buporthmus is a temple of Demeter and Proserpine, and also one of Athene under the title Promachorma. And in front of Buporthmus lies an island called Aperopia. And[Pg 160] at no great distance from Aperopia is another island called Hydrea. And the shore on the mainland opposite these islands extends in a crescent shape, and is rocky from the easterly direction close to the sea as far as the temple of Poseidon, but slopes at the westerly end of the bay, where it has its harbours. The length of this rocky headland is about seven stades, and the breadth in the broadest part about three stades or a little more. Here was the old town of Hermione. And even now there are several temples there, one of Poseidon at the commencement of the headland, and as you go from the sea to the heights a temple of Athene, and near it some remains of a race-course, where they say the sons of Tyndareus used to practise. There is also another small temple of Athene, but the roof has fallen in. And there is a temple to the Sun, and another to the Graces, and another to Serapis and Isis. And there is a circle of huge unhewn stones, and inside this circle they perform the sacred rites of Demeter. Such are the objects to be seen at the old town of Hermione. But the new town is at about four stades’ distance from the promontory on which there is the temple of Poseidon, and it lies on a gentle slope as you ascend the hill called Pron, for that is its name. There is a wall all round Hermione. And it has various objects of interest, but what I select as most worthy of record are the temple of Marine Aphrodite and Aphrodite of the Harbour, and a statue of white stone of huge size, and a work of art. And there is another temple of Aphrodite, which has other honours from the people of Hermione and this special one, that maidens or widows intending to marry must all sacrifice here before their marriage. And Thermasian Demeter has two temples, one on the borders of Trœzen as I have before said, and one in new Hermione.

And next is a temple of Dionysus Melanægis, in whose honour they have a musical contest every year, and give prizes for diving and rowing. And there is a temple of Artemis under the name of Iphigenia, and a statue of Poseidon in bronze with one foot on a dolphin. And as you proceed to the temple of Vesta, you find no statue, but an altar on which they sacrifice to Vesta. And there are three temples and three statues of Apollo: one has no title, the second is called Pythæan Apollo, and the third Apollo of the Borders. The name Pythæan they borrowed from the Argives: for Telesilla says that to their country first of all the Greeks came Pythæus the son of Apollo. But why they call the god Apollo of the Borders I cannot precisely tell, but I conjecture that having obtained victory either by war or litigation in reference to the borders, they honoured for this Apollo of the Borders. And the temple of Fortune is they say the latest one that the people of Hermione have, the statue is colossal in Parian marble. And they have two wells, one an old one into which the water flows by a hidden channel, but it would never grow dry, not even if all the population were to come and drink of it: and another dug in our day, and the name of the place from which the water flows into it is Meadow. But the temple most worthy of notice is that of Demeter on the Pron. This temple the people of Hermione say was built by Clymenus, the son of Phoroneus, and by Chthonia the sister of Clymenus. And the Argives say, when Demeter came to Argolis, that Atheras and Mysius offered the goddess hospitality, but Colontas would neither receive her into his house, nor pay her any other attention: and in this he acted very much against the wish of his daughter Chthonia. And Colontas they say for this conduct was burnt house and all, but Chthonia was conveyed to Hermione by Demeter, and built the temple there to Demeter. And Demeter is called Chthonia there, and the annual festival held in her honour in the season of summer is called Chthonia too. And they keep the festival in this[Pg 162] wise. The priests of the gods and all the town authorities for the year lead the procession, and the women and men follow. It is customary for boys too to honour the goddess by a procession, in which they take part clothed in white, and with garlands on their heads plaited of the flower which they call here cosmosandalum, but which seems to me from size and colour to resemble the hyacinth, it has also on its petals the same mournful letters. And the procession is followed by some people who lead a full grown heifer from the herd, tightly bound with ropes and curvetting wildly. Some drag this heifer to the temple and unfasten the ropes so as to let it inside, while others keep the doors open till they see the heifer inside, and then shut them. And four old women are waiting inside, and they finish the heifer. For whoever can get the chance cuts its throat with a sickle. And afterwards the doors are opened, and those who have this duty drive up a second, third, and even fourth heifer. The women finish them all off in the same way, and then this fresh wonder is added to the sacrifice: on whichever side the first heifer falls all must fall. This is the way in which the sacrifice is performed by the people of Hermione. And in front of the temple there are a few statues of women who have been priestesses of Demeter, and as you enter in there are seats on which the old women sit, waiting for each heifer to be driven in, and there are some statues not very old of Athene and Demeter. But the special object of their worship neither have I seen nor any man, whether stranger or native of Hermione. These old women only know what it is.

There is also another temple: and there are statues all round it. This temple is opposite the temple of Chthonia, and is called the temple of Clymenus, to whom they sacrifice here. I don’t think Clymenus is the name of an Argive that came to Hermione, but the title of a god who according to the tradition was a king in the infernal regions. Hard by is another temple and statue of Ares. On the right of the temple of Chthonia is a porch, called by the natives Echo, as a man’s slightest whisper is repeated thrice. And behind the temple of Chthonia are some places which the people of Hermione call, one Clymenus’ place, and another Pluto’s place, and a third the Acherusian[Pg 163] marsh. They are all fenced in with a wall of stone: and in Clymenus’ place there is a hole in the ground, through which Hercules brought up Cerberus according to the tradition of the people of Hermione. And near the gate from which the road leads straight to Mases, is a temple of Ilithyia within the walls. They propitiate the goddess Ilithyia in various ways every day with sacrifices and incense, and to her are most of the votive offerings given, but her statue no one may look at except her priestesses.

About seven stades on the high road to Mases, as you turn to the left, is the road to Halice. Halice in our days is deserted, but it was formerly inhabited, and is mentioned on the pillars of the Epidaurians, which record the cures wrought by Æsculapius. I know of nothing else worthy of record, either of the place or its population. And the road that leads to it passes between Pron and another mountain that in old times was called Thornax. But because of the legendary change of Zeus into the cuckoo they say its name was changed to Coccygium (Cuckoo-mountain). And there are temples on the tops of both these mountains, one of Zeus on the top of Coccygium, and one of Hera on the top of Pron. That at Coccygium is at the end of the mountain, and it has neither doors nor roof, nor any statue in it, and it was said to be Apollo’s temple. And near it is a road to Mases as you take the turn to the right. And Mases was a town in old times, as Homer has mentioned it in his catalogue of the Argives, and the people of Hermione use it as their port now. And from Mases there is a road on the right to the promontory called Struthus, and it is about 250 stades from this promontory along the mountain passes to what is called Philanorium and to Bolei. Bolei consists of layers of unhewn stones. And another place which they call Didymi is 20 stades from Bolei. At Didymi there is a temple of Apollo, and another of Poseidon, and another of Demeter: and their statues are erect, in white stone.

[Pg 164]

As you go from thence you come to the district of the Argives formerly called Asinæa from its chief town Asine, the ruins of which are near the sea. And when the Lacedæmonians under their king Nicander, the son of Charillus, the son of Polydectes, the son of Eunomus, the son of Prytanis, the son of Eurypon, invaded Argolis with an army, the people of Asine joined them, and ravaged with them the territory of the Argives. But when the Lacedæmonian force went home again, then the Argives and their king Eratus marched against Asine. And for some time the people of Asine defended their walls, and slew several of the most valiant of the Argives and among them Lysistratus, but when their walls were carried, then they put their wives and children on shipboard and left the town, and the Argives razed it to the ground, and added it to their territory, but they left the temple of Apollo standing, and it is now to be seen, and they buried Lysistratus near it.

Now the sea at Lerna[29] is about 40 stades from Argos. And as you go down to Lerna you first come to the river Erasinus, which flows into the Phrixus, and the Phrixus into the sea between Temenium and Lerna. And as you turn from the Erasinus about 8 stades to the left there is a temple of the Dioscuri called the Kings: and their statues are of wood just like those in the city. And as you turn to the right you cross the Erasinus, and come to the river Chimarrus. And near it is a circle of stones, and here (so the story goes) Pluto, after the Rape of Proserpine the daughter of Demeter, descended to his supposed underground realms. Now Lerna is, as I have previously said, by the sea, and they have rites here to Demeter of Lerna. And there is a sacred grove beginning at the mountain which they call Pontinus. And this mountain Pontinus does not let the rain flow off, but absorbs it. Though the river Pontinus does indeed flow from it. And on the top of the mountain is the temple of Saitian Athene, only ruins now, and the foundations of the house of Hippomedon, who accompanied Polynices the son of Œdipus in his attempt against Thebes.

And the grove of plane-trees beginning at this mountain extends most of the way to the sea, bounded on one side by the river Pontinus, and on the other by the river Amymone, which gets its name from the daughter of Danaus. And inside the grove are statues of Demeter Prosymne and Dionysus, and the statue of Demeter is seated and not a large one. These are of stone: but in another temple there is a wooden one of Dionysus the Saviour seated; and a stone statue of Aphrodite near the sea, which they say was a votive offering of the daughters of Danaus, and Danaus himself erected the temple of Athene near the Pontinus. And they say that Philhammon was the founder of the rites at Lerna. The traditions about these mysteries are manifestly not very ancient. And what I have heard was written on a heart made of orichalcum; this Arriphon could not have got from Philhammon, for Arriphon was a native of Triconium in Ætolia, and held in most repute of all the Lycians in our time, and a clever fellow at finding out what nobody before knew, and who no doubt found this out for himself. The verses and all the prose mixed up with the verses were in Doric: but before the return of the Heraclidæ to the Peloponnese the Argives used the same dialect as the Athenians. And in the days of Philhammon I do not believe that even the name of Dorians was known throughout all Greece. This proves my case.

And near the source of the Amymone grows a plane-tree, under which they say the hydra was reared. I believe that this beast was larger in size than other water-snakes, and that its poison was so venomous that Hercules dipped the points of his arrows in its gall, but I cannot help thinking it had only one head and not more. But Pisander of Camirus, that the beast might appear more formidable and so add lustre to his poem, described it as having many heads. I have seen also the well of Amphiaraus and the Alcyonian marsh, by which the Argives say Dionysus descended to Hades to fetch up Semele, for Polymnus[Pg 166] shewed him the descent. There is indeed no end to the depth of the Alcyonian marsh, nor do I know of any man who by any device ever got to the bottom of it, since even Nero, though he got and fastened together ropes many stades long, and put a piece of lead and other apparatus for sounding at the end, never could arrive at an accurate knowledge of its depth. I have also heard that though the water of the marsh, as you would infer from looking at it, is calm and quiet, if anyone ventures to swim in it, it is sure to drag him down and suck him underneath to the bottom. The circuit of the lake is not large, only about a third of a stade, and on its banks are grass and reeds. But the nightly rites which take place near it annually I am not permitted to write for public reading.

And as you go from Lerna to Temenium—now Temenium belongs to the Argives, and gets its name from Temenus the son of Aristomachus: for he occupied and fortified the place, when he fought with the Dorians against Tisamenus and the Achæans from this base—the river Phrixus has its outlet into the sea, and there is a temple of Poseidon at Temenium and another of Aphrodite, and there is a monument of Temenus which is honoured by the Dorians at Argos. And about 50 stades I should say from Temenium is Nauplia, deserted in our day, it was founded by Nauplius who is reputed to have been the son of Poseidon and Amymone. And there are still some remains of walls at Nauplia, and a temple of Poseidon and a harbour, and a well called Canathus: in which the Argives say Hera bathes every year and becomes a virgin again. This is a tradition in connection with the secret rites which they perform to Hera. And the traditions of the people of Nauplia about the ass, that by gnawing twigs off the vine it makes the produce more abundant, (and consequently they have an ass carved on the rock as having taught the art of pruning vines), I pass over deeming them[Pg 167] unworthy of mention. There is also another road going from Lerna by the seaside to a place which they call Genesium: and near the sea close to Genesium there is a small temple of Poseidon. And close to this is another place called Landing-place: for according to tradition this was the first place in Argolis where Danaus and his sons landed. And as you go on from thence is a place called Anigræa, on a road narrow and difficult of access. It is on the left hand and extends to the sea, and is a good soil for trees especially olive trees. And as you go up to the mainland there is a place called Thyrea, where 300 picked men of the Argives fought with 300 picked men of the Lacedæmonians for the possession of the land. And as they were all killed except one Spartan and two Argives, the tombs of those that fell in the action were piled up here, but the Lacedæmonians afterwards got a firm footing at the place, as they fought in full force with the Argives, and enjoyed it themselves for a time, and afterwards gave it to the Æginetans who had been driven out of Ægina by the Athenians. And in my day the Argives inhabited the district of Thyrea, and they say that they recovered it justly by conquest. Next to that burial-ground you come to Athene, where those Æginetans dwelt, and another village Neris, and a third Eua, the largest of the three villages, and Polemocrates has a temple in it. He was the son of Machaon, and brother of Alexanor, and he heals the people here, and has divine honours from the inhabitants. And beyond these villages extends Mount Parnon, which is the boundary between the Lacedæmonians and Argives and people of Tegea. And some stone Hermæ stand as border stones to mark the boundaries, and the place gets its name from them. And there is a river called Tanaus, the only river which flows from Mount Parnon. It flows through Argive territory into the Thyreatic gulf.

Next to the Hermæ comes Laconia on the West. And according to the Lacedæmonian tradition Lelex the autochthon first reigned in this land, and the people over whom he ruled were called after him Leleges. And Lelex’ sons were Myles and a younger son Polycaon. Where Polycaon went to and why I shall relate elsewhere. But on the death of Myles his son Eurotas succeeded him in the kingdom. He diverted to the sea by a canal all the stagnant water that filled the plain, and as it flowed to the sea in mighty volume and became a noble river, he called it the Eurotas. As he had no male children he left the kingdom to Lacedæmon, whose mother was Taygete, (who gave her name to the mountain Taygetus), and reputed father Zeus. And Lacedæmon married Sparta the daughter of Eurotas, and when he succeeded to the kingdom he first gave the country and inhabitants his own name, and then built and gave his wife’s name to the city Sparta, which is so called even to our day. And Amyclas his son, wishing also himself to leave a memorial behind him, built the little town Amyclæ in Laconia. And of his sons Hyacinthus, the youngest and most handsome, died in his father’s lifetime, and there is a monument of him at Amyclæ close to the statue of Apollo. And on the death of Amyclas the succession devolved upon Argalus his eldest son, and after the death of Argalus upon Cynortas. And Cynortas had a son called Œbalus. He married Gorgophone the daughter of Perseus from Argos, and had a son Tyndareus, with whom Hippocoon contended for the kingdom, claiming it on the ground of seniority. And Icarius and his party espousing Hippocoon’s cause, he far exceeded Tyndareus in power, and compelled him to retire from fear to Pellene, according[Pg 169] to the Lacedæmonian account. But the account of the Messenians is that Tyndareus fled to Aphareus in Messenia, and that Aphareus was the son of Perieres and the uterine brother of Tyndareus: and they say he dwelt at Thalamæ in Messenia, and had sons born to him there. And some time afterwards he was restored by Hercules and recovered his kingdom. And his sons reigned after him, as well as his son-in-law Menelaus the son of Atreus, and Orestes the husband of Hermione the daughter of Menelaus. But when the Heraclidæ returned in the reign of Tisamenus the son of Orestes, one party in Messene and Argos made Temenus king, and another section Cresphontes. And in Lacedæmon as Aristodemus had twins there were two royal houses, and they say this was in accordance with the oracle at Delphi. And they say that Aristodemus died at Delphi before the Dorians returned to the Peloponnese. Some indeed, magnifying their own history, say that Aristodemus was shot with arrows by Apollo, because he had not gone to the oracle, but consulted Hercules whom he chanced to meet first, as to how the Dorians should return to the Peloponnese. But the truer account is that the sons of Pylades and Electra, who were cousins of Tisamenus the son of Orestes, murdered Aristodemus. The names of his two sons were Procles and Eurysthenes, who though they were twins were in most respects very unlike one another. But though they hated one another very cordially, yet they jointly combined with Theras, the son of Autesion, their Argive mother’s brother, and their Regent, in establishing a colony at the island which was then called Calliste, Theras hoping that the descendants of Membliarus would abandon the kingdom of their own free will, as in fact they did, reckoning that Theras’ pedigree went up to Cadmus, whereas they were only descendants of Membliarus, a private individual whom Cadmus left in the island as leader of the colonists. And Theras gave his own name to the island instead of Calliste, and the people of Thera even now yearly offer victims to him as their founder. And Procles and Eurysthenes vied with one another in their zeal for carrying out the wishes of Theras, but in all other respects were at variance together. Not that, even if they had been one in heart and mind, I could have put all[Pg 170] their descendants into one common pedigree, as cousin with cousin, and cousins’ children, with cousins’ children, and so on, that to the latest posterity they should arithmetically dovetail in with one another. I shall therefore pursue the history of each family separately, and not mix up the two together in one account.

Eurysthenes, the eldest of the sons of Aristodemus, had a son Agis they say: (and from him they call the descendants of Eurysthenes Agidæ). During his reign, when Patreus the son of Preugenes founded the city in Achaia called to this day Patræ after him, the Lacedæmonians took part in that colony. They cooperated also with Grais, the son of Echelas, the son of Penthilus, the son of Orestes, who was sailing with a fleet to make a colony somewhere or other. And he indeed was destined to occupy the country between Ionia and Mysia, which is in our day called Æolis: his grandfather Penthilus had already occupied Lesbos, the island opposite this mainland. And during the reign of Echestratus the son of Agis at Sparta the Lacedæmonians expelled all the Cynurians that were in their prime, alleging as their excuse that robbers from Cynuria ravaged Argolis, and the Argives were their kinsmen, and that the Cynurians themselves made open incursions into Argolis. If tradition speaks true the Cynurians were originally Argives, and they say their founder was Cynurus the son of Perseus. And not many years afterwards Labotas the son of Echestratus was king at Sparta. This Labotas, as we are told by Herodotus in his account of Crœsus, had during his minority the famous legislator Lycurgus as his Regent, only Herodotus calls him Leobotes instead of Labotas. In his days first did the Lacedæmonians make war against the Argives, and they alleged as their reasons for declaring war that the Argives when they invaded Cynuria took a slice of Lacedæmonian territory, and tried to stir up their neighbouring subjects to revolt. In this war they say nothing very[Pg 171] notable was done on either side: and those of this family who succeeded one another as kings, viz. Doryssus the son of Labotas and Agesilaus the son of Doryssus, both died at no great interval after one another. And it was when Agesilaus was king that Lycurgus legislated for the Lacedæmonians, and some say that he derived his laws from Crete, others that he was instructed by the Oracle at Delphi. And the Cretans say that their laws come from Minos, who received divine assistance in codifying them. And it seems to me that Homer has hinted as much in the following lines about the legislation of Minos, “There too is Gnossus, the great city where Minos reigned nine years, the bosom-friend of great Zeus.”[30] But of Lycurgus I shall have more to say hereafter. And the son of Agesilaus was Archelaus. In his reign the Lacedæmonians conquered in war and enslaved one of the neighbouring cities called Ægys, suspecting that the people of it had an understanding with the Arcadians. And Charillus, the king of the other family, assisted Archelaus against Ægys, and his own separate doings as leader of the Lacedæmonians I shall relate later on when I come to the so-called Eurypontidæ. And the son of Archelaus was Teleclus. In his reign the Lacedæmonians took in war the neighbouring cities of Amyclæ and Pharis and Geranthræ, which were then in the possession of the Achæans, and razed them to the ground. The inhabitants however of Pharis and Geranthræ, being terrified at the approach of the Dorians, agreed to evacuate the Peloponnese upon conditions: but the people of Amyclæ they could not drive out at first assault, but only after a long siege and the greatest exhibition of valour. And the Dorians themselves shewed this by erecting a trophy after the conquest of Amyclæ, as thinking that conquest no small feather in their cap. And not long after all this Teleclus was killed by the Messenians in the temple of Artemis in the town of Limnæ, on the borders between Laconia and Messenia. And after the death of Teleclus Alcamenes his son succeeded him, and during his reign the Lacedæmonians sent to Crete Charmidas the son of Euthys, one of the most famous men in[Pg 172] Sparta, who put down the insurrection at Crete, and persuaded the Cretans to abandon the cities which were inland and in other respects weak, and to inhabit instead those which were conveniently situated on the coast. The Lacedæmonians also depopulated Helos, a city by the sea in the possession of the Achæans, and defeated the Argives who came to the help of the people of Helos.

And after the death of Alcamenes Polydorus his son succeeded to the kingdom, and the Lacedæmonians sent a colony into Italy to Croton, and to the Locrians at the promontory Zephyrium: and the war that was called the war with Messene was at its height when Polydorus was king. The Lacedæmonians and Messenians give different reasons for this war. Their different accounts, and the progress of the war, will be set forth by me in their turn: but thus much will I record at present that Theopompus the son of Nicander had the greatest hand in the first war with the Messenians, being the king of the other house. And after the end of the war, when Messenia was already conquered by the Lacedæmonians, and Polydorus was in good repute at Sparta, and popular with the Lacedæmonians and especially with the populace, for he exhibited no violence either in word or deed to anyone, and in legal cases tempered justice with mercy, when in short he had a brilliant fame throughout all Greece, he was murdered by Polemarchus a man of no mean family in Lacedæmon, but hotheaded, as indeed he shewed by this murder. And after his death Polydorus received many notable honours from the Lacedæmonians. Polemarchus also had a monument at Sparta, whether being judged to have been a good man previously, or that his relatives buried him privately. During the reign of Eurycrates the son of Polydorus the Messenians patiently endured the Lacedæmonian yoke, nor was any revolution attempted by the Argive people, but in the days of Anaxander the son of Eurycrates—for fate was already driving the Messenians out of all the Peloponnese—the Messenians[Pg 173] revolted from the Lacedæmonians, and fought against them for some time, but were eventually conquered, and evacuated the Peloponnese upon conditions of war. And the remnant of them became slaves on Lacedæmonian soil, except those who inhabited the maritime towns. All the circumstances of this war and revolt of the Messenians I have no need to recount in detail in the present part of my history. And Anaxander had a son Eurycrates, and this second Eurycrates a son Leo. During their reigns the Lacedæmonians met with the greatest reverses in fighting against the people of Tegea. And in the reign of Anaxandrides the son of Leo they overcame the people of Tegea, and in the following way. A Lacedæmonian by name Lichas came to Tegea at a time when Lacedæmon and Tegea were at peace together. And on Lichas’ arrival they made a search for the bones of Orestes, and the Spartans sought for them in accordance with an oracle. And Lichas discovered that they were lying in the shop of a blacksmith, and he discovered it in this way: all that he saw in the blacksmith’s shop he compared with the oracle at Delphi, thus he compared the blacksmith’s bellows to the winds, because they produce a strong wind, the hammer was the blow, that which resists the blow was the anvil, and that which was a source of woe to man he naturally referred to iron, for people already began to use iron in battle, for the god would have spoken of brass as a source of woe to man in the days of the heroes. And just as this oracle was given to the Lacedæmonians about the bones of Orestes, so afterwards the Athenians were similarly instructed by the oracle to bring Theseus’ bones to Athens from Scyrus, for otherwise Scyrus could not be taken. And Cimon the son of Miltiades discovered the bones of Theseus, he too by ingenuity, and not long after he took Scyrus. That in the days of the heroes all arms alike were brass is borne witness to by Homer in the lines which refer to the axe of Pisander and the arrow of Meriones. And I have further confirmation of what I assert in the spear of Achilles which is stored up in the temple of Athene at Phaselis, and the sword of Memnon in the temple of Æsculapius at Nicomedia, the former has its tip and handle of brass, and, the latter is of brass throughout. This we know to be the case. And Anaxandrides[Pg 174] the son of Leo was the only Lacedæmonian that had two wives together and two households. For his first wife, excellent in other respects, had no children, and when the ephors bade him divorce her, he would not consent to this altogether, but only so far as to take a second wife as well. And the second wife bare a son Cleomenes, and the first wife, though so long barren, after the birth of Cleomenes bare Dorieus, and Leonidas, and Cleombrotus. And after the death of Anaxandrides, the Lacedæmonians though they thought Dorieus the better man both in council and war, reluctantly rejected him, and gave the kingdom to Cleomenes according to their law of primogeniture.

And Dorieus, as he would not remain at Lacedæmon subject to Cleomenes, was sent to form a colony. And Cleomenes commenced his reign by an inroad into Argolis, gathering together an army of Lacedæmonians and allies. And when the Argives came out to meet him armed for battle, he conquered them, and when they were routed about 5,000 of them fled into a neighbouring grove, which was sacred to Argus the son of Niobe. And Cleomenes, who often had a touch of the mad, ordered the Helots to set this grove on fire, and the grove was entirely consumed, and all these fugitives in it. He also marched his army against Athens, and at first, by freeing the Athenians from the yoke of the sons of Pisistratus, got for himself good fame among the Lacedæmonians and all the Greeks, but afterwards in his favour to an Athenian called Isagoras, tried to get for him the dominion over the Athenians. But failing in this expectation, and the Athenians fighting stoutly for their freedom, he ravaged various parts of their territory, and they say laid waste a place called Orgas, sacred to the gods at Eleusis. He also went to Ægina, and arrested the leading men there for their support to the Medes, as they had persuaded the citizens to supply King Darius the son of Hystaspes with earth and water. And while Cleomenes was staying at Ægina, Demaratus the king of the other family[Pg 175] was calumniating him to the multitude at Lacedæmon. And Cleomenes on his return from Ægina contrived to get Demaratus ejected from the kingdom, and bribed the priestess at Delphi to utter as oracular responses to the Lacedæmonians about Demaratus whatever he told her, and also instigated Leotychides, one of the royal house and same family as Demaratus, to be a rival claimant for the kingdom. And Leotychides caught at some words, which Aristo formerly had foolishly thrown out against Demaratus at his birth, saying that he was not his son. And when the Lacedæmonians took this question about Demaratus, as they took all their questions, to the oracle at Delphi, the priestess gave them as replies whatever Cleomenes had told her. Demaratus therefore was deposed from his kingdom by the hatred of Cleomenes and not on just grounds. And Cleomenes after this died in a fit of madness, for he seized his sword, and stabbed himself, and hacked his body about all over. The Argives say he came to this bad end as a judgment for his conduct to the 5,000 fugitives in the grove, the Athenians say it was because he ravaged Orgas, and the Delphians because he bribed the priestess at Delphi to tell falsehoods about Demaratus. Now there are other cases of vengeance coming from heroes and gods as on Cleomenes, for Protesilaus who is honoured at Eleus, a hero not a whit more illustrious than Argus, privately punished the Persian Artayctes, and the Megarians who had dared to till the holy land could never get pardon from the gods of Eleusis. Nor do I know of anyone that ever dared to tamper with the oracle but Cleomenes alone. And as Cleomenes had no male children the kingdom devolved upon Leonidas the son of Anaxandrides, the brother of Dorieus on both sides. It was in his reign that Xerxes led his army into Greece, and Leonidas with his 300 Lacedæmonians met him at Thermopylæ. There have been many wars between the Greeks and barbarians, but those can easily be counted wherein the valour of one man mainly contributed to glorious victory, as the valour of Achilles in the war against Ilium, and that of Miltiades in the action at Marathon. But indeed in my opinion the heroism of Leonidas excelled all the great deeds of former times. For Xerxes, the most sagacious and renowned of all the kings that ruled over[Pg 176] the Medes and Persians, would have been prevented, at the narrow pass of Thermopylæ, by the handful of men that Leonidas had with him, from seeing Greece at all, and from afterwards burning Athens, had it not been for a certain Trachinian who led round by a pass on Mount Œta the army of Hydarnes so as to fall on the Greek flank, and, when Leonidas was conquered in this way, the barbarians passed into Greece over his dead body. And Pausanias the son of Cleombrotus was not king after Leonidas, but was Regent for Plistarchus Leonidas’ son during his minority, and he led the Lacedæmonians to Platæa and afterwards passed over to the Hellespont with a fleet. I especially admire the conduct of Pausanias to the Coan lady, who was the daughter of a man of no mean note among the Coans, viz. of Hegetorides the son of Antagoras, and against her will the concubine of Pharandates the son of Teaspis, a Persian: and when Mardonius fell in the battle at Platæa, and the barbarians were annihilated, Pausanias sent this lady home to Cos, with the ornaments and all other apparel that the Persian had given her. Moreover he would not suffer the dead body of Mardonius to be outraged, though the Æginetan Lampon urged it.

Plistarchus the son of Leonidas died soon after succeeding to the kingdom, and Plistoanax the son of Pausanias, the hero of Platæa, succeeded him. And Plistoanax was succeeded by his son Pausanias. This is that Pausanias who led an army into Attica, ostensibly against Thrasybulus and the Athenians, but really to establish the dominion of the Thirty Tyrants who had been set over Athens by Lysander. And he conquered in an engagement the Athenians who guarded the Piræus, but directly after the battle he took his army off home again, not to bring upon Sparta the most shameful disgrace of establishing the power of unholy men. And when he returned from Athens with nothing to show for his battle, his enemies brought him to trial. Now a king of the Lacedæmonians is tried by a court composed of twenty-eight Seniors, and[Pg 177] the Ephors, and the King of the other family. Fourteen of the Seniors and Agis, the King of the other family, condemned Pausanias, the rest of the Court acquitted him. And no long time after the Lacedæmonians gathering together an army against Thebes, the reason for which war we shall relate in our account about Agesilaus, Lysander marched into Phocis, and, having mustered the Phocians in full force, lost no time in advancing into Bœotia, and making an attack upon the fortified town Haliartus, which would not revolt from Thebes. Some Thebans however and Athenians had secretly entered the town, and they making a sally and drawing up in battle array, Lysander and several of the Lacedæmonians fell. And Pausanias, who had been collecting forces from Tegea and the rest of Arcadia, came too late to take part in the fight, and when he got to Bœotia and heard of the death of Lysander and the defeat of his army, he nevertheless marched his army to Thebes, intending to renew the fight there. But when he got there he found the Thebans drawn up in battle array against him, and it was also reported that Thrasybulus was coming up with an Athenian force; accordingly, fearing to be taken between two fires, he made a treaty with the Thebans, and buried those who had fallen in the sally from Haliartus. This conduct of his did not please the Lacedæmonians, but I praise his determination for the following reason. Well knowing that reverses always found the Lacedæmonians surrounded by a swarm of enemies, what happened after Thermopylæ and in the island of Sphacteria made him afraid of causing a third disaster. But as the citizens accused him of slowness in getting to Bœotia he did not care to stand a second trial, but the people of Tegea received him as a suppliant at the temple of Alean Athene. This temple was from time immemorial venerated throughout the Peloponnese, and afforded safety to all suppliants, as was shewn by the Lacedæmonians to Pausanias, and earlier still to Leotychides, and by the Argives to Chrysis, who all took sanctuary here, and were not demanded up. And after the voluntary exile of Pausanias, his sons Agesipolis and Cleombrotus being quite young, Aristodemus the next of kin was appointed Regent: and the success of the Lacedæmonians at Corinth was owing to his[Pg 178] generalship. And when Agesipolis came of age and took over the kingdom, his first war was against the Argives. And as he was leading his army from Tegea into Argolis, the Argives sent an envoy to negotiate peace with him on the old conditions established among all Dorians. But he not only declined these proposals, but advanced with his army and ravaged Argolis. And there was an earthquake, but not even then would Agesipolis draw off his forces, though these tokens of Poseidon’s displeasure frightened the Lacedæmonians especially, [and also the Athenians.] And Agesipolis was now encamped under the walls of Argos, and the earthquakes ceased not, and some of the soldiers died struck by lightning, and others were dismayed by the thunder. So at last he returned from Argolis sorely against his will, and led an expedition against the Olynthians, and having been successful in battle, and taken most of the other cities in Chalcidice, and hoping to take Olynthus also, he was carried off by a sudden disease and died.

And Agesipolis having died childless, the succession devolved upon Cleombrotus, under whom the Lacedæmonians fought against the Bœotians at Leuctra, and Cleombrotus, exposing himself too freely, fell at the commencement of the action. Somehow or other the Deity seems to like to remove the General first in great reverses, as from the Athenians he removed Hippocrates (the son of Ariphron) their General at Delium, and later on Leosthenes their General in Thessaly.

The elder son of Cleombrotus, Agesipolis, did nothing worthy of record, and Cleomenes the younger succeeded after his brother’s death. And he had two sons, of whom the eldest Acrotatus died before his father, and when later on the younger Cleomenes died, there was a dispute who should be king between Cleonymus the son of Cleomenes and Areus the son of Acrotatus. The Senate decided that to Areus the son of Acrotatus and not to[Pg 179] Cleonymus belonged the hereditary office. And Cleonymus got mightily enraged at being ejected from the kingdom, though the Ephors endeavoured to induce him by various honours, and by making him commander-in-chief of the army, not to be an enemy to his country. But in spite of this he eventually injured his country in various ways, and even went so far as to invite in Pyrrhus the grandson of Æacus.

And during the reign of Areus the son of Acrotatus, Antigonus the son of Demetrius made an expedition against Athens both by land and sea. And an Egyptian fleet under Patroclus came to the aid of the Athenians, and the Lacedæmonians came out in full force with Areus the king at their head. And Antigonus having closely invested Athens, and barring the Athenian allies from every approach to the city, Patroclus sent messengers and begged the Lacedæmonians and Areus to begin the battle against Antigonus, and when they began he said he would fall on the rear of the Macedonians, for it was not reasonable that his force should attack the Macedonians first, being Egyptians and sailors. Then the Lacedæmonians were eager to bear the brunt of the battle, being animated by their friendship to the Athenians, and the desire to do something that posterity would not willingly forget. But Areus, as their provisions had been consumed, led his army home again. For he thought it sheer madness not to husband their resources, but lavish them all on strangers. And Athens holding out for a very long time, Antigonus made peace on conditions that he might have a garrison at the Museum. And some time after Antigonus himself withdrew the garrison there. And Areus had a son Acrotatus, and he had a son Areus, who was only 8 when he fell sick and died. And as now Leonidas was the only male left of the family of Eurysthenes, though quite an old man, the Lacedæmonians made him king. And it so chanced that Lysander, a descendant of Lysander the son of Aristocritus, especially disliked Leonidas. He associated with himself Cleombrotus, the son in law of Leonidas, and having won him over brought against Leonidas various charges, and the oath he had sworn to Cleonymus his father while quite a boy that he would destroy Sparta. So Leonidas was[Pg 180] deposed from the kingdom, and Cleombrotus reigned in his room. And if Leonidas had given way to temper, and (like Demaratus the son of Aristo) had gone and joined the king of Macedonia or the king of Egypt, he would have got no advantage from the subsequent repentance of the Spartans. But as it was when the citizens exiled him he went to Arcadia, and from thence not many years afterwards the Lacedæmonians recalled him, and made him king the second time. And all that Cleomenes the son of Leonidas did, and all his boldness and bravery, and how the Spartan kings came to an end with him, I have previously recorded in connection with Aratus of Sicyon. Nor did I omit the details of Cleomenes’ death in Egypt.

Of the family of Eurysthenes then, called the Agiadæ, Cleomenes the son of Leonidas was the last king at Sparta: but as to the other branch this is what I have heard. Procles the son of Aristodemus had a son called Sous, whose son Eurypon attained such glory that the family were called Eurypontidæ from him, though till his time they were called Proclidæ. And Eurypon had a son Prytanis, and it was in his days that animosity broke out between the Lacedæmonians and Argives, and even earlier than this quarrel they fought with the Cynurians, but during the succeeding generations, when Eunomus the son of Prytanis and Polydectes the son of Eunomus were kings, Sparta continued at peace. But Charillus the son of Polydectes ravaged the Argive territory, and made a raid into Argolis, and under his leadership the Spartans went out to Tegea, when the Lacedæmonians hoped to take Tegea and slice the district off from Arcadia, following a beguiling oracle. And after the death of Charillus Nicander his son succeeded to the kingdom, and it was in his reign that the Messenians killed Teleclus the king of the other family in the temple of Artemis Limnas. And Nicander invaded Argolis with an army, and ravaged most of the country. And the Asinæans having taken part with the Lacedæmonians[Pg 181] in this expedition, not long afterwards paid the penalty to the Argives in the destruction of their country and their own exile. And Theopompus the son of Nicander, who was king after his father, I shall make mention of when I come to the history of Messenia. During his reign came on the contest for Thyrea between the Lacedæmonians and Argives. Theopompus himself took no part in this, partly from old age, but still more from sorrow at the death of his son Archidamus. Not that Archidamus died childless, for he left a son Zeuxidamus, who was succeeded in the kingdom by his son Anaxidamus. It was in his reign that the Messenians evacuated the Peloponnese, having been a second time conquered in war by the Spartans. And Anaxidamus had a son Archidamus, and he had a son Agesicles: and both of them had the good fortune to spend all their life in peace and without wars. And Aristo the son of Agesicles having married a girl who they say was the most shameless of all the girls in Lacedæmon, but in appearance the most beautiful girl next to Helen, had by her a son Demaratus seven months after marriage. And as he was sitting with the ephors in council a servant came and told him of the birth of his son. And Aristo, forgetting the lines in the Iliad[31] about the birth of Eurystheus, or perhaps not knowing them, said it couldn’t be his child from the time. He was sorry afterwards for these words which he had spoken. And when Demaratus was king and in other respects in good repute at Sparta, and had cooperated with Cleomenes in freeing the Athenians from the Pisistratidæ, this thoughtless word of Aristo, and the hatred of Cleomenes deprived him of the kingdom. And he went to Persia to king Darius, and they say his descendants continued for a long time in Asia. And Leotychides, who became king in his place, shared with the Athenians and their General Xanthippus, the son of Ariphron, in the action at Mycale, and also marched into Thessaly against the Aleuadæ. And though he might have reduced all Thessaly, as he was victorious in every battle, he allowed the Aleuadæ to buy him off. And being impeached[Pg 182] at Lacedæmon he went voluntarily into exile to escape trial, and became a suppliant at Tegea at the temple of Alean Athene there, and as his son Zeuxidamus had previously died of some illness, his grandson Archidamus succeeded him, on his departure to Tegea. This Archidamus injured the Athenian territory excessively, invading Attica every year, and whenever he invaded it he went through all the country ravaging it, and also captured after a siege the town of Platæa which was friendly to the Athenians. Not that Platæa had ever stirred up strife between the Peloponnesians and Athenians, but as far as in its power lay had made them both keep the peace. But Sthenelaidas, one of the Ephors, a man of great power at Lacedæmon, was mainly the cause of the war at that time. And this war shook Greece, which was previously in a flourishing condition, to its foundation, and afterwards Philip the son of Amyntas reduced it completely, when it was already rotten and altogether unsound.

And on the death of Archidamus, Agis the elder of his sons being of age succeeded, and not Agesilaus. And Archidamus had also a daughter called Cynisca, who was most ambitious in regard to the races at Olympia, and was the first woman who trained horses, and the first woman who won the prize at Olympia, though after her several women, especially Lacedæmonian ones, won the prize at Olympia, though none came up to her fame in these contests. But the Spartans seem to me to admire least of all men the glory that proceeds from poetry, for except an epigram on Cynisca composed by some one or other, and still earlier one on Pausanias, composed by Simonides, inscribed on the tripod erected at Delphi, there is no record made by any poet on any of the Lacedæmonian kings. And in the reign of Agis, the son of Archidamus, the Lacedæmonians brought other charges against the people of Elis, but were especially annoyed at their being[Pg 183] shut out of the contest at Olympia, and the privileges of the temple there. They therefore sent an envoy with an ultimatum to the people of Elis, bidding them allow the people of Lepreum, and all other resident aliens who were subject to them, to live according to their own laws. And the people of Elis making reply that, when they saw the subject cities of Sparta free, they would immediately set their own free, the Lacedæmonians under King Agis at once invaded Elis. On that occasion the army retired in consequence of an earthquake, when they had advanced as far as Olympia and the River Alpheus, but next year Agis wasted the country and carried off much booty. And Xenias a man of Elis, who was privately friendly to Agis and publicly a champion of the Lacedæmonians, conspired against the populace with the men who were wealthy, but before Agis and the army could come up and cooperate with them Thrasydæus, who was at this time the leader of the populace at Elis, conquered Xenias and his faction in battle and drove them from the city. And when Agis led his army home again, he left Lysistratus the Spartan with a portion of his force, and the refugees from Elis, to cooperate with the men of Lepreum in ravaging the district. And in the third year of the war the Lacedæmonians and Agis made preparations to invade Elis: but the people of Elis and Thrasydæus, who had been reduced by the war to the greatest extremity, made a convention to give liberty to their subject cities, and to raze the fortifications of their town, and to allow the Lacedæmonians to sacrifice to the god at Olympia and to contend in the games. After this Agis kept continually attacking Attica, and fortified Decelea as a constant menace to the Athenians: and after the Athenian fleet was destroyed at Ægos-potamoi, Lysander the son of Aristocritus and Agis violated the solemn oaths which the Lacedæmonians and Athenians had mutually sworn to observe, and at their own responsibility, and not at the bidding of the Spartan community, made an agreement with their allies to cut off Athens root and branch. These were the most notable exploits of Agis in war. And the hastiness of speech of Aristo about the legitimacy of his son Demaratus Agis also imitated in regard to his son Leotychides, for some evil[Pg 184] genius put it into his head in the hearing of the Ephors to say that he did not think he was his son. He repented however of his speech afterwards, for when he was carried home sick from Arcadia and had got to Heræa, he solemnly declared before a multitude of witnesses that he did verily believe that Leotychides was his son, and conjured them with entreaties and tears to report what he had said to the Lacedæmonians. But after his death Agesilaus drove Leotychides from the kingdom, reminding the Lacedæmonians of Agis’ former speech, though the Arcadians came from Heræa, and bare witness what they had heard about Leotychides from Agis on his death-bed. And the variance between Agesilaus and Leotychides was heightened by the oracle at Delphi, which ran as follows:—

“Sparta, beware, although thou art so great,

Of having king o’er thee lame of one leg.

For unexpected woes shall then prevail,

And mortal-slaying wave of troublous war.”

Leotychides said that this oracle referred to Agesilaus, for he limped on one leg, but Agesilaus said it referred to Leotychides’ not being the legitimate son of Agis. And the Lacedæmonians did not avail themselves of their privilege to refer the question to Delphi: but Lysander, the son of Aristocritus, seems to have prevailed upon the people to unanimously choose Agesilaus.

So Agesilaus the son of Archidamus was king, and the Lacedæmonians resolved to cross over into Asia with their fleet to capture Artaxerxes the son of Darius: for they had learnt from several people in authority, and especially from Lysander, that it was not Artaxerxes that had helped them in the war against the Athenians, but Cyrus who had supplied them with money for their ships. And Agesilaus, after being instructed to convey the expedition to Asia as commander of the land forces, sent round the Peloponnese to all the Greeks except at Argos and[Pg 185] outside the Isthmus urging them to join him as allies. The Corinthians for their part, although they had been most eager to take part in the expedition to Asia, yet, when their temple of Olympian Zeus was suddenly consumed by fire, took it as an evil omen, and remained at home sorely against their will. And the Athenians urged, as pretext for refusing their aid, the strain of the Peloponnesian war and the city’s need of recovery from the plague: but their having learnt from envoys that Conon the son of Timotheus had gone to the great king, was their main motive. And Aristomenidas was sent as ambassador to Thebes, the father of Agesilaus’ mother, who was intimate with the Thebans, and had been one of the judges who, at the capture of Platæa, had condemned the garrison to be put to the sword. The Thebans however cried off like the Athenians, declining their aid. And Agesilaus, when his own army and that of the allied forces was mustered and his fleet ready to sail, went to Aulis to sacrifice to Artemis, because it was there that Agamemnon had propitiated the goddess when he led the expedition to Troy. And Agesilaus considered himself king of a more flourishing state than Agamemnon, and that like him he was leading all Greece, but the success would be more glorious, the happiness greater, to conquer the great King Artaxerxes, and to be master of Persia, than to overthrow the kingdom of Priam. But as he was sacrificing some Thebans attacked him, and threw the thigh-bones of the victims that were burning off the altar, and drove him out of the temple. And Agesilaus was grieved at the non-completion of the sacrifice, but none the less he crossed over to Asia Minor and marched for Sardis. Now Lydia was at this period the greatest province in Lower Asia Minor, and Sardis was the principal city for wealth and luxury, and it was the chief residence of the satrap by the sea, as Susa was the chief residence of the great king. And fighting a battle with Tissaphernes, the satrap of Ionia, in the plain near the river Hermus, Agesilaus defeated the Persian cavalry and infantry, though Tissaphernes’ army was the largest since the expedition of Xerxes against Athens, and earlier still the expedition of Darius against the Scythians. And the Lacedæmonians,[Pg 186] delighted at the success of Agesilaus by land, readily made him leader of the fleet also. And he put Pisander his wife’s brother, a very stout soldier by land, in command of the triremes. But some god must have grudged his bringing things to a happy conclusion. For when Artaxerxes heard of the victorious progress of Agesilaus, and how he kept pushing on with his army, not content with what he had already gained, he condemned Tissaphernes to death, although he had in former times done him signal service, and gave his satrapy to Tithraustes, a longheaded fellow and very able man, who greatly disliked the Lacedæmonians. Directly he arrived at Sardis, he forthwith devised means to compel the Lacedæmonians to recall their army from Asia Minor. So he sent Timocrates a native of Rhodes into Greece with money, bidding him stir up war against the Lacedæmonians in Greece. And those who received Timocrates’ money were it is said Cylon and Sodamas among the Argives, and at Thebes Androclides and Ismenias and Amphithemis: and the Athenians Cephalus and Epicrates had a share, and the Corinthians with Argive proclivities as Polyanthes and Timolaus. But the war was openly commenced by the Locrians of Amphissa. For the Locrians had some land which was debated between them and the Phocians, from this land the Phocians, at the instigation of the Thebans and Ismenias, cut the ripe corn and drove off cattle. The Phocians also invaded Locris in full force, and ravaged the territory. Then the Locrians invited in the Thebans as their allies, and laid Phocis waste. And the Phocians went to Lacedæmon and inveighed against the Thebans, and recounted all that they had suffered at their hands. And the Lacedæmonians determined to declare war against the Thebans, and among other charges which they brought against them was their insult at Aulis to the sacrifice of Agesilaus. And the Athenians, having heard of the intention of the Lacedæmonians, sent to Sparta, begging them not to war against Thebes, but to submit their differences to arbitration. And the Lacedæmonians angrily dismissed the embassy. And what happened subsequently, viz. the expedition of the Lacedæmonians and the death of Lysander, has been told by me in reference to Pausanias. And what is known to[Pg 187] history as the Corinthian war began with this march into Bœotia of the Lacedæmonians, and grew into a big war, and compelled Agesilaus to bring his army home from Asia Minor. And when he had crossed over in his ships from Abydos to Sestos, and marched into Thessaly through Thrace, the Thessalians attempted to bar his way to ingratiate themselves with the Thebans, partly also in consequence of their long standing friendship with Athens. And Agesilaus having routed their cavalry marched through Thessaly, and then through Bœotia, having conquered the Thebans and their allies at Coronea. And when the Bœotians were routed, some of them fled to the temple of Athene Itonia: and though Agesilaus was wounded in the battle, he did not for all that violate their sanctuary.

And not long afterwards those Corinthians who had been exiled for their Lacedæmonian proclivities established the Isthmian games. But those who were at this time in Corinth remained there from fear of Agesilaus, but when he broke up his camp and returned to Sparta, then they also joined the Argives at the Isthmian games. And Agesilaus came again to Corinth with an army: and, as the festival of Hyacinthus was coming on, he sent home the natives of Amyclæ, to go and perform the customary rites to Apollo and Hyacinthus. This detachment were attacked on the road and cut to pieces by the Athenians under Iphicrates. Agesilaus also marched into Ætolia to help the Ætolians who were hard pressed by the Acarnanians, and compelled the Acarnanians to bring the war to an end, when they had all but taken Calydon and the other fortified towns in Ætolia. And some time afterwards he sailed to Egypt, to the aid of the Egyptians who had revolted from the great king: and many memorable exploits did he in Egypt. And he died on the passage home, for he was now quite an old man. And the Lacedæmonians, when they got his dead body, buried it with greater honours than they had shewn to any of their kings.

[Pg 188]

And during the reign of Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, the Phocians seized the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Offers of mercenary aid came privately to the Thebans to fight against the Phocians, and publicly from the Lacedæmonians and Athenians, the latter remembering the old kindnesses they had received from the Phocians, and the Lacedæmonians under pretext of friendship, but really as I think in hostility to the Thebans. And Theopompus, the son of Damasistratus, said that Archidamus also had a share of the money at Delphi, and that also Dinichas, his wife, had received a bribe from the authorities of the Phocians, and that all this made Archidamus more willing to bring the Phocians aid. I do not praise receiving sacred money, and assisting men who made havoc of the most famous of oracles. But this much I can praise. The Phocians intended to kill all the young men at Delphi, and to sell the women and children into slavery, and to raze the city to its foundations: all this Archidamus successfully deprecated. And he afterwards crossed over into Italy, to assist the people of Tarentum in a war with their barbarian neighbours: and he was slain there by the barbarians, and his dead body failed to find a tomb through the wrath of Apollo. And Agis, the elder son of this Archidamus, met his death fighting against the Macedonians and Antipater. During the reign of Eudamidas the younger one the Lacedæmonians enjoyed peace. All about his son Agis, and his grandson Eurydamidas, I have already related in my account of Sicyonia.

Next to the Hermæ[32] is a place full of oak trees, and the name of it Scotitas (dark place) was not derived from the thickness of the foliage, but from Zeus surnamed Scotitas, whose temple is about 10 stades as you turn off the road to the left. And when you have returned to the road, and gone forward a little, and turned again to the left, there is a statue and trophy of Hercules: Hercules erected the trophy it is said after killing Hippocoon and his sons. And a third turn from the high road to the right leads to Caryæ and the temple of Artemis. For Caryæ is sacred to Artemis and the Nymphs, and there is a statue of Artemis[Pg 189] of Caryæ in the open air, and here the Lacedæmonian maidens have a festival every year, and hold their national dances. And as you return to the high road and go straight on you come to the ruins of Sellasia, which place (as I have mentioned before) the Achæans reduced to slavery, when they had conquered in battle the Lacedæmonians and their king Cleomenes the son of Leonidas. And at Thornax, which you next come to, is a statue of Pythæan Apollo, very similar to the one at Amyclæ, which I shall describe when I come to Amyclæ. But the one at Amyclæ is more famous than the Lacedæmonian one, for the gold which Crœsus the Lydian sent to Pythæan Apollo was used to adorn it.

On going forward from Thornax, you come to the city which was originally called Sparta, but afterwards Lacedæmon, which was once the name of the whole district. And according to my rule which I laid down in my account about Attica, not to give everything in detail but to select what was most worthy of account, so I shall deal in my account of Sparta: for I determined from the outset to pick out the most remarkable of the particulars which tradition hands down. From this determination I shall on no occasion deviate. At Sparta there is a handsome market-place, and a council chamber for the Senate, and public buildings in the market-place for the Ephors and guardians of the laws, and for those who are called the Bidiæi. The Senate is the most powerful governing body in Sparta, but all these others take part in the government: and the ephors and the Bidiæi are each five in number, and are appointed to preside over the games of the young men in the Platanistas and elsewhere, and the Ephors manage all other important matters, and furnish one of their number as the Eponymus, who like the magistrates of the same name at Athens presides over the rest. But the most notable thing in the market-place is what they call the Persian Portico, built of the spoils taken from[Pg 190] the Medes: and in time they have brought it to its present size and magnificence. And there are on the pillars statues in white stone of Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, and other Persians. There is also a statue of Artemisia, the daughter of Lygdamis, who was Queen of Halicarnassus: and who they say of her own accord joined Xerxes in the expedition against Greece, and displayed great valour in the sea fight at Salamis. And there are two temples in the market-place, one to Cæsar, who was the first of the Romans that aimed at Autocracy, and established the present régime, and the other to Augustus his adopted son, who confirmed the Autocratic rule, and advanced further in consideration and power even than Cæsar had done. His name Augustus has the same signification as the Greek Sebastus. At the altar of Augustus they exhibit a brazen statue of Agias, who they say foretold Lysander that he would capture all the Athenian fleet at Ægos-potamoi but ten triremes: they got off safe to Cyprus, but the Lacedæmonians took all the rest and their crews. This Agias was the son of Agelochus, the son of Tisamenus. This last was a native of Elis of the family of the Iamidæ, who was told by the oracle that he should win the prize in 5 most notable contests. So he trained for the pentathlum at Olympia, and came off the ground unvictorious in that, though he won the prize in two out of the five, for he beat Hieronymus of Andros in running and leaping. But having been beaten by him in wrestling, and losing the victory, he interpreted the oracle to mean that he would win five victories in war. And the Lacedæmonians, who were not ignorant of what the Pythian priestess had foretold Tisamenus, persuaded him to leave Elis, and carry out the oracle for the benefit of the Spartans. And Tisamenus had his five victories, first at Platæa against the Persians, and secondly at Tegea in a battle between the Lacedæmonians and the people of Tegea and the Argives. And next at Dipæa against all the Arcadians but the Mantinæans: (Dipæa is a small town of the Arcadians near Mænalia.) And the fourth victory was at Ithome against the Helots that had revolted in the Isthmus. However all the Helots did not revolt, but only the Messenian portion who had separated themselves from the original Helots. But I shall enter into all this more[Pg 191] fully hereafter. After this victory the Lacedæmonians, listening to Tisamenus and the oracle at Delphi, allowed the rebels to go away on conditions. And the fifth victory was at Tanagra in a battle against the Argives and Athenians. Such is the account I heard about Tisamenus. And the Spartans have in their market-place statues of Pythæan Apollo, and Artemis, and Leto. And this place is called Dance-ground because during the Festival of Gymnopædia,[33] (and there is no feast more popular among the Lacedæmonians,) the boys have dances here in honour of Apollo. And at no great distance are temples of Earth, and Market Zeus, and Market Athene, and Poseidon whom they call Asphalius, and Apollo again, and Hera. There is also a huge statue of a man to represent the People of Sparta. And the Destinies have a temple at Sparta, near to which is the tomb of Orestes the son of Agamemnon: for they say his bones were brought from Tegea and buried here in accordance with the oracle. And near the tomb of Orestes is an effigy of Polydorus the son of Alcamenes, whom of all their kings they so extolled that the government seal all their public documents with Polydorus’ image. There is also a Market Hermes carrying a little Dionysus, and some antiquities called Ephorea, and among them memorials of Epimenides the Cretan, and of Aphareus the son of Perieres. And I think the Lacedæmonian account of Epimenides truer than the Argive one. Here also are statues of the Destinies, and some other statues. There is also a Hospitable Zeus and a Hospitable Athene.

As you go from the market-place on the road which they call Apheta (starting-place), you come to what is called Booneta, (Ox-purchased). I must first explain the name of the road. They say that Icarius proposed a race for the suitors of Penelope, and that Odysseus won the prize is clear, and they started they say at the road called[Pg 192] Apheta. And I think Icarius imitated Danaus in proposing this contest. For this was Danaus’ plan in regard to his daughters; as no one would marry any of them because of their atrocious crime, Danaus made it known that he would marry his daughters to any one who should select them for their beauty without requiring wedding-presents, but when only a few came to apply he established a race, and the winner might take his pick of the girls, and the second the next, and so on to the last in the race: and the girls still remaining had to wait for a second batch of suitors and a second race. And what the Lacedæmonians call Booneta on this road, was formerly the house of king Polydorus: and after Polydorus’ death they bought it of his widow for some oxen. For as yet there was no coinage either in silver or gold, but in primitive fashion they gave in barter oxen and slaves, and silver or gold in the lump. And mariners to India tell us the Indians give in exchange for Greek commodities various wares, but do not understand the use of money, and that though they have plenty of gold and silver. And opposite the public Hall of the Bidiæi is the temple of Athene, and Odysseus is said to have put there the statue of the goddess, and called it Celeuthea, when he outran the suitors of Penelope. And he built three temples of Celeuthea at some distance from one another. And along the road called Apheta there are hero-chapels of Iops, who is supposed to have been a contemporary of Lelex or Myles, and of Amphiaraus the son of Œcles, (and this last they think the sons of Tyndareus erected as Amphiaraus was their uncle), and also one of Lelex himself. And not far from these is the shrine of Tænarian Apollo, for that is his title, and at no great distance a statue of Athene, which they say was a votive offering of those who migrated to Italy and Tarentum. And the place which is called Hellenium is so called because those of the Hellenes (Greeks), who strove to prevent Xerxes’ passing into Europe, deliberated in this place how they should resist him. But another tradition says that it was here that those who went to Ilium to oblige Menelaus deliberated on the best plan for sailing to Troy, and exacting punishment of Paris for the rape of Helen. And near Hellenium they exhibit the tomb of[Pg 193] Talthybius: as do also the people of Ægæ in Achaia in their market-place, who also claim the tomb of Talthybius as being with them. And the wrath of this Talthybius for the murder of the envoys, who were sent by King Darius to Greece to ask for earth and water, was publicly manifested to the Lacedæmonians, but on the Athenians was visited privately, and mainly on the house of one man, Miltiades the son of Cimon, for he was the person responsible for getting the envoys that came to Attica put to death by the Athenians. And the Lacedæmonians have an altar of Apollo Acritas, and a temple of Earth called Gaseptum, and above it is Apollo Maleates. And at the end of the road Apheta, and very near the walls, is the temple of Dictynna, and the royal tombs of the Eurypontidæ. And near Hellenium is the temple of Arsinoe, the daughter of Leucippus, and the sister of the wives of Polydeuces and Castor. And at what is called Garrison there is a temple of Artemis, and as you go on a little further there is a monument erected to the prophets from Elis who are called Iamidæ. And there is a temple of Maro and Alpheus, who, of the Lacedæmonians that fought at Thermopylæ, seem to have been reckoned most valiant next to Leonidas. And the temple of Victory-giving Zeus was erected by the Dorians, after a victory over the people of Amyclæ and the other Achæans, who at this time occupied Laconia. And the temple of the great Mother is honoured especially. And next to it are hero-chapels of Theseus, and the Arcadian Aulon, and the son of Tlesimenes: some say that Tlesimenes was the brother, others the son, of Parthenopæus the son of Melanion.

And there is another outlet from the market-place, where is built the place called Scias, where even now they hold meetings. This Scias was they say built by the Samian Theodorus, who was the first discoverer of fusing, and making statues, in iron. Here the Lacedæmonians hung up the harp of Milesian Timotheus, censuring him for adding four chords in harpistry to the old Seven. And near Scias there is a round building (in which are statues of Olympian Zeus and Olympian Aphrodite) constructed they say by Epimenides, of whom they give a different account to that of the Argives, since they say that the Argives never fought with the Gnossians.

Not far from Scias is the tomb of Cynortas the son of Amyclas, and the monument of Castor, and a temple to him over it. Castor and Pollux were not they say reckoned gods till the fortieth year after the battle between Idas and Lynceus, whose tombs are exhibited at Scias, though a more probable tradition states that they were buried in Messenia. But the misfortunes of the Messenians, and the long time they were away from the Peloponnese, have made many of their old traditions unknown to posterity, and since they do not themselves know them for certain, any one who chooses can doubt. Right opposite the temple of Olympian Aphrodite the Lacedæmonians have a temple of Saviour Proserpine, erected some say by the Thracian Orpheus, others say by Abaris who came from the Hyperboreans. And Carneus, whom they surname Œcetes, had honours in Sparta even before the return of the Heraclidæ, and a statue was erected to him in the house of Crius, the son of Theocles the prophet. As the daughter of this Crius was drawing water, some Dorian spies met her and had a conversation with her, and went to Crius, and learnt of him the way to capture Sparta. And the worship of Carnean Apollo was established among all the Dorians by Carnus, an Acarnanian by race and the prophet of Apollo: and when he was slain by Hippotes the son of Phylas the heavy wrath of Apollo fell upon the camp of the Dorians, and Hippotes had to flee for this murder, and the Dorians determined to propitiate the Acarnanian prophet by sacred rites. But indeed it is not this Carnean Œcetes, but the son of the prophet Crius that was honoured while the Achæans still held Sparta. It has indeed been written by Praxilla in her verses that Carneus was the son of Europa, and that Apollo and Leto brought him up. But there is another tradition recorded of him, that the Greeks cut down on Trojan Ida some cornel trees that grew in the grove of Apollo to make the Wooden Horse: and when they learnt of the anger of the god against them for this sacrilege, they propitiated him[Pg 195] with sacrifices and called him Carnean Apollo from these cornel trees, transposing the letter ρ according to ancient custom.[34]

And not far from Carnean Apollo is the statue of Aphetæus: where they say the suitors of Penelope started for their race. And there is a place which has porticoes forming a square, where nicknacks in old times used to be sold: at this place is an altar of Ambulian Zeus and Ambulian Athene, and also of Ambulian Castor and Pollux. And right opposite is what is called Colona (Hill), and a temple of Zeus of Colona, and near it the grove of the hero, who they say showed Dionysus the way to Sparta. And the women called Dionysiades and Leucippides sacrifice to this hero before they sacrifice to the god himself. But the other eleven women, whom they also call Dionysiades, have a race specially appointed for them: this custom came from Delphi. And not far from the temple of Dionysus is that of Zeus Euanemus, and on the right of this is the hero chapel of Pleuron. On the mother’s side the sons of Tyndareus were descended from Pleuron, for Areus says in his poems that Thestius, the father of Leda, was the son of Agenor and grandson of Pleuron. And not far from this hero chapel is a hill, and on the hill is a temple of Argive Hera, erected they say by Eurydice the daughter of Lacedæmon, and the wife of Acrisius the son of Abas. And the temple of Hyperchirian Hera was built according to the oracle, when the Eurotas overflowed a considerable part of the country. And the old wooden statue they call that of Aphrodite Hera, and when a daughter is married it is customary for mothers to sacrifice to that goddess. And on the road to the right of this hill is an effigy of Etœmocles. He and his father Hipposthenes won prizes for wrestling at Olympia, the father on eleven occasions, the son on twelve.

As you go westwards from the market-place is the cenotaph of Brasidas the son of Tellis, and at no great distance a theatre in white stone well worth seeing. And opposite the theatre are the tombs of Pausanias the General at Platæa, and of Leonidas: and every year they have speeches over them, and a contest in which none but Spartans may compete. The remains of Leonidas were 40 years after his death removed from Thermopylæ by Pausanias, and there is a pillar with the names and pedigree of those who fought against the Medes at Thermopylæ. And there is in Sparta a place called Theomelida, where are the tombs of the kings descended from Agis, and at no great distance is what is called the Lounge of the Crotani; who belong to the Pitanatæ. And not far from this Lounge is the temple of Æsculapius, called the temple among the tombs of the descendants of Agis. And as you go on you come to the tomb of Tænarus, from whom they say the promontory Tænarum gets its name. And there are temples of Hippocurian Poseidon and Æginetan Artemis. And as you retrace your steps to the Lounge is the temple of Artemis Issora, they also call her Limnæa, though she is not called Artemis but Britomartis by the Cretans, but about her I shall speak when I come to Ægina. And very near the tombs of the descendants of Agis you will see a pillar, and inscribed on it are the victories which Chionis a Lacedæmonian carried off in the course, and others which he won at Olympia. For there he had seven victories, four in the course, and three in the double course. The shield race at the end of the sports was not then instituted. Chionis also took part they say with Theræan Battus in founding Cyrene, and in ejecting the neighbouring Libyans. And they allege the following as the reason why the temple of Thetis was built. When they were fighting against the Messenians who had revolted, and their king Anaxander invaded Messenia and took captive some women, and among them Cleo the priestess of Thetis, Anaxander’s wife Leandris begged Cleo of her husband, and she found[Pg 197] Cleo in possession of a wooden statue of Thetis, and joined her in building a temple to the goddess: and Leandris built this according to the pattern which she saw in a dream: and the old wooden statue of Thetis they keep in a private place. And the Lacedæmonians say they were taught to worship Demeter Chthonia by Orpheus, but I am of opinion that the temple at Hermion taught them this worship of Demeter Chthonia. The Spartans have also a very recent temple of Serapis, and another of Olympian Zeus.

And the Lacedæmonians give the name Dromus to the place where it is customary still for the young men to practise in running. As you go to this Dromus from the tomb of the descendants of Agis you see on the left hand the sepulchre of Eumedes, who was the son of Hippocoon, and an old statue of Hercules, to whom the Spartan youths called Sphærei sacrifice. This name is given to the lads who are just growing to manhood.[35] There are also gymnasiums in Dromus, one the offering of the Spartan Eurycles. And outside Dromus, and opposite the statue of Hercules, is a house which now belongs to a private person, but was of old the house of Menelaus. And as you go on from Dromus you come to the temples of Castor and Pollux, and the Graces, and Ilithyia, and Carnean Apollo, and Sovereign Artemis. And on the right of Dromus is a temple of Æsculapius surnamed Agnitas (Willowy), because the god’s statue is made of willow, of the same kind as that called rhamnus: and at no great distance is a trophy, which they say Polydeuces put up after his victory over Lynceus. And this confirms in my opinion the probability that the sons of Aphareus were not buried at Sparta. Near the beginning of Dromus are Castor and Pollux of the Startingpoint, and as you go a little way further is the hero-chapel of Alco, who they say was the son of Hippocoon. And next to the hero-chapel of Alco is the temple of Poseidon whom they surname Domatites. And there is a place called Platanistas from the plane-trees which grow high and continuous round it. And this place, where it is customary for the young men to have[Pg 198] their fights, is surrounded by water as an island is by the sea, and you enter it by bridges. On one side of these bridges is a statue of Hercules, and on the other one of Lycurgus, who not only legislated for the state generally but even for the fights of the youths. And the youths have the following customs also. They sacrifice before their fights in the temple of Phœbus, which is outside the city and not very far from Therapne. Here each division of the young men sacrifice a puppy dog to Enyalius,[36] deeming the most valiant of domesticated animals a suitable victim to the most valiant of the gods. And I know no other Greeks who are accustomed to sacrifice puppy dogs except the Colophonians, who sacrifice a black puppy to Enodius. The sacrifices both of the Colophonians and also of these young men at Lacedæmon take place by night. And after their sacrifice the young men pit together tame boars to fight, whichever boar gets the victory, the party to which it belongs are generally victorious at Platanistas. This is what they do in the temple of Phœbus: and on the next day a little before noon they cross the bridges to Platanistas. And the approach for each division is appointed by lot the night before. And they fight with hands and feet, and bite and tear one another’s eyes out. So they fight, and violently attack one another full tilt, and push one another into the water.

Near Platanistas there is a hero-chapel of Cynisca, the daughter of Archidamus king of Sparta: she was the first woman who trained horses, and the first woman who won the chariot-race at Olympia. And behind the portico near Platanistas are several other hero-chapels, one of Alcimus, and another of Enaræphorus, and at no great distance one of Dorceus, and above this one of Sebrus. These they say were sons of Hippocoon. And from Dorceus they call the fountain near the hero-chapel Dorcea, and from Sebrus they call the place Sebrium. And on the[Pg 199] right of Sebrium is the sepulchre of Alcman, the sweetness of whose poems was not injured by the Lacedæmonian dialect, though it is the least euphonious. And there are temples of Helen and Hercules, hers near the tomb of Alcman, and his very near the walls with a statue in it of Hercules armed: Hercules was so represented in the statue they say because of his fight against Hippocoon and his sons. The animosity of Hercules against the family of Hippocoon originated they say in that, after killing Iphitus, when he came to Sparta to clear himself, they refused to clear him. The following matter also contributed to the beginning of strife. Œonus a lad, and nephew of Hercules, for he was the son of Alcmena’s brother, accompanied Hercules to Sparta, and as he was going round and looking at the city, when he was opposite the house of Hippocoon, a watch dog jumped out on him, and Œonus chanced to throw a stone and hit the dog. Then the sons of Hippocoon ran out, and struck Œonus with clubs till they had killed him. At this Hercules was furious against Hippocoon and his sons, and immediately (so angry was he) attacked them. For the moment he retired as he was wounded, but afterwards he brought others with him to Sparta to avenge himself on Hippocoon and his sons for the murder of Œonus. And the sepulchre of Œonus was erected near the temple of Hercules. And as you go eastwards from Dromus there is a path on the right hand to the temple of Athene under the title of Exactor of due punishment. For when Hercules took on Hippocoon and his sons adequate vengeance for what they had done, he built this temple to Athene under the title of Exactor of due punishment, for the old race of men called revenge punishment.[37] And there is another temple of Athene as you go on another road from Dromus, erected they say by Theras the son of Autesion, the son of Tisamenus, the son of Thersander, when he sent a colony to the island which is now called Thera after him, but was of old called Calliste. And hard by is the temple of Hipposthenes who carried off most of the wrestling prizes, and whom they worship according to the oracle, as if they were awarding honours to Poseidon. And right opposite[Pg 200] this temple is Enyalius in fetters, an old statue. And the opinion of the Lacedæmonians about this statue and about that of the Athenians called Wingless Victory is the same, viz. that Enyalius will never depart from the Lacedæmonians as being fettered, just as Victory will always remain with the Athenians because she has no wings to fly away. Athens and Lacedæmon have erected these statues on similar principles and with a similar belief. And at Sparta there is a Lounge called the Painted Lounge, and various hero-chapels near it, as of Cadmus the son of Agenor, and his descendants, Œolycus the son of Theras, and Ægeus the son of Œolycus. And they say these hero-chapels were built by Mæsis, Læas, and Europas, who are said to have been the sons of Hyræsus and grandsons of Ægeus. And they built also a hero-chapel to Amphilochus, because their ancestor Tisamenus was the son of Demonassa, the sister of Amphilochus. And the Lacedæmonians are the only Greeks with whom it is customary to call Hera Goateater and to sacrifice goats to her. And Hercules they say built a temple and sacrificed goats to her first, because when he was fighting against Hippocoon and his sons he met with no obstacle from Hera, though he thought the goddess opposed him on all other occasions. And they say he sacrificed goats to her as being in difficulty about getting any other victims. And not far from the theatre is the temple of Tutelary Poseidon and hero-chapels of Cleodæus the son of Hyllus, and of Œbalus. And the most notable of the Spartan temples of Æsculapius is at Booneta, on the left of which is the hero-chapel of Teleclus, of whom I shall give an account when I come to Messenia. And when you have gone forward a little further there is a hill not very high, and on it an old temple and wooden statue of Aphrodite in full armour. This is the only temple I know which has an upper story built above it, and in this upper story is a shrine of Aphrodite under the title of The Shapely, the goddess is seated with a veil on and fetters on her feet. They say Tyndareus added the fetters, symbolising by those bonds the bonds of love, that unite men so powerfully to women. For as to the other tradition, that Tyndareus punished the goddess by fetters, because he thought his daughters’ disgrace had come from the[Pg 201] goddess, this I don’t at all accept: for it would have been altogether childish to make a small figure of cedar-wood and call it Aphrodite, and then think in punishing it one was punishing the goddess!

And hard by is the temple of Hilaira and Phœbe, who the writer of the Cyprian poems says were the daughters of Apollo. And their priestesses are maidens, called also Leucippides as well as the goddesses. One of their statues was touched up by a priestess of the goddesses, who with an art not unknown in our days put a new face on the old statue, but a dream prevented her treating the other statue in the same way. Here is hung up an egg, fastened to the roof by fillets; they say it is the egg which Leda is said to have laid. And every year the women weave a coat for Apollo at Amyclæ, and they call the place where they weave it Coat. Near the temple is a house which they say the sons of Tyndareus originally lived in, but afterwards Phormio a Spartan got possession of it. To him Castor and Pollux came as strangers, they said they had come from Cyrene and desired to lodge at his house, and asked for a chamber, (with which they were greatly pleased), as long as they should remain at Sparta. But he bade them go to some other house where they might like to dwell, he could not give them that chamber, for it was the apartment of his daughter a maiden. And the next day maiden and her attendants had all vanished, but statues of Castor and Pollux were found in the chamber, and a table with some assa-fœtida on it. Such at least is the tradition.

And as you go to the gates from the place called Coat there is a hero-chapel of Chilo, who was accounted one of the seven wise men, and of an Athenian hero who accompanied Dorieus, the son of Anaxandrides, on the expedition to colonize Sicily. And they put in at Eryx thinking that district belonged to the descendants of Hercules, and not[Pg 202] to barbarians who really held it. For there is a tradition that Eryx and Hercules wrestled on the following conditions, that if Hercules conquered the land of Eryx should be his, but if Eryx conquered the oxen of Geryon, (which Hercules was then driving,) should be his, for these oxen had swum across to Sicily from the promontory at Scylla,[38] and Hercules had crossed over after them to find them, and Eryx should have them if he came off victor. But the good will of the gods did not speed Dorieus the son of Anaxandrides as it had done Hercules, for Hercules killed Eryx, but the people of Segeste nearly annihilated Dorieus and his army. And the Lacedæmonians have built a temple to their legislator Lycurgus as to a god. And behind this temple is the tomb of Eucosmus, the son of Lycurgus, near the altar of Lathria and Anaxandra, who were twins, (and the sons of Aristodemus who married them were also twins), and the daughters of Thersander the son of Agamedidas, the king of the Cleestonæans, and the great grandson of Ctesippus the son of Hercules. And right opposite the temple are the tombs of Theopompus the son of Nicander, and Eurybiades, who fought against the Medes in the Lacedæmonian gallies at Artemisium and Salamis. And hard-by is what is called the hero-chapel of Astrabacus.

And the place called Limnæum is the temple of Orthian Artemis. The wooden statue of the goddess is they say the very one which Orestes and Iphigenia formerly stole from the Tauric Chersonese. And the Lacedæmonians say it was brought to their country when Orestes was king there. And their account seems to me more probable than the account of the Athenians. For why should Iphigenia have left the statue at Brauron? And when the Athenians were preparing to leave the place, would they not have put it on board ship? And so great still is the fame of Tauric Artemis, that the Cappadocians who live near the Euxine claim that the statue was theirs, and the Lydians who have a temple of Anaitian Artemis make the same claim. But it appears it was neglected by the Athenians and became a prey to the Medes: for it was carried from[Pg 203] Brauron to Susa, and afterwards the Syrians of Laodicea received it from Seleucus and still have it. And the following facts plainly prove to me that the Orthian Artemis at Lacedæmon is the same wooden statue which was taken from the barbarians: that Astrabacus and Alopecus, (the sons of Irbus, the son of Amphisthenes, the son of Amphicles, the son of Agis), when they found the statue immediately went mad; and also that the Limnatæ among the Spartans, and the people of Cynosura, Mesoa, and Pitane, who were sacrificing to Artemis, had a quarrel and even went so far as to kill one another, and after many were killed at the altar a pestilence destroyed the rest. And after that an oracle bade them sprinkle human blood over the altar. And instead of a person drawn by lot being sacrificed, Lycurgus changed it to flogging the young men there, and so the altar got sprinkled with human blood. And the priestess stands by during the operation, holding the wooden statue, which is generally light from its smallness, but if the scourgers spare any young man at all in his flogging either on account of his beauty or rank, then this wooden statue in the priestess’ hand becomes heavy and no longer easy to hold, and she makes complaint of the scourgers and says it is so heavy owing to them. So innate is it with this statue, in consequence of the sacrifices at the Tauric Chersonese, to delight in human blood. And they not only call the goddess Orthia, but also Bound-with-willow-twigs, because the statue was found in a willow bush, and the willows so tenaciously twined round it that they kept it in an upright posture.

And not far from that of Orthian Artemis is the temple of Ilithyia: this temple they say was built, and Ilithyia accounted a goddess, in obedience to the oracle at Delphi. And the Lacedæmonians have no citadel rising to a notable height, as the Cadmea at Thebes, or Larissa among the Argives: but as there are several hills in the[Pg 204] city the highest of these is called the citadel. Here is erected a temple of Athene called Poliuchus and Chalciœcus. And this temple began to be built they say by Tyndareus: and after his death his sons wished to finish the building, and they had an opportunity in the spoils from Aphidna. But as they too died before the conclusion of the work, the Lacedæmonians many years afterwards completed the temple, and made a statue of Athene in brass. And the artificer was Gitiadas a native of Sparta, who also composed Doric poems and a hymn to the goddess. Many too of the Labours of Hercules are delineated in brass, and many of his successes on his own account, and several of the actions of Castor and Pollux, and their carrying off the daughters of Leucippus, and Hephæstus freeing his mother from her bonds. I have given an explanation of all these before, and the legends about them, in my account of Attica. There too are the Nymphs giving Perseus, as he is starting for Libya and Medusa, the invisible cap, and the sandals with which he could fly through the air. There too are representations of the birth of Athene, and of Amphitrite, and Poseidon, which are the largest and as it seems to me finest works of art.

There is also another temple there of Athene the Worker. At the South Porch there is also a temple of Zeus called the Arranger, and the tomb of Tyndareus in front of it. And the West Porch has two Eagles and two Victories to correspond, the votive offering of Lysander, and a record of his two famous exploits, the one near Ephesus when he defeated Antiochus, the pilot of Alcibiades, and the Athenian gallies, and the other at Ægos-potamoi where he crushed the Athenian navy. And at the left of Athene Chalciœcus they have built a temple of the Muses, because the Lacedæmonians do not go out to battle to the sound of the trumpet, but to the music of flutes and lyre and harp. And behind Athene Chalciœcus is the temple of Martial Aphrodite. Her wooden statues are as old as any among the Greeks.

And on the right of Athene Chalciœcus is a statue of Supreme Zeus, the most ancient of all brass statues, for it is not carved in one piece, but forged piece by piece and deftly welded together, and studs keep it together[Pg 205] from falling to pieces. The artificer was they say Clearchus a man of Rhegium, who some say was the pupil of Dipœnus and Scyllis, others say of Dædalus. And at what is called the Scenoma there is a figure of a woman, the Lacedæmonians say it is Euryleonis, who won the prize at Olympia with a pair of horses.

And near the altar of Athene Chalciœcus are erected two figures of Pausanias the General at Platæa. His fate I shall not relate to people who know it, for what I have written before is quite sufficient. I shall merely therefore state what I heard from a man of Byzantium, that Pausanias was detected plotting, and was the only one of those that took sanctuary with Athene Chalciœcus that did not get indemnity, and that for no other reason than that he could not clear himself of the guilt of murder. For when he was at the Hellespont in command of the allied fleet, he got enamoured of a Byzantian maiden called Cleonice, and at nightfall a detachment of his men brought her to him. And Pausanias had fallen asleep, and when this maiden came into the room she knocked down inadvertently the light that was burning, and the noise woke him. And Pausanias, whose conscience smote him for having betrayed Greece, and who was therefore always in a state of nervous alarm and panic, was beside himself and stabbed the maiden with a scimetar. This guilt Pausanias could not clear himself from, though he endeavoured in every way to propitiate Zeus the Acquitter, and even went to Phigalia in Arcadia to the necromancers, but he paid to Cleonice and the deity the fit penalty. And the Lacedæmonians at the bidding of the oracle made brazen statues for the god Epidotes, and otherwise honoured him, because he it was who in the case of Pausanias turned aside the wrath of Zeus the god of Suppliants.

Near the two figures of Pausanias is a statue of Youth-prolonging Aphrodite, made at the bidding of an oracle, and statues of Sleep and Death. People have reckoned them to be brothers according to Homer’s lines[Pg 206] in the Iliad.[39] And on the way to Alpium as it is called you come to the temple of Athene the Eye-preserver, erected they say by Lycurgus who had one of his eyes knocked out by Alcander, because he did not find Lycurgus’ legislation agreeable. And he took refuge at this place, and the Lacedæmonians prevented his losing his remaining eye, so he built a temple to Athene the Eye-preserver. And as you go on from thence you come to the temple of Ammon. The Lacedæmonians seem from time immemorial to have used his oracle in Libya most of all the Greeks. And it is said that, when Lysander was besieging Aphytis in Pallene, Ammon appeared to him by night, and told him it would be better for him and Lacedæmon to raise the siege. And accordingly he did so, and induced the Lacedæmonians to honour the god even more than before. And the people of Aphytis honour Ammon as much as the Ammonians themselves in Libya. And the following is the tradition about Cnagian Artemis. Cnageus they say was a native of Sparta, and went on the expedition against Aphidna with Castor and Pollux, and was taken prisoner in the battle and sold into slavery in Crete, and was slave at the temple of Artemis in Crete, and in course of time ran off with the priestess who also took with her the image of the goddess. This is why they call her Cnagian Artemis. But I cannot help thinking this Cnageus must have gone to Crete in some other way, and not as the Lacedæmonians say, for I do not think a battle was fought at Aphidna, as Theseus was detained in Thesprotia, and the Athenians were not unanimous for him, but inclined rather to Menestheus. Not but that, if a contest took place, one might readily believe that prisoners were taken by the conquerors, especially as it was a decisive victory, for Aphidna was captured. Let this suffice for the subject.

On the road from Sparta to Amyclæ you come to the river Tiasa. Tiasa was they think the daughter of Eurotas, and near the river is a temple of the Graces Phaenna and Clete, whom Alcman has celebrated. And they think that Lacedæmon erected this temple to the Graces and gave them these names. The things worth seeing at Amyclæ are[Pg 207] the statue of Ænetus on a pillar (he won all the prizes in the pentathlum, and died they say directly after being crowned for his victory at Olympia,) and some brazen tripods, three[40] of which are older they say than the Messenian War. Under the first of these is a statue of Aphrodite, under the second one of Artemis, both the design and work of Gitiadas. And the third is by Callon of Ægina, and under it is a statue of Proserpine the daughter of Demeter. And the Parian Aristander has represented a woman with a lyre to signify Sparta no doubt, and Polycletus the Argive has represented Aphrodite called the Aphrodite near Amyclæan Apollo. These 3 tripods are bigger than any of the rest, and were dedicated in consequence of the victory at Ægos-potamoi. And Bathycles the Magnesian, who made the throne of Amyclæan Apollo, also carved some of the Graces on the throne and a statue of Artemis Leucophryene. Who he learnt his art from, or in whose reign he made this throne I pass by, but I have seen it and will describe it. Before and behind it are two Graces and two Seasons, on the left is the Hydra and Typhos, and on the right the Tritons. But to narrate every detail of this work of art would tire my readers, to make therefore a short summary, since most are well known, Poseidon and Zeus are carrying off Taygetes, the daughter of Atlas, and her sister Alcyone. There also is Atlas delineated, and the combat between Hercules and Cycnus, and the fight of the Centaurs with Pholus. There too is the Minotaur represented by Bathycles (I know not why) as fettered and led alive by Theseus. And there is a dance of Phæacians on the throne, and Demodocus is singing. There too is Perseus’ victory over Medusa. And not to mention the contest of Hercules with the giant Thurius, and of Tyndareus with Eurytus, there is the rape of the daughters of Leucippus. And there is Hermes carrying to heaven Dionysus as a boy, and Athene taking Hercules to dwell among the gods. And there is Peleus handing over Achilles for his education to Chiron, who is said to have been his tutor. And there is Cephalus carried off by Aurora for his beauty. And there are the gods[Pg 208] bringing their gifts at the wedding of Harmony. There too is the single combat between Achilles and Memnon, and Hercules slaying Diomede, King of Thrace, and Nessus by the river Evenus, and Hermes bringing up the goddesses to Paris for the trial of beauty, and Adrastus and Tydeus stopping the fight between Amphiarus and Lycurgus the son of Pronax. And Hera is gazing at Io already changed into a heifer, and Athene is running away from the pursuit of Hephæstus. There too is Hercules fighting with the hydra, and bringing up Cerberus from Hades. There too are Anaxis and Mnasinous each of them on horseback, and Megapenthes, the son of Menelaus, and Nicostratus both on one horse. And there is Bellerophon killing the Chimæra in Lycia, and Hercules driving off the cattle of Geryon. And on each side of the upper portions of the throne are Castor and Pollux on horseback: under their horses are some Sphinxes and some wild beasts running above, on Castor’s side a leopard, but near Pollux a lioness. And at the very top of the throne is a company of the Magnesians who assisted Bathycles in this work of art. And if you go under the throne to see its interior parts where the Tritons are, there is the boar of Calydon, and Hercules slaying the sons of Actor, and Calais and Zetes driving away the Harpies from Phineus, and Pirithous and Theseus carrying off Helen, and Hercules throttling the Nemean lion. And there are Apollo and Artemis transfixing Tityus. And there is the contest of Hercules with the Centaur Oreus, and of Theseus with the Minotaur, and the wrestling of Hercules with Achelous, and Hera bound by Hephæstus as the story goes, and the games established by Acastus in memory of his father, and what we read in the Odyssey about Menelaus and the Egyptian Proteus. Lastly there is Admetus yoking to his chariot a boar and a lion, and the Trojans making their offerings at the grave of Hector.

As to the seat for the god on this throne, it is not one continuous surface but has several partitions with intervals between them. The largest partition is in the middle, where there is a statue about 30 cubits high I conjecture, for no one has taken its measure. And this is not by Bathycles but an ancient and inartistic production, for except the face toes and hands it resembles a brazen pillar. There is a helmet on its head, and a lance and bow in its hands. And the base of the statue is like an altar, and they say Hyacinthus is buried there, and at the festival of Hyacinthus, before they sacrifice to Apollo, they make offerings to Hyacinthus on this altar through a brazen door which is on the left of the altar. And carved upon this altar are effigies of Biris and Amphitrite and Poseidon, and Zeus and Hermes talking together, and near them Dionysus and Semele, and near Semele Ino. On this altar too are effigies of Demeter and Proserpine and Pluto, the Destinies and the Seasons, Aphrodite and Athene and Artemis; and they are carrying to heaven Hyacinthus and his sister Polybœa who they say died a virgin. Hyacinthus has a small beard, and Nicias the son of Nicomedes has represented him as very handsome, hinting at the love of Apollo for him. There is also a representation of Hercules being taken to heaven by Athene and the other gods; as also effigies of the daughters of Thestius and the Muses and the Seasons. As to the Zephyr, and the story of Hyacinth having been accidentally slain by Apollo, and the legends about the flower Hyacinth, the traditions may possibly be baseless, but let them stand.

Amyclæ was destroyed by the Dorians, and is now only a village, which contains a temple and statue of Alexandra well worth seeing, (by Alexandra the people of Amyclæ mean Cassandra the daughter of Priam).

There is here also an effigy of Clytæmnestra, and a statue of Agamemnon, and his supposed tomb. And Amyclæan Apollo and Dionysus are the chief gods worshipped here, the latter they call very properly in my opinion Psilax[Pg 210] (Winged). Psila is the Dorian word for wings, and wine elevates men and lightens their judgment just as wings elevate birds. And such is all that is memorable about Amyclæ.

Another road from Sparta leads to Therapne. And on the way is a wooden statue of Athene Alea. And before you cross the Eurotas a little above the bank stands the temple of Wealthy Zeus. And when you have crossed the Eurotas, you come to the temple of Cotylean Æsculapius built by Hercules, who called Æsculapius Cotylean because in the first conflict with Hippocoon and his sons he received a wound on his cotyle or hip. And of all the temples built on this road, the most ancient is one of Ares, on the left of the road, and the statue of the god was they say brought by Castor and Pollux from Colchi. And Theritas gets its name they say from Thero, who was the nurse of Ares. And perhaps they got the name Theritas from the Colchians, for the Greeks know nothing of a nurse of Ares called Thero. But I cannot but think that the name Theritas was given to Ares not on account of his nurse, but because in an engagement with the enemy one must be mild no longer, but be like the description of Achilles in Homer, “as a lion he knows savageness.”[41]

Therapne got its name from Therapne, the daughter of Lelex, and it has a temple of Menelaus, and they say that Menelaus and Helen were buried here. But the Rhodians have a different account to that of the Lacedæmonians, and say that Helen after the death of Menelaus, while Orestes was still on his travels, was driven away by Nicostratus and Megapenthes and went to Rhodes, as she was a connection of Polyxo the wife of Tlepolemus, for Polyxo was of Argive descent, and being the wife of Tlepolemus fled with him to Rhodes, and there became Queen, being left with one fatherless child. This Polyxo they say desired to avenge on Helen the death of Tlepolemus, and when she got her in her power sent to her as she was bathing some attendants dressed like the Furies, and they laid hold of Helen and hung her on a tree, and for this reason the Rhodians have a temple to Helen Hung on the Tree. And I will[Pg 211] record the tradition of the people of Croton about Helen, which is the same as that of the people of Himera. There is in the Euxine sea, near the mouth of the Ister, an island sacred to Achilles called Leuce. It is 20 stades in extent, entirely thick forest and full of beasts domesticated and wild, and contains a temple and statue of Achilles. They say Leonymus of Croton was the first that ever sailed to it. For when there was a war between the people of Croton and the Locrians in Italy, and the Locrians invited in Ajax the son of Oileus to aid them because of their kinsmanship to the Opuntians, Leonymus the general of the Crotonians attacked that part of the enemy’s army where he was told that Ajax was stationed, and got wounded in the breast, and, as he suffered very much from his wound, went to Delphi. And the Pythian Priestess sent him to the island Leuce, and told him that Ajax would appear there and heal his wound. And in process of time getting well he returned from Leuce, and said that he had seen Achilles, and Ajax the son of Oileus, and Ajax the son of Telamon, and that Patroclus and Antilochus were in the company, and that Helen was married to Achilles and had told him to sail to Himera, and tell Stesichorus that the loss of his eyesight was a punishment to him from her. In consequence of this Stesichorus composed his palinode.

At Therapne too I saw the fountain Messeis. Some of the Lacedæmonians say that the fountain called in our day Polydeucea, and not this one at Therapne, was called by the ancients Messeis. But the fountain Polydeucea, and the temple of Polydeuces, are on the right of the road to Therapne. And not far from Therapne is a temple of Phœbus, and in it a shrine of Castor and Polydeuces, and the youths sacrifice here to Enyalius. And at no great distance is a temple of Poseidon under the name of the Earth-holder. And as you go on thence on the road to Taygetus you come to a place they call[Pg 212] Alesiæ (i.e. Mill-town), for they say that Myles the son of Lelex was the first that discovered the use of mills, and first ground here. At Alesiæ there is a hero-chapel to Lacedæmon the son of Taygete. And as you go on from thence and cross the river Phellias, on the road from Amyclæ to the sea you come to Pharis, formerly a populous town in Laconia, and leaving the river Phellias on the right is the way to Mount Taygetus. And there is in the plain a shrine of Messapian Zeus. He got this title they say from one of his priests. As you go thence towards Mount Taygetus there is a place called Bryseæ, where was formerly a town, and there is still a temple of Dionysus and his statue in the open air. But the statue in the temple only women may look upon: and women only conduct the ritual in connection with the sacrifices. The highest point of Mount Taygetus is Taletum above Bryseæ. This they say is sacred to the Sun, and they sacrifice there to the Sun horses and other victims, as do also the Persians. And not far from Taletum is the forest called Evoras, which supports several wild beasts and especially wild goats. In fact Mount Taygetus throughout affords excellent goat-hunting and boar-hunting, and superfine deer-hunting and bear-hunting. And between Taletum and Evoras is a place they call Theras, where they say Leto came from the heights of Taygetus. And there is a temple to Demeter under the name Eleusinia. Here the Lacedæmonians say Hercules was hidden by Æsculapius, while he was being cured of his wound. And there is in it a wooden statue of Orpheus, the work as they say of the Pelasgi. And I know that Orphic rites take place here also. Near the sea is a town called Helus, which Homer has mentioned in his catalogue of the Lacedæmonians,

‘Those who dwelt at Amyclæ and Helus the city by the sea.’[42]

It was founded by Heleus the youngest son of Perseus, and the Dorians in after days reduced it by siege. Its inhabitants were the first slaves of the Lacedæmonian commonalty, and were the first called Helots from the place of their birth. Afterwards Helot was the general name the[Pg 213] Dorians gave their slaves, even when they were Messenians, just as all the Greeks are called Hellenes from Hellas in Thessaly. From Helus they bring on stated days the wooden statue of Proserpine, the daughter of Demeter, to Eleusinium. And 15 stades from Eleusinium is the place called Lapithæum from a native called Lapithus. It is on Mount Taygetus, and not far from it is Dereum, where is a statue of Derean Artemis in the open air, and near it a fountain which they call Anonus. And next to Dereum, about 20 stades further on is Harplea, which extends as far as the plain.

On the road from Sparta to Arcadia there is a statue of Athene called Parea in the open air, and near it a temple of Achilles, which it is customary to keep shut. But those of the youths who intend to contend at Platanistas are wont to sacrifice there to Achilles before the contest. And the Spartans say this temple was built for them by Prax, who was the great grandson of Pergamus, the son of Neoptolemus. And as you go on you come to the tomb called The Horse, for Tyndareus sacrificed a horse here and put an oath to all the suitors of Helen, making them stand by the horse’s entrails. And the oath was to aid Helen, and whoever should be chosen for her husband, if they were wronged. And after putting this oath to them he buried the remains of the horse here. And at no great distance there are seven pillars set there after some ancient custom, I suppose, to represent the seven planets. And on the road there is a grove of Carnean Apollo called Stemmatius, and a temple of Mysian Artemis. And the statue of Modesty, about 30 stades’ distance from Sparta, is the votive offering of Icarius, said to have been made on the following occasion. When Icarius gave Penelope in marriage to Odysseus, he endeavoured to persuade Odysseus to live at Lacedæmon, but failing in that he begged his daughter to remain with him, and when she set out for Ithaca followed the chariot, and besought her earnestly to return. And Odysseus for a time refused his consent to this, but at last gave Penelope permission either to accompany him of her own volition, or to go back to Lacedæmon with her father. And she they say made no answer, but, as she veiled her face at this proposal, Icarius perceived that she wished to[Pg 214] go off with Odysseus, and let her go, and dedicated a statue of Modesty in the very place in the road where they say Penelope had got to when she veiled herself.

And 20 stades further you will come to the Eurotas which flows very near the road, and to the tomb of Ladas, who surpassed all his contemporaries in swiftness of foot. At Olympia he received the prize for the long race, but I think he was tired out after his victory, for he died on this spot and was buried above the public road. Another Ladas, who also was a victor at Olympia but not in the long race, was they say an Achæan from Ægium, according to the archives of Elis about the victors at Olympia. And if you go on you come to the village called Characoma, and next to it is Pellana, formerly a town, where they say Tyndareus lived, when he fled from Sparta from Hippocoon and his sons. And the notable things I have myself seen there are the temple of Æsculapius and the fountain Pellanis, into which they say a maiden fell when she was drawing water, and after she had disappeared her veil was found in another fountain called Lancea. And about 100 stades from Pellana is a place called Belemina: best off for water of all Laconia, for not only does the river Eurotas flow through it, but it has also fountains in abundance.

As you go down to the sea in the direction of Gythium, you come to the Lacedæmonian village called Croceæ. The stonequarries here are not one continuous piece of rock, but stones are dug out of them like river stones, rather difficult to carve, but when they are carved admirably adapted to adorn the temples of the gods, and add very greatly to the beauty of fishponds and ornamental waters. And in front of the village are statues of the gods, as Zeus of Croceæ in stone, and at the quarry Castor and Pollux in brass. And next to Croceæ, as you turn to the right from the high road to Gythium, you will come to the small town called Ægiæ. They say Homer mentions it under the name Augeæ. Here is a marsh which is called Poseidon’s[Pg 215] marsh, and the god has a temple and statue near it. The natives are afraid however to catch the fish, for they say that whoever fishes there becomes a fish and ceases to be a man.

Gythium is about 30 stades from Ægiæ, and is near the sea, and is inhabited by the Eleutherolacones, whom the Emperor Augustus liberated from the yoke of slavery imposed on them by the Lacedæmonians of Sparta. All the Peloponnese except the Isthmus of Corinth is surrounded by water: and the maritime parts of Laconia furnish shell fish from which purple dye is obtained, next in excellence to the Tyrian purple. And the Eleutherolacones have 18 cities, first Gythium as you descend from Ægiæ to the sea, and next Teuthrone, and Las, and Pyrrhichus, and near Tænarum Cænepolis, and Œtylus, and Leuctra, and Thalamæ, and Alagonia, and Gerenia: and opposite Gythium Asopus near the sea, and Acriæ, and Bœæ, and Zarax, and Epidaurus called Limera, and Brasiæ, and Geronthræ, and Marius. These are all that remain of what were once 24 cities of the Eleutherolacones. And the other six, which I shall also give an account of, are tributary to Sparta and not independent as those we have just spoken of. And the people of Gythium assign no mortal as their founder, but say that Hercules and Apollo, when their contest for the tripod was over, jointly built their town. In the market-place they have statues of Apollo and Hercules, and near them Dionysus. And in a different part of the town is Carnean Apollo, and a temple of Ammon, and a brazen statue of Æsculapius; his shrine has no roof to it, and there is a fountain of the god, and a temple sacred to Demeter, and a statue of Poseidon the Earth-holder. And the person that the people of Gythium call the old man, who they say lives in the sea, is I discovered Nereus, and this name Homer gave him in the Iliad in the speech of Thetis, ‘Ye now enter Ocean’s spacious bosom, to visit the old man of the sea and the homes of our sire.’[43] And the gates here are called Castorides, and in the citadel there is a temple and statue of Athene.

And about 3 stades from Gythium is the White Stone, where they say Orestes sat to cure himself of his madness. In the Doric tongue the stone was called Zeus Cappotas. And opposite Gythium lies the island Cranae, where according to Homer Paris first carried off Helen. Facing this island on the mainland is the temple of Aphrodite Migonitis, and the whole place is called Migonium. The temple they say was built by Paris. And Menelaus, returning home safe 8 years after the capture of Ilium, placed near the temple of Aphrodite Migonitis statues of Thetis and Praxidice. There is a mountain too above Migonium sacred to Dionysus, which they call Larysium: and here at the commencement of spring they have a feast to Dionysus, alleging among other reasons for the festival that they found here a ripe cluster of grapes.

On the left of Gythium about 30 stades’ distance you will see on the mainland the walls of Trinasus, which seems to me to have been a fort and not a town. And I think it got its name from the three small islands which lie here near the mainland. And about 80 stades from Trinasus you come to the ruins of Helus, and 30 stades further to Acriæ a city on the sea, where is a handsome temple of the Mother of the Gods, and her statue in stone. And the inhabitants of Acriæ say that this is the oldest of all the temples of this goddess in the Peloponnese: though the Magnesians who live north of Sipylus have on a rock called Coddinus the most ancient statue of the Mother of the Gods; and the Magnesians say it was made by Broteas the son of Tantalus. Acriæ once produced a victor at Olympia in Nicocles, who carried off at two Olympiads five victories in the chariot race. His tomb is between the gymnasium and the walls near the harbour. It is about 120 stades from Acriæ to Geronthræ. Geronthræ was inhabited before the Heraclidæ came to the Peloponnese, and the inhabitants were driven out by the Dorians of Lacedæmon, who, when they had driven out the Achæans from[Pg 217] Geronthræ, put in colonists of their own. But Geronthræ now belongs to the Eleutherolacones. On the road from Acriæ to Geronthræ there is a village called Palæa, and at Geronthræ there is a temple and grove of Ares, whose festival they celebrate annually, when women are forbidden to enter the grove. And near the market-place are fountains of drinkable water. And in the citadel there is a temple of Apollo, and the head of his image in ivory: all the rest of the image was destroyed by fire when the old temple was burnt. Another town belonging to the Eleutherolacones is Marius, 100 stades from Geronthræ. There is an old temple there common to all the gods, and round it a grove with fountains, there are also fountains in the temple of Artemis. Marius indeed has plenty of water if any place. And above Marius is a village called Glyptia in the interior of the country. And there is another village called Selinus about 20 stades from Geronthræ.

So much for the interior of Laconia from Acriæ. And the town Asopus on the sea is about 60 stades from Acriæ. In it is a temple of the Roman Emperors, and inland from Asopus about 12 stades is a temple of Æsculapius, they call the god Philolaus there. And the bones that are honoured in the gymnasium are exceedingly large, but not too big for a mortal. And there is a temple of Athene called Cyparissia in the citadel: and at the foot of the citadel there some ruins of a town called the town of the Paracyparissian Achæans. There is also in this district a temple of Æsculapius about 50 stades from Asopus, and they call the place in which this temple is Hyperteleatum. And there is a promontory jutting out into the sea about 200 stades from Asopus, which they call Ass’ jawbone. This promontory has a temple of Athene, without either statue or roof, said to have been built by Agamemnon. There is also a monument of Cinadus, who was the pilot of Menelaus’ ship. And next to this promontory is what is called the Bay of Bœæ, and the city Bœæ is at the head of the bay. It was built by Bœus, one of the sons of Hercules who is said to have peopled it from the three towns Etis, Aphrodisias, and Sida. Two of these ancient towns are reputed to have been built by Æneas, when he was fleeing[Pg 218] to Italy and driven into this bay by storms, his daughter Etias gave her name to Etis, and the third town was they say called after Sida the daughter of Danaus. Those who were driven out of these towns enquired where they should dwell: and the oracle told them that Artemis would shew them where to dwell. On their starting their journey a hare sprung in view, this hare they made their guide: and as it hid in a myrtle tree they built their city on the site of the myrtle tree, and they still venerate the myrtle tree, and call Artemis their Saviour. There is also a temple of Apollo in the market-place of Bœæ, and in another part of the city temples of Æsculapius and Serapis and Isis. The ruins of the three towns are not more than 7 stades from Bœæ, and on the road you see a stone statue of Hermes on the left, and among the ruins can trace temples of Æsculapius and Hygiea.

And Cythera lies opposite Bœæ, and to the promontory of Platanistus—the point where the island is nearest to the mainland—from the promontory on the mainland called Ass’ jaw-bone is about 4 stades’ sail. And at Cythera there is a station for ships called Scandea, and Scandea is about 10 stades from the town of Cythera as you go along the cliffs. And the temple of Celestial Aphrodite is the most holy and most ancient of all the temples the Greeks have of Aphrodite, and the statue is an old wooden one, the goddess is in complete armour.

As you sail from Bœæ to the promontory of Malea there is a harbour called Nymphæum, and a statue of Poseidon erect, and a cave very near the sea, and in it a spring of fresh water, and many people live in the neighbourhood. And as you double the promontory of Malea, and sail about 100 stades, you come to a place called Epidelium on the borders of Bœæ, where is a temple of Apollo. It is called Epidelium because the wooden statue of Apollo there now was formerly at Delos. For Delos being formerly[Pg 219] an emporium for the Greeks, and being thought likely to give security to commerce because of the god, Menophanes a General of Mithridates, either of his own insolence or obeying the orders of Mithridates, (for to a man looking only to lucre divine things come after gain), seeing that Delos had no fortifications and that the inhabitants were unarmed, sailed to it and slew all the resident aliens, and the Delians also, and robbed the merchants of much money, and carried off all the votive offerings, and also enslaved the women and children, and razed Delos to the ground. And during the sack and plunder one of the barbarians in very wantonness threw this wooden statue into the sea, and the waves landed it here at the place called Epidelium in the district of Bœæ. But the fierce wrath of the god failed not to pursue Menophanes and Mithridates himself, for Menophanes, when he put to sea again after laying Delos waste, was lain in wait for by the merchants who had escaped, and his vessel sunk, and Mithridates subsequently was compelled by the god to be his own executioner when his power was entirely destroyed, and he driven hither and thither by the Romans. And some say that he found a violent death as a favour at the hands of one of his mercenaries. Such was the end of these men for their impiety.

And adjacent to the district of Bœæ is Epidaurus Limera, about 200 stades from Epidelium. And they say that it was colonized and inhabited not by the Lacedæmonians but by some Epidaurians that lived in Argolis, who, sailing to Cos to see Æsculapius on public business put in at Laconia here, and according to visions they had continued here. And they say that the dragon which they had brought with them from Epidaurus escaped from the ship and dived into a hole not far from the sea, and according to their visions and the wonderful behaviour of their dragon they determined to dwell there. And at the point where the dragon dived into a hole they erected altars to Æsculapius, and some olive trees grow in the vicinity. About two stades further there is on the right hand some water called the water of Ino, in size only a small lake, but it goes very deep into the ground. Into this water on the festival of Ino they throw barley cakes. If the water[Pg 220] absorbs them it is thought a lucky sign for the person who throws them in, but if they float on the surface it is judged a bad sign. The craters at Ætna have the same prophetic power. For they throw into them gold and silver vessels, and offerings of all kinds. And if the fire absorbs them they rejoice at it as a good sign, but if it rejects them they regard it as a sure sign of misfortune for the person who has thrown them in. And on the road from Bœæ to Epidaurus Limera there is a temple of Artemis called by the Epidaurians Limnas. The town is at no great distance from the sea, and is built on an eminence: and the sights worth seeing here are the temple of Aphrodite, and a statue of Æsculapius in stone erect, and a temple of Athene in the citadel, and in front of the harbour a temple of Zeus Soter. And into the sea near the town juts out the promontory Minoa. And the bay is very similar to all the others in Laconia made by the encroaches of the sea. And the seashore has pebbles beautiful in shape and of all kinds of colours.

About 100 stades from Epidaurus Limera is Zarax, in other respects convenient as a harbour, but especially ravaged of all the towns of the Eleutherolacones, for Cleonymus, the son of Cleomenes, the son of Agesipolis, razed to the ground this alone of the Laconian towns. But I have elsewhere spoken of Cleonymus. And at Zarax there is nothing remarkable but a temple of Apollo at the end of the harbour, and a statue of the god with a lyre.

And as you go along the coast from Zarax about 6 stades, and then turn and strike into the interior of the country for about 10 stades, you come to the ruins of Cyphanta, where is a temple of Æsculapius called Stethæum, and the statue of the god is of stone. And there is a spring of cold water bubbling out from the rock. They say Atalanta was parched with thirst hunting here, and struck the rock with her lance and the water gushed forth. And Brasiæ near the sea is the last place which belongs to the[Pg 221] Eleutherolacones here, and it is about 200 stades’ sail from Cyphanta. And the natives here have traditions different to all the other Greeks, for they say that Semele bare a son to Zeus, and that she and her son Dionysus were spirited away by Cadmus and put into a chest, and this chest was they say carried by the waves to Brasiæ, and they say they buried magnificently Semele who was no longer alive, and reared Dionysus. And in consequence of this the name of their city, which had been hitherto called Oreatæ was changed to Brasiæ, because of this landing from the chest. To this day in fact most people speak of things cast ashore by the waves as brashed[44] ashore. The people of Brasiæ say further that Ino came to their land on her travels, and when she came there wished to be the nurse of Dionysus. And they show the cave where she reared Dionysus, and they call the plain Dionysus’ garden. And there are temples of Æsculapius and Achilles there, and they have an annual feast to Achilles. And there is a small promontory at Brasiæ, which slopes gently to the sea, and there are some brazen statues on it not more than a foot high with hats on their heads, I know not whether they are meant for Castor and Pollux or the Corybantes, however there are three figures, and there is also a statue of Athene. And on the right of Gythium is Las, ten stades from the sea, and forty from Gythium. And the town is now built on the ground between the three mountains called respectively Ilium and Asia and Cnacadium, but it was originally on the crest of Asia: and there are still ruins of the old town, and before the walls a statue of Hercules, and a trophy over the Macedonians, who were a portion of Philip’s army when he invaded Laconia, but wandered from the rest of the army, and ravaged the maritime parts of the country. And there is among the ruins a temple of Athene under the title of Asia, erected they say by Castor and Pollux on their safe return from Colchi, where they had seen a temple of Athene Asia. I know that they took part in the expedition with Jason, and that the Colchians honour Athene Asia I have heard from the people of Las. And there is a fountain near the new town called from the[Pg 222] colour of its water Galaco (milky), and near the fountain is a gymnasium, and an ancient statue of Hermes. And on Mount Ilium there is a temple of Dionysus, and on the top of the hill one of Æsculapius, and on Cnacadium Carnean Apollo. And if you go forward about 30 stades from Carnean Apollo there are at a place called Hypsi, on the borders of Sparta, temples of Æsculapius and of Daphnean Artemis. And on a promontory near the sea is the temple of Artemis Dictynna, whose feast they keep annually. And on the left of this promontory the river Smenus discharges itself into the sea. The water is fresh to drink, and rises on Mount Taygetus, and is not more than five stades distant from Hypsi. And in the place called Araïnum is the tomb of Las, and over his tomb a statue. This Las they say was the founder of the town, and was killed by Achilles, who they say came to their town to ask Helen in marriage of Tyndareus. But to speak truth it was Patroclus that killed Las: for it was he that wooed Helen. For that Achilles is not represented as one of Helen’s suitors in the Catalogue of Women, would indeed be no proof that he did not ask for Helen’s hand: but Homer has stated very early in the Iliad[45] that Achilles went to Troy to gratify the sons of Atreus, and not bound by any oath to Tyndareus, and has represented Antilochus in the Games saying that he was younger than Odysseus,[46] and has described Odysseus as discoursing about what he had seen in Hades and other things, and how he wished to see Theseus and Pirithous, who were older men than himself, and we know that Theseus ran away with Helen. So it is hardly permissible at all to think that Achilles could have been a suitor of Helen.

Not far from the tomb of Las the river called Scyras falls into the sea; it had no name for a long time and was called Scyras because Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, put in there with his fleet, when he sailed from Scyrus to marry Hermione. And when you have crossed the river there is an ancient temple at some distance from an altar of Zeus. And at forty stades’ distance from the river is Pyrrhichus in the heart of the country. Some say the town was so called from Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, others say Pyrrhichus was the god of the Curetes. There are some even that say Silenus came from Malea and dwelt here. That Silenus was brought up at Malea is plain from these lines of Pindar,[47]

‘The mighty, the dance-loving Silenus,

Reared by the Malea-born husband of Nais.’

That Pyrrhichus was his name has not been told us by Pindar, but is a tradition of those that live at Malea. And there is at Pyrrhichus a conduit in the market-place, which they think they owe to Silenus: and if the conduit were to fail them they would be short of water. And the temples at Pyrrhichus are two, one of Artemis the Putter-of-an-end-to-War, because here the Amazons were stopped from any further warfare, and one of Apollo Amazonius. Both have wooden statues, and tradition says they were votive offerings of the women that came from Thermodon.

As you go towards the sea from Pyrrhichus you come to Teuthrone, which they say was built by Teuthras an Athenian. And of all the gods they pay most honour to Issorian Artemis, and they have a fountain called Naia. And a hundred and fifty stades from Teuthrone is the promontory of Tænarum jutting out into the sea, and the harbours Achilleus and Psamathus. And on the promontory there is a temple like a cave, and before it a statue of Poseidon. And some of the Greeks have represented[Pg 224] that it was here that Hercules brought up Cerberus from the lower world, though there is no underground road leading up to the cave, nor could one easily believe that the gods have any underground dwelling, where departed souls congregate. But Hecatæus the Milesian has a probable legend, that a dreadful serpent called Cerberus was reared at Tænarum, and that whoever was bitten by it was sure to die, so venomous was its bite, and this serpent was dragged by Hercules to Eurystheus. Homer, who first spoke of the dog being dragged from Hades by Hercules, gave him no name, nor complete description as he did of the Chimæra.[48] But others afterwards called the dog Cerberus, and said he was like a dog in all respects except that he had 3 heads, though Homer said no more that he was the domestic animal called the dog than if he had called a real serpent the dog of Hades. There are several works of art at Tænarum, and among others the harper Arion in brass riding on the dolphin’s back. As to Arion and the dolphin Herodotus[49] has given the tradition as he heard it in his history about Lydia. I have myself seen at Poroselene a dolphin so full of gratitude to a boy, by whom he had been healed of wounds received from some fishermen, that he was obedient to his call, and carried him on his back over the sea whenever he wished. There is also a fountain at Tænarum, which now presents nothing marvellous, but in former times they say gave to those who looked into it the sight of harbours and ships. This peculiarity of the water was stopped for all time by a woman’s washing her dirty linen in it.

About 40 stades’ sail from the promontory of Tænarum is a place called Cænepolis, which was also formerly called Tænarum. And in it is a chapel of Demeter, and a temple of Aphrodite near the sea, and a stone statue of the goddess erect. And 30 stades thence is Thyrides the topmost peak of Tænarum, and the ruins of the town of Hippola, and among them the temple of Athene of Hippola, and at a little distance the town and harbour of Messa. It is about 150 stades from this harbour to Œtylus. And[Pg 225] the hero from whom Œtylus got its name was originally from Argos, being the son of Amphianax, the son of Antimachus. The most notable things to see in Œtylus are the temple of Serapis, and a wooden statue in the market-place of Carnean Apollo.

From Œtylus to Thalamæ the distance by road is about 80 stades, and by the roadside is a temple and oracle of Ino. They get their oracular responses asleep, for whatever they want to know the goddess shews them in dreams. And there are two brazen statues in the open air part of the temple, one of Pasiphae, and one of the Sun. What the statue in the temple is made of is not easy to see from the quantity of the garlands, but they say that it too is of brass. And fresh water flows from a sacred fount, called the water of the Moon. Pasiphae indeed is not the indigenous goddess of the people of Thalamæ.

And about twenty stades from Thalamæ is a place called Pephnos, by the sea. There is a little island in front of it not greater than a big rock, which is also called Pephnos, and the people of Thalamæ say that it was the birthplace of Castor and Pollux. Alcman also gives us the same account I know in one of his poems. But they do not say that they were brought up at Pephnos, for Hermes took them to Pellana. And in this island there are brazen statues of Castor and Pollux about a foot high in the open air. These the sea cannot move from their position, though in winter time it dashes violently over the rock. This is indeed wonderful, and the ants there are whiter in colour than ants generally. The Messenians say that the island originally belonged to them, so that they claim Castor and Pollux as theirs rather than as deities of the Lacedæmonians.

About twenty stades from Pephnos is Leuctra. Why it was so called I do not know: but if it was from Leucippus the son of Perieres, as the Messenians say, this will be why they honour Æsculapius here most of all the gods, as[Pg 226] the son of Arsinoe the daughter of Leucippus. And there is a statue of Æsculapius in stone, and one of Ino in another part of the town. There is also a temple and statue of Cassandra the daughter of Priam, who is called Alexandra by the people of Leuctra: and there are some wooden statues of Carnean Apollo, who is worshipped in the same way as by the Lacedæmonians at Sparta. And in the citadel there is a temple and statue of Athene. And there is a temple and grove of Eros, and in winter-time water flows through the grove: but the leaves that fall from the trees in autumn could never be carried away by the water even if it were very plentiful. But what I know happened in my time at a part of Leuctra near the sea, I will now relate. The wind fanned a fire in the wood so that it burnt down most of the trees: and when the spot became bare, there was a statue of Ithomatan Zeus discovered which had been erected there. The Messenians say that this is a proof that Leuctra was originally part of Messenia. But Ithomatan Zeus might have received honours from the Lacedæmonians as well, if they originally lived at Leuctra.

And Cardamyle, which Homer[50] has mentioned in the promises of gifts made by Agamemnon, is subject to Sparta, as the Emperor Augustus detached it from Messenia. It is eight stades from the sea, and sixty from Leuctra. And not far from the seashore is a grove sacred to the daughters of Nereus, for the story goes that they climbed up to this place from the sea to see Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, when he went off to Sparta to marry Hermione. In this small town there is a temple of Athene and Carnean Apollo, whom they worship according to the Dorian fashion.

And the city called, by Homer[51] Enope, the inhabitants of which are Messenians though they join the Council of the Eleutherolacones, is called in our time Gerenia. Some say Nestor was brought up in this city, others that he fled here when Pylos was taken by Hercules. Gerenia contains the tomb and temple of Machaon the son of Æsculapius: from whom men may have possibly learnt the healing of[Pg 227] diseases. The sacred place they call Rhodon, and the statue of Machaon is erect in brass. And on its head is a garland, which the Messenians call ciphos[52] in their country’s tongue. The writer of the epic poem called the Little Iliad says that Machaon was killed by Eurypylus the son of Telephus. That is why (as I myself know) in the rites in the temple of Æsculapius at Pergamum, they begin with the Hymns of Telephus, but make no reference in their singing to Eurypylus, nor will they name him at all in the temple, because they know he was the murderer of Machaon. And the tradition is that Nestor recovered the bones of Machaon. And Podalirius, when the Greeks were returning after the sack of Ilium, was carried they say out of his way to Syrnum a place in the Continent of Caria, and getting there safe built a town there.

In the Gerenian district is the mountain Calathium, and on it is a temple of Clæa and a grotto near the temple, with a narrow entrance: within there are several objects worth seeing. And from Gerenia to Alagonia in the interior is about 30 stades, but that town I have already mentioned amongst the Eleutherolacones. And the sights best worth seeing there are the temples of Dionysus and Artemis.

The border of Messenia towards Laconia, as fixed by Augustus, is at Gerenia, and in our time is called the Chœrian dell. This country, originally without inhabitants, is described to have been inhabited by the first colonists in the following manner. After the death of Lelex, who reigned in what is now called Laconia, but was then called Lelegia after him, Myles who was the elder of his sons succeeded him, and Polycaon the younger was only a private person till he married the Argive Messene, the daughter of Triopas, the son of Phorbas. But Messene, being full of pride owing to her father, who was foremost of all the Greeks in merit and power, did not think it tolerable that her husband should be a private person. So they gathered together an army from Argos and Lacedæmon and invaded this country, and the whole district was called Messene from her. And several other cities were built, as well as the place where the royal headquarters were established, viz. Andania. Before the battle which the Thebans fought with the Lacedæmonians at Leuctra, and the building of Messene in our day close to Ithome, I know of no city that was previously called Messene. My inference is very much confirmed by Homer. For in the catalogue of those who went to Ilium, when enumerating Pylos and Arene and other cities, he mentions no Messene. And in the Odyssey he shews that by this time the Messenians were a race and not a city,

‘For the Messenians took cattle from Ithaca,’[53]

and clearer still in speaking of the bow of Iphitus,

[Pg 229]

‘They two in Messene met one another,

In the house of Ortilochus.’[54]

By the house of Ortilochus in Messene he meant the town of Pheræ, as he has shewn in the visit of Pisistratus to Menelaus,

‘They went to Pheræ to the house of Diocles,

The son of Ortilochus.’[55]

However the first rulers of this country were Polycaon (the son of Lelex) and his wife Messene. Caucon, the son of Celænus, the son of Phlyus, introduced here from Eleusis the mysteries of the Great Goddesses. Phlyus was according to the Athenian tradition the son of Mother Earth. And this tradition of theirs is confirmed by the Hymn of Musæus made for the Lycomidæ in honour of Demeter. And the rites of the Great Goddesses were held in greater honour many years afterwards, owing to Lycus the son of Pandion, than in Caucon’s days. And they still call the place where he purged the initiated the oak coppice of Lycus. That there is an oak-coppice in this land called Lycus’ is also borne out by Rhianus the Cretan,

‘By rocky Elæum and beyond the oak-coppice of Lycus.’

And that this Lycus was the son of Pandion is plain by the inscription on the statue of Methapus. This Methapus reformed some of the rites. He was an Athenian by race, an organizer of all sorts of mystic rites. He it was who established also among the Thebans the rites of the Cabiri. And he erected near the enclosure of the Lycomidæ a statue with an inscription which confirms my account. “I have purified the home and paths of Hermes and the firstborn daughter of Demeter, where they say Messene established games to the Great Goddesses, owing to the son of Caucon, the illustrious descendant of Phlyus. But I wonder that Lycus the son of Pandion should establish the sacred rites of Atthis in venerable Andania.” This inscription shews that Caucon who came to Messene was the descendant of Phlyus, and confirms all the other facts about Lycus, and that the[Pg 230] mysteries in ancient times were celebrated at Andania. And it seems also common sense that Messene would not establish the mysteries in any other place than where she and Polycaon lived.

And being very anxious to know accurately who the sons of Polycaon were by Messene, I perused the poem called the Great Eœæ and the Naupactian poems, and also all the genealogical information of Cinæthon and Asius. And yet I did not discover anything in them except that the Great Eœæ say that Polycaon the son of Butes married Euæchme, the daughter of Hyllus the son of Hercules, but they make no mention of either Messene or her husband. But in after time, when none of the descendants of Polycaon survived, they continued five generations and no more, they introduced as King Perieres the son of Æolus. To his court came as the Messenians say Melaneus, a skilful archer and for that reason thought to be the son of Apollo, and Perieres assigned to him Carnasium to dwell in, which was formerly called Œchalia from the wife of Melaneus. But the Thessalians and Eubœans—for there are almost always disputed accounts of most Grecian events—give different accounts. The former say that Eurytium a place deserted in our days was a city in old times and called Œchalia: but Creophylus in his Heraclea has written what corresponds with the account of the Eubœans. And Hecatæus the Milesian writes that Œchalia is in Scium a part of Eretria. But the Messenians seem to me to give the most probable account, especially about the bones of Eurytus, which I shall touch upon later. And Perieres had by Gorgophone the daughter of Perseus Aphareus and Leucippus who, on his death, succeeded their father as kings of the Messenians, but Aphareus had most power. During his reign he built the city Arene which got its name from the daughter of Œbalus, his wife and uterine sister. For Gorgophone was married to Œbalus, as I have already mentioned, in my account of Argolis, and also in[Pg 231] my account of Laconia. Aphareus then built the city Arene in Messenia, and received into his house his cousin Neleus, the son of Cretheus, the son of Æolus (who was surnamed Poseidon), when he fled from Pelias at Iolcus, and gave him the maritime parts of the land, among which were several other cities besides Pylos, where Neleus dwelt, and made it his seat of government. And Lycus the son of Pandion came also to Arene, when he also fled from Athens from his brother Ægeus. And he taught the mysteries of the Great Goddesses to Aphareus and his sons and his wife Arene. And he introduced them into Andania, for Caucon there initiated Messene. And the elder and more manly of Aphareus’ children was Idas, and the younger was Lynceus, of whom Pindar said, believe it who will, that he had such keen eyesight that he could see through the trunk of a tree. We do not know of Lynceus having had a son, but Ides had by Marpessa a daughter Cleopatra, who married Meleager. And the writer of the Cyprian Poems says that the wife of Protesilaus, (who when the Greeks got to the Troad was the first who ventured to land), was by name Polydora, and he also says that she was the daughter of Meleager the son of Œneus. If this be correct then all these three women, beginning with Marpessa, committed suicide after the death of their husbands.

But when between the sons of Aphareus and Castor and Pollux (their uncles) a quarrel arose about cattle, and Lynceus was slain by Pollux, while Idas died smitten with lightning, the house of Aphareus was entirely deprived of male offspring, and upon Nestor the son of Neleus devolved the kingdom of the Messenians, over all whom Idas reigned over and others besides, except those who followed the sons of Æsculapius. For they say that the sons of Æsculapius that went on the expedition to Ilium were Messenians: for Æsculapius was the son of Arsinoe the daughter of Leucippus, and not the son of Coronis. And they call a deserted place in Messenia Tricca, it is mentioned[Pg 232] by Homer in the passage where Nestor is consoling Machaon, who was wounded with an arrow. He would not have exhibited such kindness except to a neighbour and king of the same tribe. They confirm also greatly this account about the children of Æsculapius by showing at Gerenia the monument of Machaon, and at Pharæ the temple of the sons of Machaon.

And after the end of the war against Ilium, and the death of Nestor after his return home, the expedition of the Dorians and return of the Heraclidæ two generations afterwards drove out the descendants of Neleus from Messenia. And this was as it were the climax of the doings of Temenus which I have already described. But I will narrate this much more. When the Dorians assigned Argos to Temenus, Cresphontes asked of them Messenia, on the ground that he was older than Aristodemus, who had just died. But Theras the son of Autesion vehemently opposed Cresphontes; he was of Theban ancestry and fifth descendant of Polynices the son of Œdipus, and at this time Guardian of Aristodemus’ sons, as he was their uncle on the mother’s side, for Aristodemus had married the daughter of Autesion, whose name was Argia. But Cresphontes, for he was determined to have Messenia, begged of Temenus to decide the question by lots. And Temenus put into a water-pot which had water in it the lots of Cresphontes and the sons of Aristodemus separately, so that he whose lot came up first should have Messenia. Temenus prepared both the lots, the lot of the sons of Aristodemus he made of clay dried in the sun, and Cresphontes’ lot of clay that had been baked in the furnace: and the lot of the sons of Aristodemus melted, and stuck to the bottom of the water-pot, so that Cresphontes (for his lot came out) got possession in this way of Messenia. And the old Messenians were not turned out by the Dorians, but agreed to Cresphontes being their king, and to the partition of the land among the Dorians. And they were brought over to this compliance by suspicion of their former kings, because they were Minyæ who had originally sprung from Iolcus. And the wife of Cresphontes was Merope the daughter of Cypselus (who was at that time king of the[Pg 233] Arcadians), by whom he had several children and the name of the youngest was Æpytus. And his palace, where he himself and his sons meant to live, he built at Stenyclerus: for in ancient times Perieres and the other kings lived at Andania, and after Aphareus had built Arene he and his sons lived there, and in the reign of Nestor and his descendants the Court lived at Pylos, but Cresphontes changed the royal residence to Stenyclerus. And, as he chiefly ingratiated himself with the people, the wealthy classes rose up in insurrection against him and killed him and all his sons except Æpytus, who being quite a boy was brought up by Cypselus, and alone survived of all the house, and when he grew to man’s estate the Arcadians restored him to Messene. And the other kings of the Dorians, the sons of Aristodemus, and Isthmius the son of Temenus, joined in bringing him back. And when Æpytus became king he punished his father’s murderers, and all those who had instigated the crime: and bringing over to his side by his attentions those who were in high position among the Messenians, and the populace by gifts, he arrived at such a pitch of honour that his descendants were called Æpytidæ instead of Heraclidæ.

And Glaucus the son of Æpytus, who succeeded his father, in all other respects imitated his father both in public and private, but far exceeded him in piety. For when the sacred enclosure of Zeus on the summit of Ithome did not receive honours among the Dorians, through the neglect of Polycaon and Messene, Glaucus restored his worship: and was the first to sacrifice to Machaon the son of Æsculapius at Gerenia, and awarded such gifts to Messene the daughter of Triopas as are usually bestowed on heroes. And Isthmius Glaucus’ son also built a temple to Gorgasus and Nicomachus at Pharæ. And the son of Isthmius was Dotadas, who, though Messenia had several other havens, constructed one at Mothone. And Sybotas the son of Dotadas decreed that annually the king should sacrifice by the river Pamisus, and offer victims to Eurytus the son of Melaneus in Œchalia, before the rites of the Great Goddesses that are still celebrated in Andania.

And in the reign of Phintas, the son of Sybotas, the Messenians first sent to Apollo at Delos sacrifices and a choir of men. And their processional Hymn to the god was composed by Eumelus, and these are considered the only genuine lines of Eumelus. It was during the reign of this Phintas that a disagreement for the first time came about between the Lacedæmonians and the Messenians. The cause is doubtful, but is traditionally as follows. On the borders of Messenia is a temple of Artemis Limnas, in which the Messenians and Lacedæmonians were the only Dorians that had a share. The Lacedæmonians say that some maidens of theirs who were present at the feast were violated by some Messenians, and that their king Teleclus, (the son of Archelaus, the son of Agesilaus, the son of Doryssus, the son of Labotas, the son of Echestratus, the son of Agis,) was slain in endeavouring to prevent this outrage. They also say that the maidens who were violated put themselves to death from shame. But the Messenian account is that Teleclus plotted against their persons of quality that came to the temple, on account of the excellence of the Messenian soil, and picked out some beardless Spartans, and, dressing them in female attire and ornaments like maidens, introduced them armed with daggers among some of the Messenians who were resting: but the other Messenians came up to the rescue, and killed the beardless young men and Teleclus himself. And the Lacedæmonians—for their king had not contrived all this without the common consent—knowing that they had begun the wrong, did not demand vengeance for the murder of Teleclus. These are the different accounts the two nations give, let everyone accept the view he prefers.

And a generation afterwards, when Alcamenes the son of Teleclus was king at Lacedæmon, and the king of the other family was Theopompus, the son of Nicander, the son of Charillus, the son of Polydectes, the son of Eunomus, the son of Prytanis, the son of Eurypon, and Antiochus and Androcles the sons of Phintas were kings of the Messenians,[Pg 235] strife arose between the Lacedæmonians and Messenians, and the Lacedæmonians began hostilities, availing themselves, as they were full of animosity and very warlike, of an adequate and even specious pretext. But had their disposition been more peaceable it would have been settled by arbitration. This is what happened. Polychares a Messenian in other respects not obscure was a victor at Olympia in the games, when the people of Elis were celebrating their 4th Olympiad and competed only in the race in which Polychares was victor. This man had much cattle and, because he had not sufficient land to pasture them upon, he handed them over to Euæphnus a Spartan to feed on his land, on condition that he should have a share in the produce of the cattle. Now Euæphnus was a person who preferred unrighteous gains to acting with integrity, and was generally speaking a wheedling fellow, so he sold the oxen of Polychares to merchants who sailed to Laconia, and went himself to Polychares and reported to him that some pirates had landed on the spot, and violently robbed him both of cattle and herdsmen. And while he was deceiving Polychares one of the herdsmen fled from the merchants, and coming back to Polychares found Euæphnus with him, and accused him to his master. And being detected and having no defence, he earnestly begged for pardon from Polychares and his son: on the score that, among the elements in human nature whereby we become unjust almost by compulsion, the love of gain is the most powerful. And he stated the sum which he had received for the cattle, and asked Polychares’ son to go with him and carry it back to his father. And when they went on their journey and got to Laconia, Euæphnus dared a deed more unholy than the former, he slew the son of Polychares. And when Polychares knew of this last misfortune, he went to Lacedæmon to the kings and Ephors, and went wailing through the multitude, reckoning up what he had suffered at the hands of Euæphnus, whom he had treated as a friend, and trusted more than all the Lacedæmonians. And when he got no redress, though he went continually to the authorities, then he went off his head, and giving way to his anger, and being perfectly reckless of the consequences, endeavoured to kill every Lacedæmonian he met.

The Lacedæmonian account is that they went to war because Polychares was not given up to them, and because of the murder of Teleclus, and because they were suspected earlier still of having had a hand in the villany of Cresphontes about the lots. But the Messenians contradict what I have already said about Teleclus, and point to the fact that Æpytus the son of Cresphontes was restored by the sons of Aristodemus, which they would never have done had they been at variance with Cresphontes. And they say that they did not give up Polychares to the Lacedæmonians for punishment, because neither would they give up Euæphnus, but they were willing that sentence should be given by the Argives (who were the kinsmen of both) at Amphictyonia, or that the case should be submitted to the Court at Athens called the Areopagus, because that court seemed from ancient times appointed for murder cases. They also say that the Lacedæmonians did not go to war on this account, but in consequence of their ambition plotted against their land and did various things, alleging at one time the condition of Arcadia, at another the state of Argos, for they were never satisfied with slicing off from time to time the territory of both of those people. And they were the first to become friends of the barbarian Crœsus who sent them gifts, at the time when he reduced to slavery all the Greeks in Asia Minor, and all the Dorians that dwelt in the mainland of Caria. And they declare that, when the Phocian leaders plundered the temple at Delphi, the kings at Sparta and other noblemen privately, and the Ephors and senators publicly, had a hand in it. And above all, to shew that the Lacedæmonians would stick at nothing for lucre, they twitted them with their alliance with Apollodorus the tyrant of Cassandrea. Why indeed the Messenians consider this such a bitter taunt, I cannot now discuss: for except that the courage of the Messenians and the length of time they fought differed from the tyranny of Apollodorus, they suffered nearly as much as the people of Cassandrea. These are the causes which each nation assign for the war.

[Pg 237]

And now an embassy of Lacedæmonians came to demand the extradition of Polychares. The kings of the Messenians however answered the embassy that after deliberation with the people they would send an answer to Sparta, and accordingly after the departure of the embassy they convened the citizens to a general assembly. And different opinions were bandied about; Androcles thought they ought to give up Polychares as having acted impiously and most savagely, Antiochus took the opposite view, and maintained that it would be most distressing if Polychares should suffer before the eyes of Euæphnus, and enumerated the harrowing details of what his punishment would be. And eventually the rival parties of Androcles and Antiochus proceeded to such lengths that they took up arms. However their strife was not long continued, for the party of Antiochus, being far superior in numbers, slew Androcles and the most illustrious of his partizans. And Antiochus being now the only king sent letters to Sparta, to say that he would submit the matter to the arbitration of the courts I have mentioned. But the Lacedæmonians are said to have given no answer to the bearers of these letters. And not many months afterwards Antiochus died, and Euphaes his son succeeded him. And the Lacedæmonians not only sent no herald to proclaim war with the Messenians, nor openly renounced friendship with them, but made their preparations as secretly as possible, and previously bound themselves by oath that neither for length of war (if it should not be decided speedily), nor for reverses (if they should meet with even great ones), would they leave off till they had won Messenia by the fortune of war. After taking this oath they made a night-attack on Amphea, having appointed Alcamenes the son of Teleclus as their General. Amphea is a small town in Messenia but near Laconia, situated on a high hill, and well supplied with water. And in other respects Amphea seemed a very convenient base for their war. So they captured the town, the gates being open and no garrison there, and killed all the Messenians that they took in the town, some even in their beds, and others as they found them sitting as suppliants at the temples and altars of the gods, and only a few escaped. This was the first attack the Lacedæmonians[Pg 238] made upon Messenia, in the second year of the ninth Olympiad, in which Xenodocus the Messenian was victor in the race. And at Athens there were not as yet yearly magistrates appointed by lot: for the descendants of Melanthus, who were called Medontidæ, had at first much of their power taken away by the people, and instead of a kingdom their power became limited, and afterwards their authority was definitely restricted to ten years. At the time of the capture of Amphea Æsimides, the son of Æschylus, was in the fifth year of his government over the Athenians.

But before I write the history of this war, and the actions and sufferings entailed by it upon both parties by Providence, I wish to relate in their order the exploits of Aristomenes the Messenian hero. For this war between the Lacedæmonians and their allies and the Messenians and their mercenaries did not get its name from the attacking force, as the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, but was called the Messenian war from the disasters which befell the Messenians, just as the war at Ilium got called Trojan and not Grecian, so it was in this war, which Rhianus of Bene and Myron of Priene have celebrated, the former in poetry, the latter in prose. Neither of them however have narrated fully the events of the war from beginning to end, but Myron has described the capture of Amphea and its consequences up to the death of Aristodemus, and Rhianus has not touched at all the commencement of the war, but only what eventually happened to the Messenians in consequence of their quarrel with the Lacedæmonians, and he has not described even the whole of this, but only what took place after the battle which they fought at what was called the great trench; and the hero Aristomenes on whose account only I mentioned Rhianus and Myron, and who was the first and foremost in bringing the name of Messene to honour, this hero (I say) has been introduced by Myron into his history, and by Rhianus into his poem, in which Aristomenes is as much lauded as Achilles by Homer in the Iliad. As[Pg 239] these two have given such different accounts, I am obliged to accept one of them and not both together. Rhianus appears to me to speak more probably about the age of Aristomenes. But Myron, as one can learn in other particulars and not least in the history of this Messenian war, does not with sufficient accuracy test the truth or at least probability of what he relates. For he states that Aristomenes slew Theopompus, the king of the Lacedæmonians, a little before the death of Aristodemus, whereas we know that Theopompus did not die in battle or in any other way before the end of the war. And in fact Theopompus concluded the war, as the elegiac lines of Tyrtæus bear me out,

‘To our king Theopompus god-beloved,

Through whom we took Messene spacious town.’

Aristomenes therefore in my opinion was in the second Messenian war, and I shall relate in detail all about him when I come to that part of my subject.

Now the Messenians, when they heard all that had happened at Amphea from those who escaped from its capture, convened delegates from all their towns at Stenyclerus. And when the people were gathered together in the assembly, several of those in authority, and last of all the king, exhorted them not to be dejected at the fall of Amphea as if all the war were decided thereby, and not to fear the preparations of the Lacedæmonians as more formidable than their own, for although they had had longer experience in war, yet the Messenians would find necessity a great spur to brave men, and would meet with greater favour from the gods as defending their country, and not commencing hostilities.

With these words Euphaes dismissed the assembly, and from that time forward kept all the Messenians under arms, compelling those that did not know to learn the art of war, and making those that did practise more frequently than before. And the Lacedæmonians made incursions into Messenia, but did not injure the country inasmuch[Pg 240] as they considered it their own, neither did they cut down trees nor pull down houses; but they drove off whatever cattle they found, and carried off the corn and all fruit. They likewise made attacks on some of the towns but took none, inasmuch as they were strongly fortified and carefully guarded, and after much loss they desisted from the attempt, and ceased attacking them. And the Messenians plundered the maritime parts of Laconia, and all the farms in the neighbourhood of Mount Taygetus. And in the 4th year after the capture of Amphea Euphaes, full of zeal from the ardour of the Messenians who were boiling over with rage at the Lacedæmonians, and at the same time thinking their training complete, ordered a march, and bade the slaves follow with wood and all other things necessary for entrenching a camp. And the Lacedæmonians heard from the garrison at Amphea that the Messenians were on the march, and they too marched out to battle. And at a place in Messenia very convenient for a battle, with a deep ravine in front of it, Euphaes drew up the Messenians in battle array, having appointed Cleonnis to the chief command: the cavalry and light-armed troops, which were both less than 500, were under Pytharatus and Antander. And when the two armies engaged the ravine prevented the heavy-armed troops from encountering, though they advanced against one another eagerly and impetuously in their mutual hatred, but the cavalry and the light-armed troops engaged above the ravine, and they were equally matched in numbers and skill, and consequently the battle was evenly poised. But while these were engaged, Euphaes ordered the slaves first to fortify the rear of the army and then the flanks with stockades. And when night overtook them and the battle was stayed, then they fortified also the front of the camp opposite the ravine, so that next day the tactical skill and foresight of Euphaes dawned upon the Lacedæmonians, and they found that they could not fight against the Messenians if they would not come out of their entrenchments, and they despaired of besieging them as they had no siege train.

And so they returned home: and a year afterwards, when the old man reviled them and taunted them with cowardice and disregard of their oath, they openly made preparations[Pg 241] for a second campaign against the Messenians. And they were led by both their kings, Theopompus the son of Nicander, and Polydorus the son of Alcamenes, for Alcamenes was now dead. And the Messenians made counter-preparations, and when the Spartans marched to battle moved out to meet them. And the Lacedæmonians were led by Polydorus on the left wing, and Theopompus on the right, and in the centre by Euryleon, a Lacedæmonian for the nonce but originally a Theban descended from Cadmus, the fifth descendant from Ægeus, the son of Œolycus, the son of Theras, the son of Autesion. And opposite the right wing of the Lacedæmonians were the Messenians under Antander and Euphaes, and on the wing opposite Polydorus under Pytharatus, and in the centre under Cleonnis. And as they were just going to engage, the kings came up and exhorted their men. To the Lacedæmonians Theopompus made a short harangue according to the custom of his country, reminding them of their oath against the Messenians, and how noble an ambition it was to shew themselves more capable of brilliant exploits than their fathers who subjugated their neighbours, and to acquire a richer territory. Euphaes spoke at greater length than the Lacedæmonian king, but not more so than the occasion warranted. For he shewed that the contest was not only for land or possessions, but they knew clearly he said what misery would come upon them if they were conquered: their wives and children would be led off into captivity, the lightest punishment for their young men would be death, perhaps not unaccompanied by outrage, their temples would be plundered, their country destroyed by fire. He was not he said merely making suppositions, what those who were taken at Amphea had suffered was proof positive of all that he said. Rather than bear such ills it would be preferable to die nobly, and it would be much easier (when they were yet unconquered and as bold as the enemy) to vanquish their adversaries by their courage, than to retrieve their ruined fortunes if they were faint-hearted now. Such was the speech of Euphaes.

And directly the leaders on either side gave the signal for battle, the Messenians came on at the double, and exposed themselves freely as men dealing death in their rage at every blow, and everyone was anxious to begin the fight. And the Lacedæmonians rushed out to meet them with equal ardour, but took care not to break their line. And when they got to close quarters, they threatened one another, rattling their arms, and looking fiercely at one another, and proceeded to abuse, the Lacedæmonians saying that the Messenians were already their slaves, and that they were not a whit freer than the Helots, and the Messenians replying that they were impious in what they were attempting, viz. in attacking kinsmen for the sake of gain, and were profane to the national gods of the Dorians and especially to Hercules. And by this time they followed up words with blows, and rushed on one another pell mell (with greatest vigour the Lacedæmonians), man attacking man. From their long experience and practice in war the Lacedæmonians had the advantage, and also from their numbers, (for the neighbouring nations who were subject to them they had with them in their army, and the Asinæi and Dryopes, who a generation earlier had been driven by the Argives from their own land and had come to Lacedæmon as suppliants, were now compelled to swell their army), and against the light-armed troops of the Messenians they had Cretan archers, mercenaries. And the Messenians were animated equally by despair and contempt of death, and all their sufferings they looked on as necessary rather than dreadful to those who loved their country’s honour, and the more vigorously they fought the harder they thought would things go for the Lacedæmonians. And some of them advancing in front of their lines exhibited brilliant bravery, and others badly wounded and scarce alive were animated by desperation. And they cheered one another on, those who were alive and yet unwounded encouraging the wounded to receive with joy their fate, and sell their lives as dearly as possible: and the[Pg 243] wounded, (when they perceived their strength failing, and that they would soon yield up their breath), urging on the unwounded to shew as much courage as themselves had shewn, and not to let their death be useless to their country. But the Lacedæmonians at first made no harangues to their men, and were not as ready as the Messenians to display heroic courage: but being accustomed to war from boys their formation in line was deeper, and they expected that the Messenians could not hold out as long as they could, nor stand the strain of their heavy armour, nor their wounds. Such were the peculiar features of each army in respect to both the behaviour and feelings of the combatants: what was common to both was that no quarter was asked for, perhaps this was despaired of from their fierce hatred, and they felt the greatest self-indignation that they had not sold their lives dearer: and those that killed their man abstained both from boasting and reproaches, being uncertain which party would win. And most unexpectedly fell those who were endeavouring to plunder some of the dead bodies, for either by disclosing some naked part of their body they got pierced with darts, not on their guard in their thirst for plunder, or they were killed by some of those whom they were attempting to rob who were still alive. The kings also fought right valiantly, and Theopompus rushed with ungovernable rage against Euphaes, intending to kill him. And Euphaes seeing him rushing on said to Antander that Theopompus was displaying as much bravery as his ancestor Polynices: for Polynices led an army from Argos against his own country, and he and his brother mutually slew one another: and Theopompus (he added) wished to load the family of the Heraclidæ with the same guilt as that of the family of Laius and Œdipus: he would not however go with joy from the battle. With these words he himself went forward to meet Theopompus. Hereupon the battle, which had rather flagged, took up fresh vigour again, and their bodies were renewed as it were, and the fearlessness of death on both sides was increased, so that one might have thought the battle had only just commenced. And eventually Euphaes’ division, nearly mad with desperate valour and stoutheartedness, for the King’s[Pg 244] bodyguard were all picked men, broke the enemy’s line, routed Theopompus, and put the Lacedæmonians in that part of the field to flight. But the other wing of the Messenians was hard pressed, for Pytharatus their General was dead, and without a leader they became disordered and dejected. But neither did Polydorus pursue the fleeing Messenians, nor Euphaes the fleeing Lacedæmonians. For Euphaes and his staff thought it better to come to the aid of their vanquished friends: nor did they engage with Polydorus and his troops: for by this time it was already dark, and the Lacedæmonians were prevented from following the fugitives not least by their ignorance of the country. It was also their country’s custom not to pursue an enemy too hotly, being more anxious not to break their line than to annihilate the enemy. And in the centre on both sides, the Lacedæmonians under Euryleon, and the Messenians under Cleonnis, the fight was pretty equal, till the approach of night put an end to the contest.

This battle was fought on both sides mainly by the heavy armed infantry. Some cavalry there was indeed, but they had no great influence on the fortunes of the day, for the Peloponnesians of that day were not good horsemen. And the light armed troops of the Messenians and the Cretans on the Lacedæmonian side did not come to the encounter at all: for they were posted in ancient fashion among the infantry. And on the following day neither party were minded to renew the battle nor to erect a trophy of victory, but as the day wore on they sent out heralds to treat of the burying of their dead, and as this was agreed to on both sides, they began to bury their dead immediately.

But the Messenians after the battle began to find their affairs in a deplorable condition: for they were nearly ruined by their outlay in money expended in keeping garrisons in the towns, and their slaves deserted to the Lacedæmonians. Also a pestilence fell upon them, which[Pg 245] troubled them greatly being like the plague, though it did not prevail universally throughout their country. And after deliberation about their present condition they determined to abandon their towns in the interior of the country, and dwell in the mountain district of Ithome. And there was a small town at Ithome which Homer has mentioned in his catalogue,

‘And rocky Ithome.’[56]

To this town they repaired, extending its ancient limits so as to make it a sufficient defence for all of them. And the place was in other respects a strong position: for Ithome is as high as any of the mountains within the Isthmus, and in this respect most difficult of access. They thought they would also send an envoy to Delphi, and they selected for this mission Tisis the son of Alcis, who in general merit and in divination was considered inferior to nobody. This Tisis on his return from Delphi was laid in wait for by the Lacedæmonians who were in garrison at Amphea: but he would not be taken alive, so valiantly did he defend himself against those that had lain in ambush, in spite of the wounds he received from them, till a voice was heard without any appearance of the speaker, “Let the bearer of the oracle go.” And Tisis, directly he got safe to Ithome, and had delivered his oracle to the king, fell down dead of his wounds. And Euphaes collected the Messenians together and recited the oracle. “Sacrifice a pure virgin (selected by lot out of the family of the Æpytidæ) by night to the gods below. But if you cannot find one of the Æpytidæ, then sacrifice anyone else who offers himself as a willing victim.” This being the utterance of the god, forthwith all the maidens of the family of the Æpytidæ drew lots. And when the lot fell upon the daughter of Lyciscus, Epebolus the seer said it would not do to sacrifice her; for she was not really the daughter of Lyciscus, but a girl that the wife of Lyciscus being barren had palmed off as hers. While he was making this revelation, Lyciscus took off the girl and fled to Sparta. And the Messenians being very dejected at finding out the flight of Lyciscus, Aristodemus, a man of the family of the Æpytidæ, and in other respects and in[Pg 246] war more illustrious than Lyciscus, offered to sacrifice his own daughter. But the affairs of mankind, and not least their desires, are secretly directed by Fate, just as the bottom of a river has pebbles, so that Aristodemus on this occasion, endeavouring to save Messene, was prevented by the following circumstance. A Messenian, whose name is not known, happened to be deeply in love with the daughter of Aristodemus, and was on the eve of marrying her. He at first disputed the right of Aristodemus to the maiden as he had betrothed her to him, and argued that he being her betrothed alone had right to her. And afterwards, when he found this argument unavailing, he invented a shameful story, that he had had an amour with her and that she was pregnant by him. And at last he wrought up Aristodemus to such a pitch, that driven to madness in his anger he killed his daughter, and afterwards cut her up and found she was not pregnant. And Epebolus who was present bade somebody else give his daughter as a victim, for the daughter of Aristodemus (he said) could be no more use to them now she was dead: for her father had indeed killed her, but not sacrificed her to the gods as the Pythian oracle ordered. When the seer had said this the mass of the Messenians rushed forward to kill the girl’s lover, as he had caused Aristodemus to commit a useless crime, and had rendered doubtful the safety of the community. But this man was a very great friend of Euphaes. Euphaes accordingly persuaded the Messenians that the oracle was fulfilled by the death of the girl, and that what Aristodemus had done was sufficient. And when he had said this all the Æpytidæ agreed with him: for each was anxious to have his fears removed about having to sacrifice his own daughter. So they hearkened to the advice of the king and broke up the assembly, and afterwards turned their attention to the sacrifices and festival of the gods.

But the Lacedæmonians on hearing the oracle of the Messenians were very dejected, both they and their kings, and henceforth shrank from resuming the war. But in the sixth year after the flight of Lyciscus from Ithome the Lacedæmonians (as their sacrifices were auspicious) led an army to Ithome. But the Cretans chanced to be absent, and the allies of the Messenians were also behindhand. For the Spartans were an object of suspicion to other Peloponnesians and especially to the Arcadians and Argives. The Argives indeed were going to come to help the Messenians secretly without the knowledge of the Lacedæmonians, privately rather than from public decree. But the Arcadian expedition was publicly announced, though they were behindhand too. But the Messenians were induced by confidence in the oracle to hazard war even without allies. In most respects the battle was no different from the former one, for daylight on this occasion too failed the combatants: it is not however mentioned that either wing or division were broken, for they say the troops did not remain in the order in which they were placed at first, but the bravest men came from the wings in both armies into the centre, and there was the strain of battle. For Euphaes was more ardent in fight than one would have expected from a king, and recklessly rushing upon Theopompus and his staff, received many mortal wounds. As he fainted away and fell to the ground, and could scarce breathe, the Lacedæmonians strove with might and main to drag him to their army. But their previous goodwill to Euphaes, and their future disgrace if they abandoned him, roused the Messenians, and it appeared better to them to give up their lives for their king rather than purchase safety by abandoning him. Accordingly the peril of Euphaes prolonged the battle, and added to the bravery exhibited on both sides, and afterwards he revived, and saw that his men were fighting as valiantly as the foe, and not many days afterwards he died, having been king of the Messenians for 13 years, and having been at war with the Lacedæmonians during all his reign. And as he had no[Pg 248] children he left the choice of his successor to the people, and Cleonnis and Damis were rival competitors with Aristodemus, being considered superior to him both in other respects and in war. And Antander had been killed in the battle jeoparding his life for Euphaes. And the opinions of the seers, Epebolus and Ophioneus, were both similar, that the kingdom of Æpytus and his descendants should not be conferred upon a man polluted with the murder of a daughter. Nevertheless Aristodemus was elected and became king. And Ophioneus the Messenian seer was blind from his birth, and had the following mode of divination. By enquiring into a person’s private and public fortune in the past he informed them what it would be in the future. This was his divination, and Aristodemus having become king through the people was desirous to gratify them in all that was reasonable, and of those in authority he held Cleonnis and Damis in special honour. He also paid great attention to the allies, and sent gifts to the most influential Arcadians both at Argos and Sicyon. And in the war which was carried on in the reign of Aristodemus they pillaged from time to time, and in the summertime made incursions into one another’s country. There were counter-incursions into Laconia on the part of the Arcadians with the Messenians. But the Argives did not think it well openly to proclaim their hostility against the Lacedæmonians, but made their preparations so as to strike in when the fray begun.

In the fifth year of the reign of Aristodemus, when both nations were about to take the field again after open proclamation of war, both very much weakened by the length and expenses of the war, then allies came to both, to the Lacedæmonians the Corinthians alone of all the Peloponnesians, and to the Messenians the Arcadians in full force, and picked men from Argos and Sicyon. The Lacedæmonians placed the Corinthians and Helots and the provincials in the centre, and themselves with their kings took up their position on the wings, in deeper and[Pg 249] fuller formation than was ever before adopted. And the dispositions of Aristodemus and his staff for the battle were as follows. For all the Arcadians or Messenians that were strong in body and stout of heart, but had not good weapons, he picked out the best arms, and when the action became hot, posted them among the Argives and Sicyonians: and extended his line so as not to be taken in flank by the enemy. And he took care that his men were so placed that they had the mountain Ithome in their rear. And he appointed Cleonnis to the command here, and himself and Damis stayed with the light-armed troops, and a few slingers and archers: most in this part of the army were well adapted physically for attack and retreat, and lightly armed. Each had a breastplate or shield, but such as were deficient in this respect had goatskins and sheepskins, or the skins of wild beasts, the Arcadian mountaineers in particular had the skins of wolves and bears. And each had several javelins, and some had lances. And these lay in ambush in Ithome where they could be best concealed from sight. And the heavy armed troops of the Messenians and the allies stood the first onset of the Lacedæmonians, and afterwards were in all respects full of bravery. They were outnumbered by the enemy, but being picked men they fought against an armed mob and not against men of equal discipline to themselves, consequently they held out much longer through their bravery and skill. Moreover the light-armed troops of the Messenians, when the signal was given, rushed against the Lacedæmonians and hemmed them in, and hurled their javelins at their flanks, and the bolder of them rushed in and fought hand to hand. And the Lacedæmonians, though they saw before them a second danger and so hopeless a one in the same place, yet were not in despair, but turned upon the light-armed troops and tried to repel them, but as because of the lightness of their armour they easily ran away, the Lacedæmonians were both perplexed and irritated. Somehow or other men are apt to be especially vexed at what happens contrary to their expectation. And so here those of the Spartans who were already wounded, and those who were nearest to the light-armed troops, as their comrades lay dead, rushed out of their ranks wherever they saw the[Pg 250] light-armed troops pressing on, and in their heat pursued rather too far as the enemy retired. Then the light-armed troops of the Messenians, as they had done at first, struck them, and hurled their javelins at them as they stood their ground, and when they pursued made a feint to flee, and attacked them as they tried to rejoin their men. And this they did in various parts of the field, and at different points in the enemy’s lines. And the heavy-armed of the Messenians and the allies at this juncture pressed more boldly right at the foe. And eventually the Lacedæmonians, spent with the length of the battle and their wounds, and at the same time harassed beyond measure by the light-armed troops, broke their ranks. And in the rout the light-armed troops harassed them all the more. Of the Lacedæmonians who were cut to pieces in the battle, I could not ascertain the number, but I believe it was very large. And the return home to some was easy, but to the Corinthians it was sure to be dangerous, for, whether they returned through Argolis or by Sicyon, they had equally to pass through hostile country.

The Lacedæmonians were troubled at this reverse that had befallen them, and at the many excellent warriors they had lost in the battle. And they despaired of success in the war, so they sent envoys to Delphi. And this was the oracle the Pythian Priestess gave. ‘Phœbus bids you not only apply yourselves to warlike deeds, but as it was by cunning that the people got the Messenian land, by the selfsame cunning as it was got shall it be taken.’ The kings and Ephors, though they were very anxious to do so, could not find out a good plan till they imitated the wiliness of Odysseus at Ilium. They sent 100 men to Ithome to spy out the enemies’ designs, who were to pretend to be deserters. And to keep up the cheat these men were publicly condemned at Sparta as deserters. But on their arrival Aristodemus sent them home again at once, saying, “The injuries done to the Lacedæmonians are recent, their[Pg 251] craft ancient.” The Lacedæmonians having failed in this manœuvre next attempted to tamper with the allies of the Messenians. But as the Arcadians rejected their overtures, for to them the envoys went first, they did not proceed to Argos. And Aristodemus hearing of all these intrigues on the part of the Lacedæmonians sent himself messengers to consult the oracle at Delphi. And this was the answer of the Pythian priestess. “The glory in the war the god gives you, but take care that the treacherous hostile ambush be not too much for you through Spartan wiles; for if Ares is to have their well-wrought armour, and the garlands of their dances are to belong to sorrowing owners, then must they avoid the appearance of two hidden things. Nor shall the sacred light of day behold the end of all this till fate shall come to the things that change their nature.” Aristodemus however and the seers could not understand what was meant: but a few years afterwards the god threw light on it and fulfilled it. Remarkable things too happened at this time to the Messenians. As Lyciscus lived as a resident alien at Sparta his daughter, whom he had taken with him in his flight from Messene, chanced to die. And as he often went to visit his daughter’s grave, some Arcadian cavalry lay in wait for him and carried him off. And he was taken to Ithome, and being brought before the assembly he made his defence; he had not left his country he said intending treason, but in consequence of believing the assertion of the seer that she was not his genuine daughter. In this line of defence he was not believed to be speaking the truth till a woman, who was at that time the priestess of Hera, came into the theatre. And she confessed that the child was hers, and that she had given it to the wife of Lyciscus to palm off as her own. And now (she continued) by revealing my secret I shall depose myself from my priesthood. This she said because it was a custom in Messene that, if any of the children of a priest or priestess died, the priesthood should pass to somebody else. Thinking therefore that the woman was speaking the truth, they chose for the goddess a priestess in her place, and said that Lyciscus had acted in a pardonable way.

And after that they resolved, for it was the 20th year of the war, to send again to Delphi to enquire about their[Pg 252] chance of victory. And to their enquiry the Pythian Priestess returned this answer. “To those who shall first set up 100 tripods at the altar of Zeus of Ithome the god will give the Messenian land with fame in war. This is the will of Zeus. But guile moves you on, and behind is vengeance, and you cannot deceive the god. Act as fate shall determine. Ruin takes people by turns.” When they heard this they thought the oracle was in their favour, and promised them victory in the war; for as they were in possession of the temple of Zeus within the walls of Ithome, they thought the Lacedæmonians could not be beforehand with them in erecting tripods. And so they intended making wooden tripods, for they had not means enough to make tripods of brass. But somebody from Delphi reported the oracle at Sparta. And the Spartans had a public consultation about it, but could hit upon no plan, but Œbalus, a man of no great repute but evidently possessed of good judgment, made 100 tripods of clay roughly, and took them with him and nets as if he were a hunter. And being unknown even to most of the Lacedæmonians he easily escaped the detection of the Messenians. For joining himself with some countrymen he went with them into Ithome, and directly night came on he offered these clay tripods to the god, and returned to Sparta and told the Lacedæmonians what he had done. And the Messenians when they saw what had happened were terribly upset, and guessed (as indeed was the case) that it was a trick of the Lacedæmonians: however Aristodemus consoled them with arguments suited to the present conjuncture, and placed their wooden tripods which were already made at the altar at Ithome. It happened also that Ophioneus, the seer who was blind from birth, greatly to the surprise of all men recovered his sight: for he had a sharp headache and recovered his sight after it.

And thenceforward—for fate already turned the scales towards the capture of Ithome—the god gave them various predictions of their coming destiny. For the statue of Artemis, which was of brass as well as the armour, dropped its shield; and as Aristodemus was about to sacrifice the victims to Zeus at Ithome, the rams of their own accord violently dashed their heads against the altar, and were killed by the blow. And a third phenomenon happened. Some dogs assembled in the same place and howled all night, and eventually went off in a body to the camp of the Lacedæmonians. This troubled Aristodemus, as also the following vision of the night. He dreamed that he was going out to battle fully armed, and saw lying on a table the victims’ entrails, and his daughter appeared to him in a black dress with her breast and belly ripped up, and he thought she threw away what was on the table, and took away his armour, and instead of it put upon him a golden crown and white robe. And as Aristodemus was dispirited, for he thought the dream announced to him the end of his life, (for the Messenians buried their notable men in white raiment with crowns on their heads), somebody brought him word that Ophioneus had suddenly become blind again as before. Then he understood the hidden sense of the oracle, that by the pair who appeared after being hidden, and returned again as fate necessitated, the Pythian Priestess meant the eyes of Ophioneus. Thereupon Aristodemus laying to heart his domestic misfortunes, that he had been the murderer of his daughter to no purpose, and seeing no future hope of safety for his country, cut his throat at his daughter’s grave, being such an one as would in all human calculation have saved his country had not fortune brought to nothing his plans and actions. And he died after a reign of six years and a few months. And to the Messenians their affairs now seemed desperate, so that they were very near sending a supplicatory embassy to the Lacedæmonians, though pride restrained them from actually doing so, so much did they feel the blow of Aristodemus’[Pg 254] death. And when they gathered together in their assembly they did not choose another king, but appointed Damis dictator. And he, having selected Cleonnis and Phyleus as his coadjutors, made preparations for the campaign according to his best ability under the circumstances: for he was pressed hard by the siege, and not least by famine and the fear that famine inspired that they could not hold out from want of supplies. There was no deficiency of bravery or venturesomeness on the part of the Messenians: all their generals and notables were killed. For about five months they held out, and towards the close of the year evacuated Ithome, having been at war for full twenty years, as the lines of Tyrtæus testify: “They in the twentieth year left the rich pastures, and fled from the high hills of Ithome.” This war came to an end in the first year of the fourteenth Olympiad, in which Dasmon the Corinthian was victor in the stadium, the Medontidæ at Athens being still in possession of their ten year office, and at the completion of the fourth year of office of Hippomenes.

And the Messenians who had friends at Sicyon and at Argos and amongst the Arcadians retired to those places, and those of the family of the priests who performed the mysteries to the Great Goddesses went to Eleusis. And the multitude dispersed to their several nationalities. And the Lacedæmonians first razed Ithome to the ground, and afterwards attacked and captured the other cities. And out of the spoils they set up to Apollo of Amyclæ some brazen tripods: under the first tripod is a statue of Aphrodite, and under the second one of Artemis, and under the third one of Proserpine the daughter of Demeter. These they erected there. And of the Messenian land they gave to the Asinæi, who had been ejected by the Argives, the territory by the sea that they still have: and to the descendants of Androcles, (for Androcles had a daughter and she had sons, and after the death of Androcles they fled to Sparta), they gave what is called Hyamea. And[Pg 255] the following conditions were imposed on the Messenians by the Lacedæmonians. First of all they bound them by oath not to revolt or to attempt any revolutionary movement. And next they appointed no stated tribute, but they were to bring to Sparta from the land half its produce. With respect too to the burials of kings and other people in authority, provision was made that the men and women in Messenia should wear black raiment, and a punishment was ordained for those who violated this rule. And as to their exactions from the Messenians they have been described by Tyrtæus: “As asses worn out by long continued toil, carrying to their masters from bitter necessity half of all the fruit the country yields.” And that necessity was laid on them of mourning for their masters’ deaths he has manifested in the following lines, “They and their wives together wailing for their masters, when baneful death seized on any one.”

The Messenians in these circumstances, and with no hope of any kinder treatment from the Lacedæmonians, and thinking death in battle or a wholesale migration from the Peloponnese preferable to their present condition, resolved upon a general rising. And they were mainly induced to this by the young men, who had had no experience of war, and were ambitious, and preferred death in a free country to happiness in all other conditions with slavery. These youths were reared in various parts of Messenia, but the bravest and most numerous were in the neighbourhood of Andania, and among them Aristomenes, who is still honoured among the Messenians as a hero: and the circumstances attending his birth they think rather remarkable. For they say that a demon or god in the form of a dragon had an intrigue with Nicotelea his mother. I have heard the Macedonians say similar things about Olympias, and the Sicyonians about Aristodama. But the difference is that the Messenians do not claim that Aristomenes was the son of Hercules or Zeus, as the Macedonians say that Alexander was the son of Ammon, and as the people of Sicyon say that Aratus was the son of Æsculapius, but most of the Greeks say that Pyrrhus was the father of Aristomenes, though I know that the Messenians call Aristomenes the son of Nicomedes at the libations. He[Pg 256] then, being in fall vigour of age and boldness, and other influential persons tried to bring about a general rising. And this was not at first done openly, but they sent secretly to Argos and the Arcadians, to see if they would assist them as energetically as they had done in the former war, bonâ fide and not half-heartedly.

And when they had made all their preparations for war, and their allies were even more zealous than they had expected, for the hostility between the Arcadians and Argives and the Lacedæmonians had blazed out fiercely, then in the thirty-ninth year after the capture of Ithome they rose in insurrection, in the fourth year of the 23rd Olympiad, in which the Hyperesian Icarus was victor in the stadium. And at Athens there were now annual archons, and the archon this year was Tlesias. Who were kings at Lacedæmon at this time has not been recorded by Tyrtæus, but Rhianus in his poem has said that Leotychides was king during this war. I cannot agree with him in this: as to Tyrtæus, though he has not mentioned expressly the time, yet one may suppose he has hinted it in the following passage,—in the elegiac lines he wrote about the former war. “Nineteen years unceasingly they fought for their country, ever with stout heart, those warriors the fathers of our fathers.” Manifestly then it was in the third generation after the former war that the Messenians commenced this war, and the period is marked by the fact that the kings then at Sparta were Anaxander the son of Eurycrates the son of Polydorus, and of the other family Anaxidamus the son of Zeuxidamus, the son of Archidamus, the son of Theopompus. I go as far as the fourth descendant of Theopompus, because Archidamus the son of Theopompus died in his father’s lifetime, and the kingdom devolved upon Zeuxidamus his grandson. And Leotychides clearly was king after Demaratus the son of Aristo, and Aristo was seventh descendant from Theopompus.

And now in the first year after their insurrection the Messenians engaged with the Lacedæmonians at a place in[Pg 257] their country called Deræ, and neither side had allies. And the battle was an undecided one, but they say Aristomenes exhibited in it preterhuman bravery, so that they elected him king after the battle, for he was of the family of the Æpytidæ, and though he was for refusing they also appointed him commander in chief. He was inclined to let them disown no one who had done valiantly in war: and for himself thought it right first and foremost (as the war with the Lacedæmonians was only just begun) to thoroughly frighten them by some bold stroke, and so to awe them more for the future. Accordingly he went by night to Lacedæmon and hung up a shield at the temple of Athene Chalciœcus, and on it was the inscription, “Aristomenes offers this to the goddess from Spartan spoils.”

The Lacedæmonians also had an oracular answer from Delphi, that an Athenian would give them good advice. They sent therefore envoys to the Athenians to report the oracle, and to ask for the man who was to give them this good advice. And the Athenians neither wishing that the Lacedæmonians should get the best part of the Peloponnese without great danger, nor to disobey the god, took counsel accordingly, and sent to Sparta one Tyrtæus a schoolmaster, who was thought to have very little intelligence and was lame in one foot. And he on his arrival there recited his elegiac verses and his anapæsts privately to the authorities, and publicly to all whom he could collect together. And a year after the battle of Deræ, when both nations had now allies, they prepared for battle in a village called Boar’s Memorial. The Messenians had the men of Elis and Arcadia as their allies in the action, and had moreover help from Argos and Sicyon. There were also present all the Messenians that had fled voluntarily, both those from Eleusis who were the hereditary priests of the mysteries of the Great Goddesses, and the descendants of Androcles: for these too hastened to their assistance. And to the help of the Lacedæmonians came the Corinthians, and some of the people of Lepreum from hatred to the men of Elis. The Asinæi were neutral. Boar’s Memorial is near Stenyclerus in Messenia, and was so called because they say Hercules had a mutual covenant there with the sons of Neleus over a boar’s entrails.

And when the seers in both armies had commenced by sacrifice, the Lacedæmonian seer being Hecas, the descendant and namesake of that Hecas who had come to Sparta with the sons of Aristodemus, and the Messenian seer being Theoclus, a descendant of Eumantis (a native of Elis and one of the Iamidæ whom Cresphontes had introduced into Messene), both armies were with more confidence stirred up to battle. And there was ardour exhibited by several according to their age and prowess, but notably by Anaxander, the king of the Lacedæmonians, and the Spartans in his division: and in the Messenian army Phintas and Androcles, the descendants of Androcles, and the men who were posted with them, strove to show their valour. And Tyrtæus and the priests of the Great Goddesses took no part in the action but that of cheering on the rears of their respective armies. And this was the disposition of Aristomenes. Eighty picked men of the Messenians about the same age as himself were in close attendance upon him, and each of them thought himself highly flattered to be posted near Aristomenes: and they were very keen at detecting in a glance one another’s ideas and especially their leader’s plans in the very germ. They and Aristomenes had the brunt of the battle, being posted opposite to Anaxander and the bravest of the Lacedæmonians. And receiving wounds fearlessly, and rushing on with the greatest recklessness, in time they routed by their boldness Anaxander’s division. As these fled Aristomenes commanded another Messenian regiment to pursue them: and himself rushed into the thick of the fight, and routed the men there, and then again turned to some other part of the field. And having driven these also from their positions he hurried on, charging those that were left, until he had thoroughly beaten all the Lacedæmonian force, allies and all. And as they felt some shame in fleeing, and yet could not stand these frequent charges, he dashed in amongst them with more formidable fury than one could have expected from one man. But near a wild pear tree that grew in the plain Theoclus tried[Pg 259] to prevent his passing: for he said Castor and Pollux were seated on the pear tree. And Aristomenes giving way to passion, and not hearing all the words of the seer, when he got to the pear tree dropped his shield, and this loss of Aristomenes gave the Lacedæmonians breathing time to stop from their flight: for he lost some time trying to find his shield.

And when the Lacedæmonians were dispirited at this blow, and were minded to finish the war, Tyrtæus put heart into them by reciting his verses, and got some Helots enrolled into the regiments in place of the dead men. And when Aristomenes returned to Andania, the women welcomed him with ribands and pelted him with flowers, and sang for him a song not forgotten even in our days, “To the mid plain and high mountain at Stenyclerus did Aristomenes pursue the Lacedæmonians.” And he afterwards recovered his shield by going to Delphi, and, as the Pythian Priestess ordered him, by descending to the sacred shrine of Trophonius at Lebadea. And afterwards he took the shield, and hung it up as a votive offering at Lebadea, and I have myself seen it hanging up there. Its design is an eagle with its wings extended at the upper part of the shield. And now Aristomenes on his return from Bœotia, having recovered his shield at the shrine of Trophonius, immediately went in for further action. And, having gathered together a levy of Messenians besides his own bodyguard of picked men, he marched at nightfall to a city of Laconia, whose old name was Pharis as in Homer’s catalogue, but it was called Pharæ by the Spartans and other neighbouring people. Marching there he cut to pieces those who attempted to defend themselves, and after carrying off much booty returned to Messene. And the Lacedæmonian hoplites under Anaxander their king attacking him on the road, he routed them also, and was fain to pursue Anaxander. But being wounded in his hinder quarters with a javelin he stayed the pursuit, without losing the plunder he had got. And after waiting sufficient time for his wound to be healed, he intended to enter Sparta by night, when he was prevented by the apparition of Helen and Castor and Pollux, and lay in ambush at nightfall for some maidens who were dancing to Artemis[Pg 260] at Caryæ, and arrested all who were remarkable for the wealth and position of their fathers, and brought them by night to a village in Messenia and went to rest, having committed the custody of them to some men of his regiment. Thereupon the young men in drink I suppose, and otherwise unable to control their passions by reason, endeavoured to violate the maidens, and when Aristomenes forbade them to act in a manner not customary for Greeks, they took no notice of him, so that he was obliged to kill the most unruly of them. And the maidens he had taken captive he let go for a good ransom with their honour safe.

And there is a place in Laconia called Ægila, where is a temple of Demeter. There Aristomenes and his soldiers, knowing that the women were keeping festival to Demeter, wished to seize them: but as these women inspired by the goddess made a bold defence, most of the Messenians received wounds with the swords which they used to sacrifice the victims with, and the sharp pointed spits on which they stuck their meat to roast it. And Aristomenes they struck with their torches and took him alive. However he escaped the same night to Messenia. They say that Archidamea the priestess of Demeter had the guilt of letting him escape. But she did not let him go for money, but was an old sweetheart of his, and made out that Aristomenes had escaped by burning[57] his bonds.

And in the third year of the war, when an engagement was about to take place at what was called The Great Trench, and when the Arcadians had come from all their cities to help the Messenians, the Lacedæmonians bribed Aristocrates, the son of Icetas, a native of Trapezus, king and general of the Arcadians at this period. The Lacedæmonians[Pg 261] are the first we know of that bribed an enemy, and the first that made renown in arms a thing to be purchased by money. For before the Lacedæmonians violated honour in their war with the Messenians, in regard to this treason of Aristocrates the Arcadian, their fighting men were distinguished for bravery, and good fortune from the deity. Afterwards too at Ægos-potamoi, when they opposed the fleet of the Athenians, they certainly bribed Adimantus and other Athenian Admirals. But in process of time upon the Lacedæmonians came what is called the Retribution of Neoptolemus. For Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, having slain Priam at the altar of Household Zeus, was himself also slain at Delphi at the temple of Apollo, and—in consequence of that—suffering what one had inflicted on another got called the Retribution of Neoptolemus. For when the Lacedæmonians were at the zenith of their power, and had destroyed the fleet of the Athenians, and Agesilaus had reduced most of Asia Minor, then it was not possible to strip the Mede of all his power, because the barbarian circumvented them by sending money to Corinth and Argos and Athens and Thebes, and what was called the Corinthian war was brought about by this money, so that Agesilaus was compelled to leave Asia Minor. And so the deity made to recoil upon themselves the wiliness that the Lacedæmonians had displayed to the Messenians. And Aristocrates when he had received money from Lacedæmon, at first hid his plans from the Arcadians, but when they were on the eve of an engagement, then he threw them into consternation, by telling them they were in difficulty and straits and had no means of retreat if they should be beaten. He also said the sacrifices were not auspicious. He ordered everyone therefore to run away when he gave the signal. And when the Lacedæmonians began the engagement and the Messenians were opposite to them, thereupon at the commencement of the battle Aristocrates led off the Arcadians, and thus the Messenian centre and left wing was left exposed. For the Arcadians had occupied both these parts of the field, as the people of Elis were not present at the battle, nor the people of Argos and Sicyon. And Aristocrates put the finishing touch to his treason by fleeing through the Messenian lines. And they were quite bewildered at the[Pg 262] unexpected state of affairs, and were disturbed by the passage of the Arcadians through their lines, so that most of them nearly forgot what they were about: for instead of the Lacedæmonians pressing on against the Arcadians they saw them fleeing, and some begged them to stand their ground, others reviled them as traitors and covenant-breakers. And for the Lacedæmonians to surround the Messenians who were now left alone was easy enough, and with the greatest ease they won a victory that was a foregone conclusion. And though Aristomenes and his division bravely stood their ground against the multitude of the Lacedæmonians that pressed against them, and endeavoured to keep them in check, yet they were too few to avail much. And such a quantity of Messenians were cut to pieces, that they, who had expected to be masters of the Lacedæmonians, now instead of having slaves had hardly any hope of safety. And of their leaders fell Androcles and Phintas and others, and Phanas, (who fought especially bravely, and had been victor at Olympia in the double course). And Aristomenes after the battle collected the Messenian fugitives, and persuaded them to leave Andania and any other towns in the heart of the country, and to take up their residence on the mountain Eira. And when they assembled there they were besieged by the Lacedæmonians who wished to take them. However they resisted and held out for eleven years after the disaster at The Great Trench. That that was the time the blockade lasted is plain from the verses of Rhianus about the Lacedæmonians.

“Along the ridges of the mountain white

Twenty-two summers and winters did they fight.”

The word used for summers in the line just above is a word properly meaning the grass when it is ripe, or a little before hay harvest.

And the Messenians when they were hemmed in at Eira, and debarred the rest of their country, except what was occupied by the people of Pylos near the sea, and the people of Mothone, plundered Laconia and their own country, which they now regarded as enemy’s country. And several joined them in these raids, as chance brought it about, and Aristomenes got together some picked men in number about 300. They harried and carried off from the Lacedæmonians whatever they could, corn and flocks and wine, but furniture and human beings they ransomed for money. So that the Lacedæmonians made a decree, inasmuch as they were farming for the benefit of the people of Eira rather than their own, not to cultivate Messenia and the neighbouring parts of Laconia till after the war. And from that time there was scarcity in Sparta, and with the scarcity came riots, for those who got their money by farming could not bear to see their lands lie fallow, but their vexation was checked by the verses of Tyrtæus. And Aristomenes with his picked men made a sally when the night was considerably advanced, and stole a march upon the enemy by getting to Amyclæ before daybreak, and seized the fort and plundered Amyclæ, and was off again before help could come from Sparta. And he afterwards overran the whole country, till making an attack on more than half the Lacedæmonian army under both their kings, he received several wounds as he defended himself valiantly, and as he was struck on the head by a stone his eyes got dizzy, and the Lacedæmonians rushing at him all together took him alive. Fifty of his men also were captured. These were all condemned by the Lacedæmonians to be thrown into their underground cavern called Ceadas; where they throw in their greatest malefactors. The other Messenians who were thrown in were killed instantaneously: but Aristomenes had some good genius who both now and on all occasions looked after him. Those who exaggerate everything about him say that, when he was thrown into Ceadas, an eagle flew under him and supported[Pg 264] him with its wings, so that he reached the bottom safely without a wound or scratch. The god on this occasion must have also shown him some outlet. For when he got to the bottom of the cavern, he sat down and muffling his head in his cloak expected death which he felt certain. But on the third day after he heard a noise, and unveiled his face, and when his eyes got accustomed to the darkness, saw a fox preying on the dead carcases. And reflecting that it must have an outlet somewhere, he waited till the fox came near and when it came near seized hold of it, and in one of his hands, when the fox turned on him, held his cloak that it might bite that and not him. As it ran he ran with it, and was dragged by it along a very difficult path. At last he saw a little hole, just big enough for a fox to pass through, and light glimmered through it. And the fox, directly it was liberated by Aristomenes, betook itself to its hole. And Aristomenes, as the hole was too small to let him through, enlarged it with his hands and got home safe to Eira, having had most remarkable good fortune in respect to his capture, (for his spirit and bravery were such that no one could have expected to take him alive), and stranger still and most plainly not without divine assistance was this getting out safe from Ceadas.

And it was almost immediately reported to the Lacedæmonians by deserters that Aristomenes had got home safe: but being considered as incredible as if anyone were to say that a dead man had come to life again, it was only believed in consequence of the following transaction on the part of Aristomenes. The Corinthians sent a force to help the Lacedæmonians to take Eira. Aristomenes, learning from his scouts that they were marching rather carelessly, and that their camps were negligently made up, attacked them by night, and as they were asleep slew most of them, and among others their leaders Hypermenides, and Achladæus, and Lysistratus, and Sidectus. He plundered also the tent of the generals, and the Lacedæmonians soon saw[Pg 265] that it was Aristomenes and no other Messenian that had done all this. He sacrificed also to Zeus of Ithome the sacrifice which they call Hecatomphonia. It was of very remote antiquity, and any Messenian who had killed 100 enemies had a right to offer it. And Aristomenes first offered this sacrifice when he fought the battle at Boar’s Memorial, and the slaughter of these Corinthians by night gave him the right to offer this sacrifice a second time. They say also that he offered the sacrifice a third time as the result of various raids. But the Lacedæmonians, as the festival of Hyacinthus was now coming on, made a truce of 40 days with the inhabitants of Eira, and returned home and kept the festival, and some Cretan bowmen, who had been sent for as mercenaries from Lyctus and other towns, made incursions into various parts of Messenia. And as Aristomenes was at some distance from Eira, feeling perfect security as it was truce time, seven of these bowmen lay in wait for him, and took him prisoner, and bound him with the bands of their quivers. And it was evening. And two of them went to Sparta, and announced the capture of Aristomenes to the Lacedæmonians: and the remaining five retired to a farm in Messenia, where a fatherless maiden lived with her mother. The night before this maiden had had a dream. Some wolves (she dreamed) brought a lion to the farm bound and without claws, and she freed the lion from its bonds and got it claws, and then the wolves were torn in pieces by it. And now when the Cretans brought in Aristomenes, the maiden remembered her dream of the previous night, and asked her mother who he was: and when she learnt who he was she took courage, and looked earnestly at him, and understood the meaning of the dream. She therefore poured out wine freely for the Cretans, till drink overpowered them, and then withdrew the sword of the one who was fastest asleep. Then she cut the bonds of Aristomenes, and he took the sword and killed all 5. And Gorgus the son of Aristomenes took the maiden to wife. And thus Aristomenes requited to the damsel her saving of his life, and Gorgus was only 18 when he married her.

But in the 11th year of the siege it was fated that Eira should fall, and that the Messenians should be dispersed, and the god accomplished what had been oracularly foretold to Aristomenes and Theoclus. For when they went to Delphi after the disaster at the Great Trench, and enquired as to their safety, the Pythian Priestess replied as follows,

“When he-goat drinks of Neda’s winding stream,

I cease to guard Messene. Her end is near.”

Now the Neda rises in Mount Lycæus: and the river flows through Arcadia and into Messenia again, and divides the maritime parts of Messenia and Elis. And now they were afraid of their he-goats drinking of the Neda: but the god had quite a different meaning which I will unfold. The wild fig tree, which some of the Greeks call Olynthe, is called by the Messenians Tragus (that is He-Goat). At this time there was a wild fig tree on the banks of the river Neda which did not grow upright, but bent into the stream and touched the water with its topmost boughs. And the seer Theoclus having noticed it conjectured that by the he-goat drinking of the Neda the Pythian Priestess meant this wild fig, and that therefore the fate of Messene was imminent. And he preserved silence on the matter to everyone else, but he took Aristomenes to this fig tree, and pointed out to him that their period of safety had passed. And Aristomenes was convinced by him that it was as he said, and that that there was no room for delay, and he adopted the following contrivance under the present conjuncture. The Messenians had some sacred records, which if lost would ruin Messene and keep her under for ever, but which if preserved would, according to the oracular utterances of Lycus the son of Pandion, give the Messenians a chance one day to recover their country, and Aristomenes knowing these oracular utterances conveyed away by night these arcana: and going to the most unfrequented part of Mount Ithome buried them there, and prayed to Zeus of Ithome and to the gods who had hitherto[Pg 267] befriended the Messenians to be witnesses of this deposit, and not to allow the Lacedæmonians to rob them of their only hope of returning home again one day. And after this trouble came to the Messenians, as earlier still it did to the Trojans, from adultery. They occupied the mountainous district all round Eira as far as the Neda, and some lived outside the gates. And no other deserter came to them from Laconia, but a herdsman, a slave of Emperamus who was a man of some note at Sparta. This herdsman lived not far from the Neda. There he saw the wife of one of the Messenians who lived outside the walls coming to draw water: and he got enamoured of her, and ventured to talk with her, and overcame her chastity by gifts. And from that time forward this herdsman watched when her husband went upon garrison duty. Now the Messenians had to go on guard by turns in the citadel: it was here that they were chiefly afraid of the enemy getting into the place. And whenever the husband mounted guard, this herdsman used to go and visit his wife. And on one occasion he and others had to mount guard at night, and it chanced to be a very wet night. And the Messenians left their guard. For the quantity of rain pouring down almost forced them in, as they had no battlements or turrets in their improvised fortifications, and at the same time they did not expect that the Lacedæmonians would attack them in a night so wild and dark. And Aristomenes had been wounded a few days previously in rescuing a Cephallenian merchant and his goods, (he was a friend of his and used to introduce into Eira all necessary supplies, but had been captured by the Lacedæmonians and some Apteræan bowmen under Euryalus a Spartan), and therefore could not as usual go his nightly rounds. This was the chief reason why the citadel was abandoned by the guard. And as each of them went off from his post so did the husband of the woman who had this intrigue with the herdsman. And she at this time had the herdsman at her house, but perceiving the return of her husband quickly concealed him, and welcomed her husband rather more than usual, and asked him the reason of his return. And he, ignorant that she was unfaithful to him and had her paramour there, told her the truth, and said that, on account of the violence[Pg 268] of the rain, and other circumstances which he mentioned, they had left their posts. And the herdsman overheard, and immediately, when he understood the condition of affairs, deserted the Messenians for the Lacedæmonians. The Lacedæmonian kings were at this time absent from the camp: but Emperamus the master of the herdsman was commander in chief of the forces that were besieging Eira. The herdsman then went to his master, and first begged pardon for his absence from home, and next showed him how they could capture Eira, mentioning all the circumstances which he had heard from the Messenian.

What the herdsman said seemed trustworthy, and he led Emperamus and the Spartan force. Their march was difficult owing to the darkness and steady downpour. Still they advanced with alacrity, and, as soon as they got to the citadel of Eira, fixed scaling ladders and got over the walls with all dispatch. And the Messenians had several indications of their coming trouble, especially the unusual barking of the dogs, who barked fiercely and continuously. Perceiving then that the final struggle had come upon them, they had no time for arming themselves properly, but each seized what weapon he could find to defend their last possession out of all Messenia, their last inch of fatherland! The first who noticed that the enemy had got inside the walls, and who rushed up to the fray, were Gorgus the son of Aristomenes, and Aristomenes himself, and Theoclus the seer and Manticlus his son, and with them Euergetidas a man held in especial honour at Messene, who had improved his fortunes by his marriage with Agnagora, the sister of Aristomenes. And all the others at this time, though they perceived that they were in a trap, yet had a little hope in spite of the outlook: but Aristomenes and the seer knew that it was all up with the Messenians, remembering the Pythian Priestess’ oracle about the he-goat, but they concealed none the less the true state of affairs, and were silent about it to everybody.[Pg 269] And they went all round the town energetically and exhorted every Messenian they met to play the man, and called from their houses those that yet remained in them. During the night nothing very notable was done on either side, for the attacking party were hindered by their ignorance of the ground and the boldness of Aristomenes, and the Messenians were rather backward in taking the word from their generals, and if anyone lit a torch or struck a light, the rain immediately put it out. And when day broke and they could see one another clearly, then Aristomenes and Theoclus endeavoured to nerve the Messenians to desperate courage, by giving them the necessary directions, and reminding them of the heroism of the people of Smyrna, who, though they were only Ionians, by their boldness and vigour drove out of their city Gyges, the son of Dascylus, and the Lydians who were in possession of it. And the Messenians hearing this were animated with the courage of despair, and forming what ranks they could rushed against the Lacedæmonians. And even the women eagerly hurled tiles, and whatever each could lay hold of, at the enemy: but they were partly prevented doing this from the slipperiness of the roofs through the frequent rain: but they seized arms and thus kindled still more the courage of the men, when they saw that even the women preferred perishing with their country to being led off as slaves to Lacedæmon, insomuch that had it been possible they would have given destiny the go-by. And the downpour of rain continued all day, and there was thunder and lightning, and they could hardly see for the lightning that flashed in their faces. And all this inspired courage in the Lacedæmonians, who thought that the god was visibly helping them, and as the lightning was on their right the seer Hecas announced that the omen was auspicious. He also devised the following stratagem. The Lacedæmonians were far the most numerous, but inasmuch as the battle was on a limited area and not fought tactically, but various bodies of men fought haphazard in various parts of the city, it happened that the rearmen of each division were useless. He therefore ordered them to retire to the camp and get some food and sleep, and come back again before evening to relieve their companions, who[Pg 270] had borne the burthen and heat of the day. And thus by fighting and resting by turns they held out the longer, but the Messenians were getting entirely worn out, for it was now the third night that they had been fighting day and night continuously. And when the next morning came, and they were suffering from sleeplessness and constant rain and cold all combined, hunger and thirst assailed them too. Their women especially were ready to faint by reason of being unused to war, and by the long continuance of their efforts. Then the seer Theoclus came up and spoke to Aristomenes. “Why do you continue in vain this struggle? It is decreed that Messene must perish, long ago did the Pythian Priestess foretell this imminent ruin, and lately did the wild fig tree teach the same lesson. To me the god assigns an end with my country: but you may save the Messenians and yourself.” When he had spoken thus to him, he rushed against the foe, and said to the Lacedæmonians in a loud voice, “You shall not for long joy in your conquest of Messene.” After that he fiercely attacked those who were opposite to him and slew them, and was himself wounded, and breathed out his last having first glutted his soul with slaughter. And Aristomenes called all the Messenians back from the fight, except those who were fighting with remarkable bravery, whom he allowed to remain fighting. And the rest he ordered to follow where he should lead, with the women and children in their lines. To the command of this portion of the army he appointed Gorgus and Manticlus: and himself took up a position in the front rank, and by the motion of his head and the waving of his spear plainly showed that he was asking for a passage through, and already meditated retreat. Emperamus and the Spartans on the spot were right glad to let the Messenians through their lines, and not to irritate too much men who were mad in rage and desperate to the last degree. And Hecas the seer also bade them act so.

Directly the Arcadians heard of the capture of Eira, they at once begged Aristocrates to lead them to save the Messenians or perish with them. But he having been bribed by the Lacedæmonians refused to lead them, and said that he knew none of the Messenians were alive for them to assist. But when the Arcadians received more certain intelligence that some survived who had been compelled to leave Eira, they set out to meet them at Mount Lycæus, having got ready both food and raiment, and sent certain influential persons to comfort the Messenians and guide them on their march. And when they got safe to Mount Lycæus the Arcadians welcomed them, and treated them kindly in other respects, and invited them to dwell in their cities, and said they would give them a share of the land. But Aristomenes in his grief for the capture of Eira and his hatred to the Lacedæmonians contrived the following plan. He selected from the whole body 500 Messenians, who he knew were prodigal of their lives, and selected them in the hearing of the other Arcadians and Aristocrates, not knowing that he was a traitor—for he thought Aristocrates had fled through cowardice and want of manliness rather than in treason—and he asked the 500 in his presence, whether they would die with him to avenge their country. And when they said they would he revealed his whole plan, that the following evening he intended to lead them to Sparta. For at this time most of the Lacedæmonians were at Eira, and others were busy in plundering the property of the Messenians. “And if we should capture Sparta and keep it,” continued Aristomenes, “we shall be able to exchange it for Messene: and if we fail we shall die together, having done deeds that posterity will not forget.” After he had made this speech, about 300 of the Arcadians wished to join him in his desperate undertaking. And for the moment they delayed their departure, as the victims were not auspicious. On the following day however they knew that their secret had been revealed to the Lacedæmonians, and that they had been betrayed by Aristocrates[Pg 272] for the second time. For Aristocrates had at once disclosed by letter the design of Aristomenes, and given the letter to his most trusty slave, and sent it to Anaxander at Sparta. And on his return this slave was intercepted by some Arcadians who had previously been hostile to Aristocrates, and were now rather suspicious about him. And having intercepted this slave they brought him before the Arcadians, and showed the people the answer of Anaxander from Lacedæmon. It was to the effect that, just as Aristocrates’ flight at an opportune moment from the Great Trench had not been unrewarded by the Lacedæmonians, so he should not be without further reward for his present information. And when this was reported to them all, the Arcadians began to stone Aristocrates, and urged the Messenians to do the same. But they looked at Aristomenes. And he looked on the ground and wept. So the Arcadians stoned Aristocrates to death, and cast him unburied out of their borders, and put up a pillar in the temple of Lycæan Zeus with the following inscription. “Time is sure to bring justice at last to an unjust king, and time with Zeus’ cooperation has easily found out Messene’s traitor. It is difficult for a perjured man to escape the god. Hail, royal Zeus, and save Arcadia.”

And all the Messenians that were captured at Eira, or in any other part of Messenia, were incorporated by the Lacedæmonians among the Helots: and the people of Pylos and Mothone and all the maritime towns removed in ships, after the capture of Eira, to Cyllene the arsenal of Elis. And from there they sent to the Messenians in Arcadia, wishing them to join them in an expedition to seek some city to dwell in, and bade them make Aristomenes the founder of the colony. But he said that for his part as long as he lived he would fight against the Lacedæmonians, and that he knew very well that Sparta would always have trouble through him: but he gave them Gorgus and Manticlus as their leaders. Euergetidas also retired to[Pg 273] Mount Lycæus with the rest of the Messenians: and from thence, when he saw that Aristomenes’ plan about the capture of Sparta had fallen through, having got together about 50 of the Messenians he made a raid against the Lacedæmonians at Eira, and falling in with them still plundering he turned their chant of victory into a dirge. And fate seized him there, and Aristomenes ordered the leaders of the Messenians, and whoever wished, to take part in the colony to go to Cyllene. And all took part in it, except those that were prevented by old age, or were destitute of means for dwelling abroad. And these remained where they were among the Arcadians.

Eira was taken, and the second war between the Lacedæmonians and the Messenians finished, in the Archonship over the Athenians of Autosthenes, in the first year of the 28th Olympiad, in which Chionis the Laconian was victor.

And when the Messenians had got together at Cyllene, they resolved to winter there for that winter, and the people of Elis provided them with supplies and money: but directly Spring came they deliberated where they should go. And the view of Gorgus was that they should occupy Zacynthus beyond Cephallenia, and become islanders instead of dwelling on the mainland, and should sail in their ships to the maritime parts of Laconia and ravage their territory. Manticlus on the other hand exhorted them to forget Messene and their animosity to the Lacedæmonians, and sail to Sardinia and occupy that large and fertile island. Meantime Anaxilas sent a message to the Messenians inviting them to Italy. He was King at Rhegium, and fourth in descent from Alcidamidas, who had migrated from Messene to Rhegium, after the death of King Aristodemus and the capture of Ithome. This Anaxilas then invited the Messenians, and when they went to Rhegium he told them that the people of Zancle were at variance with him, and that they had a fertile country and a city in the rich part of Sicily, all which he said he would give them, and help them in conquering the country. And as they eagerly accepted his offer, Anaxilas conveyed them over into Sicily. Now Zancle was a place which had originally been occupied by pirates, and, as the land there was then unoccupied, they built a fort near the harbour, and made Zancle their[Pg 274] headquarters for expeditions both by land and sea: and their leaders were Cratæmenes the Samian and Perieres from Chalcis. And eventually Perieres and Cratæmenes resolved to invite in other colonists from Greece. But now Anaxilas conquered the people of Zancle who put out to sea in their fleet, and the Messenians conquered them on land. And being blockaded by land by the Messenians and simultaneously by sea by the people of Rhegium, when their fort was taken, they fled for refuge to the altars of the gods and to the temples. Anaxilas however urged on the Messenians to slay the suppliants, though they prayed hard for quarter, and to enslave the rest together with their women and children. But Gorgus and Manticlus begged that Anaxilas would not compel them, who had been shamefully treated by their fellow-countrymen, to act with equal cruelty to Greeks. And after that they took the people of Zancle from the altars, and having mutually given and received pledges dwelt together as one people. But the name of the town they changed from Zancle to Messene. All this took place in the 29th Olympiad, in which Chionis the Laconian was victor the second time, and Miltiades was Archon at Athens. And Manticlus built a temple of Hercules for the new colony, and a statue of the god was placed outside the fort called Hercules Manticlus, just as Belus at Babylon got its name from an Egyptian called Belus, and Ammon in Libya from the name of the shepherd who built the temple. This was the end of the wandering of the Messenian exiles.

Meantime Aristomenes, when he refused the leadership of those who were going on the new colony, married his sister Agnagora to Tharyx of Phigalia, and his two eldest daughters to Damothoidas of Lepreum and Theopompus of Heræum. And he himself went to Delphi and consulted the oracle. What answer was returned is not recorded. But Damagetus a native of Rhodes, the King of Ialysus, had also at this time come to consult[Pg 275] the oracle as to where he should marry a wife from, and the Pythian Priestess replied that he was to marry the daughter of the noblest of the Greeks. And Aristomenes had a third daughter, and he married her, thinking her father far the noblest Greek of his time. And Aristomenes went to Rhodes with his daughter, and from thence he intended to go to Sardis to Ardys the son of Gyges, and to Ecbatana the royal residence of the Medes to the Court of King Phraortes, but before he could carry out this intention he chanced to die of some illness, so that the fates did not permit him to wreak his vengeance on the Lacedæmonians. And Damagetus and the people of Rhodes built a splendid monument to him, and paid honours to his memory. The traditions about those who are called the Diagoridæ in Rhodes, (who were descended from Diagoras, the son of Damagetus, the son of Dorieus, the son of Damagetus by the daughter of Aristomenes), I have omitted, that I might not appear to have introduced irrelevant matter.

And the Lacedæmonians, when they had made themselves masters of Messenia, shared it out among themselves all but the territory of the Asinæi, and Mothone they gave to the people of Nauplia who had recently been ejected by the Argives.

And the Messenians who were captured at Eira, and compulsorily incorporated among the Helots, revolted again from the Lacedæmonians in the 79th Olympiad, in which the Corinthian Xenophon was victor, and Archimedes Archon at Athens. And they seized the following opportunity. Some of the Lacedæmonians, on a charge for which they were condemned to death, fled to Tænarum as suppliants; and there the Ephors took them from the altar and slew them. And the wrath of Poseidon came upon those Spartans who had violated his rights of sanctuary, and he adjudged the town to be utterly razed to the ground. And it was after this calamity that the Helots who were Messenians revolted and went to Mount Ithome. And the Lacedæmonians sent for several allies to help to subdue them, and among others for Cimon (the son of Miltiades) their friend, of whom they also begged some Athenian troops. But when these Athenian troops came they suspected them as likely to introduce revolutionary ideas[Pg 276] among their own men, so in their suspicion they soon sent them home again from Ithome. But when the Athenians observed that suspicion on the part of the Lacedæmonians they were indignant and became friendly to the Argives, and, when those of the Messenians who were besieged at Ithome were allowed to surrender upon conditions, gave Naupactus to them, (having taken it from the Locrians in Ætolia called Ozolæ). And the Messenians were allowed to surrender partly because of the strength of the place, partly because the Pythian Priestess prophesied to the Lacedæmonians that there would be vengeance from Zeus of Ithome if they violated his right of sanctuary. So they were allowed to evacuate the Peloponnese upon conditions for these reasons.

And when they got Naupactus, they were not content with the town and region that they had got through the Athenians, but a strong desire came upon them to get a place for themselves by their own valour. And as they knew that the Œniadæ, who had a rich soil in Acarnania, had been for all time at variance with the Athenians, they marched against them. And being not superior in point of numbers, but far superior in respect to bravery, they won a victory over them, and shut them up in their fort and blockaded them. And the Messenians employed every human invention for taking cities, they tried to get over the walls by scaling ladders, and undermined the fort, and bringing up such engines as they could get at short notice kept battering away at the walls. And those in the town, fearing that if the town was taken they would be undone, and their wives and children sold into slavery, preferred to surrender upon conditions. And for about a year the Messenians occupied the town and enjoyed the produce of the country, but the year after the Acarnanians gathering a force together from all their towns planned a march upon Naupactus. But they changed their minds about this when they saw that their march would be through the country of the Ætolians, who were always hostile to[Pg 277] them, and at the same time they expected the Naupactians had a navy, as indeed they had, and as they were masters of the sea it would not be possible to subdue them with a land army. So they changed their plan with alacrity, and marched against the Messenians at Œniadæ. And they began to lay siege to the town: for they did not suppose that so few men would come to such a pitch of recklessness as to sally out and fight against them. And the Messenians had got together a store of corn and other provisions, expecting a long siege: but they thought before the blockade commenced they would have one good fight in the open, and as they were Messenians, who had only been inferior to the Lacedæmonians in luck not in courage, they would not be frightened at this mob that had come from Acarnania. And the Athenians remembered the action at Marathon, how thirty myriads of Medes were slain by less than 10,000. So they determined to fight the Acarnanians, and the battle was fought as follows. The Acarnanians inasmuch as they were far more numerous easily surrounded the Messenians, except where the gates at the back of the Messenians checked them, and the men on the walls stoutly defended their comrades. Here they could not be surrounded. But both their flanks were sore pressed by the Acarnanians, and they shot at them from all sides. And the Messenians being a compact body, wherever they made a general attack on the Acarnanians, threw the enemy’s ranks into confusion, and killed and wounded many, yet could not bring about a complete rout. For wherever the Acarnanians observed that their lines were pierced by the Messenians, there they brought up large detachments of men, and beat the Messenians back by sheer force of numbers. And whenever the Messenians were unsuccessful in an attack, and tried in some other place to break the Acarnanian line, the same result would follow. At whatever point they attacked they produced confusion and something like a rout, but the Acarnanians came swarming up, and so the Messenians had very unwillingly to retire. And the struggle being very evenly poised till night came on, and the attacking force of the Acarnanians being augmented the following evening from several towns, a regular blockade of the Messenians commenced.[Pg 278] And they had no fear that the town would be taken by storm, either by the Acarnanians getting over the walls, or by their being compelled to desert their garrison duty. But by the 8th month all their supplies were consumed. To the Acarnanians they jeeringly cried out that their provisions would last even a ten years’ siege: but about the time of first sleep they quietly slipped out of Œniadæ, and being compelled to fight their way through directly the Acarnanians got to know of this flitting, lost about 300 but killed a still greater number of the enemy, and most of them succeeded in cutting their way through, and by the assistance of the Ætolians who were friendly to them got safe to Naupactus.

And from this time forward their hostility to the Lacedæmonians increased, as they notably shewed in the war between the Peloponnesians and Athenians. For they made Naupactus a base against the Peloponnese, and when the Spartans were cut off at Sphacteria some Messenian bowmen from Naupactus assisted the Athenians. But after the reverse of the Athenians at Ægos-potamoi, the Lacedæmonians being masters of the sea drove the Messenians from Naupactus, and some went into Sicily to their kinsmen at Zancle and Rhegium, but most to Libya to the Euesperitæ, who being hard pressed in war by some of the neighbouring barbarians invited in the Greeks as colonists. To them went most of the Messenians under Comon, who had been their General at Sphacteria.

And a year before the Theban victory at Leuctra, the god foretold to the Messenians their return to the Peloponnese. For the priest of Hercules (they say) in Messene at the Sicilian Strait saw in a dream Hercules Manticlus invited in a friendly way by Zeus to Ithome. And among the Euesperitæ Comon dreamt that he had dealings with his dead mother, and that subsequently his mother came to life again. And he hoped as the Athenians were now powerful at sea that they would be restored to Naupactus: and the[Pg 279] dream seemed to indicate that Messene would revive. And no long time after came to the Lacedæmonians at Leuctra the disaster that had long been fated: for the concluding words of the oracle given to Aristodemus the king of the Messenians were,

“Do as fate bids: woe comes to all in turn.”

As at that time it was fated for him and the Messenians to be unfortunate, so in after time was it fated for Lacedæmon when her day had come. And now the Thebans after the victory of Leuctra sent messengers to Italy and Sicily and to the Euesperitæ, to recall the Messenians from their wanderings to the Peloponnese. And they gathered together quicker than anyone would have thought, from yearning affection to their fatherland, and from their abiding hate to the Lacedæmonians. And Epaminondas was in doubt what city he should build as a base against the Lacedæmonians, or where he should find a site, for the Messenians would not dwell again at Andania and Œchalia, because they had been so unlucky when they lived there before. As he was in this doubt they say an old man, very like a priest of the mysteries, appeared to him in a vision of the night, and said to him, “My gift to you is universal conquest in war: and when you shall leave this earth I will make your name, O Theban, immortal and ever glorious. But do you in return restore to the Messenians their country and cities, for the wrath of Castor and Pollux towards them is now appeased.” These were his words to Epaminondas, who revealed the dream to Epiteles the son of Æschines, whom the Argives chose as their General and the restorer of Messene. This man was bidden in a dream, in the place where he should find at Ithome an ivy and myrtle tree growing, to dig between them and recover an old woman who was ill and confined there in a brass coffin and already near to death’s door. And Epiteles when day broke went to the appointed place, and dug up a cinerary urn of brass, and took it at once to Epaminondas and narrated his dream, and he told him to remove the lid and see what was in it. And he after sacrifice and prayer to the person who had sent him this dream opened the urn, and found some tin beaten very thin, and rolled up like a book.[Pg 280] On it were written the mysteries of the Great Goddesses, and it was in fact what Aristomenes had buried. And they say the person who appeared to Epiteles and Epaminondas in their dreams was Caucon, who formerly came from Athens to Andania to Messene the daughter of Triopas.

The wrath of Castor and Pollux against the Messenians began before the battle at Stenyclerus, and I conjecture it to have originated in the following way. Panormus and Gonippus, two lads of Andania in the bloom of youth, were great friends, and used jointly to make incursions and raids into Laconia. And as the Lacedæmonians in camp were keeping the festival of Castor and Pollux, and after the banquet were full of wine and merrymaking, Gonippus and Panormus, clad in white tunics and purple cloaks, well mounted, with hats on their heads and spears in their hands, presented themselves to the Lacedæmonians. And when they saw them they bowed down before them and worshipped them, thinking they were Castor and Pollux who had come to the sacrifice. But these young men mixed up with them and rode through them and stabbed many with their lances, and, after many of them had fallen, rode back to Andania, having thus outraged the festival of Castor and Pollux. This is what I think made the Twin Brethren hate the Messenians. But now, as was hinted to Epaminondas in his dream, the Twin Brethren had no objection to the return of the Messenians. And Epaminondas was very greatly encouraged also to the restoration of Messene by the oracles of Bacis, who had been driven mad by the Nymphs and had given various prophetic utterances to several of the Greeks, and amongst others this one about the return of the Messenians:

“And then shall Sparta lose her glorious flower,

Messene built again be for all time.”

I find also that Bacis foretold the manner in which Eira would be taken: this is one of his prophetic lines,

“Those from conquered Messene with its splashing fountains.”

[Pg 281]

And as the records of the Mysteries had been recovered, the priests entered them in books. And Epaminondas, as the place where the Messenians now have their capital seemed most convenient to settle in, bade the seers examine if the gods were favourable to the spot. And on their replying that the omens were favourable, he at once made preparations for building the town, ordering a large supply of stone, and sending for builders who should artistically lay out streets and build houses and temples and lines of walls. And when all was in readiness the Arcadians furnished victims, and Epaminondas and the Thebans sacrificed to Dionysus and Apollo Ismenius in the accustomed manner, and the Argives to Argive Hera and Nemean Zeus, and the Messenians to Zeus of Ithome and Castor and Pollux, and the priests of the Mysteries to the Great Goddesses and Caucon. And with one consent they invoked the heroes to come and dwell with them, especially Messene the daughter of Triopas, and Eurytus and Aphareus and his sons, and of the Heraclidæ Cresphontes and Æpytus. But most unanimous of all was the cry for Aristomenes. And that day they devoted to sacrifices and prayers, and on the following days they raised the circuit of the walls, and began to build their houses and temples inside the walls. And they carried on this work only to the music of Bœotian and Argive flutes, and the tunes of Sacadas and Pronomus now first came into competition. And they called the capital Messene, and they restored others of their towns. But the people of Nauplia were not turned out of Mothone, the Asinæi also were allowed to remain where they were, the latter out of gratitude because they had refused to join the Lacedæmonians against them. And the people of Nauplia, when the Messenians returned to the Peloponnese, had brought them as gifts whatever they had, and had continually prayed to the deity for their return, and had also made many requests to the Messenians for their own safety.

Thus the Messenians returned to the Peloponnese, and were restored to their country, 287 years after the capture of Eira, when Dyscinetus was Archon at Athens, and in the third year of the 102nd Olympiad, in which Damon of Thurii won the second prize. It was indeed no short[Pg 282] time that the Platæans were exiles from their country, or the Delians when (expelled from Delos by the Athenians) they dwelt at Adramyttium. The Minyæ from Orchomenus also, having been driven out by the Thebans from Orchomenus after the battle of Leuctra, were restored to Bœotia by Philip the son of Amyntas, as the Platæans also. And although Alexander stript Thebes of Thebans, yet not many years afterwards Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt it. The exile from Platæa seems to have been the longest of those which I have recorded, however it was not longer than two generations. But the Messenians were wanderers from the Peloponnese for nearly 300 years, during which time it is evident that they abandoned none of their national customs, nor did they change their Doric dialect, but even to our day they preserve it purer than any other of the Peloponnesians.

On their return no apprehension was felt by them at first about the Lacedæmonians: for they, being afraid of the Thebans, did not interfere with the rebuilding of Messene, nor the gathering of the Arcadians into one town. But when the Phocian War, otherwise called the Holy War, withdrew the Thebans from the Peloponnese, then the Lacedæmonians pricked up their courage, and could no longer keep their hands off the Messenians. And the Messenians bore the brunt of the war alone, except the assistance they got from the Argives and Arcadians; they also begged for help from the Athenians,—but they replied that they could not join them in an incursion into Laconia, but if the Lacedæmonians were the aggressors and carried the war into Messenia, then they promised that they would not fail them. And eventually the Messenians got the help of Philip, the son of Amyntas, and the Macedonians, and this they say prevented them from participation in the struggle of the Greeks at Chæronea. Not that they would ever have been inclined to take up arms against the[Pg 283] Greeks. But after the death of Alexander, when the Greeks commenced a second war against the Macedonians, the Messenians took their part in this, as I have before shewn in my account of Attica. But they did not join the Greeks in fighting against the Galati, as Cleonymus and the Lacedæmonians would not make a treaty with them.

And not long afterwards the Messenians occupied Elis, partly by cunning partly by audacity. The people of Elis in ancient times were the most orderly of all the Peloponnesians, but when Philip the son of Amyntas did all that harm to Greece that we have mentioned, and corrupted by bribes the most influential of the people of Elis, then for the first time in their history the people of Elis took up arms and became factious. And after they had taken the first plunge, they were likely with less reluctance to go into future civil strife, inasmuch as through the Lacedæmonians their policy had been shifted, and they had drifted into civil war. And the Lacedæmonians hearing of the factions at Elis made preparations to assist those who were for their party. And while they were drilling and mobilizing their forces, about 1000 picked men of the Messenians secretly approached Elis, with Lacedæmonian colours on their shields. And when the men in Elis who were friendly to the Spartans saw their shields, they concluded they had come to help them and admitted them within the walls. But when the Messenians got in, in the way I have described, they expelled from the town the Lacedæmonian party, and entrusted the town to their own friends. Their stratagem was Homeric, and the Messenians seem to have imitated Homer for the nonce, for Homer has represented in the Iliad Patroclus wearing the armour of Achilles, and how the Trojans, thinking that Achilles was leading the attack, were thrown into confusion in their van. Other stratagems of war are found in Homer, as when he describes two Greek spies coming to the Trojans by night instead of one, and afterwards a supposed deserter coming to Troy really to spy out the weak points. Moreover he represents those Trojans who were either too young or too old to fight as manning the walls, while those of a suitable age took the field against the Greeks. And those of the Greeks[Pg 284] that were wounded gave their armour to other fighting men, that their services too might not be altogether lost. Thus Homer’s ideas have been generally useful to mankind.

And no long time after this action at Elis the Macedonians under Demetrius, the son of Philip the son of Demetrius, attacked Messene. Most of the audacity displayed by Perseus against Philip and his son Demetrius I have already described in my account about Sicyon: and the capture of Messene took place as follows. Philip was in need of money, and, as he must have it by hook or by crook, sent Demetrius with a fleet to the Peloponnese. And Demetrius chanced to put in at one of the least frequented harbours of Argolis: and without losing time he led his army by the shortest cuts through the country to Messene. And having posted in the van all his light-armed troops, as he was well acquainted with the road to Ithome, he got stealthily into the town a little before dawn, and took up his position between the town and the citadel. And when day broke and those in the town perceived their imminent peril, their first thought was that the Lacedæmonians had got into the town, so they rushed against them with the greatest alacrity owing to their ancient animosity. But when both from their arms and language they discovered that they were Macedonians under Demetrius the son of Philip, a panic came over them, when they considered the military renown of the Macedonians, and the good fortune which they had invariably had. However the magnitude of the impending danger suggested to them an almost supernatural bravery, and at the same time the hope to see better days supported them: for they could not but think their return to the Peloponnese after so long an exile was not against the will of the Deity. The Messenians therefore in the town rushed against the Macedonians with impetuosity, and the garrison in the citadel galled them from their higher position. The Macedonians from their[Pg 285] courage and tactical skill fought at first like lions: but at last spent with their long march, and not only pressed hard by men, but pelted with tiles and stones by the women, fled in disorder. And most of them perished miserably, being pushed down the rocks, for Ithome was very precipitous here, but a few threw away their arms and got off safe.

What prevented the Messenians from joining at first the Achæan League was as follows. They had of their own accord gone to the aid of the Lacedæmonians when they were attacked by Pyrrhus the son of Æacus, and for this good service there were already friendlier relations between themselves and Sparta. They did not therefore wish to revive the old feud by going to the Achæan League, as the Achæans were most openly hostile to the Lacedæmonians. And what has not escaped my notice, and cannot have escaped the notice of the Messenians is that, even had there been no Achæan League, the Achæans would have been hostile to the Lacedæmonians, for among the Achæans the Argives and Arcadians were no small element. In process of time however the Messenians joined the Achæan League. And not long afterwards Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas and grandson of Cleonymus, took Megalopolis the chief town of the Arcadians in truce time. In the capture of the town about a third of the inhabitants were captured or slain, but Philopœmen the son of Craugis and those who escaped with him (and they say that rather more than two thirds of the people of Megalopolis got away) were kindly received by the Messenians, partly on account of the ancient friendliness which the Arcadians had first exhibited in the days of Aristomenes, and partly in consequence of the part they had taken in the rebuilding of Messene. The Messenians even went so far as to assign to the Arcadians equal rights to themselves. Such vicissitudes and changes are there in all human affairs, that the deity put it into the power of the Messenians to preserve in turn the Arcadians, and (what was still less to be expected) one day to capture Sparta. For when they fought against Cleomenes at Sellasia they joined Aratus and the Achæans in taking Sparta. And when the Lacedæmonians had got rid of Cleomenes, there rose up against them the tyrant[Pg 286] Machanidas: and after his death Nabis sprang up as tyrant over them. And, as he not only plundered men but also sacrilegiously robbed the holy places, in no long time he amassed considerable sums of money, and got together with this money an army. And when he occupied Messene Philopœmen and the people of Megalopolis made a sally by night, and the Spartan tyrant departed on conditions. And the Achæans after this, in consequence of some difference with the Messenians, marched out against them in full force, and ravaged their territory. And again about harvest time they collected a force for the purpose of attacking Messenia, but Dinocrates a prominent man among the people, who had been recently elected ruler of the Messenians, forced Lycortas and the army with him to retire without effecting their object, and having occupied the byroads between Messenia and Arcadia he protected[58] the Messenians in their town and in all the neighbouring districts. And when Philopœmen with a few cavalry came a little later than the army of Lycortas, not having been able to gather any tidings about them, the Messenians having the advantage of ground beat them in battle, and took Philopœmen alive. And the manner of his capture and his death I shall relate hereafter in my account of Arcadia. Suffice it here to state that those Messenians who were guilty of the death of Philopœmen were punished, and Messene again joined the Achæan League.

Hitherto I have had to deal with the many sufferings of the Messenians, and to describe how the Deity, having scattered them to the ends of the earth, and to places most remote from the Peloponnese, restored them to their own country a long time afterwards. And now let us turn to a description of the country and its towns.

There is in our days in Messenia, about 20 stades from the Chœrian dell, a town by the sea called Abia. They say in old times it was called Ire, and that it was one of the seven towns, which Homer represents Agamemnon as promising to Achilles. And when Hyllus and the Dorians were conquered in battle by the Achæans, then they say Abia, the nurse of Glenus the son of Hercules, went to Ire, and there lived, and built a temple of Hercules, and for that reason Cresphontes afterwards assigned her several honours, and changed the name of the town to her name Abia. There were notable temples there both to Hercules and Æsculapius.

And Pharæ is distant from Abia about 80 stades, and the water by the road is salt. The Emperor Augustus ordered the Messenians at Pharæ to be ranked under Laconia. The founder of the city was they say Pharis, the son of Hermes by Phylodamea the daughter of Danaus. And Pharis they say had no male children, but only a daughter Telegone. The direct line of genealogy has been given by Homer in the Iliad, who says that the twins Crethon and Ortilochus were the sons of Diocles, and that Diocles himself was the son of Ortilochus, the son of Alpheus. But he has said nothing about Telegone, who according to the Messenian tradition was the wife of Alpheus and mother of Ortilochus. I have also heard at Pharæ that Diocles had a daughter Anticlea as well as his twin sons, and that she bare Nicomachus and Gorgasus to Machaon the son of Æsculapius: they lived at Pharæ, and after the death of Diocles succeeded to the kingdom. And a constant tradition about them has prevailed even to this day, that they have the power of healing illnesses and people maimed in body. And because of this the people sacrifice to them and offer votive offerings. At Pharæ there is also a temple and ancient statue of Fortune. The first person that I know of that has mentioned Fortune is Homer. He has mentioned her in his Hymn to Demeter,[Pg 288] when enumerating the other daughters of Oceanus, how they played with Demeter’s daughter Proserpine, and among them Fortune, also a daughter of Oceanus. These are the lines.[59] “We all were in the pleasant meadow, Leucippe, Phæno, Electra, and Ianthe, Melobosis, and Fortune, and Ocyroe of the beautiful eyes.” But he has said nothing further about her, how she is the greatest goddess in human affairs and has the greatest influence, as in the Iliad he represented Athene and Enyo as supreme in war, and Artemis as dreaded in childbirth, and Aphrodite as the goddess of marriages. He has not symbolized Fortune in this way. But Bupalus, a man of wonderful ability in building temples and making models of animals, is the first person we know of that made a statue of Fortune. His was for the people of Smyrna. Fortune has a globe on her head, and in one of her hands what is called by the Greeks the horn of Amalthea. Thus did he typify the actions of this goddess. Pindar also subsequently wrote various lines about Fortune, and named her City-Preserver.

Not far from Pharæ is the grove of Carnean Apollo, and a fountain of water in it, and Pharæ is about six stades from the sea. As you go from thence into the interior of Messenia about 80 stades you come to the town of Thuria,—which they say Homer called Anthea in his verses. And Augustus gave Thuria to the Spartans. For when the future Emperor of Rome was at war with Mark Antony, several Greeks and especially Messenians fought for Antony because the Lacedæmonians espoused the side of Augustus. Accordingly Augustus punished the Messenians and others who had opposed him, some more some less. And the people of Thuria left their ancient city which was built on a height, and went and dwelt in the plain. Not that they altogether abandoned the upper city, for there are ruins of their walls[Pg 289] and a temple there called the temple of the Syrian goddess. And a river called Aris flows by their town in the plain.

And there is in the interior a village called Calamæ and a place called Limnæ: in the latter place is a temple of Artemis of Limnæ, where they say Teleclus the king of Sparta was killed. And as you go from Thuria in the direction of Arcadia are the sources of the river Pamisus, in which small boys by being dipped are cured of diseases. And as you go to the left from these sources of the river and go forward about 40 stades, you come to the city of the Messenians under Mount Ithome: which is encircled not only by Mount Ithome but also in the direction of the Pamisus by Mount Eva. The mountain they say was called Eva from the Bacchic cry Evœ, which Dionysus and his attendant women first uttered here. And round Messene is a circular wall entirely constructed of stone, and towers and battlements are built on it. As to the walls of the Babylonians, or those called Memnon’s in Susa amongst the Persians, I have neither seen them nor heard anything of them from eye witnesses: but I can confidently affirm that the wall round Messene is stronger than those at Ambrosus in Phocis or at Byzantium or at Rhodes. And in the market-place at Messene there is a statue of Zeus Soter, and a conduit called Arsinoe, which got its name from the daughter of Leucippus, and water flows underground to feed it from a well called Clepsydra. And the gods who have temples are Poseidon and Aphrodite. And the most notable thing is a statue of the Mother of the Gods in Parian marble by Damophon, who most artistically rivetted the Zeus at Olympia when the ivory got loose. And honours were bestowed upon him by the people of Elis. He too designed the statue that the people of Messene call Laphria: whom they are accustomed to worship for the following reason. Among the Calydonians, who worship Artemis most of all the gods, her title is Laphria. And the Messenians who received Naupactus from the Athenians, and lived consequently very near to Ætolia, borrowed the worship of Artemis Laphria from the Calydonians. The statue I shall describe elsewhere. The title Laphria is only given to Artemis by the Messenians and the people of Patræ in Achaia. Ephesian Artemis is[Pg 290] the title which all cities recognize, and by which men privately worship her as greatest of the gods; partly from the fame of the Amazons, who are said to have established the worship of her image, partly because she had a temple at Ephesus from time immemorial. And three other things contributed to her glory also, the size of the temple which exceeds all other human structures, the celebrity of the city of Ephesus, and the splendour of the goddess’ shrine.

At Messene there is also a temple and stone statue of Ilithyia. And hard by is a hall of the Curetes, where they sacrifice all kinds of living things alike. Beginning with bulls and goats, they even go as far as to cast birds into the flames. There is also a temple sacred to Demeter, and statues of Castor and Pollux represented as carrying off the daughters of Leucippus. I have already shown in a previous part of my work that the Messenians assert that Castor and Pollux are indigenous with them and not with the Lacedæmonians. And they have many statues well worth seeing in the temple of Æsculapius. For besides the statues of the god and his sons, and besides those of Apollo and the Muses and Hercules, there are statues of Thebes and Epaminondas the son of Cleommis, and of Fortune and of Lightbringing Artemis. Those in stone are the work of Damophon, the only Messenian statuary that I know of that has produced any remarkable statues. The effigy of Epaminondas in iron is by another hand. There is also at Messene a temple of Triopas and her statue in gold and Parian marble: and the paintings at the back of the temple are Aphareus and his sons, the kings of Messene before the expedition of the Dorians to the Peloponnese, and after the return of the Heraclidæ Cresphontes, the leader of the Dorians, and of those that dwelt at Pylos Nestor and Thrasymedes and Antilochus, who were preferred to the sons of Nestor partly because they were older, partly because they had taken part in the Trojan expedition. There are paintings also of Leucippus the brother of Aphareus, and of Hilaira, Phœbe, and Arsinoe. There are paintings also of Æsculapius, (the son of Arsinoe according to the tradition of the Messenians,) and Machaon and Podalirius, for they also had a share in the[Pg 291] expedition to Ilium. These paintings were executed by Omphalion, the pupil of Nicias the son of Nicomedes: some say that he was also the slave of Nicias and his favourite.

The temple at Messene called the Sacrificial Chamber has statues of the gods generally worshipped among the Greeks, and also an effigy of Epaminondas in brass. There are also some ancient tripods, such as Homer describes as not having experienced fire.[60] And the statues in the gymnasium are the work of Egyptians, and are Hermes Hercules and Theseus, who are wont to be held in honour at gymnasiums and palæstras by all Greeks and by many barbarians. I also noticed a statue of Æthidas who was a contemporary of mine but older, and as he was very wealthy the Messenians paid him honours as a hero. None of the people of Messene deny that Æthidas was wealthy, but some say it is not that Æthidas who has a statue on the pillar, but a namesake and ancestor. And this earlier Æthidas was they say the General of the Messenians, when Demetrius the son of Philip and his army stole into the town by night when they little expected it.

There is here also the tomb of Aristomenes, and not a mere cenotaph, if their account is correct. But when I inquired how and from what place they brought home Aristomenes’ remains, they replied that they sent for them from Rhodes, obeying the direction of the God at Delphi. They also informed me of the sacrifices at this tomb. The bull they intend to sacrifice they bring to the tomb, and fasten it to a pillar near the tomb. And it being wild and unused to bonds is reluctant to remain there. And if by its struggles and mad bounds the pillar is moved, it is an auspicious omen to the people of Messene, but if it is not moved it is an omen of misfortune. And they amuse themselves with the fancy that Aristomenes though no longer alive was present at the fight at Leuctra, and they say he fought for the Thebans, and was the main[Pg 292] cause of the Lacedæmonian defeat. I know that the Chaldæan and Indian astrologers were the first who taught that the soul of man is immortal, and several Greeks credited their assertion, and notably Plato the son of Aristo. And whoever are willing to believe this cannot deny the fact that the hatred of Aristomenes to the Lacedæmonians was eternal. And what I heard in Thebes lent probability to the tradition at Messene, though it does not altogether agree with their account. The Thebans say that on the eve of the battle at Leuctra they sent to several oracles, and among others to that of Trophonius at Lebadea. The answers are extant which were received from Ismenian and Ptoan Apollo, as also from Abæ and Delphi. But the response of Trophonius was in 4 hexameter verses. “Before contending with the foe erect a trophy, decking out the shield, which the ardent Aristomenes of Messene placed in my temple. I will assuredly destroy the host of hostile warriors.” And on the arrival of this oracular response they say that Epaminondas prevailed with Xenocrates to send for the shield of Aristomenes, and he decked it out as a trophy in a place where it would be visible to the Lacedæmonians. And some of them recognized the shield as they had seen it in time of peace at Lebadea, and all knew of it by report. And after the Thebans won their victory, they offered Aristomenes’ shield again to Trophonius as a votive offering. There is also a brazen statue of Aristomenes in the race-course at Messene. And not far from the theatre is the temple of Serapis and Isis.

And as you go towards the hill of Ithome, where the Messenians have their citadel, is the spring called Clepsydra. However willing one may be it is a matter of no small difficulty to enumerate all the people who put in the claim that Zeus was born and bred among them. The people of Messene have this tradition among others. They say that Zeus was reared among them, and that Ithome and Neda were his nurses, and that Neda gave her name to[Pg 293] the river, and Ithome hers to the mountain. And these Nymphs they say, when Zeus was stolen away by the Curetes from fear of Cronos, washed him here at Clepsydra, and the spring got its name from the theft of the Curetes: and every day they take water from this spring to the temple of Zeus of Ithome. And the statue of Zeus is the work of Ageladas, and was made originally for the Messenians that dwelt at Naupactus. And a priest chosen annually keeps the statue in his house. And they have an annual feast at Ithome, and originally they had a musical contest, as one may infer from other sources, but especially from the lines of Eumelus, which are part of his Processional Hymn at Delos, “Welcome to Zeus of Ithome was the pure muse with free sandals.” I think from these verses that Eumelus knew that they had a musical contest at the Feast of Zeus of Ithome.

At the gates in the direction of Megalopolis in Arcadia there is a statue of Hermes of Athenian design: the busts of Hermes among the Athenians are square, and others have borrowed this design from them. And if you go about 30 stades down from these gates you come to the river Balyra. It was so called they say because Thamyris threw his lyre away there in his blindness, Thamyris the son of Philammon and the nymph Argiope. Argiope they say lived at Parnassus for a while, but when she became pregnant removed to Odrysæ, because Philammon would not marry her. And this is the reason why they call Thamyris Odrysian and Thracian. And the rivers Leucasia and Amphitus are tributaries of the Balyra.

After you have crossed these you come to the plain called the plain of Stenyclerus; this Stenyclerus was a hero. And right opposite the plain is what was called of old Œchalia, but in our day the Carnasian grove, mostly of cypress trees. And the gods who have statues are Carnean Apollo and Hermes carrying a ram. And the daughter of Demeter is here called the Virgin, and near her statue water wells from a spring. But the rites of the Great Goddesses, who have their Mysteries at the Carnasian grove, I must not reveal: but they are in my opinion second only in sanctity to the Eleusinian Mysteries. I am also prevented by a dream from revealing to the public all about the cinerary[Pg 294] urn of brass found by the Argive General, in which the remains of Eurytus the son of Melaneus are kept. And the river Charadrus flows along the Carnasian grove, and as you go on about 8 stades to the left you come to the ruins of Andania. That the town was so named from a woman called Andania is admitted by the antiquarians: I know however nothing about her parents, or who she married. And on the road from Andania to Cyparissiæ you come to a place called Polichne, where the rivers Electra and Cœus flow. Perhaps the names of these rivers refer to Electra the daughter of Atlas and to Cœus the father of Leto, or Electra and Cœus are possibly some local heroes.

And after crossing the Electra you come to the well called Achaia, and the ruins of the city Dorium. And it is here at Dorium that Homer has described Thamyris as having been stricken blind, because he said he could excel the Muses in singing.[61] But Prodicus the Phocæan, (if the poem called the Minyad is indeed his), says that punishments were reserved for Thamyris in Hades because of his boastful language to the Muses. But I am of opinion that Thamyris lost his eyesight through disease: as indeed happened to Homer subsequently. But Homer went on composing all his life, for he did not yield to his misfortune, whereas Thamyris wooed the Muse no longer, completely overcome by his ever-present trouble.

From Messene to the mouth of the Pamisus is about 80 stades, and the Pamisus flows clear and limpid through arable land, and is navigable some 10 stades inland. And some sea fish swim up it especially at the season of spring, as they do also up the rivers Rhenus and Mæander: but mostly do they swim up the river Achelous, which has its outlet near the islands called the Echinades. And the fish that swim up the Pamisus are finer in appearance, because the water is clear, and not full of mud like the other rivers[Pg 295] I have mentioned. And mullets, being fishes that love mud, are fond of muddy rivers. Now the Greek rivers do not seem to produce beasts dangerous to man’s life, like the Indus, and the Nile in Egypt, and the Rhenus, the Ister, the Euphrates, and the Phasis. For they produce beasts that devour man, in appearance like the Glanides at Hermus and Mæander, except that they have a darker skin and more strength. In these respects the Glanides are deficient. And the Indus and Nile both furnish crocodiles, and the Nile hippopotamuses also, which are as destructive to man as the crocodile. But the Greek rivers are not formidable for wild beasts, for even in the river Aous, that flows through the Thesprotian mainland, the dogs are not river dogs but sea dogs that swim up from the sea.

On the right of the Pamisus is Corone, a town near the sea, and under the mountain Mathia. And on the road to it is a place near the sea, which they think is the temple of Ino: for they say that the goddess landed here from the sea, and was worshipped by the name of Leucothea instead of Ino. And at no great distance the river Bias discharges itself into the sea, which river took its name they say from Bias the son of Amythaon. About 20 stades from the road is the well Plataniston, the water flows from a plane-tree, broad and hollow inside, and like a small cave, and fresh water flows from thence to Corone. The name of the town was of old Æpea, but after the Messenians were restored to the Peloponnese by the Thebans, they say that Epimelides, who was sent to rebuild it, called it Coronea, after Coronea in Bœotia where he came from, but the Messenians mispronounced the name Corone from the first, and in process of time their mistake became prevalent. There is also another tradition that when they were digging the foundations of their walls they found a brass crow.[62] The gods here who have temples are Artemis called the Rearer of children, and Dionysus, and Æsculapius. The statues of Æsculapius and Dionysus are of stone, and there is a brazen statue of Zeus Soter in the market-place. There is also a brazen statue of Athene in the citadel in the open air, with a crow in her hand. I also saw the tomb of Epimelides.[Pg 296] Why they call the harbour the harbour of the Achæans I do not know.

As you go on about 80 stades from Corone you come to a temple of Apollo, near the sea, which is held in high honour: according to the Messenian tradition it is the most ancient of all Apollo’s temples, and the god heals diseases. They call the god Corydus.[63] His statue here is of wood, but there is a brazen statue the work of Argeotas, a votive offering they say of the Argonauts. And near the town of Corone is Colonides. Its inhabitants say they were not Messenians but were brought by Colænus from Attica, who according to an oracle followed the crested lark there. And in process of time they picked up the Dorian dialect and customs. And the town of Colonides is on a height not far from the sea.

And the people of Asine were originally neighbours of the Lycoritæ, and dwelt near Mount Parnassus. They were then called Dryopes from their founder, which name they retained when they came to the Peloponnese. But in the third generation afterwards, when Phylas was king, the Dryopes were beaten in battle by Hercules, and were taken to Delphi and offered to Apollo. And being brought back to the Peloponnese by the oracle which the god gave Hercules, they first occupied Asine near Hermion, and, having been expelled thence by the Argives, they dwelt in Messenia by permission of the Lacedæmonians, and when in process of time the Messenians were restored they were not turned out by them from Asine. And the account the people of Asine themselves give is as follows. They admit they were conquered in battle by Hercules, and that their town on Mount Parnassus was captured, but they deny that they were led captive to Apollo, but when their walls were taken by Hercules, they left their town they say and fled for refuge to the heights of Parnassus; and afterwards crossing over in ships to the Peloponnese became suppliants of Eurystheus, and he being a bitter enemy of Hercules gave them Asine in Argolis to dwell in. And the Asinæi are the only descendants of the Dryopes that still plume themselves[Pg 297] on that name, very unlike the Eubœans that live at Styra. For they too are Dryopes by origin, who did not participate in the contest with Hercules but dwelt at some distance from the town. But they despise the name Dryopes, just as the inhabitants of Delphi object to be called Phocians. Whereas the Asinæi rejoice in the name of Dryopes, and have evidently made the holiest of their temples an imitation of those they formerly erected at Mount Parnassus. They have not only a temple of Apollo, but a temple and ancient statue of Dryops, whose mysteries they celebrate annually, and say that he was the son of Apollo. And Asine lies by the sea just as the old Asine in Argolis did, and the distance from Colonides is about 40 stades, and at about the same distance in the other direction is the Promontory of Acritas, just in front of which is the deserted island of Theganussa. And not far from Acritas is the harbour of Phœnicus and some islands called Œnussæ opposite the harbour.

And Mothone, which before the expedition against Troy and even subsequently to that war was called Pedasus, afterwards changed its name to Mothone from the daughter of Œneus as the inhabitants say: for Œneus the son of Porthaon after the capture of Ilium retired they say with Diomede to the Peloponnese, and had by a concubine a daughter Mothone. But in my opinion the Rock called Mothon gave its name to Mothone, a rock which constitutes a natural harbour, for being much of it sunken under the water it narrows the entrance for ships, and at the same time is a kind of breakwater against the violence of the waves. I have already described how the Lacedæmonians, in the days when Damocratidas was king at Argos, gave Mothone to the people of Nauplia, who had been expelled from their city for their Laconian proclivities; and how even after the restoration of the Messenians they were not interfered with. The people of Nauplia were I imagine in ancient times Egyptians, and, having come to Argolis in[Pg 298] their ships with Danaus, they formed three generations afterwards a colony at Nauplia under Nauplius the son of Amymone. And the Emperor Trajan granted the people of Mothone a free constitution. But in older days they alone of all the Messenians had the following serious misfortune. Thesprotia in Epirus was in a ruinous condition from anarchy. For Deidamia the daughter of Pyrrhus had no children, and on her death handed over the government to the people. She was the daughter of Pyrrhus, the son of Ptolemy, the son of Alexander, the son of Pyrrhus: of this last Pyrrhus the son of Æacides I have given an account earlier in my description of Attica. Procles the Carthaginian has given Alexander the son of Philip more praise for his good fortune and the lustre of his exploits, but for the disposition of an army and strategical tactics in the face of an enemy he says Pyrrhus was the better man. And when the people of Epirus became a democracy, they shewed a want of ballast in several respects, and entirely disregarded their rulers: and the Illyrians that dwelt north of Epirus by the Ionian sea became their masters by sudden attack. For we know of no democracy but Athens that ever rose to greatness. The Athenians indeed rose to their zenith by democracy: but in native intelligence they were superior to the other Greeks, and obeyed the laws more than democracies generally do.

And the Illyrians, when they had once tasted the sweets of conquest, longed for more and still more, and equipped a fleet, and made piratic excursions everywhere, and sailed to Mothone and anchored there as with friendly intent, and sent a messenger into the town and asked for some wine for their ships. And when a few men brought this wine, they paid for it the price the people of Mothone asked for it, and sold them in turn some of their cargoes. And on the following day more came from the city and a brisker traffic ensued. And at last women and men came down to the ships, and sold wine and received goods in turn from the barbarians. Then the Illyrians in the height of their daring captured many men and still more women, and clapped them on board, and sailed away for the Ionian sea, having half stripped the town of its population.

[Pg 299]

At Mothone is a temple of Athene the Goddess of Winds, Diomede they say dedicated the statue of the goddess and gave her that title, for violent winds and unseasonable used to blow over the place and do much harm, but after Diomede prayed to Athene, no trouble from winds ever came to them thenceforward. There is also a temple of Artemis here, and some water mixed with pitch in a well, in appearance very like Cyzicenian ointment. Water indeed can assume every colour and smell. The bluest I have ever seen is at Thermopylæ, not all the water but that which flows into the swimming-bath which the people of the place call the women’s Pots. And reddish water very like blood is seen in the land of the Hebrews near Joppa: the water is very near the sea, and the tradition about the spring is that Perseus, after killing the sea monster to whom the daughter of Cepheus was exposed, washed away the blood there. And black water welling up from springs I have seen at Astyra which is opposite Lesbos, the warm baths are in a village called Atarneus, which was given to the Chians by the Medes as a reward for giving up to them the suppliant Pactyas the Lydian. This water is black: and not far from a town across the river Anio the Romans have some white water: and when one bathes in it it is at first cold and makes one shudder, but if one stays in it a little time it is hot as fire. All these wonderful springs I have myself seen, and those of lesser wonder I purposely pass over, for to find water salt and rough to the palate is no great wonder. But there are two very remarkable kinds of water: one at Caria in the plain called White, near a village called Dascylus, warm and sweeter to drink than milk: and the other Herodotus describes as a spring of bitter water discharging itself into the river Hypanis. How then shall we refuse to credit that warm water is found at Dicæarchia[64] among the Tyrrhenians, so hot that in a few years it melts the lead through which it flows?

From Mothone to the promontory of Coryphasium is about 100 stades, and near it is Pylos, which was founded by Pylos, the son of Cleson, who brought from Megaris the Leleges who then occupied Megaris. But he did not enjoy it long, being turned out by Neleus and the Pelasgians of Iolcus. And he went away to the neighbouring country and occupied Pylos in Elis. And king Neleus advanced Pylos to such renown that Homer in his Iliad calls it the city of Neleus.[65] There is a temple there of Athene called Coryphasia, and a house called Nestor’s house, in which is a painting of Nestor, and there is his tomb inside the city, and at a little distance from Pylos is (they say) the tomb of Thrasymedes. And there is a cave inside the city, which they say was the stall of the oxen of Nestor and still earlier of Neleus. The breed of these oxen would be Thessalian, of the herd of Iphiclus the father of Protesilaus, for Neleus asked them as wedding presents from the wooers of his daughter, and it was on their account that Melampus to gratify his brother Bias went to Thessalia, and was bound by the herdsmen of Iphiclus, but eventually by answering the questions which Iphiclus put obtained these oxen as a reward. The men of that day were anxious to amass wealth in the shape of herds of horses and oxen, for not only did Neleus desire for his own the oxen of Iphiclus, but Eurystheus ordered Hercules, in consequence of the fame of those oxen in Spain, to drive off the herd that belonged to Geryon. And Eryx, who was at that time king in Sicily, was manifestly so keenly in love with the oxen from Erythea, that when he wrestled with Hercules he staked his kingdom against them. And Homer in the Iliad has represented Iphidimas, the son of Antenor, giving 100 oxen as the first wedding present to his father in law.[66] All this confirms my theory that the men of those days were especially fond of oxen. And the oxen of Neleus grazed I imagine mostly over the borders, for the district of Pylos is mostly sandy,[Pg 301] and unable to afford sufficient pasture. My authority is Homer who, whenever he mentions Nestor, always calls him the king of sandy Pylos.

Before the harbour is the island Sphacteria, situated very much as Rhenea is in reference to the harbour of Delos. It seems the destiny of both men and places to be for a while unknown and then to come to renown. Such was the case with Caphareus, a promontory in Eubœa, by a storm which came there upon the Greeks returning with Agamemnon from Ilium. So too with Psyttalea off Salamis, where we know the Medes perished in great numbers. So too the reverses of the Lacedæmonians at Sphacteria made the place world-famed. And the Athenians erected a brazen statue of Victory in their Acropolis as a record of their success at Sphacteria.

And as you go in the direction of Cyparissiæ from Pylos there is a spring under the city close to the sea. They say the water welled up in consequence of Dionysus striking the ground with his thyrsus, and so they call the spring Dionysus’ spring. There are also at Cyparissiæ temples of Apollo and Cyparissian Athene. And at the place called Aulon there is a temple of Æsculapius, and a statue of Aulonian Æsculapius. From this place the river Neda, till it falls into the sea, is the boundary between Messenia and Elis.

Those Greeks, who say that the Peloponnese is divided into five parts and no more, are obliged to admit that the people of Elis as well as the Arcadians dwell in the division of the Arcadians, and that the second division is Achaia, and that the Dorians have the remaining three. The indigenous races that inhabit the Peloponnese are Arcadians and Achæans. And the Achæans were driven out of their own land by the Dorians, but did not however evacuate the Peloponnese, but dispossessed the Ionians that lived in what was then called Ægialus, but is now called after them Achaia. The Arcadians on the other hand have always up to this day remained in Arcadia. But the other parts of the Peloponnese are peopled by strangers. The latest importation were the present Corinthians, who were introduced into the Peloponnese some 217 years ago by the Roman Emperor. And the Dryopes came into the Peloponnese from Mount Parnassus, the Dorians from Mount Œta.

We know that the people of Elis originally came from Calydon and other parts of Ætolia. And the oldest information I have found about them is as follows. The first king in this land was they say Aethlius, the son of Zeus by Protogenea the daughter of Deucalion, and the father of Endymion. The Moon was they say enamoured of this Endymion, and had by him 50 daughters. But a more probable account is that Endymion married Asterodia, others say Chromia the daughter of Itonus the son of Amphictyon, others say Hyperippe the daughter of Arcas, and had three sons, Pæon and Epeus and Ætolus, and one daughter Eurycyde. Endymion also made his sons contend in running at Olympia for the kingdom, and Epeus won,[Pg 303] so the people over whom he ruled were first called Epeans. And of his brothers Ætolus they say remained at home, but Pæon vexed at his loss went as far away as possible, and the region beyond the river Axius was called Pæonia after him. As to the death of Endymion different accounts are given by the Heracleotæ at Miletus and by the people of Elis, but the latter show the sepulchre of Endymion, while the former say that he retired to Mount Latmus, where is his shrine. And Epeus married Anaxiroe, the daughter of Coronus, by whom he had a daughter Hyrmina, but no male offspring. And these were the events of his reign. Œnomaus the son of Alxion, (or the son of Ares, as poets have sung, which is the prevalent tradition), being ruler of the country called Pisæa, was deposed from his rule by Pelops the Lydian, who had crossed over from Asia Minor. And after his death Pelops occupied Pisæa and Olympia, slicing off from the territory of Epeus what bordered upon Pisæa. And Pelops (so the people of Elis say) was the first in the Peloponnese to build a temple to Hermes and sacrifice to him, thus turning away the wrath of the god for the murder of Myrtilus.

And Ætolus, the king after Epeus, had to flee from the Peloponnese, because the sons of Apis indicted him for the involuntary murder of their father. For Apis the son of Jason, a native of Pallantium in Arcadia, was killed by Ætolus’ driving over him in his chariot at the funeral games in memory of Azan. So Ætolus the son of Endymion fled to the mainland, to the neighbourhood of the river Achelous, which was called Ætolia after him. And the kingdom of the Epeans was reigned over by Eleus, the son of Eurycyde, the daughter of Endymion and (if we may believe the tradition) Poseidon. And the people in his dominions now changed their names from Epeans to Eleans.

And Eleus had a son called Augeas. And those who want to exalt him change his father’s name, and say that he was the son of Helius (the Sun-god). The oxen and goats of this Augeas were so numerous that most of the country could not be cultivated for their dung. Hercules therefore, whether for a part of Elis or some other reward, was persuaded by him to clear the country of this[Pg 304] dung. And he effected this by turning the river Menius on to it. But Augeas, because the work had been effected by ingenuity rather than toil, refused to give Hercules his reward, and turned out of doors the eldest of his sons Phyleus, because he told him he was not acting with justice to a benefactor. He also made several preparations to defend himself against Hercules, should he come into Elis with an army, and entered into an alliance with Amarynceus and the sons of Actor. Now Amarynceus had an especial acquaintance with military matters, and his father Pyttius was a Thessalian by extraction, and had come from thence to Elis. And to Amarynceus Augeas gave a share of his power at Elis; and Actor and his sons also, who were natives of Elis, shared in the administration of the kingdom. The father of Actor was Phorbas the son of Lapithus, and his mother was Hyrmina, the daughter of Epeus, and Actor built and called after her the town of Hyrmina in Elis.

Now in the campaign against Augeas Hercules had no opportunity to win laurels, for as the sons of Actor were in their prime for daring and vigour of youth, the allied forces of Hercules were constantly routed by them, until the Corinthians announced a truce during the Isthmian games, and the sons of Actor went to see the games, and Hercules lay in ambush for them and slew them at Cleonæ. And the perpetrator of the deed being unknown, Moline the mother of the lads took the greatest pains to discover their murderer. And when she discovered who it was, then the people of Elis claimed compensation for the murder from the Argives, for Hercules dwelt in Argolis at Tiryns. And as the Argives refused to give up Hercules, they next begged hard of the Corinthians, that all Argolis should be scratched from the Isthmian games. But being unsuccessful in this also, they say Moline put a curse upon the citizens if they went to the Isthmian games. And these curses of Moline are observed up to this day, and all the athletes at Elis make a practice of never going to the[Pg 305] Isthmian contest. And there are two different traditions about this. One of them states that Cypselus the tyrant at Corinth offered a golden statue to Zeus at Olympia, but, Cypselus dying before his name was inscribed on the votive offering, the Corinthians asked the people of Elis to allow them to inscribe publicly the name of Corinth on the votive offering, and the people of Elis refusing they were angry with them, and forbade them to contend at the Isthmian games. But how would the Corinthians have been admitted at the contests at Olympia, if they had excluded the people of Elis from the Isthmian games? But the other tradition states that Prolaus, a man of much repute among the people of Elis, and Lysippe his wife had two sons Philanthus and Lampus, and they went to the Isthmian games, the one intending to compete in the pancratium among the boys, the other in wrestling, and before the games came on they were strangled or killed in some way by their rivals: and that was why Lysippe imposed her curses on the people of Elis, if they would not of their own accord cease to attend the Isthmian games. This tradition too is easily shewn to be a silly one. For Timon a native of Elis had victories in the pentathlum in all the other Greek contests, and there is an effigy of him at Olympia, and some elegiac verses which enumerate the various crowns that he carried off as victor, and the reason why he did not participate in the Isthmian contest. This is one couplet. “Our hero was prevented coming to the land of Sisyphus by the strife that arose in consequence of the sad fate of the sons of Molione.”

Let this suffice on the matter. To resume, Hercules afterwards captured and sacked Elis, having got together an army of Argives Thebans and Arcadians: and the people of Elis were assisted by the men of Pylos in Elis and by the men of Pisa. And the men of Pylos were punished by Hercules, and he intended marching against Pisa, but was stopped by the following oracle from Delphi,

“Dear to the Father is Pisa, Pytho has entrusted it to me.”

[Pg 306]

This oracle was the salvation of Pisa. And to Phyleus Hercules gave up Elis and other places, not so much willingly as standing in awe of Phyleus, to whom he also granted the captives and forgave Augeas. And the women of Elis, as their land was stripped of young men through the war, are said to have prayed to Athene that they might conceive directly they married, and their prayer was granted, and they erected a temple to Athene under the title of Mother. And both the women and men being excessively delighted with their union called the place where they first met Bady (sweet), and also gave the same name in their national dialect to the river flowing there.

And when Phyleus, after setting things in order in Elis, returned to Dulichium, Augeas died being already advanced in age, and was succeeded in the kingdom of Elis by his son Agasthenes, and by Amphimachus, and Thalpius. For the sons of Actor married two sisters, the daughters of Dexamenus who was king at Olenus, and the one had by Theronice Amphimachus, and the other Eurytus had by Theræphone Thalpius. Not that Amarynceus or Diores his son remained all their lives in a private capacity. As we know from Homer in his catalogue of the men of Elis, all their fleet was 40 sail, and half of them were under Amphimachus and Thalpius, and of the remaining half ten were under Diores the son of Amarynceus, and ten under Polyxenus the son of Agasthenes. And Polyxenus coming back safe from Troy had a son Amphimachus, (he gave his son this name I fancy from his friendship to Amphimachus the son of Cteatus who perished at Ilium), and he had a son Eleus, and it was when Eleus was king at Elis that the Dorian host mustered under the sons of Aristomachus with a view to return to the Peloponnese. This oracle came to the kings, that they must make a man with three eyes leader of the return. And as they were in great doubt what the oracle could mean, a muleteer chanced to pass by, whose mule was blind of one eye. And Cresphontes conjecturing that the oracle referred to this man, the Dorians invited him to be their leader. And he urged them to return to the Peloponnese in ships, and not force their way through the isthmus with a land force. This was his advice, and at the same time he piloted[Pg 307] the fleet from Naupactus to Molycrium, and they in return for his services agreed to give him at his request the kingdom of Elis. And the man’s name was Oxylus, he was the son of Hæmon, the son of Thoas, who in conjunction with the sons of Atreus had overturned the kingdom of Priam; and between Thoas and Ætolus the son of Endymion there are six generations. And the Heraclidæ were in other respects kinsmen to the kings in Ætolia, besides the fact that the sisters of Thoas were mothers by Hercules of Andræmon and Hyllus. And Oxylus had to flee from Ætolia in consequence of an accident, in throwing a quoit (they say) he missed his aim and unintentionally killed his brother Thermius, or according to some accounts Alcidocus the son of Scopius.

There is also another tradition about Oxylus, that he suspected the sons of Aristomachus of an unwillingness to give him the kingdom of Elis, as it was fertile and well cultivated everywhere, and this was why he led the Dorians through Arcadia and not through Elis. And when Oxylus hastened to take the kingdom of Elis without contention Dius would not permit him, but challenged him not to a contention with all their forces, but to a single combat between two soldiers one from each side. And both agreed to this. And the men selected for this single combat were Degmenus a bowman of Elis, and Pyræchmes on the Ætolian side a famous slinger. And as Pyræchmes was victorious Oxylus got the kingdom, and he allowed the ancient Epeans to remain there, but introduced Ætolians as colonists with them, and gave them also a share in the land. And to Dius he gave various honours, and observed the rights of all the heroes according to old precedents, and introduced sacrificial offerings to Augeas which have continued to our day. It is said that he also persuaded the men in the villages, who were at no great distance from the walls, to come into the city, and thus increased the population of Elis and made it more powerful in other respects. And an oracle came to him from Delphi to associate with him as colonist a descendant[Pg 308] of Pelops, and he made diligent search, and discovered Agorius the son of Damasius, the son of Penthilus, the son of Orestes, and invited him from Helice in Achaia and with him a few Achæans. And they say Oxylus had a wife called Pieria, but they record nothing further about her. And the sons of Oxylus were they say Ætolus and Laias. And Ætolus dying in his father’s lifetime, his parents buried him and erected a sepulchre to him by the gate, which leads to Olympia and the temple of Zeus. And they buried him there in accordance with the oracle, which said that his dead body was to be neither in nor out of the city. And annually still the master of the gymnasium offers victims to Ætolus.

Oxylus was succeeded in the kingdom by his son Laias. I could not find that his sons reigned, so I purposely pass them over, for it has not been my desire in this narrative to descend to private personages. But some time afterwards Iphitus, who was of the same family as Oxylus, and a contemporary of Lycurgus the Lacedæmonian legislator, revived the contest at Olympia, and renewed the public gathering there, and established a truce as long as the games lasted. Why the meetings at Olympia had been discontinued I shall narrate when I come to Olympia. And as Greece at this time was nearly ruined by civil wars and by the pestilence, Iphitus bethought him to ask of the god at Delphi a remission from these ills. And they say he was ordered by the Pythian Priestess to join the people of Elis in restoring the Olympian games. Iphitus also persuaded the people of Elis to sacrifice to Hercules, for before this they had an idea that Hercules was hostile to them. And the inscription at Olympia says that Iphitus was the son of Hæmon, but most of the Greeks say he was the son of Praxonides and not of Hæmon. But the ancient records of the people of Elis trace him up to a father of the same name as himself viz. Iphitus.

The people of Elis took part in the Trojan war, and also in the battles against the Persians when they invaded Greece. And to pass over their frequent disputes with the people of Pisa and the Arcadians in respect to the re-establishment of the games at Olympia, they joined the Lacedæmonians not without reluctance in invading Attica, and[Pg 309] not long after they fought against the Lacedæmonians, having formed an alliance with the Mantineans the Argives and the Athenians. And on the occasion of Agis making an incursion into Elis, when Xenias played the traitor, the people of Elis were victorious at Olympia, and routed the Lacedæmonians, and drove them from the precincts of the temple: and some time afterwards the war came to an end on the conditions which I have mentioned before in my account of the Lacedæmonians. And when Philip, the son of Amyntas, could not keep his hands off Greece, the people of Elis, worn out with intestine factions, joined the Macedonians, but not to the point of fighting against the Greeks at Chæronea. But they participated in the attack of Philip upon the Lacedæmonians by reason of their ancient hatred to them. But after the death of Alexander they joined the Greeks in fighting against Antipater and the Macedonians.

And in process of time Aristotimus, the son of Damaretus, the son of Etymon, obtained the sovereignty at Elis, partly through the assistance of Antigonus the son of Demetrius, who was king of the Macedonians. But when he had reigned only six months, Chilon and Hellanicus and Lampis and Cylon rose up against him and deposed him; and Cylon slew him with his own hand when he had fled as suppliant to the altar of Zeus Soter. These are the chief wars the people of Elis took part in, just to glance at them briefly in the present portion of my work.

Among the wonders of Elis are the flax, which grows here alone and in no other part of Greece, and also the fact that, though over the borders mares bear foals to he-asses, it is never so in Elis. And this phenomenon is they say the result of a curse. The flax in Elis in respect of thinness is not inferior to the flax of the Hebrews, but is not as yellow.

And as you go from the district of Elis there is a place by the sea called Samicum, and beyond it on the right is[Pg 310] the district called Triphylia, and the city Lepreus in it. The people of Lepreus think they belong properly to Arcadia, but it is manifest they were from time immemorial subject to Elis. For the victors at Olympia that came from Lepreus were pronounced by the herald men of Elis. And Aristophanes has described Lepreus as a city in Elis. One way to Lepreus from Samicum is by leaving the river Aniger on the left, and a second is from Olympia, and a third from Elis, and the longest of them is only a day’s journey. The city got its name they say from Lepreus the son of Pyrgeus its founder. There is a tradition that Lepreus had an eating contest with Hercules, each killed an ox at the same time and cooked it for dinner, and (as he had betted) he was quite a match for Hercules in eating. But he had the hardihood afterwards to challenge Hercules to a contest in arms. And they say he was killed in that contest and buried at Phigalia, however his sepulchre there is not shewn. And I have heard some who claim that their city was founded by Leprea the daughter of Pyrgeus. Others say that the inhabitants of this region were the first lepers, and that the city got its name from this misfortune of its inhabitants. And the people of Lepreus say that in their city they once had a temple of Leucæan Zeus, and the tomb of Lycurgus the son of Aleus, and also the tomb of Caucon. The last had they say as a design over it a man with a lyre. But in my time there is no remarkable tomb there, nor any temple of the gods except one of Demeter: built of unbaked brick, and containing no statue. And not far from the city Lepreus is a spring called Arene: it got this name according to tradition from the wife of Aphareus.

And as you return to Samicum, and go through it, the river Aniger has its outlet to the sea. The flow of this river is often impeded by violent winds: for they blow the sand from the shore into it and dam up the flow of the river. Whenever then this sand becomes soaked with water, (outside by the sea inside by the river), it becomes a very dangerous place for carts and carriages and even for an active man to ford. This river Aniger rises in the Arcadian mountain Lapithus, and the water has an unpleasant smell from its source. Before receiving its tributary[Pg 311] the Acidas it is too fetid to have any fish whatever, and after its confluence with the Acidas, though it has fish that come into its waters from that tributary, they are no longer eatable, which they are when caught in the Acidas. That the ancient name of the river Acidas was Iardanus I should not myself have conjectured, but I was so informed by an Ephesian. The unpleasant smell of the Aniger comes I believe from the soil through which the river flows, as is certainly the case with those rivers beyond Ionia, whose exhalations are deadly to man. Some of the Greeks say that Chiron, others that Pylenor the Centaur, was wounded by Hercules, and fled and washed his sore in this river, and that it was from the Hydra’s poison (in which Hercules’ arrow had been dipped) that the Aniger got its unpleasant smell. Others refer this condition of the river to Melampus the son of Amythaon, and to the fact that the purifications of the daughters of Prœtus were thrown into it.

There is at Samicum a cave, not far from the river, called the cave of the Nymphs of the Aniger. Whoever goes into it suffering from either black or white leprosy, must first of all pray to these Nymphs and promise sacrifice to them, and afterwards wipe clean the diseased parts of his body. If he next swims across the river he leaves in the water his foul disease, and comes out of the river sound and with his skin uniformly clear.

On the high road, after crossing the Aniger in the direction of Olympia, there is at no great distance on the right an eminence, and on it a town called Samia above Samicum. This town[67] they say was made into a sort of offensive fortress against the Arcadians by Polysperchon, an Ætolian.

As to the ruins of Arene, none either of the Messenians or people of Elis could give me a clear account. As their explanations are different those who like to conjecture are[Pg 312] at liberty to do so. The most credible account seems to me that of those who think that the ancient name of Samicum earlier than the time of the heroes was Arene. And these quote the lines in the Iliad.

“There is a river Minyeïus,

That flows into the sea near to Arene.”

Iliad, xi 722, 723.

And these ruins of Arene are very near the Aniger. One might have doubted about Samicum having been called Arene, only the Arcadians admit that the ancient name of the river Aniger was Minyeïus. And one would feel sure that the river Neda near the sea was the boundary between Elis and Messenia at the time of the return of the Heraclidæ to the Peloponnese.

And leaving the Aniger, and passing through a district generally sandy and full of wild pine-trees, somewhat back to the left you will see the ruins of Scillus. Scillus was one of the towns of Triphylia: and in the war between the people of Elis and Pisa the people of Scillus openly allied themselves to the people of Pisa, and in return the men of Elis dispossessed them from Scillus. But the Lacedæmonians afterwards sliced Scillus from Elis, and gave it to Xenophon (the son of Gryllus), who was at that time exiled from Athens. He was banished by the Athenians for joining Cyrus (who hated their democracy) against the king of the Persians (who was their friend): for when Cyrus was at Sardis he gave Lysander, the son of Aristocritus, and the Lacedæmonians some money for their fleet. This is why Xenophon was banished, and he lived at Scillus and built a temple and grove to Ephesian Artemis. And Scillus affords good hunting of wild animals, as wild boars and deer. And the river Selinus flows through the district. And the antiquarians of Elis say that the people of Elis recovered Scillus, and that Xenophon was tried in the Olympian council for receiving Scillus from the Lacedæmonians, but was acquitted and allowed to continue there scot free. And at some little distance from the temple they show a tomb, and there is an effigy on the tomb in Pentelican marble, which the people of the place say is Xenophon.

[Pg 313]

On the road to Olympia from Scillus, before crossing the Alpheus, is a mountain lofty and precipitous which is called Typæum. From this mountain it is the custom to hurl all women of Elis who are detected as competitors in the Olympian contests, or who merely cross the Alpheus on forbidden days. Not that any one ever yet was so detected except Callipatira, whose name according to some traditions was Pherenice. She after the death of her husband dressed herself up like an athlete, and brought her son as a combatant to Olympia. And Pisirodus her son having been victorious, Callipatira in leaping over the fence which parted the athletes from the spectators, exposed her person, and though her sex was detected they let her go without punishment out of respect to her father and brothers and son, who had all been victors at Olympia, but they passed a law that henceforth all athletes should come to the contests naked.

And when you have got to Olympia immediately you see the river Alpheus, a full and very pleasant river, and no less than seven notable rivers are tributaries to it. For through Megalopolis the Helisson flows into it, and the Brentheates from the district of Megalopolis, and the Gortynius near Gortyna where is a temple of Æsculapius, and from Melæneæ between the districts of Megalopolis and Heræa the Buphagus, and the Ladon from the district of the Clitorians, and the river Erymanthus from the mountain of the same name. All these flow into the Alpheus from Arcadia, and the Cladeus from Elis also contributes its stream. And the source of the Alpheus is in Arcadia and not in Elis. And there are several traditions about the Alpheus, as that he was a hunter and enamoured of Arethusa, and that she hunted with him. And as Arethusa was unwilling to marry him, she crossed over they say to an island near Syracuse, called Ortygia, and there became a spring: just as Alpheus in consequence of his love was changed into a river. This is the tradition[Pg 314] about the Alpheus and the Ortygia. As to the river going under the sea and coming up in another place, there is no reason why I should discredit that, as I know that the god at Delphi admitted it, seeing that when he sent Archias the Corinthian to establish a colony at Syracuse, these were some of the words he used, “Ortygia lies in the cloudy sea above Trinacria, where the mouth of the Alpheus mixes and flows with the springs of the broad Arethusa.” From this circumstance of their union, and not any love passages, I imagine the traditions about the two rivers originated. And all the Greeks or Egyptians, that have penetrated into Ethiopia beyond Syene, and as far as the Ethiopian city of Meroe, say that the Nile enters into a marsh, and flows through it as if it were earth, and eventually through lower Ethiopia into Egypt to Pharos, where it has its outlet at the sea. And in the land of the Hebrews I know that the river Jordan flows through the lake of Tiberias, and into what is called the Dead Sea, by which it is absorbed. The Dead Sea has properties unlike any other water: living bodies can float in it without swimming, whereas dead bodies go to the bottom. And it has no fish, for from their evident danger they take refuge in water more congenial to them. And there is a river in Ionia similar to the Alpheus, its source is in the mountain Mycale, and it flows under the sea, and comes up again at Branchidæ at the harbour called Panormus. All this is correctly stated.

In regard to the Olympian Games those who are in possession of the most ancient archives of the people of Elis say that Cronos was the first king of Heaven, and that he had a temple built to him at Olympia by the mortals who then lived, who were called the golden age: and that, when Zeus was born, Rhea entrusted the charge of the boy to the Idæan Dactyli, who were otherwise called the Curetes: who afterwards came to Elis from Ida in Crete, and their names were Hercules, and Epimedes, and Pæonæus, and Iasius, and Idas. And Hercules the eldest of them challenged his brothers in play to run a race together, and they would crown the victor with a branch of the wild olive: and there was such abundance of wild olive trees that they strewed under them the leaves while they were still green as beds to sleep on. And they say that the wild olive[Pg 315] was introduced to the Greeks by Hercules from the country of the Hyperboreans, who dwelt north of the wind Boreas. Olen the Lycian first mentioned in a hymn to Achæia, that she came to Delos from these Hyperboreans, and when Melanopus of Cumæ composed an ode to Opis and Hecaerges, he mentioned that they too came from the Hyperboreans to Delos before Achæia. And Aristæus of Proconnesus, who has also mentioned the Hyperboreans, may perhaps have heard more of them from the Issedones, to whom in his poems he says they went. At any rate to Idæan Hercules belongs the glory that he first instituted and gave their name to the Olympian contests. He appointed them to be held every fifth year because he and his brothers were five in number. And some say that it was there that Zeus contended with Cronos about the sovereignty of Heaven, others say he appointed these games after his success over Cronos. Other gods are said to have been victorious, as Apollo who outran Hermes, who challenged him to the contest, and outboxed Ares. And this is the reason they say why the Pythian flute-playing was introduced in the leaping contest at the pentathlum, because the flute was sacred to Apollo, and Apollo was on several occasions the victor at Olympia.

And after this they say Clymenus the son of Cardys, (in the 50th year after Deucalion’s flood), a descendant of Idæan Hercules, came from Crete and established games at Olympia, and erected an altar to his ancestor Hercules and to the other Curetes, giving Hercules the title of Assistant. But Endymion the son of Aethlius deposed Clymenus from the kingdom, and gave it to his sons as a prize for the best runner of them at Olympia. And a generation after Endymion, Pelops made the contest to Olympian Zeus more famous than any of his predecessors. And when the sons of Pelops were scattered from Elis all over the Peloponnese, Amythaon the son of Cretheus, uncle of Endymion on the father’s side, (for they say Aethlius was the son of Æolus surnamed Zeus), appointed games at[Pg 316] Olympia, and after him Pelias and Neleus in common. So also did Augeas and Hercules, the son of Amphitryon, after the capture of Elis. And all that he crowned as victors were Iolaus, who had borrowed the mares of Hercules for the race. It was an old custom to be a competitor with borrowed horses. Homer at least in the funeral games in honour of Patroclus has represented Menelaus as yoking together Agamemnon’s horse Æthe with one of his own.[68] Iolaus was also Hercules’ charioteer. He was the victor in the chariot race, and Iasius an Arcadian in the riding race, and Castor was successful in running, Pollux in boxing. It is also recorded of Hercules that he was victorious in wrestling and in the pancratium.

And after the reign of Oxylus, who also established games, the Olympian games were suspended till Iphitus. And when he renewed the games as I have before stated, there was a general forgetfulness about the ancient games, but in a short while they got remembered again, and whenever they remembered any little feature of the games, they added it to the programme. And this proves my statement. From the time that the Olympian games were revived continuously, prizes were first instituted for running, and Corœbus of Elis was the victor. His statue is at Olympia, and his grave is on the borders of Elis. And in the 14th Olympiad afterwards the double course was introduced: when Hypenus a native of Pisa won the wild olive crown, and Acanthus was second. And in the 18th Olympiad they remembered the pentathlum and the wrestling, in the former Lampis was victor, in the latter Eurybatus, both Lacedæmonians. And in the 23rd Olympiad they ordained prizes for boxing, and Onomastus was victor from Smyrna (which was at that day reckoned as Ionia). And in the 25th Olympiad they had a race of full-grown horses, and the Theban Pagondas was proclaimed victor in this race. And in the eighth Olympiad later they introduced the pancratium and the riding race. The horse of Crannonian Crauxidas got in first, and the competitors for the pancratium were beaten by the Syracusan Lygdamis, who has his sepulchre at the stonequarries of Syracuse. And I don’t know whether Lygdamis was really as big as[Pg 317] the Theban Hercules, but that is the tradition at Syracuse. And the contest of the boys was not a revival of ancient usage, but the people of Elis instituted it because the idea pleased them. So prizes were instituted for running and wrestling among boys in the 307th Olympiad, and Hipposthenes the Lacedæmonian won the wrestling prize, and Polynices from Elis the running prize. And in the 41st Olympiad afterwards they invited boxing boys, and the one who won the prize from all the competitors was Philetas from Sybaris. And the race in heavy armour was tried in the 65th Olympiad, as an exercise for war I think: and of those who ran with their shields Damaretus of Heræum was the victor. And the race of two full-grown horses called a pair was established in the 93rd Olympiad, and Evagoras of Elis was the victor. And in the 99th Olympiad they had a fancy to contend with chariots drawn by colts, and the Lacedæmonian Sybariades had the prize for this contest. And they afterwards established races of a pair of colts and for riding a colt, and the victor in the former was Belistiche, a woman who lived in Macedonia near the sea, and in the latter Tlepolemus the Lycian in the 131st Olympiad, Belistiche’s victory was in the 3rd Olympiad before. And in the 145th Olympiad prizes were instituted for a pancratium-contest for boys, and Phædimus an Æolian from the Troad was victor.

And some of the contests at Olympia were put an end to, the people of Elis having resolved to discontinue them. For the pentathlum for boys was established in the 38th Olympiad, but when the Lacedæmonian Eutelidas had won the crown of wild olive, the people of Elis did not care that their lads should train for the pentathlum. So it dropped. And the chariot race and the trotting race, the former established in the 70th Olympiad and the latter in the 71st Olympiad, were both stopped by proclamation in the 84th Olympiad. When they were first instituted Thersius the Thessalian won the prize in the former, and Patæcus an Achæan from Dyme in the latter.[Pg 318] In the trotting race the riders used to jump off towards the end of the course and run with the horses still holding the reins, as what are called professional riders do to this day, only the latter employ stallions and have their own colours. But the chariot race is not an ancient invention nor a graceful exhibition, and the people of Elis (who have always disliked the horse) yoke two mules together instead of horses.

The order of the games in our day is to sacrifice victims to the god, and then to contend in the pentathlum and horse-race, according to the programme established in the 77th Olympiad, for before this horses and men contended on the same day. And at that period the pancratiasts did not appear till night for they could not compete sooner, so much time being taken up by the horse-races and pentathlum. And the Athenian Callias was the victor of the pancratiasts. But for the future they took care that neither the pentathlum nor horse-races should stand in the way of the pancratium. And as regards the umpires of the games, the original rules and those in vogue in our day are quite different, for Iphitus was the only umpire, and after Iphitus the posterity of Oxylus, but in the 50th Olympiad two men picked by lot out of all Elis were entrusted with the stewardship of the contests, and this practice of two umpires continued for a very long time. But in the 25th Olympiad afterwards 9 general Umpires were appointed: three for the horse-race, three to watch the pentathlum, and three to preside over the remaining games. And in the 2nd Olympiad after this a tenth Umpire was appointed. And in the 103rd Olympiad, as the people of Elis had 12 tribes, a general Umpire was appointed by each. And when they were hard pressed by the Arcadians in war, they lost a portion of their territory and all the villages in this portion, and so they were only 8 tribes in number in the 104th Olympiad, and had only 8 general Umpires accordingly. And in the 108th Olympiad they returned to the number of 10 general Umpires, and that has continued the number to our day.

Many various wonders may one see, or hear of, in Greece: but the Eleusinian mysteries and Olympian games seem to exhibit more than anything else the divine purpose. And the sacred grove of Zeus they have from old time called Altis, slightly changing the Greek word for grove[69]: it is indeed called Altis also by Pindar, in the Ode he composed for a victor at Olympia. And the temple and statue of Zeus were built out of the spoils of Pisa, which the people of Elis razed to the ground, after quelling the revolt of Pisa and some of the neighbouring towns that revolted with Pisa. And that the statue of Zeus was the work of Phidias is shown by the inscription written at the base of it,

“Phidias the Athenian, the son of Charmides, made me.”

The temple is a Doric building, and outside it is a colonnade. And the temple is built of stone of the district. Its height up to the gable is 68 feet, its breadth 95 feet, and its length 230 feet. And its architect was Libon a native of Elis. And the tiles on the roof are not of baked earth, but Pentelican marble to imitate tiles. They say such roofs are the invention of a man of Naxos called Byzes, who made statues at Naxos with the inscription,

“Euergus of Naxos made me, the son of Byzes, and descended from Leto, the first who made tiles of stone.”

This Byzes was a contemporary of Alyattes the Lydian and Astyages (the son of Cyaxaras) the king of Persia. And there is a golden vase at each end of the roof, and a golden Victory in the middle of the gable. And underneath the Victory is a golden shield hung up as a votive offering, with the Gorgon Medusa worked on it. The inscription on the shield states who hung it up, and the reason why they did so. For this is what it says.

“This temple’s golden shield is a votive offering from the Lacedæmonians at Tanagra and their allies, a gift from[Pg 320] the Argives the Athenians and the Ionians, a tithe offering for success in war.”

The battle I mentioned in my account of Attica, when I described the tombs at Athens. And in the same temple at Olympia, above the zone that runs round the pillars on the outside, are 21 golden shields, the offering of Mummius the Roman General, after he had beaten the Achæans and taken Corinth, and expelled the Dorians from Corinth. And on the gables in bas relief is the chariot race between Pelops and Œnomaus, and both chariots in motion. And in the middle of the gable is a statue of Zeus, and on the right hand of Zeus is Œnomaus with a helmet on his head, and beside him his wife Sterope, one of the daughters of Atlas. And Myrtilus, who was the charioteer of Œnomaus, is seated behind the four horses. And next to him are two men whose names are not recorded, but they are doubtless Œnomaus’ grooms, whose duty was to take care of the horses. And at the end of the gable is a delineation of the river Cladeus, next to the Alpheus held most in honour of all the rivers of Elis. And on the left of the statue of Zeus are Pelops and Hippodamia and the charioteer of Pelops and the horses, and two men who were Pelops’ grooms. And where the gable tapers fine there is the Alpheus delineated. And Pelop’s charioteer was according to the tradition of the Trœzenians Sphærus, but the custodian at Olympia said that his name was Cilla. The carvings on the gables in front are by Pæonius of Mende in Thracia, those behind by Alcamenes, a contemporary of Phidias and second only to him as statuary. And on the gables is a representation of the fight between the Lapithæ and the Centaurs at the marriage of Pirithous. Pirithous is in the centre, and on one side of him is Eurytion trying to carry off Pirithous’ wife and Cæneus coming to the rescue, and on the other side Theseus laying about among the Centaurs with his battle-axe: and one Centaur is carrying off a maiden, another a blooming boy. Alcamenes has engraved this story, I imagine, because he learnt from the lines of Homer that Pirithous was the son of Zeus, and knew that Theseus was fourth in descent from Pelops. There are also in bas relief at Olympia most of the Labours of Hercules. Above the doors of the temple is the hunting[Pg 321] of the Erymanthian boar, and Hercules taking the mares of Diomede the Thracian, and robbing the oxen of Geryon in the island of Erythea, and supporting the load of Atlas, and clearing the land of Elis of its dung. And above the chamber behind the doors he is robbing the Amazon of her belt, and there is the stag, and the Cretan Minotaur, and the Stymphalian birds, and the hydra, and the Nemean lion. And as you enter the brazen doors on the right in front of the pillar is Iphitus being crowned by his wife Ecechiria, as the inscription in verse states. And there are pillars inside the temple, and porticoes above, and an approach by them to the image of Zeus. There is also a winding staircase to the roof.

The image of the god is in gold and ivory, seated on a throne. And a crown is on his head imitating the foliage of the olive tree. In his right hand he holds a Victory in ivory and gold, with a tiara and crown on his head: and in his left hand a sceptre adorned with all manner of precious stones, and the bird seated on the sceptre is an eagle. The robes and sandals of the god are also of gold: and on his robes are imitations of flowers, especially of lilies. And the throne is richly adorned with gold and precious stones, and with ebony and ivory. And there are imitations of animals painted on it, and models worked on it. There are four Victories like dancers one at each foot of the throne, and two also at the instep of each foot: and at each of the front feet are Theban boys carried off by Sphinxes, and below the Sphinxes Apollo and Artemis shooting down the children of Niobe. And between the feet of the throne are four divisions formed by straight lines drawn from each of the four feet. In the division nearest the entrance there are seven models, the eighth has vanished no one knows where or how. And they are imitations of ancient contests, for in the days of Phidias the contests for boys were not yet established. And the figure with its head muffled[Pg 322] up in a scarf is they say Pantarces, who was a native of Elis and the darling of Phidias. This Pantarces won the wrestling prize for boys in the 86th Olympiad. And in the remaining divisions is the band of Hercules fighting against the Amazons. The number on each side is 29, and Theseus is on the side of Hercules. And the throne is supported not only by the four feet, but also by 4 pillars between the feet. But one cannot get under the throne, as one can at Amyclæ, and pass inside, for at Olympia there are panels like walls that keep one off. Of these panels the one opposite the doors of the temple is painted sky blue only, but the others contain paintings by Panænus. Among them is Atlas bearing up Earth and Heaven, and Hercules standing by willing to relieve him of his load, and Theseus and Pirithous, and Greece, and Salamis with the figurehead of a ship in her hand, and the contest of Hercules with the Nemean lion, and Ajax’s unknightly violation of Cassandra, and Hippodamia the daughter of Œnomaus with her mother, and Prometheus still chained to the rock and Hercules gazing at him. For the tradition is that Hercules slew the eagle that was ever tormenting Prometheus on Mount Caucasus, and released Prometheus from his chains. The last paintings are Penthesilea dying and Achilles supporting her, and two Hesperides carrying the apples of which they are fabled to have been the keepers. This Panænus was the brother of Phidias, and at Athens in the Painted Stoa he has painted the action at Marathon. At the top of the throne Phidias has represented above the head of Zeus the three Graces and three Seasons. For these too, as we learn from the poets, were daughters of Zeus. Homer in the Iliad has represented the Seasons as having the care of Heaven, as a kind of guards of a royal palace.[70] And the base under the feet of Zeus, (what is called in Attic θρανίον), has golden lions engraved on it, and the battle between Theseus and the Amazons, the first famous exploit of the Athenians beyond their own borders. And on the platform that supports the throne there are various ornaments round Zeus and gilt carving, the Sun seated in his chariot, and Zeus and Hera, and near is Grace. Hermes is close to her, and Vesta close to[Pg 323] Hermes. And next to Vesta is Eros receiving Aphrodite just rising from the sea, who is being crowned by Persuasion. And Apollo and Artemis Athene and Hercules are standing by, and at the end of the platform Amphitrite and Poseidon, and Selene apparently urging on her horse. And some say it is a mule and not a horse that the goddess is riding upon, and there is a silly tale about this mule.

I know that the size of the Olympian Zeus both in height and breadth has been stated, but I cannot bestow praise on the measurers, for their recorded measurement comes far short of what anyone would infer looking at the statue. They make the god also to have testified to the art of Phidias. For they say when the statue was finished, Phidias prayed him to signify if the work was to his mind, and immediately Zeus struck with lightning that part of the pavement, where in our day there is a brazen urn with a lid.

And all the pavement in front of the statue is not of white but of black stone. And a border of Parian marble runs round this black stone, as a preservative against spilled oil. For oil is good for the statue at Olympia, as it prevents the ivory being harmed by the dampness of the grove. But in the Acropolis at Athens, in regard to the statue of Athene called the Maiden, it is not oil but water that is advantageously employed to the ivory: for as the citadel is dry by reason of its great height, the statue being made of ivory needs to be sprinkled with water freely. And when I was at Epidaurus, and enquired why they use neither water nor oil to the statue of Æsculapius, the sacristans of the temple informed me that the statue of the god and its throne are over a well.

Those who think that the parts of the elephant that project from the mouth are teeth and not horns, should consider the case of Celtic elks and Ethiopian bulls. For male elks have horns on their foreheads, but the female elk has none whatever. And Ethiopian bulls have horns growing in their nostrils. Who would therefore think it very wonderful after these examples that a beast should have horns growing out of its mouth? One may also get further light from the following particulars. Horns in animals take a certain definite period to grow and grow more than once: and this is the case with stags and antelopes as well as elephants. But no animal after full growth has second sets of teeth. If they are teeth therefore and not horns that project from elephants’ mouths, how could they grow a second time? Moreover teeth are not acted upon by fire, but horns both of oxen and elephants can by the action of fire be made straight from round, and can in fact be turned into any shape. [But in hippopotamuses and boars the lower jaw has projecting teeth: and we do not see horns growing out of their jaws.] Let anybody be certain therefore that they are horns in the elephant that project and grow out from the temples. I don’t make this assertion as mere hearsay, for I have seen the skull of an elephant in the temple of Artemis in Campania. The temple I refer to is about 30 stades from Capua, which is the chief town of Campania. And the elephant is not only different from other animals in the growth of its horns, but also in its size and appearance. And the Greeks seem to me to have shewn great munificence and an absence of parsimoniousness in respect to their worship of the gods, seeing that they procured ivory both from India and Ethiopia for their statues.

At Olympia also in the temple of Zeus is a woollen veil, adorned with Assyrian tapestry and dyed with the Phœnician purple, the votive offering of Antiochus, who also gave to the theatre at Athens a golden ægis with the Gorgon’s head on it. This veil is not drawn up to the roof as in the[Pg 325] temple of Ephesian Artemis, but let down to the pavement by ropes. And among the votive offerings in the temple or ante-chapel is the throne of Arimnestus king of the Tyrrhenians, (who was the first foreigner that offered a votive offering to Olympian Zeus,) and the horses of Cynisca in brass, the memorials of her victory at Olympia. These horses are rather smaller than life, and are on the right as you enter the ante-chapel. And there is a tripod covered with brass, on which before the table was made the crowns for the victors were laid. And of the statues of the Emperors, Adrian’s in Parian marble was a gift of all the cities that joined the Achæan league, and Trajan’s a gift of all the Greeks. This last Emperor added the Getæ beyond Thrace to the Roman Empire, and waged war against Osroes (the descendant of Arsaces) and the Parthians. The most famous of all his works are the Baths which are known as Trajan’s Baths, and a large theatre perfectly round, and a building for horse-races two stades in length, and the forum at Rome well worth seeing for various beauties and especially its brazen roof. And there are two statues in the round parts of the building, one of the Emperor Augustus in amber, the other in ivory is said to be Nicomedes, the king of Bithynia: from whom the largest town in Bithynia, that had been previously called Astacus, got called Nicomedia. It was originally founded by Zypœtes, a Thracian as one would infer from his name. And the amber of which they made Augustus’ statue, the native amber which is found in the sands of the Eridanus, is most rare and precious to man for many purposes. But the other kind of amber is gold mixed with silver. And in the temple at Olympia there are several of Nero’s votive offerings, 3 are crowns to imitate the wild olive, the fourth is an imitation of oak. And there are 25 brazen shields to be worn by the competitors in the race in armour. And there are several pillars, and among them one which has the covenant of the people of Elis and the Athenians Argives and Mantineans for an alliance for 100 years.

And within Altis there is a separate grove to Pelops: who of the heroes at Olympia is as much held in the highest honour as Zeus is among the gods. This grove is on the right of the temple of Zeus towards the North, just at such a distance from the temple as to admit of statues and votive offerings between, and it extends from the middle of the temple to the back, and is surrounded by a stone wall, and has trees planted in it, and statues. And the entrance to it is from the west. And it is said to have been dedicated to Pelops by Hercules the son of Amphitryon, who was fourth in descent from Pelops. And he is said to have sacrificed in the trench to Pelops. And the magistrates for the year sacrifice to him even now a black ram. The seer has no portion of this sacrifice, the neck of the ram only is usually given to the person called the wood-cutter. He is one of the temple servants, and his function is to furnish wood for the sacrifices at a fixed price, both to cities and to any private individual. And the wood is always of the white poplar tree. And whatever stranger or native of Elis eats the flesh of the victim sacrificed to Pelops may not enter the temple of Zeus. Those who sacrifice to Telephus at Pergamum north of the river Caicus are in a similar predicament: they may not enter the temple of Æsculapius till they have had a bath. And the following tradition is still told about Pelops. During the protracted siege of Ilium the seers are said to have prophesied that they would never capture the town till they procured the bows of Hercules and a bone of Pelops. So they sent it is said for Philoctetes to the camp, and the shoulder-blade of Pelops was brought from Pisa. And on the return home of the Greeks, the ship that had the shoulder-blade of Pelops was wrecked near Eubœa. And many years after the capture of Ilium Damarmenus, a fisherman of Eretria, cast his net into the sea and fished up this bone, and marvelling at the size of it hid it in the sand. And eventually he went to Delphi, desiring to know who the bone belonged to,[Pg 327] and what he should do with it. And it chanced providentially that some persons of Elis, seeking a cure for the pestilence, were at Delphi at this period. And the Pythian Priestess told them to preserve the bones of Pelops, and told Damarmenus to give what he had found to the people of Elis. And when he had done so the people of Elis gave him several presents, and made Damarmenus and his descendants custodians of this bone. But this shoulder-blade of Pelops has not survived to our day, because in my opinion it was buried too deep, partly also from time and the action of the sea. And there are still traces even to our day of Pelops and Tantalus having brought colonies to Greece, as the marsh called after Tantalus, and his well-known grave. And the throne of Pelops is at Sipylus on the top of the mountain above the temple of the Placianian mother, and after you have crossed the river Hermus there is a statue of Aphrodite at Temnus still in existence made of myrtle: and the tradition is that it was a votive offering of Pelops to propitiate the goddess, before begging her help towards marrying Hippodamia.

And the altar of Olympian Zeus is about equidistant from the grove of Pelops and the temple of Hera, and is situated in front of both. Some say it was erected by Idæan Hercules, others say by some heroes of the district two generations after him. It was they say made of the débris of the thigh bones of the victims sacrificed to Zeus, as the altar at Pergamum. The Samian Hera has also an altar made of similar material, an altar not a whit more handsome than those which in Attica they call extemporary altars. And the first base of the altar of Olympia, called the pro-altar, has a circumference of 125 feet, and above the pro-altar is a circumference of 32 feet. And the whole height of the altar is 22 feet. It is customary to sacrifice the victims at the lower part, at the pro-altar: but the thigh-bones they bring to the highest part of the altar and burn them there. And stone steps lead up to the pro-altar on both sides, but up to the high altar there are merely steps of débris. Maidens may ascend as far as the pro-altar, and likewise women at the seasons when they are allowed to be at Olympia, but men alone may ascend to the high altar. And private individuals, and the people of Elis[Pg 328] daily, offer sacrifices to Zeus besides at the general Festival. And annually the seers observe the 19th day of the month Elaphius by carrying the débris from the Town Hall, and kneading it with the water of the River Alpheus, and thus construct their altar. No other water is ever used for this purpose, and that is why the Alpheus is considered more friendly to Olympian Zeus than any other river. There is also at Didymi (a town of the Milesians) an altar made by Hercules the Theban of victims’ blood. So at least the Milesians say. But the blood of the victims has never raised it to any great height even in these latter days.

But the altar at Olympia has another wonder. Kites, which are by nature especially birds of prey, never harm the sacrifices at Olympia. And if on any chance occasion a kite touch the entrails or flesh of a victim, it is not considered a good omen for the sacrificer. And they say when Hercules, the son of Alcmena, was sacrificing at Olympia there was a great plague of flies: when, either of his own idea or at another’s suggestion, he sacrificed to Zeus the Averter of flies, and so they were driven to the other side of the Alpheus. On similar grounds the natives of Elis are said to sacrifice to Zeus the Averter of flies, because he drove them from Olympia.

The wood of the white poplar tree is the only wood that the people of Elis employ in the sacrifices of Zeus, giving that tree this especial honour, I imagine, because Hercules introduced it from Thesprotia into Greece. And I think there can be little doubt that Hercules himself, when he sacrificed to Zeus at Olympia, burnt the thighs of the victims on white poplar wood. Hercules found this tree growing near the Acheron a river in Thesprotia, and that is why they say it is called Acherois by Homer.[71] In all ages rivers have been celebrated for the growth of various grasses and trees on their banks. Thus the Mæander is[Pg 329] most famous for tamarisks, and the Asopus in Bœotia for immense reeds, and the Persea is found only on the banks of the Nile. Thus there is no wonder that by the Acheron first grew the white poplar, and that the wild olive grows near the Alpheus, and that the black poplar grows on Celtic soil by the river Eridanus.

Let us now, as we have made mention of the greatest altar, enumerate all the altars at Olympia. I will take them in the order the people of Elis are accustomed to sacrifice at them. They first sacrifice to Vesta, and next to Olympian Zeus in the altar inside the temple, thirdly to Hermes, fourthly to Artemis, fifthly to Athene the Goddess of Booty, sixthly to Athene Ergane. To this Athene the descendants of Phidias, (called the cleansers because they received from the people of Elis the honour of cleansing the statue of Zeus from anything clinging to it), sacrifice before they commence polishing up the statue. And there is also another altar of Athene near the temple, and near it a square altar of Artemis tapering up gradually at the top. And next to those we have mentioned they sacrifice to Alpheus and Artemis at one altar: the reason for this I learnt from one of Pindar’s Odes, and I have recorded it in my account of the Letrinæans.[72] And at no great distance from this is another altar to Alpheus, and near it an altar to Hephæstus, which some of the people of Elis say is the altar of Martial Zeus, at which Œnomaus sacrificed when he proposed the horse-race for the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia. Next is an altar of Hercules under the title of Aider, and altars to Hercules’ brothers, Epimedes and Idas and Pæonæus and Iasus. I know that the altar of Idas is called the altar of Acesidas by some. And at the ruins of the house of Œnomaus are two altars, one of Household Zeus, built apparently by Œnomaus, the other built afterwards I think to Zeus of the Lightning, when lightning had struck the house. With reference to the great altar, called the altar of Olympian Zeus, I have already spoken a little above. And near it is the altar to Unknown Gods, and next that of Zeus the Cleanser, and Victory, and next that of Zeus Chthonius. There are also altars of all the[Pg 330] gods, and one of Olympian Hera also made of débris, the votive offering they say of Clymenus. And next to it is a joint altar to Apollo and Hermes, because the tradition in Elis is that Hermes was the inventor of the lyre, and Apollo the inventor of the lute. And next are altars of Harmony, and Athene, and the Mother of the Gods. And there are two altars very near the entrance to the race-course, one they say of Hermes the Athlete, and the other of Opportunity. Ion the Chian has I know written an Hymn to Opportunity, in which he traces his genealogy, and makes him the youngest son of Zeus. And near the treasure of the Sicyonians is an altar of Hercules, either one of the Curetes, or the son of Alcmena, for both traditions are current. And at what is called Gæum there is an altar to Earth, this too made of débris: and they say there was an oracle of Earth earlier still. And at the place called Stomium there is an altar to Themis. And before the altar of Zeus, the god of thunder and lightning, is a fence on all sides, and this altar too is not far from the great altar formed of débris. Let my reader remember that I have not enumerated these altars according to the position of their site, but taken them in a rambling order, according to the order in which the people of Elis sacrifice at them. And in the grove of Pelops there is a joint altar to Dionysus and the Graces, and next one to the Muses, and one to the Nymphs.

Outside Altis there is a building called the workshop of Phidias, who used to work here at his statues, and there is an altar here to all the gods in common. As you turn back again to Altis you see straight before you the Hall of Leonidas. It is outside the temple precincts, and of the various approaches to Altis is the only one used for processions. It was built by Leonidas, a native of Elis, and now the Roman governors of Elis make it their headquarters. It is separated by an alley from the approach used for processions: the people of Elis call alleys what the Athenians call bylanes. And there is in Altis to the left of[Pg 331] the Hall of Leonidas, an altar of Aphrodite, and an altar of the Seasons next to it. And in the rear of the temple there is a wild olive tree growing on the right: it is called the olive beautiful for its crowns, and the victors at Olympia receive crowns of it. Near this wild olive tree is a temple of the Nymphs, these too they call beautiful for their crowns. And inside Altis there is an altar of Artemis of the Market-Place, and on the right of the Hall of Leonidas is an altar to the goddesses called Mistresses. Of the goddess whom they call Mistress the portion of my work about Arcadia will give complete information. And next is an altar of Zeus of the Market-Place, and, in front of what is called the Seat of Honour, altars of Pythian Apollo, and Dionysus. This last they say was erected by private people not so long ago. And as you go to where the horses start is an altar, with the inscription The Decider of Fate. This is plainly a title of Zeus who fore-knows all human events, both what the Fates send, and others. And near this is an oblong altar of the Fates, and next one of Hermes, and next two of Zeus Supreme. And at the middle of the place where the horses start are altars in the open air to Poseidon the Patron of Horses, and Hera the Patroness of Horses, and near the pillar an altar of Castor and Pollux. And at the entrance, near what is called the Rostrum, is an altar of Ares the Patron of Horses, and an altar of Athene the Patroness of Horses. And as you enter the Rostrum there are altars of Good Fortune, and of Pan, and of Aphrodite. And in the interior of the Rostrum the Nymphs called Acmenæ have an altar. And as you return from the Portico which the people of Elis call Agnaptus’ from the name of the Architect, there is on the right an altar of Artemis. And as you enter Altis again by the road used for processions there are altars behind the chapel of Hera of the river Cladeus and of Artemis, and next to them one of Apollo, and a fourth of Artemis Coccoca, and a fifth of Apollo Thermius. Thermius I conjecture at Elis will be the same word as Thesmius (Law-loving) in Attic. But why Artemis was called Coccoca I could not ascertain. There is a building in front of what they call the Priest’s dwelling, and in the corner of it is an altar of Pan. And the Town Hall of the people of Elis is within Altis,[Pg 332] near the outlet beyond the gymnasium, where the athletes have their races and wrestling-matches. And in front of the doors of the Town Hall is an altar of Artemis of the Market-Place. And in the Town Hall itself as you pass into a room where there is a hearth, there is an altar of Pan on the right of the entrance. And the hearth itself is made of débris, and there is a fire on it burning continually day and night. From this hearth as I have already stated they remove the débris to the altar of Olympian Zeus, and the height of that altar is largely due to contributions from this hearth.

And once in every month the people of Elis sacrifice at the altars which I have mentioned. And they sacrifice in a certain primitive fashion; for they burn frankincense on the altars and cakes kneaded with honey. And they decorate the altars with olive branches, and pour out libations of wine. But they do not offer libations of wine to the Nymphs, or the Mistresses, or at the joint altar of all the gods. And the sacrifices are conducted by the priest, who has office for one month, and by the seers, the libation-offerers, the Interpreter of Antiquities, the flute-player, and the wood-cutter. But the words that they use in the Town Hall, and the Hymns which they sing, I am not allowed to introduce into my account. And they pour libations not only to Greek gods, but to the god of Libya, and to Hera of Ammon, and to Parammon (a title of Hermes). It is manifest also that from time immemorial they have consulted the oracle at Libya, and there are altars in the temple of Ammon, votive offerings of the people of Elis: and there are inscribed on them the questions of the people of Elis, and the answers returned by the god, and the names of those who went to Ammon from Elis. All this is in the temple of Ammon. The people of Elis also pour libations to heroes, and the wives of heroes, who are honoured in Elis or Ætolia. And the Hymns sung in the Town Hall are in the Doric dialect, but by whom composed they do not tell us. The people of Elis also have a banqueting-hall, (inside the Town-Hall, opposite the room where the hearth is,) where they entertain the victors at Olympia.

Next ought I to describe the temple of Hera, and all that is worth narrating in it. The people of Elis have a tradition that the people of Scillus in Triphylia built it about 8 years after Oxylus became king at Elis. Its architecture is Doric, there are pillars all round it, one pillar in a chamber at the back of the temple is of oak. And the length of the temple is 63 feet. The architect’s name is not recorded. And every fifth year 16 matrons weave a shawl for Hera, and the same number preside over her games. And the contest is a race for maidens of various ages: in the first race are the youngest, and next those slightly older, and last of all the eldest. And they all run with their hair down their back, a short tunic below the knee, and their right shoulder bare to the breast. They use in this contest the regular race-course at Olympia, but make it a sixth part of a stade shorter. And the victors receive crowns of olive, and part of the heifer sacrificed to Hera: and paintings of them are made for Hera. And the 16 matrons who preside over the games have as many handmaids. They trace this contest of the maidens back to ancient times, saying that Hippodamia in gratitude to Hera for her marriage with Pelops selected 16 matrons, and in concert with them inaugurated these games to Hera. And they record that Chloris (with the exception of one brother the only surviving child of Amphion) was the victor. And what I learnt about the children of Niobe I have narrated in my account about Argos. About these 16 matrons they have also the following tradition. They say that Damophon, the tyrant at Pisa, did many grievous injuries to the people of Elis, and on his death, as the people of Pisa had not publicly sanctioned his ill deeds, the people of Elis were willing to annul their charges against them, so 16 of the principal cities in Elis at that day selected each one matron of age and merit and good name to arbitrate on any claims. And the cities from which they selected matrons were Elis and 15 others, and thus their differences with[Pg 334] the people of Pisa were arranged. And afterwards the same 16 were told off to make all the arrangements about the Hera Festival, and to weave the shawl for Hera. These 16 matrons also have two dances, one they call Physcoa’s dance, and the other’s Hippodamia’s. Physcoa the tradition goes was from hollow Elis, and lived in the parish they call Orthia, and was mother by Dionysus of a boy called Narcæus, who, when he grew up, warred with the neighbouring tribes and came to great power, and built a temple of Athene Narcæa: and Dionysus was they say first worshipped by Narcæus and Physcoa. Physcoa had other honours besides the dance called after her name. The number of matrons is still kept up by the people of Elis, but they are somewhat differently chosen. For as they are divided into 8 tribes they select two matrons from each. And the functions of these 16 matrons and the Umpires of Elis are never commenced till after the sacrifice of a pig and lustration with water. And the lustration takes place at the fountain Piera, which is situated in the plain between Olympia and Elis. All these things are as I have described them.

And in Hera’s temple there is a statue of Zeus, and also one of Hera seated on a throne, and standing by is a person with a beard and helmet on his head. And the workmanship is very simple. And next them the Æginetan Smilis has delineated the Seasons sitting on thrones. And near them is a statue of Themis as the mother of the Seasons, the design of Doryclidas, a Lacedæmonian by race, and the pupil of Dipœnus and Scyllis. And there are five Hesperides by Theocles, a Lacedæmonian also, the son of Hegylus, who is also said to have been a pupil of Scyllis and Dipœnus. And Athene with a helmet and spear and shield is they say by the Lacedæmonian Medon, who was the brother of Doryclidas, and learnt his art also from Scyllis and Dipœnus. And Proserpine and Demeter sit, Apollo and Artemis stand, opposite[Pg 335] one another. And there are statues also of Leto and Fortune and Dionysus, and a winged Victory, who designed them I cannot tell, but they appear to me very antique. What I have enumerated are in ivory and gold: but in later times there were other statues placed in the temple of Hera, as a stone Hermes carrying Dionysus as a babe, by Praxiteles; and Aphrodite in brass, by Cleon of Sicyon, whose master was Antiphanes, of the school of Periclytus the pupil of the Argive Polycletus. And before Aphrodite there is a little golden boy seated, by the Carthaginian Boethus, which was brought here from what is called Philip’s house, as well as some statues in gold and ivory, as Eurydice the wife of Philip, and Olympias.

* * The chest is of cedar and has figures on it, some in ivory, some in gold, some carved on the cedar. In this chest Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth, was hid by his mother at his birth, as the Bacchidæ were eager to find him. On account of his safety his descendants, called the Cypselidæ, made the chest a votive offering at Olympia, and the Corinthians of that day called chests cypselæ: that is the origin of the name Cypselus given to the boy, so they say. And on the chest there are inscriptions in large letters in an old handwriting: some of this writing is straight, other parts are written in what the Greeks call ox-fashion. That is, when one line is finished the next begins where that left off and runs backward, and so on like the double course on the race ground. There are also inscriptions on the chest that are very puzzling and difficult to make out. And if you begin to examine the chest all over, beginning at the lower part, you will see first Œnomaus pursuing Pelops and Hippodamia. Each of them have a pair of horses but those of Pelops have wings. And next is the house of Amphiaraus, and some old woman is carrying Amphilochus the baby, and in front of the house is Eriphyle with a necklace, and near her her daughters Eurydice and Demonassa, and the little boy Alcmæon naked. Asius in his poems has also represented Alcmena as the daughter of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle. And Baton, the charioteer of Amphiaraus, has the reins in one hand and a lance in the other. And one of Amphiarus’ feet is in the chariot, and his sword is drawn, and he is turned towards[Pg 336] Eriphyle, and in his rage can scarce refrain from rushing at her. And next to Amphiaraus’ house are the games in memory of Pelias, and the spectators are looking on the contests. There is Hercules sitting on a seat, and his wife behind him, but her name is not given, she is piping with Phrygian and not Greek pipes. And there are Pisus the son of Perieres and Asterion the son of Cometes driving a pair of horses, the latter is said to have sailed in the Argo, and Pollux and Admetus, and Euphemus the son of Poseidon (according to the tale of the poets), and the companion of Jason on his voyage to Colchi, he also was victorious in the pair-horse-race. And there are Admetus and Mopsus, the son of Ampyx, both famous boxers. And in the midst is a man playing on the flute, as in our day they are still wont to do in the leaping contest in the pentathlum. And Jason and Peleus are wrestling, they are very evenly matched. And there is Eurybotas throwing his quoit, a man famous as a quoit-player whoever he was. And there are Melanion and Neotheus and Phalareus and Argeus and Iphiclus ready for the race: and Acastus is holding out the crown to the victor, who was Iphiclus, the father of Protesilaus who fought at Ilium. There are also some tripods as prizes for the winners, and there are the daughters of Pelias, of whom the name of Alcestis only is inscribed. Iolaus too, who voluntarily shared in Hercules’ Labours, is there, just having come in first in the chariot-race. And this is the last of the games in memory of Pelias. And there is Athene standing by Hercules who is shooting the hydra, the monster that infested the river Amymone. And because Hercules was well-known, from his great size as well as the nature of the contest, his name is not written underneath. And there is Phineus the Thracian, and the sons of Boreas driving away the Harpies from him.

On the second side of the chest, on the left, to take them in their order, is a woman supporting with her right hand a white child sleeping, and with her left a black child like the sleeping child, but with both its feet twisted. The inscriptions shew, what one would have inferred without any inscriptions, that they are Death and Sleep with their nurse Night. And there is a comely woman dragging along an ugly one, with one hand holding her fast, and with the other beating her with a rod, this is Justice punishing Injustice. And there are two women pounding with pestles into mortars, apparently compounding drugs, but there is no inscription in reference to them. But about the man and woman following him there are two hexameter lines as follows, “Idas is leading away from the temple by no means against her will Marpessa of the beautiful ancles, whom Apollo snatched away for himself.”

And there is a man clad in a tunic, with a cup in his right hand and in his left a necklace, and Alcmena is seizing them. According to the Greek tradition, Zeus assumed the appearance of Amphitryon, and so made Alcmena welcome him as her husband. And there is Menelaus with a breastplate and sword pursuing Helen to kill her, plainly during the sack of Ilium. And there is Jason on the right hand of Medea, who is sitting on a throne, and Aphrodite is standing by her. And the inscription relative to them is,

“Jason is wooing Medea, Aphrodite is encouraging them.”

The Muses are also represented singing and Apollo leading off, and the inscription is as follows,

“Here is the king, the son of Leto, far-darting Apollo,

And round him the Muses, a graceful band, whom he leads in the songs.”

And Atlas is bearing up Heaven and Earth (according to the legend) on his shoulders, and in his hands are the apples of the Hesperides. And who the man is with a sword advancing to Atlas is nowhere written, but it is evident to all that it is Hercules. This is all the inscription,

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“Atlas here is bearing up Heaven, he will neglect the apples.”

There is also Ares in full armour leading off Aphrodite. The inscription under him is Enyalius. There too is the maiden Thetis, and Peleus is laying hold of her, and from Thetis’ hand a serpent is about to dart at Peleus. And there are the sisters of Medusa with wings pursuing the fleeing Perseus. His name only is given.

The third side of the chest is devoted to military views. Most of the soldiers to be seen are infantry, but there are also some cavalry in two-horse war-chariots. And some of the soldiers are you can see engaging, while others are recognizing and greeting one another. The antiquarians have two explanations of this, the one party say that it is the Ætolians with Oxylus and the ancient people of Elis, and that they are fraternizing and exhibiting friendliness to one another in remembrance of their ancient consanguinity, the other party say that it is the people of Pylos and the Arcadians fighting near the town of Pheia and the river Iardanus. No one would have prima facie expected that the ancestor of Cypselus, being a Corinthian and in possession of the chest, would have purposely passed over Corinthian history, and artistically portrayed on the chest foreign and even immaterial events. So the following is the view I am inclined to form. Cypselus and his ancestors came originally from Gonussa beyond Sicyon, and were descended from Melas the son of Antasus. And Aletes would not receive Melas and his army into the city, as I have stated before in my account of Corinth, thus disobeying the oracle at Delphi, until at last, as Melas paid every attention to him, and whenever he was rejected returned again with entreaty, Aletes admitted him but not with a good grace. One would conjecture therefore that the forces of Melas are here portrayed.

And on the 4th side of the chest on the left Boreas is carrying off Orithyia, and he has serpents’ tails instead of feet. And there is the fight between Hercules and Geryon, who was three men in one. And there is Theseus with a lyre, and near him Ariadne with a garland. And Achilles and Memnon are fighting and their mothers are standing by. And there is Melanion, and Atalanta by him with a fawn. And Strife, looking most hateful, stands by the duel (after challenge) between Ajax and Hector. A very similar Strife has been depicted in the temple of Ephesian Artemis by the Samian Calliphon, who painted the battle at the ships of the Greeks. There are also on the chest figures of Castor and Pollux, one of them without a beard, and Helen between them. And Æthra, the daughter of Pittheus, in a dark dress is prostrate on the ground at the feet of Helen. And the inscription is an Hexameter line and one word more.

“Castor and Pollux ran off with Helen, and dragged Æthra from Athens.”

These are the very words. And Iphidamas the son of Agenor is lying on the ground, and Coon is fighting with Agamemnon over his dead body. And Fear with the head of a lion is on Agamemnon’s shield. And this is the inscription over the corpse of Iphidamas,

“This is Iphidamas, Coon bestrides him in the fight.”

And on Agamemnon’s shield,

“Here is what mortals call Fear, Agamemnon has got him.”

And Hermes is bringing to Paris, the son of Priam, the goddesses to the choice of beauty, and the inscription here is,

“Here is Hermes showing to Paris the dainty sight of Hera and Athene and Aphrodite in all their beauty.”

And Artemis—I know not why—has wings on her shoulders, and in her right hand she has a leopard, in her left a lion. And there is Ajax dragging Cassandra from the statue of Athene, and the inscription is,

“Locrian Ajax is dragging Cassandra from Athene.”

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And there are the sons of Œdipus, Polynices has fallen on his knees, and Eteocles is pressing him hard. And behind Polynices stands a monster with teeth as sharp as a wild beast’s, and with crooked claws. And the inscription says that it is Doom, and that Polynices was carried off by Fate, and that Eteocles’ end was just. And there too is bearded Dionysus lying down in a cave, clad in a long garment, with a golden bowl in his hand: and there are clusters of vine round him, and apples, and pomegranates.

The topmost side of the chest, for there are five in all, has no inscription, but one can easily conjecture what the representations are. In a cave there is a woman sleeping with a man upon a bed, and we infer that they are Odysseus and Circe from the number of handmaids in front of the cave, and from their tasks. For the women are four in number, and they are engaged just as Homer has represented. And there is a Centaur, not with all his feet horses’ feet, for his forefeet are those of a man. And there are pair-horse chariots and women seated on the chariots: and the horses have gold wings, and a man is giving arms to one of the women. This is conjectured to refer to the death of Patroclus. For it is the Nereids on the chariots, and Thetis who is receiving arms from Hephæstus. For he who is giving the arms is lame, and behind is a servant with smith’s tongs. And the tradition about Chiron the Centaur is that, though he had left this world and been received into heaven, he returned to earth to comfort Achilles. And there are two maidens in a carriage drawn by mules, one is driving and the other has a veil on her head, they are thought to be Nausicaa, the daughter of Alcinous, and her attendant driving to the wash. And the man shooting at the Centaurs and killing some of them is manifestly Hercules, for this was one of his great feats.

Who it was that constructed this chest it is quite impossible to conjecture: the inscriptions on it might have been composed by anybody, but suspicion points to Eumelus the Corinthian, both on other grounds, and because of the Processional Hymn which he composed in reference to Delos.

There are also here besides the chest several votive offerings, as a bed of no great size adorned with much ivory, and the quoit of Iphitus, and the table on which the crowns for the victors are deposited. The bed was they say a plaything of Hippodamia: and the quoit of Iphitus has written on it the armistice between the people of Elis and the Olympians not straight down it, but all round the quoit: and the table is of ivory and gold, the design of Colotes, who was they say a native of Heraclea. And those who take interest in artificers say that he was a Parian and the pupil of Pasiteles, who was himself the pupil of....[73] There too are statues of Hera, and Zeus, and the Mother of the Gods, and Hermes, and Apollo, and Artemis. And behind is a representation of the games. On one side is Æsculapius and Hygiea, one of the daughters of Æsculapius, and Ares and Contest by him, and on another is Pluto and Dionysus and Proserpine and some Nymphs, one of them with a ball. And Pluto has his key, with which (they say) what is called Hades is locked, and then no one can return from it.

An account which I received from Aristarchus, the Interpreter of Antiquities at Olympia, I must not omit. He said that in his youth, when the people of Elis restored the roof of the temple of Hera, the body of a dead man in heavy armour, who had been badly wounded, was found between the sham roof and the roof on which the tiles lay. This man was a combatant in the battle fought inside Altis between the Lacedæmonians and the people of Elis. For the people of Elis climbed up to the temples of the gods, and all high buildings alike, for the purpose of defence. This man therefore probably got up into that place, in a fainting condition from his wounds, and, on his death, neither the heat of summer nor the chills of winter would be likely to injure his dead body, as he lay stowed away and covered up. And Aristarchus added, that they carried the corpse outside Altis and buried it armour and all.

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And the pillar, which the people of Elis call the pillar of Œnomaus, is as you go from the great altar to the temple of Zeus, and there are 4 pillars on the left and a roof over them. These pillars support a wooden one worn out by age, and only held together by iron clamps. This pillar was once according to tradition in the house of Œnomaus: and when the god struck the house with lightning, the fire consumed all the house but this one pillar. And a brazen tablet contains some Elegiac lines referring to this.

“I am the only vestige, stranger, of a famous house, I once was a pillar in Œnomaus’ house, but now near Zeus I am in iron clamps in honour: the destructive fire has not consumed me.”

Another curious thing happened on the spot in my time. A senator of Rome won the prize at Olympia, and wishing some record of his victory to survive in the shape of a brazen statue with an inscription, dug for a foundation, close to this pillar of Œnomaus, and the diggers found fragments of arms and bridles and bits. These I myself saw dug up.

The temple, which is large in size and of Doric architecture, they call to this day the Temple of the Mother, preserving its ancient name, though there is no statue in it of the Mother of the Gods, but only some statues of Roman Emperors. It is inside Altis, and there is a round building called Philip’s House, on the top of which is a brazen poppy as a clamp for the beams. This building is on the left hand as you go to the Town Hall, and is built of baked brick, and there are some pillars round it. It was built for Philip after the fatal defeat of the Greeks at Chæronea. And there are statues there of Philip, and Alexander, and Amyntas the father of Philip. They are by Leochares in ivory and gold, like the statues of Olympias and Eurydice.

And now I shall proceed to the account of the statues and votive offerings, which I do not care to mix up together. In the Acropolis at Athens all the statues and everything else equally are votive offerings: but at Altis the votive offerings are in honour of the deity, but the statues of the prizemen are merely a memorial of the contests. Of them I shall speak hereafter: I shall now take the most remarkable votive offerings in order.

As you go to the race-course from the Temple of the Mother there is on the left at the end of the mountain Cronius a basement of stone, near the mountain, and some steps to it. On this basement there are some brazen statues of Zeus, made with the money from a fine imposed on some athletes who had behaved shamefully at the games. These statues are called in the national dialect Zanes. They were six in number at first and were put up in the 98th Olympiad. For Eupolus the Thessalian bribed his rivals in boxing to let him win the prize, Agenor from Arcadia, and Prytanis from Cyzicus, and Phormio from Halicarnassus, who was the champion in the preceding Olympiad. This was the first foul play they say at the boxing matches, and Eupolus and those who had been bribed by him were fined by the people of Elis. Two of the statues are by Cleon of Sicyon, the modeller of the remaining four we do not know. And all these statues, but the third and fourth, have elegiac lines on them. The first says that not with money, but swiftness of foot and bodily vigour, ought one to win prizes at Olympia. And the second says that that statue is raised in honour to the deity, and from piety on the part of the people of Elis, and to inspire fear in such athletes as do not play fair. As to the fifth and sixth, the gist of the inscription on one is a panegyric of the people of Elis, and not least for their punishment of the cheating boxers, and on the other a didactic precept to all the Greeks that nobody is to bribe to win the prize at Olympia.

[Pg 344]

And subsequently to Eupolus they say that the Athenian Callippus, when contending for the pentathlum, bribed his antagonists in the 112th Olympiad. And when he and his antagonists were fined by the people of Elis, the Athenians sent Hyperides to beg the people of Elis to remit the fine. And when the people of Elis refused this favour, the Athenians treated them with much hauteur, not paying the money and keeping away from Olympia, till the god at Delphi told them he would no longer give them any oracular responses, till they paid the fine to the people of Elis. And when they paid, six more statues were made for Zeus, with elegiac verses on them no less severe than those about the fine of Eupolus. And the purport of these verses on the first statue is that the statues are erected in accordance with the oracular direction of the god, who honoured the decision the people of Elis had come to about the competitors for the pentathlum. And the second and third likewise praise the people of Elis for their conduct in the same matter. And the fourth desires to point out that the contest at Olympia is one of merit and not of money. And the inscriptions on the fifth and sixth shew, one why the statues were made, and the other that the oracle came to the Athenians from Delphi.

And next to those I have enumerated are two statues, made from a fine imposed on some wrestlers, whose names are unknown both to me and the Antiquarians of Elis. There are some inscriptions also on these statues, the first is that the Rhodians paid a fine to Olympian Zeus for the cheating of their wrestler. And the second is that the statue was made out of fines imposed on those who wrestled for bribes. And the Antiquarians of Elis say that the other statues in connection with athletes were erected in the 178th Olympiad, when Eudelus was bribed by the Rhodian Philostratus. I find a discrepancy between this account and the public records of the people of Elis as respects the victors at Olympia. For in these records they say that Straton of Alexandria in the 178th Olympiad won on the same day the prize both in the pancratium and in the wrestling. Alexandria, at the mouth of the Nile near Canopus, was built by Alexander, the son of Philip, on the site of a former town of no great size called[Pg 345] Rhacotis. In the generation before Straton 3, and 3 after his day, are famous for having received the crown of wild olive both for the pancratium and the wrestling. The first was Caprus a native of Elis, and next of the Greeks beyond the Ægean the Rhodian Aristomenes, and next Protophanes of the Magnetes at Lethæus. And after Straton Marion, also from Alexandria, and Aristeas from Stratonice (both the region and city were anciently called Chrysaoris), and last Nicostratus from the Cilicians by the sea, though he had little in common with the Cilicians but nominally. For, when he was quite a child, he was kidnapped from Prymnessus a town in Phrygia by robbers, who took him to Ægeæ and sold him to the highest bidder. He was of no obscure family, and some time afterwards his purchaser dreamed that a lion’s whelp lay under the truckle bed on which he used to sleep. When Nicostratus grew to man’s estate he had several other victories at Olympia in the pancratium and in wrestling.

And among others that were fined by the people of Elis afterwards was a boxer from Alexandria in the 218th Olympiad. His name was Apollonius, his surname Rhantes, for it is customary among the people of Alexandria to have surnames. He was the first Egyptian condemned by the people of Elis for neither giving nor receiving money, but for the impropriety of coming too late, for which he was not allowed to take part in the games. As to his excuse that he was detained by contrary winds in the Cyclades, Heraclides, also an Alexandrian, proved it to be a falsehood: and said he was really too late because he had been collecting money from the games in Ionia. Accordingly Apollonius and all others not present at the appointed time for the boxing matches were not allowed by the people of Elis to take part in the games, but to Heraclides they gave a crown without a contest. Thereupon Apollonius, who had on his boxer’s cæstus, rushed at Heraclides, and attacked him fiercely, just as he had received his crown of wild olive, and he fled for refuge to the Umpires. This hotheadedness was severely punished. There are also two statues made in our own times. For in the 226th Olympiad they detected some boxers bribing to get the prize. The money of their fine went to make two statues of Zeus, one[Pg 346] on the left of the entrance to the course, and the other on the right. Didas was the name of one of these boxers, and the other, who gave the bribe, was Sarapammon, both were from the same district, the latest one formed in Egypt, called Arsinoites. It is wonderful indeed that from any quarter people should have been found to despise the god at Olympia, and to receive or give bribes in connection with the games, but still more wonderful that any of the people of Elis should have ventured to act in that manner. But it is said that Damonicus, a native of Elis, acted so in the 192nd Olympiad. For when Polyctor (the son of Damonicus) and Sosander (the son of Sosander) a native of Smyrna had descended to the arena for the wrestling match, Damonicus, being very anxious that his son should have the victory, bribed the younger Sosander. And when the circumstances got known, the Umpires fined the parents, turning their vengeance on them because they were really the guilty parties. Statues were made with this money too: one in the gymnasium at Elis, the other in Altis, in front of what is called the Painted Portico, because there were in ancient times paintings on the walls. This Portico is called by some the Portico of Echo, because in it a word is re-echoed 7 times, sometimes even more frequently.

And they record that the pancratiast Serapion, a native of Alexandria, in the 201st Olympiad was so afraid of those who were to compete with him, that the day before the contest he absconded. He is the only Egyptian, or indeed member of any nationality, that was ever fined for cowardice in the games.

Such are the statues made out of fines as far as I could ascertain. There are also other statues of Zeus, some erected publicly, some privately. There is also an altar in Altis near the entrance to the course. On this altar the people of Elis do not sacrifice to any of the gods, but the trumpeters and heralds stand here when they proclaim[Pg 347] the games. On the brazen base of this altar is a statue to Zeus, six cubits in height, with a thunderbolt in each hand, the votive offering of the people of Cynætha. And the young Zeus with a necklace round his neck is the votive offering of Cleolas of Phlius.

And near what is called the Hippodamium there is a semicircular basement of stone, and statues on it of Zeus and Thetis and Aurora supplicating Zeus for their children. These are in the midst of the basement. And at each extremity of the basement stand Achilles and Memnon in the attitude of antagonists. Similarly opposite to one another stand a Greek and barbarian, Odysseus opposite Helenus, for these are selected as most remarkable for wisdom in either army, and Paris is opposite Menelaus from their old hostility, and Æneas opposite Diomede, and Deiphobus opposite Ajax the son of Telamon. These are all by Lycius the son of Myron, and are votive offerings of the people of Apollonia near the Ionian sea. And there are some elegiac lines in ancient characters under the feet of Zeus.

“We are votive offerings from Apollonia, which long-haired Phœbus built near the Ionian sea. Those who seized the borders of Abantis offered this spoil from Thronium.”

Now the region called Abantis and the town in it called Thronium were in Thesprotia near the mountains Ceraunia. For when the Greek ships were dispersed on their return from Ilium, the Locrians from Thronium near the river Boagrius and the Abantes from Eubœa in 8 ships put in to shore near the mountains Ceraunia. And there they dwelt and built the town of Thronium, and by common consent called all the district they lived in Abantis, and were afterwards beaten in war and expelled by their neighbours of Apollonia. And Apollonia was a colony from Corcyra, and the Corinthians had a share in the spoil.

And as you go on a little further there is a Zeus looking east, with an eagle in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. And he has a crown on his head composed of lilies. This statue is the votive offering of the people of Metapontum, and the design of the Æginetan Aristonous. But who Aristonous learnt his craft from we do not know,[Pg 348] nor the period in which he flourished. The Phliasians also erected as votive offerings statues of Zeus and Asopus’ daughters and Asopus himself. And this is the arrangement of the statues. Nemea comes first of the sisters, and next her is Zeus laying hold of Ægina. And next Ægina is Harpina, who according to the tradition of the Phliasians and the people of Elis had an amour with Ares, and bare to him Œnomaus, the king of the district of Pisa. And next to her are Corcyra and Thebe, and Asopus comes last. The tradition about Corcyra is that she had an amour with Poseidon, and a similar legend about Thebe and Zeus is sung by Pindar.

The men of Leontini erected a statue to Zeus privately and not publicly. The height of it is 7 cubits, and Zeus has in his hands an eagle and javelin according to the descriptions of the poets. And it was erected by Hippagoras and Phrynon and Ænesidemus, not I think the Ænesidemus who was tyrant at Leontini.

And as you pass on to the entrance to the council chamber there is a statue of Zeus without an inscription, (and another as you turn to the North). This is towards the East, and was erected by the Greeks who fought at Platæa against Mardonius and the Medes. On the right of the basement are inscribed the states that took part in the action, the Lacedæmonians first, and next the Athenians, third the Corinthians, fourth the Sicyonians, fifth the Æginetans, then the Megarians and Epidaurians, of the Arcadians the men of Tegea and Orchomenus, and in addition to these the inhabitants of Phlius Trœzen and Hermion, and in Argolis the men of Tiryns, and of the Bœotians only the people of Platæa, and of the Argives the inhabitants of Mycenæ, and the islanders from Ceos and Melos, and the Ambraciotes from Thesprotia, and the Tenii and people of Lepreum, the latter only from Triphylia, but the Tenii not only from the Ægean and the Cyclades but also from Naxos and Cythnus, and the men[Pg 349] of Styra from Eubœa, and next to them the people of Elis and Potidæa and Anactorium, and lastly the people of Chalcis near the Euripus. Of these cities the following were unpeopled in my day. Mycenæ and Tiryns were razed to the ground by the Argives after the Persian war. And the Ambraciotes and men of Anactorium, who were colonists from Corinth, were induced by the Roman Emperor Augustus to form the colony of Nicopolis near Actium. And the people of Potidæa were twice ejected from their country, by Philip, the son of Amyntas, and earlier still by the Athenians, and though subsequently they were restored by Cassander, yet the name of their city was changed to Cassandrea in honour of their new founder. And the statue at Olympia, that was a votive offering of the Greeks, was by Anaxagoras the Æginetan, though those who have compiled a history of sculptors have omitted to mention him.

There is also in front of this statue of Zeus a brazen pillar, on which are inscribed the conditions of peace for 30 years between the Lacedæmonians and the Athenians, which was made by the Athenians after their second reduction of Eubœa, in the 3rd year of that Olympiad in which Crison of Himera won the prize. And this was one of the conditions specified, that the city of the Argives should have no share in this peace between the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, but that privately the Athenians and Argives if they chose might be friendly to one another. This is plainly stated in the conditions. And there is another statue of Zeus near the chariot of Cleosthenes, (about which I shall speak later), the votive offering of the Megarians, and the design of the brothers Phylacus and Onæthus and their sons: I cannot tell their period or country, or from whom they learned their craft. And near the chariot of Gelon there is an old statue of Zeus with a sceptre, the votive offering they say of the people of Hybla. There are two Hyblas in Sicily, one called Gereatis, and the other to this day called Hybla Major. Both are in the neighbourhood of Catana, Hybla Major is quite deserted, but Gereatis is still inhabited, and has a temple to the Hyblæan goddess who is worshipped in Sicily. And I think it was from there that the[Pg 350] statue of Zeus came to Olympia. For Philistus the son of Archomenides records that they were the best interpreters of portents and dreams, and the most noted for piety of all the barbarians in Sicily. And near the votive offering of the people of Hybla is a brazen pedestal and a Zeus upon it, eighteen feet high I conjecture. And who offered it to the god, and whose design it is, is stated in the following elegiac lines:

“The people of Cleitor erected this votive offering to the god, with the tithe collected from many cities taken by storm by them. And the artificers were the Laconian brothers Aristo and Telestas.”

I do not think these Laconians could have been men well known in Greece, for else the people of Elis would have had something to say about them, and still more the Lacedæmonians as they were their citizens.

And near the altar of Zeus Laœtas and Poseidon Laœtas there is a Zeus on a brazen basement, the gift of the Corinthian people, and the design of Musus, whoever Musus was. And as you go from the council chamber to the great temple there is on the left a statue of Zeus, crowned with flowers, and in his right hand a thunderbolt. This was the design of Ascarus a Theban, who was the pupil of the Sicyonian, * * and it was a votive offering of the people of Thessaly. But if the people of Thessaly offered it as a votive offering from spoil taken in a war with the Phocians, it could not be what is called the Sacred War, for that was fought before the Medes and the great king came to Greece. And not far from this is a Zeus, which (as the inscription on it shews) was a votive offering of Psophidius after success in war. And on the right of the temple of great Zeus towards the east is a statue of Zeus 12 feet high, the votive offering it is said of the Lacedæmonians, after they had fought the second time with the Messenians who had revolted. And there is an elegiac couplet inscribed on it.

[Pg 351]

“Receive Olympian Zeus, Cronus’ great son, this noble statue from the Lacedæmonians with propitious mind.”

Of the Romans we know of none, either plebeian or patrician, earlier than Mummius who put up a votive offering in any Greek temple, but he out of the spoils of Achaia erected a brazen Zeus at Olympia. It stands on the left of the votive offering of the Lacedæmonians, on the first pillar of the temple. But the largest of the brazen statues of Zeus is in Altis, and was a votive offering of the people of Elis after the war with the Arcadians, it is 27 feet high. And near the temple of Pelops there is a small statue of Zeus upon a not very lofty pillar, with one of his hands extended. And opposite it are some votive offerings in a row, statues of Zeus and Ganymede. The account of Homer is that Ganymede was carried off by the gods to be cupbearer to Zeus, and that Tros his father had some horses given him for his son. And this was a votive offering of Gnathis the Thessalian, and the work of Aristocles the pupil and son of Cleœtas. And there is another Zeus without a beard, among the votive offerings of Micythus. Who this Micythus was, whence he came, and why he offered these votive offerings at Olympia, will be described by me hereafter. And if you go on a little from the statue I have mentioned, there is straight before you another statue of Zeus without a beard, the votive offering of the Elaitæ, who came down from the plain of Caicus to the sea, and were the first settlers in Æolis. Near this is another statue of Zeus, and the inscription on it is that the people of the Chersonese in Cnidus erected it as a votive offering after a triumph over their enemies. They erected also on one side of Zeus Pelops, and on the other the river Alpheus. And most of the city of the Cnidians is built on the continent of Caria, where they performed most of their most memorable deeds, and the Chersonese is an island lying near the continent, and connected with it by a bridge: and the votive offerings to Olympian Zeus were dedicated by the dwellers there, just as the Ephesians dwelling at Coressus could say that their votive offering was a gift of the Ephesians generally. There is also near the wall of Altis a statue of Zeus facing west without an inscription: but tradition says it was erected by Mummius[Pg 352] from the spoils of his war with Achaia. But the statue of Zeus in the Council Chamber is of all the statues of Zeus most calculated to frighten wicked men, his Title is Zeus the God of Oaths, and he has a thunderbolt in each hand. At this statue it is customary for the athletes, their fathers and brothers, and also their trainers, to swear over the entrails of a boar that they will not cheat at the Olympian games. And the athletes make this further oath that they have carefully trained for the space of 10 months. And the umpires also, either of boys or the colts that compete in the races, swear to give their decisions honestly and without bribes, and not to reveal the reasons for their selection of the winners. What they do with the boar afterwards I forgot to ask, but it was the custom among all the more ancient sacrificers, that the victim over whom oaths were taken should not be eaten by anybody: as Homer’s evidence very plainly shews, for the boar on whose entrails Agamemnon swore solemnly that Briseis was a maid as far as he was concerned, was thrown into the sea by the herald. Witness the following lines:

“He spoke, and cut the crackling off the boar

With ruthless knife. And quick Talthybius

Whirled it away into the surging sea,

As food for fishes.”[74]

Such was the ancient use. And before the feet of Zeus the God of Oaths there is a brazen tablet, on which some elegiac lines are inscribed, that are meant to inspire fear in perjurers.

Such are the statues of Zeus inside Altis, all of which I have enumerated. For the statue near the great temple offered by a Corinthian, is not an offering of the old Corinthians but of those who rebuilt the city in Cæsar’s time, and is Alexander the son of Philip to imitate Zeus. I shall also enumerate all the other statues which are not representations of Zeus. And the effigies not erected in honour of the deity, but in honour of men, I shall describe in my account of the athletes.

The Messenians at the Sicilian Strait, who used to send to Rhegium, according to old custom, a chorus of 35 boys and a choir-master and a piper to the national feast, had on one occasion a terrible disaster, none of those that were sent were saved, but the vessel that had the boys on board perished boys and all in the depths of the sea. For the sea at this strait is a most stormy one: for winds lash it to fury, and two seas meet, the Sicilian and the Tyrrhenian: and even when the winds are calm, there is a tremendous swell in the Strait from the strong ebb and flow. And so many sea-monsters are there, that the air is tainted with their scent, so that the shipwrecked mariner has no chance of getting safe to shore. And if Odysseus had chanced to be wrecked here, one can never believe that he could have swum off safe to Italy. But a kind Providence in every conjuncture brings about some alleviation. And the Messenians sorrowing at the loss of the boys, besides other things to honour their memory, placed at Olympia brazen effigies of them and their choir-master and piper. The old inscription shewed that these effigies were votive offerings of the Messenians at the Sicilian Strait: and subsequently Hippias, who was called by the Greeks the Wise, wrote some elegiac lines on them. The effigies were by Callon of Elis.

And there is near the Promontory Pachynus, that faces towards Libya and the South, the town of Motye, peopled by Libyans and Phœnicians. And the people of Agrigentum were at war with the people of Motye, and out of the[Pg 354] spoil and booty they took from them erected as votive offerings at Olympia some boys in brass, extending their right hands like people praying to the deity. They are on the wall at Altis. I conjectured they were by Calamis, and tradition states the same. The races that inhabit Sicily are the Sicani and the Siceli and the Phrygians, some of whom crossed over from Italy, and others came from the river Scamander and the Troad. And the Phœnicians and Libyans sailed to the island with a joint fleet, as a colony of the Carthaginians. Such are the barbarous races in Sicily. And of Greeks the Dorians and Ionians dwell in it, and a few Phocians and Athenians.

And on the same wall are votive offerings from Agrigentum, two statues of boyish Hercules naked. The Hercules shooting at the Nemean lion is the votive offering of the Tarentine Hippotion, and the design of the Mænalian Nicodamus. The other is the votive offering of the Mendæan Anaxippus, and was brought here by the people of Elis: it used to be at the end of the road leading from Elis to Olympia, called the Sacred Road. There are also statues, from the Achæan race in common, of those who, when Hector challenged a single Greek to single combat, drew lots who it should be. They are near the great temple armed with spears and shields. And right opposite on another basement is Nestor throwing the lots into his helmet. And the number of those that drew lots for the single combat with Hector are 8, for the 9th, which was Odysseus, they say Nero carried to Rome, and of the 8 Agamemnon only has his name inscribed, and it is written from right to left. And the one with the device of a cock on the shield is Idomeneus, the descendant of Minos and Pasiphae the daughter of the Sun. And the cock they say is sacred to the Sun and heralds his approach. The inscription on the basement is,

“To Zeus the Achæans, descendants of the divine Pelops the son of Tantalus, erected these votive offerings.”

And the name of the artificer is inscribed on the shield of Idomeneus,

“This and many besides are the work of the skilful Onatas, the son of Micon of Ægina.”

And not far from the votive offering of the Achæans is[Pg 355] Hercules fighting with an Amazon on horseback for her belt. This is the votive offering of Evagoras of Zancle, and the design of Aristocles of Cydonia. Aristocles may be reckoned amongst the very ancient sculptors, for though one cannot state his period exactly, it is manifest that he lived before the change from the old name Zancle to its present one of Messene.

The Thasians also (who were Phœnicians originally, and sailed from Tyre and other parts of Phœnice to Europe with Thasus the son of Agenor), made a votive offering of Hercules at Olympia, the base as well as the statue of brass. The height of the statue is 10 cubits, in the right hand he holds his club, and in the left his bow. And I heard in Thasos that they worshipped the same Hercules as the Tyrians worship, but afterwards, when they became naturalized as Greeks, they worshipped Hercules the son of Amphitryon. And the votive offering of the Thasians at Olympia has the following elegiac couplet attached to it,

“Onatas the son of Micon made me, a dweller at Ægina.”

This Æginetan Onatas we should regard in the statuary art as second to none since Dædalus and the Attic school.

The Dorian Messenians also, who received Naupactus from the Athenians, erected at Olympia a Victory on a pillar, the design of the Mendæan Pæonius, and made from spoils taken from the enemy, I imagine, when they fought with the Acarnanians and Œniadæ. But the Messenians themselves say that this Victory was erected for their share with the Athenians in the action at Sphacteria, and that they did not insert the name of the enemy from fear of the Lacedæmonians, and they could have had no fear of the Œniadæ and Acarnanians.

I found also many votive offerings of Micythus scattered about, and three of them together, next to the statue of Iphitus of Elis and Truce crowning him, viz. Amphitrite[Pg 356] and Poseidon and Vesta, by the Argive Glaucus. And near the left side of the great temple he placed Proserpine the daughter of Demeter, and Aphrodite, and Ganymede, and Artemis, and of the poets Homer and Hesiod, and of the gods again Æsculapius and Hygiea. And among the votive offerings of Micythus is Agon with the dumb bells. These dumb bells are fashioned as follows. They are semicircular in shape though not a perfect semi-circle, and are so constructed that the fingers can pass through, as they do through the handles of a shield. And next the statue of Agon is Dionysus, and the Thracian Orpheus, and the statue of Zeus which I mentioned a little above. These are works of art of the Argive Dionysius. Others besides they say were given by Micythus, but were removed by Nero. And the Argives Dionysius and Glaucus had no master in their craft that we know of, but the period when they flourished is shewn by the fact that Micythus placed their works of art at Olympia. For Herodotus informs us in his history that this Micythus was the slave of Anaxilas the king at Rhegium, and was afterwards his treasurer, and after his death went to Tegea. And the inscriptions on these votive offerings make Micythus the son of Chœrus, and the Greek colony of Rhegium, or Messene near the Strait, his native place. But they do not mention his ever living at Tegea, and these votive offerings at Olympia were the fulfilment of a vow for the recovery of his son, who was wasting away in a consumption.

And near the larger votive offerings of Micythus, the work of the Argive Glaucus, is a statue of Athene with a helmet on her head and her Ægis. This was made by Nicodamus the Mænalian, and is a votive offering of the people of Elis. And next to Athene is a statue of Victory, an offering of the Mantineans, for what war is not specified in the inscription. And it is said to be an imitation by Calamis of the wooden statue at Athens of Wingless Victory. And near the smaller votive offerings of Micythus made by Dionysius are the Labours of Hercules with the Nemean lion, and the hydra, and Cerberus, and the Erymanthian boar. They were brought to Olympia by the men of Heraclea, who overran the territory of the neighbouring barbarians the Mariandyni. Heraclea is a[Pg 357] town near the Euxine, and was colonized by the Megarians. The Bœotians of Tanagra also had a share in the colony.

And opposite those I have mentioned are other votive offerings in a row, facing the South, and very near the enclosure sacred to Pelops. Among them are the votive offerings of Mænalian Phormis, who crossed over from Mænalus to Sicily to Gelon the son of Dinomenes, and in the army of Gelon, and afterwards in the army of Gelon’s brother Hiero, displayed great valour, and advanced to such a pitch of fortune that he offered these votive offerings at Olympia, and also some others to Apollo at Delphi. His offerings at Olympia are two horses and two charioteers, a charioteer by each horse. The first horse and groom is by Dionysius the Argive, the second by the Æginetan Simo. And the first has the following inscription on the side, the first line not in metre,

“Phormis the Arcadian from Mænalus, now a Syracusan, offered me.”

This is the horse about which the people of Elis have a tradition on the power of lust in horses. It is evident that several remarkable properties of this horse come from the cunning of a magician. In size and beauty it is inferior to many to be seen in Altis: it has also the tail knocked off, which makes it more unsightly still. Nevertheless stallions not only in spring but all the year round are madly in lust after it. For they rush into Altis, breaking their reins or escaping from their drivers, and endeavour to mount this horse, with far greater impetuosity than they exhibit to the handsomest mare alive whom they had been accustomed to mount. And though their hoofs slip on the polished basement they do not cease to neigh fiercely, and try to mount this horse with frantic energy, till by whips or sheer strength they get pulled off. There is no other way of getting them away from this brazen horse.[75] I have seen in Lydia a different kind of marvel to this horse of Phormis, but equally the cunning work of a[Pg 358] magician. Among the Lydians called Persici there are temples at Hierocæsarea and Hypæpa, and in each of these temples there is a chamber in which are ashes on an altar, not like other ashes in appearance. And a magician enters into this chamber, and, after placing dry wood upon the altar, first of all places a tiara on his head, and then calls on the gods in a foreign tongue not understood by the Greeks. And this he chants from a book, and the wood gets lighted evidently without fire and a bright blaze shines forth from it. Let this digression suffice.

And among these votive offerings is Phormis himself contending with an enemy, and fighting with a second and even a third. And there is an inscription stating that the soldier fighting is Mænalian Phormis, and that it is a votive offering of the Syracusan Lycortas, who plainly offered it out of affection to Phormis. The Greeks however call these votive offerings of Lycortas the votive offerings of Phormis. And the Hermes with a ram under his arm, and a helmet on his head, and a tunic and cloak on, is not one of the votive offerings of Phormis, but was offered to the god by the Arcadians of Pheneos. And the inscription states that Onatas the Æginetan jointly designed it with Calliteles, who must I think have been the pupil or son of Onatas. And not far from the votive offering of the people of Pheneos is another statue of Hermes with his herald’s wand, and the inscription on it states that it was the votive offering of Glaucias of Rhegium, and the work of Callon of Elis. And there are two brazen bulls, one the votive offering of the people of Corcyra, the other of the Eretrienses, both by Philesius of Eretria. Why the Corcyræans offered one bull at Olympia and another at Delphi, I shall relate in my account of the Phocians. And about the votive offering at Olympia I have heard the following circumstance. A little boy sitting down under this bull had stooped down and was playing, and suddenly lifting up his head dashed it against the brass, and not many days afterwards died from the blow. The people of Elis wanted to remove the bull from Altis as being blood guilty, but the god at Delphi ordered the same expiatory sacrifices for the bull as the Greeks ordain for involuntary homicide.

There is under the plane-trees at Altis in the middle of[Pg 359] the grove a brazen trophy, and an inscription on the shield of the trophy, stating that the people of Elis offered it out of spoils of the Lacedæmonians. This was the battle in which the man lost his life who was found in his armour in my day, when the roof of the temple of Hera was being repaired. The votive offering of the Mendæans in Thrace very nearly deceived me to think that it was the effigy of a competitor for the pentathlum. It is near Anauchidas of Elis, and has ancient dumb-bells. And the following elegiac couplet is written on the thigh,

“To Zeus, the king of the Gods, the Mendæans put me here as firstfruits, after taking Sipte by storm.”

It seems that Sipte is a Thracian fort and city, and the Mendæans are a Greek race from Ionia, and live a little inland from the sea, at the town of Ænus.

Next to my account of the votive offerings comes naturally mention of the horses that contended, and of the athletes, and of amateurs also. There are not statues of all the conquerors at Olympia, for even some who displayed great prowess in the contests, or elsewhere, have yet not obtained statues. These my subject bids me to pass over, for it is not a catalogue of all the athletes that were victors at Olympia, but an account of the statues and other votive offerings. Neither shall I mention all the statues, as I well know some who won the crown of wild olive from unexpected good fortune rather than their own exertions. I shall therefore merely mention those who had more renown or finer statues than others.

On the right of the temple of Hera is a statue of the wrestler Symmachus, the son of Æschylus, a native of Elis. And near him, from Pheneos in Arcadia, is Neolaidas the son of Proxenus, who carried off the prize for boxing among the boys, and next Archedamus the son of Xenius, also a native of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling. These statues were made by Alypus the Sicyonian, the pupil of Naucydes the Argive. And the inscription on the statue of Cleogenes, the son of Silenus, says that he was of the district, he won the prize with a fast horse from his own stud. And next Cleogenes are Dinolochus, the son of Pyrrhus, and Troilus, the son of Alcinous. They too were natives of Elis, but their victories were not won in the same manner, for Troilus owed his victory to his perfect pair of horses and team of colts: partly also to his being umpire: and he was victor in the 102nd Olympiad. And from thenceforth there was a law among the people of Elis that the umpires’ horses should not be admitted to the races.[Pg 361] His statue was by Lysippus. But the mother of Dinolochus dreamed that she embraced her son after being crowned, and moved by this dream he trained, and outran the other lads: and his statue is by Cleon of Sicyon. As to Cynisca the wife of Archidamus, I have spoken previously of her family and victories at Olympia, in my account of the kings of the Lacedæmonians. And near the statue of Troilus is a basement of stone, and a chariot and charioteer, and the effigy of Cynisca herself, by Apelles. There are inscriptions also in reference to her. And next her are some Lacedæmonians, who were victors in the horse-races. Anaxander was the first victor proclaimed in the chariot-race. And the inscription over him states that his grandfather was crowned earlier in the pentathlum. He is represented as praying to the god. And Polycles, surnamed Polychalcus, was victor in the chariot-race with 4 horses abreast, and his effigy has in its right hand a riband. And by him are two boys, one holding the wheel, the other asking for the riband. And Polycles was victor with his horses, as the inscription over him states, in the Pythian Isthmian and Nemean games.

And the statue of the pancratiast next is by Lysippus. He carried off the victory as pancratiast from the rest of the Acarnanians, and was the first of his own countrymen. Xenarches was his name and he was the son of Philandridas. And the Lacedæmonians, after the invasion of the Medes, turned their attention more than any other Greeks to breeding horses. For besides those that I have already mentioned, there are statues of several other Spartan horse-breeders, next to the effigy of the Acarnanian athlete, as Xenarches, and Lycinus, and Arcesilaus, and Lichas his son. Xenarches also had further victories at Delphi and Argos and Corinth. And Lycinus brought colts to Olympia, and as one of them was rejected, he used his[Pg 362] colts in the race of full-grown horses and won the prize. And he set up two statues at Olympia, by the Athenian Myro. And Arcesilaus and his son Lichas had two victories at Olympia, and Lichas, as the Lacedæmonians were at that time excluded from the games, entered himself for the chariot-race as a Theban, and bound the victorious charioteer with a riband. For this the Umpires scourged him. And it was on account of this Lichas that the Lacedæmonians under Agis invaded Elis, when the fight took place at Altis. And at the end of the war Lichas erected his statue here, but the records of the people of Elis about the victors at Olympia say that the Theban people, not Lichas, won the victory.

And near Lichas is the seer of Elis, Thrasybulus, the son of Æneas of the family of the Iamidæ, who practised divination for the Mantineans against the Lacedæmonians under Agis the son of King Eudamidas, I shall enter into the circumstances more fully in my account about the Arcadians. And on the effigy of Thrasybulus there is a spotted lizard creeping on his right shoulder, and a dog lies near him cut in half as a victim and shewing its liver. Divination by kids and lambs and calves is clearly an old practice among mankind, the Cyprians seem also to have added divination by swine. But no nations are accustomed to practise divination by dogs. Therefore it was apparently a peculiarity of Thrasybulus to introduce this kind of divination. And the seers called the Iamidæ were descendants of Iamus, who, as Pindar tells us in one of his Odes, was the son of Apollo, and learnt his divination from him.

And close to the effigy of Thrasybulus is one of Timosthenes, a native of Elis, who won the prize for boys in the course, and one of the Milesian Antipater, the son of Clinopater, who beat all the boys in boxing. And some Syracusans, who offered sacrifices at Olympia on behalf of Dionysius, bribed the father of Antipater to let his son be declared a Syracusan. But Antipater, despising the tyrant’s bribe, declared himself a Milesian, and inscribed on his effigy that he was a Milesian, and the first Ionian that had had his effigy at Olympia. It was by Polycletus, and Timosthenes’ was by Eutychides of Sicyon, a pupil of[Pg 363] Lysippus. This Eutychides made a statue of Fortune for the Syrians by the Orontes, which is greatly honoured by the people of that district.

And in Altis near the effigy of Timosthenes are statues of Timon and his son Æsypus, the lad on horseback. For he won the prize on his racer, while Timon was proclaimed victor in the chariot race. These statues were made by Dædalus of Sicyon, who also erected a trophy for the people of Elis, after their victory over the Laconians at Altis. And the inscription over the Samian boxer states that Myco was his trainer, and that the Samians are the best of the Ionians both as athletes and naval heroes, but gives no information about the particular boxer.

And next is the statue of the Messenian Damiscus, who was victor at Olympia when he was only 12. It is a very remarkable coincidence, that, when the Messenians were exiles from the Peloponnese, their luck at Olympia also failed. For except Leontiscus and Symmachus, who were Sicilian Messenians from the Strait, no Messenian either from Sicily or Naupactus was victor at Olympia, and the Sicilians say they were not Messenians but old inhabitants of Zancle. However when the Messenians returned to the Peloponnese, their luck also at Olympia returned. For in the year after the restoration to Messene, when the people of Elis celebrated the Olympian games, this Damiscus won the prize from all the boys in the course, and afterwards won victories both at Nemea and at the Isthmus in the pentathlum.

Next to Damiscus is the statue of a man whose name is not recorded, the votive offering of Ptolemy the son of Lagus. Ptolemy calls himself a Macedonian in the inscription, though he was king of Egypt. There is an inscription also over Chæreas of Sicyon a boy-boxer, stating that his father was Chæremon, and that though young he was victor. The inscription also states that the statue[Pg 364] was by Asterion, the son of Æschylus. And next to Chæreas there are statues of the Messenian boy Sophius, and of Stomius a man of Elis, Sophius outran all the boys, and Stomius won one victory in the pentathlum at Olympia, and three at Nemea. And the inscription on Stomius records further that as leader of the cavalry of the people of Elis he won a victory, and killed the commander of the enemy, who had challenged him to single combat. And the people of Elis say that he came from Sicyon and was ruler of the Sicyonians, and that they themselves went on an expedition against Sicyon in friendship to the Thebans together with a force from Bœotia. It would appear therefore that an expedition against Sicyon must have set out from Elis and Thebes after the reverse of the Lacedæmonians at Leuctra.

Next is the statue of the boxer Labax, the son of Euphron, who was a native of Lepreus in Elis, and also one of the wrestlers from Elis, Aristodemus the son of Thrasis, who had two victories in the Pythian games. And the effigy of Aristodemus is by Dædalus the Sicyonian, who was the pupil and son of Patrocles. And the statue of Hippos of Elis, who beat all the boys in boxing, was by Democritus of Sicyon, who learnt his art from the Athenian Critias through 4 intermediate teachers. For Critias was the tutor of the Corcyræan Ptolichus, and Amphion was the pupil of Ptolichus, and Piso of Calauria was the pupil of Amphion, and Democritus was the pupil of Piso. And Cratinus from Ægira in Achaia was the most handsome of all his contemporaries, and the greatest wrestler. And as none of the boys could stand before him in wrestling he was appointed by the people of Elis as teacher of the boys. And his statue was by the Sicyonian Cantharus, whose father was Alexis, and teacher Eutychides.

And the effigy of Eupolemus of Elis was by the Sicyonian Dædalus, and the inscription informs us about him that he was victor at Olympia over men in the course, he also won two crowns at the Pythian games in the pentathlum, and one crown at the Nemean games. It is further recorded about Eupolemus that of the three umpires in the race two adjudged the prize to him, and the third to the Ambraciote Leo, and that Leo at the Council of Olympia[Pg 365] subsequently got indemnity from both the umpires who had adjudged the prize to Eupolemus.

And the statue of Œbotas was set up by the Achæans in the 80th Olympiad in accordance with the oracle at Delphi. He had been victor in the course in the sixth Olympiad. How then could he have fought with the Greeks at Platæa? For it was not till the 75th Olympiad that Mardonius and the Medes met with the reverse at Platæa. I am bound to record the traditions of the Greeks, but I need not believe all of them. All else that happened to Œbotas shall be told in my account of Achaia.

And the statue of Antiochus was made by Nicodemus. Antiochus was a native of Lepreus, and won the prize at Olympia for the pentathlum for men once, and twice in the Pythian games, twice also at Nemea. For the Isthmians were not frightened by the people of Lepreus as they were by the people of Elis, for Hysmon of Elis, whose statue is next to Antiochus, being an athlete, and having won the prize for the pentathlum once at Olympia and once at Nemea, was plainly prevented, like all other people of Elis, from trying his fortune at the Isthmian games. It is also recorded of Hysmon that when he was a boy he had a discharge, and that was why he trained for the pentathlum, that he might become stronger in constitution, and free from disease. And this training was destined to get for him many notable victories. His statue is by Cleon, and he has in his hands some old-fashioned dumb bells. And next to Hysmon is the statue of a wrestling boy from Heræa in Arcadia, Nicostratus the son of Xenoclidas. It is by Pantias, who by six intermediate links was a pupil of Aristocles the Sicyonian.

And Dicon the son of Callibrotus won five races in the Pythian games, and three in the Isthmian, and four at Nemea, and at Olympia one for boys, two for men. And he has as many statues as he won victories at Olympia. He was a native of Caulonia, and so proclaimed as a boy, though afterwards for money he proclaimed himself a Syracusan. Now Caulonia is a colony of Achæans in Italy, its founder was Typhon of Ægium. And when Pyrrhus the son of Æacus and the Tarentines were at war with the Romans, and several cities in Italy were destroyed,[Pg 366] some by the Romans, some by the people of Epirus, Caulonia was laid waste, after being captured by the Campanians, who were the chief allies of the Romans.

Next to Dicon is a statue of Xenophon, the son of Menephylus, the pancratiast from Ægium in Achaia, also one of Pyrilampes the Ephesian, who obtained the victory in the long course. Xenophon’s statue is by Olympus, Pyrilampes’ by a sculptor of the same name, not a Sicyonian, but from Messene near Ithome.

The Samians also erected a statue at Olympia to the Spartan Lysander the son of Aristocritus. And the first of the inscriptions is,

“In the conspicuous precincts of almighty Zeus I stand, the votive offering of all the Samians.”

This informs us who erected the statue. And the second inscription is a panegyric on Lysander,

“Immortal fame, Lysander, on your country and Aristocritus did you confer by your splendid merit.”

Manifest is it therefore that the Samians and other Ionians, according to the Ionian proverb, whitewashed two walls.[76] For when Alcibiades had a strong Athenian fleet in the neighbourhood of Ionia, most of the Ionians paid their court to him, and there is a brazen bust of Alcibiades in the temple of Hera among the Samians. But when the Athenian fleet was taken at Ægos-potamoi, then the Samians erected this statue of Lysander at Olympia, and the Ephesians placed in the temple of Artemis statues of Lysander himself, and Eteonicus, and Pharax, and other Spartans of no great renown in Greece. And when fortune veered round again, and Conon won the sea-fight off Cnidus and Mount Dorium, then the Ionians changed sides again, and you may see a brazen statue of Conon and Timotheus at Samos in the temple of Hera, and likewise at Ephesus in the temple of Artemis. This has been the case in all ages, for all men, like these Ionians, pay court to the strongest.

And next to Lysander is the effigy of an Ephesian boxer, whose name was Athenæus, and who beat all the boys that contended with him, and next him is the Sicyonian pancratiast Sostratus, whose surname was Acrochersites, because he laid hold of his adversary’s fingers and tried to break them, and would not let go till he saw that he was going to give in. And he had 12 victories at Nemea and Isthmus both together, and in the Pythian games two, at Olympia three. The 104th Olympiad, in which this Sostratus was victor for the first time, the people of Elis do not record, because the games in that Olympiad were not instituted by them but by the Pisæans and Arcadians. And next to Sostratus is the wrestler Leontiscus, a Sicilian from Messene by the Strait. And he is said to have been crowned by the Amphictyonians, and twice by the people of Elis, and his wrestling is said to have been somewhat similar to that of Sostratus of Sicyon in the pancratium, for he was not an adept at wrestling his antagonists down, but he used to beat them by trying to break their fingers. And his statue was by Pythagoras of Rhegium, an excellent sculptor if ever there was one. And he learnt his art they say from Clearchus who was also a native of Rhegium, and a pupil of Euchirus. This Euchirus was a Corinthian, and pupil of Syadra and Charta, who were both Spartans.

And the boy with a fillet on his head must not be omitted by me, on Phidias’ account and his fame as a statuary, for otherwise we don’t know who it is a statue of. And there is a statue of Satyrus of Elis, the son of Lysianax, of the family of the Iamidæ, who five times won the prize for boxing at Nemea, and twice at Olympia, and twice at the Pythian games. This statue is by the Athenian Silanion. And another Athenian statuary Polycles, the pupil of the Athenian Stadieus, has made a statue of the Ephesian pancratiast, Amyntas the son of Hellanicus.

And Chilon the Achæan of Patræ had two victories at Olympia in wrestling among men, and one at Delphi, and[Pg 368] 4 at Isthmus, and 3 at Nemea. And he had a public funeral from the Achæans, as he was killed in war. The inscription at Olympia bears me out.

“I won the prize from men in wrestling twice in the Pythian and Olympian games, three times at Nemea, four times at the Isthmus near the sea, I Chilon of Patræ the son of Chilon, whom the Achæans gave a public funeral to for his valour as he was killed in war.”

Such is what the inscription records. And if one conjectures from the age of Lysippus, who made the effigy, one must infer that the war in which Chilon fell was either at Chæronea when he fought in company with all the Achæans, or that he alone boldly volunteered to fight at Lamia in Thessaly against Antipater and the Macedonians.

And next to that of Chilon are two statues: one of Molpion, who the inscription states was crowned by the people of Elis, and the other, which has no inscription, is they say Aristotle of Stagira in Thrace, and it was erected to him by some pupil or soldier, as he was greatly honoured by Antipater and earlier still by Alexander. And Sodamas from Assus in the Troas, near Mount Ida, was the first Æolian that won the prize for boys in the course at Olympia. And next to Sodamas is a statue of Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, king of the Lacedæmonians. Before the reign of this Archidamus I cannot find that the Lacedæmonians erected a statue of anyone beyond their own borders. But they sent I think a statue of Archidamus to Olympia, not only on other accounts but also because of his death, for he died fighting against the barbarians, and was the only one of the Spartan kings that lacked sepulture. I have narrated the particulars at full length in my account of Sparta. And Euanthes of Cyzicus had prizes for boxing, one at Olympia as a man, and at Nemea and the Isthmian games as a boy. And next to Euanthes is a horse-trainer and a chariot, and a girl mounting the chariot. The man’s name is Lampus, and his native town was the most recent of the Macedonian towns, and got its name from its founder Philip the son of Amyntas. And the effigy of Cyniscus, the boy boxer from Mantinea, was by Polycletus. And Ergoteles the son of Philanor, who carried off two victories at Olympia in the long course, and as many at the Pythian[Pg 369] Isthmian and Nemean games, was not originally a native of Himera, as the inscription states, but is said to have been a Cretan from Gnossus: and being banished from thence in some faction he went to Himera, and obtained citizenship there, and had other honours. This is the probable explanation of his being proclaimed in the games as a native of Himera.

The statue which stands on a lofty pedestal is by Lysippus. It is the statue of Polydamas, the son of Nicias, the largest man of our times. There may have been larger men, but only the heroes or some mortal race of giants earlier than the heroes. Scotusa, which was the native place of Polydamas, is not inhabited in our day, for Alexander the king of the Pheræans took it in time of peace, for when the people of Scotusa were all gathered together in the theatre, for they held their meetings there at that period, he surrounded it with targeteers and archers and shot them all, and slew all besides that were in their prime, and sold the women and children, and with the proceeds kept up a mercenary army. This disaster happened to the people of Scotusa when Phrasiclides was Archon at Athens, in the 102nd Olympiad, in the second year of which Damon of Thuria was victor for the second time. And those that escaped of the people of Scotusa were few, and even they were reduced still further and left the town, when Providence brought a second reverse upon all the Greeks in the war with the Macedonians. In the pancratium several had notable victories, but Polydamas beside his crowns for the pancratium had further renown for the following remarkable exploits. The mountainous part of Thrace, inside the river Nestus that flows through the territory of the people of Abdera, rears several wild beasts and among them lions, who on one occasion attacked the army of Xerxes, and made havoc of the camels that carried the corn. These lions also frequently prowled about the country in the neighbourhood of Mount Olympus, one side of which mountain faces Macedonia,[Pg 370] another Thessaly and the river Peneus. Polydamas unarmed slew a large and stout lion on Mount Olympus: moved to this exploit from a desire to emulate the actions of Hercules, who as the tradition goes vanquished the Nemean lion. Another memorable feat of Polydamas is on record. He approached a herd of cattle, and seized the strongest and wildest bull by one of its hind feet, and held on fast by its hoofs, and would not let it go though it kicked and struggled, till at last the bull exerting all its strength got away from him, and left its hoofs in his hands. It is also recorded of him that he stopped a chariot which the driver was urging on at full speed, by laying hold of it behind with one hand, and thus stopped both horses and charioteer. And Darius, the illegitimate son of Artaxerxes, (who with the help of the Persian commonalty had deposed Sogdius, Artaxerxes’ legitimate son, and usurped his kingdom), when he became king sent messengers, for he had heard of the exploits of Polydamas, and by promising rewards attracted him to his court at Susa. And there he slew in single combat three of the Persians called Immortals who had challenged him. And some of the exploits which I have mentioned are recorded on the base of his statue at Olympia, others in the inscription. But eventually the prophetic utterance of Homer about trusting too much in one’s strength proved true of Polydamas, for he too was destined to perish through too great confidence in his strength.[77] On one occasion with several boon companions he entered a cave in summer time, and somehow or other by some malign fortune the top of the cave cracked, and was evidently going to fall in in no long time. And when they perceived the impending disaster all his companions fled, but Polydamas determined to remain, and stretched out his hands in the intention of holding up this mass of rock and not being buried under it, but he was crushed to death.

And next to the statue of Polydamas are two Arcadian athletes, and one Athenian one. The first is the Mantinean Protolaus, the son of Dialces, who beat all the boys in boxing, by Pythagoras of Rhegium, the second is Narycidas, the son of Damaretus, a wrestler from Phigalia, by the Sicyonian Dædalus, and the third is Callias, the Athenian pancratiast, by the Athenian painter Micon. And there is a statue, by Nicodamus of Mænalus, of the pancratiast from Mænalus, Androsthenes the son of Lochæus, who carried off two victories from men. And next to these is the statue of Eucles the son of Callianax, a Rhodian by birth and of the family of the Diagoridæ, (for Diagoras was his maternal grandfather), who won the prize for boxing among men at Olympia. His statue is by Naucydes. And Polycletus the Argive, a pupil of Naucydes, (not the Polycletus who made the statue of Hera), has made the statue of a boy-wrestler, the Theban Agenor. It was made at the expense of the Phocians, to whom Theopompus the father of Agenor had been friendly. And Nicodamus, the statuary from Mænalus, made a statue of Damoxenidas, the man-boxer from Mænalus. There is also an effigy of Lastratidas the boy of Elis, who won the crown for wrestling, and also a victory at Nemea among boys and beardless youths. And Paraballon the father of Lastratidas won the prize in the double course, and excited the emulation of posterity, by writing up the names of the victors at Olympia in the gymnasium at Olympia.

So far for these last mentioned: but I must not omit Euthymus the boxer, or his victories and other feats. He was an Italian from Locri near the promontory of Zephyrium, and his father’s name was Astycles. But the natives of that country say that he was not the son of Astycles but of the River Cæcinus, which is the boundary between the districts of Locri and Rhegium, and has a peculiarity in respect to grasshoppers. For the grasshoppers in Locri up to the river Cæcinus sing just as other grasshoppers, but[Pg 372] after you cross the Cæcinus they cease to sing in the district of Rhegium. Euthymus then is said to be the son of this River, and he won a boxing prize at Olympia in the 74th Olympiad, but was not equally successful in the following Olympiad. For Theagenes from Thasos, wishing to win in the same Olympiad prizes both for boxing and the pancratium, outboxed Euthymus. Theagenes however could not receive the wild olive crown for the pancratium, as in the contest with Euthymus he was exhausted first. Moreover the umpires fined Theagenes a talent as a fine to the god, and a talent for the injury done to Euthymus, for they thought he insulted him in the boxing-match, therefore they ordered him also to pay privately money to Euthymus. And in the 76th Olympiad Theagenes paid his fine to the god, and in his vexation would not again contend as a boxer: but Euthymus received the crown for boxing both in that and the next Olympiad. And his statue is by Pythagoras and is especially fine. And on his return to Italy he fought against a Hero. The particulars are as follows. When Odysseus was on his travels after the capture of Ilium they say he was driven by the winds to several towns in Italy and Sicily, and among others to Temesa; there they say one of his sailors in drink violated a maiden, and for this outrage was stoned to death by the inhabitants. Thereupon Odysseus not troubling himself about his death sailed off, but the ghost of the man that had been stoned relentlessly continued to slay indiscriminately the people of Temesa, pursuing all ages alike, till the Pythian Priestess, when they intended to make a wholesale flitting from Italy, forbade them to leave Temesa, and bade them propitiate the Hero, by building him a temple in a grove set apart for that purpose, and annually giving him as wife the handsomest girl in Temesa. As they obeyed the orders of the oracle they had no further trouble with the ghost. But Euthymus happened to arrive at Temesa at the time when this annual offering to the ghost was being made, and inquired into the matter, and had a strong desire to enter the temple and behold the maiden. And when he saw her, he was first moved with pity and then with love. And she swore that she would marry him if he saved her, and Euthymus armed[Pg 373] himself and awaited the approach of the ghost. In the fight that ensued he was victor, and the Hero left the country, dived into the sea and was never seen again, and the men of that region had henceforth no more trouble from him, and the marriage of Euthymus was celebrated with much pomp. I have also heard that Euthymus lived to advanced old age, and did not die, but left mankind some other way. I have also heard that Temesa is inhabited still, my informant was a merchant that sails in those parts. I also have seen a painting, which is an imitation of an older painting. In it is the young man Sybaris, and the river Calabrus, and the well Lyca, and a hero-chapel, and the town of Temesa. There too is the ghost whom Euthymus expelled, dreadfully swarthy and most formidable in all his appearance, and dressed in a wolfskin. And the letters in the painting give his name, Lycas. So much for this legend.

And next to the statue of Euthymus is that of Pytharchus of Mantinea, a runner in the course, and Charmides a boxer of Elis, both of whom received prizes as boys. And when you have seen these you will come to the statues of the Rhodian athletes, Diagoras and his family. They are all together in the following order, Acusilaus with the prize for boxing among men, and Dorieus, the youngest, who won three prizes in succession at Olympia in the pancratium. Before Dorieus Damagetus, who comes next, had won the prize against all comers in the pancratium. Next to his 3 sons comes the statue of Diagoras, who won a victory among men in boxing. And the statue of Diagoras is by the Megarian Callicles, the son of that Theocosmus who made the statue of Zeus at Megara. The sons also of Diagoras’ daughters practised as boxers and won prizes at Olympia, among the men Eucles the son of Callianax and Callipatira (the daughter of Diagoras), and among the boys Pisirodus, whose mother dressed him up like a man and brought him to the Olympian games, herself disguised as a trainer. This Pisirodus also has a statue[Pg 374] in Altis near his maternal grandfather. Diagoras they say also came to Olympia with his sons Acusilaus and Damagetus. And the young men being victorious at the festival bore their father on their shoulders, who was pelted by the Greeks with flowers and congratulated on his sons. On the female side Diagoras was a Messenian by extraction, as he was descended from the daughter of Aristomenes. And Dorieus the son of Diagoras, besides his victories at Olympia, had 8 victories in the Isthmian games, and seven in the Nemean. It is said that he also won in the Pythian games without a contest. And he and Pisirodus were entered in the games as Thurians, because they were driven from Rhodes by faction and migrated to Thurii. But Dorieus returned to Rhodes subsequently. And of all men he manifestly was most devoted to the Lacedæmonian interests, for he fought against the Athenians with a fleet he had himself equipped, till he was captured by the Athenian triremes and taken prisoner to Athens. And the Athenians before Dorieus was brought before them were very angry against him and used threats, but when they came to the popular Assembly and saw there so great and renowned a man a captive, their intention about him changed and they let him go, and did no harm to him, while they might have done so with justice. The circumstances of the death of Dorieus are told by Androtion in his history of Attica, viz. that the fleet of the great king was at Caunus and Conon was the Admiral, and the people of Rhodes were persuaded by Conon to revolt from the Lacedæmonians, and join the alliance of the Athenians and the great king, and that Dorieus was at the time absent from Rhodes in the interior of the Peloponnese, and was arrested by the Lacedæmonians and taken to Sparta, and condemned by the Lacedæmonians for treason and put to death. And if Androtion’s account be correct, he seems to be desirous of proving the Lacedæmonians as rash as the Athenians, for the Athenians are charged with acting rashly with respect to Thrasyllus and those who fought under him at Arginusæ. To such a pitch of glory then did Diagoras and his posterity attain.

Alcænetus, the son of Theantus of Lepreus, and his sons also had victories at Olympia. Alcænetus himself won[Pg 375] prizes for boxing among the men as previously among the boys. And Hellanicus and Theantus, the sons of Alcænetus, were proclaimed winners in the boxing match for boys, Hellanicus in the 89th Olympiad, and Theantus in the following Olympiad. All three have statues at Olympia. And next to the sons of Alcænetus are statues of Gnatho, the Dipæan from the country about Mænalus, and Lycinus of Elis: who also had prizes for boxing among the boys at Olympia. That Gnatho, when he conquered, was exceptionally young is stated in the inscription, his statue is by Callicles the Megarian. And Dromeus from Stymphelus was as his name indicates a runner in the long course, and had two victories at Olympia, two at the Pythian games, three at the Isthmus, and five at Nemea. It is said also that he introduced eating flesh during training: for athletes in training before him used to eat only a particular kind of cheese. His statue is by Pythagoras, and the next to it is that of Pythocles of Elis, who won in the pentathlum, by Polycletus.

Who made the statue of Socrates of Pellene, who won the race for boys, is not recorded, but the statue of Amertus of Elis, who defeated in wrestling all the men that came to the Pythian games, was by Phradmon the Argive. And Euanoridas of Elis won victories in wrestling among the boys both at Olympia and at Nemea: and he became an Umpire and made a list of the victors at Olympia.

As to the boxer Damarchus, a Parrhasian from Arcadia, I cannot credit, except the victory at Olympia, all the fictions about him made by boastful people, such as that he changed from a man into a wolf at the sacrifice of Zeus Lycæus, and that 10 years afterwards he changed into a man again. Not that this is the tradition apparently of the Arcadians about him. Else it would have been inserted in their inscription at Olympia, which runs as follows.

“Damarchus the son of Dinnytas erected this statue, a Parrhasian from Arcadia.”

This is all the inscription. But Eubotas of Cyrene, as[Pg 376] he had learnt beforehand from the oracle at Libya that he would gain the prize in the race at Olympia, had his statue made first, and on the same day was proclaimed victor and set up his statue. It is said also that he won the chariot race in that Olympiad which the people of Elis do not reckon because the Arcadians instituted the games.

And the statue of Timanthes of Cleonæ, who won the prize for men in the pancratium, is by the Athenian Myro, and that of Baucis of Trœzen, who beat all the men in wrestling, is by Naucydes. The following was they say the end of Timanthes. When he ceased to be an athlete he continued none the less to make trial of his strength, every day bending a huge bow: and he went away from home for a time, and during that period the use of the bow was suspended: and when on his return he found himself no longer strong enough to bend his bow, he lighted his funeral pyre and put himself alive on it. All actions of this kind whether in the past or in the future seem to me rather madness than bravery.

And next to Baucis are some statues of Arcadian athletes, as Euthymenes of Mænalus, who won prizes among men for wrestling and still earlier among boys, and Philip the son of Azan from Pellene, who beat all the boys in boxing, and Critodamus from Clitor, who was himself also proclaimed victor in the boys’ boxing match. That of Euthymenes was by Alypus, that of Critodamus by Cleon, and that of Philip the son of Azan by Myro. As to Promachus the pancratiast, the son of Dryon of Pellene, I shall state more about him in my account of Achaia. And not far from Promachus is the statue of Timasitheus of Delphi, (by Ageladas the Argive), who won two victories in the pancratium at Olympia, and three in the Pythian games. He also exhibited brilliant bravery in war, and had constant good fortune till then. For his valour on that occasion cost him his life. For when Isagoras the Athenian occupied the Acropolis with the view of making himself master of Athens, Timasitheus joined him, and was one of those who were captured, and put to death by the Athenians for his share in the matter.

And the statue of Theognetus of Ægina, who was crowned for wrestling among the boys, is by Ptolichus of Ægina, the pupil of his father Synnoon, who was himself the pupil of Aristocles of Sicyon, the brother of Canachus and as famous as a statuary. But why Theognetus carries in his hand the fruit of the cultivated pine and pomegranate I cannot conjecture, perhaps among some of the Æginetans there is some national legend about him. And next to the statue of the man who the people of Elis say was not registered with the rest, because he was proclaimed victor in the trotting-race,[78] is the statue of Xenocles of Mænalus, who beat all the boys in wrestling, and Alcetus the son of Alcinous, who beat all the boys in boxing, an Arcadian from Clitor. His statue is by Cleon, and Xenocles’ by Polycletus. And the statue of the Argive Aristeus, who won the prize in the long course, is by the Chian Pantias, a pupil of his father Sostratus: and next to him is the statue of Chimon, the father of Aristeus, who won the prize for wrestling. His statues are in my opinion the finest works of art of Naucydes, one is at Olympia, and the other was carried from Argos to the temple of Peace in Rome. It is also said that Chimon beat Taurosthenes of Ægina in wrestling, and that in the following Olympiad Taurosthenes beat all comers in wrestling, and the same day an apparition very like Taurosthenes appeared at Ægina and announced his victory. And the statue of Philles of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling, is by the Spartan Cratinus. As to the chariot of Gelon, I cannot agree with the opinion of those who have written before me, who say that it was a votive offering of Gelon the tyrant of Syracuse. The inscription says that it was a votive offering of Gelon of Gela, the son of Dinomenes, who was a victor in the 73rd Olympiad. But Gelon the tyrant of Sicily was master of Syracuse when Hybilides was Archon at Athens, in the second year of the 72nd Olympiad,[Pg 378] in which Tisicrates of Croton won the race in the stadium. Manifestly therefore he would have been entered for the race as a Syracusan, and not as a native of Gela. So this Gelon would be some private person, having merely the same name as the Tyrant. And Glaucias the Æginetan made both the chariot and statue of Gelon.

In the Olympiad previous to this they say that Cleomedes of Astypalæa, boxing with Iccus from Epidaurus, killed him, and was condemned by the Umpires to be deprived of his prize, and went out of his mind for grief, and returned to Astypalæa, and standing in a school when there were about 60 scholars pulled away the pillar which supported the roof, and when the roof fell in on the boys he was pelted with stones by the citizens, and fled for refuge to the temple of Athene: and getting into a chest which was lying in the temple, and clapping down the lid, the people of Astypalæa had immense labour to open the chest. At last they broke open the woodwork, and found no Cleomedes either alive or dead, and sent messengers to Delphi to inquire what had become of him. The Pythian Priestess they say returned this answer,

“Last of the heroes is Cleomedes of Astypalæa, honour him with sacrifices as no longer a mortal.”

From that time forward the people of Astypalæa pay honours to him as a hero.

And next to the chariot of Gelon is the statue of Philo by the Æginetan Glaucias. On this Philo Simonides, the son of Leoprepes, wrote the very apt elegiac couplet:

“My country is Corcyra, my name Philo. I am the son of Glaucus, and have won prizes for boxing in two Olympiads.”

There is also a statue of the Mantinean Agametor, who beat all the boys in boxing.

And next to those I have mentioned is Glaucus of Carystus, who they say was originally from Anthedon in Bœotia, and traced his descent from Glaucus the god of the sea. He was the son of Demylus, and they say originally[Pg 379] was a husbandman. And once when the ploughshare came off his plough, he put it on again using his hand instead of a hammer. And Demylus marvelled at his son’s strength, and in consequence sent him to Olympia as a boxer. And there Glaucus, being unpractised in that kind of contest, was badly handled by his antagonists, and, while boxing with the last remaining of them, seemed likely to faint away from his punishment. And they say his father cried out, My boy, remember the ploughshare. Then he put in a terrible blow at his antagonist, and won the prize. He is said also to have been twice crowned at the Pythian games, and eight times in the Nemean and Isthmian games. The statue of Glaucus was erected by his son, but was made by Glaucias the Æginetan. And the statue is in the attitude of one boxing, for Glaucus was the most clever of all his contemporaries in the noble Science. And after his death the people of Carystus say that he was buried in the island still called Glaucus’ island.

And Damaretus of Heræa, and the son and grandson of Damaretus, had two victories each at Olympia, Damaretus in the 65th Olympiad, when first the race in heavy armour was instituted, and also in the next Olympiad. His statue has a shield like those in use in our day, and a helmet on the head, and greaves on the feet. This race in heavy armour was abandoned eventually by the people of Elis and all the Greeks. And Theopompus, the son of Damaretus, and afterwards his grandson of the same name won the prize in the pentathlum, and the grandson Theopompus won prizes also for wrestling; who made his statue we do not know, but the statues of his father and grandfather were according to the inscription by the Argives Eutelidas and Chrysothemis. It does not however state from whom they learnt their art. This is the inscription.

“The Argives Eutelidas and Chrysothemis made these statues, having learnt their art from former generations.”

And Iccus the son of Nicolaidas the Tarentine won the prize at Olympia in the pentathlum, and afterwards became the best trainer of his day. And next to Iccus is the statue of Pantarces of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling, and was beloved by Phidias. And next to Pantarces is the chariot of Cleosthenes, a man of Epidamnus, by[Pg 380] Ageladas, behind the Zeus erected by the Greeks after the battle of Platæa. He conquered in the 66th Olympiad, and he erected not only his own statue but also that of his charioteer and horses. And the names inscribed on the horses are Phœnix and Corax, and of those in the traces, on the right Cnacias, and on the left Samos. And there is this elegiac couplet on the chariot:

“Cleosthenes the Pontian from Epidamnus erected me, after winning the prize with his horses in the noble contest of Zeus.”

And of all that reared horses among the Greeks this Cleosthenes was the first that erected his statue at Olympia. For the votive offering of Euagoras the Lacedæmonian is only his chariot, and not Euagoras in it: and as to Miltiades the Athenian, what he erected at Olympia I shall narrate elsewhere. And the Epidamnians have the same territory as formerly, but the town in our days is not the old one, but one at a little distance: and its name is now Dyrrhachium from its founder.

And there is a statue of Lycinus, the native of Heræa who won in the race for boys, by Cleon, and of three who won victories among the boys for boxing, Epicradius of Mantinea by Ptolichus of Ægina, and Tellon the Oresthasian by what statuary is not on record, and Agiadas of Elis by Serambus of Ægina.

Next to these are votive offerings of the people of Elis, as Philip the son of Amyntas, and Alexander the son of Philip, and Seleucus, and Antigonus; the statues of all but Antigonus are on horseback, he alone is on foot.

And not far from these kings is a statue of Theagenes of Thasos, the son of Timosthenes. But the Thasians say that he was not the son of Timosthenes, who was a priest of Hercules at Thasos, but that Hercules disguised as Timosthenes had an intrigue with the mother of Theagenes. And when the lad was nine years of age, and was going home from school, he fancied they say the brazen statue[Pg 381] of one of the gods in the market-place, and seized it and put it upon one of his shoulders and took it home. And the citizens being angry with him for what he had done, a man of repute and advanced age would not let them kill the lad, but bade him restore the statue back to its place, and he did so. And immediately the fame of the lad for strength spread abroad, and his exploit was talked of all over Greece. The most notable of his exploits at Olympia I have already recorded, and how he beat Euthymus in boxing, and how he was fined by the people of Elis. At that time Dromeus of Mantinea won the victory in the pancratium, for the first time on record without a contest. But he was beaten by Theagenes the Olympiad afterwards in the pancratium. And Theagenes had three victories in the Pythian games for boxing, and 9 at Nemea and 10 at the Isthmus for the pancratium and boxing together. And at Phthia in Thessaly he neglected boxing and the pancratium, and endeavoured to become illustrious among the Greeks in racing, and beat all comers in the long course. I cannot but think he was desirous of emulating Achilles, and to win in the race in the country of the swiftest of heroes. All the crowns he won were as many as 1400. And when he died, one of his enemies went up to his statue every night, and scourged the brass as if it were Theagenes alive he was maltreating. But at last the statue fell on him and killed him and so stopped his outrage, but after his death his sons indicted the statue for murder: and the Thasians threw the statue into the sea, obeying the code of Draco, who in legislating for the Athenians banished even inanimate things if they killed anyone by falling upon him. But in process of time, as the earth yielded no fruit to the Thasians, they sent envoys to Delphi, and the god bade them restore from exile those that had been banished. Some were accordingly recalled from exile, but the dearth was not removed. They went therefore a second time to Delphi, saying that, though they had done what the oracle ordered, yet the wrath of the gods remained. Then the Pythian Priestess answered.

“Your great Theagenes you have forgotten.”

And when they were quite in despair how to recover the[Pg 382] statue of Theagenes, some fishermen (they say) putting out to sea for the purpose of catching fish caught the statue in their net and brought it to land. And the Thasians restoring it to its original site sacrificed to it as to a god. And I know that there are statues of Theagenes in various parts of Greece and among the barbarians also, and that he is reckoned to cure diseases, and has various honours from the people of Thasos. His statue in Altis is by the Æginetan Glaucias.

And at no great distance is a brazen chariot and a man in it, and some race-horses are on each side of it, and boys on the horses. They are memorials of the victories in the Olympian contests of Hiero the son of Dinomenes, the tyrant of Syracuse after his brother Gelon. They were not however sent by Hiero, but Dinomenes the son of Hiero offered them to the god. The chariot is by Onatas the Æginetan, and the horses on both sides and the boys on them are by Calamis.

And next to the chariot of Hiero is Hiero the son of Hierocles, of the same name as the son of Dinomenes, and also himself tyrant of Syracuse. This Hiero after the death of Agathocles, the former tyrant of Syracuse, rose to the same power in the second year of the 126th Olympiad, in which Idæus of Cyrene won in the stadium. This Hiero had friendly relations with Pyrrhus the son of Æacides and became his kinsman by marriage, Gelon his son marrying Nereis Pyrrhus’ daughter. And when the Romans fought with the Carthaginians for the possession of Sicily the Carthaginians had more than half the island, and on the commencement of the war Hiero resolved to throw in his lot with the Carthaginians, but in no long time thinking the Roman power stronger and likely to be more lasting he joined them. He was assassinated by Dinomenes, a Syracusan who had an especial hatred to tyranny, and who afterwards endeavoured to kill Hippocrates the brother of Epicydes, who had just come to Syracuse from Erbessus[Pg 383] and was endeavouring to talk over the people. But he defended himself, and some of his guards came up and cut Dinomenes to pieces. And the statues of Hiero in Olympia, one on horseback and the other on foot, were erected by his sons, and made by the Syracusan Mico the son of Niceratus.

And next to the statues of Hiero are Areus, the son of Acrotatus, king of the Lacedæmonians, and Aratus the son of Clinias, and a second one of Areus on horseback: that of Aratus is the votive offering of the Corinthians, that of Areus of the men of Elis. Of both Aratus and Areus I have given an account earlier in this work. Aratus was also proclaimed victor at Olympia in the chariot-race. And Timon, the son of Ægyptus, who entered horses at Olympia, a native of Elis, has a brazen chariot, and on it a maiden who I think is Victory. And Callon the son of Harmodius and Hippomachus the son of Moschion, both of Elis and victors among boys in the boxing, have statues, Callon’s is by Daippus, we do not know who designed Hippomachus’, but they say he wrestled down three antagonists and received no blow or hurt. And the inscription on the chariot states that Theochrestus of Cyrene, (who trained horses according to the national custom of the Libyans), and his grandfather also of the same name, had victories with their horses at Olympia, and that the father of Theochrestus was victorious at the Isthmian games. And that Agesarchus of Tritæa the son of Hæmostratus beat men in boxing at the Olympian, Nemean, Pythian and Isthmian games is stated in an elegiac couplet, which also states untruly, as I have discovered, that the people of Tritæa are Arcadians. For of the towns that have attained celebrity in Arcadia all about their founders is well known, and those that were obscure from their origin, and lost their population through their weakness, were absorbed into Megalopolis by a decree from the commonalty of the Arcadians. Nor can we find any other Tritæa in Greece but the one in Achaia. One would infer therefore that the people of Tritæa were reckoned among the Arcadians, as now some of the Arcadians are reckoned in Argolis. And the statue of Agesarchus is by the sons of Polycles, of whom we shall make mention later on.

And the statue of Astylus of Croton is by Pythagoras, he was victorious at three Olympiads in succession in the stade and in the double course. But because in the two latter Olympiads he entered himself as a Syracusan, to ingratiate himself with Hiero the son of Dinomenes, the people of Croton voted that his house should be turned into a public prison, and removed his statue from the temple of Lacinian Hera.

There is also at Olympia a pillar which recounts the victories of the Lacedæmonian Chionis. They are simple who think that Chionis erected this statue himself, and not the Lacedæmonian public. For granted that there is on the pillar no mention of a race in heavy armour, how could Chionis know that the people of Elis would not one day institute one? They are still more simple who think that the statue on the pillar is by Chionis, seeing it is by the Athenian Myro.

Very similar fame to that of Chionis was won by the Lycian Hermogenes Xanthius, who won the wild olive crown eight times in three Olympiads, and was nicknamed Horse by the Greeks. Polites too you would hold in great admiration. He was from Ceramus in Caria, and manifested great swiftness of foot at Olympia. For he won the longest race in the shortest time on record, and on the same day he won the long race, and the race in the stadium, and the double race. And on the second day, when they only allow four chosen by lot to compete in the race and not all comers, and the victors in each department only contend for these prizes, Polites was victor again: for the person who is crowned for the race in the stadium will go off with two victories. However the most remarkable victories in the race were won by Leonidas of Rhodes, for in four Olympiads he was in his prime, and 12 times conqueror through his swiftness of foot. And not far from the pillar of Chionis at Olympia is the statue of Scæus the Samian, the son of Duris, who beat all the boys in boxing, his statue is by Hippias, and the inscription on it states, that Scæus[Pg 385] was victor when the Samian populace fled from their island, and the statue was put up when they were restored. And next to the tyrant is a statue of Diallus the son of Pollis, a native of Smyrna, and the inscription states that he was the first Ionian that won the prize in the pancratium for boys. And the statues of Thersilochus of Corcyra, and Aristion of Epidaurus, the son of Theophiles, the latter victor in boxing among men, the former among boys, are by the Argive Polycletus. And the statue of Bycelus, who was the first of the Sicyonians to conquer among boys in boxing, is by the Sicyonian Canachus, who was a pupil of the Argive Polycletus. And next to Bycelus is the hoplite Mnaseas of Cyrene, surnamed Libyan, by Pythagoras of Rhegium. And the inscription on Agemachus of Cyzicus states that he came to Argos from the mainland of Asia Minor. As to Naxos in Sicily, which was colonized by some of the Chalcidians near the Euripus, there are no ruins even of the town in our day, and that its name has come down to posterity is mainly due to Tisander the son of Cleocritus. For 4 times he beat all the men in boxing at Olympia, and had as many victories in the Pythian games. There was not at that time any record of the victors in the Corinthian games, nor did the Argives keep any record of the victors in the Nemean games.

And the mare of the Corinthian Phidolas, which was called as the Corinthians inform us Aura, though its rider fell off at the beginning of the race, yet ran straight and turned at the goal, and when it heard the sound of the trumpet ran on all the faster, and beat all the other horses by the decision of the Umpires, and knew that it had come in first, and stopped running. And the people of Elis proclaimed Phidolas victor, and allowed him to set up a statue of this mare. The sons of Phidolas also won victories on a race-horse, and a statue of the horse was put on a pillar with the following inscription.

“Once in the Isthmian games, twice at Olympia, did Lycus the swift courser win the race, and honour for the sons of Phidolas.”

However this inscription and the records in Elis of the victors at Olympia do not tally, for in the 68th Olympiad only do those records record any victory of the sons of[Pg 386] Phidolas. Let anyone inquire into this further who likes. And there are statues of Agathinus the son of Thrasybulus, and Telemachus who was victorious with his horses, the former was an offering of the Achæans of Pellene. The Athenian people also set up a statue to Aristophon the son of Lycinus who beat all the men in the pancratium at Olympia.

And Pherias the Æginetan, whose statue is next the Athenian Aristophon, was not allowed in the 78th Olympiad to enter the contest because he appeared very young, and was not thought fit to compete in the wrestling, but the following year he was allowed to wrestle among the boys and won the prize. A different fortune to this of Pherias was that of Nicasylus the Rhodian at Olympia. For being 18 he was not allowed to contend with the boys by the people of Elis, but was entered as a man and won the prize. He was proclaimed victor also at the Nemean and Isthmian games. But he died in his 20th year, before he could return home to Rhodes. But the feat of this Rhodian wrestler at Olympia was outdone in my opinion by Artemidorus of Tralles. He was unsuccessful at Olympia in his endeavour to win the pancratium among the boys, but the reason of his failure was his excessive youth. For when the season came for the contest which the Ionians have at Smyrna his strength had become so great that he beat on the same day all his antagonists from Olympia in the pancratium, and all the boys that they call unbearded, and thirdly all the best of the men. And they say that he was cheered on by the trainer in the contest with the boys, but that in the contest with the men he was reviled by the pancratiast. And Artemidorus won at Olympia the victory among men in the 212th Olympiad. And near the statue of Nicasylus is a small brazen horse, the votive offering of Crocon of Eretria when he won the victory with a race-horse, and near this horse is an effigy of Telestas the Messenian, who beat all the boys in boxing, by Silanion.

[Pg 387]

And the statue of Milo the son of Diotimus is by Dameas, both natives of Croton. This Milo had six prizes for wrestling at Olympia, one of them among boys, and at Pythia six among men and one among boys. And he came to Olympia to wrestle for the 7th time. But he could not beat in wrestling Timasitheus, a citizen and quite young, as Timasitheus would not contend with him at close quarters in the arena at all. And Milo is said to have carried his own statue to Altis. There are also traditions about Milo in reference to a pomegranate and a quoit. He held a pomegranate so fast that nobody could get it from him, and yet he did not hurt it. And on one occasion standing on an oiled quoit he excited laughter among those who jostled him and tried to push him off it. And several other things he did in display. He tied a cord round his forehead as if it were a fillet or a crown, and holding his breath and filling the veins of his head with blood he would snap the cord by the strength of his veins. It is recorded also that he would place against his side his right arm from the elbow to the shoulder, and stretch out the hand, and turn his thumb up while the fingers remained together, and no one could with any exertion move the little finger from its place. And they say he was killed by wild beasts. For he chanced in the country near Croton on a withered tree, in which some wedges were driven to separate the wood, and he took it into his head to keep the wood apart with his hands. And the wedges slipt out and he was imprisoned in the tree, and became a prey to the wolves, which prowl about in great numbers in that neighbourhood. Such was the end of Milo.

And Pyrrhus the son of Æacides having been king in Thesprotia in Epirus, and having done many remarkable deeds, which I have described in my account of Attica, Thrasybulus of Elis erected his statue in Altis. And next to Pyrrhus is the statue of a little man with pipes in his hand on a pillar. This man had a prize for his piping, the first time such prizes were bestowed since the Argive Sacadas. Sacadas first conquered in the games established by the Amphictyonians (when no prize was given), and after that he won two prizes. And Pythocritus of Sicyon won in six of the Pythian contests successively, being the[Pg 388] only piper. It is plain also at the contest at Olympia that he was piper six times in the pentathlum. For all this he had a pillar at Olympia with the inscription on it,

“This is the memorial of Pythocritus, (the son of Callinicus), the piper.”

The Ætolians also erected a public statue to Cylon, who freed the people of Elis from the tyranny of Aristotimus. And Gorgus the Messenian, the son of Eucletus, who won the victory in the pentathlum has a statue by the Bœotian Theron, and Damaretus, also a Messenian, who beat all the boys in boxing has a statue by the Athenian Silanion. And Anauchidas of Elis, the son of Philys, won a wrestling prize among the boys and afterwards among the men. Who his statue is by we do not know. And the statue of Anochus the Tarentine, the son of Adamatas, who won the victory both in the stadium and in the double course, is by Ageladas the Argive. And the boy seated on a horse and the man standing by the horse are as the inscription says Xenombrotus of Cos in Meropis, who was proclaimed victor in the horse-race, and Xenodicus who was proclaimed victor in the boxing matches for boys, the latter is by Pantias, and the former by Philotimus of Ægina. And the two statues of Pythes, the son of Andromachus, an Abderite, were made by Lysippus, but his soldiers had them made. Pythes seems to have been a leader of mercenaries, or in some other way to have shewn himself a good soldier.

Here are also statues of those who won prizes in the course for boys, as Meneptolemus from Apollonia on the Ionian gulf, and Philo from Corcyra, and Hieronymus from Andros, who beat Tisamenus of Elis in the pentathlum at Olympia, that Tisamenus who was afterwards a prophet for the Greeks against Mardonius and the Medes at Platæa. And next to the statue of Hieronymus is the statue of a boy-wrestler also from Andros, Procles the son of Lycastidas. Stomius made the statue of Hieronymus, and Somis that of Procles. And Æschines of Elis had two victories in the pentathlum, and has two statues.

And Archippus of Mitylene, who beat all comers at boxing, had according to the Mitylenæans this further fame, that he was crowned at the Olympian Pythian Nemean and Isthmian games when he was only 20. And the statue of Xenon, the son of Calliteles, of Lepreus in Triphylia, who beat all the boys in the stadium, was made by the Messenian Pyrilampes; we do not know who made the statue of Clinomachus of Elis, who was proclaimed victor in the pentathlum. And the inscription of the Achæans on Pantarches’ statue states that he was a native of Elis; he made peace between the Achæans and people of Elis, and all the prisoners who were captured on both sides were let go mainly through him. He won his victory on a race-horse, and there is a record of his victory at Olympia. And the statue of Olidas of Elis was set up by the Ætolians. And Charinus of Elis has a statue for the double course and for a victory in heavy armour, and near him is Ageles the Chian, who beat all the boys in boxing, by Theomnestus of Sardis.

And the statue of Clitomachus the Theban was erected by Hermocrates his father. His exploits were as follows. In the Isthmian games he beat all comers in wrestling, and on one day won prizes from all competitors in boxing and in the pancratium. And all his 3 victories in the Pythian games were in the pancratium. And at Olympia he was proclaimed second to Theagenes of Thasos in the pancratium and in boxing. And in the 141st Olympiad he won the prize in the pancratium. And the next Olympiad found him a competitor in the pancratium and in boxing, and Caprus of Elis was on the same day anxious to compete in the pancratium and in wrestling. And when Caprus had won the wrestling-prize, Clitomachus hinted to the umpires that it was only fair to call for the pancratium before he was battered about by boxing. What he said seemed reasonable, and when the pancratium was called on he was beaten by Caprus, though he exhibited afterwards in the boxing a stout heart and untired body.

[Pg 390]

And the Ionians of Erythræ erected a statue to Epitherses the son of Metrodorus, who won two victories in boxing at Olympia, and two at each of the Pythian Nemean and Isthmian games, and the Syracusan public erected two statues to Hiero, and his sons erected a third. As I stated a little above this Hiero had the same name as the son of Dinomenes, and was like him Tyrant of Syracuse. And the inhabitants of Pale, one of the four tribes in Cephallenia, set up a statue to Timoptolis of Elis the son of Lampis. These people of Pale were originally called Dulichii. There is also a statue of Archidamus the son of Agesilaus, and a man like a hunter. And the statues of Demetrius, who led an army against Seleucus and was taken prisoner in the battle, and of Antigonus the son of Demetrius, were let any one know votive offerings of the Byzantians. And the Spartan Eutelidas had two victories for wrestling among the boys in the 308th Olympiad, and a third in the pentathlum: at that time the boys were called on first, and last in the pentathlum. And there is an ancient statue of Eutelidas, the writing on the base is obscure through lapse of time. And next to Eutelidas is another one of Areus, the king of the Lacedæmonians, and next him Gorgus of Elis, who is the only man up to my day who had four victories at Olympia in the pentathlum, and one victory for the double course, and one for the race in heavy armour.

And the person by whom some boys are standing is they say Ptolemy the son of Lagus, and next him are two statues of Caprus of Elis, the son of Pythagoras, who won on the same day for the first time on record prizes for wrestling and the pancratium. I have already shown how successful he was against Clitomachus in the pancratium, and he beat in wrestling Pæanius of Elis, who had carried off the prize for wrestling in former Olympiads, and had been crowned in the Pythian games on the same day for boxing among boys, and for wrestling and boxing among men.

Caprus won his victories not without great effort and mighty energy: and Anauchidas and Pherenicus, who were natives of Elis, had statues at Olympia, and won prizes for wrestling among the boys. And the Thespians erected the statue of Plistænus, the son of Eurydamus, who was the general of the Ætolians against the Galati. And Tydeus of Elis erected statues to Antigonus, the father of Demetrius, and to Seleucus. And the name of Seleucus was noised abroad among all men on other accounts but chiefly for his capture of Demetrius. And Timon won victories in the pentathlum in all the Greek games but the Isthmian (for like all the other men of Elis he was shut out of competition in them), and the inscription on his statue mentions this further particular about him, that he took part in the expedition of the Ætolians against the Thessalians, and out of friendship to the Ætolians was leader of the garrison at Naupactus. And not far from the statue of Timon are statues of Greece and Elis in juxtaposition: Greece with one hand crowning Antigonus, the Regent for Philip the son of Demetrius, and with the other Philip himself; and Elis crowning Demetrius, who marched against Seleucus, and Ptolemy the son of Lagus.

And the inscription on his statue states that Aristides of Elis won a victory in heavy armour at Olympia, and in the double course in the Pythian games, and as a boy in the horse-race at Nemea. The length of the horse-race is twice the double course. This race, which had fallen into desuetude at the Nemean and Isthmian games, was restored by the Emperor Adrian to the Argives at the winter games at Nemea.

And next to the statue of Aristides is Menalcas of Elis, who was proclaimed victor at Olympia in the pentathlum, and Philonides the son of Zotus, who was from the Cretan Chersonese, and the courier of Alexander the son of Philip. And next is Brimias of Elis, who beat all the men in boxing, and the statue of Leonidas from Naxos in the Ægæan, the votive offering of the Psophidian Arcadians, and the[Pg 392] statue of Asamon who beat all the men in boxing, and that of Nicander, who had two victories at Olympia in the double course, and six at Nemea for racing generally. Asamon and Nicander were both natives of Elis, and the statue of the latter was by Daippus, that of the former by the Messenian Pyrilampes. There are statues also to Eualcidas of Elis and Seleadas the Lacedæmonian, the former was victor among the boys in boxing, the latter in wrestling among the men. Here too is the small chariot of the Lacedæmonian Polypithes, and on the same pillar Calliteles (the father of Polypithes) the wrestler, who won victories by his wrestling, as Polypithes by his horses. And the statues of some private individuals of Elis, as Lampus the son of Arniscus, and the son of Aristarchus, were erected by the Psophidian Arcadians, either because they were their Consuls, or were otherwise friendly to them. And between them is Lysippus of Elis, who beat all boys who contended with him in wrestling, his statue is by Andreas the Argive.

And the Lacedæmonian Dinosthenes won a victory over men at Olympia in the course, and set up a pillar in Altis next to his statue: the distance from this pillar by road to another pillar at Lacedæmon is 660 stades. And Theodorus, who was victor in the pentathlum, and Pyttalus, the son of Lampis, who beat all the boys in boxing, and Nicolaidas, who carried off the victory in the course and in the race in heavy armour, were let any one know natives of Elis. As to Pyttalus they record still further that, when there was a dispute between the Arcadians and the men of Elis about their borders, he was made the arbitrator. His statue is by the Olynthian Sthennis. And next is a statue of Ptolemy on horseback, and by him the athlete of Elis Pæanius the son of Demetrius, who won one prize for wrestling at Olympia, and two in the Pythian games. There too is Clearetus of Elis, who won in the pentathlum, and the chariot of the Athenian Glaucon (the son of Eteocles), who was proclaimed victor in the chariot race with a full-grown horse.

What I have just mentioned are the most notable things as you approach Altis, but, if you go on the right from the monument of Leonidas to the great altar, you will behold the following memorable objects. There are statues of Democrates of Tenedos and Criannius of Elis, the latter victor in the contest in heavy armour, the former in wrestling among men. The statue of Democrates is by the Milesian Dionysicles, that of Criannius by the Macedonian Lysus. And the Clazomenian Herodotus, and the Coan Philinus, the son of Hegepolis, have statues erected to them by their native cities, to Herodotus because he was the first Clazomenian pronounced victor (his victory was among boys in the course), and to Philinus because of his renown, for he had five victories in running at Olympia, and four in the Pythian games, four in the Nemean, and eleven in the Isthmian. And the statue of Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was the offering of Aristolaus a Macedonian. There is also a statue of a boxer who was victorious over boys, Butas the Milesian, the son of Polynices, and Callicrates from Magnesia near the river Lethæus, who won two victories in the race in heavy armour. His statue is by Lysippus. And there are statues of Emaution and Alexibius, the former victor in the course for boys, the latter in the pentathlum. Heræa in Arcadia was the native place of Alexibius and his statue is by Acestor, where Emaution came from the inscription does not state, it only declares he was an Arcadian. And the Colophonians Hermesianax the son of Agoneus, and Icasius the son of Lycinus by the daughter of Hermesianax, beat all the boys in wrestling, and Hermesianax had his statue erected by the Colophonian community.

Next to these are natives of Elis that beat all the boys in boxing, Chœrilus by the Olynthian Sthennis, and Theotimus by the Sicyonian Dætondas. Theotimus was the son of Moschion, who joined Alexander the son of Philip in his expedition against Darius and the Persians. And next are two from Elis again, Archidamus who conquered in[Pg 394] the four-horse-race, and Eperastus (the son of Theogonus) who was victor in the race in heavy armour. And Eperastus states that he was a seer, and descended from the family of the Clytidæ, at the close of the inscription on his statue.

“I boast to be a seer of the family of the holy-mouthed Clytidæ, of the blood of the godlike descendants of Melampus.”

Mantius was the father of Œcles, and the son of Melampus the son of Amythaon. And Clytius was the son of Alcmæon, the son of Amphiaraus the son of Œcles. And Alcmæon was father of Clytius by the daughter of Phegeus, and he changed his residence to Elis, objecting to live with his mother’s brothers, because he knew that they had contrived the murder of Alcmæon.

And there are some statues interspersed among some not very remarkable votive offerings, as Alexinicus of Elis (by the Sicyonian Cantharus), who won a wrestling prize among the boys, and Gorgias of Leontini, whose statue was placed at Olympia by Eumolpus, great-grandson of Deicrates who had married Gorgias’ sister. So Eumolpus himself tells us. This Gorgias was the son of Carmantides, and is said to have been the first to have practised Rhetoric, which had been altogether neglected and nearly come into desuetude among men. And they say Gorgias was famous for his eloquence at the public festival at Olympia, and went with Tisias on an embassy to the Athenians. Tisias too contributed something to oratory, and most plausibly did he plead in the case of a Syracusan woman touching some money, but Gorgias had still greater fame among the Athenians, and Jason the tyrant in Thessaly put him above Polycrates, who had the highest renown in the schools at Athens. And they say Gorgias lived 105 years. And the town of Leontini, which was dispeopled by the Syracusans, was in my day colonized again.

And there is the brazen chariot of Cratisthenes of Cyrene, and Victory and Cratisthenes on the chariot. Plainly then he won his victory in the chariot race. There is a tradition also that he was the son of Mnaseas the runner, who was surnamed by the Greeks Libyan. And these votive offerings to him at Olympia are by Pythagoras of Rhegium.

Here too I found the statue of Anaximenes, who wrote a History of all Antiquities in Greece, and of the exploits of Philip the son of Amyntas, and afterwards of Alexander. This honour in Olympia he owed to the people of Lampsacus: for the following is recorded about him. He got round Alexander, who was by no means a mild king but excessively passionate, by the following contrivance. The people of Lampsacus having espoused the cause of the king of the Persians, or being thought to have done so by Alexander, he boiled over in anger against them and threatened them with the most condign chastisement. And they in all haste sent Anaximenes to supplicate for their wives and children and country, as he had been well known to Alexander and earlier still to Philip. And Anaximenes went to Alexander, who had learnt the motive of his errand, and had sworn they say by all the gods that he would do exactly contrary to what he entreated. Then Anaximenes said, “O King oblige me with this favour, enslave the women and children at Lampsacus, and raze the whole town to its foundations, and burn the temples of the gods.” This is what he said, and Alexander having no contrivance to meet his cunning, and being compelled by his oath, very unwillingly pardoned the people of Lampsacus. Anaximenes seems also to have known how to punish an enemy very cleverly and exemplarily. He was naturally a sophist and a very good imitator of the arguments of the sophists. And having a quarrel with Theopompus, the son of Damasistratus, he wrote a book full of abuse against the Athenians and Lacedæmonians and Thebans. And as he had imitated his style very accurately, and put the name of Theopompus[Pg 396] on the title page, and distributed the book about in various towns, though he himself was really the writer, general odium was stirred up throughout Greece against Theopompus. Nor did any one earlier than Anaximenes practise extempore oratory. But I cannot think that he was author of the verses about Alexander that run in his name.

And Sotades, (who was proclaimed a Cretan, as indeed he was), won the prize in the long course in the 99th Olympiad, but in the next Olympiad, being bribed by the Ephesian people, he registered himself as an Ephesian, and the Cretans exiled him for it.

And the first athletes who had effigies at Olympia were Praxidamas the Æginetan, who won the prize for boxing in the 59th Olympiad, and the Opuntian Rhexibius, who won the prize in the pancratium in the 61st Olympiad. And their effigies are made of wood, Rhexibius’ of figwood, and the Æginetan’s of cypress. This last has suffered less than the other.

And there is in Altis a base of tufa stone to the North of the temple of Hera, at its back is the mountain of Cronos. On this base are treasuries such as some of the Greeks have made for Apollo at Delphi. There is a treasury at Olympia called the treasury of the Sicyonians, the votive offering of Myron the King of the Sicyonians. It was constructed by Myron after his chariot victory in the 33rd Olympiad. In this treasury he constructed two chambers, one of Doric the other of Ionic architecture. I myself have seen them: they are of brass: but whether the brass comes from Tartessus, according to the tradition of the people of Elis, I do not know. The river Tartessus is they say in the country of the Iberes, and has two outlets to the sea, and there is a town of the same name that lies between the outlets of the river. And it is the largest river in Iberia, and in later times was called Bætis from its ebb and flow. And the Iberes who inhabit the town of Carpia believe that their town was originally called Tartessus.[Pg 397] And on the smaller of the two chambers at Olympia there are inscriptions, one on the lintel stating that there are 500 talents there, another as to the givers of the votive offering, stating that they were Myron and the people of the Sicyonians. In this treasury there are three quoits, which they use in the contest for the pentathlum. And there is a brazen shield curiously painted inside, and helmet and greaves to match. And there is an inscription on this armour that they are an offering to Zeus from the Myanes. As to who these Myanes were different people have different ideas. I remember that Thucydides in his account of the Locrians near Phocis mentions several towns, among others the Myones.[79] These Myanes on the shield are in my opinion the same as the Myones in the Locrian mainland: and the letters on the shield are a little worn away, in consequence of its great antiquity. There are also here several other curious articles, as the sword of Pelops with golden hilt, and the horn of Amalthea in ivory, the votive offering of Miltiades the son of Cimon, who was the first of his family that reigned in the Thracian Chersonese: and this is the inscription on the horn in old Athenian letters,

“I was offered to Zeus by the warriors that took the fort of Aratus on the Chersonese: their leader was Miltiades.”

There is also a statue of Apollo made of boxwood with the head gilt: the inscription states that it was a votive offering of the Locrians at the promontory of Zephyrium, and by Patrocles of Croton, the son of Catillus.

And next to the treasury of the Sicyonians is that of the Carthaginians, constructed by Pothæus and Antiphilus and Megacles. And the votive offerings in it are a huge Zeus and three linen breastplates, presented by Gelon and the Syracusans who beat the Phœnicians either on land or sea.

And the third and fourth treasuries are the votive offering of the people of Epidamnus. They contain the world upheld by Atlas, and Hercules and the apple tree in the garden of the Hesperides with the dragon coiled round it, carved in cedar-wood, the carving of Theocles (the son of Hegylus) who says his son joined him in the carving of the[Pg 398] world. And the Hesperides, which were removed by the people of Elis, were in my time in the temple of Hera. And Pyrrhus and his sons Lacrates and Hermon made this treasury for the people of Epidamnus.

The people of Sybaris also built a treasury next to that of the people of Byzantium. Those who have inquired most carefully into the history of Italy and its towns say that Lupiæ, which lies between Brundisium and Hydrus, has changed its name, and was originally called Sybaris. And the haven for ships was made by navvies in the reign of the Emperor Adrian.

And next to the treasury of the people of Sybaris is the treasury of the Libyans at Cyrene, containing statues of the Roman kings. The Carthaginians expelled the Selinuntian Siceliotes in war, but before that disaster happened to them, they had got together the treasury for Zeus at Olympia. Dionysus is there with his face toes and hands of ivory.

And in the treasury of the people of Metapontum, which is next to that of the Selinuntians, is a statue of Endymion, all ivory but the dress. The cause of the ruin of Metapontum I do not know, but in my time nothing but the theatre and walls round the town was left. The Megarians also near Attica have a treasury and votive offerings in it, figures in cedar overlaid with gold, to represent the battle of Hercules and Achelous. There are Zeus and Deianira and Achelous and Hercules, and Ares is helping Achelous. And Athene stands as if in alliance with Hercules, near the Hesperides that are now in the temple of Hera. And on a gable of this treasury is the war between the gods and the giants: and over the gable is a shield, which states that the Megarians offered the treasury, after triumphing over the Corinthians. I think they won this victory when Phorbas was Archon at Athens, who was Archon all his life, for the Archonship was not yet a yearly office at Athens, nor were the Olympiads registered at this period by the people of Elis. The Argives are also said to have assisted the Megarians against the Corinthians. This treasury at Olympia was constructed by the Megarians some years after the battle. But the votive offerings they probably had from old time, since they were made by the[Pg 399] Lacedæmonian Dontas, the pupil of Dipœnus and Scyllis. And the last of the treasuries is near the course, and the inscription on it states that it and its statues are the votive offerings of the people of Gela. The statues however are no longer there.

Cronos’ mountain is, as I have already said, behind the base, and extends the length of these treasuries. And on the summit of the mountain those that are called Basilæ sacrifice to Cronos at the vernal equinox in the month of Elaphius. And at the North end of Mount Cronos there is between the treasuries and the mountain a temple of Ilithyia, and in it is honoured Sosipolis the tutelary deity of the people of Elis. Ilithyia they surname the Olympian, and select annually a priestess for her: the old priestess of Sosipolis also performs holy rites according to the custom of the people of Elis, brings lustral water to the goddess, and sets before her cakes kneaded with honey. In the vestibule of the temple is the altar of Ilithyia, as also the approach to the temple for people generally: inside Sosipolis is honoured, and no one but the priestess of the god must enter his sanctuary, with a white veil drawn over her head and face. And the maidens that reside in the temple of Ilithyia and the women sing hymns to Sosipolis, and burn incense to him, but are not accustomed to pour libations of wine to his honour. And their most binding oath is by Sosipolis. And it is said that, when the Arcadians invaded Elis with an army, and the people of Elis were drawn up in battle array against them, a woman came to the generals of Elis, with a baby boy at her breast, saying that she was mother of the boy, and offered him according to a dream she had had to help the people of Elis. And the authorities, crediting the woman’s tale, put the child in the front of the army all naked as it was. And the Arcadians commenced the attack, and the child was changed into a dragon, and the Arcadians were troubled at the sight and began to flee, and the people of Elis pursued[Pg 400] them hotly, and won a notable victory and called the god Sosipolis. And where the dragon appeared to glide off after the battle, they built a temple, and resolved to worship it and Ilithyia jointly, for they thought it was she who had introduced the child into the world. And the Arcadians who were slain in the battle have a monument on the hill towards the west after you have crossed the Cladeus. And near Ilithyia there are ruins of a temple of celestial Aphrodite, to whom they sacrifice on the altars which still remain.

And inside Altis, at the processional entrance, is what is called the Hippodamium, surrounded by a wall, occupying about an acre. This is the entrance every year for the women, who sacrifice to Hippodamia and perform other rites in her honour. They say Hippodamia fled to Midea in Argolis, when Pelops was especially angry with her owing to the death of Chrysippus: and they say that according to the oracle they afterwards placed her remains at Olympia. And at the end of the statues which they erected out of fines imposed on the athletes is the entrance which they call Private. For by it the Umpires and combatants enter the course. There is also an embankment, and seats for the managers of the games. And opposite the Umpires is an altar of white stone, seated on which the priestess of Demeter Chamyne watches the Olympian games, an honour which different priestesses at different times have received from the people of Elis, for they do not prevent maidens from seeing the games. And at the starting-place is the tomb of Endymion, according to the tradition of the people of Elis.

And near the place where the Umpires sit is the ground appointed for the horse-races and the starting-place, which is in shape like the prow of a ship with its beak turned to the course. And the prow is broad where it joins the Portico called Agnaptus. And there is a brazen dolphin upon a bar at the extremity of the beak. Each side of the starting-place is more than 400 feet in length, and there are some buildings there, which those who enter for the horse-races get by lots. And in front of the chariots and race-horses is extended a rope as a sort of barrier. And there is an altar of unbaked brick erected near the middle of the beak every Olympiad, whitewashed outside.[Pg 401] And there is a brazen eagle on this altar with its wings stretched out wide. When the clerk of the course touches a piece of mechanism on this altar, the eagle is so constructed as to mount aloft so as to be visible to the spectators, while the dolphin falls to the ground. First the ropes on each side of the Portico called Agnaptus are slackened, and the horses in position there start first, and run on till they come to the horses in the second position, and then the ropes there are slackened, and so on along the whole course where the horses are in position, till they can all start fair at the beak. Then commences the exhibition of the skill of the charioteers and the swiftness of the horses. Cleœtas originally contrived this method of starting, and plumed himself upon his invention, as we find by the inscription on his statue at Athens,

“I was made by Cleœtas the son of Aristocles, who invented at Olympia the start for horses.”

They say too that Aristides subsequently somewhat improved the invention.

But the other side of the Hippodrome is more extended, being also of raised earth, and at its outlet is Taraxippus the terror of horses, which is in the shape of a circular altar, and as the horses run past it they are immediately seized with strong fear without any apparent cause, and this fear generates terror, insomuch that chariots are often smashed up, and the charioteers badly injured. And the charioteers sacrifice to avoid this, and pray that Taraxippus will be propitious to them. About Taraxippus the Greeks have various views; some say it is the tomb of an Autochthon, famous for his skill with horses, whose name was Olenius, and say that the rock Olenia in Elis was named after him. Others say that Dameon the son of Phlius, an associate with Hercules in the expedition against Augeas and the people of Elis, was killed together with the horse on which he rode by Cteatus the son of Actor, and that this is the joint tomb of Dameon and his horse. Others say that Pelops erected here a cenotaph to Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him to avert his anger for his murder, and named him Taraxippus, because the horses of Œnomaus were disturbed by his contrivance. But some say that Œnomaus himself hindered the horses in the course. And I have[Pg 402] heard the blame put upon Alcathous the son of Porthaon, who was buried here after having been slain by Œnomaus as one of the unsuccessful suitors of Hippodamia, and who, in consequence of his bad success in the Hippodrome, has an evil eye and is a malevolent demon to race-horses. But an Egyptian told me that Pelops received something from Amphion and buried it on the spot called Taraxippus, and that in consequence of what was buried there the horses of Œnomaus formerly, and everybody’s horses since, have been terrified. This Egyptian also thought that Amphion and the Thracian Orpheus were wonderful magicians, and that by their charms wild beasts followed Orpheus, and stones formed themselves into houses for Amphion. The most plausible account however of Taraxippus seems to me that which makes it a surname of Poseidon Hippius. There is also at the Isthmus a Taraxippus, Glaucus the son of Sisyphus, who they say was killed by horses, when Acastus was holding the funeral games to his father. And at Nemea in Argolis there is no hero that terrifies horses, but there is a gleam like fire from a red stone where the horses turn which frightens the horses. But Taraxippus at Olympia is far the most formidable panic-inspirer in horses. And at one of the goals there is a brazen statue of Hippodamia with a fillet, about to bind Pelops with it for his victory.

And the other part of the hippodrome is not an embankment, but a hill of no great size, on the top of which is a temple built to Demeter under the name of Chamyne. And some think that title of hers an ancient one, and that the earth opened there and took in the chariot of Pluto, and closed again. Others say that Chamynus of Pisa, (who opposed the dominion in Pisa of Pantaleon, the son of Omphalion, and stirred the people up to revolt from Elis), was slain by Pantaleon, and that it was out of his property that the temple to Demeter was built. And in lieu of the old ones new statues of Proserpine and Demeter were erected in Pentelican[Pg 403] marble by the Athenian Herodes. And in the gymnasium at Olympia they practise for the pentathlum and the races. And in the open air there is a basement of stone, and originally on the basement there was a trophy for a victory over the Arcadians. On the left of the entrance to the gymnasium there is a smaller enclosure where the athletes practise wrestling. And at the Portico of the gymnasium facing East are some buildings for the Athletes facing South and West. And after you have crossed the river Cladeus you come to the tomb of Œnomaus, a mound piled up with stones, and above the tomb are some remains of buildings where they say the horses of Œnomaus were stabled. And here are the boundaries towards Arcadia, which now belong to the people of Elis, but formerly belonged to the people of Pisa.

After you have crossed the river Erymanthus, near the ridge called after Saurus, is the tomb of Saurus, and a temple of Hercules, ruins of which are to be seen in our day. Saurus they say used to molest wayfarers and the people of the country, till he was killed by Hercules. From the south side of the ridge called after this robber a river falls into the Alpheus nearly opposite Erymanthus. Its name is Diagon, and it divides the district of Pisa from Arcadia. And 40 stades onwards from the ridge of Saurus is the temple of Æsculapius, surnamed Demænetus from the name of the builder. It is in ruins too, and is built on the high ground along the Alpheus. And not far from it is the temple of Dionysus Lucyanites, hard by the river Lucyanias, which rises in Mount Pholoe, and flows into the Alpheus. When you have crossed the Alpheus you are in the district of Pisa.

Here you will see a hill with a steep acclivity, and on it are ruins of the town of Phrixa, and a temple of Athene Cydonia, not in my time in complete preservation, there is only an altar. They say Clymenus, a descendant of Idæan Hercules, erected the temple to the goddess. He came from Cydonia in Crete and from the river Iardanus. The people of Elis say also that Pelops sacrificed to Athene Cydonia before his race with Œnomaus. And as you advance a little further you come to the river Parthenia, on whose banks the horses of Marmax are buried. The[Pg 404] story is that Marmax was the first suitor of Hippodamia, and that he was slain before the rest by Œnomaus, and the names of his horses were Parthenia and Eripha, and Œnomaus cut their throats and buried them with their master, and the river Parthenia got its name from one of them. There is also another river called Harpinates, and at no great distance from it some remains of a town Harpina especially altars: they say that Œnomaus built the town and gave it its name after his mother Harpina.

A little further is a lofty mound of earth, the tomb of the suitors of Hippodamia, Œnomaus did not (they say) bury them in the ground near one another as a mark of honour, but it was Pelops subsequently who gave them a common sepulchre, in honour to them and out of affection to Hippodamia, and I think also as a record to posterity how many worthy gentlemen Œnomaus had slain before he Pelops vanquished him. Indeed according to the poem called the Great Eœæ the following were killed by Œnomaus, Alcathous the son of Porthaon next to Marmax, and next to Alcathous Euryalus and Eurymachus and Crotalus. Their parents and native lands I could not ascertain. But Acrias, who was killed next, one would infer to have been a Lacedæmonian and the founder of Acriæ. And next to Acrias Œnomaus slew Capetus and Lycurgus and Lasius and Chalcodon and Tricolonus, who the Arcadians say was a descendant as well as namesake of Tricolonus the son of Lycaon. And after Tricolonus fate overtook in this fatal race Aristomachus and Prias and Pelagon and Æolius and Cronius. Some also add to the list I have given Erythras, the son of Leucon and grandson of Athamas, who gave his name to the town in Bœotia called Erythræ, and Eioneus, the son of Magnes and grandson of Æolus. Here then is the tomb of all these, and they say Pelops offered them funeral rites every year when he was king of Pisa.

And if you go about a stade forward from this tomb there are traces of a temple of Artemis surnamed Cordace, because the attendants of Pelops used to offer their sacrifices to the goddess there, and dance the national dance of Sipylus called the cordax. And not far from the temple is a building not very large, and in it is a brazen coffer, in which are deposited the remains of Pelops. And there is no vestige of a wall or any other building, but vines are planted all over the site on which Pisa was built. The founder of the town was they say Pisus, the son of Perieres and grandson of Æolus. And the people of Pisa brought on their own misfortunes by making themselves objectionable to the people of Elis, and by their desire to start the Olympian games instead of the people of Elis, and in the 8th Olympiad they invited Phido the Argive, the most haughty of all the Greek tyrants, and made him the patron of the games. And in the 34th Olympiad the people of Pisa and their king Pantaleon, the son of Omphalion, assembled together the neighbouring people, and instituted the Olympian games instead of the people of Elis. During these Olympiads, and also in the 104th Olympiad which was set on foot by the Arcadians, the people of Elis kept no register, nor do they include them in the Olympiads. And in the 48th Olympiad Damophon the son of Pantaleon gave the people of Elis reason to suspect that he intended to act treacherously against them, so they invaded Pisæa, but did not at this time do any damage, because they returned home again being persuaded by entreaties and promises. But when Pyrrhus the son of Pantaleon succeeded his brother Damophon on the throne, then the people of Pisa of their own accord commenced war with the people of Elis. And the people of Macistus and Scillus in Triphylia joined them in their revolt from the people of Elis, and of the other neighbouring people the Dyspontii, whose relations had always been very friendly with the people of Pisa, and whose founder Dysponteus was they state the son of Œnomaus. And the people of Elis eventually razed[Pg 406] Pisa to the ground and all the towns that had assisted her in the war.

The ruins of Pylos in Elis are visible as you go over the mountains from Olympia to Elis. And from Pylos to Elis is 80 stades’ distance. This Pylos was built, as I have already mentioned, by the Megarian Pylon the son of Cleson. And being destroyed by Hercules, and once again peopled by the people of Elis, it was destined once more to lack inhabitants. Near it the river Ladon flows into the Peneus. And the people of Elis say that it is about this Pylos that the lines of Homer[80] are.

“He derived his origin from the river Alpheus, which flows in broad volume through the territory of Pylos.”

And they persuaded me by what they said, for the Alpheus flows through this district, and the lines cannot refer to the other Pylos. For by the Pylos near the island Sphacteria the Alpheus does not flow at all, nor do we know of any town in Arcadia formerly called Pylos. And about 50 stades from Olympia is the village belonging to Elis called Heraclea, and near it is the river Cytherus. There is a well that flows into the river, and there is a temple to the Nymphs by the well. And the proper names of these Nymphs individually are Calliphæa and Synallaxis and Pegæa and Iasis, and collectively Ionides. And people bathing in this well get cured from pains and aches of all kinds. And they say the Nymphs got their name Ionides from Ion, the son of Gargettus, who migrated to this place from Athens.

But if you wish to go to Elis through the plain, it is 120 stades to Letrini, and 180 from Letrini to Elis. Letrini was a small town originally founded by Letreus the son of Pelops, but now there are only a few buildings, and a temple and statue of Alphean Artemis. They give the following legend to account for the goddess being called Alphean. Alpheus they say was deeply in love with her, and when he found he could not marry her for all his wooing and vows, he had the boldness to try and force her, and went to a nightly revel at Letrini, which was to be held by her and the Nymphs with whom she associated in[Pg 407] sport: and she, suspecting his plot, smeared with mud her own face and the faces of all the Nymphs present, and so Alpheus when he got there could not distinguish her from the Nymphs, and accordingly had to depart without effecting his object. So the people of Letrini called the goddess Alphean from Alpheus’ passion for her. And the people of Elis, for they had an ancient friendship for the people of Letrini, say that they borrowed their worship of the Elaphiæan Artemis from them, and used to perform rites to her as Alphea, but in process of time the name Elaphiæa prevailed. But in my opinion the people of Elis called Artemis Elaphiæa from her love of hunting deer: but their own tradition is that Elaphius was the name of a woman who was Artemis’ nurse. And about six stades beyond Letrini is a perennial lake about three stades in diameter.

And the notable things in Elis are an old gymnasium, in which before they go to Olympia the athletes go through all the customary training. There are some lofty plane-trees inside a wall growing all along the course, and the whole enclosure is called Colonnade, because Hercules the son of Amphitryon used to exercise there, and all the thorns and weeds that grew there were plucked up every day. There is a course called by the people of the place sacred, set apart for the races, and there is another course where they practise for the races and the pentathlum. There is also in the gymnasium a place called Plethrium, where the Umpires pit the athletes together according to their ages or difference in their training, and put them to wrestling to test their capacities. And there are in the gymnasium altars to some of the gods, as Idæan Hercules under the title of Champion, and Eros, and the god whom the Athenians and people of Elis alike call Anteros, and Demeter and Proserpine. There is no altar to Achilles, but he has a cenotaph in accordance with an oracle. And at the commencement of[Pg 408] the general festival on a given day, when the sun begins to set, the women of Elis among other rites in honour of Achilles are wont to wail and strike the breast.

And there is another enclosure, smaller than the gymnasium but adjacent to it, which they call from its shape the Square. And here the athletes practise their wrestling, and here they test the athletes who are past wrestling, sometimes even applying blows with mild whips. And one of the statues is erected here, which were made of Zeus out of the fine-money of Sosander of Smyrna and Polyctor of Elis. There is also a third enclosure used as a gymnasium, which is called Maltho from the softness of its floor, and this is given up to the lads all the time the general festival lasts. And in a corner of Maltho there is a statue of Hercules, merely the head and shoulders, and in one of the wrestling-places is a figure of Eros and Anteros, Eros has a branch of palm which Anteros is trying to take away. And on each side of the entrance to Maltho is the statue of a boy-boxer, and the Custos Rotulorum at Elis says that it is a native of Alexandria above the island Pharos, called Serapion, who came to Elis and gave the people food when they were short of corn. That was why he received these honours: and the date when he received the crown at Olympia, and did this kindness to the people at Elis, was the 217th Olympiad. In this gymnasium the people of Elis also have a council chamber, where they practise extempore rhetoric, and submit all kinds of writings to public criticism: it is called Lalichmium from the name of its originator. And round it are some shields hung up, well worth seeing, not made for purposes of war, but simply for ornament.

You go from the gymnasium to the baths by the street called Silence near the temple of Artemis the Lover of Youths. The goddess was so called from her proximity to the gymnasium. And the street was called Silence from the following circumstance. Some men in the army of Oxylus being sent forward to reconnoitre Elis, and having cheered one another on the road, when they got near the walls, passed round the word for silence, and to listen if they could hear any sound within the town, and so stole into the town without being observed by this street, and[Pg 409] returned again to Ætolia after having got the wished for intelligence. And the street received its name from the silence of these spies.

Another way out of the gymnasium leads to the market-place, and to what is called the Umpires’ Hall beyond the tomb of Achilles, and it is by this way that the Umpires are accustomed to enter the gymnasium. And they enter the gymnasium to pit together the runners before the sun gets too powerful, and at noon they call the competitors together for the pentathlum and the arduous contests.

And the market-place at Elis is not like that of the Ionians, or of the Greek cities in Ionia, but is built after a more antique type, with porticoes and streets at regular intervals. And the name of the market-place in our day is Hippodrome, and there the people of the place exercise their horses. The architecture of the portico facing South is Doric, and it is divided into 3 portions by pillars: it is there that the Umpires mostly spend the day. And there are altars erected to Zeus, and several other altars in the open air in the market-place, and they are easily removed as they are only improvised altars. And at the end of this portico, on the left as you go to the market-place, is the Umpires’ Hall, and a street separates it from the market-place. In this Umpires’ Hall those who are chosen as Umpires live ten months together, and are instructed by the Custodes Rotulorum in all things that appertain to the games. And near the portico where the Umpires spend the day is another portico, called the Corcyræan, and a street runs between the two porticoes. It was so called because when the Corcyræans invaded Elis in their ships, the people of Elis they say drove them off and took much booty from them, and built their portico with a tenth of the spoil. And the architecture of the portico is Doric: it has a double row of pillars, one towards the market-place, the other in the opposite direction. In the middle are no[Pg 410] pillars, but a wall supports the roof, and there are statues on either side of this wall. And at the end of the portico near the market-place is a statue of Pyrrho the son of the Sophist Pistocrates, who had great persuasiveness on any topic. Pyrrho’s tomb is at no great distance from Elis, at a place called Petra, an old hamlet according to tradition. And the people of Elis have in the open air near the market-place a most noble temple and statue of Apollo the Healer. This would probably be much the same title as his Athenian title of Averter of Evil.[81] And on another side are stone statues to the Sun and Moon, she has horns on her head, he has his beams. There is also a temple to the Graces, and their wooden statues, their dresses gilt, and their heads hands and feet of white marble, and one of them holds a rose, the second dice, and the third a small branch of myrtle. The meaning of which things we may conjecture thus. The rose and myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite, and have a place in the legend of Adonis, and the Graces have most intimate connection with Aphrodite: and dice are playthings of striplings and maidens, who have not yet lost all grace through old age. And on the right of the Graces is a statue of Eros on the same pedestal. There is also there a temple of Silenus, dedicated to Silenus alone, and not in common to him and Dionysus, and Drunkenness is filling his cup. That the Sileni are mortal we should infer from their tombs, for there is the tomb of one Silenus in the country of the Hebrews, and of another at Pergamum.[82] And in the market-place the people of Elis have the following remarkable thing, which I have myself seen, in the shape of a temple. It is no great height, and has no walls, and the roof is supported by pillars made of oak. The people of the country say that it is a monument, but whose they do not record, but if the account of the old man whom I asked be correct, it would be the monument of Oxylus. There is also in the market-place a room for the 16 matrons, where they weave the shawl for Hera.[83]

And next the market-place is an ancient temple, a colonnade with pillars all round. The roof is fallen in with age, and there is no statue remaining. It was dedicated to the Roman Emperors.

And behind the Corcyræan Portico is a temple of Aphrodite, and a grove in the open air sacred to her, not far from the temple. The statue of the goddess in the temple is called Celestial Aphrodite, and is by Phidias in ivory and gold, she has one foot on a tortoise. Her grove is surrounded by a wall, and inside the grove is a basement on which is a brazen statue by Scopas of the Pandemian Aphrodite sitting on a brazen he-goat. The meaning of the tortoise and he-goat I leave my readers to guess.

And the sacred precincts and temple of Pluto (for the people of Elis have both) are opened once every year, but no one may enter them even then but the sacrificing priest. And as far as we know the men of Elis are the only ones that honour Pluto, for the following reason. When Hercules led an army against Pylos in Elis they say Athene cooperated with him. Then it was that Pluto came and helped the people of Pylos out of hostility to Hercules, and was accordingly honoured at Pylos. And they cite as their witness Homer’s lines in the Iliad.[84]

“Mighty Pluto also endured the swift arrow, when this man, the son of Ægis-bearing Zeus, wounded him at Pylos, and gave him pain among the dead.”

Nor if in the expedition of Agamemnon and Menelaus against Ilium Poseidon, according to the tradition of Homer, helped the Greeks, was it against probability that Pluto should have helped the people of Pylos in the opinion of the same poet. Anyway the people of Elis erected this temple to Pluto as being friendly to them and hostile to Hercules. And once every year they are accustomed to open the temple to indicate, I think, that men once descend to Pluto’s gloomy realm. The people of Elis have also a[Pg 412] temple to Fortune, and in the portico of this temple is a huge statue of wood, gilt all over except the head the hands and the toes, which are of white marble. Here too Sosipolis is honoured on the left of Fortune, in a rather small shrine: represented, according to the appearance of him seen in a dream, as a boy with a particoloured cloak on covered with stars, and in one of his hands the horn of Amalthea.

And in that part of the town where the people of Elis have most of their population, there is a statue not larger than life of a beardless man, who has his feet crossed, and leans against his spear with both his hands, his dress is of wool and linen and flax. This statue is said to be of Poseidon, and was worshipped of old at Samicum in Triphylia. And it was honoured even still more when removed to Elis, and they give it the name of Satrapes and not Poseidon, having learnt this name from their neighbours at Patræ. And Satrapes is the surname of Corybas.

And the old theatre between the market-place and the temple of the goddess Mene is the theatre and temple of Dionysus, the statue of the god is by Praxiteles. And of all the gods the people of Elis honour Dionysus most, and say that he frequents their festival in his honour called the Thyia, a festival which they celebrate about 8 stades from the city. The priests deposit 3 empty flagons in the chapel, in the presence of the citizens and strangers who may chance to be at the feast, and the priests themselves or any others who like seal the doors of the chapel. And the next day they come to the chapel to observe the miracle, and on entering find the flagons full of wine. Those held in the highest repute at Elis, and strangers as well, have sworn that this is as I have said, I was not myself there at the time of the festival. The people of Andros also say that annually at the feast of Dionysus wine flows spontaneously from the temple. If one can believe the Greeks in this matter, one might equally credit the tradition of the Ethiopians beyond Syene as to the Table of the Sun.

[Pg 413]

And in the citadel at Elis is a temple of Athene, her statue is of ivory and gold, and said to be by Phidias, and on her helmet is a cock, because that bird is said to be most pugnacious, or perhaps because it is sacred to Athene the Worker.

And about 120 stades from Elis is Cyllene, which faces Sicily, and is a fine harbour for ships. The dockyard belongs to the people of Elis but got its name from an Arcadian. Homer has not mentioned Cyllene in his Catalogue of the people of Elis, but subsequently in the Iliad shews that he knew that there was such a town as Cyllene.

“And Polydamas killed Otus of Cyllene, the companion of Phyleides, the leader of the brave Epeans.”[85]

The gods who have temples in Cyllene are Æsculapius and Aphrodite. Hermes also has an Ithyphallic statue, which the natives pay extravagant honour to.

The country of Elis is fertile in fruits of all kinds but especially in flax. As to hemp and flax all sow them whose land is favourable to their growth. But the threads which the Seres make their garments of are not from any plant, but are produced in the following manner. There is an insect on the earth which the Greeks called Ser, but the Seres give it another name. Its size is about double that of the largest beetle, and in other respects it is like the spiders that weave their webs under trees, and has also 8 feet like spiders. These insects the Seres breed, and put summer and winter into little domiciles specially constructed for them. And what these insects produce is a slender thread, which rolls round their feet. For 4 years they feed them on grain, and in the fifth year (for they know they will not live longer) they give them green reed to eat. This food is the most agreeable of all to this insect, and when it has taken its fill of this it bursts from repletion. And when it is dead they find the thread in its inside. It is well-known that the island Seria is in the Red Sea. But I have heard that it is not the Red Sea, but a river called the Ser that makes this island, just as in Egypt the Delta is formed by the Nile and not by sea. Such a kind of island is Seria. The Seres are of Ethiopian race, and so[Pg 414] are those that inhabit the neighbouring islands Abasa and Sacæa. Some however say that they are not Ethiopians but a cross-breed of Scythians and Indians. Such are the various traditions.

As you go from Elis to Achaia it is about 127 stades to the river Larisus, which is in our day the boundary between Elis and Achaia, but in ancient times the boundary was the promontory Araxus near the sea.

(The number in Roman Notation is the number of the Book, the number in Arabic Notation the number of the Chapter.)