Arthur Richard Shilleto Translation

Pausanias' Description of Greece is a second-century travel and antiquarian work that records shrines, monuments, local histories, myths, cult images, and regional memories across the Greek world. Book 1 follows Attica, beginning from Sunium and the Piraeus and moving through Athens, its sanctuaries, tombs, painted porticoes, old war memorials, and outlying demes.

For the Scythian shelf, Book 1 matters because its Attic landscape preserves several contact-zone witnesses: Amazon monuments and battles, Anacharsis among the statues near the Athenian Prytaneion, the bronze breastplate that Pausanias says came from Sarmatian armor, the story of a cult image carried through Scythian territory to Sinope, and the Tauric Artemis tradition.

This is an archival English text, not a New Tianmu translation. It uses Arthur Richard Shilleto's public-domain 1886 translation, presented as a large primary-source body beside Greek source work and beside the wider Scythian, Amazon, Sarmatian, Tauric, and Pontic materials in the archive.

Text

Book I. Attica

Chapter I

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 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 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 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.

Chapter II

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 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 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.

Chapter III

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 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 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.

Chapter IV

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 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. 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.

Chapter V

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 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.

Chapter VI

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 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 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, 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.

Chapter VII

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, 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.

Chapter VIII

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 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.

Chapter IX

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 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 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.

Chapter X

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 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 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.

Chapter XI

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 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 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.

Chapter XII

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, 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 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.”

Chapter XIII

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 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 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.

Chapter XIV

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 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 to the Celestial Aphrodite. But the traditions of townships and the dwellers in cities are widely different.

Chapter XV

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 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.

Chapter XVI

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, 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.

Chapter XVII

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 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.

Chapter XVIII

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 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.

Chapter XIX

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 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.

Chapter XX

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 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 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. 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.

Chapter XXI

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, 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 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.

Chapter XXII

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 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. 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.

Chapter XXIII

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 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 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 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.

Chapter XXIV

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 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 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.

Chapter XXV

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 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 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.

Chapter XXVI

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 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 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.

Chapter XXVII

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 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 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 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.

Chapter XXVIII

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 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.

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 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. 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.

Chapter XXIX

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 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 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 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.

Chapter XXX

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 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.

Chapter XXXI

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, 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.

Chapter XXXII

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 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 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.

Chapter XXXIII

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 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 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 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.

Chapter XXXIV

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 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 rites, they sacrifice a ram, and wrapping themselves up in its skin go to sleep, and expect divine direction through a dream.

Chapter XXXV

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. And I have heard the tradition of the Æolians (who afterwards inhabited Ilium) 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 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.

Chapter XXXVI

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 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 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.

Chapter XXXVII

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 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.

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 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.

Chapter XXXVIII

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 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 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.

Chapter XXXIX

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, 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. This is at any rate the tradition of the Megarians. 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.

Chapter XL

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 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 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.

Chapter XLI

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 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 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.

Chapter XLII

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 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 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.

Chapter XLIII

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 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 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 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.

Chapter XLIV

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 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 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 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.

Colophon

This archival text was prepared from Arthur Richard Shilleto's English translation of Pausanias' Description of Greece, Volume I, published by George Bell and Sons in 1886. The digital witness used for this pass was Project Gutenberg ebook 68946, captured locally under the Scythian source folder.

The text presented here is Book 1, Attica. It is included for its large primary-source value and for its specific Scythian-adjacent witnesses: Amazon memory in Athens and Attica, Anacharsis, Sarmatian armor, Scythian transmission routes, and the Tauric Artemis tradition. It is not a claim that Pausanias is writing Scythian ethnography as such.

Prepared and formatted by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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