Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume I.

by active approximately 150-175 Pausanias

CHAPTER III.

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

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

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

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