Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume I.

by active approximately 150-175 Pausanias

CHAPTER XV.

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