Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume I.

by active approximately 150-175 Pausanias

CHAPTER XX.

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

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

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

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