CHAPTER XXXII.
And Hippolytus the son of Theseus has precincts and a temple in them and ancient statue. Diomede they say erected all these, and was the first to sacrifice to Hippolytus: and the people of Trœzen have a priest of Hippolytus who serves for life, and they have yearly sacrifices, and the following custom. Every maiden cuts off a lock of her hair before marriage, and takes it and offers it at this temple. And they don’t represent Hippolytus as having died through being torn in pieces by his horses, nor do they point out his tomb if they know it: but they try to make out that Hippolytus is called in heaven the Charioteer, and has this honour from the gods. And within his precincts is the temple of Apollo Epibaterius, the votive offering of Diomede when he escaped the storm which fell on the Greeks as they were returning from Ilium: they say also that Diomede first established the Pythian games in honour of Apollo. And as to Lamia and Auxesia (for they also have their share of honour) the people of Trœzen do not give the same account as the Epidaurians and Æginetans, but say that they were virgins who came from Crete, and in a general commotion in the city were stoned by one of the rival factions, and they have a festival to them called Stonethrowing. And in another part of the precincts is what is called Hippolytus’ race-course, and overlooking it a temple of Peeping Aphrodite: where, when Hippolytus was training, Phædra would gaze at him in her love. Here too grows the myrtle with the leaves pricked, as I described before: for when Phædra was in despair and found no relief for her love-pains, she wreaked her agony on the leaves of the myrtle. And Phædra’s tomb is here, not very far from the monument of Hippolytus, or that myrtle tree. And there is a statue of Æsculapius by Timotheus, but the people of Trœzen say it is not Æsculapius but Hippolytus. I saw also the house of Hippolytus, and in front of it is what is called the Well of Hercules, the water (as the people of Trœzen say) which Hercules discovered. And in the citadel there is a temple of Athene Sthenias, the wooden statue of the goddess is by Callon of Ægina; who was the pupil of Tectæus and Angelion, who designed the statue of Apollo at Delos; and they were pupils of Dipœnus and Scyllis. And as you go down from thence you come to the temple of Pan the Deliverer, for he shewed dreams to the chief people of the Trœzenians which brought about deliverance from the plague, which pressed so hard on the Athenians. And in the environs of Trœzen you will see a temple of Isis, and above it one of Aphrodite of the Height: the temple the Halicarnassians built for Trœzen their mother city; but the statue of Isis was a votive offering of the people of Trœzen.
As you go along the mountains to Hermione you see the source of the river Hyllicus, which was originally called Taurius, and a rock called Theseus’ rock, which used in former times to be called the altar of Sthenian Zeus, but had its name changed to Theseus’ rock because Theseus found under it the shoes and sword of Ægeus. And near this rock is the temple of Bridal Aphrodite, which was built by Theseus when he married Helen. And outside the walls is a temple of Fruit-giving Poseidon: for they say that Poseidon in wrath threatened to make their land fruitless, by casting brine on the seeds and roots of their plants, till mollified by their sacrifices and prayers he sent brine on their land no longer. And above the temple of Poseidon is Law-giving Demeter, which was built they say by Althepus. And as you descend to the harbour near what is called Celenderis, is the place which they call Natal-place, because they say Theseus was born there. And in front of this place is a temple of Ares on the spot where Theseus conquered the Amazons in battle: they must have been some of that band who fought in Attica with Theseus and the Athenians. And as you go towards the Psiphæan sea there is a wild olive tree called twisted Rhachus. The people of Trœzen give that name to every kind of olive that bears no fruit, whether its general name is κοτινός, or φυλίας, or ἔλαιος. And they call it twisted because, the reins catching in it, the chariot of Hippolytus got overturned. And at no great distance from this is the temple of Saronian Artemis, about which I have already given an account. But this much more shall be stated, that they keep an annual feast called Saronia to Artemis.