Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume II.

by active approximately 150-175 Pausanias

BOOK X.—PHOCIS.

CHAPTER I.

That part of Phocis which is in the neighbourhood of Tithorea and Delphi took its name in very ancient times from the Corinthian Phocus, the son of Ornytion. But not many years afterwards all the country now called Phocis got that name, after the Æginetans and Phocus the son of Æacus crossed over there in their ships. Phocis is opposite the Peloponnese and near Bœotia and on the sea, and has ports at Cirrha (near Delphi) and Anticyra: the Epicnemidian Locrians prevent their being on the sea at the Lamiac Gulf, for they dwell in that part of Phocis, as the Scarpheans north of Elatea, and north of Hyampolis and Abæ the people of Opus, whose harbour is Cynus.

The most eminent public transactions of the Phocians were as follows. They took part in the war against Ilium, and fought against the Thessalians, (before the Persians invaded Greece), when they displayed the following prowess. At Hyampolis, at the place where they expected the Thessalians to make their attack, they buried in the earth some earthenware pots, just covering them over with soil, and awaited the attack of the Thessalian cavalry: and they not knowing of the artifice of the Phocians spurred their horses on to these pots. And some of the horses were lamed by these pots, and some of the riders were killed others unhorsed. And when the Thessalians more angry than before with the Phocians gathered together a force from all their cities and invaded Phocis, then the Phocians (in no small alarm at the various preparations made by the Thessalians for war, and not least at the quantity and quality of their cavalry), sent to Delphi to inquire how they were to escape from the coming danger: and the answer of the oracle was, “I put together in combat a mortal and immortal, and I shall give victory to both, but the greater victory to the mortal.” When the Phocians heard this they sent 300 picked men under Gelon against the enemy at nightfall, bidding them watch as stealthily as they could the movements of the Thessalians, and return to the camp by the most out-of-the-way road, and not to fight if they could help it. These picked men were all cut to pieces by the Thessalians together with their leader Gelon, being ridden down by the horses, and butchered by their riders. And their fate brought such consternation into the camp of the Phocians, that they gathered together their women and children and all their goods, their apparel and gold and silver and the statues of the gods, and made a very large funeral pile, and left thirty men in charge with strict orders if the Phocians should be defeated in the battle, to cut the throats of the women and children, and offer them as victims with all the property on the funeral pile, and set light to it, and either kill one another there, or rush on the Thessalian cavalry. Desperate resolves such as this have ever since been called by the Greeks Phocian Resolution. And forthwith the Phocians marched forth against the Thessalians, under the command of Rhœus of Ambrosus and Daiphantes of Hyampolis, the latter in command of the cavalry, and the former in command of the infantry. But the commander in chief was Tellias, the seer of Elis, on whom all the hopes of the Phocians for safety were placed. And when the engagement came on, then the Phocians bethought them of their resolves as to their women and children, and saw that their own safety was by no means certain, they were consequently full of desperation, and the omens of the god being auspicious, won one of the most famous victories of their time. Then the oracle which was given to the Phocians by Apollo became clear to all the Greeks, for the word given by the Thessalian commanders was Itonian Athene, and the word given by the Phocian commanders Phocus. In consequence of this victory the Phocians sent to Apollo to Delphi statues of the seer Tellias and of the other commanders in the battle, and also of the local heroes. These statues were by Aristomedon the Argive.

The Phocians also found out another contrivance as successful as their former one.[84] For when the enemy’s camp was pitched at the entrance to Phocis, five hundred picked Phocians waited till the moon was at its full, and made a night attack on the Thessalians, having smeared themselves and likewise their armour with plaster so as to look white. A tremendous slaughter of the Thessalians is said to have ensued, who looked upon what they saw as a divine appearance, and not as a ruse of the enemy.

It was Tellias of Elis who contrived this trick on the Thessalians.

[84] Reading τῶν πρότερον as Siebelis suggests.

CHAPTER II.

When the army of the Persians passed into Europe, it is said that the Phocians were obliged to join Xerxes, but they deserted the Medes and fought on the Greek side at Platæa. Some time afterwards a fine was imposed upon them by the Amphictyonic Council. I cannot ascertain why, whether it was imposed upon them because they had acted unjustly in some way, or whether it was their old enemies the Thessalians who got this fine imposed. And as they were in a state of great despondency about the largeness of the fine, Philomelus the son of Philotimus, second in merit to none of the Phocians, whose native place was Ledon one of the Phocian cities, addressed them and showed them how impossible it was to pay the money, and urged upon them to seize the temple at Delphi, alleging among other persuasive arguments that the condition of Athens and Lacedæmon was favourable to this plan, and that if the Thebans or any other nation warred against them, they would come off victorious through their courage and expenditure of money. The majority of the Phocians were pleased with the arguments of Philomelus, whether the deity perverted their judgment,[85] or that they put gain before piety. So the Phocians seized the temple at Delphi, when Heraclides was President at Delphi, and Agathocles Archon at Athens, in the fourth year of the 105th Olympiad, when Prorus of Cyrene was victorious in the course. And after seizing the temple they got together the strongest army of mercenaries in Greece, and the Thebans, who had previously been at variance with them, openly declared war against them. The war lasted 10 continuous years, and during that long time frequently the Phocians and their mercenaries prevailed, frequently the Thebans had the best of it. But in an engagement near the town Neon the Phocians were routed, and Philomelus in his flight threw himself down a steep and precipitous crag, and so perished: and the Amphictyonic Council imposed the same end on all those who had plundered the temple at Delphi. And after the death of Philomelus the Phocians gave the command to Onomarchus, and Philip the son of Amyntas joined the Thebans: and Philip was victorious in the battle, and Onomarchus fled in the direction of the sea, and was there shot by the arrows of his own soldiers, for they thought their defeat had come about through his cowardice and inexperience in military matters. Thus Onomarchus ended his life by the will of the deity, and the Phocians chose his brother Phayllus as commander in chief with unlimited power. And he had hardly been invested with this power when he saw the following apparition in a dream. Among the votive offerings of Apollo was an imitation in brass of an old man, with his flesh already wasted away and his bones only left. It was said by the Delphians to have been a votive offering given by Hippocrates the doctor. Phayllus dreamt that he was like this old man, and forthwith a wasting disease came upon him, and fulfilled the dream. And after the death of Phayllus the chief power at Phocis devolved upon his son Phalæcus, but he was deposed because he helped himself privately to the sacred money. And he sailed over to Crete with those Phocians who joined his party, and with a portion of the mercenaries, and besieged Cydonia, because the inhabitants would not give him the money he demanded, and in the siege lost most of his army and his own life.

[85] Compare the Proverb, Quem Jupiter vult perdere dementat prius.

CHAPTER III.

And Philip put an end to the war, called the Phocian or the Sacred War, in the tenth year after the plunder of the temple, when Theophilus was Archon at Athens, in the first year of the 108th Olympiad, in which Polycles of Cyrene won the prize in the course. And the following Phocian towns were taken and rased to the ground, Lilæa, Hyampolis, Anticyra, Parapotamii, Panopeus, and Daulis. These towns were renowned in ancient times and not least in consequence of the lines of Homer.[86] But those which the army of Xerxes burnt were rendered thereby more famous in Greece, as Erochus, Charadra, Amphiclea, Neon, Tithronium, and Drymæa. All the others except Elatea were obscure prior to this war, as Trachis, Medeon, Echedamia, Ambrosus, Ledon, Phlygonium, and Stiris. And now all those towns which I have mentioned were rased to the ground, and except Abæ turned into villages. Abæ had had no hand in the impiety of the other towns, and had had no share either in the seizing of the temple or in the Sacred War. The Phocians were also deprived of participation in the temple at Delphi and in the general Greek Council, and the Amphictyonic Council gave their votes to the Macedonians. As time went on however the Phocian towns were rebuilt, and they returned to them from the villages, except to such as had always been weak, and suffered at this time from want of money. And the Athenians and Thebans forwarded this restoration, before the fatal defeat of the Greeks at Chæronea, in which the Phocians took part, as afterwards they fought against Antipater and the Macedonians at Lamia and Crannon. They fought also against the Galati and the Celtic army with greater bravery than any of the Greeks, to avenge the god at Delphi, and to atone I think for their former guilt. Such are the most memorable public transactions of the Phocians.

[86] Iliad, ii. 519-523. Cyparissus in Hom. is probably Anticyra. See [ch. 36.]

CHAPTER IV.

From Chæronea it is about 20 stades to Panopeus, a town in Phocis, if town that can be called which has no Town-Hall, no gymnasium, no theatre, no market-place, no public fountain, and where the inhabitants live in narrow dwellings, like mountain cottages, near a ravine. But they have boundaries, and send members to the Phocian Council. They say that their town got its name from the father of Epeus, and that they were not Phocians originally, but Phlegyans who fled into Phocis from Orchomenia. The ancient enclosure of Panopeus occupies I conjecture about 7 stades, and I remembered the lines of Homer about Tityus, where he called Panopeus the town delighting in the dance,[87] and in the contest for the dead body of Patroclus he says that Schedius (the son of Iphitus) the king of the Phocians, who was slain by Hector, dwelt at Panopeus.[88] It appears to me that he dwelt there from fear of the Bœotians, making Panopeus a garrison-town, for this is the point where the Bœotians have the easiest approach to Phocis. I could not however understand why Homer called Panopeus delighting in the dance, till I was instructed by those who among the Athenians are called Thyiades. These Thyiades are Athenian women who annually go to Parnassus in concert with the Delphian women, and celebrate the orgies of Dionysus. These Thyiades hold dances on the road from Athens and elsewhere and also at Panopeus: and I imagine Homer’s epithet relates to this.

There is in the street of Panopeus a building of unbaked brick of no great size, and in it a statue in Pentelican marble, which some say is Æsculapius and others Prometheus. The last adduce the following to confirm their opinion. Some stones lie near the ravine each large enough to fill a cart, in colour like the clay found in ravines and sandy torrents, and they smell very like the human body. They say that these are remains of the clay out of which the human race was fashioned by Prometheus. Near the ravine is also the sepulchre of Tityus, the circumference of the mound is about the third of a stade. Of Tityus it is said in the Odyssey,[89]

“On the ground lying, and he lay nine roods.”

But some say that this line does not state the size of Tityus, but that the place where he lay is called Nine Roods. But Cleon, one of the Magnesians that live on the banks of the Hermus, said that people are by nature incredulous of wonderful things, who have not in the course of their lives met with strange occurrences, and that he himself believed that Tityus and others were as large as tradition represented, for when he was at Gades, and he and all his companions sailed from the island according to the bidding of Hercules, on his return he saw a sea monster who had been washed ashore, who had been struck by lightning and was blazing, and he covered five roods. So at least he said.

About seven stades distant from Panopeus is Daulis.[90] The people here are not numerous, but for size and strength they are still the most famous of the Phocians. The town they say got its name from the nymph Daulis, who was the daughter of Cephisus. Others say that the site of the town was once full of trees, and that the ancients gave the name daula to anything dense. Hence Æschylus calls the beard of Glaucus (the son of Anthedonius) daulus. It was here at Daulis according to tradition that the women served up his son to Tereus, and this was the first recorded instance of cannibalism among mankind. And the hoopoe, into which tradition says Tereus was changed, is in size little bigger than a quail, and has on its head feathers which resemble a crest. And it is a remarkable circumstance that in this neighbourhood swallows neither breed nor lay eggs, nor build nests in the roofs of houses: and the Phocians say that when Philomela became a bird she was in dread both of Tereus and his country. And at Daulis there is a temple and ancient statue of Athene, and a still older wooden statue which they say Procne brought from Athens. There is also in the district of Daulis a place called Tronis, where a hero-chapel was built to their hero-founder, who some say was Xanthippus, who won great fame in war, others Phocus (the son of Ornytion and grandson of Sisyphus). They honour this hero whoever he is every day, and when the Phocians bring the victims they pour the blood through a hole on to his tomb, and consume the flesh there also.

[87] Odyssey, xi. 581.

[88] Iliad, xvii. 306, 307.

[89] xi. 577.

[90] There is probably some mistake in the text here, for instead of seven stades Dodwell thought the distance twenty-seven, and Gell thirty-seven or forty-seven.

CHAPTER V.

There is also an ascent by Daulis to the heights of Parnassus, rather longer than the ascent from Delphi but not so steep. As you turn from Daulis on to the high road for Delphi and go forward, you will come to a building on the left of the road called Phocicum, into which the Phocians assemble from each of their towns. It is a large building, and in it are pillars all the length of the building, and galleries on each side, where the Phocians sit in assembly. But at the end of the building there are neither pillars nor galleries, but statues of Zeus and Athene and Hera, Zeus on his throne, and Hera standing by on the right, Athene on the left.

As you go on from thence you will come to the Cross-roads, where they say Œdipus murdered his father.[91] There are records indeed of the woes of Œdipus in all parts of Greece. So it seems it was fated. For directly he was born they pierced his ankles, and exposed him on Mount Cithæron in Platæa. He was brought up at Corinth and the country near the Isthmus. And Phocis and the Cross-roads here were polluted by his father’s blood. Thebes has attained even more celebrity from the marriage of Œdipus and the injustice of Eteocles. To Œdipus the Cross-roads here and his bloody deed there caused all his subsequent woes, and the tombs of Laius and his attendant are in the very middle of the place where the 3 roads meet, and there are unhewn stones heaped up on them. They say that Damasistratus, who was king of Platæa, came across their corpses and buried them.

The high-road from here to Delphi is very steep, and rather difficult even for a well-equipped traveller. Many varying legends are told about Delphi, and still more about the oracle of Apollo. For they say that in the most ancient times it was the oracle of Earth, and that Earth appointed as priestess of her oracle Daphnis, who was one of the Mountain Nymphs. And the Greeks have a poem called Eumolpia, the author of which was they say Musæus the son of Antiophemus. In this poem Delphi is represented as a joint oracle of Poseidon and Earth, and we read that Earth delivered her own oracles, but Poseidon employed Pyrcon as his interpreter. These are the lines:

“Forthwith Earth uttered forth oracular wisdom,

And with her Pyrcon, famed Poseidon’s priest.”

But afterwards they say Earth gave her share to Themis, and Apollo received it from Themis: and he they say gave Poseidon for his share in the oracle Calauria near Trœzen. I have also heard of some shepherds meeting with the oracle, and becoming inspired by the vapour, and prophesying through Apollo. But the greatest and most widespread fame attaches to Phemonoe, who was the first priestess of Apollo, and the first who recited the oracles in hexameters. But Bœo, a Phocian woman who composed a Hymn for Delphi, says that the oracle was set up to the god by Olen and some others that came from the Hyperboreans, and that Olen was the first who delivered oracles and in hexameters. Bœo has written the following lines,

“Here Pegasus and divine Aguieus, sons of the Hyperboreans, raised to thy memory an oracle.”

And enumerating other Hyperboreans she mentions at the end of her Hymn Olen,

“And Olen who was Phœbus’ first prophet,

And first to put in verse the ancient oracles.”

Tradition however makes women the first utterers of the oracles.

The most ancient temple of Apollo was they say built of laurel, from branches brought from a tree at Tempe. So that temple would resemble a hut. And the people of Delphi say the next temple was built of the wax and wings of bees, and was sent by Apollo to the Hyperboreans. There is also another tradition that this temple was built by a Delphian whose name was Pteras, that it got its name from its builder, from whom also a Cretan city by the addition of one letter got called Apteræi. For as to the tradition about the fern (Pteris) that grows on mountains, that they made the temple of this while it was still green, this I cannot accept. As to the third temple that it was of brass is no marvel since Acrisius made a brazen chamber for his daughter, and the Lacedæmonians have still a temple of Athene Chalciœcus,[92] and the Romans have a forum remarkable for its size and magnificence with a brazen roof. So that the temple of Apollo should be brazen is not improbable. In other respects however I do not accept the legend about the temple being by Hephæstus, or about the golden songsters that Pindar sang of in reference to that temple,

“Some golden Charmers sang above the gable.”

I think Pindar wrote this in imitation of Homer’s Sirens.[93] Moreover I found varying accounts about the destruction of this temple, for some say it was destroyed by a landslip, others by fire. And the fourth (built of stone by Trophonius and Agamedes) was burnt down when Erxiclides was Archon at Athens, in the first year of the 58th Olympiad, when Diognetus of Croton was victor. And the temple which still exists was built by the Amphictyones out of the sacred money, and its architect was the Corinthian Spintharus.

[91] See Sophocles, Œdipus Tyrannus, 733, 734. What I translate in this Paragraph “Cross-roads” would be literally “the road called Cleft,” which an English reader would hardly understand.

[92] That is, “Athene of the Brazen House.”

[93] See Odyssey, xii. 39 sq.

CHAPTER VI.

They say the most ancient town here was built by Parnassus, who was they say the son of the Nymph Cleodora, and his fathers, (for those called heroes had always two fathers, one a god, one a man), were they say Poseidon among the gods and Cleopompus among men. They say Mount Parnassus and the dell Parnassus got their names from him, and that omens from the flight of birds were discovered by him. The town built by him was they say destroyed in Deucalion’s flood, and all the human beings that escaped the flood followed wolves and other wild beasts to the top of Mount Parnassus, and from this circumstance called the town which they built Lycorea (Wolf-town). There is also a different tradition to this, which makes Lycorus the son of Apollo by the Nymph Corycia, and that Lycorea was called after him, and the Corycian cavern from the Nymph. Another tradition is that Celæno was the daughter of Hyamus the son of Lycorus, and that Delphus from whom Delphi got its name was the son of Celæno (the daughter of Hyamus) by Apollo. Others say that Castalius an Autochthon had a daughter Thyia, who was the first priestess of Dionysus and introduced his orgies, and that it was from her that females inspired by Dionysus got generally called Thyiades, and they think Delphus was the son of Apollo and this Thyia. But some say his mother was Melæne the daughter of Cephisus. And in course of time the inhabitants called the town Pytho as well as Delphi, as Homer has shown in his Catalogue of the Phocians. Those who wish to make genealogies about everything think that Pythes was the son of Delphus, and that the town got called Pytho after him when he was king. But the prevalent tradition is that the dragon slain by Apollo’s arrows rotted here, and that was why the town was called Pytho from the old Greek word to rot, which Homer has employed in his account of the island of the Sirens being full of bones, because those that listened to their song rotted away.[94] The dragon that was slain by Apollo was the poets say posted there by Earth to guard her oracle. It is also said that Crius, the king of Eubœa, had a son of an insolent disposition, who plundered the temple of the god, and the houses of the wealthy men. And when he was going to do this a second time, then the Delphians begged Apollo to shield them from the coming danger, and Phemonoe (who was then priestess) gave them the following oracle in hexameters, “Soon will Phœbus send his heavy arrow against the man who devours Parnassus, and the Cretans shall purify Phœbus from the blood, and his fame shall never die.”

[94] Odyssey, xii. 46.

CHAPTER VII.

It appears that the temple at Delphi was plundered from the beginning. For this Eubœan robber, and a few years later the people of Phlegyas, and Pyrrhus the son of Achilles also, all laid their hands on it, and part of Xerxes’ army, but those who enriched themselves most and longest on the treasures of the god were the Phocian authorities and the army of the Galati. And last of all it was fated to experience Nero’s contempt of everything, for he carried off from Apollo 500 brazen statues, some of gods some of men.

The most ancient contest, and one for which they gave a prize first, was they say singing a Hymn in honour of Apollo. And the first victor was Chrysothemis the Cretan, whose father Carmanor is said to have purified Apollo. And after Chrysothemis they say Philammon was next victor, and next to him his son Thamyris. Neither Orpheus they say from his solemn position in respect to the mysteries and his general elevation of soul, nor Musæus from his imitation of Orpheus in all things, cared to contend in this musical contest. They say also that Eleuther carried off the Pythian prize for his loud and sweet voice. It is said also that Hesiod was not permitted to be a competitor, because he had not learned to accompany his voice with the harp. Homer too went to Delphi to enquire what was necessary for him, and even had he learnt how to play on the harp, the knowledge would have been useless to him, because of his being blind. And in the third year of the 48th Olympiad, in which Glaucias of Croton was victor, the Amphictyones established prizes for harping as at the first, and added contests for pipes, and for singing to the pipes. And the victors proclaimed were Cephallen who was distinguished in singing to the harp, and the Arcadian Echembrotus for his singing to the pipes, and the Argive Sacadas for his playing on the pipes. Sacadas also had two other Pythian victories after this. Then too they first ordained prizes for athletes as at Olympia, with the exception of the fourhorse races, and they established by law the long course and double course for boys. And in the second Pythiad they invited them no longer to contend for prizes, but made the contest one for a crown only, and stopped singing to the pipes, as not thinking it pleasing to the ear. For singing to the pipes was most gloomy kind of music, and elegies and dirges were so sung. The votive offering of Echembrotus confirms me in what I say, for the brazen tripod offered by him to Hercules at Thebes has the following inscription, “Echembrotus the Arcadian offered this tripod to Hercules, after having been victorious in the contests of the Amphictyones, and in singing to the Greeks songs and elegies.” So the contest of singing to the pipes was stopped. Afterwards they added a chariot race, and Clisthenes the tyrant of Sicyon was proclaimed victor. And in the eighth Pythiad they added harping without the accompaniment of the voice, and Agelaus from Tegea got the crown. And in the 23rd Pythiad they had a race in armour, and Timænetus from Phlius got the laurel, five Olympiads after Damaretus of Heræa was victor. And in the 48th Pythiad they established the race for a pair-horse chariot, and the pair of Execestides the Phocian was victorious. And in the fifth Pythiad after this they yoked colts to chariots, and the four-colt car of Orphondas the Theban came in first. But the pancratium for boys, and the pair of colts, and the racing colt they instituted many years after the people of Elis, the pancratium in the 61st Pythiad (when Iolaidas the Theban was victor), and one Pythiad after the racing colt (when Lycormas of Larissa was proclaimed victor), and in the 69th Pythiad the pair of colts (when the Macedonian Ptolemy was victor). For the Ptolemies delighted to be called Macedonians, as indeed they were. And the crown of laurel was given to the victors in the Pythian games, for no other reason I think than that (according to the prevalent report) Apollo was enamoured of Daphne[95] the daughter of Ladon.

[95] Daphne means laurel. See Wordsworth’s noble Poem, The Russian Fugitive, Part iii.

CHAPTER VIII.

Some think that Amphictyon the son of Deucalion appointed the general Council of the Greeks, and that was why those who assembled at the Council were called Amphictyones: but Androtion in his history of Attica says that originally delegates came to Delphi from the neighbouring people who were called Amphictiones, and in process of time the name Amphictyones prevailed. They say too that the following Greek States attended this general Council, the Ionians, the Dolopes, the Thessalians, the Ænianes, the Magnetes, the Malienses, the Phthiotes, the Dorians, the Phocians, the Locrians who dwelt under Mount Cnemis and bordered upon Phocis. But when the Phocians seized the temple, and ten years afterwards the Sacred War came to an end, the Amphictyonic Council was changed: for the Macedonians obtained admission to it, and the Phocians and (of the Dorians) the Lacedæmonians ceased to belong to it, the Phocians because of their sacrilegious outbreak on the temple, and the Lacedæmonians because they had assisted the Phocians. But when Brennus led the Galati against Delphi, the Phocians exhibited greater bravery than any of the Greeks in the war, and were in consequence restored to the Amphictyonic Council, and in other respects regained their former position. And the Emperor Augustus wished that the inhabitants of Nicopolis near Actium should belong to the Amphictyonic Council, so he joined the Magnetes and Malienses and Ænianes and Phthiotes to the Thessalians, and transferred their votes, and those of the Dolopes who had died out, to the people of Nicopolis. And in my time the Amphictyones were 30 members. Six came from Nicopolis, six from Macedonia, six from Thessaly, two from the Bœotians (who were originally in Thessaly and called Æolians), two from Phocis, and two from Delphi, one from ancient Doris, one from the Locrians called Ozolæ, one from the Locrians opposite Eubœa, one from Eubœa, one from Argos Sicyon Corinth and Megara, and one from Athens. Athens and Delphi and Nicopolis send delegates to every Amphictyonic Council: but the other cities I have mentioned only join the Amphictyonic Council at certain times.

As you enter Delphi there are four temples in a row, the first in ruins, the next without statues or effigies, the third has effigies of a few of the Roman Emperors, the fourth is called the temple of Athene Pronoia. And the statue in the ante-chapel is the votive offering of the Massaliotes, and is larger in size than the statue within the temple. The Massaliotes are colonists of the Phocæans in Ionia, and were part of those who formerly fled from Phocæa from Harpagus the Mede, but, after having beaten the Carthaginians in a naval engagement, obtained the land which they now occupy, and rose to great prosperity. This votive offering of the Massaliotes is of brass. The golden shield which was offered to Athene Pronoia by Crœsus the Lydian was taken away (the Delphians said) by Philomelus. Near this temple is the sacred enclosure of the hero Phylacus, who, according to the tradition of the Delphians, protected them against the invasion of the Persians. In the part of the gymnasium which is in the open air was once they say a wild wood where Odysseus, when he went to Autolycus and hunted with the sons of Autolycus, was wounded on the knee by a boar.[96] As you turn to the left from the gymnasium, and descend I should say about 3 stades, is the river called Plistus, which falls into the sea at Cirrha the haven of the Delphians. And as you ascend from the gymnasium to the temple on the right of the road is the water Castalia which is good to drink. Some say it got its name from Castalia a local woman, others say from a man called Castalius. But Panyasis, the son of Polyarchus, in the poem he wrote about Hercules says that Castalia was the daughter of Achelous. For he says about Hercules,

“Crossing with rapid feet snow-crown’d Parnassus he came to the immortal fountain of Castalia, the daughter of Achelous.”

I have also heard that the water of Castalia is a gift of the river Cephisus. Alcæus indeed so represents it in his Prelude to Apollo, and his statement is confirmed by the people of Lilæa, who believe that the local cakes and other things, which they throw into the Cephisus on certain stated days, reappear in the Castalia.

[96] Odyssey, xix. 428-451.

CHAPTER IX.

Delphi is everywhere hilly, the sacred precincts of Apollo and other parts of the town alike. The sacred precincts are very large and in the upper part of the town, and have several entrances. I will enumerate all the votive offerings that are best worthy of mention. The athletes however, and musical competitors, of no great merit I do not think worthy of attention, and notable athletes I have already described in my account of Elis. At Delphi then there is a statue of Phayllus of Croton, who had no victory at Olympia, but was twice victor in the pentathlum and once in the course in the Pythian games, and fought a naval engagement against the Medes, having furnished a ship himself, and manned it with some people of Croton who were sojourners in Greece. So much for Phayllus of Croton. On the entrance to the sacred enclosure is a bull in brass by Theopropus the Æginetan, the votive offering of the Corcyræans. The tradition is that a bull in Corcyra left the herd and pasture, and used to resort to the sea bellowing as he went; and as this happened every day the herdsman went down to the sea, and beheld a large shoal of tunny fish. And he informed the people of Corcyra, and they, as they had great difficulty in catching these tunnies much as they wished, sent messengers to Delphi. And then in obedience to the oracle they sacrificed the bull to Poseidon, and after this sacrifice caught the fish, and offered both at Olympia and Delphi the tenth of their catch. And next are the votive offerings of the people of Tegea from the spoils of the Lacedæmonians, an Apollo and Victory, and some local heroes; as Callisto the daughter of Lycaon, and Arcas who gave his name to Arcadia, and the sons of Arcas, Elatus and Aphidas and Azan; and besides them Triphylus, (whose mother was not Erato but Laodamia, the daughter of Amyclas king at Lacedæmon), and also Erasus the son of Triphylus. As to the artificers of these statues, Pausanias of Apollonia made the Apollo and Callisto, and the Victory and effigy of Arcas were by Dædalus of Sicyon, Triphylus and Azan were by the Arcadian Samolas, and Elatus and Aphidas and Erasus were by the Argive Antiphanes. All these the people of Tegea sent to Delphi after the capture of the Lacedæmonians who invaded them. And opposite them are the votive offerings of the Lacedæmonians when they vanquished the Athenians, statues of Castor and Pollux and Zeus and Apollo and Artemis, and besides them Poseidon crowning Lysander the son of Aristocritus, and Abas who was Lysander’s prophet, and Hermon the pilot of Lysander’s flag-ship. This statue of Hermon was designed by Theocosmus the Megarian, as the Megarians ranked Hermon among their citizens. And Castor and Pollux are by the Argive Antiphanes, and Abas is by Pison from Calauria near Trœzen, and Artemis and Poseidon and Lysander are by Dameas, and Apollo and Zeus by Athenodorus. Both Dameas and Athenodorus were Arcadians from Clitor. And behind the statues we have just mentioned are those of the Spartans or their allies who fought for Lysander at the battle of Ægos-potamoi, as Aracus the Lacedæmonian, and Erianthes the Bœotian beyond Mimas, and then Astycrates, and the Chians Cephisocles and Hermophantus and Hicesius, and the Rhodians Timarchus and Diagoras, and the Cnidian Theodamus, and the Ephesian Cimmerius, and the Milesian Æantides. All these were by Tisander. The following were by Alypus of Sicyon, Theopompus from Myndus, and Cleomedes of Samos, and from Eubœa Aristocles of Carystus and Autonomus of Eretria, and Aristophantus of Corinth, and Apollodorus of Trœzen, and from Epidaurus in Argolis Dion. And next to these are the Achæan Axionicus from Pellene, and Theares from Hermion, and Pyrrhias from Phocis, and Comon from Megara, and Agasimenes from Sicyon, and Telycrates from Leucas, and Pythodotus from Corinth, and Euantidas from Ambracia, and lastly the Lacedæmonians Epicyridas and Eteonicus. All these are they say by Patrocles and Canachus. The reverse that the Athenians sustained at Ægos-potamoi they maintain befell them through foul play, for their Admirals Tydeus and Adimantus were they say bribed by Lysander. And in proof of this they bring forward the following Sibylline oracle. “Then shall Zeus the lofty-thunderer, whose strength is almighty, lay grievous woes on the Athenians, fierce battle for their ships of war, that shall perish through the treachery and villainy of their commanders.” They also cite these other lines from the oracles of Musæus, “Verily a fierce storm is coming on the Athenians through the villainy of their commanders, but there shall be some comfort, they shall level low the state that inflicted this disaster, and exact vengeance.” So much for this affair. And as for the engagement between the Lacedæmonians and Argives beyond Thyrea, the Sibyl foretold that it would be a drawn battle, but the Argives thinking they had got the best of it in the action sent to Delphi as a votive offering a brazen horse by Antiphanes of Argos, doubtless an imitation of the Trojan Horse.

CHAPTER X.

On the basement under this horse is an inscription, which states that the following statues were dedicated from the tenth of the spoils of Marathon. These statues are Athene and Apollo, and of the commanders Miltiades, and of those called heroes Erechtheus and Cecrops and Pandion, and Leos, and Antiochus the son of Hercules by Meda the daughter of Phylas, and Ægeus, and of the sons of Theseus Acamas. These, in accordance with an oracle from Delphi, gave names to the Athenian tribes. Here too are Codrus the son of Melanthus, and Theseus, and Phyleus, who are no longer ranked among the Eponymi. All these that I have mentioned are by Phidias, and these too are really the tenth of the spoils of Marathon. But the statues of Antigonus, and his son Demetrius, and the Egyptian Ptolemy, were sent to Delphi later, Ptolemy through goodwill, but the Macedonians through fear.

And near this horse are other votive offerings of the Argives, statues of those associated with Polynices in the expedition against Thebes, as Adrastus the son of Talaus, and Tydeus the son of Œneus, and the descendants of Prœtus, (Capaneus the son of Hipponous, and Eteoclus the son of Iphis), and Polynices, and Hippomedon (Adrastus’ sister’s son), and near them the chariot of Amphiaraus and in it Baton, the charioteer and also kinsman of Amphiaraus, and lastly Alitherses. These are by Hypatodorus and Aristogiton, and were made, so the Argives themselves say, out of the spoils of the victory which they and their Athenian allies obtained at Œnoe in Argolis. It was after the same action, I think, that the Argives erected the statues of the Epigoni. They are here at any rate, as Sthenelus and Alcmæon, who was, I take it, honoured above Amphilochus in consequence of his age, and Promachus, and Thersander, and Ægialeus, and Diomede, and between the two last Euryalus. And opposite these are some other statues, dedicated by the Argives who assisted Epaminondas and the Thebans in restoring the Messenians. There are also effigies of heroes, as Danaus the most powerful king at Argos, and Hypermnestra the only one of her sisters with hands unstained by murder, and near her Lynceus, and all those that trace their descent from Hercules, or go back even further to Perseus.

There are also the horses of the Tarentines in brass, and captive women of the Messapians (barbarians near Tarentum), by Ageladas the Argive. The Lacedæmonians colonized Tarentum under the Spartan Phalanthus, who, when he started on this colony, was told by an oracle from Delphi that he was to acquire land and found a city where he saw rain from a clear sky. At first he paid no great heed to this oracle, and sailed to Italy without consulting any interpreters, but when, after victories over the barbarians, he was unable to capture any of their cities, or get possession of any of their land, he recollected the oracle, and thought the god had prophesied impossibilities: for it could not rain he thought from a clear and bright sky. And his wife, who had accompanied him from home, endeavoured to comfort him in various ways, as he was in rather a despondent condition, and laid his head on her knees, and began to pick out the lice, and in her goodwill it so fell out that she wept when she thought how her husband’s affairs made no good progress. And she shed tears freely on Phalanthus’ head, and then he understood the oracle, for his wife’s name was Æthra (clear sky), and so on the following night he took from the barbarians Tarentum, the greatest and most prosperous of their maritime cities. They say the hero Taras was the son of Poseidon and a local Nymph, and both the city and river got their name from him.

CHAPTER XI.

And near the votive offering of the Tarentines is the treasury of the Sicyonians, but you will see no money either here or in any of the treasuries. The Cnidians also brought statues to Delphi, as Triopas (their founder) standing by a horse, and Leto and Apollo and Artemis shooting at Tityus, who is represented wounded. These statues stand by the treasury of the Sicyonians.

The Siphnii too made a treasury for the following reason. The island of Siphnos had gold mines, and the god bade them send a tenth of the revenue thus accruing to Delphi, and they built a treasury and sent the tenth to the god. But when in their cupidity they left off this tribute, then the sea encroached and swept away their mines. Statues after a naval victory over the Tyrrhenians were also erected by the people of Lipara, who were a colony of Cnidians, and the leader of the colony was they say a Cnidian whose name was Pentathlus, as Antiochus the Syracusan (the son of Xenophanes) testifies in his History of Sicily. He says also that when they had built a town at Pachynus, a promontory in Sicily, they were expelled from it by force by the Elymi and Phœnicians, and either occupied deserted islands, or drove out the islanders from those islands which they call to this day by the name Homer employs, the islands of Æolus. Of these they lived in Lipara and built a city there, and used to sail to Hiera and Strongyle and Didymæ for purposes of cultivation. In Strongyle fire clearly ascends from the ground, and in Hiera fire spontaneously blazes up on a height in the island, and near the sea are convenient baths, if the water is not too hot, for often it is difficult to bathe by reason of the great heat.

The Theban treasuries were the result of the victory at Leuctra, and the Athenian treasuries from the victory at Marathon and the spoil of Datis on that occasion: but whether the Cnidians built theirs to commemorate some victory or to display their wealth I do not know. But the people of Cleonæ suffered greatly like the Athenians from a plague, till in obedience to the oracle at Delphi they sacrificed a goat to the rising sun, and, as they thus obtained deliverance from their plague, they sent a brazen goat to Apollo. And the treasury of the Syracusans was the result of the great reverses of Athens, and the Potidæan treasury was erected out of piety to the god.

The Athenians also built a portico with the money which they got in war from the Peloponnesians and their Greek allies. There are also votive offerings of the figure-heads of captured ships and brazen shields. The inscription on these mentions the cities from which the Athenians sent the firstfruits of their spoil, Elis, and Lacedæmon, and Sicyon, and Megara, and Pellene in Achaia, and Ambracia, and Leucas, and Corinth itself. In consequence of these naval victories they sacrifice to Theseus, and to Poseidon at the promontory of Rhium. I think also the inscription refers to Phormio the son of Asopichus, and to his famous deeds.

CHAPTER XII.

There is a projecting stone above, on which the Delphians say the first Herophile, also called the Sibyl, chanted her oracles.[97] I found her to be most ancient, and the Greeks say she was the daughter of Zeus by Lamia the daughter of Poseidon, and that she was the first woman who chanted oracles, and that she was called Sibyl by the Libyans. The second Herophile was younger than her, but was herself clearly earlier than the Trojan War, for she foretold in her oracles that Helen would be reared in Sparta to the ruin of Asia Minor and Europe, and that Ilium would be taken by the Greeks owing to her. The Delians make mention of her Hymn to Apollo. And she calls herself in her verses not only Herophile but also Artemis, and says she was Apollo’s wedded wife and sister and daughter. This she must have written when possessed by the god. And elsewhere in her oracles she says her father was a mortal but her mother one of the Nymphs of Mount Ida. Here are her lines,

“I was the child of a mortal sire and goddess mother, she was a Nymph and Immortal while he eat bread. By my mother I am connected with Mount Ida, and my native place is red Marpessus (sacred to my mother), and the river Aidoneus.”

There are still in Trojan Ida ruins of Marpessus, and a population of about 60 inhabitants. The soil all about Marpessus is red and terribly dry. Why in fact the river Aidoneus soaks into the earth, and on its emerging sinks into the ground again, and is eventually altogether lost in it, is I think the thin and porous soil of Mount Ida. Marpessus is 240 stades distant from Alexandria in the Troad. The inhabitants of Alexandria say that Herophile was the Sacristan of Sminthian Apollo, and that she foretold by dream to Hecuba what we know really came about. This Sibyl lived most of her life at Samos, but visited Clarus in Colophonia, Delos, and Delphi, and wherever she went chanted standing on the stone we have already mentioned. Death came upon her in the Troad, her tomb is in the grove of Sminthian Apollo, and the inscription on the pillar is as follows.

“Here hidden by stone sepulchre I lie, Apollo’s fate-pronouncing Sibyl I, a vocal maiden once but now for ever dumb, here placed by all-powerful fate, and I lie near the Nymphs and Hermes, in this part of Apollo’s realm.”

Near her tomb is a square Hermes in stone, and on the left is water running into a conduit, and some statues of the Nymphs. The people of Erythræ, who are most zealous of all the Greeks in claiming Herophile as theirs, show the mountain called Corycus and the cavern in it in which they say Herophile was born, and they say that she was the daughter of Theodorus (a local shepherd) and a Nymph, and that she was called Idæa for no other reason than that well-wooded places were called by people at that time Idas. And the line about Marpessus and the river Aidoneus they do not include in the oracles.

Hyperochus, a native of Cumæ, has recorded that a woman called Demo, of Cumæ in the Opican district, delivered oracles after Herophile and in a similar manner. The people of Cumæ do not produce any oracle of Demo’s, but they shew a small stone urn in the temple of Apollo, wherein they say are her remains. After Demo the Hebrews beyond Palestine had a prophetess called Sabbe, whose father they say was Berosus and mother Erymanthe, but some say she was a Babylonian Sibyl, others an Egyptian.

Phaennis, (the daughter of the king of the Chaones), and the Peleæ at Dodona, also prophesied by divine inspiration, but were not called Sibyls. As to the age and oracles of Phaennis, one will find upon inquiry that she was a contemporary of Antiochus, who seized the kingdom after taking Demetrius prisoner. As to the Peleades, they were they say earlier than Phemonoe, and were the first women that sang the following lines:

“Zeus was, Zeus is, Zeus shall be. O great Zeus!

Earth yields us fruits, let us then call her Mother.”

Prophetical men, as Euclus the Cyprian, and the Athenian Musæus the son of Antiophemus, and Lycus the son of Pandion, as well as Bacis the Bœotian, were they say inspired by Nymphs. All their oracular utterances except those of Lycus I have read.

Such are the women and men who up to my time have been said to have been prophetically inspired: and as time goes on there will perhaps be other similar cases.[98]

[97] The text is somewhat uncertain here. I have tried to extract the best sense.

[98] “Qui hoc et similia putant dicuntque Pausaniam opposuisse Christianis, hos velim explicare causam, cur Pausanias tecte tantum in illos invadere, neque usquam quidquam aperte contra eos dicere ausus sit.” Siebelis.

CHAPTER XIII.

The brazen head of the Pæonian bison was sent to Delphi by Dropion, the son of Deon, king of the Pæonians. These bisons are most difficult of all beasts to capture alive, for no nets are strong enough to hold them. They are hunted in the following manner. When the hunters have found a slope terminating in a hollow, they first of all fence it all round with a palisade, they then cover the slope and level ground near the bottom with newly stripped hides, and if they chance to be short of hides, then they make old dry skins slippery with oil. The most skilful horsemen then drive these bisons to this place that I have described, and slipping on the first hides they roll down the slope till they get to the level ground at the bottom. There they leave them at first, but on the 4th or 5th day, when hunger and weakness has subdued their spirit somewhat, those who are skilled in taming them offer them, while they are still lying there, pinenuts after first removing the husks, for they will at first touch no other kind of food, and at last they bind them and lead them off. This is how they capture them.

Opposite the brazen head of this bison is the statue of a man with a coat of mail on and a cloak over it: the Delphians say it is a votive offering of the people of Andros, and that it is Andreus their founder. And the statues of Apollo and Athene and Artemis are votive offerings of the Phocians from spoil of the Thessalians, their constant enemies, and neighbours except where the Epicnemidian Locrians come in. Votive offerings have been also made by the Thessalians of Pharsalus, and by the Macedonians who dwell at Dium under Pieria, and by the Greeks of Cyrene in Libya. These last sent a chariot and statue of Ammon on the chariot, and the Macedonians at Dium sent an Apollo who has hold of a doe, and the Pharsalians sent an Achilles on horseback, and Patroclus is running by the side of the horse. And the Dorians of Corinth built a treasury also, and the gold from the Lydians was stored there. And the statue of Hercules was the votive offering of the Thebans at the time they fought with the Phocians what is called The Sacred War. Here also are the brazen effigies erected by the Phocians, when in the second encounter they routed the Thessalian cavalry. The people of Phlius also sent to Delphi a brazen Zeus, and an effigy of Ægina with Zeus.[99] And from Mantinea in Arcadia there is an offering of a brazen Apollo, not far from the treasury of the Corinthians.

Hercules and Apollo are also to be seen close to a tripod for the possession of which they are about to fight, but Leto and Artemis are trying to appease the anger of Apollo, and Athene that of Hercules. This was the votive offering of the Phocians when Tellias of Elis led them against the Thessalians. The other figures in the group were made jointly by Diyllus and Amyclæus, but Athene and Artemis were made by Chionis, all 3 Corinthian statuaries. It is also recorded by the Delphians that, when Hercules the son of Amphitryon came to consult the oracle, the priestess Xenoclea would not give him any response because of his murder of Iphitus: so he took the tripod and carried it out of the temple, and the prophetess said,

“This is another Hercules, the one from Tiryns not from Canopus.”

For earlier still the Egyptian Hercules had come to Delphi. Then the son of Amphitryon restored the tripod to Apollo, and got the desired answer from Xenoclea. And poets have handed down the tradition, and sung of the contest of Hercules and Apollo for the tripod.

After the battle of Platæa the Greeks in common made a votive offering of a gold tripod standing on a bronze dragon. The bronze part of the votive offering was there in my time, but the golden part had been abstracted by the Phocian leaders.[100] The Tarentines also sent to Delphi another tenth of spoil taken from the Peucetian barbarians. These votive offerings were the works of art of Onatas the Æginetan and Calynthus, and are effigies of footsoldiers and cavalry, Opis king of the Iapyges come to the aid of the Peucetii. He is represented in the battle as a dying man, and as he lies on the ground there stand by him the hero Taras and the Lacedæmonian Phalanthus, and at no great distance a dolphin: for Phalanthus before he went to Italy suffered shipwreck in the Crissæan Gulf, and was they say brought safe to shore by a dolphin.

[99] Ægina was the daughter of the river-god Asopus, and was carried off from Phlius by Zeus. See Book ii. ch. 5. Hence the offering of the people of Phlius.

[100] See Rawlinson’s Herodotus, Book ix. ch. 81.

CHAPTER XIV.

The axes which were the votive offering of Periclytus, the son of Euthymachus of Tenedos, have an old legend connected with them. Cycnus was they say the son of Poseidon, and king at Colonæ, a town in the Troad near the island Leucophrys. This Cycnus had a daughter Hemithea and a son Tennes by Proclea, daughter of Clytius, and sister of that Caletor of whom Homer says in the Iliad[101] that he was slain by Ajax when he tried to set on fire the ship of Protesilaus,—and, Proclea dying, Cycnus married for his second wife Phylonome, the daughter of Cragasus, who failing to win the love of Tennes told her husband that Tennes wanted to have illicit dealings with her against her will, and Cycnus believed this lie, and put Tennes and his sister into a chest, and sent them to sea in it. And they got safe to the island Leucophrys, since called Tenedos from Tennes. And Cycnus, who was not destined to be ignorant of his wife’s deception all his life, when he learned the truth sailed after his son to implore his forgiveness, and to admit his unwitting error. And as he was anchoring at the island, and was fastening his vessel by ropes to some tree or piece of rock, Tennes in his rage cut the ropes with his axe. Hence it is passed into a proverb, when people obstinately decline a conference, that they resemble him who cut the matter short with his Tenedian axe. Tennes was afterwards slain the Greeks say by Achilles as he was defending Tenedos, and in process of time the people of Tenedos, as they were weak, joined themselves to the people of Alexandria on the mainland of the Troad.

The Greeks who fought against the King of the Persians erected at Olympia a brazen Zeus, and an Apollo at Delphi, after the actions of Artemisium and Salamis. It is said also that Themistocles, when he went to Delphi, brought of the spoils of the Medes as a present to Apollo, and when he asked if he should offer them inside the temple, the Pythian Priestess bade him at once take them away altogether. And these were the words of her oracular response: “Put not in my temple the beautiful spoils of the Persians, send them home as quickly as possible.” It is wonderful that the god declined to accept the spoils of the Medes only from Themistocles. Some think the god would have rejected all the Persian spoil equally, if those who offered it had first asked (like Themistocles) if the god would accept it. Others say that, as the god knew that Themistocles would be a suppliant of the Persians, he refused on that account to accept the spoil from him, that he might not win for him by acceptance the undying hate of the Medes. This invasion of Greece by the barbarian you may find foretold in the oracles of Bacis, and earlier still in the verses of Euclus.

Near the great altar is a bronze wolf, the votive offering of the Delphians themselves. The tradition about it is that some man plundered the treasures of the god, and hid himself and the gold in that part of Parnassus where the forest trees were most thick, and that a wolf attacked him as he slept and killed him, and that this wolf used to run into the town daily and howl: and the Delphians thought this could not but be by divine direction, so they followed the wolf and discovered the sacred gold, and offered to the god a bronze wolf.

[101] xv. 419-421.

CHAPTER XV.

The gilt statue of Phryne here was made by Praxiteles, one of her lovers, and was an offering of Phryne herself. And next it are two statues of Apollo, one offered by the Epidaurians in Argolis after victory over the Medes, and the other by the Megarians after their victory over the Athenians at Nisæa. And there is an ox an offering of the Platæans, when they defended themselves successfully on their own soil with the rest of the Greeks against Mardonius the son of Gobryas. Next come two more statues of Apollo, one offered by the people of Heraclea near the Euxine, the other by the Amphictyones when they fined the Phocians for cultivating land sacred to the god. This Apollo is called by the Delphians Sitalcas,[102] and is about 35 cubits high. Here too are statues of the Ætolian Generals, and of Artemis and Athene, and two statues of Apollo, votive offerings of the Ætolians after their victories over the Galati. Phaennis indeed foretold in her oracles, a generation before it happened, that the army of the Celts would pass from Europe to Asia to destroy the cities there.

“Then indeed the destroying host of the Galati shall cross the narrow passage of the Hellespont, marching to the flute, and shall lawlessly make havoc of Asia. And the god shall even afflict more grievously all those that dwell near the sea-shore. But Cronion shall verily soon raise up a helper, the dear son of a Zeus-reared bull, who shall bring a day of destruction to all the Galati.”

By the bull Phaennis meant Attalus the king of Pergamus, who was also called bull-horned in the oracle.[103]

The statues of cavalry leaders seated on horseback were offered to Apollo by the Pheræans, when they had routed the Athenian cavalry. And the bronze palm and gilt statue of Athene on the palm were dedicated by the Athenians for the victory at the Eurymedon on the same day both on land and river. I noticed that some of the gold on this statue was plucked off. I put this down to the cupidity of sacrilegious thieves. But Clitodemus, the oldest writer on Athenian Antiquities, says in his account of Attica that, when the Athenians were making preparations for the expedition to Sicily, an immense number of crows came to Delphi, and with their beaks knocked off and tore away the gold off the statue. He also says that they broke off the spear, the owls, and all the fruit on the palm in imitation of real fruit. Clitodemus relates also other prodigies to deter the Athenians from the fatal expedition to Sicily. The people of Cyrene also placed at Delphi a figure of Battus in his chariot, who took them by ship from Thera to Libya. Cyrene is the charioteer, and Battus is in the chariot and Libya is crowning him, the design is by the Cretan Amphion the son of Acestor. And when Battus built Cyrene, he is said to have found the following remedy for an impediment in his speech. As he was travelling in the remote parts of Cyrene which were still unoccupied he chanced to see a lion, and his terror at the sight made him cry out loud and clearly.[104] And not far from Battus the Amphictyones erected another statue of Apollo, out of the proceeds of the fine imposed on the Phocians for their impiety to the god.

[102] i.e. Prohibitor of corn-growing (on the sacred land).

[103] The words of the oracle were as follows:

Θάρσει Ταυρόκερως, ἕξεις βασιληίδα τιμὴν

καὶ παίδων παῖδες· τούτων γε μὲν οὐκέτι παῖδες.

[104] So the son of Crœsus found his tongue from sudden fright. See Herodotus, i. 85.

CHAPTER XVI.

Of the votive offerings which the Lydian kings sent to Apollo nothing now remains but the iron base of the bowl of Alyattes. This was made by Glaucus of Chios, who first welded iron, and the places where the base is joined are not riveted together by bolts or nails, but simply by welding. This base from a broad bottom rises turret-like to a point. The sides are not entirely covered, but have girders of iron like the steps in a ladder. Straight bars of iron bend outwards at the extremities, and this is the seat for the bowl.

What is called by the Delphians the navel, made of white stone, is according to their tradition the centre of the world, and Pindar in one of his Odes gives a similar account.[105] Here is a votive offering of the Lacedæmonians, a statue by Calamis of Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and wife of Orestes (the son of Agamemnon), and still earlier the wife of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles. The Ætolians have also erected a statue to Eurydamus their general, who commanded their army against the Galati.

There is still among the mountains of Crete a town called Elyrus, its inhabitants sent a brazen goat as their offering to Delphi. This goat is represented suckling Phylacides and Philander, who according to the people of Elyrus were the sons of Apollo by the Nymph Acacallis, with whom he had an intrigue in the city Tarrha in the house of Carmanor.

The Carystians also from Eubœa offered a brazen ox to Apollo after the Median war. I think both they and the Platæans made their votive offerings because, after repulsing the barbarian, they enjoyed prosperity in other respects and a free land to cultivate. The Ætolians also sent effigies of their generals and Apollo and Artemis, when they had subdued their neighbours the Acarnanians.

The strangest thing I heard of was what happened in the seafight between the Liparæans and Tyrrhenians. The Pythian Priestess bade the Liparæans fight a naval engagement with the Tyrrhenians with as small a fleet as possible. They put to sea therefore with only five triremes, and the Tyrrhenians, thinking themselves quite a match for the Liparæans, put out to sea against them with only the same number of ships. And the Liparæans took them, and also another five that put out against them, and a third and even fourth set of five ships. They then placed at Delphi as votive offerings as many statues of Apollo as they had captured ships. Echecratides of Larissa offered the small Apollo, and the Delphians say this was the first of all the votive offerings.

[105] Pindar Pyth. viii. 85. So also Æschylus, Eumen. 40.

CHAPTER XVII.

Of the western barbarians the Sardinians offered a brazen statue of Sardus, from whom their island took its name. For its size and prosperity Sardinia is equal to the most celebrated islands. What its ancient name was among its original inhabitants I do not know, but the Greeks who sailed there for commerce called it Ichnusa, because its shape was like that of a man’s foot-print. Its length is about 1,120 stades and its breadth 470. The first that crossed over into the island were they say Libyans, their leader was Sardus, the son of that Maceris who was called Hercules by the Egyptians and Libyans. The most notable thing Maceris ever did was to journey to Delphi: but Sardus led the Libyans to Ichnusa, and gave his name to the island. They did not however eject the original inhabitants of the island, but the new comers were received as fellow colonists rather from necessity than choice. Neither did the Libyans nor the aborigines of the island know how to build cities, but lived dispersed in huts and caves as each chanced. But some years after the Libyans some Greeks came to the island under Aristæus, (who was they say the son of Apollo by Cyrene): and who migrated they say to Sardinia in excessive grief at the death of Actæon, which made him ill at ease in Bœotia and indeed all Greece. There are some who think that Dædalus fled at the same time from Camicus, owing to the hostility of the Cretans, and took part in this colony of Aristæus: but it is altogether beyond probability that Dædalus, who was a contemporary of Œdipus when he reigned at Thebes, could have shared either in a colony or in anything else with Aristæus, the husband of Autonoe the daughter of Cadmus. Nor do I think that even these Greeks built a town, inasmuch as in numbers and strength they were inadequate to such a task. And after Aristæus the Iberes crossed into Sardinia under Norax, and built the town of Nora, which is the first mentioned in the island: Norax was they say the son of Hermes by Erythea the daughter of Geryon. And a fourth band of colonists of Thespians and Athenians under Iolaus came to Sardinia and built the town of Olbia, and the Athenians separately built the town which they called Ogryle, either preserving the name of one of their townships in this way, or because Ogrylus was one of the expedition. There are still places in Sardinia called after Iolaus, who is still honoured by the inhabitants. And after the capture of Ilium several of the Trojans escaped, as well as those who got off safe with Æneas; part of them were carried by the winds to Sardinia, and mixed with the Greeks who had gone there earlier. And what hindered the barbarians from fighting against the Greeks and Trojans was that in their equipment for war they stood on an equality, and both armies feared to cross the river Thorsus which parted them. Many years afterwards however the Libyans passed over into the island a second time with a larger host, and fought against the Greeks, and entirely destroyed all but a remnant, and the Trojans fled to the hilly parts of the island, and occupying the mountains, which were difficult of access from the rocks and crags, are called to this day Ilians, but they resemble the Libyans in their appearance and armour and mode of living. And there is an island not far from Sardinia, called by the Greeks Cyrnus, but by its Libyan inhabitants Corsica. A large contingent in this island, who had suffered grievously from faction, crossed over to Sardinia and dwelt in part of the mountainous district, and were called by the Sardinians Corsi from the name of their fatherland. And when the Carthaginians became a great naval power, they subdued all the Sardinians but the Ilians and the Corsi, (who were prevented from being reduced to slavery by the security which the mountains gave them,) and themselves built in the island the towns Caralis and Sulci. And the Libyans or Iberes, who were allies of the Carthaginians, disputed over the spoil, and got so angry that they parted from them, and they also went and dwelt in the mountainous parts of the island. And they were called Balari, according to the dialect of the people of Cyrnus, who give that name to exiles. Such are the races that inhabit Sardinia, and such are the towns they have built. And in the island towards the North and the mainland of Italy is a mountain range difficult of access, whose summits are contiguous, and this part of the island affords no harbours to mariners, but violent gusts and squalls of wind sweep from the mountain-tops over the sea. In the middle of the island are other mountains less lofty, but the air there is generally turbid and pestilential, in consequence of the salt that crystallizes there, and the violence of the South Wind; for the North Winds, on account of the height of the mountains towards Italy, are prevented from blowing in summer time so as to cool the air and soil. Some say that Cyrnus is not further by sea from Sardinia than eight stades, and as it is mountainous and lofty throughout, they think it prevents either the West or North West Winds reaching Sardinia. There are no serpents in the island either venomous or harmless, nor wolves. The rams are of no greater size than elsewhere, but their appearance is just such as a statuary in Ægina might suppose a wild ram to be, thicker however in the breast than the Æginetan works of art, and the horns do not stand out direct from the head, but twist round the ears, and in speed they surpass all animals. The island is free from all deadly grasses and herbs with one exception, a grass like parsley which is deadly, and those who eat of it die laughing. This is the origin of Homer[106] and subsequent writers speaking of the Sardonic laughter when things are in evil plight. This grass grows chiefly near springs, but does not communicate to them its venom. We have introduced this account of Sardinia into our history of Phocis, because the Greeks have such very scanty knowledge about the island.

[106] Odyssey, xx. 301, 302.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The horse, which is next the statue of Sardus, was they say the votive offering of the Athenian Callias (the son of Lysimachides), out of his own personal gains in the Persian war. And the Achæans offered a statue of Athene after they had reduced the town of Phana in Ætolia by siege. The siege lasted a long time, and, when the besiegers found they could not take the town, they sent messengers to Delphi, and this was the response they received.

“O inhabitants of the land of Pelops and of Achaia, who come to Pytho to enquire how you are to capture the town, observe what portion of water daily given to the inhabitants keeps them alive, and how much the town has already drunk. In this way may you take the fenced village of Phana.”

Not understanding the meaning of the oracle, they resolved to raise the siege and depart homewards, as the inhabitants of the besieged place took very little heed of them, when a woman came out of the town to fetch water from a well near the walls. They hurried up from the camp and took this woman prisoner, and the Achæans learned from her that the little water from this well (when they got it each night) was measured out, and the people in the town had no other water whatever to drink. So the Achæans fouled the water so as to make it undrinkable and captured the town.

And next to this statue of Athene the Rhodians of Lindus erected a statue of Apollo. And the Ambraciotes offered a brazen ass, after their victory by night over the Molossi. The Molossi had made ready for a night attack on them, when an ass, who chanced to be driven from the field, pursuing a she-ass with lust and braying, and the driver also crying out in a loud and disorderly manner, the Molossi were so dismayed where they were in ambush that they left the place, and the Ambraciotes detected their plan, and attacked and defeated them that very night.

And the people of Orneæ in Argolis, as the Sicyonians pressed them hard in war, vowed to Apollo, if they should succeed in repelling the Sicyonians, to have a procession to him at Delphi daily and to sacrifice to him any quantity of victims. They obtained the wished-for victory, but as to discharge their vow daily was a great expense, and the trouble even greater than the expense, they hit upon the expedient of offering to the god representations in brass of the procession and sacrifice.

Here too is a representation in iron of the contest between Hercules and the Hydra, the votive offering and design of Tisagoras. Making statues in iron is most difficult and laborious. This Tisagoras, whoever he was, is famed for the heads of a lion and wild boar at Pergamus. These are also in iron, and were a votive offering of his to Dionysus.

And the Phocians of Elatea, who held out against the siege of Cassander till Olympiodorus came from Athens to their relief, sent a brazen lion to Apollo at Delphi. And the Apollo next that lion is the offering of the Massaliotes for their victory over the Carthaginians in a sea-fight.

The Ætolians also erected a trophy and statue of an armed woman, (Ætolia to wit), out of the fine they imposed on the Galati for their cruelty to the people of Callion.[107] There is also a gilt statue of Gorgias of Leontini, his own votive offering.

[107] See [ch. 22.]

CHAPTER XIX.

Next to the statue of Gorgias is a votive offering of the Amphictyones, a statue of Scyllis of Scione, who had wonderful fame as a diver, and taught his daughter Hydna diving. When a violent storm came on Xerxes’ fleet off Mount Pelion they greatly added to the wrecks, by diving down and cutting the cables that kept the ships at anchor. It was for this good service that the Amphictyones made statues of Scyllis and his daughter. And among the statues that Nero took away from Delphi was this of Hydna. [Virgins that are virgins indeed still dive in the sea with impunity.][108]

I shall next relate a Lesbian tradition. The nets of some fishermen at Methymna fished up out of the sea a head made of olive-wood, which seemed that of a foreign god, and not one worshipped by the Greeks. The people of Methymna inquired therefore of the Pythian priestess what god or hero it belonged to, and she bade them worship Phallenian Dionysus. Accordingly the people of Methymna offered their vows and sacrifices to it, and sent a bronze imitation of it to Delphi.

On the gables are representations of Artemis and Leto and Apollo and the Muses, and the setting of the Sun, and Dionysus and the Thyiades. The faces of all these are by the Athenian Praxias, the pupil of Calamis: but as the temple took some time to build Praxias died before it was finished, and the rest of the carving on the gables was by Androsthenes, also an Athenian, and the pupil of Eucadmus. Of the golden arms on the architraves, the Athenians offered the shields after the victory at Marathon, and the Ætolians the arms of the Galati behind and on the left, which resemble the Persian shields called Gerrha.

Of the irruption of the Galati into Greece I gave some account in connection with the council-chamber at Athens: but I prefer to give the fullest account in connection with Delphi, because the greatest struggle between them and the Greeks took place here. The first expedition of the Celts beyond their borders was under Cambaules: but when they got as far as Thrace on that occasion they did not dare to go any further, recognising that they were too few in number to cope with the Greeks. But on the second expedition, egged on by those who had formed part of the army of Cambaules, who had tasted the sweets of plunder and were enamoured of the gains of looting, a large army of both infantry and cavalry mustered together. This army the commanders divided into three parts, and each marched into a different district. Cerethrius was to march against the Thracians and the Triballi: Brennus and Acichorius were to lead their division into Pæonia: and Bolgius was to march against the Macedonians and Illyrians. This last fought a battle against Ptolemy king of the Macedonians, who had treacherously slain Seleucus the son of Antiochus, (though he had been a suppliant at his court), and was nicknamed Lightning on account of his audacity.[109] In this battle Ptolemy fell, and with him no small part of the Macedonians: but the Celts durst not adventure any further into Greece, and so this second expedition returned home again. Thereupon Brennus urgently pressed upon the general assemblies, and upon each individual chieftain of the Galati, the advantages of invading Greece, pointing out her weak state at that period, and the immense wealth of her community, her votive offerings in the temples, her quantity of silver and gold. He succeeded in persuading the Galati to invade Greece once more, and among other chieftains he chose Acichorius once more as his colleague. The army mustered 152,000 foot and 20,400 horse. Such at least was the fighting force of the cavalry, for its real number was 61,200: as each horse-soldier had two servants, who themselves were excellent cavalry also and mounted. For the custom of the Galati in an engagement was that these servants should remain in the rear close at hand, and if a horse was killed they supplied a fresh one, and if the rider was killed one of them took his place, and if he too was killed then the third took his place. And if one of the masters was only wounded, then one of his servants removed him to the camp, and the other took his place in the battle. In this custom I think the Galati imitated the 10,000 Persians, called The Immortals. But the difference was that The Immortals were a reserve force only used at the end of an action, whereas the Galati used these reserves as wanted all through the action. This mode of fighting they called Trimarcisia in their dialect: for the Celts called a horse marca. Such was the force, such the intentions, with which Brennus marched into Greece.

[108] I follow Schubart in surrounding this remarkable statement with brackets.

[109] See the circumstances in Book i. ch. 16.

CHAPTER XX.

The Greeks for their part, though very dejected, were induced to fight bravely for their country by the very urgency of the peril. For they saw that at the present crisis it was not merely their liberty that was at stake, as at the time of the Persian invasion, but that, even if they granted land and water to the enemy,[110] they would have no future security. For they still remembered the former irruption of the Galati into Macedonia and Thrace and Pæonia, and their recent outrages in Thessaly had been reported to them. It was the universal opinion therefore, both with individuals and states, that they must either die or conquer.

It will not be without instruction to compare the numbers of those who fought against Xerxes at Thermopylæ with those who fought now against the Galati. The Greeks that marched against the Mede were as follows: 300 Lacedæmonians only under Leonidas, 500 from Tegea, 500 from Mantinea, 120 Arcadians from Orchomenus, 1000 from the other towns of Arcadia, 80 from Mycenæ, 200 from Phlius, 400 from Corinth, 700 Bœotians from Thespia and 400 from Thebes. And 1,000 Phocians guarded the pass at Mount Œta, who must be added to the Greek contingent. As to the Locrians under Mount Cnemis Herodotus has not mentioned their precise number, he only says they came from all the towns. But we may conjecture their number pretty accurately: for the Athenians at Marathon, including slaves and non-combatants, were not more than 9,000: so that the fighting force of Locrians at Thermopylæ could not be more than 6,000. Thus the whole force employed against the Persians would be 11,200. Nor did all of these stay all the time under arms at Thermopylæ, for except the men from Lacedæmon and Thespia and Mycenæ they waited not to see the issue of the fight. And now against these barbarians who had crossed the ocean the following Greeks banded themselves at Thermopylæ: 10,000 heavy armed infantry and 500 horse from Bœotia, under the Bœotarchs Cephisodotus and Thearidas and Diogenes and Lysander: 500 cavalry and 3,000 foot from Phocis, under Critobulus and Antiochus: 700 Locrians, all infantry, from the island Atalanta, under the command of Midias: 400 heavy armed infantry of the Megarians, their cavalry under the command of Megareus: of the Ætolians, who formed the largest and most formidable contingent, the number of their horse is not recorded, but their light-armed troops were 90,[111] and their heavy armed 7000: and the Ætolians were under the command of Polyarchus and Polyphron and Lacrates. And the Athenians were under Callippus the son of Mœrocles, as I have before stated, and consisted of all the triremes that were sea-worthy, and 500 horse, and 1,000 foot, and because of their ancient renown they were in command of the whole allied army. And some mercenary troops were sent by various kings, as 500 from Macedonia, and 500 from Asia, those that were sent by Antigonus were led by Aristodemus the Macedonian, and those that were sent by Antiochus were led by Telesarchus, as also some Syrians from Asia situated by the river Orontes.

When these Greeks, thus banded together at Thermopylæ, heard that the army of the Galati was already in the neighbourhood of Magnesia and Phthiotis, they determined to send about 1,000 picked light-armed soldiers and a troop of horse to the river Sperchius, to prevent the barbarians’ crossing the river without a struggle. And they went and destroyed the bridges, and encamped by the river. Now Brennus was by no means devoid of intelligence, and for a barbarian no mean strategist. Accordingly on the following night without any delay he sent 10,000 of his troops, who could swim and were remarkably tall,—and all the Celts are remarkably tall men—down the river to cross it not at the ordinary fords, but at a part of the river where it was less rapid, and marshy, and diffused itself more over the plain, so that the Greeks should not be able to notice their crossing over. They crossed over accordingly, swimming over the marshy part of the river, and using the shields of their country as a sort of raft, while the tallest of them could ford the river. When the Greeks at the Sperchius noticed that part of the barbarians had crossed over, they returned at once to the main army.

[110] The technical term for submission to an enemy. See Herodotus, v. 17, 18; vii. 133.

[111] This 90 seeming a very small force, Schubart conjectures 790, Brandstäter 1090.

CHAPTER XXI.

Brennus next ordered those who dwelt near the Maliac Bay to throw bridges over the Sperchius: which they did quickly, standing greatly in dread of him, and being very desirous that the barbarians should depart and not injure them by a long stay in their part of the country. Then Brennus passed his army across these bridges, and marched for Heraclea. And though they did not capture it, the Galati ravaged the country, and slew the men that were left in the fields. The year before the Ætolians had compelled the people of Heraclea to join the Ætolian League, and now they protected Heraclea just as if it was their own. That is why Brennus did not capture it, but he paid no great attention to it, his only anxiety being to dislodge the enemy from the passes, and get into Greece by Thermopylæ.

He advanced therefore from Heraclea, and learning from deserters that a strong force from all the Greek cities was concentrated at Thermopylæ, he despised his enemy, and the following day at daybreak opened battle, having no Greek seer with him, or any priests of his own country, if indeed the Celts practise divination. Thereupon the Greeks advanced silently and in good order: and when the two armies engaged, the infantry were careful not to break their line, and the light-armed troops keeping their ground discharged their darts arrows and slings at the barbarians. The cavalry on both sides was useless, not only from the narrowness of the pass, but also from the smooth and slippery and rocky nature of the ground, intersected also throughout by various mountain streams. The armour of the Galati was inferior, for their only defensive armour was the shield used in their country, and moreover they were less experienced in the art of war. But they fought like wild beasts with rage and fury and headlong inconsiderate valour: and, whether hacked about by swords and battle-axes, or pierced with darts and javelins, desisted not from their furious attacks till bereft of life. Some even plucked out of their wounds the weapons with which they had been wounded, and hurled them back, or used them in hand to hand fight. Meantime the Athenians on their triremes, not without great difficulty and danger, sailed along the mud which is very plentiful in that arm of the sea, and got their vessels as near the barbarians as they could, and shot at their flanks with all kinds of darts and arrows. And the Celts by now getting far the worst of it, and in the press suffering far more loss than they could inflict, had the signal to retire to their camp given them by their commanders. Accordingly retreating in no order and in great confusion, many got trodden underfoot by one another, and many falling into the marsh disappeared in it, so that the loss in the retreat was as great as in the heat of action.

On this day the Athenians exhibited more valour than all the other Greeks, and especially Cydias, who was very young and fought now for the first time. And as he was killed by the Galati his relations hung up his shield to Zeus Eleutherius with the following inscription,

“Here I hang in vain regret for the young Cydias, I once the shield of that good warrior, now a votive offering to Zeus, the shield which he carried on his left arm for the first time, on that day when fierce war blazed out against the Galati.”

This inscription remained till Sulla’s soldiers removed the shields in the portico of Zeus Eleutherius, as well as other notable things at Athens.

And after the battle at Thermopylæ the Greeks buried their dead, and stripped the bodies of the barbarians. But the Galati not only asked not permission to bury their dead, but plainly did not care whether their dead obtained burial or were torn to pieces by birds and beasts. Two things in my opinion made them thus indifferent to the burial of their dead, one to strike awe in their enemies by their ferocity, the other that they do not habitually mourn for their dead. In the battle fell 40 Greeks, how many barbarians cannot be accurately ascertained, for many of them were lost in the marsh.

CHAPTER XXII.

On the seventh day after the battle a division of the Galati endeavoured to cross Mount Œta by Heraclea, by a narrow pass near the ruins of Trachis, not far from which was a temple of Athene, rich in votive offerings. The barbarians hoped to cross Mount Œta by this pass, and also to plunder the temple by the way. The garrison however under the command of Telesarchus defeated the barbarians, though Telesarchus fell in the action, a man zealously devoted to the Greek cause.

The other commanders of the barbarians were astounded at the Greek successes, and doubted whereunto these things would grow, seeing that at present their own fortunes were desperate, but Brennus thought that, if he could force the Ætolians back into Ætolia, the war against the other Greeks would be easier. He selected therefore out of his whole army 40,000 foot and about 800 horse, all picked men, and put them under the command of Orestorius and Combutis. And they recrossed the Sperchius by the bridges, and marched through Thessaly into Ætolia. And their actions at Callion were the most atrocious of any that we have ever heard of, and quite unlike human beings. They butchered all the males, and likewise old men, and babes at their mother’s breasts: they even drank the blood, and feasted on the flesh, of babies that were fat. And high-spirited women and maidens in their flower committed suicide when the town was taken: and those that survived the barbarians submitted to every kind of outrage, being by nature incapable of pity and natural affection. And some of the women rushed upon the swords of the Galati and voluntarily courted death: to others death soon came from absence of food and sleep, as these merciless barbarians outraged them in turn, and wreaked their lusts on them whether dying or dead. And the Ætolians having learnt from messengers of the disasters that had fallen upon them, removed their forces with all speed from Thermopylæ, and pressed into Ætolia, furious at the sufferings of the people of Callion, and even still more anxious to save the towns that had not yet been captured. And the young men flocked out from all their towns to swell their army, old men also mixed with them inspirited by the crisis, and even their women volunteered their services, being more furious against the Galati than even the men. And the barbarians, having plundered the houses and temples and set fire to Callion, marched back to the main army at Thermopylæ: and on the road the people of Patræ were the only Achæans that helped the Ætolians and fell on the barbarians, being as they were capital heavy-armed soldiers, but hard-pressed from the quantity of the Galati and their desperate valour. But the Ætolian men and women lined the roads and threw missiles at the barbarians with great effect, as they had no defensive armour but their national shields, and when the Galati pursued them they easily ran away, and when they desisted from the vain pursuit harassed them again continually. And though Callion had suffered so grievously, that what Homer relates of the contest between the Læstrygones and the Cyclops seems less improbable,[112] yet the vengeance which the Ætolians took was not inadequate: for of the 40,800 barbarians not more than half got back safe to the camp at Thermopylæ.

In the meantime the fortunes of the Greeks at Thermopylæ were as follows. One pass over Mount Œta is above Trachis, most steep and precipitous, the other through the district of the Ænianes is easier for an army, and is the way by which Hydarnes the Mede formerly turned the flank of Leonidas’ forces. By this way the Ænianes and people of Heraclea promised to conduct Brennus, out of no ill-will to the Greeks, but thinking it a great point if they could get the Celts to leave their district and not remain there to their utter ruin. So true are the words of Pindar, when he says that everybody is oppressed by his own troubles, but is indifferent to the misfortunes of other people.[113] And this promise of the Ænianes and people of Heraclea encouraged Brennus: and he left Acichorius with the main army, instructing him to attack the Greek force, when he (Brennus) should have got to their rear: and himself marched through the pass with 40,000 picked men. And it so happened that that day there was a great mist on the mountain which obscured the sun, so that the barbarians were not noticed by the Phocians who guarded the pass till they got to close quarters and attacked them. The Phocians defended themselves bravely, but were at last overpowered and retired from the pass: but were in time to get to the main force, and report what had happened, before the Greeks got completely surrounded oh all sides. Thereupon the Athenians took the Greeks on board their triremes at Thermopylæ: and they dispersed each to their own nationality.

[112] Odyssey, x. 199, 200.

[113] Nem. i. 82. Thus La Rochefoucauld is anticipated. “Nous avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d’autrui.”

CHAPTER XXIII.

And Brennus, waiting only till Acichorius’ troops should come up from the camp, marched for Delphi. And the inhabitants fled to the oracle in great alarm, but the god told them not to fear, he would protect his own. And the following Greeks came up to fight for the god; the Phocians from all their towns, 400 heavy armed soldiers from Amphissa, of the Ætolians only a few at first, when they heard of the onward march of the barbarians, but afterwards Philomelus brought up 1200. For the flower of the Ætolian army directed itself against the division of Acichorius, not bringing on a general engagement, but attacking their rearguard as they marched, plundering their baggage and killing the men in charge of it, and thus impeding their march considerably. And Acichorius had left a detachment at Heraclea, to guard the treasure in his camp.

So Brennus and the Greeks gathered together at Delphi drew up against one another in battle-array. And the god showed in the plainest possible way his enmity to the barbarians. For the whole ground occupied by the army of the Galati violently rocked most of the day, and there was continuous thunder and lightning, which astounded the Celts and prevented their hearing the orders of their officers, and the lightning hit not only some particular individual here and there, but set on fire all round him and their arms. And appearances of heroes, as Hyperochus and Laodocus and Pyrrhus, and Phylacus—a local hero at Delphi—were seen on the battle field. And many Phocians fell in the action and among others Aleximachus, who slew more barbarians with his own hand than any other of the Greeks, and who was remarkable for his manly vigour, strength of frame and daring, and his statue was afterwards placed by the Phocians in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Such was the condition and terror of the barbarians all the day, and during the night things were still worse with them, for it was bitterly cold and snowed hard, and great stones came tumbling down from Parnassus, and whole crags broke off and seemed to make the barbarians their mark, and not one or two but thirty and even more, as they stood on guard or rested, were killed at once by the fall of one of these crags. And the next day at daybreak the Greeks poured out of Delphi and attacked them, some straight in front, but the Phocians, who had the best acquaintance with the ground, came down the steep sides of Parnassus through the snow, and fell on the Celtic rear unexpectedly, and hurled javelins at them, and shot at them with perfect security. At the beginning of the battle the Galati, especially Brennus’ body-guard who were the finest and boldest men in their army, fought with conspicuous bravery, though they were shot at on all sides, and suffered frightfully from the cold, especially such as were wounded: but when Brennus was wounded, and taken off the field in a fainting condition, then the barbarians sorely against their will beat a retreat, (as the Greeks by now pressed them hard on all sides), and killed those of their comrades who could not retreat with them owing to their wounds or weakness.

These fugitive Galati bivouacked where they had got to when night came on them, and during the night were seized with panic fear, that is a fear arising without any solid cause. This panic came upon them late in the night, and was at first confined to a few, who thought they heard the noise of horses galloping up and that the enemy was approaching, but soon it ran through the host. They therefore seized their arms, and getting separated in the darkness mutually slew one another, neither recognizing their native dialect, nor discerning one another’s forms or weapons, but both sides in their panic thinking their opponents Greeks both in language and weapons, so that this panic sent by the god produced terrific mutual slaughter. And those Phocians, who were left in the fields guarding the flocks and herds, were the first to notice and report to the Greeks what had happened to the barbarians in the night: and this nerved them to attack the Celts more vigorously than ever, and they placed a stronger guard over their cattle, and would not let the Galati get any articles of food from them without a fierce fight for it, so that throughout the barbarian host there was a deficiency of corn and all other provisions. And the number of those that perished in Phocis was nearly 6,000 slain in battle, and more than 10,000 in the savage wintry night and in the panic, and as many more from starvation.

Some Athenians, who had gone to Delphi to reconnoitre, brought back the news of what had happened to the barbarians, and of the panic that the god had sent. And when they heard this good news they marched through Bœotia, and the Bœotians with them, and both in concert followed the barbarians, and lay in ambush for them, and cut off the stragglers. And Acichorius’ division had joined those who fled with Brennus only the previous night: for the Ætolians made their progress slow, hurling javelins at them and any other missile freely, so that only a small part of the barbarians got safe to the camp at Heraclea. And Brennus, though his wounds were not mortal, yet either from fear of his comrades, or from shame, as having been the instigator of all these woes that had happened to them in Greece, committed suicide by drinking neat wine freely.[114] And subsequently the barbarians got to the river Sperchius with no little difficulty, as the Ætolians attacked them fiercely all the way, and at that river the Thessalians and Malienses set on them with such vigour that none of them got home again.

This expedition of the Celts to Greece and their utter ruin happened when Anaxicrates was Archon at Athens, in the second year of the 125th Olympiad, when Ladas of Ægæ was victor in the course. And the following year, when Democles was Archon at Athens, all the Celts[115] crossed back again to Asia Minor. I have delivered a true account.

[114] Which after his wounds would be fatal.

[115] As Siebelis well points out, this cannot refer to Brennus’ army, which we have just been told was all cut to pieces, but to the swarm of Celts in Macedonia and Thrace, who returned to Asia Minor, cowed by this catastrophe.

CHAPTER XXIV.

In the vestibule of the temple at Delphi are written up several wise sayings for the conduct of life by those whom the Greeks call The Seven Wise Men. These were Thales of Miletus and Bias of Priene (both from Ionia), and (of the Æolians in Lesbos) Pittacus of Mitylene, and (of the Dorians in Asia Minor) Cleobulus of Lindus, and Solon of Athens, and Chilo of Sparta, and the seventh Plato (the son of Aristo) makes[116] Myson of Chenæ, a village on Mount Œta, instead of Periander the son of Cypselus. These Seven Wise Men came to Delphi, and offered to Apollo those famous sayings, Know thyself and Not too much of anything. And they inscribed those sayings in the vestibule of the temple.

You may also see a brazen statue of Homer on a pillar, and read the oracle which they say was given to him, which runs as follows:

“Fortunate and unfortunate, for you are born to both destinies, you inquire after your fatherland. But you have no fatherland, only a motherland. Your mother’s country is the island Ios, which shall receive your remains. But be on your guard against the riddle of young boys.”[117]

The inhabitants of Ios still shew the tomb of Homer, and in another part of the island the tomb of Clymene, who they say was Homer’s mother. But the people of Cyprus, for they too claim Homer as their own, and say that Themisto (one of the women of their country) was his mother, cite the following prophetical verses of Euclus touching Homer’s birth;

“In sea-girt Cyprus shall a great poet one day be born, whom divine Themisto shall give birth to in the country, a poet whose fame shall spread far from wealthy Salamis. And he leaving Cyprus and sailing over the sea shall first sing the woes of spacious Hellas, and shall all his days be immortal and ever fresh.”

These oracles I have heard and read, but I have nothing private to write either about the country or age of Homer.

And in the temple is an altar of Poseidon, for the most ancient oracle belonged to Poseidon, and there are also statues of two Fates, for in the place of the third Fate is Zeus the Arbiter of the Fates, and Apollo the Arbiter of the Fates. You may also see here the altar at which the priest of Apollo slew Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, as I have stated elsewhere. And not far from this altar is the iron Chair of Pindar, on which they say he used to sit and sing Hymns to Apollo, whenever he came to Delphi. In the interior of the temple, to which only a few have access, is another statue of Apollo all gold.

As one leaves the temple and turns to the left, there are precincts in which is the grave of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, to whom the people of Delphi offer funeral rites annually. And not far from this tomb is a small stone on which they pour oil daily, and on which at every festival they lay raw wool: and they have a tradition about this stone, that it was the one which was given to Cronos instead of a son, and that he afterwards voided it.

And if, after looking at this stone, you return to the temple, you will come to the fountain Cassotis, which is walled in, and there is an ascent to it through the wall. The water of this fountain goes they say underground, and inspires the women in the sanctuary of the god with prophetical powers: they say the fountain got its name from one of the Nymphs of Parnassus.

[116] In the Protagoras, 343 A.

[117] The tradition the oracle refers to is that Homer died of grief, because he could not solve the riddle which some fisher boys propounded to him. The oracle is also alluded to in Book viii, ch. 24.

CHAPTER XXV.

Above the fountain is a building which contains some paintings of Polygnotus, it is the votive offering of the people of Cnidos, and is called The Lounge by the people of Delphi, because they used to assemble there in old times and discuss both serious and trifling subjects. That there were many such places throughout Greece Homer has shown in Melantho’s reviling of Odysseus:

“For you will not go to sleep at a smithy or at some lounge, but you will keep talking here.”[118]

On the right as you enter the building is a painting of the capture of Ilium and the return of the Greeks. And they are making preparations for Menelaus’ hoisting sail, and his ship is painted with boys and sailors all mixed up together on board: and in the middle of the ship is Phrontis the pilot with two punting poles. Homer[119] has represented Nestor among other things telling Telemachus about Phrontis, how he was the son of Onetor, and pilot of Menelaus, and most able in his art, and how he died as he sailed past Sunium in Attica. And Menelaus, who was up to this time sailing with Nestor, was now left behind, that he might discharge all due funeral rites for Phrontis. Beneath Phrontis in the painting of Polygnotus is Ithæmenes carrying some garment, and Echœax descending the gangway-ladder with a brazen water-pot. And Polites and Strophius and Alphius are represented taking down the tent of Menelaus, which is not far from the ship. And Amphialus is taking down another tent, a boy is sitting at his feet, but there is no inscription on him, and Phrontis is the only person with a beard. His was the only name in the group that Polygnotus got out of the Odyssey: the others I imagine he invented. There too stands Briseis, and Diomede near her, and Iphis in front of them both, they all appear to be gazing at Helen’s beauty. And Helen is seated, and near her is Eurybates, who has no beard, and was I suppose the herald of Odysseus. And Helen’s handmaids are by, Panthalis standing at her side, and Electra fastening her sandals: these names are different however from those Homer gives in the Iliad, when he describes Helen and her maids going on to the walls.[120] And above Helen sits a man clothed in purple, looking very dejected: before reading the inscription one would conjecture that it is Helenus the son of Priam. And near Helenus is Meges, who is wounded in the shoulder, as he is described by Lescheos of Pyrrha, the son of Æschylinus, in his Capture of Ilium, he was wounded he says by Admetus the son of Augeas in the night-attack of the Trojans. And next to Meges is Lycomedes the son of Creon, who is wounded on the wrist, as Lescheos says he was by Agenor. It is manifest that Polygnotus must have read Lescheos’ poem, or he would not have painted their wounds so accurately. He has also depicted Lycomedes with a third wound in the ankle, and a fourth on the head. Euryalus also the son of Mecisteus is represented as wounded in the head and wrist. All these are above Helen in the painting: and next Helen is Æthra the mother of Theseus with her head shaven, and Theseus’ son Demophon apparently wondering whether he could save her. And the Argives say that Melanippus was the son of Theseus by the daughter of Sinis, and that he won the prize in the race, when the Epigoni restored the Nemean games which were originally introduced by Adrastus. Lescheos has stated that Æthra escaped when Ilium was taken, and got to the Greek camp, and was recognized by the sons of Theseus, and Demophon asked her of Agamemnon. And he said he would willingly gratify Demophon, but could not do so before he obtained the consent of Helen, so a messenger was sent to Helen and she gave her consent. I think therefore the picture represents Eurybates coming to Helen on this errand, and delivering the message of Agamemnon. And the Trojan women in the painting look in sad dejection as if they were captives already. There is Andromache, with a babyboy at her breast. Lescheos says that this babyboy was hurled from a tower, not in consequence of any decree of the Greeks, but simply from the private hatred of Neoptolemus. There too is Medesicaste, one of the illegitimate daughters of Priam, of whom Homer says that she dwelt in the town of Pedæum, and married Imbrius the son of Mentor.[121] Andromache and Medesicaste are represented veiled: but Polyxena has her hair plaited after the manner of maidens. The Poets represent her to have been slain at the tomb of Achilles, and I have seen paintings both at Athens and Pergamus beyond the river Caicus of her death. Polygnotus has also introduced Nestor into the same painting, with a hat on his head and a spear in his hand: and a horse near seems to be rolling in the dust. Near the horse is the sea-shore, and you can see the pebbles, but the rest of the scene does not resemble a sea view.

[118] Odyssey, xviii. 328, 329. See Dr. Hayman’s admirable note on this passage.

[119] Odyssey, iii. 276 sq.

[120] Iliad, iii. 144. Their names there are Æthra and Clymene.

[121] Iliad, xiii. 171-173.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Above the women between Æthra and Nestor are the captives, Clymene, and Creusa, and Aristomache, and Xenodice. Clymene is enumerated among the captives by Stesichorus in his Fall of Ilium: Aristomache likewise is represented in the poem called The Return from Ilium as the daughter of Priam, and wife of Critolaus the son of Hicetaon: but I do not remember either poet or prose-writer making mention of Xenodice: and as to Creusa, they say that the Mother of the Gods and Aphrodite rescued her from slavery to the Greeks, and that she was the wife of Æneas, though Lescheos and the author of the Cyprian Poems represent Eurydice as the wife of Æneas. Above these are painted Deinome Metioche Pisis and Cleodice reclining on a couch: Deinome is the only one of these mentioned in the poem called The Little Iliad, so I think Polygnotus must have invented the other names. Here too is Epeus naked knocking down the walls of Troy, and above the walls is the head only of the Wooden Horse. Here too is Polypœtes, the son of Pirithous, with his head bound by a fillet, and near him Acamas, the son of Theseus, with a helmet on his head, and a crest on the helmet. Here too is Odysseus with a coat of mail on. And Ajax the son of Oileus is standing near the altar with a shield in his hand, taking his oath in connection with the violation of Cassandra: Cassandra is seated on the ground and holding fast the wooden statue of Athene, for she tore it from its base, when Ajax dragged her away from the altar. And the sons of Atreus are painted with their helmets on: and on Menelaus’ shield is a representation of the dragon that appeared to him as an omen during the sacrifice at Aulis. They are administering the oath to Ajax. And near the painting of the horse by Nestor’s side[122] is Neoptolemus killing Elasus, whoever he was;[123] his dying agony is well depicted: and Astynous, who is mentioned by Lescheos, has fallen on to his knee, and Neoptolemus is in the act of smiting him with the sword. And Polygnotus has represented Neoptolemus alone of all the Greeks continuing to butcher the Trojans, that the painting should correspond with the scenes depicted on the tomb of Neoptolemus. Homer indeed calls Achilles’ son everywhere by the name of Neoptolemus, but the Cyprian Poems say he was called Pyrrhus by Lycomedes, and that the name Neoptolemus was given him by Phœnix, because he[124] was very young when he first went to the wars. Here too is the painting of an altar, and a little boy clinging to it in dire fear: a brazen coat of mail lies on the altar, such as was worn in old times, for in our days we seldom see such. It consisted of two pieces called Gyala, one a protection for the breast and belly, the other for the back, both joined together by clasps. And such coats of mail would afford sufficient protection without a shield: and so Homer represented Phorcys the Phrygian without a shield, because he was armed with this kind of coat of mail.[125] In Polygnotus’ painting I recognize a coat of mail of this kind: and in the temple of Ephesian Artemis Calliphon of Samos has painted some women fitting this kind of coat of mail on Patroclus. And Polygnotus has represented Laodice standing on the other side of the altar. I do not find her name mentioned by any poet among the captive Trojan women: and it seems probable enough that the Greeks let her go. For Homer has represented in the Iliad that Menelaus and Odysseus were entertained by Antenor, and that Laodice was the wife of Antenor’s son Helicaon.[126] And Lescheos states that Helicaon was wounded in the night-engagement, and recognized by Odysseus, and rescued out of the battle alive. It follows therefore, from the affection of Menelaus and Odysseus for the family of Antenor, that Agamemnon and Menelaus would have offered no violence to Helicaon’s wife. What Euphorion of Chalcis therefore has written about Laodice is very improbable. And next Laodice is a stone prop, and a bronze laver on it. And Medusa sits on the ground holding this prop with both her hands. Whoever has read the Ode of Himeræus will include her among the daughters of Priam. And near Medusa is an old woman closely shaven, (or possibly a eunuch), with a naked child in his or her arms: the child’s hand is before its eyes for fear.

[122] See [ch. 26] nearly at the end.

[123] An Elasus is mentioned in Iliad, xvi. 696.

[124] He (i.e. Neoptolemus). Siebelis very ingeniously suggests ὁ Ἀχιλλέως. I accept that suggestion as necessary to the sense.

[125] See Iliad, xvii. 314. Pausanias goes a little beyond Homer methinks.

[126] See Iliad, iii. 205-207. Also 122-124.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Of the dead in the painting are Pelis naked,[127] lying on his back, and underneath him Eioneus and Admetus both in their coats of mail. According to Lescheos Eioneus was slain by Neoptolemus, and Admetus by Philoctetes. And above these are others, near the laver Leocritus, the son of Polydamas, who was killed by Odysseus, and near Eioneus and Admetus Corœbus the son of Mygdon. This Mygdon has a famous tomb on the borders of the Stectorenian Phrygians, and poets have given those Phrygians the name of Mygdones after him. Corœbus came to wed Cassandra, and was killed by Neoptolemus according to the prevalent tradition, but by Diomede according to Lescheos. And above Corœbus are Priam and Axion and Agenor. Lescheos says that Priam was not slain at the altar of Household Zeus, but was torn away from the altar and killed by Neoptolemus with no great difficulty at the doors of the palace. As to Hecuba, Stesichorus in his Fall of Ilium has stated that she was taken to Lycia by Apollo. And Lescheos says that Axion was the son of Priam, and killed by Eurypylus the son of Euæmon. The same poet states that Agenor was killed by Neoptolemus. And Echeclus, Agenor’s son, seems to have been slain by Achilles. And Sinon, the companion of Odysseus, and Anchialus are carrying out the corpse of Laomedon for burial. There is another dead person in the painting, Eresus by name; no poet, so far as my knowledge goes, has sung either of Eresus or Laomedon. There is a painting also of the house of Antenor, and a leopard’s skin hung up over the porch, as a sign to the Greeks not to meddle with the family of Antenor. And Theano, Antenor’s wife, is painted with her sons, Glaucus seated on his armour, and Eurymachus seated on a stone. Near him stands Antenor with his daughter Crino, who is carrying her baby boy. All these are depicted with sorrowful countenances. The servants are placing a chest and other articles on the back of an ass, on which a little boy also sits. And under this painting is the following Elegiac couplet by Simonides.

“Polygnotus of Thasos, the son of Aglaophon, painted these incidents in the capture of Ilium.”

[127] Naked here, and in connection with Epeus in ch. 26, probably only means without armour on. Cf. “Nudus ara, sere nudus.” Virg. Georg. i. 299.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The other part of the painting, that on the left, represents Odysseus descending to Hades, to consult the soul of Tiresias about his return home. In the painting is a river, which is obviously Acheron, and there are some reeds growing in it, and some fishes so indistinct that they look like the ghosts of fishes. And there is a boat on the river, and a ferryman with his oars. Polygnotus has followed (I think) here the description, in the poem called the Minyad, about Theseus and Pirithous.

“Unwillingly did old Charon admit these living persons into his boat meant for the use of the dead.”

Polygnotus has accordingly represented Charon as old. The persons on board are not very easy to trace. But there is Tellis, looking like a youth, and Cleobœa still a virgin, with a cist on her knees such as they use in the worship of Demeter. Of Tellis I know nothing more than that Archilochus was his greatgrandson. And Cleobœa they say first introduced the mysteries of Demeter from Paros to Thasos. And on the bank of the Acheron near Charon’s boat a son, who had not treated his father well, is being strangled by his father. For the ancients reverenced fathers exceedingly,[128] as one may infer among other things from the conduct of those called Pious at Catana, who, when Catana was consumed by fire from Mount Ætna, took no account of silver or gold, but the one took up his mother, the other his father, and fled for their lives. And as they advanced with great difficulty for the flame gathered on them, (but they would not for all that set their parents down), the flames they say divided so as to let them pass without hurt. These young men are still honoured at Catana. And in Polygnotus’ painting near the man who ill-treated his father, and has consequently a bad time of it in Hades, is a sacrilegious wretch suffering punishment. The woman[129] who is punishing him seems well acquainted with poison, and other things that can do man harm. Men were also in those days remarkable for piety to the gods, as the Athenians shewed when they captured the temple of Olympian Zeus at Syracuse, for they removed none of the votive offerings, and left the former priest still in charge. Datis the Mede also showed the same piety both in word and in deed, in word to the Delians, and in deed when, finding a statue of Apollo on a Phœnician ship, he gave it back to the people of Tanagra to take to Delium. In those days all men honoured the deity, and so Polygnotus introduced into his painting the sacrilegious wretch suffering punishment. Above those I have described is Eurynomus, who according to the Antiquarians at Delphi is a demon in Hades, and eats the flesh of the dead clean to the bones. No such person however is mentioned in the Odyssey, or in the Minyad, or in The Return from Ilium, though these poems contain accounts of Hades and its horrors. I shall therefore describe Eurynomus’ appearance in this painting. His colour is a blueish-black, like that of the flies that infest meat,[130] and he shows his fangs, and sits on a vulture’s skin. And next him are Auge and Iphimedea from Arcadia. Auge came to Teuthras in Mysia, and, of all the women who consorted with Hercules, bare a son most like him. And Iphimedea is treated with very great honour by the Carians who dwell at Mylasa.

[128] See for example Hesiod, Works and Days, 331, 332, with context.

[129] Boettiger takes this woman to be Punishment personified.

[130] Our “bluebottles.”

CHAPTER XXIX.

Above those I have already mentioned are Perimedes and Eurylochus,[131] the comrades of Odysseus, with the victims which are black rams. And next them is a man seated, whom the inscription states to be Ocnus. He is representing rope-making, and a she-ass near him eats the rope as fast as he makes it. This Ocnus they say was an industrious man, who had an extravagant wife: and whatever he got together by industry was very soon spent by her. This picture therefore of Polygnotus is supposed to be a skit on Ocnus’ wife. And I know that the Ionians, when they see anyone labouring hard to no profit, say that he is weaving Ocnus’ rope.[132] However those who divine by the flight of birds give the name of Ocnus to a very rare kind of heron, both large and handsome. Tityus too is in the picture, no longer being tortured, but worn out by his continuous punishment to a mere shadow. And if you look at the next part of the picture, you will see Ariadne very near the man who is ropemaking: she is sitting on a rock, and looking at her sister Phædra, who is suspended to a rock by a rope which she holds in both hands. She is so represented to make her end appear more decorous. And Dionysus took Ariadne from Theseus either by some chance, or purposely preparing an ambush for him, sailing against him with a larger armament. This was the same Dionysus, I take it, who was the first to invade India, and the first to throw a bridge over the river Euphrates; the place where he built this bridge was called Zeugma, and a rope is preserved to this day, wreathed with tendrils of the vine and ivy, which was used in the construction of the bridge. Both Greeks and Egyptians have many legends about Dionysus. And below Phædra Chloris is reclining on the knees of Thyia: no one will err who states that there was a great friendship between these two women in their lifetime: and both came from the same neighbourhood, Orchomenus in Bœotia.[133] There are other traditions about them, as that Poseidon had an intrigue with Thyia, and that Chloris was married to Poseidon’s son Neleus. And next Thyia is Procris the daughter of Erechtheus, and next her, with her back towards her, is Clymene, who is represented in The Return from Ilium to have been the daughter of Minyas, and the wife of Cephalus the son of Deion, and mother by him of Iphiclus. All the poets agree that Procris was Cephalus’ wife before Clymene was, and that she was murdered by her husband. And beyond Clymene in the interior of the painting is the Theban Megara, who was Hercules’ wife, but eventually repudiated by him, because he lost all his children by her, and so did not think his marriage with her a lucky one. Above the head of those women I have mentioned is the daughter of Salmoneus sitting on a stone, and beside her Eriphyle is standing, lifting her fingers through her dress to her neck. You may conjecture that she is holding the famous necklace in the hand which is concealed by the folds of her dress. And above Eriphyle is Elpenor, and Odysseus kneeling, holding his sword over a ditch: and Tiresias the prophet is approaching the ditch, and near Tiresias is Anticlea, the mother of Odysseus, sitting on a stone. And Elpenor is wearing the coarse plaited coat usual among sea-faring men. And below Odysseus Theseus and Pirithous are seated on the enchanted rock, Theseus has both his own sword and that of Pirithous, and Pirithous is looking at his like one indignant that swords are useless for their present venture. Panyasis has represented Theseus and Pirithous as not fastened to their seat, but that the rock grew to them instead of fetters. The friendship between Theseus and Pirithous has been alluded to by Homer both in the Iliad and Odyssey. In the latter Odysseus says to the Phæacians,

“I then perhaps had seen the heroes of former times, whom I fain would have seen, as Theseus and Pirithous, the famous sons of the gods.”[134]

And in the Iliad, in his chiding of Agamemnon and Achilles, Nestor uses the following words:[135]

“I never before saw such heroes nor shall I e’er again, as Pirithous, and Dryas shepherd of his people, and Cæneus and Exadius and divine Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Ægeus like to the Immortals.”

[131] Odyssey, xi. 23 sq.

[132] Propertius has an allusion to this, v. iii. 21, 22.

[133] It will be seen that I adopt the suggestion of Siebelis. The reading is doubtful.

[134] Odyssey, xi. 630, 631. The last line is in brackets in modern editions.

[135] Iliad, i. 262-265. The last line here is in brackets in modern editions.

CHAPTER XXX.

Polygnotus has painted next the daughters of Pandareus, as to whom Homer says, in a speech of Penelope, that their parents died through the wrath of the gods when they were still maidens, and that as they were orphans they were brought up by Aphrodite, and received gifts from other goddesses, as from Hera prudence and beauty, from Artemis tallness of stature, from Athene an education fit for women. But when Aphrodite went up to heaven to obtain a good match for the girls from Zeus, they were carried off in her absence by the Harpies and given by them to the Furies. Such at least is Homer’s account about them.[136] And Polygnotus has painted them crowned with flowers, and playing with dice. Their names were Camiro and Clytie. Pandareus was you must know a Milesian from Cretan Miletus, and an associate of Tantalus both in his theft and perjury. And next the daughters of Pandareus is Antilochus with one of his feet on a stone, and his head on both his hands. And next him is Agamemnon, leaning on his sceptre under his left arm, and with a staff in his hands. And Protesilaus and Achilles are seated, and looking at one another. And above Achilles is Patroclus standing. None of these have beards except Agamemnon. And above them is painted the stripling Phocus, and Iaseus with a beard, who is trying to take a ring from Phocus’ left hand. The circumstances are as follows. When Phocus, the son of Æacus, crossed over from Ægina to the country now called Phocis, and obtained the sovereignty over the men in that part of the mainland, and meant to dwell there, Iaseus was most friendly with him, and offered him various presents, as was very natural, and among others a stone signet-ring set in gold: and when Phocus not long after sailed back to Ægina, Peleus contrived his death: and so in the painting, as a memorial of their friendship, Iaseus is represented as wishing to look at the signet-ring, and Phocus letting him take it. Above them is Mæra sitting on a stone: in The Return from Ilium she is said to have died a virgin, and to have been the daughter of Prœtus, the son of Thersander and grandson of Sisyphus. And next Mæra is Actæon, (the son of Aristæus), and his mother, both seated on a deerskin and holding a fawn in their hands. And a hound for hunting is near: these are emblems of the life and death of Actæon. And in the lower part of the painting next to Patroclus is Orpheus sitting on a hill, with a harp in his left hand, and with his right hand he is touching the branches of a willow-tree, and he leans against the tree: the scene looks like the grove of Proserpine, where Homer tells us poplars and willows grew.[137] And Orpheus’ dress is Greek, no part of his attire is Thracian, not even his hat. And Promedon is leaning against the other side of the willow-tree. Some think Polygnotus introduced Promedon’s name into legend. Others say he was a Greek who was passionately fond of music, and especially of that of Orpheus. In the same part of the painting is Schedius, who led the Phocians to Troy, with a dagger in his hand, and a garland of grass on his head. And next him sits Pelias, with beard and head all hoary, gazing at Orpheus. And Thamyris sitting near Pelias is blind and dejected in mien, with thick hair and beard, his lyre is broken and the strings torn asunder. Above him is Marsyas, seated on a stone, and near him Olympus, a handsome boy, learning to play on the pipe. The Phrygians at Celænæ represent that the river flowing through their town was formerly this piper Marsyas, and that the piping in honour of Cybele was his invention: they say also that they repulsed the army of the Galati through his aid, as he assisted them both with the water of the river and his melody.

[136] Odyssey, xx. 63 sq.

[137] Odyssey, x. 509, 510.

CHAPTER XXXI.

If you look again at the upper part of the painting, you will see next Actæon Salaminian Ajax Palamedes and Thersites playing with dice, which were the invention of Palamedes. And the other Ajax is looking at them playing: he looks like a shipwrecked man, and his body is wet with the foam of the sea. Polygnotus seems to have purposely collected together the enemies of Odysseus. And Ajax the son of Oileus hated Odysseus, because he urged the Greeks to stone him for his rape of Cassandra. And I have read in the Cyprian Poems that Palamedes going a fishing was drowned by Diomede and Odysseus. And a little above Ajax the son of Oileus is Meleager painted, looking at Ajax. All these except Palamedes have beards. As to the death of Meleager, Homer informs us that a Fury heard Althæa cursing him, and that this was the cause of his death. But the poems called the Great Eœæ and the Minyad agree in stating that Apollo assisted the Curetes against the Ætolians, and killed Meleager. As to the famous tradition about the firebrand; how it was given to Althæa by the Fates, and how Meleager was fated not to die till it was consumed by fire, and how Althæa set it on fire in a rage, all this was first described by Phrynichus, the son of Polyphradmon, in his play called Pleuroniæ:

“He escaped not dread fate, but was consumed by the swift flame, as soon as the ill-contrived firebrand was set on fire by his stern mother.”

Phrynichus does not however seem to introduce the legend as his own invention, but only to allude to it as one well-known throughout Greece.

In the lower part of the painting next Thracian Thamyris sits Hector, like a man oppressed with sorrow, with both his hands on his left knee. And next him is Memnon seated on a stone, and close to Memnon Sarpedon, who is leaning his head on both his hands, and one of Memnon’s hands is on Sarpedon’s shoulder. All of these have beards, and some birds are painted on Memnon’s cloak. These birds are called Memnonides, and every year the people near the Hellespont say they come on certain days to Memnon’s tomb, and sweep all the parts round the tomb that are bare of trees or grass, and sprinkle them with their wings which they wet in the river Æsepus. And near Memnon is a naked Ethiopian boy, for Memnon was king of the Ethiopians. However he did not come to Ilium from Ethiopia, but from Susa in Persia and the river Choaspes, after vanquishing all the tribes in that neighbourhood. The Phrygians still shew the road by which he marched his army, the shortest route over the mountains.[138]

Above Sarpedon and Memnon is Paris, as yet a beardless youth. He is clapping his hands like a rustic, apparently to attract the notice of Penthesilea, who looks at him, but by the toss of her head seems to despise him, and jeer at him as a boy. She is represented as a maiden with a Scythian bow, and a leopard’s skin round her shoulders. Above her are two women carrying water in broken pitchers, one still in her prime, the other rather advanced in life. There is no inscription on either of them, except a notification that they are both among the uninitiated. Above this pair are Callisto the daughter of Lycaon, and Nomia, and Pero the daughter of Neleus, from every suitor of whom her father asked the kine of Iphiclus.[139] Callisto has a bear-skin for her coverlet, and her feet are on the knees of Nomia. I have before stated that the Arcadians consider Nomia one of their local Nymphs. The poets say the Nymphs are long-lived but not immortal. Next to Callisto and the other women with her is a hill, up which Sisyphus the son of Æolus is laboriously rolling a stone. There is also a winejar in the painting, and an old man, and a boy, and two women, a young woman under a rock, and an old woman near the old man. Some men are bringing water, and the old woman’s water-pot appears to be broken, and she is pouring all the water in the pitcher into the winejar. One is inclined to conjecture that they are people making a mock of the Eleusinian mysteries. But the older Greeks considered the Eleusinian mysteries as much above all other religious services, as the gods are superior to heroes. And under the winejar is Tantalus, undergoing all those punishments mentioned by Homer,[140] and also terrified lest a stone overhanging his head should fall on him. It is plain that Polygnotus followed the account of Archilochus: but I do not know whether Archilochus invented the addition to the legend about the stone, or merely related what he had heard from others.

Such is a full account of the various details in this fine painting of the Thasian painter.

[138] So Corayus. The meaning and reading is very obscure.

[139] See Homer’s Odyssey, xi. 287 sq. Neleus refused the matchless Pero’s hand to any suitor who would not bring as a wedding-present these kine of Iphiclus.

[140] Odyssey, xi. 582-592.

CHAPTER XXXII.

Near the temple precincts is a handsome theatre. And as you ascend from the precincts you see a statue of Dionysus, the offering of the men of Cnidos. In the highest part of the city is a stadium made of the stone of Mount Parnassus, till the Athenian Herodes embellished it with Pentelican marble. I have now enumerated the most remarkable things still to be seen at Delphi.

About 60 stades from Delphi on the road to Mount Parnassus is a brazen statue, and from thence it is an easy ascent for an active man, or for mules and horses to the Corycian cavern. It got its name, as I pointed out a little back,[141] from the Nymph Corycia, and of all the caverns I have seen is best worth a visit. The various caverns on sea-coasts are so numerous that one could not easily enumerate them: but the most remarkable whether in Greece or in foreign lands are the following. The Phrygians near the river Pencala, who originally came from Arcadia and the Azanes, show a round and lofty cavern called Steunos, which is sacred to the Mother of the Gods, and contains her statue. The Phrygians also, who dwell at Themisonium above Laodicea, say that when the army of the Galati harried Ionia and the neighbouring districts, Hercules and Apollo and Hermes came to their aid: and showed their chief men a cavern in a dream, and bade them hide there their women and children. And so in front of this cavern they have statuettes of Hercules and Hermes and Apollo, whom they call The Cavern-Gods. This cavern is about 30 stades from Themisonium, and has springs of water in it, there is no direct road to it, nor does the light of the sun penetrate into it, and the roof in most of the cavern is very near the ground. The Magnesians also at a place called Hylæ near the river Lethæus have a cavern sacred to Apollo, not very wonderful for size, but containing a very ancient statue of Apollo, which supplies strength for any action. Men made holy by the god leap down rocks and precipices unhurt, and tear up huge trees by the roots, and carry them with ease through mountain passes. But the Corycian cavern excels both of these, and through most of it you can walk without needing torches: and the roof is a good height from the ground, and water bubbles up from springs, but still more oozes from the roof, so that there are droppings from the roof all over the floor of the cavern. And those that dwell on Mount Parnassus consider it sacred to Pan and the Corycian Nymphs. It is a feat even for an active man to scale the heights of Parnassus from it, for they are higher than the clouds, and on them the Thyiades carry on their mad revels in honour of Dionysus and Apollo.

Tithorea is about 80 stades from Delphi viâ Mount Parnassus, but the carriage road by a way less mountainous is many stades longer. Bacis in his oracles and Herodotus in his account of the invasion of Greece by the Medes differ as to the name of the town. For Bacis calls the town Tithorea, but Herodotus calls it Neon, and gives the name Tithorea to the summit of Parnassus, where he describes the people of the town fleeing on the approach of the Medes. It seems probable therefore that Tithorea was originally the name for the entire district, but as time went on the people, flocking into the town from the villages, called it Tithorea and no longer Neon. And the people of the place say it got its name from the Nymph Tithorea, one of those Nymphs who according to the legendary lore of poets were born of trees and especially oak-trees.[142] A generation before me the deity changed the fortunes of Tithorea for the worse. There is the outline of a theatre, and the precincts of an ancient market-place, still remaining. But the most remarkable things in the town are the grove and shrine and statue of Athene, and the tomb of Antiope and Phocus. In my account of the Thebans I have shewn how Antiope went mad through the anger of Dionysus, and why she drew on her the anger of the god, and how she married Phocus the son of Ornytion, of whom she was passionately fond, and how they were buried together. I also gave the oracle of Bacis both about this tomb and that of Zethus and Amphion at Thebes. I have mentioned all the circumstances worth mention about the town. A river called Cachales flows by the town, and furnishes water to its inhabitants, who descend to its banks to draw water.

At 70 stades distance from Tithorea is a temple of Æsculapius, who is called Archegetes, and is greatly honoured both by the Tithoreans and other Phocians. Within the sacred precincts are dwellings for the suppliants and slaves of the god, the temple stands in the midst, and a statue of the god in stone, two feet high with a beard, on the right of which is a bed. They sacrifice all kinds of animals to the god but goats.

About 40 stades from the temple of Æsculapius are the precincts and shrine of Isis, and of all the Greek shrines to the Egyptian goddess this is the holiest: for neither do the people of Tithorea live near it, nor may any approach the shrine whom Isis herself has not previously honoured by inviting them in dreams. The gods of the lower world have the same practice in the towns near the Mæander, they send visions in dreams to whoever they allow to approach their shrines. And twice every year, in Spring and Autumn, the people of Tithorea celebrate the Festival of Isis. The third day before each Festival those who have right of access purify the shrine in some secret manner: and remove to a place about 2 stades from the shrine whatever remains they find of the victims offered in sacrifice at the previous Festival, and bury them there. On the following day the traders make tents of reed or any other material at hand. On the next day they celebrate the Festival, and sell slaves, and cattle of every kind, and apparel, and silver and gold. And at noon they commence the sacrifice. The wealthier sacrifice oxen and deer, the poorer sacrifice geese and guineafowls, but they do not sacrifice swine or sheep or goats. Those whose duty it is to burn the victims in the shrine, first roll them up in bandages of linen or flax, after the process in use in Egypt. There is a solemn procession with all the victims, and some convey them into the shrine, while others burn the tents before it and depart with speed. And on one occasion they say a profane fellow, who had no right to approach the shrine, entered it with audacious curiosity at the time the sacrificial fire was lit, and the place seemed to him full of phantoms, and he returned to Tithorea, related what he had seen, and gave up the ghost. I heard a similar account from a Phœnician, of what happened on one occasion when the Egyptians were celebrating the Festival of Isis, at the time when they say she bewails Osiris: which is the season when the Nile begins to rise, and the Egyptians have a tradition that it is the tears of Isis that make the river rise and irrigate the fields. He told me that the Roman Governor of Egypt bribed a man to enter the shrine at Coptos during the Festival, and he came back, related what he had seen, and also died directly after. So Homer’s word seems true, that the gods are not seen by mortals with impunity.[143]

The olives at Tithorea are not so plentiful as in Attica and Sicyonia. They are superior however in colour and flavour to those from Spain and Istria: all kinds of ointment are produced from them, and they send these olives to the Roman Emperor.

[141] See [chapter 6.]

[142] And consequently called Dryads.

[143] Iliad, xx. 131. Compare Exodus, xxxiii. 20.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Another road from Tithorea leads to Ledon, which was formerly reckoned a town, but was in my day deserted by its inhabitants through its weakness, and about 80 of them live near the Cephisus, and give the name Ledon to their settlement there, and are included in the Phocian General Council, as the people of Panopeus also are. This settlement by the Cephisus is 40 stades from the ruins of Ledon, which got its name they say from an Autochthon of that name. Several towns have been irretrievably ruined by the wrong-doing of their inhabitants, as Troy was utterly destroyed by the outrage of Paris against Menelaus, and the Milesians by the headlong desires and passion of Hestiæus, one time to govern the town of the Edoni, another time to be a Councillor of Darius, another time to return to Ionia. So too the impiety of Philomelus caused Ledon to be wiped off the face of the globe.[144]

Lilæa is a winter day’s journey from Delphi: you descend by Parnassus: the distance is I conjecture about 180 stades. The people of Lilæa, when their town was restored, had a second reverse at the hand of Macedonia, for they were besieged by Philip the son of Demetrius and capitulated upon conditions of war, and a garrison was put into their town, till a townsman, whose name was Patron, incited the younger citizens to rise against the garrison, and overcame the Macedonians and compelled them to evacuate the town on conditions of war. And the people of Lilæa for this good service put up his statue at Delphi. There is at Lilæa a theatre and market-place and baths: there are also temples to Apollo and Artemis, whose statues, in a standing position, are of Attic workmanship in Pentelican marble. They say the town got its name from Lilæa, who was one of the Naiades, and reputed to be the daughter of the Cephisus, which rises here, and flows at first not with a gentle current, but at mid-day especially roars like the roaring of a bull.[145] In spring summer and autumn the air of Lilæa is salubrious, but in winter the proximity of Parnassus keeps it cold.

About 20 stades further is Charadra, which lies on a lofty ridge. Its inhabitants are very badly off for water, as their only water is from the Charadrus three stades down the hill side, which falls into the Cephisus, and which no doubt gave its name to the place. In the market-place are some altars to the Heroes: some say Castor and Pollux are meant, others say some local heroes. The land near the Cephisus is out and out the best in Phocis for planting, and sowing, and pasture: and this part of the country is mostly portioned out into farms, so that some think Homer’s lines,

“And those who near divine Cephisus dwelt,”[146]

refer to those who farmed near the Cephisus, and not to the town of Parapotamii. But this idea is not borne out by Herodotus in his History, or by the records of the victors in the Pythian Games, which were first instituted by the Amphictyones, and Æchmeas of Parapotamii won the prize among boys for boxing. And Herodotus mentions Parapotamii among the towns in Phocis that king Xerxes set on fire. Parapotamii was however not restored by the Athenians and Bœotians, but its inhabitants, owing to its poverty and want of money, were partitioned out among other towns. There are now no ruins of Parapotamii, nor is its exact site known.

From Lilæa is 60 stades’ journey to Amphiclea. The name of this place has been changed by the natives, for Herodotus following the oldest tradition called it Amphicæa, but the Amphictyones called it Amphiclea in their decree for the destruction of the towns in Phocis. The natives relate the following tradition about one of its names. They say that one of their rulers, suspecting a plot of some of his enemies against his baby boy, put him in a cot, and hid him in what he thought the most secure place, and a wolf tried to get at the little fellow, but a snake twined itself round the cot as a sure protection. And the child’s father coming up, and fearing that the snake had harmed his little boy, hurled his javelin at it and slew both child and snake: but learning from some herdsmen that the snake he had killed had been the preserver and guard of his child, he had a funeral pyre for snake and child together. And they say the place to this day presents the appearance of a funeral pyre blazing, and they think the town was called Ophitea (Snake-town) from this snake. Noteworthy are the orgies which they perform here to Dionysus, but there is no public entrance to the shrine, nor is there any statue of the god. But the people of Amphiclea say that the god prophecies to them and cures sicknesses by dreams, and his priest is a prophet, and when possessed by the god utters oracles.

About 15 stades from Amphiclea is Tithronium, which lies in the plain, and about which there is nothing remarkable. And 20 stades further is Drymæa. At the place where the roads from Tithronium and Amphiclea to Drymæa meet, near the river Cephisus, the people of Tithronium have a grove and altars and temple to Apollo, but no statue of the god. Drymæa is about 80 stades from Amphiclea as you turn to the left ... according to Herodotus.[147] It was originally called Nauboles, and its founder was they say Phocus the son of Æacus. At Drymæa is an ancient temple to Law-giving Demeter, and the statue of the goddess, to whom they keep an annual feast called the Thesmophoria, is erect in stone.

[144] The circumstances are narrated in ch. 2.

[145] ὦ ταυρόμορφον ὄμμα Κηφισοῦ πατρός. Eurip. Ion. 1261.

[146] Iliad, ii. 522.

[147] Hiatus hic est valde deflendus.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Next to Delphi Elatea is the greatest town in Phocis. It lies opposite Amphiclea, and is 180 stades from that place by a road mostly through the plain, but rather uphill near Elatea. The Cephisus flows through the plain, and bustards are very frequent on its banks. The Elateans repulsed Cassander and the army of the Macedonians. They also contrived to hold out against Taxilus the general of Mithridates, for which good service the Romans gave them freedom and immunity from taxation. They lay claim to foreign ancestry, and say that they were originally Arcadians: for Elatus (they say) the son of Areas defended the god, when the men of Phlegyas attacked the temple at Delphi, and afterwards remained in Phocis with his army, and founded Elatea: which was one of the towns in Phocis that the Mede set on fire. It shared in the general disasters of the Phocians, and the deity also brought upon it special troubles of its own at the hands of the Macedonians. And when Cassander blockaded Elatea, it was Olympiodorus who mainly rendered the blockade inoperative. But Philip, the son of Demetrius, inspired the greatest terror in the minds of the populace at Elatea, and at the same time won over by bribes the most influential townsfolk. And Titus Flaminius the Roman General, who had been sent from Rome to free all Greece, promised to grant them their ancient polity, and invited them to revolt from the Macedonians: but whether from want of judgment, or because the populace had their way, they continued faithful to Philip, and were reduced by the blockade of the Romans. And some time after they held out against Taxilus, the general of Mithridates, and the barbarians from Pontus, and it was for that good service that the Romans granted them their freedom. When too the Costoboci, a piratical tribe, overran all Greece in my day, and came to Elatea, Mnesibulus got together an army of picked men, and, though he himself fell in the battle, slew many of the barbarians. This Mnesibulus won several victories in the course, and in the 235th Olympiad was victor both in the stadium and in the double course though he carried his shield. And there is a brazen statue of him near the race-course. They have also a handsome market-place at Elatea, and a figure of Elatus on a pillar, I do not know whether in honour of him as their founder, or to mark his tomb. There is a temple also of Æsculapius, and a statue of the god with a beard by Timocles and Timarchides, who were both of Athenian extraction. At the extreme right of Elatea is a theatre, and ancient statue of Athene in bronze: the goddess they say fought for them against the barbarians under Taxilus.

About 20 stades from Elatea is a temple of Athene Cranæa, the road to it is uphill but by so gentle a slope that it is very easy and scarcely appreciable. But the crest of the hill at the end of this road is mostly precipitous on a limited area: and here is the temple, with porticoes and chambers, where various people that minister to the goddess reside, and especially the priest, whom they select out of the youths, and take great care that he ceases to be priest when he has passed the flower of his age. And he is priest for 5 continuous years, during which he resides with the goddess, and takes his baths after the ancient manner in bathing tubs.[148] The statue of the goddess was executed by the sons of Polycles. She is armed for battle, and her shield is an imitation of that of Athene in the Parthenon at Athens.

[148] See for instance Homer’s Odyssey, xvii. 87-90.

CHAPTER XXXV.

For Abæ and Hyampolis you take the mountainous road on the right of Elatea: the high road from Orchomenus to Opus also leads to those places: but to go to Abæ you turn a little off that high road to the left. The people of Abæ say they came to Phocis from Argos, and that their town took its name from its founder Abas, the son of Lynceus by Hypermnestra the daughter of Danaus. The people of Abæ consider that their town was in ancient times sacred to Apollo, and there was an oracle of Apollo there. But the Romans and Persians did not equally honour the god, for the Romans in their piety to Apollo granted autonomy to the people of Abæ, but Xerxes’ army burnt the temple there. And though the Greeks resisted the barbarians, they did not think good to rebuild the temples that were burnt down, but to leave them for all time as records of national hatred:[149] and so the temples at Haliartia, and the temple of Hera at Athens on the way to Phalerum, and the temple of Demeter at Phalerum remain to this day half-burnt. Such also I imagine was the condition of the temple at Abæ, till in the Phocian War, when some Phocian fugitives who were beaten in battle fleeing for refuge to it, the Thebans, emulating the conduct of the Medes, set them and the temple on fire. It is therefore in the most ruinous condition of all the buildings injured by fire, for after first suffering from the Persian fire, it was next consumed altogether by the Bœotian. Near this great temple is a smaller one, erected to Apollo by the Emperor Adrian, but the statues are ancient and were the votive offering of the people of Abæ, Apollo and Leto and Artemis in bronze. There is also a theatre at Abæ and a market-place, both ancient.

When you return to the high road for Opus the first place you come to is Hyampolis. Its name indicates who its inhabitants were originally, and from whence they were expelled when they came here. They were Hyantes who had fled from Thebes, from Cadmus and his army. And at first the town was called the town of the Hyantes, but as time went on the name Hyampolis prevailed. Although the town was burnt by Xerxes and rased to the ground by Philip, yet there are remains of the ancient market-place, and a small council-chamber, and a theatre not far from the gates. The Emperor Adrian also built a Portico which bears his name. The inhabitants have but one well to drink and wash with, the only other water they have is rain water in winter. The goddess they especially worship is Artemis, and they have a temple to her, but the statue of the goddess I cannot describe, as they only open the temple twice a year. And the cattle they call sacred to Artemis are free from disease and fatter than other cattle.

From Chæronea to Phocis you can go either by the direct road to Delphi through Panopeus and by Daulis and the cross-roads, or by the rugged mountainous road from Chæronea to Stiris, which is 120 stades. The people of Stiris say they were originally Athenians, and came from Attica with Peteus the son of Orneus, who was expelled from Athens by Ægeus: and as most of the followers of Peteus came from the township Stiria they called the town Stiris. It is on high and rocky ground, so in summer they are very short of water, for their wells are few, nor is the water they afford good. They serve however for baths, and for drink for beasts of burden. But the inhabitants of Stiris have to descend about 4 stades to get drinkable water from a spring, hewn out of the rock: and they go down to it to draw up the water. There is at Stiris a temple of Demeter Stiritis built of unbaked brick: the statue of the goddess is of Pentelican marble, she has torches in her hands. Near it is another ancient statue in honour of Demeter adorned with fillets.

[149] Compare Cicero de Republ. iii. 9. “Fana ne reficienda quidem Graii putaverunt, ut esset posteris ante os documentum Persarum sceleris sempiternum.”

CHAPTER XXXVI.

From Stiris to Ambrosus is about 60 stades: the road lies in the plain with mountains on both sides. Vines grow throughout the plain, and brambles, not quite so plentifully, which the Ionians and Greeks call coccus, but the Galati above Phrygia call in their native tongue Hys. The coccus is about the size of the white thorn, and its leaves are darker and softer than the mastich-tree, though in other respects similar. And its berry is like the berry of the nightshade, and about the size of the bitter vetch. And a small grub breeds in it which, when the fruit is ripe, becomes a gnat and flies off. But they gather the berries, while it is still in the grub state, and its blood is useful in dyeing wool.

Ambrosus lies under Mount Parnassus, and opposite Delphi, and got its name they say from the hero Ambrosus. In the war against Philip and the Macedonians the Thebans drew a double wall round Ambrosus, made of the black and very strong stone of the district. The circumference of each wall is little less than a fathom, and the height is 2½ fathoms, where the wall has not fallen: and the interval between the two walls is a fathom. But, as they were intended only for immediate defence, these walls were not decorated with towers or battlements or any other embellishment. There is also a small market-place at Ambrosus, most of the stone statues in it are broken.

As you turn to Anticyra the road is at first rather steep, but after about two stades it becomes level, and there is on the right a temple of Dictynnæan Artemis, who is held in the highest honour by the people of Ambrosus; her statue is of Æginetan workmanship in black stone. From this temple to Anticyra is all the way downhill. They say the town was called Cyparissus in ancient times, and Homer in his Catalogue of the Phocians[150] preferred to give it its old name, for it was then beginning to be called Anticyra, from Anticyreus who was a contemporary of Hercules. The town lies below the ruins of Medeon, one of the towns as I have before mentioned which impiously plundered the temple at Delphi. The people of Anticyra were expelled first by Philip the son of Amyntas, and secondly by the Roman Otilius, because they had been faithful to Philip, the son of Demetrius, the king of the Macedonians, for Otilius had been sent from Rome to protect the Athenians against Philip. And the hills above Anticyra are very rocky, and the chief thing that grows on them is hellebore. The black hellebore is a purgative, while the white acts as an emetic, the root also of the hellebore is a purgative. There are brazen statues in the market-place at Anticyra, and near the harbour is a small temple of Poseidon, made of unhewn stone, and plastered inside. The statue of the god is in bronze: he is in a standing posture, and one of his feet is on a dolphin: one hand is on his thigh, in the other is a trident. There are also two gymnasiums, one contains baths, the other opposite to it is an ancient one, in which is a bronze statue of Xenodamus, a native of Anticyra, who, as the inscription states, was victor at Olympia among men in the pancratium. And if the inscription is correct, Xenodamus will have won the wild-olive crown in the 211th Olympiad, the only Olympiad of all passed over by the people of Elis in their records. And above the market-place is a conduit: the water is protected from the sun by a roof supported on pillars. And not much above this conduit is a tomb built of common stone: they say it is the tomb of the sons of Iphitus, of whom one returned safe from Ilium and died in his native place, the other Schedius died in the Troad, but his remains were brought home and deposited here.

[150] Iliad, ii. 519.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

On the right of the town at the distance of about 2 stades is a lofty rock, which forms part of a mountain, and on it is a temple of Artemis, and a statue of the goddess by Praxiteles, with a torch in her right hand and her quiver over her shoulders, she is taller than the tallest woman, and on her left hand is a dog.

Bordering on Phocis is the town of Bulis, which got its name from Bulon the founder of the colony, it was colonized from the towns in ancient Doris. The people of Bulis are said to have shared in the impiety of Philomelus and the Phocians. From Thisbe in Bœotia to Bulis is 80 stades, I do not know whether there is any road from Anticyra to Bulis on the mainland, so precipitous and difficult to scale are the mountains between. It is about 100 stades from Anticyra to the port: and from the port to Bulis is I conjecture by land about 7 stades. And a mountain torrent, called by the natives Hercules’, falls into the sea here. Bulis lies on high ground, and you sail by it as you cross from Anticyra to Lechæum near Corinth. And more than half the inhabitants live by catching shell-fish for purple dye. There are no particular buildings to excite admiration at Bulis except two temples, one of Artemis, the other of Dionysus; their statues are of wood, but who made them I could not ascertain. The god that they worship most they call Supreme, a title I imagine of Zeus. They have also a well called Saunion.

To Cirrha, the seaport of Delphi, it is about 60 stades from Delphi, and as you descend to the plain is a Hippodrome, where they celebrate the Pythian horse-races. As to Taraxippus in Olympia I have described it in my account of Elis. In this Hippodrome of Apollo there are accidents occasionally, inasmuch as the deity in all human affairs awards both good and bad, but there is nothing specially contrived to frighten horses, either from the malignity of some hero, or any other cause. And the plain of Cirrha is almost entirely bare of trees, for they do not care to plant trees, either in consequence of some curse, or because they do not think the soil favourable to the growth of trees. It is said that Cirrha got its present name from the Nymph Cirrha, but Homer in the Iliad calls it by its ancient name Crisa,[151] as also in the Hymn to Apollo. And subsequently the people of Cirrha committed various acts of impiety against Apollo, and ravaged the territory sacred to the god. The Amphictyones resolved therefore to war against the people of Cirrha, and chose for their leader Clisthenes the king of Sicyon, and invited Solon the Athenian to assist them by his counsel. They also consulted the oracle, and this was the response of the Pythian Priestess, “You will not capture the tower and demolish the town, till the wave of blue-eyed Amphitrite, dashing over the dark sea, shall break into my grove.”

Solon persuaded them therefore to consecrate to the god the land about Cirrha, that the grove of Apollo might extend as far as the sea. He invented also another ingenious contrivance against the people of Cirrha: he turned the course of the river Plistus which flowed through the town. And when the besieged still held out by drinking rain water and the water from the wells, he threw some roots of hellebore into the Plistus, and when he thought the water of the river sufficiently impregnated with this, he turned it back into its ordinary channel, and the people of Cirrha, drinking freely of the water, were attacked with an incessant diarrhœa, and unable to man the walls, so the Amphictyones captured the town, and took vengeance on the inhabitants for their conduct to the god, and Cirrha became the seaport of Delphi. It contains a handsome temple of Apollo and Artemis and Leto, and large statues of those divinities, of Attic workmanship. There is also a smaller statue of Adrastea.

[151] Iliad, ii. 520.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Next comes the land of the Ozolian Locrians: why they were called Ozolian is differently stated, I shall relate all that I heard. When Orestheus the son of Deucalion was king of the country, a bitch gave birth to a piece of wood instead of a puppy: and Orestheus having buried this piece of wood in the ground, they say the next spring a vine sprang from it, and these Ozolians got their name from its branches.[152] Another tradition is that Nessus, the ferryman at the river Evenus, did not immediately die when wounded by Hercules, but fled to this land, and dying here rotted, as he was unburied, and tainted the air. A third tradition attributes the name to the unpleasant smell of a certain river, and a fourth to the smell of the asphodel which abounds in that part. Another tradition is that the first dwellers here were Aborigines, and not knowing how to make garments wore untanned hides as a protection against the cold, putting the hairy portion of the hides outside for ornament. Thus their smell would be as unpleasant as that of a tan-yard.

About 120 stades from Delphi is Amphissa, the largest and most famous town of these Locrians. The inhabitants joined themselves to the Ætolians from shame at the title Ozolian. It is also probable that, when Augustus removed many of the Ætolians to fill his town Nicopolis, many of them migrated to Amphissa. However the original inhabitants were Locrians, and the town got its name they say from Amphissa, (the daughter of Macar the son of Æolus), who was beloved by Apollo. The town has several handsome sights, especially the tombs of Amphissa and Andræmon: with Andræmon his wife Gorge, the daughter of Œneus, was buried. In the citadel is a temple of Athene, and statue of the goddess in a standing position, which they say was brought by Thoas from Ilium, and was part of the Trojan spoil. This however I cannot credit. I showed in a previous part of my work that the Samians Rhœcus, (the son of Philæus), and Theodorus, (the son of Telecles), were the first brass-founders. However I have not discovered any works in brass by Theodorus. But in the temple of Ephesian Artemis, when you go into a room containing some paintings, you will see a stone cornice above the altar of Artemis Protothronia; on this cornice are several statues and among others one at the end by Rhœcus, which the Ephesians call Night. The statue therefore of Athene at Amphissa is more ancient and ruder in art. The people of Amphissa celebrate the rites of the youths called Anactes (Kings): different accounts are given as to who they were, some say Castor and Pollux, others say the Curetes, those who think themselves best informed say the Cabiri.

These Locrians have other towns, as Myonia above Amphissa, and 30 stades from it, facing the mainland. Its inhabitants presented a shield to Zeus at Olympia. The town lies on high ground, and there is a grove and altar to the Mild Deities, and there are nightly sacrifices to them, and they consume the flesh of the victims before daybreak. There is also above the town a grove of Poseidon called Poseidonium, and in it a temple, but there is no statue there now.

Myonia is above Amphissa: and near the sea is Œanthea, and at no great distance Naupactus. All these towns except Amphissa are under the Achæans of Patræ, as a grant from the Emperor Augustus. At Œanthea there is a temple of Aphrodite, and a little above the town a grove of cypress and pine, and in it a temple and statue of Artemis: and some paintings on the walls rather obscured by time, so that one cannot now see them clearly. I think the town must have got its name from some woman or Nymph. As to Naupactus I know the tradition is that the Dorians and the sons of Aristomachus built a fleet there, with which they crossed over to the Peloponnese, hence the origin of the name. As to the history of Naupactus, how the Athenians took it from the Locrians and gave it to the Messenians who removed to Ithome at the time of the earthquake at Lacedæmon, and how after the reverse of the Athenians at Ægos-potamoi the Lacedæmonians ejected the Messenians, all this has been related by me in my account of Messenia: and when the Messenians were obliged to evacuate it then the Locrians returned to Naupactus. As to the Poems called by the Greeks Naupactian, most attribute them to a Milesian: but Charon the son of Pytheus says they were composed by Carcinus a native of Naupactus. I follow the account of the native of Lampsacus: for how is it reasonable to suppose that poems written on women by a Milesian should be called Naupactian? There is at Naupactus a temple of Poseidon near the sea, and a brazen statue of the god in a standing posture; there is also a temple and statue of Artemis in white stone. The goddess is called Ætolian Artemis, and is in the attitude of a person hurling a javelin. Aphrodite also has honours paid to her in a cavern: they pray to her for various favours, widows especially for a second husband. There are also ruins of a temple of Æsculapius, which was originally built by one Phalysius, a private individual, who had an ailment in his eyes and was nearly blind, and the god of Epidaurus sent to him the poetess Anyte with a sealed letter. She dreamed one night and directly she woke found the sealed letter in her hands, and sailed to Naupactus and bade Phalysius remove the seal and read what was written. And though he was clearly unable to read from his blindness, yet, having faith in the god, he broke open the seal, and became cured by looking at the letter, and gave Anyte 2,000 gold staters, which was the sum mentioned in the letter.

[152] The Greek word for branch is Ozos. Hence the Paronomasia. All the four other unsavoury traditions are connected with the Greek verb ozo, I smell.