13.6. On the market-place is a votive offering, a bronze she-goat for the most part covered with gold. The following is the reason why it has received honors among the Phliasians. The constellation which they call the Goat on its rising causes continual damage to the vines. In order that they may suffer nothing unpleasant from it, the Phliasians pay honors to the bronze goat on the market-place and adorn the image with gold. Here also is the tomb of Aristias, the son of Pratinas. This Aristias and his father Pratinas composed satyric plays more popular than any save those of Aeschylus.
13.6. ἀνάκειται δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς αἲξ χαλκῆ, τὰ πολλὰ ἐπίχρυσος· παρὰ δὲ Φλιασίοις τιμὰς ἐπὶ τῷδε εἴληφε. τὸ ἄστρον ἣν ὀνομάζουσιν αἶγα ἀνατέλλουσα τὰς ἀμπέλους λυμαίνεται συνεχῶς· ἵνα δὲ ἄχαρι μηδὲν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς γένηται, οἱ δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς χαλκῆν αἶγα ἄλλοις τε τιμῶσι καὶ χρυσῷ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐπικοσμοῦντες. ἐνταῦθά ἐστι καὶ Ἀριστίου μνῆμα τοῦ Πρατίνου· τούτῳ τῷ Ἀριστίᾳ σάτυροι καὶ Πρατίνᾳ τῷ πατρί εἰσι πεποιημένοι πλὴν τῶν Αἰχύλου δοκιμώτατοι.
13.7. Behind the market-place is a building which the Phliasians name the House of Divination. Into it Amphiaraus entered, slept the night there, and then first, say the Phliasians, began to divine. According to their account Amphiaraus was for a time an ordinary person and no diviner. Ever since that time the building has been shut up. Not far away is what is called the Omphalos (Navel), the center of all the Peloponnesus, if they speak the truth about it. Farther on from the Omphalos they have an old sanctuary of Dionysus, a sanctuary of Apollo, and one of Isis. The image of Dionysus is visible to all, and so also is that of Apollo, but the image of Isis only the priests may behold.
13.7. ὄπισθεν δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐστιν οἶκος ὀνομαζόμενος ὑπὸ Φλιασίων μαντικός. ἐς τοῦτον Ἀμφιάραος ἐλθὼν καὶ τὴν νύκτα ἐγκατακοιμηθεὶς μαντεύεσθαι τότε πρῶτον, ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν, ἤρξατο· τέως δὲ ἦν Ἀμφιάραος τῷ ἐκείνων λόγῳ ἰδιώτης τε καὶ οὐ μάντις. καὶ τὸ οἴκημα ἀπὸ τούτου συγκέκλεισται τὸν πάντα ἤδη χρόνον. οὐ πόρρω δέ ἐστιν ὁ καλούμενος Ὀμφαλός, Πελοποννήσου δὲ πάσης μέσον, εἰ δὴ τὰ ὄντα εἰρήκασιν. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ὀμφαλοῦ προελθοῦσι Διονύσου σφίσιν ἱερόν ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον, ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ ἄλλο Ἴσιδος. τὸ μὲν δὴ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Διονύσου δῆλον πᾶσιν, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος· τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἴσιδος τοῖς ἱερεῦσι θεάσασθαι μόνον ἔστι.
13.8. The Phliasians tell also the following legend. When Heracles came back safe from Libya, bringing the apples of the Hesperides, as they were called, he visited Phlius on some private matter. While he was staying there Oeneus came to him from Aetolia. He had already allied himself to the family of Heracles, and after his arrival on this occasion either he entertained Heracles or Heracles entertained him. Be this as it may, displeased with the drink given him Heracles struck on the head with one of his fingers the boy Cyathus, the cup-bearer of Oeneus, who died on the spot from the blow. A chapel keeps the memory of the deed fresh among the Phliasians; it is built by the side of the sanctuary of Apollo, and it contains statues made of stone representing Cyathus holding out a cup to Heracles.
13.8. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὧδε ὑπὸ Φλιασίων λόγος· Ἡρακλέα, ὅτʼ ἐκ Λιβύης ἀνεσώθη κομίζων τὰ μῆλα τὰ Ἑσπερίδων καλούμενα, ἐς Φλιοῦντα ἐλθεῖν κατὰ δή τι ἴδιον, διαιτωμένου δὲ ἐνταῦθα Οἰνέα ἐξ Αἰτωλίας ἀφικέσθαι παρʼ αὐτόν· ἐγεγόνει δὲ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ πρότερον ἔτι κηδεστής, τότε δὲ ἀφιγμένος εἱστία τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἢ αὐτὸς εἱστιᾶτο ὑπὸ ἐκείνου. Κύαθον δʼ οὖν παῖδα οἰνοχόον Οἰνέως οὐκ ἀρεσθεὶς τῷ δοθέντι πώματι παίει τῶν δακτύλων ἑνὶ ἐς τὴν κεφαλήν· ἀποθανόντος δὲ αὐτίκα ὑπὸ τῆς πληγῆς Φλιασίοις ἐστὶν οἴκημα ἐς μνήμην. τοῦτο ᾠκοδόμηται μὲν παρὰ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, ἀγάλματα δὲ λίθου πεποιημένα ἔχει, κύλικα ὀρέγοντα Ἡρακλεῖ τὸν Κύαθον.
14.1. Celeae is some five stades distant from the city, and here they celebrate the mysteries in honor of Demeter, not every year but every fourth year. The initiating priest is not appointed for life, but at each celebration they elect a fresh one, who takes, if he cares to do so, a wife. In this respect their custom differs from that at Eleusis, but the actual celebration is modelled on the Eleusinian rites. The Phliasians themselves admit that they copy the “performance” at Eleusis.
14.1. τῆς δὲ πόλεως αἱ Κελεαὶ πέντε που σταδίους μάλιστα ἀπέχουσι, καὶ τῇ Δήμητρι ἐνταῦθα διʼ ἐνιαυτοῦ τετάρτου τὴν τελετὴν καὶ οὐ κατὰ ἔτος ἄγουσιν. ἱεροφάντης δὲ οὐκ ἐς τὸν βίον πάντα ἀποδέδεικται, κατὰ δὲ ἑκάστην τελετὴν ἄλλοτέ ἐστιν ἄλλος σφίσιν αἱρετός, λαμβάνων ἢν ἐθέλῃ καὶ γυναῖκα. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν διάφορα τῶν Ἐλευσῖνι νομίζουσι, τὰ δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν τὴν τελετὴν ἐκείνων ἐστὶν ἐς μίμησιν· ὁμολογοῦσι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ μιμεῖσθαι Φλιάσιοι τὰ ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι δρώμενα.
14.2. They say that it was Dysaules, the brother of Celeus, who came to their land and established the mysteries, and that he had been expelled from Eleusis by Ion, when Ion, the son of Xuthus, was chosen by the Athenians to be commander-in-chief in the Eleusinian war. Now I cannot possibly agree with the Phliasians in supposing that an Eleusinian was conquered in battle and driven away into exile, for the war terminated in a treaty before it was fought out, and Eumolpus himself remained at Eleusis.
14.2. Δυσαύλην δέ φασιν ἀδελφὸν Κελεοῦ παραγενόμενόν σφισιν ἐς τὴν χώραν καταστήσασθαι τὴν τελετήν, ἐκβληθῆναι δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξ Ἐλευσῖνος ὑπὸ Ἴωνος, ὅτε Ἴων Ἀθηναίοις ὁ Ξούθου πολέμαρχος τοῦ πρὸς Ἐλευσινίους ᾑρέθη πολέμου. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ Φλιασίοις οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως ὁμολογήσω, κρατηθέντα μάχῃ τινὰ Ἐλευσινίων φυγάδα ἀπελαθέντα οἴχεσθαι, τοῦ πολέμου τε ἐπὶ συνθήκαις καταλυθέντος πρὶν ἢ διαπολεμηθῆναι καὶ ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι αὐτοῦ καταμείναντος Εὐμόλπου.
14.3. But it is possible that Dysaules came to Phlius for some other reason than that given by the Phliasians. I do not believe either that he was related to Celeus, or that he was in any way distinguished at Eleusis, otherwise Homer would never have passed him by in his poems. For Homer is one of those who have written in honor of Demeter, and when he is making a list of those to whom the goddess taught the mysteries he knows nothing of an Eleusinian named Dysaules. These are the verses:—She to Triptolemus taught, and to Diocles, driver of horses,Also to mighty Eumolpus, to Celeus, leader of peoples,Cult of the holy rites, to them all her mystery telling.
14.3. δύναιτο δʼ ἂν κατὰ ἄλλην τινὰ ἐνταῦθα ὁ Δυσαύλης ἀφικέσθαι πρόφασιν καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ Κελεῷ προσήκων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν οὐδὲ ἄλλως ἦν ἐν τοῖς ἐπιφανέσιν Ἐλευσινίων· οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε Ὅμηρος παρῆκεν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν. ἔστι γὰρ καὶ Ὁμήρῳ πεποιημένα ἐς Δήμητραν· ἐν δὲ αὐτοῖς καταλέγων τοὺς διδαχθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς θεοῦ τὴν τελετὴν Δυσαύλην οὐδένα οἶδεν Ἐλευσίνιον. ἔχει δὲ οὕτω τὰ ἔπη·δεῖξεν Τριπτολέμῳ τε Διοκλεῖ τε πληξίππῳΕὐμόλπου τε βίῃ Κελεῷ θʼ ἡγήτορι λαῶνδρησμοσύνην ἱερῶν καὶ ἐπέφραδεν ὄργια πᾶσιν.
14.4. At all events, this Dysaules, according to the Phliasians, established the mysteries here, and he it was who gave to the place the name Celeae. I have already said that the tomb of Dysaules is here. So the grave of Aras was made earlier, for according to the account of the Phliasians Dysaules did not arrive in the reign of Aras, but later. For Aras, they say, was a contemporary of Prometheus, the son of Iapetus, and three generations of men older than Pelasgus the son of Arcas and those called at Athens aboriginals. On the roof of what is called the Anactorum they say is dedicated the chariot of Pelops.
14.4. οὗτος δʼ οὖν, ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν, ὁ Δυσαύλης κατεστήσατο ἐνταῦθα τὴν τελετὴν καὶ οὗτος ἦν ὁ τῷ χωρίῳ τὸ ὄνομα παραθέμενος Κελεάς· Δυσαύλου τέ ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα, ὡς εἴρηταί μοι, μνῆμα. πρότερον δὲ ἄρα ἐπεποίητο ⟨ὁ⟩ Ἀράντειος τάφος· ὕστερον γὰρ κατὰ τὸν Φλιασίων λόγον καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἄραντος βασιλείας ἀφίκετο ὁ Δυσαύλης. Φλιάσιοι γὰρ Προμηθεῖ γενέσθαι τῷ Ἰαπετοῦ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον φασὶν Ἄραντα καὶ τρισὶν ἀνθρώπων γενεαῖς Πελασγοῦ τε εἶναι πρεσβύτερον τοῦ Ἀρκάδος καὶ τῶν λεγομένων Ἀθήνῃσιν αὐτοχθόνων. —τοῦ δὲ Ἀνακτόρου καλουμένου πρὸς τῷ ὀρόφῳ Πέλοπος ἅρμα λέγουσιν ἀνακεῖσθαι.
15.1. These are the things that I found most worthy of mention among the Phliasians. On the road from Corinth to Argos is a small city Cleonae. They say that Cleones was a son of Pelops, though there are some who say that Cleone was one of the daughters of Asopus, that flows by the side of Sicyon. Be this as it may, one or other of these two accounts for the name of the city. Here there is a sanctuary of Athena, and the image is a work of Scyllis and Dipoenus. Some hold them to have been the pupils of Daedalus, but others will have it that Daedalus took a wife from Gortyn, and that Dipoenus and Scyllis were his sons by this woman. Cleonae possesses this sanctuary and the tomb of Eurytus and Cteatus. The story is that as they were going as ambassadors from Elis to the Isthmian contest they were here shot by Heracles, who charged them with being his adversaries in the war against Augeas.
15.1. Φλιασίοις μὲν δὴ τοσαῦτα λόγου μάλιστα ἦν ἄξια· ἐκ Κορίνθου δʼ ἐς Ἄργος ἐρχομένῳ Κλεωναὶ πόλις ἐστὶν οὐ μεγάλη. παῖδα δὲ εἶναι Πέλοπος Κλεώνην λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ τῷ παρὰ Σικυῶνα ῥέοντι Ἀσωπῷ θυγατέρα ἐπὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις Κλεώνην γενέσθαι· τὸ δʼ οὖν ὄνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου τούτων ἐτέθη τῇ πόλει. ἐνταῦθά ἐστιν ἱερὸν Ἀθηνᾶς, τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα Σκύλλιδος τέχνη καὶ Διποίνου· μαθητὰς δὲ εἶναι Δαιδάλου σφᾶς, οἱ δὲ καὶ γυναῖκα ⟨ἐκ⟩ Γόρτυνος ἐθέλουσι λαβεῖν Δαίδαλον καὶ τὸν Δίποινον καὶ Σκύλλιν ἐκ τῆς γυναικός οἱ ταύτης γενέσθαι. ἐν Κλεωναῖς δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ μνῆμα Εὐρύτου καὶ Κτεάτου· θεωροὺς γὰρ ἐξ Ἤλιδος ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἰόντας τῶν Ἰσθμίων αὐτοὺς ἐνταῦθα Ἡρακλῆς κατετόξευσεν, ἔγκλημα ποιούμενος ὅτι οἱ πρὸς Αὐγείαν πολεμοῦντι ἀντετάχθησαν.
15.2. From Cleonae to Argos are two roads; one is direct and only for active men, the other goes along the pass called Tretus (Pierced), is narrow like the other, being surrounded by mountains, but is nevertheless more suitable for carriages. In these mountains is still shown the cave of the famous lion, and the place Nemea is distant some fifteen stades. In Nemea is a noteworthy temple of Nemean Zeus, but I found that the roof had fallen in and that there was no longer remaining any image. Around the temple is a grove of cypress trees, and here it is, they say, that Opheltes was placed by his nurse in the grass and killed by the serpent.
15.2. ἐκ Κλεωνῶν δέ εἰσιν ἐς Ἄργος ὁδοὶ δύο, ἡ μὲν ἀνδράσιν εὐζώνοις καὶ ἔστιν ἐπίτομος, ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ καλουμένου Τρητοῦ, στενὴ μὲν καὶ αὐτὴ περιεχόντων ὀρῶν, ὀχήμασι δέ ἐστιν ὅμως ἐπιτηδειοτέρα. ἐν τούτοις τοῖς ὄρεσι τὸ σπήλαιον ἔτι δείκνυται τοῦ λέοντος, καὶ ἡ Νεμέα τὸ χωρίον ἀπέχει σταδίους πέντε που καὶ δέκα. ἐν δὲ αὐτῇ Νεμείου [τε] Διὸς ναός ἐστι θέας ἄξιος, πλὴν ὅσον κατερρυήκει τε ὁ ὄροφος καὶ ἄγαλμα οὐδὲν ἔτι ἐλείπετο· κυπαρίσσων τε ἄλσος ἐστὶ περὶ τὸν ναόν, καὶ τὸν Ὀφέλτην ἐνταῦθα ὑπὸ τῆς τροφοῦ τεθέντα ἐς τὴν πόαν διαφθαρῆναι λέγουσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ δράκοντος.
15.3. The Argives offer burnt sacrifices to Zeus in Nemea also, and elect a priest of Nemean Zeus; moreover they offer a prize for a race in armour at the winter celebration of the Nemean games. In this place is the grave of Opheltes; around it is a fence of stones, and within the enclosure are altars. There is also a mound of earth which is the tomb of Lycurgus, the father of Opheltes. The spring they call Adrastea for some reason or other, perhaps because Adrastus found it. The land was named, they say, after Nemea, who was another daughter of Asopus. Above Nemea is Mount Apesas, where they say that Perseus first sacrificed to Zeus of Apesas.
15.3. θύουσι δὲ Ἀργεῖοι τῷ Διὶ καὶ ἐν τῇ Νεμέᾳ καὶ Νεμείου Διὸς ἱερέα αἱροῦνται, καὶ δὴ καὶ δρόμου προτιθέασιν ἀγῶνα ἀνδράσιν ὡπλισμένοις Νεμείων πανηγύρει τῶν χειμερινῶν. ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν Ὀφέλτου τάφος, περὶ δὲ αὐτὸν θριγκὸς λίθων καὶ ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου βωμοί· ἔστι δὲ χῶμα γῆς Λυκούργου μνῆμα τοῦ Ὀφέλτου πατρός. τὴν δὲ πηγὴν Ἀδράστειαν ὀνομάζουσιν εἴτε ἐπʼ ἄλλῃ τινὶ αἰτίᾳ εἴτε καὶ ἀνευρόντος αὐτὴν Ἀδράστου· τὸ δὲ ὄνομα λέγουσι τῇ χώρᾳ Νεμέαν δοῦναι θυγατέρα Ἀσωποῦ καὶ ταύτην. καὶ ὄρος Ἀπέσας ἐστὶν ὑπὲρ τὴν Νεμέαν, ἔνθα Περσέα πρῶτον Διὶ θῦσαι λέγουσιν Ἀπεσαντίῳ. — ἀνελθοῦσι δὲ ἐς τὸν Τρητὸν καὶ αὖθις τὴν ἐς Ἄργος ἰοῦσίν ἐστι Μυκηνῶν ἐρείπια ἐν ἀριστερᾷ.
15.4. Ascending to Tretus, and again going along the road to Argos, you see on the left the ruins of Mycenae. The Greeks are aware that the founder of Mycenae was Perseus, so I will narrate the cause of its foundation and the reason why the Argives afterwards laid Mycenae waste. The oldest tradition in the region now called Argolis is that when Inachus was king he named the river after himself and sacrificed to Hera.
15.4. καὶ ὅτι μὲν Περσεὺς ἐγένετο Μυκηνῶν οἰκιστής, ἴσασιν Ἕλληνες· ἐγὼ δὲ αἰτίαν τε γράψω τοῦ οἰκισμοῦ καὶ διʼ ἥντινα πρόφασιν Ἀργεῖοι Μυκηναίους ὕστερον ἀνέστησαν. ἐν γὰρ τῇ νῦν Ἀργολίδι ὀνομαζομένῃ τὰ μὲν ἔτι παλαιότερα οὐ μνημονεύουσιν, Ἴναχον δὲ βασιλεύοντα τόν τε ποταμὸν ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ λέγουσιν ὀνομάσαι καὶ θῦσαι τῇ Ἥρᾳ.
15.5. There is also another legend which says that Phoroneus was the first inhabitant of this land, and that Inachus, the father of Phoroneus, was not a man but the river. This river, with the rivers Cephisus and Asterion, judged concerning the land between Poseidon and Hera. They decided that the land belonged to Hera, and so Poseidon made their waters disappear. For this reason neither Inachus nor either of the other rivers I have mentioned provides any water except after rain. In summer their streams are dry except those at Lerna. Phoroneus, the son of Inachus, was the first to gather together the inhabitants, who up to that time had been scattered and living as isolated families. The place into which they were first gathered was named the City of Phoroneus.
15.5. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὧδε λόγος· Φορωνέα ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ γενέσθαι πρῶτον, Ἴναχον δὲ οὐκ ἄνδρα ἀλλὰ τὸν ποταμὸν πατέρα εἶναι Φορωνεῖ· τοῦτον δὲ Ποσειδῶνι καὶ Ἥρᾳ δικάσαι περὶ τῆς χώρας, σὺν δὲ αὐτῷ Κηφισόν τε καὶ Ἀστερίωνα [καὶ τὸν Ἴναχον] ποταμόν· κρινάντων δὲ Ἥρας εἶναι τὴν γῆν, οὕτω σφίσιν ἀφανίσαι τὸ ὕδωρ Ποσειδῶνα. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὔτε Ἴναχος ὕδωρ οὔτε ἄλλος παρέχεται τῶν εἰρημένων ποταμῶν ὅτι μὴ ὕσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ· θέρους δὲ αὖά σφισίν ἐστι τὰ ῥεύματα πλὴν τῶν ἐν Λέρνῃ. Φορωνεὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰνάχου τοὺς ἀνθρώπους συνήγαγε πρῶτον ἐς κοινόν, σποράδας τέως καὶ ἐφʼ ἑαυτῶν ἑκάστοτε οἰκοῦντας· καὶ τὸ χωρίον ἐς ὃ πρῶτον ἠθροίσθησαν ἄστυ ὠνομάσθη Φορωνικόν.
16.1. Argus, the grandson of Phoroneus, succeeding to the throne after Phoroneus, gave his name to the land. Argus begat Peirasus and Phorbas, Phorbas begat Triopas, and Triopas begat Iasus and Agenor. Io, the daughter of Iasus, went to Egypt, whether the circumstances be as Herodotus records or as the Greeks say. After Iasus, Crotopus, the son of Agenor, came to the throne and begat Sthenelas, but Danaus sailed from Egypt against Gelanor, the son of Sthenelas, and stayed the succession to the kingdom of the descendants of Agenor. What followed is known to all alike: the crime the daughters of Danaus committed against their cousins, and how, on the death of Danaus, Lynceus succeeded him.
16.1. Ἄργος δὲ Φορωνέως θυγατριδοῦς βασιλεύσας μετὰ Φορωνέα ὠνόμασεν ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ τὴν χώραν. Ἄργου δὲ Πείρασος γίνεται καὶ Φόρβας, Φόρβαντος δὲ Τριόπας, Τριόπα δὲ Ἴασος καὶ Ἀγήνωρ. Ἰὼ μὲν οὖν Ἰάσου θυγάτηρ, εἴτε ὡς Ἡρόδοτος ἔγραψεν εἴτε καθʼ ὃ λέγουσιν Ἕλληνες, ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἀφικνεῖται Κρότωπος δὲ ὁ Ἀγήνορος ἔσχε μετὰ Ἴασον τὴν ἀρχήν, Κροτώπου δὲ Σθενέλας γίνεται, Δαναὸς δʼ ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου πλεύσας ἐπὶ Γελάνορα τὸν Σθενέλα τοὺς ἀπογόνους τοὺς Ἀγήνορος βασιλείας ἔπαυσεν. τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ οἱ πάντες ὁμοίως ἴσασι, θυγατέρων τῶν Δαναοῦ τὸ ἐς τοὺς ἀνεψιοὺς τόλμημα καὶ ὡς ἀποθανόντος Δαναοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν Λυγκεὺς ἔσχεν.
16.2. But the sons of Abas, the son of Lynceus, divided the kingdom between themselves; Acrisius remained where he was at Argos, and Proetus took over the Heraeum, Mideia, Tiryns, and the Argive coast region. Traces of the residence of Proetus in Tiryns remain to the present day. Afterwards Acrisius, learning that Perseus himself was not only alive but accomplishing great achievements, retired to Larisa on the Peneus. And Perseus, wishing at all costs to see the father of his mother and to greet him with fair words and deeds, visited him at Larisa. Being in the prime of life and proud of his inventing the quoit, he gave displays before all, and Acrisius, as luck would have it, stepped unnoticed into the path of the quoit.
16.2. οἱ δὲ Ἄβαντος τοῦ Λυγκέως παῖδες τὴν βασιλείαν ἐνείμαντο, καὶ Ἀκρίσιος μὲν αὐτοῦ κατέμεινεν ἐν τῷ Ἄργει, Προῖτος δὲ τὸ Ἡραῖον καὶ Μιδείαν καὶ Τίρυνθα ἔσχε καὶ ὅσα πρὸς θαλάσσῃ τῆς Ἀργείας· σημεῖά τε τῆς ἐν Τίρυνθι οἰκήσεως Προίτου καὶ ἐς τόδε λείπεται. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἀκρίσιος Περσέα αὐτόν τε περιεῖναι πυνθανόμενος καὶ ἔργα ἀποδείκνυσθαι, ἐς Λάρισαν ἀπεχώρησε τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Πηνειῷ. Περσεὺς δὲ—ἰδεῖν γὰρ πάντως ἤθελε τὸν γονέα τῆς μητρὸς καὶ λόγοις τε χρηστοῖς καὶ ἔργοις δεξιώσασθαι—ἔρχεται παρʼ αὐτὸν ἐς τὴν Λάρισαν· καὶ ὁ μὲν οἷα ἡλικίᾳ τε ἀκμάζων καὶ τοῦ δίσκου χαίρων τῷ εὑρήματι ἐπεδείκνυτο ἐς ἅπαντας, Ἀκρίσιος δὲ λανθάνει κατὰ δαίμονα ὑποπεσὼν τοῦ δίσκου τῇ ὁρμῇ.
16.3. So the prediction of the god to Acrisius found its fulfillment, nor was his fate prevented by his precautions against his daughter and grandson. Perseus, ashamed because of the gossip about the homicide, on his return to Argos induced Megapenthes, the son of Proetus, to make an exchange of kingdoms; taking over himself that of Megapenthes, he founded Mycenae. For on its site the cap (myces) fell from his scabbard, and he regarded this as a sign to found a city. I have also heard the following account. He was thirsty, and the thought occurred to him to pick up a mushroom (myces) from the ground. Drinking with joy water that flowed from it, he gave to the place the name of Mycenae.
16.3. καὶ Ἀκρισίῳ μὲν ἡ πρόρρησις τοῦ θεοῦ τέλος ἔσχεν, οὐδὲ ἀπέτρεψέν οἱ τὸ χρεὼν τὰ ἐς τὴν παῖδα καὶ τὸν θυγατριδοῦν παρευρήματα· Περσεὺς δὲ ὡς ἀνέστρεψεν ἐς Ἄργος—ᾐσχύνετο γὰρ τοῦ φόνου τῇ φήμῃ—, Μεγαπένθην τὸν Προίτου πείθει οἱ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀντιδοῦναι, παραλαβὼν δὲ αὐτὸς τὴν ἐκείνου Μυκήνας κτίζει. τοῦ ξίφους γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἐξέπεσεν ὁ μύκης αὐτῷ, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον ἐς οἰκισμὸν ἐνόμιζε συμβῆναι πόλεως. ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ ὡς διψῶντι ἐπῆλθεν ἀνελέσθαι οἱ μύκητα ἐκ τῆς γῆς, ῥυέντος δὲ ὕδατος πιὼν καὶ ἡσθεὶς Μυκήνας ἔθετο τὸ ὄνομα τῷ χωρίῳ.
16.4. Homer in the Odyssey mentions a woman Mycene in the following verse:—Tyro and Alcmene and the fair-crowned lady Mycene.. She is said to have been the daughter of Inachus and the wife of Arestor in the poem which the Greeks call the Great Eoeae. So they say that this lady has given her name to the city. But the account which is attributed to Acusilaus, that Myceneus was the son of Sparton, and Sparton of Phoroneus, I cannot accept, because the Lacedaemonians themselves do not accept it either. For the Lacedaemonians have at Amyclae a portrait statue of a woman named Sparte, but they would be amazed at the mere mention of a Sparton, son of Phoroneus.
16.4. Ὅμηρος δὲ ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ γυναικὸς Μυκήνης ἐν ἔπει τῷδε ἐμνήσθηΤυρώ τʼ Ἀλκμήνη τε ἐυστέφανός τε Μυκήνη.ταύτην εἶναι θυγατέρα Ἰνάχου γυναῖκα δὲ Ἀρέστορος τὰ ἔπη λέγει, ἃ δὴ Ἕλληνες καλοῦσιν Ἠοίας μεγάλας· ἀπὸ ταύτης οὖν γεγονέναι καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ πόλει φασίν. ὃν δὲ προσποιοῦσιν Ἀκουσιλάῳ λόγον, Μυκηνέα υἱὸν εἶναι Σπάρτωνος, Σπάρτωνα δὲ Φορωνέως, οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε ἀποδεξαίμην, διότι μηδὲ αὐτοὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. Λακεδαιμονίοις γὰρ Σπάρτης μὲν γυναικὸς εἰκών ἐστιν ἐν Ἀμύκλαις, Σπάρτωνα δὲ Φορωνέως παῖδα θαυμάζοιεν ἂν καὶ ἀρχὴν ἀκούσαντες.
16.5. It was jealousy which caused the Argives to destroy Mycenae. For at the time of the Persian invasion the Argives made no move, but the Mycenaeans sent eighty men to Thermopylae who shared in the achievement of the Lacedaemonians. This eagerness for distinction brought ruin upon them by exasperating the Argives. There still remain, however, parts of the city wall, including the gate, upon which stand lions. These, too, are said to be the work of the Cyclopes, who made for Proetus the wall at Tiryns.
16.5. Μυκήνας δὲ Ἀργεῖοι καθεῖλον ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπίας. ἡσυχαζόντων γὰρ τῶν Ἀργείων κατὰ τὴν ἐπιστρατείαν τοῦ Μήδου, Μυκηναῖοι πέμπουσιν ἐς Θερμοπύλας ὀγδοήκοντα ἄνδρας, οἳ Λακεδαιμονίοις μετέσχον τοῦ ἔργου· τοῦτο ἤνεγκεν ὄλεθρόν σφισι τὸ φιλοτίμημα παροξῦναν Ἀργείους. λείπεται δὲ ὅμως ἔτι καὶ ἄλλα τοῦ περιβόλου καὶ ἡ πύλη, λέοντες δὲ ἐφεστήκασιν αὐτῇ· Κυκλώπων δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἔργα εἶναι λέγουσιν, οἳ Προίτῳ τὸ τεῖχος ἐποίησαν ἐν Τίρυνθι.
16.6. In the ruins of Mycenae is a fountain called Persea; there are also underground chambers of Atreus and his children, in which were stored their treasures. There is the grave of Atreus, along with the graves of such as returned with Agamemnon from Troy, and were murdered by Aegisthus after he had given them a banquet. As for the tomb of Cassandra, it is claimed by the Lacedaemonians who dwell around Amyclae. Agamemnon has his tomb, and so has Eurymedon the charioteer, while another is shared by Teledamus and Pelops, twin sons, they say, of Cassandra, whom while yet babies Aegisthus slew after their parents.
16.6. Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἐρειπίοις κρήνη τέ ἐστι καλουμένη Περσεία καὶ Ἀτρέως καὶ τῶν παίδων ὑπόγαια οἰκοδομήματα, ἔνθα οἱ θησαυροί σφισι τῶν χρημάτων ἦσαν. τάφος δὲ ἔστι μὲν Ἀτρέως, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ὅσους σὺν Ἀγαμέμνονι ἐπανήκοντας ἐξ Ἰλίου δειπνίσας κατεφόνευσεν Αἴγισθος. τοῦ μὲν δὴ Κασσάνδρας μνήματος ἀμφισβητοῦσι Λακεδαιμονίων οἱ περὶ Ἀμύκλας οἰκοῦντες· ἕτερον δέ ἐστιν Ἀγαμέμνονος, τὸ δὲ Εὐρυμέδοντος τοῦ ἡνιόχου, καὶ Τελεδάμου τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ Πέλοπος— τούτους γὰρ τεκεῖν διδύμους Κασσάνδραν φασί, νηπίους δὲ ἔτι ὄντας ἐπικατέσφαξε τοῖς γονεῦσιν Αἴγισθος—⟨καὶ Ἠλέκτρας⟩·
16.7. Electra has her tomb, for Orestes married her to Pylades. Hellanicus adds that the children of Pylades by Electra were Medon and Strophius. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus were buried at some little distance from the wall. They were thought unworthy of a place within it, where lay Agamemnon himself and those who were murdered with him.
16.7. Πυλάδῃ γὰρ συνῴκησεν Ὀρέστου δόντος. Ἑλλάνικος δὲ καὶ τάδε ἔγραψε, Μέδοντα καὶ Στρόφιον γενέσθαι Πυλάδῃ παῖδας ἐξ Ἠλέκτρας. Κλυταιμνήστρα δὲ ἐτάφη καὶ Αἴγισθος ὀλίγον ἀπωτέρω τοῦ τείχους· ἐντὸς δὲ ἀπηξιώθησαν, ἔνθα Ἀγαμέμνων τε αὐτὸς ἔκειτο καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐκείνῳ φονευθέντες.
17.1. Fifteen stades distant from Mycenae is on the left the Heraeum. Beside the road flows the brook called Water of Freedom. The priestesses use it in purifications and for such sacrifices as are secret. The sanctuary itself is on a lower part of Euboea. Euboea is the name they give to the hill here, saying that Asterion the river had three daughters, Euboea, Prosymna, and Acraea, and that they were nurses of Hera.
17.1. Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ πέντε ἀπέχει καὶ δέκα στάδια τὸ Ἡραῖον. ῥεῖ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ὕδωρ Ἐλευθέριον καλούμενον· χρῶνται δὲ αὐτῷ πρὸς καθάρσια αἱ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ἐς τὰς ἀπορρήτους. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ἱερόν ἐστιν ἐν χθαμαλωτέρῳ τῆς Εὐβοίας· τὸ γὰρ δὴ ὄρος τοῦτο ὀνομάζουσιν Εὔβοιαν, λέγοντες Ἀστερίωνι γενέσθαι τῷ ποταμῷ θυγατέρας Εὔβοιαν καὶ Πρόσυμναν καὶ Ἀκραίαν, εἶναι δὲ σφᾶς τροφοὺς τῆς Ἥρας·
17.2. The hill opposite the Heraeum they name after Acraea, the environs of the sanctuary they name after Euboea, and the land beneath the Heraeum after Prosymna. This Asterion flows above the Heraeum, and falling into a cleft disappears. On its banks grows a plant, which also is called asterion. They offer the plant itself to Hera, and from its leaves weave her garlands.
17.2. καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν Ἀκραίας τὸ ὄρος καλοῦσι τὸ ἀπαντικρὺ τοῦ Ἡραίου, ἀπὸ δὲ Εὐβοίας ὅσον περὶ τὸ ἱερόν, Πρόσυμναν δὲ τὴν ὑπὸ τὸ Ἡραῖον χώραν. ὁ δὲ Ἀστερίων οὗτος ῥέων ὑπὲρ τὸ Ἡραῖον ἐς φάραγγα ἐσπίπτων ἀφανίζεται. φύεται δὲ αὐτοῦ πόα πρὸς ταῖς ὄχθαις· ἀστερίωνα ὀνομάζουσι καὶ τὴν πόαν· ταύτην τῇ Ἥρᾳ καὶ αὐτὴν φέρουσι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν φύλλων αὐτῆς στεφάνους πλέκουσιν.
17.3. It is said that the architect of the temple was Eupolemus, an Argive. The sculptures carved above the pillars refer either to the birth of Zeus and the battle between the gods and the giants, or to the Trojan war and the capture of Ilium. Before the entrance stand statues of women who have been priestesses to Hera and of various heroes, including Orestes. They say that Orestes is the one with the inscription, that it represents the Emperor Augustus. In the fore-temple are on the one side ancient statues of the Graces, and on the right a couch of Hera and a votive offering, the shield which Menelaus once took from Euphorbus at Troy.
17.3. ἀρχιτέκτονα μὲν δὴ γενέσθαι τοῦ ναοῦ λέγουσιν Εὐπόλεμον Ἀργεῖον· ὁπόσα δὲ ὑπὲρ τοὺς κίονάς ἐστιν εἰργασμένα, τὰ μὲν ἐς τὴν Διὸς γένεσιν καὶ θεῶν καὶ γιγάντων μάχην ἔχει, τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν πρὸς Τροίαν πόλεμον καὶ Ἰλίου τὴν ἅλωσιν. ἀνδριάντες τε ἑστήκασι πρὸ τῆς ἐσόδου καὶ γυναικῶν, αἳ γεγόνασιν ἱέρειαι τῆς Ἥρας, καὶ ἡρώων ἄλλων τε καὶ Ὀρέστου· τὸν γὰρ ἐπίγραμμα ἔχοντα, ὡς εἴη βασιλεὺς Αὔγουστος, Ὀρέστην εἶναι λέγουσιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ προνάῳ τῇ μὲν Χάριτες ἀγάλματά ἐστιν ἀρχαῖα, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ κλίνη τῆς Ἥρας καὶ ἀνάθημα ἀσπὶς ἣν Μενέλαός ποτε ἀφείλετο Εὔφορβον ἐν Ἰλίῳ.
17.4. The statue of Hera is seated on a throne; it is huge, made of gold and ivory, and is a work of Polycleitus. She is wearing a crown with Graces and Seasons worked upon it, and in one hand she carries a pomegranate and in the other a sceptre. About the pomegranate I must say nothing, for its story is somewhat of a holy mystery. The presence of a cuckoo seated on the sceptre they explain by the story that when Zeus was in love with Hera in her maidenhood he changed himself into this bird, and she caught it to be her pet. This tale and similar legends about the gods I relate without believing them, but I relate them nevertheless.
17.4. τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα τῆς Ἥρας ἐπὶ θρόνου κάθηται μεγέθει μέγα, χρυσοῦ μὲν καὶ ἐλέφαντος, Πολυκλείτου δὲ ἔργον· ἔπεστι δέ οἱ στέφανος Χάριτας ἔχων καὶ Ὥρας ἐπειργασμένας, καὶ τῶν χειρῶν τῇ μὲν καρπὸν φέρει ῥοιᾶς, τῇ δὲ σκῆπτρον. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐς τὴν ῥοιὰν—ἀπορρητότερος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λόγος—ἀφείσθω μοι· κόκκυγα δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ σκήπτρῳ καθῆσθαί φασι λέγοντες τὸν Δία, ὅτε ἤρα παρθένου τῆς Ἥρας, ἐς τοῦτον τὸν ὄρνιθα ἀλλαγῆναι, τὴν δὲ ἅτε παίγνιον θηρᾶσαι. τοῦτον τὸν λόγον καὶ ὅσα ἐοικότα εἴρηται περὶ θεῶν οὐκ ἀποδεχόμενος γράφω, γράφω δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον.
17.5. By the side of Hera stands what is said to be an image of Hebe fashioned by Naucydes; it, too, is of ivory and gold. By its side is an old image of Hera on a pillar. The oldest image is made of wild-pear wood, and was dedicated in Tiryns by Peirasus, son of Argus, and when the Argives destroyed Tiryns they carried it away to the Heraeum. I myself saw it, a small, seated image.
17.5. λέγεται δὲ παρεστηκέναι τῇ Ἥρᾳ τέχνη Ναυκύδους ἄγαλμα Ἥβης, ἐλέφαντος καὶ τοῦτο καὶ χρυσοῦ· παρὰ δὲ αὐτήν ἐστιν ἐπὶ κίονος ἄγαλμα Ἥρας ἀρχαῖον. τὸ δὲ ἀρχαιότατον πεποίηται μὲν ἐξ ἀχράδος, ἀνετέθη δὲ ἐς Τίρυνθα ὑπὸ Πειράσου τοῦ Ἄργου, Τίρυνθα δὲ ἀνελόντες Ἀργεῖοι κομίζουσιν ἐς τὸ Ἡραῖον· ὃ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς εἶδον, καθήμενον ἄγαλμα οὐ μέγα.
17.6. Of the votive offerings the following are noteworthy. There is an altar upon which is wrought in relief the fabled marriage of Hebe and Heracles. This is of silver, but the peacock dedicated by the Emperor Hadrian is of gold and gleaming stones. He dedicated it because they hold the bird to be sacred to Hera. There lie here a golden crown and a purple robe, offerings of Nero.
17.6. ἀναθήματα δὲ τὰ ἄξια λόγου βωμὸς ἔχων ἐπειργασμένον τὸν λεγόμενον Ἥβης καὶ Ἡρακλέους γάμον· οὗτος μὲν ἀργύρου, χρυσοῦ δὲ καὶ λίθων λαμπόντων Ἀδριανὸς βασιλεὺς ταὼν ⟨ἀνέθηκεν·⟩ ἀνέθηκε δέ, ὅτι τὴν ὄρνιθα ἱερὰν τῆς Ἥρας νομίζουσι. κεῖται δὲ καὶ στέφανος χρυσοῦς καὶ πέπλος πορφύρας, Νέρωνος ταῦτα ἀναθήματα.
17.7. Above this temple are the foundations of the earlier temple and such parts of it as were spared by the flames. It was burnt down because sleep overpowered Chryseis, the priestess of Hera, when the lamp before the wreaths set fire to them. Chryseis went to Tegea and supplicated Athena Alea. Although so great a disaster had befallen them the Argives did not take down the statue of Chryseis; it is still in position in front of the burnt temple.
17.7. ἔστι δὲ ὑπὲρ τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον τοῦ προτέρου ναοῦ θεμέλιά τε καὶ εἰ δή τι ἄλλο ὑπελίπετο ἡ φλόξ. κατεκαύθη δὲ τὴν ἱέρειαν τῆς Ἥρας Χρυσηίδα ὕπνου καταλαβόντος, ὅτε ὁ λύχνος πρὸ τῶν στεφανωμάτων ἥπτετο. καὶ Χρυσηὶς μὲν ἀπελθοῦσα ἐς Τεγέαν τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν Ἀλέαν ἱκέτευεν· Ἀργεῖοι δὲ καίπερ κακοῦ τηλικούτου παρόντος σφίσι τὴν εἰκόνα οὐ καθεῖλον τῆς Χρυσηίδος, ἀνάκειται δὲ καὶ ἐς τόδε τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ κατακαυθέντος ἔμπροσθεν.
18.1. By the side of the road from Mycenae to Argos there is on the left hand a hero-shrine of Perseus. The neighboring folk, then, pay him honors here, but the greatest honors are paid to him in Seriphus and among the Athenians, who have a precinct sacred to Perseus and an altar of Dictys and Clymene, who are called the saviours of Perseus. Advancing a little way in the Argive territory from this hero-shrine one sees on the right the grave of Thyestes. On it is a stone ram, because Thyestes obtained the golden lamb after debauching his brother's wife. But Atreus was not restrained by prudence from retaliating, but contrived the slaughter of the children of Thyestes and the banquet of which the poets tell us.
18.1. ἐκ Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐς Ἄργος ἐρχομένοις ἐν ἀριστερᾷ Περσέως παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν ἐστιν ἡρῷον. ἔχει μὲν δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τιμὰς παρὰ τῶν προσχωρίων, μεγίστας δὲ ἔν τε Σερίφῳ καὶ παρʼ Ἀθηναίοις⟨, οἷς⟩ Περσέως τέμενος καὶ Δίκτυος καὶ Κλυμένης βωμὸς σωτήρων καλουμένων Περσέως. ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἀργείᾳ προελθοῦσιν ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡρῴου τούτου Θυέστου τάφος ἐστὶν ἐν δεξιᾷ· λίθου δὲ ἔπεστιν αὐτῷ κριός, ὅτι τὴν ἄρνα ὁ Θυέστης ἔσχε τὴν χρυσῆν, μοιχεύσας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα. Ἀτρέα δὲ οὐκ ἐπέσχεν ὁ λογισμὸς μετρῆσαι τὴν ἴσην, ἀλλὰ τῶν Θυέστου παίδων σφαγὰς καὶ τὰ ᾀδόμενα δεῖπνα ἐξειργάσατο.
18.2. But as to what followed, I cannot say for certain whether Aegisthus began the sin or whether Agamemnon sinned first in murdering Tantalus, the son of Thyestes. It is said that Tantalus had received Clytaemnestra in marriage from Tyndareus when she was still a virgin. I myself do not wish to condemn them of having been wicked by nature; but if the pollution of Pelops and the avenging spirit of Myirtilus dogged their steps so long, it was after all only consistent that the Pythian priestess said to the Spartan Glaucus, the son of Epicydes, who consulted her about breaking his oath, that the punishment for this also comes upon the descendants of the sinner.
18.2. ὕστερον δὲ οὐκ ἔχω σαφὲς εἰπεῖν πότερον ἀδικίας ἦρξεν Αἴγισθος ἢ προϋπῆρξεν Ἀγαμέμνονι φόνος Ταντάλου τοῦ Θυέστου· συνοικεῖν δέ φασιν αὐτὸν Κλυταιμνήστρᾳ παρθένῳ παρὰ Τυνδάρεω λαβόντα. ἐγὼ δὲ καταγνῶναι μὲν οὐκ ἐθέλω φύσει σφᾶς γενέσθαι κακούς· εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον αὐτοῖς τὸ μίασμα τὸ Πέλοπος καὶ ὁ Μυρτίλου προστρόπαιος ἠκολούθησε, τούτοις ἦν ἄρα ὁμολογοῦντα, ἡνίκα ἡ Πυθία Γλαύκῳ τῷ Ἐπικύδους Σπαρτιάτῃ, βουλεύσαντι ἐπίορκα ὀμόσαι, καὶ τοῦδε εἶπεν ἐς τοὺς ἀπογόνους κατιέναι τὴν δίκην.
18.3. A little beyond the Rams—this is the name they give to the tomb of Thyestes—there is on the left a place called Mysia and a sanctuary of Mysian Demeter, so named from a man Mysius who, say the Argives, was one of those who entertained Demeter. Now this sanctuary has no roof, but in it is another temple, built of burnt brick, and wooden images of the Maid, Pluto and Demeter. Farther on is a river called Inachus, and on the other side of it an altar of Helius (the Sun). After this you will come to a gate named after the sanctuary near it. This sanctuary belongs to Eileithyia.
18.3. ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν Κριῶν—οὕτω γὰρ τοῦ Θυέστου τὸ μνῆμα ὀνομάζουσι—προελθοῦσιν ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ χωρίον Μυσία καὶ Δήμητρος Μυσίας ἱερὸν ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς Μυσίου τὸ ὄνομα, γενομένου καὶ τούτου, καθάπερ λέγουσιν Ἀργεῖοι, ξένου τῇ Δήμητρι. τούτῳ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἔπεστιν ὄροφος· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ ναός ἐστιν ἄλλος ὀπτῆς πλίνθου, ξόανα δὲ Κόρης καὶ Πλούτωνος καὶ Δήμητρός ἐστι. προελθοῦσι δὲ ποταμός ἐστιν Ἴναχος, καὶ διαβᾶσιν Ἡλίου βωμός. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἐπὶ πύλην ἥξεις καλουμένην ἀπὸ τοῦ πλησίον ἱεροῦ· τὸ δὲ ἱερόν ἐστιν Εἰλειθυίας.
18.4. The Argives are the only Greeks that I know of who have been divided into three kingdoms. For in the reign of Anaxagoras, son of Argeus, son of Megapenthes, the women were smitten with madness, and straying from their homes they roamed about the country, until Melampus the son of Amythaon cured them of the plague on condition that he himself and his brother Bias had a share of the kingdom equal to that of Anaxagoras. Now descended from Bias five men, Neleids on their mother's side, occupied the throne for four generations down to Cyanippus, son of Aegialeus, and descended from Melampus six men in six generations down to Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus.
18.4. μόνους δὲ Ἑλλήνων οἶδα Ἀργείους ἐς τρεῖς βασιλείας νεμηθέντας. ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς Ἀναξαγόρου τοῦ Ἀργείου τοῦ Μεγαπένθους μανία ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἐνέπεσεν, ἐκφοιτῶσαι δὲ ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ἐπλανῶντο ἀνὰ τὴν χώραν, ἐς ὃ Μελάμπους ὁ Ἀμυθάονος ἔπαυσε σφᾶς τῆς νόσου, ἐφʼ ᾧ τε αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς Βίας Ἀναξαγόρᾳ τὸ ἴσον ἕξουσιν. ἀπὸ μὲν δὴ Βίαντος βασιλεύουσι πέντε ἄνδρες ἐπὶ γενεὰς τέσσαρας ἐς Κυάνιππον τὸν Αἰγιαλέως, ὄντες Νηλεῖδαι τὰ πρὸς μητρός, ἀπὸ δὲ Μελάμποδος γενεαί τε ἓξ καὶ ἄνδρες ἴσοι μέχρις Ἀμφιλόχου τοῦ Ἀμφιαράου·
18.5. But the native house of the family of Anaxagoras ruled longer than the other two. For Iphis, son of Alector, son of Anaxagoras, left the throne to Sthenelus, son of Capaneus his brother. After the capture of Troy, Amphilochus migrated to the people now called the Amphilochians, and, Cyanippus having died without issue, Cylarabes, son of Sthenelus, became sole king. However, he too left no offspring, and Argos was seized by Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who was a neighbor. Besides his ancestral dominion, he had extended his rule over the greater part of Arcadia and had succeeded to the throne of Sparta; he also had a contingent of Phocian allies always ready to help him.
18.5. τὸ δὲ ἐγχώριον γένος οἱ Ἀναξαγορίδαι βασιλεύουσι πλέον. Ἶφις μὲν γὰρ ὁ Ἀλέκτορος τοῦ Ἀναξαγόρου Σθενέλῳ τῷ Καπανέως ἀδελφοῦ παιδὶ ἀπέλιπε τὴν ἀρχήν· Ἀμφιλόχου δὲ μετὰ ἅλωσιν Ἰλίου μετοικήσαντος ἐς τοὺς νῦν Ἀμφιλόχους, Κυανίππου ⟨δʼ⟩ ἄπαιδος τελευτήσαντος, οὕτω Κυλαράβης ὁ Σθενέλου μόνος τὴν βασιλείαν ἔσχεν. οὐ μέντοι παῖδας κατέλιπεν οὐδʼ οὗτος, ἀλλὰ Ὀρέστης ὁ Ἀγαμέμνονος τὸ Ἄργος κατέσχε παροικῶν τε ἐγγὺς αὐτῷ καὶ ἄνευ τῆς πατρῴας ἀρχῆς προσπεποιημένος μὲν Ἀρκάδων τοὺς πολλούς, παρειληφὼς δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐν Σπάρτῃ βασιλείαν, συμμαχικοῦ δὲ ἐκ Φωκέων ἀεί ποτε ἐπʼ ὠφελείᾳ ἑτοίμου παρόντος.
18.6. When Orestes became king of the Lacedaemonians, they themselves consented to accept him for they considered that the sons of the daughter of Tyndareus had a claim to the throne prior to that of Nicostratus and Megapenthes, who were sons of Menelaus by a slave woman. On the death of Orestes, there succeeded to the throne Tisamenus, the son of Orestes and of Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus. The mother of Penthilus, the bastard son of Orestes, was, according to the poet Cinaethon, Erigone, the daughter of Aegisthus.
18.6. Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ ἐβασίλευσεν Ὀρέστης Λακεδαιμονίων ἐφέντων αὐτῷ· τοὺς γὰρ Τυνδάρεω θυγατριδοῦς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχειν [οὐκ] ἠξίουν πρὸ Νικοστράτου καὶ Μεγαπένθους Μενελάῳ γεγενημένων ἐκ δούλης. Ὀρέστου δὲ ἀποθανόντος ἔσχε Τισαμενὸς τὴν ἀρχήν, Ἑρμιόνης τῆς Μενελάου καὶ Ὀρέστου παῖς. τὸν δὲ Ὀρέστου νόθον Πενθίλον Κιναίθων ἔγραψεν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν Ἠριγόνην τὴν Αἰγίσθου τεκεῖν.
18.7. It was in the reign of this Tisamenus that the Heracleidae returned to the Peloponnesus; they were Temenus and Cresphontes, the sons of Aristomachus, together with the sons of the third brother, Aristodemus, who had died. Their claim to Argos and to the throne of Argos was, in my opinion, most just, because Tisamenus was descended from Pelops, but the Heracleidae were descendants of Perseus. Tyndareus himself, they made out, had been expelled by Hippocoon, and they said that Heracles, having killed Hippocoon and his sons, had given the land in trust to Tyndareus. They gave the same kind of account about Messenia also, that it had been given in trust to Nestor by Heracles after he had taken Pylus.
18.7. ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Τισαμενοῦ τούτου κατίασιν ἐς Πελοπόννησον Ἡρακλεῖδαι, Τήμενος μὲν καὶ Κρεσφόντης Ἀριστομάχου, τοῦ τρίτου δὲ Ἀριστοδήμου προτεθνεῶτος εἵποντο οἱ παῖδες. Ἄργους μὲν δὴ καὶ τῆς ἐν Ἄργει βασιλείας ὀρθότατα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἠμφισβήτουν, ὅτι ἦν Πελοπίδης ὁ Τισαμενός, οἱ δὲ Ἡρακλεῖδαι τὸ ἀνέκαθέν εἰσι Περσεῖδαι· Τυνδάρεω δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκπεσόντα ἀπέφαινον ὑπὸ Ἱπποκόωντος, Ἡρακλέα δὲ ἔφασαν ἀποκτείναντα Ἱπποκόωντα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας παρακαταθέσθαι Τυνδάρεῳ τὴν χώραν· τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς Μεσσηνίας ἕτερα ἔλεγον, παρακαταθήκην Νέστορι δοθῆναι καὶ ταύτην ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους ἑλόντος Πύλον.
18.8. So they expelled Tisamenus from Lacedaemon and Argos, and the descendants of Nestor from Messenia, namely Alcmaeon, son of Sillus, son of Thrasymedes, Peisistratus, son of Peisistratus, and the sons of Paeon, son of Antilochus, and with them Melanthus, son of Andropompus, son of Borus, son of Penthilus, son of Periclymenus. So Tisamenus and his sons went with his army to the land that is now Achaia.
18.8. ἐκβάλλουσιν οὖν ἐκ μὲν Λακεδαίμονος καὶ Ἄργους Τισαμενόν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς Μεσσηνίας τοὺς Νέστορος ἀπογόνους, Ἀλκμαίωνα Σίλλου τοῦ Θρασυμήδους καὶ Πεισίστρατον τὸν Πεισιστράτου καὶ τοὺς Παίονος τοῦ Ἀντιλόχου παῖδας, σὺν δὲ αὐτοῖς Μέλανθον τὸν Ἀνδροπόμπου τοῦ Βώρου τοῦ Πενθίλου τοῦ Περικλυμένου. Τισαμενὸς μὲν οὖν ἦλθε σὺν τῇ στρατιᾷ καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἐς τὴν νῦν Ἀχαΐαν·
18.9. To what people Peisistratus retreated I do not know, but the rest of the Neleidae went to Athens, and the clans of the Paeonidae and of the Alcmaeonidae were named after them. Melanthus even came to the throne, having deposed Thymoetes the son of Oxyntes; for Thymoetes was the last Athenian king descended from Theseus.
18.9. οἱ δὲ Νηλεῖδαι πλὴν Πεισιστράτου—τοῦτον γὰρ οὐκ οἶδα παρʼ οὕστινας ἀπεχώρησεν—ἐς Ἀθήνας ἀφίκοντο οἱ λοιποί, καὶ τὸ Παιονιδῶν γένος καὶ Ἀλκμαιωνιδῶν ἀπὸ τούτων ὠνομάσθησαν. Μέλανθος δὲ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἔσχεν ἀφελόμενος Θυμοίτην τὸν Ὀξύντου· Θυμοίτης γὰρ Θησειδῶν ἔσχατος ἐβασίλευσεν Ἀθηναίων.
19.1. It is not to my purpose that I should set forth here the history of Cresphontes and of the sons of Aristodemus. But Temenus openly employed, instead of his sons, Delphontes, son of Antimachus, son of Thrasyanor, son of Ctesippus, son of Heracles, as general in war and as adviser on all occasions. Even before this he had made him his son-in-law, while Hyrnetho was his favorite daughter; he was accordingly suspected of intending to divert the throne to her and Delphontes. For this reason his sons plotted against him, and Ceisus, the eldest of them, seized the kingdom.
19.1. τὰ μὲν οὖν Κρεσφόντου καὶ τῶν Ἀριστοδήμου παίδων οὐκ ἤπειγεν ὁ λόγος με ἐνταῦθα δηλῶσαι· Τήμενος δὲ ἐκ μὲν τοῦ φανεροῦ Δηιφόντῃ τῷ Ἀντιμάχου τοῦ Θρασυάνορος τοῦ Κτησίππου τοῦ Ἡρακλέους στρατηγῷ πρὸς τὰς μάχας ἐχρήσατο ἀντὶ τῶν υἱῶν καὶ σύμβουλον ἐς πάντα εἶχεν, ἅτε αὐτόν τε ἐκεῖνον πεποιημένος πρότερον ἔτι γαμβρὸν καὶ τῶν παίδων ἀρεσκόμενος τῇ Ὑρνηθοῖ μάλιστα, ὑπωπτεύετο δὲ ἤδη καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐς ἐκείνην καὶ Δηιφόντην τρέπειν. ἐπεβουλεύθη δὲ τούτων ἕνεκα ὑπὸ τῶν υἱῶν· ἐκείνων δὲ αὐτῷ Κεῖσος πρεσβύτατος ὢν ἔσχε τὴν ἀρχήν.
19.2. But from the earliest times the Argives have loved freedom and self-government, and they limited to the utmost the authority of their kings, so that to Medon, the son of Ceisus, and to his descendants was left a kingdom that was such only in name. Meltas, the son of Lacedas, the tenth descendant of Medon, was condemned by the people and deposed altogether from the kingship.
19.2. Ἀργεῖοι δέ, ἅτε ἰσηγορίαν καὶ τὸ αὐτόνομον ἀγαπῶντες ἐκ παλαιοτάτου, τὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας τῶν βασιλέων ἐς ἐλάχιστον προήγαγον, ὡς Μήδωνι τῷ Κείσου καὶ τοῖς ἀπογόνοις τὸ ὄνομα λειφθῆναι τῆς βασιλείας μόνον. Μέλταν δὲ τὸν Λακήδου δέκατον ἀπόγονον Μήδωνος τὸ παράπαν ἔπαυσεν ἀρχῆς καταγνοὺς ὁ δῆμος.
19.3. The most famous building in the city of Argos is the sanctuary of Apollo Lycius (Wolf-god). The modern image was made by the Athenian Attalus, but the original temple and wooden image were the offering of Danaus. I am of opinion that in those days all images, especially Egyptian images, were made of wood. The reason why Danaus founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius was this. On coming to Argos he claimed the kingdom against Gelanor, the son of Sthenelas. Many plausible arguments were brought forward by both parties, and those of Sthenelas were considered as fair as those of his opponent; so the people, who were sitting in judgment, put off, they say, the decision to the following day.
19.3. Ἀργείοις δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει τὸ ἐπιφανέστατόν ἐστιν Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερὸν Λυκίου. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἄγαλμα τὸ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Ἀττάλου ποίημα ἦν Ἀθηναίου, τὸ δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς Δαναοῦ καὶ ὁ ναὸς καὶ τὸ ξόανον ἀνάθημα ἦν· ξόανα γὰρ δὴ τότε εἶναι πείθομαι πάντα καὶ μάλιστα τὰ Αἰγύπτια. Δαναὸς δὲ ἱδρύσατο Λύκιον Ἀπόλλωνα ἐπʼ αἰτίᾳ τοιαύτῃ. παραγενόμενος ἐς τὸ Ἄργος ἠμφισβήτει πρὸς Γελάνορα τὸν Σθενέλα περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς. ῥηθέντων δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ δήμου παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων πολλῶν τε καὶ ἐπαγωγῶν καὶ οὐχ ἧσσον δίκαια λέγειν τοῦ Γελάνορος δόξαντος, ὁ μὲν δῆμος ὑπερέθετο—φασὶν— ἐς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν κρίνειν·
19.4. At dawn a wolf fell upon a herd of oxen that was pasturing before the wall, and attacked and fought with the bull that was the leader of the herd. It occurred to the Argives that Gelanor was like the bull and Danaus like the wolf, for as the wolf will not live with men, so Danaus up to that time had not lived with them. It was because the wolf overcame the bull that Danaus won the kingdom. Accordingly, believing that Apollo had brought the wolf on the herd, he founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius.
19.4. ἀρχομένης δὲ ἡμέρας ἐς βοῶν ἀγέλην νεμομένην πρὸ τοῦ τείχους ἐσπίπτει λύκος, προσπεσὼν δὲ ἐμάχετο πρὸς ταῦρον ἡγεμόνα τῶν βοῶν. παρίσταται δὴ τοῖς Ἀργείοις τῷ μὲν Γελάνορα, Δαναὸν δὲ εἰκάσαι τῷ λύκῳ, ὅτι οὔτε τὸ θηρίον τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις σύντροφον οὔτε Δαναός σφισιν ἐς ἐκεῖνο τοῦ χρόνου. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν ταῦρον κατειργάσατο ὁ λύκος, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Δαναὸς ἔσχε τὴν ἀρχήν. οὕτω δὴ νομίζων Ἀπόλλωνα ἐπὶ τὴν ἀγέλην ἐπαγαγεῖν τῶν βοῶν τὸν λύκον, ἱδρύσατο Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερὸν Λυκίου.
19.5. Here is dedicated the throne of Danaus, and here Is placed a statue of Biton, in the form of a man carrying a bull on his shoulders. According to the poet Lyceas, when the Argives were holding a sacrifice to Zeus at Nemea, Biton by sheer physical strength took up a bull and carried it there. Next to this statue is a fire which they keep burning, calling it the fire of Phoroneus. For they do not admit that fire was given to mankind by Prometheus, but insist in assigning the discovery of fire to Phoroneus.
19.5. ἐνταῦθα ἀνάκειται μὲν θρόνος Δαναοῦ, κεῖται δὲ εἰκὼν Βίτωνος, ἀνὴρ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων φέρων ταῦρον· ὡς δὲ Λυκέας ἐποίησεν, ἐς Νεμέαν Ἀργείων ἀγόντων θυσίαν τῷ Διὶ ὁ Βίτων ὑπὸ ῥώμης τε καὶ ἰσχύος ταῦρον ἀράμενος ἤνεγκεν. ἑξῆς δὲ τῆς εἰκόνος ταύτης πῦρ καίουσιν ὀνομάζοντες Φορωνέως εἶναι· οὐ γάρ τι ὁμολογοῦσι δοῦναι πῦρ Προμηθέα ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ ἐς Φορωνέα τοῦ πυρὸς μετάγειν ἐθέλουσι τὴν εὕρεσιν.
19.6. As to the wooden images of Aphrodite and Hermes, the one they say was made by Epeus, while the other is a votive offering of Hypermnestra. She was the only one of the daughters of Danaus who neglected his command, and was accordingly brought to justice by him, because be considered that his life was in danger so long as Lynceus was at large, and that the refusal to share in the crime of her sisters increased the disgrace of the contriver of the deed. On her trial she was acquitted by the Argives, and to commemorate her escape she dedicated an image of Aphrodite, the Bringer of Victory.
19.6. τὰ δὲ ξόανα Ἀφροδίτης καὶ Ἑρμοῦ, τὸ μὲν Ἐπειοῦ λέγουσιν ἔργον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ Ὑπερμήστρας ἀνάθημα. ταύτην γὰρ τῶν θυγατέρων μόνην τὸ πρόσταγμα ὑπεριδοῦσαν ὑπήγαγεν ὁ Δαναὸς ἐς δικαστήριον, τοῦ τε Λυγκέως οὐκ ἀκίνδυνον αὑτῷ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡγούμενος καὶ ὅτι τοῦ τολμήματος οὐ μετασχοῦσα ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς καὶ τῷ βουλεύσαντι τὸ ὄνειδος ηὔξησε. κριθεῖσα δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἀργείοις ἀποφεύγει τε καὶ Ἀφροδίτην ἐπὶ τῷδε ἀνέθηκε Νικηφόρον.
19.7. Within the temple is a statue of Ladas, the swiftest runner of his time, and one of Hermes with a tortoise which he has caught to make a lyre. Before the temple is a pit with a relief representing a fight between a bull and a wolf, and with them a maiden throwing a rock at the bull. The maiden is thought to be Artemis. Danaus dedicated these, and some pillars hard by and wooden images of Zeus and Artemis.
19.7. τοῦ ναοῦ δέ ἐστιν ἐντὸς Λάδας ποδῶν ὠκύτητι ὑπερβαλλόμενος τοὺς ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ καὶ Ἑρμῆς ἐς λύρας ποίησιν χελώνην ᾑρηκώς. ἔστι δὲ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ ναοῦ βόθρος πεποιημένα ἐν τύπῳ ταύρου μάχην ἔχων καὶ λύκου, σὺν δὲ αὐτοῖς παρθένον ἀφιεῖσαν πέτραν ἐπὶ τὸν ταῦρον· Ἄρτεμιν [δὲ] εἶναι νομίζουσι τὴν παρθένον. Δαναὸς δὲ ταῦτά τε ἀνέθηκε καὶ πλησίον κίονας καὶ Διὸς καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος ξόανον.
19.8. Here are graves; one is that of Linus, the son of Apollo by Psamathe, the daughter of Crotopus; the other, they say, is that of Linus the poet. The story of the latter Linus is more appropriate to another part of my narrative, and so I omit it here, while I have already given the history of the son of Psamathe in my account of Megara. After these is an image of Apollo, God of Streets, and an altar of Zeus, God of Rain, where those who were helping Polyneices in his efforts to be restored to Thebes swore an oath together that they would either capture Thebes or die. As to the tomb of Prometheus, their account seems to me to be less probable than that of the Opuntians, but they hold to it nevertheless.
19.8. τάφοι δέ εἰσιν ὁ μὲν Λίνου τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ψαμάθης τῆς Κροτώπου, τὸν δὲ λέγουσιν εἶναι Λίνου τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὰ ἔπη. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐς τοῦτον οἰκειότερα ὄντα ἑτέρῳ λόγῳ παρίημι τῷδε, τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν Ψαμάθης ἡ Μεγαρική μοι συγγραφὴ προεδήλωσεν. ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐστὶν Ἀπόλλων Ἀγυιεὺς καὶ βωμὸς Ὑετίου Διός, ἔνθα οἱ συσπεύδοντες Πολυνείκει τὴν ἐς Θήβας κάθοδον ἀποθανεῖσθαι συνώμοσαν, ἢν μὴ τὰς Θήβας γένηταί σφισιν ἑλεῖν. ἐς δὲ τοῦ Προμηθέως τὸ μνῆμα ἧσσόν μοι δοκοῦσιν Ὀπουντίων εἰκότα λέγειν, λέγουσι δὲ ὅμως.
20.1. Passing over a statue of Creugas, a boxer, and a trophy that was set up to celebrate a victory over the Corinthians, you come to a seated image of Zeus Meilichius (Gracious), made of white marble by Polycleitus. I discovered that it was made for the following reason. Ever since the Lacedaemonians began to make war upon the Argives there was no cessation of hostilities until Philip, the son of Amyntas, forced them to stay within the original boundaries of their territories. Before this, if the Lacedaemonians were not engaged on some business outside the Peloponnesus, they were always trying to annex a piece of Argive territory; or if they were busied with a war beyond their borders it was the turn of the Argives to retaliate.
20.1. παρέντι δὲ Κρεύγα τε εἰκόνα ἀνδρὸς πύκτου ⟨καὶ⟩ τρόπαιον ἐπὶ Κορινθίοις ἀνασταθέν, ἄγαλμά ἐστι καθήμενον Διὸς Μειλιχίου, λίθου λευκοῦ, Πολυκλείτου δὲ ἔργον. ποιηθῆναι δὲ ἐπυνθανόμην αὐτὸ ἐπʼ αἰτίᾳ τοιαύτῃ. Λακεδαιμονίοις πολεμεῖν πρὸς Ἀργείους ἀρξαμένοις οὐδεμία ἦν ἔτι ἀπαλλαγή, πρὶν ἢ Φίλιππος σφᾶς ἠνάγκασεν ὁ Ἀμύντου μένειν ἐπὶ τοῖς καθεστηκόσιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὅροις τῆς χώρας. τὸν δὲ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι μηδὲν ἔξω Πελοποννήσου περιεργαζόμενοι τῆς Ἀργείας ἀεί τι ἀπετέμνοντο, ἢ οἱ Ἀργεῖοι τετραμμένων πρὸς πόλεμον ἐκείνων ὑπερόριον ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ καὶ αὐτοί σφισιν ἐνέκειντο.
20.2. When the hatred of both sides was at its height, the Argives resolved to maintain a thousand picked men. The commander appointed over them was the Argive Bryas. His general behavior to the men of the people was violent, and a maiden who was being taken to the bridegroom he seized from those who were escorting her and ravished. When night came on, the girl waited until he was asleep and put out his eyes. Detected in the morning, she took refuge as a suppliant with the people. When they did not give her up to the Thousand for punishment both sides took up arms; the people won the day, and in their anger left none of their opponents alive. Subsequently they had recourse to purifications for shedding kindred blood; among other things they dedicated an image of Zeus Meilichius.
20.2. προηγμένου δὲ ἀμφοτέροις ἐς ἄκρον τοῦ μίσους ἔδοξεν Ἀργείοις λογάδας τρέφειν χιλίους· ἡγεμὼν δὲ ἐτέτακτο ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς Βρύας Ἀργεῖος, ὃς ἄλλα τε ἐς ἄνδρας ὕβρισε τοῦ δήμου καὶ παρθένον κομιζομένην παρὰ τὸν νυμφίον ᾔσχυνεν ἀφελόμενος τοὺς ἄγοντας. ἐπιλαβούσης δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς τυφλοῖ τὸν Βρύαντα ἡ παῖς φυλάξασα ὑπνωμένον· φωραθεῖσα δὲ ὡς ἐπέσχεν ἡμέρα, κατέφυγεν ἱκέτις ἐς τὸν δῆμον. οὐ προεμένων δὲ αὐτὴν τιμωρήσασθαι τοῖς χιλίοις καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου προαχθέντων ἐς μάχην ἀμφοτέρων, κρατοῦσιν οἱ τοῦ δήμου, κρατήσαντες δὲ οὐδένα ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ τῶν ἐναντίων ἔλιπον. ὕστερον δὲ ἄλλα τε ἐπηγάγοντο καθάρσια ὡς ἐπὶ αἵματι ἐμφυλίῳ καὶ ἄγαλμα ἀνέθηκαν Μειλιχίου Διός.
20.3. Hard by are Cleobis and Biton carved in relief on stone, themselves drawing the carriage and taking in it their mother to the sanctuary of Hera. Opposite them is a sanctuary of Nemean Zeus, and an upright bronze statue of the god made by Lysippus. Going forward from this you see on the right the grave of Phoroneus, to whom even in our time they bring offerings as to a hero. Over against the Nemean Zeus is a temple of Fortune, which must be very old if it be the one in which Palamedes dedicated the dice that he had invented.
20.3. πλησίον δέ εἰσιν ἐπειργασμένοι λίθῳ Κλέοβις καὶ Βίτων αὐτοί τε ἕλκοντες τὴν ἅμαξαν καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῇ ἄγοντες τὴν μητέρα ἐς τὸ Ἡραῖον. τούτων δὲ ἀπαντικρὺ Νεμείου Διός ἐστιν ἱερόν, ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν χαλκοῦν, τέχνη Λυσίππου. μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸ προελθοῦσιν ἐν δεξιᾷ Φορωνέως τάφος ἐστίν· ἐναγίζουσι δὲ καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι τῷ Φορωνεῖ. πέραν δὲ τοῦ Νεμείου Διὸς Τύχης ἐστὶν ἐκ παλαιοτάτου ναός, εἰ δὴ Παλαμήδης κύβους εὑρὼν ἀνέθηκεν ἐς τοῦτον τὸν ναόν.
20.4. The tomb near this they call that of the maenad Chorea, saying that she was one of the women who joined Dionysus in his expedition against Argos, and that Perseus, being victorious in the battle, put most of the women to the sword. To the rest they gave a common grave, but to Chorea they gave burial apart because of her high rank.
20.4. τὸ δὲ μνῆμα τὸ πλησίον Χορείας μαινάδος ὀνομάζουσι, Διονύσῳ λέγοντες καὶ ἄλλας γυναῖκας καὶ ταύτην ἐς Ἄργος συστρατεύσασθαι, Περσέα δέ, ὡς ἐκράτει τῆς μάχης, φονεῦσαι τῶν γυναικῶν τὰς πολλάς· τὰς μὲν οὖν λοιπὰς θάπτουσιν ἐν κοινῷ, ταύτῃ δὲ—ἀξιώματι γὰρ δὴ προεῖχεν—ἰδίᾳ τὸ μνῆμα ἐποίησαν.
20.5. A little farther on is a sanctuary of the Seasons. On coming back from here you see statues of Polyneices, the son of Oedipus, and of all the chieftains who with him were killed in battle at the wall of Thebes. These men Aeschylus has reduced to the number of seven only, although there were more chiefs than this in the expedition, from Argos, from Messene, with some even from Arcadia. But the Argives have adopted the number seven from the drama of Aeschylus, and near to their statues are the statues of those who took Thebes: Aegialeus, son of Adrastus; Promachus, son of Parthenopaeus, son of Talaus; Polydorus, son of Hippomedon; Thersander; Alcmaeon and Amphilochus, the sons of Amphiaraus; Diomedes, and Sthenelus. Among their company were also Euryalus, son of Mecisteus, and Adrastus and Timeas, sons of Polyneices.
20.5. ἀπωτέρω δὲ ὀλίγον Ὡρῶν ἱερόν ἐστιν. ἐπανιόντι δὲ ἐκεῖθεν ἀνδριάντες ἑστήκασι Πολυνείκους τοῦ Οἰδίποδος καὶ ὅσοι σὺν ἐκείνῳ τῶν ἐν τέλει πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος μαχόμενοι τὸ Θηβαίων ἐτελεύτησαν. τούτους τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐς μόνων ἑπτὰ ἀριθμὸν κατήγαγεν Αἰσχύλος, πλειόνων ἔκ τε Ἄργους ἡγεμόνων καὶ Μεσσήνης καί τινων καὶ Ἀρκάδων στρατευσαμένων. τούτων δὲ τῶν ἑπτὰ—ἐπηκολουθήκασι γὰρ καὶ Ἀργεῖοι τῇ Αἰσχύλου ποιήσει—πλησίον κεῖνται καὶ οἱ τὰς Θήβας ἑλόντες Αἰγιαλεὺς Ἀδράστου καὶ Πρόμαχος ὁ Παρθενοπαίου τοῦ Ταλαοῦ καὶ Πολύδωρος Ἱππομέδοντος καὶ Θέρσανδρος καὶ οἱ Ἀμφιαράου παῖδες, Ἀλκμαίων τε καὶ Ἀμφίλοχος, Διομήδης τε καὶ Σθένελος· παρῆν δὲ ἔτι καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων Εὐρύαλος Μηκιστέως καὶ Πολυνείκους Ἄδραστος καὶ Τιμέας.
20.6. Not far from the statues are shown the tomb of Danaus and a cenotaph of the Argives who met their death at Troy or on the journey home. Here there is also a sanctuary of Zeus the Saviour. Beyond it is a building where the Argive women bewail Adonis. On the right of the entrance is the sanctuary of Cephisus. It is said that the water of this river was not utterly destroyed by Poseidon, but that just in this place, where the sanctuary is, it can be heard flowing under the earth.
20.6. τῶν δὲ ἀνδριάντων οὐ πόρρω δείκνυται Δαναοῦ μνῆμα καὶ Ἀργείων τάφος κενὸς ὁπόσους ἔν τε Ἰλίῳ καὶ ὀπίσω κομιζομένους ἐπέλαβεν ἡ τελευτή. καὶ Διός ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα ἱερὸν Σωτῆρος καὶ παριοῦσίν ἐστιν οἴκημα· ἐνταῦθα τὸν Ἄδωνιν αἱ γυναῖκες Ἀργείων ὀδύρονται. ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ τῆς ἐσόδου τῷ Κηφισῷ πεποίηται τὸ ἱερόν· τῷ δὲ ποταμῷ τούτῳ τὸ ὕδωρ φασὶν οὐ καθάπαξ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἀφανισθῆναι, ἀλλὰ ἐνταῦθα δὴ μάλιστα, ἔνθα καὶ τὸ ἱερόν ἐστι, συνιᾶσιν ὑπὸ γῆν ῥέοντος.