And after the reign of Oxylus, who also established games, the

Olympian games were suspended till Iphitus. And when he renewed the

games as I have before stated, there was a general forgetfulness about

the ancient games, but in a short while they got remembered again,

and whenever they remembered any little feature of the games, they

added it to the programme. And this proves my statement. From the

time that the Olympian games were revived continuously, prizes were

first instituted for running, and Corœbus of Elis was the victor. His

statue is at Olympia, and his grave is on the borders of Elis. And

in the 14th Olympiad afterwards the double course was introduced:

when Hypenus a native of Pisa won the wild olive crown, and Acanthus

was second. And in the 18th Olympiad they remembered the pentathlum

and the wrestling, in the former Lampis was victor, in the latter

Eurybatus, both Lacedæmonians. And in the 23rd Olympiad they ordained

prizes for boxing, and Onomastus was victor from Smyrna (which was at

that day reckoned as Ionia). And in the 25th Olympiad they had a race

of full-grown horses, and the Theban Pagondas was proclaimed victor

in this race. And in the eighth Olympiad later they introduced the

pancratium and the riding race. The horse of Crannonian Crauxidas

got in first, and the competitors for the pancratium were beaten by

the Syracusan Lygdamis, who has his sepulchre at the stonequarries

of Syracuse. And I don’t know whether Lygdamis was really as big

as the Theban Hercules, but that is the tradition at Syracuse. And

the contest of the boys was not a revival of ancient usage, but the

people of Elis instituted it because the idea pleased them. So prizes

were instituted for running and wrestling among boys in the 307th

Olympiad, and Hipposthenes the Lacedæmonian won the wrestling prize,

and Polynices from Elis the running prize. And in the 41st Olympiad

afterwards they invited boxing boys, and the one who won the prize

from all the competitors was Philetas from Sybaris. And the race in

heavy armour was tried in the 65th Olympiad, as an exercise for war I

think: and of those who ran with their shields Damaretus of Heræum was

the victor. And the race of two full-grown horses called a pair was

established in the 93rd Olympiad, and Evagoras of Elis was the victor.

And in the 99th Olympiad they had a fancy to contend with chariots

drawn by colts, and the Lacedæmonian Sybariades had the prize for this

contest. And they afterwards established races of a pair of colts and

for riding a colt, and the victor in the former was Belistiche, a woman

who lived in Macedonia near the sea, and in the latter Tlepolemus the

Lycian in the 131st Olympiad, Belistiche’s victory was in the 3rd

Olympiad before. And in the 145th Olympiad prizes were instituted for a

pancratium-contest for boys, and Phædimus an Æolian from the Troad was

victor.

CHAPTER IX.

And some of the contests at Olympia were put an end to, the people

of Elis having resolved to discontinue them. For the pentathlum for

boys was established in the 38th Olympiad, but when the Lacedæmonian

Eutelidas had won the crown of wild olive, the people of Elis did not

care that their lads should train for the pentathlum. So it dropped.

And the chariot race and the trotting race, the former established

in the 70th Olympiad and the latter in the 71st Olympiad, were both

stopped by proclamation in the 84th Olympiad. When they were first

instituted Thersius the Thessalian won the prize in the former, and

Patæcus an Achæan from Dyme in the latter. In the trotting race the

riders used to jump off towards the end of the course and run with

the horses still holding the reins, as what are called professional

riders do to this day, only the latter employ stallions and have their

own colours. But the chariot race is not an ancient invention nor a

graceful exhibition, and the people of Elis (who have always disliked

the horse) yoke two mules together instead of horses.

The order of the games in our day is to sacrifice victims to the god,

and then to contend in the pentathlum and horse-race, according to the

programme established in the 77th Olympiad, for before this horses and

men contended on the same day. And at that period the pancratiasts did

not appear till night for they could not compete sooner, so much time

being taken up by the horse-races and pentathlum. And the Athenian

Callias was the victor of the pancratiasts. But for the future they

took care that neither the pentathlum nor horse-races should stand in

the way of the pancratium. And as regards the umpires of the games, the

original rules and those in vogue in our day are quite different, for

Iphitus was the only umpire, and after Iphitus the posterity of Oxylus,

but in the 50th Olympiad two men picked by lot out of all Elis were

entrusted with the stewardship of the contests, and this practice of

two umpires continued for a very long time. But in the 25th Olympiad

afterwards 9 general Umpires were appointed: three for the horse-race,

three to watch the pentathlum, and three to preside over the remaining

games. And in the 2nd Olympiad after this a tenth Umpire was appointed.

And in the 103rd Olympiad, as the people of Elis had 12 tribes, a

general Umpire was appointed by each. And when they were hard pressed

by the Arcadians in war, they lost a portion of their territory and all

the villages in this portion, and so they were only 8 tribes in number

in the 104th Olympiad, and had only 8 general Umpires accordingly.

And in the 108th Olympiad they returned to the number of 10 general

Umpires, and that has continued the number to our day.

CHAPTER X.

Many various wonders may one see, or hear of, in Greece: but the

Eleusinian mysteries and Olympian games seem to exhibit more than

anything else the divine purpose. And the sacred grove of Zeus they

have from old time called Altis, slightly changing the Greek word for

grove[69]: it is indeed called Altis also by Pindar, in the Ode he

composed for a victor at Olympia. And the temple and statue of Zeus

were built out of the spoils of Pisa, which the people of Elis razed

to the ground, after quelling the revolt of Pisa and some of the

neighbouring towns that revolted with Pisa. And that the statue of Zeus

was the work of Phidias is shown by the inscription written at the base

of it,

“Phidias the Athenian, the son of Charmides, made me.”

The temple is a Doric building, and outside it is a colonnade. And

the temple is built of stone of the district. Its height up to the

gable is 68 feet, its breadth 95 feet, and its length 230 feet. And its

architect was Libon a native of Elis. And the tiles on the roof are

not of baked earth, but Pentelican marble to imitate tiles. They say

such roofs are the invention of a man of Naxos called Byzes, who made

statues at Naxos with the inscription,

“Euergus of Naxos made me, the son of Byzes, and descended from Leto,

the first who made tiles of stone.”

This Byzes was a contemporary of Alyattes the Lydian and Astyages

(the son of Cyaxaras) the king of Persia. And there is a golden vase at

each end of the roof, and a golden Victory in the middle of the gable.

And underneath the Victory is a golden shield hung up as a votive

offering, with the Gorgon Medusa worked on it. The inscription on the

shield states who hung it up, and the reason why they did so. For this

is what it says.

“This temple’s golden shield is a votive offering from the

Lacedæmonians at Tanagra and their allies, a gift from the Argives the

Athenians and the Ionians, a tithe offering for success in war.”

The battle I mentioned in my account of Attica, when I described the

tombs at Athens. And in the same temple at Olympia, above the zone

that runs round the pillars on the outside, are 21 golden shields, the

offering of Mummius the Roman General, after he had beaten the Achæans

and taken Corinth, and expelled the Dorians from Corinth. And on the

gables in bas relief is the chariot race between Pelops and Œnomaus,

and both chariots in motion. And in the middle of the gable is a statue

of Zeus, and on the right hand of Zeus is Œnomaus with a helmet on his

head, and beside him his wife Sterope, one of the daughters of Atlas.

And Myrtilus, who was the charioteer of Œnomaus, is seated behind the

four horses. And next to him are two men whose names are not recorded,

but they are doubtless Œnomaus’ grooms, whose duty was to take care of

the horses. And at the end of the gable is a delineation of the river

Cladeus, next to the Alpheus held most in honour of all the rivers of

Elis. And on the left of the statue of Zeus are Pelops and Hippodamia

and the charioteer of Pelops and the horses, and two men who were

Pelops’ grooms. And where the gable tapers fine there is the Alpheus

delineated. And Pelop’s charioteer was according to the tradition of

the Trœzenians Sphærus, but the custodian at Olympia said that his name

was Cilla. The carvings on the gables in front are by Pæonius of Mende

in Thracia, those behind by Alcamenes, a contemporary of Phidias and

second only to him as statuary. And on the gables is a representation

of the fight between the Lapithæ and the Centaurs at the marriage

of Pirithous. Pirithous is in the centre, and on one side of him is

Eurytion trying to carry off Pirithous’ wife and Cæneus coming to the

rescue, and on the other side Theseus laying about among the Centaurs

with his battle-axe: and one Centaur is carrying off a maiden, another

a blooming boy. Alcamenes has engraved this story, I imagine, because

he learnt from the lines of Homer that Pirithous was the son of Zeus,

and knew that Theseus was fourth in descent from Pelops. There are

also in bas relief at Olympia most of the Labours of Hercules. Above

the doors of the temple is the hunting of the Erymanthian boar, and

Hercules taking the mares of Diomede the Thracian, and robbing the oxen

of Geryon in the island of Erythea, and supporting the load of Atlas,

and clearing the land of Elis of its dung. And above the chamber behind

the doors he is robbing the Amazon of her belt, and there is the stag,

and the Cretan Minotaur, and the Stymphalian birds, and the hydra, and

the Nemean lion. And as you enter the brazen doors on the right in

front of the pillar is Iphitus being crowned by his wife Ecechiria,

as the inscription in verse states. And there are pillars inside the

temple, and porticoes above, and an approach by them to the image of

Zeus. There is also a winding staircase to the roof.

CHAPTER XI.

The image of the god is in gold and ivory, seated on a throne. And a

crown is on his head imitating the foliage of the olive tree. In his

right hand he holds a Victory in ivory and gold, with a tiara and crown

on his head: and in his left hand a sceptre adorned with all manner of

precious stones, and the bird seated on the sceptre is an eagle. The

robes and sandals of the god are also of gold: and on his robes are

imitations of flowers, especially of lilies. And the throne is richly

adorned with gold and precious stones, and with ebony and ivory. And

there are imitations of animals painted on it, and models worked on it.

There are four Victories like dancers one at each foot of the throne,

and two also at the instep of each foot: and at each of the front feet

are Theban boys carried off by Sphinxes, and below the Sphinxes Apollo

and Artemis shooting down the children of Niobe. And between the feet

of the throne are four divisions formed by straight lines drawn from

each of the four feet. In the division nearest the entrance there are

seven models, the eighth has vanished no one knows where or how. And

they are imitations of ancient contests, for in the days of Phidias the

contests for boys were not yet established. And the figure with its

head muffled up in a scarf is they say Pantarces, who was a native

of Elis and the darling of Phidias. This Pantarces won the wrestling

prize for boys in the 86th Olympiad. And in the remaining divisions is

the band of Hercules fighting against the Amazons. The number on each

side is 29, and Theseus is on the side of Hercules. And the throne is

supported not only by the four feet, but also by 4 pillars between

the feet. But one cannot get under the throne, as one can at Amyclæ,

and pass inside, for at Olympia there are panels like walls that keep

one off. Of these panels the one opposite the doors of the temple is

painted sky blue only, but the others contain paintings by Panænus.

Among them is Atlas bearing up Earth and Heaven, and Hercules standing

by willing to relieve him of his load, and Theseus and Pirithous, and

Greece, and Salamis with the figurehead of a ship in her hand, and

the contest of Hercules with the Nemean lion, and Ajax’s unknightly

violation of Cassandra, and Hippodamia the daughter of Œnomaus with her

mother, and Prometheus still chained to the rock and Hercules gazing

at him. For the tradition is that Hercules slew the eagle that was

ever tormenting Prometheus on Mount Caucasus, and released Prometheus

from his chains. The last paintings are Penthesilea dying and Achilles

supporting her, and two Hesperides carrying the apples of which they

are fabled to have been the keepers. This Panænus was the brother of

Phidias, and at Athens in the Painted Stoa he has painted the action

at Marathon. At the top of the throne Phidias has represented above

the head of Zeus the three Graces and three Seasons. For these too, as

we learn from the poets, were daughters of Zeus. Homer in the Iliad

has represented the Seasons as having the care of Heaven, as a kind

of guards of a royal palace.[70] And the base under the feet of Zeus,

(what is called in Attic θρανίον), has golden lions engraved on it, and

the battle between Theseus and the Amazons, the first famous exploit

of the Athenians beyond their own borders. And on the platform that

supports the throne there are various ornaments round Zeus and gilt

carving, the Sun seated in his chariot, and Zeus and Hera, and near

is Grace. Hermes is close to her, and Vesta close to Hermes. And

next to Vesta is Eros receiving Aphrodite just rising from the sea,

who is being crowned by Persuasion. And Apollo and Artemis Athene and

Hercules are standing by, and at the end of the platform Amphitrite and

Poseidon, and Selene apparently urging on her horse. And some say it is

a mule and not a horse that the goddess is riding upon, and there is a

silly tale about this mule.

I know that the size of the Olympian Zeus both in height and breadth

has been stated, but I cannot bestow praise on the measurers, for their

recorded measurement comes far short of what anyone would infer looking

at the statue. They make the god also to have testified to the art of

Phidias. For they say when the statue was finished, Phidias prayed him

to signify if the work was to his mind, and immediately Zeus struck

with lightning that part of the pavement, where in our day there is a

brazen urn with a lid.

And all the pavement in front of the statue is not of white but

of black stone. And a border of Parian marble runs round this black

stone, as a preservative against spilled oil. For oil is good for

the statue at Olympia, as it prevents the ivory being harmed by the

dampness of the grove. But in the Acropolis at Athens, in regard to

the statue of Athene called the Maiden, it is not oil but water that

is advantageously employed to the ivory: for as the citadel is dry by

reason of its great height, the statue being made of ivory needs to be

sprinkled with water freely. And when I was at Epidaurus, and enquired

why they use neither water nor oil to the statue of Æsculapius, the

sacristans of the temple informed me that the statue of the god and its

throne are over a well.

CHAPTER XII.

Those who think that the parts of the elephant that project from the

mouth are teeth and not horns, should consider the case of Celtic elks

and Ethiopian bulls. For male elks have horns on their foreheads,

but the female elk has none whatever. And Ethiopian bulls have horns

growing in their nostrils. Who would therefore think it very wonderful

after these examples that a beast should have horns growing out of its

mouth? One may also get further light from the following particulars.

Horns in animals take a certain definite period to grow and grow more

than once: and this is the case with stags and antelopes as well as

elephants. But no animal after full growth has second sets of teeth.

If they are teeth therefore and not horns that project from elephants’

mouths, how could they grow a second time? Moreover teeth are not acted

upon by fire, but horns both of oxen and elephants can by the action of

fire be made straight from round, and can in fact be turned into any

shape. [But in hippopotamuses and boars the lower jaw has projecting

teeth: and we do not see horns growing out of their jaws.] Let anybody

be certain therefore that they are horns in the elephant that project

and grow out from the temples. I don’t make this assertion as mere

hearsay, for I have seen the skull of an elephant in the temple of

Artemis in Campania. The temple I refer to is about 30 stades from

Capua, which is the chief town of Campania. And the elephant is not

only different from other animals in the growth of its horns, but also

in its size and appearance. And the Greeks seem to me to have shewn

great munificence and an absence of parsimoniousness in respect to

their worship of the gods, seeing that they procured ivory both from

India and Ethiopia for their statues.

At Olympia also in the temple of Zeus is a woollen veil, adorned

with Assyrian tapestry and dyed with the Phœnician purple, the votive

offering of Antiochus, who also gave to the theatre at Athens a golden

ægis with the Gorgon’s head on it. This veil is not drawn up to the

roof as in the temple of Ephesian Artemis, but let down to the

pavement by ropes. And among the votive offerings in the temple or

ante-chapel is the throne of Arimnestus king of the Tyrrhenians, (who

was the first foreigner that offered a votive offering to Olympian

Zeus,) and the horses of Cynisca in brass, the memorials of her victory

at Olympia. These horses are rather smaller than life, and are on the

right as you enter the ante-chapel. And there is a tripod covered with

brass, on which before the table was made the crowns for the victors

were laid. And of the statues of the Emperors, Adrian’s in Parian

marble was a gift of all the cities that joined the Achæan league, and

Trajan’s a gift of all the Greeks. This last Emperor added the Getæ

beyond Thrace to the Roman Empire, and waged war against Osroes (the

descendant of Arsaces) and the Parthians. The most famous of all his

works are the Baths which are known as Trajan’s Baths, and a large

theatre perfectly round, and a building for horse-races two stades in

length, and the forum at Rome well worth seeing for various beauties

and especially its brazen roof. And there are two statues in the round

parts of the building, one of the Emperor Augustus in amber, the other

in ivory is said to be Nicomedes, the king of Bithynia: from whom the

largest town in Bithynia, that had been previously called Astacus, got

called Nicomedia. It was originally founded by Zypœtes, a Thracian

as one would infer from his name. And the amber of which they made

Augustus’ statue, the native amber which is found in the sands of the

Eridanus, is most rare and precious to man for many purposes. But the

other kind of amber is gold mixed with silver. And in the temple at

Olympia there are several of Nero’s votive offerings, 3 are crowns to

imitate the wild olive, the fourth is an imitation of oak. And there

are 25 brazen shields to be worn by the competitors in the race in

armour. And there are several pillars, and among them one which has the

covenant of the people of Elis and the Athenians Argives and Mantineans

for an alliance for 100 years.

CHAPTER XIII.

And within Altis there is a separate grove to Pelops: who of the heroes

at Olympia is as much held in the highest honour as Zeus is among the

gods. This grove is on the right of the temple of Zeus towards the

North, just at such a distance from the temple as to admit of statues

and votive offerings between, and it extends from the middle of the

temple to the back, and is surrounded by a stone wall, and has trees

planted in it, and statues. And the entrance to it is from the west.

And it is said to have been dedicated to Pelops by Hercules the son of

Amphitryon, who was fourth in descent from Pelops. And he is said to

have sacrificed in the trench to Pelops. And the magistrates for the

year sacrifice to him even now a black ram. The seer has no portion

of this sacrifice, the neck of the ram only is usually given to the

person called the wood-cutter. He is one of the temple servants, and

his function is to furnish wood for the sacrifices at a fixed price,

both to cities and to any private individual. And the wood is always

of the white poplar tree. And whatever stranger or native of Elis eats

the flesh of the victim sacrificed to Pelops may not enter the temple

of Zeus. Those who sacrifice to Telephus at Pergamum north of the river

Caicus are in a similar predicament: they may not enter the temple of

Æsculapius till they have had a bath. And the following tradition is

still told about Pelops. During the protracted siege of Ilium the seers

are said to have prophesied that they would never capture the town

till they procured the bows of Hercules and a bone of Pelops. So they

sent it is said for Philoctetes to the camp, and the shoulder-blade of

Pelops was brought from Pisa. And on the return home of the Greeks,

the ship that had the shoulder-blade of Pelops was wrecked near Eubœa.

And many years after the capture of Ilium Damarmenus, a fisherman

of Eretria, cast his net into the sea and fished up this bone, and

marvelling at the size of it hid it in the sand. And eventually he went

to Delphi, desiring to know who the bone belonged to, and what he

should do with it. And it chanced providentially that some persons of

Elis, seeking a cure for the pestilence, were at Delphi at this period.

And the Pythian Priestess told them to preserve the bones of Pelops,

and told Damarmenus to give what he had found to the people of Elis.

And when he had done so the people of Elis gave him several presents,

and made Damarmenus and his descendants custodians of this bone. But

this shoulder-blade of Pelops has not survived to our day, because in

my opinion it was buried too deep, partly also from time and the action

of the sea. And there are still traces even to our day of Pelops and

Tantalus having brought colonies to Greece, as the marsh called after

Tantalus, and his well-known grave. And the throne of Pelops is at

Sipylus on the top of the mountain above the temple of the Placianian

mother, and after you have crossed the river Hermus there is a statue

of Aphrodite at Temnus still in existence made of myrtle: and the

tradition is that it was a votive offering of Pelops to propitiate the

goddess, before begging her help towards marrying Hippodamia.

And the altar of Olympian Zeus is about equidistant from the grove

of Pelops and the temple of Hera, and is situated in front of both.

Some say it was erected by Idæan Hercules, others say by some heroes

of the district two generations after him. It was they say made of

the _débris_ of the thigh bones of the victims sacrificed to Zeus,

as the altar at Pergamum. The Samian Hera has also an altar made of

similar material, an altar not a whit more handsome than those which

in Attica they call extemporary altars. And the first base of the

altar of Olympia, called the pro-altar, has a circumference of 125

feet, and above the pro-altar is a circumference of 32 feet. And the

whole height of the altar is 22 feet. It is customary to sacrifice the

victims at the lower part, at the pro-altar: but the thigh-bones they

bring to the highest part of the altar and burn them there. And stone

steps lead up to the pro-altar on both sides, but up to the high altar

there are merely steps of _débris_. Maidens may ascend as far as the

pro-altar, and likewise women at the seasons when they are allowed to

be at Olympia, but men alone may ascend to the high altar. And private

individuals, and the people of Elis daily, offer sacrifices to Zeus

besides at the general Festival. And annually the seers observe the

19th day of the month Elaphius by carrying the _débris_ from the Town

Hall, and kneading it with the water of the River Alpheus, and thus

construct their altar. No other water is ever used for this purpose,

and that is why the Alpheus is considered more friendly to Olympian

Zeus than any other river. There is also at Didymi (a town of the

Milesians) an altar made by Hercules the Theban of victims’ blood. So

at least the Milesians say. But the blood of the victims has never

raised it to any great height even in these latter days.

CHAPTER XIV.

But the altar at Olympia has another wonder. Kites, which are by nature

especially birds of prey, never harm the sacrifices at Olympia. And if

on any chance occasion a kite touch the entrails or flesh of a victim,

it is not considered a good omen for the sacrificer. And they say when

Hercules, the son of Alcmena, was sacrificing at Olympia there was a

great plague of flies: when, either of his own idea or at another’s

suggestion, he sacrificed to Zeus the Averter of flies, and so they

were driven to the other side of the Alpheus. On similar grounds the

natives of Elis are said to sacrifice to Zeus the Averter of flies,

because he drove them from Olympia.

The wood of the white poplar tree is the only wood that the people of

Elis employ in the sacrifices of Zeus, giving that tree this especial

honour, I imagine, because Hercules introduced it from Thesprotia into

Greece. And I think there can be little doubt that Hercules himself,

when he sacrificed to Zeus at Olympia, burnt the thighs of the victims

on white poplar wood. Hercules found this tree growing near the Acheron

a river in Thesprotia, and that is why they say it is called Acherois

by Homer.[71] In all ages rivers have been celebrated for the growth

of various grasses and trees on their banks. Thus the Mæander is most

famous for tamarisks, and the Asopus in Bœotia for immense reeds, and

the Persea is found only on the banks of the Nile. Thus there is no

wonder that by the Acheron first grew the white poplar, and that the

wild olive grows near the Alpheus, and that the black poplar grows on

Celtic soil by the river Eridanus.

Let us now, as we have made mention of the greatest altar, enumerate

all the altars at Olympia. I will take them in the order the people

of Elis are accustomed to sacrifice at them. They first sacrifice

to Vesta, and next to Olympian Zeus in the altar inside the temple,

thirdly to Hermes, fourthly to Artemis, fifthly to Athene the Goddess

of Booty, sixthly to Athene Ergane. To this Athene the descendants of

Phidias, (called the cleansers because they received from the people of

Elis the honour of cleansing the statue of Zeus from anything clinging

to it), sacrifice before they commence polishing up the statue. And

there is also another altar of Athene near the temple, and near it a

square altar of Artemis tapering up gradually at the top. And next to

those we have mentioned they sacrifice to Alpheus and Artemis at one

altar: the reason for this I learnt from one of Pindar’s Odes, and I

have recorded it in my account of the Letrinæans.[72] And at no great

distance from this is another altar to Alpheus, and near it an altar to

Hephæstus, which some of the people of Elis say is the altar of Martial

Zeus, at which Œnomaus sacrificed when he proposed the horse-race for

the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia. Next is an altar of Hercules

under the title of Aider, and altars to Hercules’ brothers, Epimedes

and Idas and Pæonæus and Iasus. I know that the altar of Idas is called

the altar of Acesidas by some. And at the ruins of the house of Œnomaus

are two altars, one of Household Zeus, built apparently by Œnomaus, the

other built afterwards I think to Zeus of the Lightning, when lightning

had struck the house. With reference to the great altar, called the

altar of Olympian Zeus, I have already spoken a little above. And near

it is the altar to Unknown Gods, and next that of Zeus the Cleanser,

and Victory, and next that of Zeus Chthonius. There are also altars

of all the gods, and one of Olympian Hera also made of _débris_, the

votive offering they say of Clymenus. And next to it is a joint altar

to Apollo and Hermes, because the tradition in Elis is that Hermes was

the inventor of the lyre, and Apollo the inventor of the lute. And next

are altars of Harmony, and Athene, and the Mother of the Gods. And

there are two altars very near the entrance to the race-course, one

they say of Hermes the Athlete, and the other of Opportunity. Ion the

Chian has I know written an Hymn to Opportunity, in which he traces

his genealogy, and makes him the youngest son of Zeus. And near the

treasure of the Sicyonians is an altar of Hercules, either one of the

Curetes, or the son of Alcmena, for both traditions are current. And

at what is called Gæum there is an altar to Earth, this too made of

_débris_: and they say there was an oracle of Earth earlier still. And

at the place called Stomium there is an altar to Themis. And before

the altar of Zeus, the god of thunder and lightning, is a fence on

all sides, and this altar too is not far from the great altar formed

of _débris_. Let my reader remember that I have not enumerated these

altars according to the position of their site, but taken them in a

rambling order, according to the order in which the people of Elis

sacrifice at them. And in the grove of Pelops there is a joint altar

to Dionysus and the Graces, and next one to the Muses, and one to the

Nymphs.

CHAPTER XV.

Outside Altis there is a building called the workshop of Phidias, who

used to work here at his statues, and there is an altar here to all the

gods in common. As you turn back again to Altis you see straight before

you the Hall of Leonidas. It is outside the temple precincts, and of

the various approaches to Altis is the only one used for processions.

It was built by Leonidas, a native of Elis, and now the Roman governors

of Elis make it their headquarters. It is separated by an alley from

the approach used for processions: the people of Elis call alleys what

the Athenians call bylanes. And there is in Altis to the left of the

Hall of Leonidas, an altar of Aphrodite, and an altar of the Seasons

next to it. And in the rear of the temple there is a wild olive tree

growing on the right: it is called the olive beautiful for its crowns,

and the victors at Olympia receive crowns of it. Near this wild olive

tree is a temple of the Nymphs, these too they call beautiful for

their crowns. And inside Altis there is an altar of Artemis of the

Market-Place, and on the right of the Hall of Leonidas is an altar to

the goddesses called Mistresses. Of the goddess whom they call Mistress

the portion of my work about Arcadia will give complete information.

And next is an altar of Zeus of the Market-Place, and, in front of what

is called the Seat of Honour, altars of Pythian Apollo, and Dionysus.

This last they say was erected by private people not so long ago. And

as you go to where the horses start is an altar, with the inscription

The Decider of Fate. This is plainly a title of Zeus who fore-knows

all human events, both what the Fates send, and others. And near this

is an oblong altar of the Fates, and next one of Hermes, and next

two of Zeus Supreme. And at the middle of the place where the horses

start are altars in the open air to Poseidon the Patron of Horses, and

Hera the Patroness of Horses, and near the pillar an altar of Castor

and Pollux. And at the entrance, near what is called the Rostrum, is

an altar of Ares the Patron of Horses, and an altar of Athene the

Patroness of Horses. And as you enter the Rostrum there are altars of

Good Fortune, and of Pan, and of Aphrodite. And in the interior of the

Rostrum the Nymphs called Acmenæ have an altar. And as you return from

the Portico which the people of Elis call Agnaptus’ from the name of

the Architect, there is on the right an altar of Artemis. And as you

enter Altis again by the road used for processions there are altars

behind the chapel of Hera of the river Cladeus and of Artemis, and next

to them one of Apollo, and a fourth of Artemis Coccoca, and a fifth

of Apollo Thermius. Thermius I conjecture at Elis will be the same

word as Thesmius (_Law-loving_) in Attic. But why Artemis was called

Coccoca I could not ascertain. There is a building in front of what

they call the Priest’s dwelling, and in the corner of it is an altar

of Pan. And the Town Hall of the people of Elis is within Altis, near

the outlet beyond the gymnasium, where the athletes have their races

and wrestling-matches. And in front of the doors of the Town Hall is

an altar of Artemis of the Market-Place. And in the Town Hall itself

as you pass into a room where there is a hearth, there is an altar of

Pan on the right of the entrance. And the hearth itself is made of

_débris_, and there is a fire on it burning continually day and night.

From this hearth as I have already stated they remove the _débris_ to

the altar of Olympian Zeus, and the height of that altar is largely due

to contributions from this hearth.

And once in every month the people of Elis sacrifice at the altars

which I have mentioned. And they sacrifice in a certain primitive

fashion; for they burn frankincense on the altars and cakes kneaded

with honey. And they decorate the altars with olive branches, and pour

out libations of wine. But they do not offer libations of wine to the

Nymphs, or the Mistresses, or at the joint altar of all the gods.

And the sacrifices are conducted by the priest, who has office for

one month, and by the seers, the libation-offerers, the Interpreter

of Antiquities, the flute-player, and the wood-cutter. But the words

that they use in the Town Hall, and the Hymns which they sing, I am

not allowed to introduce into my account. And they pour libations not

only to Greek gods, but to the god of Libya, and to Hera of Ammon,

and to Parammon (a title of Hermes). It is manifest also that from

time immemorial they have consulted the oracle at Libya, and there are

altars in the temple of Ammon, votive offerings of the people of Elis:

and there are inscribed on them the questions of the people of Elis,

and the answers returned by the god, and the names of those who went

to Ammon from Elis. All this is in the temple of Ammon. The people of

Elis also pour libations to heroes, and the wives of heroes, who are

honoured in Elis or Ætolia. And the Hymns sung in the Town Hall are in

the Doric dialect, but by whom composed they do not tell us. The people

of Elis also have a banqueting-hall, (inside the Town-Hall, opposite

the room where the hearth is,) where they entertain the victors at

Olympia.

CHAPTER XVI.

Next ought I to describe the temple of Hera, and all that is worth

narrating in it. The people of Elis have a tradition that the people

of Scillus in Triphylia built it about 8 years after Oxylus became

king at Elis. Its architecture is Doric, there are pillars all round

it, one pillar in a chamber at the back of the temple is of oak. And

the length of the temple is 63 feet. The architect’s name is not

recorded. And every fifth year 16 matrons weave a shawl for Hera, and

the same number preside over her games. And the contest is a race for

maidens of various ages: in the first race are the youngest, and next

those slightly older, and last of all the eldest. And they all run

with their hair down their back, a short tunic below the knee, and

their right shoulder bare to the breast. They use in this contest the

regular race-course at Olympia, but make it a sixth part of a stade

shorter. And the victors receive crowns of olive, and part of the

heifer sacrificed to Hera: and paintings of them are made for Hera. And

the 16 matrons who preside over the games have as many handmaids. They

trace this contest of the maidens back to ancient times, saying that

Hippodamia in gratitude to Hera for her marriage with Pelops selected

16 matrons, and in concert with them inaugurated these games to Hera.

And they record that Chloris (with the exception of one brother the

only surviving child of Amphion) was the victor. And what I learnt

about the children of Niobe I have narrated in my account about Argos.

About these 16 matrons they have also the following tradition. They

say that Damophon, the tyrant at Pisa, did many grievous injuries to

the people of Elis, and on his death, as the people of Pisa had not

publicly sanctioned his ill deeds, the people of Elis were willing to

annul their charges against them, so 16 of the principal cities in Elis

at that day selected each one matron of age and merit and good name

to arbitrate on any claims. And the cities from which they selected

matrons were Elis and 15 others, and thus their differences with the

people of Pisa were arranged. And afterwards the same 16 were told off

to make all the arrangements about the Hera Festival, and to weave the

shawl for Hera. These 16 matrons also have two dances, one they call

Physcoa’s dance, and the other’s Hippodamia’s. Physcoa the tradition

goes was from hollow Elis, and lived in the parish they call Orthia,

and was mother by Dionysus of a boy called Narcæus, who, when he grew

up, warred with the neighbouring tribes and came to great power, and

built a temple of Athene Narcæa: and Dionysus was they say first

worshipped by Narcæus and Physcoa. Physcoa had other honours besides

the dance called after her name. The number of matrons is still kept up

by the people of Elis, but they are somewhat differently chosen. For

as they are divided into 8 tribes they select two matrons from each.

And the functions of these 16 matrons and the Umpires of Elis are never

commenced till after the sacrifice of a pig and lustration with water.

And the lustration takes place at the fountain Piera, which is situated

in the plain between Olympia and Elis. All these things are as I have

described them.

CHAPTER XVII.

And in Hera’s temple there is a statue of Zeus, and also one of Hera

seated on a throne, and standing by is a person with a beard and helmet

on his head. And the workmanship is very simple. And next them the

Æginetan Smilis has delineated the Seasons sitting on thrones. And near

them is a statue of Themis as the mother of the Seasons, the design

of Doryclidas, a Lacedæmonian by race, and the pupil of Dipœnus and

Scyllis. And there are five Hesperides by Theocles, a Lacedæmonian

also, the son of Hegylus, who is also said to have been a pupil of

Scyllis and Dipœnus. And Athene with a helmet and spear and shield is

they say by the Lacedæmonian Medon, who was the brother of Doryclidas,

and learnt his art also from Scyllis and Dipœnus. And Proserpine and

Demeter sit, Apollo and Artemis stand, opposite one another. And

there are statues also of Leto and Fortune and Dionysus, and a winged

Victory, who designed them I cannot tell, but they appear to me very

antique. What I have enumerated are in ivory and gold: but in later

times there were other statues placed in the temple of Hera, as a stone

Hermes carrying Dionysus as a babe, by Praxiteles; and Aphrodite in

brass, by Cleon of Sicyon, whose master was Antiphanes, of the school

of Periclytus the pupil of the Argive Polycletus. And before Aphrodite

there is a little golden boy seated, by the Carthaginian Boethus, which

was brought here from what is called Philip’s house, as well as some

statues in gold and ivory, as Eurydice the wife of Philip, and Olympias.

* * The chest is of cedar and has figures on it, some in ivory, some

in gold, some carved on the cedar. In this chest Cypselus, the tyrant

of Corinth, was hid by his mother at his birth, as the Bacchidæ were

eager to find him. On account of his safety his descendants, called

the Cypselidæ, made the chest a votive offering at Olympia, and the

Corinthians of that day called chests _cypselæ_: that is the origin of

the name Cypselus given to the boy, so they say. And on the chest there

are inscriptions in large letters in an old handwriting: some of this

writing is straight, other parts are written in what the Greeks call

ox-fashion. That is, when one line is finished the next begins where

that left off and runs backward, and so on like the double course on

the race ground. There are also inscriptions on the chest that are very

puzzling and difficult to make out. And if you begin to examine the

chest all over, beginning at the lower part, you will see first Œnomaus

pursuing Pelops and Hippodamia. Each of them have a pair of horses

but those of Pelops have wings. And next is the house of Amphiaraus,

and some old woman is carrying Amphilochus the baby, and in front of

the house is Eriphyle with a necklace, and near her her daughters

Eurydice and Demonassa, and the little boy Alcmæon naked. Asius in his

poems has also represented Alcmena as the daughter of Amphiaraus and

Eriphyle. And Baton, the charioteer of Amphiaraus, has the reins in one

hand and a lance in the other. And one of Amphiarus’ feet is in the

chariot, and his sword is drawn, and he is turned towards Eriphyle,

and in his rage can scarce refrain from rushing at her. And next to

Amphiaraus’ house are the games in memory of Pelias, and the spectators

are looking on the contests. There is Hercules sitting on a seat, and

his wife behind him, but her name is not given, she is piping with

Phrygian and not Greek pipes. And there are Pisus the son of Perieres

and Asterion the son of Cometes driving a pair of horses, the latter is

said to have sailed in the Argo, and Pollux and Admetus, and Euphemus

the son of Poseidon (according to the tale of the poets), and the

companion of Jason on his voyage to Colchi, he also was victorious

in the pair-horse-race. And there are Admetus and Mopsus, the son of

Ampyx, both famous boxers. And in the midst is a man playing on the

flute, as in our day they are still wont to do in the leaping contest

in the pentathlum. And Jason and Peleus are wrestling, they are very

evenly matched. And there is Eurybotas throwing his quoit, a man famous

as a quoit-player whoever he was. And there are Melanion and Neotheus

and Phalareus and Argeus and Iphiclus ready for the race: and Acastus

is holding out the crown to the victor, who was Iphiclus, the father

of Protesilaus who fought at Ilium. There are also some tripods as

prizes for the winners, and there are the daughters of Pelias, of whom

the name of Alcestis only is inscribed. Iolaus too, who voluntarily

shared in Hercules’ Labours, is there, just having come in first in the

chariot-race. And this is the last of the games in memory of Pelias.

And there is Athene standing by Hercules who is shooting the hydra,

the monster that infested the river Amymone. And because Hercules was

well-known, from his great size as well as the nature of the contest,

his name is not written underneath. And there is Phineus the Thracian,

and the sons of Boreas driving away the Harpies from him.

CHAPTER XVIII.

On the second side of the chest, on the left, to take them in their

order, is a woman supporting with her right hand a white child

sleeping, and with her left a black child like the sleeping child,

but with both its feet twisted. The inscriptions shew, what one would

have inferred without any inscriptions, that they are Death and Sleep

with their nurse Night. And there is a comely woman dragging along an

ugly one, with one hand holding her fast, and with the other beating

her with a rod, this is Justice punishing Injustice. And there are two

women pounding with pestles into mortars, apparently compounding drugs,

but there is no inscription in reference to them. But about the man and

woman following him there are two hexameter lines as follows, “Idas is

leading away from the temple by no means against her will Marpessa of

the beautiful ancles, whom Apollo snatched away for himself.”

And there is a man clad in a tunic, with a cup in his right hand and

in his left a necklace, and Alcmena is seizing them. According to the

Greek tradition, Zeus assumed the appearance of Amphitryon, and so

made Alcmena welcome him as her husband. And there is Menelaus with

a breastplate and sword pursuing Helen to kill her, plainly during

the sack of Ilium. And there is Jason on the right hand of Medea, who

is sitting on a throne, and Aphrodite is standing by her. And the

inscription relative to them is,

“Jason is wooing Medea, Aphrodite is encouraging them.”

The Muses are also represented singing and Apollo leading off, and

the inscription is as follows,

“Here is the king, the son of Leto, far-darting Apollo,

And round him the Muses, a graceful band, whom he leads in

the songs.”

And Atlas is bearing up Heaven and Earth (according to the legend) on

his shoulders, and in his hands are the apples of the Hesperides. And

who the man is with a sword advancing to Atlas is nowhere written, but

it is evident to all that it is Hercules. This is all the inscription,

“Atlas here is bearing up Heaven, he will neglect the apples.”

There is also Ares in full armour leading off Aphrodite. The

inscription under him is Enyalius. There too is the maiden Thetis,

and Peleus is laying hold of her, and from Thetis’ hand a serpent is

about to dart at Peleus. And there are the sisters of Medusa with wings

pursuing the fleeing Perseus. His name only is given.

The third side of the chest is devoted to military views. Most of

the soldiers to be seen are infantry, but there are also some cavalry

in two-horse war-chariots. And some of the soldiers are you can see

engaging, while others are recognizing and greeting one another. The

antiquarians have two explanations of this, the one party say that it

is the Ætolians with Oxylus and the ancient people of Elis, and that

they are fraternizing and exhibiting friendliness to one another in

remembrance of their ancient consanguinity, the other party say that

it is the people of Pylos and the Arcadians fighting near the town of

Pheia and the river Iardanus. No one would have _prima facie_ expected

that the ancestor of Cypselus, being a Corinthian and in possession

of the chest, would have purposely passed over Corinthian history,

and artistically portrayed on the chest foreign and even immaterial

events. So the following is the view I am inclined to form. Cypselus

and his ancestors came originally from Gonussa beyond Sicyon, and were

descended from Melas the son of Antasus. And Aletes would not receive

Melas and his army into the city, as I have stated before in my account

of Corinth, thus disobeying the oracle at Delphi, until at last,

as Melas paid every attention to him, and whenever he was rejected

returned again with entreaty, Aletes admitted him but not with a good

grace. One would conjecture therefore that the forces of Melas are here

portrayed.

CHAPTER XIX.

And on the 4th side of the chest on the left Boreas is carrying off

Orithyia, and he has serpents’ tails instead of feet. And there is

the fight between Hercules and Geryon, who was three men in one. And

there is Theseus with a lyre, and near him Ariadne with a garland. And

Achilles and Memnon are fighting and their mothers are standing by.

And there is Melanion, and Atalanta by him with a fawn. And Strife,

looking most hateful, stands by the duel (after challenge) between Ajax

and Hector. A very similar Strife has been depicted in the temple of

Ephesian Artemis by the Samian Calliphon, who painted the battle at the

ships of the Greeks. There are also on the chest figures of Castor and

Pollux, one of them without a beard, and Helen between them. And Æthra,

the daughter of Pittheus, in a dark dress is prostrate on the ground

at the feet of Helen. And the inscription is an Hexameter line and one

word more.

“Castor and Pollux ran off with Helen, and dragged Æthra from Athens.”

These are the very words. And Iphidamas the son of Agenor is lying on

the ground, and Coon is fighting with Agamemnon over his dead body. And

Fear with the head of a lion is on Agamemnon’s shield. And this is the

inscription over the corpse of Iphidamas,

“This is Iphidamas, Coon bestrides him in the fight.”

And on Agamemnon’s shield,

“Here is what mortals call Fear, Agamemnon has got him.”

And Hermes is bringing to Paris, the son of Priam, the goddesses to

the choice of beauty, and the inscription here is,

“Here is Hermes showing to Paris the dainty sight of Hera and Athene

and Aphrodite in all their beauty.”

And Artemis--I know not why--has wings on her shoulders, and in her

right hand she has a leopard, in her left a lion. And there is Ajax

dragging Cassandra from the statue of Athene, and the inscription is,

“Locrian Ajax is dragging Cassandra from Athene.”

And there are the sons of Œdipus, Polynices has fallen on his knees,

and Eteocles is pressing him hard. And behind Polynices stands a

monster with teeth as sharp as a wild beast’s, and with crooked claws.

And the inscription says that it is Doom, and that Polynices was

carried off by Fate, and that Eteocles’ end was just. And there too is

bearded Dionysus lying down in a cave, clad in a long garment, with a

golden bowl in his hand: and there are clusters of vine round him, and

apples, and pomegranates.

The topmost side of the chest, for there are five in all, has no

inscription, but one can easily conjecture what the representations

are. In a cave there is a woman sleeping with a man upon a bed, and we

infer that they are Odysseus and Circe from the number of handmaids

in front of the cave, and from their tasks. For the women are four in

number, and they are engaged just as Homer has represented. And there

is a Centaur, not with all his feet horses’ feet, for his forefeet are

those of a man. And there are pair-horse chariots and women seated

on the chariots: and the horses have gold wings, and a man is giving

arms to one of the women. This is conjectured to refer to the death of

Patroclus. For it is the Nereids on the chariots, and Thetis who is

receiving arms from Hephæstus. For he who is giving the arms is lame,

and behind is a servant with smith’s tongs. And the tradition about

Chiron the Centaur is that, though he had left this world and been

received into heaven, he returned to earth to comfort Achilles. And

there are two maidens in a carriage drawn by mules, one is driving and

the other has a veil on her head, they are thought to be Nausicaa, the

daughter of Alcinous, and her attendant driving to the wash. And the

man shooting at the Centaurs and killing some of them is manifestly

Hercules, for this was one of his great feats.

Who it was that constructed this chest it is quite impossible to

conjecture: the inscriptions on it might have been composed by anybody,

but suspicion points to Eumelus the Corinthian, both on other grounds,

and because of the Processional Hymn which he composed in reference to

Delos.

CHAPTER XX.

There are also here besides the chest several votive offerings, as a

bed of no great size adorned with much ivory, and the quoit of Iphitus,

and the table on which the crowns for the victors are deposited. The

bed was they say a plaything of Hippodamia: and the quoit of Iphitus

has written on it the armistice between the people of Elis and the

Olympians not straight down it, but all round the quoit: and the table

is of ivory and gold, the design of Colotes, who was they say a native

of Heraclea. And those who take interest in artificers say that he

was a Parian and the pupil of Pasiteles, who was himself the pupil

of....[73] There too are statues of Hera, and Zeus, and the Mother

of the Gods, and Hermes, and Apollo, and Artemis. And behind is a

representation of the games. On one side is Æsculapius and Hygiea, one

of the daughters of Æsculapius, and Ares and Contest by him, and on

another is Pluto and Dionysus and Proserpine and some Nymphs, one of

them with a ball. And Pluto has his key, with which (they say) what is

called Hades is locked, and then no one can return from it.

An account which I received from Aristarchus, the Interpreter of

Antiquities at Olympia, I must not omit. He said that in his youth,

when the people of Elis restored the roof of the temple of Hera, the

body of a dead man in heavy armour, who had been badly wounded, was

found between the sham roof and the roof on which the tiles lay. This

man was a combatant in the battle fought inside Altis between the

Lacedæmonians and the people of Elis. For the people of Elis climbed

up to the temples of the gods, and all high buildings alike, for the

purpose of defence. This man therefore probably got up into that place,

in a fainting condition from his wounds, and, on his death, neither the

heat of summer nor the chills of winter would be likely to injure his

dead body, as he lay stowed away and covered up. And Aristarchus added,

that they carried the corpse outside Altis and buried it armour and

all.

And the pillar, which the people of Elis call the pillar of Œnomaus,

is as you go from the great altar to the temple of Zeus, and there are

4 pillars on the left and a roof over them. These pillars support a

wooden one worn out by age, and only held together by iron clamps. This

pillar was once according to tradition in the house of Œnomaus: and

when the god struck the house with lightning, the fire consumed all the

house but this one pillar. And a brazen tablet contains some Elegiac

lines referring to this.

“I am the only vestige, stranger, of a famous house, I once was a

pillar in Œnomaus’ house, but now near Zeus I am in iron clamps in

honour: the destructive fire has not consumed me.”

Another curious thing happened on the spot in my time. A senator of

Rome won the prize at Olympia, and wishing some record of his victory

to survive in the shape of a brazen statue with an inscription, dug for

a foundation, close to this pillar of Œnomaus, and the diggers found

fragments of arms and bridles and bits. These I myself saw dug up.

The temple, which is large in size and of Doric architecture, they

call to this day the Temple of the Mother, preserving its ancient name,

though there is no statue in it of the Mother of the Gods, but only

some statues of Roman Emperors. It is inside Altis, and there is a

round building called Philip’s House, on the top of which is a brazen

poppy as a clamp for the beams. This building is on the left hand as

you go to the Town Hall, and is built of baked brick, and there are

some pillars round it. It was built for Philip after the fatal defeat

of the Greeks at Chæronea. And there are statues there of Philip, and

Alexander, and Amyntas the father of Philip. They are by Leochares in

ivory and gold, like the statues of Olympias and Eurydice.

CHAPTER XXI.

And now I shall proceed to the account of the statues and votive

offerings, which I do not care to mix up together. In the Acropolis

at Athens all the statues and everything else equally are votive

offerings: but at Altis the votive offerings are in honour of the

deity, but the statues of the prizemen are merely a memorial of the

contests. Of them I shall speak hereafter: I shall now take the most

remarkable votive offerings in order.

As you go to the race-course from the Temple of the Mother there is

on the left at the end of the mountain Cronius a basement of stone,

near the mountain, and some steps to it. On this basement there are

some brazen statues of Zeus, made with the money from a fine imposed on

some athletes who had behaved shamefully at the games. These statues

are called in the national dialect _Zanes_. They were six in number at

first and were put up in the 98th Olympiad. For Eupolus the Thessalian

bribed his rivals in boxing to let him win the prize, Agenor from

Arcadia, and Prytanis from Cyzicus, and Phormio from Halicarnassus, who

was the champion in the preceding Olympiad. This was the first foul

play they say at the boxing matches, and Eupolus and those who had been

bribed by him were fined by the people of Elis. Two of the statues

are by Cleon of Sicyon, the modeller of the remaining four we do not

know. And all these statues, but the third and fourth, have elegiac

lines on them. The first says that not with money, but swiftness of

foot and bodily vigour, ought one to win prizes at Olympia. And the

second says that that statue is raised in honour to the deity, and from

piety on the part of the people of Elis, and to inspire fear in such

athletes as do not play fair. As to the fifth and sixth, the gist of

the inscription on one is a panegyric of the people of Elis, and not

least for their punishment of the cheating boxers, and on the other a

didactic precept to all the Greeks that nobody is to bribe to win the

prize at Olympia.

And subsequently to Eupolus they say that the Athenian Callippus,

when contending for the pentathlum, bribed his antagonists in the 112th

Olympiad. And when he and his antagonists were fined by the people

of Elis, the Athenians sent Hyperides to beg the people of Elis to

remit the fine. And when the people of Elis refused this favour, the

Athenians treated them with much hauteur, not paying the money and

keeping away from Olympia, till the god at Delphi told them he would

no longer give them any oracular responses, till they paid the fine

to the people of Elis. And when they paid, six more statues were made

for Zeus, with elegiac verses on them no less severe than those about

the fine of Eupolus. And the purport of these verses on the first

statue is that the statues are erected in accordance with the oracular

direction of the god, who honoured the decision the people of Elis had

come to about the competitors for the pentathlum. And the second and

third likewise praise the people of Elis for their conduct in the same

matter. And the fourth desires to point out that the contest at Olympia

is one of merit and not of money. And the inscriptions on the fifth

and sixth shew, one why the statues were made, and the other that the

oracle came to the Athenians from Delphi.

And next to those I have enumerated are two statues, made from a

fine imposed on some wrestlers, whose names are unknown both to me and

the Antiquarians of Elis. There are some inscriptions also on these

statues, the first is that the Rhodians paid a fine to Olympian Zeus

for the cheating of their wrestler. And the second is that the statue

was made out of fines imposed on those who wrestled for bribes. And

the Antiquarians of Elis say that the other statues in connection with

athletes were erected in the 178th Olympiad, when Eudelus was bribed

by the Rhodian Philostratus. I find a discrepancy between this account

and the public records of the people of Elis as respects the victors

at Olympia. For in these records they say that Straton of Alexandria

in the 178th Olympiad won on the same day the prize both in the

pancratium and in the wrestling. Alexandria, at the mouth of the Nile

near Canopus, was built by Alexander, the son of Philip, on the site

of a former town of no great size called Rhacotis. In the generation

before Straton 3, and 3 after his day, are famous for having received

the crown of wild olive both for the pancratium and the wrestling. The

first was Caprus a native of Elis, and next of the Greeks beyond the

Ægean the Rhodian Aristomenes, and next Protophanes of the Magnetes at

Lethæus. And after Straton Marion, also from Alexandria, and Aristeas

from Stratonice (both the region and city were anciently called

Chrysaoris), and last Nicostratus from the Cilicians by the sea, though

he had little in common with the Cilicians but nominally. For, when he

was quite a child, he was kidnapped from Prymnessus a town in Phrygia

by robbers, who took him to Ægeæ and sold him to the highest bidder.

He was of no obscure family, and some time afterwards his purchaser

dreamed that a lion’s whelp lay under the truckle bed on which he used

to sleep. When Nicostratus grew to man’s estate he had several other

victories at Olympia in the pancratium and in wrestling.

And among others that were fined by the people of Elis afterwards was

a boxer from Alexandria in the 218th Olympiad. His name was Apollonius,

his surname Rhantes, for it is customary among the people of Alexandria

to have surnames. He was the first Egyptian condemned by the people of

Elis for neither giving nor receiving money, but for the impropriety

of coming too late, for which he was not allowed to take part in the

games. As to his excuse that he was detained by contrary winds in the

Cyclades, Heraclides, also an Alexandrian, proved it to be a falsehood:

and said he was really too late because he had been collecting money

from the games in Ionia. Accordingly Apollonius and all others not

present at the appointed time for the boxing matches were not allowed

by the people of Elis to take part in the games, but to Heraclides they

gave a crown without a contest. Thereupon Apollonius, who had on his

boxer’s cæstus, rushed at Heraclides, and attacked him fiercely, just

as he had received his crown of wild olive, and he fled for refuge

to the Umpires. This hotheadedness was severely punished. There are

also two statues made in our own times. For in the 226th Olympiad they

detected some boxers bribing to get the prize. The money of their fine

went to make two statues of Zeus, one on the left of the entrance to

the course, and the other on the right. Didas was the name of one of

these boxers, and the other, who gave the bribe, was Sarapammon, both

were from the same district, the latest one formed in Egypt, called

Arsinoites. It is wonderful indeed that from any quarter people should

have been found to despise the god at Olympia, and to receive or give

bribes in connection with the games, but still more wonderful that any

of the people of Elis should have ventured to act in that manner. But

it is said that Damonicus, a native of Elis, acted so in the 192nd

Olympiad. For when Polyctor (the son of Damonicus) and Sosander (the

son of Sosander) a native of Smyrna had descended to the arena for the

wrestling match, Damonicus, being very anxious that his son should have

the victory, bribed the younger Sosander. And when the circumstances

got known, the Umpires fined the parents, turning their vengeance on

them because they were really the guilty parties. Statues were made

with this money too: one in the gymnasium at Elis, the other in Altis,

in front of what is called the Painted Portico, because there were

in ancient times paintings on the walls. This Portico is called by

some the Portico of Echo, because in it a word is re-echoed 7 times,

sometimes even more frequently.

And they record that the pancratiast Serapion, a native of

Alexandria, in the 201st Olympiad was so afraid of those who were to

compete with him, that the day before the contest he absconded. He is

the only Egyptian, or indeed member of any nationality, that was ever

fined for cowardice in the games.

CHAPTER XXII.

Such are the statues made out of fines as far as I could ascertain.

There are also other statues of Zeus, some erected publicly, some

privately. There is also an altar in Altis near the entrance to the

course. On this altar the people of Elis do not sacrifice to any of the

gods, but the trumpeters and heralds stand here when they proclaim the

games. On the brazen base of this altar is a statue to Zeus, six cubits

in height, with a thunderbolt in each hand, the votive offering of the

people of Cynætha. And the young Zeus with a necklace round his neck is

the votive offering of Cleolas of Phlius.

And near what is called the Hippodamium there is a semicircular

basement of stone, and statues on it of Zeus and Thetis and Aurora

supplicating Zeus for their children. These are in the midst of the

basement. And at each extremity of the basement stand Achilles and

Memnon in the attitude of antagonists. Similarly opposite to one

another stand a Greek and barbarian, Odysseus opposite Helenus, for

these are selected as most remarkable for wisdom in either army, and

Paris is opposite Menelaus from their old hostility, and Æneas opposite

Diomede, and Deiphobus opposite Ajax the son of Telamon. These are all

by Lycius the son of Myron, and are votive offerings of the people of

Apollonia near the Ionian sea. And there are some elegiac lines in

ancient characters under the feet of Zeus.

“We are votive offerings from Apollonia, which long-haired Phœbus

built near the Ionian sea. Those who seized the borders of Abantis

offered this spoil from Thronium.”

Now the region called Abantis and the town in it called Thronium were

in Thesprotia near the mountains Ceraunia. For when the Greek ships

were dispersed on their return from Ilium, the Locrians from Thronium

near the river Boagrius and the Abantes from Eubœa in 8 ships put in to

shore near the mountains Ceraunia. And there they dwelt and built the

town of Thronium, and by common consent called all the district they

lived in Abantis, and were afterwards beaten in war and expelled by

their neighbours of Apollonia. And Apollonia was a colony from Corcyra,

and the Corinthians had a share in the spoil.

And as you go on a little further there is a Zeus looking east, with

an eagle in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other. And he has a crown

on his head composed of lilies. This statue is the votive offering of

the people of Metapontum, and the design of the Æginetan Aristonous.

But who Aristonous learnt his craft from we do not know, nor the

period in which he flourished. The Phliasians also erected as votive

offerings statues of Zeus and Asopus’ daughters and Asopus himself.

And this is the arrangement of the statues. Nemea comes first of the

sisters, and next her is Zeus laying hold of Ægina. And next Ægina

is Harpina, who according to the tradition of the Phliasians and the

people of Elis had an amour with Ares, and bare to him Œnomaus, the

king of the district of Pisa. And next to her are Corcyra and Thebe,

and Asopus comes last. The tradition about Corcyra is that she had an

amour with Poseidon, and a similar legend about Thebe and Zeus is sung

by Pindar.

The men of Leontini erected a statue to Zeus privately and not

publicly. The height of it is 7 cubits, and Zeus has in his hands an

eagle and javelin according to the descriptions of the poets. And it

was erected by Hippagoras and Phrynon and Ænesidemus, not I think the

Ænesidemus who was tyrant at Leontini.

CHAPTER XXIII.

And as you pass on to the entrance to the council chamber there is a

statue of Zeus without an inscription, (and another as you turn to the

North). This is towards the East, and was erected by the Greeks who

fought at Platæa against Mardonius and the Medes. On the right of the

basement are inscribed the states that took part in the action, the

Lacedæmonians first, and next the Athenians, third the Corinthians,

fourth the Sicyonians, fifth the Æginetans, then the Megarians and

Epidaurians, of the Arcadians the men of Tegea and Orchomenus, and in

addition to these the inhabitants of Phlius Trœzen and Hermion, and

in Argolis the men of Tiryns, and of the Bœotians only the people of

Platæa, and of the Argives the inhabitants of Mycenæ, and the islanders

from Ceos and Melos, and the Ambraciotes from Thesprotia, and the

Tenii and people of Lepreum, the latter only from Triphylia, but the

Tenii not only from the Ægean and the Cyclades but also from Naxos and

Cythnus, and the men of Styra from Eubœa, and next to them the people

of Elis and Potidæa and Anactorium, and lastly the people of Chalcis

near the Euripus. Of these cities the following were unpeopled in my

day. Mycenæ and Tiryns were razed to the ground by the Argives after

the Persian war. And the Ambraciotes and men of Anactorium, who were

colonists from Corinth, were induced by the Roman Emperor Augustus to

form the colony of Nicopolis near Actium. And the people of Potidæa

were twice ejected from their country, by Philip, the son of Amyntas,

and earlier still by the Athenians, and though subsequently they were

restored by Cassander, yet the name of their city was changed to

Cassandrea in honour of their new founder. And the statue at Olympia,

that was a votive offering of the Greeks, was by Anaxagoras the

Æginetan, though those who have compiled a history of sculptors have

omitted to mention him.

There is also in front of this statue of Zeus a brazen pillar, on

which are inscribed the conditions of peace for 30 years between the

Lacedæmonians and the Athenians, which was made by the Athenians after

their second reduction of Eubœa, in the 3rd year of that Olympiad

in which Crison of Himera won the prize. And this was one of the

conditions specified, that the city of the Argives should have no

share in this peace between the Athenians and Lacedæmonians, but that

privately the Athenians and Argives if they chose might be friendly to

one another. This is plainly stated in the conditions. And there is

another statue of Zeus near the chariot of Cleosthenes, (about which

I shall speak later), the votive offering of the Megarians, and the

design of the brothers Phylacus and Onæthus and their sons: I cannot

tell their period or country, or from whom they learned their craft.

And near the chariot of Gelon there is an old statue of Zeus with a

sceptre, the votive offering they say of the people of Hybla. There

are two Hyblas in Sicily, one called Gereatis, and the other to this

day called Hybla Major. Both are in the neighbourhood of Catana,

Hybla Major is quite deserted, but Gereatis is still inhabited, and

has a temple to the Hyblæan goddess who is worshipped in Sicily. And

I think it was from there that the statue of Zeus came to Olympia.

For Philistus the son of Archomenides records that they were the best

interpreters of portents and dreams, and the most noted for piety of

all the barbarians in Sicily. And near the votive offering of the

people of Hybla is a brazen pedestal and a Zeus upon it, eighteen feet

high I conjecture. And who offered it to the god, and whose design it

is, is stated in the following elegiac lines:

“The people of Cleitor erected this votive offering to the god, with

the tithe collected from many cities taken by storm by them. And the

artificers were the Laconian brothers Aristo and Telestas.”

I do not think these Laconians could have been men well known in

Greece, for else the people of Elis would have had something to say

about them, and still more the Lacedæmonians as they were their

citizens.

CHAPTER XXIV.

And near the altar of Zeus Laœtas and Poseidon Laœtas there is a Zeus

on a brazen basement, the gift of the Corinthian people, and the design

of Musus, whoever Musus was. And as you go from the council chamber

to the great temple there is on the left a statue of Zeus, crowned

with flowers, and in his right hand a thunderbolt. This was the design

of Ascarus a Theban, who was the pupil of the Sicyonian, * * and it

was a votive offering of the people of Thessaly. But if the people of

Thessaly offered it as a votive offering from spoil taken in a war with

the Phocians, it could not be what is called the Sacred War, for that

was fought before the Medes and the great king came to Greece. And not

far from this is a Zeus, which (as the inscription on it shews) was a

votive offering of Psophidius after success in war. And on the right of

the temple of great Zeus towards the east is a statue of Zeus 12 feet

high, the votive offering it is said of the Lacedæmonians, after they

had fought the second time with the Messenians who had revolted. And

there is an elegiac couplet inscribed on it.

“Receive Olympian Zeus, Cronus’ great son, this noble statue from the

Lacedæmonians with propitious mind.”

Of the Romans we know of none, either plebeian or patrician, earlier

than Mummius who put up a votive offering in any Greek temple, but he

out of the spoils of Achaia erected a brazen Zeus at Olympia. It stands

on the left of the votive offering of the Lacedæmonians, on the first

pillar of the temple. But the largest of the brazen statues of Zeus is

in Altis, and was a votive offering of the people of Elis after the war

with the Arcadians, it is 27 feet high. And near the temple of Pelops

there is a small statue of Zeus upon a not very lofty pillar, with

one of his hands extended. And opposite it are some votive offerings

in a row, statues of Zeus and Ganymede. The account of Homer is that

Ganymede was carried off by the gods to be cupbearer to Zeus, and that

Tros his father had some horses given him for his son. And this was a

votive offering of Gnathis the Thessalian, and the work of Aristocles

the pupil and son of Cleœtas. And there is another Zeus without a

beard, among the votive offerings of Micythus. Who this Micythus was,

whence he came, and why he offered these votive offerings at Olympia,

will be described by me hereafter. And if you go on a little from the

statue I have mentioned, there is straight before you another statue of

Zeus without a beard, the votive offering of the Elaitæ, who came down

from the plain of Caicus to the sea, and were the first settlers in

Æolis. Near this is another statue of Zeus, and the inscription on it

is that the people of the Chersonese in Cnidus erected it as a votive

offering after a triumph over their enemies. They erected also on one

side of Zeus Pelops, and on the other the river Alpheus. And most of

the city of the Cnidians is built on the continent of Caria, where

they performed most of their most memorable deeds, and the Chersonese

is an island lying near the continent, and connected with it by a

bridge: and the votive offerings to Olympian Zeus were dedicated by

the dwellers there, just as the Ephesians dwelling at Coressus could

say that their votive offering was a gift of the Ephesians generally.

There is also near the wall of Altis a statue of Zeus facing west

without an inscription: but tradition says it was erected by Mummius

from the spoils of his war with Achaia. But the statue of Zeus in

the Council Chamber is of all the statues of Zeus most calculated

to frighten wicked men, his Title is Zeus the God of Oaths, and he

has a thunderbolt in each hand. At this statue it is customary for

the athletes, their fathers and brothers, and also their trainers,

to swear over the entrails of a boar that they will not cheat at the

Olympian games. And the athletes make this further oath that they have

carefully trained for the space of 10 months. And the umpires also,

either of boys or the colts that compete in the races, swear to give

their decisions honestly and without bribes, and not to reveal the

reasons for their selection of the winners. What they do with the boar

afterwards I forgot to ask, but it was the custom among all the more

ancient sacrificers, that the victim over whom oaths were taken should

not be eaten by anybody: as Homer’s evidence very plainly shews, for

the boar on whose entrails Agamemnon swore solemnly that Briseis was a

maid as far as he was concerned, was thrown into the sea by the herald.

Witness the following lines:

“He spoke, and cut the crackling off the boar

With ruthless knife. And quick Talthybius

Whirled it away into the surging sea,

As food for fishes.”[74]

Such was the ancient use. And before the feet of Zeus the God of Oaths

there is a brazen tablet, on which some elegiac lines are inscribed,

that are meant to inspire fear in perjurers.

CHAPTER XXV.

Such are the statues of Zeus inside Altis, all of which I have

enumerated. For the statue near the great temple offered by a

Corinthian, is not an offering of the old Corinthians but of those who

rebuilt the city in Cæsar’s time, and is Alexander the son of Philip to

imitate Zeus. I shall also enumerate all the other statues which are

not representations of Zeus. And the effigies not erected in honour of

the deity, but in honour of men, I shall describe in my account of the

athletes.

The Messenians at the Sicilian Strait, who used to send to Rhegium,

according to old custom, a chorus of 35 boys and a choir-master and a

piper to the national feast, had on one occasion a terrible disaster,

none of those that were sent were saved, but the vessel that had the

boys on board perished boys and all in the depths of the sea. For the

sea at this strait is a most stormy one: for winds lash it to fury, and

two seas meet, the Sicilian and the Tyrrhenian: and even when the winds

are calm, there is a tremendous swell in the Strait from the strong ebb

and flow. And so many sea-monsters are there, that the air is tainted

with their scent, so that the shipwrecked mariner has no chance of

getting safe to shore. And if Odysseus had chanced to be wrecked here,

one can never believe that he could have swum off safe to Italy. But

a kind Providence in every conjuncture brings about some alleviation.

And the Messenians sorrowing at the loss of the boys, besides other

things to honour their memory, placed at Olympia brazen effigies of

them and their choir-master and piper. The old inscription shewed that

these effigies were votive offerings of the Messenians at the Sicilian

Strait: and subsequently Hippias, who was called by the Greeks the

Wise, wrote some elegiac lines on them. The effigies were by Callon of

Elis.

And there is near the Promontory Pachynus, that faces towards Libya

and the South, the town of Motye, peopled by Libyans and Phœnicians.

And the people of Agrigentum were at war with the people of Motye,

and out of the spoil and booty they took from them erected as votive

offerings at Olympia some boys in brass, extending their right hands

like people praying to the deity. They are on the wall at Altis. I

conjectured they were by Calamis, and tradition states the same.

The races that inhabit Sicily are the Sicani and the Siceli and

the Phrygians, some of whom crossed over from Italy, and others

came from the river Scamander and the Troad. And the Phœnicians and

Libyans sailed to the island with a joint fleet, as a colony of the

Carthaginians. Such are the barbarous races in Sicily. And of Greeks

the Dorians and Ionians dwell in it, and a few Phocians and Athenians.

And on the same wall are votive offerings from Agrigentum, two

statues of boyish Hercules naked. The Hercules shooting at the Nemean

lion is the votive offering of the Tarentine Hippotion, and the design

of the Mænalian Nicodamus. The other is the votive offering of the

Mendæan Anaxippus, and was brought here by the people of Elis: it used

to be at the end of the road leading from Elis to Olympia, called the

Sacred Road. There are also statues, from the Achæan race in common, of

those who, when Hector challenged a single Greek to single combat, drew

lots who it should be. They are near the great temple armed with spears

and shields. And right opposite on another basement is Nestor throwing

the lots into his helmet. And the number of those that drew lots for

the single combat with Hector are 8, for the 9th, which was Odysseus,

they say Nero carried to Rome, and of the 8 Agamemnon only has his name

inscribed, and it is written from right to left. And the one with the

device of a cock on the shield is Idomeneus, the descendant of Minos

and Pasiphae the daughter of the Sun. And the cock they say is sacred

to the Sun and heralds his approach. The inscription on the basement is,

“To Zeus the Achæans, descendants of the divine Pelops the son of

Tantalus, erected these votive offerings.”

And the name of the artificer is inscribed on the shield of Idomeneus,

“This and many besides are the work of the skilful Onatas, the son of

Micon of Ægina.”

And not far from the votive offering of the Achæans is Hercules

fighting with an Amazon on horseback for her belt. This is the votive

offering of Evagoras of Zancle, and the design of Aristocles of

Cydonia. Aristocles may be reckoned amongst the very ancient sculptors,

for though one cannot state his period exactly, it is manifest that he

lived before the change from the old name Zancle to its present one of

Messene.

The Thasians also (who were Phœnicians originally, and sailed from

Tyre and other parts of Phœnice to Europe with Thasus the son of

Agenor), made a votive offering of Hercules at Olympia, the base as

well as the statue of brass. The height of the statue is 10 cubits,

in the right hand he holds his club, and in the left his bow. And I

heard in Thasos that they worshipped the same Hercules as the Tyrians

worship, but afterwards, when they became naturalized as Greeks, they

worshipped Hercules the son of Amphitryon. And the votive offering of

the Thasians at Olympia has the following elegiac couplet attached to

it,

“Onatas the son of Micon made me, a dweller at Ægina.”

This Æginetan Onatas we should regard in the statuary art as second to

none since Dædalus and the Attic school.

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Dorian Messenians also, who received Naupactus from the Athenians,

erected at Olympia a Victory on a pillar, the design of the Mendæan

Pæonius, and made from spoils taken from the enemy, I imagine, when

they fought with the Acarnanians and Œniadæ. But the Messenians

themselves say that this Victory was erected for their share with the

Athenians in the action at Sphacteria, and that they did not insert the

name of the enemy from fear of the Lacedæmonians, and they could have

had no fear of the Œniadæ and Acarnanians.

I found also many votive offerings of Micythus scattered about, and

three of them together, next to the statue of Iphitus of Elis and

Truce crowning him, _viz._ Amphitrite and Poseidon and Vesta, by the

Argive Glaucus. And near the left side of the great temple he placed

Proserpine the daughter of Demeter, and Aphrodite, and Ganymede, and

Artemis, and of the poets Homer and Hesiod, and of the gods again

Æsculapius and Hygiea. And among the votive offerings of Micythus is

Agon with the dumb bells. These dumb bells are fashioned as follows.

They are semicircular in shape though not a perfect semi-circle,

and are so constructed that the fingers can pass through, as they

do through the handles of a shield. And next the statue of Agon is

Dionysus, and the Thracian Orpheus, and the statue of Zeus which

I mentioned a little above. These are works of art of the Argive

Dionysius. Others besides they say were given by Micythus, but were

removed by Nero. And the Argives Dionysius and Glaucus had no master

in their craft that we know of, but the period when they flourished

is shewn by the fact that Micythus placed their works of art at

Olympia. For Herodotus informs us in his history that this Micythus

was the slave of Anaxilas the king at Rhegium, and was afterwards his

treasurer, and after his death went to Tegea. And the inscriptions

on these votive offerings make Micythus the son of Chœrus, and the

Greek colony of Rhegium, or Messene near the Strait, his native place.

But they do not mention his ever living at Tegea, and these votive

offerings at Olympia were the fulfilment of a vow for the recovery of

his son, who was wasting away in a consumption.

And near the larger votive offerings of Micythus, the work of the

Argive Glaucus, is a statue of Athene with a helmet on her head and her

Ægis. This was made by Nicodamus the Mænalian, and is a votive offering

of the people of Elis. And next to Athene is a statue of Victory,

an offering of the Mantineans, for what war is not specified in the

inscription. And it is said to be an imitation by Calamis of the wooden

statue at Athens of Wingless Victory. And near the smaller votive

offerings of Micythus made by Dionysius are the Labours of Hercules

with the Nemean lion, and the hydra, and Cerberus, and the Erymanthian

boar. They were brought to Olympia by the men of Heraclea, who overran

the territory of the neighbouring barbarians the Mariandyni. Heraclea

is a town near the Euxine, and was colonized by the Megarians. The

Bœotians of Tanagra also had a share in the colony.

CHAPTER XXVII.

And opposite those I have mentioned are other votive offerings in a

row, facing the South, and very near the enclosure sacred to Pelops.

Among them are the votive offerings of Mænalian Phormis, who crossed

over from Mænalus to Sicily to Gelon the son of Dinomenes, and in the

army of Gelon, and afterwards in the army of Gelon’s brother Hiero,

displayed great valour, and advanced to such a pitch of fortune that

he offered these votive offerings at Olympia, and also some others

to Apollo at Delphi. His offerings at Olympia are two horses and two

charioteers, a charioteer by each horse. The first horse and groom is

by Dionysius the Argive, the second by the Æginetan Simo. And the first

has the following inscription on the side, the first line not in metre,

“Phormis the Arcadian from Mænalus, now a Syracusan, offered me.”

This is the horse about which the people of Elis have a tradition

on the power of lust in horses. It is evident that several remarkable

properties of this horse come from the cunning of a magician. In size

and beauty it is inferior to many to be seen in Altis: it has also the

tail knocked off, which makes it more unsightly still. Nevertheless

stallions not only in spring but all the year round are madly in lust

after it. For they rush into Altis, breaking their reins or escaping

from their drivers, and endeavour to mount this horse, with far greater

impetuosity than they exhibit to the handsomest mare alive whom they

had been accustomed to mount. And though their hoofs slip on the

polished basement they do not cease to neigh fiercely, and try to mount

this horse with frantic energy, till by whips or sheer strength they

get pulled off. There is no other way of getting them away from this

brazen horse.[75] I have seen in Lydia a different kind of marvel to

this horse of Phormis, but equally the cunning work of a magician.

Among the Lydians called Persici there are temples at Hierocæsarea and

Hypæpa, and in each of these temples there is a chamber in which are

ashes on an altar, not like other ashes in appearance. And a magician

enters into this chamber, and, after placing dry wood upon the altar,

first of all places a tiara on his head, and then calls on the gods in

a foreign tongue not understood by the Greeks. And this he chants from

a book, and the wood gets lighted evidently without fire and a bright

blaze shines forth from it. Let this digression suffice.

And among these votive offerings is Phormis himself contending with

an enemy, and fighting with a second and even a third. And there is an

inscription stating that the soldier fighting is Mænalian Phormis, and

that it is a votive offering of the Syracusan Lycortas, who plainly

offered it out of affection to Phormis. The Greeks however call these

votive offerings of Lycortas the votive offerings of Phormis. And the

Hermes with a ram under his arm, and a helmet on his head, and a tunic

and cloak on, is not one of the votive offerings of Phormis, but was

offered to the god by the Arcadians of Pheneos. And the inscription

states that Onatas the Æginetan jointly designed it with Calliteles,

who must I think have been the pupil or son of Onatas. And not far

from the votive offering of the people of Pheneos is another statue of

Hermes with his herald’s wand, and the inscription on it states that it

was the votive offering of Glaucias of Rhegium, and the work of Callon

of Elis. And there are two brazen bulls, one the votive offering of

the people of Corcyra, the other of the Eretrienses, both by Philesius

of Eretria. Why the Corcyræans offered one bull at Olympia and another

at Delphi, I shall relate in my account of the Phocians. And about the

votive offering at Olympia I have heard the following circumstance.

A little boy sitting down under this bull had stooped down and was

playing, and suddenly lifting up his head dashed it against the brass,

and not many days afterwards died from the blow. The people of Elis

wanted to remove the bull from Altis as being blood guilty, but the god

at Delphi ordered the same expiatory sacrifices for the bull as the

Greeks ordain for involuntary homicide.

There is under the plane-trees at Altis in the middle of the grove a

brazen trophy, and an inscription on the shield of the trophy, stating

that the people of Elis offered it out of spoils of the Lacedæmonians.

This was the battle in which the man lost his life who was found in

his armour in my day, when the roof of the temple of Hera was being

repaired. The votive offering of the Mendæans in Thrace very nearly

deceived me to think that it was the effigy of a competitor for the

pentathlum. It is near Anauchidas of Elis, and has ancient dumb-bells.

And the following elegiac couplet is written on the thigh,

“To Zeus, the king of the Gods, the Mendæans put me here as

firstfruits, after taking Sipte by storm.”

It seems that Sipte is a Thracian fort and city, and the Mendæans are

a Greek race from Ionia, and live a little inland from the sea, at the

town of Ænus.

FOOTNOTES:

[67] Reading ταύτῃ τῇ Σαμία, (altered into Σαμικῷ ductu literarum).

[68] Il. xxiii. 295.

[69] ἄλσος.

[70] Iliad, viii. 393-395.

[71] Iliad, xiii. 389. xvi. 482.

[72] See Book vi. ch. 22.

[73] Hiatus hic deflendus.

[74] Iliad, xix. 266-268.

[75] On this curious story see Bayle on _Hippomanes_.

BOOK VI.--ELIS. PART II.

CHAPTER I.

Next to my account of the votive offerings comes naturally mention of

the horses that contended, and of the athletes, and of amateurs also.

There are not statues of all the conquerors at Olympia, for even some

who displayed great prowess in the contests, or elsewhere, have yet

not obtained statues. These my subject bids me to pass over, for it is

not a catalogue of all the athletes that were victors at Olympia, but

an account of the statues and other votive offerings. Neither shall I

mention all the statues, as I well know some who won the crown of wild

olive from unexpected good fortune rather than their own exertions.

I shall therefore merely mention those who had more renown or finer

statues than others.

On the right of the temple of Hera is a statue of the wrestler

Symmachus, the son of Æschylus, a native of Elis. And near him, from

Pheneos in Arcadia, is Neolaidas the son of Proxenus, who carried off

the prize for boxing among the boys, and next Archedamus the son of

Xenius, also a native of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling.

These statues were made by Alypus the Sicyonian, the pupil of Naucydes

the Argive. And the inscription on the statue of Cleogenes, the son

of Silenus, says that he was of the district, he won the prize with

a fast horse from his own stud. And next Cleogenes are Dinolochus,

the son of Pyrrhus, and Troilus, the son of Alcinous. They too were

natives of Elis, but their victories were not won in the same manner,

for Troilus owed his victory to his perfect pair of horses and team

of colts: partly also to his being umpire: and he was victor in the

102nd Olympiad. And from thenceforth there was a law among the people

of Elis that the umpires’ horses should not be admitted to the races.

His statue was by Lysippus. But the mother of Dinolochus dreamed that

she embraced her son after being crowned, and moved by this dream he

trained, and outran the other lads: and his statue is by Cleon of

Sicyon. As to Cynisca the wife of Archidamus, I have spoken previously

of her family and victories at Olympia, in my account of the kings of

the Lacedæmonians. And near the statue of Troilus is a basement of

stone, and a chariot and charioteer, and the effigy of Cynisca herself,

by Apelles. There are inscriptions also in reference to her. And next

her are some Lacedæmonians, who were victors in the horse-races.

Anaxander was the first victor proclaimed in the chariot-race. And the

inscription over him states that his grandfather was crowned earlier in

the pentathlum. He is represented as praying to the god. And Polycles,

surnamed Polychalcus, was victor in the chariot-race with 4 horses

abreast, and his effigy has in its right hand a riband. And by him

are two boys, one holding the wheel, the other asking for the riband.

And Polycles was victor with his horses, as the inscription over him

states, in the Pythian Isthmian and Nemean games.

CHAPTER II.

And the statue of the pancratiast next is by Lysippus. He carried off

the victory as pancratiast from the rest of the Acarnanians, and was

the first of his own countrymen. Xenarches was his name and he was the

son of Philandridas. And the Lacedæmonians, after the invasion of the

Medes, turned their attention more than any other Greeks to breeding

horses. For besides those that I have already mentioned, there are

statues of several other Spartan horse-breeders, next to the effigy

of the Acarnanian athlete, as Xenarches, and Lycinus, and Arcesilaus,

and Lichas his son. Xenarches also had further victories at Delphi and

Argos and Corinth. And Lycinus brought colts to Olympia, and as one

of them was rejected, he used his colts in the race of full-grown

horses and won the prize. And he set up two statues at Olympia, by the

Athenian Myro. And Arcesilaus and his son Lichas had two victories at

Olympia, and Lichas, as the Lacedæmonians were at that time excluded

from the games, entered himself for the chariot-race as a Theban,

and bound the victorious charioteer with a riband. For this the

Umpires scourged him. And it was on account of this Lichas that the

Lacedæmonians under Agis invaded Elis, when the fight took place at

Altis. And at the end of the war Lichas erected his statue here, but

the records of the people of Elis about the victors at Olympia say that

the Theban people, not Lichas, won the victory.

And near Lichas is the seer of Elis, Thrasybulus, the son of Æneas of

the family of the Iamidæ, who practised divination for the Mantineans

against the Lacedæmonians under Agis the son of King Eudamidas, I

shall enter into the circumstances more fully in my account about the

Arcadians. And on the effigy of Thrasybulus there is a spotted lizard

creeping on his right shoulder, and a dog lies near him cut in half

as a victim and shewing its liver. Divination by kids and lambs and

calves is clearly an old practice among mankind, the Cyprians seem also

to have added divination by swine. But no nations are accustomed to

practise divination by dogs. Therefore it was apparently a peculiarity

of Thrasybulus to introduce this kind of divination. And the seers

called the Iamidæ were descendants of Iamus, who, as Pindar tells us in

one of his Odes, was the son of Apollo, and learnt his divination from

him.

And close to the effigy of Thrasybulus is one of Timosthenes, a

native of Elis, who won the prize for boys in the course, and one of

the Milesian Antipater, the son of Clinopater, who beat all the boys

in boxing. And some Syracusans, who offered sacrifices at Olympia on

behalf of Dionysius, bribed the father of Antipater to let his son be

declared a Syracusan. But Antipater, despising the tyrant’s bribe,

declared himself a Milesian, and inscribed on his effigy that he was

a Milesian, and the first Ionian that had had his effigy at Olympia.

It was by Polycletus, and Timosthenes’ was by Eutychides of Sicyon, a

pupil of Lysippus. This Eutychides made a statue of Fortune for the

Syrians by the Orontes, which is greatly honoured by the people of that

district.

And in Altis near the effigy of Timosthenes are statues of Timon

and his son Æsypus, the lad on horseback. For he won the prize on his

racer, while Timon was proclaimed victor in the chariot race. These

statues were made by Dædalus of Sicyon, who also erected a trophy

for the people of Elis, after their victory over the Laconians at

Altis. And the inscription over the Samian boxer states that Myco

was his trainer, and that the Samians are the best of the Ionians

both as athletes and naval heroes, but gives no information about the

particular boxer.

And next is the statue of the Messenian Damiscus, who was victor

at Olympia when he was only 12. It is a very remarkable coincidence,

that, when the Messenians were exiles from the Peloponnese, their luck

at Olympia also failed. For except Leontiscus and Symmachus, who were

Sicilian Messenians from the Strait, no Messenian either from Sicily or

Naupactus was victor at Olympia, and the Sicilians say they were not

Messenians but old inhabitants of Zancle. However when the Messenians

returned to the Peloponnese, their luck also at Olympia returned. For

in the year after the restoration to Messene, when the people of Elis

celebrated the Olympian games, this Damiscus won the prize from all the

boys in the course, and afterwards won victories both at Nemea and at

the Isthmus in the pentathlum.

CHAPTER III.

Next to Damiscus is the statue of a man whose name is not recorded,

the votive offering of Ptolemy the son of Lagus. Ptolemy calls himself

a Macedonian in the inscription, though he was king of Egypt. There

is an inscription also over Chæreas of Sicyon a boy-boxer, stating

that his father was Chæremon, and that though young he was victor. The

inscription also states that the statue was by Asterion, the son of

Æschylus. And next to Chæreas there are statues of the Messenian boy

Sophius, and of Stomius a man of Elis, Sophius outran all the boys,

and Stomius won one victory in the pentathlum at Olympia, and three at

Nemea. And the inscription on Stomius records further that as leader

of the cavalry of the people of Elis he won a victory, and killed the

commander of the enemy, who had challenged him to single combat. And

the people of Elis say that he came from Sicyon and was ruler of the

Sicyonians, and that they themselves went on an expedition against

Sicyon in friendship to the Thebans together with a force from Bœotia.

It would appear therefore that an expedition against Sicyon must have

set out from Elis and Thebes after the reverse of the Lacedæmonians at

Leuctra.

Next is the statue of the boxer Labax, the son of Euphron, who was

a native of Lepreus in Elis, and also one of the wrestlers from Elis,

Aristodemus the son of Thrasis, who had two victories in the Pythian

games. And the effigy of Aristodemus is by Dædalus the Sicyonian,

who was the pupil and son of Patrocles. And the statue of Hippos of

Elis, who beat all the boys in boxing, was by Democritus of Sicyon,

who learnt his art from the Athenian Critias through 4 intermediate

teachers. For Critias was the tutor of the Corcyræan Ptolichus, and

Amphion was the pupil of Ptolichus, and Piso of Calauria was the pupil

of Amphion, and Democritus was the pupil of Piso. And Cratinus from

Ægira in Achaia was the most handsome of all his contemporaries, and

the greatest wrestler. And as none of the boys could stand before him

in wrestling he was appointed by the people of Elis as teacher of the

boys. And his statue was by the Sicyonian Cantharus, whose father was

Alexis, and teacher Eutychides.

And the effigy of Eupolemus of Elis was by the Sicyonian Dædalus, and

the inscription informs us about him that he was victor at Olympia over

men in the course, he also won two crowns at the Pythian games in the

pentathlum, and one crown at the Nemean games. It is further recorded

about Eupolemus that of the three umpires in the race two adjudged the

prize to him, and the third to the Ambraciote Leo, and that Leo at the

Council of Olympia subsequently got indemnity from both the umpires

who had adjudged the prize to Eupolemus.

And the statue of Œbotas was set up by the Achæans in the 80th

Olympiad in accordance with the oracle at Delphi. He had been victor

in the course in the sixth Olympiad. How then could he have fought

with the Greeks at Platæa? For it was not till the 75th Olympiad that

Mardonius and the Medes met with the reverse at Platæa. I am bound to

record the traditions of the Greeks, but I need not believe all of

them. All else that happened to Œbotas shall be told in my account of

Achaia.

And the statue of Antiochus was made by Nicodemus. Antiochus was a

native of Lepreus, and won the prize at Olympia for the pentathlum

for men once, and twice in the Pythian games, twice also at Nemea.

For the Isthmians were not frightened by the people of Lepreus as

they were by the people of Elis, for Hysmon of Elis, whose statue is

next to Antiochus, being an athlete, and having won the prize for the

pentathlum once at Olympia and once at Nemea, was plainly prevented,

like all other people of Elis, from trying his fortune at the Isthmian

games. It is also recorded of Hysmon that when he was a boy he had a

discharge, and that was why he trained for the pentathlum, that he

might become stronger in constitution, and free from disease. And

this training was destined to get for him many notable victories. His

statue is by Cleon, and he has in his hands some old-fashioned dumb

bells. And next to Hysmon is the statue of a wrestling boy from Heræa

in Arcadia, Nicostratus the son of Xenoclidas. It is by Pantias, who by

six intermediate links was a pupil of Aristocles the Sicyonian.

And Dicon the son of Callibrotus won five races in the Pythian games,

and three in the Isthmian, and four at Nemea, and at Olympia one for

boys, two for men. And he has as many statues as he won victories at

Olympia. He was a native of Caulonia, and so proclaimed as a boy,

though afterwards for money he proclaimed himself a Syracusan. Now

Caulonia is a colony of Achæans in Italy, its founder was Typhon of

Ægium. And when Pyrrhus the son of Æacus and the Tarentines were at

war with the Romans, and several cities in Italy were destroyed, some

by the Romans, some by the people of Epirus, Caulonia was laid waste,

after being captured by the Campanians, who were the chief allies of

the Romans.

Next to Dicon is a statue of Xenophon, the son of Menephylus, the

pancratiast from Ægium in Achaia, also one of Pyrilampes the Ephesian,

who obtained the victory in the long course. Xenophon’s statue is by

Olympus, Pyrilampes’ by a sculptor of the same name, not a Sicyonian,

but from Messene near Ithome.

The Samians also erected a statue at Olympia to the Spartan Lysander

the son of Aristocritus. And the first of the inscriptions is,

“In the conspicuous precincts of almighty Zeus I stand, the votive

offering of all the Samians.”

This informs us who erected the statue. And the second inscription is

a panegyric on Lysander,

“Immortal fame, Lysander, on your country and Aristocritus did you

confer by your splendid merit.”

Manifest is it therefore that the Samians and other Ionians,

according to the Ionian proverb, whitewashed two walls.[76] For when

Alcibiades had a strong Athenian fleet in the neighbourhood of Ionia,

most of the Ionians paid their court to him, and there is a brazen bust

of Alcibiades in the temple of Hera among the Samians. But when the

Athenian fleet was taken at Ægos-potamoi, then the Samians erected this

statue of Lysander at Olympia, and the Ephesians placed in the temple

of Artemis statues of Lysander himself, and Eteonicus, and Pharax, and

other Spartans of no great renown in Greece. And when fortune veered

round again, and Conon won the sea-fight off Cnidus and Mount Dorium,

then the Ionians changed sides again, and you may see a brazen statue

of Conon and Timotheus at Samos in the temple of Hera, and likewise at

Ephesus in the temple of Artemis. This has been the case in all ages,

for all men, like these Ionians, pay court to the strongest.

CHAPTER IV.

And next to Lysander is the effigy of an Ephesian boxer, whose name

was Athenæus, and who beat all the boys that contended with him, and

next him is the Sicyonian pancratiast Sostratus, whose surname was

_Acrochersites_, because he laid hold of his adversary’s fingers and

tried to break them, and would not let go till he saw that he was going

to give in. And he had 12 victories at Nemea and Isthmus both together,

and in the Pythian games two, at Olympia three. The 104th Olympiad, in

which this Sostratus was victor for the first time, the people of Elis

do not record, because the games in that Olympiad were not instituted

by them but by the Pisæans and Arcadians. And next to Sostratus is

the wrestler Leontiscus, a Sicilian from Messene by the Strait. And

he is said to have been crowned by the Amphictyonians, and twice by

the people of Elis, and his wrestling is said to have been somewhat

similar to that of Sostratus of Sicyon in the pancratium, for he was

not an adept at wrestling his antagonists down, but he used to beat

them by trying to break their fingers. And his statue was by Pythagoras

of Rhegium, an excellent sculptor if ever there was one. And he learnt

his art they say from Clearchus who was also a native of Rhegium, and a

pupil of Euchirus. This Euchirus was a Corinthian, and pupil of Syadra

and Charta, who were both Spartans.

And the boy with a fillet on his head must not be omitted by me, on

Phidias’ account and his fame as a statuary, for otherwise we don’t

know who it is a statue of. And there is a statue of Satyrus of Elis,

the son of Lysianax, of the family of the Iamidæ, who five times won

the prize for boxing at Nemea, and twice at Olympia, and twice at the

Pythian games. This statue is by the Athenian Silanion. And another

Athenian statuary Polycles, the pupil of the Athenian Stadieus,

has made a statue of the Ephesian pancratiast, Amyntas the son of

Hellanicus.

And Chilon the Achæan of Patræ had two victories at Olympia in

wrestling among men, and one at Delphi, and 4 at Isthmus, and 3 at

Nemea. And he had a public funeral from the Achæans, as he was killed

in war. The inscription at Olympia bears me out.

“I won the prize from men in wrestling twice in the Pythian and

Olympian games, three times at Nemea, four times at the Isthmus near

the sea, I Chilon of Patræ the son of Chilon, whom the Achæans gave a

public funeral to for his valour as he was killed in war.”

Such is what the inscription records. And if one conjectures from the

age of Lysippus, who made the effigy, one must infer that the war in

which Chilon fell was either at Chæronea when he fought in company with

all the Achæans, or that he alone boldly volunteered to fight at Lamia

in Thessaly against Antipater and the Macedonians.

And next to that of Chilon are two statues: one of Molpion, who

the inscription states was crowned by the people of Elis, and the

other, which has no inscription, is they say Aristotle of Stagira in

Thrace, and it was erected to him by some pupil or soldier, as he was

greatly honoured by Antipater and earlier still by Alexander. And

Sodamas from Assus in the Troas, near Mount Ida, was the first Æolian

that won the prize for boys in the course at Olympia. And next to

Sodamas is a statue of Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, king of the

Lacedæmonians. Before the reign of this Archidamus I cannot find that

the Lacedæmonians erected a statue of anyone beyond their own borders.

But they sent I think a statue of Archidamus to Olympia, not only on

other accounts but also because of his death, for he died fighting

against the barbarians, and was the only one of the Spartan kings that

lacked sepulture. I have narrated the particulars at full length in my

account of Sparta. And Euanthes of Cyzicus had prizes for boxing, one

at Olympia as a man, and at Nemea and the Isthmian games as a boy. And

next to Euanthes is a horse-trainer and a chariot, and a girl mounting

the chariot. The man’s name is Lampus, and his native town was the

most recent of the Macedonian towns, and got its name from its founder

Philip the son of Amyntas. And the effigy of Cyniscus, the boy boxer

from Mantinea, was by Polycletus. And Ergoteles the son of Philanor,

who carried off two victories at Olympia in the long course, and as

many at the Pythian Isthmian and Nemean games, was not originally a

native of Himera, as the inscription states, but is said to have been a

Cretan from Gnossus: and being banished from thence in some faction he

went to Himera, and obtained citizenship there, and had other honours.

This is the probable explanation of his being proclaimed in the games

as a native of Himera.

CHAPTER V.

The statue which stands on a lofty pedestal is by Lysippus. It is the

statue of Polydamas, the son of Nicias, the largest man of our times.

There may have been larger men, but only the heroes or some mortal race

of giants earlier than the heroes. Scotusa, which was the native place

of Polydamas, is not inhabited in our day, for Alexander the king of

the Pheræans took it in time of peace, for when the people of Scotusa

were all gathered together in the theatre, for they held their meetings

there at that period, he surrounded it with targeteers and archers and

shot them all, and slew all besides that were in their prime, and sold

the women and children, and with the proceeds kept up a mercenary army.

This disaster happened to the people of Scotusa when Phrasiclides was

Archon at Athens, in the 102nd Olympiad, in the second year of which

Damon of Thuria was victor for the second time. And those that escaped

of the people of Scotusa were few, and even they were reduced still

further and left the town, when Providence brought a second reverse

upon all the Greeks in the war with the Macedonians. In the pancratium

several had notable victories, but Polydamas beside his crowns for the

pancratium had further renown for the following remarkable exploits.

The mountainous part of Thrace, inside the river Nestus that flows

through the territory of the people of Abdera, rears several wild

beasts and among them lions, who on one occasion attacked the army of

Xerxes, and made havoc of the camels that carried the corn. These lions

also frequently prowled about the country in the neighbourhood of Mount

Olympus, one side of which mountain faces Macedonia, another Thessaly

and the river Peneus. Polydamas unarmed slew a large and stout lion

on Mount Olympus: moved to this exploit from a desire to emulate the

actions of Hercules, who as the tradition goes vanquished the Nemean

lion. Another memorable feat of Polydamas is on record. He approached

a herd of cattle, and seized the strongest and wildest bull by one of

its hind feet, and held on fast by its hoofs, and would not let it go

though it kicked and struggled, till at last the bull exerting all its

strength got away from him, and left its hoofs in his hands. It is

also recorded of him that he stopped a chariot which the driver was

urging on at full speed, by laying hold of it behind with one hand, and

thus stopped both horses and charioteer. And Darius, the illegitimate

son of Artaxerxes, (who with the help of the Persian commonalty had

deposed Sogdius, Artaxerxes’ legitimate son, and usurped his kingdom),

when he became king sent messengers, for he had heard of the exploits

of Polydamas, and by promising rewards attracted him to his court at

Susa. And there he slew in single combat three of the Persians called

Immortals who had challenged him. And some of the exploits which I have

mentioned are recorded on the base of his statue at Olympia, others

in the inscription. But eventually the prophetic utterance of Homer

about trusting too much in one’s strength proved true of Polydamas,

for he too was destined to perish through too great confidence in his

strength.[77] On one occasion with several boon companions he entered

a cave in summer time, and somehow or other by some malign fortune the

top of the cave cracked, and was evidently going to fall in in no long

time. And when they perceived the impending disaster all his companions

fled, but Polydamas determined to remain, and stretched out his hands

in the intention of holding up this mass of rock and not being buried

under it, but he was crushed to death.

CHAPTER VI.

And next to the statue of Polydamas are two Arcadian athletes, and one

Athenian one. The first is the Mantinean Protolaus, the son of Dialces,

who beat all the boys in boxing, by Pythagoras of Rhegium, the second

is Narycidas, the son of Damaretus, a wrestler from Phigalia, by the

Sicyonian Dædalus, and the third is Callias, the Athenian pancratiast,

by the Athenian painter Micon. And there is a statue, by Nicodamus

of Mænalus, of the pancratiast from Mænalus, Androsthenes the son of

Lochæus, who carried off two victories from men. And next to these

is the statue of Eucles the son of Callianax, a Rhodian by birth

and of the family of the Diagoridæ, (for Diagoras was his maternal

grandfather), who won the prize for boxing among men at Olympia. His

statue is by Naucydes. And Polycletus the Argive, a pupil of Naucydes,

(not the Polycletus who made the statue of Hera), has made the statue

of a boy-wrestler, the Theban Agenor. It was made at the expense of the

Phocians, to whom Theopompus the father of Agenor had been friendly.

And Nicodamus, the statuary from Mænalus, made a statue of Damoxenidas,

the man-boxer from Mænalus. There is also an effigy of Lastratidas

the boy of Elis, who won the crown for wrestling, and also a victory

at Nemea among boys and beardless youths. And Paraballon the father

of Lastratidas won the prize in the double course, and excited the

emulation of posterity, by writing up the names of the victors at

Olympia in the gymnasium at Olympia.