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. 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. 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.

So far for these last mentioned: but I must not omit Euthymus the boxer, or his victories and other feats. He was an Italian from Locri near the promontory of Zephyrium, and his father’s name was Astycles. But the natives of that country say that he was not the son of Astycles but of the River Cæcinus, which is the boundary between the districts of Locri and Rhegium, and has a peculiarity in respect to grasshoppers. For the grasshoppers in Locri up to the river Cæcinus sing just as other grasshoppers, but after you cross the Cæcinus they cease to sing in the district of Rhegium. Euthymus then is said to be the son of this River, and he won a boxing prize at Olympia in the 74th Olympiad, but was not equally successful in the following Olympiad. For Theagenes from Thasos, wishing to win in the same Olympiad prizes both for boxing and the pancratium, outboxed Euthymus. Theagenes however could not receive the wild olive crown for the pancratium, as in the contest with Euthymus he was exhausted first. Moreover the umpires fined Theagenes a talent as a fine to the god, and a talent for the injury done to Euthymus, for they thought he insulted him in the boxing-match, therefore they ordered him also to pay privately money to Euthymus. And in the 76th Olympiad Theagenes paid his fine to the god, and in his vexation would not again contend as a boxer: but Euthymus received the crown for boxing both in that and the next Olympiad. And his statue is by Pythagoras and is especially fine. And on his return to Italy he fought against a Hero. The particulars are as follows. When Odysseus was on his travels after the capture of Ilium they say he was driven by the winds to several towns in Italy and Sicily, and among others to Temesa; there they say one of his sailors in drink violated a maiden, and for this outrage was stoned to death by the inhabitants. Thereupon Odysseus not troubling himself about his death sailed off, but the ghost of the man that had been stoned relentlessly continued to slay indiscriminately the people of Temesa, pursuing all ages alike, till the Pythian Priestess, when they intended to make a wholesale flitting from Italy, forbade them to leave Temesa, and bade them propitiate the Hero, by building him a temple in a grove set apart for that purpose, and annually giving him as wife the handsomest girl in Temesa. As they obeyed the orders of the oracle they had no further trouble with the ghost. But Euthymus happened to arrive at Temesa at the time when this annual offering to the ghost was being made, and inquired into the matter, and had a strong desire to enter the temple and behold the maiden. And when he saw her, he was first moved with pity and then with love. And she swore that she would marry him if he saved her, and Euthymus armed himself and awaited the approach of the ghost. In the fight that ensued he was victor, and the Hero left the country, dived into the sea and was never seen again, and the men of that region had henceforth no more trouble from him, and the marriage of Euthymus was celebrated with much pomp. I have also heard that Euthymus lived to advanced old age, and did not die, but left mankind some other way. I have also heard that Temesa is inhabited still, my informant was a merchant that sails in those parts. I also have seen a painting, which is an imitation of an older painting. In it is the young man Sybaris, and the river Calabrus, and the well Lyca, and a hero-chapel, and the town of Temesa. There too is the ghost whom Euthymus expelled, dreadfully swarthy and most formidable in all his appearance, and dressed in a wolfskin. And the letters in the painting give his name, Lycas. So much for this legend.

CHAPTER VII.

And next to the statue of Euthymus is that of Pytharchus of Mantinea, a runner in the course, and Charmides a boxer of Elis, both of whom received prizes as boys. And when you have seen these you will come to the statues of the Rhodian athletes, Diagoras and his family. They are all together in the following order, Acusilaus with the prize for boxing among men, and Dorieus, the youngest, who won three prizes in succession at Olympia in the pancratium. Before Dorieus Damagetus, who comes next, had won the prize against all comers in the pancratium. Next to his 3 sons comes the statue of Diagoras, who won a victory among men in boxing. And the statue of Diagoras is by the Megarian Callicles, the son of that Theocosmus who made the statue of Zeus at Megara. The sons also of Diagoras’ daughters practised as boxers and won prizes at Olympia, among the men Eucles the son of Callianax and Callipatira (the daughter of Diagoras), and among the boys Pisirodus, whose mother dressed him up like a man and brought him to the Olympian games, herself disguised as a trainer. This Pisirodus also has a statue in Altis near his maternal grandfather. Diagoras they say also came to Olympia with his sons Acusilaus and Damagetus. And the young men being victorious at the festival bore their father on their shoulders, who was pelted by the Greeks with flowers and congratulated on his sons. On the female side Diagoras was a Messenian by extraction, as he was descended from the daughter of Aristomenes. And Dorieus the son of Diagoras, besides his victories at Olympia, had 8 victories in the Isthmian games, and seven in the Nemean. It is said that he also won in the Pythian games without a contest. And he and Pisirodus were entered in the games as Thurians, because they were driven from Rhodes by faction and migrated to Thurii. But Dorieus returned to Rhodes subsequently. And of all men he manifestly was most devoted to the Lacedæmonian interests, for he fought against the Athenians with a fleet he had himself equipped, till he was captured by the Athenian triremes and taken prisoner to Athens. And the Athenians before Dorieus was brought before them were very angry against him and used threats, but when they came to the popular Assembly and saw there so great and renowned a man a captive, their intention about him changed and they let him go, and did no harm to him, while they might have done so with justice. The circumstances of the death of Dorieus are told by Androtion in his history of Attica, _viz._ that the fleet of the great king was at Caunus and Conon was the Admiral, and the people of Rhodes were persuaded by Conon to revolt from the Lacedæmonians, and join the alliance of the Athenians and the great king, and that Dorieus was at the time absent from Rhodes in the interior of the Peloponnese, and was arrested by the Lacedæmonians and taken to Sparta, and condemned by the Lacedæmonians for treason and put to death. And if Androtion’s account be correct, he seems to be desirous of proving the Lacedæmonians as rash as the Athenians, for the Athenians are charged with acting rashly with respect to Thrasyllus and those who fought under him at Arginusæ. To such a pitch of glory then did Diagoras and his posterity attain.

Alcænetus, the son of Theantus of Lepreus, and his sons also had victories at Olympia. Alcænetus himself won prizes for boxing among the men as previously among the boys. And Hellanicus and Theantus, the sons of Alcænetus, were proclaimed winners in the boxing match for boys, Hellanicus in the 89th Olympiad, and Theantus in the following Olympiad. All three have statues at Olympia. And next to the sons of Alcænetus are statues of Gnatho, the Dipæan from the country about Mænalus, and Lycinus of Elis: who also had prizes for boxing among the boys at Olympia. That Gnatho, when he conquered, was exceptionally young is stated in the inscription, his statue is by Callicles the Megarian. And Dromeus from Stymphelus was as his name indicates a runner in the long course, and had two victories at Olympia, two at the Pythian games, three at the Isthmus, and five at Nemea. It is said also that he introduced eating flesh during training: for athletes in training before him used to eat only a particular kind of cheese. His statue is by Pythagoras, and the next to it is that of Pythocles of Elis, who won in the pentathlum, by Polycletus.

CHAPTER VIII.

Who made the statue of Socrates of Pellene, who won the race for boys, is not recorded, but the statue of Amertus of Elis, who defeated in wrestling all the men that came to the Pythian games, was by Phradmon the Argive. And Euanoridas of Elis won victories in wrestling among the boys both at Olympia and at Nemea: and he became an Umpire and made a list of the victors at Olympia.

As to the boxer Damarchus, a Parrhasian from Arcadia, I cannot credit, except the victory at Olympia, all the fictions about him made by boastful people, such as that he changed from a man into a wolf at the sacrifice of Zeus Lycæus, and that 10 years afterwards he changed into a man again. Not that this is the tradition apparently of the Arcadians about him. Else it would have been inserted in their inscription at Olympia, which runs as follows.

“Damarchus the son of Dinnytas erected this statue, a Parrhasian from Arcadia.”

This is all the inscription. But Eubotas of Cyrene, as he had learnt beforehand from the oracle at Libya that he would gain the prize in the race at Olympia, had his statue made first, and on the same day was proclaimed victor and set up his statue. It is said also that he won the chariot race in that Olympiad which the people of Elis do not reckon because the Arcadians instituted the games.

And the statue of Timanthes of Cleonæ, who won the prize for men in the pancratium, is by the Athenian Myro, and that of Baucis of Trœzen, who beat all the men in wrestling, is by Naucydes. The following was they say the end of Timanthes. When he ceased to be an athlete he continued none the less to make trial of his strength, every day bending a huge bow: and he went away from home for a time, and during that period the use of the bow was suspended: and when on his return he found himself no longer strong enough to bend his bow, he lighted his funeral pyre and put himself alive on it. All actions of this kind whether in the past or in the future seem to me rather madness than bravery.

And next to Baucis are some statues of Arcadian athletes, as Euthymenes of Mænalus, who won prizes among men for wrestling and still earlier among boys, and Philip the son of Azan from Pellene, who beat all the boys in boxing, and Critodamus from Clitor, who was himself also proclaimed victor in the boys’ boxing match. That of Euthymenes was by Alypus, that of Critodamus by Cleon, and that of Philip the son of Azan by Myro. As to Promachus the pancratiast, the son of Dryon of Pellene, I shall state more about him in my account of Achaia. And not far from Promachus is the statue of Timasitheus of Delphi, (by Ageladas the Argive), who won two victories in the pancratium at Olympia, and three in the Pythian games. He also exhibited brilliant bravery in war, and had constant good fortune till then. For his valour on that occasion cost him his life. For when Isagoras the Athenian occupied the Acropolis with the view of making himself master of Athens, Timasitheus joined him, and was one of those who were captured, and put to death by the Athenians for his share in the matter.

CHAPTER IX.

And the statue of Theognetus of Ægina, who was crowned for wrestling among the boys, is by Ptolichus of Ægina, the pupil of his father Synnoon, who was himself the pupil of Aristocles of Sicyon, the brother of Canachus and as famous as a statuary. But why Theognetus carries in his hand the fruit of the cultivated pine and pomegranate I cannot conjecture, perhaps among some of the Æginetans there is some national legend about him. And next to the statue of the man who the people of Elis say was not registered with the rest, because he was proclaimed victor in the trotting-race, is the statue of Xenocles of Mænalus, who beat all the boys in wrestling, and Alcetus the son of Alcinous, who beat all the boys in boxing, an Arcadian from Clitor. His statue is by Cleon, and Xenocles’ by Polycletus. And the statue of the Argive Aristeus, who won the prize in the long course, is by the Chian Pantias, a pupil of his father Sostratus: and next to him is the statue of Chimon, the father of Aristeus, who won the prize for wrestling. His statues are in my opinion the finest works of art of Naucydes, one is at Olympia, and the other was carried from Argos to the temple of Peace in Rome. It is also said that Chimon beat Taurosthenes of Ægina in wrestling, and that in the following Olympiad Taurosthenes beat all comers in wrestling, and the same day an apparition very like Taurosthenes appeared at Ægina and announced his victory. And the statue of Philles of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling, is by the Spartan Cratinus. As to the chariot of Gelon, I cannot agree with the opinion of those who have written before me, who say that it was a votive offering of Gelon the tyrant of Syracuse. The inscription says that it was a votive offering of Gelon of Gela, the son of Dinomenes, who was a victor in the 73rd Olympiad. But Gelon the tyrant of Sicily was master of Syracuse when Hybilides was Archon at Athens, in the second year of the 72nd Olympiad, in which Tisicrates of Croton won the race in the stadium. Manifestly therefore he would have been entered for the race as a Syracusan, and not as a native of Gela. So this Gelon would be some private person, having merely the same name as the Tyrant. And Glaucias the Æginetan made both the chariot and statue of Gelon.

In the Olympiad previous to this they say that Cleomedes of Astypalæa, boxing with Iccus from Epidaurus, killed him, and was condemned by the Umpires to be deprived of his prize, and went out of his mind for grief, and returned to Astypalæa, and standing in a school when there were about 60 scholars pulled away the pillar which supported the roof, and when the roof fell in on the boys he was pelted with stones by the citizens, and fled for refuge to the temple of Athene: and getting into a chest which was lying in the temple, and clapping down the lid, the people of Astypalæa had immense labour to open the chest. At last they broke open the woodwork, and found no Cleomedes either alive or dead, and sent messengers to Delphi to inquire what had become of him. The Pythian Priestess they say returned this answer,

“Last of the heroes is Cleomedes of Astypalæa, honour him with sacrifices as no longer a mortal.”

From that time forward the people of Astypalæa pay honours to him as a hero.

And next to the chariot of Gelon is the statue of Philo by the Æginetan Glaucias. On this Philo Simonides, the son of Leoprepes, wrote the very apt elegiac couplet:

“My country is Corcyra, my name Philo. I am the son of Glaucus, and have won prizes for boxing in two Olympiads.”

There is also a statue of the Mantinean Agametor, who beat all the boys in boxing.

CHAPTER X.

And next to those I have mentioned is Glaucus of Carystus, who they say was originally from Anthedon in Bœotia, and traced his descent from Glaucus the god of the sea. He was the son of Demylus, and they say originally was a husbandman. And once when the ploughshare came off his plough, he put it on again using his hand instead of a hammer. And Demylus marvelled at his son’s strength, and in consequence sent him to Olympia as a boxer. And there Glaucus, being unpractised in that kind of contest, was badly handled by his antagonists, and, while boxing with the last remaining of them, seemed likely to faint away from his punishment. And they say his father cried out, _My boy, remember the ploughshare_. Then he put in a terrible blow at his antagonist, and won the prize. He is said also to have been twice crowned at the Pythian games, and eight times in the Nemean and Isthmian games. The statue of Glaucus was erected by his son, but was made by Glaucias the Æginetan. And the statue is in the attitude of one boxing, for Glaucus was the most clever of all his contemporaries in the noble Science. And after his death the people of Carystus say that he was buried in the island still called Glaucus’ island.

And Damaretus of Heræa, and the son and grandson of Damaretus, had two victories each at Olympia, Damaretus in the 65th Olympiad, when first the race in heavy armour was instituted, and also in the next Olympiad. His statue has a shield like those in use in our day, and a helmet on the head, and greaves on the feet. This race in heavy armour was abandoned eventually by the people of Elis and all the Greeks. And Theopompus, the son of Damaretus, and afterwards his grandson of the same name won the prize in the pentathlum, and the grandson Theopompus won prizes also for wrestling; who made his statue we do not know, but the statues of his father and grandfather were according to the inscription by the Argives Eutelidas and Chrysothemis. It does not however state from whom they learnt their art. This is the inscription.

“The Argives Eutelidas and Chrysothemis made these statues, having learnt their art from former generations.”

And Iccus the son of Nicolaidas the Tarentine won the prize at Olympia in the pentathlum, and afterwards became the best trainer of his day. And next to Iccus is the statue of Pantarces of Elis, who beat all the boys in wrestling, and was beloved by Phidias. And next to Pantarces is the chariot of Cleosthenes, a man of Epidamnus, by Ageladas, behind the Zeus erected by the Greeks after the battle of Platæa. He conquered in the 66th Olympiad, and he erected not only his own statue but also that of his charioteer and horses. And the names inscribed on the horses are Phœnix and Corax, and of those in the traces, on the right Cnacias, and on the left Samos. And there is this elegiac couplet on the chariot:

“Cleosthenes the Pontian from Epidamnus erected me, after winning the prize with his horses in the noble contest of Zeus.”

And of all that reared horses among the Greeks this Cleosthenes was the first that erected his statue at Olympia. For the votive offering of Euagoras the Lacedæmonian is only his chariot, and not Euagoras in it: and as to Miltiades the Athenian, what he erected at Olympia I shall narrate elsewhere. And the Epidamnians have the same territory as formerly, but the town in our days is not the old one, but one at a little distance: and its name is now Dyrrhachium from its founder.

And there is a statue of Lycinus, the native of Heræa who won in the race for boys, by Cleon, and of three who won victories among the boys for boxing, Epicradius of Mantinea by Ptolichus of Ægina, and Tellon the Oresthasian by what statuary is not on record, and Agiadas of Elis by Serambus of Ægina.

CHAPTER XI.

Next to these are votive offerings of the people of Elis, as Philip the son of Amyntas, and Alexander the son of Philip, and Seleucus, and Antigonus; the statues of all but Antigonus are on horseback, he alone is on foot.

And not far from these kings is a statue of Theagenes of Thasos, the son of Timosthenes. But the Thasians say that he was not the son of Timosthenes, who was a priest of Hercules at Thasos, but that Hercules disguised as Timosthenes had an intrigue with the mother of Theagenes. And when the lad was nine years of age, and was going home from school, he fancied they say the brazen statue of one of the gods in the market-place, and seized it and put it upon one of his shoulders and took it home. And the citizens being angry with him for what he had done, a man of repute and advanced age would not let them kill the lad, but bade him restore the statue back to its place, and he did so. And immediately the fame of the lad for strength spread abroad, and his exploit was talked of all over Greece. The most notable of his exploits at Olympia I have already recorded, and how he beat Euthymus in boxing, and how he was fined by the people of Elis. At that time Dromeus of Mantinea won the victory in the pancratium, for the first time on record without a contest. But he was beaten by Theagenes the Olympiad afterwards in the pancratium. And Theagenes had three victories in the Pythian games for boxing, and 9 at Nemea and 10 at the Isthmus for the pancratium and boxing together. And at Phthia in Thessaly he neglected boxing and the pancratium, and endeavoured to become illustrious among the Greeks in racing, and beat all comers in the long course. I cannot but think he was desirous of emulating Achilles, and to win in the race in the country of the swiftest of heroes. All the crowns he won were as many as 1400. And when he died, one of his enemies went up to his statue every night, and scourged the brass as if it were Theagenes alive he was maltreating. But at last the statue fell on him and killed him and so stopped his outrage, but after his death his sons indicted the statue for murder: and the Thasians threw the statue into the sea, obeying the code of Draco, who in legislating for the Athenians banished even inanimate things if they killed anyone by falling upon him. But in process of time, as the earth yielded no fruit to the Thasians, they sent envoys to Delphi, and the god bade them restore from exile those that had been banished. Some were accordingly recalled from exile, but the dearth was not removed. They went therefore a second time to Delphi, saying that, though they had done what the oracle ordered, yet the wrath of the gods remained. Then the Pythian Priestess answered.

“Your great Theagenes you have forgotten.”

And when they were quite in despair how to recover the statue of Theagenes, some fishermen (they say) putting out to sea for the purpose of catching fish caught the statue in their net and brought it to land. And the Thasians restoring it to its original site sacrificed to it as to a god. And I know that there are statues of Theagenes in various parts of Greece and among the barbarians also, and that he is reckoned to cure diseases, and has various honours from the people of Thasos. His statue in Altis is by the Æginetan Glaucias.

CHAPTER XII.

And at no great distance is a brazen chariot and a man in it, and some race-horses are on each side of it, and boys on the horses. They are memorials of the victories in the Olympian contests of Hiero the son of Dinomenes, the tyrant of Syracuse after his brother Gelon. They were not however sent by Hiero, but Dinomenes the son of Hiero offered them to the god. The chariot is by Onatas the Æginetan, and the horses on both sides and the boys on them are by Calamis.

And next to the chariot of Hiero is Hiero the son of Hierocles, of the same name as the son of Dinomenes, and also himself tyrant of Syracuse. This Hiero after the death of Agathocles, the former tyrant of Syracuse, rose to the same power in the second year of the 126th Olympiad, in which Idæus of Cyrene won in the stadium. This Hiero had friendly relations with Pyrrhus the son of Æacides and became his kinsman by marriage, Gelon his son marrying Nereis Pyrrhus’ daughter. And when the Romans fought with the Carthaginians for the possession of Sicily the Carthaginians had more than half the island, and on the commencement of the war Hiero resolved to throw in his lot with the Carthaginians, but in no long time thinking the Roman power stronger and likely to be more lasting he joined them. He was assassinated by Dinomenes, a Syracusan who had an especial hatred to tyranny, and who afterwards endeavoured to kill Hippocrates the brother of Epicydes, who had just come to Syracuse from Erbessus and was endeavouring to talk over the people. But he defended himself, and some of his guards came up and cut Dinomenes to pieces. And the statues of Hiero in Olympia, one on horseback and the other on foot, were erected by his sons, and made by the Syracusan Mico the son of Niceratus.

And next to the statues of Hiero are Areus, the son of Acrotatus, king of the Lacedæmonians, and Aratus the son of Clinias, and a second one of Areus on horseback: that of Aratus is the votive offering of the Corinthians, that of Areus of the men of Elis. Of both Aratus and Areus I have given an account earlier in this work. Aratus was also proclaimed victor at Olympia in the chariot-race. And Timon, the son of Ægyptus, who entered horses at Olympia, a native of Elis, has a brazen chariot, and on it a maiden who I think is Victory. And Callon the son of Harmodius and Hippomachus the son of Moschion, both of Elis and victors among boys in the boxing, have statues, Callon’s is by Daippus, we do not know who designed Hippomachus’, but they say he wrestled down three antagonists and received no blow or hurt. And the inscription on the chariot states that Theochrestus of Cyrene, (who trained horses according to the national custom of the Libyans), and his grandfather also of the same name, had victories with their horses at Olympia, and that the father of Theochrestus was victorious at the Isthmian games. And that Agesarchus of Tritæa the son of Hæmostratus beat men in boxing at the Olympian, Nemean, Pythian and Isthmian games is stated in an elegiac couplet, which also states untruly, as I have discovered, that the people of Tritæa are Arcadians. For of the towns that have attained celebrity in Arcadia all about their founders is well known, and those that were obscure from their origin, and lost their population through their weakness, were absorbed into Megalopolis by a decree from the commonalty of the Arcadians. Nor can we find any other Tritæa in Greece but the one in Achaia. One would infer therefore that the people of Tritæa were reckoned among the Arcadians, as now some of the Arcadians are reckoned in Argolis. And the statue of Agesarchus is by the sons of Polycles, of whom we shall make mention later on.

CHAPTER XIII.

And the statue of Astylus of Croton is by Pythagoras, he was victorious at three Olympiads in succession in the stade and in the double course. But because in the two latter Olympiads he entered himself as a Syracusan, to ingratiate himself with Hiero the son of Dinomenes, the people of Croton voted that his house should be turned into a public prison, and removed his statue from the temple of Lacinian Hera.

There is also at Olympia a pillar which recounts the victories of the Lacedæmonian Chionis. They are simple who think that Chionis erected this statue himself, and not the Lacedæmonian public. For granted that there is on the pillar no mention of a race in heavy armour, how could Chionis know that the people of Elis would not one day institute one? They are still more simple who think that the statue on the pillar is by Chionis, seeing it is by the Athenian Myro.

Very similar fame to that of Chionis was won by the Lycian Hermogenes Xanthius, who won the wild olive crown eight times in three Olympiads, and was nicknamed _Horse_ by the Greeks. Polites too you would hold in great admiration. He was from Ceramus in Caria, and manifested great swiftness of foot at Olympia. For he won the longest race in the shortest time on record, and on the same day he won the long race, and the race in the stadium, and the double race. And on the second day, when they only allow four chosen by lot to compete in the race and not all comers, and the victors in each department only contend for these prizes, Polites was victor again: for the person who is crowned for the race in the stadium will go off with two victories. However the most remarkable victories in the race were won by Leonidas of Rhodes, for in four Olympiads he was in his prime, and 12 times conqueror through his swiftness of foot. And not far from the pillar of Chionis at Olympia is the statue of Scæus the Samian, the son of Duris, who beat all the boys in boxing, his statue is by Hippias, and the inscription on it states, that Scæus was victor when the Samian populace fled from their island, and the statue was put up when they were restored. And next to the tyrant is a statue of Diallus the son of Pollis, a native of Smyrna, and the inscription states that he was the first Ionian that won the prize in the pancratium for boys. And the statues of Thersilochus of Corcyra, and Aristion of Epidaurus, the son of Theophiles, the latter victor in boxing among men, the former among boys, are by the Argive Polycletus. And the statue of Bycelus, who was the first of the Sicyonians to conquer among boys in boxing, is by the Sicyonian Canachus, who was a pupil of the Argive Polycletus. And next to Bycelus is the hoplite Mnaseas of Cyrene, surnamed Libyan, by Pythagoras of Rhegium. And the inscription on Agemachus of Cyzicus states that he came to Argos from the mainland of Asia Minor. As to Naxos in Sicily, which was colonized by some of the Chalcidians near the Euripus, there are no ruins even of the town in our day, and that its name has come down to posterity is mainly due to Tisander the son of Cleocritus. For 4 times he beat all the men in boxing at Olympia, and had as many victories in the Pythian games. There was not at that time any record of the victors in the Corinthian games, nor did the Argives keep any record of the victors in the Nemean games.

And the mare of the Corinthian Phidolas, which was called as the Corinthians inform us _Aura_, though its rider fell off at the beginning of the race, yet ran straight and turned at the goal, and when it heard the sound of the trumpet ran on all the faster, and beat all the other horses by the decision of the Umpires, and knew that it had come in first, and stopped running. And the people of Elis proclaimed Phidolas victor, and allowed him to set up a statue of this mare. The sons of Phidolas also won victories on a race-horse, and a statue of the horse was put on a pillar with the following inscription.

“Once in the Isthmian games, twice at Olympia, did Lycus the swift courser win the race, and honour for the sons of Phidolas.”

However this inscription and the records in Elis of the victors at Olympia do not tally, for in the 68th Olympiad only do those records record any victory of the sons of Phidolas. Let anyone inquire into this further who likes. And there are statues of Agathinus the son of Thrasybulus, and Telemachus who was victorious with his horses, the former was an offering of the Achæans of Pellene. The Athenian people also set up a statue to Aristophon the son of Lycinus who beat all the men in the pancratium at Olympia.

CHAPTER XIV.

And Pherias the Æginetan, whose statue is next the Athenian Aristophon, was not allowed in the 78th Olympiad to enter the contest because he appeared very young, and was not thought fit to compete in the wrestling, but the following year he was allowed to wrestle among the boys and won the prize. A different fortune to this of Pherias was that of Nicasylus the Rhodian at Olympia. For being 18 he was not allowed to contend with the boys by the people of Elis, but was entered as a man and won the prize. He was proclaimed victor also at the Nemean and Isthmian games. But he died in his 20th year, before he could return home to Rhodes. But the feat of this Rhodian wrestler at Olympia was outdone in my opinion by Artemidorus of Tralles. He was unsuccessful at Olympia in his endeavour to win the pancratium among the boys, but the reason of his failure was his excessive youth. For when the season came for the contest which the Ionians have at Smyrna his strength had become so great that he beat on the same day all his antagonists from Olympia in the pancratium, and all the boys that they call unbearded, and thirdly all the best of the men. And they say that he was cheered on by the trainer in the contest with the boys, but that in the contest with the men he was reviled by the pancratiast. And Artemidorus won at Olympia the victory among men in the 212th Olympiad. And near the statue of Nicasylus is a small brazen horse, the votive offering of Crocon of Eretria when he won the victory with a race-horse, and near this horse is an effigy of Telestas the Messenian, who beat all the boys in boxing, by Silanion.

And the statue of Milo the son of Diotimus is by Dameas, both natives of Croton. This Milo had six prizes for wrestling at Olympia, one of them among boys, and at Pythia six among men and one among boys. And he came to Olympia to wrestle for the 7th time. But he could not beat in wrestling Timasitheus, a citizen and quite young, as Timasitheus would not contend with him at close quarters in the arena at all. And Milo is said to have carried his own statue to Altis. There are also traditions about Milo in reference to a pomegranate and a quoit. He held a pomegranate so fast that nobody could get it from him, and yet he did not hurt it. And on one occasion standing on an oiled quoit he excited laughter among those who jostled him and tried to push him off it. And several other things he did in display. He tied a cord round his forehead as if it were a fillet or a crown, and holding his breath and filling the veins of his head with blood he would snap the cord by the strength of his veins. It is recorded also that he would place against his side his right arm from the elbow to the shoulder, and stretch out the hand, and turn his thumb up while the fingers remained together, and no one could with any exertion move the little finger from its place. And they say he was killed by wild beasts. For he chanced in the country near Croton on a withered tree, in which some wedges were driven to separate the wood, and he took it into his head to keep the wood apart with his hands. And the wedges slipt out and he was imprisoned in the tree, and became a prey to the wolves, which prowl about in great numbers in that neighbourhood. Such was the end of Milo.

And Pyrrhus the son of Æacides having been king in Thesprotia in Epirus, and having done many remarkable deeds, which I have described in my account of Attica, Thrasybulus of Elis erected his statue in Altis. And next to Pyrrhus is the statue of a little man with pipes in his hand on a pillar. This man had a prize for his piping, the first time such prizes were bestowed since the Argive Sacadas. Sacadas first conquered in the games established by the Amphictyonians (when no prize was given), and after that he won two prizes. And Pythocritus of Sicyon won in six of the Pythian contests successively, being the only piper. It is plain also at the contest at Olympia that he was piper six times in the pentathlum. For all this he had a pillar at Olympia with the inscription on it,

“This is the memorial of Pythocritus, (the son of Callinicus), the piper.”

The Ætolians also erected a public statue to Cylon, who freed the people of Elis from the tyranny of Aristotimus. And Gorgus the Messenian, the son of Eucletus, who won the victory in the pentathlum has a statue by the Bœotian Theron, and Damaretus, also a Messenian, who beat all the boys in boxing has a statue by the Athenian Silanion. And Anauchidas of Elis, the son of Philys, won a wrestling prize among the boys and afterwards among the men. Who his statue is by we do not know. And the statue of Anochus the Tarentine, the son of Adamatas, who won the victory both in the stadium and in the double course, is by Ageladas the Argive. And the boy seated on a horse and the man standing by the horse are as the inscription says Xenombrotus of Cos in Meropis, who was proclaimed victor in the horse-race, and Xenodicus who was proclaimed victor in the boxing matches for boys, the latter is by Pantias, and the former by Philotimus of Ægina. And the two statues of Pythes, the son of Andromachus, an Abderite, were made by Lysippus, but his soldiers had them made. Pythes seems to have been a leader of mercenaries, or in some other way to have shewn himself a good soldier.

Here are also statues of those who won prizes in the course for boys, as Meneptolemus from Apollonia on the Ionian gulf, and Philo from Corcyra, and Hieronymus from Andros, who beat Tisamenus of Elis in the pentathlum at Olympia, that Tisamenus who was afterwards a prophet for the Greeks against Mardonius and the Medes at Platæa. And next to the statue of Hieronymus is the statue of a boy-wrestler also from Andros, Procles the son of Lycastidas. Stomius made the statue of Hieronymus, and Somis that of Procles. And Æschines of Elis had two victories in the pentathlum, and has two statues.

CHAPTER XV.

And Archippus of Mitylene, who beat all comers at boxing, had according to the Mitylenæans this further fame, that he was crowned at the Olympian Pythian Nemean and Isthmian games when he was only 20. And the statue of Xenon, the son of Calliteles, of Lepreus in Triphylia, who beat all the boys in the stadium, was made by the Messenian Pyrilampes; we do not know who made the statue of Clinomachus of Elis, who was proclaimed victor in the pentathlum. And the inscription of the Achæans on Pantarches’ statue states that he was a native of Elis; he made peace between the Achæans and people of Elis, and all the prisoners who were captured on both sides were let go mainly through him. He won his victory on a race-horse, and there is a record of his victory at Olympia. And the statue of Olidas of Elis was set up by the Ætolians. And Charinus of Elis has a statue for the double course and for a victory in heavy armour, and near him is Ageles the Chian, who beat all the boys in boxing, by Theomnestus of Sardis.

And the statue of Clitomachus the Theban was erected by Hermocrates his father. His exploits were as follows. In the Isthmian games he beat all comers in wrestling, and on one day won prizes from all competitors in boxing and in the pancratium. And all his 3 victories in the Pythian games were in the pancratium. And at Olympia he was proclaimed second to Theagenes of Thasos in the pancratium and in boxing. And in the 141st Olympiad he won the prize in the pancratium. And the next Olympiad found him a competitor in the pancratium and in boxing, and Caprus of Elis was on the same day anxious to compete in the pancratium and in wrestling. And when Caprus had won the wrestling-prize, Clitomachus hinted to the umpires that it was only fair to call for the pancratium before he was battered about by boxing. What he said seemed reasonable, and when the pancratium was called on he was beaten by Caprus, though he exhibited afterwards in the boxing a stout heart and untired body.

And the Ionians of Erythræ erected a statue to Epitherses the son of Metrodorus, who won two victories in boxing at Olympia, and two at each of the Pythian Nemean and Isthmian games, and the Syracusan public erected two statues to Hiero, and his sons erected a third. As I stated a little above this Hiero had the same name as the son of Dinomenes, and was like him Tyrant of Syracuse. And the inhabitants of Pale, one of the four tribes in Cephallenia, set up a statue to Timoptolis of Elis the son of Lampis. These people of Pale were originally called Dulichii. There is also a statue of Archidamus the son of Agesilaus, and a man like a hunter. And the statues of Demetrius, who led an army against Seleucus and was taken prisoner in the battle, and of Antigonus the son of Demetrius, were let any one know votive offerings of the Byzantians. And the Spartan Eutelidas had two victories for wrestling among the boys in the 308th Olympiad, and a third in the pentathlum: at that time the boys were called on first, and last in the pentathlum. And there is an ancient statue of Eutelidas, the writing on the base is obscure through lapse of time. And next to Eutelidas is another one of Areus, the king of the Lacedæmonians, and next him Gorgus of Elis, who is the only man up to my day who had four victories at Olympia in the pentathlum, and one victory for the double course, and one for the race in heavy armour.

And the person by whom some boys are standing is they say Ptolemy the son of Lagus, and next him are two statues of Caprus of Elis, the son of Pythagoras, who won on the same day for the first time on record prizes for wrestling and the pancratium. I have already shown how successful he was against Clitomachus in the pancratium, and he beat in wrestling Pæanius of Elis, who had carried off the prize for wrestling in former Olympiads, and had been crowned in the Pythian games on the same day for boxing among boys, and for wrestling and boxing among men.

CHAPTER XVI.

Caprus won his victories not without great effort and mighty energy: and Anauchidas and Pherenicus, who were natives of Elis, had statues at Olympia, and won prizes for wrestling among the boys. And the Thespians erected the statue of Plistænus, the son of Eurydamus, who was the general of the Ætolians against the Galati. And Tydeus of Elis erected statues to Antigonus, the father of Demetrius, and to Seleucus. And the name of Seleucus was noised abroad among all men on other accounts but chiefly for his capture of Demetrius. And Timon won victories in the pentathlum in all the Greek games but the Isthmian (for like all the other men of Elis he was shut out of competition in them), and the inscription on his statue mentions this further particular about him, that he took part in the expedition of the Ætolians against the Thessalians, and out of friendship to the Ætolians was leader of the garrison at Naupactus. And not far from the statue of Timon are statues of Greece and Elis in juxtaposition: Greece with one hand crowning Antigonus, the Regent for Philip the son of Demetrius, and with the other Philip himself; and Elis crowning Demetrius, who marched against Seleucus, and Ptolemy the son of Lagus.

And the inscription on his statue states that Aristides of Elis won a victory in heavy armour at Olympia, and in the double course in the Pythian games, and as a boy in the horse-race at Nemea. The length of the horse-race is twice the double course. This race, which had fallen into desuetude at the Nemean and Isthmian games, was restored by the Emperor Adrian to the Argives at the winter games at Nemea.

And next to the statue of Aristides is Menalcas of Elis, who was proclaimed victor at Olympia in the pentathlum, and Philonides the son of Zotus, who was from the Cretan Chersonese, and the courier of Alexander the son of Philip. And next is Brimias of Elis, who beat all the men in boxing, and the statue of Leonidas from Naxos in the Ægæan, the votive offering of the Psophidian Arcadians, and the statue of Asamon who beat all the men in boxing, and that of Nicander, who had two victories at Olympia in the double course, and six at Nemea for racing generally. Asamon and Nicander were both natives of Elis, and the statue of the latter was by Daippus, that of the former by the Messenian Pyrilampes. There are statues also to Eualcidas of Elis and Seleadas the Lacedæmonian, the former was victor among the boys in boxing, the latter in wrestling among the men. Here too is the small chariot of the Lacedæmonian Polypithes, and on the same pillar Calliteles (the father of Polypithes) the wrestler, who won victories by his wrestling, as Polypithes by his horses. And the statues of some private individuals of Elis, as Lampus the son of Arniscus, and the son of Aristarchus, were erected by the Psophidian Arcadians, either because they were their Consuls, or were otherwise friendly to them. And between them is Lysippus of Elis, who beat all boys who contended with him in wrestling, his statue is by Andreas the Argive.

And the Lacedæmonian Dinosthenes won a victory over men at Olympia in the course, and set up a pillar in Altis next to his statue: the distance from this pillar by road to another pillar at Lacedæmon is 660 stades. And Theodorus, who was victor in the pentathlum, and Pyttalus, the son of Lampis, who beat all the boys in boxing, and Nicolaidas, who carried off the victory in the course and in the race in heavy armour, were let any one know natives of Elis. As to Pyttalus they record still further that, when there was a dispute between the Arcadians and the men of Elis about their borders, he was made the arbitrator. His statue is by the Olynthian Sthennis. And next is a statue of Ptolemy on horseback, and by him the athlete of Elis Pæanius the son of Demetrius, who won one prize for wrestling at Olympia, and two in the Pythian games. There too is Clearetus of Elis, who won in the pentathlum, and the chariot of the Athenian Glaucon (the son of Eteocles), who was proclaimed victor in the chariot race with a full-grown horse.

CHAPTER XVII.

What I have just mentioned are the most notable things as you approach Altis, but, if you go on the right from the monument of Leonidas to the great altar, you will behold the following memorable objects. There are statues of Democrates of Tenedos and Criannius of Elis, the latter victor in the contest in heavy armour, the former in wrestling among men. The statue of Democrates is by the Milesian Dionysicles, that of Criannius by the Macedonian Lysus. And the Clazomenian Herodotus, and the Coan Philinus, the son of Hegepolis, have statues erected to them by their native cities, to Herodotus because he was the first Clazomenian pronounced victor (his victory was among boys in the course), and to Philinus because of his renown, for he had five victories in running at Olympia, and four in the Pythian games, four in the Nemean, and eleven in the Isthmian. And the statue of Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was the offering of Aristolaus a Macedonian. There is also a statue of a boxer who was victorious over boys, Butas the Milesian, the son of Polynices, and Callicrates from Magnesia near the river Lethæus, who won two victories in the race in heavy armour. His statue is by Lysippus. And there are statues of Emaution and Alexibius, the former victor in the course for boys, the latter in the pentathlum. Heræa in Arcadia was the native place of Alexibius and his statue is by Acestor, where Emaution came from the inscription does not state, it only declares he was an Arcadian. And the Colophonians Hermesianax the son of Agoneus, and Icasius the son of Lycinus by the daughter of Hermesianax, beat all the boys in wrestling, and Hermesianax had his statue erected by the Colophonian community.

Next to these are natives of Elis that beat all the boys in boxing, Chœrilus by the Olynthian Sthennis, and Theotimus by the Sicyonian Dætondas. Theotimus was the son of Moschion, who joined Alexander the son of Philip in his expedition against Darius and the Persians. And next are two from Elis again, Archidamus who conquered in the four-horse-race, and Eperastus (the son of Theogonus) who was victor in the race in heavy armour. And Eperastus states that he was a seer, and descended from the family of the Clytidæ, at the close of the inscription on his statue.

“I boast to be a seer of the family of the holy-mouthed Clytidæ, of the blood of the godlike descendants of Melampus.”

Mantius was the father of Œcles, and the son of Melampus the son of Amythaon. And Clytius was the son of Alcmæon, the son of Amphiaraus the son of Œcles. And Alcmæon was father of Clytius by the daughter of Phegeus, and he changed his residence to Elis, objecting to live with his mother’s brothers, because he knew that they had contrived the murder of Alcmæon.

And there are some statues interspersed among some not very remarkable votive offerings, as Alexinicus of Elis (by the Sicyonian Cantharus), who won a wrestling prize among the boys, and Gorgias of Leontini, whose statue was placed at Olympia by Eumolpus, great-grandson of Deicrates who had married Gorgias’ sister. So Eumolpus himself tells us. This Gorgias was the son of Carmantides, and is said to have been the first to have practised Rhetoric, which had been altogether neglected and nearly come into desuetude among men. And they say Gorgias was famous for his eloquence at the public festival at Olympia, and went with Tisias on an embassy to the Athenians. Tisias too contributed something to oratory, and most plausibly did he plead in the case of a Syracusan woman touching some money, but Gorgias had still greater fame among the Athenians, and Jason the tyrant in Thessaly put him above Polycrates, who had the highest renown in the schools at Athens. And they say Gorgias lived 105 years. And the town of Leontini, which was dispeopled by the Syracusans, was in my day colonized again.

CHAPTER XVIII.

And there is the brazen chariot of Cratisthenes of Cyrene, and Victory and Cratisthenes on the chariot. Plainly then he won his victory in the chariot race. There is a tradition also that he was the son of Mnaseas the runner, who was surnamed by the Greeks Libyan. And these votive offerings to him at Olympia are by Pythagoras of Rhegium.

Here too I found the statue of Anaximenes, who wrote a History of all Antiquities in Greece, and of the exploits of Philip the son of Amyntas, and afterwards of Alexander. This honour in Olympia he owed to the people of Lampsacus: for the following is recorded about him. He got round Alexander, who was by no means a mild king but excessively passionate, by the following contrivance. The people of Lampsacus having espoused the cause of the king of the Persians, or being thought to have done so by Alexander, he boiled over in anger against them and threatened them with the most condign chastisement. And they in all haste sent Anaximenes to supplicate for their wives and children and country, as he had been well known to Alexander and earlier still to Philip. And Anaximenes went to Alexander, who had learnt the motive of his errand, and had sworn they say by all the gods that he would do exactly contrary to what he entreated. Then Anaximenes said, “O King oblige me with this favour, enslave the women and children at Lampsacus, and raze the whole town to its foundations, and burn the temples of the gods.” This is what he said, and Alexander having no contrivance to meet his cunning, and being compelled by his oath, very unwillingly pardoned the people of Lampsacus. Anaximenes seems also to have known how to punish an enemy very cleverly and exemplarily. He was naturally a sophist and a very good imitator of the arguments of the sophists. And having a quarrel with Theopompus, the son of Damasistratus, he wrote a book full of abuse against the Athenians and Lacedæmonians and Thebans. And as he had imitated his style very accurately, and put the name of Theopompus on the title page, and distributed the book about in various towns, though he himself was really the writer, general odium was stirred up throughout Greece against Theopompus. Nor did any one earlier than Anaximenes practise extempore oratory. But I cannot think that he was author of the verses about Alexander that run in his name.

And Sotades, (who was proclaimed a Cretan, as indeed he was), won the prize in the long course in the 99th Olympiad, but in the next Olympiad, being bribed by the Ephesian people, he registered himself as an Ephesian, and the Cretans exiled him for it.

And the first athletes who had effigies at Olympia were Praxidamas the Æginetan, who won the prize for boxing in the 59th Olympiad, and the Opuntian Rhexibius, who won the prize in the pancratium in the 61st Olympiad. And their effigies are made of wood, Rhexibius’ of figwood, and the Æginetan’s of cypress. This last has suffered less than the other.

CHAPTER XIX.

And there is in Altis a base of tufa stone to the North of the temple of Hera, at its back is the mountain of Cronos. On this base are treasuries such as some of the Greeks have made for Apollo at Delphi. There is a treasury at Olympia called the treasury of the Sicyonians, the votive offering of Myron the King of the Sicyonians. It was constructed by Myron after his chariot victory in the 33rd Olympiad. In this treasury he constructed two chambers, one of Doric the other of Ionic architecture. I myself have seen them: they are of brass: but whether the brass comes from Tartessus, according to the tradition of the people of Elis, I do not know. The river Tartessus is they say in the country of the Iberes, and has two outlets to the sea, and there is a town of the same name that lies between the outlets of the river. And it is the largest river in Iberia, and in later times was called Bætis from its ebb and flow. And the Iberes who inhabit the town of Carpia believe that their town was originally called Tartessus. And on the smaller of the two chambers at Olympia there are inscriptions, one on the lintel stating that there are 500 talents there, another as to the givers of the votive offering, stating that they were Myron and the people of the Sicyonians. In this treasury there are three quoits, which they use in the contest for the pentathlum. And there is a brazen shield curiously painted inside, and helmet and greaves to match. And there is an inscription on this armour that they are an offering to Zeus from the Myanes. As to who these Myanes were different people have different ideas. I remember that Thucydides in his account of the Locrians near Phocis mentions several towns, among others the Myones. These Myanes on the shield are in my opinion the same as the Myones in the Locrian mainland: and the letters on the shield are a little worn away, in consequence of its great antiquity. There are also here several other curious articles, as the sword of Pelops with golden hilt, and the horn of Amalthea in ivory, the votive offering of Miltiades the son of Cimon, who was the first of his family that reigned in the Thracian Chersonese: and this is the inscription on the horn in old Athenian letters,

“I was offered to Zeus by the warriors that took the fort of Aratus on the Chersonese: their leader was Miltiades.”

There is also a statue of Apollo made of boxwood with the head gilt: the inscription states that it was a votive offering of the Locrians at the promontory of Zephyrium, and by Patrocles of Croton, the son of Catillus.

And next to the treasury of the Sicyonians is that of the Carthaginians, constructed by Pothæus and Antiphilus and Megacles. And the votive offerings in it are a huge Zeus and three linen breastplates, presented by Gelon and the Syracusans who beat the Phœnicians either on land or sea.

And the third and fourth treasuries are the votive offering of the people of Epidamnus. They contain the world upheld by Atlas, and Hercules and the apple tree in the garden of the Hesperides with the dragon coiled round it, carved in cedar-wood, the carving of Theocles (the son of Hegylus) who says his son joined him in the carving of the world. And the Hesperides, which were removed by the people of Elis, were in my time in the temple of Hera. And Pyrrhus and his sons Lacrates and Hermon made this treasury for the people of Epidamnus.

The people of Sybaris also built a treasury next to that of the people of Byzantium. Those who have inquired most carefully into the history of Italy and its towns say that Lupiæ, which lies between Brundisium and Hydrus, has changed its name, and was originally called Sybaris. And the haven for ships was made by navvies in the reign of the Emperor Adrian.

And next to the treasury of the people of Sybaris is the treasury of the Libyans at Cyrene, containing statues of the Roman kings. The Carthaginians expelled the Selinuntian Siceliotes in war, but before that disaster happened to them, they had got together the treasury for Zeus at Olympia. Dionysus is there with his face toes and hands of ivory.

And in the treasury of the people of Metapontum, which is next to that of the Selinuntians, is a statue of Endymion, all ivory but the dress. The cause of the ruin of Metapontum I do not know, but in my time nothing but the theatre and walls round the town was left. The Megarians also near Attica have a treasury and votive offerings in it, figures in cedar overlaid with gold, to represent the battle of Hercules and Achelous. There are Zeus and Deianira and Achelous and Hercules, and Ares is helping Achelous. And Athene stands as if in alliance with Hercules, near the Hesperides that are now in the temple of Hera. And on a gable of this treasury is the war between the gods and the giants: and over the gable is a shield, which states that the Megarians offered the treasury, after triumphing over the Corinthians. I think they won this victory when Phorbas was Archon at Athens, who was Archon all his life, for the Archonship was not yet a yearly office at Athens, nor were the Olympiads registered at this period by the people of Elis. The Argives are also said to have assisted the Megarians against the Corinthians. This treasury at Olympia was constructed by the Megarians some years after the battle. But the votive offerings they probably had from old time, since they were made by the Lacedæmonian Dontas, the pupil of Dipœnus and Scyllis. And the last of the treasuries is near the course, and the inscription on it states that it and its statues are the votive offerings of the people of Gela. The statues however are no longer there.

CHAPTER XX.

Cronos’ mountain is, as I have already said, behind the base, and extends the length of these treasuries. And on the summit of the mountain those that are called _Basilæ_ sacrifice to Cronos at the vernal equinox in the month of Elaphius. And at the North end of Mount Cronos there is between the treasuries and the mountain a temple of Ilithyia, and in it is honoured Sosipolis the tutelary deity of the people of Elis. Ilithyia they surname the Olympian, and select annually a priestess for her: the old priestess of Sosipolis also performs holy rites according to the custom of the people of Elis, brings lustral water to the goddess, and sets before her cakes kneaded with honey. In the vestibule of the temple is the altar of Ilithyia, as also the approach to the temple for people generally: inside Sosipolis is honoured, and no one but the priestess of the god must enter his sanctuary, with a white veil drawn over her head and face. And the maidens that reside in the temple of Ilithyia and the women sing hymns to Sosipolis, and burn incense to him, but are not accustomed to pour libations of wine to his honour. And their most binding oath is by Sosipolis. And it is said that, when the Arcadians invaded Elis with an army, and the people of Elis were drawn up in battle array against them, a woman came to the generals of Elis, with a baby boy at her breast, saying that she was mother of the boy, and offered him according to a dream she had had to help the people of Elis. And the authorities, crediting the woman’s tale, put the child in the front of the army all naked as it was. And the Arcadians commenced the attack, and the child was changed into a dragon, and the Arcadians were troubled at the sight and began to flee, and the people of Elis pursued them hotly, and won a notable victory and called the god Sosipolis. And where the dragon appeared to glide off after the battle, they built a temple, and resolved to worship it and Ilithyia jointly, for they thought it was she who had introduced the child into the world. And the Arcadians who were slain in the battle have a monument on the hill towards the west after you have crossed the Cladeus. And near Ilithyia there are ruins of a temple of celestial Aphrodite, to whom they sacrifice on the altars which still remain.

And inside Altis, at the processional entrance, is what is called the Hippodamium, surrounded by a wall, occupying about an acre. This is the entrance every year for the women, who sacrifice to Hippodamia and perform other rites in her honour. They say Hippodamia fled to Midea in Argolis, when Pelops was especially angry with her owing to the death of Chrysippus: and they say that according to the oracle they afterwards placed her remains at Olympia. And at the end of the statues which they erected out of fines imposed on the athletes is the entrance which they call Private. For by it the Umpires and combatants enter the course. There is also an embankment, and seats for the managers of the games. And opposite the Umpires is an altar of white stone, seated on which the priestess of Demeter Chamyne watches the Olympian games, an honour which different priestesses at different times have received from the people of Elis, for they do not prevent maidens from seeing the games. And at the starting-place is the tomb of Endymion, according to the tradition of the people of Elis.

And near the place where the Umpires sit is the ground appointed for the horse-races and the starting-place, which is in shape like the prow of a ship with its beak turned to the course. And the prow is broad where it joins the Portico called Agnaptus. And there is a brazen dolphin upon a bar at the extremity of the beak. Each side of the starting-place is more than 400 feet in length, and there are some buildings there, which those who enter for the horse-races get by lots. And in front of the chariots and race-horses is extended a rope as a sort of barrier. And there is an altar of unbaked brick erected near the middle of the beak every Olympiad, whitewashed outside. And there is a brazen eagle on this altar with its wings stretched out wide. When the clerk of the course touches a piece of mechanism on this altar, the eagle is so constructed as to mount aloft so as to be visible to the spectators, while the dolphin falls to the ground. First the ropes on each side of the Portico called Agnaptus are slackened, and the horses in position there start first, and run on till they come to the horses in the second position, and then the ropes there are slackened, and so on along the whole course where the horses are in position, till they can all start fair at the beak. Then commences the exhibition of the skill of the charioteers and the swiftness of the horses. Cleœtas originally contrived this method of starting, and plumed himself upon his invention, as we find by the inscription on his statue at Athens,

“I was made by Cleœtas the son of Aristocles, who invented at Olympia the start for horses.”

They say too that Aristides subsequently somewhat improved the invention.

But the other side of the Hippodrome is more extended, being also of raised earth, and at its outlet is Taraxippus the terror of horses, which is in the shape of a circular altar, and as the horses run past it they are immediately seized with strong fear without any apparent cause, and this fear generates terror, insomuch that chariots are often smashed up, and the charioteers badly injured. And the charioteers sacrifice to avoid this, and pray that Taraxippus will be propitious to them. About Taraxippus the Greeks have various views; some say it is the tomb of an Autochthon, famous for his skill with horses, whose name was Olenius, and say that the rock Olenia in Elis was named after him. Others say that Dameon the son of Phlius, an associate with Hercules in the expedition against Augeas and the people of Elis, was killed together with the horse on which he rode by Cteatus the son of Actor, and that this is the joint tomb of Dameon and his horse. Others say that Pelops erected here a cenotaph to Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him to avert his anger for his murder, and named him Taraxippus, because the horses of Œnomaus were disturbed by his contrivance. But some say that Œnomaus himself hindered the horses in the course. And I have heard the blame put upon Alcathous the son of Porthaon, who was buried here after having been slain by Œnomaus as one of the unsuccessful suitors of Hippodamia, and who, in consequence of his bad success in the Hippodrome, has an evil eye and is a malevolent demon to race-horses. But an Egyptian told me that Pelops received something from Amphion and buried it on the spot called Taraxippus, and that in consequence of what was buried there the horses of Œnomaus formerly, and everybody’s horses since, have been terrified. This Egyptian also thought that Amphion and the Thracian Orpheus were wonderful magicians, and that by their charms wild beasts followed Orpheus, and stones formed themselves into houses for Amphion. The most plausible account however of Taraxippus seems to me that which makes it a surname of Poseidon Hippius. There is also at the Isthmus a Taraxippus, Glaucus the son of Sisyphus, who they say was killed by horses, when Acastus was holding the funeral games to his father. And at Nemea in Argolis there is no hero that terrifies horses, but there is a gleam like fire from a red stone where the horses turn which frightens the horses. But Taraxippus at Olympia is far the most formidable panic-inspirer in horses. And at one of the goals there is a brazen statue of Hippodamia with a fillet, about to bind Pelops with it for his victory.

CHAPTER XXI.

And the other part of the hippodrome is not an embankment, but a hill of no great size, on the top of which is a temple built to Demeter under the name of Chamyne. And some think that title of hers an ancient one, and that the earth opened there and took in the chariot of Pluto, and closed again. Others say that Chamynus of Pisa, (who opposed the dominion in Pisa of Pantaleon, the son of Omphalion, and stirred the people up to revolt from Elis), was slain by Pantaleon, and that it was out of his property that the temple to Demeter was built. And in lieu of the old ones new statues of Proserpine and Demeter were erected in Pentelican marble by the Athenian Herodes. And in the gymnasium at Olympia they practise for the pentathlum and the races. And in the open air there is a basement of stone, and originally on the basement there was a trophy for a victory over the Arcadians. On the left of the entrance to the gymnasium there is a smaller enclosure where the athletes practise wrestling. And at the Portico of the gymnasium facing East are some buildings for the Athletes facing South and West. And after you have crossed the river Cladeus you come to the tomb of Œnomaus, a mound piled up with stones, and above the tomb are some remains of buildings where they say the horses of Œnomaus were stabled. And here are the boundaries towards Arcadia, which now belong to the people of Elis, but formerly belonged to the people of Pisa.

After you have crossed the river Erymanthus, near the ridge called after Saurus, is the tomb of Saurus, and a temple of Hercules, ruins of which are to be seen in our day. Saurus they say used to molest wayfarers and the people of the country, till he was killed by Hercules. From the south side of the ridge called after this robber a river falls into the Alpheus nearly opposite Erymanthus. Its name is Diagon, and it divides the district of Pisa from Arcadia. And 40 stades onwards from the ridge of Saurus is the temple of Æsculapius, surnamed Demænetus from the name of the builder. It is in ruins too, and is built on the high ground along the Alpheus. And not far from it is the temple of Dionysus Lucyanites, hard by the river Lucyanias, which rises in Mount Pholoe, and flows into the Alpheus. When you have crossed the Alpheus you are in the district of Pisa.

Here you will see a hill with a steep acclivity, and on it are ruins of the town of Phrixa, and a temple of Athene Cydonia, not in my time in complete preservation, there is only an altar. They say Clymenus, a descendant of Idæan Hercules, erected the temple to the goddess. He came from Cydonia in Crete and from the river Iardanus. The people of Elis say also that Pelops sacrificed to Athene Cydonia before his race with Œnomaus. And as you advance a little further you come to the river Parthenia, on whose banks the horses of Marmax are buried. The story is that Marmax was the first suitor of Hippodamia, and that he was slain before the rest by Œnomaus, and the names of his horses were Parthenia and Eripha, and Œnomaus cut their throats and buried them with their master, and the river Parthenia got its name from one of them. There is also another river called Harpinates, and at no great distance from it some remains of a town Harpina especially altars: they say that Œnomaus built the town and gave it its name after his mother Harpina.

A little further is a lofty mound of earth, the tomb of the suitors of Hippodamia, Œnomaus did not (they say) bury them in the ground near one another as a mark of honour, but it was Pelops subsequently who gave them a common sepulchre, in honour to them and out of affection to Hippodamia, and I think also as a record to posterity how many worthy gentlemen Œnomaus had slain before he Pelops vanquished him. Indeed according to the poem called the Great Eœæ the following were killed by Œnomaus, Alcathous the son of Porthaon next to Marmax, and next to Alcathous Euryalus and Eurymachus and Crotalus. Their parents and native lands I could not ascertain. But Acrias, who was killed next, one would infer to have been a Lacedæmonian and the founder of Acriæ. And next to Acrias Œnomaus slew Capetus and Lycurgus and Lasius and Chalcodon and Tricolonus, who the Arcadians say was a descendant as well as namesake of Tricolonus the son of Lycaon. And after Tricolonus fate overtook in this fatal race Aristomachus and Prias and Pelagon and Æolius and Cronius. Some also add to the list I have given Erythras, the son of Leucon and grandson of Athamas, who gave his name to the town in Bœotia called Erythræ, and Eioneus, the son of Magnes and grandson of Æolus. Here then is the tomb of all these, and they say Pelops offered them funeral rites every year when he was king of Pisa.

CHAPTER XXII.

And if you go about a stade forward from this tomb there are traces of a temple of Artemis surnamed Cordace, because the attendants of Pelops used to offer their sacrifices to the goddess there, and dance the national dance of Sipylus called the _cordax_. And not far from the temple is a building not very large, and in it is a brazen coffer, in which are deposited the remains of Pelops. And there is no vestige of a wall or any other building, but vines are planted all over the site on which Pisa was built. The founder of the town was they say Pisus, the son of Perieres and grandson of Æolus. And the people of Pisa brought on their own misfortunes by making themselves objectionable to the people of Elis, and by their desire to start the Olympian games instead of the people of Elis, and in the 8th Olympiad they invited Phido the Argive, the most haughty of all the Greek tyrants, and made him the patron of the games. And in the 34th Olympiad the people of Pisa and their king Pantaleon, the son of Omphalion, assembled together the neighbouring people, and instituted the Olympian games instead of the people of Elis. During these Olympiads, and also in the 104th Olympiad which was set on foot by the Arcadians, the people of Elis kept no register, nor do they include them in the Olympiads. And in the 48th Olympiad Damophon the son of Pantaleon gave the people of Elis reason to suspect that he intended to act treacherously against them, so they invaded Pisæa, but did not at this time do any damage, because they returned home again being persuaded by entreaties and promises. But when Pyrrhus the son of Pantaleon succeeded his brother Damophon on the throne, then the people of Pisa of their own accord commenced war with the people of Elis. And the people of Macistus and Scillus in Triphylia joined them in their revolt from the people of Elis, and of the other neighbouring people the Dyspontii, whose relations had always been very friendly with the people of Pisa, and whose founder Dysponteus was they state the son of Œnomaus. And the people of Elis eventually razed Pisa to the ground and all the towns that had assisted her in the war.

The ruins of Pylos in Elis are visible as you go over the mountains from Olympia to Elis. And from Pylos to Elis is 80 stades’ distance. This Pylos was built, as I have already mentioned, by the Megarian Pylon the son of Cleson. And being destroyed by Hercules, and once again peopled by the people of Elis, it was destined once more to lack inhabitants. Near it the river Ladon flows into the Peneus. And the people of Elis say that it is about this Pylos that the lines of Homer are.

“He derived his origin from the river Alpheus, which flows in broad volume through the territory of Pylos.”

And they persuaded me by what they said, for the Alpheus flows through this district, and the lines cannot refer to the other Pylos. For by the Pylos near the island Sphacteria the Alpheus does not flow at all, nor do we know of any town in Arcadia formerly called Pylos. And about 50 stades from Olympia is the village belonging to Elis called Heraclea, and near it is the river Cytherus. There is a well that flows into the river, and there is a temple to the Nymphs by the well. And the proper names of these Nymphs individually are Calliphæa and Synallaxis and Pegæa and Iasis, and collectively Ionides. And people bathing in this well get cured from pains and aches of all kinds. And they say the Nymphs got their name Ionides from Ion, the son of Gargettus, who migrated to this place from Athens.

But if you wish to go to Elis through the plain, it is 120 stades to Letrini, and 180 from Letrini to Elis. Letrini was a small town originally founded by Letreus the son of Pelops, but now there are only a few buildings, and a temple and statue of Alphean Artemis. They give the following legend to account for the goddess being called Alphean. Alpheus they say was deeply in love with her, and when he found he could not marry her for all his wooing and vows, he had the boldness to try and force her, and went to a nightly revel at Letrini, which was to be held by her and the Nymphs with whom she associated in sport: and she, suspecting his plot, smeared with mud her own face and the faces of all the Nymphs present, and so Alpheus when he got there could not distinguish her from the Nymphs, and accordingly had to depart without effecting his object. So the people of Letrini called the goddess Alphean from Alpheus’ passion for her. And the people of Elis, for they had an ancient friendship for the people of Letrini, say that they borrowed their worship of the Elaphiæan Artemis from them, and used to perform rites to her as Alphea, but in process of time the name Elaphiæa prevailed. But in my opinion the people of Elis called Artemis Elaphiæa from her love of hunting deer: but their own tradition is that Elaphius was the name of a woman who was Artemis’ nurse. And about six stades beyond Letrini is a perennial lake about three stades in diameter.

CHAPTER XXIII.

And the notable things in Elis are an old gymnasium, in which before they go to Olympia the athletes go through all the customary training. There are some lofty plane-trees inside a wall growing all along the course, and the whole enclosure is called Colonnade, because Hercules the son of Amphitryon used to exercise there, and all the thorns and weeds that grew there were plucked up every day. There is a course called by the people of the place sacred, set apart for the races, and there is another course where they practise for the races and the pentathlum. There is also in the gymnasium a place called Plethrium, where the Umpires pit the athletes together according to their ages or difference in their training, and put them to wrestling to test their capacities. And there are in the gymnasium altars to some of the gods, as Idæan Hercules under the title of Champion, and Eros, and the god whom the Athenians and people of Elis alike call Anteros, and Demeter and Proserpine. There is no altar to Achilles, but he has a cenotaph in accordance with an oracle. And at the commencement of the general festival on a given day, when the sun begins to set, the women of Elis among other rites in honour of Achilles are wont to wail and strike the breast.

And there is another enclosure, smaller than the gymnasium but adjacent to it, which they call from its shape the Square. And here the athletes practise their wrestling, and here they test the athletes who are past wrestling, sometimes even applying blows with mild whips. And one of the statues is erected here, which were made of Zeus out of the fine-money of Sosander of Smyrna and Polyctor of Elis. There is also a third enclosure used as a gymnasium, which is called Maltho from the softness of its floor, and this is given up to the lads all the time the general festival lasts. And in a corner of Maltho there is a statue of Hercules, merely the head and shoulders, and in one of the wrestling-places is a figure of Eros and Anteros, Eros has a branch of palm which Anteros is trying to take away. And on each side of the entrance to Maltho is the statue of a boy-boxer, and the Custos Rotulorum at Elis says that it is a native of Alexandria above the island Pharos, called Serapion, who came to Elis and gave the people food when they were short of corn. That was why he received these honours: and the date when he received the crown at Olympia, and did this kindness to the people at Elis, was the 217th Olympiad. In this gymnasium the people of Elis also have a council chamber, where they practise extempore rhetoric, and submit all kinds of writings to public criticism: it is called Lalichmium from the name of its originator. And round it are some shields hung up, well worth seeing, not made for purposes of war, but simply for ornament.

You go from the gymnasium to the baths by the street called Silence near the temple of Artemis the Lover of Youths. The goddess was so called from her proximity to the gymnasium. And the street was called Silence from the following circumstance. Some men in the army of Oxylus being sent forward to reconnoitre Elis, and having cheered one another on the road, when they got near the walls, passed round the word for silence, and to listen if they could hear any sound within the town, and so stole into the town without being observed by this street, and returned again to Ætolia after having got the wished for intelligence. And the street received its name from the silence of these spies.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Another way out of the gymnasium leads to the market-place, and to what is called the Umpires’ Hall beyond the tomb of Achilles, and it is by this way that the Umpires are accustomed to enter the gymnasium. And they enter the gymnasium to pit together the runners before the sun gets too powerful, and at noon they call the competitors together for the pentathlum and the arduous contests.

And the market-place at Elis is not like that of the Ionians, or of the Greek cities in Ionia, but is built after a more antique type, with porticoes and streets at regular intervals. And the name of the market-place in our day is Hippodrome, and there the people of the place exercise their horses. The architecture of the portico facing South is Doric, and it is divided into 3 portions by pillars: it is there that the Umpires mostly spend the day. And there are altars erected to Zeus, and several other altars in the open air in the market-place, and they are easily removed as they are only improvised altars. And at the end of this portico, on the left as you go to the market-place, is the Umpires’ Hall, and a street separates it from the market-place. In this Umpires’ Hall those who are chosen as Umpires live ten months together, and are instructed by the Custodes Rotulorum in all things that appertain to the games. And near the portico where the Umpires spend the day is another portico, called the Corcyræan, and a street runs between the two porticoes. It was so called because when the Corcyræans invaded Elis in their ships, the people of Elis they say drove them off and took much booty from them, and built their portico with a tenth of the spoil. And the architecture of the portico is Doric: it has a double row of pillars, one towards the market-place, the other in the opposite direction. In the middle are no pillars, but a wall supports the roof, and there are statues on either side of this wall. And at the end of the portico near the market-place is a statue of Pyrrho the son of the Sophist Pistocrates, who had great persuasiveness on any topic. Pyrrho’s tomb is at no great distance from Elis, at a place called Petra, an old hamlet according to tradition. And the people of Elis have in the open air near the market-place a most noble temple and statue of Apollo the Healer. This would probably be much the same title as his Athenian title of Averter of Evil. And on another side are stone statues to the Sun and Moon, she has horns on her head, he has his beams. There is also a temple to the Graces, and their wooden statues, their dresses gilt, and their heads hands and feet of white marble, and one of them holds a rose, the second dice, and the third a small branch of myrtle. The meaning of which things we may conjecture thus. The rose and myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite, and have a place in the legend of Adonis, and the Graces have most intimate connection with Aphrodite: and dice are playthings of striplings and maidens, who have not yet lost all grace through old age. And on the right of the Graces is a statue of Eros on the same pedestal. There is also there a temple of Silenus, dedicated to Silenus alone, and not in common to him and Dionysus, and Drunkenness is filling his cup. That the Sileni are mortal we should infer from their tombs, for there is the tomb of one Silenus in the country of the Hebrews, and of another at Pergamum. And in the market-place the people of Elis have the following remarkable thing, which I have myself seen, in the shape of a temple. It is no great height, and has no walls, and the roof is supported by pillars made of oak. The people of the country say that it is a monument, but whose they do not record, but if the account of the old man whom I asked be correct, it would be the monument of Oxylus. There is also in the market-place a room for the 16 matrons, where they weave the shawl for Hera.

CHAPTER XXV.

And next the market-place is an ancient temple, a colonnade with pillars all round. The roof is fallen in with age, and there is no statue remaining. It was dedicated to the Roman Emperors.

And behind the Corcyræan Portico is a temple of Aphrodite, and a grove in the open air sacred to her, not far from the temple. The statue of the goddess in the temple is called Celestial Aphrodite, and is by Phidias in ivory and gold, she has one foot on a tortoise. Her grove is surrounded by a wall, and inside the grove is a basement on which is a brazen statue by Scopas of the Pandemian Aphrodite sitting on a brazen he-goat. The meaning of the tortoise and he-goat I leave my readers to guess.

And the sacred precincts and temple of Pluto (for the people of Elis have both) are opened once every year, but no one may enter them even then but the sacrificing priest. And as far as we know the men of Elis are the only ones that honour Pluto, for the following reason. When Hercules led an army against Pylos in Elis they say Athene cooperated with him. Then it was that Pluto came and helped the people of Pylos out of hostility to Hercules, and was accordingly honoured at Pylos. And they cite as their witness Homer’s lines in the Iliad.

“Mighty Pluto also endured the swift arrow, when this man, the son of Ægis-bearing Zeus, wounded him at Pylos, and gave him pain among the dead.”

Nor if in the expedition of Agamemnon and Menelaus against Ilium Poseidon, according to the tradition of Homer, helped the Greeks, was it against probability that Pluto should have helped the people of Pylos in the opinion of the same poet. Anyway the people of Elis erected this temple to Pluto as being friendly to them and hostile to Hercules. And once every year they are accustomed to open the temple to indicate, I think, that men once descend to Pluto’s gloomy realm. The people of Elis have also a temple to Fortune, and in the portico of this temple is a huge statue of wood, gilt all over except the head the hands and the toes, which are of white marble. Here too Sosipolis is honoured on the left of Fortune, in a rather small shrine: represented, according to the appearance of him seen in a dream, as a boy with a particoloured cloak on covered with stars, and in one of his hands the horn of Amalthea.

And in that part of the town where the people of Elis have most of their population, there is a statue not larger than life of a beardless man, who has his feet crossed, and leans against his spear with both his hands, his dress is of wool and linen and flax. This statue is said to be of Poseidon, and was worshipped of old at Samicum in Triphylia. And it was honoured even still more when removed to Elis, and they give it the name of Satrapes and not Poseidon, having learnt this name from their neighbours at Patræ. And Satrapes is the surname of Corybas.

CHAPTER XXVI.

And the old theatre between the market-place and the temple of the goddess Mene is the theatre and temple of Dionysus, the statue of the god is by Praxiteles. And of all the gods the people of Elis honour Dionysus most, and say that he frequents their festival in his honour called the Thyia, a festival which they celebrate about 8 stades from the city. The priests deposit 3 empty flagons in the chapel, in the presence of the citizens and strangers who may chance to be at the feast, and the priests themselves or any others who like seal the doors of the chapel. And the next day they come to the chapel to observe the miracle, and on entering find the flagons full of wine. Those held in the highest repute at Elis, and strangers as well, have sworn that this is as I have said, I was not myself there at the time of the festival. The people of Andros also say that annually at the feast of Dionysus wine flows spontaneously from the temple. If one can believe the Greeks in this matter, one might equally credit the tradition of the Ethiopians beyond Syene as to the Table of the Sun.

And in the citadel at Elis is a temple of Athene, her statue is of ivory and gold, and said to be by Phidias, and on her helmet is a cock, because that bird is said to be most pugnacious, or perhaps because it is sacred to Athene the Worker.

And about 120 stades from Elis is Cyllene, which faces Sicily, and is a fine harbour for ships. The dockyard belongs to the people of Elis but got its name from an Arcadian. Homer has not mentioned Cyllene in his Catalogue of the people of Elis, but subsequently in the Iliad shews that he knew that there was such a town as Cyllene.

“And Polydamas killed Otus of Cyllene, the companion of Phyleides, the leader of the brave Epeans.”

The gods who have temples in Cyllene are Æsculapius and Aphrodite. Hermes also has an Ithyphallic statue, which the natives pay extravagant honour to.

The country of Elis is fertile in fruits of all kinds but especially in flax. As to hemp and flax all sow them whose land is favourable to their growth. But the threads which the Seres make their garments of are not from any plant, but are produced in the following manner. There is an insect on the earth which the Greeks called Ser, but the Seres give it another name. Its size is about double that of the largest beetle, and in other respects it is like the spiders that weave their webs under trees, and has also 8 feet like spiders. These insects the Seres breed, and put summer and winter into little domiciles specially constructed for them. And what these insects produce is a slender thread, which rolls round their feet. For 4 years they feed them on grain, and in the fifth year (for they know they will not live longer) they give them green reed to eat. This food is the most agreeable of all to this insect, and when it has taken its fill of this it bursts from repletion. And when it is dead they find the thread in its inside. It is well-known that the island Seria is in the Red Sea. But I have heard that it is not the Red Sea, but a river called the Ser that makes this island, just as in Egypt the Delta is formed by the Nile and not by sea. Such a kind of island is Seria. The Seres are of Ethiopian race, and so are those that inhabit the neighbouring islands Abasa and Sacæa. Some however say that they are not Ethiopians but a cross-breed of Scythians and Indians. Such are the various traditions.

As you go from Elis to Achaia it is about 127 stades to the river Larisus, which is in our day the boundary between Elis and Achaia, but in ancient times the boundary was the promontory Araxus near the sea.

FOOTNOTES:

This proverb means _to play fast and loose_, _to be a turn-coat_, _a Vicar of Bray_. The best illustration is Cicero _ad Fam._ vii. 29. “Noli hanc epistolam Attico ostendere: sine eum errare et putare me virum bonum esse nec solere duo parietes de eadem fidelia dealbare.” See also Erasmus’ _Adagia_.

The passage referred to is Iliad, vi. 407.

See Book v., ch. 9.

Thucyd. iii. 101.

Iliad, v. 544, 545.

See Book i. ch. 3.

One might also infer the same from the fate of Marsyas.

See Book v. ch. 16.

v. 395-397.

Iliad, xv. 518, 519.