Ἀθηναίοις δὲ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ καὶ ἄλλα ἐστὶν οὐκ ἐς ἅπαντας ἐπίσημα καὶ Ἐλέου βωμός, ᾧ μάλιστα θεῶν ἐς ἀνθρώπινον βίον καὶ μεταβολὰς πραγμάτων ὄντι ὠφελίμῳ μόνοι τιμὰς Ἑλλήνων νέμουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι. τούτοις δὲ οὐ τὰ ἐς φιλανθρωπίαν μόνον καθέστηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεοὺς εὐσεβοῦσιν ἄλλων πλέον, καὶ γὰρ Αἰδοῦς σφισι βωμός ἐστι καὶ Φήμης καὶ Ὁρμῆς· δῆλά τε ἐναργῶς, ὅσοις πλέον τι ἑτέρων εὐσεβείας μέτεστιν, ἴσον σφίσι παρὸν τύχης χρηστῆς.
ἐν δὲ τῷ γυμνασίῳ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἀπέχοντι οὐ πολύ, Πτολεμαίου δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κατασκευασαμένου καλουμένῳ, λίθοι τέ εἰσιν Ἑρμαῖ θέας ἄξιοι καὶ εἰκὼν Πτολεμαίου χαλκῆ· καὶ ὅ τε Λίβυς Ἰόβας ἐνταῦθα κεῖται καὶ Χρύσιππος ὁ Σολεύς. πρὸς δὲ τῷ γυμνασίῳ Θησέως ἐστὶν ἱερόν· γραφαὶ δέ εἰσι πρὸς Ἀμαζόνας Ἀθηναῖοι μαχόμενοι. πεποίηται δέ σφισιν ὁ πόλεμος οὗτος καὶ τῇ Ἀθηνᾷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι καὶ τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου Διὸς ἐπὶ τῷ βάθρῳ. γέγραπται δὲ ἐν τῷ τοῦ Θησέως ἱερῷ καὶ ἡ Κενταύρων καὶ Λαπιθῶν μάχη· Θησεὺς μὲν οὖν ἀπεκτονώς ἐστιν ἤδη Κένταυρον, τοῖς δὲ ἄλλοις ἐξ ἴσου καθέστηκεν ἔτι ἡ μάχη.
τοῦ δὲ τρίτου τῶν τοίχων ἡ γραφὴ μὴ πυθομένοις ἃ λέγουσιν οὐ σαφής ἐστι, τὰ μέν που διὰ τὸν χρόνον, τὰ δὲ Μίκων οὐ τὸν πάντα ἔγραψε λόγον. Μίνως ἡνίκα Θησέα καὶ τὸν ἄλλον στόλον τῶν παίδων ἦγεν ἐς Κρήτην, ἐρασθεὶς Περιβοίας, ὥς οἱ Θησεὺς μάλιστα ἠναντιοῦτο, καὶ ἄλλα ὑπὸ ὀργῆς ἀπέρριψεν ἐς αὐτὸν καὶ παῖδα οὐκ ἔφη Ποσειδῶνος εἶναι, ἐπεὶ οὐ δύνασθαι τὴν σφραγῖδα, ἣν αὐτὸς φέρων ἔτυχεν, ἀφέντι ἐς θάλασσαν ἀνασῶσαί οἱ. Μίνως μὲν λέγεται ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἀφεῖναι τὴν σφραγῖδα· Θησέα δὲ σφραγῖδά τε ἐκείνην ἔχοντα καὶ στέφανον χρυσοῦν, Ἀμφιτρίτης δῶρον, ἀνελθεῖν λέγουσιν ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης.
ἐς δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν τὴν Θησέως πολλὰ ἤδη καὶ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦντα εἴρηται· δεδέσθαι τε γὰρ αὐτὸν λέγουσιν ἐς τόδε ἕως ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους ἀναχθείη, πιθανώτατα δὲ ὧν ἤκουσα· Θησεὺς ἐς Θεσπρωτοὺς ἐμβαλών, τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Θεσπρωτῶν γυναῖκα ἁρπάσων, τὸ πολὺ τῆς στρατιᾶς οὕτως ἀπόλλυσι, καὶ αὐτός τε καὶ Πειρίθους— Πειρίθους γὰρ καὶ τὸν γάμον σπεύδων ἐστράτευεν— ἥλωσαν, καὶ σφᾶς ὁ Θεσπρωτὸς δήσας εἶχεν ἐν Κιχύρῳ.
γῆς δὲ τῆς Θεσπρωτίδος ἔστι μέν που καὶ ἄλλα θέας ἄξια, ἱερόν τε Διὸς ἐν Δωδώνῃ καὶ ἱερὰ τοῦ θεοῦ φηγός· πρὸς δὲ τῇ Κιχύρῳ λίμνη τέ ἐστιν Ἀχερουσία καλουμένη καὶ ποταμὸς Ἀχέρων, ῥεῖ δὲ καὶ Κωκυτὸς ὕδωρ ἀτερπέστατον. Ὅμηρός τέ μοι δοκεῖ ταῦτα ἑωρακὼς ἔς τε τὴν ἄλλην ποίησιν ἀποτολμῆσαι τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα τοῖς ποταμοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν Θεσπρωτίδι θέσθαι. τότε δὲ ἐχομένου Θησέως στρατεύουσιν ἐς Ἄφιδναν οἱ Τυνδάρεω παῖδες καὶ τήν τε Ἄφιδναν αἱροῦσι καὶ Μενεσθέα ἐπὶ βασιλείᾳ κατήγαγον·
Μενεσθεὺς δὲ τῶν μὲν παίδων τῶν Θησέως παρʼ Ἐλεφήνορα ὑπεξελθόντων ἐς Εὔβοιαν εἶχεν οὐδένα λόγον, Θησέα δέ, εἴ ποτε παρὰ Θεσπρωτῶν ἀνακομισθήσεται, δυσανταγώνιστον ἡγούμενος διὰ θεραπείας τὰ τοῦ δήμου καθίστατο, ὡς Θησέα ἀνασωθέντα ὕστερον ἀπωσθῆναι. στέλλεται δὴ Θησεὺς παρὰ Δευκαλίωνα ἐς Κρήτην, ἐξενεχθέντα δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ πνευμάτων ἐς Σκῦρον τὴν νῆσον λαμπρῶς περιεῖπον οἱ Σκύριοι κατὰ γένους δόξαν καὶ ἀξίωμα ὧν ἦν αὐτὸς εἰργασμένος· καί οἱ θάνατον Λυκομήδης διὰ ταῦτα ἐβούλευσεν. ὁ μὲν δὴ Θησέως σηκὸς Ἀθηναίοις ἐγένετο ὕστερον ἢ Μῆδοι Μαραθῶνι ἔσχον, Κίμωνος τοῦ Μιλτιάδου Σκυρίους ποιήσαντος ἀναστάτους—δίκην δὴ τοῦ Θησέως θανάτου—καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ κομίσαντος ἐς Ἀθήνας·
In the market-place of Athens, amongst other objects which are not universally known, there is an altar of Mercy, to whom, though he is of all gods the most helpful in human life and in the vicissitudes of fortune, the Athenians are the only Greeks who pay honour. Humanity is not the only characteristic of the Athenians: they are also more pious than other people, for they have altars of Modesty, of Rumour, and of Impulse. Clearly people who are more pious than their neighbours have a proportionate share of good luck.
In the gymnasium of Ptolemy, so called after its founder, not far from the market-place, there are some stone figures of Hermes which are worth seeing, and a bronze statue of Ptolemy: here too are statues of Juba the Libyan and Chrysippus of Soli. Beside the gymnasium is a sanctuary of Theseus, with paintings of the Athenians fighting the Amazons. This war is represented also on the shield of Athena and on the pedestal of Olympian Zeus. In the sanctuary of Theseus there is also painted the battle of the Centaurs and Lapiths: Theseus has already slain a Centaur, but the others are fighting on equal terms. To those who may be unacquainted with the legend, the painting on the third wall is not clear, partly, no doubt, by reason of the effects of time, but partly also because Micon has not painted the whole story.
When Minos brought Theseus and the rest of the youthful band to Crete, he fell in love with Periboea; and when Theseus stoutly withstood him, Minos broke into angry abuse of him, and said he was no son of Poseidon, ‘ For,’ said he, ‘if I fling into the sea the signet ring I wear on my finger, you could not bring it back to me.’ With these words, so runs the tale, he flung the ring into the sea, from which Theseus emerged with the signet ring and a golden crown, a gift of Amphitrite.
Of the death of Theseus many inconsistent tales are told. One story is that he was bound fast till Hercules brought him to the upper world. But the most plausible story I have heard is this. Theseus made a raid into the Thesprotian land to carry off the wife of the king; but he lost most of his army, and he and Perithous, who marched with him to forward his marriage, were taken and kept bound by the Thesprotian king in Cichyrus.
Amongst the things worth seeing in the Thesprotian land is a sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona and an oak sacred to the god. Beside Cichyrus is a lake called the Acherusian Lake, and the river Acheron, and there too flows Cocytus, a joyless stream. It appears to me that Homer had seen these things, and boldly modelled his descriptions of hell on them, and that in particular he bestowed on the rivers of hell the names of the rivers in Thesprotis.
Now when Theseus was held a prisoner, the sons of Tyndareus marched against Aphidna and took it, and brought back Menestheus and set him on the throne. The sons of Theseus took refuge with Elephenor in Euboea. Menestheus heeded them not ; but knowing that Theseus himself, if ever he returned from Thesprotis, would prove a troublesome adversary, he courted the favour of the people so successfully that when Theseus afterwards came back safe they sent him about his business. So Theseus set out to go to Deucalion in Crete, but being driven by gales out of his course he landed in the island of Scyros, and the people received him splendidly as befitted the famous house to which he belonged and the renown of his personal exploits. On that account Lycomedes plotted his death. The dedication of a sacred close to Theseus by the Athenians was subsequent to the landing of the Medes at Marathon. Cimon, son of Miltiades, had laid waste Scyros in retaliation, forsooth, for the murder of Theseus, and had then brought back the hero’s bones to Athens.
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