ἔστι δὲ ὁδὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ πρυτανείου καλουμένη Τρίποδες· ἀφʼ οὗ καλοῦσι τὸ χωρίον, ναοὶ ὅσον ἐς τοῦτο μεγάλοι, καί σφισιν ἐφεστήκασι τρίποδες χαλκοῖ μέν, μνήμης δὲ ἄξια μάλιστα περιέχοντες εἰργασμένα. σάτυρος γάρ ἐστιν, ἐφʼ ᾧ Πραξιτέλην λέγεται φρονῆσαι μέγα· καί ποτε Φρύνης αἰτούσης, ὅ τι οἱ κάλλιστον εἴη τῶν ἔργων, ὁμολογεῖν μέν φασιν οἷα ἐραστὴν διδόναι , κατειπεῖν δʼ οὐκ ἐθέλειν ὅ τι κάλλιστον αὐτῷ οἱ φαίνοιτο. ἐσδραμὼν οὖν οἰκέτης Φρύνης ἔφασκεν οἴχεσθαι Πραξιτέλει τὸ πολὺ τῶν ἔργων πυρὸς ἐσπεσόντος ἐς τὸ οἴκημα, οὐ μὲν οὖν πάντα γε ἀφανισθῆναι·
Πραξιτέλης δὲ αὐτίκα ἔθει διὰ θυρῶν ἔξω καί οἱ καμόντι οὐδὲν ἔφασκεν εἶναι πλέον, εἰ δὴ καὶ τὸν Σάτυρον ἡ φλὸξ καὶ τὸν Ἔρωτα ἐπέλαβε· Φρύνη δὲ μένειν θαρροῦντα ἐκέλευε· παθεῖν γὰρ ἀνιαρὸν οὐδέν, τέχνῃ δὲ ἁλόντα ὁμολογεῖν τὰ κάλλιστα ὧν ἐποίησε. Φρύνη μὲν οὕτω τὸν Ἔρωτα αἱρεῖται· Διονύσῳ δὲ ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῷ πλησίον Σάτυρός ἐστι παῖς καὶ δίδωσιν ἔκπωμα· Ἔρωτα δʼ ἑστηκότα ὁμοῦ καὶ Διόνυσον Θυμίλος ἐποίησεν.
τοῦ Διονύσου δέ ἐστι πρὸς τῷ θεάτρῳ τὸ ἀρχαιότατον ἱερόν· δύο δέ εἰσιν ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου ναοὶ καὶ Διόνυσοι, ὅ τε Ἐλευθερεὺς καὶ ὃν Ἀλκαμένης ἐποίησεν ἐλέφαντος καὶ χρυσοῦ. γραφαὶ δὲ αὐτόθι Διόνυσός ἐστιν ἀνάγων Ἥφαιστον ἐς οὐρανόν· λέγεται δὲ καὶ τάδε ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων, ὡς Ἥρα ῥίψαι γενόμενον Ἥφαιστον, ὁ δέ οἱ μνησικακῶν πέμψαι δῶρον χρυσοῦν θρόνον ἀφανεῖς δεσμοὺς ἔχοντα, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐπεί τε ἐκαθέζετο δεδέσθαι, θεῶν δὲ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων οὐδενὶ τὸν Ἥφαιστον ἐθέλειν πείθεσθαι, Διόνυσος δὲ— μάλιστα γὰρ ἐς τοῦτον πιστὰ ἦν Ἡφαίστῳ—μεθύσας αὐτὸν ἐς οὐρανὸν ἤγαγε· ταῦτά τε δὴ γεγραμμένα εἰσὶ καὶ Πενθεὺς καὶ Λυκοῦργος ὧν ἐς Διόνυσον ὕβρισαν διδόντες δίκας, Ἀριάδνη δὲ καθεύδουσα καὶ Θησεὺς ἀναγόμενος καὶ Διόνυσος ἥκων ἐς τῆς Ἀριάδνης τὴν ἁρπαγήν.
ἔστι δὲ πλησίον τοῦ τε ἱεροῦ τοῦ Διονύσου καὶ τοῦ θεάτρου κατασκεύασμα, ποιηθῆναι δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτὸ ἐς μίμησιν τῆς Ξέρξου λέγεται· ἐποιήθη δὲ καὶ δεύτερον, τὸ γὰρ ἀρχαῖον στρατηγὸς Ῥωμαίων ἐνέπρησε Σύλλας Ἀθήνας ἑλών. αἰτία δὲ ἥδε τοῦ πολέμου. Μιθριδάτης ἐβασίλευε βαρβάρων τῶν περὶ τὸν Πόντον τὸν Εὔξεινον. πρόφασις μὲν δὴ διʼ ἥντινα Ῥωμαίοις ἐπολέμησε καὶ ὃν τρόπον ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν διέβη καὶ ὅσας ἢ πολέμῳ βιασάμενος πόλεις ἔσχεν ἢ φίλας ἐποιήσατο, τάδε μὲν τοῖς ἐπίστασθαι τὰ Μιθριδάτου θέλουσι μελέτω· ἐγὼ δὲ ὅσον ἐς τὴν ἅλωσιν τὴν Ἀθηναίων ἔχει δηλώσω.
ἦν Ἀριστίων Ἀθηναῖος, ᾧ Μιθριδάτης πρεσβεύειν ἐς τὰς πόλεις τὰς Ἑλληνίδας ἐχρῆτο· οὗτος ἀνέπεισεν Ἀθηναίους Μιθριδάτην θέσθαι Ῥωμαίων ἐπίπροσθεν. ἀνέπεισε δὲ οὐ πάντας, ἀλλʼ ὅσον δῆμος ἦν καὶ δήμου τὸ ταραχῶδες· Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ ὧν τις λόγος, παρὰ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐκπίπτουσιν ἐθελονταί. γενομένης δὲ μάχης πολλῷ περιῆσαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ φεύγοντας Ἀριστίωνα μὲν καὶ Ἀθηναίους ἐς τὸ ἄστυ καταδιώκουσιν, Ἀρχέλαον δὲ καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐς τὸν Πειραιᾶ· Μιθριδάτου δὲ στρατηγὸς καὶ οὗτος ἦν, ὃν πρότερον τούτων Μάγνητες οἱ τὸν Σίπυλον οἰκοῦντες σφᾶς ἐπεκδραμόντα αὐτόν τε τιτρώσκουσι καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων φονεύουσι τοὺς πολλούς.
Ἀθηναίοις μὲν δὴ πολιορκία καθειστήκει, Ταξίλος δὲ Μιθριδάτου στρατηγὸς ἐτύγχανε μὲν περικαθήμενος Ἐλάτειαν τὴν ἐν τῇ Φωκίδι, ἀφικομένων δὲ ἀγγέλων ἀναστήσας τὸν στρατὸν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἦγεν. ἃ πυνθανόμενος ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν Ῥωμαίων Ἀθήνας μὲν τοῦ στρατοῦ μέρει πολιορκεῖν ἀφῆκεν, αὐτὸς δὲ Ταξίλῳ τὸ πολὺ τῆς δυνάμεως ἔχων ἐς Βοιωτοὺς ἀπαντᾷ. τρίτῃ δὲ ὕστερον ἡμέρᾳ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἦλθον ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα τὰ στρατόπεδα ἄγγελοι, Σύλλᾳ μὲν ὡς Ἀθηναίοις εἴη τὸ τεῖχος ἑαλωκός, τοῖς δὲ Ἀθήνας πολιορκήσασι Ταξίλον κεκρατῆσθαι μάχῃ περὶ Χαιρώνειαν. Σύλλας δὲ ὡς ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἐπανῆλθε, τοὺς ἐναντιωθέντας Ἀθηναίων καθείρξας ἐς τὸν Κεραμεικὸν τὸν λαχόντα σφῶν ἐκ δεκάδος ἑκάστης ἐκέλευσεν ἄγεσθαι τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ.
Σύλλου δὲ οὐκ ἀνιέντος ἐς Ἀθηναίους τοῦ θυμοῦ λαθόντες ἐκδιδράσκουσιν ἄνδρες ἐς Δελφοὺς· ἐρομένοις δέ σφισιν, εἰ καταλαμβάνοι τὸ χρεὼν ἤδη καὶ τὰς Ἀθήνας ἐρημωθῆναι, τούτοις ἔχρησεν ἡ Πυθία τὰ ἐς τὸν ἀσκὸν ἔχοντα. Σύλλᾳ δὲ ὕστερον τούτων ἐνέπεσεν ἡ νόσος, ᾗ καὶ τὸν Σύριον Φερεκύδην ἁλῶναι πυνθάνομαι. Σύλλᾳ δὲ ἔστι μὲν καὶ τὰ ἐς τοὺς πολλοὺς Ἀθηναίων ἀγριώτερα ἢ ὡς ἄνδρα εἰκὸς ἦν ἐργάσασθαι Ῥωμαῖον· ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ ταῦτα δὴ αἰτίαν γενέσθαι οἱ δοκῶ τῆς συμφορᾶς, Ἱκεσίου δὲ μήνιμα, ὅτι καταφυγόντα ἐς τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν ἀπέκτεινεν ἀποσπάσας Ἀριστίωνα. Ἀθῆναι μὲν οὕτως ὑπὸ τοῦ πολέμου κακωθεῖσαι τοῦ Ῥωμαίων αὖθις Ἀδριανοῦ βασιλεύοντος ἤνθησαν·
There is a street called Tripods leading from the Prytaneum. The place is so called from certain relatively large temples on which stand tripods. These tripods are of bronze, but enclose most memorable works of art. For here is the Satyr of which Praxiteles is said to have been very proud. They say that once when Phryne asked for the most beautiful of his works, he lover-like promised to give her it, but would not tell which he thought the most beautiful. So a servant of Phryne ran in declaring that Praxiteles’ studio had caught fire, and that most, but not all, of his works had perished. Praxiteles at once ran for the door, protesting that all his labour was lost if the flames had reached the Satyr and the Love. But Phryne bade him stay and be of good cheer, telling him that he had suffered no loss, but had only been entrapped into saying which were the most beautiful of his works. So Phryne chose the Love. In the neighbouring temple of Dionysus is a boy Satyr handing a cup: the Love which stands in the same place, and the Dionysus, are works of Thymilus. 2. But the oldest sanctuary of Dionysus is beside the theatre. Within the enclosure there are two temples and two images of Dionysus, one surnamed Eleutherian, the other made by Alcamenes of ivory and gold. Here, too, are pictures representing Dionysus bringing Hephaestus up to heaven. For the Greeks say that Hera flung Hephaestus down as soon as he was born, and that he, bearing her a grudge, sent her as a gift a golden chair with invisible bonds. When Hera sat down on it she was held fast, and Hephaestus would not listen to the intercession of any of the gods, till Dionysus, his trustiest friend, made him drunk, and so brought him to heaven. There are also depicted Pentheus and Lycurgus suffering retribution for the insults they offered to Dionysus, and Ariadne asleep, and Theseus putting to sea, and Dionysus come to carry Ariadne off.
Near the sanctuary of Dionysus and the theatre is a structure said to have been made in imitation of the tent of Xerxes. It was rebuilt, for the old edifice was burned by the Roman general Sulla when he captured Athens. The cause of the war was this. Mithridates was king of the barbarians about the Euxine Sea. But the pretext on which he made war on the Romans, and how he crossed into Asia, and the cities which he conquered or made friends with,—all this I leave to such as wish to study the history of Mithridates: I will relate only as much as concerns the capture of Athens. There was one Aristion, an Athenian, whom Mithridates employed as an envoy to the Greek cities. This man persuaded the Athenians to prefer Mithridates to the Romans ; but he did not persuade all of them, only the turbulent part of the populace: the respectable Athenians fled to the Romans. A battle took place: the Romans gained a decisive victory, and pursued Aristion and the Athenians into the city ; but Archelaus and the barbarians they chased into Piraeus. (Archelaus was another general of Mithridates. On a former occasion he had overrun the territory of the Magnesians of Sipylus, but they wounded him and slaughtered most of his troops.)
So Athens was invested. But when word of it came to Taxilus, a general of Mithridates, who was besieging Elatea in Phocis, he raised the siege and marched towards Attica. Hearing of this the Roman general left a part of his army to besiege Athens, and advanced in person with the main body into Boeotia to meet Taxilus. Two days afterwards messengers came to both the Roman camps: Sulla was informed that the walls of Athens were captured, and the troops which had taken Athens were told that Taxilus had been defeated at Chaeronea. On his return to Attica Sulla shut up his Athenian adversaries in the Ceramicus, and ordered them to be decimated. His rage at the Athenians not abating, some of them made their way secretly to Delphi; and in answer to their inquiries whether it was fated that Athens also should now at last be laid waste, the Pythian priestess gave the oracle about the wine skin. Sulla was afterwards attacked by the disease to which I am told Pherecydes of Syros succumbed. But though Sulla treated the mass of the Athenians with a cruelty unworthy of a Roman, I do not think that this was the cause of his calamity. The cause was rather the wrath of the God of Suppliants, because when Aristion took refuge in the sanctuary of Athena, Sulla dragged him away and put him to death. Though Athens suffered thus in the Roman war, it flourished again in the reign of Hadrian.
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