μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ ταύτῃ πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἰοῦσι Θέμιδος ναός ἐστι. κέχωσται δὲ πρὸ αὐτοῦ μνῆμα Ἱππολύτῳ· τοῦ δέ οἱ βίου τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι λέγουσιν ἐκ καταρῶν. δῆλα δέ, καὶ ὅστις βαρβάρων γλῶσσαν ἔμαθεν Ἑλλήνων, ὅ τε ἔρως τῆς Φαίδρας καὶ τῆς τροφοῦ τὸ ἐς τὴν διακονίαν τόλμημα. ἔστι δὲ καὶ Τροιζηνίοις Ἱππολύτου τάφος· ἔχει δέ σφισιν ὧδε ὁ λόγος.
Θησεὺς ὡς ἔμελλεν ἄξεσθαι Φαίδραν, οὐκ ἐθέλων εἴ οἱ γένοιντο παῖδες οὔτε ἄρχεσθαι τὸν Ἱππόλυτον οὔτε βασιλεύειν ἀντʼ αὐτῶν, πέμπει παρὰ Πιτθέα τραφησόμενον αὐτὸν καὶ βασιλεύσοντα Τροιζῆνος. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Πάλλας καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἐπανέστησαν Θησεῖ· τούτους κτείνας ἐς Τροιζῆνα ἔρχεται καθαρσίων ἕνεκα, καὶ Φαίδρα πρώτη ἐνταῦθα εἶδεν Ἱππόλυτον καὶ τὰ ἐς τὸν θάνατον ἐρασθεῖσα ἐβούλευσε. μυρσίνη δέ ἐστι Τροιζηνίοις τὰ φύλλα διὰ πάσης ἔχουσα τετρυπημένα· φῦναι δὲ οὐκ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτὴν λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἔργον γεγενῆσθαι τῆς ἐς τὸν ἔρωτα ἄσης καὶ τῆς περόνης ἣν ἐπὶ ταῖς θριξὶν εἶχεν ἡ Φαίδρα.
Ἀφροδίτην δὲ τὴν Πάνδημον, ἐπεί τε Ἀθηναίους Θησεὺς ἐς μίαν ἤγαγεν ἀπὸ τῶν δήμων πόλιν, αὐτήν τε σέβεσθαι καὶ Πειθὼ κατέστησε· τὰ μὲν δὴ παλαιὰ ἀγάλματα οὐκ ἦν ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ, τὰ δὲ ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ τεχνιτῶν ἦν οὐ τῶν ἀφανεστάτων. ἔστι δὲ καὶ Γῆς Κουροτρόφου καὶ Δήμητρος ἱερὸν Χλόης· τὰ δὲ ἐς τὰς ἐπωνυμίας ἔστιν αὐτῶν διδαχθῆναι τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐλθόντα ἐς λόγους.
ἐς δὲ τὴν ἀκρόπολίν ἐστιν ἔσοδος μία· ἑτέραν δὲ οὐ παρέχεται, πᾶσα ἀπότομος οὖσα καὶ τεῖχος ἔχουσα ἐχυρόν. τὰ δὲ προπύλαια λίθου λευκοῦ τὴν ὀροφὴν ἔχει καὶ κόσμῳ καὶ μεγέθει τῶν λίθων μέχρι γε καὶ ἐμοῦ προεῖχε. τὰς μὲν οὖν εἰκόνας τῶν ἱππέων οὐκ ἔχω σαφῶς εἰπεῖν, εἴτε οἱ παῖδές εἰσιν οἱ Ξενοφῶντος εἴτε ἄλλως ἐς εὐπρέπειαν πεποιημέναι· τῶν δὲ προπυλαίων ἐν δεξιᾷ Νίκης ἐστὶν Ἀπτέρου ναός. ἐντεῦθεν ἡ θάλασσά ἐστι σύνοπτος, καὶ ταύτῃ ῥίψας Αἰγεὺς ἑαυτὸν ὡς λέγουσιν ἐτελεύτησεν.
ἀνήγετο μὲν γὰρ ἡ ναῦς μέλασιν ἱστίοις ἡ τοὺς παῖδας φέρουσα ἐς Κρήτην, Θησεὺς δὲ—ἔπλει γὰρ τόλμης τι ἔχων ἐς τὸν Μίνω καλούμενον ταῦρον—πρὸς τὸν πατέρα προεῖπε χρήσεσθαι τοῖς ἱστίοις λευκοῖς, ἢν ὀπίσω πλέῃ τοῦ ταύρου κρατήσας· τούτων λήθην ἔσχεν Ἀριάδνην ἀφῃρημένος· ἐνταῦθα Αἰγεὺς ὡς εἶδεν ἱστίοις μέλασι τὴν ναῦν κομιζομένην, οἷα τὸν παῖδα τεθνάναι δοκῶν, ἀφεὶς αὑτὸν διαφθείρεται· καί οἱ παρὰ Ἀθηναίοις ἐστὶ καλούμενον ἡρῷον Αἰγέως.
—ἔστι δὲ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῶν προπυλαίων οἴκημα ἔχον γραφάς· ὁπόσαις δὲ μὴ καθέστηκεν ὁ χρόνος αἴτιος ἀφανέσιν εἶναι, Διομήδης ἦν, ὁ μὲν ἐν Λήμνῳ τὸ Φιλοκτήτου τόξον, ὁ δὲ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ἀφαιρούμενος ἐξ Ἰλίου. ἐνταῦθα ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς Ὀρέστης ἐστὶν Αἴγισθον φονεύων καὶ Πυλάδης τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς Ναυπλίου βοηθοὺς ἐλθόντας Αἰγίσθῳ· τοῦ δὲ Ἀχιλλέως τάφου πλησίον μέλλουσά ἐστι σφάζεσθαι Πολυξένη. Ὁμήρῳ δὲ εὖ μὲν παρείθη τόδε τὸ ὠμὸν οὕτως ἔργον· εὖ δέ μοι φαίνεται ποιῆσαι Σκῦρον ὑπὸ Ἀχιλλέως ἁλοῦσαν, οὐδὲν ὁμοίως καὶ ὅσοι λέγουσιν ὁμοῦ ταῖς παρθένοις Ἀχιλλέα ἔχειν ἐν Σκύρῳ δίαιταν, ἃ δὴ καὶ Πολύγνωτος ἔγραψεν. ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ πρὸς τῷ ποταμῷ ταῖς ὁμοῦ Ναυσικᾷ πλυνούσαις ἐφιστάμενον Ὀδυσσέα κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καθὰ δὴ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐποίησε. γραφαὶ δέ εἰσι καὶ ἄλλαι καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδης,
ἵππων δέ οἱ νίκης τῆς ἐν Νεμέᾳ ἐστὶ σημεῖα ἐν τῇ γραφῇ· καὶ Περσεύς ἐστιν ἐς Σέριφον κομιζόμενος, Πολυδέκτῃ φέρων τὴν κεφαλὴν τὴν Μεδούσης. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐς Μέδουσαν οὐκ εἰμὶ πρόθυμος ἐν τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς σημῆναι· ἔτι δὲ τῶν γραφῶν παρέντι τὸν παῖδα τὸν τὰς ὑδρίας φέροντα καὶ τὸν παλαιστὴν ὃν Τιμαίνετος ἔγραψεν, ἐστὶ Μουσαῖος. ἐγὼ δὲ ἔπη μὲν ἐπελεξάμην, ἐν οἷς ἐστι πέτεσθαι Μουσαῖον ὑπὸ Βορέου δῶρον, δοκεῖν δέ μοι πεποίηκεν αὐτὰ Ὀνομάκριτος καὶ ἔστιν οὐδὲν Μουσαίου βεβαίως ὅτι μὴ μόνον ἐς Δήμητρα ὕμνος Λυκομίδαις.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἔσοδον αὐτὴν ἤδη τὴν ἐς ἀκρόπολιν Ἑρμῆν ὃν Προπύλαιον ὀνομάζουσι καὶ Χάριτας Σωκράτην ποιῆσαι τὸν Σωφρονίσκου λέγουσιν, ᾧ σοφῷ γενέσθαι μάλιστα ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν ἡ Πυθία μάρτυς, ὃ μηδὲ Ἀνάχαρσιν ἐθέλοντα ὅμως καὶ διʼ αὐτὸ ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀφικόμενον προσεῖπεν.
After the sanctuary of Aesculapius, proceeding by this road towards the Acropolis, we come to a temple of Themis. In front of it is a barrow erected in memory of Hippolytus. They say his death was brought about by curses. Even foreigners who have learned the Greek tongue are familiar with the love of Phaedra, and how the nurse sought to serve her by a bold bad deed.
The Troezenians have also a grave of Hippolytus, and the tale which they tell runs thus: When Theseus was about to marry Phaedra, he did not wish that, in case he should have children by her, Hippolytus should either be ruled by them or should reign in their stead. So he sent him away to Pittheus to be reared by him and be king of Troezen. Afterwards Pallas and his sons revolted against Theseus, and he, after slaying them, went to Troezen to be purified, and there Phaedra first saw and loved Hippolytus, and laid the plot of death. There is a myrtle-tree at Troezen, of which the leaves are all pierced. They say it did not grow thus at first, but that Phaedra, sick of love, pricked it with the brooch she wore in her hair.
The worship of Vulgar Aphrodite and of Persuasion was instituted by Theseus when he gathered the Athenians from the townships into a single city. In my time the ancient images were gone, but the existing images were by no obscure artists. There is also a sanctuary of Earth, the Nursing-Mother, and of Green Demeter: the meaning of these surnames may be learnt by inquiring of the priests.
There is but one entrance to the Acropolis: it admits of no other, being everywhere precipitous and fortified with a strong wall. The portal (Propylaea) has a roof of white marble, and for the beauty and size of the blocks it has never yet been matched. Whether the statues of the horsemen represent the sons of Xenophon, or are merely decorative, I cannot say for certain. On the right of the portal is a temple of Wingless Victory.
From this point the sea is visible, and it was here, they say, that Aegeus cast himself down and perished. For the ship that bore the children to Crete used to put to sea with black sails; but when Theseus sailed to beard the bull called the son of Minos (i.e., the Minotaur), he told his father that he would use white sails if he came back victorious over the bull. However, after the loss of Ariadne he forgot to do so. Then Aegeus, when he saw the ship returning with black sails, thought that his son was dead; so he flung himself down and was killed. There is a shrine to him at Athens called the shrine of the hero Aegeus.
On the left of the portal is a chamber containing pictures. Among the pictures which time had not effaced, were Diomede and Ulysses, the one at Lemnos carrying off the bow of Philoctetes, the other carrying off the image of Athena from Ilium. Among the paintings here is also Orestes slaying Aegisthus, and Pylades slaying Nauplius’ sons, who came to the rescue of Aegisthus, and Polyxena about to be slaughtered near the grave of Achilles. Homer did well to omit so savage a deed, and he did well, I think, to represent Scyros as captured by Achilles, therein differing from those who say that Achilles lived in the company of the maidens at Scyros: it is this latter version of the legend that Polygnotus has painted. Polygnotus also painted Ulysses at the river approaching the damsels who are washing clothes with Nausicaa, just as Homer described the scene. Amongst other paintings there is a picture of Alcibiades containing emblems of the victory won by his team at Nemea. Perseus is also depicted on his way back to Seriphos, carrying the head of Medusa to Polydectes. But I do not care to tell the story of Medusa in treating of Attica.
Passing over the picture of the boy carrying the water-pots, and the picture of the wrestler by Timaenetus, there is a portrait of Musaeus. I have read verses in which it is said that Musaeus received from the North Wind the gift of flying; but I believe that the verses were composed by Onomacritus, and that nothing can with certainty be ascribed to Musaeus except the hymn which he made on Demeter for the Lycomids.
Just at the entrance to the Acropolis are figures of Hermes and the Graces, which are said to have been made by Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus. The Hermes is named Hermes of the Portal. The Pythian priestess bore witness that Socrates was the wisest of men, a title which she did not give even to Anacharsis, though he was quite willing to receive it, and had indeed come to Delphi for the purpose.
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