τὸν δὲ ἵππον, ὃς ἐφεξῆς τῇ εἰκόνι ἐστὶ τοῦ Σάρδου, Ἀθηναῖος Καλλίας Λυσιμαχίδου πατρὸς ἀναθεῖναί φησιν ἰδίᾳ περιποιησάμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ πρὸς Πέρσας πολέμου χρήματα. Ἀχαιοὶ δὲ ἀνέθεσαν Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα πόλιν τῶν ἐν Αἰτωλίᾳ παραστησάμενοι πολιορκίᾳ· τῇ πόλει δὲ ἣν εἷλον Φάνα τοὔνομα ἦν. γενέσθαι δὲ χρόνον φασὶν οὐκ ὀλίγον τῇ πολιορκίᾳ· καὶ ὡς ἀδυνάτως εἶχον ἑλεῖν τὴν πόλιν, θεωροὺς ἀποστέλλουσιν ἐς Δελφούς, καὶ αὐτοῖς ἀφίκετο μάντευμα·
γῆς Πέλοπος ναέται καὶ Ἀχαιίδος, οἳ ποτὶ Πυθώ / ἤλθετε πευσόμενοι ὥς κε πτολίεθρον ἕλητε, / ἀλλʼ ἄγε δὴ φράζεσθε λάχος πόσον ἦμαρ ἕκαστον / λαῶν πινόντων ῥύεται πόλιν, ἡ δὲ πέπωκεν· / οὕτω γάρ κεν ἕλοιτε Φάναν πυργήρεα κώμην. /
οὐ συνιέντες οὖν ὁποῖόν τι ἤθελεν ὁ χρησμὸς λέγειν, οἱ μὲν οἴκαδε ἀποπλεῖν ἐβουλεύοντο διαλύσαντες τὴν πολιορκίαν, οἱ δὲ ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους οἵ τε ἄλλοι οὐδενὶ λόγῳ σφᾶς ἐνεποιοῦντο καὶ γυνὴ πρόεισιν ἐκ τοῦ τείχους ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ τείχει λαβεῖν πίδακος. ἐπιδραμόντες δὲ ἐκ τοῦ στρατεύματος αἰχμάλωτόν τε τὴν γυναῖκα αἱροῦσι καὶ διδάσκονται παρʼ αὐτῆς οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ ὅτι τὸ ὀλίγον τὸ ἐκ τῆς πίδακος ὕδωρ, ὁπότε ἐφʼ ἑκάστης λάβοιεν τῆς νυκτός, διεμετροῦντο αὐτό, καὶ ἄλλο ἦν τοῖς ἔνδον ἀλέξημα οὐδὲν ἐς δίψαν. οὕτω δὴ συγχέαντες οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ τὴν πηγὴν τὸ πόλισμα αἱροῦσιν.
Ῥόδιοι δὲ οἱ ἐν Λίνδῳ παρὰ ταύτην τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὸ ἄγαλμα ἔστησαν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος. ἀνέθεσαν δὲ καὶ Ἀβρακιῶται χαλκοῦν ὄνον, νυκτομαχίᾳ Μολοσσοὺς νικήσαντες. λόχον μέν σφισιν ἐν νυκτὶ οἱ Μολοσσοὶ παρεσκεύασαν· ὄνου δέ, ὃς ἐλαυνόμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τότε ἔτυχεν, ὄνον θήλειαν διώκοντος σὺν ὕβρει τε τῇ ἄλλῃ καὶ τραχύτητι τοῦ φθέγματος, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὃς τὸν ὄνον ἤλαυνε βοῶντος ἀσαφῆ τε καὶ ἄκοσμα, οὕτως οἵ τε ἐκ τῆς ἐνέδρας τῶν Μολοσσῶν ἐξανίστανται ταραχθέντες καὶ οἱ Ἀμβρακιῶται φωράσαντες τὰ ἐπὶ σφίσι βεβουλευμένα ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἐν τῇ νυκτί, καὶ ἐκράτησαν μάχῃ τῶν Μολοσσῶν.
Ὀρνεᾶται δὲ οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀργολίδι πολέμῳ σφᾶς Σικυωνίων πιεζόντων τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι εὔξαντο, εἰ ἀπώσαιντο ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος τῶν Σικυωνίων τὸν στρατόν, πομπήν τε ἐν Δελφοῖς αὐτῷ στελεῖν ὁσημέραι καὶ ἱερεῖα θύσειν οἷα δὴ καὶ ὅσα ἀριθμόν. νικῶσί τε δὴ μάχῃ τοὺς Σικυωνίους, καὶ ὥς σφισιν ἐφʼ ἡμέρας πάσης ἀποδιδοῦσι τὰ κατὰ τὴν εὐχὴν δαπάνη τε ἦν μεγάλη καὶ μείζων ἔτι τοῦ ἀναλώματος ἡ ταλαιπωρία, οὕτω δὴ σόφισμα εὑρίσκουσιν ἀναθεῖναι τῷ θεῷ θυσίαν τε καὶ πομπὴν χαλκᾶ ποιήματα.
ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἄθλων τῶν Ἡρακλέους τὸ ἐς τὴν ὕδραν, ἀνάθημά τε ὁμοῦ Τισαγόρου καὶ τέχνη, σιδήρου καὶ ἡ ὕδρα καὶ ὁ Ἡρακλῆς. σιδήρου δὲ ἐργασίαν τὴν ἐπὶ ἀγάλμασι χαλεπωτάτην καὶ πόνου συμβέβηκεν εἶναι πλείστου· θαύματος μὲν δὴ καὶ τοῦ Τισαγόρου τὸ ἔργον, ὅστις δὴ ὁ Τισαγόρας, θαύματος δὲ οὐκ ἐλαχίστου καὶ ἐν Περγάμῳ λέοντός τε καὶ ὑὸς ἀγρίου κεφαλαί, σιδήρου καὶ αὗται· Διονύσῳ δὲ ἀναθήματα σφᾶς ἐποιήσαντο.
Φωκέων δὲ οἱ ἔχοντες Ἐλάτειαν—ἀντέσχον γὰρ τῇ Κασσάνδρου πολιορκίᾳ Ὀλυμπιοδώρου σφίσιν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἀμύνοντος—λέοντα τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι χαλκοῦν ἀποπέμπουσιν ἐς Δελφούς. ὁ δὲ Ἀπόλλων ὁ ἐγγυτάτω τοῦ λέοντος Μασσαλιωτῶν ἐστιν ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς Καρχηδονίους ἀπαρχὴ ναυμαχίας. πεποίηται δὲ ὑπὸ Αἰτωλῶν τρόπαιόν τε καὶ γυναικὸς ἄγαλμα ὡπλισμένης, ἡ Αἰτωλία δῆθεν· ταῦτα ἀνέθεσαν ἐπιθέντες οἱ Αἰτωλοὶ Γαλάταις δίκην ὠμότητος τῆς ἐς Καλλιέας. ἐπίχρυσος δὲ εἰκών, ἀνάθημα Γοργίου τοῦ ἐκ Λεοντίνων, αὐτὸς Γοργίας ἐστίν .
The inscription on the horse which stands next to the statue of Sardus states that it was dedicated by an Athenian, Callias, son of Lysimachides, from spoils which he had himself taken in the Persian war.
The Achaeans dedicated an image of Athena after they had besieged and taken an Aetolian city named Phana. They say that the siege lasted some time, and that, when they could not take the town, they sent messengers to Delphi, and received an oracle :— Ye dwellers in Pelops’ land and in Achaia, who have come to Pytho To inquire how ye shall take a city, Come, observe what daily rations of water, Drunk by the people, save the city which has drunk them. For thus shall ye take the towered village of Phana. Not perceiving the meaning of the oracle, they were thinking of raising the siege and sailing away home. The people in the town, too, made light of them, and a woman came forth from the walls to draw water from a spring at the foot of the wall. But some soldiers ran at the woman and took her prisoner, and from her the Achaeans learned that the scanty supply of water from the spring, fetched night by night, was measured out among the besieged, who had no other means of quenching their thirst. So the Achaeans choked up the spring and took the town.
Beside this image of Athena there is an image of Apollo, set up by the Rhodians of Lindus. The Ambraciots dedicated a bronze ass for a nocturnal victory over the Molossians. The Molossians had laid an ambush for them by night. But, as luck would have it, a lusty ass, being driven home from the field, gave chase to a she-ass, braying hoarsely, while his driver bawled in a thick, coarse voice. Up jumped the Molossian ambush in a panic, and thus the Ambraciots discovered the trap that had been set for them, and, falling upon the Molossians in the dark, discomfited them. 4. The people of Orneae in Argolis, being hard put to it by the Sicyonians in war, vowed to Apollo that if they should drive the Sicyonian army out of their native country they would institute a procession in his honour every day at Delphi, and would sacrifice such and such animals in such and such numbers. Well, they beat the Sicyonians in battle ; but, finding that the expense of fulfilling their vow daily was great, and the trouble still greater, they hit upon the device of dedicating to the god bronze figures representing a sacrifice and a procession.
There is here also a representation of one of the labours of Hercules, to wit, his combat with the hydra: the group is at once an offering and a work of Tisagoras. Both the hydra and Hercules are of iron. Now, to make images out of iron is a most difficult and laborious process. The work of Tisagoras (whoever he was) is therefore wonderful. And wonderful, too, in a high degree, are the heads of a lion and wild boar at Pergamus, which are also of iron: they were made as offerings to Dionysus.
The Phocians of Elatea sent a bronze lion to Apollo at Delphi, because, with the aid of Olympiodorus from Athens, they had stood a siege by Cassander. The Apollo, close to the lion, is an offering of the Massiliots, the first-fruits of the sea-fight with the Carthaginians.
There is a trophy, erected by the Aetolians, together with an image of an armed woman, no doubt representing Aetolia. These offerings were dedicated by the Aetolians after they had chastised the Gauls for their cruelty to the Callians. There is a gilt statue, an offering of Gorgias of Leontini, representing Gorgias himself.
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