τῶν δὲ ἤδη μοι κατειλεγμένων εἰσὶν ἀνώτεροι τούτων ἱερεῖα οἱ ἑταῖροι τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως Περιμήδης καὶ Εὐρύλοχος φέροντες· τὰ δέ ἐστι μέλανες κριοὶ τὰ ἱερεῖα. μετὰ δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀνήρ ἐστι καθήμενος, ἐπίγραμμα δὲ Ὄκνον εἶναι λέγει τὸν ἄνθρωπον· πεποίηται μὲν πλέκων σχοινίον, παρέστηκε δὲ θήλεια ὄνος ἐπεσθίουσα τὸ πεπλεγμένον ἀεὶ τοῦ σχοινίου. τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν Ὄκνον φίλεργόν φασιν ἄνθρωπον, γυναῖκα δὲ ἔχειν δαπανηράν· καὶ ὁπόσα συλλέξαιτο ἐργαζόμενος, οὐ πολὺ δὴ ὕστερον ὑπὸ ἐκείνης ἀνήλωτο.
τὰ οὖν ἐς τοῦ Ὄκνου τὴν γυναῖκα ἐθέλουσιν αἰνίξασθαι τὸν Πολύγνωτον. οἶδα δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ Ἰώνων, ὁπότε ἴδοιέν τινα πονοῦντα ἐπὶ οὐδενὶ ὄνησιν φέροντι, ὑπὸ τούτων εἰρημένον ὡς ὁ ἀνὴρ οὗτος συνάγει τοῦ Ὄκνου τὴν θώμιγγα. ὄκνον δʼ οὖν καὶ μάντεων οἱ ὁρῶντες τοὺς οἰωνοὺς καλοῦσί τινα ὄρνιθα· καὶ ἔστιν οὗτος ὁ ὄκνος μέγιστος μὲν καὶ κάλλιστος ἐρωδιῶν, εἰ δὲ ἄλλος τις ὀρνίθων σπάνιός ἐστι καὶ οὗτος.
γέγραπται δὲ καὶ Τιτυὸς οὐ κολαζόμενος ἔτι, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ συνεχοῦς τῆς τιμωρίας ἐς ἅπαν ἐξανηλωμένος, ἀμυδρὸν καὶ οὐδὲ ὁλόκληρον εἴδωλον. ἐπιόντι δὲ ἐφεξῆς τὰ ἐν τῇ γραφῇ, ἔστιν ἐγγυτάτω τοῦ στρέφοντος τὸ καλῴδιον Ἀριάδνη· κάθηται μὲν ἐπὶ πέτρας, ὁρᾷ δὲ ἐς τὴν ἀδελφὴν Φαίδραν, τό τε ἄλλο αἰωρουμένην σῶμα ἐν σειρᾷ καὶ ταῖς χερσὶν ἀμφοτέραις ἑκατέρωθεν τῆς σειρᾶς ἐχομένην· παρεῖχε δὲ τὸ σχῆμα καίπερ ἐς τὸ εὐπρεπέστερον πεποιημένον συμβάλλεσθαι τὰ ἐς τῆς Φαίδρας τὴν τελευτήν.
τὴν δὲ Ἀριάδνην ἢ κατά τινα ἐπιτυχὼν δαίμονα ἢ καὶ ἐπίτηδες αὐτὴν λοχήσας ἀφείλετο Θησέα ἐπιπλεύσας Διόνυσος στόλῳ μείζονι, οὐκ ἄλλος κατὰ ἐμὴν δόξαν, ἀλλὰ ὁ πρῶτος μὲν ἐλάσας ἐπὶ Ἰνδοὺς στρατείᾳ, πρῶτος δὲ Εὐφράτην γεφυρώσας ποταμόν· Ζεῦγμά τε ὠνομάσθη πόλις καθʼ ὅ τι ἐζεύχθη τῆς χώρας ὁ Εὐφράτης, καὶ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα ὁ κάλως καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἐν ᾧ τὸν ποταμὸν ἔζευξεν, ἀμπελίνοις ὁμοῦ πεπλεγμένος καὶ κισσοῦ κλήμασι.
τὰ μὲν δὴ ἐς Διόνυσον πολλὰ ὑπό τε Ἑλλήνων λεγόμενα καὶ ὑπὸ Αἰγυπτίων ἐστίν· ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν Φαίδραν ἐστὶν ἀνακεκλιμένη Χλῶρις ἐπὶ τῆς Θυίας γόνασιν. οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεται μὲν δὴ οὐδὲ ὅστις φησὶ φιλίαν εἶναι ἐς ἀλλήλας, ἡνίκα ἔτυχον αἱ γυναῖκες ζῶσαι· ἦσαν γὰρ δὴ ἡ μὲν ἐξ Ὀρχομενοῦ τοῦ ἐν Βοιωτίᾳ ἡ Χλῶρις, ἡ δὲ Κασταλίου θυγάτηρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ. εἶπον δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλοι τὸν ἐς αὐτὰς λόγον, τῇ μὲν συγγενέσθαι Ποσειδῶνα τῇ Θυίᾳ, Χλῶριν δὲ Ποσειδῶνος παιδὶ Νηλεῖ συνοικῆσαι.
παρὰ δὲ τὴν Θυίαν Πρόκρις τε ἕστηκεν ἡ Ἐρεχθέως καὶ μετʼ αὐτὴν Κλυμένη· ἐπιστρέφει δὲ αὐτῇ τὰ νῶτα ἡ Κλυμένη. ἔστι δὲ πεποιημένα ἐν Νόστοις Μινύου μὲν τὴν Κλυμένην θυγατέρα εἶναι, γήμασθαι δὲ αὐτὴν Κεφάλῳ τῷ Δηίονος καὶ γενέσθαι σφίσιν Ἴφικλον παῖδα. τὰ δὲ ἐς τὴν Πρόκριν καὶ οἱ πάντες ᾄδουσιν, ὡς προτέρα Κεφάλῳ ἢ Κλυμένη συνῴκησε καὶ ὃν τρόπον ἐτελεύτησεν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρός.
ἐσωτέρω δὲ τῆς Κλυμένης Μεγάραν τὴν ἐκ Θηβῶν ὄψει· ταύτην γυναῖκα ἔσχεν Ἡρακλῆς τὴν Μεγάραν καὶ ἀπεπέμψατο ἀνὰ χρόνον, ἅτε παίδων τε ἐστερημένος τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ αὐτὴν ἡγούμενος οὐκ ἐπὶ ἀμείνονι τῷ δαίμονι γῆμαι. γυναικῶν δὲ τῶν κατειλεγμένων ὑπὲρ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἥ τε Σαλμωνέως θυγάτηρ ἐστὶν ἐπὶ πέτρας καθεζομένη καὶ Ἐριφύλη παρʼ αὐτὴν ἑστῶσα, διὰ μὲν τοῦ χιτῶνος ἀνέχουσα ἄκρους παρὰ τὸν τράχηλον τοὺς δακτύλους, τοῦ χιτῶνος δὲ ἐν τοῖς κοίλοις εἰκάσεις τῶν χειρῶν τῇ ἑτέρᾳ ἐκεῖνον τὸν ὅρμον αὐτὴν ἔχειν.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τὴν Ἐριφύλην ἔγραψεν Ἐλπήνορά τε καὶ Ὀδυσσέα ὀκλάζοντα ἐπὶ τοῖς ποσίν, ἔχοντα ὑπὲρ τοῦ βόθρου τὸ ξίφος· καὶ ὁ μάντις Τειρεσίας πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸν βόθρον. μετὰ δὲ τὸν Τειρεσίαν ἐπὶ πέτρας ἡ Ὀδυσσέως μήτηρ Ἀντίκλειά ἐστιν· ὁ δὲ Ἐλπήνωρ ἀμπέχεται φορμὸν ἀντὶ ἐσθῆτος, σύνηθες τοῖς ναύταις φόρημα.
κατωτέρω δὲ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως ἐπὶ θρόνων καθεζόμενοι Θησεὺς μὲν τὰ ξίφη τό τε Πειρίθου καὶ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ταῖς χερσὶν ἀμφοτέραις ἔχει, ὁ δὲ ἐς τὰ ξίφη βλέπων ἐστὶν ὁ Πειρίθους· εἰκάσαις ἂν ἄχθεσθαι τοῖς ξίφεσιν αὐτὸν ὡς ἀχρείοις καὶ ὄφελός σφισιν οὐ γεγενημένοις ἐς τὰ τολμήματα. Πανύασσις δὲ ἐποίησεν ὡς Θησεὺς καὶ Πειρίθους ἐπὶ τῶν θρόνων παράσχοιντο σχῆμα οὐ κατὰ δεσμώτας, προσφύεσθαι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρωτὸς ἀντὶ δεσμῶν σφισιν ἔφη τὴν πέτραν.
Θησέως δὲ καὶ Πειρίθου τὴν λεγομένην φιλίαν ἐν ἀμφοτέραις ἐδήλωσεν Ὅμηρος ταῖς ποιήσεσι, καὶ Ὀδυσσεὺς μὲν πρὸς Φαίακας λέγων ἐστὶ καί νύ κʼ ἔτι προτέρους ἴδον ἀνέρας οὓς ἔθελόν περ, / Θησέα Πειρίθοόν τε, θεῶν ἐρικυδέα τέκνα· / πεποίηται δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν Ἰλιάδι ὁ Νέστωρ ἄλλα τε ἐπὶ Ἀγαμέμνονος καὶ Ἀχιλλέως νουθεσίᾳ καὶ ἔπη τάδε εἰρηκώς· οὐ γάρ πω τοίους ἴδον ἀνέρας οὐδὲ ἴδωμαι / οἷον Πειρίθοόν τε Δρύαντά τε ποιμένα λαῶν / Καινέα τʼ Ἐξάδιόν τε καὶ ἀντίθεον Πολύφημον / Θησέα τʼ Αἰγείδην ἐπιείκελον ἀθανάτοισιν. /
Higher up than the figures I have enumerated are Perimedes and Eurylochus, the comrades of Ulysses, bringing sacrificial victims, and the victims are black rams.
After them is a man seated: an inscription sets forth that the man is Indolence (Oknos). He is represented plaiting a rope, and beside him stands a she-ass furtively eating the rope as fast as he plaits it. They say that this Indolence was an industrious man who had a spendthrift wife, and as fast as he earned money she spent it. Hence people hold that in this picture Polygnotus alluded to Indolence’s wife. I know, too, that when the Ionians see a man toiling at a fruitless task they say he is splicing the cord of Indolence. The same name of Indolence (oknos) is also given to a certain bird by the soothsayers who observe birds of omen: it is the largest and handsomest of the herons, and is amongst the rarest of birds. Tityus, too, is painted : his punishment is over, but the prolonged torture has worn him quite away, and he appears as a dim and mangled spectre. Continuing our survey of the picture, we see Ariadne close to the man who is twisting the rope. She is seated on a rock, and is looking at her sister Phaedra, who is in a swing and is grasping the rope on each side with both hands. The posture, though graceful enough, suggests the manner of Phaedra’s death. Ariadne was wrested from Theseus by Dionysus, who bore down with a larger fleet: the encounter may have been accidental, or Dionysus may have lain in wait for her. This Dionysus is, in my opinion, no other than he who first led an army against India, and first bridged the Euphrates. Zeugma (‘joining,’ ‘bridge’) was the name given to a city at the point where the Euphrates was bridged ; and to this day the rope is there preserved wherewith he spanned the river: it is plaited of vine and ivy branches. Many are the tales told of Dionysus both by Greeks and Egyptians.
Underneath Phaedra is Chloris leaning on Thyia’s knees. It is safe to say that the two women were friends in their lifetime; for one of them, Chloris, belonged to Orchomenus in Boeotia, and the other . . . They told another story about them, that Poseidon had connection with Thyia, and that Chloris was the wife of Neleus, son of Poseidon. Beside Thyia stands Procris, daughter of Erechtheus, and after her is Clymene, who is turning her back to Procris. In the poem called The Returns, it is said that Clymene was a daughter of Minyas and married Cephalus, son of Deion, and that they had a son Iphiclus. But the story of Procris is in every one’s mouth—how she was the wife of Cephalus before he married Clymene, and how she was slain by her husband. Inward from Clymene you will perceive Megara of Thebes. This Megara was taken to wife by Hercules, but dismissed by him in course of time because he lost the children whom he had by her, and so concluded that his marriage with her had been inauspicious. Over the heads of the aforesaid women is the daughter of Salmoneus seated on a rock, and Eriphyle is standing by her, holding up the tips of her fingers through the neck of her tunic, and you may guess that in the folds of the tunic she is grasping the famous necklace with the other hand.
Above Eriphyle are depicted Elpenor and Ulysses. Ulysses is crouching and holding his sword over the trench, and the soothsayer Tiresias is advancing towards the trench. Behind Tiresias is Anticlea, the mother of Ulysses, on a rock. Instead of a coat, Elpenor is clad in a mat, such as is commonly worn by sailors. Lower down than Ulysses are Theseus and Pirithous seated on chairs. Theseus is holding the swords in both hands, the sword of Pirithous and his own, while Pirithous is gazing at them: you may guess that he is vexed at the swords for proving useless and unavailing in their bold emprise. The poet Panyasis says that Theseus and Pirithous were not pinioned to their chairs, but that the rock growing to their flesh held them as in a vice. The famous friendship of Theseus and Pirithous is alluded to by Homer in both his poems. Thus Ulysses is represented saying to the Phaeacians :— And now should have seen yet others of the men of old, whom longed to see, Theseus and Pirithous, famed children of the gods. Again in the Iliad he has represented Nestor admonishing Agamemnon and Achilles in the following verses amongst others :— For never saw I yet, nor am I like to see such men As Pirithous and Dryas, shepherd of the people, And Caeneus and Exadius, and god-like Polyphemus, And Theseus, son of Aegeus, like to the immortals.
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