Ἐλάτεια δὲ τῶν ἐν Φωκεῦσι μεγίστη πόλεών ἐστι τῶν ἄλλων μετά γε τοὺς Δελφούς· κεῖται δὲ κατὰ Ἀμφίκλειαν, καὶ ἐς αὐτὴν ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν ὁδός ἐστιν ἐξ Ἀμφικλείας σταδίων, πεδιὰς ἡ πολλὴ καὶ αὖθις οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺ ἀνάντης ἡ ἐγγυτάτω τοῦ Ἐλατέων ἄστεως. ῥεῖ δὲ ἐν τῇ πεδιάδι ὁ Κηφισός· αἱ δὲ ὠτίδες καλούμεναι παρὰ τὸν Κηφισὸν νέμονται μάλιστα ὀρνίθων.
Ἐλατεῦσι δὲ ἐξεγένετο μὲν Κάσσανδρον καὶ τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀπώσασθαι στρατιάν, ὑπῆρξε δὲ καὶ Ταξίλου Μιθριδάτῃ στρατηγοῦντος τὸν πόλεμόν σφισιν ἐκφυγεῖν· ἀντὶ τούτου δὲ τοῦ ἔργου Ῥωμαῖοι δεδώκασιν αὐτοῖς ἐλευθέρους ὄντας ἀτελῆ νέμεσθαι τὴν χώραν. ἀμφισβητοῦσι δὲ οὗτοι ξενικοῦ γένους, καὶ Ἀρκάδες φασὶν εἶναι τὸ ἀρχαῖον· Ἔλατον γὰρ τὸν Ἀρκάδος, ἡνίκα ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν Φλεγύαι τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἐστρατεύσαντο, ἀμῦναί τε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐν τῇ Φωκίδι ὁμοῦ τῷ στρατεύματι αὐτὸν καταμείναντα Ἐλατείας οἰκιστὴν γενέσθαι.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς Φωκέων πόλεσιν ἃς ὁ Μῆδος ἐνέπρησεν, ἀριθμῆσαι καὶ τὴν Ἐλάτειαν ἔστιν ἐν ταύταις. συμφοραὶ δὲ αἱ μὲν πρὸς Φωκέας τοὺς ἄλλους γεγόνασί σφισιν ἐν κοινῷ, τὰς δὲ καὶ ἰδίᾳ τοῖς Ἐλατεῦσιν ἐκ Μακεδόνων παρεσκεύασεν ὁ δαίμων. καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν Κασσάνδρου πολεμήσαντος Ὀλυμπιόδωρος κατέστη μάλιστα αἴτιος ἄπρακτον τοῖς Μακεδόσι γενέσθαι πολιορκίαν· Φίλιππος δὲ ὁ Δημητρίου τόν τε ἐν Ἐλατείᾳ δῆμον πρὸς τὸ ἔσχατον δέους ἤγαγε καὶ ὑπηγάγετο ἅμα τοὺς δυνατωτέρους δωρεᾷ.
Τίτος μὲν δὴ ὁ ἄρχων ὁ Ῥωμαίων—τὸ γὰρ δὴ Ἑλληνικὸν ἅπαν ἐλευθερώσων ἀπέσταλτο ἐκ Ῥώμης—πολιτείαν τε Ἐλατεῦσιν ἀποδώσειν τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐπηγγέλλετο καὶ διʼ ἀγγέλων ἐπεκηρυκεύετό σφισιν ἀπὸ Μακεδόνων ἀφίστασθαι· οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ ἀγνωμοσύνης ὁ δῆμος ἢ οἱ ἔχοντες τὰς ἀρχὰς Φιλίππῳ τε ἦσαν πιστοὶ καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ῥωμαίου πολιορκίᾳ παρέστησαν. χρόνῳ δὲ οἱ Ἐλατεῖς ὕστερον Ταξίλου τε Μιθριδάτῃ στρατηγοῦντος καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου βαρβάρων ἀντέσχον τῇ πολιορκίᾳ· ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ ἐλευθέρους εἶναι τῷ ἔργῳ δέδοταί σφισιν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων.
τὸ δὲ Κοστοβώκων τῶν λῃστικῶν τὸ κατʼ ἐμὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐπιδραμὸν ἀφίκετο καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἐλάτειαν· ἔνθα δὴ ἀνὴρ Μνησίβουλος λόχον τε περὶ αὑτὸν ἀνδρῶν συνέστησε καὶ καταφονεύσας πολλοὺς τῶν βαρβάρων ἔπεσεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ. οὗτος ὁ Μνησίβουλος δρόμου νίκας καὶ ἄλλας ἀνείλετο καὶ Ὀλυμπιάδι πέμπτῃ πρὸς ταῖς τριάκοντά τε καὶ διακοσίαις σταδίου καὶ τοῦ σὺν τῇ ἀσπίδι διαύλου· ἐν Ἐλατείᾳ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ δρομέως Μνησιβούλου χαλκοῦς ἕστηκεν ἀνδριάς.
ἡ δὲ ἀγορὰ αὐτή τέ ἐστι θέας ἀξία καὶ ὁ Ἔλατος ἐπειργασμένος στήλῃ· σαφῶς δὲ οὐκ οἶδα εἴτε τιμῶντες οἷα οἰκιστὴν εἴτε καὶ μνήματος ἐπίθημα ἐποιήσαντο τὴν στήλην. τῷ δὲ Ἀσκληπιῷ ναὸς ᾠκοδόμηται καὶ ἄγαλμα γένεια ἔχον ἐστί· τοῖς ἐργασαμένοις τὸ ἄγαλμα ὀνόματα μὲν Τιμοκλῆς καὶ Τιμαρχίδης, γένους δέ εἰσι τοῦ Ἀττικοῦ. ἐπὶ τῷ πέρατι δὲ τῷ ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς πόλεως θέατρόν τέ ἐστι καὶ χαλκοῦν Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα ἀρχαῖον· ταύτην τὴν θεὸν λέγουσιν ἀμῦναί σφισιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὁμοῦ Ταξίλῳ βαρβάρους.
Ἐλατείας δὲ ὅσον σταδίους εἴκοσιν ἀφέστηκεν Ἀθηνᾶς ἐπίκλησιν Κραναίας ἱερόν· ἡ δὲ ὁδὸς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἀναντεστέρα ὡς ἀνιᾶν τὸ μηδὲν καὶ λεληθέναι μᾶλλον αὐτῆς τὸ ἄναντες. λόφος δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῷ πέρατι τὰ πλείω μὲν ἀπότομος, οὐ μέντοι ἄγαν ἢ μεγέθους ἔχων ἐστὶν ἢ ὕψους· ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῷ λόφῳ τὸ ἱερὸν πεποίηται, καὶ στοαί τέ εἰσι καὶ οἰκήσεις διὰ τῶν στοῶν, ἔνθα οἰκοῦσιν οἷς τὴν θεὸν θεραπεύειν καθέστηκε, καὶ ἄλλοις καὶ μάλιστα τῷ ἱερωμένῳ.
τὸν δὲ ἱερέα ἐκ παίδων αἱροῦνται τῶν ἀνήβων, πρόνοιαν ποιούμενοι πρότερον τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐξήκειν οἱ τὸν χρόνον πρὶν ἢ ἡβῆσαι· ἱερᾶται δὲ ἔτη συνεχῆ πέντε, ἐν οἷς τήν τε ἄλλην δίαιταν ἔχει παρὰ τῇ θεῷ καὶ λουτρὰ αἱ ἀσάμινθοι κατὰ τρόπον εἰσὶν αὐτῷ τὸν ἀρχαῖον. τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ἐποίησαν μὲν καὶ τοῦτο οἱ Πολυκλέους παῖδες, ἔστι δὲ ἐσκευασμένον ὡς ἐς μάχην· καὶ ἐπείργασται τῇ ἀσπίδι τῶν Ἀθήνῃσι μίμημα ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι τῆς καλουμένης ὑπὸ Ἀθηναίων Παρθένου.
Elatea is, next to Delphi, the largest city in Phocis. It lies opposite Amphiclea, from which the distance by road is one hundred and eighty furlongs, mostly over level ground, though for a short distance close to the town of Elatea the way is up hill. The Cephisus flows in the plain, and the birds that chiefly frequent its banks are the bustards.
The Elateans succeeded in repulsing Cassander and his army of Macedonians, and they also contrived to baffle Taxilus, the general of Mithridates. For this service the Romans granted them freedom and immunity from burdens. They claim to be of foreign race, and assert that they were Arcadians originally. For they say that when the Phlegyans marched against the sanctuary at Delphi, Elatus, son of Arcas, defended the god, and settling with his army in Phocis founded Elatea. Elatea is to be reckoned among the Phocian cities burned by the Medes. Some of the calamities which befell the people of Elatea were shared by the rest of the Phocians, but fortune brought on them special troubles of their own at the hands of the Macedonians. In Cassander’s war it was chiefly due to Olympiodorus that the Macedonians had to raise the siege. But Philip, son of Demetrius, terrified the populace of Elatea to the last degree, and at the same time seduced by bribes the more influential citizens. Titus, the Roman general, who had been sent from Rome to give freedom to the whole Greek race, promised to restore to the Elateans their ancient constitution, and proposed to them by envoys that they should revolt from Macedonia. But through the folly either of the populace or of the magistrates, Elatea remained faithful to Philip, and was besieged and taken by the Romans. Afterwards it held out against Taxilus, general of Mithridates, and his Pontic barbarians, and for this service the Romans granted the inhabitants their freedom. The robber horde of the Costobocs, who overran Greece in my time, came to Elatea, among other places; but here a certain Mnesibulus collected a band of men, and, after slaughtering many of the barbarians, fell in the fight. This Mnesibulus won various victories in running; in particular, at the two hundred and thirty-fifth Olympiad he won the foot-race and also the double race with the shield. There is a bronze statue of him at Elatea in the Street of the Runner.
The market-place is worth seeing, and so is the figure of Elatus, wrought in relief on a slab. I am not sure whether the people of Elatea caused the slab to be put up simply as a gravestone, or because they revere Elatus as their founder. There is a temple of Aesculapius with a bearded image. The artists who made the image are named Timocles and Timarchides: they are of Attic race. At the right hand extremity of the city there is a theatre and an old bronze image of Athena. They say that this goddess helped them against Taxilus and his barbarians.
About twenty furlongs from Elatea is a sanctuary of Cranaean Athena. The road rises so gently that the slope is not tiring, and, indeed, is almost imperceptible. At the end of the road is a hill, mostly precipitous, though neither very large nor very high. On this hill stands the sanctuary, and there are colonnades with dwellings opening off them, where the attendants of the goddess reside, especially the priest. They choose the priest from among boys under the age of puberty, taking care that the term of his priesthood shall expire before he reaches puberty. He acts as priest for five successive years, during which he lodges with the goddess, and bathes in tubs after the ancient fashion. The image is another work of the sons of Polycles: it represents the goddess equipped as for battle, and on her shield is carved in relief a copy of the reliefs on the shield of the Virgin, as they call her, at Athens.
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