ἐς δὲ Ἄμβροσσον στάδιοι περὶ ἑξήκοντά εἰσιν ἐκ Στίρεως· πεδιὰς ἡ ὁδός, ὀρῶν ἐν μέσῳ πεδίον κείμενον. ἄμπελοι δὲ τὸ πολύ εἰσι τοῦ πεδίου, καὶ ἐν γῇ τῇ Ἀμβροσσέων οὐ συνεχεῖς μὲν ὥσπερ αἱ ἄμπελοι, πεφύκασι μέντοι καὶ αἱ θάμνοι· τὴν δὲ θάμνον ταύτην Ἴωνες μὲν καὶ τὸ ἄλλο Ἑλληνικὸν κόκκον, Γαλάται δὲ οἱ ὑπὲρ Φρυγίας φωνῇ τῇ ἐπιχωρίῳ σφίσιν ὀνομάζουσιν ὗς. γίνεται δὲ αὕτη μέγεθος μὲν ἡ κόκκος κατὰ τὴν ῥάμνον καλουμένην, φύλλα δὲ μελάντερα μὲν καὶ μαλακώτερα ἢ ἡ σχῖνος, τὰ μέντοι ἄλλα ἐοικότα ἔχει τῇ σχίνῳ.
ὁ δὲ αὐτῆς καρπὸς ὅμοιος τῷ καρπῷ τῆς στρύχνου, μέγεθος δέ ἐστι κατὰ ὄροβον. γίνεται δέ τι ἐν τῷ καρπῷ τῆς κόκκου βραχὺ ζῷον· τοῦτο εἰ ἀφίκοιτο ἐς τὸν ἀέρα πεπανθέντος τοῦ καρποῦ, πέτεταί τε αὐτίκα καὶ ἐοικὸς κώνωπι φαίνοιτο ἄν· νῦν δὲ πρότερον, πρὶν ἢ τὸ ζῷον κινηθῆναι, συλλέγουσι τῆς κόκκου τὸν καρπόν, καὶ ἔστι τοῖς ἐρίοις ἡ βαφὴ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ζῴου.
ἡ δὲ Ἄμβροσσος κεῖται μὲν ὑπὸ τὸ ὄρος τὸν Παρνασσόν, τὰ ἐπέκεινα δὲ ἢ Δελφοί· τεθῆναι δὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ πόλει ἀπὸ ἥρωός φασιν Ἀμβρόσσου. Θηβαῖοι δὲ ἐς τὸν Μακεδόνων καὶ Φιλίππου καθιστάμενοι πόλεμον περιέβαλον τῇ Ἀμβρόσσῳ διπλοῦν τεῖχος· τὸ δέ ἐστιν ἐπιχωρίου λίθου, χρόαν μέλανος, ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἰσχυροῦ· κύκλος δὲ ἑκάτερος τοῦ τείχους πλάτος μὲν ἀποδέων ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὀργυιᾶς, τὸ δὲ ὕψος ἐς ἡμίσειάν τε καὶ δύο ὀργυιάς, ὅπου μὴ τὸ τεῖχος πεπόνηκε·
διάστημα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ προτέρου τῶν κύκλων ἐπὶ τὸν δεύτερόν ἐστιν ὀργυιά· κατασκευὴ δὲ πύργων ἢ ἐπάλξεων ἢ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐς εὐπρέπειαν τείχους, παρεῖται τὰ πάντα σφίσιν ἅτε τειχίζουσιν ἐπὶ μόνῳ τῷ αὐτίκα ἀμύνεσθαι. ἔστι δὲ ἀγορά τε Ἀμβροσσεῦσιν οὐ μεγάλη καὶ ἀνδριάντων ἐν αὐτῇ λίθου πεποιημένων κατεάγασιν οἱ πολλοί.
τραπέντι δὲ ἐπὶ Ἀντίκυραν ἀνάντης τὰ πρῶτά ἐστιν ὁδός· ἀναβάντι δὲ ὅσον δύο στάδια ὁμαλές τε χωρίον καὶ ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ Δικτυνναίας ἐπίκλησιν ἱερόν ἐστιν Ἀρτέμιδος. ταύτην οἱ Ἀμβροσσεῖς ἄγουσι μάλιστα ἐν τιμῇ· τῷ δὲ ἀγάλματι ἐργασία τέ ἐστιν Αἰγιναία καὶ μέλανος τοῦ λίθου πεποίηται. τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τῆς Δικτυνναίας κατάντης ὁδὸς ἐς Ἀντίκυραν πᾶσά ἐστι. τὰ δὲ ἀρχαιότερα ὄνομα εἶναι Κυπάρισσον τῇ πόλει φασί, καὶ Ὅμηρον ἐν Φωκέων καταλόγῳ τὸ ὄνομα θελῆσαι θέσθαι γε αὐτόν, ὅτι ἤδη τηνικαῦτα ἐκαλεῖτο Ἀντίκυρα· εἶναι γὰρ δὴ τὸν Ἀντικυρέα κατὰ Ἡρακλέα ἡλικίαν.
κεῖται μὲν δὴ ἡ πόλις κατὰ Μεδεῶνος τὰ ἐρείπια· ἐδήλωσα δὲ ἀρχομένης τῆς ἐς Φωκέας συγγραφῆς ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀσεβῆσαι τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἀντικυρέας. Ἀντικυρέας δὲ ἐποίησε μὲν ἀναστάτους καὶ ὁ Ἀμύντου Φίλιππος, ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ δεύτερα Ὀτίλιος ὁ Ῥωμαῖος, ὅτι ἦσαν ὑπήκοοι καὶ οὗτοι Φιλίππου τοῦ Δημητρίου βασιλεύοντος Μακεδόνων· ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν Φίλιππον ἀμύνειν Ἀθηναίοις ὁ Ὀτίλιος ἀπέσταλτο ἐκ Ῥώμης.
τὰ δὲ ὄρη τὰ ὑπὲρ τὴν Ἀντίκυραν πετρώδη τε ἄγαν ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς φύεται μάλιστα ὁ ἐλλέβορος. ὁ μὲν αὐτοῦ μέλας χωρεῖ τε ἀνθρώποις καὶ ἔστι γαστρὶ καθάρσιον, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ὁ λευκὸς διʼ ἐμέτου καθαίρειν πέφυκε· τὸ δὲ φάρμακον τὸ ἐς τὴν κάθαρσιν ἡ τοῦ ἐλλεβόρου ῥίζα ἐστίν.
Ἀντικυρεῦσι δὲ εἰσὶ μὲν ἀνδριάντες ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ χαλκοῖ, ἔστι δέ σφισιν ἐπὶ τῷ λιμένι Ποσειδῶνος οὐ μέγα ἱερόν, λογάσιν ᾠκοδομημένον λίθοις· κεκονίαται δὲ τὰ ἐντός. τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν χαλκοῦ πεποιημένον, βέβηκε δὲ ἐπὶ δελφῖνι τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῶν ποδῶν· κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ ἔχει καὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τῷ μηρῷ, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ χειρὶ τρίαινά ἐστιν αὐτῷ.
τοῦ γυμνασίου δὲ ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ λουτρά σφισι πεποίηται, τούτου πέραν ἄλλο γυμνάσιόν ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον· ἀνδριὰς δὲ ἕστηκεν ἐν αὐτῷ χαλκοῦς· φησὶ δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα Ξενόδαμον παγκρατιαστὴν Ἀντικυρέα ἐν ἀνδράσιν Ὀλυμπικὴν ἀνῃρῆσθαι νίκην. εἰ δὲ ἀληθεύει τὸ ἐπίγραμμα, Ὀλυμπιάδι τῇ πρώτῃ μετὰ δέκα καὶ διακοσίας φαίνοιτο ἂν τὸν κότινον ὁ Ξενόδαμος εἰληφώς· αὕτη δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἠλείων γράμμασι παρεῖται μόνη πασῶν ἡ Ὀλυμπιάς.
ἔστι δὲ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐν φρέατι ὕδατος πηγή· σκέπη δὲ ἀπὸ ἡλίου τῷ φρέατι ὄροφός τε καὶ ἀνέχοντες τὸν ὄροφον κίονες. ἔστι δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἀνωτέρω τοῦ φρέατος λίθοις τοῖς ἐπιτυχοῦσιν ᾠκοδομημένον μνῆμα· ταφῆναι δέ φασιν ἐνταῦθα τοὺς Ἰφίτου παῖδας, τὸν μὲν ἀνασωθέντα ἐξ Ἰλίου καὶ ἀποθανόντα ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ, Σχεδίῳ δὲ ἐν μὲν γῇ τῇ Τρῳάδι τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι λέγουσιν, ἀχθῆναι δὲ οἴκαδε καὶ τούτου τὰ ὀστᾶ.
From Stiris to Ambrosus is about sixty furlongs: the road is level, running through a plain with mountains on either hand. Most of the plain is covered with vines. In the land of Ambrosus there grows, though not so thickly as the vine, the shrub which the Ionians and the rest of the Greeks name kokkos, and which the Galatians above Phrygia call in their native tongue Aus. This kokkos is about the size of what is called the rhamnos: its leaves are blacker and softer than those of the mastich-tree, which in all other respects it resembles. Its fruit is like the fruit of the nightshade, and is about the size of the bitter vetch. In the fruit of the kokkos there is bred an insect which, if it makes its way to the air when the fruit is ripe, immediately takes wing and assumes the appearance of a gnat. But they gather the fruit of the kokkos before the insect begins to stir, and the blood of the insect is a dye for wools.
Ambrosus lies under Mount Parnassus, but on the opposite side from Delphi. They say that the city was named after a hero Ambrosus. When the Thebans went to war with Philip and the Macedonians, they threw a double wall round Ambrosus. The walls are built of the local stone, which is black and exceedingly hard. The breadth of each of the two circuit-walls is a little less than a fathom, and the height is two and a half fathoms, where the wall has not given way. The interval between the first circuit-wall and the second is a fathom. But towers, battlements, and other mural decorations were all omitted, since the walls were built solely for the purpose of immediate defence. There is a small market-place at Ambrosus: most of the stone statues in it are broken. 3. The road to Anticyra at first goes up hill; but after you have ascended about two furlongs the ground is level, and on the right of the road is a sanctuary of Dictynnaean Artemis. This goddess the Ambrosians hold in the highest honour: the image is of Aeginetan workmanship, and is made of black stone. From the sanctuary of the Dictynnaean goddess the road runs down hill the whole way to Anticyra. They say that in former days the name of the city was Cyparissus, and that Homer, in his list of the Phocians, purposely used this name, though the city was even then called Anticyra, since Anticyreus was a contemporary of Hercules. The city lies over against the ruins of Medeon. At the beginning of my description of Phocis I mentioned that... . committed sacrilege on the sanctuary at Delphi. The people of Anticyra were driven from house and home by Philip, son of Amyntas, and a second time by Otilius, the Roman, because they were subjects of Philip, son of Demetrius, king of Macedonia. Otilius had been sent from Rome to help the Athenians against Philip.
The mountains above Anticyra are very rocky, and hellebore grows in great abundance on them. Black hellebore purges by evacuation of the bowels : white hellebore purges by producing vomiting. It is the root of the hellebore which is thus employed as a purge. There are bronze statues in the market-place of Anticyra. And at the harbour there is a small sanctuary of Poseidon built of unhewn stones: the interior is coated with stucco. The image is of bronze, and represents the god standing with one foot on a dolphin; on this side he has his hand on his thigh, in the other hand he holds a trident. Over against the gymnasium, in which are the baths, is another old gymnasium, containing a bronze statue, the inscription on which states that Xenodamus, a pancratiast of Anticyra, won an Olympic victory in the men’s match. If the inscription says true, Xenodamus must have won the wild olive in the two hundred and eleventh Olympiad ; but that is the only Olympiad which is omitted in the Elean register. Above the market-place is a spring of water in a well: the well is sheltered from the sun by a roof supported on pillars. A little higher up than the well is a tomb built of common stones. They say that the sons of Iphitus are buried here: one of them, they say, returned safe from Ilium, and died in his native land ; but Schedius perished in the land of Troy, and his bones were brought home.
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