ἐν δὲ Τιτάνῃ καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερόν ἐστιν, ἐς ὃ τὴν Κορωνίδα ἀνάγουσιν· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ ξόανον Ἀθηνᾶς ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον, κεραυνωθῆναι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἐλέγετο· ἐκ τούτου τοῦ λόφου καταβᾶσιν—ᾠκοδόμηται γὰρ ἐπὶ λόφῳ τὸ ἱερὸν—βωμός ἐστιν ἀνέμων, ἐφʼ οὗ τοῖς ἀνέμοις ὁ ἱερεὺς μιᾷ νυκτὶ ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος θύει. δρᾷ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἀπόρρητα ἐς βόθρους τέσσαρας, ἡμερούμενος τῶν πνευμάτων τὸ ἄγριον, καὶ δὴ καὶ Μηδείας ὡς λέγουσιν ἐπῳδὰς ἐπᾴδει.
ἐκ δὲ Τιτάνης ἐς Σικυῶνα ἀφικομένοις καὶ καταβαίνουσιν ἐς θάλασσαν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ ναός ἐστιν Ἥρας οὐκ ἔχων ἔτι οὔτε ἄγαλμα οὔτε ὄροφον· τὸν δὲ ἀναθέντα Προῖτον εἶναι τὸν Ἄβαντός φασι. καταβᾶσι δὲ ἐς τὸν Σικυωνίων καλούμενον λιμένα καὶ τραπεῖσιν ἐπʼ Ἀριστοναύτας τὸ ἐπίνειον τὸ Πελληνέων, ἔστιν ὀλίγον ὑπὲρ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερόν· προελθοῦσι δὲ κατὰ τὴν λεωφόρον Ἑλισσών τε καλούμενος ποταμὸς καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν Σύθας ἐστίν, ἐκδιδόντες ἐς θάλασσαν.
ἡ δὲ Φλιασία τῆς Σικυωνίων ἐστὶν ὅμορος· καὶ Τιτάνης μὲν τεσσαράκοντα σταδίους ἀπέχει μάλιστα ἡ πόλις, ἐκ Σικυῶνος δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν ὁδός ἐστιν εὐθεῖα. καὶ ὅτι μὲν Ἀρκάσι Φλιάσιοι προσήκουσιν οὐδέν, δηλοῖ τὰ ἐς τὸν Ἀρκάδων κατάλογον τῆς Ὁμήρου ποιήσεως, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν Ἀρκάσι καὶ οὗτοι συγκατειλεγμένοι· ὡς δὲ Ἀργεῖοί τε ἦσαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ὕστερον Δωριεῖς γεγόνασιν Ἡρακλειδῶν κατελθόντων ἐς Πελοπόννησον, φανεῖται προϊόντι ὁμοῦ τῷ λόγῳ. διάφορα δὲ ἐς τοὺς Φλιασίους τὰ πολλὰ εἰδὼς εἰρημένα, τοῖς μάλιστα αὐτῶν ὡμολογημένοις χρήσομαι.
ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ γενέσθαι πρῶτον Ἄραντά φασιν ἄνδρα αὐτόχθονα· καὶ πόλιν τε ᾤκισε περὶ τὸν βουνὸν τοῦτον, ὃς Ἀραντῖνος ἔτι καλεῖται καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς, οὐ πολὺ ἑτέρου λόφου διεστηκώς, ἐφʼ οὗ Φλιασίοις ἥ τε ἀκρόπολις καὶ τῆς Ἥβης ἐστὶ τὸ ἱερόν. ἐνταῦθά τε δὴ πόλιν ᾤκισε καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἡ γῆ καὶ ἡ πόλις Ἀραντία ἐκλήθησαν. τούτῳ βασιλεύοντι Ἀσωπὸς Κηλούσης εἶναι λεγόμενος καὶ Ποσειδῶνος ἐξεῦρε τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸ ὕδωρ, ὅντινα οἱ νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ εὑρόντος καλοῦσιν Ἀσωπόν. τὸ δὲ μνῆμα τοῦ Ἄραντός ἐστιν ἐν χωρίῳ Κελεαῖς, ἔνθα δὴ καὶ Δυσαύλην ἄνδρα Ἐλευσίνιον τεθάφθαι λέγουσιν.
Ἄραντος δὲ υἱὸς Ἄορις καὶ θυγάτηρ ἐγένετο Ἀραιθυρέα. τούτους φασὶ Φλιάσιοι θηρᾶσαί τε ἐμπείρους γενέσθαι καὶ τὰ ἐς πόλεμον ἀνδρείους. προαποθανούσης δὲ Ἀραιθυρέας Ἄορις ἐς μνήμην τῆς ἀδελφῆς μετωνόμασεν Ἀραιθυρέαν τὴν χώραν· καὶ ἐπὶ τῷδε Ὅμηρος τοὺς Ἀγαμέμνονος ὑπηκόους καταλέγων τὸ ἔπος ἐποίησεν Ὀρνειάς τʼ ἐνέμοντο Ἀραιθυρέην τʼ ἐρατεινήν. / τάφους δὲ τῶν Ἄραντος παίδων οὐχ ἑτέρωθι ἡγοῦμαι τῆς χώρας, ἐπὶ τῷ λόφῳ δὲ εἶναι τῷ Ἀραντίνῳ· καί σφισιν ἐπίθημα στῆλαι περιφανεῖς εἰσι, καὶ πρὸ τῆς τελετῆς ἣν τῇ Δήμητρι ἄγουσιν Ἄραντα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας καλοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὰς σπονδὰς ἐς ταῦτα βλέποντες τὰ μνήματα.
Φλίαντα δέ, ὃς τρίτον τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ὄνομα ἀφʼ αὑτοῦ τῇ γῇ, Κείσου μὲν παῖδα εἶναι τοῦ Τημένου κατὰ δὴ τὸν Ἀργείων λόγον οὐδὲ ἀρχὴν ἔγωγε προσίεμαι, Διονύσου δὲ οἶδα καλούμενον καὶ τῶν πλευσάντων ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀργοῦς καὶ τοῦτον γενέσθαι λεγόμενον. ὁμολογεῖ δέ μοι καὶ τοῦ Ῥοδίου ποιητοῦ τὰ ἔπη· Φλίας αὖτʼ ἐπὶ τοῖσιν Ἀραιθυρέηθεν ἵκανεν, / ἔνθʼ ἀφνειὸς ἔναιε Διωνύσοιο ἕκητι / πατρὸς ἑοῦ, πηγῇσιν ἐφέστιος Ἀσωποῖο. / τοῦ δὲ Φλίαντος Ἀραιθυρέαν εἶναι μητέρα, ἀλλʼ οὐ Χθονοφύλην· Χθονοφύλην δέ οἱ συνοικῆσαι καὶ Ἀνδροδάμαν γενέσθαι Φλίαντι ἐξ αὐτῆς.
In Titane there is also a sanctuary of Athena, to which they carry up Coronis: it contains an ancient wooden image of Athena, which is also said to have been struck by lightning. After descending from this hill (for the sanctuary is built on a hill) we come to an altar of the winds, on which the priest sacrifices to the winds one night in every year. He also performs other secret rites at four pits, soothing the fury of the blasts; and he chants, they say, Medea’s spells. We now return from Titane to Sicyon. On the way down to the sea we have on the left of the road a temple of Hera. It has no longer an image nor a roof: they say it was dedicated by Proetus, son of Abas.
Having descended to what is called the harbour of Sicyon, and bent our steps in the direction of Aristonautae, the sea-port of Pellene, we perceive, a little above the road on the left, a sanctuary of Poseidon. Proceeding by the high road we come to the river Helisson, and after it to the Sythas, both rivers falling into the sea.
Phliasia borders on the territory of Sicyon. The city of Phlius is just forty furlongs from Titane: a straight road leads to it from Sicyon. That the Phliasians are not related to the Arcadians is proved by the catalogue of the Arcadians in Homer, for the Phliasians are not included in that catalogue. That they were originally Argives and afterwards became Dorians, when the Heraclids had returned to Peloponnese, will appear in the sequel. I know that the accounts given of the Phliasians are mostly discrepant, but I will follow the one which is most generally accepted.
They say that the first man born in this land was Aras, an aboriginal. He founded a city round about the hill, which is called the Arantine hill to this day, It is not far from another hill on which the Phliasians have their acropolis and the sanctuary of Hebe. Here then he built a city, and from him both land and city were called Arantia in days of old.
It was for this king that Asopus, who is said to have been a son of Celusa and Poseidon, discovered the water of the river which is still called Asopus after its discoverer. The tomb of Aras is in a place Celeae, where they say that Dysaules, an Eleusinian, is also buried. Aras had a son Aoris, and a daughter Araethyrea. The Phliasians say that these two were skilful in the chase and brave in war. Araethyrea died first, and Aoris, in memory of his sister, changed the name of the country to Araethyrea. Hence Homer, enumerating the subjects of Agamemnon, has the verse :— They dwelt in Ornea and lovely Araethyrea. The graves of the children of Aras are, I believe, on the Arantine hill and nowhere else. Round tombstones surmount their graves; and before the Phliasians celebrate the mysteries of Demeter, they look towards these tombs and invite Aras and his children to partake of the libations.
Phlias, the third who gave his name to the country, is said by the Argives to have been a son of Cisus, the son of Temenus. But I cannot agree with them, for I know that he is called a son of Dionysus, and is said to have been one of those who sailed in the Argo. And the verses of the Rhodian poet bear me out —— After them came Phlias from Araethyrea, Where he dwelt in wealth through Dionysus His sire: his home was by the springs of Asopus. They say that the mother of Phlias was Araethyrea, not Chthonophyle, who was his wife and bore him Androdamas.
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