Ἡρακλειδῶν δὲ κατελθόντων Πελοπόννησος ἐταράχθη πᾶσα πλὴν Ἀρκάδων, ὡς πολλὰς μὲν τῶν πόλεων συνοίκους ἐκ τοῦ Δωρικοῦ προσλαβεῖν, πλείονας δὲ ἔτι γενέσθαι τὰς μεταβολὰς τοῖς οἰκήτορσι. τὰ δὲ κατὰ Φλιοῦντα οὕτως ἔχει. Ῥηγνίδας ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ὁ Φάλκου τοῦ Τημένου Δωριεὺς ἐκ τε Ἄργους στρατεύει καὶ ἐκ τῆς Σικυωνίας. τῶν δὲ Φλιασίων τοῖς μὲν ἃ προεκαλεῖτο Ῥηγνίδας ἐφαίνετο ἀρεστά, μένοντας ἐπὶ τοῖς αὑτῶν βασιλέα Ῥηγνίδαν καὶ τοὺς σὺν ἐκείνῳ Δωριεῖς ἐπὶ ἀναδασμῷ γῆς δέχεσθαι·
Ἵππασος δὲ καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ διεκελεύοντο ἀμύνεσθαι μηδὲ πολλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀμαχεὶ τοῖς Δωριεῦσιν ἀφίστασθαι. προσεμένου δὲ τοῦ δήμου τὴν ἐναντίαν γνώμην, οὕτως Ἵππασος σὺν τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἐς Σάμον φεύγει. Ἱππάσου δὲ τούτου τέταρτος ἦν ἀπόγονος Πυθαγόρας ὁ λεγόμενος γενέσθαι σοφός· Μνησάρχου γὰρ Πυθαγόρας ἦν τοῦ Εὔφρονος τοῦ Ἱππάσου. ταῦτα μὲν Φλιάσιοι λέγουσι περὶ αὑτῶν, ὁμολογοῦσι δέ σφισι τὰ πολλὰ καὶ Σικυώνιοι.
προσέσται δὲ ἤδη καὶ τῶν ἐς ἐπίδειξιν ἡκόντων τὰ ἀξιολογώτατα. ἔστι γὰρ ἐν τῇ Φλιασίων ἀκροπόλει κυπαρίσσων ἄλσος καὶ ἱερὸν ἁγιώτατον ἐκ παλαιοῦ· τὴν δὲ θεὸν ἧς ἐστι τὸ ἱερὸν οἱ μὲν ἀρχαιότατοι Φλιασίων Γανυμήδαν, οἱ δὲ ὕστερον Ἥβην ὀνομάζουσιν· ἧς καὶ Ὅμηρος μνήμην ἐποιήσατο ἐν τῇ Μενελάου πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον μονομαχίᾳ φάμενος οἰνοχόον τῶν θεῶν εἶναι, καὶ αὖθις ἐν Ὀδυσσέως ἐς Ἅιδου καθόδῳ γυναῖκα Ἡρακλέους εἶπεν εἶναι. Ὠλῆνι δὲ ἐν Ἥρας ἐστὶν ὕμνῳ πεποιημένα τραφῆναι τὴν Ἥραν ὑπὸ Ὡρῶν, εἶναι δέ οἱ παῖδας Ἄρην τε καὶ Ἥβην.
παρὰ δὲ Φλιασίοις τῇ θεῷ ταύτῃ καὶ ἄλλαι τιμαὶ καὶ μέγιστον τὸ ἐς τοὺς ἱκέτας ἐστί· δεδώκασι γὰρ δὴ ἄδειαν ἐνταῦθα ἱκετεύουσι, λυθέντες δὲ οἱ δεσμῶται τὰς πέδας πρὸς τὰ ἐν τῷ ἄλσει δένδρα ἀνατιθέασιν. ἄγεται δὲ καὶ ἑορτή σφισιν ἐπέτειος, ἣν καλοῦσι Κισσοτόμους. ἄγαλμα δὲ οὔτε ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ φυλάσσουσιν οὐδὲν οὔτε ἐστὶν ἐν φανερῷ δεικνύμενον—ἐφʼ ὅτῳ δὲ οὕτω νομίζουσιν, ἱερός ἐστιν αὐτοῖς λόγος—, ἐπεὶ τῆς γε Ἥρας ἐστὶν ἐξιόντων ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ναὸς ἄγαλμα ἔχων Παρίου λίθου.
ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀκροπόλει καὶ ἄλλος περίβολός ἐστιν ἱερὸς Δήμητρος, ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ ναός τε καὶ ἄγαλμα Δήμητρος καὶ τῆς παιδός· τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος—ἔστι γὰρ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος ἐνταῦθα χαλκοῦν ἄγαλμα—ἐφαίνετο ἀρχαῖον εἶναί μοι. κατιόντων δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀκροπόλεώς ἐστιν Ἀσκληπιοῦ ναὸς ἐν δεξιᾷ καὶ ἄγαλμα οὐκ ἔχον πω γένεια. ὑπὸ τοῦτον τὸν ναὸν θέατρον πεποίηται· τούτου δὲ οὐ πόρρω Δήμητρός ἐστιν ἱερὸν καὶ καθήμενα ἀγάλματα ἀρχαῖα.
ἀνάκειται δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς αἲξ χαλκῆ, τὰ πολλὰ ἐπίχρυσος· παρὰ δὲ Φλιασίοις τιμὰς ἐπὶ τῷδε εἴληφε. τὸ ἄστρον ἣν ὀνομάζουσιν αἶγα ἀνατέλλουσα τὰς ἀμπέλους λυμαίνεται συνεχῶς· ἵνα δὲ ἄχαρι μηδὲν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς γένηται, οἱ δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς χαλκῆν αἶγα ἄλλοις τε τιμῶσι καὶ χρυσῷ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐπικοσμοῦντες. ἐνταῦθά ἐστι καὶ Ἀριστίου μνῆμα τοῦ Πρατίνου· τούτῳ τῷ Ἀριστίᾳ σάτυροι καὶ Πρατίνᾳ τῷ πατρί εἰσι πεποιημένοι πλὴν τῶν Αἰχύλου δοκιμώτατοι.
ὄπισθεν δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐστιν οἶκος ὀνομαζόμενος ὑπὸ Φλιασίων μαντικός. ἐς τοῦτον Ἀμφιάραος ἐλθὼν καὶ τὴν νύκτα ἐγκατακοιμηθεὶς μαντεύεσθαι τότε πρῶτον, ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν, ἤρξατο· τέως δὲ ἦν Ἀμφιάραος τῷ ἐκείνων λόγῳ ἰδιώτης τε καὶ οὐ μάντις. καὶ τὸ οἴκημα ἀπὸ τούτου συγκέκλεισται τὸν πάντα ἤδη χρόνον. οὐ πόρρω δέ ἐστιν ὁ καλούμενος Ὀμφαλός, Πελοποννήσου δὲ πάσης μέσον, εἰ δὴ τὰ ὄντα εἰρήκασιν. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ὀμφαλοῦ προελθοῦσι Διονύσου σφίσιν ἱερόν ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον, ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ ἄλλο Ἴσιδος. τὸ μὲν δὴ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Διονύσου δῆλον πᾶσιν, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος· τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἴσιδος τοῖς ἱερεῦσι θεάσασθαι μόνον ἔστι.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὧδε ὑπὸ Φλιασίων λόγος· Ἡρακλέα, ὅτʼ ἐκ Λιβύης ἀνεσώθη κομίζων τὰ μῆλα τὰ Ἑσπερίδων καλούμενα, ἐς Φλιοῦντα ἐλθεῖν κατὰ δή τι ἴδιον, διαιτωμένου δὲ ἐνταῦθα Οἰνέα ἐξ Αἰτωλίας ἀφικέσθαι παρʼ αὐτόν· ἐγεγόνει δὲ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ πρότερον ἔτι κηδεστής, τότε δὲ ἀφιγμένος εἱστία τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἢ αὐτὸς εἱστιᾶτο ὑπὸ ἐκείνου. Κύαθον δʼ οὖν παῖδα οἰνοχόον Οἰνέως οὐκ ἀρεσθεὶς τῷ δοθέντι πώματι παίει τῶν δακτύλων ἑνὶ ἐς τὴν κεφαλήν· ἀποθανόντος δὲ αὐτίκα ὑπὸ τῆς πληγῆς Φλιασίοις ἐστὶν οἴκημα ἐς μνήμην. τοῦτο ᾠκοδόμηται μὲν παρὰ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, ἀγάλματα δὲ λίθου πεποιημένα ἔχει, κύλικα ὀρέγοντα Ἡρακλεῖ τὸν Κύαθον.
The return of the Heraclids threw the whole of Peloponnese, except Arcadia, into confusion. Many of the cities received fresh settlers from the Dorian horde, and the changes that befell the inhabitants were still more numerous. Phlius fared as follows. Rhegnidas, a Dorian, son of Phalces, son of Temenus, led an army against it from Argos and Sicyonia. Some of the Phliasians were content with the terms which Rhegnidas offered them, namely, that they should remain in possession, but should accept Rhegnidas as their king, and admit him and his Dorians to a share in the land. But Hippasus and his party urged his countrymen to resist, and not to yield up to the Dorians without a struggle so much that they held dear. However, the people took the opposite view. So Hippasus, with such as cared to join him, fled to Samos.
This Hippasus was the great-grandfather of the famous sage, Pythagoras. For Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus, who was the son of Euphron, who was the son of Hippasus. This is the account which the Phliasians give of themselves, and in most particulars the Sicyonians agree with them.
I shall now add a notice of the most remarkable sights. In the acropolis of Phlius there is a grove of cypresses and a sanctuary of awful and immemorial sanctity. The goddess of the sanctuary is named Ganymeda by the most ancient Phliasian authorities, but Hebe by the later authorities. Homer also mentions Hebe in the single combat of Menelaus and Alexander, where he says that she was the cupbearer of the gods ; and again, in Ulysses’ descent to hell, he says she was the wife of Hercules. Olen in his hymn to Hera says that Hera was nurtured by the Seasons, and was the mother of Ares and Hebe. Of the honours which the Phliasians pay to the goddess the greatest is this: slaves who take sanctuary here are safe, and when prisoners are loosed from their bonds they hang their fetters on the trees in the grove. The Phliasians also hold a yearly festival which they call Ivy-cutters. Image they have none, neither preserved in secret nor shown openly. The reason for this is given in a sacred story of theirs. On the left as we quit the sanctuary is a temple of Hera, containing an image of Parian marble. In the acropolis is another enclosure: it is sacred to Demeter, and contains a temple and image of Demeter and her daughter. There is also a bronze image of Artemis here which appeared to me ancient. Going down from the acropolis we pass on the right a temple of Aesculapius, the image of which represents a young and beardless man. Below this temple is a theatre, and not far from it is a sanctuary of Demeter with ancient seated images.
In the market-place stands a bronze she-goat, mostly gilded. It is worshipped by the Phliasians for the following reason :—The constellation which they name the Goat always blights the vines at its rising, and to avert its baleful influence they worship the bronze goat in the market-place, and adorn it with gold.
Here is also the tomb of Aristias, son of Pratinas. This Aristias and his father Pratinas composed the most popular satyric dramas ever written except those of Aeschylus.
Behind the market-place is a house named by the Phliasians the house of divination. According to them, Amphiaraus coming to this house and sleeping the night in it began for the first time to divine. Up to that time, according to their story, he had been an ordinary person and no diviner. From that time the building has been always shut up.
Not far off is what they call the Navel (Omphalos): if what they say is true, this spot is the centre of the whole of Peloponnese. Proceeding onward from the Navel we come to an ancient sanctuary of Dionysus, another of Apollo, and another of Isis. The image of Dionysus may be seen by every one, and so may that of Apollo; but only the priests may behold the image of Isis.
Here is another story told by the Phliasians. When Hercules returned safely from Libya, bringing the apples called the apples of the Hesperides, he came to Phlius on some private business ; and while staying there was visited by Oeneus, from Aetolia, his kinsman by marriage. Oeneus on his arrival either feasted Hercules or was feasted by him. At all events, Oeneus had as cupbearer a boy called Cyathus ; and Hercules, being dissatisfied with the draught which Cyathus handed to him, struck the boy on the head with one of his fingers. The blow killed him on the spot, and there is a chapel to his memory at Phlius. It stands beside the sanctuary of Apollo, and contains a group of statuary in stone, representing Cyathus handing a cup to Hercules.
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