τῆς δὲ πόλεως αἱ Κελεαὶ πέντε που σταδίους μάλιστα ἀπέχουσι, καὶ τῇ Δήμητρι ἐνταῦθα διʼ ἐνιαυτοῦ τετάρτου τὴν τελετὴν καὶ οὐ κατὰ ἔτος ἄγουσιν. ἱεροφάντης δὲ οὐκ ἐς τὸν βίον πάντα ἀποδέδεικται, κατὰ δὲ ἑκάστην τελετὴν ἄλλοτέ ἐστιν ἄλλος σφίσιν αἱρετός, λαμβάνων ἢν ἐθέλῃ καὶ γυναῖκα. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν διάφορα τῶν Ἐλευσῖνι νομίζουσι, τὰ δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν τὴν τελετὴν ἐκείνων ἐστὶν ἐς μίμησιν· ὁμολογοῦσι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ μιμεῖσθαι Φλιάσιοι τὰ ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι δρώμενα.
Δυσαύλην δέ φασιν ἀδελφὸν Κελεοῦ παραγενόμενόν σφισιν ἐς τὴν χώραν καταστήσασθαι τὴν τελετήν, ἐκβληθῆναι δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξ Ἐλευσῖνος ὑπὸ Ἴωνος, ὅτε Ἴων Ἀθηναίοις ὁ Ξούθου πολέμαρχος τοῦ πρὸς Ἐλευσινίους ᾑρέθη πολέμου. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ Φλιασίοις οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως ὁμολογήσω, κρατηθέντα μάχῃ τινὰ Ἐλευσινίων φυγάδα ἀπελαθέντα οἴχεσθαι, τοῦ πολέμου τε ἐπὶ συνθήκαις καταλυθέντος πρὶν ἢ διαπολεμηθῆναι καὶ ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι αὐτοῦ καταμείναντος Εὐμόλπου.
δύναιτο δʼ ἂν κατὰ ἄλλην τινὰ ἐνταῦθα ὁ Δυσαύλης ἀφικέσθαι πρόφασιν καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ Κελεῷ προσήκων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν οὐδὲ ἄλλως ἦν ἐν τοῖς ἐπιφανέσιν Ἐλευσινίων· οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε Ὅμηρος παρῆκεν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν. ἔστι γὰρ καὶ Ὁμήρῳ πεποιημένα ἐς Δήμητραν· ἐν δὲ αὐτοῖς καταλέγων τοὺς διδαχθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς θεοῦ τὴν τελετὴν Δυσαύλην οὐδένα οἶδεν Ἐλευσίνιον. ἔχει δὲ οὕτω τὰ ἔπη· δεῖξεν Τριπτολέμῳ τε Διοκλεῖ τε πληξίππῳ / Εὐμόλπου τε βίῃ Κελεῷ θʼ ἡγήτορι λαῶν / δρησμοσύνην ἱερῶν καὶ ἐπέφραδεν ὄργια πᾶσιν. /
οὗτος δʼ οὖν, ὡς οἱ Φλιάσιοί φασιν, ὁ Δυσαύλης κατεστήσατο ἐνταῦθα τὴν τελετὴν καὶ οὗτος ἦν ὁ τῷ χωρίῳ τὸ ὄνομα παραθέμενος Κελεάς· Δυσαύλου τέ ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα, ὡς εἴρηταί μοι, μνῆμα. πρότερον δὲ ἄρα ἐπεποίητο ὁ Ἀράντειος τάφος· ὕστερον γὰρ κατὰ τὸν Φλιασίων λόγον καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἄραντος βασιλείας ἀφίκετο ὁ Δυσαύλης. Φλιάσιοι γὰρ Προμηθεῖ γενέσθαι τῷ Ἰαπετοῦ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον φασὶν Ἄραντα καὶ τρισὶν ἀνθρώπων γενεαῖς Πελασγοῦ τε εἶναι πρεσβύτερον τοῦ Ἀρκάδος καὶ τῶν λεγομένων Ἀθήνῃσιν αὐτοχθόνων. —τοῦ δὲ Ἀνακτόρου καλουμένου πρὸς τῷ ὀρόφῳ Πέλοπος ἅρμα λέγουσιν ἀνακεῖσθαι.
Celeae is distant just about five furlongs from the city. They celebrate the mysteries of Demeter there every third year, not annually. The high-priest of the mysteries is not appointed for life, but at each celebration a new priest is elected, who may, if he chooses, take a wife. In these respects their practice differs from that observed at Eleusis; but the actual mysteries are an imitation of the Eleusinian mysteries, indeed the Phliasians themselves admit that they imitate the rites of Eleusis.
They say that the mysteries were instituted by Dysaules, brother of Celeus, who came to their country after he had been expelled from Eleusis by Ion, son of Xuthus, at the time when Ion was chosen commander-in-chief of the Athenians in the war against Eleusis. But I cannot agree with the Phliasians that any man of Eleusis was defeated in battle and driven into exile; for peace was concluded before the war was fought out, and even Eumolpus himself was suffered to remain in Eleusis. It is possible, however, that Dysaules may have come to Phlius for some other cause than the one alleged by the Phliasians. But he was not, in my opinion, related to Celeus, nor did he belong to any other of the illustrious families of Eleusis. For Homer would never have passed him over in silence in his hymn to Demeter. In that hymn Homer enumerates the men who were taught the mysteries by the goddess, but he knows no Eleusinian of the name of Dysaules. The verses are these :— She showed to Triptolemus and Diocles, smiter of horses, And mighty Eumolpus and Celeus, leader of peoples, The way of performing the sacred rites, and explained to all of them the orgies. However that may be, it was this man Dysaules, according to the Phliasians, who instituted the mysteries here, and he it was who gave to the place the name of Celeae. There is here, as I have said, the tomb of Dysaules. The grave of Aras must therefore be older ; for according to the Phliasian tradition Dysaules came after the reign of Aras.
For the Phliasians say that Aras was a contemporary of Prometheus, son of Iapetus, and lived three generations before Pelasgus, son of Arcas, and the so-called aborigines of Athens. On the roof of what is called the Anactorum stands a chariot which they say is the chariot of Pelops. These were the chief objects of interest in Phliasia.
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