Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ πέντε ἀπέχει καὶ δέκα στάδια τὸ Ἡραῖον. ῥεῖ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ὕδωρ Ἐλευθέριον καλούμενον· χρῶνται δὲ αὐτῷ πρὸς καθάρσια αἱ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ἐς τὰς ἀπορρήτους. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ἱερόν ἐστιν ἐν χθαμαλωτέρῳ τῆς Εὐβοίας· τὸ γὰρ δὴ ὄρος τοῦτο ὀνομάζουσιν Εὔβοιαν, λέγοντες Ἀστερίωνι γενέσθαι τῷ ποταμῷ θυγατέρας Εὔβοιαν καὶ Πρόσυμναν καὶ Ἀκραίαν, εἶναι δὲ σφᾶς τροφοὺς τῆς Ἥρας·
καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν Ἀκραίας τὸ ὄρος καλοῦσι τὸ ἀπαντικρὺ τοῦ Ἡραίου, ἀπὸ δὲ Εὐβοίας ὅσον περὶ τὸ ἱερόν, Πρόσυμναν δὲ τὴν ὑπὸ τὸ Ἡραῖον χώραν. ὁ δὲ Ἀστερίων οὗτος ῥέων ὑπὲρ τὸ Ἡραῖον ἐς φάραγγα ἐσπίπτων ἀφανίζεται. φύεται δὲ αὐτοῦ πόα πρὸς ταῖς ὄχθαις· ἀστερίωνα ὀνομάζουσι καὶ τὴν πόαν· ταύτην τῇ Ἥρᾳ καὶ αὐτὴν φέρουσι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν φύλλων αὐτῆς στεφάνους πλέκουσιν.
ἀρχιτέκτονα μὲν δὴ γενέσθαι τοῦ ναοῦ λέγουσιν Εὐπόλεμον Ἀργεῖον· ὁπόσα δὲ ὑπὲρ τοὺς κίονάς ἐστιν εἰργασμένα, τὰ μὲν ἐς τὴν Διὸς γένεσιν καὶ θεῶν καὶ γιγάντων μάχην ἔχει, τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν πρὸς Τροίαν πόλεμον καὶ Ἰλίου τὴν ἅλωσιν. ἀνδριάντες τε ἑστήκασι πρὸ τῆς ἐσόδου καὶ γυναικῶν, αἳ γεγόνασιν ἱέρειαι τῆς Ἥρας, καὶ ἡρώων ἄλλων τε καὶ Ὀρέστου· τὸν γὰρ ἐπίγραμμα ἔχοντα, ὡς εἴη βασιλεὺς Αὔγουστος, Ὀρέστην εἶναι λέγουσιν. ἐν δὲ τῷ προνάῳ τῇ μὲν Χάριτες ἀγάλματά ἐστιν ἀρχαῖα, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ κλίνη τῆς Ἥρας καὶ ἀνάθημα ἀσπὶς ἣν Μενέλαός ποτε ἀφείλετο Εὔφορβον ἐν Ἰλίῳ.
τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα τῆς Ἥρας ἐπὶ θρόνου κάθηται μεγέθει μέγα, χρυσοῦ μὲν καὶ ἐλέφαντος, Πολυκλείτου δὲ ἔργον· ἔπεστι δέ οἱ στέφανος Χάριτας ἔχων καὶ Ὥρας ἐπειργασμένας, καὶ τῶν χειρῶν τῇ μὲν καρπὸν φέρει ῥοιᾶς, τῇ δὲ σκῆπτρον. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐς τὴν ῥοιὰν—ἀπορρητότερος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λόγος—ἀφείσθω μοι· κόκκυγα δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ σκήπτρῳ καθῆσθαί φασι λέγοντες τὸν Δία, ὅτε ἤρα παρθένου τῆς Ἥρας, ἐς τοῦτον τὸν ὄρνιθα ἀλλαγῆναι, τὴν δὲ ἅτε παίγνιον θηρᾶσαι. τοῦτον τὸν λόγον καὶ ὅσα ἐοικότα εἴρηται περὶ θεῶν οὐκ ἀποδεχόμενος γράφω, γράφω δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον.
λέγεται δὲ παρεστηκέναι τῇ Ἥρᾳ τέχνη Ναυκύδους ἄγαλμα Ἥβης, ἐλέφαντος καὶ τοῦτο καὶ χρυσοῦ· παρὰ δὲ αὐτήν ἐστιν ἐπὶ κίονος ἄγαλμα Ἥρας ἀρχαῖον. τὸ δὲ ἀρχαιότατον πεποίηται μὲν ἐξ ἀχράδος, ἀνετέθη δὲ ἐς Τίρυνθα ὑπὸ Πειράσου τοῦ Ἄργου, Τίρυνθα δὲ ἀνελόντες Ἀργεῖοι κομίζουσιν ἐς τὸ Ἡραῖον· ὃ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς εἶδον, καθήμενον ἄγαλμα οὐ μέγα.
ἀναθήματα δὲ τὰ ἄξια λόγου βωμὸς ἔχων ἐπειργασμένον τὸν λεγόμενον Ἥβης καὶ Ἡρακλέους γάμον· οὗτος μὲν ἀργύρου, χρυσοῦ δὲ καὶ λίθων λαμπόντων Ἀδριανὸς βασιλεὺς ταὼν ἀνέθηκεν· ἀνέθηκε δέ, ὅτι τὴν ὄρνιθα ἱερὰν τῆς Ἥρας νομίζουσι. κεῖται δὲ καὶ στέφανος χρυσοῦς καὶ πέπλος πορφύρας, Νέρωνος ταῦτα ἀναθήματα.
ἔστι δὲ ὑπὲρ τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον τοῦ προτέρου ναοῦ θεμέλιά τε καὶ εἰ δή τι ἄλλο ὑπελίπετο ἡ φλόξ. κατεκαύθη δὲ τὴν ἱέρειαν τῆς Ἥρας Χρυσηίδα ὕπνου καταλαβόντος, ὅτε ὁ λύχνος πρὸ τῶν στεφανωμάτων ἥπτετο. καὶ Χρυσηὶς μὲν ἀπελθοῦσα ἐς Τεγέαν τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν Ἀλέαν ἱκέτευεν· Ἀργεῖοι δὲ καίπερ κακοῦ τηλικούτου παρόντος σφίσι τὴν εἰκόνα οὐ καθεῖλον τῆς Χρυσηίδος, ἀνάκειται δὲ καὶ ἐς τόδε τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ κατακαυθέντος ἔμπροσθεν.
To the left of Mycenae, at a distance of fifteen furlongs, is the Heraeum. Beside the road flows a water which is called the Water of Freedom: the women who minister at the sanctuary employ it for purifications and for the secret sacrifices.
The sanctuary itself is on the lower slope of Euboea. For they name this mountain Euboea, saying that the river Asterion had three daughters, Euboea, Prosymna, and Acraea, and that they were nurses of Hera. The mountain opposite the Heraeum is called after Acraea: the ground about the sanctuary is called after Euboea; and the district below the Heraeum is called Prosymna. The Asterion flowing above the Heraeum falls into a gully and disappears. On its banks grows a plant which they also name Asterion: they offer the plant to Hera, and twine its leaves into wreaths for her.
They say that the architect of the temple was Eupolemus an Argive. The sculptures over the columns represent, some the birth of Zeus and the battle of the gods and giants, others the Trojan war and the taking of Ilium. Before the entrance stand statues of women who have been priestesses of Hera, and statues of heroes, including Orestes; for they say that the statue which the inscription declares to be the Emperor Augustus is really Orestes. In the fore-temple are ancient images of the Graces on the left; and on the right is a couch of Hera, and a votive offering consisting of the shield which Menelaus once took from Euphorbus at Ilium.
The image of Hera is seated on a throne, and is of colossal size: it is made of gold and ivory, and is a work of Polyclitus. On her head is a crown with the Graces and the Seasons wrought on it in relief: in one hand she carries a pomegranate, in the other a sceptre. The story about the pomegranate I shall omit as it is of a somewhat mystic nature; but the cuckoo perched on the sceptre is explained by a story, that when Zeus was in love with the maiden Hera he changed himself into this bird, and that Hera caught the bird to play with it. This and similar stories of the gods I record, though I do not accept them. It is said that beside the image of Hera once stood an image of Hebe, also of ivory and gold, a work of Naucydes. And beside it is an antique image of Hera on a column. But her most ancient image is made of the wood of the wild pear-tree: it was dedicated in Tiryns by Pirasus, son of Argos, and when the Argives destroyed Tiryns they brought the image to the Heraeum. It is a small seated image: I saw it myself.
Amongst the remarkable dedicatory offerings is an altar, on which is wrought in relief the fabled marriage of Hebe and Hercules: the altar is of silver. Further, there is a peacock of gold and shining stones dedicated by the Emperor Hadrian, because this bird is considered sacred to Hera. There is also a golden crown and a purple robe, offerings of Nero.
Above this temple are the foundations of the former temple, together with the few other remains of it that escaped the flames. It was burned down through Chryseis, the priestess of Hera, having fallen asleep, when the flame of the lamp caught the wreaths, Chryseis fled to Tegea and took sanctuary in the temple of Athena Alea. In spite of this great calamity the Argives did not take down the statue of Chryseis, and it still stands in front of the burnt temple.
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