ἐντεῦθεν ἐρχομένοις ὁδὸν καλουμένην Κοίλην ναός ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ Διονύσου· τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα εἶναι λέγουσιν ἐξ Εὐβοίας. συμβάσης γὰρ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ὡς ἐκομίζοντο ἐξ Ἰλίου, τῆς πρὸς τῷ Καφηρεῖ ναυαγίας, τοὺς δυνηθέντας ἐς τὴν γῆν διαφυγεῖν τῶν Ἀργείων ῥῖγός τε πιέζει καὶ λιμός. εὐξαμένοις δὲ θεῶν τινα ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀπόροις γενέσθαι σωτῆρα, αὐτίκα ὡς προῄεσαν ἐφάνη σφίσι Διονύσου σπήλαιον, καὶ ἄγαλμα ἦν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ θεοῦ· τότε δὲ αἶγες ἄγριαι φεύγουσαι τὸν χειμῶνα ἐς αὐτὸ ἦσαν ἠθροισμέναι. ταύτας οἱ Ἀργεῖοι σφάξαντες τά τε κρέα ἐδείπνησαν καὶ δέρμασιν ἐχρήσαντο ἀντὶ ἐσθῆτος. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ χειμὼν ἐπαύσατο καὶ ἐπισκευάσαντες τὰς ναῦς οἴκαδε ἐκομίζοντο, ἐπάγονται τὸ ἐκ τοῦ σπηλαίου ξόανον·
καὶ διατελοῦσιν ἐς τόδε τιμῶντες ἔτι. τοῦ Διονύσου δὲ ἐγγυτάτω οἰκίαν ὄψει τὴν Ἀδράστου καὶ ἀπωτέρω ταύτης ἱερὸν Ἀμφιαράου καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πέραν Ἐριφύλης μνῆμα. ἑξῆς δὲ τούτων ἐστὶν Ἀσκληπιοῦ τέμενος καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἱερὸν Βάτωνος. ἦν δὲ ὁ Βάτων γένους Ἀμφιαράῳ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τῶν Μελαμποδιδῶν καὶ ἐς μάχην ἐξιόντι ἡνιόχει τοὺς ἵππους· γενομένης δὲ τῆς τροπῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θηβαίων τείχους χάσμα γῆς Ἀμφιάραον καὶ τὸ ἅρμα ὑποδεξάμενον ἠφάνισεν ὁμοῦ καὶ τοῦτον τὸν Βάτωνα.
ἐπανιόντι δὲ ἐκ τῆς Κοίλης Ὑρνηθοῦς τάφον λέγουσιν εἶναι. εἰ μὲν δὴ κενὸν καὶ ἄλλως ἐς μνήμην τῆς γυναικός, εἰκότα λέγουσιν· εἰ δὲ τῆς Ὑρνηθοῦς κεῖσθαι τὸν νεκρὸν νομίζουσιν ἐνταῦθα, ἐγὼ μέν σφισιν οὐ πείθομαι, πειθέσθω δὲ ὅστις τὰ Ἐπιδαυρίων οὐ πέπυσται.
τὸ δʼ ἐπιφανέστατον Ἀργείοις τῶν Ἀσκληπιείων ἄγαλμα ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἔχει καθήμενον Ἀσκληπιὸν λίθου λευκοῦ, καὶ παρʼ αὐτὸν ἕστηκεν Ὑγεία· κάθηνται δὲ καὶ οἱ ποιήσαντες τὰ ἀγάλματα Ξενόφιλος καὶ Στράτων. ἐξ ἀρχῆς δὲ ἱδρύσατο Σφῦρος τὸ ἱερόν, Μαχάονος μὲν υἱός, ἀδελφὸς δὲ Ἀλεξάνορος τοῦ παρὰ Σικυωνίοις ἐν Τιτάνῃ τιμὰς ἔχοντος.
τῆς δὲ Ἀρτέμιδος τῆς Φεραίας—σέβουσι γὰρ καὶ Ἀργεῖοι Φεραίαν Ἄρτεμιν κατὰ ταὐτὰ Ἀθηναίοις καὶ Σικυωνίοις—τὸ ἄγαλμα καὶ οὗτοί φασιν ἐκ Φερῶν τῶν ἐν Θεσσαλίᾳ κομισθῆναι. τάδε δὲ αὐτοῖς οὐχ ὁμολογῶ· λέγουσι γὰρ Ἀργεῖοι Δηιανείρας ἐν Ἄργει μνῆμα εἶναι τῆς Οἰνέως τό τε Ἑλένου τοῦ Πριάμου, καὶ ἄγαλμα κεῖσθαι παρὰ σφίσιν Ἀθηνᾶς τὸ ἐκκομισθὲν ἐξ Ἰλίου καὶ ἁλῶναι ποιῆσαν Ἴλιον. τὸ μὲν δὴ Παλλάδιον—καλεῖται γὰρ οὕτω—δῆλόν ἐστιν ἐς Ἰταλίαν κομισθὲν ὑπὸ Αἰνείου· Δηιανείρᾳ δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν περὶ Τραχῖνα ἴσμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐν Ἄργει γενομένην, καὶ ἔστιν ὁ τάφος αὐτῇ πλησίον Ἡρακλείας τῆς ὑπὸ τῇ Οἴτῃ.
τὰ δὲ ἐς Ἕλενον τὸν Πριάμου δεδήλωκεν ὁ λόγος ἤδη μοι, μετὰ Πύρρου τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν ἐς Ἤπειρον καὶ ἐπιτροπεῦσαί τε τοὺς Πύρρου παῖδας συνοικοῦντα Ἀνδρομάχῃ καὶ τὴν Κεστρίνην καλουμένην ἀπὸ Κεστρίνου τοῦ Ἑλένου λαβεῖν τὸ ὄνομα. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ αὐτῶν λέληθεν Ἀργείων τοὺς ἐξηγητὰς ὅτι μὴ πάντα ἐπʼ ἀληθείᾳ λέγεταί σφισι, λέγουσι δὲ ὅμως· οὐ γάρ τι ἕτοιμον μεταπεῖσαι τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐναντία ὧν δοξάζουσιν.
ἄλλα δέ ἐστιν Ἀργείοις θέας ἄξια· κατάγαιον οἰκοδόμημα, ἐπʼ αὐτῷ δὲ ἦν ὁ χαλκοῦς θάλαμος, ὃν Ἀκρίσιός ποτε ἐπὶ φρουρᾷ τῆς θυγατρὸς ἐποίησε· Περίλαος δὲ καθεῖλεν αὐτὸν τυραννήσας. τοῦτό τε οὖν τὸ οἰκοδόμημά ἐστι καὶ Κροτώπου μνῆμα καὶ Διονύσου ναὸς Κρησίου. Περσεῖ γὰρ πολεμήσαντα αὐτὸν καὶ αὖθις ἐλθόντα ἐς λύσιν τοῦ ἔχθους τά τε ἄλλα τιμηθῆναι μεγάλως λέγουσιν ὑπὸ Ἀργείων καὶ τέμενός οἱ δοθῆναι τοῦτο ἐξαίρετον·
Κρησίου δὲ ὕστερον ὠνομάσθη, διότι Ἀριάδνην ἀποθανοῦσαν ἔθαψεν ἐνταῦθα. Λυκέας δὲ λέγει κατασκευαζομένου δεύτερον τοῦ ναοῦ κεραμέαν εὑρεθῆναι σορόν, εἶναι δὲ Ἀριάδνης αὐτήν· καὶ αὐτός τε καὶ ἄλλους Ἀργείων ἰδεῖν ἔφη τὴν σορόν. πλησίον δὲ τοῦ Διονύσου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ναός ἐστιν Οὐρανίας.
Going from here along Hollow Street, as it is called, we have on the right a temple of Dionysus: they say that the image came from Euboea. For when the Greeks, returning from Ilium, were shipwrecked at Caphereus, those of the Argives who contrived to escape to land were distressed by cold and hunger. So they prayed that one of the gods would save them in their present strait ; and straightway as they went forward they spied a cave of Dionysus, and in the cave was an image of the god and some wild goats, which had sought shelter there from the storm. These the Argives killed and ate, and used their skins as garments. And when the storm was over, and they had refitted their ships and were sailing for home, they took with them the wooden image from the cave; and they worship it to this day.
Close to the temple of Dionysus you will see the house of Adrastus, and a little way from it is a sanctuary of Amphiaraus. Over against the sanctuary is the tomb of Eriphyle. Next after these is a precinct of Aesculapius, and beyond it a sanctuary of Baton. Baton was, like Amphiaraus, of the race of the Melampodids, and when Amphiaraus went forth to battle Baton used to drive his chariot. So when, after the rout under the walls of Thebes, the earth yawned and swallowed Amphiaraus and his chariot, Baton disappeared along with him.
Returning from Hollow Street you come to what they say is the grave of Hyrnetho. Now if they admit the sepulchre is empty, and is merely a monument to her memory, that is like enough ; but if they think the body of Hyrnetho lies here, I for one do not believe them. But any one who does not know about Epidaurus may believe them if he likes.
The most famous sanctuary of Aesculapius in Argos contains at the present day a seated image of Aesculapius in white marble. Beside the god stands Health, and there are seated figures of Xenophilus and Strato, the sculptors who made the images. The sanctuary was originally founded by Sphyrus, son of Machaon and brother of that Alexanor who is revered by the Sicyonians at Titane.
Like the Athenians and Sicyonians, the Argives worship Pheraean Artemis, and like them they say that her image was brought from Pherae in Thessaly. But I cannot agree with the Argives when they assert that the tomb of Dejanira, daughter of Oeneus, is in Argos, also the tomb of Helenus, son of Priam, and that they have the image of Athena, which was carried away from Ilium, and the loss of which caused the city to be taken. For the Palladium, as the image is called, was notoriously taken to Italy by Aeneas ; and we know that Dejanira died near Trachis, and not at Argos, and her grave is near Heraclea, at the foot of Mount Oeta. 6. As to Helenus, son of Priam, I have already shown that he went with Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, to Epirus; that he married Andromache, and acted as guardian to the children of Pyrrhus ; and that the district of Cestrine got its name from his son Cestrinus. The Argive guides themselves are aware that not all the stories they tell are true ; yet they stick to them, for it is not easy to persuade the vulgar to change their opinions.
There are other things worth seeing at Argos ; for instance, an underground structure, over which was the brazen chamber which Acrisius made to imprison his daughter in. But when Perilaus made himself tyrant he pulled it down. Besides this structure there is the tomb of Crotopus and a temple of Cretan Dionysus.
For they say that, after warring with Perseus, the god laid aside his enmity, and was greatly honoured by the Argives, who gave him, amongst other marks of respect, this special precinct for himself. The epithet Cretan was added afterwards, because, when Ariadne died, Dionysus buried her here. Lyceas says that when the temple was being rebuilt they found an earthenware coffin, and that it was the coffin of Ariadne. He said he saw it himself, and that other Argives saw it also. Near the temple of Dionysus is a temple of Heavenly Aphrodite.
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