ναοὶ δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἀλλήλων ἀφεστηκότες ὁ μὲν Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ Ἀρτέμιδος, Διονύσῳ δὲ αὐτῶν ὁ τρίτος. Ἀπόλλωνι μὲν δὴ ξόανον γυμνόν ἐστι τέχνης τῆς ἐπιχωρίου, τῇ δὲ Ἀρτέμιδί ἐστιν ἐσθής, κατὰ ταὐτὰ δὲ καὶ τῷ Διονύσῳ· καὶ γένεια Διόνυσος ἔχων πεποίηται. τοῦ δὲ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὸ ἱερὸν ἔστι μὲν ἑτέρωθι καὶ οὐ ταύτῃ, λίθου δὲ ἄγαλμα καθήμενον.
θεῶν δὲ Αἰγινῆται τιμῶσιν Ἑκάτην μάλιστα καὶ τελετὴν ἄγουσιν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος Ἑκάτης, Ὀρφέα σφίσι τὸν Θρᾷκα καταστήσασθαι τὴν τελετὴν λέγοντες. τοῦ περιβόλου δὲ ἐντὸς ναός ἐστι, ξόανον δὲ ἔργον Μύρωνος, ὁμοίως ἓν πρόσωπόν τε καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν σῶμα. Ἀλκαμένης δὲ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν πρῶτος ἀγάλματα Ἑκάτης τρία ἐποίησε προσεχόμενα ἀλλήλοις, ἣν Ἀθηναῖοι καλοῦσιν Ἐπιπυργιδίαν· ἕστηκε δὲ παρὰ τῆς Ἀπτέρου Νίκης τὸν ναόν.
ἐν Αἰγίνῃ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Πανελληνίου Διὸς ἰοῦσιν, ἔστιν Ἀφαίας ἱερόν, ἐς ἣν καὶ Πίνδαρος ᾆσμα Αἰγινήταις ἐποίησε. φασὶ δὲ οἱ Κρῆτες— τούτοις γάρ ἐστι τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ἐπιχώρια—Καρμάνορος τοῦ καθήραντος Ἀπόλλωνα ἐπὶ φόνῳ τῶ Πύθωνος παῖδα Εὔβουλον εἶναι, Διὸς δὲ καὶ Κάρμης τῆς Εὐβούλου Βριτόμαρτιν γενέσθαι· χαίρειν δὲ αὐτὴν δρόμοις τε καὶ θήραις καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι μάλιστα φίλην εἶναι· Μίνω δὲ ἐρασθέντα φεύγουσα ἔρριψεν ἑαυτὴν ἐς δίκτυα ἀφειμένα ἐπʼ ἰχθύων θήρᾳ. ταύτην μὲν θεὸν ἐποίησεν Ἄρτεμις, σέβουσι δὲ οὐ Κρῆτες μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ Αἰγινῆται, λέγοντες φαίνεσθαί σφισιν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τὴν Βριτόμαρτιν. ἐπίκλησις δέ οἱ παρά τε Αἰγινήταις ἐστὶν Ἀφαία καὶ Δίκτυννα ἐν Κρήτῃ.
τὸ δὲ Πανελλήνιον, ὅτι μὴ τοῦ Διὸς τὸ ἱερόν, ἄλλο τὸ ὄρος ἀξιόλογον εἶχεν οὐδέν. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ ἱερὸν λέγουσιν Αἰακὸν ποιῆσαι τῷ Διί· τὰ δὲ ἐς τὴν Αὐξησίαν καὶ Δαμίαν, ὡς οὐχ ὗεν ὁ θεὸς Ἐπιδαυρίοις, ὡς τὰ ξόανα ταῦτα ἐκ μαντείας ἐποιήσαντο ἐλαίας παρʼ Ἀθηναίων λαβόντες, ὡς Ἐπιδαύριοι μὲν οὐκ ἀπέφερον ἔτι Ἀθηναίοις ἃ ἐτάξαντο οἷα Αἰγινητῶν ἐχόντων τὰ ἀγάλματα, Ἀθηναίων δὲ ἀπώλοντο οἱ διαβάντες διὰ ταῦτα ἐς Αἴγιναν, ταῦτα εἰπόντος Ἡροδότου καθʼ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἐπʼ ἀκριβὲς οὔ μοι γράφειν κατὰ γνώμην ἦν εὖ προειρημένα, πλὴν τοσοῦτό γε ὅτι εἶδόν τε τὰ ἀγάλματα καὶ ἔθυσά σφισι κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καθὰ δὴ καὶ Ἐλευσῖνι θύειν νομίζουσιν.
Αἰγίνης μὲν δὴ Αἰακοῦ ἕνεκα καὶ ἔργων ὁπόσα ἀπεδείξατο ἐς τοσόνδε ἔστω μνήμη· τῆς δὲ Ἐπιδαυρίας ἔχονται Τροιζήνιοι, σεμνύνοντες εἴπερ καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς τὰ ἐγχώρια· φασὶ δὲ Ὦρον γενέσθαι σφίσιν ἐν τῇ γῆ πρῶτον. ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν Αἰγύπτιον φαίνεται καὶ οὐδαμῶς Ἑλληνικὸν ὄνομα Ὦρος εἶναι· βασιλεῦσαι δʼ οὖν φασιν αὐτὸν καὶ Ὠραίαν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ καλεῖσθαι τὴν γῆν, Ἄλθηπον δὲ Ποσειδῶνος παῖδα καὶ Ληίδος τῆς Ὤρου, παραλαβόντα μετὰ Ὦρον τὴν ἀρχήν, Ἀλθηπίαν ὀνομάσαι τὴν γῆν.
ἐπὶ τούτου βασιλεύοντος Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ Ποσειδῶνα ἀμφισβητῆσαι λέγουσι περὶ τῆς χώρας, ἀμφισβητήσαντας δὲ ἔχειν ἐν κοινῷ· προστάξαι γὰρ οὕτω Δία σφίσι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Ἀθηνᾶν τε σέβουσι Πολιάδα καὶ Σθενιάδα ὀνομάζοντες τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ Ποσειδῶνα Βασιλέα ἐπίκλησιν· καὶ δὴ καὶ νόμισμα αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐπίσημα ἔχει τρίαιναν καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς πρόσωπον.
μετὰ δὲ Ἄλθηπον Σάρων ἐβασίλευσεν. ἔλεγον δὲ ὅτι οὗτος τῇ Σαρωνίδι τὸ ἱερὸν Ἀρτέμιδι ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ τελματώδει καὶ ἐπιπολῆς μᾶλλον, ὥστε καὶ Φοιβαία λίμνη διὰ τοῦτο ἐκαλεῖτο. Σάρωνα δὲ—θηρεύειν γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα ᾕρητο—κατέλαβεν ἔλαφον διώκοντα ἐς θάλασσαν συνεσπεσεῖν φευγούσῃ· καὶ ἥ τε ἔλαφος ἐνήχετο ἀπωτέρω τῆς γῆς καὶ ὁ Σάρων εἴχετο τῆς ἄγρας, ἐς ὃ ὑπὸ προθυμίας ἀφίκετο ἐς τὸ πέλαγος· ἤδη δὲ κάμνοντα αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν κυμάτων κατακλυζόμενον ἐπέλαβε τὸ χρεών. ἐκπεσόντα δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν κατὰ τὴν· Φοιβαίαν λίμνην ἐς τὸ ἄλσος τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἐντὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ περιβόλου θάπτουσι, καὶ λίμνην ἀπὸ τούτου Σαρωνίδα τὴν ταύτῃ θάλασσαν καλοῦσιν ἀντὶ Φοιβαίας.
τοὺς δὲ ὕστερον βασιλεύσαντας οὐκ ἴσασιν ἄχρι Ὑπέρητος καὶ Ἄνθα· τούτους δὲ εἶναι Ποσειδῶνος καὶ Ἀλκυόνης Ἄτλαντος θυγατρός, καὶ πόλεις αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ φασὶν Ὑπέρειάν τε καὶ Ἄνθειαν οἰκίσαι· Ἀέτιον δὲ τὸν Ἄνθα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ θείου παραλαβόντα τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν ἑτέραν τῶν πόλεων Ποσειδωνιάδα ὀνομάσαι. Τροίζηνος δὲ καὶ Πιτθέως παρὰ Ἀέτιον ἐλθόντων βασιλεῖς μὲν τρεῖς ἀντὶ ἑνὸς ἐγένοντο, ἴσχυον δὲ οἱ παῖδες μᾶλλον οἱ Πέλοπος.
σημεῖον δέ· ἀποθανόντος γὰρ Τροίζηνος Πιτθεὺς ἐς τὴν νῦν πόλιν συναγαγὼν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὠνόμασεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Τροίζηνα, συλλαβὼν Ὑπέρειάν τε καὶ Ἄνθειαν. πολλοῖς δὲ ἔτεσιν ὕστερον ἐς ἀποικίαν ἐκ Τροιζῆνος σταλέντες Ἁλικαρνασσὸν ἐν τῇ Καρίᾳ καὶ Μύνδον ἀπῴκισαν οἱ γεγονότες ἀπʼ Ἀετίου τοῦ Ἄνθα. Τροίζηνος δὲ οἱ παῖδες Ἀνάφλυστος καὶ Σφῆττος μετοικοῦσιν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικήν, καὶ οἱ δῆμοι τὰ ὀνόματα ἔχουσιν ἀπὸ τούτων. τὰ δὲ ἐς Θησέα θυγατριδοῦν Πιτθέως εἰδόσι τὰ ἐς αὐτὸν οὐ γράφω, δεῖ δέ με τοσόνδε ἔτι δηλῶσαι.
Ἡρακλειδῶν γὰρ κατελθόντων ἐδέξαντο καὶ οἱ Τροιζήνιοι συνοίκους Δωριέων τῶν ἐξ Ἄργους καὶ πρότερον ἔτι Ἀργείων ὄντες κατήκοοι· καὶ σφᾶς καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν καταλόγῳ φησὶν ὑπὸ Διομήδους ἄρχεσθαι. Διομήδης γὰρ καὶ Εὐρύαλος ὁ Μηκιστέως Κυάνιππον τὸν Αἰγιαλέως παῖδα ὄντα ἐπιτροπεύοντες Ἀργείων ἡγήσαντο ἐς Τροίαν. Σθένελος δέ, ὡς ἐδήλωσα ἐν τοῖς πρότερον, οἰκίας τε ἦν ἐπιφανεστέρας, τῶν Ἀναξαγοριδῶν καλουμένων, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τούτῳ μάλιστα ἦν ἡ Ἀργείων προσήκουσα. τοσαῦτα Τροιζηνίοις ἐχόμενα ἱστορίας ἦν, παρὲξ ἢ ὅσαι πόλεις παρʼ αὐτῶν φασιν ἀποικισθῆναι· κατασκευὴν δὲ ἱερῶν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐς ἐπίδειξιν, τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἐπέξειμι.
There are temples not far from each other, one of Apollo, one of Artemis, and the third of Dionysus. The image of Apollo is naked and made of wood ; it is of native workmanship: the image of Artemis is clothed, and so is that of Dionysus, who is represented with a beard. The sanctuary of Aesculapius is not here, but in another place : his image is a seated figure in stone.
Of all the gods the most honoured by the Aeginetans is Hecate. Every year they celebrate mysteries of Hecate which they affirm to have been instituted by Orpheus the Thracian. Within the enclosure is a temple. The wooden image is a work of Myron: it has one face and one body. Alcamenes, it seems to me, was the first who made three images of Hecate attached to each other. There is such a triple image of her at Athens: it stands beside the temple of the Wingless Victory, and the Athenians call it Hecate on the Tower.
In Aegina, on the way to the mountain of Panhellenian Zeus, there is a sanctuary of Aphaea, about whom Pindar composed a song for the Aeginetans. The Cretans say (for her legend is native to Crete) that Carmanor, who purified Apollo for the slaughter of the python, had a son Eubulus, whose daughter Carme became the mother of Britomartis by Zeus. Britomartis delighted in running and hunting, and she was very dear to Artemis. But Minos fell in love with her, and she, flying from him, flung herself into some nets that were let down to catch fish. Artemis made her a goddess, and she is worshipped not only by the Cretans, but also by the Aeginetans, who say that Britomartis appears to them in their island. Her surname is Aphaea in Aegina, and Dictynna (‘she of the nets’) in Crete.
There is nothing remarkable on Mount Panhellenius except the sanctuary of Zeus. They say that Aeacus made this sanctuary for Zeus.
But the story of Auxesia and Damia —how no rain fell on the land of Epidaurus, how in obedience to an oracle the people caused these images to be made out of olive-wood which they got from the Athenians, how the Epidaurians left off paying the dues which they had covenanted to pay to Athens on the ground that the images were in possession of the Aeginetans, and how the Athenians who crossed over to Aegina to recover the images perished miserably—all this has been accurately and circumstantially narrated by Herodotus, and I have no mind to tell over again what has been already told so well. I will only say that I saw the images and sacrificed to them according to the ritual observed in sacrificing at Eleusis. 6. This account of Aegina may suffice: I have given it for the sake of Aeacus and his exploits. Epidauria is bordered by Troezenia, the inhabitants of which are as much given to magnifying their native land as any people I know. They say that the first man born in the country was Orus. Now to me Orus looks like an Egyptian, not a Greek name. However that may be, they affirm that he reigned, and that the country was called Oraea after him. But, they continue, Althepus, son of Poseidon by Leis, daughter of Orus, succeeded Orus on the throne, and named the country Althepia. They say that in his reign Athena and Poseidon had a dispute for the possession of the land, but ended by holding it in common; for such was the command of Zeus. So they worship Athena under the titles of Polias (‘urban’) and Sthenias (‘strong’), and Poseidon under the title of King. Moreover, their ancient coins have for device a trident and a face of Athena.
Althepus was succeeded on the throne by Saron. They said that it was Saron who built the sanctuary to Saronian Artemis on the shore where the sea is so swampy and shallow that it was called the Phoebaean lagoon. Saron took the greatest delight in hunting, and one day it befell that he chased a doe which fled from him into the sea. He plunged in after it. The doe swam far from land, and Saron after it, till, transported by the ardour of the chase, he found himself in the open sea. Then his strength failed, the waves washed over him, and he was drowned. His body was cast ashore at the grove of Artemis on the Phoebaean lagoon: they buried it within the sacred enclosure ; and from that time the arm of the sea has been known as the Saronic, instead of the Phoebaean, lagoon. What kings reigned after him they do not know till you come to Hyperes and Anthas. These, they say, were sons of Poseidon and Alcyone, daughter of Atlas, and founded the cities of Hyperea and Anthea in the land. But Aetius, son of Anthas, having succeeded to the dominions both of his father and of his uncle, named one of the cities Posidonias. When Troezen and Pittheus joined Aetius there were three kings instead of one, but the balance of power inclined to the sons of Pelops. A proof of it is this: when Troezen died, Pittheus united Hyperea and Anthea, and, gathering the people into the present city, named it Troezen after his brother. Many years afterwards the descendants of Aetius, son of Anthas, set out from Troezen to plant a colony, and founded Halicarnassus and Myndus in Caria. But Anaphlystus and Sphettus, the sons of Troezen, migrated to Attica, and the townships are named after them. The history of Theseus, the son of Pittheus’ daughter, is too well known to be told here.
This much, however, it is necessary that I should add. After the return of the Heraclids, Troezen, like other places, received a colony of Dorians from Argos. Even before that event, however, Troezen had been subject to Argos: Homer in the Catalogue says that the Troezenians were commanded by Diomede. For Diomede and Euryalus, son of Mecisteus, as guardians of the young Cyanippus, son of Aegialeus, led the Argives to Troy. But Sthenelus, as I showed before, came of a more illustrious house, being one of the Anaxorids, as they were called, and he had the best title to the kingdom of Argos. Such is the history of Troezen, omitting a list of the cities which claim to be its colonies. I will now describe the appointments of the sanctuaries and the other sights of Troezen.
Cite This Text