Ἱππολύτῳ δὲ τῷ Θησέως τέμενός τε ἐπιφανέστατον ἀνεῖται καὶ ναὸς ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἄγαλμά ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον. ταῦτα μὲν Διομήδην λέγουσι ποιῆσαι καὶ προσέτι θῦσαι τῷ Ἱππολύτῳ πρῶτον· Τροιζηνίοις δὲ ἱερεὺς μέν ἐστιν Ἱππολύτου τὸν χρόνον τοῦ βίου πάντα ἱερώμενος καὶ θυσίαι καθεστήκασιν ἐπέτειοι, δρῶσι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τοιόνδε· ἑκάστη παρθένος πλόκαμον ἀποκείρεταί οἱ πρὸ γάμου, κειραμένη δὲ ἀνέθηκεν ἐς τὸν ναὸν φέρουσα. ἀποθανεῖν δὲ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐθέλουσι συρέντα ὑπὸ τῶν ἵππων οὐδὲ τὸν τάφον ἀποφαίνουσιν εἰδότες· τὸν δὲ ἐν οὐρανῷ καλούμενον ἡνίοχον, τοῦτον εἶναι νομίζουσιν ἐκεῖνον Ἱππόλυτον τιμὴν παρὰ θεῶν ταύτην ἔχοντα.
τούτου δὲ ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου ναός ἐστιν Ἀπόλλωνος Ἐπιβατηρίου, Διομήδους ἀνάθημα ἐκφυγόντος τὸν χειμῶνα ὃς τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐπεγένετο ἀπὸ Ἰλίου κομιζομένοις· καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τῶν Πυθίων Διομήδην πρῶτον θεῖναί φασι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι. ἐς δὲ τὴν Δαμίαν καὶ Αὐξησίαν—καὶ γὰρ Τροιζηνίοις μέτεστιν αὐτῶν—οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν λέγουσιν ὃν Ἐπιδαύριοι καὶ Αἰγινῆται λόγον, ἀλλὰ ἀφικέσθαι παρθένους ἐκ Κρήτης· στασιασάντων δὲ ὁμοίως τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἁπάντων καὶ ταύτας φασὶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντιστασιωτῶν καταλευσθῆναι, καὶ ἑορτὴν ἄγουσί σφισι Λιθοβόλια ὀνομάζοντες.
κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἕτερον τοῦ περιβόλου μέρος στάδιόν ἐστιν Ἱππολύτου καλούμενον καὶ ναὸς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Ἀφροδίτης Κατασκοπίας· αὐτόθεν γάρ, ὁπότε γυμνάζοιτο ὁ Ἱππόλυτος, ἀπέβλεπεν ἐς αὐτὸν ἐρῶσα ἡ Φαίδρα. ἐνταῦθα ἔτι πεφύκει ἡ μυρσίνη, τὰ φύλλα ὡς καὶ πρότερον ἔγραψα ἔχουσα τετρυπημένα· καὶ ἡνίκα ἠπορεῖτο ἡ Φαίδρα καὶ ῥᾳστώνην τῷ ἔρωτι οὐδεμίαν εὕρισκεν, ἐς ταύτης τὰ φύλλα ἐσιναμώρει τῆς μυρσίνης.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ τάφος Φαίδρας, ἀπέχει δὲ οὐ πολὺ τοῦ Ἱππολύτου μνήματος· τὸ δὲ οὐ πόρρω κέχωσται τῆς μυρσίνης. τοῦ δὲ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐποίησε μὲν Τιμόθεος, Τροιζήνιοι δὲ οὐκ Ἀσκληπιὸν ἀλλὰ εἰκόνα Ἱππολύτου φασὶν εἶναι. καὶ οἰκίαν ἰδὼν οἶδα Ἱππολύτου· πρὸ δὲ αὐτῆς ἐστιν Ἡράκλειος καλουμένη κρήνη, τὸ ὕδωρ ὡς οἱ Τροιζήνιοι λέγουσιν ἀνευρόντος Ἡρακλέους.
ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀκροπόλει τῆς Σθενιάδος καλουμένης ναός ἐστιν Ἀθηνᾶς, αὐτὸ δὲ εἰργάσατο τῆς θεοῦ τὸ ξόανον Κάλλων Αἰγινήτης· μαθητὴς δὲ ὁ Κάλλων ἦν Τεκταίου καὶ Ἀγγελίωνος, οἳ Δηλίοις ἐποίησαν τὸ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος· ὁ δὲ Ἀγγελίων καὶ Τεκταῖος παρὰ Διποίνῳ καὶ Σκύλλιδι ἐδιδάχθησαν.
κατιόντων δὲ αὐτόθεν Λυτηρίου Πανός ἐστιν ἱερόν· Τροιζηνίων γὰρ τοῖς τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχουσιν ἔδειξεν ὀνείρατα ἃ εἶχεν ἄκεσιν λοιμοῦ πιέσαντος τὴν Τροιζηνίαν, Ἀθηναίους δὲ μάλιστα. διαβὰς δὲ καὶ ναὸν ἂν ἴδοις Ἴσιδος καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν Ἀφροδίτης Ἀκραίας· τὸν μὲν ἅτε ἐν μητροπόλει τῇ Τροιζῆνι Ἁλικαρνασσεῖς ἐποίησαν, τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα τῆς Ἴσιδος ἀνέθηκε Τροιζηνίων δῆμος.
ἰοῦσι δὲ τὴν διὰ τῶν ὀρέων ἐς Ἑρμιόνην πηγή τέ ἐστι τοῦ Ὑλλικοῦ ποταμοῦ, Ταυρίου δὲ τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καλουμένου, καὶ πέτρα Θησέως ὀνομαζομένη, μεταβαλοῦσα καὶ αὐτὴ τὸ ὄνομα ἀνελομένου Θησέως ὑπʼ αὐτῇ κρηπῖδας τὰς Αἰγέως καὶ ξίφος· πρότερον δὲ βωμὸς ἐκαλεῖτο Σθενίου Διός. τῆς δὲ πέτρας πλησίον Ἀφροδίτης ἐστὶν ἱερὸν Νυμφίας, ποιήσαντος Θησέως ἡνίκα ἔσχε γυναῖκα Ἑλένην.
ἔστι δὲ ἔξω τείχους καὶ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερὸν Φυταλμίου· μηνίσαντα γάρ σφισι τὸν Ποσειδῶνα ποιεῖν φασιν ἄκαρπον τὴν χώραν ἅλμης ἐς τὰ σπέρματα καὶ τῶν φυτῶν τὰς ῥίζας καθικνουμένης, ἐς ὃ θυσίαις τε εἴξας καὶ εὐχαῖς οὐκέτι ἅλμην ἀνῆκεν ἐς τὴν γῆν. ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος τὸν ναόν ἐστι Δημήτηρ Θεσμοφόρος, Ἀλθήπου καθὰ λέγουσιν ἱδρυσαμένου.
καταβαίνουσι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρὸς τῇ Κελενδέρει καλουμένῃ λιμένα χωρίον ἐστὶν ὃ Γενέθλιον ὀνομάζουσι, τεχθῆναι Θησέα ἐνταῦθα λέγοντες. πρὸ δὲ τοῦ χωρίου τούτου ναός ἐστιν Ἄρεως, Θησέως καὶ ἐνταῦθα Ἀμαζόνας μάχῃ κρατήσαντος· αὗται δʼ ἂν εἴησαν τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ πρὸς Θησέα καὶ Ἀθηναίους ἀγωνισαμένων.
ἐπὶ θάλασσαν δὲ τὴν Ψιφαίαν πορευομένοις κότινος πέφυκεν ὀνομαζόμενος ῥᾶχος στρεπτός. ῥάχους μὲν δὴ καλοῦσι Τροιζήνιοι πᾶν ὅσον ἄκαρπον ἐλαίας, κότινον καὶ φυλλίαν καὶ ἔλαιον· στρεπτὸν δὲ ἐπονομάζουσι τοῦτον, ὅτι ἐνσχεθεισῶν αὐτῷ τῶν ἡνιῶν ἀνετράπη τοῦ Ἱππολύτου τὸ ἅρμα. τούτου δὲ οὐ πολὺ τῆς Σαρωνίας Ἀρτέμιδος ἀφέστηκε τὸ ἱερόν, καὶ τὰ ἐς αὐτὸ ἐμήνυσεν ὁ λόγος ἤδη μοι. τοσόνδε δὲ ἔτι δηλώσω· Σαρώνια γὰρ δὴ κατὰ ἔτος τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι.
A precinct of great renown is consecrated to Hippolytus, son of Theseus: it contains a temple and an ancient image. They say that these were made by Diomede, and that he was besides the first who sacrificed to Hippolytus. There is a priest of Hippolytus at Troezen who holds office for life, and there are annual sacrifices. Further, they observe the following custom :—Every maiden before marriage shears a lock of her hair for Hippolytus, and takes the shorn lock and dedicates it in the temple. They will not allow that Hippolytus was killed by being dragged by his horses, and though they know his grave they do not show it. They think that the constellation called the Charioteer in the sky is Hippolytus, and that he receives this honour from the gods.
Within this enclosure is a temple of Seafaring Apollo: it was dedicated by Diomede after his escape from the storm which burst on the Greeks as they were sailing back from Ilium. And they say that Diomede was the first to celebrate the Pythian games in honour of Apollo. The Troezenians also honour Damia and Auxesia, but they do not tell the same story about them which the Epidaurians and Aeginetans tell. They say that Damia and Auxesia were maidens who came from Crete, and that in a faction fight, in which the whole city turned out to take part, these damsels were stoned to death by the opposite party. And they hold a festival in their honour, which they name the Stone-throwing.
In the other part of the enclosure there is a stadium called the stadium of Hippolytus, and above it is a temple of Peeping Aphrodite ; for from this very spot the amorous Phaedra used to watch Hippolytus at his manly exercises. Here still grows the myrtle with the pierced leaves, as I told before. For being at her wit’s end and finding no ease from the pangs of love, she used to wreak her fury on the leaves of this myrtle. Here, too, is Phaedra’s grave near the tomb of Hippolytus, which is a mound of earth not far from the myrtle-tree. The image of Aesculapius was made by Timotheus ; however, the Troezenians say that it is not Aesculapius, but a statue of Hippolytus. I saw, too, the house of Hippolytus. In front of it is a fountain called the fountain of Hercules, because Hercules, according to the Troezenians, discovered the water. 4. In the acropolis there is a temple of Athena, who is called Sthenias (‘strong’). The wooden image of the goddess was wrought by Callon of Aegina. Callon was a pupil of Tectaeus and Angelion, the artists who made the image of Apollo for the Delians, and who were themselves trained in the school of Dipoenus and Scyllis.
Descending from the acropolis, we come to a sanctuary of Pan the Deliverer. For once when the plague had ravaged Athens and crossed over into Troezenia, Pan revealed to the magistrates in dreams a remedy for the plague.
There is also a temple of Isis, and above it a temple of Aphrodite of the Height. This latter temple was built here by the Halicarnassians because Troezen was their mother-city ; but the image of Isis was dedicated by the people of Troezen.
On the road that leads through the mountains to Hermionis is a spring of the river Hyllicus, originally called the Taurius. There is also a rock named the rock of Theseus: it was formerly called the altar of Strong Zeus, but the name was changed after Theseus had picked up from under it the boots and sword of Aegeus. Near the rock is a sanctuary of Bridal Aphrodite, made by Theseus when he took Helen to wife. Outside the walls there is also a sanctuary of Poseidon the Nurturer. For they say that, being wroth with them, Poseidon blasted the country, by causing the salt water to reach the seeds and roots of plants; till at last, softened by sacrifices and prayers, he no longer sent the salt water over the land. Above the temple of Poseidon is a temple of Demeter the Lawgiver: it was founded, they say, by Althepus. 8. The harbour is at a place called Celenderis. On the way down to it we come to a place which they name Genethlium (‘birthplace’): they say Theseus was born there. In front of this place is a temple of Ares: it marks the scene of one of Theseus’ victories over the Amazons. These Amazons were probably some of the host that fought against Theseus and the Athenians in Attica. On the road to the Psiphaean Sea there grows a wild olive named the Twisted Rhachos. Rhachos is the name given by the Troezenians to every species of olive that does not bear fruit, whether it be the kotinos, the phulia, or the elaios. This particular rhachos they surname ‘Twisted,’ because Hippolytus’ chariot was upset through the reins getting entangled in the tree. Not far from it is the sanctuary of Saronian Artemis, the story of which I have already told. I will only add that every year they celebrate in her honour a festival called Saronia.
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