τῆς δὲ Τροιζηνίας γῆς ἐστιν ἰσθμὸς ἐπὶ πολὺ διέχων ἐς θάλασσαν, ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ πόλισμα οὐ μέγα ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ Μέθανα ᾤκισται. Ἴσιδος δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἱερόν ἐστι καὶ ἄγαλμα ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς Ἑρμοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον Ἡρακλέους. τοῦ δὲ πολίσματος τριάκοντά που στάδια ἀπέχει θερμὰ λουτρά· φασὶ δὲ Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ Δημητρίου Μακεδόνων βασιλεύοντος τότε πρῶτον τὸ ὕδωρ φανῆναι, φανῆναι δὲ οὐχ ὕδωρ εὐθὺς ἀλλὰ πῦρ ἀναζέσαι πολὺ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτῳ μαρανθέντι ῥυῆναι τὸ ὕδωρ, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἄνεισι θερμόν τε καὶ δεινῶς ἁλμυρόν. λουσαμένῳ δὲ ἐνταῦθα οὔτε ὕδωρ ἐστὶν ἐγγὺς ψυχρὸν οὔτε ἐσπεσόντα ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν ἀκινδύνως νήχεσθαι· θηρία γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα καὶ κύνας παρέχεται πλείστους.
ὃ δὲ ἐθαύμασα ἐν τοῖς Μεθάνοις μάλιστα, γράψω καὶ τοῦτο. ἄνεμος ὁ Λὶψ βλαστανούσαις ταῖς ἀμπέλοις ἐμπίπτων ἐκ τοῦ Σαρωνικοῦ κόλπου τὴν βλάστην σφῶν ἀφαυαίνει· κατιόντος οὖν ἔτι τοῦ πνεύματος ἀλεκτρυόνα τὰ πτερὰ ἔχοντα διὰ παντὸς λευκὰ διελόντες ἄνδρες δύο ἐναντίοι περιθέουσι τὰς ἀμπέλους, ἥμισυ ἑκάτερος τοῦ ἀλεκτρυόνος φέρων· ἀφικόμενοι δʼ ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ ὅθεν ὡρμήθησαν, κατορύσσουσιν ἐνταῦθα.
τοῦτο μὲν πρὸς τὸν Λίβα σφίσιν ἐστὶν εὑρημένον· τὰς δὲ νησῖδας αἳ πρόκεινται τῆς χώρας ἀριθμὸν ἐννέα οὔσας Πέλοπος μὲν καλοῦσι, τοῦ θεοῦ δὲ ὕοντος μίαν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὔ φασιν ὕεσθαι. τοῦτο δὲ εἰ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν οὐκ οἶδα, ἔλεγον δὲ οἱ περὶ τὰ Μέθανα, ἐπεὶ χάλαζάν γε ἤδη θυσίαις εἶδον καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς ἀνθρώπους ἀποτρέποντας.
τὰ μὲν δὴ Μέθανα ἰσθμός ἐστι τῆς Πελοποννήσου· ἐντὸς δὲ τοῦ ἰσθμοῦ τῆς Τροιζηνίων ὅμορός ἐστιν Ἑρμιόνη. οἰκιστὴν δὲ τῆς ἀρχαίας πόλεως Ἑρμιονεῖς γενέσθαι φασὶν Ἑρμίονα Εὔρωπος. τὸν δὲ Εὔρωπα —ἦν γὰρ δὴ Φορωνέως—Ἡροφάνης ὁ Τροιζήνιος ἔφασκεν εἶναι νόθον· οὐ γὰρ δή ποτε ἐς Ἄργον τὸν Νιόβης θυγατριδοῦν ὄντα Φορωνέως τὴν ἐν Ἄργει περιελθεῖν ἂν ἀρχὴν παρόντος Φορωνεῖ γνησίου παιδός.
ἐγὼ δέ, εἰ καὶ γνήσιον ὄντα Εὔρωπα πρότερον τὸ χρεὼν ἢ Φορωνέα ἐπέλαβεν, εὖ οἶδα ὡς οὐκ ἔμελλεν ὁ παῖς αὐτῷ Νιόβης παιδὶ ἴσα οἴσεσθαι Διός γε εἶναι δοκοῦντι. ἐπῴκησαν δὲ καὶ Ἑρμιόνα ὕστερον Δωριεῖς οἱ ἐξ Ἄργους· πόλεμον δὲ οὐ δοκῶ γενέσθαι σφίσιν, ἐλέγετο γὰρ ἂν ὑπὸ Ἀργείων.
ἔστι δὲ ὁδὸς ἔς Ἑρμιόνα ἐκ Τροιζῆνος κατὰ τὴν πέτραν ἣ πρότερον μὲν ἐκαλεῖτο Σθενίου Διὸς βωμός, μετὰ δὲ Θησέα ἀνελόμενον τὰ γνωρίσματα ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ νῦν Θησέως αὐτήν. κατὰ ταύτην οὖν τὴν πέτραν ἰοῦσιν ὀρεινὴν ὁδόν, ἔστι μὲν Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπίκλησιν Πλατανιστίου ναός, ἔστι δὲ Εἰλεοὶ χωρίον, ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ Δήμητρος καὶ Κόρης τῆς Δήμητρος ἱερά· τὰ δὲ πρὸς θάλασσαν ἐν ὅροις τῆς Ἑρμιονίδος ἱερὸν Δήμητρός ἐστιν ἐπίκλησιν Θερμασίας.
σταδίους δὲ ὀγδοήκοντα ἀπέχει μάλιστα ἄκρα Σκυλλαῖον ἀπὸ τῆς Νίσου καλουμένη θυγατρός. ὡς γὰρ δὴ τὴν Νίσαιαν ὁ Μίνως καὶ τὰ Μέγαρα εἷλεν ἐκείνης προδούσης, οὔτε γυναῖκα ἕξειν αὐτὴν ἔτι ἔφασκε καὶ προσέταξε τοῖς Κρησὶν ἐκβάλλειν τῆς νεώς· ἀποθανοῦσαν δὲ ἀπέρριψεν ἐς τὴν ἄκραν ταύτην ὁ κλύδων. τάφον δὲ οὐκ ἀποφαίνουσιν αὐτῆς, ἀλλὰ περιοφθῆναι τὸν νεκρόν φασι διαφορηθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ θαλάσσης ὀρνίθων.
ἀπὸ δὲ Σκυλλαίου πλέοντι ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἄκρα τέ ἐστιν ἑτέρα Βουκέφαλα καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἄκραν νῆσοι, πρώτη μὲν Ἁλιοῦσσα—παρέχεται δὲ αὕτη λιμένα ἐνορμίσασθαι ναυσὶν ἐπιτήδειον—, μετὰ δὲ Πιτυοῦσσα, τρίτη δὲ ἣν Ἀριστερὰν ὀνομάζουσι. ταύτας δὲ παραπλεύσαντί ἐστιν αὖθις ἄκρα Κωλυεργία ἀνέχουσα ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου, μετὰ δὲ αὐτὴν νῆσος Τρίκρανα καλουμένη καὶ ὄρος ἐς θάλασσαν ἀπὸ τῆς Πελοποννήσου προβεβλημένον Βούπορθμος. ἐν Βουπόρθμῳ δὲ πεποίηται μὲν ἱερὸν Δήμητρος καὶ τῆς παιδός, πεποίηται δὲ Ἀθηνᾶς·
ἐπίκλησις δέ ἐστι τῇ θεῷ Προμαχόρμα. πρόκειται δὲ Βουπόρθμου νῆσος Ἀπεροπία καλουμένη, τῆς δὲ Ἀπεροπίας ἀφέστηκεν οὐ πολὺ ἑτέρα νῆσος Ὑδρέα. μετὰ ταύτην αἰγιαλός τε παρήκει τῆς ἠπείρου μηνοειδὴς καὶ ἀκτὴ μετὰ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν ἐπὶ Ποσείδιον, ἐκ θαλάσσης μὲν ἀρχομένη τῆς πρὸς ἀνατολάς, προήκουσα δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν· ἔχει δὲ καὶ λιμένας ἐν αὑτῇ. μῆκος μὲν δὴ τῆς ἀκτῆς ἐστιν ἑπτά που στάδια, πλάτος δὲ ᾗ πλατυτάτη σταδίων τριῶν οὐ πλέον.
ἐνταῦθα ἡ προτέρα πόλις τοῖς Ἑρμιονεῦσιν ἦν. ἔστι δέ σφισι καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἱερὰ αὐτόθι, Ποσειδῶνος μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀκτῆς τῇ ἀρχῇ, προελθοῦσι δὲ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἐς τὰ μετέωρα ναὸς Ἀθηνᾶς, παρὰ δὲ αὐτῷ σταδίου θεμέλια· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ τοὺς Τυνδάρεω παῖδας ἀγωνίσασθαι λέγουσιν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον οὐ μέγα τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερόν, ὁ δὲ ὄροφος κατερρύηκεν αὐτῷ. καὶ Ἡλίῳ ναὸς καὶ ἄλλος Χάρισιν, ὁ δὲ Σαράπιδι ᾠκοδόμηται καὶ Ἴσιδι· καὶ περίβολοι μεγάλων λίθων λογάδων εἰσίν, ἐντὸς δὲ αὐτῶν ἱερὰ δρῶσιν ἀπόρρητα Δήμητρι.
τοσαῦτα μὲν Ἑρμιονεῦσίν ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα· ἡ δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν πόλις ἀπέχει μὲν τῆς ἄκρας, ἐφʼ ᾗ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος τὸ ἱερόν, τέσσαρας μάλιστα σταδίους, κειμένη δὲ ἐν ὁμαλῷ τὰ πρῶτα ἠρέμα ἐς πρόσαντες ἄνεισι, τὸ δέ ἐστιν ἤδη τοῦ Πρωνός· Πρῶνα γὰρ τὸ ὄρος τοῦτο ὀνομάζουσι. τεῖχος μὲν δὴ περὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἑρμιόνα ἕστηκε· τὰ δὲ ἐς συγγραφὴν καὶ ἄλλα παρείχετο καὶ ὧν αὐτὸς ποιήσασθαι μάλιστα ἠξίωσα μνήμην. Ἀφροδίτης ναός ἐστιν ἐπίκλησιν Ποντίας καὶ Λιμενίας τῆς αὐτῆς, ἄγαλμα δὲ λευκοῦ λίθου μεγέθει τε μέγα καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τέχνῃ θέας ἄξιον.
καὶ ναὸς ἕτερός ἐστιν Ἀφροδίτης· αὕτη καὶ ἄλλας ἔχει παρὰ Ἑρμιονέων τιμάς, καὶ ταῖς παρθένοις καὶ ἢν γυνὴ χηρεύουσα παρὰ ἄνδρα μέλλῃ φοιτᾶν, ἁπάσαις πρὸ γάμου θύειν καθέστηκεν ἐνταῦθα. Δήμητρος δὲ ἱερὰ πεποίηται Θερμασίας, τὸ μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς πρὸς τὴν Τροιζηνίαν ὅροις, ὡς ἐστὶν εἰρημένον ἤδη μοι, τὸ δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει.
In Troezenia there is a peninsula which runs far out into the sea, and on the peninsula is built a little town, Methana, beside the sea. Here is a sanctuary of Isis; and in the market-place there are two images, one of Hermes, the other of Hercules.
About thirty furlongs from the town are warm baths. They say that the water first made its appearance in the reign of Antigonus, son of Demetrius, king of Macedonia, but that before the water appeared a great flame burst up from the ground, and when it had died down the water gushed forth. To this day the water still wells up hot and intensely salt. If you bathe in it you will find no cold water near, and it is not safe to take a plunge and a swim in the sea, for it swarms with sharks, not to speak of other sea beasts.
But what surprised me most at Methana was this. When the vines are budding, and a south-wester sweeps down on them from the Saronic Gulf, it blights the tender shoots. So, while the squall is still coming, two men take a cock, every feather of which must be white, rend it in two, and run round the vines in opposite directions, each carrying a half of the cock, and when they come back to the place from which they started they bury the pieces there. This is their device for counteracting a south-wester.
The islets, nine in number, which lie off the coast are called the Isles of Pelops, and there is one of them on which they say that no rain falls when it is raining everywhere else. Whether this be so I know not, but the people at Methana said so, and I have seen folk before now trying to keep off hail by sacrifices and spells. 5. Methana, then, is a peninsula. Inside of it Troezenia is bounded by Hermionis. The Hermionians say that the founder of the ancient city was Hermion, son of Europs. Europs was a son of Phoroneus, but according to Herophanes, the Troezenian, he was a bastard; for if Phoroneus had had a legitimate son the kingdom of Argos would never have devolved on his daughter’s son, Argus, son of Niobe. But even supposing Europs was legitimate, and died before Phoroneus, sure am I that his son would not have ranked with Niobe’s son, whose reputed father was Zeus. Afterwards the town of Hermion, like other places, received an influx of Dorian settlers from Argos. But there was no fighting, I take it, or the Argives would have told of it.
There is a road from Troezen to Hermion by the rock which was formerly called the altar of Strong Zeus, but which the moderns have named the rock of Theseus ever since Theseus picked up the tokens there. Following a mountain road which’runs by this rock we pass a temple of Apollo, surnamed Apollo of the Plane-tree Grove; and a place Ilei, in which there are sanctuaries of Demeter and her daughter the Maid. Towards the sea on the borders of Hermionis there is a sanctuary of Demeter surnamed Warmth.
Just eighty furlongs off is Cape Scyllaeum, called after the daughter of Niseus. For when Minos had taken Nisaea and Megara through her treason, he declared that never should she be his wife, and bade the Cretans pitch her overboard. The drowned woman was washed ashore by the waves on this cape. But no grave of her is shown; for they say that the corpse was left to be mangled by the birds of the sea.
Sailing from Scyllaeum towards the capital you round another cape named Bucephala (‘ox-head’), and after it there are islands. The first island is Haliussa (‘salt island’): it has a harbour where there is good anchorage for ships. The next is Pityussa (‘pine-tree island’), and the third is that which they name Aristerae. Having sailed past these islands you come to another cape called Colyergia, running out from the mainland, and after it to an island called Tricrana (‘three-headed’), and to a mountain jutting out into the sea from Peloponnese. The mountain is Buporthmus (‘ox-ferry’), and on it is a sanctuary of Demeter and her daughter, and a sanctuary of Athena, who bears the surname of Guardian of the Anchorage.
Off Buporthmus lies an island called Aperopia, and not far from Aperopia is another island, Hydrea. After Hydrea there is a long crescent-shaped beach on the mainland ; and after the beach a spit of land runs eastward into the sea. On this promontory there are harbours. The length of the spit is about seven furlongs: its greatest breadth is not more than three. 10. Here stood the former city of Hermion, and there are still some sanctuaries on the spot. On the seaward end of the spit stands a sanctuary of Poseidon. Farther inland is a temple of Athena; and beside it are foundations of a stadium, in which the sons of Tyndareus are said to have contended. There is also another small sanctuary of Athena, but its roof has fallen in. Further, there is a temple to the Sun, another to the Graces, and another to Serapis and Isis. There are also enclosures formed of large unhewn stones: within these enclosures they perform secret rites in honour of Demeter. Such are the remains of Hermion on this site. The present city is just four furlongs from the cape on which the sanctuary of Poseidon stands. The town begins on flat ground, but rises gradually up the slope of Mount Pron; for that is the name of the mountain.
A wall runs all round the town. Hermion presented a number of notable objects. Those which struck me personally as most worthy of mention were as follows. There is a temple of Aphrodite, surnamed Goddess of the Deep Sea and Goddess of the Haven. Her image is of white marble; it is of colossal size and admirable workmanship. There is also another temple of Aphrodite. Various honours are paid to the goddess of this temple by the Hermionians. Amongst others, it is the custom that every maid and every widow who is about to wed shall offer sacrifice here before her marriage. There are also two sanctuaries of Demeter, surnamed Warmth: one of them is on the frontier of Troezenia, as I said before: the other is here in the city.
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