ἀπὸ δὴ τοῦ ὄρους τούτου τὸ ἄλσος ἀρχόμενον πλατάνων τὸ πολὺ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καθήκει. ὅροι δὲ αὐτοῦ τῇ μὲν ποταμὸς ὁ Ποντῖνος, τῇ δὲ ἕτερος ποταμός· Ἀμυμώνη δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς Δαναοῦ θυγατρὸς ὄνομα τῷ ποταμῷ. ἐντὸς δὲ τοῦ ἄλσους ἀγάλματα ἔστι μὲν Δήμητρος Προσύμνης, ἔστι δὲ Διονύσου, καὶ Δήμητρος καθήμενον ἄγαλμα οὐ μέγα·
ταῦτα μὲν λίθου πεποιημένα, ἑτέρωθι δʼ ἐν ναῷ Διόνυσος Σαώτης καθήμενον ξόανον καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ἄγαλμα ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ λίθου· ἀναθεῖναι δὲ αὐτὸ τὰς θυγατέρας λέγουσι τὰς Δαναοῦ, Δαναὸν δὲ αὐτὸν τὸ ἱερὸν ἐπὶ Ποντίνῳ ποιῆσαι τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς. καταστήσασθαι δὲ τῶν Λερναίων τὴν τελετὴν Φιλάμμωνά φασι. τὰ μὲν οὖν λεγόμενα ἐπὶ τοῖς δρωμένοις δῆλά ἐστιν οὐκ ὄντα ἀρχαῖα·
ἃ δὲ ἤκουσα ἐπὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ γεγράφθαι τῇ πεποιημένῃ τοῦ ὀρειχάλκου, οὐδὲ ταῦτα ὄντα Φιλάμμωνος Ἀρριφῶν εὗρε, τὸ μὲν ἀνέκαθεν Τρικωνιεὺς τῶν ἐν Αἰτωλίᾳ, τὰ δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Λυκίων τοῖς μάλιστα ὁμοίως δόκιμος, δεινὸς δὲ ἐξευρεῖν ἃ μή τις πρότερον εἶδε, καὶ δὴ καὶ ταῦτα φωράσας ἐπὶ τῷδε. τὰ ἔπη, καὶ ὅσα οὐ μετὰ μέτρου μεμιγμένα ἦν τοῖς ἔπεσι, τὰ πάντα Δωριστὶ ἐπεποίητο· πρὶν δὲ Ἡρακλείδας κατελθεῖν ἐς Πελοπόννησον, τὴν αὐτὴν ἠφίεσαν Ἀθηναίοις οἱ Ἀργεῖοι φωνήν· ἐπὶ δὲ Φιλάμμωνος οὐδὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῶν Δωριέων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐς ἅπαντας ἠκούετο Ἕλληνας.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἀπέφαινεν οὕτως ἔχοντα, τῆς δὲ Ἀμυμώνης πέφυκεν ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ πλάτανος· ὑπὸ ταύτῃ τὴν ὕδραν τραφῆναι τῇ πλατάνῳ φασίν. ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ θηρίον πείθομαι τοῦτο καὶ μεγέθει διενεγκεῖν ὑδρῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὸν ἰὸν οὕτω δή τι ἔχειν ἀνίατον ὡς τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἀπὸ τῆς χολῆς αὐτοῦ τὰς ἀκίδας φαρμακεῦσαι τῶν ὀιστῶν· κεφαλὴν δὲ εἶχεν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν μίαν καὶ οὐ πλείονας, Πείσανδρος δὲ ὁ Καμιρεύς, ἵνα τὸ θηρίον τε δοκοίη φοβερώτερον καὶ αὐτῷ γίνηται ἡ ποίησις ἀξιόχρεως μᾶλλον, ἀντὶ τούτων τὰς κεφαλὰς ἐποίησε τῇ ὕδρᾳ τὰς πολλάς.
εἶδον δὲ καὶ πηγὴν Ἀμφιαράου καλουμένην καὶ τὴν Ἀλκυονίαν λίμνην, διʼ ἧς φασιν Ἀργεῖοι Διόνυσον ἐς τὸν Ἅιδην ἐλθεῖν Σεμέλην ἀνάξοντα, τὴν δὲ ταύτῃ κάθοδον δεῖξαί οἱ Πόλυμνον. τῇ δὲ Ἀλκυονίᾳ πέρας τοῦ βάθους οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδέ τινα οἶδα ἄνθρωπον ἐς τὸ τέρμα αὐτῆς οὐδεμιᾷ μηχανῇ καθικέσθαι δυνηθέντα, ὅπου καὶ Νέρων σταδίων πολλῶν κάλους ποιησάμενος καὶ συνάψας ἀλλήλοις, ἀπαρτήσας δὲ καὶ μόλυβδον ἀπʼ αὐτῶν καὶ εἰ δή τι χρήσιμον ἄλλο ἐς τὴν πεῖραν, οὐδὲ οὗτος οὐδένα ἐξευρεῖν ἐδυνήθη ὅρον τοῦ βάθους.
καὶ τόδε ἤκουσα ἄλλο· τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς λίμνης ὡς ἰδόντα εἰκάσαι γαληνόν ἐστι καὶ ἠρεμαῖον, παρεχόμενον δὲ ὄψιν τοιαύτην διανήχεσθαι τολμήσαντα πάντα τινὰ καθέλκειν πέφυκε καὶ ἐς βυθὸν ὑπολαβὸν ἀπήνεγκε. περίοδος δὲ τῆς λίμνης ἐστὶν οὐ πολλή, ἀλλὰ ὅσον τε σταδίου τρίτον· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτῆς πόα καὶ σχοῖνοι πεφύκασι. τὰ δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν Διονύσῳ δρώμενα ἐν νυκτὶ κατὰ ἔτος ἕκαστον οὐχ ὅσιον ἐς ἅπαντας ἦν μοι γράψαι.
Beginning at this mountain, the grove, which consists mostly of plane-trees, reaches down to the sea. It is bounded on the one side by the river Pontinus, and on the other side by another river, called Amymone, after the daughter of Danaus.
In the grove are images of Demeter, surnamed Prosymne, and of Dionysus: there is also a small seated image of Demeter. These images are made of stone. In another temple there is a seated wooden image of Saviour Dionysus. There is also a stone image of Aphrodite beside the sea. They say that it was dedicated by the daughters of Danaus, and that Danaus himself made the sanctuary of Athena on the banks of the Pontinus.
The Lernaean mysteries are said to have been instituted by Philammon. The stories told about the rites are clearly not ancient. Other stories, I am told, purporting to be by Philammon, have been found engraved on a piece of copper fashioned in the shape of a heart. But these stories also have been proved not to be by Philammon. The discovery was made by Arrhiphon, an Aetolian of Triconium by descent, but now one of the most distinguished men in Lycia. He is a man quick to detect what had eluded every one else before him. The way in which he detected the spuriousness of the verses in question was this. The composition, a medley of verse and prose, was wholly in the Doric dialect. But before the return of the Heraclids to Peloponnese the Argives spoke the same dialect as the Athenians ; indeed, in Philammon’s time, the very name of the Dorians was probably not universally known in Greece. All this Arrhiphon proved. 4. At the source of the Amymone grows a plane-tree: they say that under this plane-tree the hydra was bred. I believe that this beast was larger than other water-snakes, and that its venom was so deadly that Hercules poisoned the barbs of his arrows with its gall; but I do not think it had more than one head. The poet Pisander, of Camirus, multiplied the hydra’s heads to make the monster more terrific, and to add to the dignity of his own verses.
I saw also a spring, called the spring of Amphiaraus, and the Alcyonian Lake. Through this lake, the Argives say, Dionysus went to hell to fetch up Semele; and they say that Polymnus showed him this way down to hell. The lake is bottomless. I never heard of any one who was able to sound its depth. Nero himself made the experiment, taking every precaution to ensure success. He had lines made many furlongs long: these he joined together and weighted with lead, but he could find no bottom. I was told, too, that smooth and still as the water of the lake looks to the eye, it yet has the property of sucking down any one who is rash enough to swim in it: the water catches him, and sweeps him down into the depths. The circuit of the lake is not great, about a third of a furlong. Grass and rushes grow on the brink. The lake is the scene of certain yearly rites, performed by night, in honour of Dionysus. But it would be sinful for me to divulge them.
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