πλησίον δὲ ἔστι μὲν Κυνόρτου τοῦ Ἀμύκλα τάφος, ἔστι δὲ καὶ Κάστορος μνῆμα, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἱερὸν πεποίηται· τεσσαρακοστῷ γὰρ ὕστερον ἔτει τῆς μάχης τῆς πρὸς Ἴδαν καὶ Λυγκέα θεοὺς τοὺς Τυνδάρεω παῖδας καὶ οὐ πρότερον νομισθῆναί φασι. δείκνυται δὲ πρὸς τῇ Σκιάδι καὶ Ἴδα καὶ Λυγκέως τάφος. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τοῦ λόγου τὸ εἰκὸς ἐτάφησαν ἐν τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ καὶ οὐ ταύτῃ·
Μεσσηνίων δὲ αἱ συμφοραὶ καὶ ὁ χρόνος, ὅσον ἔφυγον ἐκ Πελοποννήσου, πολλὰ τῶν ἀρχαίων καὶ κατελθοῦσιν ἐποίησεν ἄγνωστα, ἅτε δὲ ἐκείνων οὐκ εἰδότων ἔστιν ἤδη τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἀμφισβητεῖν. Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ ἀπαντικρὺ τῆς Ὀλυμπίας Ἀφροδίτης ἐστὶ ναὸς Κόρης Σωτείρας· ποιῆσαι δὲ τὸν Θρᾷκα Ὀρφέα λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ Ἄβαριν ἀφικόμενον ἐξ Ὑπερβορέων.
ὁ δὲ Καρνειός, ὃν Οἰκέταν ἐπονομάζουσι, τιμὰς εἶχεν ἐν Σπάρτῃ καὶ πρὶν Ἡρακλείδας κατελθεῖν, ἵδρυτο δὲ ἐν οἰκίᾳ Κριοῦ τοῦ Θεοκλέους, ἀνδρὸς μάντεως· τούτου δὲ τοῦ Κριοῦ γεμιζούσῃ τῇ θυγατρὶ ὕδωρ συντυχόντες κατάσκοποι τῶν Δωριέων αὐτῇ τε ἀφίκοντο ἐς λόγους καὶ παρὰ τὸν Κριὸν ἐλθόντες διδάσκονται τὴν ἅλωσιν τῆς Σπάρτης.
Κάρνειον δὲ Ἀπόλλωνα Δωριεῦσι μὲν τοῖς πᾶσι σέβεσθαι καθέστηκεν ἀπὸ Κάρνου γένος ἐξ Ἀκαρνανίας, μαντευομένου δὲ ἐξ Ἀπόλλωνος· τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν Κάρνον ἀποκτείναντος Ἱππότου τοῦ Φύλαντος ἐνέπεσεν ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον τοῖς Δωριεῦσι μήνιμα Ἀπόλλωνος, καὶ Ἱππότης τε ἔφυγεν ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ καὶ Δωριεῦσιν ἀπὸ τούτου τὸν Ἀκαρνᾶνα μάντιν καθέστηκεν ἱλάσκεσθαι. ἀλλὰ γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίοις οὐχ οὗτος ὁ Οἰκέτας ἐστὶ Καρνειός, ὁ δὲ ἐν τοῦ μάντεως Κριοῦ τιμώμενος Ἀχαιῶν ἔτι ἐχόντων τὴν Σπάρτην.
Πραξίλλῃ μὲν δὴ πεποιημένα ἐστὶν ὡς Εὐρώπης εἴη καὶ Διὸς ὁ Κάρνειος καὶ αὐτὸν ἀνεθρέψατο Ἀπόλλων καὶ Λητώ· λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλος ἐπʼ αὐτῷ λόγος, ἐν τῇ Ἴδῃ τῇ Τρωικῇ κρανείας ἐν Ἀπόλλωνος ἄλσει πεφυκυίας τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐκτεμεῖν ἐς τοῦ ἵππου τοῦ δουρείου τὴν ποίησιν· μαθόντες δὲ ὀργήν σφισιν ἔχειν τὸν θεὸν θυσίαις ἱλάσκονται καὶ Ἀπόλλωνα ὀνομάζουσι Κάρνειον ἀπὸ τῶν κρανειῶν, ὑπερθέντες τὸ ῥῶ κατὰ δή τι ἀρχαῖον.
τοῦ Καρνείου δὲ οὐ πόρρω καλούμενόν ἐστιν ἄγαλμα Ἀφεταίου· τοῖς δὲ Πηνελόπης μνηστῆρσί φασιν ἐντεῦθεν γενέσθαι τοῦ δρόμου τὴν ἀρχήν. ἔστι δέ τι χωρίον ἔχον στοὰς ἐν τετραγώνῳ τῷ σχήματι, ἔνθα σφίσιν ἐπιπράσκετο ὁ ῥῶπος τὸ ἀρχαῖον· πρὸς τούτῳ Διὸς Ἀμβουλίου καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἐστιν Ἀμβουλίας βωμὸς καὶ Διοσκούρων καὶ τούτων Ἀμβουλίων.
ἀπαντικρὺ δὲ ἥ τε ὀνομαζομένη Κολώνα καὶ Διονύσου Κολωνάτα ναός, πρὸς αὐτῷ δὲ τέμενός ἐστιν ἥρωος, ὃν τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐς Σπάρτην Διονύσῳ φασὶ γενέσθαι ἡγεμόνα· τῷ δὲ ἥρωι τούτῳ πρὶν ἢ τῷ θεῷ θύουσιν αἱ Διονυσιάδες καὶ αἱ Λευκιππίδες. τὰς δὲ ἄλλας ἕνδεκα ἃς καὶ αὐτὰς Διονυσιάδας ὀνομάζουσι, ταύταις δρόμου προτιθέασιν ἀγῶνα·
δρᾶν δὲ οὕτω σφίσιν ἦλθεν ἐκ Δελφῶν. τοῦ Διονύσου δὲ οὐ μακρὰν Διὸς ἱερόν ἐστιν Εὐανέμου, τούτου δὲ ἐν δεξιᾷ Πλευρῶνος ἡρῷον. γεγόνασι δὲ οἱ Τυνδάρεω παῖδες τὰ πρὸς μητρὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ Πλευρῶνος· Θέστιον γὰρ τὸν Λήδας πατέρα Ἄσιός φησιν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν Ἀγήνορος παῖδα εἶναι τοῦ Πλευρῶνος. τοῦ δὲ ἡρῴου λόφος ἐστὶν οὐ πόρρω καὶ Ἥρας ἐπὶ τῷ λόφῳ ναὸς Ἀργείας· ἱδρύσασθαι δὲ Εὐρυδίκην φασὶ Λακεδαίμονος θυγατέρα, γυναῖκα δὲ Ἀκρισίου τοῦ Ἄβαντος. Ἥρας δὲ ἱερὸν Ὑπερχειρίας κατὰ μαντείαν ἐποιήθη, τοῦ Εὐρώτα πολὺ τῆς γῆς σφισιν ἐπικλύζοντος.
ξόανον δὲ ἀρχαῖον καλοῦσιν Ἀφροδίτης Ἥρας· ἐπὶ δὲ θυγατρὶ γαμουμένῃ νενομίκασι τὰς μητέρας τῇ θεῷ θύειν. τοῦ λόφου δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐς δεξιὰν ὁδὸν Ἑτοιμοκλέους ἐστὶν εἰκών· τῷ δὲ Ἑτοιμοκλεῖ καὶ αὐτῷ καὶ Ἱπποσθένει τῷ πατρὶ πάλης εἰσὶν Ὀλυμπικαὶ νῖκαι, συναμφοτέροις μὲν μία τε καὶ δέκα, τῷ δὲ Ἱπποσθένει μιᾷ νίκῃ τὸν υἱὸν παρελθεῖν ὑπῆρξεν.
Near it is the grave of Cynortas, son of Amyclas, and the tomb of Castor, over which a sanctuary has been made. For they say that it was not till forty years after the battle with Idas and Lynceus that the sons of Tyndareus were ranked with the gods. Beside the Scias is shown the grave of Idas and Lynceus. It is natural to suppose that they were buried in Messenia rather than here. But though the Messenian exiles have been restored to their homes, their calamities and long exile from Peloponnese have effaced from their memory much of the ancient history of their country, so that it is now open to any one to lay claim to traditions to which the true heirs have forgotten their right.
Opposite to Olympian Aphrodite is a temple of the Saviour Maid (Kore). Some say that it was made by Orpheus the Thracian, others that it was the work of Abaris, who came from the land of the Hyperboreans. Carneus, whom they surname Domestic, was worshipped in Sparta even before the return of the Heraclids. He had a shrine in the house of Crius, son of Theocles, a soothsayer. As the daughter of Crius was filling her pitcher with water, some spies of the Dorians fell in with her and talked with her, and came to Crius, who told them how Sparta should be taken.
All the Dorians have been wont to worship Carnean Apollo from the time of Carnus, an Acarnanian, who was inspired with the gift of soothsaying by Apollo. This Carnus was slain by Hippotes, son of Phylas, and therefore the wrath of Apollo fell on the Dorian camp. Hippotes fled on account of the murder, and from that time the Dorians have been wont to propitiate the Acarnanian seer. But the Domestic Carneus of the Lacedaemonians is not this Carnus, but the deity who was worshipped in the house of the soothsayer Crius, while the Achaeans still held Sparta. The poetess Praxilla says that Carneus was the son of Europa, and was brought up by Apollo and Latona. Another story is that in the grove of Apollo, on the Trojan Mount Ida, there grew some cornel-trees (kraneia) which the Greeks cut down to make the Wooden Horse; but perceiving that the god was wroth with them they appeased him with sacrifices, and named him Carnean Apollo after the cornel-trees, transposing the letter R, which is assumed to have been an ancient trick of speech.
Not far from Carneus is an image called the image of Aphetaeus. Here they say was the starting-point from which the wooers of Penelope began to run. There is also a square flanked with colonnades, where small wares used to be sold long ago. Beside it is an altar of Ambulian Zeus, Ambulian Athena, and the Ambulian Dioscuri.
Opposite is the place named Colona, and a temple of Dionysus Colonatas. Beside the temple is the precinct of a hero who is said to have guided Dionysus on his way to Sparta. To this hero the women who are called the Dionysiades and the Leucippides sacrifice before they sacrifice to the god; but the other eleven women, whom they also name Dionysiades, are set to run a race. This practice was derived from Delphi. Not far from the temple of Dionysus is a sanctuary of Zeus of the Fair Wind, on the right of which is a shrine of the hero Pleuron. The sons of Tyndareus are descended on their mother’s side from Pleuron; for Areus in his epic poem says that Thestius the father of Leda was the son of Agenor, who was the son of Pleuron.
Not far from the shrine of the hero is a hill, and on the hill is a temple of Argive Hera. They say the temple was founded by Eurydice, daughter of Lacedaemon and wife of Acrisius, the son of Abas. The sanctuary of Protectress Hera was made by the direction of an oracle at a time when the Eurotas was flooding the country far and wide. There is an ancient wooden image called Aphrodite Hera: it is the custom for a mother, at the marriage of her daughter, to sacrifice to the goddess.
On the road to the right of the hill is a statue of Hetoemocles. Hetoemocles and his father Hipposthenes between them carried off eleven prizes at Olympia for wrestling, the father gaining one more prize than his son.
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