λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ἐπὶ τῷ Ὀξύλῳ τοιόνδε, ὡς τοὺς παῖδας ὑποπτεύσειε τοῦ Ἀριστομάχου, μὴ τὴν Ἠλείαν τε ἰδόντες ἀγαθὴν οὖσαν καὶ ἐξειργασμένην διὰ πάσης οὐκ ἐθελήσωσιν ἔτι αὐτῷ διδόναι τὴν γῆν, καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκα διὰ τῶν Ἀρκάδων καὶ οὐ διὰ τῆς Ἠλείας τοῖς Δωριεῦσιν ἡγήσατο. Ὀξύλῳ δὲ σπεύσαντι ἀμαχεὶ λαβεῖν τὴν Ἠλείων ἀρχὴν Δῖος οὐκ εἶκε, πρόκλησιν δὲ ἐποιεῖτο μὴ σφᾶς παρασκευῇ τῇ πάσῃ διακινδυνεῦσαι, προκριθῆναι δὲ ἀφʼ ἑκατέρων στρατιώτην ἕνα ἐς τὴν μάχην·
καί πως συνήρεσε ταῦτα ἀμφοτέροις, οἱ δὲ ἐς τὸ ἔργον προταχθέντες Δέγμενός τε Ἠλεῖος ἦν τοξότης καὶ παρὰ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν Πυραίχμης σφενδόνην δεδιδαγμένος. κρατήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Πυραίχμου τήν τε βασιλείαν ἔσχεν Ὄξυλος καὶ Ἐπειοὺς τοὺς ἀρχαίους τὰ μὲν ἄλλα εἴασεν ἐπὶ τοῖς αὑτῶν μένειν, συνοίκους δέ σφισι τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς ἐπὶ ἀναδασμῷ τῆς χώρας ἐπεισήγαγε. καὶ Δίῳ τε ἀπένειμε γέρα καὶ ἥρωσι τοῖς τε ἄλλοις κατὰ τὰ ἀρχαῖα ἐφύλαξε τὰς τιμὰς καὶ Αὐγέᾳ τὰ ἐς τὸν ἐναγισμὸν ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς αὐτῷ καθεστηκότα.
λέγεται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τῶν κωμῶν, ὅσοι τοῦ τείχους οὐ πολὺ ἀφεστήκεσαν, κατελθεῖν ἔπεισεν ἐς τὴν πόλιν καὶ πλήθει τε οἰκητόρων μείζονα καὶ εὐδαιμονεστέραν ἐς τὰ ἄλλα ἀπέφηνε τὴν Ἦλιν. ἀφίκετο δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκ Δελφῶν χρησμός, τὸν Πελοπίδην ἐπάγεσθαι συνοικιστήν· Ὄξυλος δὲ τὴν ζήτησιν ἐποιεῖτο σπουδῇ καὶ ἀναζητῶν εὗρεν Ἀγώριον τὸν Δαμασίου τοῦ Πενθίλου τοῦ Ὀρέστου, καὶ αὐτόν τε ἐξ Ἑλίκης τῆς Ἀχαιῶν καὶ σὺν τῷ Ἀγωρίῳ μοῖραν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐπηγάγετο οὐ πολλήν.
τῷ δὲ Ὀξύλῳ Πιερίαν μὲν τῇ γυναικὶ ὄνομα εἶναι λέγουσι, πέρα δὲ τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν οὐ μνημονεύουσιν. Ὀξύλου δὲ γενέσθαι παῖδάς φασιν Αἰτωλὸν καὶ Λαΐαν· προαποθανόντος δὲ Αἰτωλοῦ θάπτουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ γονεῖς ἐν αὐτῇ ποιησάμενοι τῇ πύλῃ τὸ μνῆμα, ἥτις ἐπʼ Ὀλυμπίαν καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἄγει τοῦ Διός· ἔθαψαν δὲ αὐτὸν οὕτω κατὰ μαντείαν, ὡς μήτε ἐκτὸς τῆς πόλεως μήτε ἐντὸς γένοιτο ὁ νεκρός. ἐναγίζει δὲ ὁ γυμνασίαρχος ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔτος τῷ Αἰτωλῷ.
μετὰ δὲ Ὄξυλον Λαΐας ἔσχεν ὁ Ὀξύλου τὴν ἀρχήν. οὐ μὴν τούς γε ἀπογόνους αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντας εὕρισκον, καὶ σφᾶς ἐπιστάμενος ὅμως παρίημι· οὐ γάρ τί μοι καταβῆναι τὸν λόγον ἠθέλησα ἐς ἄνδρας ἰδιώτας. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἴφιτος, γένος μὲν ὢν ἀπὸ Ὀξύλου, ἡλικίαν δὲ κατὰ Λυκοῦργον τὸν γράψαντα Λακεδαιμονίοις τοὺς νόμους, τὸν ἀγῶνα διέθηκεν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυρίν τε Ὀλυμπικὴν αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐκεχειρίαν κατεστήσατο, ἐκλιπόντα ἐπὶ χρόνον ὁπόσος δὴ οὗτος ἦν· αἰτίαν δὲ διʼ ἥντινα ἐξέλιπε τὰ Ὀλύμπια, ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν τοῦ λόγου δηλώσω.
τῷ δὲ Ἰφίτῳ, φθειρομένης τότε δὴ μάλιστα τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὑπὸ ἐμφυλίων στάσεων καὶ ὑπὸ νόσου λοιμώδους, ἐπῆλθεν αἰτῆσαι τὸν ἐν Δελφοῖς θεὸν λύσιν τῶν κακῶν· καί οἱ προσταχθῆναί φασιν ὑπὸ τῆς Πυθίας ὡς αὐτόν τε Ἴφιτον δέοι καὶ Ἠλείους τὸν Ὀλυμπικὸν ἀγῶνα ἀνανεώσασθαι. ἔπεισε δὲ Ἠλείους Ἴφιτος καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ θύειν, τὸ πρὸ τούτου πολέμιόν σφισιν Ἡρακλέα εἶναι νομίζοντας. τὸν δὲ Ἴφιτον τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ φησὶν Αἴμονος παῖδα εἶναι, Ἑλλήνων δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ Πραξωνίδου καὶ οὐχ Αἴμονος εἶναί φασι· τὰ δὲ Ἠλείων γράμματα ἀρχαῖα ἐς πατέρα ὁμώνυμον ἀνῆγε τὸν Ἴφιτον.
Ἠλείοις δὲ μέτεστι μὲν πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Ἰλίῳ, μέτεστι δὲ καὶ ἔργων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Μήδων ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἔφοδον. ὑπερβάντων δὲ ὅσοι σφίσιν ἐγένοντο κίνδυνοι πρὸς Πισαίους τε καὶ Ἀρκάδας ὑπὲρ τῆς διαθέσεως τοῦ ἀγῶνος τοῦ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ, συνεςέβαλον μὲν Λακεδαιμονίοις ἀκουσίως ἐς τὴν Ἀθηναίων, συνέστησαν δὲ μετὰ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους Μαντινεῦσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἀργείοις, ἐπαγόμενοι καὶ τὸ Ἀττικὸν ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἄγιδος ἐπιστρατείαν ἐς τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν προδοσίαν τὴν Ξενίου μάχῃ μὲν περὶ Ὀλυμπίαν νικῶσιν οἱ Ἠλεῖοι καὶ τροπὴν ἐργασάμενοι τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐκ τοῦ περιβόλου σφᾶς ἐξήλασαν τοῦ ἱεροῦ· χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἐπαύθη σφίσιν ὁ πόλεμος κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας ἃς ἐγὼ πρότερον ἔτι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐδήλωσα.
Φιλίππου δὲ τοῦ Ἀμύντου οὐκ ἐθέλοντος ἀποσχέσθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος, προσεχώρησαν μὲν ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν τῶν Μακεδόνων οἱ Ἠλεῖοι στάσει κακωθέντες ὑπὸ ἀλλήλων, μαχεσθῆναι δὲ οὐχ ὑπέμειναν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐναντία ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ· τῆς δὲ ἐφόδου Φιλίππῳ τῆς ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους μετέσχον κατὰ ἔχθος ἐς αὐτοὺς τὸ ἀρχαῖον, ἀποθανόντος δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου Μακεδόσι καὶ Ἀντιπάτρῳ μετὰ Ἑλλήνων ἐπολέμησαν.
Another story told of Oxylus is this: he suspected that when the sons of Aristomachus saw that the land of Elis was good and cultivated throughout, they would not give it to him, and therefore he led the Dorians through Arcadia, and not through Elis. Oxylus would fain have got the kingdom of Elis without striking a blow. Dius, however, would not yield, but proposed that, instead of a pitched battle between the two armies, one soldier should be chosen from each side to do battle. This proposal was accepted by both sides. The Elean champion was Degmenus, an archer, and the champion on the Aetolian side was Pyraechmes, a trained slinger. Pyraechmes was victorious, so the kingdom fell to Oxylus. He suffered the old Epean inhabitants to abide in possession of their own, but he introduced colonies of his Aetolians among them, and gave them a share of the land. He assigned certain privileges to Dius, and he kept up the ancient worship of the heroes, especially the sacrifice to Augeas, which is still regularly offered in our time. It is said that he also persuaded the people who dwelt in the villages not far from the walls to migrate to the city, and thus he made Elis more populous and in every way more prosperous.
An oracle came to him also from Delphi bidding him invite the descendant of Pelops to settle in the country. Oxylus made diligent search, and found Agorius, son of Damasias, son of Penthilus, son of Orestes. Him he fetched from Helice in Achaia, and with him a small section of the Achaeans. They say that the name of Oxylus’ wife was Pieria, but they remember nothing more about her. Oxylus is said to have had two sons, Aetolus and Laias. Aetolus died before his father and mother; so his parents buried him in a tomb which they caused to be made exactly in the gate which leads to Olympia and the sanctuary of Zeus. They buried him thus in obedience to an oracle which commanded that the corpse should be neither within nor without the city. And to this day the master of the gymnasium still sacrifices annually to Aetolus as to a hero.
Oxylus was succeeded on the throne by his son Laias. I did not find, however, that the descendants of Laias sat on the throne ; therefore, though I know who they were, I pass them over, for I do not wish my narrative to stoop to mere commoners.
Afterwards Iphitus, of the race of Oxylus, and a contemporary of Lycurgus, the Lacedaemonian lawgiver, arranged the games at Olympia, and revived the Olympic festival and truce, which had been discontinued for a time, how long I cannot say. The cause of the discontinuance of the Olympic festival I will explain when I treat of Olympia. As Greece just at that time was sorely wasted by pestilence and civil strife, it struck Iphitus that he would pray to the god at Delphi for deliverance from these evils; and they say that the Pythian priestess enjoined him and the Eleans to renew the Olympic games. Iphitus persuaded the Eleans to sacrifice also to Hercules, whom hitherto they had regarded as their foe. The inscription at Olympia states that Iphitus was a son of Haemon ; but most of the Greeks say he was a son of Praxonides, and not of Haemon. The ancient writings of the Eleans traced him to a father of the same name as himself, namely Iphitus.
The Eleans bore their share in the Trojan war, and in the battles fought during the Persian invasion of Greece. Passing over their contests with the Pisans and Arcadians for the management of the Olympic games, we note that they reluctantly joined the Lacedaemonians in invading Attica. Not long afterwards they banded themselves with the Mantineans and Argives against the Lacedaemonians, and prevailed upon the Athenians to join the alliance. At the time of the invasion of Agis and the treachery of Xenias, the Eleans won battle at Olympia, routed the Lacedaemonians, and chased them out of the sacred enclosure; but afterwards the war was concluded by the treaty which I mentioned above in my book on Lacedaemon. When Philip, son of Amyntas, would not keep his hands off Greece, the Eleans, crippled by domestic broils, joined the Macedonian alliance, but they would not fight against the Greeks at Chaeronea. However, they indulged their old hatred of the Lacedaemonians by joining Philip in attacking them. But after the death of Alexander they sided with the Greeks in the war with the Macedonians under Antipater.
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