τῷ θεῷ δὲ τῷ ἐντὸς τῆς λάρνακος ἐπίκλησις μέν ἐστιν Αἰσυμνήτης, οἱ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα θεραπεύοντες ἐννέα τέ εἰσιν ἄνδρες, οὓς ἂν ἐκ πάντων ὁ δῆμος προέληται κατʼ ἀξίωμα, καὶ ἴσαι γυναῖκες τοῖς ἀνδράσι. μιᾷ δὲ ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ νυκτὶ ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς φέρει τὴν λάρνακα ὁ ἱερεύς. αὕτη μὲν δὴ ἡ νὺξ γέρας τοῦτο εἴληφε, καταβαίνουσι δὲ καὶ ὁπόσοι δὴ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων παῖδες ἐπὶ τὸν Μείλιχον ἀστάχυσιν ἐστεφανωμένοι τὰς κεφαλάς· ἐκόσμουν δὲ οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον οὓς ἄγοιεν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι θύσοντες.
τὰ δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν στεφάνους μὲν τῶν ἀσταχύων ἀποτίθενται παρὰ τῇ θεῷ, λουσάμενοι δὲ τῷ ποταμῷ καὶ αὖθις στεφάνους ἐπιθέμενοι κισσοῦ πρὸς τὸ ἱερὸν ἴασι τοῦ Αἰσυμνήτου. ταῦτα μέν σφισιν οὕτω δρᾶν καθέστηκε, τοῦ περιβόλου δέ ἐστιν ἐντὸς τῆς Λαφρίας καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ναὸς ἐπίκλησιν Παναχαΐδος· ἐλέφαντος τὸ ἄγαλμα καὶ χρυσοῦ.
ἐρχομένῳ δὲ ἐς τὴν κάτω πόλιν Μητρὸς Δινδυμήνης ἐστὶν ἱερόν, ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ Ἄττης ἔχει τιμάς. τούτου μὲν δὴ ἄγαλμα οὐδὲν ἀποφαίνουσι· τὸ δὲ τῆς Μητρὸς λίθου πεποίηται. ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ Διὸς ναὸς Ὀλυμπίου, αὐτός τε ἐπὶ θρόνου καὶ ἑστῶσα Ἀθηνᾶ παρὰ τὸν θρόνον, τῆς τε Ἥρας ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου πέραν ἱερόν τε Ἀπόλλωνος πεποίηται καὶ Ἀπόλλων χαλκοῦς, γυμνὸς ἐσθῆτος· ὑποδήματα δὲ ὑπὸ τοῖς ποσίν ἐστιν αὐτῷ, καὶ τῷ ἑτέρῳ ποδὶ ἐπὶ κρανίου βέβηκε βοός.
βουσὶ γὰρ χαίρειν μάλιστα Ἀπόλλωνα Ἀλκαῖός τε ἐδήλωσεν ἐν ὕμνῳ τῷ ἐς Ἑρμῆν, γράψας ὡς ὁ Ἑρμῆς βοῦς ὑφέλοιτο τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, καὶ ἔτι πρότερον ἢ Ἀλκαῖον γενέσθαι πεποιημένα ἦν Ὁμήρῳ βοῦς Ἀπόλλωνα Λαομέδοντος ἐπὶ μισθῷ νέμειν· Ποσειδῶνι περιέθηκεν ἐν Ἰλιάδι τὰ ἔπη,
ἤτοι ἐγὼ Τρώεσσι πόλιν πέρι τεῖχος ἔδειμα, / εὐρύ τε καὶ μάλα καλόν, ἵνʼ ἄρρηκτος πόλις εἴη· / Φοῖβε, σὺ δʼ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς βουκολέεσκες. / τὰ μὲν δὴ ἐς τὸ κρανίον τοῦ βοὸς ἐπὶ τοιῷδε ἄν τις εἰκάσειε πεποιῆσθαι· ἔστι δὲ ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἄγαλμά τε Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ Πατρέως τάφος.
ἔχεται δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς τὸ Ὠιδεῖον, καὶ Ἀπόλλων ἐνταῦθα ἀνάκειται θέας ἄξιος· ἐποιήθη δὲ ἀπὸ λαφύρων, ἡνίκα ἐπὶ τὸν στρατὸν τῶν Γαλατῶν οἱ Πατρεῖς ἤμυναν Αἰτωλοῖς Ἀχαιῶν μόνοι. κεκόσμηται δὲ καὶ ἐς ἄλλα τὸ Ὠιδεῖον ἀξιολογώτατα τῶν ἐν Ἕλλησι, πλήν γε δὴ τοῦ Ἀθήνῃσι· τοῦτο γὰρ μεγέθει τε καὶ ἐς τὴν πᾶσαν ὑπερῆρκε κατασκευήν, ἀνὴρ δὲ Ἀθηναῖος ἐποίησεν Ἡρώδης ἐς μνήμην ἀποθανούσης γυναικός. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἐν τῇ Ἀτθίδι συγγραφῇ τὸ ἐς τοῦτο παρείθη τὸ Ὠιδεῖον, ὅτι πρότερον ἔτι ἐξείργαστό μοι τὰ ἐς Ἀθηναίους ἢ ὑπῆρκτο Ἡρώδης τοῦ οἰκοδομήματος.
ἐν Πάτραις δὲ ἰόντι ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ᾗ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, πύλη κατὰ τὴν ἔξοδόν ἐστι ταύτην, καὶ ἐπιθήματα ἐπὶ τῆς πύλης ἀνδριάντες εἰσὶν ἐπίχρυσοι, Πατρεύς τε καὶ Πρευγένης καὶ Ἀθερίων, οἳ Πατρέως ἡλικίαν παιδὸς ἔχοντος καὶ αὐτοὶ παῖδές εἰσι. τῆς δὲ ἀγορᾶς ἄντικρυς κατὰ ταύτην τὴν διέξοδον τέμενός ἐστιν Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ ναὸς Λιμνάτιδος.
ἐχόντων δὲ ἤδη Λακεδαίμονα καὶ Ἄργος Δωριέων, ὑφελέσθαι Πρευγένην τῆς Λιμνάτιδος τὸ ἄγαλμα κατὰ ὄψιν ὀνείρατος λέγουσιν ἐκ Σπάρτης, κοινωνῆσαι δὲ αὐτῷ τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος τῶν δούλων τὸν εὐνούστατον. τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα τὸ ἐκ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος τὸν μὲν ἄλλον χρόνον ἔχουσιν ἐν Μεσόᾳ, ὅτι καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ Πρευγένους ἐς τοῦτο ἐκομίσθη τὸ χωρίον· ἐπειδὰν δὲ τῇ Λιμνάτιδι τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγωσι, τῆς θεοῦ τις τῶν οἰκετῶν ἐκ Μεσόας ἔρχεται τὸ ξόανον κομίζων τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐς τὸ τέμενος τὸ ἐν τῇ πόλει.
τούτου δὲ τοῦ τεμένους ἐστὶ καὶ ἄλλα τοῖς Πατρεῦσιν ἱερά· πεποίηται δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ, ἀλλὰ ἔσοδος ἐς αὐτὰ διὰ τῶν στοῶν ἐστι. τὸ μὲν δὴ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ, πλὴν ἐσθῆτος, λίθου τὰ ἄλλα· Ἀθηνᾶ δὲ ἐλέφαντος εἴργασται καὶ χρυσοῦ. πρὸ δὲ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς τοῦ ἱεροῦ Πρευγένους μνῆμά ἐστιν· ἐναγίζουσι δὲ καὶ τῷ Πρευγένει κατὰ ἔτος, ὡσαύτω; δὲ καὶ Πατρεῖ, τὴν ἑορτὴν τῇ Λιμνάτιδι ἄγοντες. τοῦ θεάτρου δὲ οὐ πόρρω Νεμέσεως ναὸς καὶ ἕτερός ἐστιν Ἀφροδίτης· μεγέθει μεγάλα λίθου λευκοῦ τὰ ἀγάλματα.
The god in the chest is surnamed Aesymnetes (‘president’). The persons who specially wait upon him are nine men, chosen by the people for their worth out of the whole population, and as many women. On one night during the festival the priest carries the chest outside; which is a distinction peculiar to this particular night. Moreover, a certain number of the native children go down to the Milichus, their heads wreathed with ears of corn. It was thus that they used in the olden days to deck the children whom they led to be sacrificed to Artemis. In our time they lay up the wreaths of corn in the sanctuary of the goddess ; and after bathing in the river, and putting wreaths of ivy on their heads, they go to the sanctuary of Aesymnetes. Such are the ceremonies which they perform.
Within the enclosure of Laphria is a temple of Panachaean Athena: her image is of ivory and gold. On the way to the lower city you come to a sanctuary of Mother Dindymene, in which Attis also is worshipped. No image of him is shown: the image of the Mother is of stone. In the market-place is a temple of Olympian Zeus: the god is represented seated on a throne, with Athena standing beside the throne. Over against the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus is an image of Hera and a sanctuary of Apollo. The image of Apollo is of bronze: it represents the god naked, but with sandals on his feet, and with one foot resting on the skull of an ox. For that Apollo takes great delight in cattle is shown by Alcaeus in his hymn to Hermes, where he describes how Hermes stole the kine of Apollo. And before Alcaeus was born Homer had told how Apollo herded the kine of Laomedon for hire: in the Iliad he assigns to Poseidon the verses :— Truly I built for the Trojans a wall round the city, A wall broad and very beautiful, that the city might be impregnable ; But thou, Phoebus, didst tend the rolling, crumpled-horned kine, This, we may conjecture, is the meaning of the ox skull. In the market-place there is an image of Athena in the open air, and in front of it is the grave of Patreus. 3. Adjoining the market-place is the Music Hall. Here there is an image of Apollo worth seeing: it was made from the spoils when the Patreans alone of the Achaeans helped the Aetolians against the Gallic host. This Music Hall is the grandest in Greece, except the one at Athens, which excels it both in size and in its whole style. The latter was erected by the Athenian Herodes in memory of his dead wife. In my book on Attica this Music Hall is not mentioned, because my description of Athens was finished before Herodes began to build the hall. In the market-place of Patrae, at the exit adjoining the sanctuary of Apollo, there is a gate surmounted by gilded statues of Patreus, Preugenes, and Atherion: the two latter are represented as boys because Patreus is so also.
Facing the market-place, just at the way out of it, there is a precinct of Artemis and a temple of the Lady of the Lake. When the Dorians were now in possession of Lacedaemon and Argos, it is said that Preugenes, in obedience to a dream, stole the image of the Lady of the Lake from Sparta, being assisted in the enterprise by the most devoted of his slaves. The image thus brought from Lacedaemon is generally kept at Mesoa, because that was the place to which Preugenes brought it originally. But when they celebrate the festival in honour of the Lady of the Lake, one of the slaves of the goddess fetches the ancient wooden image from Mesoa to the precinct in the city.
Adjoining this precinct are other sanctuaries: they do not stand open to the sky, and the entrance to them is through the colonnades. The image of Aesculapius is of stone, except the drapery: that of Athena is of ivory and gold. In front of the sanctuary of Athena is the tomb of Preugenes. They sacrifice to Preugenes yearly as to a hero, and also to Patreus at the time when they celebrate the festival of the Lady of the Lake. Not far from the theatre is a temple of Nemesis, and another of Aphrodite: the statues of both are of white marble and of colossal size.
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