εἰσὶ δέ τινες γένους μὲν καὶ οὗτοι τῶν Ἀρκάδων, ὄνομα δέ σφισι Κυναιθαεῖς, οἳ καὶ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἀνέθεσαν τοῦ Διός, κεραυνὸν ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ ἔχοντα τῇ χειρί· οὗτοι οἱ Κυναιθαεῖς τεσσαράκοντα ἀπωτέρω Λουσῶν σταδίοις μᾶλλον οἰκοῦσι, καί σφισιν ἐν ἀγορᾷ πεποίηνται μὲν θεῶν βωμοί, πεποίηται δὲ Ἀδριανοῦ βασιλέως εἰκών.
τὰ δὲ μάλιστα ἥκοντα ἐς μνήμην Διονύσου ἐστὶν ἐνταῦθα ἱερόν, καὶ ἑορτὴν ὥρᾳ ἄγουσι χειμῶνος, ἐν ᾗ λίπα ἀληλιμμένοι ἄνδρες ἐξ ἀγέλης βοῶν ταῦρον, ὃν ἄν σφισιν ἐπὶ νοῦν αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ποιήσῃ, ἀράμενοι κομίζουσι πρὸς τὸ ἱερόν. θυσία μὲν τοιαύτη σφίσι καθέστηκε· πηγὴ δέ ἐστιν αὐτόθι ὕδατος ψυχροῦ, δύο μάλιστα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄστεως ἀπωτέρω σταδίοις, καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς πλάτανος πεφυκυῖα.
ὃς δʼ ἂν ὑπὸ κυνὸς κατασχέτου λύσσῃ ἤτοι ἕλκος ἢ καὶ ἄλλως κίνδυνον εὕρηται, τὸ ὕδωρ οἱ πίνοντι ἴαμα· καὶ Ἄλυσσον τοῦδε ἕνεκα ὀνομάζουσι τὴν πηγήν· καὶ οὕτω φαίνοιτο ἂν Ἀρκάσι τὸ μὲν πρὸς Φενεῷ ὕδωρ, ὃ Στύγα ὀνομάζουσιν, ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπου συμφορᾷ ἀνευρημένον, ἡ δὲ πηγὴ ἡ ἐν Κυναιθαεῦσιν ἀγαθὸν οὖσα ἀντίρροπον τῷ ἐκεῖ πήματι.
λείπεται δὲ ἐκ Φενεοῦ τῶν ὁδῶν, αἵ εἰσι πρὸς ἡλίου δυσμῶν, ἡ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ. αὕτη δὲ ἡ ὁδὸς ἄγει μὲν ἐς Κλείτορα, καθήκει δὲ παρὰ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους τὸ ἔργον, ὃ τῷ ποταμῷ ῥεῦμα ἐποίησεν εἶναι τῷ Ἀροανίῳ. παρὰ τοῦτο ἡ ὁδὸς κάτεισιν ἐπὶ χωρίον Λυκουρίαν, καὶ ἔστι Φενεάταις ἡ Λυκουρία πρὸς Κλειτορίους ὅροι τῆς γῆς.
There is another people of the Arcadian stock called Cynaethaens, who dedicated at Olympia the image of Zeus holding a thunderbolt in either hand. These Cynaethaens dwell forty furlongs from ... . and in their market-place are altars of the gods and a statue of the Emperor Hadrian. But what is most worthy of note is that there is a sanctuary of Dionysus here, and that they hold a festival in winter, at which men, their bodies greased with oil, pick out a bull from a herd (whichever bull the god puts it into their head to take), lift it up, and carry it to the sanctuary. Such is their mode of sacrifice.
There is here a spring of cold water, just two furlongs from the town, and over the spring grows a plane-tree. Whoever has been bitten or otherwise endangered by a mad dog is healed by drinking this water ; and therefore they name the spring Alyssus (‘mad-less’). Thus it would appear that in Arcadia, the water at Pheneus, which they name Styx, was created to be a bane to men, while the spring at Cynaethae is a benefit designed to counterbalance the evil of the Styx. 3. Of the roads from Pheneus leading westward, I have still to describe the one to the left. It leads to Clitor, running beside the channel which Hercules made for the river Aroanius. The road descends beside this channel to a place called Lycuria, which is the boundary between Pheneus and Clitor.
προελθόντων δὲ σταδίους ὡς πεντήκοντα ἐκ Λυκουρίας, ἐπὶ τοῦ Λάδωνος ἀφίξῃ τὰς πηγάς· ἤκουσα δὲ ὡς τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ λιμνάζον ἐν τῇ Φενεατικῇ, κατερχόμενον ἐς τὰ βάραθρα τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν, ἄνεισιν ἐνταῦθα καὶ ποιεῖ τῷ Λάδωνι τὰς πηγάς. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ οὐκ ἔχω σαφῶς εἰπεῖν, εἴτε οὕτως εἴτε ἄλλως ἐστὶν ἔχον· ὁ δὲ Λάδων ποταμῶν τῶν ἐν Ἑλλάδι ὕδωρ παρέχεται κάλλιστον, ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ἐς ἀνθρώπους φήμην Δάφνης τε εἵνεκα καὶ †τὰ ᾀδόμενα ἐς τὴν Δάφνην.
τοῦ λόγου δὲ τοῦ ἐς Δάφνην τὰ μὲν Σύροις τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐπὶ Ὀρόντῃ ποταμῷ παρίημι, λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλα τοιάδε ὑπὸ Ἀρκάδων καὶ Ἠλείων. Οἰνομάῳ τῷ δυναστεύσαντι ἐν Πίσῃ Λεύκιππος ἦν υἱός. οὗτος ἐρασθεὶς Δάφνης ὁ Λεύκιππος ἐκ μὲν τοῦ εὐθέος μνώμενος γυναῖκα ἕξειν ἀπεγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἅτε ἅπαν τὸ ἄρσεν γένος φεύγουσαν· παρέστη δέ οἱ τοιόνδε ἐς αὐτὴν σόφισμα.
ἔτρεφεν ὁ Λεύκιππος κόμην τῷ Ἀλφειῷ· ταύτην οἷα δὴ παρθένος πλεξάμενος τὴν κόμην καὶ ἐσθῆτα ἐνδὺς γυναικείαν ἀφίκετο ὡς τὴν Δάφνην, ἐλθὼν δὲ Οἰνομάου τε ἔλεγεν εἶναι θυγάτηρ καὶ ὡς συνθηρᾶν ἐθέλοι τῇ Δάφνῃ. ἅτε δὲ εἶναι παρθένος νομιζόμενος, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ὑπερβεβλημένος παρθένους γένους τε ἀξιώματι καὶ σοφίᾳ τῇ ἐς τὰ κυνηγέσια, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῇ θεραπείᾳ περισσῇ χρώμενος, ἐς φιλίαν ἰσχυρὰν ἐπάγεται τὴν Δάφνην.
οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνος ἔρωτα ἐς αὐτὴν ᾄδοντες καὶ τάδε ἐπιλέγουσιν, Ἀπόλλωνα Λευκίππῳ νεμεσῆσαι τῆς ἐς τὸν ἔρωτα εὐδαιμονίας. αὐτίκα δὲ ἐπεθύμησεν ἐν τῷ Λάδωνι ἡ Δάφνη καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ παρθένοι νήχεσθαι, καὶ τὸν Λεύκιππον ἀποδύουσιν ἄκοντα· ἰδοῦσαι δὲ οὐ παρθένον τοῖς τε ἀκοντίοις αὐτὸν καὶ ἐγχειριδίοις τύπτουσαι διέφθειραν.
Going on about fifty furlongs from Lycuria you will come to the springs of the Ladon. I have heard that the water which forms the mere in the territory of Pheneus, descending into the chasms in the mountains, rises here and forms the springs of the Ladon. But whether this is so or not I cannot say for certain. The water of the Ladon is the most beautiful river-water in Greece, and it is besides renowned for the legend of Daphne.
I pass over the version of the story of Daphne told by the Syrians who dwell beside the Orontes, and proceed to give the story as told by the Arcadians and Eleans. Oenomaus, the lord of Pisa, had a son Leucippus. This Leucippus fell in love with Daphne, and despairing of gaining her hand by an open wooing, because she shunned the whole male sex, he hit upon the following ruse. He was keeping his hair long for the river Alpheus; so braiding it like a maiden and donning womanly apparel he came to Daphne, and told her he was a daughter of Oenomaus and would fain hunt with her. Thus by passing for a girl, and excelling the other maidens in rank and skill in the chase, as well as by his devoted attentions, he drew Daphne into a warm friendship. Those who sing of Apollo’s love for her add that Apollo was jealous of Leucippus’ success in love; and straightway Daphne and the other maidens desired to swim in the Ladon, and having stripped the reluctant Leucippus, and seen that he was no maiden, they despatched him with their javelins and daggers. So runs the tale.
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