τοσάδε ἐνταῦθα ἀξιόχρεα ἦν· ἡ δὲ ἐπέκεινα τοῦ ποταμοῦ μοῖρα ἡ κατὰ μεσημβρίαν παρείχετο ἐς μνήμην θέατρον μέγιστον τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἀέναός ἐστιν ὕδατος πηγή. τοῦ θεάτρου δὲ οὐ πόρρω λείπεται τοῦ βουλευτηρίου θεμέλια, ὃ τοῖς μυρίοις ἐπεποίητο Ἀρκάδων· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀναθέντος Θερσίλιον. πλησίον δὲ οἰκίαν, ἰδιώτου κατʼ ἐμὲ κτῆμα ἀνδρός, Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Φιλίππου τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποίησαν· ἔστι δὲ ἄγαλμα Ἄμμωνος πρὸς τῇ οἰκίᾳ, τοῖς τετραγώνοις Ἑρμαῖς εἰκασμένον, κέρατα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἔχον κριοῦ.
τὸ δὲ τῶν Μουσῶν Ἀπόλλωνός τε ἱερὸν καὶ Ἑρμοῦ, κατασκευασθέν σφισιν ἐν κοινῷ, παρείχετο ἐς μνήμην θεμέλια οὐ πολλά· ἦν δὲ καὶ τῶν Μουσῶν μία ἔτι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος ἄγαλμα κατὰ τοὺς Ἑρμᾶς τοὺς τετραγώνους τέχνην. ἐρείπια δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἦν τὸ ἱερὸν, πλὴν ὅσον πρόναός τε ἐλείπετο ἔτι καὶ ἀγάλματα ἀριθμὸν τρία, ἐπίκλησις δὲ Οὐρανία, τῇ δʼ ἔστι Πάνδημος, τῇ τρίτῃ δὲ οὐδὲν ἐτίθεντο·
ἀπέχει δὲ οὐ πολὺ Ἄρεως βωμός, ἐλέγετο δὲ ὡς καὶ ἱερὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ᾠκοδομήθη τῷ θεῷ. πεποίηται δὲ καὶ στάδιον ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης τῇ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ θέατρον καθῆκον—καὶ κρήνη σφίσιν ἐστὶν αὐτόθι, ἣν ἱερὰν Διονύσου νομίζουσι—, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἕτερον τοῦ σταδίου πέρας Διονύσου ναὸς ἐλέγετο ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κεραυνωθῆναι γενεαῖς δύο ἐμοῦ πρότερον, καὶ ἐρείπια οὐ πολλὰ ἔτι ἐς ἐμὲ ἦν αὐτοῦ. Ἡρακλέους δὲ κοινὸς καὶ Ἑρμοῦ πρὸς τῷ σταδίῳ ναὸς μὲν οὐκέτι ἦν, μόνος δέ σφισι βωμὸς ἐλείπετο.
ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῇ μοίρᾳ ταύτῃ λόφος πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον καὶ Ἀγροτέρας ἐν αὐτῷ ναὸς Ἀρτέμιδος, ἀνάθημα Ἀριστοδήμου καὶ τοῦτο. τῆς δὲ Ἀγροτέρας ἐστὶν ἐν δεξιᾷ τέμενος· ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν ἱερὸν Ἀσκληπιοῦ καὶ ἀγάλματα αὐτός τε καὶ Ὑγεία, εἰσὶ δὲ ὑποκαταβάντι ὀλίγον θεοὶ— παρέχονται δὲ καὶ οὗτοι σχῆμα τετράγωνον, Ἐργάται δέ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἐπίκλησις—Ἀθηνᾶ τε Ἐργάνη καὶ Ἀπόλλων Ἀγυιεύς· τῷ δὲ Ἑρμῇ καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ καὶ Εἰλειθυίᾳ πρόσεστιν ἐξ ἐπῶν τῶν Ὁμήρου φήμη, τῷ μὲν Διός τε αὐτὸν διάκονον εἶναι καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν Ἅιδην ἄγειν τῶν ἀπογινομένων τὰς ψυχάς, Ἡρακλεῖ δὲ ὡς πολλούς τε καὶ χαλεποὺς τελέσειεν ἄθλους· Εἰλειθυίᾳ δὲ ἐποίησεν ἐν Ἰλιάδι ὠδῖνας γυναικῶν μέλειν.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ὑπὸ τὸν λόφον τοῦτον Ἀσκληπιοῦ Παιδὸς ἱερόν· τούτου μὲν δὴ τὸ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν πεποίηται πηχυαῖον μάλιστα, Ἀπόλλωνος δὲ ἐν θρόνῳ κάθηται ποδῶν ἓξ οὐκ ἀποδέον μέγεθος. ἀνάκειται δὲ αὐτόθι καὶ ὀστᾶ ὑπερηρκότα ἢ ὡς ἀνθρώπου δοκεῖν· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐλέγετο ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς εἶναι τῶν γιγάντων ἑνός, οὓς ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν τῆς Ῥέας ἤθροισεν Ὁπλάδαμος, ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐς ὕστερον ἐπέξεισιν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος. τούτου δέ ἐστι πηγὴ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πλησίον, καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς ὁ Ἑλισσὼν τὸ ὕδωρ δέχεται κατερχόμενον.
Among the memorable objects in the quarter on the farther or southern side of the river is a theatre which is the largest in Greece ; and in the theatre there is a perennial spring of water. Not far from the theatre are left some foundations of the Council House, which was built for the Arcadian Ten Thousand: it was called Thersilium after its founder. Near it is a house, now the property of a private man, which was originally built for Alexander, son of Philip. Beside this house is an image of Ammon, made like the square images of Hermes, with ram’s horns on his head. Of the sanctuary which was constructed for the Muses, Apollo, and Hermes in common, nothing worth mentioning was to be seen except a few foundations; but there remained one of the statues of the Muses and an image of Apollo, the latter made in the style of the square images of Hermes. The sanctuary of Aphrodite was also in ruins, only the fore-temple was still left, together with three images, of which one was surnamed Heavenly, and another Vulgar: the third had no special name.
Not far off is an altar of Ares: it is said that originally there was a sanctuary built for the god. Above the sanctuary of Aphrodite a stadium has been constructed. One end of it reaches to the theatre, and there is here a fountain, which they deem sacred to Dionysus. At the other end of the stadium a temple of Dionysus was said to have been struck by lightning two generations before my time: not many ruins of it survived to my time. A common temple of Hercules and Hermes beside the stadium existed no longer, the altar only was left.
In this quarter of the city is a hill to the east, on which is a temple of Huntress Artemis: it, too, was dedicated by Aristodemus. On the right of the temple of the Huntress is a precinct: here there is a sanctuary of Aesculapius, with images of himself and Health. A little lower down are images of gods, also made in the square form, and surnamed Workers: they are Athena Worker and Apollo God of Streets. Touching Hermes, Hercules, and Ilithyia, the poems of Homer have given currency to the report that the first is a servant of Zeus, and leads down to hell the souls of the departed; that Hercules performed many hard tasks ; while Ilithyia is represented in the Iliad as caring for the travail-pangs of women. Under this hill there is also another sanctuary of the Boy Aesculapius: his image is erect, and measures about an ell: the image of Apollo seated on a throne measures not less than six feet.
Here, too, are preserved bones of superhuman size: they were said to be the bones of one of the giants whom Hopladamus mustered to defend Rhea, as I will relate hereafter. Near this sanctuary is a spring: the water that flows down from it is received by the Helisson.
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