αὕτη μὲν ἐπὶ Μεσσήνην, ἑτέρα δὲ ὁδὸς ἐκ Μεγάλης πόλεως ἐπὶ Καρνάσιον ἄγει τὸ Μεσσηνίων· καὶ ταύτῃ πρῶτα μέν σε ὁ Ἀλφειὸς ἐκδέξεται, καθότι καὶ Μαλοῦς καὶ ὁ Σκῦρος ἐς αὐτὸν κατέρχονται προανακοινωσάμενοι τὸ ῥεῦμα. αὐτόθεν δὲ ἔχων τὸν Μαλοῦντα ἐν δεξιᾷ μετὰ σταδίους ὡς τριάκοντα διαβήσῃ τε αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναβήσῃ διʼ ὁδοῦ προσαντεστέρας ἐς χωρίον καλούμενον Φαιδρίαν.
Φαιδρίου δὲ ὡς πέντε ἀπέχει καὶ δέκα σταδίους τὸ κατὰ Δέσποιναν ὀνομαζόμενον Ἑρμαῖον· ὅροι Μεσσηνίων πρὸς Μεγαλοπολίτας καὶ οὗτοι, καὶ ἀγάλματα οὐ μεγάλα Δεσποίνης τε καὶ Δήμητρος, ἔτι δὲ καὶ Ἑρμοῦ πεποίηται καὶ Ἡρακλέους· δοκεῖν δέ μοι καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Δαιδάλου ποιηθὲν τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ ξόανον ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς Μεσσηνίας καὶ Ἀρκάδων ἐνταῦθα εἱστήκει.
ἡ δὲ ἐς Λακεδαίμονα ἐκ Μεγάλης πόλεως ὁδὸς ἐπὶ μὲν τὸν Ἀλφειὸν στάδιοι τριάκοντά εἰσιν, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦδε παρὰ ποταμὸν ὁδεύσας Θειοῦντα—κάτεισι δὲ καὶ ὁ Θειοῦς οὗτος ἐς τὸν Ἀλφειόν—, ἀπολιπὼν οὖν τὸν Θειοῦντα ἐν ἀριστερᾷ σταδίοις ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ τεσσαράκοντα ἥξεις μάλιστα ἐς Φαλαισίας· ἀπέχουσι δὲ αἱ Φαλαισίαι σταδίους εἴκοσι τοῦ Ἑρμαίου τοῦ κατὰ Βελεμίναν.
λέγουσι μὲν δὴ οἱ Ἀρκάδες τὴν Βελεμίναν τῆς σφετέρας οὖσαν τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀποτεμέσθαι Λακεδαιμονίους· λέγειν δὲ οὐκ εἰκότα ἐφαίνοντό μοι καὶ ἄλλων ἕνεκα καὶ μάλιστα ὅτι μοι δοκοῦσι Θηβαῖοι μηδʼ ἂν τοῦτο ἐλασσουμένους περιιδεῖν τοὺς Ἀρκάδας, εἴ σφισιν ἔσεσθαι σὺν τῷ δικαίῳ τὸ ἐπανόρθωμα ἔμελλεν.
εἰσὶ δὲ ἐκ Μεγάλης πόλεως καὶ ἐς τὰ χωρία ὁδοὶ τὰ ἐντὸς Ἀρκαδίας, ἐς μὲν Μεθύδριον ἑβδομήκοντα στάδιοι καὶ ἑκατόν, τρισὶ δὲ ἀπὸ Μεγάλης πόλεως ἀπωτέρω σταδίοις καὶ δέκα Σκιάς τε καλούμενον χωρίον καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος Σκιάτιδος ἐρείπιά ἐστιν ἱεροῦ· ποιῆσαι δὲ αὐτὸ ἐλέγετο Ἀριστόδημος ὁ τυραννήσας. ἐντεῦθεν μετὰ σταδίους ὡς δέκα πόλεως Χαρισιῶν ὑπομνήματά ἐστιν οὐ πολλά, σταδίων δὲ ἄλλων δέκα ἐστὶν ἀπὸ Χαρισιῶν ἐς Τρικολώνους ὁδός.
πόλις δὲ ἦσαν καὶ οἱ Τρικόλωνοί ποτε· μένει δὲ αὐτόθι καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι ἐπὶ λόφου Ποσειδῶνος ἱερὸν καὶ ἄγαλμα τετράγωνον, καὶ δένδρων περὶ τὸ ἱερόν ἐστιν ἄλσος. ταύταις μὲν δὴ οἱ Λυκάονος παῖδες ἐγένοντο οἰκισταί, Ζοιτίαν δὲ ἀπωτέρω μὲν Τρικολώνων πέντε που καὶ δέκα σταδίοις, κειμένην δὲ οὐ κατʼ εὐθὺ ἀλλʼ ἐκ Τρικολώνων ἐν ἀριστερᾷ, Ζοιτέα οἰκίσαι τὸν Τρικολώνου λέγουσι· Παρωρεὺς δὲ ὁ νεώτερος Τρικολώνου τῶν παίδων Παρωρίαν καὶ οὗτος ἔκτισεν, ἀπέχουσαν Ζοιτίας σταδίους δέκα.
ἔρημοι δὲ ἐς ἐμὲ ἦσαν ἀμφότεραι· μένει δὲ ἐν Ζοιτίᾳ Δήμητρος ναὸς καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος . ἐρείπια δὲ πόλεων καὶ ἄλλα, Θυραίου μὲν σταδίοις πέντε ἀπωτέρω Παρωρίας καὶ δέκα, τὰ δὲ Ὑψοῦντός ἐστιν ἐν ὄρει κειμένῳ μὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦ πεδίου, καλουμένῳ δὲ Ὑψοῦντι. ἡ δὲ Θυραίου τε καὶ Ὑψοῦντος μεταξὺ ὀρεινὴ πᾶσά ἐστι καὶ θηριώδης· Λυκάονος δὲ εἶναι Θυραῖόν τε καὶ Ὑψοῦντα προεδήλωσεν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος.
Τρικολώνων δέ ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ πρῶτα μὲν ἀνάντης ὁδὸς ἐπὶ πηγὴν καλουμένους Κρουνούς· σταδίους δὲ ὡς τριάκοντα καταβάντι ἐκ Κρουνῶν τάφος ἐστὶ Καλλιστοῦς, χῶμα γῆς ὑψηλόν, δένδρα ἔχον πολλὰ μὲν τῶν ἀκάρπων, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἥμερα. ἐπὶ δὲ ἄκρῳ τῷ χώματι ἱερόν ἐστιν Ἀρτέμιδος ἐπίκλησιν Καλλίστης· δοκεῖν δέ μοι καὶ Πάμφως μαθών τι παρὰ Ἀρκάδων πρῶτος Ἄρτεμιν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν ὠνόμασε Καλλίστην.
σταδίους δὲ αὐτόθεν μὲν πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι, Τρικολώνων δὲ ἑκατὸν τοὺς σύμπαντας ἀπέχουσα ἐπί γε τοῦ Ἑλισσόντος, κατὰ δὲ τὴν εὐθεῖαν Μεθυδρίου—αὕτη γὰρ δὴ ἐκ Τρικολώνων ἔτι λείπεται—Ἀνεμῶσά τέ ἐστι χωρίον καὶ ὄρος Φάλανθον, ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ ἐρείπιά ἐστι Φαλάνθου πόλεως· Ἀγελάου δὲ τοῦ Στυμφήλου παῖδα εἶναι τὸν Φάλανθον λέγουσιν.
ὑπὲρ τούτου δὲ πεδίον τέ ἐστι Πώλου καλούμενον καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸ Σχοινοῦς, ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς Βοιωτοῦ Σχοινέως ἔχων τὴν κλῆσιν. εἰ δὲ ὁ Σχοινεὺς ἀπεδήμησεν οὗτος παρὰ τοὺς Ἀρκάδας, εἶεν ἂν καὶ οἱ τῆς Ἀταλάντης δρόμοι σύνεγγυς τῷ Σχοινοῦντι ὄντες ἀπὸ τῆς τούτου θυγατρὸς τὸ ὄνομα εἰληφότες. ἑξῆς δέ ἐστιν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν καλούμενον, καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν Ἀρκαδίαν εἶναι τὴν χώραν φασὶν ἐνταῦθα.
The road I have mentioned leads to Messene. Another road leads from Megalopolis to Carnasium in Messenia. On this latter road you will come first to the Alpheus at the point where it is joined by the Malus and the Scyrus, which have previously mingled their streams. From this point, keeping the Malus on your right, you will proceed about thirty furlongs, and then cross the river and ascend by a somewhat steep road to a place called Phaedrias. 2. About fifteen furlongs from Phaedrias is the Hermaeum, called ‘at the Mistress’: this again is the boundary between Messenia and Megalopolis; and there are small images of the Mistress and Demeter, also of Hermes and Hercules. I believe, too, that the wooden image which was made for Hercules by Daedalus, stood here on the borders betwixt Messenia and Arcadia.
The road from Megalopolis to Lacedaemon strikes the Alpheus after thirty furlongs: thence you journey beside the river Thius, another tributary of the Alpheus, and then leaving the Thius on the left you will come, about forty furlongs from the Alpheus, to Phalaesiae. Phalaesiae is distant twenty furlongs from the Hermaeum at Belemina.
The Arcadians say that Belemina originally belonged to them, and that the Lacedaemonians annexed it. The statement appears to me improbable on various grounds, chiefly because I do not think that the Thebans would have allowed the Arcadians to be thus defrauded if they could in fairness have made restitution.
From Megalopolis roads also lead to the places in the interior of Arcadia. The distance to Methydrium is one hundred and seventy furlongs. Thirteen furlongs from Megalopolis is a place called Sciadis, with ruins of a sanctuary of Artemis Sciaditis, said to have been erected by Aristodemus, the tyrant. About ten furlongs farther on there are a few memorials of the city of Charisiae, and it is other ten furlongs from Charisiae to Tricoloni.
Tricoloni, too, was once a city, and here on a hill there remains to this day a sanctuary of Poseidon with a square image, and round about the sanctuary is a grove of trees. These cities were founded by the sons of Lycaon. Zoetia, about fifteen furlongs from Tricoloni (not on the straight road, but to the left from Tricoloni), is said to have been founded by Zoeteus, son of Tricolonus. Paroreus, the younger of the sons of Tricolonus, also founded a city, to wit, Paroria, distant from Zoetia ten furlongs. Both cities were uninhabited in my time, but in Zoetia there remains a temple of Demeter and Artemis. There are other ruins of cities ; of Thyraeum, fifteen furlongs from Paroria; of Hypsus, situated above the plain on a mountain of the same name. All the country between Thyraeum and Hypsus is mountainous and full of wild beasts. I have already pointed out that Thyraeus and Hypsus were sons of Lycaon.
Keeping to the right from Tricoloni you first ascend by a steep road to a spring called Cruni. Descending from Cruni about thirty furlongs you come to the grave of Callisto, a lofty mound of earth, on which grow trees, many of them of the cultivated sorts, and many of the kinds that bear no fruit. On the summit of the mound is a sanctuary of Artemis surnamed Calliste (‘fairest’). I believe that Pamphos, the first poet who gave Artemis the epithet of Calliste, must have learnt it from the Arcadians. Five-and-twenty furlongs from here, but one hundred in all from Tricoloni, is a place Anemosa on the Helisson, on the straight road to Methydrium ; for Methydrium is the only place left to describe on the road from Tricoloni. At Anemosa is also Mount Phalanthus, on which are ruins of a city Phalanthus. They say that Phalanthus was a son of Agelaus, who was a son of Stymphalus.
On the farther side of the mountain is a plain called the plain of Polus, and after it is Schoenus, called after a Boeotian man Schoeneus. If this Schoeneus migrated to Arcadia, the race-courses of Atalanta, near Schoenus, may have got their name from his daughter. Next there is . . . as it seems to me, called, and they say that the district here is Arcadia for all.
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