τῆς ἀγορᾶς δὲ μάλιστα ἐοικυίας πλίνθῳ κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα, Ἀφροδίτης ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῇ ναὸς καλούμενος ἐν πλινθίῳ καὶ ἄγαλμα λίθου. στήλαις δὲ ἐπειργασμένοι τῇ μὲν Ἀντιφάνης ἐστὶ καὶ Κρῖσος καὶ Τυρωνίδας τε καὶ Πυρρίας, οἳ νόμους Τεγεάταις θέμενοι τιμὰς καὶ ἐς τόδε παρʼ αὐτῶν ἔχουσιν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ στήλῃ πεποιημένος ἐστὶν Ἰάσιος ἵππου τε ἐχόμενος καὶ κλάδον ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ φέρων φοίνικος· νικῆσαι δὲ ἵππῳ φασὶν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τὸν Ἰάσιον, ὅτε Ἡρακλῆς ἔθετο ὁ Θηβαῖος τὰ Ὀλύμπια.
ἐν μὲν δὴ Ὀλυμπίᾳ κοτίνου τῷ νικῶντι δίδοσθαι στέφανον καὶ ἐν Δελφοῖς δάφνης, τοῦ μὲν ἤδη τὴν αἰτίαν ἀπέδωκα ἐν τοῖς ἐς Ἠλείους, τοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔπειτα δηλώσω· ἐν Ἰσθμῷ δὲ ἡ πίτυς καὶ τὰ ἐν Νεμέᾳ σέλινα ἐπὶ τοῦ Παλαίμονος καὶ τοῦ Ἀρχεμόρου τοῖς παθήμασιν ἐνομίσθησαν. οἱ δὲ ἀγῶνες φοίνικος ἔχουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ στέφανον· ἐς δὲ τὴν δεξιάν ἐστι καὶ πανταχοῦ τῷ νικῶντι ἐστιθέμενος φοῖνιξ.
ἐνομίσθη δὲ ἐπὶ τοιῷδε· Θησέα ἀνακομιζόμενον ἐκ Κρήτης φασὶν ἐν Δήλῳ ἀγῶνα ποιήσασθαι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι, στεφανοῦν δὲ αὐτὸν τοὺς νικῶντας τῷ φοίνικι. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ ἄρξαι λέγουσιν ἐντεῦθεν· τοῦ δὲ φοίνικος τοῦ ἐν Δήλῳ μνήμην ἐποιήσατο καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν Ὀδυσσέως ἱκεσίᾳ πρὸς τὴν Ἀλκίνου θυγατέρα.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἄρεως ἄγαλμα ἐν τῇ Τεγεατῶν ἀγορᾷ. τοῦτο ἐκτετύπωται μὲν ἐπὶ στήλῃ, Γυναικοθοίναν δὲ ὀνομάζουσιν αὐτόν. ὑπὸ γὰρ τὸν Λακωνικὸν πόλεμον καὶ Χαρίλλου τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλέως τὴν πρώτην ἐπιστρατείαν λαβοῦσαι αἱ γυναῖκές σφισιν ὅπλα ἐλόχων ὑπὸ τὸν λόφον ὃν Φυλακτρίδα ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ὀνομάζουσι· συνελθόντων δὲ τῶν στρατοπέδων καὶ τολμήματα ἀποδεικνυμένων ἑκατέρωθεν τῶν ἀνδρῶν πολλά τε καὶ ἄξια μνήμης, οὕτω φασὶν ἐπιφανῆναί σφισι τὰς
γυναῖκας καὶ εἶναι τὰς ἐργασαμένας ταύτας τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τὴν τροπήν, Μάρπησσαν δὲ τὴν Χοίραν ἐπονομαζομένην ὑπερβαλέσθαι τῇ τόλμῃ τὰς ἄλλας γυναῖκας, ἁλῶναι δὲ ἐν τοῖς Σπαρτιάταις καὶ αὐτὸν Χάριλλον· καὶ τὸν μὲν ἀφεθέντα ἄνευ λύτρων, καὶ ὅρκον Τεγεάταις δόντα μήποτε Λακεδαιμονίους στρατεύσειν ἔτι ἐπὶ Τεγέαν, παραβῆναι τὸν ὅρκον, τὰς γυναῖκας δὲ τῷ Ἄρει θῦσαί τε ἄνευ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἰδίᾳ τὰ ἐπινίκια καὶ τοῦ ἱερείου τῶν κρεῶν οὐ μεταδοῦναι σφᾶς τοῖς ἀνδράσιν. ἀντὶ τούτων μὲν τῷ Ἄρει γέγονεν ἡ ἐπίκλησις·
πεποίηται δὲ καὶ Διὸς Τελείου βωμὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα τετράγωνον· περισσῶς γὰρ δή τι τῷ σχήματι τούτῳ φαίνονταί μοι χαίρειν οἱ Ἀρκάδες. καὶ μνήματά ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα Τεγεάτου τοῦ Λυκάονος καὶ Μαιρᾶς γυναικὸς τοῦ Τεγεάτου· θυγατέρα Ἄτλαντός φασιν εἶναι τὴν Μαιράν, ἧς δὴ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐποιήσατο μνήμην ἐν Ὀδυσσέως λόγοις πρὸς Ἀλκίνουν περί τε ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐς Ἅιδην καὶ ὁπόσων ἐθεάσατο ἐκεῖ τὰς ψυχάς.
τὴν δὲ Εἰλείθυιαν οἱ Τεγεᾶται—καὶ γὰρ ταύτης ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ ναὸν καὶ ἄγαλμα— ἐπονομάζουσιν Αὔγην ἐν γόνασι, λέγοντες ὡς Ναυπλίῳ παραδοίη τὴν θυγατέρα Ἄλεος ἐντειλάμενος ἐπαναγαγόντα αὐτὴν ἐς θάλασσαν καταποντῶσαι· τὴν δὲ ὡς ἤγετο πεσεῖν τε ἐς γόνατα καὶ οὕτω τεκεῖν τὸν παῖδα, ἔνθα τῆς Εἰλειθυίας ἐστὶ τὸ ἱερόν. οὗτος ὁ λόγος διάφορος μέν ἐστιν ἑτέρῳ λόγῳ, λάθρᾳ τὴν Αὔγην τεκεῖν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐκτεθῆναι τὸν Τήλεφον λέγοντι ἐς τὸ ὄρος τὸ Παρθένιον καὶ τῷ παιδὶ ἐκκειμένῳ διδόναι γάλα ἔλαφον· λέγεται δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον καὶ οὗτος ὑπὸ Τεγεατῶν ὁ λόγος.
πρὸς δὲ τῷ ἱερῷ τῆς Εἰλειθυίας ἐστὶ Γῆς βωμός, ἔχεται δὲ τοῦ βωμοῦ λίθου λευκοῦ στήλη· ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῆς Πολύβιος ὁ Λυκόρτα καὶ ἐπὶ ἑτέρᾳ στήλῃ τῶν παίδων τῶν Ἀρκάδος Ἔλατός ἐστιν εἰργασμένος.
The market-place is shaped exactly like a brick : in it there is a temple of Aphrodite, called Aphrodite in Brick, with a stone image. There are two slabs, on one of which are wrought in relief Antiphanes, Crisus, Tyronidas, and Pyrrhias, who made laws for the Tegeans, and are honoured by them to this day. On the other slab is represented Iasius, holding a horse and bearing in his right hand a palm branch. They say that Iasius won the horse-race at Olympia at the time when the Theban Hercules celebrated the Olympic games.
Why a crown of wild-olive is given to the victor at Olympia, I have already explained in the section on Elis ; and in the sequel I will show why at Delphi he receives a crown of laurel. At the Isthmus the pine, and at Nemea the celery were adopted as symbols of the sufferings of Palaemon and Archemorus. But in most of the games the crown is of palm, and everywhere a palm is placed in the victor’s right hand. The origin of the custom was this: they relate that Theseus, returning from Crete, celebrated games in Delos in honour of Apollo, and crowned the victors with the palm. They say that this was the beginning of the custom. The palm-tree at Delos is mentioned by Homer in the supplication which Ulysses addresses to the daughter of Alcinous.
There is also an image of Ares in the market-place of Tegea. It is wrought in relief on a slab, and they name the god Entertainer of Women . . . Laconian war, and when Charillus, the king of the Lacedaemonians, led the first invasion, the women took arms and lay in ambush at the foot of the hill which they still call Phylactris (‘Watch-hill’). When the armies had engaged, and the men on both sides were doing many doughty and memorable deeds, the women, they say, showed themselves and caused the rout of the Lacedaemonians. They say that Marpessa, surnamed Choera, surpassed all the other women in valour, and that amongst the Spartan prisoners was Charillus himself. He was released without ransom, and swore to the Tegeans that never more would Lacedaemonians march against Tegea, but he broke his oath. The women, they say, offered the sacrifice of victory to Ares without the men, and did not give the men a share of the flesh of the victim. That is why Ares got his surname.
There is also an altar of Full-grown Zeus and a square image: the Arcadians appear to me to be exceedingly fond of the square shape. Here, too, are tombs of Tegeates, son of Lycaon, and of Maera, wife of Tegeates. They say that Maera was a daughter of Atlas. Homer mentions her in the tales that Ulysses tells Alcinous about his journey to hell, and about all the people whose souls he beheld there. 5. There is a temple and image of Ilithyia in the market-place, and the Tegeans call her ‘Auge on her Knees,’ because, say they, when Aleus delivered his daughter to Nauplius, with orders to take her and drown her in the sea, as she was being haled along she fell on her knees, and so gave birth to the boy at the place where the sanctuary of Ilithyia stands. Different from this story is another, that Auge hid the birth from her father, and exposed the child Telephus on Mount Parthenius, and that the forsaken boy was suckled by a doe. Nevertheless this latter story is also current among the Tegeans.
Beside the sanctuary of Ilithyia is an altar to Earth, and adjoining the altar is a slab of white marble. On this slab is represented Polybius, son of Lycortas, and on another slab is wrought Elatus, one of the sons of Arcas.
Cite This Text