τῷ δὲ Ἀπόλλωνι οἱ Τεγεᾶται τῷ Ἀγυιεῖ τὰ ἀγάλματα ἐπʼ αἰτίᾳ φασὶν ἱδρύσασθαι τοιᾷδε. Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ Ἄρτεμιν ἐπὶ πᾶσαν λέγουσι χώραν τιμωρεῖσθαι τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων ὅσοι Λητοῦς, ἡνίκα εἶχεν ἐν τῇ γαστρί, πλανωμένης καὶ ἀφικομένης ἐς τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην οὐδένα ἐποιήσαντο αὐτῆς λόγον.
ὡς δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἐς τὴν Τεγεατῶν ἐληλυθέναι τοὺς θεούς, ἐνταῦθα υἱὸν Τεγεάτου Σκέφρον προσελθόντα τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ διαλέγεσθαι πρὸς αὐτόν· Λειμὼν δὲ—ἦν δὲ καὶ ὁ Λειμὼν οὗτος Τεγεάτου τῶν παίδων—ὑπονοήσας ἔγκλημα ἔχειν ἐς ἑαυτὸν τὰ ὑπὸ Σκέφρου λεγόμενα, ἀποκτίννυσιν ἐπιδραμὼν τὸν ἀδελφόν.
καὶ Λειμῶνα μὲν τοξευθέντα ὑπὸ Ἀρτέμιδος περιῆλθεν αὐτίκα ἡ δίκη τοῦ φόνου· Τεγεάτης δὲ καὶ Μαιρὰ τὸ μὲν παραυτίκα Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι θύουσιν, ὕστερον δὲ ἐπιλαβούσης ἀκαρπίας ἰσχυρᾶς ἦλθε μάντευμα ἐκ Δελφῶν Σκέφρον θρηνεῖν. καὶ ἄλλα τε ἐν τοῦ Ἀγυιέως τῇ ἑορτῇ δρῶσιν ἐς τιμὴν τοῦ Σκέφρου καὶ ἡ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱέρεια διώκει τινὰ ἅτε αὐτὴ τὸν Λειμῶνα ἡ Ἄρτεμις.
λέγουσι δὲ καὶ ὅσοι Τεγεάτου τῶν παίδων ἐλείποντο, μετοικῆσαι σφᾶς ἑκουσίως ἐς Κρήτην, Κύδωνα καὶ Ἀρχήδιον καὶ Γόρτυνα· καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων φασὶν ὀνομασθῆναι τὰς πόλεις Κυδωνίαν καὶ Γόρτυνά τε καὶ Κατρέα. Κρῆτες δὲ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦντες τῷ Τεγεατῶν λόγῳ Κύδωνα μὲν Ἀκακαλλίδος θυγατρὸς Μίνω καὶ Ἑρμοῦ, Κατρέα δέ φασιν εἶναι Μίνω, τὸν δὲ Γόρτυνα Ῥαδαμάνθυος.
ἐς δὲ αὐτὸν Ῥαδάμανθυν Ὁμήρου μέν ἐστιν ἐν Πρωτέως πρὸς Μενέλαον λόγοις ὡς ἐς τὸ πεδίον ἥξοι Μενέλαος τὸ Ἠλύσιον, πρότερον δὲ ἔτι Ῥαδάμανθυν ἐνταῦθα ἥκειν· Κιναίθων δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν ἐποίησεν ὡς Ῥαδάμανθυς μὲν Ἡφαίστου, Ἥφαιστος δὲ εἴη Τάλω, Τάλων δὲ εἶναι Κρητὸς παῖδα. οἱ μὲν δὴ Ἑλλήνων λόγοι διάφοροι τὰ πλέονα καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τοῖς γένεσίν εἰσι·
Τεγεάταις δὲ τοῦ Ἀγυιέως τὰ ἀγάλματα τέσσαρά εἰσιν ἀριθμόν, ὑπὸ φυλῆς ἓν ἑκάστης ἱδρυμένον. ὀνόματα δὲ αἱ φυλαὶ παρέχονται Κλαρεῶτις Ἱπποθοῖτις Ἀπολλωνιᾶτις Ἀθανεᾶτις· καλοῦνται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κλήρου ὃν τοῖς παισὶν Ἀρκὰς ἐποίησεν ὑπὲρ τῆς χώρας καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱππόθου τοῦ Κερκυόνος.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ Δήμητρος ἐν Τεγέᾳ καὶ Κόρης ναός, ἃς ἐπονομάζουσι Καρποφόρους, πλησίον δὲ Ἀφροδίτης καλουμένης Παφίας· ἱδρύσατο αὐτὴν Λαοδίκη, γεγονυῖα μέν, ὡς καὶ πρότερον ἐδήλωσα, ἀπὸ Ἀγαπήνορος ὃς ἐς Τροίαν ἡγήσατο Ἀρκάσιν, οἰκοῦσα δὲ ἐν Πάφῳ. τούτου δέ ἐστιν οὐ πόρρω Διονύσου τε ἱερὰ δύο καὶ Κόρης βωμὸς καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα ἐπίχρυσον·
Χειρίσοφος δὲ ἐποίησε, Κρὴς μὲν γένος, ἡλικίαν δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν διδάξαντα οὐκ ἴσμεν· ἡ δὲ δίαιτα ἡ ἐν Κνωσσῷ Δαιδάλῳ παρὰ Μίνῳ συμβᾶσα ἐπὶ μακρότερον δόξαν τοῖς Κρησὶ καὶ ἐπὶ ξοάνων ποιήσει παρεσκεύασε. παρὰ δὲ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ὁ Χειρίσοφος ἕστηκε λίθου πεποιημένος.
καλοῦσι δὲ οἱ Τεγεᾶται καὶ ἑστίαν Ἀρκάδων κοινήν· ἐνταῦθά ἐστιν ἄγαλμα Ἡρακλέους, πεποίηται δέ οἱ ἐπὶ τοῦ μηροῦ τραῦμα ἀπὸ τῆς μάχης ἣν πρώτην Ἱπποκόωντος τοῖς παισὶν ἐμαχέσατο. τὸ δὲ χωρίον τὸ ὑψηλόν, ἐφʼ οὗ καὶ οἱ βωμοὶ Τεγεάταις εἰσὶν οἱ πολλοί, καλεῖται μὲν Διὸς Κλαρίου, δῆλα δὲ ὡς ἐγένετο ἡ ἐπίκλησις τῷ θεῷ τοῦ κλήρου τῶν παίδων ἕνεκα τῶν Ἀρκάδος.
ἄγουσι δὲ ἑορτὴν αὐτόθι Τεγεᾶται κατὰ ἔτος· καί σφισιν ἐπιστρατεῦσαι Λακεδαιμονίους ποτὲ ὑπὸ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἑορτῆς λέγουσι, καὶ—νείφειν γὰρ τὸν θεόν—τοὺς μὲν ῥιγοῦν καὶ ὄντας ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις κάμνειν, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐκείνων κρύφα πῦρ καῦσαι, καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἠνωχλοῦντο ὑπὸ τοῦ κρυμοῦ, τὰ ὅπλα ἐνδύντες ἐξελθεῖν τε ἐπὶ τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ σχεῖν ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τὸ πλέον φασίν. ἐθεασάμην δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐν Τεγέᾳ τοσάδε, Ἀλέου οἰκίαν καὶ Ἐχέμου μνῆμα καὶ ἐπειργασμένην ἐς στήλην τὴν Ἐχέμου πρὸς Ὕλλον μάχην.
ἐκ Τεγέας δὲ ἰόντι ἐς τὴν Λακωνικὴν ἔστι μὲν βωμὸς ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ Πανός, ἔστι δὲ καὶ Λυκαίου Διός· λείπεται δὲ καὶ θεμέλια ἱερῶν. οὗτοι μὲν δή εἰσιν οἱ βωμοὶ σταδίοις δύο ἀπωτέρω τοῦ τείχους, προελθόντι δὲ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν μάλιστά που σταδίους ἑπτὰ ἱερὸν Ἀρτέμιδος ἐπίκλησιν Λιμνάτιδος καὶ ἄγαλμά ἐστιν ἐβένου ξύλου· τρόπος δὲ τῆς ἐργασίας ὁ Αἰγιναῖος καλούμενος ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων. τούτου δὲ ὅσον δέκα ἀπωτέρω σταδίοις Ἀρτέμιδος Κνακεάτιδός ἐστι ναοῦ τὰ ἐρείπια.
Such is the tenor of the inscription. There are images of Apollo, the God of Streets, at Tegea. The Tegeans say that they set them up for the following reason. They relate that Apollo and Artemis went to every country and took vengeance on all the men of that age who, when the pregnant Latona in the course of her wanderings came to that land, paid no heed to her. So when the deities came to the land of Tegea, Scephrus, son of Tegeates, went up to Apollo and talked with him in secret ; but Limon, another son of Tegeates, suspecting that what Scephrus was saying reflected on himself, ran at his brother and slew him. Punishment immediately overtook the murderer, for Artemis shot him. Tegeates and Maera sacrificed to Apollo and Artemis at the time; but afterwards a great barrenness fell upon the land, and an oracle was sent from Delphi that they should bewail Scephrus. So at the festival of the God of Streets they perform various ceremonies in honour of Scephrus, and, in particular, the priestess of Artemis pursues a man, feigning that she is Artemis and he Limon. 2. They say, further, that Cydon, Archedius, and Gortys, the surviving sons of Tegeates, migrated voluntarily to Crete, and that the cities Cydonia, Gortyna, and Catreus, were named after them. The Cretans, however, do not agree with the Tegean legend, but say that Cydon was a son of Hermes by Acacallis, daughter of Minos, and that Catreus was a son of Minos, and that Gortys was a son of Rhadamanthys. Touching Rhadamanthys himself, Homer, in Proteus’ speech to Menelaus, says that Menelaus will come to the Elysian plain, but that Rhadamanthys was come there before him. Cinaethon in his poem represents Rhadamanthys as a son of Hephaestus, Hephaestus as a son of Talos, and Talos as a son of Cres. The legends of the Greeks differ from each other on most points, especially in the genealogies.
The Tegeans have four statues of the God of Streets, one set up by each tribe. The names of the tribes are Clareotis, Hippothoetis, Apolloniatis, and Athaneatis. They are called after the lots which Arcas made his sons cast for the land, and after Hippothous, son of Cercyon. There is also in Tegea a temple of Demeter and the Maid, whom they name Fruit-bearers, and near it is a temple of Paphian Aphrodite. The latter was founded by Laodice, who dwelt in Paphos, and, as I have shown before, was descended from Agapenor, who led the Arcadians to Troy. Not far from it are two sanctuaries of Dionysus, an altar of the Maid, and a temple of Apollo, with a gilded image. This image was made by Chirisophus, a Cretan by birth, but his date and master we do not know. The residence of Daedalus in Cnosus, at the court of Minos, conferred on the Cretans for a long time a reputation for the making of wooden images. Beside the Apollo stands a statue of Chirisophus, made of stone. There is also what the Tegeans call the Common Hearth of the Arcadians. Here is an image of Hercules, with a wound on his thigh, which he received in the first battle which he fought with the sons of Hippocoon.
The high place on which stand most of the altars of the Tegeans is called after Clarian Zeus: plainly the god received the surname from the lots (kleroi) cast on behalf of the sons of Arcas. The Tegeans celebrate a festival here every year. They say that once the Lacedaemonians marched against them at the time of the festival: it was snowing, and the Lacedaemonians shivered and were faint with the weight of their arms. But the Tegeans stealthily lit a fire, and not being incommoded by the cold they got under arms, marched out against the Lacedaemonians, and got the best of it in the action.
I also beheld in Tegea the house of Aleus, the tomb of Echemus, and the combat of Echemus with Hyllus sculptured in relief on a slab. On the way from Tegea to Laconia there is an altar of Pan on the left of the road, also an altar of Lycaean Zeus, and some foundations of sanctuaries are still to be seen. These altars are two furlongs from the city wall; and just about seven furlongs farther on is a sanctuary of Artemis, surnamed the Lady of the Lake, with an image of ebony: the style of the workmanship is what the Greeks call Aeginetan. About ten furlongs farther on are the ruins of a temple of Cnaceatian Artemis.
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