τῷ δὲ Ἀπόλλωνι Θηβαῖοι τῷ Σποδίῳ ταύρους ἔθυον τὸ ἀρχαῖον· καί ποτε παρούσης σφίσι τῆς ἑορτῆς ἥ τε ὥρα κατήπειγε τῆς θυσίας καὶ οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὸν ταῦρον οὐχ ἧκον· οὕτω δὴ παρατυχούσης ἁμάξης τὸν ἕτερον τῶν βοῶν τῷ θεῷ θύουσι καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἐργάτας βοῦς θύειν νομίζουσι. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὅδε ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λόγος, ὡς ἀπιόντι ἐκ Δελφῶν Κάδμῳ τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέων βοῦς γένοιτο ἡγεμὼν τῆς πορείας, τὴν δὲ βοῦν ταύτην παρὰ βουκόλων εἶναι τῶν Πελάγοντος ὠνητήν· ἐπὶ δὲ ἑκατέρᾳ τῆς βοὸς πλευρᾷ σημεῖον ἐπεῖναι λευκὸν εἰκασμένον κύκλῳ τῆς σελήνης, ὁπότε εἴη πλήρης.
ἔδει δὲ ἄρα Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἐνταῦθα οἰκῆσαι κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν μαντείαν, ἔνθα ἡ βοῦς ἔμελλε καμοῦσα ὀκλάσειν· ἀποφαίνουσιν οὖν καὶ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον. ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ βωμὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἀθηνᾶς· ἀναθεῖναι δὲ αὐτὸ Κάδμον λέγουσι. τοῖς οὖν νομίζουσιν ἐς γῆν ἀφικέσθαι Κάδμον τὴν Θηβαΐδα Αἰγύπτιον καὶ οὐ Φοίνικα ὄντα, ἔστιν ἐναντίον τῷ λόγῳ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ταύτης τὸ ὄνομα, ὅτι Ὄγγα κατὰ γλῶσσαν τὴν Φοινίκων καλεῖται καὶ οὐ Σάις κατὰ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων φωνήν.
φασὶ δὲ οἱ Θηβαῖοι, καθότι τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἀγορά σφισιν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν πεποίηται, Κάδμου τὸ ἀρχαῖον οἰκίαν εἶναι· θαλάμων δὲ ἀποφαίνουσι τοῦ μὲν Ἁρμονίας ἐρείπια καὶ ὃν Σεμέλης φασὶν εἶναι, τοῦτον δὲ καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι ἄβατον φυλάσσουσιν ἀνθρώποις. Ἑλλήνων δὲ τοῖς ἀποδεχομένοις ᾆσαι Μούσας ἐς τὸν Ἁρμονίας γάμον τὸ χωρίον ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ἔνθα δή φασι τὰς θεὰς ᾆσαι.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τόδε, ὡς ὁμοῦ τῷ κεραυνῷ βληθέντι ἐς τὸν Σεμέλης θάλαμον πέσοι ξύλον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ· Πολύδωρον δὲ τὸ ξύλον τοῦτο χαλκῷ λέγουσιν ἐπικοσμήσαντα Διόνυσον καλέσαι Κάδμον. πλησίον δὲ Διονύσου ἄγαλμα, καὶ τοῦτο Ὀνασιμήδης ἐποίησε διʼ ὅλου πλῆρες ὑπὸ τοῦ χαλκοῦ· τὸν βωμὸν δὲ οἱ παῖδες εἰργάσαντο οἱ Πραξιτέλους.
ἀνδριάς τέ ἐστι Προνόμου ἀνδρὸς αὐλήσαντος ἐπαγωγότατα ἐς τοὺς πολλούς. τέως μέν γε ἰδέας αὐλῶν τρεῖς ἐκτῶντο οἱ αὐληταὶ καὶ τοῖς μὲν αὔλημα ηὔλουν τὸ Δώριον, διάφοροι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐς ἁρμονίαν τὴν Φρύγιον ἐπεποίηντο οἱ αὐλοί, τὸ δὲ καλούμενον Λύδιον ἐν αὐλοῖς ηὐλεῖτο ἀλλοίοις· Πρόνομος δὲ ἦν ὃς πρῶτος ἐπενόησεν αὐλοὺς ἐς ἅπαν ἁρμονίας εἶδος ἔχοντας ἐπιτηδείως, πρῶτος δὲ διάφορα ἐς τοσοῦτο μέλη ἐπʼ αὐλοῖς ηὔλησε τοῖς αὐτοῖς.
λέγεται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοῦ προσώπου τῷ σχήματι καὶ τῇ τοῦ παντὸς κινήσει σώματος περισσῶς δή τι ἔτερπε τὰ θέατρα· καί οἱ καὶ ᾆσμα πεποιημένον ἐστὶ προσόδιον ἐς Δῆλον τοῖς ἐπʼ Εὐρίπῳ Χαλκιδεῦσι. τοῦτόν τε οὖν ἐνταῦθα οἱ Θηβαῖοι καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδαν τὸν Πολύμνιδος ἀνέθεσαν.
The Thebans sacrificed bulls of old to Apollo of the Ashes. Once when the festival was come, and the hour of sacrifice drew near, the men who had been sent to fetch the bull had not yet appeared. So a wagon happening to be at hand, they sacrificed one of the oxen to the god; and from that time it has been their custom to sacrifice working oxen. Another story which they tell is this. When Cadmus was departing from Delphi by the road which leads to Phocis, he was guided on his journey by a cow which had been bought from the cowherds of Pelagon, and on each of the cow’s flanks was a white mark like the orb of the moon when it is full. Now the oracle of the god directed Cadmus and his host to take up their abode wherever the cow sank down exhausted. So the spot is still pointed out.
Here in the open air is an altar and an image of Athena. They say that the image was set up by Cadmus. Against the view of those who think that Cadmus came to the land of Thebes from Egypt, and not from Phoenicia, is to be set the name of this Athena, for she is called by the Phoenician name of Onga, not by the Egyptian name of Sais.
The Thebans say that in that part of the acropolis where the market-place is at present the house of Cadmus stood of old. They also show the ruins of the bridal-chambers of Harmonia and Semele. Even to the present day they allow no one to set foot in the latter. The Greeks who believe that the Muses sang at the wedding of Harmonia can point to the place in the market-place where they say the goddesses sang. It is further said that along with the thunderbolt which was hurled on the bridal-chamber of Semele, there fell a log from heaven ; and they say that Polydorus adorned this log with bronze, and called it Dionysus Cadmus. Near it is an image of Dionysus made by Onasimedes of solid bronze. The altar was wrought by the sons of Praxiteles.
There is a statue of Pronomus, a very popular flute-player. Before his time flute-players had three kinds of flutes. On one kind they played the Dorian music, while the flutes for the Phrygian melody were differently constructed, and the Lydian music again was played on flutes different from either. Pronomus was the first who invented flutes suitable for every kind of melody, and he was the first who played such widely different airs on the same flutes. It is said, too, that he charmed his audiences to an extraordinary degree by the expression of his face and the carriage of his whole person. He also composed for the people of Chalcis, on the Euripus, the processional hymn to be used at Delos. Here, then, the Thebans set up his statue and the statue of Epaminondas, son of Polymnis.
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