Θηβαίοις δὲ πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἐστι τῶν Προιτίδων καὶ τὸ Ἰολάου καλούμενον γυμνάσιον καὶ στάδιον κατὰ ταὐτὰ τῷ τε ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ καὶ τῷ Ἐπιδαυρίων γῆς χῶμα· ἐνταῦθα δείκνυται καὶ ἡρῷον Ἰολάου. τελευτῆσαι δὲ ἐν Σαρδοῖ τόν τε Ἰόλαον αὐτὸν καὶ Ἀθηναίων καὶ Θεσπιέων τοὺς συνδιαβάντας ὁμολογοῦσι καὶ οἱ Θηβαῖοι.
ὑπερβάντι δὲ τοῦ σταδίου τὰ ἐν δεξιᾷ δρόμος ἵππων καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Πινδάρου μνῆμά ἐστι. Πίνδαρον δὲ ἡλικίαν ὄντα νεανίσκον καὶ ἰόντα ἐς Θεσπιὰς ὥρᾳ καύματος περὶ μεσοῦσαν μάλιστα ἡμέραν κόπος καὶ ὕπνος ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ κατελάμβανεν· ὁ μὲν δὴ ὡς εἷχε κατακλίνεται βραχὺ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὁδοῦ, μέλισσαι δὲ αὐτῷ καθεύδοντι προσεπέτοντό τε καὶ ἔπλασσον πρὸς τὰ χείλη τοῦ κηροῦ.
ἀρχὴ μὲν Πινδάρῳ ποιεῖν ᾄσματα ἐγένετο τοιαύτη· εὐδοκιμοῦντα δὲ αὐτὸν ἤδη ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐς πλέον δόξης ἦρεν ἡ Πυθία ἀνειποῦσα Δελφοῖς, ὁπόσων ἀπήρχοντο τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι, μοῖραν καὶ Πινδάρῳ τὴν ἴσην ἁπάντων νέμειν. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὀνείρατος ὄψιν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι προήκοντι ἐς γῆρας· ἐπιστᾶσα ἡ Περσεφόνη οἱ καθεύδοντι οὐκ ἔφασκεν ὑμνηθῆναι μόνη θεῶν ὑπὸ Πινδάρου, ποιήσειν μέντοι καὶ ἐς αὐτὴν ᾆσμα Πίνδαρον ἐλθόντα ὡς αὐτήν.
τὸν μὲν αὐτίκα τὸ χρεὼν ἐπιλαμβάνει πρὶν ἐξήκειν ἡμέραν δεκάτην ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνείρατος, ἦν δὲ ἐν Θήβαις γυνὴ πρεσβῦτις γένους ἕνεκα προσήκουσα Πινδάρῳ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ μεμελετηκυῖα ᾄδειν τῶν ᾀσμάτων· ταύτῃ Πίνδαρος ἐνύπνιον τῇ πρεσβύτιδι ἐπιστὰς ὕμνον ᾖσεν ἐς Περσεφόνην, ἡ δὲ αὐτίκα ὡς ἀπέλιπεν αὐτὴν ὁ ὕπνος, ἔγραψε ταῦτα ὁπόσα τοῦ ὀνείρατος ἤκουσεν ᾄδοντος. ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ᾄσματι ἄλλαι τε ἐς τὸν Ἅιδην εἰσὶν ἐπικλήσεις καὶ ὁ χρυσήνιος, δῆλα ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς Κόρης τῇ ἁρπαγῇ.
ἐντεῦθεν ἐς Ἀκραίφνιόν ἐστιν ὁδὸς τὰ πλείω πεδιάς. εἶναι δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τε μοῖραν τῆς Θηβαΐδος τὴν πόλιν φασὶ καὶ ὕστερον διαπεσόντας Θηβαίων ἐς αὐτὴν ἄνδρας εὕρισκον, ἡνίκα Ἀλέξανδρος ἐποίει τὰς Θήβας ἀναστάτους· ὑπὸ δὲ ἀσθενείας καὶ γήρως οὐδὲ ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἀποσωθῆναι δυνηθέντες ἐνταῦθα ᾤκησαν. κεῖται μὲν τὸ πόλισμα ἐν ὄρει τῷ Πτώῳ, θέας δὲ ἄξια ἐνταῦθα Διονύσου ναός ἐστι καὶ ἄγαλμα.
προελθόντι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐν δεξιᾷ πέντε που καὶ δέκα σταδίους τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστι τοῦ Πτώου τὸ ἱερόν. εἶναι δὲ Ἀθάμαντος καὶ Θεμιστοῦς παῖδα τὸν Πτῶον, ἀφʼ οὗ τῷ τε Ἀπόλλωνι ἐπίκλησις καὶ τῷ ὄρει τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο, Ἄσιος ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν εἴρηκε. πρὸ δὲ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Μακεδόνων ἐπιστρατείας καὶ ὀλέθρου τοῦ Θηβαίων μαντεῖον ἦν αὐτόθι ἀψευδές· καί ποτε ἄνδρα Εὐρωπέα—ὄνομα δέ οἱ εἶναι Μῦν—, τοῦτον ἀποσταλέντα ὑπὸ Μαρδονίου τὸν Μῦν ἐπερέσθαι τε φωνῇ τῇ σφετέρᾳ καί οἱ χρῆσαι τὸν θεόν, οὐχ ἑλληνίσαντα οὐδὲ αὐτόν, διαλέκτῳ τῇ Καρικῇ.
ὑπερβαλόντων δὲ τὸ ὄρος τὸ Πτῶον ἔστιν ἐπὶ θαλάσσης Βοιωτῶν πόλις Λάρυμνα, γενέσθαι δὲ αὐτῇ τὸ ὄνομά φασιν ἀπὸ Λαρύμνης τῆς Κύνου· τοὺς δὲ ἀνωτέρω προγόνους δηλώσει μοι τὰ ἔχοντα ἐς Λοκροὺς τοῦ λόγου. καὶ συνετέλει δὲ ἐς Ὀποῦντα ἡ Λάρυμνα τὸ ἀρχαῖον· Θηβαίων δὲ ἐπὶ μέγα ἰσχύος προελθόντων, τηνικαῦτα ἑκουσίως μετετάξαντο ἐς Βοιωτούς. Διονύσου δὲ ἐνταῦθα ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν πεποίηται. λιμὴν δέ σφισίν ἐστιν ἀγχιβαθής, καὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑπὲρ τὴν πόλιν ὑῶν παρέχεται θήραν ἀγρίων.
Before the Proetidian gate at Thebes is the gymnasium called the gymnasium of Iolaus, and a stadium formed by a bank of earth like the stadiums at Olympia and Epidaurus. Here, too, is shown a shrine of the hero Iolaus. The Thebans themselves admit that Iolaus met his end in Sardinia along with the Athenians and Thespians who had crossed the sea with him. 2. Passing over the right side of the stadium you come to a hippodrome in which is the tomb of Pindar. It chanced that the youthful Pindar was once journeying to Thespiae in the hot season at the hour of noon. Weariness and drowsiness overtook him, and he laid him down without more ado a little way above the road. And while he slept, bees flew to him and plastered honey on his lips. Such was the beginning of his career of song. When his fame was spread abroad from one end of Greece to the other, the Pythian priestess set him on a still higher pinnacle of renown by bidding the Delphians give to Pindar an equal share of all the firstfruits they offered to Apollo. It is said, too, that in his old age there was vouchsafed to him a vision in a dream. As he slept Proserpine stood by him and said that of all the deities she alone had not been hymned by him, but that, nevertheless, he should make a song on her also when he was come to her. Before ten days were out Pindar had paid the debt of nature. But there was in Thebes an old woman, a relation of Pindar’s, who had practised singing most of his songs. To her Pindar appeared in a dream and sang to her a hymn on Proserpine; and she, as soon as she was awake, wrote down all the song she had heard him singing in her dream. In this song, amongst the epithets applied to Hades is that of ‘golden-reined,’ obviously in reference to the rape of Proserpine. 3. The road from here to Acraephnium is mostly over a level country. They say that the city of Acraephnium originally belonged to the territory of Thebes, and I found that when Alexander destroyed Thebes, some of the Thebans made their way hither, and being feeble and old they could not escape to Attica, and so took up their abode here. The town stands on Mount Ptous: a temple and an image of Dionysus here are worth seeing. About fifteen furlongs to the right of the city is the sanctuary of Ptoan Apollo. The poet Asius says that Ptous, after whom Apollo and the mountain were named, was a son of Athamas and Themisto. Before the invasion of the Macedonians under Alexander and the destruction of Thebes there was an infallible oracle here. It is said that once a man of Europus named Mys was sent by Mardonius and inquired of the oracle in his own tongue, and the god answered him likewise, not in Greek, but in the Carian language. 4. Having crossed Mount Ptous we come to a Boeotian city, Larymna, on the sea. They say it got its name from Larymna, daughter of Cynus. Her more remote ancestors I will mention in the section on Locris. Larymna anciently belonged to Opus ; but when Thebes grew powerful the people of Larymna voluntarily joined the Boeotian confederacy. Here there is a temple of Dionysus with a standing image. They have a harbour where the water is deep close in shore; and wild boars may be hunted in the mountains above the city.
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