Θηβαίοις δὲ τῶν πυλῶν ἐστιν ἐγγύτατα τῶν Νηιστῶν Μενοικέως μνῆμα τοῦ Κρέοντος· ἀπέκτεινε δὲ ἑκουσίως αὑτὸν κατὰ τὸ μάντευμα τὸ ἐκ Δελφῶν, ἡνίκα Πολυνείκης καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸς ἀφίκοντο ἐξ Ἄργους. τοῦ δὲ Μενοικέως ἐπιπέφυκε ῥοιὰ τῷ μνήματι· τοῦ καρποῦ δὲ ὄντος πεπείρου διαρρήξαντί σοι τὸ ἐκτὸς λοιπόν ἐστιν εὑρεῖν τὸ ἔνδον αἵματι ἐμφερές. αὕτη μὲν δὴ τεθηλὸς δένδρον ἐστὶν ἡ ῥοιά· ἄμπελον δὲ φῦναι μὲν οἱ Θηβαῖοι παρὰ σφίσι πρώτοις φασὶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀποφῆναι δὲ οὐδὲν ἔτι ἐς αὐτὴν ὑπόμνημα εἶχον.
τοῦ δὲ Μενοικέως οὐ πόρρω τάφου τοὺς παῖδας λέγουσιν Οἰδίποδος μονομαχήσαντας ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ ἀλλήλων· σημεῖον δὲ τῆς μάχης αὐτῶν κίων, καὶ ἀσπὶς ἔπεστιν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ λίθου. δείκνυται δέ τι χωρίον ἔνθα Ἥραν Θηβαῖοί φασιν Ἡρακλεῖ παιδὶ ἔτι ἐπισχεῖν γάλα κατὰ δή τινα ἀπάτην ἐκ Διός· καλεῖται δὲ ὁ σύμπας οὗτος τόπος Σῦρμα Ἀντιγόνης· ὡς γὰρ τὸν τοῦ Πολυνείκους ἄρασθαί οἱ προθυμουμένῃ νεκρὸν οὐδεμία ἐφαίνετο ῥᾳστώνη, δεύτερα ἐπενόησεν ἕλκειν αὐτόν, ἐς ὃ εἵλκυσέ τε καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἐτεοκλέους ἐξημμένην τὴν πυράν.
διαβάντων δὲ ποταμὸν καλούμενον ἀπὸ γυναικὸς τῆς Λύκου Δίρκην—ὑπὸ ταύτης δὲ ἔχει λόγος Ἀντιόπην κακοῦσθαι καὶ διʼ αὐτὸ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀντιόπης παίδων συμβῆναι τῇ Δίρκῃ τὴν τελευτήν—, διαβᾶσιν οὖν τὴν Δίρκην οἰκίας τε ἐρείπια τῆς Πινδάρου καὶ μητρὸς Δινδυμήνης ἱερόν, Πινδάρου μὲν ἀνάθημα, τέχνη δὲ τὸ ἄγαλμα Ἀριστομήδους τε καὶ Σωκράτους Θηβαίων. μιᾷ δὲ ἐφʼ ἑκάστων ἐτῶν ἡμέρᾳ καὶ οὐ πέρα τὸ ἱερὸν ἀνοίγειν νομίζουσιν· ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀφικέσθαι τε ἐξεγεγόνει τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα εἶδον λίθου τοῦ Πεντελῆσι καὶ αὐτὸ καὶ τὸν θρόνον.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν τῶν Νηιστῶν τὸ μὲν Θέμιδός ἐστιν ἱερὸν καὶ ἄγαλμα λευκοῦ λίθου, τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς Μοιρῶν, τὸ δὲ Ἀγοραίου Διός· οὗτος μὲν δὴ λίθου πεποίηται, ταῖς Μοίραις δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγάλματα. καὶ ἀπωτέρω μικρὸν Ἡρακλῆς ἕστηκεν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ Ῥινοκολούστης ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχων, ὅτι τῶν κηρύκων, ὡς οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσιν, ἀπέτεμεν ἐπὶ λώβῃ τὰς ῥῖνας, οἳ παρὰ Ὀρχομενίων ἀφίκοντο ἐπὶ τοῦ δασμοῦ τὴν ἀπαίτησιν.
σταδίους δὲ αὐτόθεν πέντε προελθόντι καὶ εἴκοσι Δήμητρος Καβειραίας καὶ Κόρης ἐστὶν ἄλσος· ἐσελθεῖν δὲ τοῖς τελεσθεῖσιν ἔστι. τούτου δὲ τοῦ ἄλσους ἑπτά που σταδίους τῶν Καβείρων τὸ ἱερὸν ἀφέστηκεν. οἵτινες δέ εἰσιν οἱ Κάβειροι καὶ ὁποῖά ἐστιν αὐτοῖς καὶ τῇ Μητρὶ τὰ δρώμενα, σιωπὴν ἄγοντι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν συγγνώμη παρὰ ἀνδρῶν φιληκόων ἔστω μοι.
τοσοῦτο δὲ δηλῶσαί με καὶ ἐς ἅπαντας ἐκώλυσεν οὐδέν, ἥντινα λέγουσιν ἀρχὴν οἱ Θηβαῖοι γενέσθαι τοῖς δρωμένοις. πόλιν γάρ ποτε ἐν τούτῳ φασὶν εἶναι τῷ χωρίῳ καὶ ἄνδρας ὀνομαζομένους Καβείρους, Προμηθεῖ δὲ ἑνὶ τῶν Καβείρων καὶ Αἰτναίῳ τῷ Προμηθέως ἀφικομένην Δήμητρα ἐς γνῶσιν παρακαταθέσθαι σφίσιν· ἥτις μὲν δὴ ἦν ἡ παρακαταθήκη καὶ τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν γινόμενα, οὐκ ἐφαίνετο ὅσιόν μοι γράφειν, Δήμητρος δʼ οὖν Καβειραίοις δῶρόν ἐστιν ἡ τελετή.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἐπιγόνων στρατείαν καὶ ἅλωσιν τῶν Θηβῶν ἀνέστησαν μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀργείων οἱ Καβειραῖοι, ἐξελείφθη δὲ ἐπὶ χρόνον τινὰ καὶ ἡ τελετή. Πελαργὴν δὲ ὕστερον τὴν Ποτνιέως καὶ Ἰσθμιάδην Πελαργῇ συνοικοῦντα καταστήσασθαι μὲν τὰ ὄργια αὐτοῦ λέγουσιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, μετενεγκεῖν δὲ αὐτὰ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀλεξιάρουν καλούμενον·
ὅτι δὲ τῶν ὅρων ἐκτὸς ἐμύησεν ἡ Πελαργὴ τῶν ἀρχαίων, Τηλώνδης καὶ ὅσοι γένους τοῦ Καβειριτῶν ἐλείποντο κατῆλθον αὖθις ἐς τὴν Καβειραίαν. Πελαργῇ μὲν δὴ κατὰ μάντευμα ἐκ Δωδώνης καὶ ἄλλα ἔμελλεν ἐς τιμὴν καταστήσασθαι καὶ ἡ θυσία, φέρον ἐν τῇ γαστρὶ ἱερεῖον· τὸ δὲ μήνιμα τὸ ἐκ τῶν Καβείρων ἀπαραίτητόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις, ὡς ἐπέδειξε δὴ πολλαχῇ.
τὰ γὰρ δὴ δρώμενα ἐν Θήβαις ἐτόλμησαν ἐν Ναυπάκτῳ κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἰδιῶται δρᾶσαι, καὶ σφᾶς οὐ μετὰ πολὺ ἐπέλαβεν ἡ δίκη. ὅσοι δὲ ὁμοῦ Μαρδονίῳ τῆς στρατιᾶς τῆς Ξέρξου περὶ Βοιωτίαν ἐλείφθησαν, τοῖς παρελθοῦσιν αὐτῶν ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν τῶν Καβείρων τάχα μέν που καὶ χρημάτων μεγάλων ἐλπίδι, τὸ πλέον δὲ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν τῇ ἐς τὸ θεῖον ὀλιγωρίᾳ, τούτοις παραφρονῆσαί τε συνέπεσεν αὐτίκα καὶ ἀπώλοντο ἐς θάλασσάν τε καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κρημνῶν ἑαυτοὺς ῥίπτοντες.
Ἀλεξάνδρου δέ, ὡς ἐνίκησε τῇ μάχῃ, Θήβας τε αὐτὰς καὶ σύμπασαν τὴν Θηβαΐδα διδόντος πυρί, ἄνδρες τῶν ἐκ Μακεδονίας ἐλθόντες ἐς τῶν Καβείρων τὸ ἱερὸν ἅτε ἐν γῇ τῇ πολεμίᾳ κεραυνοῖς τε ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀστραπαῖς ἐφθάρησαν.
Close to the Neistan gate of Thebes is the tomb of Menoeceus, son of Creon. He slew himself voluntarily in obedience to the Delphic oracle when Polynices and his army came from Argos. On the tomb of Menoeceus there grows a pomegranate-tree: if you break the outer husk of the ripe fruit, you will find the inside like blood. This pomegranate-tree is living. The Thebans say that they were the first people in whose land grew a vine, but they have no memorial of this to show.
They say that not far from the grave of Menoeceus the sons of Oedipus fell by each other’s hands in single combat. A pillar stands to mark the scene of the combat : on it is a shield in stone. A place is pointed out where the Thebans say that Hera was beguiled by Zeus into giving the breast to the infant Hercules. This whole place is called the Dragging of Antigone ; for when with all her efforts Antigone could not lift the corpse of Polynices, she hit upon the plan of dragging it, until she had dragged and cast it upon the lighted pyre of Eteocles.
The river Dirce is named after the wife of Lycus. The story goes that she tormented Antiope, and was therefore killed by Antiope’s children. Crossing the Dirce we come to the ruins of Pindar’s house, and to a sanctuary of Mother Dindymene. The sanctuary was dedicated by Pindar: the image is a work of Aristomedes and Socrates, two Theban artists. It is the custom to open the sanctuary on a single day each year, not more. I was fortunate enough to arrive on that very day, and I saw the image, which, with the throne, is made of Pentelic marble.
On the road which runs from the Neistan gate we come to a sanctuary of Themis with an image of white marble, then to a sanctuary of the Fates, and then to a sanctuary of Zeus of the Market. The image of the last is of stone: of the Fates there are no images. A little farther on stands an image of Hercules in the open air: it bears the surname of Nose-docker, because, according to the Thebans, Hercules insultingly cut off the noses of the heralds whom the Orchomenians sent to demand tribute.
Five-and-twenty furlongs from here you come to a grove of Cabirian Demeter and the Maid: the initiated are allowed to enter it. About seven furlongs from this grove is the sanctuary of the Cabiri. I must crave pardon of the curious if I preserve silence as to who the Cabiri are, and what rites are performed in honour of them and their mother.
There is, however, nothing to prevent me disclosing the account which the Thebans give of the origin of the rites. They say that in this place there was once a city, the men of which were named Cabiri ; and that Demeter made the acquaintance of Prometheus, one of the Cabiri, and of his son Aetnaeus, and entrusted something to their care; but what it was she entrusted to them and what happened to it, I thought it wrong to set down. At all events, the mysteries are a gift of Demeter to the Cabiri. At the time of the invasion of the Epigoni and the capture of Thebes, the Cabiri were driven from their homes by the Argives, and for a time the mysteries fell into abeyance. But they say that afterwards Pelarge, daughter of Potneus, and her husband, Isthmiades, instituted the orgies afresh, and transferred them to a place called Alexiarus. But because Pelarge performed the initiations outside of the ancient boundaries, Telondes and all who were left of the race of the Cabiri returned again to Cabiraea. Amongst the honours which, in accordance with an oracle of Dodona, were to be instituted in honour of Pelarge, was the sacrifice of a pregnant victim.
The wrath of the Cabiri is implacable, as has been often proved. For instance, certain private persons dared to imitate the Theban rites at Naupactus, and were soon overtaken by the penalty of their crime. Again, out of the remnant of the army of Xerxes which was left with Mardonius in Boeotia, all who entered the sanctuary of the Cabiri, moved perhaps by hope of great treasures, but rather, I fancy, by contempt for religion, immediately went out of their senses, and perished by flinging themselves into the sea or from the tops of crags. Once more, when Alexander after his victory gave Thebes and all the land of Thebes to the flames, some Macedonians who entered the sanctuary of the Cabiri because it was in the enemy’s country, were destroyed by thunderbolts and lightning from heaven. So holy has this sanctuary been from the beginning.
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