Ἥραν ἐφʼ ὅτῳ δὴ πρὸς τὸν Δία ὠργισμένην ἐς Εὔβοιάν φασιν ἀναχωρῆσαι, Δία δέ, ὡς οὐκ ἔπειθεν αὐτήν, παρὰ Κιθαιρῶνα λέγουσιν ἐλθεῖν δυναστεύοντα ἐν Πλαταιαῖς τότε· εἶναι γὰρ τὸν Κιθαιρῶνα οὐδενὸς σοφίαν ὕστερον. οὗτος οὖν κελεύει τὸν Δία ἄγαλμα ξύλου ποιησάμενον ἄγειν ἐπὶ βοῶν ζεύγους ἐγκεκαλυμμένον, λέγειν δὲ ὡς ἄγοιτο γυναῖκα Πλάταιαν τὴν Ἀσωποῦ.
καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔπρασσε κατὰ τὴν παραίνεσιν τοῦ Κιθαιρῶνος· Ἥρα δὲ ἐπέπυστό τε αὐτίκα καὶ αὐτίκα ἀφίκετο. ὡς δὲ ἐπλησίαζε τῇ ἁμάξῃ καὶ τοῦ ἀγάλματος τὴν ἐσθῆτα περιέρρηξεν, ἥσθη τε τῇ ἀπάτῃ ξόανον εὑροῦσα ἀντὶ νύμφης γυναικὸς καὶ διαλλαγὰς ποιεῖται πρὸς τὸν Δία. ἐπὶ ταύταις ταῖς διαλλαγαῖς Δαίδαλα ἑορτὴν ἄγουσιν, ὅτι οἱ πάλαι τὰ ξόανα ἐκάλουν δαίδαλα· ἐκάλουν δὲ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν πρότερον ἔτι ἢ Δαίδαλος ὁ Παλαμάονος ἐγένετο Ἀθήνῃσι, τούτῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἀπὸ τῶν δαιδάλων ἐπίκλησιν γενέσθαι δοκῶ καὶ οὐκ ἐκ γενετῆς τεθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα.
Δαίδαλα οὖν ἄγουσιν οἱ Πλαταιεῖς ἑορτὴν διʼ ἔτους ἑβδόμου μέν, ὡς ἔφασκεν ὁ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἐξηγητής, ἀληθεῖ μέντοι λόγῳ διʼ ἐλάσσονος καὶ οὐ τοσούτου χρόνου· ἐθελήσαντες δὲ ἀπὸ Δαιδάλων ἐς Δαίδαλα ἕτερα ἀναριθμῆσαι τὸν μεταξὺ χρόνον ἐς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον οὐκ ἐγενόμεθα οἷοί τε. ἄγουσι δὲ οὕτω τὴν ἑορτήν.
δρυμός ἐστιν Ἀλαλκομενῶν οὐ πόρρω· μέγιστα τῶν ἐν Βοιωτίᾳ στελέχη δρυῶν ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα. ἐς τοῦτον οἱ Πλαταιεῖς ἀφικόμενοι τὸν δρυμὸν προτίθενται μοίρας κρεῶν ἑφθῶν. ὄρνιθες δὲ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι σφίσιν ἥκιστά εἰσι διʼ ὄχλου, τῶν κοράκων δὲ—οὗτοι γάρ σφισιν ἐπιφοιτῶσιν—ἔχουσιν ἀκριβῆ τὴν φρουράν. τὸν δὲ αὐτῶν ἁρπάσαντα κρέας, ἐφʼ ὅτῳ τῶν δένδρων καθεδεῖται, φυλάσσουσιν. ἐφʼ οὗ δʼ ἂν καθεσθῇ, τεμόντες ποιοῦσιν ἀπὸ τούτου τὸ δαίδαλον· δαίδαλον γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὸ ξόανον αὐτὸ ὀνομάζουσι.
ταύτην μὲν ἰδίᾳ οἱ Πλαταιεῖς ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι, Δαίδαλα μικρὰ ὀνομάζοντες· Δαιδάλων δὲ ἑορτὴν τῶν μεγάλων καὶ Βοιωτοί σφισι συνεορτάζουσι, διʼ ἑξηκοστοῦ δὲ ἄγουσιν ἔτους· ἐκλιπεῖν γὰρ τοσοῦτον χρόνον τὴν ἑορτήν φασιν, ἡνίκα οἱ Πλαταιεῖς ἔφευγον. ξόανα δὲ τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα ἕτοιμά σφισίν ἐστι κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν ἕκαστον παρασκευασθέντα ἐν Δαιδάλοις τοῖς μικροῖς.
ταῦτα ἀναιροῦνται κλήρῳ Πλαταιεῖς Κορωναῖοι Θεσπιεῖς Ταναγραῖοι Χαιρωνεῖς Ὀρχομένιοι Λεβαδεῖς Θηβαῖοι· διαλλαγῆναι γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι Πλαταιεῦσιν ἠξίωσαν καὶ συλλόγου μετασχεῖν κοινοῦ καὶ ἐς Δαίδαλα θυσίαν ἀποστέλλειν, ὅτε Κάσσανδρος ὁ Ἀντιπάτρου τὰς Θήβας ἀνῴκισε. τῶν δὲ πολισμάτων ὁπόσα ἐστὶν ἐλάσσονος λόγου, συντέλειαν αἱροῦνται.
τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα κομίσαντες παρὰ τὸν Ἀσωπὸν καὶ ἀναθέντες ἐπὶ ἅμαξαν, γυναῖκα ἐφιστᾶσι νυμφεύτριαν· οἱ δὲ αὖθις κληροῦνται καθʼ ἥντινα τάξιν τὴν πομπὴν ἀνάξουσι· τὸ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν τὰς ἁμάξας ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πρὸς ἄκρον τὸν Κιθαιρῶνα ἐλαύνουσιν. εὐτρέπισται δέ σφισιν ἐπὶ τῇ κορυφῇ τοῦ ὄρους βωμός, ποιοῦσι δὲ τρόπῳ τοιῷδε τὸν βωμόν· ξύλα τετράγωνα ἁρμόζοντες πρὸς ἄλληλα συντιθέασι κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ εἰ λίθων ἐποιοῦντο οἰκοδομίαν, ἐξάραντες δὲ ἐς ὕψος φρύγανα ἐπιφέρουσιν.
αἱ μὲν δὴ πόλεις καὶ τὰ τέλη θήλειαν θύσαντες τῇ Ἥρᾳ βοῦν ἕκαστοι καὶ ταῦρον τῷ Διὶ τὰ ἱερεῖα οἴνου καὶ θυμιαμάτων πλήρη καὶ τὰ δαίδαλα ὁμοῦ καθαγίζουσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ, ἰδιῶται δὲ ὁπόσα δὴ θύουσιν οἱ πλούσιοι· τοῖς δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως δυναμένοις τὰ λεπτότερα τῶν προβάτων θύειν καθέστηκε, καθαγίζειν δὲ τὰ ἱερεῖα ὁμοίως πάντα. σὺν δέ σφισι καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν βωμὸν ἐπιλαβὸν τὸ πῦρ ἐξανήλωσε· μεγίστην δὲ ταύτην φλόγα καὶ ἐκ μακροτάτου σύνοπτον οἶδα ἀρθεῖσαν.
ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς κορυφῆς, ἐφʼ ᾗ τὸν βωμὸν ποιοῦνται, πέντε που μάλιστα καὶ δέκα ὑποκαταβάντι σταδίους νυμφῶν ἐστιν ἄντρον Κιθαιρωνίδων, Σφραγίδιον μὲν ὀνομαζόμενον, μαντεύεσθαι δὲ τὰς νύμφας τὸ ἀρχαῖον αὐτόθι ἔχει λόγος.
They say that Hera, enraged at Zeus for some reason, retired to Euboea; and that Zeus, when he could not persuade her, came to Cithaeron, who then ruled in Plataea ; for Cithaeron was second to none in craft. He accordingly advised Zeus to have an image made of wood, to convey it, wrapt up, in a bullock cart, and to say that he was taking to wife Plataea, daughter of Asopus. Zeus did as Cithaeron advised him, and no sooner had Hera heard of it than she flew to the spot, and going up to the wagon tore the dress off the image. And finding a wooden image instead of a bride, she was pleased with the trick, and made it up with Zeus.
In memory of this reconciliation they celebrate a festival called Daedala, because people long ago called the wooden images daedala. I believe that they called them so even before Daedalus, son of Palamaon, was born at Athens, and I think that Daedalus was a surname subsequently given to him from the daedala, and not a name bestowed on him at birth.
So the Plataeans hold the festival of the Daedala, the local guide said, every sixth year, but really the celebrations take place at shorter intervals. We tried to reckon the exact interval between one Daedala and another, but we could not do it. They hold the festival thus. There is an oak wood not far from Alalcomenae; the trunks of the oak-trees in it are the largest in Boeotia. To this wood come the Plataeans, set out pieces of boiled flesh, and keep a sharp watch on the crows, which come flocking to them: the other birds do not trouble them in the least. They observe the crow which pounces on the flesh and the tree on which he perches. Then they fell the tree on which he perched, and make the daedalum out of it; for they name the wooden image also daedalum.
This festival the Plataeans hold by themselves, and name it the Little Daedala ; but the festival of the Great Daedala is held by them conjointly with the Boeotians every fifty-ninth year; for they say that the festival remained in abeyance for that time, when the Plataeans were in exile. There are fourteen wooden images made ready, these having been provided year by year at the Little Daedala. Lots are drawn for these images by the Plataeans, Coroneans, Thespians, Tanagraeans, Chaeroneans, Orchomenians, Lebadeans, and Thebans ; for at the time when Cassander, son of Antipater, restored Thebes, the Thebans desired to be reconciled to the Plataeans, to share in the common assembly, and to send a sacrifice to the Daedala. The towns of less note club together for images. Having decked the image . . . . to the Asopus, and having set it up on a wagon, they place a bridesmaid on the wagon. The representatives of the different cities again cast lots for the places they are to have in the procession. Then they drive the wagons from the river to the top of Cithaeron. On the summit of the mountain an altar has been got ready. They make it in this fashion :—They put together quadrangular blocks of wood, fitting them into each other, just in the same way as if they were constructing an edifice of stone. Then, having raised it to a height, they pile brushwood on it. The cities and the magistrates sacrifice each a cow to Hera and a bull to Zeus, and burn the victims, which are filled with wine and incense, together with the images (daedala) on the altar. Rich people sacrifice what they please: persons who are not so well off sacrifice the lesser cattle ; but all the victims alike are burned. The fire seizes on the altar as well as the victims, and consumes them all together. I know of no blaze that rises so high, and is seen so far.
Just about fifteen furlongs down from the summit on which they make the altar there is a cave of the nymphs of Cithaeron: it is called Sphragidium, and the story goes that the nymphs gave oracles there in days of old.
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