πρὶν δὲ ἐς Κορώνειαν ἐξ Ἀλαλκομενῶν ἀφικέσθαι, τῆς Ἰτωνίας Ἀθηνᾶς ἐστι τὸ ἱερόν· καλεῖται δὲ ἀπὸ Ἰτωνίου τοῦ Ἀμφικτύονος, καὶ ἐς τὸν κοινὸν συνίασιν ἐνταῦθα οἱ Βοιωτοὶ σύλλογον. ἐν δὲ τῷ ναῷ χαλκοῦ πεποιημένα Ἀθηνᾶς Ἰτωνίας καὶ Διός ἐστιν ἀγάλματα· τέχνη δὲ Ἀγορακρίτου, μαθητοῦ τε καὶ ἐρωμένου Φειδίου. ἀνέθεσαν δὲ καὶ Χαρίτων ἀγάλματα ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τοιόνδε, Ἰοδάμαν ἱερωμένην τῇ θεῷ νύκτωρ ἐς τὸ τέμενος ἐσελθεῖν καὶ αὐτῇ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν φανῆναι, τῷ χιτῶνι δὲ τῆς θεοῦ τὴν Μεδούσης ἐπεῖναι τῆς Γοργόνος κεφαλήν· Ἰοδάμαν δέ, ὡς εἶδε, γενέσθαι λίθον. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπιτιθεῖσα γυνὴ πῦρ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰοδάμας τὸν βωμὸν ἐς τρὶς ἐπιλέγει τῇ Βοιωτῶν φωνῇ Ἰοδάμαν ζῆν καὶ αἰτεῖν πῦρ.
Κορώνεια δὲ παρείχετο μὲν ἐς μνήμην ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς Ἑρμοῦ βωμὸν Ἐπιμηλίου, τὸν δὲ ἀνέμων. κατωτέρω δὲ ὀλίγον Ἥρας ἐστὶν ἱερὸν καὶ ἄγαλμα ἀρχαῖον, Πυθοδώρου τέχνη Θηβαίου, φέρει δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ χειρὶ Σειρῆνας· τὰς γὰρ δὴ Ἀχελῴου θυγατέρας ἀναπεισθείσας φασὶν ὑπὸ Ἥρας καταστῆναι πρὸς τὰς Μούσας ἐς ᾠδῆς ἔργον· αἱ δὲ ὡς ἐνίκησαν, ἀποτίλασαι τῶν Σειρήνων τὰ πτερὰ ποιήσασθαι στεφάνους ἀπʼ αὐτῶν λέγονται.
Κορωνείας δὲ σταδίους ὡς τεσσαράκοντα ὄρος ἀπέχει τὸ Λιβήθριον, ἀγάλματα δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ Μουσῶν τε καὶ νυμφῶν ἐπίκλησίν ἐστι Λιβηθρίων· καὶ πηγαὶ—τὴν μὲν Λιβηθριάδα ὀνομάζουσιν, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα †Πέτρα—γυναικὸς μαστοῖς εἰσιν εἰκασμέναι, καὶ ὅμοιον γάλακτι ὕδωρ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἄνεισιν.
ἐς δὲ τὸ ὄρος τὸ Λαφύστιον καὶ ἐς τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Λαφυστίου τὸ τέμενός εἰσιν ἐκ Κορωνείας στάδιοι μάλιστα εἴκοσι. λίθου μὲν τὸ ἄγαλμά ἐστιν· Ἀθάμαντος δὲ θύειν Φρίξον καὶ Ἕλλην ἐνταῦθα μέλλοντος πεμφθῆναι κριὸν τοῖς παισί φασιν ὑπὸ Διὸς ἔχοντα τὸ ἔριον χρυσοῦν, καὶ ἀποδρᾶναι σφᾶς ἐπὶ τοῦ κριοῦ τούτου. ἀνωτέρω δέ ἐστιν Ἡρακλῆς Χάροψ ἐπίκλησιν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οἱ Βοιωτοὶ λέγουσιν ἀναβῆναι τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἄγοντα τοῦ Ἅιδου τὸν κύνα. ἐκ δὲ Λαφυστίου κατιόντι ἐς τῆς Ἰτωνίας Ἀθηνᾶς τὸ ἱερὸν ποταμός ἐστι Φάλαρος ἐς τὴν Κηφισίδα ἐκδιδοὺς λίμνην.
τοῦ δὲ ὄρους τοῦ Λαφυστίου πέραν ἐστὶν Ὀρχομενός, εἴ τις Ἕλλησιν ἄλλη πόλις ἐπιφανὴς καὶ αὕτη ἐς δόξαν. εὐδαιμονίας δέ ποτε ἐπὶ μέγιστον προαχθεῖσαν ἔμελλεν ἄρα ὑποδέξεσθαι τέλος καὶ ταύτην οὐ πολύ τι ἀποδέον ἢ Μυκήνας τε καὶ Δῆλον. περὶ δὲ τῶν ἀρχαίων τοιαῦτʼ ἦν ὁπόσα καὶ μνημονεύουσιν. Ἀνδρέα πρῶτον ἐνταῦθα Πηνειοῦ παῖδα τοῦ ποταμοῦ λέγουσιν ἐποικῆσαι καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τὴν γῆν Ἀνδρηίδα ὀνομασθῆναι·
παραγενομένου δὲ ὡς αὐτὸν Ἀθάμαντος, ἀπένειμε τῆς αὑτοῦ τῷ Ἀθάμαντι τήν τε περὶ τὸ Λαφύστιον χώραν καὶ τὴν νῦν Κορώνειαν καὶ Ἁλιαρτίαν. Ἀθάμας δὲ ἅτε οὐδένα οἱ παίδων τῶν ἀρσένων λελεῖφθαι νομίζων—τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐς Λέαρχόν τε καὶ Μελικέρτην ἐτόλμησεν αὐτός, Λεύκωνι δὲ ὑπὸ νόσου τελευτῆσαι συνέβη, Φρίξον δὲ ἄρα οὐκ ἠπίστατο ἢ αὐτὸν περιόντα ἢ γένος ὑπολειπόμενον Φρίξου—τούτων ἕνεκα ἐποιήσατο Ἁλίαρτον καὶ Κόρωνον τοὺς Θερσάνδρου τοῦ Σισύφου· Σισύφου γὰρ ἀδελφὸς ἦν ὁ Ἀθάμας.
ὕστερον δὲ ἀναστρέψαντος ἐκ Κόλχων οἱ μὲν αὐτοῦ Φρίξου φασίν, οἱ δὲ Πρέσβωνος—γεγονέναι δὲ Φρίξῳ τὸν Πρέσβωνα ἐκ τῆς Αἰήτου θυγατρός— οὕτω συγχωροῦσιν οἱ Θερσάνδρου παῖδες οἶκον μὲν τὸν Ἀθάμαντος Ἀθάμαντι καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ ἐκείνου προσήκειν· αὐτοὶ δὲ—μοῖραν γὰρ δίδωσί σφισιν Ἀθάμας τῆς γῆς—Ἁλιάρτου καὶ Κορωνείας ἐγένοντο οἰκισταί.
πρότερον δὲ ἔτι τούτων Ἀνδρεὺς Εὐίππην θυγατέρα Λεύκωνος λαμβάνει παρὰ Ἀθάμαντος γυναῖκα, καὶ υἱὸς Ἐτεοκλῆς αὐτῷ γίνεται, Κηφισοῦ δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κατὰ τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν φήμην, ὥστε καὶ τῶν ποιησάντων τινὲς Κηφισιάδην τὸν Ἐτεοκλέα ἐκάλεσαν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν.
οὗτος ὡς ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ Ἐτεοκλῆς, τὴν μὲν χώραν ἀπὸ Ἀνδρέως ἔχειν τὸ ὄνομα εἴασε, φυλὰς δὲ Κηφισιάδα, τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν ἐπώνυμον αὑτῷ κατεστήσατο. ἀφικομένῳ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἄλμῳ τῷ Σισύφου δίδωσιν οἰκῆσαι τῆς χώρας οὐ πολλήν, καὶ κώμη τότε ἐκλήθη Ἄλμωνες ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἄλμου τούτου· χρόνῳ δὲ ἐξενίκησεν ὕστερον ὄνομα εἶναι τῇ κώμῃ Ὄλμωνας.
Before reaching Coronea from Alalcomenae you come to the sanctuary of Itonian Athena: the name is derived from Itonus, son of Amphictyon, and here the Boeotians meet for their general assembly. In the temple there are bronze images of Itonian Athena and Zeus: they are works of Agoracritus, a pupil and favourite of Phidias; and in my time they dedicated images of the Graces also. The following story is also told :—Iodama, priestess of the goddess, entered the precinct by night, and Athena appeared to her; but on the goddess’s tunic was the head of the Gorgon Medusa, and when Iodama saw it she was turned to stone. Therefore a woman places fire every day on the altar of Iodama, and as she does so she says thrice in the Boeotian dialect that Iodama is alive and asks for fire.
Coronea contains the following notable objects. In the market-place there is an altar of Hermes Epimelius (‘guardian of flocks’), and an altar of the Winds. A little lower down is a sanctuary of Hera with an ancient image, a work of Pythodorus the Theban. In her hand the goddess carries Sirens. For they say that the daughters of Achelous were induced by Hera to vie with the Muses in singing; and the Muses, being victorious, are said to have plucked off the Sirens’ feathers, and to have made crowns for themselves out of them.
About forty furlongs from Coronea is Mount Libethrius, on which are images of the Muses and Nymphs, surnamed Libethrian. Also there are springs like a woman’s breasts, one named Libethrias and the other Petra; and water like milk wells up from them.
From Coronea to Mount Laphystius and the precinct of Laphystian Zeus is just twenty furlongs. The image is of stone. They say that here, when Athamas was about to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle, the ram with the golden fleece was sent by Zeus to the children, and they escaped on the back of that ram. Higher up is a Hercules surnamed Bright-eyed: the Boeotians say that here Hercules came up bringing the hound of hell. As you go down from Laphystius to the sanctuary of Itonian Athena, there is a river Phalarus which falls into the Cephisian Lake.
Over against Mount Laphystius is Orchomenus, than which there is no more famous city in Greece. After rising to the highest pitch of prosperity it was doomed to experience a fall scarcely less complete than that of Mycenae and Delos. All that is known of its ancient history is this. They say that Andreus, a son of the river Peneus, was the first person who settled here, and that the land was named Andreis after him. Being joined by Athamas he assigned to him, out of his own lands, the district round about Mount Laphystius, together with what are now the lands of Coronea and Haliartus. Now Athamas believed that he had no male children left. For he had himself laid violent hands on Learchus and Melicertes; Leucon had sickened and died; and as to Phrixus, his father knew not whether he was alive or had left offspring. So Athamas adopted Haliartus and Coronus, the sons of Thersander, the son of Sisyphus; for Athamas was a brother of Sisyphus. But on the return from Colchis of Phrixus himself or, according to others, of Presbon (the son of Phrixus by the daughter of Aeetes), the sons of Thersander allowed that the house of Athamas belonged to Athamas and his descendants, while they themselves founded Haliartus and Coronea, for Athamas gave them a portion of the land. Before these events Andreus had received from Athamas the hand of Euippe, daughter of Leucon, and a son Eteocles was born to him. But, according to the local tradition, Eteocles was a son of the river Cephisus ; hence some of the poets in their verses call him Cephisades. This Eteocles, on coming to the throne, allowed the country to be still called after Andreus, but he instituted two tribes, of which he named the one Cephisias, and the other after himself. When Almus, son of Sisyphus, came to him, Eteocles gave him a small piece of land to dwell in, and the village was then called Almones, after Almus, but afterwards the name Olmones prevailed.
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