τὸ δὲ μαντεῖον οἱ Βοιωτοὶ τοῦτο οὐ πεπυσμένοι πρότερον ἐπʼ αἰτίᾳ τοιᾷδε ἔγνωσαν. θεωροὺς ἀφʼ ἑκάστης πόλεως ἄνδρας ἀποστέλλουσιν ἐς Δελφούς· οὐ γὰρ δή σφισιν ἔτος δεύτερον ὗεν ὁ θεός. τούτοις αἰτοῦσιν ἐπανόρθωμα τοῦ αὐχμοῦ προσέταξεν ἡ Πυθία παρὰ Τροφώνιον ἐς Λεβάδειαν ἐλθοῦσιν εὕρασθαι παρὰ ἐκείνου τὸ ἴαμα.
ὡς δὲ ἐς τὴν Λεβάδειαν ἐλθόντες οὐκ ἐδύναντο εὑρεῖν τὸ μαντεῖον, ἐνταῦθα τῶν ἐξ Ἀκραιφνίου πόλεως Σάων—οὗτος δὲ ἦν καὶ ἡλικίᾳ τῶν θεωρῶν πρεσβύτατος—εἶδεν ἑσμὸν μελισσῶν, καὶ παρέστη οἱ, ὅποι ποτʼ ἂν ἀποτράπωνται, καὶ αὐτὸς ἕπεσθαι. αὐτίκα δὴ τὰς μελίσσας ἐς τοῦτο ἐσπετομένας ὁρᾷ τῆς γῆς, καὶ συνεσῆλθέ σφισιν ἐς τὸ μαντεῖον. τοῦτον τὸν Σάωνα καὶ τὴν ἱερουργίαν τὴν καθεστηκυῖαν, καὶ ὁπόσα περὶ τὸ χρηστήριον δρῶσιν ἄλλα, διδαχθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ Τροφωνίου φασίν.
Δαιδάλου δὲ τῶν ἔργων δύο μὲν ταῦτά ἐστιν ἐν Βοιωτοῖς, Ἡρακλῆς τε ἐν Θήβαις καὶ παρὰ Λεβαδεῦσιν ὁ Τροφώνιος, τοσαῦτα δὲ ἕτερα ξόανα ἐν Κρήτῃ, Βριτόμαρτις ἐν Ὀλοῦντι καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ παρὰ Κνωσσίοις· παρὰ τούτοις δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἀριάδνης χορός, οὗ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν Ἰλιάδι μνήμην ἐποιήσατο, ἐπειργασμένος ἐστὶν ἐπὶ λευκοῦ λίθου. καὶ Δηλίοις Ἀφροδίτης ἐστὶν οὐ μέγα ξόανον, λελυμασμένον τὴν δεξιὰν χεῖρα ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου· κάτεισι δὲ ἀντὶ ποδῶν ἐς τετράγωνον σχῆμα.
πείθομαι τοῦτο Ἀριάδνην λαβεῖν παρὰ Δαιδάλου, καὶ ἡνίκα ἠκολούθησε τῷ Θησεῖ, τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐπεκομίζετο οἴκοθεν· ἀφαιρεθέντα δὲ αὐτῆς τὸν Θησέα οὕτω φασὶν οἱ Δήλιοι τὸ ξόανον τῆς θεοῦ ἀναθεῖναι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι τῷ Δηλίῳ, ἵνα μὴ οἴκαδε ἐπαγόμενος ἐς ἀνάμνησίν τε Ἀριάδνης ἐφέλκηται καὶ ἀεὶ νέας ἐπὶ τῷ ἔρωτι εὑρίσκηται τὰς συμφοράς. πέρα δὲ οὐκ οἶδα ὑπόλοιπα ὄντα τῶν Δαιδάλου· τοῖς γὰρ ἀνατεθεῖσιν ὑπὸ Ἀργείων ἐς τὸ Ἡραῖον καὶ ἐς Γέλαν τὴν ἐν Σικελίᾳ κομισθεῖσιν ἐξ Ὀμφάκης, ἀφανισθῆναί σφισιν ὁ χρόνος καθέστηκεν αἴτιος.
Λεβαδέων δὲ ἔχονται Χαιρωνεῖς. ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ ἡ πόλις καὶ τούτοις Ἄρνη τὸ ἀρχαῖον· θυγατέρα δὲ εἶναι λέγουσιν Αἰόλου τὴν Ἄρνην, ἀπὸ δὲ ταύτης κληθῆναι καὶ ἑτέραν ἐν Θεσσαλίᾳ πόλιν· τὸ δὲ νῦν τοῖς Χαιρωνεῦσιν ὄνομα γεγονέναι ἀπὸ Χαίρωνος, ὃν Ἀπόλλωνός φασιν εἶναι, μητέρα δὲ αὐτοῦ Θηρὼ τὴν Φύλαντος εἶναι. μαρτυρεῖ δὲ καὶ ὁ τὰ ἔπη τὰς μεγάλας Ἠοίας ποιήσας·
Φύλας δʼ ὤπυιεν κούρην κλειτοῦ Ἰολάου / † λειπεφιληνην εἶδος Ὀλυμπιάδεσσιν ὅμοιον, / Ἱππότην δέ οἱ υἱὸν ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτικτεν / Θηρώ τʼ εὐειδῆ, ἰκέλην φαέεσσι σελήνης. / Θηρὼ δʼ Ἀπόλλωνος ἐς ἀγκοίνῃσι πεσοῦσα / γείνατο Χαίρωνος κρατερὸν μένος ἱπποδάμοιο. / Ὅμηρος δὲ ἐπιστάμενος ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν Χαιρώνειάν τε ἤδη καὶ Λεβάδειαν καλουμένας, ὅμως τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἐχρήσατο ὀνόμασιν ἐς αὐτάς, καθότι καὶ Αἴγυπτον τὸν ποταμὸν εἶπεν, οὐ Νεῖλον.
Χαιρωνεῦσι δὲ δύο ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τρόπαια, ἃ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ Σύλλας ἔστησαν Ταξίλον καὶ στρατιὰν τὴν Μιθριδάτου κρατήσαντες. Φίλιππος δὲ οὐκ ἀνέθηκεν ὁ Ἀμύντου τρόπαιον οὔτε ἐνταῦθα οὔτε ὁπόσας μάχας ἄλλας βαρβάρους ἢ καὶ Ἕλληνας ἐνίκησεν· οὐ γάρ τι Μακεδόσιν ἱστάναι τρόπαια ἦν νενομισμένον.
λέγεται δὲ ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων Καρανὸν βασιλεύοντα ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ κρατῆσαι μάχῃ Κισσέως, ὃς ἐδυνάστευεν ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ ὁμόρῳ· καὶ ὁ μὲν τρόπαιον ὁ Καρανὸς κατὰ νόμους τοὺς Ἀργείων ἔστησεν ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ· ἐπελθόντα δέ φασιν ἐκ τοῦ Ὀλύμπου λέοντα ἀνατρέψαι τε τὸ τρόπαιον καὶ ἀφανισθῆναι, συνεῖναι τε γνώμῃ
Καρανὸν οὐκ εὖ βουλεύσασθαι βαρβάροις τοῖς περιοικοῦσιν ἐς ἔχθραν ἐλθόντα ἀδιάλλακτον, καταστῆναί τε χρῆναι μήτε ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ Καρανοῦ μήτε ὑπὸ τῶν ὕστερον βασιλευσόντων Μακεδονίας τρόπαια ἵστασθαι, εἰ ἐς εὔνοιάν ποτε τοὺς προσχώρους ὑπάξονται. μαρτυρεῖ δὲ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος, οὐκ ἀναστήσας οὔτε ἐπὶ Δαρείῳ τρόπαια οὔτε ἐπὶ ταῖς Ἰνδικαῖς νίκαις.
προσιόντων δὲ τῇ πόλει πολυάνδριον Θηβαίων ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ πρὸς Φίλιππον ἀγῶνι ἀποθανόντων. ἐπιγέγραπται μὲν δὴ ἐπίγραμμα οὐδέν, ἐπίθημα δʼ ἔπεστιν αὐτῷ λέων· φέροι δʼ ἂν ἐς τῶν ἀνδρῶν μάλιστα τὸν θυμόν· ἐπίγραμμα δὲ ἄπεστιν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐοικότα τῇ τόλμῃ σφίσι τὰ ἐκ τοῦ δαίμονος ἠκολούθησε.
θεῶν δὲ μάλιστα Χαιρωνεῖς τιμῶσι τὸ σκῆπτρον ὃ ποιῆσαι Διί φησιν Ὅμηρος Ἥφαιστον, παρὰ δὲ Διὸς λαβόντα Ἑρμῆν δοῦναι Πέλοπι, Πέλοπα δὲ Ἀτρεῖ καταλιπεῖν, τὸν δὲ Ἀτρέα Θυέστῃ, παρὰ Θυέστου δὲ ἔχειν Ἀγαμέμνονα· τοῦτο οὖν τὸ σκῆπτρον σέβουσι, Δόρυ ὀνομάζοντες. καὶ εἶναι μέν τι θειότερον οὐχ ἥκιστα δηλοῖ τὸ ἐς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφανὲς ἐξ αὐτοῦ·
φασὶ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὅροις αὐτῶν καὶ Πανοπέων τῶν ἐν τῇ Φωκίδι εὑρεθῆναι, σὺν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ χρυσὸν εὕρασθαι τοὺς Φωκεῖς, σφίσι δὲ ἀσμένοις ἀντὶ χρυσοῦ γενέσθαι τὸ σκῆπτρον. κομισθῆναι δὲ αὐτὸ ἐς τὴν Φωκίδα ὑπὸ Ἠλέκτρας τῆς Ἀγαμέμνονος πείθομαι. ναὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ δημοσίᾳ πεποιημένος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἔτος ἕκαστον ὁ ἱερώμενος ἐν οἰκήματι ἔχει τὸ σκῆπτρον· καί οἱ θυσίαι ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν θύονται, καὶ τράπεζα παράκειται παντοδαπῶν κρεῶν καὶ πεμμάτων πλήρης.
This oracle was formerly unknown to the Boeotians: they discovered it on the following occasion. No rain had fallen for more than a year, so they despatched envoys to Delphi from every city. When they asked a remedy for the drought, the Pythian priestess bade them go to Trophonius at Lebadea and get the cure from him. But when they were come to Lebadea, and could not find the oracle, Saon of Acraephnium, the oldest of the envoys, saw a swarm of bees, and he advised that they should follow the bees wherever they went. Straightway he observed the bees flying into the earth here, and followed them to the oracle. They say that this Saon learned from Trophonius the ritual and observances as they are now practised.
Of the works of Daedalus there are two in Boeotia, the image of Hercules at Thebes, and the image of Trophonius at Lebadea. There are two other wooden images by him in Crete, namely, a Britomartis at Olus and an Athena at Cnosus. At Cnosus there is also Ariadne’s Dance, which Homer mentions in the Iliad, wrought in relief on white marble. At Delos, too, there is a small wooden image of Aphrodite: time has damaged the right hand, and instead of feet the lower end of the image is square. I am persuaded that Ariadne received this image from Daedalus, and took it with her from home when she followed Theseus ; and the Delians say that when Theseus was bereft of Ariadne he dedicated the wooden image of the goddess to the Delian Apollo, lest by bringing it home with him he should be drawn into remembering Ariadne, and thus find the sorrows of his love for ever new. I know no other extant works of Daedalus ; for the images which were dedicated by the Argives in the sanctuary of Hera, and those which were brought from Omphace to Gela in Sicily, have vanished in the course of ages. 3. Next to Lebadea is Chaeronea. The city was called Arne of old. They say that Arne was a daughter of Aeolus, and that another city in Thessaly was also called after her, but that the present name of the city is derived from Chaeron, whom they allege to be a son of Apollo by Thero, daughter of Phylas. This is attested also by the author of the epic poem, the Great Eoeae :— And Phylas wedded a daughter of famed Iolaus, Lipephile : in form she was like the Olympian goddesses, And she bore him a son Hippotes in the halls, And lovely Thero, like the moonbeams. And Thero fell into the arms of Apollo, And she bore mighty Chaeron, the tamer of steeds. Homer, it seems to me, knew that Chaeronea and Lebadea were already so called in his time, but purposely employed the old names for them, just as he spoke of the river Egypt, not the Nile. 4. In the territory of Chaeronea there are two trophies which the Romans under Sulla set up for their victory over the army of Mithridates under Taxilus. But Philip, the son of Amyntas, set up no trophy, neither at Chaeronea nor for any other victory that he won over barbarians or Greeks ; for it was not a Macedonian custom to erect trophies. It is said by the Macedonians that Caranus, reigning in Macedonia, defeated in battle Cisseus, a neighbouring chief. Caranus set up a trophy of his victory in the Argive way ; but they say that a lion came from Olympus and upset the trophy, [and] vanished . . . and that it was unwise of Caranus to incur the mortal hatred of the barbarians round about; for that neither Caranus himself nor any king of Macedonia after him ought to set up a trophy if they were ever to win the goodwill of their neighbours. A proof of this story is that Alexander set up no trophies, neither for the conquest of Darius nor for his Indian victories. 5. As we approach the city we see the common tomb of the Thebans who fell in the battle with Philip. No inscription is carved on the tomb, but a lion is placed on it, perhaps in allusion to the spirit of the men. The reason why there is no inscription I take to be that their fortune did not match their valour. 6. The god whom the Chaeroneans honour most is the sceptre which Homer says Hephaestus made for Zeus, and Zeus gave to Hermes, and Hermes to Pelops, and Pelops bequeathed to Atreus, and Atreus to Thyestes, from whom Agamemnon had it. This sceptre they worship, naming it a spear; and that there is something divine about it is proved especially by the distinction it confers on its owners. The Chaeroneans say that it was found on the borders of their territory and of Panopeus in Phocis, and that the Phocians found gold along with it, but that they themselves were glad to get the sceptre instead of the gold. I am persuaded it was brought to Phocis by Electra, daughter of Agamemnon. There is no public temple built for it, but the man who acts as priest keeps the sceptre in his house for the year; and sacrifices are offered to it daily, and a table is set beside it covered with all sorts of flesh and cakes.
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