No More Learning

Now as Homer surpasses all others
in these respects, we must examine what he says, and compare his
descriptions with the present state of places, as we have just said. We
have already considered his description of the Hollow Elis and of
Buprasium.

24. He describes the dominions of Nestor in these words:

“And they who inhabited Pylus, and the beautiful Arene, and
Thryum, a passage across the Alpheius, and the well-built Æpy,
and Cyparisseis, and Amphigeneia, and Pteleum, and Helos, and
Dorium, where the Muses having met with Thamyris the Thracian,
deprived him of the power of song, as he was coming from
Œchalia, from the house of Eurytus the Œchalian. ”[75]

It is Pylus, therefore, to which the question relates, and we shall soon
treat of it. We have already spoken of Arene. The places, which he here
calls Thryum, in another passage he calls Thryoessa,

“There is a city Thryoessa, lofty, situated on a hill,
Far off, on the banks of the Alpheius. ”[76]

He calls it the ford or passage of the Alpheius, because, according to
these verses, it seems as if it could be crossed at this place on foot.
Thryum is at present called Epitalium, a village of Macistia.

With respect to εὔκτιτον Αἶπυ, “Æpy the
well-built,” some writers ask which of these words is the epithet of the
other, and what is the city, and whether it is the present Margalæ of
Amphidolia, but this Margalæ is not a natural fortress, but another is
meant, a natural stronghold in Macistia. Writers who suppose this place
to be meant, say, that Æpy is the name of the city, and infer it from
its natural properties, as in the example of Helos,[77] Ægialos,[78] and
many others: [CAS. 349] those who suppose Margalæ to be meant here,
will assert the contrary.

Thryum, or Thryoessa, they say, is Epitalium, because all the country
is θρυώδης, or sedgy, and particularly the banks of the rivers, but
this appears more clearly at the fordable places of the stream. Perhaps
Thryum is meant by the ford, and by “the well-built Æpy,” Epitalium,
which is naturally strong, and in the other part of the passage he
mentions a lofty hill;

“The city Thryoessa, a lofty hill,
Far away by the Alpheus. ”[79]

25. Cyparisseïs is near the old Macistia, which then extended even to
the other side of the Neda, but it is not inhabited, as neither is
Macistum. There is also another, the Messenian Cyparissia, not having
quite the same name, but one like it. The city of Macistia is at present
called Cyparissia, in the singular number, and feminine gender, but the
name of the river is Cyparisseis.

Amphigeneia, also belonging to Macistia, is near Hypsoeis, where is the
temple of Latona.

Pteleum was founded by the colony that came from Pteleum in Thessaly,
for it is mentioned in this line,

“Antron on the sea-coast, and the grassy Pteleum. ”[80]

It is a woody place, uninhabited, called Pteleasimum.

Some writers say, that Helos was some spot near the Alpheius; others,
that it was a city like that in Laconia,

“and Helos, a small city on the sea;”[81]

others say that it is the marsh near Alorium, where is a temple of the
Eleian Artemis, (Diana of the Marsh,) belonging to the Arcadians, for
this people had the priesthood.

Dorium is said by some authors to be a mountain, by others a plain, but
nothing is now to be seen; yet it is alleged, that the present Oluris,
or Olura, situated in the Aulon, as it is called, of Messenia, is
Dorium. Somewhere there also is Œchalia of Eurytus, the present Andania,
a small Arcadian town of the same name as those in Thessaly and Eubœa,
whence the poet says, Thamyris, the Thracian, came to Dorium, and was
deprived by the Muses of the power of song.

26. Hence it is evident that the country under the command of Nestor is
on each side of the Alpheius, all of which tract he calls the country
of the Pylians, but nowhere does the Alpheius touch Messenia, nor the
Hollow Elis. [82]

It is in this district that we have the native country of Nestor, which
we call the Triphylian, the Arcadian, and the Lepreatic Pylus. For we
know that other places of the name of Pylus are pointed out, situated
upon the sea, but this is distant more than 30 stadia from it, as
appears from the poem. A messenger is sent to the vessel, to the
companions of Telemachus,--to invite them to a hospitable entertainment.
Telemachus, upon his return from Sparta, does not permit Peisistratus to
go to the city, but diverts him from it, and prevails upon him to hasten
to the ship, whence it appears that the same road did not lead both to
the city and to the haven. The departure of Telemachus may in this
manner be aptly understood:

“they went past Cruni, and the beautiful streams of Chalcis;
the sun set, and all the villages were in shade and darkness;
but the ship, exulting in the gales of Jove, arrived at Pheæ.
She passed also the divine Elis, where the Epeii rule;”[83]

for to this place the direction of the vessel was towards the north, and
thence it turns to the east. The vessel leaves its first and straight
course in the direction of Ithaca, because the suitors had placed an
ambush there,

“In the strait between Ithaca and Samos,
And from thence he directed the vessel to the sharp-pointed islands,
νήσοισι θοῇσι;”[84]

the sharp-pointed (ὀξείαι) he calls θοαὶ.
They belong to the Echinades, and are near the commencement of the
Corinthian Gulf and the mouths of the Achelous. After having sailed past
Ithaca so as to leave the island behind him, he turns to the proper
course between Acarnania and Ithaca, and disembarks on the other side of
the island, not at the strait of Cephallenia, where the suitors were on
the watch.

27. If any one therefore should suppose that the Eleian Pylus is the
Pylus of Nestor, the ship would not properly be said, after setting off
thence, to take its course along Cruni and Chalcis, as far as the west,
then to arrive by night at Pheæ, and afterwards to sail along the
territory of Eleia, for [CAS. 351] these places are to the south of
Eleia, first Pheæ, then Chalcis, then Cruni, then the Triphylian Pylus,
and the Samicum. In sailing then to the south from the Eleian Pylus this
would be the course. In sailing to the north, where Ithaca lies, all
these places are left behind, but they must sail along Eleia itself, and
before, although he says after, sunset. Again, on the other side, if
any one should suppose the Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium to be the
commencement of the voyage after leaving the country of Nestor, the
distance would be great, and would occupy more time. For the distance
only to the Triphylian Pylus and the Samian Poseidium is 400 stadia, and
the voyage would not be along Cruni, and Chalcis, and Pheæ, the names of
obscure places and rivers, or rather of streams, but first along the
Neda, then Acidon, next Alpheius, and the places and countries lying
between these rivers, and lastly, if we must mention them, along the
former, because the voyage was along the former places and rivers also.

28. Besides, Nestor’s account of the war between the Pylians and
Eleians, which he relates to Patroclus, agrees with our arguments, if
any one examines the lines. For he says there, that Hercules laid waste
Pylus, and that all the youth were exterminated; that out of twelve sons
of Neleus, he himself alone survived, and was a very young man, and that
the Epeii, despising Neleus on account of his old age and destitute
state, treated the Pylians with haughtiness and insult. Nestor
therefore, in order to avenge this wrong, collected as large a body of
his people as he was able, made an inroad into Eleia, and carried away a
large quantity of booty;

“Fifty herds of oxen, as many flocks of sheep,
As many herds of swine,”[85]

and as many flocks of goats, an hundred and fifty brood mares,
bay-coloured, most of which had foals, and “these,” he says,

“We drove away to Pylus, belonging to Neleus,
By night towards the city;”[86]

so that the capture of the booty, and the flight of those who came to
the assistance of people who were robbed, happened in the day-time,
when, he says, he slew Itamon; and they returned by night, so that they
arrived by night at the city. When they were engaged in dividing the
booty, and in sacrificing, the Epeii, having assembled in multitudes, on
the third day marched against them with an army of horse and foot, and
encamped about Thryum, which is situated on the Alpheius. The Pylians
were no sooner informed of this than they immediately set out to the
relief of this place, and having passed the night on the river Minyeius
near Arene, thence arrive at the Alpheius at noon. After sacrificing to
the gods, and passing the night on the banks of the river, they
immediately, in the morning, engaged in battle. The rout of the enemy
was complete, and they did not desist from the pursuit and slaughter,
till they came to Buprasium,

“and the Olenian rock, where is a tumulus of Alesius, whence
again Minerva repulsed the multitudes;”[87]

and adds below,

“but the Achæi
Turned back their swift horses from Buprasium to Pylus. ”

29. From these verses how can it be supposed that Eleian or Messenian
Pylus is meant. I say the Eleian, because when this was destroyed by
Hercules, the country of the Epeii also was ravaged at the same time,
that is, Eleia. How then could those, who were of the same tribe, and
who had been plundered at that time, show such pride and insult to
persons, who were suffering under the same injuries? How could they
overrun and ravage their own country? How could Augeas and Neleus be
kings of the same people, and yet be mutual enemies; for to Neleus

“a great debt was owing at the divine Elis; four horses, which
had won the prize; they came with their chariots to contend
for prizes; they were about to run in the race for a tripod;
and Augeas, king of men, detained them there, but dismissed
the charioteer. ”[88]

If Neleus lived there, there Nestor also lived. How then were there

“four chiefs of Eleians and Buprasians, with ten swift ships
accompanying each, and with many Epeii embarked in them? ”

The country also was divided into four parts, none of which was subject
to Nestor, but those tribes were under his command,

“who lived at Pylus, and the pleasant Arēnē,”

and at the places that follow next as far as Messene. [CAS. 352] How
came the Epeii, when marching against the Pylians, to set out towards
the Alpheius and Thryum, and after being defeated there in battle, to
fly to Buprasium? But on the other side, if Hercules laid waste the
Messenian Pylus, how could they, who were at such a distance, treat the
Pylians with insult, or have so much intercourse and traffic with them,
and defraud them by refusing to discharge a debt, so that war should
ensue on that account? How too could Nestor, after having got, in his
marauding adventure, so large a quantity of booty, a prey of swine and
sheep, none of which are swift-footed, nor able to go a long journey,
accomplish a march of more than 1000 stadia to Pylus near Coryphasium?
Yet all the Epeii arrive at Thryoessa and the river Alpheius on the
third day, ready to lay siege to the stronghold. How also did these
districts belong to the chiefs of Messenia, when the Caucones, and
Triphylii, and Pisatæ occupied them? But the territory Gerena, or
Gerenia, for it is written both ways, might have a name which some
persons applied designedly, or which might have originated even in
accident.

Since, however, Messenia was entirely under the dominion of Menelaus, to
whom Laconia also was subject, as will be evident from what will be said
hereafter, and since the rivers, the Pamisus and the Nedon, flow through
this country, and not the Alpheius at all, which runs in a straight line
through the country of the Pylians, of which Nestor was ruler, can that
account be credible, by which it appears that one man takes possession
by force of the dominion of another, and deprives him of the cities,
which are said to be his property in the Catalogue of the Ships, and
makes others subject to the usurper.

30. It remains that we speak of Olympia, and of the manner in which
everything fell into the power of the Eleii.

The temple is in the district Pisatis, at the distance of less than 300
stadia from Elis. In front of it is a grove of wild olive trees, where
is the stadium. The Alpheius flows beside it, taking its course out of
Arcadia to the Triphylian Sea between the west and the south. The fame
of the temple was originally owing to the oracle of the Olympian Jove;
yet after that had ceased, the renown of the temple continued, and
increased, as we know, to a high degree of celebrity, both on account of
the assembly of the people of Greece, which was held there, and of the
Olympic games, in which the victor was crowned. These games were
esteemed sacred, and ranked above all others. The temple was decorated
with abundance of offerings, the contributions of all Greece. Among
these offerings was a Jupiter of beaten gold, presented by Cypselus, the
tyrant of Corinth. The largest was a statue of Jupiter in ivory, the
workmanship of Phidias of Athens, the son of Charmides. Its height was
so great, that although the temple is very large, the artist seems to
have mistaken its proportions, and although he made the figure sitting,
yet the head nearly touches the roof, and presents the appearance that,
if it should rise, and stand upright, it would unroof the temple. Some
writers have given the measurement of the statue, and Callimachus has
expressed it in some iambic verses. Panænus, the painter, his nephew,
and joint labourer, afforded great assistance in the completion of the
statue with respect to the colours with which it was ornamented, and
particularly the drapery.

There are exhibited also many and admirable pictures around the temple,
the work of this painter. It is recorded of Phidias, that to Panænus,
who was inquiring after what model he intended to form the figure of
Jupiter, he replied, that it would be from that of Homer delineated in
these words;

“He spoke, and gave the nod with his sable brows, the
ambrosial hair shook on the immortal head of the king of gods,
and vast Olympus trembled. ”[89]

[This is well expressed, and the poet, as from other circumstances, so
particularly from the brows, suggests the thought that he is depicting
some grand conception, and great power worthy of Jupiter. So also in his
description of Juno, in both he preserves the peculiar decorum of each
character, for he says,

“she moved herself upon the throne, and shook vast Olympus:”[90]

this was effected by the motion of her whole body, but Olympus shakes
when Jupiter only nods with his brows, the hair of his head partaking of
the motion. It was elegantly said [of Homer] that he was the only person
who had seen and had made visible the figures of the gods. ][91]

To [CAS. 354] the Eleii above all other people is to be ascribed the
magnificence of the temple at Olympia, and the reverence in which it was
held. For about the Trojan times, and even before that period, they were
not in a flourishing state, having been reduced to a low condition by
war with the Pylii, and afterwards by Hercules, when Augeas their king
was overthrown. The proof is this. The Eleii sent forty ships to Troy,
but the Pylians and Nestor ninety; then after the return of the
Heracleidæ the contrary happened. For the Ætoli returning with the
Heracleidæ under the command of Oxylus, became joint settlers with the
Epeii, on the ground of ancient affinity. They extended the bounds of
Hollow Elis, got possession of a large portion of the Pisatis, and
subjected Olympia to their power. It was these people who invented the
Olympic games,[92] and instituted the first Olympiad. For we must reject
the ancient stories both respecting the foundation of the temple, and
the establishment of the games, some alleging that Hercules, one of the
Idæan Dactyli, was the founder; others, that the son of Alcmene and
Jupiter founded them, who also was the first combatant and victor. For
such things are variously reported, and not entitled to much credit. It
is more probable, that from the first Olympiad,[93] when Corœbus the
Eleian was the victor in the race in the stadium, to the twenty-sixth,
the Eleians presided over the temple, and at the games. But in the
Trojan times, either there were no games where a crown was awarded, or
they had not yet acquired any fame, neither these nor any of the games
which are now so renowned. Homer does not speak of these games, but of
others of a different kind, which were celebrated at funerals. Some
persons however are of opinion that he does mention the Olympic games,
when he says, that Augeas detained four victorious horses, which had
been sent to contend for the prize. It is also said that the Pisatæ did
not take any part in the Trojan war, being considered as consecrated to
the service of Jupiter. But neither was the Pisatis, the tract of
country in which Olympia is situated, subject at that time to Augeas,
but Eleia only, nor were the Olympic games celebrated even once in the
Eleian district, but always at Olympia. But the games, of which Homer
speaks, seem to have taken place in Elis, where the debt was owing,

“For a great debt was owing in the divine Elis,
Namely, four victorious horses. ”[94]

But it was not in these, but in the Olympic games, that the victor was
crowned, for here they were to contend for a tripod.

After the twenty-sixth Olympiad, the Pisatæ, having recovered their
territory, instituted games themselves, when they perceived that these
games were obtaining celebrity. But in after-times, when the territory
of the Pisatis reverted to the Eleii, the presidency and celebration of
the games reverted to them also. The Lacedæmonians too, after the last
defeat of the Messenians, co-operated with the Eleii as allies, contrary
to the conduct of the descendants of Nestor and of the Arcadians, who
were allies of the Messenians. And they assisted them so effectually
that all the country as far as Messene was called Eleia, and the name
continues even to the present time. But of the Pisatæ, and Triphylii,
and Caucones, not even the names remain. They united also Pylus
Emathoeis itself with Lepreum in order to gratify the Lepreatæ, who had
taken no part in the war. They razed many other towns, and imposed a
tribute upon as many as were inclined to maintain their independence.

31. The Pisatis obtained the highest celebrity from the great power of
its sovereigns, Œnomaus and his successor Pelops, and the number of
their children. Salmoneus is said to have reigned there, and one of the
eight cities, into which the Pisatis is divided, has the name of
Salmone. For these reasons, and on account of the temple at Olympia, the
fame of the country spread everywhere.

We must however receive ancient histories, as not entirely agreeing with
one another, for modern writers, entertaining different opinions, are
accustomed to contradict them frequently; as for example, according to
some writers, Augeas was king of the Pisatis, and Œnomaus and Salmoneus
kings of Eleia, while others consider the two nations as one. Still we
ought to follow in general what is received as true, since writers are
not agreed even upon the derivation of the word Pisatis. Some derive it
from Pisa, (Πῖσα,) a city of the same [CAS. 356] name as
the fountain, and say that the fountain had that name, as much as to say
Pistra, (Πίστρα,) which means Potistra, (ποτίστρα,) or “potable. ” The
city of Pisa is shown, situated on an eminence between two mountains,
which have the same names as those in Thessaly, Ossa and Olympus. Some
say, that there was no such city as Pisa, for it would have been one of
the eight, but a fountain only, which is now called Bisa, near Cicysium,
the largest of the eight cities. But Stesichorus calls the tract of
country named Pisa, a city, as the poet calls Lesbos, a city of Macar;
and Euripides in the play of Ion says

“Eubœa is a neighbour city to Athens,”

and so in the play of Rhadamanthus,

“they who occupy the land of Eubœa, an adjoining state;”

thus Sophocles also in the play of the Mysi,

“O stranger, all this country is called Asia,
But the state of the Mysi is called Mysia. ”

32. Salmonē is near the fountain of the same name, the source of the
Enipeus. It discharges itself into the Alpheius, [and at present it is
called Barnichius. [95]] Tyro, it is said, was enamoured of this river;

“who was enamoured of the river, the divine Enipeus. ”[96]

for there her father Salmoneus was king, as Euripides says in the play
of Æolus. [The river in Thessaly some call Eniseus, which, flowing from
the Othrys, receives the Apidanus, that descends from the mountain
Pharsalus. [97]] Near Salmonē is Heracleia, which is one of the eight
cities, distant about 40 stadia from Olympia on the river Cytherius,
where there is a temple of the nymphs, the Ioniades, who are believed to
heal diseases by means of the waters of the river.

Near Olympia is Arpīna, which also is one of the eight cities. The river
Parthenius runs through it in the direction of the road to Pheræa.
Pheræa belongs to Arcadia. [It is situated above Dymæa, Buprasium, and
Elis, which lie to the north of the Pisatis. [98]] There also is
Cicysium, one of the eight cities; and Dyspontium, on the road from Elis
to Olympia, situated in a plain. But it was razed, and the greatest
part of the inhabitants removed to Epidamnus and Apollonia.

Above and so very near Olympia, is Pholoe, an Arcadian mountain, that
the country at its foot belongs to the Pisatis. Indeed the whole of the
Pisatis and a great part of Triphylia border upon Arcadia. For this
reason, most of the places, which have the name of Pylian in the
Catalogue of the Ships, seem to be Arcadian. Persons, however, who are
well informed, say, that the river Erymanthus, one of those that empty
themselves into the Alpheius, is the boundary of Arcadia, and that the
places called Pylian are beyond the Erymanthus.

33. According to Ephorus, “Ætolus, being banished by Salmoneus, king of
the Epeii, and the Pisatæ, from Eleia to Ætolia, called the country
after his own name, and settled the cities there. His descendant Oxylus
was the friend of Temenus, and the Heracleidæ his companions, and was
their guide on their journey to Peloponnesus; he divided among them the
hostile territory, and suggested instructions relative to the
acquisition of the country. In return for these services he was to be
requited by the restoration of Elis, which had belonged to his
ancestors. He returned with an army collected out of Ætolia, for the
purpose of attacking the Epeii, who occupied Elis. On the approach of
the Epeii in arms, when the forces were drawn up in array against each
other, there advanced in front, and engaged in single combat according
to an ancient custom of the Greeks, Pyræchmes, an Ætolian, and Degmenus,
an Epeian: the latter was lightly armed with a bow, and thought to
vanquish easily from a distance a heavy-armed soldier; the former, when
he perceived the stratagem of his adversary, provided himself with a
sling, and a scrip filled with stones. The kind of sling also happened
to have been lately invented by the Ætolians. As a sling reaches its
object at a greater distance than a bow, Degmenus fell; the Ætolians
took possession of the country, and ejected the Epeii. They assumed also
the superintendence of the temple at Olympia, which the Epeii exercised;
and on account of the friendship which subsisted between Oxylus and the
Heracleidæ, it was generally agreed upon, and confirmed by an oath, that
the Eleian territory was sacred to Jupiter, and that any one who invaded
that country with an army, was a sacrilegious person: he also was to be
accounted sacrilegious, who did not [CAS. 358] defend it against the
invader to the utmost of his power. It was for this reason, that the
later founders of the city left it without walls, and those who are
passing through the country with an army, deliver up their arms and
receive them again upon quitting the borders. Iphitus instituted there
the Olympic games, because the Eleians were a sacred people. Hence it
was that they increased in numbers, for while other nations were
continually engaged in war with each other, they alone enjoyed profound
peace, and not themselves only, but strangers also, so that on this
account they were a more populous state than all the others. ”

Pheidon the Argive was the tenth in descent from Temenus, and the most
powerful prince of his age; he was the inventor of the weights and
measures called Pheidonian, and stamped money, silver in particular. He
recovered the whole inheritance of Temenus, which had been severed into
many portions. He attacked also the cities which Hercules had formerly
taken, and claimed the privilege of celebrating the games which Hercules
had established, and among these the Olympian games. He entered their
country by force and celebrated the games, for the Eleians had no army
to prevent it, as they were in a state of peace, and the rest were
oppressed by his power. The Eleians however did not solemnly inscribe in
their records this celebration of the games, but on this occasion
procured arms, and began to defend themselves. The Lacedæmonians also
afforded assistance, either because they were jealous of the prosperity,
which was the effect of the peaceful state of the Eleians, or because
they supposed that they should have the aid of the Eleians in destroying
the power of Pheidon, who had deprived them of the sovereignty (ἡγεμονίαν)
of Peloponnesus, which they before possessed. They succeeded in their
joint attempt to overthrow Pheidon, and the Eleians with this assistance
obtained possession of Pisatis and Triphylia.

The whole of the coasting voyage along the present Eleian territory
comprises, with the exception of the bays, 1200 stadia.

So much then respecting the Eleian territory.




CHAPTER IV.


1. Messenia is continuous with the Eleian territory, inclining for the
most part towards the south, and the Libyan Sea. Being part of Laconia,
it was subject in the Trojan times to Menelaus. The name of the country
was Messene. But the present city called Messene, the acropolis of which
was Ithome, was not then founded. After the death of Menelaus, when the
power of those who succeeded to the possession of Laconia was altogether
weakened, the Neleidæ governed Messenia. At the time of the return of
the Heracleidæ, and according to the partition of the country at that
time, Melanthus was king of the Messenians, who were a separate
community, but formerly subject to Menelaus. As a proof of this, in the
space from the Messenian Gulf and the continuous gulf, (called the
Asinæan from the Messenian Asine,) were situated the seven cities which
Agamemnon promised to Achilles;

“Cardamyle, Enope, the grassy Hira, the divine Pheræ,[99]
Antheia with rich meadows, the beautiful Æpeia, and Pedasus
abounding with vines. ”[100]

He certainly would not have promised what did not belong either to
himself or to his brother. The poet mentions those, who accompanied
Menelaus from Pheræ to the war,[101] and speaks of (Œtylus) in the
Laconian catalogue, a city situated on the Gulf of Messenia.

Messene follows next to Triphylia. The promontory, after which are the
Coryphasium and Cyparissia, is common to both. At the distance of 7
stadia is a mountain, the Ægaleum, situated above Coryphasium and the
sea.

2. The ancient Messenian Pylus was a city lying below the Ægaleum, and
after it was razed, some of the inhabitants settled under the
Coryphasium. But the Athenians in their second expedition against
Sicily, under the command of Eurymedon and Stratocles, got possession of
it, and used it as a stronghold against the Lacedæmonians. [102] Here
also is the Messenian Cyparissia, (and the island Prote,) lying close
[CAS. 359] to Pylus, the island Sphagia, called also Sphacteria. It was
here that the Lacedæmonians lost three hundred men,[103] who were
besieged by the Athenians and taken prisoners.

Two islands, called Strophades,[104] belonging to the Cyparissii, lie
off at sea in front of this coast, at the distance of about 400 stadia
from the continent, in the Libyan and southern sea. According to
Thucydides this Pylus was the naval station of the Messenians. It is
distant from Sparta 400 stadia.

3. Next is Methone. [105] This city, called by the poet Pedasus, was one
of the seven, it is said, which Agamemnon promised to Achilles. There
Agrippa killed, in the Actian war, Bogus, the king of the Maurusii, a
partisan of Antony’s, having got possession of the place by an attack by
sea.

4. Continuous with Methone is Acritas,[106] where the Messenian Gulf
begins, which they call also Asinæus from Asine, a small city, the first
we meet with on the gulf, and having the same name as the Hermionic
Asine.

This is the commencement of the gulf towards the west. Towards the east
are the Thyrides,[107] as they are called, bordering upon the present
Laconia near Cænepolis,[108] and Tænarum.

In the intervening distance, if we begin from the Thyrides, we meet with
Œtylus,[109] by some called Beitylus; then Leuctrum, a colony of the
Leuctri in Bœotia; next, situated upon a steep rock, Cardamyle;[110]
then Pheræ, bordering upon Thuria, and Gerenia, from which place they
say Nestor had the epithet Gerenian, because he escaped thither, as we
have mentioned before. They show in the Gerenian territory a temple of
Æsculapius Triccæus, copied from that at the Thessalian Tricca. Pelops
is said to have founded Leuctrum, and Charadra, and Thalami, now called
the Bœotian Thalami, having brought with him, when he married his sister
Niobe to Amphion, some colonists from Bœotia.

The Nedon, a different river from the Neda, flows through Laconia, and
discharges its waters near Pheræ. It has upon its banks a remarkable
temple of the Nedusian Minerva. At Pœaessa also there is a temple of the
Nedusian Minerva, which derives its name from a place called Nedon,[111]
whence, they say, Teleclus colonized Pœaessa,[112] and Echeiæ, and
Tragium.

5. With respect to the seven cities promised to Achilles, we have
already spoken of Cardamyle, and Pheræ, and Pedasus. Enope, some say is
Pellana; others, some place near Cardamyle; others, Gerenia.
[113] Hira
is pointed out near a mountain in the neighbourhood of Megalopolis[114]
in Arcadia, on the road to Andania, which we have said is called by the
poet Œchalia. Others say that the present Mesola was called Hira, which
extends to the bay situated between Taÿgetum and Messenia. Æpeia is now
called Thuria, which we said bordered upon Pheræ. It is situated upon a
lofty hill, whence its name. [115] The Thuriatic Gulf has its name from
Thuria; upon the gulf is a single city, named Rhium, opposite Tænarum.
Some say that Antheia is Thuria, and Æpeia Methone; others, that Antheia
is Asine, situated between Methone and Thuria, to which, of all the
Messenian cities, the description, “with its rich pastures,” is most
appropriate. Near it on the sea is Corone. There are some writers who
say that this town is called Pedasus by the poet. These cities are “all
near the sea;” Cardamyle close to it; Pheræ at the distance of 5 stadia,
having an anchorage, which is used in the summer. The rest are situated
at unequal distances from the sea.

6. Near Corone, about the middle of the gulf, the river Pamisus[116]
discharges itself, having, on the right hand, this city, and the rest in
succession, the last of which, towards the west, are Pylus and
Cyparissia, and between these is Erana, which some writers erroneously
suppose to be the ancient [CAS. 361] Arene; on the left hand it has
Thyria and Pheræ. It is the largest (in width) of the rivers within the
isthmus, although its course from its springs does not exceed 100 stadia
in length; it has an abundant supply of water, and traverses the
Messenian plain, and the district called Macaria. [117] It is distant
from the present city of the Messenians 50 stadia. [118] There is also
another Pamisus, a small torrent stream, running near Leuctrum of
Laconia, which was a subject of dispute between the Messenians and
Lacedæmonians in the time of Philip.

I have before said that some persons called the Pamisus, Amathus. [119]

7. Ephorus relates that Cresphontes, after he had taken Messene, divided
it into five cities, and chose Stenyclarus, situated in the middle of
this district, to be the royal seat of his kingdom. To the other cities,
Pylus, Rhium, (Mesola,) and Hyameitis, he appointed kings, and put all
the Messenians on an equal footing with the Dorians as to rights and
privileges. The Dorians, however, taking offence, he changed his
intention, and determined that Stenyclarus alone should have the rank of
a city, and here he assembled all the Dorians.

8. The city of the Messenians[120] resembles Corinth, for above each
city is a lofty and precipitous mountain, enclosed by a common wall in
such a manner as to be used as an acropolis; the Messenian mountain is
Ithome,[121] that near Corinth is Acrocorinthus. Demetrius of Pharos
seemed to have counselled Philip the son of Demetrius well, when he
advised him to make himself master of both cities, if he desired to get
possession of Peloponnesus; “for,” said he, “when you have seized both
horns, the cow will be your own;” meaning, by the horns, Ithome and
Acrocorinthus, and, by the cow, Peloponnesus. It was no doubt their
convenient situation which made these cities subjects of contention. The
Romans therefore razed Corinth, and again rebuilt it. The Lacedæmonians
destroyed Messene, and the Thebans, and subsequently Philip, the son of
Amyntas, restored it. The citadels however continued unoccupied.

9. The temple of Diana in Limnæ (in the Marshes), where the Messenians
are supposed to have violated the virgins who came there to offer
sacrifice, is on the confines of Laconia and Messenia, where the
inhabitants of both countries usually celebrated a common festival, and
performed sacrifices; but after the violation of the virgins, the
Messenians did not make any reparation, and war, it is said, ensued. The
Limnæan temple of Diana at Sparta is said to have its name from the
Limnæ here.

10. There were frequent wars (between the Lacedæmonians and Messenians)
on account of the revolts of the Messenians. Tyrtæus mentions, in his
poems, that their first subjugation was in the time of their
grandfathers;[122] the second, when in conjunction with their allies the
Eleians [Arcadians], Argives, and Pisatæ, they revolted; the leader of
the Arcadians was Aristocrates, king of Orchomenus, and of the Pisatæ,
Pantaleon, son of Omphalion. In this war, Tyrtæus says, he himself
commanded the Lacedæmonian army, for in his elegiac poem, entitled
Eunomia, he says he came from Erineum;

“for Jupiter himself, the son of Saturn, and husband of Juno
with the beautiful crown, gave this city to the Heracleidæ,
with whom we left the windy Erineum, and arrived at the
spacious island of Pelops. ”

Wherefore we must either invalidate the authority of the elegiac verses,
or we must disbelieve Philochorus, and Callisthenes, and many other
writers, who say that he came from Athens, or Aphidnæ, at the request of
the Lacedæmonians, whom an oracle had enjoined to receive a commander
from the Athenians.

The second war then occurred in the time of Tyrtæus. But they mention a
third, and even a fourth war, in which the Messenians were
destroyed. [123]

The [CAS. 362] whole voyage along the Messenian coast comprises about
800 stadia, including the measurement of the bays.

11. I have exceeded the limits of moderation in this description, by
attending to the multitude of facts which are related of a country, the
greatest part of which is deserted. Even Laconia itself is deficient in
population, if we compare its present state with its ancient
populousness. For, with the exception of Sparta, the remaining small
cities are about thirty; but, anciently, Laconia had the name of
Hecatompolis, and that for this reason hecatombs were annually
sacrificed.




CHAPTER V.


1. Next after the Messenian is the Laconian Gulf, situated between
Tænarum and Maleæ, declining a little from the south to the east.
Thyrides, a precipitous rock, beaten by the waves, is in the Messenian
Gulf, and distant from Tænarum 100 stadia. Above is Taÿgetum, a lofty
and perpendicular mountain, at a short distance from the sea,
approaching on the northern side close to the Arcadian mountains, so as
to leave between them a valley, where Messenia is continuous with
Laconia.

At the foot of Taÿgetum, in the inland parts, lie Sparta and
Amyclæ,[124] where is the temple of Apollo, and Pharis. The site of
Sparta is in rather a hollow, although it comprises mountains within it;
no part of it, however, is marshy, although, anciently, the suburbs were
so, which were called Limnæ. The temple of Bacchus, also in Limnæ, was
in a wet situation, but now stands on a dry ground.

In the bay on the coast is Tænarum, a promontory projecting into the
sea. [125] Upon it, in a grove, is the temple of Neptune, and near the
temple a cave, through which, according to the fable, Cerberus was
brought up by Hercules from Hades. Thence to the promontory Phycus in
Cyrenaica, is a passage across towards the south of 3000 stadia; and to
Pachynus, towards the west, the promontory of Sicily, 4600, or,
according to some writers, 4000 stadia; to Maleæ, towards the east,
including the measurement of the bays, 670 stadia; to Onugnathus,[126] a
low peninsula a little within Maleæ, 520 stadia. (In front of
Onugnathus, at the distance of 40 stadia, lies Cythera,[127] an island
with a good harbour, and a city of the same name, which was the private
property of Eurycles, the commander of the Lacedæmonians in our time. It
is surrounded by several small islands, some near it, others lying
somewhat farther off. ) To Corycus, a promontory of Crete, the nearest
passage by sea is 250 stadia. [128]

2. Next to Tænarum on the voyage to Onugnathus and to Maleæ[129] is
Amathus, (Psamathus,) a city; then follow Asine, and Gythium,[130] the
naval arsenal of Sparta, situated at an interval of 240 stadia. Its
station for vessels, they say, is excavated by art. Farther on, between
Gythium and Acræa, is the mouth of the Eurotas. [131] To this place the
voyage along the coast is about 240 stadia; then succeeds a marshy
tract, and a village, Helos, which formerly was a city, according to
Homer;

“They who occupied Amyclæ, and Helos, a small town on
the sea-coast. ”[132]

They say that it was founded by Helius the son of Perseus. There is a
plain also call Leuce; then Cyparissia,[133] a city upon a peninsula,
with a harbour; then Onugnathus with a harbour; next Bœa, a city; then
Maleæ. From these cities to Onugnathus are 150 stadia. There is also
Asopus,[134] a city in Laconia.

3. Among the places enumerated by Homer in the Catalogue of the Ships,
Messa, they say, is no longer to be found; and that Messoa is not a part
of Laconia, but a part of Sparta itself, as was the Limnæum near
Thornax. Some understand [CAS. 364] Messē to be a contraction of
Messene, for it is said that this was a part of Laconia. [They allege as
examples from the poet, the words “cri,” and “do,” and “maps,”[135] and
this passage also;

“The horses were yoked by Automedon and Alcimus,”[136]

instead of Alcimedon. And the words of Hesiod, who uses βρῖ for βριθὺ
and βριαρὸν; and Sophocles and Io, who have ῥᾳ for ῥᾴδιον; and
Epicharmus, λῖ for λίαν, and Συρακὼ for Συράκουσαι; Empedocles also has
ὂψ for ὄψις (μία γίγνεται ἀμφοτέρων ὄψ or ὄψις); and Antimachus,
Δήμητρός τοι Ἐλευσινίης ἱερὴ ὄψ, and ἄλφι for ἄλφιτον; Euphorion has ἧλ
for ἧλος; Philetes has δμωίδες εἰς ταλάρους λευκὸν ἄγουσιν ἔρι for
ἔριον; Aratus, εἰς ἄνεμον δὲ τὰ πηδά for τὰ πηδάλια; Simmias, Dodo for
Dodona. ][137]

Of the rest of the places mentioned by the poet, some are extinct; of
others traces remain, and of others the names are changed, as Augeiæ
into Ægææ: [the city] of that name in Locris exists no longer. With
respect to Las, the Dioscuri are said to have taken it by siege
formerly, whence they had the name of Lapersæ, (Destroyers of Las,) and
Sophocles says somewhere, “by the two Lapersæ, by Eurotas, by the gods
in Argos and Sparta. ”

4. Ephorus says that the Heracleidæ, Eurysthenes and Procles, having
obtained possession of Laconia, divided it into six parts, and founded
cities throughout the country, and assigned Amyclæ to him who betrayed
to them Laconia, and who prevailed upon the person that occupied it to
retire, on certain conditions, with the Achæi, into Ionia. Sparta they
retained themselves as the royal seat of the kingdom. To the other
cities they sent kings, permitting them to receive whatever strangers
might be disposed to settle there, on account of the scarcity of
inhabitants. Las was used as a naval station, because it had a
convenient harbour; Ægys, as a stronghold, from whence to attack
surrounding enemies; Pheræa, as a place to deposit treasure, because it
afforded security from[138] attempts from without. * * * * that all the
neighbouring people submitted to the Spartiatæ, but were to enjoy an
equality of rights, and to have a share in the government and in the
offices of state. They were called Heilotæ. But Agis, the son of
Eurysthenes, deprived them of the equality of rights, and ordered them
to pay tribute to Sparta. The rest submitted; but the Heleii, who
occupied Helos, revolted, and were made prisoners in the course of the
war; they were adjudged to be slaves, with the conditions, that the
owner should not be allowed to give them their liberty, nor sell them
beyond the boundaries of the country. This was called the war of the
Heilotæ. [139] The system of Heilote-slavery, which continued from that
time to the establishment of the dominion of the Romans, was almost
entirely the contrivance of Agis. They were a kind of public slaves, to
whom the Lacedæmonians assigned habitations, and required from them
peculiar services.

5. With respect to the government of the Lacones, and the changes which
have taken place among them, many things, as being well known, may be
passed over, but some it may be worth while to relate. It is said that
the Achæan Phthiotæ, who, with Pelops, made an irruption into
Peloponnesus, settled in Laconia, and were so much distinguished for
their valour, that Peloponnesus, which for a long period up to this time
had the name of Argos, was then called Achæan Argos; and not
Peloponnesus alone had this name, but Laconia also was thus peculiarly
designated. Some even understand the words of the poet,

“Where was Menelaus, was he not at Achæan Argos? ”[140]

as implying, was he not in Laconia? But about the time of the return of
the Heracleidæ, when Philonomus betrayed the country to the Dorians,
they removed from Laconia to the country of the Ionians, which at
present is called Achaia. We shall speak of them in our description of
Achaia.

Those who were in possession of Laconia, at first conducted themselves
with moderation, but after they had intrusted to Lycurgus the formation
of a political constitution, they acquired such a superiority over the
other Greeks, that they alone obtained the sovereignty both by sea and
land, and continued to be the chiefs of the Greeks, till the Thebans,
and soon afterwards the Macedonians, deprived them of this ascendency.

They [CAS. 365] did not however entirely submit even to these, but,
preserving their independence, were continually disputing the
sovereignty both with the other Greeks and with the Macedonian kings.
After the overthrow of the latter by the Romans, the Lacones living
under a bad government at that time, and under the power of tyrants, had
given some slight offence to the generals whom the Romans sent into the
province. They however recovered themselves, and were held in very great
honour. They remained free, and performed no other services but those
expected from allies. Lately however Eurycles[141] excited some
disturbances amongst them, having abused excessively, in the exercise of
his authority, the friendship of Cæsar. The government soon came to an
end by the death of Eurycles, and the son rejected all such friendships.
The Eleuthero-Lacones[142] however did obtain some regular form of
government, when the surrounding people, and especially the Heilotæ, at
the time that Sparta was governed by tyrants, were the first to attach
themselves to the Romans.

Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the form of
government, but Ephorus reproaches him with not mentioning Lycurgus at
all, and with ascribing the acts of the latter to persons who had no
concern in them; to Lycurgus only is a temple erected, and sacrifices
are annually performed in his honour, but to Eurysthenes and Procles,
although they were the founders of Sparta, yet not even these honours
were paid to them, that their descendants should bear the respective
appellations of Eurysthenidæ and Procleidæ. [143] [The descendants of
Agis, however, the son of Eurysthenes, were called Agides, and the
descendants of Eurypon, the son of Procles, were called Eurypontiadæ.
The former were legitimate princes; the others, having admitted
strangers as settlers, reigned by their means; whence they were not
regarded as original authors of the settlement, an honour usually
conferred upon all founders of cities. ]

6. As to the nature of the places in Laconia and Messenia, we may take
the description of Euripides;[144]

“Laconia has much land capable of tillage, but difficult to be
worked, for it is hollow, surrounded by mountains, rugged, and
difficult of access to an enemy. ”

Messenia he describes in this manner:

“It bears excellent fruit; is watered by innumerable streams;
it affords the finest pasture to herds and flocks; it is not
subject to the blasts of winter, nor too much heated by the
coursers of the sun;”

and a little farther on, speaking of the division of the country by the
Heracleidæ according to lot, the first was

“lord of the Lacænian land, a bad soil,”

the second was Messene,

“whose excellence no language could express;”

and Tyrtæus speaks of it in the same manner.

But we cannot admit that Laconia and Messenia are bounded, as Euripides
says,

“by the Pamisus,[145] which empties itself into the sea;”

this river flows through the middle of Messenia, and does not touch any
part of the present Laconia. Nor is he right, when he says that Messenia
is inaccessible to sailors, whereas it borders upon the sea, in the same
manner as Laconia.

Nor does he give the right boundaries of Elis;

“after passing the river is Elis, the neighbour of Jove;”

and he adduces a proof unnecessarily. For if he means the present Eleian
territory, which is on the confines of Messenia, this the Pamisus does
not touch, any more than it touches Laconia, for, as has been said
before, it flows through the middle of Messenia: or, if he meant the
ancient Eleia, called the Hollow, this is a still greater deviation from
the truth. For after crossing the Pamisus, there is a large tract of the
Messenian country, then the whole district of [the Lepreatæ], and of the
[Macistii], which is called Triphylia; then the Pisatis, and Olympia;
then at the distance of 300 stadia is Elis.

7. As some persons write the epithet applied by Homer to Lacedæmon,
κητώεσσαν, and others καιετάεσσαν, how are we to understand κητώεσσα,
whether it is derived from Cetos,[146] or [CAS. 367] whether it denotes
“large,” which is most probable. Some understand καιετάεσσα
to signify, “abounding with calaminthus;” others suppose, as
the fissures occasioned by earthquakes are called Cæeti, that this is
the origin of the epithet. Hence Cæietas also, the name of the prison
among the Lacedæmonians, which is a sort of cave. Some however say, that
such kind of hollows are rather called Coi, whence the expression of
Homer,[147] applied to wild beasts, φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισιν, which live in
mountain caves. Laconia however is subject to earthquakes, and some
writers relate, that certain peaks of Taÿgetum have been broken off by
the shocks. [148]

Laconia contains also quarries of valuable marble. Those of the Tænarian
marble in Tænarum[149] are ancient, and certain persons, assisted by the
wealth of the Romans, lately opened a large quarry in Taÿgetum.

8. It appears from Homer, that both the country and the city had the
name of Lacedæmon; I mean the country together with Messenia. When he
speaks of the bow and quiver of Ulysses, he says,

“A present from Iphitus Eurytides, a stranger, who met him in
Lacedæmon,”[150]

and adds,

“They met at Messene in the house of Ortilochus. ”

He means the country which was a part of Messenia. [151] There was then
no difference whether he said “A stranger, whom he met at Lacedæmon,
gave him,” or, “they met at Messene;” for it is evident that Pheræ was
the home of Ortilochus:

“they arrived at Pheræ, and went to the house of Diocles the
son of Ortilochus,”[152]

namely, Telemachus and Pisistratus. Now Pheræ[153] belongs to Messenia.
But after saying, that Telemachus and his friend set out from Pheræ, and
were driving their two horses the whole day, he adds,

“The sun was setting; they came to the hollow Lacedæmon
(κητώεσσαν), and drove their chariot to the
palace of Menelaus. ”[154]

Here we must understand the city; and if we do not, the poet says, that
they journeyed from Lacedæmon to Lacedæmon. It is not otherwise
improbable that the palace of Menelaus should not be at Sparta; and if
it was not there, that Telemachus should say,

“for I am going to Sparta, and to Pylus,”[155]

for this seems to agree with the epithets applied to the country,[156]
unless indeed any one should allow this to be a poetical licence; for,
if Messenia was a part of Laconia, it would be a contradiction that
Messene should not be placed together with Laconia, or with Pylus,
(which was under the command of Nestor,) nor by itself in the Catalogue
of Ships, as though it had no part in the expedition.




CHAPTER VI.


1. After Maleæ follow the Argolic and Hermionic Gulfs; the former
extends as far as Scyllæum,[157] it looks to the east, and towards
the Cyclades;[158] the latter lies still more towards the east than
the former, reaching Ægina and the Epidaurian territory. [159] The
Laconians occupy the first part of the Argolic Gulf, and the Argives
the rest. Among the places occupied by the Laconians are Delium,[160]
a temple of Apollo, of [CAS. 368] the same name as that in Bœotia;
Minoa, a fortress of the same name as that in Megara; and according to
Artemidorus, Epidaurus Limera;[161] Apollodorus, however, places it
near Cythera,[162] and having a convenient harbour, (λιμὴν, limen,)
it was called Limenera, which was altered by contraction to Limera.
A great part of the coast of Laconia, beginning immediately from
Maleæ, is rugged. It has however shelters for vessels, and harbours.
The remainder of the coast has good ports; there are also many small
islands, not worthy of mention, lying in front of it.

2. To the Argives belong Prasiæ,[163] and Temenium[164] where Temenus
lies buried. Before coming to Temenium is the district through which the
river Lerna flows, that having the same name as the lake, where is laid
the scene of the fable of the Hydra. The Temenium is distant from Argos
26 stadia from the sea-coast; from Argos to Heræum are 40, and thence to
Mycenæ 10 stadia.

Next to Temenium is Nauplia, the naval station of the Argives. Its name
is derived from its being accessible to ships. Here they say the fiction
of the moderns originated respecting Nauplius and his sons, for Homer
would not have omitted to mention them, if Palamedes displayed so much
wisdom and intelligence, and was unjustly put to death; and if Nauplius
had destroyed so many people at Caphareus. [165] But the genealogy
offends both against the mythology, and against chronology. For if we
allow that he was the son of Neptune,[166] how could he be the son of
Amymone, and be still living in the Trojan times.

Next to Nauplia are caves, and labyrinths constructed in them, which
caves they call Cyclopeia.

3. Then follow other places, and after these the Hermionic Gulf. Since
the poet places this gulf in the Argive territory, we must not overlook
this division of the circumference of this country. It begins from the
small city Asine;[167] then follow Hermione,[168] and Trœzen. [169] In
the voyage along the coast the island Calauria[170] lies opposite; it
has a compass of 30 stadia, and is separated from the continent by a
strait of 4 stadia.

4. Then follows the Saronic Gulf; some call it a Pontus or sea, others a
Porus or passage, whence it is also termed the Saronic pelagos or deep.
The whole of the passage, or Porus, extending from the Hermionic Sea,
and the sea about the Isthmus (of Corinth) to the Myrtoan and Cretan
Seas, has this name.

To the Saronic Gulf belong Epidaurus,[171] and the island in front of
it, Ægina; then Cenchreæ, the naval station of the Corinthians towards
the eastern parts; then Schœnus,[172] a harbour at the distance of 45
stadia by sea; from Maleæ the whole number of stadia is about 1800.

At Schœnus is the Diolcus, or place where they draw the vessels across
the Isthmus: it is the narrowest part of it. Near Schœnus is the temple
of the Isthmian Neptune. At present, however, I shall not proceed with
the description of these places, for they are not situated within the
Argive territory, but resume the account of those which it contains.

5. And first, we may observe how frequently Argos is mentioned by the
poet, both by itself and with the epithet designating it as Achæan
Argos, Argos Jasum, Argos Hippium, or Hippoboton, or Pelasgicum. The
city, too, is called Argos,

“Argos and Sparta”--[173]

those who occupied Argos

“and Tiryns;”[174]

and Peloponnesus is called Argos,

“at our house in Argos,”[175]

for the city could not be called his house; and he calls the whole of
Greece, Argos, for he calls all Argives, as he calls them Danai, and
Achæans.

He [CAS. 369] distinguishes the identity of name by epithets; he calls
Thessaly, Pelasgic Argos;

“all who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos;”[176]

and the Peloponnesus, the Achæan Argos;

“if we should return to Achæan Argos;”[177]

“was he not at Achæan Argos? ”[178]

intimating in these lines that the Peloponnesians were called peculiarly
Achæans according to another designation.

He calls also the Peloponnesus, Argos Jasum;

“if all the Achæans throughout Argos Jasum should see you,”[179]

meaning Penelope, she then would have a greater number of suitors; for
it is not probable that he means those from the whole of Greece, but
those from the neighbourhood of Ithaca. He applies also to Argos terms
common to other places,

“pasturing horses,” and “abounding with horses. ”

6. There is a controversy about the names Hellas and Hellenes.
Thucydides[180] says that Homer nowhere mentions Barbarians, because the
Greeks were not distinguished by any single name, which expressed its
opposite. Apollodorus also says, that the inhabitants of Thessaly alone
were called Hellenes, and alleges this verse of the poet,

“they were called Myrmidones, and Hellenes;”[181]

but Hesiod, and Archilochus, in their time knew that they were all
called Hellenes, and Panhellenes: the former calls them by this name in
speaking of the Prœtides, and says that Panhellenes were their suitors;
the latter, where he says

“that the calamities of the Panhellenes centred in Thasus. ”

But others oppose to this, that Homer does mention Barbarians, when he
says of the Carians, that they spoke a barbarous language, and that all
the Hellenes were comprised in the term Hellas;

“of the man, whose fame spread throughout Hellas and Argos. ”[182]

And again,

“but if you wish to turn aside and pass through Greece and the
midst of Argos. ”[183]

7. The greater part of the city of the Argives is situated in a plain.
It has a citadel called Larisa, a hill moderately fortified, and upon it
a temple of Jupiter. Near it flows the Inachus, a torrent river; its
source is in Lyrceium [the Arcadian mountain near Cynuria]. We have said
before that the fabulous stories about its sources are the inventions of
poets; it is a fiction also that Argos is without water--

“but the gods made Argos a land without water. ”

Now the ground consists of hollows, it is intersected by rivers, and is
full of marshes and lakes; the city also has a copious supply of water
from many wells, which rises near the surface.

They attribute the mistake to this verse,

“and I shall return disgraced to Argos (πολυδίψιον)
the very thirsty. ”[184]

This word is used for πολυπόθητον, or

“much longed after,”

or without the δ for πολυίψιον,
equivalent to the expression πολύφθορον in
Sophocles,

“this house of the Pelopidæ abounding in slaughter,”[185]

[for προϊάψαι and ἰάψαι and ἴψασθαι, denote some injury or destruction;

“at present he is making the attempt, and he will soon destroy
(ἴψεται) the sons of the Achæi;”[186]

and again, lest

“she should injure (ἰάψῃ) her beautiful skin;”[187]

and,

“has prematurely sent down, προΐαψεν, to Ades. ”[188]][189]

Besides, he does not mean the city Argos, for it was not thither that he
was about to return, but he meant Peloponnesus, which, certainly, is not
a thirsty land.

With respect to the letter δ, they introduce the conjunction
by the figure hyperbaton, and make an elision of the vowel, so that the
verse would run thus,

Καί κεν ἐλέγχιστος πολὺ δ’ ἴψιον Ἄργος ἱκοίμην,

that is, πολυίψιον Ἄργοσδε ἱκοίμην, instead of, εἰς Ἄργος. [189]

8. The Inachus[190] is one of the rivers, which flows through the Argive
territory; there is also another in Argia, the [CAS. 371] Erasīnus. It
has its source in Stymphalus in Arcadia, and in the lake there called
Stymphalis, where the scene is laid of the fable of the birds called
Stymphalides, which Hercules drove away by wounding them with arrows,
and by the noise of drums. It is said that this river passes
under-ground, and issues forth in the Argian territory, and waters the
plain. The Erasīnus is also called Arsīnus.

Another river of the same name flows out of Arcadia to the coast near
Buras. There is another Erasinus also in Eretria, and one in Attica near
Brauron.

Near Lerna a fountain is shown, called Amymone. The lake Lerna, the
haunt of the Hydra, according to the fable, belongs to the Argive and
Messenian districts. The expiatory purifications performed at this place
by persons guilty of crimes gave rise to the proverb, “A Lerna of
evils. ”

It is allowed that, although the city itself lies in a spot where there
are no running streams of water, there is an abundance of wells, which
are attributed to the Danaïdes as their invention; hence the line,

“the Danaïdes made waterless Argos, Argos the watered. ”

Four of the wells are esteemed sacred, and held in peculiar veneration.
Hence they occasioned a want of water, while they supplied it
abundantly.