by Pausanias
αἴ κ᾽ ἐθέλητε πάτραν οἰκεῖν σὺν ἀμύμονι πλούτῳ,
Ἕκτορος ὀστέα Πριαμίδου κομίσαντες ἐς οἴκους
ἐξ Ἀσίης Διὸς ἐννεσίῃσ᾽ ἥρωα σέβεσθαι.
“
[18.5] There is also at Thebes the grave of Hector, the son of Priam. It is near the spring called the Fountain of Oedipus, and the Thebans say that they brought Hector’s bones from Troy because of the following oracle:–
Ye Thebans who dwell in the city of Cadmus,
If you wish blameless wealth for the country in which you live,
Bring to your homes the bones of Hector, Priam’s son,
From Asia, and reverence him as a hero, according to the bidding of Zeus.
[6] τῇ δὲ Οἰδιποδίᾳ κρήνῃ τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο, ὅτι ἐς αὐτὴν τὸ αἷμα ἐνίψατο Οἰδίπους τοῦ πατρῴου φόνου. πρὸς δὲ τῇ πηγῇ τάφος ἐστὶν Ἀσφοδίκου: καὶ ὁ Ἀσφόδικος οὗτος ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τῇ πρὸς Ἀργείους Παρθενοπαῖον τὸν Ταλαοῦ, καθὰ οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσιν, ἐπεὶ τά γε ἐν Θηβαΐδι ἔπη τὰ ἐς τὴν Παρθενοπαίου τελευτὴν Περικλύμενον τὸν ἀνελόντα φησὶν εἶναι.
[18.6] The Fountain of Oedipus was so named because Oedipus washed off into it the blood of his murdered father. Hard by the spring is the grave of Asphodicus. He it was who in the fighting with the Argives killed Parthenopaeus, the son of Talaus. This is the Theban account, but according to the passage in the Thebaid which tells of the death of Parthenopaeus it was Periclymenus who killed him.
TEUMESSUS
19. ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ λεωφόρῳ χωρίον ἐστὶ Τευμησσός: Εὐρώπην δὲ ὑπὸ Διὸς κρυφθῆναί φασιν ἐνταῦθα. ἕτερος δὲ ἐς ἀλώπεκα ἐπίκλησιν Τευμησσίαν λόγος ἐστίν, ὡς ἐκ μηνίματος Διονύσου τὸ θηρίον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρῳ τραφείη Θηβαίων, καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ κυνός, ὃν Πρόκριδι τῇ Ἐρεχθέως ἔδωκεν Ἄρτεμις, ἁλίσκεσθαι μέλλουσα αὐτή τε λίθος ἐγένετο ἡ ἀλώπηξ καὶ ὁ κύων οὗτος. καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἐν Τευμησσῷ Τελχινίας ἐστὶν ἱερὸν ἄγαλμα οὐκ ἔχον: ἐς δὲ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν αὐτῆς ἔστιν εἰκάζειν ὡς τῶν ἐν Κύπρῳ ποτὲ οἰκησάντων Τελχίνων ἀφικομένη μοῖρα ἐς Βοιωτοὺς ἱερὸν ἱδρύσατο Ἀθηνᾶς Τελχινίας.
[19.1] XIX. On this highway is a place called Teumessus, where it is said that Europa was hidden by Zeus. There is also another legend, which tells of a fox called the Teumessian fox, how owing to the wrath of Dionysus the beast was reared to destroy the Thebans, and how, when about to be caught by the hound given by Artemis to Procris the daughter of Erechtheus, the fox was turned into a stone, as was likewise this hound. In Teumessus there is also a sanctuary of Telchinian Athena, which contains no image. As to her surname, we may hazard the conjecture that a division of the Telchinians who once dwelt in Cyprus came to Boeotia and established a sanctuary of Telchinian Athena.
GLISAS & MT HYPASTUS
[2] Τευμησσοῦ δὲ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ σταδίους προελθόντι ἑπτὰ Γλίσαντός ἐστιν ἐρείπια, πρὸ δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ χῶμα οὐ μέγα ὕλῃ τε ἀγρίᾳ σύσκιον καὶ ἡμέροις δένδροις. ἐτάφησαν δὲ αὐτόθι οἱ μετὰ Αἰγιαλέως ποιησάμενοι τοῦ Ἀδράστου τὴν ἐς Θήβας στρατείαν, ἄλλοι τε Ἀργείων τῶν ἐν τέλει καὶ Πρόμαχος ὁ Παρθενοπαίου: τῷ δὲ Αἰγιαλεῖ γενέσθαι τὸ μνῆμα ἐν Παγαῖς πρότερον ἔτι ἐν τῇ συγγραφῇ τῇ Μεγαρίδι ἐδήλωσα.
[19.2] Seven stades from Teumessus on the left are the ruins of Glisas, and before them on the right of the way a small mound shaded by cultivated trees and a wood of wild ones. Here were buried Promachus, the son of Parthenopaeus, and other Argive officers, who joined with Aegialeus, the son of Adrastus, in the expedition against Thebes. That the tomb of Aegialeus is at Pegae I have already stated in an earlier part of my history that deals with Megara.
[3] κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐς Γλίσαντα εὐθεῖαν ἐκ Θηβῶν λίθοις χωρίον περιεχόμενον λογάσιν Ὄφεως καλοῦσιν οἱ Θηβαῖοι κεφαλήν, τὸν ὄφιν τοῦτον — ὅστις δὴ ἦν — ἀνασχεῖν ἐνταῦθα ἐκ τοῦ φωλεοῦ λέγοντες τὴν κεφαλήν, Τειρεσίαν δὲ ἐπιτυχόντα ἀποκόψαι μαχαίρᾳ. τὸ μὲν δὴ χωρίον τοῦτο ἐπὶ λόγῳ καλεῖται τοιῷδε: ὑπὲρ δὲ Γλίσαντός ἐστιν ὄρος Ὕπατος καλούμενον, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῷ Διὸς Ὑπάτου ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα: τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν τὸν χείμαρρον Θερμώδοντα ὀνομάζουσιν. ἀναστρέψαντι δὲ ἐπί τε Τευμησσὸν καὶ ὁδὸν τὴν ἐς Χαλκίδα Χαλκώδοντος μνῆμά ἐστιν, ὃς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὸ Ἀμφιτρύωνος μάχης πρὸς Θηβαίους Εὐβοεῦσι γενομένης.
[19.3] On the straight road from Thebes to Glisas is a place surrounded by unhewn stones, called by the Thebans the Snake’s Head. This snake, whatever it was, popped its head, they say, out of its hole here, and Teiresias, chancing to meet it, cut off the head with his sword. This then is how the place got its name. Above Glisas is a mountain called Supreme, and on it a temple and image of Supreme Zeus. The river, a torrent, they call the Thermodon. Returning to Teumessus and the road to Chalcis, you come to the tomb of Chalcodon, who was killed by Amphitryon in a fight between the Thebans and the Euboeans.
HARMA & MYCALESSUS
[4] ἑξῆς δὲ πόλεων ἐρείπιά ἐστιν Ἅρματος καὶ Μυκαλησσοῦ: καὶ τῇ μὲν τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο ἀφανισθέντος, ὡς οἱ Ταναγραῖοί φασιν, ἐνταῦθα Ἀμφιαράῳ τοῦ ἅρματος καὶ οὐχ ὅπου λέγουσιν οἱ Θηβαῖοι: Μυκαλησσὸν δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν ὀνομασθῆναι, διότι ἡ βοῦς ἐνταῦθα ἐμυκήσατο ἡ Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἄγουσα ἐς Θήβας. ὅντινα δὲ τρόπον ἐγένετο ἡ Μυκαλησσὸς ἀνάστατος, τὰ ἐς Ἀθηναίους ἔχοντα ἐδήλωσέ μοι τοῦ λόγου.
[19.4] Adjoining are the ruins of the cities Harma (Chariot) and Mycalessus. The former got its name, according to the people of Tanagra, because the chariot of Amphiaraus disappeared here, and not where the Thebans say it did. Both peoples agree that Mycalessus was so named because the cow lowed (emykesato) here that was guiding Cadmus and his host to Thebes. How Mycalessus was laid waste I have related in that part of my history that deals with the Athenians.
[5] πρὸς θάλασσαν δὲ τῆς Μυκαλησσοῦ Δήμητρος Μυκαλησσίας ἐστὶν ἱερόν: κλείεσθαι δὲ αὐτὸ ἐπὶ νυκτὶ ἑκάστῃ καὶ αὖθις ἀνοίγεσθαί φασιν ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους, τὸν δὲ Ἡρακλέα εἶναι τῶν Ἰδαίων καλουμένων Δακτύλων. δείκνυται δὲ αὐτόθι καὶ θαῦμα τοιόνδε: πρὸ τοῦ ἀγάλματος τῶν ποδῶν τιθέασιν ὅσα ἐν ὀπώρᾳ πέφυκε γίνεσθαι, ταῦτα δὲ διὰ παντὸς μένει τεθηλότα τοῦ ἔτ
ους.
[19.5] On the way to the coast of Mycalessus is a sanctuary of Mycalessian Demeter. They say that each night it is shut up and opened again by Heracles, and that Heracles is one of what are called the Idaean Dactyls. Here is shown the following marvel. Before the feet of the image they place all the fruits of autumn, and these remain fresh throughout all the year.
[6] τοῦ δὲ Εὐρίπου τὴν Εὔβοιαν κατὰ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῆς Βοιωτῶν διείργοντος τῆς τε Δήμητρος ἐν δεξιᾷ τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Μυκαλησσίας καὶ ὀλίγον ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ προελθόντι ἐστὶν Αὐλίς: ὀνομασθῆναι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς Ὠγύγου θυγατρός φασιν αὐτήν. ναὸς δὲ Ἀρτέμιδός ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἀγάλματα λίθου λευκοῦ, τὸ μὲν δᾷδας φέρον, τὸ δὲ ἔοικε τοξευούσῃ. φασὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ μελλόντων ἐκ μαντείας τῆς Κάλχαντος Ἰφιγένειαν τῶν Ἑλλήνων θύειν, τὴν θεὸν ἀντ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔλαφον τὸ ἱερεῖον ποιῆσαι.
[19.6] At this place the Euripus separates Euboea from Boeotia. On the right is the sanctuary of Mycalessian Demeter, and a little farther on is Aulis, said to have been named after the daughter of Ogygus. Here there is a temple of Artemis with two images of white marble; one carries torches, and the other is like to one shooting an arrow. The story is that when, in obedience to the soothsaying of Calchas, the Greeks were about to sacrifice Iphigeneia on the altar, the goddess substituted a deer to be the victim instead of her. They preserve in the temple what still survives of the
[7] πλατάνου δέ, ἧς καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν Ἰλιάδι ἐποιήσατο μνήμην, τὸ ἔτι τοῦ ξύλου περιὸν φυλάσσουσιν ἐν τῷ ναῷ. λέγεται δὲ ὡς ἐν Αὐλίδι πνεῦμα τοῖς Ἕλλησιν οὐκ ἐγίνετο ἐπίφορον, φανέντος δὲ ἐξαίφνης ἀνέμου σφίσιν οὐρίου θύειν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι ὅ τι ἕκαστος εἶχε, θήλεά τε ἱερεῖα καὶ ἄρσενα ὁμοίως: καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνου διαμεμένηκεν ἐν Αὐλίδι πάντα τὰ ἱερεῖα εἶναι δόκιμα. δείκνυται δὲ καὶ ἡ πηγή, παρ᾽ ἣν ἡ πλάτανος ἐπεφύκει, καὶ ἐπὶ λόφου πλησίον τῆς Ἀγαμέμνονος σκηνῆς οὐδὸς χαλκοῦς:
[19.7] plane-tree mentioned by Homer in the Iliad. The story is that the Greeks were kept at Aulis by contrary winds, and when suddenly a favouring breeze sprang up, each sacrificed to Artemis the victim he had to hand, female and male alike. From that time the rule has held good at Aulis that oil victims are permissible. There is also shown the spring, by which the plane-tree grew, and on a hill near by the bronze threshold of Agamemnon’s tent.
[8] φοίνικες δὲ πρὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πεφύκασιν, οὐκ ἐς ἅπαν ἐδώδιμον παρεχόμενοι καρπὸν ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ, τοῦ δὲ ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ τῶν φοινίκων καρποῦ πεπανώτερον. ἄνθρωποι δὲ ἐν τῇ Αὐλίδι οἰκοῦσιν οὐ πολλοί, γῆς δέ εἰσιν οὗτοι κεραμεῖς: νέμονται δὲ Ταναγραῖοι ταύτην τε τὴν χώραν καὶ ὅση περὶ Μυκαλησσόν ἐστι καὶ Ἅρμα.
[19.8] In front of the sanctuary grow palm-trees, the fruit of which, though not wholly edible like the dates of Palestine, yet are riper than those of Ionia. There are but few inhabitants of Aulis, and these are potters. This land, and that about Mycalessus and Harma, is tilled by the people of Tanagra.
TANAGRA
20. ἔστι δὲ τῆς Ταναγραίας ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ καλούμενον Δήλιον: ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ Λητοῦς ἐστιν ἀγάλματα. Ταναγραῖοι δὲ οἰκιστήν σφισι Ποίμανδρον γενέσθαι λέγουσι Χαιρησίλεω παῖδα τοῦ Ἰασίου τοῦ Ἐλευθῆρος, τὸν δ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνός τε καὶ Αἰθούσης εἶναι τῆς Ποσειδῶνος. Ποίμανδρον δὲ γυναῖκά φασιν ἀγαγέσθαι Τάναγραν θυγατέρα Αἰόλου: Κορίννῃ δέ ἐστιν ἐς αὐτὴν πεποιημένα Ἀσωποῦ παῖδα εἶναι.
[20.1] XX. Within the territory of Tanagra is what is called Delium on Sea. In it are images of Artemis and Leto. The people of Tanagra say that their founder was Poemander, the son of Chaeresilaus, the son of Iasius, the son of Eleuther, who, they say, was the son of Apollo by Aethusa, the daughter of Poseidon. It is said that Poemander married Tanagra, a daughter of Aeolus. But in a poem of Corinna she is said to be a daughter of Asopus.
[2] ταύτης τοῦ βίου προελθούσης ἐπὶ μακρότατον τοὺς περιοίκους φασὶν ἀφελόντας τὸ ὄνομα τήν τε γυναῖκα αὐτὴν καλεῖν Γραῖαν καὶ ἀνὰ χρόνον τὴν πόλιν: διαμεῖναί τε τὸ ὄνομα ἐς τοσοῦτον ὡς καὶ Ὅμηρον ἐν καταλόγῳ ποιῆσαι”Θέσπειαν Γραῖάν τε καὶ εὐρύχορον Μυκαλησσόν.
“Hom. Il 2.498χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀνεσώσαντο.
[20.2] There is a story that, as she reached extreme old age, her neighbors ceased to call her by this name, and gave the name of Graea (old woman), first to the woman herself, and in course of time to the city. The name, they say, persisted so long that even Homer says in the Catalogue:–
Thespeia, Graea, and wide Mycalessus. Hom. Il. 2.498
Later, however, it recovered its old name.
[3] ἔστι δ᾽ Ὠρίωνος μνῆμα ἐν Τανάγρᾳ καὶ ὄρος Κηρύκιον, ἔνθα Ἑρμῆν τεχθῆναι λέγουσι, Πόλος τε ὀνομαζόμενον χωρίον: ἐνταῦθα Ἄτλαντα καθήμενον πολυπραγμονεῖν τά τε ὑπὸ γῆς φασι καὶ τὰ οὐράνια, πεποιῆσθαι δὲ καὶ Ὁμήρῳ περὶ τούτου,”Ἄτλαντος θυγάτηρ ὀλοόφρονος, ὅστε θαλάσσης
πάσης βένθεα οἶδεν, ἔχει δέ τε κίονας αὐτός
μακράς, αἳ γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχουσιν.
“Hom. Od 1.152
[20.3] There is in Tanagra the tomb of Orion, and Mount Cerycius, the reputed birthplace of Hermes, and also a place called Polus. Here they say that Atlas sat and meditated deeply upon hell and heaven, as Homer says of him:–
Daughter of baneful Atlas, who knows the depths
Of every sea, while he himself holds up the tall pillars,
Which keep apart earth and heaven. Hom. Od. 1.152
[4] ἐν δὲ τοῦ Διονύσου τῷ ναῷ θέας μὲν καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἄξιον λίθου τε ὂν Παρίου καὶ ἔργον Καλάμιδος, θαῦμα δὲ παρέχεται μεῖζον ἔτι ὁ Τρίτων. ὁ μὲν δὴ σεμνότερος ἐς αὐτὸν λόγος τὰς γυναῖκάς φησι τὰς Ταναγραίων πρὸ τῶν Διονύσου ὀργίων ἐπὶ θάλασσαν καταβῆναι καθαρσίων ἕνεκα, νηχομέναις δὲ ἐπιχειρῆσαι τὸν Τρίτωνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας εὔξασθαι Διόνυσόν σφισιν ἀφικέσθαι βοηθόν, ὑπακοῦσαί τε δὴ τὸν θεὸν καὶ τοῦ Τρίτωνος κρατῆσαι τῇ μάχῃ:
[20.4] In the temple of Dionysus the image too is worth seeing, being of Parian marble and a work of Calamis. But a greater marvel still is the Triton. The grander of the two versions of the Triton legend relates that the women of Tanagra before the
orgies of Dionysus went down to the sea to be purified, were attacked by the Triton as they were swimming, and prayed that Dionysus would come to their aid. The god, it is said, heard their cry and overcame the Triton in the fight.
[5] ὁ δὲ ἕτερος λόγος ἀξιώματι μὲν ἀποδεῖ τοῦ προτέρου, πιθανώτερος δέ ἐστι. φησὶ γὰρ δὴ οὗτος, ὁπόσα ἐλαύνοιτο ἐπὶ θάλασσαν βοσκήματα, ὡς ἐλόχα τε ὁ Τρίτων καὶ ἥρπαζεν: ἐπιχειρεῖν δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τῶν πλοίων τοῖς λεπτοῖς, ἐς ὃ οἱ Ταναγραῖοι κρατῆρα οἴνου προτιθέασιν αὐτῷ. καὶ τὸν αὐτίκα ἔρχεσθαι λέγουσιν ὑπὸ τῆς ὀσμῆς, πιόντα δὲ ἐρρῖφθαι κατὰ τῆς ᾐόνος ὑπνωμένον, Ταναγραῖον δὲ ἄνδρα πελέκει παίσαντα ἀποκόψαι τὸν αὐχένα αὐτοῦ: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔπεστιν αὐτῷ κεφαλή. ὅτι δὲ μεθυσθέντα εἷλον, ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὑπὸ Διονύσου νομίζουσιν ἀποθανεῖν αὐτόν.
[20.5] The other version is less grand but more credible. It says that the Triton would waylay and lift all the cattle that were driven to the sea. He used even to attack small vessels, until the people of Tanagra set out for him a bowl of wine. They say that, attracted by the smell, he came at once, drank the wine, flung himself on the shore and slept, and that a man of Tanagra struck him on the neck with an axe and chopped off his head. for this reason the image has no head. And because they caught him drunk, it is supposed that it was Dionysus who killed him.
21. εἶδον δὲ καὶ ἄλλον Τρίτωνα ἐν τοῖς Ῥωμαίων θαύμασι, μεγέθει τοῦ παρὰ Ταναγραίοις ἀποδέοντα. παρέχονται δὲ ἰδέαν οἱ Τρίτωνες: ἔχουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ κεφαλῇ κόμην οἷα τὰ βατράχια τὰ ἐν ταῖς λίμναις χρόαν τε καὶ ὅτι τῶν τριχῶν οὐκ ἂν ἀποκρίναις μίαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν σῶμα φολίδι λεπτῇ πέφρικέ σφισι κατὰ ἰχθὺν ῥίνην. βράγχια δὲ ὑπὸ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἔχουσι καὶ ῥῖνα ἀνθρώπου, στόμα δὲ εὐρύτερον καὶ ὀδόντας θηρίου: τὰ δὲ ὄμματα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν γλαυκὰ καὶ χεῖρές εἰσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ δάκτυλοι καὶ ὄνυχες τοῖς ἐπιθέμασιν ἐμφερεῖς τῶν κόχλων: ὑπὸ δὲ τὸ στέρνον καὶ τὴν γαστέρα οὐρά σφισιν ἀντὶ ποδῶν οἵα περ τοῖς δελφῖσίν ἐστιν.