Pausanias´ Description of Greece

English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, LittD., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A.

Chapter: Book 8

Chapter 32

Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

8.32.1 Such are the notable things on this site. The southern portion, on the other side of the river, can boast of the largest theater in all Greece, and in it is a spring which never fails. Not far from the theater are left foundations of the council house built for the Ten Thousand Arcadians, and called Thersilium after the man who dedicated it. Hard by is a house, belonging today to a private person, which originally was built for Alexander, the son of Philip. By the house is an image of Ammon, like the square images of Hermes, with a ram"s horns on his head.

8.32.2 The sanctuary built in common for the Muses, Apollo and Hermes had for me to record only a few foundations, but there was still one of the Muses, with an image of Apollo after the style of the square Hermae. The sanctuary of Aphrodite too was in ruins, save that there were left the fore-temple and three images, one surnamed Ourania (Heavenly), the second Pandemos (Common), and the third without a surname.

8.32.3 At no great distance is an altar of Ares, and it was said that originally a sanctuary too was built for the god. Beyond the Aphrodite is built also a race-course, extending on one side to the theater (and here they have a spring, held sacred to Dionysus), while at the other end of the race-course a temple of Dionysus was said to have been struck by lightning two generations before my time, and a few ruins of it were still there when I saw it. The temple near the race-course shared by Heracles and Hermes was no longer there, only their altar was left.

8.32.4 There is also in this district a hill to the east, and on it a temple of Artemis Agrotera this too was dedicated by Aristodemus. To the right of Agrotera is a precinct. Here there is a sanctuary of Asclepius, with images of the god and of Health, and a little lower down there are gods, also of square shape, surnamed Ergatai (workers), Athena Ergane and Apollo Agyieus. To Hermes, Heracles and Eileithyia are attached traditions from the poems of Homer: that Hermes is the minister of Zeus and leads the souls of the departed down to Hades, and that Heracles accomplished many difficult tasks; Eileithyia, he says in the Iliad, cares for the pangs of women.

8.32.5 Under this hill there is another sanctuary of Boy Asclepius. His image is upright and about a cubit in height, that of Apollo is seated on a throne and is not less than six feet high. Here are also kept bones, too big for those of a human being, about which the story ran that they were those of one of the giants mustered by Hopladamus to fight for Rhea, as my story will relate hereafter. Near this sanctuary is a spring, the water flowing down from which is received by the Helisson.

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