by Pausanias
[7] ἦσαν δὲ οἱ Ἡρακλεῖδαι συγγενεῖς καὶ ἄλλως τοῖς ἐν Αἰτωλίᾳ βασιλεῦσι, καὶ ἀδελφαὶ Θόαντι τῷ Ἀνδραίμονος καὶ Ὕλλου τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ἦσαν αἱ μητέρες. συνεπεπτώκει δὲ τῷ Ὀξύλῳ φυγάδι ἐξ Αἰτωλίας εἶναι: δισκεύοντα γάρ φασιν ἁμαρτεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξεργάσασθαι φόνον ἀκούσιον, τὸν δὲ ἀποθανόντα ὑπὸ τοῦ δίσκου τὸν ἀδελφὸν εἶναι τοῦ Ὀξύλου Θέρμιον, οἱ δὲ Ἀλκιδόκον τὸν Σκοπίου.
[3.7] There were ties of kindred between the Heracleidae and the kings of Aetolia; in particular the mothers of Thoas, the son of Andraemon, and of Hyllus, the son of Heracles, were sisters.
It fell to the lot of Oxylus to be an outlaw from Aetolia. The story goes that as he was throwing the quoit he missed the mark and committed unintentional homicide. The man killed by the quoit, according to one account, was Thermius, the brother of Oxylus; according to another it was Alcidocus, the son of Scopius.
4. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ἐπὶ τῷ Ὀξύλῳ τοιόνδε, ὡς τοὺς παῖδας ὑποπτεύσειε τοῦ Ἀριστομάχου, μὴ τὴν Ἠλείαν τε ἰδόντες ἀγαθὴν οὖσαν καὶ ἐξειργασμένην διὰ πάσης οὐκ ἐθελήσωσιν ἔτι αὐτῷ διδόναι τὴν γῆν, καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκα διὰ τῶν Ἀρκάδων καὶ οὐ διὰ τῆς Ἠλείας τοῖς Δωριεῦσιν ἡγήσατο. Ὀξύλῳ δὲ σπεύσαντι ἀμαχεὶ λαβεῖν τὴν Ἠλείων ἀρχὴν Δῖος οὐκ εἶκε, πρόκλησιν δὲ ἐποιεῖτο μὴ σφᾶς παρασκευῇ τῇ πάσῃ διακινδυνεῦσαι, προκριθῆναι δὲ ἀφ᾽ ἑκατέρων στρατιώτην ἕνα ἐς τὴν μάχην:
[4.1] IV. The following story is also told of Oxylus. He suspected that, when the sons of Aristomachus saw that the land of Elis was a goodly one, and cultivated throughout, they would be no longer willing to give it to him. He accordingly led the Dorians through Arcadia and not through Elis. Oxylus was anxious to get the kingdom of Elis without a battle, but Dius would not give way; he proposed that, instead of their fighting a pitched battle with all their forces, a single soldier should be chosen from each army to fight as its champion.
[2] καί πως συνήρεσε ταῦτα ἀμφοτέροις, οἱ δὲ ἐς τὸ ἔργον προταχθέντες Δέγμενός τε Ἠλεῖος ἦν τοξότης καὶ παρὰ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν Πυραίχμης σφενδόνην δεδιδαγμένος. κρατήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Πυραίχμου τήν τε βασιλείαν ἔσχεν Ὄξυλος καὶ Ἐπειοὺς τοὺς ἀρχαίους τὰ μὲν ἄλλα εἴασεν ἐπὶ τοῖς αὑτῶν μένειν, συνοίκους δέ σφισι τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς ἐπὶ ἀναδασμῷ τῆς χώρας ἐπεισήγαγε. καὶ Δίῳ τε ἀπένειμε γέρα καὶ ἥρωσι τοῖς τε ἄλλοις κατὰ τὰ ἀρχαῖα ἐφύλαξε τὰς τιμὰς καὶ Αὐγέᾳ τὰ ἐς τὸν ἐναγισμὸν ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς αὐτῷ καθεστηκότα.
[4.2] This proposal chanced to find favour with both sides, and the champions chosen were the Elean Degmenus, an archer, and Pyraechmes, a slinger, to represent the Aetolians. Pyraechmes won and Oxylus got the kingdom. He allowed the old inhabitants, the Epeans, to keep their possessions, except that he introduced among them Aetolian colonists, giving them a share in the land. He assigned privileges to Dius, and kept up after the ancient manner the honors paid to heroes, especially the worship of Augeas, to whom even at the present day hero-sacrifice is offered.
[3] λέγεται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τῶν κωμῶν, ὅσοι τοῦ τείχους οὐ πολὺ ἀφεστήκεσαν, κατελθεῖν ἔπεισεν ἐς τὴν πόλιν καὶ πλήθει τε οἰκητόρων καὶ μείζονα καὶ εὐδαιμονεστέραν ἐς τὰ ἄλλα ἀπέφηνε τὴν Ἦλιν. ἀφίκετο δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκ Δελφῶν χρησμός, τὸν Πελοπίδην ἐπάγεσθαι συνοικιστήν: Ὄξυλος δὲ τὴν ζήτησιν ἐποιεῖτο σπουδῇ καὶ ἀναζητῶν εὗρεν Ἀγώριον τὸν Δαμασίου τοῦ Πενθίλου τοῦ Ὀρέστου, καὶ αὐτόν τε ἐξ Ἑλίκης τῆς Ἀχαιῶν καὶ σὺν τῷ Ἀγωρίῳ μοῖραν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐπηγάγετο οὐ πολλήν.
[4.3] He is also said to have induced to come into the city the dwellers in the villages near the wall, and by increasing the number of the inhabitants to have made Elis larger and generally more prosperous. There also came to him an oracle from Delphi, that he should bring in as co-founder “the descendant of Pelops.” Oxylus made diligent search, and in his search he discovered Agorius, son of Damasius, son of Penthilus, son of Orestes. He brought Agorius himself from Helice in Achaia, and with him a small body of Achaeans.
[4] τῷ δὲ Ὀξύλῳ Πιερίαν μὲν τῇ γυναικὶ ὄνομα εἶναι λέγουσι, πέρα δὲ τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν οὐ μνημονεύουσιν. Ὀξύλου δὲ γενέσθαι παῖδάς φασιν Αἰτωλὸν καὶ Λαΐαν: προαποθανόντος δὲ Αἰτωλοῦ θάπτουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ γονεῖς ἐν αὐτῇ ποιησάμενοι τῇ πύλῃ τὸ μνῆμα, ἥτις ἐπ᾽ Ὀλυμπίαν καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἄγει τοῦ Διός: ἔθαψαν δὲ αὐτὸν οὕτω κατὰ μαντείαν, ὡς μήτε ἐκτὸς τῆς πόλεως μήτε ἐντὸς γένοιτο ὁ νεκρός. ἐναγίζει δὲ ὁ γυμνασίαρχος ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἔτος τῷ Αἰτωλῷ.
[4.4] The wife of Oxylus they say was called Pieria, but beyond this nothing more about her is recorded. Oxylus is said to have had two sons, Aetolus and Laias. Aetolus died before his parents, who buried him in a tomb which they caused to be made right in the gate leading to Olympia and the sanctuary of Zeus. That they buried him thus was due to an oracle forbidding the corpse to be laid either without the city or within it. Right down to our own day the gymnasiarch sacrifices to Aetolus as to a hero every year.
ELIS, HISTORY
[5] μετὰ δὲ Ὄξυλον Λαΐας ἔσχεν ὁ Ὀξύλου τὴν ἀρχήν. οὐ μὴν τούς γε ἀπογόνους αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντας εὕρισκον, καὶ σφᾶς ἐπιστάμενος ὅμως παρίημι: οὐ γάρ τί μοι καταβῆναι τὸν λόγον ἠθέλησα ἐς ἄνδρας ἰδιώτας. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἴφιτος, γένος μὲν ὢν ἀπὸ Ὀξύλου, ἡλικίαν δὲ κατὰ Λυκοῦργον τὸν γράψαντα Λακεδαιμονίοις τοὺς νόμους, τὸν ἀγῶνα διέθηκεν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυρίν τε Ὀλυμπικὴν αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐκεχειρίαν κατεστήσατο, ἐκλιπόντα ἐπὶ χρόνον ὁπόσος δὴ οὗτος ἦν: αἰτίαν δὲ δι᾽ ἥντινα ἐξέλιπε τὰ Ὀλύμπια, ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν τοῦ λόγου δηλώσω.
[4.5] After Oxylus the kingdom devolved on Laias, son of Oxylus. His descendants, however, I find did not reign, and so I pass them by, though I know who they were; my narrative must not descend to men of common rank. Later on Iphitus, of the line of Oxylus and contemporary with Lycurgus, who drew up the code of laws for the Lacedaemonians, arranged the games at Olympia and reestablished afresh the Olympic festival and truce, after an interruption of uncertain length. The reason for this interruption I will set forth when my narrative deals with Olympia.
[6] τῷ δὲ Ἰφίτῳ, φθειρομένης τότε δὴ μάλιστα τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὑπὸ ἐμφυλίων στάσεων καὶ ὑπὸ νόσου λοιμώδους, ἐπῆλθεν αἰτῆσαι τὸν ἐν Δελφοῖς θεὸν λύσιν τῶν κακῶν: καί οἱ προσταχθῆναί φασιν ὑπὸ τῆς Πυθίας ὡς αὐτόν τε Ἴφιτον δέοι καὶ Ἠλείους τὸν Ὀλυμπικὸν ἀγῶνα ἀνανεώσασθαι. ἔπεισε δὲ Ἠλείους Ἴφιτος καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ θύειν, τὸ πρὸ τούτου πολέμιόν σφισιν Ἡρακλέα εἶναι νομίζοντας. τὸν δὲ Ἴφιτον τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ φησὶν Αἴμονος παῖδα εἶναι, Ἑλλήνων δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ Πραξωνίδου καὶ οὐχ Αἴμονος εἶναί φασι: τὰ δὲ Ἠλείων γράμματα ἀρχαῖα ἐς πατέρα ὁμώνυμον ἀνῆγε τὸν Ἴφιτον.
[4.6] At this time Greece was grievously worn by internal strife and plague, and it occurred to Iphitus to ask the god at Delphi for deliverance from these evils. The story goes that the Pythian priestess ordained that Iphitus himself and the Eleans must renew the Olympic games. Iphitus also induced the Eleans to sacrifice to Heracles as to a god, whom hitherto they had looked upon as their enemy. The inscription at Olympia calls Iphitus the son of Haemon, but most of the Greeks say that his father was Praxonides and not Haemon, while the ancient records of Elis traced him to a father of the same name.
[7] Ἠλείοις δὲ μέτεστι μὲν πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Ἰλίῳ, μέτεστι δὲ καὶ ἔργων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Μήδων ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἔφοδον. ὑπερβάντων δὲ ὅσοι σφίσιν ἐγένοντο κίνδυνοι πρὸς Πισαίους τε καὶ Ἀρκάδας ὑπὲρ τῆς διαθέσεως τοῦ ἀγῶνος τοῦ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ, συνεσέβαλον μὲν Λακεδαιμονίοις ἀκουσίως ἐς τὴν Ἀθηναίων, συνέστησαν δὲ μετὰ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους Μαντινεῦσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἀργείοις, ἐπαγόμενοι καὶ τὸ Ἀττικὸν ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν.
[4.7] The Eleans played their part in the Trojan war, and also in the battles of the Persian invasion of Greece. I pass over their struggles with the Pisans and Arcadians for the management of the Olympian games. Against their will they joined the Lacedaemonians in their invasion of Athenian territory, and shortly afterwards they rose up with the Mantineans and Argives against the Lacedaemonians, inducing Athens too to join the alliance.
[8] κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἄγιδος ἐπιστρατείαν ἐς τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν προδοσίαν τὴν Ξενίου μάχῃ μὲν περὶ Ὀλυμπίαν νικῶσιν οἱ Ἠλεῖοι καὶ τροπὴν ἐργασάμενοι τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐκ τοῦ περιβόλου σφᾶς ἐξήλασαν τοῦ ἱεροῦ: χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἐπαύθη σφίσιν ὁ πόλεμος κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας ἃς ἐγὼ πρότερον ἔτι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐδήλωσα.
[4.8] When Agis invaded the land, and Xenias turned traitor, the Eleans won a battle near Olympia, routed the Lacedaemonians and drove them out of the sacred enclosure; but shortly afterwards the war was concluded by the treaty I have already spoken of in my account of the Lacedaemonians.
[9] Φιλίππου δὲ τοῦ Ἀμύντου οὐκ ἐθέλοντος ἀποσχέσθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος, προσεχώρησαν μὲν ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν τῶν Μακεδόνων οἱ Ἠλεῖοι στάσει κακωθέντες ὑπὸ ἀλλήλων, μαχεσθῆναι δὲ οὐχ ὑπέμειναν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐναντία ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ: τῆς δὲ ἐφόδου Φιλίππῳ τῆς ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους μετέσχον κατὰ ἔχθος ἐς αὐτοὺς τὸ ἀρχαῖον, ἀποθανόντος δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρου Μακεδόσι καὶ Ἀντιπάτρῳ μετὰ Ἑλλήνων ἐπολέμησαν.
[4.9] When Philip the son of Amyntas would not let Greece alone, the Eleans, weakened by civil strife, joined the Macedonian alliance, but they could not bring themselves to fight against the Greeks at Chaeroneia. They joined Philip’s attack on the Lacedaemonians because of their old hatred of that people, but on the death of Alexander they fought on the side of the Greeks against Antipater and the Macedonians.
5. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἀριστότιμος ὁ Δαμαρέτου τοῦ Ἐτύμονος τυραννίδα ἔσχεν ἐν Ἠλείᾳ, συμπαρασκευάσαντος αὐτῷ τὰ ἐς τὴν ἐπίθεσιν Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ Δημητρίου βασιλεύοντος ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ: τὸν δὲ Ἀριστότιμον μῆνας τυραννήσαντα ἓξ καταλύουσιν ἐπαναστάντες Χίλων καὶ Ἑλλάνικος καὶ Λάμπις τε καὶ Κύλων, οὗτος δὲ καὶ αὐτοχειρίᾳ τὸν τύραννον ἀπέκτεινεν ὁ Κύλων ἐπὶ Διὸς Σωτῆρος βωμὸν καταφυγόντα ἱκέτην.
τὰ μὲν δὴ ἐς πόλεμον τοιαῦτα ὑπῆρχεν Ἠλείοις, ὡς περὶ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἀπαριθμῆσαι μετρίως:
[5.1] V. Later on Aristotimus, the son of Damaretus, the son of Etymon, became despot of Elis, being aided in his attempt by Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, who was king in Macedonia. After a despotism of six months Aristotimus was deposed, a rising against him having been organized by Chilon, Hellanicus, Lampis and Cylon; Cylon it was who with his own hand killed the despot when he had sought sanctuary at the altar of Zeus the Saviour. Such were the wars of the Eleans, of which my present enumeration must serve as a summary.
[2] θαυμάσαι δ᾽ ἄν τις ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ Ἠλείᾳ τήν τε βύσσον, ὅτι ἐνταῦθα μόνον, ἑτέρωθι δὲ οὐδαμοῦ τῆς Ἑλλάδος φύεται, καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῇ ὑπερορίᾳ καὶ οὐκ ἐντὸς τῆς χώρας αἱ ἵπποι σφίσιν ἐκύισκον ἐκ τῶν ὄνων. καὶ τούτου μὲν κατάραν τινὰ ἐλέγετο γενέσθαι τὸ αἴτιον: ἡ δὲ βύσσος ἡ ἐν τῇ Ἠλείᾳ λεπτότητος μὲν ἕνεκα οὐκ ἀποδεῖ τῆς Ἑβραίων, ἔστι δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως ξανθή.
[5.2] The land of Elis contains two marvels. Here, and here only in Greece, does fine flax grow; and secondly, only over the border, and not within it, can the mares be impregnated by asses. The cause of this is said to have been a curse. The fine flax of Elis is as fine as that of the Hebrews, but it is not so yellow.
LEPREUS
[3] ἰόντι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἠλείας χωρίον ἐστὶν ἐπὶ θάλασσαν καθῆκον, ὃ ὀνομάζεται μὲν Σαμικόν, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ ἥ τε Τριφυλία καλουμένη καὶ πόλις ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Τριφυλίᾳ Λέπρεος. ἐθέλουσι μὲν δὴ οἱ Λεπρεᾶται μοῖρα εἶναι τῶν Ἀρκάδων, φαίνονται δὲ Ἠλείων κατήκοοι τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὄντες: καὶ ὅσοι αὐτῶν Ὀλύμπια ἐνίκησαν, Ἠλείους ἐκ Λεπρέου σφᾶς ὁ κῆρυξ ἀνεῖπε. καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἐποίησεν ὡς Λέπρεος εἴη πόλισμα Ἠλείων. ἔστι δὲ ὁδὸς ἐς Λέπρεον ἀπὸ μὲν Σαμικοῦ τὸν Ἄνιγρον ποταμὸν ἀφέντι ἐν ἀριστερᾷ, ἑτέρα δὲ ἐξ Ὀλυμπίας, τρίτη δὲ ἐξ Ἤλιδος: ἡμερήσιος δὲ αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ μακροτάτη.
[5.3] As you go from Elis there is a distri
ct stretching down to the sea. It is called Samicum, and above it on the right is what is called Triphylia, in which is the city Lepreus. The citizens of this city wish to belong to the Arcadians, but it is plain that from the beginning they have been subject to the Eleans. Such of them as have won Olympic victories have been announced by the herald as Eleans from Lepreus, and Aristophanes in a comedy calls Lepreus a town of the Eleans. Leaving the river Anigrus on the left there is a road leading to Lepreus; from Samicum another leads to it from Olympia and a third from Elis. The longest of them is a day’s journey.
[4] τεθῆναι δὲ τῇ πόλει τὸ ὄνομά φασιν ἀπὸ τοῦ οἰκιστοῦ Λεπρέου τοῦ Πυργέως. ἐλέγετο δὲ καὶ ὡς πρὸς Ἡρακλέα ἐρίσειεν ὁ Λεπρέος μὴ ἀποδεῖν τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ἐσθίων: ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑκάτερος βοῦν αὐτῶν ἐν ἴσῳ τῷ καιρῷ κατέσφαξε καὶ εὐτρέπισεν ἐς τὸ δεῖπνον, καὶ ἦν ὥσπερ καὶ ὑφίστατο ὁ Λεπρέος φαγεῖν οὐκ ἀδυνατώτερος τοῦ Ἡρακλέους, ἐτόλμησε τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο προσκαλέσασθαι καὶ ἐς ἀγῶνα ὅπλων αὐτόν. καὶ ἀποθανεῖν τε Λεπρέον κρατηθέντα τῇ μάχῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ Φιγαλέων ταφῆναι λέγουσιν: οὐ μὴν εἶχόν γε οἱ Φιγαλεῖς ἀποφῆναι Λεπρέου μνῆμα.
[5.4] The city got its name, they say, from its founder Lepreus the son of Pyrgeus. There was also a story that Lepreus contended with Heracles: that he was as good a trencherman. Each killed an ox at the same time and prepared it for the table. It turned out, even as Lepreus maintained, that he was as powerful a trencherman as Heracles. Afterwards he made bold to challenge him to a duel. Lepreus, they say, lost, was killed, and was buried in the land of Phigaleia. The Phigalians, however, could not show a tomb of Lepreus.
