Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume II.Pausanias, active approximately 150-175
History
Pausanias' description of Greece, Volume II.
Pausanias, active approximately 150-175
Greece -- Antiquities; Greece -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
So he married a young wife according to the oracle, and became father
of Trophonius and Agamedes. Trophonius is said indeed to have been the
son of Apollo and not of Erginus, as I myself believe, and so will
everyone who consults the oracle of Trophonius. When they grew up
they say these sons of Erginus became skilful in building temples for
the gods and palaces for men: for they built the temple of Apollo at
Delphi, and the treasury for Hyrieus. In this last they contrived one
stone so that they could remove it as they liked from outside, and
they were ever filching from the treasures: and Hyrieus was astonished
when he saw keys and seals untampered with, and yet his wealth ever
diminishing. So he laid traps near the coffers in which his silver
and gold were, so that whoever entered and touched the money would be
caught. And as Agamedes entered he was trapped, and Trophonius cut off
his brother’s head, that when daylight came he might not if detected
inform against him too as privy to the robbery. Thereupon the earth
gaped and swallowed up Trophonius in the grove of Lebadea, where is a
cavity called after Agamedes, and a pillar erected near it. And the
rulers over the Orchomenians were Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, who were
reputed to be the sons of Ares by Astyoche, (the daughter of Azeus the
son of Clymenus), and who led the Minyæ to Troy.[75] The Orchomenians
also went on the expedition to Ionia with the sons of Codrus, and
after being driven from their country by the Thebans were restored to
Orchomenus by Philip the son of Amyntas. But the deity seemed ever to
reduce their power more and more.
[75] See Iliad, ii. 511-516.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
At Orchomenus there is a temple of Dionysus, and a very ancient one of
the Graces. They worship especially some meteoric stones which they
say fell from heaven upon Eteocles, and some handsome stone statues
were offered in my time. They have also a well well worth seeing, which
they go down to to draw water. And the treasury of Minyas, a marvel
inferior to nothing in Greece or elsewhere, is constructed as follows.
It is a circular building made of stone with a top not very pointed:
the highest stone they say holds together the whole building. There
are also there the tombs of Minyas and Hesiod: they say Hesiod’s bones
were got in the following way. When a pestilence once destroyed men and
cattle they sent messengers to Delphi, and the Pythian Priestess bade
them bring the bones of Hesiod from Naupactus to Orchomenus, and that
would be a remedy. They then inquired again in what part of Naupactus
they would find those bones, and the Pythian Priestess told them that
a crow would show them. As they proceeded on their journey they saw a
stone not far from the road and a crow sitting on it, and they found
the bones of Hesiod in the hollow of the stone, and these elegiac
verses were inscribed upon it,
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