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
At Pheneus they have also a temple of Eleusinian Demeter, and they
celebrate the rites of the goddess just the same as at Eleusis,
according to their statement. For they say that Naus, who was the
great grandson of Eumolpus, came to them in obedience to the oracle
at Delphi, _and brought these mysteries_. And near the temple of
Eleusinian Demeter is what is called Petroma, two large stones fitting
into one another. And they celebrate here annually what they call
their great rites, they detach these stones, and take from them some
writings relative to these rites, and when they have read them in the
ears of the initiated they replace them again the same night. And
I know that most of the inhabitants of Pheneus regard “By Petroma”
their most solemn oath. And there is a round covering on Petroma with
a likeness of Cidarian Demeter inside, the priest puts this likeness
on his robes at what they call the great rites, when according to the
tradition he strikes the earth with rods and summons the gods of the
lower world. The people of Pheneus also have a tradition that before
Naus Demeter came here in the course of her wanderings, and to all
the people of Pheneus that received her hospitably the goddess gave
other kinds of pulse but no beans. Why they do not consider beans a
pure kind of pulse, is a sacred tradition. Those who according to the
tradition of the people of Pheneus received the goddess were Trisaules
and Damithales, and they built a temple to Demeter Thesmia under Mount
Cyllene, where they established her rites as they are now celebrated.
And this temple is about 15 stades from Pheneus.
As you go on about 15 stades from Pheneus in the direction of Pellene
and Ægira in Achaia, you come to a temple of Pythian Apollo, of which
there are only ruins, and a large altar in white stone. The people
of Pheneus still sacrifice here to Apollo and Artemis, and say that
Hercules built the temple after the capture of Elis. There are also
here the tombs of the heroes who joined Hercules in the expedition
against Elis and were killed in the battle. And Telamon is buried
very near the river Aroanius, at a little distance from the temple of
Apollo, and Chalcodon not far from the well called Œnoe’s well. As one
was the father of that Elephenor who led the Eubœans to Ilium, and
the other the father of Ajax and Teucer, no one will credit that they
fell in this battle. For how could Chalcodon have assisted Hercules in
this affair, since Amphitryon is declared to have slain him earlier
according to Theban information that we can rely on? And how would
Teucer have founded Salamis in Cyprus, if nobody had banished him from
home on his return from Troy? And who but Telamon could have banished
him? Manifestly therefore Chalcodon from Eubœa and Telamon from Ægina
could not have taken part with Hercules in this expedition against
Elis: they must have been obscure men of the same name as those famous
men, a casual coincidence such as has happened in all ages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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