Description of Greece

​Within the enclosure, on the left, is a temple of Palaemon, and in it are statues of Poseidon, Leucothea, and Palaemon himself. There is also another place called the Adytum, with an underground descent to it, where they say Palaemon is hidden; and if any person, whether a Corinthian or a stranger, swears falsely here, there is no way for him to escape his oath. There is also an ancient sanctuary called the Altar of the Cyclopes, and they sacrifice upon it to the Cyclopes.

​As for the tombs of Sisyphus and Neleus—for they say that Neleus came to Corinth and died of a disease, and was buried near the Isthmus—I do not know if anyone would seek them after reading the poems of Eumelus. For Eumelus says that Neleus’ monument was not shown by Sisyphus even to Nestor, because it had to be unknown to everyone alike, and that Sisyphus was indeed buried on the Isthmus, but few of the Corinthians of his own day knew where his tomb was. The Isthmian games did not fail even when the Corinthians were driven out by Mummius; but as long as the city was deserted, the Sicyonians were entrusted with celebrating the Isthmia, and when it was inhabited again by its present citizens, the honor returned to them.

​The harbors of the Corinthians received their names from Leches and Cenchrias, who are said to be the children of Poseidon and Peirene, the daughter of Achelous; though in the Great Eoeae Peirene is said to be the daughter of Oebalus. In Lechaeum there is a sanctuary of Poseidon and a bronze statue, and for those going from the Isthmus to Cenchreae there is a temple of Artemis and an ancient wooden image. In Cenchreae there is a temple of Aphrodite and a stone statue, and after it, upon the breakwater running through the sea, a bronze statue of Poseidon, while at the other end of the harbor are sanctuaries of Asclepius and Isis. Opposite Cenchreae is the Bath of Helen; a great quantity of water flows into the sea from a rock, salty and like water that is beginning to grow warm.

​As you go up to Corinth there are other monuments along the road, and by the gate is buried Diogenes of Sinope, whom the Greeks surname the Dog. Before the city is a grove of cypresses called Craneum. Here is a sanctuary of Bellerophon, a temple of Aphrodite Melanis, and the tomb of Lais, upon which is a lioness holding a ram in her forepaws.

​There is also another monument in Thessaly which claims to be that of Lais; for she went to Thessaly as well, having fallen in love with Hippostratus. It is said that she was originally from Hycara in Sicily, and when she was a child she was captured by Nicias and the Athenians, and being sold into Corinth she surpassed the courtesans of that time in beauty, and was admired; and she was so celebrated among the Corinthians that they even now dispute about Lais.

​The things worthy of mention in the city include those of the ancient ones that still remain, though most of them were made in the subsequent period of its prime. On the marketplace, then—for here are most of the sanctuaries—is Artemis surnamed Ephesia, and gilded wooden images of Dionysus, except for the faces, which are adorned with red paint; they call one Lysius, and the other Bacchieus.

​I will also write down the story told about these wooden images. They say that Pentheus, committing outrages against Dionysus, dared other deeds, and finally went to Cithaeron to spy on the women, and climbing up into a tree beheld what was being done; and when they discovered him, they immediately dragged Pentheus down and, while he was still alive, tore him limb from limb, one pulling one part of his body and another another. Afterwards, as the Corinthians say, the Pythian priestess gave them an oracle to find that tree and worship it equally with the god; and from it, for this reason, they have made these images.

​There is also a temple of Tyche, with a standing image of Parian stone; beside it is a sanctuary for all the gods. Nearby a fountain has been built, and upon it is a bronze Poseidon, and a dolphin under the feet of Poseidon is releasing water. There is also a bronze Apollo surnamed Clarius, and an image of Aphrodite made by Hermogenes of Cythera. There are two images of Hermes, both of bronze and standing, and for one of them a temple has been built. The statues of Zeus, these too being in the open air, one has no surname, but of the others they call one Chthonius, and the third Hypsistus.