Description of Greece

​At the place where the god would sit, as the throne is not continuous throughout but rather provides several seats, with an open space left beside each seat, the middle part is the widest, and the statue stands there.

​As for its size, I know of no one who has found it out by measurement, but to one making a guess it would appear to be as much as thirty cubits. It is not the work of Bathycles, but is ancient and made without much art; for except that it has a face and the tips of its feet and hands, the rest of it is made like a bronze pillar. It has a helmet on its head, and in its hands a spear and a bow.

​The pedestal of the statue presents the shape of an altar, and they say that Hyacinthus is buried in it; and at the Hyacinthia, before the sacrifice to Apollo, they offer sacrifices to the dead to Hyacinthus into this altar through a bronze door; the door of the altar is on the left. On the altar are carved, on one side, an image of Biris, and on the other, Amphitrite and Poseidon; and near Zeus and Hermes conversing with each other stand Dionysus and Semele, and beside her Ino.

​On the altar are represented also Demeter, Core, and Pluto, and above them the Fates and the Horae, and with them Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis; and they are carrying to heaven Hyacinthus and Polyboea, who, they say, was Hyacinthus’ sister who died while still a maiden. Now this image of Hyacinthus already has a beard, but Nicias, the son of Nicomedes, painted him as exceptionally beautiful, hinting at the rumored love of Apollo for Hyacinthus.

​On the altar is represented also Heracles, he too being led to heaven by Athena and the other gods. There are also the daughters of Thestius on the altar, and the Muses and the Horae. Touching the wind Zephyrus, and how Hyacinthus was killed by Apollo against his will, and the story of the flower, things may perhaps be otherwise, but let the story as told be accepted.

​Amyclae, which was laid waste by the Dorians and has remained a village ever since, presented a temple and image of Alexandra well worth seeing; and the people of Amyclae say that Alexandra is Cassandra, the daughter of Priam. There is also a statue of Clytemnestra there, and a monument believed to be that of Agamemnon. The people of this place worship the Amyclaean god and Dionysus, most correctly, in my opinion, calling the latter Psilax; for the Dorians call wings ‘psila,’ and wine raises up and lightens the mind of men no less than wings do birds. Amyclae, then, presented so much for remembrance, but another road from the city leads to Therapne.