Description of Greece

​For this, the Hellanodicae imposed upon Theagenes a fine of one talent to be sacred to the god, and one talent for the damage done to Euthymus, because it seemed to them that he had entered the boxing contest out of spite against him. For these reasons, they condemned him to pay money to Euthymus privately as well. In the seventy-sixth Olympiad, Theagenes paid the money due to the god, and to make amends to him did not enter the boxing match; and in both that same Olympiad and the one following it, Euthymus won the crown in boxing. His statue is the work of Pythagoras and is highly worth seeing.

​Returning then to Italy, he fought at that time against the Hero; and the story about him was as follows. They say that Odysseus, while wandering after the capture of Ilium, was carried by winds to various cities in Italy and Sicily, and arrived at Temesa with his ships. There, one of his sailors, having become drunk, violated a maiden and for this crime was stoned to death by the inhabitants.

​Odysseus, making no account of his loss, sailed away and left; but the ghost of the stoned man let no opportunity pass, killing the people of Temesa indiscriminately and attacking all ages, until the Pythia forbade them to abandon Temesa and flee from Italy altogether, but ordered them to appease the Hero, to set apart a sacred precinct and build a temple, and to give him every year as wife the most beautiful of the maidens in Temesa.

​To those who performed what was commanded by the god, there was no other fear from the ghost. But Euthymus—for he had arrived at Temesa just when they were performing the customary rite to the ghost—learned of their situation, and desired to enter the temple and, having entered, to see the maiden. When he saw her, he was first moved to pity, and then fell in love with her; and the girl swore to live with him if he saved her, and Euthymus stayed there fully prepared to await the onslaught of the ghost.

​He won the fight, and the Hero—for he was driven out of the land—sank into the sea and disappeared; and Euthymus had a famous wedding, and the people there were free from the ghost from then on. I also heard this further story about Euthymus, that he reached a very advanced old age, and, having escaped death, departed from among men in some other fashion. I also heard from a man who sailed for trade that Temesa is still inhabited even in my day.

​This is what I heard, but I also know of a painting which I happened to see, which was a copy of an ancient painting. There was the youth Sybaris, the river Calabrus, the spring Lyca, and also a hero-temple and the city of Temesa. Among them was the ghost that Euthymus drove out, terribly black in color and exceedingly fearsome in his whole appearance, wearing a wolf’s skin as clothing. The letters on the painting gave him the name of Lycas.