Description of Greece

​In Cerynea there is a sanctuary of the Eumenides; they say that Orestes founded it. Whoever enters here, if guilty of blood or any other pollution, or if impious, wishing to see the sights, is said immediately to go out of his mind through terror; and for this reason, entrance is not permitted to all, nor is it to be made on a sudden impulse. The statues, which are of wood, are not large in size, but at the entrance to the sanctuary are images of women made of stone, and of fine workmanship; and the women were said by the locals to have been priestesses to the Eumenides.

​For one returning from Cerynea to the high road and traveling not far, there is a second opportunity to turn aside to Bura; Bura lies on a mountain, to the right of the sea. They say that the city received its name from a woman Bura, and that she was the daughter of Ion, son of Xuthus, and of Helice. But when the god made Helice vanish from among men, then a violent earthquake also overtook Bura, so that not even the ancient statues in the sanctuaries were left.

​But all those who happened at that time to be abroad, either on account of military service or for some other reason, these alone of the Buraeans were left, and they themselves became the founders of Bura. Here there is a temple of Demeter, and one of Aphrodite and Dionysus, and another of Eileithyia; the statues are of Pentelic marble, the works of the Athenian Euclides; and the Demeter has clothing. A sanctuary has also been built for Isis.

​As one goes down from Bura towards the sea, there is a river called Buraicus, and a small Heracles in a cave; this too has the surname Buraicus, and it is possible to obtain prophecies by means of a tablet and dice. For the person consulting the god prays before the statue, and after the prayer, taking four dice —which lie in abundance beside the Heracles—he throws them on the table; and for every shape of a die there is an explanation of the shape written on a tablet especially for this purpose.

​The straight road from Helice to the Heracles is about thirty stades. Going on from the Heracles, a river which never fails empties into the sea, coming down from an Arcadian mountain; the name of both the river itself and the mountain where the sources of the river are is Crathis; and from this Crathis, the river near Croton in Italy also got its name.

​Near the Achaean Crathis once stood Aegae, a city of the Achaeans; but they say that in course of time it was abandoned through weakness. Homer also made mention of this Aegae in the words of Hera: “And they bring gifts for you to Helice and to Aegae,” clearly showing that Poseidon had honors equally both in Helice and in Aegae.

​Not far from the Crathis you will find on the right of the road a tomb, and on the monument a man standing by a horse, a dim painting. The road from the tomb is about thirty stades to the place called Gaeum; the Gaeum is a sanctuary of Earth surnamed Broad-bosomed, and its wooden image is ancient in a very high degree. The woman who from time to time receives the priesthood remains pure from that moment, nor indeed must she have had experience of more than one man in the past. They are tested by drinking bull’s blood; and whichever of them happens not to be telling the truth immediately receives her punishment. If several women enter into dispute for the priesthood, the one who draws the lot is preferred.