§8.6.23Κορίνθιοι δʼ ὑπὸ Φιλίππῳ ὄντες ἐκείνῳ τε συνεφιλονείκησαν καὶ ἰδίᾳ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ὑπεροπτικῶς εἶχον, ὥστε τινὲς καὶ τῶν πρέσβεων παριόντων τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτῶν ἐθάρρησαν καταντλῆσαι βόρβορον.
The Corinthians, being under Philip, not only sided with him in his rivalry but also privately behaved with insolence towards the Romans, so that some even dared to pour filth down upon the ambassadors as they were passing by their house.
ἀντὶ τούτων μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλων ὧν ἐξήμαρτον ἔτισαν δίκας αὐτίκα· πεμφθείσης γὰρ ἀξιολόγου στρατιᾶς, αὐτή τε κατέσκαπτο ὑπὸ Λευκίου Μομμίου καὶ τἆλλα μέχρι Μακεδονίας ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίοις ἐγένετο, ἐν ἄλλοις ἄλλων πεμπομένων στρατηγῶν· τὴν δὲ χώραν ἔσχον Σικυώνιοι τὴν πλείστην τῆς Κορινθίας.
For these and other offenses which they committed, however, they soon paid the penalty; for a significant army was sent, and the city itself was utterly destroyed by Lucius Mummius, while the rest of the country as far as Macedonia came under the power of the Romans, other generals being sent in other places; and the Sicyonians obtained most of the Corinthian territory.
Πολύβιος δὲ τὰ συμβάντα περὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν ἐν οἴκτου μέρει λέγων προστίθησι καὶ τὴν στρατιωτικὴν ὀλιγωρίαν τὴν περὶ τὰ τῶν τεχνῶν ἔργα καὶ τὰ ἀναθήματα.
Polybius, speaking of the misfortunes that befell the city at its capture with a tone of pity, adds also the contempt of the soldiers for works of art and votive offerings.
φησὶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν παρὼν ἐρριμμένους πίνακας ἐπʼ ἐδάφους, πεττεύοντας δὲ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπὶ τούτων.
For he says that he was present and saw paintings flung upon the ground, and the soldiers playing dice on them.
ὀνομάζει δʼ αὐτῶν Ἀριστείδου γραφὴν τοῦ Διονύσου, ἐφʼ οὗ τινες εἰρῆσθαί φασι τὸ
οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν Διόνυσον,
καὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα τὸν καταπονούμενον τῷ τῆς Δηιανείρας χιτῶνι.
He mentions among them the painting of Dionysus by Aristides, in reference to which some say the proverb was spoken, 'Nothing to do with Dionysus,' and also the Hercules tortured by the tunic of Deianira.
τοῦτον μὲν οὖν οὐχ ἑωράκαμεν ἡμεῖς, τὸν δὲ Διόνυσον ἀνακείμενον ἐν τῷ Δημητρείῳ τῷ ἐν Ῥώμῃ κάλλιστον ἔργον ἑωρῶμεν· ἐμπρησθέντος δὲ τοῦ νεὼ συνηφανίσθη καὶ ἡ γραφὴ νεωστί.
This latter painting we ourselves have not seen, but we used to see the Dionysus, which was dedicated in the temple of Demeter in Rome, a most beautiful work; but when the temple was burned, the painting also was destroyed recently with it.
σχεδὸν δέ τι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀναθημάτων τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ ἄριστα ἐντεῦθεν ἀφῖχθαι· τινὰ δὲ καὶ αἱ κύκλῳ τῆς Ῥώμης πόλεις ἔσχον.
And almost all the most numerous and best of the other votive offerings in Rome came from here; and the cities around Rome also obtained some of them.
μεγαλόφρων γὰρ ὢν μᾶλλον ἢ φιλότεχνος ὁ Μόμμιος, ὥς φασι, μετεδίδου ῥᾳδίως τοῖς δεηθεῖσι.
For Mummius, being high-minded rather than a lover of art, as they say, readily shared them with those who asked.
Λεύκολλος δὲ κατασκευάσας τὸ τῆς Εὐτυχίας ἱερὸν καὶ στοάν τινα χρῆσιν ᾐτήσατο ὧν εἶχεν ἀνδριάντων ὁ Μόμμιος, ὡς κοσμήσων τὸ ἱερὸν μέχρι ἀναδείξεως, εἶτʼ ἀποδώσων· οὐκ ἀπέδωκε δέ, ἀλλʼ ἀνέθηκε κελεύσας αἴρειν εἰ βούλεται· πράως δʼ ἤνεγκεν ἐκεῖνος οὐ φροντίσας οὐδέν, ὥστʼ ηὐδοκίμει τοῦ ἀναθέντος μᾶλλον.
And Lucullus, having built the temple of Fortune and a certain portico, asked for the use of some statues which Mummius had, as if to decorate the temple until its dedication, and then return them; but he did not return them, but dedicated them, telling Mummius to take them away if he wished; and Mummius bore it mildly, caring nothing about it, so that he won greater esteem than the one who dedicated them.
πολὺν δὲ χρόνον ἐρήμη μείνασα ἡ Κόρινθος ἀνελήφθη πάλιν ὑπὸ Καίσαρος τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν εὐφυΐαν, ἐποίκους πέμψαντος τοῦ ἀπελευθερικοῦ γένους πλείστους· οἳ τὰ ἐρείπια κινοῦντες καὶ τοὺς τάφους συνανασκάπτοντες εὕρισκον ὀστρακίνων τορευμάτων πλήθη, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ χαλκώματα· θαυμάζοντες δὲ τὴν κατασκευὴν οὐδένα τάφον ἀσκευώρητον εἴασαν, ὥστε εὐπορήσαντες τῶν τοιούτων καὶ διατιθέμενοι πολλοῦ νεκροκορινθίων ἐπλήρωσαν τὴν Ῥώμην· οὕτω γὰρ ἐκάλουν τὰ ἐκ τῶν τάφων ληφθέντα, καὶ μάλιστα τὰ ὀστράκινα.
Corinth, having remained desolate for a long time, was restored again by Caesar the deified because of its natural advantages, who sent numerous colonists of the freedman class; who, moving the ruins and digging up the graves together, found quantities of earthenware reliefs, and also many bronze vessels; and admiring their workmanship, they left no grave unransacked, so that, becoming rich in such things and disposing of them at a high price, they filled Rome with 'necrocorinthia'; for so they called the things taken from the graves, especially the earthenware.
κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ἐτιμήθη σφόδρα ὁμοίως τοῖς χαλκώμασι τοῖς κορινθιουργέσιν, εἶτʼ ἐπαύσαντο τῆς σπουδῆς, ἐκλιπόντων τῶν ὀστράκων καὶ οὐδὲ κατωρθωμένων τῶν πλείστων.
At first, then, these were highly valued, just like the Corinthian bronzes, but afterwards people ceased their eagerness, as the earthenware failed and most of them were not even successful pieces.
ἡ μὲν δὴ πόλις ἡ τῶν Κορινθίων μεγάλη τε καὶ πλουσία διὰ παντὸς ὑπῆρξεν, ἀνδρῶν τε ηὐπόρησεν ἀγαθῶν εἴς τε τὰ πολιτικὰ καὶ εἰς τὰς τέχνας τὰς δημιουργικάς· μάλιστα γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἐν Σικυῶνι ηὐξήθη γραφική τε καὶ πλαστικὴ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ τοιαύτη δημιουργία.
Now the city of the Corinthians was always great and wealthy, and it was well supplied with men capable both in political affairs and in the manual arts; for painting and modeling and all such handiwork flourished especially both here and in Sicyon.
χώραν δʼ ἔσχεν οὐκ εὔγεων σφόδρα, ἀλλὰ σκολιάν τε καὶ τραχεῖαν, ἀφʼ οὗ πάντες ὀφρυόεντα Κόρινθον εἰρήκασι καὶ παροιμιάζονται
"Κόρινθος ὀφρυᾷ τε καὶ κοιλαίνεται. " §8.6.24Ὀρνεαὶ δʼ εἰσὶν ἐπώνυμοι τῷ παραρρέοντι ποταμῷ, νῦν μὲν ἔρημοι πρότερον δʼ οἰκούμεναι καλῶς, ἱερὸν ἔχουσαι Πριάπου τιμώμενον, ἀφʼ ὧν καὶ ὁ τὰ Πριάπεια ποιήσας Εὐφορίων Ὀρνεάτην καλεῖ τὸν θεόν·
Its territory, however, was not very fertile, but crooked and rugged, whence everyone has called it 'browy Corinth' and they use the proverb: 'Corinth is both browy and hollow.' Orneae is named after the river that flows by it, now indeed deserted, but formerly well inhabited, having a temple of Priapus held in honor, from which Euphorion, who composed the Priapeia, calls the god 'the Orneatan'; it lies above the plain of the Sicyonians, and the Argives obtained its territory.
κεῖνται δʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ Σικυωνίων, τὴν δὲ χώραν ἔσχον Ἀργεῖοι. Ἀραιθυρέα δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ νῦν Φλιασία καλουμένη, πόλιν δʼ εἶχεν ὁμώνυμον τῇ χώρᾳ πρὸς ὄρει Κηλώσσῃ· οἱ δʼ ὕστερον ἀναστάντες ἐκεῖθεν πρὸ τριάκοντα σταδίων ἔκτισαν πόλιν, ἣν ἐκάλεσαν Φλιοῦντα· τῆς δὲ Κηλώσσης μέρος ὁ Καρνεάτης, ὅθεν λαμβάνει τὴν ἀρχὴν Ἀσωπὸς ὁ παραρρέων τὴν Σικυῶνα καὶ ποιῶν τὴν Ἀσωπίαν χώραν, μέρος οὖσαν τῆς Σικυωνίας.
Araethyrea is what is now called Phliasia, and it had a city of the same name as the territory near Mount Celossa; but the later inhabitants, moving from there, built a city thirty stadia away, which they called Phlius; and a part of Celossa is Carneates, whence the Asopus takes its rise, which flows by Sicyon and forms the Asopian country, which is a part of Sicyonia.
ἔστι δʼ Ἀσωπὸς καὶ ὁ παρὰ Θήβας ῥέων καὶ Πλαταιὰς καὶ Τάναγραν, ἄλλος δʼ ἔστιν ἐν Ἡρακλείᾳ τῇ Τραχινίᾳ παρὰ κώμην ῥέων ἣν Παρασωπίους ὀνομάζουσι, τέταρτος δʼ ὁ ἐν Πάρῳ.
There is also an Asopus that flows by Thebes, Plataea, and Tanagra, and another is in Trachinian Heracleia, flowing by a village which they call Parasopii, and a fourth is in Paros.
κεῖται δʼ ὁ Φλιοῦς ἐν μέσῳ Σικυωνίας Ἀργείας Κλεωνῶν καὶ Στυμφάλου κύκλῳ περιεχόμενος· τιμᾶται δʼ ἐν Φλιοῦντι καὶ Σικυῶνι τὸ τῆς Δίας ἱερόν· καλοῦσι δʼ οὕτω τὴν Ἥβην.
Phlius lies in the midst of Sicyonia, Argia, Cleonae, and Stymphalus, being surrounded by them in a circle; and the temple of Dia is honored in Phlius and Sicyon; and they call Hebe by this name.
§8.6.25τὴν δὲ Σικυῶνα πρότερον Μηκώνην ἐκάλουν, ἔτι δὲ πρότερον Αἰγιαλεῖς· ἀνῴκισε δʼ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ θαλάττης ὅσον εἴκοσι σταδίοις (οἱ δὲ δώδεκά φασιν) ἐπὶ λόφον ἐρυμνὸν Δημήτριος· τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν κτίσμα ἐπίνειόν ἐστιν ἔχον λιμένα.
Sicyon they used to call Mecone formerly, and still earlier Aegialeis; but Demetrius rebuilt it at a distance of about twenty stadia from the sea (some say twelve) upon a strong hill; and the ancient settlement is a seaport having a harbor.
ὁρίζει δὲ τὴν Σικυωνίαν καὶ τὴν Κορινθίαν ποταμὸς Νεμέα· ἐτυραννήθη δὲ πλεῖστον χρόνον, ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ τοὺς τυράννους ἐπιεικεῖς ἄνδρας ἔσχεν, Ἄρατον δʼ ἐπιφανέστατον, ὃς καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἠλευθέρωσε, καὶ Ἀχαιῶν ἦρξε παρʼ ἑκόντων λαβὼν τὴν ἐξουσίαν, καὶ τὸ σύστημα ηὔξησε προσθεὶς αὐτῷ τήν τε πατρίδα καὶ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις τὰς ἐγγύς.
The river Nemea bounds Sicyonia and Corinthia; and Sicyon was ruled by tyrants for a very long time, but it always had mild men as its tyrants, Aratus being the most illustrious, who also liberated the city, and ruled over the Achaeans, receiving his authority from them willingly, and increased their league by adding to it his own fatherland and the other cities nearby.
Ὑπερησίην δὲ καὶ τὰς ἑξῆς πόλεις ἃς ὁ ποιητὴς λέγει, καὶ τὸν Αἰγιαλὸν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἤδη συμβέβηκεν εἶναι μέχρι Δύμης καὶ τῶν ὅρων τῆς Ἠλείας.
Hyperesia and the next cities which the poet mentions, and the 'Coast' of the Achaeans, have now come to belong to the Achaeans as far as Dyme and the boundaries of Elis.