§1.40.1ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει κρήνη, ἥν σφισιν ᾠκοδόμησε Θεαγένης, οὗ καὶ πρότερον τούτων ἐπεμνήσθην θυγατέρα αὐτὸν συνοικίσαι Κύλωνι Ἀθηναίῳ.
There is in the city a fountain, which Theagenes built for them, whom I mentioned also before this as having married his daughter to Cylon the Athenian.
οὗτος ὁ Θεαγένης τυραννήσας ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν κρήνην μεγέθους ἕνεκα καὶ κόσμου καὶ ἐς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κιόνων θέας ἀξίαν· καὶ ὕδωρ ἐς αὐτὴν ῥεῖ καλούμενον Σιθνίδων νυμφῶν.
This Theagenes, having become tyrant, built the fountain, which is worth seeing for its size and beauty and for the number of its columns; and water flows into it called that of the Sithnid nymphs.
τὰς δὲ Σιθνίδας νύμφας λέγουσι Μεγαρεῖς εἶναι μέν σφισιν ἐπιχωρίας, μιᾷ δὲ αὐτῶν συγγενέσθαι Δία, Μέγαρόν τε παῖδα ὄντα Διὸς καὶ ταύτης δὴ τῆς νύμφης ἐκφυγεῖν τὴν ἐπὶ Δευκαλίωνός ποτε ἐπομβρίαν, ἐκφυγεῖν δὲ πρὸς τὰ ἄκρα τῆς Γερανίας, οὐκ ἔχοντός πω τοῦ ὄρους τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ —νήχεσθαι γὰρ πετομένων γεράνων πρὸς τὴν βοὴν τῶν ὀρνίθων αὐτόν—διὰ τοῦτο Γερανίαν τὸ ὄρος ὀνομασθῆναι.
The Megarians say that the Sithnid nymphs are local to them, and that Zeus united with one of them, and that Megarus, being a son of Zeus and this very nymph, escaped the flood that once occurred in the time of Deucalion, and escaped to the summits of Gerania; the mountain did not yet have this name, but—for he swam toward the cry of flying cranes, following the sound of the birds—because of this the mountain was named Gerania.
§1.40.2τῆς δὲ κρήνης οὐ πόρρω ταύτης ἀρχαῖόν ἐστιν ἱερόν, εἰκόνες δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἑστᾶσιν ἐν αὐτῷ βασιλέων Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἄγαλμα κεῖται χαλκοῦν Ἀρτέμιδος ἐπίκλησιν Σωτείρας.
Not far from this fountain is an ancient sanctuary, and in it stand statues of Roman emperors in our time, and there lies a bronze image of Artemis surnamed Soteira.
φασὶ δὲ ἄνδρας τοῦ Μαρδονίου στρατοῦ καταδραμόντας τὴν Μεγαρίδα ἀποχωρεῖν ἐς Θήβας ὀπίσω παρὰ Μαρδόνιον ἐθέλειν, γνώμῃ δὲ Ἀρτέμιδος νύκτα τε ὁδοιποροῦσιν ἐπιγενέσθαι καὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ σφᾶς ἁμαρτόντας ἐς τὴν ὀρεινὴν τραπέσθαι τῆς χώρας· πειρωμένους δὲ εἰ στράτευμα ἐγγὺς εἴη πολέμιον ἀφιέναι τῶν βελῶν, καὶ τὴν πλησίον πέτραν στένειν βαλλομένην, τοὺς δὲ αὖθις τοξεύειν προθυμίᾳ πλέονι.
They say that men of Mardonius' army, having overrun Megaris, wished to retreat back to Thebes to Mardonius, but by the will of Artemis, night came upon them as they were marching, and having missed the road, they turned into the mountainous part of the land; and trying to see if a hostile army was near, they discharged their arrows, and the nearby rock groaned when struck, and they in turn shot arrows with greater eagerness.
§1.40.3τέλος δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀναλωθῆναι τοὺς ὀιστοὺς ἐς ἄνδρας πολεμίους τοξεύειν νομίζουσιν· ἡμέρα τε ὑπεφαίνετο καὶ οἱ Μεγαρεῖς ἐπῄεσαν, μαχόμενοι δὲ ὁπλῖται πρὸς ἀνόπλους καὶ οὐδὲ βελῶν εὐποροῦντας ἔτι φονεύουσιν αὐτῶν τοὺς πολλούς· καὶ ἐπὶ τῷδε Σωτείρας ἄγαλμα ἐποιήσαντο Ἀρτέμιδος.
And finally, their arrows were spent by them while they thought they were shooting at enemy men; and day began to break and the Megarians attacked, and fighting as hoplites against unarmed men who did not even have an abundance of missiles anymore, they slew most of them; and on this account they made an image of Artemis Soteira.
ἐνταῦθα καὶ τῶν δώδεκα ὀνομαζομένων θεῶν ἐστιν ἀγάλματα ἔργα εἶναι λεγόμενα Πραξιτέλους· τὴν δὲ Ἄρτεμιν αὐτὴν Στρογγυλίων ἐποίησε.
Here also are images of the so-called Twelve Gods, said to be works of Praxiteles; but the Artemis herself Strongylion made.
§1.40.4μετὰ ταῦτα ἐς τὸ τοῦ Διὸς τέμενος ἐσελθοῦσι καλούμενον Ὀλυμπιεῖον ναός ἐστι θέας ἄξιος·
After this, for those entering into the precinct of Zeus called Olympieum, there is a temple worth seeing.
τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα οὐκ ἐξειργάσθη τοῦ Διός, ἐπιλαβόντος τοῦ Πελοποννησίων πολέμου πρὸς Ἀθηναίους, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ναυσὶν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος καὶ στρατῷ φθείροντες Μεγαρεῦσιν Ἀθηναῖοι τὴν χώραν τά τε κοινὰ ἐκάκωσαν καὶ ἰδίᾳ τοὺς οἴκους ἤγαγον ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον ἀσθενείας.
But the image of Zeus was not completed, because the Peloponnesian war against the Athenians broke out, in which the Athenians, by devastating the land of the Megarians every year both with ships and with an army, damaged public affairs and reduced private households to the extreme of weakness.
τῷ δὲ ἀγάλματι τοῦ Διὸς πρόσωπον ἐλέφαντος καὶ χρυσοῦ, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ πηλοῦ τέ ἐστι καὶ γύψου· ποιῆσαι δὲ αὐτὸ Θεόκοσμον λέγουσιν ἐπιχώριον, συνεργάσασθαι δέ οἱ Φειδίαν.
The image of Zeus has a face of ivory and gold, and the remaining parts are of clay and plaster; they say that Theocosmus, a native, made it, and that Pheidias worked with him.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ Διός εἰσιν Ὧραι καὶ Μοῖραι· δῆλα δὲ πᾶσι τὴν πεπρωμένην μόνῳ οἱ πείθεσθαι καὶ τὰς ὥρας τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον νέμειν ἐς τὸ δέον.
Above the head of Zeus are the Seasons and the Fates; and it is clear to all that destiny obeys him alone, and that this god distributes the seasons as is fitting.
ὄπισθε δὲ τοῦ ναοῦ κεῖται ξύλα ἡμίεργα· ταῦτα ἔμελλεν ὁ Θεόκοσμος ἐλέφαντι καὶ χρυσῷ κοσμήσας τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐκτελέσειν τοῦ Διός.
Behind the temple lie half-worked timbers; these Theocosmus was going to use to complete the image of Zeus, having adorned it with ivory and gold.
§1.40.5ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ τῷ ναῷ τριήρους ἀνάκειται χαλκοῦν ἔμβολον· ταύτην τὴν ναῦν λαβεῖν φασι περὶ Σαλαμῖνα ναυμαχήσαντες πρὸς Ἀθηναίους·
In the temple itself is dedicated a bronze ram of a trireme; they say they took this ship when they fought a naval battle against the Athenians around Salamis.
ὁμολογοῦσι δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι χρόνον τινὰ Μεγαρεῦσιν ἀποστῆναι τῆς νήσου, Σόλωνα δὲ ὕστερόν φασιν ἐλεγεῖα ποιήσαντα προτρέψαι σφᾶς, καταστῆναι δὲ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν Ἀθηναῖοι, κρατήσαντες δὲ πολέμῳ Σαλαμῖνα αὖθις ἔχειν.
And the Athenians also agree that they withdrew from the island for the Megarians for a certain time, but they say that later Solon, having composed elegies, urged them on, and upon this the Athenians entered into a dispute, and having prevailed in war, they held Salamis again.
Μεγαρεῖς δὲ παρὰ σφῶν λέγουσιν ἄνδρας φυγάδας, οὓς Δορυκλείους ὀνομάζουσιν, ἀφικομένους παρὰ τοὺς ἐν Σαλαμῖνι κληρούχους προδοῦναι Σαλαμῖνα Ἀθηναίοις.
But the Megarians say that exile men from their own side, whom they call Dorycleians, having gone to the settlers in Salamis, betrayed Salamis to the Athenians.
§1.40.6μετὰ δὲ τοῦ Διὸς τὸ τέμενος ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνελθοῦσι καλουμένην ἀπὸ Καρὸς τοῦ Φορωνέως καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι Καρίαν, ἔστι μὲν Διονύσου ναὸς Νυκτελίου, πεποίηται δὲ Ἀφροδίτης Ἐπιστροφίας ἱερὸν καὶ Νυκτὸς καλούμενόν ἐστι μαντεῖον καὶ Διὸς Κονίου ναὸς οὐκ ἔχων ὄροφον.
After the precinct of Zeus, for those who go up to the acropolis, which is named after Car, the son of Phoroneus, and is still called Caria even to our day, there is a temple of Dionysus Nyctelius, and a sanctuary of Aphrodite Epistrophia has been built, and there is an oracle called of Night, and a temple of Zeus Conius which has no roof.
τοῦ δὲ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὸ ἄγαλμα Βρύαξις καὶ αὐτὸ καὶ τὴν Ὑγείαν ἐποίησεν.
Bryaxis made both the image of Asclepius itself and Hygieia.
ἐνταῦθα καὶ τῆς Δήμητρος τὸ καλούμενον μέγαρον· ποιῆσαι δὲ αὐτὸ βασιλεύοντα Κᾶρα ἔλεγον.
Here is also the so-called Megaron of Demeter; they said that Car built it when he was king.