§5.10.1πολλὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄλλα ἴδοι τις ἂν ἐν Ἕλλησι, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἀκούσαι θαύματος ἄξια· μάλιστα δὲ τοῖς Ἐλευσῖνι δρωμένοις καὶ ἀγῶνι τῷ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ μέτεστιν ἐκ θεοῦ φροντίδος.
\nThere are indeed many other things that one might see among the Greeks, and some that one might hear of, which are worthy of wonder; but it is especially the rites performed at Eleusis and the games in Olympia that have a share of divine care.
τὸ δὲ ἄλσος τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Διὸς παραποιήσαντες τὸ ὄνομα Ἄλτιν ἐκ παλαιοῦ καλοῦσι· καὶ δὴ καὶ Πινδάρῳ ποιήσαντι ἐς ἄνδρα Ὀλυμπιονίκην ᾆσμα Ἄλτις ἐπωνόμασται τὸ χωρίον. §5.10.2ἐποιήθη δὲ ὁ ναὸς καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα τῷ Διὶ ἀπὸ λαφύρων, ἡνίκα Πίσαν οἱ Ἠλεῖοι καὶ ὅσον τῶν περιοίκων ἄλλο συναπέστη Πισαίοις πολέμῳ καθεῖλον.
As for the sacred grove of Zeus, people have from of old called it Altis, altering the name slightly; and indeed, also for Pindar, who composed a song for a man who was an Olympic victor, the place is named Altis.\n\nThe temple and the statue for Zeus were made from spoils, when the Eleans destroyed Pisa and all the other neighboring peoples who had joined Pisa in revolting in war.
Φειδίαν δὲ τὸν ἐργασάμενον τὸ ἄγαλμα εἶναι καὶ ἐπίγραμμά ἐστιν ἐς μαρτυρίαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς γεγραμμένον τοῖς ποσί· "
Φειδίας Χαρμίδου υἱὸς Ἀθηναῖός μʼ ἐποίησε. "
τοῦ ναοῦ δὲ Δώριος μέν ἐστιν ἡ ἐργασία, τὰ δὲ ἐκτὸς περίστυλός ἐστι· §5.10.3πεποίηται δὲ ἐπιχωρίου πώρου.
That Phidias was the one who made the statue is attested also by an inscription written under the feet of Zeus:\n"\nPhidias, son of Charmides, an Athenian, made me.\n"\nThe workmanship of the temple is Doric, and its exterior is peristyle;\n\nit is made of local limestone.
ὕψος μὲν δὴ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐς τὸν ἀετὸν ἀνῆκον, εἰσίν οἱ ὀκτὼ πόδες καὶ ἑξήκοντα, εὖρος δὲ πέντε καὶ ἐνενήκοντα, τὰ δὲ ἐς μῆκος τριάκοντά τε καὶ διακόσιοι· τέκτων δὲ ἐγένετο αὐτοῦ Λίβων ἐπιχώριος.
Its height indeed, reaching up to the pediment, is sixty-eight feet, its width is ninety-five, and its length is two hundred and thirty; its architect was Libon, a local man.
κέραμος δὲ οὐ γῆς ὀπτῆς ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κεράμου τρόπον λίθος ὁ Πεντελῆσιν εἰργασμένος·
The tiles are not of baked clay, but Pentelic stone worked in the fashion of tiles.
τὸ δὲ εὕρημα ἀνδρὸς Ναξίου λέγουσιν εἶναι Βύζου, οὗ φασιν ἐν Νάξῳ τὰ ἀγάλματα ἐφʼ ὧν ἐπίγραμμα εἶναι
"
Νάξιος Εὔεργός με γένει Λητοῦς πόρε, Βύζεω
παῖς, ὃς πρώτιστος τεῦξε λίθου κέραμον. "
ἡλικίαν δὲ ὁ Βύζης οὗτος κατὰ Ἀλυάττην ἦν τὸν Λυδὸν καὶ Ἀστυάγην τὸν Κυαξάρου βασιλεύοντα ἐν Μήδοις. §5.10.4ἐν δὲ Ὀλυμπίᾳ λέβης ἐπίχρυσος ἐπὶ ἑκάστῳ τοῦ ὀρόφου τῷ πέρατι ἐπίκειται καὶ Νίκη κατὰ μέσον μάλιστα ἕστηκε τὸν ἀετόν, ἐπίχρυσος καὶ αὕτη.
They say that this invention belongs to a Naxian man, Byzes, who they say made the statues in Naxos upon which there is the inscription:\n"\nEuergos of Naxos, son of Byzes, dedicated me to the offspring of Leto, he who first made tiles of stone.\n"\nIn age, this Byzes lived in the time of Alyattes the Lydian and Astyages, the son of Cyaxares, who was king among the Medes.\n\nIn Olympia, a gilded cauldron is placed on each extremity of the roof, and a Victory stands almost in the middle of the pediment, she too being gilded.
ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς Νίκης τὸ ἄγαλμα ἀσπὶς ἀνάκειται χρυσῆ, Μέδουσαν τὴν Γοργόνα ἔχουσα ἐπειργασμένην.
Under the statue of Victory, a golden shield is dedicated, having the Gorgon Medusa wrought upon it.
τὸ ἐπίγραμμα δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι τούς τε ἀναθέντας δηλοῖ καὶ καθʼ ἥντινα αἰτίαν ἀνέθεσαν· λέγει γὰρ δὴ οὕτω· "
ναὸς μὲν φιάλαν χρυσέαν ἔχει, ἐκ δὲ Τανάγρας
τοὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι συμμαχία τʼ ἀνέθεν
δῶρον ἀπʼ Ἀργείων καὶ Ἀθαναίων καὶ Ἰώνων,
τὰν δεκάταν νίκας εἵνεκα τῶ πολέμω. "
ταύτης τῆς μάχης μνήμην καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀτθίδι ἐποιησάμην συγγραφῇ, τὰ Ἀθήνῃσιν ἐπεξιὼν μνήματα. §5.10.5τοῦ δὲ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ ναοῦ τῆς ὑπὲρ τῶν κιόνων περιθεούσης ζώνης κατὰ τὸ ἐκτὸς ἀσπίδες εἰσὶν ἐπίχρυσοι μία καὶ εἴκοσιν ἀριθμόν, ἀνάθημα στρατηγοῦ Ῥωμαίων Μομμίου κρατήσαντος Ἀχαιῶν πολέμῳ καὶ Κόρινθόν τε ἑλόντος καὶ Κορινθίους τοὺς Δωριέας ποιήσαντος ἀναστάτους.
The inscription on the shield shows both those who dedicated it and for what reason they did so; for indeed, it says thus:\n"\nThe temple has a golden bowl, and from Tanagra the Lacedaemonians and their alliance dedicated it as a gift from the Argives, Athenians, and Ionians, as a tithe because of victory in the war.\n"\nOf this battle, I made mention also in my Attica history, when going through the monuments at Athens.\n\nOn the outside of the band that runs around above the columns of the temple in Olympia, there are gilded shields, twenty-one in number, a dedication by the Roman general Mummius, who conquered the Achaeans in war, took Corinth, and drove the Dorian Corinthians from their homes.