§5.14.1ὁ δὲ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ βωμὸς παρέχεται καὶ ἄλλο τοιόνδε ἐς θαῦμα· οἱ γὰρ ἰκτῖνες πεφυκότες ἁρπάζειν μάλιστα ὀρνίθων ἀδικοῦσιν οὐδὲν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τοὺς θύοντας· ἢν δὲ ἁρπάσῃ ποτὲ ἰκτῖνος ἤτοι σπλάγχνα ἢ τῶν κρεῶν, νενόμισται τῷ θύοντι οὐκ αἴσιον εἶναι τὸ σημεῖον.
The altar in Olympia presents also another such wonder: for the kites, which of all birds are by nature most inclined to snatch, do no harm to those who sacrifice in Olympia; but if a kite should ever snatch either the entrails or some of the meat, it is considered by the sacrificer to be an unfavorable omen.
φασὶ δὲ Ἡρακλεῖ τῷ Ἀλκμήνης θύοντι ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ διʼ ὄχλου μάλιστα γενέσθαι τὰς μυίας· ἐξευρόντα οὖν αὐτὸν ἢ καὶ ὑπʼ ἄλλου διδαχθέντα Ἀπομυίῳ θῦσαι Διί, καὶ οὕτως ἀποτραπῆναι τὰς μυίας πέραν τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ.
And they say that when Heracles the son of Alcmene was sacrificing in Olympia, the flies became particularly troublesome to him; therefore, having discovered the remedy himself or having been taught by someone else, he sacrificed to Zeus Apomyios, and so the flies were turned away to the other side of the Alpheius.
λέγονται δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ Ἠλεῖοι θύειν τῷ Ἀπομυίῳ Διί, ἐξελαύνοντες τῆς Ὀλυμπίας τὰς μυίας.
And in the same way the Eleans also are said to sacrifice to Zeus Apomyios, driving the flies out of Olympia.
§5.14.2τῆς δὲ λεύκης μόνης τοῖς ξύλοις ἐς τοῦ Διὸς τὰς θυσίας καὶ ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς δένδρου τῶν ἄλλων οἱ Ἠλεῖοι χρῆσθαι νομίζουσι, κατʼ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν προτιμῶντες ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν τὴν λεύκην, ὅτι δὲ Ἡρακλῆς ἐκόμισεν αὐτὴν ἐς Ἕλληνας ἐκ τῆς Θεσπρωτίδος χώρας.
And the Eleans make it a rule to use the wood of the white poplar alone for the sacrifices of Zeus, and of no other tree, preferring the white poplar, in my opinion, for no other reason than that Heracles brought it to the Greeks from the Thesprotian land.
καί μοι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἡρακλῆς ἐφαίνετο, ἡνίκα τῷ Διὶ ἔθυεν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ, τῶν ἱερείων τὰ μηρία ἐπὶ λεύκης καῦσαι ξύλων· τὴν δὲ λεύκην ὁ Ἡρακλῆς πεφυκυῖαν παρὰ τὸν Ἀχέροντα εὗρε τὸν ἐν Θεσπρωτίᾳ ποταμόν, καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκά φασιν αὐτὴν Ἀχερωίδα ὑπὸ Ὁμήρου καλεῖσθαι.
And to me Heracles himself also seemed, when he was sacrificing to Zeus in Olympia, to have burned the thighs of the victims on wood of the white poplar; and Heracles found the white poplar growing by the Acheron, the river in Thesprotia, and for this reason they say it is called Acherois by Homer.
§5.14.3εἶχον δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἐς τόδε ἔχουσιν οὐ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπιτηδείως πρὸς γένεσιν πόας τε καὶ δένδρων· ἀλλὰ πλεῖσται μὲν ὑπὸ Μαιάνδρου μυρῖκαι καὶ μάλιστα αὔξονται, Ἀσωπὸς δὲ ὁ Βοιώτιος βαθυτάτας πέφυκεν ἐκτρέφειν τὰς σχοίνους, τὸ δένδρον δὲ ἡ περσεία μόνου χαίρει τοῦ Νείλου τῷ ὕδατι.
Indeed, from the beginning and to this day, rivers have not been equally suited for the production of grass and trees; but the most numerous and best-growing tamarisks are produced by the Maeander, while the Boeotian Asopus is of a nature to rear the tallest rushes, and the persea tree delights only in the water of the Nile.
οὕτω καὶ τὴν λεύκην θαῦμα οὐδὲν καὶ αἴγειρόν τε καὶ κότινον, τὴν μὲν ἐπὶ Ἀχέροντι ἀναφῦναι πρώτῳ, κότινον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀλφειῷ, τὴν δὲ αἴγειρον γῆς τῆς τῶν Κελτῶν καὶ Ἠριδανοῦ τοῦ Κελτικοῦ θρέμμα εἶναι.
Thus also, there is no wonder that the white poplar grew first by the Acheron, the wild olive by the Alpheius, and that the black poplar is a product of the land of the Celts and of the Celtic Eridanus.
§5.14.4φέρε δή, ἐποιησάμεθα γὰρ βωμοῦ τοῦ μεγίστου μνήμην, ἐπέλθωμεν καὶ τὰ ἐς ἅπαντας ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τοὺς βωμούς· ἐπακολουθήσει δὲ ὁ λόγος μοι τῇ ἐς αὐτοὺς τάξει, καθʼ ἥντινα Ἠλεῖοι θύειν ἐπὶ τῶν βωμῶν νομίζουσι.
Come now, since we have made mention of the greatest altar, let us go through also the matters concerning all the altars in Olympia; and my account will follow the order of them, according to which the Eleans are accustomed to sacrifice upon the altars.
θύουσι δὲ Ἑστίᾳ μὲν πρώτῃ, δευτέρῳ δὲ τῷ Ὀλυμπίῳ Διὶ ἰόντες ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ ναοῦ, τρίτα δὲ Λαοίτᾳ Διὶ καὶ Ποσειδῶνι Λαοίτᾳ· ἐπὶ ἑνὸς βωμοῦ καὶ αὕτη καθέστηκεν ἡ θυσία.
They sacrifice to Hestia first, secondly to Olympian Zeus, going to the altar inside the temple, and thirdly to Zeus Laoitas and Poseidon Laoitas; this sacrifice also is established upon one altar.
§5.14.5τέταρτα καὶ πέμπτα Ἀρτέμιδι θύουσι καὶ Ληίτιδι Ἀθηνᾷ, ἕκτα Ἐργάνῃ· ταύτῃ τῇ Ἐργάνῃ καὶ οἱ ἀπόγονοι Φειδίου, καλούμενοι δὲ φαιδρυνταί, γέρας παρὰ Ἠλείων εἰληφότες τοῦ Διὸς τὸ ἄγαλμα ἀπὸ τῶν προσιζανόντων καθαίρειν, οὗτοι θύουσιν ἐνταῦθα πρὶν ἢ λαμπρύνειν τὸ ἄγαλμα ἄρχονται.
Fourthly and fifthly they sacrifice to Artemis and Athena Leitis, and sixthly to Ergane; to this Ergane, the descendants of Pheidias also, who are called paidryntai and have received as a privilege from the Eleans the task of cleaning the image of Zeus from things that settle on it, sacrifice here before they begin to polish the image.
ἔστι δὲ Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ ἄλλος βωμὸς πλησίον τοῦ ναοῦ, καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος παρʼ αὐτὸν τετράγωνος ἀνήκων ἠρέμα ἐς ὕψος.
And there is another altar of Athena near the temple, and next to it a square one of Artemis, rising gently to a height.