Pausanias Analysis

Next to the enclosure of the sanctuary is a theater well worth seeing. Ascending from the enclosure, one finds here a statue of Dionysus, which is a dedication by the Cnidians. Their stadium is at the highest point of the city; it had been constructed out of the kind of rock that is abundant around Parnassus, until Herodes the Athenian adorned it anew with Pentelic marble. These, then, were the matters relevant to my account that I considered worthy of mention; those that remain at Delphi are as follows.

On the way going from Delphi to the heights of Parnassus, about sixty stadia distant from Delphi, there stands a bronze statue; and from there the ascent to the Corycian cave is easier for a lightly-equipped man on foot than for mules or horses. As I indicated a little earlier, this cave takes its name from the nymph Corycia. Of all the caves that I have seen, this one appeared to me particularly worthy of viewing.

For those shrines that are situated along shores and near the shallow sea, their number could scarcely be reckoned even by someone willing to do so; yet the most celebrated among both Greeks and barbarian lands is the following: the Phrygians, who dwell by the river Pengela and originally came from Arcadia and the Azanians above into this region, show a cave called Steunos, circular in form and possessing an impressive height. It is sacred to the Mother Goddess, and an image of the Mother has been made there.

The place called Themisonion, which lies above Laodiceia, is also inhabited by Phrygians. When the Galatian army was ravaging and overrunning Ionia and the territories adjoining Ionia, the people of Themisonion claim that Heracles, Apollo, and Hermes came to their aid. These gods revealed a cave through dreams to the local magistrates, and thus the people of Themisonion, together with their wives and children, were commanded to take refuge in this cave.

In front of this cave there are small statues of Heracles, Hermes, and Apollo, who are called the gods of the cave. The distance from the city to this cave is about thirty stades, and within it are springs of water. There is no easy entrance into the interior, nor does sunlight penetrate far inside, and the greater part of the ceiling is very close to the ground.

There is also among the Magnesians who dwell by the river Lethaeus a place called Aulai. Here there is dedicated to Apollo a cave, which, in terms of its size, is not greatly remarkable; however, the statue of Apollo is very ancient indeed and confers strength for every undertaking. Consecrated men dedicated to the god leap from sheer precipices and high rocks, and, grasping tall trees and tearing them up by their roots, carry them along with their burdens, making their way even through the narrowest of paths.

The Corycian cave surpasses in size those previously mentioned, and it is possible to proceed far into it even without torches. Its roof stands at a sufficient height above the floor, and water flows within it, some rising from springs, but even more dripping from the ceiling, so that the traces of drops are plainly visible everywhere throughout the cavern floor. The dwellers near Parnassus hold it to be sacred especially to the Corycian Nymphs and to Pan. From the Corycian cave onward, it becomes difficult even for a lightly equipped man to reach the very peaks of Parnassus. These peaks rise above the clouds, and it is there that the Thyiades revel in their madness, honoring Dionysus and Apollo.

Tithorea lies farther from Delphi, about one hundred and eighty stades by estimation if one takes the route through Mount Parnassus. This road is not wholly mountainous, but suitable also for carriage travel; however, it was said to be even longer in stades. I know the city has been mentioned by different names both by Herodotus, in his account of the expedition of the Mede, and by Bacis, in his oracles.

Bacis indeed called the inhabitants of this place "Tithoreans"; but the account of Herodotus concerning them says that, when the barbarian invaded Greece, the inhabitants here fled to the mountain-top; he names their city Neon, and asserts that Tithorea was the summit of Parnassus. Thus, it seems that subsequently the name "Tithorea" prevailed throughout the whole region; and later, when they were gathered into one city from their separate villages, the name Tithorea completely displaced Neon. The local inhabitants claim that Tithorea was named from a nymph called Tithorea, who, according to the ancient poetic tradition, grew out of trees—especially oaks, among other kinds of trees.

Yet fate turned to worse the circumstances of Tithorea just one generation before my time. The theater is indeed preserved, as well as the enclosure of an older market-place. Among those things within the city most worthy of remembrance are the grove, temple, and statue of Athena; there are also the tombs of Antiope and Phocus. An informant explained to me a tradition relating to the Thebans, how Antiope had been driven mad through the anger of Dionysus, including the cause by which she drew upon herself the wrath of the god. He related also how Phocus fell in love with her.

He shared the settlement founded by Ornytios and is buried together with Phocus, and there is a similar circumstance mentioned by Bakis the prophet concerning this tomb and the tomb of Zethus and Amphion at Thebes. As regards the town itself, aside from what has been already mentioned, there was nothing else worth recording. However, a river running from the territories of the Tithoreans provides drinking water for the inhabitants, who descend to its banks to draw water. This river is called Cachales.

Seventy stades distant from Tithorea there is a temple of Asclepius, called Archagetas ("The Founder"); the people of Tithorea pay honors to him, as do the rest of the Phocians equally. Inside the enclosure, there are residences both for suppliants and for those who serve the god. In the center stands the temple and a statue made of stone, with a beard measuring more than two feet in length. On the right of the statue is placed a couch. They customarily sacrifice all animals equally to him, except goats.

About forty stadia from the sanctuary of Asclepius is an enclosure and sacred shrine of Isis, the most holy of all temples the Greeks have erected to the Egyptian goddess. For the people of Tithorea consider it improper to live close to it, and entry to the inner sanctuary is permitted only to those whom Isis herself, honoring them especially, summons through dreams. The same phenomenon is seen among the cities beyond the Maeander River in the rituals of their chthonic deities: those whom the gods wish to enter their holy places, they signal by sending visionary dreams.

In Tithorea they hold a festival for Isis twice each year, one in the spring and the other in autumn. On the third day before each of these festivals, those who have permission to enter purify the sanctuary in a manner that must remain secret, and whatever remains they find of the sacrificial offerings presented at the previous festival, they carry to the same place every time and bury it there. I estimate this place to be about two stades distant from the sanctuary.

On this day, indeed, such are the ceremonies they conduct at the sanctuary, while on the following day merchants erect booths of reed and other improvised materials. On the last of the three days, the festival culminates, during which they openly trade everything—slaves and livestock, as well as garments, silver, and gold.

After midday, they turn towards sacrifice. The wealthier among them sacrifice cattle and deer, but those whose wealth falls short offer geese and guinea-fowl. They do not customarily employ sheep, pigs, or goats for the sacrifice. Those who have thus made an initial consecration of their offerings and have sent them into the inner sanctuary must wrap their sacrificial animals with bands of linen or fine linen cloth, their manner of preparation being Egyptian.

Then they proceed solemnly with all the sacrificial rites, and while some send the victims into the inner sanctuary, others set fire to the tents in front of the sanctuary and hastily withdraw. And they say that once, when the pyre had just begun burning, a man—not one of those who descend into the holy place, but a profane person—entered the sanctuary, driven by excessive curiosity and boldness. And the sanctuary appeared to him filled completely with phantoms, and when he returned to Tithorea and recounted what he had seen, he immediately gave up his life.

I have heard a plausible account from a Phoenician concerning the festival that the Egyptians celebrate in honor of Isis, when they say she mourns for Osiris. It is at this very time that the Nile begins to rise for them, and many local inhabitants claim that the waters which cause the river to swell and irrigate their fields are the tears of Isis. He further recounted how the Roman governor then in charge of Egypt was persuaded by money to send a man into the sanctuary of Isis at Coptos. The man sent inside returned from the sanctuary and described all he had seen, but soon afterward, as I learned, met his death. It seems, therefore, that Homer's statement holds true—there is never any fortune for humanity in seeing the gods face to face.

The olive-oil produced at Tithorea is inferior in quantity to that of Attica and Sicyon, but surpasses the Iberian and that from the island of Istria in appearance and flavor. Moreover, they prepare all manner of perfumes from it, and esteem this oil as they would a king.