Pausanias Analysis

About two stadia on the right-hand side as one proceeds from the city stands a lofty rock—part of a mountain—and a temple of Artemis built upon it. The Artemis is a work of Praxiteles. She holds a torch in her right hand, has a quiver hanging over her shoulders, and by her left side stands a dog. The statue is larger in size than the tallest woman.

Bordering the land of Phocis is a territory named after Boulon, the man who led the colony. It was settled from cities in ancient Doris. These Boulians are said to have joined Philomelus and the common assembly of the Phocians. From Thisbe in Boeotia, the way to Boule is eighty stadia. But from Anticyra in Phocis by land I cannot state the distance precisely from the start, so difficult and rugged are the mountains lying between Anticyra and Boule. From Anticyra to the harbor itself is a distance of one hundred stadia, and from the harbor to Boule the journey by land we estimate as approximately seven stadia.

A river also flows down into the sea here—a winter torrent, called by the locals the Heracleios. Boulis is situated upon high ground, facing those who sail across from Antikyra to Lechaion, the harbor of Corinth. Most of the inhabitants there make their living as fishermen of shellfish used in purple dyeing. As for the construction of Boulis, neither this nor anything else about it is particularly remarkable. There are sanctuaries dedicated to Artemis and to Dionysus; their statues are fashioned out of wood, though I was not able to discover who made them. The god whom the people of Boulis especially honor is called Megistos ("Greatest"); to my judgment, this name is an epithet of Zeus. The Boulians also have a spring named Saunion.

The road from Delphi to its harbor-town Kirra is sixty stades in length. Once one has descended into the plain there is a racecourse where they hold the equestrian contests of the Pythian games. My account concerning the Taraxippos at Olympia revealed the traditions of the Eleans relating to this matter; as for this racecourse, indeed it seems likely that Apollo himself at times causes difficulties for some of the riders, since the divine power grants fortune both good and ill alike to men in all undertakings. Nevertheless, this course does not inherently inspire any panic in the horses, whether from the influence of a hero or from any other cause.

The plain extending from Kirra is entirely bare, as they do not wish to plant trees there, either due to some curse or because they know the land is useless for nurturing trees. It is said that the contemporary name given to this place derives both from Kirra itself and from naming it after Kirra. Yet Homer, in the Iliad as well as in the hymn to Apollo, refers to the city by its original name, Krisa. Later, however, the inhabitants of Kirra committed acts of impiety against Apollo and appropriated land belonging to the god.

Therefore, the Amphictyons resolved to wage war against the Cirrhaeans, appointing Cleisthenes, tyrant of the Sicyonians, as their commander, and inviting Solon from Athens as their adviser. Consulting the oracle about their victory, the Pythia declared to them: "Not until the wave of dark-eyed Amphitrite sweeps over my precinct, resounding upon the wine-dark sea, shall you take and cast down the tower of this city." Therefore, Solon persuaded them to consecrate Cirrha's plain to the god, so that the sea might become neighbor to the sacred precinct of Apollo.

Another cunning stratagem by Solon against the people of Kirrha was also discovered; for he diverted the water of the Pleistos, which flowed into their city through an aqueduct, elsewhere. Although the inhabitants continued resisting the besiegers, relying upon water drawn still from wells and the spring given by the god, Solon cast roots of hellebore into the Pleistos; and when he perceived that the water was sufficiently saturated with the drug, he returned it into the aqueduct again. The Kirrhaians drank abundantly of the water without suspicion; hence, overcome by incessant diarrhea, those manning the walls abandoned their posts.

When the Amphictyons captured the city, they exacted punishment upon the Cirrhaeans in the name of the god; Cirrha is now the harbor town of Delphi. It also provides for viewing a temple and statues of Apollo, Artemis, and Leto, statues notable for their great size and Attic craftsmanship. Adrasteia is also set up there among them, but her statue is smaller in scale compared to the others.