Pausanias Analysis

There is another route upward through Daulis to the summits of Parnassus, longer than the one from Delphi, but not equally difficult. Turning onto the direct road to Delphi from Daulis and advancing further, one finds on the left side of the way a building known as the Phocicum, to which from each city the Phocians assemble.

The building is impressive in size, and within it columns stand arranged lengthwise. Steps rise from these columns toward each wall, and upon these steps the assembled Phocians sit. At the far end there are neither columns nor steps, but statues of Zeus, Athena, and Hera. The image of Zeus is seated on a throne, and standing beside him on either side are Hera on the right hand and Athena on the left.

Advancing from here, you come to a road called Schiste; upon this very road Oedipus committed the murder of his father. Evidently, memorials of the sufferings of Oedipus had to remain scattered throughout all Greece. When he was born, after piercing his ankles with spikes, they exposed him on Mount Cithaeron in the region of Plataea; Corinth and the territory by the Isthmus became the nurse to Oedipus, while Phocis and the Schiste Road received the pollution of his father's murder. But among the Thebans, greater still is the report concerning both the marriage of Oedipus and the injustice of Eteocles.

For Oedipus, the Schiste road and the deed done upon it marked the beginning of his misfortunes. Still standing at the crossroads are the tombs of Laius and of the servant who accompanied him, and a heap of piled-up stones lies upon the spot. They say that Damasistratus, a king at Plataea, happened upon the bodies lying there and buried them.

From that point onward, the road to Delphi becomes steeper and more difficult for a lightly equipped traveler. Many differing tales are reported concerning the Delphians themselves, but even more numerous accounts refer to the oracle of Apollo. They assert that the most ancient oracle was originally that of Earth, and that Daphnis was appointed by Earth herself as prophetess at this place.

They say she is one of the nymphs who dwell around the mountain. Among the Greeks there exists a poem, known as the Eumolpia. The verses of this poem are attributed to Musaeus, son of Antiophemus. In this composition, it is related that the oracle originally belonged jointly to Poseidon and to Earth. The Earth herself uttered the oracles, while Pyrcon served Poseidon as his attendant in matters of prophecy. The verses run thus: "And straightway the voice of Chthonia spoke an insightful word, And Pyrcon, attendant to glorious Earth-shaking Poseidon..." According to the story in Musaeus' Eumolpia, somewhat later in time, Earth handed it over to Themis, and Apollo received it as a gift from Themis. In compensation for the oracle, Apollo gave Poseidon Calaureia before Troezen.

I have also heard that men who were tending flocks chanced upon the oracle, and having become inspired by the vapor, they prophesied words from Apollo himself. However, the greatest and most widely held tradition concerns Phemonoe: it is said that she became the god's first prophetess, and was the first to sing her prophecies in hexameter verse. But according to Boeo, a local woman who composed a hymn for the Delphians, the oracle was established for Apollo by visitors from the Hyperboreans, among whom was Olen. She asserts that Olen was the very first to prophesy and the first to sing in hexameter verse.

Boeo composed the following verses: "Here verily the sons of the Hyperboreans, Pagasos and noble Agyieus, established a renowned oracle." And having enumerated other Hyperboreans as well, at the conclusion of her hymn she names Olen thus: "And Olen, who was the first prophet of Phoebus, and first who fashioned song from ancient verses." Indeed, these traditions have not come down to the memory of any other, but are preserved solely through the prophecies of women.

They say that the earliest temple of Apollo was made from laurel, and that the branches of this laurel were brought from the one growing in Tempe. The structure of this temple would have resembled that of a hut. Secondly, the Delphians say the temple was constructed by bees, made from beeswax and wings. They say also that it was sent by Apollo to the Hyperboreans.

There is another story told that the temple was built by a man from Delphi named Pteras; accordingly, the temple is said to have derived its name from its builder. They say furthermore that from this Pteras, with the addition of a letter, the Cretan city also acquired its name of Aptera. The story, however, that relates the name to a fern ("pteris") growing upon the mountains, from whose still-green foliage they wove together the temple, is a tale I do not accept in the slightest.

As for the fact concerning the third of these temples, that it was constructed of bronze, this is hardly a wonder, especially given that Acrisius made a bronze chamber for his daughter, and among the Lacedaemonians the bronze-temple of Athena Chalcioecus still remains down to our own day. Moreover, the Romans have a forum remarkable for its size and overall design that also has a roof made of bronze. Thus, it is not inconsistent with probability that a bronze temple might have been constructed in honor of Apollo.

However, the story did not convince me concerning either the temple being a work of Hephaestus' skill, or about the golden singing-birds, on account of which Pindar composed verses addressing this temple, saying: "And golden swallows sang above the eagle." But Pindar, as it appears to me, fashioned these lines in imitation of Homer's account of the Sirens. Nor have I found consistency even regarding the manner in which the temple vanished; for it is reported both to have fallen into a chasm in the earth and also to have melted away due to fire.

The fourth temple was the work of Trophonius and Agamedes, and they record it as having been built of stone. It was destroyed by fire during the archonship of Erxicleides at Athens, in the first year of the fifty-eighth Olympiad, when Diognetus of Croton was victorious. As for the temple that stands in our day, it was built by the Amphictyons using sacred funds, and its architect was Spintharus of Corinth.