Pausanias Analysis

Before the entrance to the Academy there is an altar of Eros bearing an inscription stating that Charmus was the first Athenian who dedicated an offering to Eros. The altar within the city called that of Anteros, they say, was dedicated by the resident aliens, because an Athenian named Meles, having harshly treated a foreign man, Timagoras, who had fallen in love with him, ordered him, as a form of humiliation, to climb to the summit of a certain rock and throw himself off. But Timagoras, indeed, being entirely unafraid for his life and eager to gratify the youth in all things, complied immediately and hurled himself down. When Meles saw that Timagoras had truly died, he was seized by such remorse that he himself jumped from the same rock, ending his life in the same manner. Subsequently, the resident aliens instituted the worship of the daemon Anteros, the avenger of Timagoras.

In the Academy there is an altar of Prometheus, and from this altar runners race toward the city, carrying burning torches. The contest involves running while maintaining the flame of one's torch alight. If one's torch is extinguished, victory no longer belongs to the first runner, but passes instead to the second; if even the second man's torch goes out, the winner is the third runner. But if all the torches become extinguished, victory belongs to no one. There also stands an altar of the Muses, another one dedicated to Hermes, and one within dedicated to Athena; the latter was made by Heracles. There is also an olive tree, said to be the second that appeared.

Not far from the Academy is the tomb of Plato, whom the god revealed beforehand would excel in philosophy. The manner of this revelation was as follows: Socrates, during the night preceding the day Plato was about to become his student, dreamed that a swan flew into his bosom. Now, the swan among birds has a reputation connected with music, because they say that across the river Eridanus, in the land of the Celts, there was once a musical man named Cycnus who became a king among the Ligurians, and after his death, by Apollo's will, he was transformed into a bird. As for myself, I am persuaded that indeed a musical man did rule over the Ligurians, but I find it difficult to believe that a human could become a bird.

In this part of the land appears the tower of Timon, who alone saw that no man is ever happy except by fleeing from other people. There is also shown a place called the Hill of Horses, where they say Oedipus first arrived in Attica—although these events too differ from Homer’s poetry, yet nevertheless they tell them so—as well as an altar dedicated to Poseidon Hippios and Athena Hippia, and a hero-shrine dedicated to Peirithous, Theseus, Oedipus and Adrastus. As for Poseidon's grove and temple, Antigonus invaded and set them on fire, having at other times also devastated the land of the Athenians with his army.