Pausanias Analysis

Turning from here toward the gate called the Sacred Gate, not far from this gate there is a temple of Athena, which was once erected by Epopeus, and which surpassed at that time all others in size and beauty. But this temple, too, was destined in time to lose even the remembrance of it; a god destroyed it by lightning. Yet the altar—on which the bolt did not strike down—is preserved even to this day, exactly as Epopeus built it. Before the altar stands the tomb of Epopeus himself, and near his tomb are the gods called Averters ("Apotropaioi"). Here men perform all those rites that the Greeks regard as efficacious for averting evil. It is said that Epopeus also established the nearby sanctuary of Artemis and Apollo, while Adrastus built the sanctuary of Hera next to them; however, no statues remain in these sanctuaries. Behind the temple of Hera, Adrastus erected altars, one of which he built to Pan and the other to the Sun, the latter fashioned of white stone.

As you descend towards the plain, there is here a sanctuary of Demeter. They say that Plemnaios set it up, giving thanks to the goddess for nurturing his child. A little further from the sanctuary of Hera, which Adrastos founded, is the temple of Apollo Karneios. Only columns remain standing inside it; you will find neither walls nor roof, nor indeed will you find them in the temple of Hera Prodromia. For this temple was established by Phalkes, the son of Temenos, who said that the goddess guided him along the route to Sicyon.

Going directly from Sikyon toward Phlius, if one turns off about ten stades to the left of the road, there is a grove called Pyraea, and within it a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter Prostasia ("the Protector") and Kore. Here the men alone hold a festival for themselves, while they entrust to the women the celebration called the Nymphon. In the Nymphon, there are statues of Dionysus, Demeter, and Kore, whose faces alone are visible. The road to Titane is sixty stades long and is impassable by chariots due to its narrowness.

Advancing about twenty stades, as it seems to me, and crossing the river Asopus on one's left, there is a grove of holm-oaks and a temple of the goddesses whom the Athenians call the Semnai ("Venerable Ones") but the Sicyonians call the Eumenides ("Kindly Ones"). Each year they hold a festival for these goddesses lasting one day, sacrificing pregnant sheep; and they customarily use a libation of honeyed milk and flowers rather than wreaths. They offer similar rites at the altar of the Fates, which stands in the open air within the grove.

Turning back to the road, and after again crossing the Asopus and ascending the summit of a mountain, they arrive at a place where the locals say Titan first dwelled. This Titan was said to be a brother of Helios, and from him the region was called Titane. To me, it seems that Titan was renowned for observing carefully the seasons of the year, especially noting when the sun promoted the growth of seeds and trees and ripened their fruits; and for this reason he was thought to be the brother of Helios. At a later time, Alexanor, son of Machaon, who himself was son of Asclepius, came to Sicyonia and established the sanctuary of Asclepius at Titane.

Others also dwell around the sanctuary, mostly servants of the god; within the enclosure stand ancient cypress trees. As for the cult image, neither the kind of wood nor metal from which it was made can be discerned, nor do they know its maker, unless one attributes it directly to Alexanor himself. Only the face, the tips of its hands, and the feet of the statue are visible, since it is covered with a white woolen chiton and a himation. There is also, near it, a statue of Hygieia, fashioned in the same manner. This one too you would not see easily, so densely is it covered with the hair of women cut as offerings to the goddess, and strips of Babylonian cloth. Anyone who wishes to propitiate the deity in that place is instructed to honor equally that very image which they call Hygieia.

To Alexanor and Euamerion—for there are statues of these as well—they perform sacrifices: to the former as to a hero, offering libations after sunset, but to Euamerion as to a god they sacrifice. And if my conjecture is correct, this Euamerion is the same whom the Pergamenes, following an oracle, call Telesphoros, and whom the Epidaurians call Akesis. There is also an image of Koronis, although it is not placed anywhere within the temple itself. But when sacrifices are offered to the god, consisting of a bull, a ram, and a pig, they carry Koronis to the sanctuary of Athena, and there they honor her. Whatever portions of the sacrifices they burn entirely, it is not sufficient for them merely to cut out the thighs; rather, they burn the sacrifices on the ground, except the birds, which they burn upon the altar.

On the gables are figures of Heracles and Victories at each extremity. In the portico stand statues of Dionysus and Hecate, as well as Aphrodite, the Mother of the Gods, and Tyche; these are wooden images. There is also a stone statue of Asclepius, surnamed Gortynian. They will not allow the sacred serpents to enter because of fear, but having placed food for them before the entrance they do not trouble about them further. Within the enclosure stands a bronze figure of Granianus of Sicyon, who gained victories at Olympia, two in the pentathlon, a third in the stadion race, and two more in the diaulos, one as a naked runner and one in armor.