Pausanias Analysis

The Phocians dwell above Orchomenus, near the mountains, and in the plain below them lies Lebadeia, their neighbor. Originally this city stood upon high ground and was called Mideia, named after the mother of Aspledon. When Lebados arrived there from Athens, the people descended to the lower ground, and the city was afterward renamed Lebadeia after him. They do not know the father of Lebados or for what reason he came, but only that Lebados' wife was Laonike.

The city is adorned in other respects just like the most prosperous of Greek cities. A river, the Herkyna, separates from it the grove of Trophonius. They say that here Herkyna was once playing with Kore, the daughter of Demeter, and that as she held a goose, she let it go inadvertently. The goose flew away into a hollow cave and concealed itself under a rock. Kore entered the cave and retrieved the bird, which lay hidden beneath the stone. Then water, they say, began to flow forth from that very spot from which Kore had lifted the stone, and on account of this the river was named Herkyna.

Beside the bank of the river there is a temple of Hercyna; within it stands a maiden holding a goose in her hands. In the cave are the springs of the river and upright statues, with serpents entwined around their scepters. One might suppose these images to represent Asclepius and Hygieia, but they may equally be Trophonius and Hercyna, since serpents are regarded as sacred not more to Asclepius than to Trophonius. Near the river there is a tomb of Arcesilaus; it is said that Leïtus brought back the bones of Arcesilaus from Troy.

The most notable things in the grove are the temple and statue of Trophonius, which statue resembles Asklepios; this sculpture is the work of Praxiteles. There is also a sanctuary of Demeter, surnamed Europa, and Zeus Hyetios ("God of Rain"), set up in the open air. Proceeding up towards the oracle and then forward from there to the higher part of the mountain, there stands what is called the Thera ("Hunt") of Kore and a temple of Zeus Basileus ("the King"). This temple, indeed, has been left half-finished, owing perhaps to its great size or to wars continually breaking out. Within another temple are statues of Kronos, Hera, and Zeus. There is also a sanctuary of Apollo.

The ritual performed at the oracle is as follows. When a man decides to descend to Trophonius, he first lives for a set number of days in a dedicated building. This building is sacred to the Good Spirit (Agathos Daimon) and Good Fortune (Agathe Tyche). While he stays there, he maintains ritual purity in various ways, abstaining from warm baths; his bath is instead the river Hercyna. He also has abundant meat from sacrifices, for the one descending offers sacrifices to Trophonius himself and to Trophonius' children, as well as to Apollo, Cronus, Zeus with the title “Basileus” (King), Hera called “Henioche” (Charioteer), and Demeter whom they surname Europa, claiming her to have been the nurse of Trophonius.

At each of the sacrifices, a seer is present who examines the entrails of the sacrificial victim; having examined them, he declares in advance to the one who is about to descend whether Trophonius will receive him favorably and graciously. Now, the entrails of the other sacrificial animals do not equally make clear the intention of Trophonius; but on the night when each person descends, it is in this night that they sacrifice a ram into the pit, invoking Agamedes. There is no account of previous favorable signs from earlier victims being valid unless the entrails of this ram should also give the same verdict. Only when these also agree, each person then descends already full of good hope; and the descent is accomplished thus.

First, during the night, they lead him to the river Hercyna. After guiding him there, two boys, citizens about thirteen years old, whom they call "Hermae," anoint him with oil and bathe him. These boys bathe and attend the one descending into the sanctuary, taking care of whatever is needed by virtue of their youth. Next, he is led from there by the priests, not immediately to the oracle, but to the springs of water, which are located very close to each other.

Here he must drink the water called Lethe ("Forgetfulness"), so that he may forget everything about which he was previously anxious, and afterward he must drink another water, called the water of Mnemosyne ("Memory"), causing him thereby to remember clearly what he has seen below. Having viewed a certain image which is said to have been wrought by Daedalus—an image concealed by the priests from all except those who are preparing to descend to Trophonius—and having seen this image, having made prayers to it and rendered homage, he then proceeds toward the oracle, clothed in a linen tunic girded with ribbons and shod with sandals according to local custom.

The oracle is situated above the grove upon the mountain. It is enclosed by a base (krepis) made of white stone built in a circle; the perimeter of this base is roughly equal to the smallest threshing-floor, and its height is just short of two cubits. Set upon this base are bronze rods and bronze bands fastening them together, with gates made between them. Within the enclosure there is a chasm in the earth, which is not natural but has been constructed artificially, with the greatest precision of skill and craftsmanship.

The shape of this building resembles that of an oven; its breadth across the diameter might be estimated at four cubits, while the depth of the structure one would judge does not extend farther than eight cubits. They have not made a built-in descent to the floor; instead, whenever a man comes to visit Trophonius, they provide him with a narrow and lightweight ladder. Upon descending, there is an opening between the floor and the structure, two spans wide, and appearing to be one span high.

Therefore, the one going down reclines himself upon the ground, holding cakes kneaded with honey; he thrusts his feet into the hole, and then advances himself, eager to have his knees pass inside the opening. Immediately the rest of his body is drawn through and swiftly pulled down after the knees, just as might a man, caught by a whirlpool, be swiftly hidden away by the greatest and quickest of rivers. From this point onward, for those who find themselves within the chamber, there is not one single nor identical manner in which they are instructed about the future; rather, one sees something, another hears something else. Those who have descended return back through the same opening, feet first and extended ahead of them.

They say that none of those who have descended have died, except only one of the bodyguards of Demetrius. It is said that this man neither performed any of the customary rites in the sanctuary nor went down intending to consult the god, but descended hoping to carry out gold and silver from the inner shrine. It is reported that even this man's corpse appeared elsewhere, not having been expelled from the sanctuary by the usual entrance. I have thus related the most notable of the accounts told about this man, although other stories are also told.

When the visitor has ascended from the oracle of Trophonios, the priests seize hold of him again and seat him upon a seat called the Throne of Mnemosyne, situated not far from the sanctuary. When seated there, they ask him about everything he saw and heard. After they have learned these things from him, they return him into the care of his relatives, who lift him and carry him back into the dwelling where he previously stayed in the company of Good Fortune and the Good Spirit. At this point he is still overcome by fear, unaware both of himself and of those around him. Later, however, he will regain his former faculties and suffer no diminution in reason; his capacity for laughter, too, will return.

I do not write from hearsay, but as one who has seen others and has himself consulted Trophonius. Those who descend to Trophonius are obliged to dedicate on a tablet all that each has heard or seen. Here still remains also the shield of Aristomenes; what happened concerning it, I have already made clear earlier in my account.