Pausanias Analysis

Next to the tomb of Coroebus is buried Orsippus. It was he who, when the athletes in competitions formerly wore loin-cloths according to ancient custom, won the Olympic victory in the foot-race while running naked. They say also that afterwards, while commanding as general, Orsippus annexed territory from his neighbors. I myself suppose that at Olympia he intentionally let his loin-cloth slip off, realizing that a naked man could run with much greater ease than one encumbered by clothing.

As you leave the marketplace via the road called Straight, there is on the right-hand side the sanctuary of Apollo Prostaterios ("the Protector"). To find this sanctuary, you must deviate only slightly from the main road. Within it is Apollo himself, worthy of viewing, along with Artemis and Leto, and other statues, among them Leto and her children, created by Praxiteles. Nearby, in the ancient gymnasium, close to gates known as the Nymphades, there is a stone shaped like a small pyramid. This they call Apollo Karinos; here too is a sanctuary of the Eileithyiae (Goddesses of Childbirth). Such were the noteworthy sights that this city offered.

When you descend toward the harbor, which is still called Nisaea even in our time, there is the sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros ("Sheep-bearer"). There are other explanations concerning this title; they say, in particular, that Demeter was called "Sheep-bearer" by those who first raised flocks of sheep on the land. The roof of the sanctuary has fallen in, as one might see, from the passage of time. There is also an acropolis here that itself is called Nisaea. When you descend from the acropolis to the sea, there is a tomb of Lelex; it is said that Lelex came from Egypt and became king of the country, and that he was the son of Poseidon by Libya, daughter of Epaphus. Near Nisaea lies a small island, Minoa. During the war against Nisus, the Cretan fleet anchored there.

The mountainous region of Megaris borders on the land of the Boeotians. In this area lies Pagai, a city belonging to the Megarians, and another city called Aigosthena. As one travels toward Pagai, turning aside slightly from the highway, there is shown a rock entirely pierced by arrows embedded within it, where the Medes once shot their arrows during the night. Still preserved at Pagai is a bronze statue of Artemis surnamed Soteira ("Savior"), worthy of seeing, equal in size to the one among the Megarians and identical in form. Here too is the hero-shrine of Aigialeus, the son of Adrastos. For when the Argives made their second expedition against Thebes, this Aigialeus was slain fighting at Glisas during the first battle; afterward, his relatives carried his body to Pagai in Megaris and buried him there. The hero-shrine to this day continues to bear the name Aigialeion.

In Aigosthena there is a sanctuary of Melampus, son of Amythaon, and a figure, of no great size, carved upon a stele. They offer sacrifices to Melampus and hold a festival in his honor annually. But they say that he does not offer oracles, neither through dreams nor in any other way. I also heard this other account in Ereneia, a village of the Megarians: Autonoe, daughter of Cadmus, struck by a deeper grief at the death of Actaeon—as tradition relates—and by the general misfortune of her paternal household, migrated from Thebes to this place; and there is a tomb of Autonoe in this village.

On the road from Megara to Corinth, among other tombs, lies that of the Samian flute-player Telephanes; it is said that Cleopatra, daughter of Philip son of Amyntas, erected his grave. There is also a memorial to Car, son of Phoroneus, first built as merely an earthen mound, but afterward, in accordance with an oracle from the god, it was adorned with shell-stone. The Megarians alone among the Greeks possess this type of shell-stone, and they have crafted many buildings in the city from it. The stone itself is exceptionally white and softer than other stones, containing throughout its whole composition sea-shells. Such is the nature of this stone. The road called Scironian, named after Sciron, was first made passable, they say, for lightly equipped travelers when Sciron commanded the Megarians in war. Later, the emperor Hadrian improved it, widening the road sufficiently and rendering it suitable even for chariots to pass each other.

There are traditions concerning the rocks, which especially rise upon the narrow road, regarding Molouris; it was from there, they say, that Ino, holding her younger son Melicertes, threw herself into the sea. For Athamas, their father, had already slain his elder child Learchus. Some say Athamas acted thus in madness, while others relate that upon realizing that Ino, as stepmother, had plotted against Phrixus—causing the famine that befell Orchomenus and being responsible, though falsely believed, for the supposed death of Phrixus—he became uncontrollably enraged against both her and her children.

At that time, fleeing into the sea, she cast herself and her son from the cliff called Molouris. Afterwards, as it is said, the boy was carried by a dolphin to the Isthmus of the Corinthians. Consequently, additional honors were awarded to Melikertes, who was renamed Palaimon, and the Isthmian contests were instituted in his honor. The rock Molouris they considered sacred to Leukothea and Palaimon; but they thought those rocks following it polluted, because Skiron, who dwelled near there, would hurl into the sea any foreigner he happened upon. A turtle swam beneath the cliffs, seizing those thrown down into the waters. These sea-turtles resemble land tortoises except in size and having feet like those of seals. The justice of the gods eventually overtook Skiron himself, as he was thrown into the same sea by Theseus.

At the summit of the mountain there is a temple of Zeus, who is called Aphesius (the Releaser). They say that once, during a great drought that came upon the Greeks, Aiakos sacrificed at Aegina to Zeus Panhellenius in accordance with a certain oracle; and upon performing the sacrifice, relief was granted, and for this reason Zeus is called Aphesius. There are also here statues of Aphrodite, Apollo, and Pan.

Going forward along the road there is the tomb of Eurystheus. They say that, fleeing from Attica after the battle against the Heracleidae, he was killed here by Iolaus. Descending from this route is a sanctuary of Apollo Latoios; just beyond it are the boundaries of Megara with Corinth, where they say Hyllus, son of Heracles, fought a duel against the Arcadian Echemus.