Pausanias Analysis

In the gymnasium near the Agora there is a statue of Heracles reclining, carved of stone, a work by Scopas. Elsewhere also there is a sanctuary of Heracles. The whole surrounding precinct there is called Paedize, and the temple stands in the middle of this space. In the temple is an ancient wooden image, a work of Laphas, a craftsman from Phlius. Concerning the sacrifice there, the Sicyonians observe the following custom. It is said that Phaestus, coming to Sicyon, found them offering sacrifices to Heracles as to a hero; but he refused to perform the same rites, insisting instead on sacrificing to him as to a god. Even to this day the Sicyonians, after slaughtering a lamb and burning its thigh bones on the altar, eat some portions of the meat as from a sacrificial victim offered to a god, while other portions of the flesh they offer to him as to a hero. Of the festival that they hold in honor of Heracles, they call the first of the two days Heracleia, giving it its own name, and the second day has a different name.

From here there is a path leading to the sanctuary of Asclepius. Upon entering the precinct, there stands on the left-hand side a two-chambered structure. In the first chamber lies a statue of Hypnos ("Sleep"), of which nothing remains except the head. The inner chamber is dedicated to Apollo Carneius, into which entrance is permitted exclusively to the priests. Within the stoa lies a very large bone from a sea monster, and beside it stands a statue representing Oneiros ("Dream"), as well as an image of Hypnos who is depicted putting a lion to sleep, called "Epidotes" ("the Giver"). Entering the sanctuary of Asclepius, there are two entrances; at one sits a statue of Pan, while at the other stands a statue of Artemis.

Upon entering, there is the god—a work of Kalamis—crafted without a beard, of gold and ivory; he holds a sceptre and, in his other hand, the fruit of the cultivated pine. They say this god was brought from Epidaurus, depicted as a serpent, on a mule-drawn cart. The one who introduced him, they report, was Nicagora, a woman from Sicyon, daughter of Agasicles and wife of Echetimus. Here also are some small images hanging from the roof. The figure depicted upon the serpent, they say, is Aristodama, the mother of Aratus, and they believe Aratus himself to be a son of Asclepius.

Now this precinct, indeed, contains these monuments as memorials; beyond it lies another precinct sacred to Aphrodite. Inside this precinct is first a statue of Antiope, for they claim that her sons were Sicyonians, and by virtue of this relationship they desire Antiope herself to be considered as connected to them. After this comes the sanctuary of Aphrodite herself. Admission is permitted only to a woman serving as temple-keeper, who no longer associates with a man, and to a virgin priestess who holds the office for one year; they call this virgin the "Loutrophoros" (Bath-bearer). All others, however, are permitted only to view the goddess from the entrance and to pray from that spot.

The seated statue was created by Kanachos of Sikyon, who also fashioned the Apollo at Didyma of the Milesians, as well as the Ismenian Apollo at Thebes. It is made from gold and ivory; on her head she bears a polos, and in her hands she carries a poppy in one hand and an apple in the other. As for sacrifices, they burn the thighs of victims except those of pigs, and the other portions they consecrate by burning them with juniper wood; along with the thighs they also offer up leaves of the peony plant.

The paideros grows in the open air within the enclosure; it is a plant found nowhere else on earth, neither elsewhere nor in any other part of Sicyonia. Its leaves are smaller than those of the oak, but larger than those of the holm oak, and in shape resemble oak leaves. One side of the leaf is somewhat dark, the other side white; the color could best be likened to that of poplar leaves.

When ascending from these places to the gymnasium, on the right is a sanctuary of Artemis called Pheraia; the image, they say, was brought from Pherai. Kleinias built this gymnasium for them, and even now they educate their ephebes there. There is also a statue of white stone, Artemis depicted only as far as the waist, and Heracles, whose lower portion resembles the square-shaped Hermae.