Pausanias Analysis

Another exit from the gymnasium leads toward the marketplace and to the place called the Hellanodikaion; it is situated above the tomb of Achilles. It is established that the Hellanodikai proceed this way into the gymnasium. They enter before sunrise to pair the runners, and at midday for the pentathlon and the contests they call the heavy events.

The market-place of the Eleans is not constructed after the fashion of the Ionians, or that of the Greek cities near Ionia, but is built in a more ancient style, with colonnades separated from one another and streets running through them. The market-place is called, in our time, the Hippodrome, and here the local inhabitants train their horses. Of the porticoes, the southern is the work of Doricus; the columns divide it into three sections. Here the Hellanodikai generally spend their days.

They have also altars dedicated to Zeus near these, located in the open air area of the marketplace. The altars are few in number, and they can easily be dismantled, as they have been constructed hastily and without elaborate preparation. Traveling along this colonnade into the market, you see on the left, at its far end, the Hellanodikaion, separated from the marketplace by a street. In this Hellanodikaion dwell, for ten successive months, those chosen to serve as judges of the Greeks (Hellanodikai); here also the guardians of the laws instruct them in all matters pertaining to their duties in connection with the contest.

Near the stoa where the Hellanodikai spend the day, there is another stoa close by, separated from it only by a single street. The Eleans call this stoa "Corcyraean," for they say that when the Corcyraeans came with ships into their territory and carried off a portion of their plunder, they recovered from the Corcyraeans many times what had been taken; and from a tithe of these spoils they erected the stoa.

The construction of the stoa is Doric in style and double, having columns on the side facing the agora and another row toward the area beyond the agora. Through its middle there are not columns but a wall supporting the roof at that point, and on each side of this wall paintings are exhibited. In front of the stoa, facing the agora, there stands a statue of Pyrrho, the son of Pistocrates, a sophist who established certainty in no matter whatsoever. Not far from the city of the Eleans is also the tomb of Pyrrho. The place is named Petra; it is said that Petra was formerly a deme.

In the open part of their market-place, the Eleans have as their most celebrated dedication a temple and image of Apollo Akesios. His appellation indicates nothing else than the deity whom the Athenians call Alexikakos ("Averter of Evil"). In another place are statues of Helios (Sun) and Selene (Moon), both made of stone. Selene has horns projecting from her head, and from Helios extend rays. There is also a sanctuary of the Graces, whose statues are wooden and covered with gilded garments, though their faces, hands, and feet are carved of white marble. One of them holds a rose, the central one an astragalus (knucklebone), and the third a sprig of myrtle that is not large.

One might conjecture that their attributes carry the following significance: the rose and myrtle are both sacred to Aphrodite, and connected with the story of Adonis; while among the gods, the Graces are especially dear to Aphrodite. As for the knucklebone, it is a toy appropriate for youths and maidens, who have as yet no unpleasantness due to old age. Beside the Graces, on their right, stands a statue of Eros, placed upon the same pedestal.

Here also is a sanctuary dedicated to Silenus, made specifically for Silenus alone and not shared with Dionysus. Within it, Drunkenness offers Silenus wine in a cup. One might especially conjecture that the race of Sileni is mortal based on their tombs: in the land of the Hebrews there exists a monument of a Silenus, and similarly another Silenus has a tomb among the Pergamenes.

In the marketplace of the Eleans I saw another structure of the following kind, shaped like a temple. It is not lofty, nor has it walls, but oak columns skillfully constructed support the roof. The locals agree that this is a tomb, but they do not mention whose tomb it is. If, however, the old man whom I questioned told the true account, it would be the tomb of Oxylus.

In the marketplace, there is also a building for the women known as the Sixteen, where they weave the robe for Hera. Adjacent to the market lies an ancient temple, enclosed all around by colonnaded porticoes; the roof of this temple has collapsed, and no statue remains within. The temple has been dedicated to the Roman emperors.