Description of Greece

Pausanias

Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece, Volumes 1-4. Jones, W.H.S. (William Henry Samuel), translator; Ormerod, Henry Arderne, translator. London, New York: W. Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1918-1935.

Their story about Artemis, the same as is called Leader, is as follows. Aristomelidas, despot of Orchomenus in Arcadia, fell in love with a Tegean maiden, and, getting her somehow or other into his power, entrusted her to the keeping of Chronius. The girl, before she was delivered up to the despot, killed herself for fear and shame, and Artemis in a vision stirred up Chronius against Aristomelidas. He slew the despot, fled to Tegea, and made a sanctuary for Artemis.

The market-place is in shape very like a brick, and in it is a temple of Aphrodite called “in brick,” with a stone image. There are two slabs; on one are represented in relief Antiphanes, Crisus, Tyronidas and Pyrrhias, who made laws for the Tegeans, and down to this day receive honors for it from them. On the other slab is represented Iasius, holding a horse, and carrying in his right hand a branch of palm. It is said that Iasius won a horse-race at Olympia, at the time when Heracles the Theban celebrated the Olympian festival.

The reason why at Olympia the victor receives a crown of wild-olive I have already explained in my account of Elis;[*](See Paus. 5.7.7.) why at Delphi the crown is of bay I shall make plain later.[*](See Paus. 10.7.8.) At the Isthmus the pine, and at Nemea celery became the prize to commemorate the sufferings of Palaemon and Archemorus. At most games, however, is given a crown of palm, and at all a palm is placed in the right hand of the victor.

The origin of the custom is said to be that Theseus, on his return from Crete, held games in Delos in honor of Apollo, and crowned the victors with palm. Such, it is said, was the origin of the custom. The palm in Delos is mentioned by Homer in the passage[*](Hom. Od. 6.163) where Odysseus supplicates the daughter of Alcinous.

There is also an image of Ares in the marketplace of Tegea. Carved in relief on a slab it is called Gynaecothoenas (He who entertains women). At the time of the Laconian war, when Charillus king of Lacedaemon made the first invasion, the women armed themselves and lay in ambush under the hill they call today Phylactris (Sentry Hill). When the armies met and the men on either side were performing many remarkable exploits,