The Description of Greece (Volume 3) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: every year; and these the Plataeenses, Coronaei, Thes- pienses, Tanagraei, Chaeronenses, Orchomenii, Lebadenses, and Thebans, take away by lot. For these people thought proper to be reconciled with the Plataeenses, to partake of their common assembly, and to send a victim to the Daedal festival, when Thebes was restored by Cassander the son of Antipater. But those cities which are of less estimation bestow their gifts upon this festival according to lot. They carry the image to Asopus, and, having placed it in a car, commit it to the care of a bride-maid. After this, too, according to lots, they drive their cars from the river to the top of the Theban Cithaeron. On the summit of this mountain an altar is prepared for them; and this altar is raised in the following manner:?They aptly join together square pieces of wood, just as if they were raising a structure of stones; and afterwards carry to the top of the mountain twigs piled on these pieces of wood. But the cities sacrifice a cow of a proper age to Juno, and a bull to Jupiter, the victims being filled with wine and odoriferous herbs; and at the same time place the Daedala upon the altar. More wealthy individuals sacrifice a cow and an ox; but the poorer sort sacrifice small sheep. They burn all the victims in a similar manner, and the altar is, at the same time, burnt with them. I know that this flame is prodigious, and may be seen at a great distance. Beyond the summit of the mountain upon which they raise the altar, after you have descended about fifteen stadia, you will see the cavern of the nymphs called Cithaeronides. This cavern they denominate Sphregidion: and they say that formerly the nymphs used to prophesy in this cavern. CHAPTER IV. The Plataeenses too have a temple of Minerva Areia, or tJte martial, which wa...