Greek Texts & Translations

This Nicostratus while still a baby was stolen from Prymnessus in Phrygia by robbers, being a child of a noble family. Conveyed to Aegeae he was bought by somebody or other, who some time afterwards dreamed a dream. He thought that a lion's whelp lay beneath the pallet-bed on which Nicostratus was sleeping. Now Nicostratus, when he grew up, won other victories elsewhere, besides in the pancratium and wrestling at Olympia.

Afterwards others were fined by the Eleans, among whom was an Alexandrian boxer at the two hundred and eighteenth Festival. The name of the man fined was Apollonius, with the surname of Rhantes—it is a sort of national characteristic for Alexandrians to have a surname. This man was the first Egyptian to be convicted by the Eleans of a misdemeanor.

It was not for giving or taking a bribe that he was condemned, but for the following outrageous conduct in connection with the games. He did not arrive by the prescribed time, and the Eleans, if they followed their rule, had no option but to exclude him from the games. For his excuse, that he had been kept back among the Cyclades islands by contrary winds, was proved to be an untruth by Heracleides, himself an Alexandrian by birth. He showed that Apollonius was late because he had been picking up some money at the Ionian games.

In these circumstances the Eleans shut out from the games Apollonius with any other boxer who came after the prescribed time, and let the crown go to Heracleides without a contest. Whereupon Apollonius put on his gloves for a fight, rushed at Heracleides, and began to pummel him, though he had already put the wild-olive on his head and had taken refuge with the umpires. For this light-headed folly he was to pay dearly.

There are also two other images of modern workmanship. For at the two hundred and twenty-sixth Festival they detected that two boxing men, in a fight for victory only, had agreed about the issue for a sum of money. For this misconduct a fine was inflicted, and of the images of Zeus that were made, one stands on the left of the entrance to the stadium and the other on the right. Of the boxers, the one bribed was called Didas, and the briber was Sarapammon. They were from the same district, the newest in Egypt, called Arsinoites.

It is a wonder in any case if a man has so little respect for the god of Olympia as to take or give a bribe in the contests; it is an even greater wonder that one of the Eleans themselves has fallen so low. But it is said that the Elean Damonicus did so fall at the hundred and ninety second Festival. They say that collusion occurred between Polyctor the son of Damonicus and Sosander of Smyrna, of the same name as his father; these were competitors for the wrestling prize of wild-olive. Damonicus, it is alleged, being exceedingly ambitious that his son should win, bribed the father of Sosander.

When the transaction became known, the umpires imposed a fine, but instead of imposing it on the sons they directed their anger against the fathers, for that they were the real sinners. From this fine images were made. One is set up in the Elean gymnasium; the other is in the Altis in front of what is called the Painted Portico, because anciently there were pictures on the walls. Some call this Portico the Echo Portico, because when a man has shouted his voice is repeated by the echo seven or even more times.

They say that a pancratiast of Alexandria, by name Sarapion, at the two hundred and first Festival, was so afraid of his antagonists that on the day before the pancratium was to be called on he ran away. This is the only occasion on record when any man, not to say a man of Egypt, was fined for cowardice.

By the side of what is called the Hippodamium is a semicircular stone pedestal, and on it are Zeus, Thetis, and Day entreating Zeus on behalf of her children. These are on the middle of the pedestal. There are Achilles and Memnon, one at either edge of the pedestal, representing a pair of combatants in position. There are other pairs similarly opposed, foreigner against Greek: Odysseus opposed to Helenus, reputed to be the cleverest men in the respective armies; Alexander and Menelaus, in virtue of their ancient feud; Aeneas and Diomedes, and Deiphobus and Ajax son of Telamon.