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The sea in fact at this strait is the stormiest of seas; it is made rough by winds bringing waves from both sides, from the Adriatic and the other sea, which is called the Tyrrhenian, and even if there be no gale blowing, even then the strait of itself produces a very violent swell and strong currents. So many monsters swarm in the water that even the air over the sea is infected with their stench. Accordingly a shipwrecked man has not even a hope left of getting out of the strait alive. If it was here that disaster overtook the ship of Odysseus, nobody could believe that he swam out alive to
On this occasion the Messenians mourned for the loss of the boys, and one of the honors bestowed upon them was the dedication of bronze statues at
At the headland of
Sicanians, Sicels, and Phrygians; the first two crossed into it from
On the same wall as the offerings of the Agrigentines are two nude statues of Heracles as a boy. One represents him shooting the lion at
There are also offerings dedicated by the whole Achaean race in common; they represent those who, when Hector challenged any Greek to meet him in single combat, dared to cast lots to choose the champion. They stand, armed with spears and shields, near the great temple. Right opposite, on a second pedestal, is a figure of Nestor, who has thrown the lot of each into the helmet. The number of those casting lots to meet Hector is now only eight, for the ninth, the statue of Odysseus, they say that Nero carried to
but Agamemnon's statue is the only one of the eight to have his name inscribed upon it; the writing is from right to left. The figure with the cock emblazoned on the shield is Idomeneus the descendant of Minos. The story goes that Idomeneus was descended from the Sun, the father of Pasiphae, and that the cock is sacred to the Sun and proclaims when he is about to rise.
5.25.10An inscription too is written on the pedestal:—
To Zeus these images were dedicated by the Achaeans,
Such is the inscription on the pedestal, but the name of the artist is written on the shield of Idomeneus:—
Descendants of Pelops the godlike scion of Tantalus.
This is one of the many works of clever Onatas,
The Aeginetan, whose sire was Micon.
Not far from the offering of the Achaeans there is also a Heracles fighting with the
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