5.20.1 There are here other offerings also: a couch of no great size and for the most part adorned with ivory; the discus of Iphitos; a table on which are set out the garlands for the victors. The couch is said to have been a toy of Hippodameia. The discus of Iphitos has inscribed upon it the truce which the Eleians proclaim at the Olympic festivals; the inscription is not written in a straight line, but the letters run in a circle round the discus.

5.20.2 The table is made of ivory and gold, and is the work of Kolotes. Kolotes is said to have been a native of Herakleia, but specialists in the history of sculpture maintain that he was a Parian, a pupil of Pasiteles, who himself was a pupil of There are figures of Hērā, Zeus, the Mother of the gods, Hermes, and Apollo with Artemis. Behind is the disposition of the Games.

5.20.3 On one side are Asklepios and Hygieia, one of his daughters; Ares too and Contest by his side; on the other are Pluto [Ploutōn], Dionysus, Persephone and nymphs, one of them carrying a ball. As to the key (Pluto [Ploutōn] holds a key) they say that what is called Hades has been locked up by Pluto [Ploutōn], and that nobody will return back again therefrom.

5.20.4 I must not omit the story told by Aristarkhos, the guide to the sights at Olympia. He said that in his day the roof of the Hēraion had fallen into decay. When the Eleians were repairing it, the corpse of a foot soldier with wounds was discovered between the roof supporting the tiles and the ornamented ceiling. This soldier took part in the battle in the Altis between the Eleians and the Lacedaemonians.^*

5.20.5 The Eleians in fact climbed to defend themselves on to all high places alike, including the sanctuaries of the gods. At any rate, this soldier seemed to us to have crept under here after growing faint with his wounds, and so died. Lying in a completely sheltered spot, the corpse would suffer harm neither from the heat of summer nor from the frost of winter. Aristarkhos said further that they carried the corpse outside the Altis and buried him in the earth along with his armor.

5.20.6 What the Eleians call the column of Oinomaos is in the direction of the sanctuary of Zeus as you go from the great altar. On the left are four columns with a roof on them, the whole constructed to protect a wooden column which has decayed through age, being for the most part held together by bands. This column, so runs the tale, stood in the house of Oinomaos. Struck by lightning the rest of the house was destroyed by the fire; of all the building only this column was left.

5.20.7 A bronze tablet in front of it has the following elegiac inscription:

5.20.8 A Roman senator won an Olympic victory. Wishing to leave behind, as a memorial of his victory, a bronze statue with an inscription, he proceeded to dig, so as to make a foundation. When his excavation came very close to the column of Oinomaos, the diggers found there fragments of armor, bridles and curbs.

5.20.9 These I saw myself as they were being dug out. A temple of no great size in the Doric style they have called down to the present day Mētrōon,^* keeping its ancient name. No image lies in it of the Mother of the gods, but there stand in it statues of Roman emperors. The Mētrōon is within the Altis, and so is a round building called the Philippeion. On the roof of the Philippeion is a bronze poppy which binds the beams together.

5.20.10 This building is on the left of the exit over against the Town Hall. It is made of burned brick and is surrounded by columns. It was built by Philip after the fall of Greece at Khairōneia. Here are set statues of Philip and Alexander, and with them is Amyntas, Philip’s father. These works too are by Leokhares and are of ivory and gold, as are the statues of Olympias and Eurydikē.