During the last eleven days I have collected 991 of the terra-cotta whorls, 581 of which have symbolical signs, but only 79 have engravings which are new to me. Long thin copper nails with rounded heads, which must have been used as dress or hair pins, were met with at all depths. During these eleven days I have found 20 exquisitely polished axes of diorite.
At a depth of 1 meter (3¼ feet), we yesterday found in the Temple of Athena, beside an inscribed pedestal of black slate, 3 feet 8 inches high and 20¾ inches broad, the statue of a man, of fine white marble, nearly 4 feet high. As is proved by the inscription, it was made by Pytheas of Argos, and was erected by the Ilians in honour of Metrodorus, the son of Themistagoras, of whom it is a representation. The figure was in the position of an orator, as is proved by the footmarks on the pedestal. The head and the feet are unfortunately wanting.
And lower down, on the same side of the pedestal--
Ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἰλιείων Μητρόδωρον Θεμισταγόρου Πυθέας Ἀργεῖος ἐποίησε.
There were in antiquity many men named Metrodorus, but only two of them were especially celebrated, and both were natives of Asia Minor. The one, born in Lampsacus, was a pupil of Epicurus;[252] the other, a native of Scepsis, was a philosopher, orator, and statesman, and was held in high esteem by Mithridates VII., Eupator,[253] who afterwards had him put to death in a horrible manner.[254] The name of the father of this Metrodorus of Scepsis is unknown, and whether he was called Themistagoras, or otherwise, is uncertain; but it is extremely probable that the inscription and the statue were raised in honour of the Scepsian orator, philosopher, and statesman. I find no mention whatever of the sculptor Pytheas of Argos. Only one Pytheas, a silver-chaser, is named by Pliny,[255] as being a contemporary of Pompey the Great: Pliny, however, does not state his birthplace. Another Pytheas was a wall painter and a native of Achaia. Neither of these can therefore be the Argive sculptor who made the statue and put his name on the pedestal. But as my learned and much esteemed friend, Professor Stephanos Kummanudes of Athens, has remarked, it is not astonishing that the name of an insignificant sculptor should be forgotten, seeing that the names of so many great kings are lost.