Pausanias Analysis

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Chapter 2.11

PassageSentenceBucketConfidenceGreekEnglishRationale
2.11.1 1 mythic high ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἀποτραπεῖσιν ἐπὶ πύλην καλουμένην Ἱεράν, οὐ πόρρω τῆς πύλης ναός ἐστιν Ἀθηνᾶς, ὃν Ἐπωπεύς ποτε ἀνέθηκε μεγέθει καὶ κόσμῳ τοὺς τότε ὑπερβεβλημένον. Turning from here toward the gate called the Sacred Gate, not far from this gate there is a temple of Athena, which was once erected by Epopeus, and which surpassed at that time all others in size and beauty. Temple said to have been erected by Epopeus, a mythic founder, so this is an impact of mythic tradition on the landscape.
2.11.1 2 mythic high ἔδει δὲ ἄρα χρόνῳ καὶ τοῦδε ἀφανισθῆναι τὴν μνήμην· κεραυνοῖς θεὸς αὐτὸν κατέκαυσε, βωμὸς δὲ ἐκεῖνος---οὐ γάρ τι ἐς αὐτὸν κατέσκηψε--- μένει καὶ ἐς τόδε οἷον Ἐπωπεὺς ἐποίησε. But this temple, too, was destined in time to lose even the remembrance of it; a god destroyed it by lightning; yet the altar—on which the bolt did not strike down—is preserved even to this day, exactly as Epopeus built it. Temple destruction by a god’s lightning and its altar preserved from the bolt are consequences of mythic action on the landscape.
2.11.1 3 mythic high πρὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ δὲ αὐτῷ μνῆμα Ἐπωπεῖ κέχωσται, καὶ τοῦ τάφου πλησίον εἰσὶν Ἀποτρόπαιοι θεοί· παρὰ τούτοις δρῶσιν ὅσα Ἕλληνες ἐς ἀποτροπὴν κακῶν νομίζουσιν. Before the altar stands the tomb of Epopeus himself, and near his tomb are the gods called Averters ("Apotropaioi"); here men perform all those rites that the Greeks regard as efficacious for averting evil. The tomb of Epopeus and the Averters are tied to a legendary/mythic figure and cultic landscape.
2.11.1 4 mythic medium Ἐπωπέα δὲ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνι τὸ πλησίον ἱερὸν ποιῆσαι λέγουσι, τὸ δὲ μετʼ αὐτὸ Ἥρας Ἄδραστον· ἀγάλματα δὲ ὑπελείπετο οὐδετέρῳ. It is said that Epopeus also established the nearby sanctuary of Artemis and Apollo, while Adrastus built the sanctuary of Hera next to them; however, no statues remain in these sanctuaries. Attributes the founding of sanctuaries to Epopeus and Adrastus, legendary figures, so it belongs with mythic foundation lore.
2.11.1 5 historical high βωμοὺς δὲ ὄπισθεν τοῦ Ἡραίου τὸν μὲν Πανὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν, Ἡλίῳ δὲ λίθου λευκοῦ. Behind the temple of Hera, Adrastus erected altars, one of which he built to Pan and the other to the Sun, the latter fashioned of white stone. Adrastus is a heroic figure treated in the mythic-legendary past, but the sentence describes the erection of altars as a landscape feature; among the buckets, this is best treated as a non-mythic descriptive report of cult monuments.
2.11.2 1 other high καταβαίνουσι δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πεδίον, ἱερόν ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα Δήμητρος· As you descend towards the plain, there is here a sanctuary of Demeter. Simple topographical description of a sanctuary encountered on the route, with no event narrative.
2.11.2 2 mythic high ἱδρῦσαι δέ φασιν αὐτὸ Πλημναῖον ἀποδιδόντα χάριν τῇ θεῷ τοῦ παιδὸς τῆς τροφῆς. They say that Plemnaios set it up, giving thanks to the goddess for nurturing his child. Plemnaios is a mythic/heroic figure, and the sentence explains a dedication made in thanks to a goddess for a child's nurture.
2.11.2 3 mythic high τοῦ δὲ ἱεροῦ τῆς Ἥρας, ἣν ἱδρύσατο Ἄδραστος, ὀλίγον ἀπωτέρω Καρνείου ναός ἐστιν Ἀπόλλωνος· A little further from the sanctuary of Hera, which Adrastus founded, is the temple of Apollo Karneios. Adrastus is a mythic founder, and the sanctuary’s foundation is presented as a mythic landscape marker.
2.11.2 4 other high κίονες δὲ ἑστήκασιν ἐν αὐτῷ μόνοι, τοίχους δὲ οὐκέτι οὐδὲ ὄροφον οὔτε ἐνταῦθα εὑρήσεις οὔτε ἐν τῷ τῆς Προδρομίας Ἥρας. Only columns remain standing inside it; you will find neither walls nor roof, nor indeed will you find them in the temple of Hera Prodromia. Purely descriptive architectural observation about surviving columns, walls, and roof.
2.11.2 5 mythic medium τοῦτον γὰρ δὴ Φάλκης ἱδρύσατο ὁ Τημένου, τῆς ὁδοῦ οἱ τῆς ἐς Σικυῶνα Ἥραν φάμενος ὁδηγὸν γενέσθαι. For this temple was established by Phalces, the son of Temenus, who said that the goddess guided him along the route to Sicyon. The sentence attributes the temple's establishment to Phalces after Hera guided him on the route, tying the monument to a divine/mythic episode.
2.11.3 1 other high ἐκ Σικυῶνος δὲ τὴν κατʼ εὐθὺ ἐς Φλιοῦντα ἐρχομένοις καὶ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ δέκα μάλιστα ἐκτραπεῖσι στάδια, Πυραία καλούμενόν ἐστιν ἄλσος, ἱερὸν δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ Προστασίας Δήμητρος καὶ Κόρης. Going directly from Sicyon toward Phlius, if one turns off about ten stades to the left of the road, there is a grove called Pyraea, and within it a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter Prostasia ("the Protector") and Kore. Purely geographical/directional description of a grove and sanctuary location.
2.11.3 2 other high ἐνταῦθα ἐφʼ αὑτῶν οἱ ἄνδρες ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι, τὸν δὲ Νυμφῶνα καλούμενον ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἑορτάζειν παρείκασι· Here the men alone hold a festival for themselves, while they entrust to the women the celebration called the Nymphon. Describes local festival custom and ritual practice, not a mythic event or a post-500 BC historical event.
2.11.3 3 other high καὶ ἀγάλματα Διονύσου καὶ Δήμητρος καὶ Κόρης τὰ πρόσωπα φαίνοντα ἐν τῷ Νυμφῶνί ἐστιν. In the Nymphon, there are statues of Dionysus, Demeter, and Kore, whose faces alone are visible. Purely descriptive account of statues in a named place; no event or historical development.
2.11.3 4 other high ἡ δὲ ἐς Τιτάνην ὁδὸς σταδίων μέν ἐστιν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ζεύγεσιν ἄβατος διὰ στενότητα· The road to Titane is sixty stades long and is impassable by chariots due to its narrowness. A route description giving distance and accessibility, not a mythic or historical event.
2.11.4 1 other high σταδίους δὲ προελθοῦσιν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν εἴκοσι καὶ ἐν ἀριστερᾷ διαβᾶσι τὸν Ἀσωπόν, ἔστιν ἄλσος πρίνων καὶ ναὸς θεῶν ἃς Ἀθηναῖοι Σεμνὰς, Σικυώνιοι δὲ Εὐμενίδας ὀνομάζουσι· Advancing about twenty stades, as it seems to me, and crossing the river Asopus on one's left, there is a grove of holm-oaks and a temple of the goddesses whom the Athenians call the Semnai ("Venerable Ones") but the Sicyonians call the Eumenides ("Kindly Ones"). Purely topographical and descriptive: route instructions, distance, river crossing, grove, and naming of a sanctuary.
2.11.4 2 other high κατὰ δὲ ἔτος ἕκαστον ἑορτὴν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ σφισιν ἄγουσι θύοντες πρόβατα ἐγκύμονα, μελικράτῳ δὲ σπονδῇ καὶ ἄνθεσιν ἀντὶ στεφάνων χρῆσθαι νομίζουσιν. Each year they hold a festival for these goddesses lasting one day, sacrificing pregnant sheep; and they customarily use a libation of honeyed milk and flowers rather than wreaths. Describes cultic ritual practice and local custom, not a mythic event or a post-500 BC historical event.
2.11.4 3 mythic high ἐοικότα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ τῶν Μοιρῶν δρῶσιν· ὁ δέ σφισιν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τοῦ ἄλσους ἐστίν. They offer similar rites at the altar of the Fates, which stands in the open air within the grove. References rites at the altar of the Fates, a divine/mythic cult site and landscape feature tied to mythic powers.
2.11.5 1 mythic high ἀναστρέψασι δὲ ἐς τὴν ὁδὸν διαβᾶσί τε αὖθις τὸν Ἀσωπὸν καὶ ἐς κορυφὴν ὄρους ἥξασιν, ἐνταῦθα λέγουσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι Τιτᾶνα οἰκῆσαι πρῶτον· εἶναι δὲ αὐτὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἡλίου καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου κληθῆναι Τιτάνην τὸ χωρίον. Turning back to the road, and after again crossing the Asopus and ascending the summit of a mountain, they arrive at a place where the locals say Titan first dwelled; this Titan was said to be a brother of Helios, and from him the region was called Titane. Locals connect the place-name to Titan, brother of Helios, a mythic eponymic origin.
2.11.5 2 mythic high δοκεῖν δὲ ἐμοὶ δεινὸς ἐγένετο ὁ Τιτὰν τὰς ὥρας τοῦ ἔτους φυλάξας καὶ ὁπότε ἥλιος σπέρματα καὶ δένδρων αὔξει καὶ πεπαίνει καρπούς, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷδε ἀδελφὸς ἐνομίσθη τοῦ Ἡλίου. To me, it seems that Titan was renowned for observing carefully the seasons of the year, especially noting when the sun promoted the growth of seeds and trees and ripened their fruits; and for this reason he was thought to be the brother of Helios. Titan's relationship to Helios and his role in explaining seasonal order are mythic aetiology.
2.11.5 3 mythic high ὕστερον δὲ Ἀλεξάνωρ ὁ Μαχάονος τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ παραγενόμενος ἐς Σικυωνίαν ἐν Τιτάνῃ τὸ Ἀσκληπιεῖον ἐποίησε. At a later time, Alexanor, son of Machaon, who himself was son of Asclepius, came to Sicyonia and established the sanctuary of Asclepius at Titane. Alexanor is a heroic genealogy figure and the founding of Asclepius’ sanctuary is a mythic aetiological event.
2.11.6 1 other high περιοικοῦσι μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄλλοι καὶ τὸ πολὺ οἰκέται τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ κυπαρίσσων ἐστὶν ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου δένδρα ἀρχαῖα· Others also dwell around the sanctuary, mostly servants of the god; within the enclosure stand ancient cypress trees. Describes sanctuary inhabitants and ancient cypress trees; geographical/descriptive, not mythic or historical event.
2.11.6 2 other high τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα οὔτε ὁποίου ξύλου γέγονεν ἢ μετάλλου μαθεῖν ἔστιν οὔτε τὸν ποιήσαντα ἴσασι, πλὴν εἰ μή τις ἄρα ἐς αὐτὸν τὸν Ἀλεξάνορα ἀναφέροι. As for the cult image, neither the kind of wood nor metal from which it was made can be discerned, nor do they know its maker, unless one attributes it directly to Alexanor himself. Antiquarian description of a cult image and uncertainty about its materials and maker; no mythic or historical event.
2.11.6 3 other high φαίνεται δὲ τοῦ ἀγάλματος πρόσωπον μόνον καὶ ἄκραι χεῖρες καὶ πόδες· χιτὼν γάρ οἱ λευκὸς ἐρεοῦς καὶ ἱμάτιον ἐπιβέβληται. Only the face, the tips of its hands, and the feet of the statue are visible, since it is covered with a white woolen chiton and a himation. Purely descriptive statue appearance and clothing; no mythic or historical event.
2.11.6 4 other high καὶ Ὑγείας δʼ ἔστι κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἄγαλμα· There is also, near it, a statue of Hygieia, fashioned in the same manner. Describes a statue and its placement near another object; purely descriptive, not a mythic or historical event.
2.11.6 5 other high οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἴδοις ῥᾳδίως, οὕτω περιέχουσιν αὐτὸ κόμαι τε γυναικῶν αἳ κείρονται τῇ θεῷ καὶ ἐσθῆτος Βαβυλωνίας τελαμῶνες. This one too you would not see easily, so densely is it covered with the hair of women cut as offerings to the goddess, and strips of Babylonian cloth. Descriptive detail about offerings and local decoration, not a mythic event or historical event.
2.11.6 6 other high ᾧ δʼ ἂν ἐνταῦθα τούτων ἱλάσασθαι θελήσῃ τις, ἀποδέδεικταί οἱ τὸ αὐτὸ σέβεσθαι τοῦτο ὃ δὴ καὶ Ὑγείαν καλοῦσι. Anyone who wishes to propitiate the deity in that place is instructed to honor equally that very image which they call Hygieia. Describes cult practice and identification of an image as Hygieia, not a mythic event or historical event.
2.11.7 1 mythic high τῷ δὲ Ἀλεξάνορι καὶ Εὐαμερίωνι---καὶ γὰρ τούτοις ἀγάλματά ἐστι---τῷ μὲν ὡς ἥρωι μετὰ ἥλιον δύναντα ἐναγίζουσιν, Εὐαμερίωνι δὲ ὡς θεῷ θύουσιν. To Alexanor and Euamerion—for there are statues of these as well—they perform sacrifices: to the former as to a hero, offering libations after sunset, but to Euamerion as to a god they sacrifice. Alexanor and Euamerion are cult figures receiving hero/god honors, reflecting mythic-religious tradition rather than historical events.
2.11.7 2 other medium εἰ δὲ ὀρθῶς εἰκάζω, τὸν Εὐαμερίωνα τοῦτον Περγαμηνοὶ Τελεσφόρον ἐκ μαντεύματος, Ἐπιδαύριοι δὲ Ἄκεσιν ὀνομάζουσι. And if my conjecture is correct, this Euamerion is the same whom the Pergamenes, following an oracle, call Telesphoros, and whom the Epidaurians call Akesis. A conjectural identification of cult names and an oracle-based naming tradition; antiquarian/religious explanation rather than a mythic event or post-500 BC historical event.
2.11.7 3 mythic high τῆς δὲ Κορωνίδος ἔστι μὲν καὶ ταύτης ξόανον, καθίδρυται δὲ οὐδαμοῦ τοῦ ναοῦ· There is also an image of Coronis, although it is not placed anywhere within the temple itself. Coronis is a mythic figure, and the sentence concerns the presence and placement of her cult image.
2.11.7 4 mythic high θυομένων δὲ τῷ θεῷ ταύρου καὶ ἀρνὸς καὶ ὑὸς ἐς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν τὴν Κορωνίδα μετενεγκόντες ἐνταῦθα τιμῶσιν. But when sacrifices are offered to the god, consisting of a bull, a ram, and a pig, they carry Coronis to the sanctuary of Athena, and there they honor her. Coronis is a mythic figure, and the sentence describes cult honors tied to her in Athena's sanctuary.
2.11.7 5 other high ὁπόσα δὲ τῶν θυομένων καθαγίζουσιν, οὐδὲ ἀποχρᾷ σφισιν ἐκτέμνειν τοὺς μηρούς· χαμαὶ δὲ καίουσι πλὴν τοὺς ὄρνιθας, τούτους δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ. Whatever portions of the sacrifices they burn entirely, it is not sufficient for them merely to cut out the thighs; rather, they burn the sacrifices on the ground, except the birds, which they burn upon the altar. Describes sacrificial ritual practice and altar procedure, not a mythic episode or a historical event.
2.11.8 1 other high τὰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἀετοῖς Ἡρακλῆς καὶ Νῖκαι πρὸς τοῖς πέρασίν εἰσιν. On the gables are figures of Heracles and Victories at each extremity. Describes architectural decoration (Heracles and Victories on the gables), not an event.
2.11.8 2 other high ἀνάκειται δὲ ἀγάλματα ἐν τῇ στοᾷ Διονύσου καὶ Ἑκάτης, Ἀφροδίτη τε καὶ Μήτηρ θεῶν καὶ Τύχη· ταῦτα μὲν ξόανα, In the portico stand statues of Dionysus and Hecate, as well as Aphrodite, the Mother of the Gods, and Tyche; these are wooden images. Describes statues in a portico and their material; purely descriptive/antiquarian, not an event.
2.11.8 3 other high λίθου δὲ Ἀσκληπιὸς ἐπίκλησιν Γορτύνιος. There is also a stone statue of Asclepius, surnamed Gortynian. Describes a statue and epithet, not an event; purely descriptive antiquarian material.
2.11.8 4 other high παρὰ δὲ τοὺς δράκοντας ἐσιέναι τοὺς ἱεροὺς οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν ὑπὸ δείματος· καταθέντες δέ σφισι πρὸ τῆς ἐσόδου τροφὴν οὐκέτι πολυπραγμονοῦσι. They will not allow the sacred serpents to enter because of fear, but having placed food for them before the entrance they do not trouble about them further. Describes ritual handling of sacred serpents at a sanctuary; this is descriptive/religious practice rather than a mythic event or historical occurrence.
2.11.8 5 historical high κεῖται δὲ χαλκοῦς ἀνὴρ ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου Γρανιανὸς Σικυώνιος, ὃς νίκας ἀνείλετο Ὀλυμπίασι δύο μὲν πεντάθλου καὶ σταδίου τὴν τρίτην, διαύλου δὲ ἀμφότερα καὶ γυμνὸς καὶ μετὰ τῆς ἀσπίδος. Within the enclosure stands a bronze figure of Granianus of Sicyon, who gained victories at Olympia, two in the pentathlon, a third in the stadion race, and two more in the diaulos, one as a naked runner and one in armor. A bronze statue of a named athlete and his Olympic victories are historical, post-mythic commemorative material.