Pausanias Analysis

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Chapter 9.12

PassageSentenceBucketConfidenceGreekEnglishRationale
9.12.1 1 other high τῷ δὲ Ἀπόλλωνι Θηβαῖοι τῷ Σποδίῳ ταύρους ἔθυον τὸ ἀρχαῖον· In earliest times, the Thebans used to sacrifice bulls to Spodios Apollo. Describes an ancient cult practice and ritual at Thebes, not a mythic episode or post-500 BC historical event.
9.12.1 2 other high καί ποτε παρούσης σφίσι τῆς ἑορτῆς ἥ τε ὥρα κατήπειγε τῆς θυσίας καὶ οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὸν ταῦρον οὐχ ἧκον· οὕτω δὴ παρατυχούσης ἁμάξης τὸν ἕτερον τῶν βοῶν τῷ θεῷ θύουσι Once, on the occasion of their festival, when the hour appointed for the sacrifice was pressing close upon them and the messengers sent to fetch the bull had not arrived, it happened that a wagon passed by, and they offered up to the god one of the oxen drawing it. Festival procedure and sacrifice logistics; descriptive ritual narrative, not mythic or historical event.
9.12.1 3 mythic medium καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἐργάτας βοῦς θύειν νομίζουσι. From that time forth, it has been their established custom to sacrifice work-oxen. Refers to a cult custom arising from a legendary past event, not a later historical episode.
9.12.1 4 mythic high λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὅδε ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λόγος, ὡς ἀπιόντι ἐκ Δελφῶν Κάδμῳ τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέων βοῦς γένοιτο ἡγεμὼν τῆς πορείας, The following tale is also told by the Thebans: when Cadmus departed from Delphi, a cow guided him on his journey toward the land of the Phokians. Cadmus and the guiding cow belong to the mythic foundation narrative.
9.12.1 5 mythic high τὴν δὲ βοῦν ταύτην παρὰ βουκόλων εἶναι τῶν Πελάγοντος ὠνητήν· ἐπὶ δὲ ἑκατέρᾳ τῆς βοὸς πλευρᾷ σημεῖον ἐπεῖναι λευκὸν εἰκασμένον κύκλῳ τῆς σελήνης, ὁπότε εἴη πλήρης. Cadmus had purchased this cow from the herdsmen of Pelagon, and on both of her flanks she bore a white marking resembling the circle of the full moon. Cadmus and the cow belong to the mythic Theban foundation story.
9.12.2 1 mythic high ἔδει δὲ ἄρα Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἐνταῦθα οἰκῆσαι κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν μαντείαν, ἔνθα ἡ βοῦς ἔμελλε καμοῦσα ὀκλάσειν· At this point Cadmus and the army with him were destined to settle according to the oracle of the god, at the spot where the cow was to sink down exhausted. Cadmus’s settlement by divine oracle is part of Theban foundation myth.
9.12.2 2 other high ἀποφαίνουσιν οὖν καὶ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον. So they identify this place also. Identifies a location; no mythic or historical event is described.
9.12.2 3 mythic high ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ βωμὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἀθηνᾶς · ἀναθεῖναι δὲ αὐτὸ Κάδμον λέγουσι. There stands an open-air altar and an image of Athena, which they say Cadmus himself dedicated. Attributes the altar and image to Cadmus, a mythic founder figure and dedicatory claim.
9.12.2 4 mythic high τοῖς οὖν νομίζουσιν ἐς γῆν ἀφικέσθαι Κάδμον τὴν Θηβαΐδα Αἰγύπτιον καὶ οὐ Φοίνικα ὄντα, ἔστιν ἐναντίον τῷ λόγῳ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ταύτης τὸ ὄνομα, ὅτι Ὄγγα κατὰ γλῶσσαν τὴν Φοινίκων καλεῖται καὶ οὐ Σάις κατὰ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων φωνήν. Now for those who claim that Cadmus arrived in Egyptian Thebes and was not from Phoenicia, the name of this Athena gives clear contradiction to that argument; for she is called "Onga" in the Phoenician tongue, and not "Sais," as the Egyptians would name her. Refers to Cadmus and his origins, a mythic figure and mythological debate about his arrival.
9.12.3 1 mythic high φασὶ δὲ οἱ Θηβαῖοι, καθότι τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἀγορά σφισιν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν πεποίηται, Κάδμου τὸ ἀρχαῖον οἰκίαν εἶναι· The Thebans say that the place which in our day serves as their market-place, below the acropolis, was originally the dwelling of Cadmus. Identifies Cadmus's dwelling, a mythic founder figure, and the landscape is explained by myth.
9.12.3 2 mythic high θαλάμων δὲ ἀποφαίνουσι τοῦ μὲν Ἁρμονίας ἐρείπια καὶ ὃν Σεμέλης φασὶν εἶναι, τοῦτον δὲ καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι ἄβατον φυλάσσουσιν ἀνθρώποις. They still point out among the ruins certain chambers, one said to have belonged to Harmonia, and another claimed to be Semele's, the latter continuing even to our day to be guarded and kept inaccessible to human beings. Refers to chambers attributed to Harmonia and Semele, figures of myth, and their sacred, inaccessible state.
9.12.3 3 mythic high Ἑλλήνων δὲ τοῖς ἀποδεχομένοις ᾆσαι Μούσας ἐς τὸν Ἁρμονίας γάμον τὸ χωρίον ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ἔνθα δή φασι τὰς θεὰς ᾆσαι. Within the market-place itself there is also the spot where, according to those Greeks who hold that the Muses sang at the wedding of Harmonia, these goddesses performed their chants. Refers to the Muses singing at Harmonia's wedding, a mythic event affecting the place.
9.12.4 1 mythic high λέγεται δὲ καὶ τόδε, ὡς ὁμοῦ τῷ κεραυνῷ βληθέντι ἐς τὸν Σεμέλης θάλαμον πέσοι ξύλον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ· The following story is also told: that at the same time as the thunderbolt struck Semele's chamber, a piece of wood fell from heaven. Refers to Semele and Zeus's thunderbolt, a mythic event with a supernatural object falling from heaven.
9.12.4 2 mythic high Πολύδωρον δὲ τὸ ξύλον τοῦτο χαλκῷ λέγουσιν ἐπικοσμήσαντα Διόνυσον καλέσαι Κάδμον. They say that Polydorus adorned this piece of wood with bronze and called it "Dionysus Cadmus." Refers to Dionysus and Cadmus, a mythic naming connected with a cult object.
9.12.4 3 other high πλησίον δὲ Διονύσου ἄγαλμα, καὶ τοῦτο Ὀνασιμήδης ἐποίησε διʼ ὅλου πλῆρες ὑπὸ τοῦ χαλκοῦ· Near it stands a statue of Dionysus created by Onasimedes, entirely composed of solid bronze; A descriptive note identifying a nearby statue and its maker/material; no mythic or historical event.
9.12.4 4 other high τὸν βωμὸν δὲ οἱ παῖδες εἰργάσαντο οἱ Πραξιτέλους. the altar was made by the sons of Praxiteles. An attribution of an altar’s craftsmanship is antiquarian/descriptive, not a mythic or historical event.
9.12.5 1 other high ἀνδριάς τέ ἐστι Προνόμου ἀνδρὸς αὐλήσαντος ἐπαγωγότατα ἐς τοὺς πολλούς. There is also a portrait statue of Pronomos, a man who played the flute in a manner exceptionally appealing to the public. A descriptive notice of a portrait statue and its subject; no mythic or historical event is being narrated.
9.12.5 2 other high τέως μέν γε ἰδέας αὐλῶν τρεῖς ἐκτῶντο οἱ αὐληταὶ καὶ τοῖς μὲν αὔλημα ηὔλουν τὸ Δώριον, διάφοροι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐς ἁρμονίαν τὴν Φρύγιον ἐπεποίηντο οἱ αὐλοί, τὸ δὲ καλούμενον Λύδιον ἐν αὐλοῖς ηὐλεῖτο ἀλλοίοις· Until his time, flute-players possessed three different types of flutes: on some flutes they performed the Dorian melody alone; for the Phrygian mode they employed flutes specifically tuned differently; and what is called the Lydian mode was again played upon another sort of flute. Describes musical practice and instruments, not a mythic or historical event.
9.12.5 3 other high Πρόνομος δὲ ἦν ὃς πρῶτος ἐπενόησεν αὐλοὺς ἐς ἅπαν ἁρμονίας εἶδος ἔχοντας ἐπιτηδείως, πρῶτος δὲ διάφορα ἐς τοσοῦτο μέλη ἐπʼ αὐλοῖς ηὔλησε τοῖς αὐτοῖς. It was Pronomos who first invented flutes suitable entirely for every kind of harmony, and was also the first who performed compositions of such varied style upon these same flutes. Antiquarian notice about the inventor of the flute and musical technique, not a mythic event or post-500 BC historical event.
9.12.6 1 historical medium λέγεται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοῦ προσώπου τῷ σχήματι καὶ τῇ τοῦ παντὸς κινήσει σώματος περισσῶς δή τι ἔτερπε τὰ θέατρα· It is said that by the expression of his face and the entire movement of his body he especially delighted the audience in the theater. Describes a theater performer’s stage presence and audience reception, a post-500 BC cultural/historical context rather than myth.
9.12.6 2 other high καί οἱ καὶ ᾆσμα πεποιημένον ἐστὶ ἐς προσόδιον ἐς Δῆλον τοῖς ἐπʼ Εὐρίπῳ Χαλκιδεῦσι. Moreover, he composed a processional-song for the Chalcidians who dwell by the Euripus, to be sung at their procession to Delos. A composed procession song for a ritual voyage to Delos is an antiquarian/cultural detail, not a mythic event or post-500 BC historical event.
9.12.6 3 historical high τοῦτόν τε οὖν ἐνταῦθα οἱ Θηβαῖοι καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδαν τὸν Πολύμνιδος ἀνέθεσαν. Here indeed the Thebans dedicated statues both of him and of Epaminondas, the son of Polymnis. Refers to the Thebans dedicating statues of historical figures, including Epaminondas.