Pausanias Analysis

Current sentence-level mythic, historical, and other tags

Chapter 9.18

PassageSentenceBucketConfidenceGreekEnglishRationale
9.18.1 1 other high ἐκ Θηβῶν δὲ ὁδὸς ἐς Χαλκίδα κατὰ πύλας ταύτας ἐστὶ τὰς Προιτίδας. The road from Thebes to Chalcis passes through these gates, the Proitides. Purely geographical route information describing a road and gates.
9.18.1 2 historical medium τάφος δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ λεωφόρῳ δείκνυται Μελανίππου, Θηβαίων ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ἀγαθοῦ τὰ πολεμικά· Near the main road is shown the tomb of Melanippus, who was among the bravest of the Thebans in warfare. Tomb of Melanippus, a Theban warrior; this is an after-Homeric heroic/historical memorial rather than a mythic event.
9.18.1 3 mythic high καὶ ἡνίκα ἐπεστράτευσαν οἱ Ἀργεῖοι, Τυδέα ὁ Μελάνιππος οὗτος καὶ ἀδελφῶν τῶν Ἀδράστου Μηκιστέα ἀπέκτεινε, καί οἱ καὶ αὐτῷ τὴν τελευτὴν ὑπὸ Ἀμφιαράου γενέσθαι λέγουσι. When the Argives attacked, this Melanippus killed Tydeus and Mecisteus, brother of Adrastus; and they say his own death came at the hands of Amphiaraus. Refers to the Argive assault and deaths of Tydeus, Mecisteus, and Melanippus in heroic myth.
9.18.2 1 other high τούτου δὲ ἐγγύτατα τρεῖς εἰσιν ἀργοὶ λίθοι· Very near this place there are three unworked stones. Purely geographical/descriptive: notes three unworked stones near the place.
9.18.2 2 mythic high Θηβαίων δὲ οἱ τὰ ἀρχαῖα μνημονεύοντες Τυδέα φασὶν εἶναι τὸν ἐνταῦθα κείμενον, ταφῆναι δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Μαίονος, καὶ ἐς μαρτυρίαν τοῦ λόγου παρέσχον τῶν ἐν Ἰλιάδι ἔπος Τυδέος, ὃν Θήβῃσι χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτει. Those among the Thebans who preserve ancient memories say that the one lying here is Tydeus, and that he was buried by Maion; as proof of this story they cite the line from the Iliad concerning Tydeus: "whom the heaped earth covers in Thebes." Identifies Tydeus, a heroic figure from myth, and cites the Iliad as evidence.
9.18.3 1 mythic high ἑξῆς δέ ἐστι τῶν Οἰδίποδος παίδων μνήματα· Next come the tombs of the children of Oedipus. The tombs of Oedipus's children concern legendary mythic figures and their memorials on the landscape.
9.18.3 2 other high καὶ τὰ ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς δρώμενα οὐ θεασάμενος πιστὰ ὅμως ὑπείληφα εἶναι. Although I have not witnessed myself what is performed upon them, I nevertheless consider the reports reliable. The sentence is a statement about reported ritual practice and the speaker's credibility, not a mythic or historical event.
9.18.3 3 mythic high φασὶ γὰρ καὶ ἄλλοις οἱ Θηβαῖοι τῶν καλουμένων ἡρώων καὶ τοῖς παισὶν ἐναγίζειν τοῖς Οἰδίποδος· For the Thebans say that they make offerings both to other heroes who are considered such and to the children of Oedipus. Refers to cult offerings to the children of Oedipus, figures from myth.
9.18.3 4 mythic medium τούτοις δὲ ἐναγιζόντων αὐτῶν τὴν φλόγα, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς καπνὸν διχῇ διίστασθαι. And when they offer sacrifices to these, the flame, and likewise the smoke arising from it, divides itself into two parts. The divided flame and smoke are presented as a sacred sign during sacrifices, reflecting a mythic cult phenomenon rather than ordinary geography or later history.
9.18.3 5 other high ἐμὲ δὲ ἐπηγάγοντο ὧν λέγουσιν ἐς πίστιν ἰδόντα ἄλλο τοιόνδε. Something else I saw convinced me of the truth of what they say. This is a statement of personal observation and belief, not a mythic or historical event.
9.18.4 1 other high ἐν Μυσίᾳ τῇ ὑπὲρ Καΐκου πόλισμά ἐστι Πιονίαι, In Mysia, above the Kaïkos, there is a small town called Pioniai. Purely geographical location notice identifying a town in Mysia.
9.18.4 2 mythic high τὸν δὲ οἰκιστὴν οἱ ἐνταῦθα Πίονιν τῶν τινα ἀπογόνων τῶν Ἡρακλέους φασὶν εἶναι· The inhabitants here say that their founder was Pionis, one of the descendants of Heracles. Names a founder as a descendant of Heracles, a mythic genealogical claim.
9.18.4 3 mythic high μελλόντων δὲ ἐναγίζειν αὐτῷ καπνὸς αὐτόματος ἄνεισιν ἐκ τοῦ τάφου. Whenever they intend to offer a sacrifice to him, smoke spontaneously ascends from his tomb. Spontaneous smoke from a tomb signals a mythic hero-cult manifestation tied to the dead hero.
9.18.4 4 other high ταῦτα μὲν οὖν συμβαίνοντα εἶδον, I myself have witnessed this occurring. A first-person witnessing statement; purely evidentiary and descriptive, not mythic or historical content itself.
9.18.4 5 mythic high Θηβαῖοι δὲ καὶ Τειρεσίου μνῆμα ἀποφαίνουσι, πέντε μάλιστα καὶ δέκα ἀπωτέρω σταδίοις ἢ Οἰδίποδος τοῖς παισίν ἐστιν ὁ τάφος· The Thebans point out the tomb of Teiresias as well, situated approximately fifteen stadia farther away than that of the children of Oedipus. Teiresias and Oedipus are mythic figures, and this sentence locates their tombs in the landscape.
9.18.4 6 other high ὁμολογοῦντες δὲ καὶ οὗτοι συμβῆναι Τειρεσίᾳ τὴν τελευτὴν ἐν τῇ Ἁλιαρτίᾳ, τὸ παρὰ σφίσιν ἐθέλουσιν εἶναι κενὸν μνῆμα. Yet, although even they admit that Teiresias died in the territory of Haliartus, they claim that the burial site in their land is an empty monument. A claim about a burial monument and competing local traditions; not itself a mythic event or post-500 BC historical event.
9.18.5 1 mythic high ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ἕκτορος Θηβαίοις τάφος τοῦ Πριάμου πρὸς Οἰδιποδίᾳ καλουμένῃ κρήνῃ, The Thebans also have a tomb of Hector, the son of Priam, beside the spring called Oedipodia. Hector is a mythic hero, and the tomb’s placement beside a named spring reflects a landscape shaped by myth.
9.18.5 2 mythic high κομίσαι δὲ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀστᾶ ἐξ Ἰλίου φασὶν ἐπὶ τοιῷδε μαντεύματι· They say that his bones were brought from Ilium according to the following oracle: Refers to bringing bones from Ilium by oracle, an action tied to mythic heroic remains and cult legend.
9.18.5 3 mythic high Θηβαίοι Κάδμοιο πόλιν καταναιετάοντες, αἴ κʼ ἐθέλητε πάτραν οἰκεῖν σὺν ἀμύμονι πλούτῳ, Ἕκτορος ὀστέα Πριαμίδου κομίσαντες ἐς οἴκους ἐξ Ἀσίης Διὸς ἐννεσίῃσʼ ἥρωα σέβεσθαι. "You Thebans, dwelling in the city of Cadmus, if you desire to inhabit your homeland enriched with blameless prosperity, take home from Asia the bones of Hector, son of Priam, and by Zeus's command duly honor him as a hero." Refers to Hector, Priam's son, and the transfer of his bones for heroic cult, a mythic tradition affecting Theban ritual and prosperity.
9.18.6 1 mythic high τῇ δὲ Οἰδιποδίᾳ κρήνῃ τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο, ὅτι ἐς αὐτὴν τὸ αἷμα ἐνίψατο Οἰδίπους τοῦ πατρῴου φόνου. The spring Oedipodia received its name because there Oedipus washed away the blood of the murder of his father. Explains a place-name by Oedipus’ mythic act of washing away his father’s murder-blood.
9.18.6 2 other high πρὸς δὲ τῇ πηγῇ τάφος ἐστὶν Ἀσφοδίκου· Near the spring is the tomb of Asphodicus. A tomb location near a spring is topographical/antiquarian description, not a mythic or post-500 BC historical event.
9.18.6 3 mythic high καὶ ὁ Ἀσφόδικος οὗτος ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τῇ πρὸς Ἀργείους Παρθενοπαῖον τὸν Ταλαοῦ, καθὰ οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσιν, ἐπεὶ τά γε ἐν Θηβαΐδι ἔπη τὰ ἐς τὴν Παρθενοπαίου τελευτὴν Περικλύμενον τὸν ἀνελόντα φησὶν εἶναι. This Asphodicus killed Parthenopaeus son of Talaus in the battle against the Argives, as the Thebans claim; however, in the poems of the Thebaid, it is said that Periclymenus was the one who slew Parthenopaeus. Refers to the mythic battle of the Seven against Thebes and the killing of Parthenopaeus.