Pausanias Analysis

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Chapter 9.38

PassageSentenceBucketConfidenceGreekEnglishRationale
9.38.1 1 other high Ὀρχομενίοις δὲ πεποίηται καὶ Διονύσου, τὸ δὲ ἀρχαιότατον Χαρίτων ἐστὶν ἱερόν. The Orchomenians have also a shrine dedicated to Dionysus, but their most ancient sanctuary is that of the Charites (Graces). A descriptive note about local sanctuaries and a shrine inventory, not a mythic tale or historical event.
9.38.1 2 mythic high τὰς μὲν δὴ πέτρας σέβουσί τε μάλιστα καὶ τῷ Ἐτεοκλεῖ αὐτὰς πεσεῖν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ φασιν· They hold the stones in great reverence, affirming that they fell from heaven during the reign of Eteocles. The stones are said to have fallen from heaven in Eteocles' reign, a mythic etiological claim about the landscape.
9.38.1 3 historical high τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματα τὰ σὺν κόσμῳ πεποιημένα ἀνετέθη μὲν ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ, λίθου δέ ἐστι καὶ ταῦτα. The statues, however, adorned with their ornaments, were set up in my own time, and these too are made of stone. The statues were set up in the author’s own time, so this is a post-500 BC historical reference.
9.38.2 1 other high ἔστι δέ σφισι καὶ κρήνη θέας ἀξία· καταβαίνουσι δὲ ἐς αὐτὴν ὕδωρ οἴσοντες. They also have a spring worthy of note, to which they descend in order to draw water. A spring and how people draw water are geographical/descriptive details, not mythic or historical events.
9.38.2 2 other high θησαυρὸς δὲ ὁ Μινύου, θαῦμα ὂν τῶν ἐν Ἑλλάδι αὐτῇ καὶ τῶν ἑτέρωθι οὐδενὸς ὕστερον, πεποίηται τρόπον τοιόνδε· The treasury of Minyas, a marvel among the sights of Greece itself and not inferior to any elsewhere, is constructed in the following manner. Purely descriptive architectural statement about the treasury’s construction, not a mythic or historical event.
9.38.2 3 other high λίθου μὲν εἴργασται, σχῆμα δὲ περιφερές ἐστιν αὐτῷ, κορυφὴ δὲ οὐκ ἐς ἄγαν ὀξὺ ἀνηγμένη· It is built of stone, and its shape is round, its roof rising to a height not excessively pointed. Purely architectural description of material and shape; no mythic or historical event.
9.38.2 4 other high τὸν δὲ ἀνωτάτω τῶν λίθων φασὶν ἁρμονίαν παντὶ εἶναι τῷ οἰκοδομήματι. They say that the topmost stone serves as a keystone binding the entire structure together. Architectural description of a building feature; no mythic or historical event.
9.38.3 1 mythic high τάφοι δὲ Μινύου τε καὶ Ἡσιόδου· There are tombs of Minyas and Hesiod. The sentence names tombs of Minyas and Hesiod, figures tied to heroic/poetic mythic tradition rather than post-500 BC history.
9.38.3 2 mythic high καταδέξασθαι δέ φασιν οὕτω τοῦ Ἡσιόδου τὰ ὀστᾶ. νόσου καταλαμβανούσης λοιμώδους καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὰ βοσκήματα ἀποστέλλουσι θεωροὺς παρὰ τὸν θεόν· About the bones of Hesiod, they recount this story: when a plague afflicted both the people and their cattle, they sent envoys to the god [at Delphi]. The sentence recounts a legendary story about Hesiod’s bones and a plague sent by the gods, so it belongs to mythic tradition.
9.38.3 3 historical high τούτοις δὲ ἀποκρίνασθαι λέγουσι τὴν Πυθίαν, Ἡσιόδου τὰ ὀστᾶ ἐκ τῆς Ναυπακτίας ἀγαγοῦσιν ἐς τὴν Ὀρχομενίαν, ἄλλο δὲ εἶναί σφισιν οὐδὲν ἴαμα. These envoys received an answer from the Pythian oracle instructing them that their only remedy was to bring Hesiod's bones from the region of Naupactus to Orchomenus. A Delphic oracle response about relocating Hesiod's bones is an antiquarian/historical tradition tied to a named poet, not a mythic event.
9.38.3 4 mythic high τότε δὲ ἐπερέσθαι δεύτερα, ὅπου τῆς Ναυπακτίας αὐτὰ ἐξευρήσουσι· καὶ αὖθις τὴν Πυθίαν εἰπεῖν ὡς μηνύσοι κορώνη σφίσιν. Then the envoys asked again in a second inquiry where precisely in the region of Naupactus they would find these bones, and the Pythia further responded that a crow would show them the location. Oracle response about locating Orestes' bones belongs to the mythic cycle and its landscape impact.
9.38.4 1 mythic medium οὕτω τοῖς θεοπρόποις ἀποβᾶσιν ἐς τὴν γῆν πέτραν τε οὐ πόρρω τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ τὴν ὄρνιθα ἐπὶ τῇ πέτρᾳ φασὶν ὀφθῆναι· Thus, when the emissaries of the oracle landed in this region, it is said that they saw a rock not far from the road, and a bird perched upon this rock. Refers to oracle emissaries and a reported portent (bird on a rock), which belongs to mythic/religious narrative.
9.38.4 2 historical high καὶ τοῦ Ἡσιόδου δὲ τὰ ὀστᾶ εὗρον ἐν χηραμῷ τῆς πέτρας. There too, within a hollow of the rock, they discovered the bones of Hesiod. Discovery of Hesiod’s bones is an antiquarian/historical notice about a named poet, not a mythic event.
9.38.4 3 other high καὶ ἐλεγεῖα ἐπὶ τῷ μνήματι ἐπεγέγραπτο· Upon the tomb was inscribed the following elegiac verses: Describes an inscription on a tomb, a descriptive antiquarian detail rather than a mythic or historical event.
9.38.4 4 other high Ἄσκρη μὲν πατρὶς πολυλήιος, ἀλλὰ θανόντος ὀστέα πληξίππων γῆ Μινυῶν κατέχει Ἡσιόδου, τοῦ πλεῖστον ἐν Ἑλλάδι κῦδος ὀρεῖται ἀνδρῶν κρινομένων ἐν βασάνῳ σοφίης. "Though fertile Ascra was his native land, Now the Minyan soil, famed for swift steeds, Holds Hesiod's bones; whose glory greatest shines In all of Greece, when men in contests strive Through rigorous test to measure wisdom's worth." Descriptive antiquarian note about Hesiod’s burial and reputation, not a mythic event or post-500 BC historical event.
9.38.5 1 mythic high περὶ δὲ Ἀκταίωνος λεγόμενα ἦν Ὀρχομενίοις λυμαίνεσθαι τὴν γῆν πέτρας ἔχον εἴδωλον· Concerning Actaeon, the Orchomenians said that their land was troubled by a phantom appearing as a rock. Actaeon is a mythic figure, and the sentence reports a phantom and its effect on the land.
9.38.5 2 mythic high ὡς δὲ ἐχρῶντο ἐν Δελφοῖς, κελεύει σφίσιν ὁ θεὸς ἀνευρόντας εἴ τι ἦν Ἀκταίωνος λοιπὸν κρύψαι γῇ, κελεύει δὲ καὶ τοῦ εἰδώλου χαλκῆν ποιησαμένους εἰκόνα πρὸς πέτρᾳ σιδήρῳ δῆσαι. When they consulted the oracle at Delphi, the god instructed them that if anything of Actaeon still remained, they should bury it in the earth, and further advised them to fashion a bronze image of the phantom and fasten it firmly to a rock with iron bonds. Refers to Actaeon and a Delphic oracle directing burial and an image, both tied to mythic aftermath on the landscape.
9.38.5 3 mythic high τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς δεδεμένον τὸ ἄγαλμα εἶδον· καὶ τῷ Ἀκταίωνι ἐναγίζουσιν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος. I myself saw this statue thus bound, and every year they perform offerings to Actaeon as to a hero. Actaeon is a mythic figure, and the sentence describes ritual offerings to him as a hero.
9.38.6 1 other high σταδίους δὲ ἀφέστηκεν ἑπτὰ Ὀρχομενοῦ ναός τε Ἡρακλέους καὶ ἄγαλμα οὐ μέγα. Seven stades distant from Orchomenus is a temple of Heracles containing a statue that is not large. Purely locational and descriptive: gives distance from Orchomenus and notes a temple and small statue.
9.38.6 2 other high ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Μέλανός εἰσιν αἱ πηγαί, καὶ ὁ Μέλας ἐς λίμνην καὶ οὗτος τὴν Κηφισίδα ἐκδίδωσιν. Here are the sources of the river Melas, which itself also flows into Lake Cephisida. Purely geographical description of river sources and flow into a lake.
9.38.6 3 other high ἐπέχει μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄλλως τῆς Ὀρχομενίας τὸ πολὺ ἡ λίμνη, χειμῶνος δὲ ὥρᾳ νότου τὰ πλείω πνεύσαντος ἔπεισιν ἐπὶ πλέον τῆς χώρας τὸ ὕδωρ. The lake ordinarily covers much of the territory of Orchomenus, but in the winter season when the south wind blows more strongly, the water spreads out even further over the country. Purely geographical description of the lake’s seasonal flooding over Orchomenus' territory.
9.38.7 1 mythic high Θηβαῖοι δὲ τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν Κηφισόν φασιν ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους ἐς τὸ πεδίον ἀποστραφῆναι τὸ Ὀρχομένιον· The Thebans say that the river Cephisus was diverted by Heracles into the plain of Orchomenus. Attributes a landscape change to Heracles, a mythic figure.
9.38.7 2 mythic high τέως δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τὸ ὄρος ἐς θάλασσαν ἐξιέναι, πρὶν ἢ τὸν Ἡρακλέα τὸ χάσμα ἐμφράξαι τὸ διὰ τοῦ ὄρους. Previously the river passed under the mountain and flowed into the sea, until Heracles blocked the cleft through the mountain. Heracles blocking the mountain cleft is a mythic deed, and the river’s altered course is its mythic landscape impact.
9.38.7 3 other high ἐπίσταται μὲν οὖν καὶ Ὅμηρος λίμνην ἄλλως τὴν Κηφισίδα οὖσαν καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους πεποιημένην, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷδε εἴρηκε λίμνῃ κεκλιμένος Κηφισίδι· Hom. Il. 5.709 Homer, however, knows that Lake Cephisus existed naturally, not as a creation of Heracles, and for this reason he says, "dwelling by Lake Cephisus." (Homer, Iliad 5.709) A literary note about Homer and the natural existence of Lake Cephisus; descriptive/antiquarian rather than mythic or historical.
9.38.8 1 mythic high ἔχει δὲ οὐδὲ εἰκότα λόγον τοὺς Ὀρχομενίους μὴ καὶ τὸ χάσμα ἐξευρεῖν καὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ἀναρρήξαντας τὸ ἔργον ἀποδοῦναι τὴν διέξοδον τῷ Κηφισῷ τὴν ἀρχαίαν, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ ἄχρι τῶν Τρωικῶν χρήμασιν ἀδυνάτως εἶχον. Nor does it make sense that the Orchomenians would not have discovered the chasm and, completing the unfinished work of Heracles, restored the ancient channel for the Cephisus, given that even up to the Trojan War they were not lacking financial means. Mentions Heracles and the Trojan War in explaining the ancient channel, so it concerns mythic time and its landscape impact.
9.38.8 2 historical medium μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι καὶ Ὄμηρος ἐν Ἀχιλλέως ἀποκρίσει πρὸς τοὺς παρὰ Ἀγαμέμνονος πρέσβεις· οὐδʼ ὅσʼ ἐς Ὀρχομενὸν ποτινίσσεται, Hom. Il. 9.381 δῆλα δήπουθεν ὡς καὶ τότε προσιόντων τοῖς Ὀρχομενίοις χρημάτων πολλῶν. Homer himself testifies to this point in Achilles' reply to the envoys sent by Agamemnon: "nor all the wealth that flows into Orchomenus"—clearly indicating that even at that time the Orchomenians were in possession of great wealth. Uses Homeric quotation to infer Orchomenus' wealth at an early, pre-500 BC period; this is antiquarian evidence about a historical condition rather than a mythic event.
9.38.9 1 mythic high Ἀσπληδόνα δὲ ἐκλιπεῖν τοὺς οἰκήτοράς φασιν ὕδατος σπανίζοντος· γενέσθαι δὲ τὸ ὄνομα ἀπὸ Ἀσπληδόνος τῇ πόλει, τοῦτον δὲ εἶναι νύμφης τε Μιδείας καὶ Ποσειδῶνος. They say that Aspledon was abandoned by its inhabitants due to scarcity of water; its name, it is said, came from Aspledon, who was the son of the nymph Mideia and of Poseidon. Derives the city's name from a mythic figure, son of a nymph and Poseidon, and mentions an etiological myth.
9.38.9 2 other high ὁμολογεῖ δὲ καὶ ἔπη σφίσιν ἃ ἐποίησε Χερσίας, ἀνὴρ Ὀρχομένιος· Supporting their claim are also the verses composed for them by Chersias, a man from Orchomenus: Literary/antiquarian notice about verses by Chersias; no mythic or historical event is described.
9.38.9 3 mythic high ἐκ δὲ Ποσειδάωνος ἀγακλειτῆς τε Μιδείης Ἀσπληδὼν γένεθʼ υἱὸς ἀνʼ εὐρύχορον πτολίεθρον. "And from Poseidon and glorious Mideia Aspledon the son was born in the city of broad dancing-grounds." Birth from Poseidon is a mythic genealogy.
9.38.10 1 other high τοῦδε τοῦ Χερσίου τῶν ἐπῶν οὐδεμία ἦν ἔτι κατʼ ἐμὲ μνήμη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τάδε ἐπηγάγετο ὁ Κάλλιππος ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον τὸν ἔχοντα ἐς Ὀρχομενίους· In my time no memory remained of these verses of Chersias, but Callippus added also the following lines within the same work concerning the Orchomenians. A literary/antiquarian remark about remembered verses and Callippus, not an event.
9.38.10 2 other high τούτου δὲ τοῦ Χερσίου καὶ ἐπίγραμμα οἱ Ὀρχομένιοι τὸ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἡσιόδου τάφῳ μνημονεύουσιν. Moreover, the Orchomenians preserve an epigram by this same Chersias upon the tomb of Hesiod. An antiquarian remark about a preserved epigram on Hesiod's tomb; descriptive rather than mythic or historical event.