Pausanias Analysis

Passage 1.15.1 Class: Historical

ἰοῦσι δὲ πρὸς τὴν στοάν, ἣν Ποικίλην ὀνομάζουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν, ἔστιν Ἑρμῆς χαλκοῦς καλούμενος Ἀγοραῖος καὶ πύλη πλησίον· ἔπεστι δέ οἱ τρόπαιον Ἀθηναίων ἱππομαχίᾳ κρατησάντων Πλείσταρχον, ὃς τῆς ἵππου Κασσάνδρου καὶ τοῦ ξενικοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀδελφὸς ὢν ἐπετέτραπτο. αὕτη δὲ ἡ στοὰ πρῶτα μὲν Ἀθηναίους ἔχει τεταγμένους ἐν Οἰνόῃ τῆς Ἀργεία; ἐναντία Λακεδαιμονίων· γέγραπται δὲ οὐκ ἐς ἀκμὴν ἀγῶνος οὐδὲ τολμημάτων ἐς ἐπίδειξιν τὸ ἔργον ἤδη προῆκον, ἀλλὰ ἀρχομένη τε ἡ μάχη καὶ ἐς χεῖρας ἔτι συνιόντες.

Proper Nouns:

Κάσσανδρος Λακεδαιμόνιοι Οἰνόη Πλείσταρχος Ποικίλη Ἀγοραῖος Ἀθηναῖοι Ἀργεία Ἑρμῆς

As you proceed towards the colonnade called "Painted" from its pictures, you will see a bronze Hermes named Agoraeus ("of the Market") and a gate nearby. Upon it stands a trophy raised by the Athenians when they defeated in a cavalry battle Pleistarchus, who had been entrusted with the command of Cassander's cavalry and foreign troops, being Cassander's brother. This portico first depicts Athenians arrayed at Oenoe in Argive territory, opposite the Lacedaemonians. The battle scene portrayed is not at the height nor stage when bold deeds can already be fully demonstrated, but at its very beginning, with the fighters still advancing together into combat.

Passage 1.15.2 Class: Mythic

ἐν δὲ τῷ μέσῳ τῶν τοίχων Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Θησεὺς Ἀμαζόσι μάχονται. μόναις δὲ ἄρα ταῖς γυναιξὶν οὐκ ἀφῄρει τὰ πταίσματα τὸ ἐς τοὺς κινδύνους ἀφειδές, εἴ γε Θεμισκύρας τε ἁλούσης ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους καὶ ὕστερον φθαρείσης σφίσι τῆς στρατιᾶς, ἣν ἐπʼ Ἀθήνας ἔστειλαν, ὅμως ἐς Τροίαν ἦλθον Ἀθηναίοις τε αὐτοῖς μαχούμεναι καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν Ἕλλησιν. ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς Ἀμαζόσιν Ἕλληνές εἰσιν ᾑρηκότες Ἴλιον καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς ἠθροισμένοι διὰ τὸ Αἴαντος ἐς Κασσάνδραν τόλμημα· καὶ αὐτὸν ἡ γραφὴ τὸν Αἴαντα ἔχει καὶ γυναῖκας τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ἄλλας τε καὶ Κασσάνδραν.

Proper Nouns:

Αἴας Θεμίσκυρα Θησεύς Κασσάνδρα Τροία Ἀθηναῖοι Ἀθῆναι Ἀμάζονες Ἕλληνες Ἡρακλῆς Ἶλιος

In the middle of the paintings, the Athenians and Theseus are depicted fighting against the Amazons. Indeed, reckless bravery in dangers did not exempt even the women alone from disasters; for, after Themiscyra had been captured by Heracles, and subsequently after the army they sent against Athens had been destroyed, nevertheless they came to Troy to fight the Athenians themselves along with all the Greeks. Adjacent to the Amazons are the Greeks who captured Ilium, and the kings assembled due to the outrage of Ajax against Cassandra; the painting includes Ajax himself and some of the captive women, Cassandra among them.

Passage 1.15.3 Class: Mythic

τελευταῖον δὲ τῆς γραφῆς εἰσιν οἱ μαχεσάμενοι Μαραθῶνι· Βοιωτῶν δὲ οἱ Πλάταιαν ἔχοντες καὶ ὅσον ἦν Ἀττικὸν ἴασιν ἐς χεῖρας τοῖς βαρβάροις. καὶ ταύτῃ μέν ἐστιν ἴσα τὰ παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων ἐς τὸ ἔργον· τὸ δὲ ἔσω τῆς μάχης φεύγοντές εἰσιν οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ ἐς τὸ ἕλος ὠθοῦντες ἀλλήλους, ἔσχαται δὲ τῆς γραφῆς νῆές τε αἱ Φοίνισσαι καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων τοὺς ἐσπίπτοντας ἐς ταύτας φονεύοντες οἱ Ἕλληνες. ἐνταῦθα καὶ Μαραθὼν γεγραμμένος ἐστὶν ἥρως, ἀφʼ οὗ τὸ πεδίον ὠνόμασται, καὶ Θησεὺς ἀνιόντι ἐκ γῆς εἰκασμένος Ἀθηνᾶ τε καὶ Ἡρακλῆς· Μαραθωνίοις γάρ, ὡς αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν, Ἡρακλῆς ἐνομίσθη θεὸς πρώτοις. τῶν μαχομένων δὲ δῆλοι μάλιστά εἰσιν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ Καλλίμαχός τε, ὃς Ἀθηναίοις πολεμαρχεῖν ᾕρητο, καὶ Μιλτιάδης τῶν στρατηγούντων, ἥρως τε Ἔχετλος καλούμενος, οὗ καὶ ὕστερον ποιήσομαι μνήμην.

Proper Nouns:

Βοιωτοί Θησεύς Καλλίμαχος Μαραθών Μαραθών Μαραθώνιοι Μιλτιάδης Πλάταια Φοίνισσαι Ἀθηναῖοι Ἀθηνᾶ Ἀττική Ἔχετλος Ἕλληνες Ἡρακλῆς

At the end of the painting are those who fought at Marathon, including the Plataeans from Boeotia and all the forces from Attica who engaged in direct combat against the barbarians. Here the two sides are evenly matched in the fighting. Within the scene of battle itself, the barbarians are depicted fleeing and pushing one another into the marsh. At the very edge of the painting appear the Phoenician ships and the Greeks killing those of the barbarians who rush aboard. Here is painted also the hero Marathon, from whom the plain has taken its name, and Thereus, represented emerging from the earth, as well as Athena and Heracles. For, according to the Marathonian people themselves, they were the first to worship Heracles as a god. Among the combatants shown most prominently in the painting are Callimachus, who was chosen polemarch by the Athenians, Miltiades, one of the generals, and a hero named Echetlos, whom I will have occasion to mention later.

Passage 1.15.4 Class: Historical

ἐνταῦθα ἀσπίδες κεῖνται χαλκαῖ, καὶ ταῖς μέν ἐστιν ἐπίγραμμα ἀπὸ Σ κιωναίων καὶ τῶν ἐπικούρων εἶναι, τὰς δὲ ἐπαληλιμμένας πίσσῃ, μὴ σφᾶς ὅ τε χρόνος λυμήνηται καὶ ὁ ἰός, Λακεδαιμονίων εἶναι λέγεται τῶν ἁλόντων ἐν τῇ Σφακτηρίᾳ νήσῳ.

Proper Nouns:

Λακεδαιμόνιοι Σκιωναῖοι Σφακτηρία

Here lie bronze shields; some of them bear inscriptions stating they are from the Sicyonians and their allies. But those covered with pitch—to protect them from time and rust—are said to belong to the Lacedaemonians taken prisoner on the island of Sphacteria.

Legend:

Chapter 1.15