Pausanias Analysis

Not far from the sanctuary of Orthia is a temple of Eileithyia. They say that they built it, and recognized Eileithyia as a goddess, in accordance with an oracle they received from Delphi. The Lacedaemonians do not have an acropolis rising conspicuously high, as the Thebans have their Cadmeia, and the Argives their Larisa; yet, as there are other hills within the city, the one which rises highest above the rest they call the acropolis.

Here stands a sanctuary of Athena, known as Polias ("Guardian of the City") and also Chalcioecus ("of the Bronze House"). According to tradition, the building of the sanctuary was begun by Tyndareus; after his death, his sons intended to complete the construction, using for their purpose the spoils they expected to gain from Aphidna. But they also left it unfinished, until many years later the Lacedaemonians constructed both the temple and a bronze image of Athena. The artist of the statue was Gitiadas, a local man, who also composed Dorian songs, among these a hymn dedicated to the goddess.

On this bronze relief are wrought many of the labors of Heracles, and also many other deeds he accomplished of his own accord; likewise the children of Tyndareus, including among other things the abduction of the daughters of Leucippus; and Hephaestus freeing his mother from bonds. I have earlier already explained these stories, as they are told, in my account of Attica. Depicted too are the nymphs giving Perseus, as he was setting out for Libya against Medusa, the helmet and sandals with which he was destined to travel through the air. Moreover, there is represented the birth of Athena, and Amphitrite and Poseidon—scenes that, in my judgment, were the most magnificent and most worthy of viewing.

There is also another temple here sacred to Athena Ergane. As one goes toward the southern colonnade, there is a temple of Zeus called surnamed "Kosmetas," and in front of it a tomb of Tyndareus. The colonnade that faces west contains two eagles with Victories standing upon them: these were dedicated by Lysander and commemorate two actions—first, that at Ephesus, when he overcame Antiochus, the pilot of Alcibiades, along with the ships of the Athenians, and later the defeat of the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami.

On the left of the temple of Athena Chalkioikos they set up a sanctuary of the Muses, because the Lacedaemonians made their sorties into battle not to the accompaniment of trumpets, but to melodies of flutes and to the striking of lyres and kitharas. Behind the temple of Athena Chalkioikos there is a temple of Aphrodite Areia (Warlike); its wooden statues are among the most ancient images anywhere in Greece.

On the right of the temple of Athena Chalcioecus there is an image of Zeus Hypatos, said to be the oldest of all statues made of bronze. It is not cast as a single piece; each part has been separately hammered out, fitted closely together, and fastened with nails to prevent them from falling apart. They also say that the statue was made by Clearchus of Rhegium, who is said by some to have been a pupil of Dipoenus and Scyllis, while others claim he was a pupil of Daedalus himself. Near the structure called the Skēnōma stands a statue of a woman; the Lacedaemonians say she is Euryleonis, who won an Olympic victory driving a two-horse chariot.

Near the altar of Chalcioecus stand two statues of Pausanias, who commanded at Plataea. I shall not recount the sort of events which befell him, since they are well-known; indeed, what earlier historians have recorded is sufficiently exact. I shall content myself with briefly touching upon them. I heard from a Byzantine that Pausanias was found out in what he was plotting, and of those who sought refuge at the sanctuary of Chalcioecus, he alone failed to gain pardon. Though guilty in no other respect, he could not cleanse himself from the pollution of murder.

For when he was lingering around the Hellespont with ships both of other Greeks and of the Spartans themselves, he conceived a desire for a young maiden of Byzantium. As soon as night fell, Cleonice—for this was the girl's name—was brought to him by those charged with the task. But as Pausanias slept, a noise awoke him: for the girl, as she approached, accidentally knocked over the burning lamp. Pausanias, conscious of his own betrayal of Greece and continually possessed by turmoil and fear because of it, panicked at that moment also and struck the maiden down with his sword.

Pausanias could not escape this pollution, despite undergoing all manner of purifications and supplicating Zeus Phyxios, even coming to Phigaleia in Arcadia to seek aid from the necromancers. Nevertheless, he suffered the justice due both to Cleonice and to the god. The Lacedaemonians, carrying out the command from Delphi, made bronze statues and established a cult of Epidotes ("the Bountiful One"), saying it was this deity who turned aside the wrath of Hikesios ("the God of Supplication") directed against Pausanias.