Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.17.1 Class: Mythic

μετὰ δὲ τοῦ Αἰπύτου τὸν τάφον ὄρος τε ὑψηλότατον ὀρῶν τῶν ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ Κυλλήνη καὶ Ἑρμοῦ Κυλληνίου κατερριμμένος ναός ἐστιν ἐπὶ κορυφῆς τοῦ ὄρους· δῆλα δέ ἐστιν ἀπὸ Κυλλῆνος τοῦ Ἐλάτου τῷ τε ὄρει τὸ ὄνομα καὶ ἡ ἐπίκλησις γεγενημένη τῷ θεῷ.

Proper Nouns:

Αἴπυτος Κυλλήνη Κύλλην Ελάτης Ἀρκαδία Ἑρμῆς Κυλλήνιος

After the tomb of Aipytos is Mount Kyllene, the loftiest of all the mountains in Arkadia, and upon the peak of this mountain stands a temple dedicated to Hermes Kyllenios, now fallen into ruins. It is obvious that both the name of the mountain and the surname given to the god derive from Kyllenos, the son of Elatos.

Passage 8.17.2 Class: Historical

τοῖς δὲ ἀνθρώποις τὸ ἀρχαῖον, ὁπόσα καὶ ἡμεῖς καταμαθεῖν ἐδυνήθημεν, τοσάδε ἦν ἀφʼ ὧν τὰ ξόανα ἐποιοῦντο, ἔβενος, κυπάρισσος, αἱ κέδροι, τὰ δρύινα, ἡ μῖλαξ, ὁ λωτός· τῷ δὲ Ἑρμῇ τῷ Κυλληνίῳ τούτων μὲν ἀπὸ οὐδενός, θύου δὲ πεποιημένον τὸ ἄγαλμά ἐστιν, ὀκτὼ δὲ εἶναι ποδῶν μάλιστα αὐτὸ εἰκάζομεν.

Proper Nouns:

Κυλλήνιος Ἑρμῆς

In ancient times, as far as we have been able to ascertain, men used the following materials for making wooden statues: ebony, cypress, cedar, oak, yew, and lotus. The image of Hermes of Cyllene, however, is made from none of these, but from juniper wood; we estimate the statue to be approximately eight feet tall.

Passage 8.17.3 Class: Historical

παρέχεται δὲ καὶ θαῦμα τοιόνδε ἡ Κυλλήνη· κόσσυφοι γὰρ οἱ ὄρνιθες ὁλόλευκοί εἰσιν ἐν αὐτῇ· οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ Βοιωτῶν καλούμενοι γένος ἄλλο πού τί εἰσιν ὀρνίθων, οὐκ ᾠδικόν. ἀετοὺς μὲν οὖν ὀνομαζομένους κυκνίας μάλιστα ἐοικότας κύκνῳ λευκότητα οἶδα ἐν Σιπύλῳ θεασάμενος περὶ λίμνην καλουμένην Ταντάλου· ὗς δὲ ἀγρίους λευκοὺς καὶ ἄρκτους τῶν Θρᾳκίων λευκὰς ἤδη που καὶ ἄνδρες ἐκτήσαντο ἰδιῶται·

Proper Nouns:

Βοιωτοί Θρᾷκες Κυλλήνη Σίπυλος Τάνταλος

Cyllene offers also the following marvel: there the birds called blackbirds are altogether white. Those which the Boeotians call by this name, however, are a different kind of bird entirely, not songbirds. I myself have seen near Sipylus, by the lake called Tantalus' lake, certain birds called swan-eagles, resembling swans especially in whiteness. Moreover, white wild boars and white bears from Thrace have already at times been kept by private individuals.

Passage 8.17.4 Class: Historical

λαγῲ δὲ καὶ ἔλαφοι, τὸ μὲν Λιβυκὸν θρέμμα οἱ λαγῴ εἰσιν οἱ λευκοί, ἐλάφους δὲ ἐν Ῥώμῃ λευκὰς εἶδόν τε καὶ ἰδὼν θαῦμα ἐποιησάμην, ὁπόθεν δὲ ἢ τῶν ἠπείρων οὖσαι ἢ νησιώτιδες ἐκομίσθησαν, οὐκ ἐπῆλθεν ἐρέσθαι μοι. τάδε μὲν ἡμῖν λελέχθω τῶν ἐν Κυλλήνῃ κοσσύφων ἕνεκα, ὡς μὴ τοῖς ῥηθεῖσιν ἐς τὴν χρόαν αὐτῶν ἀπιστοίη μηδείς·

Proper Nouns:

Κυλλήνη Λιβύη Ῥώμη

There are also hares and deer, the white hares being animals native to Libya. White deer I myself saw in Rome, and upon seeing them I marveled; but from which mainland region or island they were brought, I did not inquire. These points I have mentioned on account of the blackbirds on Cyllene, so that no one should doubt the truth of what has been said concerning their color.

Passage 8.17.5 Class: Mythic

ἔχεται δὲ ἄλλο ὄρος Κυλλήνης Χελυδόρεα, ἔνθα εὑρὼν χελώνην Ἑρμῆς ἐκδεῖραι τὸ θηρίον καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς λέγεται ποιήσασθαι λύραν. ἐνταῦθα Φενεάταις καὶ Πελληνεῦσιν ὅροι τῆς γῆς εἰσι, καὶ τοῦ ὄρους τῶν Χελυδορέων οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ τὸ πλέον νέμονται.

Proper Nouns:

Κυλλήνη Πελληνεὺς Φενεάτης Χελυδόρεα Χελυδόρεια Ἀχαιός Ἑρμῆς

Next to Cyllene is another mountain, Chelydorea, where Hermes, having found a tortoise, is said to have stripped the animal of its shell and from this fashioned a lyre. At this point lie the boundaries between the lands of Pheneus and Pellene. The greater part of Mount Chelydorea is held by the Achaeans.

Passage 8.17.6 Class: Mythic

ἐκ Φενεοῦ δὲ ἰόντι ἐπὶ τὴν ἑσπέρας καὶ ἡλίου δυσμῶν ἡ μὲν ἀριστερὰ τῶν ὁδῶν ἐς πόλιν ἄγει Κλείτορα, ἐν δεξιᾷ δὲ ἐπὶ Νώνακριν καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς Στυγός. τὸ μὲν δὴ ἀρχαῖον ἡ Νώνακρις πόλισμα ἦν Ἀρκάδων καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Λυκάονος γυναικὸς τὸ ὄνομα εἰλήφει· τὰ δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἐρείπια ἦν, οὐδὲ τούτων τὰ πολλὰ ἔτι δῆλα. τῶν δὲ ἐρειπίων οὐ πόρρω κρημνός ἐστιν ὑψηλός, οὐχ ἕτερον δʼ ἐς τοσοῦτον ἀνήκοντα ὕψους οἶδα· καὶ ὕδωρ κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ στάζει, καλοῦσι δὲ Ἕλληνες αὐτὸ ὕδωρ Στυγός.

Proper Nouns:

Κλεῖτωρ Λυκάων Νώρακρις Νῶνακρις Στύξ Φενεός Ἀρκάδες Ἕλληνες

From Pheneus, going westward towards the setting of the sun, the road on the left leads to the city of Cleitor, while the one on the right leads to Nonacris and the waters of the Styx. Nonacris was anciently a city of the Arcadians, named after the wife of Lycaon; but in our time it has become ruins, and these ruins themselves are mostly no longer distinguishable. Not far from the ruins stands a high cliff; I know of no other that rises to such a height. Water drips down this cliff, and the Greeks call this water the Styx.

Legend:

Chapter 8.17