Pausanias Analysis

Analysis of Mythic vs. Historical Elements in Pausanias

Legend:

Mythic content (warmer colors, italics)
Historical content (cooler colors)

Color intensity indicates the strength of the predictive word or phrase.

Chapter 8.20

Passage 8.20.1 Class: Historical
προελθόντων δὲ σταδίους ὡς πεντήκοντα ἐκ Λυκουρίας, ἐπὶ τοῦ Λάδωνος ἀφίξῃ τὰς πηγάς· ἤκουσα δὲ ὡς τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ λιμνάζον ἐν τῇ Φενεατικῇ, κατερχόμενον ἐς τὰ βάραθρα τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν, ἄνεισιν ἐνταῦθα καὶ ποιεῖ τῷ Λάδωνι τὰς πηγάς. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ οὐκ ἔχω σαφῶς εἰπεῖν, εἴτε οὕτως εἴτε ἄλλως ἐστὶν ἔχον· ὁ δὲ Λάδων ποταμῶν τῶν ἐν Ἑλλάδι ὕδωρ παρέχεται κάλλιστον, ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ἐς ἀνθρώπους φήμην Δάφνης τε εἵνεκα καὶ †τὰ ᾀδόμενα ἐς τὴν Δάφνην.
Proper Nouns:
Δάφνη Δάφνη Λάδων Λάδων Λάδων Λυκουρία Φενεατική Ἑλλάς
About fifty stades from Lykouria, you will come to the sources of the Ladon river. I have heard that the water gathering in the Pheneatic plain descends into the chasms in the mountains and rises again here, creating the springs of the Ladon. Whether this is true or otherwise, I cannot state with certainty. Among all rivers in Greece, Ladon provides water of surpassing beauty, and furthermore, it has gained renown among people due to the story of Daphne and the songs that are sung about her.
Passage 8.20.2 Class: Mythic
τοῦ λόγου δὲ τοῦ ἐς Δάφνην τὰ μὲν Σύροις τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐπὶ Ὀρόντῃ ποταμῷ παρίημι, λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλα τοιάδε ὑπὸ Ἀρκάδων καὶ Ἠλείων. Οἰνομάῳ τῷ δυναστεύσαντι ἐν Πίσῃ Λεύκιππος ἦν υἱός. οὗτος ἐρασθεὶς Δάφνης ὁ Λεύκιππος ἐκ μὲν τοῦ εὐθέος μνώμενος γυναῖκα ἕξειν ἀπεγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἅτε ἅπαν τὸ ἄρσεν γένος φεύγουσαν· παρέστη δέ οἱ τοιόνδε ἐς αὐτὴν σόφισμα.
Proper Nouns:
Δάφνη Δάφνη Λεύκιππος Οἰνόμαος Πῖσα Σῦροι Ἀρκάδες Ἠλεῖοι Ὀρόντης
Regarding the story about Daphne, I pass over the details given by the Syrians who dwell beside the river Orontes; but there is another version told by the Arcadians and Eleans as follows. Oenomaus, who reigned over Pisa, had a son named Leucippus. Leucippus fell in love with Daphne, but realizing from the outset that he had no hope of marrying her, since she shunned the entire male sex, he devised the following stratagem to approach her.
Passage 8.20.3 Class: Mythic
ἔτρεφεν ὁ Λεύκιππος κόμην τῷ Ἀλφειῷ· ταύτην οἷα δὴ παρθένος πλεξάμενος τὴν κόμην καὶ ἐσθῆτα ἐνδὺς γυναικείαν ἀφίκετο ὡς τὴν Δάφνην, ἐλθὼν δὲ Οἰνομάου τε ἔλεγεν εἶναι θυγάτηρ καὶ ὡς συνθηρᾶν ἐθέλοι τῇ Δάφνῃ. ἅτε δὲ εἶναι παρθένος νομιζόμενος, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ὑπερβεβλημένος παρθένους γένους τε ἀξιώματι καὶ σοφίᾳ τῇ ἐς τὰ κυνηγέσια, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῇ θεραπείᾳ περισσῇ χρώμενος, ἐς φιλίαν ἰσχυρὰν ἐπάγεται τὴν Δάφνην.
Proper Nouns:
Δάφνη Λεύκιππος Οἰνόμαος Ἀλφειός
Leukippos dedicated his hair to the river Alpheios. After braiding it in the manner of maidens and clothing himself in women's attire, he came to Daphne, claiming upon his arrival to be the daughter of Oinomaos and desiring to go hunting with Daphne. Since he was believed to be a maiden, and because he excelled beyond the other maidens both through the nobility of his lineage and his skill in the hunt, as well as through the extraordinary care he showed her, he thus won Daphne over into strong friendship.
Passage 8.20.4 Class: Mythic
οἱ δὲ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνος ἔρωτα ἐς αὐτὴν ᾄδοντες καὶ τάδε ἐπιλέγουσιν, Ἀπόλλωνα Λευκίππῳ νεμεσῆσαι τῆς ἐς τὸν ἔρωτα εὐδαιμονίας. αὐτίκα δὲ ἐπεθύμησεν ἐν τῷ Λάδωνι ἡ Δάφνη καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ παρθένοι νήχεσθαι, καὶ τὸν Λεύκιππον ἀποδύουσιν ἄκοντα· ἰδοῦσαι δὲ οὐ παρθένον τοῖς τε ἀκοντίοις αὐτὸν καὶ ἐγχειριδίοις τύπτουσαι διέφθειραν.
Proper Nouns:
Δάφνη Λάδων Λεύκιππος Λεύκιππος Ἀπόλλων Ἀπόλλων
Those who sing about Apollo's love for her also recount this—that Apollo resented Leucippus for his success in love. Then Daphne and the other maidens wished to bathe in the Ladon, and they undressed Leucippus against his will. When they saw that he was not a girl, they struck him with spears and daggers and thus killed him.