Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.24.1 Class: Mythic

Ψωφῖδος δὲ οἱ μέν φασιν οἰκιστὴν γενέσθαι Ψώφιδα τὸν Ἄρρωνος τοῦ Ἐρυμάνθου τοῦ Ἀρίστα τοῦ Παρθάονος τοῦ Περιφήτου τοῦ Νυκτίμου· τοῖς δέ ἐστιν εἰρημένα θυγατέρα Ψωφῖδα εἶναι Ξάνθου τοῦ Ἐρυμάνθου τοῦ Ἀρκάδος. τάδε μὲν οὖν οὕτω κατὰ τὴν Ἀρκάδων ἐς τοὺς βασιλέας ἔχει μνήμην·

Proper Nouns:

Νύκτιμος Ξάνθος Παρθάων Περιφήτης Ψωφίς Ψώφις Ψώφις Ἀρίστας Ἀρκάδες Ἀρκάς Ἄρρων Ἐρύμανθος

Concerning Psophis, some say that its founder was Psophis, the son of Arrhon, son of Erymanthus, son of Aristus, son of Parthaon, son of Periphetes, son of Nyctimus; others have said that Psophis was the daughter of Xanthus, the son of Erymanthus, son of Arcas. Such, then, is the tradition preserved among the Arcadians concerning their kings.

Passage 8.24.2 Class: Mythic

ὁ δὲ ἀληθέστατος τῶν λόγων ἐστὶν Ἔρυκος τοῦ ἐν Σικανίᾳ δυναστεύσαντος παῖδα εἶναι τὴν Ψωφῖδα, ᾗ συγγενόμενος Ἡρακλῆς ἀγαγέσθαι μὲν αὐτὴν ἐς τὸν οἶκον οὐκ ἠξίου, καταλείπει δὲ ἔχουσαν ἐν τῇ γαστρὶ παρὰ Λυκόρτᾳ, ξένῳ μὲν ὄντι αὐτοῦ, παροικοῦντι δὲ ἐν πόλει Φηγίᾳ, πρὸ δὲ τοῦ Φηγέως τῆς βασιλείας Ἐρυμάνθῳ καλουμένῃ· ἐπιτραφέντες δὲ αὐτόθι Ἐχέφρων καὶ Πρόμαχος Ἡρακλέους τε ὄντες καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς τῆς Σικανῆς μετέθεντο τῇ Φηγίᾳ τὸ ὄνομα Ψωφῖδα ἀπὸ τῆς μητρός.

Proper Nouns:

Λυκόρτης Πρόμαχος Σικανή Σικανία Φηγεία Φηγεύς Ψωφῖς Ἐρύμανθος Ἐχέφρων Ἔρυκος Ἡρακλῆς

But the most accurate of the accounts is that Psophis was the daughter of Eryx, who reigned in Sicily. When Heracles had relations with her, he did not think it proper to bring her into his own household; instead he left her pregnant with Lycortas, who was his friend, residing in the city called Phegia at that time, but earlier named Erymanthus before the reign of Phegeus. Echephron and Promachus, who were born and raised there and were the children of Heracles and the Sicilian woman, changed the name of the city from Phegia to Psophis after their mother.

Passage 8.24.3 Class: Mythic

ἔστι δὲ καὶ Ζακυνθίων τῇ ἀκροπόλει Ψωφὶς ὄνομα, ὅτι ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν νῆσον ἐπεραιώθη πρῶτος καὶ ἐγένετο οἰκιστὴς ἀνὴρ Ψωφίδιος, Ζάκυνθος τε ὁ Δαρδάνου. Σειρῶν μὲν δὴ σταδίοις ἐστὶν ἀπωτέρω τριάκοντα ἡ Ψωφίς· παρὰ δὲ αὐτὴν ὅ τε Ἀροάνιος ποταμὸς καὶ ὀλίγον ἀπωτέρω τῆς πόλεως Ἐρύμανθος ῥέουσιν.

Proper Nouns:

Δάρδανος Ζάκυνθος Ζάκυνθος Σειραί Ψωφίδιος Ψωφίς Ἀροάνιος Ἐρύμανθος

In the citadel of the Zacynthians there is also a place named Psophis, because the first man transported by ship to the island—who became its founder—was Psophidian by origin, along with Zacynthus, son of Dardanus. Psophis itself lies thirty stades distant from Seirai. Beside it, the river Aroanius flows, while slightly further from the city, the Erymanthus also runs.

Passage 8.24.4 Class: Mythic

ἔχει δὲ τὰς πηγὰς ὁ Ἐρύμανθος ἐν ὄρει Λαμπείᾳ, τὸ δὲ ὄρος τοῦτο ἱερὸν εἶναι Πανὸς λέγεται· εἴη δʼ ἂν τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ Ἐρυμάνθου μοῖρα ἡ Λάμπεια. ἐποίησε δὲ Ὅμηρος ὡς ἐν Ταϋγέτῳ τε καὶ Ἐρυμάνθῳ θηρευτὴς οὖν τῆς Λαμπείας ὁ Ἐρύμανθος, καὶ Ἀρκαδίαν διεξελθὼν ἐν δεξιᾷ μὲν τὸ ὄρος ἔχων τὴν Φολόην, ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δὲ πάλιν Θέλπουσαν χώραν, κάτεισιν ἐς τὸν Ἀλφειόν.

Proper Nouns:

Θέλπουσα Λάμπεια Λάμπεια Πάν Ταΰγετος Φολόη Ἀλφειός Ἀρκαδία Ἐρύμανθος Ἐρύμανθος Ἐρύμανθος Ὅμηρος

The Erymanthus River has its sources on Mount Lampeia, and this mountain is said to be sacred to Pan; indeed, Lampeia might properly be considered part of Mount Erymanthus. Homer himself represented Erymanthus as a place for hunting, as he did for Mount Taygetus. Thus, originating from Lampeia and flowing across Arcadia—with Mount Pholoe on its right and the district of Thelpusa on its left—the Erymanthus descends into the Alpheius River.

Passage 8.24.5 Class: Mythic

λέγεται δὲ ὡς Ἡρακλῆς κατὰ πρόσταγμα Εὐρυσθέως παρὰ τῷ Ἐρυμάνθῳ θηράσειεν ὗν μεγέθει καὶ ἀλκῇ τοὺς ἄλλους ὑπερηρκότα. Κυμαῖοι δὲ οἱ ἐν Ὀπικοῖς συὸς ὀδόντας ἀνακειμένους παρὰ σφίσιν ἐν Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερῷ λόγῳ μὲν λέγουσιν ὡς οἱ ὀδόντες ὑὸς εἶεν τοῦ Ἐρυμανθίου, τῷ λόγῳ δὲ αὐτῶν οὐδὲ ἐπʼ ὀλίγον μέτεστι τοῦ εἰκότος.

Proper Nouns:

Εὐρυσθεύς Κῦμαι Ἀπόλλων Ἐρύμανθος Ἐρύμανθος Ἡρακλῆς Ὀπικοί

It is also said that Heracles, at the command of Eurystheus, hunted by the river Erymanthus a boar that surpassed all others in size and strength. The inhabitants of Cumae in the Opician land claim that the tusks preserved by them in the sanctuary of Apollo belong to the Erymanthian boar; yet their claim is not at all likely or credible.

Passage 8.24.6 Class: Mythic

Ψωφιδίοις δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει τοῦτο μὲν Ἀφροδίτης ἱερὸν Ἐρυκίνης ἐστὶν ἐπίκλησιν--- ἧς ἐρείπια ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἐλείπετο αὐτοῦ μόνα, ἐλέγοντο δὲ οἱ Ψωφῖδος αὐτὸ ἱδρύσασθαι παῖδες, καὶ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τὸ εἰκὸς πρόσεστι· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἐν Σικελίᾳ τῆς Ἐρυκίνης ἱερὸν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ Ἔρυκος, ἁγιώτατόν τε ἐκ παλαιοτάτου καὶ οὐκ ἀποδέον πλούτῳ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ ἐν Πάφῳ---

Proper Nouns:

Πάφος Σικελία Ψωφιδιοί Ψωφῖς Ἀφροδίτη Ἐρυκίνη Ἔρυξ

In the city of Psophis, there is a sanctuary of Aphrodite surnamed Erycina; in our time, only its ruins remained. It was said that the sanctuary had been founded by the children of Psophis, a statement which is plausible, for also in Sicily, in the territory of Eryx, there is a sanctuary of Erycine Aphrodite, renowned for its great antiquity and scarcely inferior in wealth to the sanctuary at Paphos.

Passage 8.24.7 Class: Mythic

Προμάχου δὲ καὶ Ἐχέφρονος τῶν Ψωφῖδος οὐκ ἐπιφανῆ κατʼ ἐμὲ ἔτι ἦν τὰ ἡρῷα. τέθαπται δὲ καὶ Ἀλκμαίων ἐν Ψωφῖδι ὁ Ἀμφιαράου, καί οἱ τὸ μνῆμά ἐστιν οἴκημα οὔτε μεγέθει μέγα οὔτε ἄλλως κεκοσμημένον· περὶ δὲ αὐτὸ κυπάρισσοι πεφύκασιν ἐς τοσοῦτον ὕψος ἀνήκουσαι, ὥστε καὶ τὸ ὄρος τὸ πρὸς τῇ Ψωφῖδι κατεσκιάζετο ὑπʼ αὐτῶν. ταύτας οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν ἐκκόπτειν ἱερὰς τοῦ Ἀλκμαίωνος νομίζοντες· καλοῦνται δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων παρθένοι.

Proper Nouns:

Πρόμαχος Ψωφῖς Ψωφῖς Ἀλκμαίων Ἀλκμαίων Ἀμφιάραος Ἐχέφρων

At my time, the hero-shrines of Promachus and Echephron at Psophis were no longer remarkable. Alcmaeon, the son of Amphiaraus, is also buried in Psophis, and his monument is a building neither great in size nor decorated in any other way. However, around it have grown cypress trees that have reached such a great height that even the mountain by Psophis is overshadowed by them. The locals refuse to cut them down, regarding the trees as sacred to Alcmaeon. They call these cypresses "virgins."

Passage 8.24.8 Class: Mythic

ὁ δὲ Ἀλκμαίων ἡνίκα τὴν μητέρα ἀποκτείνας ἔφυγεν ἐξ Ἄργους, τότε ἐς τὴν Ψωφῖδα ἐλθών, Φηγίαν ἔτι ἀπὸ τοῦ Φηγέως ὀνομαζομένην, συνῴκησεν Ἀλφεσιβοίᾳ τῇ Φηγέως θυγατρὶ καὶ αὐτῇ δῶρα ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς καὶ ἄλλα καὶ τὸν ὅρμον δίδωσιν. ὡς δὲ οἰκοῦντι αὐτῷ παρὰ τοῖς Ἀρκάσιν οὐδὲν ἐγίνετο ἡ νόσος ῥᾴων, κατέφυγεν ἐπὶ τὸ μαντεῖον τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, καὶ αὐτὸν ἡ Πυθία διδάσκει τὸν Ἐριφύλης ἀλάστορα ἐς ταύτην οἱ μόνην χώραν οὐ συνακολουθήσειν, ἥτις ἐστὶ νεωτάτη καὶ ἡ θάλασσα τοῦ μητρῴου μιάσματος ἀνέφηνεν ὕστερον αὐτήν.

Proper Nouns:

Δελφοί Πυθία Φηγία Φηγεύς Ψωφὶς μαντεῖον Ἀλκμαίων Ἀλφεσιβοία Ἀρκάδες Ἄργος Ἐριφύλη

When Alcmaeon fled from Argos after killing his mother, he went to Psophis (still called Phegia after Phegeus at that time) and married Alphesiboea, the daughter of Phegeus, giving her, among other customary gifts, the necklace. However, since his affliction did not ease at all while he was living among the Arcadians, he sought refuge at the oracle at Delphi. There the Pythia instructed him that the avenging spirit of Eriphyle would cease to pursue him only when he came to a land that was new, formed recently by the sea, having appeared after the pollution of his mother’s blood.

Passage 8.24.9 Class: Mythic

καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐξευρὼν τοῦ Ἀχελῴου τὴν πρόσχωσιν ἐνταῦθα ᾤκησε, καὶ γυναῖκα ἔσχε Καλλιρόην τοῦ Ἀχελῴου θυγατέρα λόγῳ τῷ Ἀκαρνάνων, καί οἱ παῖδες Ἀκαρνάν τε καὶ Ἀμφότερος ἐγένοντο· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Ἀκαρνᾶνος τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ ταύτῃ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ νῦν γενέσθαι λέγουσι τὰ πρὸ τούτου Κούρησι καλουμένοις. ἐς ἐπιθυμίας δὲ ἀνοήτους πολλοὶ μὲν ἄνδρες, γυναῖκες δὲ ἔτι πλέον ἐξοκέλλουσιν.

Proper Nouns:

Καλλιρόη Κούρησις Ἀκαρνάν Ἀκαρνάν Ἀκαρνάν Ἀμφότερος Ἀχελῷος

The man who found the silted land of the Acheloos settled there, and, according to the account of the Acarnanians, took as wife Callirhoe, the daughter of Acheloos. He fathered two sons, Acarnan and Amphoteros. It is said that from Acarnan the people living on this mainland acquired their present name, though before him they were known as Curetes. Many men, and even more women, frequently succumb to foolish passions.

Passage 8.24.10 Class: Mythic

ἐπεθύμησεν ἡ Καλλιρόη τῆς Ἐριφύλης οἱ γενέσθαι τὸν ὅρμον καὶ διʼ αὐτὸ ἐς τὴν Φηγίαν τὸν Ἀλκμαίωνα ἔστειλεν ἄκοντα, καὶ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Φηγέως τῶν παίδων Τημένου καὶ Ἀξίονος δολοφονηθέντα ἐπέλαβεν ἡ τελευτή. τοῦ Φηγέως δὲ οἱ παῖδες τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ἀναθεῖναι τῷ ἐν Δελφοῖς λέγονται τὸν ὅρμον. καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων βασιλευόντων ἐν Φηγίᾳ τότε ἔτι καλουμένῃ τῇ πόλει Φηγίᾳ στρατεῦσαί φασιν Ἕλληνας ἐς Τροίαν· σφᾶς δὲ οἱ Ψωφίδιοι τοῦ στόλου φασὶν οὐ μετασχεῖν, ὅτι αὐτῶν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν οἱ Ἀργείων ἀπηχθάνοντο ἡγεμόνες, κατὰ γένος τε τῷ Ἀλκμαίωνι οἱ πολλοὶ προσήκοντες καὶ τῆς ἐπιστρατείας αὐτῷ κοινωνήσαντες τῆς ἐς Θήβας.

Proper Nouns:

Δελφοί Θῆβαι Καλλιρόη Τήμενος Τροία Φηγία Φηγία Φηγεύς Ψωφίδιοι Ἀλκμαίων Ἀλκμαίων Ἀπόλλων Ἀργεῖοι Ἄξίων Ἐριφύλη Ἕλληνες

Callirhoe desired to possess Eriphyle's necklace, and therefore sent Alcmaeon unwillingly to Phegia, where death overtook him, treacherously murdered by Phegeus' sons, Temenus and Axion. The sons of Phegeus are said to have dedicated the necklace to Apollo at Delphi. During their reign over the city then still called Phegia, the Greeks, it is said, undertook the expedition against Troy. But the people of Psophis claim that their city did not participate in this expedition, alleging that the Argive leaders bore hostility toward their own kings, since the majority were related by birth to Alcmaeon and had assisted him in his campaign against Thebes.

Passage 8.24.11 Class: Historical

τὰς δὲ Ἐχινάδας νήσους ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀχελῴου μὴ σφᾶς ἤπειρον ἄχρι ἡμῶν ἀπειργάσθαι γέγονε δὴ αἰτία τὸ Αἰτωλῶν ἔθνος, γεγόνασι δὲ αὐτοί τε ἀνάστατοι καὶ ἡ γῆ σφισι πᾶσα ἠρήμωται· ταῖς Ἐχινάσιν οὖν ἅτε ἀσπόρου μενούσης τῆς Αἰτωλίας οὐχ ὁμοίως ὁ Ἀχελῷος ἐπάγει τὴν ἰλύν. μαρτύριον δέ μοι τοῦ λόγου· ὁ γὰρ Μαίανδρος διὰ τῆς Φρυγῶν καὶ Καρῶν ἀρουμένης ὅσα ἔτη ῥέων τὴν μεταξὺ Πριήνης καὶ Μιλήτου θάλασσαν ἐν οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ πεποίηκεν ἤπειρον.

Proper Nouns:

Αἰτωλία Αἰτωλοί Κᾶρες Μίλητος Μαίανδρος Πριήνη Φρύγες Ἀχελῷος Ἀχελῷος Ἐχινάδες

As for the Echinades islands, it is the people of Aetolia who are responsible for their not having been joined to the mainland by the river Achelous even down to our own time. For the Aetolians have themselves become refugees, and all their land has been abandoned. Since Aetolia thus remains uncultivated, the Achelous does not deposit silt towards the Echinades as it once did. As proof for my statement: the river Maeander, flowing year by year through a region cultivated by Phrygians and Carians, has within a short period turned the sea between Priene and Miletus into dry land.

Passage 8.24.12 Class: Historical

Ψωφιδίοις δὲ καὶ παρὰ τῷ Ἐρυμάνθῳ ναός ἐστιν Ἐρυμάνθου καὶ ἄγαλμα. ποιεῖται δὲ πλὴν τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου Νείλου ποταμοῖς τοῖς ἄλλοις λίθου λευκοῦ τὰ ἀγάλματα· τῷ Νείλῳ δέ, ἅτε διὰ τῆς Αἰθιόπων κατιόντι ἐς θάλασσαν, μέλανος λίθου τὰ ἀγάλματα ἐργάζεσθαι νομίζουσιν.

Proper Nouns:

Αἰθίοπες Αἴγυπτος Νεῖλος Νεῖλος Ψωφίδες Ἐρύμανθος Ἐρύμανθος

The people of Psophis have beside the Erymanthus river a temple and statue of Erymanthus. Statues of rivers are made from white marble for all rivers except the Egyptian Nile; the Nile alone, because it flows through Ethiopia on its way down to the sea, is believed to have its statues fashioned of black stone.

Passage 8.24.13 Class: Historical

ὃν δὲ ἤκουσα ἐν Ψωφῖδι ἐπὶ Ἀγλαῷ λόγον ἀνδρὶ Ψωφιδίῳ κατὰ Κροῖσον τὸν Λυδὸν ὄντι ἡλικίαν, ὡς ὁ Ἀγλαὸς τὸν χρόνον τοῦ βίου πάντα γένοιτο εὐδαίμων, οὔ με ἔπειθεν ὁ λόγος. ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπων μὲν τῶν ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ κακὰ ἄν τις ἐλάσσονα ἀναδέξαιτο, καθὰ καὶ ναῦς ἧσσον ἂν χειμασθείη νεὼς ἄλλης·

Proper Nouns:

Κροῖσος Λυδός Ψωφίδιος Ψωφῖς Ἀγλαός Ἀγλαός

The story which I heard in Psophis concerning Aglaos, a Psophidian who was contemporary with Croesus the Lydian, that this Aglaos throughout the whole course of his life experienced continuous happiness, did not persuade me. Rather, among men, one might admit that his own troubles are fewer, just as one ship may suffer fewer storms than another.

Passage 8.24.14 Class: Mythic

ἄνδρα δὲ συμφορῶν ἀεὶ στάντα ἐκτὸς ἢ τὰ πάντα οὐρίῳ ναῦν χρησαμένην πνεύματι οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως δυνησόμεθα ἐξευρεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ὅμηρος κατακείμενον παρὰ τῷ Διὶ ἀγαθῶν πίθον, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον κακῶν ἐποίησεν, ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖς θεοῦ δεδιδαγμένος, ὃς αὐτόν ποτε Ὅμηρον κακοδαίμονά τε προσεῖπε καὶ ὄλβιον ὡς φύντα ἐπὶ ἀμφοτέροις ὁμοίως.

Proper Nouns:

Δελφοί Ζεύς Ὅμηρος Ὅμηρος

It is impossible for us to find a man who has always stood apart from misfortune, or a ship that has sailed entirely with a favorable wind. Homer himself represented this when he attributed to Zeus two jars, one filled with good and the other with evil, having learned this from the god at Delphi, who once called Homer himself unhappy but also fortunate, as one equally endowed with both conditions from birth.

Legend:

Chapter 8.24