Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.27.1 Class: Mythic

θεῶν δὲ οἱ Θεσπιεῖς τιμῶσιν Ἔρωτα μάλιστα ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καί σφισιν ἄγαλμα παλαιότατόν ἐστιν ἀργὸς λίθος. ὅστις δὲ ὁ καταστησάμενος Θεσπιεῦσιν Ἔρωτα θεῶν σέβεσθαι μάλιστα, οὐκ οἶδα. σέβονται δὲ οὐδέν τι ἧσσον καὶ Ἑλλησποντίων Παριανοί, τὸ μὲν ἀνέκαθεν ἐξ Ἰωνίας καὶ Ἐρυθρῶν ἀπῳκισμένοι, τὰ δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν τελοῦντες ἐς Ῥωμαίους.

Proper Nouns:

Θεσπιεῖς Θεσπιεῖς Παριανοί Ἐρυθραί Ἑλλησπόντιοι Ἔρως Ἰωνία Ῥωμαῖοι

Among the gods, the Thespians honor Eros above all from the earliest times, and their most ancient image of him is an unwrought stone. Who it was that first established among the Thespians this particular veneration of Eros more than the other deities, I do not know. Eros is held in equal reverence by the Parians on the Hellespont, who originally migrated out of Ionia and Erythrae, and who in our times pay tribute to the Romans.

Passage 9.27.2 Class: Mythic

Ἔρωτα δὲ ἄνθρωποι μὲν οἱ πολλοὶ νεώτατον θεῶν εἶναι καὶ Ἀφροδίτης παῖδα ἥγηνται· Λύκιος δὲ Ὠλήν, ὃς καὶ τοὺς ὕμνους τοὺς ἀρχαιοτάτους ἐποίησεν Ἕλλησιν, οὗτος ὁ Ὠλὴν ἐν Εἰλειθυίας ὕμνῳ μητέρα Ἔρωτος τὴν Εἰλείθυιάν φησιν εἶναι. Ὠλῆνος δὲ ὕστερον Πάμφως τε ἔπη καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ἐποίησαν· καί σφισιν ἀμφοτέροις πεποιημένα ἐστὶν ἐς Ἔρωτα, ἵνα ἐπὶ τοῖς δρωμένοις Λυκομίδαι καὶ ταῦτα ᾄδωσιν· ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπελεξάμην ἀνδρὶ ἐς λόγους ἐλθὼν δᾳδουχοῦντι. καὶ τῶν μὲν οὐ πρόσω ποιήσομαι μνήμην· Ἡσίοδον δὲ ἢ τὸν Ἡσιόδῳ Θεογονίαν ἐσποιήσαντα οἶδα γράψαντα ὡς Χάος πρῶτον, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῷ Γῆ τε καὶ Τάρταρος καὶ Ἔρως γένοιτο·

Proper Nouns:

Γῆ Εἰλείθυια Θεογονία Λυκομίδαι Λύκιος Πάμφως Τάρταρος Χάος Ἀφροδίτη Ἔρως Ἕλληνες Ἡσίοδος Ἡσίοδος Ὀρφεύς Ὠλήν

Most people consider Eros to be the youngest of the gods and the son of Aphrodite; but Olen the Lycian, who composed the most ancient hymns sung by the Greeks, says in his hymn to Eileithyia that she was the mother of Eros. After Olen, Pamphos and Orpheus composed verses, and both writers have produced poetry about Eros, which the Lycomidae sing during their rites. I myself spoke with a torch-bearer about these matters; though I shall make no further mention of their conversation. As for Hesiod, or at least whoever composed the Theogony attributed to him, he wrote that Chaos first came into existence, and after Chaos arose Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros.

Passage 9.27.3 Class: Historical

Σαπφὼ δὲ ἡ Λεσβία πολλά τε καὶ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦντα ἀλλήλοις ἐς Ἔρωτα ᾖσε. Θεσπιεῦσι δὲ ὕστερον χαλκοῦν εἰργάσατο Ἔρωτα Λύσιππος , καὶ ἔτι πρότερον τούτου Πραξιτέλης λίθου τοῦ Πεντελῆσι. καὶ ὅσα μὲν εἶχεν ἐς Φρύνην καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ Πραξιτέλει τῆς γυναικὸς σόφισμα, ἑτέρωθι ἤδη μοι δεδήλωται· πρῶτον δὲ τὸ ἄγαλμα κινῆσαι τοῦ Ἔρωτος λέγουσι Γάιον δυναστεύσαντα ἐν Ῥώμῃ, Κλαυδίου δὲ ὀπίσω Θεσπιεῦσιν ἀποπέμψαντος Νέρωνα αὖθις δεύτερα ἀνάσπαστον ποιῆσαι.

Proper Nouns:

Γάιος Θεσπιαί Κλαύδιος Λεσβία Λύσιππος Νέρων Πεντέλη Πραξιτέλης Σαπφώ Φρύνη Ἔρως Ῥώμη

Sappho of Lesbos composed many poems about Love, various and even contradictory in their sentiments. Later, Lysippos made for the Thespians a bronze statue of Love, and earlier still Praxiteles had carved one from Pentelic marble. Elsewhere I have already related the story concerning Phryne and the craftiness practiced by that woman upon Praxiteles. It is said that Gaius was the first to remove from its place the statue of Love, during his reign in Rome, and afterward Claudius restored it to the Thespians; but Nero subsequently took it away a second time.

Passage 9.27.4 Class: Historical

καὶ τὸν μὲν φλὸξ αὐτόθι διέφθειρε· τῶν δὲ ἀσεβησάντων ἐς τὸν θεὸν ὁ μὲν ἀνθρώπῳ στρατιώτῃ διδοὺς ἀεὶ τὸ αὐτὸ σύνθημα μετὰ ὑπούλου χλευασίας ἐς τοσοῦτο προήγαγε θυμοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὥστε σύνθημα διδόντα αὐτὸν διεργάζεται, Νέρωνι δὲ παρὲξ ἢ τὰ ἐς τὴν μητέρα ἐστὶ καὶ ἐς γυναῖκας γαμετὰς ἐναγῆ τε καὶ ἀνέραστα τολμήματα. τὸν δὲ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Ἔρωτα ἐν Θεσπιαῖς ἐποίησεν Ἀθηναῖος Μηνόδωρος , τὸ ἔργον τὸ Πραξιτέλους μιμούμενος.

Proper Nouns:

Θεσπιαί Μηνόδωρος Νέρων Πραξιτέλης Ἀθηναῖος Ἔρως

The flame destroyed him there on the spot. Of the others who acted impiously toward the god, one officer, who was continually giving a certain soldier the same watchword along with subtle mockery, drove the man to such an extreme degree of wrath that he eventually killed the officer as he was giving him the watchword. And Nero, aside from his crimes against his mother, also committed vile and unnatural deeds concerning married women. The Eros in Thespiae existing in my own time was sculpted by Menodoros, an Athenian who imitated the statue of Praxiteles.

Passage 9.27.5 Class: Historical

ἐνταῦθα καὶ αὐτοῦ Πραξιτέλους Ἀφροδίτη καὶ Φρύνης ἐστὶν εἰκών, λίθου καὶ ἡ Φρύνη καὶ ἡ θεός. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθι Ἀφροδίτης Μελαινίδος ἱερὸν καὶ θέατρόν τε καὶ ἀγορὰ θέας ἄξια· ἐνταῦθα Ἡσίοδος ἀνάκειται χαλκοῦς. τῆς ἀγορᾶς τε οὐ πόρρω Νίκη τε χαλκοῦ καὶ ναὸς Μουσῶν ἐστιν οὐ μέγας· ἀγάλματα δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ μικρὰ λίθου πεποιημένα.

Proper Nouns:

Μοῦσαι Νίκη Πραξιτέλης Φρύνη Ἀφροδίτη Ἀφροδίτη Μελαινίς Ἡσίοδος

Here also is a statue of Aphrodite by Praxiteles himself and an image of Phryne, both figures carved from stone, the goddess as well as Phryne. Elsewhere too there is a sanctuary of Aphrodite Melainis, as well as a theater and marketplace worth seeing; here stands a bronze statue of Hesiod. Not far from the market is a bronze figure of Nike and a temple of the Muses that is not large; within it stand small stone images.

Passage 9.27.6 Class: Mythic

καὶ Ἡρακλέους Θεσπιεῦσίν ἐστιν ἱερόν· ἱερᾶται δὲ αὐτοῦ παρθένος, ἔστʼ ἂν ἐπιλάβῃ τὸ χρεὼν αὐτήν. αἴτιον δὲ τούτου φασὶν εἶναι τοιόνδε, Ἡρακλέα ταῖς θυγατράσι πεντήκοντα οὔσαις ταῖς Θεστίου συγγενέσθαι πάσαις πλὴν μιᾶς ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ νυκτί· ταύτην δὲ οὐκ ἐθελῆσαί οἱ τὴν μίαν μιχθῆναι· τὸν δὲ ὑβρισθῆναι νομίζοντα δικάσαι μένειν παρθένον πάντα αὐτὴν τὸν βίον ἱερωμένην αὐτῷ.

Proper Nouns:

Θέσπiai Θέστιος Ἡρακλῆς Ἡρακλῆς

The Thespians also have a sanctuary of Heracles. His priestess must remain a virgin until the time fixed by custom has passed. The reason given for this is as follows: it is said that Heracles lay with fifty daughters of Thestius, all in the same night, except for one. This single daughter refused to unite herself with him. Considering himself insulted, Heracles decided that she must remain a virgin for the rest of her life, serving him as his priestess.

Passage 9.27.7 Class: Mythic

ἐγὼ δὲ ἤκουσα μὲν καὶ ἄλλον λόγον, ὡς διὰ πασῶν ὁ Ἡρακλῆς τῶν Θεστίου παρθένων διεξέλθοι τῇ αὐτῇ νυκτὶ καὶ ὡς ἄρσενας παῖδας αὐτῷ πᾶσαι τέκοιεν, διδύμους δὲ ἥ τε νεωτάτη καὶ ἡ πρεσβυτάτη· ἐκεῖνο δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως ἡγήσομαι πιστόν, Ἡρακλέα ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο ὀργῆς ἀνδρὸς φίλου θυγατρὶ ἀφικέσθαι· πρὸς δὲ καὶ ἡνίκα ἔτι ἦν μετʼ ἀνθρώπων, τιμωρούμενός τε ἄλλους ὑβρίζοντας καὶ μάλιστα ὅσοι θεῶν ἀσεβεῖς ἦσαν, οὐκ ἂν αὐτός γε κατεστήσατο αὑτῷ ναόν τε καὶ ἱέρειαν ὥσπερ δὴ θεός.

Proper Nouns:

Θέστιος θεός Ἡρακλῆς Ἡρακλῆς

I have heard another story as well—that Heracles lay with all of Thestius' daughters in a single night, and each of them bore him male offspring, and that the youngest and the eldest sisters bore twins. But this account I cannot at all consider credible, that Heracles would have come to such an extreme outrage against the daughter of a man who was his friend. Moreover, while he still dwelt among mankind, since it was he who avenged wrongdoing and punished arrogance, especially of those who showed impiety toward the gods, he surely would never himself have established for his own worship a temple and a priestess as if he were indeed divine.

Passage 9.27.8 Class: Mythic

ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐφαίνετό μοι τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο ἀρχαιότερον ἢ κατὰ Ἡρακλέα εἶναι τὸν Ἀμφιτρύωνος, καὶ Ἡρακλέους τοῦ καλουμένου τῶν Ἰδαίων Δακτύλων, οὗ δὴ καὶ Ἐρυθραίους τοὺς ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ καὶ Τυρίους ἱερὰ ἔχοντας εὕρισκον. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ οἱ Βοιωτοὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ἠγνόουν τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, ὅπου γε αὐτοὶ τῆς Μυκαλησσίας Δήμητρος Ἡρακλεῖ τῷ Ἰδαίῳ τὸ ἱερὸν ἐπιτετράφθαι λέγουσιν.

Proper Nouns:

Βοιωτοί Δήμητρα Μυκαλησσία Τύρος Ἀμφιτρύων Ἐρυθραί Ἡρακλῆς Ἡρακλῆς Ἡρακλῆς ὁ Ἰδαῖος Ἰδαῖοι Δάκτυλοι Ἰωνία

Yet it appeared to me that this sanctuary was older than the time of Heracles, son of Amphitryon, and belonged rather to that Heracles who is called one of the Idaean Dactyls, whose sanctuaries I discovered among the Erythraeans in Ionia and among the Tyrians. Nor indeed were even the Boeotians ignorant of this Heracles name, since they themselves say that the sanctuary of the Mycalessian Demeter was entrusted to Idaean Heracles.

Legend:

Chapter 9.27