Pausanias Analysis

Passage 1.14.6

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Passage 1.14.6: Athena statue with grey-blue eyes beside Hephaestus' temple at Cerameicus

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

ὑπὲρ δὲ τὸν Κεραμεικὸν καὶ στοὰν τὴν καλουμένην Βασίλειον ναός ἐστιν Ἡφαίστου. καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἄγαλμά οἱ παρέστηκεν Ἀθηνᾶς, οὐδὲν θαῦμα ἐποιούμην τὸν ἐπὶ Ἐριχθονίῳ ἐπιστάμενος λόγον· τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ὁρῶν τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς γλαυκοὺς ἔχον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς Λιβύων τὸν μῦθον ὄντα εὕρισκον· τούτοις γάρ ἐστιν εἰρημένον Ποσειδῶνος καὶ λίμνης Τριτωνίδος θυγατέρα εἶναι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γλαυκοὺς εἶναι ὥσπερ καὶ τῷ Ποσειδῶνι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς.

English Translation

Above the Cerameicus and the portico known as Basileios is a temple of Hephaestus. That a statue of Athena stands beside him did not surprise me, knowing as I do the story regarding Erichthonius; yet, upon seeing that the statue of Athena had grey-blue eyes, I recognized in this the tale told by the Libyans. For according to them, Athena is the daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and for this reason her eyes, like Poseidon's, are grey-blue.

Proper Nouns

Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ) deity Q37122
Hephaestus (Ἥφαιστος) deity Q44384
Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν) deity Q41127
Libyans (Λίβυες) other Q2669678
Erichthonius (Ἐριχθόνιος) person Q61943333
Basileion (Βασίλειον) place Q24204110
Cerameicus (Κεραμεικός) place Q630974 Pleiades
Tritonis (Τριτωνίς) place Q158958
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