Pausanias Analysis

Passage 1.32.5

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Passage 1.32.5: Echetlaeus, rustic hero who slew barbarians with a plough

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

συνέβη δὲ ὡς λέγουσιν ἄνδρα ἐν τῇ μάχῃ παρεῖναι τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὴν σκευὴν ἄγροικον· οὗτος τῶν βαρβάρων πολλοὺς καταφονεύσας ἀρότρῳ μετὰ τὸ ἔργον ἦν ἀφανής· ἐρομένοις δὲ Ἀθηναίοις ἄλλο μὲν ὁ θεὸς ἐς αὐτὸν ἔχρησεν οὐδέν, τιμᾶν δὲ Ἐχετλαῖον ἐκέλευσεν ἥρωα. πεποίηται δὲ καὶ τρόπαιον λίθου λευκοῦ. τοὺς δὲ Μήδους Ἀθηναῖοι μὲν θάψαι λέγουσιν ὡς πάντως ὅσιον ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν γῇ κρύψαι, τάφον δὲ οὐδένα εὑρεῖν ἐδυνάμην· οὔτε γὰρ χῶμα οὔτε ἄλλο σημεῖον ἦν ἰδεῖν, ἐς ὄρυγμα δὲ φέροντες σφᾶς ὡς τύχοιεν ἐσέβαλον.

English Translation

They say that during the battle there appeared a man of rustic appearance and equipment, who slew many of the barbarians with a plough, and after the encounter vanished altogether. When the Athenians inquired about him, the god gave no other response but commanded them to honor him as the hero Echetlaeus. A trophy of white stone has also been erected. The Athenians claim that they buried the Persians, as they believed it absolutely sacred to conceal human bodies in the earth; but I myself could not find their tomb, since there was neither any mound to be seen nor any other memorial; instead, the Athenians gathered their bodies and flung them into a pit at random.

Proper Nouns

god (θεός) deity
Medes (Μῆδοι) person
Athenians (Ἀθηναῖοι) person
Echetlaeus (Ἐχετλαῖος) person
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