Pausanias Analysis

Passage 1.38.7

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Passage 1.38.7: The secret inner sanctuary and the hero Eleusis' parentage

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

τὰ δὲ ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους τοῦ ἱεροῦ τό τε ὄνειρον ἀπεῖπε γράφειν, καὶ τοῖς οὐ τελεσθεῖσιν, ὁπόσων θέας εἴργονται, δῆλα δήπου μηδὲ πυθέσθαι μετεῖναί σφισιν. Ἐλευσῖνα δὲ ἥρωα, ἀφʼ οὗ τὴν πόλιν ὀνομάζουσιν, οἱ μὲν Ἑρμοῦ παῖδα εἶναι καὶ Δαείρας Ὠκεανοῦ θυγατρὸς λέγουσι, τοῖς δέ ἐστι πεποιημένα Ὤγυγον εἶναι πατέρα Ἐλευσῖνι· οἱ γὰρ ἀρχαῖοι τῶν λόγων ἅτε οὐ προσόντων σφίσιν ἐπῶν ἄλλα τε πλάσασθαι δεδώκασι καὶ μάλιστα ἐς τὰ γένη τῶν ἡρώων.

English Translation

Concerning what lies within the wall of the sanctuary, a dream forbade me to write of it, and certainly those who are not initiated are forbidden from seeing many things there; clearly, then, it is not permitted for them even to hear about these things. Regarding Eleusis, the hero from whom the city derives its name, some say he was the son of Hermes and Daeira, a daughter of Oceanus; according to others, it has been invented that Ogygus was the father of Eleusis. For the ancients, lacking poetic accounts, permitted themselves liberty in fashioning various stories, particularly concerning the lineage of heroes.

Proper Nouns

Daeira (Δάειρα) deity
Hermes (Ἑρμῆς) deity
Oceanus (Ὠκεανός) deity
Wall (τεῖχος) other
Eleusis (Ἐλευσῖν) person
Ogygus (Ὠγυγος) person
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