Pausanias Analysis

Passage 10.17.2

← 10.17.1 10.17.3 →

Passage 10.17.2: Sardus leads Libyan settlement of Ichnoussa (Sardinia)

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

πρῶτοι δὲ διαβῆναι λέγονται ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν νῆσον Λίβυες· ἡγεμὼν δὲ τοῖς Λίβυσιν ἦν Σάρδος ὁ Μακήριδος, Ἡρακλέους δὲ ἐπονομασθέντος ὑπὸ Αἰγυπτίων τε καὶ Λιβύων. Μακήριδι μὲν δὴ αὐτῷ τὰ ἐπιφανέστατα ὁδὸς ἐγένετο ἡ ἐς Δελφούς· Σάρδῳ δὲ ἡγεμονία τε ὑπῆρξε τῶν Λιβύων ἡ ἐς τὴν Ἰχνοῦσσαν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ Σάρδου τούτου μετέβαλεν ἡ νῆσος. οὐ μέντοι τούς γε αὐτόχθονας ἐξέβαλεν ὁ τῶν Λιβύων στόλος, σύνοικοι δὲ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν οἱ ἐπελθόντες ἀνάγκῃ μᾶλλον ἢ ὑπὸ εὐνοίας ἐδέχθησαν. καὶ πόλεις μὲν οὔτε οἱ Λίβυες οὔτε τὸ γένος τὸ ἐγχώριον ἠπίσταντο ποιήσασθαι· σποράδες δὲ ἐν καλύβαις τε καὶ σπηλαίοις, ὡς ἕκαστοι τύχοιεν, ᾤκησαν.

English Translation

The Libyans are said to have been the first people to cross over by ships to the island, and their leader was Sardus son of Makeris, who was surnamed Heracles by the Egyptians and Libyans. Makeris himself acquired his greatest fame from his journey to Delphi; Sardus, on the other hand, commanded the Libyans who sailed to Ichnoussa, and the island changed its name on account of this Sardus. Nevertheless, the Libyan expedition did not expel the native inhabitants, but these newcomers were received by them as co-settlers by compulsion rather than through goodwill. Neither the Libyans nor the indigenous people knew at that time how to establish cities; instead, they lived scattered about in huts and caves wherever they happened to find shelter.

Proper Nouns

Heracles (Ἡρακλῆς) deity
Egyptians (Αἰγύπτιοι) person
Libyans (Λίβυες) person
Makeris (Μακήρις) person
Sardos (Σάρδος) person
Also in: 10.18.1
Delphi (Δελφοί) place Q75459 Pleiades
Island (Sardinia, by context) (νῆσος) place
Ichnoussa (Ἰχνοῦσσα) place
Also in: 10.17.1
← 10.17.1 10.17.3 →