Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.13.4

← 2.13.3 2.13.5 →

Passage 2.13.4: Sanctuary of the Phliasian goddess: asylum, chains, and the Kissotomoi festival.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

παρὰ δὲ Φλιασίοις τῇ θεῷ ταύτῃ καὶ ἄλλαι τιμαὶ καὶ μέγιστον τὸ ἐς τοὺς ἱκέτας ἐστί· δεδώκασι γὰρ δὴ ἄδειαν ἐνταῦθα ἱκετεύουσι, λυθέντες δὲ οἱ δεσμῶται τὰς πέδας πρὸς τὰ ἐν τῷ ἄλσει δένδρα ἀνατιθέασιν. ἄγεται δὲ καὶ ἑορτή σφισιν ἐπέτειος, ἣν καλοῦσι Κισσοτόμους. ἄγαλμα δὲ οὔτε ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ φυλάσσουσιν οὐδὲν οὔτε ἐστὶν ἐν φανερῷ δεικνύμενον---ἐφʼ ὅτῳ δὲ οὕτω νομίζουσιν, ἱερός ἐστιν αὐτοῖς λόγος---, ἐπεὶ τῆς γε Ἥρας ἐστὶν ἐξιόντων ἐν ἀριστερᾷ ναὸς ἄγαλμα ἔχων Παρίου λίθου.

English Translation

Among the Phliasians this goddess receives other honors as well, but the greatest reverence concerns suppliants. For here they have granted safe refuge to those who seek sanctuary; prisoners, having been freed from their fetters, dedicate their chains on trees within the grove. Furthermore, an annual festival is held in her honor, which they call the Kissotomoi. However, no image of the goddess is kept hidden, nor is any openly displayed; the reason for this practice is the subject of a sacred tradition among them. As one leaves the precinct, there is, on the left side, a temple of Hera containing a statue of Parian marble.

Proper Nouns

Hera (Ἥρα) deity
Kissotomoi (Κισσοτόμοι) other
Phliasians (Φλιασίοι) person
Also in: 2.13.6 2.13.8
Parian (Πάριος) place
← 2.13.3 2.13.5 →