Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.21.8

← 2.21.7 2.21.9 →

Passage 2.21.8: Stone trophy commemorating the Argive defeat of Laphes

Historical Skeptical

Greek Text

τοῦ τάφου δὲ ἔμπροσθεν τρόπαιον λίθου πεποίηται κατὰ ἀνδρὸς Ἀργείου Λαφάους· τοῦτον γὰρ---γράφω δὲ ὁπόσα λέγουσιν αὐτοὶ περὶ σφῶν Ἀργεῖοι---τυραννοῦντα ἐξέβαλεν ἐπαναστὰς ὁ δῆμος, φυγόντα δὲ ἐς Σπάρτην Λακεδαιμόνιοι κατάγειν ἐπειρῶντο ἐπὶ τυραννίδι, νικήσαντες δὲ οἱ Ἀργεῖοι τῇ μάχῃ Λαφάην τε καὶ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀπέκτειναν. τὸ δὲ ἱερὸν τῆς Λητοῦς ἔστι μὲν οὐ μακρὰν τοῦ τροπαίου, τέχνη δὲ τὸ ἄγαλμα Πραξιτέλους .

English Translation

In front of the tomb stands a trophy of stone, raised against the Argive Laphes. For this man—here I relate only what the Argives themselves say about their own affairs—when he was tyrant was expelled by an uprising of the people. After he fled to Sparta, the Lacedaemonians tried to restore him to the tyranny, but the Argives prevailed in battle, killing Laphes and most of the Lacedaemonians. The sanctuary of Leto is not far from the trophy, and the statue within is the work of Praxiteles.

Proper Nouns

Leto (Λητώ) deity
Lacedaemonians (Λακεδαιμόνιοι) person
Laphanes (or Laphaios) (Λαφάων) person
Praxiteles (Πραξιτέλης) person
Argives (Ἀργεῖοι) person
Argive (Ἀργεῖος) person
Sparta (Σπάρτη) place Q5690 Pleiades
← 2.21.7 2.21.9 →