Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.26.7

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Passage 2.26.7: Asclepius born of Coronis of Epidaurus, not Arsinoe.

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

ὁ δὲ τρίτος τῶν λόγων ἥκιστα ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἀληθής ἐστιν, Ἀρσινόης ποιήσας εἶναι τῆς Λευκίππου παῖδα Ἀσκληπιόν. Ἀπολλοφάνει γὰρ τῷ Ἀρκάδι ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐλθόντι καὶ ἐρομένῳ τὸν θεὸν εἰ γένοιτο ἐξ Ἀρσινόης Ἀσκληπιὸς καὶ Μεσσηνίοις πολίτης εἴη, ἔχρησεν ἡ Πυθία· ὦ μέγα χάρμα βροτοῖς βλαστὼν Ἀσκληπιὲ πᾶσιν, ὃν Φλεγυηὶς ἔτικτεν ἐμοὶ φιλότητι μιγεῖσα ἱμερόεσσα Κορωνὶς ἐνὶ κραναῇ Ἐπιδαύρῳ. Unknown οὗτος ὁ χρησμὸς δηλοῖ μάλιστα οὐκ ὄντα Ἀσκληπιὸν Ἀρσινόης, ἀλλὰ Ἡσίοδον ἢ τῶν τινα ἐμπεποιηκότων ἐς τὰ Ἡσιόδου τὰ ἔπη συνθέντα ἐς τὴν Μεσσηνίων χάριν.

English Translation

The third account seems to me least truthful, making Asclepius the son of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippus. For when Apollophanes the Arcadian came to Delphi and asked the god if Asclepius was born from Arsinoe and thus was citizen among the Messenians, the Pythia prophesied: "O Asclepius, sprung as great joy for mortals everywhere, Whom Coronis the fair bore, mixing in love with me, In rocky Epidaurus, daughter of Phlegyas." This oracle clearly indicates that Asclepius is not the son of Arsinoe, but that Hesiod, or one of those who adapted Hesiod’s poems, composed this genealogy to please the Messenians.

Proper Nouns

Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός) deity
Koronis (Κορωνίς) person
Leucippus (Λεύκιππος) person
Messenians (Μεσσήνιοι) person
Pythia (Πυθία) person
Phlegye (Φλεγύη) person
Apollophanes (Ἀπολλοφάνης) person
Arcadian (Ἀρκάς) person
Arsinoe (Ἀρσινόη) person
Hesiod (Ἡσίοδος) person
Delphi (Δελφοί) place Q75459 Pleiades
Epidaurus (Ἐπίδαυρος) place Q233576
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