Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.30.7

← 2.30.6 2.30.8 →

Passage 2.30.7: The death of King Saron and his burial at Artemis's sanctuary (namesake of the Saronic Gulf)

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

μετὰ δὲ Ἄλθηπον Σάρων ἐβασίλευσεν. ἔλεγον δὲ ὅτι οὗτος τῇ Σαρωνίδι τὸ ἱερὸν Ἀρτέμιδι ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ τελματώδει καὶ ἐπιπολῆς μᾶλλον, ὥστε καὶ Φοιβαία λίμνη διὰ τοῦτο ἐκαλεῖτο. Σάρωνα δὲ---θηρεύειν γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα ᾕρητο---κατέλαβεν ἔλαφον διώκοντα ἐς θάλασσαν συνεσπεσεῖν φευγούσῃ· καὶ ἥ τε ἔλαφος ἐνήχετο ἀπωτέρω τῆς γῆς καὶ ὁ Σάρων εἴχετο τῆς ἄγρας, ἐς ὃ ὑπὸ προθυμίας ἀφίκετο ἐς τὸ πέλαγος· ἤδη δὲ κάμνοντα αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν κυμάτων κατακλυζόμενον ἐπέλαβε τὸ χρεών. ἐκπεσόντα δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν κατὰ τὴν· Φοιβαίαν λίμνην ἐς τὸ ἄλσος τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἐντὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ περιβόλου θάπτουσι, καὶ λίμνην ἀπὸ τούτου Σαρωνίδα τὴν ταύτῃ θάλασσαν καλοῦσιν ἀντὶ Φοιβαίας.

English Translation

After Althepus, Saron reigned. It is said that Saron built the sanctuary dedicated to Artemis called Saronis by a marshy sea, a place more like a pool than open water, which for this reason was called Phoibaea Lake. Saron—who was passionately devoted to hunting—one day chased a hind, and when it fled into the sea, he rushed in after it. The deer swam further and further from land, and Saron, not relinquishing the quarry, followed so eagerly that he was soon carried far out into the open water. Finally, exhausted and overwhelmed by the waves, he met his destined end. His body was washed ashore at Phoibaea Lake and there they buried him in the grove of Artemis within the enclosure of her sanctuary. From that time onwards, they called the stretch of sea at that place the Saronic Gulf, instead of Phoibaea Lake.

Proper Nouns

Artemis (Ἄρτεμις) deity
Saron (Σάρων) person
Althepos (Ἄλθηπος) person
Also in: 2.30.5
Saronis (Σαρωνίς) place Q211779
Phoibaia (Φοιβαία) place Q2115813
← 2.30.6 2.30.8 →