Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.31.1

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Passage 2.31.1: Temple of Artemis Soteira at Troezen

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ Τροιζηνίων ναὸς καὶ ἀγάλματα Ἀρτέμιδός ἐστι Σωτείρας· Θησέα δὲ ἐλέγετο ἱδρύσασθαι καὶ ὀνομάσαι Σώτειραν, ἡνίκα Ἀστερίωνα τὸν Μίνω καταγωνισάμενος ἀνέστρεψεν ἐκ τῆς Κρήτης. ἀξιολογώτατον δὲ εἶναι τοῦτο ἔδοξέν οἱ τῶν κατειργασμένων, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ὅτι ἀνδρείᾳ τοὺς ἀποθανόντας ὑπὸ Θησέως ὑπερέβαλεν ὁ Ἀστερίων, ἀλλὰ τό τε ἐκ τοῦ λαβυρίνθου δυσέξοδον καὶ τὸ λαθόντα ἀποδρᾶναι μετὰ τὸ ἔργον ἐποίησεν εἰκότα τὸν λόγον ὡς προνοίᾳ θείᾳ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνασωθείη Θησεὺς καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ.

English Translation

In the marketplace of Troezen there is a temple and statues of Artemis Soteira ("the Saviour"). It was said that Theseus built the temple and gave her the name Soteira after he had defeated Asterion, the son of Minos, and returned safely from Crete. Among Theseus' feats, Pausanias thought this was especially noteworthy—not so much, it seems to me, because Asterion surpassed in courage those whom Theseus had slain in the past, but rather because the escape from the labyrinth was so difficult, and the secret flight afterwards so stealthy, that it naturally gave rise to the belief that Theseus and his companions were saved by divine providence.

Proper Nouns

Soteira (Σώτειρα) deity
Artemis (Ἄρτεμις) deity
Theseus (Θησεύς) person
Minos (Μίνως) person
Asterion (Ἀστερίων) person
Crete (Κρήτη) place Q34374 Pleiades
Labyrinth (Λαβύρινθος) place Q1091243
Troezenians (Τροιζήνιοι) place
Also in: 10.9.8
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