Pausanias Analysis

Passage 2.32.10

← 2.32.9 2.33.1 →

Passage 2.32.10: Twisted Rhakhos olive at Psiphaia, where Hippolytus' chariot was overturned

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἐπὶ θάλασσαν δὲ τὴν Ψιφαίαν πορευομένοις κότινος πέφυκεν ὀνομαζόμενος ῥᾶχος στρεπτός. ῥάχους μὲν δὴ καλοῦσι Τροιζήνιοι πᾶν ὅσον ἄκαρπον ἐλαίας, κότινον καὶ φυλλίαν καὶ ἔλαιον· στρεπτὸν δὲ ἐπονομάζουσι τοῦτον, ὅτι ἐνσχεθεισῶν αὐτῷ τῶν ἡνιῶν ἀνετράπη τοῦ Ἱππολύτου τὸ ἅρμα. τούτου δὲ οὐ πολὺ τῆς Σαρωνίας Ἀρτέμιδος ἀφέστηκε τὸ ἱερόν, καὶ τὰ ἐς αὐτὸ ἐμήνυσεν ὁ λόγος ἤδη μοι. τοσόνδε δὲ ἔτι δηλώσω· Σαρώνια γὰρ δὴ κατὰ ἔτος τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι.

English Translation

As you travel toward the seaside at Psiphaia, there grows an olive tree called the Twisted Rhakhos. The Troezenians call rhakhos any olive that bears no fruit, whether it yields only leaves, oil-olives, or merely foliage. They give this particular tree the name "Twisted," because it was here, they say, that Hippolytus was overturned from his chariot when its reins became entangled. Not far from this tree stands the sanctuary of Saronian Artemis, about which my narrative has already made mention. I will add only this much more: the Troezenians annually celebrate the festival called Saronia in honor of Artemis.

Proper Nouns

Artemis (Ἀρτέμις) deity
Artemis Saronia (Ἀρτέμις Σαρωνία) deity
Troezenians (Τροιζήνιος) person
Hippolytus (Ἱππόλυτος) person
Saronia (Σαρώνια) place Q211779
Psiphaia (Ψιφαία) place Q2115813
← 2.32.9 2.33.1 →