Pausanias Analysis

Passage 3.19.4

← 3.19.3 3.19.5 →

Passage 3.19.4: Altar relief of gods carrying Hyakinthos and Polyboia; Nikias's handsome statue of Hyakinthos.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

πεποίηται δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ ἡ Δημήτηρ καὶ Κόρη καὶ Πλούτων, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς Μοῖραί τε καὶ Ὧραι, σὺν δέ σφισιν Ἀφροδίτη καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ τε καὶ Ἄρτεμις· κομίζουσι δʼ ἐς οὐρανὸν Ὑάκινθον καὶ Πολύβοιαν, Ὑακίνθου καθὰ λέγουσιν ἀδελφὴν ἀποθανοῦσαν ἔτι παρθένον. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν τοῦ Ὑακίνθου τὸ ἄγαλμα ἔχον ἐστὶν ἤδη γένεια, Νικίας δὲ ὁ Νικομήδους περισσῶς δή τι ἔγραψεν αὐτὸν ὡραῖον, τὸν ἐπὶ Ὑακίνθῳ λεγόμενον Ἀπόλλωνος ἔρωτα ὑποσημαίνων.

English Translation

On the altar are carved Demeter and Kore, as well as Plouton; above them stand the Moirai (Fates) and the Horai (Seasons), and together with these goddesses are Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis. They are depicted bringing up to heaven Hyakinthos and Polyboia, his sister who, they say, died while still a virgin. Now, this statue of Hyakinthos already has a beard, but Nikias, son of Nikomedes, depicted him especially handsome in order to recall the love that Apollo is said to have felt toward Hyakinthos.

Proper Nouns

Demeter (Δημήτηρ) deity
Kore (Κόρη) deity
Moirai (Μοῖραι) deity
Plouton (Πλούτων) deity
Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ) deity
Apollo (Ἀπόλλων) deity
Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη) deity
Artemis (Ἄρτεμις) deity
Horae (Ὧραι) deity
Nicias (Νικίας) person
Nicomedes (Νικομήδης) person
Polyboia (Πολύβοια) person
Hyacinthus (Ὑάκινθος) person
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