Pausanias Analysis

Passage 4.17.10

← 4.17.9 4.17.11 →

Passage 4.17.10: Messenian eleven-year defense at Mount Eira.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

Ἀριστομένης δὲ μετὰ τὴν μάχην τοὺς διαπεφευγότας τῶν Μεσσηνίων συνήθροιζε, καὶ Ἀνδανίαν μὲν καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐν μεσογαίᾳ πόλισμα ἔπεισε τὰ πολλὰ ἐκλείπειν, ἐς δὲ τὴν Εἶραν τὸ ὄρος ἀνοικίζεσθαι. συνεληλαμένοις δὲ ἐς τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον προσεκάθηντο οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι πολιορκίᾳ σφᾶς αὐτίκα ἐξαιρήσειν νομίζοντες· ἀντήρκεσαν δὲ ὅμως οἱ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ τάφρῳ συμφορὰν ἑνί τε καὶ δέκα ἔτεσιν ἀμυνόμενοι.

English Translation

After the battle Aristomenes gathered together the Messenians who had escaped and persuaded most of the inhabitants of Andania and any other towns in the interior country to abandon them, settling instead upon the mountain called Eira. When the Messenians had collected in this place, the Lacedaemonians immediately took up a position against them, thinking they would soon reduce them by siege. Nevertheless, despite the disaster at the trench, the Messenians held out while continually defending themselves for eleven years.

Proper Nouns

Lacedaemonians (Λακεδαιμόνιοι) person
Messenians (Μεσσήνιοι) person
Aristomenes (Ἀριστομένης) person
Eira (Εἶρα) place Q16575287
Andania (Ἀνδανία) place Q2537068 Pleiades
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