Pausanias Analysis

Passage 4.5.5

← 4.5.4 4.5.6 →

Passage 4.5.5: The Messenians' bitter resistance and prolonged war.

Historical Skeptical

Greek Text

ἀνθʼ ὅτου δὲ Μεσσήνιοι τὸ ὄνειδος ἥγηνται τοῦτο οὕτω πικρόν, οὔ μοι τῷ λόγῳ τῷ παρόντι ἦν ἐπεισάγεσθαι· ὅτι γὰρ μὴ τῶν Μεσσηνίων τὸ εὔψυχον καὶ χρόνου μῆκος ὃν ἐπολέμησαν διάφορα ἐγένετο τῆς Ἀπολλοδώρου τυραννίδος, ἔς γε τὰς συμφορὰς οὐ πολλῷ τινι ἀποδέοι ἂν ἃ οἱ Κασσανδρεῖς πεπόνθασι.

English Translation

The reason why the Messenians found this disgrace so intensely bitter, it was not possible for me to introduce into my present narrative. For indeed, if it had not been for the bravery of the Messenians and the great length of time during which they persisted in war—factors that set them apart from the tyranny of Apollodorus—their misfortunes would scarcely have differed at all from what the Cassandreans suffered.

Proper Nouns

Cassandreians (Κασσανδρεῖς) person
Messenians (Μεσσήνιοι) person
Apollodorus (Ἀπολλόδωρος) person
← 4.5.4 4.5.6 →