Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.17.5

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Passage 5.17.5: Cypselus's cedar chest (cypsela) dedicated at Olympia.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

λάρναξ δὲ κέδρου μὲν πεποίηται, ζῴδια δὲ ἐλέφαντος ἐπʼ αὐτῆς, τὰ δὲ χρυσοῦ, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐστιν εἰργασμένα τῆς κέδρου· ἐς ταύτην τὴν λάρνακα Κύψελον τὸν Κορίνθου τυραννήσαντα ἀπέκρυψεν ἡ μήτηρ, ἡνίκα τεχθέντα ἀνευρεῖν αὐτὸν σπουδὴν ἐποιοῦντο οἱ Βακχίδαι. τῆς μὲν δὴ σωτηρίας ἕνεκα τοῦ Κυψέλου τὸ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ γένος οἱ ὀνομαζόμενοι Κυψελίδαι τὴν λάρνακα ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν ἀνέθεσαν, τὰς δὲ λάρνακας οἱ τότε ἐκάλουν Κορίνθιοι κυψέλας· ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ καὶ ὄνομα Κύψελον τῷ παιδὶ θέσθαι λέγουσι.

English Translation

The chest is made of cedar wood; upon it are figures carved from ivory, others of gold, while some are fashioned out of the cedar itself. Into this chest the mother of Cypselus hid him when the Bacchiadae, immediately after his birth, were earnestly seeking to find him. Afterwards, because of this rescue of Cypselus, his descendants, called Cypselidae, dedicated the chest at Olympia. In those days, the Corinthians called such chests "cypselae," and thus it is said that the boy himself was also named Cypselus.

Proper Nouns

Bacchiadae (Βακχίδαι) person
Also in: 2.4.4
Corinthians (Κορίνθιοι) person
Cypselidae (Κυψελίδαι) person
Kypselos (Κύψελος) person
Corinth (Κόρινθος) place Q1363688 Pleiades
Olympia (Ὀλυμπία) place Q38888 Pleiades
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