Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.19.7

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Passage 5.19.7: Relief depicting Odysseus and Circe in a cave with attendant women

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

ἡ δὲ ἀνωτάτω χώρα---πέντε γὰρ ἀριθμόν εἰσι--- παρέχεται μὲν ἐπίγραμμα οὐδέν, λείπεται δὲ εἰκάζειν ἐς τὰ ἐπειργασμένα. εἰσὶν οὖν ἐν σπηλαίῳ γυνὴ καθεύδουσα σὺν ἀνδρὶ ἐπὶ κλίνῃ, καὶ σφᾶς Ὀδυσσέα εἶναι καὶ Κίρκην ἐδοξάζομεν ἀριθμῷ τε τῶν θεραπαινῶν, αἵ εἰσι πρὸ τοῦ σπηλαίου, καὶ τοῖς ποιουμένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν· τέσσαρές τε γάρ εἰσιν αἱ γυναῖκες καὶ ἐργάζονται τὰ ἔργα, ἃ ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν Ὅμηρος εἴρηκε. Κένταυρος δὲ οὐ τοὺς πάντας ἵππου πόδας, τοὺς δὲ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀνδρός ἐστιν.

English Translation

The uppermost region—for there are five in number—provides no inscription, leaving us to speculate from the sculptures themselves. Within a cave is depicted a woman asleep on a bed with a man; we conjectured these to be Odysseus and Circe due both to the number of attendants positioned before the cave and to the actions they perform. For these four women carry out tasks described by Homer in his epic poetry. There is also a Centaur who does not possess horse legs in every instance, for his front legs are those of a human.

Proper Nouns

Circe (Κίρκη) deity
Centaur (Κένταυρος) other
Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς) person
Homer (Ὅμηρος) person
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