Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.21.15

← 5.21.14 5.21.16 →

Passage 5.21.15: Two Zeus statues at the stadium for a punished fixed boxing match.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἄλλα δύο τέχνης τῆς ἐφʼ ἡμῶν τὰ ἀγάλματα· ἕκτῃ γὰρ ἐπὶ ταῖς εἴκοσι καὶ διακοσίαις Ὀλυμπιάδι πύκτας ἄνδρας, ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς μαχομένους τῆς νίκης, ἐφώρασαν συνθεμένους ὑπὲρ λήμματος. ἀντὶ τούτων μὲν ἐγένετο ζημία· ποιηθέντων δὲ ἀγαλμάτων Διὸς τὸ μὲν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ἐς τὸ στάδιον ἐσόδου, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον αὐτῶν ἕστηκεν ἐν δεξιᾷ. τοῖς δὲ πύκταις τούτοις Δίδας τε ὄνομα ἦν καὶ τῷ τὰ χρήματα δόντι αὐτῶν Σαραπάμμων· νομοῦ δὲ ἦσαν τοῦ αὐτοῦ, νεωτάτου τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καλουμένου δὲ Ἀρσινοΐτου.

English Translation

Two additional statues testify to an incident from our own time. For in the two hundred and twenty-sixth Olympiad, two boxers were observed competing for victory, having secretly arranged beforehand that one would yield the victory to the other for monetary gain. They incurred penalties for this; two statues of Zeus were then made, one standing on the left of the entrance to the stadium, and the other on the right. These boxers were named Didas and Sarapammon, who provided the money; they were both from the same district, the youngest in Egypt called Arsinoïtes.

Proper Nouns

Zeus (Ζεύς) deity
Olympiad (Ὀλυμπιάς) other
Didas (Δίδας) person Q24308851
Sarapammon (Σαραπάμμων) person
Egypt (Αἴγυπτος) place Q79 Pleiades
Arsinoite (Ἀρσινοΐτης) place Q42890017
Also in: 1.7.3
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