Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.4.5

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Passage 5.4.5: Iphitus restores the Olympic games and the sacred truce.

Historical Skeptical

Greek Text

μετὰ δὲ Ὄξυλον Λαΐας ἔσχεν ὁ Ὀξύλου τὴν ἀρχήν. οὐ μὴν τούς γε ἀπογόνους αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντας εὕρισκον, καὶ σφᾶς ἐπιστάμενος ὅμως παρίημι· οὐ γάρ τί μοι καταβῆναι τὸν λόγον ἠθέλησα ἐς ἄνδρας ἰδιώτας. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἴφιτος, γένος μὲν ὢν ἀπὸ Ὀξύλου, ἡλικίαν δὲ κατὰ Λυκοῦργον τὸν γράψαντα Λακεδαιμονίοις τοὺς νόμους, τὸν ἀγῶνα διέθηκεν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυρίν τε Ὀλυμπικὴν αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐκεχειρίαν κατεστήσατο, ἐκλιπόντα ἐπὶ χρόνον ὁπόσος δὴ οὗτος ἦν· αἰτίαν δὲ διʼ ἥντινα ἐξέλιπε τὰ Ὀλύμπια, ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν τοῦ λόγου δηλώσω.

English Translation

After Oxylus, Laias, the son of Oxylus, succeeded to the throne. However, I did not find any of his descendants continuing as kings; though aware of them, I intentionally pass them over, as I have no wish to descend my narrative to common individuals. Much later, Iphitus—a descendant of Oxylus and a contemporary of Lycurgus, who composed the laws for the Spartans—restored the contest at Olympia, renewing from the start the Olympic festival and reestablishing the sacred truce, which had lapsed for a considerable period of time. I will explain the reason why the Olympic games fell into disuse in the section concerning Olympia.

Proper Nouns

Olympic (Ὀλυμπικός) other
Olympic Games (Ὀλύμπια) other
Laias (Λαΐας) person
Also in: 5.4.4
Lacedaemonians (Λακεδαιμόνιοι) person
Lycurgus (Λυκοῦργος) person
Iphitos (Ἴφιτος) person
Oxylus (Ὄξυλος) person
Olympia (Ὀλυμπία) place Q38888 Pleiades
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