Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.8.9

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Passage 5.8.9: Boys' contests at Olympia introduced by the Eleans

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς παισὶν ἐς μὲν τῶν παλαιοτέρων οὐδεμίαν ἥκει μνήμην, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀρέσαν σφίσι κατεστήσαντο Ἠλεῖοι. δρόμου μὲν δὴ καὶ πάλης ἐτέθη παισὶν ἆθλα ἐπὶ τῆς ἑβδόμης καὶ τριακοστῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος, καὶ Ἱπποσθένης Λακεδαιμόνιος πάλην, Πολυνείκης δὲ τὸν δρόμον ἐνίκησεν Ἠλεῖος. πρώτῃ δὲ ἐπὶ ταῖς τεσσαράκοντα Ὀλυμπιάδι πύκτας ἐσεκάλεσαν παῖδας, καὶ περιῆν τῶν ἐσελθόντων Συβαρίτης Φιλύτας.

English Translation

Regarding the contests for boys, no tradition reaches back into the more ancient times, but the Eleans themselves established them according to their preference. Prizes for running and wrestling for boys were first introduced during the thirty-seventh Olympiad; Hipposthenes of Sparta was victorious in wrestling, and Polyneikes of Elis in running. In the forty-first Olympiad, they first introduced boxing for the boys, and Philytas from Sybaris defeated the other contestants.

Proper Nouns

Sybarite (Συβαρίτης) other
Olympiad (Ὀλυμπιάς) other
Polyneices (Πολυνείκης) person
Phylutas/Phylitas (Φιλύτας) person
Hipposthenes (Ἱπποσθένης) person
Also in: 3.13.9 3.15.7
Lacedaemonian (Λακεδαιμόνιος) place Q16157161
Also in: 5.17.2 6.16.6
Eleian (Ἠλεῖος) place
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