Pausanias Analysis

Passage 7.2.7

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Passage 7.2.7: Ephesus founded by Coresus and Ephesus, not the Amazons.

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

οὐ μὴν πάντα γε τὰ ἐς τὴν θεὸν ἐπύθετο ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν Πίνδαρος, ὃς Ἀμαζόνας τὸ ἱερὸν ἔφη τοῦτο ἱδρύσασθαι στρατευομένας ἐπὶ Ἀθήνας τε καὶ Θησέα. αἱ δὲ ἀπὸ Θερμώδοντος γυναῖκες ἔθυσαν μὲν καὶ τότε τῇ Ἐφεσίᾳ θεῷ, ἅτε ἐπιστάμεναι τε ἐκ παλαιοῦ τὸ ἱερόν, καὶ ἡνίκα Ἡρακλέα ἔφυγον, αἱ δὲ καὶ Διόνυσον τὰ ἔτι ἀρχαιότερα, ἱκέτιδες ἐνταῦθα ἐλθοῦσαι· οὐ μὴν ὑπὸ Ἀμαζόνων γε ἱδρύθη, Κόρησος δὲ αὐτόχθων καὶ Ἔφεσος---Καΰστρου δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸν Ἔφεσον παῖδα εἶναι νομίζουσιν---, οὗτοι τὸ ἱερόν εἰσιν οἱ ἱδρυσάμενοι, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἐφέσου τὸ ὄνομά ἐστι τῇ πόλει.

English Translation

But Pindar, it seems to me, did not accurately learn all concerning the goddess when he asserted that the sanctuary was founded by the Amazons during their campaign against Athens and Theseus. Women from the Thermodon did indeed sacrifice then to the goddess of Ephesus, since they had long been familiar with the sanctuary; they did likewise when fleeing from Heracles, and earlier still, some had come as suppliants fleeing Dionysus. However, the founders were certainly not the Amazons, but rather the indigenous figures Coresus and Ephesus; the latter is believed to be the son of the river Cayster. These are the ones who founded the sanctuary, and from Ephesus the city takes its name.

Proper Nouns

Dionysus (Διόνυσος) deity
Ephesian goddess (Ἐφεσία θεός) deity
Cayster (Καΰστρος) other
Theseus (Θησεύς) person
Coresus (Κόρησος) person
Pindar (Πίνδαρος) person
Amazons (Ἀμαζόνες) person
Ephesus (Ἔφεσος) person
Heracles (Ἡρακλῆς) person
Thermodon (Θερμώδων) place Q684421
Athens (Ἀθῆναι) place Q844930
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