Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.28.1

← 8.27.17 8.28.2 →

Passage 8.28.1: Asclepius temple at Gortys with Skopas' statues and Alexander's dedicated armor.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἰόντι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῶν πηγῶν, πρῶτα μέν σε ἐκδέξεται Μάραθα χωρίον, μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸ Γόρτυς κώμη τὰ ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ, τὰ δὲ ἔτι ἀρχαιότερα πόλις. ἔστι δὲ αὐτόθι ναὸς Ἀσκληπιοῦ λίθου Πεντελησίου, καὶ αὐτός τε οὐκ ἔχων πω γένεια καὶ Ὑγείας ἄγαλμα· Σκόπα δὲ ἦν ἔργα. λέγουσι δὲ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι καὶ τάδε, ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Φιλίππου τὸν θώρακα καὶ δόρυ ἀναθείη τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ· καὶ ἐς ἐμέ γε ἔτι ὁ θώραξ καὶ τοῦ δόρατος ἦν ἡ αἰχμή.

English Translation

As you go along from the sources of the river, the first place you encounter is the district of Maratha, and afterward Gortys, which in my time was a village, though in earlier days it was a city. There is here a temple of Asclepius, built of Pentelic marble; the god himself, represented without a beard, and an image of Hygieia, are the works of Skopas. The local inhabitants also relate that Alexander, the son of Philip, dedicated his breastplate and spear to Asclepius; and in my time at least, the breastplate and the spearhead still remained.

Proper Nouns

Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός) deity
Hygeia (Ὑγεία) deity
river (ποταμός) other
Skopas (Σκόπας) person
Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος) person
Gortys (Γόρτυς) place Q1136193 Pleiades
Maratha (Μάραθα) place
Pentelicon (Πεντελησίος) place Q1125206
← 8.27.17 8.28.2 →