Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.33.2

← 8.33.1 8.33.3 →

Passage 8.33.2: Deserted Delos and the ruined former greatness of ancient cities.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

Μυκῆναι μέν γε, τοῦ πρὸς Ἰλίῳ πολέμου τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἡγησαμένη, καὶ Νῖνος, ἔνθα ἦν Ἀσσυρίοις βασίλεια, καὶ Βοιώτιαι Θῆβαι προστῆναι τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ ποτε ἀξιωθεῖσαι, αἱ μὲν ἠρήμωνται πανώλεθροι, τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῶν Θηβῶν ἐς ἀκρόπολιν μόνην καὶ οἰκήτορας καταβέβηκεν οὐ πολλούς. τὰ δὲ ὑπερηρκότα πλούτῳ τὸ ἀρχαῖον, Θῆβαί τε αἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ὁ Μινύης Ὀρχομενὸς καὶ ἡ Δῆλος τὸ κοινὸν Ἑλλήνων ἐμπόριον, αἱ μὲν ἀνδρὸς ἰδιώτου μέσου δυνάμει χρημάτων καταδέουσιν ἐς εὐδαιμονίαν, ἡ Δῆλος δέ, ἀφελόντι τοὺς ἀφικνουμένους παρʼ Ἀθηναίων ἐς τοῦ ἱεροῦ τὴν φρουράν, Δηλίων γε ἕνεκα ἔρημός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπων.

English Translation

Mycenae, it is true, once led the Greeks in the Trojan War; Nineveh had been the royal capital of the Assyrians; and the Boeotian Thebes was deemed worthy at one time to assume leadership of Greece. Yet these cities have fallen into complete ruin, and the name of Thebes itself is now confined merely to the acropolis, inhabited by only a few residents. As for other cities once conspicuous for their ancient wealth, Egyptian Thebes, Minyan Orchomenus, and Delos, formerly the common marketplace of all Greeks—these have declined into a state of well-being inferior even to that of an average private citizen. Delos, in particular, now lacks inhabitants altogether, since the Athenians removed the security garrison from the sanctuary, causing the people of Delos to abandon the island entirely.

Proper Nouns

Delians (Δήλιοι) person
Also in: 10.12.2
Athenians (Ἀθηναῖοι) person
Assyrians (Ἀσσυρίοι) person
Hellenes (Ἕλληνες) person
Delos (Δῆλος) place Q173148
Thebes (Θῆβαι) place Q11225429
Theban Egypt (Θῆβαι Αἰγύπτιαι) place
Mycenae (Μυκῆναι) place Q132564
Nineveh (Νῖνος) place Q5680
Ilium (Ἴλιον) place Q22647
Orchomenus (Ὀρχομενός) place Q13574822
← 8.33.1 8.33.3 →