Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.33.4

← 8.33.3 8.34.1 →

Passage 8.33.4: The island Chryse sank beneath the sea.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἐπιδείκνυται δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷδε ἔτι τὴν ἰσχὺν μείζονα καὶ θαύματος πλείονος ἢ κατὰ συμφορὰς καὶ εὐπραγίας πόλεων· Λήμνου γὰρ πλοῦν ἀπεῖχεν οὐ πολὺν Χρύση νῆσος, ἐν ᾗ καὶ τῷ Φιλοκτήτῃ γενέσθαι συμφορὰν ἐκ τοῦ ὕδρου φασί· ταύτην κατέλαβεν ὁ κλύδων πᾶσαν, καὶ κατέδυ τε ἡ Χρύση καὶ ἠφάνισται κατὰ τοῦ βυθοῦ. νῆσον δὲ ἄλλην καλουμένην Ἱερὰν τόνδε οὐκ ἦν χρόνον. οὕτω μὲν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πρόσκαιρά τε καὶ οὐδαμῶς ἐστιν ἐχυρά·

English Translation

This phenomenon shows in yet another way a force greater and even more wondrous than the vicissitudes and prosperities of cities. For the island Chryse, lying at no great distance from Lemnos—where, according to tradition, the snake inflicted torment upon Philoctetes—was wholly overwhelmed by waves; Chryse sank and vanished beneath the depths. Moreover, at that time there was no other island called Hiera. Thus it is that human affairs are fleeting and utterly devoid of certainty.

Proper Nouns

Philoctetes (Φιλοκτήτης) person
Lemnos (Λῆμνος) place Q192483 Pleiades
Also in: 1.22.6 7.2.2 8.8.5
Chryse (Χρύση) place Q1088480
Hiera (Ἱερά) place
← 8.33.3 8.34.1 →