Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.46.2

← 8.46.1 8.46.3 →

Passage 8.46.2: Removal of sacred images as spoils (Zeus Herkeios to Sthenelos; Daidalos statue to Gela)

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

φαίνεται δὲ οὐκ ἄρξας ὁ Αὔγουστος ἀναθήματα καὶ ἕδη θεῶν ἀπάγεσθαι παρὰ τῶν κρατηθέντων, καθεστηκότι δὲ ἐκ παλαιοῦ χρησάμενος. Ἰλίου τε γὰρ ἁλούσης καὶ νεμομένων τὰ λάφυρα Ἑλλήνων, Σθενέλῳ τῷ Καπανέως τὸ ξόανον τοῦ Διὸς ἐδόθη τοῦ Ἑρκείου· καὶ ἔτεσιν ὕστερον πολλοῖς Δωριέων ἐς Σικελίαν ἐσοικιζομένων, Ἀντίφημος ὁ Γέλας οἰκιστὴς πόλισμα Σικανῶν Ὀμφάκην πορθήσας μετεκόμισεν ἐς Γέλαν ἄγαλμα ὑπὸ Δαιδάλου πεποιημένον.

English Translation

It appears that Augustus was not the initiator of removing dedications and images of the gods from conquered peoples, but rather employed a custom long established from earlier times. For when Troy was captured and the Greeks were distributing the spoils, the wooden image of Zeus Herkeios was given to Sthenelos, the son of Kapaneus. Years later, too, when the Dorians settled in Sicily, Antiphemos, the founder of Gela, having destroyed Omphake, a town of the Sikanians, carried off to Gela an image crafted by Daidalos.

Proper Nouns

Zeus (Ζεύς) deity
Herkeios (Ἑρκῖος) deity
Augustus (Αὔγουστος) person Q1405
Daedalus (Δαίδαλος) person Q3712559
Dorians (Δωριεῖς) person
Capaneus (Καπανεύς) person
Sthenelus (Σθένελος) person
Sikanoi (Σικανοί) person
Also in: 5.25.6
Antiphemos (Ἀντίφημος) person
Hellenes (Ἕλληνες) person
Gela (Γέλα) place Q58008539
Also in: 9.40.4
Sicily (Σικελία) place Q1460
Ilium (Ἴλιον) place Q22647
Omphace (Ὀμφάκη) place Q23640647
Also in: 9.40.4
← 8.46.1 8.46.3 →