Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.53.5

← 8.53.4 8.53.6 →

Passage 8.53.5: Rhadamanthys' differing genealogies and early arrival in Elysium

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

ἐς δὲ αὐτὸν Ῥαδάμανθυν Ὁμήρου μέν ἐστιν ἐν Πρωτέως πρὸς Μενέλαον λόγοις ὡς ἐς τὸ πεδίον ἥξοι Μενέλαος τὸ Ἠλύσιον, πρότερον δὲ ἔτι Ῥαδάμανθυν ἐνταῦθα ἥκειν· Κιναίθων δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν ἐποίησεν ὡς Ῥαδάμανθυς μὲν Ἡφαίστου, Ἥφαιστος δὲ εἴη Τάλω, Τάλων δὲ εἶναι Κρητὸς παῖδα. οἱ μὲν δὴ Ἑλλήνων λόγοι διάφοροι τὰ πλέονα καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τοῖς γένεσίν εἰσι·

English Translation

As for Rhadamanthys himself, Homer states in the instructions of Proteus to Menelaus that Menelaus will reach the Elysian plain, but Rhadamanthys had arrived there even earlier. Cinaethon, however, in his poetry, made Rhadamanthys the son of Hephaestus, Hephaestus the son of Talos, and Talos the son of Cres. Indeed, the traditions of the Greeks vary widely for the most part, particularly with regard to genealogies.

Proper Nouns

Hephaestus (Ἥφαιστος) deity
Hellenes (Ἕλληνες) other
Cinaethon (Κιναίθων) person
Also in: 2.3.9 2.18.6 4.2.1
Cretan (Κρής) person
Menelaus (Μενέλαος) person
Proteus (Πρωτεύς) person
Talos (Τάλως) person
Also in: 2.6.6 2.21.2 7.4.8
Homer (Ὅμηρος) person
Rhadamanthys (Ῥαδάμανθυς) person
Also in: 7.3.7 8.53.4
Elysium (Ἠλύσιον) place Q157128
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