Pausanias Analysis

Passage 8.6.5

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Passage 8.6.5: The Meliastai spring with temples of Dionysus and Aphrodite Melainis.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

προελθόντι δὲ ἐκ τῶν Μελαγγείων, ἀπέχοντι τῆς πόλεως στάδια ὡς ἑπτὰ ἔστι κρήνη καλουμένη Μελιαστῶν· οἱ Μελιασταὶ δὲ οὗτοι δρῶσι τὰ ὄργια τοῦ Διονύσου, καὶ Διονύσου τε μέγαρον πρὸς τῇ κρήνῃ καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ἐστὶν ἱερὸν Μελαινίδος. ἐπίκλησιν δὲ ἡ θεὸς ταύτην κατʼ ἄλλο μὲν ἔσχεν οὐδέν, ὅτι δὲ ἀνθρώπων μὴ τὰ πάντα αἱ μίξεις ὥσπερ τοῖς κτήνεσι μεθʼ ἡμέραν, τὰ πλείω δέ εἰσιν ἐν νυκτί.

English Translation

As one proceeds onward from the Melangeia, about seven stadia from the city, there is a spring called the Meliastai. The Meliastai here perform the mysteries of Dionysus. Beside the spring stands a temple dedicated to Dionysus, and nearby there is also a sanctuary of Aphrodite Melainis. This goddess received her surname for no other reason than this: human unions do not typically occur for the most part by day, as with beasts, but rather take place much more frequently at night.

Proper Nouns

Dionysus (Διόνυσος) deity
Melainis (Μελαινίς) deity
Also in: 2.2.4
Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη) deity
Meliastai (Μελιασταί) person
Melangeia (Μελαγγεῖα) place Q6811232
Also in: 8.6.4
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