Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.11.3

← 9.11.2 9.11.4 →

Passage 9.11.3: Thebans' Pharmakides delaying Alcmene's childbirth.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἐνταῦθά εἰσιν ἐπὶ τύπου γυναικῶν εἰκόνες· ἀμυδρότερα ἤδη τὰ ἀγάλματα· ταύτας καλοῦσιν οἱ Θηβαῖοι Φαρμακίδας, πεμφθῆναι δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς Ἤρας φασὶν ἐμπόδια εἶναι ταῖς ὠδῖσιν Ἀλκμήνης. αἱ μὲν δὴ ἐπεῖχον Ἀλκμήνην μὴ τεκεῖν· Τειρεσίου δὲ θυγατρὶ Ἱστορίδι σόφισμα ἔπεισιν ἐς τὰς Φαρμακίδας, ἐς ἐπήκοον αὐτῶν ὀλολύξαι, τετοκέναι γὰρ τὴν Ἀλκμήνην· οὕτω τὰς μὲν ἀπατηθείσας ἀπελθεῖν, τὴν δὲ Ἀλκμήνην τεκεῖν φασιν.

English Translation

Here there are images shaped like women; the figures are already somewhat indistinct. The Thebans call these statues Pharmakides ("Sorceresses"), and say they were sent by Hera to obstruct the birth pangs of Alcmene. Indeed, these beings delayed Alcmene from giving birth, until Historis, the daughter of Teiresias, devised a clever trick against the Pharmakides. She cried out loudly in their hearing, saying that Alcmene had already given birth; deceived in this way, they departed, and thus—according to the story—Alcmene was able to bear her child.

Proper Nouns

Hera (Ἥρα) deity
Pharmakides (Φαρμακίδες) other
Theban (Θηβαῖος) person
Teiresias (Τειρεσίας) person
Alcmene (Ἀλκμήνη) person
Historis (Ἱστορίς) person
← 9.11.2 9.11.4 →