Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.2.7

← 9.2.6 9.3.1 →

Passage 9.2.7: The temple of Hera at Plataea and its statues by Praxiteles and Callimachus

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ πόλει προϊοῦσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἃ τῷ Διὶ πεποίηται τῷ Ἐλευθερίῳ, Πλαταίας ἐστὶν ἡρῷον· καί μοι τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ἤδη, τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ ὁποῖα αὐτὸς εἴκαζον, ἔστιν εἰρημένα. Πλαταιεῦσι δὲ ναός ἐστιν Ἥρας, θέας ἄξιος μεγέθει τε καὶ ἐς τῶν ἀγαλμάτων τὸν κόσμον. ἐσελθοῦσι μὲν Ῥέα τὸν πέτρον κατειλημένον σπαργάνοις, οἷα δὴ τὸν παῖδα ὃν ἔτεκε, Κρόνῳ κομίζουσά ἐστι· τὴν δὲ Ἥραν Τελείαν καλοῦσι, πεποίηται δὲ ὀρθὸν μεγέθει ἄγαλμα μέγα· λίθου δὲ ἀμφότερα τοῦ Πεντελησίου, Πραξιτέλους δέ ἐστιν ἔργα. ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἄλλο Ἥρας ἄγαλμα καθήμενον Καλλίμαχος ἐποίησε· Νυμφευομένην δὲ τὴν θεὸν ἐπὶ λόγῳ τοιῷδε ὀνομάζουσιν.

English Translation

Within the city itself, as you proceed onward from the altar and the statue dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios, there is a heroic shrine of Plataea. The matters concerning this city—both the traditions related to it and the conjectures I myself formed about them—have already been stated. The Plataeans have a temple of Hera that is worthy of viewing, both for its great size and for the splendor of its statues. As you enter, there is Rhea, depicted holding the stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, as though she were bringing to Cronus the child she had supposedly given birth to. Hera they call "Teleia" (the Perfect), and her statue, upright in posture and very large in size, is carved, like both statues, from Pentelic marble, the work of Praxiteles. Another statue of Hera here is seated and was made by Callimachus; this goddess they call the "Bride," naming her thus due to the following story.

Proper Nouns

Zeus (Ζεύς) deity
Cronus (Κρόνος) deity
Teleia (epithet of Hera) (Τελεία) deity
Eleutherios (Ἐλευθέριος) deity
Also in: 2.31.5
Hera (Ἥρα) deity
Rhea (Ῥέα) deity
Callimachus (Καλλίμαχος) person
Praxiteles (Πραξιτέλης) person
Pentelicon (Πεντέλη) place Q1125206
Plataea (Πλάταια) place Q742538
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