Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.31.4

← 9.31.3 9.31.5 →

Passage 9.31.4: Boeotians assert Hesiod composed only the Works and omitted its proem.

Historical Skeptical

Greek Text

Βοιωτῶν δὲ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἑλικῶνα οἰκοῦντες παρειλημμένα δόξῃ λέγουσιν ὡς ἄλλο Ἡσίοδος ποιήσειεν οὐδὲν ἢ τὰ Ἔργα· καὶ τούτων δὲ τὸ ἐς τὰς Μούσας ἀφαιροῦσι προοίμιον, ἀρχὴν τῆς ποιήσεως εἶναι τὸ ἐς τὰς Ἔριδας λέγοντες· καί μοι μόλυβδον ἐδείκνυσαν, ἔνθα ἡ πηγή, τὰ πολλὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου λελυμασμένον·

English Translation

But the Boeotians dwelling around Helicon, following a widely held opinion among them, say that Hesiod composed no work other than the Works; moreover, from this poem itself they remove the proem addressed to the Muses, asserting that its true beginning is the part concerning the Strifes. They also showed me a lead tablet at the spring, seriously damaged by age.

Proper Nouns

Muses (Μοῦσαι) deity
Eris (Goddesses of Strife); plural 'Eridēs' (Ἔριδες) deity
Works (as in 'Works and Days') (Ἔργα) other
Also in: 9.31.5
Boeotians (Βοιωτοί) person
Hesiod (Ἡσίοδος) person
Helicon (Ἑλικών) place Q215516
← 9.31.3 9.31.5 →