Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.34.2

← 9.34.1 9.34.3 →

Passage 9.34.2: Iodama turned to stone and her daily fire-offering ritual.

Mythic Non-skeptical

Greek Text

λέγεται δὲ καὶ τοιόνδε, Ἰοδάμαν ἱερωμένην τῇ θεῷ νύκτωρ ἐς τὸ τέμενος ἐσελθεῖν καὶ αὐτῇ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν φανῆναι, τῷ χιτῶνι δὲ τῆς θεοῦ τὴν Μεδούσης ἐπεῖναι τῆς Γοργόνος κεφαλήν· Ἰοδάμαν δέ, ὡς εἶδε, γενέσθαι λίθον. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπιτιθεῖσα γυνὴ πῦρ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰοδάμας τὸν βωμὸν ἐς τρὶς ἐπιλέγει τῇ Βοιωτῶν φωνῇ Ἰοδάμαν ζῆν καὶ αἰτεῖν πῦρ.

English Translation

It is also said that Iodama, who was priestess of the goddess, entered the precinct at night, and Athena herself appeared to her; upon the goddess's tunic was the head of Medusa the Gorgon, and when Iodama saw it, she was turned to stone. For this reason, every day a woman places fire upon the altar of Iodama and three times repeats in the Boeotian dialect that Iodama still lives and asks for fire.

Proper Nouns

Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ) deity
Boeotians (Βοιωτοί) other
Gorgon (Γοργών) other
Medusa (Μεδούσα) other
Iodama (Ἰοδάμας) person
← 9.34.1 9.34.3 →