Pausanias Analysis

Passage 9.39.1

← 9.38.10 9.39.2 →

Passage 9.39.1: Lebadeia's origin: Mideia renamed after Lebados who settled there

Mythic Skeptical

Greek Text

τὰ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τῶν ὀρῶν Φωκεῖς ὑπεροικοῦσιν Ὀρχομενίων, ἐν δὲ τῷ πεδίῳ Λεβάδειά ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ὅμορος. αὕτη τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ᾠκεῖτο ἐπὶ μετεώρου καὶ ὠνομάζετο Μίδεια ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀσπληδόνος μητρός· Λεβάδου δὲ ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἐς αὐτὴν ἀφικομένου κατέβησάν τε ἐς τὸ χθαμαλὸν οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἐκλήθη Λεβάδεια ἡ πόλις ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ. πατέρα δὲ τοῦ Λεβάδου, καὶ καθʼ ἥντινα αἰτίαν ἦλθεν, οὐκ ἴσασιν ἄλλο ἢ γυναῖκα εἶναι Λεβάδου Λαονίκην.

English Translation

The Phocians dwell above Orchomenus, near the mountains, and in the plain below them lies Lebadeia, their neighbor. Originally this city stood upon high ground and was called Mideia, named after the mother of Aspledon. When Lebados arrived there from Athens, the people descended to the lower ground, and the city was afterward renamed Lebadeia after him. They do not know the father of Lebados or for what reason he came, but only that Lebados' wife was Laonike.

Proper Nouns

Laonice (Λαονίκη) person
Lebadus (Λεβάδης) person
Phocians (Φωκεῖς) person
Aspledon (Ἀσπληδών) person
Also in: 9.38.9
Orchomenians (Ὀρχομενιοί) person
Lebadeia (Λεβάδεια) place Q11931280
Mideia (Μίδεια) place Q502897
Also in: 8.27.1
Athens (Ἀθῆναι) place Q844930
← 9.38.10 9.39.2 →