Pausanias Analysis

Greek vocabulary and unexpectedly long or short English translations

Translation Length Residuals

English word count is first predicted from Greek word count. The residual is actual English length minus expected English length; positive values mark translations that are longer than expected for the Greek passage length.

3,170translated passages
1,200Greek terms modeled
1,200English terms modeled
1.25English words per Greek word
0.860length model R2
8.9residual std. dev.
0.254vocabulary residual R2
0.314English residual R2

Greek Predictors of Longer English

These Greek words and phrases are associated with translations that run longer than expected after the length adjustment.

Greek Word/Phrase English Coefficient Passages Mean Residual With Term Mean Residual Without Term
γὰρ for +5.758 765 +1.2 -0.4
ἀθηναίοισ to/for the Athenians +5.572 131 +4.8 -0.2
ἀθηναίων +5.018 144 +3.5 -0.2
οὐκ not +4.015 574 +1.1 -0.2
ἱερόν temple; sanctuary +3.862 169 +2.6 -0.1
ὃσ who; which; that +3.785 170 +2.6 -0.1
τοῦτον this one +3.760 200 +2.8 -0.2
πλησίον near; nearby; close (to); neighbor (as a noun) +3.547 122 +3.4 -0.1
λέγουσιν they say +3.481 317 +1.9 -0.2
ἄγαλμα statue (especially a cult image or votive offering) +3.473 356 +1.5 -0.2
ποιῆσαι to make; to do +3.387 53 +5.3 -0.1
ἡρῶιον a hero’s shrine +3.289 26 +8.3 -0.1
φασὶ they say +3.108 63 +3.5 -0.1
καλούμενον being called +3.068 111 +3.1 -0.1
οὕτω thus; so; in this way +3.046 196 +1.3 -0.1
πελοπόννησον +3.042 44 +5.8 -0.1
ὕστερον +3.026 331 +1.6 -0.2
λακεδαιμόνιοι Lacedaemonians +2.983 125 +2.2 -0.1
δὲ but +2.952 3125 -0.0 +0.5
τότε then; at that time +2.927 271 +1.4 -0.1
δήμου +2.760 37 +4.4 -0.1
ἦλθεν he/she/it came +2.746 32 +6.1 -0.1
μεσσηνίοισ to the Messenians +2.730 59 +3.4 -0.1
πρῶτον first; first of all +2.712 103 +2.7 -0.1
βωμὸσ altar +2.668 50 +5.1 -0.1
ὡσ as; like; how; that; when +2.657 912 +0.4 -0.2
ἤδη already +2.628 249 +1.1 -0.1
δρόμον +2.621 23 +4.4 -0.0
ἐσ πελοπόννησον +2.601 38 +5.6 -0.1
ἣν whom +2.600 114 +3.3 -0.1

Greek Predictors of Shorter English

These Greek words and phrases are associated with translations that run shorter than expected after the length adjustment.

Greek Word/Phrase English Coefficient Passages Mean Residual With Term Mean Residual Without Term
τὸ -8.254 1871 -0.5 +0.7
τε and -7.438 1844 -0.9 +1.3
τε καὶ -7.102 501 -2.6 +0.5
καὶ and -6.568 3091 -0.1 +2.7
τὰ the -5.754 1348 -1.0 +0.7
τῆι to the -4.735 1138 -0.9 +0.5
τὴν the -4.673 1796 -0.3 +0.3
τῶν of the -3.923 1596 -0.6 +0.6
τῶι -3.895 1307 -0.5 +0.4
τοῦ -3.827 1950 -0.3 +0.5
εἰσιν they are -3.720 150 -2.9 +0.1
ἄλλοι -3.696 77 -4.3 +0.1
ἐν in; at; on; among -3.627 1929 -0.3 +0.5
ἐσ into; to; toward -3.377 2242 -0.3 +0.7
ἐσ τὴν into the -3.372 488 -1.3 +0.2
αἱ the -3.371 219 -1.9 +0.1
σταδίουσ stades -3.358 102 -3.2 +0.1
ἐπὶ on, upon; at; to/toward; against -3.313 1397 -0.5 +0.4
ὁδὸσ road; way -3.088 47 -5.3 +0.1
ὄνομα name -3.057 315 -1.4 +0.2
δή -3.029 87 -2.8 +0.1
ἐν τοῖσ in the -3.022 150 -1.9 +0.1
ὑπὲρ over, above; on behalf of/for the sake of; beyond -3.002 223 -1.7 +0.1
ὄροσ -2.998 102 -3.4 +0.1
κατὰ according to; against; down; along; throughout; during -2.996 689 -1.0 +0.3
ἦσαν they were -2.979 144 -2.2 +0.1
οἱ the (masculine plural) -2.874 1411 -0.3 +0.3
ἐν τῆι in the -2.767 431 -1.1 +0.2
ἐποιήσατο -2.763 42 -3.7 +0.0
φωκεῖσ -2.763 33 -6.3 +0.1

English Terms in Longer Passages

These English words and phrases are disproportionately found in passages whose translations are longer than expected.

English Word/Phrase Coefficient Passages Mean Residual With Term Mean Residual Without Term
of +10.465 3044 +0.1 -2.4
they +10.399 1589 +1.5 -1.5
to +9.963 2682 +0.5 -2.9
as +7.435 1555 +1.4 -1.4
had +7.254 985 +1.8 -0.8
there is +6.924 668 +2.2 -0.6
who +6.075 1346 +1.4 -1.0
he +6.037 1104 +1.3 -0.7
an +5.492 788 +2.0 -0.7
that +5.424 1927 +1.0 -1.6
was +5.266 1689 +1.3 -1.4
it +5.110 1468 +1.2 -1.0
been +4.849 540 +2.6 -0.5
for +4.551 1647 +1.0 -1.1
the athenians +4.516 301 +3.2 -0.3
when +4.447 868 +1.9 -0.7
athenians +4.175 318 +2.8 -0.3
the +4.110 3162 +0.0 -0.3
him +4.063 700 +1.6 -0.5
up +4.028 272 +2.6 -0.2
them +4.026 992 +1.3 -0.6
there +3.992 1179 +1.0 -0.6
dedicated to +3.897 166 +3.8 -0.2
temple +3.881 401 +2.3 -0.3
statue of +3.824 331 +2.0 -0.2
shall +3.728 76 +3.8 -0.1
you +3.619 108 +0.8 -0.0
the son +3.595 381 +2.4 -0.3
war +3.465 277 +2.3 -0.2
by the +3.429 627 +1.5 -0.4

English Terms in Shorter Passages

These English words and phrases are disproportionately found in passages whose translations are shorter than expected.

English Word/Phrase Coefficient Passages Mean Residual With Term Mean Residual Without Term
and -6.596 2975 -0.0 +0.1
mount -4.295 118 -3.4 +0.1
are -3.992 828 -0.7 +0.2
around -3.886 186 -2.7 +0.2
the river -3.157 207 -3.1 +0.2
depicted -3.117 135 -3.0 +0.1
sons -2.998 196 -0.3 +0.0
river -2.924 274 -2.9 +0.3
phokians -2.639 81 -4.0 +0.1
odysseus -2.527 43 -4.4 +0.1
stades -2.405 140 -3.6 +0.2
beneath -2.349 83 -2.7 +0.1
flows -2.347 98 -4.5 +0.1
heracles -2.332 223 -0.3 +0.0
poetry -2.293 42 -3.4 +0.0
along -2.234 267 -1.4 +0.1
the phokians -2.204 75 -3.8 +0.1
road -2.199 173 -1.9 +0.1
behind -2.123 87 -1.6 +0.0
elis -2.098 100 -1.7 +0.1
entire -2.073 64 -2.7 +0.1
may -2.067 59 -2.7 +0.1
founded -2.026 99 -1.3 +0.0
its -1.999 452 -0.5 +0.1
number -1.961 89 -2.9 +0.1
phocis -1.956 43 -3.9 +0.1
most of -1.914 67 -1.5 +0.0
mountains -1.878 43 -4.2 +0.1
twenty -1.853 66 -4.1 +0.1
the city -1.852 392 -0.7 +0.1

Longest Positive Residuals

Passage Greek Words English Words Expected English Residual English Snippet
2.10.1 118 187 150.7 +36.3 In the gymnasium near the Agora there is a statue of Heracles reclining, carved of stone, a work by Scopas. Elsewhere also there is a sanctuary of Heracles. The whole surrounding...
1.28.10 97 158 124.4 +33.6 At the Delphinion, a trial is established for those claiming to have committed homicide with just cause—a plea such as Theseus successfully offered and thereby escaped penalty whe...
2.1.5 84 141 108.1 +32.9 The Isthmus of the Corinthians stretches on one side towards the sea near Cenchreae, and on the other towards the sea at Lechaeum; it is this that makes the inland region a part o...
2.11.1 111 174 141.9 +32.1 Turning from here toward the gate called the Sacred Gate, not far from this gate there is a temple of Athena, which was once erected by Epopeus, and which surpassed at that time a...
4.26.6 92 149 118.1 +30.9 But Epaminondas saw clearly that it was not otherwise easy to found a city capable of resisting the Lacedaemonians; nor could he find an appropriate place in the region for settle...
10.7.5 64 112 83.0 +29.0 Then for the first time they also established contests for athletes, including the same events held at Olympia, except for the four-horse chariot race; and they themselves added a...
2.20.2 100 157 128.1 +28.9 Since hatred had already grown to its highest pitch between both parties, the Argives resolved to equip a regiment of one thousand select men. Bryas, an Argive, was appointed comm...
9.23.3 66 114 85.5 +28.5 Such was the occasion of Pindar's first composition of poetry; but when his fame already extended throughout all of Greece, it was further enhanced by the oracle at Delphi, which...
2.11.7 90 144 115.6 +28.4 To Alexanor and Euamerion—for there are statues of these as well—they perform sacrifices: to the former as to a hero, offering libations after sunset, but to Euamerion as to a god...
2.9.1 96 151 123.1 +27.9 Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas, who was himself the son of Cleonymus, when he had succeeded to the kingship at Sparta, began to imitate Pausanias, desiring tyranny and dissatisfie...
9.6.1 47 89 61.7 +27.3 Among the successes occurring for them in contests of war, as well as events of the opposite kind, I find the following to have been most conspicuous: They were defeated by the At...
4.8.7 103 159 131.9 +27.1 Such were the peculiar circumstances in each army regarding both the deeds accomplished and the attitudes of those fighting, and there were also factors common to both sides. On t...
2.23.2 74 122 95.5 +26.5 And they continue even to this day to pay him honors. Closest to the temple of Dionysus you will see the house of Adrastus, and farther from it is a sanctuary of Amphiaraus, and b...
2.1.1 110 167 140.7 +26.3 The land of Corinth was originally part of the Argive territory, and took its name from Corinth. That Corinth was a son of Zeus, I know of no one who has seriously asserted, excep...
10.7.8 96 149 123.1 +25.9 The Eleans admitted the boys' pancratium and later, by many years, the race for two-horse chariots of colts and the riding-race for colts—the first of these contests at the sixty-...
9.2.7 102 156 130.6 +25.4 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—bo...
1.12.5 106 161 135.7 +25.3 An embassy from Syracuse drew Pyrrhus away into Sicily. For the Carthaginians, having crossed over, laid waste to the Greek cities there and, besieging Syracuse, the only place st...
2.28.5 75 122 96.8 +25.2 No longer giving her any reply, they seized her, placed her on the chariot, and drove away. But one of the Epidaurians informed Deiphontes that Cerynes and Phalces had departed, h...
1.30.3 84 133 108.1 +24.9 Not far from the Academy is the tomb of Plato, whom the god revealed beforehand would excel in philosophy. The manner of this revelation was as follows: Socrates, during the night...
1.14.3 101 154 129.4 +24.6 Epic verses attributed to Musaeus—if indeed these truly belong to Musaeus—sing of Triptolemus as being the child of Oceanus and Earth. Other verses, attributed to Orpheus—though t...

Largest Negative Residuals

Passage Greek Words English Words Expected English Residual English Snippet
8.13.4 93 83 119.4 -36.4 Opposite the city is Mount Trachy. The water flowing from the deity through a ravine between the city and Mount Trachy descends into another plain belonging to Orchomenus. This pl...
7.4.8 87 84 111.8 -27.8 In the work of Ion, who composed tragedies, it is said as follows: Poseidon came to the island when it was still uninhabited, and there lay with a nymph. At the time of her childb...
10.29.5 81 79 104.3 -25.3 There are many stories concerning Dionysus, told by both Greeks and Egyptians; below Phaedra stands Chloris, leaning upon the knees of Thyia. He who says there was friendship betw...
8.38.6 132 143 168.3 -25.3 Mount Lykaion also provides other wonders, and especially the following. There is a sanctuary there dedicated to Zeus Lykaeus, into which no human being is permitted to enter. If...
7.22.11 103 107 131.9 -24.9 Not far from the city of Patrae is the river Meilichos and the sanctuary of Triklaria, which no longer has any statue within it. This sanctuary lies on the right hand. After passi...
5.25.3 105 110 134.4 -24.4 For the winds disturb this sea from both sides, driving waves upon it from the Adriatic and from the other sea called Tyrrhenian. Even when the winds cease to blow, the strait its...
8.1.5 77 75 99.3 -24.3 Pelagos, when king, devised the making of huts, so that mankind might neither suffer from the cold nor be drenched by rain nor troubled by fierce heat. It was he also who invented...
8.3.3 84 84 108.1 -24.1 Both the city and the river Elisson have received their names from Elisson; similarly, Makaria, Dasea, and Trapezus were also named after the sons of Lycaon. Orchomenus was the fo...
8.18.5 83 83 106.8 -23.8 Glass, rock crystal, porcelain, and whatever else humans fashion from stone, as well as earthenware pottery, are shattered by the water of the Styx. Objects made of horn or bone,...
5.22.2 94 97 120.6 -23.6 Near what is called the Hippodameion is a semicircular stone pedestal upon which stand statues of Zeus, Thetis, and Eos, who are supplicating Zeus on behalf of their children. The...
8.4.8 74 72 95.5 -23.5 After Aepytus, Aleus gained the kingship. Agamedes and Gortys, sons of Stymphalus, were the fourth generation from Arcas, while Aleus, son of Apheidas, was the third. Aleus built...
10.33.5 66 62 85.5 -23.5 Here the river has its sources. It rises from the earth, not always quietly, but mostly—especially when midday draws near—it produces a sound as it wells upward, which resembles t...
10.17.13 88 90 113.1 -23.1 Except for a single herb, the island is free of plants and poisons that cause death. The deadly herb resembles celery, and they say that those who eat it die while overcome by lau...
10.25.3 91 94 116.9 -22.9 This man, therefore, is depicted in Polygnotus' painting, and below him is a certain Ithaemenes carrying clothing, and Echöiax descending a ladder, holding a bronze pitcher. Nearb...
7.6.1 83 84 106.8 -22.8 At that time, after the departure of the Ionians, the Achaeans divided among themselves the land formerly belonging to the Ionians and began settling in their cities. These cities...
10.30.3 71 69 91.8 -22.8 After the daughters of Pandareos stands Antilochus, keeping one foot upon a rock, and supporting his face and head on both his hands. After Antilochus is Agamemnon, leaning with a...
8.11.5 66 63 85.5 -22.5 About thirty stadia along the road from Mantineia toward Pallantium, the grove called Pelagos extends to the highway. Here the cavalry forces of the Athenians and Mantineians foug...
8.36.2 66 63 85.5 -22.5 There is in Methydrium a temple of Poseidon Hippios, situated along the river Mylaon. The mountain called Thaumasios stretches above the river Maloetas. The people of Methydrium s...
7.25.12 58 53 75.5 -22.5 Beside the Achaian Krathis once stood the Achaian city of Aegae; it is said to have gradually become deserted through weakness. Homer, too, made mention of this Aegae in his accou...
5.11.3 96 101 123.1 -22.1 Between the feet of the throne there are four cross-bars, each stretching from one foot to another. On the bar directly facing the entrance stand seven figures, for the eighth amo...