A Pausanias Reader in Progress

An ongoing retranslation of the Greek text of Pausanias, with ongoing annotations, primarily by Gregory Nagy from 2014 to 2022, and continued since 2022 by Nagy together with an intergenerational team. Based on an original translation by W. H. S. Jones, 1918 (Scroll 2 with H. A. Ormerod), containing some of the footnotes added by Jones. Editors: Keith DeStone, Elizabeth Gipson, Charles Pletcher Editor Emerita: Angelia Hanhardt Web Producer: Noel Spencer Consultant for images: Jill Curry Robbins To cite this work, use the following persistent identifier: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hlnc.prim-src:A_Pausanias_Reader_in_Progress.2018-.

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.aprip-en


1.25.1 Such were the things I saw happening to the locusts. On the Athenian Acropolis is a [statue of] Pericles, the son of Xanthippos, and one of Xanthippos himself, who fought against the Persians at the naval battle of Mykale.* But the statue [andrias] of Pericles stands apart, while near Xanthippos stands [a statue of] Anacreon of Teos, the first poet after Sappho of Lesbos to compose [poieîn] love poetry [erōtika] as the major part of what he wrote [graphein], and his posture [skhēma] is as it were that of a man singing in a state of intoxication [methē]. Deinomenes* has made [poieîn] the two female figures which stand near, Io, the daughter of Inakhos, and Kallisto, the daughter of Lykaon, about both of whom there are similar [homoia] stories [diēgēmata]: erotic-passion [erōs] of Zeus, wrath [orgē] of Hērā, and metamorphosis [allagē]—Io becoming a cow and Kallisto, a bear.

1.25.2 At the south wall is [represented] the war they say was fought with the giants [gigantes], who once dwelled about Thrace and on the isthmus of Pallene, also the battle [makhē] between the Athenians and the Amazons, also the deed [ergon] accomplished against the Persians at Marathon, also the destruction of the Gauls [Galatai] in Mysia.* Each is about two cubits, and all were dedicated [anatithenai] by Attalos. There stands too Olympiodoros, who won fame [doxa] for the greatness of his achievements, especially in the crisis when he displayed a brave confidence among men who had met with continuous reverses and were therefore in despair of winning a single success in the days to come.

1.25.3 For the disaster at Khairōneia* was the beginning of misfortune for all the Greeks [Hellēnes], and especially did it turn into slaves [douloi] those who had been blind to the danger and such as had sided with Macedon. Most of their cities Philip captured; with Athens he nominally came to terms, but really imposed the severest penalties upon it, taking away the islands and putting an end to its empire [arkhē] at sea. For a time the Athenians remained passive, during the reign of Philip and subsequently of Alexander. But when on the death of Alexander the Macedonians chose Aridaios to be their king, though the whole empire [arkhē] had been entrusted to Antipatros, the Athenians now thought it intolerable if Greece [Hellas] should be forever under the Macedonians, and themselves embarked on war besides inciting others to join them.

1.25.4 The cities [poleis] that took part were, of the Peloponnesians, Argos, Epidauros, Sikyon, Troizen, the people of Elis, the Phliasians, Messene; on the other side of the Corinthian Isthmus the people of Lokris, the people of Phokis, the Thessalians, Karystos, the Acarnanians belonging to the Aetolian League. The Boeotians, who occupied [nemesthai] the territory of Thebes now that there were no Thebans left to dwell there, in fear that the Athenians would injure them by founding-a-settlement [epoikizein] on the site of Thebes, refused to join the alliance and lent all their forces to furthering the Macedonian cause.

1.25.5 The armed forces under the alliance had their own generals [stratēgoi] from each city, but the Athenian Leosthenes was chosen to command all of them, both because of the prestige [axiōma] of his city and also because he had the reputation of being an experienced soldier. He had already proved himself a general benefactor of all Greeks [Hellēnes]. All those of them who were serving as mercenaries in the armies of Darius and his satraps Alexander had wished to deport to Persia, but Leosthenes was too quick for him, and he brought [komizein] them by sea to Europe. On this occasion too he accomplished [apodeiknusthai] brilliant deeds [erga], true to expectation, and so his death produced a general despair that was chiefly responsible for the defeat. A Macedonian garrison [phrourā] was set over the Athenians, and it occupied first Mounukhia and afterwards Peiraieus also and the Long Walls.*

1.25.6 On the death of Antipatros Olympias came over from Epeiros, killed Aridaios, and for a time was-the-ruler [arkhein]; but shortly afterwards she was besieged by Kassandros, captured, and handed over to the people [plēthos]. As for Kassandros and his rule-as-king [basileuein], my account [logos] will deal only with what is relevant to the Athenians. He seized the fort of Panakton in Attica, also Salamis, and he established as tyrant in Athens Demetrios the son of Phanostratos, a man who had won a reputation [doxa] for wisdom [sophiā]. The tyrrannical-régime [turannis] of this man was terminated by Demetrios the son of Antigonos, a young man who was ambitiously [philotīmōs] disposed to promote Hellenism [tò Hellēnikon].

1.25.7 Meanwhile Kassandros, who had an underlying hatred [mīsos] for the Athenians, cultivated Lakhares, who up to now had been a champion of the people [dēmos], and persuaded him to undertake a plot to achieve a tyrannical-régime [turannis]. Of all the tyrants [turannoi] we know of, no régime of any of them was so cruel to humans [anthrōpoi] and so uncaring toward what is divine [tò theion]. Although Demetrios the son of Antigonos had his differences with the populace [dēmos] of the Athenians, he nevertheless deposed Lakhares from his tyranny [turannis], who, on the capture of the fortifications, escaped to Boeotia. Lakhares took golden shields [aspides] from the Acropolis, and stripped even the statue [agalma] of Athena of its removable ornamentation [kosmos]; he was accordingly suspected of being a very wealthy man,

1.25.8 and was murdered by some men of Κorōneia for the sake of this wealth. After freeing [eleutheroûn] the Athenians from tyrants [turannoi] Demetrios the son of Antigonos did not restore the Peiraieus to them immediately after the flight of Lakhares, but subsequently overcame them and brought a garrison [phrourā] even into the upper city, fortifying the place called the Place of the Muses [Mouseion / Museum]. This is a hill right opposite the Acropolis within the ancient enclosure [peribolos] [of the city] where they say Musaeus [Mousaios ‘Man of the Muses’] used to sing [āidein], and, dying of old age, was buried. Afterwards a tomb [mnēma] also was built [oikodomeîn] here for a Syrian. At the time to which I refer Demetrios fortified and held it.

1 479 BCE.

2 floruit 400 BCE.

3 Pausanias 1.4.5.

4 338 BCE.

5 322 BCE.