Pausanias´ Description of Greece - Παυσανίου Ελλάδος περιήγησις
Recogito Annotation
Book 1 — Chapter 2
English
1.2.1 On entering the city there is a monument to Antiope the Amazon. This Antiope, Pindar says, was carried off by Peirithous and Theseus, but Hegias of Troezen gives the following account of her. Heracles was besieging Themiscyra on the Thermodon, but could not take it, but Antiope, falling in love with Theseus, who was aiding Heracles in his campaign, surrendered the stronghold. Such is the account of Hegias. But the Athenians assert that when the Amazons came, Antiope was shot by Molpadia, while Molpadia was killed by Theseus. To Molpadia also there is a monument among the Athenians.
1.2.2 As you go up from the Peiraeus you see the ruins of the walls which Conon restored after the naval battle off Cnidus. For those built by Themistocles after the retreat of the Persians were destroyed during the rule of those named the Thirty. Along the road are very famous graves, that of Menander, son of Diopeithes, and a cenotaph of Euripides. He himself went to King Archelaus and lies buried in Macedonia; as to the manner of his death (many have described it), let it be as they say.
1.2.3 So even in his time poets lived at the courts of kings, as earlier still Anacreon consorted with Polycrates, despot of Samos, and Aeschylus and Simonides journeyed to Hiero at Syracuse. Dionysius, afterwards despot in Sicily had Philoxenus at his court, and Antigonus, ruler of Macedonia, had Antagoras of Rhodes and Aratus of Soli. But Hesiod and Homer either failed to win the society of kings or else purposely despised it, Hesiod through boorishness and reluctance to travel, while Homer, having gone very far abroad, depreciated the help afforded by despots in the acquisition of wealth in comparison with his reputation among ordinary men. And yet Homer, too, in his poem makes Demodocus live at the court of Alcinous, and Agamemnon leave a poet with his wife. Not far from the gates is a grave, on which is mounted a soldier standing by a horse. Who it is I do not know, but both horse and soldier were carved by Praxiteles.
1.2.4 On entering the city there is a building for the preparation of the processions, which are held in some cases every year, in others at longer intervals. Hard by is a temple of Demeter, with images of the goddess herself and of her daughter, and of Iacchus holding a torch. On the wall, in Attic characters, is written that they are works of Praxiteles. Not far from the temple is Poseidon on horseback, hurling a spear against the giant Polybotes, concerning whom is prevalent among the Coans the story about the promontory of Chelone. But the inscription of our time assigns the statue to another, and not to Poseidon. From the gate to the Cerameicus there are stoas, and in front of them bronze statues of such as had some title to fame, both men and women.
1.2.5 One of the stoas contains shrines of gods, and a gymnasium called that of Hermes. In it is the house of Poulytion, at which it is said that a mystic rite was performed by the most notable Athenians, parodying the Eleusinian mysteries. But in my time it was devoted to the worship of Dionysus. This Dionysus they call Melpomenus (Minstrel), on the same principle as they call Apollo Musegetes (Leader of the Muses). Here there are images of Athena Paeonia (Healer), of Zeus, of Mnemosyne (Memory) and of the Muses, an Apollo, the votive offering and work of Eubulides, and Acratus, a daemon attendant upon Dionysos; it is only a face of him worked into the wall. After the precinct of Dionysos is a building that contains clay images, Amphictyon, king of Athens, feasting Dionysus and other gods. Here also is Pegasus of Eleutherae, who introduced the god to the Athenians. Herein he was helped by the oracle at Delphi, which called to mind that the god once dwelt in Athens in the days of Icarius.
1.2.6 Amphictyon won the kingdom thus. It is said that Actaeus was the first king of what is now Attica. When he died, Cecrops, the son-in-law of Actaeus, received the kingdom, and there were born to him daughters, Herse, Aglaurus and Pandrosus, and a son Erysichthon. This son did not become king of the Athenians, but happened to die while his father lived, and the kingdom of Cecrops fell to Cranaus, the most powerful of the Athenians. They say that Cranaus had daughters, and among them Atthis; and from her they call the country Attica, which before was named Actaea. And Amphictyon, rising up against Cranaus, although he had his daughter to wife, deposed him from power. Afterwards he himself was banished by Erichthonius and his fellow rebels. Men say that Erichthonius had no human father, but that his parents were Hephaestus and Earth.
Ancient Greek
1.2.1 ἐσελθόντων δὲ ἐς τὴν πόλιν ἐστὶν Ἀντιόπης μνῆμα Ἀμαζόνος. ταύτην τὴν Ἀντιόπην Πίνδαρος μέν φησιν ὑπὸ Πειρίθου καὶ Θησέως ἁρπασθῆναι, Τροιζηνίῳ δὲ Ἡγίᾳ τοιάδε ἐς αὐτὴν πεποίηται· Ἡρακλέα Θεμίσκυραν πολιορκοῦντα τὴν ἐπὶ Θερμώδοντι ἑλεῖν μὴ δύνασθαι, Θησέως δὲ ἐρασθεῖσαν Ἀντιόπην— στρατεῦσαι γὰρ ἅμα Ἡρακλεῖ καὶ Θησέα—παραδοῦναι τε τὸ χωρίον. τάδε μὲν Ἡγίας πεποίηκεν· Ἀθηναῖοι δέ φασιν, ἐπεί τε ἦλθον Ἀμαζόνες, Ἀντιόπην μὲν ὑπὸ Μολπαδίας τοξευθῆναι, Μολπαδίαν δὲ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ Θησέως. καὶ μνῆμά ἐστι καὶ Μολπαδίας Ἀθηναίοις.
1.2.2 ἀνιόντων δὲ ἐκ Πειραιῶς ἐρείπια τῶν τειχῶν ἐστιν, ἃ Κόνων ὕστερον τῆς πρὸς Κνίδῳ ναυμαχίας ἀνέστησε· τὰ γὰρ Θεμιστοκλέους μετὰ τὴν ἀναχώρησιν οἰκοδομηθέντα τὴν Μήδων ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς καθῃρέθη τῶν τριάκοντα ὀνομαζομένων. εἰσὶ δὲ τάφοι κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν γνωριμώτατοι Μενάνδρου τοῦ Διοπείθους καὶ μνῆμα Εὐριπίδου κενόν· τέθαπται δὲ Εὐριπίδης ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ παρὰ τὸν βασιλέα ἐλθὼν Ἀρχέλαον, ὁ δέ οἱ τοῦ θανάτου τρόπος—πολλοῖς γάρ ἐστιν εἰρημένος—ἐχέτω καθὰ λέγουσιν.
1.2.3 συνῆσαν δὲ ἄρα καὶ τότε τοῖς βασιλεῦσι ποιηταὶ καὶ πρότερον ἔτι καὶ Πολυκράτει Σάμου τυραννοῦντι Ἀνακρέων παρῆν καὶ ἐς Συρακούσας πρὸς Ἱέρωνα Αἰσχύλος καὶ Σιμωνίδης ἐστάλησαν· Διονυσίῳ δέ, ὃς ὕστερον ἐτυράννησεν ἐν Σικελίᾳ, Φιλόξενος παρῆν καὶ Ἀντιγόνῳ Μακεδόνων ἄρχοντι Ἀνταγόρας Ῥόδιος καὶ Σολεὺς Ἄρατος. Ἡσίοδος δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἢ συγγενέσθαι βασιλεῦσιν ἠτύχησαν ἢ καὶ ἑκόντες ὠλιγώρησαν, ὁ μὲν ἀγροικίᾳ καὶ ὄκνῳ πλάνης, Ὅμηρος δὲ ἀποδημήσας ἐπὶ μακρότατον καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν τὴν ἐς χρήματα παρὰ τῶν δυνατῶν ὑστέραν θέμενος τῆς παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς δόξης, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ὁμήρῳ πεποιημένα ἐστὶν Ἀλκίνῳ παρεῖναι Δημόδοκον καὶ ὡς Ἀγαμέμνων καταλείποι τινὰ παρὰ τῇ γυναικὶ ποιητήν. —ἔστι δὲ τάφος οὐ πόρρω τῶν πυλῶν, ἐπίθημα ἔχων στρατιώτην ἵππῳ παρεστηκότα· ὅντινα μέν, οὐκ οἶδα, Πραξιτέλης δὲ καὶ τὸν ἵππον καὶ τὸν στρατιώτην ἐποίησεν.
1.2.4 ἐσελθόντων δὲ ἐς τὴν πόλιν οἰκοδόμημα ἐς παρασκευήν ἐστι τῶν πομπῶν, ἃς πέμπουσι τὰς μὲν ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος, τὰς δὲ καὶ χρόνον διαλείποντες. καὶ πλησίον ναός ἐστι Δήμητρος, ἀγάλματα δὲ αὐτή τε καὶ ἡ παῖς καὶ δᾷδα ἔχων Ἴακχος· γέγραπται δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ τοίχῳ γράμμασιν Ἀττικοῖς ἔργα εἶναι Πραξιτέλους. τοῦ ναοῦ δὲ οὐ πόρρω Ποσειδῶν ἐστιν ἐφ᾽ ἵππου, δόρυ ἀφιεὶς ἐπὶ γίγαντα Πολυβώτην, ἐς ὃν Κῴοις ὁ μῦθος ὁ περὶ τῆς ἄκρας ἔχει τῆς Χελώνης· τὸ δὲ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν τὴν εἰκόνα ἄλλῳ δίδωσι καὶ οὐ Ποσειδῶνι. στοαὶ δέ εἰσιν ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἐς τὸν Κεραμεικὸν καὶ εἰκόνες πρὸ αὐτῶν χαλκαῖ καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ ἀνδρῶν, ὅσοις τι ὑπῆρχεν ὧν τις λόγος ἐς δόξαν.
1.2.5 ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα τῶν στοῶν ἔχει μὲν ἱερὰ θεῶν, ἔχει δὲ γυμνάσιον Ἑρμοῦ καλούμενον· ἔστι δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ Πουλυτίωνος οἰκία, καθ᾽ ἣν παρὰ τὴν ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι δρᾶσαι τελετὴν Ἀθηναίων φασὶν οὐ τοὺς ἀφανεστάτους· ἐπ᾽ ἐμοῦ δὲ ἀνεῖτο Διονύσῳ. Διόνυσον δὲ τοῦτον καλοῦσι Μελπόμενον ἐπὶ λόγῳ τοιῷδε ἐφ᾽ ὁποίῳ περ Ἀπόλλωνα Μουσηγέτην. ἐνταῦθά ἐστιν Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα Παιωνίας καὶ Διὸς καὶ Μνημοσύνης καὶ Μουσῶν, Ἀπόλλων τε ἀνάθημα καὶ ἔργον Εὐβουλίδου, καὶ δαίμων τῶν ἀμφὶ Διόνυσον Ἄκρατος· πρόσωπόν ἐστίν οἱ μόνον ἐνῳκοδομημένον τοίχῳ. μετὰ δὲ τὸ τοῦ Διονύσου τέμενός ἐστιν οἴκημα ἀγάλματα ἔχον ἐκ πηλοῦ, βασιλεὺς Ἀθηναίων Ἀμφικτύων ἄλλους τε θεοὺς ἑστιῶν καὶ Διόνυσον. ἐνταῦθα καὶ Πήγασός ἐστιν Ἐλευθερεύς, ὃς Ἀθηναίοις τὸν θεὸν ἐσήγαγε· συνεπελάβετο δέ οἱ τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς μαντεῖον ἀναμνῆσαν τὴν ἐπὶ Ἰκαρίου ποτὲ ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ θεοῦ. [Overlaps: • Ἑρμοῦ • Πουλυτίωνος οἰκία • Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα Παιωνίας]
1.2.6 τὴν δὲ βασιλείαν Ἀμφικτύων ἔσχεν οὕτως. Ἀκταῖον λέγουσιν ἐν τῇ νῦν Ἀττικῇ βασιλεῦσαι πρῶτον· ἀποθανόντος δὲ Ἀκταίου Κέκροψ ἐκδέχεται τὴν ἀρχὴν θυγατρὶ συνοικῶν Ἀκταίου, καί οἱ γίνονται θυγατέρες μὲν Ἕρση καὶ Ἄγλαυρος καὶ Πάνδροσος, υἱὸς δὲ Ἐρυσίχθων· οὗτος οὐκ ἐβασίλευσεν Ἀθηναίων, ἀλλά οἱ τοῦ πατρὸς ζῶντος τελευτῆσαι συνέβη, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν Κέκροπος Κραναὸς ἐξεδέξατο, Ἀθηναίων δυνάμει προύχων. Κραναῷ δὲ θυγατέρας καὶ ἄλλας καὶ Ἀτθίδα γενέσθαι λέγουσιν· ἀπὸ ταύτης ὀνομάζουσιν Ἀττικὴν τὴν χώραν, πρότερον καλουμένην Ἀκταίαν. Κραναῷ δὲ Ἀμφικτύων ἐπαναστάς, θυγατέρα ὅμως ἔχων αὐτοῦ, παύει τῆς ἀρχῆς· καὶ αὐτὸς ὕστερον ὑπὸ Ἐριχθονίου καὶ τῶν συνεπαναστάντων ἐκπίπτει· πατέρα δὲ Ἐριχθονίῳ λέγουσιν ἀνθρώπων μὲν οὐδένα εἶναι, γονέας δὲ Ἥφαιστον καὶ Γῆν.