Pausanias´ Description of Greece - Παυσανίου Ελλάδος περιήγησις
Recogito Annotation
Book 8 — Chapter 25
English
8.25.1 As you go from Psophis to Thelpusa you first reach on the left of the Ladon a place called Tropaea, adjoining which is a forest, Aphrodisium. Thirdly, there is ancient writing on a slab: — “The boundary between Psophis and Thelpusa.” In the Thelpusian territory is a river called Arsen (Male). Cross this and go on for about twenty-five stades, when you will arrive at the ruins of the village Caus, with a sanctuary of Causian Asclepius, built on the road.
8.25.2 Thelpusa is some forty stades distant from this sanctuary. It is said that it was named after Thelpusa, a nymph, and that she was a daughter of Ladon. The Ladon rises in springs within the territory of Cleitor, as my account has already set forth. It flows first beside a place Leucasium and Mesoboa, through Nasi to Oryx, also called Halous, and from Halous it descends to Thaliades and a sanctuary of Eleusinian Demeter.
8.25.3 This sanctuary is on the borders of Thelpusa. In it are images, each no less than seven feet high, of Demeter, her daughter, and Dionysus, all alike of stone. After the sanctuary of the Eleusinian goddess the Ladon flows by the city Thelpusa on the left, situated on a high hill, in modern times so deserted that the agora, which is at the extremity of it, was originally, they say, right in the very middle of it. Thelpusa has a temple of Asclepius and a sanctuary of the twelve gods; the greater part of this, I found, lay level with the ground.
8.25.4 After Thelpusa the Ladon descends to the sanctuary of Demeter in Onceium. The Thelpusians call the goddess Erinys (Fury), and with them agrees Antimachus also, who wrote a poem about the expedition of the Argives against Thebes. His verse runs thus: “There, they say, is the seat of Demeter Fury.” Now Oncius was, according to tradition, a son of Apollo, and held sway in Thelpusian territory around the place Onceium; the goddess has the surname Fury for the following reason.
8.25.5 When Demeter was wandering in search of her daughter, she was followed, it is said, by Poseidon, who lusted after her. So she turned, the story runs, into a mare, and grazed with the mares of Oncius; realizing that he was outwitted, Poseidon too changed into a stallion and enjoyed Demeter.
8.25.6 At first, they say, Demeter was angry at what had happened, but later on she laid aside her wrath and wished to bathe in the Ladon. So the goddess has obtained two surnames, Erinys because of her avenging anger, because the Arcadians call being wrathful “being furious,” and Bather (Lousia) because she bathed in the Ladon. The images in the temple are of wood, but their faces, hands and feet are of Parian marble.
8.25.7 The image of Fury holds what is called the chest, and in her right hand a torch; her height I conjecture to be nine feet. Lusia seemed to be six feet high. Those who think the image to be Themis and not Demeter Lusia are, I would have them know, mistaken in their opinion. Demeter, they say, had by Poseidon a daughter, whose name they are not wont to divulge to the uninitiated, and a horse called Areion. For this reason they say that they were the first Arcadians to call Poseidon Horse.
8.25.8 They quote verses from the Iliad and from the Thebaid in confirmation of their story. In the Iliad there are verses about Areion himself: “Not even if he drive divine Areion behind, / The swift horse of Adrastus, who was of the race of the gods.” In the Thebaid it is said that Adrastus fled from Thebes: “Wearing wretched clothes, and with him dark-maned Areion.” They will have it that the verses obscurely hint that Poseidon was father to Areion, but Antimachus says that Earth was his mother:
8.25.9 “Adrastus, son of Talaus, son of Cretheus, The very first of the Danai to drive his famous horses, Swift Caerus and Areion of Thelpusa, Whom near the grove of Oncean Apollo Earth herself sent up, a marvel for mortals to see.”
8.25.10 But even though sprung from Earth the horse might be of divine lineage and the color of his hair might still be dark. Legend also has it that when Heracles was warring on Elis he asked Oncus for the horse, and was carried to battle on the back of Areion when he took Elis, but afterwards the horse was given to Adrastus by Heracles. Wherefore Antimachus says about Areion: “Adrastus was the third lord who tamed him.”
8.25.11 The Ladon, leaving on the left the sanctuary of Erinys, passes on the left the temple of Oncaeatian Apollo, and on the right a sanctuary of Boy Asclepius, where is the tomb of Trygon, who is said to have been the nurse of Asclepius. For the story is that Asclepius, when little, was exposed in Thelpusa, but was found by Autolaus, the illegitimate son of Arcas, who reared the baby, and for this reason Boy Asclepius . . . I thought more likely, as also I set forth in my account of Epidaurus.
8.25.12 There is a river Touthoa, and it falls into the Ladon at the boundary between Thelpusa and Heraea, called Plain by the Arcadians. Where the Ladon itself falls into the Alpheius is an island called the Island of Crows. Those who have thought that Enispe, Stratia and Rhipe, mentioned by Homer, were once inhabited islands in the Ladon, cherish, I would tell them, a false belief.
8.25.13 For the Ladon could never show islands even as large as a ferry-boat. As far as beauty is concerned, it is second to no river, either in Greece or in foreign lands, but it is not big enough to carry islands on its waters, as do the Danube and the Eridanus.
Ancient Greek
8.25.1 ἐς δὲ Θέλπουσαν ἰόντι ἐκ Ψωφῖδος πρῶτα μὲν χωρίον Τρόπαιά ἐστιν ὀνομαζόμενον ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τοῦ Λάδωνος, Τροπαίων δὲ ἔχεται δρυμὸς Ἀφροδίσιον: τρίτα δέ ἐστιν ἀρχαῖα ἐν στήλῃ γράμματα, ὅροι Ψωφιδίοις πρὸς τὴν Θελπουσίαν χώραν. ἐν δὲ τῇ γῇ τῇ Θελπουσίᾳ ποταμός ἐστιν Ἄρσην καλούμενος: τοῦτον οὖν διαβήσῃ καὶ ὅσον πέντε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ σταδίοις ἀφίξῃ καὶ εἴκοσι ἐπὶ ἐρείπια Καοῦντος κώμης ὃ καὶ ἱερὸν Ἀσκληπιοῦ Καουσίου πεποιημένον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.
8.25.2 τοῦ δὲ ἱεροῦ τούτου σταδίους τεσσαράκοντα μάλιστα ἀφέστηκεν ἡ πόλις: τεθῆναι δὲ αὐτῇ ὄνομα ἀπὸ νύμφης λέγουσι Θελπούσης, ταύτην δὲ θυγατέρα εἶναι Λάδωνος. τῷ δὲ Λάδωνι ἄρχεται μὲν τὸ ὕδωρ ἐν πηγαῖς τῆς Κλειτορίας, καθὰ ὁ λόγος ἐδήλωσεν ἤδη μοι: ρεῖ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν παρὰ Λευκάσιον χωρίον καὶ Μεσόβοα καὶ διὰ τῶν Νάσων ἐπί τε Ὄρυγα τὸν καὶ Ἁλοῦντα ὀνομαζόμενον, ἐξ Ἁλοῦντος δὲ ἐπὶ Θαλιάδας τε καὶ ἐπὶ Δήμητρος ἱερὸν κάτεισιν Ἐλευσινίας.
8.25.3 τὸ δὲ ἱερὸν τοῦτο ἔστι μὲν Θελπουσίων ἐν ὅροις: ἀγάλματα δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ, ποδῶν ἑπτὰ οὐκ ἀποδέον ἕκαστον, Δήμητρός ἐστι καὶ ἡ παῖς καὶ ὁ Διόνυσος, τὰ πάντα ὁμοίως λίθου. μετὰ δὲ τῆς Ἐλευσινίας τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ Θέλπουσαν τὴν πόλιν ὁ Λάδων παρέξεισιν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ, κειμένην μὲν ἐπὶ λόφου μεγάλου, τὰ πλείω δὲ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἔρημον, ὥστε καὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐπὶ τῷ πέρατι οὖσάν φασιν ἐν τῷ μεσαιτάτῳ ποιηθῆναι τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς. ἔστι δὲ ἐν Θελπούσῃ ναὸς Ἀσκληπιοῦ καὶ θεῶν ἱερὸν τῶν δώδεκα:
8.25.4 τούτου τὰ πολλὰ ἐς ἔδαφος ἔκειτο ἤδη. μετὰ δὲ Θέλπουσαν ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Δήμητρος ὁ Λάδων κάτεισι τὸ ἐν Ὀγκείῳ: καλοῦσι δὲ Ἐρινὺν οἱ Θελπούσιοι τὴν θεόν, ὁμολογεῖ δέ σφισι καὶ Ἀντίμαχος ἐπιστρατείαν Ἀργείων ποιήσας ἐς Θήβας: καί οἱ τὸ ἔπος ἔχει, Δήμητρος τόθι φασὶν Ἐρινύος εἶναι ἔδεθλον. Αντίμαχος, άγνωστη θέση ὁ μὲν δὴ Ὄγκιος Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστι κατὰ τὴν φήμην καὶ ἐν τῇ Θελπουσίᾳ περὶ τὸ χωρίον ἐδυνάστευε τὸ Ὄγκιον, τῇ θεῷ δὲ Ἐρινὺς γέγονεν ἐπίκλησις:
8.25.5 πλανωμένῃ γὰρ τῇ Δήμητρι, ἡνίκα τὴν παῖδα ἐζήτει, λέγουσιν ἕπεσθαί οἱ τὸν Ποσειδῶνα ἐπιθυμοῦντα αὐτῇ μιχθῆναι, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐς ἵππον μεταβαλοῦσαν ὁμοῦ ταῖς ἵπποις νέμεσθαι ταῖς Ὀγκίου, Ποσειδῶν δὲ συνίησεν ἀπατώμενος καὶ συγγίνεται τῇ Δήμητρι ἄρσενι ἵππῳ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰκασθείς.
8.25.6 τὸ μὲν δὴ παραυτίκα τὴν Δήμητρα ἐπὶ τῷ συμβάντι ἔχειν ὀργίλως, χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον τοῦ τε θυμοῦ παύσασθαι καὶ τῷ Λάδωνι ἐθελῆσαί φασιν αὐτὴν λούσασθαι: ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἐπικλήσεις τῇ θεῷ γεγόνασι, τοῦ μηνίματος μὲν ἕνεκα Ἐρινύς, ὅτι τὸ θυμῷ χρῆσθαι καλοῦσιν ἐρινύειν οἱ Ἀρκάδες, Λουσία δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ λούσασθαι τῷ Λάδωνι. τὰ δὲ ἀγάλματά ἐστι τὰ ναῷ ξύλου, πρόσωπα δέ σφισι καὶ χεῖρες ἄκραι καὶ πόδες εἰσὶ Παρίου λίθου:
8.25.7 τὸ μὲν δὴ τῆς Ἐρινύος τήν τε κίστην καλουμένην ἔχει καὶ ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ δᾷδα, μέγεθος δὲ εἰκάζομεν ἐννέα εἶναι ποδῶν αὐτήν: ἡ Λουσία δὲ ποδῶν ἓξ ἐφαίνετο εἶναι. ὅσοι δὲ Θέμιδος καὶ οὐ Δήμητρος τῆς Λουσίας τὸ ἄγαλμα εἶναι νομίζουσι, μάταια ἴστωσαν ὑπειληφότες. τὴν δὲ Δήμητρα τεκεῖν φασιν ἐκ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος θυγατέρα, ἧς τὸ ὄνομα ἐς ἀτελέστους λέγειν οὐ νομίζουσι, καὶ ἵππον τὸν Ἀρείονα: ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ παρὰ σφίσιν Ἀρκάδων πρώτοις Ἵππιον Ποσειδῶνα ὀνομασθῆναι.
8.25.8 ἐπάγονται δὲ ἐξ Ἰλιάδος ἔπη καὶ ἐκ Θηβαΐδος μαρτύριά σφισιν εἶναι τῷ λόγῳ, ἐν μὲν Ἰλιάδι ἐς αὐτὸν Ἀρείονα πεποιῆσθαι, οὐδ᾽ εἴ κεν μετόπισθεν Ἀρείονα δῖον ἐλαύνοι, Ἀδρήστου ταχὺν ἵππον, ὃς ἐκ θεόφιν γένος ἦεν: Όμ. Ἰλ. 23.346 ἐν δὲ τῇ Θηβαΐδι ὡς Ἄδραστος ἔφευγεν ἐκ Θηβῶν εἵματα λυγρὰ φέρων σὺν Ἀρείονι κυανοχαίτῃ. αἰνίσσεσθαι οὖν ἐθέλουσι τὰ ἔπη Ποσειδῶνα Ἀρείονι εἶναι πατέρα, Ἀντίμαχος δὲ παῖδα εἶναι Γῆς φησιν: [Duplications: • Ἀρείονα ]
8.25.9 Ἄδρηστος Ταλαὼ υἱὸς Κρηθηιάδαο πρώτιστος Δαναῶν ἑὼ αἰνέτω ἤλασεν ἵππω, Καιρόν τε κραιπνὸν καὶ Ἀρείονα Θελπουσαῖον, τόν ρά τ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνος σχεδὸν ἄλσεος Ὀγκαίοιο αὐτὴ Γαῖʼ ἀνέδωκε, σέβας θνητοῖσιν ἰδέσθαι. Αντίμαχος, άγνωστη θέση
8.25.10 δύναιτο δ᾽ ἂν καὶ ἀναφύντι ἐκ γῆς τῷ ἵππῳ ἐκ θεοῦ τε εἶναι τὸ γένος καὶ αἱ τρίχες οἱ τὴν χρόαν ἐοικέναι κυανῷ. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τοιάδε, Ἡρακλέα πολεμοῦντα Ἠλείοις αἰτῆσαι παρ᾽ Ὄγκου τὸν ἵππον καὶ ἑλεῖν τὴν Ἦλιν ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀρείονι ὀχούμενον ἐς τὰς μάχας, δοθῆναι δὲ ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους ὕστερον Ἀδράστῳ τὸν ἵππον. ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ ἐς τὸν Ἀρείονα ἐποίησεν Ἀντίμαχος ὅς ρά ποτ᾽ Ἀδρήστῳ τριτάτῳ δέδμηθ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἄνακτι. Αντίμαχος, άγνωστη θέση
8.25.11 ὁ δὲ Λάδων τῆς Ἐρινύος τὸ ἱερὸν ἀπολιπὼν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ, παρέξεισιν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ μὲν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τοῦ Ὀγκαιάτου τὸν ναόν, τὰ δὲ ἐν δεξιᾷ παρὰ Ἀσκληπιοῦ Παιδὸς ἱερόν, ἔνθα Τρυγόνος μνῆμά ἐστι τροφοῦ: τροφὸν δὲ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τὴν Τρυγόνα εἶναι λέγουσιν: ἐν γὰρ τῇ Θελπούσῃ τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ παιδὶ ἐκκειμένῳ φασὶν ἐπιτυχόντα Αὐτόλαον Ἀρκάδος υἱὸν νόθον ἀνελέσθαι τὸ παιδίον, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ παῖδα Ἀσκληπιὸν Εἰκότα εἶναι μᾶλλον ἡγούμην, ὃ καὶ ἐδήλωσα ἐν τοῖς Ἐπιδαυρίων.
8.25.12 ἔστι δὲ Τουθόα ποταμός: ἐμβάλλει δὲ ἐς τὸν Λάδωνα καὶ ἡ Τουθόα κατὰ τὸν Θελπουσίων ὅρον πρὸς Ἡραιεῖς, καλούμενον δὲ ὑπὸ Ἀρκάδων Πεδίον. καθότι δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ Λάδων ἐκδίδωσιν ἐς τὸν Ἀλφειόν, Κοράκων ὠνόμασται νᾶσος. οἱ δὲ ἥγηνται τὴν Ἐνίσπην καὶ Στρατίην τε καὶ Ῥίπην τὰς ὑπὸ Ὁμήρου κατειλεγμένας γενέσθαι νήσους ποτὲ ἐν τῷ Λάδωνι ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένας, ἃ οἱ πεπιστευκότες μάταια ἴστωσαν:
8.25.13 οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε οὐδὲ νηὶ παρισουμένας πορθμίδι παράσχοιτο ὁ Λάδων νήσους. κάλλους μὲν γὰρ ἕνεκα οὐδενὸς ποταμῶν δεύτερος οὔτε τῶν βαρβαρικῶν ἐστιν οὔτε Ἕλληνος, μέγεθος δὲ οὐ τοσοῦτος ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ νήσους ἀναφαίνεσθαι καθάπερ ἐν Ἴστρῳ τε καὶ Ἠριδανῷ.