- Source
- Pausanias. Pausaniae Graeciae descriptio, Volumes 1-3. Spiro, Friedrich, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1903.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.25.6-10.25.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Describing the wounded Greek warriors, Aethra and Demophon's attempt to rescue her, the captured Trojan women (including Andromache and Polyxena), and the depiction of Nestor and his surroundings.
γέγραπται δὲ καὶ Λυκομήδης παρὰ τὸν Μέγητα ὁ Κρέοντος, ἔχων τραῦμα ἐπὶ τῷ καρπῷ· Λέσχεως δʼ οὕτω φησὶν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Ἀγήνορος τρωθῆναι. δῆλα οὖν ὡς ἄλλως γε οὐκ ἂν ὁ Πολύγνωτος ἔγραψεν οὕτω τὰ ἕλκη σφίσιν, εἰ μὴ ἐπελέξατο1 τὴν ποίησιν τοῦ Λέσχεω· προσεπέθηκε μέντοι καὶ σφυροῦ τῷ Λυκομήδει καὶ τρίτον τραῦμα ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ. τέτρωται δὲ καὶ Εὐρύαλος ὁ Μηκιστέως κεφαλήν τε καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ χειρὶ τὸν καρπόν.
Lycomedes the son of Creon is also painted near Meges, having a wound on his wrist; and Lesches says that he was thus wounded by Agenor. It is clear, then, that Polygnotus would not have painted their wounds in this way in other respects, unless he had read the poetry of Lesches; however, he also added to Lycomedes a wound on his ankle and a third wound in his head. And Euryalus the son of Mecisteus is also wounded, both in his head and in the wrist on his hand.
οὗτοι μὲν δὴ ἀνωτέρω τῆς Ἑλένης εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ· ἐφεξῆς δὲ τῇ Ἑλένῃ μήτηρ τε ἡ Θησέως ἐν χρῷ κεκαρμένη καὶ παίδων τῶν Θησέως Δημοφῶν ἐστι φροντίζων, ὅσα γε ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος, εἰ ἀνασώσασθαί οἱ τὴν Αἴθραν ἐνέσται.2 Ἀργεῖοι δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς Σίνιδος θυγατρὸς γενέσθαι Θησεῖ Μελάνιππον λέγουσι, καὶ ὡς ἀνέλοιτο ὁ Μελάνιππος δρόμου νίκην, ὅτε οἱ Ἐπίγονοι καλούμενοι Νέμεια δεύτεροι οὗτοι ἔθεσαν μετὰ Ἄδραστον.
These, indeed, are higher up than Helen in the painting. And next to Helen, the mother of Theseus is close-shorn to the skin, and Demophon, one of the sons of Theseus, is concerned—so far as can be seen from his posture—whether it will be possible for him to rescue Aethra. And the Argives say that Melanippus was born to Theseus from the daughter of Sinis, and that Melanippus won a victory in the foot-race when those called the Epigoni held the Nemean games, these being the second after Adrastus.
Λέσχεως δὲ ἐς τὴν Αἴθραν ἐποίησεν, ἡνίκα ἡλίσκετο Ἴλιον, ὑπεξελθοῦσαν ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον αὐτὴν ἀφικέσθαι τὸ Ἑλλήνων καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων γνωρισθῆναι τῶν Θησέως, καὶ ὡς παρʼ Ἀγαμέμνονος αἰτήσαι Δημοφῶν αὐτήν· ὁ δὲ ἐκείνῳ μὲν ἐθέλειν χαρίζεσθαι, ποιήσειν δὲ οὐ πρότερον ἔφη πρὶν Ἑλένην πεῖσαι· ἀποστείλαντι δὲ αὐτῷ κήρυκα ἔδωκεν Ἑλένη τὴν χάριν. ἔοικεν οὖν ὁ Εὐρυβάτης ὁ ἐν τῇ γραφῇ ἀφῖχθαί τε ὡς τὴν Ἑλένην τῆς Αἴθρας ἕνεκα καὶ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἀπαγγέλλειν.
And Lesches wrote concerning Aethra, that when Troy was captured, she slipped out and arrived at the camp of the Greeks, and was recognized by the sons of Theseus, and that Demophon asked Agamemnon for her; and he was willing to grant the favor to him, but said he would not do so before persuading Helen; and when he sent a herald to her, Helen granted the favor. It is likely, then, that Eurybates in the painting has arrived at Helen’s place for the sake of Aethra, and is delivering the things commanded by Agamemnon.
γυναῖκες δὲ αἱ Τρῳάδες αἰχμαλώτοις τε ἤδη καὶ ὀδυρομέναις ἐοίκασι. γέγραπται μὲν Ἀνδρομάχη, καὶ ὁ παῖς οἱ προσέστηκεν ἑλόμενος τοῦ μαστοῦ—τούτῳ Λέσχεως ῥιφθέντι ἀπὸ τοῦ πύργου συμβῆναι λέγει τὴν τελευτήν· οὐ μὴν ὑπὸ δόγματός γε Ἑλλήνων, ἀλλʼ ἰδίᾳ Νεοπτόλεμον αὐτόχειρα ἐθελῆσαι γενέσθαι—, γέγραπται δὲ Μηδεσικάστη, θυγατέρων μὲν Πριάμου καὶ αὕτη τῶν νόθων, ἐξῳκίσθαι δὲ ἐς Πήδαιον πόλιν φησὶν αὐτὴν Ὅμηρος Ἰμβρίῳ Μέντορος παιδὶ ἀνδρὶ συνοικοῦσαν.
And the Trojan women seem to be already captives and lamenting. Andromache is painted, and her child stands near her, grasping her breast—concerning whom Lesches says that his end came by being thrown from the tower; not, indeed, by a decree of the Greeks, but that Neoptolemus on his own initiative wished to be the slayer—, and Medesicaste is painted, she too being one of the natural daughters of Priam, and Homer says that she was married away to the city of Pedaeum, dwelling with her husband Imbrius, the son of Mentor.
ἡ μὲν δὴ Ἀνδρομάχη καὶ ἡ Μηδεσικάστη καλύμματά εἰσιν ἐπικείμεναι, Πολυξένη δὲ κατὰ τὰ εἰθισμένα παρθένοις ἀναπέπλεκται τὰς ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τρίχας· ἀποθανεῖν δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀχιλλέως μνήματι ποιηταί τε ᾄδουσι καὶ γραφὰς ἔν τε Ἀθήναις καὶ Περγάμῳ τῇ ὑπὲρ Καΐκου θεασάμενος οἶδα ἐχούσας ἐς τῆς Πολυξένης τὰ παθήματα.
And Andromache and Medesicaste are wearing veils, but Polyxena has her hair braided on her head according to the custom of virgins; and poets sing that she died at the tomb of Achilles, and I know that I have seen paintings both in Athens and in Pergamon above the Caicus representing the sufferings of Polyxena.
γέγραφε δὲ καὶ Νέστορα τῇ κεφαλῇ τε ἐπικείμενον πῖλον καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ δόρυ ἔχοντα· καὶ ἵππος κονίεσθαι μέλλοντος3 παρέχεται σχῆμα· ἄχρι μὲν δὴ τοῦ ἵππου αἰγιαλός τε καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ψηφῖδες ὑποφαίνονται, τὸ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν οὐκέτι ἔοικεν εἶναι θάλασσα.
And he has painted Nestor too, with a cap on his head and holding a spear in his hand; and there is a horse presenting the appearance of being about to roll in the dust; as far as the horse, indeed, a shore and pebbles in it appear, but what is from there on no longer seems to be sea.
- 10.25.6οὐκ ἂν ὁ Πολύγνωτος ἔγραψεν... εἰ μὴ ἐπελέξατο
A past contrafactual construction (indicative past with ἄν in the apodosis, and εἰ with indicative past in the protasis). It means "Polygnotus would not have painted their wounds in this way, unless he had read the poetry of Lesches."
- 10.25.7εἰ ἀνασώσασθαί οἱ τὴν Αἴθραν ἐνέσται
The particle εἰ introduces an indirect question ("whether"), followed by ἐνέσται, the future tense of the impersonal verb ἔνεστι ("it is possible"). The dative pronoun οἱ refers to the subject of the main clause, Demophon ("whether it would be possible for him"). The whole phrase means "whether it will be possible for him to rescue Aethra."
- 10.25.11ἵππος κονίεσθαι μέλλοντος
The nominative noun ἵππος ("horse") is associated with the genitive participle phrase κονίεσθαι μέλλοντος ("of [a horse] about to roll in the dust"). This can be understood as a descriptive genitive depending on an implied noun or a contamination with the phrase σχῆμα [ἵππου] κονίεσθαι μέλλοντος ("the posture of [a horse] about to roll").