- 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-grc2:2.25.6-2.25.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
Pausanias discusses the mythical origins of Orneae and its sanctuaries, then describes the historical landmarks on the road from Argos to Epidauria, including the pyramid-shaped tomb of the battle of Proetus and Acrisius, the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns, the ruins of Midea, Lessa, and Mount Arachnaeon.
ἐκαλοῦντο δὲ ἀπὸ Ὀρνέως τοῦ Ἐρεχθέως· τοῦ δὲ Ὀρνέως ἦν τούτου Πετεώς, τοῦ δὲ Μενεσθεύς, ὃς Ἀγαμέμνονι μετὰ Ἀθηναίων τὴν Πριάμου συγκαθεῖλεν ἀρχήν. ἀπὸ μὲν δὴ τούτου τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο τῇ πόλει, Ἀργεῖοι δὲ ὕστερον τούτων Ὀρνεάτας ἀνέστησαν· ἀναστάντες δὲ σύνοικοι γεγόνασιν Ἀργείοις. ἔστι δὲ ἐν ταῖς Ὀρνεαῖς Ἀρτέμιδός τε ἱερὸν καὶ ξόανον ὀρθὸν καὶ ἕτερος ναὸς θεοῖς πᾶσιν ἐς κοινὸν ἀνειμένος. τὰ δὲ ἐπέκεινα Ὀρνεῶν ἥ τε Σικυωνία καὶ ἡ Φλιασία ἐστίν.
They were named after Orneus son of Erechtheus; and of this Orneus was Peteos, and of him Menestheus, who with the Athenians helped Agamemnon destroy the empire of Priam. From him indeed the city got its name, but the Argives later than this expelled the Orneatae; and having been expelled they became fellow-dwellers with the Argives. There is in Orneae a sanctuary of Artemis and an upright wooden image, and another temple dedicated to all gods in common. The parts beyond Orneae are the Sicyonian and Phliasian territories.
ἐρχομένοις1 δὲ ἐξ Ἄργους ἐς τὴν Ἐπιδαυρίαν ἐστὶν οἰκοδόμημα ἐν δεξιᾷ πυραμίδι μάλιστα εἰκασμένον, ἔχει δὲ ἀσπίδας σχῆμα2 Ἀργολικὰς ἐπειργασμένας. ἐνταῦθα Προίτῳ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς πρὸς Ἀκρίσιον μάχη γίνεται, καὶ τέλος μὲν ἴσον τῷ ἀγῶνι συμβῆναί φασι καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ διαλλαγὰς ὕστερον, ὡς οὐδέτεροι βεβαίως κρατεῖν ἐδύναντο· συμβάλλειν δὲ σφᾶς λέγουσιν ἀσπίσι πρῶτον τότε καὶ αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸ στράτευμα ὡπλισμένους. τοῖς δὲ πεσοῦσιν ἀφʼ ἑκατέρων— πολῖται γὰρ καὶ συγγενεῖς ἦσαν—ἐποιήθη ταύτῃ μνῆμα ἐν κοινῷ.
For those going from Argos to the Epidaurian territory, there is a building on the right very much like a pyramid, and it has Argive shields wrought in relief. Here a battle took place between Proetus and Acrisius for the kingdom, and they say that the end of the contest was equal, and from it reconciliation came afterwards, as neither was able to gain a decisive victory; and they say that they first clashed with shields then, both themselves and their army being armed. And for those who fell on both sides—for they were citizens and kinsmen—a common tomb was made here.
προϊοῦσι δὲ ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἐκτραπεῖσιν ἐς δεξιὰν Τίρυνθός ἐστιν ἐρείπια. ἀνέστησαν δὲ καὶ Τιρυνθίους Ἀργεῖοι, συνοίκους προσλαβεῖν καὶ τὸ Ἄργος ἐπαυξῆσαι θελήσαντες. Τίρυνθα δὲ ἥρωα, ἀφʼ οὗ τῇ πόλει τὸ ὄνομα ἐγένετο, παῖδα Ἄργου τοῦ Διὸς εἶναι λέγουσι. τὸ δὲ τεῖχος, ὃ δὴ μόνον τῶν ἐρειπίων λείπεται, Κυκλώπων μέν ἐστιν ἔργον, πεποίηται δὲ ἀργῶν λίθων, μέγεθος ἔχων ἕκαστος λίθος ὡς ἀπʼ αὐτῶν μηδʼ ἂν ἀρχὴν κινηθῆναι3 τὸν μικρότατον ὑπὸ ζεύγους ἡμιόνων· λιθία δὲ ἐνήρμοσται πάλαι, ὡς μάλιστα αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ἁρμονίαν τοῖς μεγάλοις λίθοις εἶναι.
For those going forward from here and turning to the right, there are the ruins of Tiryns. The Argives expelled the Tirynthians also, wishing to receive them as fellow-dwellers and to increase Argos. They say that Tiryns, the hero after whom the city got its name, was a son of Argos, the son of Zeus. The wall, which indeed alone of the ruins remains, is the work of the Cyclopes, and is made of unhewn stones, each stone having such a size that the smallest of them could not be moved at all by a yoke of mules; and small stones have been fitted in of old, so that each of them might especially be a binding for the large stones.
καταβάντων δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἐνταῦθα οἱ θάλαμοι τῶν Προίτου θυγατέρων εἰσίν· ἐπανελθόντων δὲ ἐς τὴν λεωφόρον, ἐπὶ Μήδειαν ἐς ἀριστερὰν ἥξεις. βασιλεῦσαι δέ φασιν Ἠλεκτρύωνα ἐν τῇ Μηδείᾳ τὸν πατέρα Ἀλκμήνης· ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ δὲ Μηδείας πλὴν τὸ ἔδαφος ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἐλείπετο.
For those who have gone down towards the sea, there are the chambers of the daughters of Proetus; and for those who have returned to the highway, you will come to Midea on the left. They say that Electryon, the father of Alcmene, reigned in Midea; but in my time nothing of Midea remained except the foundation.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐς Ἐπίδαυρον εὐθεῖάν ἐστι κώμη Λῆσσα, ναὸς δὲ Ἀθηνᾶς ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ ξόανον οὐδέν τι διάφορον ἢ τὸ ἐν ἀκροπόλει τῇ Λαρίσῃ. ἔστι δὲ ὄρος ὑπὲρ τῆς Λήσσης τὸ Ἀραχναῖον, πάλαι δὲ †σάπυς ἐλάτων ἐπὶ Ἰνάχου τὸ ὄνομα εἰλήφει. βωμοὶ δέ εἰσιν ἐν αὐτῷ Διός τε καὶ Ἥρας· δεῆσαν4 ὄμβρου σφίσιν ἐνταῦθα θύουσι.
Along the straight road to Epidaurus is the village Lessa, and a temple of Athena in it, and a wooden image not at all different from that on the acropolis Larisa. Above Lessa is Mount Arachnaeon, and of old, under Inachus, it had received the name †Sapyselaton† . There are altars on it of Zeus and Hera; when they need rain, they sacrifice here.
- 2.25.7ἐρχομένοις
The dative participle of direction (dative of reference/judgment), commonly used in travelogues to introduce the viewpoint of travelers ('for those going from Argos...'). It sets the spatial perspective for the main clause ἐστὶν οἰκοδόμημα.
- 2.25.7σχῆμα
An accusative of respect (or relationship), modifying ἀσπίδας along with Ἀργολικάς, meaning '(shields) of Argive shape/form'. Alternatively, it can be taken as an adverbial accusative modifying the participle ἐπειργασμένας.
- 2.25.8μηδʼ ἂν ἀρχὴν κινηθῆναι
A consecutive clause introduced by ὡς. The infinitive κινηθῆναι (aorist passive infinitive of κινέω) is accompanied by the potential particle ἂν. The adverbial accusative ἀρχήν ('at all, to begin with') combined with the negative μηδέ emphasizes the impossibility: 'so that (even the smallest) could not possibly be moved at all'.
- 2.25.10δεῆσαν
The neuter singular accusative of the aorist participle of the impersonal verb δεῖ. This is an instance of the accusative absolute construction, functioning as an adverbial clause of time or condition: 'when there arose a need (for rain)'.