- 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
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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.31.7-4.31.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Pausanias describes the statue of Artemis Laphria by Damophon and its cult origins, comparing it to the widespread fame of Ephesian Artemis. He also details various sanctuaries in Messene, particularly the statue-rich sanctuary of Asclepius and the historical/mythological portraits in the temple of Messene.
Δαμοφῶντος δέ ἐστι τούτου καὶ ἡ Λαφρία1 καλουμένη παρὰ Μεσσηνίοις· σέβεσθαι δέ σφισιν ἀπὸ τοιοῦδε αὐτὴν καθέστηκε.2 Καλυδωνίοις ἡ Ἄρτεμις—ταύτην γὰρ θεῶν μάλιστα ἔσεβον— ἐπίκλησιν εἶχε Λαφρία· Μεσσηνίων δὲ οἱ λαβόντες Ναύπακτον παρὰ Ἀθηναίων—τηνικαῦτα γὰρ Αἰτωλίας ἐγγύτατα ᾤκουν—παρὰ Καλυδωνίων ἔλαβον. τὸ σχῆμα ἑτέρωθι δηλώσω. τὸ μὲν δὴ τῆς Λαφρίας ἀφίκετο ὄνομα ἔς τε Μεσσηνίους καὶ ἐς Πατρεῖς Ἀχαιῶν μόνους, Ἐφεσίαν δὲ Ἄρτεμιν πόλεις τε νομίζουσιν αἱ πᾶσαι καὶ ἄνδρες ἰδίᾳ θεῶν μάλιστα ἄγουσιν ἐν τιμῇ· τὰ δὲ αἴτια ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν3 ἐστὶν Ἀμαζόνων τε κλέος, αἳ φήμην τὸ ἄγαλμα ἔχουσιν ἱδρύσασθαι, καὶ ὅτι ἐκ παλαιοτάτου τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο ἐποιήθη. τρία δὲ ἄλλα ἐπὶ τούτοις συνετέλεσεν ἐς δόξαν, μέγεθός τε τοῦ ναοῦ τὰ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις κατασκευάσματα ὑπερηρκότος καὶ Ἐφεσίων τῆς πόλεως ἡ ἀκμὴ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τὸ ἐπιφανὲς τῆς θεοῦ.
To this Damophon belongs also the one called Laphria among the Messenians; and the practice of worshipping her has been established among them from the following cause. For the Calydonians, Artemis—for they worshipped her most of the gods—had the surname Laphria; and those of the Messenians who received Naupactus from the Athenians—for at that time they dwelt very near to Aetolia—received it from the Calydonians. Its appearance I will declare elsewhere. Now the name of Laphria came indeed to the Messenians and to the Patreans alone among the Achaeans, but Ephesian Artemis all cities indeed hold in honor, and men individually hold in the greatest esteem among the gods. And the causes, in my opinion, are the fame of the Amazons, who have the rumor of having founded the statue, and that this sanctuary was made from the oldest time. And three other things besides these contributed to its glory: the size of the temple, which surpassed all constructions among men, the peak of the city of the Ephesians, and the manifestation of the goddess in it.
πεποίηται δὲ καὶ Εἰλειθυίας Μεσσηνίοις ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα λίθου, πλησίον δὲ Κουρήτων μέγαρον, ἔνθα ζῷα τὰ πάντα ὁμοίως καθαγίζουσιν· ἀρξάμενοι γὰρ ἀπὸ βοῶν τε καὶ αἰγῶν καταβαίνουσιν ἐς τοὺς ὄρνιθας ἀφιέντες ἐς τὴν φλόγα. καὶ Δήμητρος ἱερὸν Μεσσηνίοις ἐστὶν ἅγιον καὶ Διοσκούρων ἀγάλματα φέροντες τὰς Λευκίππου· καί μοι καὶ ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς προτέροις ἐστὶν ἤδη δεδηλωμένα, ὡς οἱ Μεσσήνιοι τοὺς Τυνδάρεω παῖδας ἀμφισβητοῦσιν αὑτοῖς καὶ οὐ Λακεδαιμονίοις προσήκειν.
There has also been made for the Messenians a temple and stone statue of Eileithyia, and nearby is a hall of the Curetes, where they sacrifice all animals alike; for beginning from oxen and goats, they go down to birds, casting them into the flame. There is also a holy temple of Demeter for the Messenians, and statues of the Dioscuri carrying off the daughters of Leucippus; and these things indeed have already been shown by me in the previous books, how the Messenians dispute that the sons of Tyndareus belong to themselves and do not pertain to the Lacedaemonians.
πλεῖστα δέ σφισι καὶ θέας μάλιστα ἀγάλματα ἄξια τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ παρέχεται τὸ ἱερόν· χωρὶς μὲν γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν παίδων ἐστὶν ἀγάλματα, χωρὶς δὲ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Μουσῶν καὶ Ἡρακλέους· πόλις τε ἡ Θηβαίων καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδας ὁ Κλεόμμιδος Τύχη τε καὶ Ἄρτεμις Φωσφόρος, τὰ μὲν δὴ τοῦ λίθου Δαμοφῶν αὐτοῖς εἰργάσατο—Μεσσήνιον δὲ ὅτι μὴ4 τοῦτον ἄλλον γε οὐδένα λόγου ποιήσαντα ἀξίως οἶδα ἀγάλματα—, ἡ δὲ εἰκὼν τοῦ Ἐπαμινώνδου ἐκ σιδήρου τέ ἐστι καὶ ἔργον ἄλλου, οὐ τούτου.
The sanctuary of Asclepius provides for them the most statues and those most worthy of a visit. For apart from the god and his children, there are statues of Apollo, the Muses, and Heracles; and also the city of the Thebans, Epaminondas the son of Cleommis, Tyche, and Artemis Phosphoros. Now Damophon made the stone ones for them—for I know of no other Messenian except him who has made statues worthily of account—but the image of Epaminondas is of iron and is the work of another, not of him.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ Μεσσήνης τῆς Τριόπα ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα χρυσοῦ καὶ λίθου Παρίου· γραφαὶ δὲ κατὰ τοῦ ναοῦ τὸ ὄπισθεν αἱ βασιλεύσαντές εἰσι Μεσσήνης, πρὶν μὲν ἢ στόλον ἀφικέσθαι τὸν Δωριέων ἐς Πελοπόννησον Ἀφαρεὺς καὶ οἱ παῖδες, κατελθόντων δὲ Ἡρακλειδῶν Κρεσφόντης ἐστίν, ἡγεμὼν καὶ οὗτος τοῦ Δωρικοῦ, τῶν δὲ οἰκησάντων ἐν Πύλῳ Νέστωρ καὶ Θρασυμήδης καὶ Ἀντίλοχος, προτετιμημένοι παίδων τῶν Νέστορος ἡλικίᾳ5 καὶ ἐπὶ Τροίαν μετεσχηκότες τῆς στρατείας.
There is also a temple and statue of gold and Parian marble of Messene, the daughter of Triopas. And on the back part of the temple there are paintings of those who ruled Messene: before the expedition of the Dorians arrived in the Peloponnese, Aphareus and his sons; and after the return of the Heracleidae, Cresphontes, who was also himself a leader of the Dorians; and of those who dwelt in Pylos, Nestor, Thrasymedes, and Antilochus, who were preferred in age among the children of Nestor and took part in the expedition against Troy.
Λεύκιππός τε Ἀφαρέως ἀδελφὸς καὶ Ἱλάειρά ἐστι καὶ Φοίβη, σὺν δέ σφισιν Ἀρσινόη. γέγραπται δὲ καὶ Ἀσκληπιός, Ἀρσινόης ὢν λόγῳ τῷ Μεσσηνίων, καὶ Μαχάων καὶ Ποδαλείριος, ὅτι ἔργου τοῦ πρὸς Ἰλίῳ καὶ τούτοις μέτεστι. ταύτας τὰς γραφὰς ἔγραψεν Ὀμφαλίων, Νικίου τοῦ Νικομήδους μαθητής· οἱ δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ δουλεῦσαι παρὰ τῷ Νικίᾳ καὶ παιδικὰ γενέσθαι φασὶν αὐτοῦ.
There are also Leucippus, the brother of Aphareus, Hilaeira, and Phoebe, and with them Arsinoe. And Asclepius is also painted, being according to the account of the Messenians the son of Arsinoe, and Machaon and Podalirius, because they also had a share in the action at Ilium. These paintings were painted by Omphalion, a pupil of Nicias the son of Nicomedes; and some say that he both served as a slave under Nicias and became his favorite.
- 4.31.7Δαμοφῶντος δέ ἐστι τούτου καὶ ἡ Λαφρία
The genitive of name Δαμοφῶντος functions as a possessive genitive or genitive of author. The verb ἐστι carries the sense of 'is the work of' or 'belongs to'.
- 4.31.7σέβεσθαι δέ σφισιν... καθέστηκε
The infinitive σέβεσθαι (to worship) serves as the subject of the perfect verb καθέστηκε (it has been established), used impersonally. The dative σφισιν acts as a dative of agent or reference ('for them').
- 4.31.8ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν
An idiomatic absolute infinitive used parenthetically to limit the statement: 'in my opinion' or 'as it seems to me'.
- 4.31.10ὅτι μὴ
Used after a strong negative to mean 'except'. Here, it establishes that Pausanias knows no other Messenian sculptor 'except' Damophon.
- 4.31.11προτετιμημένοι παίδων τῶν Νέστορος ἡλικίᾳ
Consists of the genitive of comparison παίδων and the dative of respect ἡλικίᾳ. It means they were preferred 'above the (other) children' of Nestor on account of their age.