- 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-grc2:5.13.7-5.13.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
After mentioning the remains of Pelops and Tantalus in his homeland of Lydia, the author describes the physical structure of the ash altar of Olympian Zeus, the rules of access and sacrifice, and the maintenance of the altar using Alpheius water.
Πέλοπος δὲ καὶ Ταντάλου τῆς παρʼ ἡμῖν ἐνοικήσεως1 σημεῖα ἔτι καὶ ἐς τόδε λείπεται, Ταντάλου μὲν λίμνη τε ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ καλουμένη καὶ οὐκ ἀφανὴς τάφος, Πέλοπος δὲ ἐν Σιπύλῳ μὲν θρόνος ἐν κορυφῇ τοῦ ὄρους ἐστὶν ὑπὲρ τῆς Πλαστήνης μητρὸς τὸ ἱερόν, διαβάντι2 δὲ Ἕρμον ποταμὸν Ἀφροδίτης ἄγαλμα ἐν Τήμνῳ πεποιημένον ἐκ μυρσίνης τεθηλυίας· ἀναθεῖναι δὲ Πέλοπα αὐτὸ παρειλήφαμεν μνήμῃ, προϊλασκόμενόν τε τὴν θεὸν καὶ γενέσθαι οἱ τὸν γάμον τῆς Ἱπποδαμείας αἰτούμενον.
Signs of the dwelling of Pelops and Tantalus in our land are still left even to this day: of Tantalus, there is a lake named after him and a well-known grave; of Pelops, there is a throne on Sipylus, on the peak of the mountain above the sanctuary of Mother Plastene, and for one who has crossed the river Hermus, there is an image of Aphrodite in Temnus made of blooming myrtle. We have received by tradition that Pelops himself dedicated it, propitiating the goddess beforehand and asking that the marriage with Hippodamia might be brought about for him.
ἔστι δὲ ὁ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου βωμὸς ἴσον μὲν μάλιστα τοῦ Πελοπίου τε καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τῆς Ἥρας ἀπέχων, προκείμενος μέντοι καὶ πρὸ ἀμφοτέρων· κατασκευασθῆναι δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους τοῦ Ἰδαίου λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ ἡρώων τῶν ἐπιχωρίων γενεαῖς δύο ὕστερον τοῦ Ἡρακλέους. πεποίηται δὲ ἱερείων τῶν θυομένων τῷ Διὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τέφρας τῶν μηρῶν, καθάπερ γε καὶ ἐν Περγάμῳ· τέφρας γὰρ δή ἐστι καὶ τῇ Ἥρᾳ τῇ Σαμίᾳ βωμὸς οὐδέν τι ἐπιφανέστερος ἢ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ Ἀττικῇ ἃς αὐτοσχεδίας Ἀθηναῖοι καλοῦσιν ἐσχάρας.
The altar of Olympian Zeus is situated at about an equal distance from both the Pelopium and the sanctuary of Hera, but it stands in front of both. Some say that it was built by the Idaean Heracles, others by the local heroes two generations after Heracles. It is made of the ash from the thighs of the victims sacrificed to Zeus, just as also in Pergamum; for indeed there is an altar of ash for Samian Hera as well, which is not at all more conspicuous than those which the Athenians in the Attic country call improvised hearths.
τοῦ βωμοῦ δὲ τοῦ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ κρηπῖδος μὲν τῆς πρώτης, προθύσεως καλουμένης, πόδες πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατόν ἐστι περίοδος, τοῦ δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ προθύσει περίμετρος ἐπακτοῦ πόδες δύο καὶ τριάκοντα· τὸ δὲ ὕψος τοῦ βωμοῦ τὸ σύμπαν ἐς δύο καὶ εἴκοσιν ἀνήκει πόδας. αὐτὰ μὲν δὴ τὰ ἱερεῖα ἐν μέρει τῷ κάτω, τῇ προθύσει, καθέστηκεν αὐτοῖς θύειν· τοὺς μηροὺς δὲ ἀναφέροντες ἐς τοῦ βωμοῦ τὸ ὑψηλέστατον καθαγίζουσιν ἐνταῦθα.
Of the altar in Olympia, the circumference of the first platform, which is called prothysis, is one hundred and twenty-five feet, and the perimeter of that which is upon the prothysis is thirty-two feet; and the entire height of the altar reaches twenty-two feet. It is established for them to sacrifice the victims themselves on the lower part, the prothysis; but carrying the thighs up to the highest part of the altar, they burn them there.
ἀναβασμοὶ δὲ ἐς μὲν τὴν πρόθυσιν ἀνάγουσιν ἐξ ἑκατέρας τῆς πλευρᾶς λίθου πεποιημένοι· τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς προθύσεως ἐς τὸ ἄνω τοῦ βωμοῦ τέφρας παρέχεται καὶ ἀναβασμούς. ἄχρι μὲν δὴ τῆς προθύσεως ἔστιν ἀναβῆναι καὶ παρθένοις καὶ ὡσαύτως γυναιξίν, ἐπειδὰν τῆς Ὀλυμπίας μὴ ἐξείργωνται· ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ ἐς τὸ ἀνωτάτω τοῦ βωμοῦ μόνοις ἔστιν ἀνδράσιν ἀνελθεῖν. θύεται δὲ τῷ Διὶ καὶ ἄνευ τῆς πανηγύρεως ὑπό τε ἰδιωτῶν καὶ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν ὑπὸ Ἠλείων.
Steps made of stone lead up to the prothysis from each side; but the way from the prothysis to the upper part of the altar is provided with steps made of ash. As far as the prothysis indeed, it is permitted for virgins and likewise for women to go up, whenever they are not excluded from Olympia; but from this point to the highest part of the altar, it is permitted for men alone to go up. Sacrifice is offered to Zeus also apart from the festival both by private individuals and every day by the Eleans.
κατʼ ἔτος δὲ ἕκαστον φυλάξαντες οἱ μάντεις τὴν ἐνάτην ἐπὶ δέκα τοῦ Ἐλαφίου μηνὸς κομίζουσιν ἐκ τοῦ πρυτανείου τὴν τέφραν, φυράσαντες δὲ τῷ ὕδατι τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ κονιῶσιν οὕτω τὸν βωμόν. ὑπὸ δὲ ἄλλου τὴν τέφραν ὕδατος ποιηθῆναι πηλὸν οὐ μή ποτε ἐγγένηται·3 καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκα ὁ Ἀλφειὸς νενόμισται τῷ Ὀλυμπίῳ Διὶ ποταμῶν δὴ μάλιστα εἶναι φίλος. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐν Διδύμοις τῶν Μιλησίων βωμός, ἐποιήθη δὲ ὑπὸ Ἡρακλέους τοῦ Θηβαίου, καθὰ οἱ Μιλήσιοι λέγουσιν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἱερείων τοῦ αἵματος· ἐς δὲ τὰ ὕστερα τὸ αἷμα τῶν θυμάτων οὐκ ἐς ὑπέρογκον ηὔξηκεν αὐτὸν μέγεθος.4
Every year, the seers, having watched for the nineteenth day of the month Elaphius, bring the ash from the Prytaneum, and having kneaded it with the water of the Alpheius, they plaster the altar in this way. But it is never possible for the ash to be made into paste by any other water; and for this reason the Alpheius is considered to be of all rivers the most friendly to Olympian Zeus. There is also an altar in Didyma of the Milesians, and it was made by Heracles the Theban, as the Milesians say, from the blood of the victims; but in later times the blood of the sacrifices did not increase it to an enormous size.
- 5.13.7τῆς παρʼ ἡμῖν ἐνοικήσεως
Meaning 'dwelling in our land'. Pausanias is believed to have originated from the region around Mount Sipylus in Lydia (Asia Minor), and 'with us' (παρʼ ἡμῖν) refers to his own homeland.
- 5.13.7διαβάντι
Aorist active participle in the dative case. This is a dative of reference or direction ('for one who has crossed'), a standard formula in geographical writing to describe routes.
- 5.13.11οὐ μή ποτε ἐγγένηται
The construction of οὐ μή with the subjunctive (or optative) expressing strong negative prediction: 'it can never possibly happen'. This emphasizes the supernatural property that the ash cannot be mixed into paste with any water other than that of the Alpheius.
- 5.13.11οὐκ ἐς ὑπέρογκον ηὔξηκεν αὐτὸν μέγεθος
In contrast to the altar of Zeus at Olympia, which grew into a huge mound from the accumulation of sacrificial ash, the author notes that at Didyma, 'the blood did not increase it to an enormous size', contrasting the different physical developments of the two altars based on their materials.