- 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-grc2:7.22.1-7.22.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
Describes the geographical situation of Pharae, its giant plane trees, and the unique oracular procedure of Hermes Agoraeus in the marketplace, along with ancient stone worship and the grove of the Dioscuri.
Φαραὶ δέ, Ἀχαιῶν πόλις, τελοῦσι μὲν ἐς Πάτρας δόντος Αὐγούστου, ὁδὸς δὲ ἐς Φαρὰς Πατρέων μὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἄστεως στάδιοι πεντήκοντά εἰσι καὶ ἑκατόν, ἀπὸ θαλάσσης δὲ ἄνω πρὸς ἤπειρον περὶ ἑβδομήκοντα. ποταμὸς δὲ ῥεῖ πλησίον Φαρῶν Πίερος, ὁ αὐτὸς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν1 ὃς καὶ τὰ Ὠλένου παρέξεισιν ἐρείπια, ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων τῶν πρὸς θαλάσσῃ καλούμενος Πεῖρος. πρὸς δὲ τῷ ποταμῷ πλατάνων ἐστὶν ἄλσος, κοῖλαί τε ὑπὸ παλαιότητος αἱ πολλαὶ καὶ ἥκουσαι μεγέθους ἐς τοσοῦτο2 ὥστε καὶ ἑστιῶνται τῶν χηραμῶν ἐντός, καὶ ὁπόσοις ἂν κατὰ γνώμην ᾖ, καὶ ἐγκαθεύδουσι.
Pharae, a city of the Achaeans, is subject to Patrae by the gift of Augustus; the road to Pharae from the city of Patrae is a hundred and fifty stades, and from the sea up into the interior about seventy. Near Pharae flows a river Pierus, which is, in my opinion, the same as the one that passes by the ruins of Olenus, called Peirus by the people near the sea. By the river is a grove of plane trees, most of them hollow through age, and reached such a size that they even feast inside the cavities, as many as wish to do so, and sleep in them.
περίβολος δὲ ἀγορᾶς μέγας κατὰ τρόπον τὸν ἀρχαιότερόν ἐστιν ἐν Φαραῖς, Ἑρμοῦ δὲ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ ἀγορᾷ λίθου πεποιημένον ἄγαλμα ἔχον καὶ γένεια· ἑστηκὼς δὲ πρὸς αὐτῇ τῇ γῇ παρέχεται μὲν τὸ τετράγωνον σχῆμα, μεγέθει δέ ἐστιν οὐ μέγας. καὶ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπίγραμμα ἔπεστιν, ἀναθεῖναι3 αὐτὸ Μεσσήνιον Σιμύλον· καλεῖται μὲν δὴ Ἀγοραῖος, παρὰ δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ χρηστήριον καθέστηκε. κεῖται δὲ πρὸ τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἑστία, λίθου καὶ αὐτή, μολίβδῳ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἑστίαν προσέχονται λύχνοι χαλκοῖ.
There is in Pharae a large enclosure of the marketplace after the ancient fashion, and in the middle of the marketplace is a stone image of Hermes, having a beard; standing on the ground itself, it presents a square shape, but is not large in size. On it is also an inscription, stating that Simylus the Messenian dedicated it. He is called indeed Agoraeus, and by him is established an oracle. Before the image lies a hearth, also of stone, and to the hearth bronze lamps are fastened with lead.
ἀφικόμενος οὖν περὶ ἑσπέραν ὁ τῷ θεῷ χρώμενος λιβανωτόν τε ἐπὶ τῆς ἑστίας θυμιᾷ καὶ ἐμπλήσας τοὺς λύχνους ἐλαίου καὶ ἐξάψας τίθησιν ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἐν δεξιᾷ νόμισμα ἐπιχώριον— καλεῖται δὲ χαλκοῦς τὸ νόμισμα—καὶ ἐρωτᾷ πρὸς τὸ οὖς τὸν θεὸν ὁποῖόν τι καὶ ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἐρώτημά ἐστι. τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου4 δὲ ἄπεισιν ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐπιφραξάμενος τὰ ὦτα· προελθὼν δὲ ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς τὰς χεῖρας ἀπέσχεν ἀπὸ τῶν ὤτων, καὶ ἧστινος ἂν ἐπακούσῃ φωνῆς, μάντευμα ἡγεῖται.
The inquirer of the god, coming about evening, burns incense upon the hearth, and having filled the lamps with oil and lit them, places on the altar to the right of the image a local coin—the coin is called a chalcus—and whispers into the ear of the god whatever his question may be. After this, he departs from the marketplace, stopping up his ears; and having gone outside, he removes his hands from his ears, and whatever utterance he hears, he regards as an oracle.
τοιαύτη καὶ Αἰγυπτίοις ἑτέρα περὶ τοῦ Ἄπιδος τὸ ἱερὸν μαντεία καθέστηκεν· ἐν Φαραῖς δὲ καὶ ὕδωρ ἱερόν ἐστι τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ· Ἑρμοῦ νᾶμα μὲν τῇ πηγῇ τὸ ὄνομα, τοὺς δὲ ἰχθῦς οὐχ αἱροῦσιν ἐξ αὐτῆς, ἀνάθημα εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ νομίζοντες. ἑστήκασι δὲ ἐγγύτατα τοῦ ἀγάλματος τετράγωνοι λίθοι τριάκοντα μάλιστα ἀριθμόν· τούτους σέβουσιν οἱ Φαρεῖς, ἑκάστῳ θεοῦ τινὸς ὄνομα ἐπιλέγοντες. τὰ δὲ ἔτι παλαιότερα καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν Ἕλλησι τιμὰς θεῶν ἀντὶ ἀγαλμάτων εἶχον ἀργοὶ λίθοι.
Another oracle of this kind is established among the Egyptians at the sanctuary of Apis. In Pharae there is also water sacred to Hermes; “Hermes’ Stream” is the name of the spring, and they do not catch the fish from it, holding them to be dedicated to the god. Very close to the image stand about thirty square stones; these the Pharians worship, giving to each the name of some god. In still more ancient times, among all the Greeks, unhewn stones had the honors of gods instead of images.
Φαρεῦσι δὲ ὅσον πέντε σταδίους καὶ δέκα ἀπωτέρω τῆς πόλεώς ἐστιν ἄλσος Διοσκούρων. δάφναι μάλιστα ἐν αὐτῷ πεφύκασι, ναὸς δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἐν αὐτῷ οὐδὲ ἀγάλματα· κομισθῆναι δὲ οἱ ἐπιχώριοί φασιν ἐς Ῥώμην τὰ ἀγάλματα. ἐν Φαραῖς δὲ ἐν τῷ ἄλσει βωμὸς λίθων λογάδων ἐστί. πυθέσθαι δὲ οὐκ εἶχον5 εἰ Φάρης ὁ Φυλοδαμείας τῆς Δαναοῦ σφισιν ἢ ὁμώνυμος ἐκείνῳ τις ἐγένετο οἰκιστής.
For the Pharians, about fifteen stades away from the city, there is a grove of the Dioscuri. Chiefly laurels grow in it, but there was no temple in it nor any images; the natives say that the images were carried to Rome. In Pharae, in this grove, there is an altar of selected stones. But I could not learn whether Phares, the son of Phylodameia, daughter of Danaus, was their founder, or some other person of the same name.
- 7.22.1ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν
The infinitive δοκεῖν is used absolutely as a parenthetical expression meaning 'in my opinion' or 'as it seems to me'.
- 7.22.1ἥκουσαι μεγέθους ἐς τοσοῦτο
The verb ἥκω followed by a genitive of state or degree (μεγέθους) is an idiomatic expression meaning 'having reached such a point in size'.
- 7.22.2ἀναθεῖναι
An accusative with infinitive construction in indirect speech, explaining the content of the inscription (ἐπίγραμμα), with Μεσσήνιον Σιμύλον as its subject.
- 7.22.3τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου
The accusative neuter article with the prepositional phrase acts adverbially to express a temporal transition, meaning 'after this' or 'thereupon'.
- 7.22.5πυθέσθαι δὲ οὐκ εἶχον
The verb ἔχω followed by an infinitive (πυθέσθαι) is an idiom expressing capability, here negated to mean 'I was not able to learn' or 'I could not find out'.