- 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-grc2:8.32.1-8.32.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
Describes the southern region of Megalopolis, including the largest theater in Greece, the Thersilium council-house, the ruins of Alexander the Great's house, and various sanctuaries and statues of gods such as Aphrodite, Ares, Artemis, and Asclepius.
τοσάδε ἐνταῦθα ἀξιόχρεα ἦν· ἡ δὲ ἐπέκεινα τοῦ ποταμοῦ μοῖρα ἡ κατὰ μεσημβρίαν παρείχετο ἐς μνήμην θέατρον μέγιστον τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἀέναός ἐστιν ὕδατος πηγή. τοῦ θεάτρου δὲ οὐ πόρρω λείπεται τοῦ βουλευτηρίου θεμέλια, ὃ τοῖς μυρίοις ἐπεποίητο Ἀρκάδων· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀναθέντος Θερσίλιον. πλησίον δὲ οἰκίαν, ἰδιώτου κατʼ ἐμὲ κτῆμα ἀνδρός,1 Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Φιλίππου τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποίησαν· ἔστι δὲ ἄγαλμα Ἄμμωνος πρὸς τῇ οἰκίᾳ, τοῖς τετραγώνοις Ἑρμαῖς εἰκασμένον, κέρατα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἔχον κριοῦ.
So many noteworthy things were there. The region beyond the river towards the south provided for remembrance the largest theater in Greece; within it there is also a perennial spring of water. Not far from the theater remain the foundations of the council-house, which had been built for the Ten Thousand of the Arcadians; it was called Thersilium after the donor. Near it they built originally for Alexander, the son of Philip, a house which in my time is the property of a private individual; there is a statue of Ammon near the house, shaped like the square Hermae, having ram’s horns on its head.
τὸ δὲ τῶν Μουσῶν Ἀπόλλωνός τε ἱερὸν καὶ Ἑρμοῦ, κατασκευασθέν σφισιν ἐν κοινῷ, παρείχετο ἐς μνήμην θεμέλια οὐ πολλά· ἦν δὲ καὶ τῶν Μουσῶν μία ἔτι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος ἄγαλμα κατὰ τοὺς Ἑρμᾶς τοὺς τετραγώνους τέχνην.2 ἐρείπια δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἦν τὸ ἱερὸν, πλὴν ὅσον πρόναός τε ἐλείπετο ἔτι καὶ ἀγάλματα ἀριθμὸν τρία, ἐπίκλησις δὲ Οὐρανία, τῇ δʼ ἔστι Πάνδημος, τῇ τρίτῃ δὲ οὐδὲν ἐτίθεντο·
The sanctuary of the Muses, Apollo, and Hermes, built for them in common, provided for remembrance not many foundations; there was still one of the Muses and a statue of Apollo, in the technique of the square Hermae. The sanctuary of Aphrodite was also in ruins, except that the vestibule was still left and three statues in number; one has the surname Urania, another Pandemos, and to the third they gave no surname.
ἀπέχει δὲ οὐ πολὺ Ἄρεως βωμός, ἐλέγετο δὲ ὡς καὶ ἱερὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ᾠκοδομήθη τῷ θεῷ. πεποίηται δὲ καὶ στάδιον ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης τῇ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ θέατρον καθῆκον—καὶ κρήνη σφίσιν ἐστὶν αὐτόθι, ἣν ἱερὰν Διονύσου νομίζουσι—, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἕτερον τοῦ σταδίου πέρας Διονύσου ναὸς ἐλέγετο ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κεραυνωθῆναι γενεαῖς δύο ἐμοῦ πρότερον, καὶ ἐρείπια οὐ πολλὰ ἔτι ἐς ἐμὲ ἦν αὐτοῦ. Ἡρακλέους δὲ κοινὸς καὶ Ἑρμοῦ πρὸς τῷ σταδίῳ ναὸς μὲν οὐκέτι ἦν, μόνος δέ σφισι βωμὸς ἐλείπετο.
Not far off is an altar of Ares, and it was said that originally a sanctuary was also built for the god. A stadium has also been made above that of Aphrodite, on one side sloping down towards the theater—and they have a spring there, which they consider sacred to Dionysus—while at the other end of the stadium, a temple of Dionysus was said to have been struck by lightning by the god two generations before me, and not many ruins of it were still left to my time. A common temple of Hercules and Hermes near the stadium was no longer in existence, but only their altar was left.
ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῇ μοίρᾳ ταύτῃ λόφος πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον καὶ Ἀγροτέρας ἐν αὐτῷ ναὸς Ἀρτέμιδος, ἀνάθημα Ἀριστοδήμου καὶ τοῦτο. τῆς δὲ Ἀγροτέρας ἐστὶν ἐν δεξιᾷ τέμενος· ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν ἱερὸν Ἀσκληπιοῦ καὶ ἀγάλματα αὐτός τε καὶ Ὑγεία, εἰσὶ δὲ ὑποκαταβάντι ὀλίγον3 θεοὶ— παρέχονται δὲ καὶ οὗτοι σχῆμα τετράγωνον, Ἐργάται δέ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἐπίκλησις—Ἀθηνᾶ τε Ἐργάνη καὶ Ἀπόλλων Ἀγυιεύς· τῷ δὲ Ἑρμῇ καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ καὶ Εἰλειθυίᾳ πρόσεστιν ἐξ ἐπῶν τῶν Ὁμήρου φήμη, τῷ μὲν Διός τε αὐτὸν διάκονον εἶναι καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν Ἅιδην ἄγειν τῶν ἀπογινομένων τὰς ψυχάς, Ἡρακλεῖ δὲ ὡς πολλούς τε καὶ χαλεποὺς τελέσειεν ἄθλους· Εἰλειθυίᾳ δὲ ἐποίησεν ἐν Ἰλιάδι ὠδῖνας γυναικῶν μέλειν.
In this region there is a hill towards the rising sun, and on it a temple of Artemis Agrotera, this also being an offering of Aristodemus. On the right of Agrotera is a sacred enclosure; here is a sanctuary of Asclepius with statues of himself and Hygeia, and for one who goes down a little there are gods—these also present a square shape, and their surname is Ergatae—namely Athena Ergane and Apollo Agyieus. To Hermes, Hercules, and Eileithyia there is attached a fame from the verses of Homer: to the former, that he is the servant of Zeus and leads the souls of the deceased down to Hades; to Hercules, that he performed many difficult labors; and to Eileithyia, that he made the labors of women in childbed her concern in the Iliad.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ὑπὸ τὸν λόφον τοῦτον Ἀσκληπιοῦ Παιδὸς ἱερόν· τούτου μὲν δὴ τὸ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν πεποίηται πηχυαῖον μάλιστα, Ἀπόλλωνος δὲ ἐν θρόνῳ κάθηται ποδῶν ἓξ οὐκ ἀποδέον μέγεθος. ἀνάκειται δὲ αὐτόθι καὶ ὀστᾶ ὑπερηρκότα ἢ ὡς ἀνθρώπου δοκεῖν·4 καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐλέγετο ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς εἶναι τῶν γιγάντων ἑνός, οὓς ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν τῆς Ῥέας ἤθροισεν Ὁπλάδαμος, ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐς ὕστερον ἐπέξεισιν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος. τούτου δέ ἐστι πηγὴ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πλησίον, καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς ὁ Ἑλισσὼν τὸ ὕδωρ δέχεται κατερχόμενον.
There is also another sanctuary of Asclepius the Child under this hill; the statue of this god is made standing, about a cubit in size, while Apollo sits on a throne, of a size not falling short of six feet. There are also dedicated there bones of an extraordinary size, too large to seem those of a human; and indeed it was said of them that they belonged to one of the giants whom Hopladamus gathered to alliance with Rhea, which things our narrative will indeed go through in detail later. Near this sanctuary is a spring, from which the Helisson receives the water as it flows down.
- 8.32.1ἰδιώτου κατʼ ἐμὲ κτῆμα ἀνδρός
The genitive noun phrase ἰδιώτου ἀνδρός ("of a private man") modifies κτῆμα ("possession/property"), enclosing the parenthetical phrase κατʼ ἐμὲ ("in my time"). This structure points out that the house, originally built for Alexander, had turned into a private residence by Pausanias' time.
- 8.32.2κατὰ τοὺς Ἑρμᾶς τοὺς τετραγώνους τέχνην
The noun τέχνην is used as an accusative of respect/specification ("with respect to technique"), specifying that the artistic style of the statues of Apollo and the Muse resembles that of the square Hermae.
- 8.32.4ὑποκαταβάντι ὀλίγον
The dative participle ὑποκαταβάντι ("to one having gone down a little") is a dative of reference, commonly used in geographical descriptions to indicate the position of landmarks relative to an imaginary traveler.
- 8.32.5ὑπερηρκότα ἢ ὡς ἀνθρώπου δοκεῖν
The perfect participle ὑπερηρκότα ("exceeding/extraordinary"), implying a comparison, is followed by ἤ ὡς and the infinitive δοκεῖν ("to seem") to express both comparison and degree ("exceeding what is normal, so as not to seem human").