- 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-grc2:8.39.1-8.39.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
The author describes the route to Phigalia, its historical liberation from Spartan siege through the sacrifice of allies from Oresthasium as prophesied by the oracle, and its notable sanctuaries and statues.
παρὰ δὲ τὴν Λυκόσουραν ὡς ἐπὶ ἡλίου δυσμὰς ποταμὸς Πλατανιστὼν παρέξεισιν· ἀνδρὶ δὲ ἰόντι1 ἐς Φιγαλίαν ἀνάγκη πᾶσα διαβῆναι τὸν Πλατανιστῶνα, μετὰ δὲ αὐτόν ἐστιν ἄνοδος ὅσον τε σταδίους τριάκοντα ἢ πλείους τῶν τριάκοντα οὐ πολλῷ.
Past Lycosura towards the west, the river Plataniston flows by; and for a man traveling to Phigalia, it is absolutely necessary to cross the Plataniston, and after it there is an ascent of about thirty stades, or not much more than thirty.
τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν Λυκάονος Φίγαλον—οὗτος γὰρ δὴ τῇ πόλει τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγένετο οἰκιστής—καὶ ὡς μετέβαλεν ἀνὰ χρόνον ἀπὸ Φιάλου Βουκολίωνος τὸ ὄνομα ἡ πόλις καὶ αὖθις ἀνεσώσατο τὸ ἀρχαῖον, τόδε μὲν καὶ πρότερον ἔτι ἐσήμαινεν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος· λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλα οὐκ ἀξιόχρεα ἐς πίστιν, ἄνδρα αὐτόχθονα εἶναι τὸν Φίγαλον καὶ οὐ Λυκάονος παῖδα· τοῖς δὲ εἰρημένον ἐστὶν2 ὡς ἡ Φιγαλία νύμφη τῶν καλουμένων εἴη Δρυάδων.
As for Phigalus, the son of Lycaon—for he indeed was the original founder of the city—and how in course of time the city changed its name after Phialus, son of Bucolion, and again recovered its ancient name, my account (logos) has already indicated this even before; but other things are also said, not worthy of credit, namely that Phigalus was an autochthon and not the son of Lycaon; and by some it is said that Phigalia was one of the nymphs called Dryads.
Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἡνίκα Ἀρκάσιν ἐπεχείρησαν καὶ ἐσέβαλον ἐς τὴν Φιγαλίαν στρατιᾷ, μάχῃ τε νικῶσι τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους καὶ ἐπολιόρκουν προσκαθεζόμενοι· κινδυνεύοντος δὲ ἁλῶναι τοῦ τείχους ἐκδιδράσκουσιν οἱ Φιγαλεῖς, ἢ καὶ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι σφᾶς ἀφιᾶσιν ἐξελθεῖν ὑποσπόνδους. ἐγένετο δὲ ἡ τῆς Φιγαλίας ἅλωσις καὶ Φιγαλέων ἡ ἐξ αὐτῆς φυγὴ Μιλτιάδου μὲν Ἀθήνῃσιν ἄρχοντος, δευτέρῳ δὲ ἔτει τῆς τριακοστῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος, ἣν Χίονις Λάκων ἐνίκα τὸ τρίτον.
When the Lacedaemonians made an attempt on the Arcadians and invaded Phigalia with an army, they defeated the inhabitants in battle and besieged them. When the wall was in danger of being taken, the Phigalians fled, or indeed the Lacedaemonians let them go out under a truce. The capture of Phigalia and the flight of the Phigalians from it took place when Miltiades was archon at Athens, in the second year of the thirtieth Olympiad, which Chionis the Laconian won for the third time.
Φιγαλέων δὲ τοῖς διαπεφευγόσιν ἔδοξεν ἀφικομένοις ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐρωτᾶν ὑπὲρ καθόδου τὸν θεόν· καί σφισιν ἡ Πυθία καθʼ αὑτοὺς μὲν πειρωμένοις ἐς Φιγαλίαν κατελθεῖν οὐχ ὁρᾶν ἔφη κάθοδον, εἰ δὲ λογάδας ἑκατὸν ἐξ Ὀρεσθασίου προσλάβοιεν, τοὺς μὲν ἀποθανεῖσθαι παρὰ τὴν μάχην, Φιγαλεῦσι δὲ ἔσεσθαι διʼ αὐτῶν κάθοδον. Ὀρεσθάσιοι δὲ ὡς τὴν γενομένην τοῖς Φιγαλεῦσιν ἐπύθοντο μαντείαν, ἄλλος ἔφθανεν ἄλλον3 σπουδῇ λογάδων τε τῶν ἑκατὸν αὐτὸς ἕκαστος γενέσθαι καὶ ἐξόδου τῆς ἐς Φιγαλίαν μετασχεῖν.
Those of the Phigalians who had escaped decided, upon arriving at Delphi, to consult the god about their return; and the Pythian priestess told them that if they attempted by themselves to return to Phigalia, she saw no way of return, but if they took a hundred chosen men from Oresthasium, these would die in the battle, but through them the Phigalians would have their return. When the Oresthasians heard of the oracle given to the Phigalians, they vied with one another in haste, each wishing to be one of the hundred chosen men and to take part in the expedition to Phigalia.
παρελθόντες δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων φρουρὰν ἄγουσιν ἐς πάντα ἐπὶ τέλος τὸν χρησμόν· καὶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς λόγου μαχεσαμένοις ἀξίως4 ἐπεγένετο ἡ τελευτὴ καὶ ἐξελάσαντες τοὺς Σπαρτιάτας παρέσχον Φιγαλεῦσιν ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν πατρίδα. κεῖται δὲ ἡ Φιγαλία ἐπὶ μετεώρου μὲν καὶ ἀποτόμου τὰ πλέονα, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κρημνῶν ᾠκοδομημένα ἐστὶ τείχη σφίσιν· ἀνελθόντι δὲ ὁμαλής ἐστιν ὁ λόφος5 ἤδη καὶ ἐπίπεδος. ἔστι δὲ Σωτείρας τε ἱερὸν ἐνταῦθα Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν λίθου· ἐκ τούτου δὲ τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ τὰς πομπάς σφισι πέμπειν κατέστη.
Advancing against the Lacedaemonian garrison, they brought the oracle to its fulfillment in every respect; for death came upon them after they had fought in a manner worthy of mention, and by driving out the Spartans they enabled the Phigalians to recover their homeland. Phigalia lies on high and mostly precipitous ground, and their walls are built upon the cliffs; but once you have ascended, the hill is already level and flat. There is a sanctuary of Artemis the Savior there, and an upright statue of stone; and from this sanctuary it became established for them to send out their processions.
ἐν δὲ τῷ γυμνασίῳ τὸ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ ἀμπεχομένῳ μὲν ἔοικεν ἱμάτιον, καταλήγει δὲ οὐκ ἐς πόδας, ἀλλὰ ἐς τὸ τετράγωνον σχῆμα. πεποίηται δὲ καὶ Διονύσου ναός· ἐπίκλησις μέν ἐστιν αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων Ἀκρατοφόρος, τὰ κάτω δὲ οὐκ ἔστι σύνοπτα τοῦ ἀγάλματος ὑπὸ δάφνης τε φύλλων καὶ κισσῶν. ὁπόσον δὲ αὐτοῦ καθορᾶν ἔστιν, ἐπαλήλιπται κιννάβαρι ἐκλάμπειν· εὑρίσκεσθαι δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰβήρων ὁμοῦ τῷ χρυσῷ λέγεται.
In the gymnasium, the statue of Hermes resembles one clad in a cloak (himation), but it does not end in feet, but in a square shape. A temple of Dionysus has also been built; his surname among the inhabitants is Acratophorous, and the lower parts of the statue are not visible because of laurel leaves and ivy. As much of it as can be seen is painted with cinnabar to make it shine; and it is said to be found by the Iberians along with gold.
- 8.39.1ἀνδρὶ δὲ ἰόντι
The dative noun and participle function as a dative of reference, meaning "for a man traveling."
- 8.39.2τοῖς δὲ εἰρημένον ἐστὶν
τοῖς is the dative plural of the demonstrative pronoun, functioning as a dative of agent with the passive perfect construction εἰρημένον ἐστίν, meaning "it has been said by some."
- 8.39.4ἄλλος ἔφθανεν ἄλλον
The imperfect tense of the verb φθάνω (to anticipate, precede) is used to express the continuous and competing action of individuals striving to forestall one another.
- 8.39.5λόγου μαχεσαμένοις ἀξίως
The genitive λόγου is governed by the adverbial ἀξίως, forming the phrase "in a manner worthy of mention" which modifies the participle μαχεσαμένοις (having fought).
- 8.39.5ὁ λόφος
Most manuscripts transmit ὁ λόφος (the hill), but from the context ("my account has previously shown") and the preceding chapters, it is understood as a scribal error for ὁ λόγος (the account, narrative).