Altar of Athena Onga and Ruins on the Cadmea — Pausanias, Description of Greece Book 9 (9.12.1–9.12.6), Greek & English

§9.12.1

τῷ δὲ Ἀπόλλωνι Θηβαῖοι τῷ Σποδίῳ ταύρους ἔθυον τὸ ἀρχαῖον· καί ποτε παρούσης σφίσι τῆς ἑορτῆς ἥ τε ὥρα κατήπειγε τῆς θυσίας καὶ οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὸν ταῦρον οὐχ ἧκον· οὕτω δὴ παρατυχούσης ἁμάξης τὸν ἕτερον τῶν βοῶν τῷ θεῷ θύουσι καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἐργάτας βοῦς θύειν νομίζουσι. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὅδε ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λόγος, ὡς ἀπιόντι ἐκ Δελφῶν Κάδμῳ¹ τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέων² βοῦς γένοιτο ἡγεμὼν τῆς πορείας, τὴν δὲ βοῦν ταύτην παρὰ βουκόλων εἶναι τῶν Πελάγοντος ὠνητήν· ἐπὶ δὲ ἑκατέρᾳ τῆς βοὸς πλευρᾷ σημεῖον ἐπεῖναι λευκὸν εἰκασμένον κύκλῳ τῆς σελήνης, ὁπότε εἴη πλήρης.

The Thebans in ancient times used to sacrifice bulls to Apollo Spodius; and once, when their festival was at hand, the time for the sacrifice was pressing and those sent to fetch the bull had not returned; so, finding a wagon close by, they sacrificed one of the two oxen to the god, and since then they have held it customary to sacrifice working oxen. And this story is also told by them, that as Cadmus was leaving Delphi, a cow became the guide of his journey along the road to Phocis; and that this cow was bought from the herdsmen of Pelagon; and on each side of the cow there was a white mark resembling the circle of the moon when it is full.

§9.12.2

ἔδει δὲ ἄρα Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἐνταῦθα οἰκῆσαι κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν μαντείαν, ἔνθα ἡ βοῦς ἔμελλε καμοῦσα ὀκλάσειν· ἀποφαίνουσιν οὖν καὶ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον. ἐνταῦθα ἔστι μὲν ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ βωμὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἀθηνᾶς· ἀναθεῖναι δὲ αὐτὸ Κάδμον λέγουσι. τοῖς οὖν νομίζουσιν³ ἐς γῆν ἀφικέσθαι Κάδμον τὴν Θηβαΐδα Αἰγύπτιον καὶ οὐ Φοίνικα ὄντα, ἔστιν ἐναντίον τῷ λόγῳ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ταύτης τὸ ὄνομα, ὅτι Ὄγγα κατὰ γλῶσσαν τὴν Φοινίκων καλεῖται καὶ οὐ Σάις κατὰ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων φωνήν.

Now Cadmus and the army with him had to settle, according to the oracle of the god, where the cow was going to sink down from weariness; so they point out this place too. Here there is an altar and a statue of Athena in the open air; and they say that Cadmus dedicated it. Therefore, to those who believe that Cadmus, who came to the Theban land, was an Egyptian and not a Phoenician, the name of this Athena is opposed to their theory; because she is called Onga in the tongue of the Phoenicians, and not Sais in the voice of the Egyptians.

§9.12.3

φασὶ δὲ οἱ Θηβαῖοι, καθότι τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἀγορά σφισιν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν πεποίηται, Κάδμου τὸ ἀρχαῖον οἰκίαν εἶναι· θαλάμων δὲ ἀποφαίνουσι τοῦ μὲν Ἁρμονίας ἐρείπια καὶ ὃν Σεμέλης φασὶν εἶναι, τοῦτον δὲ καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι ἄβατον φυλάσσουσιν ἀνθρώποις. Ἑλλήνων δὲ τοῖς ἀποδεχομένοις ᾆσαι Μούσας ἐς τὸν Ἁρμονίας γάμον τὸ χωρίον ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ἔνθα δή φασι τὰς θεὰς ᾆσαι.

The Thebans say that where the marketplace of the acropolis is built in our day, the house of Cadmus stood in ancient times; and they point out ruins of the bedchambers, one of Harmonia and another which they say was Semele’s, the latter of which they still keep untrodden by men even to our day. For those Greeks who accept that the Muses sang at the wedding of Harmonia, the place is on the marketplace, where indeed they say the goddesses sang.

§9.12.4

λέγεται δὲ καὶ τόδε, ὡς ὁμοῦ τῷ κεραυνῷ βληθέντι ἐς τὸν Σεμέλης θάλαμον πέσοι ξύλον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ· Πολύδωρον δὲ τὸ ξύλον τοῦτο χαλκῷ λέγουσιν ἐπικοσμήσαντα Διόνυσον καλέσαι Κάδμον.⁴ πλησίον δὲ Διονύσου ἄγαλμα, καὶ τοῦτο Ὀνασιμήδης ἐποίησε διʼ ὅλου πλῆρες ὑπὸ τοῦ χαλκοῦ· τὸν βωμὸν δὲ οἱ παῖδες εἰργάσαντο οἱ Πραξιτέλους.

And this is also said, that at the same time as the thunderbolt was hurled into Semele’s bedchamber, a piece of wood fell from heaven; and they say that Polydorus, having adorned this wood with bronze, called it Dionysus Cadmus. Nearby is a statue of Dionysus, and this too Onasimedes made solid throughout of bronze; and the altar was made by the sons of Praxiteles.

§9.12.5

ἀνδριάς τέ ἐστι Προνόμου ἀνδρὸς αὐλήσαντος ἐπαγωγότατα ἐς τοὺς πολλούς. τέως μέν γε ἰδέας αὐλῶν τρεῖς ἐκτῶντο οἱ αὐληταὶ καὶ τοῖς μὲν αὔλημα ηὔλουν τὸ Δώριον, διάφοροι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐς ἁρμονίαν τὴν Φρύγιον ἐπεποίηντο οἱ αὐλοί, τὸ δὲ καλούμενον Λύδιον ἐν αὐλοῖς ηὐλεῖτο ἀλλοίοις· Πρόνομος δὲ ἦν ὃς πρῶτος ἐπενόησεν αὐλοὺς ἐς ἅπαν ἁρμονίας εἶδος ἔχοντας ἐπιτηδείως, πρῶτος δὲ διάφορα ἐς τοσοῦτο μέλη ἐπʼ αὐλοῖς ηὔλησε τοῖς αὐτοῖς.

There is also a statue of Pronomus, a man who played the flute most enticingly to the multitude. For up to that time, flute-players used to possess three kinds of flutes; and with one they would play the Dorian tune, while for the Phrygian harmony different flutes were made for them, and the so-called Lydian was played on other, different flutes; but Pronomus was the first who devised flutes suitable for every kind of harmony, and the first to play so many different melodies on the same flutes.

§9.12.6

λέγεται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοῦ προσώπου τῷ σχήματι καὶ τῇ τοῦ παντὸς κινήσει σώματος περισσῶς δή τι ἔτερπε τὰ θέατρα· καί οἱ⁵ καὶ ᾆσμα πεποιημένον ἐστὶ προσόδιον ἐς Δῆλον τοῖς ἐπʼ Εὐρίπῳ Χαλκιδεῦσι. τοῦτόν τε οὖν ἐνταῦθα οἱ Θηβαῖοι καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδαν τὸν Πολύμνιδος ἀνέθεσαν.

And it is said that he also delighted the theaters exceedingly by the expression of his face and the movement of his whole body; and he also has a processional song composed for the Chalcidians on the Euripus for Delos. Therefore the Thebans dedicated both him and Epaminondas, the son of Polymnis, in this place.

Syntax notes5 items

9.12.1ἀπιόντι ... Κάδμῳ
The participle ἀπιόντι and the proper noun Κάδμῳ are in the dative case (dative of reference or interest), modifying the verb phrase γένοιτο ἡγεμὼν ('became a guide'), showing for whom the cow acted as a guide upon leaving Delphi.
9.12.1τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέων
The feminine accusative article τὴν, combined with the preposition ἐπί and the genitive plural Φωκέων, implies the omission of the noun ὁδόν ('road' or 'way'). Together, they function as an accusative of direction, meaning 'the road leading to Phocis'.
9.12.2τοῖς οὖν νομίζουσιν
The dative plural present participle νομίζουσιν depends on the adjective ἐναντίον ('opposed' or 'contrary to'), functioning as a dative of reference indicating to whom the name of Athena is opposed ('to those who believe...').
9.12.4Διόνυσον καλέσαι Κάδμον
A double accusative construction where Διόνυσον and Κάδμον act as the name given to the wood. The subject of the infinitive καλέσαι is Polydorus (Πολύδωρον, with the participle ἐπικοσμήσαντα), who is said to have adorned the wood with bronze and called it 'Dionysus Cadmus' (Διόνυσον ... Κάδμον).
9.12.6καί οἱ
The third-person singular dative personal pronoun οἱ functions either as a dative of agent with the perfect passive verbal expression πεποιημένον ἐστὶ ('is composed by him') or as a dative of possession ('he has a song composed').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.12.1-9.12.6