- 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-grc2:9.9.1-9.9.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
The author considers the war between the Argives and the Thebans (the Seven against Thebes and the Epigoni) to be the most significant conflict of the heroic age, describing its course and commenting on the authorship of the epic poem Thebaid.
τὸν δὲ πόλεμον τοῦτον, ὃν ἐπολέμησαν Ἀργεῖοι, νομίζω πάντων, ὅσοι πρὸς Ἕλληνας ἐπὶ τῶν καλουμένων ἡρώων ἐπολεμήθησαν ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων,1 γενέσθαι λόγου μάλιστα ἄξιον. ὁ μέν γε Ἐλευσινίων πρὸς Ἀθηναίους τοὺς ἄλλους, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ Θηβαίων πρὸς Μινύας, τήν τε ἔφοδον διʼ ὀλίγου τῶν ἐπιστρατευσαμένων καὶ ἐν μάχῃ παρέσχοντο μιᾷ τὴν κρίσιν, ἐς ὁμολογίας τε αὐτίκα ἐτράποντο καὶ σπονδάς·
This war, which the Argives waged, I consider to be the most worthy of mention of all those waged by Greeks against Greeks during the so-called heroic age. For the war of the Eleusinians against the other Athenians, and likewise that of the Thebans against the Minyans, had a brief invasion by the attackers and reached their decision in a single battle, and they turned immediately to agreements and a treaty.
ὁ δὲ Ἀργείων στρατὸς ἐς Βοιωτίαν τε μέσην ἀφίκετο ἐκ μέσης Πελοποννήσου καὶ ὁ Ἄδραστος ἐξ Ἀρκαδίας καὶ παρὰ Μεσσηνίων συμμαχικὰ ἤθροισεν, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τοῖς Θηβαίοις μισθοφορικὰ ἦλθε παρὰ Φωκέων καὶ ἐκ τῆς Μινυάδος χώρας οἱ Φλεγύαι. γενομένης δὲ πρὸς τῷ Ἰσμηνίῳ μάχης ἐκρατήθησαν οἱ Θηβαῖοι τῇ συμβολῇ, καὶ ὡς ἐτράποντο, καταφεύγουσιν ἐς τὸ τεῖχος·
But the army of the Argives came from the middle of the Peloponnese into the middle of Boeotia, and Adrastus gathered allied troops from Arcadia and from the Messenians, and likewise mercenaries came to the Thebans from the Phocians, and the Phlegyans from the Minyan land. When a battle took place near the Ismenius, the Thebans were defeated in the clash, and when they turned to flight, they fled for refuge into their wall.
ἅτε δὲ οὐκ ἐπισταμένων τῶν Πελοποννησίων2 μάχεσθαι πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος, ποιουμένων δὲ θυμῷ μᾶλλον ἢ σὺν ἐπιστήμῃ τὰς προσβολάς, πολλοὺς μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους βάλλοντες φονεύουσιν αὐτῶν οἱ Θηβαῖοι, κρατοῦσι δὲ ὕστερον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπεξελθόντες τεταραγμένοις, ὡς τὸ σύμπαν στράτευμα πλὴν Ἀδράστου φθαρῆναι. ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ αὐτοῖς τὸ ἔργον οὐκ ἄνευ κακῶν μεγάλων, καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου τὴν σὺν ὀλέθρῳ τῶν κρατησάντων Καδμείαν ὀνομάζουσι νίκην.
Since the Peloponnesians did not know how to fight against a wall, but made their assaults with rage rather than with skill, the Thebans killed many of them by shooting from the wall, and later, having sallied out, defeated the others as they were in confusion, so that the whole army was destroyed except for Adrastus. But this deed was not without great disasters for them too, and from that time they call a victory that brings ruin to the victors a “Cadmean victory.”
ἔτεσι δὲ οὐ πολλοῖς ὕστερον ὁμοῦ Θερσάνδρῳ στρατεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὰς Θήβας οὓς Ἐπιγόνους καλοῦσιν Ἕλληνες· δῆλοι δέ εἰσι καὶ τούτοις οὐ τὸ Ἀργολικὸν μόνον οὐδὲ οἱ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ Ἀρκάδες ἠκολουθηκότες,3 ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι ἐκ Κορίνθου καὶ Μεγαρέων ἐπικληθέντες ἐς τὴν συμμαχίαν· ἤμυναν δὲ καὶ Θηβαίοις οἱ πρόσοικοι, καὶ μάχη πρὸς Γλίσαντι ἀπὸ ἀμφοτέρων ἐγένετο ἰσχυρά.
Not many years later, those whom the Greeks call the Epigoni marched against Thebes together with Thersander; it is clear that they were followed not only by the Argive contingent, nor only by the Messenians and Arcadians, but also by others summoned to the alliance from Corinth and Megara. The neighbors also assisted the Thebans, and a fierce battle took place on both sides near Glisas.
τῶν δὲ Θηβαίων οἱ μὲν αὐτίκα ὡς ἡττήθησαν ὁμοῦ Λαοδάμαντι ἐκδιδράσκουσιν, οἱ δὲ ὑπολειφθέντες πολιορκίᾳ παρέστησαν.4 ἐποιήθη δὲ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον καὶ ἔπη Θηβαΐς· τὰ δὲ ἔπη ταῦτα Καλλῖνος ἀφικόμενος αὐτῶν ἐς μνήμην ἔφησεν Ὅμηρον τὸν ποιήσαντα εἶναι, Καλλίνῳ δὲ πολλοί τε καὶ ἄξιοι λόγου κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔγνωσαν· ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν ποίησιν ταύτην μετά γε Ἰλιάδα καὶ τὰ ἔπη τὰ ἐς Ὀδυσσέα ἐπαινῶ μάλιστα. πολέμου μὲν δή, ὃν Ἀργεῖοι καὶ Θηβαῖοι τῶν Οἰδίποδος παίδων ἕνεκα ἐπολέμησαν, ἐς τοσόνδε ἔστω μνήμη·
Of the Thebans, some fled immediately as they were defeated along with Laodamas, while those who remained surrendered after a siege. An epic poem, the Thebaid, was also written about this war; Callinus, when he made mention of these verses, said that Homer was the author, and many worthy of mention agreed with Callinus to the same effect. I myself praise this poem most of all after the Iliad and the verses concerning Odysseus. So let the mention of the war, which the Argives and Thebans waged on account of the children of Oedipus, extend so far.
- 9.9.1πάντων, ὅσοι πρὸς Ἕλληνας ἐπὶ τῶν καλουμένων ἡρώων ἐπολεμήθησαν ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων
The genitive "πάντων" functions as a genitive of comparison or partition depending on "λόγου μάλιστα ἄξιον" ("most worthy of mention"). It serves as the antecedent of the relative clause "ὅσοι...", contrasting this war with all other inter-Greek conflicts of the heroic age.
- 9.9.3ἅτε δὲ οὐκ ἐπισταμένων τῶν Πελοποννησίων
The conjunction "ἅτε" is used with the genitive absolute participles "ἐπισταμένων" and "ποιουμένων" to express an objective, factual cause ("inasmuch as they did not know").
- 9.9.4δῆλοι δέ εἰσι καὶ τούτοις ... ἠκολουθηκότες
This is a personal construction with the adjective "δῆλος" and the nominative perfect participle "ἠκολουθηκότες", which is equivalent to an impersonal "it is clear that they were followed by...".
- 9.9.5πολιορκίᾳ παρέστησαν
The second aorist active (intransitive) form of "παρίστημι" is used here in the technical military sense of "to surrender" or "to capitulate" under a siege. The dative "πολιορκίᾳ" indicates the cause or means ("by siege").