§11.45.1Παυσανίας ἦν συντεθειμένος ὥστε τοὺς τὰς ἐπιστολὰς παρʼ αὐτοῦ κομίζοντας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μὴ ἀνακάμπτειν μηδὲ γίνεσθαι μηνυτὰς τῶν ἀπορρήτων· διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν ἀναιρουμένων αὐτῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπολαμβανόντων τὰς ἐπιστολὰς συνέβαινε μηδένα διασώζεσθαι. §11.45.2ἃ δὴ συλλογισάμενός τις τῶν βιβλιαφόρων ἀνέῳξε τὰς ἐπιστολάς, καὶ γνοὺς ἀληθὲς ὂν τὸ περὶ τὴν ἀναίρεσιν τῶν κομιζόντων τὰ γράμματα, ἀνέδωκε τοῖς ἐφόροις τὰς ἐπιστολάς. §11.45.3τούτων δὲ ἀπιστούντων διὰ τὸ ἀνεῳγμένας αὐτοῖς τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἀναδεδόσθαι, καὶ πίστιν ἑτέραν βεβαιοτέραν ζητούντων, ἐπηγγείλατο παραδώσειν αὐτὸν ὁμολογοῦντα. §11.45.4πορευθεὶς οὖν ἐπὶ Ταίναρον καὶ καθεζόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἱερῷ διπλῆν σκηνὴν περιεβάλετο, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐφόρους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Σπαρτιατῶν τινας κατέκρυψε, τοῦ δὲ Παυσανίου παραγενομένου πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ πυνθανομένου τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἱκετείας, ἐμέμψατο αὐτῷ καθʼ ὅσον εἰς τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐνέγραψε τὸν κατʼ αὐτοῦ θάνατον. §11.45.5τοῦ δὲ Παυσανίου φήσαντος μεταμελεῖσθαι καὶ συγγνώμην αἰτουμένου τοῖς ἀγνοηθεῖσιν, ἔτι δὲ δεηθέντος ὅπως συγκρύψῃ, καὶ δωρεὰς μεγάλας ὑπισχνουμένου, αὐτοὶ μὲν διελύθησαν, οἱ δʼ ἔφοροι καὶ οἱ μετʼ αὐτῶν ἀκριβῶς μαθόντες τἀληθὲς τότε μὲν ἡσυχίαν ἔσχον, ὕστερον δὲ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τοῖς ἐφόροις συλλαμβανόντων, προαισθόμενος ἔφθασε καὶ κατέφυγεν εἰς ἱερὸν τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς τῆς Χαλκιοίκου. §11.45.6ἀπορουμένων δὲ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων εἰ τιμωρήσονται τὸν ἱκέτην, λέγεται τὴν μητέρα τοῦ Παυσανίου καταντήσασαν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἄλλο μὲν μηδὲν μήτʼ εἰπεῖν μήτε πρᾶξαι, πλίνθον δὲ βαστάσασαν ἀναθεῖναι κατὰ τὴν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν εἴσοδον, καὶ τοῦτο πράξασαν ἐπανελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν. §11.45.7τοὺς δὲ Λακεδαιμονίους τῇ τῆς μητρὸς κρίσει συνακολουθήσαντας ἐνοικοδομῆσαι τὴν εἴσοδον, καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ συναναγκάσαι τὸν Παυσανίαν λιμῷ καταστρέψαι τὸν βίον.
Pausanias had made an agreement so that those who carried the letters from him to the King should not return, nor become revealers of the secrets; for which reason, since they were being done away with by those who received the letters, it came about that no one survived. Having reasoned this out, one of the letter-bearers opened the letters, and knowing it to be true concerning the killing of those who carried the writings, he delivered the letters to the ephors. But as they disbelieved because the letters had been delivered to them already opened, and they sought other more certain proof, he promised to deliver him in the act of confessing. Having gone, therefore, to Taenarum and having seated himself at the sanctuary of Poseidon, he set up a double tent, and concealed the ephors and some of the other Spartans; and when Pausanias came to him and asked the reason for his supplication, he reproached him in respect to the fact that he had written in the letter instructions for his death. When Pausanias said that he repented and asked for pardon for what had been done in ignorance, and further begged that he would keep it secret, and promised great gifts, they parted; but the ephors and those with them, having learned the truth accurately, kept quiet for the time being, but later, when the Lacedaemonians together with the ephors were about to arrest him, perceiving it beforehand, he anticipated them and fled for refuge to the temple of Athena of the Bronze House. When the Lacedaemonians were at a loss whether they should punish the suppliant, it is said that the mother of Pausanias, having arrived at the temple, neither said nor did anything else, but having lifted a brick, she placed it at the entrance to the temple, and having done this, she returned to her own house. And the Lacedaemonians, following the decision of his mother, walled up the entrance, and in this manner compelled Pausanias to end his life by starvation.
τὸ μὲν οὖν σῶμα τοῦ τελευτήσαντος συνεχωρήθη τοῖς προσήκουσι καταχῶσαι, τὸ δὲ δαιμόνιον τῆς τῶν ἱκετῶν σωτηρίας καταλυθείσης ἐπεσήμηνε· §11.45.8τῶν γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίων περί τινων ἄλλων ἐν Δελφοῖς χρηστηριαζομένων, ὁ θεὸς ἔδωκε χρησμὸν κελεύων ἀποκαταστῆσαι τῇ θεῷ τὸν ἱκέτην. §11.45.9διόπερ οἱ Σπαρτιᾶται τὴν μαντείαν ἀδύνατον νομίζοντες εἶναι, ἠπόρουν ἐφʼ ἱκανὸν χρόνον, οὐ δυνάμενοι ποιῆσαι τὸ προσταττόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ· ὅμως δʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐνδεχομένων βουλευσάμενοι κατεσκεύασαν εἰκόνας δύο τοῦ Παυσανίου χαλκᾶς, καὶ ἀνέθηκαν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς.
Now, the body of the deceased was granted to his relatives to bury, but the deity gave a sign, because the right of sanctuary for suppliants had been violated; for when the Lacedaemonians were consulting the oracle at Delphi concerning some other matters, the god gave an oracle commanding them to restore the suppliant to the goddess. Therefore the Spartans, thinking the oracle's command to be impossible, were at a loss for a considerable time, being unable to do what was commanded by the god; nevertheless, having deliberated within the limits of the possible, they made two bronze statues of Pausanias, and dedicated them in the temple of Athena.