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Pausanias · Description of Greece §1.31.1-1.31.6

Sanctuaries and Cults in the Smaller Demes of Attica

Passage 37 of 465 · Greek

Summary

The passage describes the sanctuaries, altars, and tombs in various small demes of Attica, as well as their unique cults and the origins of their names.

§1.31.1δῆμοι δὲ οἱ μικροὶ τῆς Ἀττικῆς, ὡς ἔτυχεν ἕκαστος οἰκισθείς, τάδε ἐς μνήμην παρείχοντο·
The small demes of Attica, as each happened to be settled, present the following things for remembrance.
Ἀλιμουσίοις μὲν Θεσμοφόρου Δήμητρος καὶ Κόρης ἐστὶν ἱερόν, ἐν Ζωστῆρι δὲ ἐπὶ θαλάσσης καὶ βωμὸς Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ Λητοῦς.
For the Halimousians there is a temple of Demeter Thesmophoros and Kore, and in Zoster on the sea there is an altar of Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Leto.
τεκεῖν μὲν οὖν Λητὼ τοὺς παῖδας ἐνταῦθα οὔ φασι, λύσασθαι δὲ τὸν ζωστῆρα ὡς τεξομένην, καὶ τῷ χωρίῳ διὰ τοῦτο γενέσθαι τὸ ὄνομα.
Now they do not say that Leto gave birth to her children there, but that she loosened her girdle (zoster) as she was about to give birth, and that because of this the name was given to the place.
Προσπαλτίοις δέ ἐστι καὶ τούτοις Κόρης καὶ Δήμητρος ἱερόν, Ἀναγυρασίοις δὲ Μητρὸς θεῶν ἱερόν· Κεφαλῆσι δὲ οἱ Διόσκουροι νομίζονται μάλιστα, Μεγάλους γὰρ σφᾶς οἱ ταύτῃ θεοὺς ὀνομάζουσιν.
And for the Prospaltians, for them too there is a temple of Kore and Demeter, and for the Anagyrasians a temple of the Mother of the Gods; and in Kephale the Dioscuri are especially worshiped, for those in this place call them the Great Gods.
§1.31.2ἐν δὲ Πρασιεῦσιν Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστι ναός·
In Prasiai there is a temple of Apollo.
ἐνταῦθα τὰς Ὑπερβορέων ἀπαρχὰς ἰέναι λέγεται, παραδιδόναι δὲ αὐτὰς Ὑπερβορέους μὲν Ἀριμασποῖς, Ἀριμασποὺς δʼ Ἰσσηδόσι, παρὰ δὲ τούτων Σκύθας ἐς Σινώπην κομίζειν, ἐντεῦθεν δὲ φέρεσθαι διὰ Ἑλλήνων ἐς Πρασιάς, Ἀθηναίους δὲ εἶναι τοὺς ἐς Δῆλον ἄγοντας·
Thither the first-fruits of the Hyperboreans are said to go; and that the Hyperboreans hand them over to the Arimaspians, and the Arimaspians to the Issedonians, and from them the Scythians carry them to Sinope, and from there they are carried through the Greeks to Prasiai, and the Athenians are the ones who bring them to Delos.
τὰς δὲ ἀπαρχὰς κεκρύφθαι μὲν ἐν καλάμῃ πυρῶν, γινώσκεσθαι δὲ ὑπʼ οὐδένων.
And they say that the first-fruits are hidden in wheat straw, and are known by no one.
ἔστι δὲ μνῆμα ἐπὶ Πρασιαῖς Ἐρυσίχθονος, ὡς ἐκομίζετο ὀπίσω μετὰ τὴν θεωρίαν ἐκ Δήλου, γενομένης οἱ κατὰ τὸν πλοῦν τῆς τελευτῆς.
And there is a tomb of Erysichthon at Prasiai, as he was being carried back from Delos after his sacred mission (theoria), his death having occurred to him during the voyage.
§1.31.3Κραναὸν δὲ τὸν βασιλεύσαντα Ἀθηναίων ὅτι μὲν ἐξέβαλεν Ἀμφικτύων κηδεστὴν ὄντα, ἔτι πρότερον εἴρηταί μοι· φυγόντα δὲ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς στασιώταις ἐς τὸν δῆμον τὸν Λαμπτρέα ἀποθανεῖν τε αὐτοῦ καὶ ταφῆναί φασι, καὶ ἔστι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἐν τοῖς Λαμπτρεῦσι Κραναοῦ μνῆμα.
As for Cranaus, who ruled over the Athenians, that Amphictyon expelled him, although he was his father-in-law, has been told by me still earlier; but they say that he, having fled with his partisans to the deme of Lamptrai, died there and was buried, and even down to my time there is a tomb of Cranaus among the Lamptrians.
Ἴωνος δὲ τοῦ Ξούθου —καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ᾤκησε παρὰ Ἀθηναίοις καὶ Ἀθηναίων ἐπὶ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Ἐλευσινίους ἐπολεμάρχησε —τάφος ἐν Ποταμοῖς ἐστι τῆς χώρας.
And the tomb of Ion, the son of Xuthus—for he too dwelt among the Athenians, and was their war-archon (polemarch) during the war against the Eleusinians—is in Potamoi of the country.
§1.31.4ταῦτα μὲν δὴ οὕτω λέγεται, Φλυεῦσι δέ εἰσι καὶ Μυρρινουσίοις τοῖς μὲν Ἀπόλλωνος Διονυσοδότου καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος Σελασφόρου βωμοὶ Διονύσου τε Ἀνθίου καὶ νυμφῶν Ἰσμηνίδων καὶ Γῆς, ἣν Μεγάλην θεὸν ὀνομάζουσι· ναὸς δὲ ἕτερος ἔχει βωμοὺς Δήμητρος Ἀνησιδώρας καὶ Διὸς Κτησίου καὶ Τιθρωνῆς Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ Κόρης Πρωτογόνης καὶ Σεμνῶν ὀνομαζομένων θεῶν·
These things, indeed, are so said. But for the Phlyasians and the Myrrhinusians, for the former there are altars of Apollo Dionysodotos and Artemis Selasphoros, and of Dionysus Anthios and the Ismenian nymphs, and of Earth, whom they call the Great Goddess; and another temple has altars of Demeter Anesidora, Zeus Ktesios, Athena Tithrone, Kore Protogone, and the goddesses called the August (Semnai).
τὸ δὲ ἐν Μυρρινοῦντι ξόανόν ἐστι Κολαινίδος.
And the wooden image in Myrrhinus is that of Kolaenis.
Ἀθμονεῖς δὲ τιμῶσιν Ἀμαρυσίαν Ἄρτεμιν· §1.31.5πυνθανόμενος δὲ σαφὲς οὐδὲν ἐς αὐτὰς ἐπισταμένους τοὺς ἐξηγητὰς εὗρον, αὐτὸς δὲ συμβάλλομαι τῇδε.
The Athmonians worship Amarysia Artemis; and in inquiring, I found that the guides knew nothing certain about them, but I myself make a conjecture in this way.
ἔστιν Ἀμάρυνθος ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ· καὶ γὰρ οἱ ταύτῃ τιμῶσιν Ἀμαρυσίαν, ἑορτὴν δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι τῆς Ἀμαρυσίας ἄγουσιν οὐδέν τι Εὐβοέων ἀφανέστερον· ταύτῃ μὲν γενέσθαι τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τούτῳ παρὰ Ἀθμονεῦσιν ἡγοῦμαι, τὴν δὲ ἐν Μυρρινοῦντι Κολαινίδα ἀπὸ Κολαίνου καλεῖσθαι.
There is an Amarynthos in Euboea; for those there too worship Amarysia, and the Athenians also celebrate a festival of Amarysia in no way less splendidly than the Euboeans; I believe, therefore, that the name arose among the Athmonians for this reason, and that the Kolaenis in Myrrhinus is named after Kolaenos.
γέγραπται δʼ ἤδη μοι τῶν ἐν τοῖς δήμοις φάναι πολλοὺς ὡς καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐβασιλεύοντο τῆς Κέκροπος· ἔστι δὲ ὁ Κόλαινος ἀνδρὸς ὄνομα πρότερον ἢ Κέκροψ ἐβασίλευσεν —ὡς οἱ Μυρρινούσιοι λέγουσιν—ἄρξαντος.
It has already been written by me that many of those in the demes say that they were ruled by kings even before the reign of Cecrops; and Kolaenos is the name of a man who ruled—as the Myrrhinusians say—before Cecrops became king.
§1.31.6ἔστι δὲ Ἀχαρναὶ δῆμος· οὗτοι θεῶν Ἀπόλλωνα τιμῶσιν Ἀγυιέα καὶ Ἡρακλέα.
There is also the deme of Acharnae; these people worship, among the gods, Apollo Agyieus and Heracles.
καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς βωμός ἐστιν Ὑγείας· τὴν δʼ Ἱππίαν Ἀθηνᾶν ὀνομάζουσι καὶ Διόνυσον Μελπόμενον καὶ Κισσὸν τὸν αὐτὸν θεόν, τὸν κισσὸν τὸ φυτὸν ἐνταῦθα πρῶτον φανῆναι λέγοντες.
And there is an altar of Athena Hygieia; and they call Athena "Hippia", and Dionysus "Melpomenos", and "Kissos" (Ivy) as the same god, saying that the ivy plant first appeared there.

Notes

  1. 1.31.1ὡς ἔτυχεν ἕκαστος οἰκισθείς — Meaning "as each happened to have been settled." In connection with the preceding "small demes," this suggests that each deme was formed organically with its own distinct history and mythical origin before being integrated into the Athenian polis.
  2. 1.31.2ἀπαρχὰς ἰέναι λέγεται — The starting point of a long sentence with a series of accusative and infinitive constructions. "τὰς Ὑπερβορέων ἀπαρχάς" functions as the subject for the main verb "λέγεται", and the subsequent infinitives ("ἰέναι", "παραδιδόναι", "κομίζειν", "φέρεσθαι") are all governed by this reported speech, tracing the step-by-step transmission route of the first-fruits.
  3. 1.31.3Κραναὸν δὲ τὸν βασιλεύσαντα ... ὅτι μὲν ἐξέβαλεν — A proleptic construction where the accusative "Κραναόν" at the beginning of the sentence, which logically should be the subject of the following "ὅτι" clause, is anticipated as the object of the main clause structure.
  4. 1.31.4τοῖς μὲν ... ναὸς δὲ ἕτερος — Corresponding to the dative plural "Φλυεῦσι... καὶ Μυρρινουσίοις" at the beginning, "τοῖς μὲν" refers to the former (the Phlyasians). The latter part of the contrast is disrupted by the introduction of a new subject "ναὸς δὲ ἕτερος" (another temple), leading directly into a detailed list of altars in the respective demes rather than a symmetrical balance.
  5. 1.31.5των ἐν τοῖς δήμοις φάναι πολλοὺς — An indirect speech construction inside the "ὡς" clause which serves as the subject of the verb "γέγραπται", containing the accusative and infinitive "πολλοὺς... φάναι". This infinitive "φάναι" in turn governs another "ὡς" clause ("ὡς... ἐβασιλεύοντο"), creating a multi-layered subordinate structure.
  6. 1.31.6τὴν δʼ Ἱππίαν Ἀθηνᾶν ὀνομάζουσι καὶ Διόνυσον Μελπόμενον καὶ Κισσὸν τὸν αὐτὸν θεόν — In the object structure of "ὀνομάζουσι", "τὴν δ' Ἱππίαν Ἀθηνᾶν" (Athena as Hippia) is joined with "Διόνυσον Μελπόμενον καὶ Κισσὸν τὸν αὐτὸν θεόν" (Dionysus as Melpomenos and Kissos as the same god), identifying Dionysus and Kissos (Ivy) as one and the same deity.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §1.31.1-1.31.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.31.1-1.31.6

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