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Pausanias · Description of Greece §1.44.6-1.44.10

The Scironian Road and Legends on the Way to Corinth

Passage 52 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the monuments along the road from Megara to Corinth, including the nature of conchite stone and the Scironian Road expanded by Emperor Hadrian, and records the myths of Ino and Melicertes at the Molurian rock, the legend of Sciron, the temple of Zeus Aphesius, and the tomb of Eurystheus.

§1.44.6ἰοῦσι δὲ ἐκ Μεγάρων ἐς Κόρινθον ἄλλοι τέ εἰσι τάφοι καὶ αὐλητοῦ Σαμίου Τηλεφάνους· ποιῆσαι δὲ τὸν τάφον Κλεοπάτραν τὴν Φιλίππου τοῦ Ἀμύντου λέγουσι.
For those going from Megara to Corinth, there are other tombs, and also that of the Samian flute-player Telephanes; and they say that Cleopatra, the daughter of Philip, son of Amyntas, made the tomb.
καὶ Καρὸς τοῦ Φορωνέως μνῆμά ἐστι, τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς χῶμα γῆς, ὕστερον δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ χρήσαντος ἐκοσμήθη λίθῳ κογχίτῃ.
There is also the tomb of Car, the son of Phoroneus, which was originally a mound of earth, but later, because of an oracle of the god, it was adorned with conchite stone.
μόνοις δὲ Ἑλλήνων Μεγαρεῦσιν ὁ κογχίτης οὗτός ἐστι, καί σφισι καὶ ἐν τῇ πόλει πεποίηται πολλὰ ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
Among the Greeks, this conchite stone belongs to the Megarians alone, and many things in their city have been made of it.
ἔστι δὲ ἄγαν λευκὸς καὶ ἄλλου λίθου μαλακώτερος· κόγχοι δὲ αἱ θαλάσσιαι διὰ παντὸς ἔνεισίν οἱ.
It is exceedingly white, and softer than other stone; and sea-shells are present throughout it.
αὐτὸς μὲν τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ λίθος·
Such is the nature of this stone itself.
τὴν δὲ ὀνομαζομένην ἀπὸ Σκίρωνος καὶ ἐς τόδε Σκιρωνίδα Σκίρων, ἡνίκα Μεγαρεῦσιν ἐπολεμάρχει, πρῶτος ὡς λέγουσιν ἐποίησεν ἀνδράσιν ὁδεύειν εὐζώνοις·
The road named after Sciron and still to this day called the Scironian Road was, when Sciron was war-lord of the Megarians, first made by him, as they say, for active men to travel on.
Ἀδριανὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οὕτως ὡς καὶ ἅρματα ἐναντία ἐλαύνεσθαι κατέστησεν εὐρυχωρῆ τε καὶ ἐπιτηδείαν εἶναι.
But the Emperor Hadrian made it spacious and convenient even so that chariots could drive in opposite directions.
§1.44.7λόγοι δέ εἰσιν ἐς τὰς πέτρας, αἳ κατὰ τὸ στενὸν τῆς ὁδοῦ μάλιστα ἀνέχουσιν, ἐς μὲν τὴν Μολουρίδα, ὡς ἀπὸ ταύτης αὑτὴν ἐς θάλασσαν Ἰνὼ ῥίψαι Μελικέρτην ἔχουσα τῶν παίδων τὸν νεώτερον·
There are stories about the rocks which especially stand up at the narrow part of the road; concerning the Molurian rock, they say that from this Ino threw herself into the sea, holding Melicertes, the younger of her children.
τὸν γὰρ δὴ πρεσβύτερον αὐτῶν Λέαρχον ἀπέκτεινεν ὁ πατήρ.
For Learchus, the elder of them, had been killed by his father.
λέγεται μὲν δὴ καὶ μανέντα δρᾶσαι ταῦτα Ἀθάμαντα, λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐς τὴν Ἰνὼ καὶ τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῆς παῖδας χρήσαιτο ἀκρατεῖ τῷ θυμῷ τὸν συμβάντα Ὀρχομενίοις λιμὸν καὶ τὸν δοκοῦντα Φρίξου θάνατον αἰσθόμενος, οὗ τὸ θεῖον αἴτιον οὐ γενέσθαι, βουλεῦσαι δὲ ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν Ἰνὼ μητρυιὰν οὖσαν·
Now it is said that Athamas did these things when he was mad, but it is also said that he gave way to unbridled anger against Ino and her children because he perceived that the famine which befell the Orchomenians and the supposed death of Phrixus had not been caused by the gods, but that Ino, being their stepmother, had plotted all these things.
§1.44.8τότε δὲ φεύγουσα ἐς θάλασσαν αὑτὴν καὶ τὸν παῖδα ἀπὸ τῆς πέτρας τῆς Μολουρίδος ἀφίησιν, ἐξενεχθέντος δὲ ἐς τὸν Κορινθίων ἰσθμὸν ὑπὸ δελφῖνος ὡς λέγεται τοῦ παιδός, τιμαὶ καὶ ἄλλαι τῷ Μελικέρτῃ δίδονται μετονομασθέντι Παλαίμονι καὶ τῶν Ἰσθμίων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἄγουσι.
And then, fleeing, she threw herself and her child from the Molurian rock into the sea; and when the child had been carried out to the Isthmus of Corinth by a dolphin, as they say, other honors were given to Melicertes, who was renamed Palaemon, and they celebrate the Isthmian games in his honor.
τὴν μὲν δὴ Μολουρίδα πέτραν Λευκοθέας καὶ Παλαίμονος ἱερὰν ἥγηντο· τὰς δὲ μετὰ ταύτην νομίζουσιν ἐναγεῖς, ὅτι παροικῶν σφισιν ὁ Σκίρων, ὁπόσοις τῶν ξένων ἐπετύγχανεν, ἠφίει σφᾶς ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν.
Now they regarded the Molurian rock as sacred to Leucothea and Palaemon; but the rocks after this they consider cursed, because Sciron, who lived near them, used to cast into the sea all the strangers he met.
χελώνη δὲ ὑπενήχετο ταῖς πέτραις τοὺς ἐσβληθέντας ἁρπάζειν· εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ θαλάσσιαι πλὴν μεγέθους καὶ ποδῶν ὅμοιαι ταῖς χερσαίαις, πόδας δὲ ἐοικότας ἔχουσι ταῖς φώκαις.
A tortoise used to swim under the rocks to snatch up those who were cast in; sea-tortoises are like land-tortoises, except for their size and their feet, and they have feet resembling those of seals.
τούτων περιῆλθεν ἡ δίκη Σκίρωνα ἀφεθέντα ἐς θάλασσαν τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπὸ Θησέως.
The retribution for these things came upon Sciron, who was cast into the same sea by Theseus.
§1.44.9ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τῇ ἄκρᾳ Διός ἐστιν Ἀφεσίου καλουμένου ναός· φασὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ συμβάντος ποτὲ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν αὐχμοῦ θύσαντος Αἰακοῦ κατά τι δὴ λόγιον τῷ Πανελληνίῳ Διὶ ἐν Αἰγίνῃ †κομίσαντα δὲ ἀφεῖναι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Ἀφέσιον καλεῖσθαι τὸν Δία.
On the summit of the mountain is a temple of Zeus called Aphesius; and they say that on the occasion of the drought which once befell the Greeks, Aeacus sacrificed to Panhellenian Zeus in Aegina in accordance with some oracle, and having been released he let go, and for this reason Zeus is called Aphesius.
ἐνταῦθα καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ἄγαλμα καὶ Ἀπόλλωνός ἐστι καὶ Πανός.
Here there are also statues of Aphrodite, of Apollo, and of Pan.
§1.44.10προελθοῦσι δὲ ἐς τὸ πρόσω μνῆμά ἐστιν Εὐρυσθέως· φεύγοντα δὲ ἐκ τῆς Ἀττικῆς μετὰ τὴν πρὸς Ἡρακλείδας μάχην ἐνταῦθα ἀποθανεῖν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Ἰολάου λέγουσιν.
For those going on further, there is the tomb of Eurystheus; and they say that, fleeing from Attica after the battle against the Heracleidae, he died here at the hands of Iolaus.
ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ὁδοῦ καταβᾶσιν Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερόν ἐστι Λατῴου καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸ Μεγαρεῦσιν ὅροι πρὸς τὴν Κορινθίαν, ἔνθα Ὕλλον τὸν Ἡρακλέους μονομαχῆσαι πρὸς τὸν Ἀρκάδα Ἔχεμον λέγουσιν.
For those going down from this road, there is a sanctuary of Apollo Latois, and after it the boundaries of the Megarians with the territory of Corinth, where they say that Hyllus, the son of Heracles, fought a single combat against the Arcadian Echemus.

Notes

  1. 1.44.6ἰοῦσι — The dative present participle `ἰοῦσι` is a dative of reference or person judging, a formulaic expression in Pausanias' geographical guide, meaning 'for those going from Megara... (there are...)'. Similar usages are found in `§1.44.10` with `προελθοῦσι` and `καταβᾶσιν`.
  2. 1.44.7αἰσθόμενος — The participle `αἰσθόμενος` expresses cause, and the indirect facts he realized are introduced by the relative clause beginning with `οὗ...`, governing the accusative and infinitive constructions `γενέσθαι` and `βουλεῦσαι`. The structure is 'having realized that the cause of this was not divine, but that Ino, being their stepmother, had plotted all these things.'
  3. 1.44.9†κομίσαντα δὲ ἀφεῖναι — A locus vexatus in the manuscript tradition. The infinitive `ἀφεῖναι` (to release, let go, or dismiss) is used here to explain the etymological origin of the epithet of Zeus, 'Aphesius' (e.g., that Aeacus was released from the drought, or sent the people away).

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §1.44.6-1.44.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.44.6-1.44.10

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