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Pausanias · Description of Greece §10.27.1-10.27.4

Depiction of the Fallen Warriors and Antenor's Family

Passage 448 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the fallen heroes depicted in the painting, variant traditions of Priam's death, and the rescue and preparation of Antenor's family for departure.

§10.27.1νεκροὶ δὲ ὁ μὲν γυμνὸς Πῆλις ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸν νῶτόν ἐστιν ἐρριμμένος, ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν Πῆλιν Ἠιονεύς τε κεῖται καὶ Ἄδμητος ἐνδεδυκότες ἔτι τοὺς θώρακας·
As for the dead, one is a naked man, Peelis by name, thrown on his back, and under Peelis lie Eioneus and Admetus, still wearing their breastplates.
καὶ αὐτῶν Λέσχεως Ἠιονέα ὑπὸ Νεοπτολέμου, τὸν δὲ ὑπὸ Φιλοκτήτου φησὶν ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Ἄδμητον.
Of these, Lesches says that Eioneus was killed by Neoptolemus, and Admetus by Philoctetes.
ἄλλοι δὲ ἀνωτέρω τούτων ὑπὸ μὲν τὸ λουτήριον Λεώκριτός ἐστιν ὁ Πουλυδάμαντος τεθνεὼς ὑπὸ Ὀδυσσέως, ὑπὲρ δὲ Ἠιονέα τε καὶ Ἄδμητον Κόροιβος ὁ Μύγδονος·
And others above these: under the basin is Leocritus, the son of Polydamas, who was slain by Odysseus, and above Eioneus and Admetus is Coroebus, the son of Mygdon.
τούτου μνῆμά τε ἐπιφανὲς ἐν ὅροις πεποίηται Φρυγῶν Στεκτορηνῶν καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ποιηταῖς Μύγδονας ὄνομα ἐπὶ τοῖς Φρυξὶ τίθεσθαι καθέστηκεν.
A conspicuous tomb of him has been built in the territory of the Stectoreni Phrygians, and from him it has become established for poets to apply the name Mygdones to the Phrygians.
ἀφίκετο μὲν δὴ ἐπὶ τὸν Κασσάνδρας ὁ Κόροιβος γάμον, ἀπέθανε δέ, ὡς μὲν ὁ πλείων λόγος, ὑπὸ Νεοπτολέμου, Λέσχεως δὲ ὑπὸ Διομήδους ἐποίησεν.
Coroebus came for the marriage of Cassandra, but died, according to the common account, by the hand of Neoptolemus, though Lesches represented him as killed by Diomedes.
§10.27.2εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἐπάνω τοῦ Κοροίβου Πρίαμος καὶ Ἀξίων τε καὶ Ἀγήνωρ.
And above Coroebus are Priam, Axion, and Agenor.
Πρίαμον δὲ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖν ἔφη Λέσχεως ἐπὶ τῇ ἐσχάρᾳ τοῦ Ἑρκείου, ἀλλὰ ἀποσπασθέντα ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ πάρεργον τῷ Νεοπτολέμῳ πρὸς ταῖς τῆς οἰκίας γενέσθαι θύραις.
Lesches said that Priam did not die at the hearth of Herceius, but was dragged away from the altar and slain at the doors of the house as a mere by-work for Neoptolemus.
ἐς δὲ Ἑκάβην Στησίχορος ἐν Ἰλίου πέρσιδι ἐποίησεν ἐς Λυκίαν ὑπὸ Ἀπόλλωνος αὐτὴν κομισθῆναι.
Concerning Hecuba, Stesichorus in the Sack of Troy represented that she was conveyed to Lycia by Apollo.
Ἀξίονα δὲ παῖδα εἶναι Πριάμου Λέσχεως καὶ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Εὐρυπύλου τοῦ Εὐαίμονός φησι· τοῦ Ἀγήνορος δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν ποιητὴν Νεοπτόλεμος αὐτόχειρ ἐστί·
And Lesches says that Axion was a son of Priam and was killed by Eurypylus, the son of Evaemon; and Agenor, according to the same poet, was slain by Neoptolemus' own hand.
καὶ οὕτω φαίνοιτο ἂν Ἔχεκλος μὲν φονευθεὶς ὁ Ἀγήνορος ὑπὸ Ἀχιλλέως, Ἀγήνωρ δὲ αὐτὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ Νεοπτολέμου.
Thus it would appear that Echeclus, the son of Agenor, was slain by Achilles, and Agenor himself by Neoptolemus.
§10.27.3Λαομέδοντος δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν Σίνων τε ἑταῖρος Ὀδυσσέως καὶ Ἀγχίαλός εἰσιν ἐκκομίζοντες.
And the corpse of Laomedon is being carried out by Sinon, the companion of Odysseus, and Anchialus.
γέγραπται δὲ καὶ ἄλλος τεθνεώς· ὄνομά οἱ Ἔρεσος· τὰ δὲ ἐς Ἔρεσόν τε καὶ Λαομέδοντα, ὅσα γε ἡμεῖς ἐπιστάμεθα, ᾖσεν οὐδείς.
There is also painted another dead man, Eresus by name; but as to the story of Eresus and Laomedon, so far as I know, no one has sung of it.
ἔστι δὲ οἰκία τε ἡ Ἀντήνορος καὶ παρδάλεως κρεμάμενον δέρμα ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐσόδου, σύνθημα εἶναι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἀπέχεσθαι σφᾶς οἴκου τοῦ Ἀντήνορος.
There is also the house of Antenor, and a panther's skin hanging over the entrance, to be a signal for the Greeks to keep themselves away from the house of Antenor.
γέγραπται δὲ Θεανώ τε καὶ οἱ παῖδες, Γλαῦκος μὲν καθήμενος ἐπὶ θώρακι γυάλοις συνηρμοσμένῳ, Εὐρύμαχος δὲ ἐπὶ πέτρᾳ.
Theano also is painted, and her children: Glaucus sitting on a breastplate fitted with plates, and Eurymachus on a rock.
§10.27.4παρὰ δὲ αὐτὸν ἕστηκεν Ἀντήνωρ καὶ ἐφεξῆς θυγάτηρ Ἀντήνορος Κρινώ· παιδίον δὲ ἡ Κρινὼ φέρει νήπιον.
And near him stands Antenor, and next to him Antenor's daughter Crino; and Crino carries an infant child.
τῶν προσώπων δὲ ἅπασιν οἷον ἐπὶ συμφορᾷ σχῆμά ἐστι.
All the figures have an appearance as if of a disaster.
κιβωτὸν δὲ ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ ἄλλα τῶν σκευῶν εἰσιν ἀνατιθέντες οἰκέται· κάθηται δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄνου παιδίον μικρόν.
Servants are placing a chest and other utensils upon a donkey, and a little child is also sitting on the donkey.
κατὰ τοῦτο τῆς γραφῆς καὶ ἐλεγεῖόν ἐστι Σιμωνίδου· " γράψε Πολύγνωτος, Θάσιος γένος, Ἀγλαοφῶντος υἱός, περθομένην Ἰλίου ἀκρόπολιν. "
At this part of the painting there is also an elegiac couplet of Simonides: 'Polygnotus, a Thasian by birth, son of Aglaophon, painted the citadel of Ilium being destroyed.'

Notes

  1. 10.27.1ἐπὶ τὸν νῶτόν — Literally 'on his back', which in the context of a corpse lying on the ground denotes being thrown 'flat on his back' or 'supine'.
  2. 10.27.2πάρεργον — Functioning as an accusative in apposition to the action, depicting that the slaying of Priam at the doors of the house was a mere 'by-work' or 'incident' requiring little effort for Neoptolemus.
  3. 10.27.3σύνθημα εἶναι — An infinitive phrase acting in apposition to the preceding clause, indicating that the panther's skin was hung 'to serve as a signal' for the Greeks to spare the house of Antenor.
  4. 10.27.4περθομένην — A present passive participle meaning 'being destroyed' or 'sacked', capturing the ongoing process and tragic destruction of the citadel represented in the painting.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §10.27.1-10.27.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.27.1-10.27.4

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