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Pausanias · Description of Greece §10.31.7-10.31.12

Memnon and Underworld Punishments of Sisyphus and Tantalus

Passage 454 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the features of Polygnotus' painting, including the origins of Memnon, the contrast between Paris and Penthesilea, the uninitiated women carrying water, the Arcadian myths of Kallisto and Nomia, and the Underworld punishments of Sisyphus, Tantalus, and those who neglected the Eleusinian mysteries.

§10.31.7παρὰ δὲ τῷ Μέμνονι καὶ παῖς Αἰθίοψ πεποίηται γυμνός, ὅτι ὁ Μέμνων βασιλεὺς ἦν τοῦ Αἰθιόπων γένους.
Beside Memnon, a naked Ethiopian boy is also depicted, because Memnon was king of the Ethiopian race.
ἀφίκετο μέντοι ἐς Ἴλιον οὐκ ἀπʼ Αἰθιοπίας ἀλλὰ ἐκ Σούσων τῶν Περσικῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χοάσπου ποταμοῦ, τὰ ἔθνη πάντα ὅσα ᾤκει μεταξὺ ὑποχείρια πεποιημένος·
However, he arrived at Ilium not from Ethiopia but from Persian Susa and from the river Choaspes, having made subject to himself all the nations that dwelt between.
Φρύγες δὲ καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν ἔτι ἀποφαίνουσι διʼ ἧς τὴν στρατιὰν ἤγαγε τὰ ἐπίτομα ἐκλεγόμενος τῆς χώρας· τέτμηται δὲ διὰ τῶν μονῶν ἡ ὁδός.
And the Phrygians still point out the road through which he led his army, choosing the shortest cuts of the country; and the road is cut through the stations.
§10.31.8ὑπὲρ δὲ τὸν Σαρπηδόνα τε καὶ Μέμνονα, ἔστιν ὑπὲρ αὐτοὺς ὁ Πάρις οὐκ ἔχων πω γένεια· κροτεῖ δὲ ταῖς χερσίν, οἷος ἂν γένοιτο ἀνδρὸς ἀγροίκου κρότος· ἐοικέναι τὸν Πάριν φήσεις τῷ ψόφῳ τῶν χειρῶν Πενθεσίλειαν παρʼ αὑτὸν καλοῦντι.
Above Sarpedon and Memnon, above them is Paris, who does not yet have a beard; and he is clapping with his hands, such a clapping as would be that of a rustic man; you would say that Paris, by the noise of his hands, resembles one calling Penthesilea to his side.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ Πενθεσίλεια ὁρῶσα ἐς τὸν Πάριν, τοῦ προσώπου δὲ ἔοικε τῷ νεύματι ὑπερορᾶν τε αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν οὐδενὸς τίθεσθαι λόγῳ· τὸ δὲ σχῆμά ἐστι τῇ Πενθεσιλείᾳ παρθένος τόξον ἔχουσα τοῖς Σκυθικοῖς ἐμφερὲς καὶ παρδάλεως δέρμα ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων.
And Penthesilea too is looking at Paris, but by the tilt of her face she seems to look down on him and to hold him of no account; and Penthesilea's appearance is that of a maiden having a bow similar to the Scythian ones, and a leopard's skin upon her shoulders.
§10.31.9αἱ δὲ ὑπὲρ τὴν Πενθεσίλειαν φέρουσαι μέν εἰσιν ὕδωρ ἐν κατεαγόσιν ὀστράκοις, πεποίηται δὲ ἡ μὲν ἔτι ὡραία τὸ εἶδος, ἡ δὲ ἤδη τῆς ἡλικίας προήκουσα· ἰδίᾳ μὲν δὴ οὐδὲν ἐπίγραμμα ἐπὶ ἑκατέρᾳ τῶν γυναικῶν, ἐν κοινῷ δέ ἐστιν ἐπὶ ἀμφοτέραις εἶναι σφᾶς τῶν οὐ μεμυημένων γυναικῶν.
And the women above Penthesilea are carrying water in broken potsherds, and one is depicted as still beautiful in form, and the other as already advanced in age; individually indeed there is no inscription over either of the women, but in common over both of them it is written that they are of the uninitiated women.
§10.31.10ἀνωτέρω τούτων ἐστὶν ἡ Λυκάονος Καλλιστὼ καὶ Νομία τε καὶ ἡ Νηλέως Πηρώ· ταύτης ἕδνα τῶν γάμων βοῦς ὁ Νηλεὺς ᾔτει τὰς Ἰφίκλου.
Higher up than these are Kallisto the daughter of Lycaon, and Nomia, and Pero the daughter of Neleus; for her marriage gifts Neleus demanded the cattle of Iphiclus.
τῇ Καλλιστοῖ δὲ ἀντὶ μὲν στρωμνῆς ἐστιν αὐτῇ δέρμα ἄρκτου, τοὺς πόδας δὲ ἐν τοῖς Νομίας γόνασιν ἔχει κειμένους.
And for Kallisto, instead of a mattress she has a bear's skin, and she has her feet resting on the knees of Nomia.
ἐδήλωσε δέ μοι τὰ πρότερα τοῦ λόγου φάναι τοὺς Ἀρκάδας Νομίαν εἶναι ἐπιχώριον νύμφην· τὰς νύμφας δὲ εἶναι πολὺν μέν τινα ἀριθμὸν βιούσας ἐτῶν, οὐ μέντοι παράπαν γε ἀπηλλαγμένας θανάτου, ποιητῶν ἐστιν ἐς αὐτὰς λόγος.
And the earlier part of my account showed that the Arcadians say Nomia is a local nymph; and that the nymphs live for a very great number of years, yet are by no means entirely free from death, is the story of the poets concerning them.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν Καλλιστὼ καὶ ὅσαι σὺν ἐκείνῃ γυναῖκες, κρημνοῦ τε σχῆμά ἐστι καὶ ὁ Αἰόλου Σίσυφος ἀνῶσαι πρὸς τὸν κρημνὸν βιαζόμενος τὴν πέτραν.
And after Kallisto and the women with her, there is the shape of a cliff, and Sisyphus the son of Aeolus striving to push the rock up towards the cliff.
§10.31.11ἔστι δὲ καὶ πίθος ἐν τῇ γραφῇ, πρεσβύτης δὲ ἄνθρωπος, ὁ δὲ ἔτι παῖς, καὶ γυναῖκες, νέα μὲν ὑπὸ τῇ πέτρᾳ, παρὰ δὲ τὸν πρεσβύτην ἐοικυῖα ἐκείνῳ τὴν ἡλικίαν· οἱ μὲν δὴ ἄλλοι φέρουσιν ὕδωρ, τῇ δὲ γραῒ κατεᾶχθαι τὴν ὑδρίαν εἰκάσεις· ὅσον δὲ ἐν τῷ ὀστράκῳ λοιπόν ἦν τοῦ ὕδατος, ἐκχέουσά ἐστιν αὖθις ἐς τὸν πίθον.
There is also a jar in the painting, and an old man, and another who is still a boy, and women, a young one under the rock, and beside the old man a woman similar to him in age; the others indeed are carrying water, but of the old woman, you would guess that her water-jar is broken; and whatever water was left in the potsherd, she is pouring it out again into the jar.
ἐτεκμαιρόμεθα δʼ εἶναι καὶ τούτους τῶν τὰ δρώμενα Ἐλευσῖνι ἐν οὐδενὶ θεμένων λόγῳ· οἱ γὰρ ἀρχαιότεροι τῶν Ἑλλήνων τελετὴν τὴν Ἐλευσινίαν πάντων ὁπόσα ἐς εὐσέβειαν ἥκει τοσούτῳ ἦγον ἐντιμότερον ὅσῳ καὶ θεοὺς ἐπίπροσθεν ἡρώων.
And we conjectured that these too were of those who held of no account the rites performed at Eleusis; for the more ancient of the Greeks held the Eleusinian rite as much more honorable than all things which pertain to piety, as they also held the gods prior to heroes.
§10.31.12ὑπὸ τούτῳ δὲ τῷ πίθῳ Τάνταλος καὶ ἄλλα ἔχων ἐστὶν ἀλγεινὰ ὁπόσα Ὅμηρος ἐπʼ αὐτῷ πεποίηκεν, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς πρόσεστίν οἱ καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ἐπηρτημένου λίθου δεῖμα.
And under this jar is Tantalus, having also other painful sufferings such as Homer has made for him, and in addition to them there is also present to him the terror of the stone hanging over him.
Πολύγνωτος μὲν δῆλός ἐστιν ἐπακολουθήσας τῷ Ἀρχιλόχου λόγῳ· Ἀρχίλοχος δὲ οὐκ οἶδα εἴτε ἐδιδάχθη παρὰ ἄλλων τὰ ἐς τὸν λίθον εἴτε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐς τὴν ποίησιν ἐσηνέγκατο.
Polygnotus is clearly following the account of Archilochus; but as for Archilochus, I do not know whether he was taught the details about the stone by others, or whether he himself introduced it into his poetry.
τοσαύτη μὲν πλῆθος καὶ εὐπρεπείας ἐς τοσοῦτόν ἐστιν ἥκουσα ἡ τοῦ Θασίου γραφή·
Such in quantity and having reached such a degree of beauty is the painting of the Thasian.

Notes

  1. 10.31.7τὰ ἔθνη πάντα ὅσα ᾤκει μεταξὺ ὑποχείρια πεποιημένος — The participle `πεποιημένος` is a perfect middle participle modifying `ὁ Μέμνων`, the subject of the main clause, representing an action completed prior to his arrival at Ilium. In the relative clause, the verb `ᾤκει` (imperfect 3rd singular of `οἰκέω`) agrees with the neuter plural subject `ὅσα`, and `μεταξύ` functions as an adverb meaning 'in between'.
  2. 10.31.8ἐοικέναι τὸν Πάριν φήσεις τῷ ψόφῳ τῶν χειρῶν Πενθεσίλειαν παρʼ αὑτὸν καλοῦντι — The main verb `φήσεις` governs the accusative with infinitive construction `τὸν Πάριν ἐοικέναι`. The perfect infinitive `ἐοικέναι` takes the dative participle `καλοῦντι` as its complement ('Paris resembles one calling...'). `τῷ ψόφῳ τῶν χειρῶν` is a dative of means modifying `καλοῦντι`.
  3. 10.31.10ἐδήλωσε δέ μοι τὰ πρότερα τοῦ λόγου φάναι τοὺς Ἀρκάδας Νομίαν εἶναι ἐπιχώριον νύμφην — The subject `τὰ πρότερα τοῦ λόγου` (the former parts of my account) governs the infinitive `φάναι` (to say/declare), which in turn governs the accusative with infinitive clause `τοὺς Ἀρκάδας ... εἶναι ...` (that the Arcadians say that Nomia is a local nymph).
  4. 10.31.11τῇ δὲ γραῒ κατεᾶχθαι τὴν ὑδρίαν εἰκάσεις — The main verb `εἰκάσεις` governs the accusative with infinitive construction `τὴν ὑδρίαν κατεᾶχθαι`. `κατεᾶχθαι` is the perfect passive infinitive of `κατάγνυμι`. `τῇ γραῒ` is a dative of reference (or possession) indicating that this state of affairs belongs to the old woman.
  5. 10.31.12τοσαύτη μὲν πλῆθος καὶ εὐπρεπείας ἐς τοσοῦτόν ἐστιν ἥκουσα ἡ τοῦ Θασίου γραφή — The adjective `τοσαύτη` agrees with the subject `ἡ τοῦ Θασίου γραφή`, accompanied by `πλῆθος` as an accusative of respect. The genitive `εὐπρεπείας` depends on `ἐς τοσοῦτον ἥκουσα` (having reached such a point of...). This structure parallelly displays two attributes of the painting (its scale and its beauty) using different grammatical relations.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §10.31.7-10.31.12. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.31.7-10.31.12

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