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Pausanias · Description of Greece §10.32.1-10.32.7

The Delphi Stadium and the Corycian Cave

Passage 455 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Describes the stadium at Delphi and several notable caves in Greece, including the Corycian cave on Mount Parnassus.

§10.32.1τοῦ περιβόλου δὲ τοῦ ἱεροῦ θέατρον ἔχεται θέας ἄξιον, ἐπαναβάντι δὲ ἐκ τοῦ περιβόλου Διονύσου δὲ ἄγαλμα ἐνταῦθα Κνιδίων ἐστὶν ἀνάθημα.
Adjoining the enclosure of the sanctuary is a theater worth seeing, and for one who goes up from the enclosure, there is a statue of Dionysus, a dedicated offering of the Knidians.
στάδιον δέ σφισιν ἀνωτάτω τῆς πόλεως τοῦτό ἐστιν· ἐπεποίητο δὲ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας ὁποῖαι περὶ τὸν Παρνασσόν εἰσιν αἱ πολλαί, ἄχρις Ἀθηναῖος Ἡρώδης λίθῳ τῷ Πεντελῆσιν αὐτὸ μετεκόσμησεν.
They also have this stadium at the highest part of the city; it had been made of the kind of stone of which there is plenty around Parnassus, until Herodes the Athenian remodeled it with Pentelic marble.
τὰ μὲν δὴ ἀνήκοντα ἐς συγγραφὴν τοσαῦτά τε καὶ τοιαῦτα κατʼ ἐμὲ ἦν τὰ λειπόμενα ἐν Δελφοῖς·
Now the things remaining in Delphi that belong to my history were so many and of such a kind in my time.
§10.32.2ἰόντι δὲ ἐκ Δελφῶν ἐπὶ τὰ ἄκρα τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ, σταδίοις μὲν ὅσον ἑξήκοντα ἀπωτέρω Δελφῶν ἐστιν ἄγαλμα χαλκοῦν, καὶ ῥᾴων εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρὶ ἢ ἡμιόνοις τε καὶ ἵπποις ἐπὶ τὸ ἄντρον ἐστὶν ἄνοδος τὸ Κωρύκιον.
For one going from Delphi to the peaks of Parnassus, at a distance of about sixty stades from Delphi there is a bronze statue, and the ascent to the Corycian cave is easier for an active man than for mules and horses.
τούτῳ δὲ τῷ ἄντρῳ γενέσθαι τὸ ὄνομα ἀπὸ νύμφης Κωρυκίας ἐδήλωσα ὀλίγον τι ἔμπροσθεν· σπηλαίων δὲ ὧν εἶδον θέας ἄξιον μάλιστα ἐφαίνετο εἶναί μοι.
That this cave received its name from the nymph Corycia I showed a little earlier; and of the caves I have seen, it appeared to me to be the most worth seeing.
§10.32.3ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἐπί τε αἰγιαλοῖς καὶ ἀγχιβαθεῖ τῇ θαλάσσῃ, τούτων μὲν οὐδὲ ἀριθμὸν ἄν τις ἐθέλων ἐξεύροι, ὀνομαστότατα δὲ ἔν τε Ἕλλησι καὶ ἐν γῇ τῇ βαρβάρων ἐστί· Φρύγες οἱ ἐπὶ ποταμῷ Πεγκέλᾳ, τὰ δὲ ἄνωθεν ἐξ Ἀρκαδίας καὶ Ἀζάνων ἐς ταύτην ἀφικόμενοι τὴν χώραν, δεικνύουσιν ἄντρον καλούμενον Στεῦνος περιφερές τε καὶ ὕψους ἔχον εὐπρεπῶς· Μητρὸς δέ ἐστιν ἱερόν, καὶ ἄγαλμα Μητρὸς πεποίηται.
For as for those caves along the coasts and by the deep sea, no one, even if he wished, could find their number; but the most famous among the Greeks and in the land of the barbarians are these: the Phrygians who live on the river Penkelas, having come to this land originally from Arcadia and the Azanes, point out a cave called Steunos, which is circular and of a handsome height; it is a sanctuary of the Mother, and a statue of the Mother has been made in it.
§10.32.4Θεμισώνιον δὲ τὸ ὑπὲρ Λαοδικείας Φρύγες μὲν καὶ τοῦτο οἰκοῦσιν· ὅτε δὲ ὁ Γαλατῶν στρατὸς ἔφερε καὶ ἦγεν Ἰωνίαν καὶ Ἰωνίας τὰ ὅμορα, οἱ Θεμισωνεῖς φασιν αὑτοῖς Ἡρακλέα βοηθὸν καὶ Ἀπόλλωνα γενέσθαι καὶ Ἑρμῆν· τούτους γὰρ τοῖς τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχουσιν ἄντρον τε διʼ ὀνειράτων δεῖξαι καὶ ἀποκρυφθῆναι Θεμισωνεῦσι καὶ γυναιξὶν αὐτῶν καὶ παισὶν ἐς τοῦτο προστάξαι τὸ ἄντρον.
Themisonium, which is above Laodicea, is also inhabited by Phrygians; and when the army of the Galatians was plundering and ravaging Ionia and the borders of Ionia, the Themisonians say that Heracles, Apollo, and Hermes became their helpers; for these gods showed them a cave through dreams to those in authority, and commanded the Themisonians, with their wives and children, to hide themselves in this cave.
§10.32.5καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ πρὸ τοῦ σπηλαίου σφίσιν ἀγάλματα οὐ μεγάλα ἐστὶν Ἡρακλέους καὶ Ἑρμοῦ τε καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος, Σπηλαῗται καλούμενοι· τὸ δὲ ἀπέχει ὅσον τριάκοντα τοῦ ἄστεως σταδίους, ὕδατος δέ εἰσιν ἐν αὐτῷ πηγαί· οὔτε δὲ ἔσοδος ἐς αὐτὸ φέρει οὔτε ἐπὶ πολὺ ἡ αὐγὴ δίεισι τοῦ ἡλίου, τοῦ τε ὀρόφου τὰ πλείονα ἐγγυτάτω τοῦ ἐδάφους γίνεται.
And because of this, they have before the cave not very large statues of Heracles, Hermes, and Apollo, called the Cave-dwellers; and it is distant about thirty stades from the city, and there are springs of water in it; but no path leads straight into it, nor does the light of the sun penetrate very far, and most of the roof is very close to the floor.
§10.32.6ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ ποταμῷ Ληθαίῳ Μάγνησιν Αὐλαὶ καλούμενον χωρίον· ἐνταῦθα Ἀπόλλωνι ἀνεῖται σπήλαιον, μεγέθους μὲν εἵνεκα οὐ πολλοῦ θαύματος, τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τὰ μάλιστα ἀρχαῖον καὶ ἰσχὺν ἐπὶ ἔργῳ παρέχεται παντί· καὶ αὐτῷ ἄνδρες ἱεροὶ κατὰ κρημνῶν τε ἀποτόμων καὶ πετρῶν πηδῶσιν ὑψηλῶν καὶ ὑπερμήκη δένδρα ἐριπόντες ἐκ ῥιζῶν κατὰ τὰ στενώτατα τῶν ἀτραπῶν ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἄχθεσιν ὁδεύουσι.
There is also a place called Aulae for the Magnesians who live on the river Lethaeus; there a cave is dedicated to Apollo, not of much wonder on account of its size, but the statue of Apollo is extremely ancient, and provides strength for every work; and in his honor, holy men leap down from abrupt cliffs and high rocks, and having torn up very tall trees by the roots, they march along the narrowest of the paths together with their burdens.
§10.32.7τὸ δὲ ἄντρον τὸ Κωρύκιον μεγέθει τε ὑπερβάλλει τὰ εἰρημένα καὶ ἔστιν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὁδεῦσαι διʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄνευ λαμπτήρων· ὅ τε ὄροφος ἐς αὔταρκες ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἀνέστηκε, καὶ ὕδωρ τὸ μὲν ἀνερχόμενον ἐκ πηγῶν, πλέον δὲ ἔτι ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀρόφου στάζει, ὥστε καὶ δῆλα ἐν τῷ ἐδάφει σταλαγμῶν τὰ ἴχνη διὰ παντός ἐστι τοῦ ἄντρου.
The Corycian cave surpasses in size those mentioned above, and it is possible to travel through most of it even without torches; the roof rises to a sufficient height from the floor, and water, partly rising from springs but even more dripping from the roof, so that the traces of the drops are clear on the floor throughout the entire cave.
ἱερὸν δὲ αὐτὸ οἱ περὶ τὸν Παρνασσὸν Κωρυκίων τε εἶναι Νυμφῶν καὶ Πανὸς μάλιστα ἥγηνται.
And those around Parnassus hold it to be sacred especially to the Corycian Nymphs and to Pan.
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Κωρυκίου χαλεπὸν ἤδη καὶ ἀνδρὶ εὐζώνῳ πρὸς τὰ ἄκρα ἀφικέσθαι τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ· τὰ δὲ νεφῶν τέ ἐστιν ἀνωτέρω τὰ ἄκρα καὶ αἱ Θυιάδες ἐπὶ τούτοις τῷ Διονύσῳ καὶ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι μαίνονται.
From the Corycian cave it is already difficult, even for an active man, to reach the peaks of Parnassus; for the peaks are higher than the clouds, and upon them the Thyiades rave for Dionysus and Apollo.

Notes

  1. 10.32.1ἐπαναβάντι — Dative participle meaning "for one going up." It is used as a dative of reference or judgment, a typical construction in travel writing and itineraries to indicate the direction of movement.
  2. 10.32.2ῥᾴων — A comparative adjective in the nominative feminine singular, agreeing in gender, number, and case with the subject noun `ἄνοδος` ("ascent", a feminine noun). It forms a comparative construction: "easier for an active man (`εὐζώνῳ ἀνδρὶ`) than for mules and horses (`ἡμιόνοις τε καὶ ἵπποις`)."
  3. 10.32.4τούτους — The subject accusative of the accusative-and-infinitive (A.C.I.) construction governed by the preceding verb `φασιν` ("they say"). `τούτους` (these gods, i.e., Heracles, Apollo, and Hermes) acts as the subject, with the subsequent `δεῖξαι` ("to show") and `προστάξαι` ("to command") functioning as the infinitives.
  4. 10.32.5τοῦ ἄστεως — Genitive of separation or reference indicating the starting point of distance, modifying the accusative of distance `σταδίους`. It expresses spatial separation: "distant [about thirty stades] from the city (`τοῦ ἄστεως`)."

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §10.32.1-10.32.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.32.1-10.32.7

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