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Pausanias · Description of Greece §10.36.1-10.36.10

Geography and Sites of Ambrossus and Anticyra

Passage 462 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the road from Stiris to Ambrossus and its local plant 'coccus', noting the double wall built by the Thebans. He then guides the reader on the road to Anticyra, its history, the local hellebore, and attractions such as the temple of Poseidon and other sites.

§10.36.1ἐς δὲ Ἄμβροσσον στάδιοι περὶ ἑξήκοντά εἰσιν ἐκ Στίρεως·
From Stiris to Ambrossus is about sixty stades; the road is flat, a plain lying in the midst of mountains.
πεδιὰς ἡ ὁδός, ὀρῶν ἐν μέσῳ πεδίον κείμενον. ἄμπελοι δὲ τὸ πολύ εἰσι τοῦ πεδίου, καὶ ἐν γῇ τῇ Ἀμβροσσέων οὐ συνεχεῖς μὲν ὥσπερ αἱ ἄμπελοι, πεφύκασι μέντοι καὶ αἱ θάμνοι· τὴν δὲ θάμνον ταύτην Ἴωνες μὲν καὶ τὸ ἄλλο Ἑλληνικὸν κόκκον, Γαλάται δὲ οἱ ὑπὲρ Φρυγίας φωνῇ τῇ ἐπιχωρίῳ σφίσιν ὀνομάζουσιν ὗς.
Vines occupy the greater part of the plain, and in the land of the Ambrossians there also grow shrubs, though not continuously like the vines; this shrub the Ionians and the rest of the Greeks call coccus, but the Galatians above Phrygia name it hys in their native tongue.
γίνεται δὲ αὕτη μέγεθος μὲν ἡ κόκκος κατὰ τὴν ῥάμνον καλουμένην, φύλλα δὲ μελάντερα μὲν καὶ μαλακώτερα ἢ ἡ σχῖνος, τὰ μέντοι ἄλλα ἐοικότα ἔχει τῇ σχίνῳ.
This coccus grows to the size of the shrub called rhamnus; its leaves are darker and softer than those of the mastic tree, but in other respects it resembles the mastic.
§10.36.2ὁ δὲ αὐτῆς καρπὸς ὅμοιος τῷ καρπῷ τῆς στρύχνου, μέγεθος δέ ἐστι κατὰ ὄροβον.
Its fruit is like the fruit of the nightshade, and in size it is about that of a bitter vetch.
γίνεται δέ τι ἐν τῷ καρπῷ τῆς κόκκου βραχὺ ζῷον· τοῦτο εἰ ἀφίκοιτο ἐς τὸν ἀέρα πεπανθέντος τοῦ καρποῦ, πέτεταί τε αὐτίκα καὶ ἐοικὸς κώνωπι φαίνοιτο ἄν·
There breeds in the fruit of the coccus a small insect; if this should reach the air when the fruit is ripe, it flies away at once and would look like a gnat.
νῦν δὲ πρότερον, πρὶν ἢ τὸ ζῷον κινηθῆναι, συλλέγουσι τῆς κόκκου τὸν καρπόν, καὶ ἔστι τοῖς ἐρίοις ἡ βαφὴ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ζῴου.
But as it is, before the insect stirs, they gather the fruit of the coccus, and the blood of the insect serves as a dye for wool.
§10.36.3ἡ δὲ Ἄμβροσσος κεῖται μὲν ὑπὸ τὸ ὄρος τὸν Παρνασσόν, τὰ ἐπέκεινα δὲ ἢ Δελφοί· τεθῆναι δὲ τὸ ὄνομα τῇ πόλει ἀπὸ ἥρωός φασιν Ἀμβρόσσου.
Ambrossus lies under Mount Parnassus, and on the other side of it is Delphi; they say the city got its name from a hero Ambrossus.
Θηβαῖοι δὲ ἐς τὸν Μακεδόνων καὶ Φιλίππου καθιστάμενοι πόλεμον περιέβαλον τῇ Ἀμβρόσσῳ διπλοῦν τεῖχος·
The Thebans, when entering upon the war against the Macedonians and Philip, surrounded Ambrossus with a double wall.
τὸ δέ ἐστιν ἐπιχωρίου λίθου, χρόαν μέλανος, ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἰσχυροῦ·
It is made of local stone, black in color and extremely strong.
κύκλος δὲ ἑκάτερος τοῦ τείχους πλάτος μὲν ἀποδέων ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὀργυιᾶς, τὸ δὲ ὕψος ἐς ἡμίσειάν τε καὶ δύο ὀργυιάς, ὅπου μὴ τὸ τεῖχος πεπόνηκε·
Each circle of the wall is in width a little less than a fathom, and the height is two fathoms and a half, where the wall has not suffered damage.
§10.36.4διάστημα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ προτέρου τῶν κύκλων ἐπὶ τὸν δεύτερόν ἐστιν ὀργυιά·
The distance from the outer circle to the second is a fathom.
κατασκευὴ δὲ πύργων ἢ ἐπάλξεων ἢ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐς εὐπρέπειαν τείχους, παρεῖται τὰ πάντα σφίσιν ἅτε τειχίζουσιν ἐπὶ μόνῳ τῷ αὐτίκα ἀμύνεσθαι.
The construction of towers or battlements, or anything else for the embellishment of a wall, was entirely omitted by them, as they were building the wall solely for immediate defense.
ἔστι δὲ ἀγορά τε Ἀμβροσσεῦσιν οὐ μεγάλη καὶ ἀνδριάντων ἐν αὐτῇ λίθου πεποιημένων κατεάγασιν οἱ πολλοί.
The Ambrossians have a marketplace of no great size, and most of the stone statues in it are broken.
§10.36.5τραπέντι δὲ ἐπὶ Ἀντίκυραν ἀνάντης τὰ πρῶτά ἐστιν ὁδός·
For one turning toward Anticyra, the road is at first uphill.
ἀναβάντι δὲ ὅσον δύο στάδια ὁμαλές τε χωρίον καὶ ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ Δικτυνναίας ἐπίκλησιν ἱερόν ἐστιν Ἀρτέμιδος.
When you have ascended about two stades, there is a level place, and on the right of the road is a sanctuary of Artemis surnamed Dictynna.
ταύτην οἱ Ἀμβροσσεῖς ἄγουσι μάλιστα ἐν τιμῇ· τῷ δὲ ἀγάλματι ἐργασία τέ ἐστιν Αἰγιναία καὶ μέλανος τοῦ λίθου πεποίηται.
This goddess the Ambrossians hold in the highest honor; the image is of Aeginetan workmanship and is made of black stone.
τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τῆς Δικτυνναίας κατάντης ὁδὸς ἐς Ἀντίκυραν πᾶσά ἐστι.
The road from the sanctuary of Dictynna to Anticyra is downhill all the way.
τὰ δὲ ἀρχαιότερα ὄνομα εἶναι Κυπάρισσον τῇ πόλει φασί, καὶ Ὅμηρον ἐν Φωκέων καταλόγῳ τὸ ὄνομα θελῆσαι θέσθαι γε αὐτόν, ὅτι ἤδη τηνικαῦτα ἐκαλεῖτο Ἀντίκυρα· εἶναι γὰρ δὴ τὸν Ἀντικυρέα κατὰ Ἡρακλέα ἡλικίαν.
They say that in older times the name of the city was Cyparissus, and that Homer in the list of Phocians chose to put that name, although it was already at that time called Anticyra; for Anticyreus was of the same age as Heracles.
§10.36.6κεῖται μὲν δὴ ἡ πόλις κατὰ Μεδεῶνος τὰ ἐρείπια· ἐδήλωσα δὲ ἀρχομένης τῆς ἐς Φωκέας συγγραφῆς ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀσεβῆσαι τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἀντικυρέας.
The city lies opposite the ruins of Medeon; and I showed at the beginning of my account of Phocis that the Anticyreans committed sacrilege against the sanctuary in Delphi.
Ἀντικυρέας δὲ ἐποίησε μὲν ἀναστάτους καὶ ὁ Ἀμύντου Φίλιππος, ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ δεύτερα Ὀτίλιος ὁ Ῥωμαῖος, ὅτι ἦσαν ὑπήκοοι καὶ οὗτοι Φιλίππου τοῦ Δημητρίου βασιλεύοντος Μακεδόνων· ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν Φίλιππον ἀμύνειν Ἀθηναίοις ὁ Ὀτίλιος ἀπέσταλτο ἐκ Ῥώμης.
The Anticyreans were driven from their homes both by Philip, the son of Amyntas, and for a second time by Otilius the Roman, because they too were subjects of Philip, the son of Demetrius, when he ruled the Macedonians; Otilius had been dispatched from Rome to defend the Athenians against Philip.
§10.36.7τὰ δὲ ὄρη τὰ ὑπὲρ τὴν Ἀντίκυραν πετρώδη τε ἄγαν ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς φύεται μάλιστα ὁ ἐλλέβορος.
The mountains above Anticyra are extremely rocky, and in them hellebore grows in great abundance.
ὁ μὲν αὐτοῦ μέλας χωρεῖ τε ἀνθρώποις καὶ ἔστι γαστρὶ καθάρσιον, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ὁ λευκὸς διʼ ἐμέτου καθαίρειν πέφυκε· τὸ δὲ φάρμακον τὸ ἐς τὴν κάθαρσιν ἡ τοῦ ἐλλεβόρου ῥίζα ἐστίν.
The black variety of it purges the bowels of men, while the other, the white, is of a nature to purge by vomiting; the drug for purging is the root of the hellebore.
§10.36.8Ἀντικυρεῦσι δὲ εἰσὶ μὲν ἀνδριάντες ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ χαλκοῖ, ἔστι δέ σφισιν ἐπὶ τῷ λιμένι Ποσειδῶνος οὐ μέγα ἱερόν, λογάσιν ᾠκοδομημένον λίθοις· κεκονίαται δὲ τὰ ἐντός.
The Anticyreans have bronze statues in their marketplace, and they have at the harbor a sanctuary of Poseidon of no great size, built of selected stones; the inside is plastered.
τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ὀρθὸν χαλκοῦ πεποιημένον, βέβηκε δὲ ἐπὶ δελφῖνι τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῶν ποδῶν· κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ ἔχει καὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τῷ μηρῷ, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ χειρὶ τρίαινά ἐστιν αὐτῷ.
The image is standing and made of bronze, stepping on a dolphin with one of its feet; on this same side it has its hand upon its thigh, and in the other hand is a trident.
§10.36.9τοῦ γυμνασίου δὲ ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ λουτρά σφισι πεποίηται, τούτου πέραν ἄλλο γυμνάσιόν ἐστιν ἀρχαῖον· ἀνδριὰς δὲ ἕστηκεν ἐν αὐτῷ χαλκοῦς· φησὶ δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα Ξενόδαμον παγκρατιαστὴν Ἀντικυρέα ἐν ἀνδράσιν Ὀλυμπικὴν ἀνῃρῆσθαι νίκην.
Beyond the gymnasium in which their baths have been made, there is another ancient gymnasium; a bronze statue stands in it; the inscription upon it says that Xenodamus, a pancratiast from Anticyra, won an Olympic victory among men.
εἰ δὲ ἀληθεύει τὸ ἐπίγραμμα, Ὀλυμπιάδι τῇ πρώτῃ μετὰ δέκα καὶ διακοσίας φαίνοιτο ἂν τὸν κότινον ὁ Ξενόδαμος εἰληφώς· αὕτη δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἠλείων γράμμασι παρεῖται μόνη πασῶν ἡ Ὀλυμπιάς.
If the inscription speaks the truth, Xenodamus would appear to have received the wild-olive crown in the two hundred and eleventh Olympiad; and this Olympiad alone of them all is omitted in the records of the Eleans.
§10.36.10ἔστι δὲ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐν φρέατι ὕδατος πηγή· σκέπη δὲ ἀπὸ ἡλίου τῷ φρέατι ὄροφός τε καὶ ἀνέχοντες τὸν ὄροφον κίονες.
Above the marketplace there is a spring of water in a well; as a shelter from the sun, the well has a roof and pillars supporting the roof.
ἔστι δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἀνωτέρω τοῦ φρέατος λίθοις τοῖς ἐπιτυχοῦσιν ᾠκοδομημένον μνῆμα· ταφῆναι δέ φασιν ἐνταῦθα τοὺς Ἰφίτου παῖδας, τὸν μὲν ἀνασωθέντα ἐξ Ἰλίου καὶ ἀποθανόντα ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ, Σχεδίῳ δὲ ἐν μὲν γῇ τῇ Τρῳάδι τὴν τελευτὴν συμβῆναι λέγουσιν, ἀχθῆναι δὲ οἴκαδε καὶ τούτου τὰ ὀστᾶ.
Not far above the well is a tomb built of ordinary stones; they say that the sons of Iphitus are buried here, one having returned safely from Ilium and died at home, while they say that Schedius met his end in the land of Troy, but his bones also were brought home.

Notes

  1. 10.36.1ὀρῶν ἐν μέσῳ πεδίον κείμενον — The nominative noun with the participle functions as an apposition or absolute construction explaining and supplementing the preceding description.
  2. 10.36.3ἀποδέων ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὀργυιᾶς — The genitive ὀργυιᾶς is a genitive of separation or comparison required by the verb ἀποδέω (to fall short of), indicating the standard of measure (one fathom).
  3. 10.36.4ἅτε τειχίζουσιν — The conjunction ἅτε introduces an objective cause with a participle, here using the dative present participle τειχίζουσιν agreeing with the dative pronoun σφίσιν in the main clause.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §10.36.1-10.36.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.36.1-10.36.10

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