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Pausanias · Description of Greece §2.30.6-2.30.10

Dispute of the Gods and Early Kings of Troezen

Passage 90 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the legendary history of Troezen, including the dispute between Athena and Poseidon, the reign of King Saron, the founding and consolidation of the cities, and its eventual relation with Argos.

§2.30.6ἐπὶ τούτου βασιλεύοντος Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ Ποσειδῶνα ἀμφισβητῆσαι λέγουσι περὶ τῆς χώρας, ἀμφισβητήσαντας δὲ ἔχειν ἐν κοινῷ· προστάξαι γὰρ οὕτω Δία σφίσι.
They say that when he was reigning, Athena and Poseidon disputed about the land, and having disputed, they held it in common; for Zeus so commanded them.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Ἀθηνᾶν τε σέβουσι Πολιάδα καὶ Σθενιάδα ὀνομάζοντες τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ Ποσειδῶνα Βασιλέα ἐπίκλησιν· καὶ δὴ καὶ νόμισμα αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐπίσημα ἔχει τρίαιναν καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς πρόσωπον.
And because of this, they worship both Athena, calling the same goddess Polias and Sthenias, and Poseidon under the surname of King; and indeed, their ancient coinage has as an emblem a trident and the face of Athena.
§2.30.7μετὰ δὲ Ἄλθηπον Σάρων ἐβασίλευσεν.
After Althepus, Saron reigned.
ἔλεγον δὲ ὅτι οὗτος τῇ Σαρωνίδι τὸ ἱερὸν Ἀρτέμιδι ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ τελματώδει καὶ ἐπιπολῆς μᾶλλον, ὥστε καὶ Φοιβαία λίμνη διὰ τοῦτο ἐκαλεῖτο.
And they said that this man built the sanctuary for Saronian Artemis by a sea that was marshy and rather shallow, so that it was also called the Phoebaean lagoon because of this.
Σάρωνα δὲ—θηρεύειν γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα ᾕρητο—κατέλαβεν ἔλαφον διώκοντα ἐς θάλασσαν συνεσπεσεῖν φευγούσῃ·
But Saron—for indeed he had especially chosen to hunt—it befell him while pursuing a doe that he fell into the sea along with it as it fled.
καὶ ἥ τε ἔλαφος ἐνήχετο ἀπωτέρω τῆς γῆς καὶ ὁ Σάρων εἴχετο τῆς ἄγρας, ἐς ὃ ὑπὸ προθυμίας ἀφίκετο ἐς τὸ πέλαγος· ἤδη δὲ κάμνοντα αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν κυμάτων κατακλυζόμενον ἐπέλαβε τὸ χρεών.
And the doe swam further from the land, and Saron kept close to his prey, until by his eagerness he reached the open sea; but when he was already exhausted and being overwhelmed by the waves, his fate overtook him.
ἐκπεσόντα δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν κατὰ τὴν· Φοιβαίαν λίμνην ἐς τὸ ἄλσος τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἐντὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ περιβόλου θάπτουσι, καὶ λίμνην ἀπὸ τούτου Σαρωνίδα τὴν ταύτῃ θάλασσαν καλοῦσιν ἀντὶ Φοιβαίας.
And they bury his body, which was washed ashore by the Phoebaean lagoon, in the grove of Artemis within the sacred enclosure, and after him they call the sea in this part the Saronis Gulf instead of Phoebaean.
§2.30.8τοὺς δὲ ὕστερον βασιλεύσαντας οὐκ ἴσασιν ἄχρι Ὑπέρητος καὶ Ἄνθα· τούτους δὲ εἶναι Ποσειδῶνος καὶ Ἀλκυόνης Ἄτλαντος θυγατρός, καὶ πόλεις αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ φασὶν Ὑπέρειάν τε καὶ Ἄνθειαν οἰκίσαι· Ἀέτιον δὲ τὸν Ἄνθα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ θείου παραλαβόντα τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν ἑτέραν τῶν πόλεων Ποσειδωνιάδα ὀνομάσαι.
Those who reigned afterwards they do not know, down to Hyperes and Anthas; and these they say were the sons of Poseidon and Alcyone, the daughter of Atlas, and they say that they founded cities in the land, Hyperea and Anthea; and Aetius, the son of Anthas, inheriting the rule from his father and his uncle, named one of the cities Poseidonia.
Τροίζηνος δὲ καὶ Πιτθέως παρὰ Ἀέτιον ἐλθόντων βασιλεῖς μὲν τρεῖς ἀντὶ ἑνὸς ἐγένοντο, ἴσχυον δὲ οἱ παῖδες μᾶλλον οἱ Πέλοπος.
But when Troezen and Pittheus came to Aetius, there came to be three kings instead of one, but the sons of Pelops held more power.
§2.30.9σημεῖον δέ· ἀποθανόντος γὰρ Τροίζηνος Πιτθεὺς ἐς τὴν νῦν πόλιν συναγαγὼν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὠνόμασεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Τροίζηνα, συλλαβὼν Ὑπέρειάν τε καὶ Ἄνθειαν.
And here is the proof: for when Troezen died, Pittheus, having gathered the people into the present city, named it Troezen after his brother, combining Hyperea and Anthea.
πολλοῖς δὲ ἔτεσιν ὕστερον ἐς ἀποικίαν ἐκ Τροιζῆνος σταλέντες Ἁλικαρνασσὸν ἐν τῇ Καρίᾳ καὶ Μύνδον ἀπῴκισαν οἱ γεγονότες ἀπʼ Ἀετίου τοῦ Ἄνθα.
And many years later, those descended from Aetius, the son of Anthas, sent out on a colony from Troezen, colonized Halicarnassus in Caria and Myndus.
Τροίζηνος δὲ οἱ παῖδες Ἀνάφλυστος καὶ Σφῆττος μετοικοῦσιν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικήν, καὶ οἱ δῆμοι τὰ ὀνόματα ἔχουσιν ἀπὸ τούτων.
And the sons of Troezen, Anaphlystus and Sphettus, migrated to Attica, and the demes have their names from them.
τὰ δὲ ἐς Θησέα θυγατριδοῦν Πιτθέως εἰδόσι τὰ ἐς αὐτὸν οὐ γράφω, δεῖ δέ με τοσόνδε ἔτι δηλῶσαι.
As for the stories about Theseus, the grandson of Pittheus, I do not write them since people already know them, but I must still make this much clear.
§2.30.10Ἡρακλειδῶν γὰρ κατελθόντων ἐδέξαντο καὶ οἱ Τροιζήνιοι συνοίκους Δωριέων τῶν ἐξ Ἄργους καὶ πρότερον ἔτι Ἀργείων ὄντες κατήκοοι· καὶ σφᾶς καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐν καταλόγῳ φησὶν ὑπὸ Διομήδους ἄρχεσθαι.
For when the Heracleidae returned, the Troezenians also received as co-inhabitants some of the Dorians from Argos, having been subjects of the Argives even before that; and Homer also in the Catalogue says that they were ruled by Diomedes.
Διομήδης γὰρ καὶ Εὐρύαλος ὁ Μηκιστέως Κυάνιππον τὸν Αἰγιαλέως παῖδα ὄντα ἐπιτροπεύοντες Ἀργείων ἡγήσαντο ἐς Τροίαν.
For Diomedes and Euryalus, the son of Mecisteus, acting as guardians of Cyanippus, the son of Aegialeus, led the Argives to Troy.
Σθένελος δέ, ὡς ἐδήλωσα ἐν τοῖς πρότερον, οἰκίας τε ἦν ἐπιφανεστέρας, τῶν Ἀναξαγοριδῶν καλουμένων, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τούτῳ μάλιστα ἦν ἡ Ἀργείων προσήκουσα.
But Sthenelus, as I showed in the earlier parts, was of a more illustrious house, called the Anaxagoridae, and the kingship of the Argives belonged especially to him.
τοσαῦτα Τροιζηνίοις ἐχόμενα ἱστορίας ἦν, παρὲξ ἢ ὅσαι πόλεις παρʼ αὐτῶν φασιν ἀποικισθῆναι· κατασκευὴν δὲ ἱερῶν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐς ἐπίδειξιν, τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἐπέξειμι.
This was all the history concerning the Troezenians, except for all the cities they say were colonized from them; and as for the building of temples and whatever else there is for display, I will proceed to describe them from this point on.

Notes

  1. 2.30.6προστάξαι — The infinitive `προστάξαι` is part of the indirect discourse depending on the verb `λέγουσι` (they say) from the preceding sentence, taking the accusative `Δία` (Zeus) as its subject.
  2. 2.30.7κατέλαβεν — The verb `κατέλαβεν` is used with the accusative `Σάρωνα` and the infinitive `συνεσπεσεῖν` in an impersonal construction meaning 'it befell someone,' resulting in 'it befell Saron to fall into the sea along with...'
  3. 2.30.8οἱ παῖδες μᾶλλον οἱ Πέλοπος — This nominative phrase refers back to Troezen and Pittheus mentioned in the preceding genitive absolute `Τροίζηνος δὲ καὶ Πιτθέως ... ἐλθόντων`, emphasizing that as the sons of Pelops, they held greater practical power than Aetius.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §2.30.6-2.30.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.30.6-2.30.10

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