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Pausanias · Description of Greece §5.14.6-5.14.10

The Altars of Gods and Heroes at Olympia

Passage 204 of 465 · Greek

Summary

The author describes the locations and origins of various altars of gods and heroes in Olympia, explaining that the narrative follows the order of the Elean sacrifices rather than their spatial placement.

§5.14.6μετὰ δὲ τοὺς κατειλεγμένους Ἀλφειῷ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι θύουσιν ἐπὶ ἑνὸς βωμοῦ· τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τούτου παρεδήλωσε μέν που καὶ Πίνδαρος ἐν ᾠδῇ, γράφομεν δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τοῖς Λετριναίοις.
After the listed ones, they sacrifice to Alpheius and Artemis upon one altar; and the cause of this Pindar too has shown in an ode, and we also write of it in our Letrinian accounts.
τούτου δὲ οὐ πόρρω καὶ ἄλλος τῷ Ἀλφειῷ βωμὸς πεποίηται, παρὰ δὲ αὐτόν ἐστιν Ἡφαίστου· τοῦ δὲ Ἡφαίστου τὸν βωμόν εἰσιν Ἠλείων οἳ ὀνομάζουσιν Ἀρείου Διός· λέγουσι δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι καὶ ὡς Οἰνόμαος ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ τούτου θύοι τῷ Ἀρείῳ Διί, ὁπότε τῶν Ἱπποδαμείας μνηστήρων καθίστασθαι μέλλοι τινὶ ἐς ἵππων ἅμιλλαν.
Not far from this, another altar to Alpheius has been made, and next to it is that of Hephaestus; of this altar of Hephaestus there are some of the Eleans who call it that of Areius Zeus, and these same people say also that Oenomaus used to sacrifice on this altar to Areius Zeus whenever he was about to engage with one of the suitors of Hippodameia in a chariot race.
§5.14.7μετὰ τοῦτον πεποίηται μὲν Ἡρακλεῖ βωμὸς ἐπίκλησιν Παραστάτῃ, πεποίηται δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς Ἐπιμήδει καὶ Ἴδᾳ καὶ Παιωναίῳ τε καὶ Ἰάσῳ· τὸν δὲ τοῦ Ἴδα βωμὸν Ἀκεσίδα ὑπὸ ἑτέρων οἶδα καλούμενον.
After this, an altar has been made to Heracles surnamed Parastates, and one has also been made for the brothers of Heracles, Epimedes, Idas, Paeonaeus, and Iasus; and the altar of Idas I know to be called Acesidas by others.
ἔνθα δὲ τῆς οἰκίας τὰ θεμέλιά ἐστι τῆς Οἰνομάου, δύο ἐνταῦθά εἰσι βωμοί, Διός τε Ἑρκείου —τοῦτον ὁ Οἰνόμαος ἐφαίνετο αὐτὸς οἰκοδομήσασθαι —, τῷ δὲ Κεραυνίῳ Διὶ ὕστερον ἐποιήσαντο ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν βωμόν, ὅτʼ ἐς τοῦ Οἰνομάου τὴν οἰκίαν κατέσκηψεν ὁ κεραυνός.
Where the foundations of the house of Oenomaus are, there are two altars here: one of Zeus Herceius—which Oenomaus himself seemed to have built—and to Ceraunian Zeus they made an altar later, in my opinion, when the lightning struck into the house of Oenomaus.
§5.14.8τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν μέγαν βωμὸν ὀλίγῳ μέν τι ἡμῖν πρότερόν ἐστιν εἰρημένα, καλεῖται δὲ Ὀλυμπίου Διός· πρὸς αὐτῷ δέ ἐστιν Ἀγνώστων θεῶν βωμὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Καθαρσίου Διὸς καὶ Νίκης καὶ αὖθις Διὸς ἐπωνυμίαν Χθονίου.
The things concerning the great altar have been spoken of by us a little earlier, and it is called that of Olympian Zeus; and near it is an altar of the Unknown Gods, and after this of Purifying Zeus and of Nike, and again of Zeus surnamed Chthonius.
εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ θεῶν πάντων βωμοὶ καὶ Ἥρας ἐπίκλησιν Ὀλυμπίας, πεποιημένος τέφρας καὶ οὗτος· Κλυμένου δέ φασιν αὐτὸν ἀνάθημα εἶναι.
And there are also altars of all the gods and of Hera surnamed Olympia, this too being made of ash; and they say it is an offering of Clymenus.
μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ἑρμοῦ βωμός ἐστιν ἐν κοινῷ, διότι Ἑρμῆν λύρας, Ἀπόλλωνα δὲ εὑρέτην εἶναι κιθάρας Ἑλλήνων ἐστὶν ἐς αὐτοὺς λόγος.
And after this there is an altar of Apollo and Hermes in common, because there is a story among the Greeks concerning them that Hermes was the inventor of the lyre, and Apollo of the cithara.
§5.14.9ἐφεξῆς δὲ Ὁμονοίας βωμὸς καὶ αὖθις Ἀθηνᾶς, ὁ δὲ Μητρὸς θεῶν.
Next is an altar of Concord, and again of Athena, and that of the Mother of the Gods.
τῆς ἐσόδου δὲ τῆς ἐς τὸ στάδιόν εἰσιν ἐγγύτατα βωμοὶ δύο· τὸν μὲν αὐτῶν Ἑρμοῦ καλοῦσιν Ἐναγωνίου, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον Καιροῦ.
Nearest to the entrance to the stadium there are two altars: one of them they call that of Hermes Enagonius, and the other that of Kairos.
Ἴωνι δὲ οἶδα τῷ Χίῳ καὶ ὕμνον πεποιημένον Καιροῦ· γενεαλογεῖ δὲ ἐν τῷ ὕμνῳ νεώτατον παίδων Διὸς Καιρὸν εἶναι.
And I know that a hymn to Kairos has been composed also by Ion of Chios; and he genealogizes in the hymn that Kairos is the youngest of the children of Zeus.
πλησίον δὲ τοῦ Σικυωνίων θησαυροῦ ἤτοι Κουρήτων ἢ τοῦ Ἀλκμήνης ἐστὶν Ἡρακλέους· λέγεται γὰρ καὶ ἀμφότερα.
Near the treasury of the Sicyonians is an altar either of the Curetes or of Heracles the son of Alcmene; for both are said.
§5.14.10ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ Γαίῳ καλουμένῳ, βωμός ἐστιν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ Γῆς, τέφρας καὶ οὗτος· τὰ δὲ ἔτι ἀρχαιότερα καὶ μαντεῖον τῆς Γῆς αὐτόθι εἶναι λέγουσιν.
And on the so-called Gaeus, there is on it an altar of Ge, this too being of ash; and in still older times they say there was also an oracle of Ge there.
ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ὀνομαζομένου Στομίου Θέμιδι ὁ βωμὸς πεποίηται.
And on the so-called Stomium, the altar to Themis has been made.
τοῦ δὲ Καταιβάτου Διὸς προβέβληται μὲν πανταχόθεν πρὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ φράγμα, ἔστι δὲ πρὸς τῷ βωμῷ τῷ ἀπὸ τῆς τέφρας τῷ μεγάλῳ.
And for Zeus Catabaetes, a fence is put forward from all sides in front of the altar, and it is near the great altar made of ash.
μεμνήσθω δέ τις οὐ κατὰ στοῖχον τῆς ἱδρύσεως ἀριθμουμένους τοὺς βωμούς, τῇ δὲ τάξει τῇ Ἠλείων ἐς τὰς θυσίας συμπερινοστοῦντα ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον.
And let one remember that the altars are not enumerated according to the order of their placement, but that our account goes around with them according to the order of the Eleans for the sacrifices.
πρὸς δὲ τῷ τεμένει τοῦ Πέλοπος Διονύσου μὲν καὶ Χαρίτων ἐν κοινῷ, μεταξὺ δὲ αὐτῶν Μουσῶν καὶ ἐφεξῆς τούτων Νυμφῶν ἐστι βωμός.
And near the precinct of Pelops there is an altar of Dionysus and the Graces in common, and between them of the Muses, and next to these of the Nymphs.

Notes

  1. §5.14.6εἰσὶν Ἠλείων οἳ ὀνομάζουσιν — Ἠλείων (of the Eleans) is a partitive genitive qualifying the head of the relative clause (οἳ ὀνομάζουσιν). The phrase εἰσὶν οἵ functions as an equivalent to "some".
  2. §5.14.8Ἑλλήνων ἐστὶν ἐς αὐτοὺς λόγος — An accusative and infinitive construction. Ἑλλήνων is a genitive of subject, with λόγος (story, report) acting as the leading noun. The accusative subjects Ἑρμῆν and Ἀπόλλωνα and the infinitive εἶναι form the content of this report.
  3. §5.14.10μεμνήσθω δέ τις — The verb μέμνημαι (to remember), expressing intellectual recognition, takes a supplementary participle. Here, under the third-person singular perfect imperative μεμνήσθω with the indefinite subject τις (one/the reader), two participial clauses in contrast, ἀριθμουμένους and συμπερινοστοῦντα, are coordinated.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §5.14.6-5.14.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.14.6-5.14.10

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