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Pausanias · Description of Greece §5.21.13-5.21.18

The Assault by Apollonius and Zanes from Later Violations

Passage 215 of 465 · Greek

Summary

The author explains how Apollonius was fined for his late arrival, false excuse, and subsequent assault, and further lists instances of statue dedication arising from modern bribery, native Elean corruption (the case of Damonicus), and the flight of Sarapion due to cowardice.

§5.21.13κατεγνώσθη δὲ οὐ δοῦναι χρήματα ἢ λαβεῖν αὐτός, ἀλλὰ τοιόνδε ἄλλο ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐξυβρίσαι.
He was condemned, not because he himself paid or accepted money, but because he committed another such outrage against the games.
ἀφίκετο οὐκ ἐς τὸν εἰρημένον καιρόν, καὶ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Ἠλείων πειθομένων τῷ νόμῳ ἐλείπετο τοῦ ἀγῶνος εἴργεσθαι· τὴν γάρ οἱ πρόφασιν, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Κυκλάσι νήσοις ὑπὸ ἀνέμων κατείχετο ἐναντίων, Ἡρακλείδης γένος καὶ αὐτὸς Ἀλεξανδρεὺς ἤλεγχεν ἀπάτην οὖσαν· ὑστερῆσαι γὰρ χρήματα ἐκ τῶν ἀγώνων αὐτὸν ἐκλέγοντα τῶν ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ.
He did not arrive at the prescribed time, and it remained for him to be excluded from the contest by the Eleans, who obeyed the law; for Heraclides, himself also an Alexandrian by birth, proved that his excuse—that he was held back by contrary winds among the Cyclades islands—was a deception, showing that he was late because he was collecting money from the games in Ionia.
§5.21.14οὕτω δὴ τόν τε Ἀπολλώνιον καὶ εἰ δή τις ἄλλος ἧκεν οὐ κατὰ προθεσμίαν τῶν πυκτῶν, τούτους μὲν οἱ Ἠλεῖοι τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἀπελαύνουσι, τῷ Ἡρακλείδῃ δὲ τὸν στέφανον παριᾶσιν ἀκονιτί·
Thus the Eleans excluded Apollonius and any other of the boxers who had come after the deadline, and they awarded the crown to Heraclides without a contest.
ἐνταῦθα ὁ Ἀπολλώνιος κατεσκευάσατό τε τοῖς ἱμᾶσιν ὡς ἐς μάχην καὶ ἐσδραμὼν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἡρακλείδην ἥπτετο ἐπικειμένου τε ἤδη τὸν κότινον καὶ καταπεφευγότος ἐς τοὺς Ἑλλανοδίκας.
Thereupon Apollonius bound on his boxing-straps as if for a fight, rushed in, and attacked Heraclides, who already had the wild olive crown on his head and had fled to the Hellanodicae for refuge.
τούτῳ μὲν δὴ ἔμελλε τὸ κοῦφον τοῦ νοῦ βλάβος μέγα ἔσεσθαι, ἔστι δὲ καὶ §5.21.15ἄλλα δύο τέχνης τῆς ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἀγάλματα· ἕκτῃ γὰρ ἐπὶ ταῖς εἴκοσι καὶ διακοσίαις Ὀλυμπιάδι πύκτας ἄνδρας, ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς μαχομένους τῆς νίκης, ἐφώρασαν συνθεμένους ὑπὲρ λήμματος.
For this man, indeed, his light-mindedness was bound to bring great damage, and there are also two other statues of the art of our own times; for in the two hundred and twenty-sixth Olympiad they discovered that adult boxers, who were fighting for victory itself, had made an agreement for a bribe.
ἀντὶ τούτων μὲν ἐγένετο ζημία· ποιηθέντων δὲ ἀγαλμάτων Διὸς τὸ μὲν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ τῆς ἐς τὸ στάδιον ἐσόδου, τὸ δὲ ἕτερον αὐτῶν ἕστηκεν ἐν δεξιᾷ.
For these acts a fine was imposed, and of the statues of Zeus that were made, one stands on the left of the entrance to the stadium, and the other of them on the right.
τοῖς δὲ πύκταις τούτοις Δίδας τε ὄνομα ἦν καὶ τῷ τὰ χρήματα δόντι αὐτῶν Σαραπάμμων· νομοῦ δὲ ἦσαν τοῦ αὐτοῦ, νεωτάτου τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καλουμένου δὲ Ἀρσινοΐτου.
The names of these boxers were Didas, and Sarapammon who gave them the money; they were of the same nome, the newest of those in Egypt, called the Arsinoite.
§5.21.16θαῦμα μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄλλως ἐν οὐδενὸς λόγῳ τὸν θεὸν θέσθαι τὸν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ καὶ δέξασθαί τινα ἢ δοῦναι δῶρα ἐπὶ τῷ ἀγῶνι· μείζονος δὲ ἔτι θαύματος, εἴ γε καὶ αὐτῶν ἐτόλμησεν ἤδη τις Ἠλείων.
It is a wonder anyway that someone should hold the god at Olympia in no account and either accept or give bribes for the contest; but it is of even greater wonder if indeed any of the Eleans themselves has already dared to do so.
λέγεται δὲ ὡς Δαμόνικος τολμήσειεν Ἠλεῖος δευτέρᾳ πρὸς ταῖς ἑκατὸν καὶ ἐνενήκοντα Ὀλυμπιάδι· συνεστηκέναι μὲν γὰρ παλαίοντας ἐπὶ τῷ στεφάνῳ τόν τε τοῦ Δαμονίκου παῖδα Πολύκτορα καὶ Σώσανδρον γένος Σμυρναῖον, ὁμώνυμον τῷ πατρί· Δαμόνικον δέ, ἅτε περισσῶς ἐπιθυμοῦντα γενέσθαι τῷ παιδὶ τὴν νίκην, δοῦναι τοῦ Σωσάνδρου τῷ πατρὶ χρήματα.
It is said that Damonicus, an Elean, dared to do so in the hundred and ninety-second Olympiad; for Polyctor, the son of Damonicus, and Sosander, a Smyrnaean by birth and namesake of his father, were matched to wrestle for the crown, and Damonicus, because he excessively desired the victory to be his son’s, gave money to the father of Sosander.
§5.21.17ὡς δὲ ἐγεγόνει τὰ πραχθέντα ἔκπυστα, ἐπιβάλλουσιν οἱ Ἑλλανοδίκαι ζημίαν, ἐπιβάλλουσι δὲ οὐ τοῖς παισίν, ἀλλὰ ἐς τοὺς πατέρας ἔτρεψαν τὴν ὀργήν· οὗτοι γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἠδίκουν.
But when the deeds done became known, the Hellanodicae imposed a fine, and they did not impose it on the boys, but directed their anger towards the fathers; for it was they who had committed the injustice.
ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ζημίας ἀγάλματα ἐποιήθη· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐν τῷ Ἠλείων ἀνάκειται γυμνασίῳ, τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἄλτεως πρὸ τῆς Ποικίλης στοᾶς καλουμένης, ὅτι ἦσαν ἐπὶ τῶν τοίχων γραφαὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον.
From this fine, statues were made; and one of them is dedicated in the gymnasium of the Eleans, and the other in the Altis before the portico called Poikile, because there were paintings on the walls in ancient times.
εἰσὶ δʼ οἳ τὴν στοὰν ταύτην καὶ Ἠχοῦς ὀνομάζουσι· βοήσαντι δὲ ἀνδρὶ ἑπτάκις ὑπὸ τῆς ἠχοῦς ἡ φωνή, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον ἔτι ἀποδίδοται.
There are some who also name this portico that of Echo; and if a man shouts, his voice is returned seven times by the echo, and sometimes even more.
§5.21.18παγκρατιαστὴν δέ φασιν Ἀλεξανδρέα, ὄνομα δὲ εἶναί οἱ Σαραπίωνα, τοῦτον ἐν Ὀλυμπιάδι τῇ πρώτῃ μετὰ τὰς διακοσίας ἐς τοσοῦτο δεῖσαι τοὺς ἀνταγωνιστὰς ὥστε ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ πρότερον ἢ ἐσκληθήσεσθαι τὸ παγκράτιον ἔμελλεν ἀποδράντα οἴχεσθαι.
They say that a pancratiast of Alexandria, whose name was Sarapion, in the two hundred and first Olympiad, feared his competitors to such a degree that on the day before the pancratium was to be called, he ran away and fled.
τοῦτον ζημιωθέντα ἐπὶ δειλίᾳ μόνον τῶν τε ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων καὶ αὐτῶν μνημονεύουσιν Αἰγυπτίων.
They record that this man was fined for cowardice, being the only one of all men, and of the Egyptians themselves.
ταῦτα μὲν τὰ κατειλεγμένα ἐπὶ αἰτίαις τοιαῖσδε ποιηθέντα εὕρισκον·
These that have been enumerated are the ones I found to have been made for such causes;

Notes

  1. 5.21.13κατεγνώσθη — The verb κατεγνώσθη is a passive form with 'Apollonius' as its grammatical subject, meaning 'he was condemned for...'. The infinitive phrases οὐ δοῦναι ... ἀλλὰ ... ἐξυβρίσαι specify the nature of the offense.
  2. 5.21.13ἐλείπετο τοῦ ἀγῶνος εἴργεσθαι — An impersonal construction meaning 'it remained [for him] to be excluded.' The accusative αὐτόν acts as the subject of the passive infinitive εἴργεσθαι.
  3. 5.21.14ἥπτετο ἐπικειμένου — The verb ἥπτοτο (imperfect of ἅπτομαι, 'to lay hands on, attack') governs the genitive case, which is why the participles referring to Heraclides (ἐπικειμένου... καὶ καταπεφευγότος) are in the genitive. τὸν κότινον is the direct object (accusative) of the middle participle ἐπικειμένου, meaning 'wearing the wild olive crown.'
  4. 5.21.16μείζονος δὲ ἔτι θαύματος — A genitive of description/character with the verb ἐστίν omitted, meaning 'it is [a matter] of even greater wonder (if...).'
  5. 5.21.18πρότερον ἢ ἐσκληθήσεσθαι — A subordinate clause introduced by ἤ (after πρότερον, 'sooner than, before'). The verb ἔμελλεν ('was about to') governs the future passive infinitive ἐσκληθήσεσθαι ('to be summoned in'), meaning 'one day before the pancratium was to be called.'

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §5.21.13-5.21.18. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.21.13-5.21.18

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