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Pausanias · Description of Greece §5.26.1-5.26.7

The Nike of Paeonius and the Dedications of Micythus

Passage 222 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias details the Messenian statue of Victory by Paeonius and the numerous dedications of Micythus crafted by Glaucus and Dionysius, discussing the historical background, lineage, and dating of the sculptors.

§5.26.1Μεσσηνίων δὲ τῶν Δωριέων οἱ Ναύπακτόν ποτε παρὰ Ἀθηναίων λαβόντες ἄγαλμα ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ Νίκης ἐπὶ τῷ κίονι ἀνέθεσαν·
Those of the Doric Messenians who once received Naupactus from the Athenians dedicated a statue of Victory on the pillar at Olympia.
τοῦτό ἐστιν ἔργον μὲν Μενδαίου Παιωνίου, πεποίηται δὲ ἀπὸ ἀνδρῶν πολεμίων, ὅτε Ἀκαρνᾶσι καὶ Οἰνιάδαις ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐπολέμησαν.
This is the work of Paeonius of Mende, and was made from the spoils of enemy men, when in my opinion they fought against the Acarnanians and the Oeniadae.
Μεσσήνιοι δὲ αὐτοὶ λέγουσι τὸ ἀνάθημά σφισιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔργου τοῦ ἐν τῇ Σφακτηρίᾳ νήσῳ μετὰ Ἀθηναίων πραχθέντος εἶναι, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιγράψαι τὸ ὄνομα τῶν πολεμίων σφᾶς τῷ ἀπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων δείματι, ἐπεὶ Οἰνιαδῶν γε καὶ Ἀκαρνάνων οὐδένα ἔχειν φόβον.
But the Messenians themselves say that their dedication is from the exploit performed in the island of Sphacteria along with the Athenians, and that they did not write the name of the enemies because of their fear of the Lacedaemonians, since of the Oeniadae and the Acarnanians they had no fear.
§5.26.2τὰ δὲ ἀναθήματα Μικύθου πολλά τε ἀριθμὸν καὶ οὐκ ἐφεξῆς ὄντα εὕρισκον, ἀλλὰ Ἰφίτου μὲν τοῦ Ἠλείου καὶ Ἐκεχειρίας στεφανούσης τὸν Ἴφιτον, τούτων μὲν τῶν εἰκόνων ἔχεται τοσάδε ἀναθήματα τῶν Μικύθου, Ἀμφιτρίτη καὶ Ποσειδῶν τε καὶ Ἑστία· Γλαῦκος δὲ ὁ ποιήσας ἐστὶν Ἀργεῖος.
The dedications of Micythus I found to be many in number and not placed in succession; but next to these images of Iphitus the Elean and of Ekecheiria (Truce) crowning Iphitus, there are the following dedications of Micythus: Amphitrite, Poseidon, and Hestia; and Glaucus the Argive was the maker.
παρὰ δὲ τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου τὴν ἐν ἀριστερᾷ πλευρὰν ἀνέθηκεν ἄλλα, Κόρην τὴν Δήμητρος καὶ Ἀφροδίτην Γανυμήδην τε καὶ Ἄρτεμιν, ποιητῶν δὲ Ὅμηρον καὶ Ἡσίοδον, καὶ θεοὺς αὖθις Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν.
And by the left side of the great temple he dedicated others: Kore the daughter of Demeter, Aphrodite, Ganymede, and Artemis, and of poets Homer and Hesiod, and again of gods Asclepius and Hygieia.
§5.26.3Ἀγών τε ἐν τοῖς ἀναθήμασίν ἐστι τοῖς Μικύθου φέρων ἁλτῆρας, οἱ δὲ ἁλτῆρες οὗτοι παρέχονται σχῆμα τοιόνδε· κύκλου παραμηκεστέρου καὶ οὐκ ἐς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον περιφεροῦς εἰσιν ἥμισυ, πεποίηται δὲ ὡς καὶ τοὺς δακτύλους τῶν χειρῶν διιέναι καθάπερ διʼ ὀχάνων ἀσπίδος.
Among the dedications of Micythus is also Agon (Contest) carrying halteres (jumping-weights), and these halteres have the following shape: they are half of a circle which is rather oblong and not perfectly round, and made so that one can pass the fingers of the hands through them just as through the handles of a shield.
τούτων μὲν δὴ σχῆμά ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον·
Such indeed is the shape of these.
παρὰ δὲ τοῦ Ἀγῶνος τὴν εἰκόνα Διόνυσος καὶ ὁ Θρᾷξ ἐστιν Ὀρφεὺς καὶ ἄγαλμα Διός, οὗ δὴ καὶ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον ἐπεμνήσθην.
Beside the statue of Agon are Dionysus, Orpheus the Thracian, and a statue of Zeus, of which I made mention also a little earlier.
ταῦτα ἔργα ἐστὶν Ἀργείου Διονυσίου· τεθῆναι δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Μικύθου καὶ ἄλλα ὁμοῦ τούτοις λέγουσι, Νέρωνα δὲ ἀφελέσθαι φασὶ καὶ ταῦτα.
These are the works of Dionysius the Argive; and they say that other things were also dedicated by Micythus along with these, but they say Nero carried these off as well.
§5.26.4τοῖς δὲ ἐργασαμένοις αὐτά, γένος οὖσιν Ἀργείοις, Διονυσίῳ τε καὶ Γλαύκῳ, διδάσκαλόν σφισιν οὐδένα ἐπιλέγουσιν· ἡλικίαν δὲ αὐτῶν ὁ τὰ ἔργα ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν ἀναθεὶς ἐπιδείκνυσιν ὁ Μίκυθος.
For Dionysius and Glaucus, who made these works and were Argives by race, they name no teacher; but their age is demonstrated by Micythus, who dedicated the works at Olympia.
τὸν γὰρ δὴ Μίκυθον τοῦτον Ἡρόδοτος ἔφη ἐν τοῖς λόγοις, ὡς Ἀναξίλα τοῦ ἐν Ῥηγίῳ τυραννήσαντος γενόμενος δοῦλος καὶ ταμίας τῶν Ἀναξίλα χρημάτων ὕστερον τούτων ἀπιὼν οἴχοιτο ἐς Τεγέαν τελευτήσαντος Ἀναξίλα.
For Herodotus said in his history that this Micythus, having become a slave of Anaxilas, who was tyrant of Rhegium, and the steward of Anaxilas' wealth, later, upon the death of Anaxilas, departed from these and went away to Tegea.
§5.26.5τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀναθήμασιν ἐπιγράμματα καὶ πατέρα Μικύθῳ Χοῖρον καὶ Ἑλληνίδας αὐτῷ πόλεις Ῥήγιόν τε πατρίδα καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ πορθμῷ Μεσσήνην δίδωσιν· οἰκεῖν δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐπιγράμματα ἐν Τεγέᾳ φησιν αὐτόν, τὰ δὲ ἀναθήματα ἀνέθηκεν ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν εὐχήν τινα ἐκτελῶν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ παιδὸς νοσήσαντος νόσον φθινάδα.
The inscriptions on the dedications give Choerus as the father of Micythus, and as his Greek cities both Rhegium as his homeland and Messene on the strait; and the inscriptions say that he dwelt in Tegea, but dedicated the offerings at Olympia in fulfillment of a vow for the safety of a son who had fallen sick with a wasting disease.
§5.26.6πλησίον δὲ τῶν μειζόνων ἀναθημάτων Μικύθου, τέχνης δὲ τοῦ Ἀργείου Γλαύκου, Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα ἕστηκε κράνος ἐπικειμένη καὶ αἰγίδα ἐνδεδυκυῖα· Νικόδαμος μὲν εἰργάσατο ὁ Μαινάλιος, Ἠλείων δέ ἐστιν ἀνάθημα.
Near the larger dedications of Micythus, which are the work of Glaucus the Argive, stands a statue of Athena, wearing a helmet and clad in an aegis; Nicodamus of Maenalus fashioned it, and it is a dedication of the Eleans.
παρὰ δὲ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν πεποίηται Νίκη· ταύτην Μαντινεῖς ἀνέθεσαν, τὸν πόλεμον δὲ οὐ δηλοῦσιν ἐν τῷ ἐπιγράμματι· Κάλαμις δὲ οὐκ ἔχουσαν πτερὰ ποιῆσαι λέγεται ἀπομιμούμενος τὸ Ἀθήνῃσι τῆς Ἀπτέρου καλουμένης ξόανον.
Beside Athena is made a Victory; this was dedicated by the Mantineans, but they do not disclose the war in the inscription; and Calamis is said to have made her without wings, imitating the wooden image of the one called Wingless at Athens.
§5.26.7πρὸς δὲ τοῖς ἐλάσσοσιν ἀναθήμασι τοῦ Μικύθου, ποιηθεῖσι δὲ ὑπὸ Διονυσίου, πρὸς τούτοις Ἡρακλέους ἐστὶ τῶν ἔργων τὸ ἐς τὸν λέοντα τὸν ἐν Νεμέᾳ καὶ ὕδραν τε καὶ ἐς τὸν κύνα τοῦ Ἅιδου καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ Ἐρυμάνθῳ ποταμῷ κάπρον·
Next to the smaller dedications of Micythus, which were made by Dionysius, in addition to these are the works of Heracles: that against the lion in Nemea, the hydra, the dog of Hades, and the boar by the river Erymanthus.
ἐκόμισαν δὲ αὐτὰ ἐς Ὀλυμπίαν Ἡρακλεῶται Μαριανδυνῶν ὁμόρων βαρβάρων καταδραμόντες τὴν χώραν.
These were brought to Olympia by the Heracleots, who had overrun the land of the Mariandynians, their barbarian neighbors.
ἡ δὲ Ἡράκλεια πεπόλισται μὲν ἐπὶ Εὐξείνῳ πόντῳ, ἀπῳκίσθη δὲ ἐκ Μεγάρων· μετέσχον δὲ καὶ Βοιωτῶν Ταναγραῖοι τοῦ οἰκισμοῦ.
This Heraclea is founded on the Euxine Sea, and was colonized from Megara, but the Tanagraeans of the Boeotians also took part in the colonization.

Notes

  1. §5.26.1ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν — An idiomatic expression of the infinitive absolute meaning "in my opinion" or "as it seems to me". It functions adverbially to express the author's own estimation regarding the timing of the war.
  2. §5.26.2τούτων μὲν τῶν εἰκόνων ἔχεται — The verb `ἔχομαι` (middle voice of `ἔχω`) means "to border on" or "to follow next after" and takes the genitive (here `τούτων ... τῶν εἰκόνων`). The subject of this verb is the subsequent phrase `τοσάδε ἀναθήματα`.
  3. §5.26.4ὡς Ἀναξίλα ... γενόμενος δοῦλος ... ἀπιὼν οἴχοιτο — An indirect discourse introduced by `Ἡρόδοτος ἔφη`. The main verb in the `ὡς` clause is `οἴχοιτο` (optative of indirect discourse), which takes `Μίκυθον` (accusative) as its logical subject. However, the accompanying participles `γενόμενος` and `ἀπιὼν` are in the nominative, exhibiting an anacoluthon or grammatical shift between the accusative-and-infinitive construction and a direct clause.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §5.26.1-5.26.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.26.1-5.26.7

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