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Pausanias · Description of Greece §6.19.1-6.19.7

Treasuries and Offerings of Sicyon and Carthage

Passage 246 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the treasuries of the Sicyonians and the Carthaginians in the Altis of Olympia, introducing their origins and various dedicated objects inside them, such as Myron's disc and shield, and the horn of Amalthea dedicated by Miltiades.

§6.19.1ἔστι δὲ λίθου πωρίνου κρηπὶς ἐν τῇ Ἄλτει πρὸς ἄρκτον τοῦ Ἡραίου, κατὰ νώτου δὲ αὐτῆς παρήκει τὸ Κρόνιον·
There is a platform of porous stone in the Altis to the north of the Heraeum, and behind it the hill of Cronius extends.
ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς κρηπῖδός εἰσιν οἱ θησαυροί, καθὰ δὴ καὶ ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἑλλήνων τινὲς ἐποίησαν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι θησαυρούς.
Upon this platform are the treasuries, just as indeed at Delphi certain of the Greeks made treasuries for Apollo.
ἔστι δὲ θησαυρὸς ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ Σικυωνίων καλούμενος, Μύρωνος δὲ ἀνάθημα τυραννήσαντος Σικυωνίων·
In Olympia there is a treasury called that of the Sicyonians, a dedication of Myron, who was tyrant of the Sicyonians.
§6.19.2τοῦτον ᾠκοδόμησεν ὁ Μύρων νικήσας ἅρματι τὴν τρίτην καὶ τριακοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα.
Myron built this after winning the chariot race in the thirty-third Olympiad.
ἐν δὲ τῷ θησαυρῷ καὶ θαλάμους δύο ἐποίησε, τὸν μὲν Δώριον, τὸν δὲ ἐργασίας τῆς Ἰώνων.
In the treasury he also made two chambers, one of Dorian and the other of Ionian workmanship.
χαλκοῦ μὲν δὴ αὐτοὺς ἑώρων εἰργασμένους· εἰ δὲ καὶ Ταρτήσσιος χαλκὸς λόγῳ τῷ Ἠλείων ἐστίν, οὐκ οἶδα.
I indeed saw that they were made of bronze; but whether it is Tartessian bronze, as the Eleans say, I do not know.
§6.19.3Ταρτήσσιον δὲ εἶναι ποταμὸν ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ Ἰβήρων λέγουσι στόμασιν ἐς θάλασσαν κατερχόμενον δυσὶ καὶ ὁμώνυμον αὐτῷ πόλιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῶν ἐκβολῶν κειμένην·
They say that Tartessus is a river in the land of the Iberians, running down into the sea by two mouths, and that a city of the same name lies between the outlets of the river.
τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν μέγιστόν τε ὄντα τῶν ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ καὶ ἄμπωτιν παρεχόμενον Βαῖτιν ὠνόμασαν οἱ ὕστερον, εἰσὶ δʼ οἳ Καρπίαν Ἰβήρων πόλιν καλεῖσθαι νομίζουσι τὰ ἀρχαιότερα Ταρτησσόν.
This river, which is the largest in Iberia and experiences tides, was later named Baetis, though some believe that Carpia, a city of the Iberians, was called Tartessus in more ancient times.
§6.19.4ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ δὲ ἐπιγράμματα ἐπὶ τῷ ἐλάσσονί ἐστι τῶν θαλάμων, ἐς μὲν τοῦ χαλκοῦ τὸν σταθμόν, ὅτι πεντακόσια εἴη τάλαντα, ἐς δὲ τοὺς ἀναθέντας, Μύρωνα εἶναι καὶ τὸν Σικυωνίων δῆμον.
At Olympia, there are inscriptions on the smaller of the chambers, concerning the weight of the bronze, stating that it is five hundred talents, and concerning the dedicators, that they are Myron and the people of the Sicyonians.
ἐν τούτῳ τῷ θησαυρῷ δίσκοι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀνάκεινται τρεῖς, ὅσους ἐς τοῦ πεντάθλου τὸ ἀγώνισμα ἐσκομίζουσι· καὶ ἀσπίς ἐστιν ἐπίχαλκος γραφῇ τὰ ἐντὸς πεποικιλμένη καὶ κράνος τε καὶ κνημῖδες ὁμοῦ τῇ ἀσπίδι·
In this treasury are dedicated three quoits in number, as many as they bring out for the contest of the pentathlon; and there is a shield plated with bronze, with its inner side decorated with a painting, and a helmet and greaves along with the shield.
ἐπίγραμμα δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις, ἀκροθίνιον τῷ Διὶ ὑπὸ Μυάνων ἀνατεθῆναι.
On the armor is an inscription stating that they were dedicated to Zeus as spoils by the Myanes.
οἵτινες δὲ οὗτοι ἦσαν, οὐ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ παρίστατο ἅπασιν εἰκάζειν·
Who these people were is not agreed upon by all in their conjectures.
§6.19.5ἐμὲ δὲ ἐσῆλθεν ἀνάμνησις ὡς Θουκυδίδης ποιήσειεν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις Λοκρῶν τῶν πρὸς τῇ Φωκίδι καὶ ἄλλας πόλεις, ἐν δὲ αὐταῖς εἶναι καὶ Μυονέας.
But it occurred to my mind that Thucydides in his history mentioned other cities of the Locrians who border on Phocis, and that among them were the Myoneis.
οἱ Μυᾶνες οὖν οἱ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι κατά γε ἡμετέραν γνώμην ἄνθρωποι μέν εἰσιν οἱ αὐτοὶ καὶ Μυονεῖς οἱ ἐν τῇ Λοκρίδι ἠπείρῳ· τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀσπίδι γράμματα παρῆκται μὲν ἐπὶ βραχύ, πέπονθε δὲ αὐτὸ διὰ τοῦ ἀναθήματος τὸ ἀρχαῖον.
Therefore, the Myanes on the shield, in my opinion, are the same people as the Myoneis in the mainland of Locris; the letters on the shield have deviated slightly, a change due to the antiquity of the dedication.
§6.19.6κεῖνται δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐνταῦθα ἄξια ἐπιμνησθῆναι, μάχαιρα ἡ Πέλοπος χρυσοῦ τὴν λαβὴν πεποιημένη, καὶ εἰργασμένον ἐλέφαντος κέρας τὸ Ἀμαλθείας, ἀνάθημα Μιλτιάδου τοῦ Κίμωνος, ὃς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔσχεν ἐν χερρονήσῳ τῇ Θρᾳκίᾳ πρῶτος τῆς οἰκίας ταύτης·
Here are also other things worthy of mention: the scimitar of Pelops with its hilt made of gold, and the horn of Amalthea fashioned of ivory, a dedication of Miltiades the son of Cimon, who was the first of this house to rule in the Thracian Chersonese.
καὶ ἐπίγραμμα ἐπὶ τῷ κέρατί ἐστιν ἀρχαίοις Ἀττικοῖς γράμμασι, " Ζηνί μʼ ἄγαλμʼ ἀνέθηκαν Ὀλυμπίῳ ἐκ χερονήσου τεῖχος ἑλόντες Ἀράτου· ἐπῆρχε δὲ Μιλτιάδης σφίν.
On the horn is an inscription in ancient Attic letters: "From the Chersonese, those who took the wall of Aratus dedicated me as a beautiful offering to Olympian Zeus; and Miltiades was their leader.
" κεῖται δὲ καὶ ἄγαλμα πύξινον Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπιχρύσου τὴν κεφαλήν· ἀνατεθῆναι δὲ ὑπὸ Λοκρῶν φησι τῶν πρὸς Ζεφυρίῳ τῇ ἄκρᾳ, Πατροκλέα δὲ εἶναι Κατίλλου Κροτωνιάτην τὸν εἰργασμένον.
"There also lies a box-wood statue of Apollo with its head gilded; they say it was dedicated by the Locrians near Cape Zephyrium, and that the maker was Patrocles of Croton, the son of Catillus.
§6.19.7ἐφεξῆς δὲ τῷ Σικυωνίων ἐστὶν ὁ Καρχηδονίων θησαυρός, Ποθαίου τέχνη καὶ Ἀντιφίλου τε καὶ Μεγακλέους·
Next to the treasury of the Sicyonians is the treasury of the Carthaginians, the work of Pothaeus, Antiphilus, and Megacles.
ἀναθήματα δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ Ζεὺς μεγέθει μέγας καὶ θώρακες λινοῖ τρεῖς ἀριθμόν, Γέλωνος δὲ ἀνάθημα καὶ Συρακοσίων Φοίνικας ἤτοι τριήρεσιν ἢ καὶ πεζῇ μάχῃ κρατησάντων.
In it are dedicated a Zeus of great size and three linen corslets in number, a dedication of Gelon and the Syracusans who defeated the Phoenicians either in a sea-fight or in a land battle.

Notes

  1. 6.19.2εἰ δὲ καὶ Ταρτήσσιος χαλκὸς λόγῳ τῷ Ἠλείων ἐστίν — In the indirect question introduced by εἰ, the particle καί functions in the sense of 'indeed' or 'actually'. The dative phrase λόγῳ τῷ Ἠλείων adds a restrictive meaning: 'according to the story of the Eleans', showing the author's hesitation.
  2. 6.19.4ἀκροθίνιον τῷ Διὶ ὑπὸ Μυάνων ἀνατεθῆναι — An accusative and infinitive clause explaining the content of the noun ἐπίγραμμα (inscription). Without an explicit main verb, the infinitive ἀνατεθῆναι (aorist passive) expresses the reported speech of what the inscription states: 'that it was dedicated...'.
  3. 6.19.5ἐμὲ δὲ ἐσῆλθεν ἀνάμνησις ὡς — Though seemingly impersonal, the subject is the noun ἀνάμνησις, with ἐμέ as the accusative object of the verb ἐσῆλθεν. The ὡς clause (with the optative oblique ποιήσειεν) functions as an appositional clause explaining the content of the memory (that Thucydides had made...).
  4. 6.19.6τεῖχος ἑλόντες Ἀράτου — Part of the verse. The object of the participle ἑλόντες (having captured) is τεῖχος (wall), and the genitive Ἀράτου modifies τεῖχος ('the wall of Aratus'). It refers to a fortification wall named after or built by Aratus.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §6.19.1-6.19.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.19.1-6.19.7

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