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Pausanias · Description of Greece §7.25.7-7.25.13

Sanctuaries of Bura, Aegae, and the Temple of Earth

Passage 296 of 465 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the sanctuary of the Eumenides in Cerynea, the earthquake-stricken Bura and its temples, and the oracle of Heracles at the Buraicus River. It also details the abandoned city of Aegae near the Crathis River, and the sanctuary of Earth (Gaeum) with the strict chastity test for its priestess.

§7.25.7ἐν Κερυνείᾳ δὲ ἱερόν ἐστιν Εὐμενίδων· ἱδρύσασθαι δὲ αὐτὸ Ὀρέστην λέγουσιν.
In Cerynea there is a sanctuary of the Eumenides; they say that Orestes founded it.
ὃς δʼ ἂν ἐνταῦθα ἢ αἵματι ἢ ἄλλῳ τῳ μιάσματι ἔνοχος ἢ καὶ ἀσεβὴς ἐσέλθῃ θέλων θεάσασθαι, αὐτίκα λέγεται δείμασιν ἐκτὸς τῶν φρενῶν γίνεσθαι· καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκα οὐ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἡ ἔσοδος οὐδὲ ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ἐστι.
Whoever enters here, if guilty of blood or any other pollution, or if impious, wishing to see the sights, is said immediately to go out of his mind through terror; and for this reason, entrance is not permitted to all, nor is it to be made on a sudden impulse.
τοῖς μὲν δὴ ἀγάλμασι ξύλων εἰργασμένοις μέγεθός εἰσιν οὐ μεγάλοι, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἔσοδον ἐς τὸ ἱερὸν γυναικῶν εἰκόνες λίθου τέ εἰσιν εἰργασμέναι καὶ ἔχουσαι τέχνης εὖ· ἐλέγοντο δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἱέρειαι ταῖς Εὐμενίσιν αἱ γυναῖκες γενέσθαι.
The statues, which are of wood, are not large in size, but at the entrance to the sanctuary are images of women made of stone, and of fine workmanship; and the women were said by the locals to have been priestesses to the Eumenides.
§7.25.8ἐκ Κερυνείας δὲ ἐπανελθόντι ἐς τὴν λεωφόρον καὶ ὁδεύσαντι οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺ δεύτερα ἔστιν ἐς Βοῦραν ἀποτραπέσθαι· θαλάσσης δὲ ἐν δεξιᾷ ἡ Βοῦρα ἐν ὄρει κεῖται.
For one returning from Cerynea to the high road and traveling not far, there is a second opportunity to turn aside to Bura; Bura lies on a mountain, to the right of the sea.
τεθῆναι δέ φασι τῇ πόλει τὸ ὄνομα ἀπὸ γυναικὸς Βούρας, θυγατέρα δʼ αὐτὴν Ἴωνος τοῦ Ξούθου καὶ Ἑλίκης εἶναι.
They say that the city received its name from a woman Bura, and that she was the daughter of Ion, son of Xuthus, and of Helice.
ὅτε δὲ Ἑλίκην ἐποίησεν ἄδηλον ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὁ θεός, τότε καὶ τὴν Βοῦραν σεισμὸς ἐπέλαβεν ἰσχυρός, ὡς μηδὲ τὰ ἀγάλματα ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ὑπολειφθῆναι τὰ ἀρχαῖα.
But when the god made Helice vanish from among men, then a violent earthquake also overtook Bura, so that not even the ancient statues in the sanctuaries were left.
§7.25.9ὁπόσοι δὲ τηνικαῦτα ἀποδημοῦντες ἢ στρατείας ἕνεκα ἔτυχον ἢ κατὰ πρόφασιν ἀλλοίαν, μόνοι τε οὗτοι Βουρέων ἐλείφθησαν καὶ αὐτοὶ τῆς Βούρας ἐγένοντο οἰκισταί.
But all those who happened at that time to be abroad, either on account of military service or for some other reason, these alone of the Buraeans were left, and they themselves became the founders of Bura.
ναὸς ἐνταῦθα Δήμητρος, ὁ δὲ Ἀφροδίτης Διονύσου τέ ἐστι, καὶ ἄλλος Εἰλειθυίας· λίθου τοῦ Πεντελησίου τὰ ἀγάλματα, Ἀθηναίου δὲ ἔργα Εὐκλείδου· καὶ τῇ Δήμητρί ἐστιν ἐσθής.
Here there is a temple of Demeter, and one of Aphrodite and Dionysus, and another of Eileithyia; the statues are of Pentelic marble, the works of the Athenian Euclides; and the Demeter has clothing.
πεποίηται δὲ καὶ Ἴσιδι ἱερόν.
A sanctuary has also been built for Isis.
§7.25.10καταβάντων δὲ ἐκ Βούρας ὡς ἐπὶ θάλασσαν ποταμός τε Βουραϊκὸς ὀνομαζόμενος καὶ Ἡρακλῆς οὐ μέγας ἐστὶν ἐν σπηλαίῳ· ἐπίκλησις μὲν καὶ τούτου Βουραϊκός, μαντείας δὲ ἐπὶ πίνακί τε καὶ ἀστραγάλοις ἔστι λαβεῖν.
As one goes down from Bura towards the sea, there is a river called Buraicus, and a small Heracles in a cave; this too has the surname Buraicus, and it is possible to obtain prophecies by means of a tablet and dice.
εὔχεται μὲν γὰρ πρὸ τοῦ ἀγάλματος ὁ τῷ θεῷ χρώμενος, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ εὐχῇ λαβὼν ἀστραγάλους —οἱ δὲ ἄφθονοι παρὰ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ κεῖνται—τέσσαρας ἀφίησιν ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης· ἐπὶ δὲ παντὶ ἀστραγάλου σχήματι γεγραμμένα ἐν πίνακι ἐπίτηδες ἐξήγησιν ἔχει τοῦ σχήματος.
For the person consulting the god prays before the statue, and after the prayer, taking four dice —which lie in abundance beside the Heracles—he throws them on the table; and for every shape of a die there is an explanation of the shape written on a tablet especially for this purpose.
§7.25.11σταδίων ἐπὶ τὸν Ἡρακλέα ὡς τριάκοντα ἐξ Ἑλίκης ὁδὸς ἡ εὐθεῖά ἐστι.
The straight road from Helice to the Heracles is about thirty stades.
προελθόντι δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους ποταμὸς ἐς θάλασσαν ἐκδίδωσιν ἀέναος ἐξ ὄρους Ἀρκαδικοῦ κατερχόμενος, ὄνομα δὲ αὐτῷ τε τῷ ποταμῷ Κρᾶθις καὶ ἔνθα αἱ πηγαὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῷ ὄρει· ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς Κράθιδος καὶ πρὸς Κρότωνι τῇ ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ ποταμὸς ὄνομα ἔσχηκε.
Going on from the Heracles, a river which never fails empties into the sea, coming down from an Arcadian mountain; the name of both the river itself and the mountain where the sources of the river are is Crathis; and from this Crathis, the river near Croton in Italy also got its name.
§7.25.12πρὸς δὲ τῇ Ἀχαϊκῇ Κράθιδι Ἀχαιῶν ποτε ᾠκεῖτο Αἰγαὶ πόλις· ἐκλειφθῆναι δὲ αὐτὴν ἀνὰ χρόνον ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας λέγουσι.
Near the Achaean Crathis once stood Aegae, a city of the Achaeans; but they say that in course of time it was abandoned through weakness.
τούτων δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος τῶν Αἰγῶν ἐν Ἥρας λόγοις ἐποιήσατο μνήμην, " οἱ δέ τοι εἰς Ἑλίκην τε καὶ Αἰγὰς δῶρʼ ἀνάγουσι, " δῆλον ὡς γέρα τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἐπʼ ἴσης ἔν τε Ἑλίκῃ καὶ ἐν ταῖς Αἰγαῖς ἔχοντος.
Homer also made mention of this Aegae in the words of Hera: "And they bring gifts for you to Helice and to Aegae, "clearly showing that Poseidon had honors equally both in Helice and in Aegae.
§7.25.13οὐ πολὺ δὲ ἀπωτέρω Κράθιδος σῆμά τε ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ ἄνδρα εὑρήσεις ἐπὶ τῷ μνήματι ἵππῳ παρεστῶτα, ἀμυδρὰν γραφήν.
Not far from the Crathis you will find on the right of the road a tomb, and on the monument a man standing by a horse, a dim painting.
ὁδὸς δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ τάφου σταδίων ὅσον τριάκοντα ἐπὶ τὸν καλούμενον Γαῖον· Γῆς δὲ ἱερόν ἐστιν ὁ Γαῖος ἐπίκλησιν Εὐρυστέρνου, ξόανον δὲ τοῖς μάλιστα ὁμοίως ἐστὶν ἀρχαῖον.
The road from the tomb is about thirty stades to the place called Gaeum; the Gaeum is a sanctuary of Earth surnamed Broad-bosomed, and its wooden image is ancient in a very high degree.
γυνὴ δὲ ἡ ἀεὶ τὴν ἱερωσύνην λαμβάνουσα ἁγιστεύει μὲν τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα ἔσται πλέον ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐς πεῖραν ἀφιγμένη.
The woman who from time to time receives the priesthood remains pure from that moment, nor indeed must she have had experience of more than one man in the past.
πίνουσαι δὲ αἷμα ταύρου δοκιμάζονται· ἣ δʼ ἂν αὐτῶν τύχῃ μὴ ἀληθεύουσα, αὐτίκα ἐκ τούτου τὴν δίκην ἔσχεν.
They are tested by drinking bull's blood; and whichever of them happens not to be telling the truth immediately receives her punishment.
ἢν δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀφίκωνται γυναῖκες ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν πλέονες, ἡ τῷ κλήρῳ λαχοῦσα προτετίμηται.
If several women enter into dispute for the priesthood, the one who draws the lot is preferred.

Notes

  1. §7.25.7τοῖς μὲν δὴ ἀγάλμασι ξύλων εἰργασμένοις μέγεθός εἰσιν οὐ μεγάλοι — The dative `τοῖς ... ἀγάλμασι` functions as a dative of reference or respect. The noun `μέγεθος` is an accusative of respect, which limits the predicate `οὐ μεγάλοι` (nominative plural masculine/feminine, agreeing with the referent of the statues rather than grammatical gender).
  2. §7.25.10καταβάντων δὲ ἐκ Βούρας — A genitive absolute construction where the subject is omitted, implying an indefinite subject ("when people go down" or "as one goes down").
  3. §7.25.12δῆλον ὡς γέρα τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἐπʼ ἴσης ἔν τε Ἑλίκῃ καὶ ἐν ταῖς Αἰγαῖς ἔχοντος — A genitive absolute construction with the conjunction `ὡς`, functioning as a complement clause to the impersonal expression `δῆλον [ἐστι]` ("it is clear that..."), meaning "it being clear that Poseidon held privileges..."
  4. §7.25.13οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα ἔσται πλέον ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐς πεῖραν ἀφιγμένη — The combination `ἔσται ... ἀφιγμένη` (future middle `ἔσται` with perfect middle-passive participle `ἀφιγμένη`) forms a periphrastic future perfect, meaning "she must not have experienced." `τὰ πρότερα` is an adverbial accusative meaning "previously" or "in the past."

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §7.25.7-7.25.13. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.25.7-7.25.13

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