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Pausanias · Description of Greece §8.54.1-8.54.7

Course of the Alpheius and the Sanctuary of Pan

Passage 364 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Describes the sources and subterranean nature of the Alpheius River, along with the landmarks on the roads from Tegea and the sanctuary of Pan on Mount Parthenium.

§8.54.1Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ καὶ Τεγεάταις ὅροι τῆς γῆς ὁ ποταμός ἐστιν ὁ Ἀλφειός.
For the Lacedaemonians and the Tegeans, the boundary of their land is the river Alpheius.
τούτου τὸ ὕδωρ ἄρχεται μὲν ἐν Φυλάκῃ, κάτεισι δὲ οὐ πόρρω τῆς πηγῆς καὶ ἄλλο ὕδωρ ἐς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ πηγῶν μεγέθει μὲν οὐ μεγάλων, πλεόνων δὲ ἀριθμόν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῷ χωρίῳ Σύμβολα γέγονεν ὄνομα.
The water of this river begins in Phylace, and not far from its source other water flows down into it from springs, not large in size but several in number; and for this reason the place has received the name Symbola (Confluences).
§8.54.2φαίνεται δὲ ὁ Ἀλφειὸς παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ποταμοὺς φύσιν τινὰ ἰδίαν παρεχόμενος τοιάνδε· ἀφανίζεσθαί τε γὰρ κατὰ γῆς ἐθέλει πολλάκις καὶ αὖθις ἀναφαίνεσθαι.
The Alpheius appears to present a certain peculiar nature of its own in comparison with other rivers; for it is wont to disappear frequently underground and to appear again.
προελθὼν μέν γε ἐκ Φυλάκης καὶ τῶν καλουμένων Συμβόλων ἐς τὸ πεδίον κατέδυ τὸ Τεγεατικόν· ἀνατείλας δὲ ἐν Ἀσέᾳ καὶ τὸ ῥεῦμα ἀναμίξας τῷ Εὐρώτᾳ τὸ δεύτερον ἤδη κάτεισιν ἐς τὴν γῆν·
Indeed, having advanced from Phylace and the so-called Symbola, it sinks into the Tegean plain; rising again in Asea and mixing its stream with the Eurotas, it goes down into the earth now for the second time.
§8.54.3ἀνασχὼν δὲ ἔνθα Πηγὰς ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ Ἀρκάδες καὶ παρὰ γῆν τε τὴν Πισαίαν καὶ παρὰ Ὀλυμπίαν ἐξελθών, ἐκδίδωσιν ὑπὲρ Κυλλήνης ἐπινείου τοῦ Ἠλείων ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν.
And having risen where the Arcadians name it Pegae (Springs), and having passed both by the Pisaean land and by Olympia, it discharges into the sea above Cyllene, the port of the Eleans.
ἔμελλε δὲ ἄρα μηδὲ Ἀδρίας ἐπισχήσειν αὐτὸν τοῦ πρόσω· διανηξάμενος δὲ καὶ τοῦτον, μέγα οὕτω καὶ βίαιον πέλαγος, ἐν Ὀρτυγίᾳ τῇ πρὸ Συρακουσῶν ἐπιδείκνυσιν Ἀλφειός τε ὢν καὶ πρὸς Ἀρέθουσαν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀνακοινούμενος.
But after all, not even the Adriatic was destined to hold it back from going further; and having swum through even this, a sea so great and violent, it shows itself in Ortygia before Syracuse as being still the Alpheius and uniting its water with Arethusa.
§8.54.4ἡ δὲ εὐθεῖα ἡ ἐπὶ Θυρέαν τε καὶ κώμας τὰς ἐν τῇ Θυρεάτιδι ἐκ Τεγέας παρείχετο ἐς συγγραφὴν Ὀρέστου τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος μνῆμα, καὶ ὑφελέσθαι Σπαρτιάτην τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτόθεν οἱ Τεγεᾶται λέγουσι· καθʼ ἡμᾶς δὲ οὐκέτι πυλῶν ἐντὸς ἐγίνετο ὁ τάφος.
The straight road from Tegea to Thyrea and the villages in the Thyreatis used to present for description the tomb of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, and the Tegeans say that a Spartan stole his bones from there; but in our time the tomb was no longer within the gates.
ῥεῖ δὲ καὶ Γαράτης ποταμὸς κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν· διαβάντι δὲ τὸν Γαράτην καὶ προελθόντι σταδίους δέκα Πανός ἐστιν ἱερὸν καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ δρῦς, ἱερὰ καὶ αὕτη τοῦ Πανός.
The river Garates also flows along the road; and for one who has crossed the Garates and gone forward ten stades, there is a sanctuary of Pan, and beside it an oak, this also sacred to Pan.
§8.54.5ἡ δὲ ἐς Ἄργος ἐκ Τεγέας ὀχήματι ἐπιτηδειοτάτη καὶ τὰ μάλιστά ἐστι λεωφόρος.
The road from Tegea to Argos is most suitable for a carriage and is very much a highway.
ἔστι δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ πρῶτα μὲν ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἀσκληπιοῦ· μετὰ δὲ ἐκτραπεῖσιν ἐς ἀριστερὰ ὅσον στάδιον Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπίκλησιν Πυθίου καταλελυμένον ἐστὶν ἱερὸν καὶ ἐρείπια ἐς ἅπαν.
On the road there is first a temple and a statue of Asclepius; and after this, for those who turn aside to the left about a stade, there is a ruined sanctuary of Apollo surnamed Pythius, completely in ruins.
κατὰ δὲ τὴν εὐθεῖαν αἵ τε δρῦς εἰσι πολλαὶ καὶ Δήμητρος ἐν τῷ ἄλσει τῶν δρυῶν ναὸς ἐν Κορυθεῦσι καλουμένης· πλησίον δὲ ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἱερὸν Διονύσου Μύστου.
Along the straight road there are many oaks, and in the grove of oaks a temple of Demeter called Corytheia; near it is another sanctuary of Dionysus Mystes.
§8.54.6τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ ἄρχεται τὸ ὄρος τὸ Παρθένιον· ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ τέμενος δείκνυται Τηλέφου, καὶ ἐνταῦθα παῖδα ἐκκείμενόν φασιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ ἐλάφου τραφῆναι.
From here begins Mount Parthenium; on it is shown a sanctuary of Telephus, and there they say he was exposed as a child and nurtured by a hind.
ἀπωτέρω δὲ ὀλίγον Πανός ἐστιν ἱερόν, ἔνθα Φιλιππίδῃ φανῆναι τὸν Πᾶνα καὶ εἰπεῖν ἃ πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἀθηναῖοί τε καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ Τεγεᾶται λέγουσι·
A little further on is a sanctuary of Pan, where Pan appeared to Philippides and said what both the Athenians and, in agreement with them, the Tegeans say he did.
§8.54.7παρέχεται δὲ τὸ Παρθένιον καὶ ἐς λύρας ποίησιν χελώνας ἐπιτηδειοτάτας, ἃς οἱ περὶ τὸ ὄρος ἄνθρωποι καὶ αὐτοὶ λαμβάνειν δεδοίκασιν ἀεὶ καὶ ξένους οὐ περιορῶσιν αἱροῦντας· ἱερὰς γὰρ σφᾶς εἶναι τοῦ Πανὸς ἥγηνται.
Mount Parthenium also provides tortoises most suitable for the making of lyres, which the men about the mountain are afraid to take even themselves, and they do not allow strangers to catch them; for they hold them to be sacred to Pan.
ὑπερβαλόντι δὲ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὄρους ἔστιν ἐν τοῖς ἤδη γεωργουμένοις Τεγεατῶν ὅρος καὶ Ἀργείων κατὰ Ὑσιὰς τὰς ἐν τῇ Ἀργολίδι.
For one who has crossed the crest of the mountain, there is, in the land of the Tegeans that is already under cultivation, the boundary with the Argives near Hysiae in Argolis.
αἵδε μὲν Πελοποννήσου μοῖραι καὶ πόλεις τε ἐν ταῖς μοίραις καὶ ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει τὰ ἀξιολογώτατά ἐστιν ἐς μνήμην.
These are the parts of the Peloponnesus, and the cities in these parts, and in each city the things most worthy of mention for record.

Notes

  1. §8.54.2ἐθέλει — In expressions with an inanimate subject, ἐθέλει functions to mean "is wont to" or "tends to," indicating that the Alpheius River has a natural tendency to disappear underground.
  2. §8.54.3ἔμελλε δὲ ἄρα μηδὲ Ἀδρίας ἐπισχήσειν αὐτὸν τοῦ πρόσω — ἔμελλε with the infinitive expresses destiny ("was destined to"). The particle ἄρα adds the nuance of "as it turned out" or "after all," and the genitive τοῦ πρόσω serves as a genitive of separation dependent on the infinitive ἐπισχήσειν (to hold back).
  3. §8.54.4διαβάντι δὲ τὸν Γαράτην καὶ προελθόντι σταδίους δέκα — The dative participles (διαβάντι, προελθόντι) are typically used in geographical descriptions as a dative of reference ("for one who has crossed... and gone forward"), indicating the person from whose viewpoint the distance and location are measured.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §8.54.1-8.54.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.54.1-8.54.7

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