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Pausanias · Description of Greece §9.2.1-9.2.7

Ruins in Plataea and Monuments of the City

Passage 366 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias describes the ruins of Hysiae and Erythrae, the tomb of Mardonius, and the spring of Actaeon, as well as the monuments in Plataea, including the altar of Zeus Eleutherios, the graves of the fallen warriors, and the temple of Hera containing statues by Praxiteles and Callimachus.

§9.2.1γῆς δὲ τῆς Πλαταιίδος ἐν τῷ Κιθαιρῶνι ὀλίγον τῆς εὐθείας ἐκτραπεῖσιν ἐς δεξιὰ Ὑσιῶν καὶ Ἐρυθρῶν ἐρείπιά ἐστι.
In the territory of Plataea, on Mount Cithaeron, for those who turn aside a little from the straight road to the right, there are the ruins of Hysiae and Erythrae.
πόλεις δέ ποτε τῶν Βοιωτῶν ἦσαν, καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἐν τοῖς ἐρειπίοις τῶν Ὑσιῶν ναός ἐστιν Ἀπόλλωνος ἡμίεργος καὶ φρέαρ ἱερόν· πάλαι δὲ ἐκ τοῦ φρέατος κατὰ τὸν Βοιωτῶν λόγον ἐμαντεύοντο πίνοντες.
These were once cities of the Boeotians, and even now among the ruins of Hysiae there is a half-finished temple of Apollo and a sacred well; in ancient times, according to the account of the Boeotians, they used to prophesy by drinking from the well.
§9.2.2ἐπανελθοῦσι δὲ ἐς τὴν λεωφόρον ἐστὶν αὖθις ἐν δεξιᾷ Μαρδονίου λεγόμενον μνῆμα εἶναι.
For those returning to the highway, there is again on the right what is said to be the tomb of Mardonius.
καὶ ὅτι μὲν εὐθὺς ἦν μετὰ τὴν μάχην ἀφανὴς ὁ Μαρδονίου νεκρός, ἔστιν ὡμολογημένον· τὸν δὲ θάψαντα οὐ κατὰ ταὐτά, ὅστις ἦν, λέγουσι·
Now, that the corpse of Mardonius was missing immediately after the battle is agreed; but as to who buried him, they do not tell the same story.
φαίνεται δὲ Ἀρτόντης ὁ Μαρδονίου πλεῖστα μὲν δοὺς Διονυσοφάνει δῶρα ἀνδρὶ Ἐφεσίῳ, δοὺς μέντοι καὶ ἄλλοις Ἰώνων ὡς οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις ἀμελὲς γενόμενον ταφῆναι Μαρδόνιον.
However, it appears that Artontes, the son of Mardonius, gave very many gifts to Dionysophanes, an Ephesian man, and also gave gifts to others of the Ionians, so that the burial of Mardonius should not be neglected even by them.
§9.2.3αὕτη μὲν ἀπʼ Ἐλευθερῶν ἐς Πλάταιαν ἄγει, τοῖς δὲ ἐκ Μεγάρων ἰοῦσι πηγή τέ ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ καὶ προελθοῦσιν ὀλίγον πέτρα· καλοῦσι δὲ τὴν μὲν Ἀκταίωνος κοίτην, ἐπὶ ταύτῃ καθεύδειν φάμενοι τῇ πέτρᾳ τὸν Ἀκταίωνα ὁπότε κάμοι θηρεύων, ἐς δὲ τὴν πηγὴν ἐνιδεῖν λέγουσιν αὐτὸν λουμένης Ἀρτέμιδος ἐν τῇ πηγῇ.
This road leads from Eleutherae to Plataea, but for those coming from Megara, there is a spring on the right, and a little further on, a rock; the latter they call the Bed of Actaeon, saying that Actaeon slept on this rock whenever he was tired from hunting, and they say that he looked into the spring while Artemis was bathing in it.
Στησίχορος δὲ ὁ Ἱμεραῖος ἔγραψεν ἐλάφου περιβαλεῖν δέρμα Ἀκταίωνι τὴν θεόν, παρασκευάζουσάν οἱ τὸν ἐκ τῶν κυνῶν θάνατον, ἵνα δὴ μὴ γυναῖκα Σεμέλην λάβοι.
But Stesichorus of Himera wrote that the goddess threw a stag's skin around Actaeon, preparing for him the death by his dogs, so that indeed he might not take Semele as wife.
§9.2.4ἐγὼ δὲ ἄνευ θεοῦ πείθομαι νόσον λύσσαν τοῦ Ἀκταίωνος ἐπιλαβεῖν τοὺς κύνας· μανέντες δὲ καὶ οὐ διαγινώσκοντες διαφορήσειν ἔμελλον πάντα τινὰ ὅτῳ περιτύχοιεν.
But I believe that, without the intervention of a deity, the disease of madness overtook the dogs of Actaeon; and having gone mad and being unable to recognize him, they were bound to tear to pieces anyone they fell in with.
καθότι δὲ τοῦ Κιθαιρῶνος Πενθεῖ τῷ Ἐχίονος ἐγένετο ἡ συμφορὰ ἢ Οἰδίποδα ὅπῃ τεχθέντα ἐξέθεσαν, οἶδεν οὐδείς, καθάπερ γε ἴσμεν τὴν Σχιστὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέων, ἐφʼ ᾗ τὸν πατέρα Οἰδίπους ἀπέκτεινεν, ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐς πλέον ἐπέξειμι, ἐπειδὰν ἐς αὐτὰ ὁ λόγος καθήκῃ μοι.
But in what part of Cithaeron the disaster befell Pentheus, the son of Echion, or where Oedipus was exposed when he was born, no one knows, just as we know the Schiste Way on the road to Phocis, where Oedipus killed his father, which matters I shall go into at greater length when my account brings me to them.
§9.2.5κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἔσοδον μάλιστα τὴν ἐς Πλάταιαν τάφοι τῶν πρὸς Μήδους μαχεσαμένων εἰσί.
Just at the entrance into Plataea are the graves of those who fought against the Persians.
τοῖς μὲν οὖν λοιποῖς ἐστιν Ἕλλησι μνῆμα κοινόν· Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναίων τοῖς πεσοῦσιν ἰδίᾳ τέ εἰσιν οἱ τάφοι καὶ ἐλεγεῖά ἐστι Σιμωνίδου γεγραμμένα ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς.
For the rest of the Greeks there is a common monument, but for the fallen of the Lacedaemonians and Athenians there are separate graves, and elegies written by Simonides are inscribed on them.
οὐ πόρρω δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν Ἑλλήνων Διός ἐστιν Ἐλευθερίου βωμὸς τοῦτον μὲν δὴ χαλκοῦ, τοῦ Διὸς δὲ τόν τε βωμὸν καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐποίησεν λευκοῦ λίθου.
Not far from the common monument is an altar of Zeus Eleutherios; this altar is of bronze, but the altar and the image of Zeus they made of white stone.
§9.2.6ἄγουσι δὲ καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἀγῶνα διὰ ἔτους πέμπτου τὰ Ἐλευθέρια, ἐν ᾧ μέγιστα γέρα πρόκειται δρόμου· θέουσι δὲ ὡπλισμένοι πρὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ.
And they still hold the Eleutheria festival every fifth year, in which the greatest prizes are offered for the foot-race; and they run in armor before the altar.
τρόπαιον δέ, ὃ τῆς μάχης τῆς Πλαταιᾶσιν ἀνέθεσαν οἱ Ἕλληνες, πεντεκαίδεκα σταδίοις μάλιστα ἕστηκεν ἀπωτέρω τῆς πόλεως.
The trophy which the Greeks set up for the battle at Plataea stands about fifteen stades away from the city.
§9.2.7ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ πόλει προϊοῦσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἃ τῷ Διὶ πεποίηται τῷ Ἐλευθερίῳ, Πλαταίας ἐστὶν ἡρῷον· καί μοι τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ἤδη, τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ ὁποῖα αὐτὸς εἴκαζον, ἔστιν εἰρημένα.
In the city itself, for those going forward from the altar and the image which were made for Zeus Eleutherios, there is a hero-shrine of Plataea; and my account has already dealt with her, both what is said and what I myself conjectured.
Πλαταιεῦσι δὲ ναός ἐστιν Ἥρας, θέας ἄξιος μεγέθει τε καὶ ἐς τῶν ἀγαλμάτων τὸν κόσμον.
The Plataeans also have a temple of Hera, worth seeing for its size and for the decoration of the statues.
ἐσελθοῦσι μὲν Ῥέα τὸν πέτρον κατειλημένον σπαργάνοις, οἷα δὴ τὸν παῖδα ὃν ἔτεκε, Κρόνῳ κομίζουσά ἐστι· τὴν δὲ Ἥραν Τελείαν καλοῦσι, πεποίηται δὲ ὀρθὸν μεγέθει ἄγαλμα μέγα·
For those entering, Rhea is bringing to Cronus the stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, as if it were the child she had borne; and they call Hera "Teleia", and it is made as a large standing statue.
λίθου δὲ ἀμφότερα τοῦ Πεντελησίου, Πραξιτέλους δέ ἐστιν ἔργα.
Both are of Pentelic marble and are the works of Praxiteles.
ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἄλλο Ἥρας ἄγαλμα καθήμενον Καλλίμαχος ἐποίησε· Νυμφευομένην δὲ τὴν θεὸν ἐπὶ λόγῳ τοιῷδε ὀνομάζουσιν.
Here there is also another seated statue of Hera, which Callimachus made; and they name the goddess "Nympheuomene" for the following reason.

Notes

  1. 9.2.1γῆς δὲ τῆς Πλαταιίδος — The function of the genitive 'γῆς'. It can be interpreted as a partitive genitive limiting the geographical scope, or a genitive of possession/belonging depending on the subsequent 'ἐρείπιά' (ruins). It is natural to take it as a genitive introducing the geographical setting.
  2. 9.2.1ἐκτραπεῖσιν — The dative plural participle 'ἐκτραπεῖσιν' (for those who turn aside). This is a characteristic feature of Pausanias' geographical style, using a dative participle of reference to represent the perspective or movement of travelers or readers.
  3. 9.2.2ὡς οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις ἀμελὲς γενόμενον — An accusative absolute accompanied by 'ὡς'. The neuter singular participle 'γενόμενον' of an impersonal verb is used to express a subjective reason or intention: "as though the burial of Mardonius should not be neglected even by them.’
  4. 9.2.7ἐσελθοῦσι — The dative plural participle 'ἐσελθοῦσι' (for those who enter). This is another frequent expression in Pausanias, presenting to the reader what is visible upon entering a building or temple.

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §9.2.1-9.2.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.2.1-9.2.7

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