Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy, 2.37.4

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Chapter

← Previous Next →

[4] All this was proved in the demonstration. At the source of the Amymone grows a plane tree, beneath which, they say, the hydra (water-snake) grew. I am ready to believe that this beast was superior in size to other water-snakes, and that its poison had something in it so deadly that Hēraklēs treated the points of his arrows with its gall. It had, however, in my opinion, one head, and not several. It was Peisandros of Camirus who, in order that the beast might appear more frightful and his poetry might be more remarkable, represented the hydra with its many heads.

Description of Greece. Pausanias. ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy. . .

Current edition Experimental

English (Jones and Ormerod; retranslated Gregory Nagy, CHS, 2018) (OCR draft) (English) (CHS Pausanias Reader retranslation by Gregory Nagy, based on Jones and Ormerod, with marked Greek terms, notes, quotations, and bibliographic attributions preserved.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ἑλλάδος Περιηγήσεως Perseus (Pausanias. Pausaniae Graeciae descriptio, Volumes 1-3. Spiro, Friedrich, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1903.) — 2.37.4 focus

[4]
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἀπέφαινεν οὕτως ἔχοντα, τῆς δὲ Ἀμυμώνης πέφυκεν ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ πλάτανος· ὑπὸ ταύτῃ τὴν ὕδραν τραφῆναι τῇ πλατάνῳ φασίν. ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ θηρίον πείθομαι τοῦτο καὶ μεγέθει διενεγκεῖν ὑδρῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὸν ἰὸν οὕτω δή τι ἔχειν ἀνίατον ὡς τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἀπὸ τῆς χολῆς αὐτοῦ τὰς ἀκίδας φαρμακεῦσαι τῶν ὀιστῶν· κεφαλὴν δὲ εἶχεν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν μίαν καὶ οὐ πλείονας, Πείσανδρος δὲ ὁ Καμιρεύς, ἵνα τὸ θηρίον τε δοκοίη φοβερώτερον καὶ αὐτῷ γίνηται ἡ ποίησις ἀξιόχρεως μᾶλλον, ἀντὶ τούτων τὰς κεφαλὰς ἐποίησε τῇ ὕδρᾳ τὰς πολλάς.

Translations (1)

Description of Greece Perseus (Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece, Volumes 1-4. Jones, W.H.S. (William Henry Samuel), translator; Ormerod, Henry Arderne, translator. London, New York: W. Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1918-1935.) — 2.37.4 focus

[4]
All this was proved in the demonstration. At the source of the Amymone grows a plane tree, beneath which, they say, the hydra (water-snake) grew. I am ready to believe that this beast was superior in size to other water-snakes, and that its poison had something in it so deadly that Heracles treated the points of his arrows with its gall. It had, however, in my opinion, one head, and not several. It was Peisander¹ of Camirus who, in order that the beast might appear more frightful and his poetry might be more remarkable, represented the hydra with its many heads.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy, Editors: Angelia Hanhardt and Keith DeStone, Web producer: Noel Spencer, Consultant for images: Jill Curry Robbins, \[\[Noel gives this a separate URN\]\]

Scroll I. Attica

source

Pausanias Description of Greece 2.37.4

ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers