Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy, 9.26.3

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[3] There is another version of the story which makes her the natural daughter of Laios, who, because he was fond of her, told her the oracle delivered to Kadmos from Delphi. No one, they say, except the kings knew the oracle. Now Laios (the story goes on to say) had sons by concubines, and the oracle delivered from Delphi applied only to Epicaste and her sons. So when any of her brothers came in order to claim the throne from the Sphinx, she resorted to trickery in dealing with them, saying that if they were sons of Laios they should know the oracle that came to Kadmos.

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.) — 9.26.3 focus

[3] λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς νόθη Λαΐου θυγάτηρ εἴη, καὶ ὡς τὸν χρησμὸν τὸν Κάδμῳ δοθέντα ἐκ Δελφῶν διδάξειεν αὐτὴν κατὰ εὔνοιαν ὁ Λάιος· ἐπίστασθαι δὲ πλὴν τοὺς βασιλέας οὐδένα ἄλλον τὸ μάντευμα. ὁπότε οὖν τῇ Σφιγγὶ ἀμφισβητήσων τις ἀφίκοιτο τῆς ἀρχῆς—γενέσθαι γὰρ τῷ Λαΐῳ ἐκ παλλακῶν υἱοὺς καὶ τὰ χρησθέντα ἐκ Δελφῶν ἐς Ἐπικάστην μόνην καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἐκείνης ἔχειν παῖδας—, τὴν οὖν Σφίγγα χρῆσθαι σοφίσμασιν ἐς τοὺς ἀδελφούς, ὡς τὸν Κάδμῳ γενόμενον χρησμὸν 0 εἰδεῖεν ἂν Λαΐου γε ὄντες·

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.) — 9.26.3 focus

[3] There is another version of the story which makes her the natural daughter of Laius, who, because he was fond of her, told her the oracle delivered to Cadmus from Delphi . No one, they say, except the kings knew the oracle. Now Laius (the story goes on to say) had sons by concubines, and the oracle delivered from Delphi applied only to Epicaste and her sons. So when any of her brothers came in order to claim the throne from the Sphinx, she resorted to trickery in dealing with them, saying that if they were sons of Laius they should know the oracle that came to Cadmus.

New Alexandria Commentaries

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

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Pausanias Description of Greece 9.26.3

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

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