Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy, 4.2

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[1] As I was extremely anxious to learn what children were born to Polycaon by Messene, I read the poem called Ehoiai and the epic Naupactia, and in addition to these all the genealogies of Cinaethon and Asios. However, they made no reference to this matter, although I know that the Great Ehoiai says that Polycaon, the son of Butes, married Euaichme, the daughter of Hyllos, son of Hēraklēs, but it omits all reference to the husband of Messene and to Messene herself.

[2] Some time later, as no descendant of Polycaon survived (in my opinion his house lasted for five generations, but no more), they summoned Perieres, the son of Aeolus, as king. To him, the Messenians say, came Melaneus, a good archer and considered for this reason to be a son of Apollo; Perieres assigned to him as a dwelling a part of the country now called the Carnasium, but which then received the name Oechalia, derived, as they say, from the wife of Melaneus.

[3] Most matters of Greek history have come to be disputed. The Thessalians say that Eurytium, which today is not inhabited, was formerly a city and was called Oechalia. The account given by the Euboeans agrees with the statements of Kreophylos in his Herakleia; and Hecataeus of Miletus stated that Oechalia is in Scius, a part of the territory of Eretria. Nevertheless, I think that the whole version of the Messenians is more probable than these, particularly on account of the bones of Eurytos, which my story will deal with later.

[4] Perieres had issue by Gorgophone the daughter of Perseus, Aphareus and Leukippos, and after his death they inherited the Messenian kingdom. But Aphareus had the greater authority. On his accession he founded a city Arene, named after the daughter of Oibalos, who was both his wife and sister by the same mother. For Gorgophone was married to Oibalos. The facts regarding her have already been given twice, in my account of the Argolid and of Laconia.

[5] Aphareus then founded the city of Arena in Messenia, and received into his house his cousin Neleus the son of Kretheus, son of Aeolus (he was also called a son of Poseidon), when he was driven from Iolcos by Pelias. He gave him the maritime part of the land, where with other towns was Pylos, in which Neleus settled and established his palace.

[6] Lykos the son of Pandion also came to Arene, when he too was driven from Athens by his brother Aigeus, and revealed the rites of the Great Goddesses to Aphareus and his children and to his wife Arene; but it was to Andania that he brought the rites and revealed them there, as it was there that Kaukon initiated Messene.

[7] Of the children born to Aphareus Idas was the elder and more brave, Lynkeus the younger; he, if Pindar’s words are credible, possessed eyesight so keen that he saw through the trunk of an oak. We know of no child of Lynkeus, but Idas had by Marpessa a daughter Kleopatra, who married Meleagros. The writer of the epic Cypria says that the wife of Protesilaos, the first who dared to land when the Greeks reached Troy, was named Polydora, whom he calls a daughter of Meleagros the son of Oineus. If this is correct, these three women, the first of whom was Marpessa, all slew themselves on the death of their husbands.

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.) — 4.2 focus

[1]
πυθέσθαι δὲ σπουδῇ πάνυ ἐθελήσας, οἵ τινες παῖδες Πολυκάονι ἐγένοντο ἐκ Μεσσήνης, ἐπελεξάμην τάς τε Ἠοίας καλουμένας καὶ τὰ ἔπη τὰ Ναυπάκτια, πρὸς δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁπόσα Κιναίθων καὶ Ἄσιος ἐγενεαλόγησαν. οὐ μὴν ἔς γε ταῦτα ἦν σφισιν οὐδὲν πεποιημένον, ἀλλὰ Ὕλλου μὲν τοῦ Ἡρακλέους θυγατρὶ Εὐαίχμῃ συνοικῆσαι Πολυκάονα υἱὸν Βούτου λεγούσας τὰς
μεγάλας οἶδα Ἠοίας, τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν Μεσσήνης ἄνδρα καὶ τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν Μεσσήνην παρεῖταί σφισι.

[2] χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον, ὡς ἦν τῶν Πολυκάονος οὐδεὶς ἔτι ἀπογόνων, ἐς γενεὰς πέντε ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν προελθόντων καὶ οὐ πλέονας, Περιήρην τὸν Αἰόλου βασιλέα ἐπάγονται. παρὰ τοῦτον ἀφίκετο, ὡς οἱ Μεσσήνιοί φασι, Μελανεύς, τοξεύειν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Ἀπόλλωνος εἶναι νομιζόμενος· καί οἱ τῆς χώρας τὸ Καρνάσιον, τότε δὲ Οἰχαλίαν κληθεῖσαν, ἀπένειμεν ὁ Περιήρης ἐνοικῆσαι· γενέσθαι δὲ ὄνομα Οἰχαλίαν τῇ πόλει φασὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Μελανέως τῆς γυναικός.

[3] Θεσσαλοὶ δὲ καὶ Εὐβοεῖς, ἥκει γὰρ δὴ ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι τὰ πλείω, λέγουσιν οἱ μὲν ὡς τὸ Εὐρύτιον—χωρίον δὲ ἔρημον ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἐστι τὸ Εὐρύτιον—πόλις τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἦν καὶ ἐκαλεῖτο Οἰχαλία, τῷ δὲ Εὐβοέων λόγῳ Κρεώφυλος ἐν Ἡρακλείᾳ πεποίηκεν ὁμολογοῦντα· Ἑκαταῖος δὲ ὁ Μιλήσιος ἐν Σκίῳ μοίρᾳ τῆς Ἐρετρικῆς ἔγραψεν εἶναι Οἰχαλίαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οἱ Μεσσήνιοι τά τε ἄλλα δοκοῦσί μοι μᾶλλον εἰκότα ἐκείνων λέγειν καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τῶν ὀστῶν ἕνεκα τῶν Εὐρύτου, ἃ δὴ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔπειτά που ὁ λόγος ἐπέξεισί μοι.

[4]
Περιήρει δὲ ἐγεγόνεσαν ἐκ Γοργοφόνης τῆς Περσέως Ἀφαρεὺς καὶ Λεύκιππος, καὶ ὡς ἀπέθανε Περιήρης, ἔσχον οὗτοι τὴν Μεσσηνίων ἀρχήν· κυριώτερος δὲ ἔτι Ἀφαρεὺς ἦν. οὗτος βασιλεύσας πόλιν ᾤκισεν Ἀρήνην ἀπὸ τῆς Οἰβάλου θυγατρός, αὑτοῦ δὲ γυναικὸς τῆς αὐτῆς καὶ ἀδελφῆς ὁμομητρίας· καὶ γὰρ
Οἰβάλῳ συνῴκησε Γοργοφόνη, καί μοι δὶς ἤδη τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ὁ λόγος ἔν τε τῇ Ἀργολίδι ἐδήλωσε καὶ ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ συγγραφῇ.

[5] ὁ δʼ οὖν Ἀφαρεὺς πόλιν τε ἔκτισεν ἐν τῇ Μεσσηνίᾳ τὴν Ἀρήνην καὶ Νηλέα τὸν Κρηθέως τοῦ Αἰόλου, Ποσειδῶνος δὲ ἐπίκλησιν, ἀνεψιὸν ὄντα αὐτῷ, φεύγοντα ἐξ Ἰωλκοῦ Πελίαν ἐδέξατο οἴκῳ καὶ τῆς γῆς οἱ ἔδωκε τὰ ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ, ἐν οἷς ἄλλαι τε ἦσαν πόλεις καὶ ἡ Πύλος, ἔνθα καὶ ᾤκησε καὶ τὸ βασίλειον κατεστήσατο ὁ Νηλεύς.

[6] ἀφίκετο δὲ ἐς τὴν Ἀρήνην καὶ Λύκος ὁ Πανδίονος, ὅτε καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν Αἰγέα ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἔφευγε· καὶ τὰ ὄργια ἐπέδειξε τῶν Μεγάλων θεῶν Ἀφαρεῖ καὶ τοῖς παισὶ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ Ἀρήνῃ· ταῦτα δέ σφισιν ἐπεδείκνυτο ἀγαγὼν ἐς τὴν Ἀνδανίαν, ὅτι καὶ τὴν Μεσσήνην ὁ Καύκων ἐμύησεν ἐνταῦθα.

[7] Ἀφαρεῖ δὲ τῶν παίδων πρεσβύτερος μὲν καὶ ἀνδρειότερος Ἴδας, νεώτερος δὲ ἦν Λυγκεύς, ὃν ἔφη Πίνδαρος—ὅτῳ πιστὰ—οὕτως ὀξὺ ὁρᾶν ὡς καὶ διὰ στελέχους θεᾶσθαι δρυός. Λυγκέως μὲν δὴ παῖδα οὐκ ἴσμεν γενόμενον, Ἴδα δὲ Κλεοπάτραν θυγατέρα ἐκ Μαρπήσσης, ἣ Μελεάγρῳ συνῴκησεν. ὁ δὲ τὰ ἔπη ποιήσας τὰ Κύπρια Πρωτεσιλάου φησίν, ὃς ὅτε κατὰ τὴν Τρῳάδα ἔσχον Ἕλληνες ἀποβῆναι πρῶτος ἐτόλμησε, Πρωτεσιλάου τούτου τὴν γυναῖκα Πολυδώραν μὲν τὸ ὄνομα, θυγατέρα δὲ Μελεάγρου φησὶν εἶναι τοῦ Οἰνέως. εἰ τοίνυν ἐστὶν ἀληθές, αἱ γυναῖκες αὗται τρεῖς οὖσαι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀπὸ Μαρπήσσης ἀρξάμεναι προαποθανοῦσι πᾶσαι τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἑαυτὰς ἐπικατέσφαξαν. 0

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.) — 4.2 focus

[1]
As I was extremely anxious to learn what children were born to Polycaon by Messene , I read the poem called Eoeae and the epic Naupactia, and in addition to these all the genealogies of Cinaethon and Asius. However, they made no reference to this matter, although I know that the Great Eoeae says that Polycaon, the son of Butes, married Euaichme, the daughter of Hyllus, son of Heracles, but it omits all reference to the husband of Messene and to Messene herself.

[3] Most matters of Greek history have come to be disputed. The Thessalians say that Eurytium, which to-day is not inhabited, was formerly a city and was called Oechalia . The account given by the Euboeans agrees with the statements of Creophylus in his Heraeleia ; and Hecataeus of Miletus stated that Oechalia is in Scius, a part of the territory of Eretria . Nevertheless, I think that the whole version of the Messenians is more probable than these, particularly on account of the bones of Eurytus, which my story will deal with later.¹

[4]
Perieres had issue by Gorgophone the daughter of Perseus, Aphareus and Leucippus, and after his death they inherited the Messenian kingdom. But Aphareus had the greater authority. On his accession he founded a city Arene , named after the daughter of Oebalus, who was both his wife and sister by the same mother. For Gorgophone was married to Oebalus. The facts regarding her have already been given twice, in my account of the Argolid and of Laconia .²

[5] Aphareus then founded the city of Arena in Messenia , and received into his house his cousin Neleus the son of Cretheus, son of Aeolus (he was also called a son of Poseidon), when he was driven from Iolcos by Pelias. He gave him the maritime part of the land, where with other towns was Pylos , in which Neleus settled and established his palace.

[6] Lycus the son of Pandion also came to Arene , when he too was driven from Athens by his brother Aegeus, and revealed the rites of the Great Goddesses to Aphareus and his children and to his wife Arene ; but it was to Andania that he brought the rites and revealed them there, as it was there that Caucon initiated Messene .

[7] Of the children born to Aphareus Idas was the elder and more brave, Lynceus the younger; he, if Pindar's words are credible,³ possessed eyesight so keen that he saw through the trunk of an oak. We know of no child of Lynceus, but Idas had by Marpessa a daughter Cleopatra, who married Meleager. The writer of the epic Cypria says that the wife of Protesilaus, the first who dared to land when the Greeks reached Troy , was named Polydora, whom he calls a daughter of Meleager the son of Oeneus. If this is correct, these three women, the first of whom was Marpessa, all slew themselves on the death of their husbands.

New Alexandria Commentaries

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

Pausanias Description of Greece 4.2

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

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