Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. W. H. S. Jones, ed. H. A. Ormerod, ed. Gregory Nagy, 4.9

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Section

← Previous Next →

[1] But after the battle the affairs of the Messenians began to get serious. They were exhausted by the expenditure of money devoted to the garrisoning of the towns, and their slaves were deserting to the Lacedaemonians. They were visited also by disease, which caused alarm, as resembling plague, although it did not attack all. In these circumstances they resolved to desert all their numerous towns inland and to settle on Mount Ithome.

[2] A small town existed here, which they say Homer mentions in the Catalogue:

“Stepped Ithome.”

Iliad 2.729

To this town they withdrew, extending the old circuit to form a sufficient protection for them all. The place was strong in other respects, for Ithome falls short of none of the mountains within the Isthmus in height and at this point was most difficult to climb.

[3] They also resolved to send an envoy to Delphi, and despatched Tisis the son of Alcis, a man of the highest reputation, considered to be fully versed in divination. While he was returning from Delphi men from the Lacedaemonian garrison at Ampheia laid an ambush for him. Though trapped, he did not submit to be made a prisoner, but stood his ground to resist in spite of the wounds he received, until a voice was heard from an unseen quarter, “Let the bearer of the oracle go free.”

[4] Tisis, reaching Ithome with all speed, delivered the oracle to the king, and soon afterwards died of his wounds. Euphaes assembled the Messenians and made known the oracle:

“Ye shall sacrifice a pure maiden to the gods below, appointed by lot of the blood of the sons of Aipytos, and slay her by night. But if that ye cannot do, offer a maiden from another house, if the father gives her freely for the slaughter.”

[5] When the god declared this, all the girls of the house of the Aipytidai forthwith cast lots, and the lot fell on the daughter of Lykiskos. But Epebolus the seer forbade them to offer her, for she was not the daughter of Lykiskos, but the woman who was married to Lykiskos being unable to bear a child had palmed off the girl as hers. While Epebolus was making this declaration, Lykiskos took the girl away and deserted to Sparta.

[6] The Messenians were in despair when they saw that Lykiskos had fled; thereupon Aristodemos, a son of the house of the Aipytidai, of higher standing than Lykiskos both in reputation and in war, freely offered his daughter for the sacrifice. But human affairs and human purpose above all are obscured by fate, just as the mud of a river hides a pebble; for when Aristodemos was striving his utmost to save Messene, fate set this obstacle in his path.

[7] A Messenian, whose name is not recorded, was in love with the daughter of’ Aristodemos, and was already about to make her his wife. He at first disputed the rights of Aristodemos over the girl for Aristodemos, since he had betrothed her to himself had no further rights over the girl, but he to whom she was betrothed had greater rights than the father. Next, when he saw that this was of no avail, he had recourse to a shameless plea, that the girl was with child by him.

[8] At last he drove Aristodemos to such a fury of passion that lie killed his daughter; then cutting her open he showed that she was not pregnant. Epebolus, who was present, ordered another man to come forward and offer his daughter, for the daughter of Aristodemos was of no avail to them dead; for the father had murdered her, not offered her to the gods whom the Pythia ordained.

[9] When the seer said this, the multitude of the Messenians rushed on the girl’s lover to kill him, since he had fixed the guilt of bloodshed on Aristodemos to no purpose, and had made their hopes of safety doubtful. But as he was a close friend of Euphaes, Euphaes persuaded the Messenians that the oracle was fulfilled by the death of the girl and that the deed done by Aristodemos sufficed for them.

[10] When he said this, all the members of the house of the Aipytidai said that he spoke truth, for each was eager to be rid of the terror threatening his daughter. The people took the advice of the king and broke up the assembly and thereupon turned to sacrifices to the gods and feasting.

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.) — 4.9 focus

[1]
τοῖς δὲ Μεσσηνίοις μετὰ τὴν μάχην πονηρὰ γίνεσθαι τὰ πράγματα ἤρχετο· δαπάνῃ τε γὰρ χρημάτων ἀπειρήκεσαν, ἃ τῶν πόλεων ἀνήλισκον ἐς τὰς φρουράς, καὶ οἱ δοῦλοι παρὰ τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ηὐτομόλουν, τοῖς δὲ καὶ νόσος ἐνέπεσε καὶ ταραχὰς μὲν παρέσχεν ὡς εἴη λοιμώδης, οὐ μὴν ἐς ἅπαντάς γε ἐχώρησεν. βουλευομένοις δὲ πρὸς τὰ παρόντα ἐδόκει τὰ μὲν πολλὰ πολίσματα τὰ ἐς μεσόγαιαν πάντα ἐκλείπειν, ἐς δὲ τὸ ὄρος ἀνοικίζεσθαι τὴν Ἰθώμην.

[2] ἦν δὲ καὶ πόλισμα αὐτόθι οὐ μέγα, ὃ καὶ Ὅμηρόν φασιν ἔχειν ἐν καταλόγῳ·

καὶ Ἰθώμην κλιμακόεσσαν.

Hom. Il. 2.729 ἐς τοῦτο τὸ πόλισμα ἀνῳκίζοντο, ἐπεκτείνοντες τὸν ἀρχαῖον περίβολον ἔρυμα εἶναι πᾶσιν αὔταρκες. ἦν δὲ τὸ χωρίον καὶ ἄλλως ἐχυρόν· ἡ γὰρ Ἰθώμη μεγέθει τε οὐδενὸς ἀποδεῖ τῶν ὀρῶν ὁπόσα ἐντός ἐστιν ἰσθμοῦ καὶ δύσβατος κατὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἦν.

[3] ἐδόκει δὲ καὶ θεωρὸν πέμψαι σφίσιν ἐς Δελφούς. ἀποστέλλουσιν οὖν Τῖσιν τὸν Ἄλκιδος, καὶ ἀξιώματι οὐδενὸς ὕστερον καὶ ὅτι προσκεῖσθαι μαντικῇ μάλιστα ἐνομίζετο. τοῦτον τὸν Τῖσιν ἐπανιόντα ἐκ Δελφῶν λοχῶσιν ἄνδρες Λακεδαιμονίων ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Ἀμφείᾳ φρουρᾶς· λοχήσαντες δὲ—οὐ γὰρ ὑπεῖκεν αἰχμάλωτος γενέσθαι— περιμένοντα οὖν ἀμύνεσθαι καὶ ἀνθεστηκότα ἐτίτρωσκον, ἐς ὃ γίνεται βοή σφισιν ἐξ ἀφανοῦς “τὸν χρησμοφόρον μέθες.”

[4] καὶ Τῖσις μὲν ὡς ἀπεσώθη τάχιστα ἐς Ἰθώμην καὶ τὴν μαντείαν παρὰ τὸν βασιλέα ἀνήνεγκε, μετʼ οὐ πολὺ ὑπὸ τῶν τραυμάτων τελευτᾷ· τοὺς δὲ 0 Μεσσηνίους συναθροίσας ὁ Εὐφαὴς ἐπεδείκνυ τὸν χρησμόν·

κόρην ἄχραντον νερτέροισι δαίμοσι,

κλήρῳ λαχοῦσαν Αἰπυτιδῶν ἀφʼ αἵματος,

θυηπολεῖτε νυκτέροισιν ἐν σφαγαῖς.

ἢν δὲ σφαλῆτε, καὶ παρʼ ἀλλοίου τότε

θύειν, διδόντος ἐς σφαγὴν ἑκουσίως.

[5] ταῦτα τοῦ θεοῦ δηλώσαντος αὐτίκα ἐκληροῦντο ὅσαι παρθένοι τοῦ Αἰπυτιδῶν γένους ἦσαν· καὶ ἐπελάμβανε γὰρ Λυκίσκου θυγατέρα ὁ κλῆρος, ταύτην Ἐπήβολος ὁ μάντις ἀπηγόρευεν ὡς οὐ δέοι θύειν, οὐ γὰρ εἶναι Λυκίσκου· τὴν δὲ γυναῖκα ἣ Λυκίσκῳ συνῴκησεν, ὡς τεκεῖν οὔκουν οἵα τε ἦν, ἐν τούτῳ τὴν παῖδα ὑποβαλέσθαι. ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ οὗτος ἀνεδίδασκε τὰ ἐς αὐτήν, ἐν τοσῷδε ὁ Λυκίσκος ἀπαγόμενος ἅμα καὶ τὴν παρθένον ηὐτομόλησεν ἐς Σπάρτην.

[6] ἐχόντων δὲ ἀθύμως τῶν Μεσσηνίων ὡς Λυκίσκον ἀποδράντα ᾔσθοντο, ἐνταῦθά σφισιν Ἀριστόδημος ἀνὴρ καὶ γένους τοῦ Αἰπυτιδῶν καὶ Λυκίσκου τῇ τε ἄλλῃ δόξῃ καὶ τὰ ἐς πόλεμον ἐπιφανέστερος ἐδίδου τὴν θυγατέρα ἑκὼν θῦσαι. τὰ δὲ ἀνθρώπων καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τὸ πρόθυμον ἡ πεπρωμένη κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἐπικρύπτει καὶ εἰ ψηφῖδα ἐπιλαβοῦσα ἰλὺς ποταμοῦ, ὅπου καὶ τότε Ἀριστοδήμῳ διασώσασθαι Μεσσήνην ἀγώνισμα ποιουμένῳ τὸ ἐμπόδιον ἐπήγαγε τοιόνδε.

[7] ἀνὴρ τῶν Μεσσηνίων—τὸ δὲ ὄνομα οὐ λέγουσιν—ἐρῶν ἔτυχε τοῦ Ἀριστοδήμου τῆς
θυγατρός, τότε δὲ ἤδη ἔμελλε καὶ γυναῖκα ἄξεσθαι. οὗτος κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν Ἀριστοδήμῳ προῆλθεν, ἐκεῖνον μὲν ἐγγυήσαντά οἱ μηκέτι εἶναι κύριον τῆς παιδός, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐγγυησάμενος κυριώτερος ἐκείνου γίνεσθαι. δεύτερα δὲ ὡς τοῦτο οὐχ ἑώρα οἱ κατορθούμενον, ἐπʼ ἀναίσχυντον τρέπεται λόγον·

[8] ξυγγενέσθαι τε τῇ παιδὶ καὶ κύειν ἐξ αὐτοῦ. τέλος δὲ ἐς τοσοῦτον Ἀριστόδημον προήγαγεν ὡς ἐκμανέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα ἀποκτεῖναι· μετὰ δὲ ἀνέτεμνε καὶ ἐπεδείκνυεν αὐτὴν οὐκ ἔχουσαν ἐν γαστρί. παρὼν δὲ Ἐπήβολος ἐκέλευεν ἄλλον τινὰ τὸν θυγατέρα ἐπιδώσοντα γενέσθαι· τῆς γὰρ τοῦ Ἀριστοδήμου πλέον εἶναί σφισιν ἀποθανούσης οὐδέν· φονεῦσαι γὰρ τὸν πατέρα αὐτήν, θεοῖς δὲ οἷς ἡ Πυθία προσέταξεν οὐ θῦσαι.

[9] τοιαῦτα εἰπόντος τοῦ μάντεως τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Μεσσηνίων ὥρμησεν ἀποκτενοῦντες τὸν μνηστῆρα τῆς παιδός, ὡς Ἀριστοδήμῳ τε μίασμα εἰκαῖον προσάψαντα καὶ σφίσι τῆς σωτηρίας τὴν ἐλπίδα ἀμφίβολον πεποιηκότα. ἢν δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ οὗτος ἐς τὰ μάλιστα τῷ Εὐφαεῖ φίλος· πείθει οὖν τοὺς Μεσσηνίους Εὐφαὴς τόν τε χρησμὸν ἔχειν τέλος ἀποθανούσης τῆς παιδὸς καὶ σφίσιν ἀποχρᾶν τὰ ὑπὸ Ἀριστοδήμου πεποιημένα.

[10] λέγοντος δὲ ταῦτα ἔφασαν τὰ ὄντα λέγειν ὅσοι τοῦ Αἰπυτιδῶν γένους ἦσαν· ἀπεῖναι γάρ σφισι τὸ δέος τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ ἕκαστος ἔσπευδε. καὶ οἱ μὲν τοῦ βασιλέως τῇ παραινέσει πειθόμενοι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν διαλύουσι καὶ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς πρός τε θυσίας θεῶν καὶ ἑορτὴν τρέπονται·

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.) — 4.9 focus

[1]
But after the battle the affairs of the Messenians began to get serious. They were exhausted by the expenditure of money devoted to the garrisoning of the towns, and their slaves were deserting to the Lacedaemonians. They were visited also by disease, which caused alarm, as resembling plague, although it did not attack all. In these circumstances they resolved to desert all their numerous towns inland and to settle on Mount Ithome .

[2] A small town existed here, which they say Homer mentions in the Catalogue:

Stepped Ithome .

Hom. Il. 2.729 To this town they withdrew, extending the old circuit to form a sufficient protection for them all. The place was strong in other respects, for Ithome falls short of none of the mountains within the Isthmus in height and at this point was most difficult to climb.

[3] They also resolved to send an envoy to Delphi , and despatched Tisis the son of Alcis, a man of the highest reputation, considered to be fully versed in divination. While he was returning from Delphi men from the Lacedaemonian garrison at Ampheia laid an ambush for him. Though trapped, he did not submit to be made a prisoner, but stood his ground to resist in spite of the wounds he received, until a voice was heard from an unseen quarter, “Let the bearer of the oracle go free.”

[4] Tisis, reaching Ithome with all speed, delivered the oracle to the king, and soon afterwards died of his wounds. Euphaes assembled the Messenians and made known the oracle:

Ye shall sacrifice a pure maiden to the gods below, appointed by lot of the blood of the sons of Aepytus, and slay her by night. But if that ye cannot do, offer a maiden from another house, if the father gives her freely for the slaughter.

[5] When the god declared this, all the maidens of the house of the Aepytidae forthwith cast lots, and the lot fell on the daughter of Lyciscus. But Epebolus the seer forbade them to offer her, for she was not the daughter of Lyciscus, but the woman who was married to Lyciscus being unable to bear a child had palmed off the girl as hers. While Epebolus was making this declaration, Lyciscus took the girl away and deserted to Sparta .

[6] The Messenians were in despair when they saw that Lyciscus had fled; thereupon Aristodemus, a son of the house of the Aepytidae, of higher standing than Lyciscus both in reputation and in war, freely offered his daughter for the sacrifice. But human affairs and human purpose above all are obscured by fate, just as the mud of a river hides a pebble; for when Aristodemus was striving his utmost to save Messene , fate set this obstacle in his path.

[7] A Messenian, whose name is not recorded, was in love with the daughter of' Aristodemus, and was already about to make her his wife. He at first disputed the rights of Aristodemus over the girl for Aristodemus, since he had betrothed her to himself had no further rights over the girl, but he to whom she was betrothed had greater rights than the father. Next, when he saw that this was of no avail, he had recourse to a shameless plea, that the girl was with child by him.

[8] At last he drove Aristodemus to such a fury of passion that lie killed his daughter; then cutting her open he showed that she was not pregnant. Epebolus, who was present, ordered another man to come forward and offer his daughter, for the daughter of Aristodemus was of no avail to them dead; for the father had murdered her, not offered her to the gods whom the Pythia ordained.

[9] When the seer said this, the multitude of the Messenians rushed on the girl's lover to kill him, since he had fixed the guilt of bloodshed on Aristodemus to no purpose, and had made their hopes of safety doubtful. But as he was a close friend of Euphaes, Euphaes persuaded the Messenians that the oracle was fulfilled by the death of the girl and that the deed done by Aristodemus sufficed for them.

[10] When he said this, all the members of the house of the Aepytidae said that he spoke truth, for each was eager to be rid of the terror threatening his daughter. The people took the advice of' the king and broke up the assembly and thereupon turned to sacrifices to the gods and feasting.

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 4.9

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