Pausanias, Description of Greece, W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator), 5.10.8

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[8] The sculptures in the front pediment are by Paeonius, who came from Mende in Thrace ¹; those in the back pediment are by Alcamenes,² a contemporary of Pheidias, ranking next after him for skill as a sculptor. What he carved on the pediment is the fight between the Lapithae and the Centaurs at the marriage of Peirithous. In the center of the pediment is Peirithous.³ On one side of him is Eurytion, who has seized the wife of Peirithous, with Caeneus bringing help to Peirithous, and on the other side is Theseus defending himself against the Centaurs with an axe. One Centaur has seized a maid, another a boy in the prime of youth. Alcamenes, I think, carved this scene, because he had learned from Homer's⁴ poem that Peirithous was a son of Zeus, and because he knew that Theseus was a great grandson of Pelops.

Description of Greece. Pausanias. W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1918-1935.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Description of Greece (English) (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.)

Editions (1)

Ἑλλάδος Περιηγήσεως Perseus (Pausanias. Pausaniae Graeciae descriptio, Volumes 1-3. Spiro, Friedrich, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1903.) — 5.10.8 focus

[8] τὰ μὲν δὴ ἔμπροσθεν ἐν τοῖς ἀετοῖς ἐστι Παιωνίου, γένος ἐκ Μένδης τῆς Θρᾳκίας, τὰ δὲ ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν Ἀλκαμένους, ἀνδρὸς ἡλικίαν τε κατὰ Φειδίαν καὶ δευτερεῖα ἐνεγκαμένου σοφίας ἐς ποίησιν ἀγαλμάτων. τὰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἀετοῖς ἐστιν αὐτῷ Λαπιθῶν ἐν τῷ Πειρίθου γάμῳ πρὸς Κενταύρους ἡ μάχη. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τοῦ ἀετοῦ τὸ μέσον Πειρίθους ἐστίν· παρὰ δὲ αὐτὸν τῇ μὲν Εὐρυτίων ἡρπακὼς τὴν γυναῖκά ἐστι τοῦ Πειρίθου καὶ ἀμύνων Καινεὺς τῷ Πειρίθῳ, τῇ δὲ Θησεὺς ἀμυνόμενος πελέκει τοὺς Κενταύρους· Κένταυρος δὲ ὁ μὲν παρθένον, ὁ δὲ παῖδα ἡρπακώς ἐστιν ὡραῖον. ἐποίησε δὲ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ταῦτα ὁ Ἀλκαμένης, Πειρίθουν τε εἶναι Διὸς ἐν ἔπεσι τοῖς Ὁμήρου δεδιδαγμένος καὶ Θησέα ἐπιστάμενος ὡς εἴη τέταρτος ἀπὸ Πέλοπος.

Translations (1)

English (Jones and Ormerod; retranslated Gregory Nagy, CHS, 2018) (OCR draft) Experimental (CHS Pausanias Reader retranslation by Gregory Nagy, based on Jones and Ormerod, with marked Greek terms, notes, quotations, and bibliographic attributions preserved.) — 5.10.8 focus

[8] The sculptures in the front [= east] pediment are by Paionios, who came from Mende in Thrace; those in the back [= west] pediment are by Alkamenes, a contemporary of Pheidias, ranking next after him for skill [ sophiā] in the making [ poiēsis] of statues [ agalmata]. What he [= Alkamenes] had on the pediment is the fight [ makhē] between the Lapithai and the Centaurs at the wedding of Peirithoös. In the center of the pediment is Peirithoös. Next to him on one side is Eurytion [the Centaur], who has seized [ harpazein] the wife of Peirithoös, and then there is Kaineus [= one of the Lapithai], who is coming up to help Peirithoös, and, on the other side is Theseus defending himself against the Centaurs with an axe [ pelekus]. One Centaur has just seized [ harpazein] a girl [ parthenos], another a boy [ pais] in-the-prime-of-youth [ hōraios]. Alkamenes, I think, made [ poieîn] these things this way because he had learned from the verses [ epē] of Homer that Peirithoös was a son of Zeus, and because he knew that Theseus was the fourth [inclusive] generation removed from Pelops.

Notes on the current edition

Description of Greece

1. circa 430 B.C.

2. There are good reasons, chronological and artistic, for thinking that neither Paeonius not Alcamenes carved the figures on the pediments.

3. This is supposed to be a mistake.

4. Hom. Il. 14.318

Pausanias Description of Greece 5.10.8

W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator)

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