Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. Friedrich Spiro, 1.17.4

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[4] ἐς δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν τὴν Θησέως πολλὰ ἤδη καὶ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦντα εἴρηται· δεδέσθαι τε γὰρ αὐτὸν λέγουσιν ἐς τόδε ἕως ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους ἀναχθείη, πιθανώτατα δὲ ὧν ἤκουσα· Θησεὺς ἐς Θεσπρωτοὺς ἐμβαλών, τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Θεσπρωτῶν γυναῖκα ἁρπάσων, τὸ πολὺ τῆς στρατιᾶς οὕτως ἀπόλλυσι, καὶ αὐτός τε καὶ Πειρίθους— Πειρίθους γὰρ καὶ τὸν γάμον σπεύδων ἐστράτευεν— ἥλωσαν, καὶ σφᾶς ὁ Θεσπρωτὸς δήσας εἶχεν ἐν Κιχύρῳ.

Description of Greece. Pausanias. ed. Friedrich Spiro. Leipzig. 1903.

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Current edition Perseus

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

Translations (2)

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.) — 1.17.4 focus

[4] The accounts of the end of Theseus are many and inconsistent. They say he was kept a prisoner until Heracles restored him to the light of day, but the most plausible account I have heard is this. Theseus invaded Thesprotia to carry off the wife of the Thesprotian king, and in this way lost the greater part of his army, and both he and Peirithous (he too was taking part in the expedition, being eager for the marriage) were taken captive. The Thesprotian king kept them prisoners at Cichyrus.

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.) — 1.17.4 focus

[4] With regard to the end [ teleutē] of Theseus many things have been said, and these things are not [mutually] consistent. They say he was kept tied-down [ deesthai] until he was brought-back [ an-agein] by Hēraklēs [to the light of day], but, of all the things I heard, the most believable [ pithanon] is as follows. Theseus invaded Thesprotia to carry off the wife of the Thesprotian king, and in this way lost the greater part of his army, and both he and Peirithoös—he too was taking part in the expedition, being eager for the marriage—were taken captive. The Thesprotian king kept them tied-down [ deein] at Kikhyros.

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

subject heading(s): deein (deesthai) ‘tie down’

The mythological theme of being tied down or bound (as in the wording Prometheus Bound) is expressed by such verbs as deein (deesthai), which conveys the mystical idea of cosmic as well as personal immobilization. Conversely, the mythological theme of being freed from such immobility is to be mystically ‘saved’, as expressed by way of verbs like an-agein ‘bring back [to safety], komizein ‘bring to safety’, sōzein ‘save’. But Pausanias here is downplaying the mysticism associated with such words, since he prefers here to view place-names associated with myths and rituals in such a way as to shade over those myths and rituals.

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Pausanias Description of Greece 1.17.4

ed. Friedrich Spiro

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