Pausanias, Description of Greece, ed. Friedrich Spiro, 8.40

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[1]
Φιγαλεῦσι δὲ ἀνδριάς ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς Ἀρ ραχίωνος τοῦ παγκρατιαστοῦ, τά τε ἄλλα ἀρχαῖος καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τῷ σχήματι· οὐ διεστᾶσι μὲν πολὺ οἱ πόδες, καθεῖνται δὲ παρὰ πλευρὰν αἱ χεῖρες ἄχρι τῶν γλουτῶν. πεποίηται μὲν δὴ ἡ εἰκὼν λίθου, λέγουσι 0 δὲ καὶ ἐπίγραμμα ἐπʼ αὐτὴν γραφῆναι· καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἠφάνιστο ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου, τῷ δὲ Ἀρραχίωνι ἐγένοντο Ὀλυμπικαὶ νῖκαι δύο μὲν Ὀλυμπιάσι ταῖς πρὸ τῆς τετάρτης καὶ πεντηκοστῆς, ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ σὺν δικαίῳ τε ἐκ τῶν Ἑλλανοδικῶν καὶ Ἀρραχίωνος αὐτοῦ τῇ ἀρετῇ.

[2] ὡς γὰρ δὴ πρὸς τὸν καταλειπόμενον ἔτι τῶν ἀνταγωνιστῶν ἐμάχετο ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοτίνου, ὁ μὲν προέλαβεν ὅστις δὴ ὁ ἀνταγωνιζόμενος καὶ τοῖς ποσὶ τὸν Ἀρραχίωνα εἶχεν ἐζωκὼς καὶ τὸν τράχηλον ἐπίεζεν ἅμα αὐτοῦ ταῖς χερσίν· ὁ δὲ Ἀρραχίων ἐκκλᾷ τῶν ἐν τῷ ποδὶ τοῦ ἀνταγωνιζομένου δάκτυλον, καὶ Ἀρραχίων τε τὴν ψυχὴν ἀφίησιν ἀγχόμενος καὶ ὁ ἄγχων τὸν Ἀρραχίωνα ὑπὸ τοῦ δακτύλου τῆς ὀδύνης κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἀπαγορεύει τὸν αὐτόν. Ἠλεῖοι δὲ ἐστεφάνωσάν τε καὶ ἀνηγόρευσαν νικῶντα τοῦ Ἀρραχίωνος τὸν νεκρόν.

[3] ἐοικὸς δὲ καὶ Ἀργείους οἶδα ἐπὶ Κρεύγᾳ ποιήσαντας Ἐπιδαμνίῳ πύκτῃ· καὶ γὰρ Ἀργεῖοι τεθνεῶτι ἔδοσαν τῷ Κρεύγᾳ τῶν Νεμείων τὸν στέφανον, ὅτι ὁ πρὸς αὐτὸν μαχόμενος Δαμόξενος Συρακόσιος παρέβη τὰ ὡμολογημένα σφίσιν ἐς ἀλλήλους. ἐφήξειν μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλεν ἑσπέρα πυκτεύουσιν αὐτοῖς, συνέθεντο δὲ ἐς ἐπήκοον ἀνὰ μέρος τὸν ἕτερον ὑποσχεῖν αὐτῶν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πληγήν. τοῖς δὲ πυκτεύουσιν οὐκ ἦν πω τηνικαῦτα ἱμὰς ὀξὺς ἐπὶ τῷ καρπῷ τῆς χειρὸς ἑκατέρας, ἀλλὰ ταῖς μειλίχαις ἔτι ἐπύκτευον, ὑπὸ τὸ κοῖλον δέοντες τῆς χειρός, ἵνα οἱ δάκτυλοί σφισιν ἀπολείπωνται γυμνοί· αἱ δὲ ἐκ βοέας ὠμῆς ἱμάντες λεπτοὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀρχαῖον πεπλεγμένοι διʼ 0 ἀλλήλων ἦσαν αἱ μειλίχαι.

[4] τότε οὖν ὁ μὲν τὴν πληγὴν ἀφῆκεν ἐς τοῦ Δαμοξένου τὴν κεφαλήν· ὁ δὲ ἀνασχεῖν τὴν χεῖρα ὁ Δαμόξενος ἐκέλευσε τὸν Κρεύγαν, ἀνασχόντος δὲ παίει τοῖς δακτύλοις ὀρθοῖς ὑπὸ τὴν πλευράν, ὑπὸ δὲ ἀκμῆς τε τῶν ὀνύχων καὶ βίας τῆς πληγῆς τὴν χεῖρα ἐς τὸ ἐντὸς καθεὶς καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενος τῶν σπλάγχνων ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς ἕλκων ἀπέρρηξε.

[5] καὶ ὁ μὲν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτίκα ὁ Κρεύγας ἀφίησιν, οἱ δὲ Ἀργεῖοι τὸν Δαμόξενον ἅτε τὰ συγκείμενα ὑπερβάντα καὶ ἀντὶ μιᾶς κεχρημένον πολλαῖς ἐς τὸν ἀντίπαλον ταῖς πληγαῖς ἐξελαύνουσι, τῷ Κρεύγᾳ δὲ τὴν νίκην τεθνεῶτι ἔδοσαν καὶ ἐποιήσαντο εἰκόνα ἐν Ἄργει· καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἔκειτο ἐν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τοῦ Λυκίου.

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.) — 8.40 focus

[1]
The Phigalians have on their market-place a statue of the pancratiast Arrhachion; it is archaic, especially in its posture. The feet are close together, and the arms hang down by the side as far as the hips. The statue is made of stone, and it is said that an inscription was written upon it. This has disappeared with time, but Arrhachion won two Olympic victories at Festivals before the fifty-fourth, while at this Festival¹ he won one due partly to the fairness of the Umpires and partly to his own manhood.

[2] For when he was contending for the wild olive with the last remaining competitor, whoever he was, the latter got a grip first, and held Arrhachion, hugging him with his legs, and at the same time he squeezed his neck with his hands. Arrhachion dislocated his opponent's toe, but expired owing to suffocation; but he who suffocated Arrhachion was forced to give in at the same time because of the pain in his toe. The Eleans crowned and proclaimed victor the corpse of Arrhachion.

[3] I know that the Argives acted similarly in the case of Creugas, a boxer of Epidamnus . For the Argives too gave to Creugas after his death the crown in the Nemean games, because his opponent Damoxenus of Syracuse broke their mutual agreement. For evening drew near as they were boxing, and they agreed within the hearing of witnesses, that each should in turn allow the other to deal him a blow. At that time boxers did not yet wear a sharp thong on the wrist of each hand, but still boxed with the soft gloves, binding them in the hollow of the hand, so that their fingers might be left bare. These soft gloves were thin thongs of raw ox-hide plaited together after an ancient manner.

[4] On the occasion to which I refer Creugas aimed his blow at the head of Damoxenus, and the latter bade Creugas lift up his arm. On his doing so, Damoxenus with straight fingers struck his opponent under the ribs; and what with the sharpness of his nails and the force of the blow he drove his hand into the other's inside, caught his bowels, and tore them as he pulled them out.

[5] Creugas expired on the spot, and the Argives expelled Damoxenus for breaking his agreement by dealing his opponent many blows instead of one. They gave the victory to the dead Creugas, and had a statue of him made in Argos . It still stood in my time in the sanctuary of Lycian Apollo.

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.) — 8.40 focus

[1] The Phigalians have on their marketplace a statue of a competitor at the pankration, Arrhachion; it is archaic, especially in its posture. The feet are close together, and the arms hang down by the side as far as the hips. The statue is made of stone, and it is said that an inscription was written upon it. This has disappeared with time, but Arrhachion won two Olympic victories at Festivals before the fifty-fourth, while at this Festival he won one due partly to the fairness of the Umpires and partly to his own manhood.

[2] For when he was contending for the wild olive with the last remaining competitor, whoever he was, the latter got a grip first, and held Arrhachion, hugging him with his legs, and at the same time he squeezed his neck with his hands. Arrhachion dislocated his opponent’s toe, but expired owing to suffocation; but he who suffocated Arrhachion was forced to give in at the same time because of the pain in his toe. The Eleians garlanded and proclaimed victor the corpse of Arrhachion.

[3] I know that the Argives acted similarly in the case of Creugas, a boxer of Epidamnus. For the Argives too gave to Creugas after his death the garland in the Nemean games, because his opponent Damoxenos of Syracuse broke their mutual agreement. For evening drew near as they were boxing, and they agreed within the hearing of witnesses, that each should in turn allow the other to deal him a blow. At that time boxers did not yet wear a sharp thong on the wrist of each hand, but still boxed with the soft gloves, binding them in the hollow of the hand, so that their fingers might be left bare. These soft gloves were thin thongs of raw ox-hide plaited together after an ancient manner.

[4] On the occasion to which I refer Creugas aimed his blow at the head of Damoxenos, and the latter ordered Creugas to lift up his arm. On his doing so, Damoxenos with straight fingers struck his opponent under the ribs; and what with the sharpness of his nails and the force of the blow he drove his hand into the other’s inside, caught his bowels, and tore them as he pulled them out.

[5] Creugas expired on the spot, and the Argives expelled Damoxenos for breaking his agreement by dealing his opponent many blows instead of one. They gave the victory to the dead Creugas, and had a statue of him made in Argos. It still stood in my time in the sanctuary of Lycian Apollo.

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 8.40

ed. Friedrich Spiro

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