Delphi Complete Works of Pausanias

by Pausanias

  [8] ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ βάθρου τοῦ τὸν θρόνον τε ἀνέχοντος καὶ ὅσος ἄλλος κόσμος περὶ τὸν Δία, ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ βάθρου χρυσᾶ ποιήματα, ἀναβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ ἅρμα Ἤλιος καὶ Ζεύς τέ ἐστι καὶ Ἥρα, ἔτι δὲ Ἥφαιστος, παρὰ δὲ αὐτὸν Χάρις: ταύτης δὲ Ἑρμῆς ἔχεται, τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ δὲ Ἑστία: μετὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑστίαν Ἔρως ἐστὶν ἐκ θαλάσσης Ἀφροδίτην ἀνιοῦσαν ὑποδεχόμενος, τὴν δὲ Ἀφροδίτην στεφανοῖ Πειθώ: ἐπείργασται δὲ καὶ Ἀπόλλων σὺν Ἀρτέμιδι Ἀθηνᾶ τε καὶ Ἡρακλῆς, καὶ ἤδη τοῦ βάθρου πρὸς τῷ πέρατι Ἀμφιτρίτη καὶ Ποσειδῶν Σελήνη τε ἵππον ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐλαύνουσα. τοῖς δέ ἐστιν εἰρημένα ἐφ᾽ ἡμιόνου τὴν θεὸν ὀχεῖσθαι καὶ οὐχ ἵππου, καὶ λόγον γέ τινα ἐπὶ τῷ ἡμιόνῳ λέγουσιν εὐήθη.

  [11.8] On the pedestal supporting the throne and Zeus with all his adornments are works in gold: the Sun mounted on a chariot, Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus, and by his side Grace. Close to her comes Hermes, and close to Hermes Hestia. After Hestia is Eros receiving Aphrodite as she rises from the sea, and Aphrodite is being crowned by Persuasion. There are also reliefs of Apollo with Artemis, of Athena and of Heracles; and near the end of the pedestal Amphitrite and Poseidon, while the Moon is driving what I think is a horse. Some have said that the steed of the goddess is a mule not a horse, and they tell a silly story about the mule.

  [9] μέτρα δὲ τοῦ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ Διὸς ἐς ὕψος τε καὶ εὖρος ἐπιστάμενος γεγραμμένα οὐκ ἐν ἐπαίνῳ θήσομαι τοὺς μετρήσαντας, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα αὐτοῖς μέτρα πολύ τι ἀποδέοντά ἐστιν ἢ τοῖς ἰδοῦσι παρέστηκεν ἐς τὸ ἄγαλμα δόξα, ὅπου γε καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν θεὸν μάρτυρα ἐς τοῦ Φειδίου τὴν τέχνην γενέσθαι λέγουσιν. ὡς γὰρ δὴ ἐκτετελεσμένον ἤδη τὸ ἄγαλμα ἦν, ηὔξατο ὁ Φειδίας ἐπισημῆναι τὸν θεὸν εἰ τὸ ἔργον ἐστὶν αὐτῷ κατὰ γνώμην: αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἐς τοῦτο τοῦ ἐδάφους κατασκῆψαι κεραυνόν φασιν, ἔνθα ὑδρία καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἐπίθημα ἦν ἡ χαλκῆ.

  [11.9] I know that the height and breadth of the Olympic Zeus have been measured and recorded; but I shall not praise those who made the measurements, for even their records fall far short of the impression made by a sight of the image. Nay, the god himself according to legend bore witness to the artistic skill of Pheidias. For when the image was quite finished Pheidias prayed the god to show by a sign whether the work was to his liking. Immediately, runs the legend, a thunderbolt fell on that part of the floor where down to the present day the bronze jar stood to cover the place.

  [10] ὅσον δὲ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἐστὶν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ

  ἀγάλματος, τοῦτο οὐ λευκῷ, μέλανι δὲ κατεσκεύασται τῷ λίθῳ: περιθεῖ δὲ ἐν κύκλῳ τὸν μέλανα λίθου Παρίου κρηπίς, ἔρυμα εἶναι τῷ ἐλαίῳ τῷ ἐκχεομένῳ. ἔλαιον γὰρ τῷ ἀγάλματί ἐστιν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ συμφέρον, καὶ ἔλαιόν ἐστι τὸ ἀπεῖργον μὴ γίνεσθαι τῷ ἐλέφαντι βλάβος διὰ τὸ ἑλῶδες τῆς Ἄλτεως. ἐν ἀκροπόλει δὲ τῇ Ἀθηναίων τὴν καλουμένην Παρθένον οὐκ ἔλαιον, ὕδωρ δὲ τὸ ἐς τὸν ἐλέφαντα ὠφελοῦν ἐστιν: ἅτε γὰρ αὐχμηρᾶς τῆς ἀκροπόλεως οὔσης διὰ τὸ ἄγαν ὑψηλόν, τὸ ἄγαλμα ἐλέφαντος πεποιημένον ὕδωρ καὶ δρόσον τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος ποθεῖ.

  [11.10] All the floor in front of the image is paved, not with white, but with black tiles. In a circle round the black stone runs a raised rim of Parian marble, to keep in the olive oil that is poured out. For olive oil is beneficial to the image at Olympia, and it is olive oil that keeps the ivory from being harmed by the marshiness of the Altis. On the Athenian Acropolis the ivory of the image they call the Maiden is benefited, not by olive oil, but by water. For the Acropolis, owing to its great height, is over-dry, so that the image, being made of ivory, needs water or dampness.

  [11] ἐν Ἐπιδαύρῳ δὲ ἐρομένου μου καθ᾽ ἥντινα αἰτίαν οὔτε ὕδωρ τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ σφισιν οὔτε ἔλαιόν ἐστιν ἐγχεόμενον, ἐδίδασκόν με οἱ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ὡς καὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ὁ θρόνος ἐπὶ φρέατι εἴη πεποιημένα.

  [11.11] When I asked at Epidaurus why they pour neither water nor olive oil on the image of Asclepius, the attendants at the sanctuary informed me that both the image of the god and the throne were built over a cistern.

  12. ὅσοι δὲ ἀνθρώπων τὰ διὰ τοῦ στόματος ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς ἐλέφασιν ἐξίσχοντα ὀδόντας τῶν θηρίων εἶναι καὶ οὐ κέρατα ἥγηνται, τούτοις ἔστιν ἀπιδεῖν μὲν ἐς τὰς ἄλκας, τὸ ἐν Κελτικῇ θηρίον, ἀπιδεῖν δὲ ἐς τοὺς Αἰθιοπικοὺς ταύρους: ἄλκαι μὲν γὰρ κέρατα ἐπὶ ταῖς ὀφρύσιν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἄρρενες, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ οὐ φύει τὸ παράπαν: οἱ δὲ Αἰθιοπικοὶ ταῦροι τὰ κέρατα φύουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ῥινί. τίς ἂν οὖν ποιήσαιτο ἔτι ἐν μεγάλῳ θαύματι διὰ στόματος ζῴῳ κέρατα ἐκφῦναι;

  [12.1] XII. Those who think that the projections from the mouth of an elephant are not horns but teeth of the animal should consider both the elk, a beast of the Celtic land, and also the Aethiopian bull. Male elks have horns on their brows, but the female does not grow them at all. Ethiopian bulls grow their horns on their noses. Who therefore would be greatly surprised at horns growing out of an animal’s mouth?

  [2] πάρεστι δὲ ἀναδιδάσκεσθαι καὶ τοῖσδε ἔτι: κέρατα γὰρ κατὰ ἐτῶν περίοδον ἀπογίνεται καὶ αὖθις ἐκβλαστάνει ζῴοις, καὶ τοῦτο ἔλαφοί τε καὶ δορκάδες, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐλέφαντες πεπόνθασιν. ὀδοὺς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτῳ

  δεύτερα παρέσται ζῴῳ τῶν γε ἤδη τελείων: εἰ δὲ ὀδόντες τὰ διὰ στόματος ἐξίσχοντα καὶ μὴ κέρατα ἦσαν, πῶς ἂν καὶ ἀνεφύοντο αὖθις; οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ εἴκειν πυρὶ ἔχουσιν ὀδόντες φύσιν: κέρατα δὲ καὶ βοῶν καὶ ἐλεφάντων ἐς ὁμαλές τε ἐκ περιφεροῦς καὶ ἐς ἄλλα ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἄγεται σχήματα. ποταμίοις γε μὴν ἵπποις καὶ ὑσὶν ἡ κάτωθεν γένυς τοὺς χαυλιόδοντας φέρει, κέρατα δὲ ἀναφυόμενα οὐχ ὁρῶμεν ἐκ γενύων:

  [12.2] They may also correct their error from the following considerations. Horns drop off animals each year and grow again; the deer and the antelope undergo this experience, and so likewise does the elephant. But a tooth will never be found to grow again, at least after the animal is full-grown. So if the projections through the mouth were teeth and not horns, how could they grow up again? Again, a tooth refuses to yield to fire; but fire turns th
e horns of oxen and elephants from round to flat, and also into other shapes. However, the hippopotamus and the boar have tusks growing out of the lower jaw, but we do not see horns growing out of jaws.

  [3] ἐλέφαντι οὖν τὰ κέρατα ἴστω τις διὰ κροτάφων κατερχόμενα ἄνωθεν καὶ οὕτως ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς ἐπιστρέφοντα. τοῦτο οὐκ ἀκοὴν γράφω, θεασάμενος δὲ ἐλέφαντος ἐν γῇ τῇ Καμπανῶν κρανίον ἐν Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερῷ: σταδίους δὲ ὡς τριάκοντα ἀπέχει μάλιστα Καπύης τὸ ἱερόν, αὕτη δὲ ἡ μητρόπολίς ἐστιν ἡ Καπύη τῶν Καμπανῶν. ὁ μὲν δὴ ἐλέφας παρὰ τὰ λοιπὰ ζῷα διάφορον καὶ τὴν ἔκφυσιν παρέχεται τῶν κεράτων, ὥσπερ γε καὶ τὸ μέγεθός ἐστιν αὐτῷ καὶ εἶδος οὐδὲν ἐοικότα ἑτέρῳ θηρίῳ: φιλότιμοι δὲ ἐς τὰ μάλιστά μοι καὶ ἐς θεῶν τιμὴν οὐ φειδωλοὶ χρημάτων γενέσθαι δοκοῦσιν οἱ Ἕλληνες, οἷς γε παρὰ Ἰνδῶν ἤγετο καὶ ἐξ Αἰθιοπίας ἐλέφας ἐς ποίησιν ἀγαλμάτων.

  [12.3] So be assured that an elephant’s horns descend through the temples from above, and so bend outwards. My statement is not hearsay; I once saw an elephant’s skull in the sanctuary of Artemis in Campania. The sanctuary is about thirty stades from Capua, which is the capital of Campania. So the elephant differs from all other animals in the way its horns grow, just as its size and shape are peculiar to itself. And the Greeks in my opinion showed an unsurpassed zeal and generosity in honoring the gods, in that they imported ivory from India and Aethiopia to make images.

  VOTIVE OFFERINGS IN THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS

  [4] ἐν δὲ Ὀλυμπίᾳ παραπέτασμα ἐρεοῦν κεκοσμημένον ὑφάσμασιν Ἀσσυρίοις καὶ βαφῇ πορφύρας τῆς Φοινίκων ἀνέθηκεν Ἀντίοχος, οὗ δὴ καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ θεάτρου τοῦ Ἀθήνῃσιν ἡ αἰγὶς ἡ χρυσῆ καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἡ Γοργώ ἐστιν ἀναθήματα. τοῦτο οὐκ ἐς τὸ ἄνω τὸ παραπέτασμα πρὸς τὸν ὄροφον ὥσπερ γε ἐν Ἀρτέμιδος τῆς Ἐφεσίας ἀνέλκουσι, καλῳδίοις δὲ ἐπιχαλῶντες

  καθιᾶσιν ἐς τὸ ἔδαφος.

  [12.4] In Olympia there is a woollen curtain, adorned with Assyrian weaving and Phoenician purple, which was dedicated by Antiochus, who also gave as offerings the golden aegis with the Gorgon on it above the theater at Athens. This curtain is not drawn upwards to the roof as is that in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, but it is let down to the ground by cords.

  [5] ἀναθήματα δὲ ὁπόσα ἔνδον ἢ ἐν τῷ προνάῳ κεῖται, θρόνος ἐστὶν Ἀριμνήστου βασιλεύσαντος ἐν Τυρσηνοῖς, ὃς πρῶτος βαρβάρων ἀναθήματι τὸν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ Δία ἐδωρήσατο, καὶ ἵπποι Κυνίσκας χαλκοῖ, σημεῖα Ὀλυμπικῆς νίκης: οὗτοι μέγεθος μὲν ἀποδέουσιν ἵππων, ἑστήκασι δὲ ἐν τῷ προνάῳ τοῖς ἐσιοῦσιν ἐν δεξιᾷ. κεῖται δὲ καὶ τρίπους ἐπίχαλκος, ἐφ᾽ οὗ πρὶν ἢ τὴν τράπεζαν ποιηθῆναι προετίθεντο τοῖς νικῶσιν οἱ στέφανοι.

  [12.5] The offerings inside, or in the fore-temple include: a throne of Arimnestus, king of Etruria, who was the first foreigner to present an offering to the Olympic Zeus, and bronze horses of Cynisca, tokens of an Olympic victory. These are not as large as real horses, and stand in the fore-temple on the right as you enter. There is also a tripod, plated with bronze, upon which, before the table was made, were displayed the crowns for the victors.

  [6] βασιλέων δὲ ἀνδριάντας, Ἀδριανοῦ μὲν αἱ ἐς τὸ Ἀχαϊκὸν τελοῦσαι πόλεις ἀνέθεσαν Παρίου λίθου, Τραϊανοῦ δὲ οἱ πάντες Ἕλληνες. οὗτος προσεκτήσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς Γέτας τοὺς ὑπὲρ Θρᾴκης Ὀσρόῃ τε τῷ ἀπογόνῳ τῷ Ἀρσάκου καὶ Πάρθοις ἐπολέμησεν: ὁπόσα δὲ ἐς ἔργων ἔχει οἱ κατασκευήν, ἀξιολογώτατά ἐστι λουτρὰ ἐπώνυμα αὐτοῦ καὶ θέατρον μέγα κυκλοτερὲς πανταχόθεν καὶ οἰκοδόμημα ἐς ἵππων δρόμους προῆκον καὶ ἐς δύο σταδίων μῆκος, καὶ ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἀγορὰ κόσμου τε ἕνεκα τοῦ λοιποῦ θέας ἀξία καὶ μάλιστα ἐς τὸν ὄροφον χαλκοῦ πεποιημένον.

  [12.6] There are statues of emperors: Hadrian, of Parian marble dedicated by the cities of the Achaean confederacy, and Trajan, dedicated by all the Greeks. This emperor subdued the Getae beyond Thrace, and made war on Osroes the descendant of Arsaces and on the Parthians. Of his architectural achievements the most remarkable are baths called after him, a large circular theater, a building for horse-races which is actually two stades long, and the Forum at Rome, worth seeing not only for its general beauty but especially for its roof made of bronze.

  [7] αἱ δὲ εἰκόνες αἱ τοῖς κατασκευάσμασι τοῖς περιφερέσιν ἐγκείμεναι, ἡ μὲν τοῦ ἠλέκτρου βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων ἐστὶν Αὐγούστου, ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἐλέφαντος βασιλέως Νικομήδους ἐλέγετο εἶναι Βιθυνῶν. ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ καὶ τῇ μεγίστῃ τῶν ἐν Βιθυνίᾳ πόλεων μετεβλήθη τὸ ὄνομα, Ἀστακῷ τὰ πρὸ τούτου καλουμένῃ: τὰ δὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτῇ Ζυποίτης ἐγένετο οἰκιστής, Θρᾷξ γένος εἰκάζοντί γε ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνόματος. τὸ δὲ ἤλεκτρον τοῦτο οὗ τῷ Αὐγούστῳ πεποίηνται τὴν εἰκόνα, ὅσον μὲν αὐτόματον ἐν τοῦ Ἠριδανοῦ ταῖς ψάμμοις εὑρίσκεται, σπανίζεται τὰ μάλιστα καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ τίμιον πολλῶν ἐστιν ἕνεκα: τὸ δὲ ἄλλο ἤλεκτρον ἀναμεμιγμένος ἐστὶν ἀργύρῳ χρυσός.

  [12.7] Of the statues set up in the round buildings, the amber one represents Augustus the Roman emperor, the ivory one they told me was a portrait of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia. After him the greatest city in Bithynia was renamed Nicomedeia; before him it was called Astacus, and its first founder was Zypoetes, a Thracian by birth to judge from his name. This amber of which the statue of Augustus is made, when found native in the sand of the Eridanus, is very rare and precious to men for many reasons; the other “amber” is an alloy of gold and silver.

  [8] ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ ναῷ Νέρωνος ἀναθήματα τρεῖς μὲν ἐς κοτίνου φύλλα στέφανοι, τέταρτος δὲ ἐς δρυός ἐστι μεμιμημένος: κεῖνται δὲ αὐτόθι καὶ ἀσπίδες χαλκαῖ πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι, τοῖς ὁπλιτεύουσιν εἶναι φορήματα ἐς τὸν δρόμον. στῆλαι δὲ ἄλλαι τε ἑστήκασι καὶ ἡ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους καὶ Ἀργείους τε καὶ Μαντινέας ἔχουσα ὅρκον παρὰ Ἠλείων ἐς συμμαχίαν ἐτῶν ἑκατόν.

  [12.8] In the temple at Olympia are four offerings of Nero – three crowns representing wild-olive leaves, and one representing oak leaves. Here too are laid twenty-five bronze shields, which are for the armed men to carry in the race. Tablets too are set up, including one on which is written the oath sworn by the Eleans to the Athenia
ns, the Argives and the Mantineans, that they would be their allies for a hundred years.

  THE TEMPLE OF PELOPS AT OLYMPIA

  13. ἔστι δὲ ἐντὸς τῆς Ἄλτεως καὶ Πέλοπι ἀποτετμημένον τέμενος: ἡρώων δὲ τῶν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τοσοῦτον προτετιμημένος ἐστὶν ὁ Πέλοψ ὑπὸ Ἠλείων ὅσον Ζεὺς θεῶν τῶν ἄλλων. ἔστιν οὖν τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ Διὸς κατὰ δεξιὰν τῆς ἐσόδου πρὸς ἄνεμον Βορέαν τὸ Πελόπιον, ἀφεστηκὸς μὲν τοῦ ναοῦ τοσοῦτον ὡς μεταξὺ καὶ ἀνδριάντας καὶ ἀναθήματα ἄλλα ἀνακεῖσθαι, παρήκει δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν ὀπισθόδομον ἀπὸ μέσου μάλιστα ἀρξάμενον τοῦ ναοῦ: καὶ λίθων τε θριγκῷ περιέχεται καὶ δένδρα ἐντὸς πεφυκότα καὶ ἀνδριάντες εἰσὶν ἀνακείμενοι,

  [13.1] XIII. Within the Altis there is also a sacred enclosure consecrated to Pelops, whom the Eleans as much prefer in honor above the heroes of Olympia as they prefer Zeus over the other gods. To the right of the entrance of the temple of Zeus, on the north side, lies the Pelopium. It is far enough removed from the temple for statues and other offerings to stand in the intervening space, and beginning at about the middle of the temple it extends as far as the rear chamber. It is surrounded by a stone fence, within which trees grow and statues have been dedicated.