previous next


μιν: resumed in αὐτήν: i. e. dependent on ἐφόρεε (Stein); cf. i. 115. 2.

Therapne stood on some precipitous heights nearly two miles south-east of Sparta on the opposite side of the Eurotas. The view that it was the site of Homeric (Achaean) Sparta, suggested by its commanding position, is confirmed by the discovery there of Mycenaean pottery and by the worship of Helen and Menelaus (Isoc. x. 63). This sanctuary of Helen is probably identical with the temple of Menelaus, where Menelaus and Helen were buried (Paus. iii. 19. 9). Its ruins, and near them some Mycenaean remains, have been discovered on the top of the hill called Menelaium (Polyb. v. 18. 21; Liv. xxxiv. 28). Castor and Pollux, Helen's brothers, were supposed to lie buried in Therapne on alternate days (Pind. Nem. x. 55; Pyth. xi. 62; cf. Frazer on Paus. iii. 19. 9). The Phoebaeum was below Therapne in the plain on the western bank of the Eurotas (Paus. iii. 14. 9).

Ἑλένης. The view that Helen was a goddess of beauty, and the identification of her with ξείνη Ἀφροδίτη (ii. 112), seem to be H.'s own conjectures, and erroneous. The foreign Aphrodite must be Astarte, while Helen was a native heroine more akin to Artemis (Wide, Lakonische Kulte, 340 f.), perhaps originally a tree nymph. The Rhodians worshipped Helen of the tree (Paus. iii. 19. 9, with Frazer), and the Spartans Helen's plane-tree (Theocr. xviii. 43). The whole story reads like the miracle of a mediaeval saint, and illustrates a side of Greek life which hardly appears in our literary sources.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: