Today's Passage
This passage describes the dramatic downfall of Pausanias, the Spartan regent who had led Greek forces to victory at Plataea (479 BCE) but was now suspected of treasonous correspondence with the Persian King.
Crawley Translation (1910)
On being shown the letter, the ephors now felt more certain. Still, they wished to hear Pausanias commit himself with their own ears. Accordingly the man went by appointment to Taenarus as a suppliant, and there built himself a hut divided into two by a partition; within which he concealed some of the ephors and let them hear the whole matter plainly. For Pausanias came to him and asked him the reason of his suppliant position; and the man reproached him with the order that he had written concerning him, and one by one declared all the rest of the circumstances, how he who had never yet brought him into any danger, while employed as agent between him and the King, was yet just like the mass of his servants to be rewarded with death. Admitting all this, and telling him not to be angry about the matter, Pausanias gave him the pledge of raising him up from the temple, and begged him to set off as quickly as possible, and not to hinder the business in hand.
The ephors listened carefully, and then departed, taking no action for the moment, but, having at last attained to certainty, were preparing to arrest him in the city. It is reported that, as he was about to be arrested in the street, he saw from the face of one of the ephors what he was coming for; another, too, made him a secret signal, and betrayed it to him from kindness. Setting off with a run for the temple of the goddess of the Brazen House, the enclosure of which was near at hand, he succeeded in taking sanctuary before they took him, and entering into a small chamber, which formed part of the temple, to avoid being exposed to the weather, lay still there. The ephors, for the moment distanced in the pursuit, afterwards took off the roof of the chamber, and having made sure that he was inside, shut him in, barricaded the doors, and staying before the place, reduced him by starvation. When they found that he was on the point of expiring, just as he was, in the chamber, they brought him out of the temple, while the breath was still in him, and as soon as he was brought out he died. They were going to throw him into the Kaiadas, where they cast criminals, but finally decided to inter him somewhere near. But the god at Delphi afterwards ordered the Lacedaemonians to remove the tomb to the place of his death—where he now lies in the consecrated ground, as an inscription on a monument declares—and, as what had been done was a curse to them, to give back two bodies instead of one to the goddess of the Brazen House. So they had two brazen statues made, and dedicated them as a substitute for Pausanias. The Athenians retorted by telling the Lacedaemonians to drive out what the god himself had pronounced to be a curse.
Modern Translation
After examining the letter, the ephors felt more confident in their suspicions. Nevertheless, they wanted to hear Pausanias incriminate himself directly. Following their plan, the messenger went to Taenarus as a religious suppliant and constructed a shelter with two compartments separated by a wall. He concealed several ephors in one section, allowing them to overhear everything clearly. When Pausanias arrived and questioned why the man had taken sanctuary, the messenger confronted him about the execution order written in his name. He systematically laid out all the details, protesting that despite his faithful service as intermediary between Pausanias and the Persian King—service that had never compromised Pausanias—he was being rewarded with death like all the other messengers. Pausanias acknowledged everything and urged him not to be upset. He offered formal guarantees to raise him from his suppliant status at the temple and pressed him to depart immediately without delaying their urgent affairs.
The ephors heard everything distinctly before leaving. Though they took no immediate action, having finally obtained proof, they prepared to arrest Pausanias in the city. Reports indicate that as the arrest was imminent on the street, Pausanias detected his danger from one ephor's expression; another, acting from personal loyalty, gave him a covert warning signal. Pausanias sprinted toward the temple of Athena of the Bronze House, whose sacred precinct was nearby. He reached sanctuary before capture and took refuge in a small room attached to the temple to shelter from the elements, where he remained motionless. The ephors, initially outpaced, later removed the chamber's roof. After confirming he was inside, they sealed him in, blocked the entrances, and maintained a siege, intending to starve him into submission. When they realized he was near death inside the room, they carried him out of the temple while he still breathed, but he expired immediately upon removal. They initially planned to cast his body into the Kaiadas, the chasm for executed criminals, but ultimately buried him nearby. However, the Delphic oracle later commanded the Spartans to relocate his grave to where he died—where it remains in the sacred ground, marked by an inscribed monument—and declared that their action had brought divine pollution upon them. They must return two bodies to the Bronze House goddess in place of the one. Consequently, they commissioned two bronze statues and dedicated them as Pausanias's substitutes. The Athenians responded by demanding that the Spartans expel this divinely-declared curse.
Historical Context
This passage describes the dramatic downfall of Pausanias, the Spartan regent who had led Greek forces to victory at Plataea (479 BCE) but was now suspected of treasonous correspondence with the Persian King. The ephors, Sparta's chief magistrates, orchestrate an elaborate trap using a messenger who was supposed to be killed to prevent exposure of the conspiracy. The scene unfolds at Taenarus, site of a major sanctuary, where suppliants could claim divine protection. Pausanias's flight to the temple of Athena Chalkioikos (of the Bronze House) on the Spartan acropolis represents a desperate attempt to claim religious sanctuary. His death by starvation while technically outside sacred ground but sealed within temple property created a religious crisis that required Delphic intervention. This incident exemplifies the intersection of political power, religious law, and interstate diplomacy in classical Greece.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Spartan Ephors
The five ephors were Sparta's most powerful magistrates, elected annually to oversee the kings and government. They held authority to prosecute even royalty for treason, as shown here with Pausanias. Their careful legal procedure—requiring direct evidence before action—demonstrates the constitutional constraints on their power despite its extent.
Learn more →Religious Sanctuary
Greek temples provided asylum (asylia) to suppliants, creating legal and religious complications when criminals sought refuge. The ephors' solution—sealing Pausanias inside while technically respecting sanctuary—shows how political authorities navigated religious restrictions. The resulting pollution (miasma) required ritual purification.
Learn more →Delphic Oracle
The oracle at Delphi served as the ultimate religious authority in Greece, arbitrating disputes about ritual pollution and proper burial. Its ruling that Sparta had incurred a curse demonstrates Delphi's power to influence interstate relations, as Athens later used this pronouncement diplomatically.
Learn more →Athena Chalkioikos
The 'Bronze House' was Sparta's most important temple, dedicated to Athena as city protector. Its bronze-plated walls gave it its name. Located on the acropolis, it served as a last refuge for those seeking divine protection, making Pausanias's death there particularly problematic religiously.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Plutarch: Life of Themistocles (23.1-2)
Plutarch describes Themistocles's parallel flight to sanctuary and mentions Pausanias's fate, noting how both Greek heroes of the Persian Wars ended as exiles accused of Medism.
Read passage →Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (11.45-46)
Diodorus provides additional details about Pausanias's conspiracy, including his wearing of Persian dress and bodyguard of Medes, emphasizing the cultural transgression alongside political treason.
Read passage →Cornelius Nepos: Life of Pausanias (4-5)
Nepos focuses on the messenger's cleverness in exposing Pausanias and adds the detail that Pausanias's mother participated in sealing him in the temple, highlighting the conflict between family and state loyalty.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the ephors' handling of Pausanias balance legal procedure with political necessity? What does this reveal about Spartan governance?
- Analyze the role of religious sanctuary in this episode. How do the ephors navigate between respecting religious law and executing justice?
- What does the Delphic oracle's intervention suggest about the relationship between religious authority and political power in classical Greece?
- How might this incident have affected Spartan-Athenian relations, particularly given Athens's later use of the 'curse' in diplomacy?