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Episode of the Second Messenian War in the 7th century BC.
Description of Greece by Pausanias. Book IV. Messenia. Chapter XVII
There is a place Aegila in Laconia, where is a sanctuary sacred to Demeter*, Greek goddess. Aristomenes** and his men knowing that the women were keeping festival there [attempted to capture them remembering their previous success***, but] the women were inspired by the goddess to defend themselves, and most of the Messenians were wounded with the knives with which the women sacrificed the victims and the spits on which they pierced and roasted the meat. Aristomenes was struck with the torches and taken alive. Nevertheless he escaped to Messenia during the same night. Archidameia, the priestess of Demeter, was charged with having released him, not for a bribe but because she had been in love with him before; but she maintained that Aristomenes had escaped by burning through his bonds.
* In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of the harvest. She presided also over the sanctity of marriage, the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death.
** Aristomenes was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans in the Messenian Wars in the 7th century BC, and his resistance to them on Mount Ira for 11 years. At length the mountain fell to the enemy, while he escaped and was snatched up by the gods; he died at Rhodes
*** Aristomenes had already a successful experience in this matter - at Caryae he seized a number of maidens during the festival of Artemis, for whom he obtained a large ransom.
The idea and the artwork scanning - by Constantine Amorius
Июнь 2010г.
If reprint Lapeyre's artwork, please refer to this page
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Fragments of Lapeyre's artwork
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