Pausanias 9.22.3

How to quote this translation

Κορίννης δέ, ἣ μόνη δὴ ἐν Τανάγραι ἄισματα ἐποίησε, ταύτης ἔστι μὲν μνῆμα ἐν περιφανεῖ τῆς πόλεως, ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῶι γυμνασίωι γραφή, ταινίαι τὴν κεφαλὴν ἡ Κόριννα ἀναδουμένη τῆς νίκης ἕνεκα ἣν Πίνδαρον ἄισματι ἐνίκησεν ἐν Θήβαις. φαίνεται δέ μοι νικῆσαι τῆς διαλέκτου τε ἕνεκα, ὅτι ἦιδεν οὐ τῆι φωνῆι τῆι Δωρίδι ὥσπερ ὁ Πίνδαρος ἀλλὰ ὁποίαι συνήσειν ἔμελλον Αἰολεῖς, καὶ ὅτι ἦν γυναικῶν τότε δὴ καλλίστη τὸ εἶδος, εἴ τι τῆι εἰκόνι δεῖ τεκμαίρεσθαι.

And the tomb of Corinna, who was the only woman in Tanagra to compose songs, is in the conspicuous part of the city, and there is a painting on the wall of the gymnasium, with Corinna binding her head with a fillet because she won a victory over Pindar with a song in Thebes. In my opinion she seems to have won because of her dialect, because she sang not in Doric like Pindar but in a dialect only Aeolians would understand, and she won because she was the most beautiful woman of the time, if it’s at all possible to judge from her likeness in the painting.


Relevant guides Pindar