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LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

HERODOTUS
I

BOOKS 11-'΄'|

Translated by
A. Ὁ. GODLEY

Complete list of Loeb titles can be
found at the end of each volume

HERODOTUS the great Greek historian
was born about 484 B.c., at Halicar-
nassus in Caria, Asia Minor, when it was
subject to the Persians. He travelled
widely in most of Asia Minor, Egypt (as
far as Assuan), North Africa, Syria, the
country north of the Black Sea, and many
parts of the Aegean Sea and the mainland
of Greece. He lived, it seems, for some
time in Athens, and in 443 went with
other colonists tu the new city Thurii (in
South Italy) where he died about 430 B.c,
He was ‘the prose correlative of the bard,
a narrator of the deeds of real men, and a
describer of foreign places’ (Murray). His
famous history of warfare between the
Greeks and the Persians has an epic
dignity which enhances his delightful style.
It includes the rise of the Persian power
and an account of the Persian empire; the
description of Egypt fills one book;
because Darius attacked Scythia, the
geography and customs of that land are
also given; even in the later books on the
attacks of the Persians against Greece there
are digressions. All is most entertaining
and produces a grand unity. After personal
inquiry and study of hearsay and other
evidence, Herodotus gives us a not un-
critical estimate of the best that he could
find.

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D.

EDITED BY
G. Ρ. 6001, Pu.p.

FORMER EDITORS

fl. BE. PAGE, ¢.n.,01trp.. {E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D.
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HERODOTUS
I

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation

https://archive.org/details/nerodotus01hero

HERODOTUS |

VITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
AG DE GO DIL ¥

HON. FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD

IN FOUR VOLUMES
l

BOOKS I ann II

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON

WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD

American ISBN 0-674.-.991830-8
British ISBN 0 434 99117 1

First printed 1920
Revised and Reprinted 1926, 1931,
1946, 1960, 1966, 1975

Printed in Great Britain

CONTENTS

GENERAL INTRODUCTION . .

INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS I AND II

HUONG 6 66 0 6 Oo Oo 6

ἘσΘ UW SG Solon co omc

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES.

MAP—WESTERN ASIA MINOR

PAGE
See Vii
2 SEX
5 1
. ate
. 499
At end

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

It is impossible to give certain and undisputed
dates for the lifetime of Herodotus. But if we are
to believe Aulus Gellius, he was born in 484 n.c.;
and the internal evidence of his History proves that
he was alive during some part of the Peloponnesian
war, as he alludes to incidents which occurred in its
earlier years. He may therefore be safely said to
have been a contemporary of the two great wars
which respectively founded and ended the brief and
brilliant pre-eminence of Athens in Hellas. He
belongs in the fullest sense to the “ great”’ period
of Greek history.

Herodotus was (it is agreed on all hands) a native
of Halicarnassus in Caria; and if his birth fell in 484,
he was born a subject of the Great King. His early
life was spent, apparently, in his native town, or
possibly in the island of Samos, of which he shows
an intimate knowledge. Tradition asserts that after
a visit to Samos he “ returned to Halicarnassus and
expelled the tyrant’ (Lygdamis); “but when later
he saw himself disliked by his countrymen, he went
as a volunteer to Thurium, when it was being colonised

vii

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

by the Athenians. There he died and lies buried
in the market-place.’’! This is supported by good
evidence, and there seems to be no reason for doubt-
ing it. It is also stated that he visited Athens and
there recited some part of his history ; this may have
happened, as alleged, about the year 445. It is
evident from his constant allusions to Athens that he
knew it well, and must have lived there.

So much may be reasonably taken as certain.
Beyond it we know very little; there is a large field
for conjecture, and scholars have not hesitated to
expatiate in it. If Herodotus was banished from
Halicarnassus for political reasons, it is probable that
he was a man of some standing in his birth-place.
The unquestioned fact that he travelled far makes it
likely that he was well-to-do. But his history, full
as it is to the brim of evidences of travel, is never
(except in an occasional phrase, “‘ I have myself seen,”
and the like) autobiographical ; and we know nothing,
from any actual statement of the historian’s own, of
the date of his various visits to the countries which
he describes. Probably they were spread over a
considerable part of his life. All that can be said is
that he must have visited Egypt after 460 s.c., and
may have been before that date in Scythia. Nothing
else can be asserted ; we only know that at some time
or other Herodotus travelled not only in Greece and
the Aegean, of which he obviously has personal
knowledge, but also in a large part of what we call

1 Suidas.
Vili

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

the Near East. He saw with his own eyes much of
Asia Minor; Egypt, as far south as Assuan; Cyrene
and the country round it; Syria, and eastern lands
perhaps as far as Mesopotamia; and the northern
coast of the Black Sea. Within these limits, πολλῶν
ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω. But as the datcs
of his travels are unknown, so is their intention.
Did he travel to collect materials for his history, its
scheme being already formed? or was that history
the outcome of the traveller’s experiences? We only
know that Herodotus’ wanderings and the nine books
of his narrative are mutually interwoven.

His professed object is, as he states it in the first
sentence of his first book, to write the history of the
Graeco-Persian war. But in order to do this he
must first describe the rise of the Persian empire, to
which the chapters on Lydia and the story of-Croesus
are introductory. When he comes in due time to
relate the Persian invasion of Egypt, this is the cue
for a description and history of the Nile valley,
occupying the whole of the second book; and the
story of Darius’ subsequent expedition against Scythia
leads naturally to a long digression on the geography
and customs of that country. The narrative in the
later books, dealing with the actual Persian invasion
of Greece, is naturally less broken; but till then
at least it is interrupted by constant episodes and
digressions, here a chapter, there a whole book; it
is the historian’s practice, as he himself says, to in-
troduce προσθήκας, additions, whenever anything even

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

remotely connected with the matter in hand occurs
to him as likely to interest the reader. The net
result is really a history of the Near East, and a good
deal besides; a summary of popular knowledge or
belief respecting recent events and the world as
known more or less to the Greeks ; which eventually,
after branching out into countless digressions and
divagations, centres in the crowning narrative Οἱ
Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea. Tor.
tuously, but never tediously, Herodotus’ histor
moves to this goal. For all his discursiveness, h:
does not lack unity. “ He is the first,” it has bees
said, ‘‘to construct a long and elaborate narrative
in which many parts are combined in due subordina
tion and arrangement to make one great whole.”

That a narrative so comprehensive in its nature—
dealing with so great a variety of subjects, and drawr
from sources so miscellaneous—should contain mucl
which cannot be regarded as serious history, is only
to be expected. It is impossible to generalise
where popular belief and ascertained fact, hearsay
and ocular evidence are blended, “the _historica!
value of the matter found in Herodotus’ work varies
not merely from volume to volume, or from book tc
book, but from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence
to sentence, from line to line. Every separate story,
every individual statement is to be tried on its own
merits.” Many critics have not taken the trouble

1 How and Wells’ Commentary on Herodotus.
2 BR. W. Macan, Herodotus IV-VI.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

to exercise this discrimination; it was for a long
time the fashion to dismiss the Father of History as
a garrulous raconteur, hoping to deceive his readers
as easily as he himself was deceived by his informants.
This “ parcel of lies” type of criticism may now, for-
tunately, be considered extinct. Modern research,
which began by discrediting Herodotus, has with
fuller knowledge come to far different conclusions,
It should be now (says Dr. Macan) “ universally
recognised that the most stringent application cf
historical and critical methods to the text of Hero-
dotus leaves the work irremovably and irreplaceably
at the head of European prose literature, whether in
its scientific or in its artistic character.” He has
been blamed for a “ garrulity” which gives currency
to much which is alleged to be beneath the dignity
of history. But most scholars must now agree that
even from the historical standpoint the world would
have lost much of infinite value had Herodotus been
more reticent; his “garrulity”’ is often proved to
point the way to right conclusions.

Obviously, the condition of human beliefs and
opinions falls within the field of history. Where
Herodotus plainly and demonstrably errs, he is often
of supreme interest as indicating contemporary
thought, which he not only summarises but criticises
as well. His geography and his meteorology are repre-
sentative of a stage of thought. He has not arrived
at truth (naturally!) but he is consistent with a current
opinion which is nearer to truth than earlier con-

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

ceptions of the world. It is true that the sun’s course
is not affected, as Herodotus believes it to be, by the
wind. It is also true that the Danube does not rise
in the Pyrenees, and that the course of the upper
Nile is not from west to east. 1 But no one in his
time knew better. He reflects and discusses con-
temporary opinion; he rejects earlier and more
primitive ideas. It may be counted to him for
righteousness that if he knows much less than Strabo,
at least he knows a great deal more than Homer.
Always and everywhere, Herodotus gives us the
best that is accessible to him; and it is one of his
great merits as a historian that he does not give it
uncritically. Scanty justice, till lately, has been
done him in this matter; in reality, his manner of
retailing what has been told him shows anything but
credulity. Definite acceptance is much rarer than
plain expressions of disbelief in what he has heard;
“they say, but I do not believe it’ is a very frequent
introduction, This attitude is shown by the gram-
matical construction of the narrative—a construction
which translation cannot always reproduce without
awkwardness, and which is sometimes therefore over-
looked altogether; the fact remains that much of
the story is cast in the mould of reported speech,
showing that the writer is not stating that so-and-so
is a fact but only that it has been told him; and the
oratio obliqua is maintained throughout the narrative.

1 But the Bahr al Ghazal, a large branch of the Nile, does
flow approximately W. to E.; and he may have meant this.

xii

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Herodotus deliberately professes that this is his
method; ἐγὼ ὀφείλω λέγειν τὰ λεγόμενα, πείθεσθαί γε
μὴν παντάπασιν οὐκ ὀφείλω (Bk. vii.) ; τοῖσι μέν νυν ὑπ’
Αἰγυπτίων λεγομένοισι χράσθω ὅτεῳ τὰ τοιαῦτα πιθανά
ἐστι ἐμοὶ δὲ παρὰ πάντα τὸν λόγον ὑποκέεται ὅτι τὰ
λεγόμενα ὑπ᾽ ἑκάστων ἀκοῇ γράφω (ii. 123); “I know
not what the truth may be, I tell the tale as ’twas
told to me.” In view of these plain statements, to
attack Herodotus for foolish credulity is nothing less
than disingenuous.

Some harm, moreover, has been done to Herodotus’
reputation by the tendency of modern languages to
alter the meaning of derived words. Herodotus
repeats μῦθοι. Now a μῦθος is simply a tale, with no
implication of falsity ; it may just as well be true as
not. But when we say that Herodotus repeats myths,
that is an altogether different matter; myth and
mythical carry the implication of falsehood; and
Herodotus is branded as a dupe or a liar, who cannot
be taken seriously as an authority for anything.

Herodotus’ reputation for untrustworthiness arises,
in fact, from his professed method of giving a hearing
to every opinion. This has been of great service to
those who early and late have accused him of deli-
berate and perhaps interested falsification of historical
fact. These attacks began with Plutarch ; they have
been more than once renewed in modern times by
critics desirous of a name for originality and inde-
pendence. None of them can be regarded as of any
serious importance. They leave Herodotus’ credit

xiii

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

untouched, for the simple reason that they are hardly
ever based on solid evidence. Plutarch’s treatise on
Herodotus’ “malignity” only establishes his own.
Modern critics, who maintain that Herodotus’ praise
and blame is unjustly distributed, have seldom any
witness to appeal to save the historian himself; and
failing necessary support ab extra, they can only
assert the a priort improbability that an historian
who is inaccurate in one narrative should be accurate
in another. It is quite possible that the heroes of
the history were not so heroic and the villains not
so villainous as the historian paints them; but we
have no evidence as to the private life of Cyrus or
Cambyses beyond what the historian himself has
given us. Nor is there any justification for de-
preciating the services of Athens to Greece because
the eulogist of Athens happened to believe that the
Danube rises in the Pyrenees, and that the sun’s
course is affected by the wind.

It cannot be denied that Herodotus invites criti-
cism. Plainly enough, a great deal of the evidence
on which he relies must be more substantial than
simple hearsay. He has undoubtedly learnt much
from documents engraved or written. To take one
instance, the long and detailed catalogue of the
nations included in the Persian empire and the
amounts of tribute paid by each must rest on some
documentary authority. But he will not support his
credit by producing his proofs—at least, he does so
seldom; for the most part, his fontes are included
xiv

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

under “what he has heard’’; he may have seen
this, he may have read that, but it is all set down
as hearsay and no more. There could be no better
way of opening the door to suspicious critics.
Further, some of the qualities which constitute the
charm of his narrative make him suspect to those
who ask only from history that it should be a plain
statement of what did actually happen. Herodotus
is pre-eminently biographical; personal passion and
desire is the guiding motive of events; they are
attributed to individual action more than to the
force of circumstance. Debatable situations are
described in terms of an actual debate between
named champions of this or that policy,—as in
Euripides, nay, as even in the comparatively matter-
of-fact narrative of Thucydides. Nor is it only the
human individual will which decides; it is the super-
human above all. The fortunes of individuals and
communities are presented to us as they appear to
a Greek who sees in human life “a sphere for the
realisation of Divine Judgments.’’! Τὸ θεῖον is always
working; whether as “Nemesis” to balance good
and evil fortune, and correct overweening pride and
excessive prosperity by corresponding calamity, or as
eternal justice to punish actual wrongdoing. Such
beliefs, common to all ages, find especial prominence
in the history of Herodotus, as they do in Greek
tragedy. The stories of Croesus, Polycrates, Cam-
byses, the fall of Troy—all are illustrations of a

1 Macan, op. ci.
KV

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

divine ordering of human affairs ; indeed the central
subject of the story—the débdcle of the vast Persian
expedition against Hellas—exemplifies the maxim
that ὕβρις εἰ πολλῶν ὑπερπλησθῇ μάταν ἀκρότατον
εἰσαναβᾶσ᾽ | ἀπότομον ὥρουσεν εἰς ἀνάγκαν: History
thus written is a means to moral edification; and
Herodotus may not be above the suspicion of twist-
ing the record of events so as to inculcate a moral
lesson. Such predispositions make history more
dramatic and more interesting; but those may be
excused who hold that they militate against strict
accuracy.

The dialect in which Herodotus writes is lonic,
the oldest literary dialect of Greece; but he also
makes use of many words and forms which are
commonly associated with the literature of Attica.
When therefore Dionysius of Halicarnassus calls him
τῆς ᾿Ιάδος ἄριστος κανών, this must refer rather to his
pre-eminence as an [Ionian stylist than to the
“purity” of his dialect; which in fact is rightly
described as μεμιγμένη and ποικίλη. Perhaps Hero-
dotus’ language was affected by his residence at
Athens. But Ionic and “Old Attic’? appear to
have been so nearly akin that it is difficult to draw
a clear line of division between them. From what-
ever sources drawn, his diction is pervaded by an
indefinable but unmistakably archaic quality which
constitutes not the least of a translator's difficulties.

1 Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 874-7.
2 Hermogenes, περὶ ἰδεῶν
xvi

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
B

Among comparatively recent books the following
will be of especial value to the reader of Herodotus:
J. W. Blakesley’s edition (text and notes); H. Stein
(text and German notes); G. Rawlinson’s History of
Herodotus (translation, notes, and copious appendix) ;
R. W. Macan’s Herodotus IV-VI and VII-IX (text
and notes); W. W. How and J. Wells’ Commentary
on Herodotus (notes and appendix) ; Hude’s Clarendon
Press edition (text and apparatus criticus); Grote’s
and Bury’s Histories of Greece.

The text of Herodotus rests mainly on the
authority of nine MSS., of which a “ Laurentianus”’
and a * Romanus” of the tenth and eleventh cen-
turies respectively are considered the best. The
merits of all the nine MSS. and the problems which
they present to an editor are fully discussed in
Hude’s preface to the Clarendon Press edition. The
text which I have followed is that of Stein; in the
few passages of any importance where I have thought
fit to follow any other authority, the fact is noted.
In the spelling of names I have not attempted to be
consistent. 1 use the familiar transliteration of x
and o, and write “Croesus” and ‘Cyrus,’ not
“Kroisos ’’ and “ Kuros,” only retaining terminations
in os where they are familiar and traditional. Where
place-names have a well-known English form, not
widely different from the Greek, I have kept to
that; for instance, “ Athens” and “Thebes,” not

XVII

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

“ Athenae” and “Thebae’’; but I write “Carchedon’”’
ands" Taras, not “Carthage * and’ “Tarentum:
This is (I trust) a reasonable, though undeniably an
inconsistent, method. The scheme of the present
series does not contemplate a commentary ; only the
briefest notes, therefore, have been added to this
translation, and only where the “general reader”’
may be supposed to stand in urgent need of a word
of explanation.

xviil

ΠΝ ΕΘΝ EO “BOO KS"
AND ΤΙ

Ir was by their conquest of Lydia that the Persians
were first brought into contact with the Greeks.
Hence it is necessary to Herodotus’ plan to trace
the history of the line of Lydian kings which ended
with Croesus ; this, with many attendant digressions,
occupies chapters 1-44 of Look I. On the same
principle, the history of the Medes and Persians, and
the early life of Cyrus himself, must be narrated
(ch. 45-140), Then follows the story of Cyrus’
dealings with the Greeks of Asia Minor (ch, 140-
177). The rest of the book is concerned with the
wars of Cyrus against the Assyrians and the Mas-
sagetae; a descriptive digression on Babylonian
civilisation naturally forms a part of this section.

Cyrus, killed in battle by the Massagetae, was
succeeded by his son Cambyses ; and Cambyses, soon
after the beginning of his reign, resolved to attack
Egypt. This resolve gives the cue for Herodotus’
memorable digression on the history and customs of
that country.

The second book falls into two parts The first

xix

INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS I AND II

is the portrayal of the Nile valley and its inhabi-
tants (ch. 1-98); the second gives a history of the
Egyptian kings. The whole book—a strange medley
of description and conjecture, history and fable—
has, in so far as it is descriptive of present things, the
supreme merit of a collection of pictures drawn by
an eyewitness. Herodotus’ travels seem to have
been mostly in Lower Egypt. But he knows also
the upper valley of the Nile, and apparently has
travelled as far as Assuan; his record, apart from
the charm of the narrative, has an enduring interest
as the earliest and for many centuries the only
literary source of our knowledge of the country.

But a clear distinction must be drawn between
the descriptive and the historical chapters.

It is not likely that Herodotus is inaccurate in
describing what he has seen. But, for his Egyptian
chronicles, he has had to rely on what was told him,
certainly through the medium of interpreters and
probably in many cases by informants whose own
knowledge was limited and inexact. Here, as usual,
he safeguards himself against the charge of uncritical
credulity by showing that he repeats the tale as told
to him without guaranteeing its truth. It is very
clear, however, that the impressions of history given
to him are exceedingly misleading, at least for the
long period before the twenty-sixth or Saite dynasty.
His chronicle is full of errors of nomenclature and
chronological sequence, and is made to cover far too
long a period of time. Our knowledge of the early
XX

INTRODUCTION TO ΒΟΟΚΒῚ AND II

rulers of Egypt rests, firstly, on evidence supplied by
Egyptian monuments; secondly, on what remains to
us (though in an epitomised and imperfect form) of
the chronicle of Manetho, an Egyptian priest who in
the third century B.c. compiled a list of the kings of
his country. Herodotus is repeatedly at variance
with both these sources of information. In a brief
introduction it is impossible to multiply proofs, or even
to summarise the difficulties which beset students of
these abstruse matters ; it is enough to remember that
‘“‘for Egyptian history in the strict sense chapters 99 to
146 are valueless.” 1 These deal with the dynasties
preceding 663 B.c., and covering in fact some 2700
years. Herodotus gives them a far longer duration ;
apparently he was shown a list of Egyptian rulers,
and calculated the united lengths of their reigns by
assuming one generation, or thirty years, for each
king. So rough-and-ready a method of calculation
could lead to no true conclusion; and it is wholly
invalidated by the undoubted fact that many of the
reigns named in the list were contemporaneous.

1 How and Wells, op. cit.; the reader is referred to their
Commentary for a discussion of these matters.

HERODOTUS

BOOK |]

HPOAOTOY I[2TOPIAI

ἣν

1. Ἡροδότου ᾿Αλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπό-
ἕεξις ἥδε, ὡς μήτε τὰ γενόμενα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων
τῷ χρόνῳ ἐξίτηλα. γένηται, μήτε ἔργα μεγάλα
τε καὶ θωμαστά, τὰ μὲν Ἑλλησι τὰ δὲ βαρβά-
ροισι ἀποδεχθέντα, ἀκλεᾶ γένηται, τά τε ἄλλα
καὶ δι’ ἣν αἰτίην ἐπολέμησαν ἀλλήλοισι.

Περσέων μέν νυν οἱ λόγιοι Φοίνικας αἰτίους
φασὶ γενέσθαι τῆς διαφορῆς. τούτους γὰρ ἀπὸ
τῆς ᾿ρυθρῆς καλεομένης θαλάσσης ἀπικομένους
ἐπὶ τήνδε τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ οἰκήσαντας τοῦτον
τὸν χῶρον τὸν καὶ νῦν οἰκέουσι, αὐτίκα ναυτιλί-
nor μακρῇσι ἐπιθέσθαι, ἀπαγινέοντας δὲ φορτία
Αὐγύπτιά τε καὶ ᾿Ασσύρια τῇ τε ἄλλῃ ἐσαπικνέ-
εσθαι καὶ δὴ καὶ és”"Apyos. τὸ δὲ ΓΑργος τοῦτον
τὸν χρόνον προεῖχε ἅπασι τῶν ἐν τῇ νῦν “Ἑλλάδι
καλεομένῃ χώρῃ. ἀπικομένους δὲ τοὺς Φοίνικας
ἐς δὴ τὸ "Αργος τοῦτο διατίθεσθαι τὸν φόρτον.
πέμπτῃ δὲ ἢ ἕκτῃ ἡμέρῃ ἀπ᾽ ἧς ἀπίκοντο, ἐξεμ-
πολημένων σφι σχεδὸν πάντων, ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν
θάλασσαν γυναῖκας ἄλλας τε πολλὰς καὶ δὴ καὶ
τοῦ βασιλέος θυγατέρα" τὸ δέ οἱ οὔνομα εἶναι,
κατὰ τὠυτὸ τὸ καὶ Ἵλληνες λέγουσι, ᾿Ιοῦν τὴν

HERODOTUS

BOOK I

1. Wuar Herodotus the Halicarnassian has learnt
by inquiry is here set forth: in order that so the
memory of the past may not be blotted out from
among men by time, and that great and marvellous
deeds done by Greeks and foreigners and especially
the reason why they warred against each other may
not lack renown.

The Persian learned men say that the Phoe-
nicians were the cause of the feud. These (they say)
came to our seas from the sea which is called Red,! and
having settled in the country which they still occupy,
at once began to make long voyages. Among other
places to which they carried Egyptian and Assyrian
merchandise, they came to Argos, which was about
that time preeminent in every way among the people
of what is now called Hellas. The Phoenicians then
came, as I say, to Argos, and set out their cargo.
On the fifth or sixth day from their coming, their
wares being now well-nigh all sold, there came to
the sea shore among many other women the king’s
daughter, whose name (according to Persians and
Greeks alike) was Io, the daughter of Inachus. They

1 Not the modern Red Sea, but the Persian Gulf and
adjacent waters,

HERODOTUS

᾿Ινάχου"' ταύτας στάσας κατὰ πρύμνην τῆς νεὸς
ὠνέεσθαι τῶν φορτίων τῶν σφι ἦν θυμὸς μάλιστα"
καὶ τοὺς Φοίνικας διακελευσαμένους ὁ ὁρμῆσαι ἐπ᾽
αὐτάς. τὰς μὲν δὴ πλεῦνας τῶν γυναικῶν ἀπο-
φυγεῖν, τὴν δὲ ᾿Ιοῦν σὺν ἄλλῃσι ἁρπασθῆναι.
ἐσβαλομένους δὲ ἐς τὴν νέα οἴχεσθαι ἀποπλέοντας
ἐπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου.

2. Οὕτω μὲν ᾿Ιοῦν ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἀπικέσθαι
λέγουσι ἹΠέρσαι, οὐκ ὡς “EAAnves, καὶ τῶν
ἀδικημάτων πρῶτον τοῦτο ἄρξαι. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα
Ἑλλήνων τινάς (οὐ γὰρ ἔχουσι τοὔνομα ἀπη-
γήσασθαι) φασὶ τῆς Φοινίκης ἐς Τύρον προσ-
σχόντας ἁρπάσαι τοῦ βασιλέος τὴν θυγατέρα
Εὐρώπην. εἴησαν δ᾽ ἂν οὗτοι Κρῆτες. ταῦτα
μὲν δὴ ἴσα πρὸς ἴσα σφι γενέσθαι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα
“Ἑλληνας αἰτίους τῆς δευτέρης ἀδικίης γενέσθαι"
καταπλώσαντας γὰρ μακρῇ νηὶ ἐς Aiav τε τὴν
Κολχίδα καὶ ἐπὶ Φᾶσιν ποταμόν, ἐνθεῦτεν, δια-
πρηξαμένους καὶ τἄλλα τῶν εἵνεκεν ἀπίκατο,
ἁρπάσαι τοῦ βασιλέος τὴν θυγατέρα Μηδείην.
πέμψαντα δὲ τὸν “Κόλχων βασιλέα ἐς τὴν Ἕλ-
λάδα κήρυκα αἰτέειν τε δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς καὶ
ἀπαιτέειν τὴν θυγατέρα. τοὺς δὲ ὑποκρίνασθαι
ὡς οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνοι ᾿Ιοῦς τῆς ᾿Αργείης ἔδοσάν σφι
δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς: οὐδὲ ὧν αὐτοὶ δώσειν ἐκεί-
νοισι.
be Δευτέρῃ δὲ λέγουσι γενεῇ μετὰ ταῦτα
Αλέξανδρον τὸν Πριάμου, ἀκηκοῦτα ταῦτα,
ἐθελῆσαί οἱ ἐκ τῆς ᾿Βλλάδος δι᾽ ἁρπαγῆς γενέ-
σθαι γυναῖκα, ἐπιστάμενον πάντως ὅτι οὐ δώσει
δίκας" οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνους διδόναι. οὕτω δὴ ἁρπά-
σαντος αὐτοῦ ᾿λένην, τοῖσι “λλησι δόξαι πρῶ-

BOOK i. 1-3

stood about the stern of the ship: and while they
bargained for such wares as they fancied, the
Phoenicians heartened each other to the deed,
and rushed to take them. Most of the women
escaped: Io with others was carried off; the men
east her into the ship and made sail away for
Bayete.

2. This, say the Persians (but not the Greeks),
was how Io came to Egypt, and this, according to
them, was the first wrong that was done. Next,
according to their tale, certain Greeks (they cannot
tell who) landed at Tyre in Phoenice and carried off
the king’s daughter Europe. These Greeks must, I
suppose, have been Cretans. So far, then, the ac-
count between them stood balanced. But after this
(say they) it was the Greeks who were guilty of the
second wrong. They sailed in a long ship to Aea of
the Colchians and the river Phasis!: and when they
had done the rest of the business for which they
came, they carried off the king’s daughter Medea.
When the Colchian king sent a herald to demand
reparation for the robbery, and restitution of his
daughter, the Greeks replied that as they had
been refused reparation for the abduction of the
Argive Io, neither would they make any to the
Colchians.

3. Then (so the story runs) in the second genera-
tion after this Alexandrus son of Priam, having
heard this tale, was minded to win himself a wife
out of Hellas by ravishment; for he was well per-
suaded that, as the Greeks had made no reparation,
so neither would he. So he carried off Helen. The
Greeks first resolved to send messengers demanding

1 This is the legendary cruise of the Argonauts.

HERODOTUS

4 , 3 / » ,ὔ e ,
τὸν πέμψαντας ἀγγέλους ἀπαιτέειν τε “Ἑλένην
καὶ δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς αἰτέειν. τοὺς δέ, Tpoi-
σχομένων ταῦτα, προφέρειν σφι Μηδείης τὴν
ἁρπαγήν, ὡς οὐ δόντες αὐτοὶ δίκας οὐδὲ ἐκδόντες
b fd / f SEP Se: ΄
ἀπαιτεόντων βουλοίατό oft παρ᾽ ἄλλων δίκας
γίνεσθαι.

4, Μέχρι μὲν ὧν τούτου ἁρπαγὰς μούνας
εἶναι παρ ἀλλήλων, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου “Ἕλληνας
δὴ μεγάλως αἰτίους γενέσθαι" προτέρους γὰρ
ἄρξαι στρατεύεσθαι ἐς τὴν ᾿Ασίην ἢ σφέας ἐς
τὴν Εὐρώπην. τὸ μέν νυν ἁρπάξειν γυναῖκας
ἀνδρῶν ἀδίκων νομίζειν ἔργον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ
ἁρπασθεισέξων σπουδὴν ποιήσασθαι τιμωρέειν
ἀνοήτων, τὸ δὲ μηδεμίαν ὦρην ἔχειν ἁρπασθει-
σέων σωφρόνων" δῆλα γὰρ δὴ ὅτι, εἰ μὴ αὐταὶ
> ΄ 3 ΕἾ ε ͵΄ , \ \
ἐβούλοντο, οὐκ av ἡρπάζοντο. σφέας μὲν δὴ
τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ᾿Ασίης λέγουσι Πέρσαι ἁρπαζομενέων
τῶν γυναικῶν λόγον οὐδένα ποιήσασθαι, “EX-
ληνας δὲ Λακεδαιμονίης εἵνεκεν γυναικὸς στόλον
μέγαν συναγεῖραι καὶ ἔπειτα ἐλθόντας ἐς τὴν
> »Ἅ Ἁ 4, / - > XN ΄
Ασίην τὴν Πριάμου δύναμιν κατελεῖν. ἀπὸ τού-

FENG 1b Nie \ , 5
Tov αἰεὶ ἡγήσασθαι τὸ ᾿Ελληνικὸν σφίσι εἶναι
2 >
πολέμιον. τὴν “γὰρ Ασίην καὶ τὰ ἐνοικέοντα
b) n e / \ X
ἔθνεα βάρβαρα" οἰκηιεῦνται οἱ Πέρσαι, τὴν δὲ
Εὐρώπην καὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν ἥ ἥγηνται κεχωρίσθαι.

5. Οὕτω μὲν Πέρσαι λέγουσι γενέσθαι, καὶ
διὰ τὴν Ἰλίον ἅλωσιν εὑρίσκουσι σφίσι ἐοῦσαν
τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἔχθρης τῆς ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας. περὶ
δὲ τῆς ᾿Ιοῦς οὐκ ὁμολογέουσι, Πέρσῃσι οὕτω Φοί-
νίκες" οὐ γὰρ ἁρπαγῇ σφέας χρησαμένους λέ-
γουσι ἀγαγεῖν αὐτὴν ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐν τῷ

A ἔθνεα [βάρβαρα] Stein.

BOOK I. 3-5

that Helen should be restored and atonement made
for the rape; but when this proposal was made, the
Trojans pleaded the rape of Medea, and reminded
the Greeks that they asked reparation of others, yet
had made none themselves, nor given up the plunder
at request.

4, Thus far it was a matter of mere robbery on
both sides. But after this (the Persians say) the
Greeks were greatly to blame; for they invaded
Asia before the Persians attacked Europe. “We
think,” say they, “that it is wrong to carry women
off: but to be zealous to avenge the rape is foolish :
wise men take no account of such things: for plainly
the women would never have been carried away, had
not they themselves wished it. We of Asia regarded
the rape of our women not at all; but the Greeks, all
for the sake of a Lacedaemonian woman, mustered a
great host, came to Asia, and destroyed the power of
Priam. Ever since then we have regarded Greeks
as our enemies.’’ The Persians claim Asia for their
own, and the foreign nations that dwell in it ; Europe
and the Greek race they hold to be separate from
them.

5. Such is the Persian account of the matter: in
their opinion, it was the taking of Troy which began
their feud with the Greeks. But the Phoenicians do
not tell the same story about Io as the Persians.
They say that they did not carry her off to Egypt by
force : she had intercourse in Argos with the captain

HERODOTUS

Apyet ἐμίσγετο τῷ ναυκλήρῳ τῆς νεός" ἐπεὶ δ᾽
ἔμαθε ἔγκυος ἐοῦσα, αἰδεομένη τοὺς τοκέας οὕτω
δὴ ἐθελοντὴν αὐτὴν τοῖσι Φοίνιξι συνεκπλῶσαι,
ὡς ἂν μὴ κατάδηλος γένηται.

Ταῦτα μέν νυν ἸϊΪέρσαι τε καὶ Φοίνικες λέ-
γουσι" ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ μὲν τούτων οὐκ ἔρχομαι ἐρέων
ὡς οὕτω ἢ ἄλλως κως ταῦτα ἐγένετο, τὸν δὲ οἶδα
αὐτὸς πρῶτον ὑπάρξαντα ἀδίκων ἔργων ἐς τοὺς
“Ἕλληνας, τοῦτον σημήνας προβήσομαι ἐς τὸ
πρόσω τοῦ λόγου, ὁμοίως σμικρὰ καὶ “μεγάλα
ἄστεα ἀνθρώπων ἐπεξιών. τὰ γὰρ τὸ πάλαι
μεγάλα ἣν, τὰ πολλὰ σμικρὰ αὐτῶν γέγονε" τὰ
δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐμεῦ ἦν μεγάλα, πρότερον ἣν σμικρά. τὴν
ἀνθρωπηίην ὧν ἐπιστάμενος εὐδαιμονίην οὐδαμὰ
ἐν τὠυτῷ μένουσαν, ἐπιμνήσομαι ἀμφοτέρων
ὁμοίως.

6. Κροῖσος ἦν Λυδὸς μὲν γένος, παῖς δὲ ᾿Αλυ-
ἅττεω, τύραννος δὲ ἐθνέων τῶν ἐντὸς “Αλυος
ποταμοῦ, ὃς ῥέων ἀπὸ μεσαμβρίης μεταξὺ Συρίων
τε καὶ Παφλαγόνων ἐξιεῖ πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον
ἐς τὸν Εὔξεινον καλεόμενον πόντον. οὗτος ὁ
Κροῖσος βαρβάρων πρῶτος τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν τοὺς
μὲν κατεστρέψατο “EXAnvev ἐς φόρου ἀπαγωγήν,
τοὺς δὲ φίλους προσεποιήσατο. κατεστρέψατο
μὲν Ἴωνάς τε καὶ Αἰολέας καὶ Δωριέας τοὺς ἐν
τῇ ᾿Ασίῃ, φίλους δὲ προσεποιήσατο Λακεδαι-
μονίους. πρὸ δὲ τῆς Κροίσου ἀρχῆς πάντες
“Ἕλληνες ἦσαν ἐλεύθεροι: τὸ γὰρ Κιμμερίων
στράτευμα τὸ ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Ιωνίην ἀπικόμενον Κροίσου
ἐὸν πρεσβύτερον οὐ καταστροφὴ ἐγένετο τῶν
πολίων ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ἁ ἁρπαγή.

1. Ἣ δὲ ἡγεμονίη οὕτω ™ ριῆλθε, ἐοῦσα ἭἫρα-

BOOK I. s-7

of the ship: then, perceiving herself to be with child,
she was ashamed that her parents should know it,
and so, lest they should discover her condition,
she sailed away with the Phoenicians of her own
accord.

These are the stories of the Persians and the
Phoenicians. For my own part, I will not say that
this or that story is true, but I will name him whom I
myself know to have done unprovoked wrong to the
Greeks, and so go forward with my history, and
speak of small and great cities alike. For many
states that were once great have now become small :
and those that were great in my time were small
formerly. Knowing therefore that human prosperity
never continues in one stay, I will make mention
alike of both kinds.

6. Croesus was by birth a Lydian, son of Alyattes,
and monarch of all the nations west of the river
Halys, which flows from the south between Syria and
Paphlagonia, and issues northward into the sea called
Euxinus. This Croesus was as far as we know the
first foreigner who subdued Greeks and took tri-
bute of them, and won the friendship of others,—
the former being the Ionians, the Aeolians, and the
Dorians of Asia, and the latter the Lacedaemonians.
Before the reign of Croesus all Greeks were free: for
the Cimmerian host which invaded Ionia before his
time did not subdue the cities but rather raided and
robbed them.

7. Now the sovereign power, which belonged to

HERODOTUS

κλειδέων, ἐς TO γένος TO Κροίσου, καλεομένους δὲ
Μερμνάδας. ἣν Κανδαύλης, τὸν οἱ “EAXAnves
Μυρσίλον ὀνομάζουσι, τύραννος Σαρδίων, ἀπό-
yovos δὲ ᾿Αλκαίου τοῦ Ἡρακλέος. Αγρων μὲν
γὰρ ὁ Νίνου τοῦ Βήλου τοῦ ᾿Αλκαίου πρῶτος
Ἡρακλειδέων βασιλεὺς ἐγένετο. ak Kav-
δαύλης δὲ ὁ Mupaov ὕστατος. δὲ “πρότερον
“Aypavos βασιλεύσαντες ταύτης os χώρης ἦσαν
ἀπόγονοι Λυδοῦ τοῦ “Atvos, ἀπ᾿ ὅτευ ὁ δῆμος
Λύδιος ἐκλήθη ὁ πᾶς οὗτος, πρότερον Μηίων
καλεόμενος. παρὰ τούτων Ἡρακλεῖδαι ἐπιτραφ-
θέντες ἐ ἔσχον τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκ θεοπροπίου, ἐ ἐκ δούλης
τε τῆς ᾿Ιαρδάνου γεγονότες καὶ Ἡρακλέος, ἄρ-
ἕαντες μὲν ἐπὶ δύο τε καὶ εἴκοσι γενεὰς ἀνδρῶν
ἔτεα πέντε τε καὶ πεντακόσια, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς
ἐκδεκόμενος τὴν ἀρχήν, μέχρι Κανδαύλεω τοῦ
Μύρσου.

8, Οὗτος δὴ ὧν ὁ Κανδαύλης ἠράσθη Tis
ἑωυτοῦ γυναικός, ἐρασθεὶς δὲ ἐνόμιξέ οἱ εἶναι
γυναῖκα πολλὸν πασέων καλλίστην. ὥστε δὲ
ταῦτα νομίζων, ἣν γάρ οἱ τῶν αἰχμοφόρων Γύγης
ὁ Δασκύλον ἀρεσκόμενος μάλιστα, τούτῳ τῷ
Γύγῃ καὶ τὰ σπουδαιέστερα τῶν πρηγμάτων
ὑπερετίθετο ὁ Κανδαύλης καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ εἶδος τῆς
γυναικὸς ὑπερεπαινέων. χρόνου δὲ οὐ πολλοῦ
διελθόντος (χρῆν γὰρ Κανδαύλῃ γενέσθαι κακῶς)
ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν Γύγην τοιάδε. “ Duyn, ov γάρ σε
δοκέω πείθεσθαί μοι λέγοντι περὶ τοῦ εἴδεος
τῆς γυναικός (ὦτα ey τυγχάνει ἀνθρώποισι
ἐόντα ἀπιστότερα ὀφθ αλμῶν), ποίεε ὅκως ἐκείνην
θεήσεαι γυμνήν. ὃ δ᾽ ἀμβώσας εἶπε “ δέσποτα,
τίνα λέγεις λόγον οὐκ ὑγιέα, κελεύων με δέσποι-
το

BOOK I. 7-8

the descendants of Heracles,! fell to the family of
Croesus—the Mermnadae as they were call!ed—in the
following way. Candaules, whom the Greeks call
Myrsilus, was the ruler of Sardis; he was descended
from Alcaeus, son of Heracles; Agron, son of Ninus,
son of Belus, son of Alcaeus, was the first Heraclid
king of Sardis, and Candaules, son of Myrsus, was the
last. The kings of this country before Agron were
descendants of Lydus, son of Atys, from whom all
this Lydian district took its name; before that it was
called the land of the Meii. From these the Hera-
clidae, descendants of Heracles! and a female slave
of Iardanus, received the sovereignty and held it in
charge, by reason of an oracle; and they ruled for
two and twenty generations, or 505 years, son
succeeding father, down to Candaules, son of Myrsus.
8. This Candaules, then, fell in love with his own
wife, so much that he supposed her to be by far the
fairest woman in the world; and being persuaded of
this, he raved of her beauty to Gyges, son of Dascy-
lus, who was his favourite among his bodyguard; for
it was to Gyges that he entrusted all his weightiest
secrets. Then after a little while Candaules, being
doomed to ill-fortune, spoke thus to Gyges: “I think,
Gyges, that you do not believe what I tell you of
the beauty of my wife; men trust their ears less
than their eyes; do you, then, so contrive that you
may see her naked.” Gyges exclaimed loudly at this.
“Master,” said he, “ what a pestilent command is
this that you lay upon me! that I should see her who
1 Descendants of Heracles seems to mean descended from
the Asiatic sungod identified with Heracles by the Greeks,

VOL. I. B "i

HERODOTUS

vav τὴν ἐμὴν θεήσασθαι γυμνήν; ἅμα δὲ κιθῶνι
ἐκδυομένῳ συνεκδύεται καὶ τὴν αἰδῶ γυνή. πάλαι
δὲ τὰ καλὰ ἀνθρώποισι ἐξεύρηται, ἐκ τῶν μαν-
θώνειν δεῖ: ἐν τοῖσι ἕν τόδε ἐστί, σκοπέειν τινὰ τὰ
ἑωυτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ πείθομαι ἐκείνην εἶναι πασέων
γυναικῶν καλλίστην, καὶ σέο δέομαι μὴ δέεσθαι
ἀνόμων."

9."°O μὲν δὴ λέγων τοιαῦτα ἀπεμάχετο, ἀρρω-
δέων μή τί οἱ εξ αὐτῶν γένηται κακόν, ὃ δ᾽ ἀμεί-
Reto τοῖσιδε. “θάρσεε, Tvyn, καὶ μὴ φοβεῦ μήτε
ἐμέ, ὡς σέο πειρώμενος ' λέγω λόγον. τόνδε, μήτε
γυναῖκα τὴν ἐμήν, μή τί τοι ἐξ αὐτῆς γένηται
Βλάβος. ἀρχὴν γὰρ ἐγὼ μηχανήσομαι οὕτω
ὥστε μηδὲ “μαθεῖν μιν ὀφθεῖσαν ὑπὸ σεῦ. ἐγὼ
γάρ σε ἐς τὸ οἴκημα ἐν τῷ κοιμώμεθα ὄπισθε τῆς
ἀνοιγομένης θύρης στήσω. μετὰ δ᾽ ἐμὲ ἐσελθόντα
παρέσται καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἐμὴ ἐς κοῖτον. κεῖται δὲ
ἀγχοῦ τῆς ἀρύ οὺ θρόνος" ἐπὶ τοῦτον τῶν ἱματίων
κατὰ ἕν ἕκαστον ἐκδύνουσα θήσει, καὶ κατ᾽
ἡσυχίην πολλὴν παρέξει τοι, θεήσασθαι. ἐπεὰν
δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ θρόνου στείχῃ ἐπὶ τὴν εὐνὴν κατὰ
νώτου τε αὐτῆς γένῃ, σοὶ μελέτω τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ὅκως
μή σε ὄψεται ἰόντα διὰ θυρέων."

10. Ὃ μὲν δὴ ὡς οὐκ ἐδύνατο διαφυγεῖ:, ἦν
ἕτοιμος" ὁ δὲ Κανδαύλης, ἐπεὶ ἐδόκεε ὥρη τῆς
κοίτης εἶναι, ἤγαγε τὸν 1 ὕγεα ἐς τὸ οἴκημα, καὶ
μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτίκα παρῆν καὶ ἡ γυνή. ἐσελθοῦσαν
δὲ καὶ τιθεῖσαν τὰ εἵματα ἐθηεῖτο ὁ Τύγης. ὡς
δὲ κατὰ νώτου ἐγένετο ἰούσης τῆς γυναικὸς ἐς τὴν
κοίτην, ὑπεκδὺς ἐχώρεε ἔξω, καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἐπορᾷ
μιν ἐξιόντας, μαθοῦσα δὲ τὸ ποιηθὲν ἐκ τοῦ

1 πειρώμενον Stein,
12

BOOK I. 8-10

is my mistress naked! with the stripping off of her
tunic a woman is stripped of the honour due to her.
Men have long ago made wise rules for our learning ;
one of these is, that we, and none other, shouldsee what
is our own. As for me, I fully believe that your
queen is the fairest of all women; ask not lawless
acts of me, I entreat you.”

9. Thus speaking Gyges sought to turn the king’s
purpose, for he feared lest some ill to himself should
come of it: but this was Candaules’ answer: “ Take
courage, Gyges: fear not that I say this to put you
to the proof, nor that my wife will do you any harm.
I will so contrive the whole business that she shall
never know that you have seen her. I will bring you
into the chamber where she and I lie and set you
behind the open door ; and after I have entered, my
wife too will come to her bed. There is a chair set
near the entrance of the room: on this she will lay
each part of her raiment as she takes it off, and
you will be able to gaze upon her at your leisure.
Then, when she goes from the chair to the bed,
turning her back upon you, do you look to it
that she does not see you going out through the
doorway.”

10. As Gyges could not escape, he consented.
Candaules, when he judged it to be bed time, brought
Gyges into the chamber, his wife presently followed,
and when she had come in and was laying aside her
garments Gyges beheld her; and when she turned
her back upon him, going to her bed, he slipped
privily from the room. The woman saw him as he
passed out, and perceived what her husband had
done. But shamed though she was she never cried

“ὦ

HERODOTUS

ἀνδρὸς οὔτε avéBwae αἰσχυνθεῖσα οὔτε ἔδοξε
μαθεῖν, ἐν νόῳ ἔχουσα τίσεσθαι τὸν Κανδαύλεα.
παρὰ γὰρ τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι, σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ παρὰ
τοῖσι ἄλλοισι βαρβάροισι καὶ ἄνδρα ὀφθῆναι
γυμνὸν ἐς αἰσχύνην μεγάλην φέρει.

11. Tore pev δὴ οὕτω οὐδὲν δηλώσασα ἡ ἡσυχίην
εἶχε" ὡς δὲ ἡμέρη τάχιστα ἐγεγόνεε, τῶν οἰκετέων
τοὺς μάλιστα ὥρα πιστοὺς ἐόντας ἑωυτῇ, ἑτοίμους
ποιησαμένη ἐκάλεε τὸν Γύγεα. ὃ δὲ οὐδὲν δοκέων
αὐτὴν τῶν πρηχθέντων ἐπίστασθαι ἦλθε καλεό-
μενος" ἐώθεε γὰρ καὶ πρόσθε, ὅκως ἡ βασίλεια
καλέοι, φοιτᾶν. ὡς δὲ ὁ Γύγης ἀπίκετο, ἔλεγε

ἡ γυνὴ τάδε. ““νῦν τοι δυῶν ὁδῶν παρεουσέων
Γύγη δίδωμι αἵρεσιν, ὁκοτέρην βούλεαι τραπέσθαι.
ἢ γὰρ Κανδαύλεα ἀποκτείνας ἐμέ τε καὶ τὴν
βασιληίην ἔχε τὴν Λυδῶν, ἢ αὐτόν σε αὐτίκα
οὕτω ἀποθνήσκειν δεῖ, ὡς ἂν μὴ πάντα πειθόμενος
Κανδαύλῃ τοῦ λοιποῦ ἴδῃς τὰ μή σε δεῖ. ἀλλ᾽
ἤτοι κεῖνόν γε, τὸν ταῦτα βουλεύσαντα δεῖ ἀπόλ-
λυσθαι, ἢ σὲ τὸν ἐμὲ γυμνὴν θεησάμενον καὶ
ποιήσαντα οὐ νομιζόμενα." ὁ δὲ Εύγης τέως μὲν
ἀπεθώμαζε τὰ λεγόμενα, μετὰ δὲ ἱκέτευε μή μιν
ἀναγκαίῃ ἐνδέειν διακρῖναι τοιαύτην αἵρεσιν.
οὔκων δὴ ἔπειθε, ἀλλ᾽ ὥρα ἀναγκαίην ἀληθέως
προκειμένην ἢ τὸν δεσπότεα ἀπολλύναι ἢ αὐτὸν
ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων ἀπόλλυσθαι" αἱρέεται αὐτὸς περιεῖναι.
ἐπειρώτα δὴ λέγων τάδε. ἐπεί με ἀναγκάξεις
δεσπότεα τὸν ἐμὸν κτείνειν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα, φέρε
ἀκούσω τέῳ καὶ τρόπῳ ἐπιχειρήσομεν αὐτῷ. ἣ
δὲ ὑπολαβοῦσα ἔφη “ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μὲν χωρίου
ἡ ὁρμη ἔσται ὅθεν περ καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἐμὲ ἐπεδέξατο
γύμνην, ὑπνωμένῳ δὲ ἡ ἐπιχείρησις ἔσται."

BOOK I. 10-11

out nor let it be seen that she had perceived aught,
for she had it in mind to punish Candaules ; seeing
that among the Lydians and most of the foreign
peoples it isheld great shame that even a man should
be seen naked.

11. For the nonce she made no sign and held her
peace. But as soon as it was day, she assured her-
self of those of her household whom she perceived
to be most faithful to her, and called Gyges: who,
supposing that she knew nothing of what had been
done, came at call ; for he had always been wont to
attend the queen whenever she bade him. So when
he came, the lady thus addressed him: ‘‘ Now, Gyges,
you have two roads before you; choose which you
will follow. You must either kill Candaules and take
me for your own and the throne of Lydia, or your-
self be killed now without more ado ; that will pre-
vent you from obeying all Candaules’ commands in
the future and seeing what you should not see.
One of you must die: either he, the contriver of
this plot, or you, who have outraged all usage by
looking on me unclad.” At this Gyges stood awhile
astonished: presently he entreated her not to com-
pel him to such a choice; but when he could not
move her, and saw that dire necessity was in very
truth upon him either to kill his master or himself
be killed by others, he chose his own life. Then
he asked the queen to tell him, since she forced
him against his will to slay his master, how they
were to attack the king: and she replied, “ You
shall come at him from the same place whence
he made you see me naked; attack him in his
sleep.”

HERODOTUS

«ς \
12. Ὡς δὲ ἤρτυσαν τὴν ἐπιβουλήν, νυκτὸς
DJ / «ς =
γενομένης (οὐ yap ἐμετίετο ὁ Γύγης, οὐδέ οἱ ἣν
3 ᾽ \
ἀπαλλαγὴ οὐδεμία, ἀλλ᾽ ἔδεε ἢ αὐτὸν ἀπολωλέναι
a 7 “ ’ \ ΄ = ,
n Κανδαύλεα) εἵπετο ἐς τὸν θάλαμον τῇ γυναικί,
καί μιν ἐκείνη, ἐγχειρίδιον δοῦσα, ᾿κατακρύπτει
ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτὴν θύρην. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναπαυο-
μένου Κανδαύλεω ὑπεκδύς τε καὶ ἀποκτείνας
αὐτὸν ἔσχε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὴν βασιληίην
Εύγης τοῦ καὶ ᾿Αρχίλοχος ὁ Πάριος κατὰ τὸν
αὐτὸν χρύμοι γενόμενος ἐν ἰάμβῳ τριμέτρῳ
ἐπεμνήσθη."

18. Ἔσχε δὲ τὴν βασιληίην καὶ “ἐκρατύνθη ἐκ
τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖσι “χρηστηρίου. ὡς γὰρ δὴ οἱ
Λυδοὶ δεινὸν ἐποιεῦντο τὸ Κανδαύλεω πάθος καὶ
ἐν ὅπλοισι ἦσαν, συνέβησαν ἐς τὠυτὸ οἵ τε τοῦ
“7 A \ ς \ "ΤᾺ \ \
Γύγεω στασιῶται καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ Λυδοί, ἢν μὲν τὸ

/ ᾽ / , 4, “Ὁ \
χρηστήριον ἀνέλῃ μιν βασιλέα εἶναι Λυδῶν, Tov
δὲ βασιλεύειν, ἢν δὲ μή, ἀποδοῦναι ὀπίσω ἐς
τ / \ ’ Δ ’ A / \ Ν
Ηρακλείδας τὴν ἀρχήν. ἀνεῖλέ τε δὴ τὸ χρη-
στήριον καὶ ἐβασίλευσε οὕτω Τύγης. τοσόνδε

, 5 e bi δ ς is , Be
μέντοι εἶπε ἡ Πυθίη, ὡς Ἡρακλείδησι τίσις ἥξει
ἐς τὸν πέμπτον ἀπόγωνον ] ὕγεω. τούτου τοῦ
” / \ e ΄ 3 a /
ἔπεος Λυδοί τε καὶ ot βασιλέες αὐτῶν λόγον
οὐδένα ἐποιεῦντο, πρὶν δὴ ἐπετελέσθη.

14. Τὴν μὲν δὴ τυραννίδα οὕτω ἔσχον οἱ
Μερμνάδαι τοὺς Ἡρακλείδας ἀπελόμενοι, Γύγης
δὲ τυραννεύσας ἀπέπεμψε ἀναθήματα ἐ ἐς Δελφοὺς
οὐκ ὀλίγα, ἀλλ᾽ ὅσα μὲν ἀργύρου ἀναθήματα,
Μ « lal > la) / \ lal
ἔστι οἱ πλεῖστα ἐν Δελφοῖσι, πάρεξ. δὲ τοῦ
> , Ν v > / ” \
ἀργύρου χρυσὸν ἄπλετον ἀνέθηκε ἄλλον TE Kal

1 Stein brackets the words τοῦ καὶ ---ἐπεμνήσθη as super-
fluous and therefore probably spurious.

BOOK I. 12-14

12. So when they had made ready this plot, and
night had fallen, Gyges followed the lady into the
chamber (for he could not get free or by any means
escape, but either he or Candaules must die), and
she gave him a dagger and hid him behind the same
door; and presently he stole out and slew Candaules
as he slept, and thus made himself master of the
king’s wife and sovereignty. He is mentioned in the
iambic verses of Archilochus of Parus who lived about
the same time.

13. So he took possession of the sovereign power,
and was confirmed therein by the Delphic oracle.
For when the Lydians were much angered by the
fate of Candaules, and took up arms, the faction of
Gyges and the rest of the people came to an agree-
ment that if the oracle should ordain him to be
king of the Lydians, then he should reign: but if
not, then he should render back the kingship to
the Heraclidae. The oracle did so ordain: and
Gyges thus became king. Howbeit the Pythian
priestess declared that the Heraclidae should have
vengeance on Gyges’ posterity in the fifth generation:
an utterance of which the Lydians and their kings
took no account, till it was fulfilled.

14. Thus did the Mermnadae rob the Heraclidae
of the sovereignty and take it for themselves. Having
gained it, Gyges sent not a few offerings to Delphi:
there are very many silver offerings of his there:
and besides the silver, he dedicated great store of

HERODOTUS

τοῦ μάλιστα μνήμην ἄξιον ἔχειν ἐστί, κρητῆρες
οἱ ἀριθμὸν ἕξ χρύσεοι ἀνακέαται. ἑστᾶσι δὲ οὗτοι
ἐν τῷ Κορινθίων θησαυρῷ, σταθμὸν ἐ ἔχοντες τριή-
κοντα τάλαντα" ἀληθέι δὲ λόγῳ χρεω μένῳ οὐ Κορ-
ινθίων τοῦ δημοσίου ἐ ἐστὶ ὁ θησαυρός, ἀλλὰ ἘΠ.
λου τοῦ ᾿Ηετίωνος. οὗτος δὲ ὁ Τύγης πρῶτος βαρ-
βάρων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀνέθηκε
ἀναθήματα μετὰ Μίδην τὸν “Ῥορδίεω Φρυγίης
βασιλέα. ἀνέθηκε γὰρ δὴ καὶ Μίδης τὸν βασι-
λήιον θρόνον ἐς τὸν προκατίζων ἐδίκαζε, ἐόντα
ἀξιοθέητον" κεῖται δὲ ὁ θρόνος οὗτος ἔνθα περ οἱ
τοῦ Τύγεω κρητῆρες. ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς οὗτος καὶ ὁ
ἄργυρος τὸν ὁ Γύγης ἀνέθηκε, ὑπὸ Δελφῶν
καλέεται Γυγάδας ἐ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀναθέντος ἐ ἐπωνυμίην.

15. ᾿Εσέβαλε μέν νυν στρατιὴν καὶ οὗτος ἐπείτε
np&e ἔς τε Μίλητον καὶ ἐς Σμύρνην, καὶ Κολοφῶ-
νος τὸ ἄστυ εἷλε' ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν γὰρ μέγα ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
ἄλλο ἔργον ἐγένετο βασιλεύσαντος δυῶν δέοντα
τεσσεράκοντα ἔτεα, τοῦτον μὲν παρήσομεν τοσαῦτα
ἐπιμνησθέντες, ἤΑρδυος δὲ τοῦ Γύγεω μετὰ Γύγην
βασιλεύσαντος μνήμην ποιήσομαι. οὗτος δὲ
Πριηνέας τε εἷλε ἐς Μίλητόν τε ἐσέβαλε, ἐπὶ τού-
του τε τυραννεύοντος Σαρδίων Κιμμέριοι ἐξ ἠθέων
ὑπὸ Σκυθέων τῶν νομάδων ἐξαναστάντες ἀπίκοντο
ἐς τὴν ᾿Ασίην καὶ Σάρδις πλὴν τῆς ἀκροπόλιος
εἷλον.

ἼΛρδυος δὲ βασιλεύσαντος ἑνὸς δέοντα πεν-
τήκοντα ἔτεα ἐξεδέξατο Σαδυάττης ὁ Αρδυος, καὶ
ἐβασίλευσε ἔτεα δυώδεκα, Σαδυάττεω δὲ ᾿Αλυάτ-
της. οὗτος δὲ “Κυαξάρῃ τε τῷ Δηιόκεω ἀπογόνῳ
ἐπολέμησε καὶ Μήδοισι, Κιμμερίους τε ἐκ τῆς
᾿Ασίης ἐξήλασε, Σμύρνην τε τὴν ἀπὸ Κολοφῶνος

BOOK I. 14-16

gold: among which six golden bowls are the offerings
chiefly worthy of record. These weigh 30 talents!
and stand in the treasury? of the Corinthians: though
in very truth it is the treasury not of the Corinthian
people but of Cypselus son of Eetion. This Gyges
then was the first foreigner (of our knowledge) who
placed offerings at Delphi after the king of Phrygia,
Midas son of Gordias. For Midas too made an
offering, to wit, the royal seat whereon he sat to
give judgment, and a marvellous seat it is; it is set
in the same place as the bowls of Gyges. This gold
and the silver offered by Gyges is called by the
Delphians “ Gygian”’ after its dedicator.

15. As soon as Gyges came to the throne, he too,
like others, led an army into the lands of Miletus
and Smyrna; and he took the city of Colophon.
But he did nothing else great in his reign of thirty-
eight years ; I will therefore say no more of him, and
will speak rather of Ardys the son of Gyges, who
succeeded him. He took Priene and invaded the
country of Miletus; and it was while he was
monarch of Sardis that the Cimmerians, driven from
their homes by the nomad Scythians, came into Asia,
and took Sardis, all but the citadel.

16. Ardys reigned for forty-nine years, and was
succeeded by his son Sadyattes, who reigned for
twelve years; and after Sadyattes came Alyattes,
who waged war against Deioces’ descendant Cyaxares
and the Medes, drove the Cimmerians out of Asia,
took Smyrna (which was a colony from Colophon),

1 The “ Attic” talent had a weight of about 58 lbs. avoir-
dupois, the ‘‘ Aeginetan” of about 82.
Many Greek states had special ‘‘ treasuries” allotted to
them in the temple precincts at Delphi, in which their
offerings were deposited.

HERODOTUS

κτισθεῖσαν εἷλε, ἐς Κλαζομενάς τε ἐσέβαλε. ἀπὸ
μέν νυν τούτων οὐκ ὡς ἤθελε ἀπήλλαξε, ἀλλὰ
προσπταίσας μεγάλως: ἄλλα δὲ ἔργα ἀπεδέξατο
ἐὼν ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ ἀξιαπηγητότατα τάδε.

11: ᾿᾿ξπολέμησε Μιλησίοισι, παραδεξάμενος τὸν
πόλεμον παρὰ τοῦ πατρός. ἐπελαύνων γὰρ, ἐπο-
λεύρκεε τὴν Μίλητον τρόπῳ τοιῷδε: ὅκὼς μὲν εἴη)
ἐν τῇ γῇ καρπὸς ἁδρός, τηνικαῦτα ἐσὲβ Θαλλε τὴν
στρατιήν' ἐστρατεύετο δὲ ὑπὸ συρίγγων τε καὶ
πηκτίδων καὶ αὐλοῦ γυναικηίου τε καὶ ἀνδρηίου.

ὡς δὲ ἐς τὴν Μιλησίην ἀπίκοιτο, οἰκήματα μὲν τὰ
ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγρῶν οὔτε “κατέβαλλε οὔτε ἐνεπίμπρη
οὔτε θύρας a ἀπέσπα, ἔα δὲ κατὰ χώρην ἑστάναι" ὃ
δὲ τά τε δένδρεα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν τὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ ὅκως
διαφθείρειε, ἀπαλλάσσετο ὀπίσω. τῆς γὰρ θαλάσ-
σης οἱ Μιλήσιοι ἐπεκράτεον, ὥστε , ἐπέδρης μὴ
εἶναι ἔργον τῇ στρατιῇ. τὰς δὲ οἰκίας οὐ κατέ-
βαλλε ὁ Δυδὸς τῶνδε εἵνεκα, ὅκως ἔχοιεν ἐνθεῦτεν
ὁρμώμενοι τὴν γῆν σπείρειν Te Kab ἐργάξεσθαι οἱ
Μιλήσιοι, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐκείνων ἐργαζομένων ἔχοι τι
καὶ σίνεσθαι ἐσ βάλλων.

18. Ταῦτα ποιέων ἐπολέμεε ἔτεα ἕνδεκα, ἐν
τοῖσι τρώματα μεγάλα διφάσια Μιλησίων ἐ eyeve TO,
ἔν τε Λιμενηίῳ χώρης τῆς σῴετ έρης μαχεσαμένων
καὶ ἐν Μαιάνδρου πεδίῳ. τὰ μέν νυν ἕξ ἔτεα τῶν
ἕνδεκα Σαδυάττης ὁ" Apovos ἔτι Λυδῶν ἦρχε, ὁ καὶ
ἐσβάλλων τηνικαῦτα ἐς τὴν Μιλησίην τὴν στρα-
tinv' Σαδυάττης οὗτος γὰρ καὶ ὁ τὸν πόλεμον ἣν
συνάψας" τὰ δὲ πέντε τῶν ἐτέων τὰ ἑπόμενα
τοῖσι ἕξ ᾿Αλυάττης ὁ Σαδυάττεω ἐπολέμεε, ὃς
παραδεξάμενος, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι δεδήλωται.
παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν πόλεμον προσεῖχε EVTETA-

BOOK I. 16-18

and invaded the lands of Clazomenae. But here he
came off not at all as he wished, but with great
disaster. Of other deeds done by him in his reign
these were most notable:

17. He continued the war against the Milesians
which his father had begun. This was the manner
in which he attacked and laid siege to Miletus: he
sent his invading army, marching to the sound of
pipes and harps and flutes bass and treble, when
the crops in the land were ripe: and whenever he
came to the Milesian territory, the country dwellings
he neither demolished nor burnt nor tore off their
doors, but let them stand unharmed; but the trees
and the crops of the land he destroyed, and so
returned whence he came; for as the Milesians had
command of the sea, it was of no avail for his
army to besiege their city. The reason why the
Lydian did not destroy the houses was this—that the
Milesians might have homes whence to plant and
cultivate their land, and that there might be the fruit
of their toil for his invading army to lay waste.

18. In this manner he waged war for eleven years,
and in these years two great disasters befel the Miles-
ians, one at the battle of Limeneion in their own
territory, and the other in the valley of the Maeander.
For six of these eleven years Sadyattes son of Ardys
was still ruler of Lydia, and he it was who invaded
the lands of Miletus, for it was he who had begun
the war ; for the following five the war was waged
by Sadyattes’ son Alyattes, who, as I have before
shown, inherited the war from his father and carried

HERODOTUS

μένως. τοῖσι δὲ Μιλησίοισι ovdapol ᾿Ιώνων τὸν
πόλεμον τοῦτον συνεπελάφρυνον OTL μὴ Χῖοι
μοῦνοι. οὗτοι δὲ τὸ ὅμοιον ἀνταποδιδόντες ἐτι-
μώρεον' καὶ γὰρ δὴ πρότερον οἱ Μιλήσιοι τοῖσι
Χίοισι τὸν πρὸς ᾿Ερυθραίους πόλεμον συνδιήνεικαν.

19. Τῷ δὲ δυωδεκάτῳ ἔτεϊ ληίου ἐμπιπραμένου
ὑπὸ τῆς στρατιῆς συνηνείχθη τι τοιόνδε γενέσθαι
πρῆγμα: ws ἄφθη τάχιστα τὸ λήιον, ἀνέμῳ
βιώμενον ἅψατο νηοῦ ᾿Αθηναίης ἐπίκλησιν ᾿Ασ-
σησίης, ἀφθεὶς δὲ ὁ νηὸς κατεκαύθη. καὶ τὸ
παραυτίκα μὲν λόγος οὐδεὶς ἐγένετο, μετὰ δὲ τῆς
στρατιῆς ἀπικομένης ἐς Σάρδις ἐ ἐνόσησε ὁ ᾿Αλνυάτ-
της. μακροτέρης δέ οἱ γινομένης τῆς νούσου
πέμπει ἐς Δελφοὺς θεοπρόπους, εἴτε δὴ συμβου-
λεύσαντός τευ, εἴτε καὶ αὐτῷ ἔδοξε πέμψαντα τὸν
θεὸν ἐπειρέσθαι περὶ τῆς νούσου. τοῖσι δὲ ἡ
Πυθίη ἀπικομένοισι, ἐς Δελφοὺς οὐκ ἔφη χρήσειν
πρὶν ἢ τὸν νηὸν τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης ἀνορθώσωσι, τὸν
ἐνέπρησαν χώρης τῆς Μιλησίης ἐν ᾿Ασσησῷ.

20. Δελφῶν οἶδα ἐγὼ οὕτω ἀκούσας γενέσθαι"
Μιλήσιοι δὲ τάδε προστιθεῖσι τούτοισι, Ilepiav-
dpov τὸν Κυψέλου ἐόντα Θρασυβούλῳ τῷ τότε
Μιλήτου τυραννεύοντι ξεῖνον ἐς τὰ μάλιστα,
πυθόμενον τὸ χρηστήριον τὸ τῷ ᾿Αλυάττῃ γενό-
μενον, πέμψαντα ἄγγελον κατειπεῖν, ὅκως GY τι
προειδὼς πρὸς τὸ παρεὸν βουλεύηται.

21. Μιλήσιοι μέν νυν οὕτω λέγουσι γενέσθαι.
᾿Αλυάττης δέ, ὥς οἱ ταῦτα ἐξαγγέλθη, αὐτίκα
ἔπεμπε κήρυκα ἐς Μίλητον βουλόμενος σπονδὰς
ποιήσασθαι Θρασυβούλῳ τε καὶ Μιλησίοισι
χρόνον ὅσον ἂν τὸν νηὸν οἰκοδομέῃῆς ὃ μὲν δὴ

BOOK I, 1τ8--2:

it on vigorously. None of the lonians helped to
lighten this war for the Milesians, except only the
Chians: these lent their aid for a like service done to
themselves ; for the Milesians had formerly helped
the Chians in their war against the Erythraeans.

19. In the twelfth year, when the Lydian army
was burning the crops, it so happened that the fire
set to the crops and blown by a strong wind caught
the temple of Athene called Athene of Assesos!:
and the temple was burnt to the ground. For the
nonce no account was taken of this. But presently
after the army had returned to Sardis Alyattes
fell sick; and, his sickness lasting longer than it
should, he sent to Delphi to inquire of the oracle,
either by someone’s counsel or by his own wish
to question the god about his sickness: but when
the messengers came to Delphi the Pythian priestess
would not reply to them before they should restore
the temple of Athene at Assesos in the Milesian
territory, which they had burnt.

20. Thus far I know the truth, for the Delphians
told me. The Milesians add to the story, that
Periander son of Cypselus, being a close friend of
Thrasybulus who then was sovereign of Miletus,
learnt what reply the oracle had given to Alyattes
and sent a despatch to tell Thrasybulus, so that
thereby his friend should be forewarned and make
his plans accordingly.

21. Such is the Milesian story. Then, when the
Delphic reply was brought to Alyattes, straightway
he sent a herald to Miletus, offering to make a truce
with Thrasybulus and the Milesians during his
building of the temple. So the envoy went to

1 A small town or village near Miletus,

HERODOTUS

, \ / >
ἀπόστολος ἐς τὴν Μίλητον ἦν, Θρασύβουλος δὲ
σαφέως προπεπυσμένος πάντα λόγον, καὶ εἰδὼς τὰ

/ la
᾿Αλυάττης μέλλοι ποιήσειν, μηχανᾶται τοιάδε:
ὅσος ἣν ἐν τῷ ἄστεϊ σῖτος καὶ ἑωυτοῦ καὶ ἰδιωτικός,
τοῦτον πάντα “συγκομίσας ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν προεῖπε
i
Μιλησίοισι, ἐπεὰν αὐτὸς σημήνῃ, τότε πίνειν τε
πάντας καὶ κώμῳ χρᾶσθαι ἐς ἀλλήλους.

22, Ταῦτα δὲ ἐποίεέ τε καὶ προηγόρευε Θρα-
σύβουλος τῶνδε εἵνεκεν, ὅκως ἂν δὴ ὁ κῆρυξ ὁ
Σαρδιηνὸς ἰδών τε σωρὸν μέγαν σίτου κεχυμένον
καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐν εὐπ αθείῃσι ἐόντας ἀγγείλῃ
᾽ ", \ \ \ » /

Αλυάττῃ: τὰ δὴ Kal ἐγένετο. ὡς γὰρ δὴ ἰδών
An ς “
τε ἐκεῖνα ὁ κῆρυξ καὶ εἴπας πρὸς Θρασύβουλον

a ὃ A \ 2 \ > al θ ) \ S / ὃ -
τοῦ Λυδοῦ τὰς ἐντολᾶς ἀπῆλθε ἐς τὰς Σάρδις, ὡς
’ N ’ 2 9. (ὧν yy b) , ς -
ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, δι᾿ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐγένετο ἡ διαλ-

/ > / N ig ’ te /
λαγή. ἐλπίζων yap ὁ ᾿Αλνυάττης σιτοδείην τε
εἶναι ἰσχυρὴν ἐν τῇ Μιλήτῳ καὶ τὸν λεὼν τετρῦ-

Ν a na ΄
σθαι ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον κακοῦ, ἤκουε τοῦ κήρυκος
νοστήσαντος ἐκ τῆς Μιλήτου τοὺς ἐναντίους

U A ¢ STEEN / \ Ney
λόγους ἢ WS αὐτὸς κατεδόκεε. μετὰ δὲ ἥ TE διαλ-

/ > / beeen) « / 2 f
Aayn σῴι ἐγένετο ἐπ᾽ ᾧ TE ξείνους ἀλλήλοισι
εἶναι καὶ συμμάχους, καὶ δύο τε ἀντὶ ἑνὸς νηοὺς

A ’ ie ? fe «ς 2 / > a
τῇ ᾿Αθηναίῃ οἰκοδόμησε ὁ ᾿Αλυάττης ἐν TH
> A , a
Ασσησῷ, αὐτός Te ἐκ τῆς νούσου ἀνέστη. κατὰ

XN \ Ἂν y \ /
μὲν τὸν πρὸς Μιλησίους te καὶ Θρασύβουλον

/ > We e yy
πόλεμον ᾿Αλυάττῃ ὧδε ἔσχε.

lf a

23. Περίανδρος δὲ ἦν Κυψέλου παῖς, οὗτος ὁ

A ΄ὔ \ / /
τῷ Θρασυβούλῳ TO χρηστήριον μηνύσας" ἐτυ-

/ Nie / ὃ Pa , an \ /
pavueve δὲ ὁ Ilepiavdpos Kopiv0ou: τῷ δὴ λέγουσι
Κορίνθιοι (ὁμολογέουσι δέ σφι Λέσβιοι) ἐ ἐν τῷ βίῳ
θῶμα μέγιστον παραστῆναι, ᾿Αρίονα τὸν Μηθυμ-
vaiov ἐπὶ δελφῖνος ἐξενειχθέντα ἐπὶ Ταίναρον,

BOOK I. 21-23

Miletus. But Thrasybulus, being exactly forewarned
of the whole matter, and knowing what Alyattes
meant to do, devised the following plan: he brought
together into the market place all the food in the
city, from private stores and his own, and bade the
men of Miletus all drink and revel together when he
should give the word.

22. The intent of his so doing and commanding
was, that when the herald from Sardis saw a great
heap of food piled up, and the citizens making
merry, he might bring word of it to Alyattes:
and so it befell. The herald saw all this, gave
Thrasybulus the message he was charged by the
Lydian to deliver, and returned to Sardis; and this,
as far as I can learn, was the single reason of the
reconciliation. Tor Alyattes had supposed that
there was great scarcity in Miletus and that the
people were reduced to the last extremity of misery ;
but now on his herald’s return from the town he
heard an account contrary to his expectations; so
presently the Lydians and Milesians ended the war
and agreed to be friends and allies, and Alyattes
built not one but two temples of Athene at
Assesos, and recovered of his sickness. Such is
the story of Alyattes’ war against Thrasybulus and
the Milesians.

23. Periander, who disclosed the oracle’s answer
to Thrasybulus, was the son of Cypselus, and sovereign
lord of Corinth. As the Corinthians and Lesbians
agree in relating, there happened to him a thing
which was the most marvellous in his life, namely,
the landing of Arion of Methymna on Taenarus,
borne thither by a dolphin. This Arion was a

HERODOTUS

ἐόντα κιθαρῳδὸν τῶν τότε ἐόντων οὐδενὸς δεύ-
τερον, καὶ διθύραμβον πρῶτον ἀνθρώπων τῶν
ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν ποιήσαντά τε καὶ ὀνομάσαντα καὶ
διδάξαντα ἐν Κορίνθῳ.

24, Τοῦτον τὸν ᾿Αρίονα λέγουσι, τὸν πολλὸν
τοῦ χρόνου διατρίβοντα παρὰ Περιάνδρῳ ἐπιθυ-
μῆσαι πλῶσαι ἐς Ἰταλίην τε καὶ Σικελίην, ἐ ἐργα-
σάμενον δὲ χρήματα μεγάλα θελῆσαι ὀπίσω ἐς
Κόρινθον ἀπικέσθαι. ὁρμᾶσθαι μέν νυν ἐκ Τάραν-
τος, πιστεύοντα δὲ οὐδαμοῖσι μᾶλλον ἢ Κορινθίοισι
μισθώσασθαι πλοῖον ἀνδρῶν Κορινθίων. τοὺς δὲ
ἐν τῷ πελάγεϊ ἐπιβουλεύειν τὸν ᾿Αρίονα ἐκβα-
λόντας ἔχειν τὰ χρήματα. τὸν δὲ “συνέντα τοῦτο
λίσσεσθαι, χρήματα μέν σφι προϊέντα, ψυχὴν δὲ
παραιτεόμενον. οὔκων δὴ πείθειν αὐτὸν τούτοισι,
ἀλλὰ κελεύειν τοὺς “πορθμέας ἢ ἢ αὐτὸν διαχρᾶσθαί
μιν, ὡς ἂν ταφῆς ἐν γῇ τύχῃ, ἢ ἐκπηδᾶν ἐς τὴν
θάλασσαν τὴν ταχίστην' ἀπειληθέντα δὴ τὸν
᾿Αρίονα ἐς ἀπορίην παραιτήσασθαι, ἐπειδή σφι
οὕτω δοκέοι, περιιδεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ σκευῇ πάσῃ
στάντα ἐν τοῖσι ἑδωλίοισι ἀεῖσαι' ἀείσας δὲ
ὑπεδέκετο ἑωυτὸν κατεργάσασθαι. καὶ τοῖσι
ἐσελθεῖν γὰρ ἡδονὴν εἰ μέλλοιεν ἀκούσεσθαι τοῦ
ἀρίστου ἀνθρώπων ἀοιδοῦ, ἀναχωρῆσαι ἐκ τῆς
πρύμνης ἐς μέσην νέα. τὸν δὲ ἐνδύντα τε πᾶσαν
τὴν σκευὴν καὶ λαβόντα τὴν κιθάρην, στάντα ἐν
τοῖσι ἑδωλίοισι διεξελθεῖν νόμον τὸν ὄρθιον, τελευ-
τῶντος δὲ τοῦ νόμου ῥῖψαί μιν ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν
ἑωυτὸν ὡς εἶχε σὺν τῇ σκευῇ πάσῃ. καὶ τοὺς μὲν
ἀποπλέειν ἐς Κόρινθον, τὸν δὲ δελφῖνα, λέγουσι
ὑπολαβόντα ἐξενεῖκαι ἐπὶ Ταίναρον. ἀποβάντα

BOOK I. 23-24

lyre-player second to none in that age; he was the
first man, as far as we know, to compose and name the
dithyramb! which he afterwards taught at Corinth.

24. Thus then, the story runs: for the most part
he lived at the court of Periander; then he formed
the plan of voyaging to Italy and Sicily, whence,
after earning much money, he was minded to return
to Corinth. Having especial trust in men of that
city, he hired a Corinthian ship to carry him from
Taras.2-_ But when they were out at sea, the crew
plotted to cast Arion overboard and take his money.
Discovering the plot, he earnestly entreated them,
offering them all his money if they would but spare
his life; but the sailors would not listen to him; he
must, they said, either kill himself and so receive
burial on land, or straightway cast himself into the
sea. In this extremity Arion besought them,
seeing that such was their will, that they would
suffer him to stand on the poop with all his singing
robes about him and sing; and after his song, so
he promised, he would make away with himself.
The men, well pleased at the thought of hearing
the best singer in the world, drew away from the
stern amidships; Arion, putting on all his adorn-
ment and taking his lyre, stood up on the poop
and sang the “Shrill Strain,’? and at its close
threw himself without more ado into the sea, clad
in his robes. So the crew sailed away to Corinth ;
but a dolphin (so the story goes) took Arion on
his back and bore him to Taenarus. There he

1 The dithyramb was a kind of dance-music particularly
associated with the cult of Dionysus.

2 Tarentum.

3 The ὄρθιος νόμος was a high-pitched (and apparently very
well-known) song or hymn in honour of Apollo,

HERODOTUS

δὲ αὐτὸν χωρέειν ἐς Κόρινθον σὺν τῇ σκευῇ, καὶ
ἀπικόμενον. ἀπηγέεσθαι πᾶν τὸ γεγονός. ΤΠ ερί-
ανδρον δὲ ὑπὸ ἀπιστίης ᾿Αρίονα μὲν ἐν φυλακῇ
ἔχειν οὐδαμῇ μετιέντα, ἀνακῶς δὲ ἔχειν τῶν
πορθμέων. ὡς δὲ ἄρα παρεῖναι αὐτούς, κλη-
θέντας ἱστορέεσθαι εἴ τι λέγοιεν περὶ ᾿Αρίονος.
φαμένων δὲ ἐκείνων ὡς εἴη τε σῶς περὶ ᾿Ιταλίην
καί μιν εὖ πρήσσοντα λίποιεν ἐν Τάραντι, ἐπι-
φανῆναί σφι τὸν ᾿Αρίονα ὥσπερ ἔχων ἐξεττἠδησ ε'
καὶ τοὺς ἐκπλαγέντας, οὐκ ἔχειν ἔτι ἐλεγχομένους
ἀρνέεσθαι. ταῦτα μέν νυν Κορίνθιοί τε καὶ

/ / \ οὶ ’’ 3 \ ’ /
Λέσβιοι λέγουσι, καὶ “Aptoves ἐστὶ ἀνάθημα

/ δὴ ie δ᾿ \ lf 2 \ a
χάλκεον ov μέγα ἐπὶ “Ταινάρῳ, ἐπὶ δελφῖνος
ἽΠΕΩΝ ἄνθρωπος.

ὅ. ᾿Αλυάττης δὲ ὁ Λυδὸς τὸν πρὸς Μιλησίους
Pinion διενείκας μετέπειτα τελευτᾷ, βασιλεύσας
ἔτεα ἑπτὰ καὶ πεντήκοντα. ἀνέθηκε δὲ ἐκφυγὼν
τὴν νοῦσον δεύτερος οὗτος Τῆς οἰκίης ταύτης ἐς
Δελφοὺς κρητῆρά τε ἀργύρεον μέγαν καὶ ὑποκρη-

/ / / / ” \ /
τηρίδιον σιδήρεον κολλητόν, θέης ἄξιον διὰ πάν-
των τῶν ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἀναθημάτων, Γλαύκου τοῦ
Χίου ποίημα, ὃς μοῦνος δὴ πάντων ἀνθρώπων
σιδήρου κόλλησιν ἐξεῦρε.

26. Τελευτήσαντος δὲ ᾿Αλυάττεω ἐξεδέξατο
\ 7 na St) / "ἢ / ἍΝ
τὴν βασιληίην Ἱζροῖσος ὁ Αλυάττεω, ἐτέων ἐὼν
ε fe ΄ \ " ἃ \ Cm ΄
ἡλικίην πέντε καὶ τριήκοντα' ὃς δὴ λλήνων

, 9 / TTA 7, ” \ e
πρώτοισι ἐπεθήκατο ᾿φεσίοισι. ἔνθα δὴ οἱ
? , / Cp ad) 3 a ee \
Ἐφέσιοι πολιορκεόμενοι ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀνέθεσαν τὴν

lol ’ / 3 / 3 la) A
πόλιν τῇ ᾿Αρτέμιδι, ἐξάψαντες ἐκ τοῦ νηοῦ

, a fel
σχοινίον ἐς τὸ τεῖχος. ἔστι δὲ μεταξὺ τῆς TE

a ἃ / al
παλαιῆς πόλιος, ἣ τότε ἐπολιορκέετο, καὶ TOU

“Ὁ Ν
νηοῦ ἑπτὰ στάδιοι. πρώτοισι μὲν δὴ τούτοισι
28

BOOK I. 24-26

landed, went to Corinth in his singing robes, and
when he came told all that had befallen him. Peri-
ander, not believing the tale, put him in close
ward and kept careful watch for the coming of the
sailors. When they came they were called and
questioned, what news they brought of Arion, and
they replied that he was safe in the parts of Italy,
and that they had left him sound and well at Taras:
when, behold, they were confronted with Arion,
just as he was when he leapt from the ship ; whereat
they were amazed, and could no more deny what
was proved against them. Such is the story told
by the Corinthians and Lesbians. There is moreover
a little bronze monument to Arion on Taenarus, the
figure of a man riding upon a dolphin.

25. So Alyattes the Lydian, having finished his
war with the Milesians, died after a reign of fifty-
seven years. He was the second of his family to
make an offering to Delphi—and this was a thank-
offering for his recovery—of a great silver bowl on a
stand of welded iron. ‘This is the most notable
among all the offerings at Delphi, and is the work ot
Glaucus the Chian, the only man of that age who
discovered how to weld iron.

26. After the death of Alyattes Croesus his son
came to the throne,! being then thirty-five years of
age. | The \arst Greeks whom he attacked were the
iphesians. These, being besieged by him, dedicated
their city to Artemis; this they did by attaching
a rope to the city wall from the temple of the
goddess, standing seven furlongs away from the
ancient city, which was then being besieged. These

1 Croesus’ reign began in 560 B.c., probably.
29

HERODOTUS

ἐπεχείρησε ὁ Κροῖσος, μετὰ δὲ ἐν μέρεϊ ἑκάστοισι
᾿Ιώνων τε καὶ Αἰολέων, ἄλλοισι ἄλλας αἰτίας
ἐπιφέρων, τῶν μὲν ἐδύνατο μέζονας “παρευρίσκειν,
μέξονα ἐπαιτιώμενος, τοῖσι δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ φαῦλα
ἐπιφέρων.

7: Ὡς δὲ ἄρα οἱ ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίῃ " Βλληνες κατε-
στράφατο ἐ ἐς Popov ἀπαγωγήν, τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν é ἐπενόεε
νέας ποιησάμενος ἐπιχειρέειν τοῖσι νησιώτῃσι.
ἐόντων δέ οἱ πάντων ἑτοίμων ἐς τὴν ναυπηγίην, οἱ
μὲν Βίαντα λέγουσι τὸν Πριηνέα ἀπικόμενον ἐς
Σάρδις, ot δὲ Πιττακὸν τὸν Μυτιληναῖον, εἰρο-
μένου Κροίσου εἴ τι εἴη νεώτερον περὶ τὴν
Ἑλλάδα, εἰπόντα τάδε καταπαῦσαι τὴν ναυ-
πηγίην" “Ὦ βασιλεῦ, νησιῶται ἵππον συνω-
νέονται μυρίην, ἐς Σάρδις τε καὶ ἐπὶ σὲ ἐν νόῳ
ἔχοντες στρατεύεσθαι." Κροῖσον δὲ ἐλπίσαντα
λέγειν ἐκεῖνον ἀληθέα εἰπεῖν “Αἱ γὰρ τοῦτο θεοὶ
ποιήσειαν ἐπὶ νόον νησιώτῃσι, ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ Λυδῶν

παῖδας σὺν ἵπποισι." τὸν δὲ ὑπολαβόντα φάναι
ow βασιλεῦ, προθύμως μοι φαίνεαι εὔξασθαι
νησιώτας ἱππευομένους λαβεῖν ἐν ἠπείρῳ, οἰκότα
ἐλπίζων. νησιώτας δὲ τί δοκέεις εὔχεσθαι ἄλλο
ἤ, ἐπείτε τάχιστα ἐπύθοντό σε μέλλοντα ἐπὶ
σφίσι ναυπηγέεσθαι, νέας, λαβεῖν ἀρώμενοι
Λυδοὺς ἐ ἐν θαλάσσῃ, ἵ ἵνα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ
οἰκημένων Ἑλλήνων τίσωνταί σε, τοὺς σὺ δου-
λώσας ἔχεις; κάρτα τε ἡσθῆναι Κροῖσον τῷ
ἐπιλόγῳ καί οἱ, προσφυέως γὰρ δόξαι λέγειν,
πειθόμενον παύσασθαι τῆς ναυπηγίης. καὶ οὕτω
τοῖσι τὰς νήσους οἰκημένοισι Ἴωσι ξεινίην
συνεθήκατο.

28. Χρόνου δὲ ἐπιγινομένου καὶ κατεστραμ-

BOOK I, 26-28

were the first whom Croesus attacked ; afterwards he
made war on the Ionian and Aeolian cities in turn,
each on its separate indictment: he found graver
charges where he could, but sometimes alleged very
paltry grounds of offence.

27. Then, when he had subdued and made tributary
to himself all the Asiatic Greeks of the mainland, he
planned to build ships and attack the islanders; but
when his preparations for shipbuilding were ready,
either Bias of Priene or Pittacus of Mytilene (the
story is told of both) came to Sardis, and being
asked by Croesus for news about Hellas, put an
end to the shipbuilding by giving the following
answer: “King, the islanders are buying ten
thousand horse, with intent to march against you
to Sardis.’ Croesus, thinking that he spoke the
truth, said: “ Would that the gods may put it in
the minds of the island men to come on horseback
against the sons of the Lydians!”” Then the other
answered and said: “ King, I see that you earnestly
pray that you may catch the islanders riding horses
on the mainland, and what you expect is but natural.
And the islanders, now they have heard that you
are building ships to attack them therewith, think
you that they pray for aught else than that they may
catch Lydians on the seas, and thereby be avenged
on you for having enslaved the Greeks who dwell
on the mainland?’’ Croesus was well pleased with
this conclusion, for it seemed to him that the man
spoke but reasonably; so he took the advice and
built no more ships. Thus it came about that he
made friends of the Ionian islanders.

28. As time went on, Croesus subdued well-nigh

HERODOTUS

μένων. σχεδὸν πάντων τῶν.ἐντὸς “Avs TOTAL ov
οἰκημένων" πλὴν γὰρ Κιλίκων καὶ Λυκίων τοὺς
ἄχλους πάντας ὑπ᾽ ἐωυτώ εἶχε καταστρεψάμενος
ὁ Κροῖσος. εἰσὶ δὲ οἵδε, Λυδοί, Φρύγες, Μυσοί,
Μαριανδυνοί, Χάλυβες, Παφλαγόνες, Θρήικες οἱ
Θυνοί te καὶ Βιθυνοί, ἹΚᾶρες, Ἴωνες, Δωριέες,
Αἰολέες, Πάμφυλοι κατεστραμμένων δὲ τούτων
καὶ προσεπικτωμένου Κροίσου Λυδοῖσι, 29. ἀπικ-
νέονται ἐς Σάρδις ἀκμαζούσας πλούτῳ ἄλλοι τε
οἱ πάντες ἐκ τῆς ᾿ϑλλάδος σοφισταί, οἱ τοῦτον
τὸν χρόνον ἐτύ) γχανον. ἐόντες, ὡς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν
ἀπικνέοιτο, καὶ on καὶ Σόλων ἀνὴρ ᾿Αθηναῖος, ὃς
᾿Αθηναίοισι νόμους κελεύσασι ποιήσας ἀπεδήμησε
ἔτεα δέκα, κατὰ θεωρίης πρόφασιν ἐκπλώσας, ἵνα
δὴ μή τινα τῶν νόμων ἀναγκασθῇ λῦσαι τῶν
ἔθετο. αὐτοὶ γὰρ οὐκ οἷοί τε ἦσαν αὐτὸ ποιῆσαι
᾿Αθηναῖοι: ὁρκίοισι γὰρ μεγάλοισι κατείχοντο
δέκα ἔτεα χρήσεσθαι νόμοισι τοὺς ἄν σφι Σόλων
θῆται.

80. Αὐτῶν δὴ ὦ ὧν τούτων καὶ τῆς θεωρίης ἐκδη-
μήσας ὁ Σόλων εἵνεκεν ἐς Αὔγυπτον ἀπίκετο παρὰ
"Apacw καὶ «δὴ καὶ ἐς Σάρδις παρὰ Kpotoor.
ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐξεινίξετο ἐν τοῖσι βασιληίοισι ὑπὸ
τοῦ Κροίσου" μετὰ δὲ ἡμέρῃ τρίτῃ ἢ τετάρτῃ
κελεύσαντος Κροίσου τὸν Σόλωνα θεράποντες
περιῆγον κατὰ τοὺς θησαυρούς, καὶ ἐπεδείκνυσαν
πάντα ἐόντα μεγάλα τε καὶ ὄλβια. θεησάμενον
δέ μιν τὰ πάντα καὶ σκεψάμενον ὥς οἱ κατὰ
καιρὸν ἦν, εἴρετο ὁ Κροῖσος τάδε. “Ξεῖνε
᾿Αθηναῖε, παρ᾽ ἡμέας γὰρ περὶ σέο λόγος ἀπῖκται

1 cio)... Πάμφυλοι and ral... Λυδοῖσι bracketed by
Stein.

BOOK I, 28-30

all the nations west of the Halys and held them
in subjection, except only the Cilicians and Lycians :
the rest, Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynians,
Chalybes, Paphlagonians, Thymians and Bithynians
(who are Thracians), Carians, lonians, Dorians, Aeol-
ians, Pamphylians, were subdued and became subjects
of Croesus like the Lydians, and Sardis was at the
height ofits wealth. 29. There came to the city all the
teachers from Hellas who then lived, in this or that
manner; and among them came Solon of Athens: he,
having made laws for the Athenians at their request,
left his home for ten years and set out on a voyage
to see the world, as he said. This he did, lest he
should be compelled to repeal any of the laws he
had made, since the Athenians themselves could not
repeal them, for they were bound by solemn oaths
to abide for ten years by such laws as Solon should
make.

30. For this reason, and to see the world, Solon
left Athens and visited Amasis in Egypt and Croesus
at Sardis: and when he had come, Croesus enter-
tained him in his palace. Now on the third or fourth
day after his coming Croesus bade his servants lead
Solon round among his treasures, and they showed
him all that was there, the greatness and the prosper-
ous state of it; and when he had seen and considered
all, Croesus when occasion served thus questioned
him: “Our Athenian guest, we have heard much of

HERODOTUS

\ \ / °/ 1 A A Ν /
πολλὸς καὶ σοφίης etvecev! τῆς σῆς καὶ πλάνης,
ς / a Ἁ 7 “ ᾽
ὡς φιλοσοφέων γῆν πολλὴν θεωρίης εἵνεκεν ἐπε-

fs “ Φ 2 / “ > A f

λήλυθας" νῦν ὧν ἐπειρέσθαι με ἵμερος ἐπῆλθέ σε
3 , 3
εἴ τινα ἤδη πάντων εἶδες ὀλβιώτατον." ὃ μὲν
ἐλπίζων εἶναι. ἀνθρώπων ὀλβιώτατος ταῦτα
3 , , \ 3 \ ¢ 4 » x
ἐπειρώτα' Σόλων δὲ οὐδὲν ὑποθωπεύσας ἀλλὰ
τῷ ἐόντι χρησάμενος λέγει “ Ὦ βασιλεῦ, Τέλλον
3.1. a ”?
Αθηναῖον. ἀποθωμάσας δὲ Κροῖσος τὸ λεχθὲν
_ εἴρετο ἐπιστρεφέως ε Κοίῃ δὴ κρίνεις Τέλλον εἶναι
ὀλβιώτατον; ὃ δὲ εἶπε “ Τέλλῳ τοῦτο μὲν τῆς
πόλιος εὖ ἡκούσης παῖδες ἦσαν καλοί τε κἀγαθοί,
καί σφι εἶδε ἅπασι τέκνα ἐκγενόμενα καὶ πάντα
παραμείναντα" τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ βίου εὖ ἥκοντι, ὡς
τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, τελευτὴ τοῦ βίου λαμπροτάτη
ἐπεγένετο" γενομένης γὰρ ᾿Αθηναίοισι μάχης πρὸς
τοὺς “ἀστυγείτονας ἐν ᾿Ελευσῖνι, βοηθήσας καὶ
τροπὴν ποιήσας τῶν πολεμίων ἀπέθανε κάλλιστα,
καί μιν ᾿Αθηναῖοι δημοσίη τε ἔθαψαν αὐτοῦ τῇ
ee ἔπεσε Kal ἐτίμησαν μεγάλως."

Ὥς δὲ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Τέλλον προετρέψατο
ὁ Sih τὸν Κροῖσον εἴπας πολλά τε καὶ ὄλβια,
ἐπειρώτα τίνα δεύτερον μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ἴδοι, δοκέων

e ᾽

πάγχυ δευτερεῖα γῶν οἴσεσθαι. ὃ δ᾽ εἶπε
5 Κλέοβίν τε καὶ Βίτωνα. τούτοισι γὰρ ἐοῦσι

γένος ᾿Αργείοισι βίος τε ἀρκέων ὑπῆν, καὶ πρὸς"

τούτῳ ῥώμη σώματος τοιήδε" ἀεθχοφόροι τε

ἀμφότεροι ὁμοίως ἦσαν, καὶ δὴ καὶ λέγεται ὅδε

ὁ λόγος. ἐούσης ὁρτῆς τῇ Ἥρῃ τοῖσι ᾿Δργείοισι

| ἔδεε πάντως τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν ξεύγεϊ κομισθῆναι

ἐς τὸ ἱρόν, οἱ δέ σφι βόες ἐκ τοῦ ἀγροῦ οὐ Tapeyt-

vovTo ἐν ὥρῃ" ἐκκληιόμενοι δὲ TH ὥρῃ οἱ νεηνίαι
1 Stein brackets εἵνεκεν.

BOOK 1. 30-31

you, by reason of your wisdom and your wanderings,
how that you have travelled far to seek knowledge
and to see the world. Now therefore I am fain
to ask you, if you have ever seen a man more blest
than all his fellows.’’ So Croesus inquired, supposing
himself to be blest beyond all men. But Solon
spoke the truth without flattery: “Such an one,
O King,” he said, “ I have seen—Tellus of Athens.”
Croesus wondered at this, and sharply asked Solon
“How do you judge Tellus to be most blest ?’’ Solon
replied: “ Tellus’ city was prosperous, and he was
the father of noble sons, and he saw children born
to all of them and their state well stablished ; more-
over, having then as much wealth as a man may
among us, he crowned his life with a most glorious
death: for in a battle between the Athenians and
their neighbours at Eleusis he attacked and routed
the enemy and most nobly there died; and the
Athenians gave him public burial where he fell and
paid him great honour.”

31. Now when Solon had roused the curiosity of
Croesus by recounting the many ways in which Tellus
was blest, the king further asked him whom he placed
second after Tellus, thinking that assuredly the
second prize at least would be his. Solon answered:
“Cleobis and Biton. These were Argives, and
besides sufficient wealth they had such strength of
body as I will show. Both were prizewinners ; and
this story too is related of them. There was a
festival of Here toward among the Argives, and
their mother must by all means be drawn to the
temple by a yoke of oxen. But the oxen did not
come in time from the fields; so the young men,
being thus thwarted by lack of time, put themselves

HERODOTUS
ὑποδύντες αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τὴν ζεύγλην εἷλκον τὴν
ἅμαξαν, ἐπὶ τῆς “ἁμάξης δέ σφι ὠχέετο ἡ μήτηρ᾽
σταδίους δὲ πέντε καὶ τεσσεράκοντα διακομί-
σαντες ἀπίκοντο ἐς τὸ ἱρόν. ταῦτα δέ σφι ποιή-
σασι καὶ ὀφθεῖσι ὑπὸ τῆς πανηγύριος τελευτὴ τοῦ
βίου ἀρίστη ἐπεγένετο, διέδεξέ τε ἐν τούτοισι
ὁ θεὸς ὡς ἄμεινον εἴη ἀνθρώπῳ τεθνάναι μᾶλλον
᾿ ἢ ζώειν. ᾿Αργεῖοι μὲν γὰρ περιστάντες ἐμακάριζον
μὲν νεηνιέων τὴν ῥώμην, αἱ δὲ ᾿Αργεῖαι τὴν
μητέρα αὐτῶν, οἵων τέκνων ἐκύρησε: ἡ δὲ μήτηρ
περιχαρὴς, ἐοῦσα τῷ τε ἔργῳ καὶ τῇ φήμῃ, στᾶσα
ἀντίον τοῦ ἀγάλματος “εὔχετο Κλεύβι τε καὶ
Bitove τοῖσι ἑωυτῆς τέκνοισι, οἵ μιν ἐτίμησαν
μεγάλως, τὴν θεὸν δοῦναι τὸ ἀνθρώπῳ τυχεῖν
ἄριστον ἐστί. μετὰ ταύτην δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν ὡς
ἔθυσάν τε καὶ εὐωχήθησαν, κατακοιμηθέντες ἐν
αὐτῷ τῷ ἱρῷ οἱ νεηνίαι οὐκέτι ἀνέστησαν ἀλλ᾽
ἐν τέλεϊ τούτῳ ἔσχοντο. ᾿Αργεῖοι δὲ σφέων
εἰκόνας ποιησάμενοι ἀνέθεσαν ἐς Δελφοὺς ὡς
ἀριστῶν γενομένων."

Σόλων μὲν δὴ εὐδα:μονίης δευτερεῖα ἔνεμε
τούτοισι, Κροῖσος δὲ σπερχθεὶς εἶπε ἕο ξεῖνε
᾿Αθηναῖε, ἡ ἡ δ᾽ ἡμετέρη εὐδαιμονίη οὕτω τοι ἀπέρ-
ρίπται ἐς τὸ μηδὲν ὥστε οὐδὲ ἰδιωτέων ἀνδρῶν
ἀξίους ἡμέας ἐποίησας; pe δὲ εἶπε “Ὦ Κροῖσε,
ἐπιστάμενόν με τὸ θεῖον πᾶν ἐὸν φθονερόν τε καὶ
ταραχῶδες ἐπειρωτᾷς ἀνθρωπηίων πρηγμάτων
πέρι. ἐν γὰρ τῷ μακρῷ χρόνῳ πολλὰ μὲν ἐστὶ
ἰδεῖν τὰ μή τις ἐθέλει, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ παθεῖν. ἐς
γὰρ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτεα οὖρον τῆς ζόης ἀνθρώπῳ
προτίθημι. οὗτοι ἐόντες ἐνιαυτοὶ ἑβδομήκοντα
παρέ ονται. ἡμέρας διηκοσίας καὶ πεντακισχιλίας
καὶ δισμυρίας, ἐμβολίμου μηνὸς μὴ γινομένου" εἰ

BOOK I. 31-32

to the yoke and drew the carriage with their mother
sitting thereon: for five and forty furlongs they
drew it till they came to the temple. Having done
this, and been seen by the assembly, they made a
most excellent end of their lives, and the god showed
by these men how that it was better for a man to die
than to live. For the men of Argos came round
and gave the youths joy of their strength, and so
likewise did the women to their mother, for the
excellence of her sons. She then in her joy at
what was done and said, came before the image
of the goddess and prayed that her sons Cleobis
and Biton, who had done such great honour to the
goddess, should be given the best boon that a
man may receive. After the prayer the young men
sacrificed and ate of the feast; then they lay down
to sleep in the temple itself and never rose up
more, but here ended their lives. ‘Then the Argives
made and set up at Delphi images of them because
of their excellence.”

32. So Solon gave to Cleobis and Biton the second
prize of happiness. But Croesus said in anger, “‘ Guest
from Athens! is our prosperity, then, held by you
so worthless that you match us not even with
common men?” “Croesus,” said Solon, “ you ask
me concerning the lot of man; well I know how
jealous is Heaven and how it loves to trouble us.
In a man’s length of days. he may see and suffer
many things that he much mislikes. For I set the
limit of man’s life at seventy years ; in these seventy
are days twenty-five thousand and two hundred, if
we count not the intercalary month.'! But if every

1 The ‘‘intercalary” month is a month periodically in-
serted to make the series of solar and calendar years

eventually correspond. But Herodotus’ reckoning here would
make the average length of a year 375 days.
37

HERODOTUS

δὲ δὴ ἐθελήσει τοὔτερον τῶν ἐτέων μηνὶ μακρό-
τερον γίνεσθαι, ἵνα, δὴ αἱ ὧραι συμβαίνωσι
παραγινόμεναι, ἐς τὸ δέον, μῆνες μὲν παρὰ τὰ
ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτεα οἱ ἐμβόλιμοι γίνονται τριή-
κοντα πέντε, ἡμέραι δὲ ἐκ τῶν μηνῶν τούτων χίλιαι
πεντήκοντα. τουτέων τῶν ἁπασέων ἡμερέων τῶν
ἐς τὰ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτεα, ἐουσέων πεντήκοντα
καὶ διηκοσιέων καὶ ἑξακισχιλιέων καὶ δισμυριέξων,
ἡ ἑτέρη αὐτέων τῇ ἑτέρῃ ἡμέρῃ τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲν
ὅμοιον προσάγει πρῆγμα. οὕτω ὧν Κροῖσε πᾶν
ἐστὶ ἄνθρωπος συμφορή. ἐμοὶ δὲ σὺ καὶ πλουτέειν
μέγα φαίνεαι καὶ βασιλεὺς πολλῶν εἶναι ἀνθρώ-
πων" ἐκεῖνο δὲ τὸ εἴρεό με, οὔκω σε ἐγὼ λέγω,
πρὶν τελευτήσαντα καλῶς τὸν αἰῶνα “πύθωμαι.
οὐ γάρ τι ὁ μέγα πλούσιος μᾶλλον τοῦ ἐπ᾽ ἡμέρην
ἔχοντος ὀλβιώτερος ἐ ἐστί, εἰ μή οἱ τύχη ἐπίσποιτο
πάντα καλὰ ἔχοντα εὖ τελευτῆσαι τὸν βίον.
πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ζάπλουτοι ἀνθρώπων ἀνόλβιοι
εἰσί, πολλοὶ δὲ μετρίως ἔχοντες βίου εὐτυχέες. ὁ
μὲν δὴ μέγα πλούσιος ἀνόλβιος δὲ δυοῖσι προέχει
τοῦ εὐτυχέος μοῦνον, οὗτος δὲ τοῦ πλουσίου καὶ
ἀνόλβου πολλοῖσι" ὃ μὲν ἐπιθυμίην ἐκτελέσαι καὶ
ἄτην μεγάλην προσπεσοῦσαν ἐνεῖκαι δυνατώτερος,

ὃ δὲ τοῖσιδε «προέχει ἐκείνου" ἄτην μὲν καὶ ἐπι-
θυμίην οὐκ ὁμοίως δυνατὸς ἐκείνῳ ἐνεῖκαι, ταῦτα
δὲ ἡ εὐτυχίη οἱ ἀπερύκει, ἄπηρος δὲ ἐστί, ἄνουσος,
ἀπαθὴς κακῶν, εὔπαις, εὐειδής. εἰ δὲ πρὸς
τούτοισι ἔτι τελευτήσει τὸν βίον εὖ, οὗτος ἐκεῖνος
τὸν σὺ ξητέεις, 0 ὄλβιος κεκλῆσθαι ἄξιος ἐστί:
πρὶν δ᾽ ἂν τελευτήσῃ, ἐπισχεῖν, μηδὲ καλέειν κω
ὄλβιον ἀλλ᾽ εὐτυχέα. τὰ πάντα μέν νυν ταῦτα

BOOK I. 32

second year be lengthened by a month so that the
seasons and the calendar may rightly accord, then
the intercalary months are five and thirty, over and
above the seventy years: and the days of these
months are one thousand and fifty; so then all
the days together of the seventy years are seen
to be twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty ;
and one may well say that no one of all these days
is like another in that which it brings. Thus then,
Croesus, the whole of man is but chance. Now if I
am to speak of you, I say that I see you very rich
and the king of many men. But I cannot yet
answer your question, before I hear that you have
ended your life well. For he who is very rich is
not more blest than he who has but enough for
the day, unless fortune so attend _him that he ends
his life well, having all good things about him.
Many men of great wealth are unblest, and many
that have no great substance are fortunate. Now
the very rich man who is yet unblest has but two
advantages over the fortunate man, but the fortunate
man has many advantages over the rich but unblest:
for this latter is the stronger to accomplish his desire
and to bear the stroke of great calamity; but these
are the advantages of the fortunate man, that
though he be not so strong as the other to deal
with calamity and desire, yet these are kept far
from him by his good fortune, and he is free from
deformity, sickness, and all evil, and happy in his
children and his comeliness. If then such a man
besides all this shall also end his life well, then he
is the man whom you seek, and is worthy to be
called blest; but we must wait till he be dead,
ond call him not yet blest, but fortunate. Now

HERODOTUS

συλλαβεῖν ἄνθρωπον ἔοντα ἀδύνατον ἐστί, ὥσπερ
χώρη οὐδεμία καταρκέει πάντα ἑωυτῇ παρέχουσα,
ἀλλὰ ἄλλο μὲν ἔχει ἑτέρου δὲ ἐπιδέεται: ἣ δὲ ἂν
τὰ πλεῖστα ἔχῃ, αὕτη ἀρίστη. ὡς δὲ καὶ ἀν-
θρώπου σῶμα ν οὐδὲν αὔτ αρκες ἐστί" τὸ μὲν ya)
ἔχει, ἄλλου δὲ ἐνδεές ἐ ἐστι" ὃς δ᾽ ἂν αὐτῶν πλεῖστα
ἔχων διατελέῃ καὶ ἔπειτα τελευτήσῃ εὐχαρίστως
τὸν βίον, οὗτος map ἐμοὶ τὸ οὔνομα τοῦτο ὦ
βασιλεῦ δίκαιος ἐστὶ φέρεσθαι. σκοπέειν δὲ χρὴ
παντὸς χρήματος THF τελευτήν, κἢ ἀποβήσεται"
πολλοῖσι γὰο δὴ ὑποδέξας ὄλβον ὁ θεὸς προρ-
ρίζους ἀνέτρεψε."

33. Ταῦτα λέγων τῷ Κροίσῳ οὔ κως οὔτε
ἐχαρίζετο, οὔτε λόγου μιν ποιησάμενος οὐδενὸς
ἀποπέμπεται, κάρτα δόξας ἀμαθέα εἶναι, ὃς τὰ
παρεόντα ἀγαθὰ μετεὶς τὴν τελευτὴν παντὸς
χρήματος ὁρᾶν ἐκέλευε.

34. Μετὰ δὲ Σόλωνα οἰχόμενον ἔλαβε ἐκ θεοῦ
νέμεσις μεγάλη Κροῖσον, ὡς εἰκάσαι, ὅτι ἐνόμισε
ἑωυτὸν εἶναι, ἀνθρώπων ἁπάντων ὀλβιώτατον.
αὐτίκα δέ οἱ εὕδοντι ἐπέστη ὄνειρος, ὅς οἱ τὴν
ἀληθείην ἔφαινε τῶν μελλόντων γενέσθαι κακῶν
κατὰ τὸν παῖδα. ἦσαν δὲ τῷ Κροίσῳ δύο παῖδες,
τῶν οὕτερος μὲν διέφθαρτο, ἣν γὰρ δὴ κωφός, ὁ δὲ
ἕτερος τῶν ἡλίκων μακρῷ τὰ πάντα πρῶτος"
οὔνομα δέ οἱ ἣν “Atus. τοῦτον δὴ ὧν τὸν "Ατυν
σημαίνει τῷ Κροίσῳ ὁ ὄνειρος, ὡς ἀπολέει μιν
αἰχμῇ σιδηρέῃ βληθέντα. ὃ δ᾽ ἐπείτε ἐξηγέρθη
καὶ ἑωυτῷ λόγον ἔδωκε, καταρρωδήσας τὸν ὄνειρον
ἄγεται μὲν τῷ παιδὶ γυναῖκα, ἐωθότα δὲ στρατη-
γέειν μιν τῶν Λυδῶν οὐδαμῇ ἔτι ἐπὶ τοιοῦτο

a es Be ee dr 7 Q\ δ ὃ , Nepean
πρῆγμα ἐξέπεμπε: ἀκόντια δὲ Kal δοράτια καὶ τὰ

BOOK I. 32-34

no one (who is but man) can have all these good
things together, just as no land is altogether self-
suficing in what it produces: one thing it has,
another it lacks, and the best land is that which
has most; so too no single person is sufficient for
himself: one thing he has, another he lacks; but
whoever continues in the possession of most things,
anc at last makes a gracious end of his life, such
a man, O King, I deem worthy of this title. We
must look to the conclusion of every matter, and see
how it shall end, for there are many to whom
heaven has given a vision of blessedness, and yet
afterwards brought them to utter ruin.”

33. Sospoke Solon: Croesus therefore gave him no
largess, but sent him away as aman of no account, for
he thought that man to be very foolish who dis-
regarded present prosperity and bade him look rather
to the end of every matter.

34. But after Solon’s departure, the divine anger
fell heavily on Croesus: as I guess, because he
supposed himself to be blest beyond all other men.
Presently, as he slept, he was visited by a dream,
which foretold truly to him the evil which should
befall his son. He had two sons, one of whom was
wholly undone, for he was deaf and dumb, but the
other, whose name was Atys, was in every way far
pre-eminent over all of his years. The dream then
showed to Croesus that Atys should be smitten and
killed by a spear of iron. So Croesus, when he
woke and considered the dream with himself, was
greatly affrighted by it; and first he made a marriage
for his son, and moreover, whereas Atys was wont
to lead the Lydian armies, Croesus now would not
suffer him to go out on any such enterprise, while

HERODOTUS

τοιαῦτα πάντα τοῖσι χρέωνται ἐς , πόλεμον ἄν-
θρωποι, ἐκ τῶν ἀνδρεώνων ἐκκομίσας ἐς τοὺς
θαλάμους συνένησε, μή τί οἱ κρεμάμενον τῷ παιδὶ
ἐμπέσῃ.

35. Ἔχοντι! δέ οἱ ἐν χερσὶ τοῦ παιδὸς τὸν
γάμον, ἀπικνέεται ἐς τὰς Σάρδις ἀνὴρ συμφορῇ
ἐχόμενος καὶ οὐ καθαρὸς χεῖρας, ἐὼν Φρὺξ μὲν
γενεῇ, γένεος δὲ τοῦ βασιληίου. παρελθὼν δὲ
οὗτος ἐς τὰ Κροίσου οἰκία κατὰ νόμους τοὺς
ἐπιχωρίους καθαρσίου ἐδέετο κυρῆσαι, Kpoiaos δέ
μιν ἐκάθηρε. ἔστι δὲ παραπλησίη ἡ κάθαρσις
τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι καὶ τοῖσι Ελλησι. ἐπείτε δὲ τὰ
νομιζόμενα ἐποίησε ὁ ἱΚροῖσος, ἐπυνθάνετο ὁκόθεν
τε καὶ τίς εἴη, λέγων τάδε: “᾿Ὥνθρωπε, τίς τε ἐὼν
καὶ κόθεν τῆς Φρυγίης ἥκων ἐπίστιός μοι ἐγένεο;
τίνα τε ἀνδρῶν ἢ γυναικῶν ἐφόνευσας; ὃ δὲ
ἀμείβετο “ἾὮΖ) βασιλεῦ, Γορδίεω μὲν τοῦ Midew
εἰμὶ παῖς, ὀνομάζομαι. δὲ "Αδρηστος, φονεύσας δὲ
ἀδελφεὸν ἐμεωυτοῦ ἀέκων πάρειμι, ἐξεληλαμένος
τε ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐστερημένος πάντων."
Κροῖσος δέ μιν ἀμείβετο τοῖσιδε" ““᾿Ανδρῶν τε
φίλων τυγχάνεις ἔκγονος ἐὼν καὶ: ἐλήλυθας ἐς
φίλους, ἔνθα d ἀμηχανήσεις χρήματος οὐδενὸς μένων
ἐν ἡμετέρου, συμφορήν τε ταύτην ὡς κουφότατα
φέρων κερδανέεις Tela tov.”

36. Ὃ μὲν δὴ δίαιταν εἶχε ἐν Κροίσου. ἐν δὲ
τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ τούτω ἐν τῷ Μυσίῳ ᾿λύμπῳ ὑὸς
χρῆμα γίνεται μέγα' ὁρμώμενος δὲ οὗτος ἐκ τοῦ
ὄρεος τούτου τὰ τῶν Μυσῶν ἐ “ἔργα διαφθείρεσκε.
πολλάκις δὲ οἱ Μυσοὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐξελθόντες

1 ἔχοντος Stein.

BOOK I. 34-36

he took the javelins and spears and all such instru-
ments of war from the men’s apartments and piled
them up in his storehouse,! lest any of them should
fall upon his son from where it hung.

35. Now while Croesus was busied about the mar-
riage of his son, there came to Sardis a Phrygian of
the royal house, in great distress and with hands un-
clean. This man came to Croesus’ house, and en-
treated that he might be purified after the custom of
the country; so Croesus purified him (the Lydians
use the same manner of purification as do the Greeks),
and when he had done all according to usage, he
inquired of the Phrygian whence he came and who
he was: “ Friend,” said he, “who are you, and from
what place in Phrygia do you come to be my sup-
pliant? and what man or woman have you slain?”
“QO King,” the man answered, “I am the son of
Gordias the son of Midas, and my name is Adrastus ;
by no will of mine, I slew my brother, and hither I
am come, banished by my father and bereft of all.”
Croesus answered, “ All of your family are my friends,
and to friends you have come, among whom you shall
lack nothing but abide in my house. And for your
misfortune, bear it as lightly as may be and you will
be the more profited.”

36. So Adrastus lived in Croesus’ house. About
this same time there appeared on the Mysian
Olympus a great monster of a boar, who would issue
out from that mountain and ravage the fields of the
Mysians. Often had the Mysians gone out against

1 Or, perhaps, “ἴῃ the women’s quarters.”

VOLE. 4, Cc τ

HERODOTUS

ποιέεσκον μὲν κακὸν οὐδέν, ἔπασχον δὲ πρὸς
αὐτοῦ. τέλος δὲ ἀπικόμενοι παρὰ τὸν Κροῖσον
τῶν Μυσῶν ἄγγελοι ἔλεγον τάδε. “Ὦ), βασιλεῦ,
ὑὸς χρῆμα μέγιστον ἀνεφάνη ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ χώρῃ, ὃς
τὰ ἔργα διαφθείρει. τοῦτον προθυμεόμενοι ἑλεῖν
οὐ δυνάμεθα. νῦν ὧν προσδεόμεθά σευ τὸν παῖδα
καὶ λογάδας νεηνίας καὶ κύνας συμπέμψαι ἡμῖν,
ὡς ἄν μιν ἐξέλωμεν ἐκ τῆς χώρης. οἵ μὲν δὴ
τούτων ἐδέοντο, Κροῖσος δὲ μνημονεύων τοῦ ὀνεί-
ρου τὰ ἔπεα ἔλεγέ σφι τάδε. ““Παιδὸς μὲν πέρι
τοῦ ἐμοῦ μὴ μνησθῆτε ἔτι" οὐ γὰρ ἂν ὑμῖν συμ-
πέμψαιμι: νεόγαμός τε γὰρ ἐστὶ καὶ ταῦτά οἱ νῦν
μέλει. Λυδῶν μέντοι λογάδας καὶ τὸ κυνηγέσιον
πᾶν συμπέμψω, καὶ διακελεύσομαι τοῖσι ἰοῦσι
εἶναι ὡς προθυμοτάτοισι συνεξελεῖν ὑμῖν τὸ θηρίον
ἐκ τῆς χώρης.

37. Ταῦτα ἀμείψατο" ἀποχρεωμένων δὲ τού-
TOLOL τῶν Μυσῶν, ἐπεσέρχεται ὁ τοῦ Κροίσου
παῖς ἀκηκοὼς τῶν ἐδέοντο οἱ Μυσοί. οὐ φαμένου
δὲ τοῦ Κροίσου τόν ye παῖδά σφι συμπέμψειν,
λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ νεηνίης τάδε. “ἾὮ) πάτερ, τὰ
κάλλιστα πρότερον κοτὲ καὶ γενναιότατα ἡμῖν ἣν
ἔς τε πολέμους καὶ ἐς ἄγρας φοιτέοντας εὐδοκι-
μέειν: νῦν δὲ ἀμφοτέρων με τούτων ἀπόκληίσας
ἔχεις, οὔτε τινὰ δειλίην μοι παριδὼν οὔτε ἀθυμίην
νῦν τε τέοισί με χρὴ ὄμμασι ἔς τε ἀγορὴν καὶ ἐξ
ἀγορῆς φοιτέοντα φαίνεσθαι; κοῖος μέν τις τοῖσι
πολιήτηῃσι δόξω εἶναι, κοῖος δέ τις τῇ νεογώμῳᾳ
γυναικί; κοίῳ δὲ ἐκείνη δόξει ἀνδρὶ συνοικέειν;
ἐμὲ ὧν σὺ ἢ μέτες ἰέναι ἐπὶ τὴν θήρην, ἢ λόγῳ
ἀνάπεισον ὅκως μοι ἀμείνω ἐστὶ ταῦτα οὕτα
ποιεόμενα.᾽

BOOK I. 36-37

him: but they never did him any harm and rather
were themselves hurt thereby. At last they sent
messengers to Croesus, with this message: “ King, a
great monster of a boar has appeared in the land,
who destroys our fields; for all our attempts, we
eannot kill him; now therefore, we beseech you, send
with us your son, and chosen young men and dogs,
that we may rid the country of him.” Such was their
entreaty, but Croesus remembered the prophecy of
his dream and thus answered them: “ Say no more
about my son: I will not send him with you: he is
newly married, and that is his present business. But
I will send chosen men of the Lydians, and all the
hunt, and I will bid those who go to use all zeal in
aiding you to rid the country of this beast.”

37. So he replied,and the Mysians were satisfied with
this. But the son of Croesus now came in, who had
heard the request of the Mysians; and when Croesus
refused to send his son with them, “ Father,” said
the young man, “it was formerly held fairest and
noblest that we princes should go constantly to war
and the chase and win thereby renown; but now you
have barred me from both of these, not for any sign
that you have seen in me of a coward or craven spirit.
With what face can I thus show myself whenever I
go to and from the market-place? What will the
men of the city think of me, and what my new-
wedded wife?) With what manner of man will she
think that she dwells? Nay, do you either let me
go to this hunt, or show me by reason good that
what you are doing is best for me.”

HERODOTUS

38. ᾿Αμείβεται Κροῖσος τοῖσιδε. ΨΩ igrdit
οὔτε δειλίην οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἄχαρι παριδών TOL
ποιέω ταῦτα, ἀλλά μοι ὄψις ὀνείρου ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ
ἐπιστᾶσα ἔφη σε ὀλιγοχρόνιον ἔσεσθαι" ὑπὸ γὰρ
αἰχμῆς σιδηρέης ἀπολέεσθαι. πρὸς ὧν τὴν ὄψιν
ταύτην τόν τε γάμον τοι τοῦτον ἔσπευσα καὶ ἐπὶ
τὰ παραλαμβανόμενα οὐκ ἀποπέμπω, φυλακὴν
ἔχων, εἴ κως δυναίμην ἐπὶ τῆς ἐμῆς oe ζόης δια-
κλέψαι. εἷς γάρ Hi μοῦνος τυγχάνεις ἐὼν mais:
τὸν γὰρ δὴ ἕτερον διεφθαρμένον τὴν ἀκοὴν οὐκ
εἶναί μοι λογίζομαι."

BO JA. μείβεται ὁ ὁ νεηνίης τοῖσιδε. “ Συγγνώμη
μὲν ὦ πάτερ τοι, ἰδόντι γε ὄψιν τοιαύτην, περὶ
ἐμὲ φυλακὴν ἔχειν' τὸ δὲ οὐ μανθάνεις ἀλλὰ
λέληθέ σε τὸ ὄνειρον, ἐμέ τοι δίκαιον ἐστὶ φράξειν.
φής TOL τὸ ὄνειρον ὑπὸ αἰχμῆς σιδηρέης φάναι
ἐμὲ τελευτήσειν" ὑὸς δὲ κοῖαι μὲν εἰσὶ χεῖρες, κοίη

δὲ αἰχμὴ σιδηρέη τὴν σὺ φοβέαι; εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ

ὀδόντος τοι εἶπε τελευτήσειν με, ἢ ἄλλου τευ ὅ τι

τούτῳ ἔοικε, χρῆν δή σε ποιέειν τὰ ποιέεις" νῦν δὲ

ὑπὸ αἰχμῆς. ἐπείτε ὧν οὐ πρὸς ἄνδρας ἡμῖν
A ”

γίνεται ἡ μάχη, METES με.

40. ᾿Αμείβεται Κροῖσος Ὦ παῖ, ἔστι τῇ με
νικᾷς γνώμην ἀποφαίνων περὶ τοῦ ἐνυπνίου. ὡς
ὧν νενικημένος ὑπὸ σέο μεταγινώσκω, μετίημί τε
σὲ ἰέναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἄγρην.

5) lal ς a
41. Kimas δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Κροῖσος μεταπέμπεται
\ / » ὃ 2 δέ «ς /
tov Φρύγα “Adpnotov, ἀπικομένῳ δέ οἱ λέγει

[ὃ co ὃ 2 / an /
τάδε. Αδρηστε, ἐγώ σε συμφορῇ πεπληγμένον
ἀχάρι, τήν τοι οὐκ ὀνειδίξω, ἐκάθηρα καὶ οἰκίοισι
ὑποδεξάμενος ἐ ἔχω, παρέχων πᾶσαν δαπάνην. νῦν

ὧν (ὀφείλεις γὰρ ἐμοῦ προποιήσαντος χρηστὰ ἐς
46

«ς

BOOK I. 38-41

38. “My son,’ answered Croesus, “if I do this, it is
not that I have seen cowardice or aught unseemly in
you ; no, but the vision of a dream stood over me in
my sleep, and told me that your life should be short,
for you should be slain by a spear of iron. It is for
that vision that I was careful to make your marriage,
and send you on no enterprise that I have in hand,
but keep guard over you, so that haply I may trick
death of you through my lifetime. You are my only
son: for that other, since his hearing is lost to him,
I count no son of mine.”

39. “ Father,” the youth replied, “ none can blame
you for keeping guard over me, when you have seen
such a vision; but it is my right to show you this
which you do not perceive, and wherein you mistake
the meaning of the dream. You say that the dream
told you that I should be killed by a spear of iron;
but has a boar hands? Has it that iron spear which
you dread? Had the dream said I should be slain by
a tusk or some other thing belonging to a boar, you
had been right in acting as you act; but no, it was
tobe a spear. Therefore, since it is not against men
that we are to fight, suffer me to go.”

40. Croesus answered, “My son, your judgment
concerning the dream does somewhat overpersuade
me; and being so convinced by you I change my
purpose and permit you to go to the chase.”

41. Having said this, Croesus sent for Adrastus
the Phrygian and when he came thus addressed him:
“‘ Adrastus, when you were smitten by grievous mis-
fortune, for which I blame you not, it was I who
cleansed you, and received anid still keep you in my
house, defraying all your charges. Now therefore (as
you owe me a return of good service for the benefits

HERODOTUS

σὲ χρηστοῖσί με ἀμείβεσθαι) φύλακα παιδός σε
τοῦ ἐμοῦ χρηίξω γενέσθαι ἐς ἄγρην ὁρμωμένου,
μή τινες KAT ὁδὸν κλῶπες κακοῦργοι ἐπὶ δηλήσι
φανέωσι ὑμῖν. πρὸς δὲ τούτῳ καὶ σέ τοι χρεόν
ἐστι ἰέναι ἔνθα ἀπολαμπρυνέαι τοῖσι ἔργοισι:
πατρώιόν τε γάρ τοι ἐστὶ καὶ προσέτι ῥώμη
ὑπάρχει." ' Ἢ,

42. ᾿Αμείβεται ὁ “Adpnatos “Ὦ,, βασιλεῦ,
ἄλλως μὲν ἔγωγε ἂν οὐκ ἤια ἐς ἄεθλον τοιόνδε'
οὔτε γὰρ συμφορῇ τοιῇδε κεχρημένον οἰκὸς ἐστι
ἐς ὁμήλικας εὖ πρήσσοντας ἰέναι, οὔτε τὸ Bov-
λεσθαι πάρα, πολλαχῇ TE ἂν ἶσχον ἐμεωυτόν.
νῦν δέ, ἐπείτε σὺ σπεύδεις καὶ δεῖ τοι χαρίζεσθαι
(ὀφείλω γάρ σε ἀμείβεσθαι χρηστοῖσι), ποιέειν
εἰμὶ ἕτοιμος ταῦτα, παῖδά τε σόν, τὸν διακελεύεαι
φυλάσσειν, ἀπήμονα τοῦ φυλάσσοντος εἵνεκεν
προσδόκα τοι ἀπονοστήσειν.

43, Τοιούτοισι ἐπείτε οὗτος ἀμείψατο Κροῖσον,
ἤισαν μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξηρτυμένοι λογάσι τε νεηνίῃσι
καὶ κυσί. ἀπικόμενοι δὲ ἐ ἐς τὸν Ὄλυμπον τὸ ὄρος
ἐζήτεον τὸ θηρίον, εὑρόντες δὲ καὶ περιστώντες
αὐτὸ κύκλῳ ἐσηκόντιζον. ἔνθα δὴ ὁ ξεῖνος,
οὗτος δὴ ὁ καθαρθεὶς τὸν φόνον, καλεόμενος δὲ
Ἄδρηστος, ἀκοντίζων τὸν ὗν τοῦ μὲν ἁμαρτάνει,
τυγχάνει δὲ τοῦ Κροίσου παίδος. ὃ μὲν δὴ βλη-
θεὶς τῇ αἰχμῇ ἐξέπλησε τοῦ ὀνείρου τὴν φήμην,
ἔθεε δέ τις ἀγγελέων τῷ Κροίσῳ τὸ γεγονός,
ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐ ἐς τὰς Σάρδις τήν τε μάχην καὶ τὸν
τοῦ παιδὸς μόρον ἐσήμηνέ οἱ.

44. Ὁ δὲ Κροῖσος τῷ θανάτῳ τοῦ παιδὸς συν-
τεταραγμένος μᾶλλόν τι ἐδεινολογέετο ὅτι μιν
ἀπέκτεινε τὸν αὐτὸς φόνου ἐκάθηρε: περιημεκτέων

BOOK I. 41-44

which I have done you) I ask you to watch over
my son as he goes out to the chase. See to it that
no ruffian robbers meet you on the way, to do you
harm. Moreover it is but right that you too should
go where you can win renown by your deeds. That
is fitting for your father’s son; and you are strong
enough withal.”’

42. “O King,” Adrastus answered, “had it been
otherwise, I would not have gone forth on this enter-
prise. One so unfortunate as I should not consort
with the prosperous among his peers; nor have 1 the
wish so to do, and for many reasons I would have
held back. But now, since you so desire and I must
do your pleasure (owing you as I do a requital of
good service), 1 am ready to obey you in this; and
for your son, in so far as I can protect him, look
for his coming back unharmed.”

43. So when Adrastus had thus answered Croesus
they went out presently equipped with a company
of chosen young men and dogs. When they had
come to Mount Olympus they hunted for the beast,
and having.found him they made a ring and threw
their spears at him: then the guest called Adrastus,
the man who had been cleansed of the deed of blood,
missed the boar with his spear and hit the son of
Croesus. So Atys was smitten by the spear and ful-
filled the utterance of the dream. One ran to bring
Croesus word of what had been done, and came to
Sardis, where he told the king of the fight and the
manner of his son’s end.

44, Croesus, distraught by the death of his son,
cried out the more vehemently because the slayer
was one whom he himself had cleansed of a bloody

HERODOTUS

δὲ TH συμφορῇ δεινῶς ἐκάλεε μὲν Δία καθάρσιον
μαρτυρόμενος τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ ξείνου πεπονθὼς εἴη
ἐκάλεε δὲ ἐπίστιόν τε καὶ ἑταιρήιον, τὸν αὐτὸν
τοῦτον ὀνομάξων θεόν, τὸν μὲν ἐπίστιον καλέων,
διότι δὴ οἰκίοισι ὑποδεξάμενος τὸν ξεῖνον φονέα
τοῦ παιδὸς ἐλάνθανε βόσκων, τὸν δὲ ἑταιρήιον,
ὡς φύλακα συμπέμψας αὐτὸν εὑρήκοι πολε-
᾿

μιώτατον.

45. Παρῆσαν δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο οἱ Λυδοὶ φέροντες
τὸν νεκρόν, ὄπισθε δὲ εἵπετό οἱ ὁ φονεύς. στὰς
δὲ: οὗτος πρὸ τοῦ νεκροῦ παρεδίδου ἑωυτὸν Κροίσῳ
προτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, ἐπικατασφάξαι μιν κελεύων
τῷ νεκρῷ, λέγων τήν τε προτέρην ἑωυτοῦ συμ-
φορήν, καὶ ὡς ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῃ τὸν καθήραντα ἀπολω-
λεκὼς εἴη, οὐδέ οἱ εἴη βιώσιμον. Κροῖσος δὲ
τούτων ἀκούσας τόν τε "Αδρηστον κατοικτείρει,
καίπερ ἐὼν ἐν κακῷ οἰκηίῳ τοσούτῳ καὶ λέγει
πρὸς αὐτόν “"Eyw ὦ ξεῖνε παρὰ σεῦ πᾶσαν τὴν
δίκην, ἐπειδὴ σεωυτοῦ καταδικάζεις θάνατον. εἷς
δὲ οὐ σύ μοι τοῦδε τοῦ κακοῦ αἴτιος, εἰ μὴ ὅσον
ἀέκων ἐξεργάσαο, ἀλλὰ θεῶν κού τις, ὅς μοι
καὶ πάλαι προεσήμαινε τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι.᾽"
Κροῖσος μέν νυν ἔθαψε ὡς οἰκὸς ἦν τὸν ἑωυτοῦ
παῖδα: “Adpnatos δὲ ὁ Τορδίεω τοῦ Μίδεω,
οὗτος δὴ ὁ φονεὺς μὲν τοῦ ἑωυτοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ
γενόμενος φονεὺς δὲ τοῦ καθήραντος, ἐπείτε
ἡσυχίη τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο περὶ τὸ σῆμα,
συγγινωσκόμενος ἀνθρώπων εἶναι τῶν αὐτὸς ἤδεε
βαρυσυμφορώτατος, ἐπικατασφάζει τῷ τύμβῳ
ἑωυτόν.

40. Κροῖσος δὲ ἐπὶ δύο ἔτεα ἐν πένθεϊ μεγάλῳ

BOOK I. 44-46

deed, and in his great and terrible grief at this mis-
chance he called on Zeus by three names—Zeus_ the
Purifier, Zeus of the Hearth, Zeus of Comrades: the
first, because he would have the god know what evil
his guest had wrought him ; the second, because he
had received the guest into his house and thus un-
wittingly entertained the slayer of his son ; and the
third, because he had found his worst foe in the man
whom he sent as a protector.

45. Soon came the Lydians, bearing the dead
corpse, with the slayer following after. He then
came and stood before the body and gave himself
wholly into Croesus’ power, holding out his hands
and praying the king to slay him where he stood by
the dead man: “ Remember,” he said, “ my former
mischance, and see how besides that I have undone
him who purified me; indeed, it is not fit that I
should live.” On hearing this Croesus, though his
own sorrow was so great, took pity on Adrastus and
said to him, “ Friend, I have from you all that jus-
tice asks, since you deem yourself worthy of death.
But it is not you that I hold the cause of this evil,
save in so far as you were the unwilling doer of it:
rather it is the work of a god, the same who told
me long ago what was to be.” So Croesus buried
his own son in such manner as was fitting. But
Adrastus, son of Gordias who was son of Midas,
this Adrastus, the slayer of his own brother and
of the man who purified him, when the tomb was
undisturbed by the presence of men, slew himself
there by the sepulchre, seeing now clearly that he
was the most ill-fated wretch of all men whom he
knew.

46. Croesus, after the loss of his son, sat in deep

HERODOTUS

KATHOTO τοῦ παιδὸς ἐστερημένος. μετὰ δὲ ἡ
᾿Αστυάγεος τοῦ Κυαξάρεω ἡγεμονίη καταιρεθεῖσα
ὑπὸ Κύρου τοῦ Καμβύσεω καὶ τὰ τῶν []ερσέων
πρήγματα αὐξανόμενα πένθεος μὲν Κροῖσον ἀπέ-
TUE, ἐνέβησε δὲ ἐς φροντίδα, εἴ κως δύναιτο,
πρὶν μεγάλους γενέσθαι τοὺς [Πέρσας, καταλαβεῖν
αὐτῶν αὐξανομένην τὴν δύναμιν. μετὰ ὧν τὴν
διάνοιαν ταύτην αὐτίκα ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν μαντηίων
τῶν τε ἐν “ἔλλησι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ, διαπέμψας
ἄλλους ἄλλῃ, τοὺς μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἰέναι, τοὺς δὲ
ἐς Ἄβας τὰς Φωκέων, τοὺς δὲ ἐς Δωδώνην: ot
δὲ τινὲς ἐπέμποντο παρά τε ᾿Αμφιάρεων καὶ παρὰ
Τροφώνιον, of δὲ τῆς Μιλησίης € ἐς Boayxidas. ταῦτα
μέν νυν τὰ ᾿Ελληνικὰ μαντήια ἐς τὰ ἀπέπεμψε μαν-
τευσόμενος Κροῖσος" Λιβύης δὲ παρὰ Αμμωνα ἀπέ-
στελλε ἄλλους χρησομένους. διέπεμπε δὲ πειρώ-
μενος τῶν μαντηίων ὅ τι φρονέοιεν, ὡς εἰ φρονέοντα
τὴν ἀληθείην εὑρεθείη, “ἐπείρηται σφέα δεύτερα
πέμπων εἰ ἐπιχειρέοι ἐπὶ Πέρσας στρατεύεσθαι.
47. ᾿Εντειλάμενος δὲ τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι τάδε ἀπέ-
πέμπε ἐς τὴν διάπειραν τῶν χρηστηρίων, ἀπ᾽ ἧς
ἂν ἡμέρης ὁρμηθέωσι ἐκ Σαρδίων, ἀπὸ ταύτης
ἡμερολογέοντας τὸν λοιπὸν “Χρόνον ἑκατοστῇ
ἡμέρῃ χρᾶσθαι τοῖσι χρηστηρίοισι, ἐπειρωτῶντας
ὅ τι ποιέων τυγχάνοι ω Λυδῶν βασιλεὺς Κροῖσος
ὁ ᾿Αλυάττεω: ἅσσα δ᾽ ἂν ἕκαστα τῶν χρηστηρίων
θεσπίσῃ, συγγραψαμένους ἀναφέρειν παρ᾽ ἑωυτόν.
ὅ τι μέν νυν τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν χρηστηρίων ἐθέσπισε,
οὐ λέγεται πρὸς οὐδαμῶν: ἐν δὲ Δελφοῖσι ὡς
ἐσῆλθον τάχιστα ἐς τὸ μέγαρον οἱ Λυδοὶ γρησό-
μενοι τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐπειρώτων τὸ ἐντεταλμένον, ἡ
Πυθίη ἐν ἑξαμέτρῳ τόνῳ λέγει τάδε.
52

BOOK 1. 46-47

sorrow for two years. After this time, the de-
struction by Cyrus son of Cambyses of the sover-
eignty of Astyages son of Cyaxayes, and the growth
of the power of the Persians, caused him to cease
from his mourning; and he resolved, if he could,
to forestall the increase of the Persian power before
they grew to greatness. Having thus determined,
he straightway made trial of the Greek and Libyan
oracles, sending messengers separately to Delphi,
to Abae in Phocia, and to Dodona, while others
again were despatched to Amphiaraus and_ ‘Tro-
phonius,! and others to Branchidae in the Milesian
country. These are the Greek oracles to which
Croesus sent for divination: and he bade others go
to inquire of Ammon in Libya. His intent in
sending was to test the knowledge of the oracles,
sothat, if they should be found to know the truth,
he might send again and ask if he should take in
hand an expedition against the Persians.

47. And when he sent to make trial of these
shrines he gave the Lydians this charge: they were
to keep count of the time from the day of their
leaving Sardis, and on the hundredth day inquire of
the oracles what Croesus, king of Lydia, son of
Alyattes, was then doing; then they were to write
down whatever were the oracular answers and bring
them back to him. Now none relate what answer
was given by the rest of the oracles. But at Delphi,
no sooner had the Lydians entered the hall to
inquire of the god and asked the question with
which they were charged, than the Pythian priestess
uttered the following hexameter verses :

' That is, to the oracular shrines of these legendary
heroes,

HERODOTUS

Οἶδα δ᾽ ἐγὼ ψάωμου τ᾽ ἀριθμὸν Kai μέτρα
θαλάσσης,
\ fal 7 \ > a > 4
καὶ κωφοῦ συνίημι, Kal οὐ φωνεῦντος ἀκούω.
’ / 3 3 / 9 7 ,
ὀδμή μ᾽ ἐς φρένας ἦλθε κραταιρίνοιο χελώνης
a ?
ἑψομένης ἐν χαλκῷ ἅμ᾽ ἀρνείοισι κρεεσσιν,
ἫΝ ἊΝ \ ig / \ by /
ἡ χαλκὸς μὲν ὑπέστρωται, χαλκὸν δ᾽ ἐπιέσται.

48. Ταῦτα οἱ Λυδοὶ θεσπισάσης τῆς Πυθίης
/ » 2 / 3 \ Ss if δ
συγγραψάμενοι οἴχοντο ἀπιόντες ἐς τὰς Σάρδις.
ς \ \ Ὁ ε , a
ὡς δὲ καὶ ὧλλοι οἱ περιπεμφθέντες παρῆσαν
\ / lo ¢ a
φεροντες τοὺς χρησμούς, ἐνθαῦτα ὁ Κροῖσος
ἕκαστα ἀναπτύσσων ἐπώρα τῶν συγγραμμάτων.
n \ \ 3 \ , / a δὲ ¢e \ 3
τῶν μὲν δὴ οὐδὲν προσίετό μιν: ὃ δὲ ὡς TO ἐκ
“ ’ὔ 7 /
Δελφῶν ἤκουσε, αὐτίκα TPOTEVXETO TE καὶ προσ-
fe A 3
εδέξατο, νομίσας μοῦνον εἶναι μαντήιον τὸ ἐν
- “ e ? J ’ See’ b) /
Δελφοῖσι, ὅτι οἱ ἐξευρήκεε τὰ αὐτὸς ἐποίησε.
\ / \
ἐπείτε yap δὴ διέπεμψε Tapa τὰ χρηστήρια τοὺς
’ , n
θεοπρόπους, φυλάξας τὴν κυρίην τῶν ἡμερέων
“Ὁ , 5
ἐμηχανᾶτο τοιάδε' ἐπινοήσας τὰ ἣν ἀμήχανον
ἐξευρεῖν τε καὶ ἐπιφράσασθαι, χελώνην καὶ ἄρνα
, ς Al le ἌΝ ΤΙΝ ᾽ RIB) ; ΄
κατακόψας ομοῦ ἧψε αὐτὸς ἐν λέβητι χαλκέῳ,
/ 2 ; 2! id
χάλκεον ἐπίθημα ἐπιθείς.
\ \ \ a A
49, Ta μὲν δὴ ἐκ Δελφῶν οὕτω τῷ Κροίσῳ
5 / \ \ \ > / tal ’
ἐχρήσθη: κατὰ δὲ τὴν ᾿Αμφιάρεω τοῦ μαντηίου
Vs > 7 - a -
ὑπόκρισιν, οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν ὅ τι τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι
7 / \
ἔχρησε ποιήσασι περὶ TO ἱρὸν τὰ νομιζόμενα (οὐ
\ > ὑδὲ A Vd A x “ \
yap ὧν οὐδὲ τοῦτο λέγεται), ἄλλο γε ἢ ὅτε καὶ
n / n
τοῦτο ἐνόμισε μαντήιον ἀψευδὲς ἐκτῆσθαι.
54

BOOK I. 47-49

Grains of sand I reckon and measure the spaces of
ocean,

Hear when dumb men speak, and mark the speech
of the silent.

What is it now that I smell? ’tis a tortoise mightily
armoured

Sodden in vessel of bronze, with a lamb’s flesh
mingled together :

Bronze thereunder is laid and a mantle of bronze is
upon it.”

48. Having written down this inspired utterance
cf the Pythian priestess, the Lydians went away
kack to Sardis. When the others as well who had
teen sent to divers places came bringing their
cracles, Croesus then unfolded and surveyed all the
writings. Some of them in no wise satisfied him.
But when he heard the Delphian message, he
acknowledged it with worship and welcome, con-
sidering that Delphi was the only true place of
divination, because it had discovered what he
himself had done. For after sending his envoys
to the oracles, he bethought him of a device which
no conjecture could discover, and carried it out on
the appointed day: namely, he cut up a tortoise and
a lamb, and then himself boiled them in a caldren of
bronze covered with a lid of the same.

49. Such then was the answer from Delphi de
livered to Croesus. As to the reply which the Lydians
received from the oracle of Amphiaraus when they
had followed the due custom of the temple, I
cannot say what it was, for nothing is recorded
of it, saving that Croesus held that from this oracle
too he had obtained a true answer.

HERODOTUS

rn \ »
50. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα θυσίησι μεγάλῃσι τὸν ἐν
/ \ x /
Δελφοῖσι θεὸν ἱλάσκετο" κτήνεώ TE γὰρ τὰ θύσιμα
πάντα τρισχίλια ἔθυσε, κλίνας τε ἐπιχρύσους
καὶ ἐπαργύρους καὶ φιάλας χρυσέας καὶ εἵματα
/ \
πορφύρεα καὶ κιθῶνας, νήσας πυρὴν μεγάλην,
he
κατέκαιε, ἐλπίζων τὸν θεὸν μᾶλλόν τι τούτοισι
ἀνακτήσεσθαι: Λυδοῖσι τε πᾶσι προεῖπε θύειν
n / Ὁ ο
πάντα τινὰ αὐτῶν τούτῳ O τι ἔχοι ἕκαστος. ὡς
“ »
δὲ ἐκ τῆς θυσίης ἐγένετο, καταχεάμενος χρυσὸν
le ς / bd > a Σ / > \ \
ἄπλετον ἡμιπλίνθια ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐξήλαυνε, ἐπὶ μὲν
τὰ μακρότερα ποιέων ἑξαπάλαιστα, ἐπὶ δὲ τὰ
βραχύτερα τριπάλαιστα, ὕψος δὲ παλαιστιαῖα.
ἀριθμὸν δὲ ἑπτακαίδεκα καὶ ἑκατόν, καὶ τούτων
ἀπέφθου χρυσοῦ τέσσερα, τρίτον ἡμιτάλαντον
“ ." \ Nit OF. ¢e ν ἢ a
ἕκαστον ἕλκοντα, TA δὲ ἄλλα ἡμιπλίνθια λευκοῦυ
na ZL
χρυσοῦ, σταθμὸν διτάλαντα. ἐποιέετο δὲ Kal
, lal / τᾷ
λέοντος εἰκόνα χρυσοῦ ἀπέφθου ἕλκουσαν σταθμὸν
͵ / ς / / /
τάλαντα δέκα. οὗτος ὁ λέων, ἐπείτε KATEKALETO
ς > na / / > \ an ς
ὁ ἐν Δελφοῖσι νηὸς, κατέπεσε ἀπὸ τῶν ἡμιπλιν-
/ \ / “, \ a lal
θίων (ἐπὶ yap τούτοισι ἵδρυτο), Kal νῦν κεῖται ἐν
a / lal va \ “
τῷ Κορινθίων θησαυρῷ, ἕλκων σταθμὸν ἕβδομον
/ / \ lal
ἡμιτάλαντον" ἀπετάκη γὰρ αὐτοῦ τέταρτον ἡμι-
τάλαντον.
\ \s a an
᾿Επιτελέσας δὲ ὁ Κροῖσος ταῦτα ἀπέπεμπε
bd ΄ Y / a A cal an
ἐς Δελφούς, καὶ τάδε ἄλλα ἅμα τοῖσι, κρητῆρας
δύο “μεγάθεϊ μεγάλους, χρύσεον καὶ ἀργύρεον, τῶν
ὁ μὲν χρύσεος ς ἔκειτο ἐπὶ δεξιὰ € ἐσιόντι ἐς τὸν νηόν,
ὁ δὲ ἀργύρεος ἐπ᾽ ἀριστερά. μετεκινήθησαν δὲ
\ e
καὶ οὗτοι ὑπὸ τὸν νηὸν κατακαέντα, καὶ ὁ μὲν
χρύσεος κεῖται ἐν τῷ Κλαζομενίων θησαυρῷ,
ἕλκων σταθμὸν εἴνατον ἡμιτάλαντον καὶ ἔτι δυώ-
δεκα μνέας, ὁ δὲ ἀργύρεος ἐπὶ τοῦ προνηίου τῆς

BOOK I. 50-51

50. After this, he strove to win the favour of the
Delphian god with great sacrifices. He offered up
three thousand beasts from each kind fit for sacrifice,
and he burnt on a great pyre couches covered with
gold and silver, golden goblets, and purple cloaks
and tunics; by these means he hoped the better to
win the aid of the god, to whom he also commanded
that every Lydian should sacrifice what he could.
When the sacrifice was over, he melted down a vast
store of gold and made of it ingots of which the
longer sides were of six and the shorter of three
palms’ length, and the height was one palm.
These were an hundred and seventeen in number.
Four of them were of refined gold, each weighing
two talents and a half; the rest were of gold with
silver alloy, each of two talents’ weight. He bade
also to be made a figure of a lion of refined gold,
weighing ten talents. When the temple of Delphi
was burnt, this lion fell from the ingots which were
the base whereon it stood; and now it lies in the
treasury of the Corinthians, but weighs only six
talents and a half, for the fire melted away three and
a half talents.

51. When these offerings were fully made, Croesus
sent them to Delphi, with other gifts besides, namely,
two very great bowls, one of gold and one of silver.
The golden bowl stood to the right, the silvern to
the left, of the temple entrance. These too were
removed about the time of the temple’s burning,
and now the golden bowl, which weighs eight
talents and a half, and twelve minae,! lies in the
treasury of the Clazomenians, and the silver bowl
at the corner of the forecourt of the temple. This

1 μνᾶ = about 15 oz. Troy weight.
57

HERODOTUS

γωνίης, χωρέων ἀμφορέας ἑξακοσίους" ἐπικίρναται
γὰρ ὑπὸ Δελφῶν θεοφανίοισι. “Φασὶ δέ μιν Δελφοὶ
Θεοδώρου τοῦ Σαμίου ἐ ἔργον εἶναι, καὶ ἐγὼ δοκέω'
οὐ γὰρ τὸ συντυχὸν φαίνεταί μοι ἔργον εἶναι.
καὶ πίθους τε ἀργυρέους τέσσερας ἀπέπεμψε, οἱ
ἐν τῷ Κορινθίων θησαυρῷ ἑστᾶσι, καὶ περιρραν-
τήρια δύο ἀνέθηκε, χρύσεόν τε καὶ ἀργύρεον, τῶν
τῷ χρυσέῳ ἐπιγέγραπται Λακεδαιμονίων φαμένων
εἶναι ἀνάθημα, οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγοντες" ἔστι γὰρ καὶ
τοῦτο Κροίσου, ἐπέγραψε δὲ τῶν τις Δελφῶν
Λακεδαιμονίοισι βουλόμενος χαρίξεσθαι, τοῦ ἐπι-
στάμενος τὸ οὔνομα οὐκ ἐπιμνήσομαι. ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν
παῖς, δι᾽ οὗ τῆς χειρὸς ῥέει τὸ ὕδωρ, Λακεδαιμονίων
ἐστί, οὐ μέντοι τῶν γε περιρραντηρίων οὐδέτερον.
ἄλλα TE ἀναθήματα οὐκ ἐπίσημα πολλὰ ἀπέ-
πεμψε ἅμα τούτοισι ὁ Κροῖσος, καὶ χεύματα
ἀργύρεα κυκλοτερέα, καὶ δὴ καὶ “γυναικὸς εἴδωλον
χρύσεον τρίπηχυ, τὸ Δελφοὶ τῆς ἀρτοκόπου τῆς
Κροίσου εἰκόνα λέγουσι εἶναι. πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῆς
ἑωυτοῦ γυναικὸς τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς δειρῆς ἀνέθηκε ὁ
Κροῖσος καὶ τὰς ζώνας.

52. Ταῦτα μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀπέπεμψε, τῷ δὲ
᾿Αμφιάρεῳ, πυθόμενος αὐτοῦ τήν τε ἀρετὴν κα:
τὴν πάθην, ἀνέθηκε σάκος τε χρύσεον πᾶν ὁμοίως
καὶ αἰχμὴν στερεὴν πᾶσαν χρυσέην, τὸ ξυστὸν
τῇσι λόγχῃσι ἐὸν ὁμοίως χρύσεον' τὰ ἔτι καὶ
ἀμφότερα ἐ ἐς ἐμὲ ἣν κείμενα ἐν Θήβῃσι καὶ Θηβέων
ἐν τῷ νηῷ τοῦ ἸΙσμηνίου᾽ Ἀπόλλωνος.

53. Τοῖσι δὲ a ἄγειν μέλλουσι τῶν Λυδῶν ταῦτα
τὰ δῶρα é ἐς τὰ ἱρὰ ἐνετέλλετο ὁ Κροῖσος ἐ ἐπειρωτᾶν
τὰ χρηστήρια εἰ στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Πέρσας Κροῖσος
καὶ εἴ τινα στρατὸν ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο φίλον,

BOOK I. 51-53

bowl holds six hundred nine-gallon measures: for the
Delphians use it for a mixing-bowl at the feast of
the Divine Appearance.! It is said by the Delphians
to be the work of Theodorus of Samos, and I believe
them, for it seems to me to be of no common work-
manship. Moreover, Croesus sent four silver casks,
which stand in the treasury of the Corinthians, and
dedicated two sprinkling-vessels, one of gold, one of
silver. The golden vessel bears the inscription
“Given by the Lacedaemonians,’” who claim it as
their offering. ‘But they are wrong, for this, too,
is Croesus’ gift. The inscription was made by a
certain Delphian, whose name I know but will not
reveal, out of his desire to please the Lacedae-
monians. The figure of a boy, through whose hand
the water runs, is indeed a Lacedaemonian gift ; but
they did not give either of the sprinkling-vessels.
Along with these Croesus sent, besides many other
offerings of no great mark, certain round basins of
silver, and a golden female figure three cubits high,
which the Delphians assert to be the statue of the
woman who was Croesus’ baker. Moreover he
dedicated his own wife’s necklaces and girdles.

52. Such were the gifts which he sent to Delphi.
To Amphiaraus, having learnt of his valour and _ his
fate, he dedicated a shield made entirely of gold and
a spear all of solid gold, point and shaft alike. Both
of these lay till my time at Thebes, in the Theban
temple of Ismenian Apollo.

53, The Lydians who were to bring these gifts to
the temples were charged by Croesus to inquire οἱ
the oracles, “Shall Croesus send an army against
the Persians: and shall he take to himself any allied

1 The Theophania was a festival at Delphi, at which the
statues of gods were shown.
59

HERODOTUS

e \ / e \
ws δὲ ἀπικόμενοι ἐς τὰ ἀπεπέμφθησαν οἱ Λυδοὶ
ἀνέθεσαν τὰ ἀναθήματα, ἐχρέωντο τοῖσι χρηστὴ:
7 wa lal ¢€ n ’ x
ρίοισι λέγοντες “Κροῖσος ὁ Λυδῶν τε καὶ ἄλλων
> , ΄ ΄ σα / a
ἐθνέων βασιλεύς, νομίσας τάδε μαντήια εἶναι
a > ’ θΘ / e a v δῶ ξὸ κ᾿
μοῦνα ἐν ἀνθρώποισι, ὑμῖν τε ἀξια δῶρα ἔδωκε
lal “ SG ‘ a
τῶν ἐξευρημάτων, Kal viv ὑμέας ἐπειρωτᾷ εἰ
/ \ 5 \
στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Ilépoas καὶ εἴ twa στρατὸν
n / / » ἊΣ «“ \ nr
ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο σύμμαχον. οἱ μὲν ταῦτα
a \ 7 ’ ν
ἐπειρώτων, τῶν δὲ μαντηίων ἀμφοτέρων ἐς τὠυτὸ
“ /> / σ ’ 3
αἱ γνῶμαι συνέδραμον, προλέγουσαι Κροίσῳ, ἢν
ip \ / / \
στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Llépoas, μεγάλην ἀρχὴν μι:
id / /
καταλύσειν. τοὺς δὲ ᾿λλήνων δυνατωτάτους
(7 {4
συνεβούλευόν ot ἐξευρόντα φίλους προσθέσθαι.
> i
54, ᾿Επείτε δὲ ἀνενειχθέντα τὰ θεοπρύπια
ς i a e , A
ἐπύθετο ὁ Κροῖσος, ὑπερήσθη τε τοῖσι χρηστη-
/ , / a
ρίοισι, πάγχυ τε ἐλπίσας καταλύσειν THY KUpov
/ , >
βασιληίην, πέμψας αὗτις ἐς Πυθὼ Δελφοὺς δω-
, Ag LA \ a / ὙΠ
ρέεται, πυθόμενος αὐτῶν τὸ πλῆθος, κατ᾽ ἀνδρ
/ an © lal \
δύο στατῆρσι ἕκαστον χρυσοῦ. Δελφοὶ δὲ ἀντὶ
/ » / \ Qn 7
τούτων ἔδοσαν Κροίσῳ καὶ Λυδοῖσι προμαντηΐίην
4 \ / “- n
Kal ἀτελείην Kal προεδρίην, καὶ ἐξεῖναι TH Bovdo-
, SN “4 θ A \ > \ aN ,
μένῳ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι Δελφὸν ἐς τὸν αἰεὶ χρόνον.
55. Δωρησάμενος δὲ τοὺς Δελφοὺς ὁ Κροῖσος
/ \ / / ,
ἐχρηστηριάζετο τὸ τρίτον" ἐπείτε yap δὴ παρέ-
al / / / n
λαβε τοῦ μαντηίου ἀληθείην, ἐνεφορέετο αὐτοῦ.
bd ΄ \ / , ς
ἐπειρώτα δὲ τάδε χρηστηριαζόμενος, εἴ οἱ πολυ»-

BOOK I, 53-55

hostr’” When the Lydians came to the places
whither they were sent, they made present of the
offerings, and inquired of the oracles, in these
words: “Croesus, king of Lydia and other nations,
seeing that he deems that here are the only true
places of divination among men, endows you with
such gifts as your wisdom merits. And now he
would ask you, if he shall send an army against the
Persians, and if he shall take to himself any allied
host.’’ Such was their inquiry; and the judgment
given to Croesus by each of the two oracles was the
same, to wit, that if he should send an army against
the Persians he would destroy a great empire. And
they counselled him to discover the mightiest of the
Greeks and make them his friends.

54. When the divine answers had been brought
back and Croesus learnt of them, he was greatly
pleased with the oracles. So, being fully persuaded
that he would destroy the kingdom of Cyrus, he
sent once again to Pytho and endowed the Del-
phians with two gold staters! apiece, according to
his knowledge of their number. The Delphians,
in return, gave Croesus and all Lydians the right
of first consulting the oracle, freedom from all charges,
the chief seats at festivals, and perpetual right of
Delphian citizenship to whosoever should wish.

55. Then Croesus after his gifts to the Delphians
made a third inquiry of the oracle, for he would use
it to the full, having received true answers from
it; and the question which he asked in his in-
quest was whether his sovereignty should be of long

1 The stater was the common gold coin of the Greek world.
The value of Croesus’ stater was probably about twenty-
three shillings of our money.

HERODOTUS

χρόνιος ἔσται ἡ povvapxin. ἡ δὲ ΤΙυθίη οἱ χρᾷ
τάδε.

᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅταν ἡμίονος βασιλεὺς Μήδοισι γένηται,

καὶ τότε, Λυδὲ ποδαβρέ, πολυψήφιδα trap
“Ἕρμον

φεύγειν μηδὲ μένειν μηδ᾽ αἰδεῖσθαι κακὸς εἶναι.

VA lal A 7 ς a
56. Τούτοισι ἐλθοῦσι τοῖσι ἔπεσι ὁ Κροῖσος
Uf
πολλόν TL μάλιστα πάντων ἥσθη, ἐλπίζων ἡμίονον
\ >
οὐδαμὰ ἀντ᾽ ἀνδρὸς βασιλεύσειν Μήδων, οὐδ᾽ ὧν
αὐτὸς οὐδὲ οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ παύσεσθαι κοτὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς.
lal / e , \ «ς
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐφρόντιζε ἱστορέων τοὺς ἂν ᾿Ελλή-
,
νων δυνατωτάτους ἐόντας προσκτήσαιτο φίλους,
e / ἣν Ὁ“ , ον Ὁ
ἱστορέων δὲ εὕρισκε Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ ᾿Αθη-
, \ \ a an
vaiovs προέχοντας τοὺς μὲν τοῦ Awpixod γένεος
a a a \ = ἊΝ
τοὺς δὲ τοῦ ᾿Ιωνικοῦ. ταῦτα γὰρ ἣν τὰ προκεκρι-
7 "57 Ν᾽ > A εν \ \ \ \
μένα, ἐόντα TO ἀρχαῖον τὸ μὲν Πελασγικὸν τὸ δὲ
€ \ ἔθ \ Ἂς \ b] A 9 ΄
Βλληνικὸν ἔθνος. καὶ τὸ μὲν οὐδαμῇ κω ἐξεχώ-
\ \ / / 3 \ \ \
ρῆσε, TO δὲ πολυπλάνητον κάρτα. ἐπὶ μὲν yap
’, / a la
Δευκαλίωνος βασιλέος οἴκεε γῆν τὴν Φθιῶτιν,
ae
ἐπὶ δὲ Δώρου tov" EXdnvos τὴν ὑπὸ τὴν Ὄσσαν
\ Nees? ΄ , \¢
τε καὶ Tov "᾽Ολυμπον χώρην, καλεομένην δὲ “Ἰστι-
A 2 δὲ ol ¢ ΄ ς > / e \
αιῶτιν' ἐκ δὲ τῆς ᾿ἱστιαιώτιδος ws ἐξανέστη ὑπὸ
/ 7
Καδμείων, οἴκεε ἐν Πἔνδῳ Μακεδνὸν καλεόμενον"
A \ \
ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ adtis ἐς τὴν Δρυοπίδα μετέβη, καὶ ἐκ
fo! , i
τῆς Δρυοπίδος οὕτω ἐς Πελοπόννησον ἐλθὸν Ao-
x ? /
οικὸν ἐκλήθη.

BOOK I. 55-56

duration. To this the Pythian priestess answered as
follows :

“ Lydian, beware of the day when a mule is lord ot
the Medians:
Then with thy delicate feet by the stone-strewn
channel of Hermus
Flee for thy life, nor abide, nor blush for the name
of a craven.”

56. When he heard these verses Croesus was
pleased with them above all,. for he thought that a
mule would never be king of the Medians in place of
a man, and so that he and his posterity would never
lose his empire. Then he sought very carefully to
discover who were the mightiest of the Greeks whom
he should make his friends. He found by inquiry
that the chief peoples were the Lacedaemonians
among those of Doric, and the Athenians among
those of Ionic stock. These races, Ionian and Dorian,
were the foremost in ancient time, the first a Pelas-
gian and the second an Hellenic people. The
Pelasgian stock has never yet left its habitation, the
Hellenic has wandered often and afar. For in the
days of king Deucalion! it inhabited the land of
Phthia, then in the time of Dorus son of Hellen the
country called Histiaean, under Ossa and Olympus ;
driven by the Cadmeans from this Histiaean country
it settled about Pindus in the parts called Macednian;
thence again it migrated to Dryopia, and at last
came from Dryopia into Peloponnesus, where it took
the name of Dorian.?

1 Deucalion and Pyrrha were the survivors of the Deluge
as known to Greek legend.

3 The localities mentioned in the story of the migration
into the Peloponnese are all in northern Greece.
63

HERODOTUS

51. Ἥντινα δὲ γλῶσσαν ἵεσαν οἱ Πελασγοί,
οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως εἰπεῖν. εἰ δὲ χρεόν ἐστι
τεκμαιρόμενον λέγειν τοῖσι νῦν ἔτι ἐοῦσι Πελασ-
γῶν τῶν ὑπὲρ Τυρσηνῶν Κρηστῶνα πόλιν οἰκεόν-
των, οἱ ὅμουροι κοτὲ ἦσαν τοῖσι νῦν Δωριεῦσι
καλεομένοισι (οἴκεον δὲ τηνικαῦτα γῆν τὴν νῦν
Θεσσαλιῶτιν καλεομένην), καὶ τῶν [[λακίην τε
καὶ Σκυλάκην Πελασγῶν οἰκησάντων ἐν ᾿Ελλησ-
πόντῳ, οἱ σύνοικοι ἐγένοντο ᾿Αθηναίοισι, καὶ ὅσα
ἄλλα ΙΠελασγικὰ ἐόντα πολίσματα τὸ οὔνομα
μετέβαλε: εἰ τούτοισι τεκμαιρόμενον δεῖ λέγειν,
ἦσαν οἱ Πελασγοὶ βάρβαρον γλῶσσαν ἱέντες. εἰ
τοίνυν ἣν καὶ πᾶν τοιοῦτο τὸ ἸΤελασγικόν, τὸ
᾿Αττικὸν ἔθνος ἐὸν Πελασγικὸν ἅμα τῇ μεταβολῇ
τῇ ἐς “ἕλληνας καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν μετέμαθε. καὶ
γὰρ δὴ οὔτε οἱ Κρηστωνιῆται οὐδαμοῖσι τῶν νῦν
σφέας περιοικεόντων εἰσὶ ὁμόγλωσσοι οὔτε οἱ
Πλακιηνοί, σφίσι δὲ ὁμόγλωσσοι' δηλοῦσί τε ὅτι
τὸν ἠνείκαντο γλώσσης χαρακτῆρα μεταβαίνοντες
ἐς ταῦτα τὰ χωρία, τοῦτον ἔχουσι ἐν φυλακῇ.

58. Ἴδε". Βλληνικὸν γλώσση μὲν. ἐπείτε ἐγένετο
αἰεί κοτε τῇ αὐτῇ διαχρᾶται, ὡς ἐμοὶ καταφαί-
νεται εἶναι" ἀποσχισθὲν μέντοι ἀπὸ τοῦ Πελασ-
γικοῦ ἐὸν ἀσθενές, ἀπὸ σμικροῦ τεο τὴν ἀρχὴν
ὁρμώμενον αὔξηται ἐς πλῆθος τῶν ἐθνέων, Πε-
λασγῶν μάλιστα προσκεχωρηκότων αὐτῷ καὶ
ἄλλων ἐθνέων βαρβάρων συχνῶν. πρόσθε δὲ
ὧν ἔμοιγε δοκέει οὐδὲ τὸ Πελασγικὸν ἔθνος, ἐὸν
βάρβαρον, οὐδαμὰ μεγάλως αὐξηθῆναι.

ὅ9. Τούτων δὴ ὧν τῶν ἐθνέων τὸ μὲν ᾿Αττικὸν
κατεχύμενόν τε καὶ διεσπασμένον ἐπυνθάνετο ὁ

BOOK I. 57-59

57. What language the Pelasgians spoke I cannot
accurately say. But if one may judge by those that
still remain of the Pelasgians who dwell above the
Tyrrheni! in the city of Creston—who were once
neighbours of the people now called Dorians, and at
that time inhabited the country which now is called
Thessalian—and of the Pelasgians who inhabited
Placia and Scylace on the Hellespont, who came to
dwell among the Athenians, and by other towns too
which were once Pelasgian and afterwards took a
different name :—if (I say) one may judge by these,
the Pelasgians spoke a language which was not Greek.
If then all the Pelasgian stock so spoke, then the
Attic nation, being of Pelasgian blood, must have
changed its language too at the time when it became
part of the Hellenes. For the people of Creston
and Placia have a language of their own in common,
which is not the language of their neighbours; and it
is plain that they still preserve the fashion of speech
which they brought with them in their migration
into the places where they dwell.

58. But the Hellenic stock, as to me seems clear,
has ever used the same language since its beginning ;
yet being, when separated from the Pelasgians, but
few in number, they have grown from a small begin-
ning to comprise a multitude of nations, chiefly
because the Pelasgians and many other foreign
peoples united themselves with them. Before that,
as I think, the Pelasgic stock nowhere increased
greatly in number while it was of foreign speech.

59. Now, of these two peoples, Croesus learned
that the Attic was held in subjection and divided

1 If these are the Etruscans, then Creston may = Cortona:
but the whole matter is doubtful.

HERODOTUS

Κροῖσος ὑπὸ Πεισιστράτου τοῦ Ἱπποκράτεος
τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον τυραννεύοντος ᾿Αθηναίων.
ἽἽπποκράτεϊ γὰρ ἐόντι ἰδιώτῃ καὶ θεωρέοντι τὰ
᾿Ολύμπια «τέρας ἐγένετο μέγα" θύσαντος γὰρ
αὐτοῦ τὰ ἱρὰ οἱ λέβητες ἐπεστεῶτες καὶ κρεῶν
τε ἐόντες ἔμπλεοι καὶ ὕδατος ἄνευ πυρὸς ἔζεσαν
καὶ ὑπερέβαλον. Χίλων δὲ ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος
παρατυχὼν καὶ θεησάμενος τὸ τέρας συνεβούλευε
Ἱπποκράτεϊ πρῶτα μὲν γυναῖκα μὴ ἄγεσθαι τέκ-
νοποιὸν ἐς τὰ οἰκία, εἰ δὲ τυγχάνει ἔχων, δεύτερα
τὴν γυναῖκα ἐκπέμπειν, καὶ εἴ τίς οἱ τυγχάνει ἐὼν
παῖς, τοῦτον ἀπείπασθαι. οὔκων ταῦτα παραινέ-
σαντος Χίλωνος πείθεσθαι θέλειν τὸν Ἵπποκράτεα'
γενέσθαι οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν Πεισίστρατον τοῦτον,
ὃς στασιαζόντων τῶν παράλων καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ
πεδίου ᾿Αθηναίων, καὶ τῶν μὲν προεστεῶτος
Μεγακλέος τοῦ ᾿Αλκμέωνος, τῶν δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου
Λυκούργου ᾿Αριστολαΐδεω, καταφρονήσας τὴν
τυραννίδα ἤγειρε τρίτην στάσιν: συλλέξας δὲ
στασιώτας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τῶν ὑπερακρίων προστὰς

μηχανᾶται τοιάδε. τρωματίσας ἑωυτόν τε καὶ

ἡμιόνους ἤλασε ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν τὸ ζεῦγος ὡς
ἐκπεφευγὼς τοὺς ἐχθρούς, οἵ μιν ἐλαύνοντα ἐς
ἀγρὸν ἠθέλησαν ἀπολέσαι δῆθεν, ἐδέετό τε τοῦ
δήμου φυλακῆς τινος πρὸς αὐτοῦ κυρῆσαι, πρό-
τερον εὐδοκιμήσας ἐ ἐν τῇ πρὸς | Μεγαρέας γενομένῃ
στρατηγίῃ, Νίσαιάν τε ἑλὼν καὶ ἄλλα ἀποδεξά-
μενος μεγάλα ἔργα. ὁ δὲ δῆμος ὁ τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων
ἐξαπατηθεὶς ἔδωκέ οἱ τῶν ἀστῶν καταλέξας
ἄνδρας τούτους οἱ δορυφόροι μὲν οὐκ ἐγένοντο
Πεισιστράτου, κορυνηφόροι δέ: ξύλων γὰρ κορύνας
ἔχοντες εἵποντό οἱ ὄπισθε. συνεπαναστώντες δὲ
66

BOOK I. 59

into factions by Pisistratus son of Hippocrates, who
at that time was sovereign over the Athenians.
This Hippocrates was but a private man when a
great marvel happened to him as he was at
Olympia to see the games: when he had offered
the sacrifice, the vessels, standing there full of meat
and water, boiled without fire till they overflowed.
Chilon the Lacedaemonian, who chanced to be
there and saw this marvel, counselled Hippocrates
not to take into his house a childbearing wife, if
so might be: but if he had one already, then at
least to send her away, and if he had a son, to disown
him. Hippocrates refused to follow the counsel of
Chilon, and presently there was born to him this
Pisistratus aforesaid. In course of time there was a
feud between the Athenians of the coast under
Megacles son of Alcmeon and the Athenians of the
plain under Lycurgus son of Aristolaides. Pisistratus
then, having an eye to the sovereign power, raised
up a third faction. He collected partisans and pre-
tended to champion the hillmen; and this was his
plan. Wounding himself and his mules, he drove his
carriage into the market place with a tale that he
had escaped from his enemies, who would have slain
him (so he said) as he was driving into the country.
So he besought the people that he might have a
guard from them: and indeed he had won himself
reputation in his command of the army against the
Megarians, when he had taken Nisaea and performed
other great exploits. Thus deceived, the Athenian
people gave him a chosen guard of citizens, of whom
Pisistratus made not spearmen but clubmen: for the
retinue that followed him bore wooden clubs. These

HERODOTUS

οὗτοι ἅμα Πεισιστράτῳ ἔσχον τὴν ἀκρόπολιν.
ἔνθα δὴ ὁ Πεισίστρατος ἦρχε ᾿Αθηναίων, οὔτε
τιμὰς τὰς ἐούσας συνταράξας οὔτε θέσμια peTan-
λάξας, ἐπί τε τοῖσι κατεστεῶσι ἔνεμε τὴν πόλιν
κοσμέων καλῶς τε καὶ εὖ.

60. Mera δὲ ov πολλὸν χρόνον͵ τὠυτὸ φρονή-
σαντες οἵ τε τοῦ Μεγακλέος στασιῶται καὶ οἱ τοῦ
Λυκούργου ἐξελαύνουσί μιν. οὕτω μὲν Πεισί-
στρατος ἔσχε τὸ πρῶτον ᾿Αθήνας, καὶ τὴν τυραν-
νίδα οὔκω κάρτα ἐρριζωμένην ἔχων ἀπέβαλε. οἱ
δὲ ἐξελάσαντες Πεισίστρατον αὗτις ἐκ νέης ἐπ᾽
ἀλλήλοισι ἐστασίασαν. περιελαυνόμενος δὲ τῇ
στάσι ὁ Μεγακλέης ἐπεκηρυκεύετο Πεισιστράτῳ,
εἰ βούλοιτό οἱ τὴν θυγατέρα ἐ ἔχειν γυναῖκα ἐπὶ τῇ
τυραν "νίδι. ἐνδεξαμένου δὲ τὸν λόγον καὶ ὁμολο-
γήσαντος ἐπὶ τούτοισι Ἰ]εισιστράτου, μηχανῶνται
δὴ ἐπὶ τῇ κατόδῳ πρῆγμα εὐηθέστατον, ὡς ἐγὼ
εὑρίσκω, μακρῷ, ἐπεί γε ἀπεκρίθη ἐκ παλαιτέρου
τοῦ βαρϑάρου ἔθνεος τὸ ᾿λληνικὸν ἐὸν καὶ

δεξιώτερον καὶ εὐηθείης AO Lov ἀπηλλαγμένον
μᾶλλον, εἰ καὶ τότε γε οὗτοι ἐν ᾿Αθηναίοισι τοῖσι
πρώτοισι λεγομένοισι εἶναι ᾿Ελλήνων σοφίην
μηχανῶνται τοιάδε. ἐν τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Παιανιέι ἣν
γυνὴ τῇ οὔνομα ἣν Φύη, “μέγαθος ἀπὸ τεσσέρων
πηχέων ἀπολείπουσα τρεῖς δακτύλους καὶ ἄλλως
εὐειδής" ταύτην τὴν γυναῖκα σκευάσαντες πανο-
πλίῃ, ἐς ἅρμα ἐσβιβάσαντες καὶ προδέξαντες
σχῆμα οἷόν τι ἔμελλε εὐπρεπέστατον φανέεσθαι
ἔχουσα, ἤλαυνον ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, προδρόμους κή-
ρυκας προπ' έμψαντες" ov τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ἠγόρευον
ἀπικόμενοι és TO doTu, λέγοντες τοῖν Ὁ
᾿Αθηναῖοι, δέκεσθε ἀγαθῷ νόῳ ΠΕεισίστρατον, τὸν

638

BOOK I. 59-60

with Pisistratus rose and took the Acropolis; and
Pisistratus ruled the Athenians, disturbing in no way
the order of offices nor changing the laws, but
governing the city according to its established
constitution and ordering all things fairly and
well.

60. But after no long time the faction of Megacles
and Lycurgus made common cause and drove him
out. Thus did Pisistratus first win Athens, and thus
did he lose his sovereignty, which was not yet firmly
rooted. Presently his enemies who had driven him
out began once more to be at feud together.
Megacles then, being buffeted about by faction,
sent a message to Pisistratus offering him his daughter
to wife and the sover eign power besides. This offer
being accepted by Pisistratus, who agreed on these
terms with Megacles, they devised a plan to bring
Pisistratus back, which, to my mind, was so exceeding
foolish that it is strange (seeing that from old times
the Helienic has ever been distinguished from the
foreign stock by its greater cleverness and its freedom
from silly foolishness) that these men should devise
such a plan to deceive Athenians, said to be the cun-
ningest of the Greeks. There was in the Paeanian
deme! a woman called Phya, three fingers short of
four cubits in stature, and for the rest fair to look
upon. This woman they equipped in full armour,
and put her ina chariot, giving her all such appurten-
ances as would make the seemliest show, and so
drove into the city; heralds ran before them, and
when they came into the town made proclamation
as they were charged, bidding the Athenians “to
give a hearty welcome to Pisistratus, whom Athene

1 Local division of Attica:

HERODOTUS

αὐτὴ ἡ ᾿Αθηναίη τιμήσασα ἀνθρώπων μάλιστα
κατάγει ἐς τὴν ἑωυτῆς ἀκρόπολιν." οἱ μὲν δὴ
ταῦτα διαφοιτέοντες ἔλεγον" αὐτίκα δὲ ἔς τε τοὺς
δήμους φάτις ἀπίκετο ὡς ᾿Αθηναίη Πεισίστρατον
κατάγει, καὶ οἱ ἐν τῷ ἄστεϊ πειθόμενοι τὴν γυναῖκα
εἶναι αὐτὴν τὴν θεὸν προσεύχοντό τε τὴν ἄν-
ἕο τον καὶ ἐδέκοντο Πεισίστρατον.
᾿Απολαβὼν δὲ τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τῷ
ΓΑ ὁ Πεισίστρατος κατὰ τὴν ὁμολογίην τὴν
πρὸς Μεγακλέα γενομένην γαμέει τοῦ Μεγακλέος
τὴν θυγατέρα. οἷα δὲ παίδων τέ οἱ ὑπαρχόντων
νεηνιέων καὶ λεγομένων ἐναγέων εἶναι τῶν ᾿Αλκ-
μεωνιδέων, οὐ βουλόμενός οἱ γενέσθαι ἐκ τῆς
νεογάμου γυναικὸς τέκνα ἐμίσγετό οἱ οὐ κατὰ
νόμον. τὰ μέν. νυν πρῶτα ἔκρυπτε ταῦτα ἡ γυνή,
μετὰ δὲ εἴτε ἱστορεύσῃ εἴτε καὶ οὗ φράζει Th
ἑωυτῆς μητρί, ἣ δὲ τῷ ἀνδρί. ὀργῇ δὲ ὡς εἶχε
καταλλάσσετο τὴν ἔχθρην τοῖσι στασιώτῃσι.
μαθὼν δὲ ὁ Πεισίστρατος τὰ ποιεύμενα ἐ ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτῷ
ἀπαλλάσσετο ἐκ τῆς χώρης τὸ παράπαν, ἀπικό-
μενος δὲ ἐς ᾿Βρέτριαν ἐβουλεύετο ὁ ἅμα τοῖσι παισί.
Ἱππίεω δὲ γνώμῃ νικήσαντος ἀνακτᾶσθαι ὀπίσω
τὴν τυραννίδα, ἐνθαῦτα ἤγειρον δωτίνας ἐκ τῶν
πολίων αἵτινές σφι προαιδέοντό KOU τι. πολλῶν
δὲ μεγάλα παρασχόντων χρήματα, Θηβαῖοι ὑ ὕπερε-
βάλοντο τῇ δόσι τῶν χρημάτων. μετὰ δέ, οὐ
πολλῷ λόγῳ εἰπεῖν, χρόνος διέφυ καὶ πάντα σφι
ἐξήρτυτο ies τὴν κάτοδον" καὶ γὰρ ᾿Αργεῖοι μισ-
ὠτοὶ d ἀπίκοντο ἐκ Πελοποννήσου, καὶ Νάξιός σφι
ἀνὴρ ἀπιγμένος ἐθελοντής, τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Δύγ-
αμις, προθυμίην πλείστην παρείχετο, κομίσας
καὶ χρήματα καὶ ἄνδρας.

7°

BOOK I. 60-61

herself honoured beyond all men and was bringing
back to her own citadel.” So the heralds went about
and spoke thus: immediately it was reported in the
demes that Athene was bringing Pisistratus back,
and the townsfolk, persuaded that the woman was
indeed the goddess, worshipped this human creature
and welcomed Pisistratus.

61. Having won back his sovereignty in the man-
ner which I have shown, Pisistratus married Megacles’
daughter according to his agreement with Megacles.
But as he had already young sons, and the Alemeonid
family were said to be under a curse, he had no wish
that his newly wed wife should bear him children,
and therefore had wrongful intercourse with her. At
first the woman hid the matter: presently she told
her mother (whether being asked or not, I know not)
and the mother told her husband. Megacles was
very angry that Pisistratus should do him dishonour:
and in his wrath he made up his quarrel with the
other faction. Pisistratus, learning what was afoot,
went by himself altogether away from the country,
and came to Eretria, where he took counsel with
his sons. The counsel of Hippias prevailing, that
they should recover the sovereignty, they set to
collecting gifts from all cities which owed them some
requital Many of these gave great sums, the
Thebans more than any, and in course of time,
not to make a long story, all was ready for their
return: for they brought Argive mercenaries from
Peloponnesus, and there came also of his own free
will a man of Naxos called Lygdamis, who was
most zealous in their cause and brought them
money and men.

HERODOTUS

62. ΕΣ ᾿Ερετρίης δὲ ὁρμηθέντες διὰ ἑνδεκάτου
ἔτεος ἀπίκοντο ὀπίσω, καὶ πρῶτον τῆς ᾿Αττικῆς
ἴσχουσι Μαραθῶνα. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τῷ χώρῳ σφι
στρατοπεδευομένοισι οἵ τε ἐκ τοῦ ἄστεος στα-
σιῶται ἀπίκοντο ἄλλοι τε ἐκ τῶν δήμων προσ-
έρρεον, τοῖσι ἡ τυραννὶς πρὸ ἐλευθερίης ἣν ἀσπα-
στότερον. οὗτοι μὲν δὴ συνηλίζοντο, ᾿Αθηναίων
δὲ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ ἄστεος, ἕως μὲν Πεισίστρατος τὰ
χρήματα ἤγειρε, καὶ μεταῦτις ὡς ἔσχε Μαραθῶνα,
λόγον οὐδένα εἶχον" ἐπείτε δὲ ἐπύθοντο ἐκ
τοῦ Μαραθῶνος αὐτὸν πορεύεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ ἄστυ,
οὕτω δὴ βοηθέουσι ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν. καὶ οὗτοί τε
πανστρατιῇ ἤισαν ἐπὶ τοὺς κατιόντας, καὶ οἱ
ἀμφὶ Ἰ]εισίστρατον, ὡς ὁρμηθέντες ἐκ Μαραθῶνος
ἤισαν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄστυ, ἐς τὠυτὸ συνιόντες ἀπικ-
νέονται ἐπὶ Παλληνίδος ᾿Αθηναίης ἱρόν, καὶ ἀντία
ἔθεντο τὰ ὅπλα. ἐνθαῦτα θείῃ πομπῇ χρεώμενος
παρίσταται Πεισιστράτῳ ᾿Αμφίλυτος ὁ ᾿Ακαρνὰν
χρησμολόγος ἀνήρ, ὅς οἱ προσιὼν χρᾷ ἐν ἑξαμέτρῳ
τόνῳ τάδς λέγων"

“Ἔρριπται δ᾽ ὁ βόλος, τὸ δὲ δίκτυον ἐκπεπέτασται,
Mi
θύννοι δ᾽ οἰμήσουσι σεληναίης διὰ νυκτός."

09. O) μὲν δή. οἱ ἐνθεάξων χρᾷ τάδε, Πεισί-
στρατος δὲ συλλαβὼν τὸ χρηστήριον. καὶ φὰς
δέκεσθαι τὸ χρησθὲν ἐ ἐπῆγε τὴν στρατιήν. ᾽᾿Αθη-
ναῖοι δὲ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ ἄστεος πρὸς ἄριστον τετραμ-
μένοι ἦσαν δὴ τηνικαῦτα, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἄριστον
μετεξέτεροι αὐτῶν οἱ μὲν πρὸς κύβους οἱ δὲ πρὸς
ὕπνον. οἱ δὲ ἀμφὶ Πεισίστρατον ἐσπεσόντες
τοὺς ᾿Αθηναίους τράπουσι. φευγόντων δὲ τούτων
βουλὴν ἐνθαῦτα σοφωτάτην Πεισίστρατος émte-

BOOK | ΕΣ 62

62. 80 after ten years they set out from Eretria and
returned home. The first place in Attica which
they took and held was Marathon: and while en-
camped there they were joined by their partisans
from the city, and by others who flocked to them
from the country demes—men who loved the rule of
one more than freedom. These, then, assembled; but
the Athenians in the city, who, while Pisistratus was
collecting money and afterwards when he had taken
Marathon, made no account of it, did now, when
they learnt that he was marching from Marathon
against Athens, set out to attack him. They came
out with all their force to meet the returning exiles.
Pisistratus’ men, in their march from Marathon
towards the city, encountered the enemy when they
had reached the temple of Pallenian Athene, and
encamped face to face with them. ‘There (by the
providence of heaven) Pisistratus met Amphilytus
the Acarnanian,a diviner, who came to him and
prophesied as follows in hexameter verses :

“Now hath the cast been thrown and the net of
the fisher is outspiead :
All in the moonlight clear shall the tunny-fish
come for the taking.”

63. So spoke Amphilytus, being inspired; Pisi-
stratus understood him, and, saying that he received
the prophecy, led his army against the enemy. The
Athenians of the city had at this time gone to their
breakfast, and after breakfast some betook themselves
to dicing and some to sleep: they were attacked by
Pisistratus’ men and put to flight. So they fled,
and Pisistratus devised a very subtle plan to keep

HERODOTUS

χνᾶται, ὅκως μήτε. ἁλισθεῖεν ἔτι οἱ ᾿Αθηναῖοι
διεσκεδασμένοι τε εἶεν" ἀναβιβάσας τοὺς παῖδας
ἐπὶ ἵππους προέπεμπε, οἱ δὲ καταλαμβάνοντες
τοὺς “φεύγοντας ἔλεγον τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ὑπὸ ΠΕεισε-
στράτου, ᾿θαρσέειν τε κελεύοντες καὶ ἀπιέναι
ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τὰ ἑωυτοῦ.

64. Πειθομένων δὲ τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων, οὕτω δὴ
Πεισίστρατος τὸ τρίτον σχὼν ᾿Αθήνας ἐρρίξωσε
τὴν τυρρανίδα ἐπικούροισί τε πολλοῖσι καὶ χρη-
μάτων συνόδοισι, τῶν μὲν αὐτόθεν τῶν δὲ ἀπὸ
Στρυμόνος ποταμοῦ συνιόντων, ὁμήρους τε τῶν
παραμεινάντων ᾿Αθηναίων καὶ μὴ αὐτίκα φυγόν-
των παῖδας λαβὼν καὶ καταστήσας ἐς Νάξον
(καὶ γὰρ ταύτην ὁ ἸΠεισίστρατος κατεστρέψατο
πολέμῳ καὶ ἐπέτρεψε Λυγδάμι), πρός τε ἔτι
τούτοισι τὴν νῆσον Δῆλον καθήρας ἐκ τῶν λογίων,
καθήρας δὲ ὧδε: ἐπ᾿ ὅσον ἔποψις τοῦ ἱροῦ εἶχε,
ἐκ τούτου τοῦ χώρου παντὸς ἐξορύξας τοὺς
νεκροὺς μετεφόρεε ἐς ἄλλον χῶρον τῆς Δήλου.
καὶ ΠΠεισίστ τρατος μὲν ἐτυράννευε ᾿Αθηνέων, ᾿Αθη-
ναίων δὲ οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ μάλ ἡ ἐπεπτώκεσαν, οἱ δὲ
αὐτῶν μετ᾽ ᾿Αλκμεωνιδέων eheuyov ἐκ τῆς οἰκηίης.

65. Τοὺς μέν νυν ᾿Αθηναίους τοιαῦτα τὸν χρό-
νον τοῦτον ἐπυνθάνετο ὁ Κροῖσος κατέχοντα, τοὺς
δὲ Λακεδαιμονίους ἐκ κακῶν τε μεγάλων πεφευ-
γότας καὶ ἐόντας ἤδη τῷ πολέμῳ κατυπερτέρους
Τεγεητέων. ἐπὶ γὰρ Λέοντος βασιλεύοντος καὶ
Ἡγησικλέος ἐν Σπάρτῃ τοὺς ἄλλους πολέμους
εὐτυχέοντες οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι πρὸς Τεγεήτας μού-
νους προσέπταιον. τὸ δὲ ἔτι πρότερον τούτων
καὶ κακονομώτατοι ἦσαν σχεδὸν πάντων 'Ἑλλή-
νων κατά τε σφέας αὐτοὺς καὶ ξείνοισι ἀπρόσμι-

BOOK I. 63-65

them scattered and prevent their assembling again:
he mounted his sons and bade them ride forward :
they overtook the fugitives and spoke to them as
they were charged by Pisistratus, bidding them take
heart and depart each man to his home.

64. This the Athenians did; and by this means
Pisistratus gained Athens for the third time, where,
that his sovereignty might be well rooted, he made
himself a strong guard and collected revenue both
from Athens and from the district of the river
Strymon, and took as hostages the sons of the Athen-
ians who remained and did not at once leave the city,
and placed these in Naxos. (He had conquered
Naxos too and given it in charge to Lygdamis.)
Moreover, he purified the island of Delos according
to the bidding of the oracles, and this is how he did
it: he removed all the dead that were buried in
ground within sight of the temple and carried them
to another part of Delos. So Pisistratus was
sovereign of Athens: and as for the Athenians, some
had fallen in the battle, and some, with the
Alemeonids, were exiles from their native land.

65. Croesus learnt, then, that such at this time
was the plight of the Athenians: the Lacedaemon-
ians, as he heard, had escaped from great calamities,
and had by this time got the upper hand of the
men of Tegea in their war; for in the kingship
of Leon and Hegesicles at Sparta, the Lacedae-
monians were victorious in their other wars, but
against Tegea alone they met with no success. And
not only so, but before this they were the worst
governed of well nigh all the Greeks, having little
intercourse among themselves or with strangers.

Δ. elt. D 75

HERODOTUS

κτοι" μετέβαλον δὲ ὧδε ἐς εὐνομίην. Λυκούργου

τῶν Σπαρτιητέων δοκίμου ἀνδρὸς ἐλθόντος ἐς

Δελφοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ χρηστήριον, ὡς ἐσήιε ἐς τὸ μέ-
LA Was τ , / /

yapov, εὐθὺς ἡ Πυθίη λέγει τάδε.

\ \ , ΄

““Ἥκεις ὦ Λυκόοργε ἐμὸν ποτὶ πίονα νηόν

Ly N , \ a b ΄ ΄ 3. 5)
Znvi φίλος καὶ τοσοῦ Ολύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσι.

/ δ) \ »

δίζω ἤ σε θεὸν μαντεύσομαι ἢ ἄνθρωπον.
- \ / >
ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον θεὸν ἔλπομαι, ὦ AvKoopye.’

“Δδ Ν ὃ / \ / / \ /
of μὲν δή τινες πρὸς τούτοισι λέγουσι καὶ φράσαι
a / \ lal A ,
αὐτῷ τὴν Πυθίην τὸν νῦν κατεστεῶτα κόσμον
Ὁ ᾽ / ,
Σπαρτιήτῃσι: ὡς δ᾽ αὐτοὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι λέγουσι;
a 3 / ΄ ’
Λυκοῦργον ἐπιτροπεύσαντα Λεωβώτεω, ἀδελῴφι-
\ rn / 7
δέου μὲν ἑωυτοῦ βασιλεύοντος δὲ Σπαρτιητέων,
ἐκ Κρήτης ἀγαγέσθαι ταῦτα. ὡς γὰρ ἐπετρό-
/ \ / 7,
πευσε τάχιστα, μετέστησε τὰ νόμιμα πάντα, καὶ
> / A \ fae N \ \ >)
ἐφύλαξε ταῦτα μὴ παραβαίνειν: μετὰ δὲ τὰ és
/ ” > Ἢ
πόλεμον ἔχοντα, ἐνωμοτίας καὶ τριηκάδας καὶ
/ i
συσσίτια, πρός TE τούτοισι τοὺς ἐφόρους Kal γέ-
ροντας ἔστησε Λυκοῦργος.
“ SS / ’ / lal
86. Οὕτω μὲν μεταβαλόντες εὐνομήθησαν, τῷ
δὲ Λυκούργῳ τελευτήσαντι ἱρὸν εἱσάμενοι σέβον-
/ ve δὲ ” , > an \ /
ται μεγάλως. οἷα d€ ἔν TE χώρῃ ἀγαθῇ Kal πλή-
“. > ’ / n ”
ei οὐκ ὀλίγων ἀνδρῶν, ava Te ἔδραμον αὐτίκα καὶ
0 Nal \ ὃ / > / 5) ΄, € ΄
εὐθηνήθησαν, καὶ δή σφι οὐκέτι ἀπέχρα ἡσυχίην
», > \ th > / /
ἄγειν, ara καταφρονήσαντες Αρκάδων κρεσ-
53 2 ΄ a >
coves εἰναι ἐχρηστηριάζοντο ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἐπὶ
΄, an? ΄, , ς N 7, A
πάσῃ T ,
ion τῇ Ἀρκάδων χώρῃ. ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφι χρᾷ
τάδε.
76

BOOK I. 65-66

Thus then they changed their laws for the better :—
Lycurgus, a notable Spartan, visited the oracle at
Delphi, and when he entered the temple hall,
straightway the priestess gave him this response :

“Dear to Zeus thou hast come to my well-stored
temple, Lycurgus,
Dear to Zeus and to all who dwell in the courts of
Olympus.
Art thou a man or a god? ’Tis a god I deem thee,
Lycurgus.”’

Some say that the priestess moreover declared to
him the whole governance of Sparta which is now
established ; but the Lacedaemonians themselves
relate that it was from Crete that Lycurgus brought
these changes, he being then guardian of Leobotes
his nephew, king of Sparta. As soon as he became
guardian he changed all the laws of the country and
was careful that none should transgress his ordi-
nances, and afterwards it was Lycurgus who estab-
lished all that related to war, the sworn companies,
and the bands of thirty, and the common meals:
and besides these, the ephors, and the council of
elders.

66. So they changed their bad laws for good ones,
and when Lycurgus died they built him a shrine
and now greatly revere him. ‘Then, since their land
was good and their men were many, very soon they
began to flourish and prosper. Nor were they
satisfied to remain at peace: but being assured that
they were stronger than the Arcadians, they inquired
of the oracle at Delphi, with their minds set on the
whole of Arcadia. The Pythian priestess gave them
this reply :

HERODOTUS

66 Υ , 9’ » “ἅμ 4 9 93 A ξ ww ὃ ’
Αρκαδίην μ᾽ αἰτεῖς" μέγα μ᾽ αἰτεῖς" οὔ τοι δώσω.
4 V4
πολλοὶ ἐν ᾿Αρκαδίῃ βαλανηφάγοι ἄνδρες ἔασιν,
“ 3 > 4 >) \ ὃ , » / 5
of σ᾽ ἀποκωλύσουσιν. ἐγὼ δέ ToL οὔτι μεγαίρω
, 3 »
δώσω τοι Τεγέην ποσσίκροτον ὀρχήσασθαι
\ XA je , ὃ ,ὔ 3)
καὶ καλὸν πεδίον σχοίνῳ διαμετρήσασθαι.

a € [i
ταῦτα ws ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν ot Λακεδαιμό-
a , Δ
νιοι, ᾿Αρκάδων μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀπείχοντο, οἱ δὲ
, ie
πέδας φερόμενοι ἐπὶ Τεγεήτας ἐστρατεύοντο, χρη-
a ΄ i \ ΄
σμῷ κιβδήλῳ πίσυνοι, ὡς δὴ ἐξανδραποδιούμενοι
\ ἢ ς / N' an A “
τοὺς Τεγεήτας. ἑσσωθέντες δὲ τῇ συμβολῇ, ὅσοι
Spain 2 / / ΝΜ \ > /
αὐτῶν ἐζωγρήθησαν, πέδας τε ἔχοντες τὰς ἐφέ-
Ν /
ροντο αὐτοὶ καὶ σχοίνῳ διαμετρησάμενοι TO πεδίον
Ν , > 4 e \ / & 2
τὸ Τεγεητέων ἐργάζοντο. αἱ δὲ πέδαι αὗται ἐν
“" 2 / Μ \ > Se ἐδ 3 / b] /
τῆσι ἐδεδέατο ETL Kal ἐς ἐμὲ ἦσαν σόαι ἐν Teyén,
\ \ x A > / ’ / ie
περὶ Tov νηὸν τὴς Αλέης ᾿Αθηναίης κρεμάμεναι.
\ Ν \ Ἁ / /
67. Kata μὲν δὴ τὸν πρότερον πόλεμον συνε-
7 ΣΝ “ 57 \ \ /
χέως αἰεὶ κακῶς ἀέθλεον πρὸς τοὺς Τεγεήτας,
\ \ Ν \ A ΄ \ \ 9
κατὰ δὲ τὸν κατὰ Κροῖσον χρόνον καὶ τὴν ᾿Ανα-
,
ξανδρίδεώ τε καὶ ᾿Αρίστωνος βασιληίην ἐν Aaxe-
/ 4 ASS a / n
δαίμονι ἤδη οἱ Σπαρτιῆται κατυπέρτεροι τῷ πο-
7, ᾽ , , Ξ- , > \
λέμῳ ἐγεγόνεσαν, τρόπῳ τοιῷδε γενόμενοι. ἐπειδὴ
ἜΝ a 7 ς a ς \ , /
αἰεὶ TO πολέμῳ ἑσσοῦντο ὑπὸ Τεγεητέων, πέμψαν-
΄ > \ b) , / Bay
tes θεοπρόπους ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐπειρώτων τίνα ἂν
a ¢ 7 Ἅ a Pe
θεῶν ἱλασάμενοι κατύπερθε τῷ πολέμῳ Τεγεητέων
/ \ ,
γενοίατο. ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφι ἔχρησε τὰ ᾿Ορέστεω
n°? , > /
Tov ᾿Αγαμέμνονος ὀστέα ἐπαγαγομένους. ὡς δὲ
ηὃ

BOOK I. 66-67

“ Askest Arcadia from me? ’Tis a boon too great

for the giving.

Many Arcadians there are, stout heroes, eaters of
acorns,—

These shall hinder thee sore. Yet ’tis not I that
begrudge thee:

Lands Tegeaean I’ll give thee, to smite with feetin
the dancing,

Also the fertile plain with line 1] give thee to
measure.”

When this was brought back to the ears of the
Lacedaemonians, they let the rest of the Arcadians be,
and marched against the men of Tegea carrying
fetters with them; for they trusted in the quibbling
oracle and thought they would enslave the Tegeans.
But they were worsted in the encounter, and those
of them who were taken captive were made to till
the Tegean plain, wearing the fetters which they
themselves had brought and measuring the land with
a line.! These fetters, in which they were bound,
were still in my time kept safe at Tegea, where they
were hung round the temple of Athene Alea.

67. In the former war, then, the Lacedaemonians
wereunceasingly defeated in their contest with Tegea;
but in the time of Croesus, and the kingship of
Anaxandrides and Ariston at Sparta, the Spartans
had now gained the upper hand; and this is how it
came about. Being always worsted by the Tegeatae,
they sent inquirers to Delphi and asked what god
they should propitiate so as to gain the mastery over
Tegea in war. The Pythian priestess declared that
they must bring home the bones of Orestes son of
Agamemnon. Being unable to discover Orestes’

1 That is, mapping the land out for cultivation.

HERODOTUS

᾽ “ » -π / ’ / \ / a? /

ἀνευρεῖν οὐκ οἷοί τε ἐγίνοντο τὴν θήκην τοῦ Ope-
5) 9) \ > \ » J

στεω, ἔπεμπον αὖτις THY ἐς θεὸν ἐπειρησομένους
a n / >) / ’ na \

τὸν χῶρον ἐν τῷ κέοιτο ᾿Ορέστης. εἰρωτῶσι δὲ

“ Qn ᾿ , e , /
ταῦτα τοῖσι θεοπρόποισι λέγει ἡ Τυθίη τάδε.

“"Kote τις ᾿Αρκαδίης Teyén λευρῷ ἐνὶ χώρῳ,
ἔνθ᾽ ἄνεμοι πνείουσι δύω κρατερῆς ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης,
καὶ τύπος ἀντίτυπος, καὶ πῆμ᾽ ἐπὶ πήματι

κεῖται.
ἔνθ᾽ ᾿Αγαμεμνονίδην κατέχει φυσίζοος aia,
τὸν σὺ κομισσάμενος Teyéns ἐπιτάρροθος ἔσσῃ."

« \ \ a ” e , ΕῚ n
ὡς δὲ Kal ταῦτα ἤκουσαν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, ἀπεῖ-
n > / > \ ” / ͵
χον τῆς ἐξευρέσιος οὐδὲν ἔλασσον, πάντα διζή-
Ὁ \ / a n ,
μενοι, ἐς ov δὴ Atyns τῶν ayaboepyav καλεομέ-
/ 2) nan Ὁ \ >
νων Σπαρτιητέων ἀνεῦρε. οἱ δὲ ἀγαθοεργοὶ εἰσὶ
τῶν ἀστῶν, ἐξιόντες ἐκ τῶν ἱππέων αἰεὶ οἱ
Mf / 7 al an
πρεσβύτατοι, πέντε ἔτεος ἑκάστου" τοὺς δεῖ τοῦ-
δὴ / \ N 7 a
TOV τὸν ἐνιαυτόν, τὸν ἂν ἐξίωσι EK τῶν ἱππέων,
/ a an / SN ip
Σπαρτιητέων τῷ κοινῷ διαπεμπομένους μὴ ἐλινύειν
»,
ἄλλους ἀλλῃ.
O r Z 9 al > lal / > a ΩΣ
68. Τούτων ὧν τῶν ἀνδρῶν Λίχης ἀνεῦρε ἐν
mn / ‘ ΄ ,
Peyen καὶ συντυχίῃ χρησάμενος Kal σοφίῃ. éov-
\ “ \ / ,
σης yap τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον ἐπιμιξίης πρὸς τοὺς
/ }] \ > ΄ a
Τεγεήτας, ἐλθὼν ἐς χαλκήιον ἐθηεῖτο σίδη-
. , \ ΄, >
pov ἐξελαυνόμενον, Kal ἐν θώματι ἣν ὁρέων τὸ
/ Aa δέ € \ >] /
ποιεύμενον. μαθὼν δέ μιν ὁ χαλκεὺς ἀποθωμάζοντα

5 ΄ὔ ree, 6c? ΣΝ Φ a

εἰπε παυσάμενος τοῦ ἔργου “Ἢ κου av, ὦ ξεῖνε
΄ Vv ° / , 7 7 3 ,

Λάκων, el περ εἶδες τό περ ἐγώ, κάρτα ἂν ἐθώ-

ὃο

BOOK I. 67-68

tomb, they sent their messengers again to the god !
to ask of the place where Orestes lay: and the
priestess said in answer to their question:

“‘There is a place, Tegeé, in the level plain of

Arcadia,

Where by stark stress driven twain winds are ever
a-blowing,

Shock makes answer to shock, and anguish is laid
upon anguish.

There in the nourishing earth Agamemnon’s son
lieth buried:

Bring him, and so thou shalt be the lord of the
land of thy foemen.”

When the Lacedaemonians heard this too, they
were no nearer finding what they sought, though
they made search everywhere, till at last Lichas, one
of the Spartans who are called Benefactors, dis-
covered it. These Benefactors are the Spartan citi-
zens who pass out of the ranks of the knights, the
five oldest in each year; for the year in which they
pass out from the knights they are sent on divers
errands by the Spartan state, and must use all
despatch.

68. Lichas, then, one of these men, by good luck
and cleverness found the tomb at Tegea. At that
time there was free intercourse with Tegea; so,
entering a smithy, he watched the forging of iron
and marvelled at the work which he saw. When the
smith perceived that he was much astonished, he
ceased from working, and said, “ Iaconian, you won-
der at the working of iron, but had you seen what

1 τὴν és θεόν, explained as = τὴν ἐς θεὸν ὁδόν. τὴν ἔνθεον

(= the inspired one: after ἐπειρησομένου5) would be an easy
correction. But all MSS. have és θεόν.

HERODOTUS

pages, ὃ ὅκου νῦν οὕτω τυγχάνεις θῶμα ποιεύμενος
τὴν ἐργασίην τοῦ σιδήρου. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐν τῇδε θέ-
λων τῇ αὐλῇ φρέαρ ποιήσασθαι, ὀρύσσων ἐπέ-
τυχον σορῷ ἐπα ἀπτήχεῖ: ὑπὸ δὲ ἀπιστίης μὴ μὲν
γενέσθαι “μηδαμὰ μέζονας ἀνθρώπους τῶν νῦν

ἄνοιξα αὐτὴν. καὶ εἶδον τὸν νεκρὸν μήκεϊ ἴσον
ἐόντα τῇ σορῷ" μετρήσας δὲ συνέχωσα ὀπίσω."
ὃ μὲν δή οἱ ἔλεγε τά περ ὀπώπεε, ὃ δὲ ἐννώσας τὰ
λεγόμενα συνεβάλλετο τὸν ‘Opéotea κατὰ τὸ
θεοπρόπιον τοῦτον εἶναι, τῇδε συμβαλλόμενος"
τοῦ χαλκίος δύο ὁρέων φύσας τοὺς ἀνέμους εὕ-
ρισκε ἐόντας, τὸν δὲ ἄκμονα καὶ τὴν σφῦραν τόν
τε τύπον καὶ τὸν ἀντίτυπον, τὸν δὲ ἐξελαυνόμενον
σίδηρον τὸ πῆμα ἐπὶ πήματι κείμενον, κατὰ TOL-
ὀνδε τι εἰκάζων, ὡς ἐπὶ κακῷ ἀνθρώπου σίδηρος
Es συμβαλόμενος δὲ ταῦτα Kal ἀπελθὼν
ἐς Σπάρτην ἔφραξε Λακεδαιμονίοισι πᾶν τὸ πρῆ-
γμα. οἱ δὲ ἐκ λόγου πλαστοῦ ἐπενείκαντές οἱ
αἰτίην ἐδίωξαν. ὃ δὲ ἀπικόμενος ἐς Τεγέην καὶ
φράζων τὴν ἑωυτοῦ συμφορὴν πρὸς τὸν χαλκέα
ἐμισθοῦτο παρ᾽ οὐκ ἐκδιδόντος τὴν αὐλήν' χρόνῳ
δὲ ὡς ἀνέγνωσε, ἐνοικίσθη, ἀνορύξας δὲ τὸν τάφον
καὶ τὰ ὀστέα συλλέξας οἴχετο φέρων ἐς Σπάρτην.
καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου, ὅκως πειρῴατο ἀλλή-
λων, πολλῷ κατυπέρτεροι τῷ πολέμῳ ἐγίνοντο οἱ
Λακεδαιμόνιοι: ἤδη δέ σφι καὶ ἡ πολλὴ τῆς
Πελοποννήσου ἣν κατεστραμμένη.

69. Ταῦτα δὴ ὦ ὧν πάντα πυνθανόμενος ὁ ο Κροῖ-
σος ἔπεμπε ἐς Σπάρτην ἀγγέλους δῶρά τε φέ-
ροντας καὶ δεησομένους συμμαχίης, ἐντειλάμενός
τε τὰ λέγειν χρῆν. ot δὲ ἐλθόντες ἔλεγον “"Ἐπεμ-
ψε ἡμέας Κροῖσος ὁ Λυδῶν τε καὶ ἄλλων ἐθνέων
82

BOOK I. 68-69

I have seen you would have indeed had somewhat to
marvel at. For I was making me a well in this
courtyard, when in my digging I chanced upon a
coffin seven cubits long. As I could not believe that
there had ever been men taller than those of our time,
I opened the coffin, and found within it the corpse
as long as itself; I measured it, and buried it in
earth again.’”’ So the smith told what he had seen;
Lichas marked what he said, and argued from the
oracle that this must be Orestes, reasoning that the
Smith’s two bellows which he saw were the winds, the
anvil and hammerthe shock and counter-shock, and the
forged iron the anguish laid upon anguish. What led
him so to guess was that the discovery of iron has been
to men’s hurt. Thus he reasoned, and returning to
Sparta told all the matter to the Lacedaemonians.
They made pretence of bringing a charge against him
and banishing him; so he went to Tegea, where he
told the smith of his misfortune, and tried to hire
the courtyard from him. The smith would not con-
sent, but at last Lichas over-persuaded him, and
taking up his abode there, opened the tomb and
collected the bones and went away with them to
Sparta. Ever after this time the Lacedaemonians
got much the better of the men of Tegea in all their
battles ; and they had already subdued the greater
part of the Peloponnesus.

69. Croesus, then, being made aware of all this
sent messengers to Sparta with gifts, to ask an alli-
ance in words with which he charged them. They
came, and said: “ Croesus, King of Lydia and other

HERODOTUS

βασιλεύς, λέγων τάδε. "QO Λακεδαιμόνιοι, χρή-
σαντος τοῦ θεοῦ Tov“ EXAnva φίλον προσθέσθαι,
ὑμέας γὰρ πυνθάνομαι προεστάναι τῆς “Ελλάδος,
ὑμέας ὧν κατὰ τὸ χρηστήριον προσκαλέομαι
φίλος τε θέλων γενέσθαι καὶ σύμμαχος ἄνευ τε
δόλου καὶ ἀπάτης. Κροῖσος μὲν δὴ ταῦτα δι
ἀγγέλων ἐπεκηρυκεύετο, Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἀκη-
KOOTES καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ “θεοπρόπιον τὸ Κροίσῳ γενό-
μενον ἥσθησάν τε τῇ ἀπίξι τῶν Λυδῶν καὶ ἐποιή-
σαντο ὅρκια ξεινίης πέρι καὶ συμμαχίης" καὶ γὰρ
τινὲς αὐτοὺς εὐεργεσίαι εἶχον ἐ ἐκ Κροίσου πρότερον
ἔτι γεγονυῖαι. “πέμψαντες γὰρ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι
ἐς Σάρδις χρυσὸν ὠνέοντο, ἐς ἄγαλμα βουλόμενοι
χρήσασθαι τοῦτο τὸ νῦν τῆς Λακωνικῆς ἐν Θόρ-
νακι ἵδρυται ᾿Απόλλωνος: Κροῖσος δέ σφι ὠνεο-
μένοισι ἔδωκε δωτίνην.

70. Τούτων τε ὧν εἵνεκεν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι τὴν
συμμαχίην ἐδέξαντο, καὶ ὅτι ἐκ πάντων σφέας
προκρίνας “Ἑλλήνων αἱρέετο φίλους. καὶ τοῦτο
μὲν αὐτοὶ ἦσαν ἕτοιμοι ἐπαγγείλαντι, τοῦτο δὲ
ποιησάμενοι κρητῆρα χάλκεον ζῳδίων τε ἔξωθεν
πλήσαντες περὶ τὸ χεῖλος καὶ μεγάθεϊ τριηκοσί-
ous ἀμφορέας χωρέοντα ἦγον, δῶρον βουλόμενοι
ἀντιδοῦναι Κροίσῳ. οὗτος ὁ κρητὴρ οὐκ ἀπίκετο
ἐς Σάρδις &v αἰτίας διφασίας λεγομένας τάσδε: οἱ
μὲν “Λακεδαιμόνιοι λέγουσι ὡς ἐπείτε ἀγόμενος
ἐς τὰς Σάρδις ὁ κρητὴρ ἐγίνετο κατὰ τὴν Σαμίην,
πυθόμενοι Σάμιοι, ἀπελοίατο αὐτὸν νηυσὶ “μακρῇσι
ἐπιπλώσαντες"' αὐτοὶ δὲ Σάμιοι λέγουσι ὡς ἐπείτε
ὑστέρησαν οἱ ἄγοντες τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τὸν
κρητῆρα, ἐπυνθάνοντο δὲ Σάρδις τε καὶ Κροῖσον
ἡλωκέναι, ἀπέδοντο τὸν κρητῆρα ἐν Σάμῳ, ἰδιώτας

BOOK I. 69-70

nations, has sent us with this message: ‘ Lacedae-
monians ! the god has declared that I should make
the Greek my friend ; now, therefore, as 1 learn that
you are the leaders of Hellas, I do so invite you, as
the oracle bids; I would fain be your friend and ally,
without deceit or guile.’ τ Thus Croesus proposed by
the mouth of his messengers: and the Lacedaemon-
ians, who had already heard of the oracle given to
Croesus, welcomed the coming of the Lydians and
swore to be his friends and allies; and indeed they
were bound by certain benefits which they had before
received from the king. For the Lacedaemonians
had sent to Sardis to buy gold, with intent to use
it for the statue of Apollo which now stands on
Thornax? in Laconia; and Croesus, when they would
buy it, made a free gift of it to them.

70. For this cause, and because he had chosen
them as his friends before all other Greeks, the
Lacedaemonians accepted the alliance. So they de-
clared themselves ready to serve him when he should
require, and moreover they made a bowl of bronze,
graven outside round the rim with figures, and large
enough to hold twenty-seven hundred gallons, and
brought it with the intent to make a gift of re-
quital to Croesus. This bowl never came to Sardis,
and for this two reasons are given: the Lacedaemon-
ians say that when the bowl was near Samos on its
way to Sardis, the Samians descended upon them in
warships and carried it off; but the Samians themselves
say that the Lacedaemonians who were bringing the
bowl, being too late, and learning that Sardis and
Croesus were taken, sold itin Samos to certain private

1 A mountain north-east of Sparta, overlooking the
Eurotas valley.

HERODOTUS

δὲ “ἄνδρας πριαμένους ἀναθεῖναί μιν ἐς τὸ Ἥραιον.
τάχα δὲ ἂν καὶ οἱ ἀποδόμενοι λέγοιεν ἀπικόμενοι
ἐς Σπάρτην ἃ ὡς ἀπαιρεθείησαν ὑ ὑπὸ Σαμίων. κατὰ
μέν νυν τὸν κρητῆρα οὕτω ἔσχε.

ἯΙ: Κροῖσος δὲ ἁμαρτὼν τοῦ χρησμοῦ ἐποιέετο
στρατηίην ἐς Καππαδοκίην, ἐλπίσας καταιρήσειν
Κῦρόν τε καὶ τὴν Περσέων δύναμιν. παρασκευα-
ζομένου δὲ Κροίσου στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ ἸΠέρσας,
τῶν τις Λυδῶν νομιζόμενος καὶ πρόσθε εἶναι
σοφός, ἀπὸ δὲ ταύτης τῆς γνώμης καὶ τὸ κάρτα
οὔνομα ἐν Λυδοῖσι ἔχων, συνεβούλευσε Κροίσῳ
τάδε: οὔνομά οἱ ἣν Σάνδανις. ‘OQ, βασιλεῦ, ἐπ᾽
ἄνδρας τοιούτους στρατεύεσθαι παρασκευάζεαι,
of σκυτίνας μὲν ἀναξυρίδας σκυτίνην δὲ τὴν ἄλλην
ἐσθῆτα φορέουσι, σιτέονται δὲ οὐκ ὅσα ἐθέλουσι
ἀλλ᾽ ὅσα ἔχουσι, χώρην ἔχοντες τρηχέαν. πρὸς
δὲ οὐκ οἴνῳ διαχρέωνται ἀλλὰ ὑδροποτέουσι, οὐ
σῦκα δὲ ἔχουσι τρώγειν, οὐκ ἄλλο ἀγαθὸν οὐδέν.
τοῦτο μὲν δή, εἰ νικήσεις, τί σφέας ἀπαιρήσεαι,
τοῖσί γε μὴ ἔστι μηδέν; τοῦτο δέ, ἢν νικηθῇς,
μάθε ὅσα ἀγαθὰ ἀποβαλέεις: γευσάμενοι yap
τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀγαθῶν περιέξονται οὐδὲ ἀπωστοὶ
ἔσονται. ἐγὼ μέν νυν θεοῖσι ἔχω χάριν, οἱ οὐκ
ἐπὶ νόον ποιέουσι Πέρσῃσι στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ
Λυδούς." ταῦτα “λέγων οὐκ ἔπειθε τὸν Κροῖσον.
Πέρσῃσι γάρ, πρὶν Λυδοὺς καταστρέψασθαι, ἢ ἦν
οὔτε ἁβρὸν οὔτε ἀγαθὸν οὐδέν.

Πι ὐοδὲ Καππαδόκαι ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων Σύριοι
ὀνομάζονται" ἦσαν δὲ οἱ Σύριοι οὗτοι τὸ μὲν
πρότερον ἢ Πέρσας ἄρξαι Μήδων κατήκοοι, τότε
δὲ Κύρου. ὁ yao οὖρος ἣν τῆς τε Μηδικῆς ἀρχῆς

BOOK I. 70-72

men, who set it up in the the temple of Here. And
it may be that the sellers of the bowl, when they re-
turned to Sparta, said that they had been robbed of
it by the Samians. Such are the tales about the
bowl.

71. Croesus, mistaking the meaning of the oracle,
invaded Cappadocia, thinking to destroy Cyrus and
the Persian power. But while he was preparing to
march against the Persians, a certain Lydian, who
was already held to be a wise man, and from the ad-
vice which he now gave won great renown among
the Lydians, thus counselled him (his name was
Sandanis): “O King, you are making ready to march
against men who wear breeches of leather and their
other garments of the same, and whose fare is not
what they desire but what they have; for their land
is stony. Further they use no wine, but are water-
drinkers, nor have they figs to eat, nor aught else
that is good. Now if you conquer them, of what
will you deprive them, seeing that they have nothing ?
But if on the other hand you are conquered, then see
how many good things you will lose; for once they
have tasted of our blessings they will cling so close
to them that nothing will thrust them away. For
myself, then, I thank the gods that they do not
put it in the hearts of the Persians to march
against the Lydians.” Thus spoke Sandanis; for
the Persians, before they subdued the Lydians, had
no luxury and no comforts; but he did not move
Croesus.

72. Now the Cappadocians are called by the
Greeks Syrians, and these Syrians before the Per-
sian rule were subjects of the Medes, and, at this
time, of Cyrus. For the boundary of the Median

HERODOTUS

Kat τῆς Δυδικῆς ὁ Αλυς ποταμος, ὃς ῥέει ἐξ
᾿Δρμενίου ὄρεος διὰ Κιλίκων, μετὰ δὲ Ματιηνοὺς
μὲν ἐν δεξιῇ ἔχει ῥέων," ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ἑτέρου Φρύγας"
παραμειβόμενος δὲ τούτους καὶ ῥέων ἄνω πρὸς
βορέην ἄνεμον ἔνθεν μὲν Συρίους Καππαδόκας
ἀπέργει, ἐξ εὐωνύμου δὲ Παφλαγόνας. οὕτω ὁ
“Aldus ποταμὸς ἀποτώμνει σχεδὸν πάντα τῆς
᾿Ασίης τὰ κάτω ἐκ θαλάσσης τῆς ἀντίον Κύπρου
ἐς τὸν Εὔξεινον πόντον. ἔστι δὲ αὐχὴν οὗτος
τῆς χώρης ταύτης ἁπάσης" μῆκος ὁδοῦ εὐζώνῳ
ἀνδρὶ πέντε ἡμέραι ἀναισιμοῦνται.

73. ᾿Εστρατεύετο δὲ ὁ Κροῖσος ἐπὶ τὴν Καππα-
δοκίην τῶνδε εἵνεκα, καὶ γῆς ἱμέρῳ προσκτήσασθαι
πρὸς τὴν ἑωυτοῦ μοῖραν βουλόμενος, καὶ μάλιστα
τῷ χρηστηρίῳ πίσυνος ἐὼν καὶ τίσασθαι θέλων
ὑπὲρ ᾿Αστυάγεος Κῦρον. ᾿Αστυάγεα γὰρ τὸν
Κυαξάρεω, ἐόντα Κροίσου μὲν γαμβρὸν Μήδων
δὲ βασιλέα, Κῦρος ὁ Καμβύσεω καταστρεψάμενος
εἶχε, γενόμενον γαμβρὸν Κροίσῳ ὧδε. Σκυθέων
τῶν νομάδων εἴλη ἀνδρῶν στασιάσασα ὑπεξῆλθε
ἐς γῆν τὴν Μηδικήν' ἐτυράννευε δὲ τὸν χρόνον
τοῦτον ΡΩΝ Κυαξαρης ὁ 0 Φραόρτεω. τοῦ Δηιόκεω,
ὃς τοὺς Σκύθας τούτους τὸ μὲν πρῶτον περιεῖπε
εὖ ὡς ἐόντας ikeTas: ὥστε δὲ περὶ πολλοῦ ποιεό-
μενος αὐτούς, παῖδάς σφι παρέδωκε τὴν γλῶσσάν
τε ἐκμαθεῖν καὶ τὴν τέχνην τῶν τόξων. χρόνου δὲ
γενομένου, καὶ αἰεὶ φοιτεόντων τῶν Σκυθέων ἐπ᾽
ἄγρην καὶ αἰεί τι φερόντων, καί κοτε συνήνεικε
ἑλεῖν σφεας μηδέν: νοστήσαντας δὲ αὐτοὺς κεινῇσι

1 τῆς ᾿Ασίης τὰ κάτα means here and elsewhere in Hdt. the
western part of Asia, west of the Halys (Kizil Irmak). The

BOOK I. 72-73

and Lydian empires was the river Halys; which
flows from the Armenian mountains first through
Cilicia and afterwards between the Matieni on the
right and the Phrygians on the other hand; then
passing these and flowing still northwards it separates
the Cappadocian Syrians on the right from the Paph-
lagonians on the left. Thus the Halys river cuts
off wellnigh the whole of the lower part of Asia,
from the Cyprian to the Euxine sea. Here is the
narrowest neck of all this land; the length of the
journey across is five days, for a man going un-
burdened.}

73. The reasons of Croesus’ expedition against
Cappadocia were these: he desired to gain territory
in addition to his own share, and (these were the chief
causes) he trusted the oracle, and wished to avenge
Astyages on Cyrus; for Cyrus, son of Cambyses, bad
subdued Astyages and held him ἴῃ subjection.
Now Astyages, king of Media, son of Cyaxares, was
Croesus’ brother-in-law: and this is how he came to
be so. A tribe of wandering Scythians separated
itself from the rest, and escaped into Median terri-
tory. This was then ruled by Cyaxares, son of
Phraortes, son of Deioces. Cyaxares at first treated
the Scythians kindly, as being suppliants for his
mercy ; and as he held them in high regard he en-
trusted boys to their charge to be taught their
language and the craft of archery. As time went
on, it chanced that the Scythians, who were wont to
go hunting and ever to bring something back, once
had taken nothing, and when they returned
width from sea to sea of the αὐχήν is obviously much under
estimated by Hdt., as also by later writers; the actual dis-

tance at the narrowest part is about 280 miles as the crow
flies ; much more than a five days’ march.
89

HERODOTUS

χερσὶ ὁ Κυαξάρης (ἦν γάρ, ὡς διέδεξε, ὀργὴν
ἄκρος) τρηχέως κάρτα περιέσπε ἀεικείῃ. οἱ δὲ
ταῦτα πρὸς Κυαξάρεω παθόντες, ὥστε ἀνάξια
σφέων αὐτῶν πεπονθότες, ἐβούλευσαν τῶν παρὰ
σφίσι διδασκομένων. παίδων ἕνα κατακόψαι,
σκευάσαντες δὲ αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ἐώθεσαν καὶ τὰ
θηρία σκευάζειν, Κυαξάρῃ δοῦναι φέροντες ὡς
ἄγρην δῆθεν, δόντες δὲ τὴν ταχίστην κομίζεσθαι
παρὰ ᾿Αλυάττεα τὸν Σαδυάττεω ἐς Σάρδις. ταῦτα
καὶ ἐγένετο: καὶ γὰρ Κυαξάρης καὶ οἱ παρεόντες
δαιτυμόνες τῶν κρεῶν τούτων ἐπάσαντο, καὶ οἱ
Σκύθαι ταῦτα ποιήσαντες ᾿Αλυάττεω ἱκέται
ἐγένοντο.

74. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὁ ᾿Αλυάττης
ἐξεδίδου τοὺς Σκύθας ἐξαιτέοντι Κυαξάρῃ, πόλε-
μος τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι καὶ τοῖσι Μήδοισι ἐγεγόνεε ἐπ᾽
ἔτεα πέντε, ἐν τοῖσι πολλάκις μὲν οἱ Μῆδοι τοὺς
Λυδοὺς ἐνίκησαν, πολλάκις δὲ οἱ Λυδοὶ τοὺς
Μήδους, ἐν δὲ καὶ νυκτομαχίην τινὰ ἐποιήσαντο"
διαφέρουσι δέ σφι ἐπὶ ἴσης τὸν πόλεμον τῷ ἕκτῳ
ἔτεϊ συμβολῆς ,Ὑενομένης συνήνεικε ὥστε ,τῆς
μάχης συνεστεώσης τὴν ἡμέρην ἐξαπίνης νύκτα
γενέσθαι. τὴν δὲ μεταχλαγὴν ταύτην τῆς ἡμέρης
Θαλῆς ὁ , Μιλήσιος τοῖσι Ἴωσι προηγόρευσε
ἔσεσθαι, οὖρον προθέμενος ἐνιαυτὸν τοῦτον ἐν τῷ
δὴ καὶ ἐγένετο, ἡ μεταβολή. οἱ δὲ Λυδοί τε καὶ
οἱ Μῆδοι ἐπείτε εἶδον νύκτα ἀντὶ ἡμέρης γενο-
μένην, τῆς μάχης τε ἐπαύσαντο καὶ μᾶλλόν τι
ἔσπευσαν καὶ ἀμφότεροι εἰρήνην ἑωυτοῖσι γενέσθαι.

1 All evidence, historical and astronomical, fixes the date
of this eclipse as Μ ay 28,585 8B.c. There was “another eclipse
of the sun in Alyattes’ reign, on Sept. 30, 610; but it appears

BOOK I. 73-74

empty-handed, Cyaxares (being, as hereby appeared,
prone to anger) treated them very roughly and
despitefully. The Scythians, deeming themselves
wronged by the usage they had from Cyaxares, plot-
ted to take one of the boys who were their pupils
and cut him in pieces, then, dressing the flesh as
they were wont to dress the animals which they
killed, to bring and give it to Cyaxares as if it were
the spoils of the chase ; and after that, to make their
way with all speed to Alyattes son of Sadyattes at
Sardis. All this they did. Cyaxares and the guests
who feasted with him ate of the boy’s flesh, and the
Scythians, having done as they planned, fled to
Alyattes for protection.

14. After this, seeing that Alyattes would not give
up the Scythians to Cyaxares at his demand, there was
war between the Lydians and the Medes for five
years; each won many victories over the other, and
once they fought a battle by night. They were still
warring with equal success, when it chanced, at an en-
counter which happened in the sixth year, that during
the battle the day was suddenly turned to night.
Thales of Miletus had foretold this loss of daylight to
the Ionians, fixing it within the year in which the
change did indeed happen.1 So when the Lydians
and Medes saw the day turned to night they ceased
from fighting, and both were the more zealous to make

that this latter was not total in Asia Minor: and Pliny’s
mention of the phenomenon places it in the 170th year from
the foundation of Rome. Thales died at an advanced age
in 548 B.C.

ΟΙ

HERODOTUS

of δὲ συμβιβάσαντες αὐτοὺς ἦσαν οἵδε, Συέννεσίς
τε ὁ Κίλιξ καὶ Λαβύνητος ὁ Βαβυλώνιος. οὗτοί
σφι καὶ τὸ ὅρκιον οἱ σπεύσαντες γενέσθαι 7 ἦσαν
καὶ γάμων ἐπαλλαγὴν ἐποίησαν' ᾿Αλυάττεα γὰρ
ἔγνωσαν δοῦναι τὴν θυγατέρα ᾿Αρύηνιν ᾿Αστυάγεϊ
τῷ Κυαξάρεω παιδί: ἄνευ γὰρ ἀναγκαίης ἰσχυρῆς
συμβάσιες i ἰσχυραὶ οὐκ ἐθέλουσι συμμένειν. ὅρκια
δὲ ποιέεται ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνεα τά πέρ τε “Ἕλληνες,
καὶ πρὸς τούτοισι, ἐπεὰν τοὺς βραχίονας ἐπιτά-
μωνται ἐς τὴν ὁμοχροίην, τὸ αἷμα ἀναλείχουσι
ἀλλήλων.

75. Τοῦτον δὴ ὧν τὸν ᾿Αστυάγεα Κῦρος ἐόντα
ἑωυτοῦ μητροπάτορα, καταστρεψάμενος ἔσχε δι᾽
αἰτίην τὴν ἐγὼ ἐν τοῖσι ὀπίσω λόγοισι σημανέω"
τὰ Κροῖσος ἐπιμεμφόμενος τῷ Κύρῳ. ἔς τε τὰ
χρηστήρια ἔπεμπε εἰ στρατεύηται ἐπὶ "]έρσας,
καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀπικομένου χρησμοῦ κιβδήλου, ἐλπίσας

\ 3
πρὸς ἑωυτοῦ τὸν “χρησμὸν εἶναι, ἐστρατεύετο ἐς
τὴν Περσέων. μοῖραν. ὡς δὲ ἀπίκετο ἐπὶ τὸν
“Ahoy ποταμὸν ὁ Κροῖσος, τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν, ὡς μὲν
ἐγὼ λέγω, κατὰ τὰς ἐούσας γεφύρας διεβίβασε
τὸν στρατόν, ὡς δὲ ὁ πολλὸς λόγος Ελλήνων,
Θαλῆς οἱ ὁ Μιλήσιος διεβίβασε. ἀπορέοντος γὰρ
Κροίσου ὅκως οἱ διαβήσεται τὸν ποταμὸν ὁ
στρατός (οὐ γὰρ δὴ εἶναί κω τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον
τὰς γεφύρας ταύτας) λέγεται παρεόντα τὸν Θαλῆν
ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ποιῆσαι αὐτῷ τὸν ποταμὸν ἐξ
ἀριστερῆς χειρὸς ῥέοντα τοῦ στρατοῦ καὶ ἐκ δεξιῆς
ῥέειν, ποιῆσαι δὲ ὧδε" ἄνωθεν τοῦ στρατοπέδου
ἀρξάμενον διώρυχα βαθέαν ὀρύσσειν, ἄγοντα
μηνοειδέα, ὅκως ἂν τὸ “στρατόπεδον ἱδρυμένον
κατὰ νώτου λάβοι, ταύτῃ κατὰ τὴν διώρυχα

BOOK lI. 74-75

peace. Those who reconciled them were Syennesis
the Cilician and Labynetus the Babylonian ; they it
was who brought it about that there should be a
sworn agreement and an exchange of wedlock be-
tween them : they adjudged that Alyattes should give
his daughter Aryenis to Astyages, son of Cyaxares;
for without a strong bond agreements will not keep
their strength. These nations make sworn compacts
as do the Greeks ; moreover, they cut the skin of
their arms and lick each other’s blood.

75. This Astyages then was Cyrus’ mother’s father,
and was by him subdued and held subject for the
reason which I shall presently declare. Having this
cause of quarrel with Cyrus, Croesus sent to ask the
oracles if he should march against the Persians ; and
when a quibbling answer came he thought it to be
favourable to him, and so led his army to the Persian
territory. When he came to the river Halys, he trans-
ported his army across it,—by the bridges, as I hold,
which then were there ; but the general belief of the
Greeks is that the army was cz «ried across by Thales of
Miletus. This is the story: As the bridges aforesaid
did not then yet exist, Croesus knew not how his
army should pass the river: then Thales, being in
the encampment, made the river, which flowed on
the left hand, flow also on the right of the army in
the following way. Starting from a point on the river
higher up than the camp, he dug a deep semicircular
trench, so that the stream, turned from its ancient
course, should flow in the trench to the rear of the

HERODOTUS

ἐκτραπόμενος ἐκ τῶν ἀρχαίων ῥεέθρων, καὶ αὗτις
παραμειβόμενος τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐς τὰ ἀρχαῖα
ἐσβάλλοι: ὥστε ἐπείτε καὶ ἐσχίσθη τάχιστα ὁ
ποταμός, ἀμφοτέρῃ διαβατὸς ἐγένετο. οἱ δὲ καὶ
τὸ παράπαν λέγουσι καὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον ῥέεθρον
ἀποξηρανθῆναι. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐ προσίεμαι"
κῶς γὰρ ὀπίσω πορευόμενοι διέβησαν αὐτόν;

76. Κροῖσος δὲ ἐπείτε διαβὰς σὺν τῷ στρατῷ
ἀπίκετο τῆς Καππαδοκίης ἐς τὴν Πτερίην καλεο-
μένην (ἡ δὲ Πτερίη ἐστὶ τῆς χώρης ταύτης τὸ
ἰσχυρότατον, κατὰ Σινώπην πόλιν τὴν ἐν Evéeive
πόντῳ μάλιστά κῃ κειμένη), ἐνθαῦτα ἐστρατο-
πεδεύετο φθείρων τῶν Συρίων τοὺς κλήρους: καὶ
εἷλε μὲν τῶν Πτερίων τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἠνδραποδί-
σατο, εἷλε δὲ τὰς “περιοικίδας αὐτῆς πάσας,
Συρίους τε οὐδὲν ἐόντας αἰτίους ἀναστάτους
ἐποίησε. Κῦρος δὲ ἀγείρας τὸν ἑωυτοῦ στρατὸν
καὶ παραλαβὼν τοὺς μεταξὺ οἰκέοντας πάντας
ἠντιοῦτο Κροίσῳ. πρὶν δὲ ἐξελαύνειν ὁρμῆσαι
τὸν στρατόν, πέμψας κήρυκας ἐς τοὺς Ἴωνας ἐπει-
ρᾶτο σφέας ἀπὸ Κροίσου ἀπιστάναι. “Iwves μέν
νυν οὐκ ἐπείθοντο" Κῦρος δὲ ὡς ἀπίκετο καὶ
ἀντεστρατοπεδεύσατο Κροίσῳ, ἐνθαῦτα ἐν τῇ
Πτερίῃ χώρῃ ἐπειρῶντο κατὰ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν ἀλλή-
λων. μάχης δὲ καρτερῆς γενομένης καὶ πεσόντων
ἀμφοτέρων πολλῶν, τέλος οὐδέτεροι νικήσαντες
διέστησαν νυκτὸς ἐπελθούσης. καὶ τὰ μὲν στρατό-
πεδα ἀμφότερα οὕτω ἠγωνίσατο.

ΤΙ: Κροῖσος δὲ μεμφθεὶς κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τὸ
ἑωυτοῦ στράτευμα (ἣν γάρ οἱ ὁ συμβαλὼν στρατὸς
πολλὸν ἐλάσσων ἢ ὁ Κύρου), τοῦτο μεμφθείς, ὡς

1 [τὸ] Stein.
94

BOOK I. 75-77

camp, and, again passing it, should issue into its
former bed, so that, as soon as the river was thus
divided into two, both channels could be forded.
Some even say that the ancient channel was al-
together dried up. But I do not believe this; for
how then did they pass the river when they were
returning ?

76. Croesus then passing over with his army came
to the part of Cappadocia called Pteria (it is the
strongest part of this country and lies nearest to the
city of Sinope on the Euxine sea), where he encamped,
and laid waste the farms of the Syrians ; and he took
and enslaved the city of the Pterians, and took also
all the places about it, and drove the Syrians from
their homes, though they had done him no harm.
Cyrus, mustering his army, and gathering to him all
those who dwelt upon his way, went to meet Croesus.
But before beginning his march he sent heralds to
the Ionians to try to draw them away from Croesus,
The Ionians would not be persuaded; but when
Cyrus had come, and encamped face to face with
Croesus, the armies made trial of each other’s
strength with might and main in the Pterian country.
The battle was stubborn; many on both sides fell,
and when they were parted at nightfall neither had
the advantage. With such fortune did the two
armies contend.

77. Croesus was not content with the number of
his force, for his army which had fought was by far
smaller than that of Cyrus; therefore, seeing that on

HERODOTUS

τῇ ὑστεραίῃ οὐκ ἐπειρᾶτο ἐπιὼν ὁ Κῦρος, ἀπή-
λαυνε ἐς τὰς Σάρδις, ἐν νόῳ ἔχων παρακαλέσας
μὲν Αἰγυπτίους κατὰ τὸ ὅρκιον (ἐποιήσατο γὰρ

\ \ " ΄ δον 7
καὶ πρὸς ἼΔΑμασιν βασιλεύοντα Αἰγύπτου συμ-
μαχίην πρότερον ἤ περ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους)»
μεταπεμψάμενος δὲ καὶ Βαβυλωνίους (καὶ γὰρ
πρὸς τούτους αὐτῷ ἐπεποίητο συμμαχίη, ἐτυράν-
νευε δὲ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον τῶν Βαβυλωνίων
Λαβύνητος), ἐπαγγείλας δὲ καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοισι
παρεῖναι ἐς χρόνον ῥητόν, ἁλίσας τε δὴ τούτους
καὶ τὴν ἑωυτοῦ συλλέξας στρατιὴν ἐνένωτο, τὸν
χειμῶνα παρείς, ἅμα τῷ ἔαρι στρατεύειν ἐπὶ τοὺς
Πέρσας. καὶ ὃ μὲν ταῦτα φρονέων, ὡς ἀπίκετο
ἐς τὰς Σάρδις, ἔπεμπε κήρυκας κατὰ τὰς συμ-
μαχίας προερέοντας ἐς πέμπτον μῆνα συλλέγεσθαι
ἐς Σάρδις: τὸν δὲ παρεόντα καὶ μαχεσάμενον
στρατὸν Πέρσῃσι, ὃς ἦν αὐτοῦ ἕξεινικός, πάντα
ἀπεὶς διεσκέδασε οὐδαμὰ ἐλπίσας μή κοτε ἄρα
ἀγωνισάμενος οὕτω παραπλησίως Κῦρος ἐλάσῃ
ἐπὶ Σάρδις.

78. Ταῦτα ἐπιλεγομένῳ ἹΚροίσῳ τὸ προάστειον
πᾶν ὀφίων ἐνεπλήσθη: φανέντων δὲ αὐτῶν, οἱ
ἵπποι μετιέντες τὰς νομὰς νέμεσθαι φοιτέοντες
κατήσθιον. ἰδόντι δὲ τοῦτο Κροίσῳ, ὥσπερ καὶ
ἦν, ἔδοξε τέρας εἶναι" αὐτίκα δὲ ἔπεμπε θεοπρό-
Tous ἐς τῶν ἐξηγητέων Τελμησσέων. ἀπικομέ-
νοίσι δὲ τοῖσι θεοπρόποισι καὶ μαθοῦσι πρὸς Τελ-
μησσέων τὸ θέλει σημαίνειν τὸ τέρας, οὐκ ἐξεγέ-
veto Κροίσῳ ἀπαγγεῖλαι: πρὶν γὰρ ἢ ὀπίσω

BOOK I. 77-78

the day after the battle Cyrus essayed no second
attack, he marched away to Sardis, intending to invite
help from the Egyptians in fulfilment of their pledge
(for before making an alliance with the Lacedaemon-
ians he had made one also with Amasis king of Egypt),
and to send for the Babylonians also (for with these
too he had made an alliance, Labynetus being at this
time their sovereign), and to summon the Lacedae-
monians to join him ata fixed time. It was in his
mind to muster all these forces and assemble his own
army, then to wait till the winter was over and march
against the Persians at the beginning of spring.
With such intent, as soon as he returned to Sardis,
he sent heralds to all his allies, summoning them to
assemble at Sardis in five months’ time; and as for
the soldiers whom he had with him, who had fought
with the Persians, all of them who were not of his
nation he disbanded, never thinking that after so
equal an issue of the contest Cyrus would march
against Sardis.

78. Thus Croesus reasoned. Meantime it chanced
that snakes began to swarm in the outer part of the
city ; and when they appeared the horses would ever
leave their accustomed pasture and devour them.
When Croesus saw this he thought it to be a portent,
and soit was. Forthwith he sent to the abodes of the
Telmessian interpreters,! to inquire concerning it ;
but though his messengers came and learnt from the
Telmessians what the portent should signify, they
could never bring back word to Croesus, for he was

1 These were a caste of priests of Apollo at Telmessus or
Telmissus in Lycia. τῶν ἐξηγητέων Τελμησσέων is contrary
to Greek usage, ἐξηγ. being a substantive: Stein suggests
that the true reading may be Τελμησσέων τῶν ἐξηγητέων.

HERODOTUS

σφέας ἀναπλῶσαι ἐς Tas Σάρδις ἥλω ὁ Kpoicos.
Τελμησσέες μέντοι τάδε ἔγνωσαν, στρατὸν ἀλλό-
θροον προσδόκιμον εἶναι Κροίσῳ ἐπὶ τὴν χώρην,
ἀπικόμενον δὲ τοῦτον καταστρέψεσθαι τοὺς ἐπι:
χωρίους, λέγοντες ὄφιν εἶναι γῆς παῖδα, ἵ ἵππον δὲ
πολέμιόν τε καὶ ἐπήλυδα. Τελμησσέες μέν νυν
ταῦτα ὑπεκρίναντο Κροίσῳ ἤδη ἡλωκότι, οὐδέν
κω εἰδότες τῶν ἦν περὶ Σάρδις τε καὶ αὐτὸν
Κροῖσον.

19. Κῦρος δὲ αὐτίκα ἀπελαύνοντος Κροίσου
μετὰ τὴν μάχην τὴν γενομένην ἐν τῇ Πτερίῃ,
μαθὼν ὡς ἀπελάσας μέλλοι Κροῖσος διασκεδᾶν
τὸν στρατόν, βουλευόμενος εὕρισκε πρῆγμά οἵ
εἶναι ἐλαύνειν ὡς δύναιτο τάχιστα ἐπὶ τὰς Σάρδις,
πρὶν ἢ τὸ δεύτερον ἁλισθῆναι τῶν Λυδῶν τὴν δύ-
ναμιν. ὡς δέ οἱ ταῦτα ἔδοξε, καὶ ἐποίεε κατὰ
τάχος" ἐλάσας γὰρ τὸν στρατὸν ἐς τὴν Λυδίην
αὐτὸς ἄγγελος Κροίσῳ ἐληλύθεε. ἐνθαῦτα Kpoi-
σος ἐς ἀπορίην πολλὴν ἀπιγμένος, ὥς οἱ παρὰ
δόξαν ἔσχε τὰ πρήγματα ἢ ὡς αὐτὸς κατεδόκεε,
ὅμως τοὺς Λυδοὺς ἐξῆγε ἐς μάχην. ἣν δὲ τοῦτον
τὸν χρόνον ἔθνος οὐδὲν ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίῃ οὔτε ἀνδρηιό-
τερον οὔτε ἀλκιμώτερον τοῦ Λυδίου. ἡ δὲ μάχη
σφέων ἢ ἦν ἀπ᾽ ἵππων, δόρατά τε ἐφόρεον μεγάλα,
καὶ αὐτοὶ ἦσαν ἱππεύεσθαι ἀγαθοί.

80. ‘Es τὸ πεδίον δὲ συνελθόντων τοῦτο τὸ πρὸ
τοῦ ἄστεος ἐστὶ τοῦ Σαρδιηνοῦ, ἐ ἐὸν μέγα τε καὶ
ψιλόν (διὰ δὲ αὐτοῦ ποταμοὶ ῥέοντες καὶ ἄλλοι
καὶ λλος συρρηγνῦσι ἐς τὸν μέγιστον, καλεό-
μενον δὲ Ἕρμον, ὃς ἐξ ὄρεος ἱροῦ μητρὸς Δινδυ-
μήνης ῥέων ἐκδιδοῖ ἐς θάλασσαν κατὰ Φωκαίην
πόλιν), ἐνθαῦτα ὁ Κῦρος ὡς εἶδε τοὺς Λυδοὺς ἐς
98

BOOK I. 78-80

a prisoner before they could make their voyage back
to Sardis. Howbeit, this was the judgment of the
Telmessians—that Croesus must expect a foreign
army to attack his country, and that when it came it
would subdue the dwellers in the land: for the snake,
they said, was the child of the earth, but the horse
was a foe and a foreigner. Such was the answer
which the Telmessians gave Croesus, knowing as yet
nothing of the fate of Sardis and the king himself;
but when they gave it Croesus was already taken.

79. When Croesus marched away after the battle
in the Pterian country, Cyrus, learning that Croesus
had gone with intent to disband his army, took coun-
sel and perceived thereby that it was his business to
march with all speed against Sardis, before the power
of the Lydians could again be assembled. So he re-
solved and so he did speedily; he marched his army
into Lydia and so himself came to bring the news of
it to Croesus. All had turned out contrariwise to
Croesus’ expectation, and he was in a great quandary;
nevertheless, he led out the Lydians to battle. Now
at this time there was no nation in Asia more valiant
or warlike than the Lydian. It was their custom to
fight on horseback, carrying long spears, and they
were skilled in the management of horses.

80. So the armies met in the plain, wide and bare,
which is before the city of Sardis: the Hyllusand other
rivers flow across it and rush violently together into
the greatest of them, which is called Hermus (this
flows from the mountain sacred to the Mother Dindy-
mene! and issues into the sea near the city of Pho-
caea). Here when Cyrus saw the Lydians arraying

1 Identified with the Phrygian and Lydian goddess
Cybele.

HERODOTUS

μάχην τασσομένους, καταρρωδήσας τὴν ἵππον
ἐποίησε ᾿Αρπάγου ὑποθεμένου ἀνδρὸς Μήδου
τοιόνδε' ὅσαι τῷ στρατῷ τῷ ἑωυτοῦ εἵποντο
σιτοφόροι TE καὶ σκευοφόροι κάμηλοι, ταύτας πά-
σας ἁλίσας καὶ ἀπελὼν τὰ ἄχθεα ἄνδρας ἐπ᾽
αὐτὰς ἀνέβησε ἱππάδα στολὴν ᾿ἐνεσταλμένους,
σκευάσας δὲ αὐτοὺς προσέταξε THS ἄλλης στρα-
τιῆς προϊέναι πρὸς τὴν Κροίσου ἵππον, τῇ δὲ
καμήλῳ ἕπεσθαι τὸν πεζὸν στρατὸν ἐκέλευσε,
ὄπισθε δὲ τοῦ πεζοῦ ἐπέταξε τὴν πᾶσαν ἵππον.
ὡς δέ οἱ πάντες διετετάχατο, παραίνεσε τῶν μὲν
ἄλλων Λυδῶν μὴ φειδομένους κτείνειν πάντα τὸν
ἐμποδὼν γινόμενον, Κροῖσον δὲ αὐτὸν μὴ κτείνειν,
μηδὲ ἣν συλλαμβανόμενος ἀμύνηται. ταῦτα μὲν
παραίνεσε, τὰς δὲ καμήλους ἔταξε ἀντία τῆς ἵπ-
που τῶνδε εἵνεκεν: κάμηλον ἵππος φοβέεται, καὶ
οὐκ ἀνέχεται οὔτε τὴν ἰδέην αὐτοῦ ὁρέων οὔτε
τὴν ὀδμὴν ὀσφραινόμενος. αὐτοῦ δὴ ὧν τούτου
εἵνεκεν ἐσεσόφιστο, ἵνα τῷ Κροίσῳ ἄχρηστον ἢ
τὸ ἱππικόν, τῷ δή τι καὶ ἐπεῖχε ἐλλάμψεσθαι ὁ
Λυδός. ὡς δὲ καὶ συνήισαν ἐς τὴν μάχην, ἐν-
θαῦτα ὡς ὥσφραντο τάχιστα τῶν καμήλων οἱ
ἵπποι καὶ εἶδον αὐτάς, ὀπίσω ἀνέστρεφον, διέ-
φθαρτό τε τῷ Κροίσῳ ἡ ἐλπίς. οὐ μέντοι οἵ ye
Λυδοὶ τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν δειλοὶ ἦσαν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἔμαθον τὸ
γινόμενον, ἀποθορόντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων πεζοὶ
τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι συνέβαλλον. χρόνῳ δὲ πεσόντων
ἀμφοτέρων πολλῶν ἐτράποντο οἱ Λυδοί, κατειλη-
θέντες δὲ ἐς τὸ τεῖχος ἐπολιορκέοντο ὑπὸ τῶν
Περσέων.

81. Τοῖσι μὲν δὴ κατεστήκεε πολιορκίη. Κροῖ-
σος δὲ δοκέων οἱ χρόνον ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἔσεσθαι τὴν

100

BOOK I. 80-81

their battle, he was afraid of their horse, and there-
fore did as I will show by the counsel of one Har-
pagus, a Mede. Assembling all the camels that
tollowed his army bearing food and baggage, he took
off their burdens and set men upon them equipped
like cavalrymen; having so equipped them he
ordered them to advance before his army against
Croesus’ horse; he charged the infantry to follow
the camels, and set all his horse behind the infantry.
When they were all arrayed, he commanded them to
kill all other Lydians who came in their way, and
spare none, but not to kill Croesus himself, even if he
should defend himself against capture. Such was his
command. The reason of his posting the camels to
face the cavalry was this: horses fear camels and can
endure neither the sight nor the smell of them; this
then was the intent of his device, that Croesus’
cavalry, on which the Lydian relied for the winning
of some glory, might be of no use. So when battle
was joined, as soon as the horses smelt and saw the
camels they turned to flight, and all Croesus’ hope
was lost. Nevertheless the Lydians were no cowards ;
when they saw what was happening they leaped from
their horses and fought the Persians on foot. Many
of both armies fell; at length the Lydians were
routed and driven within their city wall, where they
were besieged by the Persians.

81. So then they were beleaguered. But Croesus,
supposing that the siege would last a long time, sent

Iol

HERODOTUS

πολιορκίην ἔπεμπε ἐκ τοῦ τείχεος ἄλλους ἀγγέ-
λους ἐς τὰς συμμαχίας" οἱ μὲν γὰρ πρότεροι
διεπέμποντο ἐς πέμπτον “μῆνα προερέοντες συλ-
λέγεσθαι ἐς Σάρδις, τούτους δὲ ἐξέπεμπε τὴν
ταχίστην δέεσθαι βοηθέειν ὡς πολιορκεομένου
Κροίσου.

82. Ἔς τε δὴ ὧν τὰς ἄλλας ἔπεμπε συμμαχίας
καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐς Λακεδαίμονα. τοῖσι δὲ καὶ αὐτοῖσι
τοῖσι Σπαρτιήτησι κατ᾽ αὐτὸν τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον
συνεπεπτώκεε ἔρις ἐοῦσα πρὸς ᾿Αργείους περὶ
χώρου καλεομένου Θυρέης: τὰς γὰρ Θυρέας ταύ-
τᾶς ἐούσας τῆς ᾿Αργολίδος μοίρης ἀποταμόμενοι
ἔσχον οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. ἣν δὲ καὶ ἡ μέχρι Μα-
λέων ἡ πρὸς ἑσπέρην ᾿Αργείων, ἥ ἥ τε ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ
χώρη καὶ ἡ Κυθηρίη νῆσος καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ τῶν
νήσων. βοηθησάντων δὲ ᾿Αργείων τῇ σφετέρῃ
ἀποταμνομένῃ, ἐνθαῦτα συνέβησαν ἐς λόγους
συνελθόντες ὥστε τριηκοσίους ἑκατέρων μαχέ-
σασθαι, ὁκότεροι δ᾽ ἂν περιγένωνται, τούτων εἶναι
τὸν χῶρον" τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τοῦ στρατοῦ ἀπαλλάσ-
σεσθαι ἑκάτερον ἐς τὴν ἑωυτοῦ μηδὲ παραμένειν
ἀγωνιζομένων, τῶνδε εἵνεκεν ἵνα μὴ παρεόντων
τῶν στρατοπέδων ὁρῶντες οἱ ἕτεροι ἑσσουμένους
τοὺς σφετέρους ἐπαμύνοιεν. συνθέμενοι ταῦτα
ἀπαλλάσσοντο, λογάδες δὲ ἑκατέρων ὑπολει-
φθέντες συνέβαλον. μαχομένων δὲ σφέων καὶ
γινομένων ἰσοπαλέων ὑπελείποντο ἐξ ἀνδρῶν
ἐξακοσίων τρεῖς, ᾿Αργείων μὲν ᾿Αλκήνωρ᾽ τε
καὶ Χρομίος, Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ ᾿Οθρυάδης: ὑπε:
λείφθησαν. δὲ οὗτοι νυκτὸς ἐπελθούσης. οἱ μὲν
δὴ δύο τῶν ᾿Αργείων ὡς νενικηκότες ἔθεον ἐς
τὸ "Apyos, ὁ δὲ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ᾿Οθρυάδης
102

BOOK I. 81-82

messengers again from the city to his allies; whereas
the former envoys had been sent to summon them to
muster at Sardis in five months’ time, these were to
announce that Croesus was besieged and to entreat
help with all speed.

82. So he sent to the Lacedaemonians as well as
the rest of the allies. Now at this very time the
Spartans themselves had a feud on hand with the
Argives, in respect of the country called Thyrea;
for this was a part of the Argive territory which the
Lacedaemonians had cut off and occupied. (All the
land towards the west, as far as Malea, belonged then
to the Argives, and not the mainland only, but the
island of Cythera and the other islands.) The Argives
came out to save their territory from being cut off;
then after debate the two armies agreed that three
hundred of each side should fight, and whichever
party won should possess the land. The rest of each
army was to go away to its own country and not be
present at the battle; for it was feared that if the
armies remained on the field, the men of either party
would render help to their comrades it they saw
them losing. Having thus agreed, the armies drew
off, and picked men of each side were left and fought.
Neither could gain advantage in the battle ; at last, of
six hundred there were left only three, Aleenor and
Chromios of the Argives, Othryades of the Lacedae-
monians: these three were left alive at nightfall.
Then the two Argives, deeming themselves victors,
ran to Argos; but Othryades, the Lacedaemonian,

103

HERODOTUS

σκυλεύσας τοὺς ᾿Αργείων νεκροὺς καὶ προσφορή-
σας τὰ ὅπλα πρὸς τὸ ἑωυτοῦ στρατόπεδον ἐν τῇ
τάξι εἶχε ἑωυτόν. ἡμέρῃ δὲ δευτέρῃ παρῆσαν
πυνθανόμενοι ἀμφότεροι. τέως μὲν δὴ αὐτοὶ Exa-
τεροι ἔφασαν νικᾶν, λέγοντες οἱ μὲν ὡς ἑωυτῶν
““λεῦνες περιγεγόνασι, οἱ δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἀποφαίνον-
τες πεφευγότας, τὸν δὲ σφέτερον παραμείναντα
καὶ σκυλεύσαντα τοὺς ἐκείνων νεκρούς" τέλος δὲ
ἐκ τῆς ἔριδος συμπεσόντες ἐμάχοντο, πεσόντων
δὲ καὶ ἀμφοτέρων πολλῶν ἐνίκων Λακεδαιμόνιοι.
᾿Αργεῖοι μέν νυν ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου κατα-
κειράμενοι τὰς κεφαλάς, πρότερον ἐπάναγκες
κομῶντες, ἐποιήσαντο νόμον τε καὶ κατάρην μὴ
πρότερον "θρέψειν κόμην ᾿Αργείων μηδένα, μηδὲ
τὰς γυναῖκάς σφι χρυσοφορήσειν, πρὶν Θυρέας
ἀνασώσωνται. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ τὰ ἐναντία τού-
των ἔθεντο νόμον: οὐ γὰρ κομῶντες πρὸ τούτου
ἀπὸ τούτου κομᾶν. τὸν δὲ ἕνα λέγουσι τὸν περι-
λειφθέντα τῶν τριηκοσίων ᾿Οθρυάδην, αἰσχυνό-
μενον ἀπονοστέειν ἐς Σπάρτην τῶν οἱ συλλοχι-
τέων διεφθαρμένων, αὐτοῦ μιν ἐν τῇσι Θυρέῃσι
καταχρήσασθαι ἑ ἑωυτόν.

88. Τοιούτων δὲ τοῖσι Σπαρτιήτῃσι ἐνεστεώτων
πρηγμάτων ἧκε ὁ Σαρδιηνὸὲ κῆρυξ δεόμενος
Κροίσῳ βοηθέειν πολιορκεομένῳ. οἱ δὲ ὅμως,
ἐπείτε ἐπύθοντο τοῦ κήρυκος, ὁρμέατο βοηθέειν.
καί σφι ἤδη παρεσκευασμένοισι καὶ νεῶν ἐουσέων
ἑτοίμων ἦλθε ἄχλη ἀγγελίη, ὡς ἡλώκοι τὸ τεῖχος
τῶν Λυδῶν καὶ ἔχοιτο Κροῖσος ζωγρηθείς. οὕτω
δὴ οὗτοι μὲν συμφορὴν ποιησάμενοι μεγάλην
ἐπέπαυντο.

84. Σάρδιες δὲ ἥλωσαν ὧδε. ἐπειδὴ τεσσερεσ-
104

BOOK I. 82-84

spoiled the Argive dead, bore the armour to his own
army’s camp and remained in his place. On the next
day both armies came to learn the issue. For a while
both claimed the victory, the Argives pleading that
more of their men had survived, the Lacedaemonians
showing that the Argives had fled, while their man
had stood his ground and despoiled the enemy dead.
At last the dispute so ended that they joined battle
and fought ; many of both sides fell, but the Lacedae-
monians had the victory. Ever after this the Argives,
who before had worn their hair long by fixed custom,
shaved their heads, and made a law, with a curse
added thereto, that no Argive should grow his hair,
and no Argive woman should wear gold, till they
should recover Thyreae ; and the Lacedaemonians
made a contrary law, that ever after they should wear
their hair long; for till now they had not so worn it.
Othryades, the one survivor of the three hundred,
was ashamed, it is said, to return to Sparta after all
the men of his company had been slain, and killed
himself on the spot at Thyreae.

83. All this had befallen the Spartans when the
Sardian herald came to entreat their help for Croesus,
now besieged; yet for all that, when they heard
the herald they prepared to send help; but when
they were already equipped and their ships ready,
there came a second message which told that the
fortress of the Lydians was taken and Croesus held a
prisoner. Then indeed, though greatly grieved, they
ceased from their enterprise.

84. Now this is how Sardis was taken. When

105

HERODOTUS

καιδεκάτη ἐγένετο ἡμέρη πολιορκεομένῳ Kpoico,
Κῦρος τῇ στρατιῇ τῇ ἑωυτοῦ διαπέμψας ἱππέας
προεῖπε τῷ πρώτῳ ἐπιβάντι τοῦ τείχεος δῶρα
δώσειν. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο πειρησαμένης τῆς στρα-
τιῆς ὡς οὐ προεχώρεε, ἐνθαῦτα τῶν ἄλλων πε-
παυμένων ἀνὴρ Μάρδος ἐπειρᾶτο προσβαίνων,
τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Ὑροιάδης, κατὰ τοῦτο τῆς ἀκρο-
πόλιος τῇ οὐδεὶς ἐτέτακτο φύλακος" οὐ γὰρ ἣν
δεινὸν κατὰ τοῦτο μὴ ἁλῷ κοτέ. ἀπότομός τε
γὰρ ἐστὶ ταύτῃ ἡ ἀκρόπολις καὶ ἄμαχος" τῇ οὐδὲ
Μήλης ὁ πρότερον βασιλεὺς Σαρδίων μούνῃ
οὐ περιήνεικε τὸν λέοντα τόν οἱ ἢ παλλακὴ
ἔτεκε, Τελμησσέων δικασάντων ὡς περίενει-
χθέντος τοῦ λέοντος τὸ τεῖχος ἔσονται Σάρδιες
ἀνάλωτοι. ὁ δὲ Μήλης κατὰ τὸ ἄλλο τεῖχος
περιενείκας, τῇ ἣν ἐπίμαχον τὸ χωρίον > τῆς
ἀκροπόλιος, κατηλόγησε τοῦτο ὡς ἐὸν ἄμαχόν τε
καὶ ἀπότομον' ἔστι δὲ πρὸς τοῦ Ἡμώλου τετραμ-
μένον τῆς πόλιος. ὁ ὧν δὴ ‘Tpoiadns οὗτος ὁ
Μάρδος ἰδὼν τῇ προτεραίῃ τῶν τινα Λυδῶν κατὰ
τοῦτο τῆς ἀκροπόλιος καταβάντα ἐπὶ κυνέην
ἄνωθεν κατακυλισθεῖσαν καὶ ἀνελόμενον, ἐφρά-
σθη καὶ ἐς θυμὸν ἐβάλετο: τότε δὲ δὴ αὐτός τε
ἀναβεβήκεε καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν ἄλλοι ἸΠερσέων ἀνέ-
βαινον" προσβάντων δὲ συχνῶν οὕτω δὴ Σάρδιέξς
τε ἡλώκεσαν καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἄστυ ἐπορθέετο.

85. Kar’ αὐτὸν δὲ Κροῖσον τάδε ἐγίνετο. ἣν
οἱ παῖς, τοῦ καὶ πρότερον ἐπεμνήσθην, τὰ μὲν
ἄλλα ἐπιεικής, ἄφωνος δέ. ἐν τῇ ὧν παρελθούσῃ
εὐεστοῖ ὁ Κροῖσος τὸ πᾶν ἐς αὐτὸν ἐπεποιήκεε,
ἄλλα τε ἐπιφραζόμενος, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐς Δελφοὺς

1 τὸ χωρίον is bracketed by Stein.
106

BOOK I. 84-85

Croesus had been besieged for fourteen days, Cyrus
sent horsemen about in his army to promise rewards to
him who should first mount the wall. After this the
army made an assault, but with no success. Then, all
the rest being at a stand, a certain Mardian! called
Hyroeades essayed to mount by a part of the citadel
where no guard had been set; for here the height on
which the citadel stood was sheer and hardly to be
assaulted, and none feared that it could be taken by
an attack made here. This was the only place where
Meles the former king of Sardis had not carried the
lion which his concubine had borne him, the Telmes-
sians having declared that if this lion were carried
round the walls Sardis could never be taken. Meles
then carried the lion round the rest of the wall of the
acropolis where it could be assaulted, but neglected
this place, because the height was sheer and defied
attack. It is on the side of the city which faces
towards Tmolus. So then it chanced that on the day
before this Mardian, Hyrceades, had seen one of the
Lydians descend by this part of the citadel after a
helmet that had fallen down, and fetch it; he took
note of this and considered it, and now he himself
climbed up, and other Persians after him. Many
ascended, and thus was Sardis taken and all the city
like to be sacked.

85. I will now tell what befell Croesus himself.
He had a son, of whom I have already spoken, a
likely youth enough save that he was dumb. Now
in his past days of prosperity Croesus had done all
that he could for his son ; and besides resorting to
other plans he had sent to Delphi to inquire of the

1 The Mardi were a nomad Persian tribe.

107
ΝΟΙ.. 1. E

HERODOTUS

“ / e \ lA
περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπεπόμφεε χρησομένους. ἡ δὲ Πυθί)
οἱ εἶπε τάδε.

A 5 / /
Λυδὲ γένος, πολλῶν βασιλεῦ, μέγα νήπιε
Κροῖσε,
\ ie / aN ’ SN , ᾽ ᾿) /
μὴ βούλου πολύευκτον ἰὴν ἀνὰ δώματ᾽ ἀκούειν
\ / \ /
παιδὸς φθεγγομένους τὸ δέ σοι πολὺ λώιον

ἀμφίς
ἔμμεναι" αὐδήσει γὰρ ἐν ἤματι πρῶτον ἀνόλβῳ.

ἁλισκομένου δὴ τοῦ τείχεος, ἤιε γὰρ τῶν τις
Περσέων ἀλλογνώσας Κροῖσον ὡς ἀποκτενέων,
Κροῖσος μέν νυν ὁρέων ἐπιόντα ὑπὸ τῆς παρεούσης
συμφορῆς παρημελήκεε, οὐδέ τί οἱ διέφερε πλη-
γέντι ἀποθανεῖν' ὁ δὲ παῖς οὗτος ὁ ἄφωνος ὡς εἶδε
ἐπιόντα τὸν Πέρσην, ὑπὸ δέους τε καὶ κακοῦ ἔρρη ξε
φωνήν, εἶπε δὲ “᾿Ωνθρώπε, μὴ κτεῖνε Κροῖσον.᾽"
οὗτος μὲν δὴ τοῦτο πρῶτον ἐφθέγξατο, μετὰ δὲ
τοῦτο ἤδη ἐφώνεε τὸν πάντα χρόνον τῆς ζόης.
86. Οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι τάς τε δὴ Σάρδις ἔσχον καὶ
αὐτὸν Κροῖσον ἐζώγρησαν, ἄρξαντα, ἔτεα τεσσερεσ-
καΐδεκα καὶ τεσσερεσκαίδεκα ἡμέρας ,“πολιορκη-
θέντα, κατὰ τὸ χρηστήριόν τε καταπαύσαντα τὴν
ἑωυτοῦ μεγάλην ἀρχήν. λαβόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ
Πέρσαι ἤγαγον παρὰ Κῦρον. ὃ δὲ συννήσας
πυρὴν μεγάλην ἀνεβίβασε ἐπ’ αὐτὴν τὸν Kpoicor
τε ἐν πέδῃσι δεδεμένον καὶ δὶς ἑπτὰ Λυδῶν παρ᾽
αὐτὸν παῖδας, ἐν νόῳ “ἔχων εἴτε δὴ ἀκροθίνια
ταῦτα καταγιεῖν θεῶν ὅτεῳ δή, εἴτε καὶ εὐχὴν
ἐπιτελέσαι θέλων, εἴτε καὶ πυθόμενος τὸν Κροῖσον
εἶναι θεοσεβέα τοῦδε εἵνεκεν ἀνεβίβασε ἐπὶ τὴν
πυρήν, βουλόμενος εἰδέναι εἴ τίς μιν δαιμόνων
ῥύσεται τοῦ μὴ ζῶντα κατακαυθῆναι. τὸν μὲν δὴ

108

BOOK I. 85-86

oracle concerning him. The Pythian priestess thus
answered him:

“Lydian, of many the lord, thou know’st not the

boon that thou askest.

Wish not nor pray that the voice of thy son may
be heard in the palace ;

Better it were for thee that dumb he abide as
aforetime ;

Luckless that day shall be when first thou hearest
him speaking.”

So at the taking of the fortress a certain Persian,
not knowing who Croesus was, came at him with in-
tent to kill him. Croesus saw him coming, but by
stress of misfortune he was past caring, and would as
soon be smitten to death as not ; but “this dumb son,
seeing the Persian coming, in his fear and his grief
broke into speech and cried, “ Man, do not kill
Croesus!’’ This was the first word he uttered ; and
after that for all the days of his life he had power
of speech.

86. So the Persians took Sardis and made Croesus
himself prisoner, he having reigned fourteen years and
been besieged fourteen days, and, as the oracle
foretold, brought his own great empire to an end.
Having then “taken him they led him to Cyrus.
Cyrus had a great pyre built,on which he set Croesus,
bound in ae and twice seven Lydian boys κεῖ
him: either his intent was to sacrifice these firstfruits
to some one of his gods, or he desired to fulfil a vow,
or it may be that, learning that Croesus was a god-
fearing man, he set him for this cause on the pyre,
because he would fain know if any deity would
save him from being burnt alive. It is related

109

HERODOTUS

ποιέειν ταῦτα" τῷ δὲ Κροίσῳ ἑστεῶτι ἐπὶ τῆς
πυρῆς ἐσελθεῖν, καίπερ ἐν κακῷ ἐόντι τοσούτῳ,
τὸ τοῦ Σόλωνος ὥς οἱ εἴη σὺν θεῷ εἰρημένον, τὸ
μηδένα εἶναι τῶν ζωόντων ὄλβιον. ὡς δὲ ἄρα μιν
προσστῆναι τοῦτο, ἀνενεικάμενόν τε καὶ ἀνα-
στενάξαντα ἐκ πολλῆς ἡσυχίης ἐς τρὶς ὀνομάσαι
“Σόλων. καὶ τὸν Κῦρον ἀκούσαντα κελεῦσαι
τοὺς ἑρμηνέας ἐπειρέσθαι τὸν Κροῖσον τίνα τοῦτον
ἐπικαλέοιτο, καὶ τοὺς προσελθόντας ἐπειρωτᾶν"
Κροῖσον δὲ τέως μὲν σιγὴν ἔχειν εἰρωτώμενον,
μετὰ δὲ ὡς ἠναγκάζετο, εἰπεῖν “Τὸν ἂν ἐγὼ πᾶσι
τυράννοισι προετίμησα μεγάλων χρημάτων ἐς
λόγους ἐλθεῖν." ὡς δέ σφι ἄσημα ἔφραζε, πάλιν
ἐπειρώτων τὰ λεγόμενα. λιπαρεόντων δὲ αὐτῶν
καὶ ὄχλον “παρεχόντων, ἔλεγε δὴ ὡς ἦλθε ἀρχὴν
ὁ Σόλων ἐὼν ᾿Αθηναῖος, καὶ θεησάμενος πώντα
τὸν ἑωυτοῦ ὄλβον ἀποφλαυρίσειε οἷα δὴ εἴπας,
ὥς τε αὐτῷ πάντα ἀποβεβήκοι τῇ περ ἐκεῖνος
εἶπε, οὐδέν TL μᾶλλον ἐς ἑωυτὸν λέγων ἢ οὐκ ἐς
ἅπαν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς παρὰ σφίσι
αὐτοῖσι ὀλβίους δοκέοντας εἶναι. τὸν μὲν Κροῖσον
ταῦτα ἀπηγέεσθαι, τῇς δὲ πυρῆς ἤδη ἁμμένης
καίεσθαι τὰ περιέσχατα. καὶ τὸν Κῦρον ἀκού-
σαντα τῶν ἑρμηνέων τὰ Κροῖσος εἶπε, μεταγνόντα
τε καὶ ἐννώσαντα ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐὼν
ἄλλον ἄνθρωπον, γενόμενον ἑωυτοῦ εὐδαιμονίῃ
οὐκ ἐλάσσω, ζῶντα πυρὶ διδοίη, πρός τε τούτοισι
δείσαντα τὴν τίσιν καὶ ἐπιλεξάμενον ὡς οὐδὲν εἴη
τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποισι ἀσφαλέως ἔχον, Pe Nst eT
σβεννύναι τὴν ταχίστην τὸ καιόμενον πῦρ] καὶ

* πῦρ is bracketed by Stein.

BOOK I. 86

then that he did this; but Croesus, as he stood
on the pyre, remembered even in his evil plight
how divinely inspired was that saying of Solon, that
no living man was blest. When this came to his
mind, having till now spoken no word, he sighed
deeply and groaned, and thrice uttered the name of
Solon. Cyrus heard it, and bade his interpreters
ask Croesus who was this on whom he called; they
came near and asked him; Croesus at first would say
nothing in answer, but presently, being compelled, he
said, “It is one with whom I would have given much
wealth that all sovereigns should hold converse.”
This was a dark saying to them, and again they
questioned him of the words which he spoke. As they
were instant, and troubled him, he told them then how
Solon, an Athenian, had first come, and how he had
seen all his royal state and made light of it (saying
thus and thus), and how all had happened to Croesus
as Solon said, though he spoke with less regard to
Croesus than to mankind in general and chiefly those
who deemed themselves blest. While Croesus thus
told his story, the pyre had already been kindled and
the outer parts of it were burning. Then Cyrus,
when he heard from the interpreters what Croesus
said, repented of his purpose. He bethought him
that he, being also a man, was burning alive another
man who had once been as fortunate as himself;
moreover, he feared the retribution, and it came to his
mind that there was no stability in human affairs;
wherefore he gave command to quench the burning

111

HERODOTUS

καταβιβάζειν Kpotcov τε καὶ τοὺς μετὰ Κροίσου.
καὶ τοὺς πειρωμένους οὐ δύνασθαι ἔτι τοῦ πυρὸς
ἐπικρατῆσαι.

87. Ἐνθαῦτα λέγεται ὑπὸ Λυδῶν Κροῖσον
μαθόντα τὴν Κύρου μετάγνωσιν, ὡς ὥρα πάντα
μὲν ἄνδρα σβεννύντα τὸ πῦρ, δυναμένους δὲ
οὐκέτι καταλαβεῖν, ἐπιβώσασθαι τὸν ᾿Απόλλωνα
ἐπικαλεόμενον, εἴ τί οἱ κεχαρισμένον ἘΣ αὐτοῦ
ἐδωρήθη, παραστῆναι καὶ ῥύσασθαι αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ
παρεόντος κακοῦ. τὸν μὲν δακρύοντα. ἐπικαλέ-
εσθαι τὸν θεόν, ἐκ δὲ αἰθρίης τε καὶ νηνεμίης
συνδραμεῖν ἐξαπίνης τέφεα καὶ χειμῶνά τε καταρ-
ραγῆναι καὶ ὗσαι ὕδατι λαβροτάτῳ, κατασβε-
σθῆναΐ τε τὴν πυρήν. οὕτω δὴ μαθόντα τὸν
Κῦρον ὡς εἴη ὁ Kpoicos καὶ θεοφιλὴς καὶ ἀνὴρ
ἀγαθός, καταβιβάσαντα αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πυρῆς
εἰρέσθαι τάδε. “Κροῖσε, τίς σε ἀνθρώπων
ἀνέγνωσε ἐπὶ γῆν τὴν ἐμὴν στρατευσάμενον
πολέμιον ἀντὶ φίλου ἐμοὶ καταστῆναι; ὃ δὲ εἶπε
πον 0) βασιλεῦ, ἐγὼ ταῦτα ἔπρηξα τῇ σῇ μὲν
εὐδαιμονίῃ, τῇ ἐμεωυτοῦ δὲ κακοδαιμονίῃ, αἴτιος
δὲ τούτων ἐγένετο ὁ Ἑλλήνων θεὸς ἐπαείρας ἐμὲ
στρατεύεσθαι. οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὕτω ἀνόητος ἐστὶ
ὅστις πόλεμον πρὸ εἰρήνης αἱρέεται" ἐν μὲν γὰρ
τῇ οἱ παῖδες τοὺς πατέρας θάπτουσι, ἐ ἐν δὲ τῷ οἱ
πατέρες τοὺς παῖδας. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα δαίμοσί κου
φίλον ἦν οὕτω γενέσθαι."

88, Ὃ μὲν ταῦτα ἔλεγε, Κῦρος δὲ αὐτὸν λύσας
κατεῖσέ τε Ἐγγὺς ἑωυτοῦ καὶ κάρτα ἐν πολλῇ
προμηθίῃ εἶχε, ᾿ἀπεθώμαξέ τε ὁρέων καὶ αὐτὸς
καὶ οἱ περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἐόντες πάντες. ὃ δὲ συννοίῃ
ἐχόμενος ἥσυχος ἣν" μετὰ δὲ ἐπιστραφείς τε καὶ

BOOK I. 86-88

fire with all speed and bring Croesus and those with
him down from the pyre. But his servants could not
for all their endeavour now master the fire.

87. Then (so the Lydians relate), when Croesus was
aware of Cyrus’ repentance and saw all men striving
to quench the fire but no longer able to check it, he
cried aloud to Apollo, praying that if the god had ever
been pleased with any gift of his offering he would
now come to his aid and save him from present de-
struction. Thus with weeping he invoked the god: and
suddenly in a clear and windless sky clouds gathered
and a storm burst and there was a most violent rain,
so that the pyre was quenched. Then indeed Cyrus
perceived that Croesus was a good man and one be-
loved of the gods; and bringing him down from the
pyre, he questioned him, saying, “What man persuaded
you, Croesus, to attack my country with an army,
and be my enemy instead of my friend ?”’ “O King,”
said Croesus, “it was I who did it, and brought there-
by good fortune to you and ill to myself : but the cause
of all was the god of the Greeks, in that he encouraged
me to send my army. No man is so foolish as to de-
sire war more than peace: for in peace sons bury their
fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons. But I
must believe that heaven willed all this so to be.”

88. So said Croesus. Then Cyrus loosed him and
set him near to himself and took much thought for
him, and both he and all that were with him were
astonished when they looked upon Croesus. He for
his part was silent, deep in thought. Presently he

112

HERODOTUS

γὼ 7 \ , \ La δῶ Ψ yA
ἰδόμενος τοὺς Ilépaas τὸ τῶν Λυδῶν ἄστυ Kepai-

> «.5 a s / \ \
Covtas εἶπε “Ὦ, βασιλεῦ, KoTEpov λέγειν πρὸς σὲ
τὰ νοέων τυγχάνω ἢ σιγᾶν ἐν τῷ παρεόντι χρή;

“ ΄ / .“
Κῦρος δέ μιν θαρσέοντα ἐκέλευε λέγειν ὅ τι

΄ aN \ 5. ΤῸΝ 3. , ΞΕ - ῃ
βούλοιτο. ὃ δὲ αὐτὸν εἰρώτα λέγων “Οὗτος ὁ

si “ / a A A 3 /
πολλὸς ὅμιλος τί ταῦτα πολλῇ σπουδῇ ἐργά-
Ὁ ΚΣ δ ἢ ‘ , \ \ Se ;
ζεται; ὃ δὲ εἶπε Πόλιν τε τὴν σὴν διαρπάζει
καὶ χρήματα τὰ σὰ διαφορέει." Κροῖσος δὲ
ἀμείβετο “Οὔτε πόλιν τὴν ἐμὴν οὔτε χρήματα τὰ
ἐμὰ διαρπάξει' οὐδὲν “γὰρ ἐμοὶ ἔτι τούτων μέτα'
7 39
ἀλλὰ φέρουσί τε καὶ ἄγουσι τὰ σά.

89. Κύρῳ δὲ ἐπιμελὲς ἐγένς TO τὰ Κροῖσος εἶπε:
μεταστησάμενος δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους, εἴρετο Κροῖσον
ε / - A
ὅ TL οἱ ἐνορῴη ἐν τοῖσι ποιευμένοισι. ὃ δὲ εἶπε
ὌΝ / ἘΠ \ nf) ὃ a / ὃ a Vv

πείτε με θεοὶ ἔδωκαν δοῦλον σοί, δικαιῶ, εἴ τι

ἐνορέξίω πλέον, σημαίνειν σοί. Πέρσαι φύσιν
> δ o>

ἐόντες ὑβρισταὶ εἰσὶ ἀχρήματοι. ἢν ὧν σὺ

Ψ / \ /
TOUTOUS περιίδῃς διαρπάσαντας καὶ κατασχόντας
χρήματα μεγάλα, τάδε τοι ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπίδοξα
γενέσθαι" ὃς ἂν αὐτῶν πλεῖστα κατάσχῃ, τοῦτον
προσδέκεσθαί τοι ἐπανᾶ στησόύμενον. νῦν ὧν
ποίησον ὧδε, εἴ TOL ἀρέσκει τὰ ἐγὼ λέγω" κάτισον
τῶν δορυφόρων ἐπὶ πάσῃσι τῇσι πύλῃσι φυλά-
κους, οἱ λεγόντων πρὸς τοὺς ἐκφέροντας τὰ χρή-
ματα ἀπαιρεόμενοι ὡς σφέα ἀναγκαίως ἔχει δεκα-

tal lal /
τευθῆναι τῷ Διί. καὶ σύ τέ σφι οὐκ ἀπεχθήσεαι
βίῃ ἀπαιρεόμενος τὰ χρήματα, καὶ ἐκεῖνοι ovy-
γνόντες ποιέειν σε δίκαια € ἑκόντες προήσουσι."

90. Ταῦτα ἀκούων ὁ Κῦρος ὑπερήδετο, ὥς οἱ
Ὁ 7 ,» ε , > 7 \ ΄ \
ἐδόκεε εὖ ὑποτίθεσθαι: αἰνέσας δὲ πολλά, Kal
ἐντειλάμενος τοῖσι δορυφόροισι τὰ Κροῖσος ὑπε-
θήκατο ἐπιτελέειν, εἶπε πρὸς Κροῖσον τάδε.

114

BOOK I. 88-9ο

turned and said (for he saw the Persians sacking the
city of the Lydians), “O King, am I to say to you now
what is in my mind, or keep silence?” Cyrus bidding
him to say boldly what he would, Croesus asked,
“ Yonder multitude, what is this whereon they are so
busily engaged ?” “ They are plundering,” said Cyrus,
your city and carrying off your possessions.”” “Nay,”
Croesus answered, “not my city, nor my possessions ;
for I have no longer any share of all this; it is your
wealth that they are ravishing:”

89. Cyrus thought upon what Croesus said, and
bidding the rest withdraw he asked Croesus what
fault he saw in what was being done. ‘Since the
gods,” replied the Lydian, “ have given me to be your
slave, it is right that if I have any clearer sight of
wrong done I should declare it to you. The Persians
are violent men by nature, and poor withal; if then
you suffer them to seize and hold great possessions,
you may expect that he who has won most will rise
in revolt against you. Now therefore do this, if
what I say finds favour with you. Set men of your
guard to watch all the gates; let them take the
spoil from those who are carrying it out, and say that
it must be paid as tithe to Zeus. Thus shall you not
be hated by them for taking their wealth by force, and
they for their part will acknowledge that you act
justly, and will give up the spoil willingly.”

90. When Cyrus heard this he was exceedingly
pleased, for he deemed the counsel good ; and praising
him greatly, and bidding his guards to act as Croesus

115

HERODOTUS

“ Κροῖσε, ἀναρτημένου σεῦ ἀνδρὸς βασιλέος
χρηστὰ ἔργα καὶ ἔπεα ποιέειν, αἰτέο δύσιν f ἥντινα
βούλεαί τοι γενέσθαι παραυτίκα." ὃ δὲ εἶπε
“«“Ὦ, δέσποτα, ἐάσας με χαριεῖ μάλιστα τὸν θεὸν
τῶν ᾿λλήνων, τὸν ἐγὼ ἐτίμησα θεῶν μάλιστα,
ἐπειρέσθαι πέμψαντα τάσδε τὰς πέδας, εἰ ἐξα-
πατῶν τοὺς εὖ ποιεῦντας νόμος ἐστί οἱ. Κῦρος
δὲ εἴρετο ὅ τι οἱ τοῦτο ἐπηγορέων παραιτέοιτο.
Κροῖσος δέ οἱ ἐπαλιλλόγησε πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ
διάνοιαν καὶ τῶν χρηστηρίων τὰς ὑποκρίσιας καὶ
μάλιστα τὰ ἀναθήματα, καὶ ὡς ἐπαερθεὶς τῷ
μαντηίῳ ἐστρατεύσατο ἐπὶ Πέρσας: λέγων δὲ
ταῦτα κατέβαινε αὗτις παραιτεόμενος ἐπεῖναί οἱ
τῷ θεῷ τοῦτο ὀνειδίσαι. Κῦρος δὲ γελάσας εἶπε
“Kat τούτου τεύξεαι παρ᾽ ἐμεῦ, Κροῖσε, καὶ
ἄλλου παντὸς τοῦ ἂν ἑκάστοτε δέῃ." ὡς δὲ ταῦτα
ἤκουσε ὁ Κροῖσος, πέμπων τῶν Λυδῶν ἐς Δελφοὺς
ἐνετέλλετο τιθέντας τὰς πέδας ἐπὶ τοῦ νηοῦ τὸν
οὐδὸν εἰρωτᾶν εἰ οὔ τι ἐπαισχύνεται τοῖσι
μαντηίοισι ἐπαείρας “Κροῖσον στρατεύεσθα: ἐπὶ
Πέρσας ὡς καταπαύσοντα τὴν Kupov δύναμιν,
ἀπ᾽ ἧς οἱ ἀκροθίνια τοιαῦτα γενέσθαι, δεικνύντας
τὰς πέδας" ταῦτα τε ἐπειρωτᾶν, καὶ εἰ ἀχαρισ-
Hit νόμος εἶναι τοῖσι kh ὑλληνικοῖσι θεοῖσι.

᾿Απικομένοισι δὲ τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι καὶ λέγουσι
τὰ ᾿Ἀετ ἌβεΝ τὴν Πυθίην λέγεται εἰπεῖν τάδε.
μὴ Τὴν πεπρωμένην μοῖραν ἀδύνατα ἐ ἐστὶ ἀποφυγεῖν
καὶ θεῷ: Κροῖσος δὲ πέμπτου γονέος ἁμαρτάδα
ἐξέπλησε, ὃς ἐὼν “δορυφόρος Ἡρακλειδέων, δόλῳ
γυναικηίῳ ἐπισπόμενος ἐφόνευσε, τὸν δεσπότεα
καὶ ἔσχε τὴν ἐ ἐκείνου τιμὴν οὐδέν οἱ προσήκουσαν.
προθυμεομένου δὲ Λοξίεω ὅκως ἂν κατὰ τοὺς
116

BOOK I. go-91

had counselled, he said: “ Croesus, now that you,a king,
are resolved to act and to speak aright, ask me now for
whatever boon you desire forthwith.” “ Master,” said
Croesus, *‘ you will best please me if you suffer me to
send these my chains to that god of the Greeks whom
I chiefly honoured, and to ask him if it be his custom to
deceive those who serve him well.” Cyrus then asking
him what charge he brought against the god that he
made this request, Croesus repeated to him the tale of
all his own intent, and the answers of the oracles, and
more especially ne offerings, and how it was the oracle
that had heartened him to attack the Persians; and so
saying he once more instantly entreated that he might
be suffered to reproach the god for this. At this Cyrus
smiled, and replied, “This I will grant you, Croesus,
and what other boon soever you may at any time ask
me.” When Croesus heard this, he sent men of
the Lydians to Delphi, charging them to lay his
chains on the threshold of the temple, and to ask if
the god were not ashamed that he had persuaded
Croesus to attack the Persians, telling him that he
would destroy Cyrus’ power; of which power (they
should say, showing the chains) these were the first-
fruits. Thus they should inquire; and further, if it
were the manner of the Greek gods to be thankless.

91. When the Lydians came, and spoke as they
were charged, the priestess (it is said) thus replied :
“ None may escape his destined lot, not even a god.
Croesus hath paid for the sin of his ancestor of the
fifth generation: who, being of the guard of the
Heraclidae, was led by the guile of a woman to slay
his master, and took to himself the royal state of that
master, whereto he had no right. And it was the
desire of Loxias that the evil hap of Sardis should

117

HERODOTUS

παῖδας τοῦ Κροίσου γένοιτο τὸ Σαρδίων πάθος
καὶ μὴ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν Κροῖσον, οὐκ οἷόν τε ἐγίνετο
παραγαγεῖν μοίρας. ὅσον δὲ ἐνέδωκαν αὗται,

/
ἤνυσέ Te Kal ἐχαρίσατό οἱ" τρία yap ἔτεα ἐπανε-
βάλετο τὴν Σαρδίων ἅλωσιν, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπιστάσθω
Κροῖσος ὡς ὕστερον τοῖσι ἔτεσι τούτοισι ἁλοὺς
τῆς πεπρωμένης. δεύτερα δὲ τούτων καιομένῳ
αὐτῷ ἐπήρκεσε. κατὰ δὲ τὸ μαντήιον τὸ γενόμενον
οὐκ ὀρθῶς Κροῖσος μέμφεται. προηγόρευε γὰρ οἱ
Λοξίης, ἢν στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Πέρσας, “μεγάλην
ἀρχὴν αὐτὸν καταλύσειν. τὸν δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα
χρὴν εὖ μέλλοντα βουλεύεσθαι ἐπειρέσθαι πέμ-
ψαντα κότερα τὴν ἑωυτοῦ ἢ τὴν Κύρου λέγοι
> / > \ N \ € \ »Q>? » Le
ἀρχήν. οὐ συλλαβὼν δὲ τὸ ῥηθὲν οὐδ᾽ ἐπανειρό-
μενος ἑωυτὸν αἴτιον ἀποφαινέτω: τῷ καὶ τὸ
τελευταῖον χρηστηριαζομένῳ εἶπε Λοξίης περὶ
ἡμιόνου, οὐδὲ τοῦτο συνέλαβε. ἦν γὰρ δὴ ὁ Κῦρος
οὗτος ἡμίονος: ἐκ γὰρ δυῶν οὐκ ὁμοεθνέων éye-
γόνεε, μητρὸς ἀμείνονος, πατρὸς δὲ ὑποδεεστέρου'
ἣ μὲν γὰρ ἣν Μηδὶς καὶ ᾿Αστυάγεος θυγάτηρ τοῦ
Μήδων βασιλέος, ὃ δὲ Ἱξέρσης τε ἣν καὶ ἀρχό-
μενος ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνοισι καὶ ἔνερθε ἐὼν τοῖσι ἅπασι
δεσποίνῃ τῇ ἑωυτοῦ συνοίκεε." ταῦτα μὲν ἡ
Πυθίη ὑπεκρίνατο τοῖσι Λυδοῖσι, of δὲ ἀνήνει-
καν ἐς Σάρδις καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν Κροίσῳ. ὃ δὲ
ἀκούσας συνέγνω ἑωυτοῦ εἶναι τὴν ἁμαρτάδα
καὶ οὐ τοῦ θεοῦ. κατὰ μὲν δὴ τὴν Κροίσου
τε ἀρχὴν καὶ ᾿Ιωνίης τὴν πρώτην καταστροφὴν
τς οὕτω.

Κροίσῳ δὲ ἐστὶ ἄλλα ἀναθήματα ἐν τῇ
BAAD: in καὶ οὐ τὰ εἰρημένα μοῦνα. ἐν μὲν

118

BOOK I. οτ-92

fall in the lifetime of Croesus’ sons, not his own,
but he could not turn the Fates from their pur-
pose; yet did he accomplish his will and favour
Croesus in so far as they would yield to him: for he
delayed the taking of Sardis for three years, and
this let Croesus know, that though he be now taken
it is by so many years later than the destined hour.
And further, Loxias saved Croesus from the burn-
ing. But as to the oracle that was given him,
Croesus doth not right to complain concerning it.
For Loxias declared to him that if he should lead an
army against the Persians he would destroy a great
empire. Therefore it behoved him, if he would take
right counsel, to send and ask whether the god spoke
of Croesus’ or of Cyrus’ empire. But he understood
not that which was spoken, nor made further inquiry :
wherefore now let him blame himself. Nay, when he
asked that last question of the oracle and Loxias gave
him that answer concerning the mule, even that
Croesus understood not. For that mule was in truth
Cyrus ; who was the son of two persons not of the same
nation, of whom the mother was the nobler and the
father of lesser estate ; for she was a Median, daughter
of Astyages king of the Medians: but he was a
Persian and under the rule of the Medians, and was
wedded, albeit in all regards lower than she, to one
that should be his sovereign lady.” Such was the
answer of the priestess to the Lydians; they carried
it to Sardis and told it to Croesus; and when he
heard it, he confessed that the sin was not the god’s,
but his own. And this is the story of Croesus’ rule,
and of the first overthrow of Ionia.

92. Now there are many offerings of Croesus in
Hellas, and not only those whereof I have spoken.

119

HERODOTUS

yap Θήβῃσι τῇσι Ἰθοιωτῶν τρίπους χρύσεος, τὸν
ἀνέθηκε τῷ ᾿Απόλλωνι τῷ ᾿ἸΙσμηνίῳ, ἐν δὲ ᾿μφέσῳ
ai τε βόες αἱ χρύσεαι καὶ τῶν κιόνων αἱ πολλαί,
ἐν δὲ Προνηΐης τῆς ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἀσπὶς χρυσέη
μεγάλη. ταῦτα μὲν καὶ ἔτι ἐς ἐμὲ ἣν περιεόντα,
τὰ δ᾽ ἐξαπόλωλε τῶν ἀναθημάτων: τὰ δ᾽ ἐν
Βραγχίδησι τῇσι Μιλησίων ἀναθήματα Κροίσῳ,
ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, ἴσα τε σταθμὸν καὶ ὅμοια
τοῖσι ἐν Δελφοῖσι" τυ ἀπ τα μεν νυν ἔς τε “Δελφοὺς
καὶ ἐς τοῦ ᾿Αμφιάρεω, ἀνέθηκε οἰκήι τε ἐόντα καὶ
τῶν πατρωίων χρημάτων ἀπαρχήν' τὰ δὲ ἄλλα
ἀναθήματα ἐξ ἀνδρὸς ἐ ἐγένετο οὐσίης ἐχθροῦ, ὃ ὅς οἱ

πρὶν ἢ βασιλεῦσαι ἀντιστασιώτης κατεστήκεε,
συσπεύδων ἸΙανταλέοντι γενέσθαι τὴν Λυδῶν
ἀρχήν. ὁ δὲ Πανταλέων ἣν ᾿Αλυάττεω μὲν παῖς,
Κροίσου δὲ ἀδελφεὸς οὐκ ὁμομήτριος" Κροῖσος
μὲν γὰρ ἐκ Καείρης ἣν γυναικὸς ᾿Αλυάττῃ,
Πανταλέων δὲ ἐξ ᾿Ιάδος. ἐπείτε δὲ δόντος τοῦ
πατρὸς ἐκράτησε τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Κροῖσος, τὸν
ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἀντιπρήσσοι τα ἐπὶ κνάφου ἕλκων
διέφθειρε, τὴν δὲ οὐσίην αὐτοῦ ἔτι πρότερον
κατιρώσας τότε τρόπῳ τῷ εἰρημένῳ ἀνέθηκε ἐς
τὰ εἴρηται. καὶ περὶ μὲν ἀναθημάτων τοσαῦτα
εἰρήσθω.

93, Θώματα δὲ γῆ ἡ Λυδίη ἐς συγγραφὴν οὐ
μάλα ἔχει, οἷά τε καὶ ἄλλη χώρη, πάρεξ τοῦ ἐκ
τοῦ Τμώλου καταφερομένου ψήγματος. ἕν δὲ
ἔργον πολλὸν μέγιστον παρέχεται χωρὶ ἐς τῶν τε
Αἰγυπτίων ἔργων καὶ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων: ἔστι
αὐτόθι ᾿Αλυάττεω τοῦ Κροίσου πατρὸς σῆμα, τοῦ

1 The sentence is incomplete, lacking a predicate.

120

BOOK I. 92-93

There is a golden tripod at Thebes in Boeotia, which
he dedicated to Apollo of Ismenus; at Ephesus!
there are the oxen of gold and the greater part of the
pillars; and in the temple of Proneia at Delphi,
a golden shield.2 All these yet remained till my
lifetime; but some other of the offerings have
perished. And the offerings of Croesus at Branchidae
of the Milesians, as I have heard, are equal in
weight and like to those at Delphi. Those which he
dedicated at Delphi and the shrine of Amphiaraus
were his own, the firstfruits of the wealth in-
herited from his father; the rest came from the
estate of an enemy who had headed a faction against
Croesus before he became king, and conspired to
win the throne of Lydia for Pantaleon. This Pan-
taleon was a son of Alyattes, and half-brother of
Croesus: Croesus was Alyattes’ son by a Carian and
Pantaleon by an Ionian mother. So when Croesus
gained the sovereignty by his father’s gift, he put the
man who had conspired against him to death by draw-
ing him across a carding-comb, and first confiscated
his estate, then dedicated it as and where I have said.
This is all that I shall say of Croesus’ offerings.

93. There are not in Lydia many marvellous
things for me to tell of, if it be compared with
other countries, except the gold dust that comes
down from Tmolus. But there is one building to be
seen there which is more notable than any, saving
those of Egypt and Babylon. ‘There is in Lydia the
tomb of Alyattes the father of Croesus, the base

1 The temple at Ephesus was founded probably in Alyattes’
reign, and not completed till the period of the Graeco-Persian
War.

2 The temple of Athene Proneia (= before the shrine) was
rituated outside the temple of Apollo,

121

HERODOTUS

ἡ “κρηπὶς μὲν͵ ἐστὶ λίθων μεγάλων, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο
/ ’ an
σῆμα χῶμα γῆς. ἐξεργάσαντο δέ μεν οἱ ἀγοραῖοι
ἄνθρωποι καὶ οἱ χειρώνακτες καὶ αἱ ἐνεργαζόμεναι
παιδίσκαι. οὗροι δὲ πέντε ἐόντες ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ
ἧσαν ἐπὶ τοῦ σήματος ἄνω, καί σφι γ γράμματα
ἐνεκεκόλαπτο τὰ ἕκαστοι ἐξεργάσαντο, καὶ ἐφαί-
VETO μετρεόμενον τὸ τῶν παιδιφκέων ἔργον ἐὸν
μέγιστον. τοῦ γὰρ δὴ Λυδῶν δήμου αἱ θυγατέρες
ἴω
πορνεύονται πᾶσαι, συλλέγουσαι σφίσι φερνάς,
ἐς ὃ ἂν συνοικήσωσι τοῦτο ποιέουσαι" ἐκδιδοῦσι
δὲ αὐταὶ ἑωυτάς. ἡ μὲν δὴ περίοδος τοῦ σήματος
Slee / a \ / f \ \ 5 > \
εἰσὶ στάδιοι GE καὶ δύο πλέθρα, TO δὲ εὗρος ἐστὶ
, ᾽ \ , ; No a
πλέθρα τρία καὶ δέκα. λίμνη δὲ ἔχεται τοῦ
σήματος μεγάλη, τὴν λέγουσι Λυδοὶ ἀείναον εἶναι"
7 i aA \ \ a
καλέεται δὲ αὕτη Γυγαίη. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτο
ἐστί.
94. Λυδοὶ δὲ νόμοισι μὲν παραπλησίοισι χρέ-
Vo \ Noo \ 7, /
wvTat Kat” EXAnves, χωρὶς 1) OTL TA θήλεα τέκνα
καταπορνεύουσι, πρῶτοι δὲ ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς
ἴδμεν νόμισμα χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου κοψάμενοι
ἐχρήσαντο, πρῶτοι δὲ καὶ κάπηλοι ἐγένοντο.
φασὶ δὲ αὐτοὶ Λυδοὶ καὶ τὰς παιγνίας τὰς νῦν
/ NOY 7 ¢e a 3 ΄,
σφίσι τε Kat” EXAnoL κατεστεώσας ἑωυτῶν ἐξεύ-
ρημα γενέσθαι: ἅμα δὲ ταύτας τε ἐξευρεθῆναι
παρὰ σφίσι λέγουσι καὶ Τυρσηνίην ἀποικίσαι,
ΑΝ: \ 2s , 5. ΟΝ ἢ na ,
ὧδε περὶ αὐτῶν λέγοντες. ἐπὶ ΓΑτυος τοῦ Mavew
βασιλέος σιτοδείην ἰσχυρὴν ἀνὰ τὴν Λυδίην
nm \ , /
πᾶσαν γενέσθαι, καὶ τοὺς Λυδοὺς τέως μὲν διάγειν
λιπαρέοντας, μετὰ δὲ ὡς οὐ παύεσθαι, ἄκεα δίζη-
σθαι, ἄλλον δὲ ἄλλο ἐπιμηχανᾶσθαι αὐτῶν.
ἐξευρεθῆναι δὴ ὧν τότε καὶ τῶν κύβων καὶ τῶν
ἀστραγάλων καὶ τῆς σφαίρης καὶ τῶν ἀλλέων

122

BOOK I. 93-94

whereof is made of great stones and the rest of it of
mounded earth. It was built by the men of the mar-
ket and the artificers and the prostitutes. There
remained till my time five corner-stones set on the
top of the tomb, and on these was graven the record
of the work done by each kind: and measurement
showed that the prostitutes’ share of the work was
the greatest. All the daughters of the common
people of Lydia ply the trade of prostitutes, to
collect dowries, till they can get themselves hus-
bands; and they offer themselves in marriage.
Now this tomb has a circumference of six furlongs
and a third, and its breadth is above two fur-
longs; and there is a great lake hard by the tomb,
which, say the Lydians, is fed by ever-flowing
springs; it is called the Gygaean lake. Such then
is this tomb.

94. The customs of the Lydians are like those of
the Greeks, save that they make prostitutes of their
female children. They were the first men (known to
us) who coined and used gold and silver currency ;
and they were the first to sell by retail. And, accord-
ing to what they themselves say, the pastimes now in
use among them and the Greeks were invented by the
Lydians: these, they say, were invented among them
at the time when they colonised Tyrrhenia. This is
their story : In the reign of Atys son of Manes there
was great scarcity of food in all Lydia. For a while
the Lydians bore this with what patience they could ;
presently, when there was no abatement of the
famine, they sought for remedies, and divers plans
were devised by divers men. Then it was that they
invented the games of dice and knuckle-bones and

123

HERODOTUS

πασέων παιγνιέων τὰ εἴδεα, πλὴν πεσσῶν: τούτων
γὰρ ὧν τὴν ἐξεύρεσιν οὐκ οἰκηιοῦνται Λυδοί.
ποιέειν δὲ ὧδε πρὸς τὸν λιμὸν ἐξευρόντας, τὴν μὲν
ἑτέρην τῶν ἡμερέων παίζειν πᾶσαν, ἵνα δὴ μὴ
ζητέοιεν σιτία, τὴν δὲ ἑτέρην σιτέεσθαι παυομένους
τῶν παιγνιέων. τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ διάγειν ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα
δυῶν δέοντα εἴκοσι. ἐπείτε δὲ οὐκ ἀνιέναι τὸ
κακὸν ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι ἐπὶ μᾶλλον βιάζεσθαι, οὕτω δὴ
τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῶν δύο μοίρας διελόντα Λυδῶν
πάντων κληρῶσαι τὴν μὲν ἐπὶ μόνῃ τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ
ἐξόδῳ ἐκ τῆς χώρης, καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῇ μένειν αὐτοῦ
λαγχανούσῃ τῶν μοιρέων ἑωυτὸν τὸν βασιλέα
προστάσσειν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ ἀπαλλασσομένῃ τὸν ἑωυ-
τοῦ παῖδα, τῷ οὔνομα εἶναι Τυρσηνόν. λαχόντας
δὲ αὐτῶν τοὺς ἑτέρους ἐξιέναι ἐκ τῆς χώρης κατα-
βῆναι ἐς Σμύρνην καὶ μηχανήσασθαι πλοῖα, ἐς τὰ
ἐσθεμένους τὰ πάντα ὅσα σφι ἣν χρηστὰ ἐπί-
πλοα, ἀποπλέειν κατὰ βίου τε καὶ γῆς ζήτησιν,
ἐς ὃ ἔθνεα πολλὰ παραμειψαμένους ἀπικέσθαι ἐ ἐς
᾿Ομβρικούς, ἔνθα σφέας ἐνιδρύσασθαι πόλιας καὶ
οἰκέειν τὸ μέχρι τοῦδε. ἀντὶ δὲ Λυδῶν μετονο-
μασθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέος τοῦ παιδός, ὅς
σῴφεας ἀνήγαγε, ἐπὶ τούτου τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ποιευ-
μένους ὀνομασθῆναι Τυρσηνούς.

δ μὲν δὴ ὑπὸ Πέρσῃσι ἐδεδούλωντο.

98. ὑπιδίξηται δὲ δὴ τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος
τόν τε Κῦρον ὅστις ἐὼν τὴν Κροίσου ἀρχὴν
κατεῖλε, καὶ τοὺς Πέρσας ὅτεῳ τρόπῳ ἡγήσαντο
τῆς ᾿Ασίης. ὡς ὧν Περσέων μετεξέτεροι λέγουσι,
οἱ μὴ Bovdopevor σεμνοῦν τὰ περὶ Κῦρον ἀλλὰ
τὸν ἐόντα λέγειν λόγον, κατὰ ταῦτα γράψω,

124

BOOK I. 94-95

ball, and all other forms of pastime except only
draughts, which the Lydians do not claim to have
discovered. Then, using their discovery to lighten
the famine, they would play for the whole of every
other day, that they might not have to seek for food,
and the next day they ceased from their play and ate.
This was their manner of life for eighteen years.
But the famine did not cease to plague them, and
rather afflicted them yet more grievously.. At last
their king divided the people into two portions, and
made them draw lots, so that the one part should
remain and the other leave the country ; he himself
was to be the head of those who drew the lot to re-
main there, and his son, whose name was Tyrrhenus,
of those who departed. Then one part of them,
having drawn the lot, left the country and came down
to Smyrna and built ships, whereon they set all their
goods that could be carried on shipboard, and sailed
away to seek a livelihood and a country; till at last,
after sojourning with many nations in turn, they came
to the Ombrici,! where they founded cities and have
dwelt ever since. They no longer called themselves
Lydians, but Tyrrhenians, after the name of the
king’s son who had led them thither.

The Lydians, then, were enslaved by the
Persians.

95. But it is next the business of my history to
inquire who this Cyrus was who brought down the
power of Croesus, and how the Persians came to be
rulers of Asia. I mean then to be guided in what
I write by some of the Persians who desire not to
make a fine tale of the story of Cyrus but to tell

1 In northern and central Italy ; the Umbria of Roman
history perpetuates the name.

125

HERODOTUS

ἐπιστάμενος περὶ Κύρου καὶ τριφασίας ἄλλας
λόγων ὁδοὺς φῆναι.

᾿Ασσυρίων ἀρχόντων τῆς ἄνω ᾿Ασίης ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα
εἴκοσι καὶ πεντακόσια, πρῶτοι ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν Μη-
δοι ἤρξαντο ἀπίστασθαι, καί κως οὗτοι περὶ
τῆς ἐλευθερίης μαχεσάμενοι τοῖσι ᾿Ασσυρίοισι
ἐγένοντο ἄνδρες ἀγαθοί, καὶ ἀπωσάμενοι τὴν
δουλοσύνην ἐλευθερώθησαν. μετὰ δὲ τούτους καὶ
τὰ ἄλλα ἔθνεα ἐποίεε τὠυτὸ τοῖσι Μήδοισι.

96. ᾿Εόντων δὲ αὐτονόμων πάντων ἀνὰ τὴν
ἤπειρον, ὧδε αὖτις ἐς τυραννίδα περιῆλθον. ἀνὴρ
ἐν τοῖσι Μήδοισι ἐγένετο σοφὸς τῷ οὔνομα ἣν
Δηιόκης, παῖς δ᾽ ἦν Φραόρτεω. οὗτος ὁ Δηιόκης
ἐρασθεὶς τυραννίδος ἐποίεε τοιάδε. κατοικημένων
τῶν Mydev κατὰ κώμας, ἐν τῇ ἑωυτοῦ ἐὼν καὶ
πρότερον δόκιμος καὶ μᾶλλόν τι καὶ προθυμότερον
ικαιοσύνην ἐπιθέμενος ἤσκεε" καὶ ταῦτα μέντοι
ἐούσης ἀνομίης πολλῆς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Μηδικὴν
ἐποίεε, ἐπιστάμενος ὅτι τῷ δικαίῳ τὸ ἄδικον πολέ-
μίον ἐστί. οἱ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς κώμης Μῆδοι
ὁρῶντες αὐτοῦ τοὺς τρόπους δικαστήν μιν ἑωυτῶν
αἱρέοντο. ὃ δὲ δή, οἷα μνώμενος. ἀρχήν, ἰθύς τε
καὶ δίκαιος ἣν, ποιέων τε ταῦτα ἔπαινον εἶχε οὐκ
ὀλίγον πρὸς τῶν πολιητέων, οὕτω ὥστε πυνθανό-
μενοι οἱ ἐν τῆσι ἄλλῃσι κώμῃσι ὡς Δηιόκης εἴη
ἀνὴρ μοῦνος κατὰ τὸ ὀρθὸν δικάζων, πρότερον
περιπίπτοντες ἀδίκοισι γνώμῃσι, τότε ἐπείτε
ἤκουσαν ἄσμενοι ἐφοίτων παρὰ τὸν Δηιόκεα
καὶ αὐτοὶ δικασόμενοι, τέλος δὲ οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ
ἐπετράποντο.

97. Πλεῦνος δὲ αἰεὶ γινομένου τοῦ ἐπιφοιτέ-
οντος, οἷα πυνθανομένων τὰς δίκας ἀποβαίνειν

126

BOOK I. 95-97

the truth, though there are no less than three other
accounts of Cyrus which I could give.

When the Assyrians had ruled Upper Asia for five
hundred and twenty years! their subjects began to
revolt from them: first of all, the Medes. These, it
would seem, proved their valour in fighting for freedom
against the Assyrians; they cast off their slavery and
won freedom. Afterwards the other subject nations
too did the same as the Medes.

96. All of those on the mainland were now free
men; but they came once more to be ruled by mon-
archs as I will now relate. There was among the
Medians a clever man called Deioces: he was the son
of Phraortes. Deioces was enamoured of sovereignty,
and thus he set about gaining it. Being already a
notable man in his own township (one of the many
townships into which Media was parcelled), he began
to profess and practise justice more constantly and
zealously than ever, and this he did although there
was much lawlessness in all the land of Media, and
though he knew that injustice is ever the foe of jus-
tice. Then the Medes of the same township, seeing
his dealings, chose him to be their judge, and he (for
he coveted sovereign power) was honest and just.
By so acting he won no small praise from his fellow
townsmen, insomuch that when the men of the
other townships learned that Deioces alone gave
righteous judgments (they having before suffered
from unjust decisions) they, then, on hearing this,
came often and gladly to plead before Deioces; and
at last they would submit to no arbitrament but his.

97. The number of those who came grew ever
greater, for they heard that each case ended as

? From 1229 to 709 B.c., as Deioces’ reign began in 709.
127

HERODOTUS

κατὰ TO ἐόν, γνοὺς ὁ Δηιόκης ἐς ἑωυτὸν πᾶν
ἀνακείμενον οὔτε κατίξζειν ἔτει ἤθελε ἔνθα περ
πρότερον προκατίζων ἐδίκαζε, οὔτ᾽ ἔφη δικῶν ἔτι"
οὐ γάρ οἱ λυσιτελέειν τῶν ἑωυτοῦ ἐξημεληκότα
τοῖσι πέλας δι᾽ ἡμέρης δικάζειν. ἐούσης ὧν
ἁρπαγῆς καὶ ἀνομίης ἔτι πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀνὰ τὰς
κώμας ἢ πρότερον ἣν, συνελέχθησαν οἱ Moo
ἐς τὠυτὸ καὶ ἐδίδοσαν σφίσι λόγον, λέγοντες περὶ
τῶν κατηκόντων. ὡς δ᾽ ἐγὼ δοκέω, μάλιστα
ἔλεγον οἱ τοῦ Δηιόκεω φίλοι “Ov yap δὴ τρόπῳ
τῷ παρεόντι χρεώμενοι δυνατοὶ εἰμὲν οἰκέειν τὴν
χώρην, φέρε στήσωμεν ἡμέων αὐτῶν “βασιλέα'
καὶ οὕτω ἥ τε χώρη εὐνομήσεται καὶ αὐτοὶ πρὸς
ἔργα τρεψόμεθα, οὐδὲ ὑπ᾽ ἀνομίης ἀνάστατοι
ἐσόμεθα." ταῦτά κῃ λέγοντες πείθουσι ἑωυτοὺς
βασιλεύεσθαι.

Αὐτίκα δὲ προβαλλομένων ὅντινα στή-
σονται βασιλέα, ὁ Δηιόκης ἦν πολλὸς ὑπὸ παντὸς
ἀνδρὸς καὶ προβαλλόμενος καὶ αἰνεόμενος, ἐς ὃ
τοῦτον καταινέουσι βασιλέα σφίσι εἶναι. ὃ δ᾽
ἐκέλευε αὐτοὺς οἰκία τε ἑωυτῷ ἄξια τῆς βασιληίης
οἰκοδομῆσαι καὶ κρατῦναι αὐτὸν δορυφύροισι'
ποιεῦσι δὴ ταῦτα οἱ Μῆδοι: οἰκοδομέουσί TE yap
αὐτῷ οἰκία μεγάλα τε καὶ ἰσχυρά, ἵνα αὐτὸς
ἔφρασε τῆς χώρης, καὶ δορυφόρους αὐτῷ ἐπι-
τράώπουσι ἐκ πώντων Μήδων καταλέξασθαι. ὃ
δὲ ὡς ἔσχε τὴν ἀρχήν, τοὺς ΔΙήδους ἠνάγκασε
ἕν πόλισμα ποιήσασθαι καὶ τοῦτο περιστέλλοντας
τῶν ἄλλων ἧσσον ἐπιμέλεσθαι. πειθομένων δὲ
καὶ ταῦτα τῶν Μήδων οἰκοδομέει τείχεα μεγάλα
τε καὶ καρτερὰ ταῦτα τὰ νῦν ᾿Αγβάτανα κέ-
κληται, ἕτερον ἑτέρῳ κύκλῳ ἐνεστεῶτα. μεμη-

128

BOOK I. 9η-98

accorded with the truth. Then Deioces, seeing that all
was now entrusted to him, would not sit in his former
seat of judgment, and said he would give no more
decisions ; for it was of no advantage to him (he said)
to leave his own business and spend all the day
judging the cases of his neighbours. This caused
robbery and lawlessness to increase greatly in the
townships; and the Medes gathering together con-
ferred about their present affairs, and said (here, as I
suppose, the chief speakers were Deioces’ friends),
“Since we cannot with our present manner of life
dwell peacefully in the country, come, let us set up
a king for ourselves; thus will the country be weli
governed, and we ourselves shall betake ourselves
to our business, and cease to be undone by lawless-
ness’ By such words they persuaded themselves
to be ruled by a king.

98. The question was forthwith propounded: Whom
should they make king? Then every man was loud
in putting Deioces forward and praising Deioces, till
they agreed that he should be their king. He bade
them build him houses worthy of his royal power,
and arm him with a bodyguard: the Medes did so;
they built him great and strong houses at what places
soever in the country he showed them, and suffered
him to choose a bodyguard out of all their people.
But having obtained the power, he constrained the
Medes to make him one stronghold and to fortify
this more strongly than all the rest. This too the
Medes did for him: so he built the great and mighty
circles of walls within walls which are now called
Agbatana.! This fortress is so planned that each

1 Modern Hamadan, probably : but see Rawlinson’s note.
129

HERODOTUS

χάνηται δὲ οὕτω τοῦτο τὸ τεῖχος ὥστε ὁ ἕτερος
τοῦ ἑτέρου κύκλος τοῖσι προμαχεῶσι μούνοισι
ἐστι ὑψηλότερος. τὸ μέν κού τι καὶ τὸ χωρίον
συμμαχέει κολωνὸς ἐὼν ὥστε τοιοῦτο εἶναι, τὸ
δὲ καὶ μᾶλλόν TL ἐπετηδεύθη. κύκλων δ᾽ ἐόντων
τῶν συναπάντων ἑπτά, ἐν δὴ τῷ τελευταίῳ τὰ
βασιλήια ἔνεστι καὶ οἱ θησαυροί. τὸ δ᾽ αὐτῶν
μέγιστον ἐστὶ τεῖχος κατὰ τὸν ᾿Αθηνέων κύκλον
μάλιστά κῃ τὸ μέγαθος. τοῦ μὲν δὴ πρώτου
κύκλου οἱ προμαχεῶνες εἰσὶ λευκοί, τοῦ δὲ δευτέ-
ρου μέλανες, τρίτου δὲ κύκλου φοινίκεοι, τετάρτου
δὲ κυάνεοι, πέμπτου δὲ σανδαράκινοι. οὕτω τῶν
πέντε κύκλων οἱ προμαχεῶνες ἠνθισμένοι εἰσὶ
φαρμάκοισι: δύο δὲ οἱ τελευταῖοι εἰσὶ ὃ μὲν
καταργυρωμένους ὃ δὲ κατακεχρυσωμένους ἔχων

ν
τοὺς προμαχεῶνας.

99. Ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ὁ Δηιόκης ἑωυτῷ τε ἐτείχεε
καὶ περὶ τὰ ἑωυτοῦ οἰκία, τὸν δὲ ἄλλον δῆμον
πέριξ ἐκέλευε τὸ τεῖχος οἰκέειν. οἰκοδομηθέντων
δὲ πάντων κόσμον τόνδε Δηιόκης πρῶτος ἐστὶ
ὁ καταστησάμενος, μήτε ἐσιέναι παρὰ βασιλέα
μηδένα, Ov ἀγγέλων δὲ πάντα “χρᾶσθαι, ὁρᾶσθαι
τε βασιλέα ὑπὸ μηδενός, πρός τε τούτοισι ἔτι
γελᾶν τε καὶ ἀντίον πτύειν καὶ ἅπασι εἶναι τοῦτό
γε αἰσχρόν. ταῦτα δὲ περὶ ἑωυτὸν ἐσέμνυνε
τῶνδε εἵνεκεν, ὅκως ἂν "μὴ ὁρῶντες οἱ ὁμήλικες,
ἐόντες σύντροφοί τε ἐκείνῳ καὶ οἰκίης οὐ φλαυρο-
τέρης οὐδὲ ἐς ἀνδραγαθίην λειπόμενοι, λυπεοίατο
καὶ ἐπιβουλεύοιεν, ἀλλ᾽ ETEPOLOS σφι δοκέοι εἶναι
μὴ ὁρῶσι.

100. ᾿Βπείτε δὲ ταῦτα διεκόσμησε καὶ ἐκρά-
τυνε ἑωυτὸν τῇ τυραννίδι, ἣν τὸ δίκαιον φυλάσσων

130

BOOK I. 9οὅ--τοο

circle of walls is higher than the next outer circle by
no more than the height of its battlements; to which
end the site itself, being on a hill in the plain, some-
what helps, but chiefly it was accomplished by art.
There are seven circles in all ; within the innermost
circle are the king’s dwellings and the treasuries;
and the longest wall is about the length of the wall
that surrounds the city of Athens.!_ The battlements
of the first circle are white, of the second black, of
the third circle purple, of the fourth blue, and of
the fifth orange : thus the battlements of five circles
are painted with colours ; and the battlements of the
last two circles are coated, these with silver and those
with gold.

99. Deioces buiit these walls for himself and around
his own palace; the people were to dwell without the
wall. And when all was built, it was Deioces first who
established the rule that no one should come into the
presence of the king, but all should be dealt with by
the means of messengers; that the king should be
seen by no man; and moreover that it should be in
particular a disgrace for any to laugh or to spit in his
presence. He was careful to hedge himself with all
this state in order that the men of his own age (who
had been bred up with him and were as nobly born as
he and his equals in manly excellence), instead of
seeing him and being thereby vexed and _ haply
moved to plot against him, might by reason of not
seeing him deem him to be changed from what he
had been.’

100. Having ordered all these matters and strongly
armed himself with sovereign power, he was a hard

1 About eight miles, according to a scholiast’s note

on Thucyd. ii. 13; but this is disputed.
2 Or, perhaps, different from themselves.

131

HERODOTUS

χαλεπός: καὶ τάς τε δίκας γράφοντες ἔσω παρ᾽
ἐκεῖνον ἐσπέμπεσκον, καὶ ἐκεῖνος διακρίνων τὰς
ἐσφερομένας ἐκπέμπεσκε. ταῦτα μὲν κατὰ τὰς
δίκας ἐποίεε, τάδε δὲ ἄλλα ἐκεκοσμέατό οἱ" εἴ
τινα πυνθάνοιτο ὑβρίζοντα, τοῦτον ὅκως μετα-
πέμψαιτο κατ᾽ ἀξίην ἑ ἑκάστου ἀδικήματος ἐδικαίευ,
καί οἱ κατάσκοποί τε καὶ κατήκοοι ἦσαν ἀνὰ
πᾶσαν τὴν χώρην. τῆς ἦρχε.

101. Δηιόκης μέν νυν τὸ EEO ἔθνος συνέ-
στρεψε μοῦνον καὶ τούτον ἦρξε: ἔστι δὲ Μήδων
τοσάδε γένεα, Βοῦσαι Παρητακηνοὶ Στρούχατες
᾿Αριξζαντοὶ Βούδιοι Μάγοι. γένεα μὲν δὴ Μήδων
ἐστὶ τοσάδε.

102. Δηιόκεω δὲ παῖς γίνεται Φραύρτης, ὃς
τελευτήσαντος Δηιόκεω, βασιλεύσαντος τρία καὶ
πεντήκοντα ἔτεα, παρεδέξατο τὴν ἀρχήν, παρα-
δεξάμενος δὲ οὐκ ; ἀπεχρᾶτο μούνων Μήδων a ἄρχειν,
ἀλλὰ στρατευσάμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς Πέρσας πρώτοισί
τε τούτοισι ἐπεθήκατο καὶ πρώτους Μήδων ὑπη-
κόους ἐποίησε. μετὰ δὲ ἔχων δύο ταῦτα ἔθνεα
καὶ ἀμφότερα ἰσχυρά, κατεστρέε ἐφετο τὴν ᾿Ασίην
ἀπ᾽ ἄλλου ἐπ᾽ ἄλλο ἰὼν ἔθνος, ἐς ὃ στρατευσά-
μενος ἐπὶ τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους καὶ ᾿Ασσυρίων τούτους
οἵ Νίνον εἶχον καὶ ἦρχον πρότερον πάντων, τότε
δὲ ἦσαν μεμουνωμένοι μὲν συμμάχων ἅτε ἀπ-
εστεώτων, ἄλλως μέντοι ἑωυτῶν εὖ ἥκοντες, ἐπὶ
τούτους δὴ στρατευσάμενος ὁ Φραόρτης αὐτός τε
διεφθάρη, ἄρξας δύο καὶ εἴκοσι ἔτεα, καὶ ὁ στρατὸς
αὐτοῦ ὁ πολλός.

103. Φραόρτεω δὲ τελευτήσαντος ἐξεδέξατο
Κυαξάρης ὁ 0 Φραόρτεω τοῦ Δηιόκεω παῖς. οὗτος
λέγεται πολλὸν ἔτει γενέσθαι ἀλκιμώτερος τῶν

132

BOOK I. τοο-τος

man in the observance of justice. They would write
down their pleas and send them in to him; then would
he adjudge upon what was brought him and send his
judgments out. This was his manner of deciding cases
at law, and he took order too about other matters;
for when he heard that a man was doing violence he
would send for him and punish him as befitted each
offence : and he had spies and eavesdroppers every-
where in his dominions.

101. Deioces, then, united the Median nation, and
no other, andruled it. The Median tribes are these—
the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti,
the Budii, the Magi: so many are their tribes.

102. Deioces had a son, Phraortes, who inherited
the throne at Deioces’ death after a reign of fifty-
three years.!_ Having so inherited, he was not content
to rule the Medes alone: marching against the Per-
sians, he attacked them first, and they were the first
whom he made subject to the Medes. Then, with
these two strong nations at his back, he subdued one
nation of Asia after another, till he marched against
the Assyrians, to wit, those of the Assyrians who held
Ninus. These had formerly been rulers of all; but
now their allies had dropped from them and they
were left alone, yet in themselves a prosperous people:
marching then against these Assyrians, Phraortes him-
self and the greater part of his army perished, after
he had reigned twenty-two years.

103. At his death he was succeeded by his son
Cyaxares. He is said to have been a much greater

1 Deioces died in 656 B.o.

Ψ 133

HERODOTUS

προγόνων, καὶ πρῶτός τε ἐλόχισε κατὰ τέλεα
τοὺς ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίῃ καὶ πρῶτος διέταξε “χωρὶς
ἑκάστους εἶναι, τούς τε αἰχμοφόρους καὶ τοὺς
τοξοφόρους καὶ τοὺς ἱππέας" πρὸ τοῦ δὲ ἀναμὶξ
ἣν πάντα ὁμοίως ἀναπεφυρμένα. οὗτος ὁ τοῖσι
Λυδοῖσι ἐστὶ μαχεσάμενος ὅτε νὺξ ἡ ἡμέρη
ἐγένετό σφι μαχομένοισι, καὶ ὁ τὴν Αλυος ποτα-
μοῦ ἄνω ᾿Ασίην πᾶσαν συστήσας ἑωυτῷ. συλ-
λέξας δὲ τοὺς ὑπ᾽ ἑωυτῷ ἀρχομένους πάντας
ἐστρατεύετο ἐπὶ τὴν Νίνον, τιμωρέων TE τῷ πατρὶ
καὶ τὴν πόλιν ταύτην θέλων ἐξελεῖν. καί οἱ, ὡς
συμβαλὼν ἐνίκησε τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους, περικατη-
μένῳ τὴν Νίνον ἐπῆλθε Σκυθέων στρατὸς μέγας,
ἦγε δὲ αὐτοὺς βασιλεὺς ὁ Σκυθέων. Μαδύης
Προτοθύεω παῖς" ot ἐσέβαλον μὲν ἐς τὴν ᾿Ασίην
Κιμμερίους ἐκβαλόντες ἐκ τῆς Evporns, τούτοισι
δὲ ἐπισπόμενοι φεύγουσι οὕτω ἐς τὴν Μηδικὴν
χώρην ἀπίκοντο.

104. "ἔστε δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς λίμνης τῆς Μαιήτιδος
ἐπὶ Φᾶσιν ποταμὸν καὶ ἐς Κόλχους τριήκοντα
ἡμερέων εὐζώνῳ ὁδός, ἐκ δὲ τῆς Κολχίδος οὐ
πολλὸν ὑπερβῆναι ἐς τὴν Μηδικήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἕν τὸ
διὰ μέσου ἔθνος αὐτῶν ἐστι. Σάσπειρες, τοῦτο δὲ
παραμειβομένοισι εἶναι ἐν τῇ Μηδικῇ. οὐ μέντοι
οἵ γε Σκύθαι ταύτῃ ἐσέβαλον, ἀλλὰ τὴν κατύ-
περθε ὁδὸν πολλῷ μακροτέρην ἐκτραπόμενοι, ἐν
δεξιῇ ἔχοντες τὸ Καυκάσιον ὄρος. ἐνθαῦτα οἱ
μὲν Μῆδοι συμβαλόντες τοῖσι Σκύθησι καὶ ἑσσω-
θέντες τῇ μάχῃ τῆς “ἀρχῆς κατελύθησαν, οἱ δὲ
Σκύθαι τὴν ᾿Δσίην πᾶσαν ἐπέσχον.

134

BOOK I. 103-104

warrior than his fathers: it was he who first arrayed
the men of Asia in companies and set each kind in
bands apart, the spearmen and the archers and the
horsemen: before this they were all blended alike
confusedly together. This was the king who fought
against the Lydians when the day was turned to night
in the battle, and who united under his dominion all
Asia that is beyond the river Halys. Collecting all his
subjects, he marched against Ninus, wishing to avenge
his father and to destroy the city. He defeated the
Assyrians in battle ; but while he was besieging their
city there came down upon him a great army of
Seythians, led by their king Madyes son of Protothyes.
These had invaded Asia after they had driven the
Cimmerians out of Europe: pursuing them in their
flight the Scythians came to the Median country.!

104. It is thirty days’ journey for an unburdened
man from the Maeetian lake? to the river Phasis and
the land of the Colchi; from the Colchi it is an easy
matter to cross into Media: there is but one nation
between, the Saspires; to pass these is to be in
Media. Nevertheless it was not by this way that
the Scythians entered; they turned aside and came
by the upper and much longer road, having on their
right the Caucasian mountains. There the Medes
met the Scythians, who worsted them in battle and
deprived them of their rule, and made themselves
masters of all Asia.

1 This is the same story as that related in the early
chapters of Book LV. The Scythians, apparently, marched
eastwards along the northern slope of the Caucasus, turning
south between the end of the range and the Caspian. But
Herodotus’ geography in this story is difficult to follow.—

The ‘‘Saspires” are in Armenia.
2 The Maeetian lake is the Sea of Azov.

135

HERODOTUS

105. ᾿Ενθεῦτεν δὲ ἤισαν ἐπ’ Αἴγυπτον: καὶ
ἐπείτε ἐγένοντο ἐν τῇ [Παλαιστίνῃ Συρίῃ, Ψαμμή-
τίχος σφέας Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς ἀντιάσας δώ-
ροισί τε καὶ λιτῇσι ἀποτράπει τὸ προσωτέρω μὴ
πορεύεσθαι. οἱ δὲ ἐπείτε ἀναχωρέοντες ὀπίσω
ἐγένοντο τῆς Συρίης ἐν ᾿Ασκάλωνι πόλι, τῶν
πλεόνων Σκυθέων παρεξελθόντων ἀσινέων, ὀλίγοι
τινὲς αὐτῶν ὑπολειφθέντες ἐσύλησαν τῆς οὐρανίης
᾿Αφροδίτης τὸ ἱρόν. ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἱρόν, ὡς
ἐγὼ πυνθανόμενος εὑρίσκω, πάντων ἀρχαιότατον
ἱρῶν ὅσα ταύτης τῆς θεοῦ! καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐν Κύπρῳ
ἱρὸν ἐνθεῦτεν ἐγένετο, ὡς αὐτοὶ Κύπριοι λέγουσι,
καὶ τὸ ἐν Κυθήροισι Φοίνικες εἰσὶ οἱ ἱδρυσάμενοι
ἐκ ταύτης τῆς Συρίης ἐόντες. τοῖσι δὲ τῶν YKv-
θέων συλήσασι τὸ ἱρὸν τὸ ἐν ᾿Ασκάλωνι καὶ τοῖσι
τούτων αἰεὶ ἐκγόνοισι ἐνέσκηψε ὁ θεὸς θήλεαν
νοῦσον' ὥστε ἅμα λέγουσί τε οἱ Σκύθαι διὰ τοῦτο
σφέας νοσέειν, καὶ ὁρᾶν παρ᾽ ἑωυτοῖσι τοὺς
ἀπικνεομένους ἐς τὴν Σκυθικὴν χώρην ὡς δια-
κέαται τοὺς καλέουσι ᾿Ενάρεας. οἱ Σκύθαι.

106. “Est μέν νυν ὀκτὼ καὶ εἴκοσι ἔτεα ἦρχον
τῆς ᾿Ασίης οἱ Σκύθαι, καὶ τὰ πάντα σφι ὑπὸ τε
ὕβριος καὶ ὀλιγωρίης ἀνάστατα ἣν" χωρὶς μὲν
γὰρ φόρον ἔπρησσον παρ᾽ ἑκάστων τὸν ἑκάστοισι
ἐπέβαλλον, χωρὶς δὲ τοῦ φόρου ἥρπαζον περιε-
λαύνοντες τοῦτο ὅ τι ἔχοιεν ἕκαστοι. καὶ τούτων
μὲν τοὺς πλεῦνας Κυαξάρης τε καὶ Μῆδοι ξεινί-
σαντες καὶ καταμεθύσαντες κατεφόνευσαν, καὶ
οὕτω ἀνεσώσαντο τὴν ἀρχὴν Μῆξοι καὶ ἐπεκρά-
τεον τῶν περ καὶ πρότερον, καὶ τήν τε Νίνον

126

BOOK I. 103-106

105. Thence they marched against Egypt: and
when they were in the part of Syria called Palestine,
Psammetichus king of Egypt met them and persuaded
them with gifts and prayers to come no further. So
they turned back, and when they came on their way
to the city of Ascalon in Syria, most of the Scythians
passed by and did no harm, but a few remained behind
and plundered the temple of Heavenly Aphrodite.!
This temple, as I learn from what I hear, is the oldest
of all the temples of the goddess, for the temple in
Cyprus was founded from it, as the Cyprians them-
selves say: and the temple on Cythera was founded
by Phoenicians from this same land of Syria. But the
Scythians who pillaged the temple, and all their des-
cendants after them, were afflicted by the goddess
with the “female” sickness: insomuch that the Scy-
thians say that this is the cause of their disease, and
that those who come to Scythia can see there the
plight of the men whom they call “ Enareis.” ?

106. The Scythians, then, ruled Asia for twenty-
eight years: and all the land was wasted by reason of
their violence and their pride, for, besides that they
exacted from each the tribute which was laid upon
him, they rode about the land carrying off all men’s
possessions. The greater number of them were enter-
tained and made drunk and then slain by Cyaxares and
the Medes: so thus the Medes won back their empire
and all that they had formerly possessed ; and they

1 The great goddess (Mother of Heaven and Earth) wor-
shipped by Eastern nations under various names—M ylitta in
Assyria, Astarte in Phoenicia: called Heavenly Aphrodite,
or simply the Heavenly One, by Greeks.

2 The derivation of this word is uncertain; it is agreed

that the disease was a loss of virility. In iv. 67 ἐναρής =
ἀνδρόγυνος.

137

HERODOTUS

εἷλον (ὡς δὲ εἷλον, ἐν ἑτέροισι λόγοισι δηλώσω)
καὶ τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους ὑποχειρίους ἐποιήσαντο
πλὴν τῆς Βαβυλωνίης μοίρης.

107. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Κυαξάρης μέν, βασιλεύσας
τεσσεράκοντα ἔτεα σὺν τοῖσι Σκύθαι ἦρξαν,
τελευτᾷ, ἐκδέκεται δὲ ᾿Αστυάγης Κυαξάρεω παῖς
τὴν βασιληίην.

Καί οἱ ἐγένετο θυγάτηρ TH οὔνομα ἔθετο Μαν-
δάνην' τὴν ἐδόκεε ᾿Αστυάγης ἐ ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ ᾿οὐρῆσαι
τοσοῦτον ὥστε πλῆσαι μὲν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ πόλιν,
ἐπικατακλύσαι δὲ καὶ τὴν ᾿Ασίην πᾶσαν. ὕὑπερ-
θέμενος δὲ τῶν Μάγων τοῖσι ὀνειροπόλοισι τὸ
ἐνύπνιον, ἐφοβήθη παρ᾽ αὐτῶν αὐτὰ ἕκαστα
μαθών. μετὰ δὲ τὴν Μανδάνην ταύτην ἐοῦσαν
ἤδη ἀνδρὸς ὡραίην Μήδων μὲν τῶν ἑωυτοῦ ἀξίων
οὐδενὶ διδοῖ γυναῖκα, δεδοικὼς τὴν ὄψιν" Ὧν Oe
Πέρσῃ διδοῖ τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Καμβύσης, τὸν “εὕρισκε
οἰκίης μὲν ἐόντα ἀγαθῆς τρόπου δὲ ἡσυχίου,
πολλῷ ἔνερθε ἄγων αὐτὸν μέσου ἀνδρὸς Μήδου.

108. Συνοικεούσης δὲ τῴ Καμβύσῃ τῆς Μαν-
δάνης, ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτεϊ εἶδε ἄλλην
ὄψιν, ἐδόκεε δέ οἱ ἐκ τῶν αἰδοίων τῆς θυγατρὸς
ταύτης φῦναι ἄμπελον, τὴν δὲ ἄμπελον. ἐπισχεῖν
τὴν ᾿Ασίην πᾶσαν. ἰδὼν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ὑπερθέ-
μενος τοῖσι ὀνειροπόλοισι, μετεπέμψατο ἐκ τῶν
Περσέων τὴν θυγατέρα ἐπίτεκα ἐοῦσαν, ἀπικο-
μένην δὲ ἐφύλασσε βουλόμενος τὸ γενόμενον -
αὐτῆς διαφθεῖραι: ἐκ γάρ οἱ τῆς ὄψιος οἱ τῶν
Μάγων ὀνειροπόλοι ἐσήμαινον ὅτι μέλλοι, ὁ ,τῆς
θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ γόνος βασιλεύσειν ἀντὶ ἐκείνου.
ταῦτα δὴ ὧν φυλασσόμενος ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης, ὡς
ἐγένετο ὁ Κῦρος, καλέσας “Αρπαγον το τὸ οἰκήιον

128

BOOK I. 106-108

took Ninus (in what manner I will show in a later
part of my history), and brought all Assyria except
the province of Babylon under their rule.

107. Afterwards Cyaxares died after a reign of
forty years (among which I count the years of the
Scythian domination) : and his son Astyages reigned
in his stead.

Astyages had a daughter, whom he called Man-
dane: concerning whom he had a dream, that
enough water flowed from her to fill his city and
overflow all Asia. He imparted this vision to those
of the Magi who interpreted dreams, and when he
heard what they told him he was terrified: and
presently, Mandane being now of marriageable age,
he feared the vision too much to give her to any
Median worthy to mate with his family, but wedded
her to a Persian called Cambyses, a man whom he
knew to be well born and of a quiet temper: for
Astyages held Cambyses to be much lower than a
Mede of middle estate.

108. But in the first year of Mandane’s marriage to
Cambyses Astyages saw a second vision. He dreamt
that there grew from his daughter a vine, which
covered the whole of Asia. Having seen this vision,
and imparted it to the interpreters of dreams, he
sent to the Persians for his daughter, then near
her time, and when she came kept her guarded,
desiring to kill whatever child she might bear: for
the interpreters declared that the meaning of his
dream was that his daughter’s offspring should rule
in his place. Wishing to prevent this, Astyages
on the birth of Cyrus summoned to him a man
of his household called Harpagus, who was his

VOL. I: F 139

HERODOTUS

\ , , / \ 2 Pound?
καὶ πιστότατόν Te Myjdwv καὶ πάντων ἐπίτροπον
τῶν ἑωυτοῦ, ἔλεγέ οἱ τοιάδε. “Αρπαγε, πρῆγμα
/
τὸ av τοι προσθέω, alias παραχρήσῃ, μηδὲ
ἐμέ τε παραβάλῃ καὶ ἄλλους ἑλόμενος ἐξ ὑστέρης
rn , x 4 7
σοὶ αὐτῷ περιπέσῃς: λάβε τὸν Μανδάνη ἔτεκε
a n > if \ \
παῖδα, φέρων δὲ ἐς σεωυτοῦ ἀπόκτεινον, μετὰ δὲ
΄ / “ ᾽ \ ΄ 3) ἃ \ ’ /
θώψον τρόπῳ ὅτεῳ αὐτὸς βούλεαι." ὃ δὲ ἀμεί-
{ 2 la » 7 an
βεται ‘°Q, βασιλεῦ, οὔτε ἄλλοτέ κω παρεῖδες
3 \ a ” 7 / / Ni ’ \
ἀνδρὶ τῷδε ἄχαρι οὐδέν, φυλασσόμεθα δὲ ἐς σὲ
καὶ ἐς τὸν μετέπειτα χρόνον μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτ εἶν.
ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τοι φίλον τοῦτο οὕτω γίνεσθαι, χρὴ δὴ τό
γε ἐμὸν ὑπηρετέεσθαι ἐπιτηδέως.᾽
(«

109. Τούτοισι ἀμειψάμενος ὁ “Aprayos, ὥς οἱ
παρεδόθη τὸ παιδίον κεκοσμημένον τὴν ἐπὶ
is \ /
θανάτῳ, ἤιε κλαίων ἐς τὰ οἰκία' παρελθὼν δὲ

) ALC a \ \ ΄ ᾽ ΄,
ἔφραζε τῇ ἑωυτοῦ γυναικὶ τὸν πάντα ᾿Αστυάγεος
e / , aA \ \ 3 \ / 6c la 9 ,ὔ
ῥηθέντα λόγον. ἣ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγει “Νῦν ὧν τί
ὙΠ , Dp aN ͵ 2A Δ 9 , ἜΣ δέν, ἔνι
σοὶ ἐν vow ἐστὶ ποιέειν; " ὃ δὲ ἀμείβεται “ Οὐ τῇ
ἐνετέλλετο ᾿Αστυάγης, οὐδ᾽ εἰ ,“παραφρονήσει τε
καὶ μανέεται κάκιον ἢ νῦν μαίνεται, οὔ οἱ ἔγωγε
προσθήσομαι τῇ γνώμῃ οὐδὲ ἐς φόνον τοιοῦτον
an 7
ὑπηρετήσω. πολλῶν δὲ εἵνεκα οὐ φονεύσω μέν,
\ “ > an / \ ἐς fal \ Ὁ“
καὶ ὅτι αὐτῷ μοι συγγενής ἐστὶ ὁ παῖς, καὶ ὅτι
Αστυάγης μὲν ἐστὶ γέρων καὶ ἄπαις ἔρσενος
΄ > > /
γόνου" εἰ δ᾽ ἐθελήσει τούτου τελευτήσαντος ἐς
\ la a / a
τὴν θυγατέρα ταύτην ἀναβῆναι ἡ τυραννίς, τῆς
a \ e\ / 3 “ By /
νῦν Tov υἱὸν κτείνει Su ἐμεῦ, ἄλλο TL ἢ λείπεται
Col Gs) A \ \ an
To ἐνθεῦτεν ἐμοὶ κινδύνων ὁ μέγιστος; ἀλλὰ TOU
Ν > / ‘7 a fal a Ν
μὲν ἀσφαλέος εἵνεκα ἐμοὶ δεῖ τοῦτον τελευτᾶν τὸν
lal “ J, Lal lal
παῖδα, δεῖ μέντοι τῶν τινα ᾿Αστυάγεος αὐτοῦ
/ / lal lal
φονέα γενέσθαι καὶ μὴ τῶν ἐμῶν.

140

BOOK I, 108-109

faithfullest servant among the Medes and _ was
steward of all his possessions: then he said, “ Do
not mishandle this command of mine, Harpagus, nor
forsake me for the service of others, lest hereafter
it be the worse for yourself. Take the boy whom
Mandane has borne, and carry him to your house and
kill him: and then bury him in what manner you
yourself will.” “ King,” Harpagus answered, “ never
yet have you seen me do aught unpleasing to you;
and I will ever be careful not to offend against you.
But if it is your will that this should so be done, then
it behoves that for my part I render you fitting
service.

109. Thus answered Harpagus. The child was
then given to him, adorned for its death, and he went
to his-house weeping. When he came in he told his
wife all the command given him by Astyages. “ Now,
therefore,” said she to him, “what purpose you to
do?” “ Not,” he answered, “ to obey Astyages’ behest,
no, not though he lose his wits and be more frantic
than now he is: even so I myself will not serve
his purpose, nor be his instrument for such a murder.
There are many reasons why I will not kill the child:
he is akin to myself, and further, Astyages is old,
and has no male issue: now if after his death the
sovereignty passes to this daughter of his, whose son
he is now using me to slay, what is left for me but
the greatest of all dangers? Nay, for my safety I
must see that the boy dies, but the deed must be
done by some one of Astyages’ own men and not of
mine.

I4I

HERODOTUS

110. Ταῦτα εἶπε καὶ αὐτίκα ἄγγελον ἔπεμπε
ἐπὶ τῶν βουκόλων τῶν ᾿Αστυάγεος τὸν ἠπίστατο
νομάς τε ἐπιτηδεοτάτας νέμοντα καὶ ὄρεα θηριω-
δέστατα' τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Μιτραδάτης, συνοίκεε δὲ
ἑωυτοῦ συνδούλῃ, οὔνομα δὲ τῇ γυναικὶ HY τῇ
συνοίκεε Κυνὼ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Βλλήνων γλῶσσαν,
κατὰ δὲ τὴν Μηδικὴν Σπακώ: τὴν γὰρ κύνα
καλέουσι σπάκα Μῆδοι. αἱ δὲ ὑπώρεαι εἰσὶ τῶν
ὀρέων, ἔνθα τὰς νομὰς τῶν βοῶν εἶχε οὗτος δὴ ὁ
βουκόλος, πρὸς βορέω τε ἀνέμου τῶν ᾿Αγβατάνων
καὶ πρὸς τοῦ πόντου τοῦ Εὐξείνου" ταύτῃ μὲν γὰρ
ἡ Μηδικὴ χώρη πρὸς Σασπείρων ὀρεινή ἐστι
κάρτα καὶ ὑψηλή τε καὶ ἴδῃσι συνηρεφής, ἡ δὲ

ἄλλη Μηδικὴ χώρη ἐστὶ πᾶσα ἄπεδος. ἐπεὶ ὧν ὁ
βουκόλος σπουδῇ πολλῇ καλεόμενος ἀπίκετο,
ἔλεγε ὁ ἽΑρπαγος τάδε. “Κελεύει σε᾿Αστυάγης
τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο λαβόντα θεῖναι ἐς τὸ ἐρημότατον
τῶν ὀρέων, ὅκως ἂν τάχιστα διαφθαρείη: καὶ
τάδε τοι ἐκέλευσε εἰπεῖν, ἢν μὴ ἀποκτείνῃς αὐτὸ
ἀλλὰ τεῷ τρόπῳ περιποιήσης, ὀλέθρῳ τῷ κακίστῳ
σε διαχρήσεσθαι. ἐπορᾶν δὲ ἐκκείμενον τέταγμαι
eyo.”

111. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ βουκόλος καὶ ἀναλαβὼν
τὸ παιδίον ἤιε τὴν αὐτὴν ὀπίσω ὁδὸν καὶ ἀπι-
κνέεται ἐς τὴν ἔπαυλιν. τῷ δ᾽ ἄρα καὶ αὐτῷ ἡ
γυνή, ἐπίτεξ ἐοῦσα πᾶσαν ἡμέρην, τότε κως κατὰ
δαίμονα τίκτει οἰχομένου τοῦ βουκόλου ἐς πόλιν.
ἦσαν δὲ ἐν φροντίδι ἀμφότεροι ἀλλήλων πέρι,
ὃ μὲν τοῦ τόκου τῆς γυναικὸς ἀρρωδέων, ἡ ἡ δὲ γυνὴ
ὅ τι οὐκ ἐωθὼς ὁ “Aprrayos μεταπέμψαιτο αὐτῆς
τὸν ἄνδρα. ἐπείτε δὲ ἀπονοστήσας ἐπέστη, οἷα
ἐξ ἀέλπτου ἰδοῦσα ἡ γυνὴ εἴρετο προτέρη ὅ τι μιν

142

ΒΘΟΘΙ ΘΟ ΥΤΙ

110. So saying, he sent forthwith a messenger to
that one of Astyages’ cowherds whom he knew to
pasture his herds in the likeliest places and where
the mountains were most haunted of wild beasts.
The man’s name was Mitradates, and his wife
was a slave like him; her name was in the Greek
language Cyno, in the Median Spako: for “spax”’
is the Median name for a dog. The foothills ot
the mountains where this cowherd pastured his
kine are to the north of Agbatana, towards the
Euxine sea: for the rest of Media is everywhere
a level plain, but here, on the side of the Saspires,}
the land is very high and mountainous and covered
with woods. So when the cowherd came with all
speed at the summons, Harpagus said: “ Astyages
bids you take this child and lay it in the most
desolate part of the mountains, that it may thus
perish as soon as may be. And he bids me say, that
if you kill not the child, but in any way save it alive,
you shall die a terrible death: and it is I who am
ordered to see it exposed.”

111. Hearing this, the cowherd took up the child
and returned by the same way and came to his stead-
ing. Now it chanced that his wife too had been
expecting her time every day, and providence so
ordained that she was brought to bed while her man
was away in the city. Each of them was anxious for
the other, the husband being afraid about his wife’s
travail, and the wife because she knew not why
Harpagus had so unwontedly sent for her husband.
So when he returned and came before her, she was
startled by the unexpected sight and asked him before

1 In the north-western part of Media: modern Azer-
baijan.

143

HERODOTUS

οὕτω προθύμως “Aptayos μετεπέμψατο. ὃ δὲ
εἶπε “°C, γύναι, εἶδόν τε ἐς πόλιν ἐλθὼν καὶ ἤκουσα
τὸ μήτε ἰδεῖν ὄφελον μήτε κοτὲ γενέσθαι ἐς
δεσπότας τοὺς ἡμετέρους. οἶκος μὲν Tas “A prd-
you κλαυθμῷ κατείχετο, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκπλαγεὶς Tra
ἔσω. ws δὲ τάχιστα ἐσῆλθον, ὁρέω παιδίον προ-
κείμενον ἀσπαῖρόν τε καὶ κραυγανώμενον, κεκοσμη-
μένον χρυσῷ τε καὶ ἐσθῆτι ποικίλῃ. “Ἄρπαγος δὲ
ὡς εἶδέ με, ἐκέλευε τὴν ταχίστην ἀναλαβόντα τὸ
παιδίον οἴχεσθαι φέροντα καὶ θεῖναι ἔνθα θηριωδέ.-
στατον εἴη τῶν ὁρέων, φὰς ᾿Αστυάγεα εἶναι, τὸν
ταῦτα ἐπιθέμενόν μοι, πόλλ᾽ ἀπειλήσας εἰ μή
σφεα ποιήσαιμι. καὶ ἐγὼ ἀναλαβὼν ἔφερον,
δοκέων τῶν τινος οἰκετέων εἶναι" οὐ γὰρ ἂν κοτὲ
κατέδοξα ἔνθεν γε ἦν. ἐθάμβεον δὲ ὁ ὁρέων χρυσῷ
τε καὶ εἵμασι κεκοσμημένον, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ὶ κλαυθμὸν
κατεστεῶτα ἐμφανέα ἐν ᾿Αρπάγου. καὶ πρόκατε
δὴ κατ᾽ ὁδὸν πυνθάνομαι τὸν πάντα λόγον θερά-
TOVTOS, ὃς ἐμὲ προπέμπων ἔξω πόλιος ἐνεχείρισε
τὸ βρέφος, ὡς ἄρα Μανδάνης τε εἴη παῖς τῆς
᾿Αστυάγεος θυγατρὸς καὶ Καμβύσεω τοῦ Κύρου,
καί μιν ᾿Αστυάγης ἐντέλλεται ἀποκτεῖναι. νῦν τε
ὅδε ἐστί."

112. “Apa δὲ ταῦτα ἔλεγε ὁ βουκόλος καὶ
ἐκκαλύψας ἀπεδείκνυε. ἣ δὲ ὡς εἶδε τὸ παιδίον
μέγα τε καὶ εὐειδὲς ἐόν, δακρύσασα καὶ λαβομένη
τῶν γουνάτων τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐχρήιξε μηδεμιῇ τέχνῃ
ἐκθεῖναί μιν. ὃ δὲ οὐκ ἔφη οἷός T εἶναι ἄλλως
αὐτὰ ποιέειν: ἐπιφοιτήσειν γὰρ κατασκόπους ἐξ
“Αρπάγου ἐποψομένους, ἀπολέεσθαί τε κάκιστα
ἢν μή σφεα ποιήσῃ. ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθε ἄρα τὸν
ἄνδρα, δεύτερα λέγει ἡ γυνὴ τάδε. “᾿Επεὶ τοίνυν

144

BOOK IT rra=112

he could speak why Harpagus had so instantly sum-
moned him. “ Wife,” he said, “ when I came to the
city, I saw and heard what I would 1 had never seen,
and what I would had never happened to our masters.
All the house of Harpagus was full of weeping; and
I was astonished, and entered in; and immediately
I sawa child laid there struggling and crying, decked
out with gold and many-coloured raiment. And when
Harpagus saw me, he bade me take the child with all
speed and bear it away and lay it where there are most
wild beasts in the mountains: it was Astyages, he
said, who laid this command on me, and Harpagus
threatened me grievously if I did not do his will. So
I took up the child and bore him away, supposing
him to be the child of someone in the household ; for
I could never have guessed whose he was. But I was
amazed at seeing him decked with gold and raiment,
and at hearing moreover the manifest sound of weep-
ing in the house of Harpagus. Very soon on the way
I heard all the story from a servant who brought me
out of the city and gave the child into my charge:
to wit, that it was the son of Mandane the king’s
daughter and Cambyses the son of Cyrus, and that
Astyages bade him slay the child. And now, here
is the child.”

112. And with that the cowherd uncovered it
and showed it. But when the woman saw how fine
and fair the child was, she fell a-weeping and laid
hold of the man’s knees and entreated him by
no means to expose him. But the husband said he
could do no other; for, he said, there would be com-
ings of spies from Harpagus to see what was done,
and he must die a terrible death if he did not obey.
So then being unable to move her husband, the
woman said next: “Since I cannot move you from your

145

HERODOTUS

ov “δύναμαί σε πείθειν μὴ ἐκθεῖναι, σὺ δὲ ὧδε
ποίησον, εἰ δὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ὀφθῆναι ἐ ἐκκείμενον.
τέτοκα γὰρ καὶ ἐγώ, τέτοκα δὲ τεθνεός. τοῦτο μὲν
φέρων πρόθες, τὸν δὲ τῆς ᾿Αστυάγεος θυγατρὸς
παῖδα ὡς ἐξ ἡμέων ἐόντα τρέφωμεν. καὶ οὕτω
οὔτε σὺ ἁλώσεαι ἀδικέων τοὺς δεσπότας οὔτε ἡμῖν
κακῶς βεβουλευμένα ἔσται" ὅ τε γὰρ τεθνεὼς
βασιληίης ταφῆς κυρήσει καὶ ὁ περιεὼν οὐκ ἀπο-
λέει τὴν ψυχήν."

113, Κάρτα τε ἔδοξε τῷ βουκόλῳ πρὸς τὰ
παρεόντα εὖ “λέγειν ἡ γυνή, καὶ αὐτίκα ἐποίεε
ταῦτα" τὸν μὲν ἔφερε θανατώσων maida, τοῦτον
μὲν παραδιδοῖ τῇ ἑωυτοῦ γυναικί, τὸν δὲ ἑωυτοῦ
ἐόντα νεκρὸν λαβὼν ἔθηκε ἐς τὸ ἄγγος ἐν τῷ
ἔφερε τὸν ἕτερον: κοσμήσας δὲ τῷ κόσμῳ παντὶ
τοῦ ἑτέρου παιδός, φέρων ἐς τὸ ἐρημότατον τῶν
ὀρέων τιθεῖ. ὡς δὲ τρίτη ἡμέρη τῷ παιδίῳ ἐκκει-
μένῳ ἐγένετο, ἤιε ἐς πόλιν ὁ βουκόλος, τῶν τινα
προβοσκῶν φύλακον αὐτοῦ καταλιπών, ἐλθὼν δὲ
ἐς τοῦ ᾿Αρπάγου ἀποδεικνύναι ἔφη ἕτοιμος εἶναι
τοῦ παιδίου τὸν νέκυν. πέμψας δὲ 6 “Apmayos
TOV ἑωυτοῦ δορυφόρων τοὺς πιστοτάτους εἶδέ τε
διὰ τούτων καὶ ἔθαψε τοῦ βουκόλου τὸ παιδίον,
καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐτέθαπτο, τὸν δὲ ὕστερον τούτων
Κῦρον ὀνομασθέντα παραλαβοῦσα ἔτρεφε ἡ ἡ γυνὴ
τοῦ βουκόλου, οὔνομα ἄλλο κού τι καὶ οὐ Κῦρον
θεμένη.

114. Καὶ ὅτε ἦν δεκαέτης ὁ παῖς, πρῆγμα ἐς
αὐτὸν τοιόνδε γενόμενον ἐξέφηνέ μιν. ἔπαιζε ἐν
τῇ κώμῃ ταύτῃ ἐν τῇ ἦσαν καὶ αἱ βουκολίαι
αὗται, ἔπαιξε δὲ μετ᾽ ἄλλων ἡλίκων ἐν ὁδῴ. καὶ
οἱ παῖδες παίζοντες εἵλοντο ἑωυτῶν βασιλέα

146

BOOK I. 112-114

purpose to expose, then do you do this, if needs must
that a child be seen exposed. Know that I too have
borne a child, but it was dead; take it now and lay
it out, but, for the child of the daughter of Astyages,
let us rear it as it were our own; so shall you escape
punishment for offending against our masters, and we
shall have taken no evil counsel. For the child that is
dead will have royal burial, and he that is alive will
not lose his life.”

113. Thinking that his wife counselled him ex-
ceeding well in his present strait, the cowherd
straightway did as she said. He gave his wife
the child whom he had brought to kill him, and
his own dead child he put into the chest wherein
he carried the other, and decked it with all the
other child’s adornment and laid it out in the most
desolate part of the mountains. ‘Then on the third
day after the laying out of the child, the cowherd
left one of his herdsmen to guard it and went to the
city, where he came to Harpagus’ house and said he
was ready to show the child's dead body. Harpagus
sent the most trusty of his bodyguard, and these
saw for him and buried the cowherd’s child. So it
was buried: and the cowherd’s wife took and reared
the boy who was afterwards named Cyrus; but she
gave him not that but some other name.

114. Now when the boy was ten years old, it was
revealed in some such wise as this who he was.
He was playing in the village where these herds-
men’s quarters were: there he was playing in the
road with others of his age. The boys in their

147

HERODOTUS

“-“ Χ ἴω / /
εἶναι τοῦτον δὴ Tov τοῦ βουκόλου ἐπίκλησιν
a ¢ a / \ \ 7
παῖδα. ὃ δὲ αὐτῶν διέταξε τοὺς μὲν οἰκίας
᾽ fe \ δὲ ὃ / 3 \ δέ
οἰκοδομέειν, τοὺς δὲ δορυφόρους εἶναι, τὸν δέ κου
\ > a ϑ \ / > n \
τινὰ αὐτῶν ὀφθαλμὸν βασιλέος εἶναι, τῷ δὲ
\ \ b) / / 2 [ὃ / ἃς e e ΄
τινὶ τὰς ἀγγελίας φέρειν ἐδίδου γέρας, ὡς ἑκάστῳ
an /
ἔργον προστάσσων. εἷς δὴ τούτων τῶν παίδων
συμπαίζων, ἐὼν ᾿Αρτεμβάρεος παῖς ἀνδρὸς δοκί-
μου ἐν Μήδοισι, οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἐποίησε τὸ προσ-
ταχθὲν ἐκ τοῦ Κύρου, ἐκέλευε αὐτὸν τοὺς
ἄλλους παῖδας διαλαβεῖν, πειθομένων δὲ τῶν
παίδων ὁ Κῦρος τὸν παῖδα τρηχέως κάρτα
’ὔ’
περιέσπε μαστιγέων. ὃ δὲ ἐπείτε μετείθη τά-
χίστα, ὡς γε δὴ ἀνάξια ἑωυτοῦ παθών, μᾶλλόν τι
περιημέκτεε, κατελθὼν δὲ ἐς πόλιν πρὸς τὸν
πατέρα ἀποικτίζετο τῶν ὑπὸ Κύρου ἤντησε,
λέγων δὲ οὐ Κύρου (οὐ γάρ κω ἣν τοῦτο τοὔνομα),
’ \ \ an / an? i? /
ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοῦ βουκόλου τοῦ Αστυάγεος παιδός.
ὁ δὲ ᾿Αρτεμβάρης ὀργῇ ὡς εἶχε ἐχθὼν παρὰ τὸν
᾿Αστυάγεα καὶ ἅμα ἀγόμενος τὸν παῖδα ἀνάρσια
πρήγματα ἔφη πεπονθέναι, λέγων “ἾὮ βασιλεῦ,
ὑπὸ τοῦ σοῦ δούλου, βουκόλου δὲ παιδὸς ὧδε
περιυβρίσμεθα,᾽ δεικνὺς τοῦ παιδὸς τοὺς ὦμους.
115. ᾿Ακούσας δὲ καὶ ἰδὼν ᾿Αστυάγης, θέλων
a an \ a n
τιμωρῆσαι TH παιδὶ τιμῆς τῆς ᾿Αρτεμβάρεος
7 i}
εἵνεκα, μετεπέμπετο τόν τε βουκόλον καὶ τὸν
παῖδα. ἐπείτε δὲ παρῆσαν ἀμφότεροι, βλέψας
Ν
πρὸς τὸν Κῦρον ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης ἔφη ‘ “Σὺ δὴ ἐὼν
lal , , a
τοῦδε τοιούτου ἐόντος παῖς ἐτόλμησας τὸν τοῦδε
παῖδα ἐόντος πρώτου παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ ἀεικείη τοιῆδε
α΄» διδὲ ᾽ / ahs 50) δέ SN
περισπεῖν; ᾿ ὃ δὲ ἀμείβετο ὧδε. έσποτα, ἐγὼ
a a ΄ /
ταῦτα τοῦτον ἐποίησα σὺν δίκῃ. οἱ yap με ἐκ
τῆς κώμης παῖδες, τῶν καὶ ὅδε ἦν, παίζοντες
148

BOOK I. 114-115

play chose for their king that one who passed for
the son of the cowherd. Then he set them severally
to their tasks, some to the building of houses, some
to be his bodyguard, one (as I suppose) to be
the King’s Eye; to another he gave the right of
bringing him messages; to each he gave his proper
work. Now one of these boys who played with
him was son to Artembares, a notable Median; as
he did not obey the command Cyrus gave him, Cyrus
bade the other boys seize him, and when they did
so he dealt very roughly with the boy and scourged
him. As soon as he was loosed, very angry at the
wrong done him, he went down to his father in the
city and complained of what he had met with at the
hands of the son of Astyages’ cowherd,—not calling
him Cyrus, for that name had not yet been given.
Artembares went with his anger fresh upon him to
Astyages, bringing his son and telling of the cruel
usage he had had: “O King,” said he, “see the
outrage done to us by the son of your slave, the son
of a cowherd!” and with that he showed his son’s
shoulders.

115. When Astyages heard and saw, he was ready
to avenge the boy in justice to Artembares’ rank: so
he sent for the cowherd and his son. When they were
both present, Astyages said, fixing his eyes on Cyrus,
“Ts it you, then, the son of such a father, who have
dared to deal so despitefully with the son of the
greatest of my courtiers?’ “Nay, master,” answered
Cyrus, “ what I did to him I did with justice. The
boys of the village, of whom he was one, chose me

149

HERODOTUS

σφέων αὐτῶν ἐστήσαντο βασιλέα: ἐδόκεον yap
σφι εἶναι ἐς τοῦτο ἐπιτηδεότατος. οἱ μέν νυν
ἄλλοι παῖδες τὰ ἐπιτασσόμενα ἐπετέλεον, οὗτος
δὲ ἀνηκούστεέ τε καὶ λόγον εἶχε οὐδένα, ἐς ὃ
ἔλαβε τὴν δίκην. εἰ ὧν δὴ τοῦδε εἵνεκα ἄξιός τευ
κακοῦ εἰμί, ὅδε τοι πάρειμι."

116. Ταῦτα λέγοντος τοῦ παιδὸς τὸν ᾿Αστυάγεα
ἐσήιε ἀνάγνωσις αὐτοῦ, καί οἱ ὅ τε χαρακτὴρ τοῦ
προσώπου προσφέρεσθαι ἐδόκεε ἐς ἑωυτὸν καὶ 4)
ὑπόκρισις ἐλευθερωτέρη εἶναι, ὅ TE χρόνος τῆς
ἐκθέσιος τῇ ἡλικίῃ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐδόκεε συμβαίνειν.
ἐκπλαγεὶς δὲ τούτοισι ἐπὶ χρόνον ἄφθογγος mv:
μόγις δὲ δή κοτε ἀνενειχθεὶς εἶπε, θέλων ἐκπέμψαι
τὸν ᾿Αρτεμβάρεα, | ἵνα τὸν βουκόλον μοῦνον λαβὼν
βασανίσῃ, “᾿Αρτέμβαρες, ἐγὼ ταῦτα ποιήσω
ὥστε σὲ καὶ τὸν παῖδα τὸν σὸν μηδὲν ἐπιμέμ-
φεσθαι. τὸν μὲν δὴ ᾿Αρτεμβάρεά πέμπει, τὸν
δὲ Κῦρον ἦγον ἔσω οἱ θεράποντες κελεύσαντος τοῦ
᾿Αστυάγεος, ἐπεὶ δὲ ὑπελέλειπτο ὁ βουκόλος
μοῦνος μουνόθεν, τάδε αὐτὸν εἴρετο ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης,
κόθεν λάβοι τὸν παῖδα καὶ τίς εἴη ὁ παραδούς.

ὃ δὲ 3 ς ἑωυτοῦ τε ἔφη γεγονέναι καὶ τὴν τεκοῦσαν
αὐτὸν εἶναι ἔτι παρ᾽ ἑωυτῷ. ᾿Αστυάγης δέ μιν
οὐκ εὖ βουλεύεσθαι ἔφη ἐπιθυμέοντα ἐ ἐς ἀνάγκας
μεγάλας ἀπικνέεσθαι, ἅμα τε λέγων ταῦτα
ἐσήμαινε τοῖσι δορυφόροισι λαμβάνειν αὐτόν. ὃ
δὲ ἀγόμενος ἐς τὰς ἀνάγκας οὕτω δὴ ἔφαινε τὸν
ἐόντα λόγον" ἀρχόμενος δὲ ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς διεξήιε τῇ
ἀληθείῃ χρεώμενος, καὶ κατέβαινε ἐ ἐς tas τε καὶ
συγγνώμην ἑωυτῷ κελεύων ἔ ἔχειν αὐτόν.

Τὺ: ᾿Αστυάγης δὲ τοῦ μὲν βουκόλου τὴν ἀλη-
θείην ἐκφήναντος λόγον ἤδη καὶ ἐλάσσω ἐποιέετο,

150

BOOK I. 115-117

in their play to be their king: for they thought me
the fittest to rule. The other boys then did as I
bid them: but this one was disobedient and cared
nothing for me, till he got his deserts. So now if I
deserve punishment for this, here am I to take it.”

116. While he spoke, it seemed to Astyages that
he recognised Cyrus; the fashion of the boy’s
countenance was like (he thought) to his own, and
his manner of answering was freer than customary :
and the time of the exposure seemed to agree with
Cyrus’ age. Being thereby astonished, he sat awhile
silent; but when at last with difficulty he could
collect his wits, he said (for he desired to rid him-
self of Artembares and question the cowherd with
none present), “I will so act, Artembares, that you
and your son shall have no cause of complaint.”
So he sent Artembares away, and the servants led
Cyrus within at Astyages’ bidding. Then, the cowherd
being left quite alone, Astyages asked him whence he
had got the boy and from whose hands. The cowherd
answered that Cyrus was his own son and that the
mother was still in his house. “ You are ill advised,”
said Astyages, “ desiring, as you do, to find yourself in
a desperate strait,’—and with that he made a sign to
the guard to seize him. Then under stress of necessity
the cowherd declared to him all the story, telling all
truly as it had happened from the beginning: and
at the last he prayed and entreated that the king
would pardon him.

117. When the truth had been so declared Asty-
ages took thereafter less account of the cowherd, but

151

HERODOTUS

᾿Αρπάγῳ δὲ καὶ μεγάλως μεμφόμενος καλέειν
αὐτὸν τοὺς δορυφόρους ἐκέλευε. ὡς δέ οἱ παρὴν
ὁ “Aprayos, εἴρετό μιν ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης % “Aprraye,
τέῳ δὴ μόρῳ τὸν παῖδα κατεχρήσαο τόν τοι
παρέδωκα ἐκ θυγατρὸς γεγονότα τῆς ἐμῆς; ὁ δὲ
“Αρπαγος ὡς εἶδε τὸν βουκόλον ἔνδον ἐόντα, οὐ
τράπεται ἐπὶ ψευδέα odor, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχόμενος
ἁλίσκηται, ἀλλὰ λέγει τάδε. “ἾὮ) βασιλεῦ, ἐπείτε
παρέλαβον τὸ παιδίον, ἐβούλευον σκοπέων ὅκως
σοί τε ποιήσω κατὰ νόον, καὶ ἐγὼ πρὸς σὲ γινό-
μενος ἀναμάρτητος μήτε θυγατρὶ τῇ σῇ μήτε
αὐτῷ σοὶ εἴην αὐθέντης. ποιέω δὴ ὧδε: καλέσας
τὸν βουκόλον τόνδε παραδίδωμι τὸ παιδίον, φὰς
σέ τε εἶναι τὸν κελεύοντα ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτό. καὶ
λέγων τοῦτό γε οὐκ ἐψευδόμην: σὺ γὰρ ἐνετέλλεο
οὕτω. παραδίδωμι μέντοι τῷδε κατὰ τάδε ἐντει-
λάμενος, θεῖναί μιν ἐς ἔρημον ὄρος καὶ παρα-
μένοντα φυλάσσειν ἄχρι οὗ τελευτήσῃ, ἀπειλήσας
παντοῖα τῷδε ἢν μὴ τάδε ἐπιτελέα ποιήσῃ. ἐπείτε
δὲ ποιήσαντος τούτου τὰ κελευόμενα ἐτελεύτησε
τὸ παιδίον, πέμψας τῶν εὐνούχων τοὺς πιστο-
τάτους καὶ εἶδον ov ἐκείνων καὶ ἔθαψά μιν. οὕτω
ἔσχε ὦ βασιλεῦ περὶ τοῦ πρήγματος τούτου, καὶ
τοιούτῳ μόρῳ ἐχρήσατο ὁ παῖς.

LES. “Ἅρπαγος μὲν δὴ τὸν ἰθὺν ἔφαινε λόγον"
᾿Αστυάγης δὲ κρύπτων τόν οἱ ἐνεῖχε χόλον διὰ τὸ
γεγονύς, πρῶτα μέν, KATA περ ἤκουσε αὐτὸς πρὸς
τοῦ βουκόλου τὸ “πρῆγμα, πάλιν ἀπηγέετο τῷ
Apraye, μετὰ δὲ ἁ ὥς οἱ ἐπαλιλλόγητο, κατέβαινε
λέγων ὡς περίεστί, τε ὁ παῖς καὶ τὸ γεγονὸς ἔχει
καλῶς" “Τῷ τε γὰρ πεποιημένῳ ᾿ ἔφη λέγων “ἐς
τὸν παῖδα τοῦτον ἔκαμνον μεγάλως, καὶ θυγατρὶ

152

BOOK 1. 117-118

he was very wroth with Harpagus and bade the guards
summon him. Harpagus came, and Astyages asked
him, “ Harpagus, in what manner did you kill the boy,
my daughter’s son, whom I gave you?”’ Harpagus saw
the cowherd in the house, and did not take the way
of falsehood, lest he should be caught and confuted :
“Ὁ King,” he said, “ when I took the boy, I thought
and considered how I should do you pleasure, and
not offend against you, yet not be held a murderer by
your daughter or yourself. This then I did: I called
to me yonder cowherd, and gave over the child to him;
telling him that it was you who gave the command to
kill it. And that was the truth; for such was your
command. ButI gave the child with the charge that
the cowherd should lay it on a desolate mountain-
side, and wait there and watch till it be dead; and 1
threatened him with all punishments if he did not
accomplish this. ‘Then, when he had done what he
was bid, and the child was dead, I sent the trustiest
of my eunuchs and by them I saw and buried the
body. This, O king, is the tale of the matter, and
such was the end of the boy.”

118. So Harpagus spoke the plain truth. Astyages
hid the anger that he had against him for what had
been done, and first he related the story again to Har-
pagus as he had heard it from the cowherd, then, after
so repeating it, he made an end by saying that the
boy was alive and good had come of it all.“ For,”
so he said in his speech, “I was greatly afflicted
by what had been done to this boy, and it weighed

153

HERODOTUS

τῇ ἐμῇ διαβεβλημένος οὐκ ἐν “ἐλαφρῷ ἐποιεύμην.
ὡς ὧν τῆς τύχης εὖ μετεστεώσης, τοῦτο μὲν τὸν
σεωυτοῦ παῖδα ἀπόπεμψον παρὰ τὸν παῖδα τὸν
νεήλυδα, τοῦτο δέ (σῶστρα γὰρ τοῦ παιδὸς
μέλλω θύειν τοῖσι θεῶν τιμὴ αὕτη προσκέεται)
πάρισθί μοι ἐπὶ δεῖπνον."

119. “Apraryos μὲν ὡς ἤκουσε ταῦτα, προσκυ-
νήσας καὶ μεγάλα ποιησάμενος ὅτι τε ἡ ἁμαρτάς
οἱ ἐς δέον ἐγεγόνεε καὶ ὅτι ἐπὶ τύχῃσι χρηστῇσι
ἐπὶ δεῖπνον ἐκέκλητο, ἤιε ἐς τὰ οἰκία. ἐσελθὼν
δὲ τὴν ταχίστην, ἦν γάρ οἱ παῖς εἷς μοῦνος ἔτεα
τρία καὶ δέκα κου μάλιστα γεγονώς, τοῦτον
ἐκπέμπει ἰέναι τε κελεύων ἐς ᾿Αστυάγεος καὶ
ποιέειν ὅ τι ἂν ἐκεῖνος κελεύῃ, αὐτὸς δὲ περιχαρὴς
ἐὼν φράζει τῇ γυναικὶ τὰ συγκυρήσαντα. ᾿Ασ-
τυάγης δέ, ὥς οἱ ἀπίκετο ὁ ᾿Αρπάγου “παῖς,
σφάξας αὐτὸν καὶ κατὰ μέλεα διελὼν τὰ μὲν
ὦπτησε τὰ δὲ ἥψησε τῶν κρεῶν, εὔτυκα δὲ ποιη-
σάμενος εἶχε ἕτοιμα. ἐπείτε δὲ τῆς ὥρης γινο-
μένης τοῦ δείπνου παρῆσαν οἵ τε ἄλλοι δαιτυμόνες
καὶ ὁ “Aptayos, τοῖσι μὲν ἄλλοισι καὶ αὐτῷ
᾿Αστυάγεϊ παρετιθέατο τράπεζαι ἐπίπλεαι μηλέων
κρεῶν, ᾿Αρπάγῳ δὲ τοῦ παιδὸς τοῦ ἑωυτοῦ, πλὴν
κεφαλῆς τε καὶ ἄκρων χειρῶν τε καὶ ποδῶν, τἄλλα
πάντα: ταῦτα δὲ χωρὶς ἔκειτο ἐπὶ κανέῳ κατα-
κεκαλυμμένα. ὡς δὲ τῷ ᾿Αρπάγῳ ἐδόκεε ἅλις
ἔχειν τῆς βορῆς, ᾿Αστυάγης εἴρετό μιν εἰ ἡσθείη
τι τῇ θοίνῃ. φαμένου δὲ ᾿Αρπάγου καὶ κάρτα
ἡσθῆναι, παρέφερον τοῖσι T POT EKELTO τὴν κεφαλὴν
τοῦ παιδὸς κατακεκαλυμμένην καὶ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ
τοὺς πόδας, “Αρπαγον δὲ ἐκέλευον προσστάντες
ἀποκαλύπτειν τε καὶ λαβεῖν τὸ βούλεται αὐτῶν.

154

BOOK I. 118-119

heavily on me that I was estranged trom my
daughter. Now, therefore, in this lucky turn of
fortune, send your own son to the boy who is newly
come, and come hither to dine with me, for I am
about to make sacrifice for the safety of my grandson
to the gods to whom this honour is due.”’

119. When Harpagus heard this he did obeisance
and went to his home, greatly pleased to find that
his offence had served the needful end and that he
was invited to dinner in honour of this fortunate day.
Coming in, he bade his only son, a boy of about
thirteen years of age, to go to Astyages’ palace and
do whatever the king commanded, and in his great
joy he told his wife all that had happened. But
when Harpagus’ son came, Astyages cut his throat
and tearing him limb from limb roasted some and
boiled some of the flesh, and the work being
finished kept all in readiness. So when it came to the
hour for dinner and Harpagus was present among
the rest of the guests, dishes of sheeps’ flesh were
set before Astyages and the others, but Harpagus
was served with the flesh of his own son, all but the
head and hands and feet, which lay apart covered up
in a basket. And when Harpagus seemed to have
eaten his fill, Astyages asked him, “ Are you pleased
with your meal, Harpagus?” “Exceeding well
pleased,’ Harpagus answered. Then those whose
business it was brought him in the covered basket
the head and hands and feet of his son, and they
stood before Harpagus and bade him uncover and
take of them what he would. Harpagus did so;

155

HERODOTUS

πειθόμενος δὲ ὁ “Aprayos καὶ ἀποκαλύπτων ὁρᾷ
τοῦ παιδὸς τὰ λείμματα, ἰδὼν δὲ οὔτε ἐξεπλάγη
ἐντὸς τε ἑωυτοῦ γίνεται. εἴρετο δὲ αὐτὸν 0
᾿Αστυάγης εἰ γινώσκοι, ὅτευ θηρίου “κρέα βε-
βρώκοι. ὃ δὲ καὶ γινώσκειν. ἔφη καὶ ἀρεστὸν
εἶναι πᾶν τὸ ἂν βασιλεὺς ἔρδῃ. τούτοισι δὲ
ἀμειψάμενος καὶ ἀναλαβὼν τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν κρεῶν
ἤιε ἐς τὰ οἰκία, ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ἔμελλε, ὡς ἐγὼ δοκέω,
ἁλίσας θάψειν τὰ πάντα.

120. Αρπάγῳ μὲν ᾿Αστυάγης δίκην ταύτην
ἐπέθηκε, Κύρου δὲ πέρι βουλεύων ἐκάλεε τοὺς
αὐτοὺς τῶν Μάγων οἱ τὸ ἐνύπνιόν οἱ ταύτῃ
ἔκριναν. ἀπικομένους ae εἴρετο ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης τῇ
ἔκρινάν οἱ τὴν ὄψιν. οἱ δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὰ εἶπαν,
λέγοντες, ὡς ἊΣ; χρῆν τὸν παῖδα, εἰ ἐπέ-
ζωσε καὶ μὴ ἀπέθανε πρότερον. ὃ δὲ ἀμείβεται
αὐτοὺς τοῖσιδε. εἰ στε TE 0 παῖς καὶ περίεστι,
καί μιν ἐπ᾽ ἀγροῦ διαιτώμενον οἱ ἐκ τῆς κώμης
παῖδες ἐστήσαντο βασιλέα. ὃ δὲ πάντα ὅσα περ
οἱ ἀληθέι λόγῳ βασιλέες ἐτελέωσε ποιήσας" καὶ
γὰρ δορυφόρους καὶ θυρωροὺς καὶ ἀγγελιηφόρους
καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα διατάξας" ἦρχε. καὶ νῦν ἐς
τί ὑμῖν ταῦτα φαίνεται φέρειν; ᾿ εἶπαν οἱ Μάγοι
“Ei μὲν περίεστί τε καὶ ἐβασίλευσε ὁ παῖς μὴ ἐκ
προνοίης τινός, θάρσεέ Te TOUTOU εἵνεκα καὶ θυμὸν
ἔχε ἀγαθόν' οὐ γὰρ ἔτι τὸ δεύτερον ἄρχει. παρὰ
σμικρὰ γὰρ καὶ τῶν λογίων ἡμῖν ἔνια κεχώρηκε,
καὶ τά γε τῶν ὀνειράτων ἐχόμενα τελέως ἐς
ἀσθενὲς ἔρχεται." ἀμείβεται ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης τοῖσιδε.
“Καὶ αὐτὸς ὦ Μάγοι ταύτῃ πλεῖστος γνώμην
εἰμί, βασιλέος ὀνομασθέντος τοῦ παιδὸς τος
κειν τε τὸν ὄνειρον καί μοι τὸν παῖδα τοῦτον

156

BOOK I, 119-120

he uncovered and saw what was left of his son:
this he saw, but he mastered himself and was not
dismayed. Astyages asked him, “ Know you what
beast’s flesh you have eaten?” “ Yea,” he said, “I
know, and all that the king does is pleasing to me.”
With that answer he took the rest of the flesh and
went to his house, purposing then, as I suppose, to
collect and bury all.

120. Thus did Astyages punish Harpagus. But,
to aid him to resolve about Cyrus, he called to him
the same Magians who had interpreted his dream
as I have said: and when they came Astyages asked
them how they had interpreted his vision. They
answered as before, and said that the boy must have
been made king had he lived and not died first.
Then said Astyages, “The boy is saved and alive,
and when he was living in the country the boys of
his village made him king, and he did duly all that
is done by true kings: for he assigned to each
severally the places of bodyguards and sentinels and
messengers and all else, and so ruled. And to what,
think you, does this tend?” “If the boy is alive,”
said the Magians, “and has been made king
without foreknowledge, then fear not for aught that
he can do but keep a good heart: he will not be
made king a second time. Know that even in our
prophecies it is often but a small thing that has been
foretold, and the perfect fulfilment of the dream is
but a trifling matter.” “I too, ye Magians,” said
Astyages, “am much of your mind—that the dream
came true when the boy was called king, and that I

157

HERODOTUS

εἶναι δεινὸν ἔτε οὐδεν. ὅμως μέν γέ τοι

/ / 5 , \ /
συμβουλεύσατε μοι εὖ περισκεψάμενοι τὰ μέλλει
ἀσφαλέστατα εἶναι οἴκῳ τε τῷ ἐμῴ καὶ ὑμῖν.
εἶπαν πρὸς ταῦτα οἱ Μάγοι «Ὦ, βασιλεῦ, καὶ
αὐτοῖσι ἡμῖν περὶ πολλοῦ ἐστι κατορθοῦσθαι
ἀρχὴν τὴν σήν. κείνως μὲν γὰρ ἀλλοτριοῦται ἐς
τὸν παῖδα τοῦτον περιιοῦσα ἐόντα Πέρσην, καὶ
ἡμεῖς ἐόντες Μῆδοι δουλούμεθά τε καὶ Royou
οὐδενὸς γινόμεθα πρὸς ]]ερσέων, ἐόντες ξεῖνοι:
σέο δ᾽ ἐνεστεῶτος βασιλέος, ἐόντος πολιήτεω, καὶ
ἄρχομεν τὸ μέρος καὶ τιμὰς πρὸς σέο μεγάλας
ἔχομεν. οὕτω ὧν πάντως ἡμῖν σέο καὶ τῆς σῆς
ἀρχῆς προοπτέον ἐστί. καὶ νῦν εἰ φοβερόν τι
ἐνωρῶμεν, πᾶν ἂν σοὶ προεφράζομεν. νῦν δὲ
ἀποσκήψαντος τοῦ ἐνυπνίου ἐς φαῦλον, αὐτοί τε
θαρσέομεν καὶ σοὶ ἕτερα τοιαῦτα παρακελευόμεθα.
τὸν δὲ παῖδα τοῦτον ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν ἀπόπεμψαι ἐς
Πέρσας τε καὶ τοὺς γειναμένους. Ἧ

121. ᾿Ακούσας ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης ἐχάρη τε
καὶ καλέσας τὸν Κῦρον ἔλεγέ οὐ τα εῦΝ Ὁ aan,
σὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ δι᾽ ὄψιν ὀνειρου οὐ τελέ ἔην ἡδίκεον, τῇ
σεωυτοῦ δὲ μοίρῃ περίεις" νῦν ὧν ἴθι χαίρων ἐς
Πέρσας, πομποὺς δὲ ἐγὼ ἅμα πέμψω. ἐλθὼν δὲ
> ” / \ / e / > ‘
ἐκεὶ πατέρα TE καὶ μητέρα εὑρήσεις οὐ κατὰ
Μιτραδάτην τε τὸν βουκόλον καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα
αὐτοῦ."

122, Ταῦτα εἴπας ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης ἀποπέμπει τὸν
Κῦρον. νοστήσαντα 6é μιν ἐς τοῦ Καμβύσεω τὰ
οἰκία ἐδέξαντο οἱ γεινάμενοι, καὶ δεξάμενοι ὡς
ἐπύθοντο, “μεγάλως ἀσπάζοντο οἷα δὴ ἐπιστάμενοι
αὐτίκα τότε τελευτῆσαι, ἱστόρεόν τε ὅτεῳ τρόπῳ
περιγένοιτο, ὃ δέ σῴι ἔλεγε, φὰς πρὸ τοῦ μὲν οὐκ

158

BOOK I. 120-122

have no more to fear from him. Nevertheless
consider well and advise me what shall be safest
both for my house and for you.” The Magians
said, “ King, we too are much concerned that your
sovereignty should stand: for in the other case it
goes away from your nation to this boy who is a
Persian, and so we Medes are enslaved and deemed
of no account by the Persians, being as we are of
another blood, but while you are established king,
who are our countryman, we have our share of power,
and great honour is paid us by you. Thus, then, it
behoves us by all means to take thought for you and
your sovereignty. And at the present time if we
saw any danger we would declare all to you: but
now the dream has had but a trifling end, and we
ourselves have confidence and counsel you to be
like-minded. As for this boy, send him away from
your sight to the Persians and to his parents.”

121. Hearing this, Astyages was glad, and calling
Cyrus, “ My lad,” he said, “I did you wrong by
reason of the vision I had in a dream, that meant
naught, but by your own destiny you still live ; now
therefore, get you to the Persians, and good luck go
with you; I will send those that shall guide you.
When youare there you shall find a father and mother
of other estate than Mitradates the cowherd and his
wife.”

122. So said Astyages and sent Cyrus away.
When he returned to Cambyses’ house, his parents
received him there, and learning who he was they
welcomed him heartily, for they had supposed that
long ago he had straightway been killed, and they
asked him how his life had been saved. Then he
told them, and said that till now he had known

159

HERODOTUS

εἰδέναι ἀλλ᾽ ἡμαρτηκέναι πλεῖστον, κατ ὁδὸν δὲ
πυθέσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ πάθην ἐπίστασθαι
μὲν γὰρ ὡς βουκόλου τοῦ ᾿Αστυάγεος εἴη παῖς,
ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς κεῖθεν ὁδοῦ τὸν πάντα λόγον τῶν
πομπῶν πυθέσθαι. τραφῆναι δὲ ἔλεγε ὑπὸ τῆς
τοῦ βουκόλου γυναικός, ἤιέ τε ταύτην αἰνέων διὰ
παντός, ἣν τέ οἱ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τὰ πάντα ἡ Κυνώ.
οἱ δὲ τοκέες παραλαβόντες τὸ οὔνομα τοῦτο, ἵνα
θειοτέρως δοκέῃ τοῖσι Ἰ]έρσῃσι περιεῖναί σφι ὁ
παῖς, κατέβαλον φάτιν ὡς ἐκκείμενον Κῦρον κύων
ἐξέθρεψε.

128. ᾿Ενθεῦτεν μὲν ἡ φάτις αὕτη κεχώρηκε.
Κύρῳ δὲ ἀνδρευμένῳ καὶ ἐόντι τῶν ἡλίκων ἀνδρηιο-
τάτῳ καὶ προσφιλεστάτῳ προσέκειτο ὁ “ΔΑρπαγος
δῶρα πέμπων, τίσασθαι ᾿Αστυάγεα ἐπιθυμέων"
ἀπ᾽ ἑωυτοῦ γὰρ ἐόντος ἰδιώτεω οὐκ ἐνώρα τιμωρίην
ἐσομένην ἐς ᾿Αστυάγεα, Κῦρον δὲ ὁρέων ἐπιτρε-
φόμενον ἐποιέετο σύμμαχον, τὰς πάθας τὰς Κύρου
τῇσι ἑωυτοῦ ὁμοιούμενος. πρὸ δ᾽ ἔτι τούτου τάδε
οἱ κατέργαστο" ἐόντος τοῦ ᾿Αστυάγεος πικροῦ ἐς
τοὺς Μήδους, συμμίσγων ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ὁ ” Aptrayos
τῶν πρώτων Μήδων ἀνέπειθε ὡς χρὴ Κῦρον προ-
στησαμένους ᾿Αστυάγεα παῦσαι τῆς βασιληίης.
κατεργασμένου δέ οἱ τούτου καὶ ἐόντος ἑτοίμου,
οὕτω δὴ τῷ Κύρῳ διαιτωμένῳ ἐ ἐν Πέρσῃσι βουλό-
μενος ἽΑρπαγος δηλῶσαι τὴν ἑωυτοῦ γνώμην
ἄλλως μὲν οὐδαμῶς εἶχε ἅτε τῶν ὁδῶν φυλασσο-
μενέων, ὃ δὲ ἐπιτεχνᾶται τοιόνδε' λαγὸν μηχανη-
σάμενος, καὶ ἀνασχίσας τούτου τὴν γαστέρα καὶ
οὐδὲν ἀποτίλας, ὡς δὲ εἶχε οὕτω ἐσέθηκε βυβλίον,
γράψρας τά οἱ ἐδόκεε: ἀπορράψας δὲ τοῦ λαγοῦ
τὴν γαστέρα, καὶ δίκτυα δοὺς ἅτε θηρευτῇ τῶν

160

BOOK I. 122-123

nothing but been greatly deceived, but that on the
way he had heard all the story of his misfortune ;
for he had thought, he said, that Astyages’ cowherd
was his father, but in his journey from the city his
escort had told him all the tale. And he had been
reared, he said, by the cowherd’s wife, and he was
full of her praises, and in his tale he was ever
speaking of Cyno. Hearing this name, his parents
set about a story that Cyrus when exposed was
suckled by a bitch, thinking thereby to make the
story of his saving seem the more marvellous to the
Persians.

123, This then was the beginning of that legend.
But as Cyrus grew to man’s estate, being the
manliest and best loved of his peers, Harpagus
courted him and sent him gifts, wishing to be
avenged on Astyages; for he saw no hope of a
private man like himself punishing Astyages, but
as he saw Cyrus growing up he sought to make him
an ally, for he likened Cyrus’ misfortune to his own.
He had already brought matters so far that—since
Astyages dealt harshly with the Medians —he
consorted with each of the chief Medians and
persuaded them to make Cyrus their leader and
depose Astyages. So much being ready and done,
Harpagus desired to make known his intent to
Cyrus, then dwelling among the Persians; but the
roads were guarded, and he had no plan for sending
a message but this—he artfully slit the belly of a
hare, and then leaving it as it was without further
harm he put into it a paper on which he wrote what
he thought fit. Then he sewed up the hare’s belly,
and sent it to Persia by the trustiest of his servants,

161

HERODOTUS

οἰκετέων τῷ πιστοτάτῳ, ἀπέστελλε ἐς τοὺς
ἹΠέρσας, ἐντειλάμενός οἱ ἀπὸ γλώσσης διδόντα
τὸν λαγὸν Κύρῳ ἐπειπεῖν αὐτοχειρίῃ μιν διελεῖν
καὶ μηδένα οἱ ταῦτα ποιεῦντι παρεῖναι.

124, Ταῦτά τε δὴ ὧν ἐπιτελέα ἐγίνετο καὶ ὁ
Κῦρος παραλαβὼν τὸν λαγὸν ἀνέσχισε" εὑρὼν
δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ βυβλίον ἐνεὸν “λαβὼν ἐπελέγετο, τὰ
δὲ γράμματα ἔλεγε Tace. , “ O παῖ Καμβύσεω,
σὲ γὰρ θεοὶ ἐπορῶσι' οὐ “γὰρ ἂν κοτὲ ἐς τοσοῦτο
τύχης ἀπίκευ" σύ νυν ᾿Αστυάγεα τὸν σεωυτοῦ
φονέα τῖσαι. κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὴν τούτου προθυμίην
τέθνηκας, τὸ δὲ κατὰ θεούς τε καὶ ἐμὲ περίεις" τά
σε καὶ πάλαι δοκέω πάντα ἐκμεμαθηκέναι, σέο τε
αὐτοῦ πέρι ὡς ἐπρήχϑθη, καὶ οἷα ἐγὼ ὑπὸ ᾿Αστυά-
γεέος πέπονθα, ὃ ὅτι σε οὐκ ἀπέκτεινα ἀλλὰ ἔδωκα
τῷ βουκόλῳ. σύ νυν, ἢν βούλῃ ἐμοὶ πείθεσθαι,
τῆς περ ᾿Αστυάγης ἄρχει χώρης, ταύτης ἁπάσης
ἄρξεις. Πέρσας γὰρ ἀναπείσας ἀπίστασθαι στρα-
τηλάτεε ἐπὶ Μήδους: καὶ ἤν τε ἐγὼ ὑπὸ ᾿Αστυά-
γεος ἀποδεχθέω στρατηγὸς ἀντία σεῦ, ἔστι τοι τὰ
σὺ βούλεαι, ἤν ane τῶν ats δοκίμων ἄλλος ,“Μήδων'
πρῶτοι γὰρ οὗτοι ἀποστάντες ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνου καὶ
γενόμενοι, πρὸς σέο ᾿Αστυάγεα καταιρέειν πειρή-
σονται. ὡς ὧν ἑτοίμου τοῦ γε ἐνθάδε ἐόντος, ποίεε
ταῦτα καὶ ποίεε κατὰ τάχος."

125. ᾿Ακούσας ταῦτα ὁ Κῦρος ἐφρόντιξε ὅτεῳ
τρόπῳ σοφωτάτῳ Ilépcas ἀναπείσει ἀπίστασθαι,
φροντίζων δὲ εὑρίσκεται ταῦτα καιριώτατα εἶναι"
ἐποίεε δὴ ταῦτα. γράψας ἐς βυβλίον τὰ ἐβούλετο,
ἁλίην τῶν Περσέων ἐποιήσατο, μετὰ δὲ ἀναπτύξας
τὸ βυβλίον καὶ ἐπιλεγόμενος ἔφη ᾿Αστυάγεά μιν
στρατηγὸν Ἱ]ερσέων ἀποδεικνύναι. ““ Νῦν τε," ἔφη

162

BOOK I. 123-125

giving him nets to carry as if he were a huntsman.
The messenger was charged to give Cyrus the hare
and bid him by word of mouth cut it open with his
own hands, none other being present.

124. All this was done. Cyrus took the hare and
slit it and read the paper which was in it; the writing
was as follows: “Son of Cambyses, seeing that the
gods watch over you (for else you had not so pros-
pered) do you now avenge yourself on Astyages,
your murderer; for according to his intent you are
dead; it is by the gods’ doing, and mine, that you
live. Methinks you have long ago heard the story of
what was done concerning yourself and how Astyages
entreated me because I slew you not but gave you to
the cowherd. If then you will be counselled by me,
you shall rule all the country which is now ruled by
Astyages. Persuade the Persians to rebel, and lead
their army against the Medes; then you have your
desire, whether I be appointed to command the army
against you or some other notable man among the
Medians; for they will of themselves revolt from
Astyages and join you and endeavour to pull him down.
Seeing then that all here is ready, do asI say and do
it quickly.”

125. When Cyrus heard this, he considered how
most cunningly he might persuade the Persians to
revolt; and this he thought most apt to the occasion,
and this he did: writing what he would on a paper,
he gathered an assembly of the Persians, and then un-
folded the paper and declared that therein Astyages
appointed him leader of the Persian armies. “ Now,”

163

HERODOTUS

λέγων, * “ὦ ἹΤέρσαι, προαγορεύω ὑμῖν παρεῖναι
ἕκαστον ἔχοντα δρέπανον. Κῦρος μὲν ταῦτα
προηγόρευσε. ἔστι δὲ Περσέων συχνὰ γένεα, καὶ
τὰ μὲν αὐτῶν ὁ Κῦρος συνάλισε καὶ ἀνέπεισε
ἀπίστασθαι ἀπὸ Μήδων. ἔστι δὲ τάδε, ἐξ ὧν
ὧλλοι πάντες ἀρτέαται Ἰ]έρσαι, Uacapyadar
Μαράφιοι Μάσπιοι. τούτων Πασαργάδαι εἰσὶ
ἄριστοι, ἐν τοῖσι καὶ ᾿Αχαιμενίδαι, εἰσὶ φρήτρη,
ἔνθεν οἱ βασιλέες οἱ Ἰ]ερσεῖδαι γεγόνασι. ἄλλοι
δὲ Πέρσαι εἰσὶ οἵδε, ἸΤανθιαλαῖοι Δηρουσιαῖοι
Εερμάνιοι. οὗτοι μὲν πάντες ἀρηση ΒΕ εἰσί, οἱ δὲ
ἄλλοι νομάδες, Δάοι Μάρδοι Aporexol Σ Σαγώρτιοι.

126. Ὥς δὲ παρῆσαν ἅπαντες ἔχοντες τὸ προ-
εἰρημένον, ἐνθαῦτα ὁ Κῦρος, ἣν γάρ TLS χῶρος τῆς
Περσικῆς ἀκανθώδης ὅσον τε ἐπὶ ὀκτωκαίδεκα
σταδίους ἢ εἴκοσι πάντῃ, τοῦτόν σφι τὸν χῶρον
προεῖπε ἐξημερῶσαι ἐν ἡμέρῃ. ἐπιτελεσάντων δὲ
τῶν Περσέων. τὸν προκείμενον ἄεθλον, δεύτερά
σφι προεῖπε ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίην παρεῖναι λελου-
μένους. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τά Te αἰπόλια καὶ τὰς
ποίμνας καὶ τὰ βουκόλια ὁ Κῦρος πάντα τοῦ
πατρὸς συναλίσας ἐς τὠυτὸ ἔθυσε καὶ “παρεσκεύ-
ale ὡς δεξόμενος τὸν Περσέων στρατόν, πρὸς δὲ
οἴνῳ τε καὶ σιτίοισι ὡς ἐπιτηδεοτάτοισι. ἀπικο-
μένους δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίῃ τοὺς Πέρσας κατακλίνας ἐς
λειμῶνα εὐώχεε. ἐπείτε δὲ ἀπὸ δείπνου ἦσαν,
εἴρετο σφέας ὁ “Κῦρος κότερα τὰ τῇ προτεραίῃ
εἶχον ἢ τὰ παρεόντα σφι εἴη αἱρετώτερα. οἱ δὲ
ἔφασαν πολλὸν εἰναι aut Sv τὸ peoov" τὴν μὲν
γὰρ προτέρην ἡμέρην. πάντα σφι κακὰ ἔχειν, τὴν
δὲ τότε παρεοῦσαν πάντα ἀγαθά. παραλαβὼν δὲ
τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος ὁ Κῦρος παρεγύμνου τὸν πάντα

164

BOOK I. 125-126

said he in his speech, “I bid you all, men of Persia,
to come each of you with a sickle.” (There are many
tribes in Persia : those of them whom Cyrus assembled
and persuaded to revolt from the Medes were the
Pasargadae, the Maraphii, and the Maspii. On these
hang all the other Persians. The chief tribe is that
of the Pasargadae ; to them belongs the clan of the
Achaemenidae, the royal house of Persia. The other
Persian tribes are the Panthialaei, the Derusiaei, and
the Germanii, all tillers of the soil, and the Dai,
the Mardi, the Dropici, the Sagartii, all wandering
herdsmen. )

126. So when they all came with sickles as com-
manded, Cyrus bade them clear and make service-
able in one day a certain thorny tract of Persia,
of eighteen or twenty furlongs each way in ex-
tent. The Persians accomplished the appointed
task ; Cyrus then commanded them to wash them-
selves and come on the next day; and mean-
while, gathering together his father’s goats and
sheep and oxen in one place, he slew and prepared
them as a feast for the Persian host, providing
also wine and all foods that were most suitable.
When the Persians came on the next day he made
them sit and feast in a meadow. After dinner he
asked them which pleased them best, their task of
yesterday or their present state. They answered
that the difference was great: all yesterday they
had had nought but evil, to-day nought but good.
Then taking their word from their mouths Cyrus laid

165

HERODOTUS

λόγον, λέγων “ "Ανδρες Πέρσαι, οὕτω ὑμῖν ἔχει.
βουλομένοισι "μὲν ἐμέο πείθεσθαι ἔστι τάδε τε
καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἀγαθά, οὐδένα. πόνον δουλοπρεπέα
ἔχουσι, μὴ βουλομένοισι δὲ ἐμέο πείθεσθαι εἰσὶ
ὑμῖν πόνοι TO χθιζῷ παραπλήσιοι ἀναρίθμητοι.
νῦν ὧν ἐμέο πειθόμενοι γίνεσθε ἐλεύθεροι. αὐτός
τε γὰρ δοκέω θείῃ τύχῃ γεγονὼς τάδε ἐς χεῖρας
ἄγεσθαι, καὶ ὑμέας ἥγημαι ἄνδρας Μήδων εἶναι
οὐ φαυλοτέρους οὔτε τἄλλα οὔτε τὰ πολέμια. ὡς
ὧν ἐχόντων ὧδε, ἀπίστασθε ἀπ᾽ ᾿Αστυάγεος τὴν
»
ταχίστην.

127. Πέρσαι μέν νυν προστάτεω ἐπιλαβόμενοι

ἄσμενοι ἐλευθεροῦντο, καὶ πάλαι δεινὸν ποιεύ-

«ς Ν / Υ̓ ? ΄ \ id
μενοι ὑπὸ Μήδων ἄρχεσθαι. ᾿Αστυάγης δὲ ὡς
ἐπύθετο Κῦρον ταῦτα πρήσσοντα, πέμψας ἄγ-
γέλον ἐκάλεε αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ Κῦρος ἐκέλευε τὸν
ἄγγελον ἀπαγγέλλειν ὅτε πρότερον ἥξοι παρ᾽
ἐκεῖνον ἢ Aatudyns αὐτὸς βουλήσεται. ἀκούσας
δὲ ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης Μήδους τε ὥπλισε πάντας,
καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν ὥστε ϑθεοβλαβὴς ἐὼν “Αρ-
maryov ἀπέδεξε, λήθην ποιεύμενος τά μιν ἐόργεε.
ὡς δὲ οἱ Μῆδοι στρατευσάμενοι τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι
συνέμισγον, οἵ μὲν τινὲς αὐτῶν ἐμάχοντο, ὅσοι μὴ
τοῦ λόγου μετέσχον, of δὲ αὐτομόλεον πρὸς τοὺς
Πέρσας, οἱ δὲ πλεῖστοι ἐθελοκάκεόν τε καὶ
ἔφευγον.

128. Διαλυθέντος δὲ τοῦ “Μηδικοῦ ,στρατεύ-
ματος αἰσχρῶς, ὡς ἐπύθετο τάχιστα ὃ ᾿Αστυάγης,
ἔφη ἀπειλέων τῷ Κύρῳ “᾽Αλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὡς ᾿ Κῦρός γε
χαιρήσει." τοσαῦτα εἴπας πρῶτον μὲν τῶν Mayor
TOUS ὀνειροπόλους, οἵ μιν ἀνέγνωσαν μετεῖναι τὸν
Κῦρον, τούτους ἀνεσκολόπισε, μετὰ δὲ ὥπλισε

166

BOOK I. 126-128

bare all his purpose, and said: “ This is your case,
men of Persia: obey me and you shall have these
good things and ten thousand others besides with no
toil and slavery; but if you will not obey me you
will have labours unnumbered, like to your toil of
yesterday. Now, therefore, do as I bid you, and
win your freedom. For I think that I myself was
born by a marvellous providence to take this work
in hand; and I deem you full as good men as
the Medes in war and in all else. All this is
true ; wherefore now revolt from Astyages with all
speed !”

127. The Persians had long been ill content that
the Medes should rule them, and now having got
them a champion they were glad to win their freedom.
But when Astyages heard that Cyrus was at this busi-
ness, he sent a messenger to summon him; Cyrus bade
the messenger bring back word that Astyages would
see him sooner than he desired. Hearing this,
Astyages armed all his Medians, and was so infatu-
ated that he forgot what he had done to Harpagus,
and appointed him to command the army. So no
sooner had the Medes marched out and joined battle
with the Persians than some of them deserted to the
enemy, but most of them of set purpose played the
coward and fled; those only fought who had not
shared Harpagus’ counsels.

128. Thus the Median army was foully scattered.
Astyages, hearing this, sent a threatening message
to Cyrus, “that even so he should not go un-
punished’; and with that he took the Magians who
interpreted dreams and had persuaded him to let
Cyrus go free, and impaled them; then he armed

167

HERODOTUS

τοὺς ὑπολειφθέντας ἐν τῷ ἄστεϊ τῶν Μήδων,
νέους τε καὶ πρεσβύτας ἄνδρας. ἐξαγαγὼν δὲ
τούτους καὶ συμβαλὼν τοῖσι Ἰ]έρῃσι ἑσσώθη, καὶ
αὐτός τε ᾿Αστυάγης ἐζωγρήθη καὶ τοὺς ἐξήγαγε
τῶν Μήδων ἀπέβαλε.

129, ᾿Εόντε δὲ αἰχμαλώτῳ τῷ ᾿Αστυάγεϊ προσ-
στὰς ὁ Ἅρπαγος κατέχαιρέ τε καὶ κατεκερτόμεε,
καὶ ἄλλα λέγων ἐς αὐτὸν θυμαλγέα ἔπεα, καὶ δὴ
καὶ εἴρετό μιν πρὸς τὸ ἑωυτοῦ δεῖπνον, τό μιν
ἐκεῖνος σαρξὶ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐθοίνησε, ὅ τι εἴη ἡ
ἐκείνου δουλοσύνη ἀντὶ τῆς βασιληίης. ὃ δέ μιν
προσιδὼν ἀντείρετο εἰ ἑωυτοῦ ποιέεται τὸ Ἵκῆρον
ἔργον. “Aprraryos δὲ ἔφη, αὐτὸς γὰρ γράψιι, τὸ
πρῆγμα ἑωυτοῦ δὴ δικαίως εἶναι. ᾿Αστυάγης δέ
μιν ἀπέφαινε τῷ λόγῳ σκαιότατόν τε καὶ ἀδικώ-
τατον ἐόντα πάντων ἀνθρώπων, σκαιότατον μέν
γε, εἰ παρεὸν αὐτῷ βασιλέα γενέσθαι, εἰ δὴ δι᾿
ἑωυτοῦ γε ἐπρήχθη τὰ παρεόντα, ἄλλῳ περιέθηκε
τὸ κράτος, ἀδικώτατον δέ, ὅτι τοῦ δείπνου εἵνεκεν
Μήδους κατεδούλωσε. εἰ γὰρ δὴ δεῖν πάντως
περιθεῖναι ἄλλῳ τεῷ τὴν βασιληίην καὶ μὴ αὐτὸν
ἔχειν, δικαιότερον εἶναι Μήδων τεῷ περιβαλεῖν
τοῦτο τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἢ Περσέων. νῦν δὲ Mzjéous μὲν
ἀναιτίους τούτου ἐόντας δούλους ἀντὶ δεσποτέων
γεγονέναι, Πέρσας δὲ δούλους ἐόντας τὸ πρὶν
Μήδων νῦν γεγονέναι δεσπότας.

130. ᾿Αστυάγης μέν νυν βασιλεύσας ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα
πέντε καὶ τριήκοντα οὕτω τῆς βασιληίης κατε-
παύσθη, Μῆδοι δὲ ὑπέκυψαν Πέρσῃσι διὰ τὴν
τούτου “πικρότητα, ἄρξαντες τῆς ἄνω “Αλυος
ποταμοῦ ᾿Ασίης ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα τριήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν
δυῶν δέοντα, πάρεξ ἢ ὅσον οἱ Σκύθαι ἦρχον.

168

BOOK I. 128-130

the Medes who were left in the city, the youths and
old men. Leading these out, and encountering the
Persians, he was worsted: Astyages himself was
taken prisoner, and lost the Median army which
he led.

129. He being then a captive, Harpagus came and
exulted over him and taunted him, and with much
other bitter mockery he brought to mind his banquet,
when Astyages had fed Harpagus on his son’s flesh,
and asked Astyages what it was to be a slave after
having been a king. Fixing his gaze on Harpagus,
Astyages asked, “Think you that this, which Cyrus
has done, is your work ?”’ “It was I,” said the other,
“who wrote the letter; the accomplishment of the
work is justly mine.’”’ ‘Then,’ said Astyages, “you
stand confessed the most foolish and most unjust
man on earth; most foolish, in giving another the
throne which you might have had for yourself, if the
present business be indeed your doing ; most unjust,
in enslaving the Medes by reason of that banquet.
For if at all hazards another and not yourself must
possess the royal power, then in justice some Mede
should enjoy it, not a Persian: but now you have
made the Medes, who did you no harm, slaves instead
of masters and the Persians, who were the slaves, are
now the masters of the Medes.”’

130. Thus Astyages was deposed from his sove-
reignty after a reign of thirty-five years: and the
Medians were made to bow down before the Per-
sians by reason of Astyages’ cruelty. They had
ruled all Asia beyond the Halys for one hundred
and twenty-eight years,} from which must be taken
the time when the Scythians held sway. At a later

1 687 to 559 B.c. The Scythians ruled 634-606 B.c.
169

HERODOTUS

ὑστέρῳ μέντοι χρόνῳ μετεμέλησέ τέ σφι ταῦτα
ποιήσασι καὶ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ Δαρείου, ἀποστάν-
τες δὲ ὀπίσω κατεστράφθησαν μάχῃ νικηθέντες.
τότε δὲ ἐ ἐπὶ ᾿Αστυάγεος οἱ Πέρσαι τε καὶ ὁ Κῦρος
ἐπαναστάντες τοῖσι Μήδοισι ἦρχον τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου
τῆς ᾿Ασίης. ᾿Αστυάγεα δὲ Κῦρος κακὸν οὐδὲν
ἄλλο ποιήσας εἶχε παρ᾽ ἑωυτῷ, ἐς ὃ ἐτελεύτησε.

Οὕτω δὴ Κῦρος γενόμενός τε καὶ ,τραφεὶς ἐβα-
σίλευσε καὶ Κροῖσον ὕστερον τούτων ἄρξαντα
ἀδικίης κατεστρέψατο, ὡς εἴρηταί μοι πρότερον,
τοῦτον δὲ καταστρεψάμενος οὕτω πάσης τῆς
᾿Ασίης ἦρξε.

191. Πέρσας δὲ οἶδα “Ψόμοισι τοιοῖσιδε χρεω-
μένους, ἀγάλματα μὲν καὶ νηοὺς καὶ βωμοὺς οὐκ ἐν
νόμῳ ποιευμένους ἱδρύεσθαι, ἀχλὰ καὶ τοῖσι
ποιεῦσι μωρίην ἐπιφέρουσι, ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέειν,
ὅτι οὐκ ἀνθρωποφυέας € ἐνόμισαν τοὺς θεοὺς κατά
περ οἱ “EAAnves εἶναι: οἱ δὲ νομίζουσι Διὶ μὲν
ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλότατα τῶν ὀρέων ἀναβαίνοντες θυσίας
ἔρδειν, τὸν κύκλον πάντα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ Δία καλέ-
οντες" θύουσι δὲ ἡλίῳ τε καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ γῇ καὶ
πυρὶ καὶ ὕδατι καὶ ἀνέμοισι. τούτοισι μὲν δὴ
θύουσι μούνοισι ἀρχῆθεν, ἐπιμεμαθήκασι δὲ καὶ
τῇ Οὐρανίῃ θύειν, παρά τε ᾿Ασσυρίων μμθβουχες
καὶ ᾿Αραβίων. καλέουσι δὲ Ασσύριοι τὴν A
δίτην Μύλιττα, ᾿Αράβιοι δὲ ᾿Αλιλάτ, Πέρσαι δὲ
Μέίτραν.

132. Θυσίη δὲ τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι περὶ τοὺς εἰρη-
μένους θεοὺς ἥδε “κατέστηκε' οὔτε βωμοὺς ποιεῦι"-
ται οὔτε πῦρ ἀνακαίουσι μέλλοντες θύειν, οὐ
σπονδῇ χρέωνται, οὐκὶ αὐχῷ, οὐ στέμμασι, οὐκὶ
οὐλῇσι: τῶν δὲ ὡς ἑκάστῳ θύειν θέλῃ, ἐς χῶρον
170

BOOK I. 130-122

time they repented of what they now did, and re-
belled against Darius!; but they were defeated in
battle and brought back into subjection. But now,
in Astyages’ time, Cyrus and the Persians rose in
revolt against the Medes, and from this time ruled
Asia. As for Astyages, Cyrus did him no further
harm, and kept him in his own house till Astyages
died.

This is the story of the birth and upbringing of
Cyrus, and thus he became king; and afterwards, as
I have already related, he subdued Croesus in punish-
ment for the unprovoked wrong done him; and after
this victory he became sovereign of all Asia.

131..As to the usages of the Persians, | know
them to be these. It is not their custom to make
and set up statues and temples and altars, but those
who make such they deem foolish, as I suppose, be-
cause they never believed the gods, as do the Greeks,
to be in the likeness of men; but they call the whole
circle of heaven Zeus, and to him they offer sacrifice
on the highest peaks of the mountains; they sacri-
fice also to the sun and moon and earth and fire and
water and winds. ‘These are the only gods to whom
they have ever sacrificed from the beginning; they
have learnt later, to sacrifice to the “heavenly” ?
Aphrodite, from the Assyrians and Arabians. She is
called by the Assyrians Mylitta, by the Arabians
Alilat, by the Persians Mitra.

132. And this is their fashion of sacrifice to the
aforesaid gods: when about to sacrifice they neither
build altars nor kindle fire, they use no libations, nor
music, nor fillets, nor barley meal; but to whomso-
ever of the gods a man will sacrifice, he leads the

1 In 520 B.c.; the event is recorded in a cuneiform in-
scription. 2 See note on ch. 105.

ΤΙ
VOL. I. G

HERODOTUS

καθαρὸν ἀγαγὼν τὸ κτῆνος καλέει τὸν θεόν, ἐστε-
φανωμένος τὸν τιάραν μυρσίνῃ μάλιστα. ἑωυτῷ
μὲν δὴ τῷ θύοντι ἰδίῃ μούνῳ οὔ οἱ ἐγγίνεται ἀρᾶ-
σθαι ἀγαθά, ὃ ὃ δὲ τοῖσι πᾶσι ἸΪέρσῃσι κατεύχεται
εὖ γίνεσθαι καὶ τῷ βασιλέι" ἐν γὰρ δὴ τοῖσι
ἅπασι Πέρσῃσι καὶ αὐτὸς γίνεται. ἐπεὰν δὲ δια-
μιστύλας κατὰ μέλεα τὸ ἱρήιον ἑψήσῃ τὰ κρέα,
ὑποπάσας ποίην ὡς ἁπαλωτάτην, μάλιστα δὲ τὸ
τρίφυλλον, ἐπὶ ταύτης ἔθηκε ὧν πάντα τὰ κρέα.
διαθέντος δὲ αὐτοῦ Μάγος ἀνὴρ παρεστεὼς
ἐπαείδει θεογονίην, οἵην δὴ ἐκεῖνοι λέγουσι εἶναι
τὴν ἐπαοιδήν' ἄνευ γὰρ δὴ Μάγου οὔ σφι νόμος
ἐστὶ θυσίας ποιέεσθαι. ἐπισχὼν δὲ ὀλέγον χρόνον
ἀποφέρεται ὁ θύσας τὰ κρέα καὶ χρᾶται ὅ τι μιν
λόγος αἱρέει.

133. Ἡμέρην δὲ ἁπασέων μάλιστα ἐκείνην
τιμᾶν νομίζουσι τῇ ἕκαστος ἐγένετο. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ
πλέω δαῖτα τῶν ἀλλέων δικαιεῦσι προτίθεσθαι:
ἐν τῇ οἱ εὐδαίμονες αὐτῶν βοῦν καὶ ἵππον καὶ
κάμηλον καὶ ὄνον προτιθέαται ὅλους ὀπτοὺς ἐν
καμίνοισι, οἱ δὲ πένητες αὐτῶν τὰ λεπτὰ τῶν
προβάτων προτιθέαται. σίτοισι δὲ ὀλίγοισι
χρέωνται, ἐπιφορήμασι δὲ πολλοῖσι καὶ οὐκ ἁλέσι:
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φασὶ Ἰ]έρσαι τοὺς “Ελληνας σιτεο-
μένους πεινῶντας παύεσθαι, ὅτι σφι ἀπὸ δείπνου
παραφορέεται οὐδὲν λόγου ἄξιον: εἰ δέ τι παρα-
φέροιτο, ἐσθίοντας ἃ ἂν οὐ παύεσθαι. οἴνῳ δὲ κάρτα
προσκέαται, καί σφι οὐκ ἐμέσαι ἔξεστι, οὐκὶ
οὐρῆσαι ἀντίον ἄλλουι ταῦτα μέν νυν οὕτω
φυλάσσεται, μεθυσκόμενοι δὲ ἐώθασι βουλεύεσθαι
τὰ σπουδαιέστατα τῶν πρηγμάτων' τὸ δ᾽ ἂν ἅδῃ
σφι βουλευομένοισι, τοῦτο τῇ ὑστεραίῃ νήφουσι
172

BOOK I. 132-133

beast to an open space and then calls on the god,
himself wearing a wreath on his cap, of myrtle for
choice. To pray for blessings for himself alone is
not Jawful for the sacrificer ; rather he prays that it
may be well with the king and all the Persians ; for
he reckons himself among them. He then cuts the
victim limb from limb into portions, and having
boiled the flesh spreads the softest grass, trefoil by
choice, and places all of it on this. When he has
so disposed it a Magian comes near and chants over
it the song of the birth of the gods, as the Persian
tradition relates it; for no sacrifice can be offered
without a Magian. Then after a little while the
sacrificer carries away the flesh and uses it as he
pleases.

133. The day which every man most honours is
his own birthday. On this he thinks it right to
serve a more abundant meal than on other days ;
before the rich are set oxen or horses or camels
or asses, roasted whole in ovens; the poorer serve
up the lesser kinds of cattle. Their courses are
few, the dainties that follow are many and not
all served together. This is why the Persians say
of the Greeks, that they rise from table still hungry,
because not much dessert is set before them: were
this too given to the Greek (say the Persians)
he would never cease eating. They are greatly
given to wine; none may vomit or make water in
another’s presence. This then is prohibited among
them. Moreover it is their custom to deliberate
about the gravest matters when they are drunk;
and what they approve in their counsels is proposed
to them the next day by the master of the house
where they deliberate, when they are now sober

173

HERODOTUS

προτιθεῖ ὁ ὁ στέγαρχος, ἐν τοῦ ἂν ἐόντες βουλεύων-
ται, καὶ ἣν μὲν ἅδη καὶ νήφουσι, χρέωνται αὐτῷ,
ἣν δὲ μὴ ἅδῃ, μετιεῖσι. τὰ δ᾽ ἂν νήφοντες προ-
βουλεύσωνται, ἀπο nme ἐπιδιαγινώσκουσι.

184. ᾿Εντυγχάνοντες δ᾽ ἀλλήλοισι ἐν τῆσι
ὁδοῖσι, τῷδε ἄν τις διαγνοίη εἰ ὅμοιοι εἰσὶ οἱ συν-
τυγχάνοντες" ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ προσαγορεύειν ἀλλή-
λους φιλέουσι τοῖσι στόμασι" ἢν δὲ ἢ οὕτερος
ὑποδεέστερος ὀλίγῳ, τὰς πτιρειὰς φιλέονται" ἢν
δὲ πολλῷ ἢ οὕτερος ἀγεννέστερος, προσπίπτων
προσκυνέει τὸν ἕτερον. τιμῶσι δὲ ἐ ἐκ πάντων τοὺς
ἄγχιστα ἑωυτῶν οἰκέοντας μετά γε ἑωυτούς,
δεύτερα δὲ τοὺς δευτέρους" μετὰ δὲ κατὰ λόγον
προβαίνοντες τιμῶσι" ἥκιστα δὲ τοὺς ἑωυτῶν
ἑκαστάτω «οἰκημένους ἐν τιμῇ ἄγονται, νομίξοντες
ἑωυτοὺς εἶναι ἀνθρώπων μακρῷ τὰ πάντα ἀρίο-
τους, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους κατὰ λόγον! τῆς ἀρετῆς
ἀντέχεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ἑκαστάτω οἰκέοντας ἀπὸ
ἑωυτῶν κακίστους εἶναι. ἐπὶ δὲ Μήδων ἀρχόν-
τῶν καὶ ἦρχε τὰ ἔθνεα ἀλλήλων, συναπάντων
μὲν Μῆδοι καὶ τῶν ἄγχιστα οἰκεόντων σφίσι,
οὗτοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ὁμούρων, οἱ δὲ μάλα τῶν ἐχο-
μένων, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ λόγον καὶ οἱ Πέρσαι
τιμῶσι: προέβαινε γὰρ δὴ τὸ ἔθνος ἄρχον τε καὶ
: 5
ἐπιτροπεῦον.

135. Ξεινικὰ δὲ νόμαια ἹΤέρσαι προσίενται
ἀνδρῶν μάλιστα. καὶ γὰρ δὴ τὴν Μηδικὴν ἐσθῆτα
νομίσαντες τῆς ἑωυτῶν εἶναι καλλίω φορέουσι,
καὶ ἐς τοὺς πολέμους τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους θώρηκας"
καὶ εὐπαθείας τε παντοδαπὰς πυνθανόμενοι ἐπι-

1 κατὰ λόγον [τῷ λεγομένῳ] Stein,

174

BOOK 1. 133-135

and if being sober they still approve it, they act
thereon, but if not, they cast it aside. And when
they have taken counsel about a matter when sober,
they decide upon it when they are drunk.

134. When one man meets another in the way, it
is easy to see if the two are equals; for then with-
out speaking they kiss each other on the lips ; if the
difference in rank be but little, it is the cheek that is
kissed ; if it be great, the hnmbler bows down and
does obeisance to the other. They honour most of
all those who dwell nearest them, next those who
are next farthest removed, and so going ever onwards
they assign honour by this rule; those who dwell far-
thest off they hold least honourable of all; for they
deem themselves to be in all regards by far the best of
all men, the rest to have but a proportionate claim to
merit, till those who dwell farthest away have least
merit of all. Under the rule of the Medes one tribe
would even govern another; the Medes held sway
over all alike and specially over those who dwelt
nearest to themselves; these ruled their neighbours,
and the neighbours again those who came next to
them, on the same plan whereby the Persians assign
honour; for according as the Median nation ad-
vanced its dominion farther from home, such was the
measure of its rule and suzerainty.}

135. But of all men the Persians most welcome
foreign customs, They wear the Median dress,
deeming it more beautiful than their own, and the
Egyptian cuirass in war. Their luxurious practices

1 This appears to mean, that the farther off a subject
nation is, the less direct is the control exercised by the
Medes ; on the same principle as that which makes the

Persians hold their subjects in less and less estimation in
proportion to their distance from the seat of empire.

175

HERODOTUS

τηδεύουσι, καὶ δὴ καὶ am “EAAnvwv μαθόντες
παισὶ μίσγονται. γαμέουσι, δὲ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν
πολλὰς μὲν κουριδίας γυναῖκας, πολλῷ δ᾽ ἔτι
πλεῦνας παλλακὰς κτῶνται.

136. ᾿Ανδραγαθίη δὲ αὕτη ἀποδέδεκται, μετὰ τὸ
μάχεσθαι εἶναι ἀγαθόν, ὃς ἂν πολλοὺς ἀποδέξῃ
παῖδας: τῷ δὲ τοὺς πλείστους ἀποδεικνύντι δῶρα
ἐκπέμπει βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος. τὸ πολλὸν δ᾽
ἡγέαται ἰσχυρὸν εἶναι. παιδεύουσι δὲ τοὺς παῖδας
ἀπὸ πενταέτεος apiapevas μέχρι εἰκοσαέτεος τρία
μοῦνα, ἱππεύειν καὶ τοξεύειν καὶ ἀληθίζεσθαι.
πρὶν δὲ ἢ πενταέτης γένηται, οὐκ ἀπικνέεται ἐς
ὄψιν τῷ πατρί, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῇσι γυναιξὶ δίαιταν
ἔχει. τοῦδε δὲ εἵνεκα τοῦτο οὕτω ποιέεται, ἵνα ἢν
ἀποθάνῃ τρεφόμενος, μηδεμίαν ἄσην τῷ πατρὶ
προσβάλῃ.

187. Αἰνέω μέν νυν τόνδε τὸν νόμον, αἰνέω δὲ
καὶ τόνδε, τὸ μὴ μιῆς αἰτίης εἵνεκα μήτε αὐτὸν
τὸν βασιλέα μηδένα φονεύειν, μήτε, τῶν ἄλλων
Περσέων μηδένα τῶν ἑωυτοῦ οἰκετέων ἐπὶ μιῇ
αἰτίῃ ἀνήκεστον πάθος ἔρδειν: ἀλλὰ λογισάμενος
ἢν εὑρίσκῃ πλέω τε καὶ μέξω τὰ ἀδικήματα ἐόντα
τῶν ὑπουργημάτων, οὕτω τῷ θυμῷ “χρᾶται. ἀπο-
κτεῖναι δὲ οὐδένα κω λέγουσι τὸν ἑωυτοῦ πατέρα
οὐδὲ μητέρα, ἀλλὰ ὁκόσα ἤδη τοιαῦτα ἐγένετο,
πᾶσαν ἀνάγκην φασὶ ἀναξητεόμενα ταῦτα ἀνευρε-
θῆναι 7 ἤτοι ὑποβολιμαῖα ἐ ἐόντα ἢ μοιχίδια' οὐ γὰρ
δή φασι οἰκὸς εἶναι τόν γε ἀληθέως τοκέα ὑπὸ τοῦ
ἑωυτοῦ παιδὸς ἀποθνήσκειν.

188, “Acca δέ σφι ποιέειν οὐκ ἔξεστι, ταῦτα
οὐδὲ λέγειν ἔξεστι. αἴσχιστον δὲ αὐτοῖσι τὸ ψεύ-
δεσθαι νενόμισται, δεύτερα δὲ τὸ ὀφείλειν χρέος,

176

BOOK I. 135-138

are of all kinds, and all borrowed; the Greeks
taught them unnatural vices. Every Persian marries
many lawful wives, and keeps still more concubines.

136. After valour in battle it is most reckoned as
manly merit to show the greatest number of sons: the
king sends gifts yearly to him who can show most.
Numbers, they hold, are strength. They educate
their boys from five to twenty years old, and teach
them three things only, riding and archery and truth-
telling. A boy is not seen by his father before he is
five years old, but lives with the women: the reason
of this is that, if the boy should die in the time of
his rearing, the father may suffer no dolour.

137. This is a law which I praise; and it is a
praiseworthy law too which suffers not the king
himself to slay any man for one offence, nor any
other Persian for one offence to do incurable hurt to
one of his servants. Not till reckoning shows that
the offender’s wrongful acts are more and greater than
his services may a man give vent to his anger. They
say that none has ever yet killed his father or mother;
when suchlike deeds have been done, it cannot be
but that on inquest made the doer is shown to be
a child falsely substituted or born of a concubine ;
for it is not to be believed (say they) that a son
should kill his true parent.

138. Moreover of what they may not do neither
may they speak. They hold lying to be foulest
of all and next to that debt; for which they have

177

HERODOTUS

πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων εἵνεκα, μάλιστα δὲ ἀναγ-
καίην φασὶ εἶναι τὸν ὀφείλοντα καί τε ψεῦδος
λέγειν. ὃς ἂν δὲ τῶν ἀστῶν λέπρην ἢ λεύκην
ἔχῃ, ἐς πόλιν οὗτος οὐ κατέρχεται, οὐδὲ συμμίσ-
γεται τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Πέρσῃσι" φασὶ δέ μιν ἐς τὸν
ἥλιον ἁμαρτόντα τι ταῦτα ἔχειν. ξεῖνον δὲ πάντα
τὸν λαμβανόμενον ὑπὸ τουτέων πολλοὶ ἐξελαύ-
νουσι ἐκ τῆς χώρης, καὶ τὰς λευκὰς περιστεράς,
τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίην ἐπιφέροντες. ἐς ποταμὸν
δὲ οὔτε ἐνουρέουσι οὔτε ἐμπτύουσι, οὐ χεῖρας
ἐναπονίζονται, οὐδὲ ἄλλον οὐδένα περιορῶσι,
ἀλλὰ σέβονται ποταμοὺς μάλιστα.

139. Καὶ τόδε ἄλλο σφι ὧδε συμπέπτωκε γίνε-
σθαι, τὸ Πέρσας μὲν αὐτοὺς λέληθε, ἡμέας μέντοι
οὔ: τὰ οὐνόματά σφι ἐόντα ὅμοια τοῖσι σώμασι
καὶ τῇ μεγαλοπρεπείῃ τελευτῶσι πάντα ἐς τὠυτὸ

γράμμα," τὸ Δωριέες μὲν σὰν καλέουσι, Ἴωνες δὲ

σίγμα: ἐς τοῦτο διξήμενος. εὑρήσεις, τελευτῶντα
τῶν Περσέων τὰ οὐνόματα, οὐ τὰ μὲν τὰ δ᾽ οὔ,
ἀλλὰ πάντα ὁμοίως.

140. Ταῦτα μὲν ἀτρεκέως ἔχω περὶ αὐτῶν εἰδὼς
εἰπεῖν: τάδε μέντοι ὡς κρυπτόμενα λέγεται καὶ οὐ
σαφηνέως περὶ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος, ὡς οὐ πρότερον
θάπτεται ἀνδρὸς Πέρσεω ὁ νέκυς πρὶν ἂν ὑπ᾽
ὄρνιθος ἢ ἢ κυνὸς ἑλκυσθῇ. Μάγους μὲν γὰρ ἀτρε-
κέως οἶδα ταῦτα ποιέοντας" ἐμφανέως γὰρ δὴ
ποιεῦσι. κατακηρώσαντες δὲ ὧν τὸν νέκυν Πέρ-
σαι γῇ κρύπτουσι. Μάγοι δὲ κεχωρίδαται πολ-
λὸν τῶν τε ἄχλων ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ
ἱρέων. οἵ μὲν γὰρ ἁγνεύουσι ἔμψυχον μηδὲν κτεί-
νειν, εἰ μὴ ὅσα θύουσι: οἱ δὲ δὴ Μάγοι αὐτοχειρίῃ
πάντα πλὴν κυνὸς καὶ ἀνθρώπου κτείνουσι, καὶ

178

BOOK I. 138-140

many other reasons, but this in especial, that the
debtor must needs (so they say) speak some falsehood.
The citizen who has leprosy or the white sickness
may not come into a town or consort with other Per-
sians. They say that he is so afflicted because he has
sinned in some wise against the sun. Many drive
every stranger, who takes such a disease, out of the
country; and so they do to white doves, for the
reason aforesaid. Rivers they chiefly reverence;
they will neither make water nor spit nor wash their
hands therein, nor suffer anyone so to do.

139. There is another thing which always happens
among them; we have noted it though the Persians
have not: their names, which agree with the nature
of their persons and their nobility, all end in the
same letter, that which the Dorians call san,and the
lonians sigma; you shall find, if you search, that not
some but all Persian names alike end in this letter.

140. So much I can say of them of my own certain
knowledge. But there are other matters concerning
the dead which are secretly and obscurely told—how
the dead bodies of Persians are not buried before
they have been mangled by bird or dog. That this
is the way of the Magians I know for a certainty ;
for they do not conceal the practice. But this is cer-
tain, that before the Persians bury the body in earth
they embalm it in wax. These Magians are much
unlike to the priests of Egypt, as to all other men:
for the priests count it sacrilege to kill aught that
lives, save what they sacrifice ; but the Magians kill
with their own hands every creature, save only dogs

179

HERODOTUS

ἀγώνισμα μέγα τοῦτο ποιεῦνται, κτείνοντες ὁμοίως
μύρμηκάς τε καὶ ὄφις καὶ τἄλλα ἑρπετὰ καὶ πε-
τεινά. καὶ ἀμφὶ μὲν τῷ νόμῳ τούτῳ ἐχέτω ὡς
καὶ ἀρχὴν ἐνομίσθη, ἄνειμι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρότερον
λόγον.

141. Ἴωνες δὲ καὶ Αἰολέες, ὡς οἱ Λυδοὶ τάχιστα
κατεστράφατὸ ὑπὸ Περσέων, ἔπεμπον ἀγγέλους
ἐς Σάρδις παρὰ Κῦρον, ἐθέλοντες ἐπὶ τοῖσι av-
τοῖσι εἶναι τοῖσι Kal Kpotow ἧσαν κατήκοοι. ὃ
δὲ ἀκούσας αὐτῶν τὰ προΐσχοντο ἔλεξέ σφι
λόγον, ἄνδρα φὰς αὐλητὴν ἰδόντα ἰχθῦς ἐν τῇ
θαλάσσῃ αὐλέειν, δοκέοντα σφέας ἐξελεύσεσθαι
ἐς γῆν: ὡς δὲ ψευσθῆναι τῆς ἐλπίδος, λαβεῖν
ἀμφίβληστρον καὶ περιβαλεῖν τε πλῆθος πολλὸν
τῶν ἰχθύων καὶ ἐξειρύσαι, ἰδόντα δὲ παλλομένους
εἰπεῖν ἄρα αὐτὸν πρὸς τοὺς ἰχθῦς “Ἰ]Παύεσθέ μοι
ὀρχεόμενοι, ἐπεὶ οὐδ᾽ ἐμέο αὐλέοντος ἠθέλετε
ἐκβαίνειν ὀρχεόμενοι." Κῦρος μὲν τοῦτον τὸν
λόγον τοῖσι Ἴωσι καὶ τοῖσι Αἰολεῦσι τῶνδε εἵνεκα
ἔλεξε, ὅτι δὴ οἱ Ἴωνες πρότερον αὐτοῦ Kupou
δεηθέντος δι’ ἀγγέλων ἀπίστασθαι σφέας ἀπὸ
Κροίσου οὐκ ἐπείθοντο, τότε δὲ κατεργασμένων
τῶν πρηγμάτων ἦσαν ἕτοιμοι πείθεσθαι Κύρῳ. ὃ
μὲν δὴ ὀργῇ ἐχόμενος ἔλεγέ σφι τάδε: Ἴωνες δὲ
ὡς ἤκουσαν τούτων ἀνενειχθέντων ἐς τὰς πόλιας,
τείχεά τε περιεβάλοντο ἕκαστοι καὶ συνελέγοντο
ἐς Πανιώνιον οἱ ἄλλοι, πλὴν Μιλησίων: πρὸς
μούνους γὰρ τούτους ὅρκιον Κῦρος ἐποιήσατο ἐπ᾽
οἷσί περ ὁ Λυδός. τοῖσι δὲ λοιποῖσι Ἴωσι ἔδοξε
κοινῷ λόγῳ πέμπειν ἀγγέλους ἐς Σπάρτην δεησο-
μένους Ἴϊωσι τιμωρέειν.

180

BOOK I. 140-141

and men; they kill all alike, ants and snakes, creeping
and flying things, and take much pride therein.
Leaving this custom to be such as it has been from
the first, I return now to my former story.

141. As soon as the Lydians had been subdued by
the Persians, the Ionians and Aeolians sent messen-
gers to Cyrus, offering to be his subjects on the same
terms as those which they had under Croesus.
Having heard what they proposed, Cyrus told them
a story. Once, he said, there was a flute-player who
saw fishes in the sea and played upon his flute,
thinking that so they would come out on to the land.
Being disappointed of his hope, he took a net and
gathered in and drew out a great multitude of the
fishes; and seeing them leaping, “ You had best,”
said he, “ cease from your dancing now ; you would not
come out and dance then, when I played to you.”
The reason why Cyrus told the story to the Ionians
and Aeolians was that the Ionians, who were ready to
obey him when the victory was won, had before
refused when he sent a message asking them to revolt
from Croesus. So he answered them in his anger.
But when the message came to the Ionians in their
cities, they fortified themselves severally with walls,
and assembled in the Panionion,? all except the
Milesians, with whom alone Cyrus had made a treaty
on the same terms as that which they had with the
Lydians. The rest of the Ionians resolved to send
envoys in the name of them all to Sparta, to ask
help for the Ionians.

1 Lit. ‘“‘let matters stand concerning this custom as it
was first instituted”: 1.6., apparently, ‘“‘let us be content
with knowing that this custom is as it has been from its
origin.”

2 See ch. 148.

181

ERODOTUS

y A \ \ ΄
149. Οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες οὗτοι, τῶν καὶ τὸ Πανιώνιον
an “ lal / A
ἐστί, τοῦ μὲν οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ὡρέων ἐν τῷ καλ-
λίστῳ ἐτύγχανον ἱδρυσάμενοι πόλιας πάντων
ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν: οὔτε γὰρ τὰ ἄνω av-
τῆς χωρία τὠυτὸ ποιέει τῇ ᾿Ιωνίῃ οὔτε τὰ ae
οὔτε τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ οὔτε τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέρην,
τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ τε καὶ ὑγροῦ πιεζόμενα,
τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ θερμοῦ τε καὶ αὐχμώδεος. γλῶσ-
\ a , \ ,
σαν δὲ οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν οὗτοι νενομίκασι, ἀλλὰ τρό-
7 , \ f
Tous τέσσερας παραγωγέων. Μίλητος μὲν αὐτέων
΄, 7 / \ / \
πρώτη κέεται πόλις πρὸς μεσαμβρίην, μετὰ δὲ
a a A
Μυοῦς τε καὶ Πρεήνη. αὗται μὲν ἐν τῇ Καρίῃ
κατοίκηνται κατὰ ταὐτὰ διαλεγόμεναι σφίσι, αἵδε
δὲ ἐν τῇ Λυδίῃη, φεσος Κολοφὼν Λέβεδος Τέως
Ν a
Κλαζομεναὶ Φώκαια' αὗται δὲ αἱ πόλιες τῆσι
/ e i? -
πρότερον λεχθείσῃσι ὁμολογέουσι κατὰ γλῶσσαν
»») ς , a
οὐδέν, σφίσι δὲ ὁμοφωνέουσι. ἔτι δὲ τρεῖς ὑπό-
’ a 7, \
λοίποι ᾿Ιάδες πόλιες, τῶν αἱ δύο μὲν νήσους οἰκέ-
, \ , e \ ’ 3 ra τῷ ,
αται, Σάμον τε Kal Χίον, ἡ δὲ pia ἐν TH ἠπείρῳ
~ 3 , A 7 OO 8) ral
ἵδρυται, ᾿ρυθραί. Χῖοι μέν νυν καὶ ᾿Βρυθραῖοι
\ \ ᾿ Ν 3 a
κατὰ τὠυτὸ διαλέγονται, Σάμιοι δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτῶν
lal ge A , ,
μοῦνοι. οὗτοι χαρακτῆρες γλώσσης τέσσερες
γίνονται.
, a Sok /
143. Τούτων δὴ ὧν τῶν ᾿Ιώνων οἱ Μιλήσιοι μὲν
’ ἴον /
ἦσαν ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ φόβου, ὅρκιον ποιησάμενοι,
τοῖσι δὲ αὐτῶν νησιώτῃσι ἣν δεινὸν οὐδέν: οὔτε
/ 93 /
yap Φοίνικες ἦσάν κω Wepoéwv κατήκοοι οὔτε
> x e / /, > , \
αὐτοὶ ot Ilépoat vavBatar. ἀπεσχίσθησαν δὲ
> \ lal δ 3 , Ge 3 \ > ,
ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ᾿Ιώνων οὗτοι κατ᾽ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδέν,
> , \ 5. ἢ “ \ , «ς ἴω
ἀσθενέος δὲ ἐόντος τοῦ παντὸς τότε ᾿ὡλληνικοῦ

1 οὔτε τὰ πρὸς... ἑσπέρην bracketed by Stein.
132

BOOK I. 142-143

142. Now these Ionians, who possessed the
Panionion, had set their cities in places more
favoured by skies and seasons than any country
known to us. For neither to the north of them
nor to the south nor to the east nor to the west
does the land accomplish the same effect as Ionia,
being afflicted here by the cold and wet, there by
the heat and drought. They use not all the same
speech but four different dialects. Miletus lies
farthest south among them, and next to it come
Myus and Priene; these are settlements in Caria,
and they use a common language; Ephesus, Colo-
phon, Lebedos, Teos, Clazomenae, Phocaea, all of
them being in Lydia, have a language in common
which is wholly different from the speech of the
three cities aforementioned. There are yet three
Ionian cities, two of them situate on the islands of
Samos and Chios, and one, Erythrae, on the main-
land ; the Chians and Erythraeans speak alike, but
the Samians have a language which is their own
and none other’s. It is thus seen that there are
four fashions of speech.

143. Among these Ionians, the Milesians were
sheltered from the danger (for they had made a
treaty), and the islanders among them had nothing
to fear; for the Phoenicians were not yet subjects
of the Persians, nor were the Persians themselves
shipmen. But they of Asia were cut off from the
rest of the Ionians in no other way save as I shall
show. The whole Hellenic race was then but small,

183

HERODOTUS

γένεος, πολλῷ δὴ ἢ ἦν ἀσθενέστατον τῶν ἐθνέων τὸ
᾿Ιωνικὸν καὶ λόγου ἐλαχίστου" ὅτε γὰρ μὴ ᾿Αθῆ-
vat, ἣν οὐδὲν ἄλλο πόλισμα λόγιμον. οἱ μέν νυν
ἄλλοι Ἴωνες καὶ οἱ ᾿Αθηναῖοι ἔφυγον τὸ οὔνομα,
οὐ βουλόμενοι Ἴωνες κεκλῆσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν
φαίνονταί μοι οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν ἐπαισχύνεσθαι τῷ
οὐνόματι: αἱ δὲ δυώδεκα πόλιες αὗται τῷ τε οὐνό-
ματι ἠγάλλοντο καὶ ἱρὸν ἱδρύσαντο ἐπὶ σφέων
αὐτέων, τῷ οὔνομα ἔθεντο Ἰ]ανιώνιον, ἐβουλεύ-
σαντο δὲ αὐτοῦ μεταδοῦναι μηδαμοῖσι ἄλλοισι
᾿Ιώνων (οὐδ᾽ ἐδεήθησαν δὲ οὐδαμοὶ μετασχεῖν ὅτι
μὴ Σμυρναῖοι)" 144. κατά περ οἱ ἐκ τῆς πεντα-
πόλιος νῦν χώρης Δωριέες, πρότερον δὲ ἑξαπόλιος
τῆς αὐτῆς ταύτης καλεομένης, φυλάσσονται ὧν
μηδαμοὺς ἐσδέξασθαι τῶν προσοίκων Δωριέων ἐς
τὸ Τριοπικὸν ἱρόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφέων αὐτῶν τοὺς
περὶ τὸ ἱρὸν ἀνομήσαντας ἐξεκλήισαν τῆς μετοχῆς.
ἐν γὰρ τῷ ἀγῶνι τοῦ Τριοπίου ᾿Απόλλωνος ἐτί-
θεσαν τὸ πάλαι τρίποδας χαλκέους τοῖσι νικῶσι,
καὶ τούτους χρῆν τοὺς λαμβάνοντας ἐκ τοῦ ἱροῦ
μὴ ἐκφέρειν ἀλλ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀνατιθέναι τῷ θεῷ. ἀνὴρ
ὧν ᾿Αλικαρνησσεύς, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν ᾿Αγασικλέης,
νικήσας τὸν νόμον κατηλόγησε, φέρων δὲ πρὸς τὰ
ἑωυτοῦ οἰκία προσεπασσάλευσε τὸν τρίποδα. διὰ
ταύτην τὴν αἰτίην αἱ πέντε πόλιες, Aivdos καὶ
"Induces τε καὶ Κάμειρος καὶ Kas te καὶ Κνίδος
ἐξεκλήισαν τῆς “μετοχῆς τὴν ἕκτην πόλιν ᾿Ἄλι-
καρνησσόν. τούτοισι μέν νυν οὗτοι ταύτην τὴν
ζημίην ἐπέθηκαν.
145. Δυώδεκα δὲ μοι δοκέουσι πόλιας ποιή-
σασθαι οἱ ἤϊωνες καὶ οὐκ ἐθελῆσαι πλεῦνας ἐσδέ-
ξασθαι τοῦδε εἵνεκα, ὅτι καὶ ὅτε ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ

184

BOOK I. 143-145

and the least of all its parts, and the least regarded,
was the lonian stock; for saving Athens it had no
considerable city. Now the Athenians and the rest
would not be called Ionians, but spurned the name;
nay, even now the greater number of them seem to
me to be ashamed of it; but the twelve cities afore-
said gloried in this name, and founded a holy place
for themselves which they called the Panionion, and
agreed among them to allow no other Ionians to use
it (nor indeed did any save the men of Smyrna ask
to be admitted) ; 144. even as the Dorians af what is
now the country of the ‘ Five Cities” —the same being
formerly called the country of the “Six Cities ἘΞ-
forbid the admitting of any of the neighbouring
Dorians to the Triopian temple, nay, they barred
from sharing the use of it even those of their own
body who had broken the temple law. For long
ago in the games in honour of Triopian Apollo
they offered certain bronze tripods to the victors;
and those who won these must not carry them away
from the temple but dedicate them there to the
god. Now a man of Halicarnassus called Agasicles,
being a winner, disregarded this law, and carrying
the tripod away nailed it to the wall of his own
house. For this offence the five cities, Lindus, Ialysus,
Camirus, Cos, and Cnidus, forbade the sixth city,
Halicarnassus, to share in the use of the temple.
Such was the penalty imposed on the Halicarnassians.
145. As for the Ionians, the reason why they made
twelve cities and would admit no more was in my
judgment this, that there were twelve divisions of
185

HERODOTUS

οἴκεον, δυώδεκα ἦν αὐτῶν μέρεα, κατά περ νῦν
᾿Αχαιῶν τῶν ἐξελασάντων Ἴωνας δυώδεκα ἐστὶ
μέρεα, Πελλήνη μέν γε πρώτη πρὸς Σικυῶνος,
μετὰ δὲ Αἴγειρα καὶ Αὐγαί, ἐν τῇ Κρᾶθις ποταμὸς
ἀείναος ἐστί, ἀπ᾽ ὅτευ ὁ ἐν ᾿ταλίῃ ποταμὸς τὸ
οὔνομα ἔσχε, καὶ Βοῦρα καὶ ᾿λίκη, ἐς τὴν κατέ-
φυγον Ἴωνες ὑπὸ ᾿Αχαιῶν μάχῃ ἑσσωθέντες, καὶ
Αἴγιον καὶ “Pures καὶ Πατρέες καὶ Φαρέες καὶ
“Onrevos, ἐν τῷ Πεῖρος ποταμὸς μέγας ἐστί, καὶ
Δύμη καὶ Τριταίέες, οἱ μοῦνοι τούτων μεσόγαιοι
οἰκέουσι. ταῦτα δυώδεκα μέρεα νῦν ᾿Αχαιῶν ἐστὶ
καὶ τότο γε Ἰώνων 7 ἢν.

140. Τούτων δὴ εἵνεκα καὶ ot "Iwves δυώδεκα
πόλιας ἐποιήσαντο" ἐπεὶ ὥς γέ τε μᾶλλον οὗτοι
Ἴωνες εἰσὶ τῶν ἄλλων ᾿Ιώνων ἢ κἀλλιόν τι γεγὸ-
νᾶσι, μωρίη πολλὴ λέγειν: τῶν “ABavtes μὲν ἐξ
EvBotns εἰσὶ οὐκ ἐλαχίστη μοῖρα, τοῖσι ᾿Ιωνίης
μέτα οὐδὲ τοῦ οὐνόματος οὐδέν, Μινύαι δὲ ᾽Ορχο-
μένιοί σφι ἀναμεμίχαται καὶ Καδμεῖοι καὶ Δρύ-
οπες καὶ Φωκέες ἀποδάσμιοι καὶ Μολοσσοὶ καὶ

Ἀρκάδες Πελασγοὶ καὶ Δωριέες ᾿Επιδαύριοι,
ἄλλα τε ἔθνεα πολλὰ ἀναμεμίχαται" οἱ δὲ αὐτῶν
ἀπὸ τοῦ πρυτανηίου τοῦ ᾿Αθηναίων ὁρμηθέντες
καὶ νομίζοντες γενναιότατοι εἶναι ᾿Ιώνων, οὗτοι δὲ
οὐ γυναῖκας ἠγάγοντο ἐς τὴν ἀποικίην ἀλλὰ Καεί-
ρας ἔσχον, τῶν ἐφόνευσαν 1 τοὺς γονέας. διὰ τοῦ-
τον δὲ τὸν φόνον αἱ γυναῖκες αὗται νόμον θέμεναι
σφίσι αὐτῇσι ὅρκους ἐπήλασαν καὶ παρέδοσαν
τῆσι θυγατράσι, μή κοτε ὁμοσιτῆσαι τοῖσι ἀνδρά-
σι μηδὲ οὐνόματι βῶσαι τὸν ἑωυτῆς ἄνδρα, τοῦδε
εἵνεκα ὅτι ἐφόνευσαν σφέων τοὺς πατέρας καὶ

186

BOOK I. 145-146

them when they dwelt in Peloponnesus, just as there
are twelve divisions of the Achaeans who drove the
Ionians out, Pellene nearest to Sicyon, then Aegira
and Aegae, where is the never-failing river Crathis,
from which the river in Italy took its name; Bura
and Helice, whither the Ionians fled when they were
worsted in battle by the Achaeans; Aegion, Rhype,
Patrae, Phareae, and Olenus, where is the great
river Pirus; Dyme and Tritaeae, the only inland
city of all these ; these were the twelve divisions of
the Ionians, as they are now of the Achaeans.

146. For this reason the Ionians too made twelve
cities, and for no other; for it were but foolishness
to say that these are more truly Ionian or better born
than the other Ionians; seeing that not the least part
of them are Abantes from Euboea, who are not Ionians
even in name, and that there are mingled with them
Minyans of Orchomenus, Cadmeans, Dryopians, Pho-
cian seceders from their nation, Molossians, Pelasgian
Arcadians, Dorians of Epidaurus, and many other
tribes ; and as for those who came from the very town
hall of Athens and deem themselves the best born
of the Ionians, these did not bring wives with them
to their settlements, but married Carian women whose
parents they had put to death. For this slaughter,
these women made a custom and bound themselves
by oath (and enjoined the same on their daughters)
that none would sit at meat with her husband nor
call him by his name, because the men had married

187

HERODOTUS

ἄνδρας καὶ παῖδας καὶ ἔπειτα ταῦτα ποιήσαντες
αὐτῇσι συνοίκεον.

147. Ταῦτα δὲ ἦν γινόμενα ἐν Μιλήτῳ. βασι-
λέας δὲ ἐστήσαντο οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν Λυκίους ἀπὸ
Γλαύκου τοῦ ᾿Ἱππολόχου γεγονότας, οἱ δὲ Καύ-
κωνας Πυλίους ἀπὸ Κόδρου τοῦ Μελάνθου, of δὲ
καὶ συναμφοτέρους. ἀλλὰ γὰρ περιέχονται τοῦ
οὐνόματος μᾶλλόν τι τῶν ἄλλων ᾿Ιώνων, ἔστωσαν
δὴ καὶ οἱ καθαρῶς γεγονότες Ἴωνες. εἰσὶ δὲ
πάντες Ἴωνες ὅσοι ἀπ᾽ ᾿Αθηνέων γεγόνασι καὶ
᾿Απατούρια ἄγουσι ὁρτήν: ἄγουσι δὲ πάντες πλὴν
᾿ΒΕφεσίων. καὶ Κολοφωνίων: οὗτοι γὰρ μοῦνοι
Ἰώνων οὐκ ἄγουσι ᾿Απατούρια, καὶ οὗτοι κατὰ
φόνου τινὰ σκῆψιν.

148. Τὸ δὲ Πανιώνιον ἐστὶ τῆς Μυκάλης χῶρος
ἱρὸς πρὸς ἄρκτον τετραμμένος, κοινῇ ἐξαραιρη-
μένος ὑπὸ ᾿Ιώνων Ποσειδέωνι ᾿Ελικωνίῳ. ἡ δὲ
Μυκάλη ἐστὶ τῆς ἠπείρου ἄκρη πρὸς ζέφυρον
ἄνεμον κατήκουσα Σάμῳ καταντίον, ἐς τὴν συλ-
λεγόμενοι ἀπὸ τῶν πολίων Ἴωνες ἄγεσκον ὁρτὴν
τῇ ἔθεντο οὔνομα Ἰ]ανιώνια. [πεπόνθασι δὲ οὔτι
μοῦναι αἱ ᾿Ιώνων ὁρταὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ᾿ Ελλήνων
πάντων ὁμοίως πᾶσαι ἐς τὠυτὸ γράμμα τελευτῶσι,
κατά περ τῶν Περσέων τὰ οὐνόματα.

149. Αὗται μὲν αἱ ᾿Ιάδες πόλιες εἰσί, αἵδε δὲ

Αἰολίδες, Κύμη ἡ Φρικωνὶς καλεομένη, Δή-
ρισαι, Νέον τεῖχος, Τῆμνος, Kidda, Νότιον,

1 The bracketed words are clearly out of place. Probably
they are a marginal note with reference to some commen-
tator’s assertion that the a-ending of names of festivals was
specially Ionic.

188

BOOK I. 146-149

them after slaying their fathers and husbands and
sons.

147. This happened at Miletus. And for kings
some of them chose Lycian descendants of Glaucus
son of Hippolochus, and some Caucones of Pylus,
descendants of Codrus son of Melanthus, and some
both. Yet seeing that they set more store by the
name than the rest of the Ionians, let it be granted
that those of pure birth are Ionians; and all are
Ionians who are of Athenian descent and keep the
feast Apaturia.! All do so keep it, saving the men of
Ephesus and Colophon; these are the only Ionians
who do not keep it, and these by reason, they say, of
a certain deed of blood.

148. The Panionion is a sacred ground in Mycale,
facing the north; it was set apart for Poseidon of
Helicon by the joint will of the Ionians. Mycale is
a western promontory of the mainland opposite to
Samos; the Ionians were wont to assemble there
from their cities and keep the festival to which they
gave the name of Panionia. [The names of all the
Greek festivals, not the Ionian alone, end alike in
the same letter, just as do the names of the
Persians. |

149. I have now told of the Ionian cities. The
Aeolian cities are these:—Cyme (called “ Phri-
conian’’),? Lerisae, “the New Fort,” Temnos, Cilla,

1 A festival celebrated at Athens and most Ionian cities by
the members of each “ phratria” or clan, lasting three days;
on the last day grown-up youths were formally admitted as
members of the phratria. The festival was held in the
month Pyanepsion (late October and early November).

2 Perhaps so called from a mountain in Aeolis, Phricion,
near which the Aeolians had been settled before their migra-
tion to Asia.

189

HERODOTUS

’ a , UZ
Alyipoecoa, Πιτάνη, Αὐἰγαῖαι, Μύρινα, Tpvvea.
κ᾿ [χὰ > , / Ci? A / \
αὗται ἕνδεκα Αἰολέων πόλιες αἱ apyaiar μία yap
/ ’ὔ Ud e Nets , = A
σφέων παρελύθη Σμύρνη ὑπὸ Ἰώνων: ἦσαν yap

\ Ka , ©. ν a 9 , 4. δ e
καὶ αὗται δυώδεκα αἱ ἐν TH ἠπείρῳ. οὗτοι δὲ οἱ
Αἰολέες χώρην μὲν ἔτυχον κτίσαντες ἀμείνω

e ε ς ,
᾿Ιώνων, ὡρέων δὲ ἥκουσαν οὐκ ὁμοίως.
160. Σμύρνην δὲ ὧδε ἀπέβαλον Αἰολέες. Κολο-
,
φωνίους ἄνδρας στάσι ἑσσωθέντας καὶ ἐκπεσόν-
ἢ an / e / \ \ e
Tas ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος ὑπεδέξαντο. μετὰ δὲ οἱ
φυγάδες τῶν Κολοφωνίων φυλάξαντες τοὺς Σμυρ-
€ ,
vaious ὁρτὴν ἔξω τεΐχεος ποιευμένους Διονύσῳ,
?
Tas πύλας ἀποκληίσαντες ἔσχον τὴν πόλιν.
, \ iy 9 , ε , 2 /
βοηθησάντων δὲ πάντων Αἰολέων, ὁμολογίῃ ἐχρή-
σαντο τὰ ἔπιπλα ἀποδόντων τῶν ᾿Ιώνων ἐκλιπεῖν
> 7 ’ , / δὲ la)

μύρνην Αἰολέας. ποιησάντων δὲ ταῦτα Σμυρ-

, ΕῚ » e 4 / \
ναίων ἐπιδιείλοντο σφέας αἱ ἕνδεκα πόλιες Kal
ἐποιήσαντο σφέων αὐτέων πολιήτας.

151. Αὗται μέν νυν αἱ ἠπειρώτιδες Αἰολίδες

΄ ΝΜ al 9 a WV 3 » ’
πόλιες, ἔξω τῶν ἐν τῇ "Ἴδῃ οἰκημενέων'" κεχωρί-
δαται γὰρ αὗται. αἱ δὲ τὰς νήσους ἔχουσαι πέντε

Si , \ , , \ \ “
μὲν πόλιες τὴν Λέσβον νέμονται (τὴν γὰρ ἕκτην
ἐν τῇ Λέσβῳ οἰκημένην ᾿Αρίσβαν ἠνδραπόδισαν
Μηθυμναῖοι ἐόντας ὁμαίμους), ἐν Τενέδῳ δὲ μία
οἴκηται πόλις, καὶ ἐν τῇσι ᾿ΕΚατὸν νήσοισι καλεο-
μένησι ἄλλη μία. Λεσβίοισι μέν νυν καὶ Τενε-

/ a

δίοισι, κατά περ ᾿Ιώνων τοῖσι Tas νήσους ἔχουσι,
ἦν δεινὸν οὐδέν: τῆσι δὲ λοιπῇσι πόλισι ἕαδε
κοινῇ Ίωσι ἕπεσθαι τῇ ἂν οὗτοι ἐξηγέωνται.
190

BOOK I. 149-151

Notium, Aegiroessa, Pitana, Aegaeae, Myrina, Grynea.}
These are the ancient Aeolian cities, eleven in
number; these, too, the mainland cities, were once
twelve; but one of them, Smyrna, was taken away
by the Ionians. These Aeolians had settled where
the land was better than the Ionian territory, but the
climate was not so good.

150. Now this is how the Aeolians lost Smyrna.
Certain men of Colophon, worsted in civil strife and
banished from their country, had been received by
them into the town. These Colophonian exiles
waited for the time when the men of Smyrna were
holding a festival to Dionysus outside the walls ; they
then shut the gates and so won the city. Then all
the Aeolians came to recover it; and an agreement
was made, whereby the Aeolians should receive back
their movable goods from the Ionians, and quit the
city. This being done, the other eleven cities divided
the Smyrnaeans among themselves and made them
citizens of their own.

151. These then are the Aeolian cities of the
mainland, besides those that are situate on Ida, and
are separate. Among those on the islands, five divide
Lesbos among them (there was a sixth on Lesobs,
Arisba, but its people were enslaved by their kinsfolk
of Methymna); there is one on Tenedos, and one
again in the “ Hundred isles”? as they are called.
The men of Lesbos and Tenedos, then, like the
Ionian islanders, had nothing to fear. The rest of
the cities took counsel together and resolved to
follow whither the Ionians should lead.

1 These places lie between Smyrna and Pergamum, on or near
the coast. But Aegiroessa has not been exactly identified.

2 A group of small islands between Lesbos and the main-
land.

Ig!

HERODOTUS

152. Ὡς δὲ ἀπίκοντο és τὴν Σπάρτην τῶν
᾿Ιώνων καὶ Αἰολέων οἱ ἄγγελοι (κατὰ γὰρ δὴ
τάχος ἦν ταῦτα πρησσόμεναλ), εἵλοντο πρὸ πάντων
λέγειν τὸν Φωκαέα, τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Πύθερμος. ὃ
δὲ πορφύρεόν τε εἷμα περιβαλόμενος, ὡς ἂν
πυνθανόμενοι πλεῖστοι συνέλθοιεν Σπαρτιητέων,
καὶ καταστὰς ἔλεγε πολλὰ τιμωρέειν ἑωυτοῖσι
χρηίζων. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ οὔ κως ἐσήκουον,
ἀλλ᾽ ἀπέδοξέ σφι μὴ τιμωρέειν Ἴωσι. of μὲν δὴ
ἀπαλλάσσοντο, Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἀπωσάμενοι
τῶν ᾿Ιώνων τοὺς ἀγγέλους ὅμως ἀπέστειλαν
πεντηκοντέρῳ ἄνδρας, ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέει, κατα-
σκόπους τῶν τε Κύρου πρηγμάτων καὶ ᾿Ιωνίης.
ἀπικόμενοι δὲ οὗτοι ἐς Φώκαιαν ἔπεμπον ἐς
Σάρδις σφέων αὐτῶν τὸν δοκιμώτατον, τῷ οὔνομα
ἦν Λακρίνης, ἀπερέοντα Κύρῳ Λακεδαιμονίων
ῥῆσιν, γῆς τῆς ᾿Βλλάδος μηδεμίαν πόλιν σινα-
μωρέειν, ὡς αὐτῶν οὐ περιοψομένων.

153. Ταῦτα εἰπόντος τοῦ κήρυκος, λέγεται
Κῦρον ἐπειρέσθαι τοὺς παρεόντας οἱ ᾿Ιλλήνων
τίνες ἐόντες ἄνθρωποι Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ κόσοι
πλῆθος ταῦτα ἑωυτῷ προαγορεύουσι: πυνθανόμενον
δέ μιν εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν κήρυκα τὸν Σπαρτιήτην
“Οὐκ ἔδεισά κω ἄνδρας τοιούτους, τοῖσι ἐστὶ χῶρος
ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλι ἀποδεδεγμένος ἐς τὸν συλλεγό-
μενοι, ἀχλήλους ὀμνύντες ἐξαπατῶσι: τοῖσι, ἢν
ἐγὼ ὑγιαίνω, οὐ τὰ Ἰώνων πάθεα ἐ ἔσται ἔλλεσχα
ἀλλὰ τὰ οἰκήια." ταῦτα ἐς τοὺς πάντας. “Ἕλληνας
ἀπέρριψε ὁ Κῦρος τὰ ἔπεα, ὅτι ἀγορὰς στησά-
μενοι ὠνῇ τε καὶ πρήσι χρέωνται: αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἱ
Πέρσαι ἀγορῇσι οὐδὲν ἐώθασι χρᾶσθαι, οὐδέ σφι
ἐστὶ τὸ παράπαν ἀγορή. μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπιτρέψας

192

BOOK I. 152-153

152. So when the envoys of the JIonians and
Aeolians came to Sparta (for this was set afoot with
all speed) they chose the Phocaean, whose name was
Pythermos, to speak for all. He then put on-a
purple cloak, that as many Spartans as possible might
assemble to hear him, and stood up and made a long
speech asking aid for his people. But the Lacedae-
monians would not listen to him and refused to aid
the Ionians. So the Ionians departed; but the
Lacedaemonians, though they had rejected their
envoys, did nevertheless send men in a ship of fifty
oars to see (as I suppose) how it fared with Cyrus
and Ionia. ‘These, coming to Phocaea, sent Lacrines,
who was the most esteemed among them, to Sardis, to
repeat there to Cyrus a proclamation of the Lacedae-
monians, that he must harm no city on Greek terri-
tory; else the Lacedaemonians would punish him.

153. When the herald had so spoken, Cyrus (it is
said) asked the Greeks that were present who and
how many in number were these Lacedaemonians
who made him this declaration. When he was told,
he said to the Spartan herald, “I never yet feared
men who have a place set apart in the midst of their
city where they perjure themselves and deceive each
other. ‘These, if I keep my health, shall have their
own mishaps to talk of, not those of the Ionians.”’
This threat he uttered against the whole Greek
nation, because they have market-places and buy
and sell there; for the Persians themselves use no
market-places, nor have they such at all. Presently,

193

HERODOTUS

TAS μὲν Σάρδις TaBaro ἀνδρὶ Πέρσῃ, τὸν δὲ
χρυσὸν τόν τε Κροίσου καὶ τὸν τῶν ἄλλων Λυδῶν
Πακτύῃ ἀνδρὶ Δυδῷ κομίξειν, ἀπήλαυνε αὐτὸς ἐς
᾿Αγβάτανα, Κροῖσόν τε ἅμα ἀγόμενος καὶ τοὺς
Ἴωνας ἐν οὐδενὶ λόγῳ ποιησάμενος τὴν πρώτην
εἶναι. ἧ τε γὰρ Βαβυλών οἱ ἣν ἐμπόδιος καὶ τὸ
Βάκτριον ἔθνος καὶ Σάκαι τε καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι, ἐπ᾽
ovs ἐπεῖχέ τε στρατηλατέειν αὐτός, ἐπὶ δὲ Ἴωνας
ἄλλον πέμπειν στρατηγόν.

154. Ὥς δὲ ἀπήλασε ὁ Κῦρος ἐκ τῶν Σαρδίων,
τοὺς Λυδοὺς ἀπέστησε ὁ Lane TUNS ATO TE TaBarou
Kal Κύρου, καταβὰς δὲ ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἅτε τὸν
χρυσὸν ἔχων πάντα τὸν ἐκ τῶν Saver. ἐπικού-
ρους τε ἐμισθοῦτο καὶ τοὺς ἐπιθαλασσίους ἀν-
θρώπους ἔπειθε σὺν ἑωυτῷ “στρατεύεσθαι. ἐλάσας
δὲ ἐπὶ τὰς Σάρδις ἐπολιόρκεε Τάβαλον ἀπεργ-
μένον ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλι.

155. Πυθόμενος δὲ κατ᾽ ὁδὸν ταῦτα ὁ Kodpos
εἶπε πρὸς Κροῖσον τάδε. “ Κροῖσε, τί ἔσται
τέλος τῶν γινομένων τούτων ἐμοί; οὐ παύσονται
Λυδοί, ὡς οἴκασι, 7 πρήγματα παρέχοντες καὶ αὐτοὶ
ἔχοντες. φροντίζω μὴ ἄριστον ἦ ἐξανδραποδί-
σασθαι σφέας. ὁμοίως γὰρ μοι νῦν γε φαίνομαι
πεποιηκέναι ὡς εἰ τις πατέρα ἀποκτείνας τῶν
παίδων αὐτοῦ φείσατο' ὡς δὲ καὶ ἐγὼ Λυδῶν τὸν
μὲν πλέον τε ἢ πατέρα ἐόντα σὲ λαβὼν ἄγω,
αὐτοῖσι δὲ Λυδοῖσι τὴν πόλιν παρέδωκα, καὶ
ἔπειτα θωμάξω εἴ μοι ἀπεστᾶσι." ὃ μὲν δὴ τά
περ ἐνόεε ἔλεγε, ὃ δ᾽ ἀμείβετο τοῖσιδε, δείσας μὴ
ἀναστάτους ποιήσῃ τὰς Σάρδις. “Ὦ βασιλεῦ,
τὰ μὲν οἰκότα εἴρηκας, σὺ μέντοι μὴ πάντα θυμῷ
χρέο, μηδὲ πόλιν ἀρχαίην ἐξαναστήσῃς ἀναμάρ-

194

BOOK I. 153-155

entrusting Sardis to a Persian called Tabalus, and
charging Pactyes, a Lydian, to take charge of the
gold of Croesus and the Lydians, he himself marched
away to Agbatana, taking with him Croesus, and at
first making no account of the Ion‘ans. For he had
Babylon on his hands and the Bactrian nation and
the Sacae and Egyptians; he was minded to lead
an army himself against these and to send another
commander against the Ionians.

154. But no sooner hac Cyrus marched away from
Sardis than Pactyes made the Lydians to revolt from
Tabalus and Cyrus; and he went down to the sea,
where, as he had all the gold of Sardis, he hired
soldiers and persuaded the men of the coast to join
his army. Then marching to Sardis he penned
Tabalus in the citadel and besieged him there.

155. When Cyrus had news of this on his journey,
he said to Croesus, ‘‘ What end am 1 to make, Croesus,
of this business? it seems that the Lydians will
never cease making trouble for me and for themselves.
It is in my mind that it may be best to make slaves
of them ; for now methinks I have done like one that
should slay the father and spare the children. So
likewise I have taken with me you who were more
than a father to the Lydians, and handed the city
over to the Lydians themselves; and then forsooth
I marvel that they revolt!” So Cyrus uttered his
thought ; but Croesus feared that he would destroy
Sardis, and thus answered him: “O King, what you
say is butreasonable. Yet do not ever yield to anger,
nor destroy an ancient city that is guiltless both of

195

HERODOTUS

a a / \ fol ων
THTOV ἐοῦσαν καὶ τῶν πρότερον καὶ τῶν νῦν
ἑστεώτων. τὰ μὲν γὰρ πρότερον ἐγώ τε ἔπρηξα
καὶ ἐγὼ κεφαλῇ ἀναμάξας φέρω: τὰ δὲ νῦν
παρεόντα [᾿ακτύης γὰρ ἐστὶ ὁ ἀδικέων, τῷ σὺ
ἐπέτρεψας Σάρδις, οὗτος δότω τοι δίκην. Av-
δοῖσι δὲ συγγνώμην ἔχων τάδε αὐτοῖσι ἐπίταξον,
ὡς μήτε ἀποστέωσι μήτε δεινοί τοι ἔωσι: ἄπειπε

7 / “ > / Ne A 7
μέν σφι πέμψας ὅπλα ἀρήια μὴ ἐκτῆσθαι, κέλευε
δὲ σφέας κιθῶνάς τε ὑποδύνειν τοῖσι εἵμασι καὶ

lf a /
κοθόρνους ὑποδέεσθαι, πρόειπε δ᾽ αὐτοῖσι κιθαρί-
ζειν τε καὶ ψάλλειν καὶ καπηλεύειν παιδεύειν τοὺς
παῖδας. καὶ ταχέως σφέας ὦ βασιλεῦ γυναῖκας
ἀντ᾽ ἀνδρῶν ὄψεαι γεγοι" ότας, ὥστε οὐδὲν δεινοί
4
TOL ἔσονται μὴ ἀποστέωσι»
id ᾿

156. Κροῖσος μὲν δὴ ταῦτά οἱ ὑπετίθετο, aipe-
τώτερα ταῦτα εὑρίσκων Λυδοῖσι ἢ ἀνδραποδι-
σθέντας πρηθῆναι σφέας, ἐπιστάμενος ὅτι ἢν μὴ
ἀξιόχρεον πρόφασιν προτείνῃ, οὐκ ἀναπείσει μιν
μεταβουλεύσασθαι, ἀρρωδέων δὲ μὴ καὶ ὕστερον
κοτὲ οἱ Λυδοί, ἢν τὸ παρεὸν ὑπεκδράμωσι, ἀπο-
στάντες ἀπὸ τῶν Περσέων ἀπόλωνται. Κῦρος δὲ
ἡσθεὶς τῇ ὑποθήκῃ καὶ ὑπεὶς τῆς ὀργῆς ἔφη οἱ
πείθεσθαι: καλέσας δὲ Μαζάρεα ἄνδρα Μῆξδον,

a / na rn ¢€
ταῦτά TE οἱ ἐνετείλατο προειπεῖν Λυδοῖσι τὰ ὁ
K ral e (6 Ν Ν If ὃ δί θ

ροῖσος ὑπετίθετο, καὶ πρὸς ἐξανδραποδίσασθαι

\ BA / a \ a ΣΝ τῳ ΄ ὃ
τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας οἱ μετὰ Λυδῶν ἐπὶ Σάρδις

\ a
ἐστρατεύσαντο, αὐτὸν δὲ Πακτύην πάντως ζῶντα

a 9 ’
ἀγαγεῖν παρ᾽ ἑωυτόν.

ὰ \ \ a a ¢ fa
157. Ὃ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐντειλά-
᾽ / > ” \ / 4 \
μενος ἀπήλαυνε ἐς ἤθεα τὰ Περσέων, Πακτύης δὲ
“ a ,
πυθόμενος ἀγχοῦ εἶναι στρατὸν ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτὸν ἰόντα
ὃ / ” 4 . 3 7 vs \ €

εἶσας οἴχετο φεύγων és ζύμην. Μαζάρης δὲ ὁ

196

BOOK 1. 155-157

the former and of the latter offence. For the begin-
ning was my work, and on my head is the penalty ;
but it is Pactyes, in whose charge you left Sardis,
who does this present wrong; let him therefore be
punished. But let the Lydians be pardoned; and
lay on them this command, that they may not revolt
or be dangerous to you; send, I say, and forbid
them to possess weapons of war, and command
them to wear tunics under their cloaks and buskins
on their feet, and to teach their sons lyre-playing
and song and dance and huckstering. Then, O king,
you will soon see them turned to women instead of
men; and thus you need not fear lest they revolt.”

156. Such counsel Croesus gave Cyrus, because he
thought this was better for the Lydians than to be
sold as slaves; he knew that without some reasonable
plea he could not change the king’s purpose, and
feared that even if the Lydians should now escape
they might afterwards revolt and be destroyed by
the Persians. Cyrus was pleased by this counsel;
he abated his anger and said he would follow
Croesus’ advice. Then calling Mazares, a Mede, he
charged him to give the Lydians the commands
which Croesus advised; further, to enslave all the
others who had joined the Lydians in attacking
Sardis; and as for Pactyes himself, to bring him
by whatever means into his presence alive.

157. Having given these commands on his journey,
he marched away into the Persian country. But
Pactyes, learning that an army sent against him was
drawing near, was affrighted and fled to Cyme.

197

HERODOTUS

Μῆδος ἐλάσας ἐπὶ τὰς Σάρδις τοῦ Κύρου στρατοῦ
μοῖραν ὅσην δή κοτε ἔχων, ὡς οὐκ εὗρε ἔτι ἐόντας
τοὺς ἀμφὶ Πακτύην ἐν Σάρδισι, πρῶτα μὲν τοὺς
Λυδοὺς ἠνάγκασε τὰς Κύρου ἐντολὰς ἐπιτελέειν,
ἐκ τούτου δὲ κελευσμοσύνης Λυδοὶ τὴν πᾶσαν
δίαιταν τῆς ζόης μετέβαλον. Μαξάρης δὲ μετὰ
τοῦτο ἔπεμπε ἐς τὴν Κύμην ἀγγέλους ἐκδιδόναι
κελεύων ἸΙακτύην. οἱ δὲ Κυμαῖοι ἔγνωσαν συμ-
βουλῆς πέρι ἐς θεὸν ἀνοῖσαι τὸν ἐν Βραγχίδησι:
ἣν γὰρ αὐτόθι μαντήιον ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἱδρυμένον,
τῷ ᾿Ιωνές τε πάντες καὶ Αἰολέες ἐώθεσαν χρᾶσθαι.
ὁ δὲ χῶρος οὗτος ἐστὶ τῆς Μιλησίης ὑπὲρ Havép-
μου λιμένος.

158. Πέμψαντες ὧν οἱ Κυμαῖοι ἐς τοὺς Βραγ-
χίδας θεοπρόπους εἰρώτευν περὶ ἸΙακτύην ὁκοῖόν
τι ποιέοντες θεοῖσι μέλλοιεν χαριεῖσθαι. ἐπειρω-
τῶσι δέ σφι ταῦτα χρηστήριον ἐγένετο ἐκδιδόναι
Πακτύην Πέρσῃσι. ταῦτα δὲ ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα
ἤκουσαν οἱ Κυμαῖοι, ὁρμέατο ἐκδιδόναι" ὁρμη-
μένου δὲ ταύτῃ τοῦ πλήθεος, ᾿Αριστόδικος ὁ
Ἡρακλείδεω ἀνὴρ τῶν ἀστῶν ἐὼν δόκιμος ἔσχε
μὴ ποιῆσαι ταῦτα Κυμαίους, ἀπιστέων τε τῷ
χρησμῷ καὶ δοκέων τοὺς θεοπρόπους οὐ “λέγειν
ἀληθέως, ἐς ὃ τὸ δεύτερον περὶ Πακτύεω ἐ ἐπειρη-
σόμενοι ἤισαν ἄλλοι θεοπρόποι, τῶν καὶ ᾿Αριστό-
δικος 7 ἦν.

159. ᾿Απικομένων δὲ ἐς Βραγχίδας ἐχρηστη-
ριάζξετο ἐκ πάντων ᾿Αριστόδικος ἐπειρωτῶν τάδε.
“ἾΩναξ, ἦλθε παρ᾽ ἡμέας ἱκέτης Πακτύης ὁ Λυδός,
φεύγων θάνατον βίαιον πρὸς ἸΠερσέων' οἱ δέ μιν
ἐξαιτέονται, προεῖναι Κυμαίους κελεύοντες. ἡμεῖς
δὲ δειμαίνοντες τὴν ἸΤερσέων δύναμιν" τὸν ἱκέτην
198

BOOK I. 157-159

Mazares the Mede, when he came to Sardis with what-
ever part he had of Cyrus’ army and found Pactyes’
followers no longer there, first of all compelled the
Lydians to carry out Cyrus’ commands; and by his
order they changed their whole manner of life.
After this, he sent messengers to Cyme demanding
that Pactyes be given up. The Cymaeans resolved
to make the god at Branchidae their judge as to
what counsel they should take; for there was there
an ancient place of divination, which all the Ionians
and Aeolians were wont to consult; the place is
in the land of Miletus, above the harbour of
Panormus.

158. The men of Cyme then sent to Branchidae
to inquire of the shrine what they should do in the
matter of Pactyes that should be most pleasing to
the gods; and the oracle replied that they must give
Pactyes up to the Persians. When this answer came
back to them, they set about giving him up. But
while the greater part were for doing this, Aristo-
dicus son of Heraclides, a notable man among the
citizens, stayed the men of Cyme from this deed ; for
he disbelieved the oracle and thought that those who
had inquired of the god spoke untruly; till at last
a second band of inquirers was sent to inquire con-
cerning Pactyes, among whom was Aristodicus.

159. When they came to Branchidae Aristodicus
speaking for all put this question to the oracle:
“QO King, Pactyes the Lydian hath fled to us for
refuge to save him from a violent death at the hands
of the Persians; and they demand him of us, bidding
the men of Cyme to give him up. But we, for all
that we fear the Persian power, have not made bold

199

HERODOTUS

ἐς τόδε οὐ τετολμήκαμεν ἐκδιδόναι, πρὶν ἂν TO
ἀπὸ σεῦ ἡμῖν δηλωθῇ ἀτρεκέως ὁκότερα ποι-
έωμεν." ὃ μὲν ταῦτα ἐπειρώτα, ὃ δ᾽ αὖτις τὸν
αὐτόν σφι χρησμὸν ἔφαινε, κελεύων ἐκδιδόναι
Πακτύην Πέρσῃσι. πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Αριστόδικος
ἐκ προνοίης ἐποίεε τάδε" περιιὼν τὸν νηὸν κύκλῳ
ἐξαίρεε τοὺς στρουθοὺς καὶ ἄλλα ὅσα ἣν νενοσ-
σευμένα ὀρνίθων γένεα ἐν τῷ νηῷ. ποιέοντος δὲ
αὐτοῦ ταῦτα λέγεται φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀδύτου γε-
νέσθαι φέρουσαν μὲν πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αριστόδικον,
λέγουσαν δὲ τάδε “᾿Ανοσιώτατε ἀνθρώπων, τί
τάδε τολμᾷς ποιέειν; τοὺς ἱκέτας μου ἐκ τοῦ νηοῦ
Kepaiters;” ᾿Αριστόδικον δὲ οὐκ ἀπορήσαντα πρὸς
ταῦτα εἰπεῖν “ἾΩναξ, αὐτὸς μὲν οὕτω τοῖσι ἱκέτῃσι
βοηθέεις, Κυμαίους δὲ κελεύεις τὸν ἱκέτην ἐκδι-
dovat;” τὸν δὲ αὖτις ἀμείψασθαι τοῖσιδε “ Ναὶ
κελεύω, ἵνα γε ἀσεβήσαντες θᾶσσον ἀπόλησθε, ὡς

A \ \ ἊΝ 16 4 3 / ” >) wes \
μὴ TO λοιπὸν περὶ ἱκετέων ἐκδόσιος ἔλθητε ἐπὶ τὸ
χρηστήριον."

160. Ταῦτα ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν οἱ Κυ-
μαῖοι, οὐ Bovdopevor οὔτε ἐκδόντες ἀπολέσθαι
οὔτε Tap ἑωυτοῖσι ἔχοντες πολιορκέεσθαι, ἐ ἐκπέμ-
πουσι αὐτὸν ἐς Μυτιλήνην. οἱ δὲ Μυτιληναῖοι
ἐπιπέμποντος τοῦ Μαξζάρεος ἀγγελίας ἐκδιδόναι
τὸν Πακτύην παρεσκευάξοντο ἐπὶ μισθῷ ὅσῳ δή"
οὐ γὰρ ἔχω τοῦτό γε εἰπεῖν ἀτρεκέως" οὐ γὰρ
ἐτελεώθη. Κυμαῖοι γὰρ ὡς ἔμαθον ταῦτα πρησ-
σόμενα ἐκ τῶν Μυτιληναίων, πέμψαντ ες πλοῖον ἐς
Λέσβον ἐκκομίξζουσι Πακτύην ἐς Χίον. ἐνθεῦτεν
δὲ ἐξ ἱροῦ ᾿Αθηναίης πολιούχου ἀποσπασθεὶς ὑ ὑπὸ
Χίων ἐξεδόθη ἐξέδοσαν δὲ οἱ i Χῖοι € ἐπὶ τῷ ᾿Αταρνέι
μισθῷ: τοῦ δὲ ᾿Αταρνέος τούτου ἐστὶ χῶρος

200

BOOK I. 159-160

to give up this our suppliant, until thy will be clearly
made known to us, whether we shall do this or not.”
Thus Aristodicus questioned; and the god gave again
the same answer, that Pactyes should be delivered up
to the Persians. With that Aristodicus did as he had
already purposed ; he went round about the temple,
and stole away the sparrows and all other families of
nesting birds that were in it. But while he so did,
a voice (they say) came out of the inner shrine calling
to Aristodicus, and saying, “ Thou wickedest of men,
wherefore darest thou do this? wilt thou rob my
temple of those that take refuge with me?” Then
Aristodicus had his answer ready: “0 King,’ said
he, “wilt thou thus save thine own suppliants, yet
bid the men of Cyme deliver up theirs?’’ But the
god made answer, “ Yea, I do bid them, that ye may
the sooner perish for your impiety, and never again
come to inquire of my oracle concerning the giving
up of them that seek refuge with you.”’

160. When this answer was brought to the hearing
of the Cymaeans they sent Pactyes away to Mytilene ;
for they desired neither to perish for delivering him
up nor to be besieged for keeping him with them.
Then Mazares sent a message to Mytilene demanding
the surrender of Pactyes, and the Mytilenaeans pre-
pared to give him, for a price; I cannot say with
exactness how much it was, for the bargain was
never fulfilled; for when the Cymaeans learnt that
the Mytilenaeans had this in hand, they sent a ship
to Lesbos and brought Pactyes away to Chios.
Thence he was dragged out of the temple of City-
guarding Athene and delivered up by the Chians,
they receiving in return Atarneus, which is a district

20I

HERODOTUS

τῆς Muowns, Λεσβου ἀντίος. Πακτύην μέν νυν
παραδεξάμενοι οἱ Πέρσαι εἶχον ἐν φυλακῇ, θέ-
λοντες Κύρῳ ἀποδέξαι. ἦν δὲ χρόνος οὗτος οὐκ
ὀλίγος γινόμενος, ὅτε Χίων οὐδεὶς ἐ ἐκ τοῦ ᾿Αταρνέος
τούτου οὔτε οὐλὰς κριθέων πρόχυσιν ἐποιέετο
θεῶν οὐδενὶ οὔτε πέμματα ἐπέσσετο “καρποῦ τοῦ
ἐνθεῦτεν, ἀπείχετό τε τῶν πάντων ἱρῶν τὰ πάντα
ἐκ τῆς χώρης ταύτης γινόμενα.

Od: ΟΝ δὲ μέν. νυν Πακτύην ἐξέδοσαν" Μαζάρης
δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐστρατεύετο ἐπὶ τοὺς συμπολιορ-
κήσαντας Τάβαλον, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν Ἰ]ριηνέας ἐξην-
δραποδίσατο, τοῦτο δὲ Μαιάνδρου πεδίον πᾶν
ἐπέδραμε Aniny ποιεύμενος. TO στρατῷ, Μαγ-
νησίην τε ὡσαύτως. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα αὐτίκα
νούσῳ τελευτᾷ.

162. ᾿Αποθανόντος δὲ τούτου, “Αρπαγος κατέβη
διάδοχος τῆς στρατηγίης, γένος καὶ αὐτὸς ἐὼν
Μῆδος, τὸν ὁ Μήδων βασιλεὺς ᾿Αστυάγης ἀνόμῳ
τραπέζῃ ἔδαισε, ὁ τῷ Κύρῳ τὴν βασιληίην συγ-
κατεργασάμενος. οὗτος ὡνὴρ τότε ὑπὸ Κύρου
στρατηγὸς ἀποδεχθεὶς ὡς ἀπίκετο ἐς τὴν Ἰωνίην,
αἵρεε τὰς πόλιας χώμασι" ὅκως γὰρ τειχήρεας
ποιήσειε, τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν χώματα YOY πρὸς τὰ τείχεα
ἐπόρθεε.

108. Πρώτῃ δὲ Φωκαίῃ ᾿Ιωνίης ἐπεχείρησε.
οἱ δὲ Φωκαιέες οὗτοι ναυτιλίῃσι μακρῇσι
πρῶτοι “Ἑλλήνων ἐχρήσαντο, καὶ τόν τε ᾿Αδρίην
καὶ τὴν Τυρσηνίην καὶ τὴν ᾿Ιβηρίην καὶ τὸν
Ταρτησσὸν οὗτοι εἰσὶ οἱ καταδέξαντες' ἐναυτίλ-
λοντο δὲ οὐ στρογγύλῃσι νηυσὶ ἀλλὰ πεντηκον-
τέροισι. ἀπικόμενοι δὲ ἐς τὸν Ταρτησσὸν προσ-
φιλέες ἐγένοντο τῷ βασιλέι. τῶν Ταρτησσίων,

202

BOOK I. 160-163

in Mysia over against Lesbos. ‘The Persians thus
received Pactyes and kept him guarded, that they
might show him to Cyrus; and for a long time no
Chian would offer sacrifice of barley meal from this
land of Atarneus to any god, or make sacrificial cakes
of what grew there; nothing that came from that
country might be used for any sacred rite.

161. Pactyes being then delivered up by the
Chians, Mazares presently led his army against those
who had helped to besiege Tabalus, and he enslaved
the people of Priene, and overran the plain of the
Maeandrus, giving it up to his army to pillage, and
Magnesia likewise. Immediately after this he died
of a sickness.

162. After his death Harpagus came down to suc-
ceed him in his command, a Median like Mazares ;
this is that Harpagus who was entertained by Asty-
ages the Median king at that unnatural feast, and
who helped to win the kingship for Cyrus. This
man was now made general by Cyrus. When he
came to Ionia, he took the cities by building mounds ;
he would drive the men within their walls and then
build mounds against the walls and so take the
cities.

163. Phocaea was the first Ionian town that he
assailed. These Phocaeans were the earliest of the
Greeks to make long sea-voyages: it was they who
discovered the Adriatic Sea, and Tyrrhenia, and
Iberia, and Tartessus,! not sailing in round freight-
ships but in fifty-oared vessels. When they came to
Tartessus they made friends with the king of the

1 The lower valley of the Guadalquivir. Later Tartessus
was identified with Gades (Cadiz), which Herodotus (iy. 8)
calls Gadira.

VOR Ἢ 209

HERODOTUS

τῷ οὔνομα μὲν ἦν ᾿Αργανθώνιος, ἐτυράννευσε δὲ
Ταρτησσοῦ ὀγδώκοντα ἔτεα, ἐβίωσε δὲ πάντα
εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατόν. τούτῳ δὴ τῷ ἀνδρὶ προσ-
φιλέες οἱ Φωκαιέες οὕτω δή τι ἐγένοντο ὡς τὰ μὲν
πρῶτα σφέας ἐκλιπόντας ᾿Ιωνίην ἐκέλευε "τῇς
ἑωυτοῦ χώρης οἰκῆσαι ὅκου βούλονται" μετὰ δέ,
ὡς τοῦτό γε οὐκ ἔπειθε τοὺς Φωκαιέας, ὃ δὲ
πυθόμενος τὸν Μῆδον παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ὡς αὔξοιτο,
ἐδίδου σφι χρήματα τεῖχος περιβαλέσθαι τὴν
πόλιν, ἐδίδου δὲ ἀφειδέως" καὶ γὰρ καὶ 4 περίοδος
τοῦ τείχεος οὐκ ὀλίγοι στάδιοι εἰσί, τοῦτο δὲ πᾶν
λίθων μεγάλων καὶ εὖ συναρμοσμένων.

104. Τὸ μὲν δὴ τεῖχος τοῖσι Φωκαιεῦσι τρόπῳ
τοιῷδε ἐξεποιήθη. ὁ δὲΑρπαγος ὡς ἐπήλασε τὴν
στρατιήν, ἐπολιόρκεε αὐτούς, προϊσχόμενος ἔπεα
ὥς οἱ καταχρᾷ εἰ βούλονται Φωκαιέες προμα-
χεῶνα ἕνα μοῦνον τοῦ τείχεος ἐρεῖψαι καὶ οἴκημα
ἕν κατιρῶσαι. οἱ δὲ Φωκαιέες περιημεκτέοντες
τῇ δουλοσύνῃ ἔφασαν θέλειν βουλεύσασθαι
ἡμέρην μίαν καὶ ἔπειτα ὑποκρινέεσθαι" ἐν ᾧ δὲ
βουλεύονται αὐτοί, ἀπαγαγεῖν ἐκεῖνον ἐκέλευον
τὴν στρατιὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχεος. ὁ δ᾽ “ "A prrayos
ἔφη εἰδέναι μὲν εὖ τὰ ἐκεῖνοι μέλλοιεν ποιέειν,
soon δέ σφι παριέναι βουλεύσασθαι. ἐν ᾧ ὧν

“Αρπαγος ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχεος ἀπήγαγε τὴν στρα-
oF οἱ Φωκαιέες ἐν τούτῳ κατασπάσαντες TAS
πεντηκοντέρους, ἐσθέμενοι τέκνα καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ
ἔπιπλα πάντα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὰ ἀγάλματα τὰ ἐκ
τῶν ἱρῶν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀναθήματα, χωρὶς ὅ τι
χαλκὸς ἢ λίθος ἢ γραφὴ ἦν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα
ἐσθέντες καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐσ βάντες ἔπλεον ἐπὶ Χίου. τὴν
δὲ Φωκαίην ἐρημωθεῖσαν ἀνδρῶν ἔσχον οἱ ἸΤέρσαι.

204

BOOK I. 163-164

‘Tartessians, whose name was Arganthonius; he ruled
Tartessus for eighty years and lived an hundred and
twenty.! The Phocaeans so won this man’s friendship
that he first entreated them to leave Ionia and settle
in his country where they would; and then, when he
could not persuade them to that, and learnt from
them how the Median power was increasing, he gave
them money to build a wall round their city there-
with. Without stint he gave it; for the circuit of
the wall is of many furlongs, and all this is made
of great stones well fitted together.

164. In such a manner was the Phocaeans’ wali
fully made. Harpagus marched against the city and
besieged it, but he made overtures, and said that it
would suffice him if the Phocaeans would demolish
one bastion of the wall and dedicate one house.
But the Phocaeans, very wroth at the thought οἱ
slavery, said they desired to take counsel for one day,
and then they would answer; but while they were
consulting, Harpagus must, they said, withdraw his
army from the walls. Harpagus said that he knew
well what they purposed to do, but that nevertheless
he would suffer them to take counsel. So while Har-
pagus withdrew his army from the walls, the Phocae-
ans launched their fifty-oared ships, placed in them
their children and women and all movable goods,
besides the statues from the temples and all things
therein dedicated save bronze or stonework or
painting, and then themselves embarked and _ set
sail for Chios; and the Persians took Phocaea, thus
left uninhabited.

1 A common Greek tradition, apparently ; Anacreon (Fr. 8)
says ‘‘I would not... rule Tartessus for an hundred and
fifty years.”

205

HERODOTUS

165. Οἱ δὲ Φωκαιέες, ἐπείτε adhe Νῖοι τὰς
νήσους τὰς Οἰνούσσας καλεομένας οὐκ ἐβούλοντο
ὠνευμένοισι πτωλέειν, δειμαίνοντες μὴ al μὲν ἐμ-
πόριον γένωνται, ἡ δὲ αὐτῶν νῆσος ἀποκληισθῇ
τούτου εἰνεκα, πρὸς ταῦτα οἱ Φωκαέέες ἐστέλλοντο
ἐς Κύρνον' ἐν “γὰρ τῇ Κύρνῳ εἴκοσι ἔτεσι πρό-
τερον τούτων ἐκ θεοπροπίου ἀνεστήσαντο πόλιν,
Τῇ οὔνομα ἣν ᾿Αλαλίη. ᾿Αργανθώνιος δὲ τηνι-
καῦτα ἤδη τετελευτήκεε. στελλόμενοι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν
Κύρνον, πρῶτα καταπλεύσαντες ἐς τὴν Φωκαίην
κατεφόνευσαν τῶν Ἱ]ερσέων τὴν φυλακήν, ἣ
ἐφρούρεε παραδεξαμένη παρὰ “Ἁρπάγου τὴν
πόλιν. μετ τὰ δέ, ὡς τοῦτό σφι ἐξέργαστο, ἐποιή-
σαντο ἰσχυρὰς κατώρας τῷ ὑπολειπομένῳ ἑωυτῶν
τοῦ στόλου, πρὸς δὲ ταύτῃσι καὶ μύδρον σιδήρεον
κατεπόντωσαν καὶ ὦμοσαν μὴ πρὶν ἐς Φωκαίην
ἥξειν πρὶν ἢ τὸν μύδρον τοῦτον ἀναφανῆναι.
στελλομένων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν Κύρνον, ὑπερη-
μίσεας τῶν ἀστῶν ἔλαβε πόθος τε καὶ οἶκτος τῆς
πόλιος καὶ τῶν ἠθέων τῆς χώρης, ψευδόρκιοι δὲ
γενόμενοι ἀπέπλεον ὀπίσω ἐς τὴν Φωκαίην. οἱ
δὲ αὐτῶν τὸ ὅρκιον ἐφύλασσον, ἀερθέντες ἐκ τῶν
Οἰνουσσέων ἔπλεον.

106. Emetre δὲ ἐς τὴν Κύρνον ἀπίκοντο, οἴκεον
κοινῇ μετὰ τῶν πρότερον ἀπικομένων ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα
πέντε, καὶ ἱρὰ ἐνιδρύσαντο. καὶ ἣγον γὰρ δὴ
καὶ ἔφερον τοὺς περιοίκους ἅπαντας, στρατεύ-
ονται ὧν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς κοινῷ λόγῳ͵ χρησάμενοι
RUPE! καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι, νηυσὶ ἑκάτεροι ἑξή-
κόντα. οἱ δὲ Φωκαιέες πληρώσαντες καὶ αὐτοὶ
τὰ are ἐόντα ἀριθμὸν ἑξήκοντα, avtiafov és
τὸ Σαρδόνιον καλεόμενον πέλαγος. συμμισ-

206

BOOK I. 165-166

165. The Phocaeans would have bought of the
Chians the islands called Oenussae!; but the Chians
would not sell them, because they feared that the
islands would become a market and so their own
island be cut off from its trade: so the Phocaeans
made ready to sail to Cyrnus,? where at the command
of an oracle they had twenty years before this built
a city called Alalia. Arganthonius was by this time
dead. While making ready for their voyage, they
first sailed to Phocaea, where they slew the Persian
guard to whom Harpagus had entrusted the defence
of the city; and this being done, they called down
inighty curses on whosoever of themselves should
stay behind when the rest sailed. Not only so, but
they sank in the sea a mass of iron, and swore never
to return to Phocaea before the iron should again
appear. But while they prepared to voyage to Cyrnus,
more than half of the citizens were taken with a
longing and a pitiful sorrow for the city and the life
of their land, and they broke their oath and sailed
back to Phocaea. Those of them who kept the oath
set out to sea from the Oenussae.

166. And when they came to Cyrnus they dwelt
there for five years as one body with those who had
first come, and they founded temples there. But
they harried and plundered all their neighbours:
wherefore the Tyrrhenians and Carchedonians made
common cause against them, and sailed to attack
them each with sixty ships. The Phocaeans also
manned their ships, sixty in number, and met the
enemy in the sea called Sardonian. They joined

1 Between Chios and the mainland.
2 Corsica.

207

HERODOTUS

γόντων δὲ τῇ ναυμαχίῃ Καδμείη τις νίκη τοῖσι
Φωκαιεῦσι ἐγένετο" αἱ μὲν γὰρ τεσσεράκοντά σφι
νέες διεφθάρησαν, αἱ δὲ εἴκοσι αἱ περιεοῦσαι
ἧσαν ἄχρηστοι: ἀπεστράφατο γὰρ τοὺς ἐμβό-
λους. καταπλώσαντες δὲ ἐς τὴν ᾿Αλαλίην ἀνέ-
λαβον τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὴν ἄλλην
κτῆσιν ὅσην οἷαί τε ἐγίνοντο αἱ νέες σφι ἄγειν,
καὶ ἔπειτα ἀπέντες τὴν Κύρνον ἔπλεον ἐς
“Ῥήγιον.

167. Τῶν δὲ διαφθαρεισέων νεῶν τοὺς ἄνδρας
οἵ τε Καρχηδόνιοι καὶ οἱ Τυρσηνοὶ [διέλαχον, τῶν

Τυρσηνῶν οἱ ᾿Αγυλλαῖοι] ἔλαχόν τε αὐτῶν
πολλῷ πλείστους καὶ τούτους ἐξαγαγόντες κατέ-
λευσαν. μετὰ δὲ ᾿Αγυλλαίοισι πάντα τὰ παρι-
ὄντα τὸν χῶρον, ἐν τῷ οἱ Φωκαιέες καταλευ-
σθέντες ἐκέατο, ἐγίνετο διάστροφα καὶ ἔμπηρα
καὶ ἀπόπληκτα, ὁμοίως πρόβατα καὶ ὑποζύγια
καὶ ἄνθρωποι. οἱ δὲ ᾿Αγυλλαῖοι ἐς Δελφοὺς
ἔπεμπον βουλόμενοι ἀκέσασθαι τὴν ἁμαρτάδα.
ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφέας ἐκέλευσε ποιέειν. τὰ καὶ νῦν
οἱ ᾿Αγυλλαῖοι ἔτι ἐπιτελέουσι" καὶ γὰρ ἐναγί-
ζουσί σφι μεγάλως καὶ ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν καὶ
ἱππικὸν ἐπιστᾶσι. καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τῶν Φωκαιέων
τοιούτῳ μόρῳ διεχρήσαντο, οἱ δὲ αὐτῶν ἐς τὸ
Ῥήγιον καταφυγόντες ἐνθεῦτεν ὁρμώμενοι ἐκτή-
σαντο πόλιν γῆς τῆς Oliverpins ταύτην ἥτις νῦν
‘Térn καλέεται" ἔκτισαν δὲ ταύτην πρὸς ἀνδρὸς
Ποσειδωνιήτεω μαθόντες ὡς τὸν Κύρνον σφι ἡ
Πυθίη ἔχρησε κτίσαι ἥρων ἐόντα, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ ἀπ
νῆσον.

1 The words in brackets are Stein’s conjecture ; the MSS.
have nothing between Τυρσηνοὶ and ἔλαχον.

208

BOOK ΓΙ. 166-167

battle, and the Phocaeans won, yet it was but a Cad-
inean victory !; for they lost forty of their ships, and
the twenty that remained were useless, their rams
being twisted awry. Then sailing to Alalia they took
on board their children and women and all of their
possessions that their ships could hold, and leaving
Cyrnus they sailed to Rhegium.

167. As for the crews of the destroyed ships, the
Carchedonians and Tyrrhenians drew lots for them:
and by far the greater share of them falling to the
Tyrrhenian city of Agylla,? the Agyllaeans led them
out and stoned them to death. But after this all
from Agylla, whether sheep or beasts of burden or
men, that passed the place where the stoned Phocae-
ans lay, became distorted and crippled and _palsicd.
The Agyllaeans sent to Delphi, desiring to heal their
offence ; and the Pythian priestess bade them do
what the people of Agylla to this day perform : for
they pay great honours to the Phocaeans, with
religious rites and games, and horse-races. Such
was the end of this portion of the Phocaeans. Those
of them who fled to Rhegium set out from thence
and gained possession of that Oenotrian® city which
is now called Hyele*; this they founded because
they learnt from a man of Posidonia that when the
Pythian priestess spoke of founding a settlement and
of Cyrnus, it was the hero that she signified and
not the island.

1 Polynices and Eteocles, sons of Oedipus and descendants
of Cadmus, fought for the possession of Thebes and killed
each other. Hence a Cadmean victory means one where
victor and vanquished suffer alike.

2 Later Caere in Etruria.

8 OQenotria corresponds to Southern Italy (the Lucania and
Bruttium of Roman history). ὁ Later Elea (Velia).

209

HERODOTUS

168. Φωκαίης μέν νυν πέρι τῆς ἐν Lwrty οὕτω
ἔσχε, παραπλήσια δὲ τούτοισι καὶ Τήιοι ἐποί-
noav. ἐπείτε γὰρ σφέων εἷλε χώματι τὸ τεῖχος
“Aprayos, ἐσβάντες πάντες ἐς τὰ πλοῖα οἴχοντο
πλέοντες ἐπὶ τῆς Θρηίκης, καὶ ἐνθαῦτα ἔκτισαν
πόλιν "A Bénpa, τὴν πρότερος τούτων Kralo-
μένιος Τιμήσιος κτίσας οὐκ ἀπόνητο, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ
Θρηίκων ἐξελασθεὶς τιμὰς νῦν ὑπὸ Τηίων τῶν
ἐν ᾿Αβδήροισι ὡς ἥρως ἔχει.

169. Οὗτοι μέν νυν ᾿Ιώνων μοῦνοι τὴν δουλο-
σύνην οὐκ ἀνεχόμενοι ἐξέλιπον τὰς πατρίδας" οἱ
δ᾽ ἄλλοι Ἴωνες πλὴν Μιλησίων διὰ μάχης μὲν
ἀπίκοντο ᾿Αρπάγῳ κατά περ οἱ ἐκλιπόντες, καὶ
ἄνδρες ἐ ἐγένοντο ἀγαθοὶ περὶ τῆς ἑωυτοῦ ἕκαστος
μαχόμενοι, ἑσσωθέντες δὲ καὶ ἁλόντες ἔμενον
κατὰ χώρην ἕκαστοι καὶ τὰ ἐπιτασσόμενα ἐπετέ-
λεον. Μιλήσιοι δέ, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι εἴρηται,
αὐτῷ Κύρῳ ὅρκιον ποιησάμενοι ἡσυχίην ἦγον.
οὕτω δὴ τὸ δεύτερον ᾿Ιωνίη ἐδεδούλωτο. ὡς δὲ
τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ Ἴωνας ἐχειρώσατο “ Aprayos,
οἱ τὰς νήσους ἔχοντες Ἴωνες καταρρωδήσαντες
ταῦτα σφέας αὐτοὺς ἔδοσαν Κύρῳ.

110. Κεκακωμένων δὲ ᾿Ιώνων καὶ συλλεγο-
μένων οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἐς τὸ Πανιώνιον, πυνθάνομαι
γνώμην Βίαντα ἄνδρα Πρριηνέα ἀποδέξασθαι Ἴωσι
χρησιμωτάτην, τῇ εἰ ἐπείθοντο, παρεῖχε ἄν σφι
εὐδαιμονέειν “Ελλήνων μάλιστα" ὃς ἐκέλευε κοινῷ
στόλῳ Ἴωνας ἀερθέντας πλέειν ἐς Σαρδὼ καὶ
ἔπειτα πόλιν μίαν κτίζειν πάντων ᾿Ιώνων, καὶ
οὕτω ἀπαλλαχθέντας σφέας δουλοσύνης εὐδαι-
μονήσειν, νήσων τε ἁπασέων μεγίστην νεμομένους
καὶ ἄρχοντας ἄλλων! μένουσι δέ σφι ἐν τῇ

210

BOOK I. 168-170

168. Thus, then, it fared with the Ionian Phocaea.
The Teians did in like manner with the Phocaeans:
when Harpagus had taken their walled city by build-
ing a mound, they all embarked on shipboard and
sailed away for Thrace. There they founded a city,
Abdera, which before this had been founded by
Timesius of Clazomenae; yet he got no good of it,
but was driven out by the Thracians. This Timesius
is now honoured as a hero by the Teians of Abdera.

169. These were the only Ionians who, being
unable to endure slavery, left their native lands. The
rest of the lonians, except the Milesians, though
they faced Harpagus in battle as did the τ and
bore themselves gallantly, each fighting for his own
country, yet, when they were worsted and their
cities taken, remained each where he was and did as
they were commanded. The Milesians, as I have
already said, made a treaty with Cyrus himself and
struck no blow. Thus was lonia for the second
time enslaved: and when Harpagus had conquered
the lonians of the mainland, the Ionians of the
islands, fearing the same fate, surrendered themselves
to Cyrus.

170. When the Ionians, despite their evil plight,
did nevertheless assemble at the Panionion, Bias of
Priene, as I have heard, gave them very useful advice,
which had they followed they might have been the
most prosperous of all Greeks: for he counselled them
to put out to sea and sail all together to Sardo and
then found one city for all Ionians: thus, possessing
the greatest island in the world and bearing rule over
others, they would be rid of slavery and win pros-
perity ; but if they stayed in Ionia he could see (he

211

HERODOTUS

᾿Ιωνίῃ οὐκ ἔφη ἐνορᾶν ἐλευθερίην ἔτι ἐσομένην.
αὕτη μὲν Βίαντος τοῦ Πριηνέος γνώμη ἐπὶ διε-
φθαρμένοισι᾿ Ἴωσι γενομένη, χρηστὴ δὲ καὶ πρὶν
ἢ διαφθαρῆναι ᾿Ιωνίην Θάλεω ἀνδρὸς Μιλησίου
ἐγένετο, τὸ ἀνέκαθεν γένος ἐόντος Φοίνικος, ὃς
ἐκέλευε ν βουλευτήριον Ἴωνας ἐκτῆσθαι, τὸ δὲ
εἶναι ἐν Τέῳ (Γέων γὰρ μέσον εἶναι ᾿Ιωνίης), τὰς
δὲ ἄλλας πόλιας οἰκεομένας μηδὲν ὑπ νομί-
ἕεσθαι κατά περ εἰ δῆμοι Elev" οὗτοι μὲν δή σφι
γνώμας τοιάσδε ἀπεδέξαντο.

171. Αρπαγος δὲ καταστρεψάμενος ᾿Ιωνίην
ἐποιέετο στρατηίην ἐπὶ Κᾶρας καὶ Καυνίους καὶ
Λυκίους, ἅμα ἀγόμενος καὶ Ιωνας καὶ Αἰολέας.
εἰσὶ δὲ τούτων Κᾶρες μὲν ἀπιγμένοι ἐς τὴν ἤπειρον
ἐκ τῶν νήσων. τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν ἐόντες Μίνω κατή-
κοοι καὶ καλεόμενοι Λέλεγες εἶχον τὰς νήσους,
φόρον μὲν οὐδένα ὑποτελέοντες, ὅσον καὶ ἐγὼ
δυνατός εἰμι ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἐξικέσθαι ἀκοῇ" οἱ
δέ, ὅκως Μίνως δέοιτο, ἐπλήρουν οἱ τὰς νέας. ἅτε
δὴ Μίνω τε κατεστραμμένου γῆν πολλὴν καὶ εὐ-
τυχέοντος τῷ πολέμῳ, τὸ “Καρικὸν ἣ ἣν ἐθνος λογι-
μώτατον τῶν ἐθνέων ἁπάντων κατὰ τοῦτον ἅμα
τὸν χρόνον μακρῷ μάλιστα. καί σφι τριξὰ
ἐξευρήματα ἐγένετο, τοῖσι οἱ one ἐχρήσαντο:
καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ κράνεα λόφους ἐπιδέεσθαι Κᾶρες
εἰσὶ οἱ καταδέξαντες καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀσπίδας τὰ
σημήια ποιέεσθαι, καὶ ὄχανα ἀσπίσι οὗτοι εἰσὶ οἱ

ποιησάμενοι πρῶτοι' τέως δὲ ἄνευ ὀχάνων. ἐφόρεον
τὰς ἀσπίδας πάντες οἵ περ ἐώθεσαν ἀσπίσι χρᾶ-
σθαι, τελαμῶσι σκυτίνοισι οἰηκίζοντες, περὶ τοῖσι
αὐχέσι τε καὶ τοῖσι ἀριστεροῖσι ὦμοισι περικεί-

212

BOOK I. 170-171

said) no hope of freedom for them. Such was the
counsel which Bias of Priene gave after the destruc-
tion of the Ionians; and good also was that given
before the destruction by Thales of Miletus, a
Phoenician by descent ; he would have had the Ionians
make one common place of counsel, which should be
in Teos, for that was the centre of Ionia; and the
state of the other cities should be held to be no other
than if they were but townships. Thus Bias and
Thales advised.

171. Harpagus, after subduing Ionia, made an
expedition against the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians,
taking with him Ionians and Aeolians. Now among
these the Carians were a people who had come to the
mainland from the islands; for in old time they were
islanders, called Leleges and under the rule of Minos,
not (as far as I can learn by hearsay) paying him
tribute, but manning ships for him when he needed
them. Seeing then that Minos had subdued much
territory to himself and was victorious in war, this
made the Carians too at that time to be very far
the most regarded of all nations. Three things
they invented in which they were followed by the
Greeks: it was the Carians who first taught the
wearing of crests on their helmets and devices on
their shields, and who first made for their shields
holders; till then all who used shields carried
them without these holders, and guided them
with leathern baldrics which they slung round

213

HERODOTUS

N SN \ rA / [2 A
μενοι. μετὰ δὲ τοὺς Κᾶρας χρόνῳ ὕστερον πολλῷ
/ Qn
Δωριέες τε καὶ “lwves ἐξανέστησαν ἐκ τῶν νήσων,
ε ’ / \
καὶ οὕτω ἐς τὴν ἤπειρον ἀπίκοντο. κατὰ μὲν δὴ
a “ Fe aa OS / , /
Kapas οὕτω Κρῆτες λέγουσι γενέσθαι: ov μέντοι
5) , ¢ , ΄ ς A > \
αὐτοί γε ομολογέουσι τούτοισι οἱ Κᾶρες, ἀλλὰ
\ 3 > /
νομίζουσι αὐτοὶ ἑωυτοὺς εἶναι αὐτόχθονας ἠπει-
, \ a , a A > \
ρώτας, καὶ τῷ οὐνόματι τῷ αὐτῷ αἰεὶ διαχρεωμέ-
A “- lal AN
vous τῷ περ νῦν. ἀποδεικνῦσι δὲ ἐν Μυλάσοισι
Διὸς Καρίου ἱρὸν ἀρχαῖον, τοῦ Μυσοῖσι μὲν καὶ
an e ΄ Se “
Λυδοῖσι μέτεστι ὡς κασιγνήτοισι ἐοῦσι τοῖσι
, \ \ \ \ Ἂ \ /
Kapoi: tov yap Λυδὸν καὶ tov Μυσὸν λέγουσι
s ἂν 2 / 7 \ \ /
εἶναι Καρὸς ἀδελφεούς. τούτοισι μὲν δὴ μέτεστι,
“ Χ i; yA 7 ¢ , a
ὅσοι δὲ ἐόντες ἄλλου ἔθνεος ὁμόγλωσσοι τοῖσι
Καρσὶ ἐγένοντο, τούτοισι δὲ οὐ μέτα.
Ι
112. Οἱ δὲ Καύνιοι αὐτόχθονες δοκέειν ἐμοὶ
> / > ‘ / > Ta / \ 3
εἰσί, αὐτοὶ μέντοι ἐκ Κρήτης φασὶ εἶναι. προσ-
lal \ Ν δ
κεχωρήκασι δὲ γλῶσσαν μὲν πρὸς τὸ Καρικὸν
Ψ xX [2 a \ \ if “ Γι
ἔθνος, ἢ οἱ Κᾶρες πρὸς τὸ Καυνικόν (τοῦτο γὰρ
/ la) , x /
οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως διακρῖναι), νόμοισι δὲ χρέωνται
κεχωρισμένοισι πολλὸν τῶν τε ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων
fal a \
καὶ Καρῶν. τοῖσι yap κάλλιστον ἐστὶ κατ᾽
7 Ἁ , \ ,
ἡλικίην TE καὶ φιλότητα εἰλαδὸν συγγίνεσθαι és
Ul \
πόσιν, καὶ ἀνδράσι καὶ γυναιξὶ καὶ παισί. ἱδρυ-
/ / ον nr /
θέντων δέ σφι ἱρῶν ξεινικῶν, μετέπειτα ὥς σφι
> , ” \ an / lal na
ἀπέδοξε, ἔδοξε δὲ τοῖσι πατρίοισι μοῦνον χρᾶσθαι
a > ΄ Nie? c 7 ¢ /
ϑεοῖσι, ἐνδύντες Ta ὅπλα ἅπαντες Καύνιοι ἡβηδόν,
/ Χ 3), td a
τύπτοντες δόρασι τὸν ἠέρα, μέχρι οὔρων τῶν
ἴω Ρ \ A
Καλυνδικῶν εἵποντο, καὶ ἔφασαν ἐκβάλλειν τοὺς
\ /
ξεινικοὺς θεούς.

214

BOOK I. 171-172

the neck and over the left shoulder.! Then, a
long time afterwards, the Carians were driven from
the islands by Dorians and Ionians and so came to
the mainland. This is the Cretan story about the
Carians ; but they themselves do not consent to it,
but hold that they are aboriginal dwellers on the
mainland and ever bore the name which they bear
now; and they point to an ancient shrine of Carian
Zeus at Mylasa, whereto Mysians and Lydians, as
brethren of the Carians (for Lydus and Mysus, they
say, were brothers of Car), are admitted, but none of
any other nation, though they learned to speak
the same language as the Carians.

172. The Caunians, to my mind, are aborigines of
the soil; but they themselves say that they came
from Crete. Their speech has grown like to the
Carian, or the Carian to theirs (for that I cannot
clearly determine), but in their customs they are
widely severed from the Carians, as from all other
men. Their chief pleasure is to assemble for drink-
ing-bouts in such companies as accord with their
ages and friendships—men, women, and children.
Certain foreign rites of worship were established
among them; but presently when they were other-
wise minded, and would worship only the gods of
their fathers, all Caunian men of full age put on their
armour and went together as far as the boundaries
of Calynda, smiting the air with their spears and
saying that they were casting out the stranger gods.

1 This is the management of the Homeric ‘‘man-covering”
shield, as shown in the Jliad. The shield is not carried on
the arm, but hangs by a belt which passes over the left
shoulder and under the right arm-pit; by a pull on the
τελαμών it can be shifted so as to protect breast or back.

215

HERODOTUS

179: Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τρόποισι τοιούτοισι “χρέ-
ὠνταῖ, οἱ δὲ Λύκιοι ἐκ Κρήτης τὠρχ αἴον γεγόνασι
(τὴν γὰρ Κρήτην εἶχον τὸ παλαιὸν πᾶσαν βάρ-
βαροι)" διενειχθέντων δὲ ἐν Κρήτῃ περὶ τῆς
βασιληίης τῶν Εὐρώπης παίδων apt dovos TE
καὶ Μίνω, ὡς ἐπεκράτησε τῇ στάσι Μίνως, ἐξή-
λασε αὐτόν τε Σαρπηδόνα καὶ τοὺς στασιώτας
αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ ἀπωσθέντες ἀπίκοντο τῆς ᾿Ασίης ἐς
γῆν τὴν Μιλυάδα: τὴν γὰρ νῦν Λύκιοι νέμονται,
αὕτη τὸ παλαιὸν ἣν Μιλυάς, οἱ δὲ Μωλύαι τότε
Σόλυμοι ἐκαλέοντο. ἕως μὲν δὴ αὐτῶν Σαρπηδὼν
ἦρχε, οἱ δὲ ἐκαλέοντο τό πέρ τε ἠνείκαντο οὔνομα
καὶ νῦν ἔτι καλέονται ὑπὸ τῶν περιοίκων οἱ
Λύκιοι, Τερμίλαι: ὡς δὲ ἐξ ᾿Αθηνέων Λύκος ὁ
Πανδίονος, ἐξελασθεὶς καὶ οὗτος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀδελ-
φεοῦ Alyéos, ἀπίκετο ἐς τοὺς Τερμίλας παρὰ
Σαρπηδόνα, οὕτω δὴ κατὰ τοῦ Λύκου τὴν ἐπωνυ-
μίην Λύκιοι ἀνὰ χρόνον ἐκλήθησαν. νόμοισι δὲ
τὰ μὲν Κρητικοῖσι τὰ δὲ ἹΚαρικοῖσι χρέωνται. ν
δὲ τόδε ἴδιον νενομίκασι καὶ οὐδαμοῖσι ἄλλοισι
συμφέρονται ἀνθρώπων' καλέουσι ἀπὸ τῶν μητέ-
ρων ἑωυτοὺς καὶ οὐκὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πατέρων" εἰρομένου
δὲ ἑτέρου τὸν πλησίον τίς εἴη, καταλέξει ἑωυτὸν
μητρόθεν καὶ τῆς μητρὸς ἀνανεμέεται τὰς μητέρας.
καὶ ἢν μέν γε γυνὴ ἀστὴ δούλῳ συνοικήσῃ, ryev-
vata τὰ τέκνα νενόμισται" ἢν δὲ ἀνὴρ ἀστὸς καὶ
ὁ πρῶτος αὐτῶν γυναῖκα ξείνην ἢ παλλακὴν ἔχῃ,
᾿ ;
ἄτιμα τὰ τέκνα γίνεται.

1714. Οἱ μέν νυν Κᾶρες οὐδὲν λαμπρὸν ἔργον
ἀποδεξάμενοι ἐδουλώθησαν ὑπὸ ᾿Αρπάγου, οὔτε
αὐτοὶ οἱ Κᾶρες ἀποδεξάμενοι οὐδέν, οὔτε ὅσοι
Ελλήνων ταύτην τὴν χώρην οἰκέουσι" οἰκέουσι
216

BOOK Ι. 1τγ-1τ,4

173. Such are their fashions. ‘The Lycians were
of Crete in ancient times (for of old none that dwelt
in Crete were Greek). Now there was a dispute in
Crete about the royal power between Sarpedon and
Minos, sons of Europe; Minos prevailed in this
division and drove out Sarpedon and his partisans ;
who, being thrust out, came to the Milyan land in
Asia. What is now possessed by the Lycians was of
old Milyan, and the Milyans were then called Solymi.
For a while Sarpedon ruled them, and the people
were called Termilae, which was the name that they
had brought with them and that is still given to the
Lycians by their neighbours ; but after the coming
from Athens of Lycus son of Pandion—another exile,
another exile, banished by his brother Aegeus—to
join Sarpedon in the land of the Termilae, they
came in time to be called Lycians after Lycus. Their
customs are in part Cretan and in part Carian. But
they have one which is their own and shared by no
other men; they take their names not from their
fathers but from their mothers; and when one is
asked by his neighbour who he is, he will say that
he is the son of such a mother, and recount the
mothers of his mother. Nay, if a woman of full
rights marry a slave, her children are deemed pure-
born; and if a true-born Lycian man take a stranger
wife or concubine, the children are dishonoured,
though he be the first in the land.

174. Neither then the Carians nor any Greeks
who dwell in this country did any deed of note
before they were all enslaved by Harpagus. Among

219

HERODOTUS

δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων ἄποικοι Κνίδιοι.
οὗ τῆς χώρης τῆς σφετέρης τετραμμένης ἐς
πόντον, τὸ δὴ Τριόπιον καλέεται, ἀργμένης
δὲ ἐκ τῆς “Χερσονήσου τῆς Βυβασσίης, ἐούσης τε
πάσης τῆς Κνιδίης πλὴν ὀλίγης περιρρόου (τὰ
μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον ὁ Κεραμεικὸς
κόλπος ἀπέργει, τὰ δὲ πρὸς νότον ἡ κατὰ Σύμην
τε καὶ Ῥόδον θάλασσα), τὸ ὧν δὴ ὀλίγον τοῦτο,
ἐὸν ὅσον τε ἐπὶ πέντε στάδια, ὥρυσσον οἱ ἸΚνίδιοι
ἐν ὅσῳ “Aprayos τὴν ᾿Ιωνίην κατεστρέφετο,
βουλόμενοι. νῆσον τὴν ὥρην ποιῆσαι. ἐντὸς δὲ
πᾶσά σφι ἐγίνετο" τῇ γὰρ ἡ Κνεδίη χώρη ἐς τὴν
ἤπειρον τελευτᾷ, ταύτῃ ὁ ἰσθμός ἐστι τὸν ὠρυσ-
σον. καὶ δὴ πολλῇ χειρὶ ἐργαζομένων τῶν Κνι-
δίων, μᾶλλον γάρ τι καὶ θειότερον ἐφαίνοντο
τιτρώσκεσθαι οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τοῦ οἰκότος τά τε
ἄλλα τοῦ σώματος καὶ μάλιστα τὰ περὶ τοὺς
ὀφθαλμοὺς θρανομένης τῆς πέτρης, ἔπεμπον ἐς
Δελφοὺς θεοπρόπους ἐπειρησομένους τὸ ἀντίξοον.
ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφι, ὡς αὐτοὶ Κνίδιοι λέγουσι, χρᾷ ἐν
τριμέτρῳ τόνῳ τάδε.

3 \ \ \ la) bd) 5) /
Ἰσθμὸν δὲ μὴ πυργοῦτε μηδ᾽ opvacerte:
Ζεὺς γάρ κ᾿ ἔθηκε νῆσον, εἴ κ᾽ ἐβούλετο.

Κνίδιοι μὲν ταῦτα τῆς [Πυθίης χρησάσης τοῦ τε
ὀρύγματος ἐπαύσαντο καὶ ᾿Αρπάγῳ ἐπιόντι σὺν
τῷ στρατῷ ἀμαχητὶ σφέας αὐτοὺς παρέδοσαν.

175. Ἦσαν δὲ Πηδασέες οἰκέοντες ὑπὲρ ᾿Αλι-
καρνησσοῦ μεσόγαιαν: τοῖσι ὅκως τι μέλλοι
ἀνεπιτήδεον ἔσεσθαι, αὐτοῖσί τε καὶ τοῖσι περιοί-
κοισι, ἡ ἱρείη τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης πώγωνα μέγαν ἶσχε.
τρίς σφι τοῦτο ἐγένετο. οὗτοι τῶν περὶ Καρίην
218

BOOK I. 174-175

those who inhabit it are certain Cnidians, colonists
from Lacedaemon. Their country (it is called the
Triopion) lies between the sea and that part of the
peninsula which belongs to Bubassus, and all but a
little part of the Cnidian territory is sea-girt ; for it
is bounded on the north by the gulf of Ceramicus,
and on the south by the sea off Syme and Rhodes.
Now while Harpagus was conquering Ionia, the
Cnidians dug a trench across this little space, which
is about five furlongs wide, in order that so their
country might be an island. So they brought it all
within the entrenchment; for the frontier between
the Cnidian country and the mainland is on the
isthmus across which they dug. Many of them
were at this work; and seeing that the workers were
more often hurt and less naturally than ordinary,
some in other parts, but most in the eyes, by the
breaking of stones, the Cnidians sent envoys to
Delphi to inquire what it was that so hindered them.
Then, as they themselves say, the priestess gave
them this answer in iambic verse:

« Nor wall nor dig across your isthmus; long ago
Your land had been an isle, if Zeus had willed
Mauston

At this answer from the priestess the Cnidians ceased
from their digging, and when Harpagus came against
them with his army they surrendered to him without
resistance.

175. There were also certain folk of Pedasa,
dwelling inland of Halicarnassus ; when any mis-
fortune was coming upon-them or their neighbours,
the priestess of Athene grew a great beard. This
had happened to them thrice. These were the only

219

HERODOTUS

᾽ a a / ᾽ fp , « / Ν
ἀνδρῶν μοῦνοί τε ἀντέσχον χρόνον ᾿Αρπάγῳ καὶ
/ a ’ /
πρήγματα παρέσχον πλεῖστα, ὄρος τειχίσαντες
τῷ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Λίδη.
ΤΠ 0: Πηδασέες μέν νυν χρόνῳ ἐξαιρέθησαν:
Λύκιοι δέ, ὡς ἐς τὸ Ξάνθιον πεδίον ἤλασε ὁ
“Aprayos TOV στρατόν, ἐπεξιόντες καὶ μαχόμενοι
ὀλίγοι πρὸς πολλοὺς ἀρετὰς ἀπεδείκνυντο, ἑ εσσω-
θέντες δὲ καὶ κατειληθέντες ἐς τὸ ἄστυ συνήλισαν
΄, la) \
ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν τάς τε γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ πέκνα
Kal Ta χρήματα καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας, καὶ ἔπειτα
ὑπῆψαν τὴν ἀκρόπολιν πᾶσαν ταύτην καίεσθαι.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες καὶ συνομόσαντες ὅρκους
ὃ / > / > 40 / | / θ
ewvous, ἐπεξελθόντες ἀπέθανον πάντες Ἐάνθιοι
/ nr \ a / / — Id
μαχόμενοι. τῶν δὲ νῦν Λυκίων φαμένων Ἐξανθίων
/ \ 5 / ἐφ /
εἶναι οἱ πολλοί, πλὴν ὀγδώκοντα ἱστιέων, εἰσὶ
’ / /
ἐπήλυδες: al δὲ ὀγδώκοντα ἱστίαι αὗται ἔτυχον
a , a
τηνικαῦτα ἐκδημέουσαι Kal οὕτω περιεγένοντο.
\ \ We 114 ¢/ » δ ἢ
τὴν μὲν δὴ Ξάνθον οὕτω ἔσχε ὁ Aprayos, παρα-
πλησίως δὲ καὶ τὴν Καῦνον ἔσχε: καὶ γὰρ οἱ
Καύνιοι τοὺς Λυκίους ἐ ἐμιμήσαντο τὰ πλέω.
1711. Τὰ μέν νυν κάτω τῆς ᾿Ασίης “Αρπαγος
, δ \ υ a \ ra
ἀνάστατα ἐποίεε, TA δὲ ἄνω αὐτῆς αὐτὸς Κῦρος,
an / »Ἥ Ν
πᾶν ἔθνος καταστρεφόμενος καὶ οὐδὲν παριείς. τὰ
a / \ /
μέν νυν αὐτῶν πλέω παρήσομεν: τὰ δέ οἱ παρέ-
, a ΄ ,
σχε TE πόνον πλεῖστον Kal ἀξιαπηγητότατα ἐστί,
/
τούτων ἐπιμνήσομαι.
fa) ? , \ 4 a ’ / e
178. Κῦρος ἐπείτε τὰ πάντα τῆς ἠπείρου ὑπο-
, ᾽ / a
χείρια ἐποιήσατο, ᾿Ασσυρίοισι ἐπετίθετο. τῆς δὲ
᾽ » \ / \ ,
Ασσυρίης ἐστὶ μέν κου καὶ ἄλλα πολίσματα
> , ? ΄
μεγάλα πολλά, τὸ δὲ ὀνομαστότατον καὶ ἰσχυρό-
Noe. /
τατον καὶ ἔνθα σφι Νίνου ἀναστάτου γενομένης
Ἁ td / > , 7 An
ta βασιλήια κατεστήκεε, ἣν Βαβυλών, ἐοῦσα
220

BOOK I. 175-178

men near Caria who held out for long against Har-
pagus, and they gave him the most trouble; they
fortified a hill called Lide.

176. The Pedasian stronghold being at length
taken, and Harpagus having led his army into the
plain of Xanthus, the Lycians came out to meet him,
and did valorous deeds in their battle against odds ;
but being worsted and driven into the city they
gathered “into the citadel their wives and children
na goods and servants, and then set the whole
citadel*on fire.) hen they swore each other great
oaths, and sallying out they fell fighting, all the
men of Xanthus. Of the Xanthians who claim
now to be Lycians the greater number—all saving
eighty households—are -of foreign descent; these
eighty families as it chanced were at that time
away from the city, and thus they survived. Thus
Harpagus gained Xanthus, and Caunus too in some-
what like manner, the Caunians following for the
most part the example of the Lycians.

177. Harpagus then made havoc of lower Asia;
in the upper country Cyrus himself subdued every
nation, leaving none untouched. Of the greater
part of these I will say noth’»g, but will speak only
of those which gave Cyrus most trouble and are
worthiest to be described.

178. When Cyrus had brought all the mainland
under his sway, he attacked the Assyrians. There
are in Assyria many other great cities; but the most
famous and the strongest was Babylon, where the
royal dwelling had been set after the destruction
of Ninus.t Babylon was a city such as I will now

1 606 z.c. Ninus = Nineveh.

22!

HERODOTUS

τοιαύτη δή τις πόλις. κέεται ἐν πεδίῳ μεγάλῳ,
μέγαθος ἐοῦσα μέτωπον ἕκαστον εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν
σταδίων, ἐούσης τετραγώνου: οὗτοι στάδιοι τῆς
περιόδου τῆς πόλιος γίνονται συνάπαντες ὀγδώ-
κοντα καὶ τετρακύσιοι. τὸ μέν νυν μέγαθος
τοσοῦτον ἐστὶ τοῦ ἄστεος τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου, ἐκε-
κόσμητο δὲ ὡς οὐδὲν ἄλλο πόλισμα τῶν ἡμεῖς
(Oper. τάφρος μὲν πρῶτά μιν βαθέα τε καὶ εὐρέα
καὶ πλέη ὕδατος περιθέει, μετὰ δὲ τεῖχος πεντή-
κοντα μὲν πηχέων βασιληίων ἐὸν τὸ εὖρος, ὕψος
δὲ διηκοσίων πηχέων" ὁ δὲ βασιλήιος πῆχυς τοῦ
μετρίου ἐστὶ πήχεος μέζων τρισὶ δακτύλοισι.

110. Act<dx με πρὸς τούτοισι ἔτι φράσαι iva
τε ἐκ τῆς τάφρου ἡ γῆ ἀναισιμώθη, καὶ τὸ τεῖχος
ὅντινα τρόπον ἔργαστο. ὀρύσσοντες ἅμα τὴν
τάφρον ἐπλίνθευον τὴν γῆν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὀρύγματος
ἐκφερομένην, ἑλκύσαντες δὲ πλίνθους ἱκανὰς
ὥπτησαν αὐτὰς ἐν καμίνοισι" μετὰ δὲ τέλματι
χρεώμενοι ἀσφάλτῳ θερμῇ καὶ διὰ τριήκοντα
δόμων πλίνθου ταρσοὺς καλάμων διαστοιβά-
ζοντες, ἔδειμαν. πρῶτα μὲν τῆς τάφρου τὰ χείλεα,
δεύτερα δὲ αὐτὸ τὸ τεῖχος τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον.
ἐπάνω δὲ τοῦ τείχεος παρὰ τὰ ἔσχατα οἰκήματα
μουνόκωλα ἔδειμαν, τετραμμένα ἐς ἄλληλα: τὸ
μέσον δὲ τῶν οἰκημάτων ἔλιπον τεθρίππῳ περιέ-
λασιν. πύλαι δὲ ἐνεστᾶσι πέριξ τοῦ τείχεος
ἑκατόν, χάλκεαι πᾶσαι, καὶ σταθμοί τε καὶ
ὑπέρθυρα ὡσαύτως. ἔστι δὲ ἄλλη πόλις ἀπέ-
χουσα ὀκτὼ ἡμερέων ὁδὸν ἀπὸ ᾿βαβυλῶνος" “Is
οὔνομα αὐτῇ. ἔνθα ἐστὶ ποταμὸς οὐ μέγας" “Is
καὶ τῷ ποταμῷ τὸ οὔνομα: ἐσβάλλει δὲ οὗτος ἐς
τὸν Εὐφρήτην ποταμὸν τὸ ῥέεθρον. οὗτος ὧν
222

BOOK I. 178-179

describe. It lies in a great plain, and is in shape a
square, each side an hundred and twenty furlongs in
length; thus four hundred and eighty furlongs make
the complete circuit of the city. Such is the size of
the city of Babylon; and it was planned like no other
city whereof we know. Round it runs first a fosse
deep and wide and full of water, and then a wall of
fifty royal cubits’ thickness and two hundred cubits’
height. The royal cubit is greater by three fingers’
breadth than the common cubit.1

179. Further, I must show where the earth was
used as it was taken from the fosse and in what
manner the wall was wrought. As they dug the
fosse, they made bricks of the earth which was
carried out of the place they dug, and when they
had moulded bricks enough they baked them in
ovens; then using hot bitumen for cement and
interposing layers of wattled reeds at every thirtieth
course of bricks, they built first the border of the
fosse and then the wall itself in the same fashion.
On the top, along the edges of the wall, they built
houses of a single chamber, facing each other, with
space enough between for the driving of a four-horse
chariot. There are an hundred gates in the circle of the
wall, all of bronze, with posts and lintels of the same.
There is another city, called [5,2 eight days’ journey
from Babylon, where is a little river, also named Is,
a tributary stream of the river Euphrates; from the

1 Common cubit, 18} inches: royal, 204.
2 ‘The modern Hit or Ait, where the Euphrates enters the
alluvial plain.

223

HERODOTUS

ὁ Ὶς ποταμὸς ἅμα τῷ ὕδατι θρόμβους ἀσφάλτου
ἀναδιδοῖ πολλούς, ἔνθεν ἡ ἄσφαλτος ἐς τὸ ἐν
Βαβυλῶνι τεῖχος ἐκομίσθη.

180. ’Eteteiyioro μέν νυν ἡ Βαβυλὼν τρόπῳ
τοιῷδε, ἔστι δὲ δύο φάρσεα τῆς πόλιος. τὸ γὰρ
μέσον αὐτῆς ποταμὸς διέργει, τῷ οὔνομα ἐστὶ
Εὐφρήτης" ῥέει δὲ ἐξ ᾿Αρμενίων, ἐὼν μέγας καὶ
βαθὺς καὶ ταχύς" ἐξιεῖ δὲ οὗτος ἐς τὴν ᾿ρυθρὴν
θάλασσαν. τὸ ὧν δὴ τεῖχος ἑκάτερον τοὺς
ἀγκῶνας ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐλήλαται: τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ
τούτου αἱ ἐπικαμπαὶ παρὰ χεῖλος ἑκάτερον τοῦ
ποταμοῦ αἱμασιὴ πλίνθων ὀπτέων παρατείνει.
τὸ δὲ ἄστυ αὐτό, ἐὸν πλῆρες οἰκιέων τριωρόφων
καὶ τετρωρόφων, κατατέτμηται τὰς ὁδοὺς ἰθέας
τάς τε ἄλλας καὶ τὰς ἐπικαρσίας τὰς ἐπὶ τὸν
ποταμὸν ἐχούσας. κατὰ δὴ ὧν ἑκάστην ὁδὸν ἐν
τῇ αἱμασιῇ τῇ παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν πυλίδες ἐπῆ-
σαν, ὅσαι περ αἱ λαῦραι, τοσαῦται ἀριθμόν: ἦσαν
δὲ καὶ αὗται χάλκεαι 1... φέρουσαι [καὶ αὐταὶ]
ἐς αὐτὸν τὸν ποταμόν.

181. Τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τὸ τεῖχος θώρηξ ἐστί, ἕτερον
δὲ ἔσωθεν τεῖχος περιθέει, οὐ πολλῷ τεῳ ἀσθενέ-
στερον τοῦ ἑτέρου τείχεος, στεινότερον O€. ἐν δὲ
φάρσεϊ ἑκατέρῳ τῆς πόλιος ἐτετείχιστο ἐν μέσῳ
ἐν τῷ μὲν τὰ βασιλήια περιβόλῳ μεγάλῳ τε καὶ
ἰσχυρῷ, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑτέρῳ Διὸς Βήλου ἱρὸν χαλκό-
πυλον, καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἔτι τοῦτο ἐόν, δύο σταδίων
πάντῃ, ἐὸν τετράγωνον. ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τοῦ ἱροῦ
πύργος στερεὸς οἰκοδόμηται, σταδίου καὶ τὸ μῆκος
καὶ τὸ εὗρος, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῷ πύργῳ ἄλλος

1 Stein supposes that there was here a mention of steps
leading to the river, and that καὶ αὐταί is needless and spurious.

224

BOOK I. 179-181

source of this river Is rise with the water many
gouts of bitumen; and from thence the bitumen was
brought for the wall of Babylon.

180. Thus then was this wall built; the city is
divided into two parts; for it is cut in half by a
river named Euphrates, a wide, deep, and swift river,
flowing from Armenia and issuing into the Red Sea.
The ends of the wall, then, on either side are built
quite down to the river; here they turn, and hence
a fence of baked bricks runs along each bank of the
stream. ‘The city itself is full of houses three and
four stories high; and the ways which traverse it—
those that run crosswise towards the river, and the
rest—are all straight. Further, at the end of each
road there was a gate in the riverside fence, one
gate for each alley; these gates also were of bronze,
and these too opened on the river.

181. These walls are the city’s outer armour;
within them there is another encircling wall, well-
nigh as strong as the other, but narrower. In the
midmost of one division of the city stands the royal
palace, surrounded by a high and strong wall; and
in the midmost of the other is still to this day the
sacred enclosure of Zeus Belus,! a square of two fur-
longs each way, with gates of bronze. In the centre
of this enclosure a solid tower has been built, of one
furlong’s length and breadth; a second tower rises

1 Bel or Baal, the greatest of Assyrian gods,

225

HERODOTUS

πύργος ἐπιβέβηκε, καὶ ἕτερος μάλα ἐπὶ τούτῳ,
μέχρι οὗ ὀκτὼ πύργων. ἀνάβασις δὲ ἐς αὐτοὺς
ἔξωθεν κύκλῳ περὶ πάντας τοὺς πύργους ἔχουσα
πεποίηται. μεσοῦντι δέ κου τῆς ἀναβάσιος ἐστὶ
καταγωγή τε καὶ θῶκοι ἀμπαυστήριοι, ἐν τοῖσι
κατίζοντες ἀμπαύονται οἱ ἀναβαίνοντες. ἐν δὲ
τῷ τελευταίῳ πύργῳ νηὸς ἔπεστι μέγας" ἐν δὲ τῷ
νηῷ κλίνη μεγάλη κέεται εὖ ἐστρωμένη, καί οἱ
τράπεζα παρακέεται χρυσέη. ἄγαλμα δὲ οὐκ ἔνι
οὐδὲν αὐτόθι ἐνιδρυμένον, οὐδὲ νύκτα οὐδεὶς ἐ ἐναυ-
λίξζεται ἀνθρώπων ὅτι μὴ γυνὴ μούνη τῶν ἐπι-
χωρίων, τὴν ἂν ὁ θεὸς ἕληται ἐκ πασέων, ὡς
λέγουσι οἱ Χαλδαῖοι ἐόντες ἱρέες τούτου τοῦ
θεοῦ.

182. Φασὶ δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ
πιστὰ λέγοντες, τὸν θεὸν αὐτὸν φοιτᾶν τε ἐς
τὸν svov καὶ ἀμπαύεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης, κατά
περ ἐν Θήβῃσι τῆσι Αὐγυπτίῃσι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν
τρόπον, WS “λέγουσι οἱ Αὐγύπτιοι: καὶ γὰρ δὴ
ἐκεῖθε κοιμᾶται ἐν τῷ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Θηβαιέος
γυνή, ἀμφότεραι δὲ αὗται λέγονται ἀνδρῶν οὐ-
δαμῶν ἐς ὁμιλίην φοιτᾶν: καὶ κατά περ ἐν
Πατάροισι τῆς Λυκίης ” πρόμαντις τοῦ θεοῦ,
ἐπεὰν γένηται" οὐ γὰρ ὧν αἰεί ἐστι χρηστήριον
αὐτόθι: ἐπεὰν δὲ γένηται τότε ὧν συγκατακλη-
ίεται τὰς νύκτας ἔσω ἐν τῷ νηῷ.

183. ἔστι δὲ τοῦ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ἱροῦ καὶ aos
κάτω νηός, ἔνθα ἄγαλμα μέγα τοῦ Διὸς ἔνι
κατ ἥμενον χρύσεον, καί οἱ τράπεζα μεγάλη παρα-
κέεται χρυσέη, καὶ τὸ βάθρον οἱ καὶ ὁ θρόνος
χρύσεος ἐστί: καὶ ὡς ἔλεγον οἱ Χαλδαῖοι, ταλάν-
των ὀκτακοσίων χρυσίου πεποίηται ταῦτα. ἔξω
226

BOOK I. 181-183

from this, and from it yet another, till at last there
are eight. The way up to them mounts spirally
outside all the towers; about halfway in the ascent
is a halting place, with seats for repose, where those
who ascend sit down and rest. In the last tower
there is a great shrine; and in it a great and well-
covered couch is laid, and a golden table set hard
by. But no image has been set up in the shrine,
nor does any human creature lie therein for the
night, except one native woman, chosen from all
women by the god, as say the Chaldaeans, who are
priests of this god.

182. These same Chaldaeans say (but I do not
believe them) that the god himself is wont to visit
the shrine and rest upon the couch, even as in Thebes
of Egypt, as the Egyptians say (for there too a
woman sleeps in the temple of Theban Zeus,! and
neither the Egyptian nor the Babylonian woman, it
is said, has intercourse with men), and as it is like-
wise with the prophetess of the god? at Patara in
Lycia, whenever she be appointed; for there is not
always a place of divination there; but when she is
appointed she is shut up in the temple during the
night.

183. Inthe Babyloniantemple there is another shrine
below, where is a great golden image of Zeus, sitting
at a great golden table, and the footstool and the chair
are also of gold; the gold of the whole was said by

the Chaldeans to be of eight hundred talents’ weight.
1 Amon-Api (Greek ᾿Αμένωφις) ; ep. li. 42. 3 Apollo.
227

HERODOTUS

A “ / / » \
δὲ τοῦ νηοῦ βωμός ἐστι χρύσεος, ἔστι δὲ καὶ
v \ / ’ ,’ GY / \ / lal
ἔλλος βωμὸς μέγας, ἐπ᾽ ov θύεται Ta τέλεα τῶν

\ ΄. / a
προβάτων: ἐπὶ yap τοῦ χρυσέου βωμοῦ οὐκ
» « \ \ a \ “-“
ἔξεστι θύειν ὅτι μὴ γαλαθηνὰ μοῦνα, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ
μέζονος βωμοῦ καὶ καταγίζουσι λιβανωτοῦ χίλια
τάλαντα ἔτεος ἑκάστου οἱ Χαλδαῖοι τότε ἐπεὰν
τὴν ὁρτὴν ἄγωσι τῷ θεῷ τούτῳ. ἣν δὲ ἐν τῷ

“ > \ / lal
τεμένεϊ τούτῳ ETL TOV χρόνον ἐκεῖνον καὶ ἀνδριὰς

΄, , / , \

δυώδεκα πηχέων χρύσεος στερεός: ἐγὼ μέν μιν

> s \ \ / e \ Ta ’ ΄σ
οὐκ εἶδον, τὰ δὲ λέγεται ὑπὸ Χαλδαίων, ταῦτα
, , ais Ve a \ ce ΄
λέγω. τούτῳ τῷ ἀνδριάντι Δαρεῖος μὲν ὁ Ὕστά-

> 7 ᾽ δ᾽ ie = —s
σπεος ἐπιβουλεύσας οὐκ ἐτόλμησε λαβεῖν, ἔΞερ-

\ c ; , yy \ \ € » ’ /

Ens δὲ ὁ Δαρείου ἔλαβε καὶ τὸν ἱρέα ἀπέκτεινε
ὠπαγορεύοντα μὴ κινέειν τὸν ἀνδριάντα. τὸ μὲν
δὴ ἱρὸν τοῦτο οὕτω κεκόσμηται, ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἴδια
ἀναθήματα πολλά.
184. Tis δὲ Βαβυλῶνος ταύτης πολλοὶ μέν
\ yy > / / la ΕῚ -
κου καὶ ἄλλοι ἐγένοντο “βασιλέες, τῶν ἐν τοισι
᾿Ασσυρίοισι λόγοισι μνήμην ποιήσομαι, οἱ τὰ
τείχεά TE ἐπεκόσμησαν καὶ Ta (pa, ev δ dn Kab
γυναῖκες δύο. ἡ μὲν πρότερον ἄρξασα, τῆς
I
ὕστερον γενεῆσι πέντε πρότερον γενομένη, τῇ
οὔνομα ἣν Σεμίραμις, αὕτη μὲν ἀπεδέξατο χώματα
ἀνὰ τὸ πεδίον ἐόντα, ἀξιοθέητα' πρότερον δὲ
ἐώθεε ὁ ποταμὸς ἀνὰ τὸ πεδίον πᾶν πελαγίζειν.
ς \ / / He
185. “H de 67 δεύτερον γενομένη ταύτης βασί-
λεία, τῇ οὔνομα ἣν Νίτωκρις, αὕτη δὲ συνετωτέρη
γενομένη τῆς πρότερον ἀρξάσης τοῦτο μὲν μνημό-
συνα ἐλίπετο τὰ ἐγὼ ἀπηγήσομαι, τοῦτο δὲ τὴν
Μήδων ὁρῶσα ἀρχὴν μεγάλην τε καὶ οὐκ ἀτρεμί-
/ a
ζουσαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλα TE ἀραιρημένα ἄστεα αὐτοῖσι,
\ , F
ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ τὴν Νίνον, προεφυλάξατο ὅσα édv-
228

BOOK I. 183-185

Outside of the temple is a golden altar. There is
also another great altar, whereon are sacrificed the
full-grown of the flocks; only sucklings may be
sacrificed on the golden altar, but on the greater
altar the Chaldeans even offer a thousand talents’
weight of frankincense yearly, when they keep the
festival of this god ; and in the days of Cyrus there
was still in this sacred demesne a statue of solid
gold twelve cubits high. I myself have not seen it,
but I tell what is told by the Chaldeans. Darius son
of Hystaspes purposed to take this statue but dared
not; Xerxes his son took it, and slew the priest who
warned him not to move the statue. Such’‘is the
adornment of this temple, and there are many
private offerings besides.

184. Now among the many rulers of this city of
Babylon (of whom I shall make mention in my
Assyrian history), who finished the building of the
walls and the temples, there were two that were
women. ‘The first of these lived five generations
earlier than the second, and her name was Semiramis :
it was she who built dykes on the plain, a notable
work ; before that the whole plain was wont to be
flooded by the river.

185. The second queen, whose name was Nitocris,
was a wiser woman than the first. She left such
monuments as I shall record ; and moreover, seeing
that the rulers of Media were powerful and unresting,
insomuch that Ninus itself among other cities had
fallen before them, she took such care as she could

229

HERODOTUS

vaTO μάλιστα. πρῶτα μὲν τὸν Kvdpytny ποτα
μὸν ῥέοντα πρότερον ἰθύν, ὅς σφι διὰ τῆς πόλιος
μέσης ῥέει, τοῦτον ἄνωθεν διώρυχας ὀρύξασα
οὕτω δή τι ἐποιήσε σκολιὸν ὥστε δὴ τρὶς ἐς τῶν
τινα κωμέων τῶν ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασσυρίῃ ἀπικνέεται
ῥέων" τῇ δὲ κώμῃ οὔνομα ἐστί, ἐς τὴν ἀπικνέεται
ὁ ᾿υὐφρήτης, ᾿Αρδέρικκα. καὶ νῦν οἱ ἂν κομί-
ζωντὰιν ἀπὸ τῆσδε τῆς θαλάσσης ἐς Βαβυλῶνα,
καταπλέοντες τὸν υὐφρήτην ποταμὸν τρίς τ ἐς
τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην κώμην παραγίνονται καὶ ἐν
τρισὶ ἡμέρῃσι. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον ἐποίησε,
χῶμα δὲ παρέχωσε παρ᾽ ἑκάτερον τοῦ ποταμοῦ
τὸ χεῖλος ἄξιον θώματος μέγαθος καὶ ὕψος ὅσον
Te τα τί, κατύπερθε δὲ πολλῷ Βαβυλῶνος
ὦρυσσε ἔλυτρον λίμνῃ, ὀλίγον TL παρατείνουσα
ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, βάθος μὲν ἐς τὸ ὕδωρ αἰεὶ
ὀρύσσουσα, εὖρος δὲ τὸ περίμετρον αὐτοῦ ποιεῦσα
εἴκοσί τε καὶ τετρακοσίων σταδίων' τὸν δὲ ὀρυσ-

, ee ; aig ; }
σόμενον χοῦν ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ὀρύγματος ἀναισίμου
παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τοῦ ποταμοῦ παραχέουσα. ἐπείτε
δέ οἱ ὀρώρυκτο, λίθους ᾿ἀγαγομένη κρηπῖδα κύκλῳ
περὶ αὐτὴν ἤλασε. ἐποίεε δὲ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα,
τόν ΤΕ ποταμὸν σκολιὸν καὶ τὸ ὄρυγμα πᾶν Enos,
ὡς 6 τε ποταμὸς βραδύτερος εἴη περὶ καμπὰς
πολλὰς ἀγνύμενος, καὶ οἱ πλόοι ἔωσι σκολιοὶ
ἐς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα, ἔκ τε τῶν πλόων ἐκδέκηται
περίοδος τῆς λίμνης μακρή. κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ
ἐργάξετο τῆς χώρης τῇ at τε ἐσβολαὶ ἦσαν καὶ
τὰ σύντομα τῆς ἐκ Μήδων ὁδοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐπιμισγό-
μενοι οἱ Μῆδοι ἐκμανθάνοιεν αὐτῆς τὰ πρήγματα.

180. Ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἐκ βάθεος περιεβάλετο,
τοιήνδε δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν παρενθήκην ἐποιήσατο. τῆς

230

BOOK I. 185-186

for her protection. First she dealt with the river
Euphrates, which flows through the middle of her
city; this had before been straight ; but by digging
canals higher up she made the river so crooked that
its course now passes thrice by one of the Assyrian
villages; the village which is so approached by the
Euphrates is called Ardericca. And now those who
travel from our seas to Babylon must as thef™float
down the Euphrates spend three days in coming
thrice to the same village. Such was this work 5
and she built an embankment along either shore of
the river, marvellous for its greatness and height.
Then a long way above Babylon she dug the basin of
a lake, a little way aside from the river, digging
always deep enough to find water, and making the
circuit of the lake a distance of four hundred and
twenty furlongs; all that was dug out of the basin
she used to embank either edge of the river; and
when she had it all dug, she brought stones and
made therewith a coping all round the basin. Her
purpose in making the river to wind and turning the
basin into a marsh was this—that the current might
be slower by reason of the many windings that broke
its force, and that the passages to Babylon might be
crooked, and that next after them should come also
the long circuit of the lake. All this work was done
in that part of the country where are the passes and
the shortest road from Media, that the Medes might
not mix with her people and learn of her affairs.

186. So she made the deep river her protection ;
and from this work grew another which she added to

231

HERODOTUS

πόλιος ἐούσης δύο φαρσέων, τοῦ δὲ ποταμοῦ
μέσον ἔχοντος, ἐπὶ τῶν πρότερον βασιλέων ὅκως
τις ἐθέλοι ἐκ τοῦ ἑτέρου φάρσεος ἐς τοὔτερον
διαβῆναι, χρῆν πλοίῳ διαβαίνειν, καὶ ἣν, ὡς
ἐγὼ δοκέω, ὀχληρὸν τοῦτο. αὕτη δὲ καὶ τοῦτο
προεῖδε. ἐπείτε γὰρ ὥρυσσε τὸ ἔλυτρον τῇ λίμνῃ,
μνημόσυνον τόδε ἄλλο ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔργου ἐλί-
πετο" ἐτάώμνετο λίθους περιμήκεας, ὡς δέ οἱ ἦσαν οἱ
λίθοι ἕτοιμοι καὶ τὸ χωρίον ὀρώρυκτο, ἐκτρέψασα
τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸ ῥέεθρον πᾶν ἐς τὸ ὦρυσσε χωρίον,
ἐν ᾧ ἐπίμπλατο τοῦτο, ἐν τούτῳ ἀπεξηρασμένου
τοῦ ἀρχαίου ῥεέθρου τοῦτο μὲν τὰ χείλεα τοῦ
ποταμοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰς καταβάσιας τὰς
ἐκ τῶν πυλίδων ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν φερούσας ἀνοικο-
δόμησε πλίνθοισι ὀπτῇσι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον
τῷ τείχεϊ, τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ μέσην κου μάλιστα τὴν
πόλιν τοῖσι λίθοισι τοὺς ὠρύξατο οἰκοδόμεε
γέφυραν, δέουσα τοὺς λίθους σιδήρῳ τε καὶ
μολύβδῳ. ἐπιτείνεσκε δὲ ἐπ᾽ αὐτήν, ὅκως μὲν
ἡμέρη γίνοιτο, ξύλα τετράγωνα, ἐπ᾽ ὧν τὴν διά-

ασιν ἐποιεῦντο οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι: τὰς δὲ νύκτας
τὰ ξύλα ταῦτα ἀπαιρέεσκον τοῦδε εἵνεκα, ἵνα μὴ
διαφοιτέοντες τὰς νύκτας κλέπτοιεν Tap ἀλλή-
λων. ὡς δὲ τό τε ὀρυχθὲν λίμνη πλήρης ἐγεγόνεε
ὑπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν γέφυραν
ἐκεκόσμητο, τὸν Εὐφρήτην ποταμὸν ἐς τὰ ἀρχαῖα
ῥέεθρα ἐκ τῆς λίμνης ἐξήγαγε, καὶ οὕτω τὸ
ὀρυχθὲν ἕλος γενόμενον ἐς δέον ἐδόκεε γεγονέναι
καὶ τοῖσι πολιήτησι γέφυρα ἦν κατεσκευασμένη.

187. Ἣ δ᾽ αὐτὴ αὕτη βασίλεια καὶ ἀπάτην
τοιήνδε τινὰ ἐμηχανήσατο' ὑπὲρ τῶν μάλιστα
λεωφόρων πυλέων τοῦ ἄστεος τάφον ἑωυτῇ κατε-
232

BOOK I. 186-187

it. Hercity was divided into two portions by the river
which flowed through the centre. Whienever in the
days of the former rulers one would pass over from
one part to the other, he must cross in a boat; and
this, as I suppose, was troublesome. But the queen
provided also for this ; when the digging of the basin
of the lake was done, she made another monument of
her reign out of this same work. She had very long
blocks of stone hewn ; and when these were ready
and thé place was dug, she turned the course of the
river wholly into it, and while it was filling, the
former channel being now dry, she bricked with
baked bricks, like those of the wall, the borders of
the river in the city and the descents from the gates
leading down to the river; also about the middle of
the city she built a bridge with the stones which
had been dug up, binding them together with iron
and lead. She laid across it square-hewn logs each
morning, whereon the Babylonians crossed; but these
logs were taken away for the night, lest folk should
be ever crossing over and stealing from each other.
Then, when the basin she had made for a lake was
filled by the river and the bridge was finished,
Nitocris brought the Euphrates back to its former
channel out of the lake; thus she had served her
purpose, as she thought, by making a swamp of the
basin, and her citizens had a bridge ready for them.

187. There was a trick, moreover, which this same
queen contrived. She had a tomb made for herself
and set high over the very gate of that entrance o1

BSS

HERODOTUS

OKEVATATO μετέωρον ἐπιπολῆς αὐτέων τῶν πυ-
λέων, ἐνεκόλαψε δὲ ἐς τὸν τάφον γράμματα λέ-
yovta τάδε ‘Tov Tis ἐμεῦ ὕστερον γινομένων
Βαβυλῶνος βασιλέων ἢ ἣν σπανίσῃ χρημάτων, ἀνοί-
ξας τὸν τάφον λαβέτω ὁκύσα βούλεται χρήματα"
μὴ μέντοι τς μὴ σπανίσας γε ἄλλως ἀνοίξῃ" οὐ
γὰρ ἄμεινον" οὗτος ὁ τάφος ἣν ἀκίνητος μέχρι
οὗ ἐς Δαρεῖον περιῆλθε ἡ ᾿βασιληΐη: Δαρείῳ δὲ
καὶ δεινὸν ἐδόκεε εἶναι τῇσι πύλῃσι ταύτῃσι
μηδὲν χρᾶσθαι, καὶ χρημάτων κειμένων καὶ αὐτῶν
τῶν “γραμμάτων ἐπικαλεομένων, μὴ οὐ λαβεῖν
αὐτά: τῆσι δὲ πύλῃσι ταύτῃσι οὐδὲν ἐχρᾶτο
τοῦδε εἵνεκα, OTL ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς δὲ ἐγίνετο ὁ
νεκρὸς διεξελαύνοντι. ἀνοίξας δὲ τὸν τάφον εὗρε
χρήματα μὲν οὔ, τὸν δὲ νεκρὸν καὶ γράμματα
λέγοντα τάδε: “οἱ μὴ ἄπληστ OS TE Eas χρημάτων
καὶ αἰσχροκερδής, οὐκ ἂν νεκρῶν θήκας ἀνέῳγες.
αὕτη μέν νυν ἡ ϑασίλεια τοιαύτη τις λέγεται
γενέσθαι.

188. Ὃ δὲ δὴ Κῦρος ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς γυναικὸς
τὸν παῖδα ἐστρατεύετο, ἔχοντά τε τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ
ἑωυτοῦ τοὔνομα Λαβυνήτου καὶ τὴν ᾿Ασσυρίων
ἀρχήν. στρατεύεται δὲ δὴ βασιλεὺς ὁ μέγας καὶ
σιτίοισι εὖ ἐσκευασμένος ἐξ οἴκου καὶ προβά-
τοισι, καὶ δὴ καὶ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χοάσπεω ποτα-
μοῦ ἅμα ἄγεται τοῦ παρὰ Σοῦσα ῥέοντος, τοῦ
μούνου πίνει βασιλεὺς καὶ ἄλλου οὐδενὸς ποτα-
μοῦ. τούτου δὲ TOV Χοάσπεω τοῦ ὕδατος ἀπεψη-
μένου πολλαὶ κάρτα ἅμαξαι τετράκυκλοι ἡμιό-
real κομιξουσαι € ἐν ἀγγηΐίοισι ἀργυρέοισι ἕπονται,
ὅκῃ ἂν ἐλαύνῃ ἑκάστοτε.

189, ᾿Ιὐπείτε δὲ ὁ Κῦρος πορευόμενος ἐπὶ τὴν

234

BOOK I. 187-189

the city which was most used, with a writing graven
on the tomb, which was this : “ If any king of Babylon
in future time lack money, let him open this tomb
and take whatso money he desires: but let him not
open it except he lack; for it will be the worse for
him.” This tomb remained untouched till the king-
ship fell to Darius. He thought it a very strange
thing that he should never use this gate, nor take
the money when it lay there and the writing itself
invited him to the deed. The cause of his not
using the gate was that the dead body must be over
his head as he passed through. Having opened the
tomb, he found there no money, but only the dead
body, with this writing: “ Wert thou not insatiate
of wealth and basely desirous of gain, thou hadst
not opened the coffins of the dead.” Such a woman,
it is recorded, was this queen.

188. Cyrus, then, marched against Nitocris’ son,
who inherited the name of his father Labynetus and
the sovereignty of Assyria. Now when the Great
King marches he goes well provided with food and
flocks from home; and water from the Choaspes
which flows past Susa is carried with him, whereof
alone, and of none other, the king drinks. This
water of the Choaspes? is boiled, and very many four
wheeled waggons drawn by mules carry it in silver
vessels, following the king whithersoever he goes at
any time.

189. When Cyrus on his way to Babylon came

2 Modern Kerkha.

DIE
γι τ 25

HERODOTUS

Qn ’ὔ \ / an lal \
Βαβυλῶνα ἐγίνετο ἐπὶ Πύνδη ποταμῷ, Tod αἱ μὲν
Neg a ” mun \ N 7
πηγαὶ ἐν Ματιηνοῖσι ὄρεσι, ῥέει δὲ διὰ Δαρδανέων,
᾽ “ \ ’ 4 \ r LA A \ \
ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ἐς ἕτερον ποταμὸν Tiypny, ὃ δὲ mapa
2 , ἢ \ ᾽ \
Ὧπιν πόλιν ῥέων ἐς τὴν ᾿ρυθρὴν θάλασσαν
ΕῚ lal lal \ ἈΝ / \ id
ἐκδιδοῖ, τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Τύνδην ποταμὸν ws δια-
an € a / /
βαίνειν ἐπειρᾶτο ὁ Κῦρος ἐόντα νηυσιπέρητον,
Qn ¢ Lal id ἴω ts n Lal
ἐνθαῦτά οἱ τῶν τις ἱρῶν ἵππων τῶν λευκῶν ὑπὸ
“ 2 \ ᾽ \ \ / 3 an
ὕβριος ἐσ Bas ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν διαβαίνειν ἐπειρᾶτο,
/ Ὁ / 5 /
ὃ δέ μιν συμψήσας ὑποβρύχιον οἰχώκεε φέρων.
\ δ “ n « an
κάρτα τε δὴ ἐχαλέπαινε τῷ ποταμῷ ὁ [Κῦρος
rn / / e 7 δ
τοῦτο ὑβρίσαντι, καί οἱ ἐπηπείλησε οὕτω δή μιν
? Ip 7 .“ a an a
ἀσθενέα ποιήσειν ὥστε τοῦ λοιποῦ καὶ γυναῖκάς
\ if 74 \ /
μιν εὐπετέως TO γόνυ οὐ βρεχούσας διαβήσεσθαι.
δὴ ΩΝ \ » \ Qe \ Suda “
μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀπειλὴν μετεὶς τὴν ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα
7 \ \
στράτευσιν διαίρεε τὴν στρατιὴν δίχα, διελὼν
δὲ κατέτεινε ᾿σχοινοτενέας ὑποδέξας διώρυχας
ὀγδώκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν Tap ἑκάτερον τὸ χεῖλος
τοῦ ᾿ύνδεω τετραμμένας πάντα τρύπον, διατάξας
\ \ ’ I / € ,
δὲ τὸν στρατὸν ὀρύσσειν ἐκέλευε. οἷα δὲ ὁμίλου
πολλοῦ ἐργαζομένου ἤνετο μὲν τὸ ἔργον, ὅμως
μέντοι τὴν θερείην πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ διέ-
τριψαν ἐργαζόμενοι.
ς ἊΝ , \ ω
190. ‘Os δὲ τὸν Γύνδην ποταμὸν ἐτίσατο Κῦρος
, { f ΄ ΄ὔ
ἐς τριηκοσίας καὶ ἑξήκοντα διώρυχάς μιν δια-
΄ \ \ 4 yy ς / e/ \
λαβών, καὶ τὸ δεύτερον ἔαρ ὑπέλαμπε, οὕτω δὴ
A > \ 4 / na e \ fe
ἤλαυνε ἐπὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. οἱ δὲ Βαβυλώχτιοι
, ” ’ \ ΄
ἐκστρατευσάμενοι ἔμενον αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐγένετο
I: >) lal lal / / / ς
ἐλαύνων ἀγχοῦ τῆς πόλιος, συνεβαλὸν τε οἱ
7] / A
Βαβυλώνιοι καὶ ἑσσωθέντες τῇ μάχη κατειλή-
\ ” - \ 5 >
θησαν ἐς τὸ ἄστυ. οἷα δὲ ἐξεπιστάμενοι ἔτι
πρότερον τὸν Κῦρον οὐκ ἀτρεμίζοντα, ἀλλ᾽ ὁρέ-
οντες αὐτὸν παντὶ €Orei ὁμοίως ἐπιχειρέοντα,

236

BOOK I. 189-190

to the river Gyndes,! which rises in the mountains
of the Matieni and flows through the Dardanean
country into another river, the Tigris, which again
passes the city of Opis and issues into the Red Sea
—when Cyrus, I say, essayed to cross the Gyndes,
it being there navigable, one of his sacred white
horses dashed recklessly into the river that he
might win through it, but the stream whelmed him
and swept him under and away. At this violent
deed of the river Cyrus was very wroth, and he
threatened it that he would make it so weak that
women should ever after cross it easily without wet.
ting their knees. Having so threatened he ceased
from his march against Babylon, and dividing his
army into two parts he drew lines planning out a
hundred and eighty canals running every way from
either bank of the Gyndes; then he arrayed his
army along the lines and bade them dig. Since a
great multitude was at the work it went with all
speed; yet they spent the whole summer there
before it was finished.

190. Then at the opening of the second spring,
when Cyrus had punished the Gyndes by parting it
among the three hundred and sixty canals, he marched
at last against Babylon. The Babylonians sallied out
and awaited him; and when in his march he came
near to their city, they joined battle, but they were
worsted and driven within the city. There, because
they knew already that Cyrus was no man of peace,
and saw that he attacked all nations alike, they had

1 Modern Diala,

237

HERODOTUS

προεσάξαντο σιτία ἐτέων κάρτα πολλῶν. ἐν-
θαῦτα οὗτοι μὲν λόγον εἶχον τῆς πολιορκίης
οὐδένα, Κῦρος δὲ ἀπορίῃσι ἐνείχετο, ἅτε χρόνου
τε ἐγγινομένου συχνοῦ ἀνωτέρω τε οὐδὲν τῶν
πρηγμάτων προκοπτομένων. ᾿ ; ;

191. {πε δὴ ὧν ἄλλος οἱ ἀπορέοντι ὑπεθήκατο,
εἴτε καὶ αὐτὸς ἔμαθε τὸ ποιητέον οἱ ἦν, ἐποίεε δὴ
τοιόνδε. τάξας τὴν στρατιὴν ἅπασαν ἐξ ἐμβολῆς
τοῦ ποταμοῦ, τῇ ἐς τὴν πόλιν ἐσβάλλει, καὶ
ὄπισθε αὗτις τῆς πόλιος τάξας ἑτέρους, τῇ ἐξιεῖ
ἐκ τῆς πόλιος ὁ ποταμός, προεῖπε τῷ στρατῷ,
ὅταν διαβατὸν τὸ ῥέεθρον ἴδωνται γενόμενον,
ἐσιέναι ταύτῃ ἐς τὴν πόλιν. οὕτω τε δὴ τάξας
καὶ κατὰ ταῦτα παραινέσας ἀπήλαυνε αὐτὸς σὺν
τῷ ἀχρηίῳ τοῦ στρατοῦ. ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν
λίμνην, τά περ ἡ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων βασίλεια
ἐποίησε κατά τε τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ κατὰ τὴν
λίμνην, ἐποίεε καὶ ὁ Ἰζῦρος ἕτερα τοιαῦτα: τὸν
γὰρ ποταμὸν διώρυχι ἐσαγαγὼν ἐς τὴν λίμνην
ἐοῦσαν ἕλος, τὸ ἀρχαῖον ῥέεθρον διαβατὸν εἶναι
ἐποίησε, ὑπονοστήσαντος τοῦ ποταμοῦ. γενο-
μένου δὲ τούτου τοιούτου, οἱ ἹΠΤέρσαι of περ
ἐτετάχατο ET αὐτῷ τούτῳ κατὰ τὸ ῥέεθρον τοῦ
Εὐφρήτεω ποταμοῦ ὑπονενοστηκότος ἀνδρὶ ὡς ἐς
μέσον μηρὸν μάλιστά κῃ, κατὰ τοῦτο ἐσήισαν ἐς
τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. εἰ μέν νυν προεπύθοντο ἢ
ἔμαθον οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Kupov ποιεύ-
μενον, οἱ δ᾽ ἂν περιιδόντες τοὺς Πέρσας ἐσελθεῖν
ἐς τὴν πόλιν διέφθειραν ἂν κάκιστα" κατακληί-
σαντες γὰρ ἂν πάσας τὰς ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν πυλίδας
ἐγούσας καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ τὰς αἱμασιὰς ἀναβάντες
τὰς παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐληλαμένας, ἔλα-
238

BOOK I. igo-191

stored provision enough for very many years; so
now they cared nothing for the siege; and Cyrus
knew not what to do, being so long delayed and
gaining no advantage.

191. Whether, then, someone advised him in his
difficulty, or he perceived for himself what to do, J
know not, but this he did: he posted his army at
the place where the river enters the city, and another
part of it where the stream issues from the city, and
bade his men enter the city by the channel of the
Euphrates when they should see it to be fordable.
Having so arrayed them and given this command, he
himself marched away with those of his army who
could not fight ; and when he came to the lake, Cyrus
dealt with it and with the river just as had the Baby-
lonian queen: drawing off the river by a canal into
the lake, which was till now a marsh, he made the
stream to sink till its former channel could be forded.
When this happened, the Persians who were posted
with this intent made their way into Babylon by the
channel of the Euphrates, which had now sunk about
to the height of the middle of a man’s thigh. Now
if the Babylonians had known beforehand or learnt
what Cyrus was planning, they would have suffered
the Persians to enter the city and brought them to
a miserable end; for then they would have shut all
the gates that opened on the river and themselves
mounted up on to the walls that ran along the river

239

HERODOTUS

Bov av σφέας ws ev κύρτῃ. νῦν δὲ ἐξ ἀπροσ-
δοκήτου σφι παρέστησαν οἱ Πέρσαι. ὑπὸ δὲ
μεγάθεος τῆς πόλιος, ὡς λέγεται ὑπὸ τῶν ταύτῃ
οἰκημένων, τῶν περὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς πόλιος
ἑαλωκότων τοὺς τὸ μέσον οἰκέοντας τῶν Ba-
βυλωνίων οὐ μανθάνειν ἑαλωκότας, ἀλλὰ τυχεῖν
γάρ σφι ἐοῦσαν ὁρτήν, χορεύειν τε τοῦτον τὸν
χρόνον καὶ ἐν εὐπαθείῃσι εἶναι, ἐς ὃ δὴ καὶ τὸ
κάρτα ἐπύθοντο.

192. Καὶ Βαβυλὼν μὲν οὕτω τότε πρῶτον
ἀραίρητο. τὴν δὲ δύναμιν τῶν Βαβυλωνίων πολ-
λοῖσι μὲν καὶ ἄλλοισι δηλώσω ὅση τις ἐστί, ἐν
δὲ δὴ καὶ τῷδε. βασιλέι τῷ μεγάλῳ ἐς τροφὴν
αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῆς στρατιῆς διαραίρηται, πάρεξ τοῦ
φόρου, γῇ πᾶσα ὅσης ἄρχει" δυώδεκα ὧν μηνῶν
ἐόντων ἐς τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν τοὺς τέσσερας μῆνας
τρέφει μιν ἡ Βαβυλωνίη χώρη, τοὺς δὲ ὀκτὼ τῶν
aa ἡ λοιπὴ πᾶσα ᾿Ασίη. οὕτω τριτημορίη

ἡ ᾿Ασσυρίη χώρη τῇ δυνάμι τῆς ἄλλης ᾿Ασίης:
καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς χώρης ταύτης, τὴν οἱ Πέρσαι
σατραπηίην καλέουσι, ἐστὶ ἁπασέων τῶν ἀρχέων
πολλὸν τι κρατίστη, ὅκου Ῥριτανταίχμῃ τῷ
‘ApraBafou ἐκ βασιλέος ἐ ἔχοντι τὸν νομὸν τοῦτον
ἀργυρίου μὲν προσήιε ἑκάστης ἡμέρης ἀρτάβη
μεστή. ἡ δὲ ἀρτάβη, μέτρον ἐὸν Περσικόν,
χωρέει᾿ μεδίμνου ᾿Αττικοῦ πλέον χοίνιξι τρισὶ
᾿Αττικῇσι. ἵπποι δέ οἱ αὐτοῦ ἧσαν ἰδίῃ, πάρεξ
τῶν πολεμιστηρίων, οἱ μὲν ἀναβαίνοντες τὰς
θηλέας ὀκτακύσιοι, αἱ δὲ βαιν ὀμεναι ἐξακισχίλιαι
καὶ μύριαι" ἀνέβαινε γὰρ ἕκαστος τῶν ἐρσένων
τούτων εἴκοσι ἵππους. κυνῶν δὲ ᾿Ινδικῶν τοσοῦτο

240

BOOK I. 191-192

banks, and so caught their enemies as in a trap. But
as it was, the Persians were upon them unawares,
and by reason of the great size of the city—so say
those who dwell there—those in the outer parts of
it were overcome, yet the dwellers in the middle
part knew nothing of it; all this time they were
dancing and making merry at a festival which
chanced to be toward, till they learnt the truth but
too well.

192. Thus was Babylon then for the first time
taken. There are many proofs of the wealth of
Babylon, but this in especial. All the land ruled by
the great King is parcelled out for the provisioning of
himself and his army, besides that it pays tribute:
now the territory of Babylon feeds him for four
out of the twelve months in the year, the whole of
the rest of Asia providing for the other eight.
Thus the wealth of Assyria is one third of the whole
wealth of Asia. The governorship, which the Persians
call “satrapy,” of this land is by far the greatest of
all the governorships; seeing that the daily revenue
of Tritantaechmes son of Artabazus, governing this
province by the king’s will, was an artaba full of
silver (the artaba isa Persian measure, containing
more by three Attic choenixes than an Attic
medimnus),! and besides war chargers he had in
his stables eight hundred stallions, and sixteen thou-
sand brood mares, each stallion serving twenty mares,
Moreover he kept so great a number of Indian dogs

1 The Attic medimnus = about 12 gallons; it contained
48 χοίνικες.

241

HERODOTUS

δή τι πλῆθος ἐτρέφετο ὥστε τέσσερες τῶν ἐν τῷ
πεδίῳ κῶμαι μεγάλαι, τῶν ἄλλων ἐοῦσαι ἀτελέες,
τοῖσι κυσὶ προσετετάχατο σιτία παρέχειν. τοι-
αῦτα μὲν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ὑπῆρχε
ἐόντα.

193, Ἡ δὲ γῆ τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ὕεται μὲν ὀλίγῳ,
καὶ τὸ ἐκτρέφον τὴν pitay τοῦ σίτου ἐστὶ τοῦτο"
ἀρδόμενον μέντοι ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἁδρύνεταί τε τὸ
λήιον καὶ παραγίνεται ὁ σῖτος, οὐ κατά περ ἐν
Αὐγύπτῳ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀναβαίνοντος ἐς
τὰς ἀρούρας, ἀλλὰ χερσί τε καὶ κηλωνηίοισι
ἀρδόμενος. ἡ γὰρ Βαβυλωνίη χώρη πᾶσα, κατά
περη͵ Αἰγυπτίη, κατατέτμηται ἐς διώρυχας" καὶ

ἡ μεγίστη τῶν διωρύχων ἐστὶ νηυσιπέρητος, πρὸς
ἥλιον τετραμμένη τὸν χειμερινόν, ἐσέχει δὲ ἐς
ἄλλον “ποταμὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἰυὐφρήτεω, ἐς τὸν Τίγρην,
map ὃν Νίνος πόλις οἴκητο. ἔστι δὲ χωρέων
αὕτη πασέων μακρῷ ἀρίστη τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν
Δήμητρος καρπὸν ἐκφέρειν cerca eee Te γὰρ δὴ ἄλλα
δένδρεα οὐδὲ πειρᾶται ἀρχὴν φέρειν, οὔτε συκέην
οὔτε ἄμπελον οὔτε ἐλαίην. τὸν δὲ τῆς Δήμητρος
καρπὸν ὧδε ἀγαθὴ ἐκφέρειν ἐστὶ ὥστε ἐπὶ διη-
κόσια μὲν τὸ παράπαν ἀποδιδοῖ, ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἄριστα
αὐτὴ ἑωυτῆς ἐνείκῃ, ἐπὶ τριηκόσια ἐκφέρει. τὰ
δὲ φύλλα αὐτόθι τῶν τε πυρῶν καὶ τῶν κριθέων
τὸ πλάτος γίνεται τεσσέρων εὐπετέως δακτύλων.
ἐκ δὲ κέγχρου καὶ σησάμου ὅσον τι δένδρον μέγα-
θος γίνεται, ἐξεπιστάμενος μνήμην οὐ ποιήσομαι,
εὖ εἰδὼς ὅτι τοῖσι μὴ ἀπυγμένοισι ἐς τὴν Βαβυ-
λωνίην χώρην καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα καρπῶν ἐχόμενα

1 Stein marks a lacuna after this word, the meaning of
τὰ ἄλλα δένδρεα not being quite clear.

242

BOOK I. 192-193

that four great villages of the plain were appointed
to provide food for the dogs and eased from all
other burdens. Such were the riches of the gover-
nor of Babylon.

193. There is but little rain in Assyria. It is
this which nourishes the roots of the corn; but it is
irrigation from the river that ripens the crop and
brings the grain to fulness : it is not as in Egypt, where
the river itself rises and floods the fields: in Assyria
they are watered by hand and by swinging beams.}
For the whole land of Babylon, like Egypt, is cut
across by canals. The greatest of these is navigable :
it runs towards where the sun rises in winter, from
the Euphrates to another river, the Tigris, by which
stood the city of Ninus. This land is of all known
to us by far the most fertile in corn. Trees it does
not even essay to grow, fig, vine, or olive, but its
corn is so abundant that it yields for the most part
two hundred fold, and even three hundred fold when
the harvest is best. The blades of the wheat and
barley there are easily four fingers broad ; and for
millet and sesame, I will not say, though it is known
to me, to what a height they grow; for I am well
aware that even what I have said respecting corn is
wholly disbelieved by those who have never visited

1 That is, by the ‘‘ shadoof,” a familiar object to travellers
on the Nile; a lever with a bucket attached, revolving on a
post.

243

HERODOTUS

ἐς ἀπιστίην πολλὴν ἀπῖκται. χρέωνται δὲ οὐδὲν
ἐλαίῳ ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐκ τῶν σησάμων ποιεῦντες. εἰσὶ
δέ σφι φοίνικες πεφυκότες ἀνὰ πᾶν τὸ πεδίον,
οἱ πλεῦνες αὐτῶν καρποφόροι, ἐκ τῶν καὶ σιτία
καὶ οἶνον καὶ μέλι ποιεῦνται: τοὺς συκέων τρόπον
θεραπεύουσι τά τε ἄλλα καὶ φοινίκων τοὺς
ἔρσενας “EXAnves καλέουσι, τούτων τὸν καρπὸν
περιδέουσι τῆσι βαλανηφόροισι τῶν φοινίκων,
ἵνα πεπαίνῃ τέ σφι ὁ ψὴν τὴν βάλανον ἐσδύνων
καὶ μὴ ἀπορρέῃ ὁ καρπὸς τοῦ φοίνικος" ψῆνας γὰρ
δὴ φέρουσι ἐν τῷ καρπῷ οἱ ἔρσενες κατώ περ δὴ
οἱ ὄλυνθοι.

194, To δὲ ἁπάντων θῶμα μέγιστόν μοι ἐστὶ
τῶν ταύτῃ μετά γε αὐτὴν τὴν πόλιν, ἔρχομαι
φράσων' τὰ πλοῖα αὐτοῖσι ἐστὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν
ποταμὸν πορευόμενα ἐς τὴν "βαβυλῶνα, ἐόντα
κυκλοτερέα, πάντα σκύτινα. ἐπεὰν γὰρ ἐν τοῖσι
᾿Αρμενίοισι τοῖσι κατύπερθε ᾿Ασσυρίων οἰκημέ-
νοισι νομέας ἐτέης ταμόμενοι ποιήσωνται, περι-
τείνουσι τούτοισι διφθέρας στεγαστρίδας ἔξωθεν
ἐδάφεος τρόπον, οὔτε πρύμνην ἀποκρίνοντες οὔτε
πρώρην συνάγοντες, ἀλλ᾽ ἀσπίδος τρόπον κυκλο-
τερέα ποιήσαντες καὶ καλάμης πλήσαντες πᾶν τὸ
πλοῖον τοῦτο ἀπιεῖσι κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν φέρεσθαι,
φορτίων πλήσαντες: μάλιστα δὲ βίκους φοι-
νικηίους κατάγουσι οἴνου πλέους. ἰθύνεται δὲ
ὑπό τε δύο πλήκτρων καὶ δύο ἀνδρῶν ὀρθῶν
ἑστεώτων, καὶ ὃ μὲν ἔσω ἕλκει τὸ πλῆκτρον O δὲ
ἔξω ὠθέει. ποιέεται δὲ καὶ κάρτα μεγάλα ταῦτα
τὰ πλοῖα καὶ ἐλάσσω" τὰ δὲ μέ γιστα αὐτῶν καὶ
πεντακισχιλίων ταλάντων γόμον ἔχει. ἐν ἑκάστῳ
δὲ πλοίῳ ὄνος ζωὸς ἔνεστι, ἐν δὲ τοῖσι μέζοσι

244

BOOK I. 193-194

Babylonia. ‘They use no oil save what they make
from sesame.! There are palm trees there growing
all over the plain, most of them yielding fruit, from
which food is made and wine and honey. The Assyrians
tend these like figs, and chiefly in this respect, that
they tie the fruit of the palm called male by the Greeks
to the date-bearing palm, that so the gall-fly may enter
the dates and cause them to ripen, and that the fruit
of the palm may not fall; for the male palms, like
unripened figs, have gall-flies in their fruit.

194. I will now show what seems to me to be the
most marvellous thing in the country, next to the
city itself. Their boats which ply on the riverand go
to Babylon are all of skins, andround. They make
these in Armenia, higher up the stream than Assyria.
First they cut frames of willow, then they stretch
hides over these for a covering, making as it were a
hold ; they neither broaden the stern nor narrow the
prow, but the boat is round, like a shield. They
then fill it with reeds and send it floating down the
river with a cargo; and it is for the most part palm
wood casks of wine that they carry down. Two men
standing upright steer the boat, each with a paddle,
one drawing it to him, the other thrusting it from
him. These boats are of all sizes, some small, some very
great ; the greatest of them are even of five thousand
talents? burden. ‘There is a live ass in each boat, or

1 Sesame-oil or ““ Benre-oil” is still in common use in the
Kast.

2 The Attic talent = about 58 lbs. avoirdupois; the
Aeginetan = about 82.

245

HERODOTUS

πλεῦνες. ἐπεὰν ὧν ἀπίκωνται πλέοντες. ἐς τὴν
Βαβυλῶνα καὶ διαθέωνται τὸν φόρτον, νομέας
μὲν τοῦ πλοίου καὶ τὴν καλάμην πᾶσαν ἀπ᾽ ὧν
ἐκήρυξαν, τὰς δὲ διφθέρας ἐπισάξαντες ἐπὶ τοὺς
ὄνους ἀπελαύνουσι ἐς τοὺς ᾿Δρμενίους. ἀνὰ τὸν
ποταμὸν γὰρ δὴ οὐκ οἷά τε ἐστὶ πλέειν οὐδενὶ
τρόπῳ ὑπὸ τάχεος τοῦ ποταμοῦ" διὰ γὰρ ταῦτα
καὶ οὐκ ἐκ ξύλων ποιεῦνται τὰ πλοῖα ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ
διφθερέων. ἐπεὰν δὲ τοὺς ὄνους ἐλαύνοντες ἀπί-
KwVTaL ὀπίσω ἐς τοὺς ᾿Αρμενίους, ἄλλα τρόπῳ τῷ
αὐτῷ ποιεῦνται πλοῖα.

195, Τὰ μὲν δὴ πλοῖα αὐτοῖσι ἐστὶ τοιαῦτα"
ἐσθῆτι δὲ τοιῆδε χρέωνται, κιθῶνι ποδηνεκέι
λινέῳ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἄλλον εἰρίνεον κιθῶνα
ἐπενδύνει καὶ ,χλανίδιον λευκὸν περιβαλλόμενος,
ὑποδήματα ἔχων ἐπιχώρια, παραπλήσια τῇσι
Βοιωτίῃσι ἐμβάσι. κομῶντες δὲ τὰς κεφαλὰς
μίτρῃσι ἀναδέονται, μεμυρισμένοι πᾶν τὸ σῶμα.
σφρηγῖδα δὲ ἕκαστος ἔχει καὶ σκῆπτρον χειρο-
ποίητον'" ἐπ᾽ ἑκάστῳ δὲ σκήπτρῳ ἐ ἔπεστι πεποιη-
μένον ἢ μῆλον ἢ ῥόδον ἢ κρίνον ἢ αἰετὸς ἢ ἄλλο
Tu ἄνευ γὰρ ἐπισήμου οὔ σφι νόμος ἐστὶ ἔχειν
σκῆπτρον.

196. Αὕτη μὲν δή σφι ἄρτισις περὶ τὸ σῶμα
ἐστί' νόμοι δὲ αὐτοῖσι ὧδε κατεστᾶσι, ὃ μὲν
σοφώτατος ὅδε κατὰ γνώμην τὴν ἡμετέρην, τῷ
καὶ ᾿Ιλλυριῶν ᾿Ἑνετοὺς πυνθάνομαι χρᾶσθαι.
κατὰ κώμας ἑκάστας ἅπαξ τοῦ ἔτεος ἑκάστου
ἐποιέετο τάδε" ὡς ἂν αἱ παρθένοι γενοίατο γάμων
ὡραῖαι, ταύτας ὅκως συναγάγοιεν πάσας, ἐς ἕν
χωρίον ἐσάγεσκον ἁλέας, πέριξ δὲ αὐτὰς ἵστατο
ὅμιλος ἀνδρῶν, ἀνιστὰς δὲ κατὰ μίαν ἑκάστην

246

BOOK I. 194-196

more than one in the larger. So when they have
floated down to Babylon and disposed of their cargo,
they sell the framework of the boat and all the
reeds ; the hides are set on the backs of asses, which
are then driven back to Armenia, for it is not by
any means possible to go up stream by” water, by
reason of the swiftness of the current; it is for this
reason that they make their boats of hides and not
of wood. When they have driven their asses back
into Armenia they make more boats in the same
way.

195. Such then are their boats. For clothing, they
wear a linen tunic, reaching to the feet; over this
the Babylonian puts on another tunic, of wool, and
wraps himself in a white mantle ; he wears the shoes
of his country, which are like Boeotian sandals.
Their hair is worn long, and covered by caps; the
whole body is perfumed. Every man has a seal and
a carven staff, and on every staff is some image, such
as that of an apple or a rose or a lily or an eagle: no
one carries a staff without a device.

196. Such is the equipment of their persons. 1
will now speak of their established customs. The
wisest of these, in my judgment, is one which
as I have heard is also a custom of the Eneti in
Illyria. It is this: once a year in every village all
the maidens as they came to marriageable age were
collected and brought together into one place, with
a crowd of men standing round. Thena crier would
display and offer them for sale one by one, first

247

HERODOTUS

κῆρυξ πωλέεσκε, πρῶτα μὲν τὴν εὐειδεστάτην ἐκ
πασέων" μετὰ δέ, ὅκως αὕτη εὑροῦσα πολλὸν
χρυσίον mp Gein, ἄλλην av ἐκήρυσσε ἣ μετ᾽
ἐκείνην ἔσκε εὐειδεστάτη" ἐπωλέοντο δὲ ἐπὶ
συνοικήσι. ὅσοι μὲν δὴ ἔσκον εὐδαίμονες τῶν
Βαβυλωνίων ἐπίγαμοι, ὑπερβάλλοντες ἀλλήλους
ἐξωνέοντο τὰς καλλιστευούσας: ὅσοι δὲ τοῦ δήμου
ἔσκον ἐπίγαμοι, οὗτοι δὲ εἴδεος μὲν οὐδὲν ἐδέοντο
χρηστοῦ, οἱ δ᾽ ἂν χρήματά τε καὶ αἰσχίονας
παρθένους ἐλάμβανον. ὡς γὰρ δὴ διεξέλθοι ὁ
κῆρυξ πωλέων Tas εὐειδεστάτας τῶν παρθένων,
ἀνίστη ἂν τὴν ἀμορφεστώτην, ἢ εἴ τις αὐτέων
ἔμπηρος εἴη, καὶ ταύτην ἂν ἐκήρυσσε, ὅστις θέλοι
ἐλάχιστον χρυσίον λαβὼν συνοικέειν αὐτῇ, ἐς ὃ
τῷ τὸ ἐλάχιστον ὑπισταμένῳ προσέκειτο. τὸ δὲ
ἂν χρυσίον ἐγίνετο ἀπὸ τῶν εὐειδέων παρθένων
καὶ οὕτω αἱ εὔμορφοι τὰς ἀμόρφους καὶ ἐμπήρους
ἐξεδίδοσαν. ἐκδοῦναι δὲ τὴν ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρα
ὅτεῳ βούλοιτο ἕκαστος οὐκ ἐξῆν, οὐδὲ ἄνευ evs
γυητέω “ἀπάγεσθαι τὴν παρθένον πριώμενον, ἀλλ᾽
ἐγγυητὰς χρῆν καταστήσαντα 7 μὲν συνοικήσειν
αὐτῇ, οὕτω ἀπάγεσθαι. εἰ δὲ μὴ συμφεροίατο,
ἀποφέρειν τὸ χρυσίον ἔκειτο νόμος. ἐξῆν δὲ καὶ
ἐξ ἄλλης ἐλθόντα κώμης τὸν βουλόμενον ὠνέ-
εσθαι. ὁ μέν νυν κάλλιστος νόμος οὗτός σφι ἦν,
οὐ μέντοι νῦν γε διατελέει ἐών, ἄλλο δέ τι ἐξευρή-
κασι νεωστὶ γενέσθαι [ἵνα μὴ ἀδικοῖεν αὐτὰς μηδ᾽
εἰς ἑτέραν πόλιν ἄγωνται} ἐπείτε γὰρ ἁλόντες
ἐκακώθησαν καὶ οἰκοφθορήθησαν, πᾶς τις τοῦ δή-
μου βίου σπανίξων καταπορνεύει τὰ θήλεα τέκνα.

1 The words in brackets do not seem to be relevant here;
they might more naturally come after οὕτω ἀπάγεσθαι above.

248

BOOK I. 196

the fairest of all; and then when she had fetched
a great price he put up for sale the next comeliest,
selling all the maidens as lawful wives. Rich men
of Assyria who desired to marry would outbid each
other for the fairest; the commonalty, who desired
to marry and cared nothing for beauty, could take
the ill-favoured damsels and money therewith; for
when the crier had sold all the comeliest, he
would put up her that was least beautiful, or
crippled, and offer her to whosoever would take
her to wife for the least sum, till she fell to him
who promised to accept least; the money came
from the sale of the comely damsels, and so they
paid the dowry of the ill-favoured and the crip-
ples. But a man might not give his daughter in
marriage to whomsoever he would, nor might he
that bought the girl take her away without giving
security that he would indeed make her his wife.
And if the two could not agree, it was a law that
the money be returned. Men might also come from
other villages to buy if they so desired. This then
was their best custom; but it does not continue at
this time; they have invented a new one lately
[that the woman might not be wronged or taken to
another city]; since the conquest of Babylon made
them afflicted and poor, everyone of the commonalty
that lacks a livelihood makes prostitutes of his
daughters,

249

HERODOTUS

197, Δεύτερος δὲ σοφίη ὅδε ἄλλος σφι γυμὸς
:
κατέστηκε" τοὺς κάμνοντας ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν ἐ; ipo pe-
oul οὐ γὰρ δὴ χρέωνται ἰητροῖσι. προσ!ώντες
ὧν πρὸς τὸν κάμνοντα συμβουλεύουσι περὶ τῆς
νούσου, εἴ τις καὶ αὐτὸς τοιοῦτο ἔπαθε ὁκοῖον ἂν
ἔχῃ ὁ κάμνων ἢ ἄλλον εἶδε παθόντα, ταῦτα προσ-
ἰόντες συμβουλεύουσε καὶ παραινέουσι ὥσσα
αὐτὸς ποιήσας ἐξέφυγε ὁμοίην νοῦσον ἢ ὥὄλλον
εἶδε ἐκφυγόντα. σιγῇ δὲ παρεξελθεῖν τὸν κά-
μνοντα οὔ σφι ἔξεστι, πρὶν ἂν ἐπείρηται ἥντινα
νοῦσον ἔχει.

198. Tadai δέ σφι ἐν μέλιτι, θρῆνοι δὲ παρα-
πλήσιοι τοῖσι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. ὁσώκις δ᾽ ἂν μιχθῇ
γυναικὶ τῇ ἑωυτοῦ ἀνὴρ βα βυλώνιος, περὶ θυμί-
nua καταγ!ιζόμενον ἵζει, ἑτέρωθι δὲ ἡ γυνὴ τὠυτὸ
τοῦτο ποιέει, ὄρθρου δὲ γενομένου λοῦνται καὶ
ἀμφότεροι: ἄγγεος “γὰρ οὐδενὸς ἅψοντ αι πρὶν
ἂν λούσωνται. ταὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ᾿Δράβιοι
ποιεῦσι.

199. 1 Ὁ δὲ δὴ αἴσχιστος τῶν νόμων ἐστὶ τοῖσι
Βαβυλωνίοισι ὅδε: δεῖ πᾶσαν γυναῖκα ἐπιχωρίην
ἱξομένην ἐς ἱρὸν ᾿Λφροδίτης ἅπαξ ἐν τῇ Con
μιχθῆναι ἀνδρὶ ξείνῳ. πολλαὶ δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀξιεύ-
μεναι ἀναμίσγεσθαι τῇσι ἄλλῃσι, οἷα πλούτῳ
ὑπερφρονέουσαι, ἐπὶ ζευγέων ἐν καμάρῃσι edt
σασαι πρὸς TO ἱρὸν ἑστᾶσι" θεραπηΐη δέ σφι
ὄπισθε ἕπεται πολλή. αἱ δὲ πλεῦνες ποιεῦσι ὧδε:
ἐν τεμένεϊ ᾿Αφροδίτης κατέαται στέφανον περὶ
τῆσι κεφαλῆσι ἔχουσαι θώμιγγος πολλαὶ γυναῖ-
κες" al μὲν γὰρ προσέρχονται, αἱ δὲ ἀπέρχονται.

1 Three fiftcenth century MSS. omit the whole of this
chapter.

250

BOOK I. 197-199

197. I come now to the next wisest of their cus-
toms: having no use for physicians, they carry the
sick into the market-place; then those who have been
afflicted themselves by the same ill as the sick man’s,
or seen others in like case, come near and advise him
about his disease and comfort him, telling him by
.what means they have themselves recovered of it or
seen others so recover. None may pass by the sick
man without speaking and asking what is his sickness.

198. The dead are embalmed in honey for burial,
and their dirges are like to the dirges of Egypt.
Whenever a Babylonian has had intercourse with his
wife, they both sit before a burnt offering of incense,
and at dawn they wash themselves; they will touch
no vessel before this is done. This is the custom
also in Arabia.

199. The foulest Babylonian custom is that which
compels every woman of the land once in her life to
sit in the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse
with some stranger. Many women who are rich and
proud and disdain to consort with the rest, drive to
the temple in covered carriages drawn by teams, and
there stand with a great retinue of attendants. But
most sit down in the sacred plot of Aphrodite, with
crowns of cord on their heads; there is a great
multitude of women coming and going; passages
marked by line run every way through the crowd, by
which the stranger men pass and make their choice.

251

HERODOTUS

σχοινοτενέες δὲ διέξοδοι πάντα τρόπον ὁδῶν
ἔχουσι διὰ τῶν γυναικῶν, δι᾿ ὧν οἱ ξεῖνοι διεξε-
ὄντες ἐκλέγονται" ἔνθα ἐ ἐπεὰν ἴζηται γυνή, οὐ πρό-
τερον ἀπαλλάσσεται ἐς τὰ οἰκία ἤ τίς ob ξείνων
ἀργύριον ἐμβαλὼν ἐς τὰ γούνατα μιχθῆ ἔξω τοῦ
ἱροῦ" ἐμβαλόντα δὲ δεῖ εἰπεῖν τοσόνδε: ““᾿1ὑπι-
καλέω tot τὴν θεὸν Μύλιττα." Μύλιττα δὲ
καλέουσι τὴν ᾿Αφροδίτην ᾿Ασσύριοι. τὸ δὲ ἀργύ-
ριον μέγαθος ἐστὶ ὅσον ὧν' οὐ γὰρ μὴ ἀπώσηται"
οὐ γάρ οἱ θέμις ἐστί: γίνεται γὰρ ἱρὸν τοῦτο τὸ
ἀργύριον. τῷ δὲ πρώτῳ ἐμβαλόντι ἕπεται οὐδὲ
ἀποδοκιμᾷ οὐδένα. ἐπεὰν δὲ μιχθῇ, ἀποσιωσα-
μένη τῇ θεῷ ἀπαλλάσσεται ἐς τὰ οἰκία, καὶ τὠπὸ
τούτου οὐκ οὕτω μέγα τί οἱ δώσεις ὥς μιν λάμ-
Wea. ὅσαι μέν νυν εἴδεός τε ἐπαμμέναι εἰσὶ
καὶ μεγάθεος, ταχὺ ἀπαλλάσσονται, ὅσαι δὲ
ἄμορφοι αὐτέων εἰσί, χρόνον πολλὸν προσμένουσι
οὐ δυνάμεναι τὸν νόμον ἐκπλῆσαι" καὶ γὰρ τριέ-
Tea καὶ τετραέτεα μετεξέτεραι χρόνον μένουσι.
ἐνιαχῇ δὲ καὶ τῆς Κύπρου ἐστὶ παραπλήσιος
τούτῳ νόμος.

900. Νόμοι μὲν δὴ τοῖσι Βαβυλωνίοισι οὗτοι
κατεστᾶσι" εἰσὶ δὲ αὐτῶν πατριαὶ τρεῖς αἱ οὐδὲν
ἄλλο σιτέονται εἰ μὴ ἰχθὺς μοῦνον, τοὺς ἐπείτε ἂν
θηρεύσαντες αὐήνωσι πρὸς ἥλιον, ποιεῦσι τάδε
ἐσβάλλουσι ἐς ὅλμον καὶ λεήναντες ὑπέροισι
σῶσι διὰ σινδόνος, καὶ ὃς μὲν ἂν βούληται αὐτῶν
ἅτε μᾶζαν μαξάμενος ἔχει, ὃ δὲ ἄρτου τρόπον
ὀπτήσας.

201. ‘Os δὲ τῷ Κύρῳ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος κατέρ-
γαστο, ἐπεθύμησε Μασσαγέτας ὑπ᾽ ἑωυτῷ ποιη-
σασθαι. τὸ δὲ ἔθνος τοῦτο καὶ μέγα λέγεται

252

BOOK I. 199-201

When a woman has once taken her place there she
goes not away to her home before some stranger
has cast money into her lap and had intercourse
with her outside the temple; but while he casts the
money, he must say, “I demand thee in the name
of Mylitta”’ (that is the Assyrian name for Aphrodite).
It matters not what be the sum of the money; the
woman will never refuse, for that were a sin, the
money being by this act made sacred. So she follows
the first man who casts it and rejects none. After
their intercourse she has made herself holy in the
goddess’s sight and goes away to her home; and
thereafter there is no bribe however great that will
get her. So then the women that are fair and tall
are soon free to depart, but the uncomely have long
to wait because they cannot fulfil the law ; for some
of them remain for three years, or four. There is
a custom like to this in some parts of Cyprus.

200. These are established customs among the
Babylonians. Moreover, there are in the country
three tribes that eat nothing but fish, which they
catch and dry in the sun; then after casting them
into a mortar they bray them with pestles and strain
all through linen. Then whoever so desires kneads
as it were a cake of it and eats it; others bake it like
bread.

201. When Cyrus had conquered this nation also,
he desired to subdue the Massagetae. These are

253

HERODOTUS

εἶναι Kal ἄλκιμον, οἰκημένον δὲ πρὸς ἠῶ τε καὶ
ἡλίου ἀνατολάς, πέρην τοῦ ᾿Αράξεω ποταμοῦ,
ἀντίον δὲ ᾿Ισσηδόνων ἀνδρῶν. εἰσὶ δὲ οἵτινες καὶ
Σκυθικὸν λέγουσι τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος εἶναι.

‘O δὲ ᾿Αράξης λέγεται καὶ μέξων καὶ
ἐλάσσων εἶναι τοῦ Ἴστρου" νήσους δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ
Λέσβῳ μεγάθεα παραπλησίας συχνάς φασι εἶναι,
ἐν δὲ αὐτῇσι ἀνθρώπους ot σιτέονται μὲν ῥίξας τὸ
θέρος ὀρύσσοντες παντοίας" καρποὺς δὲ ἀπὸ δεν-
δρέων ἐξευρημένους σφι ἐς φορβὴν κατατίθεσθαι
ὡραίους, καὶ τούτους σιτέεσθαι τὴν χειμερινήν.

ἄλλα δέ σφι ἐξευρῆσθαι δένδρεα καρποὺς τοιούσδε
τινὰς φέροντα, τοὺς ἐπείτε ἃ ἂν ἐς τὠυτὸ συνέλθωσι
κατὰ εἴλας καὶ πῦρ ἀνακαύσωνται κύκλῳ περι-
ἐζομένους ἐπιβάλλειν ἐπὶ τὸ πῦρ, ὀσφραινομένους
δὲ καταγιζομένου τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ἐπιβαλλομένου
μεθύσκεσθαι τῇ ὀδμῇ Kata περ “EXAnvas τῷ
olvm, πλεῦνος δὲ ἐπιβαλλομένου τοῦ καρποῦ μᾶλ-
λον μεθυσκεσθαι, ἐς ὃ ἐς ὄρχησίν τε ἀνίστασθαι
καὶ ἐς ἀοιδὴν ἀπικνέεσθαι. τούτων μὲν αὕτη
λέγεται δίαιτα εἶναι. ὁ δὲ ᾿Αράξης ποταμὸς ῥέει
μὲν ἐκ Ματιηνῶν, ὅθεν περ ὁ Γύνδης τὸν ἐς τὰς
διώρυχας τὰς ἑξήκοντά τε καὶ τριηκοσίας διέλαβε
ὁ Κῦρος, στόμασι δὲ ἐξερεύγεται τεσσεράκοντα,
τῶν τὰ πάντα πλὴν ἑνὸς ἐς ἕλεά τε καὶ τενάγεα
ἐκδιδοῖ: ἐν τοῖσι ἀνθρώπους κατοικῆσθαι λέγουσι
ἰχθῦς ὠμοὺς σιτεομένους, ἐσθῆτι δὲ νομίζοντας
χρᾶσθαι φωκέων δέρμασι. τὸ δὲ ἕν τῶν στομά-
των τοῦ ᾿Αράξεω ῥέει διὰ καθαροῦ ἐς τὴν Κασπίην
θάλασσαν.
203. Ἡ δὲ Κασπίη θάλασσα ἐστὶ ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτῆς,
οὐ συμμίσγουσα τῇ ἑτέρῃ θαλάσσῃ. τὴν μὲν γὰρ

254

BOOK I. 201-203

said to be a great people and a mighty, dwelling
towards the east and the sunrise, beyond the Araxes
and over against the Issedones; and some say that
they are a Scythian people.

202. The Araxes is by some said to be greater and
by some less than the Ister. It is reported that there
are many islands in it as big as Lesbos, and men
thereon who in summer live on roots of all kinds that
they dig up, and in winter on fruit that they get from
trees and store when it is ripe for food; and they
know (it is said) of trees which have a fruit whereof
this is the effect : assembling in companies and
kindling a fire, the people sit round it and throw the
fruit into the flames, then the smell of it as it burns
makes them drunk as the Greeks are with wine, and
more and more drunk as more fruit is thrown on
the fire, till at last they rise up to dance and even
sing. Such is said to be their way of life. The
Araxes! flows from the country of the Matieni—as
does the Gyndes, which Cyrus divided into the three
hundred and sixty channels—and empties _ itself
through forty mouths, whereof all except one issue
into bogs and swamps, where men are said to live
whose food is raw fish, and their customary dress
sealskins. The one remaining stream of the Araxes
flows in a clear channel into the Caspian sea.

203. This is a sea by itself, not joined to the other
sea. For that whereon the Greeks sail, and the sea

1 The Araxes of this chapter appears to be, from the de-
scription of its course, the modern Aras. But the Araxes of
ch. 205, separating Cyrus’ kingdom from the Massagetae,
must be either the Oxus (Jihon) or Jaxartes (Sihon), both of
which now flow into the Aral Sea. For a full discussion
of the question the reader is referred to Essay IX. in the
Appendix to Book I. of Rawlinson’s Herodotus.

259

HERODOTUS

“EdAnves ναυτίλλονται πᾶσα καὶ ἡ ἔξω στηλέων
θάλασσα ἡ ᾿Ατλαντὶς καλεομένη καὶ ἡ ᾿Ιὑρυθρὴ
μία ἐοῦσα τυγχάνει: ἡ δὲ Κασπίη ἐστὶ ἑτέρη ἐπ᾿
ἑωυτῆς, ἐοῦσα μῆκος μὲν πλόου εἰρεσίῃ χρεωμένῳ
πεντεκαίδεκα ἡμερέων ; εὗρος δέ, τῇ εὐρυτάτη ἐστὶ
αὐτὴ ἑωυτῆς, ὀκτὼ ἡμερέων. καὶ τὰ μὲν πρὸς
τὴν ἑσπέρην φέροντα τῆς θαλάσσης ταύτης ὁ
Καύκασος παρατείνει, ἐὸν ὀρέων καὶ πλήθεϊ μέ-
γιστον καὶ μεγάθεϊ ὑψηλότατον. ἔθνεα δὲ ἀνθρώ-
πων πολλὰ καὶ παντοῖα ἐν ἑωυτῷ ἔχει ὁ Καύ-
κασος, τὰ πολλὰ πάντα ἀπ᾽ ὕλης ἀγρίης ζώοντα"
ἐν τοῖσι καὶ δένδρεα φύλλα τοιῆσδε ἰδέης παρεχό-
μενᾶ εἶναι λέγεται, τὰ τρίβοντάς τε καὶ παρα-
μίσγοντας ὕδωρ ζῷα ἑωυτοῖσε ἐς τὴν ἐσθῆτα
ἐγγράφειν: τὰ δὲ ζῴα οὐκ ἐκπλύνεσθαι, ἀλλὰ
συγκαταγηράσκειν τῷ ἄλλῳ εἰρίῳ κατά περ
ἐνυφανθέντα ἀρχήν. μῖξιν δὲ τούτων τῶν ἀνθρώ-
πων εἶναι ἐμῴφανέα κατά περ τοῖσι προβάτοισι.

204. Ta μὲν δὴ πρὸς ἑσπέρην τῆς θαλάσσης
ταύτης τῆς Κασπίης καλεομένης ὁ Καύκασος
ἀπέργει, τὰ δὲ πρὸς ἠῶ τε καὶ ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα
πεδίον ἐκδέκεται πλῆθος ἄπειρον ἐς ἄποψιν. τοῦ
ὧν δὴ πεδίου τούτου τοῦ μεγάλου οὐκ ἐλαχίστην
μοῖραν μετέχουσι οἱ Μασσαγέται, ἐπ᾽ ods ὁ Κῦρος
ἔσχε προθυμίην στρατεύσασθαι. πολλά Te γάρ
μεν καὶ μεγάλα τὰ ἐπαείροντα καὶ ἐποτρύνοντα
ἣν, πρῶτον μὲν ἡ γένεσις, τὸ δοκέειν πλέον τι
εἶναι ἀνθρώπου, δεύτερα δὲ ἡ εὐτυχίη ἡ κατὰ
τοὺς πολέμους γενομένη" ὅκῃ γὰρ ἰθύσειε στρα-
τεύεσθαι Κῦρος, ἀμήχανον ἣν ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἔθνος
διαφυγεῖν.

205. Ἦν δὲ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀποθανόντος γυνὴ τῶν

256

BOOK I. 203-205

beyond the pillars of Heracles, which they call
Atlantic, and the Red Sea, are all one: but the
Caspian is separate and by itself. Its length is what
a ship rowed by oars can traverse in fifteen days, and
its breadth, where it is broadest, is an eight days’
journey. Along its western shore stretches the range
of Caucasus, which has more and higher mountains
than any other range. Many and all manner of
nations dwell in the Caucasus, and the most of them
live on the fruits of the wild wood. Here, it is said,
are trees growing leaves that men crush and mix
with water and use for the painting of figures on
their clothing ; these figures cannot be washed out,
but last as long as the wool, as if they had been
woven into it from the first. Men and women here
(they say) have intercourse openly, like beasts of
the flock.

204. This sea called Caspian is hemmed in to the
west by the Caucasus: towards the east and the sun-
rise there stretches from its shores a boundless plain
as far as sight can reach. The greater part of this
wide plain is the country of the Massagetae, against
whom Cyrus was eager to lead his army. For there
were many reasons of weight that heartened and
encouraged him so to do: first, his birth, whereby
he seemed to be something more than mortal man,
and next, his victories in his wars; for no nation
that Cyrus undertook to attack could escape from
him.

205. Now at this time the Massagetae were ruled

257

HERODOTUS

Μασσαγετέων βασίλεια' Τόμυρίς οἱ ἦν οὔνομα.
ταύτην πέμπων ὁ Κῦρος ἐμνᾶτο τῷ λόγῳ θέλων
γυναῖκα ἣν ἔχειν. ἡ δὲ Τόμυρις συνιεῖσα οὐκ
αὐτήν μιν μνώμενον ἀλλὰ τὴν Μασσαγετέων
βασιληίην, ἀπείπατο τὴν πρόσοδον. Κῦρος δὲ
μετὰ τοῦτο, ὥς οἱ δόλῳ οὐ προεχώρεε, ἐλάσας ἐπὶ
τὸν ᾿Αράξεα ἐποιέετο ἐκ τοῦ ἐμφανέος ἐπὶ τοὺς
Μασσαγέτας στρατηίην, γεφύρας τε ζευγνύων ἐ ἐπὶ
τοῦ ποταμοῦ διάβασιν τῷ στρατῷ, καὶ πύργους
ἐπὶ πλοίων τῶν διαπορθμευόντων τὸν ποταμὸν
οἰκοδομεόμενος.

2060. Ἔχοντι δέ οἱ τοῦτον τὸν πόνον πέμψασα

ἡ Τόμυρις κήρυκα ἔλεγε τάδε. “ 0, βασιλεῦ Μη-
bar, παῦσαι σπεύδων τὼ σπεύδεις" οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἰδείης
εἴ τοι ἐς καιρὸν ἔσται ταῦτα τελεόμενα" παυσά-
μενος δὲ βασίλευε τῶν σεωυτοῦ, καὶ ἡμέας ἀνέχευ
ὁρέων ἄρχοντας τῶν περ ἄρχομεν. οὔκων ἐθελήσεις
ὑποθήκῃσι͵ τῇσιδε χρᾶσθαι, ἀλλὰ πάντως μᾶλλον

ἢ Ov ἡσυχίης εἶναι" σὺ δὴ εἰ μεγάλως προθυμέαι
Μασσαγετέων πειρηθῆναι, φέρε μόχθον μὲν τὸν
ἔχεις ζευγνὺς τὸν ποταμὸν ἄπες, σὺ δὲ ἡμέων
ἀναχωρησάντων ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τριῶν ἡμερέων
ὁδὸν διάβαινε ἐς τὴν ἡμετέρην' εἰ δ᾽ ἡμέας βού-
λεαι ἐσδέξασθαι μᾶλλον ἐς τὴν ὑμετέρην, σὺ
τὠυτὸ τοῦτο ποίεε. ταῦτα δὲ ἀκούσας ὁ Κῦρος
συνεκάλεσε Περσέων τοὺς πρώτους, συναγείρας
δὲ τούτους ἐς μέσον σφι προετίθεε τὸ πρῆγμα,
συμβουλευόμενος ὁκότερα ποιέῃ. τῶν δὲ κατὰ
τὠυτὸ αἱ γνῶμαι συνεξέπιπτον κελευόντων ἐσδέ-
κεσθαι Τόμυρίν τε καὶ τὸν στρατὸν αὐτῆς ἐς
τὴν χώρην.

258

BOOK I. 205-206

by a queen, called Tomyris, whose husband was dead.
Cyrus sent a message with a pretence of wooing her
for his wife, but Tomyris would have none of this
advance, well understanding that he wooed not her
but the kingdom of the Massagetae. So when guile
availed him nothing Cyrus marched to the Araxes
and openly prepared to attack the Massagetae; he
bridged the river that his army might cross, and
built towers on the pontoons that should carry his
men over.
206. But while he was at this work Tomyris sent
a herald to him with this message: “Cease, king of
the Medes, from that on which you are intent; for
you cannot know if the completion of this work will
be for your advantage. Cease, and be king of your
own country; and be patient to see us ruling those
whom we rule. But if you will not take this counsel,
and will do all rather than remain at peace, then if
you so greatly desire to essay the strength of the
Massagetae, do you quit your present labour of
bridging the river, and suffer us to draw off three
days’ journey from the Araxes; and when that is
done, cross into our country. Or if you desire rather
to receive us into your country, do you then yourself
withdraw as I have said.” Hearing this, Cyrus
assembled the chief among the Persians and laid the
matter before them, asking them to advise him
which he should do. They all spoke to the same
purpose, urging him to suffer Tomyris and her army
to enter his country.
259

HERODOTUS

207. Παρεὼν δὲ καὶ μεμφόμενος τὴν γνώμην
ταύτην Κροῖσος ὁ Λυδὸς ἀπεδείκνυτο ἐναντίην τῇ
προκειμένῃ γνώμῃ, λέγων τάδε. “Οὐ ασίχεῦ,
εἶπον μὲν καὶ πρότερόν τοι ὅτι ἐπεί με Ζεὺς ἔδωκέ
τοι, τὸ ἂν ὁρῶ σφάλμα ἐὸν οἴκῳ τῷ σῷ, κατὰ δύ-
ναμιν ἀποτρέψειν. τὰ δὲ μοι παθήματα ἐόντα
ἀχάριτα μαθήματα γέγονε. εἰ μὲν ἀθάνατος δοκέεις
εἶναι καὶ στρατιῆς τοιαύτης ἄρχειν, οὐδὲν ἂν εἴη
πρῆγμα γνώμας ἐμὲ σοὶ ἀποφαίνεσθαι" εἰ δ᾽
ἔγνωκας ὅτι ἄνθρωπος καὶ σὺ εἷς καὶ ἑτέρων
τοιῶνδε ἄρχεις, ἐκεῖνο πρῶτον μάθε, ὡς κύκλος
τῶν ἀνθρωπηίων ἐστὶ πρηγμάτων, περιφερόμενος
δὲ οὐκ ἐᾷ αἰεὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς εὐτυχέειν. ἤδη ὧν ἔχω

\ A / / \
γνώμην περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου πρήγματος τὰ
ἔμπαλιν ἢ οὗτοι. εἰ γὰρ ἐθελήσομεν ἐσδέξασθαι
τοὺς πολεμίους ἐς τὴν χώρην, ὅδε τοι ἐν αὐτῷ
κίνδυνος ἔνι" ἑσσωθεὶς μὲν προσαπολλύεις πᾶσαν
τὴν “ἀρχήν. “δῆλα γὰρ δὴ ὅτι νικῶντες Μασ-
σαγέται οὐ τὸ ὀπίσω φεύξονται ἀλιλ én ἀρχὰς
τὰς σὰς ἐλῶσι. νικῶν δὲ οὐ viKas τοσοῦτον
ὅσον εἰ διαβὰς ἐς τὴν ἐκείνων, νικῶν Μασσαγέτας,
ἕποιο φεύγουσι. τὠυτὸ γὰρ ἀντιθήσω ἐκείνῳ,
ὅτι “νικήσας τοὺς ἀντιουμένους ἐλᾶς ἰθὺ τῆς
ἀρχῆς τῆς Τομύριος. χωρίς τε τοῦ ἀπηγημένου
αἰσχρὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀνασχετὸν Κῦρόν γε τὸν Καμ-
βύσεω γυναικὶ εἴξαντα ὑποχωρῆσαι τῆς “χώρης.
νῦν ὧν μοι δοκέει διαβάντας προελθεῖν ὅσον ἂν
ἐκεῖνοι ὑπεξίωσι, ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ τάδε ποιεῦντας πει-
ρᾶσθαι ἐκείνων περιγενέσθαι. ὡς γὰρ ἐγὼ πυν-
θάνομαι, Μασσαγέται εἰσὶ ἀγαθῶν τε Περσικῶν
ἄπειροι καὶ καλῶν μεγάλων ἀπαθέες. τούτοισι

260

BOOK I. 207

207. But Croesus the Lydian, who was present,
was displeased by their counsel and spoke against it.
« Sire,” said he, “you have ere now heard from me
that since Zeus has given me to you I will to the
best of my power turn aside whatever mischance I
see threatening your house. And disaster has been
my teacher. Now if you deem yourself and the army
that you lead to be immortal, it is not for me to give
you advice; but if you know that you and those
whom you rule are but men, then I must first teach
you this: men’s fortunes are on a wheel, which in its
turning suffers not the same man to prosper for ever.
Then, if that be true, I am not of the same mind on
the business in hand as these your other counsellors.
This is the danger if we agree to suffer the enemy
to enter your country: if you lose the battle you
lose your empire also, for it is plain that if the
Massagetae win they will not retreat back but will
march. against your provinces. And if you con-
quer them it is a lesser victory than if you crossed
into their country and routed the Massagetae and
pursued them; for I balance your chances against
theirs, and suppose that when you have worsted
your adversaries you will march for the seat of
Tomyris’ power. And besides what I have shown, it
were a thing shameful and not to be borne that Cyrus
the son of Cambyses should yield and give ground
before a woman. Nowtherefore it is in my mind that
we should cross and go forward as far as they
back, and that then we should endeavour to overcome
them by doing as I shall show. As I learn, the
Massagetae have no experience of the good things
of Persia, nor have they ever fared well in respect of
what is greatly desirable. For these men, therefore,

261

HERODOTUS

ὧν τοῖσι ἀνδράσι τῶν προβάτων ἀφειδέως πολλὰ
κατακόψαντας καὶ σκευάσαντας προθεῖναι, ἐν τῷ
στρατοπέδῳ τῷ ἡμετέρῳ δαῖτα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ κρὴ-
τῆρας ἀφειδέως οἴνου ἀκρήτου καὶ σιτία παντοῖα"
ποι ἥσαντας δὲ ταῦτα, ὑπολιπομένους τῆς στρατιῆς
τὸ φλαυρύτατον, τοὺς λοιποὺς αὗτις ἐξαναχωρέε: ν
ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμόν. ᾿ γὰρ ἐγὼ ἽΝ ἢ: μὴ ἁμάρτω,
κεῖνοι iSoperoe ayat Ἰὰ πολλὰ τρέψονταί τε πρὸς
αὐτὰ καὶ ἡμῖν τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν λείπεται ἀπόδεξις
ἔργων μεγάλων.

208. Γνῶμαι μὲν αὗται συνέστασαν: Kipos δὲ
μετεὶς τὴν προτέρην γνώμην, τὴν Κροίσου δὲ
ἑλόμενος, προηγόρευε Topvpe ἐξαναχωρέειν ὡς
αὐτοῦ διαβησομένου € ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνην. ἣ μὲν δὴ ἐξανε-
χώρεε κατὰ ὑπέσχετο πρῶτα' ΚΚῦρος δὲ Κροῖσον
ἐς TUS χεῖρας ἐσθεὶς τῴ ἑωυτοῦ παιδὶ Καμβύσῃ,
τῷ περ τὴν βασιληίην. ἐδίδου, καὶ πολλὰ ἐτει-
λάμενός οἱ τιμᾶν τε αὐτὸν καὶ εὖ ποιέει! ἣν ἡ
διάβασις ἡ ἐπὶ Maccayétas μὴ of: ΠΝ ταῦτα
ἐντειλάμενος καὶ ἀποστείλας τούτους ἐς Ι]έρσας,
αὐτὸς διέβαινε τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ὁ στρατὸς αὐτοῦ.

309. ᾿Εὐπείτε δὲ ἐπεραιώθη τὸν ᾿Αράξεα, νυκτὸς
ἐπελθούσης εἶδε ὄψιν εὕδων ἐν τῶν Μασσαγετέων
τῇ χώρῃ τοιήνδε" ἐδόκεε ὁ Κῦρο ος ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ ὁρᾶν
τῶν Ὑστάσ TEOS παίδων τὸν πρεσβύτατον & ἔχοντα
ἐπὶ τῶν ὥμων πτέρυγας καὶ τουτέων τῇ μὲν

τὴν ᾿Ασίην τῇ δὲ τὴν ἰὐὐρώπην ἐπισκιάξειν.

Ὑστάσπεϊ δὲ τῷ Apaajeos ἐόντι ἀνδρὶ᾽ Αχαιμενίδῃ
ἣν τῶν παίδων Δαρεῖος πρεσβύτατος, ἐὼν τότε
ἡλικίην ἐς εἴκοσί κου μάλιστα ἔτεα, καὶ οὗτος
κατελέλειπτο ἐν Πέρσῃσι" οὐ γὰρ εἶχέ κω ἡλικίην
στρατεύεσθαι. ἐπεὶ ὧν δὴ ἐξηγέρθη ὁ Κῦρος,
262

BOOK I, 207-209

I counsel you to cut up the flesh of many of your
sheep and goats into portions unstintingly, and to
cook it and serve it as a feast in our camp, providing
many bowls of unmixed wine withal and all manner
of food. Then let your army withdraw to the river
again, leaving behind that part of it which is of least
account. For if I err not in my judgment, when the
Massagetae see so many good things they will betake
them to feasting thereon; and it will be for us then
to achieve mighty deeds.”

208. So these opinions contended ; and Cyrus set
aside his former plan and chose that of Croesus;
wherefore he bade Tomyris draw her army off, for he
would cross (he said) and attack her; so she
withdrew as she had promised before. ‘Then he gave
Croesus to the care of his own son Cambyses, to
whom he purposed to leave his sovereignty, charging
Cambyses to honour Croesus and entreat him well, if
the crossing of the river against the Massagetae should
not prosper. With this charge he sent the two back
to Persia, and crossed the river, he and his army.

209. Then, being now across the Araxes, he dreamt
at night while sleeping in the country of the Massa-
getae, that he saw the eldest of the sons of Hystaspes
wearing wings on his shoulders, the one wing over-
shadowing Asia and the other Europe. (Hystaspes
son of Arsames was an Achaemenid, and Darius was
the eldest of his sons, being then about twenty years
old; this Darius had been left behind in Persia,
being not yet of an age to follow the army.) So when

263

HERODOTUS

ἐδίδου λόγον ἑωυτῷ περὶ τῆς ὄψιος. ὡς δέ οι
ἐδόκεε μεγάλη εἶναι ἡ ὄψις, καλέσας Ὕστάσπεα
καὶ ἀπολαβὼν μοῦνον εἶπε “Ὕσταστες, παῖς σὸς
ἐπιβουλεύων ἐμοί τε καὶ τῇ ἐμῇ ἀρχῇ ἑάλωκε. ὡς
δὲ ταῦτα ἀτρεκέως οἶδα, ἐγὼ σημανέω" ἐμεῦ θεοὶ
κήδονται καί μοι πάντα προδεικνύουσι τὰ em uhe-
pomeva. ἤδη ὧν ἐν TH MA POL, χομέ vy νυκτὶ εὔξδων
εἶδον τῶν σῶν παίς δὼν τὸν πρεσβύτατον ἔχοντα
ἐπὶ τῶν ὥμων πτέρυγας καὶ τουτέων τῇ μὲν. τὴ"
᾿Ασύην τῇ δὲ τὴν υὐρώπην ἐπισκιάζειν. οὔκων
ἐστὶ μηχανὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψιος ταύτης οὐδεμία τὸ μὴ
ἐκεῖνον ἐπιβουλεύειν ἐμοί: σύ νυν τὴν ταχίστην
πορεύεο ὀπίσω ἐς ἸΙέρσας καὶ ποίεε ὅκως, ἐπεὰν
ἐγὼ τάδε καταστρεψώμενος ἔλθω ἐκεῖ, ὥς μοι
καταστήσεις τὸν παῖδα ἐς ἔλεγχον."

210. Κῦρος μὲν δοκέων οἱ Δαρεῖον ἐπιβουλεύειν
ἔλεγε τάδε: τῷ δὲ ὁ δαίμων προέφαινε ὡς αὐτὸς
μὲν τελευτήσειν αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ μέλλοι, ἡ δὲ βα-
σιληΐη αὐτοῦ περιχωρέοι ἐς Δαρεῖον. ἀμείβεται
δὴ ὦ ὧν ὁ Ὑστάσπης τοῖσιδε. “«“Ὦ, βασιλεῦ, μὴ εἴη
ἀνὴρ ἸΙέρσης γεγονὼς ὅστις τοι ἐπιβουλεύσειε, εἰ
δ᾽ ἔστι, ἀπόλοιτο ὡς τάχιστα" ὃς ἀντὶ μὲν δούλω!"
ἐποίησας ἐλευθέρους Ἱ]έρσας εἶναι, ἀντὶ δὲ ἄρχε-
σθαι ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων ἄρχειν ἁπάντων. εἰ δέ τίς τοι
ὄψις ἀπαγγέλλει παῖδα τὸν ἐμὸν νεώτερα βου-
λεύειν περὶ σέο, ἐγώ TOL παραδίδωμι χρᾶσθαι
αὐτῷ τοῦτο ὅ τι σὺ βούλεαι."

911. Ὑστάσπης μὲν τούτοισι ἀμειψάμενος καὶ
διαβὰς τὸν “Apakea ἤιε ἐς Πέρσας φυλάξων
Κύρῳ τὸν παῖδα Δαρεῖον, Κῦρος δὲ aii oh
ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿ΔΑράξεω ἡμέρης ὁδὸν ἐποίεε KATA τὰς
Kpotcov ὑποθήκας. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ΤΡ ΣΝ τε

204

BOOK I. 209-211

Cyrus awoke he considered his vision, and because
it seemed to him to be of great import, he sent for
Hystaspes and said to him privately, “I find,
Hystaspes, that your son is guilty of plotting against
me and my sovereignty; and I will tell you how I
know this for a certainty. I am a man for whom the
gods take thought, and show me beforehand all that
is coming. Now this being so, I have seen in a
dream in the past night your eldest son with wings
on his shoulders, overshadowing Asia with the one
and Europe with the other; wherefore it is from
this vision most certain that he is plotting against
me. Do you therefore go with all speed back to
Persia, and so act that when I come thither after
subduing this country you shall bring your son before
me to be questioned of this.”

210. So spoke Cyrus, thinking that Darius was
plotting against him; but in truth heaven was
showing him that he himself was to die in the land
where he was, and Darius to inherit his kingdom.
So then Hystaspes answered him thus :—“ Sire, the
gods forbid that any Persian born should plot against
you! but if such there be, may he speedily perish ;
for you have made the Persians freemen instead of
slaves and rulers of all instead of subjects. But if
your vision does indeed tell that my son is planning
aught to your hurt, take him; he is yours to use
as pleases you.”

211. Having so answered, Hystaspes returned
across the Araxes to Persia to watch Darius for
Cyrus; and Cyrus, going forward a day’s journey
from the Araxes, did according to Croesus’ advice.
After this Cyrus and the sound part of the Persian

265

HERODOTUS

\ , n a A ᾽ /
καὶ Llepoéwy τοῦ καθαροῦ στρατοῦ ἀπελά-
’ / ’ \ \ ᾽ / / \
σαντος ὀπίσω ἐπὶ tov ᾿Αράξεα, λειφθέντος δὲ
a 7 fal a 7
τοῦ ἀχρηίου, ἐπελθοῦσα τῶν Μασσαγετέων
τριτημορὶς τοῦ στρατοῦ τούς τε λειφθέντας τῆς
Κύρου στρατιῆς ἐφόνευε ἀλεξομένους καὶ τὴν
προκειμένην ἰδόντες δαῖτα, ὡς ἐχειρώσαντο τοὺς
, / / ,
ἐναντίους, κλιθέντες ἐδαίνυντο, πληρωθέντες δὲ
lal \ yy -τ € WY / 2 ,
φορβῆς καὶ οἴνου ηὗδον. οἱ δὲ Llépaae ἐπελθόντες
\ \ / ’ , nA 3
πολλοὺς μὲν σῴφέων ἐφόνευσαν, πολλῷ ὃ
an ΄ 5 \ an
πλεῦνας ἐζώγρησαν καὶ ἄλλους Kal τὸν τῆς Bact-
r “-“ fd le
Neins Topvpios παῖδα στρατηγέοντα Maacayetéwr,
n ” τὰ Nv , =~
τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Srapyartons. a
212.°H δὲ πυθομένη τά τε περὶ τὴν στρατιὴν
Ν ann Ie
γεγονότα καὶ τὰ περὶ TOV παῖδα, πέμπουσα κήρυκα
Ἂν σι ” » 94 ΩΣ
παρὰ Κῦρον ἔλεγε τάδε. “"Απληστε αἵματος Κῦρε,
A n Υ͂ ad J ’
μηδὲν ἐπαερθῆς τῷ γεγονότι τῷδε πρήγματι, εἰ
, A an \
ἀμπελίνῳ καρπῷ, τῷ περ αὐτοὶ ἐμπιπλάμενοι
¢ “ , aA \
μαίνεσθε οὕτω ὥστε κατιόντος τοῦ οἴνου ἐς TO
a , an » ΄ /
σῶμα ἐπαναπλεειν ὑμῖν ἔπεα κακά, τοιούτῳ φαρ-
μάκῳ δολώσας ἐκράτησας παιδὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ᾽
οὐ μάχῃ κατὰ τὸ καρτερόν. νῦν ὧν μευ εὖ παραι-
νεούσης ὑπόλαβε τὸν λόγον: ἀποδούς μοι τὸν
ta) ", a lel , 3 /
παῖδα ἄπιθι ἐκ τῆσδε τῆς χώρης ἀζήμιος, Μασ-
σαγετέων τριτημορίδι τοῦ στρατοῦ κατυβρίσας.
εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὐ ποιήσεις, ἥλιον ἐπόμνυμί τοι τὸν
Μασσαγετέων δεσπότην, ἢ μέν σε ἐγὼ καὶ ἀἄπλη-
, “ 33
στον ἐόντα αἵματος κορέσω.
rA \ > / 5 ’ Ti, ’
213. Κῦρος μὲν ἐπέων οὐδένα τούτων avevet-
/ 2 / ΄ e \ a ,
χθέντων ἐποιέετο λύγον' ὁ δὲ τῆς βασιλείης
΄ὕ lal i} 2 ee 3
Τομύριος παῖς Σπαργαπίσης, ὥς μιν 6 τε οἶνος
tS \ ” θ “ 4 n ὃ Q \ K τ
ἀνῆκε καὶ ἔμαθε ἵνα ἦν κακοῦ, δεηθεὶς Κυρου
> A ὃ A τς » « δὲ ᾿ 40
ες τῶν δεσμῶν λυθῆναι ἐτυχε, WS ὃὲ ελύθη τε

266

BOOK I. χει 211

army marched away back to the Araxes, leaving
behind those that were useless; whereupon a third
part of the host of the Massagetae attacked those of
the army who were left behind and slew them
despite resistance; then, seeing the banquet spread,
when they had overcome their enemies they sat
down and feasted, and after they had taken their fill
of food and wine they fell asleep. ‘Then the Persians
came upon them and slew many and took many
more alive, among whom was the son of Tomyris
the queen, Spargapises by name, the leader of the
Massagetae.

212. When Tomyris heard what had befallen her
army and her son, she sent a herald to Cyrus with this
message :— Bloodthirsty Cyrus, be not uplifted by
this that you have done; it is no matter for pride if
the fruit of the vine—that fruit whereof you Persians
drink even to madness, so that the wine passing into
your bodies makes evil words to rise in a flood to
your lips—has served you as a drug to master my
son withal, by guile and not in fair fight. Now
theretore take this word of good counsel from me:
give me back my son and depart unpunished from
this country; it is enough that you have done
despite to a third part of the host of the Massagetae.
But if you will not do this, then I swear by the sun,
the lord of the Massagetae, that for all you are so
insatiate of blood, I will give you your fill thereof.”

213. This message was brought to Cyrus, who
cared nothing for it. But Spargapises, the son of
the queen Tomyris, when his drunkenness left him
and he knew his evil plight, entreated Cyrus that he
might be loosed from his bonds; and this was granted

VOLVE L 267

HERODOTUS

τάχιστα καὶ τῶν χειρῶν ἐκράτησε, διεργάζεται
ἀξ λυ 1
ἑωυτόν.

214. Καὶ δὴ οὗτος μὲν τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ τελευτᾷ"
Τόμυρις δέ, ὥς οἱ Κῦρος οὐκ ἐσήκουσε, συλλέξασα
πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτῆς δύναμιν συνέβαλε Κύρῳ. ταύ-
τὴν τὴν μάχην, ὅσαι δὴ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν μάχαι
ἐγένοντο, κρίνω ἰσχυροτάτην γενέσθαι, καὶ δὴ καὶ
πυνθάνομαι οὕτω τοῦτο γενόμενον. πρῶτα μὲν
γὰρ λέγεται αὐτοὺς διαστάντας ἐς ἀλλήλους
τοξεύειν, μετὰ δὲ ὥς σφι τὰ βέλεα ἐξετετόξευτο,
συμπεσόντας τῆσι αἰχμῇσί τε καὶ τοῖσι ἐγχειρι-
δίοισι συνέχεσθαι. χρόνον τε δὴ ἐπὶ πολλὸν
συνεστάναι μαχομένους καὶ οὐδετέρους ἐθέλειν
φεύγειν" τέλος δὲ οἱ Μασσαγέται περιεγένοντο.
ἥ τε δὴ πολλὴ τῆς Περσικῆς στρατιῆς αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ
διεφθάρη καὶ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς Κῦρος τελευτᾷ, βασι-
λεύσας τὰ πάντα ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα ἔτεα.
ἀσκὸν δὲ πλήσασα αἴματος ἀνθρωπηίου Τόμυρις
ἐδίζητο ἐν τοῖσι τεθνεῶσι τῶν Ἰ]ερσέων τὸν Κύρου
νέκυν, ὡς δὲ εὗρε, ἐναπτῆκε αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐς
τὸν ἀσκόν, λυμαινομένη δὲ τῷ “νεκρῷ ἐπέλεγε τάδε'
“Σὺ μὲν ἐμὲ ζῶσάν τε καὶ νικῶσάν σε μάχῃ
ἀπώλεσας, παῖδα τὸν. ἐμὸν ἑλὼν δόλῳ: σὲ δ᾽ ἐγώ,
κατά περ ἠπείλησα, αἵματος κορέσω." τὰ μὲν δὴ
κατὰ τὴν Κύρου τελευτὴν τοῦ βίου, πολλῶν λόγων
λεγομένων, ὅδε μοι ὁ πιθανώτατος εἴρ" ται.

215. Μασσαγέται δὲ ἐσθῆτά τε ὁμοίην τῇ
Σκυθικῇ φορέουσι καὶ δίαιταν ἔχουσι, ἱππόται δὲ
εἰσὶ καὶ ἄνιπποι (ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ μετέχουσι) καὶ
τοξόται τε καὶ αἰχμοφόροι, σαγάρις νομίξοντες
ἔχειν. χρυσῷ δὲ καὶ χαλκῷ τὰ πάντα χρέωνται'

268

BOOK I. 213-215

him; but no sooner was he loosed and had the use
of his hands, than he made away with himself.

214. Such was the end of Spargapises. Tomyris,
when Cyrus would not listen to her, collected all her
power and joined battle with him. This fight I
judge to have been the stubbornest of all fights
that were ever fought by men that were not Greek ;
and indeed I have learnt that this was so. For
first (it is said) they shot at each other from a dis-
tance with arrows; presently, their arrows being all
shot away, they rushed upon each other and fought
at grips with their spears and their daggers ; and for
a long time they battled foot to foot and neither
would give ground; but at last the Massagetae had
the mastery. There perished the greater part of the
Persian army, and there fell Cyrus himself, having
reigned thirty years in allsave one. Tomyris filled a
skin with human blood, and sought for Cyrus’ body
among the Persian dead; when she found it, she put
his head into the skin, and spoke these words of
insult to the dead man: “ Though I live and conquer
thee, thou hast undone me, overcoming my son by
guile; but even as I threatened, so will I do, and
give thee thy fill of blood.” Many stories are related
of Cyrus’ death; this, that I have told, is the
worthiest of credence.

215. These Massagetae are like the Scythians in
their dress and manner of life. They are both
horsemen and footmen (having some of each kind),
and spearmen and bowmen; and it is their custom to
carry battle-axes. They ever use gold and bronze;

269

HERODOTUS

ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἐς αἰχμὰς καὶ ἄρδις καὶ σαγάρις,
χαλκῷ τὰ πάντα χρέωνται, ὅσα δὲ περὶ κεφαλὴν
καὶ ζωστῆρας καὶ μασχαλιστῆρας, χρυσῷ κοσ-
μέονται. ὡς δ᾽ αὕτως τῶν ἵππων τὰ μὲν περὶ τὰ
στέρνα χαλκέους θώρηκας περιβάλλουσι, τὰ δὲ
περὶ τοὺς χαλινοὺς καὶ στόμια καὶ φάλαρα

ρυσῷ. σιδήρῳ δὲ οὐδ᾽ ἀργύρῳ “χρέωνται οὐδέν"
οὐδὲ yap οὐδέ σφι ἐστὶ ἐν TH χώρῃ, ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς
καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς ἄπλετος.

210- Νόμοισι δὲ χρέωνται τοιοῖσιδε. γυναῖκα
μὲν γαμέει ἕκαστος, ταύτῃσι δὲ ἐ ἐπίκοινα χρέωνται:
τὸ γὰρ Σκύθας pact ‘EAAnves ποιέειν, ov Σκύθαι
εἰσὶ οἱ ποιέοντες ἀλλὰ Μασσαγέται" τῆς γὰρ
ἐπιθυμήσῃ γυναικὸς Μασσαγέτης ἀνήρ, τὸν φαρε-
τρεῶνα ἀποκρεμάσας πρὸ τῆς ἁμάξης μίσγεται
ἀδεῶς. οὖρος δὲ ἡλικίης σφι πρόκειται ἄχλος μὲν
οὐδείς" ἐπεὰν δὲ γέρων γένηται κάρτα, οἱ προσ-
ἠκοντές οἱ πάντες συνελθόντες θύουσί μιν καὶ
ἄλλα πρόβατα ἅμα αὐτῷ, ἑψήσαντες δὲ τὰ κρέα
κατευωχέονται. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ ὀλβιώτατά σφι
νενόμισται, τὸν δὲ νούσῳ τελευτήσαντα οὐ κατα-
σιτέονται ἀχλὰ γῇ κρύπτουσι, συμφορὴν ποιεύ-
μενοι ὅτι οὐκ ἵκετο ἐς τὸ τυθῆναι. σπείρουσι δὲ
οὐδέν, GAN ἀπὸ κτηνέων ζώουσι καὶ ἐχθύων'

ὃ δὲ ἀφθονοί σφι ἐκ τοῦ ᾿Αράξεω ποταμοῦ παρα-
γίνονται: γαλακτοπόται δ᾽ εἰσί. θεῶν δὲ μοῦνον
ἥλιον σέβονται, τῷ θύουσι ἵππους. νόος δὲ
οὗτος τῆς θυσίης" τῶν θεῶν τῷ ταχίστῳ πάντων
τῶν θνητῶν τὸ τάχιστον δατέονται.

270

BOOK I. 215-216

all their spear-points and arrow-heads and battle-axes
are of bronze, and gold is the adornment of their
headgear and belts and girdles. They treat their
horses in like manner, arming their forehands with
bronze breastplates and putting gold on reins, bits,
and cheekplates. But iron and silver they never
use; for there is none at all in their country, but
gold and bronze abounds.

216. Now, for their customs: each man marries a
wife, but the wives are common to all. The Greeks
say this isa Scythian custom; it is not so, but a
custom of the Massagetae. There, when a man
desires a woman, he hangs his quiver before her
waggon, and has intercourse with her, none _hin-
dering. Though they set no certain term to life, yet
when a man is very old all his kin meet together
and kill him, with beasts of the flock besides,
then boil the flesh and feast on it. This is held
to be the happiest death; when a man dies of a
sickness they do not eat him, but bury him in the
earth, and lament that he would not live to be killed.
They never sow; their fare is their live-stock and
the fish which they have in abundance from the
Araxes. Their drink is milk, The sun is the only
god whom they worship; to him they sacrifice
horses; the reason of it is that he 1s the swiftest of
the gods and therefore they give him the swiftest of
mortal things.

271

PON yeccin

ΓΝ

φ Ὡς
j Ι

4 a ,
ΦΌΩΣ
Wad st

τ πολ,

BOOK II

1, Τελευτησαντος δὲ - Κύρου παρέλαβε τὴν
βασιληίην Καμβύσης, Κύρου ἐὼν παῖς καὶ Kac-
σανδάνης τῆς Φαρνάσπεω θυγατρός, τῆς προαπο-
θανούσης Κῦρος αὐτός τε μέγα πένθος ἐποιήσατο
καὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι προεῖπε πᾶσι τῶν ἦρχε πένθος
ποιέεσθαι. ταύτης δὴ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐὼν παῖς καὶ
Κύρου Καμβύσης" Ἴωνας μὲν καὶ Αἰολέας ὡς δού-
λους πατρωίους ἐόντας ἐνόμιξε, ἐπὶ δὲ Αἴγυπτον
ἐποιέετο στρατηλασίην ἄλλους τε παραλαβὼν
τ ἦρχε καὶ δὴ καὶ Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἐπεκράτεε.

. Οἱ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι, πρὶν μὲν ἢ Ψαμμήτιχον
ies βασιλεῦσαι, ἐνόμιζον ἑωυτοὺς πρώτους
γενέσθαι πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐπειδὴ δὲ Ψαμ-
μήτιχος βασιλεύσας ἠθέλησε εἰδέναι οἵτινες γενοί-
aTO πρῶτοι, ἀπὸ τούτου νομίζουσι Φρύγας
προτέρους γενέσθαι ἑωυτῶν, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων
ἑωυτούς. Ψαμμήτιχος δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἐδύνατο πυν-
θανόμενος πόρον οὐδένα τούτου ἀνευρεῖν, οἱ γενοίατο
πρῶτοι ἀνθρώπων, ἐ ἐπιτεχνᾶται τοιόνδε. παιδία
δύο νεογνὰ ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων δίδωσι
ποιμένι τρέφειν ἐς τὰ ποίμνια τροφήν τινα τοιήνδε,
ἐντειλάμενος μηδένα a ἀντίον αὐτῶν μηδεμίαν φωνὴν
ἱέναι, ἐν στέγῃ δὲ ἐρήμῃ ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτῶν κέεσθαι αὐτά,
καὶ τὴν ὥρην ἐπαγινέειν σφι αἶγας, πλήσαντα
δὲ γάλακτος τἄλλα διαπρήσσεσθαι: ταῦτα δὲ
ἐποίεέ τε καὶ ἐνετέλλετο Ψαμμήτιχος θέλων ἀκοῦ-

274

ΒΘΟΙΚΗΝ

1. Arrer the death of Cyrus Cambyses inherited
his throne. He was the son of Cyrus and Cassandane
daughter of Pharnaspes, for whom, when she died
before him, Cyrus himself mourned deeply and bade
all his subjects mourn also. Cambyses was the son
of thiswoman and Cyrus. He considered the lIonians
and Aeolians as slaves inherited from his father, and
prepared an expedition against Egypt, taking with
him, with others subject to him, some of the Greeks
over whom he held sway.

2. Now before Psammetichus became king of
Egypt,! the Egyptians deemed themselves to be the
oldest nation on earth. But ever since he desired to
learn, on becoming king, what nation was oldest,
they have considered that, though they came before
all other nations, the Phrygians are older still.
Psammetichus, being nowise able to discover by
inquiry what men had first come into being, devised
a plan whereby he took two newborn children of
common men and gave them to a shepherd to
bring up among his flocks. He gave charge that
none should speak any word in their hearing ; they
were to lie by themselves in a lonely hut, and in
due season the shepherd was to bring goats and
give the children their milk and do all else
needful. Psammetichus did this, and gave this
charge, because he desired to hear what speech

1 In 664 B.c., probably.
275

HERODOTUS

a Vf > / ἴων » ΄
σαι τῶν παιδίων, ἀπαλλαχθέντων τῶν ἀσήμων
κνυξημάτων, ἥντινα φωνὴν ῥήξουσι πρώτην: τά

/
περ ὧν καὶ ἐγένετο. ὡς γὰρ διέτης χρόνος érye-
γόνεε ταῦτα τῷ ποιμένι πρήσσοντι, ἀνοίγοντι
τὴν θύρην καὶ ἐσιόντι τὰ παιδία ἀμφότερα
προσπίπτοντα βεκὸς ἐφώνεον, ὀρέγοντα τὰς χεῖ-
pas. Ta μὲν δὴ πρῶτα ἀκούσας ἥσυχος ἣν ὁ
ποιμήν: ὡς δὲ πολλάκις φοιτέοντι καὶ ἐπιμελο-
μένῳ πολλὸν ἣν τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος, οὕτω δὴ σημήνας τῷ
5 \ / / >
δεσπότῃ ἤγαγε τὰ παιδία κελεύσαντος ἐς ὄψιν
id
τὴν ἐκείνου. ἀκούσας δὲ Kal αὐτὸς ὁ Ψαμμήτιχος
ἐπυνθάνετο οἵτινες ἀνθρώπων βεκός τι καλέουσι,
πυνθανόμενος δὲ εὕρισκε Φρύγας καλέοντας τὸν
ἄρτον. οὕτω συνεχώρησαν Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ τοιούτῳ
σταθμησάμενοι πρήγματι τοὺς Φρύγας πρεσβυ-
τέρους εἶναι ἑωυτῶν. ὧδε μὲν γενέσθαι τῶν ἱρέων
τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τοῦ ἐν Μέμφι ἤκουον: “ἕλληνες
\ / ” / \ NERC la
δὲ λέγουσι ἄλλα TE μάταια πολλὰ καὶ WS γυναικῶν
e /
Tas γλώσσας ὁ Ψαμμήτιχος ἐκταμὼν τὴν δίαιταν
an /
οὕτω ἐποιήσατο τῶν παίδων παρὰ ταύτησι
A /
τῇσι γυναιξι.
\ N \ a
3. Kara μὲν δὴ τὴν τροφὴν τῶν παίδων
rn »Μ 4 \ \ 7 > /
τοσαῦτα ἔλεγον, ἤκουσα δὲ Kal ἄλλα ἐν Μέμφι
? \ 2 / a e a ae , \
ἐλθὼν ἐς λόγους τοῖσι ἱρεῦσι τοῦ Hdaictov. καὶ
ἣ \ > / \ > € vA / > an
δὴ καὶ ἐς Θήβας te καὶ és “HAlov πόλιν αὐτῶν
ΓΑ / / /
τούτων εἵνεκεν ἐτραπόμην, ἐθέλων εἰδέναι εἰ
συμβήσονται τοῖσι λόγοισι τοῖσι ἐν Μέμφι:
ς \ € a / > , 3
οἱ γὰρ Ἡλιοπολῖται λέγονται Αἰγυπτίων εἶναι
λογιώτατοι. τὰ μέν νυν θεῖα τῶν ἀπηγημάτων
οἷα ἤκουον οὐκ εἰμὶ πρόθυμος ἐξηγέεσθαι, ἔξω ἢ
τὰ οὐνόματα αὐτῶν μοῦνον, νομίζων πάντας

276

BOOK II. 2-3

would first break from the children, when they were
past the age of indistinct babbling. And he had his
wish ; for when the shepherd had done as he was
bidden for two years, one day as he opened the door
and entered both the children ran to him stretching
out their hands and calling “ Bekos.’”’ When he first
heard this he said nothing of it; but coming often
and taking careful note, he was ever hearing this
same word, till at last he told the matter to his
master, and on command brought the children into
the king’s presence. Psammetichus heard them him-
self, and inquired to what language this word Bekos
might belong; he found it to be a Phrygian word
signifying bread. Reasoning from this fact the
Egyptians confessed that the Phrygians were older
than they. This is the story which I heard from the
priests of Hephaestus’! temple at Memphis; the
Greeks relate (among many foolish tales) that
Psammetichus made the children to be reared by
women whose tongues he had cut out.

3. Besides this story of the rearing of the children,
I heard also other things at Memphis, in converse
with the priests of Hephaestus ; and I visited Thebes
too and Heliopolis for this very purpose, because I
desired to know if the people of those places would
tell me the same tale as the priests at Memphis; for
the people of Heliopolis are said to be the most
learned of the Egyptians. Now, for the stories which
I heard about the gods, I am not desirous to relate
them, saving only the names of the deities; for I

1 Identified by the Greeks with the Egyptian Ptah.
2}

HERODOTUS

ἀνθρώπους ἴσον περὶ αὐτῶν ἐπίστασθαι: τὰ δ᾽ ἂν
ἐπιμνησθέω αὐτῶν, ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἐξαναγκαζόμενος
ἐπιμνησθήσομαι.

4, “Ὅσα δὲ ἀνθρωπήια πρήγματα, ὧδε ἔλεγον
ὁμολογέοντες σφίσι, πρώτους Αἰγυπτίους ἀνθρώ-
πων ἁπάντων ἐξευρεῖν τὸν ἐνιαυτόν, δυώδεκα
μέρεα δασαμένους τῶν ὡρέων ἐς αὐτόν: ταῦτα δὲ
ἐξευρεῖν ἐκ τῶν ἀστέρων ἔλεγον" ἄγουσι δὲ τοσῷδε
σοφώτερον Ελλήνων, ἐμοὶ δοκέειν, ὅσῳ “Ελληνες
μὲν διὰ τρίτου ἔτεος ἐμβόλιμον ἐπεμβάλλουσι τῶν
ὡρέων εἵνεκεν, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ τριηκοντημέρους
ἄγοντες τοὺς δυώδεκα μῆνας ἐπάγουσι ἀνὰ πᾶν
ἔτος πέντε ἡμέρας πάρεξ τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ, καί σφι ὁ
κύκλος τῶν ὡρέων ἐς τὠυτὸ περιιὼν παραγίνεται.
δυώδεκά τε θεῶν ἐπωνυμίας ἔλεγον πρώτους Αἰ-
γυπτίους νομίσαι καὶ “λληνας παρὰ σφέων
ἀναλαβεῖν, βωμούς τε καὶ ἀγάλματα καὶ νηοὺς
θεοῖσι a ἀπονεῖμαι σφέας πρώτους καὶ ζῴα ἐν λίθοισι
ἐγγχύψαι. καὶ τούτων μέν νυν τὰ πλέω ἔργῳ
ἐδήλουν οὕτω γενόμενα. βασιλεῦσαι δὲ πρῶτον
Αἰγύπτου ἄνθρωπον ἔλεγον Miva: ἐπὶ τούτου,
πλὴν τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ νομοῦ, πᾶσαν Αἴγυπτον εἶναι
ἕλος, καὶ αὐτῆς εἶναι οὐδὲν ὑπερέχον τῶν νῦν
ἔνερθε λίμνης τῆς Μοίριος ἐόντων, ἐς τὴν ἀνάπλοος
ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἑπτὰ ἡμερέων ἐστὶ ἀνὰ τὸν
ποταμόν.

5. Kal εὖ μοι ἐδόκεον λεγειν περὶ τῆς χώρης"
δῆλα γὰρ δὴ καὶ μὴ προακούσαντι ἰδόντι δέ, ὅστις
γε σύνεσιν ἔχει, ὅτι Αἴγυπτος, ἐς τὴν “EXAnves

1 There is much obscurity about the ‘‘Twelve Gods.”
This only appears to be clear, that eight (or nine) gods form
the first order of the Egyptian hierarchy, and that there are

278

BOOK IL. 3-5

hold that no man knows about the gods more than
another ; and I will say no more about them than what
I am constrained to say by the course of my history.

4, But as regarding human affairs, this was the
account in which they all agreed: the Egyptians,
they said, were the first men who reckoned by years
and made the year to consist of twelve divisions of
the seasons. They discovered this from the stars
(so they said). And their reckoning is, to my mind,
a juster one than that of the Greeks; for the Greeks
add an intercalary month every other year, so that
the seasons may agree; but the Egyptians, reckoning
thirty days to each of the twelve months, add five
days in every year over and above the number, and
so the completed circle of seasons is made to agree
with the calendar. Further, the Egyptians (said they)
first used the appellations of twelve gods} (which the
Greeks afterwards borrowed from them) ; and it was
they who first assigned to the several gods their
altars and images and temples, and first carved
figures on stone. They showed me most of this by
plain proof. The first human king of Egypt, they
said, was Min. In his time all Egypt save the
Thebaic ? province was a marsh: all the country
that we now see was then covered by water, north of
the lake Moeris,? which lake is seven days’ journey
up the river from the sea.

5. And I think that their account of the country
was true. For even though a man has not before
been told it he can at once see, if he have sense, that
that Egypt to which the Greeks sail is land acquired
twelve of the second rank. See ch. 43, and Rawlinson’s
essay (ch. 3 in his Appendix to Book I1.).

2 The southern part of Upper Egypt.
3 In the modern Fayyum, west of the Nile.

279

HERODOTUS

ναυτίλλονται, ἐστὶ Αἰγυπτίοισι ἐπίκτητός τε γῆ
καὶ δῶρον τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ τὰ κατύπερθε ἔ ἔτι τῆς
λίμνης ταύτης μέχρι τριῶν ἡμερέων πλόου, τῆς
πέρι ἐκεῖνοι οὐδὲν ἔτι τοιόνδε ἔλεγον, ἔστι δὲ ἕ ἕτερον
τοιόνδε. Αἰγύπτου γὰρ φύσις ἐστὶ τῆς χώρης
τοιήδε. πρῶτα μὲν προσπλέων ἔτι καὶ ἡμέρης
δρόμον ἀπέχων ἀπὸ γῆς, κατεὶς καταπειρητηρίην
πηλόν τε ἀνοίσεις καὶ ἐν ἕνδεκα ὀργυιῇσι ἔσεαι.
τοῦτο μὲν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο δηλοῖ πρόχυσιν τῆς γῆς
ἐοῦσαν.

6. Αὖτις δὲ αὐτῆς ἐστε Αἰγύπτου μῆκος τὸ
παρὰ θάλασσαν ἑξήκοντα σχοῖνοι, κατὰ ἡμεῖς
διαιρέομεν εἶναι Αἴγυπτον ἀπὸ τοῦ Πλινθινήτεω
κόλπου μέχρι Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, παρ᾽ ἣν τὸ
Κάσιον ὄρος τείνει" ταύτης ὧν ἄπο οἱ ἑξήκοντα
σχοῖνοι εἰσί. ὅσοι μὲν γὰρ γεωπεῖναι εἰσὶ ἀνθρώ-
TOV, ὀργυιῇσι μεμετρήκασι τὴν χώρην, ὅσοι δὲ
ἧσσον γεωπεῖναι, σταδίοισι, οἱ δὲ πολλὴν ἔχουσι,
παρασάγγῃσι, ot δὲ ἄφθονον λίην, σχοίνοισι.
δύναται δὲ ὁ παρασάγγης τριήκοντα στάδια, ὁ δὲ
σχοῖνος, μέτρον ἐὸν Αἰγύπτιον, ἑξήκοντα στάδια.

7. Οὕτω ἂν εἴησαν Αἰγύπτου στάδιοι ἑξα-
κόσιοι καὶ τρισχίλιοι τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν. ἐνθεῦ-
τεν μὲν καὶ μέχρι Πλίου πόλιος ἐς τὴν μεσόγαιαν
ἐστὶ εὐρέα Αἴγυπτος, ἐοῦσα πᾶσα ὑπτίη τε
καὶ ἔνυδρος καὶ ἰλύς. ἔστι δὲ ὁδὸς ἐς Ἡλίου
πόλιν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἄνω ἰόντι παραπλησίη τὸ
μῆκος τῇ ἐξ ᾿Αθηνέων ὁδῷ τῇ ἀπὸ τῶν δυώδεκα
θεῶν τοῦ βωμοῦ φερούσῃ ἔς τε Πῖσαν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν
νηὸν τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου. σμικρόν τι τὸ διά-

1 All MSS. have ἄνυδρος, which is a strange epithet for the
Delta. Modern editors read ἔνυδρος or εὔυδρος.

280

BOOK II, 5-7

by the Egyptians, given them by the river—not only
the lower country but even all the land to three days’
voyage above the aforesaid lake, which is of the same
nature as the other, though the priests added not
this to what they said. For this is the nature of the
land of Egypt: firstly, when you approach to it from
the sea and are yet a day’s run from land, if you then
let down a sounding line you will bring up mud and
find a depth of eleven fathoms. This shows that the
deposit from the land reaches thus far.

6. Further, the length of the seacoast of Egypt
itself is sixty “‘ schoeni,’} that is of Egypt as we judge
it to be, reaching from the Plinthinete gulf to the
Serbonian marsh, which is under the Casian mountain ;
between these there is this length of sixty schoeni.
Men that have scanty land measure by fathoms ;
those that have more, by furlongs; those that have
much land, by parasangs ; and those who have great
abundance of it, by schoeni. The parasang is of
thirty furlongs’ length, and the schoenus, which is
an Egyptian measure, is of sixty.

7. By this reckoning then the seaboard of Egypt
will be three thousand and six hundred furlongs in
length. Inland from the sea as far as Heliopolis
Egypt is a wide land, all flat and watery and marshy.
From the sea up to Heliopolis it is a journey about
as long as the way from the altar of the twelve gods
at Athens to the temple of Olympian Zeus at Pisa.
If a reckoning be made there will be seen to be but

1 Literally ‘‘ ropes.”
281

HERODOTUS

popov εὕροι τις ἂν λογιξόμενος τῶν ὁδῶν τουτέων
τὸ μὴ ἴσας “μῆκος εἶναι, οὐ πλέον πεντεκαίδεκα
σταδίων: ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐς Πῖσαν ἐξ ᾿Αθηνέων κατα-
δεῖ πεντεκαίδεκα σταδίων μὴ εἶναι πεντακοσίων
καὶ χιλίων, ἡ δὲ ἐς Ἡλίου πόλιν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης
πληροῖ ἐς τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦτον.

8. ᾿Απὸ δὲ Ἡλίου πόλιος ἄνω ἰόντι στεινή ἐστι
Αἴγυπτος. τῇ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ᾿Αραβίης ὁ ὄρος παρα-
τέταται, φέρον ἀπ᾽ ἄρκτου πρὸς μεσαμβρίην τε
καὶ νότον, αἰεὶ ἄνω τεῖνον ἐς τὴν ᾿ρυθρὴν καλεο-
μένην θάλασσαν: ἐν τῷ αἱ λιθοτομίαι ἔνεισι αἱ
ἐς τὰς πυραμίδας κατατμηθεῖσαι τὰς ἐν Μέμφι.
ταύτῃ μὲν λῆγον. ἀνακάμπτει ἐς τὰ εἴρηται τὸ
ὄρος: τῇ δὲ αὐτὸ ἑωυτοῦ ἐστι μακρότατον, ὡς ἐγὼ
ἐπυνθανόμην, δύο μηνῶν αὐτὸ εἶναι τῆς ὁδοῦ ἀπὸ
ἠοῦς πρὸς ἑσπέρην, τὰ δὲ 7 πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ λιβανωτο-
φόρα αὐτοῦ τὰ τέρματα εἶναι. τοῦτο μέν νυν τὸ
ὄρος τοιοῦτο ἐστί, τὸ δὲ πρὸς Λιβύης τῆς Αἰγύπτου
ὄρος ἄλλο πέτρινον τείνει, ἐν τῷ αι i πυραμίδες ἔ ἐνείσι,
ψάμμῳ κατειλυμένον, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον
καὶ τοῦ ᾿Αραβίου τὰ πρὸς μεσαμβρίην φέροντα.
τὸ ὧν δὴ ἀπὸ “Ηλίου πόλιος οὐκέτι πολλὸν χωρίον
ὡς εἶναι Nama θυ ἀλλ᾽ ὅσον τε ἡμερέων τεσ-
σέρων καὶ δέκα ἴ ἀναπλόου ἐστὶ στεινὴ Αἴγυπτος,
ἐοῦσα τῶν ὀρέων τῶν εἰρημένων τὸ μεταξὺ πεδιὰς
μὲν γῆ, στάδιοι δὲ μάλιστα ἐδόκεόν μοι εἶναι,
τῇ στεινότατον ἐστί, διηκοσίων οὐ πλέους ἐκ τοῦ
᾿Αραβίου ὄρεος ἐς τὸ Λιβυκὸν καλεόμενον. τὸ δ᾽
ἐνθεῦτεν αὖτις εὐρέα Αἴγυπτος ἐστί. πέφυκε μέν
νυν ἡ χώρη αὕτη οὕτω.

1 The MSS. have τεσσέρων ; but this is inconsistent with

ch. 9. The addition of καὶ δέκα makes the figures agree,
roughly.

282

BOOK II. 7-8

a little difference of length, not more than fifteen
furlongs, between these two journeys ; for the journey
from Athens to Pisa is fifteen furlongs short of fifteen
hundred, which is the tale of furlongs between the
sea and Heliopolis.

8. Beyond and above Heliopolis Egypt is a nar-
row land. For it is bounded on the one side by the
mountains of Arabia, which bear from the north to
the south, ever stretching southward towards the
sea called the Red Sea. In these mountains are the
quarries that were hewn out for the making of the
pyramids at Memphis. This way then the mountains
turn, and end in the places of which I have spoken ;
their greatest breadth from east to west, as I learnt,
is a two months’ journey, and their easternmost
boundaries yield frankincense. Such are these moun-
tains. On the side of Libya Egypt is bounded by
another range of rocky mountains, wherein are the
pyramids ; this is all covered with sand, and it runs
in the same direction as those Arabian hills that
bear southward. Beyond Heliopolis there is no
great distance, that is, in Egypt;! the narrow
land has but a length of fourteen days’ journey up
the river. Between the mountain ranges aforesaid
the land is level, and where the plain is narrowest it
seemed to me that there were no more than two
hundred furlongs between the Arabian mountains
and those that are called Libyan. Beyond this
Egypt is a wide land again. Such is the nature of
this country.

1 ὡς εἶναι Αἰγύπτου ; so much of the Nile valley being out-
side Egypt. But it is possible that the words may mean ‘‘no
great distance, for Egypt,” t.e. no great distance relatively
to the size of the country.

283

HERODOTUS

9. "Azo δὲ Ἡλίου πόλιος ἐς Θήβας ἐστὶ
ἀνάπιλοος ἐννέα ἡμερέων, στάδιοι δὲ τῆς ὁδοῦ
ἑξήκοντα καὶ ὀκτακόσιοι καὶ τετρακισχίλιοι,
σχοίνων ἑνὸς καὶ ὀγδώκοντα ἐ ἐόντων. οὗτοι συντι-
θέμενοι οἱ στάδιοι Αἰγύπτου τὸ μὲν παρὰ θάλαοσ-
σαν ἤδη μοι καὶ πρότερον δεδήλωται ὅτι ἑξα-
κοσίων τε ἐστὶ σταδίων καὶ τρισχιλίων, ὅσον
δέ τι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἐς μεσόγαιαν μέχρι Θηβέων
ἐστί, σημανέω" στάδιοι γὰρ εἰσὶ εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν
καὶ ἑξακισχίλιοι. τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ Θηβέων ἐς ᾿᾿λε-
φαντίνην καλεομένην πόλιν στάδιοι χίλιοι καὶ
ὀκτακόσιοι εἰσί.

10. Ταύτης ὦ ὧν τῆς χώρης τῆς εἰρημένης ἡ πολ-
λή, κατά “περ οἱ ἱρέες ἔλεγον, ἐδόκεε καὶ αὐτῷ μοι
εἶναι ἐπίκτητος Αἰγυπτίοισι. τῶν γὰρ ὀρέων
τῶν εἰρημένων τῶν ὑπὲρ Μέμφιν πόλιν κειμένων
τὸ μεταξὺ ἐφαίνετό μοι εἶναι κοτὲ κόλπος θαλάσ-
σης, ὥσπερ γε τὰ περὶ Ἴλιον καὶ Τευθρανίην.. καὶ
"Edeo ov τε καὶ Μαιάνδρου πεδίον, ὥς γε εἶναι
σμικρὰ ταῦτα μεγάλοισι συμβαλεῖν: τῶν γὰρ
ταῦτα τὰ χωρία προσχωσάντων ποταμῶν ἑνὶ τῶν
στομάτων τοῦ Νείλου, ἐόντος πενταστόμου, οὐ-
dels αὐτῶν πλήθεος πέρι ἄξιος συμβληθῆναι
ἐστί. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι ποταμοί, οὐ κατὰ τὸν
Νεῖλον ἐόντες μεγάθεα, οἵτινες ἔργα ἀποδεξά.-
μενοι μεγάλα εἰσί: τῶν ἐγὼ φράσαι ἔχω οὐνό-
ματα καὶ ἄλλων καὶ οὐκ ἥκιστα ᾿Αχελῴου, ὃς
ῥέων δι’ ᾿Ακαρνανίης καὶ ἐξιεὶς ἐς θώλασσαν τῶν
᾿Εχινάδων νήσων τὰς ἡμισέας ἤδη ἤπειρον πε-
τι ἢ

Ἔστι δὲ τῆς ᾿Αραβίης χώρης, Αἰγύπτου
δ᾽ οὐ πρόσω, κόλπος θαλάσσης ἐσέχων ἐκ τῆς

284

BOOK II. 9-11

9. From Heliopolis to Thebes it is nine days’ jour-
ney by river, and the distance is four thousand eight
hundred and sixty furlongs, or eighty-one schoeni.
This then is a full statement of all the furlongs in
Egypt: the seaboard is three thousand six hundred
furlongs long; and I will now declare the distance
inland from the seato Thebes: it is six thousand one
hundred and twenty furlongs. And between Thebes
and the city called Elephantine there are eighteen
hundred furlongs.

10. The greater portion, then, of this country
whereof I have spoken was (as the priests told me, and
Imyself formed the same judgment) land acquired
by the Egyptians ; all that lies between the ranges of
mountains above Memphis to which I have referred
seemed to me to have been once a gulf of the sea, just
as the country about Ilion and Teuthrania and Ephesus
and the plain of the Maeander, to compare these small
things with great. For of the rivers that brought
down the stuff to make these lands there is none
worthy to be compared for greatness with one of the
mouths of the Nile; and the Nile has five mouths.
There are also other rivers, not so great as the
Nile, that have wrought great effects; I could
declare their names, but chief among them is
Achelous, which, flowing through Acarnania and
issuing into the sea, has already made half of the
Echinades islands to be mainland.

11. Now in Arabia, not far from Egypt, there is a
gulf of the sea entering in from the sea called Red,}

1 The ‘‘ sea called Red,” it will be remembered, is the sea
south and east of Arabia: the gulf entering in from it is our
Red Sea. Suppose the Delta to have been once a gulf too,
then there would have been two gulfs, both running up into
Egypt, their heads not far from each other.

285

HERODOTUS

᾿Ερυθρῆς καλεομένης θαλάσσης, μακρὸς οὕτω δή
TL καὶ στεινὸς ὡς ἔρχομαι φράσων: μῆκος μὲν
πλόου ἀρξαμένῳ ἐκ μυχοῦ διεκπλῶσαι ἐς τὴν
εὐρέαν θάλασσαν ἡμέραι ἀναισιμοῦνται τεσσερά-
κοντα “εἰρεσίῃ χρεωμένῳ" εὗρος δέ, τῇ εὐρύτατος
ἐστὶ ὁ κόλπος, ἥμισυ ἡμέρης πλόου. ῥηχίη δ᾽
ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἄμπωτις ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέρην γίνεται.
ἕτερον τοιοῦτον κόλπον καὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον δοκέω
γενέσθαι κοτέ, τὸν μὲν ἐκ τῆς Bopnins θαλάσσης
κόλπον ἐσέχοντα ἐπ᾽ Αἰὐθιοπίης, τὸν δὲ ᾿Αράβιον,
τὸν ἔρχομαι λέξων, ἐκ τῆς νοτίης φέροντα ἐπὶ
Συρίης, σχεδὸν μὲν ἀλλήλοισι συντετραίνοντας
τοὺς μυχούς, ὀλίγον δέ τι παραλλάσσοντας τῆς
χώρης. εἰ ὧν ἐθελήσει ἐκτρέψαι τὸ ῥέεθρον ὁ
Νεῖλος ἐς τοῦτον τὸν ᾿Αράβιον κόλπον, τί μιν
κωλύει ῥέοντος τούτου ἐκχωσθῆναι ἐντός γε δι ισ-
μυρίων ἐτέων; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἔλπομαί γε καὶ
μυρίων ἐντὸς χωσθῆναι ἄν' κοῦ γε δὴ ἐν τῷ
προαναισιμωμένῳ χρόνῳ πρότερον ἢ ἐμὲ γενέσθαι
οὐκ ἂν χωσθείη κόλπος καὶ πολλῷ μέξων ἔτι
τούτου ὑπὸ τοσούτου τε ποταμοῦ καὶ οὕτω
ἐργατικοῦ;

12. Τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον ὧν καὶ τοῖσι λέγουσι
αὐτὰ πείθομαι καὶ αὐτὸς οὕτω κάρτα δοκέω εἶναι,
ἰδών τε τὴν Αἴγυπτον προκειμένην τῆς ἐχομένης
γῆς κογχύλιά τε φαινόμενα ἐπὶ τοῖσι ὄρεσι καὶ
ἅλμην ἐπανθέουσαν, ὥστε καὶ τὰς πυραμίδας
δηλέεσθαι, καὶ ψάμμον μοῦνον Αἰγύπτου ὄρος
τοῦτο τὸ ὑπὲρ Μέμφιος ἔχον, πρὸς δὲ τῇ χώρῃ
οὔτε τῇ ᾿Αραβίῃ προσούρῳ ἐούσῃ τὴν Αἴγυπτον
προσεικέλην οὔτε τῇ Λιβύῃ, οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ τῇ
Συρίῃ (τῆς γὰρ ᾿Αραβίης τὰ παρὰ θάλασσαν
286

BOOK wit) 1τ1τ--12

of which the length and narrowness is such as I shall
show : for length, it is a forty days’ voyage for a
ship rowed by oars from its inner end out to the wide
sea ; and for breadth, it is half a day’s voyage at the
widest. Every day the tide ebbs and flows therein.
I hold that where now is Egypt there was once
another such gulf; one entered from the northern sea
towards Aethiopia,and the other, the Arabian gulf
of which I will speak, bore from the south towards
Syria; the ends of these gulfs pierced into the
country near to each other, and but a little space of
land divided them. Now if the Nile choose to turn
his waters into this Arabian gulf, what hinders that
it be not silted up by his stream in twenty thousand
years ? nay, I think that ten thousand would suffice
for it. Is it then to be believed that in the ages
before my birth a gulf even much greater than this
could not be silted up by a river so great and so
busy ?

12. Therefore, as to Egypt, I believe those who so
speak, and I am myself fully so persuaded ; for I
have seen that Egypt projects into the sea beyond
the neighbouring land, and shells are plain to view
on the mouniains and things are coated with salt
(insomuch that the very pyramids are wasted
thereby), and the only sandy mountain in Egypt is
that which is above Memphis; moreover, Egypt is
like neither to the neighbouring land of Arabia, nor
to Libya, no, nor to Syria (for the seaboard of Arabia

287

HERODOTUS

Σύροι νέμονται), ἀλλὰ μελάγγαιόν τε καὶ Ka-
ταρρηγνυμένην, ὥστε ἐοῦσαν ἰλύν τε καὶ πρό-
χυσιν ἐξ Αἰθιοπίης κατενηνειγμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ
ποταμοῦ. τὴν δὲ Λιβύην ἴδμεν. ἐρυθροτέρην τε
γῆν καὶ ὑποψαμμοτέρην, τὴν δὲ ᾿Αραβίην. τε καὶ
Συρίην ἀργιχλωδεστέρην τε καὶ ὑπόπετρον ἐοῦσαν.

13. "EXeyov δὲ καὶ τόδε “μοι μέγα τεκμήριον
περὶ τῆς χώρης ταύτης οἱ ἱρέες, ὡς ἐπὶ Μοίριος
βασιλέος, ὃ ὅκως ἔλθοι ὁ ποταμὸς ἐπὶ ὀκτὼ πήχεας
τὸ ἐλάχιστον, ἄρδεσκε Αἴγυπτον τὴν ἔνερθε
Μέμφιος: καὶ Μοίρι οὔκω ἣν ἔτεα εἰνακόσια
τετελευτηκότι ὅτε τῶν ἱρέων ταῦτα ἐγὼ ἤκουον.
νῦν δὲ εἰ μὴ ἐπ᾽ ἑκκαίδεκα ἢ ἢ πεντεκαίδεκα πήχεας
ἀναβῇ τὸ ἐλάχιστον ὁ ποταμός, οὐκ ὑπερβαίνει
ἐς τὴν χώρην. δοκέουσί τέ μοι Αἰγυπτίων οἱ
ἔνερθε λίμνης τῆς Μοίριος οἰκέοντες Td τε ἄλλα
χωρία καὶ τὸ καλεόμενον Δέλτα, ἢν οὕτω ἡ “χώρη
αὕτη κατὰ λόγον ἐπιδιδῷ ἐς ὕψος καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον
ἀποδιδῷ ἐς αὔξησιν, μὴ κατακλύζοντος αὐτὴν
τοῦ Νείλου πείσεσθαι τὸν πάντα χρόνον τὸν
ἐπίλοιπον Αἰγύπτιοι τὸ κοτὲ αὐτοὶ “λληνας
ἔφασαν πείσεσθαι. πυθόμενοι γὰρ ὡς ὕεται
πᾶσα ἡ χώρη τῶν ᾿Ελλήνων ἀλλ᾽ οὐ ποταμοῖσι
ἄρδεται κατά περ ἡ σφετέρη, ἔφασαν “EXXnvas
ψευσθέντας κοτὲ ἐλπίδος μεγάλης κακῶς πεινή-
σειν. τὸ δὲ ἔπος τοῦτο ἐθέλει λέγειν ὡς, εἰ μὴ
ἐθελήσει σφι ὕειν ὁ θεὸς ἀλλὰ αὐχμῷ διαχρᾶ-
σθαι, λιμῷ οἱ “Ελληνες αἱρεθήσονται'" οὐ yep δή
σφι ἐστὶ ὕδατος οὐδεμία ἄλλη ἀποστροφὴ ὅτι μὴ
ἐκ τοῦ Διὸς μοῦνον.

1 Stein brackets xa)... αὔξησιν.

288

BOOK II. 12-13

is inhabited by Syrians); it is a land of black and
crumbling earth, as if it were alluvial deposit carried
down the river from Aethiopia; but we know that
the soil of Libya is redder and somewhat sandy, and
Arabia and Syria are lands rather of clay and stones.

13. This too that the priests told me concerning
Egypt is a strong proof; when Moeris was king, if
the river rose as much as eight cubits, it watered all
Egypt below Memphis.!. Moeris was not yet nine
hundred years dead when I heard this from the
priests. But now, if the river rise not at the
least to sixteen or fifteen cubits, the land is not
flooded. And, to my thinking, the Egyptians who
dwell lower down the river than the lake Moeris,
and chiefly those who inhabit what is called the
Delta—these, if thus this land of theirs rises in such
proportion and likewise increases in extent, will (the
Nile no longer flooding it) be ever after in the same
plight which they themselves once said would be
the case of the Greeks; for learning that all the
Greek land is watered by rain, and not, like theirs,
by river, they said that some day the Greeks would
be disappointed of their high hopes, and miserably
starve : signifying thereby that should it be heaven’s
will to send the Greeks no rain and afflict them with
drought, famine must come upon them, as receiving
all this water from Zeus and having no other resource.

1 Supposing this statement to be true, Moeris must have
been king much more than 900 years before Hdt.: 900 years
being much too short a period for a rise of eight cubits in
the height of the Nile valley.

289

HERODOTUS

14. Kat ταῦτα μὲν ἐς “EXAnvas Αἰγυπτίοισι
ὀρθῶς ἔχοντα εἴρηται" φέρε δὲ νῦν καὶ αὐτοῖσι
Δἰγυπτίοισι ὡς ἔχει φράσω" εἴ σφι θέλοι, ὡς καὶ
πρότερον εἶπον, ἡ ἡ χώρη ἡ ἔνερθε Μέμφιος (αὕτη
γὰρ ἐστὶ ἡ αὐξανομένη) κατὰ λόγον τοῦ παροιχο-
μένου χρόνου ἐς ὕψος αὐξάνεσθαι, ἄλλο τι ἢ οἱ
ταύτῃ οἰκέοντες Αἰγυπτίων πεινήσουσι; εἰ μήτε
γε ὕσεταί opt ἡ χώρη μήτε ὁ ποταμὸς οἷός T
ἔσται ἐς τὰς ἀρούρας ὑπερβαίνειν. 7 yap δὴ νῦν
γε οὗτοι ἀπονητότατα καρπὸν κομίζονται ἐκ γῆς
τῶν τε ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων͵ πάντων καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν
Αὐγυπτίων' οἱ οὔτε ἀρότρῳ ἀναρρηγνύντες αὖὔ-
λακας ἔχουσι πόνους οὔτε σκάλλοντες οὔτε ἄχλο
ἐργαζόμενοι οὐδὲν τῶν οἱ ἄλλοι ,ἄνθρωποι περὶ
λήιον πονέουσι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεάν σφι ὁ ποταμὸς αὐτό-
ματος ἐπελθὼν ἄρσῃ τὰς ἀρούρας, ἄρσας δὲ
ἀπολίπῃ ὀπίσω, τότε σπείρας ἕκαστος τὴν ἑωυτοῦ
ἄρουραν ἐσβάλλει ἐς αὐτὴν ὗς, ἐπεὰν δὲ κατα-
πατήσῃ τῆσι ὑσὶ τὸ σπέρμα, ἄμητον τὸ ἀπὸ
τούτου μένει, ἀποδινήσας δὲ τῇσι ὑσὶ τὸν σῖτον
οὕτω κομίζεται.

Sag) Εἰ ὧν βουλόμεθα γνώμῃσι τῇσι "lover
χρᾶσθαι. τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον, οἱ φασὶ τὸ Δέλτα
μοῦνον εἶναι Αἴγυπτον, ἀπὸ Περσέος καλεομένης
σκοπιῆς λέγοντες τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν εἶναι αὐτῆς
μέχρι ταριχηίων τῶν ΠΠηλουσιακῶν, Th δὴ τεσ-
σεράκοντα εἰσὶ σχοῖνοι, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης
λεγόντων ἐς μεσόγαιαν τείνειν αὐτὴν μέχρι Κερ-
κασώρου πόλιος, κατ᾽ ἣν σχίζεται ὁ Νεῖλος ἔς τε
Πηλούσιον ῥέων καὶ ἐς Κάνωβον, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα
λεγόντων τῆς Αἰγύπτου τὰ μὲν Λιβύης τὰ δὲ
᾿Αραβίης εἶναι, ἀποδεικνύοιμεν ἂν τούτῳ τῷ

290

BOOK II, 14-15

14. And this saying of the Egyptians about the
Greeks was true enough. But now let me show what
is the case of the Egyptians themselves: if (as I have
already said) the country below Memphis—for it is
this which rises—should increase in height in the
sume degree as formerly, will not the Egyptians who
dwell in it go hungry, there being no rain in their
country and the river being unable to inundate their
fields? Now, indeed, there are no men, neither in the
rest of Egypt, nor in the whole world, who gain from
the soil with so little labour; they have not the
toil of breaking up the land with the plough, nor of
hoeing, nor of any other work which other men do
to get them a crop; the river rises of itself, waters
the fields, and then sinks back again; thereupon
each man sows his field and sends swine into it to
tread down the seed, and waits for the harvest;
then he makes the swine to thresh his grain, and
so garners it.

15. Now if we agree with the opinion of the
Ionians, namely that nothing but the Delta is
Egypt, whereof the seaboard reaches, according to
them, from what is called the watchtower of Perseus,
forty schoeni to the salting factories of Pelusium,
while inland it stretches as far as the city of
Cercasorus,! where the Nile divides and flows thence
to Pelusium and Canobus (all the rest of Egypt
being, they say, partly Libya and partly Arabia): if

1 At the southern point of the Delta, where the two main
channels of the Nile divide, not far below Cairo.

291

HERODOTUS

Lovo χρεώμενοι Αὐγυπτίοισι οὐκ ἐοῦσαν πρό-
τερον χώρην. ἤδη yap σφι τό γε Δέλτα, ὡς
αὐτοὶ λέγουσι Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἐμοὶ δοκέει, ἐστὶ
κατάρρυτόν τε καὶ νεωστὶ ὡς λόγῳ εἰπεῖν
ἀναπεφηνύός. εἰ τοίνυν σφι χώρη γε μηδεμία
ὑπῆρχε, τί περιεργάξοντο δοκέοντες πρῶτοι ἀν-
θρώπων γεγονέναι; οὐδὲ ἔδει σφέας ἐς “διάπειραν
τῶν παιδίων ἰέναι, τίνα γλῶσσαν πρώτην ἀπή-

> > 7 ’ / 7 “ rf
σουσι. ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε Αἰγυπτίους δοκέω ἅμα τῷ

/ a id Ne yt / / Sie
Δέλτα τῷ ὑπὸ ᾿Ιώνων καλεομένῳ γενέσθαι αἰεί

Φ' / “-
τε εἶναι ἐξ οὗ ἀνθρώπων γένος ἐγένετο, προϊούσης
δὲ τῆς χώρης πολλοὺς μὲν τοὺς ὑπολειπομένους
αὐτῶν γενέσθαι “πολλοὺς δὲ τοὺς ὑποκαταβαΐί-
νοντας. τὸ δ᾽ ὧν πάλαι αἱ Θῆβαι Αἴγυπτος
ἐκαλέετο, τῆς τὸ περίμετρον στάδιοι εἰσὶ εἴκοσι
καὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ ἑξακισχίλιοι.

16. Ed ὧν ἡμεῖς ὀρθῶς περὶ αὐτῶν γινώσκομεν,
Ἴωνες οὐκ εὖ φρονέουσι περὶ Αἰγύπτου" εἰ δὲ
’ Ps e Z la ἢ ’ “ ΄, \
ὀρθή éote) γνώμη τῶν lover, “EXAnvds τε καὶ

,
αὐτοὺς “Iwvas ἀποδείκνυμι οὐκ ἐπισταμένους
λογίζεσθαι, οἱ φασὶ τρία μόρια εἶναι γῆν πᾶσαν,
Εὐρώπην τε καὶ ᾿Ασίην καὶ Λιβύην. τέταρτον

\ ld “Ὁ ,ὔ ᾽ ἕῳ \

yap δή σφεας det προσλογίζεσθαι Αἰγύπτου τὸ

a , an
Δέλτα, ef μήτε ye ἐστὶ τῆς ᾿Ασίης μήτε τῆς

ς A fa)

Λιβύης: οὐ yap δὴ ὁ Νεῖλός ye ἐστὶ κατὰ τοῦτον
Ν / «ς a ᾽ ’ > / aA / na
Tov λόγον ὁ τὴν ᾿Ασίην οὐρίζων τῇ Λιβύῃ, Tov
Δέλτα δὲ τούτου κατὰ τὸ ὀξὺ περιρρήγνυται ὁ

a a Ν 9. Uf

Νεῖλος, ὥστε ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ ᾿Ασίης τε καὶ Λιβύης
’ 3
γίνοιτ᾽ ἄν.
Ἁ , , A

17. Kal τὴν μὲν ᾿Ιώνων γνώμην ἀπίεμεν, ἡμεῖς
δὲ ὧδε καὶ περὶ τούτων λέγομεν, Αἴγυπτον μὲν
πᾶσαν εἶναι ταύτην τὴν ὑπ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων οἰκεομέ-
292

BOOK II. 15-17

we follow this account, we can show that there was
once no country for the Egyptians ; for we have seen
that (as the Egyptians themselves say, and as I
myself judge) the Delta is alluvial land and but
lately (so to say) come into being. Then if there
was once no country for them, it was but a useless
thought that they were the oldest nation on earth,
and they needed not to make that trial to see what
language the children would first utter. 1 hold
rather that the Egyptians did not come into being
with the making of that which Ionians call the
Delta: they ever existed since men were first made ;
and as the land grew in extent many of them spread
down over it, and many stayed behind. Be that as
it may, the Theban province, a land of six thousand
one hundred and twenty furlongs in circuit, was of
old called Egypt.

16. If then our judgment of this be right, the
Jonians are in error concerning Egypt; but if their
opinion be right, then it is plain that they and the
rest of the Greeks cannot reckon truly, when they
divide the whole earth into three parts, Europe,
Asia, and Libya; they must add to these yet a
fourth part, the Delta of Egypt, if it belong neither
to Asia nor to Libya; for by their showing the Nile
is not the river that separates Asia and Libya; the
Nile divides at the extreme angle of this Delta, so
that this land must be between Asia and Libya.

17. Nay, we put the Ionians’ opinion aside ; and
our own judgment concerning the matter is this:

Egypt is all that country which is inhabited by
293

HERODOTUS

νην κατά περ Κιλικίην τὴν ὑπὸ Κιλίκων καὶ
> , \ e Ἀν ἮΝ ΄, » Wee! /
Agoupinv τὴν ὑπὸ ᾿Ασσυρίων, οὔρισμα δὲ Actin

\ 7 ” > \ ΗΝ 5 A ΄ ᾽ \
καὶ Λιβύῃ οἴδαμεν οὐδὲν ἐὸν ὀρθῷ λόγῳ εἰ μὴ

\ > / ” ? \ “A Ὁ 3. Ὁ 74
τοὺς Αἰγυπτίων οὔρους. εἰ δὲ τῷ ὑπ᾽ πλλήνων
νενομισμένῳ χρησόμεθα, νομιοῦμεν Αἴγυπτον
πᾶσαν ἀρξαμένην ἀπὸ Καταδούπων τε καὶ ᾿Ελε-
φαντίνης πόλιος δίχα διαιρέεσθαι καὶ ἀμφοτερέων
τῶν ἐπωνυμιέων ἔχεσθαι" τὰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς εἶναι
τῆς Λιβύης τὰ δὲ τῆς ᾿Ασίης. ὁ γὰρ δὴ Νεῖλος
ἀρξάμενος ἐκ τῶν Καταδούπων p ῥέει μέσην Αἴγυ-
πτον σχίζων ἐ ἐς θάλασσαν. μέχρι μέν νυν Κερκα-
σώρου πόλιος ῥέει εἷς ἐὼν ὁ Νεῖλος, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ
ταύτης τῆς πόλιος σχίξεται τριφασίας ὁδούς. καὶ
ἣ μὲν πρὸς ἠῶ τράπεται, τὸ καλέεται Πηλούσιον
στόμα, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρη τῶν ὁδῶν πρὸς ἑσπέρην ἔχει:
τοῦτο δὲ Κανωβικὸν στόμα κέκληται. ἡ δὲ δὴ
ἰθέα τῶν ὁδῶν τῷ Νείλῳ ἐστὶ ἥδε: ἄνωθεν φερό-

5 Ν ’ \ aA / ’ / \ \ > \
μενος ἐς TO ὀξὺ τοῦ Δέλτα ἀπικνέεται, TO δὲ ἀπὸ

’ , / \ / 3 7 3 A
TOUTOV σχίζων μέσον τὸ Δέλτα ἐς θάλασσαν ἐξιεῖ,
οὔτε ἐλαχίστην μοῖραν τοῦ ὕδατος παρεχόμενος
ταύτην οὔτε ἥκιστα ὀνομαστήν' τὸ καλέεται
Σεβεννυτικὸν οὐ ον ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἕτερα διφάσια
στόματα ἀπὸ τοῦ Σεβεννυτικοῦ ᾿ἀποσχισθέντα,
φέροντα ἐς θάλασσαν" τοῖσι οὐνόματα κέεται
τάδε, τῷ μὲν Σαϊτικὸν αὐτῶν τῷ δὲ Μενδήσιον.
τὸ δὲ Βολβίτινον στόμα καὶ τὸ Βουκολικὸν οὐκ
ἰθαγενέα στόματα ἐστὶ ἀλλ᾽ ὀρυκτά.

18. Μαρτυρέει δέ μοι τῇ γνώμῃ, ὅτι τοσαύτη
ἐστὶ Αἴγυπτος ὅσην τινὰ ἐγὼ ἀποδείκνυμι τῷ
λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ "Ἄμμωνος ,“χρηστήριον γενόμενον" τὸ
ἐγὼ τῆς ἐμεωυτοῦ γνώμης ὕστερον περὶ Αἴγυ-
πτον ἐπυθόμην. οἱ γὰρ δὴ ἐκ Μαρέης τε πόλιος

294

BOOK II. 17-18

Egyptians, even as Cilicia and Assyria are the
countries inhabited by Cilicians and Assyrians
severally ; and we know of no frontier (rightly so
called) below Asia and Libya save only the borders
of the Egyptians. But if we follow the belief of the
Greeks, we shall consider all Egypt, down from the
Cataracts and the city Elephantine,! to be divided
into two parts, and to claim both the names, the one
part belonging to Libya and the other to Asia. For
the Nile, beginning from the Cataracts, divides Egypt
into two parts as it flows to the sea. Now as far as
the city Cercasorus the Nile flows in one channel,
but after that it parts into three. One of these,
which is called the Pelusian mouth, flows eastwards ;
the second flows westwards, and is called the
Canobic mouth. But the direct channel of the Nile,
when the river in its downward course reaches the
sharp point of the Delta, flows thereafter clean
through the middle of the Delta into the sea; in
this is seen the greatest and most famous part of its
waters, and it is called the Sebennytic mouth.
There are also two channels which separate them-
selves from the Sebennytic and so flow into the sea,
by name the Saitic and the Mendesian, The Bolbi-
tine and Bucolic mouths are not natural but dug
channels.

18. My opinion, that the extent of Egypt is such
as my argument shows, is attested by the answer
which (my judgment being already formed) I heard
to have been given concerning Egypt by the oracle
of Ammon. The men of the cities of Marea and

4 On the island opposite Syene (Assuan).

295

HERODOTUS

καὶ “Aros, οἰκέοντες Αἰγύπτου τὰ πρόσουρα
Διβύῃ, αὐτοί τε δοκέοντες εἶναι Λίβυες καὶ οὐκ
Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἀχθόμενοι τῇ περὶ τὰ ἱρὰ θρη-
oKnin, βουλόμενοι θηλέων βοῶν μὴ ἔργεσθαι,
ἔπεμψαν ἐς Ἄμμωνα φάμενοι οὐδὲν σφίσι τε καὶ
Αἰγυπτίοισι κοινὸν εἶναι" οἰκέειν τε γὰρ ἔξω τοῦ
Δέλτα καὶ οὐδὲν ὁμολογέειν αὐτοῖσι, βούλεσθαί
τε πάντων σφίσι ἐξεῖναι γεύεσθαι. ὁ δὲ θεός
σφεας οὐκ ἔα ποιέειν ταῦτα, φὰς Αἴγυπτον εἶναι
ταύτην τὴν ὁ Νεῖλος ἐπιὼν ἄρδει, καὶ Αἰγυπτίους
εἶναι τούτους οἱ ἔνερθε ᾿Ελεφαντίνης πόλιος ot-
κέοντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τούτου πίνουσι. οὕτω
σφι ταῦτα ἐχρήσθη.

19. ᾿ὑπέρχεται δὲ ὁ Νεῖλος, ἐπεὰν πληθύη,
οὐ μοῦνον τὸ Δέλτα ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ Λιβυκοῦ τε
λεγομένου χωρίου εἶναι καὶ τοῦ ᾿Αραβίου ἐνιαχῇ
καὶ ἐπὶ" δύο ἡμερέων ἑκατέρωθι ὁδόν, καὶ πλέον
ἔτει τούτου καὶ ἔλασσον. τοῦ ποταμοῦ δὲ
φύσιος πέρι οὔτε τι τῶν ἱρέων οὔτε ἄλλου
οὐδενὸς παραλαβεῖν ἐδυνάσθην. πρόθυμος δὲ ἔα
τάδε παρ᾽ αὐτῶν πυθέσθαι, ὅ τι κατέρχεται
μὲν ὁ Νεῖλος πληθύων ἀπὸ τροπέων τῶν θερι-
νέων ἀρξάμενος ἐπὶ ἑκατὸν ἡμέρας, πελάσας δὲ
ἐς τὸν ἀριθμὸν τουτέων τῶν ἡμερέων ὀπίσω
ἀπέρχεται ἀπολείπων τὸ ῥέεθρον, ὥστε βραχὺς
τὸν χειμῶνα ἅπαντα διατελέει ἐὼν μέχρι οὗ αὖτις
τροπέων τῶν θερινέων. τούτων ὧν πέρι οὐδενὸς
οὐδὲν οἷός τε ἐγενόμην παραλαβεῖν παρὰ τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων, ἱστορέων αὐτοὺς ἥντινα δύναμιν ἔχει
ὁ Νεῖλος τὰ ἔμπαλιν πεφυκέναι τῶν ἄλλων ποτα-
μῶν" ταῦτά TE δὴ τὰ λελεγμένα βουλόμενος
εἰδέναι ἱἑ ἱστόρεον καὶ ὅ τι αὔρας ἀποπνεούσας μοῦ-
νος ποταμῶν πάντων οὐ παρέχεται.

296

BOOK II. 18-19

Apis, in the part of Egypt bordering on Libya.
thinking themselves to be not Egyptians but Libyans,
and misliking the observance of the religious law
which forbade them to eat cows’ flesh, sent to
Ammon saying that they had no part or lot with
Egypt: for they dwelt (said they) outside the Delta
and did not consent to the ways of its people, and
they wished to be suffered to eat of all foods. But
the god forbade them: all the land, he said, watered
by the Nile in its course was Egypt, and all who
dwelt lower down than the city Elephantine and
drank of that river’s water were Egyptians. Such
was the oracle given to them.

19. When the Nile is in flood, it overflows not
only the Delta but also the lands called Libyan and
Arabian, in places as far as two days’ journey from
either bank, and sometimes more than this, some-
times less. Concerning its nature, neither from the
priests nor from any others could 1 learn anything.
Yet [ was zealous to hear from them why it is that
the Nile comes down with a rising flood for an
hundred days from the summer solstice, and when
this tale of days is complete sinks again with a
diminishing stream, so that the river is low for the
whole winter till the summer solstice again. Concern-
ing this matter none of the Egyptians could tell me
anything, when I asked them what power the Nile
has to be contrary in nature to all other rivers. Of the
matters aforesaid I wished to know, and asked; also
why no airs blow from it as from every other stream.!

' Not from the river itself, perhaps; but there is a regular
current of air blowing up the valley.

297

HERODOTUS

. ᾿Αλλὰ ᾿λλήνων μὲν τινὲς ἐπίσημοι βουλό-
μενοι τ: Τὰ σοφίην ἔλεξαν περὶ τοῦ ὕδατος
τούτου τριφασίας ὁδούς" τῶν τὰς “μὲν δύο τῶν
ὁδῶν οὐδ᾽ ἀξιῶ μνησθῆναι εἰ “μὴ ὅσον σημῆναι
βουλόμενος μοῦνον' τῶν 7 ἑτέρη μὲν λέγει τοὺς
ἐτησίας ἀνέμους εἶναι αἰτίους πληθύειν τὸν ποτα-
μόν, κωλύοντας ἐς θάλασσαν ἐκρέειν τὸν Νεῖλον.
πολλάκις δὲ ἐτησίαι μὲν οὔκων ἔπνευσαν, ὁ δὲ
Νεῖλος τὠυτὸ ἐργάζεται. πρὸς δέ, εἰ ἐτησίαι
αἴτιοι ἦσαν, χρῆν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ποταμούς,
ὅσοι τοῖσι ἐτησίῃσι ἀντίοι ῥέουσι, ὁμοίως πάσχειν
καὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ Νείλῳ, καὶ μᾶλλον ἔτι το-
σούτῳ ὅσῳ ἐλάσσονες ἐόντες ἀσθενέστερα τὰ
ῥεύματα παρέχονται. εἰσὶ δὲ πολλοὶ μὲν ἐν τῇ
Συρίῃ ποταμοὶ πολλοὶ δὲ ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ, οἱ οὐδὲν
τοιοῦτο πάσχουσι οἷόν τι καὶ ὁ Νεῖλος.

‘H δ᾽ ἑτέρη ἀνεπιστημονεστέρη μὲν ἐστὶ
τῆς λελεγμένης, λόγῳ δὲ εἰπεῖν θωμασιωτέρη"
λέγει ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾽Ωκεανοῦ ῥέοντα αὐτὸν ταῦτα
μηχανᾶσθαι, τὸν δὲ ᾿᾽Ωκεανὸν γῆν περὶ πᾶσαν
βεειν,

29, Ἣ δὲ τρίτη τῶν ὁδῶν πολλὸ ov ἐπιεικεστάτη
ἐοῦσα μάλιστα ἔψευσται: λέγει γὰρ δὴ οὐδ᾽ αὕτη
οὐδέν, φαμένη τὸν Νεῖλον ῥέειν ἀπὸ τηκομένης
χιόνος" ὃς ῥέει μὲν ἐκ Λιβύης διὰ μέσων Αἰθιό-
TOV, ἐκδιδοῖ. δὲ ἐς Αἴγυπτον. κῶς ὧν δῆτα ῥέοι
ἂν ἀπὸ χιόνος, ἀπὸ τῶν θερμοτάτων ῥέων ἐς τὰ
ψυχρότερα τὰ πολλά ἐστι; ἀνδρί γε λογίξεσθαι
τοιούτων πέρι οἵῳ τε ἐόντι, ὡς οὐδὲ οἰκὸς ἀπὸ
χιόνος μιν ῥέειν, πρῶτον μὲν καὶ μέγιστον μαρ-
τύριον οἱ ἄνεμοι παρέχονται πνέοντες ἀπὸ τῶν

298

BOOK II. 20-22

20. But some of the Greeks, wishing to be notable
for cleverness, put forward three opinions about this
river ; of which there are two that I would not even
mention, save to show only what they are. One of
these will have it that the etesian winds! are the
cause of the rivers being in flood, because they hinder
the Nile from flowing out into the sea. But there
are many times when the etesian winds do not blow,
yet the Nile does the same as before. And further,
if the etesian winds were the cause, then the other
rivers which flow contrary to those winds should be
affected in like manner even as is the Nile, and all
the more, inasmuch as being smaller they have a
weaker current. Yet there are many rivers in Syria
and in Libya, which are nowise in the same case as
the Nile.

21. The second opinion is less grounded on know-
ledge than that afore-mentioned, though it is more
marvellous to the ear: by it, the river effects what it
does because it flows from the Ocean, which flows
round all the world.

22. The third opinion is the most plausible by far,
yet is of all the most in error. It has no more truth
in it than the others. According to this, the Nile
flows from where snows melt ; but it flows from Libya
through the midst of Ethiopia, and issues out into
Egypt; how then can it flow from snow, seeing that
it comes from the hottest places to lands that are for
the most part colder? nay, a man who can reason
about such matters will find his chief proof, that there
is no likelihood of the river’s flowing from snow,
in this—that the winds blowing from Libya and

1 The regular N.W. winds which blow in summer from
the Mediterranean.

VOL. Mi 299

HERODOTUS

χωρέων τουτέων θερμοί: δεύτερον δὲ ὅτι ἄνομβρος
ἡ χώρη καὶ “ἀκρύσταλλος διατελέει ἐοῦσα, ἐπὶ δὲ
χιόνι πεσούσῃ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ἐστὶ ὗσαι ἐν πέντε
ἡμέρῃσι, ὥστε, εἰ ἐχιόνιζε, ὕετο ἂν ταῦτα τὰ
χωρία' τρίτα δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι. ὑπὸ τοῦ καύματος
μέλανες ἐόντες. ἰκτῖνοι δὲ καὶ χελιδόνες δι᾿ ἔτεος
ἐόντες οὐκ ἀπολείπουσι, γέρανοι δὲ φεύγουσαι τὸν
χειμῶνα τὸν ἐν τῇ Σκυθικῇ χώρῃ γινόμενον φοι-

;
TOOL ἐς χειμασίην ἐς τοὺς τόπους τούτους. εἰ
τοίνυν ἐχιόνιζε καὶ ὅσον ὧν ταύτην τὴν χώρην Ov
ἧς τε ῥέει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἄρχεται ῥέων ὁ Νεῖλος, ἣν
ἂν τούτων οὐδέν, ὡς ἡ ἀνάγκη ἐλέγχει.

23. Ὁ δὲ περὶ τοῦ ᾽Ωκεανοῦ λέξας ἐς ἀφανὲς τὸν
μῦθον ἀνενείκας οὐκ ἔχει ἔλεγχον" οὐ γὰρ τινὰ
ἔγωγε οἶδα ποταμὸν ᾿Ωκεανὸν ἐόντα, “Ὅμηρον δὲ
ἢ τινὰ τῶν πρότερον γενομένων ποιητέων δοκέω
τὸ δ: εὑρόντα ἐς ποίησιν ἐσενείκασθαι.

δὲ δεῖ μεμψάμενον γνώμας τὰς προ-
περ ων αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν ἀφανέων γνώμην ἀποδέ-
ξασθαι, φράσω δι᾽ 6 τι βοι δοκέει πληθύνεσθαι ὁ
Νεῖλος τοῦ ,θέρεος" τὴν χειμερινὴν ὥρην ἀπε-
λαυνόμενος ὁ ἥλιος ἐκ τῆς ἀρχαίης διεξόδου ὑπὸ
τῶν χειμώνων ἔρχεται τῆς Λιβύης τὰ ἄνω. ὡς
μέν νυν ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ δηλῶσαι, πᾶν εἴρηται: τῆς
γὰρ ἂν ἀγχοτάτω τε ἢ χώρης οὗτος ὁ θεὸς καὶ
κατὰ ἥντινα, ταύτην οἰκὸς διψῆν τε ὑδάτων
μάλιστα καὶ τὰ ἐγχώρια ῥεύματα μαραίνεσθαι
τῶν ποταμῶν.
‘Os δὲ ἐν πλέονι λόγῳ δηλῶσαι, ὧδε ἔχει.
διεξιὼν τῆς Λιβύης τὰ ἄνω ὁ ἥλιος τάδε ποιέει"
ἅτε διὰ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου αἰθρίου τε ἐόντος τοῦ

300

BOOK II. 22-25

Ethiopia are hot. And the second proof is, that the
country is ever without rain and frost ; but after snow
has fallen there must needs be rain within five days;!
so that were there snow there would be rain in these
lands. And the third proof is, that the men of the
country are black by reason of the heat. Moreover,
kites and swallows live there all the year round, and
cranes, flying from the wintry weather of Scythia,
come every year to these places to winter there.
Now, were there but the least fall of snow in this
country through which the Nile flows and whence it
rises, none of these things would happen, as neces-
sity proves.

23. The opinion about the Ocean is grounded in
obscurity and needs no disproof; for I know of no
river of Ocean; and I suppose that Homer or some
older poet invented this name and brought it into
his poetry.

24. If, having condemned the opinions proposed, I
must now set forth what I myself think about these
obscure matters, I will show what I suppose to be
the cause of the Nile being in flood in the summer.
During the winter the sun is driven by the storms
from his customary course and passes over the inland
parts of Libya. Now to make the shortest conclusion,
that is all that need be said; for to whatever country
this god is nearest, or over it, it is to be thought that
that land is the thirstiest and that the rivers in it are
diminished.

25. But stated at greater length, the truth is as I
shall show. In his passage over the inland parts of
Libya—the air being ever clear in that region, the

1 It does not seem to be known what authority there is for
this assertion.

301

HERODOTUS

’ nr \ la \ , \ a “-
ἠέρος τοῦ κατὰ ταῦτα τὰ χωρία καὶ ἀλεεινῆς τῆς
χώρης ἐούσης καὶ ἀνέμων ψυχρῶν, διεξιὼν ποιέει
οἷόν περ καὶ τὸ θέρος ἔωθε ποιέειν ἰὼν τὸ μέσον
τοῦ οὐρανοῦ" ἕλκει γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἑωυτὸν τὸ ὕδωρ,
«ς / \ > / » Ν yy / ¢ i
ἑλκύσας δὲ ἀπωθέει és τὰ ἄνω χωρία, ὑπολαμβά-
δ, e ͵ \ Ue
νοντες δὲ οἱ ἄνεμοι Kal διασκιδνάντες τήκουσι'"
/ e \ 4 an
καὶ εἰσὶ οἰκότως οἱ ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς χώρης
/ ee / \ ς / ? , \
πνέοντες, ὃ TE νότος καὶ ὁ AL, ἀνέμων πολλὸν
A ΄ / / “-“
τῶν πάντων ὑετιώτατοι. δοκέει δέ μοι οὐδὲ πᾶν
\ Ὁ 7 , / a
τὸ ὕδωρ TO ἐπέτειον ἑκάστοτε ἀποπέμπεσθαι TOU
/ ς \ /
Νείλου ὃ ἥλιος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπολείπεσθαι περὶ
ἑωυτόν. πρηὐνομένου δὲ τοῦ “χειμῶνος ἀπέρχεται ὁ
ἥλιος ἐς “μέσον. τὸν “οὐρανὸν ὀπίσω, καὶ τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν
ἤδη ὁ ὁμοίως ἀπὸ πάντων ἕλκει τῶν ποταμῶν. τέως
δὲ οἱ μὲν ὀμβρίου ὕδατος συμμισγομένου πολλοῦ
αὐτοῖσι, ἅτε ὑομένης τε τῆς χώρης καὶ κεχαρα-
δρωμένης, ῥέουσι μεγάλοι" τοῦ δὲ θέρεος τῶν τε
5) / \ \ \ a e ,ὔ
ὄμβρων ἐπιλειπόντων αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου
e Lé Ὁ I¢ Tae ς \ ΔΝ v
ἑλκόμενοι ἀσθενέες eiat. ὁ δὲ Νεῖλος ἐὼν ἄνομ-
/ x A a le A
Bpos, ἑλκόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μοῦνος πο-
“ rn X , ’ / \ e n
ταμῶν τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον, OLKOTWS AUTOS ἑωυτοῦ
fal 7 a /
ῥέει πολλῷ ὑποδεέστερος ἢ τοῦ θέρεος" τότε μὲν
a / "7 \
yap μετὰ πάντων τῶν ὑδάτων ἴσον ἕλκεται, τὸν
δὲ χειμῶνα μοῦνος πιέζεται.
9 e/ X [2 2 7ὔ] »
20. Οὕτω τὸν ἥλιον νενόμικα τούτων αἴτιον
5 b) e ᾽ Xx e N , \
εἶναι. αἴτιος δὲ ὁ AUTOS οὗτος κατὰ γνώμην τὴν
\ \ \ / >
ἐμὴν καὶ τὸν ἠέρα ξηρὸν Tov ταύτῃ εἶναι, διακαίων
\ / e a ef “ ie \ ”
τὴν διέξοδον ἑωυτοῦ: οὕτω τῆς Λιβύης τὰ ἄνω
>’ \ / / aA
θέρος αἰεὶ κατέχει. εἰ δὲ ἡ στάσις ἤλλακτο τῶν
ὡρέων, καὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῇ μὲν νῦν ὁ βορέης τε
καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἑστᾶσι, ταύτῃ μὲν τοῦ νότου ἦν ἡ
στάσις καὶ τῆς μεσαμβρίης, τῇ δὲ ὁ νότος νῦν

302

BOOK II. 2ς--26

land warm and the winds cool—the sun does what he
was wont to do in the summer in passing through
the middle of the heaven: he draws the water to
himself, and having so drawn it, expels it away to
the inland regions, and the winds catch it and scatter
and dissolve it; and, as is to be supposed, those that
blow from that country, the south and the south-west,
are the most rainy of all winds. Yet I think that the
sun never lets go all the water that he yearly draws
up from the Nile, but keeps some back near to
himself. Then as the winter becomes milder, the
sun returns back to the middle of the heaven, and
after that he draws from allrivers alike. Meantime
the other rivers are swollen to high flood by the
much water from the sky that falls into them,
because the country is rained upon and cut into
gullies; but in the summer they are low, lacking the
rain and being drawn up too by the sun. But the
Nile being fed by no rain, and being the only river
in winter drawn up by the sun, at this time falls far
short of the height that he had in summer; which
is but natural; for in summer all other waters too
and not his alone are attracted to the sun, but in
the winter it is he alone who is afflicted.

26. I am persuaded therefore that the sun is the
cause of these matters. The dryness of the air in
these parts is also caused by the sun, to my thinking,
because he burns his passage through it ; so it is that
it is always summer in the inland part of Libya.
But were the stations of the seasons changed, so
that the south wind and the summer had their
station where now the north wind and winter are
set, and the north wind was where the south wind is

393

HERODOTUS

ἕστηκε, ταύτῃ δὲ ὁ βορέης, εἰ ταῦτα οὕτω εἶχε, ὁ
ἥλιος ἂν ἀπελαυνόμενος ἐκ μέσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
ὑπὸ τοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ τοῦ βορέω ἤιε ἂν τὰ ἄνω
τῆς ὐρώπης κατά περ νῦν τῆς Λιβύης ἔρχεται,
διεξιόντα δ᾽ ἄν μιν διὰ πάσης Εὐρώπης ἔλπομαι
ποιέειν ἂν τὸν Ἴστρον τώ περ νῦν ἐργάζεται τὸν
Nevrov.

27. Τῆς αὔρης δὲ πέρι, Ott οὐκ ἀποπνέει, τήνδε
ἔχω γνώμην, ὡς κάρτα ἀπὸ θερμέων χωρέων οὐκ
οἰκός ἐστι οὐδὲν ἀποπνέειν, αὔρη δὲ ἀπὸ ψυχροῦ
τινος φιλέει πνέειν.

28. Tatra μέν νυν ἔστω ὡς ἔστι τε καὶ ὡς ἀρχὴν
ἐγένετο" τοῦ δὲ Νείλου τὰς πηγὰς οὔτε Αἰγυπτίων
οὔτε Λιβύων οὔτε ᾿Βλλήνων τῶν ἐμοὶ ἀπικομένων
ἐς λόγους οὐδεὶς ὑπέσχετο εἰδέναι, εἰ μὴ ἐν
Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν Σάι πόλι ὁ γραμματιστὴς τῶν ἱρῶν
χρημάτων τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης. οὗτος δ᾽ ἔμοιγε παίζειν
ἐδόκεε φάμενος εἰδέναι ἀτρεκέως: ἔλεγε δὲ ὧδε,
εἶναι δύο ὄρεα ἐς ὀξὺ τὰς κορυφὰς ἀπηγμένα,
μεταξὺ Συήνης τε πόλιος κείμενα τῆς Θηβαΐδος
καὶ ᾿Βλεφαντίνης, οὐνόματα δὲ εἶναι τοῖσι ὄρεσι
τῷ μὲν Κρῶφι τῷ δὲ Magu: τὰς ὧν δὴ πηγὰς τοῦ
Νείλου ἐούσας ἀβύσσους ἐκ τοῦ μέσου τῶν ὀρέων
τούτων ῥέειν, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ τοῦ ὕδατος
ἐπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου ῥέειν καὶ πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον, τὸ
δ᾽ ἕτερον ἥμισυ Ἐπ᾿ Αἰθιοπίης τε καὶ νότου. ὡς δὲ
ἄβυσσοι εἰσὶ αἱ πηγαί, ἐς διάπειραν ἔφη τούτου
Ψαμμήτιχον. Αὐγύπτου βασιλέα ἀπικέσθαι" πολ-
λέων γὰρ αὐτὸν χιλιάδων ὀργυιέων πλεξάμενον
κάλον κατεῖναι ταύτῃ καὶ οὐκ ἐξικέσθαι ἐ ἐς βυσσόν.
οὕτω μὲν δὴ ὁ γραμματιστής, εἰ ἄρα ταῦτα γινό-
μενα ἔλεγε, ἀπέφαινε, ὡς ἐμὲ κατανοέειν, δίνας

304

ΒΟΘΚ 56:28

now,—if this were so, the sun when driven from
mid-heaven by the winter and the north wind would
pass over the inland parts of Europe as he now
passes over Libya, and I think that in his passage
over all Europe he would work the same effect on
the Ister as he now does on the Nile.

27. And for the reason why no air blows from the
river, this is my opinion: it is not natural that any
air blow from very hot places; airs ever come from
that which is very cold.

28. Be these matters, then, as they are and as
they were made to be in the beginning. But as to
the sources of the Nile, none that conversed with
me, neither Egyptian, nor Libyan, nor Greek, pro-
fessed to know them, except only the recorder of the
sacred treasures of Athene in the Egyptian city of
Sais. He, I thought, jested with me when he said that
he had exact knowledge; but this was his story :—
Between the city of Syene in the Thebaid and
Elephantine there are two hills with sharp peaks,
the one called Crophi and the other Mophi. The
springs of the Nile, which are unfathomed, rise
between these hills ; and half the water flows towards
Egypt northwards, the other half southwards towards
Ethiopia. That this source cannot be fathomed,
Psammetichus king of Egypt proved by experiment :
for he had a rope woven of many a thousand fathoms’
length and let down into the spring, but he could not
reach to the bottom. Thus, then, if the recorder
spoke truth, he showed, as I think, that here are

995

FHERODOTUS

τινὰς ταύτῃ ἐούσας ἰσχυρὰς καὶ παλιρροίην, οἷα
δὲ ἐμβάλλοντος τοῦ ὕδατος τοῖσι ὄρεσι, μὴ
δύνασθαι κατιεμένην καταπειρητηρίην ἐς βυσσὸν
ἰέναι.

29. “AXXou δὲ οὐδενὸς οὐδὲν ἐδυνάμην πυθέσθαι.
ἀλλὰ τοσόνδε μὲν ἄλλο ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἐπυθό-
μην, μέχρι μὲν ᾿Ελεφαντίνης πόλιος αὐτόπτης
ἐλθών, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου ἀκοῇ ἤδη ἱ ἱστορέων. ἀπὸ
᾿Ελεφαντίνης πόλιος ἄνω ἰόντι ἄναντες ἐστὶ
χωρίον: ταύτῃ ὧν δεῖ τὸ πλοῖον διαδήσαντας
ἀμφοτέρωθεν κατά περ βοῦν πορεύεσθαι" ἢν δὲ
ἀπορραγῇ τὸ πλοῖον οἴχεται φερόμενον ὑ ὑπὸ ἰσχύος
τοῦ ῥόου. τὸ δὲ χωρίον τοῦτο ἐστὶ ἐπ᾽ “ἡμέρας
τέσσερας πλόος, σκολιὸς δὲ ταύτῃ κατά περ ὁ
Μαίανδρος ἐ ἐστὶ ὁ Νεῖλος" σχοῖνοι δὲ δυώδεκα εἰσὶ
οὗτοι τοὺς δεῖ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ διεκπλῶσαι. καὶ
ἔπειτα ἀπίξεαι ἐς πεδίον λεῖον, ἐν τῷ νῆσον περ-
ἐρρέει ὁ Νεῖλος: Ταχομψὼ οὔνομα αὐτῇ ἐστι.
οἰκέουσι δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ ᾿Ελεφαντίνης ἄνω Αἰθίοπες
ἤδη καὶ τῆς νήσου τὸ ἥμισυ, τὸ δὲ ἥ ἥμισυ Αἰγύπτιοι.
ἔχεται δὲ τῆς νήσου λίμνη μεγάλη, τὴν πέριξ
νομάδες Αἰθίοπες νέμονται" τὴν διεκπλώσας
ἐς τοῦ Νείλου τὸ ῥέεθρον ἥξεις, τὸ ἐς τὴν λίμνην
ταύτην ἐκδιδοῖ. καὶ ἔπειτα ἀποβὰς παρὰ τὸν
ποταμὸν ὁδοιπορίην ποιήσεαι ἡμερέων τεσσερά-
κοντα" σκόπελοί τε γὰρ ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ ὀξέες ἀν-
έχουσι καὶ χοιράδες πολλαί εἰσι, δι’ ὧν οὐκ οἷά τε
ἐστὶ πλέειν. διεξελθὼν δὲ ἐ ἐν τῇσι τεσσεράκοντα
ἡμέρῃσι τοῦτο τὸ “χωρίον, αὗτις ἐς ἕτερον πλοῖον
ἐσβὰς δυώδεκα ἡμέρας πλεύσεαι, καὶ ἔπειτα ἥξεις
ἐς πόλιν μεγάλην τῇ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Μερόη: λέγεται
δὲ αὕτη ἡ πόλις εἶναι μητρόπολις τῶν ἄλλων
306

BOOK II. 28-29

stroug eddies and an upward flow of water, and the
rushing of the stream against the hills makes the
sounding-line when let down unable to reach the
bottom.

29. From no other man could I learn anything.
But this much I learnt by the farthest inquiry that I
could make, by my own travel and sight as far as the
city of Elephantine, and beyond that by question and
héarsay :—Beyond Elephantine, as one travels inland,
theland rises. Here one must pass with the boat roped
on both sides as men harness an ox; and if the rope
break, the boat is carried away by the strength of the
current. This part of the river is a four days’
journey by boat, and the Nile here is winding like
the Maeander; a length of twelve schoeni must be
passed in the aforesaid fashion. After that you will
come to a level plain, where there is an island in the
Nile, called Tachompso. Above Elephantine the
country now begins to be inhabited by Ethiopians,
and half the people of the island are Ethiopians and
half Egyptians. Near to the island is a great lake,
on the shores of which dwell nomad Ethiopians.
Having crossed this, you will come to the stream of
the Nile, which issues into this lake. Then you will
disembark and journey along the river bank for forty
days; for there are sharp projecting rocks in the
Nile and many reefs, through which no boat can pass.
Having traversed this part in forty days as I have
said, you will take boat again and so travel for twelve
days till you come to a great city called Meroe,
which is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia. The

3°7

HERODOTUS

Αἰθιόπων. οἱ δ᾽ ἐν ταύτῃ Δία θεῶν καὶ Διόνυσον
μούνους σέβονται, τούτους τε μεγάλως τιμῶσι,
καί σφι μαντήιον Διὸς ,κατέστηκε' στρατεύονται
δὲ ἐπεάν σφεας ὁ θεὸς οὗτος κελεύῃ διὰ θεσπισμά-
των, καὶ τῇ ἂν κελεύῃ, ἐκεῖσε.

80. ᾿Απὸ δὲ ταύτης τῆς πόλιος πλέων ἐν ἴσῳ
χρόνῳ ἄλλῳ ἥξεις ἐς τοὺς αὐτομόλους ἐν ὅσῳ περ
ἐξ EK λεφαντίνης ἦλθες ἐς τὴν μητρόπολιν, τὴν

Αἰθιόπων. τοῖσι δὲ αὐτομόλοισι τούτοισι οὔνομα
ἐστὶ ᾿Ασμάχ, δύναται δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος κατὰ τὴν
Ἕ ὑλλήνων γλῶσσαν οἱ ἐξ ἀ ἀριστερῆς χειρὸς παρ-
ἱστάμενοι, βασιλέι. ἀπέστησαν δὲ αὗται τέσσε-
ρες καὶ εἴκοσι μυριάδες Αἰγυπτίων τῶν μαχίμων
ἐς τοὺς Αἰθίοπας τούτους Ov αἰτίην τοιήνδε. ἐπὶ
Ψαμμητίχου βασιλέος φυλακαὶ κατέστησαν ἔν
τε ᾿᾿λεφαντίνῃ πόλι πρὸς Αἰθιόπων καὶ ἐν Δαφ-
νῃσι τῇσι Πηλουσίῃσι ἄλλη πρὸς ᾿Αραβίων τε
καὶ ᾿Ασσυρίων, καὶ ἐν Μαρέῃ πρὸς Λιβύης ἄλλη.
ἔτι δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐμεῦ καὶ Περσέων κατὰ ταὐτὰ αἱ
φυλακαὶ ἔχουδι ὡς καὶ ἐπὶ Ψαμμητίχου ἦσαν’
καὶ γὰρ ἐν ᾿Ελεφαντίνῃ Πέρσαι φρουρέουσι καὶ
ἐν Δάφνῃσι. τοὺς ὧν δὴ Αἰγυπτίους τρία ἔτεα
φρουρήσαντας ἀπέλυε οὐδεὶς τῆς φρουρῆς" οἵ δὲ
βουλευσάμενοι καὶ κοινῷ λόγῳ χρησάμενοι πάντες
ἀπὸ τοῦ Ψαμμητίχου ἀποστάντες ἤισαν ἐς Αἰθι-
οπίην. Ψαμμήτιχος δὲ πυθόμενος ἐδίωκε" ὡς δὲ
κατέλαβε, ἐδέετο πολλὰ λέγων καί σφεας θεοὺς
πατρωίους ἀπολιπεῖν οὐκ ἔα καὶ τέκνα καὶ γυναῖ-
κας. τῶν δὲ τινὰ λέγεται δέξαντα τὸ αἰδοῖον

1 The Greek equivalents for ae and Osiris.
2 Herodotus’ account of the Nile in this chapter is for the
most part vague and untrustworthy. He is right as to the

308

BOOK II. 29-30

people of the place worship no other gods but Zeus
and Dionysus?; these they greatly honour, and they
have a place of divination sacred to Zeus ; they send
out armies whenever and whithersoever this god by
oracle commands them.?

30. From this city you will make a journey by
water of equal distance with that by which you came
from Elephantine to the capital city of Ethiopia, and
you will come to the land of the Deserters. These
Deserters are called Asmach, which signifies, in our
language, those who stand on the left hand of the
king. These once, to the number of two hundred
and forty thousand Egyptians of fighting age, revolted
and joined themselves to the Ethiopians. The reason
was this :—In the reign of Psammetichus there were
garrisons posted at Elephantine on the side of
Ethiopia, at Daphnae of Pelusium on the side of
Arabia and Assyria, and at Marea on the side of
Libya. And still in my time the Persians hold these
posts as they were held in the days of Psammetichus ;
there are Persian guards at Elephantine and at
Daphnae. Now the Egyptians had been on guard
for three years, and none came to relieve them; so
taking counsel and making common cause, they
revolted from Psammetichus and went to Ethiopia.
Psammetichus heard of it and pursued after them ;
and when he overtook them he besought them with
many words not to desert the gods of their fathers
and their children and wives. Then one of them,
so the story goes, said, pointing to his manly part,

current above Elephantine, as those who have made the
passage between the Assuan Dam and Assuan will realise.
But the conditions have of course been entirely altered by
the construction of the dam.

HERODOTUS

εἰπεῖν, ἔνθα ἂν τοῦτο ἢ, ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖσι ἐνθαῦτα
καὶ τέκνα καὶ γυναῖκας. οὗτοι ἐπείτε ἐς Αἰθιο-
πίην ἀπίκοντο, διδοῦσι σφέας αὐτοὺς τῷ Αἰθιό-
πων βασιλέι, ὃ δὲ σφέας τῷδε ἀντιδωρέεται" ἦσάν
οἱ i διάφοροι τινὲς γεγονότες τῶν Αἰθιόπων' τούτους
ἐκέλευε ἐξελόντας τὴν ἐκείνων γῆν οἰκέειν. τούτων
δὲ ἐσοικισθέντων ἐς τοὺς Αἰθίοπας ἡμερώτεροι
: ae - , ae

γεγόνασι Αἰθίοπες, ἤθεα μαθόντες Αἰγύπτια.

31. Μέχρι μέν νυν τεσσέρων μηνῶν πλόου καὶ
ὁδοῦ γινώσκεται, ὁ Νεῖλος πάρεξ τοῦ ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ
ῥεύματος" τοσοῦτοι γὰρ συμβαλλομένῳ μῆνες
εὑρίσκονται ἀναισιμούμενοι ἐξ ᾿Ελεφαντίνης πο-
ρευομένῳ ἐς τοὺς αὐτομόλους τούτους. ῥέει δὲ ἀπὸ
ἑσπέρης τε καὶ ἡλίου δυσμέων. τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦδε
οὐδεὶς ἔχει σαφέως φράσαι" ἔρημος γὰρ ἐστὶ ἡ
χώρη αὕτη ὑπὸ καύματος.

32. ᾿Αλλὰ τάδε μὲν ἤκουσα ἀνδρῶν Κυρηναίων
φαμένων ἐλθεῖν τε ἐπὶ τὸ Ἄμμωνος, χρηστήριον
καὶ ἀπικέσθαι ἐς λόγους ᾿Ετεάρχῳ τῷ ᾿Αμμωνίων
βασιλέι, καί κως ἐκ λόγων ἄλλων ἀπικέσθαι ἐ ἐς
λέσχην περὶ τοῦ Νείλου, ὡς οὐδεὶς αὐτου οἷδε τὰς
πηγάς, καὶ τὸν Eréapyov φάναι ἐλθεῖν κοτε Tap’
αὐτὸν Νασαμῶνας ἄνδρας. τὸ δὲ ἔθνος τοῦτο
ἐστὶ μὲν Λιβυκόν, νέμεται δὲ τὴν Σύρτιν τε καὶ
τὴν πρὸς ἠῶ χώρην τῆς Σύρτιος οὐκ ἐπὶ πολλόν.
ἀπικομένους δὲ τοὺς Νασαμῶνας καὶ εἰρωτωμένους
εἴ τι ἔχουσι πλέον “λέγειν περὶ τῶν ἐρήμων τῆς
Λιβύης, φάναι παρὰ σφίσι γενέσθαι ἀνδρῶν δυνα-
στέων παῖδας ὑβριστάς, τοὺς ἄλλα τε μηχανᾶσθαι
ἀνδρωθέντας περισσὰ καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀποκληρῶσαι
πέντε ἑωυτῶν ὀψομένους τὰ ἔρημα τῆς Λιβύης,
καὶ εἴ τι πλέον ἴδοιεν τῶν τὰ μακρότατα ἰδομένων.

310

BOOK II, 30-32

that wherever this should be they would have wives
and children. So they came to Ethiopia, and gave
themselves up to the king of the country; who, to
make them a gift in return, bade them dispossess
certain Ethiopians with whom he was at feud, and
occupy their land. These Ethiopians then learnt
Egyptian customs and have become milder-mannered
by intermixture with the Egyptians.

31. For as far as a distance of four months’ travel,
then, by land and water, there is knowledge of the
Nile, besides the part of it that isin Egypt. So many
months, as reckoning shows, lasts the journey from
Elephantine to the country of the Deserters aforesaid.
The river flows from the west and the sun’s setting.
Beyond this none has clear knowledge to declare;
for all that country is desert, by reason of heat.

32. But this I heard from certain men of Cyrene,
who told me that they had gone to the oracle of
Ammon, and there conversed with Etearchus king
of the Ammonians, and that from other matters of
discourse they came to speak of the Nile, how no one
knows the source of it. Then Etearchus told them
that once he had been visited by certain Nasamonians.
These are a Libyan people, inhabiting the country of
the Syrtis and the country a little way to the east of
the Syrtis. When these Nasamonians on their coming
were questioned if they brought any news concerning
the Libyan desert, they told Etearchus that there had
been among them certain sons of their chief men,
proud and violent youths, who, when they came to
man’s estate, besides planning other wild adventures,
had chosen by lot five of their company to visit the
deserts of Libya, and see what they might beyond
the utmost range of travellers. It must be known

311

HERODOTUS

a \ \ ,
THS γὰρ “Λιβύης τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ΠΣ θάλασ-
σαν ἀπ᾿ Αἰγύπτου ἀρξάμενοι μέχρι Σολόεντος
ἄκρης, ἣ τελευτῷ τῆς Λιβύης, παρήκουσι παρὰ
πᾶσαν Λίβυες καὶ Λιβύων ἔθνεα πολλά, πλὴν
“ “ \ / ” Ἢ Ν Ν ©: \
ὅσον “EXAnves καὶ Φοίνικες ἔχουσι" τὰ δὲ ὑπὲρ
θαλάσσης τε καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ θάλασσαν κατηκόντων
>’ ΄ Ν 7 , 3! Neue / 5
ἀνθρώπων, τὰ κατύπερθε θηριώδης ἐστὶ ἡ Λιβύη

\ x / a Si {4 5 \ \
τὰ δὲ κατύπερθε τῆς θηριώδεος ψάμμος τε ἐστὶ Kal
ἄνυδρος δεινῶς καὶ ἔρημος πάντων. εἶπαι ὧν τοὺς
νεηνίας ἀποπεμπομένους ὑπὸ τῶν ἡλίκων, ὕδασί

i? lal

τε Kal σιτίοισι εὖ ἐξηρτυμένους, ἰέναι TA πρῶτα

\ ὃ Ν an > / / δὲ ὃ θό >
μὲν διὰ τῆς οἰκεομένης, ταύτην δὲ διεξελθόντας ἐς
τὴν θηριώδεα ἀπικέσθαι, ἐκ δὲ ταύτης τὴν ἔρημον

\ eg\ »
διεξιέναι, τὴν ὁδὸν ποιευμένους πρὸς ζέφυρον ave-
/ a

μον, διεξελθόντας δὲ χῶρον πολλὸν ψαμμώδεα

δον} A ς / ’ a / / 2
καὶ ἐν πολλῇσι ἡμέρῃσι ἰδεῖν δή κοτε δένδρεα ἐν
πεδίῳ πεφυκότα, καί σφεας προσελθόντας ἅπτε-
σθαι τοῦ ἐπεόντος ἐπὶ τῶν δενδρέων καρποῦ, ἅπτο-
μένοισι δέ σφι ἐπελθεῖν ἄνδρας μικρούς, μετρίων
ἐλάσσονας ἀνδρῶν, λαβόντας δὲ ἄγειν σφέας"
φωνῆς δὲ οὔτε τι τῆς ἐκείνων τοὺς Νασαμῶνας

\ / ἴω
γινώσκειν οὔτε τοὺς ἄγοντας τῶν Νασαμώνων'
7 \ > \ 3) .1ξ / ͵ \
ἄγειν Te δὴ αὐτοὺς δι᾿ ἑλέων μεγίστων, Kal διεξελ-
θόντας ταῦτα ἀπικέσθαι ἐς πόλιν ἐν τῇ πάντας
εἶναι τοῖσι ἄγουσι τὸ μέγαθος ἴσους, χρῶμα δὲ
μέλανας. παρὰ δὲ τὴν πόλιν ῥέειν ποταμὸν μέγαν,
ῥέειν δὲ ἀπὸ ἑσπέρης αὐτὸν πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνατέλ-
λοντα, a dae δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ κροκοδείλους.

33. Ὁ μὲν δὴ τοῦ ᾿Αμμωνίου ᾿Ἐτεάρχου λόγος
ἐς τοῦτό μοι δεδηλώσθω, πλὴν ὅτι ἀπονοστῆσαί τε
ἔφασκε τοὺς Νασαμῶνας, ὡς οἱ Κυρηναῖοι ἔλεγον,
καὶ ἐς τοὺς οὗτοι ἀπίκοντο ἀνθρώπους, γόητας εἶναι

312

BOOK II. 32-33

that all the northern seacoast of Libya—from Egypt
as far as the promontory of Soloeis, which is the end
of Libya—is inhabited through its whole length by
Libyans, many tribes of them, except the part held by
Greeks and Phoenicians; the region of Libya above
the sea and the men of the seacoast is infested by wild
beasts; and farther inland than the wild-beast country
all is sand, exceeding waterless and wholly desert.
This then was the story told by the young men:—
When they left their companions, being well supplied
with water and provisions, they journeyed first through
the inhabited country, and having passed this they
came to the region of wild beasts. After this, they
travelled over the desert, towards the west, and
crossed a wide sandy region, till after many days they
saw trees growing in a plain; when they came to
these and were plucking the fruit of the trees, they
were met by little men of stature smaller than
common, who took them and led them away. The
Nasamonians did not know these men’s language
nor did the escort know the language of the Nasa-
monians. The men led them across great marshes,
which having crossed they came to a city where all
the people were of like stature with the escort,
and black. A great river ran past this city, from
the west towards the rising sun; crocodiles could
be seen in it.

33. This is enough to say concerning the story
told by Etearchus the Ammonian ; except that he
said that the Nasamonians returned—as the men of
Cyrene told me—and that the people to whose

313

HERODOTUS

ἅπαντας. τὸν δὲ δὴ ποταμὸν τοῦτον τὸν παραρ-
ρέοντα καὶ Etéapyos συνεβάλλετο εἶναι Νεῖλον,
καὶ δὴ καὶ ὁ λόγος οὕτω αἱρέει. ῥέει γὰρ ἐκ
Λιβύης ὁ Νεῖλος καὶ μέσην τάμνων Λιβύην, καὶ
ὡς ἐγὼ συμβάλλομαι τοῖσι ἐμφανέσι τὰ μὴ
γινωσκόμενα τεκμαιρόμενος, τῷ Ἴστρῳ ἐκ τῶν
ἴσων μέτρων ὁρμᾶται. Ἴστρος τε γὰρ ποταμὸς
ἀρξάμενος ἐκ Κελτῶν καὶ Πυρήνης πόλιος ῥέει
μέσην σχίξων τὴν Εὐρώπην" οἱ δὲ Κελτοὶ εἰσὶ
ἔξω Ἡρακλέων στηλέων, ὁμουρέουσι δὲ Κυνη-
σίοισι, οἱ ἔσχατοι πρὸς δυσμέων οἰκέουσι τῶν ἐν
τῇ Kvparn κατοικημένων" τελευτᾷ δὲ ὁ ὁ Ἴστρος ἐ ἐς
θάλασσαν ῥέων τὴν τοῦ Εὐξείνου. πόντου διὰ πά-
σης ᾿υὐρώπης, τῇ ᾿Ιστρίην οἱ Μιλησίων οἰκέουσι
ἄποικοι.

34. Ὁ μὲν δὴ Ἴστρος, ῥέει γὰρ δι᾽ οἰκεομένης,
πρὸς πολλῶν γινώσκεται, περὶ δὲ τῶν τοῦ Νείλου
πηγέων οὐδεὶς ἔχει λέγειν" ἀοίκητός τε γὰρ καὶ
ἔρημος ἐστὶ un Λιβύη δι’ ἧς ῥέει. περὶ δὲ τοῦ
ῥεύματος αὐτοῦ, ἐπ᾽ ὅσον μακρότατον ἱστορεῦντα
ἣν ἐξικέσθαι, εἴρηται" ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ἐς Αἴγυπτον.
ἡ δὲ Αἴγυπτος τῆς ὀρεινῆς Κιλικίης μάλιστά κῃ
᾿ κέεται" ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ἐς Σινώπην τὴν ἐν τῷ

ὐξείνῳ πόντῳ πέντε ἡμερέων ἰθέα ὁδὸς εὐζώνῳ
ἀνδρί: ἡ δὲ Σινώπη τῷ Ἴστρῳ ἐκδιδόντι ἐς θάλασ-
σαν ἀντίον κέεται. οὕτω τὸν Νεῖλον δοκέω διὰ
πάσης τῆς Λιβύης διεξιόντα ἐξισοῦσθαι τῷ Ἴστρῳ.

35. Νείλου μέν νυν πέρι τοσαῦτα εἰρήσθω:
ἔρχομαι δὲ περὶ Αἰγύπτου μηκυνέων τὸν λόγον, ὅτι
πλεῖστα θωμάσια ἔχει ἢ ἡ ἄλλη πᾶσα χώρη καὶ

1 ἐκ τῶν ἴσων μέτρων 15 an obscure expression. What
ΤΠ Ὁ. appears to mean is, that as the Nile (according to him)

314

BOOK II. 33-35

country they came were all wizards; as to the river
that ran past the city, Etearchus guessed it to be the
Nile; and that is but reasonable. For the Nile fows
from Libya, and right through the midst of that
country ; and as I guess, reasoning as to things
unknown from visible signs, it takes its rise from the
same measure of distance as the Ister.1 That river
flows from the land of the Celtae and the city of
Pyrene through the very midst of Europe; now the
Celtae dwell beyond the pillars of Heracles, being
neighbours of the Cynesii, who are the westernmost
of all nations inhabiting Europe. The Ister, then,
flows clean across Europe and ends its course in the
Euxine sea, at Istria, which is inhabited by Milesian
colonists.

34. As it flows through inhabited country, its
course is known to many ; but none can speak of the
source of the Nile; for Libya, through which it runs,
is uninhabited and desert. Concerning its course |
have told all that I could learn by inquiry; and it
issues into Egypt. Now Egypt lies about opposite
to the mountainous part of Cilicia; whence it is a
straight five days’ journey for an unburdened man to
Sinope on the Euxine; and Sinope lies over against
the place where the Ister falls into the sea. Thus I
suppose the course of the Nile in its passage through
Libya to be like the course of the Ister.

35. It is sufficient to say thusmuch concerning the
Nile. But concerning Egypt I will now speak at
length, because nowhere are there so many marvellous
things, nor in the whole world beside are there to
flows first from W. to E. and then turns northward, so the
Danuhe flows first from W. to E. and then (as he says) from

N. to S.; and so the rivers in a manner correspond: one
crosses Africa, the other Kurope.

315

HERODOTUS

ἔργα λόγου μέζω παρέχεται πρὸς πᾶσαν χώρην
τούτων εἵνεκα πλέω περὶ αὐτῆς εἰρήσεται.

Λἰγύπτιοι ἅμα τῷ οὐρανῷ τῷ κατὰ σφέας ἐόντι
ἑτεροίῳ καὶ τῷ ποταμῷ φύσιν ἀχλοίην παρεχο-
μένῳ ἢ οἱ ἄλλοι ποταμοί, τὰ πολλὰ πάντα ἔμπαλιν
τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἀνθρώποισι ἐστήσαντο ἤθεά τε καὶ
νόμους" ἐν τοῖσι αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες ἀγοράζουσι καὶ
καπηλεύουσι, οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες κατ᾽ οἴκους ἐόντες
ὑφαίνουσι" ὑφαίνουσι δὲ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἄνω τὴν
κρόκην ὠθέοντες, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ κάτω. τὰ ἄχθεα
οἱ μὲν ἄνδρες ἐπὶ τῶν κεφαλέων φορέουσι, αἱ δὲ
γυναῖκες ἐπὶ τῶν OMOV. οὐρέουσι αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες
ὀρθαί, οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες κατήμενοι. εὐμαρείῃ χρέωνται
ἐν τοῖσι οἴκοισι, ἐσθίουσι δὲ ἔξω ἐν τῇσι ὁδοῖσι
ἐπιλέγοντες ὡς τὰ μὲν αἰσχρὰ ἀναγκαῖα δὲ ἔ ἐν ἀπο-
κρύφῳ ἐστὶ ποιέειν χρεόν, τὰ δὲ μὴ αἰσχρὰ ἀνα-
φανδόν. ἱρᾶται γυνὴ μὲν οὐδεμία οὔτε ἔρσενος
θεοῦ οὔτε θηλέης, ἄνδρες δὲ πάντων τε καὶ πα-
σεων. τρέφειν τοὺς τοκέας τοῖσι μὲν παισὶ οὐδε-
μία ἀνάγκη μὴ βουλομένοισι, τῇσι δὲ θυγατράσι
πᾶσα ἀνάγκη καὶ μὴ βουλομένῃσι.

36. Οἱ ἱρέες τῶν θεῶν τῇ μὲν ἄλλῃ κομέουσι, ἐν
Αἰγύπτῳ δὲ ξυρῶνται. τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἀνθρώποισι
νόμος ἅμα κήδεϊ κεκάρθαι τὰς κεφαλὰς τοὺς μα-
λιστα ἱκνέεται, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ὑπὸ τοὺς θανάτους
ἀνιεῖσι τὰς τρίχας αὔξεσθαι τάς τε ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ
καὶ τῷ γενείῳ, τέως ἐξυρημένοι. τοῖσι μὲν ἄλλοισι
ἀνθρώποισι χωρὶς θηρίων ἡ ἡ δίαιτα ἀποκέκριται,
Αἰγυπτίοισι δὲ ὁμοῦ θηρίοισι ἡ ἡ δίαιτα ἐστί. ἀπὸ
πυρῶν καὶ κριθέων ὧλλοι ζξώουσι, Αἰγυπτίων δὲ
τῷ ποιευμένῳ ἀπὸ τούτων τὴν ζόην ὄνειδος μέ-
γίστον ἐστί, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ ὀλυρέων ποιεῦνται σιτία,

416

BOOK II. 35-36

be seen so many works of unspeakable greatness ;
therefore I shall say the more concerning Egypt.

As the Egyptians have a climate peculiar to them-
selves, and their river is different in its nature from
all other rivers, so have they made all their customs and
laws of a kind contrary for the most part to those of all
othermen. Among them, the women buy and sell, the
men abide at home and weave; and whereas in weav-
ing all others push the woof upwards, the Egyptians
push it downwards. Men carry burdens on their
heads, women on their shoulders. Women make water
standing, men sitting. They relieve nature indoors,
and eat out of doors in the streets, giving the
reason, that things unseemly but necessary should be
done in secret, things not unseemly should be done
openly. No woman is dedicated to the service of
any god or goddess ; men are dedicated to all deities
male or female. Sons are not compelled against
their will to support their parents, but daughters
must do so though they be unwilling.

36. Everywhere else, priests of the gods wear
their hair long; in Egypt they are shaven. With all
other men, in mourning for the dead those most
nearly concerned have their heads shaven; Egyptians
are shaven at other times, but after a death they let
their hair and beard grow. The Egyptians are the
only people who keep their animals with them in the
house. Whereas all others live on wheat and barley,
it is the greatest disgrace for an Egyptian so to live ;
they make food from a coarse grain which some call

oud

HERODOTUS

τὰς ζειὰς μετεξέτεροι καλέουσι. φυρῶσι TO μὲν
σταῖς τοῖσι ποσί, τὸν δὲ πηλὸν τῇσι χερσί, καὶ τὴν
κόπρον ἀναιρέονται. τὰ αἰδοῖα ὧλλοι μὲν ἐῶσι
ὡς ἐγένοντο, πλὴν ὅσοι ἀπὸ τούτων ἔμαθον,
Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ περιτάμνονται. εἵματα τῶν μὲν
ἀνδρῶν ἕκαστος ἔχει δύο, τῶν δὲ γυναικῶν ὃν
ἑκάστη. τῶν ἱστίων τοὺς κρίκους καὶ τοὺς κάλους
οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἔξωθεν προσδέουσι, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ
ἔσωθεν. γράμματα γράφουσι καὶ λογίζονται, ψή-
φοισι “λληνες μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐπὶ τὰ
τ φέροντες τὴν χεῖρα, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν
δεξιῶν ἐ ἐπὶ τὰ ἀριστερά" καὶ ποιεῦντες ταῦτα αὐτοὶ
μὲν φασὶ ἐπὶ δεξιὰ ποιέειν, λληνας δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἀρι-
στερά. διφασίοισι δὲ γράμμασι χρέωνται, καὶ τὰ
μὲν αὐτῶν ἱρὰ τὰ δὲ δημοτικὰ καλέεται.

37. Θεοσεβέες δὲ περισσῶς ἐόντες μάλιστα
πάντων ἀνθρώπων νόμοισι τοιοῖσιδε χρέωνται.
ἐκ χαλκέων ποτηρίων πίνουσι, διασμῶντες ἀνὰ
πᾶσαν ἡμέρην, οὐκ ὃ μὲν ὃ δ᾽ οὔ, ἀλλὰ πάντες.
εἵματα δὲ λίνεα φορέουσι αἰεὶ νεόπλυτα, ἐπιτη-
δεύοντες τοῦτο μάλιστα, τά τε αἰδοῖα περι-
τάμνονται καθαρειότητος εἵνεκεν, προτιμῶντες
καθαροὶ εἶναι ἢ εὐπρεπέστεροι. οἱ δὲ ἱρέες
ξυρῶνται πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τρίτης ἡμέρης, ἵνα
μήτε φθεὶρ μήτε ἄλλο μυσαρὸν μηδὲν ἐγγίνηταί
σφι θεραπεύουσι τοὺς θεούς. ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι
οἱ ἱρέες λινέην μούνην καὶ ὑποδήματα βύβλινα:
ἄλλην δέ σφι ἐσθῆτα οὐκ ἔξεστι λαβεῖν οὐδὲ
ὑποδήματα ἄλλα. δλοῦνται δὲ δὶς τῆς ἡμέρης
ἑκάστης ψυχρῷ καὶ δὶς ἑκάστης νυκτός, ἄλλας τε
ρησκηίας ἐπιτελέουσι μυρίας ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ.
πάσχουσι δὲ καὶ ἀγαθὰ οὐκ ὀλίγα: οὔτε TL γὰρ

318

BOOK II. 36-37

spelt. They knead dough with their feet, and gather
mud and dung with their hands. The Egyptians and
those who have learnt it from them are the only
people who practise circumcision. Every man has
two garments, every woman only one. The rings
and sheets of sails are made fast elsewhere outside
the boat, but inside it in Egypt. The Greeks write
and calculate by moving the hand from left to right;
the Egyptians do contrariwise; yet they say that
their way of writing is towards the right, and the
Greek way towards the left. They use two kinds of
writing ; one is called sacred, the other common.!

37. They are beyond measure religious, more than
any other nation; and these are among their cus-
toms :—They drink from cups of bronze, which they
cleanse out daily ; this is done not by some but by
all. ‘They are especially careful ever to wear newly-
washed linen raiment. They practise circumcision for
cleanliness’ sake ; for they set cleanness above seemli-
ness. Their priests shave the whole body every other
day, that no lice or aught else that is foul may infest
them in their service of the gods. The priests wear
a single linen garment and sandals of papyrus?: they
may take no other kind of clothing or footwear.
Twice a day and twice every night they wash in cold
water. Their religious observances are, one may
say, innumerable. But also they receive many
benefits: they neither consume nor spend aught of

1 Three kinds, really : hieroglyphic, hieratic (derived from
hieroglyphic), and demotic, a simplified form of hieratic.
See Rawlinson’s essay, ch. 5, in his Appendix to Book II.

2 On this plant, see ch. 92.

319

HERODOTUS

τῶν οἰκηίων τρίβουσι οὔτε δαπανῶνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ
σιτία σφι ἐστὶ ἱρὰ πεσσόμενα, καὶ κρεῶν βοέων
καὶ χηνέων πλῆθός τι ἑκάστῳ γίνεται πολλὸν
ἡμέρης ἑκάστης, δίδοται δέ σφι καὶ οἶνος ἀμπέ-
λενος" ἰχθύων δὲ οὔ σφι ἔξεστι πάσασθαι.
κυάμους δὲ οὔτε τι μάλα σπείρουσι Αἰγύπτιοι
ἐν τῇ χώρῃ, τούς τε γινομένους οὔτε τρώγουσι
οὔτε ἕψοντες πατέονται, οἱ δὲ δὴ ἱρέες οὐδὲ
ὁρέοντες ἀνέχονται, νομίζοντες οὐ καθαρὸν εἶναί
«μιν ὄσπριον. ἱρᾶται δὲ οὐκ εἷς ἑκάστου τῶν θεῶν
ἀλλὰ πολλοί, τῶν εἷς ἐστι ἀρχιερεύς: ἐπεὰν δέ
τις ἀποθάνῃ, τούτου ὁ παῖς ἀντικατίσταται.

38. Τοὺς δὲ βοῦς τοὺς ἔρσενας Tov ᾿πάφου
εἶναι νομίξουσι, καὶ τούτου εἵνεκα δοκιμάξουσι
αὐτοὺς ὧδε: τρίχα ἢν Kal- μίαν ἴδηται ἐπεοῦσαν
μέλαιναν, οὐ καθαρὸν εἶναι νομίζει. δίξηται, δὲ
ταῦτα ἐπὶ τούτῳ τεταγμένος τῶν τις ἱρέων καὶ
ὀρθοῦ ἑστεῶτος τοῦ κτήνεος καὶ ὑπτίου, καὶ τὴν
γλῶσσαν ἐξειρύσας, εἰ καθαρὴ τῶν προκειμένων
σημηίων, τὰ “ἐγὼ ἐν ἄλλῳ λόγῳ ἐρέω: κατορᾷ δὲ
καὶ τὰς τρίχας τῆς οὐρῆς εἰ κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει
πεφυκυίας. ἢν δὲ τούτων πάντων ἢ καθαρός,
σημαίνεται βύβλῳ περὶ τὰ κέρεα εἱλίσσων καὶ
ἔπειτα γῆν σημαντρίδα ἐπιπλάσας ἐπιβάλλει τὸν
δακτύλιον, καὶ οὕτω ἀπάγουσι. ἀσήμαντον δὲ
θύσαντι θάνατος ἡ ξημίη ἐ ἐπικέεται. δοκιμάζεται
μέν νυν τὸ κτῆνος τρόπῳ τοιῷδε, θυσίη δέ σφι HOE
κατέστηκε.

39. ᾿Αγαγόντες τὸ σεσημασμένον κτῆνος πρὸς
τὸν βωμὸν ὅκου ἂν θύωσι, πῦρ ἀνακαίουσι, ἔπειτα
δὲ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οἶνον κατὰ τοῦ ἱρηίου ἐπισπείσαντες
καὶ ἐπικαλέσαντες τὸν θεὸν σφάζουσι, σφά-

320

BOOK II. 37-39

their own; sacred food is cooked for them, to each
man is brought every day flesh of beeves and geese
in great abundance, and wine of grapes too is given
to them. ‘They may not eat fish. The Egyptians
sow no beans in their country; ifany grow, they will
not eat them either raw or cooked; the priests
cannot endure even to see them, considering beans
an unclean kind of pulse. Many (not one alone) are
dedicated to the service of each god. One of these
is the high priest; and when a high priest dies his
son succeeds to his office.

38. They hold that bulls belong to Epaphus,! and
therefore test them thus to see if there be as much
as one black hair on them; if there be, the bull is
deemed not pure; one of the priests, appointed to
this task, examines the beast, making it to stand and
to lie, and drawing out its tongue, to know whether
it bear none of the stated signs which I shall declare
hereafter.? He looks also to the hairs of the tail, to
see if they grow naturally. If it be pure in all these
respects, the priest marks it by wrapping papyrus
round the horns, then smears it with sealing-earth
and stamps it with his ring ; and after this they lead
the bull away. But the penalty is death for sacri-
ficing a bull that the priest has not marked. Such is
the manner of proving the beast; I will now show
how it is sacrificed.

39. Having brought the marked beast to the altar
where the sacrifice is to be, they kindle a fire; then
they pour wine on the altar over the victim and
call upon the god; then they cut its throat, and

1 Epaphus is the Greek form of Apis or Hapi, the bull-god
of Memphis; for bulls of Mair’s Oppian (L.C.L.) Cyn. II.
86, note. ell. 28.

321

HERODOTUS

\ ’ / \ , a \
Eavtes δὲ ἀποτάμνουσι τὴν κεφαλήν. σῶμα μὲν
\ a / / “ \ , Ν
δὴ τοῦ κτήνεος δείρουσι, κεφαλῇ δὲ κείνῃ πολλὰ
a \ ἡ ?
καταρησάμενοι φέρουσι, τοῖσι μὲν ἂν ἢ ἀγορὴ
NCL ’ ” > / ” “Ὁ \
καὶ EXrdnves σφι ἔωσι ἐπιδήμιοι ἔμποροι, οἵ δὲ
φέροντες ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν ἀπ᾽ ὧν ἔδοντο, τοῖσι δὲ ἃἂ ἂν
μὴ παρέωσι ἽἝλληνες, οἱ δ᾽ ἐκβάλλουσι ἐς τὸν
ποταμόν: καταρῶνται δὲ τάδε λέγοντες τῇσι
a ” ͵, a , a ΄ © wey
κεφαλῇσι, el τι μέλλοι ἢ σφίσι τοῖσι θύουσι ἢ
᾽ a \ /
Αὐγύπτῳ τῇ συναπάσῃ κακὸν γενέσθαι, ἐς κεφαλὴν
΄ \ / \
ταύτην τραπέσθαι. κατὰ μέν νυν τὰς κεφαλὰς
A / \ a
τῶν θυομένων κτηνέων Kal THY ἐπίσπεισιν τοῦ
» fe / A lal
οἴνου πάντες Αἰγύπτιοι νόμοισι τοῖσι αὐτοῖσι
Υ͂ ’ δε ἢ /
χρέωνται ὁμοίως ἐς πάντα τὰ ἱρά, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου
a / ’ \ ” ’ x ’ / a
τοῦ νόμου οὐδὲ ἄλλου οὐδενὸς ἐμψύχου κεφαλῆς
, /
γεύσεται Αἰγυπτίων οὐδείς.
, “- Claw
40. δὲ δὴ ἐξαίρεσις τῶν ἱρῶν καὶ ἡ
rn Υ \ Μ e U /
καῦσις ἄλλη περὶ ἄλλο ιρον σφι KATETTIKE
τὴν δ᾽ ὧν μεγιστὴν TE δαίμονα ἥ ἥγηνται εἶναι καὶ
\
μεγίστην οἱ ὁρτὴν ἀνάγουσι, ταύτην ἔρχομαι
ἐρέων... 1 ἐπεὰν ἀποδείρωσι τὸν βοῦν, κατευ-
΄,ὔ / ἣν / lal 9
Eapevot κοιλίην μὲν κείνην πᾶσαν ἐξ ὧν εἷλον,
΄ a / A
omhayxva δὲ αὐτοῦ λείπουσι ἐν TO σώματι Kal
’ /
τὴν πιμελήν, σκέλεα δὲ ἀποτάμνουσι καὶ τὴν
ὀσφὺν ἄκρην καὶ τοὺς ὥμους τε καὶ τὸν τράχηλον.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα τοῦ βοὸς
πιμπλᾶσι ἄρτων καθαρῶν καὶ μέλιτος καὶ ἀστα-
/ \ 7 a ὩΣ
φίδος καὶ σύκων καὶ λιβανωτοῦ καὶ σμύρνης καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων θυωμάτων, πλήσαντες δὲ τούτων
καταγίζουσι, ἔλαιον ἄφθονον καταχέοντες" προ-
νηστεύσαντες δὲ θύουσι, καιομένων δὲ τῶν ἱρῶν

1 There is an obvious lacuna; probably the name of the
goddess (Isis) was given here.

322

BOOK II. 39-40

having so done they sever the head from the body.
They flay the carcase of the victim, then invoke
many curses on its head and carry the same away.
Where there is a market, and Greek traders in
the place, the head is taken to the market and
sold; where there are no Greeks, it is thrown into
the river. The imprecation which they utter over
the heads is, that whatever ill threatens themselves,
who sacrifice, or the whole of Egypt, may fall upon
that head. In respect of the heads of sacrificed
beasts and the libation of wine, the practice of all
Egyptians is the same in all sacrifices ; and from this
ordinance no Egyptian will taste of the head of
anything that had life.

40. But in regard to the disembowelling and burn-
ing of the victims, there is a different way for each
sacrifice. I will now, however, speak of that goddess
whom they deem the greatest, and in whose honour
they keep highest festival. The ox being flayed, after
prayer made as aforesaid they take out the whole
stomach, leaving the entrails in the carcase and the fat,
and cut off the legs, the end of the loin, the shoulders,
and the neck. Having done this, they fill what
remains of the carcase of the ox with pure bread,
honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other
kinds of incense, and then burn it, pouring much oil
on it. They fast before the sacrifice, and while it is
burning they all make lamentation ; and when their

3223

HERODOTUS

τύπτονται πάντες, ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀποτύψωνται, δαῖτα
προτίθενται τὰ ἐλίποντο τῶν ἱρῶν.

41. Τοὺς μέν νυν καθαροὺς βοῦς τοὺς ἔρσενας
καὶ τοὺς μόσχους οἱ πάντες Αἰγύπτιοι θύουσι,
τὰς δὲ θηλέας οὔ σφι ἔξεστι θύειν, ἀλλὰ ἱραί εἰσι
τῆς Ἴσιος" τὸ γὰρ τῆς Ἴσιος ἄγαλμα ἐὸν γυναι-
κήιον βούκερων ἐστὶ κατά περ Ἕλληνες τὴν ᾿Ιοῦν
γράφουσι, καὶ τὰς βοῦς τὰς θηλέας Αἰγύπτιοι
πάντες ὁμοίως σέβονται προβάτων πάντων μάλιστα
μακρῷ. τῶν εἵνεκα οὔτε ἀνὴρ Αἰγύπτιος οὔτε
γυνὴ ἄνδρα ᾿Ἡ “EXAnva φιλήσειε ἂν τῷ στόματι,
οὐδὲ μαχαίρῃ ἀνδρὸς “Ελληνος χρήσεται οὐδὲ
ὀβελοῖσι οὐδὲ λέβητι, οὐδὲ κρέως καθαροῦ βοὸς
διατετμημένου ᾿λληνικῇ μαχαίρῃ γεύσεται. θά-
πτουσι δὲ τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας βοῦς τρόπον τόνδε"
τὰς μὲν θηλέας ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν ἀπιεῖσι, τοὺς δὲ
ἔρσενας κατορύσσουσι ἕκαστοι ἐν τοῖσι προα-
στείοισι, τὸ κέρας τὸ ἕτερον ἢ καὶ ἀμφότερα
ὑπερέχοντα σημηίου εἵνεκεν" ἐπεὰν δὲ σαπῇ
καὶ προσίῃ δ τεταγμένος χρόνος, ἀπικνέεται
ἐς ἑκάστην πόλιν βᾶρις ἐκ τῆς Προσωπίτιδος
καλευμένης νήσου. ἣ δ᾽ ἔστι μὲν ἐν τῷ Δέλτα,
περίμετρον δὲ αὐτῆς εἰσὶ σχοῖνοι ἐννέα. ἐν ταύτῃ
ὧν τῇ Προσωπίτιδι, νήσῳ ἔνεισι μὲν καὶ ἄλλαι
πόλιες συχναί, ἐκ τῆς δὲ αἱ βάριες παραγίνονται
ἀναιρησόμεναι τὰ ὀστέα τῶν βοῶν, οὔνομα τῇ
πόλι ᾿Ατάρβηχις, ἐν δ᾽ αὐτῇ ᾿Αφροδίτης ἱρὸν
ἅγιον ἵδρυται. ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πόλιος πλανῶνται
πολλοὶ ἄλλοι ἐς ἄλλας πόλις, ἀνορύξαντες δὲ «ὰ
ὀστέα ἀπάγουσι καὶ θάπτουσι ἐς ἕνα χῶρον
πάντες. κατὰ ταὐτὰ δὲ τοῖσι βουσὶ καὶ τἄλλα
κτήνεα θάπτουσι ἀποθνήσκοντα' καὶ γὰρ περὶ

324

BOOK II. 40-41

lamentation is over, they set out a meal of what is
left of the victim.

41. All Egyptians sacrifice unblemished bulls and
bull-calves; they may not sacrifice cows; these are
sacred to Isis. For the images of Isis are in woman’s
form, horned like an ox, as the Greeks picture Io, and
cows are held by far the most sacred of all beasts of
the herd by all Egyptians alike. For this reason no~)\
Egyptian man or woman will kiss a Greek man, or |
use a knife, or a spit, or a caldron belonging to a \)
Greek, or taste the flesh of an unblemished ox that :
has been cut up with a Greek knife. Oxen that die |
are dealt with in the following way :—Cows are cast
into the river, bulls are buried by each city in its
suburbs, with one or both horns uncovered for a sign:
then, when the carcase is decomposed, and the time
appointed is at hand, a boat comes to each city from
the island called Prosopitis, an island in the Delta,
of nine schoeni in circuit. There are many other
towns in Prosopitis; that one from which come the
boats to gather the bones of the bulls is called
Atarbechis ;! there stands in it a temple of Aphrodite
of great sanctity. From this town many go about, some
to one town and some to another, and dig up the
bones, which they then carry away and all bary in
one place. As they bury the oxen, so they do with
all other beasts at death. Such is their ordinance

1 No doubt from Athor or Hathor, under which name Isis
was often worshipped.

325

HERODOTUS

a / ,
ταῦτα οὕτω σφι νενομοθέτηται' κτείνουσι γὰρ
δὴ οὐδὲ ταῦτα.
/ \
42, Ὅσοι μὲν δὴ Διὸς Θηβαιέος ἵδρυνται ἱρὸν
κι A / /
ἢ νομοῦ τοῦ Θηβαίου εἰσί, οὗτοι μέν νυν πάντες
’
ὀίων ἀπεχόμενοι αἶγας θύουσι. θεοὺς γὰρ δὴ οὐ
\ “ ς / 3
τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἅπαντες ὁμοίως Αἰγύπτιοι σέβονται,
A » ν) \ ) / \ N / s
πλὴν ᾿Ισιός τε καὶ ᾽Οσίριος, τὸν δὴ Διόνυσον εἶναι
«ς /
λέγουσι' τούτους δὲ ὁμοίως ἅπαντες σέβονται.
¢ la) fi \ a n
ὅσοι δὲ τοῦ Mévdntos ἔκτηνται ἱρὸν ἢ νομοῦ τοῦ
, > 7 2 \ 2. A ͵
Μενδησίου εἰσί, οὗτοι δὲ αἰγῶν ἀπεχόμενοι ὄις
Lal 7 \ “ \
θύουσι. Θηβαῖοι μέν νυν καὶ ὅσοι διὰ τούτους
\ \
ὀΐων ἀπέχονται, διὰ τάδε λέγουσι τὸν νόμον
/ a ¢ rf
τόνδε σφίσι τεθῆναι. “Hpaxréa θελῆσαι πάντως
’, A A
ἰδέσθαι τὸν Δία, καὶ τὸν οὐκ ἐθέλειν ὀφθῆναι ὑπ᾽
> a / / b] / / \ € ,
αὐτοῦ" τέλος δέ, ἐπείτε λιπαρέειν τὸν Ἡρακλέα,
’,
τάδε τὸν Δία μηχανήσασθαι: κριὸν ἐκδείραντα
\ / a
προσχέσθαι τε THY κεφαλὴν ἀποταμόντα τοῦ
a \
κριοῦ καὶ ἐνδύντα TO νάκος οὕτω οἱ ἑωυτὸν
\ , A Ν
ἐπιδέξαι. ἀπὸ τούτου κριοπρόσωπον τοῦ Διὸς
» A ’ 4 2) \ \ ed ,
τὥὦγαλμα ποιεῦσι Αἰγύπτιοι, ἀπὸ δὲ Aiyurtiov
® , +7 3 \ > /
Appovio, ἐόντες Αἰγυπτιων te καὶ Αἰθιόπων
\ \ 2 /
ἄποικοι Kal φωνὴν μεταξὺ ἀμφοτέρων νομίζοντες.
x , N a
δοκέειν δέ μοι, καὶ TO οὔνομα ᾿Αμμώνιοι ἀπὸ τοῦδε
A \
σφίσι τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ἐποιήσαντο' ᾿Αμοῦν yap
\ \
Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι τὸν Δία. τοὺς δὲ κριοὺς ov
cal \ Ν a
θύουσι Θηβαῖοι, ἀλλ᾽ εἰσί ods ἱροὶ διὰ τοῦτο.
A “ aA id a A , A
μιῇ δὲ ἡμέρῃ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, ἐν ὁρτῇ Tov Atos, κριὸν
/ \ ’ ‘
ἕνα κατακόψαντες Kal ἀποδείραντες κατὰ TWUTO
᾽ / » a ΄ \ ” Ν
ἐνδύουσι τώγαλμα τοῦ Διός, καὶ ἔπειτα ἄλλο

326

BOOK II. 41-42

respecting these also; for they, too, may not be
killed.

42. All that have among them ἃ temple of Zeus of
Thebes, or are of the Theban province, sacrifice
goats but will not touch sheep. For no gods are
worshipped in common by the whole of Egypt save
only Isis and Osiris, whom they say to be Dionysus ;
these are worshipped by all alike. Those who have a
temple of Mendes! or are of the Mendesian province
sacrifice sheep, but will not touch goats. The
Thebans, and those who by the Theban example will
not touch sheep give the following reason for their
ordinance: Heracles? (they say) would by all means
look upon Zeus, and Zeus would not be seen by him.
At last, being earnestly entreated by Heracles, Zeus
contrived a device, whereby he showed himself dis-
playing the head and wearing the fleece of a ram
which he had flayed and beheaded. It is from this
that the Egyptian images of Zeus have a ram’s head;
and in this the Egyptians are imitated by the Ammo-
nians, who are colonists from Egypt and Ethiopia and
speak a language compounded of the tongues of both
countries. It was from this, I think, that the Ammo-
nians got their name too; for Amun is the Egyptian
name for Zeus. The Thebans, then, hold rams
sacred for this reason, and do not sacrifice them.
But on one day in the year, at the festival of Zeus,
they cut in pieces and flay a single ram and put the
fleece on the image of Zeus, as in the story ; then

1 Mendes, Greek form of Binded, a town in the Delta
where Osiris was worshipped in the form of a ram, according
to monuments. Here Mendes apparently = Osiris.

2 The Greeks identified with Heracles an Egyptian god
Shu (called at Thebes Chonsu-Neferhotep, ᾿Αγαθοδαίμων).

327

HERODOTUS

ἄγαλμα Ἡρακλέος προσάγουσι πρὸς αὐτό. ταῦτα
δὲ ποιήσαντες. τύπτονται οἱ περὶ τὸ ἱρὸν ἅπαντες
τὸν κριὸν καὶ ἔπειτα ἐν ἱρῇ θήκῃ θάπτουσι αὐτόν.
€ / \ / / ‘ \ , »
Ηρακλέος δὲ πέρι τόνδε τὸν λόγον ἤκουσα,
ὅτι εἴη τῶν δυώδεκα θεῶν: τοῦ ἑτέρου δὲ πέρι
Ἡρακλέος, τὸν “Ἕλληνες οἴδασι, οὐδαμῇ Αἰγύπτου
τα ἀκοῦσαι. καὶ μὴν ὅτι γε οὐ παρ᾽
“Ἑλλήνων ἔλαβον τὸ οὔνομα Αἰγύπτιοι τοῦ Ἥρα-
κλέος, ἀλλὰ “EXAnves μᾶλλον παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων
Ν te 7 πε € / Ae 2 7
καὶ “EXAnveyv οὗτοι οἱ θέμενοι TO ᾿Αμφιτρύωνος
/ " ¢€ / ta \ Μ
yovg τοὔνομα Ἡρακλέα, πολλὰ μοι καὶ αλλα
τεκμήρια ἐστὶ τοῦτο οὕτω ἔχειν, ἐν δὲ καὶ τόδε,
ὅτι τε τοῦ Ἡρακλέος τούτου οἱ γονέες ἀμφότεροι
ἧσαν ᾿Αμφιτρύων καὶ ᾿Αλκμήνη γεγονότες τὸ
ἀνέκαθεν ἀπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου, καὶ διότι Αἰγύπτιοι οὔτε
Ποσειδέωνος οὔτε Διοσκούρων τὰ οὐνόματα φασὶ
’ 7 > / \ Φ 3 - 3
εἰδέναι, οὐδέ σφι θεοὶ οὗτοι ἐν τοῖσι ἄλλοισι
A > , \ \ $y) 3) Ὁ ,
θεοῖσι ἀποδεδέχαται. καὶ μὴν εἴ ye παρ᾽ Ελλήνων
ἔλαβον οὔνομά τευ δαίμονος, τούτων οὐκ ἥκιστα
ἀλλὰ μάλιστα ἔμελλον. μνήμην ἕξειν, εἴ περ καὶ
τότε ναυτιλίῃσι ἐχρέωντο καὶ ἦσαν Ἑλλήνων
τινὲς ναυτίλοι, ὡς ἔλπομαί τε καὶ ἐμὴ γνώμη
αἱρέει: ὥστε τούτων ἂν καὶ μᾶλλον τῶν θεῶν τὰ
’ , >] VA ’ / a ae /
οὐνόματα ἐξεπιστέατο Αἰγύπτιοι ἢ τοῦ Ἡρακλέος.
’ / > a > \ \ 2) , (s
ἀλλά τις ἀρχαῖος ἐστὶ θεὸς Αἰγυπτίοισι “Hpa-
, e \
κλέης: ws δὲ αὐτοὶ λέγουσι, ἔτεα ἐστὶ ἕπτα-
, ,
κισχίλια καὶ μύρια ἐς "Δμασιν βασιλεύσαντα,
a » \ a e /
ἐπείτε ἐκ τῶν ὀκτὼ θεῶν οἱ δυώδεκα θεοὶ ἐγένοντο
τῶν Ἡρακλέα ἕνα νομίζουσι.
/ / /
44, Kal θέλων δὲ τούτων πέρι σαφές τι εἰδέναι
Σ ha ar 9 ” \ > mp7 a
ἐξ ὧν οἷον τε ἣν, ἔπλευσα Kal ἐς Τύρον τῆς

328

BOOK II. 42-44

they bring an image of Heracles near to it. Having
done this, all that are about the temple mourn for
the ram, and presently bury it in a sacred coffer.

48, Concerning Heracles, I heard it said that he
was one of the twelve gods. But I could nowhere in
Egypt hear anything concerning the other Heracles,
whom the Greeks know. I have indeed many proofs
that the name of Heracles did not come from Hellas
to Egypt, but from Egypt to Hellas (and in Hellas
to those Greeks who gave the name Heracles to the
son of Amphitryon); and this is the chief among
them—that Amphitryon and Alemene, the parents
of this Heracles, were both by descent Egyptian ;1
and that the Egyptians deny knowledge of the names
of Poseidon and the Dioscuri, nor are these gods
reckoned among the gods of Egypt. Yet had they
got the name of any deity from the Greeks, it was
these more than any that they were like to remember,
if indeed they were already making sea voyages and
the Greeks too had seafaring men, as I suppose and
judge; so that the naines of these gods would have
been even better known to the Egyptians than the
name of Heracles. Nay, Heracles is a very ancient
god in Egypt; as the Egyptians themselves say, the
change of the eight gods to the twelve, of whom
they deem Heracles one, was made _ seventeen
thousand years before the reign of Amasis.

44, Moreover, wishing to get clear knowledge of
this matter whence it was possible so to do, I took

1 As grandchildren of Perseus, for whose Egyptian origin
see 9].

329

HERODOTUS

Φοινίκης, πυνθανόμενος αὐτόθι εἶναι ἱρὸν ‘Hpa-
κλέος ἅγιον, καὶ εἶδον πλουσίως κατεσκενασμένον
ἄλλοισί τε πολλοῖσι ἀναθήμασι, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ
ἦσαν στῆλαι δύο, ἣ μὲν χρυσοῦ ἀπέφθου, ἣ δὲ
σμαράγδου λίθου λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος.
ἐς λόγους δὲ ἐλθὼν τοῖσι ἱρεῦσι τοῦ θεοῦ εἰρόμην
ὁκόσος χρόνος εἴη ἐξ οὗ σφι τὸ ἱρὸν ἵδρυται.
εὗρον δὲ οὐδὲ τούτους τοῖσι “ἔλλησι συμφερο-
μένους" ἔφασαν γὰρ ἅμα Τύρῳ οἰκιξζομένῃ καὶ τὸ
ἱρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἱδρυθῆναι, εἶναι δὲ ἔτεα ἀπ᾽ οὗ
Τύρον οἰκέουσι τριηκόσια καὶ δισχίλια. εἶδον δὲ
ἐν τῇ Τύρῳ καὶ ἄλλο ἱρὸν Ἡρακλέος. ἐπωνυμίην
ἔχοντος Θασίου εἶναι" ἀπικόμην δὲ καὶ ἐς Θάσον,
ἐν τῇ εὗρον ἱρὸν Ἡρακλέος ὑπὸ Φοινίκων ἱδρυ-
μένον, οὗ κατ᾿ ᾿ὐρώπης ζήτησιν ἐκπλώσαντες
Θάσον ἔκτισαν" καὶ ταῦτα καὶ πέντε γενεῇσι
ἀνδρῶν πρότερα ἐστὶ ἢ τὸν ᾿Αμφιτρύωνος ‘Hpa-
κλέα ἐν τῇ “Ελλάδι γενέσθαι. τὰ μέν νυν ἱστο-
ρημένα δηλοῖ σαφέως παλαιὸν θεὸν Ἡρακλέα
ἐόντα, καὶ δοκέουσι δέ μοι οὗτοι ὀρθότατα
“Ἑλλήνων ποιέειν, of διξὰ Ἡράκλεια ἱδρυσάμενοι
ἔκτηνται, καὶ τῷ μὲν ὡς ἀθανάτῳ Ὀλυμπίῳ
δὲ ἐπωνυμίην θύουσι, τῷ δὲ ἑτέρῳ ὡς ἥρωι
ἐναγίζουσι.

45. Λέγουσι δὲ πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα ἀνεπισκέπτως
οἱ Ἕλληνες, εὐήθης δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ ὅδε ὁ μῦθος ἐστὶ
τὸν περὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέος λέγουσι, ὡς αὐτὸν ἀπι-
κόμενον ἐς Αἴγυπτον στέψαντες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ὑπὸ
πομπῆς ἐξῆγον ὡς θύσοντες τῷ Διί: τὸν δὲ τέως
μὲν ἡσυχίην ἔχειν, ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τῷ βωμῷ

1 The Tyrian god Melkart.
330

BOOK IJ. 44-45

ship to Tyre in Phoenice, where I heard that there
wasavery holy temple of Heracles. There I saw it,
richly equipped with many other offerings, besides
that in it there were two pillars, one of refined gold,
one of emerald, a great pillar that shone in the
night-time ; and in converse with the priests I asked
how long it was since their temple was built. I
found that neither did their account tally with the
belief of the Greeks ; for they said that the temple of
the god was founded when Tyre first became a city,
and that was two thousand three hundred years since.
At Tyre I saw yet another temple of that Heracles
called the Thasian. Then I went to Thasos, too, where
I found a temple of Heracles built by the Phoenicians,
who made a settlement there when they voyaged in
search of Europe ; now they did so as much as five
generations before the birth in Hellas of Heracles
the son of Amphitryon. Therefore, what I have
discovered by inquiry plainly shows that Heracles is
anancient god. And further: those Greeks, I think,
are most in the right, who have established and
practise two worships of Heracles, sacrificing to one
Heracles as to an immortal, and calling him the
Olympian, but to the other bringing offerings as to a
dead hero.?

45. But among the many ill-considered tales told
by the Greeks, this is a very foolish story which they
relate about Heracles—how when he came to Egypt
the Egyptians crowned him and led him out ina
procession to sacrifice him to Zeus; and for a while
(they say) he followed quietly, but when they began

2 There is a dual Heracles in the Odyssey, xi. 601 seqq.
An εἴδωλον of him is seen in the world of the dead; but

‘‘he himself” is an immortal among the gods of heaven.

011 Ni 331

HERODOTUS

lA > ᾽ XN Ul ,
KATAPYOVTO, ἐς ἀλκὴν τραπόμενον πάντας σφέας
a \ / a /
καταφονεῦσαι. ἐμοὶ μέν νυν δοκέουσι ταῦτα λέ-
a ’ / rn ΄
γοντες τῆς Αἰγυπτίων φύσιος καὶ τῶν νόμων
f ΄ v ξὺν a
πάμπαν ἀπείρως ἔχειν οἱ “Ἑλληνες" τοῖσι γὰρ
οὐδὲ κτήνεα ὁσίη θύειν ἐ ἐστὶ χωρὶς ὑῶν καὶ ἐρσένων
βοῶν καὶ μόσχων, ὅσοι ἂν καθαροὶ ἔωσι, καὶ
χηνῶν, κῶς ἂν οὗτοι ἀνθρώπους θύοιεν; ἔτι δὲ
-« DE \ € / Nie, YA - \
ἕνα ἐόντα TOV Ἡρακλέα καὶ ἔτι ἄνθρωπον, ὡς δὴ
φασί, κῶς φύσιν ἔχει πολλὰς μυριάδας φονεῦσαι;
καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτων τοσαῦτα ἡμῖν εἰποῦσι καὶ
παρὰ τῶν θεῶν καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἡρώων εὐμενείη εἴη.
\ \ \ Ψ \ \ vA a
46. Tas δὲ δὴ αἶγας καὶ τοὺς τράγους τῶνδε
\
εἵνεκα οὐ θύουσι Αἰγυπτίων οἱ εἰρημένοι: τὸν
Πᾶνα τῶν ὀκτὼ θεῶν λογίζονται εἶναι οἱ Μενδή-
\ \ ᾽ \ \ / [Δ a
alot, τοὺς δὲ ὀκτὼ θεοὺς τούτους προτέρους τῶν
͵ n ΔΑ / / \
δυώδεκα θεῶν φασι γενέσθαι. γράφουσί τε δὴ
\ ΄ ς / \ tee) \
καὶ γλύφουσι οἱ ζωγράφοι καὶ οἱ ἀγαλματοποιοὶ
n Ν yy Λ ivf ’ /
τοῦ Ilavos τώγαλμα κατά περ EXXnvEs atyorpo-
\ / ” a
σωπον καὶ TPAYOTKENEA, οὔτι τοιοῦτον νομίζοντες
, [ς a “ / n δι
εἶναί μιν ἀλλὰ ὁμοῖον τοῖσι ἄλλοισι θεοῖσι: ὅτευ
an s / Yd
δὲ εἵνεκα τοιοῦτον γρώφουσι αὐτόν, ov μοι ἥδιον
/ \ 3 e
ἐστὶ λέγειν. σέβονται δὲ πάντας τοὺς αἶγας οἱ
n \ lat ,
Μενδήσιοι, καὶ μᾶλλον τοὺς ἔρσενας τῶν θηλέων,
/ ἔς ᾽ / Ἂν; / 7
καὶ τούτων οἱ αἰπόλοι τιμὰς μέζονας ἔχουσι" ἐκ δὲ
/ “ \ /
τούτων ἕνα μάλιστα, ὅστις ἐπεὰν ἀποθάνῃ, πένθος
\ an ΄, a , /
μέγα παντὶ τῷ Μενδησίῳ νομῷ τίθεται. καλέεται
\ a 4 \ e Ν > \ /
δὲ 6 τε τράγος Kat ὁ Liav Αἰγυπτιστὶ Μένδης.
/ “ lal n ἴω \
ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ νομῷ τούτῳ ἐπ᾽ ἐμεῦ τοῦτο τὸ
τέρας: γυναικὶ τράγος ἐμίσγετο ἀναφανδόν. τοῦτο
ἐς ἐπίδεξιν ἀνθρώπων ἀ ἀπίκετο.
τ
47. Ty δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι μιαρὸν ἥγηνται θηρίον
εἶναι, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἤν τις ψαύσῃ αὐτῶν παριὼν

352

BOOK IL. 45-47

the first rites of sacrifice upon him at the altar, he
resisted and slew them all. Now it seems to me
that by this story the Greeks show themselves wholly
ignorant of the character and customs of the
Egyptians ; for how should they sacrifice men, who
are forbidden to sacrifice even the lower animals,
save only swine and bulls and bull-calves, if they be
unblemished, and geese? Moreover, Heracles being
alone, and still but a man, as they say, how is it
naturel that he should slay a countless multitude ἢ
So much I say of this matter; may no god or hero
be displeased with me therefor !
46. This is the reason why the Egyptians of whom
I have spoken sacrifice no goats, male or female:
the Mendesians reckon Pan among the eight gods,
who, they say, were before the twelve gods. Now
in their painting and sculpture the image of Pan is
made as among the Greeks with the head and the
legs of a goat; not that he is deemed to be in truth
such, or unlike to other gods; but why they so
present him I have no wish to say. The Mendesians
hold all goats sacred, the male even more than the
female, and goatherds are held in especial honour:
one he-goat is most sacred of all; when he dies
it is ordained that there should be great mourning
in all the Mendesian province. In the Egyptian
language Mendes is the name both for the he-goat
and for Pan. In my lifetime a monstrous thing
happened in this province, a woman having open in-
tercourse with a he-goat. ‘This came to be publicly
known.
4 47. Swine are heid by the Egyptians to be unclean
/ beasts. TVirstly, if an Egyptian touch a hog in

333

HERODOTUS

2G ’ Ξ A ς ,ὔ δὲ νυ δ Ὁ ” e \
ὑός, αὐτοῖσι τοῖσι ἱματίοισι ἀπ᾽ ὧν ἔβαψε ἑωυτὸν
\ / lal ς n
Bas és Tov ποταμόν τοῦτο δὲ οἱ συβῶται ἐόντες
/ 7 € \ \ nr
Αἰγύπτιοι ἐγγενέες ἐς ἱρὸν οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ
ω / / /
ἐσέρχονται μοῦνοι πάντων, οὐδέ σφι ἐκδίδοσθαι
? \ / IQ / 9} »Μ 2 » A
οὐδεὶς θυγατέρα ἐθέλει οὐδ᾽ ἄγεσθαι ἐξ αὐτῶν,
> ’ > / / ¢ a \ yy 2
ἀλλ᾽ ἐκδίδονταί τε οἱ συβῶται καὶ ἄγονται ἐξ
lal BA n
ἀλλήλων. τοῖσι μέν νυν ἄλλοισι θεοῖσι θύειν ὗς
» an ’ / / N \ 4
οὐ δικαιεῦσι Αἰγύπτιοι, Σελήνῃ δὲ καὶ Διονύσῳ
μούνοισι τοῦ αὐτοῦ χρόνου, τῇ αὐτῇ πανσελήνῳ,
τοὺς ὗς θύσαντες πατέονται τῶν κρεῶν. Baber
δὲ TOUS ὗς ἐν μὲν τῇσι ἄλλῃσι ὁρτῆσι ἀπεστυγή-
\ ΄ » \ /
κασι ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ θύουσι, ἔστι μὲν λόγος περὶ
αὐτοῦ ὑπ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων λεγόμενος, ἐμοὶ μέντοι ἐπι-
σταμένῳ οὐκ εὐπρεπέστερος ἐστὶ λέγεσθαι. θυσίη
δὲ ἥδε τῶν ὑῶν τῇ Σελήνῃ ποιέεται: ἐπεὰν
θύσῃ, τὴν οὐρὴν ἄκρην καὶ τὸν σπλῆνα καὶ τὸν
τ / é \ ς a >) Ss > / /
ἐπίπλοον συνθεὶς ὁμοῦ κατ᾿ ὧν ἐκάλυψε πάσῃ
“ / Qn ol nan Xx \ NM i
TOU KTHVEOS TH πιμελῇ TH περὶ THY νηδὺν γινομένῃ,
» / / \ ͵
καὶ ἔπειτα καταγίξζει πυρί: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα κρέα
e \
σιτέονται ἐν TH πανσελήνῳ ἐν TH ἂν Ta (pa
θύσωσι, ἐν ἄχλῃ δὲ ἡμέρῃ οὐκ ἂν ἔτι γευσαίατο.
οἱ δὲ πένητες αὐτῶν ὑπ᾽ ἀσθενείης βίου σταιτίνας
πλάσαντες ὗς καὶ ὀπτήσαντες ταύτας θύουσι.
ΓΠ7ιὶ κα Ν f nan id a n "Δ rn
18. Τῷ δὲ Διονύσῳ τῆς ορτῆς τῇ δορπίῃ χοῖρον
προ, τῶν θυρέων σφάξας ἕκαστος διδοῖ ἀπο-
φέρεσθαι τὸν χοῖρον αὐτῷ τῷ ἀποδομένῳ τῶν
συβωτέων. τὴν δὲ ἄλλην ἀνάγουσι ὁρτὴν τῷ
Διονύσῳ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι πλὴν χορῶν κατὰ ταὐτὰ
σχεδὸν πάντα “EAA oe ἀντὶ δὲ φαλλῶν ἄλλα
σφι ἐστὶ ἐξευρημένα, ὃ ὅσον τε πηχναῖα ἀγάλματα
/
νευρόσπαστα, τὰ περιφορέουσι κατὰ κώμας γυ-
ναῖκες, νεῦον τὸ αἰδοῖον, οὐ πολλῷ τεῳ ἔλασσον

Sot

BOOK II. 47-48

passing by, he goes to the river and dips himself in
it, clothed as he is ; and secondly, swineherds, native
born Egyptians though they be, are alone of all men
forbidden to enter any Egyptian temple ; nor will any
give a swineherd his daughter in marriage, nor take
a wife from their women ; but swineherds intermarry
among themselves. Nor do the Egyptians think right
to sacrifice swine to any god save the Moon and
Dionysus ; to these they sacrifice their swine at the
same time, in the same season of full moon; then
they eat of the flesh. The Egyptians have an account
of the reason why they sacrifice swine at this festival,
yet abominate them at others; I know it, but it is
not fitting that I should relate it. But this is how
they sacrifice swine to the Moon: the sacrificer lays
the end of the tail and the spleen and the caul
together and covers them up with all the fat that he
finds about the belly, then burns all with fire; as for
the rest of the flesh, they eat it at the time of full
moon when they sacrifice the victim; but they will
not taste it on any other day. Poor men, having but
slender means, mould swine of dough, which they
then bake and sacrifice.

48. To Dionysus, on the evening of his festival,
everyone offers a porker which he kills before his
door and then gives to the swineherd himself who
has sold it, for him to take away. The rest of the
festival of Dionysus is ordered by the Egyptians
much as it is by the Greeks, except for the dances;
but in place of the phallus they have invented the
use of puppets a cubit long moved by strings, which
are carried about the villages by women, the male
member moving and near as big as the rest of the

335

HERODOTUS

9\ lal » τ / \ ’ f «
ἐὸν τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος" προηγέεται δὲ αὐλός, αἱ
wt > / \ / J \ /
δὲ ἕπονται ἀείδουσαι τὸν Διόνυσον. διότι δὲ μέζον

rn / a na
τε ἔχει TO αἰδοῖον Kal κινέει μοῦνον τοῦ σώματος,
» id AL Sa ἃ
ἔστι λόγος περὶ αὐτοῦ ἱρὸς λεγόμενος.
/

49, Ἤδη ὧν δοκέει μοι Μελάμπους 0 ᾿Αμυθέωνος
τῆς θυσίης ταύτης οὐκ εἶναι ἀδαὴς ἀλλ᾽ ἔμπειρος.
"KE λλησι γὰρ δὴ Μελάμπους ἐστὶ ὁ ἐξηγησάμενος
τοῦ Διονύσου τό τε οὔνομα καὶ τὴν θυσίην καὶ

an a /
THY πομπὴν TOD φαλλοῦ' ἀτρεκέως μὲν οὐ πάντα
συλλαβὼν τὸν λόγον ἔφηνε, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ ἐπιγενόμενοι

/ /
τούτῳ σοφισταὶ μεζόνως ἐξέφηναν: τὸν δ᾽ ὧν

NS \ lal / / 4
φαλλὸν τὸν τῷ Διονύσῳ πεμπόμενον Μελάμπους
« ha \ \
ἐστὶ ὁ KATNYNTAMEVOS, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου μαθόντες
rn la /
ποιεῦσι TA ποιεῦσι “Ἑλληνες. ἐγὼ μέν νυν φημὶ
Μελάμποδα γενόμενον ἄνδρα σοφὸν μαντικήν τε
ἑωυτῷ συστῆσαι καὶ πυθόμενον ἀπ᾿ Αἰγύπτου
ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἐσηγήσασθαι Ἕλλησι καὶ τὰ
\ \ , Jus, Sh ΩΝ ,
Tepl TOV Διόνυσον, ohuya αὐτῶν παραλλάξαντα.
οὐ γὰρ δὴ συμπεσεῖν γε φήσω τά τε ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ
ποιεύμενα τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖσι Ἑλλησι: ὁμό-
τροπα γὰρ ἂν ἣν τοῖσι “ἕλλησι καὶ οὐ νεωστὶ
’ / > \ > \ / “ ᾽ ,
ἐσηγμένα. οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ φήσω ὅκως Αἰγύπτιοι
> «ς a
παρ EAAnvev ἔλαβον ἢ τοῦτο ἢ ἄλλο κού τι

/ “ / / if

νόμαιον. πυθέσθαι δέ μοι δοκέει μάλιστα Me-
\ /
λάμπους τὰ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον παρὰ Κάδμου τε

na , a a
τοῦ Tuptou καὶ TOV σὺν αὐτῷ ἐκ Φοινίκης ἀπικο-
μένων ἐς τὴν νῦν Βοιωτέην καλεομένην χώρην.

ΤΙΝ Σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ πάντων τὰ οὐνόματα τῶν θεῶν
ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐλήλυθε ἐς τὴν ᾿Ιλλάδα. διότι μὲν
γὰρ ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων ἥκει, πυνθανόμενος οὕτω

CZ 5. / es 4 > ? > ta
εὑρίσκω ἐόν' δοκέω δ᾽ ὧν μάλιστα ἀπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου
Suen τ \ \ \ , \
ἀπῖχθαι. ὅτι yap δὴ μὴ Ποσειδέωνος καὶ Διοσ-
336

BOOK II. 48- το

body; a flute-player goes before, the women follow
after, singing of Dionysus. There is a sacred legend
which gives the reason for the appearance and
motions of these puppets.

49. Now, this being so, it seems to me that
Melampus son of Amytheon was not ignorant but
had attained knowledge of this sacrifice. For it
was Melampus who taught the Greeks the name of
Dionysus, and the way of sacrificing to him, and the
phallic procession ; I would not in strictness say that
he showed them completely the whole matter, for
the later teachers added somewhat to his showing ;
but it was from him that the Greeks learnt to
bear the phallus along in honour of Dionysus,
and they got their present practice from his teach-
ing. I think, then, that Melampus showed himself
a clever man, in that he had acquired the prophetic
art, and in his teaching of the worship of Dionysus,
besides much else, came from Egypt with but slight
change; for I will not admit that it is a chance
agreement between the Egyptian ritual of Dionysus
and the Greek; for were that so, the Greek ritual
would be of a Greek nature and not but lately
introduced. Nor yet will I hold that the Egyptians
took either this or any other custom from the Greeks.
But I believe that Melampus learnt the worship of
Dionysus chiefly from Cadmus of Tyre and those who
came with Cadmus from Phoenice to the land now
called Boeotia.

50. Indeed, wellnigh all the names of the gods
came to Hellas from Egypt. For I am assured by
inquiry that they have come from foreign parts, and
I believe that they came chiefly from Egypt. Except
the names of Poseidon and the Dioscuri, as I have

337

HERODOTUS

κούρων, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι ταῦτα εἴρηται, καὶ
Ἥρης καὶ Ἱστίης καὶ Θέμιος καὶ Χαρίτων καὶ
Νηρηίδων, τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν Αἰγυπτίοισι αἰεί κοτε
τὰ οὐνόματα ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ χώρῃ. λέγω δὲ τὰ λέγουσι
αὐτοὶ Αἰγύπτιοι. τῶν δὲ οὔ φασι θεῶν γινώσκειν
Ψ / φΦ / / e \
τὰ οὐνόματα, οὗτοι δέ μοι δοκέουσι ὑπὸ IleXac-
γῶν ὀνομασθῆναι, πλὴν Ποσειδέωνος" τοῦτον δὲ
\ ᾿ \ / ear ‘ ) \ \
tov θεὸν παρὰ Λιβύων ἐπύθοντο' οὐδαμοὶ yap
ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς Ποσειδέωνος οὔνομα ἔκτηνται εἰ μὴ
A \ Ν A
Λίβυες καὶ τιμῶσι τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον αἰεί. vopt-
2 18. > 4 790) of ’ ,

ζουσι δ᾽ ὧν Αἰγύπτιοι οὐδ᾽ ἥρωσι οὐδέν.

51. Ταῦτα μέν νυν καὶ ἄλλα πρὸς τούτοισι, τὰ
> \ , “ > 9 > , ,
ἐγὼ φράσω, EXdAnves aT Αἰγυπτίων νενομίκασι"
τοῦ δὲ "Ὑϑ Eppew τὰ ἀγάλματα ὀρθὰ ἔχειν τὰ αἰδοῖα
ποιεῦντες οὐκ ἀπ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων μεμαθήκασι, ἀλλ᾽
ἀπὸ Πελασγῶν πρῶτοι μὲν ᾿λλήνων ἁπάντων
> a / \ \ / ?
Αθηναῖοι παραλαβόντες, παρὰ δὲ τούτων ὧλλοι.
᾽ θ , \ ἤδ lal » “
Αθηναίοισι yap ἤ ἢ τηνικαῦτα ἐς Ελληνας τε-
λέουσι Πελασγοὶ σύνοικοι ἐγένοντο ἐν τῇ χώρῃ,
ὅθεν περ καὶ “Ἕλληνες ἤρξαντο νομισθῆναι. ὅστις
δὲ τὰ Καβείρων ὄ ὄργια μεμύηται, τὰ Σαμοθρήικες
ἐπιτελέουσι παραλαβόντες παρὰ Πελασγῶν, οὗτος

’ »

ὡνὴρ οἷδε TO λέγω: τὴν yap Σαμοθρηίκην οἴκεον

, N 2 ¢/ ,
πρότερον [Πελασγοὶ οὗτοι οἵ περ ᾿Αθηναίοισι
σύνοικοι ἐγένοντο, καὶ παρὰ τούτων Σαμοθρήικες
τὰ ὄργια παραλαμβάνουσι. ὀρθὰ ὧν ἔχειν. τὰ
αἰδοῖα τἀγάλματα τοῦ “Ἑρμέω ᾿Αθηναῖοι πρῶτοι
Ἑλλήνων μαθόντες παρὰ Πελασγῶν ἐ ἐποιήσαντο"
οἱ δὲ Πελασγοὶ ἱ ἱρόν τινα λόγον περὶ αὐτοῦ ἔλεξαν,
τὰ ἐ ἕω τοῖσι ἐν Σαμοθρηίκῃ μυστηρίοισι δεδήλωται.

Yj
2. Ἔθυον δὲ πάντα πρότερον οἱ Πελασγοὶ

ems ἐπευχόμενοι, ὡς ἐγὼ ἐν Δωδώνῃ oida ἀκού-

338

BOOK II. 50-52

already said, and Here, and Hestia, and Themis, and
the Graces and the Nereids, the names of all the
gods have ever existed in Egypt. I say but what the
Egyptians themselves say. The gods whose names
they say they do not know were, as I think, named
by the Pelasgians, save only Poseidon, of whom they
learnt the knowledge from the Libyans. Alone of
all nations the Libyans have had among them the
name of Poseidon from the first, and they have ever
honoured this god. The Egyptians, however, are
not accustomed to pay any honours to heroes.

51. These customs then and others besides, which
I shall show, were taken by the Greeks from the
Egyptians. It was not so with the ithyphallic images
of Hermes; the making of these came from the
Pelasgians, from whom the Athenians were the first
of all Greeks to take it, and then handed it oh to
others. For the Athenians were then already
counted as Greeks when the Pelasgians came to
dwell in the land with them, and thereby began
to be considered as Greeks. Whoever has been
initiated into the rites of the Cabeiri, which the
Samothracians learnt from the Pelasgians and now
practice, he understands what my meaning is.
Samothrace was formerly inhabited by those Pelas-
gians who came to dwell among the Athenians, and
it is from them that the Samothracians take their
rites. The Athenians, then, were the first Greeks to
make ithyphallic images of Hermes, and this they
did because the Pelasgians taught them. The
Pelasgians told a certain sacred tale about this, which
is set forth in the Samothracian mysteries.

52. Formerly, in all their sacrifices, the Pelasgians
called upon gods (this I know, for I was told at

339

HERODOTUS

᾽ , \ 799 yy » le) ᾽ \
σας, ἐπωνυμίην δὲ οὐδ᾽ οὔνομα ἐποιεῦντο οὐδενὶ
ΓΟ Ν [4 2
αὐτῶν" οὐ γὰρ ἀκηκόεσάν κω. θεοὺς δὲ προσω-
νόμασαν σφέας ἀπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου, ὅτι κόσμῳ
θέντες τὰ πάντα πρήγματα καὶ πάσας νομὰς
9 ” \ / a ,
εἶχον. ἔπειτα δὲ χρόνου πολλοῦ διεξελθόντος
rn 3 , \ /
ἐπύθοντο ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἀπικόμενα τὰ οὐνόματα
lal a la A 7 \ ς δὲ a
τῶν θεῶν τῶν ἄλλων, Διονύσου δὲ ὕστερον πολλῷ
/ \ \ ,
ἐπύθοντο. καὶ μετὰ χρόνον ἐχρηστηριάξοντο
περὶ τῶν οὐνομάτων ἐν Δωδώνῃ" τὸ γὰρ δὴ μαντήιον
τοῦτο νενόμισται ἀρχαιότατον τῶν ἐν “EXAnot
ν» Ν [a a aA
χρηστηρίων εἶναι, καὶ ἣν TOY χρόνον τοῦτον μοῦ-
9 4 A , e
νον. ἐπεὶ ὧν ἐχρηστηριάζοντο ἐν τῇ Δωδώνῃ οἱ
(? \ rn
Πελασγοὶ εἰ ἀνέλωνται τὰ οὐνόματα τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν
βαρβάρων ἥκοντα, ἀνεῖλε τὸ μαντήιον χρᾶσθαι.
ἀπὸ μὲν δὴ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου ἔθυον τοῖσι οὐνόμασι
τῶν θεῶν χρεώμενοι: παρὰ δὲ Πελασγῶν “Ιὕλληνες
/ ¢
ἐξεδέξαντο ὕστερον.
/ “ lal
53. Ἔνθεν δὲ ἐγένοντο ἕκαστος τῶν θεῶν, εἴτε
« a \ \
αἰεὶ ἦσαν πάντες, ὁκοῖοί τε τινὲς τὰ εἴδεα, οὐκ
ἠπιστέατο μέχρι οὗ πρώην τε καὶ χθὲς ὦ ὡς εἰπεῖν
λόγῳ. Ἡσίοδον γὰρ καὶ Ὅμηρον ἡλικίην τετρα-
κοσίοισι ἔτεσι δοκέω μευ πρεσβυτέρους γενέσθαι
καὶ οὐ πλέοσι: οὗτοι δὲ εἰσὶ οἱ ποιήσαντες θεο-
΄ “ \ lal a \ > ᾽ὔ
γονίην “Βλλησι καὶ τοῖσι θεοῖσι τὰς ἐπωνυμίας
\ / “
δόντες Kal τιμάς τε Kal τέχνας διελόντες καὶ εἴδεα
a ς / /
αὐτῶν σημήναντες. οἱ δὲ πρότερον ποιηταὶ λεγό-
a A / “
μενοι τούτων τῶν ἀνδρῶν γενέσθαι ὕστερον, ἔμοιγε
ἢ \ \ a e
δοκέειν, ἐγένοντο. τούτων τὰ μὲν πρῶτα αἱ Awdw-
Ψ Le an ΄ Ἂν \ a \ > ¢ , /
νίδες ἱρεῖαι λέγουσι, τὰ δὲ ὕστερα τὰ ἐς Hoiodov
τε καὶ Ομηρον ἐ ἔχοντα ἐγὼ λέγω.
54. Χρηστηρίων δὲ πέρι τοῦ τε ἐν “Ελλησε καὶ

340

BOOK II. 52-54

Dodona) without giving name or appellation to
any; for they had not as yet heard of such. They
called them gods! because all things and the due
assignment thereof were by them set in order.
Then, after a long while, they learnt the names first
of the rest of the gods, which came to them from
Egypt, and, much ied the name of Dionysus; and
presently they inquired of the oracle at Dodona
concerning the names; for this place of divination is
held to be the most ancient in Hellas, and at that
time it was the only one. When the Pelasgians,
then, inquired at Dodona if they should adopt the
names that had come from foreign parts, the oracle
bade them use the names. From that time on-
wards they used the names of the gods in their
sacrifices ; and the Greeks received these later from
the Pelasgians.

bos But whence each of the gods came into being,
or whether they had all for ever existed, and alee
outward forms they had, the Greeks het not till (so
to say) a very little hal e ago; for I suppose that the
time of Hesiod and Homer was not more than four
hundred years before my own; and these are they
who taught the Greeks of the descent of the gods,
and gave to all their several names, and honours,
and ae and declared their outward forms. But
those poets who are said to be older than Hesiod
and Homer were, to my thinking, of later birth.
The earlier part of a!l this is what the priestesses of
Dodona tell; the later, that which concerns Hesiod
and Homer, is what I myself say.

54. But as concerning the oracles in Hellas, and

1 On the supposition that θεός meant ‘‘a disposer,”
connected with θεσμός, τίθημι, ete.

341

HERODOTUS

τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ τόνδε Αἰγύπτιοι λόγον λέγουσι.
ἔφασαν οἱ ἱρέες τοῦ Θηβαιέος Διὸς δύο γυναῖκας
ud / > / 3 a is N / ἣν
ἱρείας ἐκ Θηβέων ἐξαχθῆναι ὑπὸ Φοινίκων, καὶ
\ \ 2 ne θ ) At a \
τὴν μὲν αὐτέων πυθέσθαι ἐς Λιβύην πρηθεῖσαν τὴν
/ A
δὲ ἐς τοὺς “EXAnvas: ταύτας δὲ Tas γυναῖκας
εἶναι τὰς ἱδρυσαμένας τὰ μαντήια πρώτας ἐν τοῖσι
» / / € / δ᾽
εἰρημένοισι ἔθνεσι. εἰρομένου δέ μευ ὁκόθεν οὕτω
/ J
ἀτρεκέως ἐπιστάμενοι λέγουσι, ἔφασαν πρὸς
2) N / Δ a
ταῦτα ζήτησιν μεγάλην ἀπὸ σφέων γενέσθαι τῶν
a / an
γυναικῶν τουτέων, Kal ἀνευρεῖν μὲν σφέας οὐ δυ-
, \ ΠΝ fa
νατοὶ γενέσθαι, πυθέσθαι δὲ ὕστερον ταῦτα περὶ
αὐτέων τά περ δὴ ἔλεγον.
TA , aA 5) ,ὔ ἘΠῚ ”
δῦ. Ταῦτα μέν νυν τῶν ἐν Θήβησι ipewy ἤκουον,
΄ ΝΟ ἢ \ ¢ 7 re
τάδε δὲ Δωδωναίων φασὶ αἱ προμάντιες" δύο πε-
,ὔ / an
λειάδας μελαίνας ἐκ Θηβέων τῶν Αἰὐγυπτιέων
\ / 7 \
ἀναπταμένας τὴν μὲν αὐτέων ἐς Λιβύην. τὴν δὲ
παρὰ σφέας ἀπικέσθαι, ἱξομένην δέ μιν ἐπὶ φηγὸν
αὐδάξασθαι φωνῇ ἀνθρωπηίῃ ὡς “χρεὸν εἴη μαν-
τήιον αὐτόθι Διὸς γενέσθαι, καὶ αὐτοὺς ὑπολαβεῖν
lal \ / lal /
θεῖον εἶναι TO ἐπαγγελλόμενον αὐτοῖσι, Kal odeas
A \ \ /
ἐκ τούτου ποιῆσαι. τὴν δὲ ἐς Tous Λίβυας o1X@-
/
μένην πελειάδα λέγουσι ᾿Αμμωνος χρηστήριον
κελεῦσαι τοὺς Λίβυας ποιέειν" ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο
Διός. Δωδωναίων δὲ αἱ ἱρεῖαι, τῶν τῇ πρεσβυ-
τάτῃ οὔνομα ἣν Προμένεια, τῇ δὲ μετὰ ταύτην
Τιμαρέτη, τῇ δὲ νεωτάτῃ Νικάνδρη, ἔλεγον ταῦτα"
/ 7 \ e ” “ Ὁ
συνωμολόγεον δέ σφι καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Δωδωναῖοι οἱ
¢ /
περὶ TO ἱρόν.
7 fal /
56. ᾿γὼ δ᾽ ἔχω περὶ αὐτῶν γνώμην τήνδε" εἰ
bd ΄ ς / 2 / NS © _3N a
ἀληθέως οἱ Φοίνικες ἐξήγαγον τὰς ipas γυναῖκας
Ν / Α \
Kat τὴν μὲν αὐτέων ἐς Λιβύην τὴν δὲ és τὴν
> , / , N εἰ nq
Ελλάδα ἀπέδοντο, δοκέει ἐμοί ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη τῆς

3:12

BOOK II. 54-56

that one which is in Libya, this is the account given
by the Egyptians. The priests of Zeus of Thebes
told me that two priestesses had been carried away
from Thebes by Phoenicians; one of them (so, they
said, they had learnt) was taken away and sold in
Libya, and the other in Hellas; these women, they
said, were the first founders of places of divination in
the countries aforesaid. When I asked them how it
was that they could speak with so certain knowledge,
they said in reply that their peopJe had sought dili-
gently for these women, and had never been able to
find them, but had learnt later the tale which was
now told to me.

55. That, then, I heard from the Theban priests ;
and what follows, is told by the prophetesses of
Dodona: to wit, that two black doves had come flying
from Thebes in Egypt, one to Libya and one to
Dodona; this last settled on an oak tree, and uttered
there human speech, declaring that there must be
there a place of divination from Zeus; ihe people of
Dodona understood that the message was divine, and
therefore they established the oracular shrine. The
dove which came to Libya bade the Libyans (so they
say) to make an oracle of Ammon; this also is sacred
to Zeus. Such was the tale told by the Dodonaean
priestesses, of whom the eldest was Promeneia and
the next in age Timarete, and the youngest Nicandra ;
and the rest of the servants of the temple at Dodona
likewise held it true.

56. But this is my own belief about it. If the
Phoenicians did in truth carry away the sacred
women and sell one in Libya and one in Hellas, then
to my thinking’the part of what is now Hellas;pbut

343

HERODOTUS

rn /
νῦν ‘EXXdbos, πρότερον δὲ Τελασγώ)ς καλευμένης
a a 4 “ 2 /
τῆς αὐτῆς ταύτης, πρηθῆναι ἐς Θεσπρωτούς,
” Ip > L e / is Ν lal
ἔπειτα δουλεύουσα αὐτόθι ἱδρύσασθαι ὑπὸ φηγῷ
if et \ , er ον 7 SN , /
πεφυκυίϊῃ tpov Atos, ὡσπερ ἣν οἰκὸς ἀμφιπολεύου-
> 7 CaN / ” ’ , 3 an
σαν ἐν Θήβῃσι ἱρὸν Atos, ἔνθα ἀπίκετο, ἐνθαῦτα
nr » a ,
μνήμην αὐτοῦ ἔχειν: ἐκ δὲ τούτου χρηστήριον
/ \ Lae a) an
κατηγήσατο, ἐπείτε συνέλαβε THY ᾿Ιλλάδα γλῶσ-
\ 7 n
σαν: φάναι δέ ot ἀδελφεὴν ἐν Λιβύη πεπρῆσθαι
ς rn a γ΄ Ψ @ si \ /
ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν Φοινίκων ὑπ᾽ ὧν καὶ αὐτὴ ἐπρήθη.
- / Ie an
57. Πελειάδες δέ μοι δοκέουσι κληθῆναι πρὸς
an ς a Ul
Δωδωναίων ἐπὶ τοῦδε αἱ γυναῖκες, dvoTt βάρβαροι
9S Os / ¢ , ” /
ἧσαν, ἐδόκεον δέ σφι ὁμοίως ὄρνισι φθέγγεσθαι:
\ \ , \ , ᾽ , A
μετὰ δὲ χρόνον τὴν πελειάδα ἀνθρωπηίῃ φωνῇ
᾽ / / 2 iy / A e
αὐδάξασθαι λέγουσι, ἐπείτε συνετά σφι ηὔδα ἡ
tuts? \ > / ” / > / /
yuvy ἕως δὲ ἐβαρβάριζε, ὄρνιθος τρόπον ἐδόκεέ
φι φθέγγεσθαι, ἐπεὶ τέῳ ἃἂ ὕπῳ πελειά
σφι φθέγγεσθαι, ἐπεὶ τέῳ ἂν τρόπῳ πελειάς γε
5 / nan / / Ν /
ἀνθρωπηΐη φωνῇ φθέγξαιτο ; μέλαιναν δὲ λέ-
> \ “
γοντες εἶναι τὴν πελειάδα σημαίνουσι ὅτι Αἰγυ-
, 9
πτίη ἡ γυνὴ ἣν.
ς Ν / an
58. Ἢ δὲ μαντηίη ἥ τε ἐν Θήβησι τῇσι Aiyv-
le \ Vf
πτίῃσι καὶ ἐν Δωδώνῃ παραπλήσιαι ἀλλήλῃσι
τυγχάνουσι ἐοῦσαι. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἱρῶν ἡ μαν-
\ > > >) i I?
τικὴ ἀπ Αἰγύπτου ἀπιγμένη. πανηγύρις δὲ dpa
\ \ \ a
καὶ πομπὰς καὶ TpoTaywyas πρῶτοι ἀνθρώπων
Ἔν, ΚΕΝ e
Αἰγύπτιοι εἰσὶ οἱ ποιησάμενοι, καὶ παρὰ τούτων
ὙΠ x θ / , δέ ΄
λληνες μεμαθήκασι. τεκμήριον δέ μοι τούτου
΄ id \ Ne , - lal
τόδε" αἱ μὲν yap φαίνονται ἐκ πολλοῦ τευ χρόνου
le ¢ €m
ποιεύμεναι, αἱ δὲ "Ιἱλληνικαὶ νεωστὶ ἐποιήθησαν.
/ \ 2) / » “
59. Llavnyupifovar δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι οὐκ ἅπαξ τοῦ

344

BOOK II. 56-59

was formerly called Pelasgia, where this last was
sold, was Thesprotia ; and presently, being there in
slavery, she established a shrine of Zeus under an oak
that was growing there; for it was reasonable that as
she had been a handmaid of the temple of Zeus at
Thebes she should remember that temple in the land
to which she had come. After this she taught divi-
nation, as soon as she understood the Greek language ;
and she said that her sister had been sold in Libya
by the same Phoenicians who sold her.

57. I suppose that these women were called
“doves’’ by the people of Dodona because they
spoke a strange language, and the people thought
it like the cries of birds; presently the woman spoke
what they could understand, and that is why they
say that the dove uttered human speech; as long as
she spoke in her foreign language, they thought her
voice was like the voice of a bird. For how could
a dove utter the speech of men? The tale that
the dove was black signifies that the woman was
Egyptian.

58. The fashions of divination at Thebes of Egypt
and Dodona are like to one another; moreover the
practice of divining from the sacrificed victim has
also come from Egypt. It would seem too that the
Egyptians were the first people to establish solemn
assemblies, and processions, and services ; the Greeks
learnt all this from them. I hold this proved,
because the Egyptian ceremonies are manifestly very
ancient, and the Greek are of late origin.

99. The Egyptians hold solemn assemblies not

1 Perhaps Herodotus’ explanation is right. But the name
“doves” may be purely symbolic; thus priestesses of
Demeter and Artemis were sometimes called Bees,

345

HERODOTUS

ἐνιαυτοῦ, πανηγύρις δὲ συχνάς, μάλιστα μὲν καὶ
προθυμότατα ἐς Βούβαστιν πόλιν τῇ ᾿Αρτέμιδι,
δεύτερα δὲ ἐς Βούσιριν πόλιν τῇ “lou ἐν ταύτῃ
γὰρ δὴ τῇ πόλι ἐστὶ μέγιστον Ἴσιος ἱρόν, ἵδρυται
δὲ ἡ πόλις αὕτη τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν μέσῳ τῷ Δέλτα"
Ἶσις δὲ ἐστὶ κατὰ τὴν ᾿λληνων γλῶσσαν Δημή-
Tp. τρίτα dé ἐς Sau πόλιν τῇ Δθηναίῃ πανηγυ-
ρίζουσι, τέταρτα δὲ ἐς Ἡλίου πόλιν τῷ Ἡλίῳ,
πέμπτα δὲ ἐς Βουτοῦν πόλιν τῇ Λητοῖ, ἕκτα δὲ ἐς
Πάπρημιν πόλιν τῷ "Αρεῖ.

60. ᾽Ες μέν νυν Βούβαστιν πόλιν ἐπεὰν κομί-
ἕωνται, ποιεῦσι τοιάδε. πλέουσί τε γὰρ δὴ ἅμα
ἄνδρες γυναιξὶ καὶ πολλόν τι πλῆθος ἑκατέρων ἐν
ἑκάστῃ Papu at μὲν τινὲς τῶν yuva: “κῶν se al
ἔχουσαι κροταλίζουσι, οἱ δὲ αὐλέουσι κατὰ πάντ
τὸν πλόον, αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ γυναῖκες, καὶ ἄνδρες
ἀείδουσι καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κροτέουσι. ἐπεὰν δὲ πλέ-
OVTES κατά τινα πόλιν ἄλλην γένωνται, ἐγχρίμ-
ψαντες, τὴν Bapw τῇ γῇ ποιεῦσι τοιάδε" al μὲν
τινὲς τῶν γυναικῶν ποιεῦσι Ta περ εἴρηκα, al δὲ
τωθάζουσι βοῶσαι τὰς ἐν τῇ πόλι ταύτῃ γυναῖκας,
αἵ δὲ ὀρχέονται, αἱ δὲ ἀνασύρονται ἀνιστάμεναι.
ταῦτα παρὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν παραποταμίην ποιεῦσι"
ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀπίκωνται ἐς τὴν βούβαστιν, ὁρτάζουσι
μεγάλας ἀνάγοντες θυσίας, καὶ οἶνος ἀμπέλινος
ἀναισιμοῦται πλέων ἐν τῇ ὁρτῇ ταύτῃ ἢ ἐν τῷ
ἅπαντι ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ ἐπιλοίπῳ. συμφοιτῶσι δέ,
ὅ τι ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή ἐστι πλὴν παιδίων, καὶ ἐς
ἑβδομήκοντα μυριάδας, ὡς οἱ ἐπιχώριοι λέγουσι.

61. Ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ταύτῃ ποιέεται, ἐν δὲ Βουσίρι
πόλι ὡς ἀνάγουσι τῇ Ἴσι τὴν ὁρτήν, εἴρηται πρό-
τερόν μοι: τύπτονται μὲν γὰρ δὴ μετὰ τὴν θυσίην

346

BOOK II. s9-61

once in the year, but often. The chiefest of these
and the most zealously celebrated is at the town of
Bubastis! in honour of Artemis, and the next is that
in honour of Isis at Busiris. This town is in the
middle of the Egyptian Delta, and there is in it a
very great temple of Isis, who is in the Greek
language, Demeter. The third greatest festival is at
Sais in honour of Athene; the fourth is the festival
of the sun at Heliopolis, the fifth of Leto at Buto, and
the sixth of Ares at Papremis.

60. When the people are on their way to Bubastis
they go by river, men and women together, a great
number of each in every boat. Some of the women
make a noise with rattles, others play flutes all the
way, while the rest of the women, and the men, sing
and clap their hands. As they journey by river to
Bubastis, whenever they come near any other town
they bring their boat near the bank; then some of
the women do as I have said, while some shout
mockery of the women of the town; others dance,
and others stand up and expose their persons. This
they do whenever they come beside any riverside
town. But when they have reached Bubastis, they
make a festival with great sacrifices, and more wine is
drunk at this feast than in the whole year beside.
Men and women (but not children) are wont to
assemble there to the number of seven hundred
thousand, as the people of.the place say.

61. Such is their practice there; I have already
told how they keep the feast of Isis at Busiris.
There, after the sacrifice, all the men and women

1 Bubastis in the Delta, the ‘‘city of Pasht,’’ where the
cat-headed goddess Pasht (identified by Herodotus with
Artemis) was worshipped.

347

HERODOTUS

πάντες καὶ πᾶσαι, μυριάδες κάρτα πολλαὶ ἀνθρώ-
Tov τὸν δὲ τύπτονται, οὔ μοι ὅσιον ἐστὶ λέγειν.
ὅσοι δὲ Καρῶν εἰσι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ οἰκέοντες, οὗτοι
δὲ τοσούτῳ ἔτι πλέω ποιεῦσι τούτων ὅσῳ καὶ τὰ
μέτωπα κόπτονται μαχαίρῃσι, καὶ τούτῳ εἰσὶ
δῆλοι ὅτι εἰσὶ ξεῖνοι καὶ οὐκ Αἰγύπτιοι.

62. "Es > Σάιν δὲ πόλιν ἐπεὰν συχλεχθέωσι, τῆς
θυσίης ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ λύχνα καίουσι πάντες πολλὰ
ὑπαίθρια περὶ τὰ δώματα κύκλῳ' τὰ δὲ λύχνα
ἐστὶ ἐμβάφια ἔμπλεα ἁλὸς καὶ ἐλαίου, ἐπιπολῆς
δὲ ἔπεστι αὐτὸ τὸ ἐλλύχνιον, καὶ τοῦτο καίεται
παννύχιον, καὶ τῇ ὁρτῇ οὔνομα κέεται λυχνοκαΐη.
οἱ δ᾽ ἂν μὴ ἔλθωσι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐς τὴν πανή-
γυριν ταύτην, φυλάσσοντες τὴν νύκτα τῆς θυσίης
καίουσι καὶ αὐτοὶ πάντες τὰ λύχνα, καὶ οὕτω οὐκ
év Yat μούνῃ καίεται ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν Αἴ-
γυπτον. ὅτευ δὲ εἵνεκα φῶς ἔλαχε καὶ τιμὴν ἡ
νὺξ αὕτη, ἔστι ἱρὸς περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγος λεγόμενος.

63. "Es δὲ «Ηλίου τε πόλιν καὶ βουτοῦν θυσίας
μούνας ἐπιτελέουσι φοιτέοντες. ἐν δὲ ΠΙΠαπρήμι
θυσίας μὲν καὶ ἱρὰ κατά περ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ποιεῦσι"
εὖτ᾽ ἂν δὲ γίνηται καταφερὴς ὁ ἥλιος, ὀλίγοι μὲν
τινὲς τῶν ἱρέων περὶ τὥγαλμα πεπονέαται, οἱ δὲ
πολλοὶ αὐτῶν ξύλων κορύνας ἔχοντες ἑστῶσι τοῦ
ἱροῦ ἐν τῇ ἐσόδῳ, ἄλλοι τε εὐχωλὰς ἐπιτελέοντες
πλεῦνες χιλίων ἀνδρῶν, ὁ ἕκαστοι ἔχοντες ξύλα καὶ
οὗτοι, ἐπὶ τὰ ἕτερα ἁλέες ἑστᾶσι. τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα
ἐὸν ἐν νηῷ μικρῷ ξυλίνῳ κατακεχρυσωμένῳ προ-
εκκομίζουσι τῇ προτεραίῃ ἐς ἄλλο οἴκημα ἱρόν.
οἱ μὲν δὴ ὀλίγοι οἱ περὶ τὥγαλμα λελειμμένοι
ἕλκουσι “τετράκυκλον ἅμαξαν ἄγουσαν τὸν vn ov
TE καὶ TO EV τῷ νηῷ ἐνεὸν ἄγαλμα, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἐῶσι

345

BOOK II. 61-63

lament, in countless numbers; but it were profane
for me to say who it is for whom they lament.
Carian dwellers in Egypt do even more than this, for
they cut their foreheads with knives; showing there-
by, that they are not Egyptians but strangers.

62. When they assemble at Sais, on the night of
the sacrifice, they all keep lamps burning in the open
air round about their houses. These lamps are saucers
full of salt and oil, the wick floating thereon, and
burning all night. This is called the Feast of Lamps.
Egyptians who do not come to this assemblage are
careful on the night of sacrifice to keep their own
lamps burning, and so they are alight not only at Sais
but throughout all Egypt. A sacred tale is told
showing why this night is thus lit up and honoured.

63. When the people go to Heliopolis and Buto
they offer sacrifice only. At Papremis sacrifice is
offered and rites performed as elsewhere; but when
the sun is sinking, while a few of the priests are
left to busy themselves with the image, the
greater number of them beset the entrance of the
temple, with clubs of wor i in their hands; they
are confronted by more than a thousand men, all
performing vows and all carrying wooden clubs
like the, rest,), The image .of the sod, ina little
wooden gilt casket, is carried on the day before
this from the temple to another sacred chamber.
The few who are left with the image draw a four-
wheeled cart carrying it in its casket; the other
priests stand in the temple porch and prevent its

349

HERODOTUS

ἐν τοῖσι προπυλαίοισι ἑστεῶτες ἐσιέναι, οἱ δὲ
εὐχωλιμαῖοι τιμωρέοντες τῷ θεῷ παίουσι αὐτοὺς
ἀλεξομένους. ἐνθαῦτα μάχη ξύλοισι καρτερὴ y-
νεται κεφαλάς τε συναράσσονται, καὶ ὡς ἐγὼ
δοκέω πολλοὶ καὶ ἀποθνήσκουσι ἐκ τῶν τρω-
μάτων" οὐ μέντοι. οἵ γε Αἰγύπτιοι ἔφασαν ἀποθνή-
σκειν οὐδένα. τὴν δὲ πανήγυριν ταύτην ἐκ τοῦδε
νομίσαι φασὶ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι: οἰκέειν ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ
τούτῳ τοῦ Αρεος τὴν μητέρα, καὶ τὸν "Ἄρεα ἀπό-
Tpopov γενόμενον ἐλθεῖν “ἐξανδρωμένον ἐθέλοντα
τῇ μητρὶ συμμῖξαι, καὶ τοὺς ᾿“προπόλους τῆς
μητρός, οἷα οὐκ ὀπωπότας αὐτὸν πρότερον, οὐ
περιορᾶν παριέναι ἀλλὰ ἀπερύκειν, τὸν δὲ ἐξ
ἄλλης πόλιος ἀγαγόμενον ἀνθρώπους τούς τε
προπόλους τρηχέως περισπεῖν καὶ ἐσελθεῖν παρὰ
τὴν μητέρα. ἀπὸ τούτου τῷ "A pei ταύτην τὴν
πληγὴν ἐν τῇ ὁρτῇ νενομικέναι φασί.

04. Καὶ τὸ μὴ μίσγεσθαι γυναιξὶ ἐ ἐν ἱροῖσι μηδὲ
ἀλούτους ἀπὸ γυναικῶν ἐς ἱρὰ ἐσιέναι οὗτοι εἰσὶ
οἱ πρῶτο: θρησκεύσαντες. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι
σχεδὸν πάντες ἄνθρωποι, πλὴν Αἰγυπτίων καὶ
᾿Βλλήνων, μίσγονται ἐν ἱροῖσι καὶ ἀπὸ γυναικῶν
ἀνιστάμενοι ἄλουτοι ἐσέρχονται ἐς ἱρόν, νομί-
ζοντες ἀνθρώπους εἶναι κατά περ τὰ ἄλλα κτήνεα"
καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἄλλα κτήνεα ὁρᾶν καὶ ὀρνίθων γένεα
ὀχευόμενα ἔν τε τοῖσι νηοῖσι τῶν θεῶν καὶ ἐν
τοῖσι τεμένεσι: εἰ ὧν εἶναι τῷ θεῷ τοῦτο μὴ
φίλον, οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ τὰ κτήνεα ποιέειν. οὗτοι
μέν νυν τοιαῦτα ἐπιλέγοντες ποιεῦσι ἔμοιγε οὐκ
ἀρεστά: Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ θρησκεύουσι περισσῶς τά
τε ἄλλα περὶ τὰ ἱρὰ καὶ δὴ καὶ τάδε.

65. “Korca ἡ Αἴγυπτος ὅμουρος τῇ Λιβύῃ οὐ

350

BOUK I. 63-65

entrance ; the votaries take the part of the god, and
smite the priests, who resist. There is hard “eels
with clubs, and heads are broken, and as 1 Shenk
(though the Egyptians told me no life was lost),
many die of their wounds. The assemblage, say the
people of the country, took its rise thus :—The
mother of Ares dwelt in this temple; Ares had been
reared away from her, and when he grew to manhood
came to hold converse with his mother; but as her
attendants, never having seen him before, kept him
off and το ποῦ suffer him to pass, Ares brought
men from another town, roughly handled the attend-
ants, and gained access to his mother. From this,
they say, arose this custom of a battle of blows at
the festival in honour of Ares.}

64. Further, it was the Egyptians who first made
it a matter of religious observance not to have inter-
course with women in temples, nor enter a temple
after such intercourse without washing. Nearly all
other men are less careful in this matter than are the
Egyptians and Greeks, and hold a man to be like
any other animal; for beasts and birds (they say)
are seen to mate both in the temples and the sacred
precincts; now were this displeasing to the god
neither would the beasts do so. This is the reason
given by others for practices which I for my part
mislike ; but the Egyptians in this and in all other
matters are exceeding strict against desecration of
their temples.

65. Though Egypt has Libya on its borders, it is

1 It is uncertain what Egyptian deity Herodotus identifies
with Ares. Ina Greek papyrus, ‘‘ Ares” is the equivalent
for the Egyptian Anhur, a god, apparently, not clearly
differentiated from ‘‘ Shu” or ‘* Heracles.”

308

HERODOTUS

μάλα θηριώδης ἐστί: τὰ δὲ ἐόντα oft ἅπαντα
ἱρὰ νενόμισται, καὶ τὰ μὲν σύντροφα αὐτοῖσι
τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι, τὰ δὲ οὔ. τῶν δὲ εἵνεκεν ἀνεῖται
τὰ θηρία ἱρὰ εἰ λέγοιμι, καταβαίην ἂν τῷ λόγῳ
ἐς τὰ θεῖα πρήγματα, τὰ ἐγὼ φεύγω μάλιστα
ἀπηγέεσθαι: τὰ δὲ καὶ εἴρηκα αὐτῶν ἐπιψαύσας,
ἀναγκαίῃ καταλαμβανόμενος εἶπον. νόμος δὲ ἐστὶ
περὶ τῶν θηρίων ὧδε EXOD" peredavol ἀποδε-
δέχαται τῆς τροφῆς χωρὶς ἑκάστων καὶ ἔρσενες
καὶ θήλεαι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, τῶν παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς
ἐκδέκεται τὴν τιμήν. οἱ δὲ ἐν τῆσι πόλισι ἕκαστοι
εὐχὰς τάσδε σφι ἀποτελέουσι' εὐχόμενοι τῷ θεῷ
τοῦ ἂν ἢ τὸ θηρίον, ξυρῶντες τῶν παιδίων ἢ
πᾶσαν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἢ τὸ ἥμισυ ἢ τὸ τρίτον μέρος
τῆς κεφαλῆς, ἱστᾶσι σταθμῷ πρὸς ἀργύριον τὰς
τρίχας" τὸ δ᾽ ἂν ἑλκύσῃ, τοῦτο τῇ μελεδωνῷ τῶν
θηρίων διδοῖ, ἣ δὲ ἀντ᾽ αὐτοῦ τάμνουσα ἰχθῦς
παρέχει βορὴν τοῖσι θηρίοισι. τροφὴ μὲν δὴ
αὐτοῖσι τοιαύτη ἀποδέδεκται" τὸ δ᾽ ἄν TLS τῶν
θηρίων τούτων ἀποκτείνῃ, ἢν μὲν ἑκών, θάνατος
ἡ ζημίη, ἢν δὲ ἀέκων, ἀποτίνει ζημίην τὴν ἂν οἱ
ἱρέες τάξωνται. ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἶβιν ἢ ἴρηκα ἀποκτείνῃ,
ἤν τε ἑκὼν ἢν τε ἀέκων, τεθνάναι ἀνάγκη.

66. Πολλῶν δὲ ἐόντων ὁμοτρόφων τοῖσι ἀνθρώ-
ποισι θηρίων πολλῷ av ἔτε πλέω ἐγίνετο, εἰ
μὴ κατελάμβανε τοὺς αἰελούρους τοιάδε: ἐπεὰν
τέκωσι αἱ θήλεαι, οὐκέτι φοιτέουσι παρὰ τοὺς
ἔρσενας" οἱ δὲ διζήμενοι μίσγεσθαι αὐτῇσι οὐκ
ἔχουσι. πρὸς ὧν ταῦτα σοφίζξονται τάδε: ἁρπά-
ζοντες ἀπὸ τῶν θηλέων καὶ ὑπαιρεόμενοι τὰ τέκνα
κτείνουσι, κτείναντες μέντοι οὐ πατέονται' al

352

BOOK IIL. ὁς-60

not a country of many animals. All of them are
held sacred ; some of these are part of mens’ house-
holds and some not; but were I to declare the
reason why they are dedicated, I should be brought
to speak of matters of divinity, of which I am espe-
cially unwilling to treat; I have never touched upon
such save where necessity has compelled me. But !
will now show how it is customary to deal with the
animals. Men and women are appointed guardians
to provide nourishment for each kind severally; a
son inherits this office from his father. Townusmen in
each place, when they pay their vows, make prayer
to the god to whom the animal is dedicated, shaving
the whole or the half or the third part of their
children’s heads, and weighing the hair in a balance
against a sum of silver; then whatever be the weight
in silver of the hair is given to the female guardian
of the ere.tures, who buys fish with it, cuts them
up and feeds them therewith. Thus is food pro-
vided for them. Whoever kills one of these crea-
tures with intention is punished with death ; if he
kill by mischance he pays whatever penalty the
priests appoint. Whoever kills an ibis or a hawk,
with intention or without, must die for it.

66. There are many household animals; and there
would be many more, were it not for what happens to
the cats. When the females have kittened they
will not consort with the males ; and these seek them
but cannot get their will of them ; so their device is
to steal and carry off and kill the kittens (but they do
not eat what they have killed). The mothers,

9.519

HERODOTUS

δὲ στερισκύμεναι TOV τέκνων, ἄλλων δὲ ἐπιθυ-
μέουσαι, οὕτω δὴ ἀπικνέονται παρὰ τοὺς ἔρσενας"
φιλότεκνον γὰρ τὸ θηρίον. πυρκαϊῆς δὲ γενομένης
θεῖα πρήγματα καταλαμβάνει τοὺς αἰελούρους"
οἱ μὲν γὰρ Αἰγύπτιοι διαστάντες φυλακὰς ἔχουσι
τῶν αἰελούρων, ἀμελήσαντες σβεννύναι τὸ καιό-
μενον, οἱ δὲ αἰέλουροι διαδύνοντες καὶ ὑπερθρώ-
σκοντες τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐσάλλονται ἐς τὸ πῦρ.
ταῦτα δὲ γινόμενα πένθεα μεγάλα τοὺς Αἰ-
γυπτίους καταλαμβάνει. ἐν ὁτέοισι δ᾽ ἂν οἰκίοισι
αἰέλουρος ἀποθάνῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου, οἱ ἐνοικέ-
οντες πάντες ξυρῶνται τὰς oppvas μούνας, Tap
ὁτέοισι © ἂν κύων, πᾶν τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν.

61. ᾿Απάγονται δὲ οἱ αἰέλουροι ἀποθανόντες ἐς
ἱρὰς στέγας, ἔνθα θάπτονται ταριχευθέντες, ἐ ἐν Bov-
βάστι πόλι: τὰς δὲ κύνας ἐν τῇ ἑωυτῶν ἕκαστοι πόλι
θάπτουσι ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι. ὡς δὲ αὕτω- τῆσι κυσὶ
οἱ ἰχνευταὶ θάπτονται. τὰς δὲ μυγαλὲς καὶ τοὺς
ἴρηκας ἀπάγουσι ἐς Βουτοῦν πόλιν, τὰς δὲ ἴβις ἐς
“Ἑρμέω πόλιν. τὰς δὲ ἄρκτους ἐούσας σπανίας
καὶ τοὺς λύκους οὐ πολλῷ τεῳ ἐόντας ἀλωπέκων
μέζονας αὐτοῦ θάπτουσι τῇ ἂν εὑρεθέωσι κείμενοι.

68. Τῶν δὲ κροκοδείλων φύσις ἐστὶ τοιήδε.
τοὺς χειμεριωτάτους μῆνας τέσσερας ἐσθίει οὐδέν,
ἐὸν δὲ τετράπουν χερσαῖον καὶ λιμναῖον ἐστί.
τίκτει μὲν γὰρ ὠὰ ἐν γῇ καὶ ἐκλέπει, καὶ τὸ
πολλὸν τῆς ἡμέρης διατρίβει ἐν τῷ ξηρῷ, τὴν δὲ
νύκτα πᾶσαν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ" θερμότερον γὰρ δή
ἐστι τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς τε αἰθρίης καὶ τῆς δρόσου.
πάντων δὲ τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν θνητῶν. τοῦτο ἐξ ἐλα-
χίστου μέγιστον γίνεται" τὰ μὲν γὰρ ς wa χηνέων
οὐ πολλῷ μέζονα τίκτει, καὶ ὁ νεοσσὸς πα τὰ λόγον

354

BOOK II. 66-68

deprived of their young and desiring to have more
will then consort with the males; for they are
creatures that love offspring. And when a fire
breaks out very strange things happen to the cats.
The Egyptians stand round in a broken line, thinking
more of the cats than of quenching the burning ; but
the cats slip through or leap over the men and spring
into the fire. When this happens, there is great
mourning in Egypt. Dwellers in a house where a
cat has died a natural death shave their eyebrows and
no more ; where a dog has so died, the head and the
whole body are shaven.

67. Dead cats are taken away into sacred buildings,
where they are embalmed and buried, in the town of
Bubastis ; bitches are buried in sacred coffins by the
townsmen, in their several towns; and the like is
done with ichneumons. Shrewmice and hawks are
taken away to Buto, ibises to the city of Hermes,
There are but few bears, and the wolves are little
bigger than foxes; both these are buried wherever
they are found lying.

68. I will now show what kind of creature is the
crocodile. For the four winter months it eats noth-
ing. It has four feet, and lives both on land and in
the water, for it lays eggs and hatches them out on
land, and it passes the greater part of the day on dry
ground, and the night in the river, the water being
warmer than the air and dew. No mortal creature
known to us grows from so small a beginning to such
greatness; for its eggs are not much bigger than goose
eggs, and the young crocodile is of a bigness answering

355

HERODOTUS

TOU ῳοῦ γίνεται, αὐξανόμενος δὲ γίνεται καὶ ἐς
ἑπτακαίδεκα πήχεας καὶ μέζων ἔτι. ἔχει δὲ
ὀφθαλμοὺς μὲν ὑός, ὀδόντας δὲ μεγάλους καὶ
χαυλιόδοντας κατὰ λόγον τοῦ σώματος. γλῶσ-
σαν δὲ μοῦνον θηρίων οὐκ ἔφυσε, οὐδὲ κινέει τὴν
κάτω γνάθον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο μοῦνον θηρίων τὴν
ἄνω γνάθον προσάγει τῇ κάτω. ἔχει. δὲ καὶ
ὄνυχας καρτεροὺς καὶ δέρμα λεπεδωτὸν a ἄρρηκτον
ἐπὶ τοῦ νώτου. τυφλὸν δὲ ἐν ὕδατι, ἐν δὲ τῇ
αἰθρίῃ ὀξυδερκέστατον. ἅτε δὴ ὧν ἐν ὕδατι
δίαιταν ποιεύμενον, τὸ στόμα ἔνδοθεν φοοέει πᾶν
μεστὸν βδελλέων. τὰ μὲν δὴ ἄλλα ὄρνεα καὶ
θηρία φεύγει μιν, ὁ δὲ τροχίλος εἰρηναῖόν οἱ ἐστὶ
ἅτε ὠφελεομένῳ πρὸς αὐτοῦ" ἐπεὰν γὰρ ἐς τὴν
γῆν ἐκβῇ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος ὁ κροκόδειλος καὶ ἔπειτα
χάνῃ (ἔωθε γὰρ τοῦτο ὡς ἐπίπαν ποιέειν πρὸς τὸν
ζέφυρον), ἐνθαῦτα ὁ τροχίλος ἐσδύνων ἐς τὸ
στόμα αὐτοῦ καταπίνει τὰς βδέλλας: ὃ ὃ δὲ ὠφε-
λεύμενος ἥδεται καὶ οὐδὲν σίνεται τὸν τροχίλον.
69. Τοῖσι μὲν δὴ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἱροί εἰσι οἱ
κροκόδειλοι, τοῖσι δὲ οὔ, ANN ἅτε πολεμίους
περιέπουσι" οἱ δὲ περί τε Θήβας καὶ τὴν Μοίριος
λίμνην οἰκέοντες καὶ κάρτα ἥγηνται αὐτοὺς εἶναι
ἱρούς: ἐκ πάντων δὲ ἕνα ἑκάτεροι τρέφουσι κρο-
αὐ οὐδ ον δεδιδαγμένον εἶναι χειροήθεα, ἀρτήματά
τε λίθινα χυτὰ καὶ χρύσεα ἐς τὰ ὦτα ἐνθέντες καὶ
ἀμφιδέας περὶ τοὺς ἐμπροσθίους πόδας, καὶ σιτία
ἀποτακτὰ διδόντες καὶ ἱρήια, καὶ περιέποντες
ὡς κάλλιστα ζῶντας: ἀποθανόντας δὲ θάπτουσι
ταριχεύοντες ἐν ἱρῆσι θήκησι. οἱ δὲ περὶ ’EXe-
φαντίνην πόλιν οἰκέοντες καὶ ἐσθίουσι αὐτοὺς οὐκ
ἡγεόμενοι ἱροὺς εἶναι. καλέονται δὲ οὐ κροκόδειλοι

356

BOOK II. 68-69

thereto, but it grows to a length of seventeen
cubits and more. It has eyes like pigs’ eyes, and
great teeth and tusks answering to the bigness of its
body. It is the only animal that has no tongue.
Nor does it move the lower jaw. It is the only
creature that brings the upper jaw down upon the
lower. It has also strong claws, and a scaly impene-
trable hide on its back. It is blind in the water, but
very keen of sight in the air. Since it lives in the
water, its mouth is all full within of leeches. All birds
and beasts flee from it, except only the sandpiper,}
with which it is at peace, because this bird does the
crocodile a service ; for whenever the crocodile comes
ashore out of the water and then opens its mouth
(and this it does for the most part to catch the west
wind), the sandpiper goes into its mouth and eats
the leeches ; the crocodile is pleased by this service
and does the sandpiper no harm.

69. Some of the Egyptians hold crocodiles sacred,
others do not so, but treat them as enemies. The
dwellers about Thebes and the lake Moeris deem
them to be very sacred. ‘There, in every place one
crocodile is kept, trained to be tame; they put orna-
ments of glass and gold on its ears and bracelets on
its forefeet, provide for it special food and offerings,
and give the creatures the best of treatment while
they live; after death the crocodiles are embalmed
and buried in sacred coffins. But about Elephantine
they are not held sacred, and are even eaten. The
Egyptians do not call them crocodiles, but champsae,

1 Egyptian spur-winged lapwing ( Hoplopterus armatus),

357

HERODOTUS

ἀλλὰ Kappa κροκοδείλους δὲ Ἴωνες ὠνόμασαν,
εἰκάζοντες αὐτῶν τὰ εἴδεα τοῖσι “παρὰ σφίσι γίνο-
μένοισι κροκοδείλοισι τοῖσι ἐν τῇσι αἱμασιῆσι.

70. "Aypat δὲ σφέων πολλαὶ κατεστῶσι καὶ
παντοῖαι" ἣ δ᾽ ὧν ἔμοιγε δοκέει ἀξιωτάτη ἀπηγή-
σιος εἶναι, ταύτην γράφω. ἐπεὰν νῶτον ὑὸς δε-
λεάσῃ περὶ ἄγκιστρον, μετιεῖ és μέσον TOV “ποταμόν,
αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλεος τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔχων δέλ-
φακα ζωὴν ταύτην τύπτει. ἐπακούσας δὲ τῆς
φωνῆς ὁ κροκόδειλος ἵεται κατὰ τὴν φωνήν,
ἐντυχὼν δὲ τῷ νώτῳ καταπίνει: of δὲ ἕλκουσι.
ἐπεὰν δὲ ἐξελκυσθῇ ἐς γῆν, πρῶτον ἁπάντων ὁ
θηρευτὴς πηλῷ KaT ὧν ἔπλασε αὐτοῦ τοὺς
ὀφθαλμούς" τοῦτο δὲ ποιήσας κάρτα εὐπετέως τὰ
λοιπὰ χειροῦται, μὴ ποιήσας δὲ τοῦτο σὺν πόνῳ.

71. Oc δὲ ἵπποι οἱ ποτάμιοι νομῷ μὲν “τῷ
Παπρημίτῃ ἱροί εἰσι, τοῖσι δὲ ἄλλοισι Αἰγυπτίοισι
οὐκ ἱροί. φύσιν δὲ παρέχονται ἰδέης τοιήνδε"
τετράπουν ἐστί, δίχηλον, ὁπλαὶ Boos, σιμόν,
λοφιὴν ἔχον ἵππου, χαυλιόδοντας φαῖνον, οὐρὴν
ἵππου καὶ φωνήν, μέγαθος ὅσον τε βοῦς ὁ μέ-
γίστος" τὸ δέρμα δ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὕτω δή Te παχύ ἐστι
ὥστε αὔου γενομένου ξυστὰ ποιέεσθαι ἀκόντια
ἐξ αὐτοῦ.

72. Τίνονται δὲ καὶ ἐνύδριες ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ, τὰς
ἱρὰς ἥγηνται εἶναι. νομίζουσι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων
τὸν καλεύμενον λεπιδωτὸν ἱρὸν εἶναι καὶ τὴν
ἔγχελυν, ἱροὺς δὲ τούτους τοῦ Νείλου φασὶ εἶναι,
καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων τοὺς χηναλώπεκας.

73. "Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλος ὄρνις ἱρός, τῷ οὔνομα
φοῖνιξ. ἐγὼ μέν μιν οὐκ εἶδον εἰ μὴ ὅσον γραφῆ"
καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ σπάνιος ἐπιφοιτᾷ σφι, δι᾿ ἐτέων,

358

BOOK II. 69-73

The Ionians called them crocodiles, from their like-
ness to the lizards which they have in their walls.

70. There are many and various ways of crocodile
hunting ; I will write only of that one way which I
think τ worthy of mention :—The hunter baits a
hook with a chine of pork, and lets it float into the
midst of the river; he himself stays on the bank with
a young live pig, which he beats. Hearing the cries
of the pig, the crocodile goes after the sound, and
meets the chine. which it swallows ; then the hunters
pull the line. When the crocodile is drawn ashore,
first of all the hunter smears its eyes over with mud ;
when this is done the quarry is very easily mastered,
which, without that, is no light matter.

(ie Tine horses are ead in the province of
Papremis, but not elsewhere in Egypt. For their
outward form, they are four-footed, with cloven hoofs
like oxen; their noses are blunt ; they are maned like
horses, πον tusks showing, and have a horse’s tail
and a horse’s neigh; their bigness is that of the
biggest oxen. Te netic is so thick that when it is
dried spearshafts are made of it.

72. Otters also are found in the river, which the
Egyptians deem sacred; and they hold sacred that
fish too which is called the scale-fish, and the eel.
These, and the fox-goose? among birds, are said to
be sacred to the god of the Nile.

73. Another bird also is sacred; it is called the
phoenix. I myself have never seen it, but only pic-
tures of it; for the bird comes but τι into Egypt,

1 κροκόδειλος is Ionic for a lizard ; the commoner word is
σαύρα or σαῦρος. χάμψα is the Egyptian ‘“em-suh,” a name
which survives in the Arabic ‘‘ timsah,” 7.e. em-suh with the
feminine article prefixed.

2 Or “Nile-goose.” The Egyptian goose (Chenalopes
Aegyptica).

359

HERODOTUS

ὡς Ἡλιοπολῖται λέγουσι, πεντακοσίων: φοιτᾶν
δὲ τότε φασὶ ἐπεάν οἱ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ πατήρ. ἔστι δέ,
εἰ τῇ γραφῇ παρόμοιος, τοσόσδε καὶ τοιόσδε: τὰ
μὲν αὐτοῦ χρυσόκομα τῶν πτερῶν τὰ δὲ ἐρυθρὰ ἐ ἐς
τὰ μάλιστα" αἰετῷ περιήγησιν ὁμοιότατος καὶ τὸ
μέγαθος. τοῦτον δὲ λέγουσι μηχανᾶσθαι τάδε,
ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ πιστὰ λέγοντες" ἐξ ᾿Αραβίης ὁρμώ-
μενον ἐς τὸ ἱρὸν τοῦ Ἡλίου κομίζειν τὸν πατέρα ἐν
σμύρνῃ ἐμπλάσσοντα καὶ θάπτειν ἐν τοῦ “Ἡλίου
τῷ ἱρῷ, κομίζειν δὲ οὕτω: πρῶτον τῆς σμύρνης
@OV πλάσσειν ὅσον τε δυνατός ἐστι φέρειν, μετὰ
δὲ πειρᾶσθαι αὐτὸ φορέοντα, ἐ ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀποπειρηθῇ,
οὕτω δὴ κοιλήναντα τὸ ὠὸν τὸν πατέρα ἐς αὐτὸ
ἐντιθέναι, σμύρνη δὲ ἄλλῃ ἐμπλάσσειν τοῦτο κατ᾽
ὅ τι τοῦ ῳοῦ ἐκκοιλήνας ἐνέθηκε τὸν πατέρα"
ἐσκειμένου δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς γίνεσθαι τὠντὸ βάρος"
ἐμπλάσαντα δὲ κομίζειν μιν ἐπ᾿ Αἰγύπτου ἐς τοῦ
Ἡλίου τὸ ἱρόν. ταῦτα μὲν τοῦτον τὸν ὄρνιν
λέγουσι ποιέειν.

14. Εἰσὶ δὲ περὶ Θήβας ἱροὶ ὄφιες, ἀνθρώπων
οὐδαμῶς δηλήμονες, οἵ μεγάθεϊ ἐόντες μικροὶ δύο
κέρεα φορέουσι πεφυκότα ἐξ ἄκρης τῆς κεφαλῆς"
τοὺς θάπτουσι ἀποθανόντας ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τοῦ Διός:
τούτου γὰρ σφέας τοῦ θεοῦ φασι εἶναι ἱρούς.

75. "Ἔστι δὲ χῶρος τῆς ᾿Αραβίης κατὰ Βουτοῦν
πόλιν μάλιστά κῃ κείμενος, καὶ ἐς τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον
ἦλθον πυνθανόμενος περὶ τῶν πτερωτῶν ὀφίων'
ἀπικόμενος δὲ εἶδον ὀστέα ὀφίων καὶ ἀκάνθας
πλήθεϊ μὲν ἀδύνατα ἀπηγήσασθαι, σωροὶ δὲ ἦσαν
ἀκανθέων καὶ μεγάλοι καὶ ὑποδεέστεροι καὶ ἐλάσ-
σονες ἔτι τούτων, πολλοὶ δὲ ἦσαν οὗτοι. ἔστι δὲ
ὁ χῶρος οὗτος, ἐν τῷ αἱ ἄκανθαι κατακεχύαται,

360

BOOK II. 73-75

once in five hundred years, as the people ot Helio-
polis say. It is said that the phoenix comes when his
father dies. If the picture truly shows his size and
appearance, his plumage is partly golden but mostly
red. He is most like an eagle in shape and bigness.
The Egyptians tell a tale of this bird’s devices which
I do not believe. He comes, they say, from Arabia
bringing his father to the Sun’s temple enclosed in
myrrh, and there buries him. His manner of bring-
ing is this: first he moulds an egg of myrrh as heavy
as he can carry, and when he has proved its weight
by lifting it he then hollows out the egg and puts his
father in it, covering over with more myrrh the hollow
in which the body lies; so the egg being with his
father in it of tle same weight as before, the
phoenix, after enclosing him, carries him to the
temple of the Sun in Egypt. Such is the tale of
what is done by this bird.

74. Near Thebes there are sacred snakes, harmless
to men, small in size and bearing two horns on the
top of their heads. These, when they die, are buried
in the teinple of Zeus, to whom they are said to be
sacred.

75. Not far from the town of Buto, there is a
place in Arabia to which I went to learn about the
winged serpents. When I came thither, I saw in-
numerable bones and backbones of serpents; many
heaps of backbones there were, great and small and
smaller still. This place, where lay the backbones

361

HERODOTUS

τοιόσδε τις, ἐσβολὴ ἐξ ὀρέων στεινῶν ἐς πεδίον
μέγα, τὸ δὲ πεδίον τοῦτο συνάπτει τῷ Αἰγυπτίῳ
πεδίῳ. λόγος δὲ ἐστὶ ἅμα τῷ ἔαρι πτερωτοὺς
ὄφις ἐκ τῆς. ᾿Αραβίης πέτεσθαι ἐπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου,
τὰς δὲ (Bus τὰς ὄρνιθας ἀπαντώσας ἐς τὴν
ἐσβολὴν ταύτ ἧς τῆς χώρης οὐ παριέναι τοὺς ὄφις
ἀλλὰ κατακτείνειν. καὶ τὴν ἶβιν διὰ τοῦτο τὸ
ἔργον τετιμῆσθαι λέγουσι ᾿Αράβιοι μεγάλως πρὸς
Αἰγυπτίων" ὁμολογέουσι δὲ καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι διὰ
ταῦτα τιμᾶν τὰς ὄρνιξ ας ταύτας.

76. Εἶδος δὲ τῆς μὲν ἴβιος τόδε' μέλαινα δεινῶς
πᾶσα, σκέλεα δὲ φορέει γεράνου, πρόσωπον δὲ
ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἐπίγρυπον, μέγαθος ὅσον κρέξ.
τῶν μὲν δὴ μελαινέων τῶν μαχομενέων πρὸς τοὺς
ὄφις ἥδε ἰδέη, τῶν δ᾽ ἐν ποσὶ μᾶλλον εἱλευμενέων
τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι (διξαὶ γὰρ δή εἰσι ἰβιες) ψιλὴ
τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν δειρὴν πᾶσαν, λευκὴ πτεροῖσι
πλὴν κεφαλῆς καὶ αὐχένος καὶ ἀκρέων τῶν
πτερύγων καὶ τοῦ πυγαίου ἄκρου (ταῦτα δὲ τὰ
εἶπον πάντα μέλανα ἐστὶ δεινῶς), σκέλεα δὲ καὶ
πρόσωπον ἐμφερὴς τῇ ἑτέρῃ. τοῦ δὲ ὄφιος ἡ
μορφὴ οἵη περ τῶν ὕδρων, πτίλα δὲ οὐ πτερωτὰ
φορέει ἀλλὰ τοῖσι τῆς νυκτερίδος πτεροῖσι μά-
λιστά κῃ ἐμφερέστατα.

Τοσαῦτα μὲν θηρίων πέρι ἱρῶν εἰρήσθω.

77. Αὐτῶν δὲ δὴ Αὐγυπτίων οἱ μὲν περὶ τὴν
σπειρομένην Αἴγυπτον οἰκέουσι, μνήμην ἀνθρώπων
πάντων ἐπασκέοντες μάλιστα λογιώτατοι εἰσὶ
μακρῷ τῶν ἐγὼ ἐς διάπειραν ἀπικόμην, τρόπῳ δὲ
Cons τοιῷδε δια χρέωνται: συρμαίζουσι τρεῖς ἡμέρας
ἐπεξῆς μηνὸς ἑκάστου, ἐμέτοισι θηρώμενοι τὴν
ὑγιείην καὶ κλύσμασι, νομίζοντες ἀπὸ τῶν τρε-

362

BOOK ΤΠ 75-77

scattered, is where a narrow mountain pass opens into
a great plain, which is joined to the plain of Egypt.
Winged serpents are said to fly at the beginning of
spring, from Arabia, making for Egypt; but the ibis
birds encounter the invaders in this pass and kill
them. The Arabians say that the ibis is greatly
honoured by the Egyptians for this service, and the
Egyptians give the same reason for honouring these
birds.

76. Now this is the appearance of the ibis. It is
all deep black, with legs like a crane’s, and a beak
strongly hooked ; its size is that of a landrail. Such
is the outward form of the ibis which fights with the
serpents. Those that most consort with men (for
the ibis is of two kinds)'have all the head and neck
bare of feathers; their plumage is white, save the
head and neck and the tips of wings and tail (these
being deep black); the legs and beak of the bird
are like those of the other ibis. The serpents are
like water-snakes. Their wings are not feathered
but most like the wings of a bat.

I have now said enough concerning creatures that
are sacred.

77. Among the Egyptians themselves, those who
dwell in the cultivated country are the most care-
ful of all men to preserve the memory of the past,
and none whom I have questioned have so many
chronicles. I will now speak of the manner of life
which they use. For three following days in every
month they purge themselves, pursuing after health
by means of emetics and drenches; for they think

1 Geronticys Calvus and This Aethtiopica.

VOL.1, ὃ 9:

HERODOTUS

φόντων σιτίων πάσας τὰς νούσους τοῖσι ἀνθρώ-
ποισι γίνεσθαι. εἰσὶ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἄλλως Αἰγύπτιοι
μετὰ AtBvas ὑγιηρέστατοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν
ὡρέων δοκέειν ἐμοὶ εἵνεκα, ὅτι οὐ μεταλλάσσουσι
αἱ ὧραι: ἐν γὰρ τῇσι μεταβολῇσι τοῖσι ἀνθρώ-
ποισι αἱ νοῦσοι μάλιστα γίνονται τῶν τε ἄλλων
πάντων καὶ δὴ καὶ τῶν ὡρέων μάλιστα. ἀρτο-
φαγέουσι δὲ ἐκ τῶν ὀλυρέων ποιεῦντες ἄρτους,
τοὺς ἐκεῖνοι κυλλήστις ὀνομάζουσι. οἴνῳ δὲ ἐκ
κριθέων πεποιημένῳ διαχρέωνται" οὐ γάρ σφι
εἰσὶ ἐν τῇ χώρῃ ἄμπελοι. ἰχθύων ὲ τοὺς μὲν
πρὸς ἥλιον αὐήναντες ὠμοὺς σιτέονται, τοὺς δὲ
ἐξ ἅλμης τεταριχευμένους. ὀρνίθων δὲ τούς τε
ὄρτυγας καὶ τὰς νήσσας καὶ τὰ μικρὰ τῶν ὀρνίθων
ὠμὰ σιτέονται προταριχεύσαντες. τὰ δὲ ἄλλα
ὅσα ἢ ὀρνίθων ἢ ἰχθύων σφι ἐστὶ ἐχόμενα, χωρὶς
ἢ ὁκόσοι σφι ἱροὶ ἀποδεδέχαται, τοὺς λοιποὺς
ὀπτοὺς καὶ ἑφθοὺς σιτέονται.

‘Ey δὲ τῇσι συνουσίησι τοῖσι εὐδαίμοσι
αὐτῶν, ἐπεὰν ἀπὸ δείπνου γένωνται, περιφέρει
ἀνὴρ νεκρὸν ἐν σορῷ ξύλινον πεποιημένον, μεμιμη-
μέν ον ἐς τὰ AA ors καὶ γραφῇ καὶ ἔργῳ, μέγαθος
ὅσον τε πηχυαῖον] ἢ δίπηχυν, δεικνὺς δὲ ἑκάστῳ
τῶν συμποτέων λέγει “«Ἔς τοῦτον ὁρέων πῖνέ τε
καὶ τέρπευ' “ἔσεαι γὰρ ἀποθανὼν τοιοῦτος." ταῦτα
μὲν παρὰ τὰ συμπόσια ποιεῦσι.

79. Πατρίοισι δὲ χρεώμενοι νόμοισι ἄλλον οὐ-
δένα ἐπικτῶνται: τοῖσι ἄλλα τε ἐπάξια ἐστὶ νό-
μιμα, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἄεισμα ἕν ἐστι, Λίνος, ὅσπερ ἔν τε
Powikn ἀοίδιμος ἐστὶ καὶ ἐν Κύπρῳ καὶ ἄλλῃ, κατὰ

' MSS. πάντῃ πηχυαῖον; Stein brackets πάντῃ, ‘Sa cubit’s
length every way” being unintelligible here,

364

BOOK II. 77-79

it is from the food which they eat that all sick-
nesses come to men. Even without this, the
Egyptians are the healthiest of all men, next to
the Libyans; the reason of which to my thinking
is that the climate in all seasons is the same; for
change is the great cause of men’s falling sick, more
especially changes of seasons. They eat bread,
making loaves which they call “ cyllestis 1 of coarse
grain. For wine, they use a drink made of barley;
for they have no vines in their country. They
eat fish uncooked, either dried in the sun or pre-
served with brine. Quails and ducks and small birds
are salted and eaten raw; all other kinds of birds,
as well as fish (except those that the Egyptians hold
sacred) are eaten roast and boiled.

78. At rich men’s banquets, after dinner a man
carries round a wooden image of a corpse in a coffin,
painted and carved in exact imitation, a cubit or two
cubits long. This he shows to each of the company,
saying “ Drink and make merry, but look on this ; for
such shalt thou be when thou art dead.” Such is the
custom at their drinking-bouts.

79. They keep the ordinances of their fathers, and
add none others to them. Among other notable
customs of theirs is this, that they have one song, the
Linus-song,? which is sung in Phoenice and Cyprus

1 Loaves twisted to a point, apparently.

2 This is the hymn for a slain youth (said to typify the
departure of early summer), Thammuz, Atys, Hylas, or

Linus ; the Semitic refrain az lenu, ‘‘alas for us,” becomes
the Greek αἴλινος, from which comes the name Linus.

HERODOTUS

, ” » » / \ . Ν
μέντοι ἔθνεα οὔνομα ἔχει, συμφέρεται δὲ ὡυτὸς
> \ ΄ Ti tl y ’ / ᾽ ΄
εἶναι τὸν οἱ “Ελληνες Λίνον ὀνομάζοντες ἀείδουσι,
ef \ \ \ 7 ’ / a
ὥστε πολλὰ μὲν Kal ἄλλα ἀποθωμάζειν με τῶν
Ν v Sel ’ \ Or \ \ ΄ὔ
περὶ Αἴγυπτον ἐόντων, ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ τὸν Λίνον
ca ” f ” / \ bey
ὁκόθεν ἔλαβον TO οὔνομα: φαίνονται δὲ αἰεί κοτε
lal ’ yA \ ) e ,
τοῦτον ἀείδοντες. ἔστι δὲ Αἰγυπτιστὶ ὁ Λίνος
/ “ ” / ᾽ if
καλεύμενος Mavepoas. ἔφασαν δέ μιν Αἰγύπτιοι
a / ’ ΄ lal
τοῦ πρώτου βασιλεύσαντος Αἰγύπτου παῖδα μου-
/ / \ > \ /
voyevéa γενέσθαι, ἀποθανόντα δὲ αὐτὸν avwpov
/ « \ ’ ( aA \
θρήνοισι τούτοισι ὑπὸ Αἰγυπτίων τιμηθῆναι, καὶ
/ / \ / ,
ἀοιδήν TE ταύτην πρώτην καὶ μούνην σφίσι
γενέσθαι.
> * τ \ \ / » YF
80. Συμφέρονται δὲ καὶ τόδε ἄλλο Αἰγύπτιοι
= / 7 ς ΄
“Βλλήνων μούνοισι Λακεδαιμονίοισι" οἱ νεώτεροι
- an / /
αὐτῶν τοῖσι πρεσβυτέροισι συντυγχάνοντες
Ὑ “ ον Ὡς \ 3 / \ ’ Tal
εἴκουσι τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ ἐκτράπονται Kal ἐπιοῦσι ἐξ
(Ae ς / f / Μ ε
ἕδρης ὑπανιστέαται. τόδε μέντοι ἄλλοισι ᾿Ελ-
an / 2 N lal
λήνων οὐδαμοῖσι oujupepovtar: ἀντὶ τοῦ προσα-
΄ 5) ΄, 5) a al /
γορεύειν ἀλλήλους ἐν τῆσι ὁδοῖσι προσκυνέουσι
ye / lal » \ a
KATLEVTES μέχρι TOV γούνατος τὴν χεῖρα.
7 a /
81. "Evdedveace δὲ κιθῶνας λινέους περὶ τὰ
7 \ / Δ
σκέλεα θυσανωτούς, τοὺς καλέουσι καλασίρις"
’ \ / \ ’ / “ Ν > \
ἐπὶ τούτοισι δὲ εἰρίνεα εἵματα λευκὰ ἐπαναβληδὸν
/ ” \ e \ 2 / ’ /
φορέουσι. οὐ μέντοι ἔς γε TA ἱρὰ ἐσφέρεται εἰρί-
\ / ’ NY Φ
vea οὐδὲ συγκωταθάπτεταί oft’ οὐ yap ὅσιον.
id , lo lal na ,
ὁμολογέουσι δὲ ταῦτα τοῖσι ᾿Ορφικοῖσι καλεομέ-
\ a A \ ») / \
νοισι καὶ Βακχικοῖσι, ἐοῦσι δὲ Αἰγυπτίοισι καὶ
΄ὕ \ / an ’ /
Πυθαγορείοισι" οὐδὲ yap τούτων τῶν ὀργίων μετέ-
.“ / “, lal
YovTa ὅσιον ἐστὶ ἐν εἰρινέοισι eipact θαφθῆναι.
ΗΑ \ a Εν , ῃ
ἔστι δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ἱρὸς λόγος λεγόμενος.
ον y- / » ’ / > \ >
82. Καὶ τάδε ἄλλα Αἰγυπτίοισι ἐστὶ ἐξευρη-
, 7 ε , A or ,
μένα, μείς TE καὶ ἡμέρη ἑκάστη θεῶν ὅτευ ἐστί,

366

BOOK II. 79-82

and elsewhere; each nation has a name of its own for
this, but it is the same song that the Greeks sing,
and call Linus; wherefore it is to me one of the
many strange things in Egypt, whence the Egyptians
got the name. Plainly they have ever sung this song ;
the name for Linus in Egyptian is Maneros.! The
Egyptians told me that Maneros was the only son
of their first king, who died untimely, and _ this
dirge was sung by the Egyptians in his honour;
and this, they said, was their earliest and their only
chant.

80. There is a custom too which no Greeks save
the Lacedaemonians have in common with the
Egyptians :—younger men, when they meet their
elders, turn aside and give place to them in the way,
and rise from their seats when an older man
approaches. But they have another custom which is
nowhere known in Greece: passers-by do not address
each other, but salute by lowering the hand to the
knee.

81. They wear linen tunics with fringes hanging
about the legs, called “ calasiris,’”’ and loose white
woollen mantles over these. But nothing of wool is
brought into temples, or buried with them; that is
forbidden. In this they follow the same rule as the
ritual called Orphic and Bacchic, but which is in
truth Egyptian and Pythagorean; for neither may
those initiated into these rites be buried in woollen
wrappings. There is a sacred legend about this.

82. I pass to other inventions of the Egyptians.
They assign each month and each day to some god;

1 Maneros, probably from the refrain ma-n-hra, ‘‘ come
back to us.”

367

HERODOTUS

Kal τῇ ἕκαστος ἡμέρῃ γενόμενος ὁτέοισι ἐγκυρήσει
καὶ ὅκως τελευτήσει καὶ ὁκοῖός τις ἔσται. καὶ
τούτοισι τῶν Ἑλλήνων οἱ ἐν ποιήσι γενόμενοι
ἐχρήσαντο. τέρατά τε πλέω σφι ἀνεύρηται ἢ
τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἅπασι ἀνθρώποισι" γενομένου γὰρ
τέρατος φυλάσσουσι γραφόμενοι τὠποβαῖνον,
καὶ ἤν κοτε ὕστερον παραπλήσιον τούτῳ γένηται,
κατὰ τὠυτὸ νομίζουσι ἀποβήσεσθαι.

88. Μαντικὴ δὲ αὐτοῖσι ὧδε διακέεται" ἀνθρώ-
πων μὲν οὐδενὶ προσκέξεται ἡ τέχνη, τῶν δὲ θεῶν
μετεξετέροισι" καὶ γὰρ Ἡρακλέος μαντήιον αὐτόθι
ἐστὶ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Αθηναίης καὶ ᾿Αρτέμιδος
καὶ Apeos καὶ Διός, καὶ τό γε μάλιστα ἐν τιμῇ
ἄγονται πάντων τῶν μαντηίων, Λητοῦς ἐν Βουτοῖ
πόλι ἐστί. οὐ μέντοι αἴ γε μαντηίαι σφι κατὰ
τὠυτὸ ἑστᾶσι, ἀλλὰ διάφοροι εἰσί.

84, Ἢ δὲ ἰητρικὴ κατὰ τάδε oft δεδασται:
μιῆς νούσου ἕκαστος ἰητρός ἐστι καὶ οὐ πλεόνων.
πάντα δ᾽ ἰητρῶν ἐστι πλέα: οἱ μὲν γὰρ o ῳθαλμῶν
ἰητροὶ κατεστᾶσι, οἱ δὲ κεφαλῆς, οἵ δὲ ὀδόντων, οἱ
δὲ τῶν κατὰ νηδύν, οἱ δὲ τῶν ἀφανέων͵ νούσων.

85. Θρῆνοι δὲ καὶ ταφαί σφεων εἰσὶ aide’ τοῖσι
ἂν ἀπογένηται ἐκ τῶν οἰκίων ἄνθρωπος τοῦ τις
καὶ λόγος ἢ» τὸ θῆλυ γένος πᾶν τὸ ἐκ τῶν οἰκίων
τούτων κατ᾽ ὧν ἐπλάσατο τὴν κεφαλὴν πηλῷ ἢ
καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον, κἄπειτα ἐν τοῖσι οἰκίοισι λι-
ποῦσαι τὸν νεκρὸν αὐταὶ ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν στρωφώ-
μεναι τύπτονται ἐπεζωσμέναι καὶ φαίνουσαι τοὺς
μαζούς, σὺν δέ σφι αἱ προσήκουσαι πᾶσαι, ἑτέρω-
θεν δὲ οἱ ἄνδρες, τύπτονται ἐπεζωμένοι καὶ οὗτοι.
ἐπεὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσωσι, οὕτω ἐς τὴν ταρίχευσιν
κομίζουσι.

368

BOOK II. 82-8ς

they can tell what fortune and what end and what
disposition a man shall have according to the day of
his birth. This has given material to Greeks who deal
in poetry. They have made themselves more omens
than all other nations together; when an ominous
thing happens they take note of the outcome and
write it down; and if something of a like kind
happen again they think it will have a like result.

83. As to the art of divination among them, it
belongs to some of the gods, but to no one among
men; there are in their country oracles of Heracles,
Apollo, Athene, Artemis, Ares, and Zeus, and (which
is the most honoured of all) of Leto in the town of
Buto, Nevertheless they have diverse ways of divin-
ation, not one only.

84. The practice of medicine is so divided among
them, that each physician is a healer of one disease
and no more. All the country is full of physicians,
some of the eye, some of the teeth, some of what
pertains to the belly, and some of the hidden diseases.

85. They mourn and bury the dead as I will show.
Whenever a man of note is lost to his house by death,
all the womenkind of the house daub their faces or
heads with mud; then, with all the women of their
kin, they leave the corpse in the house, and roam
about the city lamenting, with their garments girt
round them and their breasts showing ; and the men
too lament in their place, with garments girt likewise.
When this is done, they take the dead body to be
embalmed.

369

HERODOTUS

86. Γἰσὶ δὲ of ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τούτῳ κατέαται καὶ
τέχνην ἔχουσι ταύτην. οὗτοι, ἐπεών σφι κομισθῇ
νεκρός, δεικνύουσι τοῖσι κομίσασι παραδείγματα
νεκρῶν ξύλινα, τῇ γραφῇ μεμιμημένα ὙΠ καὶ τὴν
μὲν σπουδαιοτάτην αὐτέων φασὶ εἶναι τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον
ποιεῦμαι τὸ οὔνομα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι ὀνομά-
ζειν, τὴν δὲ δευτέρην δεικνύουσι ὑποδεεστέρην τε
ταύτης καὶ εὐτελεστέρην, τὴν δὲ τρίτην εὐτελε-
στάτην' dpdacavtes δὲ πυνθάνονται παρ᾽ αὐτῶν
κατὰ ἥντινα βούλονταί σφι σκευασθῆναι τὸν
νεκρόν. οἱ μὲν δὴ ἐκποδὼν μισθῷ ὁμολογήσαντες
ἀπαλλάσσονται, οἱ δὲ ὑπολειπόμενοι ἐν οἰκήμασι
ὧδε τὰ σπουδαιότατα ταριχεύουσι. πρῶτα μὲν
σκολιῷ σιδήρῳ διὰ τῶν μυξωτήρων ἐξάγουσι τὸν
ἐγκέφαλον, τὰ μὲν αὐτοῦ οὕτω ἐξάγοντες, τὰ δὲ
ἐγχέοντες φάρμακα" “μετὰ δὲ λίθῳ Αἰθιοπικῷ ὀξέι
παρασχίσαντες παρὰ τὴν λαπάρην ἐξώ ὧν εἷλον τὴν
κοιλίην πᾶσαν, ἐκκαθήραντες δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ διηθή-
σαντες οἴνῳ φοινικηίῳ αὗτις διηθέουσι θυμιήμασι
τετριμμένοισι'" ἔπειτα τὴν νηδὺν σμύρνης ἀκηράτου
τετριμμένης καὶ κασίης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θυμιημάτων,
πλὴν λιβανωτοῦ, πλήσαντες συρράπτουσι ὀπίσω.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες ταριχεύουσι λίτρῳ κρύψαν-
τες ἡμέρας ἑβδομήκοντα" πλεῦνας δὲ τουτέων οὐκ
ἔξεστι ταριχεύειν. ἐπεὰν δὲ ᾿παρέλθωσι αἱ ἐβδο-
μήκοντα, λούσαντες τὸν νεκρὸν κατειλίσσουσι πᾶν
αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι κατα-
τετμημένοισι, ὑποχρίοντες τῷ κόμμι, τῷ δὴ ἀντὶ
κόλλης τὰ πολλὰ χρέωνται Αἰγύπτιοι. ἐνθεῦτεν
δὲ παραδεξάμενοί μὲν οἱ προσήκοντες ποιεῦνται
ξύλινον τύπον ἀνθρωποειδέα, ποιησάμενοι δὲ

1 MSS. appear to show indications of a lacuna here.

37°

BOOK II. 86

86. There are men whose whole business this is
and who have this special craft. These, when a dead
body is brought to them, show the bringers wooden
models of corpses, painted in exact imitation; the
most perfect manner of embalming belongs, they say,
to One whose name it were profane for me te speak
in treating of such matters; the second way, which
they show, is less perfect than the first, and cheaper,
and the third is the least costly of all. Having
shown these, they ask the bringers of the body in
which fashion they desire to have it prepared. The
bearers, having agreed in a price, go their ways, and
the workmen, left behind in their place, embalm the
body. If they do this in the most perfect way, they
first draw out part of the brain through the nostrils
with an iron hook, and inject certain drugs into the
rest. Then, making a cut near the flank with a
sharp knife of Ethiopian stone, they take out all the
intestines, and clean the belly, rinsing it with palm
wine and bruised spices; and presently, filfing the
belly with pure ground myrrh and casia and any
other spices, save only frankincense, they sew up the
anus. Having done this, they conceal the body for
seventy days, embalmed in saltpetre ; no longer time
is allowed for the embalming ; and when the seventy
days are past they wash the body and wrap the whole
of it in bandages of fine linen cloth, anointed with gum,
which the Egyptians mostly use instead of glue;
which done, they give back the dead man to his friends.
These make a hollow wooden figure like a man, in

371

HERODOTUS

ἐσεργνῦσι τὸν νεκρόν, καὶ κατακληίσαντες οὕτω
θησαυρίζουσι ἐν οἰκήματι θηκαίῳ, ἱστάντες ὀρθὸν
πρὸς τοῖχον.

87. Οὕτω μὲν τοὺς τὰ πολυτελέστατα σκευά-
ζουσι νεκρούς, τοὺς δὲ τὰ μέσα βουλομένους τὴν
δὲ πολυτελείην φεύγοντας σκευάζουσι ὧδε" ἐπεὰν
τοὺς κλυστῆρας πλήσωνται τοῦ ἀπὸ κέδρου ἀλεί-
φατος γινομένου, ἐν ὧν ἔπλησαν τοῦ νεκροῦ τὴν
κοιλίην, οὔτε ἀναταμόντες αὐτὸν οὔτε ἐξελόντες
τὴν νηδύν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἕδρην ἐσηθήσαντες καὶ ἐπι-
λαβόντες τὸ κλύσμα τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ ταριχεύουσι
τὰς προκειμένας ἡμέρας, τῇ δὲ τελευταίῃ ἐξιεῖσι
ἐκ Τῆς κοιλίης τὴν κεδρίην τὴν ἐσῆκαν πρότερον.
ἣ δὲ ἔχει τοσαύτην δύναμιν ὥστε ἅμα ἑωυτῇ τὴν
νηδὺν καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα κατατετηκότα ἐξάγει"
τὰς δὲ σάρκας τὸ λίτρον κατατήκει, καὶ δὴ λείπε-
ται τοῦ νεκροῦ τὸ δέρμα μοῦνον καὶ τὰ ὀστέα.
ἐπεὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσωσι, aT ὧν ἔδωκαν οὕτω
τὸν νεκρόν, οὐδὲν ἔτι πρηγματευθέντες.

88. Ἢ δὲ τρίτη ταρίχευσις ἐστὶ ἥδε, ἣ τοὺς
χρήμασι ἀσθενεστέρους σκευάζει" -συρμαίῃ διηθή-
σαντες τὴν κοιλίην ταριχεύουσι τὰς ἑβδομήκοντα
ἡμέρας καὶ ἔπειτα ἀπ᾽ ὧν ἔδωκαν ἀποφέρεσθαι.

89, Τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας τῶν ἐπιφανέων ἀνδρῶν,
ἐπεὰν τελευτήσωσι, οὐ παραυτίκα διδοῦσι ταρι-
χεύειν, οὐδὲ ὅσαι ἂν ἔωσι εὐειδέες κάρτα καὶ λόγου
πλεῦνος ,γυναΐκες" ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὰν τριταῖαι ἢ τεταρ-
ταῖαι γένωνται, οὕτω παραδιδοῦσι τοῖσι ταρι-
χεύουσι. τ τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῦσι οὕτω τοῦδε εἵνεκεν, ἵνα
μή σφι οἱ ταριχευταὶ μίσγωνται τῇσι γυναιξί"
λαμφθῆναι γὰρ τινὰ φασὶ μισγόμενον νεκρῷ
προσφάτῳ γυναικός, κατειπεῖν δὲ τὸν ὁμότεχνον.

312

BOOK II. 86-89

which they enclose the corpse, shut it up, and pre-
serve it safe in a coffin-chamber, placed erect against
a wall.

87. This is how they prepare the dead who
have wished for the most costly fashion!; those
whose wish was for the middle and less costly
way are prepared in another fashion. The em-
balmers charge their syringes with cedar oil and
therewith fill the belly of the dead man, making no
cut, nor removing the intestines, but injecting the
drench through the anus and checking it from
returning; then they embalm the body for the
appointed days; on the last day they let the oil which
they poured in pass out again. It has so great power
that it brings away the inner parts and intestines all
dissolved; the flesh is eaten away by the saltpetre,
and in the end nothing is left of the body but
skin and bone. Then the embalmers give back the
dead body with no more ado.

88. When they use the third manner of embalming,
which is the preparation of the poorer dead, they
cleanse the belly with a purge, embalm the body for
the seventy days and then give it back to be taken
away.

89. Wives of notable men, and women of great
beauty and reputation, are not at once given over to
the embalmers, but only after they have been dead
for three or four days; this is done, that the
embalmers may not have carnal intercourse with
them. For it is said that one was found having
intercourse with a woman newly dead, and was
denounced by his fellow-workman.

1 trols τὰ πολυτελέστατα, 86. βουλομένους.

979

HERODOTUS

Ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἢ αὐτῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ ξείνων
ὑμοίως ὑπὸ κροκοδείλου ἁρπασθεις ἢ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
τοῦ ποταμοῦ φαίνηται τεθνεώς, κατ᾽ ἣν ἂν πόλιν
ἐξενειχθῇ, τούτους πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ἐστὶ ταριχεύ-
σαντας αὐτὸν καὶ περιστείλαντας ὡς κάλλιστα
θάψαι ἐ ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι" οὐδὲ ψαῦσαι ἔξεστι αὐτοῦ
ἄλλον οὐδένα οὔτε τῶν προσηκόντων οὔτε τῶν
φίλων, ἀλλά μιν αἱ ἱρέες αὐτοὶ τοῦ Νείλου ἅτε
πλέον TL ἢ ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν γχειραπτάζοντες
θάπτουσι.

1. “Ελληνικοῖσι δὲ νομαίοισι φεύγουσι χρᾶσθαι,
τὸ δὲ σύμπαν εἰπεῖν, und ἄλλων μηδαμὰ μηδα-
μῶν ἀνθρώπων νομαίοισι. οἱ μέν νυν ἄλλοι Αἰὐγύ-
TTLOL οὕτω τοῦτο φυλάσσουσι, ἔστι δὲ Χέμμις πό-
ALS μεγάλη νομοῦ τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ ἐγγὺς Νέης πό-
wos" ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλι ἐστὶ Περσέος τοῦ Δανάης
ἱρὸν τετράγωνον, πέριξ δὲ αὐτοῦ φοίνικες πεφύ-
κασι. τὰ δὲ πρόπυλα τοῦ ἱροῦ λίθινα ἐστὶ κάρτα
μεγάλα" ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτοῖσι ἀνδριάντες δύο ἑστᾶσι
λίθινοι μεγάλοι. ἐν δὲ τῷ περιβεβλημένῳ τούτῳ
νηός τε ἔνι καὶ ἄγαλμα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐνέστηκε τοῦ Τ1ερ-
σέος. οὗτοι οἱ Χεμμῖται λέγουσι τὸν Περσέα
πολλάκις μὲν ἀνὰ τὴν γῆν φαίνεσθαί σφι πολλάκις
δὲ ἔσω τοῦ ἱροῦ, σανδάλιόν τε αὐτοῦ πεφορημένον
εὑρίσκεσθαι ἐὸν τὸ μέγαθος δίπηχυ, τὸ ἐπεὰν
φανῇ, εὐθηνέειν ἅπασαν Αἴγυπτον. ταῦτα μὲν
λέγουσι, ποιεῦσι δὲ τάδε ᾿Βλληνικὰ τῷ ἹΤερσέι"
ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν τιθεῖσι διὰ πάσης ἀγωνίης ἔχοντα,
παρέχοντες ἄεθλα KTNVER Kal χλαίνας καὶ δέρ-
ματα. εἰρομένου δέ μευ ὅ τί σφι μούνοισι ἔωθε ὁ
Περσεὺς ἐπιφαίνεσθαι καὶ ὅ τι κεχωρίδαται
Αἰγυπτίων τῶν ἄλλων ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν τιθέντες,

374

BOOK II. go-gr

90. When anyone, be he Egyptian or stranger, is
known to have been carried off by a crocodile or
drowned by the river itself, such an one must by all
means be embalmed and tended as fairly as may be
and buried in a sacred coffin by the townsmen of the
place where he is cast up; nor may any of his kins-
foik or his friends touch him, but his body is deemed
something more than human, and is handled and
buried by the priests of the Nile themselves.

91. The Egyptians shun the use of Greek customs,
and (to speak generally) the customs of any other
men whatever. Yet, though the rest are careful of
this, there is a great city called Chemmis, in the
Theban province, near the New City; in this city is
a square temple of Perseus son of Danae, in a grove
of palm trees. The colonnade before this temple is
of stone, very great ; and there stand at the entrance
two great stone statues. In this outer court there is
a shrine with an image of Perseus standing in it.
The people of this Chemmis say that Perseus is often
seen up and down this land, and often within the
temple, and that the sandal he wears is found, and it
is two cubits long; when that is seen, all Egypt
prospers. This is what they say ; and their doings in
honour of Perseus are Greek, in that they celebrate
games comprising every form of contest, and offer
animals and cloaks and skins as prizes. When I
asked why Perseus appeared to them alone, and why,
unlike all other Egyptians, they celebrate games,

375

HERODOTUS

» Ν / » A € A /
ἔφασαν τὸν Περσέα ἐκ τῆς ἑωυτῶν πόλιος γεγο-
νέναι τὸν γὰρ Δαναὸν καὶ τὸν Λυγκέα ἐόντας
Χεμμίτας ἐκπλῶσαι ἐς τὴν ᾿Ῥλλάδα, a ἀπὸ δὲ τού-
των γενεηλογέοντες κατέβαινον ἐς τὸν Llepcéa.
ἀπικόμενον δὲ αὐτὸν ἐς Αἴγυπτον κατ᾽ αἰτίην τὴν
\ dy / ” > ΄ \
Kat’ EXAnvES λέγουσι, οἴσοντα ἐκ Λιβύης τὴν Dop-
yous κεφαλήν, ἔφασαν ἐλθεῖν καὶ παρὰ σφέας
καὶ ἀναγνῶναι τοὺς συγγενέας πάντας" ᾿ ἐκμεμαθη-
κότα δέ μιν ἀπικέσθαι ἐς Αἴγυπτον τὸ τῆς Χέμ-
\ a a
[LOS οὔνομα, πεπυσμένον παρὰ τῆς μητρός. ἀγῶνα
N a
δέ οἱ γυμνικὸν αὐτοῦ κελεύσαντος ἐπιτελέειν.
92. Ταῦτα μὲν πάντα οἱ κατύπερθε τῶν ἑλέων
2 / ’ fa / id \ \ 3 lal
οἰκέοντες Αἰγύπτιοι νομίζουσι" οἱ δὲ δὴ ἐν τοῖσι
ἕλεσι κατοικημένοι τοῖσι μὲν αὐτοῖσι νόμοισι
A e \
ρέωνται τοῖσι Kal οἱ ἄλλοι Αἰγύπτιοι, Kal τὰ
ἄλλα καὶ γυναικὶ μιῇ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν συνοικέει
7 (vA > Ν \ > / Qn
κατά περ EAAnves, ἀτὰρ πρὸς εὐτελείην τῶν
, / YA ’ 4 > \ /
σιτίων τάδε σφι ἄλλα ἐξεύρηται. ἐπεὰν πλήρης
bg \
γένηται ὁ ποταμὸς Kal τὰ πεδία πελαγίσῃ, φύεται
ἢ no ἢ , \ ee 5 /
ἐν τῷ ὕδατι Kpivea TOAAG, TA Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι
λωτόν: ταῦτ᾽ ἐπεὰν δρέψωσι αὐαίνουσι πρὸς ἥλιον
καὶ ἔπειτα τὸ ἐκ μέσου τοῦ λωτοῦ, τῇ μήκωνι ἐὸν
, lal Lal
ἐμφερές, πτίσαντες ποιεῦνται ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἄρτους
7 / a n
ὀπτοὺς πυρί. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ pita τοῦ λωτοῦ τούτου
ἐδωδίμη καὶ ἐγγλύσσει ἐπιεικέως, ἐὸν στρογγύλον,
μέγαθος κατὰ μῆλον. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα κρίνεα
ῥόδοισι ἐμφερέα, ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ γινόμενα καὶ
ταῦτα, ἐξ @ ὧν ὁ καρπὸς ἐν ἄλλῃ κάλυκι παραφυο-
μένῃ ἐκ τῆς ῥίξης γίνεται, κηρίῳ σφηκῶν ἰδέην
ὁμοιότατον' ἐν τούτῳ τρωκτὰ ὅ ὅσον τε πυρὴν ἐλαίης
ἐγγίνεται συχνά, τρώγεται δὲ καὶ ἁπαλὰ ταῦτα
καὶ ava. τὴν δὲ βύβλον τὴν ἐπέτειον γινομένην

376

BOOK II. οι-ο2

they told me that Perseus was by lineage of their
city; for Danaus and Lynceus, who voyaged to Greece,
were of Chemmis; and they traced descent from
these down to Perseus. They told too how when he
came to Egypt tor the reason alleged also by the
Greeks—namely, to bring the Gorgon’s head from
Libya—he came to Chemmis too and recognised all
his kin; and how before he came to Egypt he had
heard the name of Chemmis from his mother. It was
at his bidding, said they, that they celebrated the
games.

92. All these are the customs of Egyptians who
dwell above the marsh country. Those who inhabit
the marshes have the same customs as the rest, both
in other respects, and in that each man has one wife,
asin Greece. They have, besides, devised means to
make their food less costly. When the river is in
flood and overflows the plains, many lilies, which the
Egyptians call lotus, grow in the water. They pluck
these and dry them in the sun, then they crush the
poppy-like centre of the plant and bake loaves of it.
The root also of this lotus is eatable, and of a sweetish
taste; it is round, and of the bigness of an apple.
Other lilies also grow in the river, which are like
roses; the fruit of these is found in a calyx springing
from the root by a separate stalk, and is most like to
a comb made by wasps; this produces many eatable
seeds as big as an olive-stone, which are eaten both
fresh and dried. They use also the byblus which

311]

HERODOTUS

ἐπεὰν ἀνασπάσωσι ἐκ TOV ἑλέων, τὰ μὲν ἄνω
αὐτῆς ἀποτάμνοντες ἐς ἄλλο τι τράπουσι, τὸ δὲ
κάτω λελειμμένον ὅσον τε ἐπὶ πῆχυν τρώγουσι
καὶ πωλέουσι" 1 οἱ δὲ ἂν καὶ κάρτα βούλωνται
χρηστῇ τῇ βύβλῳ χρᾶσθαι, ἐν ne ae διαφανέι
πνίξαντες οὕτω τρώγουσι. δὲ τινὲς αὐτῶν
ζῶσι ἀπὸ τῶν ἰχθύων μοῦνον, τοὺς ἐπεὰν λάβωσι
καὶ ἐξέλωσι τὴν κοιλίην, αὐαίνουσι πρὸς ἥλιον καὶ
ἔπειτα αὔους ἐόντας σιτέονται.

98, Οἱ δὲ ἐχθύες οἱ ἀγελαῖοι ἐν μὲν τοῖσι ποτα-
μοῖσι οὐ μάλα γίνονται, τρεφόμενοι δὲ ἐν τῇσι
λίμνῃσι τοιάδε ποιεῦσι. ἐπεάν σφεας ἐσίη οἶστρος
κυΐσκεσθαι, ἀγεληδὸν ἐκπλώουσι ἐς θάλασσαν"
ρῶς δὲ οἱ ἔρσενες ἀπορραίνοντες τοῦ θοροῦ,

d δὲ ἑπόμεναι ἀνακάπτουσι καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κυΐ-
σκονται. ἐπεὰν δὲ πλήρεες γένωνται ἐν τῇ θα-
λάσσῃ, ἀναπλώουσι ὀπίσω ἐς ἤθεα τὰ ἑωυτῶν
ἕκαστοι, ἡγέονται μέντοι 7e οὐκέτι οἱ αὐτοί, ἀλλὰ
τῶν θηλέων γίνεται ἡ ἡγεμονίην" “ἡγεύμεναι δὲ
ἀγεληδὸν ποιεῦσι οἷόν περ ἐποίευν οἱ ἔρσενες" τῶν
γὰρ OMY ἀπορραίνουσι κατ᾽ ὀλίγους τῶν κέγχρων,
οἱ δὲ ἔρσενες καταπίνουσι ἑπόμενοι. εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ
κέγχροι οὗτοι ἰχθύες. ἐκ δὲ τῶν περιγινομένων
καὶ μὴ καταπινομένων κέγχρων οἱ τρεφόμενοι
ἰχθύες γίνονται. οἱ δ᾽ ἂν αὐτῶν ἁλῶσι ἐκπλώοντες
ἐς θάλασσαν, φαίνονται τετριμμένοι τὰ ἐπ᾽ ἀρι-
στερὰ τῶν κεφαλέων, οἱ δ᾽ ἂν ὀπίσω ἀναπλώοντες,
τὰ ἐπὶ δεξιὰ τετρίφαται. πάσχουσι δὲ ταῦτα διὰ
τόδε: ἐγόμειοι τῆς γῆς ἐπ᾽ ἀριστερὰ καταπλώουσι
ἐς δ δυο ΕΣ καὶ ἀναπλώοντες ὀπίσω τῆς αὐτῆς

il ΓΦ

ein brackets καὶ πωλέουσι, as being inappropriate ; it
should perhaps come after τράπουσι above.

378

BOOK II. 92-93

grows annually: it is plucked from the marshes, the
top of it cut off and turned to other ends, and the
lower part, about a cubit’s length, eaten or sold.
Those who wish to use the byblus at its very best
bake it before eating in a redhot oven. Some live
on fish alone. They catch the fish, take out the
intestines, then dry them in the sun and eat them
dried.

93. Fish that go in shoals do not often come to
birth in the river ; they are reared in the lakes, and
this is the way with them: when the desire of
spawning comes on them, they swim out to sea in
shoals, the males leading, and throwing out their
seed, while the females come after and swallow it
and so conceive. When the females have become
pregnant in the sea, then all the fish swim back to
their homes ; but now it is the females and not the
males who lead the way, going before in a shoal, and
(like the males) throwing off ever and anon a few of
their eggs (which are like millet-seeds), which the
males devour as they follow. These millet-seeds, or
eggs, are fish. It is from the surviving eggs, which
are not devoured, that the fish which grow come to
the birth. Those fish that are caught while swim-
ming seawards show bruises on the left side of their
heads ; those that are caught returning, on the right
side. This happens to them because as they swim
seawards they keep close to the left bank, and hold

379

HERODOTUS

ἀντέχονται, ἐγχριμπτόμενοι καὶ avovtes | ὡς μά-
Nota, ἵνα δὴ μὴ ἁμάρτοιεν τῆς ὁδοῦ διὰ τὸν ῥόον.
ἐπεὰν δὲ πληθύνεσθαι ἄρχηται ὁ Νεῖλος, τά τε
κοῖλα τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ τέλματα τὰ παρὰ τὸν
ποταμὸν πρώτα ἄρχεται πίμπλασθαι διηθέοντος
τοῦ ὕδατος ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ" καὶ αὐτίκα τε πλέα
γίνεται ταῦτα καὶ παραχρῆμα ἰχθύων σμικρῶν
πίμπλαται πάντα. κόθεν δὲ οἰκὸς αὐτοὺς γίνε-
σθαι, ἐγώ μοι δοκέω κατανοέειν τοῦτο' τοῦ προ-
τέρου ἔτεος ἐπεὰν ἀπολίπτῃ ὁ Νεῖλος, οἱ ἰχθύες
ἐντεκόντες WA ἐς τὴν ἰλὺν ἅμα τῷ ἐσχάτῳ ὕδατι
ἀπαλλάσσονται" ἐπεὰν δὲ περιελθόντος τοῦ χρόνου
πάλιν ἐπέλθῃ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐκ τῶν φῶν τούτων παρ-
αυτίκα γίνονται οἱ ἰχθύες οὗτοι.

94. Kal περὶ μὲν τοὺς ἰχθύας οὕτω ἔχει. ἀλεί-
φατι δὲ χρέωνται Αἰγυπτίων οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα
οἰκέοντες ἀπὸ τῶν σιλλικυπρίων τοῦ καρποῦ, τὸ
καλεῦσι μὲν Αἰγύπτιοι κίκι, ποιεῦσι δὲ ὧδε.
παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τῶν τε ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν λιμνέων
σπείρουσι τὰ σιλλικύπρια ταῦτα, τὰ ἐν “ἄλλησι
αὐτόματα ἄγρια φύεται" ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ
σπειρόμενα καρπὸν φέρει πολλὸν μὲν δυσώδεα δέ"
τοῦτον ἐπεὰν συλλέξωνται, οἱ μὲν κόψαντες ἀπι-
ποῦσι, οἱ δὲ καὶ φρύξαντες ἀπέψουσι, καὶ τὸ
ἀπορρέον am’ αὐτοῦ συγκομίζονται. ἔστι δὲ πῖον
καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον τοῦ ἐλαίου τῷ λύχνῳ προσηνές,
ὀδμὴν δὲ βαρέαν παρέχεται.

90: Πρὸς δὲ τοὺς κώνωπας ἀφθόνους ἐόντας
τάδε σφι ἐστὶ μεμηχανημένα. τοὺς μὲν τὰ ἄνω
TOV ἑλέων οἰκέοντας οἱ πύργοι ὠφελέουσι, ἐς τοὺς
ἀναβαίνοντες κοιμῶνται' οἱ γὰρ κώνωπες ὑπὸ
τῶν ἀνέμων οὐκ οἷοί τε εἰσὶ ὑψοῦ πέτεσθαι. τοῖσι
380

BOOK II. 93-95

to the same bank also in their return, grazing it and
touching it as much as they may, I suppose lest the
current should make them miss their course. When
the Nile begins to rise, hollow and marshy places
near the river are the first to begin to fill, the water
trickling through from the river, and as soon as they
are flooded they are suddenly full of little fishes.
Whence it is like that these come into being I
believe that I can guess. When the Nile falls, the
fish have spawned into the mud before they leave it
with the last of the water; and as the time comes
round, and in the next year the flood comes again,
this spawn at once gives birth to these fishes.

94. So much then for the fishes. The Egyptians
who live about the marshes use an oil drawn from the
castor-berry, which they call kiki. They sow this
plant on the banks of the rivers and lakes; it grows
wild in Hellas ; in Egypt it produces abundant but
ill-smelling fruit, which is gathered, and either
bruised and pressed, or boiled after roasting, and the
liquid that comes from it collected. This is thick
and as useful as oil for lamps, and gives off a strong
smell.

95. Gnats are abundant; this is how the Egyptians
protect themselves against them: those who dwell
higher up than the marshy country are well served
by the towers whither they ascend to sleep, for the
winds prevent the gnats from flying aloft; those

481

HERODOTUS

δὲ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα οἰκέουσι τάδε ἀντὶ τῶν πύργων
ἄλλα μεμηχάνηται" πᾶς ἀνὴρ αὐτῶν ἀμφίβλη-
στρον ἔκτηται, τῷ τῆς μὲν ἡμέρης ἰχθῦς ἀγρεύει,
τὴν δὲ νύκτα τάδε αὐτῷ χρᾶται: ἐν τῇ ἀναπαύεται
κοίτῃ, περὶ ταύτην ἵστησι τὸ ἀμφίβληστρον καὶ
ἔπειτα ἐνδὺς ὑπ᾽ αὐτὸ κατεύδει. οἱ δὲ κώνωπες,
ἢν μὲν ἐν ἱματίῳ ἐνειλιξάμενος εὕδῃ ἢ σινδόνι,
διὰ τούτων δάκνουσι, διὰ δὲ τοῦ δικτύου οὐδὲ
πειρῶνται ἀρχήν.

96. Τὰ δὲ δὴ πλοῖά σφι, τοῖσι φορτηγέουσι,
ἐστὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀκάνθης ποιεύμενα, τῆς ἡ μορφὴ μὲν
ἐστὶ ὁμοιοτάτη τῷ Κυρηναίῳ λωτῷ, τὸ δὲ δάκρυον
κόμμι ἐστί. ἐκ ταύτης ὧν τῆς ἀκάνθης κοψάμενοι
ξύλα ὅσον τε διπήχεα πλινθηδὸν συντιθεῖσι
ναυπηγεύμενοι τρόπον τοιόνδε' περὶ γόμφους πυ-
κνοὺς καὶ μακροὺς περιείρουσι τὰ διπήχεα ξύλα"
ἐπεὰν δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ ναυπηγήσωνται, ζυγὰ
ἐπιπολῆς τείνουσι αὐτῶν: νομεῦσι δὲ οὐδὲν
χρέωνται: ἔσωθεν δὲ τὰς ἁρμονίας ἐν ὧν ἐπάκ-
τωσαν τῇ βύβλῳ. πηδάλιον δὲ ἕν ποιεῦνται,
καὶ τοῦτο διὰ τῆς τρόπιος διαβύνεται. ἱστῷ δὲ
ἀκανθίνῳ χρέωνται, ἱστίοισι δὲ βυβλίνοισι. ταῦτα
τὰ πλοῖα ἀνὰ μὲν τὸν ποταμὸν οὐ δύναται πλέειν,

μὴ λαμπρὸς ἄνεμος ἐπέχῃ, ἐκ γῆς δὲ παρ-
έλκεται, κατὰ ῥόον δὲ κομίζεται ὧδε: ἔστι ἐκ
μυρίκης πεποιημένη θύρη, κατερραμμένη ῥίπεϊ
καλάμων, καὶ λίθος τετρημένος διτάλαντος μά-
λιστά κῃ σταθμόν' τούτων τὴν μὲν θύρην δεδε-
μένην KANO ἔμπροσθε τοῦ πλοίου amet ἐπι-
φέρεσθαι, τὸν δὲ λίθον ἄλλῳ κάλῳ ὄπισθε. ἡ
μὲν δὴ θύρη τοῦ ῥόου ἐμπίπτοντος χωρέει ταχέως
καὶ ἕλκει τὴν βᾶριν (τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ οὔνομα ἐστὶ

382

BOOK II. ος-9ο6

living about the marshes have a different device,
instead of the towers. Every man of them has a net,
with which he catches fish by day, and for the night
he sets it round the bed where he rests, then creeps
under it and so sleeps. If he sleep wrapped in a
garment or cloth, the gnats bite through it; but
through the net they do not even try at all to
bite.

96. The boats in which they carry cargo are made
of the acacia,! which is in form most like to the lotus
of Cyrene, and its sap is gum. Of this tree they cut
logs of two cubits length and lay them like courses
of bricks,? and build the boat by making these two-
cubit logs fast to long and close-set stakes; and
having so built they set crossbeams athwart and on
the logs. They use no ribs. They caulk the seams
within with byblus. There is one rudder, passing
through a hole in the boat’s keel. The mast is of
acacia-wood and the sails of byblus. These boats
cannot move upstream unless a brisk breeze con-
tinue; they are towed from the bank; but down-
stream they are thus managed: they have a raft
made of tamarisk wood, fastened together with
matting of reeds, and a pierced stone of about two
talents’ weight; the raft is let go to float down ahead
of the boat, made fast to it by a rope, and the stone
is made fast also by a rope to the after part of the
boat. So, driven by the current, the raft floats
swiftly and tows the “‘baris”’ (which is the name of

1 The ‘‘ Mimosa Nilotica,” still used for boat-building in
Egypt.
* That is, like bricks laid not one directly over another

but with the joints alternating : eee.

383

HERODOTUS

τοῖσι πλοίοισι τούτοισι), ὁ δὲ λίθος ὄπισθε
ἐπελκόμενος καὶ ἐὼν ἐν βυσσῷ κατιθύνει τὸν
, Μ / \ a a / “
πλόον. ἔστι δέ σφι τὰ πλοῖα ταῦτα πλήθεϊ
\
πολλά, Kal ἄγει ἔνια πολλὰς χιλιάδας ταλάντων.
/ ἊΣ
97. ᾿Επεὰν δὲ ἐπέλθη ὁ Νεῖλος τὴν χώρην, αἱ
πόλιες μοῦναι φαίνονται ὑπερέχουσαι, μάλιστά
κῃ ἐμφερέες τῇσι ἐν τῷ Αἰγαίῳ πόντῳ νήσοισι"
\ \ \ Μ an » / 7 ,
Ta μὲν yap ἄλλα τῆς Αἰγύπτου πέλαγος γίνεται,
αἱ δὲ πόλιες μοῦναι ὑπερέχουσι. πορθμεύονται
ὧν, ἐπεὰν τοῦτο γένηται, οὐκέτι κατὰ τὰ ῥέεθρα
τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀλλὰ διὰ μέσου τοῦ πεδίου. ἐς μέν
γε Μέμφιν ἐκ Ναυκράτιος ἀναπλώοντι παρ᾽ αὐτὰς
\S
Tas πυραμίδας γίνεται ὁ πλόος" ἔστι δὲ OVS οὗτος,
> \ N \ 2 \ A , \ \ fe
ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ ὀξὺ τοῦ Δέλτα καὶ παρὰ Kepxa-
/ Ὶ \ 7 > \ / \
σωρον πόλιν' és δὲ Ναύκρατιν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης καὶ
Κανώβου διὰ πεδίου πλέων ἥξεις κατ᾽ "᾿Δνθυλλάν
τε πόλιν καὶ τὴν ᾿Αρχάνδρου καλευμένην.
98. Τουτέων δὲ ἡ μὲν ΓΑνθυλλα ἐοῦσα λογίμη
, 2 Ce J ’ he / aA SN
πόλις ἐς ὑποδήματα ἐξαίρετος δίδοται τοῦ αἰεὶ
βασιλεύοντος Αἰγύπτου τῇ γυναικί (τοῦτο δὲ
, ’ “ © \ / 2 \ » e
γίνεται ἐξ ὅσου ὑπὸ Πέρσῃσι ἐστὶ Αἴγυπτος), ἡ
δὲ ἑτέρη πόλις δοκέει μοι τὸ οὔνομα. ἔχειν ἀπὸ
τοῦ Δαναοῦ γαμβροῦ SR Ι Ρου τοῦ Φθίου τοῦ
᾿Αχαιοῦ' καλέεται γὰρ δὴ A ρχάνδρου πόλις. εἴη
δ᾽ ἂν καὶ ἄλλος τις "Αρχανδρος, οὐ μέντοι γε
Αἰγύπτιον τὸ οὔνομα.
/ \ ΄ὔ v > Ἂ A ἴὰ
99. Μέχρι μὲν τούτου ὄψις τε ἐμὴ καὶ γνώμη
καὶ ἱστορίη ταῦτα λέγουσα ἐστί, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦδε
Αἰγυπτίους ἔρχομαι λόγους ἐρέων κατὰ τὰ ἤκουον"
προσέσται δὲ αὐτοῖσί τι καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ὄψιος.
Μῖνα τὸν πρῶτον βασιλεύσαντα Αἰγύπτου οἱ

384

BOOK II. 96-99

these boats,) and the stone dragging behind on the
river bottom keeps the boat’s course straight. There
are many of these boats; some are of many thousand
talents’ burden.

97. When the Nile overflows the land, the towns
alone are seen high and dry above the water, very
like to the islands in the Aegean sea. These alone
stand out, the rest of Egypt being a sheet of water.
So when this happens folk are ferried not, as is their
wont, in the course of the stream, but clean over the
plain. From Naucratis indeed to Memphis the boat
going upwards passes close by the pyramids them-
selves ;1 the usual course is not this, but by the
Delta’s point and the town Cercasorus: but your
voyage from the sea and Canobus to Naucratis will
take you over the plain near the town of Anthylla
and that which is called Archandrus’ town.

98. Anthylla is a town of some name, and is
specially assigned to the consort of the reigning king
of Egypt, for the provision of her shoes. This has
been done since Egypt has been under Persian
dominion. The other town, I think, is named after
Archandrus son of Phthius the Achaean, and son-in-
law of Danaus; for it is called Archandrus’ town.
It may be that there was another Archandrus; but
the name is not Egyptian.

99. Thus far all I have said is the outcome of my
own sight and judgment and inquiry. Henceforth
I will record Egyptian chronicles, according to that
which I have heard, adding thereto somewhat of
what I myself have seen. The priests told me that
Min was the first king of Egypt, and that first he

1 The meaning of these words is not clear. Some think

that they mean ‘‘though here the course is not so” and
that perhaps ὁ ἐωθώς has been lost after οὗτος.

385

HERODOTUS

ἱρέες ἔλεγον τοῦτο μὲν ἀπογεφυρῶσαι τὴν “Μέρμ-
φιν. τὸν γὰρ ποταμὸν πάντα ῥέειν παρὰ τὸ ὄρος
τὸ ψάμμινον πρὸς Λιβύης, τὸν δὲ Miva ἄνωθεν,
ὅσον τε ἑκατὸν σταδίους ἀπὸ Μέμφιος, τὸν πρὸς
μεσαμβρίης a ἀγκῶνα προσχώσαντα τὸ μὲν ἀρχαῖον
ῥέεθρον ἀποξηρῆναι, τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν ὀχετεῦσαι
τὸ μέσον τῶν ὀρέων ῥέειν. ἔτι δὲ καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ
Περσέων ὁ ἀγκὼν οὗτος τοῦ Νείλου ὡς ἀπεργ-
μένος ῥέῃ ἐν φυλακῇσι μεγάλῃσι ἔχεται, φρασ-
σόμενος ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος" εἰ γὰρ ἐθελήσει ῥήξας
ὑπερβῆναι ὁ ποταμὸς ταύτῃ, κῷδυνος πάσῃ
Μέμφι κατακλυσθῆναι, ἔσπίς WS δὲ τῷ Μίζνι
τούτῳ τῷ πρώτῳ γενομένῳ βασιλέι χέρσον yeryo-
νέναι τὸ ἀπεργμένον, τοῦτο μὲν ἐν αὐτῷ πόλιν
κτίσαι ταύτην ἥτις νῦν Μέμφις καλέεται" ἔστι
γὰρ καὶ ἡ Μέμφις ἐν τῷ στεινῷ τῆς Αἰγύπτου'
ἔξωθεν δὲ αὐτῆς περιορύξαι λίμνην ἐκ τοῦ πο-
ταμοῦ πρὸς βορέην τε καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέρην (τὸ γὰρ
πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ αὐτὸς ὁ Νεῖλος ἀπέργει), τοῦτο δὲ
τοῦ Πφαίστου τὸ ἱρὸν ἱδρύσασθαι ἐν αὐτῇ, ἐὸν
μέγα τε καὶ ἀξιαπηγητότατον.

100. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον κατέλεγον οἱ ἱρέες
ἐκ βύβλου ἄλλων βασιλέων τριηκοσίων καὶ
τριήκοντα οὐνόματα. ἐν τοσαύτῃσι δὲ γενεῆσι
ἀνθρώπων ὀκτωκαίδεκα μὲν Αἰθίοπες ἦσαν,
μία δὲ γυνὴ ἐἐπιχωρίη, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι ἄνδρες
Αὐγύπτιοι. τῇ δὲ γυναικὶ οὔνομα ἣν, TLS
ἐβασίλευσε, τό περ τῇ Βαβυλωνίῃ, Nitwxpis:
τὴν ἔλεγον τιμωρέουσαν ἀδελφεῷ, τὸν Αἰὐγύ-
πτιοι βασιλεύοντα σφέων ἀπέκτειναν, ἀπο-
κτείναντες δὲ οὕτω ἐκείνῃ ἀπέδοσαν τὴν βα-
σιληίην, τούτῳ τιμωρέουσαν πολλοὺς Αἰγυπτίων

286

BOOK II. gg-100
separated Memphis from the Nilebyadam. All the

river had flowed close under the sandy mountains on
the Libyan side, but Min made the southern bend
of it which begins about an hundred furlongs above
Memphis, by damming the stream ; thereby he dried
up the ancient course, and carried the river by a
channel so that it flowed midway between the hills.
And to this day the Persians keep careful guard over
this bend of the river, strengthening its dam every
year, that it may keep the current in; for were the
Nile to burst his dykes and overflow here, all Memphis
were in danger of drowning. Then, when this first
king Min had made what he thus cut off to be dry
land, he first founded in it that city which is now
called Memphis—for even Memphis lies in the narrow
part of Egypt—and outside of it he dug a lake to its
north and west, from the river (the Nile itself being
the eastern boundary of the place); and secondly, he
built in it the great and most noteworthy temple of
Hephaestus.

100. After him came three hundred and thirty
kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus
roll. In all these many generations there were
eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to
the country; the rest were all Egyptian men. The
name of the queen was the same as that of the
Babylonian princess, Nitocris. She, to avenge her
brother (he was king of Egypt and was slain by his
subjects, who then gave Nitocris the sovereignty) put

337

HERODOTUS

διαφθεῖραι δόλῳ. ποιησαμένην γάρ μιν οἴκημα
περίμηκες ὑπόγαιον καινοῦν τῷ λόγῳ, νόῳ δὲ ἄλλα
μηχανᾶσθαι: καλέσασαν δέ μιν Αἰγυπτίων τοὺς
μάλιστα μεταιτίους τοῦ φόνου ἤδεε πολλοὺς
ἱστιᾶν, δαινυμένοισι δὲ ἐπεῖναι, τὸν ποταμὸν δι᾿
αὐλῶνος κρυπτοῦ μεγάλον. ταύτης μὲν πέρι το-
σαῦτα ἔλεγον, πλὴν ὅτι αὐτήν μιν, ὡς τοῦτο
ἐξέργαστο, ῥίψαι ἐς οἴκημα σποδοῦ πλέον, ὅκως
ἀτιμώρητος γένηται.

101. Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων βασιλέων οὐ γὰρ ἔλεγον
οὐδεμίαν ἔργων ἀπόδεξιν καὶ οὐδὲν εἶναι λαμπρό-
τήτος, πλὴν ἑνὸς τοῦ ἐσχάτου αὐτῶν Μοίριος"
τοῦτον͵ δὲ ἀποδέξασθαι μνημόσυνα τοῦ ᾿ἩΗφαίστου
τὰ πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον τετραμμένα προπύλαια,
λίμνην τε ὀρύξαι, τῆς ἡ περίοδος ὅσων ἐστὶ
σταδίων ὕστερον δηλώσω, πυραμίδας τε ἐν αὐτῇ
οἰκοδομῆσαι, τῶν τοῦ μεγάθεος πέρι ὁμοῦ αὐτῇ τῇ
λίμνῃ ἐπιμνήσομαι- τοῦτον μὲν τοσαῦτα ἀπο-
δέξασθαι, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οὐδένα οὐδέν.

102. Παράμειψάμενος ὦ ὧν τούτους τοῦ ἐπὶ τού-
τοισι γενομένου βασιλέος, τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Σέσω-
στρίς, τούτου μνήμην ποιήσομαι" τὸν ἔλεγον οἱ
ἱρέες “πρῶτον μὲν πλοίοισι, μακροῖσι, ὁρμηθέντα
ἐκ τοῦ ᾿Αραβίου κόλπου τοὺς παρὰ τὴν ᾿Ερυθρὴν
ϑάλασσαν κατοικημένους καταστρέφεσθαι, ἐς ὃ
πλέοντά μιν πρόσω ἀπικέσθαι ἐς θάλασσαν οὐκέτι
πλωτὴν ὑπὸ βραχέων. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὡς ὀπίσω
ἀπίκετο ἐς Αἴγυπτον, κατὰ τῶν ἱρέων τὴν φάτιν,
πολλὴν στρατιὴν τῶν. .1 λαβὼν ἤλαυνε διὰ τῆς
ἠπείρου, πᾶν ἔθνος τὸ ἐμποδὼν καταστρεφόμενος.

1 A word is omitted, perhaps ἦρχεν; Τῶν ἦρχεν =.0f his
subjects.

388

BOOK II. roo-102

many of the Egyptians to death by guile. She built
a spacious underground chamber; then, with the
pretence of handselling it, but with far other intent
in her mind, she gave a great feast, inviting to it
those Egyptians whom she knew to have been most
concerned in her brother’s murder; and while they
feasted she let the river in upon them by a great
and secret channel. This was all that the priests
told of her, save that also when she had done this
she cast herself into a chamber full of hot ashes,
thereby to escape vengeance.

101. But of the other kings they related no
achievement or deed of great note, save of Moeris,
who was the last of them. This Moeris was remem-
bered as having built the northern forecourt of the
temple of Hephaestus, and dug a lake, of as many
furlongs in circuit as I shall later show; and built
there pyramids also, the size of which I will mention
when I speak of the lake. All this was Moeris’
work, they said; of none of the rest had they any-
thing to record.

102. Passing over these, therefore, I will now
speak of the king who came after them, Sesostris.1
This king, said the priests, set out with a fleet of long
ships 2 from the Arabian Gulf and subdued all the
dwellers by the Red Sea, till as he sailed on he came
to a sea which was too shallow for his vessels. After
returning thence back to Egypt, he gathered a great
army (according to the story of the priests) and
marched over the mainland, subduing every nation to

1 Rameses II., called by the Greeks Sesostris; said to
have ruled in the fourteenth century B.c.
2 Ships of war.

389

HERODOTUS

ὁτέοισι μέν νυν αὐτῶν ἀλκίμοισι ἐνετύγχανε Kal
δεινῶς γλιχομένοισι περὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίης, τούτοισι
μὲν στήλας ἐνίστη ἐς τὰς χώρας διὰ γραμμάτων
λεγούσας τό τε ἑωυτοῦ οὔνομα καὶ τῆς πάτρης,
καὶ ὡς δυνάμι τῇ ἑωυτοῦ κατεστρέψατο σφέας"
ὅτεων δὲ ἀμαχητὶ καὶ εὐπετέως παρέλαβε τὰς
πόλιας, τούτοισι δὲ ἐνέγραφε ἐν τῇσι στήλῃσι
κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ τοῖσι ἀνδρηίοισι τῶν ἐθνέων γε-
νομένοισι, καὶ δὴ καὶ αἰδοῖα γυναικὸς προσ-
ενέγραφε, δῆλα βουλόμενος ποιέειν ὡς εἴησαν
ἀνάλκιδες.

103. Ταῦτα δὲ ποιέων διεξήιε τὴν ἤπειρον, ἐς
ὃ ἐκ τῆς ᾿Ασίης ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην διαβὰς τούς τε
Σκύθας κατεστρέψατο καὶ τοὺς Θρήικας. ἐς τού-
τους δὲ μοι δοκέει καὶ προσώτατα ἀπικέσθαι ὃ
Αἰγύπτιος στρατός" ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ τούτων χώρῃ
φαίνονται σταθεῖσαι αἱ στῆλαι, τὸ δὲ προσωτέρω
τούτων οὐκέτι. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ἐπιστρέψας ὀπίσω
ἤιε, καὶ ἐπείτε ἐγίνετο ἐπὶ Φάσι ποταμῷ, οὐκ
ἔχω τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ἀτρεκέως εἰπεῖν εἴτε αὐτὸς δ
βασιλεὺς Σέσωστρις ἀποδασάμενος τῆς ἑωυτοῦ
στρατιῆς μόριον ὅσον δὴ αὐτοῦ κατέλιπε τῆς
χώρης οἰκήτορας, εἴτε τῶν τινες στρατιωτέων τῇ
πλάνῃ αὐτοῦ ἀχθεσθέντες περὶ Φᾶσιν ποταμὸν
κατέμειναν.

104. Φαίνονται μὲν γὰρ ἐόντες οἱ Κόλχοι Αἰ-
γύπτιοι, νοήσας δὲ πρότερον αὐτὸς ἢ ἀκούσας
ἄλλων λέγω. ws δέ μοι ἐν φροντίδι ἐγένετο,
εἰρόμην ἀμφοτέρους, καὶ μᾶλλον οἱ Κόλχοι ἐμε-
μνέατο τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τῶν
Κόλχων' νομίζειν δ᾽ ἔφασαν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τῆς

εσώστριος στρατιῆς εἶναι τοὺς Κόλχους. αὐτὸς

399

BOOK II. 102-104

which he came. When those that he met were
valiant men and strove hard for freedom, he set up
pillars in their land whereon the inscription showed
his own name and his country’s, and how he had
overcome them with his own power; but when the
cities had made no resistance and been easily taken,
then he put an inscription on the pillars even as he
had done where the nations were brave ; but he drew
also on them the privy parts of a woman, wishing to
show clearly that the people were cowardly.

103. Thus doing he marched over the country till
he had passed over from Asia to Europe and sub-
dued the Scythians and Thracians. Thus far and
no farther, I think, the Egyptian army went ; for
the pillars can be seen standing in their country, but
in none beyond it. Thence he turned about and went
back homewards; and when he came to the Phasis
river, it may be (for I cannot speak with exact know-
ledge) that King Sesostris divided off some part of his
army and left it there to dwell in the country, or it
may be that some of his soldiers grew weary of his
wanderings, and stayed by the Phasis. :

104. For it is plain to see that the Colchians are
Egyptians ; and this that I say I myself noted before
I heard it from others. When I began to think on
this matter, I inquired of both peoples; and the
Colchians remembered the Egyptians better than
the Egyptians remembered the Colchians; the
Egyptians said that they held the Colchians to be
vart of Sesostris’ army. I myself guessed it to be

391

HERODOTUS

\ y nO \ ef / 2 \ \
δὲ εἴκασα THOE, καὶ OTL μελάγχροες εἰσὶ καὶ
, n \ \ /
OVAOTPLYES. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐς οὐδὲν ἀνήκει" εἰσὶ
\ Ν᾿ ἰδ a Bags AN a ὃ \ a
yap καὶ ἕτεροι τοιοῦτοι' ἀλλὰ τοῖσιδε καὶ μᾶλλον,
e a / > , / \ >
ὅτι μοῦνοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων Κόλχοι καὶ Al-
γύπτιοι καὶ Αἰθίοπες περιτώμνονται ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς
nr \ \ / ς a
τὰ αἰδοῖα. CPotvixes δὲ καὶ Σύροι οἱ ἐν τῇ Παλαι-
« ΄ ’
στίνῃ Kal αὐτοὶ ὁμολογέουσι παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων
΄ Se δὲ ς \ Θ AS \
μεμαθηκέναι, Σύριοι δὲ ot περὶ Θερμώδοντα καὶ
\ τί 7, ς
Παρθένιον ποταμὸν καὶ Μάκρωνες οἱ τούτοισι
5 , a7 5. «Ὁ ἵν 7, \ \
ἀστυγείτονες ἐόντες ἀπὸ Κολχων φασὶ νεωστὶ
τῷ \ > c ΄
μεμαθηκέναι. οὗτοι γὰρ εἰσὶ οἱ περιταμνόμενοι
, A »\ φ ’ ,7ὔ
ἀνθρώπων μοῦνοι, καὶ οὗτοι Αἰγυπτίοισι dat-
lal \ al
VovTal ποιεῦντες κατὰ ταὐτά. αὐτῶν δὲ Αἰγυ-
> a ¢ ,
πτίων καὶ Αἰθιόπων οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν OKOTEPOL παρὰ
a / “4 5 a \ / ie
τῶν ἑτέρων ἐξέμαθον: ἀρχαῖον yap δή τι φαίνεται
, , 7
ἐόν. ὡς δὲ ἐπιμισγόμενοι Αἰγύπτῳ ἐξέμαθον,
, , Ἢ
μέγα μοι καὶ τόδε τεκμήριον γίνεται: Φοινίκων
Ὁ , fol c / > / 5} “ >
ὁκόσοι TH ᾿Ελλάδι ἐπιμίσγονται, οὐκέτε Αἰγυ-
\ \ 3 n \ rn
πτίους μιμέονται KATA TA αἰδοῖα. ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐπι-
γινομένων οὐ περιτάμνουσι τὰ αἰδοῖα.
/ an 7 ω
106. Φέρε νῦν καὶ ἄλλο εἴπω περὶ τῶν Κόλχων,
/ / ? 4 / lal
ὡς Αἰγυπτίοισι προσφερέες εἰσί; λίνον μοῦνοι
e / \ > MM. / \
οὗτοί τε καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐργάζονται καὶ κατὰ
> , \ e ζό ων \ ς AQ 3 Φ /
ταὐτά, καὶ ἡ Con πᾶσα καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα ἐμφερής
/ \ \ \ \ ς \
ἐστι ἀλλήλοισι. λίνον δὲ TO μὲν Κολχικὸν ὑπὸ
«ς \
Ελλήνων Σαρδωνικὸν κέκληται, TO μέντοι ἀπ᾽
! j ΄,
Αἰγύπτου ἀπικνεύμενον καλέεται Αἰγύπτιον.
e \ na δὴ “, \ \ ΄
106. Αἱ δὲ στῆλαι τὰς ἵστα κατὰ τὰς χώρας
ς τη ἢ \ ποὺ e \ a
ὁ Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς Σέσωστρις, αἱ μὲν πλεῦνες

392

BOOK II. 104-106

so, partly because they are dark-skinned and woolly-
παπάς though that indeed goes for nothing, seeing
that other peoples, too, are such; but my_ better
proof was that the Colchians and Egyptians..and
Ethiopians are the only nations that. have from the
first practised.circumcision.. The Phoenicians and=
the Syrians of Palestine acknowledge of themselves
that they learnt the custom from the Egyptians, and
the Syrians of the valleys of the Thermodon and
the Parthenius, as well as their neighbours the Ma-
crones, say that they learnt it lately from the
Colchians. ‘These are the only nations that cireum-
cise, and it is seen that they do even as the
Egyptians. But as to the Egyptians and Ethiopians
themselves, I cannot say which nation learnt it from
the other; for itis manifestly a very ancient custom.
That the others learnt it from intercourse with
Egypt I hold to be clearly proved by this—that
Phoenicians who hold intercourse with Hellas cease
to imitate the Egyptians in this matter and do not
circumcise their children.

105. Nay, and let me speak of another matter in
which the Colchians are like to the Egyptians: they
and the Egyptians alone work linen, and have the
same way, a way peculiar to themselves, of working
it; and they are alike in all their manner of life,
and in their speech. Linen has two names: the
Colchian kind is called by the Greeks Sardonian ; ὦ
that which comes from Egypt is called Egyptian.

106. As to the pillars which Sesostris, king of
Egypt, set up in the countries, most of them are no

1 There seems to be no reason for connecting Colchian
linen with Sardinia (as Σαρδωνικόν would imply). The
Colchian word may have had a similar sound.

393

HERODOTUS

οὐκέτι φαίνονται περιεοῦσαι, ἐν δὲ τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ
Lupin αὐτὸς ὥρων ἐούσας καὶ τὰ γράμματα τὰ
εἰρημένα ἐνεόντα καὶ γυναικὸς αἰδοῖα. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ
περὶ ᾿Ιωνίην δύο τύποι ἐν πέτρῃσι ἐγκεκολαμμένοι
τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρός, τῇ τε ἐκ τῆς ᾿Εφεσίης ἐς
Φώκαιαν ἐ ἔρχονται καὶ τῇ ἐκ Σαρδίων ἐς Σμύρνην.
ἑκατέρωθι δὲ ἀνὴρ ἐγγέγλυπται μέγαθος πέμπτης
σπιθαμῆς, τῇ μὲν δεξιῇ χειρὶ ἐ ἔχων αἰχμὴν τῇ δὲ
ἀριστερῇ τόξα, κα τὴν ἄλλην σκευὴν ὡσαύτως"
καὶ γὰρ Αἰγυπτίην καὶ Αἰθιοπίδα ἔχει" ἐκ δὲ τοῦ
ὦμου ἐς τὸν ἕτερον ὦμον διὰ τῶν στηθέων γράμ-
ματα ἱρὰ Αὐγύπτια διήκει ἐγκεκολαμμένα, λέγοντα
τάδε: ‘ Bye τήνδε τὴν χώ ἣν ὦμοισι τοῖσι ἐμοῖσ:
ἐκτησάμην. ὅστις δὲ καὶ ὁκόθεν ἐ ἐστί, ἐνθαῦτα μὲν
οὐ δηλοῖ, ἑτέρωθι δὲ δεδήλωκε:' τὰ δὴ καὶ μετεξέ-
τερου τῶν θεησαμένων Μέμνονος εἰκόνα εἰκάζουσί
μιν εἶναι, πολλὸν τῆς ἀληθείης ἀπολελειμμένοι.
101. Τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Αἰγύπτιον Σέσωστριν ἀνα-
χωρέοντα καὶ ᾿ἀνάγοντα πολλοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν
ἐθνέων τῶν τὰς χώρας κατεστρέψατο, ἔλεγον οἱ
ἱρέες, ἐπείτε ἐγίνετο “ἀνακομιζόμενος ἐν ,Δάφνῃσι
τῇσι Πηλουσίῃσι, τὸν ἀδελφεὸν ἑωυτοῦ, τῷ ἐπέ-
τρεψε ὁ Σέσωστρις τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τοῦτον ἐπὶ
ξείνια αὐτὸν καλέσαντα καὶ “πρὸς αὐτῷ τοὺς
παῖδας περινῆσαι. ἔξωθεν τὴν οἰκίην ὕλῃ, περινή-
σαντα δὲ ὑποπρῆσαι. τὸν δὲ ὡς μαθεῖν τοῦτο,
αὐτίκα συμβουλεύεσθαι τῇ γυναικί: καὶ γὰρ δὴ
καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτὸν ἅμα ἄγεσθαι: τὴν δέ οἱ
συμβουλεῦσαι τῶν παίδων ἐόντων ἕξ τοὺς δύο
ἐπὶ τὴν πυρὴν ἐκτείναντα γεφυρῶσαι τὸ καιό-
μενον, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνων ἐπιβαίνοντας ἐκσώ-
ζεσθαι. ταῦτα ποιῆσαι τὸν Σέσωστριν, καὶ δύο

394

BOOK II. 106-107

longer to be seen. But I myself saw them in the
Palestine part of Syria, with the writing aforesaid and
the women’s privy parts upon them. Also there are
in Ionia two figures} of this man carven in rock, one
on the road from Ephesus to Phocaea, and the other
on that from Sardis to Smyrna. In both places there
is a man of a height of four cubits and a half cut in
relief, with a spear in his right hand and a bow in
his left, and the rest of his equipment answering
thereto ; for it is both Egyptian and Ethiopian ; and
right across the breast from one shoulder to the
other there is carven a writing in the Egyptian
sacred character, saying: “I myself won this land
with the might of my shoulders.” There is nothing
here to show who he is and whence he comes, but
it is shown elsewhere. Some of those who have seen
these figures guess them to be Memnon, but they
are far indeed from the truth.

107. Now when this Egyptian Sesostris (so said
the priests), being on his way homewards and bring-
ing many men of the nations whose countries he
had subdued, had come in his return to Daphnae of
Pelusium, his brother, to whom he had given Egypt
in charge, invited him and his sons to a banquet and
then piled wood round the house and set it on fire.
When Sesostris was aware of this, he took counsel
at once with his wife, whom (it was said) he was
bringing with him; and she counselled hii to lay
two of his six sons on the fire and to make a bridge
over the burning whereby they might pass over the
bodies of the two and escape. This Sesostris did ;

} Two such figures have been discovered in the pass of
Karabel, near the old road from Ephesus to Smyrna. ‘They
are not, however, Egyptian in appearance.

VOL.I. P 395

HERODOTUS

μὲν TOV παίδων κατακαῆναι τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ, τοὺς
δὲ λοιποὺς ἀποσωθῆναι ἅμα τῷ πατρί.

108. Νοστήσας δὲ ὁ Σέσωστρις ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον
καὶ τισάμενος τὸν ἀδελφεόν, τῷ μὲν ὁμίλῳ τὸν
ἐπηγάγετο τῶν τὰς χώρας κατεστρέψατο, τούτῳ
μὲν τάδε ἐχρήσατο' τούς τέ οἱ λίθους τοὺς ἐπὶ
τούτου τοῦ βασιλέος κομισθέντας ἐς τοῦ ᾿Ηφαί-
στου τὸ ἱρόν, ἐόντας μεγάθεϊ περιμήκεας, οὗτοι
ἧσαν οἱ ἑλκύσαντες, καὶ τὰς διώρυχας τὰς νῦν
ἐούσας ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πάσας οὗτοι ἀναγκαζόμενοι
ὦρυσσον, ἐποίευν τε οὐκ ἑκόντες Αἴγυπτον, τὸ
πρὶν ἐοῦσαν ἱππασίμην καὶ ἁμαξευομένην πᾶσαν,
ἐνδεᾶ τούτων. ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου Ai-
yum TOS ἐοῦσα πεδιὰς πᾶσα ἄνιππος καὶ ἀναμά-
ἕευτος γέγονε" αἴτιαι δὲ τούτων αἱ διώρυχες
γεγόνασι ἐοῦσαι πολλαὶ καὶ παντοίους τρόπους
ἔχουσαι. κατέταμνε δὲ τοῦδε εἵνεκα τὴν χώρην
ὁ βασιλεύς: ὅσοι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μὴ ἐπὶ τῴ πο-
ταμῷ ἔκτηντο τὰς πόλις ἀλλ᾽ ἀναμέσους, οὗτοι,
ὅκως τε ἀπίοι ὁ ποταμός, σπανίζοντες ὑδάτων
πλατυτέροισι ἐχρέωντο τοῖσι πόμασι, ἐκ φρεάτων
χρεώμενοι.

109. Τούτων μὲν δὴ εἵνεκα κατετμήθη ἡ Αἴ-
γυπτος. κατανεῖμαι δὲ τὴν χώρην Αἰγυπτίοισι
ἅπασι τοῦτον ἔλεγον τὸν βασιλέα, κλῆρον ἴσον
ἑκάστῳ τετράγωνον διδόντα, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τὰς
προσόδους ποιήσασθαι, ἐπιτάξαντα ἀποφορὴν
ἐπιτελέειν κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτόν. εἰ δὲ τινὸς τοῦ κλήρου
ὁ ποταμός τι παρέλοιτο, ἐλθὼν ἂν πρὸς αὐτὸν
ἐσήμαινε τὸ γεγενημένον" ὃ δὲ ἔπεμπε τοὺς ἐπι-
σκεψομένους καὶ ἀναμετρήσοντας ὅσῳ ἐλάσσων
ὁ χῶρος γέγονε, ὅκως τοῦ λοιποῦ κατὰ λόγον

390

BOOK II. 107-109

two of his sons were thus burnt, but the rest were
saved alive with their father.

108. Having returned to Egypt, and taken venge-
ance on his brother, Sesostris found work, as I shall
show, for the multitude which he brought with him
from the countries which he had subdued. It was
these who dragged the great and long blocks of
stone which were brought in this king’s reign to the
temple of Hephaestus; and it was they who were
compelled to dig all the canals which are now in
Egypt, and thus, albeit with no such intent, made
what was before a land of horses and carts to be
now without either. For from this time Egypt,
albeit a level land, could use no horses or carts, by
reason of the canals being so many and going every
way. The reason why the king thus intersected the
country was this: those Egyptians whose towns were
not on the Nile but inland from it lacked water
whenever the flood left their land, and drank only
brackish water from wells.

109. For this cause Egypt was intersected. This
king moreover (so they said) divided the country
among all the Egyptians by giving each an equal
square parcel of land, and made this his source of
revenue, appointing the payment of a yearly tax.
And any man who was robbed by the river of a part
of his land would come to Sesostris and declare
what had befallen him; then the king would send
men to look into it and measure the space by which
the land was diminished, so that thereafter it should

397

HERODOTUS

τῆς τεταγμένης ἀποφορῆς τελέοι. δοκέει δέ μοι
ἐνθεῦτεν γεωμετρίη εὑρεθεῖσα ἐς τὴν “Ελλάδα
ἐπανελθεῖν: πόλον μὲν γὰρ καὶ γνώμονα καὶ τὰ
δυώδεκα μέρεα τῆς ἡμέρης παρὰ Βαβυλωνίων
ἔμαθον οἱ “EAXnves.

110. Βασιλεὺς μὲν δὴ οὗτος μοῦνος Αἰγύπτιος
Αἰθιοπίης ἦρξε, μνημόσυνα δὲ ἐλίπετο πρὸ τοῦ
᾿Ηφαιστείου ἀνδριάντας λιθίνους, δύο μὲν τριή-
κοντα πηχέων, ἑωυτόν τε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα, τοὺς
δὲ παῖδας ἐ ἐόντας τέσσερας εἴκοσι πηχέων ἕκαστον"
τῶν δὴ ὁ ἱρεὺς τοῦ Ἡφαίστου χρόνῳ μετέπειτα
πολλῷ Δαρεῖον τὸν Πέρσην οὐ περιεῖδε ἱ ἱστάντα
ἔμπροσθε ἀνδριάντα, φὰς οὔ οἱ πεποιῆσθαι ἐ ἔργα
οἷά περ Σεσώστρι τῷ Δἰγυπτίῳ" Σέσωστριν μὲν
γὰρ ἄλλα τε καταστρέψασθαι ἔθνεα οὐκ ἐλάσσω
ἐκείνου καὶ δὴ καὶ Σκύθας, Δαρεῖον δὲ οὐ δυνα-
σθῆναι Σκύθας ἑλεῖν: οὔκων δίκαιον εἶναι ἱστάναι
ἔμπροσθε τῶν ἐκείνου ἀναθημάτων μὴ οὐκ ὑπερ-
βαλλόμενον. τοῖσι ἔργοισι. Δαρεῖον μέν νυν
λέγουσι πρὸς ταῦτα συγγνώμην ποιήσασθαι.

ΤΠ Σεσώστριος δὲ τελευτήσαντος ἐκδέξασθαι
ἔλεγον τὴν βασιληίην τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ Φερῶν,
τὸν ἀποδέξασθαι μὲν οὐδεμίαν στρατηίην, συνενει-
χθῆναι δέ οἱ τυφλὸν γενέσθαι διὰ τοιόνδε πρῆγμα.
τοῦ ποταμοῦ κατελθόντος μέγιστα δὴ τότε ἐπ᾽
ὀκτωκαίδεκα πήχεας, ὡς ὑπερέβαλε τὰς ἀρούρας,
πνεύματος ἐμπεσόντος κυματίης ὁ ποταμὸς ἐγέ-
VETO® τὸν δὲ βασιλέα λέγουσι τοῦτον ἀτασθαλίῃ
χρησάμενον, λαβόντα αἰχμὴν βαλεῖν ἐς μέσας
τὰς δίνας τοῦ ποταμοῦ, μετὰ δὲ αὐτίκα καμόντα
αὐτὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τνυφλωθῆναι. δέκα μὲν δὴ

398

BOOK II. rog-111

pay in proportion to the tax originally imposed.
From this, to my thinking, the Greeks learnt the art
of measuring land; the sunclock and the sundial,
and the twelve divisions of the day, came to Hellas
not from Egypt but from Babylonia.

110. Sesostris was the only Egyptian king who
also ruled Ethiopia. To commemorate his name,
he set before the temple of Hephaestus two stone
statues of himself and his wife, each thirty cubits
high, and statues of his four sons, each of twenty
cubits. Long afterwards Darius the Persian would
have set up his statue before these; but the priest
of Hephaestus forbade him, saying that he had
achieved nothing equal to the deeds of Sesostris the
Egyptian ; for Sesostris (he said) had subdued the
Scythians, besides as many other nations as Darius
had conquered, and Darius had not been able to over-
come the Scythians ; therefore it was not just that
Darius should set his statue before the statues of
Sesostris, whose achievements he had not equalled.
Darius, it is said, let the priest have his way.

111. When Sesostris died, he was succeeded in
the kingship (so said the priests) by his son Pheros.1
This king made no wars; and it happened that he
became blind, for the following reason: the Nile
came down in a flood such as never was before,
rising to a height of eighteen cubits, and the water
which overflowed the fields was roughened by a
strong wind; then, it is said, the king was so in-
fatuated that he took a spear and hurled it into the
midst of the river eddies. Straightway after this
he suffered from a disease of the eyes, and became
"Πα. When he had been blind for ten years, an

1 Manetho’s list shows no such name. It is probably not
a name but a title, Pharaoh.
399

HERODOTUS

» 2 ,ὔ , € te ΔΝ “ΟΣ ,
ἔτεα εἶναί μιν τυφλόν, ἑνδεκάτῳ δὲ ἔτεϊ ἀπικέσθαι
οἱ μαντήιον ἐκ Βουτοῦς πόλιος ὡς ἐξήκει τέ οἱ
ὁ χρόνος τῆς ζημίης καὶ ἀναβλέψει γυναικὸς οὔρῳ
vind wevos TOUS ὀφθαλμούς, ἥτις παρὰ τὸν ἑωυτῆς
ἄνδρα μοῦνον πεφοίτηκε, ἄλλων ἀνδρῶν ἐοῦσα
\

ἄπειρος. καὶ τὸν πρώτης τῆς ἑωυτοῦ γυναικὸς
πειρᾶσθαι, μετὰ δέ, ὡς οὐκ ἀνέβλεπε, ἐπεξῆς
πασέων πειρᾶσθαι: ἀναβλέψαντα δὲ συναγαγεῖν
τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἐπειρήθη, πλὴν ἢ τῆς τῷ οὔρῳ
νιψράμενος ἀνέβλεψε, ἐς μίαν πόλιν, ἣ νῦν κα-
λέεται ᾿Ερυθρὴ βῶλος: ἐς ταύτην συναλίσαντα
ὑποπρῆσαι πάσας σὺν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλι: τῆς δὲ
νιψάμενος τῷ οὔρῳ ἀνέβλεψε, ταύτην δὲ ἔσχε
αὐτὸς γυναῖκα. ἀναθήματα δὲ ἀποφυγὼν τηι
πάθην τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἄλλα τε ἀνὰ τὰ ἱρὰ πάντα
τὰ λόγιμα ἀνέθηκε καὶ τοῦ γε “λόγον μάλιστα
ἄξιον ἐστὶ ἔχειν, ἐς τοῦ Ἡλίου τὸ ἱρὸν ἀξιοθέητα
ἀνέθηκε ἔ ἔργα, ὀβελοὺς δύο λιθίνους, ἐξ ἑνὸς ἐόντα
ἑκάτερον λίθου, μῆκος μὲν ἑκάτερον πηχέων
ἑκατόν, εὗρος δὲ ὀκτὼ πηχέων.

112. Τούτου δὲ ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν βασιληίην ἔλε-
γον ἄνδρα Μεμφίτην, τῷ κατὰ τὴν “Ιλλήνων
γλῶσσαν οὔνομα Ἡρωτέα εἶναι" τοῦ νῦν τέμενος
ἐστὶ ἐν Μέμφι κάρτα καλόν τε καὶ εὖ ἐσκευασ-
μένον, τοῦ Ἡφαιστείου πρὸς νότον “ἄνεμον κεί-
μενον. περιοικέουσι δὲ τὸ τέμενος τοῦτο Φοίνικες
Τύριοι, καλέεται δὲ ὁ χῶρος οὗτος ὁ συνάπας
Τυρίων στρατόπεδον. ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ τοῦ
Πρωτέος ἱρὸν τὸ καλέεται ἕξείνης ᾿Αφροδίτης:
συμβάλλομαι δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἱρὸν εἶναι ‘EXévns τῆς
Τυνδάρεω, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἀκηκοὼς ὡς διαιτήθη
᾿“Ελένη παρὰ ἸΙρωτέι, καὶ δὴ καὶ ὅτι Eeivns ᾿Αφρο-
400

BOOK: Il. tr1r11e

oracle from the city of Buto declared to him that
the time of his punishment was drawing to an end,
and that he should regain his sight by washing his
eyes with the issue of a woman who had never had
intercourse with any man but her own husband.
Pheros made trial with his own wife first, and as
he still remained blind, with all women, one after
another. When he at last recovered sight, he took
all the women of whom he had made trial, save only
her who had made him to see again, and gathered
them into one town, that which is now called “ Red
Clay’’; where having collected them together he
burnt them and the town; but the woman by whose
means he had recovered sight he took to wife.
Among the many offerings which he dedicated in all
the noteworthy temples for his deliverance from
blindness, most worthy of mention are the two mar-
vellous stone obelisks which he set up in the temple
of the Sun. Each of these is made of a single
block, and is an hundred cubits high and eight cubits
thick.

112. Pheros was succeeded (they said) by a man
of Memphis, whose name in the Greek language
was Proteus. This Proteus has a fair and well-
adorned temple precinct at Memphis, lying to the
south of the temple of Hephaestus. Round the pre-
cinct dwell Phoenicians of Tyre, and the whole place
is called the Camp of the Tyrians. There is in the
precinct of Proteus a temple entitled the temple of
the Stranger Aphrodite; this I guess to be a temple
of Helen, daughter of Tyndareus, partly because
I have heard the story of Helen’s abiding with
Proteus, and partly because it bears the name of

401

HERODOTUS

Sitns ἐπώνυμον ἐστί: ὅσα yap ἄλλα ᾿Αφροδίτης
ἱρά ἐστι, οὐδαμῶς ξείνης ἐπικαλέεται. é

113. "EXeyov δέ μοι οἱ ἱρέες ἱστορέοντι τὰ περὶ
“Ἑλένην γενέσθαι ὧδε. ᾿Αλέξανδρον ἁρπάσαντα
“Ελένην ἐκ Σπάρτης ἀποπλέειν ἐς τὴν ἑωυτοῦ"
καί μιν, ὡς ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ Αἰγαίῳ, ἐξῶσται ἄνεμοι
ἐκβάλλουσι ἐς τὸ Αἰγύπτιον πέλαγος, ἐνθεῦτεν
δέ, οὐ γὰρ ἀνιεῖ τὰ πνεύματα, ἀπικνέεται ἐς Αἴ-
γυπτον καὶ Αὐγύπτου ἐς τὸ νῦν Κανωβικὸν
καλεύμενον στόμα τοῦ Νείλου καὶ ἐς 'Γαριχείας.
ἣν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ἠιόνος τὸ καὶ νῦν ἐστι “Ἡρακλέος
ἱρόν, ἐς τὸ ἢν καταφυγὼν οἰκέτης ὅτευ ὧν ἀνθρώ-
πων ἐπιβάληται στίγματα ἱρώ, ἑωυτὸν διδοὺς τῷ
θεῷ, οὐκ ἔξεστι τούτου ἅψασθαι. ὃ νόμος οὗτος
διατελέει ἐὼν ὅμοιος μέχρι ἐμεῦ τῷ ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς.
τοῦ ὧν δὴ ᾿Αλεξάνδρου ἀπιστέαται θεράποντες
πυθόμενοι τὸν περὶ τὸ ἱρὸν ἔχοντα νόμον, ἱκέται
δὲ ἱζόμενοι τοῦ θεοῦ κατηγόρεον τοῦ ᾿Αλεξάνδρου,
βουλόμενοι βλάπτειν αὐτόν, πάντα λόγον ἐξηγεύ-
μενοι ὡς εἶχε περὶ τὴν ᾿Ελένην τε καὶ τὴν ἐς
Μενέλεων ἀδικίην: κατηγόρεον δὲ ταῦτα πρός τε
τοὺς ἱρέας καὶ τὸν τοῦ στόματος τούτου φύλακον,
τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Θῶνις.

114. ᾿Ακούσας δὲ τούτων ὁ Θῶνις πέμπει τὴν
ταχίστην ἐς Μέμφιν παρὰ Ἱ]ρωτέα ἀγγελίην
λέγουσαν τάδε. ““Ἥκει ξεῖνος γένος μὲν Τευκρός,
ἔργον δὲ ἀνόσιον ἐν τῇ “Ἑλλάδι ἐξεργασμένος:
ξείνου γὰρ τοῦ ἑωυτοῦ ἐξαπατήσας τὴν γυναῖκα
αὐτήν τε ταύτην ἄγων ἥκει καὶ πολλὰ κάρτα
χρήματα, ὑπὸ ἀνέμων ἐς γῆν ταύτην ἀπενειχθείς.
κότερα δῆτα τοῦτον ἐῶμεν ἀσινέα ἐκπλέειν ἢ

402

BOOK II. 112-114

the Stranger Aphrodite ; for no other of Aphrodite's
temples is called by that name.

113. When I enquired of the priests, they told
me that this was the story of Helen:—After carry-
ing off Helen from Sparta, Alexandrus sailed away
for his own country; violent winds caught him in
the Aegean, and drove him into the Egyptian sea;
whence (the wind not abating) he came to Egypt,
to the mouth of the Nile called the Canopic mouth,
and to the Salting-places. Now there was on the coast
(and still is) a temple of Heracles; where if a servant
of any man take refuge and be branded with certain
sacred marks in token that he delivers himself to
the god, such an one may not be touched. This law
continues to-day the same as it has ever been from
the first. Hearing of the temple law, certain of
Alexandrus’ servants separated themselves from him,
threw themselves on the mercy of the god, and
brought an accusation against Alexandrus with
intent to harm him, telling all the story of Helen
and the wrong done to Menelaus. They laid this
accusation before the priests and the warden of the
Nile mouth, whose name was Thonis.

114. When Thonis heard it, he sent this message
with all speed to Proteus at Memphis: “ There has
come hither a Teucrian stranger who has done great
wrong in Hellas. He has deceived his host and
robbed him of his wife, and brought her hither
driven to your country by the wind, with very great
store of wealth besides. Shall we suffer him to sail
away unharmed, or take away from him that which

403

HERODOTUS

> , \ 7 3 ” > / Ν
ἀπελώμεθα τὰ ἔχων ἦλθε; ἀντιπέμπει πρὸς
A © ” a
ταῦτα ὁ [Ipwreds λέγοντα τάδε. “΄!Ανδρα τοῦτον,
ὅστις κοτὲ ἐστὶ ἀνόσια ἐργασμένος ξεῖνον τὸν
A A , > , αν; γὼ
ἑωυτοῦ, συλλαβόντες ἀπάγετε παρ᾽ ἐμέ, ἵνα εἰδέω

δι ”
ὅ τι κοτὲ Kal λέξει.
nw e “

11ὅ. ᾿Ακούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Θῶνις συλλαμβάνει

> a
τὸν ᾿Αλέξανδρον kal Tas νέας αὐτοῦ κατίσχει, μετὰ
δὲ αὐτόν τε τοῦτον ἀνήγαγε ἐς Μέμφιν. καὶ τὴν
“Ελένην τε καὶ τὰ χρήματα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἱκέτας.
ἀνακομισθέντων δὲ πάντων, εἰρώτα τὸν ᾿Αλέξαν-
dpov ὁ Πρωτεὺς τίς εἴη καὶ ὁκόθεν πλέοι. ὃ δέ οἱ
καὶ τὸ γένος κατέλεξε καὶ τῆς πάτρης εἶπε τὸ
οὔνομα, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν πλόον ἀπηγήσατο ὁκόθεν

/ \ Nie \ ’ , 3 LN e /
πλέοι. μετὰ δὲ ὁ Πρωτεὺς εἰρώτα αὐτὸν ὁκόθεν

\ € / 7 / \ “ ᾽

τὴν Βλένην λάβοι: πλανωμένου δὲ τοῦ Αλε-
ξάνδρου ἐ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ οὐ λέγοντος τὴν ἀληθείην,
ἤλεγχον οἱ γενόμενοι ἱκέται, ἐξηγεύμενοι πάντα
λόγον τοῦ ἀδικήματος. τέλος δὲ on σφι λόγον
τόνδε ἐκφαίνει ὁ Ilpwrevs, λέγων ὅτι “᾿Εγὼ εἰ μὴ
περὶ πολλοῦ ἡγεύμην μηδένα ξείνων κτείνειν, ὅσοι
ς τὶ > / LA > / 3 >? ,
ὑπ᾽ ἀνέμων ἤδη ἀπολαμφθέντες ἦλθον ἐς χώρην
τὴν ἐμήν, ἐγὼ ἄν σε ὑπὲρ τοῦ “Ελληνος ἐτισάμην,
ὅς, ὦ κάκιστε ἀνδρῶν, ξεινίων τυχὼν ἔργον. ἀνο-

4, an ἴω
σιώτατον ἐργάσαο' παρὰ τοῦ σεωυτοῦ ξείνου τὴν
γυναῖκα ἦλθες. καὶ μάλα ταῦτά τοι οὐκ ἤρκεσε,
2 ΩΝ ’ὔ ’ \ Μ » 3 /
ἀλλ ἀναπτερώσας αὑτὴν οἴχεαι ἔχων ἐκκλέψας.
καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτά τοι μοῦνα ἤρκεσε, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἰκία
τοῦ ξείνου κεραΐσας ἥκεις. νῦν ὧν ἐπειδὴ περὶ
πολλοῦ ἥγημαι μὴ ἕξεινοκτονέειν, γυναῖκα μὲν
ταύτην καὶ τὰ χρήματα οὔ τοι προήσω ἀπά-
γεσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὰ ἐγὼ τῷ “Ἕλληνι ξείνῳ φυλάξω,
ἐς ὃ ἂν αὐτὸς ἐλθὼν ἐκεῖνος ἀπαγαγέσθαι

494

BOOK II. rr4-115

he has brought?” Proteus sent back this message :
“Whoever be this man who has done a wrong to
his own host, seize him and bring him to me, that I
may know what he will say.”

115. Hearing this, Thonis seized Alexandrus and
held his ships there, and presently brought him with
Helen and all the wealth, and the suppliants there-
with, to Memphis. All having come thither, Proteus
asked Alexandrus who he was and whence he sailed ;
Alexandrus told him of his lineage and the name
of his country, and of his voyage, whence he sailed.
Then Proteus asked him whence he had taken
Helen; Alexandrus made no straightforward -or
truthful answer; but the men who had taken refuge
with the temple disproved his tale, and related the
whole story of the wrongful act. When all was
said, Proteus thus gave sentence :—“ Were I not
careful to slay no stranger who has ever been caught
by the wind and driven to my coasts, I would have
avenged that Greek upon you; seeing that, O
basest of men! vou have done foul wrong to him
who hospitably entreated you, and have entered in
to the wife of your own host. Nay, and this did not
suffice you; you made her to fly with you and stole
her away. Nor was even this enough, but you have
come hither with the plunder of your host’s house.
Now, therefore, since I am careful to slay no stranger,
I will not suffer you to take away this woman and
these possessions; I will keep them for the Greek
stranger, till such time as he shall himself come to

495

HERODOTUS

ἐθέλῃ: αὐτὸν δέ σε καὶ τοὺς σοὺς συμπλόους
τριῶν ἡμερέων προαγορεύω ἐκ τῆς ἐμῆς γῆς ἐς
ἄλλην τινὰ μετορμίζεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μή, ἅτε πολεμίους
περιέψεσθαι.᾽"

116. “Ἑλένης μὲν ταύτην ἄπιξιν παρὰ Ipwréa
ἔλεγον οἱ ἱρέες γενέσθαι" δοκέει δέ μοι καὶ “Ὅμηρος
τὸν λόγον τοῦτον πυθέσθαι: ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως
ἐς τὴν ἐποποιίην εὐπρεπὴς ἦν τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῷ περ
ἐχρήσατο, ἑκὼν μετῆκε αὐτόν, δηλώσας ὡς καὶ
τοῦτον ἐπίσταιτο τὸν λόγον' δῆλον δὲ κατὰ [yap]!
ἐποίησε ἐν Ἰλιάδι, (καὶ οὐδαμῇ ἄλλῃ ἀνεπόδισε
ἑωυτόν) πλάνην τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρου, ὡς ἀπηνείχθη
ἄγων ᾿Βλένην τῇ τε δὴ ἄλλῃ πλαξζόμενος καὶ ὡς
ἐς Σιδῶνα τῆς Φοινίκης ἀπίκετο. ἐπιμέμνηται δὲ
αὐτοῦ ἐν Διομήδεος ἀριστηίῃ: λέγει δὲ τὰ ἔπεα
ὧδε.

Ἔνθ᾽ ἔσαν οἱ πέπλοι παμποίκιλοι, ἔργα γυναικῶν
Σιδονίων, τὰς αὐτὸς ᾿Αλέξανδρος θεοειδής
ἤγαγε Σιδονίηθεν, ἐπιπλὼς εὐρέα πόντον,
τὴν ὁδὸν ἣν ᾿Ελένην περ ἀνήγαγεν εὐπατέρειαν.

> / \ \ > ᾽ ’ 2 nan a
ἐπιμέμνηται δὲ καὶ ἐν ᾿Οδυσσείῃ ἐν τοῖσιδε τοῖσι
ἔπεσι.

Tota Διὸς θυγάτηρ ἔχε φάρμακα μητιύεντα,

ἐσθλά, τά οἱ ἸΤολύδαμνα πόρεν Θῶνος Tapa-
KOLTLS

Αἰγυπτίη, τῇ πλεῖστα φέρει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα

φάρμακα, πολλὰ μὲν ἐσθλὰ μεμιγμένα, πολλὰ
δὲ λυγρά.

1 κατά -- καθά, ‘according as.” γάρ is out of place here.

406

BOOK II. 115-116

take them away; but as for you and the companions
of your voyage, I warn you to depart from my
country elsewhither within three days, else I will
deal with you as with enemies.”

116. This, by what the priests told me, was the
manner of Helen’s coming to Proteus. And, to my
thinking, Homer too knew this story ; but seeing that
it suited not so well with epic poetry as the tale of
which he made use, he rejected it of set purpose,
showing withal that he knew it. This is plain, from
the passage in the Iliad (and nowhere else does he
return to the story) where he relates the wanderings
of Alexandrus, and shows how he with Helen was
carried out of his course, among other places, to
Sidon in Phoenice. ‘This is in the story of the Feats
of Diomedes, where the verses run as follows:

There were the robes in his house, inwrought with
manifold colours,

Work of the women of Sidon, whom godlike Paris
aforetime

Brought from their eastern town, o'er wide seas
voyaging thither,

E’en when he won from her home fair Helen, the
daughter of princes.}

He makes mention of it in the Odyssey also:

Suchlike drugs of grace, for a healing cunningly
mingled,

Once in the land of Nile had the wife of Thon,
Polydamna,

Giv’n to the daughter of Zeus; for there of the
country’s abundance,

Potent to heal or to harm, are herbs full many
engendered : 2

1 Tl, vi. 289-92, 2 Od. iv. 227-30.
407

HERODOTUS

καὶ τάδε ἕτερα πρὸς Τηλέμαχον Μενέλεως λέγει.

Αὐγύπτῳ μ᾽ ἔτι δεῦρο θεοὶ μεμαῶτα νέεσθαι
Μ > \ ” Μ / e , 1
ἔσχον, ἐπεὶ οὔ σφιν ἔρεξα τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας.

ἐν τούτοισι τοῖσι ἔπεσι δηλοῖ ὅτι ἠπίστατο τὴν ἐς
Αἴγυπτον ᾿Αλεξάνδρου πλάνην: ὁμουρέει γὰρ ἡ
Συρίη Αἰγύπτῳ, οἱ δὲ Φοίνικες, τῶν ἐστὶ ἡ Σιδών,
ἐν τῇ Συρίῃ οἰκέουσι.

117. Κατὰ ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ἔπεα καὶ τόδε τὸ
χωρίον οὐκ ἥκιστα ἀλλὰ μάλιστα δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐκ
Ὁμήρου τὰ Κύπρια ἔπεα ἐστὶ ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλου τινός.
ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖσι Κυπρίοισι εἴρηται ὡς τριταῖος
ἐκ Σπάρτης ᾿Αλέξανδρος ἀπίκετο ἐς τὸ Ἴλιον
ἄγων “Ἑλένην, evade τε πνεύματι χρησάμενος καὶ
θαλάσσῃ λείῃ: ἐν δὲ ᾿Ιλιάδι λέγει ὡς ἐπλάξετο
ἄγων αὐτήν.

118. “Ὅμηρος "μέν νυν καὶ τὰ Κύπρια. ἔπεα
χαιρέτω. εἰρομένου δέ μευ τοὺς ἱρέας εἰ μάταιον
λόγον λέγουσι οἱ “Βλληνες τὰ περὶ Ἴλιον ryeve-
σθαι % οὔ, ἔφασαν. πρὸς ταῦτα τάδε, ἱστορίῃσι
φάμενοι εἰδέναι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ Μενέλεω. ἐλθεῖν μὲν
γὰρ μετὰ τὴν Ἑλένης ἁρπαγὴν ἐς τὴν Τευκρίδα
γῆν “Ελλήνων στρατιὴν πολλὴν βοηθεῦσαν Μενέ-
λεῳ, ἐκβᾶσαν δὲ ἐς γῆν καὶ iSpubeicav τὴν
στρατιὴν πέμπειν ἐς τὸ Ἴλιον ἀγγέλους, σὺν δέ
σφι ἰέναι καὶ αὐτὸν Μενέλεων" τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπείτε
ἐσελθεῖν ἐς τὸ τεῖχος, ἀπαιτέειν “EXévnv τε καὶ
τὰ χρήματα τά οἱ οἴχετο κλέψας͵ ᾿Αλέξανδρος,
τῶν τε ἀδικημάτων δίκας αἰτέειν: τοὺς δὲ Tev-

1 Stein brackets ἐπιμέμνηται. .. ἑκατόμβας, because (as he

says) the quotations from the Odyssey have nothing to do
with the story of Alexandrus.

408

BOOK II. 116-118
and again Menelaus says to Telemachus:

Eager was 1 to return, but the gods fast held me in
Egypt,

Wroth that I honoured them not nor offered a sacri-
fice duly.

In these verses the poet shows that he knew of
Alexandrus’ wanderings to Egypt ; for Syria borders
on Egypt, and the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon
belongs, dwell in Syria.

117. These verses and this passage prove most
clearly that the Cyprian poems are by the hand not
of Homer but of another. For the Cyprian poems
relate that Alexandrus reached Ilion with Helen
in three days from Sparta, having a fair wind and a
smooth sea; but according to the Iliad he wandered
from his course in bringing her.

118. Enough, then, of Homer and the Cyprian
poems. But when I asked the priests whether the
Greek account of the Trojan business were vain or
true, they gave me the following answer, saying that
they had inquired and knew what Menelaus himself
had said :—After the rape of Helen, a great host of
Greeks came to the Teucrian land on Menelaus’
behalf. Having there disembarked and encamped,
they sent to Ilion messengers, of whom Menelaus
himself was one. These, on coming within the city
walls, demanded restitution of Helen and the possess-
ions which Alexandrus had stolen from Menelaus and
carried off, and reparation besides for the wrong
done; but the Teucrians then and ever afterwards

τ Od.siv.. 351, 2,

409

HERODOTUS

κροὺς τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον λέγειν τότε καὶ μετέπειτα,
καὶ ὀμνύντας καὶ ἀνωμοτί, μὴ μὲν ἔχειν Ἑλένην
μηδὲ τὰ ἐπικαλεύμενα χρήματα, ἀλλ᾽ εἶναι αὐτὰ
πάντα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἂν δικαίως αὐτοὶ
δίκας ὑ ὑπέχειν τῶν ΤΙ]ρωτεὺς ὁ Αἰγύπτιος βασιλεὺς
ἔχει. οἱ δὲ “λληνες καταγελᾶσθαι δοκέοντες
ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν οὕτω δὴ ἐπολιόρκεον, ἐς ὃ ἐξεῖλον'
ἑλοῦσι δὲ τὸ τεῖχος ὡς οὐκ ἐφαίνετο ἡ ἸΥ
ἀλλὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον τῷ προτέρῳ ἐπυνθάνοντο,
οὕτω δὴ πιστεύσαντες τῷ λόγῳ τῷ πρώτῳ οἱ
“EXANVES αὐτὸν Μενέλεων ἀποστέλλουσι παρὰ
Πρωτέα.

119. ᾿Απικόμενος δὲ ὁ Μενέλεως ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον
καὶ ἀναπλώσας ἐς τὴν Μέμφιν, εἴπας τὴν ἀλη-
θείην τῶν πρηγμάτων, καὶ ξεινίων ἤντησε μεγάλων
καὶ ‘EXévnv ἀπαθέα κακῶν ἀπέλαβε, πρὸς δὲ καὶ
τὰ ἑωυτοῦ χρήματα πάντα. τυχὼν μέντοι τούτων
ἐγένετο Μενέλεως ἀνὴρ ἄδικος ἐς Αἰγυπτίους.
ἀποπλέειν γὰρ ὁρμημένον αὐτὸν ἶσχον am otac’
ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πολλὸν τοιοῦτον ἣν, ἐπι-
τεχνᾶται πρῆγμα οὐκ ὅσιον' λαβὼν yap δύο
παιδία ἀνδρῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἔντομα σφέα ἐποίησε.
μετὰ δὲ ὡς ἐπάιστος ἐγένετο τοῦτο ἐργασμένος,
μισηθείς τε καὶ διωκόμενος οἴχετο φεύγων τῆσι
νηυσὶ ἐπὶ Λιβύης" τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὅκου ἔτι
ἐτράπετο οὐκ εἶχον εἰπεῖν Αἰγύπτιοι. τούτων
δὲ τὰ μὲν ἱστορίῃσι ἔφασαν ἐπίστασθαι, τὰ δὲ
map ἑωυτοῖσι γενόμενα ἀτρεκέως ἐπιστάμενοι
λέγειν.

120. Ταῦτα μὲν Αἰγυπτίων οἱ ἱρέες ἔλεγον" ἐγὼ
δὲ τῷ λόγῳ τῷ περὶ Ἑλένης λεχθέντι καὶ αὐτὸς
προστίθεμαι, τάδε ἐπιλεγόμενος, εἰ ἦν ᾿λένη ἐν

410

BOOK II. 118-120

declared, with oaths and without, that neither Helen
nor the goods claimed were with them, she and they
being in Egypt; nor could they (so they said) justly
make reparation for what was in the hands of the
Egyptian king Proteus. But the Greeks thought
that the Trojans mocked them, and therewith
besieged the city, till they took it; and it was not
till they took the fortress and found no Helen there,
and heard the same declaration as before, that they
gave credence to the Trojans’ first word and so sent
Menelaus himself to Proteus.

119. Menelaus then came to Egypt and went up
the river to Memphis; there, telling the whole truth
of what had happened, he was very hospitably
entertained and received back Helen unharmed and
all his possessions withal. Yet, albeit so well
entreated, Menelaus did the Egyptians a wrong.
For when he would have sailed away he was stayed
by stress of weather; and this hindrance continuing
for long, he devised and did a forbidden deed, taking
two children of the land and sacrificing them. When
it was known that he had so done, the people hated
and pursued him, and he fled away with his ships to
Libya; and whither he thence betook himself the
Egyptians could not say. The priests told me that
they had learnt some of this tale by inquiry, but that
they spoke with exact knowledge of what had
happened in their own country.

120. So much was told me by the Egyptian priests.
For myself, I believe their story about Helen: for 1
reason thus—that had Helen been in Ilion, then

411

HERODOTUS

Ἰλίῳ, ἀποδοθῆναι ἂν αὐτὴν τοῖσι “λλησι ἤτοι
ἑκόντος γε ἢ ἀέκοντος ᾿Αλεξάνδρου. οὐ γὰρ δὴ
οὕτω γε φρενοβλαβὴς ἦν ὁ I piapos οὐδὲ οἱ ἄλλοι οἱ
προσήκοντες αὐτῷ, ὥστε τοῖσι σφετέροισι σώμασι
καὶ τοῖσι τέκνοισι καὶ τῇ πόλι κινδυνεύειν ἐβού-
λοντο, ὅκως ᾿Αλέξανδρος ᾿Βλένῃ συνοικέῃ. εἰ δέ
τοι καὶ ἐν τοῖσι πρώτοισι χρόνοισι ταῦτα ἐγίνω-
σκον, ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων Τρώων, ὁκότε
συμμίσγοιεν τοῖσι ἕλλησι, ἀπώλλυντο, αὐτοῦ δὲ
Πριάμου οὐκ ἔστι ὅτε οὐ δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἢ καὶ ἔτι πλέους
τῶν παίδων μάχης γινομένης ἀπέθνησκον, εἰ χρή
τι τοῖσι ἐποποιοῖσι XPEOMEVOY λέγειν, τούτων δὲ
τοιούτων συμβαινόντων ἐγὼ μὲν ἔλπομαι, εἰ καὶ
αὐτὸς ἸΠρίαμος συνοίκεε “Ελένῃ, ἀποδοῦναι ἂν
αὐτὴν τοῖσι ᾿Αχαιοῖσι, μέλλοντά γε δὴ τῶν πα-
ρεόντων κακῶν ἀπαλλαγήσεσθαι. οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ ἡ
βασιληίη ἐς ᾿Αλέξανδρον περιήιε, ὥστε γέροντος
Πριάμου ἐόντος ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῳ τὰ πρήγματα εἶναι,
ἀλλὰ “Extwp καὶ πρεσβύτερος καὶ ἀνὴρ ἐκείνου
μᾶλλον ἐὼν ἔμελλε αὐτὴν Τ]ριάμου ἀποθανόντος
παραλάμψεσθαι, τὸν οὐ προσῆκε ἀδικέοντι τῷ
ἀδελφεῷ ἐπιτράπειν, καὶ ταῦτα μεγάλων κακῶν
δι’ αὐτὸν συμβαινόντων ἰδίῃ τε αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖσι
ἄλλοισι πᾶσι Τρωσί. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ εἶχον ᾿Ελένην
ἀποδοῦναι, οὐδὲ λέγουσι αὐτοῖσι τὴν ἀληθείην
ἐπίστευον οἱ “EAXnves, ὡς μὲν ἐγὼ γνώμην ἀπο-
φαίνομαι, τοῦ δαιμονίου παρασκευάζοντος, ὅκως
πανωλεθρίῃ ἀπολόμενοι καταφανὲς τοῦτο τοῖσι
ἀνθρώποισι ποιήσωσι, ὡς τῶν μεγάλων ἀδικη-
μάτων μεγάλαι εἰσὶ καὶ αἱ τιμωρίαι παρὰ τῶν
θεῶν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τῇ ἐμοὶ δοκέει εἴρηται.
121. TIpwréos δὲ ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν βασιληίην

412

BOOK II. 120-121

with or without the will of Alexandrus she would have
been given back to the Greeks. For surely neither
was Priam so mad, nor those nearest to him, as to
consent to risk their own persons and their children
and their city, that Alexandrus might have Helen to
wife. Even be it granted that they were so minded
in the first days, yet when not only many of the
Trojans were slain in fighting against the Greeks,
but Priam himself lost by death two or three or even
more of his sons in every battle (if the poets are to
be trusted), in this turn of affairs, had Helen been
Priam’s own wife, I cannot but think (for myself)
that he would have restored her to the Greeks, if by
so doing he could escape from the present evil plight.
Nay, nor was Alexandrus next heir to the kingship,
whereby he might have been the real ruler, Priam
being old; it was Hector, an older and a more
valiant man than Alexandrus, who was like to receive
the royal power at Priam’s death ; and it was none of
Hector’s business to consent to his brother’s wrong-
doing, least of all when that brother was the cause of
great calamity to Hector himself and the whole of
Troy beside. But matters fell out as they did
because the Trojans had not Helen there to give
back, yet though they spoke the truth the Greeks
would not believe them; for, as I am convinced and
declare, the powers above ordained that the utter
destruction of Troy should prove in the sight of all
men that the gods do greatly punish great wrong-
doing. This is my own belief and thus I declare it.
121. The next to reign after Proteus (they said)

413

HERODOTUS

“Ῥαμψίνιτον ἔλεγον, ὃς μνημόσυνα ἐλίπετο Ta
προπύλαια τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέρην τετραμμένα τοῦ
᾿Ηφαιστείου, ἀντίους δὲ τῶν προπυλαίων ἔστησε
ἀνδριάντας, δύο, ἐόντας τὸ μέγαθος πέντε καὶ
εἴκοσι πηχέων, τῶν Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν μὲν πρὸς βορέω
ἑστεῶτα καλέουσι θέρος, τὸν δὲ πρὸς νότον χει-
μῶνα: καὶ τὸν μὲν καλέουσι θέρος, τοῦτον μὲν
προσκυνέουσί τε καὶ εὖ ποιέουσι, τὸν δὲ χει-
μῶνα καλεόμενον τὰ ἔμπαλιν τούτων ἔρδουσι.
πλοῦτον δὲ τούτῳ τῷ βασιλέι γενέσθαι ἀργύρου
μέγαν, τὸν οὐδένα τῶν ὕστερον ἐπιτραφέντων
βασιλέων δύνασθαι ὑπερβαλέσθαι οὐδ᾽ ἐγγὺς
ἐλθεῖν. βουλόμενον δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν ἀσφαλείη τὰ
γρήματα θησαυρίζειν οἰκοδομέεσθαι οἴκημα λί-
ινον, τοῦ τῶν τοίχων ἕνα ἐς τὸ ἔξω μέρος τῆς
οἰκίης ἔχειν. τὸν δὲ ἐργαζόμενον ἐπιβουλεύοντα
τάδε μηχανᾶσθαι: τῶν λίθων παρασκευάσασθαι
ἕνα ἐξαιρετὸν εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ τοίχου ῥηιδίως καὶ ὑπὸ
δύο ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὑπὸ ἑνός. ὡς δὲ ἐπετελέσθη τὸ
οἴκημα, τὸν μὲν βασιλέα θησαυρίσαι τὰ χρήματα
ἐν αὐτῷ: χρόνου δὲ περιιόντος τὸν οἰκοδόμον περὶ
τελευτὴν τοῦ βίου ἐόντα ἀνακαλέσασθαι τοὺς
παῖδας (εἶναι γὰρ αὐτῷ δύο), τούτοισι δὲ ἀπηγή-
σασθαι ὡς ἐκείνων προορῶν, ὅκως βίον ἄφθονον
ἔχωσι, τεχνάσαιτο οἰκοδομέων τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦ
βασιλέος: σαφέως δὲ αὐτοῖσι πάντα ἐξηγησά-
μενον τὰ περὶ τὴν ἐξαίρεσιν τοῦ λίθου δοῦναι τὰ
μέτρα αὐτοῦ, λέγοντα ὡς ταῦτα διαφυλάσσοντες
ταμίαι τῶν βασιλέος χρημάτων ἔσονται. καὶ τὸν
μὲν τελευτῆσαι τὸν βίον, τοὺς δὲ παῖδας οὐκ ἐς
μακρὴν ἔργου ἔχεσθαι, ἐπελθόντας δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ
βασιλήια νυκτὸς καὶ τὸν λίθον ἐπὶ τῷ οἰκοδο-

414

BOOK II. 121

was Rhampsinitus. The memorial of his name left
by him was the western forecourt of the temple of
Hephaestus ; before this he set two statues of twenty-
five cubits’ height; the northernmost of these is
called by the Egyptians Summer, and the southern-
most Winter; that one which they call Summer
they worship and entreat well, but do contrariwise
to the statue called Winter. This king (they told
me) had great wealth of silver, so great that none
of the later-born kings could surpass or nearly
match it. That he might store his treasure safely,
he made to be built a stone chamber, one of its
walls abutting on the outer side of his palace.
But the builder of it craftily contrived that one
stone should be so placed as to be easily removed by
two men or even by one. So when the chamber
was finished, the king stored his treasure in it.
But as time went on, the builder, being now near
his end, called to him his two sons and told them
how he had provided an ample livelihood for them
by the art with which he had built the king’s
treasure-house ; he made them clearly to under-
stand concerning the removal of the stone, and
gave the measurements which would find it; saying
that if they kept these in mind they would be
stewards of the king’s riches. So when he was dead,
his sons set to work with no long delay: coming
to the palace by night, they easily found and

415

HERODOTUS

μήματι ἀνευρόντας ῥηιδίως μεταχειρίσασθαι καὶ
τῶν χρημάτων πολλὰ ἐξενείκασθαι. ὡς δὲ τυχεῖν
τὸν βασιλέα ἀνοίξαντα τὸ οἴκημα, θωμάσαι ἰδόντα
τῶν χρημάτων καταδεᾶ τὰ ἀγγήια, οὐκ ἔχειν δὲ
ὅντινα ἐπαιτιᾶται, τῶν τε σημάντρων ἐόντων σόων
καὶ τοῦ οἰκήματος κεκληιμένου. ws δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ
δὶς καὶ τρὶς ἀνοίξαντι αἰεὶ ἐλάσσω φαίνεσθαι τὰ
χρήματα (τοὺς γὰρ κλέπτας οὐκ ἀνιέναι κεραΐ-
ζοντας), ποιῆσαί μιν τάδε" πάγας ,᾿προστάξαι
ἐργάσασθαι καὶ ταύτας περὶ τὰ ἀγγήια ἐν τοῖσι
τὰ χρήματα ἐνῆν στῆσαι. τῶν δὲ φωρῶν ὥσπερ
ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνῳ ἐλθόντων καὶ ἐσδύντος τοῦ
ἑτέρου αὐτῶν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄγγος προσῆλθε, ἰθέως
τῇ πάγῃ ἐνέχεσθαι. ὡς δὲ γνῶναι αὐτὸν ἐν οἵῳ
κακῷ ἦν, ἰθέως καλέειν τὸν ἀδελφεὸν καὶ δηλοῦν
αὐτῷ τὰ παρεόντα, καὶ κελεύειν τὴν ταχίστην
ἐσδύντα ἀποταμεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλήν, ὅκως μὴ
αὐτὸς ὀφθεὶς καὶ γνωρισθεὶς ὃς εἴη προσαπολέσῃ
κἀκεῖνον. τῷ δὲ δόξαι εὖ λέγειν, καὶ ποιῆσαί μιν
πεισθέντα ταῦτα, καὶ καταρμόσαντα τὸν λίθον
ἀπιέναι ἐπ᾽ οἴκου, φέροντα τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ
ἀδελφεοῦ. ὡς δὲ ἡμέρη ἐγένετο, ἐσελθόντα τὸν
βασιλέα ἐς τὸ οἴκημα. ἐκπεπλῆχθαι ὁρῶντα τὸ
σῶμα τοῦ φωρὸς ἐν τῇ “πάγῃ ἄνευ τῆς κεφαλῆς
ἐόν, τὸ δὲ οἴκημα. ἀσινὲς καὶ οὔτε ἔσοδον οὔτε
ἔκδυσιν οὐδεμίαν ἔ ἔχον. ἀπορεύμενον δέ μιν τάδε
ποιῆσαι" τοῦ φωρὸς τὸν νέκυν κατὰ τοῦ τείχεος
κατακρεμάσαι, φυλάκους δὲ αὐτοῦ καταστήσαντα
ἐντείλασθαί σφι, τὸν ἂν ἴδωνται ἀποκλαύσαντα ἢ
κατοικτισάμενον, συλλαβόντας ἄγειν πρὸς ἑωυτόν.

᾿Ανακρεμαμένου δὲ τοῦ νέκυος τὴν μητέρα
δεινῶς φέρειν, λόγους δὲ πρὸς τὸν περιεόντα παῖδα

416

BOOK II. 121

handled the stone in the building, and took away
much of the treasure. When the king opened the
building, he was amazed to see the vessels lacking
their full tale of treasure; yet he knew not whom
to accuse, seeing that the seals were unbroken and
the chamber fast shut. But when at the second
and third opening of the chamber he saw the
treasure grown ever less (for the thieves ceased not
from plundering), he bid traps to be made and set
about the vessels in which his riches lay. The
thieves came as they had done before, and one of
them crept in; when he came near the vessel, at
once he was caught and held in the trap. Seeing
his evil plight, he straightway called to his brother,
and, showing him how matters stood, “Creep in
quickly,” said he, “and cut off my head, lest I be
seen and recognised and so bring you too to ruin.”
The brother consented and did this, thinking the
counsel good. Then he set the stone in place
again, and went away home, carrying his brother’s
head. When it was morning the king came to the
chamber, and was amazed to see the thief’s head-
less body in the trap, yet the chamber unbroken,
with no way of passing in or out; and he knew
not what todo. But presently he hung the thief’s
dead body on the outer wall, and set guards over
it, charging them to seize and bring before him
whomsoever they should see weeping or making
lamentation.

But the thief’s mother, when the body had
been so hung, was greatly moved: she talked with

417

HERODOTUS

ποιευμένην προστάσσειν αὐτῷ ὅτεῳ τρόπῳ δύναται
μηχανᾶσθαι. ὅκως: τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ κατα-
λύσας Kopel εἰ δὲ τούτων ἀμελήσει, διαπειλέειν
αὐτὴν ὡς ἐλθοῦσα πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μηνύσει
αὐτὸν ἔχοντα τὰ χρήματα. ὡς δὲ χαλεπῶς
ἐλαμβάνετο ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ περιεόντος παιδὸς καὶ
πολλὰ πρὸς αὐτὴν λέγων οὐκ ἔπειθε, ἐπιτεχνή-
σασθαι τοιάδε μιν: ὄνους κατασκευασάμενον καὶ
ἀσκοὺς πλήσαντα οἴνου ἐπιθεῖναι ἐπὶ τῶν ὄνων
καὶ ἔπειτα ἐλαύνειν αὐτούς" ὡς δὲ κατὰ τοὺς
φυλάσσοντας ἣν τὸν κρεμάμενον νέκυν, ἐπισπά-
σαντα τῶν ἀσκῶν δύο ἢ τρεῖς ποδεῶνας αὐτὸν
λύειν ἀπαμμένους" ὡς δὲ ἔρρεε ὁ οἶνος, τὴν κε-
φαλήν μιν κόπτεσθαι μεγάλα βοῶντα ὡς οὐκ
ἔχοντα πρὸς ὁκοῖον τῶν ὄνων πρῶτον͵ τράπηται.
τοὺς δὲ φυλάκους ὡς ἰδεῖν πολλὸν ῥέοντα τὸν
οἶνον, συντρέχειν ἐς τὴν ὁδὸν ἀγγήια ἔχοντας,
καὶ τὸν ἐκκεχυμέν ον οἶνον συγκομίζειν ἐν κέρδεϊ
ποιευμένους" τὸν δὲ διαλοιδορέεσθαι πᾶσι ὀργὴν
προσποιεύμενον, παραμυθευμένων δὲ αὐτὸν τῶν
φυλάκων χρόνῳ πρηΐνεσθαι “προσποιέεσθαι καὶ
ὑπίεσθαι τῆς ὀργῆς, τέλος δὲ ἐξελάσαι αὐτὸν τοὺς
ὄνους ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ κατασκευάζειν. ὡς δὲ
λόγους τε πλέους ἐγγίνεσθαι καί τινα καὶ σκῶψαι
μιν καὶ ἐς γέλωτα προαγαγέσθᾳαι, ἐπιδοῦναι αὐτοῖσι
τῶν ἀσκῶν ἕνα" τοὺς δὲ αὐτοῦ ὥσπερ εἶχον κατα-
κλιθέντας πίνειν διανοέεσθαι, καὶ ἐκεῖνον παρα-
λαμβάνειν καὶ κελεύειν μετ᾽ ἑωυτῶν μείναντα
συμπίνειν" τὸν δὲ πεισθῆναί τε δὴ καὶ καταμεῖναι.
ὡς δέ μιν παρὰ τὴν πύσιν φιλοφρόνως ἠσπάζοντο,
ἐπιδοῦναι αὐτοῖσι καὶ ἄλλον τῶν ἀσκῶν" δαψιλέι
δὲ τῷ ποτῷ χρησαμένους τοὺς φυλάκους ὑπερμε-
418

BOOK (If) τ2ι

her surviving son, and bade him contrive by what-
ever means to loose and bring her his brother’s
body, threatening that if he would not obey her
she would go to the king and lay an information
that he had the treasure. So when she bitterly
reproached him and for all he said he could not
overpersuade her, the brother devised a plot: he
got his asses and loaded them with skins full of
wine and then drove them before him till he came
near those who guarded the hanging body ; then he
pulled at the feet of two or three of the skins and
loosed their fastenings; and the wine sorunning out,
he cried aloud and beat his head like one that knew
not which of his asses he should deal with first.
The guards, seeing the wine running freely, all
took vessels and ran into the highway, where they
caught the spilt wine, and thought themselves
lucky; the man pretended to be angry and reviled
each and all of them; but the guards speaking
peaceably to him, he presently made as if he
were comforted and appeased, till at last he drove
his asses aside from the highway and put his gear in
order. So the guards and he fell into talk, and
one of them jesting with him, so that there was
laughter, he gave them one of the skins: where-
upon without more ado they sat down and began
to drink, making him one of their company and
bidding him stay and drink with them; and he
consented and stayed. ‘They drank to him merrily,
and he gave them yet another of the skins, till the
guards grew very drunk with the abundance of

419

HERODOTUS

ϑυσθῆναι καὶ κρατηθέντας ὑπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου αὐτοῦ
ἔνθα περ ἔπινον κατακοιμηθῆναι. τὸν δέ, ὡς
πρόσω ἦν τῆς νυκτός, τό τε σῶμα τοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ
καταλῦσαι καὶ τῶν φυλάκων ἐπὶ λύμῃ πάντων
ξυρῆσαι τὰς δεξιὰς παρηΐίδας, ἐπιθέντα δὲ τὸν
νέκυν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὄνους ἀπελαύνειν ἐπ᾽ οἴκου, ἐπιτε-
λέσαντα τῇ μητρὶ τὰ προσταχθέντα.

Τὸν δὲ βασιλέα, ὡς αὐτῷ ἀπηγγέλθη τοῦ φωρὸς
ὁ νέκυς ἐκκεκλεμμένος, δεινὰ ποιέειν" πάντως δὲ
βουλόμενον εὑρεθῆναι ὅστις κοτὲ εἴη ὁ ταῦτα
μηχανώμενος, ποιῆσαί μιν τάδε, ἐμοὶ "μὲν οὐ
πιστά: τὴν θυγατέρα τὴν ἑωυτοῦ κατίσαι ἐπ᾽
οἰκήματος, ἐντειλάμενον πάντας τε ὁμοίως προσ-
δέκεσθαι, καὶ πρὶν συγγενέσθαι, ἀναγκάξειν
λέγειν αὐτῇ ὅ τι δὴ ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἔργασται αὐτῷ
σοφώτατον καὶ ἀνοσιώτατον: ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἀπηγή-
σηται τὰ περὶ τὸν Papa γεγενημένα, τοῦτον
συλλαμβάνειν καὶ μὴ ἀπιέναι ἔξω. ὡς δὲ τὴν
παῖδα ποιέειν τὰ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς προσταχθέντα, τὸν
φῶρα πυθόμενον τῶν εἵνεκα ταῦτα ἐπρήσσετο,
βουληθέντα πολυτροπίῃ τοῦ βασιλέος περιγενέ-
σθαι ποιέειν τάδε' νεκροῦ προσφάτου ἀποταμόντα
ἐν τῷ ὦμῳ τὴν χεῖρα ἰέναι αὐτὸν ἔχοντα αὐτὴν
ὑπὸ τῷ ἱματίῳ. ἐσελθόντα δὲ ὡς τοῦ βασιλέος
τὴν θυγατέρα καὶ εἰρωτώμενον τά περ καὶ οἱ
ἄλλοι, ἀπηγήσασθαι ὡς ἀνοσιώτατον μὲν εἴη
ἐργασμένος ὅτι τοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ ἐ ἐν τῷ θησαυρῷ τοῦ
βασιλέος ὑπὸ πάγης ἁλόντος ἀποτάμοι τὴν κε-
φαλήν, σοφώτατον δὲ ὅτι τοὺς φυλάκους κατα-
μεθύσας καταλύσειε τοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ κρεμάμενον τὸν
νέκυν. τὴν δὲ ὡς ἤκουσε ἅπτεσθαι αὐτοῦ. τὸν
δὲ φῶρα ἐν τῷ σκότεϊ προτεῖναι αὐτῇ τοῦ νεκροῦ

420

BOOK II. rar

liquor, and at last being overmastered by sleep lay
down in the place where they had been drinking.
When the night was far spent, the thief cut down
his brother’s body and then (first shaving all the
guard’s right cheeks by way of insult) laid it on his
asses and drove them home, having so fulfilled his
mother’s commands for her.

When the king was teld of the stealing away of
the dead thief’s body he was very angry, and re-
solved by all means to find who it was that had
plotted the deed. So he bade his daughter (such
is the story, but I myself do not believe it) to sit in
a certain room and receive alike all who came;
before she had intercourse with any, she should
compel him to tell her what was the cleverest trick
and the greatest crime of his life; then if any told
her the story of the thief she must seize him and
not suffer him to pass out. The girl did as her
father bade her. The thief, learning the purpose
of the king’s act, was minded to get the better of
him by ready cunning. He therefore cut off the
arm of a man newly dead at the shoulder, and went
to the king’s daughter, carrying it under his cloak,
and when asked the same question as the rest, he
told her that his greatest crime was the cutting off
of his brother’s head when the brother was caught
in a trap in the king’s treasury, and his cleverest
trick the release of his brother’s hanging body by
making the guards drunk. Hearing this, the prin-
cess would have laid hands on him, but the thief in

421

HERODOTUS

τὴν χεῖρα" τὴν δὲ ἐπιλαβομένην ἔ ἔχειν, νομίξουσαν
αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου τῆς χειρὸς ἀντέχεσθαι" τὸν δὲ φῶρα
προέμει ον αὐτῇ οἴχεσθαι διὰ θυρέων φεύγοντα.

Ὥς δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐς τὸν βασιλέα ἀνηνείχθη,
ἐκπεπλῆχθαι μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ πολυφροσύνῃ τε καὶ
τόλμῃ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τέλος δὲ διαπέμποντα ἐς
πάσας τὰς πόλις ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι ἀδείην τε δι-
δόντα καὶ μεγάλα ὑποδεκόμενον ἐλθόντι ἐς ὄψιν
τὴν ἑωυτοῦ. τὸν δὲ φῶρα πιστεύσαντα ἐλθεῖν
πρὸς αὐτόν, ᾿Ῥαμψίνιτον δὲ μεγάλως θωμάσαι, καί
οἱ τὴν θυγατέρα ταύτην συνοικίσαι ὡς πλεῖστα
ἐπισταμένῳ ἀνθρώπων. Αἰγυπτίους μὲν γὰρ τῶν
ἄλλων προκεκρίσθαι, ἐκεῖνον δὲ Αἰγυπτίων.

122. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἔλεγον τοῦτον τὸν βασιλέα
ζωὸν καταβῆναι κάτω ἐς τὸν οἱ “ἄλληνες “Αἰδὴν
νομίζουσι εἶναι, καὶ κεῖθι συγκυβεύειν τῇ Δήμητρι,
καὶ τὰ μὲν νικᾶν αὐτὴν τὰ δὲ ἑσσοῦσθαι UT’
αὐτῆς, καί μιν πάλιν ἀπικέσθαι δῶρον ἔχοντα
παρ᾽ αὐτῆς χειρόμακτρον χρύσεον. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς
᾿Ραμψινίτου καταβάσιος, ὡς πάλιν ἀπίκετο, ὁρτὴν
δὴ ἀνάγειν Αἰγυπτίους ἔφασαν" τὴν καὶ ἐγὼ οἷδα
ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἐπιτελέοντας αὐτούς, οὐ μέντοι εἴ
γε διὰ ταῦτα ὁρτάζουσι ἔχω λέγειν. , φᾶρος δὲ
αὐτημερὸν ἐξυφήναντες οἱ ἱρέες κατ᾽ ὧν “ἔδησαν
ἑνὸς ἕ ἑωυτῶν μίτρῃ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, a ἀγαγόντες δέ
μιν ἔχοντα τὸ φᾶρος ἐς ὁδὸν φέρουσαν ἐς ἱρὸν
Δήμητρος αὐτοὶ ἀπαλλάσσονται ὀπίσω: τὸν δὲ
ἱρέα τοῦτον καταδεδεμένον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς λέγουσι
ὑπὸ δύο λύκων ἄγεσθαι ἐς τὸ ἱρὸν τῆς Δήμητρος
ἀπέχον τῆς πόλιος εἴκοσι σταδίους, καὶ αὗτις
ὀπίσω ἐκ τοῦ ἱροῦ ἀπάγειν μιν τοὺς λύκους ἐς
τὠυτὸ χωρίον.

422

BOOK II. 121-122

the darkness giving her the dead man’s arm, she
seized that, thinking that she was grasping the arm
of the thief, who, having given it to her, made his
escape by way of the door.

When this also came to the kiny’s ears, he was
astonished at the man’s ingenuity and daring, and in
the end, he sent a proclamation to every town,
promising the thief impunity and a great reward if
he would come into the king’s presence. The thief
trusted the king and came before him; Rhamp-
sinitus admired him greatly and gave him his
daughter to wife for his surpassing cleverness, for
as the Egyptians (said he) excelled all others in
craft, so did he excel the Egyptians.

122. After this (said the priests) this king went
down alive to the place which the Greeks call
Hades; there he played dice with Demeter, and
after both winning and losing he returned back with
a gift from her of a golden napkin. From this
descent of Rhampsinitus the Egyptians were said
by the priests to have kept a festival after his
return, which to my own knowledge they celebrate
to this day, but whether it be for that cause I cannot
say. On the day of this festival the priests weave
a cloth and bind it for a headgear on the eyes of
one among themselves, whom they then lead,
wearing the cloth, into a road that goes to the
temple of Demeter; they themselves return back,
but this priest with his eyes bandaged is guided
(say they) by two wolves! to Demeter’s temple, a
distance of twenty furlongs from the city, and led
back again from the temple by the wolves to the
same place.

1 Jackals appear on Egyptian monuments, symbolising
Anubis, the guide of the dead.
423

HERODOTUS

123. Τοῖσι μέν νυν ὑπ᾿ Αἰγυπτίων λεγομένοισι
χράσθω ὅτεῳ τὰ τοιαῦτα πιθανά ἐστι" ἐμοὶ δὲ
παρὰ πάντα τὸν λόγον ὑπόκειται ὅτι τὰ λεγόμενα
ὑπ᾽ ἑκάστων ἀκοῇ γράφω. ἀρχηγετέειν δὲ τῶν
κάτω Αἰγύπτιοι λέγουσι Δήμητρα καὶ Διόνυσον.
πρῶτοι δὲ καὶ τόνδε τὸν λόγον Αἰγύπτιοι εἰσὶ οἱ
εἰπόντες, ὡς ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴ ἀθάνατος ἐστί, τοῦ
σώματος δὲ καταφθίνοντος ἐς ἄλλο ζῷον αἰεὶ
γινόμενον ἐσδύεται, ἐπεὰν δὲ πάντα περιέλθῃ τὰ
χερσαῖα καὶ τὰ θαλάσσια καὶ τὰ πετεινά, αὗτις
ἐς ἀνθρώπου σῶμα γινόμενον ἐσδύνει" τὴν περιή-
λυσιν δὲ αὐτῇ γίνεσθαι ἐν τρισχιλίοισι ἔτεσι.
τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ εἰσὶ οἱ Ελλήνων ἐχρήσαντο, οἱ
μὲν πρότερον οἱ δὲ ὕστερον, ὡς ἰδίῳ ἑωυτῶν ἐόντι"
τῶν ἐγὼ εἰδὼς τὰ ; οὐνόματα οὐ γράφω.

124. Μέχρι μέν νυν Ῥαμψινίτου βασιλέος εἶναι
ἐν Αὐγύπτῳ πᾶσαν εὐνομίην ἔλεγον καὶ εὐθηνέειν
Αἴγυπτον μεγάλως, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον βασιλεύσαντα
σφέων Χέοπα ἐς πᾶσαν κακότητα ἐλάσαι. κατα-
κληίσαντα γάρ μιν πάντα τὰ ἱρὰ πρῶτα μὲν
σφέας θυσιέων τουτέων ἀπέρξαι, μετὰ δὲ ἐργά-
ζεσθαι € ἑωυτῷ κελεύειν πάντας Αἰγυπτίους. τοῖσι
μὲν δὴ ἀποδεδέχθαι ἐκ τῶν λιθοτομιέων τῶν ἐν
τῷ ᾿Αραβίῳ ὄρεϊ, ἐκ τουτέων ἕλκειν λίθους μέχρι
τοῦ Νείλου: διαπεραιωθέντας δὲ τὸν ποταμὸν
πλοίοισι τοὺς λίθους ἑτέροισι ἐπέταξε ἐκδέκεσθαι
καὶ πρὸς τὸ Λιβυκὸν καλεύμενον ὄρος, πρὸς
τοῦτο ἕλκειν. ἐργάξοντο δὲ κατὰ δέκα μυριάδας
ἀνθρώπων αἰεὶ τὴν τρίμηνον ἑκάστην. χρόνον δὲ
ἐγγενέσθαι τριβομένῳ τῷ NEW δέκα ἔ ἔτεα μὲν τῆς
ὁδοῦ κατ᾽ ἣν εἷλκον τοὺς λίθους, τὴν ἔδειμαν ἔ ἔργον
ἐὸν οὐ πολλῷ τεῳ ἔλασσον τῆς πυραμίδος. ὡς ἐμοὶ

424

BOOK II. 123-124

123. These Egyptian stories are for the use of
whosoever believes such tales: for myself, it is my
rule throughout this history that I record whatever
is told me as I have heard it.

It is believed in Egypt that the rulers of the
lower world are Demeter and Dionysus.!_ More-
over, the Egyptians were the first to teach that the
human soul is immortal, and at the death of the body
enters into some other living thing then coming to
birth; and after passing through all creatures of land,
sea, and air (which cycle it completes in three
thousand years) it enters once more into a human
body at birth. Some of the Greeks, early and
late, have used this doctrine as if it were their
own; I know their names, but do not here record
them.

124, Till the time of Rhampsinitus Egypt (so the
priests told me) was in all ways well governed and
greatly prospered, but Cheops, who was the next
king, brought the people to utter misery. For first
he shut up all the temples, so that none could sacrifice
there ; and next, he compelled all the Egyptians to
work for him, appointing to some to drag stones from
the quarries in the Arabian mountains to the Nile:
and the stones being carried across the river in boats,
others were charged to receive and drag them to the
mountains called Libyan. They worked in gangs
of a hundred thousand men, each gang for three
months. For ten years the people were afflicted in
making the road whereon the stones were dragged,
the making of which road was to my thinking a task
but a little lighter than the building of the pyramid,?

1 Isis and Osiris.
= The ‘‘ Great Pyramid.”

425

HERODOTUS

δοκέειν" τῆς μὲν γὰρ μῆκος εἰσὶ πέντε στάδιοι,
εὖρος δὲ δέκα ὀργυιαί, ὕψος δέ, τῇ ὑψηλοτάτη
ἐστὶ αὐτὴ ἑωυτῆς, ὀκτὼ ὀργυιαί, λίθου δὲ ξεστοῦ
καὶ ζῴων ἐγγεγλυμμένων' ταύτης TE δὴ τὰ δέκα
ἔτεα γενέσθαι καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ λόφου ἐπ᾽ οὗ
ἑστᾶσι αἱ πυραμίδες, τῶν ὑπὸ γῆν οἰκημάτων, τὰς
ἐποιέετο θήκας ἑωυτῷ ἐν νήσῳ, διώρυχα τοῦ
Νείλου ἐσαγαγών. τῇ δὲ πυραμίδι αὐτῇ χρόνον
γενέσθαι εἴκοσι ἔτεα ποιευμένῃ" τῆς ἐστὶ πανταχῇ
μέτωπον ἕκαστον ὀκτὼ, πλέθρα ἐούσης τετραγώνου
καὶ ὕψος ἴσον, λίθου δὲ ξεστοῦ τε καὶ ἁρμοσμένου
τὰ μάλιστα: οὐδεὶς τῶν λίθων τριήκοντα ποδῶν
πὰ
ὅ. ᾿Πποιήθη δὲ ὧδε αὕτη ἡ πυραμίς' avaBa-
Aas τρόπον, TAS μετεξέτεροι κρόσσας ot δὲ βω-
μίδας ὀνομάζουσι, τοιαύτην τὸ πρῶτον ἐπείτε
ἐποίησαν αὐτήν, ἤειρον τοὺς ἐπιλοίπους λίθους
μηχανῇσι ξύλων βραχέων πεποιημένῃσι, Xana
εν μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον στοῖχον τῶν ᾿ἀναβαθ μῶν
ἀείροντες" ὅκως δὲ ἀνίοι ὁ λίθος ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν, ἐς ἐτέ-
ρην “μηχανὴν ἐτίθετο ἑστεῶσαν ἐπὶ τοῦ πρώτου
στοίχου, ἀπὸ τούτου δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δεύτερον εἵλκετο
στοῖχον ἐπ᾽ ἄλλης μηχανῆς" ὅσοι γὰρ δὴ στοῖχοι
ἦσαν τῶν ἀναβαθ μῶν, τοσαῦται καὶ μηχαναὶ
/
ἦσαν, εἴτε καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν μηχανὴν ἐοῦσαν μίαν
τε καὶ εὐβάστακτον μετεφόρεον ἐπὶ στοῖχον
ἕκαστον, ὅκως τὸν λίθον ἐξέλοιεν' λελέχθω γὰρ
ἡμῖν ἐπ᾽ ἀμφότερα, κατά περ λέγεται. ἐξεποιήθη
ὧν τὰ ἀνώτατα αὐτῆς πρῶτα, μετὰ δὲ τὰ
ἐχόμενα τούτων ἐξεποίευν, τελευταῖα δὲ αὐτῆς τὰ
ἐπίγαια καὶ τὰ κατωτάτω ἐξεποίησαν. σεσήμαν-
ται δὲ διὰ γραμμάτων Αἰγυπτίων ἐν τῇ πυρα-

426

BOOK If. 124-125

for the road is five furlongs long and ten fathoms
broad, and raised at its highest to a height of eight
fathoms, and it is all of stone polished and carven with
figures. The ten years aforesaid went to the making of
this road and of the underground chambers on the hill
whereon the pyramids stand ; these the king meant
to be burial-places for himself, and encompassed them
with water, bringing in a channel from the Nile.
The pyramid itself was twenty years in the making. |
Its base is square, each side eight hundred feet long,
and its height is the same; the whole is of stone
polished and most exactly fitted; there is no block
of less than thirty feet in length.

125. This pyramid was made like a stairway with
tiers, or steps. When this, its first form, was com-
pleted, the workmen used levers made of short wooden
logs to raise the rest of the stones ; 1 they heaved up
the blocks from the ground on to the first tier of steps;
when the stone had been so raised it was set on
another lever that stood on the first tier, and a lever
again drew it up from this tier to the next. It may be
that there was a new lever on each tier of the steps,
or perhaps there was but one lever, and that easily
lifted, which they carried up to each tier in turn, when
they had taken out the stone; I leave this uncertain,
both ways being told me. But this is certain, that the
upper part of the pyramid was the first finished off,
then the next below it, and last of all the base and
the lowest part. There are writings on ? the pyramid

1 That is, the stones which were to fill up the angles of
the steps, and make the side of the pyramid a smooth in-
clined plane. The pyramids built by Cheops, Chephren, and
Mycerinus respectively are the pyramids of Gizeh, near
Cairo.

22Or; ΚΠ in???

VOL. ὦ 1:7

HERODOTUS

μίδι ὅσα ἔς TE συρμαίην καὶ κρόμμνα καὶ σκόροδα
ἀναισιμώθη τοῖσι ἐργαζομένοισι" καὶ ὡς ἐμὲ εὖ
μεμνῆσθαι τὰ ὁ ἑρμηνεύς μοι ἐπιλεγόμενος τὰ
γράμματα ἔφη, ἑξακόσια καὶ χίλια τάλαντα
ἀργυρίου τετελέσθαι. εἰ δ᾽ ἔστι οὕτω ἔχοντα
ταῦτα, κόσα οἰκὸς ἄλλα δεδαπανῆσθαι ἐστὶ ἔς τε
σίδηρον τῷ ἐργάζοντο καὶ σιτία καὶ ἐσθῆτα τοῖσι
ἐργαζομένοισι, ὁκότε χρόνον μὲν οἰκοδόμεον τὰ
Μ \ > , ” / ς 2 \ / 9
ἔργα τὸν εἰρημένον, ἄλλον δέ, ὡς ἐγὼ δοκέω, ἐν
τῷ τοὺς λίθους ἔταμνον καὶ ἦγον καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ γῆν
ὄρυγμα ἐργάξοντο, οὐκ ὀλίγον χρόνον.

126. ᾽Ες τοῦτο δὲ ἐλθεῖν Χέοπα κακότητος ὥ ὥστε
χρημάτων δεόμενον τὴν θυγατέρα τὴν ἑωυτοῦ
κατίσαντα ἐπ᾽ οἰκήματος προστάξαι πρήσσεσθαι
ἀργύριον ὁκόσον δή τι" οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό γε ἔλεγον.
τὴν δὲ τά τε ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ταχθέντα πρήσ-
σεσθαι, ἰδίη δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν “διανοηθῆναι μνημήιον
καταλιπέσθαι, καὶ τοῦ ἐσιόντος πρὸς αὐτὴν ἑκά-
στου δέεσθαι ὅκως ἂν αὐτῇ ἕνα λίθον ἐν τοῖσι
ἔργοισι δωρέοιτο. ἐκ τούτων δὲ τῶν λίθων ἔφασαν
τὴν πυραμίδα οἰκοδομηθῆναι τὴν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν
τριῶν ἑστηκυῖαν, ἔμπροσθε τῆς μεγάλης πυρα-
μίδος, τῆς ἐστὲ τὸ κῶλον ἕκαστον ὅλου καὶ
ἡμίσεος πλέθρου.

127. Βασιλεῦσαι δὲ τὸν Χέοπα τοῦτον Αἰ-
γύπτιοι ἔλεγον πεντήκοντα ἔτεα, τελευτήσαντος
δὲ τούτου ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν βασιληίην τὸν ἀδελφεὸν
αὐτοῦ Χεφρῆνα: καὶ τοῦτον δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ τρόπῳ
διαχρᾶσθαι τῷ ἑτέρῳ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ πυραμίδα
ποιῆσαι, ἐς μὲν τὰ ἐκείνου μέτρα οὐκ ἀνήκουσαν"
ταῦτα γὰρ ὧν καὶ ἡμεῖς “ἐμετρήσαμεν' (οὔτε γὰρ
ὕπεστι οἰκήματα ὑπὸ γῆν, οὔτε ἐκ τοῦ Νείλου
428

BOOK II. 125-127

in Egyptian characters showing how much was spent
on purges and onions and garlic for the workmen ;
and so far as I well remember, the interpreter when
he read me the writing said that sixteen hundred
talents of silver had been paid. Nowifthatisso, how
much must needs have been expended on the iron
with which they worked, and the workmen’s food and
clothing ? seeing that the time aforesaid was spent
in building, and the hewing and carrying of the stone
and the digging out of the underground parts was,
as I suppose, a business of long duration.

126. And so evil a man was Cheops that for lack
of money he made his own daughter to sit in a
chamber and exact payment (how much, I know not;
for they did not tell me this). She, they say, doing
her father’s bidding, was minded to leave some
memorial of her own, and demanded of everyone
who sought intercourse with her that he should give
one stone to set in her work; and of these stones
was built the pyramid that stands midmost of the
three, over against the great pyramid ; each side of
it measures one hundred and fifty feet.

127. Cheops reigned (so the Egyptians said) for
fifty years; at his death he was succeeded by his
brother Chephren, who bore himself in all respects
like Cheops. Chephren also built a pyramid, of a less
size than his brother’s. I have myself measured it.
It has no underground chambers, nor is it entered

429

HERODOTUS

διῶρυξ ἥκει ἐς αὐτὴν ὥσπερ ἐς THY ἑτέρην ῥέουσα'
δι᾿ οἰκοδομημένου δὲ αὐλῶνος ἔσω νῆσον περιρρέει,
ἐν τῇ αὐτὸν λέγουσι κεῖσθαι Xéotra): ὑποδείμας
δὲ τὸν πρῶτον δόμον λίθου Αἰθιοπικοῦ ποικίλου,
τεσσεράκοντα πόδας ὑποβὰς τῆς ἑτέρης τὠυτὸ μέ-
γαθος, ἐχομένην τῆς μεγάλης οἰκοδόμησε. ἑστᾶσι
δὲ ἐπὶ λόφου τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφότεραι, μάλιστα ἐς
ἑκατὸν πόδας ὑψηλοῦ. βασιλεῦσαι δὲ ἔλεγον
Χεφρῆνα ἕξ καὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτεα.

128. Ταῦτα ἕξ τε καὶ ἑκατὸν λογίζονται ἔτεα,
ἐν τοῖσι Αἰγυπτίοισί τε πᾶσαν εἶναι κακότητα
καὶ τὰ ἱρὰ χρόνου τοσούτου κατακληισθέντα οὐκ
ἀνοιχθῆναι. τούτους ὑπὸ μέσεος οὐ κάρτα θέλουσι
Αἰγύπτιοι ὀνομάζειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς πυραμίδας
καλέουσι ποιμένος Φιλίτιος, ὃ ὃς τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον

/
ae κτήνεω KATA ταῦτα τὰ χωρία.

129. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον βασιλεῦσαι Αἰγύπτου
Μυκερῖνον ἔλεγον Χέοπος παῖδα: τῷ τὰ μὲν τοῦ
πατρὸς ἔργα ἀπαδεῖν, τὸν δὲ τά τε ἱρὰ ἀνοῖξαι
καὶ τὸν λεὼν τετρυμένον ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον κακοῦ
ἀνεῖναι πρὸς ἔργα τε καὶ θυσίας, δίκας δέ σφι
πάντων βασιλέων δικαιότατα κρίνειν. κατὰ. τοῦτο
μέν νυν τὸ ἔργον ἁπάντων ὅσοι ἤδη βασιλέες
ἐγένοντο Αἰγυπτίων αἰνέουσι μάλιστα τοῦτον. τά
τε ἄλλα γάρ μιν κρίνειν εὖ, καὶ δὴ καὶ τῷ ἐπιμεμ-
φομένῳ ἐκ τῆς δίκης παρ᾽ ἑωυτοῦ διδόντα ἄλλα
ἀποπιμπλάναι αὐτοῦ τὸν θυμόν. ἐόντι δὲ ἠπίῳ τῷ
Μυκερίνῳ κατὰ τοὺς πολιήτας καὶ ταῦτα ἐπιτη-
δεύοντι πρῶτον κακῶν ἄρξαι τὴν θυγατέρα ἀπο-
θανοῦσαν αὐτοῦ, τὴν μοῦνόν οἱ εἶναι ἐν τοῖδι
οἰκίοισι τέκνον. τὸν δὲ ὑπεραλγήσαντά τε τῷ

BOOK II. 127-129

like the other bya canal from the Nile, but the river
comes in through a built passage and encircles an
island, in which, they say, Cheops himself lies. This
pyramid was built of the same bigness as the other,
save that it falls forty feet short of it in height; it
stands near to the great pyramid; the lowest layer
of it is of variegated Ethiopian stone. Both of them
stand on the same ridge, which is about an hundred
feet high. Chephren, they said, reigned for fifty-six
ears.

128. Thus they reckon that for a hundred and six
years Egypt was in great misery and the temples
so long shut were never opened. So much do the
people hate the memory of these two kings that
they do not greatly wish to name them, and call
the pyramids after the shepherd Philitis, who then
pastured his flocks in this place.?

129. The next king of Egypt, they said, was
Cheops’ son Mycerinus. He, being displeased with
his father’s doings, opened the temples and suffered
the people, now ground down to the depth of
misery, to go to their business and their sacrifices ;
and he was the justest judge among all the kings.
It is on this account that he is praised beyond all
the rulers of Egypt; for not only were his judg-
ments just, but if any were not contented with the
sentence Mycerinus would give such an one a
present out of his own estate to satisfy him for
his loss. Such was his practice, and so he ruled
his people with clemency, yet calamities befel him,
of which the first was the death of his daughter,
the only child of his household. Greatly grieving

1 This is the form which Hdt. gives to the story of the

rule of the ‘‘ shepherds” (Hyksos) in Lower Egypt, perhaps
from 2100 to 1600 B.o.

431

HERODOTUS

περιεπεπτώκεε πρήγματι, Kal βουλόμενον περισ-
σότερόν TL τῶν ἄλλων θάψαι τὴν θυγατέρα,
ποιήσασθαι βοῦν ξυλίν nv κοίλην, καὶ ἔπειτα
καταχρυσώσαντά μιν ταύτην ἔσω ἐν αὐτῇ θάψαι
ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἀποθανοῦσαν θυγατέρα.

130. Αὕτη ὧν ἡ βοῦς γῇ οὐκ ἐκρύφθη, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι
καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἣν φανερή, ἐν Lae μὲν πόλι ἐοῦσα,
κειμένη δὲ ἐν τοῖσι βασιληίοισι ἐν οἰκήματι ἠσκη-
μένῳ: θυμιήματα δὲ παρ᾽ αὐτῇ παντοῖα κατα-
γίζουσι ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέρην, νύκτα δὲ ἑκάστην
πάννυχος λύχνος παρακαίεται. ἀγχοῦ δὲ τῆς
βοὸς ταύτης ἐν ἄλλῳ οἰκήματι εἰκόνες τῶν παλ-
λακέων τῶν Μυκερίνου ἑστῶσι, ὡς ἔλεγον οἱ ἐν
Σάι πόλι ἱρέες: ὁστᾶσι μὲν γὰρ ξύλιναι κολοσσοί,
ἐοῦσαι ἀριθμὸν ὡς εἴκοσι μάλιστά KN, γυμναὶ
ἐργασμέναι' αἵτινες μέντοι εἰσί, οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν
πλὴν ἢ τὰ λεγόμενα.

131. Οἱ δὲ τινὲς λέγουσι περὶ τῆς βοὸς ταύτης
καὶ τῶν κολοσσῶν τόνδε τὸν λόγον, ὡς Μυκερῖνος
ἠράσθη τῆς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατρὸς καὶ ἔπειτα ἐμίγη οἱ
ἀεκούσῃ" μετὰ δὲ λέγουσι ὡς ἡ παῖς ἀπήγξατο
ὑπὸ ἄχεος, ὃ δέ μιν ἔθαψε ἐν τῇ βοὶ ταύτῃ, ἡ δὲ
μήτηρ αὐτῆς τῶν ἀμφιπόλων τῶν προδουσέων
τὴν θυγατέρα τῷ πατρὶ ἀπέταμε τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ
νῦν τὰς εἰκόνας αὐτέων εἶναι πεπονθυίας τά περ
αἱ ζωαὶ ἔπαθον. ταῦτα δὲ λέγουσι φλυηρέοντες,
ὡς ἐγὼ δοκέω, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ δὴ καὶ πὰ περὶ τὰς
χεῖρας τῶν κολοσσῶν' ταύτας γὰρ ὧν καὶ ἡμεῖς
ὡρῶμεν͵ ὅτι ὑπὸ χρόνου τὰς χεῖρας “ἀποβεβλή-
κασι, αἱ ἐν ποσὶ αὐτέων ἐφαίνοντο ἐοῦσαι ἔτι καὶ
ἐς ἐμέ:

132. Ἢ δὲ βοῦς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατακέκρυπται

432

BOOK II. 129-132

over this misfortune, he desired to give her a burial
something more excellent than ordinary ; he made
therefore a hollow cow’s image of gilded wood
and placed therein the body of his dead daughter.

130. This cow was not buried in the earth but
was to be seen even in my time, in the town of
Sais, where it lay in an adorned chamber of the
palace; incense of all kinds is offered daily before
it, and a lamp burns by it all through every night.
There is another chamber near to this image, where
stand the statues of Mycerinus’ concubines, as the
priests of Sais told me; and indeed there are about
twenty colossal wooden figures there, made like
naked women, but I have only the priests’ word to
show who they are.

131. Some have a story about the cow and the
statues, how Mycerinus conceived a passion for his
own daughter and did her foul wrong, and she
strangled herself for grief: then he buried her,
they say, in this image of a cow; the girl’s mother
cut off the hands of the attendants who had betrayed
the daughter to her father, so that now (it is said)
their statues are in the plight to which the living
women were brought. But this I believe to be a
foolish tale, especially as respects the hands of the
figures. As we ourselves saw, it is time which has made
the hands to drop away ; they were to be seen even
in my day lying on the ground before the statues.

132. As for the cow, it is covered with a purple

433

HERODOTUS

φοινικέῳ εἵματι, τὸν αὐχένα δὲ καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν
φαίνει κεχρυσωμένα παχέι κάρτα χρυσῷ" μεταξὺ
δὲ τῶν κερέων ὁ τοῦ ἡλίου κύκλος μεμιμημένος
ἔπεστι χρύσεος. ἔστι δὲ ἡ βοῦς οὐκ ὀρθὴ ἀλλ᾽
ἐν γούνασι κειμένη, μέγαθος δὲ ὅση περ μεγάλη
βοῦς ζωή. ἐκφέρεται δὲ ἐκ τοῦ οἰκήματος ἀνὰ
πάντα ἔτεα, ἐπεὰν τύπτωνται Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν οὐκ
ὀνομαζόμενον θεὸν ὑ ὑπ᾽ ἐμεῦ ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι"
τότε ὧν καὶ τὴν βοῦν ἐκῴφέ ἐρουσι ἐς τὸ pas: φασὶ
γὰρ αὐτὴν δεηθῆναι τοῦ πατρὸς Muxeptvou ἀπο-
θνήσκουσαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἅπαξ μιν τὸν ἥλιον
κατιδεῖν.

133. Μετὰ δὲ τῆς θυγατρὸς τὸ πάθος δεύτερα
τούτῳ τῷ βασιλέι τάδε γενέσθαι: ἐλθεῖν ot
μαντήιον ἐκ Βουτοῦς πόλιος ὡς μέλλοι ἕξ ἔτεα
μοῦνον βιοὺς τῷ ἑβδόμῳ τελευτήσειν. τὸν δὲ
δεινὸν ποιησώμενον πέμψαι ἐς τὸ μαντήιον τῷ
θεῷ ὀνείδισμα, ἀντιμεμφόύόμενον ὅτι ὁ μὲν αὐτοῦ
πατὴρ καὶ πάτρως, ἀποκληίσαντες τὰ ἱρὰ καὶ
θεῶν οὐ μεμνημένοι ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους
φθείροντες, ἐβίωσαν χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν, αὐτὸς
δ᾽ εὐσεβὴς ἐὼν μέλλοι. ταχέως οὕτω τελευτήσειν.
ἐκ δὲ τοῦ χρηστηρίου αὐτῷ δεύτερα ἐλθεῖν
λέγοντα τούτων εἵνεκα καὶ συνταχύνειν αὐτὸν
τὸν βίον: οὐ γὰρ ποιῆσαί μιν τὸ χρεὸν. ἣν
ποιέειν: δεῖν γὰρ Αἴγυπτον κακοῦσθαι ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα
πεντήκοντά τε καὶ ἑκατόν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν δύο τοὺς
πρὸ ἐκείνου γενομένους βασιλέας μαθεῖν τοῦτο,
κεῖνον δὲ οὔ. ταῦτα ἀκούσαντα τὸν Μυκερῖνον,
ὡς κατακεκριμένων ἤδη οἱ τούτων, λύχνα ποιη-
σώμενον πολλά, ὅκως γίνοιτο νύξ, ἀνάψαντα

434

BOOK II. 132-133

robe, and shows only the head and neck, which are
encrusted with a very thick layer of gold. Between
its horns it bears the golden figure of the sun’s
orb. It does not stand, but kneels; its stature is
that of a live cow of great size. This image is
carried out of the chamber once in every year,
whenever the Egyptians make lamentation for the
god whom I name not in speaking of these matters ; it
is then that the cow is brought out into the light,
for Mycerinus’ daughter, they say, entreated him at
her death that she might see the sun once a year.!
133. After the grievous death of his daughter, it
next happened to Mycerinus that an oracle was sent
to him from the city of Buto, declaring that he had
but six years to live and must die in the seventh.
The king deemed this unjust, and sent back to the
oracle a message of reproach, blaming the god: why
must he die so soon who was pious, whereas his
father and his uncle had lived long, who shut up the
temples, and regarded not the gods, and destroyed
men? But a second utterance from the place of
divination declared to him that his good deeds were
the very cause of shortening his life; for he had done
what was contrary to fate; Egypt should have been
afflicted for an hundred and fifty years, whereof the
two kings before him had been aware, but not
Mycerinus. Hearing this, he knew that his doom was
fixed. Therefore he caused many lamps to be made,
and would light these at nightfall and drink and make

1 The cow-worship is no doubt the cult of Isis, honoured
at Sais under the name Nit.

435

HERODOTUS

’ \ , \ > , ν € / vf
αὐτὰ πίνειν Te Kal εὐπαθέειν, οὔτε ἡμέρης οὔτε
νυκτὸς ἀνιέντα, ἔς τε τὰ ἕλεα καὶ τὰ ἄλσεα
πλανώμενον καὶ ἵνα πυνθάνοιτο εἶναι ἐνηβητήρια
ἐπιτηδεότατα. ταῦτα δὲ ἐμηχανᾶτο θέλων τὸ

΄ , > , a e ΄, 8
μαντήιον ψευδόμενον ἀποδέξαι, ἵνα οἱ δυώδεκα
/ / € J jd
ἔτεα ἀντὶ ἕξ ἐτέων γένηται, αἱ νύκτες ἡμέραι
ποιεύμεναι.
/ x
134. Πυραμίδα δὲ οὗτος ἀπελίπετο πολλὸν
a , a
ἐλάσσω τοῦ πατρός, εἴκοσι ποδῶν καταδέουσαν
κῶλον ἕκαστον τριῶν πλέθρων, ἐούσης τετρα-

, / δὲ > \ isd i Mal a \ ὃ)
γώνου, λίθου δὲ ἐς τὸ ἥμισυ Αἰθιοπικοῦ" τὴν δὴ

ἐς « /
μετεξέτεροι φασὶ Βλλήνων Ροδώπιος ἑταίρης
γυναικὸς εἶναι, οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγοντες. οὐδὲ ὧν οὐδὲ
εἰδότες μοι φαίνονται λέγειν οὗτοι ἥτις ἦν ἡ
A \ Μ
Ῥοδῶπις: οὐ yap ἄν οἱ πυραμίδα ἀνέθεσαν
ποιήσασθαι τοιαύτην, ἐς τὴν ταλάντων χιλιάδες
/ ΄ a
ἀναρίθμητοι ws λόγῳ εἰπεῖν ἀναισίμωνται: πρὸς
¢ »
δὲ ὅτε κατὰ ἼΑμασιν βασιλεύοντα ἣν ἀκμάζουσα
¢ a ᾽ \ al
Pod@mis, ἀλλ᾽ ov κατὰ τοῦτον. ἔτεσι γὰρ κάρτα
πολλοῖσι ὕστερον τούτων τῶν βασιλέων τῶν τὰς
/ / € a
πυραμίδας ταύτας ἦν λιπομένων 'Ροδῶπις, γενεὴν

\ νὰ , ὃ ΄ ὮΝ 3 3 "ἃ i
μὲν ἀπὸ Θρηίκης, δούλη δὲ ἦν ᾿Ιάδμονος τοῦ
id ΄ > \ τι / 4 \
Ηφαιστοπόλιος ἀνδρὸς Σαμίου, σύνδουλος δὲ

» , »-“ lal \ b)
Αἰσώπου Tov λογοποιοῦ. καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ᾿Ιάδμονος
ἐγένετο, ὡς διέδεξε τῇδε οὐκ ἥκιστα: ἐπείτε γὰρ

/ : a bd / a
πολλάκις κηρυσσόντων Δελφῶν ἐκ θεοπροπίου ὃς

\ a a

βούλοιτο ποινὴν τῆς Αἰσώπου ψυχῆς ἀνελέσθαι,
Υ̓ \ > \ b / ’ / \ \ a
ἄλλος μὲν οὐδεὶς ἐφάνη, ᾿Ιάδμονος δὲ παιδὸς παῖς
Μ ? / > / “ \ Μ
ἄλλος ᾿Ιάδμων ἀνείλετο. οὕτω καὶ Αἴσωπος
᾽ /
ladpovos ἐγένετο.

135. Ροδῶπις δὲ ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἀπίκετο Ἐάνθεω

A / , ᾽ / ᾽ /
τοῦ Σαμίου κομίσαντος, ἀπικομένη δὲ κατ᾽ ἐργασίην

436

BOOK II. 133-135

merry ; by day or night he never ceased from revel-
ling, roaming to the marsh country and the groves
and wherever he heard of the likeliest places of
pleasure. Thus he planned, that by turning night
into day he might make his six years into twelve
and so prove the oracle false.

134. This king too left a pyramid, but far smaller
than his father’s; its sides form a square whereof
each side is two hundred and eighty feet in length ;
as far as the half of its height it is of Ethiopian
stone. Some Greeks say that it was built by
Rhodopis, the courtesan, but they are in error;
indeed it is clear to me that when they say this
they do not know who Rhodopis was, else they
would never have credited her with the build-
ing of a pyramid whereon what I may call an
uncountable sum of talents must have been ex-
pended. And it is a further proof of their error
that Rhodopis flourished in the reign of Amasis,
not of Mycerinus, and thus very many years after
these kings who built the pyramids. She was a
Thracian by birth, slave to [admon, son of Hephaes-
topolis, a Samian, and fellow-slave of Aesopus the
story-writer. For he also was owned by Iadmon; of
which the chiefest proof is that when the Delphians,
obeying an oracle, issued many _ proclamations
inviting whosoever would to claim the penalty for
the killing of Aesopus, none would undertake it
but only another Iadmon, grandson of the first.
Thus was Aesopus too shown to be the slave of
Tadmon.

135. Rhodopis was brought to Egypt by Xanthes
of Samos, and on her coming was for a great sum of

437

HERODOTUS

ἐλύθη χρημάτων μεγάλων ὑπὸ ἀνδρὸς Μυτιληναίου
Χαράξου τοῦ Σκαμανδρωνύμου παιδός, ἀδελφεοῦ
δὲ Σαπφοῦς τῆς μουσοποιοῦ. οὕτω δὴ ἡ ᾿Ῥοδῶπις
ἐλευθερώθη, καὶ κατέμεινέ τε ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ
κάρτα ἐπαφρόδιτος γενομένη μεγάλα ἐκτήσατο
χρήματα ὡς ἂν εἶναι “Ῥοδώπι, ἀτὰρ οὐκ ὡς γε
ἐς πυραμίδα 7 τοιαύτην ἐξικέσθαι. τῆς yap THY
δεκάτην TOV xp? μάτων ἰδέσθαι ἐστὶ ἔτι καὶ ἐς
τόδε παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ, οὐδὲν δεῖ μεγάλα οἱ
χρήματα ἀναθεῖναι. ἐπεθύμησε γὰρ “Ῥοδῶπις
μνημήιον ἑωυτῆς ἐν τῇ “Eda. καταλιπέσθαι,
ποίημα ποιησαμένη τοῦτο τὸ μὴ τυγχάνοι ἄλλῳ
ἐξευρημένον καὶ ἀνακείμενον ἐν ἱρῷ, τοῦτο ἀναθεῖναι
ἐς Δελφοὺς μνημόσυνον ἑωυτῆς. τῆς ὧν δεκάτης
τῶν χρημάτων ποιησαμένη ὀβελοὺς βουπόρους
πολλοὺς σιδηρέους, ὅσοι ἐνεχώρεε ἡ δεκάτη οἱ,
ἀπέπεμπε ἐς Δελφούς: οἱ καὶ νῦν ἔτι συννε-
νέαται ὄπισθε μὲν τοῦ βωμοῦ τὸν Χῖοι ἀνέθεσαν.
ἀντίον δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νηοῦ. φιλέουσι δέ κως ἐν τῇ
Ναυκράτι ἐπαφρόδιτοι γίνεσθαι αἱ ἑταῖραι. τοῦτο
μὲν γὰρ αὕτη, τῆς πέρι λέγεται ὅδε ὁ λόγος, οὕτω
δή τι κλεινὴ ἐγένετο ὡς καὶ οἱ πάντες “Ιὕλληνες
“Ῥοδώπιος τὸ οὔνομα ἐξέμαθον: τοῦτο δὲ ὕστερον
ταύτης, τῇ οὔνομα ἣν A ρχιδίκη, ἀοίδιμος ἀνὰ τὴν
᾿Ιλλάδα ἐγένετο, ἧσσον δὲ τῆς ἑτέρης περιλεσχή-
νευτος. Χάραξος δὲ ὡς λυσάμενος “Ῥοδῶπιν ἀπε-
νόστησε ἐς Μυτιλήνην, ἐν wérei Σαπφὼ πολλὰ
κατεκερτόμησ ἐ μιν.

136. Ροδώπιος μέν νυν πέρι πέπαυμαι. μετὰ
δὲ } Μυκερῖνον γενέσθαι Αἰγύπτου βασιλέα ἔλεγον
οἱ ἱρέες ΓΑσυχιν, τὸν τὰ πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα
ποιῆσαι τῷ Ἡφαίστῳ προπύλαια, ἐόντα πολλῷ

438

BOOK II. 135-136

money freed for the practice of her calling by Charaxus
of Mytilene, son of Seamandronymus and brother of
Sappho the poetess. Thus Rhodopis was set free and
abode in Egypt, where, her charms becoming well
known, she grew wealthy enough for a lady of her
profession, but not for the building of such a pyramid.
Seeing that to this day anyone who wishes may know
what was the tenth part of her possessions, she cannot
be credited with greaf wealth. For Rhodopis desired
to leave a memorial of herself in Greece, by having
something made which no one else had contrived
and dedicated in a temple and presenting this at
Delphi to preserve her memory; so she spent the
tenth part of her substance on the making of a great
number of iron ox-spits, as many as the tithe would
pay for, and sent them to Delphi; these lie in a heap
to this day, behind the altar set up by the Chians
and in front of the shrine itself. It seems that the
courtesans of Naucratis ever have the art of pleasing,
for the woman of whom this story is told became so
famous that all Greeks knew the name of Rhodopis,
and in later days one Archidice was the theme of
song throughout Greece, albeit less spoken of than
the other. Charaxus, after giving Rhodopis her
freedom, returned to Mytilene and was bitterly
attacked by Sappho in one of her poems.

136. Enough has been said of Rhodopis. After
Mycerinus, said the priests, Asuchis became king of
igypt. He built the eastern outer court of
Hephaestus’ temple ; this is by much the tairest and

439

HERODOTUS

τε κάλλιστα καὶ πολλῷ μέγιστα" ἔχει μὲν γὰρ
καὶ τὰ πάντα προπύλαια τύπους τε ἐγγεγλυμ-
μένους καὶ ἄχλην ὄψιν οἰκοδομημάτων μυρίην,
ἐκεῖνα δὲ καὶ μακρῷ μάλιστα. ἐπὶ τούτου βασι-
λεύοντος ἔλεγον, ἀμιξίης ἐ ἐούσης πολλῆς χρημάτων,
γενέσθαι νόμον Αἰγυπτίοισι, ἀποδεικνύντα ἐ ἐνέχυρον
τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν νέκυν οὕτω λαμβάνειν τὸ χρέος"

προστεθῆναι δὲ ἔτι τούτῳ τῷ νόμῳ τόνδε, τὸν
διδόντα τὸ χρέος καὶ ἁπάσης κρατέειν τῆς τοῦ
λαμβάνοντος θήκης, τῷ δὲ ὑποτιθέντι τοῦτο τὸ
ἐνέχυρον τήνδε ἐπεῖναι ζημίην μὴ βουλομένῳ
ἀποδοῦναι τὸ χρέος, μήτε αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ τελευτήσαντι
εἶναι ταφῆς κυρῆσαι μήτ᾽ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ πατρωίῳ
τάφῳ μήτ᾽ ἐν ἄλλῳ μηδενί, μήτε ἄλλον μηδένα
τῶν ἑωυτοῦ ἀπογενόμενον θάψαι. ὑπερβαλέσθαι
δὲ βουλόμενον τοῦτον τὸν βασιλέα τοὺς πρότερον
ἑωυτοῦ βασιλέας γενομένους Αἰγύπτου μνημόσυνον
πυραμίδα λιπέσθαι ἐκ πλίνθων ποιήσαντα, ἐν τῇ
γράμματα ἐν λίθῳ ἐγκεκολαμμένα τάδε λέγοντα
ἐστί. “Mn pe κατονοσθῇς πρὸς τὰς λιθίνας
πυραμίδας: προέχω γὰρ αὐτέων τοσοῦτον ὅσον
ὁ Ζεὺς τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν. κοντῷ γὰρ ὑποτύπτοντες
ἐς λίμνην, ὅ τι πρόσσχοιτο τοῦ πηλοῦ τῷ κοντῷ,
τοῦτο συλλέγοντες πλίνθους εἴρυσαν καί με τρόπῳ
τοιούτῳ ἐξεποίησαν.᾽"

137. Τοῦτον μὲν τοσαῦτα ἀποδέξασθαι. μετὰ
δὲ τοῦτον βασιλεῦσαι ἄνδρα τυφλὸν ἐξ ᾿Ανύσιος
πόλιος, τῷ οὔνομα “Avuow εἶναι. ἐπὶ τούτου
βασιλεύοντος ἐλάσαι én’ Αἴγυπτον χειρὶ πολλῇ
Αἰθίοπάς τε καὶ Σαβακῶν τὸν Αἰθιόπων βασιλέα.
τὸν μὲν δὴ τυφλὸν τοῦτον οἴχεσθαι φεύγοντα ἐς
τὰ ἔλεα, τὸν δὲ Αἰθίοπα βασιλεύειν Αἰγύπτου

440

BOOK II. κ6--137

largest of all the courts, for while all have carven
figures and innumerable graces of architecture, this
court has far more than any. In this king’s reign
as they told me, money in Egypt passed not readily
from hand to hand; wherefore a law was made that
aman might borrow on the security of his father’s
dead body; and the law provided also, that the
lender should havea lien on the whole burial-vault of
the borrower, and that the penalty for the giver of
this security, should he fail to repay the debt, should
be that he might neither himself be buried at death
nor bury any deceased of his kin either in that tomb
of his fathers nor in any other. Moreover, being
desirous of excelling all who ruled Egypt before
him, this king left a pyramid of brick to commemo-
rate his name, on which is this writing, cut on a
stone :—“ Deem me not less than the pyramids of
stone; for [am as much more excellent than they
as Zeus is than the other gods; for they struck a
pole down into a marsh and collected what mud
clave to the pole; therewith they made bricks, and
thus was I built.”

137. These were the acts of Asuchis. After him
reigned a blind man called Anysis, of the town of
that name. In his reign Egypt was invaded by
Sabacos king of Ethiopia and a great army of Ethio-
pians.t The blind man fleeing away into the marshes,
the Ethiopians ruled Egypt for fifty years. It is

1 In Manetho’s list three Ethiopian kings form the twenty-
fifth dynasty, Sabacon, Sebichos, and Taracos (the Tirhaka
of the Old Testament). 441

HERODOTUS

ἐπ᾿ ἔτεα πεντήκοντα, ἐν τοῖσι αὐτὸν τάδε ἀπο-
δέξασθαι: ὅκως τῶν τις Αἰγυπτίων ἁμάρτοι τι,
κτείνειν μὲν αὐτῶν οὐδένα ἐθέλειν, τὸν δὲ κατὰ
μέγαθος τοῦ ἀδικήματος ἑκάστῳ δικάζειν ἐπιτάσ-
σοντα χώματα, χοῦν πρὸς τῇ ἑωυτῶν “πόλι, ὅθεν
ἕκαστος ἣν τῶν ἀδικεόντων. καὶ οὕτω ἔτι αἱ
πόλιες ἐγένοντο ὑψηλότεραι: τὸ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτον
ἐχώσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν τὰς διώρυχας ὀρυξάντων ἐ ἐπὶ
Σεσώστριος βασιλέος, δεύτερα δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ Αἰθίοπος
καὶ κάρτ α ὑψηλαὶ ἐγένοντο. ὑψηλέων δὲ καὶ
ἑτερέων γενομενέων ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ πολίων, ὡς
ἐμοὶ δοκέει, μάλιστα ἡ ἐν Βουβάστι πόλις ἐξεχώσθη,
ἐν τῇ καὶ ἱρόν ἐστι Βουβάστιος ἀξιαπηγητότατον'"
μέζω μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ πολυδαπανώτερα ἐστὶ
ἱρά, ἡδονὴ δὲ ἰδέσθαι οὐδὲν τούτου μᾶλλον. ἡ δὲ
Βούβαστις κατὰ Ελλάδα γλῶσσαν ἐστὶ Αρτεμις.

138. Τὸ δ᾽ ἱρὸν αὐτῆς ὧδε ἔχει. πλὴν τῆς
ἐσόδου τὸ ἄλλο νῆσος ἐστί: ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ Νείλου
διώρυχες ἐσέχουσι οὐ συμμίσγουσαι ἀλλήλῃσι,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄχρι τῆς ἐσόδου τοῦ ἱροῦ ἑκατέρη ἐσέχει,
ἣ μὲν τῇ περιρρέουσα ip “δὲ τῇ; εὗρος ἐοῦσα
ἑκατέρη ἑκατὸν ποδῶν, δένδρεσι κατάσκιος. τὰ
δὲ προπύλαια ὕψος μὲν δέκα ὀργυιέων ἐστί,
τύποισι δὲ ἑξαπήχεσι ἐσκευάδαται ἀξίοισι λόγου.
ἐὸν δ᾽ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλι τὸ ἱρὸν κατορᾶται πάντο-
θεν περιιόντι’ ἅτε γὰρ τῆς πόλιος μὲν ἐκκεχω-
σμένης ὑψοῦ, τοῦ δ᾽ ἱροῦ οὐ κεκινημένου ὡς
ἀρχῆθεν ἐποιήθη, ἔσοπτον ἐστί. περιθέει δὲ
αὐτὸ αἱμασιὴ ἐγγεγλυμμένη τύποισι, ἔστι δὲ
ἔσωθεν ἄλσος δενδρέων μεγίστων πεφυτευμένον
περὶ νηὸν μέγαν, ἐν τῷ δὴ τὠγαλμα ἔνι: εὗρος
δὲ καὶ μῆκος τοῦ ἱροῦ πάντῃ σταδίου ἐστί. κατὰ

442

BOOK II. 137-138

recorded in the history of his reign that he would
never put to death any Egyptian wrongdoer, but
sentenced all, according to the greatness of their
offence, to raise embankments in the town of which
each was a native. Thus the towns came to stand
yet higiier than before; for having been first built on
embankments made by the diggers of the canals in
the reign of Sesostris, they were yet further raised
in the reign of the Ethiopian. Other Egyptian towns,
to my thinking, were so dealt with, but the level
of Bubastis was raised more than any. In this town
there is a temple of Bubastis, and it is a building
most worthy of note. Other temples are greater
and more costly, but none pleasanter to the eye than

this. Bubastis is, in the Greek language, Artemis.
138. I will now show the form of her temple:
save for the entrance, it stands on an island; two
separate channels approach it from the Nile, and
after coming up to the entry of the temple, they run
round it on opposite sides; each of thei is an hundred
feet wide, and overshadowed by trees. The outer
court has a height of ten fathoms, and is adorned with
notable figures six cubits high. The temple is in the
midst of the city, the whole circuit of which commands
a view down into it; for the city’s level has been
raised, but that of the temple has been left as it was
from the first, so that it can be seen into from with-
out. A stone wall, carven with figures, runs round
it; within is a grove of very tall trees growing round
a great shrine, wherein is the image of the goddess ;
the temple is a square, each side measuring a furlong.
443

HERODOTUS

μὲν δὴ τὴν ἔσοδον ἐστρωμένη ἐστὶ ὁδὸς λίθου ἐπὶ
σταδίους τρεῖς μάλιστά κῃ, διὰ τῆς ἀγορῆς φέ-
ρουσα ἐς τὸ πρὸς ἠῶ, εὗρος δὲ ὡς τεσσέρων
πλέθρων: τῇ δὲ καὶ τῇ τῆς ὁδοῦ δένδρεα οὐρανο-
μήκεα πέφυκε' φέρει δὲ ἐς Ἑρμέω ἱρόν. τὸ μὲν
δὴ ἱρὸν τοῦτο οὕτω ἔχει.

139. Τέλος δὲ τῆς ἀπαλλαγῆς τοῦ Αἰθίοπος
ὧδε ἔλεγον γενέσθαι: ὄψιν ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ τοιήνδε
ἰδόντα αὐτὸν οἴχεσθαι φεύγοντα" ἐδόκέε οἱ ἄνδρα
ἐπιστάντα συμβουλεύειν τοὺς ἱρέας τοὺς ἐν Ai-
γύπτῳ συλλέξαντα πάντας μέσους διαταμεῖν.
ἰδόντα δὲ τὴν ὄψιν ταύτην λέγειν αὐτὸν ὡς πρό-
φασίν οἱ δοκέοι ταύτην τοὺς θεοὺς προδεικνύναι,
ἵνα ἀσεβήσας περὶ τὰ ἱρὰ κακόν τι πρὸς θεῶν
ἢ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων λάβοι" οὔκων ποιήσειν ταῦτα,
ἀλλὰ γάρ οἱ ἐξεληλυθέναι τὸν χρόνον, ὁκόσον
κεχρῆσθαι ἄρξαντα Αἰγύπτου ἐκχωρήσειν. ἐν
γὰρ τῇ Αἰθιοπίη ἐόντι αὐτῷ τὰ μαντήια, τοῖσι
χρέωνται Αἰθίοπες, ἀνεῖλε ὡς δέοι αὐτὸν Αἰγύπτου
βασιλεῦσαι ἔτεα πεντήκοντα. ὡς ὧν ὁ χρόνος
οὗτος ἐξήιε καὶ αὐτὸν ἡ ὄψις τοῦ ἐνυπνίου ἐπε-
τάρασσε, ἑκὼν ἀπαλλάσσετο ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ
Σαβακῶς.

140. ‘Os δ᾽ ἄρα οἴχεσθαι τὸν Αἰθίοπα ἐξ Αἰ-
γύπτου, αὗτις τὸν τυφλὸν ἄρχειν ἐκ τῶν ἑλέων
ἀπικόμενον, ἔνθα πεντήκοντα ἔτεα νῆσον χώσας
σποδῷ τε καὶ γῇ οἴκεε. ὅκως γάρ οἱ φοιτᾶν σίτον
ἄγοντας Αἰγυπτίων, ὡς ἑκάστοισι προστετάχθαι,
σιγῇ τοῦ Αἰθίοπος, ἐς τὴν δωρεὴν κελεύειν σφέας
καὶ σποδὸν κομίζειν. ταύτην τὴν νῆσον οὐδεὶς
πρότερον ἐδυνάσθη ᾿Αμυρταίου ἐξευρεῖν, ἀλλὰ
ἔτεα ἐπὶ πλέω ἢ ἑπτακόσια οὐκ οἷοί τε ἦσαν

444

BOOK II. 138-140

A road, paved with stone, of about three furlongs’
length leads to the entrance, running eastward
through the market place, towards the temple of
Hermes; this road is about four hundred feet wide,
and bordered by trees reaching to heaven. Such is
this temple.

139. Now the departure of the Ethiopian (they
said) was accomplished on this wise. He fled away
from the country, having seen in a dream one who
stood over him and counselled him to gather together
all the priests in Egypt and cut them in sunder.
Having seen this vision, he said that he supposed it
to be a manifestation sent to him by the gods, that
he might commit sacrilege and so be punished by
gods or men; he would not (he said) act so, but
otherwise, for the time foretold for his rule over
Egypt, after which he was to depart, was now
fulfilled : for when he was still in Ethiopia the oracles
which are inquired of by the people of that country
declared to him that he was fated to reign fifty years
over Egypt. Seeing that this time was now completed
and that he was troubled by what he saw in his
dream, Sabacos departed from Egypt of his own
accord.

140. The Ethiopian having left Egypt, the blind
man (it is said) was king once more, returning from the
marshes, where he had dwelt fifty years on an island
which he built of ashes and earth; for the Egyptians,
who were severally charged to bring him food without
the Ethiopian’s knowledge, were bidden by the king
to bring ashes whenever they came, as their gift.
This island was never discovered before the time of
Amyrtaeus ; all the kings before him sought it in vain

445

HERODOTUS

αὐτὴν ἀνευρεῖν οἱ πρότεροι γενόμενοι βασιλέες
Apupratov. οὔνομα δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ νήσῳ ᾿Ελβώ,
μέγᾳθος δ᾽ ἐστὶ πάντῃ δέκα σταδίων.

141. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον βασιλεῦσαι τὸν ἱρέα τοῦ
᾿Ηφαίστου, τῷ οὔνομα εἶναι Σεθῶν'" τὸν ἐν ἀλο-
γίῃσι ἔχειν παραχρησάμενον τῶν μαχίμων Al-
γυπτίων ὡς οὐδὲν δεησόμενον. αὐτῶν, ἄλλα τε δὴ
ἄτιμα ποιεῦντα ἐς αὐτούς, καί σφεας ἀπελέσθαι
τὰς ἀρούρας" τοῖσι ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων βασιλέων
δεδόσθαι ἐξαιρέτους ἑκάστῳ δυώδεκα ἀρούρας.
μετὰ δὲ ἐπ᾿ Αἴγυπτον ἐλαύνειν στρατὸν μέγαν

Σαναχάριβον βασιλέα ᾿Αραβίων τε καὶ ᾽᾿Ασσυ-
ρίων: οὔκων δὴ ἐθέλειν τοὺς μαχίμους τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων Bonbéev. tov & (pea. ἐς ἀπορίην
ἀπειλημένον ἐσελθόντα ἐς τὸ μέγαρον πρὸς τὠ-
yahpa ἀποδύρεσθαι οἷα κινδυνεύει παθεῖν. a
pupopevov δ᾽ ἄρα μιν ἐπελθεῖν ὕπνον, καί οἱ δόξα
ἐν τῇ ὄψι ἐπιστάντα τὸν θεὸν θαρσύνειν ὡς oie
πείσεται ἄχαρι ἀντιάξων τὸν ᾿Αραβίων στρατόν"
αὐτὸς γάρ οἱ πέμψειν τιμωρούς. τούτοισι δή μιν
πίσυνον τοῖσι ἐνυπνίοισι, παραλαβόντα Αἰγυπτίων
τοὺς βουλομένους οἱ ἕπεσθαι, στρατοπεδεύσασθαι
ἐν Πηλουσίῳ: ταύτῃ γὰρ εἰσὶ αἱ ἐσ Borat: ἕπε-
σθαι δέ οἱ τῶν μαχίμων μὲν οὐδένα ἀνδρῶν, καπή-
λους δὲ καὶ χειρώνακτας καὶ | ἀγοραίους ἀνθρώπους.
ἐνθαῦτα ἀπικομένοισι ἱ τοῖσι ἐναντίοισι αὐτοῖσι
ἐπιχυθέντας νυκτὸς μῦς ἀρουραίους κατὰ μὲν
φαγεῖν τοὺς φαρετρεῶνας αὐτῶν κατὰ δὲ τὰ τόξα,
πρὸς δὲ τῶν ἀσπίδων TA ὄχανα, ὥστε τῇ ὑστεραΐῃ

1 Stein reads ἀπικομένους, and supposes a lacuna after
ἐναντίοισι ; ἀπικομένοισι has the best authority.

440

BOOK II. 140-141

for more than seven hundred years. ‘The name of it
is Elbo, and it is ten furlongs long and of an equal
breadth.

141. The next king was the priest of Hephaestus,
whose name was Sethos. He despised and took no
account of the warrior Egyptians, thinking he would
never need them; besides otherwise dishonour-
ing them, he took away the chosen lands which
had been given to them, twelve fields to each
man, in the reign of former kings. So presently
came king Sanacharib! against Egypt, with a great
host of Arabians and Assyrians; and the warrior
Egyptians would not march against him. The priest,
in this quandary, went into the temple shrine and
there bewailed to the god’s image the peril which
threatened him. In his lamentation he fell asleep,
and dreamt that he saw the god standing over him
and bidding him take courage, for he should suffer
no ill by encountering the host of Arabia: “ Myself,”
said the god, “will send you champions.” So he
trusted the vision, and encamped at Pelusium with
such Egyptians as would follow him, for here is the
road into Egypt; and none of the warriors would go
with him, but only hucksters and artificers and
traders. ‘Their enemies too came thither, and one
night a multitude of fieldmice? swarmed over the
Assyrian camp and devoured their quivers and their
bows and the handles of their shields likewise, inso-

1 Sennacherib’s attack on Hezekiah of Judaea was made
on his march to Egypt.—II Kings, xviii.

2 This is Hdt.’s version of the Jewish story of the pest-
ilence which destroyed the Assyrian army before Jerusalem.
Mice are a Greek symbol of pestilence ; it is Apollo Smintheus
(the mouse god) who sends and then stays the plague in

Homer, Jl. i. It has long been known that rats are carriers
of the plague.

447

HERODOTUS

φευγόντων σφέων γυμνῶν πεσεῖν πολλούς. καὶ
νῦν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς ὃ ἕστηκε ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τοῦ Ἡφαί-
στου λίθινος, ἔχων ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς μῦν, λέγων
διὰ γραμμάτων τάδε" “Ks ἐμέ τις ὁρέων εὐσεβὴς
ἔστω.

142. "Es μὲν τοσόνδε τοῦ λόγου Αἰγύπτιοί τε
καὶ οἱ ἱρέες ἔλεγον, ἀποδεικνύντες ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου
βασιλέος ἐς τοῦ “Πφαίστου τὸν ἱρέα τοῦτον τὸν
τελευταῖον βασιλεύσαντα μίαν τε καὶ τεσσερά-
κοντα καὶ “πριηκοσίας γενεὰς ἀνθρώπων γενομένας,
καὶ ἐν ταύτῃσι ἀρχιερέας καὶ βασιλέας ἑ ἑκατέρους
τοσούτους γενομένους. καίτοι τριηκόσιαι μὲν
ἀνδρῶν γενεαὶ δυνέαται μύρια ἔτεα: γενεαὶ γὰρ
τρεῖς ἀνδρῶν ἑκατὸν ἔτεα ἐστί: μιῆς δὲ καὶ τεσ-
σεράκοντα ETL τῶν ἐπιλοίπων γενεέων, al ἐπῆσαν
τῆσι τριηκοσίῃσι, ἐστὶ τεσσεράκοντα καὶ τριηκύσια
καὶ χίλια ἔτεα. οὕτω ἐν μυρίοισί τε ἔτεσι καὶ χι-
λίοισι καὶ τριηκοσίοισί τε καὶ τεσσεράκοντα ἔλεγον
θεὸν ἀνθρωποειδέα οὐδένα γενέσθαι: οὐ μέντοι
οὐδὲ πρότερον οὐδὲ ὕστερον ἐν τοῖσι ὑπολοίποισι
Αὐγύπτου βασιλεῦσι γενομένοισι ἔλεγον οὐδὲν
τοιοῦτο. ἐν τοίνυν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ τετράκις
ἔλεγον ἐξ ἠθέων τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατεῖλαι: ἔνθα τε νῦν
καταδύεται, ἐνθεῦτεν δὶς ἐπαντεῖλαι, καὶ ἔνθεν
νῦν ἀνατέλλει, ἐνθαῦτα δὶς καταδῦναι. καὶ οὐδὲν
τῶν κατ᾿ Αἴγυπτον ὑπὸ ταῦτα ἑτεροιωθῆναι, οὔτε
τὰ ἐκ τῆς γῆς οὔτε τὰ ἐκ. τοῦ ποταμοῦ σφι
γινόμενα, οὔτε τὰ ἀμφὶ νούσους οὔτε τὰ κατὰ
τοὺς θανάτους.

143. Πρότερον δὲ ‘Exataiw τῷ λογοποιῷ ἐν
Θήβῃσι γενεηλογήσαντί τε ἑωυτὸν καὶ ἀναδή-
σαντι τὴν πατριὴν ἐς ἑκκαιδέκατον θεὸν ἐποίησαν

448

BOOK II. 141-143

much that they fled the next day unarmed and many
fell. And at this day a stone statue of the Egyptian
king stands in Hephaestus’ temple, with a mouse in
his hand, and an inscription to this effect : “ Look on
me, and fear the gods.”

142. Thus far went the record given me by the
Egyptians and their priests; and they showed me
that the time from the first king to that priest of
Hephaestus, who was the last, covered three hundred
and forty-one generations of men, and that in this
time such also had been the number of their kings,
and of their high priests. Now three hundred
generations make up ten thousand years, three
generations being equal to acentury. And over and
above the three hundred the remaining forty-one
cover thirteen hundred and forty years. Thus the
whole sum is eleven thousand three hundred and
forty years ; in all which time (they said) they had
had no king who was a god in human form, nor had
there been any such thing either before or after
those years among the rest of the kings of Egypt.
Four times in this period (so they told me) the sun
rose contrary to his wont; twice he rose where he
now sets, and twice he set where now he rises; yet
Egypt at these times underwent no change, neither
in the produce of the river and the land, nor in the
inatter of sickness and death.

143. Hecataeus! the historian was once at Thebes,
where he made for himself a genealogy which
connected him by lineage with a god in the sixteenth

1 Hecataeus died soon after the Persian war.

449

HERODOTUS

οἱ ἱρέες τοῦ Διὸς οἷόν τι καὶ ἐμοὶ ov yeveneyn-
σαντὶ ἐμεωυτόν: ἐσαγαγόντες ἐς τὸ μέγαρον ἔσω
ἐὸν μέγα ἐξηρίθμεον δεικνύντες κολοσσοὺς ξυλίνους
τοσούτους ὅσους περ εἶπον' ἀρχιερεὺς γὰρ ἕκα-
στος αὐτόθι ἱστᾷ ἐπὶ τῆς ἑωυτοῦ Cons εἰκόνα
ἑωυτοῦ" ἀριθμέοντες ὧν καὶ δεικνύντες οἱ ἱρέες
ἐμοὶ ἀπεδείκνυσαν παῖδα πατρὸς ἑωυτῶν ἕκαστον
ἐόντα, ἐκ τοῦ ἄγχιστα ἀποθανόντος τῆς εἰκόνος
διεξιόντες διὰ πατέων, ἕως οὗ ἀπέδεξαν ἁπώσας
αὐτάς. “Exataiw δὲ γενεηλογήσαντι ἑωυτὸν καὶ
ἀναδήσαντι ἐς ἑκκαιδέκατον θεὸν ἀντεγενεηλό-
ynoav ἐπὶ τῇ ἀριθμήσι, οὐ δεκόμενοι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ
ἀπὸ θεοῦ γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπον' ἀντεγενεηλόγησαν
δὲ ὧδε, φάμενοι ἕκαστον τῶν κολοσσῶν πι (popu
ἐκ πιρώμιος γεγονέναι, ἐς ὃ τοὺς πέντε καὶ τεσ-
σεράκοντα καὶ τριηκοσίους ἀπέδεξαν κολοσσούς
ἰπίρωμιν ἐπονομαζόμενον], 1 καὶ οὔτε ἐς θεὸν οὔτε
ἐς ἥρωα ἀνέδησαν αὐτούς. πίρωμις δὲ ἐστὶ κατὰ
“Ελλάδα γλῶσσαν καλὸς κἀγαθός.

144. Ἤδη ὧν τῶν αἱ εἰκόνες ἤσαν, τοιούτους
ἀπεδείκνυσαν σφέας πάντας ἐόντας, θεῶν δὲ
πολλὸν ἀπαλλαγμένους. To ὡς πρότερον τῶν
ἀνδρῶν τούτων θεοὺς εἶναι τοὺς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ
ἄρχοντας, οὐκ ἐόντας ἅμα τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι, καὶ
τούτων αἰεὶ ἕνα τὸν κρατέοντα εἰναι" ὕστατον δὲ
αὐτῆς βασιλεῦσαι ΧῚΥ τὸν ᾽Οσίριος παῖδα, τὸν
᾿Απόλλωνα “EXXnves ὀνομάζουσι: τοῦτον κατα-
παύσαντα Τυφῶνα βασιλεῦσαι ὕστατον Αἰγύπτου.
Ὄσιρις δὲ ἐστὶ Διόνυσος κατὰ “Ελλάδα γλῶσσαν.

1 Whether we read ἐπονομαζόμενον (with Stein) or πίρωμιν

ἐκ πιρώμιος γενόμενον (with the MSS.) the words do not accord
with the construction of the sentence.

450

BOOK II. 143-144

generation. But the priests did for him what they
did for me (who had not traced my own lineage).
They brought me into the great inner court of the
temple and showed me there wooden figures which
they counted up to the number they had already
given, for every high priest sets there in his life-
time a statue of himself; counting and pointing
to these, the priests showed me that each inherited
from his father; they went through the whole
tale of figures, back to the earliest from that of
him who had lateliest died. Thus when Hecataeus
had traced his descent and claimed that his six-
teenth forefather was a god, the priests too traced
a line of descent according to the method of their
counting; for they would not be persuaded by him
that a man could be descended from a god; they
traced descent through the whole line of three
hundred and forty-five figures, not connecting it
with any ancestral god or hero, but declaring each
figure to be a “ Piromis” the son of a “ Piromis,”
that is, in the Greek language, one who is in all
respects a good man.

144. Thus they showed that all whose statues
.0od there had been good men, but wholly unlike
gods. Before these men, they said, the rulers of
Egypt were gods, but none had been contemporary
with the human priests. Of these gods one or other
had in succession been supreme; the last of them
to rule the country was Osiris’ son Horus, called by
the Greeks Apollo; he deposed Typhon,! and was
the last divine king of Egypt. Osiris is, in the
Greek language, Dionysus.

1 Typhon is the Egyptian Set, the god of destruction.
45!

HERODOTUS

, Lo) Lad

145. "Ev “EdXAnoe μέν νυν νεώτατοι τῶν θεῶν

,ὔ -. € , \ / \
νομίζονται εἶναι «Ἡρακλέης te καὶ Διόνυσος καὶ

\ /
Πάν, παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίοισι δὲ Πὰν μὲν ἀρχαιότατος
fal lal ΄ / a ¢
Kal TOV ὀκτὼ τῶν πρώτων λεγομένων θεῶν, ‘Hpa-
a “ ,
κλέης δὲ τῶν δευτέρων τῶν δυώδεκα λεγομένων
a , Δ n
εἶναι, Διόνυσος δὲ τῶν τρίτων, οἱ ἐκ τῶν δυώδεκα
lal 2 / ¢ / \ N “ > \ >
θεῶν ἐγένοντο. “Hpaxré μὲν δὴ ὅσα αὐτοὶ A-

/ \ c » 2 Μ ,

γύπτιοι φασὶ εἶναι ἔτεα ἐς ἼΑμασιν βασιλέα,
/ , ’ \ Nie: / ,

δεδήλωταί μοι πρρόσθε: avi δὲ ἔτι τούτων πλέονα

λέγεται εἶναι, Διονύσῳ δ᾽ ἐλάχιστα τούτων, καὶ
, “

τούτῳ πεντακισχίλια καὶ μύρια λογίζονται εἶναι

ἐς Δμασιν βασιλέα. καὶ ταῦτα Δἰγύπτιοι ἀτρε-

κέως φασὶ. ἐπίστασθαι, αἰεί τε λογιζόμενοι καὶ

\ A

αἰεὶ ἀπογραφόμενοι Ta ἔτεα. Διονύσῳ μέν νυν TO

ων /

ἐκ Σεμέλης THs Κάδμου λεγομένῳ γενέσθαι κατὰ

by \ ΄

ἑξακόσια ἔτεα καὶ χίλια μάλιστα ἐστὶ ἐς ἐμέ,
« / \ a? 7 Ν ᾽ / yy

Ηρακλέι δὲ τῷ ᾿Αλκμήνης κατὰ εἰνακόσια €ETEa’

a \
Πανὶ δὲ τῷ ἐκ Ἰ]Πηνελόπης (ἐκ ταύτης yap καὶ
Ves
“Eppéwm λέγεται γενέσθαι ὑπὸ ᾿Ελλήνων ὁ Ilav)
ἐλάσσω ἔτεα ἐστὶ τῶν Τρωικῶν, κατὰ ὀκτακόσια
μάλιστα ἐς ἐμέ.

140. Τούτων ὧν ἀμφοτέρων πάρεστι χρᾶσθαι
τοῖσί Tes πείσεται λεγομένοισι μᾶλλον" ἐμοὶ δ
ὧν ἡ περὶ αὐτῶν γνώμη ἀποδέδεκται. εἰ μὲν γὰρ
φανεροί τε ἐγένοντο καὶ κατεγήρασαν καὶ οὗτοι
ἐν τῇ Ῥλλάδι, κατά περ Ἡρακλέης ὁ ἐξ ᾿Αμφι-
τρύωνος γενόμενος, καὶ δὴ καὶ Διόνυσος ὁ ἐκ
Σεμέλης καὶ Πὰν ὁ ὁ ἐκ Πηνελόπης γενόμενος, ἔφη
ἄν τις καὶ τούτους ἄλλους ἄνδρας γενομένους ἔχειν
τὰ ἐκείνων οὐνόματα τῶν προγεγονότων θεῶν. νῦν

\ / / / Chick . ΕΣ ,
δὲ Διόνυσόν τε λέγουσι οἱ “Ελληνες ὡς αὐτίκα

7: \
γενόμενον ἐς τὸν μηρὸν ἐνερράψατο Ζεὺς καὶ
452

BOOK II. 145-146

145. Among the Greeks, Heracles, Dionysus, and
Pan are held to be the youngest of the gods. But
in Egypt Pan! is the most ancient of these and is
one of the eight gods who are said to be the first of
all, Heracles belongs to the second dynasty (that of
the so-called twelve gods), and Dionysus to the third,
which came after the twelve. How many years there
were between Heracles and the reign of Amasis,
I have already shown; Pan is said to be earlier
still ; the years between Dionysus and Amasis are
the fewest, and they are reckoned by the Egyptians
at fifteen thousand. Of all this the Egyptians claim
to have certain knowledge, seeing that they had
always reckoned the years and chronicled them in
writing. Now the Dionysus who was called the son
of Semele, daughter of Cadmus, was about sixteen
hundred years before my time, and Heracles son of
Alemene about nine hundred years; and Pan the
son of Penelope (for according to the Greeks
Penelope and Hermes were the parents of Pan)
was about eight hundred years before me, and thus
of a later date than the Trojan war.

146. With regard to these two, Pan and Dionysus, a
man may follow whatsoever story he deems most cred-
ible ; but I here declare my own opinion concerning
them :—Had Dionysus son of Semele and Pan son of
Penelope been made manifest in Hellas and lived
there to old age, like Heracles the son of Amphi-
tryon, it might have been said that they too (like
Heracles) were but men, named after the older Pan
and Dionysus, the gods of antiquity ; but as it is, the
Greek story has it that no sooner was Dionysus born
than Zeus sewed him up in his thigh and carried

1 The Egyptian Khem.
453

HERODOTUS

A b] 4 \ Ὁ \ ’ 4 Ses: >
ἤνεικε ἐς Νύσαν τὴν ὑπὲρ Αἰγύπτου ἐοῦσαν ἐν
τῇ Αἰθιοπίῃ, καὶ Πανός γε πέρι οὐκ ἔχουσι εἰπεῖν
ὅκῃ ἐτράπετο γενόμενος. δῆλά μοι ὧν γέγονε ὅτι
ὕστερον ἐπύθοντο οἱ Ελληνες τούτων τὰ οὐνόματα
Ἃ \ aA ” fal > b ᾿ δὲ b) 50 ,
ἢ τὰ TOV ἄλλων θεῶν: ἀπ᾽ ov dé ἐπύθοντο χρόνου,
\ / an
ἀπὸ τούτου γενεηλογέουσι αὐτῶν τὴν γένεσιν.
147. Ταῦτα μέν νυν αὐτοὶ Αἰγύπτιοι λέγουσι:
πὸ \ 7 ” ” \ 3 ΄,
ὅσα δὲ οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἄνθρωποι καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι
/ ς a 5)
λέγουσι ὁμολογέοντες τοῖσι ἄλλοισι KATA ταύτην
\ , / a »
τὴν χώρην γενέσθαι, ταῦτ᾽ ἤδη φράσω" προσέσται
/ va) a aA »
δέ TL αὐτοῖσι καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ὄψιος.
3 / 5 tf \ \ e / ἴω
᾿λευθερωθέντες Αἰγύπτιοι μετὰ τὸν ἱρέα τοῦ
ς , 1 2a? \ , Pes
Ηφαίστου βασιλεύσαντα, οὐδένα yap χρόνον οἷοί
2 7 an
Te ἦσαν ἄνευ βασιλέος διαιτᾶσθαι, ἐστήσαντο
δυώδεκα βασιλέας, δυώδεκα μοίρας δασάμενοι
Αἴγυπτον πᾶσαν. οὗτοι ἐπιγαμίας ποιησάμενοι
ἐβασίλευον νόμοισι τοῖσιδε YPEWMEVOL, μήτε καται-
/ 3 / / / / 7 \
ρέειν ἀλλήλους μήτε πλέον τι δίζησθαι ἔχειν τὸν
ἕτερον τοῦ ἑτέρου, εἶναί τε φίλους τὰ μάλιστα.
τῶνδε δὲ εἵνεκα τοὺς νόμους τούτους ἐποιέοντο,
3 “Ὁ / 7] , ᾽
ἰσχυρῶς περιστέλλοντες: ἐκέχρηστό σῴι κατ
\ / \
ἀρχὰς αὐτίκα ἐνισταμένοισι ἐς TAS τυραννίδας τὸν
“Ὁ A e A fal
χαλκέῃ φιάλῃ σπείσαντα αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τοῦ
« 7 las ¢ / Pe " /
Ηφαίστου, τοῦτον ἁπάσης βασιλεύσειν Διγύπτου"
\ \ \
ἐς yap δὴ Ta πάντα ἱρὰ συνελέγοντο.
if
148. Καὶ δή ode μνημόσυνα ἔδοξε λιπέσθαι
al / ip / / 5
κοινῇ, δόξαν δέ σφι ἐποιήσαντο λαβύρινθον, ὀλί-
an an \ /
γον ὑπὲρ τῆς λίμνης τῆς Moipros κατὰ Kpoxoédei-
/ / / \
λων καλεομένην πόλιν μάλιστά κῃ κείμενον: τὸν
“4 7 / 4 \ em
ἐγὼ ἤδη εἶδον λόγου μέζω. εἰ yap τις τὰ ἐξ λλή-
’
νων τείχεάώ τε καὶ ἔργων ἀπόδεξιν συλλογίσαιτο,

454

BOOK II. 146-148

him away to Nysa in Ethiopia beyond Egypt ; and
as for Pan, the Greeks know not what became of him
after his birth. It is therefore plain to me that the
Greeks learnt the names of these two gods later than
the names of all the others, and trace the birth of
both to the time when they gained the knowledge.

147. Thus far I have recorded what the Egyptians
themselves say. I will now relate what is recorded
alike by Egyptians and foreigners to have happened
in that land, and I will add thereto something of
what I my self have seen.

After the reign of the priest of Hephaestus the
Egyptians were made free. But they could never live
without a king, so they divided Egypt into twelve
portions and set up twelve kings. These kings inter-
matried, and agreed to be close friends, undertaking
not to depose one another nor to seek to possess one
more than another. ‘The reason of this agreement,
which they zealously guarded, was this: at their very
first establishment in their several lordships an oracle
was given them that that one of them who poured
a libation from a bronze vessel in the temple of
Hephaestus (where, as in all the temples, it was their
wont to assemble) should be king of all Egypt.

148. Moreover they resolved to preserve the
memory of theirnames by some joint enterprise ; and
having so resolved they made a labyrinth,! a little
way beyond the lake Moeris and near the place called
the City of Crocodiles. I have myself seen it, and
indeed no words can tell its wonders ; 2 were all that
Greeks have builded and wrought added together

1 This ‘‘labyrinth” was a horseshoe-shaped group of
buildings, supposed to have been near the pyramid of Hawara
(Sayce),. 2 T take ἤδη as = ἢ δή, with λόγου μέζω.

455

HERODOTUS

2 / ῇ Ἅ ΝῚ / , Sif,
ἐλάσσονος πόνου τε ἂν καὶ δαπάνης φανείη ἐόντα
an 4
τοῦ λαβυρίνθου τούτου. καίτοι ἀξιόλογός ye Kal
eT 9 > / > \ ἣν Nin ἢ 45 SS ᾽ὔ 9 /
ὁ ἐν φέσῳ ἐστὶ νηὸς Kal ο ἐν Σάμῳ. noav μὲν
, “
νυν καὶ αἱ πυραμίδες λόγου μέζονες, καὶ πολλῶν
e / > / (ΤᾺ a Μ \ /
ἑκάστη αὐτέων λληνικῶν ἔργων καὶ μεγάλων
’ / e \ \ 4 \ \ /
ἀνταξίη, ὁ δὲ δὴ “λαβύρινθος καὶ τὰς πυραμίδας
ὑπερβάλλει: τοῦ [γὰρ] " δυώδεκα μὲν εἰσὶ αὐλαὶ
κατάστεγοι, ἀντίπυλοι ἀλλήλῃσι, ἐξ μὲν πρὸς
βορέω ξ δὲ πρὸς νότον τετραμμέναι, συνεχέες"
τοῖχος δὲ ἔξωθεν ὁ αὐτός o peas περιέργει.
οἰκήματα δ᾽ ἔνεστι διπλῶ, τὰ μὲν ὑπόγαια τὰ
δὲ μετέωρα ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνοισι, τρισχίλια ἀριθμόν,
πεντακοσίων καὶ χιλίων ἑκάτερα. τὰ μέν
νυν μετέωρα τῶν οἰκημάτων αὐτοί τε ὡρῶμεν
διεξιόντες καὶ αὐτοὶ θεησάμενοι λέγομεν, τὰ
δὲ αὐτῶν ὑπόγαια λόγοισι ἐπυνθανόμεθα' οἱ γὰρ
la A , AN
ἐπεστεῶτες τῶν Αἰγυπτίων δεικνύναι αὐτὰ οὐδα-
a 5 4 / ? , 2 lal
μῶς ἤθελον, φάμενοι θήκας αὐτόθι εἶναι τῶν τε
ἀρχὴν τὸν λαβύρινθον τοῦτον οἰκοδομησαμένων
βασιλέων καὶ τῶν ἱρῶν “κροκοδείλων. οὕτω τῶν
μὲν κάτω πέρι οἰκημάτων ἀκοῇ παραλαβόντες
λέγομεν, τὰ δὲ ἄνω μέξονα ἀνθρωπηίων ἔργων
αὐτοὶ paper ai τε yap διέξοδοι διὰ τῶν στεγέων
καὶ οἱ ἑλιγμοὶ διὰ τῶν αὐλέων ἐόντες ποικιλώτατοι
θῶμα μυρίον παρείχοντο ἐξ αὐλῆς τε ἐς τὰ οἰκή-
ματα διεξιοῦσι καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκήματων ἐς πασ-
τάδας, ἐς στέγας τε ἄλλας ἐκ τῶν παστάδων
καὶ ἐς αὐλὰς ἄλλας ἐκ τῶν οἰκημάτων. ὀροφὴ
δὲ πάντων τούτων "λιθίνη κατά περ οἱ τοῖ-
χοι, οἱ δὲ τοῖχοι τύπων ἐγγεγλυμμένων πλέοι,

1 yap is bracketed, τοῦ as a relative being in accordance
with Herodotus’ practice.

456

BOOK II. 148

the whole would be seen to be a matter of less
labour and cost than was this labyrinth, albeit the
temples at Ephesus and Samos are noteworthy
buildings. Though the pyramids were greater than
words can tell, and each one of them a match for
many great monuments built by Greeks, this
maze surpasses even the pyramids. It has twelve
roofed courts, with doors over against each other:
six face the north and six the south, in two con-
tinuous lines, all within one outer wall. There are
also double sets of chambers, three thousand
altogether, fifteen hundred above and the same
number under ground. We ourselves viewed those
that are above ground, and speak of what we have
seen; of the underground chambers we were only
told; the Egyptian wardens would by no means
show them, these being, they said, the burial vaults
of the kings who first built this labyrinth, and of
the sacred crocodiles. Thus we can only speak
from hearsay of the lower chambers; the upper
we saw for ourselves, and they are creations greater
than human. The outlets of the chambers and
the mazy passages hither and thither through
the courts were an unending marvel to us as we
passed from court to apartment and from apartment
to colonnade, from colonnades again to more cham-
bers and then into yet more courts. Over all this
is a roof, made of stone like the walls, and the
walls are covered with carven figures, and every

457

HERODOTUS

αὐλὴ δὲ ἑκάστη TEpiaTUAOS λίθου λευκοῦ ἁρμοσ-
μένου τὰ μάλιστα. τῆς δὲ γωνίης τελευτῶντος
τοῦ λαβυρίνθου ἔχεται πυραμὶς τεσσερακοντόρ-
γυιος, ἐν τῇ ζῷα μεγάλα ἐγγέγλυπται' ὁδὸς δ᾽ ἐς
αὐτὴν ὑπὸ γῆν πεποίηται.

149. Τοῦ δὲ λαβυρίνθου τούτου ἐόντος τοιούτου
θῶμα ἔτι μέξον παρέχεται ἡ Μοίριος καλεομένη
λίμνη, Tap ἣν ὁ λαβύρινθος οὗτος οἰκοδόμη-
Tal’ τῆς τὸ περίμετρον τῆς περιόδου εἰσὶ στάδιοι
ἑξακόσιοι καὶ τρισχίλιοι, σχοίνων ἑξήκοντα ἐόν-
των, ἴσοι καὶ αὐτῆς Αἰγύπτου τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν.
κεῖται δὲ μακρὴ ἡ λίμνη πρὸς βορέην τε καὶ νότον,
ἐοῦσα βάθος, τῇ βαθυτάτη αὐτὴ ἑωυτῆς, πεντη-
κοντόργυιος. ὅτι δὲ χειροποίητος ἐστὶ καὶ ὀρυκτή,
αὐτὴ δηλοῖ: ἐν γὰρ μέσῃ τῇ λίμνῃ μάλιστά Kn
ἑστᾶσι δύο πυραμίδες, τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπερέχουσαι
πεντήκοντα ὀργυιὰς ἑκατέρη, καὶ τὸ KAT ὕδατος
οἰκοδόμηται ἕτερον τοσοῦτον, καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρῃσι
ἔπεστι κολοσσὸς λίθινος κατήμενος ἐν θρόνῳ.
οὕτω αἱ μὲν πυραμίδες εἰσὶ ἑκατὸν ὀργυιέων, αἱ δ᾽
ἑκατὸν ὀργυιαὶ δίκαιαι εἰσὶ στάδιον ἑξάπλεθρον,
ἑξαπέδου τε τῆς ὀργυιῆς μετρεομένης καὶ τετρα-
πήχεος, τῶν ποδῶν μὲν τετραπαλαίστων ἐόντων,
τοῦ δὲ πήχεος ἑξαπαλαίστου. τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐν
τῇ λίμνῃ αὐθιγενὲς μὲν οὐκ ἔστι (ἄνυδρος γὰρ
δὴ δεινῶς ἐστι ἡ ταύτῃ), ἐκ τοῦ Νείλου δὲ κατὰ
διώρυχα ἐσῆκται, καὶ ἕξ μὲν μῆνας ἔσω ῥέει ἐς
τὴν λίμνην, ἕξ δὲ μῆνας ἔξω ἐς τὸν Νεῖλον αὗτις"
καὶ ἐπεὰν μὲν ἐκρέη ἔξω, ἣ δὲ τότε τοὺς ἕξ μῆνας
ἐς τὸ βασιλήιον καταβάλλει ἐπ᾽ ἡμέρην ἑκάστην
τάλαντον ἀργυρίου ἐκ τῶν ἰχθύων, ἐπεὰν δὲ ἐσίῃ
τὸ ὕδωρ ἐς αὐτήν, εἴκοσι μνέας.

458

BOOK II. 148-149

court is set round with pillars of white stone most
exactly fitted together. Hard by the corner where
the labyrinth ends there stands a pyramid forty
fathoms high, whereon great figures are carved.
A passage has been made into this underground.

149. Such is this labyrinth; and yet more mar-
vellous is the lake Moeris, by which it stands. This
lake has a circuit of three thousand six hundred
furlongs, or sixty schoeni, which is as much as the
whole seaboard of Egypt. Its length is from north
to south; the deepest part has a depth of fifty
fathoms. That it has been dug out and made by
men’s hands the lake shows for itself; for almost
in the middle of it stand two pyramids, so built that
fifty fathoms of each are below and fifty above the
water; atop of each is a colossal stone figure seated
on a throne. Thus these pyramids are a hundred
fathoms high ; and a hundred fathoms equal a fur-
long of six hundred feet, the fathom measuring six
feet or four cubits, the foot four spans and the cubit
six spans. The water of the lake is not natural
(for the country here is exceeding waterless) but
brought by a channel from the Nile; six months it
flows into the lake, and six back into the river.
For the six months that it flows from the lake, the
daily take of fish brings a silver talent into the
royal treasury, and twenty minae for each day of
the flow into the lake.

VOLe 1: R 459

HERODOTUS

160. ᾿λεγον δὲ of ἐπιχώριοι καὶ ws ἐς τὴν
Σύρτιν τὴν ἐς Λιβύην ἐκδιδοῖ ἡ λίμνη αὕτη ὑπο
γῆν, τετραμμένη. τὸ “πρὸς ἑσπέρην ἐς τὴν μεσόγαιαν
παρὰ τὸ ὄρος τὸ ὑπὲρ Μέμφιος. ἐπείτε δὲ τοῦ
ὀρύγματος τούτου οὐκ ὥρων τὸν χοῦν οὐδαμοῦ
ἐόντα, ἐπιμελὲς γὰρ δή μοι ἦν, εἰρόμην τοὺς
ἄγχιστα οἰκέοντας τῆς λίμνης ὅκου εἴη ὁ χοῦς ὁ
ἐξορυχθείς. οἱ δὲ ἔφρασάν μοι ἵνα ἐξεφορήθη, καὶ
εὐπετέως ἔπειθον: ἤδεα γὰρ “λόγῳ καὶ ἐν Νίνῳ τῇ
᾿Ασσυρίων πόλι γενόμενον ἕτερον τοιοῦτον. τὰ
γὰρ Σαρδαναπάλλου τοῦ Νίνου βασιλέος ἐόντα
μεγάλα χρήματα καὶ φυλασσόμενα ἐν θησαυροῖσι
καταγαίοισι ἐπενόησαν κλῶπες ἐκφορῆσαι. ἐκ δὴ
ὧν τῶν σφετέρων οἰκίων ἀρξάμενοι οἱ κλῶπες
ὑπὸ γῆν σταθμεόμενοι ἐς τὰ βασιλήια οἰκία ὦρυσ-
σον, τὸν δὲ χοῦν τὸν ἐκφορεόμενον ἐκ τοῦ ὀρύγ-
ματος, ὅκως γένοιτο νύξ, ἐς τὸν Τίγρην ποταμὸν
παραρρέοντα τὴν Νίνον ἐξεφόρεον, ἐς ὃ κατεργά-
σαντο ὅ τι ἐβούλοντο. τοιοῦτον ἕτερον ἤκουσα καὶ
κατὰ τὸ τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ λίμνης ὄρυγμα γενέσθαι,
πλὴν οὐ νυκτὸς ἀλλὰ μετ᾽ ἡμέρην ποιεύμενον"
ὀρύσσοντας γὰρ τὸν χοῦν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐς τὸν
Νεῖλον φορέειν’ ὃ δὲ ὑπολαμβάνων ἔμελλε δια-
χέειν. ἡ μέν νυν λίμνη αὕτη οὕτω λέγεται
ὀρυχθῆναι"

ΠΝ Τῶν δὲ δυώδεκα βασιλέων δικαιοσύνῃ χρεω-
μένων, ἀνὰ χρόνον ὡς ἔθυσαν ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τοῦ
Ἡφαίστου, TH ὑστάτῃ τῆς ὁρτῆς, ᾿μελλόντων
κατασπείσειν, ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ἐξήνεικέ σφι φιάλας
χρυσέας, τῆσί περ ἐώθεσαν σπένδειν, ἁμαρτὼν
τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ, ἕνδεκα δυώδεκα ἐοῦσι. ἐνθαῦτα ὡς
οὐκ εἶχε φιάλην ὁ ἔσχατος ἑστεὼς αὐτῶν Ψαμ-
46ο

BOOK II. 150-151

150. Further, the people of the country said
that this lake issues by an underground stream
into the Libyan Syrtis, and stretches inJand towards
the west along the mountains that are above
Memphis. I could not anywhere see the earth
taken from the digging of this lake, and_ this
giving me matter for thought, I asked those
who dwelt nearest to the lake where the stuff
was that had been dug out. They told me
whither it had been carried, and I readily be-
lieved them, for I had heard of a like thing
happening in the Assyrian city of Ninus. Sardana-
pallus king of Ninus had great wealth, which he
kept in an underground treasury. Certain thieves
were minded to carry it off; they reckoned their
course and dug an underground way from their own
house to the palace, carrying the earth taken out of
the dug passage at night to the Tigris, which runs
past Ninus, till at length they accomplished their
desire. This, I was told, had happened when the
Egyptian lake was dug, save only that the work
went on not by night but by day. The Egyptians
bore the earth dug out by them to the Nile, to
be caught and scattered (as was to be thought)
by the river. Thus is this lake said to have been
dug.

151. Now the twelve kings dealt justly ; and as
time went on they came to sacrifice in Hephaestus’
temple. On the last day of the feast, they being
about to pour libations, the high priest brought out
the golden vessels which they commonly used for
this; but he counted wrongly and gave the twelve
only eleven. So he who stood Jast of them, Psam-
metichus, got no vessel; wherefore taking off his

461

HERODOTUS

μήτιχος, περιελόμενος τὴν κυνέην ἐοῦσαν χαλκέην
ὑπέσχε τε καὶ ἔσπενδε. κυνέας δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι
ἅπαντες ἐφόρεόν τε βασιλέες καὶ ἐτύγχανον τότε
ἔχοντες. Ψαμμήτιχος μέν νυν τ τὰς δολερῷ νόῳ
χρεώμενος ὑπέσχε τὴν κυνέην" δ δὲ, Ἔν φρενὶ
λαβόντες τό τε ποιηθὲν ἐκ Denies, Kal TO
χρηστήριον, OTL ἐκέχρηστό σφι TOV YAAKEN σπεί-
σαντα αὐτῶν φιάλῃ τοῦτον βασιλέα ἔσεσθαι μοῦ-
νον Αἰγύπτου, ἀναμνησθέντες τοῦ χρησμοῦ κτεῖναι
μὲν οὐκ ἐδικαίωσαν Ψαμμήτιχον, ὡς ἀνεύρισκον
βασανίζοντες ἐξ οὐδεμιῆς προνοίης αὐτὸν ποιή-
σαντα, ἐς δὲ τὰ ἕλεα ἔδοξέ σφι διῶξαι ψιλώσαν-
τας τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς δυνάμιος, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἑλέων
ὁρμώμενον μὴ ἐπιμίσγεσθαι τῇ ἄλλῃ Αἰγύπτῳ.
152. Tov δὲ Ψαμμήτιχον τοῦτον πρότερον φεύ-
γοντα τὸν Αἰθίοπα Σαβακῶν, ὃς οἱ τὸν πατέρα
Νεκῶν a ἀπέκτεινε, τοῦτον φεύγοντα τότε ἐς Συρίην,
ὡς ἀπαλλάχθη ἐ ἐκ τῆς ὄψιος τοῦ ὀνείρου ὁ Αἰθίοψ,
κατήγαγον ,Αἰγυπτίων οὗτοι οἱ ἐκ νομοῦ τοῦ
Σαΐτεω εἰσί. μετὰ δὲ βασιλεύοντα τὸ δεύτερον
πρὸς τῶν ἕνδεκα βασιλέων καταλαμβάνει μιν διὰ
τὴν κυνέην φεύγειν ἐς Ta ἕλχεα. ἐπιστάμενος ὧν
ὡς περιυβρισμένος εἴη πρὸς αὐτῶν, ἐπενόεε τίσασ-
θαι τοὺς διώξαντας. πέμψαντι δέ οἱ ἐς Βουτοῦν
πόλιν ἐς τὸ χρηστήριον τῆς Λητοῦς, ἔνθα δὴ
Αἰγυπτίοισι ἐστὶ μαντήιον ἀψευδέστατον, ἦλθε
χρησμὸς ὡς τίσις ἥξει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης χαλκέων
ἀνδρῶν ἐπιφανέντων. καὶ τῷ μὲν δὴ ἀπιστίη
μεγάλη ὑπεκέχυτο χαλκέους οἱ ἄνδρας ἥξειν ἐ ἐπι-
κούρους. χρόνου δὲ οὐ πολλοῦ διελθόντος a ἀναγ-
Kain κατέλαβε: Ἴωνάς τε καὶ Κᾶρας ἄνδρας κατὰ
ληίην ἐκπλώσαντας ἀπενειχθῆναι ἐς Αἴγυπτον,

462

BOOK II. 151-1552

bronze helmet he held it out and poured the libation
with it. All the other kings too were wont to wear
helmets, and were then helmeted; it was not in
guile, then, that Psammetichus held out his head-
gear; but the rest marked Psammetichus’ deed, and
remembered the oracle which promised the sover-
eignty of all Egypt to whosoever should pour liba-
tion from a vessel of bronze; wherefore, though
they deemed Psammetichus not to deserve death
(for they proved him and found that he had
acted without intent), they resolved to strip him of
the most of his power and chase him away into
the marshes, and that he was not to concern himself
with the rest of Egypt.

152. This Psammetichus had formerly been in
Syria, whither he had fled from Sabacos the Ethio-
pian, who killed his father Necos; then, when the
Ethiopian departed by reason of what he saw in a
dream, the Egyptians of the province of Sais brought
him back from Syria; and now Psammetichus was
for the second time king, when it happened to him
to be driven away into the marshes by the eleven
kings by reason of the matter of the helmet. There-
fore he held himself to have been outrageously dealt
with by them and had a mind to be avenged on those
who had expelled him, and he sent to inquire of the
oracle of Leto in the town of Buto, which is the
most infallible in Egypt; the oracle answered that
he should have vengeance when he saw men of
bronze coming from the sea. Psammetichus secretly
disbelieved that men of bronze would come to aid
him. But after no long time, certain Ionians and
Carians, voyaging for plunder, were forced to put in
on the coast of Egypt, where they disembarked in

463

HERODOTUS

ἐκβάντας δὲ ἐς γῆν καὶ ὁπλισθέντας χαλκῷ ay-
γέλλει τῶν τις Αἰγυπτίων ἐς τὰ ἕλεα ἀπικόμενος
τῷ Ψαμμητίχῳ, ὡς οὐκ ἰδὼν πρότερον χαλκῷ
ἄνδρας ὁπλισθέντας, ὡς χάλκεοι ἄνδρες ἀ ἀπυγμένοι
ἀπὸ θαλάσσης λεηλατεῦσι τὸ πεδίον. ὃ δὲ μαθὼν
τὸ χρηστήριον ἐπιτελεύμενον φίλα τε τοῖσι Ἴωσι
καὶ Καρσὶ ποιέεται καί σφεας μεγάλα ὑπισχνεύ-
μενος πείθει μετ᾽ ἑωυτοῦ γενέσθαι. ὡς δὲ ἔπεισε,
οὕτω ἅμα τοῖσι τὰ ἑωυτοῦ βουλομένοισι Αὐἰγυπτί-
οιἱσι καὶ τοῖσι ἐπικούροισι καταιρέει τοὺς βασι-
λέας.

1.59: Κρατήσας͵ δὲ Αἰγύπτου πάσης ὁ Ψαμμή-
TLXOS ἐποίησε τῷ Ἡφαίστῳ προπύλαια ἐν Μέμφι
τὰ πρὸς νότον ἄνεμον τετραμμένα, αὐλήν τε τῷ
"Ami, ἐν τῇ τρέφεται ἐπεὰν φανῇ ὁ ἾΑπις, οἰκοδό-
μησε ἐναντίον τῶν προπυλαίων, πᾶσάν τε περί-
στυλον ἐοῦσαν καὶ τύπων πλέην' ἀντὶ δὲ κιόνων
ὑπεστᾶσι κολοσσοὶ δυωδεκαπήχεες τῇ αὐλῇ. ὁ δὲ
"Amis κατὰ τὴν Ever γλῶσσαν ἐστὶ "Errados.

154. Totot δὲ “Iwot Kal totct Καρσὶ τοῖσι
συγκατεργασαμένοισι αὐτῷ ὁ Ψαμμήτιχος δίδωσι
χώρους ἐνοικῆσαι ἀντίους ἀλλήλων, τοῦ Νείλου
τὸ μέσον ἔχοντος, τοῖσι οὐνόματα ἐτέθη Στρατό-
πεδα' τούτους τε δή σφι τοὺς χώρους δίδωσι καὶ
τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ὑπέσχετο πάντα ἀπέδωκε. καὶ δὴ
καὶ παῖδας παρέβαλε αὐτοῖσι Αἰγυπτίους τὴν
“λλάδα γλῶσσαν ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι. ἀπὸ δὲ τού-
των ἐκμαθόντων τὴν γλῶσσαν οἱ νῦν ἑρμηνέες ἐν
Αἰγύπτῳ γεγόνασι. οἱ δὲ “]ωνές τε καὶ οἱ Κᾶρες
τούτους τοὺς χώρους 1 χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν'
εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι οἱ χῶροι πρὸς θαλάσσης ὀλίγον
ἔνερθε Βουβάστιος πόλιος, ἐπὶ τῷ [Πηλουσίῳ

404

BOOK II. 152-154

their mail of bronze; and an Egyptian came into the
marsh country and brought news to Psammetichus
(for he had never before seen mailed men) that men
of bronze were come from the sea and were foraging
in the plain. Psammetichus saw in this the fulfil-
ment of the oracle; he made friends with the
Ionians and Carians, and promised them great re-
wards if they would join him, and having won them,
with the aid of such Egyptians as consented and
these allies he deposed the eleven kings.

153. Having made himself master of all Egypt,
he made the southern outercourt of Hephaestus’
temple at Memphis, and built over against this a
court for Apis, where Apis is kept and fed whenever
he appears; this court has an inner colonnade all
round it and many carved figures; the roof is held
up by great statues twelve cubits high for pillars.
Apis is in the Greek language Epaphus.

154. The Ionians and Carians who had _ helped
him to conquer were given by Psammetichus places
to dwell in called The Camps, opposite to each other
on either side of the Nile ; and besides this he paid
them all that he had promised. Moreover he put
Egyptian boysin their hands to be taught the Greek
tongue ; these, learning Greek, were the ancestors
of the Egyptian interpreters. The Ionians and
Carians dwelt a long time in these places, which are
near the sea, on the arm of the Nile called the
Pelusian, a little way below the town of Bubastis.

405

HERODOTUS

καλεομένῳ στόματι τοῦ Neidov. τούτους μὲν δὴ
χρόνῳ ὕστερον βασιλεὺς "Apacs ἐξαναστήσας
ἐνθεῦτεν κατοίκισε ἐς Μέμφιν, φυλακὴν ἑωυτοῦ
ποιεύμενος πρὸς Αἰγυπτίων. τούτων δὲ οἰκισθέν-
των ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, οἱ “ἔλληνες οὕτω ἐπιμισγόμενοι
τούτοισι τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον γινόμει α ἀπὸ Ψψαμμη-
τίχου βασιλέος ἀρξάμενοι πάντα καὶ τὰ ὕστε-
ρον ἐπιστάμεθα ἀτρεκέως: πρῶτοι yap οὗτοι ἐν
Αἰγύπτῳ ἀλλόγλωσσοι κατοικίσθησαν. ἐξ ὧν δὲ
ἐξανέστησαν χώρων, ἐν τούτοισι δὲ οἵ τε ὁλκοὶ
τῶν νεῶν καὶ τὰ ἐρείπια τῶν οἰκημάτων τὸ μέχρι
ta ἊΣ

Ψαμμήτιχος μέν νυν οὕτω ἔσχε Αἴγυπτον.
τοῦ "δὲ χρηστηρίου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πολλὰ ἐπε-
μνήσθην ἤδη, καὶ δὴ λόγον περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀξίου
ἐόντος ποιήσομαι. τὸ γὰρ χρηστήριον τοῦτο τὸ
ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐστὶ μὲν. Λητοῦς ἱρόν, ἐν πόλι δὲ
μεγάλῃ ἱδρυμένον κατὰ τὸ Σεβεννυτικὸν καλεύό-
μενον στόμα τοῦ Νείλου, ἀναπλέοντι ἀπὸ θαλάσ-
σης ἄνω. οὔνομα δὲ τῇ πόλι ταύτῃ ὅκου τὸ
χρηστήριον ἐστὶ Βουτώ, ὡς καὶ πρότερον ὠνό-
μασταί μοι. ἱρὸν δὲ ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ Βουτοῖ ταύτῃ
᾿Απόλλωνος καὶ ᾿Αρτέμιδος, καὶ ὅ Ye νηὸς τῆς
Λητοῦς, ἐν τῷ δὴ τὸ χρηστήριον ἔνι, αὐτὸς τε
τυγχάνει ἐὼν μέγας καὶ τὰ προπύλαια ἔχει ἐς
ὕψος δέκα ὁ ὀργυιέων. τὸ δέ μοι τῶν φανερῶν ἣν
θῶμα μέγιστον παρεχόμενον, φράσω. ἔστι ἐν τῷ
τεμένεϊ τούτῳ Λητοῦς νηὸς ἐξ € ἑνὸς λίθου πεποιη-
μένος ἔς τε ὕψος καὶ ἐς μῆκος καὶ τοῖχος ἕκαστος
τούτοισι ἴσος τεσσεράκοντα πηχέων τούτων ἕκα-
στον ἐστί, τὸ δὲ “καταστέγασμα τῆς ὀροφῆ ἧς ἄλλος
ἐπίκειται λίθος, ἔχων τὴν παρωροφίδα τετράπηχυν.

466

BOOK If. 154-155

Long afterwards, king Amasis removed them thence
and settled them at Memphis, to be his guard
against the Egyptians. It comes of our intercourse
with these settlers in Egypt (who were the first
men of alien speech to settle in that country) that
we Greeks have exact knowledge of the history of
Egypt from the reign of Psammetichus onwards.
There still remained till my time, in the places
whence the Jonians and Carians were removed, the
landing engines! of their ships and the ruins of
their houses.

155. This is the story of Psammetichus’ con-
quest of Egypt. I have often made mention of the
Egyptian oracle, and I will now treat fully of it,
for this it deserves. This Egyptian oracle is in a
temple sacred to Leto, and is situated in a great
city by the Sebennytic arm of the Nile, on the way
up from the sea. The name of the city where is this
oracle is Buto; I have already named it. In Buto
there is a temple of Apollo and Artemis. The
shrine of Leto in which is the oracle is itself very
great, and its outer court is ten fathoms high. But I
will now tell of what was the most marvellous among
things visible there: in this precinct is the shrine
of Leto, whereof the height and length of the walls
is all made of a single stone slab; each wall has an
equal length and height, namely, forty cubits.
Another slab makes the surface of the roof, the
cornice of which is four cubits broad.

1 Probably capstans for hauling the ships ashore.

407

HERODOTUS

156. Οὕτω μέν νυν ὁ νηὸς τῶν φανερῶν
μοι τῶν περὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἱρὸν ἐστὶ θωμαστοτα-
τον, τῶν δὲ δευτέρων νῆσος ἡ Χέμμις καλευ-
μένη" ἔστι μὲν ἐν λίμνῃ βαθέῃ καὶ πλατέῃ κει-
μένη παρὰ τὸ ἐν Βουτοῖ ἱρόν, λέγεται δὲ ὑπ᾽
Αἰγυπτίων εἶναι αὕτη ἡ νῆσος πλωτή. αὐτὸς μὲν
ἔγωγε οὔτε πλέουσαν οὔτε κινηθεῖσαν εἶδον, τέ-
θηπα δὲ ἀκούων εἰ νῆσος ἀληθέως ἐστὶ πλωτή.
ἐν δὲ ὧν ταύτῃ νηός τε ᾿Απόλλωνος μέγας ἔνι καὶ
βωμοὶ τριφάσιοι ἐνιδρύαται, ἐμπεφύκασι δ᾽ ἐν
αὐτῇ φοίνικες συχνοὶ καὶ ἄλλα δένδρεα καὶ καρ-
ποφόρα καὶ ἄφορα πολλιί. λόγον δὲ τόνδε ἐπι-
λέγοντες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι φασὶ εἶναι αὐτὴν πλωτήν,
ὡς ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ταύτῃ οὐκ ἐούσῃ πρότερον πλωτῇ
Λητώ, ἐοῦσα τῶν ὀκτὼ θεῶν τῶν πρώτων γενο-
μένων, οἰκέουσα δὲ ἐν Bovtot πόλι, ἵνα δή οἱ τὸ
χρηστήριον τοῦτο ἐστί, ᾿Απόλλωνα παρ᾽ Ϊσιος
παρακαταθήκην δεξαμένη διέσωσε κατακρύψασα
ἐν τῇ νῦν πλωτῇ λεγομένῃ νήσῳ, ὅτε τὸ TAY
διζήμενος ὁ Τυφῶν ἐπῆλθε, θέλων ἐξευρεῖν τοῦ
᾿Οσίριος τὸν παῖδα. ᾿Απόλλωνα δὲ καὶ "Ἄρτεμιν
Διονύσου καὶ ἤϊσιος λέγουσι εἶναι παῖδας, Λητοῦν
δὲ τροφὸν αὐτοῖσι καὶ σώτειραν γενέσθαι. Αἰγυπ-
τιστὶ δὲ ᾿Απόλλων μὲν ρος, Δημήτηρ dé *Iats,
"Ἄρτεμις δὲ Βούβαστις. ἐκ τούτου δὲ τοῦ λόγου
καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου Αἰσχύλος ὁ 0 Evgoptwvos ἥ Ὥρπασε
τὸ ἐγὼ φράσω, μοῦνος δὴ ποιητέων τῶν προγενο-
μένων" ἐποίησε γὰρ Αρτεμιν εἶναι θυγατέρα
Δήμητρος. τὴν δὲ νῆσον διὰ τοῦτο γενέσθαι
sheen ταῦτα μὲν οὕτω λέγουσι.

57. Ψαμμήτιχος δὲ ἐβασίλευσε Αἰγύπτου τέσ-
Ὁ καὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτεα, τῶν τὰ ἑνὸς δέοντα

468

BOOK II. 156-157

156. Thus then the shrine is the most marvellous
of all things that I saw in this temple; but of
things of lesser note, the most wondrous is the
island called Chemmis. This lies in a deep and
wide lake near to the temple at Buto, and the
Egyptians say that it floats. For myself I never
saw it float, nor move at all, and I thought it a
marvellous tale, that an island should truly float.
However that be, there is a great shrine of Apollo
thereon, and three altars stand there ; many palm
trees grow in the island, and other trees too, some
yielding fruit and some not. The story told by the
Egyptians to show why the island moves is this:
when Typhon came seeking through the world for
the son of Osiris, Leto, being one of the eight earliest
gods, and dwelling in Buto where this oracle of hers
is, received Apollo in charge from Isis and hid him
for safety in this island which was before immovable
but is now said to float. Apollo and Artemis were
(they say) children of Dionysus and Isis, and Leto
was made their nurse and preserver; in Egyptian,
Apollo is Horus, Demeter Isis, Artemis Bubastis. It
was from this and no other legend that Aeschylus
son of Euphorion stole an imagination, which is in
no other poet, that Artemis was the daughter of
Demeter. For the aforesaid reason (say the
Egyptians) the island was made to float Such is
the tale.

157. Psammetichus ruled Egypt for fifty-four
years; for twenty-nine of these he sat before Azotus,

469

HERODOTUS

τριήκοντα ᾿Αζωτον τῆς Συρίης μεγάλην πόλιν
προσκατήμενος ἐπολιόρκεε, ἐς ὃ ἐξεῖλε. αὕτη δὲ
ἡ ᾿Αζωτος ἁπασέων πολίων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον χρόνον
πολιορκεομένη ἀντέσχε τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν.

158. Ψαμμητίχου δὲ Νεκῶς παῖς ἐγένετο καὶ
ἐβασίλευσε Αἰγύπτου, ὃς τῇ διώρυχι ἐπεχείρησε
πρῶτος τῇ ἐς τὴν ᾿Ερυθρὴν θάλασσαν φερούσῃ,
τὴν Δαρεῖος ὁ “Πέρσης δεύτερα διώρυξε' τῆς μῆκος
ἐστὶ πλόος ἡμέραι τέσσερες, εὖρος δὲ ὠρύχθη
ὥστε τριήρεας δύο πλέειν ὁμοῦ ἐλαστρευμένας.
ἧκται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Νείλου τὸ ὕδωρ ἐς αὐτήν'
ἥκται δὲ κατύπερθε ὀλίγον βουβάστιος πόλιος
παρὰ ἸΙάτουμον τὴν ᾿Δραβίην πόλιν, ἐσέχει δὲ ἐς
τὴν ᾿Ερυθρὴν θάλασσαν. ὀρώρυκται δὲ πρῶτον
μὲν τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου τὰ πρὸς ᾿Αραβίην
ἔχοντα: ἔχεται δὲ κατύπερθε τοῦ πεδίου τὸ κατὰ
Μέμφιν τεῖνον ὄρος, ἐν τῷ αἱ λιθοτομίαι ἔνεισι"
τοῦ ὧν δὴ ὄρεος τούτου παρὰ τὴν ὑπωρέην ἧκται
ἡ διῶρυξ ἀπ᾽ ἑσπέρης μακρὴ πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ, καὶ
ἔπειτα τείνει ἐς διασφάγας, φέρουσα ἀπὸ τοῦ
ὄρεος πρὸς μεσαμβρίην τε καὶ νότον ἄνεμον ἐς τὸν
κόλπον τὸν ᾿Αράβιον. τῇ δὲ ἐλάχιστον ἐστὶ καὶ
συντομώτατον ἐκ τῆς βορηίης θαλάσσης ὑπερ-
βῆναι ἐς τὴν νοτίην καὶ ᾿Ερυθρὴν τὴν αὐτὴν ταύ-
τὴν καλεομένην, ἀπὸ τοῦ Kactouv ὄρεος τοῦ οὐρί-
ζοντος Αἴγυπτόν τε καὶ Συρίην, ἀπὸ τούτου εἰσὶ
στάδιοι ἀπαρτὶ χίλιοι ἐς τὸν ᾿Αράβιον κόλπον.
τοῦτο μὲν τὸ συντομώτατον, ἡ δὲ διῶρυξ πολλῷ
μακροτέρη, ὅσῳ σκολιωτέρη ἐστί: τὴν ἐπὶ Νεκῶ
βασιλέος ὀρύσσοντες Αἰγυπτίων ἀπώλοντο δυώ-
deka μυριάδες. Νεκῶς μέν νυν μεταξὺ ὀρύσσων
ἐπαύσατο μαντηίου ἐμποδίου γενομένου τοιοῦδε,

470

BOOK II. 157-158

a great city in Syria, and besieged it till he took
it. Azotus held out against a siege longer than any
city of which I have heard.

158. Psammetichus had a son Necos, who became
king of Egypt. It was he who began the making
of the canal into the Red Sea,! which was finished
by Darius the Persian. This is four days’ voyage in
length, and it was dug wide enough for two triremes
to move in it rowed abreast. It is fed by the Nile,
and is carried from a little above Bubastis by the
Arabian town of Patumus; it issues into the Red Sea.
The beginning of the digging was in the part of the
Egyptian plain which is nearest to Arabia; the moun-
tains that extend to Memphis (in which mountains are
the stone quarries) come close to this plain ; the canal
is led along the lower slope of these mountains in a
long reach from west to east; passing then into a
ravine it bears southward out of the hill country
towards the Arabian Gulf. Now the shortest and
most direct passage from the northern to the south-
ern or Red Sea is from the Casian promontory, which
is the boundary between Egypt and Syria, to the
Arabian Gulf, and this is a distance of one thousand
furlongs, neither more nor less; this is the most
direct way, but the canal is by much longer, inasmuch
as it is more crooked. In Necos’ reign a hundred
and twenty thousand Egyptians perished in the dig-
ging of it. During the course of excavations, Necos
ceased from the work, being stayed by a prophetic

1 This canal ran from near Tel Basta (Bubastis) apparently
to Suez. Inscriptions recording Darius’ construction of it
have been found in the neighbourhood,

471

HERODOTUS

TO βαρβάρῳ αὐτὸν προεργάζεσθαι. βαρβάρους
δὲ πάντας οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι τοὺς μὴ σφίσι
ὁμογλώσσους.

159. Παυσάμενος δὲ τῆς “διώρυχος 0 Νεκῶς
ἐτράπετο πρὸς στρατηίας, καὶ τριήρεες αἱ μὲν ἐπὶ
τῇ Bopnin θαλάσσῃ ἐποιήθησαν, at 8 év TO
᾿Αραβίῳ κόλπῳ ἐπὶ τῇ ᾿Ερυθρῇ θαλάσσῃ, τῶν ἔτι
οἱ ὁλκοὶ ἐπίδηλοι. καὶ ταύτῃσί τε ἐχρᾶτο ἐν τῷ
δέοντι καὶ Σύροισι πεζῇ ὁ Νεκῶς συμβαλὼν ἐν
Μαγδώλῳ ἐνίκησε, μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην ΙΚάδυτιν
πόλιν τῆς Συρίης ἐοῦσαν μεγάλην εἷλε. ἐν τῇ δὲ
ἐσθῆτι ἔτυχε ταῦτα κατεργασάμενος, ἀνέθηκε τῷ
"Ar όλλωνι πέμψας ἐς Βραγχίδας τὰς Μιλησίων.
μετὰ δέ, ἑκκαίδεκα ἔτεα τὰ πάντα ἄρξας, τελευτῶ,
τῷ παιδὶ Ψάμμι παραδοὺς τὴν ἀρχήν.

100. Ἐπὶ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Ψάμμιν βασιλεύοντα
Αἰγύπτου ἀπίκοντο ᾿Ηλείων ἄγγελοι, αὐχέοντες
δικαιότατα καὶ κάλλιστα τιθέναι τὸν ἐν ᾿Ολυμπίη
ἀγῶνα πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ δοκέοντες παρὰ
ταῦτα οὐδ᾽ ἂν τοὺς σοφωτάτους ἀνθρώπων Αἰγυ-
πτίους οὐδὲν ἐπεξευρεῖν' ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενοι ἐς τὴν
Αἴγυπτον οἱ ᾿Ηλεῖοι ἔλεγον τῶν εἵνεκα ἀπίκοντο,
ἐνθαῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος συγκαλέεται Αἰγυπτίων
τοὺς λεγομένους εἶναι σοφωτάτους. συνελθόντες
δὲ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐπυνθάνοντο τῶν ᾿Ηλείων λεγόν-
των ἅπαντα τὰ κατήκει σφέας ποιέειν περὶ τὸν
ἀγῶνα: ἀπηγησάμενοι δὲ τὰ πάντα ἔφασαν ἥκειν
ἐπιμαθησόμενοι εἴ τι ἔχοιεν Αἰγύπτιοι τούτων
δικαιότερον ἐπεξευρεῖν. οἱ δὲ βουλευσάμενοι
ἐπειρώτων τοὺς ᾿Ηλείους εἴ σφι οἱ πολιῆται ἐνα-
γωνίζονται. οἱ δὲ ἔφασαν καὶ σφέων καὶ τῶν
ἄλλων ᾿λλήνων ὁμοίως τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐξεῖναι

412

BOOK II. 158-160

utterance that he was toiling beiorehand for the
barbarian. The Egyptians call all men of other
languages barbarians.

159, Necos then ceased from making the canal
and engaged rather in warlike preparation ; some of
his ships of war were built on the northern sea, and
some in the Arabian Gulf, by the Red Sea coast: the
landing-engines of these are still to be seen. He
used nese. ships at need, and with his land army
met and defeated the Syrians at Magdolus,! taking
the great Syrian city of Cadytis 3 after tie hacric!
He sent to Branchidae of Miletus and dedicated
there to Apollo the garments in which he won these
victories. Presently he died after a reign of sixteen
years, and his son Psammis reigned in his stead.

100. While this Psammis was king of Egypt he was
visited by ambassadors from Elis, the Eleans boast-
ing that they had ordered the Olympic games with
ἘΠ the justice and fairness in the world, Bad claim-
ing that even the Egyptians, albeit the wisest of all
men, could not better it. W fen the EKleans came to
Egypt and told the purpose of their coming, Psammis
summoned an assembly of those who were said to
be the wisest men in Egy pt. These assembled, and
inquired of the Eleans, who told them of the rules
of the games which they must obey, and, having de-
clared Thies said they had come ἐπε, if the
Egvptians could invent any juster way they might
learn this too. The Egyptians consulted together,
and then asked the Eleans if their own townsmen
took part in the contests. The Eleans answered
that this was so: all Greeks from Elis or elsewhere

1 Magdolus appears to be the Migdol of O.T.
2 Gaza.

473

HERODOTUS

ἀγωνίξεσθαι. i δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι ἔφασαν σφέας
οὕτω τιθέντας π παντὸς τοῦ δικαίου ἡμαρτηκέναι:
οὐδεμίαν γὰρ εἶναι μηχανὴν ὅκως οὐ τῷ ἀστῷ
ἀγωνιζομένῳ προσθήσονται, ἀδικέοντες τὸν ξεῖνον.
ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δὴ βούλονται δικαίως τιθέναι καὶ τούτου
εἵνεκα ἀπικοίατο ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ξείνοισι ἀγωνι-
στῇσι ἐκέλευον τὸν ἀγῶνα τιθέναι, ᾿Ηλείων δὲ
μηδενὶ εἶναι ἀγωνίζεσθαι. ταῦτα μὲν Αἰγύπτιοι
᾿Ηλείοισι ὑπεθήκαντο.

161. Ψώμμιος δὲ ἕξ ἔτεα μοῦνον βασιλεύσαντος
Αἰγύπτου καὶ στρατευσαμένου ἐς Αἰθιοπίην καὶ
μεταυτίκα τελευτήσαντος ἐξεδέξατο ᾿Απρίης ὁ
Ψάμμιος" ὃς μετὰ Ψαμμήτιχον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ προ-
πάτορα ἐγένετο, εὐδαιμονέστατος τῶν πρότερον
βασιλέων, ἐπ᾽ ἔτεα πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ἄρξας, ἐν
τοῖσι ἐπί τε Σιδῶνα στρατὸν ἤλασε καὶ ἐναυ-
μάχησε τῴ Τυρίῳ. ἐπεὶ δέ οἱ ἔδεε κακῶς γενέσθαι,
ἐγίνετο ἀπὸ προφάσιος τὴν ἐγὼ μεζόνως μὲν ἐν
τοῖσι Λιβυκοῖσι λόγοισι ἀπηγήσομαι, μετρίως δ᾽
ἐν τῷ παρεόντι. ἀποπέμψας γὰρ στράτευμα ὁ
᾿Απρίης ἐπὶ Κυρηναίους μεγαλωστὶ προσέπταισε,
Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ταῦτα ἐπιμεμφόμενοι ἀπέστησαν
ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, δοκέοντες τὸν ᾿Απρίην ἐκ προνοίης
αὐτοὺς ἀποπέμψαι ἐς φαινόμενον κακόν, ἵνα δὴ
σφέων φθορὴ γένηται, αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν
Αἰγυπτίων ἀσφαλέστερον ἄρχοι. ταῦτα δὲ δεινὰ
ποιεύμενοι οὗτοί τε οἱ ,ἀπονοστήσαντες καὶ οἱ τῶν
ἀπολομένων φίλοι ἀπέστησαν ἐκ τῆς ἰθέης.

162. Πυθόμενος δὲ ᾿Απρίης ταῦτα πέμπει ἐπ᾽
αὐτοὺς "Αμασιν καταπαύσοντα λόγοισι. ὃ δὲ
ἐπείτε ἀπικόμενος κατελάμβανε τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους

474

BOOK II. 160-162

might contend. Then the Egyptians said that this
rule was wholly wide of justice: “ For,” said they,
“it cannot be but that you will favour your own
townsmen in the contest and deal unfairly by a
stranger. Nay, if you will indeed make just rules
and have therefore come to Egypt, you should admit
only strangers to the contest, and not Eleans.”
Such was the counsel of the Egyptians to the
Eleans.

161. Psammis reigned over Egypt for six years
only ; he invaded Ethiopia, and immediately there-
after died, and Apries! his son reigned in his stead.
He was more fortunate than any former king (save
only his great-grandfather Psammetichus) during his
rule of twenty-five years, in which he sent an army
against Sidon and did battle by sea with the king of
Tyre. But when it was fated that ill should befail
him, the cause of it was one that I will now deal
with briefly, and at greater length in the Libyan
part of this history. Apries sent a great host against
Cyrene and suffered a great defeat. The Egyptians
blamed him for this and rebelled against him; for
they thought that Apries had knowingly sent his
men to their doom, that by their so perishing he
might be the safer in his rule over the rest of the
Egyptians. Bitterly angered by this, those who re-
turned home and the friends of the slain openly
revolted.

162. Hearing of this, Apries sent Amasis to them
to persuade them from their purpose. When Amasis
came up with the Egyptians he exhorted them to

1 Apries is the Hophra of O.T.: he reigned from 589 to
570 B.c., apparently. But the statement that he attacked
Tyre and Sidon is inconsistent with Jewish history (Jerem.
XXvil., Mzek. xvil.).

475

HERODOTUS

ταῦτα μὴ ποιέειν, λέγοντος αὐτοῦ τῶν τις AI-
γυπτίων ὄπισθε στὰς περιέθηκέ οἱ κυνέην, καὶ
περιτιθεὶς ἔφη ἐπὶ Bacirnin περιτιθέναι. καὶ τῷ
οὔ κως ἀεκούσιον ἐγίνετο τὸ ποιεύμενον, ὡς διε-
δείκνυε. ἐπείτε γὰρ ἐστήσαντό μιν βασιλέα τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων οἱ ἀπεστεῶτες, παρεσκευάζετο ὡς ἐλῶν
ἐπὶ τὸν ᾿Απρίην. πυθόμενος δὲ ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Απρίης
ἔπεμπε ἐπ᾿ ἴΑμασιν ἄνδρα δόκιμον τῶν περὶ
ἑωυτὸν Αἰγυπτίων, τῷ οὔνομα ἣν Πατάρβημις,
ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ ζῶντα "A pact ἀγαγεῖν παρ᾽
ἑωυτόν. ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενος τὸν "Ἄμασιν ἐκάλεε ὁ
Πατάρβημις, ὁ Ἄμασις, ἔτυχε γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἵππου
κατήμενος, ἐπαείρας ἀπεματάισε, καὶ τοῦτό μιν
ἐκέλευε ᾿Απρίῃ ἀπάγειν. ὅμως δὲ αὐτὸν ἀξιοῦν
τὸν Πατάρβημιν βασιλέος μεταπεμπομένου ἰέναι
πρὸς αὐτόν: τὸν δὲ αὐτῷ ὑποκρίνεσθαι ὡς ταῦτα
πάλαι παρεσκευάζετο ποιέειν, καὶ αὐτῷ οὐ μέμ-
ψεσθαι ᾿Απρίην' παρέσεσθαι γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ
ἄλλους ἄξειν. τὸν δὲ Πατάρβημιν ἔκ τε τῶν
λεγομένων οὐκ ἀγνοέειν τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ παρα-
σκευαζόμενον ὁρῶντα σπουδῇ ἀπιέναι, βουλόμενον
τὴν ταχίστην βασιλέι δηλῶσαι τὰ πρησσόμενα.
ὡς δὲ ἀπικέσθαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν ᾿Απρίην οὐκ
ἄγοντα τὸν ἴΑμασιν, οὐδένα λόγον αὐτῷ δόντα
ἀλλὰ περιθύμως ἔχοντα περιταμεῖν προστάξαι
αὐτοῦ τά τε ὦτα καὶ τὴν ῥῖνα. ἰδόμενοι δ᾽ οἱ
λοιποὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, οἱ ἔτι τὰ ἐκείνου ἐφρόνεον,
ἄνδρα τὸν δοκιμώτατον ἑωυτῶν οὕτω αἰσχρῶς
λύμῃ διακείμενον, οὐδένα δὴ χρόνον ἐπισχόντες
ἀπιστέατο πρὸς τοὺς ἑτέρους καὶ ἐδίδοσαν σφέας
αὐτοὺς ᾿Αμάσι.

163. Πυθόμενος δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Απρίης ὥπλιξε

416

BOOK II. 162-163

desist from what they did; but while he spoke an
Egyptian came behind him and put a helmet on his
head, saying it was the token of royalty. And Amasis
showed that this was not displeasing to him, for being
made king by the rebel Egyptians he prepared to
march against Apries. When Apries heard of it, he
sent against Amasis an esteemed Egyptian named
Patarbemis, one of his own court, charging him to
take the rebel alive and bring him into his presence.
Patarbemis came, and summoned Amasis, who lifted
his leg with an unseemly gesture (being then on
horseback) and bade the messenger take that token
back to Apries. But when Patarbemis was never-
theless instant that Amasis should obey the king’s
summons and go to him—such is the story—Amasis
answered that he had long been making ready to do
this, and Apries should be well satisfied with him: “For
I will come myself,’ quoth he, “and bring others with
me.” Hearing this, Patarbemis could not mistake
Amasis’ purpose; he saw his preparations and made
haste to depart, that he might with all speed make
known to the king what was «foot. When Apries saw
him return without Amasis he gave him no chance
to speak, but in his rage and fury bade cut off Patar-
bemis’ ears and nose. The rest of the Egyptians,
who still favoured his cause, seeing the foul despite
thus done to the man who was most esteemed among
them, changed sides without more ado and delivered

themselves over to Amasis.
163. This news too being brought to Apries, he
477

HERODOTUS

τοὺς ἐπικούρους Kal ἤλαυνε ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους"
εἶχε δὲ περὶ ἑωυτὸν Kapas τε καὶ Ἴωνας ἄνδρας
ἐπικούρους τρισμυρίους" ἣν δέ οἱ τὰ βασιλήια ἐν
Nae πόλι, μεγάλα ἐόντα καὶ ἀξιοθέητα. καὶ οἵ τε
περὶ τὸν ᾿Απρίην ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἤισαν καὶ
οἱ περὶ τὸν Δμασιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ξείνους" ἔν τε δὴ
Μωμέμφι πόλι ἐγένοντο ἀμφότεροι καὶ πειρή-
σεσθαι ἔμελλον ἀλλήλων.

164. Ἔστι δὲ Αἰγυπτίων ἑπτὰ γένεα, καὶ
τούτων οἱ μὲν ἱρέες οἱ δὲ μάχιμοι κεκλέαται, οἱ
δὲ βούκολοι οἱ δὲ συβῶται, οἱ δὲ κάπηλοι, οἱ δὲ
ἑρμήνεες, οἱ δὲ κυβερνήται. γένεα μὲν Αἰγυ-
πτίων τοσαῦτα ἐστί, οὐνόματα δέ σφι κέεται ἀπὸ
τῶν τεχνέων. οἱ δὲ μάχιμοι αὐτῶν καλέονται μὲν
Καλασίριές τε καὶ ᾿Ιὑἱρμοτύβιες, ἐκ νομῶν δὲ
τῶνδε εἰσί: κατὰ γὰρ δὴ νομοὺς Αἴγυπτος ἅπασα
διαραίρηται.

165. “Ἑρμοτυβίων μὲν οἵδε εἰσὶ νομοί, Βουσι-
ρίτης, Σαΐτης, Χεμμίτης, Παπρημίτης, νῆσος ἡ
Προσωπῖτις καλεομένη, Ναθῶ τὸ ἥμισυ. ἐκ μὲν
τούτων τῶν νομῶν “Ἑρμοτύβιες εἰσί, γενόμενοι,
ὅτε ἐπὶ πλείστους ἐγένοντο, ἑκκαίδεκα μυριάδες.
καὶ τούτων βαναυσίης οὐδεὶς δεδάηκε οὐδέν, ἀλλ᾽
ἀνέωνται ἐς τὸ μάχιμον.

166. Καλασιρίων δὲ οἵδε ἄλλοι νομοί εἰσι,
Θηβαῖος, Βουβαστίτης, ᾿Αφθίτης, Tavitns, Μεν-
δήσιος, Σεβεννύτης, ᾿Αθριβίτης, Φαρβαϊιθίτης,
Θμουΐτης, ᾿ΟΟὈΥνουφίτης, ᾿Ανύτιος, Μνυεκφορίτης"
οὗτος ὁ νομὸς ἐν νήσῳ οἰκέει ἀντίον Βουβάστιος
πόλιος; οὗτοι δὲ οἱ νομοὶ Καλασιρίων εἰσί, γε-
νόμενοι, ὅτε ἐπὶ πλείστους ἐγένοντο, πέντε καὶ
εἴκοσι μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν. οὐδὲ τούτοισι ἔξεστι

478

BOOK II. 163-166

armed his guard and marched against the Egyptians ;
he had a bodyguard of Carians and Ionians, thirty
thousand of them, and his royal dwelling was in the
city of Sais, a great and marvellous palace. Apries’
men marched against the Egyptians, and so did
Amasis’ men against the strangers; so they came
both to Momemphis, where it was their purpose to
prove each other's quality.

164. The Egyptians are divided into seven classes,
severally entitled priests, warriors, cowherds, swine-
herds, hucksters, interpreters, and pilots. So many
classes there are, each named after its vocation. The
warriors are divided into Kalasiries and Hermotubies,
and they belong to the following provinces (for all
divisions in Egypt are made according to provinces).

165. The Hermotubies are of the provinces of
Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, and Papremis, the island
called Prosopitis, and half of Natho—all of these;
their number, at its greatest, attained to a hundred
and sixty thousand. None of these has learnt any
common trade; they are free to follow arms alone.

166. The Kalasiries for their part are of the
provinces of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis,
Mendes, Sebennys, Athribis, Pharbaithis, Thmuis,
Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris (this last is in an island
over against the city of Bubastis)—all these; their
number, at its greatest, attained to two hundred
and fifty thousand men. These too may practise

479

HERODOTUS

τέχνην ἐπασκῆσαι οὐδεμίαν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐς πόλεμον
ἐπασκέουσι μοῦνα, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεκόμενος.

167. Ei μέν νυν καὶ τοῦτο παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων
μεμαθήκασι οἱ “EXAnveEs, οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως κρῖναι,
ὁρέων καὶ Θρήικας καὶ Σκύθας καὶ Ἰ]έρσας καὶ
Λυδοὺς καὶ σχεδὸν πάντας τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀπο-
τιμοτέρους τῶν ἄλλων ἡγημένους πολιητέων. τοὺς
τὰς τέχνας μανθάνοντας καὶ τοὺς ἐκγόνους τούτων,
τοὺς δὲ ἀπαλλαγμένους τῶν ,χειρωναξιέων. γεν-
ναίους νομιζομένους εἶναι, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς ἐς
τὸν πόλεμον ἀνειμένους" μεμαθήκασι δ᾽ ὧν τοῦτο
πάντες οἱ “EXAnves καὶ μάλιστα Λακεδαιμόνιοι.
ἥκιστα δὲ Κορίνθιοι ὄνονται τοὺς χειροτέχνας.

168. Tepea δέ σφι ἣν τάδε ἐξαραιρημένα μού-
votot Αἰγυπτίων “πάρεξ τῶν ἱρέων, ἄρουραι ἐξαί-
peTou δυώδεκα ἑκάστῳ ἀτελέες. "ἢ δὲ ἄρουρα
ἑκατὸν πηχέων ἐστὶ Αἰγυπτίων πάντῃ, ὁ δὲ Al-
γύπτιος “πῆχυς τυγχάνει ἴσος ἐὼν τῷ Σαμίῳ.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τοῖσι ἅπασι ἣν ἐξαραιρημένα, τάδε
δὲ ἐν περιτροπῇ ἐκαρποῦντο καὶ οὐδαμὰ @UTOL.
Καλασιρίων χίλιοι. καὶ Ἑρμοτυβίων ἐδορυφόρεον
ἐνιαυτὸν ἕκαστοι τὸν βασιλέα' τούτοισι ὧν τάδε
πάρεξ τῶν ἀρουρέων ἄλλα ἐδίδοτο ἐπ᾽ ἡμέρῃ
ἑκάστῃ, ὀπτοῦ σίτου σταθμὸς πέντε μνέαι ἑκάστῳ,
κρεῶν βοέων δύο μνέαι, οἴνου τέσσερες ἀρυστῆρες.
ταῦτα τοῖσι αἰεὶ δορυφορέουσι ἐδίδοτο.

109. ᾿Επείτε δὲ συνιόντες ὅ τε ᾿Απρίης ἄγων
τοὺς ἐπικούρους καὶ ὁ Ἄμασις πάντας Αἰγυπτίους
ἀπίκοντο ἐς Μώμεμφιν πόλιν, συνέβαλον" καὶ ἐμα-
χέσαντο μὲν εὖ οἱ ξεῖνοι, πλήθεϊ δὲ πολλῷ ἐλώσ-
σονες ἐόντες κατὰ τοῦτο ἑσσώθησαν. ᾿Απρίεω δὲ

480

BOOK II. 166-169

no trade but only war, which is their hereditary
calling.

167. Now whether this separation, like other
customs, has come to Greece from Egypt, I cannot
exactly judge. I know that in Thrace and Scythia
and Persia and Lydia and nearly all foreign countries
those who learn trades and their descendants are
held in less esteem than the rest of the people, and
those who have nothing to do with artisans’ work,
especially men who are free to practise the art of
war, are highly honoured. Thus much is certain, that
this opinion, which is held by all Greeks and chiefly
by the Lacedaemonians, is of foreign origin. It is in
Corinth that artisans are held in least contempt.

168. The warriors were the only Egyptians, except
the priests, who had special privileges: for each of
them there was set apart an untaxed plot of twelve
acres. This acre is a square of a hundred Egyptian
cubits each «ay, the Egyptian cubit being equal to
the Samia:. These lands were set apart for all;
it was never the same men whocultivated them, but
each in turn.! A thousand Kalasiries and as many
Hermotubies were the king’s annual bodyguard.
These men, besides their lands, received each a daily
provision of five minae’s weight of roast grain, two
minae of beef, and four cups of wine. These were
the gifts received by each bodyguard.

169. When Apries with his guards and Amasis
with the whole force of Egyptians came to the town
of Momemphis, they joined battle; and though the
foreigners fought well, they were by much the fewer,
and therefore were worsted. Apries, they say,

1 That is, each twelve-acre plot was cultivated by a new
occupier every year.

481

HERODOTUS

λέγεται εἶναι ἥδε διάνοια, μηδ᾽ ἂν θεόν μιν μηδένα
δύνασθαι παῦσαι τῆς βασιληίης" οὕτω ἀσφαλέως
ἑωυτῷ ἱδρῦσθαι ἐδόκεε. καὶ δὴ τότε συμβαλὼν
ἑσσώθη καὶ ζωγρηθεὶς ἀπήχθη ἐς Σάιν πόλιν, ἐς
τὰ ἑωυτοῦ οἰκία πρότερον ἐόντα, τότε δὲ ᾿Αμάσιος
ἤδη βασιλήια. ἐνθαῦτα δὲ τέως μὲν ἐτρέφετο ἐν
τοῖσι βασιληίοισι, καί μιν "Ἄμασις εὖ περιεῖπε"
τέλος δὲ μεμφομένων Αἰγυπτίων ὡς οὐ ποιέοι
δίκαια τρέφων τὸν σφίσι τε καὶ ἑωυτῷ ἔχθιστον,
οὕτω δὴ παραδιδοῖ τὸν ᾿Απρίην τοῖσι Δ γυπτίοισι.
οἱ δέ μιν ἀπέπνιξαν καὶ ἔπειτα ἔθαψαν ἐν τῆσι
πατρωίῃσι ταφῇσι: al δὲ εἰσὶ ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τῆς ᾿Αθη-
ναίης, ἀγχοτάτω τοῦ μεγάρου, ἐσιόντι ἀριστερῆς
χειρός. ἔθαψαν δὲ Σαῖται πάντας τοὺς ἐκ νομοῦ
τούτου γενομένους βασιλέας ἐ ἔσω ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ. καὶ
γὰρ τὸ τοῦ ᾿Αμάσιος σῆμα ἑκαστέρω μὲν ἐστὶ τοῦ
μεγάρου ἢ τὸ τοῦ ᾿Απρίεω καὶ τῶν ττύτου προ-
πατόρων, ἔστι μέντοι καὶ τοῦτο ἐν Th αὐλῇ τοῦ
ἱροῦ, παστὰς λιθίνη μεγάλη καὶ ἠσκημένη στύ-
λοισί τε φοίνικας τὰ δένδρεα μεμιμημένοισι καὶ
τῇ ἄλλῃ δαπάνῃ" ἔσω δὲ ἐν τῇ παστάδι διξὰ
θυρώματα ἕστηκε, ἐν δὲ τοῖσι θυρώμασι ἡ θήκη
ἐστί.

τῆ. σὺ τδὲν καὶ πὶ ταφαὶ τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον
ποιεῦμαι ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ π πρήγματι ἐξαγορεύειν τὸ
οὔνομα ἐν Σάι, ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης, ὄπισθε
τοῦ νηοῦ, παντὸς τοῦ τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης ἐχόμεναι
τοίχου. καὶ ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ ὀβελοὺ ἑ ἑστᾶσι μεγάλοι
λίθινοι, λίμνη τε ἐστὶ ἐχομένη λιθίνῃ κρηπῖδι
κεκοσμημένη καὶ ἐργασμένη εὖ κύκλῳ καὶ
μέγαθος, ὡς ἐμοὶ ἐδόκεε, ὅση περ ἡ ἐν Δήλῳ ἡ
τροχοειδὴς καλεομένη.

482

BOOK IL. 169-170

supposed that not even a god could depose him from
his throne ; so firmly he thought he was established ;
and now being worsted in battle and taken captive
he was brought to Sais, to the royal dwelling which
belonged once to him but now to Amasis. There
he was sustained for a while in the palace, and well
entreated by Amasis. But presently the Egyptians
complained that there was no justice in allowing one
who was their own and their king’s bitterest enemy
to live; whereupon Amasis gave Apries up to them,
and they strangled him and then buried him in the
burial-place of his fathers. ‘This is in the temple of
Athene, very near to the sanctuary, on the left of the
entrance. The people of Sais buried within the
temple precinct all kings who were natives of their
province. The tomb of Amasis is farther from the
sanctuary than the tomb of Apries and his ancestors ;
yet it also is within the temple court; it is a great
colonnade of stone, richly adorned, the pillars whereof
are wrought in the form of palm trees. In this
colonnade are two portals, and the place where the
coffin lies is within their doors.

170. There is also at Sais the burial-place of him
whose name 1 deem it forbidden to utter in speaking
of such a matter; it is in the temple of Athene,
behind and close to the whole length of the wall of
the shrine. Moreover great stone obelisks stand in
the precinct; and there is a lake hard by, adorned
with a stone margin and wrought to a complete
circle; it is, as it seemed to me, of the bigness of the
lake at Delos which they call the Round Pond.

483

HERODOTUS

171. "Ev δὲ τῇ λίμνῃ ταύτῃ τὰ δείκηλα τῶν
παθέων αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς ποιεῦσι, τὰ καλέουσι μυστή-
pia Αἰγύπτιοι. περὶ μέν νυν τούτων εἰδότε -μοι
ἐπὶ πλέον ὡς ἕκαστα αὐτῶν ἔχει, εὔστομα κείσθω.
καὶ τῆς Δήμητρος τελετῆς πέρι, τὴν οἱ “EAXANVES
θεσμοφόρια καλέουσι, καὶ ταύτης μοι πέρι εὔστομα
κείσθω, πλὴν ὅσον αὐτῆς ὁσίη ἐστὶ λέγειν" αἱ
Δαναοῦ θυγατέρες ἦσαν αἱ τὴν τελετὴν ταύτην
ἐξ Αὐγύπτου ἐξαγαγοῦσαι καὶ διδάξασαι τὰς
Πελασγιώτιδας γυναῖκας" μετὰ δὲ ἐξαναστάσης
πάσης [Πελοποννήσου ὑπὸ Δωριέων ἐξαπώλετο
ἡ τελετή, οἱ δὲ ὑπολειφθέντες Πελοποννησίων καὶ
οὐκ ἐξαναστάντες ᾿Αρκάδες διέσωξον αὐτὴν μοῦνοι.

172. ᾿Απρίεω δὲ ὧδε καταραιρημένου ἐβασί-
λευσεῥδιμασις, νομοῦ μὲν Σαΐτεω ἐών, ἐκ τῆς δὲ
ἣν πόλιος, οὔνομά οἱ ἐστὶ Σιούφ. τὰ μὲν δὴ
πρῶτα κατώνοντο τὸν Δμασιν Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἐν
οὐδεμιῇ μοίρῃ μεγάλῃ ἦγον ἅτε δὴ δημότην τὸ
πρὶν ἐόντα καὶ οἰκίης οὐκ ἐπιφανέος" μετὰ δὲ
σοφίῃ αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἄμασις, οὐκ ἀγνωμοσύνῃ
προσηγάγετο. ἣν οἱ ἄλλα τε ἀγαθὰ μυρία,
ἐν δὲ καὶ ποδανιπτὴρ χρύσεος, ἐν τῷ αὐτός τε

"Apacis καὶ οἱ δαιτυμόνες οἱ πάντες τοὺς
disse ἑκάστοτε ἐναπενίζοντο' τοῦτον κατ᾽ ὧν
κόψας ἄγαλμα δαίμονος ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐποιήσατο,
καὶ ἵδρυσε τῆς πόλιος ὅκου ἦν ἐπιτηδεότατον'
οἱ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι φοιτέοντες πρὸς τὠγαλμα
ἐσέβοντο μεγάλως. μαθὼν δὲ ὁ ἴΑμασις τὸ ἐκ
τῶν ἀστῶν ποιεύμενον, συγκαλέσας Αἰγυπτίους
ἐξέφηνε φὰς ἐκ τοῦ ποδανιπτῆρος τὥγαλμα γεγο-

1 Stein brackets πάσης, as not consistent with the following
words.

484

BOOK II. 171-172

171. On this lake they enact by night the story
of the god’s sufferings, a rite which the Egyptians
call the Mysteries. I could speak more exactly of
these matters, for I know the truth, but I will hold
my peace ; nor will I say aught concerning that rite
of Demeter which the Greeks call Thesmophoria,1
saving such part of it as I am not forbidden to
mention. It was the daughters of Danaus who
brought this rite out of Egypt and taught it to the
Pelasgian women; afterwards, when the people of
Peloponnesus were driven out by the Dorians, it was
lost, except in so far as it was preserved by the
Arcadians alone, the Peloponnesian nation that was
not driven out but left in its home.

172. Apries being thus deposed, Amasis became
king ; he was of a town called Siuph in the province
of Sais. Now at first he was contemned and held in
but little regard by the Egyptians, as having been
but a common man and of no high family; but
presently he won them to him by being cunning and
not arrogant. He had among his countless treasures
a golden foot-bath, in which he and all those who
feasted with him were ever wont to wash their feet.
This he broke in pieces and made thereof a god’s
image, which he set in the most fitting place in the
city ; and the Egyptians came ever and anon to this
image and held it in great reverence. When Amasis
knew what the townsmen did, he called the
Egyptians together and told them that the image
had been made out of the foot-bath ; once (said he)

1 A festival celebrated by Athenian women in autumn.

485

HERODOTUS

vévat, és τὸν πρότερον μὲν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους é ἐνεμέειν
τε καὶ ἐνουρέειν καὶ πόδας ἐναπονίξεσθαι, τότε δὲ
μεγάλως σέβεσθαι. ἤδη ὧν ἔφη λέγων͵ ὁμοίως
αὐτὸς τῷ ποδανιπτῆρι πεπρηγέναι" εἰ γὰρ πρό-
τερον εἶναι δημότης, GAN ἐν τῷ παρεόντι εἶναι
αὐτῶν βασιλεύς: καὶ τιμᾶν τε καὶ προμηθέεσθαι
ἑωυτοῦ ἐκέλευε.

173. Τοιούτῳ μὲν τρόπῳ προσηγάγετο τοὺς
Αἰγυπτίους ὥστε δικαιοῦν δουλεύειν, ἐχρᾶτο δὲ
καταστάσι πρηγμάτων τοιῇδε: τὸ μὲν ὄρθριον
μέχρι ὅτευ πληθούσης ἀγορῆς προθύμως ἔπρησσε
τὰ προσφερόμενα πρήγματα, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου
ἔπινέ τε καὶ κατέσκωπτε τοὺς συμπότας καὶ ἣν
μάταιός τε καὶ παιγνιήμων. ἀχθεσθέντες δὲ τού-
τοισι οἱ φίλοι αὐτοῦ ἐνουθέτεον αὐτὸν τοιάδε
λέγοντες. “Ὦ βασιλεῦ, οὐκ ὀρθῶς σεωυτοῦ προ-
έστηκας, ἐς τὸ ἄγαν φαῦλον προάγων σεωυτόν.
σὲ γὰρ ἐχρῆν ἐν θρόνῳ σεμνῷ σεμνὸν θωκέοντα δι᾿
ἡμέρης πρήσσειν τὰ πρήγματα, καὶ οὕτω Αἰγύ-
πτιοί τ᾽ ἂν 7 ἠπιστέατο. ὡς ὑπ ᾿ἀνδρὸς μεγάλου ἃ ἄρχον-
ται, καὶ ἄμεινον σὺ ἂν ἤκουες" νῦν δὲ ποιέεις
οὐδαμῶς βασιλικά." ὃ δ᾽ ἀμείβετο τοῖσιδε αὐτούς.
ΤᾺ τόξα οἱ ἐκτημένοι, ἐπεὰν μὲν δέωνται χρᾶσθαι,
ἐντανύουσι" εἰ γὰρ δὴ τὸν πάντα χρόνον ἐντε-
ταμένα εἴη, ἐκραγείη ἄν, ὥστε ἐς τὸ δέον οὐκ ἂν
ἔχοιεν αὐτοῖσι χρᾶσθαι. οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἀνθρώπου
κατάστασις: εἰ ἐθέλοι κατεσπουδάσθαι αἰεὶ μηδὲ
ἐς παιγνίην τὸ μέρος ἑωυτὸν ἀνιέναι, λάθοι ἂν
ἤτοι μανεὶς ἢ ὅ γε ἀπόπληκτος γενόμενος" τὰ ἐγὼ
ἐπιστάμενος μέρος ἑκατέρῳ νέμω." ταῦτα μὲν τοὺς
φίλους ἀμείψατο.

114. Λέγεται δὲ ὁ ἴΑμασις, καὶ ὅτε ἦν ἰδιώτης,

486

BOOK If. 172-174

his subjects had washed their feet in it and put it
to yet viler uses ; now they greatly revered it. “So
πον (quoth he to them) “it has fared with me as
with the foot-bath ; once I was a common man, now
I am your king; it is your duty to honour me and
hold me in regard.”

173. In this manner he won the Egyptians to
consent to be his slaves ; and this is how he ordered
his affairs: in the morning, till the filling of the
market place, he wrought zealously at such business
as came before him; the rest of the day he spent in
drinking and jesting with his boon companions in
idle and sportive mood. But this displeased his
friends, who thus admonished him: “O King, you
are ill guided so to demean yourseif. We would have
you sit aloft on a throne of pride all day doing your
business ; thus would the Egyptians know that they
have a great man for their ruler, and you would have
the better name among them; but now your be-
haviour is nowise royal.” “ Nay,’ Amasis answered
them, “men that have bows bend them at need
only ; were bows kept for ever bent they would
break, and so would be of no avail when they were
needed. Such too is the nature of men. Were they
to be ever at serious work nor permit themselves a
fair share of sport they would go mad or silly ere
they knew it; I am well aware of that, and give
each of the two its turn.” Such was his answer to
his friends.

174. It is said that before Amasis was a king he

487

HERODOTUS

e t 4 \ ΄ \ > A
ὡς φιλοπότης ἦν καὶ φιλοσκώμμων καὶ οὐδαμῶς
/ > / οἰ ΄ /
κατεσπουδασμένος ἀνήρ' ὅκως δέ μιν ἐπιλείποι
πίνοντά τε καὶ εὐπαθέοντα τὰ ἐπιτήδεα, κλέπτεσκε
ba Ω ΟΝ \
ἂν περιιών' ot δ᾽ av μιν φάμενοι ἔχειν τὰ σφέτερα
/ \
χρήματα ἀρνεύμενον ἄγεσκον ἐπὶ μαντήιον, ὅκου
΄ 7 "» \ \ \ AAU? ig \
ἑκάστοισι εἴη. πολλὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἡλίσκετο ὑπὸ
“ Ἃ \ \ \ ’ , ’ / \
τῶν μαντηίων, πολλὰ δὲ Kal ἀπέφευγε. ἐπείτε δὲ
/ /
καὶ ἐβασίλευσε, ἐποίησε τοιάδε' ὅσοι μὲν αὐτὸν
an n 7] \ lal “ ͵7
τῶν θεῶν ἀπέλυσαν μὴ φῶρα εἶναι, τούτων μὲν
ΝΥ CE , ’ / ” \
τῶν ἱρῶν οὔτε ἐπεμέλετο οὔτε ἐς ἐπισκευὴν ἐδίδου
> / > \ / ” id > \ ’ a“ ᾽ Ἂν
οὐδέν, οὐδὲ φοιτέων ἔθυε ὡς οὐδενὸς ἐοῦσι ἀξίοισι
΄
ψευδέα τε μαντήια ἐκτημένοισι" ὅσοι δέ μιν κατέ-
a ἊΨ, ΄ \ e ’ , lal
δησαν φῶρα εἶναι, τούτων δὲ ὡς ἀληθέων θεῶν
/ ,
ἐόντων καὶ ἀψευδέα μαντήια παρεχομένων τὰ
/
μάλιστα ἐπεμέλετο.
a Aa? ,ὔ
175. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐν Yar τῇ ᾿Αθηναίῃ προπύ-
: , ΄
λαια θωμάσια οἷα ἐξεποίησε, πολλὸν πάντας
ς NG A ef “ Ν an (0 πο" -“
ὑπερβαλόμενος τῷ τε ὕψεϊ καὶ τῷ μεγάθεϊ, ὅσων
/ \ \ ic / an nr
τε τὸ μέγαθος λίθων ἐστὶ καὶ OKOLWY τεῶν: τοῦτο
/
δὲ κολοσσοὺς μεγάλους Kal ἀνδρόσφιγγας περι-
/ > / / yy > > \
μήκεας ἀνέθηκε, λίθους TE ἄλλους ἐς ἐπισκευὴν
Ν Γ 0) ,
ὑπερφυέας TO μέγαθος ἐκόμισε. ἠγάγετο δὲ τού-
\ \ > A \ / ? /
των TOUS μὲν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Μέμφιν ἐουσέων λιθο-
/ \ \ ς / 2 ’ /
τομιέων, τοὺς δὲ ὑπερμεγάθεας ἐξ ᾿λεφαντίνης
, ’ . / > 7
πόλιος πλόον καὶ εἴκοσι ἡμερέων ἀπεχούσης ἀπὸ
/ μὴ \ > “ > lal > \ /
Datos. τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἥκιστα αὐτῶν ἀλλὰ μάλιστα
/ » 4 » Ld 3 / 3
θωμάζω, ἔστι τόδε: οἴκημα μουνόλιθον ἐκόμισε ἐξ
1.0 ,7ὕ Ud \ ἴω > , \ 3 >
EXehavtivns πόλιος, καὶ τοῦτο ἐκόμιζον μὲν ἐπ

488

BOOK II. 174-175

was a man nowise serious-minded but much given to
drinking and jesting; and when his drinking and
merrymaking brought him to penury, he would wander
around and steal from one and another. Then those
others, when he denied the charge that he had taken
their possessions, would bring him to whatever place
of divination was nearest them; and the oracles often
declared him guilty and often acquitted him. When
he became king, he took no care of the shrines of
the gods who had acquitted him of theft, nor gave
them aught for maintenance, nor made it his prac-
tice to sacrifice there, for he deemed them to be
worthless and their oracles to be false ; but he tended
with all care the gods who had declared his guilt,
holding them to be gods in very truth and their
oracles infallible.

175. Amasis made a marvellous outer court for
the temple of Athene ? at Sais, surpassing, in height
and grandeur, and in the size and splendour of the
stones, all who had erected such buildings; moreover,
he set up huge images and vast man-headed
sphinxes,? and brought enormous blocks of stone
besides for the building. Some of these he brought
from the stone quarries of Memphis; those of
greatest size came from the city Elephantine,? distant
twenty days’ journey by river from Sais. But let
me now tell of what I hold the most marvellous of
his works. He brought from Elephantine a shrine
made of one single block of stone; three years it

1 Apparently, Nit; also identified with Demeter (132,
note).

2 Visitors to Karnak will remember the double row of
sphinxes leading to the temple.

3 The island opposite Assuan; the Assuan quarries have
always been famous.

489

HERODOTUS

Μ) / [4 / e / »
ἔτεα τρία, δισχίλιοι δέ οἱ προσετετάχατο ἄνδρες
ἀγωγέες, καὶ οὗτοι ἅπαντες ἦσαν κυβερνῆται. τῆς
δὲ στέγης ταύτης τὸ μὲν μῆκος ἔξωθεν ἐστὶ εἷς τε
καὶ εἴκοσι πήχεες, εὗρος δὲ πεσσερεσκαίδεκα, ὕψος
δὲ ὀκτώ. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ μέτρα ἔξωθεν τῆς στέγης
a be \ NS a
τῆς μουνολίθου ἐστί, ἀτὰρ ἔσωθεν TO μῆκος ὀκτω-
, / Ax , Ν
καίδεκα πηχέων καὶ πυγόνος .. .,Ἷ τὸ δὲ ὕψος
Mi / ¢ Coy LS a Md
πέντε πηχέων ἐστί. αὕτη τοῦ ἱροῦ κέεται παρὰ
τὴν ἔσοδον' ἔσω γάρ μιν ἐς τὸ ἱρόν φασι τῶνδε
εἵνεκα οὐκ ἐσελκύσαι: τὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα αὐτῆς ἑλκο-
μένης τῆς στέγης ἀναστενάξαι, οἷά τε χρόνου
ἐγγεγονότος πολλοῦ καὶ ἀχθόμενον τῷ ἔργῳ, τὸν
δὲ ΓΑ μασιν ἐνθύμιον ποιησάμενον οὐκ ἐᾶν ἔτι προ-
f «ς / By \ \ / e ”
σωτέρω ἑλκύσαι. ἤδη δὲ τινὲς λέγουσι ὡς ἄνθρω-
΄, » n n /
mos διεφθάρη ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς τῶν τις αὐτὴν μοχλευόν-
των, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου οὐκ ἐσελκυσθῆναι.
’ a », a
176. ᾿Ανέθηκε δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἱροῖσι ὁ
a n / »
"Apacs πᾶσι τοῖσι ἐλλογίμοισι ἔργα τὸ μέγαθος
» , ? \ \ 2 he \ [2 /
ἀξιοθέητα, ἐν δὲ καὶ ἐν Μέμφι τὸν ὕπτιον κείμενον
\ ni¢ > nr
κολοσσὸν τοῦ Hdatoretov ἔμπροσθε, τοῦ πόδες
an \ a
πέντε Kal ἑβδομήκοντα εἰσὶ TO μῆκος: ἐπὶ δὲ TO
b] an , - nr a > “-“ “ιν ὔ ie
αὐτῷ βάθρῳ ἑστᾶσι τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐόντος λίθου δύο
κολοσσοί, εἴκοσι ποδῶν τὸ μέγαθος ἐὼν ἑκάτερος,
ἃ \ ” Δ Re SNe n ΄ » \
ὃ μὲν ἔνθεν ὃ δ᾽ ἔνθεν τοῦ μεγάλου. ἔστι δὲ
0 a ΄ , ἊΝ
λίθινος ἕτερος τοσοῦτος καὶ ἐν Yat, κείμενος κατὰ
\ , an a γ
τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ ἐν Μέμφι. τῇ “lou τε
ἈΕῚ / can vw > \ SD /
TO ἐν Μέμφι ἱρὸν Αμασις ἐστὶ ὁ ἐξοικοδομήσας,
ἐὸν μέγα τε καὶ ἀξιοθεητότατον.
177. Em’ ᾿Αμάσιος δὲ βασιλέος λέγεται Αἴγυ-
\ / a a
πτος μάλιστα δὴ τότε εὐδαιμονῆσαι Kal τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ

1 This lacuna is in one MS. filled by the words τὸ δὲ εὖρος
δυώδεκα πηχέων.

490

BOOK II. 175-177

was in the bringing, and two thousand men were
charged with the carriage of it, pilots all of them.
This chamber measures in outer length twenty-one
cubits, in breadth fourteen, in height eight. These
are the outer measurements of the chamber which is
made of one block; its inner length is of eighteen
cubits and four-fifths of a cubit, and its height of
five cubits. It lies by the entrance of the temple;
the reason why it was not dragged within into the
temple was (so they say), that while it was being
drawn the chief builder groaned aloud for the much
time spent and his weariness of the work, and
Amasis taking this to heart would not suffer it to
be drawn further. Some again say that a man, one
of them that heaved up the shrine, was crushed by
it, and therefore it was not dragged within.

176. Moreover Amasis dedicated, besides monu-
ments of marvellous size in all the other temples
of note, the huge image that lies supine before
Hephaestus’ temple at Memphis; this image is
seventy-five feet in length ; there stand on the same
base, on either side of the great image, two huge
statues hewn from the same block, each of them
twenty feet high. There is at Sais another stone
figure of like bigness, lying as lies the figure at
Memphis. It was Amasis, too, who built the great
and most marvellous temple of Isis at Memphis.

177. It is said that in the reign of Amasis Egypt
attained to its greatest prosperity, in respect of what

1.1 ἘΠ 491

HERODOTUS

ποταμοῦ TH χώρῃ γινόμενα καὶ TA ἀπὸ τῆς χώρης
τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι, καὶ πόλις ἐν αὐτῇ γενέσθαι τὰς
ἁπάσας τότε δισμυρίας τὰς οἰκεομένας. νόμον τε
Αἰγυπτίοισι τόνδε "Apacs ἐστὶ ὁ καταστήσας,
ἀποδεικνύναι ἔτεος ἑκάστου τῷ νομάρχῃ πάντα
τινὰ Αἰγυπτίων ὅθεν βιοῦται: μὴ δὲ ποιεῦντα
ταῦτα μηδὲ ἀποφαίνοντα δικαίην ζόην ἰθύνεσθαι
θανάτῳ. Σόλων δὲ ὁ ᾿Αθηναῖος λαβὼν ἐξ Αἰγύ-
πτου τοῦτον τὸν νόμον ᾿Αθηναίοισι ἔθετο τῷ
ἐκεῖνοι ἐς αἰεὶ χρέωνται ἐόντι ἀμώμῳ νόμῳ.

178. Φιλέλλην δὲ γενόμενος ὁ ΔΑμασις ἄλλα τε
ἐς “Ελλήνων μετεξετέρους ἀπεδέξατο, καὶ δὴ καὶ
τοῖσι ἀπικνευμένοισι ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἔδωκε Ναύκρα-
τιν πόλιν ἐνοικῆσαι' τοῖσι δὲ μὴ βουλομένοισι
αὐτῶν οἰκέειν, αὐτοῦ δὲ ναυτιλλομένοισι ἔδωκε
χώρους ἐνιδρύσασθαι βωμοὺς καὶ TEWEVER θεοῖσι.

τὸ μέν νυν “μέγιστον αὐτῶν τέμενος, καὶ ὀνομασ-
τότατον ἐὸν καὶ χρησιμώτατον, καλεύμενον δὲ
Ἑλλήνιον, αἵδε at πόλιες εἰσὶ αἱ ἱδρυμέναι κοινῇ,
ἸἸώνων μὲν Χίος καὶ Τέως καὶ Φώκαια καὶ Kralo-
μεναί, Δωριέων δὲ Ῥόδος καὶ Κνίδος καὶ ᾿Αλικαρ-
νησσὸς καὶ Φάσηλις, Αἰολέων δὲ ἡ Μυτιληναίων
μούνη. τουτέων μὲν ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ τέμενος, καὶ
προστάτας τοῦ ἐμπορίου αὗται αἱ πόλιες εἰσὶ
αἱ παρέχουσαι: ὅσαι δὲ ἄλλαι πόλιες μετα-
ποιεῦνται, οὐδέν σφι μετεὸν μεταποιεῦνται. χωρὶς
δὲ Αἰγινῆται ἐπὶ ἑωυτῶν ἱδρύσαντο τέμενος
Διός, καὶ ἄλλο Σάμιοι Ἥρης καὶ Μιλήσιοι ᾿Απόλ-
λωνος.

179. Ἦν δὲ τὸ παλαιὸν μούνη Ναύκρατις ἐμ-
πόριον καὶ ἄλλο οὐδὲν Αἰγύπτου" εἰ δέ τις ἐς τῶν
τι ἄλλο στομάτων τοῦ Νείλου ἀπίκοιτο, χρῆν

492

BOOK II. 177-179

the river did for the land and the land for its people :
and that the whole sum of inhabited cities in the
country was twenty thousand. It was Amasis also
who made the law that every Egyptian should yearly
declare his means of livelihood to the ruler of his
province, and, failing so to do or to prove that he had
a just way of life, be punished with death. Solon
the Athenian got this law from Egypt and established
it among his people ; may they ever keep it! for it is
a perfect law.

178. Amasis became a lover of the Greeks, and
besides other services which he did to some of them
he gave those who came to Egypt the city of
Naucratis to dwell in, and to those who voyaged
to the country without desire to settle there he gave
lands where they might set altars and make holy
places for their gods. Of these the greatest and
most famous and most visited precinct is that which
is called the Hellenion, founded jointly by the Ionian
cities of Chios, Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae, the
Dorian cities of Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, and
Phaselis, and one Aeolian city, Mytilene. It is to
these that the precinct belongs, and these are they
that appoint wardens of the port; if any others claim
rights therein they lay claim to that wherein they
have no part or lot. The Aeginetans made a precinct
of their own, sacred to Zeus; and so did the Samians
for Here and the Milesians for Apollo.

179. Naucratis was in old time the only trading
port in Egypt. Whosoever came to any other mouth
of the Nile must swear that he had not come of his

493

HERODOTUS

lel

ὀμόσαι μὴ μὲν ἑκόντα ἐλθεῖν, ἀπομόσαντα δὲ τῇ
νηὶ αὐτῇ πλέειν ἐς τὸ Κανωβικόν' uP εἰ μή γε οἷά
τε εἴη πρὸς ἀνέμους ἀντίους πλέειν, τὰ φορτία ἔδεε
περιάγειν ἐν βάρισι περὶ τὸ Δέλτα, μέχρι οὗ
ἀπίκοιτο ἐς Ναύκρατιν. οὕτω μὲν δὴ Ναύκρατις
ἐτετίμητο.

180. ᾿Αμφικτυόνων δὲ μισθωσάντων τὸν ἐν Δελ-
φοῖσι νῦν ἐόντα νηὸν τριηκοσίων ταλάντων ἐξεργά-
σασθαι (ὁ γὰρ πρότερον ἐὼν αὐτόθι αὐτόματος
κατεκάη), τοὺς Δελφοὺς δὴ ἐπέβαλλε τεταρτη-
μόριον τοῦ μισθώματος παρασχεῖν. πλανώμενοι
δὲ οἱ Δελφοὶ περὶ τὰς πόλις ἐδωτίναζον, ποιεῦντες
δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐλάχιστον ἐξ Αὐγύπτου ἠνείκαντο'
"Apacs μὲν γάρ σφι ἔδωκε χίλια στυπτηρίης
τάλαντα, οἱ δὲ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ οἰκέοντες “Ελληνες
εἴκοσι μνέας.

181. Κυρηναίοισι δὲ ΓἼἌΑμασις φιλότητά τε καὶ
συμμαχίην “συνεθήκατο, ἐδικαίωσε δὲ καὶ γῆμαι
αὐτόθεν, εἴτ᾽ ἐπιθυμήσας “Ἑλληνίδος γυναικὸς εἴτε
καὶ “ἄλλως φιλότητος Κυρηναίων. εἵνεκα" γαμέει
δὲ ὧν οἱ μὲν λέγουσι Βάττου οἱ δ᾽ ᾿Αρκεσίλεω
θυγατέρα, οἱ δὲ Κριτοβούλου ἀνδρὸς τῶν ἀστῶν
δοκίμου, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Λαδίκη:" τῇ ἐπείτε συγκλί-
νοιτο ὁ "Ἄμασις, μίσγεσθαι οὐκ οἷός τε ἐγίνετο,
τῇσι δὲ ἄλλῃσι γυναιξὶ ἐ ἐχρᾶτο. ἐπείτε δὲ πολλὸν
τοῦτο ἐγίνετο, εἶπε ὁ Λμασις πρὸς τὴν Λαδίκην
ταύτην καλεομένην, ““Ὦ γύναι, κατά με ἐφάρμα Eas,

καὶ ἔστι τοι οὐδεμία μηχανὴ μὴ οὐκ ἀπολωλέναι
κάκιστα γυναικῶν πασέων." ἡ δὲ Λαδίκη, ἐπείτε
οἱ ἀρνευμένῃ οὐδὲν ἐγίνετο πρηὕὔὕτερος ὁ Λμασις,
εὔχεται ἐν τῷ νόῳ τῇ Αφροδίτῃ, ἤν οἱ ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνην

494

BOOK II. 179-181

own will, and having so sworn must then take his
ship and sail to the Canobic mouth; or, if he could
not sail against contrary winds, he must carry his
cargo in barges round the Delta till he came to
Naucratis. In such honour was Naucratis held.

180. When the Amphictyons had contracted for
three hundred talents the work of finishing the
temple that now stands at Delphi (that which was
formerly there having been burnt by pure mischance),
it fell to the Delphians to provide a fourth part of
the cost. They went about from city to city collect-
ing gifts, and in this business they got most from
Egypt; for Amasis gave them a thousand talents’
weight of astringent earth,! and the Greek dwellers
in Egypt twenty minae.

181. Amasis made friends and allies of the people
of Cyrene. Moreover he thought fit to take himself
a wife from thence ; whether it was that he desired
a Greek woman, or that he had other cause for
winning the friendship of Cyrene, I know not; but
he married one Ladice, said to be the daughter of
Battus by some, of Arcesilaus by others, and by
others again of Critobulus, an esteemed citizen of
the place. But it so fell out that Ladice was the
only woman with whom Amasis could not have inter-
course; and this continuing, Amasis said to this
Ladice, “ Woman, you have cast a spell on me, and
most assuredly you shall come to the most terrible
end of all women.” So, the king’s anger not abating
for all her denial, Ladice vowed in her heart to

2 Alum, apparently.
495

HERODOTUS

τὴν νύκτα μιχθῇ ὁ ἴΛμασις, τοῦτο γάρ οἱ κακοῦ
εἶναι μῆχος, ἄγαλμά οἱ ἀποπέμψειν ἐς Κυρήνην.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτίκα οἱ ἐμίχθη ὁ ὁ "A pacts.
Kal τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ἤδη, ὁκότε ἔλθοι ᾿ Αμασις πρὸς
αὐτήν, ἐμίσγετο, καὶ κάρτα μιν ἔστερξε μετὰ τοῦτο.
ἡ δὲ Λαδίκη ἀπέδωκε τὴν εὐχὴν τῇ θεῷ: ποιησα-
μένη γὰρ ἄγαλμα ἀπέπεμψε ἐς Κυρήνην, τὸ ἔτι
καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἣν σόον, ἔξω τετραμμένον τοῦ Κυρηναίων
ἄστεος. ταύτην τὴν Λαδίκην, ὡς ἐπεκράτησε Kap-
βύσης Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐπύθετο αὐτῆς ἥτις εἴη, ἀπέ-
πεμψε ἀσινέα ἐς Κυρήνην.

182. ᾿Ανέθηκε δὲ καὶ ἀναθήματα ὁ "Ἄμασις ἐς
τὴν “Ἑλλάδα, τοῦτο μὲν ἐς “Κυρήνην ἄγαλμα
ἐπίχρυσον ᾿Αθηναίης καὶ εἰκόνα ἑωυτοῦ γραφῇ
εἰκασμένην, τοῦτο δὲ τῇ ἐν Λίνδῳ ᾿Αθηναίῃ δύο τε
ἀγάλματα λίθινα καὶ θώρηκα λίνεον ἀξιοθέητον,
τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐς Σάμον Th Ἥρῃ εἰκόνας ἑωυτοῦ διφασίας
ξυλίνας, al ἐν τῷ νηῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ ἱδρύατο ἔ ἔτι καὶ
τὸ μέχρι ἐμεῦ, ὄπισθε τῶν θυρέων. ἐς μέν νυν Σάμον
ἀνέθηκε κατὰ ξεινίην τὴν ἑωυτοῦ τε καὶ “Πολυκρά-
teos τοῦ Αἰάκεος, ἐς δὲ Λίνδον ξεινίης μὲν οὐδεμιῆς
εἵνεκεν, ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἱρὸν τὸ ἐν Λίνδῳ τὸ τῆς ᾿Αθηναίης
λέγεται τὰς Δαναοῦ θυγατέρας ἱδρύσασθαι προσ-
σχούσας, ὅτε ἀπεδίδρησκον τοὺς Αὐγύπτου παῖδας.
ταῦτα μὲν ἀνέθηκε ὁ “Apaats, εἷλε δὲ Κύπρον
πρῶτος ἀνθρώπων καὶ κατεστρέψατο ἐς φόρου
ἀπαγωγήν.

496

BOOK II. 181-182

Aphrodite that she would send the goddess a statue
to Cyrene if Amasis had intercourse with her that
night; for that would remedy the evil; and there-
after all went well, and Amasis loved his wife much.
Ladice paid her vow to the goddess; she had an image
made and sent it to Cyrene, where it stood safe till
my time, facing outwards from the city. Cambyses,
when he had conquered Egypt and learnt who Ladice
was, sent her away to Cyrene unharmed.

182. Moreover Amasis dedicated offerings in
Hellas. He gave to Cyrene a gilt image of Athene
and a painted picture of himself, to Athene of Lindus
two stone images and a marvellous linen breast-plate,
and to Here in Samos two wooden statues of himself,
which stood yet in my time behind the dooys in the
great shrine. The offerings in Samos were dedicated
by reason of the friendship between Amasis and
Polycrates! son of Aeaces; what he gave to Lindus
was for no friendship with any man, but because it
is said that the temple of Athene in Lindus was
founded by the daughters of Danaus, when they
landed there in their flight from the sons of Egyptus.
Such were Amasis’ offerings. Moreover he was the
first conqueror of Cyprus, which he made tributary
to himself.

1 Polycrates’ rule began probably in 532 B.c. For the
friendship between him and Amasis, see iii. 39

497

᾿ ΠΑΝ oe

ΠΝ as

δῶν αὐ Ὁ.

τον
dares. Sis ech Gis GRAS
Prager Bs aiBelb fait ng ied καὶ

Wiha AYPR SSD, of oveg a {πὼς
ie IKE δὲ MiacHHHR6 IRAE bs ripe τ τνν
a aig Hele |

pil γ βτονμίξων bpd Waki
SMH est ἐν BaD bw) seh 1 GB
LP Gt δον ἢ ΠΡ 3 Ppa OY dat 4 (
δυονῶν thing Ἧ Ceram, “awe” Ge

᾿ “ ͵ 7 ea. a) wae (NASER sit Ἢ St
Mae ἫΝ rf ἀπ τὴ! ‘gay § fs pao tarts

’ mh a ΕΙΣ cae a Ὁ ih | ni
Thee Nal ig tht arr i 3 i
an . ὍΝ ὁ δὲ ἄν ἘΠ ae tae ta ἢ |
ἜΝ , a τὸ δι ae ae! πρὸ 4 ji ὮΝ ΜΝ
τῶν ΜΕ, oli ον anne τοῖς a |
eal tl | A ica “αἰ βατεαΥΡ ΨΉΤΟ = ἶ »"

sit pie se ai yldadoxgy uaged οἴ 4
— vee iether Besta nepw sod ida

ΡΣ

Lan mit
i i

mee

ἢ ne

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Abae, 1. 46

Abantes, i. 146

Abdera, i. 168

Acarnania, ii. 10

Achaeans, i. 145, 146; ii. 120

Achaemenidae, i. 125

Achelous, ii. 10

Adrastus, i. 35, 41, 43, 45

Adrias, i. 163

Aea, i. 2

Aegae, i. 145

Aegaeae, i. 149

Aegeus, i. 173

Aegion, i. 145

Aegira, i. 145

Aegiroéssa, i. 149

Aegyptus, ii. passim

Aeolians, i. 6, 26, 28, 141, 149-152,
1 or U7 a 1...1. 90, 1 178

Aeschylus, ii. 156

Aesopus, ii. 134

Aethiopia, ii. 11, 28, 30, 110, 114,
139, 146, 161

Aethiopians, ii, 22, 39, 30, 104,
137-140

Jeera i. 67

Agasicles, i. 144

Agbatana, i. 98, 110, 153

Agron, i. 7

Agyllaei, i. 167

Alalia, i. 165, 166

Alcaeus, i. 7

Alcenor, i. 82

Alemaeon, i. 59

Alcmaeonidae, i. 61, 64

Alcmena, ii. 43, 145

Alexandrus, i. 3; ii. 113-117

Alitta, i. 131

Alyattes, i. 16-25, 73, 74, 92, 93

Amasis, i. 30, 77, 181; ii, 154,
161-163, 169, 172-176, 178, 182

Ammon, i. 46; ‘ii.

Ammonii, ii. 32, is.

HEROD, I,

Amoun, ii. 42

Amphiaraus, i. 46, 49, 52

Amphictyones, ii. 180

Amphilytus, i. 62

Amphitryon, ii. 43

Amyrtaeus, ii. 140

Amytheon, ii. 49

Anaxandrides, i. 67

Anthylla, ii. 98

Anysis, ij. 137, 140, 166

Apaturia, i. 147

Aphrodisium <Cypeiam). i. 105

— (Egyptian), ii. 112

fphrodite. i. 105, 131, 199; ii. 41,
112, 181

Aphthitana, ii. 166

Apis (town), ii. 18

— (=Epaphus), ii. 153

Apollo, i. 50, 52, 69, 87, 91, 144;
ii. 159, 178

Apries, ii. 161, 169

Arabia, ii. 8, 12, 15, 19, 73, 124, 158

Arabian Gult, ii. 11, 102, 158

Arabes, i. 131, 198

Araxes, i. 202, 205

Arcades, i. 66, 146; ii. 171

Archandrus, ii. 97, 98

Archidice, ii. 135

Archilochus, i. 12

Ardericca, i. 185

, 83
Arganthonius, i. 163, 165
Argivi, i. 31, 82
Amal, 1 82
Argos, i. 1, 5, 82
Arion, Ἢ 3, 24
Arisba, i. 151
Aristodicus, i. 158, 159
Ariston, i. 67
Arizanti, i. 101
Armenii, i. 194
Arsames, i. 209

499

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Artembares, i. 114-116

Artemis, i. 26; ii. 59, 60, 83, 137,
156

Aryenis, i. “ἢ

Ascalon, i

wir ain ΝΥ +02, 104, 130; ii. 17,

Asmach, ii. 30

Assesus, i, 19

Assyria, i, 178, 192, 193; ii. 17

Assyril, i. 1, 95, 102, 103, 106, 178,
183, 192-4; ii. 17, 30, 141, 150

Astyages, i. 46, 73-75, 107-8, 119,
123, 127-130, 139

Asychis, ii, 136

Atarbechis, ii. 41

Atarneus, i. 160

Athene, i. 19, 22, 60, 66, 92; ii. 28,
59, 83 169, 170, 175, 182

Athens (and Attica), i. 29, 57-64,
147° ii. 51

Athribites, ii. 166

Atlantic sea, i. 200

Atys (son of Malian}, 1. 7, 94

- (son of Croesus), i. 34-43

Automoli, ii. 30

Azotus, fi. 157

Babylon (and Babylonians), i. 153,
178-200 ; ii. 109

Belus, i. 7

Bias, i. 27, 170

Bithyni, i. 28

Biton, i. 31

Boeotia, ii. 49

Bolbitine mouth of Nile, ii. 17

Bran νὼ i. 46, 92, 157, 158; ii.

1
Bubastis, ii. 59, 137, 156, 166
Budii, i. 101
Bura, i. 145
Busae, i. 101
Busiris, fi. 59, 61
Buto, ii. 59, 63, 155
Bubassia, i. 174

Cadmel, ii. 45, 49

Cadytis, ii. 159

Calasiries, ii. 164-168

Cambyses (Cyrus’ fathes), 1. 45,
ΤΠ et ee

— (Cyrus’ son), i. 208; ii. 1

Camirus, i. 144

Candaules, i. 7, 8, 10-12

500

Canobic mouth of Nile, ii. 15, 17,
113, 179

Canobus, ii. 15, 97

Cappadocia, i. 71-73, 76

Carians, i. 28, 92, 142, 146, 171,
174. ἢ G52) 1545103

Carthaginians, i. 166, 167

Casian mountain, ii. 6, 158

Caspian, i. 202, 203

Cassandane, ii. 1

Catadupa, ii. 17

Caucasus, i. 104, 203, 204

Caucones, i 147

Caunii, i. 172, 176

Celtae, il, 33

Cercasorus, ii. gh 1 OF

Chalybes, i. 2

Charaxus, ii. 35

Chemmis, ii. 91, 156, 165

Cheops, ii. 124, 126, 127, 129

Chephren, ii, 127, 128

Chilon, i. 59

Chios, Ἶ 18, 142, 160; ii. 135, 178

Choaspes, i. 188

Chromius, i. 82

Cilicia, i. 28, 72; ii. 17, 34

Cilla, i. 149

Cimmerii, i. 6, 15, 16, 103

Clazomenae, i. 16, 142; ii. 178

Cleobis, i. 31

Cnidus, i, 144, 174; ii. 178

Codrus, i, 147

Colchi, i. 2, 104; ii, 105, 109

Colophon, 1, 14, 142

Corinth, i. 1 23, 24, 50, 51;

Cos, i. 144

Crathis, i. 145

Creston, i. 57

Crete, i. 2, 65, 172-173

Croesus, i. 7 et passim ap. 1.

Crophi, ii. 28

Cume, i. 149, 157

Cyaxares, i. 16, 46, 73, 103, 106

Cynesii, ii, 33

Cyprus, i. 72, 105, 199; ii. 79, 182

Cypselus, i. 14, 20, 23

Cyrene, ii. 32, 33, 161, 181, 182

Cyrnus, i. 165-16 37

Cyrus, i. 46 et — ap. L

Cythera, i. 82, 105

Dai, i. 225

Danaé, ii. 91
Danaus, ii. 91, 98
Daphnae, li. 30, 107

fi. 167

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Dardanians, i. 189

Darius, i. 183, 187, 209, 219; 11. 158
Dascylus, i. 8

Deioces, i. 16, 73, 96-99, 101, 103
Delos, i, 64; ii. 170 ~

Delphi, i. 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 46-48,
50-55, 65-67, 85, 92, 167, 174;
ii. 134, 135, 180

Delta, ii. 13, 15-18, 41, 59, 97, 179

Derusiaei, i. 125

Deucalion, i. 56

Dindymene, i. 80

Diomedes, ii. 116

Dionysus, ii. 29, 42, 47, 48, 49, 52,
123, 144-146, 156

Dioscuri, ii. 43, 50

Dodona, i. 46; ii. 52, 55, 57, 58

Dorians, i. 56, 57, 139, 146, 171;
ii. 178

Dorus, i. 56

Dropici, i. 125

Dryopes, i. 56, 146

Dyme, i. 145

Echinades, ii. 10

Elbo, ii. 140

Eleans, ii. 160

Elephantine, ii. 9, 17, 28, 69, 175

Eleusis, i. 30

Eneti, i. 196

Epaphus, fi, 58.1.55

Ephesus, i. 92, 142; ii. 10, 148

Eretria, i. 61, 62

Erythrae, i. 18, 142

Etearchus, ii. 32, 33

Euphorion, ii. 156

Euphrates, i. 180, 185, 186, 191, 193

Europe, i. 4, 103, 209 ; ii. 16, 26,
τὸ a "(daughter ‘of ‘Agenor),
P2013

Germanii, i. 125

Glaucus (of Chios), i. 25

— (son of Hippolochus), i. 147
Gordias, i. 14, 35, 45

Gorgon, ii. 91

Grynea, i. 149

Gygaean lake, i. 92

Gyges, i. 8-15

Gyndes, i. 189, 190, 202

Halicarnassus, i. 144, 175; ii. 178

Halys, i. 6, 28, Ven 75, 103, "130

Harpagus, i. 80, 108-110, 118, 119,
123, 129, 162, 169, 171-176

Hecataeus, ii. 143

Hector, ii. 120

Hegesicles, i. 65

Helena, i. 3; ii. 112, 113, 115-120

Helice, i. 145

Hellopilia, li. 3, 7-9, 59, 63, 73

Hellas, Hellenes, passim

Hephaestopolis, ii. 134

Hephaestus, ii. 3, 99, 101, 108, 110,
nee 121, 136; 141, 142, 147, 151,

Sie ae Hie alo a aed 83, 1138

Heraclidae, tnd, Ss

Heraclides, i. 158

Here, i. 31, 70; ii. 178

Hermes, ii. 51, 138, 145

Hermotybies, ii. 164, 165, 168

Hermus, i. 55, 80

Herodotus, i. 1

Hesiodus, ii. 53

Hippias, i. 61

Hippocrates, i. 59

Hippolochus, i. 147

Histia, ii. 50

Histiaeotis, 1. 56

Homer, " 23, 53, 116, 117

Hyela, i. 167

Hyllus, i. 80

Hyroeades, i. 84

Hystaspes, i. 183, 209

Iadmon, ii. 134

Talysus, i. 144

Tardanug, 5 Lae Bg

Iberia, i. 163

Ida, i. 151

Tlium, i. 5; ii, 10, 117-120
Ilyrii, i, 196

ΤΟ 1. 5 bil. 41
Tonians, passim

Sie Ii

acre 41, 42, 59, 61, 122, 123, 156,

Issedones, i. 201

Ister, i. 202; 1b 26 Son ok
Istria, i 33°

Italia, i. 24, 145

Labynetus, i. 74, 77, 188
Lacedaemon, i. 6, 65-68, 82
Lacrines, i. 152

Ladice, ii. 181

Lebedus, i. 142

Leleges, i. 171

501

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Leohotes, ἢ 65

Leon, i. 65

Lesbos, i. 151, 160, 202 ᾿

Libya (and Libyans), i246 : ihe:
19 156-18; 20, 22, 628-26591323
50, 54-56, 65, 77, 91, 99, 124,
150, 158, 161

Liches, i. 67, 68

Lide, i. 174, 175

Limeneum, i. 18

Lindus, i. 144; ii. 182

Linus, ii. 79

Loxias, i. 91

Lycia, i. 28, 147, 171, 178, 176, 182

Lycurgus, i. 65, 66

Lycus, i. 173

Lydia, passim ap. 1.

ydus, 1. 7, 171

Lynceus, ii. 91

Macedni, i. 56

Macrones, ii. 104

Madyes, i. 103

Maeander, ii. 29

Maeetis, i. 104

Magdotus, ii. 159

Magi, i. 101, 107, 108, 120, 128, 132,

140

Magnesia, }. 161

Maleae, i. 82

Mandane, i. 107, 108, 111

Maneros, ii. 79

Manes, i. 94

Maraphii, i. 125

Marathon, i. 62

Mardi, i. 125

Marea, ii. 18, 30

Mariandyni, i. 28

Maspii, i. 125

Massagetae, i. 201, 204, 208, 211,
212, 214-216

Matieni, i. 72, 202

Mazares, i. 156, 157 160, 161

Medea, i. 2, 3

Medians, i. 16, et passim ap. 1.

Megacles, i. 59, 61

Megarians, i. 59

Meili, i. 7

Melampus, ii. 49

Melanthus, i, 147

Meles, i. 84

Memphis, ii. 3, 8, 10, 12-14, 97, 99,

112, 115, 119, 150, 153, 154, 158,
175, 176

502

Mendes, ii. 42, 46, 145

Menelaus, fi. 113, 116, 118, 119

Mermnadae, i. 7, 14

Meroe, ii. 29

Methymna, i. 151

Midas, i. 14, 35

Miletus; i; 14,) 15;/17, 18, 20,22, 25,
92, 142, 143, 146, 169;. ii. 33,
159, 178

Milyae, i. 173

Min, ii. 4, 99

Minos, i. 171, 173

Minyae, i. 146

Mitra. i. 131

Mitradates, i. 110, 111, 121

Moeris (lake), ii. 4, 69, 148, 143

— (King), ii. 13, 161

Mophi, ii. 28

Mycale, i. 148

Mycerinus, ii. 129-133, 136

Myecphorite district, ii. 166

Mylasa, i. 171

Mylitta, i. 131, 199

Myrina, i. 149

Myrsilus, i. 7

Myrsus, i. 7

Mysians, i. 28, 36, 37, 160, 171

Mytilene, {. 160; ii. 135

Myus, i. 142

Nasamones, a 32, 33

Nathos, fi. 16

Naucratis, ii. °7, 135, 178-180

Naxos, i. 64

Necos, ii. 152, 158, 159

Nilus, ii. passim.

Ninus (King), hare 150

- «ΟΝ ἱ. 102, 163, 106, 178, 185,
193 ; 150

Nisaea, i. "59

Nitocris (of Egypt), ii. 100

— (of Babylon), i. 185; ii. 100

Notium, i. 149

Nysa, li. 146

Oenotria, i. 167

Oenussae, i. 165

Oeolycus, i. 149

Olenus, i. 145

Olympia, i. 59, 160

Olympus (in Thessaly), 1. 56; (in
Mysia), i. 36, 43

Onuphitan district, li. 166

Opis, i. 189

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Orchomenus, i. 16, 146

Orestes, i. 67, 68

Orphica, ii. 81

Orus, ii. 144

Osiris, ii, 42, 47-48, 123, 144-146,

Ossa, i. 56
Othryades, i. 82

Pactyes, i. 153-161

Palestine, i. 105; ii. 104, 106

Pamphylians, i, 28

Pan, ii. 46, 145, 146

Pandion, i. 173

Panionia, i. 148

Panionium, i. 141-143, 148, 170

Panormus, i. 157

Pantaleon, i. 92

Panthialaei, i. 125

Paphlagonians, i. 6, 28, 72

Papremis, ii. 59, 63, 71, 165

Paretaceni, i. 101

Parthenius, ii. 104

Pasargadae, i. 125

Patara, i. 182

Patarbemis, ii. 162

Patrees, i. 145

Pedasus, i. 175

Pelasgians, i. 56-58, 146 ; ii. 50-52,
56, 171

Pellene, i. 145

Peloponnesus, i. 56, 61, 68; ii. 171

Pelusium, ii. 15, 17, 36, 141, 154

Penelope, ii. 145, 146

Pentapolis, i. 144

Periander, i. 20, 23, 24

Perseus, ii. 15, 91

Persians, passim ap. i,

Pharees, i. 145

Pharnaspes, ii. 1

Phaselis, ii. 178

Phasis, i. 2, 104; ii. 103

Pheros, ii. 111

Philition, ii. 128

Phocaea, i. 80, 142, 152, 162, 164,
165, 168; ii. 106, 178

Phocians, i. 46, 146

Phoenice and Phoenicians, i. 1, 2,
5, 105, 143); it, 32, 44, 49, 54;
56, 79, 104, 112, 116

Phraortes, i. 73, 96, 102

Phrygians, i, 14, 28, 35, 72; ii. 2

Phthiotis, i. 56

Phya, i. 60

Pindus, i. 56

Pirus, i. 145

Ῥίδβα, ἰϊ. 7

Pisistratus, i. 59-64

Pitane, i. 149

Pittacus, 1

Placie, y 57

Poseidon, i. 148; ii. 43, 50

Poseidonia, i. 167

Priam i430

Priene, i. 15, 142, 161

Prosopitis, il. 41, 165

Proteus, ii. 112, 114-116, 118, 121

Protothyes, i. 103

Psammetichus, li. 2, 28, 30, 101-
155, 157, bass 161

Psammis, ii. 160
teria, i. 76

Pylians, i. 147

Pyrene, ii. 33

Pythermus, i. 152

Pythian priestess, i. 13, 19, 47, 49,
55, 65-67, 85, 91, 167, 174

Pytho, i. 54

Rhampsinitus, ii. 121, 122, 124
Rhegium, i. 166, 167

Ihodes, i. 174; ii. 178
Rhodopis, ii. 184, 135

Rhypes, i. 145

Sabacos, ii. 137-139, 152

Sacae, 1: 153

Sagartii, 1 25

Sais. ii, 28, 59; 62; 1530. 10 5. 100.
170, 175, 176

Samos, i. 70, 142, 148, 152; ii. 148,
168, 178, 182

Samothracians, ii. 51

Sanacharibus, ii. 141

Sandanis, i. 71

Sappho, li. 135

Sardanapallus, ti. 150

Sardis, i. 7, 15, 69, 70, 78, 77-79,
80, 84, 85, 141, 152-157; ii. 106

Sardo, i. 166, 170

Sardyattes, i. 16, 18

Sarpedon, i. 173

Saspires, i. 104

Scamandronymus, ii. 135

Scylace, i. 57

Scythia and Scythians, i. 15, 73,
74, 103-106, 130; ii. 22, 103,
110, 167

593

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES

Sebennytic district, li. 17, 155, 166
Semiramis, i. 184

Semele, ii. 145, 146

Serbonian Marsh, ii. 6

Sesostris, ii. 102-104, 106-108, 110,

111, 137

Sethos, ii. 141

Sidon, ii. 116, 161

Sinope, i. 763; ii. 34

Siuph, ii. 172

Smyrna, i. 14, 16, 94, 143, 149, 150;
ii. 106

Soloéis, ii. 31

Solon, i. 29-34, 86; li. 177

Solymi, i. 173

Spargapises, i. 211, 213

Sparta, i. 65

Struchates, i. 101

Strymon, i. 64

Susa, i. 188

Syene, ii. 28

Syennesis, i. 74

Syme, i. 174 :

Syria, Syrians, i. 6. 72, 76, 1053 fi.
12, 20, 30, 104, 106, 159

Syrtis, ii. 32, 150

Tabalus, i. 154, 161
Tachompso, ii. 29
Taenarum, i. 23, 24
Tanite district, ii. 166
Taras, i. 24
Tartessus, i. 163
Tegea, i. 65, 66-68
Tellus, i. 30

Teos, i. 142, 168, 170; il. 178
Telmessians, i. 78, 84
Temnus, i. 149

Tenedos, i. 151

Teucri, ii. 118

Teuthrania, ii. 10

Thales, i. 74, 75, 170

Thasos, ii. 44

Thebes (Boeotian), i. 52, 92

— (Egyptian), i. 182; ii. 3, 9, 15,
54-56, 58, 69, 74, 91, 143, 166

Theodorus, i. 51

Thermodon, ii. 104

Thesmophoria, ii. 171

Thessalia, i. 57

Thmuitan district, fi. 166

Thonis, ii. 113, 114

Thornax, i. 69

Thrace, i. 168; ii. 103, 1384, 167

ree oie i. 20-23

82
Tigris, i. 189, 193; ii, 150
Timarete, iil. 55
Timesius, i. 168
Tmolus, i. 84, 93
Tompyris, i. 205, 212, 214
Triopium, i. 144, 174
Tritaeees, i. 145
Tritantaechmes, i. 192
Troés, ii. 120
Trophonius, i. 46
Typhon, ii. 144, 156
Tyre, iii ii, 44, 115: 161
Tyrrhenians, i, 57, 94, 163, 166, 167

Xanthes, ii. 135
Xanthus, i. 176
Xerxes, i. 183

Zeus, passim.

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ARISTOTLE: ATHENIAN CONSTITUTION, EUDEMIAN
Eruics, VICES AND VIRTUES. H. Rackham.

ARISTOTLE: GENERATION OF ANIMALS. A. L. Peck.

ARISTOTLE: Historia ANIMALIUM. A. L. Peck. Vol. I.—II.

ARISTOTLE: METAPHYSICS. H. Tredennick. 2 Vols.

ARISTOTLE: METEOROLOGICA. H. D. P. Lee.

ARISTOTLE: MInoR Works. W.S. Hett. On Colours, On
Things Heard, On Physiognomies, On Plants, On Mar-
vellous Things Heard, Mechanical Problems, On Indi-
visible Lines, On Situations and Names of Winds, On
Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias.

ARISTOTLE: NICOMACHEAN Etuics. H. Rackham.

ARISTOTLE: OECONOMICA and MaGna Moratia. G. C.
Armstrong; (with Metaphysics, Vol. IT.).

ARISTOTLE: ON THE HEAVENS. W. K. C. Guthrie.

ARISTOTLE: ON THE Soun. PARvVA NATURALIA. ON
BREATH. W.S. Hett.

ARISTOTLE: CATEGORIES, ON INTERPRETATION, PRIOR
ANALYTIC. H. P. Cooke and H. Tredennick.

ARISTOTLE: POSTERIOR ANALYTICS, Topics. H. Treden-
nick and E. S. Forster.

ARISTOTLE: ON SOPHISTICAL REFUTATIONS.

On Coming to be and Passing Away, On the Cosmos.
E. S. Forster and D. J. Furley.

ARISTOTLE: PARTS oF ANIMALS. A. L. Peck; Motion AND
PROGRESSION OF ANIMALS. Εἰ. S. Forster.

ARISTOTLE: Puysics. Rev. Ρ. Wicksteed and Fs«M. Corn-
ford. 2 Vols.

ARISTOTLE: PorETics and Loncinus. W. Hamilton Fyfe;
DEMETRIUS ON STYLE. W. Rhys Roberts.

ARISTOTLE: Poxitics. H. Rackham.

ARISTOTLE: PROBLEMS. W. S. Hett. 2 Vols.

ARISTOTLE: RHETORICA AD ALEXANDRUM (with Pros-
LEMS. Vol. II.). H. Rackham.

ARRIAN: History OF ALEXANDER and Inpica. Rev. E.
Iliffe Robson. 2 Vols.

ATHENAEUS: DEIPNOSOPHISTAE. C. B. Gulick. 7 Vols.

BABRIUS AND PHAEDRUS (Latin). B. E. Perry.

St. Basin: LETTERS. R. J. Deferrai. 4 Vols.

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

CALLIMACHUS: FRAGMENTS. C. A. Trypanis. MUSAEUS.
HERO AND LEANDER. T. Geltzer and C. Whitman.

CALLIMACHUS, Hymns and Epigrams, and LycopHRon:
A. W. Mair; Aratus. G. R. Mair.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. Rev. G. W. Butterworth.

CoLLutTHusS. Cf. OPPIAN.

DAPHNIS AND CHLOE. Thornley’s Translation revised by
J. M. Edmonds; and ParTHENIUvS. S. Gaselee.

DEMOSTHENES I.: OLYNTHIACS, PHILIPPICS and MINOR
Orations. I.-XVII. αν XX. J. H. Vince.

DEMOSTHENES II.: Dr Corona and DE Fatsa LEGATIONE.
C. A. Vince and J. H. Vince.

DEMOSTHENES III].: Mrerp1as, ANDROTION, ARISTOCRATES,
TIMOCRATES and ARISTOGEITON, I. AND II. J. H. Vince.

DEMOSTHENES IV.-VI.: PRIVATE ORATIONS and IN
NEAERAM. A. T. Murray.

DEMOSTHENES VII.: FUNERAL SPEECH, Erotic Essay,
Exorpia and Letters. N. W. and N. J. DeWitt.

Dio Cassius: RomMAN History. Εἰ. Cary. 9 Vols.

Dio Curysostom. J. W. Cohoon and H. Lamar Crosby.
5 Vols.

Dioporws Sicutvus. 12 Vols. Vols. I.-VI. Ὁ. H. Oldfather.
Vol. VII. C. L. Sherman. Vol. VIII. C. B. Welles. Vols.
IX and X. R.M.Geer. Vol. XI. F. Walton. Vol. XII.
F. Walton and R. M. Geer (General Index).

DIoGENES LAERTIUS. R. Ὁ. Hicks. 2 Vols. New Introduc-
tion by H. 8. Long.

Dionystus OF HALICARNASSUS: ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.
Spelman’s translation revised by E. Cary. 7 Vols.

DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS: CRITICAL Essays. S.
Usher. 2 Vols.

Epictetus. W. A. Oldfather. 2 Vols.

Evuripipes. A.S. Way. 4 Vols. Verse trans.

EvusEeBius: EccLestasticaL History. Kirsopp Lake and
J. E. L. Oulton. 2 Vols.

GALEN: ON THE NATURAL FACULTIES. A. J. Brock.

THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY. W. R. Paton. 5 Vols.

GREEK ELEGY AND IAMBUS with the ANACREONTEA. J. M.
Edmonds. 2 Vols.

THE GREEK BucoLic Ports (THEOcRITUS, Bion, Mos-
cHus). J. M. Edmonds.

GREEK MATHEMATICAL WoRKS. Ivor Thomas. 2 Vols.

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

Heropes. Cf. THEOPHRASTUS: CHARACTERS.

HeErRopIAN. C. R. Whittaker. 2 Vols.

Herroporvus. A. D. Godley. 4 Vols.

HESIoD AND THE Homeric Hymns. Η. G. Evelyn White.

HIppocRaTtes and the FRAGMENTS OF HERACLEITUS.
W. H. 8. Jones and Εἰ. T. Withington. 4 Vols.

Homer: In1ap. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.

Homer: Opyssry. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.

IsaEus. Εἰ. W. Forster.

IsocraTEs. George Norlin and LaRue Van Hook. 3 Vols.

[St. Jonn DaMascENE]: BARLAAM AND JoasapPH. Rev.
G. R. Woodward, H. Mattingley and D. M. Lang.

JosEepHus. 9 Vols. Vols I-IV.; H. Thackeray. Vol. V.;
H. Thackeray and R. Marcus. Vols. VI._VII.; R. Marcus.
Vol. VIII.; R. Marcus and Allen Wikgren. Vol. IX.
L. H. Feldman.

JULIAN. Wilmer Cave Wright. 3 Vols.

Lispantus. A. F. Norman. Vol. I. (Vol. 11. in preparation.)

Lucian. 8 Vols. Vols. IV. A. M. Harmon. Vol. VI. K.
Kilburn. Vols. VII.-VIII. M. Ὁ. Macleod.

LycopHRoN. Cf. CALLIMACHUS.

Lyra Grarca. J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols.

Lysras. W. R. M. Lamb.

MANETHO. W. G. Waddell; Protemy: TETRABIBLOS.
F. E. Robbins.

Marcus AuRE.Ius. C. R. Haines.

MENANDER. F. G. Allinson.

Minor Attic OratorsS (ANTIPHON, ANDOCIDES, Lycur-
Gus, DemaprEs, DrInarcuus, HYPERIDES). K. J.
Maidment and J. O. Burtt. 2 Vols.

Musarus: HERO AND LEANDER. Cf. CALLIMACHUS.

Nonnos: Dionystaca. W. H. D. Rouse. 3 Vols.

ΟΡΡΙΑΝ, CotLutHus, TRYPHIODORUS. A. W Mair.

Papyri. Non-Lirerary SEeLEctions. A. S. Hunt and
C.C. Edgar. 2 Vols. Lirerary SELECTIONS (Poetry).
D. L. Page.

PARTHENIUS. Cf. DapHnis and CHLOE.

PAUSANIAS: DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. W. H. 5. Jones.
4 Vols.and Companion Vol. arranged by Κα. Εἰ. Wycherley.

PuILo. 10 Vols. Vols. I.-V.; F. H. Colson and Rev. G. H.
Whitaker. Vols. VI.-IX.; F. H. Colson. Vol. X.; F. H.
Colson and the Rev. J. W. Earp.

{

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

PHILO: two supplementary Vols. (Translation only.) Ralph
Marcus.

PHILOSTRATUS: THE LIFE OF APOLLONIUS OF TYANA. F.C.
Conybeare. 2 Vols.

PHILOSTRATUS: IMAGINES; CALLISTRATUS: DESCRIPTIONS.
A. Fairbanks.

PHILOSTRATUS and Eunapius: LIVES OF THE SOPHISTS.
Wilmer Cave Wright.

Pinpar. Sir J. E. Sandys.

PLATO: CHARMIDES, ALCIBIADES, HiIpparRcHUS, THE
Lovers, THEAGES, MINos and Epinomis. W. R. M.
Lamb.

PLatTo: CRATYLUS, PARMENIDES. GREATER HIPPIAS,
LessER Hippras. H. N. Fowler.

PrLato: EutHyPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO, PHAED-
rus. H. N. Fowler.

Puato: LacHes, PrRotTacoras, MENo, EUTHYDEMUS.
W. R. M. Lamb.

Prato: Laws. Rev. R. G. Bury. 2 Vols.

Prato: Lysis, Symposium, Goreras. W. R. M. Lamb.

Piato: RepusBuic. Paul Shorey. 2 Vols.

PLato: STATESMAN, PHILEBUS. H. N. Fowler; Ion.
W. Β. M. Lamb.

Prato: THEAETETUS and Sopuist. H. N. Fowler.

Piatto: TIMAEUS, CRITIAS, CLITOPHO, MENEXENUS,
EPISTULAE. Rev. R. G. Bury.

Protinus. A. H. Armstrong. Vols. I.—III.

PiutTarcH: Moratia. 17 Vols. Vols. 1.--ν. F. C. Babbit.
Vol. VI. W. C. Helmbold. Vol. VII.and XIV. P.H. De
Lacy and B. Einarson. Vol. IX. ἘΣ. L. Minar, Jr., F. H.
Sandbach, W. C. Helmbold. Vol. X. H. N. Fowler.
Vol. XI. L. Pearson and F. H. Sandbach. Vol. XII.
H. Cherniss and W. C. Helmbold. Vol. XV. F. H. Sand-
bach.

PLUTARCH: THE PARALLEL Lives. B. Perrin. 11 Vols.

Potysius. W.R. Paton. 6 Vols.

Procoprius: History OF THE Wars. H.B.Dewing. 7 Vols.

PTOLEMY: TETRABIBLOS. Cf. MANETHO.

QUINTUS SMyRNAEUS. A. S. Way. Verse trans.

Sextus Emprricus. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols.

SopHocies. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans.

STRABO: GEOGRAPHY. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

THEOPHRASTUS: CHARACTERS. J. M. Edmonds. Hreropgs,
ete. A. D. Knox.

THEOPHRASTUS: ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS. Sir Arthur Hort,
Bart. 2 Vols.

THUCYDIDES. C. F. Smith. 4 Vols.

TRYPHIODORUS. Cf. OPPIAN.

XENOPHON: CYROPAEDIA. Walter Miller. 2 Vols.

XENOPHON: HELLENICA, ANABASIS, C. L. Brownson.
3 Vols.

XENOPHON: MEMORABILIA and QOerconomicus. Εἰ. C.
Marchant. APoLoGy and Symposium. O. J. Todd.

XENOPHON: ScRipTA Mrnora. E. C. Marchant. Constitru-
TION OF THE ATHENIANS. G. W. Bowersock.

IN PREPARATION

THEOPHRASTUS: Dr Causis PLanrarum. G. K. K. Link
and B. Einarson. 3 Vols.

ARRIAN: HIsTORY OF ALEXANDER AND Inpica. P. Brunt.
2 Vols. New version.

Mani ius: G. P. Gold.

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* Other Greek Historians in the Loeb Series

THUCYDIDES
s XENOPHON
POLYBIUS
DIODORUS
ARRIAN
APPIAN
DIO CASSIUS | | ;
ν᾿ JOSEPHUS
PLUTARCH (Lives) .

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