- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.132.1-1.132.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
The passage describes the specific procedures of Persian sacrifice, the required mindset of the sacrificer, and the indispensable role of the Magus.
θυσίη δὲ τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι περὶ τοὺς εἰρημένους θεοὺς ἥδε κατέστηκε· οὔτε βωμοὺς ποιεῦνται οὔτε πῦρ ἀνακαίουσι μέλλοντες θύειν, οὐ σπονδῇ χρέωνται, οὐκὶ αὐλῷ, οὐ στέμμασι, οὐκὶ οὐλῇσι· τῶν δὲ ὡς ἑκάστῳ θύειν θέλῃ,1 ἐς χῶρον καθαρὸν ἀγαγὼν τὸ κτῆνος καλέει τὸν θεόν, ἐστεφανωμένος τὸν τιάραν2 μυρσίνῃ μάλιστα.
The method of sacrifice established among the Persians for the aforementioned gods is this: they neither build altars nor kindle a fire when they are about to sacrifice, nor do they use libations, flutes, garlands, or barley-meal. Instead, to whichever of these gods each wishes to sacrifice, he leads the victim to a clean place and invokes the god, having decorated his tiara especially with a wreath of myrtle.
ἑωυτῷ μὲν δὴ τῷ θύοντι ἰδίῃ μούνῳ οὔ οἱ ἐγγίνεται3 ἀρᾶσθαι ἀγαθά, ὁ δὲ τοῖσι πᾶσι Πέρσῃσι κατεύχεται εὖ γίνεσθαι καὶ τῷ βασιλέι· ἐν γὰρ δὴ τοῖσι ἅπασι Πέρσῃσι καὶ αὐτὸς γίνεται. ἐπεὰν δὲ διαμιστύλας κατὰ μέλεα τὸ ἱρήιον ἑψήσῃ τὰ κρέα ὑποπάσας ποίην ὡς ἁπαλωτάτην, μάλιστα δὲ τὸ τρίφυλλον, ἐπὶ ταύτης ἔθηκε4 ὦν πάντα τὰ κρέα.
Now, it is not permitted for the sacrificer himself to pray for blessings for himself privately and alone; rather, he prays that it may go well with all the Persians and the king, for he himself is also included among all the Persians. And when he has cut the victim limb by limb and boiled the meat, he spreads beneath it the softest grass, especially clover, and places all the meat upon this.
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 ὀλίγον χρόνον ἀποφέρεται ὁ θύσας τὰ κρέα καὶ χρᾶται ὅ τι μιν λόγος αἱρέει.5
When he has arranged it, a Magus stands by and chants a theogony, which is the kind of chant they say it is; for without a Magus, it is not lawful for them to offer sacrifice. Then, having waited a short time, the one who offered the sacrifice carries away the meat and uses it in whatever way his choice directs him.
- 1.132.1τῶν δὲ ὡς ἑκάστῳ θύειν θέλῃ
The word τῶν is a partitive genitive referring to the aforementioned gods (τοὺς εἰρημένους θεοὺς). In the relative clause ὡς ἑκάστῳ θύειν θέλῃ ('as each wishes to sacrifice'), θύειν would normally govern a dative, but here it is linked with the genitive antecedent (or relative pronoun) τῶν, meaning 'to whichever of those gods each wishes to sacrifice'.
- 1.132.1ἐστεφανωμένος τὸν τιάραν
The perfect middle participle ἐστεφανωμένος is accompanied by τὸν τιάραν (the tiara) as an accusative of respect or a direct object of the middle voice, meaning 'having the tiara wreathed' or 'having decorated his tiara'.
- 1.132.2οὔ οἱ ἐγγίνεται
The impersonal verb ἐγγίνεται (it is permitted/possible) is used with the indirect object pronoun οἱ (to him), acting as a synonym for οὐκ ἔξεστι (it is not permitted for him).
- 1.132.2ἔθηκε
This aorist (ἔθηκε) is a gnomic aorist expressing a general or customary truth, and is translated as a present tense, meaning 'he places (as is customary)'.
- 1.132.3ὅ τι μιν λόγος αἱρέει
An idiomatic expression characteristic of Herodotus (where μιν is the third-person singular accusative pronoun), literally meaning 'whatever reason wins him over' or 'wherever his reason leads him', hence 'in whatever way he chooses' or 'as he pleases'.