- 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-grc2:1.196.1-1.196.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
It describes the wise Babylonian custom of marriage auctions, where the money from beautiful women was used as dowries for unattractive women, and how this custom declined due to poverty, leading to prostitution.
αὕτη μὲν δή σφι ἄρτισις περὶ τὸ σῶμα ἐστί· νόμοι δὲ αὐτοῖσι ὧδε κατεστᾶσι, ὁ μὲν σοφώτατος ὅδε κατὰ γνώμην τὴν ἡμετέρην, τῷ καὶ Ἰλλυριῶν Ἐνετοὺς πυνθάνομαι χρᾶσθαι. κατὰ κώμας ἑκάστας ἅπαξ τοῦ ἔτεος ἑκάστου ἐποιέετο τάδε· ὡς ἂν αἱ παρθένοι γενοίατο1 γάμων ὡραῖαι, ταύτας ὅκως συναγάγοιεν πάσας, ἐς ἓν χωρίον ἐσάγεσκον ἁλέας, πέριξ δὲ αὐτὰς ἵστατο ὅμιλος ἀνδρῶν, ἀνιστὰς δὲ κατὰ μίαν ἑκάστην κῆρυξ πωλέεσκε, πρῶτα μὲν τὴν εὐειδεστάτην ἐκ πασέων· μετὰ δέ, ὅκως αὕτη εὑροῦσα πολλὸν χρυσίον πρηθείη, ἄλλην ἂν ἐκήρυσσε2 ἣ μετʼ 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, οἳ δʼ ἂν χρήματά τε καὶ αἰσχίονας παρθένους ἐλάμβανον.
This then is their preparation regarding the body. But their laws are established as follows, of which this is the wisest in our opinion, which I learn that the Eneti of the Illyrians also use. Once every year in each village the following was done: whenever the virgins became of marriageable age, they would collect them all and bring them together in a crowd to one place, and around them stood a crowd of men. And a herald, making them stand up one by one, would offer them for sale, first the most beautiful of them all. Afterwards, when she had been sold and had fetched a great deal of gold, he would put up another who was the most beautiful after her; and they were sold for marriage. Now all the wealthy Babylonians who were of marriageable age outbid one another to buy the most beautiful ones; but those of the common people who were of marriageable age, requiring no fine appearance, would receive money and take the less attractive virgins.
ὡς γὰρ δὴ διεξέλθοι ὁ κῆρυξ πωλέων τὰς εὐειδεστάτας τῶν παρθένων ἀνίστη ἂν τὴν ἀμορφεστάτην, ἢ εἴ τις αὐτέων ἔμπηρος εἴη, καὶ ταύτην ἂν ἐκήρυσσε, ὅστις θέλοι ἐλάχιστον χρυσίον λαβὼν συνοικέειν αὐτῇ, ἐς ὃ τῷ τὸ ἐλάχιστον ὑπισταμένῳ3 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 ἐγγυητέω ἀπάγεσθαι τὴν παρθένον πριάμενον, ἀλλʼ ἐγγυητὰς χρῆν καταστήσαντα ἦ μὲν συνοικήσειν αὐτῇ, οὕτω ἀπάγεσθαι.
For indeed, when the herald had finished selling the most beautiful of the virgins, he would make the most deformed stand up, or if any of them was crippled, and he would put her up for sale, asking who would wish to marry her by taking the least amount of gold, until she was assigned to the one who promised the least. The gold was obtained from the beautiful virgins, and thus the fair ones portioned out the deformed and crippled. It was not permitted for each man to give his own daughter in marriage to whomever he wished, nor could anyone buy a virgin and take her away without a guarantor, but it was necessary to appoint guarantors that he would indeed live with her, and only then take her away.
εἰ δὲ μὴ συμφεροίατο, ἀποφέρειν τὸ χρυσίον ἔκειτο νόμος. ἐξῆν δὲ καὶ ἐξ ἄλλης ἐλθόντα κώμης τὸν βουλόμενον ὠνέεσθαι.
And if they did not agree, the law was established that he should bring back the gold. It was also permitted for anyone who wished to come from another village and buy.
ὁ μέν νυν κάλλιστος νόμος οὗτός σφι ἦν, οὐ μέντοι νῦν γε διατελέει ἐών, ἄλλο δέ τι ἐξευρήκασι νεωστὶ γενέσθαι·4 ἐπείτε γὰρ ἁλόντες ἐκακώθησαν καὶ οἰκοφθορήθησαν, πᾶς τις τοῦ δήμου βίου σπανίζων καταπορνεύει τὰ θήλεα τέκνα.
Now this was their most beautiful law, but it does not continue to exist today; instead they have recently devised another thing to be done. For since they were conquered and ruined and lost their property, everyone of the common people, lacking a livelihood, prostituted his female children.
- 1.196.1ὡς ἂν αἱ παρθένοι γενοίατο
The conjunction "ὡς ἂν" followed by the optative (γενοίατο is the Ionic form for γένοιντο) expresses a repeated action in the past ("whenever the virgins became..."). Herodotus frequently uses this construction to introduce iterative temporal clauses.
- 1.196.2ἄλλην ἂν ἐκήρυσσε
The particle ἄν combined with the imperfect indicative (ἐκήρυσσε) expresses habitual or repeated action in the past ("he would put up for sale"). The subsequent "ἔσκε" (from εἶναι) is also an iterative imperfect form with the -σκ- suffix, reinforcing this iterative aspect.
- 1.196.3ἐς ὃ τῷ τὸ ἐλάχιστον ὑπισταμένῳ
"ἐς ὃ" means "until," and "τῷ ... ὑπισταμένῳ" consists of the dative demonstrative (functioning relatively) and the participle, meaning "to the one who promised the least." It acts as the indirect object of the passive verb "προσέκειτο" (was assigned to).
- 1.196.5ἐξευρήκασι νεωστὶ γενέσθαι
The verb ἐξευρήκασι (they have devised) is followed by the infinitive γενέσθαι expressing result or purpose, meaning "they have recently devised another thing to be done (to take place)."