- 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-grc2:1.202.1-1.202.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Describes the size of the river Araxes, the peculiar custom of the islanders getting intoxicated by the smoke of a certain fruit, and the river's geography with its forty mouths.
ὁ δὲ Ἀράξης λέγεται καὶ μέζων καὶ ἐλάσσων εἶναι τοῦ Ἴστρου· νήσους δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ Λέσβῳ μεγάθεα παραπλησίας1 συχνάς φασι εἶναι, ἐν δὲ αὐτῇσι ἀνθρώπους οἳ σιτέονται μὲν ῥίζας τὸ θέρος ὀρύσσοντες παντοίας· καρποὺς δὲ ἀπὸ δενδρέων ἐξευρημένους σφι ἐς φορβὴν κατατίθεσθαι ὡραίους, καὶ τούτους σιτέεσθαι2 τὴν χειμερινήν.
The Araxes is said by some to be greater and by others to be less than the Ister. They say that there are in it many islands, near in size to Lesbos, and on them men who in the summer-time feed on roots of all kinds which they dig up; and that they store up for food the ripe fruits which they have found on trees, and feed on these during the winter.
ἄλλα δέ σφι ἐξευρῆσθαι δένδρεα καρποὺς τοιούσδε τινὰς φέροντα, τοὺς ἐπείτε ἂν ἐς τὠυτὸ συνέλθωσι κατὰ εἴλας καὶ πῦρ ἀνακαύσωνται κύκλῳ περιιζομένους ἐπιβάλλειν ἐπὶ τὸ πῦρ, ὀσφραινομένους δὲ καταγιζομένου τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ἐπιβαλλομένου μεθύσκεσθαι τῇ ὀσμῇ κατά περ Ἕλληνας τῷ οἴνῳ πλεῦνος δὲ ἐπιβαλλομένου τοῦ καρποῦ μᾶλλον μεθύσκεσθαι, ἐς ὃ3 ἐς ὄρχησίν τε ἀνίστασθαι καὶ ἐς ἀοιδὴν ἀπικνέεσθαι. τούτων μὲν αὕτη λέγεται δίαιτα εἶναι.
Other trees, they say, have been discovered by them which bear fruits of such a kind that, when the people gather together in groups in the same place and light a fire, they sit around in a circle and throw these fruits onto the fire; and by smelling the burning fruit that is thrown on, they become intoxicated by the odor, just as the Greeks do with wine; and as more fruit is thrown on, they become more intoxicated, until they rise up to dance and fall to singing. This is said to be their way of life.
ὁ δὲ Ἀράξης 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.
The river Araxes flows from the country of the Matieni, whence also flows the Gyndes, which Cyrus divided into three hundred and sixty channels; and it empties itself by forty mouths, all of which except one discharge into marshes and swamps, in which they say men dwell who feed on raw fish and are accustomed to use the skins of seals for clothing.
τὸ δὲ ἓν τῶν στομάτων τοῦ Ἀράξεω ῥέει διὰ καθαροῦ4 ἐς τὴν Κασπίην θάλασσαν.
But the one mouth of the Araxes flows through an unobstructed country into the Caspian Sea.
- 1.202.1Λέσβῳ μεγάθεα παραπλησίας
The dative Λέσβῳ indicates the object of comparison ('similar to Lesbos'), while the accusative μεγάθεα functions as an accusative of specification/respect ('in size').
- 1.202.1οἳ σιτέονται μὲν ... κατατίθεσθαι ... σιτέεσθαι
In the clause introduced by the relative pronoun οἳ, the construction begins with the present indicative σιτέονται, but mid-sentence it transitions into the infinitives κατατίθεσθαι and σιτέεσθαι under the influence of the main verb of indirect discourse φασί. This is a characteristic instance of anacoluthon in Herodotus.
- 1.202.2ἐς ὃ
An Ionic conjunctional phrase equivalent to the Attic ἕως ('until, at last'). Since it occurs within indirect discourse, it is followed by the infinitives ἀνίστασθαι and ἀπικνέεσθαι instead of the indicative.
- 1.202.4διὰ καθαροῦ
A prepositional phrase based on the neuter substantive of the adjective καθαρός ('pure, clear, open'), used adverbially here to mean 'through an unobstructed, open country.'
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1