- 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-grc2:1.93.1-1.93.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
The author notes the lack of wonders in Lydia except for the gold dust of Mount Tmolus, and details the construction and dimensions of the great tomb of King Alyattes, as well as the nearby Gygaean Lake.
θώματα δὲ γῆ ἡ Λυδίη ἐς συγγραφὴν οὐ μάλα ἔχει, οἷά τε1 καὶ ἄλλη χώρη, πάρεξ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ Τμώλου καταφερομένου ψήγματος.
The Lydian land does not have many wonders worthy of record, just like any other country, except for the gold dust washed down from Mount Tmolus.
ἓν δὲ ἔργον πολλὸν μέγιστον παρέχεται χωρὶς τῶν τε Αἰγυπτίων ἔργων καὶ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων· ἔστι αὐτόθι Ἀλυάττεω τοῦ Κροίσου πατρὸς σῆμα, τοῦ ἡ κρηπὶς μὲν ἐστὶ λίθων μεγάλων, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο σῆμα χῶμα γῆς. ἐξεργάσαντο δέ μιν οἱ ἀγοραῖοι ἄνθρωποι καὶ οἱ χειρώνακτες καὶ αἱ ἐνεργαζόμεναι παιδίσκαι.
But it presents one monument which is by far the greatest, apart from the works of the Egyptians and the Babylonians; there is there the tomb of Alyattes, the father of Croesus, of which the foundation is of great stones, and the rest of the tomb is a mound of earth. It was built by the men of the market, the artisans, and the young women who work as prostitutes.
οὖροι δὲ πέντε ἐόντες ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἦσαν ἐπὶ τοῦ σήματος ἄνω, καί σφι γράμματα ἐνεκεκόλαπτο τὰ ἕκαστοι ἐξεργάσαντο, καὶ ἐφαίνετο μετρεόμενον τὸ τῶν παιδισκέων ἔργον ἐὸν μέγιστον.
There were still in my time five boundary stones on top of the tomb, and on them were inscribed letters showing what each class had executed; and when measured, the work of the young women appeared to be the greatest.
τοῦ γὰρ δὴ Λυδῶν δήμου αἱ θυγατέρες πορνεύονται πᾶσαι, συλλέγουσαι σφίσι φερνάς, ἐς ὃ ἂν συνοικήσωσι τοῦτο ποιέουσαι· ἐκδιδοῦσι δὲ αὐταὶ ἑωυτάς.
For all the daughters of the common people of the Lydians practice prostitution, gathering dowries for themselves, doing this until they marry; and they give themselves away in marriage.
ἡ μὲν δὴ περίοδος τοῦ σήματός εἰσὶ2 στάδιοι ἓξ καὶ δύο πλέθρα, τὸ δὲ εὖρος ἐστὶ πλέθρα τρία καὶ δέκα. λίμνη δὲ ἔχεται τοῦ σήματος3 μεγάλη, τὴν λέγουσι Λυδοὶ ἀείναον εἶναι· καλέεται δὲ αὕτη Γυγαίη. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτο ἐστί.
Now the circumference of the tomb is six stades and two plethra, and its width is thirteen plethra. And adjacent to the tomb is a great lake, which the Lydians say is ever-flowing; and this is called the Gygaean Lake. Such, then, is this matter.
- 1.93.1οἷά τε
The neuter plural of the relative pronoun οἷος followed by the generalizing particle τε. It refers back to θώματα in the main clause, presenting a comparative construction with an ellipsis: "such [wonders] as also any other country [has]."
- 1.93.5περίοδος τοῦ σήματός εἰσὶ
Although the subject περίοδος (circumference) is a feminine singular noun, the verb is the plural εἰσί. This is an instance of grammatical attraction (concord ad sensum), where the verb agrees in number with the plural predicate elements (στάδιοι and πλέθρα) rather than the grammatical subject.
- 1.93.5ἔχεται τοῦ σήματος
The middle voice ἔχομαι of the verb ἔχω governs the genitive case to mean "to border on," "be adjacent to," or "cling to." Thus, it is construed here as "adjacent to the tomb (τοῦ σήματος)."