- 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-grc2:2.132.1-2.132.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
The passage describes the appearance of the gilded wooden cow holding the body of Mycerinus' daughter, and explains how it is carried out into the light once a year during the Egyptian mourning festival.
ἡ δὲ βοῦς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατακέκρυπται φοινικέῳ εἵματι, τὸν αὐχένα δὲ καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν φαίνει κεχρυσωμένα1 παχέι κάρτα χρυσῷ· μεταξὺ δὲ τῶν κερέων ὁ τοῦ ἡλίου κύκλος μεμιμημένος ἔπεστι χρύσεος.
As for this cow, its other parts are covered with a purple robe, but it shows its neck and head gilded with very thick gold; and between its horns is a golden circle representing the sun.
ἔστι δὲ ἡ βοῦς οὐκ ὀρθὴ ἀλλʼ ἐν γούνασι κειμένη, μέγαθος δὲ ὅση περ μεγάλη βοῦς ζωή. ἐκφέρεται δὲ ἐκ τοῦ οἰκήματος ἀνὰ πάντα ἔτεα, ἐπεὰν τύπτωνται Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν οὐκ ὀνομαζόμενον θεὸν2 ὑπʼ ἐμεῦ ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι·
The cow is not standing upright but is lying upon its knees, and in size it is as large as a great living cow. It is carried out of the chamber every year, whenever the Egyptians beat their breasts for the god who is not named by me on such an occasion;
τότε ὦν καὶ τὴν βοῦν ἐκφέρουσι ἐς τὸ φῶς· φασὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν δεηθῆναι τοῦ πατρὸς Μυκερίνου ἀποθνήσκουσαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἅπαξ μιν3 τὸν ἥλιον κατιδεῖν.
at that time, then, they also carry the cow out into the light; for they say that she, when dying, entreated her father Mycerinus that she might behold the sun once in every year.
- 2.132.1κεχρυσωμένα
The participle is in the neuter plural, qualifying two accusative nouns of different genders: the masculine τὸν αὐχένα (neck) and the feminine τὴν κεφαλὴν (head). The neuter plural is used when referencing multiple inanimate things of mixed genders.
- 2.132.2τύπτωνται ... τὸν οὐκ ὀνομαζόμενον θεὸν
The middle voice of the verb (τύπτομαι, literally "to beat oneself") takes a direct object in the accusative to indicate the person being mourned. Thus, "the god who is not named by me" is the object of their lamentation.
- 2.132.3μιν
The pronoun (Ionic dialect for αὐτήν) serves as the subject accusative of the infinitive κατιδεῖν. Although αὐτήν is already expressed as the subject of the main indirect discourse (with δεηθῆναι), μιν is repeated within the embedded clause to clarify the subject of the request.