- 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-grc2:2.155.1-2.155.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Following Psammetichus' acquisition of Egypt, the author describes the famous oracle of Leto in the city of Buto, noting its grand temple complex and a miraculous monolithic shrine located within its precinct.
Ψαμμήτιχος μέν νυν οὕτω ἔσχε Αἴγυπτον. τοῦ δὲ χρηστηρίου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πολλὰ ἐπεμνήσθην ἤδη, καὶ δὴ λόγον περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀξίου ἐόντος ποιήσομαι. τὸ γὰρ χρηστήριον τοῦτο τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐστὶ μὲν Λητοῦς ἱρόν, ἐν πόλι δὲ μεγάλῃ ἱδρυμένον κατὰ τὸ Σεβεννυτικὸν καλεόμενον στόμα τοῦ Νείλου, ἀναπλέοντι1 ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἄνω.
In this way, then, Psammetichus obtained possession of Egypt. Now, I have already made many mentions of the oracle in Egypt, and indeed I shall make an account of it, as it is well worthy of it. For this oracle in Egypt is a temple of Leto, established in a great city near the so-called Sebennytic mouth of the Nile, as one sails up from the sea.
οὔνομα δὲ τῇ πόλι ταύτῃ ὅκου τὸ χρηστήριον ἐστὶ Βουτώ, ὡς καὶ πρότερον ὠνόμασταί μοι. ἱρὸν δὲ ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ Βουτοῖ ταύτῃ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος, καὶ ὅ γε νηὸς τῆς Λητοῦς, ἐν τῷ δὴ τὸ χρηστήριον ἔνι, αὐτός τε τυγχάνει ἐὼν μέγας καὶ τὰ προπύλαια ἔχει ἐς ὕψος δέκα ὀργυιέων.
The name of this city where the oracle is is Buto, as indeed has been mentioned by me before. And in this Buto there is a temple of Apollo and of Artemis, and the shrine of Leto itself, in which the oracle is, happens to be very large, and it has a gateway ten fathoms in height.
τὸ δέ μοι τῶν φανερῶν ἦν θῶμα μέγιστον παρεχόμενον, φράσω· ἔστι ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ τούτῳ Λητοῦς νηὸς ἐξ ἑνὸς λίθου πεποιημένος ἔς τε ὕψος καὶ ἐς μῆκος καὶ τοῖχος ἕκαστος τούτοισι ἴσος2 τεσσεράκοντα πηχέων τούτων ἕκαστον ἐστί, τὸ δὲ καταστέγασμα τῆς ὀροφῆς ἄλλος ἐπίκειται λίθος, ἔχων τὴν παρωροφίδα3 τετράπηχυν.
I will declare that which of all visible things presented to me the greatest wonder: in this precinct of Leto there is a shrine made from a single stone, both in height and in length, and each wall is equal to these, each of these dimensions being forty cubits; and for the covering of the roof there lies upon it another stone, having a cornice of four cubits.
- 2.155.1ἀναπλέοντι
Dative of reference/judicantis ('for one sailing up'). This is a common idiom in geographical descriptions to introduce the relative position from the perspective of a traveler or observer.
- 2.155.3τοῖχος ἕκαστος τούτοισι ἴσος
Meaning 'and each wall is equal to these (height and length)'. Here τούτοισι refers to the preceding nouns ὕψος and μῆκος. This indicates that the monolithic shrine is cubic in shape, with all three dimensions being equal.
- 2.155.3παρωροφίδα
Meaning 'cornice' or 'overhang'. παρωροφίς refers to the edge of the roof or cornice, indicating here that the single stone serving as the roof cover projects outward from the walls by four cubits.