- 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-grc2:2.168.1-2.168.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
On the land privileges and their measurement allotted to the Egyptian warrior classes, and the daily food rations provided to those serving in rotation as the king's bodyguards.
γέρεα δέ σφι1 ἦν τάδε ἐξαραιρημένα μούνοισι Αἰγυπτίων πάρεξ τῶν ἱρέων, ἄρουραι ἐξαίρετοι δυώδεκα ἑκάστῳ ἀτελέες. ἡ δὲ ἄρουρα ἑκατὸν πηχέων ἐστὶ Αἰγυπτίων πάντῃ, ὁ δὲ Αἰγύπτιος πῆχυς τυγχάνει ἴσος ἐὼν τῷ Σαμίῳ.
Now they had these privileges set apart for them alone of the Egyptians, apart from the priests: twelve select arouras of land free of taxes for each man. The aroura is a square of a hundred Egyptian cubits on every side, and the Egyptian cubit happens to be equal to the Samian.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τοῖσι ἅπασι ἦν ἐξαραιρημένα, τάδε δὲ ἐν περιτροπῇ ἐκαρποῦντο καὶ οὐδαμὰ ὡυτοί.2 Καλασιρίων χίλιοι καὶ Ἑρμοτυβίων ἐδορυφόρεον ἐνιαυτὸν ἕκαστοι τὸν βασιλέα· τούτοισι ὦν τάδε πάρεξ τῶν ἀρουρέων ἄλλα ἐδίδοτο ἐπʼ ἡμέρῃ ἑκάστῃ, ὀπτοῦ σίτου σταθμὸς πέντε μνέαι ἑκάστῳ, κρεῶν βοέων δύο μνέαι, οἴνου τέσσερες ἀρυστῆρες. ταῦτα τοῖσι αἰεὶ δορυφορέουσι3 ἐδίδοτο.
These things indeed were set apart for them all, but they enjoyed the following in rotation, and never the same men. A thousand of the Calasirians and a thousand of the Hermotybians guarded the king each year; to these, then, other things were given daily, besides the land: to each man five minae by weight of baked bread, two minae of beef, and four arysteres of wine. These things were given to those who were guarding at any given time.
- 2.168.1σφι
Third-person plural pronoun in the dative case (Ionic form). It functions as a dative of possession or reference, referring back to the two Egyptian warrior classes (Calasirians and Hermotybians) detailed in chapters 164–166.
- 2.168.2ἐν περιτροπῇ... καὶ οὐδαμὰ ὡυτοί
The contrastive phrase 'in rotation... and never the same men.' It highlights that while the land allotments were permanently assigned to all of them, the privileges of daily food rations were temporarily restricted to the specific groups currently on duty in rotation.
- 2.168.2τοῖσι αἰεὶ δορυφορέουσι
The combination of the attributive present participle with the adverb αἰεί. Rather than meaning 'those who always serve as guards' in a permanent sense, it means 'those who from time to time serve as guards,' referring to the group on duty at any given rotation.