- 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-grc2:2.174.1-2.174.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Amasis's habits of thievery during his private life are described, along with his selective patronage of oracles after becoming king based on whether they correctly convicted him.
λέγεται δὲ ὁ Ἄμασις, καὶ ὅτε ἦν1 ἰδιώτης, ὡς φιλοπότης ἦν καὶ φιλοσκώμμων καὶ οὐδαμῶς κατεσπουδασμένος ἀνήρ· ὅκως δέ μιν ἐπιλείποι πίνοντά τε καὶ εὐπαθέοντα τὰ ἐπιτήδεα, κλέπτεσκε ἂν2 περιιών· οἳ δʼ ἄν μιν φάμενοι ἔχειν τὰ σφέτερα χρήματα ἀρνεύμενον ἄγεσκον ἐπὶ μαντήιον, ὅκου ἑκάστοισι εἴη. πολλὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἡλίσκετο ὑπὸ τῶν μαντηίων, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀπέφευγε.
Amasis is said, even when he was a private citizen, to have been a lover of drinking and of jesting, and in no way a serious man. And whenever his provisions failed him as he drank and made merry, he would go about and steal; and those who claimed that he had their property would, when he denied it, take him to whatever oracle was nearest to each of them. And indeed he was often convicted by the oracles, but often he also escaped.
ἐπείτε δὲ καὶ ἐβασίλευσε, ἐποίησε τοιάδε· ὅσοι μὲν αὐτὸν τῶν θεῶν ἀπέλυσαν μὴ φῶρα εἶναι,3 τούτων μὲν τῶν ἱρῶν οὔτε ἐπεμέλετο οὔτε ἐς ἐπισκευὴν ἐδίδου οὐδέν, οὐδὲ φοιτέων ἔθυε ὡς οὐδενὸς ἐοῦσι ἀξίοισι ψευδέα τε μαντήια ἐκτημένοισι· ὅσοι δέ μιν κατέδησαν φῶρα εἶναι, τούτων δὲ ὡς ἀληθέων θεῶν ἐόντων καὶ ἀψευδέα μαντήια παρεχομένων τὰ μάλιστα ἐπεμέλετο.
But when he became king, he did as follows: whichever of the gods had acquitted him of being a thief, he neither cared for their temples nor gave anything for their restoration, nor did he visit them to offer sacrifice, regarding them as of no value and possessing false oracles; but whichever of them had convicted him of being a thief, these he cared for most especially, as being true gods and presenting oracles that did not lie.
- 2.174.1λέγεται δὲ ὁ Ἄμασις ... ὡς ... ἦν
A construction of prolepsis, where Ἄμασις, which logically functions as the subject of the subordinate clause (ὡς ἦν...), is pulled forward to serve as the subject of the passive main verb λέγεται.
- 2.174.1ὅκως δέ μιν ἐπιλείποι ... κλέπτεσκε ἂν
An iterative construction expressing past repeated condition and action. The subordinate clause with ὅκως and the optative (ἐπιλείποι) indicates a past repeated condition ('whenever...'), while the main clause verb with the iterative suffix -σκε (κλέπτεσκε) combined with the particle ἄν denotes a past habitual or repeated action ('he would...').
- 2.174.2ἀπέλυσαν μὴ φῶρα εἶναι
The negative particle μή is used with the infinitive clause following the verb of acquittal, ἀπολύω ('to acquit'). This reflects the Greek idiom where verbs of negative meaning (like acquitting or preventing) take a redundant or emphatic negative with the infinitive. In contrast, the subsequent verb of conviction, κατέδησαν, is followed by φῶρα εἶναι without a negative particle.