- 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-grc2:2.175.1-2.175.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
King Amasis's architectural marvels at the temple of Athena in Sais, including the grand propylaea and colossal statues, are described, with special focus on a massive monolithic chamber transported from Elephantine, which ultimately remained outside the temple due to an ill omen or a fatal accident.
καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐν Σάι τῇ Ἀθηναίῃ προπύλαια θωμάσια οἷα ἐξεποίησε, πολλὸν πάντας ὑπερβαλόμενος τῷ τε ὕψεϊ καὶ τῷ μεγάθεϊ, ὅσων τε τὸ μέγαθος λίθων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁκοίων τεῶν·1 τοῦτο δὲ κολοσσοὺς μεγάλους καὶ ἀνδρόσφιγγας περιμήκεας ἀνέθηκε, λίθους τε ἄλλους ἐς ἐπισκευὴν ὑπερφυέας τὸ μέγαθος ἐκόμισε.
On the one hand, in Sais, at the temple of Athena, he built wondrous propylaea, far surpassing all in both height and size, and in how great the size of the stones is and of what kind they are; on the other hand, he dedicated great colossi and very long male-headed sphinxes, and brought other stones of extraordinary size for restoration.
ἠγάγετο δὲ τούτων τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Μέμφιν ἐουσέων λιθοτομιέων, τοὺς δὲ ὑπερμεγάθεας ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλιος πλόον καὶ εἴκοσι ἡμερέων2 ἀπεχούσης ἀπὸ Σάιος.
He brought some of these from the quarries near Memphis, and others, which were extremely large, from the city of Elephantine, which is a voyage of twenty days away from Sais.
τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἥκιστα αὐτῶν ἀλλὰ μάλιστα θωμάζω, ἔστι τόδε· οἴκημα μουνόλιθον ἐκόμισε ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλιος, καὶ τοῦτο ἐκόμιζον μὲν ἐπʼ ἔτεα τρία, δισχίλιοι δέ οἱ προσετετάχατο ἄνδρες ἀγωγέες, καὶ οὗτοι ἅπαντες ἦσαν κυβερνῆται. τῆς δὲ στέγης ταύτης τὸ μὲν μῆκος ἔξωθεν ἐστὶ εἷς τε καὶ εἴκοσι πήχεες, εὖρος δὲ τεσσερεσκαίδεκα, ὕψος δὲ ὀκτώ.
But what I wonder at not the least of these things, but most of all, is this: he brought a monolithic chamber from the city of Elephantine, and they were bringing this for three years, and two thousand men were appointed for him as haulers, and all of these were pilots. The length of this building on the outside is twenty-one cubits, its width fourteen, and its height eight.
ταῦτα μὲν τὰ μέτρα ἔξωθεν τῆς στέγης τῆς μουνολίθου ἐστί, ἀτὰρ ἔσωθεν τὸ μῆκος ὀκτωκαίδεκα πηχέων καὶ πυγόνος, τὸ δὲ ὕψος πέντε πηχέων ἐστί. αὕτη τοῦ ἱροῦ κέεται παρὰ τὴν ἔσοδον·
These are the measurements of the monolithic building on the outside, but on the inside the length is eighteen cubits and a pygon, and the height is five cubits. This lies by the entrance of the temple;
ἔσω γάρ μιν ἐς τὸ ἱρόν φασι τῶνδε εἵνεκα οὐκ ἐσελκύσαι· τὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα αὐτῆς ἑλκομένης τῆς στέγης ἀναστενάξαι, οἷά τε χρόνου ἐγγεγονότος πολλοῦ καὶ ἀχθόμενον τῷ ἔργῳ,3 τὸν δὲ Ἄμασιν ἐνθύμιον ποιησάμενον4 οὐκ ἐᾶν ἔτι προσωτέρω ἑλκύσαι. ἤδη δὲ τινὲς λέγουσι ὡς ἄνθρωπος διεφθάρη ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τῶν τις αὐτὴν μοχλευόντων, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου οὐκ ἐσελκυσθῆναι.
for they say that they did not drag it inside into the temple for the following reason: that as the building was being dragged, the architect groaned aloud, because much time had elapsed and he was weary of the work, and Amasis, taking it to heart, did not allow them to drag it any further. But some already say that one of the men who were leveraging it was killed by it, and for this reason it was not dragged inside.
- 2.175.1ὅσων τε τὸ μέγαθος λίθων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁκοίων τεῶν
ὅσων and ὁκοίων are relative (or indirect interrogative) pronouns. τεῶν is the genitive plural τέων (equivalent to Attic τίνων), meaning "of what kind." This clause functions as an indirect question/relative clause depending on ὑπερβαλόμενος ("surpassing"), describing the immense size and the specific types of the stones used.
- 2.175.2πλόον καὶ εἴκοσι ἡμερέων
πλόον (voyage) is an accusative of extent (adverbial accusative) modifying ἀπεχούσης ("being distant"). ἡμερέων is a genitive of measure, expressing "a voyage of twenty days."
- 2.175.5οἷά τε χρόνου ἐγγεγονότος πολλοῦ καὶ ἀχθόμενον τῷ ἔργῳ
οἷά τε (seeing that, inasmuch as) expresses cause and modifies the participle ἀχθόμενον ("being weary"). Interposed between them is the genitive absolute χρόνου ἐγγεγονότος πολλοῦ ("much time having elapsed"). This whole structure explains the reason why the architect groaned (ἀναστενάξαι).
- 2.175.5ἐνθύμιον ποιησάμενον
The idiom ἐνθύμιον ποιέομαι literally means "to lay to heart" or "to consider seriously," but in Herodotus it often carries a specific nuance of "to regard as a religious scruple" or "to take as an ill omen." Here, it indicates that Amasis perceived the architect's sigh as a bad omen.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1