The Scribe of Sais and the Sources of the Nile — Herodotus, Histories Book 2 (2.28.1–2.28.5), Greek & English

§2.28.1

ταῦτα μέν νυν ἔστω ὡς ἔστι τε καὶ ὡς ἀρχὴν ἐγένετο·¹ τοῦ δὲ Νείλου τὰς πηγὰς οὔτε Αἰγυπτίων οὔτε Λιβύων οὔτε Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἐμοὶ ἀπικομένων ἐς λόγους² οὐδεὶς ὑπέσχετο εἰδέναι, εἰ μὴ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν Σάι πόλι ὁ γραμματιστὴς τῶν ἱρῶν χρημάτων τῆς Ἀθηναίης.

Let these matters stand as they are and as they were from the beginning. But as for the sources of the Nile, no one among the Egyptians, Libyans, or Greeks with whom I conversed undertook to say he knew them, except for the scribe of the sacred treasures of Athena in the Egyptian city of Sais.

§2.28.2

οὗτος δʼ ἔμοιγε παίζειν ἐδόκεε φάμενος εἰδέναι ἀτρεκέως· ἔλεγε δὲ ὧδε, εἶναι δύο ὄρεα ἐς ὀξὺ τὰς κορυφὰς ἀπηγμένα, μεταξὺ Συήνης τε πόλιος κείμενα τῆς Θηβαΐδος καὶ Ἐλεφαντίνης, οὐνόματα δὲ εἶναι τοῖσι ὄρεσι τῷ μὲν Κρῶφι τῷ δὲ Μῶφι·

Yet, this man seemed to me to be joking when he claimed to know for certain. He spoke as follows: that there are two mountains with peaks rising to a sharp point, situated between the city of Syene in the Thebaid and Elephantine, and the names of these mountains are Crophi for one, and Mophi for the other;

§2.28.3

τὰς ὦν δὴ πηγὰς τοῦ Νείλου ἐούσας ἀβύσσους ἐκ τοῦ μέσου τῶν ὀρέων τούτων ῥέειν, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐπʼ Αἰγύπτου ῥέειν καὶ πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον, τὸ δʼ ἕτερον ἥμισυ ἐπʼ Αἰθιοπίης τε καὶ νότου.

and that the sources of the Nile, being bottomless, flow from between these two mountains, with half of the water flowing toward Egypt and the north wind, and the other half toward Ethiopia and the south.

§2.28.4

ὡς δὲ ἄβυσσοι εἰσι αἱ πηγαί, ἐς διάπειραν ἔφη τούτου Ψαμμήτιχον Αἰγύπτου βασιλέα ἀπικέσθαι· πολλέων γὰρ αὐτὸν χιλιάδων ὀργυιέων πλεξάμενον κάλον κατεῖναι ταύτῃ καὶ οὐκ ἐξικέσθαι ἐς βυσσόν.

And to prove that the sources are bottomless, he said that Psammetichus, king of Egypt, made a trial of it; for having had a rope woven of many thousand fathoms, he let it down in this place, but could not reach the bottom.

§2.28.5

οὕτω μὲν δὴ ὁ γραμματιστής, εἰ ἄρα ταῦτα γινόμενα ἔλεγε, ἀπέφαινε, ὡς ἐμὲ κατανοέειν,³ δίνας τινὰς ταύτῃ ἐούσας ἰσχυρὰς καὶ παλιρροίην, οἷα δὲ ἐμβάλλοντος τοῦ ὕδατος τοῖσι ὄρεσι,⁴ μὴ δύνασθαι κατιεμένην καταπειρητηρίην ἐς βυσσὸν ἰέναι.

Thus, if the scribe was indeed speaking of actual facts, he showed, as I understand it, that there are strong eddies and a backflow in this place, such that because the water strikes against the mountains, the sounding-line let down is unable to reach the bottom.

Syntax notes4 items

2.28.1ταῦτα μέν νυν ἔστω ὡς ἔστι τε καὶ ὡς ἀρχὴν ἐγένετο
An idiomatic formula using the imperative ἔστω (third-person singular present imperative of εἰμί). Literally, 'let these things be as they are and as they came to be in the first place,' used as a transitional formula to close a discussion and move to a new topic. ἀρχήν is used adverbially to mean 'originally' or 'at all.'
2.28.1τῶν ἐμοὶ ἀπικομένων ἐς λόγους
The relative pronoun τῶν (genitive plural) is attracted to the case of its antecedents (Αἰγυπτίων, Λιβύων, Ἑλλήνων). The phrase ἐς λόγους ἀπικέσθαι is an idiom meaning 'to enter into conversation with.' ἐμοί is a dative of relation or direction, indicating 'with me' or 'to me.'
2.28.5ὡς ἐμὲ κατανοέειν
An absolute use of the infinitive. The particle ὡς is followed by the accusative subject ἐμέ and the infinitive κατανοέειν, expressing a limiting meaning: 'so far as I understand' or 'in my view.'
2.28.5οἷα δὲ ἐμβάλλοντος τοῦ ὕδατος τοῖσι ὄρεσι
The particle οἷα with a participle indicates an objective cause or reason ('inasmuch as,' 'because'). The phrase ἐμβάλλοντος τοῦ ὕδατος is a genitive absolute, consisting of the noun ὕδατος and the present participle ἐμβάλλοντος. τοῖσι ὄρεσι is the dative object governed by ἐμβάλλω ('striking against the mountains').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.28.1-2.28.5