- 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-grc2:2.37.1-2.37.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
This passage describes the religious customs of the Egyptians, focusing on the priests' strict observance of bodily cleanliness through specific garments, shaving, and bathing, as well as their dietary privileges and restrictions.
θεοσεβέες δὲ περισσῶς ἐόντες μάλιστα πάντων ἀνθρώπων νόμοισι τοιοῖσιδε χρέωνται. ἐκ χαλκέων ποτηρίων πίνουσι, διασμῶντες ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέρην, οὐκ ὃ μὲν ὃ δʼ οὔ,1 ἀλλὰ πάντες.
But being excessively religious, most of all men, they use the following customs. They drink from bronze cups, scouring them every day, not one doing so and another not, but all of them.
εἵματα δὲ λίνεα φορέουσι αἰεὶ νεόπλυτα, ἐπιτηδεύοντες τοῦτο μάλιστα, τά τε αἰδοῖα περιτάμνονται καθαρειότητος εἵνεκεν, προτιμῶντες καθαροὶ εἶναι ἢ εὐπρεπέστεροι. οἱ δὲ ἱρέες ξυρῶνται πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τρίτης ἡμέρης,2 ἵνα μήτε φθεὶρ μήτε ἄλλο μυσαρὸν μηδὲν ἐγγίνηταί σφι θεραπεύουσι τοὺς θεούς.
They wear linen garments which are always newly washed, practicing this especially, and they circumcise their private parts for the sake of cleanliness, preferring to be clean rather than more comely. The priests shave their whole body every third day, so that neither louse nor any other unclean thing may come upon them as they serve the gods.
ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι οἱ ἱρέες λινέην μούνην καὶ ὑποδήματα βύβλινα· ἄλλην δέ σφι ἐσθῆτα οὐκ ἔξεστι λαβεῖν οὐδὲ ὑποδήματα ἄλλα. λοῦνται δὲ δὶς τῆς ἡμέρης ἑκάστης ψυχρῷ καὶ δὶς ἑκάστης νυκτός, ἄλλας τε θρησκηίας ἐπιτελέουσι μυρίας ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ.
The priests wear a linen garment only and sandals of papyrus; and it is not permitted for them to take any other garment or other sandals. They bathe in cold water twice every day and twice every night, and they perform countless other religious observances, so to speak.
πάσχουσι δὲ καὶ ἀγαθὰ οὐκ ὀλίγα· οὔτε τι γὰρ τῶν οἰκηίων τρίβουσι οὔτε δαπανῶνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ σιτία σφι ἐστὶ ἱρὰ πεσσόμενα, καὶ κρεῶν βοέων καὶ χηνέων πλῆθός τι ἑκάστῳ γίνεται πολλὸν ἡμέρης ἑκάστης, δίδοται δέ σφι καὶ οἶνος ἀμπέλινος· ἰχθύων δὲ οὔ σφι ἔξεστι πάσασθαι.
But they also enjoy no small benefits; for they neither consume any of their own property nor spend anything, but sacred bread is baked for them, and a great abundance of beef and goose meat comes to each of them every day, and wine from grapes is also given to them; but they are not allowed to taste fish.
κυάμους δὲ οὔτε τι μάλα σπείρουσι Αἰγύπτιοι ἐν τῇ χώρῃ, τούς τε γινομένους οὔτε τρώγουσι οὔτε ἕψοντες πατέονται, οἱ δὲ δὴ ἱρέες οὐδὲ ὁρέοντες ἀνέχονται,3 νομίζοντες οὐ καθαρὸν εἶναί μιν ὄσπριον. ἱρᾶται δὲ οὐκ εἷς ἑκάστου τῶν θεῶν ἀλλὰ πολλοί, τῶν εἷς ἐστι ἀρχιερεύς· ἐπεὰν δέ τις ἀποθάνῃ, τούτου ὁ παῖς ἀντικατίσταται.
As for beans, the Egyptians do not sow them at all in their country, and those that grow they neither eat raw nor consume cooked; and the priests indeed cannot bear even to look upon them, considering it to be an unclean vegetable. Not one priest is dedicated to each of the gods, but many, of whom one is the high priest; and when one dies, his son is appointed in his place.
- 2.37.1οὐκ ὃ μὲν ὃ δʼ οὔ
The demonstrative pronouns in contrast (literally 'not this one [does] and that one [does] not') are negated as a whole by οὐκ, meaning that all of them without exception scour their cups.
- 2.37.2διὰ τρίτης ἡμέρης
The preposition διά with an ordinal number indicates an interval. Due to inclusive reckoning in Greek (where the starting day is counted as day one), 'every third day' practically means 'every other day'.
- 2.37.5οὐδὲ ὁρέοντες ἀνέχονται
The verb ἀνέχομαι takes a participle to mean 'bear or endure doing something'. Here, combined with the negative οὐδέ and the present participle ὁρέοντες, it means 'they cannot bear even to look [upon them]'.