- 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-grc2:2.40.1-2.40.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
After noting that the extraction and burning of sacrificial parts vary by offering, the author describes the specific procedure for sacrificing an ox during the festival of the greatest goddess, which involves fasting and mourning.
ἡ δὲ δὴ ἐξαίρεσις τῶν ἱρῶν καὶ ἡ καῦσις ἄλλη περὶ ἄλλο ἱρόν σφι κατέστηκε· τὴν δʼ ὦν μεγίστην τε δαίμονα ἥγηνται εἶναι καὶ μεγίστην οἱ ὁρτὴν ἀνάγουσι, ταύτην ἔρχομαι ἐρέων1 ἐπεὰν ἀποδείρωσι τὸν βοῦν, κατευξάμενοι κοιλίην μὲν κείνην πᾶσαν ἐξ ὦν εἷλον,2 σπλάγχνά δὲ αὐτοῦ λείπουσι ἐν τῷ σώματι καὶ τὴν πιμελήν, σκέλεα δὲ ἀποτάμνουσι καὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν ἄκρην καὶ τοὺς ὤμους τε καὶ τὸν τράχηλον.
But the extraction of the inner parts of the victims and their burning are established differently among them for different sacrifices; however, as for that goddess whom they deem to be the greatest and in whose honor they celebrate the greatest festival, this is the one I am going to speak of. When they have flayed the ox, having offered prayers, they take out its belly entirely, but they leave its viscera and fat in the body, and they cut off the legs, the end of the loin, the shoulders, and the neck.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα τοῦ βοὸς πιμπλᾶσι ἄρτων καθαρῶν καὶ μέλιτος καὶ ἀσταφίδος καὶ σύκων καὶ λιβανωτοῦ καὶ σμύρνης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θυωμάτων, πλήσαντες δὲ τούτων καταγίζουσι, ἔλαιον ἄφθονον καταχέοντες·
Having done this, they fill the remaining body of the ox with clean loaves of bread, honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other spices; and having filled it with these, they burn it completely, pouring over it abundant oil.
προνηστεύσαντες δὲ θύουσι, καιομένων δὲ τῶν ἱρῶν τύπτονται πάντες, ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀποτύψωνται,3 δαῖτα προτίθενται τὰ ἐλίποντο τῶν ἱρῶν.
They fast before they offer the sacrifice, and while the victims are burning, they all beat themselves in mourning; and when they have ceased mourning, they set out as a feast what remained of the victims.
- 2.40.1ἔρχομαι ἐρέων
The verb ἔρχομαι ('to go') combined with the participle ἐρέων (functioning as a future participle of ἐρῶ) forms a periphrastic expression indicating immediate future intention ('I am going to speak').
- 2.40.2ἐξ ὦν εἷλον
An instance of tmesis, where the prepositional prefix (ἐξ) and the verb (εἷλον) of the compound verb ἐξαιρέω are separated. The intervening particle ὦν is the Ionic equivalent of οὖν.
- 2.40.4ἀποτύψωνται
The aorist subjunctive of the middle verb ἀποτύπτομαι (from τύπτομαι, 'to beat one's breast in mourning'), where the prefix ἀπό- carries a terminative or completive force, meaning 'to cease beating one's breast' or 'to finish mourning.'