- 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-grc2:2.49.1-2.49.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
The author presents his view that Melampus introduced the worship of Dionysus and the phallic procession to the Greeks, having learned these rites from Egypt and from Cadmus and his Phoenician companions.
ἤδη ὦν δοκέει μοι Μελάμπους ὁ Ἀμυθέωνος τῆς θυσίης ταύτης1 οὐκ εἶναι ἀδαὴς ἀλλʼ ἔμπειρος. Ἕλλησι γὰρ δὴ Μελάμπους ἐστὶ ὁ ἐξηγησάμενος τοῦ Διονύσου τό τε οὔνομα καὶ τὴν θυσίην καὶ τὴν πομπὴν τοῦ φαλλοῦ· ἀτρεκέως μὲν οὐ πάντα συλλαβὼν τὸν λόγον ἔφηνε, ἀλλʼ οἱ ἐπιγενόμενοι τούτῳ σοφισταὶ μεζόνως ἐξέφηναν· τὸν δʼ ὦν φαλλὸν τὸν τῷ Διονύσῳ πεμπόμενον Μελάμπους ἐστὶ ὁ κατηγησάμενος, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου μαθόντες ποιεῦσι τὰ ποιεῦσι Ἕλληνες.
So indeed, it seems to me that Melampus, the son of Amytheon, was not ignorant of this sacrifice, but well acquainted with it. For indeed, Melampus is the one who introduced to the Greeks both the name of Dionysus, the sacrifice, and the procession of the phallus; he did not indeed reveal the whole doctrine by grasping it exactly, but the wise men who came after him revealed it more fully. Anyway, Melampus is the one who introduced the phallus carried in procession for Dionysus, and having learned from him, the Greeks do what they do.
ἐγὼ μέν νυν φημὶ Μελάμποδα γενόμενον ἄνδρα σοφὸν μαντικήν τε ἑωυτῷ συστῆσαι καὶ πυθόμενον ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἐσηγήσασθαι Ἕλλησι καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον, ὀλίγα αὐτῶν παραλλάξαντα. οὐ γὰρ δὴ συμπεσεῖν γε φήσω τά τε ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ποιεύμενα τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖσι Ἕλλησι· ὁμότροπα γὰρ ἂν ἦν2 τοῖσι Ἕλλησι καὶ οὐ νεωστὶ ἐσηγμένα.
For my part, then, I say that Melampus, having become a wise man, established the art of divination for himself, and having learned from Egypt, introduced both many other things to the Greeks and the rites of Dionysus, altering them only slightly. For indeed, I will not say that the things done for the god in Egypt and those among the Greeks coincided by chance; for if so, they would have been of a piece with Greek customs and not recently introduced.
οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ φήσω ὅκως3 Αἰγύπτιοι παρʼ Ἑλλήνων ἔλαβον ἢ τοῦτο ἢ ἄλλο κού τι νόμαιον. πυθέσθαι δέ μοι δοκέει μάλιστα Μελάμπους τὰ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον παρὰ Κάδμου τε τοῦ Τυρίου καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ ἐκ Φοινίκης ἀπικομένων ἐς τὴν νῦν Βοιωτίην καλεομένην χώρην.
Nor, indeed, will I say that the Egyptians took from the Greeks either this or any other custom. But it seems to me most likely that Melampus learned the matters concerning Dionysus from Cadmus of Tyre and those who came with him from Phoenicia to the land now called Boeotia.
- 2.49.1τῆς θυσίης ταύτης
The genitive τῆς θυσίης ταύτης is an objective genitive governing both the negative adjective ἀδαὴς ("ignorant of") and the subsequent ἔμπειρος ("experienced in").
- 2.49.2ὁμότροπα γὰρ ἂν ἦν
The imperfect ἦν with the particle ἄν forms the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition. The protasis ("if they had coincided by chance" or "if they were of native Greek origin") is implied from the preceding context, meaning "for [if so,] they would have been similar in character to Greek customs [but they are not]."
- 2.49.3ὅκως
The Ionic form of the indirect interrogative adverb ὅπως ("how"), which introduces an indirect question clause functioning as the object of φήσω. Combined with the strong double negation οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ, it expresses a strong denial: "Nor indeed will I say how [i.e., that] the Egyptians took..."