Egypt as the Gift of the River and Its Evidence — Herodotus, Histories Book 2 (2.5.1–2.5.2), Greek & English

§2.5.1

καὶ εὖ μοι ἐδόκεον λέγειν περὶ τῆς χώρης· δῆλα γὰρ δὴ καὶ μὴ προακούσαντι ἰδόντι δέ,¹ ὅστις γε σύνεσιν ἔχει, ὅτι Αἴγυπτος, ἐς τὴν Ἕλληνες ναυτίλλονται, ἐστὶ Αἰγυπτίοισι ἐπίκτητός τε γῆ καὶ δῶρον τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ τὰ κατύπερθε ἔτι τῆς λίμνης ταύτης μέχρι τριῶν ἡμερέων πλόου,² τῆς πέρι ἐκεῖνοι οὐδὲν ἔτι τοιόνδε ἔλεγον, ἔστι δὲ ἕτερον τοιόνδε.

And they seemed to me to speak correctly about the country; for it is obvious, even to one who has not heard it beforehand but has seen it, provided he has understanding, that Egypt, to which the Greeks sail, is an acquired land for the Egyptians and a gift of the river, and also the region above this lake for as much as three days’ voyage, concerning which those people said nothing more of this kind, though it is another of this sort.

§2.5.2

Αἰγύπτου γὰρ φύσις ἐστὶ τῆς χώρης τοιήδε. πρῶτα μὲν προσπλέων ἔτι καὶ ἡμέρης δρόμον ἀπέχων ἀπὸ γῆς, κατεὶς³ καταπειρητηρίην πηλόν τε ἀνοίσεις καὶ ἐν ἕνδεκα ὀργυιῇσι ἔσεαι. τοῦτο μὲν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο δηλοῖ πρόχυσιν τῆς γῆς ἐοῦσαν.

For the nature of the land of Egypt is as follows: first, as you sail towards it and are still a day’s run distant from the land, if you let down a sounding-line, you will bring up mud and find yourself in eleven fathoms of water. This, on its part, shows that there is a silting up of the land to this extent.

Syntax notes3 items

2.5.1δῆλα γὰρ δὴ καὶ μὴ προακούσαντι ἰδόντι δέ
δῆλα is a neuter plural used impersonally like δῆλόν ἐστι ('it is clear'), with the following ὅτι clause acting as the subject. The dative participles μὴ προακούσαντι ('one who has not heard beforehand') and ἰδόντι ('one who has seen') express the person to whom it is clear. The negative μή with the first participle indicates a hypothetical condition ('even if one has not heard').
2.5.1καὶ τὰ κατύπερθε ἔτι τῆς λίμνης ταύτης μέχρι τριῶν ἡμερέων πλόου
This nominal phrase in the nominative (or accusative) can be construed as coordinate with Αἴγυπτος in the preceding ὅτι clause, but it functions primarily as the subject of the clause ἔστι δὲ ἕτερον τοιόνδε ('but it is another of this sort'), transitioning the discussion to the region above the lake.
2.5.2προσπλέων ἔτι καὶ ἡμέρης δρόμον ἀπέχων ἀπὸ γῆς, κατεὶς
These nominative masculine singular participles (προσπλέων, ἀπέχων, κατείς) agree with the subject of the main verbs in the second person singular future (ἀνοίσεις, ἔσεαι). This second person singular is generic ('you' meaning anyone sailing there).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.5.1-2.5.2