- 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-grc2:2.50.1-2.50.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
The author points out that most names of Greek gods originate from Egypt, lists the exceptions, traces the origin of Poseidon's name to Libya, and notes that the Egyptians do not practice hero worship at all.
σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ πάντων τὰ οὐνόματα τῶν θεῶν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐλήλυθε ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα. διότι μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων ἥκει, πυνθανόμενος οὕτω εὑρίσκω ἐόν·1 δοκέω δʼ ὦν μάλιστα ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου ἀπῖχθαι.
And indeed, almost all the names of the gods have come from Egypt to Greece. For that they come from the barbarians, I find by inquiry to be the case; and I believe, at any rate, that they have come especially from Egypt.
ὅτι γὰρ δὴ μὴ2 Ποσειδέωνος καὶ Διοσκούρων, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι ταῦτα εἴρηται, καὶ Ἥρης καὶ Ἱστίης καὶ Θέμιος καὶ Χαρίτων καὶ Νηρηίδων, τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν Αἰγυπτίοισι αἰεί κοτε τὰ οὐνόματα ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ χώρῃ. λέγω δὲ τὰ λέγουσι αὐτοὶ Αἰγύπτιοι. τῶν δὲ οὔ φασι θεῶν γινώσκειν τὰ οὐνόματα,3 οὗτοι δέ μοι δοκέουσι ὑπὸ Πελασγῶν ὀνομασθῆναι, πλὴν Ποσειδέωνος· τοῦτον δὲ τὸν θεὸν παρὰ Λιβύων ἐπύθοντο·
For indeed, except for Poseidon and the Dioscuri—as has also been mentioned by me before—and Hera, Hestia, Themis, the Graces, and the Nereids, the names of the other gods have always existed from all time in the land of the Egyptians. And I say what the Egyptians themselves say. And as for the gods whose names they say they do not know, these seem to me to have been named by the Pelasgians, except for Poseidon; and of this god they learned from the Libyans.
οὐδαμοὶ γὰρ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς Ποσειδέωνος οὔνομα ἔκτηνται εἰ μὴ Λίβυες καὶ τιμῶσι τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον αἰεί. νομίζουσι δʼ ὦν Αἰγύπτιοι οὐδʼ ἥρωσι οὐδέν.4
For no people from the beginning have possessed the name of Poseidon except the Libyans, and they have always honored this god. In any case, the Egyptians do not pay any worship to heroes either.
- 2.50.1διότι μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων ἥκει, πυνθανόμενος οὕτω εὑρίσκω ἐόν
Here διότι is used in the sense of ὅτι ('that'), introducing a noun clause that serves as the object of εὑρίσκω. ἐόν is the Ionic present participle of εἶναι (equivalent to Attic ὄν), forming the object-complement construction οὕτω εὑρίσκω ἐόν ('I find by inquiry that this is so').
- 2.50.2ὅτι γὰρ δὴ μὴ
The phrase ὅτι μὴ is an idiomatic expression meaning 'except' or 'save.' Here, the intensifying particles γὰρ δὴ are inserted between them, yielding the meaning 'for indeed, except for...'.
- 2.50.2τῶν δὲ οὔ φασι θεῶν γινώσκειν τὰ οὐνόματα
The relative pronoun τῶν (the Ionic article acting as a relative pronoun) modifies θεῶν, forming a relative clause ('the gods whose names they say they do not know'). This entire phrase is topicalized at the beginning of the sentence and is later picked up by the demonstrative pronoun οὗτοι in the main clause. The verb phrase οὔ φασι features negative transportation, meaning 'they say they do not...'.
- 2.50.3νομίζουσι δʼ ὦν Αἰγύπτιοι οὐδʼ ἥρωσι οὐδέν
The verb νομίζω typically takes an accusative, but here it is used with the dative (ἥρωσι) to mean 'to pay religious respect to' or 'to worship (gods or heroes).' οὐδέν is used adverbially to strengthen the negative ('not at all').