- 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-grc2:2.53.1-2.53.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
The author asserts that the Greeks did not know the origin and form of the gods until recently, arguing that Hesiod and Homer established the theogony and divine attributes, while identifying the sources of his information.
ἔνθεν δὲ ἐγένοντο ἕκαστος τῶν θεῶν, εἴτε αἰεὶ ἦσαν πάντες, ὁκοῖοί τε τινὲς τὰ εἴδεα, οὐκ ἠπιστέατο μέχρι οὗ πρώην τε καὶ χθὲς ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ.1
As for whence each of the gods came into being, or whether they had all always existed, and what kind of forms they had, people did not know until recently, yesterday or the day before, so to speak.
Ἡσίοδον γὰρ καὶ Ὅμηρον ἡλικίην τετρακοσίοισι ἔτεσι δοκέω μευ πρεσβυτέρους γενέσθαι2 καὶ οὐ πλέοσι· οὗτοι δὲ εἰσὶ οἱ ποιήσαντες θεογονίην Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖσι θεοῖσι τὰς ἐπωνυμίας δόντες καὶ τιμάς τε καὶ τέχνας διελόντες καὶ εἴδεα αὐτῶν σημήναντες.
For I think that Hesiod and Homer lived four hundred years before my time, and no more; and these are they who created a theogony for the Greeks, gave the gods their epithets, distributed their honors and skills, and indicated their forms.
οἱ δὲ πρότερον ποιηταὶ λεγόμενοι τούτων τῶν ἀνδρῶν γενέσθαι ὕστερον, ἔμοιγε δοκέειν,3 ἐγένοντο. τούτων τὰ μὲν πρῶτα αἱ Δωδωνίδες ἱρεῖαι λέγουσι, τὰ δὲ ὕστερα4 τὰ ἐς Ἡσίοδόν τε καὶ Ὅμηρον ἔχοντα ἐγὼ λέγω.
But the poets who are said to have lived before these men were, in my opinion, born after them. Of these matters, the first part is what the priestesses of Dodona say, while the latter part concerning Hesiod and Homer is what I myself say.
- 2.53.1πρώην τε καὶ χθὲς ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ
The phrase πρώην τε καὶ χθές (literally 'the day before yesterday and yesterday') is an idiom meaning 'very recently.' The following ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ functions as 'so to speak,' softening this temporal exaggeration.
- 2.53.2δοκέω μευ πρεσβυτέρους γενέσθαι
The pronoun μευ (the Ionic genitive form of ἐμοῦ) functions as a genitive of comparison with the comparative adjective πρεσβυτέρους ('older than me'), meaning 'I think they were born (four hundred years) before my time.'
- 2.53.3ἔμοιγε δοκέειν
An absolute (or restrictive) infinitive construction, meaning 'in my opinion' or 'as it seems to me,' used to limit the scope of the assertion.
- 2.53.3τούτων τὰ μὲν πρῶτα... τὰ δὲ ὕστερα
The genitive pronoun τούτων is a partitive genitive referring to the entire subject discussed previously. It establishes a contrast: 'Of these matters, the first part (concerning the Pelasgian traditions)... while the latter part (concerning Hesiod and Homer)...'