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Histories

§2.54.1-2.54.2

Theban account of the origins of Greek and Libyan oracles

The author presents the Egyptian tradition from the priests of Thebes concerning the origins of the Greek and Libyan oracles, stating that two Theban priestesses carried off by Phoenicians founded the first oracles in those lands, and explains how the priests later verified these events.

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§2.54.1

χρηστηρίων δὲ πέρι τοῦ τε ἐν Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ τόνδε Αἰγύπτιοι λόγον λέγουσι. ἔφασαν οἱ ἱρέες τοῦ Θηβαιέος Διὸς δύο γυναῖκας ἱρείας ἐκ Θηβέων ἐξαχθῆναι ὑπὸ Φοινίκων, καὶ τὴν μὲν αὐτέων πυθέσθαι1 ἐς Λιβύην πρηθεῖσαν τὴν δὲ ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας· ταύτας δὲ τὰς γυναῖκας εἶναι τὰς ἱδρυσαμένας τὰ μαντήια πρώτας ἐν τοῖσι εἰρημένοισι ἔθνεσι.

​As for the oracle among the Greeks and the one in Libya, the Egyptians tell the following story. The priests of the Theban Zeus said that two priestesses were carried off from Thebes by the Phoenicians, and that one of them was sold and reached Libya, and the other reached Greece; and these women, they said, were the first to establish the oracles in the aforementioned nations.

§2.54.2

εἰρομένου δέ μευ ὁκόθεν οὕτω ἀτρεκέως ἐπιστάμενοι λέγουσι, ἔφασαν πρὸς ταῦτα ζήτησιν μεγάλην ἀπὸ σφέων γενέσθαι τῶν γυναικῶν τουτέων,2 καὶ ἀνευρεῖν μὲν σφέας οὐ δυνατοὶ γενέσθαι,3 πυθέσθαι δὲ ὕστερον ταῦτα περὶ αὐτέων τά περ δὴ ἔλεγον.

​When I asked them how it was that they knew and spoke so precisely, they replied to this that a great search had been made by them for these women, and though they had not been able to find them, they later learned these things about them which they were indeed telling.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 2.54.1πυθέσθαι

    Here the infinitive πυθέσθαι (aorist of πυνθάνομαι) is used in the highly unusual sense of 'to reach' or 'to arrive at,' which is a rare usage characteristic of Herodotus. This is often explained as a confusion with πέλασθαι ('to approach, reach') or as a dialectal idiosyncrasy. While it could theoretically mean 'they (the priests) learned that one of them had been sold into Libya,' taking the priests as the subject, it is structurally much more natural to interpret it as 'one of them reached Libya,' in parallel with 'the other (reached) Greece.'

  2. 2.54.2ζήτησιν μεγάλην ἀπὸ σφέων γενέσθαι τῶν γυναικῶν τουτέων

    The genitive τῶν γυναικῶν τουτέων functions as an objective genitive dependent on the noun of action ζήτησιν ('search for these women'). The prepositional phrase ἀπὸ σφέων ('from them/by them') indicates the agent of the action (the priests), meaning as a whole 'a great search for these women was made by them.'

  3. 2.54.2οὐ δυνατοὶ γενέσθαι

    Since the logical subject of the infinitive ἀνευρεῖν ('to find')—which is the priests—is identical to the subject of the governing verb ἔφασαν ('they said'), the adjective δυνατοὶ is attracted into the nominative plural instead of being in the accusative (δυνατούς).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.54.1-2.54.2