- 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-grc2:2.63.1-2.63.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
The ritual conflict with wooden clubs during the festival of Ares in Papremis, and the local myth about its origin involving Ares' return to his mother.
ἐς δὲ Ἡλίου τε πόλιν καὶ Βουτοῦν θυσίας μούνας ἐπιτελέουσι φοιτέοντες. ἐν δὲ Παπρήμι θυσίας μὲν καὶ ἱρὰ κατά περ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ποιεῦσι· εὖτʼ ἂν δὲ γίνηται καταφερὴς ὁ ἥλιος, ὀλίγοι μὲν τινὲς τῶν ἱρέων περὶ τὤγαλμα πεπονέαται,1 οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν ξύλων κορύνας ἔχοντες ἑστᾶσι τοῦ ἱροῦ ἐν τῇ ἐσόδῳ, ἄλλοι τε εὐχωλὰς ἐπιτελέοντες πλεῦνες χιλίων ἀνδρῶν, ἕκαστοι ἔχοντες ξύλα καὶ οὗτοι, ἐπὶ τὰ ἕτερα ἁλέες ἑστᾶσι.
But to Heliopolis and Buto they go and perform sacrifices only. In Papremis they perform sacrifices and sacred rites just as elsewhere; but when the sun goes down, a few of the priests busy themselves about the image, while most of them, having clubs of wood, stand at the entrance of the temple, and others, performing vows, more than a thousand men, each of these also having clubs, stand in a crowd on the opposite side.
τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ἐὸν ἐν νηῷ μικρῷ ξυλίνῳ κατακεχρυσωμένῳ προεκκομίζουσι τῇ προτεραίῃ ἐς ἄλλο οἴκημα ἱρόν. οἱ μὲν δὴ ὀλίγοι οἱ περὶ τὤγαλμα λελειμμένοι ἕλκουσι τετράκυκλον ἅμαξαν ἄγουσαν τὸν νηόν τε καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ νηῷ ἐνεὸν ἄγαλμα, οἳ δὲ οὐκ ἐῶσι2 ἐν τοῖσι προπυλαίοισι ἑστεῶτες ἐσιέναι, οἱ δὲ εὐχωλιμαῖοι τιμωρέοντες τῷ θεῷ παίουσι αὐτοὺς ἀλεξομένους.
The image, which is in a small wooden temple gilded over, they carry out beforehand on the previous day into another sacred building. Then the few who are left about the image drag a four-wheeled wagon carrying both the temple and the image contained within the temple; but those standing at the gateway do not allow them to enter, and the men of the vows, bringing aid to the god, strike them as they defend themselves.
ἐνθαῦτα μάχη ξύλοισι καρτερὴ γίνεται κεφαλάς τε συναράσσονται, καὶ ὡς ἐγὼ δοκέω πολλοὶ καὶ ἀποθνήσκουσι ἐκ τῶν τρωμάτων· οὐ μέντοι οἵ γε Αἰγύπτιοι ἔφασαν ἀποθνήσκειν οὐδένα.
Thereupon a fierce fight with clubs ensues and they break each other’s heads, and, as I believe, many even die of their wounds; however, the Egyptians themselves asserted that no one dies.
τὴν δὲ πανήγυριν ταύτην ἐκ τοῦδε νομίσαι φασὶ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι· οἰκέειν ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τούτῳ τοῦ Ἄρεος τὴν μητέρα, καὶ τὸν Ἄρεα ἀπότροφον γενόμενον ἐλθεῖν ἐξανδρωμένον ἐθέλοντα τῇ μητρὶ συμμῖξαι, καὶ τοὺς προπόλους τῆς μητρός, οἷα οὐκ ὀπωπότας αὐτὸν πρότερον, οὐ περιορᾶν παριέναι ἀλλὰ ἀπερύκειν, τὸν δὲ ἐξ ἄλλης πόλιος ἀγαγόμενον3 ἀνθρώπους τούς τε προπόλους τρηχέως περισπεῖν καὶ ἐσελθεῖν παρὰ τὴν μητέρα. ἀπὸ τούτου τῷ Ἄρεϊ ταύτην τὴν πληγὴν ἐν τῇ ὁρτῇ νενομικέναι φασί.
The natives say that this festival became established for the following reason: that the mother of Ares dwelt in this temple, and Ares, having been brought up elsewhere, came when he reached manhood, wishing to visit his mother, and his mother’s attendants, since they had not seen him before, would not allow him to pass but kept him back; but he, having brought men from another city, treated the attendants roughly and went in to his mother. They say that from this arose the custom of this conflict in the festival in honor of Ares.
- 2.63.1πεπονέαται
An Ionic third-person plural perfect middle/passive form of the verb πονέομαι (or πονέω), corresponding to Attic πεπόνηνται. The ending -αται is characteristic of the Ionic dialect after consonant stems and certain vowel stems.
- 2.63.2οἳ δὲ οὐκ ἐῶσι
The relative pronoun masculine plural nominative οἵ, accompanied by δέ, functions as a demonstrative pronoun ('but they'). In context, it refers to the 'majority' (οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν) standing at the entrance mentioned in the previous section, contrasted with the 'few' (οἱ μὲν δὴ ὀλίγοι) who drag the wagon.
- 2.63.4ἀγαγόμενον
The aorist middle participle (masculine singular accusative) of the verb ἄγω, agreeing with τὸν δὲ (referring to Ares), which is the subject of the infinitive in indirect speech. The middle voice (ἀγαγόμενον) expresses the subjective interest of 'bringing along (for oneself / as his own supporters)'.