- 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-grc2:2.76.1-2.76.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
The author contrasts the physical features of the two kinds of ibises (the black kind and the common black-and-white kind), then describes the appearance of the winged serpents as resembling water-snakes with bat-like wings, concluding the account of sacred animals.
εἶδος δὲ τῆς μὲν ἴβιος τόδε· μέλαινα δεινῶς πᾶσα, σκέλεα δὲ φορέει γεράνου, πρόσωπον δὲ ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἐπίγρυπον, μέγαθος ὅσον κρέξ. τῶν μὲν δὴ μελαινέων τῶν μαχομενέων πρὸς τοὺς ὄφις ἥδε ἰδέη, τῶν δʼ ἐν ποσὶ μᾶλλον εἱλευμενέων1 τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι (διξαὶ γὰρ δή εἰσι ἴβιες) ψιλὴ τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν δειρὴν πᾶσαν,2 λευκὴ πτεροῖσι πλὴν κεφαλῆς καὶ αὐχένος καὶ ἀκρέων τῶν πτερύγων καὶ τοῦ πυγαίου ἄκρου (ταῦτα δὲ τὰ εἶπον πάντα μέλανα ἐστὶ δεινῶς), σκέλεα δὲ καὶ πρόσωπον ἐμφερὴς τῇ ἑτέρῃ. τοῦ δὲ ὄφιος ἡ μορφὴ οἵη περ τῶν ὕδρων,3 πτίλα δὲ οὐ πτερωτὰ φορέει ἀλλὰ τοῖσι τῆς νυκτερίδος πτεροῖσι μάλιστά κῃ ἐμφερέστατα. Τοσαῦτα μὲν θηρίων πέρι ἱρῶν εἰρήσθω.
The appearance of the ibis is as follows: it is entirely deep black, has the legs of a crane, a beak which is hooked to the highest degree, and is in size about as large as a crake. Such is the form of the black kind that fights against the serpents; but as for the other kind, which frequents more the path of men (for indeed there are two kinds of ibises), it is bald on its head and all over its neck, and white in its plumage except for the head, the neck, the tips of the wings, and the extremity of the tail (and all these parts that I have mentioned are extremely black), while in its legs and beak it is similar to the other. And the form of the serpent is like that of the water-snakes, and it has not feathered wings, but wings most closely resembling those of a bat. Let so much have been said concerning sacred beasts.
- 2.76.1τῶν μὲν δὴ μελαινέων ... τῶν δʼ ἐν ποσὶ μᾶλλον εἱλευμενέων
The contrast between the two kinds of ibises begins with the genitive plurals (τῶν μὲν... τῶν δʼ...), but the adjectives in §2.76.2 describing the second group (ψιλὴ, λευκὴ, ἐμφερὴς) continue in the nominative feminine singular, resulting in an anacoluthon. This marks a shift in focus from the plural class to an individual representative of the second species.
- 2.76.2τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν δειρὴν πᾶσαν
Accusatives of specification (or respect), limiting the application of the adjective ψιλὴ (bald) to "the head and the whole neck." The same construction is found in the subsequent accusatives (σκέλεα δὲ καὶ πρόσωπον) in this sentence, as well as in πρόσωπον and μέγαθος in the previous section (§2.76.1).
- 2.76.2τῶν ὕδρων
An instance of brachylogy of comparison (comparatio compendiaria). Grammatically, the form (ἡ μορφή) of the winged serpent is compared with "the form of the water-snakes," but instead of repeating ἡ μορφὴ τῶν ὕδρων, the comparison is made directly with the genitive plural τῶν ὕδρων.