- 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-grc2:2.86.1-2.86.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
This section introduces the three classes of burial offered by professional Egyptian embalmers and details the step-by-step process of the most expensive method, including evisceration, stuffing with spices, natron treatment, and the final wrapping.
εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τούτῳ κατέαται καὶ τέχνην ἔχουσι ταύτην.
And there are those who sit for this very purpose and have this as their craft.
οὗτοι, ἐπεάν σφι κομισθῇ νεκρός, δεικνύουσι τοῖσι κομίσασι παραδείγματα νεκρῶν ξύλινα, τῇ γραφῇ μεμιμημένα, καὶ τὴν μὲν σπουδαιοτάτην αὐτέων φασὶ εἶναι τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον ποιεῦμαι τὸ οὔνομα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι ὀνομάζειν,1 τὴν δὲ δευτέρην δεικνύουσι ὑποδεεστέρην τε ταύτης καὶ εὐτελεστέρην, τὴν δὲ τρίτην εὐτελεστάτην· φράσαντες δὲ πυνθάνονται παρʼ αὐτῶν κατὰ ἥντινα βούλονταί σφι σκευασθῆναι τὸν νεκρόν.
These men, whenever a corpse is brought to them, show to those who brought it wooden models of corpses, imitated by painting, and they say that the most elaborate of them belongs to Him whose name I consider it impious to mention on such an occasion, and they show the second one as inferior to this and cheaper, and the third as the cheapest. After explaining these, they ask them in which way they wish the corpse to be prepared for them.
οἳ μὲν δὴ ἐκποδὼν μισθῷ ὁμολογήσαντες ἀπαλλάσσονται, οἳ δὲ2 ὑπολειπόμενοι ἐν οἰκήμασι ὧδε τὰ σπουδαιότατα ταριχεύουσι. πρῶτα μὲν σκολιῷ σιδήρῳ διὰ τῶν μυξωτήρων ἐξάγουσι τὸν ἐγκέφαλον, τὰ μὲν αὐτοῦ οὕτω ἐξάγοντες, τὰ δὲ ἐγχέοντες φάρμακα·
So the latter, having agreed on the price, depart out of the way, while the former, remaining behind in their workshops, perform the most elaborate embalming as follows. First, with a crooked iron tool they draw out the brain through the nostrils, extracting some of it in this way, and other parts by pouring in drugs.
μετὰ δὲ λίθῳ Αἰθιοπικῷ ὀξέι παρασχίσαντες παρὰ τὴν λαπάρην ἐξ ὦν εἷλον3 τὴν κοιλίην πᾶσαν, ἐκκαθήραντες δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ διηθήσαντες οἴνῳ φοινικηίῳ αὖτις διηθέουσι θυμιήμασι τετριμμένοισι·
Next, having made an incision along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they take out all the bowels from within, and having cleansed the belly and rinsed it with palm wine, they rinse it again with bruised spices.
ἔπειτα τὴν νηδὺν σμύρνης ἀκηράτου τετριμμένης καὶ κασίης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θυμιημάτων, πλὴν λιβανωτοῦ, πλήσαντες συρράπτουσι ὀπίσω. ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες ταριχεύουσι4 λίτρῳ κρύψαντες ἡμέρας ἑβδομήκοντα· πλεῦνας δὲ τουτέων οὐκ ἔξεστι ταριχεύειν.
Then, having filled the cavity with pure bruised myrrh and cassia and other spices, except frankincense, they sew it up again. Having done this, they embalm it by hiding it in natron for seventy days; and it is not permitted to embalm it for more days than these.
ἐπεὰν δὲ παρέλθωσι αἱ ἑβδομήκοντα, λούσαντες τὸν νεκρὸν κατειλίσσουσι πᾶν αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι κατατετμημένοισι, ὑποχρίοντες τῷ κόμμι, τῷ δὴ ἀντὶ κόλλης τὰ πολλὰ χρέωνται Αἰγύπτιοι.
When the seventy days have passed, they wash the corpse and wrap its whole body in bandages cut from fine linen cloth, smearing it beneath with gum, which the Egyptians commonly use instead of glue.
ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ παραδεξάμενοί μιν οἱ προσήκοντες ποιεῦνται ξύλινον τύπον ἀνθρωποειδέα, ποιησάμενοι δὲ ἐσεργνῦσι τὸν νεκρόν, καὶ κατακληίσαντες οὕτω θησαυρίζουσι ἐν οἰκήματι θηκαίῳ, ἱστάντες ὀρθὸν πρὸς τοῖχον.
Then the kinsmen, having received it, make a wooden image in the shape of a man, and having made it, they enclose the corpse inside, and having locked it up, they thus store it in a sepulchral chamber, setting it upright against the wall.
- 2.86.2τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον ποιεῦμαι τὸ οὔνομα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι ὀνομάζειν
The relative pronoun τοῦ (Ionic for οὗ) refers to the god Osiris, who is implicitly understood in the context. ποιεῦμαι is the first-person singular present indicative, referring to the author (Herodotus) himself. The phrase οὐκ ὅσιον ποιεῦμαι ('I consider it impious') takes the infinitive ὀνομάζειν ('to name') as its object.
- 2.86.3οἳ μὲν δὴ ... οἳ δὲ ...
An article used as a demonstrative pronoun. Here, the former οἳ μὲν refers to the relatives or clients who brought the corpse (οἱ κομίσαντες), while the latter οἳ δὲ refers to the embalmers (οὗτοι) who remain. This marks a swift shift in subject.
- 2.86.4ἐξ ὦν εἷλον
An example of tmesis, where the prefix ἐξ and the verb εἷλον (from ἐξαιρέω, 'to take out') are separated. The particle ὦν (Ionic for οὖν) is inserted between them to serve as a transitional marker.
- 2.86.5ταριχεύουσι
Although the verb originally means 'to pickle' or 'to dry', in the Egyptian context it refers specifically to the process of 'embalming' or 'mummifying'. Here, it particularly denotes the dehydration process by keeping the body covered in natron.