- 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-grc2:2.87.1-2.87.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
The second, moderately priced method of mummification is described. Cedar oil is injected into the corpse's abdomen, which is then sealed and embalmed; when the oil is drained, it carries away the dissolved internal organs, leaving only skin and bones to be returned to the relatives.
οὕτω μὲν τοὺς τὰ πολυτελέστατα σκευάζουσι νεκρούς, τοὺς δὲ τὰ μέσα βουλομένους τὴν δὲ πολυτελείην φεύγοντας σκευάζουσι ὧδε·
In this way they prepare the corpses of those who wish for the most expensive method; but for those who wish for the middle way and avoid heavy expense, they prepare them as follows.
ἐπεὰν τοὺς κλυστῆρας πλήσωνται τοῦ ἀπὸ κέδρου ἀλείφατος γινομένου, ἐν ὦν ἔπλησαν1 τοῦ νεκροῦ τὴν κοιλίην, οὔτε ἀναταμόντες αὐτὸν οὔτε ἐξελόντες τὴν νηδύν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἕδρην ἐσηθήσαντες καὶ ἐπιλαβόντες τὸ κλύσμα τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ2 ταριχεύουσι τὰς προκειμένας ἡμέρας, τῇ δὲ τελευταίῃ ἐξιεῖσι ἐκ τῆς κοιλίης τὴν κεδρίην τὴν ἐσῆκαν πρότερον.
When they have filled the syringes with the oil that comes from the cedar tree, they fill the cavity of the corpse with it, neither cutting it open nor taking out the bowels, but injecting it through the anus and stopping up the back passage so that the liquid cannot escape, and then they embalm it for the prescribed number of days; and on the last day they let the cedar oil, which they injected before, flow out of the cavity.
ἣ δὲ ἔχει τοσαύτην δύναμιν ὥστε ἅμα ἑωυτῇ τὴν νηδὺν καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα κατατετηκότα ἐξάγει· τὰς δὲ σάρκας τὸ λίτρον κατατήκει, καὶ δὴ λείπεται τοῦ νεκροῦ τὸ δέρμα μοῦνον καὶ τὰ ὀστέα. ἐπεὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσωσι, ἀπʼ ὦν ἔδωκαν3 οὕτω τὸν νεκρόν, οὐδὲν ἔτι πρηγματευθέντες.
And this oil has such great power that it brings out with itself the stomach and the inner parts, all dissolved; while the natron dissolves the flesh, and so there is left of the corpse only the skin and the bones. When they have done this, they give back the corpse without performing any further treatment on it.
- 2.87.2ἐν ὦν ἔπλησαν
An example of tmesis. The prepositional prefix ἐν and the verb ἔπλησαν (from ἐνεπίμπλημι, "to fill", aorist indicative third-person plural) are separated, with the Ionic particle ὦν (= οὖν, "therefore/then") inserted between them.
- 2.87.2ἐπιλαβόντες τὸ κλύσμα τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ
The active participle ἐπιλαβόντες (from ἐπιλαμβάνω) is used here in the sense of "stopping up" or "holding back". The genitive phrase τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ ("the back passage", i.e., anus) functions as the object of the action, describing the holding of the passage to prevent the injected liquid (τὸ κλύσμα) from escaping.
- 2.87.3ἀπʼ ὦν ἔδωκαν
An example of tmesis. The prepositional prefix ἀπό and the verb ἔδωκαν (from ἀποδίδωμι, "to give back", aorist indicative third-person plural) are separated, with the Ionic particle ὦν (= οὖν) inserted between them.