- 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-grc2:3.103.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Herodotus omits describing the camel's appearance, which the Greeks already know, and instead explains its physical characteristics that they do not know, such as the joints of its hind legs and the direction of its genitals.
τὸ μὲν δὴ εἶδος ὁκοῖόν τι ἔχει ἡ κάμηλος, ἐπισταμένοισι τοῖσι Ἕλλησι1 οὐ συγγράφω· τὸ δὲ μὴ ἐπιστέαται αὐτῆς,2 τοῦτο φράσω· κάμηλος ἐν τοῖσι ὀπισθίοισι σκέλεσι ἔχει τέσσερας μηροὺς καὶ γούνατα τέσσερα, τά τε αἰδοῖα διὰ τῶν ὀπισθίων σκελέων πρὸς τὴν οὐρὴν τετραμμένα.3
I do not describe what kind of appearance the camel has to the Greeks who already know it; but that which they do not know about it, this I will tell. The camel has in its hind legs four thighs and four knees, and its private parts are turned through its hind legs toward the tail.
- 3.103.1ἐπισταμένοισι τοῖσι Ἕλλησι
Dative construction, functioning as the indirect object of the verb συγγράφω ("I do not write for the Greeks who know"), while conveying a causal nuance ("since they already know").
- 3.103.1τὸ δὲ μὴ ἐπιστέαται αὐτῆς
ἐπιστέαται is the Ionic 3rd person plural present indicative (equivalent to Attic ἐπίστανται). The genitive αὐτῆς (referring to the camel) is used with ἐπίσταμαι (which usually takes an accusative) as a genitive of reference or partitive relation ("that which they do not know concerning it").
- 3.103.1τετραμμένα
Perfect middle-passive participle, neuter plural, from τρέπω (to turn). It functions as a secondary predicate to the preceding verb ἔχει (or as an attributive modifying the direct object τά αἰδοῖα), meaning "having its private parts turned toward...".