- 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-grc2:3.12.1-3.12.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author describes the difference in the strength of the skulls of the Persian and Egyptian soldiers observed at the former battlefield, attributing it to their different habits of head-shaving and hat-wearing.
θῶμα δὲ μέγα εἶδον πυθόμενος παρὰ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων· τῶν γὰρ ὀστέων περικεχυμένων1 χωρὶς ἑκατέρων τῶν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ταύτῃ πεσόντων (χωρὶς μὲν γὰρ τῶν Περσέων ἔκειτο τὰ ὀστέα, ὡς ἐχωρίσθη κατʼ ἀρχάς, ἑτέρωθι δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων), αἱ μὲν τῶν Περσέων κεφαλαί εἰσι ἀσθενέες οὕτω ὥστε, εἰ θέλεις ψήφῳ μούνῃ βαλεῖν, διατετρανέεις, αἱ δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οὕτω δή τι ἰσχυραί, μόγις ἂν λίθῳ παίσας διαρρήξειας.
I saw a great wonder there, having learned of it from the local people. For the bones of those who fell in this battle lay scattered apart from each other (for the bones of the Persians lay in one place, just as they were separated at the beginning, and those of the Egyptians in another); the skulls of the Persians are so weak that if you only wish to strike them with a pebble, you will pierce them, while those of the Egyptians are so very strong that you could hardly break them even by striking them with a stone.
αἴτιον δὲ τούτου τόδε ἔλεγον, καὶ ἐμέ γʼ εὐπετέως ἔπειθον, ὅτι Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν αὐτίκα ἀπὸ παιδίων ἀρξάμενοι2 ξυρῶνται τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον παχύνεται τὸ ὀστέον.
They gave this as the reason for it, and they easily convinced me: that the Egyptians shave their heads from childhood onwards, and by exposure to the sun, the bone is thickened.
τὠυτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ μὴ φαλακροῦσθαι3 αἴτιον ἐστί· Αἰγυπτίων γὰρ ἄν τις ἐλαχίστους ἴδοιτο φαλακροὺς πάντων ἀνθρώπων.
This same thing is also the reason why they do not grow bald; for one would see fewer bald-headed men among the Egyptians than among any other people.
τούτοισι μὲν δὴ τοῦτο ἐστὶ αἴτιον ἰσχυρὰς φορέειν τὰς κεφαλάς, τοῖσι δὲ Πέρσῃσι ὅτι ἀσθενέας φορέουσι τὰς κεφαλὰς4 αἴτιον τόδε· σκιητροφέουσι ἐξ ἀρχῆς πίλους τιάρας φορέοντες. ταῦτα μέν νυν τοιαῦτα· εἶδον δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ὅμοια τούτοισι ἐν Παπρήμι τῶν ἅμα Ἀχαιμένεϊ τῷ Δαρείου διαφθαρέντων ὑπὸ Ἰνάρω τοῦ Λίβυος.
For the Egyptians, then, this is the reason why they have strong heads; while for the Persians, the reason why they have weak heads is this: from the very beginning, they shade them by wearing tiaras of felt. Now, these things are so. But I also saw another similar sight in Papremis among those who were destroyed together with Achamenes, the son of Darius, by Inaros the Libyan.
- 3.12.1τῶν γὰρ ὀστέων περικεχυμένων
A genitive absolute construction explaining the background situation (the bones of both sides lying scattered apart) before the main contrast between the skull strengths is introduced.
- 3.12.2ἀπὸ παιδίων ἀρξάμενοι
An idiomatic expression using the participle ἀρξάμενοι (starting from), which emphasizes the temporal starting point "immediately from childhood onwards."
- 3.12.3τοῦ μὴ φαλακροῦσθαι
An articular infinitive in the genitive case with the negative particle μή, serving as the complement to the noun αἴτιον to express the cause of "not growing bald."
- 3.12.4ἰσχυρὰς φορέειν τὰς κεφαλὰς
The infinitive φορέειν (to bear/wear) with the predicative adjective ἰσχυράς acts as an explanatory or resultative infinitive defining the content of the noun αἴτιον ("the cause for their bearing strong heads").