- 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-grc2:3.2.1-3.2.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author introduces the Egyptian claim that Cambyses was the son of an Egyptian princess, but refutes it based on Persian succession laws and Cambyses' actual lineage, pointing out that the Egyptians are distorting the story to feign kinship with the house of Cyrus.
οὕτω μέν νυν λέγουσι Πέρσαι. Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ οἰκηιοῦνται Καμβύσεα, φάμενοί μιν ἐκ ταύτης δὴ τῆς Ἀπρίεω θυγατρὸς γενέσθαι· Κῦρον γὰρ εἶναι τὸν πέμψαντα παρὰ Ἄμασιν ἐπὶ τὴν θυγατέρα, ἀλλʼ οὐ Καμβύσεα.1 λέγοντες δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγουσι.
Thus, indeed, the Persians say. But the Egyptians claim Cambyses as their own, saying that he was born from this very daughter of Apries; for they say that it was Cyrus who sent to Amasis for his daughter, and not Cambyses. But in saying this, they do not speak correctly.
οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ λέληθε αὐτούς2 (εἰ γὰρ τινὲς καὶ ἄλλοι,3 τὰ Περσέων νόμιμα ἐπιστέαται καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι) ὅτι πρῶτα μὲν νόθον οὔ σφι νόμος ἐστὶ βασιλεῦσαι γνησίου παρεόντος,4 αὖτις δὲ ὅτι Κασσανδάνης τῆς Φαρνάσπεω θυγατρὸς ἦν παῖς Καμβύσης, ἀνδρὸς Ἀχαιμενίδεω, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς Αἰγυπτίης. ἀλλὰ παρατρέπουσι τὸν λόγον προσποιεύμενοι τῇ Κύρου οἰκίῃ συγγενέες εἶναι.
Nor indeed has it escaped their notice (for if any others do, the Egyptians also know well the customs of the Persians) that, first, it is not their custom for a bastard to rule when a legitimate son is present, and second, that Cambyses was the son of Cassandane, the daughter of Pharnaspes, a man of the Achaemenid family, and not of the Egyptian woman. Rather, they distort the story, pretending to be related to the house of Cyrus.
- 3.2.1Κῦρον γὰρ εἶναι τὸν πέμψαντα... ἀλλʼ οὐ Καμβύσεα
The infinitive εἶναι has the accusative Κῦρον as its subject and the articular participle τὸν πέμψαντα as its complement, continuing the accusative-and-infinitive construction of indirect speech introduced by the preceding φάμενοι. Meaning: 'for [they say that] it was Cyrus who sent..., and not Cambyses.'
- 3.2.2οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ λέληθε αὐτούς
The verb λήθω with the accusative means 'to escape the notice of'. The double negation (οὐ ... οὐδέ) expresses a strong affirmation (litotes): 'nor indeed has it escaped their notice that...', meaning 'they know very well that...'. The subject of λέληθε is the following ὅτι clauses.
- 3.2.2εἰ γάρ τινες καὶ ἄλλοι
An elliptical conditional phrase meaning 'for if any others [know]'. Contextually, the verb ἐπιστέαται ('know') is understood from the main clause, functioning to emphasize that 'the Egyptians, if anyone else, know [the Persian customs] best'.
- 3.2.2γνησίου παρεόντος
A genitive absolute construction with the substantivized adjective γνησίου ('a legitimate son') as the subject. Here it expresses a conditional force: 'if/when a legitimate son is present'.