- 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-grc2:3.9.1-3.9.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Describes the Arabian's preparation of water for Cambyses' army using camels, and recounts a less credible alternative story of a long leather conduit constructed to carry water from a river to the desert.
ἐπεὶ ὦν τὴν πίστιν τοῖσι ἀγγέλοισι τοῖσι παρὰ Καμβύσεω ἀπιγμένοισι ἐποιήσατο ὁ Ἀράβιος, ἐμηχανᾶτο τοιάδε· ἀσκοὺς καμήλων πλήσας, ὕδατος ἐπέσαξε ἐπὶ τὰς ζωὰς τῶν καμήλων πάσας,1 τοῦτο δὲ ποιήσας ἤλασε ἐς τὴν ἄνυδρον καὶ ὑπέμενε ἐνθαῦτα τὸν Καμβύσεω στρατόν.
Now when the Arabian had made the pledge with the messengers who had arrived from Cambyses, he devised the following: having filled camel-skins with water, he loaded them upon all his living camels, and having done this, he drove them into the waterless country and there awaited the army of Cambyses.
οὗτος μὲν ὁ πιθανώτερος τῶν λόγων εἴρηται, δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν ἧσσον πιθανόν, ἐπεί γε δὴ λέγεται, ῥηθῆναι. ποταμός ἐστι μέγας ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίῃ τῷ οὔνομα Κόρυς, ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ οὗτος ἐς τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν καλεομένην θάλασσαν·
This, indeed, is the more credible of the accounts that have been told, but it is necessary that the less credible one also be told, since indeed it is told. There is a great river in Arabia named Corys, and this empties into the sea called Red.
ἀπὸ τούτου δὴ ὦν τοῦ ποταμοῦ λέγεται τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀραβίων, ῥαψάμενον τῶν ὠμοβοέων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δερμάτων ὀχετὸν μήκεϊ ἐξικνεύμενον ἐς τὴν ἄνυδρον, ἀγαγεῖν διὰ δὴ τούτων τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀνύδρῳ μεγάλας δεξαμενὰς ὀρύξασθαι,2 ἵνα δεκόμεναι τὸ ὕδωρ σώζωσι.
Now from this river, it is said that the king of the Arabians, having sewn together a conduit of raw ox-hides and other skins reaching in length all the way to the waterless country, led the water indeed through these, and dug great cisterns in the waterless country, so that receiving the water they might preserve it.
ὁδὸς δʼ ἐστὶ δυώδεκα ἡμερέων ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐς ταύτην τὴν ἄνυδρον. ἄγειν δέ μιν3 διʼ ὀχετῶν τριῶν ἐς τριξὰ χωρία.
And it is a journey of twelve days from the river to this waterless country; and they say that he led it through three conduits to three different places.
- 3.9.1ἐπὶ τὰς ζωὰς τῶν καμήλων πάσας
The feminine accusative plural form ζωάς of the adjective ζωός ('living') here modifies καμήλων. Although some manuscripts and commentators attempt to emend or interpret this as 'backs' or 'property', it is generally understood to mean 'upon all the living camels' (i.e., those capable of service).
- 3.9.3λέγεται τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀραβίων... ἀγαγεῖν ... ὀρύξασθαι
The impersonal verb λέγεται ('it is said') governs the accusative and infinitive (A.C.I.) construction, with τὸν βασιλέα as the subject accusative, and ἀγαγεῖν and ὀρύξασθαι as the infinitives.
- 3.9.4ἄγειν δέ μιν
The infinitive ἄγειν continues the indirect speech introduced by λέγεται in the previous section. The accusative pronoun μιν (Ionic for αὐτόν or αὐτό) is most naturally interpreted here as the direct object referring to 'the water' (τὸ ὕδωρ), while the subject (the king) is understood from context.