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§4.103.1-4.103.3

Sacrificial Rites and Customs of the Tauri

The passage describes the brutal customs of the Tauri, including their sacrificial rites to the Virgin using shipwrecked people and captured Greeks, and their practice of impaling the heads of defeated enemies above their houses as guardians.

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§4.103.1

τούτων Ταῦροι μὲν νόμοισι τοιοῖσιδε χρέωνται· θύουσι μὲν τῇ Παρθένῳ τούς τε ναυηγοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἂν λάβωσι Ἑλλήνων ἐπαναχθέντες1 τρόπῳ τοιῷδε·

​Among these, the Tauri observe the following customs: they sacrifice to the Virgin both shipwrecked persons and any Greeks they take after putting out to sea, doing so in the following manner.

§4.103.2

καταρξάμενοι2 ῥοπάλῳ παίουσι τὴν κεφαλήν. οἳ μὲν δὴ λέγουσι ὡς τὸ σῶμα ἀπὸ τοῦ κρημνοῦ ὠθέουσι κάτω (ἐπὶ γὰρ κρημνοῦ ἵδρυται τὸ ἱρόν), τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν ἀνασταυροῦσι· οἳ δὲ κατὰ μὲν τὴν κεφαλὴν ὁμολογέουσι, τὸ μέντοι σῶμα οὐκ ὠθέεσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ κρημνοῦ λέγουσι ἀλλὰ γῇ κρύπτεσθαι. τὴν δὲ δαίμονα ταύτην3 τῇ θύουσι λέγουσι αὐτοὶ Ταῦροι Ἰφιγένειαν τὴν Ἀγαμέμνονος εἶναι.

​Having performed the introductory rites, they strike the head with a club. Some indeed say that they push the body down from the cliff (for the temple is built upon a cliff), and impale the head on a stake; but others agree as to the head, yet say that the body is not pushed from the cliff but is buried in the earth. The Tauri themselves say that this deity to whom they sacrifice is Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon.

§4.103.3

πολεμίους δὲ ἄνδρας τοὺς ἂν χειρώσωνται ποιεῦσι τάδε· ἀποταμὼν ἕκαστος4 κεφαλὴν ἀποφέρεται ἐς τὰ οἰκία, ἔπειτα ἐπὶ ξύλου μεγάλου ἀναπείρας ἱστᾷ ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκίης ὑπερέχουσαν πολλόν, μάλιστα δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς καπνοδόκης. φασὶ δὲ τούτους φυλάκους τῆς οἰκίης πάσης ὑπεραιωρέεσθαι. ζῶσι δὲ ἀπὸ ληίης τε καὶ πολέμου.

​And to the enemy men whom they overcome, they do as follows: each cuts off a head and carries it away to his house, and then, having impaled it on a great stake, sets it up so that it stands high above the house, and especially above the chimney. And they say that these hang suspended above as guardians of the whole house. They live by plunder and war.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 4.103.1ἐπαναχθέντες

    A passive participle of the verb ἐπανάγω ('to put out to sea'), used here in a middle or intransitive sense, meaning 'having put out to sea' or 'having launched an attack by sea' to capture the Greeks.

  2. 4.103.2καταρξάμενοι

    Refers to performing the preliminary rites of sacrifice (such as cutting off a tuft of hair from the victim or sprinkling water). Here it means 'having performed the preparatory rites.'

  3. 4.103.2τὴν δὲ δαίμονα ταύτην

    An instance of prolepsis (anticipation). The accusative noun phrase, which logically functions as the subject of the infinitive clause Ἰφιγένειαν ... εἶναι, is pulled forward to the beginning of the sentence alongside its relative clause τῇ θύουσι.

  4. 4.103.3ἀποταμὼν ἕκαστος

    A transition from a plural subject (the Tauri) to the singular ἕκαστος ('each'). Consequently, the subsequent participles (ἀποταμὼν, ἀναπείρας) and verbs (ἀποφέρεται, ἱστᾷ) are all in the singular.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.103.1-4.103.3