- 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-grc2:4.105.1-4.105.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Narrates how the Neuri were driven from their land by an infestation of snakes and moved to live with the Budini, and reports the rumor among Scythians and Greeks that they transform into wolves once a year.
Νευροὶ δὲ νόμοισι μὲν χρέωνται Σκυθικοῖσι, γενεῇ δὲ μιῇ πρότερον σφέας τῆς Δαρείου στρατηλασίης κατέλαβε ἐκλιπεῖν1 τὴν χώρην πᾶσαν ὑπὸ ὀφίων· ὄφιας γάρ σφι πολλοὺς μὲν ἡ χώρη ἀνέφαινε, οἱ δὲ πλεῦνες ἄνωθέν σφι ἐκ τῶν ἐρήμων ἐπέπεσον, ἐς ὃ πιεζόμενοι οἴκησαν μετὰ Βουδίνων τὴν ἑωυτῶν ἐκλιπόντες. κινδυνεύουσι δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὗτοι γόητες εἶναι.2
The Neuri use Scythian customs, but one generation before the expedition of Darius it befell them to abandon their entire land because of snakes; for their land produced many snakes for them, and still more fell upon them from above out of the deserts, until, hard pressed, they abandoned their own land and dwelt with the Budini. And these men are likely to be sorcerers.
λέγονται γὰρ ὑπὸ Σκυθέων καὶ Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἐν τῇ Σκυθικῇ κατοικημένων ὡς ἔτεος ἑκάστου ἅπαξ τῶν Νευρῶν ἕκαστος λύκος γίνεται3 ἡμέρας ὀλίγας καὶ αὖτις ὀπίσω ἐς τὠυτὸ κατίσταται. ἐμὲ μέν νυν ταῦτα λέγοντες οὐ πείθουσι, λέγουσι δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον, καὶ ὀμνῦσι δὲ λέγοντες.
For they are said by the Scythians and by the Greeks settled in Scythia that once every year each of the Neuri becomes a wolf for a few days and again returns to his former state. Now, they do not convince me by saying these things, but they say them none the less, and indeed they swear as they say them.
- 4.105.1γενεῇ δὲ μιῇ πρότερον σφέας τῆς Δαρείου στρατηλασίης κατέλαβε ἐκλιπεῖν
The genitive τῆς Δαρείου στρατηλασίης is a genitive of comparison governed by the comparative adverb πρότερον. The verb κατέλαβε is used impersonally (or transitively with the meaning 'it overtook them') with the accusative and infinitive σφέας ἐκλιπεῖν to mean 'it befell them to abandon'.
- 4.105.1κινδυνεύουσι δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὗτοι γόητες εἶναι
The verb κινδυνεύω literally means 'to run a risk', but when followed by an infinitive, it often expresses likelihood or probability ('seem to', 'be likely to'). Here it means 'these men are likely to be sorcerers'.
- 4.105.2λέγονται γὰρ ὑπὸ Σκυθέων ... ὡς ἔτεος ἑκάστου ἅπαξ τῶν Νευρῶν ἕκαστος λύκος γίνεται
The verb λέγονται is a personal construction taking a nominative subject (here the implied 'the Neuri'), but instead of an infinitive, it is anomalously followed by a ὡς clause, in which a new subject ἕκαστος is introduced.