- 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-grc2:4.109.1-4.109.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The author explains the differences in language, lifestyle, and physical appearance between the Budini and the Geloni, and describes the forests, lakes, and wild animals of their territory, along with their practical uses.
Βουδῖνοι δὲ οὐ τῇ αὐτῇ γλώσσῃ χρέωνται καὶ Γελωνοί, οὐδὲ δίαιτα ἡ αὐτή. οἱ μὲν γὰρ Βουδῖνοι ἐόντες αὐτόχθονες νομάδες τε εἰσὶ καὶ φθειροτραγέουσι1 μοῦνοι τῶν ταύτῃ, Γελωνοὶ δὲ γῆς τε ἐργάται καὶ σιτοφάγοι καὶ κήπους ἐκτημένοι, οὐδὲν τὴν ἰδέην ὅμοιοι οὐδὲ τὸ χρῶμα.2 ὑπὸ μέντοι Ἑλλήνων καλέονται καὶ οἱ Βουδῖνοι Γελωνοί, οὐκ ὀρθῶς καλεόμενοι.
But the Budini do not use the same language as the Geloni, nor is their lifestyle the same. For the Budini, being indigenous, are nomads and are the only ones of the people in these parts who eat pine-cones; whereas the Geloni are tillers of the soil and eat grain and possess gardens, and are not at all like them in appearance or in complexion. However, by the Greeks even the Budini are called Geloni, being incorrectly so called.
ἡ δὲ χώρη σφέων πᾶσα ἐστὶ δασέα ἴδῃσι παντοίῃσι· ἐν δὲ τῇ ἴδῃ τῇ πλείστῃ ἐστὶ λίμνη μεγάλη τε καὶ πολλὴ καὶ ἕλος καὶ κάλαμος περὶ αὐτήν. ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ ἐνύδριες ἁλίσκονται καὶ κάστορες καὶ ἄλλα θηρία τετραγωνοπρόσωπα, τῶν τὰ δέρματα παρὰ τὰς σισύρνας παραρράπτεται,3 καὶ οἱ ὄρχιες αὐτοῖσι4 εἰσὶ χρήσιμοι ἐς ὑστερέων ἄκεσιν.
And their country is all thickly wooded with forests of every kind; and in the largest forest there is a lake, both great and abundant in water, and a marsh, and reeds around it. In this lake are caught otters and beavers, and other square-faced beasts, whose skins are sewn as borders on cloaks of skin, and their testicles are useful to them for the curing of uterine diseases.
- 4.109.1φθειροτραγέουσι
The verb φθειροτραγέω (from φθείρ 'louse' or 'pine-cone seed' + τρώγω 'gnaw, eat') was historically translated as 'eating lice', but based on the vegetation of the region (southern Russia/Siberia), modern scholars generally interpret it as 'eating pine-cones' or 'eating pine-nuts' (specifically the seeds of Pinus cembra, which were called φθεῖρες).
- 4.109.1οὐδὲν τὴν ἰδέην ὅμοιοι οὐδὲ τὸ χρῶμα
The accusatives τὴν ἰδέην and τὸ χρῶμα are accusatives of respect (specification) modifying the adjective ὅμοιοι, meaning 'not at all like them in appearance or in complexion.' The adverbial accusative οὐδὲν negates the entire phrase.
- 4.109.2παρὰ τὰς σισύρνας παραρράπτεται
In accordance with Greek grammar (Schema Atticum), the singular verb παραρράπτεται is used with the neuter plural subject τὰ δέρματα. The preposition παρά with the accusative means 'alongside' or 'along the edge of,' describing the action of sewing the skins as borders or fringes onto the cloaks of skin (σισύρνα).
- 4.109.2αὐτοῖσι
This dative is a dative of advantage (reference) referring to the people (the Budini and Geloni), meaning 'useful to them,' rather than referring to the animals (beavers) mentioned just before (which would require a genitive pronoun if referring to the animals themselves).