- 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-grc2:4.110.1-4.110.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The narrative explains how the Amazons captured by the Greeks revolted at sea, drifted helplessly due to their lack of seafaring skills, and landed in Scythian territory, where they began plundering.
Σαυροματέων δὲ πὲρι ὧδε λέγεται. ὅτε Ἕλληνες Ἀμαζόσι ἐμαχέσαντο (τὰς δὲ Ἀμαζόνας καλέουσι Σκύθαι Οἰόρπατα, δύναται1 δὲ τὸ οὔνομα τοῦτο κατὰ Ἑλλάδα γλῶσσαν ἀνδροκτόνοι· οἰὸρ γὰρ καλέουσι ἄνδρα, τὸ δὲ πατὰ κτείνειν), τότε λόγος τοὺς Ἕλληνας νικήσαντας τῇ ἐπὶ Θερμώδοντι μάχῃ ἀποπλέειν2 ἄγοντας τρισὶ πλοίοισι τῶν Ἀμαζόνων ὅσας ἐδυνέατο ζωγρῆσαι, τὰς δὲ ἐν τῷ πελάγει ἐπιθεμένας ἐκκόψαι τοὺς ἄνδρας.
Concerning the Sauromatae, the following story is told. When the Greeks fought with the Amazons (now the Scythians call the Amazons “Oiorpata”, and this name in the Greek language means “slayers of men”; for they call a man “oior”, and to kill “pata”), then there is a story that the Greeks, having conquered them in the battle at the Thermodon, sailed away bringing in three ships as many of the Amazons as they were able to take alive, but these on the open sea attacked and cut down the men.
πλοῖα δὲ οὐ γινώσκειν3 αὐτὰς οὐδὲ πηδαλίοισι χρᾶσθαι οὐδὲ ἱστίοισι οὐδὲ εἰρεσίῃ· ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ ἐξέκοψαν τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐφέροντο κατὰ κῦμα καὶ ἄνεμον, καὶ ἀπικνέονται τῆς λίμνης τῆς Μαιήτιδος ἐπὶ Κρημνούς· οἱ δὲ Κρημνοὶ εἰσὶ γῆς τῆς Σκυθέων τῶν ἐλευθέρων. ἐνθαῦτα ἀποβᾶσαι ἀπὸ τῶν πλοίων αἱ Ἀμαζόνες ὁδοιπόρεον ἐς τὴν οἰκεομένην. ἐντυχοῦσαι δὲ πρώτῳ ἱπποφορβίῳ τοῦτο διήρπασαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων ἱππαζόμεναι ἐληίζοντο τὰ τῶν Σκυθέων.
But they did not know about ships, nor how to use rudders, sails, or oars; instead, after they had cut down the men, they were carried along by the waves and the wind, and arrived at Cremni on the Lake Maeotis. Now Cremni belongs to the land of the free Scythians. Having landed there from the ships, the Amazons journeyed into the inhabited country; and meeting with the first herd of horses, they plundered it, and riding on these, they began to pillage the lands of the Scythians.
- 4.110.1δύναται
Here, the verb δύναμαι does not denote physical ability or impersonal usage, but is used in its classical sense meaning 'to signify' or 'to mean' when referring to words or names.
- 4.110.1λόγος τοὐς Ἕλληνας νικήσαντας ... ἀποπλέειν
The copula ἐστί is omitted with the noun λόγος, introducing an indirect discourse ('there is a story that...'). The accusatives τοὺς Ἕλληνας (with the participles νικήσαντας and ἄγοντας) and later τὰς ... ἐπιθεμένας act as the subjects of the infinitives ἀποπλέειν and ἐκκόψαι respectively, both dependent on λόγος.
- 4.110.2γινώσκειν
Continuing the reportative/indirect discourse context from the previous sentence, this infinitive (with its subject accusative αὐτάς) functions as an indirect statement in place of a finite verb. The following χρᾶσθαι is used in the same manner.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1