- 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-grc2:4.113.1-4.113.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Amazons and Scythian youths make contact when dispersing individually at midday. Through hand gestures, an Amazon proposes a meeting with more companions on the following day, leading to the gradual taming of all the Amazons.
ἐποίευν δὲ αἱ Ἀμαζόνες ἐς τὴν μεσαμβρίην τοιόνδε· ἐγίνοντο σποράδες κατὰ μίαν τε καὶ δύο, πρόσω δὴ ἀπʼ ἀλληλέων ἐς εὐμαρείην1 ἀποσκιδνάμεναι. μαθόντες δὲ καὶ οἱ Σκύθαι ἐποίευν τὠυτὸ τοῦτο. καί τις μουνωθεισέων2 τινὶ αὐτέων ἐνεχρίμπτετο, καὶ ἡ Ἀμαζὼν οὐκ ἀπωθέετο ἀλλὰ περιεῖδε χρήσασθαι.3 καὶ φωνῆσαι μὲν οὐκ εἶχε,4 οὐ γὰρ συνίεσαν ἀλλήλων, τῇ δὲ χειρὶ ἔφραζε ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίην ἐλθεῖν ἐς τωὐτὸ χωρίον καὶ ἕτερον ἄγειν, σημαίνουσα δύο γενέσθαι καὶ αὐτὴ ἑτέρην ἄξειν.
The Amazons did as follows at midday: they would disperse solitary or by twos, scattering far from one another to relieve themselves. When the Scythians found this out, they did the same thing. And one of them approached one of those Amazons who was alone, and the Amazon did not repulse him but allowed him to have intercourse with her. She was not able to speak, for they did not understand each other’s language, but with her hand she motioned him to come to the same place on the next day and to bring another man, indicating that they should be two, and she herself would bring another woman.
ὁ δὲ νεηνίσκος, ἐπεὶ ἀπῆλθε, ἔλεξε ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς λοιπούς· τῇ δὲ δευτεραίῃ ἦλθε ἐς τὸ χωρίον αὐτός τε οὗτος καὶ ἕτερον ἦγε, καὶ τὴν Ἀμαζόνα εὗρε δευτέρην αὐτὴν5 ὑπομένουσαν. οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ νεηνίσκοι ὡς ἐπύθοντο ταῦτα, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκτιλώσαντο τὰς λοιπὰς τῶν Ἀμαζόνων.
The young man, when he went back, told this to the rest; and on the second day he came to the place himself and brought another, and found the Amazon waiting there, herself with another. When the rest of the young men learned of this, they also tamed the rest of the Amazons.
- 4.113.1ἐς εὐμαρείην
While the literal meaning of the noun is "convenience" or "ease," here it is used as a euphemism for relieving oneself.
- 4.113.1μουνωθεισέων
Genitive plural feminine passive aorist participle of μουνόω (to leave alone). It modifies the genitive pronoun αὐτέων, meaning "one of them who had been left alone."
- 4.113.2περιεῖδε χρήσασθαι
The aorist indicative περιεῖδε (from περιοράω, to overlook or permit) usually takes a participle, but here it takes the infinitive χρήσασθαι to mean "permitted him to use/have intercourse." The verb χράομαι here has a sexual connotation.
- 4.113.2φωνῆσαι μὲν οὐκ εἶχε
The verb ἔχω followed by an infinitive (here φωνῆσαι) expresses ability ("to be able to"). With the negative οὐκ, it means "she was unable to speak."
- 4.113.3δευτέρην αὐτήν
The combination of an ordinal number and the pronoun αὐτός indicates the total number of people including the person herself. δευτέρην αὐτήν means "herself as one of two," i.e., "herself accompanied by another woman."