- 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-grc2:4.13.1-4.13.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The author introduces the legend from Aristeas' epic poem, describing a chain of displacement starting from the Arimaspians that ultimately drove the Cimmerians from their land due to Scythian pressure.
ἔφη δὲ Ἀριστέης ὁ Καϋστροβίου ἀνὴρ Προκοννήσιος ποιέων ἔπεα, ἀπικέσθαι1 ἐς Ἰσσηδόνας φοιβόλαμπτος γενόμενος, Ἰσσηδόνων δὲ ὑπεροικέειν Ἀριμασποὺς ἄνδρας μουνοφθάλμους ὕπερ δὲ τούτων τοὺς χρυσοφύλακας γρῦπας, τούτων δὲ τοὺς Ὑπερβορέους κατήκοντας ἐπὶ θάλασσαν.
Aristeas, son of Caustrobius, a man of Proconnesus and a writer of epic poetry, said that, being possessed by Phoebus, he reached the Issedones; and that beyond the Issedones dwell the Arimaspians, who are one-eyed men, and beyond them the gold-guarding griffins, and beyond these the Hyperboreans, extending down to the sea.
τούτους ὦν πάντας πλὴν Ὑπερβορέων, ἀρξάντων Ἀριμασπῶν,2 αἰεὶ τοῖσι πλησιοχώροισι ἐπιτίθεσθαι, καὶ ὑπὸ μὲν Ἀριμασπῶν ἐξωθέεσθαι ἐκ τῆς χώρης Ἰσσηδόνας, ὑπὸ δὲ Ἰσσηδόνων Σκύθας, Κιμμερίους δὲ οἰκέοντας ἐπὶ τῇ νοτίῃ θαλάσσῃ ὑπὸ Σκυθέων πιεζομένους ἐκλείπειν τὴν χώρην. οὕτω οὐδὲ οὗτος3 συμφέρεται περὶ τῆς χώρης ταύτης Σκύθῃσι.
All these then, except the Hyperboreans, beginning with the Arimaspians, continually attacked their neighbors, and the Issedones were driven out of their land by the Arimaspians, and the Scythians by the Issedones, while the Cimmerians, who dwelt by the southern sea, being pressed by the Scythians, left their country. Thus this man also does not agree with the Scythians concerning this country.
- 4.13.1ἀπικέσθαι
An infinitive governed by the main verb ἔφη, forming indirect discourse. This accusative-with-infinitive construction continues as an indirect statement summarizing Aristeas' words all the way down to ἐκλείπειν τὴν χώρην in 4.13.2. Since the subject of the infinitive is identical to that of the main clause (Ἀριστέης), the participle modifying it (φοιβόλαμπτος γενόμενος) is in the nominative case instead of the accusative.
- 4.13.2ἀρξάντων Ἀριμασπῶν
Genitive absolute construction. It means 'with the Arimaspians beginning [the attack]' or 'starting from the Arimaspians'. This indicates that the domino-effect chain of migration caused by displacement originated from them, either causally or as a temporal starting point.
- 4.13.2οὐδὲ οὗτος
Meaning 'this man (Aristeas) too does not...'. The negative particle οὐδέ emphasizes that, in addition to the 'other story' mentioned in 4.12.3, this account of Aristeas also does not agree (οὐ συμφέρεται) with the Scythians' own traditional version of their country's history (4.5–7).