- 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-grc2:4.158.1-4.158.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The Libyans persuaded the Greeks to leave Aziris and led them westward, passing through the beautiful region of Irasa by night to keep it hidden, before bringing them to the well-watered Spring of Apollo to settle.
τοῦτον οἴκεον τὸν χῶρον ἓξ ἔτεα, ἑβδόμῳ δὲ σφέας ἔτει παραιτησάμενοι οἱ Λίβυες ὡς ἐς ἀμείνονα χῶρον ἄξουσι, ἀνέγνωσαν1 ἐκλιπεῖν.
They lived in this place for six years, but in the seventh year the Libyans, having entreated them and saying that they would lead them to a better place, persuaded them to abandon it.
ἦγον δὲ σφέας ἐνθεῦτεν οἱ Λίβυες ἀναστήσαντες πρὸς ἑσπέρην, καὶ τὸν κάλλιστον τῶν χώρων ἵνα διεξιόντες οἱ Ἕλληνες μὴ ἴδοιεν, συμμετρησάμενοι τὴν ὥρην τῆς ἡμέρης2 νυκτὸς παρῆγον. ἔστι δὲ τῷ χώρῳ τούτῳ οὔνομα Ἴρασα.
The Libyans led them from there, having made them move, towards the west; and in order that the Greeks might not see the most beautiful of the regions as they passed through, they calculated the time of day and led them past it by night. The name of this place is Irasa.
ἀγαγόντες δὲ σφέας ἐπὶ κρήνην λεγομένην εἶναι Ἀπόλλωνος εἶπαν ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, ἐνθαῦτα ὑμῖν ἐπιτήδεον οἰκέειν. ἐνθαῦτα γὰρ ὁ οὐρανὸς τέτρηται.3
Having led them to a spring said to be Apollo’s, they said: “Men of Greece, here it is suitable for you to dwell; for here the heavens are pierced.”
- 4.158.1ἀνέγνωσαν
The verb ἀναγινώσκω in Attic Greek primarily means 'to read', but in Herodotus (Ionic dialect) it frequently means 'to persuade' or 'to induce'. Here, taking the infinitive ἐκλιπεῖν ('to abandon'), it describes how the Libyans persuaded the Greeks to leave the region of Aziris.
- 4.158.2συμμετρησάμενοι τὴν ὥρην τῆς ἡμέρης
Literally 'having measured the time of day'. This means that the Libyans calculated and adjusted their departure and travel times so that they would pass through the fertile land of Irasa at night, preventing the Greeks from seeing it.
- 4.158.3ὁ οὐρανὸς τέτρηται
The expression 'the sky is pierced (has a hole in it)' is a meteorological metaphor indicating a region with abundant rainfall (hence suitable for agriculture). It is used to characterize the high annual rainfall in this specific part of otherwise arid North Africa.