- 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-grc2:4.178.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
The author describes the territory of the Machlyes adjacent to the Lotus-eaters, the Triton river, Lake Tritonis, and the island of Phla, which the Lacedaemonians were prophesied to colonize.
λωτοφάγων δὲ τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν ἔχονται1 Μάχλυες, τῷ λωτῷ μὲν καὶ οὗτοι χρεώμενοι, ἀτὰρ ἧσσον γε τῶν πρότερον λεχθέντων, κατήκουσι δὲ ἐπὶ ποταμὸν μέγαν τῷ οὔνομα Τρίτων ἐστί· ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ οὗτος ἐς λίμνην μεγάλην Τριτωνίδα. ἐν δὲ αὐτῇ, νῆσος ἔνι τῇ,2 οὔνομα Φλά. ταύτην δὲ τὴν νῆσον Λακεδαιμονίοισι φασὶ λόγιον εἶναι κτίσαι.3
Next to the Lotus-eaters, along the sea-coast, dwell the Machlyes. They also use the lotus, though less than the aforementioned people; and their territory extends as far as a great river named Triton, which empties into a great lake called Tritonis. In this lake there is an island named Phla. Concerning this island, they say there is an oracle that the Lacedaemonians should colonize it.
- 4.178.1λωτοφάγων ... ἔχονται
The verb ἔχονται (middle third-person plural of ἔχω) governs the genitive case to mean 'to border on' or 'be adjacent to,' taking the genitive λωτοφάγων at the beginning of the sentence. τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν is an adverbial accusative meaning 'along the sea-coast.'
- 4.178.1τῇ
The feminine singular dative of the relative pronoun, equivalent to Attic ᾗ in the Ionic dialect. It refers to the antecedent νῆσος (island) and functions as a dative of possession (or dative of place), yielding the structure 'to which [island] the name is [Phla].'
- 4.178.1λόγιον εἶναι κτίσαι
An accusative-with-infinitive construction introduced by φασί (they say), where λόγιον (oracle) is the subject of the infinitive εἶναι. The aorist infinitive κτίσαι (to colonize, found) is an infinitive of purpose or specification explaining the content of the oracle. The dative Λακεδαιμονίοισι indicates for whom the oracle is intended, serving as the logical subject of κτίσαι.