- 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-grc2:4.184.1-4.184.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Describes the Atarantes, a nameless people living in the Libyan desert ten days beyond the Garamantes, Mount Atlas which is believed to be the pillar of heaven, and the Atlantes who live near it and never dream.
ἀπὸ δὲ Γαραμάντων διʼ ἀλλέων δέκα ἡμερέων ὁδοῦ ἄλλος ἁλός τε κολωνὸς καὶ ὕδωρ, καὶ ἄνθρωποι περὶ αὐτὸν οἰκέουσι τοῖσι οὔνομα ἐστὶ Ἀτάραντες, οἳ ἀνώνυμοι εἰσὶ μοῦνοι ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν· ἁλέσι1 μὲν γάρ σφι ἐστὶ Ἀτάραντες οὔνομα, ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ αὐτῶν οὔνομα οὐδὲν κέεται.
From the Garamantes, at a distance of another ten days’ journey, there is another hill of salt and water, and men dwell around it whose name is Atarantes, who are the only nameless people of all whom we know; for while they have the name Atarantes as a whole, to each single one of them no individual name is given.
οὗτοι τῷ ἡλίῳ ὑπερβάλλοντι καταρῶνται καὶ πρὸς τούτοισι πάντα τὰ αἰσχρὰ λοιδορέονται, ὅτι σφέας καίων ἐπιτρίβει, αὐτούς τε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὴν χώρην αὐτῶν.
These curse the sun when he rises high, and besides this they abuse him with all kinds of shameful words, because he burns and harasses them, both the men themselves and their country.
μετὰ δὲ διʼ ἀλλέων δέκα ἡμερέων ἄλλος κολωνὸς ἁλὸς καὶ ὕδωρ, καὶ ἄνθρωποι περὶ αὐτὸν οἰκέουσι. ἔχεται2 δὲ τοῦ ἁλὸς τούτου ὄρος τῷ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Ἄτλας, ἔστι δὲ στεινὸν καὶ κυκλοτερὲς πάντῃ, ὑψηλὸν δὲ οὕτω δή τι λέγεται ὡς τὰς κορυφὰς αὐτοῦ οὐκ οἶά τε εἶναι3 ἰδέσθαι. οὐδέκοτε γὰρ αὐτὰς ἀπολείπειν νέφεα οὔτε θέρεος οὔτε χειμῶνος. τοῦτο τὸν κίονα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λέγουσι οἱ ἐπιχώριοι εἶναι.
After this, at a distance of another ten days’ journey, there is another hill of salt and water, and men dwell around it. Adjoining this salt is a mountain whose name is Atlas; it is narrow and circular on all sides, and is said to be so exceedingly high that it is impossible to see its summits; for clouds never leave them, either in summer or in winter. The natives say that this is the pillar of heaven.
ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ ὄρεος οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὗτοι ἐπώνυμοι ἐγένοντο· καλέονται γὰρ δὴ Ἄτλαντες. λέγονται δὲ οὔτε ἔμψυχον οὐδὲν σιτέεσθαι οὔτε ἐνύπνια ὁρᾶν.
From this mountain these men got their name, for they are indeed called Atlantes. And it is said that they eat nothing that has life, and that they never dream.
- 4.184.1ἁλέσι
Dative plural of the adjective ἁλής ('all together', 'as a whole'), here meaning 'collectively' or 'as a whole group', modifying the dative of possession σφι ('to them').
- 4.184.3ἔχεται
Third-person singular middle of ἔχω, which takes the genitive (τοῦ ἁλὸς τούτου) to mean 'to border on' or 'to be adjacent to'.
- 4.184.3οὐκ οἶά τε εἶναι
An impersonal construction of οἷός τέ εἰμι ('to be able') in the accusative and infinitive structure introduced by ὡς. The neuter plural οἷα is used here (or attracted to the feminine plural subject τὰς κορυφὰς), and together with εἶναι and the infinitive ἰδέσθαι ('to see/be seen') it expresses the impossibility of seeing the summits.