- 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-grc2:4.188.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Describes the sacrificial ritual of the nomadic Libyans and the deities they worship, noting that while all worship the sun and moon, those around Lake Tritonis also worship Athena, Triton, and Poseidon.
θυσίαι δὲ τοῖσι νομάσι εἰσὶ αἵδε. ἐπεὰν τοῦ ὠτὸς ἀπάρξωνται1 τοῦ κτήνεος, ῥιπτέουσι ὑπὲρ τὸν δόμον,2 τοῦτο δὲ ποιήσαντες ἀποστρέφουσι τὸν αὐχένα αὐτοῦ· θύουσι δὲ ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ μούνοισι. τούτοισι μέν νυν πάντες Λίβυες θύουσι, ἀτὰρ οἱ περὶ τὴν Τριτωνίδα λίμνην νέμοντες3 τῇ Ἀθηναίῃ μάλιστα, μετὰ δὲ τῷ Τρίτωνι καὶ τῷ Ποσειδέωνι.
The sacrifices of the nomads are as follows. When they cut off the ear of the beast as a first offering, they throw it over their dwelling, and having done this, they wring its neck; and they sacrifice to the sun and moon alone. To these, indeed, all Libyans sacrifice, but those who dwell around Lake Tritonis sacrifice especially to Athena, and next to Triton and Poseidon.
- 4.188.1ἀπάρξωνται
The verb ἀπάρχομαι (to make a beginning of a sacrifice) takes the genitive τοῦ ὠτός (the ear), referring to the ritual act of cutting off a part of the victim to initiate the sacrifice.
- 4.188.1δόμον
Since the context concerns nomads who typically lived in tents, δόμος (house/dwelling) is used here in a general sense for their tent or shelter.
- 4.188.1νέμοντες
The present participle νέμοντες (from νέμω, to pasture/distribute) is used here intransitively or in a middle sense meaning "to dwell" or "to inhabit (by pasturing livestock)."