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Histories

§4.29.1

Hornless Cattle in Scythian Cold and Homer's Verse

Herodotus attributes the lack of horns in Scythian cattle to the cold climate, supporting his view by quoting Homer's description of sheep rapidly growing horns in warm Libya.

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§4.29.1

δοκέει δέ μοι καὶ τὸ γένος τῶν βοῶν τὸ κόλον διὰ ταῦτα οὐ φύειν κέρεα αὐτόθι· μαρτυρέει δέ μοι τῇ γνώμῃ καὶ Ὁμήρου ἔπος ἐν Ὀδυσσείῃ ἔχον ὧδε, "καὶ Λιβύην, ὅθι τʼ ἄρνες ἄφαρ κεραοὶ τελέθουσι," ὀρθῶς εἰρημένον,1 ἐν τοῖσι θερμοῖσι ταχὺ παραγίνεσθαι τὰ κέρεα, ἐν δὲ τοῖσι ἰσχυροῖσι ψύχεσι ἢ οὐ φύειν κέρεα τὰ κτήνεα ἀρχὴν2 ἢ φύοντα3 φύειν μόγις.

​It seems to me that the hornless breed of cattle also does not grow horns there for this reason; and my opinion is also supported by a line of Homer in the Odyssey, which runs thus: “and Libya, where lambs quickly become horned,” this being rightly said, namely that in warm climates horns grow quickly, whereas in severe cold, beasts either do not grow horns at all, or, if they do grow them, they grow them with difficulty.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 4.29.1ὀρθῶς εἰρημένον

    An accusative absolute construction of a participle from an impersonal verb (εἴρηται), expressing a judgment on the correctness of Homer's line, with the explanatory content developed in the subsequent accusative with infinitive clauses (παραγίνεσθαι and φύειν).

  2. 4.29.1ἀρχὴν

    An adverbial accusative, used in combination with the negative οὐ to mean "at all" or "altogether (not)."

  3. 4.29.1φύοντα

    A present participle expressing concession (neuter plural accusative, agreeing with κτήνεα), combined with the subsequent infinitive φύειν to express the concessive meaning "even if they do grow them (they grow them with difficulty)."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
  • 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.29.1