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§4.61.1-4.61.2

Scythian Method of Boiling Meat and Offering First-Fruits

The text describes the unique method of boiling meat in woodless Scythia using bones as fuel and either local cauldrons or the animal's belly, followed by the offering of first-fruits.

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§4.61.1

τῆς δὲ γῆς τῆς Σκυθικῆς αἰνῶς ἀξύλου ἐούσης1 ὧδε σφι ἐς τὴν ἕψησιν τῶν κρεῶν ἐξεύρηται· ἐπειδὰν ἀποδείρωσι τὰ ἱρήια, γυμνοῦσι τὰ ὀστέα τῶν κρεῶν, ἔπειτα ἐσβάλλουσι, ἢν μὲν τύχωσι ἔχοντες, ἐς λέβητας ἐπιχωρίους, μάλιστα Λεσβίοισι κρητῆρσι προσεικέλους, χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι2 πολλῷ μέζονας· ἐς τούτους ἐσβάλλοντες ἕψουσι ὑποκαίοντες τὰ ὀστέα τῶν ἱρηίων. ἢν δὲ μή σφι παρῇ ὁ λέβης, οἳ δὲ3 ἐς τὰς γαστέρας τῶν ἱρηίων ἐσβάλλοντες τὰ κρέα πάντα καὶ παραμίξαντες ὕδωρ ὑποκαίουσι τὰ ὀστέα·

​As the Scythian land is dreadfully woodless, this method has been devised by them for boiling the meat: when they have flayed the victims, they strip the bones of the meat, and then, if they happen to have them, they cast them into local cauldrons, which are very like Lesbian mixing-bowls, except that they are much larger; casting them into these, they boil them, burning the bones of the victims underneath. But if they do not have the cauldron at hand, they cast all the meat into the bellies of the victims, and having mixed in water, they burn the bones underneath;

§4.61.2

τὰ δὲ αἴθεται4 κάλλιστα, αἱ δὲ γαστέρες χωρέουσι εὐπετέως τὰ κρέα ἐψιλωμένα τῶν ὀστέων· καὶ οὕτω βοῦς τε ἑωυτὸν ἐξέψει καὶ τἆλλα ἱρήια ἑωυτὸ ἕκαστον. ἐπεὰν δὲ ἑψηθῇ τὰ κρέα, ὁ θύσας τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀπαρξάμενος5 ῥίπτει ἐς τὸ ἔμπροσθε. θύουσι δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πρόβατα καὶ ἵππους μάλιστα.

​and these burn excellently, while the bellies easily contain the meat stripped of the bones. Thus an ox boils itself, and each of the other victims boils itself. When the meat is boiled, the sacrificer, having offered first-fruits of the meat and the innards, flings them in front of him. They sacrifice other cattle too, but horses most of all.

Syntax notes5 items
  1. 4.61.1τῆς δὲ γῆς τῆς Σκυθικῆς αἰνῶς ἀξύλου ἐούσης

    Genitive absolute construction with the participle ἐούσης expressing cause: "since the Scythian land is dreadfully woodless."

  2. 4.61.1χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι

    An idiomatic phrase functioning conjunctionally, meaning "except that" or "save that."

  3. 4.61.1οἳ δὲ

    Though identical in form to the relative pronoun, here it is a demonstrative pronoun (nominative plural) with a postpositive δέ, emphatically introducing the subject of the apodosis ("but they") after the conditional clause (ἢν δὲ μή...).

  4. 4.61.2τὰ δὲ αἴθεται

    The subject is the neuter plural pronoun τὰ δέ (referring to the bones, τὰ ὀστέα, from the preceding sentence), which takes the third-person singular verb αἴθεται, in accordance with the Classical Greek rule that neuter plural subjects take singular verbs.

  5. 4.61.2τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀπαρξάμενος

    Partitive genitive governed by the participle ἀπαρξάμενος (having offered first-fruits of), meaning "having offered first-fruits of the meat and the innards."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.61.1-4.61.2