- 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-grc2:4.73.1-4.73.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Describes the funeral customs of ordinary Scythians and their subsequent body cleansing ritual, which resembles a steam bath.
οὕτω μὲν τοὺς βασιλέας θάπτουσι· τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους Σκύθας, ἐπεὰν ἀποθάνωσι, περιάγουσι οἱ ἀγχοτάτω προσήκοντες κατὰ τοὺς φίλους ἐν ἀμάξῃσι κειμένους.1 τῶν2 δὲ ἕκαστος ὑποδεκόμενος εὐωχέει τοὺς ἑπομένους, καὶ τῷ νεκρῷ ἁπάντων παραπλησίως3 παρατίθησι ὅσα τοῖσι ἄλλοισι. ἡμέρας δὲ τεσσεράκοντα οὕτω οἱ ἰδιῶται περιάγονται, ἔπειτα θάπτονται.
In this manner they bury their kings; but as for the other Scythians, when they die, their nearest kinsmen carry them around among their friends, lying in wagons. And each of these, receiving them, entertains those who follow, and sets before the dead person also a portion of all things nearly equal to what is given to the others. For forty days in this way ordinary individuals are carried around, and then they are buried.
θάψαντες δὲ οἱ Σκύθαι καθαίρονται τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. σμησάμενοι τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ ἐκπλυνάμενοι ποιεῦσι περὶ τὸ σῶμα4 τάδε ἐπεὰν ξύλα στήσωσι τρία ἐς ἄλληλα κεκλιμένα, περὶ ταῦτα πίλους εἰρινέους περιτείνουσι, συμφράξαντες δὲ ὡς μάλιστα λίθους ἐκ πυρὸς διαφανέας ἐσβάλλουσι ἐς σκάφην κειμένην ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ξύλων τε καὶ τῶν πίλων.
And having buried them, the Scythians cleanse themselves in this manner: having rubbed and washed their heads, they do as follows with regard to their bodies; when they have set up three poles leaning against one another, they stretch woolen felts around them, and having closed them up as tightly as possible, they throw stones made red-hot by fire into a basin lying in the middle of the poles and the felts.
- 4.73.1κειμένους
An accusative present participle agreeing with "τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους Σκύθας", describing the state of the deceased who are carried in the wagons, rather than an action of the subject (the kinsmen).
- 4.73.1τῶν
A demonstrative pronoun in the genitive plural referring back to the preceding "φίλους", meaning "each of those friends" whom the kinsmen visit with the corpse.
- 4.73.1ἁπάντων παραπλησίως
Although "παραπλησίως" usually takes the dative, here it is used with the genitive of comparison "ἁπάντων", expressing "nearly in the same manner as all things (offered to the others)".
- 4.73.2περὶ τὸ σῶμα
Here "σῶμα" refers not to the corpse, but to the "body" of the living Scythians performing the ritual. It follows the washing of their heads (σμησάμενοι τὰς κεφαλὰς), marking the transition to the purification of the rest of their body.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1