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Histories

§4.82.1

The Footprint of Heracles near the River Tyras

While Scythia has no great wonders other than its rivers, the author mentions a giant footprint of Heracles near the river Tyras, before returning to his original narrative.

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§4.82.1

θωμάσια δὲ ἡ χώρη αὕτη οὐκ ἔχει, χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι1 ποταμούς τε πολλῷ μεγίστους καὶ ἀριθμὸν πλείστους. τὸ δὲ ἀποθωμάσαι ἄξιον2 καὶ πάρεξ τῶν ποταμῶν καὶ τοῦ μεγάθεος τοῦ πεδίου παρέχεται, εἰρήσεται. ἴχνος Ἡρακλέος φαίνουσι ἐν πέτρῃ ἐνεόν, τὸ ἔοικε μὲν βήματι ἀνδρός, ἔστι δὲ τὸ μέγαθος δίπηχυ, παρὰ τὸν Τύρην ποταμόν. τοῦτο μέν νυν τοιοῦτο ἐστί, ἀναβήσομαι δὲ ἐς τὸν κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἤια λέξων3 λόγον.

​This land has no wonders, except that its rivers are by far the greatest and most numerous in number. But what it presents as worthy of wonder, even apart from the rivers and the great size of the plain, shall now be told. They show a footprint of Heracles in a rock, which is like the footprint of a man, but is two cubits in size, by the river Tyras. This, then, is of such a kind, and I will go back to the history which I was going to tell at the beginning.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 4.82.1χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι

    A conjunctional phrase meaning "except that," introducing a clause that specifies the rivers as the sole major wonder of Scythia.

  2. 4.82.1ἀποθωμάσαι ἄξιον

    The infinitive ἀποθωμάσαι (to wonder at) qualifies the adjective ἄξιον, forming the noun phrase "something worthy of wonder," which serves as the nominative topic of the main verb εἰρήσεται.

  3. 4.82.1ἤια λέξων

    ἤια is the first-person singular imperfect of εἶμι (to go), which, combined with the future participle of purpose λέξων (intending to tell), functions in a relative-clause-like sense: "(the story which) I was going to tell."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.82.1