- 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-grc2:4.85.1-4.85.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Darius travels to the Bosporus and the Cyanean islands to view the Pontus (Black Sea), followed by a geographical description of the dimensions and connections of the Pontus, the Bosporus, the Propontis, and the Hellespont.
καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἀποσφαγέντες αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ ἐλείποντο· Δαρεῖος δὲ ἐπείτε πορευόμενος ἐκ Σούσων ἀπίκετο τῆς Καλχηδονίης1 ἐπὶ τὸν Βόσπορον ἵνα ἔζευκτο ἡ γέφυρα, ἐνθεῦτεν ἐσβὰς ἐς νέα ἔπλεε ἐπὶ τὰς Κυανέας καλευμένας, τὰς πρότερον πλαγκτὰς Ἕλληνες φασὶ εἶναι, ἑζόμενος δὲ ἐπὶ ῥίῳ ἐθηεῖτο τὸν Πόντον ἐόντα ἀξιοθέητον.2
And these men, having been slaughtered on the spot, were left there; but Darius, when in his march from Susa he arrived at the Bosporus in the territory of Calchedon, where the bridge had been built, embarked there on a ship and sailed to the so-called Cyanean islands, which the Greeks say were formerly wandering islands, and sitting upon a promontory, he gazed at the Pontus, which is well worth seeing.
πελαγέων γὰρ ἁπάντων πέφυκε θωμασιώτατος· τοῦ τὸ μὲν μῆκος στάδιοι εἰσὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ χίλιοι καὶ μύριοι, τὸ δὲ εὖρος, τῇ εὐρύτατος αὐτὸς ἑωυτοῦ,3 στάδιοι τριηκόσιοι καὶ τρισχίλιοι.
For it is by nature the most wonderful of all seas; its length is eleven thousand one hundred stades, and its breadth, where it is widest, is three thousand three hundred stades.
τούτου τοῦ πελάγεος τὸ στόμα ἐστὶ εὖρος τέσσερες στάδιοι· μῆκος δὲ, τοῦ στόματος ὁ αὐχήν, τὸ δὴ Βόσπορος κέκληται, κατʼ ὃ δὴ ἔζευκτο ἡ γέφυρα, ἐπὶ σταδίους εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατόν ἐστι. τείνει δʼ ἐς τὴν Προποντίδα ὁ Βόσπορος·
The mouth of this sea is four stades in width; and the length of the neck of the mouth, which is indeed called the Bosporus, where the bridge had been built, is one hundred and twenty stades. And the Bosporus extends into the Propontis;
ἡ δὲ Προποντὶς ἐοῦσα εὖρος μὲν σταδίων πεντακοσίων, μῆκος δὲ τετρακοσίων καὶ χιλίων, καταδιδοῖ ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἐόντα στεινότητα μὲν ἑπτὰ σταδίους,4 μῆκος δὲ τετρακοσίους. ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ὁ Ἑλλήσποντος ἐς χάσμα πελάγεος τὸ δὴ Αἰγαῖον καλέεται.
and the Propontis, being five hundred stades in width and one thousand four hundred in length, empties into the Hellespont, which is seven stades at its narrowest and four hundred in length. And the Hellespont empties into a wide expanse of sea which is called the Aegean.
- 4.85.1τῆς Καλχηδονίης
The genitive of the place name Καλχηδονίη, modifying the following phrase ἐπὶ τὸν Βόσπορον, functioning as a genitive of possession or territory to specify the region in which that part of the Bosporus lies.
- 4.85.1τὸν Πόντον ἐόντα ἀξιοθέητον
The participle ἐόντα is used predicatively with τὸν Πόντον, the direct object of the verb of perception ἐθηεῖτο, indicating the state or quality of the Pontus as being well worth seeing.
- 4.85.2τῇ εὐρύτατος αὐτὸς ἑωυτοῦ
The relative adverb (or dative pronoun) τῇ means 'where' or 'at which point'. The genitive of the reflexive pronoun ἑωυτοῦ combined with the superlative εὐρύτατος expresses a self-comparison: 'where it is widest in comparison with itself' (at its widest point).
- 4.85.4ἐόντα στεινότητα μὲν ἑπτὰ σταδίους
The noun στεινότητα ('narrowness') is an accusative of specification (or respect), and ἑπτὰ σταδίους is an accusative of extent. Both modify the participle ἐόντα, yielding the meaning 'being seven stades in respect to its narrowness' (at its narrowest point).