- 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-grc2:5.16.1-5.16.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Describes the unique pile-dwelling structure of the inhabitants of Lake Prasias, whom Megabazus could not conquer, and their daily life customs.
οἱ δὲ περί τε Πάγγαιον ὄρος καὶ Δόβηρας καὶ Ἀγριᾶνας καὶ Ὀδομάντους καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν λίμνην τὴν Πρασιάδα οὐκ ἐχειρώθησαν ἀρχὴν1 ὑπὸ Μεγαβάζου· ἐπειρήθη δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ κατοικημένους ἐξαιρέειν ὧδε. ἴκρια ἐπὶ σταυρῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐζευγμένα ἐν μέσῃ ἕστηκε τῇ λίμνῃ, ἔσοδον ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου στεινὴν ἔχοντα μιῇ γεφύρῃ.
But those around Mount Pangaeum, and the Doberes, the Agrianes, the Odomanti, and Lake Prasias itself were not conquered at all by Megabazus. Yet he attempted to subdue also those who dwelt in the lake, whose dwellings were as follows: platforms joined upon high piles stand in the middle of the lake, having a narrow approach from the mainland by a single bridge.
τοὺς δὲ σταυροὺς τοὺς ὑπεστεῶτας τοῖσι ἰκρίοισι τὸ μέν κου ἀρχαῖον ἔστησαν κοινῇ πάντες οἱ πολιῆται, μετὰ δὲ νόμῳ χρεώμενοι ἱστᾶσι τοιῷδε· κομίζοντες ἐξ ὄρεος τῷ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Ὄρβηλος, κατὰ γυναῖκα ἑκάστην ὁ γαμέων2 τρεῖς σταυροὺς ὑπίστησι· ἄγεται δὲ ἕκαστος συχνὰς γυναῖκας.
As for the piles that support the platforms, in ancient times all the citizens set them up together in common, but afterwards they set them up according to this custom: bringing them from the mountain called Orbelus, for each wife a man marries, he sets up three piles underneath; and each man marries many wives.
οἰκέουσι δὲ τοιοῦτον τρόπον, κρατέων ἕκαστος ἐπὶ τῶν ἰκρίων καλύβης τε ἐν τῇ διαιτᾶται καὶ θύρης καταπακτῆς διὰ τῶν ἰκρίων κάτω φερούσης ἐς τὴν λίμνην. τὰ δὲ νήπια παιδία δέουσι τοῦ ποδὸς3 σπάρτῳ, μὴ κατακυλισθῇ δειμαίνοντες.
They live in this manner, each holding on the platforms both a hut in which he dwells and a trapdoor opening through the platforms down into the lake. They tie their little children by the foot with a cord, fearing lest they should roll down into the water.
τοῖσι δὲ ἵπποισι καὶ τοῖσι ὑποζυγίοισι παρέχουσι χόρτον ἰχθῦς· τῶν δὲ πλῆθος ἐστὶ τοσοῦτο ὥστε, ὅταν τὴν θύρην τὴν καταπακτὴν ἀνακλίνῃ, κατιεῖ σχοίνῳ σπυρίδα κεινὴν ἐς τὴν λίμνην, καὶ οὐ πολλόν τινα χρόνον ἐπισχὼν ἀνασπᾷ πλήρεα4 ἰχθύων. τῶν δὲ ἰχθύων ἐστὶ γένεα δύο, τοὺς καλέουσι πάπρακάς τε καὶ τίλωνας.
To their horses and beasts of burden they give fish for fodder; and the abundance of these is so great that, when a man opens the trapdoor, he lets down an empty basket by a rope into the lake, and after waiting no long time, he draws it up full of fish. Of these fish there are two kinds, which they call paprakes and tilones.
- 5.16.1ἀρχὴν
The accusative form of the noun ἀρχή ("beginning"), used here adverbially with the negative οὐκ to express total negation, meaning "at all" or "in the first place."
- 5.16.2ὁ γαμέων
The active present participle of γαμέω ("to marry") with the definite article, functioning as a noun meaning "the one who marries" (the groom). The subsequent verb ἄγεται (third-person singular present middle of ἄγω) is an idiomatic middle voice usage meaning "to take a wife."
- 5.16.3τοῦ ποδὸς
A genitive of part (partitive genitive), indicating the specific part of the body affected; they tie the children "by the foot" rather than binding their entire body.
- 5.16.4πλήρεα
The uncontracted Ionic form of the accusative of πλήρης ("full"). Although formally identical to the neuter plural, here it agrees with the feminine singular noun σπυρίδα ("basket") as an accusative feminine singular.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1