- 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-grc2:5.52.1-5.52.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The geographical details of the Royal Road leading to Susa are described, including the stations, distances in parasangs, major rivers crossed, boundary gates, and guardhouses.
ἔχει γὰρ ἀμφὶ τῇ ὁδῷ ταύτῃ ὧδε·1 σταθμοί τε πανταχῇ εἰσι βασιλήιοι καὶ καταλύσιες κάλλισται, διὰ οἰκεομένης τε ἡ ὁδὸς ἅπασα καὶ ἀσφαλέος. διὰ μέν γε Λυδίης καὶ Φρυγίης σταθμοὶ τείνοντες εἴκοσι εἰσί, παρασάγγαι δὲ τέσσερες καὶ ἐνενήκοντα καὶ ἥμισυ.
For the circumstances of this road are as follows: there are royal stations and most excellent inns along its entire length, and the whole road runs through inhabited and safe territory. Lydia and Phrygia there are twenty stations in succession, making ninety-four and a half parasangs.
+ extra markers: Through (translation introduced markers absent in the source; merged into this section)
ἐκδέκεται δὲ ἐκ τῆς Φρυγίης ὁ Ἅλυς ποταμός, ἐπʼ ᾧ πύλαι τε ἔπεισι, τὰς διεξελάσαι πᾶσα ἀνάγκη καὶ οὕτω διεκπερᾶν τὸν ποταμόν, καὶ φυλακτήριον μέγα ἐπʼ αὐτῷ. διαβάντι δὲ ἐς τὴν Καππαδοκίην καὶ ταύτῃ πορευομένῳ2 μέχρι οὔρων τῶν Κιλικίων σταθμοὶ δυῶν δέοντες εἰσὶ τριήκοντα,3 παρασάγγαι δὲ τέσσερες καὶ ἑκατόν. ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖσι τούτων οὔροισι διξάς τε πύλας διεξελᾷς4 καὶ διξὰ φυλακτήρια παραμείψεαι.
Next after Phrygia comes the river Halys, upon which there are gates, through which one must of necessity pass to cross the river, and there is a great guardhouse upon it. For one who has crossed over into Cappadocia and travels through it to the borders of Cilicia, there are twenty-eight stations, making one hundred and four parasangs. On the boundary of these territories, you will pass through double gates and go past two guardhouses.
ταῦτα δὲ διεξελάσαντι καὶ διὰ τῆς Κιλικίης ὁδὸν ποιευμένῳ τρεῖς εἱσι σταθμοί, παρασάγγαι δὲ πεντεκαίδεκα καὶ ἥμισυ. οὖρος δὲ Κιλικίης καὶ τῆς Ἀρμενίης ἐστὶ ποταμὸς νηυσιπέρητος, τῷ οὔνομα Εὐφρήτης. ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἀρμενίῃ σταθμοὶ μὲν εἰσὶ καταγωγέων πεντεκαίδεκα, παρασάγγαι δὲ ἓξ καὶ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἥμισυ, καὶ φυλακτήριον ἐν αὐτοῖσι.
For one who has passed through these and makes his way through Cilicia, there are three stations, making fifteen and a half parasangs. The boundary between Cilicia and Armenia is a river that must be crossed by boat, the name of which is the Euphrates. In Armenia there are fifteen stations with inns, making fifty-six and a half parasangs, and there is a guardhouse among them.
ἐκ δὲ ταύτης τῆς Ἀρμενίης ἐς βάλλοντι ἐς τὴν Ματιηνὴν γῆν σταθμοί εἰσι τέσσερες καὶ τριήκοντα, παρασάγγαι δὲ ἑπτὰ καὶ τριήκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν. ποταμοὶ δὲ νηυσιπέρητοι τέσσερες διὰ ταύτης ῥέουσι, τοὺς πᾶσα ἀνάγκη διαπορθμεῦσαι ἐστί, πρῶτος μὲν Τίγρης, μετὰ δὲ δεύτερός τε καὶ τρίτος ὡυτὸς ὀνομαζόμενος, οὐκ ὡυτὸς ἐὼν ποταμὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ῥέων· ὁ μὲν γὰρ πρότερον αὐτῶν καταλεχθεὶς ἐξ Ἀρμενίων ῥέει, ὁ δʼ ὕστερον ἐκ Ματιηνῶν·
For one entering the land of Matiene from this Armenia, there are thirty-four stations, making one hundred and thirty-seven parasangs. Four rivers that must be crossed by boat flow through this land, all of which one must of necessity cross by ferry: first the Tigris, and after it a second and a third called by the same name, though they are not the same river nor do they flow from the same source; for the former of them mentioned flows from the Armenian country, and the latter from the Matienian.
ὁ δὲ τέταρτος τῶν ποταμῶν οὔνομα ἔχει Γύνδης, τὸν Κῦρος διέλαβε κοτὲ ἐς διώρυχας ἑξήκοντα καὶ τριηκοσίας.
The fourth of the rivers has the name Gyndes, which Cyrus once divided into three hundred and sixty channels.
ἐκ δὲ ταύτης ἐς τὴν Κισσίην χώρην μεταβαίνοντι ἕνδεκα σταθμοί, παρασάγγαι δὲ δύο καὶ τεσσεράκοντα καὶ ἥμισυ ἐστὶ ἐπὶ ποταμὸν Χοάσπην, ἐόντα καὶ τοῦτον νηυσιπέρητον· ἐπʼ ᾧ Σοῦσα πόλις πεπόλισται.
For one passing from this land into the territory of Cissia, there are eleven stations, making forty-two and a half parasangs, as far as the river Choaspes, which is also a river that must be crossed by boat; upon this the city of Susa is built.
- 5.52.1ἔχει γὰρ ἀμφὶ τῇ ὁδῷ ταύτῃ ὧδε
An idiomatic expression meaning 'things are in this state,' consisting of the intransitive verb ἔχω combined with the adverb ὧδε. The subject is not a specific noun but refers to the general situation or state of affairs. The particle γάρ introduces the detailed explanation of the Royal Road starting from this chapter.
- 5.52.2διαβάντι δὲ ἐς τὴν Καππαδοκίην καὶ ταύτῃ πορευομένῳ
Participles functioning as a dative of reference (or dative of the person judging). This is a characteristic construction of Herodotus used when describing routes: by saying 'for one who has crossed over and travels,' distances and stations are presented from the traveler's standpoint. Similar structures (διεξελάσαντι, ἐσβάλλοντι, μεταβαίνοντι) occur in §5.52.3, §5.52.4, and §5.52.6.
- 5.52.2δυῶν δέοντες εἴκοσι εἶσι τριήκοντα
A subtractive numeral expression unique to Greek, meaning 'thirty lacking two,' i.e., 'twenty-eight.' The word δέοντες is the present active participle, masculine plural, of δέω ('to lack').
- 5.52.2διεξελᾷς
The second-person singular future (Attic/contracted future) of the verb διεξελάω. This second-person expression imaginatively casts the reader (or listener) as the active traveler. It is paired with the subsequent future form παραμείψεαι (second-person singular future middle of παραμείβομαι).