- 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-grc2:7.167.1-7.167.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
According to the Carthaginians' own account, Amilcas threw himself into the sacrificial pyre upon seeing his army's defeat. Consequently, the Carthaginians and their colonial cities offer sacrifices and have built monuments in his honor.
ἔστι δὲ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν Καρχηδονίων ὅδε λόγος λεγόμενος, οἰκότι χρεωμένων,1 ὡς οἱ μὲν βάρβαροι τοῖσι Ἕλλησι ἐν τῇ Σικελίῃ ἐμάχοντο ἐξ ἠοῦς ἀρξάμενοι μέχρι δείλης ὀψίης (ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο γὰρ λέγεται ἑλκύσαι2 τὴν σύστασιν), ὁ δὲ Ἀμίλκας ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ μένων ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ἐθύετο καὶ ἐκαλλιερέετο ἐπὶ πυρῆς μεγάλης σώματα ὅλα καταγίζων, ἰδὼν δὲ τροπὴν τῶν ἑωυτοῦ γινομένην, ὡς ἔτυχε ἐπισπένδων3 τοῖσι ἱροῖσι, ὦσε ἑωυτὸν ἐς τὸ πῦρ· οὕτω δὴ κατακαυθέντα ἀφανισθῆναι.
But there is this story told by the Carthaginians themselves, who employ plausible reasoning: that while the barbarians were fighting with the Greeks in Sicily, starting from dawn until late afternoon (for the engagement is said to have dragged on to such an extent), Amilcas during this time, remaining in the camp, was offering sacrifices and seeking favorable omens, consuming whole bodies of victims upon a great pyre; and having seen a rout of his own men taking place, just as he happened to be pouring libations upon the offerings, he threw himself into the fire; and thus indeed, having been burnt up, he vanished.
ἀφανισθέντι δὲ Ἀμίλκᾳ4 τρόπῳ εἴτε τοιούτῳ ὡς Φοίνικες λέγουσι, εἴτε ἑτέρῳ ὡς Καρχηδόνιοι καὶ Συρηκόσιοι,τοῦτο μέν οἱ θύουσι, τοῦτο δὲ5 μνήματα ἐποίησαν ἐν πάσῃσι τῇσι πόλισι τῶν ἀποικίδων, ἐν αὐτῇ τε μέγιστον Καρχηδόνι.
To Amilcas, who had vanished in such a manner—whether as the Phoenicians say, or in another way as the Carthaginians and Syracusans say—they, on the one hand, offer sacrifices, and on the other hand, they have erected monuments to him in all the colonial cities, and the greatest one in Carthage itself.
- 7.167.1οἰκότι χρεωμένων
οἰκότι is the Ionic form of εἰκότι (dative of εἰκός, 'probability, what is reasonable'), and χρεωμένων is the Ionic genitive plural participle of χράομαι (standard χρωμένων), agreeing with Καρχηδονίων. It means 'employing what is reasonable' or 'arguing from probability'.
- 7.167.1ἑλκύσαι
Aorist active infinitive of ἑλκύω (or ἕλκω), used here intransitively to mean 'to drag on, endure'. The subject of this infinitive is τὴν σύστασιν ('the clash' or 'the conflict').
- 7.167.1ὡς ἔτυχε ἐπισπένδων
The conjunction ὡς ('as/when') combined with the construction of τυγχάνω (here aorist ἔτυχε) and a participle (ἐπισπένδων) meaning 'happen to be doing'. It vividly describes the moment when he 'happened to be pouring libations' upon the sacrifices.
- 7.167.2ἀφανισθέντι δὲ Ἀμίλκᾳ
Dative of interest or reference, acting as the indirect object for both verbs in the following correlated clauses (θύουσι and μνήματα ἐποίησαν). The enclitic dative pronoun οἱ ('to him') is used redundantly for emphasis.
- 7.167.2τοῦτο μὲν... τοῦτο δὲ...
An adverbial accusative idiom used to contrast or list two elements: 'on the one hand... on the other hand...' or 'partly... partly...'. It correlates the offering of sacrifices (θύουσι) with the erection of monuments (μνήματα ἐποίησαν).