- Source
- Polybius. Vols. 1-4. Büttner-Wobst, Theodor, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1893.
- 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:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.2.1-12.2.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Polybius reports his eyewitness account of the Libyan plant called the lotus, describing the appearance of its tree and fruit, how it is processed as food for both slaves and freemen, and how wine and vinegar are made from it.
τὰ παραπλήσια τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἡρόδοτον1 ἱστορεῖ περὶ τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ καλουμένου λωτοῦ αὐτόπτης γενόμενος ὁ Μεγαλοπολίτης Πολύβιος ἐν τῇ ιβ# τῶν ἱστοριῶν λέγων οὕτως· " ἔστι δὲ τὸ δένδρον ὁ λωτὸς οὐ μέγα, τραχὺ δὲ καὶ ἀκανθῶδες, ἔχει δὲ φύλλον χλωρὸν παραπλήσιον τῇ ῥάμνῳ, μικρὸν βαθύτερον2 καὶ πλατύτερον.
Polybius of Megalopolis, having become an eyewitness, writes in the twelfth book of his Histories about the so-called lotus in Libya, recording things similar to those of Herodotus and his followers, speaking thus: “ The tree, the lotus, is not large, but rough and thorny, and it has a green leaf similar to the buckthorn, but slightly deeper and wider.
ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τὰς μὲν ἀρχὰς3 ὅμοιός ἐστι καὶ τῇ χρόᾳ καὶ τῷ μεγέθει ταῖς λευκαῖς μυρτίσι ταῖς τετελειωμέναις, αὐξανόμενος δὲ τῷ μὲν χρώματι γίνεται φοινικοῦς, τῷ δὲ μεγέθει ταῖς γογγύλαις ἐλαίαις παραπλήσιος, πυρῆνα δὲ ἔχει τελέως μικρόν.
The fruit, at first, is similar both in color and in size to fully developed white myrtles, but as it grows, it becomes red in color, and similar in size to round olives, and it has an extremely small stone.
ἐπὰν δὲ πεπανθῇ, συνάγουσι, καὶ τὸν μὲν τοῖς οἰκέταις μετὰ χόνδρου κόψαντες σάττουσιν εἰς ἀγγεῖα, τὸν δὲ4 τοῖς ἐλευθέροις ἐξελόντες τὸν πυρῆνα συντιθέασιν ὡσαύτως, καὶ σιτεύονται τοῦτον.
When it is ripe, they gather it, and one part they pack into vessels for the slaves, after crushing it with coarse grain; the other part they store in the same way for the freemen, after extracting the stone, and they feed on this.
ἔστι δὲ τὸ βρῶμα παραπλήσιον σύκῳ καὶ φοινικοβαλάνῳ, τῇ δὲ εὐωδίᾳ βέλτιον.
The food is similar to a fig and a date, but better in its fragrance.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ οἶνος ἐξ αὐτοῦ βρεχομένου5 καὶ τριβομένου διʼ ὕδατος, κατὰ μὲν τὴν γεῦσιν ἡδὺς καὶ ἀπολαυστικός, οἰνομέλιτι χρηστῷ παραπλήσιος, ᾧ χρῶνται χωρὶς ὕδατος.
And wine is also made from it, when it is soaked and crushed by means of water; in taste it is sweet and enjoyable, similar to good honeyed wine, which they use without water.
οὐ δύναται δὲ πλέον δέκα μένειν ἡμερῶν·6 διὸ καὶ ποιοῦσι κατὰ βραχὺ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν. ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ ὄξος ἐξ αὐτῶν."
But it cannot keep for more than ten days; wherefore they make it in small quantities for immediate use. And they also make vinegar from them.”
- 12.2.1τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἡρόδοτον
Meaning 'the accounts of Herodotus and his followers' or simply 'Herodotus'. The phrase οἱ περί τινα is an idiomatic Greek expression that can refer to a person and their school/associates, or sometimes to the individual alone. It points here to Herodotus' description of the lotus in Histories 4.177.
- 12.2.2βαθύτερον
Comparative neuter singular (used adverbially) of βαθύς. While it could mean 'deeper in color' or 'thicker (in substance)', in botanical descriptions of leaves it most naturally refers to being 'more deeply lobed' or 'indented' in comparison with the buckthorn (τῇ ῥάμνῳ).
- 12.2.3τὰς μὲν ἀρχάς
An accusative of specification used adverbially, meaning 'at first' or 'in the beginning'.
- 12.2.5τὸν μὲν ... τὸν δὲ
A partitive opposition ('one part... the other part...') referring to the harvested fruit (ὁ καρπός). Each is paired with a dative of advantage (τοῖς οἰκέταις for the slaves, τοῖς ἐλευθέροις for the freemen) to contrast their respective preparation and usage.
- 12.2.7ἐξ αὐτοῦ βρεχομένου
Genitive phrase governed by the preposition ἐξ. The passive participles βρεχομένου and τριβομένου agree with αὐτοῦ (referring to the fruit), showing the source or material: 'from it, when soaked and crushed by means of water.' It functions similarly to a genitive absolute clause.
- 12.2.8πλέον δέκα ... ἡμερῶν
The neuter singular comparative πλέον is used adverbially without changing case before the numeral, while ἡμερῶν is the genitive of comparison, meaning 'more than ten days'.