- 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-grc2:16.12.1-16.12.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Polybius describes the location and history of the city of Iasos, and then criticizes the supernatural claims made by some historians regarding certain sacred statues and places. He argues that while absurd exaggerations must be rejected, some degree of myth-making is acceptable as long as it supports common piety.
ἡ δὲ τῶν Ἰασέων πόλις κεῖται μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τῷ μεταξὺ κειμένῳ τοῦ τῆς Μιλησίας Ποσειδίου καὶ τῆς Μυνδίων πόλεως, προσαγορευομένῳ,1 παρὰ δὲ τοῖς πλείστοις Βαργυλιητικῷ συνωνύμως ταῖς περὶ τὸν μυχὸν αὐτοῦ πόλεσιν ἐκτισμέναις.
The city of Iasos lies in Asia on the gulf situated between the Poseidion of the Milesian territory and the city of Myndos, which is called [the Iasian Gulf], but by most people the Bargylietic Gulf, synonymously with the cities founded around its recess.
εὔχονται δὲ τὸ μὲν ἀνέκαθεν Ἀργείων ἄποικοι γεγονέναι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Μιλησίων, ἐπαγαγομένων2 τῶν προγόνων τὸν Νηλέως υἱὸν τοῦ κτίσαντος Μίλητον διὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ Καρικῷ πολέμῳ γενομένην φθορὰν αὐτῶν. τὸ δὲ μέγεθος τῆς πόλεώς ἐστι δέκα στάδια.
They claim to have been originally colonists of the Argives, and subsequently of the Milesians, their ancestors having brought in the son of Neleus, the founder of Miletus, owing to the destruction they suffered in the Carian war. The size of the city is ten stades.
καταπεφήμισται δὲ καὶ πεπίστευται παρὰ μὲν τοῖς Βαργυλιήταις διότι τὸ τῆς Κινδυάδος Ἀρτέμιδος ἄγαλμα, καίπερ ὂν ὑπαίθριον, οὔτε νίφεται τὸ παράπαν οὔτε βρέχεται, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἰασεῦσι τὸ τῆς Ἀστιάδος· καὶ ταῦτά τινες εἰρήκασι καὶ τῶν συγγραφέων.
It is rumored and believed among the Bargylians that the statue of Artemis Cundyas, although standing in the open air, is never snowed upon nor rained upon at all, and among the Iasians, the same is believed of the statue of Artemis Astias; and some of the historians also have stated these things.
ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας ἀποφάσεις τῶν ἱστοριογράφων οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως παρʼ ὅλην τὴν πραγματείαν ἐναντιούμενος καὶ δυσανασχετῶν διατελῶ.3
For my part, I do not know how it is that throughout my whole work I continue to oppose and be annoyed by such assertions of historical writers.
δοκεῖ γάρ μοι τὰ τοιαῦτα παντάπασι παιδικῆς εὐηθείας4 ὅσα μὴ μόνον τῆς τῶν εὐλόγων ἐκτὸς πίπτει θεωρίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τοῦ δυνατοῦ.
For it seems to me to be a mark of complete childish simplicity to state things which fall not only outside the limits of reasonable consideration, but even outside those of possibility.
τὸ γὰρ φάσκειν ἔνια τῶν σωμάτων ἐν φωτὶ τιθέμενα μὴ ποιεῖν σκιὰν ἀπηλγηκυίας ἐστὶ ψυχῆς· ὃ πεποίηκε Θεόπομπος, φήσας τοὺς εἰς τὸ τοῦ Διὸς ἄβατον ἐμβάντας κατʼ Ἀρκαδίαν ἀσκίους γίνεσθαι.
To assert, indeed, that some bodies when placed in the light do not produce a shadow belongs to a soul that has lost all feeling; which is what Theopompus has done, saying that those who enter the sacred enclosure of Zeus in Arcadia become shadowless.
τούτῳ δὲ παραπλήσιόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ νυνὶ λεγόμενον.
What is now being said is very similar to this.
ὅσα μὲν οὖν συντείνει πρὸς τὸ διασῴζειν τὴν τοῦ πλήθους εὐσέβειαν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον, δοτέον ἐστὶ συγγνώμην ἐνίοις τῶν συγγραφέων τερατευομένοις καὶ λογοποιοῦσι περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· τὸ δʼ ὑπεραῖρον οὐ συγχωρητέον.
Now, as much as contributes to maintaining the piety of the multitude towards the divine, we must excuse some writers when they tell marvels and make up stories about such things; but what goes beyond this must not be allowed.
τάχα μὲν οὖν ἐν παντὶ δυσπαράγραφός ἐστιν ἡ ποσότης, οὐ μὴν ἀπαράγραφός γε.
Perhaps, indeed, in everything the precise limit of amount is difficult to define, yet it is certainly not impossible to define.
διὸ καὶ παρὰ βραχὺ μὲν εἰ καὶ ἀγνοεῖται καὶ ψευδοδοξεῖται, δεδόσθω συγγνώμη, τὸ δʼ ὑπεραῖρον ἀθετείσθω κατά γε τὴν ἐμὴν δόξαν.
Therefore, if a man is ignorant or holds false opinions in a small degree, let him be pardoned, but what goes beyond this must be rejected, at least in my opinion.
- 16.12.1προσαγορευομένῳ
After προσαγορευομένῳ ("being called"), a corresponding name (such as Ἰασικῷ "Iasian") is assumed to have been lost in the manuscript tradition. The translation supplies "[the Iasian Gulf]" to complete the sense.
- 16.12.2ἐπαγαγομένων
A genitive absolute construction ἐπαγαγομένων τῶν προγόνων ("their ancestors having brought in"). τὸν Νηλέως υἱὸν ("the son of Neleus") is its accusative object, and τοῦ κτίσαντος modifies Νηλέως ("Neleus").
- 16.12.5διατελῶ
The construction διατελέω with supplementary participles (ἐναντιούμενος καὶ δυσανασχετῶν διατελῶ) expresses a continuous action ("I continue to oppose and be annoyed"). The phrase οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως functions adverbially to mean "somehow or other" or "I know not how."
- 16.12.6παιδικῆς εὐηθείας
A genitive of characteristic (or quality) functioning predicatively with the verb δοκεῖ, meaning "it seems to be of (or a mark of) childish simplicity."