- 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-grc2:34.4.1-34.4.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Polybius defines Homeric poetry as a blend of history, disposition, and myth, arguing that the poet's descriptions are not complete fabrications but possess a historical core. He also presents a mathematical calculation of Odysseus's wandering distance and defends his avoidance of the strait.
εἰ δέ τινα μὴ συμφωνεῖ, μεταβολὰς αἰτιᾶσθαι δεῖν1 ἢ ἄγνοιαν ἢ καὶ ποιητικὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἣ συνέστηκεν ἐξ ἱστορίας καὶ διαθέσεως καὶ μύθου.
But if some things do not agree, he says one must blame changes, ignorance, or also poetic license, which is composed of history, disposition, and myth.
τῆς μὲν οὖν ἱστορίας ἀλήθειαν εἶναι τέλος, ὡς ἐν Νεῶν καταλόγῳ τὰ ἑκάστοις τόποις συμβεβηκότα λέγοντος τοῦ ποιητοῦ,2 τὴν μὲν πετρήεσσαν, τὴν δὲ ἐσχατόωσαν πόλιν, ἄλλην δὲ πολυτρήρωνα, τὴν δʼ ἀγχίαλον·
Now, the end of history is truth, as when the poet, in the Catalogue of Ships, speaks of the attributes of each place, calling one ‘rocky’, another ‘frontier’, another ‘abounding in pigeons’, and another ‘near the sea’;
τῆς δὲ διαθέσεως ἐνέργειαν εἶναι τὸ τέλος, ὡς ὅταν μαχομένους εἰσάγῃ, μύθου δὲ ἡδονὴν καὶ ἔκπληξιν.
and the end of disposition is vividness, as when he introduces men fighting; and of myth, pleasure and astonishment.
τὸ δὲ πάντα πλάττειν οὐ πιθανὸν οὐδʼ Ὁμηρικόν· τὴν γὰρ ἐκείνου ποίησιν φιλοσόφημα πάντας νομίζειν,3 οὐχ ὡς Ἐρατοσθένης φησί, κελεύων μὴ κρίνειν πρὸς τὴν διάνοιαν τὰ ποιήματα μηδʼ ἱστορίαν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ζητεῖν.
But to fabricate everything is neither plausible nor characteristic of Homer; for all men consider his poetry a philosophical work, unlike what Eratosthenes says when he commands us not to judge poems by their intellect, nor to seek history from them.
πιθανώτερόν τε τὸ ἔνθεν δʼ ἐννῆμαρ φερόμην ὀλοοῖς ἀνέμοισιν ἐν βραχεῖ διαστήματι δέχεσθαι — οἱ γὰρ ὀλοοὶ οὐκ εὐθύδρομοι — ἢ ἐξωκεανίζειν, ὡς ἂν οὐρίων πνεόντων συνεχῶς.4
And it is more plausible to take ‘thence for nine days I was driven by destructive winds’ as occurring within a short distance—for destructive winds do not blow straight—than to drive him out into the Ocean, as if favorable winds were blowing continuously.
συνθεὶς δὲ τὸ διάστημα τὸ ἐκ Μαλεῶν ἐπὶ στήλας σταδίων δισμυρίων καὶ δισχιλίων πεντακοσίων, εἰ, φησί, τοῦτο θείημεν ἐν ταῖς ἐννέα ἡμέραις διηνύσθαι ἰσοταχῶς, ἑκάστης ἂν ἡμέρας ὁ πλοῦς συμβαίνοι5 σταδίων δισχιλίων πεντακοσίων.
And having computed the distance from Malea to the Pillars as 22,500 stades, if, he says, we should assume this was traversed at a uniform speed in the nine days, the voyage of each day would turn out to be 2,500 stades.
τίς οὖν ἱστόρηκεν ἐκ Λυκίας ἢ Ῥόδου δευτεραῖόν τινα ἀφιγμένον6 εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, ὄντος τοῦ διαστήματος σταδίων τετρακισχιλίων;
Who, then, has recorded that anyone has arrived at Alexandria from Lycia or Rhodes on the second day, when the distance is 4,000 stades?
πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐπιζητοῦντας πῶς τρὶς εἰς Σικελίαν ἐλθὼν οὐδʼ ἅπαξ διὰ τοῦ πορθμοῦ πέπλευκεν Ὀδυσσεύς, ἀπολογεῖται διότι καὶ οἱ ὕστερον ἔφευγον ἅπαντες τὸν πλοῦν τοῦτον. τοιαῦτα μὲν εἴρηκεν.
And against those who inquire how Odysseus, having come to Sicily three times, did not sail even once through the strait, he replies that all those of later times also avoided this voyage. Such are the things he has said.
- 34.4.1μεταβολὰς αἰτιᾶσθαι δεῖν
An accusative with infinitive clause. It depends on the verb of saying or φησί implied from the preceding context, where the logical subject of the impersonal δεῖν ("it is necessary") is an indefinite "one" or "we". The accusative nouns (μεταβολὰς etc.) are the direct objects of αἰτιᾶσθαι.
- 34.4.2λέγοντος τοῦ ποιητοῦ
A genitive absolute construction. Introduced by the comparative conjunction ὡς ("as"), it adduces a concrete and illustrative example (Homer's descriptions of cities) to support the statement that the end of history is truth.
- 34.4.4τὴν γὰρ ἐκείνου ποίησιν φιλοσόφημα πάντας νομίζειν
An infinitive clause in indirect speech. πάντας ("all men") acts as the subject accusative, τὴν ἐκείνου ποίησιν ("his poetry") is the direct object, and φιλοσόφημα ("a philosophical work") serves as the predicate accusative.
- 34.4.5ὡς ἂν οὐρίων πνεόντων συνεχῶς
A genitive absolute construction with ὡς ἄν modifying the main infinitive ἐξωκεανίζειν. It expresses a hypothetical or counterfactual condition ("as would be the case if favorable winds were blowing continuously").
- 34.4.6εἰ ... θείημεν ... ἑκάστης ἂν ἡμέρας ὁ πλοῦς συμβαίνοι
A potential (or future less vivid) condition consisting of a protasis with the optative (θείημεν) and an apodosis with ἄν and the optative (ἂν ... συμβαίνοι), used to present a hypothetical mathematical calculation.
- 34.4.7δευτεραῖόν τινα ἀφιγμένον
The adjective δευτεραῖος is used predicatively to qualify the participle ἀφιγμένον, functioning adverbially to express time ("arrived on the second day"), which is a typical Greek idiomatic use of adjectives of time.