Tribes of Turdetania, Spring at Gadeira, and Silver Mines — Polybius, The Histories Book 34 (34.9.1–34.9.15), Greek & English

§34.9.1

τοὺς δʼ ἐνοικοῦντας Τουρδητανούς τε καὶ Τουρδούλους προσαγορεύουσιν, οἱ μὲν τοὺς αὐτοὺς νομίζοντες, οἱ δʼ ἑτέρους·

And they call the inhabitants Turdetanians and Turdulians, some considering them to be the same, and others different;

§34.9.2

ὧν¹ ἐστι καὶ Πολύβιος, συνοίκους φήσας τοῖς Τουρδητανοῖς πρὸς ἄρκτον τοὺς Τουρδούλους. —

among whom is Polybius, who says that the Turdulians are neighbors living to the north of the Turdetanians. —

§34.9.3

τῇ δὲ τῆς χώρας εὐδαιμονίᾳ καὶ τὸ ἥμερον καὶ τὸ πολιτικὸν συνηκολούθησε τοῖς Τουρδητανοῖς, καὶ τοῖς Κελτικοῖς δὲ διὰ τὴν γειτνίασιν, ὡς δʼ εἴρηκε Πολύβιος, διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν. —

With the fertility of the country, a civilized and social mode of life also followed for the Turdetanians, and indeed for the Celtics because of their neighborhood, or, as Polybius has said, because of their kinship. —

§34.9.4

καὶ Δικαίαρχος δὲ καὶ Ἐρατοσθένης καὶ Πολύβιος καὶ οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων περὶ τὸν πορθμὸν ἀποφαίνουσι τὰς στήλας. —

And Dicaearchus, Eratosthenes, Polybius, and most of the Greeks declare that the Pillars are near the strait. —

§34.9.5

φησὶ δὲ ὁ Πολύβιος κρήνην ἐν τῷ Ἡρακλείῳ τῷ ἐν Γαδείροις εἶναι, βαθμῶν ὀλίγων κατάβασιν ἔχουσαν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, πότιμον, ἣν ταῖς παλιρροίαις τῆς θαλάττης ἀντιπαθεῖν, κατὰ μὲν τὰς πλήμας ἐκλείπουσαν, κατὰ δὲ τὰς ἀμπώτεις πληρουμένην.

And Polybius says that in the temple of Heracles at Gadeira there is a spring, which has a descent of a few steps to the water, and is drinkable, and that it behaves contrary to the tides of the sea, failing at high tide, but filling up at low tide.

§34.9.6

αἰτιᾶται δʼ ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ βάθους εἰς τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς γῆς ἐκπῖπτον, καλυφθείσης μὲν αὐτῆς² ὑπὸ τοῦ κύματος κατὰ τὰς ἐπιβάσεις τῆς θαλάττης, εἴργεται τῶν οἰκείων τοιούτων ἐξόδων, ἀναστρέψαν δὲ εἰς τὸ ἐντὸς ἐμφράττει τοὺς τῆς πηγῆς πόρους καὶ ποιεῖ λειψυδρίαν·

He attributes this to the cause that the air which forces its way from the depth to the surface of the earth, when the surface is covered by the wave during the influx of the sea, is shut off from its proper exits of this kind, and turning back into the interior, blocks up the passages of the spring and causes a scarcity of water;

§34.9.7

γυμνωθείσης δὲ πάλιν εὐθυπορῆσαν ἐλευθεροῖ τὰς φλέβας τῆς πηγῆς, ὥστʼ ἀναβλύειν εὐπόρως. —

but when the surface is again exposed, the air, pursuing a straight course, clears the veins of the spring so that it gushes forth abundantly. —

§34.9.8

Πολύβιος δὲ τῶν περὶ Καρχηδόνα Νέαν ἀργυρείων μνησθεὶς μέγιστα μὲν εἶναί φησι, διέχειν δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὅσον εἴκοσι σταδίους, περιειληφότα κύκλον τετρακοσίων σταδίων, ὅπου τέτταρας μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων μένειν τῶν ἐργαζομένων, ἀναφέροντας τότε τῷ δήμῳ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν δισμυρίας καὶ πεντακισχιλίας δραχμάς.

Polybius, mentioning the silver mines near New Carthage, says they are very large, and that they are about twenty stadia distant from the city, embracing a circuit of four hundred stadia, where forty thousand workmen remain, bringing in at that time to the Roman people daily twenty-five thousand drachmae.

§34.9.10

τὴν δὲ κατεργασίαν τὴν μὲν ἄλλην ἐῶ — μακρὰ γάρ ἐστι —, τὴν δὲ συρτὴν βῶλον τὴν ἀργυρῖτίν φησι κόπτεσθαι καὶ κοσκίνοις εἰς ὕδωρ διαττᾶσθαι· κόπτεσθαι δὲ πάλιν τὰς ὑποστάσεις καὶ πάλιν διηθουμένας ἀποχεομένων τῶν ὑδάτων κόπτεσθαι·

As for the process of working the ore, I omit the rest of it (for it is long), but he says that the alluvial silver-bearing soil is crushed and sifted through sieves into water; and that the sediments are crushed again, and, after the water has been drained off, are filtered and crushed once more;

§34.9.11

τὴν δὲ πέμπτην ὑπόστασιν χωνευθεῖσαν, ἀποχυθέντος τοῦ μολίβδου, καθαρὸν τὸν ἄργυρον ἐξάγειν. —

and that the fifth sediment is melted, and when the lead has been poured off, the pure silver is extracted. —

§34.9.12

Πολύβιος δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἄναν καὶ τοῦτον ἐκ τῆς Κελτιβηρίας ῥεῖν φησι, διέχοντας ἀλλήλων ὅσον ἐνακοσίους σταδίους. —

And Polybius says that both the Anas and this river flow from Celtiberia, being distant from each other about nine hundred stadia. —

§34.9.13

Πολύβιος δὲ τὰ τῶν Οὐακκαίων καὶ τῶν Κελτιβήρων ἔθνη καὶ χωρία διεξιὼν συλλέγει ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσι καὶ Σεγεσάμαν καὶ Ἰντερκατίαν. —

And Polybius, in detailing the nations and territories of the Vaccaei and the Celtiberians, enumerates Segesama and Intercatia along with the other cities. —

§34.9.14

τοιοῦτον δέ τινα ὑφίσταται τῇ κατασκευῇ καὶ λαμπρότητι οἵανπερ Πολύβιος Ἴβηρός τινος βασιλέως οἰκίαν. ὃν καὶ ἐζηλωκέναι λέγει τὴν τῶν Φαιάκων τρυφὴν πλὴν τοῦ τοὺς κρατῆρας ἐν μέσῳ τῆς οἰκίας ἑστάναι³ πλήρεις οἴνου κριθίνου, ἀργυροῦς ὄντας καὶ χρυσοῦς.

And he represents the palace as being in its construction and magnificence of such a kind as Polybius describes the palace of a certain Iberian king, whom he also says to have emulated the luxury of the Phaeacians, except that the mixing-bowls standing in the middle of the house were full of barley-wine, being made of silver and gold.

Syntax notes3 items

34.9.2ὧν
The genitive relative pronoun ὧν acts as a partitive genitive, referring back to those who consider them different (οἱ δʼ ἑτέρους νομίζοντες) in the preceding sentence, meaning 'Among whom is also Polybius.'
34.9.6καλυφθείσης μὲν αὐτῆς
A genitive absolute construction, where the feminine singular pronoun αὐτῆς refers back to 'the surface of the earth (τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς γῆς)' in the preceding clause, serving as its subject.
34.9.15πλὴν τοῦ τοὺς κρατῆρας... ἑστάναι
The preposition πλήν (except) governs the genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἑστάναι. The accusative τοὺς κρατῆρας is the subject of the infinitive, and ἑστάναι is the perfect active infinitive of ἵστημι, meaning 'to stand'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-10-09)

2026-10-09 Collated with the printed edition — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:34.9.1-34.9.15