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Herodotus · Histories §1.142.1-1.142.4

The Climate of Ionia and Dialects of the Twelve Cities

Passage 142 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author praises the excellent climate of Ionia and explains that the twelve Ionian cities are divided into four distinct dialect groups based on their geographical locations.

§1.142.1οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες οὗτοι, τῶν καὶ τὸ Πανιώνιον ἐστί, τοῦ μὲν οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ὡρέων ἐν τῷ καλλίστῳ ἐτύγχανον ἱδρυσάμενοι πόλιας πάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν·
These Ionians, to whom the Panionium also belongs, happened to have founded their cities in the finest climate and seasons of all the men whom we know.
§1.142.2οὔτε γὰρ τὰ ἄνω αὐτῆς χωρία τὠυτὸ ποιέει τῇ Ἰωνίῃ οὔτε τὰ κάτω οὔτε τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ οὔτε τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέρην, τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ τε καὶ ὑγροῦ πιεζόμενα, τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ θερμοῦ τε καὶ αὐχμώδεος.
For neither the regions above Ionia, nor those below, nor those to the east, nor those to the west, do the same as Ionia itself; some being oppressed by cold and moisture, others by heat and drought.
§1.142.3γλῶσσαν δὲ οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν οὗτοι νενομίκασι, ἀλλὰ τρόπους τέσσερας παραγωγέων.
And they do not use the same tongue, but four different dialects.
Μίλητος μὲν αὐτέων πρώτη κέεται πόλις πρὸς μεσαμβρίην, μετὰ δὲ Μυοῦς τε καὶ Πριήνη.
Miletus indeed lies first of their cities towards the south, and after it Myus and Priene.
§1.142.4αὗται μὲν ἐν τῇ Καρίῃ κατοίκηνται κατὰ ταὐτὰ διαλεγόμεναι σφίσι, αἵδε δὲ ἐν τῇ Λυδίῃ, Ἔφεσος Κολοφὼν Λέβεδος Τέως Κλαζομεναὶ Φώκαια· αὗται δὲ αἱ πόλιες τῇσι πρότερον λεχθείσῃσι ὁμολογέουσι κατὰ γλῶσσαν οὐδέν, σφισι δὲ ὁμοφωνέουσι.
These are settled in Caria, speaking the same dialect among themselves; and these in Lydia: Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Clazomenae, Phocaea; these cities agree in language in nothing with those previously mentioned, but agree in speech among themselves.
ἔτι δὲ τρεῖς ὑπόλοιποι Ἰάδες πόλιες, τῶν αἱ δύο μὲν νήσους οἰκέαται, Σάμον τε καὶ Χίον, ἡ δὲ μία ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ ἵδρυται, Ἐρυθραί.
And there are yet three remaining Ionian cities, of which two inhabit islands, Samos and Chios, and one is established on the mainland, Erythrae.
Χῖοι μέν νυν καὶ Ἐρυθραῖοι κατὰ τὠυτὸ διαλέγονται, Σάμιοι δὲ ἐπʼ ἑωυτῶν μοῦνοι.
Now the Chians and Erythraeans speak according to the same dialect, but the Samians by themselves alone.
οὗτοι χαρακτῆρες γλώσσης τέσσερες γίνονται.
These make four characters of language.

Notes

  1. 1.142.1τοῦ μὲν οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ὡρέων ἐν τῷ καλλίστῳ — The genitives τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ὡρέων depend on the substantivized neuter superlative phrase ἐν τῷ καλλίστῳ. Here, οὐρανός refers to the "sky" or "climate", and ὧραι refers to the "seasons", indicating that they founded their cities in the finest possible climate.
  2. 1.142.1ἐτύγχανον ἱδρυσάμενοι — The construction of τυγχάνω with a participle (ἱδρυσάμενοι) is used to express "happen to do" or simply to emphasize the actual state/fact of their having founded the cities in such a location.
  3. 1.142.1πάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν — The phrase πάντων ἀνθρώπων is a partitive genitive, qualifying the main subject οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες οὗτοι ("of all the men we know, these Ionians..."). Although it could theoretically be taken with the superlative καλλίστῳ ("in the finest place of all men"), it more naturally highlights the Ionians themselves in comparison with the rest of humanity.
  4. 1.142.2τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ... πιεζόμενα — The neuter plural participle πιεζόμενα (present passive of πιάζω) agrees with the correlative pronouns τὰ μὲν ... τὰ δὲ, which refer back to the surrounding regions of Ionia. The preposition ὑπό with the genitive denotes the agency or cause of oppression ("oppressed by cold...").
  5. 1.142.4οἰκέαται — The form οἰκέαται is the Ionic third-person plural present perfect (middle/passive) ending in -αται, equivalent to Attic οἴκηνται (from οἰκέω). Here it is used transitively with the accusative νήσους, meaning "inhabit islands".

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.142.1-1.142.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.142.1-1.142.4

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