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Herodotus · Histories §1.189.1-1.189.4

Cyrus Punishing the Gyndes River by Digging Canals

Passage 189 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

On his march to Babylon, Cyrus reached the river Gyndes, where the drowning of a sacred white horse enraged him. In retaliation, he halted his campaign to command his army to dig numerous canals to weaken the river's flow.

§1.189.1ἐπείτε δὲ ὁ Κῦρος πορευόμενος ἐπὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα ἐγίνετο ἐπὶ Γύνδῃ ποταμῷ, τοῦ αἱ μὲν πηγαὶ ἐν Ματιηνοῖσι ὄρεσι, ῥέει δὲ διὰ Δαρδανέων, ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ἐς ἕτερον ποταμὸν Τίγρην, ὁ δὲ παρὰ Ὦπιν πόλιν ῥέων ἐς τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν θάλασσαν ἐκδιδοῖ, τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Γύνδην ποταμὸν ὡς διαβαίνειν ἐπειρᾶτο ὁ Κῦρος ἐόντα νηυσιπέρητον, ἐνθαῦτά οἱ τῶν τις ἱρῶν ἵππων τῶν λευκῶν ὑπὸ ὕβριος ἐσβὰς ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν διαβαίνειν ἐπειρᾶτο, ὁ δέ μιν συμψήσας ὑποβρύχιον οἰχώκεε φέρων.
When Cyrus, in his march against Babylon, arrived at the river Gyndes, whose sources are in the Matienian mountains, and which flows through the land of the Dardaneans and empties into another river, the Tigris, which latter flows past the city of Opis and empties into the Red Sea—when Cyrus, I say, attempted to cross this river Gyndes, which was navigable only by boats, then one of his sacred white horses, from sheer wantonness, entered the river and attempted to swim across. But the river swept it under, and carried it away in its current.
§1.189.2κάρτα τε δὴ ἐχαλέπαινε τῷ ποταμῷ ὁ Κῦρος τοῦτο ὑβρίσαντι, καί οἱ ἐπηπείλησε οὕτω δή μιν ἀσθενέα ποιήσειν ὥστε τοῦ λοιποῦ καὶ γυναῖκας μιν εὐπετέως τὸ γόνυ οὐ βρεχούσας διαβήσεσθαι.
Cyrus was exceedingly angry with the river for this insolent act, and he threatened it that he would make it so weak that for the future even women should cross it easily without wetting their knees.
§1.189.3μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀπειλὴν μετεὶς τὴν ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα στράτευσιν διαίρεε τὴν στρατιὴν δίχα, διελὼν δὲ κατέτεινε σχοινοτενέας ὑποδέξας διώρυχας ὀγδώκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν παρʼ ἑκάτερον τὸ χεῖλος τοῦ Γύνδεω τετραμμένας πάντα τρόπον, διατάξας δὲ τὸν στρατὸν ὀρύσσειν ἐκέλευε.
After this threat, putting aside his march against Babylon, he divided his army into two parts; and having divided it, he marked out by stretched cords one hundred and eighty canals running in every direction from each bank of the Gyndes, and having arrayed his army, he ordered them to dig.
§1.189.4οἷα δὲ ὁμίλου πολλοῦ ἐργαζομένου ἤνετο μὲν τὸ ἔργον, ὅμως μέντοι τὴν θερείην πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ διέτριψαν ἐργαζόμενοι.
Since a great multitude was working, the task was indeed achieved; nevertheless, they spent the whole summer there working at this labor.

Notes

  1. §1.189.1τοῦ — The relative pronoun τοῦ refers to the river Gyndes (Γύνδῃ ποταμῷ). Within this relative clause, "another river, the Tigris" (ἕτερον ποταμὸν Τίγρην) is introduced, and ὁ δὲ (referring to the Tigris) initiates a further nested description of the Tigris.
  2. §1.189.1τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Γύνδην ποταμὸν — Since the temporal clause starting with ἐπείτε became extremely long due to the geographical digression, the object τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Γύνδην ποταμὸν is restated before the main clause, and the syntax is restarted with the temporal clause ὡς ("when"). The participle ἐόντα (agreeing with ποταμόν) explains the nature of the river (navigable only by boats).
  3. §1.189.1οἰχώκεε φέρων — The pluperfect οἰχώκεε of the verb οἴχομαι ("to go/be gone") combined with the present participle φέρων ("carrying") forms an idiomatic expression meaning "carried away" or "swept away," emphasizing the swiftness and completion of the action.
  4. §1.189.2τοῦ λοιποῦ — A genitive of time meaning "for the future" or "hereafter." It denotes a continuous duration of time within which an action takes place, rather than a specific point in time.
  5. §1.189.3παρʼ ἑκάτερον τὸ χεῖλος — Since ἑκάτερος ("each of the two") is used, it indicates that 180 canals were dug on each of the two banks, making 360 canals in total.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.189.1-1.189.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.189.1-1.189.4

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