Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §2.132.1-2.132.3

Appearance of the Wooden Cow and Its Annual Procession

Passage 354 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage describes the appearance of the gilded wooden cow holding the body of Mycerinus' daughter, and explains how it is carried out into the light once a year during the Egyptian mourning festival.

§2.132.1ἡ δὲ βοῦς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατακέκρυπται φοινικέῳ εἵματι, τὸν αὐχένα δὲ καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν φαίνει κεχρυσωμένα παχέι κάρτα χρυσῷ· μεταξὺ δὲ τῶν κερέων ὁ τοῦ ἡλίου κύκλος μεμιμημένος ἔπεστι χρύσεος.
As for this cow, its other parts are covered with a purple robe, but it shows its neck and head gilded with very thick gold; and between its horns is a golden circle representing the sun.
§2.132.2ἔστι δὲ ἡ βοῦς οὐκ ὀρθὴ ἀλλʼ ἐν γούνασι κειμένη, μέγαθος δὲ ὅση περ μεγάλη βοῦς ζωή.
The cow is not standing upright but is lying upon its knees, and in size it is as large as a great living cow.
ἐκφέρεται δὲ ἐκ τοῦ οἰκήματος ἀνὰ πάντα ἔτεα, ἐπεὰν τύπτωνται Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν οὐκ ὀνομαζόμενον θεὸν ὑπʼ ἐμεῦ ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι· §2.132.3τότε ὦν καὶ τὴν βοῦν ἐκφέρουσι ἐς τὸ φῶς· φασὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν δεηθῆναι τοῦ πατρὸς Μυκερίνου ἀποθνήσκουσαν ἐν τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ ἅπαξ μιν τὸν ἥλιον κατιδεῖν.
It is carried out of the chamber every year, whenever the Egyptians beat their breasts for the god who is not named by me on such an occasion; at that time, then, they also carry the cow out into the light; for they say that she, when dying, entreated her father Mycerinus that she might behold the sun once in every year.

Notes

  1. §2.132.1κεχρυσωμένα — The participle is in the neuter plural, qualifying two accusative nouns of different genders: the masculine τὸν αὐχένα (neck) and the feminine τὴν κεφαλὴν (head). The neuter plural is used when referencing multiple inanimate things of mixed genders.
  2. §2.132.2τύπτωνται ... τὸν οὐκ ὀνομαζόμενον θεὸν — The middle voice of the verb (τύπτομαι, literally "to beat oneself") takes a direct object in the accusative to indicate the person being mourned. Thus, "the god who is not named by me" is the object of their lamentation.
  3. §2.132.3μιν — The pronoun (Ionic dialect for αὐτήν) serves as the subject accusative of the infinitive κατιδεῖν. Although αὐτήν is already expressed as the subject of the main indirect discourse (with δεηθῆναι), μιν is repeated within the embedded clause to clarify the subject of the request.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.132.1-2.132.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.132.1-2.132.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.