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Herodotus · Histories §2.176.1-2.176.2

Amasis's Colossal Statues and the Temple of Isis

Passage 398 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the giant stone statues dedicated by Amasis in various Egyptian temples and the temple of Isis in Memphis which he completed.

§2.176.1ἀνέθηκε δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἱροῖσι ὁ Ἄμασις πᾶσι τοῖσι ἐλλογίμοισι ἔργα τὸ μέγαθος ἀξιοθέητα, ἐν δὲ καὶ ἐν Μέμφι τὸν ὕπτιον κείμενον κολοσσὸν τοῦ Ἡφαιστείου ἔμπροσθε, τοῦ πόδες πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα εἰσὶ τὸ μῆκος· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ βάθρῳ ἑστᾶσι τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐόντος λίθου δύο κολοσσοί, εἴκοσι ποδῶν τὸ μέγαθος ἐὼν ἑκάτερος, ὃ μὲν ἔνθεν ὃ δʼ ἔνθεν τοῦ μεγάλου.
And Amasis dedicated also in all the other famous temples works worthy of sight for their size, and among them also in Memphis the colossus lying on its back in front of the temple of Hephaestus, of which the length is seventy-five feet; and on the same pedestal stand two colossi of the same stone, each being twenty feet in size, one on this side and one on that side of the great one.
§2.176.2ἔστι δὲ λίθινος ἕτερος τοσοῦτος καὶ ἐν Σάι, κείμενος κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ ἐν Μέμφι.
And there is another stone statue of the same size also in Sais, lying in the same manner as the one in Memphis.
τῇ Ἴσι τε τὸ ἐν Μέμφι ἱρὸν Ἄμασις ἐστὶ ὁ ἐξοικοδομήσας, ἐὸν μέγα τε καὶ ἀξιοθεητότατον.
Moreover, the temple of Isis in Memphis is the one which Amasis built, being both great and most worthy of sight.

Notes

  1. 2.176.1εν δε και — The preposition ἐν is used adverbially to mean 'among them' or 'in particular.' Here it serves to introduce the specific example of the colossus in Memphis among the works dedicated in all the other famous temples.
  2. 2.176.1του αυτου εοντος λιθου — A genitive of material or quality, meaning 'made of the same stone.' It is accompanied by the participle ἐόντος (Ionic genitive neuter singular of ἐών).
  3. 2.176.1ο μεν ενθεν ο δ' ενθεν — A contrastive construction using demonstrative pronouns (ὃ μὲν... ὃ δέ...) combined with the adverb of place ἔνθεν ('on this side / on that side'). Grammatically, the whole phrase stands in apposition (partitive apposition) to the two colossi (δύο κολοσσοί), specifying the position of each.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.176.1-2.176.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.176.1-2.176.2

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