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Herodotus · Histories §2.177.1-2.177.2

Egypt's Prosperity and the Law on Declaring Livelihood

Passage 399 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

On the unprecedented prosperity of Egypt under King Amasis and the law requiring all residents to declare their means of livelihood annually. It is also mentioned that Solon introduced this law to Athens.

§2.177.1ἐπʼ Ἀμάσιος δὲ βασιλέος λέγεται Αἴγυπτος μάλιστα δὴ τότε εὐδαιμονῆσαι καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῇ χώρῃ γινόμενα καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρης τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι, καὶ πόλις ἐν αὐτῇ γενέσθαι τὰς ἁπάσας τότε δισμυρίας τὰς οἰκεομένας.
Under the reign of King Amasis, it is said that Egypt then enjoyed its greatest prosperity, both in what the river brought to the land and in what the land brought to the people, and that the inhabited cities in it became in all twenty thousand at that time.
§2.177.2νόμον τε Αἰγυπτίοισι τόνδε Ἄμασις ἐστὶ ὁ καταστήσας, ἀποδεικνύναι ἔτεος ἑκάστου τῷ νομάρχῃ πάντα τινὰ Αἰγυπτίων ὅθεν βιοῦται· μὴ δὲ ποιεῦντα ταῦτα μηδὲ ἀποφαίνοντα δικαίην ζόην ἰθύνεσθαι θανάτῳ.
And Amasis is the one who established this law for the Egyptians, namely, that every Egyptian must declare each year to the governor of his district whence he gets his living; and that he who does not do this, or does not show a righteous livelihood, shall be punished with death.
Σόλων δὲ ὁ Ἀθηναῖος λαβὼν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τοῦτον τὸν νόμον Ἀθηναίοισι ἔθετο· τῷ ἐκεῖνοι ἐς αἰεὶ χρέωνται ἐόντι ἀμώμῳ νόμῳ.
Solon the Athenian, having taken this law from Egypt, established it for the Athenians; and they use it forever, it being a blameless law.

Notes

  1. §2.177.1τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ — The neuter plural accusative article and the following prepositional phrase function as an accusative of respect, modifying the infinitive εὐδαιμονῆσαι, specifying the respects in which Egypt prospered (what the river brought to the land and what the land brought to the people).
  2. §2.177.1πόλις — πόλις is the accusative plural in the Ionic dialect (equivalent to Attic πόλεις), serving as the subject of the infinitive γενέσθαι in the accusative with infinitive (A.c.I.) construction introduced by the main verb λέγεται.
  3. §2.177.2ἀποδεικνύναι — A present infinitive serving as an appositional (or imperatival) infinitive defining and describing the specific contents of the law (νόμον τόνδε) mentioned in the preceding sentence. The subsequent ἰθύνεσθαι functions in the same manner.
  4. §2.177.2τῷ — The dative form of the relative pronoun in the Ionic dialect (equivalent to Attic ᾧ), agreeing in gender and number with its antecedent νόμῳ (masculine singular dative).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.177.1-2.177.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.177.1-2.177.2

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