Herodotus · Histories §2.23.1

Criticism of the Untestable Oceanus Theory

Passage 239 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author criticizes the theorist who speaks of Oceanus, arguing that the theory cannot be refuted because it is set in an unprovable domain, and suggests that Homer or an earlier poet invented the name and introduced it into poetry.

§2.23.1ὁ δὲ περὶ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ λέξας ἐς ἀφανὲς τὸν μῦθον ἀνενείκας οὐκ ἔχει ἔλεγχον· οὐ γὰρ τινὰ ἔγωγε οἶδα ποταμὸν Ὠκεανὸν ἐόντα, Ὅμηρον δὲ ἢ τινὰ τῶν πρότερον γενομένων ποιητέων δοκέω τὸ οὔνομα εὑρόντα ἐς ποίησιν ἐσενείκασθαι.

But the one who spoke about Oceanus, by carrying his tale into the realm of the unseen, cannot be refuted; for I, at least, do not know of any river Oceanus existing, but I think that Homer or one of the poets who lived before him found the name and introduced it into poetry.

Notes

2.23.1ἐς ἀφανὲς τὸν μῦθον ἀνενείκας — ἀνενείκας is the Ionic aorist active participle of ἀναφέρω (to carry up, refer, bring into). Combined with ἐς ἀφανὲς (into the unseen, the unprovable), it expresses the act of shifting the argument to a mythical or abstract realm that cannot be empirically verified or refuted.
2.23.1Ὅμηρον δὲ ἢ τινὰ τῶν πρότερον γενομένων ποιητέων δοκέω τὸ οὔνομα εὑρόντα ἐς ποίησιν ἐσενείκασθαι — The main verb δοκέω takes an accusative with infinitive (A.c.I.) construction. The subject of the infinitive is the accusative Ὅμηρον..., with which the aorist participle εὑρόντα agrees in the accusative. The infinitive is ἐσενείκασθαι (Ionic aorist middle infinitive of εἰσφέρω). Here, δοκέω is used not in the passive/impersonal sense of 'to seem', but actively to mean 'I think/believe'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.23.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.23.1

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