Herodotus · Histories §2.3.1-2.3.2

Inquiry among Egyptian priests and policy on divine matters

Passage 219 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Herodotus states that he visited Thebes and Heliopolis to verify the information obtained from the priests of Memphis, and declares his policy of avoiding the narration of divine matters except for their names.

§2.3.1κατὰ μὲν δὴ τὴν τροφὴν τῶν παίδων τοσαῦτα ἔλεγον, ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐν Μέμφι ἐλθὼν ἐς λόγους τοῖσι ἱρεῦσι τοῦ Ἡφαίστου.

Concerning the rearing of the children, they said this much, and I also heard other things in Memphis when I entered into conversation with the priests of Hephaestus.

καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐς Θήβας τε καὶ ἐς Ἡλίου πόλιν αὐτῶν τούτων εἵνεκεν ἐτραπόμην, ἐθέλων εἰδέναι εἰ συμβήσονται τοῖσι λόγοισι τοῖσι ἐν Μέμφι· οἱ γὰρ Ἡλιοπολῖται λέγονται Αἰγυπτίων εἶναι λογιώτατοι.

Indeed, I also turned my steps to Thebes and to Heliopolis for this very purpose, wishing to know if they would agree with the accounts given in Memphis; for the Heliopolitans are said to be the most learned of the Egyptians.

§2.3.2τὰ μέν νυν θεῖα τῶν ἀπηγημάτων οἷα ἤκουον οὐκ εἰμὶ πρόθυμος ἐξηγέεσθαι, ἔξω ἢ τὰ οὐνόματα αὐτῶν μοῦνον, νομίζων πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἴσον περὶ αὐτῶν ἐπίστασθαι· τὰ δʼ ἂν ἐπιμνησθέω αὐτῶν, ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἐξαναγκαζόμενος ἐπιμνησθήσομαι.

Now, as for the divine matters of the stories which I heard, I am not eager to relate them, except only their names, since I believe that all men have equal knowledge about them; but whatever of them I do mention, I shall mention only because I am compelled by the course of my narrative.

Notes

§2.3.1αὐτῶν τούτων εἵνεκεν — The intensive adjective αὐτός is used emphatically in combination with the demonstrative pronoun οὗτος. Here, it refers back to the purpose of seeing whether the accounts of the other cities would agree with those of Memphis.
§2.3.2τὰ μέν νυν θεῖα τῶν ἀπηγημάτων — θεῖα means 'divine matters', while ἀπηγημάτων is the genitive of 'narratives' or 'stories'. Literally 'the divine parts of the stories', referring to mythological or religious mysteries, the entire phrase functions as the accusative object of the following infinitive ἐξηγέεσθαι.
§2.3.2τὰ δʼ ἂν ἐπιμνησθέω — The subjunctive ἐπιμνησθέω (an Ionic form of the aorist subjunctive first-person singular, equivalent to Attic ἐπιμνησθῶ, from ἐπιμνήσκομαι) is used with the relative pronoun τὰ and the particle ἂν to express a general conditional clause ('whatever of them I may mention').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.3.1-2.3.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.3.1-2.3.2

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