Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §2.60.1-2.60.3

Boat Voyage and Celebrations at Bubastis

Passage 276 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage describes how people traveling by boat to the festival of Artemis at Bubastis play music and mock women in towns along the way, followed by the grand celebrations and massive crowds upon arrival.

§2.60.1ἐς μέν νυν Βούβαστιν πόλιν ἐπεὰν κομίζωνται, ποιεῦσι τοιάδε.
Now when they travel to the city of Bubastis, they do as follows.
πλέουσί τε γὰρ δὴ ἅμα ἄνδρες γυναιξὶ καὶ πολλόν τι πλῆθος ἑκατέρων ἐν ἑκάστῃ βάρι· αἳ μὲν τινὲς τῶν γυναικῶν κρόταλα ἔχουσαι κροταλίζουσι, οἳ δὲ αὐλέουσι κατὰ πάντα τὸν πλόον, αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ γυναῖκες καὶ ἄνδρες ἀείδουσι καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κροτέουσι.
For indeed, men and women sail together, and a great multitude of each in every boat; some of the women, having castanets, play them, while others play the flute during the whole voyage, and the rest of the women and men sing and clap their hands.
§2.60.2ἐπεὰν δὲ πλέοντες κατά τινα πόλιν ἄλλην γένωνται, ἐγχρίμψαντες τὴν βᾶριν τῇ γῇ ποιεῦσι τοιάδε· αἳ μὲν τινὲς τῶν γυναικῶν ποιεῦσι τά περ εἴρηκα, αἳ δὲ τωθάζουσι βοῶσαι τὰς ἐν τῇ πόλι ταύτῃ γυναῖκας, αἳ δὲ ὀρχέονται, αἳ δὲ ἀνασύρονται ἀνιστάμεναι.
And when in their sailing they come near any other city, they bring the boat close to the land and do as follows: some of the women do what I have said, others mock with loud cries the women in that city, others dance, and others stand up and pull up their garments.
ταῦτα παρὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν παραποταμίην ποιεῦσι·
This they do by every city on the river-bank.
§2.60.3ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀπίκωνται ἐς τὴν Βούβαστιν, ὁρτάζουσι μεγάλας ἀνάγοντες θυσίας, καὶ οἶνος ἀμπέλινος ἀναισιμοῦται πλέων ἐν τῇ ὁρτῇ ταύτῃ ἢ ἐν τῷ ἅπαντι ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ ἐπιλοίπῳ.
And when they have arrived at Bubastis, they celebrate the festival, offering great sacrifices, and more wine made from grapes is consumed at this festival than in all the rest of the year.
συμφοιτῶσι δέ, ὅ τι ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή ἐστι πλὴν παιδίων, καὶ ἐς ἑβδομήκοντα μυριάδας, ὡς οἱ ἐπιχώριοι λέγουσι.
Moreover, there assemble there, of all that are men and women, children excepted, even unto seventy myriad, as the people of the country say.

Notes

  1. §2.60.1αἳ μὲν τινὲς τῶν γυναικῶν — A classical usage where the relative pronoun (here in the Ionic form αἳ) functions as a demonstrative pronoun accompanied by μέν / δέ. It forms a contrastive series with the subsequent οἳ δὲ... αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ...
  2. §2.60.2ἐγχρίμψαντες τὴν βᾶριν τῇ γῇ — The aorist active participle of the verb ἐγχρίμπτω (to bring near). It takes the accusative τὴν βᾶριν (the boat) as its direct object and the dative τῇ γῇ (to the land) to indicate the destination of the approach.
  3. §2.60.3πλέων — The Ionic dialectal form of the comparative πλείων (more). It is in the nominative masculine singular, modifying the subject οἶνος, meaning 'more wine is consumed.' The standard of comparison is introduced by the conjunction ἤ.
  4. §2.60.3ὅ τι ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή ἐστι — The neuter singular form ὅ τι of the relative pronoun ὅστις is used as an inclusive expression meaning 'whoever is a man or a woman' (i.e., 'all the men and women'). The verb ἐστι is singular, agreeing with the coordinate singular subjects connected by καί.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.60.1-2.60.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.60.1-2.60.3

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