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Herodotus · Histories §2.69.1-2.69.3

Sacred Veneration and Treatment of Crocodiles

Passage 285 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Explains the veneration of crocodiles in Egypt, where they are treated as sacred and adorned with jewelry near Thebes and Lake Moeris, while they are eaten near Elephantine, and details the origin of their name.

§2.69.1τοῖσι μὲν δὴ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἱροί εἰσι οἱ κροκόδειλοι, τοῖσι δὲ οὔ, ἀλλʼ ἅτε πολεμίους περιέπουσι·
To some of the Egyptians, crocodiles are sacred, but to others they are not; instead, they treat them as enemies.
οἱ δὲ περί τε Θήβας καὶ τὴν Μοίριος λίμνην οἰκέοντες καὶ κάρτα ἥγηνται αὐτοὺς εἶναι ἱρούς·
However, those who dwell around Thebes and Lake Moeris consider them to be extremely sacred.
§2.69.2ἐκ πάντων δὲ ἕνα ἑκάτεροι τρέφουσι κροκόδειλον δεδιδαγμένον εἶναι χειροήθεα, ἀρτήματά τε λίθινα χυτὰ καὶ χρύσεα ἐς τὰ ὦτα ἐνθέντες καὶ ἀμφιδέας περὶ τοὺς ἐμπροσθίους πόδας, καὶ σιτία ἀποτακτὰ διδόντες καὶ ἱρήια, καὶ περιέποντες ὡς κάλλιστα ζῶντας· ἀποθανόντας δὲ θάπτουσι ταριχεύσαντες ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι.
From among them all, each of these two groups keeps one crocodile, trained to be tame, putting ear-ornaments of melted stone and gold into its ears and bracelets around its forefeet, and giving it appointed food and sacrificial victims, and treating it as excellently as possible while it lives; and when it dies, they embalm it and bury it in sacred coffins.
§2.69.3οἱ δὲ περὶ Ἐλεφαντίνην πόλιν οἰκέοντες καὶ ἐσθίουσι αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἡγεόμενοι ἱροὺς εἶναι.
But those who dwell around the city of Elephantine even eat them, not considering them to be sacred.
καλέονται δὲ οὐ κροκόδειλοι ἀλλὰ χάμψαι· κροκοδείλους δὲ Ἴωνες ὠνόμασαν, εἰκάζοντες αὐτῶν τὰ εἴδεα τοῖσι παρὰ σφίσι γινομένοισι κροκοδείλοισι τοῖσι ἐν τῇσι αἱμασιῇσι.
They are called not crocodiles but champsae; the Ionians named them crocodiles, comparing their appearance to the lizards found among them in the stone walls.

Notes

  1. 2.69.1τοῖσι μὲν... τοῖσι δὲ... τῶν Αἰγυπτίων — Expresses "to some... but to others...". τοῖσι is the dative of the demonstrative pronoun (functioning here substantively or as an article) on which the partitive genitive τῶν Αἰγυπτίων depends.
  2. 2.69.2ἑκάτεροι — Since it refers to two distinct groups of people mentioned in the previous section (those around Thebes and those around Lake Moeris), the plural form ἑκάτεροι ("each of the two groups") is used instead of the singular ἕκαστος.
  3. 2.69.2ἀρτήματά τε λίθινα χυτὰ — Literally "ear-ornaments of cast (melted) stone", which refers to glass or faience, manufactured in ancient Egypt.
  4. 2.69.3καὶ ἐσθίουσι — The καί placed before the verb ἐσθίουσι functions not as a simple conjunction ("and"), but as an emphasizing adverb meaning "even".

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.69.1-2.69.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.69.1-2.69.3

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