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Herodotus · Histories §2.90.1-2.90.2

Sacred Burial for Victims of the Nile and Crocodiles

Passage 306 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

If anyone dies by a crocodile attack or drowning in the river, the city where the body is washed ashore must embalm and bury them, with the priests of the Nile alone handling the body.

§2.90.1ὃς δʼ ἂν ἢ αὐτῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ ξείνων ὁμοίως ὑπὸ κροκοδείλου ἁρπασθεὶς ἢ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ φαίνηται τεθνεώς, κατʼ ἣν ἂν πόλιν ἐξενειχθῇ, τούτους πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ἐστὶ ταριχεύσαντας αὐτὸν καὶ περιστείλαντας ὡς κάλλιστα θάψαι ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι·
If anyone, whether of the Egyptians themselves or of foreigners alike, is seen to have died, having been seized by a crocodile or by the river itself, in whatever city he is cast ashore, it is an absolute necessity for the people of that city to embalm him, dress him as handsomely as possible, and bury him in sacred tombs.
§2.90.2οὐδὲ ψαῦσαι ἔξεστι αὐτοῦ ἄλλον οὐδένα οὔτε τῶν προσηκόντων οὔτε τῶν φίλων, ἀλλά μιν οἱ ἱρέες αὐτοὶ τοῦ Νείλου ἅτε πλέον τι ἢ ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν χειραπτάζοντες θάπτουσι.
It is not permitted for anyone else, whether of his kinsmen or of his friends, to touch him, but the priests of the Nile themselves, handling him as something more than a human corpse, bury him.

Notes

  1. 2.90.1τούτους — The accusative plural τούτους is used as the subject of the infinitive θάψαι, despite the preceding relative pronoun ὃς being singular. It refers to the inhabitants of the city implied by the phrase κατʼ ἣν ἂν πόλιν (in whatever city). The deceased individual is referred to again by the accusative singular pronoun αὐτόν as the object of the infinitive.
  2. 2.90.2ἅτε πλέον τι ἢ ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν — ἅτε goes with the participle χειραπτάζοντες to express an objective ground or viewpoint ('inasmuch as' or 'as'). πλέον τι ἢ ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν means 'something more than a corpse of a human,' where ἀνθρώπου is either a genitive of comparison with the comparative πλέον or a genitive modifying νεκρόν.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.90.1-2.90.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.90.1-2.90.2

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