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Herodotus · Histories §2.94.1-2.94.2

Cultivation of Sillicypria and Oil Extraction

Passage 310 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The cultivation of sillicypria (kiki) by Egyptians living near marshes and the methods of extracting its oil by crushing or boiling are described, along with the oil's properties.

§2.94.1καὶ περὶ μὲν τοὺς ἰχθύας οὕτω ἔχει.
And concerning the fish, it is so.
ἀλείφατι δὲ χρέωνται Αἰγυπτίων οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα οἰκέοντες ἀπὸ τῶν σιλλικυπρίων τοῦ καρποῦ, τὸ καλεῦσι μὲν Αἰγύπτιοι κίκι, ποιεῦσι δὲ ὧδε.
Those of the Egyptians who dwell around the marshes use an oil from the fruit of the sillicypria, which the Egyptians call kiki; and they make it as follows.
παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τῶν τε ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν λιμνέων σπείρουσι τὰ σιλλικύπρια §2.94.2ταῦτα, τὰ ἐν Ἕλλησι αὐτόματα ἄγρια φύεται· ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ σπειρόμενα καρπὸν φέρει πολλὸν μὲν δυσώδεα δέ·
Along the banks of both the rivers and the lakes they sow these sillicypria, which in Greece grow wild of their own accord; these, when sown in Egypt, bear fruit in abundance but ill-smelling.
τοῦτον ἐπεὰν συλλέξωνται, οἳ μὲν κόψαντες ἀπιποῦσι, οἳ δὲ καὶ φρύξαντες ἀπέψουσι, καὶ τὸ ἀπορρέον ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ συγκομίζονται.
When they gather this fruit, some crush it and press out the oil, while others roast and boil it, and they collect that which flows from it.
ἔστι δὲ πῖον καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον τοῦ ἐλαίου τῷ λύχνῳ προσηνές, ὀδμὴν δὲ βαρέαν παρέχεται.
It is oily and no less suitable for lamps than olive oil, but it yields a heavy smell.

Notes

  1. §2.94.1Αἰγυπτίων — Αἰγυπτίων (genitive plural masculine) is a partitive genitive qualifying the subsequent subject οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα οἰκέοντες (those who dwell around the marshes).
  2. §2.94.1τὸ — Neuter singular accusative relative pronoun, whose antecedent is the neuter noun ἀλείφατι (oil). Syntactically, it serves as the direct object of καλεῦσι with κίκι as a predicate accusative ('which they call kiki').
  3. §2.94.2οἳ μὲν... οἳ δὲ — A correlative construction using the article as a pronoun with μὲν and δὲ ('some... others...'), which subdivides the subject group mentioned in the previous section.
  4. §2.94.2ἀπιποῦσι — Third-person plural present active indicative of the Ionic verb ἀπιέω (equivalent to Attic ἀποπιέζω, 'to press out'), showing the characteristic Ionic psilosis (lack of aspiration).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.94.1-2.94.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.94.1-2.94.2

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