Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §3.10.1-3.10.3

Death of Amasis and Portentous Rain at Thebes

Passage 414 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While Psammenitus awaits Cambyses' army at Pelusium, the death and burial of the former king Amasis are narrated, and an ominous portent of an unprecedented rainfall in Egyptian Thebes during Psammenitus' reign is recorded.

§3.10.1ἐν δὲ τῷ Πηλουσίῳ καλεομένῳ στόματι τοῦ Νείλου ἐστρατοπεδεύετο Ψαμμήνιτος ὁ Ἀμάσιος παῖς ὑπομένων Καμβύσεα.
At the so-called Pelusian mouth of the Nile, Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, was encamped, awaiting Cambyses.
§3.10.2Ἄμασιν γὰρ οὐ κατέλαβε ζῶντα Καμβύσης ἐλάσας ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον, ἀλλὰ βασιλεύσας ὁ Ἄμασις τέσσερα καὶ τεσσεράκοντα ἔτεα ἀπέθανε, ἐν τοῖσι οὐδέν οἱ μέγα ἀνάρσιον πρῆγμα συνηνείχθη·
For Cambyses did not find Amasis alive when he marched against Egypt; rather, having ruled for forty-four years, Amasis died, during which years no great misfortune befell him.
ἀποθανὼν δὲ καὶ ταριχευθεὶς ἐτάφη ἐν τῇσι ταφῇσι ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ, τὰς αὐτὸς οἰκοδομήσατο.
After he died and was embalmed, he was buried in the tombs in the temple which he himself had built.
§3.10.3ἐπὶ Ψαμμηνίτου δὲ τοῦ Ἀμάσιος βασιλεύοντος Αἰγύπτου φάσμα Αἰγυπτίοισι μέγιστον δὴ ἐγένετο· ὕσθησαν γὰρ Θῆβαι αἱ Αἰγύπτιαι, οὔτε πρότερον οὐδαμὰ ὑσθεῖσαι οὔτε ὕστερον τὸ μέχρι ἐμεῦ, ὡς λέγουσι αὐτοὶ Θηβαῖοι·
Under the reign of Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, over Egypt, a most extraordinary portent occurred for the Egyptians: for it rained at Egyptian Thebes, which had never been rained upon before, nor has been since down to my own time, as the Thebans themselves say.
οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὕεται τὰ ἄνω τῆς Αἰγύπτου τὸ παράπαν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τότε ὕσθησαν αἱ Θῆβαι ψακάδι.
For indeed, Upper Egypt is not rained upon at all, but even then, Thebes was rained upon with a drizzle.

Notes

  1. 3.10.2Ἄμασιν γὰρ οὐ κατέλαβε ζῶντα Καμβύσης — The participle ζῶντα acts as a predicative adjective modifying Ἄμασιν, meaning "did not catch (find) Amasis alive"—that is, Cambyses did not arrive in Egypt before Amasis' death.
  2. 3.10.2ἐν τοῖσι — The antecedent of the relative pronoun τοῖσι (Ionic for οἷς) is the preceding phrase τέσσερα καὶ τεσσεράκοντα ἔτεα (forty-four years). Combined with the preposition ἐν, it means "during which [years]."
  3. 3.10.3Ψαμμηνίτου ... βασιλεύοντος — This is a genitive absolute construction governed by the preposition ἐπὶ ("in the time of"). Αἰγύπτου is the genitive object governed by the participle βασιλεύοντος.
  4. 3.10.3ὕσθησαν γὰρ Θῆβαι / ὕεται τὰ ἄνω — The verb ὕω (to rain) is typically used in the impersonal active (ὕει, "it rains"), but here it appears in a passive personal construction (meaning "to be rained upon"), where the locations (Θῆβαι, "Thebes"; τὰ ἄνω, "the upper parts") function as the grammatical subjects.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.10.1-3.10.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.10.1-3.10.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.