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Herodotus · Histories §3.114.1

Ethiopia at the Earth's Southwest Edge and Its People

Passage 518 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the land of Ethiopia, situated in the extreme southwest of the inhabited world, highlighting its rich resources (gold, elephants, ebony) and its tall, beautiful, and long-lived inhabitants.

§3.114.1ἀποκλινομένης δὲ μεσαμβρίης παρήκει πρὸς δύνοντα ἥλιον ἡ Αἰθιοπίη χώρη ἐσχάτη τῶν οἰκεομενέων·
And as the south slopes away towards the setting sun, the Ethiopian land extends, the outermost of inhabited regions.
αὕτη δὲ χρυσόν τε φέρει πολλὸν καὶ ἐλέφαντας ἀμφιλαφέας καὶ δένδρεα πάντα ἄγρια καὶ ἔβενον καὶ ἄνδρας μεγίστους καὶ καλλίστους καὶ μακροβιωτάτους.
This land produces both much gold and huge elephants, and wild trees of all kinds, and ebony, and men who are the tallest, most beautiful, and longest-lived.

Notes

  1. §3.114.1ἀποκλινομένης δὲ μεσαμβρίης — A genitive absolute construction consisting of μεσημβρία ('midday', hence 'south') and ἀποκλίνω ('to slope away'). Literally meaning 'as the south slopes away', and when combined with πρὸς δύνοντα ἥλιον ('towards the setting sun'), it serves to indicate the southwest direction.
  2. §3.114.1τῶν οἰκεομενέων — Feminine plural genitive of the present participle οἰκεομένη (Ionic passive participle of οἰκέω), serving as a partitive genitive with the superlative adjective ἐσχάτη ('outermost'). The omitted feminine noun χώρη or γῆ ('land', 'region') is understood, meaning 'of the inhabited regions'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.114.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.114.1

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