Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §3.116.1-3.116.3

Gold in Northern Europe and the Rarities of Earth's Edges

Passage 520 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author discusses the production of gold in northern Europe, the legend of the one-eyed Arimaspians who steal it from griffins, and concludes that the extremities of the earth possess the most beautiful and rare things.

§3.116.1πρὸς δὲ ἄρκτου τῆς Εὐρώπης πολλῷ τι πλεῖστος χρυσὸς φαίνεται ἐών· ὅκως μὲν γινόμενος, οὐκ ἔχω οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀτρεκέως εἶπαι, λέγεται δὲ ὑπὲκ τῶν γρυπῶν ἁρπάζειν Ἀριμασποὺς ἄνδρας μουνοφθάλμους.
But towards the north of Europe there is by far the greatest abundance of gold, as it appears; how it is produced, I cannot speak with certainty of this either, but it is said that the Arimaspians, one-eyed men, steal it from the griffins.
§3.116.2πείθομαι δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ὅκως μουνόφθαλμοι ἄνδρες φύονται, φύσιν ἔχοντες τὴν ἄλλην ὁμοίην τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἀνθρώποισι·
But I do not believe this either, that one-eyed men are born, having in other respects a nature similar to other men.
§3.116.3αἱ δὲ ὦν ἐσχατιαὶ οἴκασι, περικληίουσαι τὴν ἄλλην χώρην καὶ ἐντὸς ἀπέργουσαι, τὰ κάλλιστα δοκέοντα ἡμῖν εἶναι καὶ σπανιώτατα ἔχειν αὗται.
At any rate, the extreme parts of the earth, which enclose the rest of the world and keep it within bounds, seem to possess those things which we think most beautiful and most rare.

Notes

  1. 3.116.1φαίνεται ἐών — The verb `φαίνεται` with the participle `ἐών` indicates that it is manifest or clear that gold exists, in contrast with the construction with an infinitive, which would suggest mere appearance ("it seems to be").
  2. 3.116.2ὅκως — Although originally a relative adverb meaning "how," here `ὅκως` functions like ὡς or ὅτι to introduce a noun clause ("that..."), serving in apposition to the preceding demonstrative pronoun `τοῦτο`.
  3. 3.116.2τὴν ἄλλην — An accusative of specification (respect), meaning "in other respects" or "otherwise." It modifies `ὁμοίην` ("similar"), drawing a contrast that their nature is similar to other men in all aspects other than being one-eyed.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.116.1-3.116.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.116.1-3.116.3

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