Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §3.12.1-3.12.4

Differences in Skull Hardness of Persians and Egyptians

Passage 416 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author describes the difference in the strength of the skulls of the Persian and Egyptian soldiers observed at the former battlefield, attributing it to their different habits of head-shaving and hat-wearing.

§3.12.1θῶμα δὲ μέγα εἶδον πυθόμενος παρὰ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων·
I saw a great wonder there, having learned of it from the local people.
τῶν γὰρ ὀστέων περικεχυμένων χωρὶς ἑκατέρων τῶν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ταύτῃ πεσόντων (χωρὶς μὲν γὰρ τῶν Περσέων ἔκειτο τὰ ὀστέα, ὡς ἐχωρίσθη κατʼ ἀρχάς, ἑτέρωθι δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων), αἱ μὲν τῶν Περσέων κεφαλαί εἰσι ἀσθενέες οὕτω ὥστε, εἰ θέλεις ψήφῳ μούνῃ βαλεῖν, διατετρανέεις, αἱ δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οὕτω δή τι ἰσχυραί, μόγις ἂν λίθῳ παίσας διαρρήξειας.
For the bones of those who fell in this battle lay scattered apart from each other (for the bones of the Persians lay in one place, just as they were separated at the beginning, and those of the Egyptians in another); the skulls of the Persians are so weak that if you only wish to strike them with a pebble, you will pierce them, while those of the Egyptians are so very strong that you could hardly break them even by striking them with a stone.
§3.12.2αἴτιον δὲ τούτου τόδε ἔλεγον, καὶ ἐμέ γʼ εὐπετέως ἔπειθον, ὅτι Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν αὐτίκα ἀπὸ παιδίων ἀρξάμενοι ξυρῶνται τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον παχύνεται τὸ ὀστέον.
They gave this as the reason for it, and they easily convinced me: that the Egyptians shave their heads from childhood onwards, and by exposure to the sun, the bone is thickened.
§3.12.3τὠυτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τοῦ μὴ φαλακροῦσθαι αἴτιον ἐστί· Αἰγυπτίων γὰρ ἄν τις ἐλαχίστους ἴδοιτο φαλακροὺς πάντων ἀνθρώπων.
This same thing is also the reason why they do not grow bald; for one would see fewer bald-headed men among the Egyptians than among any other people.
§3.12.4τούτοισι μὲν δὴ τοῦτο ἐστὶ αἴτιον ἰσχυρὰς φορέειν τὰς κεφαλάς, τοῖσι δὲ Πέρσῃσι ὅτι ἀσθενέας φορέουσι τὰς κεφαλὰς αἴτιον τόδε· σκιητροφέουσι ἐξ ἀρχῆς πίλους τιάρας φορέοντες.
For the Egyptians, then, this is the reason why they have strong heads; while for the Persians, the reason why they have weak heads is this: from the very beginning, they shade them by wearing tiaras of felt.
ταῦτα μέν νυν τοιαῦτα·
Now, these things are so.
εἶδον δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ὅμοια τούτοισι ἐν Παπρήμι τῶν ἅμα Ἀχαιμένεϊ τῷ Δαρείου διαφθαρέντων ὑπὸ Ἰνάρω τοῦ Λίβυος.
But I also saw another similar sight in Papremis among those who were destroyed together with Achamenes, the son of Darius, by Inaros the Libyan.

Notes

  1. §3.12.1τῶν γὰρ ὀστέων περικεχυμένων — A genitive absolute construction explaining the background situation (the bones of both sides lying scattered apart) before the main contrast between the skull strengths is introduced.
  2. §3.12.2ἀπὸ παιδίων ἀρξάμενοι — An idiomatic expression using the participle ἀρξάμενοι (starting from), which emphasizes the temporal starting point "immediately from childhood onwards."
  3. §3.12.3τοῦ μὴ φαλακροῦσθαι — An articular infinitive in the genitive case with the negative particle μή, serving as the complement to the noun αἴτιον to express the cause of "not growing bald."
  4. §3.12.4ἰσχυρὰς φορέειν τὰς κεφαλὰς — The infinitive φορέειν (to bear/wear) with the predicative adjective ἰσχυράς acts as an explanatory or resultative infinitive defining the content of the noun αἴτιον ("the cause for their bearing strong heads").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.12.1-3.12.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.12.1-3.12.4

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