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Herodotus · Histories §3.24.1-3.24.4

The Ethiopian Burial Customs with Glass Pillars

Passage 428 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The unique burial customs of the Ethiopians are described, detailing how they dry and paint corpses before keeping them in hollow pillars of glass.

§3.24.1μετὰ δὲ ταύτην τελευταίας ἐθεήσαντο τὰς θήκας αὐτῶν, αἳ λέγονται σκευάζεσθαι ἐξ ὑέλου τρόπῳ τοιῷδε·
And after this, they viewed their coffins as the last thing, which are said to be prepared from glass in the following manner.
§3.24.2ἐπεὰν τὸν νεκρὸν ἰσχνήνωσι, εἴτε δὴ κατά περ Αἰγύπτιοι εἴτε ἄλλως κως, γυψώσαντες ἅπαντα αὐτὸν γραφῇ κοσμέουσι, ἐξομοιεῦντες τὸ εἶδος ἐς τὸ δυνατόν, ἔπειτα δέ οἱ περιιστᾶσι στήλην ἐξ ὑέλου πεποιημένην κοίλην· ἣ δέ σφι πολλὴ καὶ εὐεργὸς ὀρύσσεται.
When they have dried the corpse, whether indeed just as the Egyptians do or in some other way, having covered it entirely with plaster, they decorate it with painting, making the appearance as similar to the deceased as possible, and then they place around it a hollow pillar made of glass; which is dug up for them in great quantity and is easy to work.
§3.24.3ἐν μέσῃ δὲ τῇ στήλῃ ἐνεὼν διαφαίνεται ὁ νέκυς, οὔτε ὀδμὴν οὐδεμίαν ἄχαριν παρεχόμενος οὔτε ἄλλο ἀεικὲς οὐδέν, καὶ ἔχει πάντα φανερὰ ὁμοίως αὐτῷ τῷ νέκυϊ.
And being inside in the middle of the pillar, the corpse is clearly visible through it, neither giving off any unpleasant odor nor anything else unsightly, and it has all parts visible, just like the corpse itself.
§3.24.4ἐνιαυτὸν μὲν δὴ ἔχουσι τὴν στήλην ἐν τοῖσι οἰκίοισι οἱ μάλιστα προσήκοντες, πάντων ἀπαρχόμενοι καὶ θυσίας οἱ προσάγοντες· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐκκομίσαντες ἱστᾶσι περὶ τὴν πόλιν.
For a year indeed, the nearest relatives keep the pillar in their houses, offering first-fruits of everything and bringing sacrifices to it; and after this, carrying it out, they set it up around the city.

Notes

  1. 3.24.1τελευταίας — A predicative adjective agreeing with the feminine plural noun θήκας, functioning adverbially to mean 'as the last thing (they viewed the coffins)'.
  2. 3.24.2ἣ δέ — The relative pronoun with δέ, whose antecedent is the feminine noun ὑέλου (glass). It functions as the subject of the coordinate clause: 'and this [glass]...'.
  3. 3.24.3ἐνεὼν — The Ionic present participle of ἔνειμι (to be within), equivalent to Attic ἐνών. It modifies the subject ὁ νέκυς (the corpse), meaning 'being inside'.
  4. 3.24.3ὁμοίως αὐτῷ τῷ νέκυϊ — With ὁμοίως taking the dative, αὐτῷ τῷ νέκυϊ means 'like the corpse itself'. It expresses that all parts visible through the pillar look exactly as they would on the actual corpse itself.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.24.1-3.24.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.24.1-3.24.4

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