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Herodotus · Histories §3.33.1

Causes of Cambyses' Madness and the Sacred Disease

Passage 437 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The madness of Cambyses towards his family is attributed either to the sacrilege against Apis or to his congenital 'sacred disease' (epilepsy).

§3.33.1ταῦτα μὲν ἐς τοὺς οἰκηίους ὁ Καμβύσης ἐξεμάνη, εἴτε δὴ διὰ τὸν Ἆπιν εἴτε καὶ ἄλλως, οἷα πολλὰ ἔωθε ἀνθρώπους κακὰ καταλαμβάνειν·
These mad acts Cambyses committed against his own family, whether because of Apis or for some other reason, of the kind of many evils that are wont to overtake mankind.
καὶ γὰρ τινὰ ἐκ γενεῆς νοῦσον μεγάλην λέγεται ἔχειν ὁ Καμβύσης, τὴν ἱρὴν ὀνομάζουσι τινές.
For indeed Cambyses is said to have had from birth a certain serious disease, which some call the 'sacred disease'.
οὔ νύν τοι ἀεικὲς οὐδὲν ἦν τοῦ σώματος νοῦσον μεγάλην νοσέοντος μηδὲ τὰς φρένας ὑγιαίνειν.
It was therefore not at all unlikely that, when the body was suffering from a serious disease, the mind also should not be healthy.

Notes

  1. §3.33.1ταῦτα — This is an internal accusative (or accusative of respect) modifying the verb `ἐξεμάνη` ("he raged", "he committed mad acts"), meaning "these mad acts" or "in this way".
  2. §3.33.1τοῦ σώματος ... νοσέοντος — A genitive absolute construction with the noun `σώματος` and the participle `νοσέοντος`, expressing a condition, cause, or concession ("since/if the body suffers from..."). The phrase `νοῦσον ... νοσέοντος` forms a cognate accusative.
  3. §3.33.1μηδὲ τὰς φρένας ὑγιαίνειν — The infinitive `ὑγιαίνειν` ("to be healthy") serves as the subject of the impersonal phrase `οὐδὲν ἀεικὲς ἦν` ("it was not at all unlikely"). `τὰς φρένας` is an accusative of respect ("with regard to the mind") or acts as the subject accusative of the intransitive infinitive.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.33.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.33.1

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