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Herodotus · Histories §3.5.1-3.5.3

The Route to Egypt and the Arid Desert

Passage 409 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The geographical route of the only entrance to Egypt is described, detailing the borders of the Syrians, Arabians, and Egyptians, as well as the extremely waterless desert lying between them.

§3.5.1μούνῃ δὲ ταύτῃ εἰσὶ φανεραὶ ἐσβολαὶ ἐς Αἴγυπτον.
Only by this route is there an open entrance into Egypt.
ἀπὸ γὰρ Φοινίκης μέχρι οὔρων τῶν Καδύτιος πόλιος ἐστὶ Σύρων τῶν Παλαιστίνων καλεομένων·
For from Phoenicia as far as the borders of the city of Cadytis, the land belongs to the Syrians who are called Palestinians.
§3.5.2ἀπὸ δὲ Καδύτιος ἐούσης πόλιος, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκέει, Σαρδίων οὐ πολλῷ ἐλάσσονος, ἀπὸ ταύτης τὰ ἐμπόρια τὰ ἐπὶ θαλάσσης μέχρι Ἰηνύσου πόλιος ἐστὶ τοῦ Ἀραβίου, ἀπὸ δὲ Ἰηνύσου αὖτις Σύρων μέχρι Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, παρʼ ἣν δὴ τὸ Κάσιον ὄρος τείνει ἐς θάλασσαν·
And from Cadytis (which is a city, as it seems to me, not much smaller than Sardis), from this city the trading-ports on the sea as far as the city of Ienysus belong to the Arabian; and from Ienysus it belongs again to the Syrians as far as the Serbonian lake, along which Mount Casius stretches to the sea.
§3.5.3ἀπὸ δὲ Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, ἐν τῇ δὴ λόγος τὸν Τυφῶ κεκρύφθαι, ἀπὸ ταύτης ἤδη Αἴγυπτος.
And from the Serbonian lake, in which there is a story that Typhon is hidden, from this point on it is already Egypt.
τὸ δὴ μεταξὺ Ἰηνύσου πόλιος καὶ Κασίου τε ὄρεος καὶ τῆς Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, ἐὸν τοῦτο οὐκ ὀλίγον χωρίον ἀλλὰ ὅσον τε ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ὁδόν, ἄνυδρον ἐστὶ δεινῶς.
Now the region between the city of Ienysus and both Mount Casius and the Serbonian lake, which is no small territory but as much as a three days' journey, is terribly waterless.

Notes

  1. §3.5.1Σύρων τῶν Παλαιστίνων καλεομένων — The genitive phrase 'Σύρων...' functions as a predicate genitive with 'ἐστί' (where a subject like 'the land' is implied), meaning 'belongs to the Syrians...'.
  2. §3.5.2Σαρδίων οὐ πολλῷ ἐλάσσονος — 'Σαρδίων' is a genitive of comparison governed by the comparative adjective 'ἐλάσσονος' (which agrees with the preceding feminine singular genitive 'πόλιος'). 'οὐ πολλῷ' is a dative of degree of difference.
  3. §3.5.3λόγος τὸν Τυφῶ κεκρύφθαι — The accusative and infinitive construction 'τὸν Τυφῶ κεκρύφθαι' (with 'τὸν Τυφῶ' as the subject accusative of the perfect passive infinitive 'κεκρύφθαι') stands in apposition to 'λόγος', explaining its content.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.5.1-3.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.5.1-3.5.3

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