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Herodotus · Histories §4.169.1-4.169.2

Territory of the Giligamae and the Silphium Region

Passage 733 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the territory of the Giligamae, the locations of Platea island and Aziris within this region, and the geographic distribution of the silphium plant.

§4.169.1τούτων δὲ ἔχονται Γιλιγάμαι, νεμόμενοι τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέρην χώρηνμέχρι Ἀφροδισιάδος νήσου.
Bordering on these are the Giligamae, who occupy the country toward the west as far as the island of Aphrodisias.
ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ τούτου χώρῳ ἥ τε Πλατέα νῆσος ἐπικέεται, τὴν ἔκτισαν οἱ Κυρηναῖοι, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ Μενέλαος λιμήν ἐστι καὶ Ἄζιρις, τὴν οἱ Κυρηναῖοι οἴκεον, καὶ τὸ σίλφιον ἄρχεται ἀπὸ τούτου·
In the space between this, the island of Platea lies off the coast, which the Cyrenaeans founded, and on the mainland are the harbor of Menelaus and Aziris, which the Cyrenaeans used to inhabit, and the silphium starts from this point.
§4.169.2παρήκει δὲ ἀπὸ Πλατέης νήσου μέχρι τοῦ στόματος τῆς Σύρτιος τὸ σίλφιον.
The silphium extends from the island of Platea as far as the mouth of the Syrtis.
νόμοισι δὲ χρέωνται οὗτοι παραπλησίοισι τοῖσι ἑτέροισι.
These people practice customs similar to those of the others.

Notes

  1. §4.169.1τούτων δὲ ἔχονται — The middle voice verb ἔχομαι takes the genitive (τούτων) in the sense of 'bordering on' or 'being next to'. Here it indicates geographical adjacency to the Adyrmachidae mentioned in the previous chapter.
  2. §4.169.1τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέρην χώρην — An accusative expression modifying χώρην ('land/country'). The article τὸ combined with the prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑσπέρην ('toward the west') defines the direction and region, acting as the object of the participle νεμόμενοι.
  3. §4.169.1τὴν οἱ Κυρηναῖοι οἴκεον — The feminine accusative singular relative pronoun τὴν refers back to the preceding feminine noun Ἄζιris. The verb οἴκεον is the Ionic unaugmented imperfect (equivalent to Attic ᾤκουν), expressing their past continued habitation there.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.169.1-4.169.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.169.1-4.169.2

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