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Herodotus · Histories §4.190.1

Burial Customs and Portable Dwellings of Libyan Nomads

Passage 754 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the burial customs of the Libyan nomads, who bury their dead like the Greeks except for the Nasamonians who bury them sitting, and notes their portable dwellings.

§4.190.1θάπτουσι δὲ τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας οἱ νομάδες κατά περ οἱ Ἕλληνες, πλὴν Νασαμώνων· οὗτοι δε κατημένους θάπτουσι, φυλάσσοντες, ἐπεὰν ἀπιῇ τὴν ψυχήν, ὅκως μιν κατίσουσι μηδὲ ὕπτιος ἀποθανέεται.
The nomads bury their dead just as the Greeks do, except for the Nasamonians; these bury them in a sitting posture, taking care, when the person is yielding up his breath, to seat him upright and prevent him from dying on his back.
οἰκήματα δὲ σύμπηκτα ἐξ ἀνθερίκων ἐνειρμένων περὶ σχοίνους ἐστί, καὶ ταῦτα περιφορητά.
Their dwellings are constructed of asphodel stalks woven around rushes, and these are portable.
νόμοισι μὲν τοιούτοισι οὗτοι χρέωνται.
Such are the customs they practice.

Notes

  1. §4.190.1ἀπιῇ — Equivalent to the Attic ἀφίῃ (third-person singular present or aorist active subjunctive of ἀφίημι, "to let go, release"). With τὴν ψυχήν ("soul") as its object, it means "to yield up one's breath" or "to die."
  2. §4.190.1ὅκως μιν κατίσουσι — A clause introduced by ὅκως (the Ionic form of ὅπως), representing the object of care or precaution for the participle φυλάσσοντες ("taking care"). κατίσουσι is the third-person plural future indicative of καθίζω ("to seat, set upright"), and the pronoun μιν is the Ionic equivalent of the third-person singular accusative (αὐτόν), referring to the dying person.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.190.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.190.1

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