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Herodotus · Histories §4.196.1-4.196.3

Silent Trade Between Carthaginians and Libyans

Passage 760 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Carthaginians' account of "silent trade" carried out outside the Pillars of Heracles. It describes how the Carthaginians and the local inhabitants conduct fair trade without direct verbal communication, relying on smoke signals and adjusted amounts of gold.

§4.196.1λέγουσι δὲ καὶ τάδε Καρχηδόνιοι.
The Carthaginians also tell this story.
εἶναι τῆς Λιβύης χῶρόν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἔξω Ἡρακλέων στηλέων κατοικημένους· ἐς τοὺς ἐπεὰν ἀπίκωνται καὶ ἐξέλωνται τὰ φορτία, θέντες αὐτὰ ἐπεξῆς παρὰ τὴν κυματωγήν, ἐσβάντες ἐς τὰ πλοῖα τύφειν καπνόν.
They say that there is a region of Libya and men dwelling outside the Pillars of Heracles; when they arrive among these people and unload their cargo, they set it in order along the beach, and then, returning on board their ships, they raise a smoke.
τοὺς δʼ ἐπιχωρίους ἰδομένους τὸν καπνὸν ἰέναι ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἔπειτα ἀντὶ τῶν φορτίων χρυσὸν τιθέναι καὶ ἐξαναχωρέειν πρόσω ἀπὸ τῶν φορτίων.
The natives, seeing the smoke, come down to the sea, and then they lay down gold in exchange for the cargo and withdraw far away from the goods.
§4.196.2τοὺς δὲ Καρχηδονίους ἐκβάντας σκέπτεσθαι, καὶ ἢν μὲν φαίνηταί σφι ἄξιος ὁ χρυσὸς τῶν φορτίων, ἀνελόμενοι ἀπαλλάσσονται, ἢν δὲ μὴ ἄξιος, ἐσβάντες ὀπίσω ἐς τὰ πλοῖα κατέαται·
The Carthaginians then disembark and examine the gold, and if it appears to them to be of equal value to the cargo, they take it up and depart; but if it is not of equal value, they go back on board their ships and sit waiting.
οἱ δὲ προσελθόντες ἄλλον πρὸς ὦν ἔθηκαν χρυσόν, ἐς οὗ ἂν πείθωσι.
Then the natives approach and add still more gold, until they satisfy them.
ἀδικέειν δὲ οὐδετέρους.
And neither party, they say, does wrong to the other.
§4.196.3οὔτε γὰρ αὐτοὺς τοῦ χρυσοῦ ἅπτεσθαι πρὶν ἄν σφι ἀπισωθῇ τῇ ἀξίῃ τῶν φορτίων, οὔτʼ ἐκείνους τῶν φορτίων ἅπτεσθαι πρότερον ἢ αὐτοὶ τὸ χρυσίον λάβωσι.
For the Carthaginians do not touch the gold until it has been made equal to the value of their cargo, nor do the natives touch the cargo before the Carthaginians themselves have taken the gold.

Notes

  1. §4.196.1τύφειν καπνόν — Infinitive in indirect discourse dependent on the main verb λέγουσι. It functions as the main verb of the relative clause after the temporal clause (ἐπεὰν...), with the Carthaginians as its subject, preceded by the nominative participles θέντες and ἐσβάντες.
  2. §4.196.2ἀνελόμενοι ἀπαλλάσσονται — In the midst of the sequence of infinitives in indirect discourse (εἶναι, τύφειν, σκέπτεσθαι, etc.), the indicative (ἀπαλλάσσονται, and likewise κατέαται and ἔθηκαν) is used as the apodosis of the conditional clause (ἢν μὲν...). This shifts from indirect report to vivid, objective description, a characteristic narrative style of Herodotus.
  3. §4.196.2πρὸς ὦν ἔθηκαν — Tmesis of the verb προστίθημι (to add). The prepositional prefix πρὸς and the verb form ἔθηκαν (gnomic aorist, 3rd person plural) are separated by the particle ὦν (Ionic for οὖν).
  4. §4.196.3αὐτοὶ — Nominative pronoun meaning "they themselves," referring to the Carthaginians (coreferential with αὐτοὺς) in contrast to the natives (ἐκείνους). It emphasizes the subject of the action within the subordinate clause (πρότερον ἢ ... λάβωσι).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.196.1-4.196.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.196.1-4.196.3

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