Herodotus · Histories §4.36.1-4.36.2

Criticism of Early Maps and Plan for Geography

Passage 600 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author concludes his account of the Hyperboreans, suggesting the existence of southern equivalents based on symmetry, and criticizes contemporary unrealistic world maps, promising his own accurate geographical description.

§4.36.1καὶ ταῦτα μὲν Ὑπερβορέων πέρι εἰρήσθω·

And let this much have been said concerning the Hyperboreans.

τὸν γὰρ περὶ Ἀβάριος λόγον τοῦ λεγομένου εἶναι Ὑπερβορέου οὐ λέγω, ὡς τὸν ὀιστὸν περιέφερε κατὰ πᾶσαν γῆν οὐδὲν σιτεόμενος.

For I do not tell the story about Abaris, who is said to be a Hyperborean, how he carried the arrow round all the earth, eating nothing.

εἰ δὲ εἰσὶ ὑπερβόρεοι τινὲς ἄνθρωποι, εἰσὶ καὶ ὑπερνότιοι ἄλλοι.

But if there are any Hyperborean men, there are also other Hypernotian ones.

§4.36.2γελῶ δὲ ὁρέων γῆς περιόδους γράψαντας πολλοὺς ἤδη καὶ οὐδένα νοονεχόντως ἐξηγησάμενον· οἳ Ὠκεανόν τε ῥέοντα γράφουσι πέριξ τὴν γῆν ἐοῦσαν κυκλοτερέα ὡς ἀπὸ τόρνου, καὶ τὴν Ἀσίην τῇ Εὐρώπῃ ποιεύντων ἴσην.

And I laugh when I see that many before now have drawn maps of the earth, and no one has explained it in a reasonable way; who draw Ocean flowing all around the earth, which is circular as if made by a lathe, and make Asia equal to Europe.

ἐν ὀλίγοισι γὰρ ἐγὼ δηλώσω μέγαθός τε ἑκάστης αὐτέων καὶ οἵη τις ἐστὶ ἐς γραφὴν ἑκάστη.

For in a few words I shall show the size of each of them, and what each is like to draw.

Notes

4.36.1ὡς τὸν ὀιστὸν περιέφερε — The ὡς clause serves as an appositive or explanatory clause to the preceding τὸν περὶ Ἀβάριος λόγον ('the story about Abaris'), representing 'how' or 'that' he carried the arrow.
4.36.2ποιεύντων — An Ionic genitive plural present participle (for ποιεόντων). Although one would expect a nominative plural participle (ποιεῦντες) to agree with the relative pronoun οἳ, the genitive is used here either due to anacoluthon (influenced by the accusative plurals in the main clause or an implied genitive referring to the mapmakers) or as a genitive absolute.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.36.1-4.36.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.36.1-4.36.2

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