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Herodotus · Histories §4.56.1

Course of the Gerrhus River as Scythian Boundary

Passage 620 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Description of the seventh river, the Gerrhus, explaining its branch-off point from the Borysthenes, the origin of its name, and its course which bounds the Nomad and Royal Scythians before emptying into the Hypacyris.

§4.56.1ἕβδομος δὲ Γέρρος ποταμὸς ἀπέσχισται μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ Βορυσθένεος κατὰ τοῦτο τῆς χώρης ἐς ὃ γινώσκεται ὁ Βορυσθένης·
The seventh river is the Gerrhus, which branches off from the Borysthenes at that point of the country up to which the Borysthenes is known.
ἀπέσχισται μέν νυν ἐκ τούτου τοῦ χώρου, οὔνομα δὲ ἔχει τό περ ὁ χῶρος αὐτός, Γέρρος, ῥέων δὲ ἐς θάλασσαν οὐρίζει τήν τε τῶν νομάδων χώρην καὶ τὴν τῶν βασιληίων Σκυθέων, ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ἐς τὸν Ὑπάκυριν.
Now, it branches off from this region, and has the same name as the region itself, Gerrhus; flowing towards the sea, it bounds both the territory of the Nomad Scythians and that of the Royal Scythians, and empties into the Hypacyris.

Notes

  1. §4.56.1ἐς ὃ — The preposition ἐς with the neuter accusative relative pronoun ὅ here denotes a spatial limit ('up to which'), restricting the antecedent phrase κατὰ τοῦτο τῆς χώρης. It means 'at that point of the country up to which the Borysthenes is known (i.e. the limit of geographical knowledge)'.
  2. §4.56.1ῥέων δὲ ἐς θάλασσαν — While the Gerrhus is said to empty into the Hypacyris (ἐκδιδοῖ ἐς τὸν Ὑπάκυριν), the participle phrase here describes its general flow 'towards the sea'. This is not a contradiction, as the Hypacyris itself eventually discharges into the sea.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.56.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.56.1

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