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Herodotus · Histories §4.67.1-4.67.2

Methods of Divination Using Willow Wands and Linden Bark

Passage 631 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The text describes various methods of divination among the Scythians, introducing the hereditary practice using willow wands and the linden-bark method used by the Enarees, who are hermaphrodites and claim to have received this art from Aphrodite.

§4.67.1μάντιες δὲ Σκυθέων εἰσὶ πολλοί, οἳ μαντεύονται ῥάβδοισι ἰτεΐνῃσι πολλῇσι ὧδε·
There are many diviners among the Scythians, who divine by means of many willow wands in the following manner.
ἐπεὰν φακέλους ῥάβδων μεγάλους ἐνείκωνται, θέντες χαμαὶ διεξειλίσσουσι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐπὶ μίαν ἑκάστην ῥάβδον τιθέντες θεσπίζουσι, ἅμα τε λέγοντες ταῦτα συνειλέουσι τὰς ῥάβδους ὀπίσω καὶ αὖτις κατὰ μίαν συντιθεῖσι.
When they have brought great bundles of wands, they put them on the ground and untie them, and placing each wand by itself, they utter their prophecy; and while they are saying this, they gather the wands together again and once more place them one by one.
§4.67.2αὕτη μὲν σφι ἡ μαντικὴ πατρωίη ἐστί.
This is their hereditary art of divination.
οἱ δὲ Ἐνάρεες οἱ ἀνδρόγυνοι τὴν Ἀφροδίτην σφίσι λέγουσι μαντικὴν δοῦναι· φιλύρης δʼ ὦν φλοιῷ μαντεύονται·
But the Enarees, who are hermaphrodites, say that Aphrodite gave them the art of divination; they divine by the bark of the linden tree.
ἐπεὰν τὴν φιλύρην τρίχα σχίσῃ, διαπλέκων ἐν τοῖσι δακτύλοισι τοῖσι ἑωυτοῦ καὶ διαλύων χρᾷ.
When one has split the linden bark into three pieces, he weaves it among his own fingers and, untying it, utters the oracle.

Notes

  1. 4.67.1ἐπεὰν ... ἐνείκωνται — The construction of ἐπεὰν (equivalent to ἐπήν = ἐπεί + ἄν) with the subjunctive mood expresses a present general temporal-conditional clause ('whenever they bring'). The verb ἐνείκωνται is the Ionic form of ἐνέγκωνται (3rd person plural aorist middle subjunctive of φέρω).
  2. 4.67.1ἅμα τε λέγοντες — The adverb ἅμα modifies the present participle λέγοντες, forming an idiomatic participial construction emphasizing simultaneity ('at the same time as they say this' or 'while saying this').
  3. 4.67.2λέγουσι μαντικὴν δοῦναι — An accusative-with-infinitive (AcI) construction. Dependent on the main verb λέγουσι ('they say'), the infinitive δοῦναι ('to have given') has its subject in the accusative case (τὴν Ἀφροδίτην) and takes the indirect reflexive pronoun σφίσι ('to themselves') in the dative case.
  4. 4.67.2χρᾷ — The third-person singular present active indicative of the contract verb χράω ('to utter an oracle'), formed by contraction (χράει to χρᾷ). The implicit subject refers to the individual diviner implied by the singular verb σχίσῃ in the preceding conditional clause.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.67.1-4.67.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.67.1-4.67.2

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