Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §4.82.1

The Footprint of Heracles near the River Tyras

Passage 646 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While Scythia has no great wonders other than its rivers, the author mentions a giant footprint of Heracles near the river Tyras, before returning to his original narrative.

§4.82.1θωμάσια δὲ ἡ χώρη αὕτη οὐκ ἔχει, χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι ποταμούς τε πολλῷ μεγίστους καὶ ἀριθμὸν πλείστους.
This land has no wonders, except that its rivers are by far the greatest and most numerous in number.
τὸ δὲ ἀποθωμάσαι ἄξιον καὶ πάρεξ τῶν ποταμῶν καὶ τοῦ μεγάθεος τοῦ πεδίου παρέχεται, εἰρήσεται.
But what it presents as worthy of wonder, even apart from the rivers and the great size of the plain, shall now be told.
ἴχνος Ἡρακλέος φαίνουσι ἐν πέτρῃ ἐνεόν, τὸ ἔοικε μὲν βήματι ἀνδρός, ἔστι δὲ τὸ μέγαθος δίπηχυ, παρὰ τὸν Τύρην ποταμόν.
They show a footprint of Heracles in a rock, which is like the footprint of a man, but is two cubits in size, by the river Tyras.
τοῦτο μέν νυν τοιοῦτο ἐστί, ἀναβήσομαι δὲ ἐς τὸν κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἤια λέξων λόγον.
This, then, is of such a kind, and I will go back to the history which I was going to tell at the beginning.

Notes

  1. 4.82.1χωρὶς ἢ ὅτι — A conjunctional phrase meaning "except that," introducing a clause that specifies the rivers as the sole major wonder of Scythia.
  2. 4.82.1ἀποθωμάσαι ἄξιον — The infinitive ἀποθωμάσαι (to wonder at) qualifies the adjective ἄξιον, forming the noun phrase "something worthy of wonder," which serves as the nominative topic of the main verb εἰρήσεται.
  3. 4.82.1ἤια λέξων — ἤια is the first-person singular imperfect of εἶμι (to go), which, combined with the future participle of purpose λέξων (intending to tell), functions in a relative-clause-like sense: "(the story which) I was going to tell."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.82.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.82.1

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