Herodotus · Histories §4.94.1-4.94.4

The Getae's Belief in Immortality and Salmoxis

Passage 658 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the belief of the Getae in their immortality, their ritual of sending a messenger to the god Salmoxis every four years by throwing him onto spears, and their practice of shooting arrows at the sky during thunderstorms.

§4.94.1ἀθανατίζουσι δὲ τόνδε τὸν τρόπον· οὔτε ἀποθνήσκειν ἑωυτοὺς νομίζουσι ἰέναι τε τὸν ἀπολλύμενον παρὰ Σάλμοξιν δαίμονα· οἳ δὲ αὐτῶν τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον ὀνομάζουσι Γεβελέιζιν·

They believe in their immortality in the following way: they do not think that they die, but that the one who perishes goes to the deity Salmoxis; and some of them call this same deity Gebeleizis.

§4.94.2διὰ πεντετηρίδος τε τὸν πάλῳ λαχόντα αἰεὶ σφέων αὐτῶν ἀποπέμπουσι ἄγγελον παρὰ τὸν Σάλμοξιν, ἐντελλόμενοι τῶν ἂν ἑκάστοτε δέωνται, πέμπουσι δὲ ὧδε·

Every four years, they always send one of their own number, chosen by lot, as a messenger to Salmoxis, instructing him on whatever they happen to need at each time.

οἳ μὲν αὐτῶν ταχθέντες ἀκόντια τρία ἔχουσι, ἄλλοι δὲ διαλαβόντες τοῦ ἀποπεμπομένου παρὰ τὸν Σάλμοξιν τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας, ἀνακινήσαντες αὐτὸν μετέωρον ῥίπτουσι ἐς τὰς λόγχας.

And they send him in this way: those of them who have been appointed for this task hold three javelins, while others, grasping the hands and feet of the one being sent to Salmoxis, swing him in the air and throw him onto the spear points.

ἢν μὲν δὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἀναπαρείς, τοῖσι δὲ ἵλεος ὁ θεὸς δοκέει εἶναι· §4.94.3ἢν δὲ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ, αἰτιῶνται αὐτὸν τὸν ἄγγελον, φάμενοί μιν ἄνδρα κακὸν εἶναι, αἰτιησάμενοι δὲ τοῦτον ἄλλον ἀποπέμπουσι·

If he dies, having been impaled, the god seems to be propitious to them; but if he does not die, they blame the messenger himself, saying that he is a bad man, and having blamed this one, they send another.

ἐντέλλονται δὲ ἔτι ζῶντι.

And they give their instructions while he is still alive.

§4.94.4οὗτοι οἱ αὐτοὶ Θρήικες καὶ πρὸς βροντήν τε καὶ ἀστραπὴν τοξεύοντες ἄνω πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀπειλέουσι τῷ θεῷ, οὐδένα ἄλλον θεὸν νομίζοντες εἶναι εἰ μὴ τὸν σφέτερον.

These same Thracians also shoot arrows up towards the sky against thunder and lightning, threatening the god, since they believe that there is no other god but their own.

Notes

4.94.1ἰέναι τε τὸν ἀπολλύμενον — The infinitive ἰέναι depends on the preceding verb νομίζουσι, with the accusative present participle τὸν ἀπολλύμενον serving as its subject (accusative with infinitive construction).
4.94.2διὰ πεντετηρίδος — The preposition διὰ combined with a genitive noun expresses intervals or periods of time. Although πεντετηρίς literally refers to a 'five-year period', in the ancient Greek inclusive counting system, this means 'every four years'.
4.94.2τῶν ἂν ἑκάστοτε δέωνται — A relative clause where the relative pronoun has absorbed its antecedent and is assimilated to the genitive case required by the verb δέομαι (to need). In the Ionic dialect, the relative pronoun ὧν ἂν appears as τῶν ἂν.
4.94.3ἔτι ζῶντι — A dative singular present participle modifying the indirect object of the verb ἐντέλλονται (which takes a dative to mean 'to give instructions to'). This indicates that they give the instructions to the messenger while he is still alive (i.e., before he is thrown onto the spears).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.94.1-4.94.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.94.1-4.94.4

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.