Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §5.4.1-5.4.2

Trausi Customs of Mourning Birth and Celebrating Death

Passage 773 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author notes that the Getae's customs have already been described, and goes on to detail the unique practices of the Trausi, who mourn at births due to future hardships but rejoice and celebrate at deaths because of liberation from life's evils.

§5.4.1τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν Γέται οἱ ἀθανατίζοντες ποιεῦσι, εἴρηταί μοι·
Of these, what the Getae, who believe themselves immortal, do has already been related by me.
Τραυσοὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα πάντα κατὰ ταὐτὰ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Θρήιξι ἐπιτελέουσι, κατὰ δὲ τὸν γινόμενόν σφι καὶ ἀπογινόμενον ποιεῦσι τοιάδε·
As for the Trausi, while in all other respects they perform everything in the same manner as the other Thracians, regarding those who are born or die among them, they do as follows.
§5.4.2τὸν μὲν γενόμενον περιιζόμενοι οἱ προσήκοντες ὀλοφύρονται, ὅσα μιν δεῖ ἐπείτε ἐγένετο ἀναπλῆσαι κακά, ἀνηγεόμενοι τὰ ἀνθρωπήια πάντα πάθεα·
When a child is born, the relatives sit around him and wail, recounting all human sufferings, because of how many evils he must endure now that he is born.
τὸν δʼ ἀπογενόμενον παίζοντές τε καὶ ἡδόμενοι γῇ κρύπτουσι, ἐπιλέγοντες ὅσων κακῶν ἐξαπαλλαχθεὶς ἐστὶ ἐν πάσῃ εὐδαιμονίῃ.
But when someone dies, they bury him in the earth with play and rejoicing, saying how many evils he has been delivered from and is now in complete happiness.

Notes

  1. §5.4.1τούτων — Partitive genitive referring to the Getae, Trausi, and those dwelling above the Crestonaeans mentioned in the previous section.
  2. §5.4.1κατὰ τὸν γινόμενόν σφι καὶ ἀπογινόμενον — The masculine singular accusative present participles `τὸν γινόμενον` (the one being born) and `τὸν ἀπογινόμενον` (the one dying) are used substantively. `σφι` is the dative of interest/possession ('among them').
  3. §5.4.2ὅσα μιν δεῖ ἐπείτε ἐγένετο ἀναπλῆσαι κακά — An indirect question clause serving as the object of `ὀλοφύρονται`. The Ionic third-person accusative pronoun `μιν` (him) is the subject accusative of the infinitive `ἀναπλῆσαι` (to endure) governed by the impersonal verb `δεῖ`.
  4. §5.4.2ὅσων κακῶν ἐξαπαλλαχθεὶς ἐστὶ ἐν πάσῃ εὐδαιμονίῃ — An indirect question (or exclamation). `ὅσων κακῶν` is a genitive of separation governed by the passive participle `ἐξαπαλλαχθείς` (having been delivered). `ἐξαπαλλαχθείς ἐστι` functions as a periphrastic perfect passive.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.4.1-5.4.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.4.1-5.4.2

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