Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §5.47.1-5.47.2

Philippus of Croton: His Beauty and Hero Cult at Egesta

Passage 816 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage describes Philippus of Croton, who accompanied Dorieus, detailing his origin, his exceptional beauty, and how the Egestans worshiped him as a hero after his death.

§5.47.1συνέσπετο δὲ Δωριέι καὶ συναπέθανε Φίλιππος ὁ Βουτακίδεω Κροτωνιήτης ἀνήρ, ὃς ἁρμοσάμενος Τήλυος τοῦ Συβαρίτεω θυγατέρα ἔφυγε ἐκ Κρότωνος, ψευσθεὶς δὲ τοῦ γάμου οἴχετο πλέων ἐς Κυρήνην, ἐκ ταύτης δὲ ὁρμώμενος συνέσπετο οἰκηίῃ τε τριήρεϊ καὶ οἰκηίῃ ἀνδρῶν δαπάνῃ, ἐών τε Ὀλυμπιονίκης καὶ κάλλιστος Ἑλλήνων τῶν κατʼ ἑωυτόν.
Philippus, the son of Butacides, a man of Croton, also accompanied Dorieus and died with him. Having betrothed the daughter of Telys of Sybaris, he fled from Croton, and being disappointed of the marriage, he went sailing away to Cyrene. Setting out from there, he accompanied the expedition with his own trireme and at his own personal expense for his men, being an Olympic victor and the most beautiful of the Greeks of his time.
§5.47.2διὰ δὲ τὸ ἑωυτοῦ κάλλος ἠνείκατο παρὰ Ἐγεσταίων τὰ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος· ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ τάφου αὐτοῦ ἡρώιον ἱδρυσάμενοι θυσίῃσι αὐτὸν ἱλάσκονται.
Because of his beauty, he won from the Egestans what no one else did; for they established a hero's shrine upon his tomb and propitiate him with sacrifices.

Notes

  1. 5.47.1ψευσθεὶς δὲ τοῦ γάμου — The passive participle ψευσθεὶς, accompanied by the genitive τοῦ γάμου, means "being disappointed in the marriage" or "having his promise of marriage broken." The active ψεύδω means "to deceive" or "to frustrate."
  2. 5.47.1οἴχετο πλέων — The combination of the verb οἴχομαι ("to have gone") and the participle πλέων ("sailing") is an idiomatic construction expressing a departure: "he went sailing away."
  3. 5.47.2τὰ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος — Here, τὰ functions as a relative pronoun (neuter plural accusative, including the antecedent) meaning "things which no one else (obtained)." It is the direct object of ἠνείκατο ("won" or "obtained").
  4. 5.47.2θυσίῃσι αὐτὸν ἱλάσκονται — The dative θυσίῃσι expresses means ("with sacrifices"). The transitive verb ἱλάσκονται, originally meaning "to appease" or "to propitiate," here refers to the religious practice of worshiping a deceased person as a hero.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.47.1-5.47.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.47.1-5.47.2

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.