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Herodotus · Histories §5.5.1

Sacrifice and Burial of the Most Beloved Wife

Passage 774 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

On the custom of the tribes living above the Crestonaeans, where the most beloved wife of a deceased husband is chosen to be sacrificed and buried with him.

§5.5.1οἱ δὲ κατύπερθε Κρηστωναίων ποιεῦσι τοιάδε.
\nThose who dwell above the Crestonaeans do as follows.
ἔχει γυναῖκας ἕκαστος πολλά,· ἐπεὰν ὦν τις αὐτῶν ἀποθάνῃ, κρίσις γίνεται μεγάλη τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ φίλων σπουδαὶ ἰσχυραὶ περὶ τοῦδε, ἥτις αὐτέων ἐφιλέετο μάλιστα ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρός·
Each man has many wives; and so, when one of them dies, a great contest arises among his wives, and their friends make eager efforts on this account, to determine which of them was most beloved by her husband.
ἣ δʼ ἂν κριθῇ καὶ τιμηθῇ, ἐγκωμιασθεῖσα ὑπό τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν σφάζεται ἐς τὸν τάφον ὑπὸ τοῦ οἰκηιοτάτου ἑωυτῆς, σφαχθεῖσα δὲ συνθάπτεται τῷ ἀνδρί.
She who is chosen and thus honored, having been praised by both men and women, is slaughtered on the grave by her nearest relative, and having been slaughtered, she is buried together with her husband.
αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι συμφορὴν μεγάλην ποιεῦνται· ὄνειδος γάρ σφι τοῦτο μέγιστον γίνεται.
But the others regard it as a great misfortune; for this becomes the greatest disgrace for them.

Notes

  1. §5.5.1περὶ τοῦδε, ἥτις αὐτέων ἐφιλέετο — The demonstrative pronoun τοῦδε anticipates the following indirect question clause ἥτις αὐτέων ἐφιλέετο... ('which of them was beloved') in apposition.
  2. §5.5.1κρίσις ... τῶν γυναικῶν — τῶν γυναικῶν is a genitive depending on the noun κρίσις (judgment, decision). It can be interpreted as either an objective genitive ('judgment of/concerning the wives') or a subjective genitive ('decision among the wives'), referring in this context to the examination undergone by the wives.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.5.1

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