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Herodotus · Histories §5.60.1

Inscription on the Second Tripod Dedicated by Scaeus

Passage 829 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author presents the hexameter inscription on the second tripod at the temple in Thebes, identifying the dedicator Scaeus as the son of Hippocoon, contemporary with Oedipus.

§5.60.1ἕτερος δὲ τρίπους ἐν ἑξαμέτρῳ τόνῳ λέγει " Σκαῖος πυγμαχέων με ἑκηβόλῳ Ἀπόλλωνι νικήσας ἀνέθηκε τεῒν περικαλλὲς ἄγαλμα. " Σκαῖος δʼ ἂν εἴη ὁ Ἱπποκόωντος, εἰ δὴ οὗτός γε ἐστὶ ὁ ἀναθεὶς καὶ μὴ ἄλλος τὠυτὸ οὔνομα ἔχων τῷ Ἱπποκόωντος, ἡλικίην κατὰ Οἰδίπουν τὸν Λαΐου.
Another tripod says in hexameter verse: "Scaeus, having won the boxing match, dedicated me, a most beautiful offering, to you, far-darting Apollo." This Scaeus would be the son of Hippocoon, if indeed he is the one who dedicated it and not another having the same name as the son of Hippocoon, being in point of age about the time of Oedipus, the son of Laius.

Notes

  1. §5.60.1τεῒν — The Doric and epic form of the second-person singular dative (σοί). This is an example of traditional poetic vocabulary used in the inscription.
  2. §5.60.1τῷ Ἱπποκόωντος — A construction where the noun being compared is omitted. It functionally stands for τῷ (υἱῷ τοῦ) Ἱπποκόωντος ("with the [son] of Hippocoon"), where the dative article τῷ depends on the adjective of identity τὠυτὸ ("the same as").
  3. §5.60.1ἡλικίην — Accusative of respect (so-called "accusative of specification"), qualifying the adverbial phrase κατὰ Οἰδίπουν... to specify the relation in terms of age or time.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.60.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.60.1

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