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Herodotus · Histories §6.60.1

Hereditary Professions of Heralds and Cooks in Sparta

Passage 962 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Explains that the offices of heralds, flute-players, and cooks among the Lacedaemonians are hereditary, just as among the Egyptians.

§6.60.1συμφέρονται δὲ καὶ τάδε Αἰγυπτίοισι Λακεδαιμόνιοι· οἱ κήρυκες αὐτῶν καὶ αὐληταὶ καὶ μάγειροι ἐκδέκονται τὰς πατρωίας τέχνας, καὶ αὐλητής τε αὐλητέω γίνεται καὶ μάγειρος μαγείρου καὶ κῆρυξ κήρυκος· οὐ κατὰ λαμπροφωνίην ἐπιτιθέμενοι ἄλλοι σφέας παρακληίουσι, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰ πάτρια ἐπιτελέουσι.
And the Lacedaemonians agree also in these things with the Egyptians: their heralds, flute-players, and cooks inherit their ancestral crafts, and a flute-player is born from a flute-player, a cook from a cook, and a herald from a herald; others do not, by applying themselves to these crafts on account of a clear voice, shut them out, but they perform their duties according to ancestral custom.

Notes

  1. §6.60.1αὐλητέω — Genitive of origin with γίνεται, meaning "a flute-player is born from a flute-player." The subsequent genitives μαγείρου and κήρυκος function in the same way, concisely expressing the hereditary nature of these occupations.
  2. §6.60.1ἐπιτιθέμενοι — Nominative masculine plural of the present participle of the verb ἐπιτίθεμαι (to apply oneself to, attempt), modifying the subject ἄλλοι (others). In this context, it means "by applying themselves to these crafts" or "by making an attempt on these offices."
  3. §6.60.1παρακληίουσι — Third-person plural present active indicative of παρακληίω (to shut out, exclude). Its object σφέας (them) refers to the hereditary practitioners, meaning that others do not exclude them from their offices based on merit (such as a clear voice).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.60.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.60.1

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