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Herodotus · Histories §7.113.1-7.113.2

Arrival at the Strymon and the Magi's Sacrifice

Passage 1176 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Xerxes marches westward past the northern tribes of Mount Pangaeum to reach the Strymon River and Eion. The geography of the surrounding Phyllis region and the white horse sacrifice performed by the Magi at the Strymon are described.

§7.113.1ὑπεροικέοντας δὲ τὸ Πάγγαιον πρὸς βορέω ἀνέμου Παίονας Δόβηράς τε καὶ Παιόπλας παρεξιὼν ἤιε πρὸς ἑσπέρην, ἐς ὃ ἀπίκετο ἐπὶ ποταμόν τε Στρυμόνα καὶ πόλιν Ἠιόνα, τῆς ἔτι ζωὸς ἐὼν ἦρχε Βόγης τοῦ περ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον τούτων λόγον ἐποιεύμην.
And passing by the Paeonians, namely the Doberes and the Paeoplae, who dwell beyond the Pangaeum mountain to the north, he went toward the west, until he arrived at the river Strymon and the city of Eion, of which Boges—of whom indeed I made mention a little before this—was still ruling, being yet alive.
§7.113.2ἡ δὲ γῆ αὕτη ἡ περὶ τὸ Πάγγαιον ὄρος καλέεται Φυλλίς, κατατείνουσα τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἑσπέρην ἐπὶ ποταμὸν Ἀγγίτην ἐκδιδόντα ἐς τὸν Στρυμόνα, τὰ δὲ πρὸς μεσαμβρίην τείνουσα ἐς αὐτὸν τὸν Στρυμόνα· ἐς τὸν οἱ Μάγοι ἐκαλλιερέοντο σφάζοντες ἵππους λευκούς.
This land around the Pangaeum mountain is called Phyllis, stretching on the west to the river Angites, which flows into the Strymon, and on the south extending to the Strymon itself; into which the Magi offered sacrifices for favorable omens, slaughtering white horses.

Notes

  1. §7.113.1τῆς — Relative pronoun referring to the antecedent, the city of Eion (Ἠιόνα, feminine noun). It is in the genitive case because the verb of ruling, ἦρχε (from ἄρχω), requires a genitive object.
  2. §7.113.2ἐκαλλιερέοντο — Imperfect middle of the verb καλλιερέω, meaning 'to offer sacrifice to obtain favorable omens'. The middle voice indicates that they performed the sacrifice for their own interest or on their own behalf.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.113.1-7.113.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.113.1-7.113.2

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