Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §7.92.1

Lycian Contingent, Their Equipment, and Origins

Passage 1155 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the number of ships provided by the Lycians, their unique armor and attire, and their historical origin from Crete, taking their name from Lycus the Athenian.

§7.92.1λύκιοι δὲ παρείχοντο νέας πεντήκοντα θωρηκοφόροι τε ἐόντες καὶ κνημιδοφόροι, εἶχον δὲ τόξα κρανέινα καὶ ὀιστοὺς καλαμίνους ἀπτέρους καὶ ἀκόντια, ἐπὶ δὲ αἰγὸς δέρμα περὶ τοὺς ὤμους αἰωρεύμενον, περὶ δὲ τῇσι κεφαλῇσι πίλους πτεροῖσι περιεστεφανωμένους· ἐγχειρίδια δὲ καὶ δρέπανα εἶχον.
The Lycians provided fifty ships; they wore breastplates and greaves, and had bows of cornel-wood, featherless reed arrows, and javelins; they had goat-skins hanging over their shoulders, and caps on their heads crowned with feathers; they also had daggers and falchions.
Λύκιοι δὲ Τερμίλαι ἐκαλέοντο ἐκ Κρήτης γεγονότες, ἐπὶ δὲ Λύκου τοῦ Πανδίονος ἀνδρὸς Ἀθηναίου ἔσχον τὴν ἐπωνυμίην.
The Lycians were formerly called Termilae, being of Cretan origin, but they took their name after Lycus, the son of Pandion, an Athenian.

Notes

  1. §7.92.1κρανέινα — Made of cornel-wood (Cornus mas). This wood is extremely hard and tough, and was highly favored in antiquity for making bows and spear shafts.
  2. §7.92.1ἐπὶ δὲ — Here, ἐπί is used adverbially to mean "moreover" or "in addition," rather than as a preposition. The noun phrases αἰγὸς δέρμα ... and πίλους ... in the following clause function as objects to the omitted verb εἶχον ("they had").
  3. §7.92.1γεγονότες — Perfect participle of the verb γίγνομαι, used here to mean "having descended from" or "originating from," indicating their migration from Crete.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.92.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.92.1

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.