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Herodotus · Histories §8.55.1

The Miraculous Regrowth of the Sacred Olive Tree

Passage 1357 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author explains the legend of the olive tree and the sea in the temple of Erechtheus on the Athenian Acropolis, noting the miraculous report that a new shoot grew from the burnt olive stump on the day after the burning.

§8.55.1τοῦ δὲ εἵνεκεν τούτων ἐπεμνήσθην, φράσω.
Now I will declare for what reason I made mention of these things.
ἔστι ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλι ταύτῃ Ἐρεχθέος τοῦ γηγενέος λεγομένου εἶναι νηός, ἐν τῷ ἐλαίη τε καὶ θάλασσα ἔνι, τὰ λόγος παρὰ Ἀθηναίων Ποσειδέωνά τε καὶ Ἀθηναίην ἐρίσαντας περὶ τῆς χώρης μαρτύρια θέσθαι.
In this Acropolis there is a temple of Erechtheus, who is said to be "earth-born," within which there is an olive tree and a sea, which, according to the story told by the Athenians, Poseidon and Athena set there as tokens when they contended for the land.
ταύτην ὦν τὴν ἐλαίην ἅμα τῷ ἄλλῳ ἱρῷ κατέλαβε ἐμπρησθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων· δευτέρῃ δὲ ἡμέρῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐμπρήσιος Ἀθηναίων οἱ θύειν ὑπὸ βασιλέος κελευόμενοι ὡς ἀνέβησαν ἐς τὸ ἱρόν, ὥρων βλαστὸν ἐκ τοῦ στελέχεος ὅσον τε πηχυαῖον ἀναδεδραμηκότα.
Now it happened that this olive tree was burned by the barbarians along with the rest of the sacred precinct; but on the second day after the burning, when those of the Athenians who were commanded by the king to offer sacrifice went up to the sacred precinct, they saw a shoot run up from the stump as much as a cubit in height.
οὗτοι μέν νυν ταῦτα ἔφρασαν.
These men, then, reported this.

Notes

  1. §8.55.1τοῦ δὲ εἵνεκεν — The relative pronoun `τοῦ` corresponds to Attic `οὗ`, which together with the postposition `εἵνεκεν` (Ionic for `ἕνεκα`) forms a relative clause meaning "for which reason." It functions like an indirect question dependent on `φράσω` ("I will declare").
  2. §8.55.1τά — A relative pronoun in the neuter plural accusative, referring back to the dual/plural subject `ἐλαίη τε καὶ θάλασσα` (the olive tree and the sea). It functions as the direct object of the infinitive `θέσθαι` in the accusative-and-infinitive (A.C.I.) construction introduced by `λόγος [ἐστί]` ("there is a story").
  3. §8.55.1κατέλαβε — The third-person singular aorist of `καταλαμβάνω`. Here it is used impersonally or semi-impersonally with the passive infinitive `ἐμπρησθῆναι` to mean "it befell (that it was burned)" or "it happened that it was burned," describing an inevitable event.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.55.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.55.1

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