Humanitext Reader

Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §2.11.1-2.11.5

Semiramis's River Cities and Construction of the Obelisk

Passage 111 of 406 · Greek

Summary

Semiramis constructs trade cities along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, whose geographical features are described. She then transports a massive stone from Armenia to Babylonia to erect it as a famous obelisk.

§2.11.1ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις ἔκτισε καὶ ἄλλας πόλεις παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν τόν τε Εὐφράτην καὶ τὸν Τίγριν, ἐν αἷς ἐμπόρια κατεσκεύασε τοῖς φορτία διακομίζουσιν ἐκ τῆς Μηδίας καὶ Παραιτακηνῆς καὶ πάσης τῆς σύνεγγυς χώρας.
Semiramis also founded other cities along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in which she established markets for those who transported merchandise from Media, Paraetacene, and all the neighboring country.
μετὰ γὰρ τὸν Νεῖλον καὶ Γάγγην ὄντες ἐπισημότατοι σχεδὸν τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν ποταμῶν Εὐφράτης καὶ Τίγρις τὰς μὲν πηγὰς ἔχουσιν ἐκ τῶν Ἀρμενίων ὀρῶν, διεστήκασι δʼ ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων σταδίους δισχιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους· §2.11.2ἐνεχθέντες δὲ διὰ Μηδίας καὶ Παραιτακηνῆς ἐμβάλλουσιν εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν, ἣν ἀπολαμβάνοντες εἰς μέσον αἴτιοι κατέστησαν τῇ χώρᾳ ταύτης τῆς προσηγορίας· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν διελθόντες εἰς τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν ἐξερεύγονται θάλατταν.
For the Euphrates and Tigris, which are perhaps the most famous of the rivers in Asia after the Nile and the Ganges, have their sources in the Armenian mountains, and are distant from each other two thousand five hundred stades; and flowing through Media and Paraetacene, they empty into Mesopotamia, which they enclose in their midst, and thus became the cause of this name being given to the region; and after this, having passed through Babylonia, they empty into the Red Sea.
§2.11.3μεγάλοι δʼ ὄντες καὶ συχνὴν χώραν διαπορευόμενοι πολλὰς ἀφορμὰς παρέχονται τοῖς ἐμπορικῇ χρωμένοις ἐργασίᾳ· διὸ καὶ συμβαίνει τοὺς παραποταμίους τόπους πλήρεις ὑπάρχειν ἐμπορίων εὐδαιμόνων καὶ μεγάλα συμβαλλομένων πρὸς τὴν τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἐπιφάνειαν.
And being great and traversing a vast territory, they offer many advantages to those engaged in trade; wherefore it also happens that the regions along the rivers are full of prosperous markets, which contribute greatly to the prestige of Babylonia.
§2.11.4ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις ἐκ τῶν Ἀρμενίων ὀρῶν λίθον ἔτεμε τὸ μὲν μῆκος ποδῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ τριάκοντα, τὸ δὲ πλάτος καὶ πάχος εἴκοσι καὶ πέντε· §2.11.5τοῦτον δὲ πολλοῖς πλήθεσι ζευγῶν ὀρεικῶν τε καὶ βοεικῶν καταγαγοῦσα πρὸς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐπεβίβασεν ἐπὶ τὴν σχεδίαν· ἐπὶ ταύτης δὲ παρακομίσασα κατὰ τοῦ ῥεύματος μέχρι τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἔστησεν αὐτὸν παρὰ τὴν ἐπισημοτάτην ὁδόν, παράδοξον θέαμα τοῖς παριοῦσιν·
Semiramis, moreover, quarried a stone from the Armenian mountains, which was one hundred and thirty feet long, and twenty-five feet wide and thick; this stone she brought down to the river by means of many multitudes of yokes of mules and oxen and loaded it upon a raft; and bringing it down on this along the current as far as Babylonia, she set it up by the side of the most famous highway, a wonderful sight to those who passed by.
ὅν τινες ὀνομάζουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος ὀβελίσκον, ὃν ἐν τοῖς ἑπτὰ τοῖς κατονομαζομένοις ἔργοις καταριθμοῦσι.
This stone some call an obelisk from its shape, and they class it among the seven wonders of the world.

Notes

  1. §2.11.1ὄντες ἐπισημότατοι — The participle `ὄντες` is in the masculine nominative plural, agreeing with the subject `Εὐφράτης καὶ Τίγρις`, and functions causally or circumstantially to describe the importance of the two rivers.
  2. §2.11.2ἣν ἀπολαμβάνοντες εἰς μέσον — The relative pronoun `ἣν` refers back to `τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν` (Mesopotamia) and serves as the direct object of the participle `ἀπολαμβάνοντες` (enclosing, with the two rivers as its subject). This explains the etymological origin of the name Mesopotamia ("land between rivers").
  3. §2.11.3μεγάλα συμβαλλομένων — `συμβαλλομένων` is a present participle in the genitive plural, agreeing with the noun `ἐμπορίων` which is governed by the adjective `πλήρεις`. The neuter plural accusative `μεγάλα` functions adverbially, meaning "greatly (contributing)."
  4. §2.11.5ὅν ... ὀβελίσκον — A double accusative construction where the first relative pronoun `ὅν` (referring to the stone) serves as the direct object, and `ὀβελίσκον` is the predicate accusative of naming. The subsequent second `ὅν` is a relative pronoun referring back to `ὀβελίσκον`.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §2.11.1-2.11.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:2.11.1-2.11.5

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.