§2.47.1ἡμεῖς δʼ ἐπεὶ τὰ πρὸς ἄρκτους κεκλιμένα μέρη τῆς Ἀσίας ἠξιώσαμεν ἀναγραφῆς, οὐκ ἀνοίκειον εἶναι νομίζομεν τὰ περὶ τῶν Ὑπερβορέων μυθολογούμενα διελθεῖν.
Since we have deemed the northern regions of Asia worthy of recording, we consider it not out of place to recount the myths told about the Hyperboreans.
τῶν γὰρ τὰς παλαιὰς μυθολογίας ἀναγεγραφότων Ἑκαταῖος καί τινες ἕτεροί φασιν ἐν τοῖς ἀντιπέρας τῆς Κελτικῆς τόποις κατὰ τὸν ὠκεανὸν εἶναι νῆσον οὐκ ἐλάττω τῆς Σικελίας.
For of those who have written down the ancient mythologies, Hecataeus and certain others say that in the regions opposite the land of the Celts there is an island in the ocean not smaller than Sicily.
ταύτην ὑπάρχειν μὲν κατὰ τὰς ἄρκτους, κατοικεῖσθαι δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ὀνομαζομένων Ὑπερβορέων ἀπὸ τοῦ πορρωτέρω κεῖσθαι τῆς βορείου πνοῆς· οὖσαν δʼ αὐτὴν εὔγειόν τε καὶ πάμφορον, ἔτι δʼ εὐκρασίᾳ διαφέρουσαν, διττοὺς κατʼ ἔτος ἐκφέρειν καρπούς.
This island is situated in the north, and is inhabited by those who are named Hyperboreans from the fact that they lie beyond the blowing of the north wind; and being fertile and all-bearing, and moreover outstanding in the mildness of its climate, it produces crops twice a year.
§2.47.2μυθολογοῦσι δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν Λητὼ γεγονέναι· διὸ καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς τιμᾶσθαι· εἶναι δʼ αὐτοὺς ὥσπερ ἱερεῖς τινας Ἀπόλλωνος διὰ τὸ τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον καθʼ ἡμέραν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ὑμνεῖσθαι μετʼ ᾠδῆς συνεχῶς καὶ τιμᾶσθαι διαφερόντως.
And they mythologize that Leto was born in it; and for this reason Apollo is honored by them most of all the other gods; and they themselves are, as it were, certain priests of Apollo, because this god is daily praised by them with song continuously and honored exceptionally.
ὑπάρχειν δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν νῆσον τέμενός τε Ἀπόλλωνος μεγαλοπρεπὲς καὶ ναὸν ἀξιόλογον ἀναθήμασι πολλοῖς κεκοσμημένον, σφαιροειδῆ τῷ σχήματι.
There is also in the island both a magnificent precinct of Apollo and a notable temple adorned with many offerings, spherical in shape.
§2.47.3καὶ πόλιν μὲν ὑπάρχειν ἱερὰν τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου, τῶν δὲ κατοικούντων αὐτὴν τοὺς πλείστους εἶναι κιθαριστάς, καὶ συνεχῶς ἐν τῷ ναῷ κιθαρίζοντας ὕμνους λέγειν τῷ θεῷ μετʼ ᾠδῆς, ἀποσεμνύνοντας αὐτοῦ τὰς πράξεις.
And there is a sacred city of this god, and most of those who inhabit it are cithara-players, who continuously play the cithara in the temple and sing hymns to the god with song, magnifying his deeds.
§2.47.4ἔχειν δὲ τοὺς Ὑπερβορέους ἰδίαν τινὰ διάλεκτον, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας οἰκειότατα διακεῖσθαι, καὶ μάλιστα πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους καὶ Δηλίους, ἐκ παλαιῶν χρόνων παρειληφότας τὴν εὔνοιαν ταύτην.
And the Hyperboreans have a certain dialect of their own, and are most friendly disposed toward the Greeks, and especially toward the Athenians and Delians, having inherited this goodwill from ancient times.
καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τινὰς μυθολογοῦσι παραβαλεῖν εἰς Ὑπερβορέους, καὶ ἀναθήματα πολυτελῆ καταλιπεῖν γράμμασιν Ἑλληνικοῖς ἐπιγεγραμμένα.
And they mythologize that certain of the Greeks crossed over to the Hyperboreans and left behind costly offerings inscribed with Greek letters.
§2.47.5ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν Ὑπερβορέων Ἄβαριν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα καταντήσαντα τὸ παλαιὸν ἀνασῶσαι τὴν πρὸς Δηλίους εὔνοιάν τε καὶ συγγένειαν.
In like manner, they say that in ancient times Abaris also came from the Hyperboreans to Greece and renewed their goodwill and kinship with the Delians.
φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν σελήνην ἐκ ταύτης τῆς νήσου φαίνεσθαι παντελῶς ὀλίγον ἀπέχουσαν τῆς γῆς καί τινας ἐξοχὰς γεώδεις ἔχουσαν ἐν αὐτῇ φανεράς.
They say also that the moon appears from this island to be entirely a short distance from the earth and to have certain earthy prominences visible upon it.
§2.47.6λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὸν θεὸν δι’ ἐτῶν ἐννεακαίδεκα καταντᾶν εἰς τὴν νῆσον, ἐν οἷς αἱ τῶν ἄστρων ἀποκαταστάσεις ἐπὶ τέλος ἄγονται· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸν ἐννεακαιδεκαετῆ χρόνον ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων Μέτωνος ἐνιαυτὸν ὀνομάζεσθαι. §2.47.7κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν ταύτην τὸν θεὸν κιθαρίζειν τε καὶ χορεύειν συνεχῶς τὰς νύκτας ἀπὸ ἰσημερίας ἐαρινῆς ἕως πλειάδος ἀνατολῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις εὐημερήμασι τερπόμενον.
And it is also said that the god comes down to the island every nineteen years, in which period the return of the stars to their original positions is completed; and for this reason the nineteen-year period is called by the Greeks the "Year of Meton." During this appearance, the god plays the cithara and dances continuously through the nights from the spring equinox until the rising of the Pleiades, taking pleasure in his own successes.
βασιλεύειν δὲ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης καὶ τοῦ τεμένους ἐπάρχειν τοὺς ὀνομαζομένους Βορεάδας, ἀπογόνους ὄντας Βορέου, καὶ κατὰ γένος ἀεὶ διαδέχεσθαι τὰς ἀρχάς.
And those who are called Boreadae, being descendants of Boreas, rule over this city and govern the precinct, and they always succeed to the offices by family descent.