Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §3.9.1-3.9.4

Religious Views, Burial Customs, and Kingship of Ethiopians

Passage 170 of 406 · Greek

Summary

The passage describes the twofold religious beliefs of the Ethiopians above Meroe, their diverse funerary customs, and the various criteria they use for electing their kings.

§3.9.1περὶ δὲ θεῶν οἱ μὲν ἀνώτερον Μερόης οἰκοῦντες ἐννοίας ἔχουσι διττάς.

As for the gods, those who dwell above Meroe have twofold concepts.

ὑπολαμβάνουσι γὰρ τοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν αἰώνιον ἔχειν καὶ ἄφθαρτον τὴν φύσιν, οἷον ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον, τοὺς δὲ νομίζουσι θνητῆς φύσεως κεκοινωνηκέναι καὶ διʼ ἀρετὴν καὶ κοινὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους εὐεργεσίαν τετευχέναι τιμῶν ἀθανάτων·

For they conceive that some of them possess an eternal and incorruptible nature, such as the sun, the moon, and the entire universe, while others they believe to have shared in a mortal nature and to have attained immortal honors because of their virtue and common beneficence toward humankind.

§3.9.2τήν τε γὰρ Ἶσιν καὶ τὸν Πᾶνα, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Ἡρακλέα καὶ Δία σέβονται, μάλιστα νομίζοντες ὑπὸ τούτων εὐηργετῆσθαι τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος.

For they worship Isis and Pan, and in addition to these, Heracles and Zeus, believing especially that the race of humans has been benefited by these.

ὀλίγοι δὲ τῶν Αἰθιόπων καθόλου θεοὺς οὐ νομίζουσιν εἶναι· διὸ καὶ τὸν ἥλιον ὡς πολεμιώτατον ὄντα κατὰ τὰς ἀνατολὰς βλασφημήσαντες φεύγουσι πρὸς τοὺς ἑλώδεις §3.9.3τῶν τόπων.

But a few of the Ethiopians do not believe that there are gods at all; wherefore also, cursing the sun at its rising as being most hostile, they flee to the marshy places.

παρηλλαγμένοις δʼ ἔθεσι χρῶνται καὶ περὶ τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῖς τελευτῶντας·

And they employ diverse customs also concerning those who die among them.

οἱ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν βάλλοντες ἀφιᾶσιν, ἀρίστην ἡγούμενοι ταφὴν ταύτην, οἱ δὲ περιχέαντες ὕελον ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις φυλάττοντες νομίζουσι δεῖν μήτε τῶν τελευτώντων ἀγνοεῖσθαι τὰς ὄψεις τοῖς συγγενέσι μήτʼ ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι τοὺς προσήκοντας τῷ γένει τῶν προσῳκειωμένων, ἔνιοι δʼ εἰς ὀστρακίνας σοροὺς ἐμβάλλοντες κατορύττουσι κύκλῳ τῶν ἱερῶν, καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτοις γινόμενον ὅρκον μέγιστον ἡγοῦνται.

For some cast them into the river and let them go, considering this the best burial; others, pouring glass around them, keep them in their houses, believing that neither should the features of the deceased be unknown to their relatives, nor should those who belong to the family forget their kinsmen; and some, placing them in terracotta coffins, bury them around the temples, and they consider the oath taken upon these to be the greatest.

§3.9.4τὰς δὲ βασιλείας ἐγχειρίζουσιν οἱ μὲν τοῖς εὐπρεπεστάτοις, τύχης ἡγούμενοι δῶρα ἀμφότερα, τήν τε μοναρχίαν καὶ τὴν εὐπρέπειαν, οἱ δὲ τοῖς ἐπιμελεστάτοις κτηνοτρόφοις παραδιδόασι τὴν ἀρχήν, ὡς μόνους ἄριστα τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων φροντιοῦντας ἔνιοι δὲ τοῖς πλουσιωτάτοις τοῦτο τὸ τίμιον ἀπονέμουσιν, ἡγούμενοι μόνους αὐτοὺς ἐπικουρεῖν τοῖς ὄχλοις δύνασθαι διὰ τὴν ἑτοιμότητα τῆς εὐπορίας, εἰσὶ δʼ οἳ τοὺς ἀνδρείᾳ διαφέροντας αἱροῦνται βασιλεῖς, κρίνοντες τοὺς ἐν πολέμῳ πλεῖστον δυναμένους ἀξίους εἶναι μόνους τυγχάνειν τῶν πρωτείων.

And as for the kingship, some entrust it to the most handsome, considering both to be gifts of fortune—namely, the monarchy and handsome appearance; others hand over the rule to the most diligent herdsmen, on the ground that they alone will care best for their subjects; and some bestow this honor upon the wealthiest, believing that they alone are able to help the multitudes because of the readiness of their abundance; and there are those who choose as kings those who excel in courage, judging that those who have the greatest power in war are alone worthy of obtaining the chief place.

Notes

§3.9.1τοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν αἰώνιον ἔχειν — The accusatives `τοὺς μὲν` and `τοὺς δὲ` with the partitive genitive `αὐτῶν` ("of them") serve as the subjects of the infinitives (`ἔχειν` and `κεκοινωνηκέναι` respectively) in indirect discourse, which depend on the main verbs `ὑπολαμβάνουσι` ("they conceive") and `νομίζουσι` ("they believe").
§3.9.3μήτε τῶν τελευτώντων ἀγνοεῖσθαι τὰς ὄψεις τοῖς συγγενέσι μήτʼ ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι τοὺς προσήκοντας — Two infinitive clauses introduced by the impersonal verb `δεῖ` ("it is necessary"). In the first clause, the subject of the passive `ἀγνοεῖσθαι` ("to be unknown") is the accusative `τὰς ὄψεις` ("the features"), with the agent expressed by the dative `τοῖς συγγενέσι` ("to the relatives"). In the second, the subject of the deponent `ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι` ("to forget") is the accusative `τοὺς προσήκοντας τῷ γένει` ("those belonging to the family"), which governs the genitive object `των προσῳκειωμένων` ("their kinsmen").
§3.9.4ὡς μόνους ἄριστα τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων φροντιοῦντας — The particle `ὡς` is joined with the future participle `φροντιοῦντας` (accusative) to express a subjective reason. Although the logical subject of this participle refers back to the preceding dative `τοῖς ἐπιμελεστάτοις κτηνοτρόφοις` ("to the most diligent herdsmen"), an anacoluthon occurs, shifting the case of the participle to the accusative as if forming an accusative-and-infinitive construction.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §3.9.1-3.9.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:3.9.1-3.9.4

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.