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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §4.20.1-4.20.3

Hardiness of the Ligurians and a Woman Laborer

Passage 256 of 406 · Greek

Summary

Describing the ruggedness of the Ligurian land and their robust physical traits, the text introduces an extraordinary anecdote of a Ligurian woman who gave birth during hard labor but stubbornly continued to work.

§4.20.1οἱ δὲ ταύτην τὴν χώραν οἰκοῦντες Λίγυες νέμονται γῆν τραχεῖαν καὶ παντελῶς λυπράν· τῶν δʼ ἐγχωρίων ταῖς ἐργασίαις καὶ ταῖς τῆς κακοπαθειας ὑπερβολαῖς φέρει καρποὺς πρὸς βίαν ὀλίγους.
The Ligurians who inhabit this land dwell in a rugged and entirely barren country; and through the labors and extreme hardships of the inhabitants, it bears crops only with difficulty and in small measure.
διὸ καὶ τοῖς ὄγκοις εἰσὶ συνεσταλμένοι καὶ διὰ τὴν συνεχῆ γυμνασίαν εὔτονοι· τῆς γὰρ κατὰ τὴν τρυφὴν ῥᾳστώνης πολὺ κεχωρισμένοι ἐλαφροὶ μὲν ταῖς εὐκινησίαις εἰσίν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολεμικοῖς ἀγῶσι ταῖς ἀλκαῖς διάφοροι.
Therefore, they are slender in body and vigorous due to continuous physical exercise; for, being far removed from the ease of luxury, they are light in their agility, and in warlike struggles they are outstanding in their physical strength.
§4.20.2καθόλου δὲ τῶν πλησιοχώρων τὸ πονεῖν συνεχῶς ἠσκηκότων, καὶ τῆς χώρας πολλῆς ἐργασίας προσδεομένης, εἰθίκασι τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν κακοπαθειῶν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐργασίαις κοινωνοὺς ποιεῖσθαι.
And in general, since the inhabitants of these parts practice laboring continuously, and the country requires much cultivation, they have made it a custom to make their women partners in the hardships of their labors.
μισθοῦ δὲ παρʼ ἀλλήλοις ἐργαζομένων τῶν τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν, ἴδιόν τι καὶ παράδοξον καθʼ ἡμᾶς συνέβη περὶ μίαν γυναῖκα γενέσθαι.
And since both men and women work for hire among one another, a certain peculiar and incredible event happened in our times concerning a certain woman.
§4.20.3ἔγκυος γὰρ οὖσα καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐργαζομένη μισθοῦ, μεταξὺ συνεχομένη ταῖς ὠδῖσιν ἀπῆλθεν εἴς τινας θάμνους ἀθορύβως· ἐν οἷς τεκοῦσα, καὶ τὸ παιδίον φύλλοις ἐνειλήσασα, τοῦτο μὲν ἀπέκρυψεν, αὐτὴ δὲ συμμίξασα τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις ὑπέμεινε κακοπάθειαν, οὐδὲν δηλώσασα περὶ τοῦ συμβεβηκότος.
For, being pregnant and working for hire along with the men, in the midst of her work she was seized by labor pains and went off quietly into some bushes; and having given birth there, and having wrapped the child in leaves, this she hid, while she herself, returning to those who were working, endured the same hardship as they did, revealing nothing of what had happened.
τοῦ βρέφους δὲ κλαυθμυριζομένου, καὶ τῆς πράξεως φανερᾶς γενομένης, ὁ μὲν ἐφεστηκὼς οὐδαμῶς ἠδύνατο πεῖσαι παύσασθαι τῶν ἔργων· ἡ δʼ οὐ πρότερον ἀπέστη τῆς κακοπαθείας, ἕως ὁ μισθωσάμενος ἐλεήσας καὶ τὸν μισθὸν ἀποδοὺς ἀπέλυσε τῶν ἔργων.
But when the infant began to cry and the deed became known, the overseer was in no way able to persuade her to stop her work; and she did not cease from her hardship until the employer, taking pity on her and paying her wages, released her from the work.

Notes

  1. §4.20.1τῶν δʼ ... ἐγχωρίων — The genitive τῶν ἐγχωρίων functions as a subjectigenitive (genitive of agent) in relation to the following dative nouns ταῖς ἐργασίαις and ταῖς ... ὑπερβολαῖς, meaning "by the labors and extreme hardships of the inhabitants."
  2. §4.20.2τῶν πλησιοχώρων τὸ πονεῖν συνεχῶς ἠσκηκότων — A genitive absolute construction with τῶν πλησιοχώρων as the subject and the perfect participle ἠσκηκότων as the predicate. Along with the parallel genitive absolute καὶ τῆς χώρας ... προσδεομένης, it functions causally, modifying the main verb εἰθίκασι.
  3. §4.20.2μισθοῦ — A genitive of price or value, modifying the participle ἐργαζομένων to mean "for hire" or "for wages."
  4. §4.20.3μεταξὺ συνεχομένη — The adverb μεταξύ modifies the participle συνεχομένη (being seized/held), emphasizing the temporal simultaneity of the action ("in the midst of her work" or "while in the middle of it").

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §4.20.1-4.20.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:4.20.1-4.20.3

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