§2.45ἤδη δὲ ἰχθύες τε ἡμῖν ἐφαίνοντο καὶ ὄρνεα παρεπέτετο καὶ ἄλλʼ ὁπόσα γῆς πλησίον οὔσης σημεῖα προφαίνεται.
now both fish were appearing to us and birds were flying past and all the other signs that indicate land is near were showing themselves.
μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ καὶ ἄνδρας εἴδομεν καινῷ τῳ τρόπῳ ναυτιλίας χρωμένους· αὐτοὶ γὰρ καὶ ναῦται καὶ νῆες ἦσαν.
After a little we also saw men navigating in a strange manner; for they themselves were both sailors and ships.
λέξω δὲ τοῦ πλοῦ τὸν τρόπον· ὕπτιοι κείμενοι ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος ὀρθώσαντες τὰ αἰδοῖα — μεγάλα δὲ φέρουσιν — ἐξ αὐτῶν ὀθόνην πετάσαντες καὶ ταῖς χερσὶν τοὺς ποδεῶνας κατέχοντες ἐμπίπτοντος τοῦ ἀνέμου ἔπλεον.
And I will describe the manner of their voyage: lying on their backs upon the water, having raised their private parts—and they carry large ones—and having spread a sail from them, and holding the sheets with their hands, they sailed as the wind blew into them.
ἄλλοι δὲ μετὰ τούτους ἐπὶ φελλῶν καθήμενοι ζεύξαντες δύο δελφῖνας ἤλαυνόν τε καὶ ἡνιόχουν· οἱ δὲ προιόντες ἐπεσύροντο τοὺς φελλούς.
And others after them, sitting upon corks and having yoked two dolphins, drove and guided them; and the dolphins, going forward, dragged the corks along.
οὗτοι ἡμᾶς οὔτε ἠδίκουν οὔτε ἔφευγον, ἀλλʼ ἤλαυνον ἀδεῶς τε καὶ εἰρηνικῶς τὸ εἶδος τοῦ ἡμετέρου πλοίου θαυμάζοντες καὶ πάντοθεν περισκοποῦντες. §2.46ἑσπέρας δὲ ἤδη προσήχθημεν νήσῳ οὐ μεγάλῃ· κατῳκεῖτο δὲ ὑπὸ γυναικῶν, ὡς ἐνομίζομεν, Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν προιεμένων· προσῄεσαν γὰρ καὶ ἐδεξιοῦντο καὶ ἠσπάζοντο, πάνυ ἑταιρικῶς κεκοσμημέναι καὶ καλαὶ πᾶσαι καὶ νεάνιδες, ποδήρεις τοὺς χιτῶνας ἐπισυρόμεναι.
These men neither harmed us nor fled, but drove along without fear and peacefully, wondering at the shape of our ship and looking at it from all sides. it was already evening when we were brought to a small island; and it was inhabited by women, as we supposed, who uttered the Greek tongue; for they came up and welcomed and greeted us, adorned entirely like courtesans and all beautiful and young, dragging their tunics down to their feet.
ἡ μὲν οὖν νῆσος ἐκαλεῖτο Καβαλοῦσα, ἡ δὲ πόλις αὐτὴ Ὑδαμαρδία.
Now the island was called Caballusa, and the city itself Hydamardia.
λαβοῦσαι δʼ οὖν ἡμᾶς αἱ γυναῖκες ἑκάστη πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀπῆγεν καὶ ξένον ἐποιεῖτο.
Having taken us, therefore, the women led us each to her own place and made us guests.
ἐγὼ δὲ μικρὸν ἀποστὰς — οὐ γὰρ χρηστὰ ἐμαντευόμην — ἀκριβέστερόν τε περιβλέπων ὁρῶ πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων ὀστᾶ καὶ κρανία κείμενα.
But I, having withdrawn a little—for I did not forebode good things—and looking around more carefully, saw the bones and skulls of many men lying about.
καὶ τὸ μὲν βοὴν ἱστάναι καὶ τοὺς ἑταίρους συγκαλεῖν καὶ ἐς τὰ ὅπλα χωρεῖν οὐκ ἐδοκίμαζον.
And indeed to raise a shout and call my companions together and resort to arms did not seem best to me.
προχειρισάμενος δὲ τὴν μαλάχην πολλὰ ηὐχόμην αὐτῇ διαφυγεῖν ἐκ τῶν παρόντων κακῶν· μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ τῆς ξένης διακονουμένης εἶδον τὰ σκέλη οὐ γυναικός, ἀλλʼ ὄνου ὁπλάς·
But having got ready my mallow, I prayed to it many times to escape from the present evils; and after a little, while my hostess was serving, I saw her legs, not of a woman, but the hoofs of a donkey.
καὶ δὴ σπασάμενος τὸ ξίφος συλλαμβάνω τε αὐτὴν καὶ δήσας περὶ τῶν ὅλων ἀνέκρινον.
And indeed, having drawn my sword, I seized her and, having bound her, questioned her about the whole matter.
ἡ δέ, ἄκουσα μέν, εἶπεν δὲ ὅμως, αὐτὰς μὲν εἶναι θαλαττίους γυναῖκας Ὀνοσκελέας προσαγορευομένας, τροφὴν δὲ ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας ξένους.
And she, although unwilling, nevertheless said that they were sea-women called Onosceleae, and they made their food of the strangers who visited.
ἐπειδὰν γάρ, ἔφη, μεθύσωμεν αὐτούς, συνευνηθεῖσαι κοιμωμένοις ἐπιχειροῦμεν. ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ἐκείνην μὲν αὐτοῦ κατέλιπον δεδεμένην, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀνελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τέγος ἐβόων τε καὶ τοὺς ἑταίρους συνεκάλουν.
"For when," she said, "we make them drunk, we lie with them and attack them while they sleep." Having heard this, I left her there bound, and I myself, having gone up onto the roof, shouted and called my companions together.
ἐπεὶ δὲ συνῆλθον, τὰ πάντα ἐμήνυον αὐτοῖς καὶ τά τε ὀστᾶ ἐδείκνυον καὶ ἦγον ἔσω πρὸς τὴν δεδεμένην· ἡ δὲ αὐτίκα ὕδωρ ἐγένετο καὶ ἀφανὴς ἦν.
And when they came, I revealed the whole matter to them and showed them the bones and led them inside to the bound woman; but she immediately became water and was invisible.
ὅμως δὲ τὸ ξίφος εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ καθῆκα πειρώμενος· τὸ δὲ αἷμα ἐγένετο. §2.47ταχέως οὖν ἐπὶ ναῦν κατελθόντες ἀπεπλεύσαμεν.
Nevertheless, I thrust my sword into the water to try it, and it became blood., therefore, having gone down to the ship, we sailed away.
καὶ ἐπεὶ ἡμέρα ὑπηύγαζε, τήν τε ἤπειρον ἀπεβλέπομεν εἰκάζομέν τε εἶναι τὴν ἀντιπέρας τῇ ὑφʼ ἡμῶν οἰκουμένῃ κειμένην.
And when day began to break, we looked at the continent and guessed that it was the one lying opposite to the one inhabited by us.
προσκυνήσαντες δʼ οὖν καὶ προσευξάμενοι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐσκοποῦμεν, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐδόκει ἐπιβᾶσιν μόνον αὖθις ὀπίσω ἀναστρέφειν, τοῖς δὲ τὸ μὲν πλοῖον αὐτοῦ καταλιπεῖν, ἀνελθόντας δὲ ἐς τὴν μεσόγαιαν πειραθῆναι τῶν ἐνοικούντων.
Having worshiped and prayed, therefore, we considered the future; and to some indeed it seemed best only to set foot and then turn back again, while to others it seemed best to leave the ship there and, having gone up into the interior, to make trial of the inhabitants.
ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ ταῦτα ἐλογιζόμεθα, χειμὼν σφοδρὸς ἐπιπεσὼν καὶ προσαράξας τὸ σκάφος τῷ αἰγιαλῷ διέλυσεν.
But while we were considering these things, a violent storm fell upon us and, having dashed the vessel against the shore, wrecked it.
ἡμεῖς δὲ μόλις ἐξενηξάμεθα τὰ ὅπλα ἕκαστος καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο οἷός τε ἦν ἁρπασάμενοι.
And we with difficulty swam ashore, each having snatched up his arms and whatever else he was able.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ μέχρι τῆς ἑτέρας γῆς συνενεχθέντα μοι ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ καὶ παρὰ τὸν πλοῦν ἐν ταῖς νήσοις καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῷ κήτει καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐξήλθομεν, παρά τε τοῖς ἥρωσι καὶ τοῖς ὀνείροις καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα παρὰ τοῖς Βουκεφάλοις καὶ ταῖς Ὀνοσκελέαις, τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν ταῖς ἑξῆς βίβλοις διηγήσομαι.
These then are the things that befell me on the sea up to the other land, and during the voyage among the islands and in the air, and after that in the whale, and after we came out, both among the heroes and the dreams, and finally among the Bucephali and the Onosceleae; and the things on the land I will relate in the following books.