Humanitext Reader

Arrian · Periplus of the Euxine Sea §22.1-22.4

Sacrificial Animals and the Oracle on Achilles' Island

Passage 22 of 25 · Greek

Summary

Describes the practice of visitors to the island of Achilles buying grazing animals as sacrifices, using an oracle to determine the proper price, and the miracle where the victim voluntarily stands still once the price is accepted.

§22.1νήσῳ ἱερεῖα τοὺς μὲν ἐξεπίτηδες πλέοντας ἐς αὐτὴν ἐπὶ ταῖς ναυσὶν κομίζειν, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν καταθύειν τὰ δὲ ἀφιέναι τῷ Ἀχιλλεῖ·
... island, those who sail to it on purpose in ships bring sacrificial victims on their vessels, and of these they sacrifice some and release others for Achilles.
τοὺς δέ τινας ὑπὸ χειμῶνος §22.2ἐξαναγκασθέντας προσέχειν, καὶ τούτους παρʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ αἰτεῖν ἱερεῖον, χρωμένους περὶ τῶν ἱερείων, εἰ λῷόν σφισιν καὶ ἄμεινον θῦσαι ὅτι περ ἂν αὐτοὶ τῇ γνώμῃ ἐπιλέξαιντο νεμόμενον, τιμὴν ἅμα καταβάλλοντες τὴν ἀξίαν σφίσιν δοκοῦσαν.
On the other hand, those who have been forced to land by a storm, these also ask the god himself for a victim, consulting the oracle about the victims, whether it is better and more favorable for them to sacrifice whichever of the grazing animals they themselves might choose in their mind, at the same time paying down the price that seems fair to them.
εἰ δὲ ἀπαγορεύοι ὁ §22.3χρησμός — εἶναι γὰρ χρησμοὺς ἐν τῷ νεῷ —, προσβάλλειν τῇ τιμῇ· εἰ δὲ ἔτι ἀπαγορεύοι, ἔτι προσβάλλειν.
And if the oracle should forbid it—for there are oracles in the temple—they add to the price; and if it should still forbid, they add still more.
συγχωρήσαντος δὲ γιγνώσκειν ὅτι ἀποχρῶσα ἡ τιμή ἐστιν.
But when the oracle consents, they know that the price is sufficient.
τὸ δὲ ἱερεῖον ἵστασθαι ἐπὶ τῷδε αὐτόματον, μηδὲ §22.4ἀποφεύγειν ἔτι.
At this, the victim stands there of its own accord and no longer tries to escape.
καὶ τοῦτο δὴ πολὺ ἀνακεῖσθαι τὸ ἀργύριον τῷ ἥρῳ τὰς τιμὰς τῶν ἱερείων.
And in this way indeed, much money is dedicated to the hero as the price of the victims.

Notes

  1. 22.1νήσῳ — Connected with τῶν προσεσχηκότων τῇ at the end of the previous chunk, forming the genitive participle phrase τῶν προσεσχηκότων τῇ νήσῳ ("of those who have landed at the island").
  2. 22.2εἰ λῷόν σφισιν καὶ ἄμεινον θῦσαι — εἰ introduces an indirect question ("whether"), where the infinitive θῦσαι ("to sacrifice") functions as the subject of the impersonal comparative adjectives λῷον καὶ ἄμεινον ("better and more favorable").
  3. 22.2ὅτι περ ἂν αὐτοὶ τῇ γνώμῃ ἐπιλέξαιντο νεμόμενον — The relative pronoun ὅτι accompanied by the particles περ and ἂν with the optative ἐπιλέξαιντο ("they might choose") expresses a general or potential condition. The present participle νεμόμενον ("grazing") modifies the object referred to by ὅτι (the victim).
  4. 22.3συγχωρήσαντος — A genitive absolute construction where the subject (either the oracle ὁ χρησμός or the god ὁ θεός) is omitted but understood from the context: "when [the oracle] consents."
  5. 22.4τὰς τιμὰς — An appositive to the nominative subject τὸ ἀργύριον ("the money"), standing in the accusative plural to express "as the prices/valuations" of the victims.

Cite this passage

Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea §22.1-22.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0074.tlg004.humanitext-grc2:22.1-22.4

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