1 (return)
[ Some write "Psammitichos"
with less authority.]
2 (return)
[ {tou en Memphi}: many
Editors read {en Memphi}, "I heard at Memphis from the priests of
Hephaistos," but with less authority.]
3 (return)
[ {'Eliou polin} or
{'Elioupolin}, cp. {'Elioupolitai} below.]
4 (return)
[ {exo e ta ounamata auton
mounon}. Some understand "them" to mean "the gods"; rather perhaps the
meaning is that accounts of such things will not be related in full, but
only touched upon.]
5 (return)
[ {ison peri auton
epistasthai}.]
6 (return)
[ {anthropon}, emphatic, for
the rulers before him were gods (ch. 144).]
7 (return)
[ {Mina}: others read
{Mena}, but the authority of the MSS. is strong for {Mina} both here and
in ch. 99.]
8 (return)
[ {tou Thebaikou nomou}, cp.
ch. 164.]
9 (return)
[ {tautes on apo}: some MSS.
omit {apo}, "this then is the land for which the sixty schoines are
reckoned."]
10 (return)
[ For the measures of
length cp. ch. 149. The furlong ({stadion}) is equal to 100 fathoms
({orguiai}), i.e. 606 feet 9 inches.]
11 (return)
[ Or "without rain": the
word {anudros} is altered by some Editors to {enudros} or {euudros}, "well
watered."]
12 (return)
[ I have followed Stein in
taking {es ta eiretai} with {legon}, meaning "at the Erythraian Sea,"
{taute men} being a repetition of {te men} above. The bend back would make
the range double, and hence partly its great breadth. Others translate,
"Here (at the quarries) the range stops, and bends round to the parts
mentioned (i.e. the Erythraian Sea)."]
13 (return)
[ {os einai Aiguptou}: cp.
iv. 81. Others translate, "considering that it belongs to Egypt" (a
country so vast), i.e. "as measures go in Egypt." In any case {Aiguptos
eousa} just below seems to repeat the same meaning.]
14 (return)
[ Some Editors alter this
to "fourteen."]
15 (return)
[ {pentastomou}: some less
good MSS. have {eptastomou}, "which has seven mouths."]
16 (return)
[ See note on i. 203.]
17 (return)
[ {ton erkhomai lexon}:
these words are by many Editors marked as spurious, and they certainly
seem to be out of place here.]
18 (return)
[ {kou ge de}: "where then
would not a gulf be filled up?"]
19 (return)
[ {katarregnumenen}: some
Editors read {katerregmenen} ("broken up by cracks") from
{katerregnumenen}, which is given by many MSS.]
1901 (return)
[ Or possibly "with
rock below," in which case perhaps {upopsammoteren} would mean "rather
sandy underneath."]
20 (return)
[ We do not know whether
these measurements are in the larger Egyptian cubit of 21 inches or the
smaller (equal to the ordinary Hellenic cubit) of 18½ inches, cp. i. 178.]
21 (return)
[ {kai to omoion apodido
es auxesin}, "and to yield the like return as regards increased extent."
(Mr. Woods); but the clause may be only a repetition of the preceding
one.]
22 (return)
[ i.e. Zeus.]
23 (return)
[ i.e. of the district of
Thebes, the Thebaïs.]
24 (return)
[ {te Libue}.]
25 (return)
[ The meaning seems to be
this: "The Ionians say that Egypt is the Delta, and at the same time they
divide the world into three parts, Europe, Asia, and Libya, the last two
being divided from one another by the Nile. Thus they have left out Egypt
altogether; and either they must add the Delta as a fourth part of the
world, or they must give up the Nile as a boundary. If the name Egypt be
extended, as it is by the other Hellenes, to the upper course of the Nile,
it is then possible to retain the Nile as a boundary, saying that half of
Egypt belongs to Asia and half to Libya, and disregarding the Delta (ch.
17). This also would be an error of reckoning, but less serious than to
omit Egypt together." The reasoning is obscure because it alludes to
theories (of Hecataios and other writers) which are presumed to be already
known to the reader.]
26 (return)
[ {Katadoupon}, i.e. the
first cataract.]
27 (return)
[ "and it gives us here,
etc." ({parekhomenos}).]
28 (return)
[ {logo de eipein
thoumasiotere}. Or perhaps, "and it is more marvellous, so to speak."]
29 (return)
[ {ton ta polla esti andri
ke k.t.l.} I take {ton} to refer to the nature of the country, as
mentioned above; but the use of {os} can hardly be paralleled, and the
passage probably requires correction. Some Editors read {ton tekmeria
polla esti k.t.l.} "wherein there are many evidences to prove, etc." Stein
omits {ton} and alters the punctuation, so that the clauses run thus,
"when it flows from the hottest parts to those which for the most part are
cooler? For a man who is capable of reasoning about such matters the first
and greatest evidence to prove that it is not likely to flow from snow, is
afforded by the winds, etc."]
30 (return)
[ {ouk ekhei elegkhon},
"cannot be refuted" (because we cannot argue with him), cp. Thuc. iii. 53,
{ta de pseude elegkhon ekhei}. Some translate, "does not prove his case."]
31 (return)
[ {tes arkhaies diexodou},
"his original (normal) course."]
32 (return)
[ {ouk eonton anemon
psukhron}: the best MSS. read {kai anemon psukhron} ("and there are cold
winds"), which Stein retains, explaining that the cold North winds would
assist evaporation.]
33 (return)
[ {autos eoutou peei pollo
upodeesteros e tou thereos}.]
34 (return)
[ {diakaion ten diexodon
auto}, i.e. {to reri}. Some Editors read {autou} (with inferior MSS.) or
alter the word to {eoutou}.]
35 (return)
[ "set forth, so far as I
understood."]
36 (return)
[ {epi makrotaton},
"carrying the inquiry as far as possible," cp. ch. 34.]
37 (return)
[ I have little doubt that
this means the island of Elephantine; for at this point only would such a
mixture of races be found. To this the writer here goes back
parenthetically, and then resumes the account of the journey upwards from
Tachompso. This view is confirmed by the fact that Strabo relates the same
thing with regard to the island of Philai just above Elephantine.]
3701 (return)
[ Cp. i. 72, note 86.]
38 (return)
[ {oleureon}.]
39 (return)
[ {zeias}.]
40 (return)
[ i.e. the hieratic and
the demotic characters.]
41 (return)
[ {murias, os eipein
logo}.]
42 (return)
[ Referring apparently to
iii. 28, where the marks of Apis are given. Perhaps no animal could be
sacrificed which had any of these marks.]
43 (return)
[ {kephale keine}, "that
head," cp. {koilien keinen} in the next chapter.]
44 (return)
[ {katharon}.]
45 (return)
[ {baris}, cp. ch. 96.]
46 (return)
[ Or, "descended from
Aigyptos."]
4601 (return)
[ Or, "assuming that
in those days as now, they were wont to make voyages, and that some of the
Hellenes were seafaring folk."]
47 (return)
[ {stelai}, "upright
blocks."]
48 (return)
[ {lampontos tas nuktas
megathos}: some Editors alter {megathos} to {megalos} or {mega phos}.]
49 (return)
[ {enagizousi}.]
50 (return)
[ {uon}: some Editors read
{oion} "sheep," on the authority of one MS.]
51 (return)
[ {ta ounamata}, which
means here rather the forms of personification than the actual names.]
52 (return)
[ {ai pramanteis}.]
53 (return)
[ {phegon}.]
54 (return)
[ {upo phego pephukuie},
i.e. the oak-tree of the legend was a real growing tree, though the dove
was symbolical.]
55 (return)
[ {panegurias}.]
56 (return)
[ {prosagogas}, with the
idea of bringing offerings or introducing persons.]
57 (return)
[ {epoiethesan}, "were
first celebrated."]
58 (return)
[ So B.R.]
59 (return)
[ {sumphoiteousi}.]
5901 (return)
[ i.e. 700,000.]
60 (return)
[ See ch. 40.]
61 (return)
[ {tesi thusiesi, en tini
nukti}: some MSS. give {en te nukti}: hence several Editors read {tes
thusies en te nukti}, "on the night of the sacrifice."]
62 (return)
[ Or, "for what end this
night is held solemn by lighting of lamps" (B.R.), making {phos kai timen}
one idea.]
63 (return)
[ {alexomenous}: this,
which is adopted by most Editors, is the reading of some less good MSS.;
the rest have {alexomenoi}, "strike them and defend themselves."]
6301 (return)
[ {eousa e Aiguptos
k.t.l.}: the MSS. have {eousa de Aiguptos}: Stein reads {eousa gar
Aiguptos}.]
64 (return)
[ {theia pregmata
katalambanei tous aielourous}, which may mean only, "a marvellous thing
happens to the cats."]
65 (return)
[ {es 'Ermeo polin}.]
66 (return)
[ {dikhelon, oplai boos},
"he is cloven-footed, and his foot is that of an ox." The words {oplai
boos} are marked as spurious by Stein.]
67 (return)
[ i.e. above the marshes,
cp. ch. 92.]
68 (return)
[ {pante}, which by some
is translated "taken all together," "at most." Perhaps there is some
corruption of text, and the writer meant to say that it measured two
cubits by one cubit.]
6801 (return)
[ The reading of the
Medicean MS. is {en esti}, not {enesti} as hitherto reported.]
69 (return)
[ Or, "calling the song
Linos."]
70 (return)
[ {ton Linon okothen
elabon}: the MSS. have {to ounoma} after {elabon}, but this is omitted by
almost all Editors except Stein, who justifies it by a reference to ch.
50, and understands it to mean "the person of Linos." No doubt the song
and the person are here spoken off indiscriminately, but this explanation
would require the reading {tou Linou}, as indeed Stein partly admits by
suggesting the alteration.]
71 (return)
[ The words "and Bacchic
(which are really Egyptian)," are omitted by several of the best MSS.]
72 (return)
[ {epezosmenai}.]
73 (return)
[ In connexion with death
apparently, cp. ch. 132, 170. Osiris is meant.]
74 (return)
[ {sindonos bussines}.]
75 (return)
[ {to kommi}.]
76 (return)
[ {nros}.]
77 (return)
[ Or, "a pleasant sweet
taste."]
78 (return)
[ {apala}, "soft."]
79 (return)
[ {kat oligous ton
kegkhron}.]
80 (return)
[ {apo ton sillikuprion
tou karpou}.]
81 (return)
[ {zuga}, to tie the sides
and serve as a partial deck.]
82 (return)
[ {esti de oud' outos}: a
few MSS. have {ouk} instead of {oud'}, and most Editors follow them. The
meaning however seems to be that even here the course in time of flood is
different, and much more in the lower parts.]
83 (return)
[ {os apergmenos ree}: the
MSS. mostly have {os apergmenos reei}, in place of which I have adopted
the correction of Stein. Most other Editors read {os apergmenos peei}
(following a few inferior MSS.), "the bend of the Nile which flows thus
confined."]
84 (return)
[ Not therefore in the
Delta, to which in ch. 15 was assigned a later origin than this.]
85 (return)
[ {kat' ouden einai
lamprotetos}: Stein reads {kai} for {kat'}, thus making the whole chapter
parenthetical, with {ou gar elegon} answered by {parameipsamenos on}, a
conjecture which is ingenious but not quite convincing.]
86 (return)
[ {stratien pollen labon}:
most of the MSS. have {ton} after {pollen}, which perhaps indicates that
some words are lost.]
87 (return)
[ {kai prosotata}: many
MSS. have {kai ou prosotata}, which is defended by some Editors in the
sense of a comparative, "and not further."]
88 (return)
[ {Suroi} in the better
MSS.; see note in i.6.]
89 (return)
[ {Surioi}.]
90 (return)
[ {kata tauta}: the better
MSS. have {kai kata tauta}, which might be taken with what follows,
punctuating after {ergazontai} (as in the Medicean MS.): "they and the
Egyptians alone of all nations work flax; and so likewise they resemble
one another in their whole manner of living."]
91 (return)
[ {polon}, i.e. the
concave sun-dial, in shape like the vault of heaven.]
92 (return)
[ The gnomon would be an
upright staff or an obelisk for observation of the length of the shadow.]
93 (return)
[ i.e. Red Clod.]
94 (return)
[ {Turion stratopedon},
i.e. "the Tyrian quarter" of the town: cp. ch. 154.]
95 (return)
[ {ten sen}, or {tauten},
"this land."]
96 (return)
[ {es o meteke auton},
"until at last he dismissed it"; but the construction is very irregular,
and there is probably some corruption of text. Stein reads {ekon} by
conjecture for {es o}.]
97 (return)
[ {delon de kata per
epoiese}: a conjectural emendation of {delon de' kata gar epoiese}, which
some editors retain, translating thus, "and this is clear; for according
to the manner in which Homer described the wanderings of Alexander, etc.,
it is clear how, etc."]
98 (return)
[ Il. vi. 289. The sixth
book is not ordinarily included in the {Diomedeos aristeia}.]
99 (return)
[ Od. iv. 227. These
references to the Odyssey are by some thought to be interpolations,
because they refer only to the visit of Menelaos to Egypt after the fall
of Troy; but Herodotus is arguing that Homer, while rejecting the legend
of Helen's stay in Egypt during the war, yet has traces of it left in this
later visit to Egypt of Menelaos and Helen, as well as in the visit of
Paris and Helen to Sidon.]
100 (return)
[ Od. iv. 351.]
101 (return)
[ {kai tode to khorion}:
probably {to khorion} ought to be struck out: "this also is evident."]
102 (return)
[ {podeonas}, being the
feet of the animals whose skins they were.]
103 (return)
[ Cp. vii. 152.]
104 (return)
[ {elasai}, which may be
intransitive, "rushed into every kind of evil."]
105 (return)
[ {stadioi}.]
106 (return)
[ {krossas}.]
107 (return)
[ {bomidas}.]
108 (return)
[ i.e. the three small
pyramids just to the East of the great pyramid.]
109 (return)
[ {oute gar k.t.l.},
"for there are no underground chambers," etc. Something which was in the
mind of the writer has been omitted either by himself or his copyists,
"and inferior to it also in other respects, for," etc. unless, as Stein
supposes, we have here a later addition thrown in without regard to the
connexion.]
110 (return)
[ {touto megathos}, "as
regards attaining the same size," but probably the text is corrupt. Stein
reads {to megathos} in his later editions.]
111 (return)
[ Or, "Philition."]
112 (return)
[ {to theo}, the goddess
Leto, cp. i. 105.]
113 (return)
[ {suntakhunein auton
ton bion}: some MSS. and Editors read {auto} for {auton}, "that heaven was
shortening his life."]
114 (return)
[ More literally,
"bidding him take up the blood-money, who would." The people of Delphi are
said to have put Esop to death and to have been ordered by the Oracle to
make compensation.]
115 (return)
[ {os an einai
'Podopin}: so the MSS. Some Editors read {'Podopios}, others {'Podopi}.]
116 (return)
[ {antion de autout tou
neou}.]
117 (return)
[ {epaphroditoi
ginesthai}.]
118 (return)
[ {katekertomese min}:
Athenæus says that Sappho attacked the mistress of Charaxos; but here
{min} can hardly refer to any one but Charaxos himself, who doubtless
would be included in the same condemnation.]
119 (return)
[ {propulaia}.]
120 (return)
[ "innumerable sights of
buildings."]
121 (return)
[ {tassomenon},
"posted," like an army; but the text is probably unsound: so also in the
next line, where the better MSS. have {men Boubasti poli}, others {e en
Boubasti polis}. Stein reads {e en Boubasti poli}, "the earth at the city
of Bubastis." Perhaps {e en Boubasti polis} might mean the town as opposed
to the temple, as Mr. Woods suggests.]
122 (return)
[ Cp. ch. 161, {egeneto
apo prophasios, ton k.t.l.} Perhaps however {prophasin} is here from
{prophaino} (cp. Soph. Trach. 662), and it means merely "that the gods
were foreshowing him this in order that," etc. So Stein.]
123 (return)
[ i.e. for their
customary gift or tribute to him as king.]
124 (return)
[ The chronology is
inconsistent, and some propose, without authority, to read "three hundred
years."]
125 (return)
[ {tas arouras}, cp. ch.
168, where the {aroura} is defined as a hundred Egyptian units square,
about three-quarters of an acre.]
126 (return)
[ {es to megaron}.]
127 (return)
[ Not on two single
occasions, but for two separate periods of time it was stated that the sun
had risen in the West and set in the East; i.e. from East to West, then
from West to East, then again from East to West, and finally back to East
again. This seems to be the meaning attached by Herodotus to something
which he was told about astronomical cycles.]
128 (return)
[ {ouk eontas}: this is
the reading of all the best MSS., and also fits in best with the argument,
which was that in Egypt gods were quite distinct from men. Most Editors
however read {oikeontas} on the authority of a few MSS., "dwelling with
men." (The reading of the Medicean MS. is {ouk eontas}, not {oukeontas} as
stated by Stein.)]
129 (return)
[ i.e. that the Hellenes
borrowed these divinities from Egypt, see ch. 43 ff. This refers to all
the three gods above mentioned and not (as Stein contended) to Pan and
Dionysos only.]
130 (return)
[ {kai toutous allous},
i.e. as well as Heracles; but it may mean "that these also, distinct from
the gods, had been born," etc. The connexion seems to be this: "I
expressed my opinion on all these cases when I spoke of the case of
Heracles; for though the statement there about Heracles was in one respect
inapplicable to the rest, yet in the main conclusion that gods are not
born of men it applies to all."]
131 (return)
[ {stadioi}.]
132 (return)
[ {mneas}, of which 60
go to the talent.]
133 (return)
[ Cp. ch. 112.]
134 (return)
[ {neos}.]
135 (return)
[ I understand that each
wall consisted of a single stone, which gave the dimensions each way: "as
regards height and length" therefore it was made of a single stone. That
it should have been a monolith, except the roof, is almost impossible, not
only because of the size mentioned (which in any case is suspicious), but
because no one would so hollow out a monolith that it would be necessary
afterwards to put on another stone for the roof. The monolith chamber
mentioned in ch. 175, which it took three years to convey from
Elephantine, measured only 21 cubits by 14 by 8. The {parorophis} or
"cornice" is not an "eave projecting four cubits," but (as the word is
explained by Pollux) a cornice between ceiling and roof, measuring in this
instance four cubits in height and formed by the thickness of the single
stone: see Letronne, Recherches pour servir, etc. p. 80 (quoted by Bähr).]
136 (return)
[ {erpase}, "took as
plunder."]
137 (return)
[ {aparti}: this word is
not found in any MS. but was read here by the Greek grammarians.]
13701 (return)
[ i.e. 120,000.]
138 (return)
[ Cp. iv. 159.]
139 (return)
[ {kuneen}, perhaps the
royal helmet or Pschent, cp. ch. 151.]
140 (return)
[ {apemataise},
euphemism for breaking wind.]
141 (return)
[ {oudena logon auto
donta}: many Editors change {auto} to {eouto}, in which case it means
"taking no time to consider the matter," as elsewhere in Herodotus; but
cp. iii. 50 {istoreonti logon audena edidou}.]
142 (return)
[ {nomon}, and so
throughout the passage.]
14201 (return)
[ i.e. 160,000.]
14202 (return)
[ i.e. 250,000.]
143 (return)
[ {arourai}, cp. ch.
141.]
144 (return)
[ {ekaston}: if
{ekastoi} be read (for which there is more MS. authority) the meaning will
be that "a thousand Calasirians and a thousand Hermotybians acted as
guards alternately, each for a year," the number at a time being 1000 not
2000.]
14401 (return)
[ {pente mneai}.]
145 (return)
[
{arusteres},={kotulai}.]
146 (return)
[ {tou neou}.]
147 (return)
[ {e trokhoiedes
kaleomene}, "the Wheel."]
148 (return)
[ The last words, "and
when—again," are not found in the best MSS., and are omitted by
Stein. However their meaning, if not expressed, is implied.]
149 (return)
[ {pugonos}.]
150 (return)
[ {tou autou eontes
lithou}: some MSS. and many Editors have {Aithiopikou} for {tou autou},
"of Ethiopian stone." For {eontes} the MSS. have {eontos}, which may be
right, referring to {tou bathrou} understood, "the base being made of,"
etc.]
151 (return)
[ {tou megalou}, a
conjecture founded upon Valla's version, which has been confirmed by a MS.
The other MSS. have {tou megarou}, which is retained by some Editors, "on
each side of the sanctuary."]
152 (return)
[ "are claiming a share
when no part in it belongs to them."]
153 (return)
[ Or possibly of alum:
but the gift seems a very small one in any case. Some propose to read
{eikosi mneas khrusou}.]
154 (return)
[ Or, according to a few
MSS., "Battos the son of Arkesilaos."]
155 (return)
[ "thou hast surely
perished."]