17.1 Karchdonivou": the Carthaginians.

!Ammwnivou": The Ammonians lived in the Libyan desert.

tou;" makrobivou" Aijqivopa": the long-lived Ethiopians. How & Wells comment that these long-lived Ethiopians as described by Herodotus (whose account of them is based partly on Homer) were a mythical people, whereas the Ethiopians who border on Egypt (see 97.2) were a real part of the Persian empire.

oijkhmevnou"...qalavssh/: dwelling in that part of Libya on the coast of the Southern Sea. There is no such sea.

17.2 ejpi; de;...ajpokrivnanta: Literally: (and that) he selecting (part) of the land-army (should send it) against the Ammonians.

ajpokrivnanta belongs to an accus. and infin. construction, with the accus. subject (eJwutovn) and the infin. (ajpostevllein) implied, after e[doxe.

katovpta" (ajpostevllein): (and that he should send) spies

ojyomevnou"....ajlhqevw": Literally: so as to see what is said to be the "Table of the Sun", if it is (said) truly.

More freely: so as to determine the truth of what is said to be the "Table of the Sun".

ojyomevnou" is the accus. plur. masc. of the fut. partic. of oJravw. The fut. partic. is here used to express purpose.

tw'/ lovgw/: ostensibly, under pretence. On the common pairing-and-contrasting of lovgw/ and e[rgw/, see JACT p. 113, sec. 104 (v) (b).

travpeza tou' hJlivou: How & Wells note that this "Table of the Sun" as reported by Herodotus is referred to also by the Greek geographer Pausanias (6.26.2) who treats it as an impossible fable. How & Wells go on to say that it is probably a misunderstood myth. "The Egyptians spoke of a `meadow of offerings', to which the souls of the dead came to eat; this was easily turned into a fact, as food was actually left on the tombs. The informants of Herodotus give this myth a Greek colouring by bringing in the sun, and he is the more ready to believe the tale because of the Homeric `feasts' of the Ethiopians."

ej" to;n ....boulovmenon: Literally: (it is said that) into it (i.e. the field) the men in authority (tou;" ejn tevlei) among the townspeople, preparing the meat place it during the nights (ta;" nuvkta" and the following ta;" hJmevra" are accusatives of time throughout which) (and that) during the days the man wishing (i.e. anyone who wishes) approaching feasts (upon it)

More freely: It is said that the leading townspeople prepare the meat during the night and place it in the field, and that during the day anyone who wishes can come and feast on it.

favnai....ejkavstote: But (it is said that) the locals claim that the earth itself produces these things (i.e. this food) every time.

19.1 Elephantine lay in the far south of Egypt, near the First Cataract on the Nile. It was, as How & Wells note, the place whence caravans started south-east from the Nile.

!Icquofavgwn: According to Pausanias (1.33.4), the "Fish-Eaters" were located on the south coasts of the Red Sea, "so some of them may be imagined as settling in Elephantine, inland from their original home." (Newmyer)

19.2 ejn w|/: while

methv/san is the 3rd plur. imperf. indic. of mevteimi, "go after, fetch".

ejndedevsqai is the perf. infin. pass. of ejndevw, "bind to", followed by the dat. (here oJrkivoisi)

tou;" pai'da" tou'" eJwutw'n: Carthage was a Phoenician colony, founded about 814 B.C.

19.3 Kambuvsh"...Foivnixi: For Cambyses did not think it right to use force against the Phoenicians

ejdedwvkesan is the 3rd plur. pluperf. indic. of divdwmi.

h[rthto is the 3rd sing. pluperf. indic. pass. of ajrtavw, which in the pass. means "be hung upon, depend upon".

dovnte"....Ai[gupton: The Cyprians also voluntarily joined the Persians for the expedition against Egypt.

Cyprus had reverted from Egyptian to Persian overlordship in 525, as reported by Herodotus in 2.182.

20.1 ejnteilavmeno"....fevronta": Another anacoluthon (see the note on tw'n, eij kai;....ajrchvn in 15.2): having told them what (tav) they were to say and (them) bearing gifts.... We need to supply e[pempe before fevronta" to establish a logical grammatical sequence in the sentence.

cruvseon strepto;n periaucevnion: a necklace of twisted gold - i.e. a gold torque. How & Wells note that the gifts sent to the Ethiopians resemble those sent to noble Persians.

mevgistoi (here "tallest") kai; kavllistoi ajnqrwvpwn pavntwn: Herodotus repeats this comment in Chapter 114. Cf also the Biblical reference in Isaiah xlv.14.

20.2 novmoisi....ajnqrwvpwn: Literally: In their customs (it is said) that they use both others different (literally: separated - kecwrismevnoisi, the dat. plur. of the perf. partic. pass. of cwrivzw) from (those) of the rest of humankind, and especially (kai; dh; kaiv) such-a-one-as-this (toiw'/de) in relation to kingship.

More freely: For they are said to differ in their customs from the rest of humankind, both in other respects and particularly with regard to kingship.

basilhivhn = Attic basileivan.

21.1 toi = Attic soi.

didoi' = Attic divdwsi, the 3rd sing. pres. indic. act. of divdwmi

toi'si....crewvmeno": (gifts) which he also himself particularly delights in using.

21.2 katovptai h{koien: (that) they came as spies. katovptai is here used predicatively.

protimw'n....genevsqai: preferring greatly (i.e. desiring above all else) to be my friend

eij ga;r h\n...eJwutou': for if he were just, he would not have coveted any land other than his own.

For this type of mixed condition, which refers to both present and past time, see JACT p. 306. ejpiqumevw is followed by the gen.

21.3 ou{tw eujpetevw": as easily as this. As Newmyer notes, the adverb shows that the king strings the bow as he speaks.

tovte....strateuvesqai: then (the Ethiopian king advises him - i.e. Cambyses) being-overwhelming (uJperballovmenon) in numbers to campaign against the long-lived Ethiopians

eijdevnai cavrin: to feel gratitude

gh'n...eJwutw'n: to acquire in-addition (pros-) to their own (land) other land.

22.1 ei[pa", the 1st aor. partic. of levgw, = Attic 2nd aor. form eijpwvn. Herodotus uses both forms.

ajneiv", the aor. partic. of ajnivhmi which basically means "let go", is here used for the action of unstringing the bow.

How & Wells note that the unstrung bow was the symbol for Ethiopia in the hieroglyphs.

eijpovntwn....th;n ajlhqeivhn: The gen. absolute phrase is concessive in force: though the Fish-Eaters told the truth....

22.2 deuvtera is here an adverb: secondly.

ejxhgeomevnwn...aujtou': When the Fish-Eaters explained their decorative function (kovsmon),

rJwmalewvterai toutevwn (= Attic touvtwn; gen. of comparison) pevdai: stronger chains than these.

22.3 poihvsio" (gen. sing., = Attic poihvsew") refers to the making of the myrrh, ajleivyio" to the application of it (to the body).

pevri is here used as a postposition - i.e. it follows the word it governs (poihvsio"). (It is also to be understood with ajleivyio".) In such cases, the accent is thrown back onto the first syllable. Compare its use below as a preposition (governing tou' ei{mato"), with the accent on the second syllable.

to;n aujto;n....ei\pe: he made the same response as about the cloak.

uJperhsqeiv" is the aor. partic. of uJperhvdomai, "rejoice/be delighted beyond measure", followed by tw'/ povmati (= Attic pwvmati), dat. of the agent.

crovnon...zwvei: how great was the longest time that a Persian male lived.

22.4 purw'n is the gen. plur. of purov", "wheat" (in the plur. it means "grains of wheat"). Note that the gen. of pu'r, "fire", has the same accentuation as purov". (It has in fact been suggested that the two words are etymologically connected.)

ojgdwvkonta....prokevesqai: Literally: (and said that) 80 years is ordained (prokevesqai + dat.) for a man as the longest full-measure (plhvrwma) of life.

oujde; ga;r....oi\non: Literally: for (he said) that they would not be able to live (even) as long (as that) if they did not refresh-themselves (thus ajnafevrw when used intransitively) with the drink, pointing out the wine to the Fish-Eaters.

The construction is that of a present unfulfilled condition (see JACT p. 167, sec. 152), with the apodosis in the form of an accus. and infin., indicating that this is a reported statement..

touvtw/...eJssou'sqai: In this respect, (he said), they themselves were surpassed by the Persians.

23.1 th'" zovh": i.e. length of life.

ej" ei[kosi....kai; tau'ta: According to a theory cited by How & Wells, alleged Ethiopian longevity was simply due to the African counting only five months to the year.

23.2 qw'ma....hJghvsasqai: the spies showing amazement at the (length of) years, (it is said that the king) led them (hJghvsasqai + dat. sfi) to a spring

poieumevnwn tw'n kataskovpwn is a gen. absolute, although kataskovpwn is subsequently picked up by sfi. As Newmyer comments, Herodotus often refers back to the noun of a gen. absolute using a different case within the same clause.

katavper eij ejlaivou ei[h: Literally: just as if it were (i.e. just as if they had bathed in) (a spring) of olive oil. For katavper, see the note on 8.3.

o[zein....i[wn: This is a continuation of reported speech (hence the infin.): and (the story goes) that there was a fragrance as if of violets.

i[wn is the gen. plur. of i[on, "violet"; distinguish from ijwvn, the partic. of ei\mi, "go".

23.3 oi|on t! ei\nai: The expression oi|o" t! e{sti, or impersonal oi|on t! e[sti, followed by the infin., is used to indicate fitness or ability. Here e[sti is converted into the infin. ei\nai because it is in a result clause introduced by w{ste. It is followed by the infin. ejpiplevein: (they said the water of the spring was so frail) that nothing was able to sail (i.e. float) upon it....

mhvte tw'n o{sa...ejlafrovtera: Literally: nor how many of things are lighter than wood.

to; de; u{dwr....levgetai: Literally: this water if it is truly anything of-what-kind (oi|ovn ti -compare with the use of oi\on in the phrase referred to just above) is said by them

dia; tou'to....makrovbioi: Literally: because of this they would be long-lived, because-of-using (crewvmenoi - the partic. is used causally) this (water) all the time.

23.4 ajpo; th'" krhvnh"....dedevsqai: When they left the spring, the king led them to a prison (literally: fettering-place for men), where all (prisoners) were bound with golden chains.

As the accus. and infin. construction (to;n basileva) ajgagei'n indicates, the report is still in indirect speech.

ajpallassomevnwn is a (one-word) gen. absolute, but is picked up by sfeva". See again the note on 23.2.

ajgagei'n is the aor. infin. act. of a[gw.

e[nqa...dedevsqai is a subordinate clause in indirect speech. Herodotus often uses an accus and infin. construction in such a clause as well as in the main clause.

e[sti de;....timiwvtaton: It is possible that Herodotus is reliably reporting on the scarcity and value of bronze amongst the Ethiopians. Bronze is the product of copper and tin, the latter making up about 10% of the total. Tin was widely obtainable throughout the Near Eastern world, but known sources of tin were very few and far between. The difficulty of gaining access to supplies of tin may account for Herodotus's statement that bronze was rarer and more precious than any other commodity in Ethiopia. By contrast, gold was once mined in abundance in Ethiopia.

24.1 teleutaiva" is used predicatively: After this they saw the coffins of them (i.e. the Ethiopians) last. Distinguish attributive and predicative uses of the adjective. For example: "I have clean clothes" (clean is used attributively). "I wash the clothes clean" (clean is used predicatively).

u{alo" is some form of transparent stone or crystal. Its precise identity can't be determined. In any case, How & Wells comment that the marvels described here are probably as fictitious as Cinderella's `glass' slipper. Two other Greek writers make reference to "crystal coffins" - Strabo 17.3 and Diodorus 2.15.

24.2 katavper Aijguvptioi: In his description of the mummification processes used by the Egyptians, Herodotus refers to the use of natron (generally thought to be sodium carbonate) as a drying agent. The corpse was packed in it for 70 days. (See Herodotus 2.86.)

ei[te a[llw" kw" (= Attic pw"): or perhaps in some other way

guywvnte"....koivlhn: Literally: having-smeared-with-chalk (guywvnte") the whole, they adorn it (the corpse) with painting, making-it-like (ejxomoieu'nte") the image (of the deceased person) as much as possible (ej" to; dunatovn), then they set-around (periista'si) for it (oiJ = Attic aujtw'/) a pillar made of transparent stone/crystal, hollow(ed out).

More freely: When they have smeared the body all over with chalk, they paint it, making it resemble (the deceased person) as closely as possible. Then they enclose the body in a pillar made of transparent stone and hollowed out to receive it.

h} dev sfi...ojrussevtai: This (stone) is dug up in abundance by them and is easily worked.

24.3 kai; e[cei...nevkui>: Literally: and has all things visible similarly to the corpse itself.

More freely: and is as completely visible as if only the corpse were there.

24.4 oiJ again = Attic aujtw'/.

pavntwn ajparcovmenoi: presenting it with all their first fruits

meta; de; tau'ta....th;n povlin: After this they carry out (the pillar) and set it up near the town.

In this chapter, Herodotus gives his version of Cambyses' expedition into Ethiopia. There has been some debate over the question of how successful, or unsuccessful, it really was. If one follows Herodotus, the expedition was an unmitigated disaster. On the other hand it has been maintained that it was by and large successful, and that Herodotus' account is derived from prejudiced Egyptian sources. After examining the available evidence, How & Wells sum up the situation thus: "On the whole, the balance of probability seems to be in favour of Herodotus' story, though he is probably wrong in denying any success to Cambyses, who seems to have extended Persian authority as far south as Wadi Halfa, i.e. over that part of Ethiopia which the Egyptians had regarded as theirs."

25.1 ou[te lovgon....strateuvesqai: nor having reflected to himself (ou[te lovgon eJwutw'/ douv") that he was about to conduct a campaign to the ends of the earth.

25.2 oi|a de; ejmmanhv"...frenhvrh": seeing that he was (oi|a + partic. ejwvn; see note on oi|a in 4.2) mad and out of his senses

!Ellhvnwn....uJpomevnein: having ordered (tavxa", the aor. partic. of tavssw) those of the Greeks being present to remain there (aujtou').

25.3 to; crhsthvrion to; tou' Diov": This was the famous oracle of Zeus-Ammon at the oasis of Siwa in the Libyan desert. Almost 200 years later, in 331, Alexander the Great made a pilgrimage to this place, where he claimed to have been acknowledged as the son of Zeus-Ammon.

ejmprh'sai is the aor. infin. of ejmpivmprhmi, "set on fire".

h[ie = Attic h[ei, the 3rd sing. imperf. indic. of ei\mi, "go".

25.4 pri;n dielhluqevnai: For the construction of privn + infin., see JACT p. 177, sec. 161.

dielhluqevnai is the perf. infin. of dievrcomai, "go through".

pavnta...ejpeleloivpee: Literally: all things which they had (ta; ei\con) being of the nature of grain (sitivwn ejcovmena is thus translated by Newmyer, who notes that this relatively rare meaning of e[comai + gen. recurs at 66.1) had failed them (aujtou;" ejpeleloipeve - the verb is pluperf.)

kai; ta; uJpozuvgia...katesqiovmena: Literally: the yoke animals also failed them (because of) being eaten up.

More freely: they ran out of yoke animals as well, because they had eaten them.

25.5 eij mevn nun...ajnh;r sofov": If on perceiving this Cambyses had changed his mind (ejgnwsimavcee) and led his army back,.... he would have been a wise man.

This is an unfulfilled condition relating to past time. As Newmyer notes, we would have expected aor. rather than imperf. tenses to be used here, since the latter are normally used to indicate present unfulfilled conditions; compare JACT secs. 152 and 162.

ejpi; th\/ ajrch'qen genomevnh/ aJmartavdi: Literally: after the mistake occurring from the beginning

25.6 oiJ de; stratiw'tai...lambavnein: While the soldiers were able (ei\con) to get anything from the earth,

poihfagevonte": (by) eating grass

25.7 ajllhlofagivhn: cannibalism

ajpeiv" = Attic ajfeiv", the aor. partic. of ajfivhmi, "let go, give up".

katabav", the aor. partic. of katabaivnw, here means having gone downstream (i.e. northwards along the Nile ).

tou;" $Ellhna" ajph'ke ajpoplevein: he allowed the Greeks to sail away.

ajph'ke = Attic ajfh'ke, the 3rd sing. aor. indic. of ajfivhmi.

26.1 e[prhxe = Attic e[praxe, the 3rd sing. aor. indic. act. of pravttw, which is here used as an intransitive verb with the broad meaning "fare, be in a certain condition, experience a particular fate".

ajpostalevnte" is the aor. partic. pass. of ajpostevllw, "send off".

oJrmhqevnte" is the aor. partic. pass. of oJrmavw, which in the passive means "proceed from, set out".

ajpikovmenoi....povlin: and it is clear that they reached the town of Oasis.

This is the El Khargeh oasis west of Thebes. Herodotus mistakenly regards Oasis (which means "planted place") as the name of a town rather than a region.

th;n e[cousi....dia; yavmmou: Literally: which the Samians inhabit, said to be of the Aeschronian tribe, and they are distant from Thebes for a journey (oJdovn - accus. of extent) of seven days across sand.

A number of scholars believe that there may be some confusion in Herodotus' account here, since it would be most unusual to find Greeks settling so far from the sea (some 700 kms. in this case).

Makavrwn nh'so": How & Wells note that the Greek geographer Strabo compares oases to islands, and suggest that the familiar legend of the Islands of the Blessed might well occur to a Greek traveller.

26.2 to; ejnqeu'ten (= Attic ejnteu'qen) dev: Literally: But as-for-what-happened (this translates tov, which is an accus. of respect) thereafter,

o{ti mh;....peri; aujtw'n: except for what the Ammonians themselves and those having heard from them (say), no other persons are able (e[cousi) to say anything about them.

26.3 ejpeid;hv....novton mevgan: This is in indirect speech after levgetai in the preceding sentence, hence the series of accus. and infin. expressions. Note that these accus and infins. occur in the subordinate clauses here (ejpeidh;....(aujtou;") ijevnai....genevsqai aujtou;") as well as in the main clauses (ejpipneu'sai novton mevgan, katacw'sai, ajfanisqh'nai). As we have noted in 23.4, Herodotus often uses this construction in subordinate as well as main clauses in reported statements.
genevsqai....!Oavsio": and (when) they were roughly midway between (metaxuv kou mavlista) their own country and the Oasis,
a[riston is here the neut. noun meaning "midday meal". It is identical in form and accentuation to the neut. adj. meaning "best".
aiJreomevnoisi aujtoi'si is dat. after ejpipneu'sai: (a great and violent south wind) blew upon them as they were taking (their midday meal).

forevonta....sfeva": and bringing masses of sand, it buried them

katacw'sai is the aor. infin. of katacwvnnumi, "bury".

How & Wells comment that the view now is that this violent dusty wind (the simoom) is deadly because it dries up wells, not because it buries its victims in sand, though they also refer to an instance early last century in which a caravan of 2000 apparently perished in a sand storm.

!Ammwvnioi...tauvth": This is one of Herodotus characteristic ways of rounding off his account of a particular episode. There have already been several similar instances of this at the end of earlier chapters in this book. Such a concluding statement generally balances an opening statement which introduces the episode. Introductory and concluding statements thus provide a frame for the episode.

27.1 The cult of the bull Apis (who symbolised the dead Osiris) was centred in the temple of the god Ptah at Memphis, and became important from the time of Egypt's 26th Dynasty (beginning c. 664 B.C.), particularly during the Ptolemaic period (323-30 B.C.). The god Serapis was believed to be his manifestation in human form. We learn from hieroglyphic inscriptions in the Serapeum (the sanctuary of Serapis) at Memphis that Cambyses paid for the construction of the granite sarcophagus of Apis and carried out the traditional burial rites. On the death of one Apis, a new one was sought out. In the tradition recorded by Herodotus, he could be recognised by certain sacred marks on his body. A further reference to his cult occurs in Herodotus 2.153.

to;n $Ellhne" #Epafon kalevousi: Epaphus was the son of Zeus and Io. Herodotus gives further details about him in 2.38.

27.2 pavgcu....poievein: Literally: (Cambyses) having firmly believed (pavgcu katadovxa") they were making these celebrations (because of) himself having fared badly (see the note on e[prhxe, 26.1. The gen. absolute has causal force here),

ei[reto....ajpobavlwn: Literally: he asked why (o{ ti) previously, him being in Memphis, the Egyptians did no such thing, but (only did so) then, when he himself was (again) present having lost so much of his army.

27.3 dia; crovnou....ejpifaivnesqai: being accustomed (ejwqwv" is the perf. partic. of e[qw; see note on ejwvqasi in 15.2) to appear (only) through a long period (i.e. only after long intervals)

For the optatives ei[h and oJrtavzoien used in secondary sequence in indirect speech, see JACT p. 185, sec. 167.

kecarhkovte" is the masc. plur. of the perf. partic. of caivrw, "rejoice".

wJ" before yeudomevnou" indicates that this is the alleged reason for the death penalty: on the grounds that they were lying. Contrast the use of wJ" immediately above to introduce an indirect statement.

28.1 kata; taujtav (= ta; aujtav): in the same way

ouj lhvsein e[fh aujtovn: he said that it would not escape his notice. lhvsein is the fut. infin. of lanqavnw, "escape the notice of" (+ accus.).

qeov" ti" xeiohvqh": some tame god

ajpavgein...iJreva": he ordered the priests to bring Apis (to him).

28.2 h{ti"....govnon: which henceforth is not able (oi{h te givnetai+ infin. is the same construction as oi|o" t! e[sti; see note on 23.3) to conceive offspring (ej" gastevra...govnon).

givnetai = Attic givgnetai.

28.3 shmhvia = Attic shmei'a, "markings".

ejpi; de;....trivgwnon: (it has) a white diamond on its forehead

aijeto;n eijkasmevnon: a likened eagle - i.e. the figure of an eagle (thus Newmyer)

eijkasmevnon is the perf. partic. pass. of eijkavzw, "liken, compare".

uJpo;...kavnqaron: under its tongue (the image of) a dung beetle.

29.1 oi\a ejw;n uJpomargovtero": being like one half-insane

29.2 kakai; kefalaiv: kefalhv can be used in addresses either as a term of respect or endearment, or as one of contempt, as here: Wretched fellows! Blockheads! (or the like).

toiou'toi qeoi; givnontai: Are such as these (your) gods....?

ejnaimoiv te kai; sarkwvdee": (creatures) of flesh and blood

ejpai?onte" sidhrivwn: feeling steel. sidhrivwn is gen. after a verb of feeling/perceiving.

ge here expresses contempt: a worthy god indeed for Egyptians!

ajtavr toi: and yet assuredly...

uJmei'"....qhvsesqe: Literally: you not rejoicing (= to your great regret) will make a laugh of me. More freely: You will greatly regret making a laughing stock of me.

ouj caivronte" is another example of litotes; see the note on levlhqe in 2.2.

ejnteivlato...prhvssousi: he ordered those whose business it was (i.e. Persian officials whose job was to inflict corporal and other forms of punishment).

prhvssousi = Attic pravssousi, the dat. plur. masc. of the pres. partic. act. of pravssw.

Aijguptivwn....kteivnein: and to kill (anyone) of the Egyptians whom they found celebrating the festival.

to;n a]n lavbwsi is an indefinite relative clause, hence a[n + subjunct; see JACT p. 198, sec. 175. lavbwsi is the 3rd plur. aor. subjunct. act. of lambavnw.

29.3 dielevluto is the 3rd sing. pluperf. indic. pass. of dialuvw, "break off".

Aijguptivoisi is dat. of the agent.

peplhgmevno" to;n mhvron: having been struck in the thigh. to;n mhvron is accus. of respect (commonly used with parts of the body).

lavqrh/: without the knowledge (of)

30.1 ejmavnh is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. of maivnomai, "rage, be/go mad"

Though the tradition that Cambyses became insane is generally accepted as historical fact, we should bear in mind that the source of this information is the Egyptian priests - who would hardly qualify as unbiassed transmitters of information about the conqueror of Egypt.

kai; prw'ta....th'" aujth'": Literally: And firstly among his wicked (deeds) he destroyed (the meaning here of ejxergavsato) his brother (ajdelfeovn = Attic ajdelfovn) Smerdis, being of (the same) father and the same mother. That is to say, Smerdis was not merely a half-brother of Cambyses.The killing of a full brother apparently made the crime all the more heinous.

patrov" and mhtrov" are gens. of origin.

This crime of fratricide is claimed also by Cambyses' successor Darius in his Behistun inscription (to which we have referred in the Introduction). Sec. 10 of the inscription states that Smerdis was of the same mother and the same father as Cambyses. However, contrary to what Herodotus implies here, the inscription states that Smerdis was killed before Cambyses' Egyptian expedition. The sequel to the murder, at least in Herodotus' version, is given in Chapter 61 below.

It should be noted that there is still some uncertainty regarding the death of Smerdis. There is a possibility that he was not in fact killed by Cambyses, but survived his brother's death. In sec. 11 of the Behistun inscription, Darius refers to a rebellion raised against Cambyses by a Magian called Gaumata, who claimed that he was in fact Cambyses' brother Smerdis. If so, he was the legitimate successor to the throne - which in any case he now seized after Cambyses' death. But his occupancy of the throne was short-lived. Darius eventually overthrew him and became king in his place (secs. 11-13 of the Behistun inscription). Scholars still admit the possibility that Gaumata was in fact what he claimed to be - Smerdis, brother of Cambyses. For obvious reasons Darius dismissed Gaumata's claim as a lie.

o{ti to; tovxon....!Icquofavgoi: Literally: because he (Smerdis) alone of the Persians drew the bow which the Fish-Eaters brought from the Ethiopian as much as (the breadth of) two fingers.

h[neikan is the 3rd plur. (Ionic) aor. indic. act. of fevrw (= Attic 1st aor. h[negkan).

oi|o" te ejgevneto: was able (to draw the bow). On this phrase, see the notes on 23.3 and 28.2.

30.2 tou' Smevrdio"....toihvnde: Herodotus records another Persian dream, which has some points in common with this one, in 1.107.

o[yi" = "vision".

e[doxev oiJ: Literally: it seemed to him (in his sleep) (with ejn tw'/ u{pnw/ implied from the previous sentence). This is a common expression for "he dreamt". It is followed by an indirect statement expressed as an accus. and infin., a[ggelon...ajggevllein, which is in turn followed by another indirect statement introduced by wJ": he dreamt that a messenger....reported that Smerdis sitting on the royal throne touched heaven with his head.

yauvseie is the 3rd sing. aor. opt. of yauvw, "touch", followed by the gen. (as is regular with verbs of touching, taking hold of, etc.; the gen. is partitive).

30.3 w\n = Attic ou\n.

o}" h|n...pistovtato": who was the Persian he trusted most

ajpoktenevonta is the (uncontracted) fut. partic. (= Attic ajpoktenou'nta) of ajpokteivnw, "kill", used here to indicate purpose.

Susa had apparently already become the chief royal city of Persia by Cambyses' reign. See also Chapters 65 and 70 below.

oi} me;n levgousi...oi} de;...katapontw'sai: Literally: some say (that) (Prexaspes killed him) having led (him) out on a hunt, others (that) (he) drowned (katapontw'sai - aor. infin. of katapontovw) (Prexaspes) having brought (him) to the Red Sea.

The "Red Sea" is here the Persian Gulf.

31.1 prw'ton....tou'to: Literally: They say that this first began the evil (deeds) (a[rxai + gen.) for Cambyses.

More freely: They say that this marked the beginning of Cambyses' evil deeds.

deuvtera....ajdelfehv: Literally: Secondly he made away with his sister having followed him (i.e. having accompanied him; eJspomevnhn is the aor. partic. of e{pomai, "follow", used with dat. oiJ) to Egypt, with whom he both lived (as husband) and to him she was sister from both sides (i.e. they were full brother and sister).

Cambyses had three sisters. The name of the sister referred to here is unknown. The other two were Atossa (whom Cambyses also married, as mentioned but not specifically named in sec. 6 below) and Artystone (who became the favourite wife of Darius).

31.2 hjravsqh is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. pass. of e[ramai, "become enamoured of, fall in love with" (+ gen.).

o{ti....poihvsein: Literally: because he was planning to do not-customary things,...

The use of the fut. infin poihvsein indicates purpose.

How & Wells note that incestuous marriages were in fact praised in the Avesta (the book of Zoroastrian doctrine).

tou;" basilhivou" dikastav": These are the judges referred to in 3.14. The Cambridge Ancient History vol. iv (1998) contains some discussion about these judges (pp. 82-83).

keleuvwn: The verb keleuvw in this context, here and in sec. 4 below, is best translated "allow".

31.3 kekrimevnoi is the perf. partic. of krivnw, which here means "select".

ej" ou| = "until".

h{ sfi...a[dikon: or (until) something unjust is detected against them

pareureqh'/ is the 3rd sing. aor. subjunct. pass. of pareurivskw, "discover besides".

mevcri touvtou, up to this point, simply recapitulates ej" ou|.

ejxhghtaiv here = "interpreters".

kai; pavnta...ajnakevetai: and all matters (i.e. legal disputes, or anything else requiring resolution in law) are referred to them.

31.4 a[llon mevntoi....boulhvtai: Literally: but (they said) that they had found another law (stating) (it) to be permitted (ejxei'nai) to the (man) ruling over the Persians to do whatever he wished.

31.5 The partic. deivsante" is causal in force: through fear of Cambyses.

i{na te...ajdelfeav": As the te indicates, the purpose clause introduced by i{na belongs with the following main clause (parexeu'ron....). The purpose clause also contains a causal participle, peristevllonte". Literally: and, in order that they might not destroy themselves because-of-maintaining the law, they found another law supportive-of (suvmmacon + dat.) the one wishing to marry his sisters.

31.6 a[llhn ajdelfevhn: As noted above, this was Atossa. As noted above, she also became the wife of Cambyses' successor Darius, in fact his most important wife (as recorded by Herodotus, 3.133, 7.3), and became by Darius the mother of Xerxes I.

32.1 ajmfi;....lovgo": There are two versions of her death, just as there are of Smerdis'.

$Ellhne"....kunov": The Greeks say that Cambyses pitted a lion cub against a puppy

paragenevsqai oiJ: came to his assistance,...

32.2 th;n de; parhmevnhn dakruvein: but the woman who was sitting beside (him) (i.e. his sister) wept. parhmevnhn is the partic. of pavrhmai (which is basically the perf. pass. of parivzw), "be seated/be sitting alongside".

mnhsqei'sa....timwrhvswn: Literally: having recalled Smerdis and having realised that there was not (anyone) to come to that man's assistance (ejkeivnw/ timwrhvswn).

mnhsqei'sa is the aor. partic. pass. of mimnhvskw, "remind (others) " and in the passive "remember, be reminded of" (+ gen.).

There is some difference of opinion as to whom ejkeivnw/ refers - Smerdis or Cambyses? Logic would suggest the latter, since Smerdis' death left Cambyses with no brother to come to his assistance if, like the first puppy, he were involved in conflict with a third party. The very mention of Smerdis, whom Cambyses had allegedly murdered, must have been seen by Cambyses as an indirect reference to his crime, and was thus sufficient to provoke his wrath. Apart from this, the pronoun ejkei'no" is more likely to refer to the more remote of two persons referred to, in terms of proximity to it in the sentence - thus in this case Cambyses rather than the just-mentioned Smerdis.

32.3 parakathmevnwn = Attic parakaqhmevnwn, "sitting beside" (+ dat.).

qrivdaka is the accus. sing. of qrivdax, "head of lettuce".

periti'lai is the aor. infin. of peritivllw, "peel'.

daseva is the accus. sing. masc. of the adj. dasuv", "hairy, bushy" or as applied to a lettuce "with the leaves on".

32.4 ejmimhvsao (= Attic ejmimhvsw) is the 2nd sing. aor. indic. of the deponent verb mimevomai, "imitate, mimic".

ejcouvsh/ ejn gastriv: Understand "unborn child" as the object of ejcouvsh/.

to;n de; qumwqevnta....ajpoqanei'n: In his anger (so the story goes) he leapt upon her. She was pregnant at the time, and this action caused her miscarriage and death (literally: and she having miscarried, died).

ejktrwvsasan is the accus. sing. fem. of the aor. partic. pass. of ejtitrwvskw, "cause to miscarry", but here used with the intransitive meaning "miscarry".

ejxemavnh is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. pass. of ejkmaivnw, "drive mad", in passive "go mad". tau'ta is used with the verb as an internal accus. We might translate: (Cambyses) committed these acts of madness (against....).

oi|a....katalambavnein: in the way that many misfortunes (literally: of what kind many misfortunes) are accustomed to seize upon humankind.

th;n iJrh;n ojnomavzousi tinev": (the disease) which (thvn is here the rel. pronoun = Attic h{n) some call sacred. That is, epilepsy. It was known as the "sacred disease" because those afflicted by its seizures were regarded as behaving like persons under a divine trance. We know from Hippocrates (On the Sacred Disease 1) that the disease was called by this name, though Hippocrates attributed it to physical rather than religious origins.

ajeike;" oujde;n h\n....uJgiaivnein: Literally: it is in no way improbable that his body suffering a great illness, his mind was also unsound.

nou'son is a cog. accus. after nosevonto".

34.1 levgetai....levgetai tavde: Literally: It is said that he said to Prexaspes whom he both especially honoured, and this man used to bring messages to him (oiJ) and his son was cup-bearer to Cambyses and this was no small honour - he (Cambyses) is said to have spoken thus:

This is "another characteristic Herodotean anacoluthon, in which he appends parenthetical independent clauses to an initial relative clause, and then, realizing that the syntactical thread has been broken, repeats the construction with which he began." (Newmyer)

We might translate more freely: He is reported to have said to Prexaspes, whom he held in the highest esteem (Prexaspes used to bring him messages, and his son enjoyed the considerable honour of being Cambyses' cup-bearer) - this man he is reported to have addressed as follows:

34.2 koi'on (= Attic poi'on) tina; a[ndra: what sort of man...?

ejmevo = Attic ejmou'.

ta; a[lla pavnta megavlw" ejpainevai: you are praised greatly in all other things

ejpainevai (= Attic ejpaivnei) is the 2nd sing. pres. indic. pass. of ejpainevw, "praise".

pleovnw" proskevesqai: to be excessively devoted to

34.3 to;n mevn refers to Prexaspes, to;n dev to Cambyses.

peri; Persevwn: about (the views) of the Persians.

nu'n a[ra: So now.... This is balanced by a[ra oiJ provteroi lovgoi below: so their previous words... (Note this use of a[ra = ou\n.)

34.4 provteron ga;r dh; a[ra introduces a parenthesis which explains Cambyses' statement. The parenthesis continues to the end of the chapter.

Persevwn...Kroivsou: Literally: (some) Persians and Croesus sitting with him (oiJ, i.e. with Cambyses)... We have referred to Croesus in 14.11 above.

pro;" to;n patevra: compared with his father

prosekth'sqai (= proskekth'sqai) is the perf. infin. of prosktavomai, "acquire in addition".

34.5 ouj ga;r kw....katelivpeto: Literally: for there is not-yet (ouj kwv = ou[pw) to you (toi = soi, possessive dat.) a son of-what-kind that man left behind in you.

h{sqh is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. of h{domai, "rejoice, de delighted".

35.1 touvtwn w\n ejpimnhsqevnta: Remembering this therefore,...

touvtwn is gen. after ejpimnhsqevnta (aor. partic. pass. of ejpimimnhvskw) which is accus. in an accus. and infin. construction, indicating that the reported speech continues.

35.2 eij me;n ga;r...kardivh": Literally: For if shooting I were to strike (tuvcoimi, aor. opt. of tugcavnw, + gen.) the middle of the heart of your son standing in the porch, ...

Pevrsai...oujdevn: The Persians will be shown to be talking nonsense.

fanevontai (= Attic fanou'ntai) is the 3rd plur. fur. indic. pass. of faivnw, "show".

ajmavrtw is the 1st sing. aor. subjunct of ajmartavnw, "miss, make a mistake". For the mixture of moods (indic., opt., sunjunct.) in these conditional statements, see the summary of conditional constructions in JACT pp. 305-06.

favnai...ajlhqeva: say that the Persians are speaking the truth.

The infin. favnai is here used to express a command in the 2nd person.

35.3 tau'ta de; (aujto;n) eijpovnta...balei'n...keleuvein...to; blhvma: The infins. balei'n and keleuvein belong to accus. and infin. constructions in reported speech. keleuvein is itself followed by two infins. ajnascivzein and skevyasqai: (the story continues that) having said this and having drawn the bow, he struck the boy, and the boy having fallen, he ordered (his attendants) to slit him open and examine the wound.

wJ" de;....oji>stovn: when the arrow was discovered being lodged in his heart,

Again we have an example of the Herodotean practice of using an accus. and infin. (here euJreqh'nai to;n oji>stovn) in a subord. clause in indirect speech. The partic. ejneovnta is used after a verb of perceiving (eujreqh'nai).

35.4 ou{tw ejpivskopa toxeuvonta; shooting so accurately. ejpivskopa is basically a neut. plur. adj. ("hitting the mark), which is commonly used adverbially.

peri; eJwutw/ deimaivnonta: fearing for his own life. periv + dat. can be used to indicate care or concern for something or someone.

oujd! a]n....balei'n: I do not think even the god could have shot so well.

The a[n indicates the potential force of the sentence, with an "if clause" (protasis) implied (something like: if the god himself had carried out this demonstration). Note that a[n actually appears twice, as is common with the infin. in potential constructions.

The god in question is probably Mithras. Worship of the sun was an important part of Mithras' cult, and How & Wells note that "the arrows of the sun" is a familiar figure.

35.5 ejp! oujdemih'/ aijtivh/ ajxiocrevw/: for no adequate cause

ejlwvn is the 2nd aor. partic. act. of aijrevw, "take, capture".

ejpi; kefalhvn could mean either "up to the neck" or "head-first". Although, as How & Wells note, burial up to the neck would be the more usual form of punishment, Herodotus later refers to the Persian custom of burying victims alive (7.114).

katwvruxe is the 3rd sing. aor. indic. act. of katoruvssw, "bury".

36.1 mh; pavnta....ejpivtrepe: do not commit everything to youth and passion

ajgaqovn...promhqivh: It is good to exercise forethought, and intelligent to look ahead. (Waterfield)

36.2 o{ra....Pevrsai: be careful that the Persians do not revolt against you.

o{kw" = Attic o{pw". o{ra is here equivalent to a verb of precaution, which is regularly followed by o{pw" mhv + fut. indic.

ejmoi;....ajgaqovn: Literally: As for me, your father Cyrus often instructed (me), telling me to admonish you and to suggest whatever good (course of action) I might find.

36.3 o}" crhstw'"...ejpetrovpeusa": (you) who ruled your own country so well. These words are obviously sarcastic, since Croesus was in effect responsible for the destruction of his empire at the hands of Cyrus in 546 (as narrated by Herodotus in Book 1).

eu\ de; tw'/ patri;...hJmetevrhn: Further sarcasm. The reference here is to Cyrus' last campaign, in 530 B.C. In Herodotus' version Croesus had urged Cyrus, contrary to the advice given to Cyrus by his Persian advisers, to cross the Araxes river in order to fight the Massagetae (a Scythian(?) tribe who lived on the east coast of the Caspian Sea) under their queen Tomyris in their own territory rather than in territory subject to Persia. Herodotus gives an account of the campaign in the final chapters of Book 1 (201-16). It proved disastrous for Cyrus. He himself together with the majority of his forces perished in the conflict (1.214).

The Araxes was "a broad river which contained many islands" - perhaps, as suggested by Cook, the Jaxartes (modern Syr Darya)

Understand gh'n with ej" th;n hJmetevrhn.

ajpo; me;n sewuto;n w[lesa": you destroyed yourself. We have here an example of tmesis, which occurs when two parts of a word are split by one or more other words inserted between the parts. tmesis generally results from the separation of a verb from its prefix (and more often in poetry than in prose) - here, ajpo separated from w[lesa".

th'" sewutou'...prostav": having badly led your own country

prostav" is the 2nd aor. partic. of proi?sthmi. The 2nd aor. is used here with the gen. to mean "be the head of, lead". The gen. is regularly used after a verb of ruling (or similar).

peiqovmenon soi: Literally: (Cyrus) being persuaded by you

ajll! ou[ti caivrwn: But you will regret (ou[ti caivrwn) (daring to give me this advice)

ou[ti caivrwn is a similar expression to ouj cairovnte" in 29.2 above (see the note there under uJmei'"...qhvsesqe).

ejpeiv....ejpilabevsqai: Literally: since assuredly for a long time I wanted to seize upon (ejpilabevsqai + gen.) some excuse (to take action) against you.

teu = Attic tino".

36.4 ta; tovxa in the plur. = "bows and arrows". 

wJ" + the fut. infin katatoxeuvswn is used to indicate purpose: in order to kill him with arrows.

ajnadramwvn is the aor. partic. of ajnatrevcw, "run back, start up".

ei\ce here = he was able (+ infin.).

36.5 ejpi; tw'/de lovgw/: with this intention

eij metamelhvsh tw'// Kambuvsh: if Cambyses should repent

metamelhvsh/ is the 3rd sing. aor. subjunct. of the impersonal verb metamevlei, "it repents", used with the dat. of the person.

lavmyontai = Attic lhvyontai, which is the 3rd plur. fut. indic. of lambavnw, here "receive".

The fut. tense is used in a result clause introduced by w{ste, with dependent conditional clauses. Literally: so that if Cambyses should repent and yearn for Croesus, they producing him would receive a reward for keeping him alive.

katacra'sqai: (so as ) to do away with (him). w{ste is to be understood here to introduce a second result clause (also with dependent conditional statement - h[n = ejavn de;...), this time with an infin. in place of the fut. indic.

36.6 perieivh is the pres. opt of periveimi, here "be alive, survive", used in an indirect statement introduced by wJ".

ejkeivnou"....ajpoktenevein: but (he said that) those having kept him alive would not go unpunished (kataproi?xesqai, the fut. infin. of kataproi?ssomai, "do with impunity"), but (that he) would kill (them).

ajpoktenevein = Attic ajpoktenei'n, the fut. infin. act. of ajpokteivnw.

37.2 kai; polla; tw'/ ajgavlmati kategevlase: and made great fun of the (cult) statue. pollav is an internal accus. with kategevlase.

e[sti ga;r tou' @Hfaivstou....ejmferevstaton: For the statue of Hephaestus is very like the Pataeci of the Phoenicians

tw[galma = to; a[galma. This type of conflation is known as crasis.

The temple of Hephaestus (Egyptian Ptah) at Memphis is also referred to by Herodotus in 2.99 and 101. The origin and meaning of the name Pataeci (whose idols depicted the beings so named as "fat dwarfs with gorgon-like features" - How & Wells) are quite uncertain, though it has been suggested that the name might be connected with that of Ptah, who was particularly revered at Memphis.

touv" is here a rel. pronoun.

ejn th'/si prwvrh/si: on the prows (of their triremes). The figures were probably put there to keep the ship safe from harm. According to other ancient writers, the figures were placed at the poop.

o[pwpe is the 3rd sing. (Ionic) perf. indic. of oJravw.

shmanevw is the uncontracted 1st sing. fut. indic. (= Attic shmanw') of shmaivnw, "show, point out".

37.3 ejsh'lqe: The subject is Cambyses.

Kabeivrwn: "The name is probably connected with kaivw = `the burners'...... Others connect the name with a Semitic root = `mighty', and derive the Greek Cabiri from those of Phoenicia, which became familiar to Greeks as the figureheads of galleys. But the Phoenician Cabiri were eight in number, those of Greece vary from two to four. Probably then the Cabiri belong to the early stages of Greek religion... They were worshipped in many places, e.g. Lemnos, Thebes, as local genii, subordinate to the Olympian gods.... But in Samothrace they had remained `cosmic deities of the first rank', and were identified with Hermes and Hephaestus... Herodotus expressly distinguishes them (from the Phoenician Patavi>koi), in spite of their likeness." (How & Wells)

ej" to;....iJreva: into which it is not lawful for (any person) to enter, at least other than the priest.

ejnevprhse is the 3rd sing. aor.indic. act. of ejmpivmprhmi, "set on fire".

e[sti de; kai;...levgousi ei\nai: These (images of the Cabiri) also resemble the (images) of Hephaestus; (people) say that they are his sons.

Dewald refers to this chapter as "an important and rare passage of Herodotus' own judgment on religion and custom."

38.1 ouj ga;r a[n...katagela'n: for he would not (otherwise) have set out to mock religion and tradition. In fact, as Cook points out, Cambyses appears to have done his utmost to conform to Egyptian traditions, and from the point of view of religious observances seems to have behaved with propriety, more so in fact than Darius was to do.

proqeivh is the 3rd sing. aor. opt. of protivqhmi, "place before", here "propose".

diaskeyavmenoi...eJwutw'n: each having made examination would choose their own.

eJloivato = Attic e{lointo, the 3rd plur. aor. opt. midd. of aijrevw, which in the midd. means "choose".

38.2 >oijkov" (= Attic eijkov", "reasonable, probable") is basically the neut. partic. of the perf. form e[oika, "be like". Distinguish from oi\ko", "house".

ou[koun = not therefore (as in 16.4 above).

gevlwta ta; toiau'ta tivqesqai: Literally: to make such things subject-for-laughter

wJ" de; ou{tw.....tw'/de: Literally: That all men have-come-to-consider (be sure to bring out the force of the perf. tense nenomivkasi) thus matters about their own customs is possible (pavresti) to be inferred both from many other pieces-of-evidence, and among (these) (ejn dev) particularly from this (piece of evidence):

A little more freely: There are many instances to demonstrate that all men have come to this view about matters concerning their own customs - among these the following in particular:

38.3 Darei'o" ejpi; th'" eJwutou' ajrch'": When Darius was king,

ejpi; kovsw/ (= Attic povsw/) crhvmati: at what price

bouloivato = Attic bouloivnto.

Kallativa" are perhaps the same as the Callantians, whom we shall meet in Chapter 97. They are otherwise unknown, except for a vague reference in Hecataeus.

38.4 di! eJrmhnevo": through an interpreter

ejpi; tivni crhvmati....puriv: at what price they would permit the cremation of their fathers at death.

ajmbwvsante" is the aor. partic. of ajnaboavw, "shout/cry aloud".

eujfhmevein: to refrain from words-of-ill-omen/blasphemy

ou{tw...nenovmistai: So these practices have become enshrined as customs (Waterfield)

kai; ojrqw'"....fhvsa" ei\nai: and Pindar seems to me to have composed (thus poih'sai in this context) rightly, having said that custom is the king of all.

The reference is to the 6th century B.C. poet Pindar. Though the poem referred to here is otherwise unknown, the relevant words have been preserved by Plato in his dialogue Gorgias (484 B): novmo" oJ pavntwn basileu;" qnatw'n te kai; ajqanavtwn - ou|to" de; dhv, fhsivn - a[gei to; biaiovtaton uJpertavta/ ceiriv. How & Wells note that this passage refers to a `natural law' that `the stronger should rule the weaker', and that Herodotus, quoting from memory, gives the passage a more general sense.