δύο σταδίων πάντη, i.e. 404 yards square. ↩
τοῦ ἱροῦ, i.e. the sacred precincts; cp. ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ τούτῳ. ↩
νηός, the inner house of the temple. ↩
πρόμαντις. ↩
τὰ τέλεα τῶν προβάτων. ↩
“At that time.” ↩
καταπλέοντες τὸν Εὐφρήτην: the MSS. have καταπλέοντες ές τὸν Ε. (It is not true, as stated by Abicht, that the Medicean MS. omits ἐς.) ↩
ὀλίγον τι παρατείμπισα ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ. ↩
ἐσκευασμένος, a conjectural emendation of ἐσκευασμένοισι, “with provisions well prepared.” ↩
κατέτεινε σχοινοτενέας ὑποδέχας διώρυχας. Stein understands κατέτεινε τὴν στρατιήν (resumed afterwards by διατάξας), “he extended his army, having first marked out channels straight by lines.” ↩
προεσάξαντο, from προεσάγω: it may be however from προσάττω, “they had heaped together provisions for themselves beforehand.” ↩
τὴν στρατιὴν ἅπασαν. Stein thinks that some correction is needed. ↩
οἳ δ’ ἂν περιιδόντες κ.τ.λ.: the MSS. have οὐδ’ ἂν περιιδόντες, “they would not even have allowed them to enter the city (from the river),” but the negative is awkward referring to the participle alone, and the admission of the enemy to the riverbed within the city would have been an essential part of the scheme, not to be omitted in the description. ↩
The Attic medimnos (= 48 choinikes) was rather less than 12 gallons. ↩
τòν τῆς Δήμητρος καρπόν. ↩
Stein supposes that words have fallen out before τὰ γὰρ δὴ ἄλλα δένδρεα, chiefly because some mention of the palm-trees might have been expected here. ↩
φοινικηίους: some Editors (following Valla) have altered this to φοινικηίου (“casks of palm-wine”), but it is not likely that palm-wine would have been thus imported, see ch. 193. ↩
καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔσω ἔσω ἑλκει τὸ πλῆκτροβ ὁ δὲ ἔξω ὠθέει. I take it to mean that there is one steering-oar on each side, and the “inside” is the side nearer to the bank of the river. The current would naturally run faster on the “outside” and consequently would tend to turn the boat round, and therefore the inside oarsman pulls his oar constantly towards himself and the outside man pushes his oar from himself (i.e. backs water), to keep the boat straight. Various explanations are given. Stein takes ἔσω, ἔξω with the verbs, “one draws the boat towards himself, the other pushes it from himself.” Mr. Woods understands that only one oar is used at a time and by two men looking different ways, of whom ὁ μὲν ἐσω is he who stands nearest to the side of the boat. ↩
If the talents meant are Euboic, this would be about 170 tons. ↩
ὡς ἂν αἱ παρθένοι γινοίατο, equivalent to ὅσαι ἀεὶ παρθένοι γινοίατο, which Stein suggests as a correction. ↩
This sentence, “in order that—city,” is thought by Stein to be either interpolated or misplaced. ↩
κατεστήκεε: some Editors adopt the correction κατέστηκε, “is established.” ↩
ἱρόν, afterwards called τέμενος. ↩
πάντα τρόπον ὁδῶν: some MSS. have ὁδὸν for ὁδῶν, and ὁδὸν ἔχουσι might perhaps mean “afford a passage.” (The reading of the Medicean MS. is ὁδῶν.) ↩
“I call upon Mylitta against thee”; or perhaps, “I call upon Mylitta to be favourable to thee.” ↩
ἀποσιωσαμένη τῇ θεῷ. ↩
εἴδεός τε ἐπαμμέναι εἰσὶ καὶ μεἅθεος. ↩
πατριαί. ↩
ἀντίον. ↩
That is perhaps, “if one rows as well as sails,” using oars when the wind is not favourable, cp. II. 11. ↩
γενομένη, or γινομένη, “which he met with.” ↩
ἐόντα ἀχάριτα: most of the MSS. have τὰ ἐόντα ἀχάριτα, with which reading the sentence would be, “the sufferings which I have, have proved bitter lessons of wisdom to me.” ↩
μὴ εἴη. ↩
τοῦ καθαροῦ στρατοῦ, perhaps “the effective part,” without the encumbrances, cp. IV. 135. ↩
ἀλεξομένους. ↩
μασχαλιστῆρας. ↩
θύουσι. ↩
νόμος: the conjecture νόος, “meaning,” which is adopted by many Editors, may be right; but νόμος seems to mean the “customary rule” which determines this form of sacrifice, the rule namely of “swift to the swift.” ↩
Some write “Psammitichos” with less authority. ↩
τοῦ ἐν Μέμφι: many Editors read ἐν Μενφι, “I heard at Memphis from the priests of Hephaestus,” but with less authority. ↩
Ἡλέου πόλιν or
