Histories

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διακαίων τὴν διέξοδον αὐτῷ, i.e. τῷ ἠέρι. Some Editors read αὐτοῦ (with inferior MSS.) or alter the word to ἑωυτοῦ. ↩

“Set forth, so far as I understood.” ↩

ἐπὶ μακρότατον, “carrying the inquiry as far as possible,” cp. ch. 34. ↩

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. ↩

Cp. I. 72, note 86. ↩

ὀλυρέων. ↩

ζειάς. ↩

I.e. the hieratic and the demotic characters. ↩

μυρίας, ῶς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ. ↩

Referring apparently to III. 28, where the marks of Apis are given. Perhaps no animal could be sacrificed which had any of these marks. ↩

κεφαλῇ κείνῃ, “that head,” cp. κοιλίην κείνην in the next chapter. ↩

καθαρῶν. ↩

βᾶρις, cp. ch. 96. ↩

Or, “descended from Aigyptos.” ↩

Or, “assuming that in those days as now, they were wont to make voyages, and that some of the Hellenes were seafaring folk.” ↩

στῆλαι, “upright blocks.” ↩

λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος: some Editors alter μέγαθος to μεγάλως or μέγα φῶς. ↩

ἐναγίζουσι. ↩

ὑῶν: some Editors read ὀίων “sheep,” on the authority of one MS. ↩

τὰ οὐνόματα, which means here rather the forms of personification than the actual names. ↩

αἱ προμάντεις. ↩

φηγόν. ↩

ὑπὸ φηγῷ πεφυκυίῃ, i.e. the oak-tree of the legend was a real growing tree, though the dove was symbolical. ↩

πανηγύριας. ↩

προσαγωγάς, with the idea of bringing offerings or introducing persons. ↩

ἐποιήθησαν, “were first celebrated.” ↩

So B.R. ↩

συμφοιτέουσι. ↩

I.e. 700,000. ↩

See ch. 40. ↩

τῇσι θυσίῃσι, ἔν τινι νυκτί: some MSS. give ἐν τῃ νυκτί: hence several Editors read τῆς θυσίης ἐν τῇ νυκτί, “on the night of the sacrifice.” ↩

Or, “for what end this night is held solemn by lighting of lamps” (B.R.), making φῶς καὶ τιμήν one idea. ↩

φῶς καὶ τιμήν: this, which is adopted by most Editors, is the reading of some less good MSS.; the rest have ἀλεξόμενοι, “strike them and defend themselves.” ↩

ἐοῦσα ἡ Αἴγυπτος κ.τ.λ.: the MSS. have ἐοῦσα δὲ Αἴγυπτος: Stein reads ἐοῦσα γὰρ Αἴγυπτος. ↩

θεῖα πρήγματα καταλαμβάνει τοὺς αἰελούρους, which may mean only, “a marvellous thing happens to the cats.” ↩

ἐς Ἑρμέω πόλιν. ↩

δίχηλον, ὁπλαὶ βοός, “he is cloven-footed, and his foot is that of an ox.” The words ὁπλαὶ βοός are marked as spurious by Stein. ↩

I.e. above the marshes, cp. ch. 92. ↩

πάντῃ, 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. ↩

The reading of the Medicean MS. is ἑν ἐστι, not ἔνεστι as hitherto reported. ↩

Or, “calling the song Linos.” ↩

τὸν Λίνον ὁκόθεν ἔλαβον: the MSS. have τὸ οὔνομα after ἔλαβον, 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 τπῦ Λίνου, as indeed Stein partly admits by suggesting the alteration. ↩

The words “and Bacchic (which are really Egyptian),” are omitted by several of the best MSS. ↩

ἐπεζωσμέναι. ↩

In connection with death apparently, cp. ch. 132, 170. Osiris is meant. ↩

σινδόνος βυσσίνης. ↩

τῷ κόμμι. ↩

νηός. ↩

Or, “a pleasant sweet taste.” ↩

ἁπαλά, “soft.” ↩

κατ’ ὀλίγους τῶν κέγχρων. ↩

ἀπὸ τῶν σιλλικυπρίων τοῶ καρποῶ. ↩

ζυγά, to tie the sides and serve as a partial deck. ↩

ἔστι δὲ οὐδ’ οὕτος: a few MSS. have οὐκ instead of οὐδ’, 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. ↩

ὡς ἀπεργμένοσ ῥέῃ: the MSS. mostly have