I.e. for their customary gift or tribute to him as king. ↩
The chronology is inconsistent, and some propose, without authority, to read “three hundred years.” ↩
τὰς ἀρούρας, cp. ch. 168, where the ἄρουρα is defined as a hundred Egyptian units square, about three-quarters of an acre. ↩
ἐς τὸ μέγαρον. ↩
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. ↩
οὐκ ἐὸντας: 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 οἰκέοντας on the authority of a few MSS., “dwelling with men.” (The reading of the Medicean MS. is οὐκ ἐόντας, not οὐκεοντας as stated by Stein.) ↩
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 Dionysus only. ↩
καὶ τούτος ἄλλους, i.e. as well as Heracles; but it may mean “that these also, distinct from the gods, had been born,” etc. The connection 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.” ↩
στάδιοι. ↩
μνέας, of which 60 go to the talent. ↩
νηός. ↩
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 παρωροφίς 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). ↩
ἥρπασε, “took as plunder.” ↩
ἀπαρτί: this word is not found in any MS. but was read here by the Greek grammarians. ↩
I.e. 120,000. ↩
ἀπεματαίσε, euphemism for breaking wind. ↩
οὐδένα λόγον αὐτῷ δόντα: many Editors change αὐτῷ to ἑωυτῷ, in which case it means “taking no time to consider the matter,” as elsewhere in Herodotus; but cp. III. 50 ἱστορέοντι λὸγον οὐδένα ἐδίδου. ↩
νομῶν, and so throughout the passage. ↩
I.e. 160,000. ↩
I.e. 250,000. ↩
ἔκαστον: if ἕκαστοι 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. ↩
πέντε μνέαι. ↩
ἀρυστῆρες,=κοτύλαι. ↩
τοῦ νηοῦ. ↩
ἡ τροχοςιδὴς καλεομένη, “the Wheel.” ↩
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. ↩
πυγόνος. ↩
τοῦ αὐτοῦ: some MSS. and many Editors have Αἰθιοπικοῦ for τοῦ αὐτοῦ, “of Ethiopian stone.” For ἐόντες the MSS. have ἐόντος, which may be right, referring to τοῦ βάθρον understood, “the base being made of,” etc. ↩
τοῦ μεγάλου, a conjecture founded upon Valla’s version, which has been confirmed by a MS. The other MSS. have τοῦ μεγάρον, which is retained by some Editors, “on each side of the sanctuary.” ↩
“Are claiming a share when no part in it belongs to them.” ↩
Or possibly of alum: but the gift seems a very small one in any case. Some propose to read εἴκοσι μνέας χρυσοῦ. ↩
