Herodotus, Book 7

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George Bell & Sons, 1901 - 613 pages

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Page 483 - When, however, he found on the fifth that they were not gone, thinking that their firm stand was mere impudence and recklessness, he grew wroth and sent against them the Medes and Cissians, with orders to take them alive and bring them into his presence. Then the Medes rushed forward and charged the Greeks, but fell in vast numbers; others, however, took the places of the slain and would not be beaten off, though they suffered terrible losses. In this way it became clear to all, and especially to...
Page 101 - ... Respecting the nature of this river, I was unable to gain any information, either from the priests or any one else. I was very desirous, however, of learning from them why the Nile, beginning at the summer solstice, fills and overflows for a hundred days ; and when it has nearly completed this number of days, falls short in its stream, and retires ; so that it continues low all the winter, until the return of the summer solstice.
Page 489 - Stranger, go tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their commands." This was for the Lacedaemonians ; and for the prophet, the following : " This is the monument of the illustrious Megistias, whom once the Medes, having passed the river Sperchius, slew ; a prophet who, at the time well knowing the impending fate, would not abandon the Jeaders of Sparta.
Page 176 - Son of Cyrus, the calamities of my family are too great to leave me the power of weeping : but the misfortunes of a companion, reduced in his old age to want of bread, is a fit subject for lamentation.
Page 148 - ... up of Ethiopian stone. Some of the Grecians erroneously say that this pyramid is the work of the courtesan Rhodopis ; but they evidently appear to me ignorant who Rhodopis was, for they would not else have attributed to her the building such a pyramid, on which, so to speak, numberless thousands of talents were expended ; besides, Rhodopis flourished in the reign of Amasis, and not at this time ; for she was very many years later than those kings who left these pyramids.
Page 124 - At their convivial banquets, among the wealthy classes, when they have finished supper, a man carries round in a coffin the image of a dead body carved in wood, made as like as possible in color and workmanship, and in size generally about one or two cubits in length ; and showing this to each of the company, he says, " Look upon this, then drink and enjoy yourself; for when dead you will be like this.
Page 86 - The most disgraceful of the Babylonian customs is the following : every native woman is obliged, once in her life, to sit in the temple of Venus, and have intercourse with some stranger. And many disdaining to mix with the rest, being proud on account of their wealth, come in covered carriages, and take up their station at the temple with a numerous train of servants attending them. But the far greater part do thus : many sit down in the temple of Venus, wearing a crown of cord round their heads...
Page 428 - When he was seated there, looking down towards the shore, he beheld both the land army and the fleet ; and when he beheld them, he desired to see a contest take place between the ships ; and when it had taken place, and the Sidonian Phoenicians were victorious, he showed himself exceedingly gratified both with the contest and the army.
Page 250 - Neco, King of Egypt, was the first whom we know of that proved this; he, when he had ceased digging the canal leading from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, sent certain Phoenicians in ships, with orders to sail back through the Pillars of Hercules into the northern sea, and so to return to Egypt.
Page 250 - Hercules into the northern sea,7 and so to return to Egypt. The Phoenicians accordingly, setting out from the Red Sea, navigated the southern sea ; when autumn came, they went ashore, and sowed the land, by whatever part of Libya they happened to be sailing, and waited for harvest ; then having reaped the corn, they put to sea again. When two years had thus passEd, in the third, having doubled the pillars of Hercules, they arrived in Egypt, and related what to me does not seem credible, but may to...

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