Greek passages split into sentences with English translation
| Passage | Sentence | Greek | English | Era | Skepticism |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.14.1 | 1 | ὁ δὲ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ βωμὸς παρέχεται καὶ ἄλλο τοιόνδε ἐς θαῦμα· | The altar in Olympia offers another marvel of the following kind. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.1 | 2 | οἱ γὰρ ἰκτῖνες πεφυκότες ἁρπάζειν μάλιστα ὀρνίθων ἀδικοῦσιν οὐδὲν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τοὺς θύοντας· | Kites, which by nature especially snatch meat from birds, commit no harm against those sacrificing at Olympia. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.1 | 3 | ἢν δὲ ἁρπάσῃ ποτὲ ἰκτῖνος ἤτοι σπλάγχνα ἢ τῶν κρεῶν, νενόμισται τῷ θύοντι οὐκ αἴσιον εἶναι τὸ σημεῖον. | But if ever a kite does seize either entrails or pieces of the flesh, it is thought by the sacrificer to be an unfavorable omen. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.1 | 4 | φασὶ δὲ Ἡρακλεῖ τῷ Ἀλκμήνης θύοντι ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ διʼ ὄχλου μάλιστα γενέσθαι τὰς μυίας· | They say that when Heracles, the son of Alcmene, was sacrificing at Olympia, flies became especially troublesome due to their multitude. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.1 | 5 | ἐξευρόντα οὖν αὐτὸν ἢ καὶ ὑπʼ ἄλλου διδαχθέντα Ἀπομυίῳ θῦσαι Διί, καὶ οὕτως ἀποτραπῆναι τὰς μυίας πέραν τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ. | Therefore, having himself either discovered the solution or been taught it by someone else, he sacrificed to Zeus Apomyios ("Fly-driver"), and thus the flies departed, being driven beyond the Alpheius. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.1 | 6 | λέγονται δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ Ἠλεῖοι θύειν τῷ Ἀπομυίῳ Διί, ἐξελαύνοντες τῆς Ἠλείας Ὀλυμπίας τὰς μυίας. | For this very reason, it is said, the Eleans themselves perform sacrifices to Zeus Apomyios, driving the flies away from Olympia in Elis. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 1 | ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ Γαίῳ καλουμένῳ, βωμός ἐστιν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ Γῆς, τέφρας καὶ οὗτος· | Upon the place called Gaius there stands an altar to Earth, also made of ashes. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 2 | τὰ δὲ ἔτι ἀρχαιότερα καὶ μαντεῖον τῆς Γῆς αὐτόθι εἶναι λέγουσιν. | Older traditions say that there was once an oracle of Earth there. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 3 | ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ὀνομαζομένου Στομίου Θέμιδι ὁ βωμὸς πεποίηται. | On the summit called Stomion is an altar constructed for Themis. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 4 | τοῦ δὲ Καταιβάτου Διὸς προβέβληται μὲν πανταχόθεν πρὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ φράγμα, ἔστι δὲ πρὸς τῷ βωμῷ τῷ ἀπὸ τῆς τέφρας τῷ μεγάλῳ. | Around every side of the altar of Zeus Kataibates stands an enclosure; this altar is close to the great altar of ashes. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 5 | μεμνήσθω δέ τις οὐ κατὰ στοῖχον τῆς ἱδρύσεως ἀριθμουμένους τοὺς βωμούς, τῇ δὲ τάξει τῇ Ἠλείων ἐς τὰς θυσίας συμπερινοστοῦντα ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον. | Let someone bear in mind that my enumeration of the altars is not according to their positioning, but follows the order in which the Eleans make their sacrifices. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.10 | 6 | πρὸς δὲ τῷ τεμένει τοῦ Πέλοπος Διονύσου μὲν καὶ Χαρίτων ἐν κοινῷ, μεταξὺ δὲ αὐτῶν Μουσῶν καὶ ἐφεξῆς τούτων Νυμφῶν ἐστι βωμός. | Near the precinct of Pelops there is a common altar of Dionysus and the Graces, with an altar of the Muses between them, and next in order comes an altar dedicated to the Nymphs. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.2 | 1 | τῆς δὲ λεύκης μόνης τοῖς ξύλοις ἐς τοῦ Διὸς τὰς θυσίας καὶ ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς δένδρου τῶν ἄλλων οἱ Ἠλεῖοι χρῆσθαι νομίζουσι, κατʼ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν προτιμῶντες ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν τὴν λεύκην, ὅτι δὲ Ἡρακλῆς ἐκόμισεν αὐτὴν ἐς Ἕλληνας ἐκ τῆς Θεσπρωτίδος χώρας. | Only the wood of the white poplar do the Eleans regard as appropriate for sacrifices to Zeus, making use of no other tree whatsoever. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.2 | 2 | καί μοι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἡρακλῆς ἐφαίνετο, ἡνίκα τῷ Διὶ ἔθυεν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ, τῶν ἱερείων τὰ μηρία ἐπὶ λεύκης καῦσαι ξύλων· | To my thinking, their preference for the white poplar is based not on any quality peculiar to the tree itself but because Heracles brought it to Greece from the land of Thesprotia. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.2 | 3 | τὴν δὲ λεύκην ὁ Ἡρακλῆς πεφυκυῖαν παρὰ τὸν Ἀχέροντα εὗρε τὸν ἐν Θεσπρωτίᾳ ποταμόν, καὶ τοῦδε ἕνεκά φασιν αὐτὴν Ἀχερωίδα ὑπὸ Ὁμήρου καλεῖσθαι. | It seemed to me that Heracles himself employed its wood when sacrificing to Zeus at Olympia, burning upon white poplar wood the thighs of the sacrificial victims. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.3 | 1 | εἶχον δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἐς τόδε ἔχουσιν οὐ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπιτηδείως πρὸς γένεσιν πόας τε καὶ δένδρων· ἀλλὰ πλεῖσται μὲν ὑπὸ Μαιάνδρου μυρῖκαι καὶ μάλιστα αὔξονται, Ἀσωπὸς δὲ ὁ Βοιώτιος βαθυτάτας πέφυκεν ἐκτρέφειν τὰς σχοίνους, τὸ δένδρον δὲ ἡ περσεία μόνου χαίρει τοῦ Νείλου τῷ ὕδατι. | From the beginning, rivers have had, and still have now, different qualities, each suited differently to nourishing grasses and trees; thus, great numbers of tamarisks grow most abundantly beside the Maeander; the Boeotian Asopus is naturally best at growing the tallest reeds; and as a tree, the Egyptian persea delights solely in the waters of the Nile. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.3 | 2 | οὕτω καὶ τὴν λεύκην θαῦμα οὐδὲν καὶ αἴγειρόν τε καὶ κότινον, τὴν μὲν ἐπὶ Ἀχέροντι ἀναφῦναι πρώτῳ, κότινον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀλφειῷ, τὴν δὲ αἴγειρον γῆς τῆς τῶν Κελτῶν καὶ Ἠριδανοῦ τοῦ Κελτικοῦ θρέμμα εἶναι. | So too, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the white poplar first appeared beside the Acheron, the wild olive by the Alpheius, and that the black poplar should be native to the land of the Celts and the Celtic Eridanus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.4 | 1 | φέρε δή, ἐποιησάμεθα γὰρ βωμοῦ τοῦ μεγίστου μνήμην, ἐπέλθωμεν καὶ τὰ ἐς ἅπαντας ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ τοὺς βωμούς· | Come then—since I have already mentioned the altar of Zeus the Greatest—let us proceed to enumerate all the altars at Olympia. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.4 | 2 | ἐπακολουθήσει δὲ ὁ λόγος μοι τῇ ἐς αὐτοὺς τάξει, καθʼ ἥντινα Ἠλεῖοι θύειν ἐπὶ τῶν βωμῶν νομίζουσι. | My account shall follow the very order in which the Eleans customarily sacrifice upon these altars. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.4 | 3 | θύουσι δὲ Ἑστίᾳ μὲν πρώτῃ, δευτέρῳ δὲ τῷ Ὀλυμπίῳ Διὶ ἰόντες ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ ναοῦ, τρίτα δὲ Λαοίτᾳ Διὶ καὶ Ποσειδῶνι Λαοίτᾳ· ἐπὶ ἑνὸς βωμοῦ καὶ αὕτη καθέστηκεν ἡ θυσία. | First they sacrifice to Hestia, secondly to Olympian Zeus as they approach his altar within the temple, and thirdly to Zeus Laoitas and Poseidon Laoitas; this sacrifice is also offered upon a single altar. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.5 | 1 | τέταρτα καὶ πέμπτα Ἀρτέμιδι θύουσι καὶ Ληίτιδι Ἀθηνᾷ, ἕκτα Ἐργάνῃ· | On the fourth and fifth days they sacrifice to Artemis and to Athena surnamed Leitis, and on the sixth to Athena Ergane. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.5 | 2 | ταύτῃ τῇ Ἐργάνῃ καὶ οἱ ἀπόγονοι Φειδίου, καλούμενοι δὲ φαιδρυνταί, γέρας παρὰ Ἠλείων εἰληφότες τοῦ Διὸς τὸ ἄγαλμα ἀπὸ τῶν προσιζανόντων καθαίρειν, οὗτοι θύουσιν ἐνταῦθα πρὶν ἢ λαμπρύνειν τὸ ἄγαλμα ἄρχονται. | It is Athena Ergane to whom the descendants of Pheidias—called the Phaidryntai—offer sacrifice here before they begin to clean the statue of Zeus, having received from the Eleans the privilege of cleansing the statue from any impurities that have settled upon it. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.5 | 3 | ἔστι δὲ Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ ἄλλος βωμὸς πλησίον τοῦ ναοῦ, καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος παρʼ αὐτὸν τετράγωνος ἀνήκων ἠρέμα ἐς ὕψος. | There is also another altar of Athena near the temple, and beside it is a square altar of Artemis, gently rising upwards. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.6 | 1 | μετὰ δὲ τοὺς κατειλεγμένους Ἀλφειῷ καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι θύουσιν ἐπὶ ἑνὸς βωμοῦ· | After those mentioned above, they sacrifice to Alpheios and Artemis upon a single altar. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.6 | 2 | τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τούτου παρεδήλωσε μέν που καὶ Πίνδαρος ἐν ᾠδῇ, γράφομεν δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τοῖς Λετριναίοις. | The reason for this has been made clear by Pindar somewhere in an ode; and I myself have also written about it in my account of the Letrinians. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.6 | 3 | τούτου δὲ οὐ πόρρω καὶ ἄλλος τῷ Ἀλφειῷ βωμὸς πεποίηται, παρὰ δὲ αὐτόν ἐστιν Ἡφαίστου· | Not far from this altar stands another dedicated to Alpheios, and close beside it is one of Hephaistos. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.6 | 4 | τοῦ δὲ Ἡφαίστου τὸν βωμόν εἰσιν Ἠλείων οἳ ὀνομάζουσιν Ἀρείου Διός· | Some of the Eleans, however, call this altar of Hephaistos the altar of Ares Zeus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.6 | 5 | λέγουσι δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι καὶ ὡς Οἰνόμαος ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ τούτου θύοι τῷ Ἀρείῳ Διί, ὁπότε τῶν Ἱπποδαμείας μνηστήρων καθίστασθαι μέλλοι τινὶ ἐς ἵππων ἅμιλλαν. | These same Eleans also say that Oinomaos offered sacrifice on this altar to Ares Zeus whenever he was about to contend in chariot-racing with one of Hippodameia's suitors. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.7 | 1 | μετὰ τοῦτον πεποίηται μὲν Ἡρακλεῖ βωμὸς ἐπίκλησιν Παραστάτῃ, πεποίηται δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς Ἐπιμήδει καὶ Ἴδᾳ καὶ Παιωναίῳ τε καὶ Ἰάσῳ· | Next to this has been made an altar to Heracles, surnamed Parastates ("Protector"), and altars have also been erected for Epimedes, Ida, Paeonaeus, and Iasus, who were brothers of Heracles. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.7 | 2 | τὸν δὲ τοῦ Ἴδα βωμὸν Ἀκεσίδα ὑπὸ ἑτέρων οἶδα καλούμενον. | I know, however, that Ida's altar is called Acesidas by some. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.7 | 3 | ἔνθα δὲ τῆς οἰκίας τὰ θεμέλιά ἐστι τῆς Οἰνομάου, δύο ἐνταῦθά εἰσι βωμοί, Διός τε Ἑρκείου ---τοῦτον ὁ Οἰνόμαος ἐφαίνετο αὐτὸς οἰκοδομήσασθαι ---, τῷ δὲ Κεραυνίῳ Διὶ ὕστερον ἐποιήσαντο ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν βωμόν, ὅτʼ ἐς τοῦ Οἰνομάου τὴν οἰκίαν κατέσκηψεν ὁ κεραυνός. | At the site where the foundations of Oenomaus' house stood, there are two altars: one of Zeus Herkeios ("Protector of the Household"), which is said to have been built by Oenomaus himself; and another, to Zeus Keraunios ("Zeus of the Thunderbolt"), erected later, in my opinion, when the thunderbolt fell upon the house of Oenomaus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.8 | 1 | τὰ δὲ ἐς τὸν μέγαν βωμὸν ὀλίγῳ μέν τι ἡμῖν πρότερόν ἐστιν εἰρημένα, καλεῖται δὲ Ὀλυμπίου Διός· | We have already given a brief account earlier of the great altar, called that of Olympian Zeus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.8 | 2 | πρὸς αὐτῷ δέ ἐστιν Ἀγνώστων θεῶν βωμὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Καθαρσίου Διὸς καὶ Νίκης καὶ αὖθις Διὸς ἐπωνυμίαν Χθονίου. | Near it stands an altar of the Unknown gods, and after that one, altars dedicated to Zeus Katharsios ("the Purifier"), to Nike ("Victory"), and then again to Zeus under the surname Chthonios ("of the Underworld"). | ? | ? |
| 5.14.8 | 3 | εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ θεῶν πάντων βωμοὶ καὶ Ἥρας ἐπίκλησιν Ὀλυμπίας, πεποιημένος τέφρας καὶ οὗτος· Κλυμένου δέ φασιν αὐτὸν ἀνάθημα εἶναι. | There are also altars to all the gods collectively, and to Hera surnamed Olympia; this one too, like the others, is made of ashes, and is said to have been dedicated by Clymenus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.8 | 4 | μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ἑρμοῦ βωμός ἐστιν ἐν κοινῷ, διότι Ἑρμῆν λύρας, Ἀπόλλωνα δὲ εὑρέτην εἶναι κιθάρας Ἑλλήνων ἐστὶν ἐς αὐτοὺς λόγος. | After it is an altar shared by Apollo and Hermes in common, because the Greeks say Hermes invented the lyre, while Apollo discovered the kithara. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.9 | 1 | ἐφεξῆς δὲ Ὁμονοίας βωμὸς καὶ αὖθις Ἀθηνᾶς, ὁ δὲ Μητρὸς θεῶν. | Next is an altar of Concord, then again one of Athena, and another of the Mother of the Gods. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.9 | 2 | τῆς ἐσόδου δὲ τῆς ἐς τὸ στάδιόν εἰσιν ἐγγύτατα βωμοὶ δύο· τὸν μὲν αὐτῶν Ἑρμοῦ καλοῦσιν Ἐναγωνίου, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον Καιροῦ. | Closest to the entrance to the stadium are two altars; one of these they name Hermes Enagonios ("of the Contest"), and the other Kairos ("Opportunity"). | ? | ? |
| 5.14.9 | 3 | Ἴωνι δὲ οἶδα τῷ Χίῳ καὶ ὕμνον πεποιημένον Καιροῦ· γενεαλογεῖ δὲ ἐν τῷ ὕμνῳ νεώτατον παίδων Διὸς Καιρὸν εἶναι. | I know that Ion the Chian composed a hymn to Kairos, and in that hymn he makes Kairos the youngest son of Zeus. | ? | ? |
| 5.14.9 | 4 | πλησίον δὲ τοῦ Σικυωνίων θησαυροῦ ἤτοι Κουρήτων ἢ τοῦ Ἀλκμήνης ἐστὶν Ἡρακλέους· λέγεται γὰρ καὶ ἀμφότερα. | Near the treasury of the Sicyonians there is the treasury either of the Curetes or of Alcmene, mother of Heracles; for both accounts are told. | ? | ? |