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Additional Reading Unit 4

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Unit 3

Unit 5

Unit Key 4


Unit 4

1 Crocodile hunting in ancient Egypt

Herodotus had visited Egypt and the following is an adaptation taken from his description of the country which he gives in his History (cf. 5.2.21).

ἄγραι δὲ τῶν κροκοδίλων πολλαὶ ἦσαν καὶ παντοῖαι, ἀλλὰ μίαν (one) μόνον γράφω: νῶτον μὲν ὕειον ἐδελέαζον οἱ θηρευταὶ περὶ ἄγκιστρον καὶ ἔβαλλον εἰς τὸν ποταμόν, χοῖρον δὲ ζωὸν ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὄχθης εἶχόν τε καὶ ἔτυπτον. ὁ μὲν οὖν κροκόδιλος τῆς φωνῆς ἤκουε καὶ ἔτρεχε, τὸ δὲ νῶτον ηὕρισκε καὶ ἤσθιεν: οἱ δὲ θηρευταὶ εἷλκον εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ πρῶτον μὲν πηλῷ (with mud) εὐθὺς ἤλειφον αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, ἔπειτα δὲ ἄνευ πόνου τὰ λοιπὰ ἔπραττον.

2 Cyrus' deathbed speech to his sons and friends

An adaptation from Xenophon's biography of Cyrus (cf. 9.2.12).

ὦ υἱοὶ καὶ φίλοι, ἐμοὶ μὲν τοῦ βίου ἡ τελευτὴ πάρεστιν: ἐκ πολλῶν σαφῶς γιγνώσκω: ὑμᾶς δὲ δεῖ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ὡς περὶ ὀλβίου ἐμοῦ καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν πάντα (everything). ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ μόνον ὅτε παιδίον ἦ ἀλλὰ καὶ νεανίας καὶ ἀνήρ (man), τὰ καλὰ ἀεὶ εἶχον. καὶ νῦν δῆλόν ἐστιν ὅτι οἱ μὲν φίλοι διʼ ἐμοῦ ἐλεύθεροί εἰσιν, οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι δοῦλοι. καὶ τὴν γῆν ἡμῶν ἣ (which) πρόσθεν μικρὰ ἦν, ἐν τῇ ʼΑσίᾳ κυρίαν πολλῶν καταλείπω. νῦν δʼ ἐνθάδε καταλείπω μὲν ὑμᾶς, ὦ υἱοί, καταλείπω δὲ καὶ τοὺς φίλους. ὥστε πῶς οὐ δικαίως ἀγαθὴν ἔχουσι μνήμην ἐμοῦ οἱ ἄνθρωποι;

3 Pharnabazus reminds Agesilaus of his services to Sparta

An adaptation from Xenophon's continuation of Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian war (cf. 7.2.12).

ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ ʼΑγησίλαος ἧκεν, ὁ Φαρνάβαζος αὐτῷ ἔλεξεν: ὦ ʼΑγησίλαε καὶ ἑταῖροι, ἐγὼ ὑμῖν, ὅτε τοῖς ʼΑθηναίοις πολέμιοι ἦτε, φίλος καὶ σύμμαχος ἦ, καὶ τῷ μὲν ναυτικῷ ὑμῶν ἀργύριον ἔφερον, ἐν δὲ τῇ γῇ μεθʼ ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν θάλατταν ἐδίωξα τοὺς πολεμίους. καὶ νῦν μάλα μὲν κακῶς πάσχω διὰ ὑμᾶς, σῖτον δὲ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ μου οὐκ ἔχω. πρότερον μὲν γὰρ οἰκίας καλὰς καὶ παραδείσους καὶ δένδρων καὶ θηρίων μεστοὺς εἶχον, νῦν δὲ πάντα (everything) ἐκόψατε ὑμεῖς καὶ ἐκαύσατε.


ἄγρα, -ας, ἡ way of catching

παντοῖος, -α, -ον of all kinds

νῶτον, -ου, τό back, chine (of an animal)

δελεάζω set as bait

θηρευτής, -οῦ, ὁ hunter

ἄγκιστρον, -ου, τό hook

χοῖρος, -ου, ὁ pig

ὄχθη, -ης, ἡ bank (of a river)

ἕλκω (augment εἱ-) drag

ἀλείφω smear

ʼΑσία, -ας, ἡ Asia

κύριος, -α, -ον having control over (+ gen.)

ʼΑγησίλαος, -ου, ὁ Agesilaus (Spartan king)

Φαρνάβαζος, -ου, ὁ Pharnabazus (Persian noble)

παράδεισος, -ου, ὁ park

μεστός, -ή, -όν full of (+ gen.)

κόπτω (aor. ἔκοψα) cut down, lay waste

καίω (aor. ἔκαυσα) burn

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(c) Gavin Betts, Alan Henry 2001