|
HOME | GREEK LANGUAGE | LIBRARIES | BLOG | HELP | SEARCH | FREEWARE | BOOKSTORE |
|
|
Translated by G. Macaulay.
Studies
Herodotus in Print
|
100 pages - You are on Page 36
84. The nations who serve as cavalry are these; not all however supplied cavalry, but only as many as here follow:--the Persians equipped in the same manner as their foot-soldiers, except that upon their heads some of them had beaten-work of metal, either bronze or iron. 85. There are also certain nomads called Sagartians, Persian in race and in language and having a dress which is midway between that of the Persians and that of the Pactyans. These furnished eight thousand horse, and they are not accustomed to have any arms either of bronze or of iron excepting daggers, but they use ropes twisted of thongs, and trust to these when they go into war: and the manner of fighting of these men is as follows:--when they come to conflict with the enemy, they throw the ropes with nooses at the end of them, and whatsoever the man catches by the throw,[77] whether horse or man, he draws to himself, and they being entangled in toils are thus destroyed. 86. This is the manner of fighting of these men, and they were arrayed next to the Persians. The Medes had the same equipment as their men on foot, and the Kissians likewise. The Indians were armed in the same manner as those of them who served on foot, and they both rode horses[78] and drove chariots, in which were harnessed horses or wild asses. The Bactrians were equipped in the same way as those who served on foot, and the Caspians likewise. The Libyans too were equipped like those who served on foot, and these also all drove chariots. So too the Caspians[79] and Paricanians were equipped like those who served on foot, and they all rode on camels, which in swiftness were not inferior to horses. 87. These nations alone served[80] as cavalry, and the number of the cavalry proved to be eight myriads,[81] apart from the camels and the chariots. Now the rest of the cavalry was arrayed in squadrons, but the Arabians were placed after them and last of all, for the horses could not endure the camels, and therefore they were placed last, in order that the horses might not be frightened.
77. {tukhe}, "hits."
78. {keletas}, "single horses."
79. This name is apparently placed here wrongly. It has been proposed to read {Kaspeiroi} or {Paktues}.
80. {ippeue}: the greater number of MSS. have {ippeuei} here as at the beginning of ch. 84, to which this is a reference back, but with a difference of meaning. There the author seemed to begin with the intention of giving a full list of the cavalry force of the Persian Empire, and then confined his account to those actually present on this occasion, whereas here the word in combination with {mouna} refers only to those just enumerated.
81. i.e. 80,000.
|
Herodotus History - Table of Contents
Elpenor's Greek Forum : Post a question / Start a discussion |
Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/herodotus/history-7.asp?pg=36
