Hide browse bar Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position:
chapter:
chapter 0chapter 1chapter 2chapter 3chapter 4chapter 5chapter 6-94chapter 6chapter 7chapter 8chapter 9chapter 10chapter 11chapter 12chapter 13chapter 14chapter 15chapter 16chapter 17chapter 18chapter 19chapter 20chapter 21chapter 22chapter 23chapter 24chapter 26chapter 27chapter 28chapter 29chapter 30chapter 31chapter 32chapter 33chapter 34chapter 35chapter 36chapter 37chapter 39chapter 42chapter 43chapter 44chapter 45chapter 46chapter 47chapter 48chapter 50chapter 51chapter 52chapter 53chapter 54chapter 55chapter 56-8chapter 56chapter 57chapter 58chapter 59-64chapter 59chapter 60chapter 61chapter 62chapter 63chapter 64chapter 65-8chapter 65chapter 66chapter 67chapter 68chapter 69chapter 70chapter 71-92chapter 71chapter 72chapter 73chapter 74chapter 75chapter 76chapter 77chapter 78chapter 79chapter 80chapter 82-3chapter 82chapter 84chapter 85chapter 86chapter 87chapter 89chapter 90chapter 91chapter 92chapter 93chapter 94chapter 95-140chapter 95chapter 96chapter 97chapter 98chapter 99chapter 101chapter 102chapter 103chapter 104chapter 105chapter 106chapter 107-30chapter 107chapter 108chapter 109chapter 110chapter 111chapter 112chapter 113chapter 114chapter 116chapter 117chapter 118chapter 119chapter 120chapter 123chapter 124chapter 125chapter 126chapter 127chapter 128chapter 129chapter 130chapter 131-40chapter 131chapter 132chapter 133chapter 134chapter 135chapter 136chapter 137chapter 138chapter 139chapter 140chapter 141-76chapter 141chapter 142chapter 143chapter 144chapter 145chapter 146chapter 147chapter 148chapter 149chapter 150chapter 151chapter 152chapter 153chapter 155chapter 156chapter 158chapter 159chapter 160chapter 161chapter 162chapter 163-7chapter 163chapter 164chapter 165chapter 166chapter 167chapter 168chapter 169chapter 170chapter 171chapter 172chapter 173chapter 174chapter 175chapter 176chapter 177-216chapter 177chapter 178-183chapter 178chapter 179chapter 180chapter 181chapter 182chapter 183chapter 184chapter 185chapter 186chapter 187chapter 188chapter 189chapter 190chapter 191chapter 192-200chapter 192chapter 193chapter 194chapter 195chapter 196chapter 198chapter 199chapter 200chapter 201chapter 202chapter 203chapter 204chapter 205chapter 207chapter 208chapter 209chapter 211chapter 214chapter 215chapter 216
This text is part of:
ἑλκύσαντες πλίνθους. Translate ‘having moulded enough bricks’; it corresponds to ἐπλίνθευον above. The passage is parodied in Aristophanes' Aves, 552; cf. i. 3 n. Babylonia, owing to the absence of building stone, was the special home of brick-work. Crude bricks were used inside the walls, and even the baked bricks, from their larger size, were inferior in hardness to Roman, and to good modern, brick. Hence the wall was liable to be destroyed by water (cf. the tradition as to the fall of Nineveh (Ctes. Ass. fr. 16, p 437; Diod. ii. 27), and to become in ruins a shapeless mass (cf. Lehmann, u. s.). It was to hinder destruction by water that the ‘mats of reed’ (ταρσοὺς κ.) were ‘stuffed in’ (διαστοιβάζοντες), but really at much more frequent ‘intervals’ (διά) than H. gives.
ἀσφάλτῳ. On ‘bitumen’ for ‘mortar’ (τέλμα) cf. E. B. s. v., and Gen. xi. 3 (A. V. ‘slime’); it was used mixed with clay. The inscriptions (E. I. H. cols. 7 and 8) confirm H. as to this. δόμων, ‘layers.’ Cf. ii. 127. 3 τὸν πρῶτον δόμον (in the pyramid of Chephren).
ἔσχατα: absolute; ‘the edges’ of the wall. οἰκήματα. These ‘one-storied chambers’ (called πύργοι in iii. 156. 1 and Strabo, 738, and προμαχεῶνες in iii. 151. 1) served as guard-houses; no doubt they were machicolated. περιέλασιν, ‘to drive round’ (not ‘to turn’). This, too, Aristophanes parodies (Aves, 1125-9). ἐνεστᾶσι. For the tense v. s. The gates were probably ‘plated with brass’; hence πᾶσαι is distributive ‘all of them’.
H. reckons a day's journey on the flat at 200 stadia (iv. 101. 2), i. e. about 23 miles; but Hit lies only about 125 miles north of Babylon. Matzat (Hermes, vi. 445) suggests that the explanation of H.'s larger figures lies in the river windings at Ardericca (185. 2 n.); the road, he thinks, would follow the river. Hit is still the chief source of bitumen for Babylonia; there are two springs, one cold and one hot; ‘the whole place is redolent of sulphuretted hydrogen’ (Peters, in E. B.11 s. v. Hit).
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
Purchase a copy of this text (not necessarily the same edition) from Amazon.com
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.