Kitap 4
Next west of these Auschisae is the populous country of the Nasamones, who in summer leave their flocks by the sea and go up to the land called +Awjilah [21.2,29.15] (inhabited place), Banghazi, Libya, Africa Augila to gather dates from the palm-trees that grow there in great abundance and all bear fruit. They hunt locusts, which they dry in the sun, and after grinding sprinkle them into milk and drink it.
It is their custom for every man to have many wives; their intercourse with women is promiscuous, as among the Massagetae; a staff is placed before the dwelling, and then they have intercourse. When a man of the Nasamones weds, on the first night the bride must by custom lie with each of the whole company in turn; and each man after intercourse gives her whatever gift he has brought from his house.
As for their manner of swearing and divination, they lay their hands on the graves of the men reputed to have been the most just and good among them, and by these men they swear; their practice of divination is to go to the tombs of their ancestors, where after making prayers they lie down to sleep, and take for oracles whatever dreams come to them.
They give and receive pledges by each drinking from the hand of the other party; and if they have nothing liquid, they take the dust of the earth and lick it up.
On the borders of the Nasamones is the country of the Psylli, who perished in this way: the force of the south wind dried up their water-tanks, and all their country, lying in the region of the Golfe de Gabes [10.417,34.000] (gulf), Tunis, AfricaSyrtis, was waterless. After deliberating together, they marched south (I tell the story as it is told by the Libyans), and when they came into the sandy desert, a strong south wind buried them. So they perished utterly, and the Nasamones have their country.
Inland of these to the south, the Garamantes live in wild beast country. They shun the sight and fellowship of men, and have no weapons of war, nor know how to defend themselves.
These live inland of the Nasamones; the neighboring seaboard to the west is the country of the Macae, who shave their hair to a crest, leaving that on the top of their heads to grow and shaving clean off what is on either side; in war they carry shields made of ostrich skins.
The Cinyps river empties into their sea through their country from a hill called the Hill of the Graces. This hill is thickly wooded, while the rest of Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya of which I have spoken is bare of trees; it is twenty-five miles from the sea.
Next to these Macae are the Gindanes, where every woman wears many leather anklets, because (so it is said) she puts on an anklet for every man with whom she has had intercourse; and she who wears the most is reputed to be the best, because she has been loved by the most men.
There is a headland jutting out into the sea from the land of the Gindanes; on it live the Lotus Eaters, whose only fare is the lotus.The fruit of the Rhamnus Lotus, which grows in this part of Africa (continent)Africa, is said to be eatable, but not so delicious as to justify its Homeric epithet “honey-sweet.” The lotus fruit is the size of a mastich-berry: it has a sweet taste like the fruit of a date-palm; the Lotus Eaters not only eat it, but make wine of it.
Next to these along the coast are the Machlyes, who also use the lotus, but less than the aforesaid people. Their country reaches to a great river called the Triton,The “Triton” legend may arise from the Argonauts' finding a river which reminded them of their own river Triton in Boeotia (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Boeotia, and at the same time identifying the local goddess (cp. Hdt. 4.180) with Athena, one of whose epithets was Τριτογένεια (whatever that means). which empties into the great Tritonian lake, in which is an island called Phla. It is said that the Lacedaemonians were told by an oracle to plant a settlement on this island.
The following story is also told: it is said that Jason, when the Argo had been built at the foot of +Pilion (mountain range), Nomos Magnisias, Thessaly, Greece, Europe Pelion, put aboard besides a hecatomb a bronze tripod, and set out to sail around the +Peloponnese [22,37.5] (region), Greece, Europe Peloponnese, to go to Delphi [22.5167,38.4917] (Perseus) Delphi.
But when he was off Malea, a north wind caught and carried him away to Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya; and before he saw land, he came into the shallows of the Tritonian lake. There, while he could find no way out yet, Triton (the story goes) appeared to him and told Jason to give him the tripod, promising to show the sailors the channel and send them on their way unharmed.
Jason did, and Triton then showed them the channel out of the shallows and set the tripod in his own temple; but first he prophesied over it, declaring the whole matter to Jason's comrades: namely, that should any descendant of the Argo's crew take away the tripod, then a hundred Greek cities would be founded on the shores of the Tritonian lake. Hearing this (it is said) the Libyan people of the country hid the tripod.
Next to these Machlyes are the Auseans; these and the Machlyes, separated by the Triton, live on the shores of the Tritonian lake. The Machlyes wear their hair long behind, the Auseans in front.
They celebrate a yearly festival of Athena, where their maidens are separated into two bands and fight each other with stones and sticks, thus (they say) honoring in the way of their ancestors that native goddess whom we call Athena. Maidens who die of their wounds are called false virgins.
Before the girls are set fighting, the whole people choose the fairest maid, and arm her with a Corinthian helmet and Greek panoply, to be then mounted on a chariot and drawn all along the lake shore.
With what armor they equipped their maidens before Greeks came to live near them, I cannot say; but I suppose the armor was Egyptian; for I maintain that the Greeks took their shield and helmet from Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt.
As for Athena, they say that she was daughter of Poseidon and the Tritonian lake, and that, being for some reason angry at her father, she gave herself to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. Such is their tale. The intercourse of men and women there is promiscuous; they do not cohabit but have intercourse like cattle.
When a woman's child is well grown, the men assemble within three months and the child is adjudged to be that man's whom it is most like.
I have now described all the nomadic Libyans who live on the coast. Farther inland than these is that Libyan country which is haunted by wild beasts, and beyond this wild beasts' haunt runs a ridge of sand that stretches from Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaThebes of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt to the Pillars of Heracles. Herodotus' description is true in so far as it points to the undoubted fact of a caravan route from Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt to northwestern Africa (continent)Africa; the starting-point of which, however, should be Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis and not Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaThebes . But his distances between identifiable places are nearly always incorrect; the whole description will not bear criticism. The reader is referred to the editions of Rawlinson, Macan, and How and Wells for detailed discussion of difficulties.
At intervals of about ten days' journey along this ridge there are masses of great lumps of salt in hills; on the top of every hill, a fountain of cold sweet water shoots up from the midst of the salt; men live around it who are farthest away toward the desert and inland from the wild beasts' country. The first on the journey from Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaThebes , ten days distant from there, are the Ammonians, who follow the worship of the Zeus of Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaThebes ; for, as I have said before, the image of Zeus at Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaThebes has the head of a ram.
They have another spring of water besides, which is warm at dawn, and colder at market-time, and very cold at noon;
and it is then that they water their gardens; as the day declines, the coldness abates, until at sunset the water grows warm. It becomes ever hotter and hotter until midnight, and then it boils and bubbles; after midnight it becomes ever cooler until dawn. This spring is called the Spring of the Sun.
At a distance of ten days' journey again from the Ammonians along the sandy ridge, there is a hill of salt like that of the Ammonians, and springs of water, where men live; this place is called +Awjilah [21.2,29.15] (inhabited place), Banghazi, Libya, Africa Augila; it is to this that the Nasamones come to gather palm-fruit.
After ten days' journey again from +Awjilah [21.2,29.15] (inhabited place), Banghazi, Libya, Africa Augila there is yet another hill of salt and springs of water and many fruit-bearing palms, as at the other places; men live there called Garamantes, an exceedingly great nation, who sow in earth which they have laid on the salt.
The shortest way to the Lotus Eaters' country is from here, thirty days' journey distant. Among the Garamantes are the cattle that go backward as they graze, the reason being that their horns curve forward;
therefore, not being able to go forward, since the horns would stick in the ground, they walk backward grazing. Otherwise, they are like other cattle, except that their hide is thicker and harder to the touch.
These Garamantes go in their four-horse chariots chasing the cave-dwelling Ethiopians: for the Ethiopian cave-dwellers are swifter of foot than any men of whom tales are brought to us. They live on snakes and lizards and such-like creeping things. Their speech is like no other in the world: it is like the squeaking of bats.
Another ten days' journey from the Garamantes there is again a salt hill and water, where men live called Atarantes. These are the only men whom we know who have no names; for the whole people are called Atarantes, but no man has a name of his own.
When the sun is high, they curse and very foully revile him, because his burning heat afflicts their people and their land.
After another ten days' journey there is again a hill of salt, and water, and men living there. Near to this salt is a mountain called Atlas, whose shape is slender and conical; and it is said to be so high that its heights cannot be seen, for clouds are always on them winter and summer. The people of the country call it the pillar of heaven.
These men get their name, which is Atlantes, from this mountain. It is said that they eat no living creature, and see no dreams in their sleep.
I know and can tell the names of all the peoples that live on the ridge as far as the Atlantes, but no farther than that. But I know this, that the ridge reaches as far as the Pillars of Heracles and beyond them.
There is a mine of salt on it every ten days' journey, and men live there. Their houses are all built of blocks of the salt; for these are parts of Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya where no rain falls; for the walls, being of salt, could not stand firm if there were rain.
The salt there is both white and purple. Beyond this ridge, the southern and inland parts of Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya are desolate and waterless: there are no wild beasts, no rain, no forests; this region is wholly without moisture.
Thus from Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt to the Tritonian lake, the Libyans are nomads that eat meat and drink milk; for the same reason as the Egyptians too profess, they will not touch the flesh of cows; and they rear no swine.
The women of Shahhat [21.866,32.833] (inhabited place), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya, AfricaCyrene, too, consider it wrong to eat cows' flesh, because of the Isis of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt; and they even honor her with fasts and festivals; and the Barcaean women refuse to eat swine too, as well as cows.
Thus it is with this region. But west of the Tritonian lake the Libyans are not nomads; they do not follow the same customs, or treat their children as the nomads do.
For the practice of many Libyan nomads (I cannot say absolutely whether it is the practice of all) is to take their children when four years old, and to burn the veins of their scalps or sometimes of their temples with grease of sheep's wool, so that the children may never afterward be afflicted by phlegm draining from the head.