GCSE OCR Ancient Greek Prose Lit Set Text - HERODOTUS - "The Babylonian Wife Market" 3) FULL LITERARY ANALYSIS

κατα κωμας εκαστας άπαξ του ετους εποιειτο τάδε.

"In each village the following was done once a year."

- happening across each village

- beginning alliteration - memorable, cutting

- delayed to end of sentence - ταδε - following things, Herodotus' masterful storytelling

ως αι παρθένοι γιγνοιντο γάμων ωραίαι,

"When the young women became ready for marriage,"

- lit. virgins, sense of fertility and youth - unpleasant for modern reception

- ωραίαι - lit. blooming, ready to have children

ταυτας οπως συναγαγοιεν πασας εις εν χωριον εισηγον αθροας

"in order to gather them all they led them into one place in a group."

- prefix, strong - directing

- all into one - ubiquitous

πέριξ δε αυτας ιστατο ομιλος ανδρών,

"A crowd of men stood around them"

- all around them, threatening

- intransitive ιστατο

- image of market emphasised

κήρυξ δε ανιστας κατα μιαν εκαστην

"and a herald, standing each up one by one,"

- same verb being used transitively, polyptoton - ανιστας

επωλει πρώτον μεν την ευειδεστατην εκ πασων

'sold first of all the best looking of them all.'

'μεν' - setting up the initial contrast

- superlative - values of beauty, out of all

επειτα δε, οπως αυτή ευρούσα πολύ χρυσιον πραθειη,

"And when she, gaining much gold, had been sold,"

- finding instead of acquiring - no agency

- monetary value, possessions

άλλην ανεκηρυττεν η μετ' εκείνην ην ευειδεστατη

"he offered for action another, who was the best looking after that one;"

- superlative again, best looking afterwards, still valuation

επωλούντο δε επί συνοικησει

"and they were sold for cohabitation."

- co-habitation - illusions of equity, inclusion

όσοι μεν δη ευδαιμονες των Βαβυλωνιων ήσαν επιγαμοι,

"All those of the Babylonians who were rich and ready to marry,"

- 'ευδαίμονες + επιγαμοι - two adjectives surrounding the Babylonians - qualities, aspiring values

ουτοι υπερβαλλοντες αλληλους εξωνουντο τας καλλιστευουσας.

"these men, outbidding each other, bought the most beautiful women."

- male hubris, male competition for dominance, women as ornaments and commodities

όσοι δε του δημου επιγαμοι ήσαν,

"Then those of the common people who were ready to marry,"

- sense of social underdogs, valuation in society

- anaphora from before 'οσοι'

ειδους χηρστου ου δεομενοι,

'not being in need of good looks,΄

- not needing, the commodity of beauty in antiquity

χρήματα τε και αισχιονας παρθενους ελαμβανον.

'used to take both the money and the less attractive young women.'

- assets and acquisition

- imperfect tense - sense of what always happened

- money emphatically first in the sentence

ως γαρ δη διεξελθοι ο κήρυξ πώλων τας ευειδεστατας των παρθένων,

"For when the herald finished selling the most beautiful of the young women,"

- ευειδεστατας - superlative again, valuation

- emphatic - almost tautology - of all the most beautiful of the young women

ανιστη αν την αμορφεστατην η εμπηρον τινα και ανεκηρυττεν,

"he would stand up and offer for auction the most unshapely or damaged one."

- lit. translated as without a form - shapeless - idea of valuation

- εμπηρον - two adjectives used

- Τίνα - emphasising that there is only one, there has to only be one

- anaphora of verb 'ανεκηρυπττεν'

οστις δε άθελοι ελάχιστον χρυσιον λαβών συνοικειν αυτή,

"And whoever was willing, having received the smallest amount of gold to live with her,"

- negative connotations again

- superlative - smallest

- woman put in dative, commodity again

τούτω προσεκειτο η παρθένος.

"the woman was assigned to this man."

- woman in the nominative, but passive verb - afterthought

nothing but a commodity, an asset

και ουτως αι ευμορφοι τας αμορφους και εμπηρους εξεδιδοσαν.

"And thus the good-looking women would pay for the unshapely and damaged ones."

- deliberate juxtaposition

termination nouns

shape is a male construct - has masculine noun endings

- implications there are more worse looking women as there are two adjectives

εκδουναι δε την εαυτου θυγατέρα ωτινι βουλοιτο εκαστος ουκ εξην.

'And it was not possible for a man to give away his own daughter to whomsoever each man wished.'

- idea of subsidisation, equity in a sense, curious notion to Herodotus