crocodiles

τοῖς μὲν δὴ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἱεροί εἰσιν οἱ κροκόδειλοι, τοῖς δ' οὒ, ἀλλ' ἅτε πολεμίους περιέπουσι.

To some of the Egyptians crocodiles are sacred, and to others they are not, but they treat them as enemies.

οἱ δὲ περί τε Θήβας καὶ τὴν Μοίρεως λίμνην οἰκουντες καὶ κάρτα ἡγοῦνται αὐτοὺς εἶναι ἱερούς. ἕνα δὲ ἑκάτεροι τρέφουσι κροκόδειλον, δεδιδαγμένον εἶναι χειροήθη·

Those who live around Thebes and Lake Moeris actually consider them to be very holy. Each community raises one crocodile, taught to be tame;

ἀρτήματα δὲ εἰς τὰ ὦτα ἐνθέντες καὶ ἀμφιδέας περὶ τοὺς προσθίους πόδας, καὶ σιτία ἀποτακτὰ διδόντες καὶ ἱερεῖα,

inserting ornaments into their ears and bracelets around their front feet, and giving them specially prepared food and animals for sacrifice,

περιέπουσιν ὡς κάλλιστα ζῶντας· ἀποθανόντας δὲ ταριχεύοντες θάπτουσιν ἐν ἱεραῖς θήκαις.

they treat them as the noblest of living things; and when they die, embalming them, they bury them in holy tombs

οἱ δὲ περὶ Ἐλεφαντίνην πόλιν οἰκοῦντες καὶ ἐσθίουσιν αὐτοὺς, οὐχ ἡγούμενοι ἱεροὺς εἶναι. ἄγραι δἐ αὐτῶν πολλαὶ καθεστήκασι καὶ παντοῖαι·

But those who live around the city Elephantine actually eat them, since they do not consider them holy.

ἣ δ' ἐμοί γε δοκεῖ ἀξιωτάτη ἀφηγήσεως εἶναι ταύτην γράφω· ἐπειδὰν νῶτον ὑὸς δελεάσῃ τις περὶ ἄγκιστρον, μεθίησι εἰς μέσον τὸν ποταμόν·

Many and various methods of catching them have been established; and the one which seems to me most worthy of narration, this one I write [here]. Whenever someone puts the back of a hog as bait on a hook, he casts it into the middle of the river.

αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔχων δέλφακα ζωὴν, ταύτην τύπτει. ἐπακούσας δὲ τῆς φωνῆς ὁ κροκόδειλος ἵεται κατὰ τὴν φωνήν· ἐντυχὼν δὲ τῷ νώτῳ καταπίνει, οἱ δὲ ἕλκουσι.

And he himself, having a living sow on the riverbank, strikes her. The crocodile, having heard the noise, heads towards the sound; and coming upon the pig-back, swallows it down, and they drag [it in].

ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἐξελκυσθῇ εἰς γῆν, πρῶτον ἁπάντων ὁ θηρευτὴς πηλῷ κατέπλασεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς· τούτο δὲ ποιήσας κάρτα εὐπετῶς τὰ λοιπὰ χειροῦται· μὴ ποιήσας δὲ σὺν πόνῳ.

Then, when it has been dragged out onto land, first of all the hunter smears its eyes with mud; having done this, he masters the rest very easily; if he did not do this, [he would master it] with difficulty.