1.9 | Dickinson College Commentaries

καταλιπόντες δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ ναῦν ἐφεύγομεν καὶ τοῖς ἀπολειφθεῖσιν διηγούμεθα ἐλθόντες τά τε ἄλλα καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων τὴν ἀμπελομιξίαν. καὶ δὴ λαβόντες ἀμφορέας τινὰς καὶ ὑδρευσάμενοί τε ἅμα καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ οἰνισάμενοι καὶ αὐτοῦ πλησίον ἐπὶ τῆς ᾐόνος αὐλισάμενοι ἕωθεν ἀνήχθημεν οὐ σφόδρα βιαίῳ πνεύματι.

Περὶ μεσημβρίαν δὲ οὐκέτι τῆς νήσου φαινομένης ἄφνω τυφὼν ἐπιγενόμενος καὶ περιδινήσας τὴν ναῦν καὶ μετεωρίσας ὅσον ἐπὶ σταδίους τριακοσίους οὐκέτι καθῆκεν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνω μετέωρον ἐξηρτημένην ἄνεμος ἐμπεσὼν τοῖς ἱστίοις ἔφερεν κολπώσας τὴν ὀθόνην.

notes

A wind rises which carries them into the air.

ἀπολειφθεῖσιν: aor. pass. part. dat. pl. "to those left behind" (i.e., guarding the boat).

τά τε ἄλλα καὶ: "the other things, and especially..."

ἀμπελομιξίαν: "sexual intercourse with vines."

αὐτοῦ πλησίον: "right there nearby."

αὐλισάμενοι: aor. part., "having camped."

ἀνήχθημεν: aor. pass. of ἀνάγω, "we put out to sea."

οὐκέτι τῆς νήσου φαινομένης: "the island no longer being visible" (S. 2058 and 2070; G. 589 and 590).

μετεωρίσας: aor. part. “raising into the air.”

ὅσον ἐπί σταδίους τριακοσίους: "for about thirty-five miles." A stade is a standard Greek unit of distance representing about 607 English feet (= 600 Greek feet) and so 300 stades represents about thirty-five miles. For ὅσον + numbers meaning "about, approximately," see LSJ IV.3.

καθῆκεν: aor. 3 sg. of καθίημι, "set her down."

ἄνω μετέωρον ἐξηρτημένην: "suspended in mid-air."

κολπώσας τὴν ὀθόνην: “billowing out the canvas.”

vocabulary

VERB LIST

καταλείπω: abandon

ἀπολείπω: leave behind

διηγέομαι: set out in detail, describe in full

ἀμφορεύς, -έως, ὁ: an amphora, jar

ὑδρεύω: draw water

οἰνίζομαι: procure wine

αὐτοῦ: at that very place, just there

πλησίον: nearby, near

ἠιών, όνος, ἡ: a shore, beach

αὐλίζομαι: encamp, bivouac

ἕωθεν: at daybreak

σφόδρα: very, very much

βίαιος, -ος, -ον: forceful

μεσημβρία, ἡ: mid-day, noon

ἄφνω: suddenly

τυφών, ῶ, ὁ: a whirlwind, typhoon

ἐπιγίνομαι: come into being, happen

περιδινέω: whirl

μετεωρίζω: raise up, elevate

τριακόσιοι, -αι, -α: three hundred

καθίημι: to let fall

πέλαγος, -ους, τό: the sea

μετέωρος, -ον: in mid-air, raised from the ground

ἐξαρτάω: hang upon, suspend from

ἄνεμος, ὁ: wind

ἱστίον, τό: a sail

κολπόω: swell, fill (with wind)

ὀθόνη, ἡ: a sail, canvas

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