Βάραθρον
cleft
Translated by David Whitehead12 Oct 2000Vetting: high9 revisions
Translation
It is a pit, into which they1 used to throw down those condemned to death. But in [the] Philippics Demosthenes used the term not technically but figuratively, as if to say "in a hellhole".2
Greek original · Adler’s text
Βάραθρον· ὄρυγμά ἐστιν, εἰς ὃ ὁ τῆς Ἱπποθοωντίδος δῆμος τοὺς ἐπὶ θανάτῳ κατακρίτους ἐνέβαλλον. ἐν δὲ Φιλιππικοῖς ὁ Δημοσθένης τὴν λέξιν οὐ κυρίως εἶπεν, ἀλλ' ἐκ μεταφορᾶς, οἷον ἐν τῷ ὀλέθρῳ.