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Ἕρμα · ballast (ε 3020) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near ε3020

ε3016fence-man, enclosure-man
ε3017fence
ε3018Herculius, Maximian
ε3019Hercynian forests (?Black Forest)
ε3020ballast
ε3021ballast
ε3022ballast, prop
ε3023Hermagoras
ε3024Hermagoras

Suda/Ε epsilon/ε3020

← Previous entry,ε3019 Next entry,ε3021 →

Ἕρμα

ballast

Translated by Catharine Roth3 Jan 2008Vetting: high8 revisions

biography
definition
economics
geography
historiography
history
+2
- military affairs
- science and technology

2 notes · 35 words

Translation

[Meaning a] very big stone.¹
"He was bringing cargo ships, which he planned to sink, loaded with ballast, at the exit of the harbor so as to block the enemy entirely from [reaching] the sea."²

Greek original · Adler’s text

Ἕρμα· λίθος μέγιστος. παρεκόμιζε ναῦς φορτηγούς, ἃς ἕρματος γεμούσας ἐπενόει βυθίσας κατὰ τὸν τοῦ λιμένος ἔκπλουν ἀποκλείειν τοὺς πολεμίους καθόλου τῆς θαλάττης.

Betacode

*(/erma: li/qos me/gistos. pareko/mize nau=s forthgou/s, a(\s e(/rmatos gemou/sas e)peno/ei buqi/sas kata\ to\n tou= lime/nos e)/kploun a)poklei/ein tou\s polemi/ous kaqo/lou th=s qala/tths.

Notes (2)

1For this headword see also epsilon 3021, epsilon 3022. ↩
2Polybius fr. 154 Büttner-Wobst (individual and context uncertain). Büttner-Wobst notes (534) that Mauritius (Moritz) Müller (48) attributed the fragment to Polybius. Müller also cited (ibid.) a strikingly similar passage in Livy 37.14 (web address 1), where a plan to sink two cargo vessels heavy with ballast into the narrow entrance of the harbor at Ephesus is debated--and ultimately rejected--by the Romans (under Lucius Aemilius Regillus, praetor 190 BCE) and their allies. Assuming that Müller's conjectures are correct, then, as Büttner-Wobst further notes (ibid.), the fragment evidently belongs with early C2 BCE events described in Polybius 21.7 (web address 2); cf. delta 635, epsilon 3377, and pi 140. ↩

References

T. Büttner-Wobst, ed., Polybii Historiae, vol. IV, (Leipzig 1904)
M. Müller, "Zu Polybios", in A. Fleckeisen (ed.), Jahrbücher für classische Philologie (Leipzig 1870) 48

External resources

Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Web address 2 perseus.tufts.edu

Linked from3 entries

ε3021ἝρμαballastArrian [writes]: "and [they] putting ballast into the stern, so as to raise the bow up high, as the ship was weighted down at the stern." *(/erma also [means] security. "[...] that the places were safe because of the…
ε3022Ἕρμαballast, prop"The jar having fallen on a stone and been smashed ...". [Meaning on] an obstacle, a support. And Aristophanes [writes]: "instead of ballast having swallowed many lawsuits." Meaning stones; since cranes flying carry…
ε3027ἙρματίζωI stabilize, I steady, I support[no gloss]

Neighbouring entries

ε3018ἙρκούλιοςHerculius, Maximian ε3019Ἑρκύνιοι δρυμοίHercynian forests (?Black Forest)ε3020Ἕρμαballast ε3021Ἕρμαballast ε3022Ἕρμαballast, prop

Revision history8 revisions · last 22 Sep 2018

22 Sep 2018expanded n.2, added cross-references — Ronald Allen
21 Sep 2018tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
21 Sep 2018augmented bibliography, expanded n.2 — Ronald Allen
21 Sep 2018further expanded n.2, added link — Ronald Allen
21 Sep 2018expanded n.2, added bibliography — Ronald Allen
12 Feb 2016cosmetics — David Whitehead
28 Oct 2012more keywords — David Whitehead
3 Jan 2008more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
3 Jan 2008Translated — Catharine Roth

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Ἕρμα (Adler number epsilon 3020), trans. Catharine Roth, 3 Jan 2008. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/epsilon/3020

Translation by Catharine Roth for Suda On Line, revised by Ronald Allen, Catharine Roth, David Whitehead, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗