Σειραῖς
with lassos
Translated by Philip Rance24 Apr 2012Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] with plaited cords.1
"And a race of Parthians, those who are called 'lasso-carrying'. They fight on horseback, whirling lassos of cord. Having approached the enemy, they cast the nooses made from the cords and, turning about, forcefully urge their horses back again, [and] by the pull of the horse they drag off those captured in the nooses dead or alive".2
"And a race of Parthians, those who are called 'lasso-carrying'. They fight on horseback, whirling lassos of cord. Having approached the enemy, they cast the nooses made from the cords and, turning about, forcefully urge their horses back again, [and] by the pull of the horse they drag off those captured in the nooses dead or alive".2
Greek original · Adler’s text
Σειραῖς· πλεκτοῖς ἱμᾶσι. καὶ γένος Πάρθων, οἱ σειροφόροι καλούμενοι. μάχονται δὲ ἀπὸ ἵππων, σειρὰς ἱμάντων ἑλίσσοντες· πελάσαντες δὲ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐφιᾶσι τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἱμάντων βρόχους ἀποστρέψαντές τε τοὺς ἵππους ὀπίσω βιαίως ἐλαύνουσι. τοὺς δὲ ἁλόντας τοῖς βρόχοις τῇ ῥύμῃ τοῦ ἵππου ἀποθανόντας ἢ ζῶντας ἕλκουσι.
Betacode
*seirai=s: plektoi=s i(ma=si. kai\ ge/nos *pa/rqwn, oi( seirofo/roi kalou/menoi. ma/xontai de\ a)po\ i(/ppwn, seira\s i(ma/ntwn e(li/ssontes: pela/santes de\ toi=s polemi/ois e)fia=si tou\s a)po\ tw=n i(ma/ntwn bro/xous a)postre/yante/s te tou\s i(/ppous o)pi/sw biai/ws e)lau/nousi. tou\s de\ a(lo/ntas toi=s bro/xois th=| r(u/mh| tou= i(/ppou a)poqano/ntas h)\ zw=ntas e(/lkousi.
Notes (2)
- 1The headword and glossing phrase derive from the Synagoge sigma39 (Cunningham), which is also the source for Photius, Lexicon s.v. (Porson 503.25, now sigma115 Theodoridis -- with, to be sure, a slightly different gloss:
leptoi=s i(ma=sin ). See similarly Hesychius sigma337 (Hansen). The headword is the dative plural of the feminine nounseira/ (sigma 274). This form does not occur in the quotation given here and must be extracted from another source: extant possibilities are numerous, but a likely one (championed by Theodoridis) is Proverbs 5.22 LXX, which generated patristic comment. ↩ - 2A conjectured fragment of Arrian's Parthica (fr. 20 Roos). Greek and Roman authors report the military use of lassos among nomadic pastoralists of the Steppe, including the Sarmatians (e.g. Herodotus 7.85; Pomponius Mela 1.114; Pausanias 1.21.5) and Alans (Josephus, Jewish War 7.7.4 [250]). The application of the adjective
seirofo/ros , "lasso-carrying", to the Parthians is unique to this entry. See sigma 287 for an alternative context. ↩
Linked from3 entries
- π3095Ποινήνpenalty"Those of the Sacae that he took as prisoners of war he impaled on stakes and desecrated, wishing once again to exact penalties for the murder of his father."
- σ280ΣειρῆναςSirens[sc. Sirens were] women with lyric voices who, in bygone Greek myth, dwelled on a small island and so enticed passing sailors with their beautiful voices that crews steered in and perished there. From their chests up…
- σ287Σειροφόροςlasso-carrying['Lasso-carrying'] and [sc. also attested is] 'unyoked': what is called a riding horse.
Neighbouring entries
Revision history4 revisions · last 25 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- tweaked n.1; cosmetics; raised status — David Whitehead
- augmented n.1; more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Notes; keywords — Philip Rance
- Translated — Philip Rance