Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 38
The oxen of Geryon
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō38.1Tum vērō missus est Herculēs ad īnsulam Erythīam, ut bovēs Gēryonis arcesseret.
Then Hercules was sent to the island of Erythia, to fetch the oxen of Geryon.
38.2Rēs erat summae difficultātis, quod bovēs ā quōdam Eurytiōne et ā cane bicipite custōdiēbantur.
The task was of the greatest difficulty, because the oxen were guarded by a certain Eurytion and by a two-headed dog.
38.3Ipse autem Gēryōn speciem horribilem praebēbat; tria enim corpora inter sē coniūncta habēbat.
And Geryon himself had a horrible appearance; for he had three bodies joined together.
38.4Herculēs tamen etsī intellegēbat quantum perīculum esset, negōtium suscēpit; ac postquam per multās terrās iter fēcit, ad eam partem Libyae pervēnit quae Eurōpae proxima est.
Hercules, however, although he understood how great the danger was, undertook the task; and after he had journeyed through many lands, he reached that part of Libya which is nearest to Europe.
38.5Ibi in utrōque lītore fretī quod Eurōpam ā Libyā dīvidit columnās cōnstituit, quae posteā Herculis Columnae appellābantur.
There, on each shore of the strait which separates Europe from Libya, he set up columns, which were afterwards called the Pillars of Hercules.
Note. The Pillars of Hercules are the rocks on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Vocabulary
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f. | ox, bull, cow |
| arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | call, summon, fetch |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| difficultas, -tātis, f. | difficulty |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| canis, -is, m. and f. | dog |
| biceps, -cipitis, adj. | two-headed |
| custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | guard |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| horribilis, -e | dreadful, terrible, horrible |
| praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| enim, conj. | for |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| negōtium, -ī, n. | business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty |
| suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | undertake |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| terra, -ae, f. | land, earth |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| lītus, lītoris, n. | shore |
| fretum, -ī, n. | strait |
| dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus | divide, separate |
| columna, -ae, f. | column, pillar |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |