Herodotus, Histories, ed. A.D. Godley, 3.102.2

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[2] In this sandy desert are ants,¹ not as big as dogs but bigger than foxes; the Persian king has some of these, which have been caught there. These ants live underground, digging out the sand in the same way as the ants in Greece [22,39] (nation), Europe Greece , to which they are very similar in shape, and the sand which they carry from the holes is full of gold.

Histories. Herodotus. ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge. 1920-1925.

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Current edition Perseus

Histories (English) (Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing). (Modernized by Perseus.))

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Ἱστορίαι Perseus (Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).) — 3.102.2 focus

[2] ἐν δὴ ὦν τῇ ἐρημίῃ ταύτῃ καὶ τῇ ψάμμῳ γίνονται μύρμηκες μεγάθεα ἔχοντες κυνῶν μὲν ἐλάσσονα ἀλωπέκων δὲ μέζονα· εἰσὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν καὶ παρὰ βασιλέι τῷ Περσέων ἐνθεῦτεν θηρευθέντες. οὗτοι ὦν οἱ μύρμηκες ποιεύμενοι οἴκησιν ὑπὸ γῆν ἀναφορέουσι τὴν ψάμμον κατά περ οἱ ἐν τοῖσι Ἕλλησι μύρμηκες κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ εἶδος ὁμοιότατοι· ἡ δὲ ψάμμος ἡ ἀναφερομένη ἐστὶ χρυσῖτις.

Notes on the current edition

Histories

1. It is suggested that the “ants” may have been really marmots. But even this does not seem to make the story much more probable.

Herodotus Histories 3.102.2

ed. A.D. Godley

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