Darius disturbs the tomb of Nitocris

Question 1

Νίτωκρις ἡ τῆς βαβυλῶνος βασίλεια ἀπάτην τοιάνδε τινὰ ἐμηχανήσατο.

Answer 1

Nitocris, queen of Babylon, devised some sort of weird trick.

Question 2

ὑπερ τῶν μάλιστα λεωφόρων πυλῶν τοῦ ἄστεως τάφον ἑαυτῇ κατεσκευάσατο μετέωρον,

Answer 2

Above the particularly/very busy city-gates, she got a tomb built for herself,

Question 3

ἐπιπολῆς αὐτων τῶν πυλῶν ἐνεκόλαψε δὲ εἰς τὸν τάφον γράμματα λέγοντα τάδε

Answer 3

high up on top of the very same gates; and she cut letters in stone onto/into the tomb(stone) saying the
following:

Question 4

᾽ἤν τις τῶν ἐμοῦ ὕστερον γιγνομένων Βαβυλῶνος βασιλέων σπανίσῃ χρημάτων,

Answer 4

“If any of the kings of my Babylon who are born/come later would be short of possessions/things,

Question 5

ἀνοίξας τὸν τάφον λαβέτω ὁπόσα βούλεται χρήματα:

Answer 5

let him, having opened the tomb, take as many possessions/things as he wants.

Question 6

μὴ μέντοι γε, μὴ σπανίσας γε, ἄλλως ἀνοίξῃ: οὐ γὰρ ἄμεινον.᾽

Answer 6

If indeed (he is) not (short/in need), let him not open/he should
not open it for any other reason; for it is better not to.”

Question 7

οὗτος ὁ τάφος ἦν ἀκίνητος μέχρι οὗ ἐς Δαρεῖον περιῆλθεν ἡ βασιλεία.

Answer 7

That tomb was undisturbed until the royal power passed to Darius.

Question 8

Δαρείῳ δὲ καὶ δεινὸν ἐδόκει εἶναι ταῖς πύλαις ταύταις μηδὲν χρῆσθαι καὶ,

Answer 8

It seemed to Darius a terrible thing to make no use of these gates,

Question 9

χρημάτων κειμένων καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν γραμματων ἐπικαλουμένων, μὴ οὐ λαβεῖν αὐτά.

Answer 9

both while possessions were left lying there and the writing/letters inviting not to take them.

Question 10

(ταῖς δὲ πύλαις ταύταις οὐδὲν ἐχρῆτο τοῦδε ἕνεκα, ὅτι ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς αὐτῷ ἐγίγνετο ἄν ὁ νεκρὸς διεξελαύνοντι.)

Answer 10

(He did not make use of these gates for the following reason, namely that a corpse would be above his head while he went out through (the gates).)

Question 11

ἀνοίξας δὲ τὸν τάφον ηὗρε χρήματα μὲν οὔ, τὸν δὲ νεκρόν, καὶ γράμματα λέγοντα τάδε,

Answer 11

And having opened the tomb, he found no possessions, but the corpse, and writing saying the following,

Question 12

῾εἰ μὴ ἀπληστός τε ἦσθα χρήματων καὶ αἰσχροκέρδης,

Answer 12

If you were not so greedy for possessions and avaricious,

Question 13

οὐκ ἄν νεκρῶν θήκας ἀνέῳγες.᾽

Answer 13

(then) you would not be opening coffins of corpses.’