- Source
- Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.137.1-1.137.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
Admetus refuses to surrender Themistocles and sends him to Pydna, from where he journeys by sea to Ephesus and then inland, sending a letter to the new Persian King Artaxerxes to offer his services.
ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἀνίστησί τε αὐτὸν μετὰ τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ υἱέος, ὥσπερ καὶ ἔχων αὐτὸν ἐκαθέζετο,1 καὶ μέγιστον ἦν ἱκέτευμα τοῦτο, καὶ ὕστερον οὐ πολλῷ τοῖς τε Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ Ἀθηναίοις ἐλθοῦσι καὶ πολλὰ εἰποῦσιν οὐκ ἐκδίδωσιν, ἀλλ’ ἀποστέλλει βουλόμενον ὡς βασιλέα πορευθῆναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἑτέραν θάλασσαν πεζῇ ἐς Πύδναν τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου.
Admetus, having heard this, raised him up together with his own son, just as he had been sitting holding him; and this was the most powerful form of supplication. Not much later, when the Lacedaemonians and Athenians came and made many demands, he did not surrender him, but sent him away, since he wished to travel to the King, by land to the other sea, to Pydna, the city of Alexander.
ἐν ᾗ ὁλκάδος τυχὼν ἀναγομένης ἐπ’ Ἰωνίας καὶ ἐπιβὰς καταφέρεται χειμῶνι ἐς τὸ Ἀθηναίων στρατόπεδον, ὃ ἐπολιόρκει Νάξον. καί (ἦν γὰρ ἀγνὼς τοῖς ἐν τῇ νηί) δείσας φράζει τῷ ναυκλήρῳ ὅστις ἐστὶ καὶ δι’ ἃ φεύγει, καὶ εἰ μὴ σώσει αὐτόν, ἔφη ἐρεῖν ὅτι χρήμασι πεισθεὶς αὐτὸν ἄγει·2 τὴν δὲ ἀσφάλειαν εἶναι μηδένα ἐκβῆναι ἐκ τῆς νεὼς μέχρι πλοῦς γένηται· πειθομένῳ δ’ αὐτῷ χάριν ἀπομνήσεσθαι ἀξίαν. ὁ δὲ ναύκληρος ποιεῖ τε ταῦτα καὶ ἀποσαλεύσας ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα ὑπὲρ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ὕστερον ἀφικνεῖται ἐς Ἔφεσον.
Finding there a merchant vessel putting out for Ionia and embarking on it, he was carried by a storm to the Athenian camp which was besieging Naxos. Being afraid (for he was unknown to those on the ship), he told the skipper who he was and why he was fleeing, and said that if he did not save him, he would declare that the skipper had been bribed to carry him. He added that their safety lay in no one leaving the ship until they could sail, and that if the skipper complied, he would return a worthy favor. The skipper did so, and after riding at anchor for a day and a night off the camp, later arrived at Ephesus.
καὶ ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἐκεῖνόν τε ἐθεράπευσε χρημάτων δόσει (ἦλθε γὰρ αὐτῷ ὕστερον ἔκ τε Ἀθηνῶν παρὰ τῶν φίλων καὶ ἐξ Ἄργους ἃ ὑπεξέκειτο) καὶ μετὰ τῶν κάτω Περσῶν τινὸς πορευθεὶς ἄνω ἐσπέμπει γράμματα πρὸς βασιλέα Ἀρταξέρξην τὸν Ξέρξου νεωστὶ βασιλεύοντα.
Themistocles rewarded him with a gift of money (for his property which had been secretly deposited at Athens with his friends and at Argos came to him later); and journeying inland with one of the Persians of the coastal region, he sent a letter to King Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, who had recently come to the throne.
ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ ὅτι ‘Θεμιστοκλῆς ἥκω παρὰ σέ, ὃς κακὰ μὲν πλεῖστα Ἑλλήνων εἴργασμαι τὸν ὑμέτερον οἶκον, ὅσον χρόνον τὸν σὸν πατέρα ἐπιόντα ἐμοὶ ἀνάγκῃ ἠμυνόμην, πολὺ δ᾽ ἔτι πλείω ἀγαθά, ἐπειδὴ ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ μὲν ἐμοί, ἐκείνῳ δὲ ἐν ἐπικινδύνῳ πάλιν ἡ ἀποκομιδὴ ἐγίγνετο. καί μοι εὐεργεσία ὀφείλεται (γράψας τήν τε ἐκ Σαλαμῖνος προάγγελσιν τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως καὶ τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν, ἣν ψευδῶς προσεποιήσατο, τότε δι’ αὑτὸν οὐ διάλυσιν),3 καὶ νῦν ἔχων σε μεγάλα ἀγαθὰ δρᾶσαι πάρειμι διωκόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων διὰ τὴν σὴν φιλίαν. βούλομαι δ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπισχὼν αὐτός σοι περὶ ὧν ἥκω δηλῶσαι.’
The letter declared: “I, Themistocles, have come to you, who of all Greeks have done the most harm to your house, so long as I was defending myself of necessity against your father when he attacked me, but still far more benefits when I was in safety, while his retreat was fraught with danger. And a favor is due to me (writing of the warning of retreat sent from Salamis and of the non-destruction of the bridges, which he falsely claimed was due to his own influence at that time); and now I am present, having the power to do you great services, being pursued by the Greeks on account of my friendship for you. I wish to wait a year and explain to you myself in person about the matters for which I have come.”
- 1.137.1ὥσπερ καὶ ἔχων αὐτὸν ἐκαθέζετο
The participle ἔχων ('holding') expresses a circumstantial relation ('while holding' or 'in the state of holding'). It describes how Admetus raised Themistocles up while the latter was still in the exact posture of supplication, holding Admetus' child.
- 1.137.2ἔφη ἐρεῖν ὅτι χρήμασι πεισθεὶς αὐτὸν ἄγει
Indirect discourse. The main verb ἔφη ('he said') governs the future infinitive ἐρεῖν ('that he would say'), which in turn introduces the ὅτι-clause. The present indicative ἄγει ('is carrying') retains the tense of the original direct speech ('you are carrying me') to convey vividness and simultaneity.
- 1.137.4ἣν ψευδῶς προσεποιήσατο, τότε δι’ αὑτὸν οὐ διάλυσιν
The relative pronoun ἣν ('which') refers back to the entire noun phrase 'the non-destruction of the bridges' (τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν... οὐ διάλυσιν) and serves as the direct object of ψευδῶς προσεποιήσατο ('he falsely claimed').
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1