- 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-grc2:3.104.1-3.104.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The Athenians completely purified the island of Delos in accordance with an oracle, forbidding births and deaths on the island. The author cites Homer to prove that a great Ionian festival once flourished there, and records that the Athenians revived these contests, adding horse-racing for the first time.
τοῦ δ’ αὐτοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ Δῆλον ἐκάθηραν Ἀθηναῖοι κατὰ χρησμὸν δή τινα. ἐκάθηρε μὲν γὰρ καὶ Πεισίστρατος ὁ τύραννος πρότερον αὐτήν, οὐχ ἅπασαν, ἀλλ’ ὅσον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐφεωρᾶτο τῆς νήσου·1 τότε δὲ πᾶσα ἐκαθάρθη τοιῷδε τρόπῳ.
In the same winter, the Athenians purified Delos in accordance with a certain oracle. For Peisistratus the tyrant had also purified it before, not the whole of it, but as much as was visible from the temple; but on this occasion the whole island was purified in the following manner.
θῆκαι ὅσαι ἦσαν τῶν τεθνεώτων ἐν Δήλῳ, πάσας ἀνεῖλον, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν προεῖπον μήτε ἐναποθνῄσκειν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ μήτε ἐντίκτειν, ἀλλ’ ἐς τὴν Ῥήνειαν διακομίζεσθαι. ἀπέχει δὲ ἡ Ῥήνεια τῆς Δήλου οὕτως ὀλίγον ὥστε Πολυκράτης ὁ Σαμίων τύραννος ἰσχύσας τινὰ χρόνον ναυτικῷ καὶ τῶν τε ἄλλων νήσων ἄρξας καὶ τὴν Ῥήνειαν ἑλὼν ἀνέθηκε2 τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι τῷ Δηλίῳ ἁλύσει δήσας πρὸς τὴν Δῆλον. καὶ τὴν πεντετηρίδα τότε πρῶτον μετὰ τὴν κάθαρσιν ἐποίησαν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τὰ Δήλια.
They removed all the tombs of the dead that were in Delos, and for the future proclaimed that no one should either die or give birth on the island, but that they should be carried over to Rheneia. Now Rheneia is so short a distance from Delos that Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, having for some time been powerful with his navy, and having ruled over the other islands and taken Rheneia, dedicated it to the Delian Apollo, binding it to Delos with a chain. And it was then, after the purification, that the Athenians first established the Delian games, which were celebrated every four years.
ἦν δέ ποτε καὶ τὸ πάλαι μεγάλη ξύνοδος ἐς τὴν Δῆλον τῶν Ἰώνων τε καὶ περικτιόνων νησιωτῶν· ξύν τε γὰρ γυναιξὶ καὶ παισὶν ἐθεώρουν, ὥσπερ νῦν ἐς τὰ Ἐφέσια Ἴωνες, καὶ ἀγὼν ἐποιεῖτο αὐτόθι καὶ γυμνικὸς καὶ μουσικός, χορούς τε ἀνῆγον αἱ πόλεις.
And in olden times there was a great gathering at Delos of the Ionians and the neighboring islanders; for they attended the festival with their wives and children, just as the Ionians now do at the Ephesia, and athletic and musical contests were held there, and the cities sent choruses.
δηλοῖ δὲ μάλιστα Ὅμηρος ὅτι τοιαῦτα ἦν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι τοῖσδε, ἅ ἐστιν ἐκ προοιμίου Ἀπόλλωνος· "ἀλλ’ ὅτε Δήλῳ, Φοῖβε, μάλιστά γε θυμὸν ἐτέρφθης, ἔνθα τοι ἑλκεχίτωνες Ἰάονες ἠγερέθονται σὺν σφοῖσιν τεκέεσσι γυναιξί τε σὴν ἐς ἀγυιάν· ἔνθα σε πυγμαχίῃ τε καὶ ὀρχηστυῖ καὶ ἀοιδῇ μνησάμενοι τέρπουσιν, ὅταν καθέσωσιν ἀγῶνα."
And that this was so is shown especially by Homer in the following verses, which are from the Hymn to Apollo: “But when in Delos, O Phoebus, thy heart is most delighted, There gather the long-robed Iaonians, With their children and wives, into thy street; There they delight thee, calling thee to mind With boxing and dancing and song, whenever they set up the contest.”
ὅτι δὲ καὶ μουσικῆς ἀγὼν ἦν καὶ ἀγωνιούμενοι ἐφοίτων ἐν τοῖσδε αὖ δηλοῖ, ἅ ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προοιμίου· τὸν γὰρ Δηλιακὸν χορὸν τῶν γυναικῶν ὑμνήσας ἐτελεύτα τοῦ ἐπαίνου ἐς τάδε τὰ ἔπη, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἐπεμνήσθη· "ἀλλ’ ἄγεθ᾽, ἱλήκοι μὲν Ἀπόλλων Ἀρτέμιδι ξύν, χαίρετε δ’ ὑμεῖς πᾶσαι. ἐμεῖο δὲ καὶ μετόπισθε μνήσασθ᾽, ὁππότε κέν τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων ἐνθάδ’ ἀνείρηται ταλαπείριος ἄλλος ἐπελθών· ‘ὦ κοῦραι, τίς δ’ ὔμμιν ἀνὴρ ἥδιστος ἀοιδῶν ἐνθάδε πωλεῖται, καὶ τέῳ τέρπεσθε μάλιστα;’ ὑμεῖς δ’ εὖ μάλα πᾶσαι ὑποκρίνασθαι3 ἀφήμως· ‘τυφλὸς ἀνήρ, οἰκεῖ δὲ Χίῳ ἔνι παιπαλοέσσῃ.’"
And that there was also a musical contest, and that competitors went there to contend, he shows again in these verses, which are from the same hymn; for having praised the Delian chorus of women, he ended his praise with these verses, in which he also made mention of himself: “But come, may Apollo be gracious, together with Artemis, And farewell, all of you. And of me hereafter Be mindful, when some other of earth-born men, A sore-tried stranger, coming hither, shall ask: ‘O maidens, what man is the sweetest of singers to you Of those who frequent this place, and in whom do you most delight?’ And do you all right well make answer in one voice: ‘A blind man, and he dwells in rocky Chios.’”
τοσαῦτα μὲν Ὅμηρος ἐτεκμηρίωσεν ὅτι ἦν καὶ τὸ πάλαι μεγάλη ξύνοδος καὶ ἑορτὴ ἐν τῇ Δήλῳ· ὕστερον δὲ τοὺς μὲν χοροὺς οἱ νησιῶται καὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι μεθ’ ἱερῶν ἔπεμπον, τὰ δὲ περὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα κατελύθη ὑπὸ ξυμφορῶν, ὡς εἰκός, πρὶν δὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τότε τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐποίησαν4 καὶ ἱπποδρομίας, ὃ πρότερον οὐκ ἦν.
Homer thus gave so much evidence that in ancient times also there was a great gathering and festival in Delos. But later, though the islanders and the Athenians continued to send choruses with sacrifices, the contests and most of the ceremonies were, as was natural, done away with through misfortunes, until indeed the Athenians at this time established the contest and horse-races, which had not existed before.
- 3.104.1ὅσον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐφεωρᾶτο τῆς νήσου
ὅσον is a relative pronoun of quantity, acting as the object of the verb in the omitted principal clause (signifying 'that part of the island'), or incorporating its antecedent to mean 'as much as.' τῆς νήσου is a partitive genitive depending on ὅσον ('as much of the island as was visible').
- 3.104.2ὥστε Πολυκράτης ὁ Σαμίων τύραννος... ἀνέθηκε
In the consecutive clause introduced by the conjunction ὥστε, the main verb is in the indicative past (ἀνέθηκε), emphasizing that this was an actual historical event that took place, rather than a mere logical consequence or possibility. Additionally, the direct object of ἀνέθηκε ('Rheneia') is omitted, as it is easily understood from the preceding participle phrase τὴν Ῥήνειαν ἑλὼν.
- 3.104.5ὑποκρίνασθαι
This is an example of the 'infinitive for imperative' (here, an aorist infinitive) in the Homeric quotation (Epic-Ionic dialect). The subject ὑμεῖς is explicitly expressed in the nominative case.
- 3.104.6πρὶν δὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τότε τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐποίησαν
The conjunction πρὶν followed by the past indicative after an affirmative main clause expresses the idea 'until at last' or 'until finally,' indicating the actual realization of an expected event or a turning point in historical development.