- 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-grc2:4.50.1-4.50.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
The Athenian general Aristeides captured Artaphernes, a Persian envoy to Sparta, whose letters the Athenians then translated. Later, Athenian envoys sent to accompany him back to Ephesus returned home upon hearing of the death of King Artaxerxes.
τοῦ δ’ ἐπιγιγνομένου χειμῶνος Ἀριστείδης ὁ Ἀρχίππου, εἷς τῶν ἀργυρολόγων νεῶν1 Ἀθηναίων στρατηγός, αἳ ἐξεπέμφθησαν πρὸς τοὺς ξυμμάχους, Ἀρταφέρνην ἄνδρα Πέρσην παρὰ βασιλέως πορευόμενον ἐς Λακεδαίμονα ξυλλαμβάνει ἐν Ἠιόνι τῇ ἐπὶ Στρυμόνι.
In the following winter, Aristeides the son of Archippus, one of the commanders of the Athenian money-collecting ships which had been sent out to the allies, captured Artaphernes, a Persian, at Eion on the Strymon, while he was on his way from the King to Lacedaemon.
καὶ αὐτοῦ κομισθέντος οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τὰς μὲν ἐπιστολὰς μεταγραψάμενοι ἐκ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων γραμμάτων ἀνέγνωσαν, ἐν αἷς πολλῶν ἄλλων γεγραμμένων κεφάλαιον ἦν πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους, οὐ γιγνώσκειν2 ὅτι βούλονται· πολλῶν γὰρ ἐλθόντων πρέσβεων οὐδένα ταὐτὰ λέγειν· εἰ οὖν τι βούλονται σαφὲς λέγειν, πέμψαι3 μετὰ τοῦ Πέρσου ἄνδρας ὡς αὐτόν.
After he was brought to Athens, the Athenians translated the letters from the Assyrian characters and read them. In these, among many other things, the substance of the message to the Lacedaemonians was that the King did not understand what they wanted; for although many envoys had come, no two said the same thing; if, therefore, they wished to say anything clear, they should send men to him in company with this Persian.
τὸν δὲ Ἀρταφέρνην ὕστερον οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀποστέλλουσι τριήρει ἐς Ἔφεσον καὶ πρέσβεις ἅμα· οἳ πυθόμενοι αὐτόθι βασιλέα Ἀρταξέρξην τὸν Ξέρξου νεωστὶ τεθνηκότα4 (κατὰ γὰρ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον ἐτελεύτησεν) ἐπ’ οἴκου ἀνεχώρησαν.
Afterwards, the Athenians sent Artaphernes back in a trireme to Ephesus, and sent envoys with him; but when they arrived there and learned that King Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, was recently dead (for he died about that time), the envoys returned home.
- 4.50.1νεῶν
A noun in the genitive plural modified by ἀργυρολόγων (money-collecting) and serving as the antecedent of the relative pronoun αἳ. It indicates that the money-collecting ships were sent out to the allies.
- 4.50.2οὐ γιγνώσκειν
Infinitive in indirect discourse with the Persian King as the implied subject, representing the content of the letter: 'that he (the King) did not understand...'
- 4.50.2πέμψαι
Infinitive representing a command in indirect discourse, with the Lacedaemonians as the implied subject: 'that they should send...'
- 4.50.3τεθνηκότα
Perfect participle functioning as the complement of πυθόμενοι (having learned), agreeing with the accusative subject βασιλέα Ἀρταξέρξην, forming an indirect statement: 'having learned that King Artaxerxes was dead.'