Harpagus Orders the Herdsman Mitradates to Expose the Infant — Herodotus, Histories Book 1 (1.110.1–1.110.3), Greek & English

§1.110.1

ταῦτα εἶπε καὶ αὐτίκα ἄγγελον ἔπεμπε ἐπὶ τῶν βουκόλων¹ τῶν Ἀστυάγεος τὸν ἠπίστατο νομάς τε ἐπιτηδεοτάτας νέμοντα² καὶ ὄρεα θηριωδέστατα· τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Μιτραδάτης, συνοίκεε δὲ ἑωυτοῦ συνδούλῃ, οὔνομα δὲ τῇ γυναικὶ ἦν τῇ συνοίκεε Κυνὼ κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλήνων γλῶσσαν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν Μηδικὴν Σπακώ· τὴν γὰρ κύνα καλέουσι σπάκα Μῆδοι.

Having said this, he immediately sent a messenger to fetch that one of Astyages’ herdsmen whom he knew to be pasturing his herds in the most suitable pastures and in the mountains most infested with wild beasts. His name was Mitradates, and he lived with a fellow slave of his; and the name of the woman with whom he lived was Kyno in the Greek tongue, and in the Median tongue Spako, for the Medes call a female dog “spaka.”

§1.110.2

αἱ δὲ ὑπώρεαί εἰσὶ τῶν ὀρέων, ἔνθα τὰς νομὰς τῶν βοῶν εἶχε οὗτος δὴ ὁ βουκόλος, πρὸς βορέω τε ἀνέμου τῶν Ἀγβατάνων³ καὶ πρὸς τοῦ πόντου τοῦ Εὐξείνου· ταύτῃ μὲν γὰρ ἡ Μηδικὴ χωρῇ πρὸς Σασπείρων ὀρεινή ἐστι κάρτα καὶ ὑψηλή τε καὶ ἴδῃσι συνηρεφής, ἡ δὲ ἄλλη Μηδικὴ χωρῇ ἐστὶ πᾶσα ἄπεδος.

Now the foothills of the mountains, where this very herdsman had his pastures for the cattle, lie to the north of Ecbatana and towards the Euxine Sea. For in this direction the Median territory, towards the Saspeires, is very mountainous and high and covered with forests, whereas the rest of the Median country is entirely flat.

§1.110.3

ἐπεὶ ὦν ὁ βουκόλος σπουδῇ πολλῇ καλεόμενος ἀπίκετο, ἔλεγε ὁ Ἅρπαγος τάδε. κελεύει σε Ἀστυάγης τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο λαβόντα θεῖναι ἐς τὸ ἐρημότατον τῶν ὀρέων, ὅκως ἂν τάχιστα διαφθαρείη·⁴ καὶ τάδε τοὶ ἐκέλευσε εἰπεῖν, ἢν μὴ ἀποκτείνῃς αὐτὸ ἀλλὰ τεῷ τρόπῳ περιποιήσῃς, ὀλέθρῳ τῷ κακίστῳ σε διαχρήσεσθαι.⁵ ἐπορᾶν δὲ ἐκκείμενον τέταγμαι ἐγώ.

So when the herdsman arrived, having been summoned with great haste, Harpagus spoke to him as follows: “Astyages commands you to take this child and expose him in the most desolate part of the mountains, so that he may perish as quickly as possible. And he commanded me to tell you this: if you do not kill him, but preserve him in some way, you will be put to death by the most wretched destruction. And I have been ordered to oversee his exposure.”

Syntax notes5 items

1.110.1ἐπὶ τῶν βουκόλων
The preposition ἐπί with the genitive case here expresses the purpose or direction of sending a messenger, i.e., "to fetch" or "go after" the herdsmen.
1.110.1τὸν ἠπίστατο νομάς τε ἐπιτηδεοτάτας νέμοντα
The relative pronoun τὸν refers to a specific herdsman (later identified as Mitradates), and the participle clause νέμοντα serves as a supplementary participle with ἠπίστατο ("whom he knew to be pasturing...").
1.110.2πρὸς βορέω τε ἀνέμου τῶν Ἀγβατάνων
The preposition πρὸς with the genitive means "in the direction of." βορέω ἀνέμου (north wind) points to the north, and τῶν Ἀγβατάνων is a genitive of reference or point of origin indicating location relative to Ecbatana.
1.110.3ὅκως ἂν τάχιστα διαφθαρείη
ὅκως ἂν with the optative mood (διαφθαρείη) introduces a purpose clause in Ionic dialect ("so that... might..."). The optative is used because the main verb κελεύει, although a historical present, functions with historical past sequence.
1.110.3ὀλέθρῳ τῷ κακίστῳ σε διαχρήσεσθαι
This is an infinitive in indirect speech. The subject and verb of the infinitive clause (σε διαχρήσεσθαι, "that you will be put to death") express the content of the message ordered by Astyages (ἐκέλευσε). The verb διαχράομαι here means "to destroy" or "to put to death" in the passive sense.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.110.1-1.110.3