- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (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:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.115.1-1.115.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Astyages summons the herdsman and Cyrus out of respect for Artembares and accuses Cyrus of violence, but Cyrus boldly defends his actions, stating that he was justly chosen as king and merely punished a disobedient subject.
ἀκούσας δὲ καὶ ἰδὼν Ἀστυάγης, θέλων τιμωρῆσαι τῷ παιδὶ1 τιμῆς τῆς Ἀρτεμβάρεος εἵνεκα, μετεπέμπετο τόν τε βουκόλον καὶ τὸν παῖδα. ἐπείτε δὲ παρῆσαν ἀμφότεροι, βλέψας πρὸς τὸν Κῦρον ὁ Ἀστυάγης ἔφη σὺ δὴ ἐὼν τοῦδε τοιούτου ἐόντος2 παῖς ἐτόλμησας τὸν τοῦδε παῖδα ἐόντος πρώτου παρʼ ἐμοὶ3 ἀεικείῃ τοιῇδε περισπεῖν; ὁ δὲ ἀμείβετο ὧδε. ὦ δέσποτα, ἐγὼ ταῦτα τοῦτον ἐποίησα4 σὺν δίκῃ. οἱ γάρ με ἐκ τῆς κώμης παῖδες, τῶν καὶ ὅδε ἦν, παίζοντες σφέων αὐτῶν ἐστήσαντο βασιλέα· ἐδόκεον γὰρ σφι εἶναι ἐς τοῦτο ἐπιτηδεότατος.
When Astyages heard and saw this, wishing to avenge the boy for the sake of the honor due to Artembares, he sent for both the herdsman and his son. And when they both appeared, Astyages looked at Cyrus and said: ”Did you, who are the son of such a man as this, dare to treat the son of this man, who is the first in rank with me, with such outrage?” And he replied as follows: “Master, I did these things to him with justice. For the boys of the village, among whom this one also was, chose me in play to be their king, for I seemed to them to be the most suitable for this.
οἱ μέν νυν ἄλλοι παῖδες τὰ ἐπιτασσόμενα ἐπετέλεον, οὗτος δὲ ἀνηκούστεέ τε καὶ λόγον εἶχε οὐδένα, ἐς ὃ ἔλαβε τὴν δίκην.5 εἰ ὦν δὴ τοῦδε εἵνεκα ἄξιός τευ κακοῦ εἰμί, ὅδε τοὶ πάρειμι.
Now the other boys did what was ordered of them, but this one was disobedient and paid no regard, until he received his punishment. If, then, I deserve some punishment for this, here I am before you.”
- 1.115.1θέλων τιμωρῆσαι τῷ παιδὶ
The verb τιμωρέω with a dative object (τῷ παιδὶ) means "to avenge someone" or "to bring assistance to someone," whereas with an accusative it means "to punish someone." Here, with the dative, it means "wishing to avenge the boy (for his sake)."
- 1.115.2τοῦδε τοιούτου ἐόντος
The demonstrative pronoun τοῦδε refers to the herdsman standing nearby. The phrase τοιούτου ἐόντος is a genitive absolute ("he being such a one"), emphasizing his low social status.
- 1.115.2τὸν τοῦδε παῖδα ἐόντος πρώτου παρʼ ἐμοὶ
A complex attributive structure where the article τὸν agrees with the accusative παῖδα ("the son"), but embedded within this noun phrase is the genitive τοῦδε ("of this man," i.e., Artembares). The participle clause ἐόντος πρώτου παρʼ ἐμοὶ ("who is the first with me") is a genitive agreeing with τοῦδε, modifying Artembares rather than his son.
- 1.115.2ἐγὼ ταῦτα τοῦτον ἐποίησα
The verb ποιέω is used with a double accusative, taking both the direct object of the action (ταῦτα, things) and the person affected (τοῦτον, this person), meaning "I did these things to him."
- 1.115.3ἐς ὃ ἔλαβὲ τὴν δίκην
The phrase ἐς ὅ means "until." δίκην λαμβάνω (literally "to take punishment") is used here in a passive sense, meaning "he received his punishment" (with the boy as the subject). Alternatively, it could mean "until I exacted justice from him" (with Cyrus as the subject), but interpreting the boy as the subject who finally got punished fits the context better.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1