- 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-grc2:1.117.1-1.117.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Astyages stops questioning the herdsman and summons Harpagus to demand an explanation. Seeing the herdsman present, Harpagus abandons any attempt to lie and truthfully explains how he arranged for the child's exposure and verified his death.
Ἀστυάγης δὲ τοῦ μὲν βουκόλου τὴν ἀληθείην ἐκφήναντος λόγον ἤδη καὶ ἐλάσσω ἐποιέετο,1 Ἁρπάγῳ δὲ καὶ μεγάλως μεμφόμενος καλέειν αὐτὸν τοὺς δορυφόρους ἐκέλευε.
Astyages, now that the herdsman had revealed the truth, made less account of him, but being greatly angry with Harpagus, he ordered his guards to summon him.
ὡς δέ οἱ παρῆν ὁ Ἅρπαγος, εἴρετό μιν ὁ Ἀστυάγης Ἅρπαγε, τέῳ δὴ μόρῳ τὸν παῖδα κατεχρήσαο2 τόν τοι παρέδωκα ἐκ θυγατρὸς γεγονότα τῆς ἐμῆς; ὁ δὲ Ἅρπαγος ὡς εἶδε τὸν βουκόλον ἔνδον ἐόντα, οὐ τρέπεται ἐπὶ ψευδέα ὁδόν, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχόμενος ἁλίσκηται, ἀλλὰ λέγει τάδε.
When Harpagus was present before him, Astyages asked him: “Harpagus, by what kind of death did you dispose of the child whom I handed over to you, who was born of my daughter?” But Harpagus, when he saw the herdsman inside, did not turn to a false way, so that he might not be caught when cross-examined, but spoke as follows:
ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἐπείτε παρέλαβον τὸ παιδίον, ἐβούλευον σκοπέων ὅκως σοί τε ποιήσω κατὰ νόον, καὶ ἐγὼ πρὸς σὲ γινόμενος ἀναμάρτητος μήτε θυγατρὶ τῇ σῇ μήτε αὐτῷ σοὶ εἴην3 αὐθέντης.
”O King, when I received the child, I deliberated, considering how I might act according to your mind, and how I, becoming guiltless toward you, might be a murderer neither to your daughter nor to your own self.
ποιέω δὴ ὧδε· καλέσας τὸν βουκόλον τόνδε παραδίδωμι τὸ παιδίον, φὰς σέ τε εἶναι τὸν κελεύοντα ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτό. καὶ λέγων τοῦτό γε οὐκ ἐψευδόμην· σὺ γὰρ ἐνετέλλεο οὕτω. παραδίδωμι μέντοι τῷδε κατὰ τάδε ἐντειλάμενος, θεῖναὶ μιν ἐς ἔρημον ὄρος καὶ παραμένοντα φυλάσσειν ἄχρι οὗ τελευτήσῃ, ἀπειλήσας παντοῖα τῷδε ἢν μὴ τάδε ἐπιτελέα ποιήσῃ.
Therefore I acted in this way: having summoned this herdsman, I handed over the child, saying that you were the one ordering its death. And in saying this, indeed, I was not lying, for you did command so. I handed it over to him, however, commanding him as follows: to place it on a deserted mountain and to stay and watch over it until it should die, threatening him with all kinds of punishments if he should not carry this out.
ἐπείτε δὲ ποιήσαντος τούτου τὰ κελευόμενα ἐτελεύτησε τὸ παιδίον, πέμψας τῶν εὐνούχων τοὺς πιστοτάτους καὶ εἶδον διʼ ἐκείνων καὶ ἔθαψά4 μιν. οὕτω ἔσχε ὦ βασιλεῦ περὶ τοῦ πρήγματος τούτου, καὶ τοιούτῳ μόρῳ ἐχρήσατο ὁ παῖς.
And when, this man having done what was commanded, the child died, I sent the most trustworthy of my eunuchs, and through them I saw the body and buried it. This, O King, is how this matter stood, and by such a death did the boy meet his end.”
- 1.117.1λόγον ἐλάσσω ἐποιέετο
The phrase λόγον ἐλάσσω ποιεῖσθαι is an idiomatic expression meaning "to make less account of" or "to disregard." Here it relates to the genitive τοῦ βουκόλου, indicating that Astyages lessened his anger or concern regarding the herdsman once the truth was revealed.
- 1.117.2κατεχρήσαο
The verb καταχράομαι (here 2nd person singular aorist middle κατεχρήσαο), which typically governs the dative, here takes the accusative τὸν παῖδα as its object, meaning "to kill," "to dispatch," or "to put to death."
- 1.117.3εἴην
The verb εἴην (present optative) is introduced by the conjunction ὅκως. While the preceding ποιήσω is in the subjunctive mood, εἴην shifts to the optative because the governing verb of the main clause, ἐβούλευον, is in a past tense (imperfect), triggering the sequence of moods (historical optative).
- 1.117.5πέμψας... καὶ εἶδον... καὶ ἔθαψα
The participle πέμψας ("having sent") is followed by the coordinating conjunction καί which connects to the main verbs εἶδον ("I saw") and ἔθαψα ("I buried"). This paratactic-like construction where a participle is coordinated with finite verbs using καί emphasizes the tight temporal and causal sequence of these actions.