- 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-grc2:1.124.1-1.124.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
Cyrus receives the hare sent by Harpagus, finds the letter inside its belly, and reads his call to take vengeance on Astyages and seize the kingship.
ταῦτά τε δὴ ὦν ἐπιτελέα ἐγίνετο καὶ ὁ Κῦρος παραλαβὼν τὸν λαγὸν ἀνέσχισε· εὑρὼν δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ βυβλίον ἐνεὸν λαβὼν ἐπελέγετο, τὰ δὲ γράμματα ἔλεγε τάδε. ὦ παῖ Καμβύσεω, σὲ γὰρ θεοὶ ἐπορῶσι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν κοτὲ ἐς τοσοῦτο τύχης ἀπίκευ·1 σύ νυν Ἀστυάγεα τὸν σεωυτοῦ φονέα τῖσαι.2
So these things were carried out, and Cyrus, receiving the hare, cut it open. Finding the letter inside it, he took it and read it; and the writing said this: “O son of Cambyses, for the gods watch over you; for otherwise you would never have arrived at such a height of fortune. Do you now take vengeance on Astyages, your murderer.
κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὴν τούτου προθυμίην τέθνηκας, τὸ δὲ κατὰ θεούς τε καὶ ἐμὲ περίεις· τά σε καὶ πάλαι δοκέω πάντα ἐκμεμαθηκέναι, σέο τε αὐτοῦ περὶ ὡς ἐπρήχθη, καὶ οἷα ἐγὼ ὑπὸ Ἀστυάγεος πέπονθα, ὅτι σε οὐκ ἀπέκτεινα ἀλλὰ ἔδωκα τῷ βουκόλῳ. σύ νυν, ἢν βούλῃ ἐμοὶ πείθεσθαι, τῆς περ Ἀστυάγης ἄρχει χώρης, ταύτης ἁπάσης ἄρξεις.3 Πέρσας γὰρ ἀναπείσας ἀπίστασθαι στρατηλάτεε ἐπὶ Μήδους·
For as far as his intent was concerned, you are dead, but through the gods and me, you survive. I think you have long since learned all these things—both how it fared with yourself, and what I suffered at the hands of Astyages because I did not kill you but gave you to the herdsman. Now, if you are willing to obey me, you shall rule over all this land which Astyages rules. Persuade the Persians to revolt, and march against the Medes.
καὶ ἤν τε ἐγὼ ὑπὸ Ἀστυάγεος ἀποδεχθέω στρατηγὸς ἀντία σεῦ, ἔστι τοι τὰ σὺ βούλεαι, ἤν τε τῶν τις δοκίμων ἄλλος Μήδων· πρῶτοι γὰρ οὗτοι ἀποστάντες ἀπʼ ἐκείνου καὶ γενόμενοι πρὸς σέο Ἀστυάγεα καταιρέειν πειρήσονται. ὡς ὦν ἑτοίμου τοῦ γε ἐνθάδε ἐόντος,4 ποίεε ταῦτα καὶ ποίεε κατὰ τάχος.
And whether I am appointed general against you by Astyages, or whether some other of the notable Medes is, you have what you desire; for they, being the first to revolt from him and joining your side, will try to overthrow Astyages. Therefore, since things here are indeed ready, do this, and do it with all speed.”
- 1.124.1ἀπίκευ
The Ionic form of the second-person singular aorist middle indicative ἀφίκου. Used with the particle ἄν, it forms the apodosis of a past contrafactual conditional sentence with an implied protasis (such as, 'if the gods had not watched over you'), meaning 'you would never have reached such a height of fortune.'
- 1.124.1τῖσαι
The aorist active infinitive of the verb τίνω (to pay, take vengeance). It is used here in an imperatival sense (the infinitive of command), meaning 'take vengeance.'
- 1.124.2τῆς περ Ἀστυάγης ἄρχει χώρης, ταύτης ἁπάσης ἄρξεις
This clause shows the attraction of the antecedent into the relative clause. The noun χώρης is drawn into the relative clause (τῆς περ ἄρχει) and adapted to the genitive case governed by the main verb ἄρξεις, which otherwise would be written as ταύτης τῆς χώρης ἁπάσης, τῆς Ἀστυάγης ἄρχει.
- 1.124.3ὡς ὦν ἑτοίμου τοῦ γε ἐνθάδε ἐόντος
A genitive absolute construction introduced by the particle ὡς, which expresses the ground of the action ('since indeed things here are ready'). Here, τοῦ ἐνθάδε ἐόντος ('what is here' / 'the situation here') acts as the logical subject of the absolute clause, with ἑτοίμου as the predicate.