- 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-grc2:1.158.1-1.158.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
The Cymaeans consult the oracle at Branchidae regarding Pactyes and receive a command to deliver him, but Aristodicus, doubting the oracle, stops them and suggests a second inquiry.
πέμψαντες ὦν οἱ Κυμαῖοι ἐς τοὺς Βραγχίδας θεοπρόπους εἰρώτευν περὶ Πακτύην ὁκοῖόν τι ποιέοντες1 θεοῖσι μέλλοιεν χαριεῖσθαι. ἐπειρωτῶσι δέ σφι ταῦτα χρηστήριον ἐγένετο ἐκδιδόναι Πακτύην Πέρσῃσι. ταῦτα δὲ ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν οἱ Κυμαῖοι, ὁρμέατο ἐκδιδόναι·
So the Cymaeans sent messengers to Branchidae and asked about Pactyes, what kind of action they should take to please the gods. When they asked this question, the oracle given to them was to deliver Pactyes up to the Persians. When the Cymaeans heard this report brought back, they were set on delivering him up.
ὁρμημένου δὲ ταύτῃ τοῦ πλήθεος, Ἀριστόδικος ὁ Ἡρακλείδεω ἀνὴρ τῶν ἀστῶν ἐὼν δόκιμος ἔσχε μὴ ποιῆσαι2 ταῦτα Κυμαίους, ἀπιστέων τε τῷ χρησμῷ καὶ δοκέων τοὺς θεοπρόπους οὐ λέγειν ἀληθέως, ἐς ὃ3 τὸ δεύτερον περὶ Πακτύεω ἐπειρησόμενοι ἤισαν ἄλλοι θεοπρόποι, τῶν καὶ Ἀριστόδικος ἦν.
But while the multitude was bent on this course, Aristodicus the son of Heracleides, a man of distinction among the citizens, prevented the Cymaeans from doing this, because he distrusted the oracle and thought that the messengers were not speaking the truth; until at last other messengers, among whom was Aristodicus himself, went to inquire for a second time concerning Pactyes.
- 1.158.1ὁκοῖόν τι ποιέοντες
The participle ποιέοντες (= ποιοῦντες, Ionic dialect) is used in a conditional sense, meaning 'by doing what sort of thing' or 'if they did what sort of thing' they would please the gods.
- 1.158.2ἔσχε μὴ ποιῆσαι
The verb ἔσχε (aorist of ἔχω/σχέω, 'prevented' or 'held back') takes an infinitive accompanied by the redundant or 'preventative' negative μή, meaning 'prevented the Cymaeans from doing this'.
- 1.158.2ἐς ὃ
The phrase ἐς ὅ (= εἰς ὅ) functions as a temporal conjunction meaning 'until' or 'until at last', introducing the ultimate outcome or limit of the preceding action.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1