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§1.205.1-1.205.2

Cyrus's Proposal to Tomyris and Bridging of the Araxes

Cyrus proposes marriage to Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae, but after she rejects his advances, he begins an open military campaign by bridging the Araxes River.

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§1.205.1

ἦν δὲ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀποθανόντος γυνὴ τῶν Μασσαγετέων βασίλεια. Τόμυρίς οἱ ἦν οὔνομα. ταύτην πέμπων ὁ Κῦρος ἐμνᾶτο τῷ λόγῳ θέλων γυναῖκα ἣν1 ἔχειν. ἡ δὲ Τόμυρις συνιεῖσα οὐκ αὐτήν μιν μνώμενον ἀλλὰ τὴν Μασαγετέων βασιληίην, ἀπείπατο τὴν πρόσοδον.

​The ruler of the Massagetae was the wife of the dead king. Her name was Tomyris. Cyrus sent messengers and wooed her in word, wishing to have her as his wife. But Tomyris, understanding that he was courting not herself but the kingdom of the Massagetae, rejected his advances.

§1.205.2

Κῦρος δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο, ὥς οἱ δόλῳ οὐ προεχώρεε,2 ἐλάσας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀράξεα ἐποιέετο ἐκ τοῦ ἐμφανέος ἐπὶ τοὺς Μασσαγέτας στρατηίην, γεφύρας τε ζευγνύων ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ διάβασιν τῷ στρατῷ, καὶ πύργους ἐπὶ πλοίων τῶν διαπορθμευόντων τὸν ποταμὸν οἰκοδομεόμενος.

​Cyrus after this, since his trickery did not succeed, marched to the Araxes and openly made preparations for a campaign against the Massagetae, both bridging the river for his army to cross, and building towers on the boats that ferried across the river.

Syntax notes2 items
  1. 1.205.1ἣν

    Here ἣν is not the relative pronoun but the Ionic reflexive possessive adjective of the third person (corresponding to Attic ἑήν), meaning "his own". Thus, it is interpreted as "in order to have her as his own wife."

  2. 1.205.2ὥς οἱ δόλῳ οὐ προεχώρεε

    An impersonal construction of the verb προχωρέω (meaning "things progress or turn out well for someone"), taking the dative pronoun οἱ. It means "since by trickery things did not go well for him."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.205.1-1.205.2