The Death of Cyrus and Revenge of Tomyris — Herodotus, Histories Book 1 (1.214.1–1.214.5), Greek & English

§1.214.1

καὶ δὴ οὗτος μὲν τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ τελευτᾷ· Τόμυρις δέ, ὥς οἱ Κῦρος οὐκ ἐσήκουσε, συλλέξασα πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτῆς δύναμιν συνέβαλε Κύρῳ. ταύτην τὴν μάχην, ὅσαι δὴ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν μάχαι ἐγένοντο,¹ κρίνω ἰσχυροτάτην γενέσθαι, καὶ δὴ καὶ πυνθάνομαι οὕτω τοῦτο γενόμενον.

Thus he met his end in such a manner. But Tomyris, since Cyrus did not listen to her, gathered all her forces and engaged in battle with Cyrus. I judge this battle to have been the fiercest of all battles fought among barbarians, and indeed I understand that it happened in this way.

§1.214.2

πρῶτα μὲν γὰρ λέγεται αὐτοὺς διαστάντας ἐς ἀλλήλους τοξεύειν, μετὰ δὲ ὥς σφι τὰ βέλεα ἐξετετόξευτο, συμπεσόντας τῇσι αἰχμῇσί τε καὶ τοῖσι ἐγχειριδίοισι συνέχεσθαι.² χρόνον τε δὴ ἐπὶ πολλὸν συνεστάναι μαχομένους καὶ οὐδετέρους ἐθέλειν φεύγειν. τέλος δὲ οἱ Μασσαγέται περιεγένοντο, ἥ τε δὴ πολλὴ τῆς Περσικῆς στρατιῆς αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ διεφθάρη καὶ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς Κῦρος τελευτᾷ, βασιλεύσας τὰ πάντα ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα³ ἔτεα.

For first, it is said that they stood apart and shot arrows at each other, and afterwards, when their arrows were spent, they rushed together and clashed with spears and daggers. For a long time they stood fighting, and neither side was willing to flee. But at last the Massagetae prevailed, and the greater part of the Persian army was destroyed there, and Cyrus himself also died, having reigned in all twenty-nine years.

§1.214.4

ἀσκὸν δὲ πλήσασα αἵματος ἀνθρωπηίου Τόμυρις ἐδίζητο ἐν τοῖσι τεθνεῶσι τῶν Περσέων τὸν Κύρου νέκυν, ὡς δὲ εὗρε, ἐναπῆκε αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐς τὸν ἀσκόν, λυμαινομένη δὲ τῷ νεκρῷ ἐπέλεγε τάδε·

Tomyris, having filled a wineskin with human blood, searched among the Persian dead for the corpse of Cyrus; and when she found it, she plunged his head into the wineskin, and insulting the dead body, she spoke these words:

§1.214.5

σὺ μὲν ἐμὲ ζῶσάν τε καὶ νικῶσάν σε μάχῃ ἀπώλεσας,⁴ παῖδα τὸν ἐμὸν ἑλὼν δόλῳ· σὲ δʼ ἐγώ, κατά περ ἠπείλησα, αἵματος κορέσω. τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὴν Κύρου τελευτὴν τοῦ βίου, πολλῶν λόγων λεγομένων, ὅδε μοι ὁ πιθανώτατος εἴρηται.

”Though I am alive and have defeated you in battle, you have destroyed me by taking my son by guile; but I, even as I threatened, will give you your fill of blood.” Concerning the end of Cyrus’ life, though many stories are told, this one has been related by me as the most credible.

Syntax notes4 items

1.214.1ὅσαι δὴ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν μάχαι ἐγένοντο
A relative clause restricting the superlative ἰσχυροτάτην. The relative pronoun ὅσος limits the scope of the comparison to 'all the battles that took place among barbarians.'
1.214.2λέγεται αὐτοὺς διαστάντας ἐς ἀλλήλους τοξεύειν, μετὰ δὲ ὥς σφι τὰ βέλεα ἐξετετόξευτο, συμπεσόντας τῇσι αἰχμῇσί τε καὶ τοῖσι ἐγχειριδίοισι συνέχεσθαι
An Accusative with Infinitive (A.c.I.) construction introduced by the impersonal verb λέγεται. The accusative subject αὐτούς is modified by the coordinate participles διαστάντας and συμπεσόντας, which correspond respectively to the main infinitives τοξεύειν and συνέχεσθαι.
1.214.3ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα
An idiomatic numerical expression meaning 'twenty-nine' (literally, 'thirty lacking one'). The participle δέοντα (masculine accusative plural, agreeing with ἔτεα as an adjectival modifier of duration, or neuter accusative plural) means 'lacking' and takes the genitive of amount ἑνός (one) to subtract from τριήκοντα (thirty).
1.214.5σὺ μὲν ἐμὲ ζῶσάν τε καὶ νικῶσάν σε μάχῃ ἀπώλεσας
Concessive use of participles. ζῶσαν (living) and νικῶσαν (defeating) are attributive participles agreeing with the accusative pronoun ἐμέ (me). They stand in contrast with the main verb ἀπώλεσας (you destroyed), expressing a concessive sense: 'although I am alive and victorious, you have destroyed me.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.214.1-1.214.5