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§1.46.1-1.46.3

Rise of Persia and Croesus's Testing of the Oracles

After mourning his son for two years, Croesus is stirred by the rapid rise of Persia and decides to test the reliability of various Greek and Libyan oracles before consulting them on a potential campaign.

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§1.46.1

Κροῖσος δὲ ἐπὶ δύο ἔτεα ἐν πένθεϊ μεγάλῳ κατῆστο τοῦ παιδὸς ἐστερημένος. μετὰ δὲ ἡ Ἀστυάγεος τοῦ Κυαξάρεω ἡγεμονίη καταιρεθεῖσα1 ὑπὸ Κύρου τοῦ Καμβύσεω καὶ τὰ τῶν Περσέων πρήγματα αὐξανόμενα πένθεος μὲν Κροῖσον ἀπέπαυσε, ἐνέβησε δὲ ἐς φροντίδα, εἴ κως δύναιτο,2 πρὶν μεγάλους γενέσθαι τοὺς Πέρσας, καταλαβεῖν αὐτῶν αὐξανομένην τὴν δύναμιν.

​For two years Croesus sat in deep grief, bereaved of his son. But after this, the overthrow of the rule of Astyages, son of Cyaxares, by Cyrus, son of Cambyses, and the growing power of the Persians, released Croesus from his grief and brought him to consider whether he might somehow be able, before the Persians became too powerful, to check their growing strength.

§1.46.2

μετὰ ὦν τὴν διάνοιαν ταύτην αὐτίκα ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν μαντείων τῶν τε ἐν Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ, διαπέμψας ἄλλους ἄλλῃ, τοὺς μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἰέναι,3 τοὺς δὲ ἐς Ἄβας τὰς Φωκέων, τοὺς δὲ ἐς Δωδώνην· οἳ δὲ τινὲς ἐπέμποντο παρὰ τε Ἀμφιάρεων καὶ παρὰ Τροφώνιον, οἳ δὲ τῆς Μιλησίης ἐς Βραγχίδας.

​With this intention, therefore, he immediately began to test the oracles both in Greece and in Libya, sending different messengers to different places—some to go to Delphi, some to Abae in Phocis, and some to Dodona; others were sent to the shrines of Amphiaraus and Trophonius, and others to Branchidae in the territory of Miletus.

§1.46.3

ταῦτα μέν νυν τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ μαντήια ἐς τὰ ἀπέπεμψε μαντευσόμενος Κροῖσος· Λιβύης δὲ παρὰ Ἄμμωνα ἀπέστελλε ἄλλους χρησομένους. διέπεμπε δὲ πειρώμενος τῶν μαντηίων ὅ τι φρονέοιεν, ὡς εἰ φρονέοντα τὴν ἀληθείην εὑρεθείη, ἐπείρηται4 σφέα δεύτερα πέμπων εἰ ἐπιχειρέοι ἐπὶ Πέρσας στρατεύεσθαι.

​These were the Greek oracles to which Croesus sent to consult; but to Libya he dispatched others to consult Ammon. He sent them to test what the oracles knew, so that, if they were found to know the truth, he might send a second time to ask them whether he should undertake an expedition against the Persians.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 1.46.1ἡγεμονίη καταιρεθεῖσα

    A noun combined with a aorist passive participle in the 'ab urbe condita' construction, where the expression represents the action or fact itself ('the overthrow of the rule') rather than a modified noun ('the overthrown rule').

  2. 1.46.1εἴ κως δύναιτο

    The optative (δύναιτο) is used in the subordinate clause in harmony with the past tense of the main verb (ἐνέβησε). It functions as an indirect question expressing doubt or expectation ('whether he might somehow be able'), or represents the object of his effort.

  3. 1.46.2τοὺς μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἰέναι

    The infinitive ἰέναι following the participle διαπέμψας (having sent) functions as an accusative with infinitive of command or instruction, indicating what the dispatched messengers were ordered to do.

  4. 1.46.3ὡς ... ἐπείρηται

    A purpose clause introduced by the conjunction ὡς. ἐπείρηται is the Ionic form of ἐπέρηται (the third-person singular aorist subjunctive middle of ἐπείρομαι, 'to ask'), sharing the subject (Croesus) with the main clause.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.46.1-1.46.3