- 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-grc2:1.55.1-1.55.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
Convinced of the oracle's truth, Croesus consults it for a third time to ask about the duration of his reign, receiving a cryptic prophecy about a mule becoming king of the Medes.
δωρησάμενος δὲ τοὺς Δελφοὺς ὁ Κροῖσος ἐχρηστηριάζετο τὸ τρίτον· ἐπείτε γὰρ δὴ παρέλαβε τοῦ μαντείου ἀληθείην, ἐνεφορέετο αὐτοῦ.1 ἐπειρώτα δὲ τάδε χρηστηριαζόμενος, εἴ οἱ πολυχρόνιος ἔσται ἡ μουναρχίη.
Having presented his gifts to the Delphians, Croesus consulted the oracle for the third time; for since he had once convinced himself of the truth of the oracle, he made use of it to the full. In consulting it, he enquired as follows, whether his monarchy would endure for a long time.
ἡ δὲ Πυθίη οἱ χρᾷ τάδε. "ἀλλʼ ὅταν ἡμίονος βασιλεὺς Μήδοισι γένηται, καὶ τότε, Λυδὲ ποδαβρέ, πολυψήφιδα παρʼ Ἕρμον φεύγειν μηδὲ μένειν μηδʼ αἰδεῖσθαι2 κακός εἶναι."
And the Pythia gave him the following response: “But whenever a mule shall become king of the Medes, even then, tender-footed Lydian, along the pebbly Hermus flee and do not stay, nor be ashamed to be a coward.”
- 1.55.1ἐνεφορέετο αὐτοῦ
The verb ἐμφορέομαι (imperfect middle-passive, "to take one's fill of", "to satiety") governs the genitive, with the pronoun αὐτοῦ referring back to the preceding τοῦ μαντείου. It vividly describes how Croesus, now fully trustful, began to exploit the oracle excessively.
- 1.55.2φεύγειν μηδὲ μένειν μηδʼ αἰδεῖσθαι
These infinitives (φεύγειν, μένειν, αἰδεῖσθαι) function as "imperative infinitives" expressing direct commands, a well-attested stylistic feature in oracular and epic poetry.