Spartan Expedition against Tegea and the Fetters — Herodotus, Histories Book 1 (1.66.1–1.66.4), Greek & English

§1.66.1

οὕτω μὲν μεταβαλόντες εὐνομήθησαν, τῷ δὲ Λυκούργῳ τελευτήσαντι ἱρὸν εἱσάμενοι σέβονται μεγάλως. οἷα δὲ ἐν τε χώρῃ ἀγαθῇ¹ καὶ πλήθεϊ οὐκ ὀλίγων ἀνδρῶν, ἀνά τε ἔδραμον αὐτίκα καὶ εὐθηνήθησαν, καὶ δή σφι οὐκέτι ἀπέχρα ἡσυχίην ἄγειν, ἀλλὰ καταφρονήσαντες Ἀρκάδων κρέσσονες εἶναι² ἐχρηστηριάζοντο ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ Ἀρκάδων χωρῇ.

Having changed in this way, they came to have good laws, and they greatly revere Lycurgus after his death, having established a temple for him. Inasmuch as they possessed a fertile land and a population of not a few men, they immediately shot up and flourished, and indeed it no longer sufficed for them to keep quiet, but, looking down on the Arcadians, believing themselves to be superior, they consulted the oracle at Delphi regarding the whole land of the Arcadians.

§1.66.2

ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφι χρᾷ τάδε. "Ἀρκαδίην μʼ αἰτεῖς· μέγα μʼ αἰτεῖς· οὐ τοι δώσω. πολλοὶ ἐν Ἀρκαδίῃ βαλανηφάγοι ἄνδρες ἔασιν, οἵ σʼ ἀποκωλύσουσιν. ἐγὼ δὲ τοι οὔτι μεγαίρω· δώσω τοί Τεγέην ποσσίκροτον ὀρχήσασθαι καὶ καλὸν πεδίον σχοίνῳ διαμετρήσασθαι."

The Pythia declared to them the following: “You ask me for Arcadia; you ask a great thing of me; I will not give it to you. There are many acorn-eating men in Arcadia, who will prevent you. But I do not begrudge you at all; I will give you Tegea to dance upon with stamping feet, and its beautiful plain to measure out with a rope.”

§1.66.3

ταῦτα ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι,Ἀρκάδων μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀπείχοντο, οἳ δὲ πέδας φερόμενοι ἐπὶ Τεγεήτας ἐστρατεύοντο, χρησμῷ κιβδήλῳ πίσυνοι, ὡς δὴ ἐξανδραποδιούμενοι³ τοὺς Τεγεήτας.

When the Lacedaemonians heard these things reported back, they held off from the other Arcadians, but they marched against the Tegeans carrying fetters, trusting in a deceptive oracle, as if indeed they were going to enslave the Tegeans.

§1.66.4

ἑσσωθέντες δὲ τῇ συμβολῇ, ὅσοι αὐτῶν ἐζωγρήθησαν, πέδας τε ἔχοντες τὰς ἐφέροντο αὐτοὶ⁴ καὶ σχοίνῳ διαμετρησάμενοι τὸ πεδίον τὸ Τεγεητέων ἐργάζοντο. αἱ δὲ πέδαι αὗται ἐν τῇσι ἐδεδέατο ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἦσαν σόαι ἐν Τεγέῃ περὶ τὸν νηὸν τῆς Ἀλέης Ἀθηναίης κρεμάμεναι.

But having been defeated in the engagement, as many of them as were taken alive, wearing the very fetters that they themselves had brought, measured out the plain of the Tegeans with a rope and worked it. And these fetters, in which they had been bound, were still preserved intact down to my time, hanging in Tegea around the temple of Athena Alea.

Syntax notes4 items

1.66.1οἷα δὲ ἐν τε χώρῃ ἀγαθῇ
The word οἷα is used adverbially with a prepositional phrase, similar to Attic ἅτε, to express an objective cause or reason ("inasmuch as"). Here it introduces the physical and demographic reasons for the Spartans' rapid growth and prosperity.
1.66.1καταφρονήσαντες Ἀρκάδων κρέσσονες εἶναι
The participle καταφρονήσαντες (having looked down upon) governs the genitive Ἀρκάδων (the Arcadians), and is followed by the infinitive clause κρέσσονες εἶναι (that they were superior). The nominative case of the adjective κρέσσονες reflects identity with the subject of the participle.
1.66.3ὡς δὴ ἐξανδραποδιούμενοι
The combination of ὡς δὴ with the future participle ἐξανδραποδιούμενοι expresses a subjective intention, often carrying an ironic tone of false confidence ("with the expectation of enslaving," "as if they were actually going to enslave").
1.66.4πέδας τε ἔχοντες τὰς ἐφέροντο αὐτοὶ
The feminine accusative plural article τὰς is used here as a relative pronoun instead of the regular ἃς ("which they themselves were carrying"). This usage is characteristic of Homeric and Ionic Greek.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.66.1-1.66.4