- 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-grc2:3.118.1-3.118.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The narrative details the origin of the execution of Intaphrenes, one of the seven conspirators, who mutilated the royal gatekeepers after being denied entry to the palace.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἔχει οὕτω. τῶν δὲ τῷ Μάγῳ ἐπαναστάντων ἑπτὰ ἀνδρῶν, ἕνα αὐτῶν Ἰνταφρένεα κατέλαβε ὑβρίσαντα τάδε ἀποθανεῖν1 αὐτίκα μετὰ τὴν ἐπανάστασιν. ἤθελε ἐς τὰ βασιλήια ἐσελθὼν χρηματίσασθαι τῷ βασιλέι· καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ ὁ νόμος οὕτω εἶχε, τοῖσι ἐπαναστᾶσι τῷ Μάγῳ ἔσοδον εἶναι παρὰ βασιλέα ἄνευ ἀγγέλου, ἢν μὴ γυναικὶ τυγχάνῃ μισγόμενος βασιλεύς.
These things, then, are so. But of the seven men who had risen against the Magus, it befell one of them, Intaphrenes, to die immediately after the uprising because of the following act of insolence. He wished to enter the palace and transact business with the King; for indeed the law was so, that those who had risen against the Magus should have access to the King without an announcer, unless the King happened to be lying with a woman.
οὔκων δὴ Ἰνταφρένης ἐδικαίου οὐδένα οἱ ἐσαγγεῖλαι,2 ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἦν τῶν ἑπτά, ἐσιέναι ἤθελε. ὁ δὲ πυλουρὸς καὶ ὁ ἀγγελιηφόρος οὐ περιώρων, φάμενοι τὸν βασιλέα γυναικὶ μίσγεσθαι. ὁ δὲ Ἰνταφρένης δοκέων σφέας ψεύδεα λέγειν ποιέει τοιάδε· σπασάμενος τὸν ἀκινάκεα ἀποτάμνει αὐτῶν τά τε ὦτα καὶ τὰς ῥῖνας, καὶ ἀνείρας περὶ τὸν χαλινὸν τοῦ ἵππου περὶ τοὺς αὐχένας σφέων ἔδησε,3 καὶ ἀπῆκε.
Now Intaphrenes did not think it right that anyone should announce him, but since he was one of the seven, he wished to enter. But the gatekeeper and the messenger would not permit him, saying that the King was lying with a woman. But Intaphrenes, thinking that they were telling lies, did as follows: drawing his akinakes, he cut off their ears and noses, and having strung them on the bridle of his horse, he bound them around their necks, and let them go.
- 3.118.1κατέλαβε ... ἀποθανεῖν
An impersonal use of the verb καταλαμβάνω, meaning "it befell (someone) to..." or "a fate overtook (someone)." With Ἰνταφρένεα (accusative) functioning as the subject of the infinitive ἀποθανεῖν, and the accusative participle ὑβρίσαντα agreeing with it, the structure translates to "it befell Intaphrenes to die because of having committed this act of insolence."
- 3.118.2ἐδικαίου οὐδένα οἱ ἐσαγγεῖλαι
The verb δικαιόω ("to deem right" or "to claim") is negated by οὔκων. With οὐδένα acting as the subject accusative of the infinitive ἐσαγγεῖλαι and the indirect reflexive pronoun οἱ referring back to the subject Intaphrenes, the phrase means "he did not think it right that anyone should announce him."
- 3.118.2ἀνείρας περὶ τὸν χαλινὸν τοῦ ἵππου περὶ τοὺς αὐχένας σφέων ἔδησε
The word ἀνείρας is the first aorist active participle of ἀνείρω ("to string together" or "to thread"). The two prepositional phrases with περὶ (περὶ τὸν χαλινὸν referring to the horse's bridle, and περὶ τοὺς αὐχένας referring to the guards' necks) are coordinated, showing that he strung the severed ears and noses onto the bridle and then tied this around their necks.