- 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-grc2:3.124.1-3.124.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Polycrates prepares to set out despite the warnings of diviners and friends, and the ominous dream of his daughter. Angry at his daughter's desperate attempts to stop him, he threatens that she will remain unmarried for a long time if he returns safely, to which she prays that this threat may be fulfilled rather than losing him.
ὁ δὲ πολλὰ μὲν τῶν μαντίων ἀπαγορευόντων πολλὰ δὲ τῶν φίλων1 ἐστέλλετο αὐτόσε, πρὸς δὲ καὶ2 ἰδούσης τῆς θυγατρὸς ὄψιν ἐνυπνίου τοιήνδε· ἐδόκεε οἷ3 τὸν πατέρα ἐν τῷ ἠέρι μετέωρον ἐόντα λοῦσθαι μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Διός, χρίεσθαι δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου.
But Polycrates, although the diviners repeatedly forbade him and his friends did so too, was preparing to set out thither; and he did so moreover despite his daughter having seen a dream-vision of this kind: she dreamt that her father, suspended aloft in the air, was washed by Zeus and anointed by the sun.
ταύτην ἰδοῦσα τὴν ὄψιν παντοίη ἐγίνετο4 μὴ ἀποδημῆσαι τὸν Πολυκράτεα παρὰ τὸν Ὀροίτεα, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἰόντος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν πεντηκόντερον ἐπεφημίζετο. ὁ δέ οἱ ἠπείλησε, ἢν σῶς ἀπονοστήσῃ, πολλόν μιν χρόνον παρθενεύεσθαι.5 ἣ δὲ ἠρήσατο ἐπιτελέα ταῦτα γενέσθαι· βούλεσθαι γὰρ παρθενεύεσθαι πλέω χρόνον ἢ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐστερῆσθαι.
Having seen this vision, she tried by all possible means to prevent Polycrates from traveling abroad to Oroetes, and indeed, as he was boarding his fifty-oared ship, she called after him with ominous words. But he threatened her that, if he returned home safe, she would remain unmarried for a long time. She, however, prayed that this might be fulfilled; for she said she preferred to remain unmarried for a longer time rather than be deprived of her father.
- 3.124.1πολλὰ δὲ τῶν φίλων
In the second clause, the participle ἀπαγορευόντων, parallel to τῶν μαντίων ἀπαγορευόντων in the first clause, is omitted. πολλὰ is an adverbial accusative meaning "repeatedly" or "greatly."
- 3.124.1πρὸς δὲ καὶ
Functioning adverbially, it means "and moreover" or "furthermore." The phrase ἰδούσης τῆς θυγατρὸς... forms a genitive absolute construction.
- 3.124.1ἐδόκεε οἷ
οἷ is the dative of the third-person singular pronoun (indirect reflexive, referring here to the daughter). It means "it seemed to her."
- 3.124.2παντοίη ἐγίνετο
The adjective παντοίη, in apposition to the subject, serves as the complement of the copulative verb ἐγίνετο, expressing an urgent attempt: "she tried by all possible means" or "she left no stone unturned" to prevent the departure (μὴ ἀποδημῆσαι).
- 3.124.2πολλόν μιν χρόνον παρθενεύεσθαι
μιν is the Ionic form of the third-person singular accusative pronoun (equivalent to αὐτήν), serving as the subject of the infinitive παρθενεύεσθαι in the indirect discourse expressing the threat.