- 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-grc2:3.125.1-3.125.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Polycrates disregards all advice and travels to Oroetes, only to be miserably killed and impaled at Magnesia. This results in the complete fulfillment of his daughter's ominous dream-vision.
Πολυκράτης δὲ πάσης συμβουλίης ἀλογήσας ἔπλεε παρὰ τὸν Ὀροίτεα, ἅμα ἀγόμενος ἄλλους τε πολλοὺς τῶν ἑταίρων, ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ Δημοκήδεα τὸν Καλλιφῶντος Κροτωνιήτην ἄνδρα, ἰητρόν τε ἐόντα καὶ τὴν τέχνην ἀσκέοντα ἄριστα τῶν κατʼ ἑωυτόν.
Polycrates, disregarding all advice, sailed to Oroetes, bringing along with him many of his companions, and among them in particular Democedes, the son of Calliphon, a man of Croton, who was a physician and practiced his art best of his contemporaries.
ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐς τὴν Μαγνησίην ὁ Πολυκράτης διεφθάρη κακῶς, οὔτε ἑωυτοῦ ἀξίως οὔτε τῶν ἑωυτοῦ φρονημάτων· ὅτι γὰρ μὴ1 οἱ Συρηκοσίων γενόμενοι τύραννοι οὐδὲ εἷς τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλληνικῶν τυράννων ἄξιος ἐστὶ Πολυκράτεϊ μεγαλοπρεπείην συμβληθῆναι.
Having arrived at Magnesia, Polycrates perished miserably, in a manner worthy neither of himself nor of his high ambitions; for, except for those who became tyrants of Syracuse, not a single one of the other Greek tyrants is worthy to be compared with Polycrates in magnificence.
ἀποκτείνας δέ μιν οὐκ ἀξίως ἀπηγήσιος2 Ὀροίτης ἀνεσταύρωσε· τῶν δέ οἱ ἑπομένων ὅσοι μὲν ἦσαν Σάμιοι, ἀπῆκε, κελεύων σφέας ἑωυτῷ χάριν εἰδέναι ἐόντας ἐλευθέρους, ὅσοι δὲ ἦσαν ξεῖνοί τε καὶ δοῦλοι τῶν ἑπομένων, ἐν ἀνδραπόδων λόγῳ ποιεύμενος εἶχε.
And Oroetes, having killed him in a manner unfit to be described, impaled him; as for those of his followers who were Samians, he released them, bidding them to be grateful to him since they were now free, but whoever of his followers were foreigners or slaves, he kept, treating them as slaves.
Πολυκράτης δὲ ἀνακρεμάμενος ἐπετέλεε πᾶσαν τὴν ὄψιν τῆς θυγατρός· ἐλοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ Διὸς ὅκως ὕοι, ἐχρίετο δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου, ἀνιεὶς αὐτὸς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἰκμάδα.3
Thus Polycrates, hanging aloft, fulfilled the entire vision of his daughter; for he was washed by Zeus whenever it rained, and he was anointed by the sun, himself exuding moisture from his body.
- 3.125.2ὅτι γὰρ μὴ
The phrase ὅτι μὴ (with the particle γάρ inserted between them) is an idiomatic expression meaning 'except' or 'save for'.
- 3.125.3οὐκ ἀξίως ἀπηγήσιος
Meaning 'in a manner not worthy of description', indicating that he was killed in a manner too unspeakable or horrible to relate in detail.
- 3.125.4ἀνιεὶς αὐτὸς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἰκμάδα
A participle phrase meaning 'himself emitting moisture from his body'. This is interpreted as the physical reality corresponding to being 'anointed by the sun' (χρίεσθαι δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου) in his daughter's dream, referring to the fat or sweat exuding from his corpse under the hot sun.