- 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-grc2:3.130.1-3.130.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Democedes initially denies his medical knowledge but confesses under threat, successfully curing King Darius using Greek remedies. In return for his service, he is rewarded with an abundance of gold from the royal wives.
σταθέντα δὲ ἐς μέσον εἰρώτα ὁ Δαρεῖος τὴν τέχνην εἰ ἐπίσταιτο· ὁ δὲ οὐκ ὑπεδέκετο, ἀρρωδέων μὴ ἑωυτὸν ἐκφήνας τὸ παράπαν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ᾖ ἀπεστερημένος·1
When he was placed in the midst, Darius asked him if he understood the art; but he would not admit it, fearing lest, if he revealed himself, he might be entirely cut off from Greece.
κατεφάνη τε τῷ Δαρείῳ τεχνάζειν ἐπιστάμενος,2 καὶ τοὺς ἀγαγόντας αὐτὸν ἐκέλευσε μάστιγάς τε καὶ κέντρα παραφέρειν ἐς τὸ μέσον. ὁ δὲ ἐνθαῦτα δὴ ὦν ἐκφαίνει, φὰς ἀτρεκέως μὲν οὐκ ἐπίστασθαι, ὁμιλήσας δὲ ἰητρῷ φλαύρως ἔχειν τὴν τέχνην.
But it was clear to Darius that he was dissembling, and he ordered those who had brought him to bring forward whips and goads into the midst. Then indeed he revealed it, saying that he did not know it precisely, but having associated with a physician, he had a slight knowledge of the art.
μετὰ δέ, ὥς οἱ ἐπέτρεψε, Ἑλληνικοῖσι ἰήμασι χρεώμενος καὶ ἤπια μετὰ τὰ ἰσχυρὰ προσάγων ὕπνου τέ μιν λαγχάνειν ἐποίεε καὶ ἐν χρόνῳ ὀλίγῳ ὑγιέα μιν ἀπέδεξε, οὐδαμὰ ἔτι ἐλπίζοντα ἀρτίπουν ἔσεσθαι.
Afterwards, when Darius entrusted himself to him, by employing Greek remedies and applying mild treatments after the violent ones, he enabled him to sleep and in a short time restored him to health, when Darius had no longer expected ever to be sound of foot again.
δωρέεται δή μιν μετὰ ταῦτα ὁ Δαρεῖος πεδέων χρυσέων δύο ζεύγεσι· ὁ δέ μιν ἐπείρετο εἴ οἱ διπλήσιον τὸ κακὸν ἐπίτηδες νέμει, ὅτι μιν ὑγιέα ἐποίησε. ἡσθεὶς δὲ τῷ ἔπεϊ ὁ Δαρεῖος ἀποπέμπει μιν παρὰ τὰς ἑωυτοῦ γυναῖκας· παράγοντες δὲ οἱ εὐνοῦχοι ἔλεγον πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας ὡς βασιλέι οὗτος εἴη ὃς τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπέδωκε.
Thereupon Darius presented him with two pairs of golden fetters; but Democedes asked him if he was purposely giving him a double evil because he had made him well. Pleased with this saying, Darius sent him to his own wives; and the eunuchs, conducting him, said to the women: “This is the man who has restored the King’s life.”
ὑποτύπτουσα δὲ αὐτέων ἑκάστη φιάλῃ τοῦ χρυσοῦ ἐς θήκην3 ἐδωρέετο Δημοκήδεα οὕτω δή τι δαψιλέι δωρεῇ ὡς τοὺς ἀποπίπτοντας ἀπὸ τῶν φιαλέων στατῆρας ἑπόμενος ὁ οἰκέτης, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Σκίτων, ἀνελέγετο καί οἱ χρῆμα πολλόν τι χρυσοῦ συνελέχθη.
Then each of them, scooping up from the chest with a golden cup, presented Democedes with so generous a gift that the servant who followed him, whose name was Sciton, gathered up the stater-coins that fell from the cups, and a vast quantity of gold was collected for him.
- 3.130.1ἀρρωδέων μὴ ἑωυτὸν ἐκφήνας τὸ παράπαν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ᾖ ἀπεστερημένος
A μὴ clause introducing a fear after a verb of fearing (ἀρρωδέω) ('fearing lest...'). Although the main verb is in the past tense (historical tense), the subjunctive (ᾖ ἀπεστερημένος) is retained instead of the optative, conveying the vividness and urgency of Democedes' internal anxiety. The participle ἐκφήνας functions conditionally ('if he revealed himself'), and the genitive τῆς Ἑλλάδος is a genitive of separation modifying the passive perfect participle ἀπεστερημένος ('deprived of Greece').
- 3.130.2κατεφάνη τε τῷ Δαρείῳ τεχνάζειν ἐπιστάμενος
A personal construction of φαίνομαι with the participle ἐπιστάμενος as a nominative complement ('he was clearly seen by Darius to understand...'). While φαίνομαι with an infinitive means 'appears to be (but may not be)', with a participle it denotes 'is clearly/manifestly seen to be'. The infinitive τεχνάζειν, acting as the object of ἐπιστάμενος, here means 'to play tricks' or 'to dissemble' rather than 'to practice an art'.
- 3.130.5ὑποτύπτουσα δὲ αὐτέων ἑκάστη φιάλῃ τοῦ χρυσοῦ ἐς θήκην
Despite the complicated word order, the prepositional phrase ἐς θήκην ('into/in the chest') modifies the participle ὑποτύπτουσα ('scooping up from below'). τοῦ χρυσοῦ is a partitive genitive, modifying what is contained or scooped: 'scooping up some of the gold in the chest with a cup'.