- 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-grc2:3.134.1-3.134.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Instructed by Democedes, Atossa urges King Darius to postpone his campaign against the Scythians and instead invade Greece, suggesting Democedes as the perfect guide. Darius agrees to first send Persian spies to Greece accompanied by Democedes.
ὡς δὲ ἄρα μιν μετὰ ταῦτα ἰώμενος ὑγιέα ἀπέδεξε, ἐνθαῦτα δὴ διδαχθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημοκήδεος ἡ Ἄτοσσα προσέφερε ἐν τῇ κοίτῃ Δαρείῳ λόγον τοιόνδε. ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἔχων δύναμιν τοσαύτην κάτησαι, οὔτε τι ἔθνος προσκτώμενος οὔτε δύναμιν Πέρσῃσι.
And so, when after this he cured her and showed her to be well, then indeed Atossa, having been instructed by Democedes, addressed Darius in their bed with words such as these: “O King, though you possess such great power, you sit idle, neither acquiring any additional nation nor adding to the power of the Persians.
οἰκὸς δὲ ἐστὶ ἄνδρα καὶ νέον καὶ χρημάτων μεγάλων δεσπότην φαίνεσθαί τι ἀποδεικνύμενον,1 ἵνα καὶ Πέρσαι ἐκμάθωσι ὅτι ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς ἄρχονται. ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα δέ τοι συμφέρει ταῦτα ποιέειν, καὶ ἵνα σφέων Πέρσαι ἐπίστωνται ἄνδρα εἶναι τὸν προεστεῶτα, καὶ ἵνα τρίβωνται πολέμῳ μηδὲ σχολὴν ἄγοντες ἐπιβουλεύωσί τοι.
It is fitting for a man who is both young and the master of great wealth to be seen achieving some great deed, so that the Persians too may learn that they are ruled by a real man. Indeed, it is to your advantage in two ways to do this: both so that the Persians know that their leader is a man, and so that they may be worn down by war and, having no leisure, may not plot against you.
νῦν γὰρ ἄν τι καὶ ἀποδέξαιο ἔργον,2 ἕως νέος εἶς ἡλικίην·3 αὐξομένῳ γὰρ τῷ σώματι συναύξονται καὶ αἱ φρένες, γηράσκοντι δὲ συγγηράσκουσι καὶ ἐς τὰ πρήγματα πάντα ἀπαμβλύνονται.
For now, while you are still young in years, you might achieve some great deed; for as the body grows, the mind grows with it, but as it grows old, the mind grows old with it and becomes blunt toward all matters.”
ἣ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἐκ διδαχῆς ἔλεγε, ὃ δʼ ἀμείβετο τοῖσιδε. ὦ γύναι, πάντα ὅσα περ αὐτὸς ἐπινοέω ποιήσειν εἴρηκας· ἐγὼ γὰρ βεβούλευμαι ζεύξας γέφυραν ἐκ τῆσδε τῆς ἠπείρου ἐς τὴν ἑτέρην ἤπειρον ἐπὶ Σκύθας στρατεύεσθαι· καὶ ταῦτα ὀλίγου χρόνου ἔσται τελεύμενα. λέγει Ἄτοσσα τάδε.
She spoke these words as she had been instructed, and he answered with these: “O wife, you have said everything that I myself intend to do; for I have resolved to throw a bridge from this continent to the other continent and march against the Scythians; and these things shall be accomplished in a short time.” Atossa spoke as follows:
ὅρα νυν, ἐπὶ Σκύθας μὲν τὴν πρώτην ἰέναι ἔασον· οὗτοι γάρ, ἐπεὰν σὺ βούλῃ, ἔσονταί τοι· σὺ δέ μοι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα στρατεύεσθαι.4 ἐπιθυμέω γὰρ λόγῳ πυνθανομένη Λακαίνας τέ μοι γενέσθαι θεραπαίνας καὶ Ἀργείας καὶ Ἀττικὰς καὶ Κορινθίας. ἔχεις δὲ ἄνδρα ἐπιτηδεότατον ἀνδρῶν πάντων δέξαι5 τε ἕκαστα τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ κατηγήσασθαι, τοῦτον ὅς σευ τὸν πόδα ἐξιήσατο.
”Look now, let going against the Scythians be for the moment; for they, whenever you wish, will be yours. But march, I pray, against Greece. For I desire, having heard of them by report, to have Lacedaemonian, Argive, Attic, and Corinthian women as handmaidens. And you have the most suitable of all men to show you each part of Greece and to guide you—that very man who healed your foot.”
ἀμείβεται Δαρεῖος ὦ γύναι, ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τοι δοκέει τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἡμέας πρῶτα ἀποπειρᾶσθαι, κατασκόπους μοι δοκέει Περσέων πρῶτον ἄμεινον εἶναι ὁμοῦ τούτῳ τῷ σὺ λέγεις πέμψαι ἐς αὐτούς, οἳ μαθόντες καὶ ἰδόντες ἐξαγγελέουσι ἕκαστα αὐτῶν ἡμῖν· καὶ ἔπειτα ἐξεπιστάμενος ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς τρέψομαι.
Darius answered: “O wife, since it seems good to you that we should first make trial of Greece, it seems to me better to send Persian spies first to them, together with this man whom you speak of, who, having learned and seen, will report to us each of their affairs; and then, with full knowledge, I will turn myself against them.”
- 3.134.2φαίνεσθαί τι ἀποδεικνύμενον
The combination of the verb φαίνεσθαι (to appear, to be seen) with the present middle participle ἀποδεικνύμενον (achieving, displaying) indicates an actual fact, meaning 'to be clearly seen achieving something.' This contrasts with the construction of φαίνεσθαι with an infinitive, which often denotes an appearance that may or may not be true. The subject of the participle is the accusative subject of the infinitive clause, ἄνδρα ... δεσπότην.
- 3.134.3ἄν τι καὶ ἀποδέξαιο ἔργον
The particle ἄν combined with the first aorist middle optative ἀποδέξαιο expresses potentiality ('you might achieve/show'). This fits the context where Atossa gently yet persuasively suggests to the young Darius that it is still possible for him to accomplish a great deed.
- 3.134.3ἡλικίην
The accusative singular of ἡλικία (age). It functions here as an accusative of respect (or specification) modifying the adjective νέος (young), meaning 'young in respect of your age.'
- 3.134.5σὺ δέ μοι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα στρατεύεσθαι
The infinitive στρατεύεσθαι is used as an 'infinitive for imperative' expressing a command or strong request without a main finite verb. The dative pronoun μοι functions as an ethical dative (or dative of interest/advantage), expressing the speaker's personal entreaty ('for my sake' or 'I pray you').
- 3.134.5δέξαι
The Ionic form of the first aorist active infinitive corresponding to the Attic δεῖξαι (from δείκνυμι, to show, point out). It functions here as an infinitive of purpose or limitation modifying the preceding superlative adjective ἐπιτηδεότατον (the most suitable to show).