- 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-grc2:3.145.1-3.145.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Charilaus, the imprisoned brother of Maeandrius, urges his brother to attack the peacefully stationed Persians and offers to lead the mercenaries to take revenge.
Μαιανδρίῳ δὲ τῷ τυράννῳ ἦν ἀδελφεὸς ὑπομαργότερος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Χαρίλεως· οὗτος ὅ τι δὴ ἐξαμαρτὼν1 ἐν γοργύρῃ ἐδέδετο, καὶ δὴ τότε ἐπακούσας τε τὰ πρησσόμενα καὶ διακύψας διὰ τῆς γοργύρης, ὡς εἶδε τοὺς Πέρσας εἰρηναίως κατημένους, ἐβόα τε καὶ ἔφη λέγων Μαιανδρίῳ θέλειν ἐλθεῖν ἐς λόγους.
Now Maeandrius the tyrant had a brother who was somewhat mad, whose name was Charilaus. This man, having committed some offense or other, had been bound in a dungeon; and just then, having heard what was being done and having peered out through the dungeon, when he saw the Persians sitting peacefully, he cried out and said that he wished to speak with Maeandrius.
ἐπακούσας δὲ ὁ Μαιάνδριος λύσαντας αὐτὸν ἐκέλευε ἄγειν παρʼ ἑωυτόν· ὡς δὲ ἄχθη τάχιστα, λοιδορέων τε καὶ κακίζων μιν ἀνέπειθε2 ἐπιθέσθαι τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι, λέγων τοιάδε. ἐμὲ μέν, ὦ κάκιστε ἀνδρῶν, ἐόντα σεωυτοῦ ἀδελφεὸν καὶ ἀδικήσαντα οὐδὲν ἄξιον δεσμοῦ δήσας γοργύρης ἠξίωσας· ὁρέων δὲ τοὺς Πέρσας ἐκβάλλοντάς τέ σε καὶ ἄνοικον ποιέοντας οὐ τολμᾷς τίσασθαι, οὕτω δή τι ἐόντας εὐπετέας χειρωθῆναι.3
Hearing this, Maeandrius ordered them to release him and bring him before him. As soon as he was brought, Charilaus, railing at him and calling him a coward, tried to persuade him to attack the Persians, saying as follows: “O most cowardly of men, though I am your own brother and have done nothing worthy of chains, you bound me and thought me fit for a dungeon; but when you see the Persians casting you out and making you homeless, you do not dare to take vengeance, though they are so very easy to be subdued.
ἀλλʼ εἴ τοι σὺ σφέας καταρρώδηκας, ἐμοὶ δὸς τοὺς ἐπικούρους, καί σφεας ἐγὼ τιμωρήσομαι τῆς ἐνθάδε ἀπίξιος· αὐτὸν δέ σε ἐκπέμψαι ἐκ τῆς νήσου ἕτοιμος εἰμί.
But if you are terrified of them, give me the mercenaries, and I will punish them for their coming here; and as for yourself, I am ready to send you safely away from the island.”
- 3.145.1ὅ τι δὴ ἐξαμαρτὼν
ὅ τι δὴ consists of the indefinite relative pronoun ὅστις accompanied by the emphatic particle δή, expressing 'having committed some offense or other'. The participle ἐξαμαρτὼν functions causally.
- 3.145.2ἀνέπειθε
Imperfect indicative. Here it expresses a conative action ('tried to persuade' or 'urged'), implying that the persuasion was not ultimately successful or was in progress.
- 3.145.2χειρωθῆναι
Passive infinitive, limiting and defining the adjective εὐπετέας (accusative plural of εὐπετής, modifying ἐόντας which agrees with τοὺς Πέρσας), functioning as an epexegetical infinitive ('easy to be subdued').