- 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-grc2:3.160.1-3.160.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Darius praises Zopyrus as the greatest Persian after Cyrus for his unparalleled service, granting him supreme rewards including the tax-free rule of Babylon, and the passage traces Zopyrus' lineage.
Ζωπύρου1 δὲ οὐδεὶς ἀγαθοεργίην Περσέων ὑπερεβάλετο παρὰ Δαρείῳ κριτῇ οὔτε τῶν ὕστερον γενομένων οὔτε τῶν πρότερον, ὅτι μὴ Κῦρος μοῦνος· τούτῳ γὰρ οὐδεὶς Περσέων ἠξίωσέ κω ἑωυτὸν συμβαλεῖν. πολλάκις δὲ Δαρεῖον λέγεται γνώμην τήνδε ἀποδέξασθαι, ὡς βούλοιτο ἂν2 Ζώπυρον εἶναι ἀπαθέα τῆς ἀεικείης μᾶλλον ἢ Βαβυλῶνάς οἱ εἴκοσι πρὸς τῇ ἐούσῃ προσγενέσθαι.
And in the judgment of Darius, no one of the Persians, either of those who came after or of those who went before, surpassed Zopyrus in good service, except Cyrus alone; for with him no Persian ever yet dared to compare himself. And Darius is often said to have declared this opinion, that he would rather Zopyrus were free from the outrage to his body than that twenty more Babylons in addition to the one he had should be added to him.
ἐτίμησε δέ μιν μεγάλως· καὶ γὰρ δῶρά οἱ ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐδίδου ταῦτα τὰ Πέρσῃσι ἐστὶ τιμιώτατα, καὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνά οἱ ἔδωκε ἀτελέα νέμεσθαι3 μέχρι τῆς ἐκείνου ζόης, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἐπέδωκε. Ζωπύρου δὲ τούτου γίνεται Μεγάβυζος, ὃς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀντία Ἀθηναίων καὶ τῶν συμμάχων ἐστρατήγησε· Μεγαβύζου δὲ τούτου γίνεται Ζώπυρος, ὃς ἐς Ἀθήνας ηὐτομόλησε ἐκ Περσέων.
And he honoured him greatly; for indeed he gave him every year those gifts which are most held in honour among the Persians, and he gave him Babylon to hold free of tribute for his whole life, and added many other things besides. From this Zopyrus was born Megabyzus, who was general in Egypt against the Athenians and their allies; and from this Megabyzus was born Zopyrus, who deserted from the Persians to Athens.
- 3.160.1Ζωπύρου
A genitive of comparison or surpassing governed by the verb ὑπερεβάλετο ('surpassed Zopyrus'). Alternatively, it can be construed as a possessive genitive with the noun ἀγαθοεργίην ('the good service of Zopyrus').
- 3.160.1ὡς βούλοιτο ἂν
Although within a ὡς clause of indirect discourse, this is not an optative of indirect discourse (optativus obliquus) due to a past leading verb, but a potential optative with ἂν (originally βουλοίμην ἄν, 'I would wish') retained from the direct speech and shifted to the third person.
- 3.160.2ἀτελέα νέμεσθαι
ἀτελέα is the accusative singular feminine of the adjective ἀτελής, agreeing with τὴν Βαβυλῶνα. The infinitive νέμεσθαι functions to express purpose or result ('for him to possess/govern').