- 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-grc2:3.39.1-3.39.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
During Cambyses' expedition to Egypt, the Spartans launched a campaign against Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, whose rise to sole power, alliance with Egypt, and aggressive naval expansion are detailed.
Καμβύσεω δὲ ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον στρατευομένου ἐποιήσαντο καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι στρατηίην ἐπὶ Σάμον τε καὶ Πολυκράτεα τὸν Αἰάκεος· ὃς ἔσχε Σάμον ἐπαναστάς, καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τριχῇ δασάμενος τὴν πόλιν τοῖσι ἀδελφεοῖσι Πανταγνώτῳ καὶ Συλοσῶντι ἔνειμε, μετὰ δὲ τὸν μὲν αὐτῶν ἀποκτείνας τὸν δὲ νεώτερον Συλοσῶντα ἐξελάσας ἔσχε πᾶσαν Σάμον, σχὼν δὲ ξεινίην Ἀμάσι τῷ Αἰγύπτου βασιλέι συνεθήκατο, πέμπων τε δῶρα καὶ δεκόμενος ἄλλα παρʼ ἐκείνου.
While Cambyses was marching against Egypt, the Lacedaemonians also made an expedition against Samos and Polycrates, the son of Aeaces; who had seized Samos by rising in rebellion. At first, dividing the state into three parts, he assigned them to his brothers Pantagnotus and Syloson, but later, having killed one of them and banished the younger, Syloson, he held all Samos. Having obtained control, he established a treaty of friendship with Amasis, the king of Egypt, sending gifts and receiving others from him in return.
ἐν χρόνῳ δὲ ὀλίγῳ αὐτίκα τοῦ Πολυκράτεος τὰ πρήγματα ηὔξετο καὶ ἦν βεβωμένα ἀνά τε τὴν Ἰωνίην καὶ τὴν ἄλλην Ἑλλάδα· ὅκου γὰρ ἰθύσειε στρατεύεσθαι, πάντα οἱ ἐχώρεε εὐτυχέως. ἔκτητο δὲ πεντηκοντέρους τε ἑκατὸν καὶ χιλίους τοξότας, ἔφερε δὲ καὶ ἦγε1 πάντας διακρίνων οὐδένα·
In a short time, the power of Polycrates immediately increased and was celebrated throughout Ionia and the rest of Hellas; for wherever he directed his campaign, everything turned out successfully for him. He possessed a hundred fifty-oared ships and a thousand archers, and he plundered everyone, making no distinction.
τῷ γὰρ φίλῳ ἔφη χαριεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἀποδιδοὺς τὰ ἔλαβε ἢ ἀρχὴν μηδὲ λαβών.2 συχνὰς μὲν δὴ τῶν νήσων ἀραιρήκεε, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῆς ἠπείρου ἄστεα· ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ Λεσβίους πανστρατιῇ βοηθέοντας Μιλησίοισι ναυμαχίῃ κρατήσας εἷλε, οἳ τὴν τάφρον περὶ τὸ τεῖχος τὸ ἐν Σάμῳ πᾶσαν δεδεμένοι ὤρυξαν.
For he said that he would gratify a friend more by restoring what he had taken than by not taking it at all in the first place. Indeed, he had captured many of the islands and many cities on the mainland; and in particular, having defeated in a sea-fight the Lesbians who were coming with their entire force to aid the Milesians, he captured them, and they, bound in chains, dug the entire trench around the wall in Samos.
- 3.39.3ἔφερε δὲ καὶ ἦγε
An idiomatic phrase combining φέρω and ἄγω, meaning 'to plunder' or 'to ravage', derived from driving off livestock or people (ἄγω) and carrying off property (φέρω). The imperfect tense here denotes habitual or ongoing raiding activity.
- 3.39.4ἀρχὴν μηδὲ λαβών
The accusative singular noun ἀρχήν is used adverbially with a negative (here μηδέ) to mean 'at all' or 'in the first place'. It modifies the participle λαβών, yielding the sense of 'not even taking in the first place'.