- 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-grc2:3.58.1-3.58.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Siphnians fail to comprehend the oracle's warning and refuse the Samians' request for money, resulting in the plundering of their lands, defeat in battle, and a heavy indemnity.
τοῦτον τὸν χρησμὸν οὐκ οἷοί τε ἦσαν γνῶναι οὔτε τότε εὐθὺς οὔτε τῶν Σαμίων ἀπιγμένων.1 ἐπείτε γὰρ τάχιστα πρὸς τὴν Σίφνον προσῖσχον οἱ Σάμιοι, ἔπεμπον τῶν νεῶν μίαν πρέσβεας ἄγουσαν ἐς τὴν πόλιν.
The Siphnians were not able to understand this oracle either immediately at that time or when the Samians had arrived. For as soon as the Samians came to land at Siphnos, they sent one of their ships carrying envoys to the city.
τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν2 ἅπασαι αἱ νέες ἦσαν μιλτηλιφέες, καὶ ἦν τοῦτο τὸ ἡ Πυθίη προηγόρευε τοῖσι Σιφνίοισι, φυλάξασθαι τὸν ξύλινον λόχον κελεύουσα καὶ κήρυκα ἐρυθρόν.
In ancient times all ships were painted with red earth, and this was what the Pythia was foretelling to the Siphnians, bidding them to guard against the wooden ambush and the red herald.
ἀπικόμενοι ὦν οἱ ἄγγελοι ἐδέοντο τῶν Σιφνίων δέκα τάλαντά σφι χρῆσαι· οὐ φασκόντων δὲ χρήσειν3 τῶν Σιφνίων αὐτοῖσι, οἱ Σάμιοι τοὺς χώρους αὐτῶν ἐπόρθεον.
Therefore, when the messengers arrived, they asked the Siphnians to lend them ten talents; but when the Siphnians said they would not lend to them, the Samians began to ravage their lands.
πυθόμενοι δὲ εὐθὺς ἧκον οἱ Σίφνιοι βοηθέοντες καὶ συμβαλόντες αὐτοῖσι ἑσσώθησαν, καὶ αὐτῶν πολλοὶ ἀπεκληίσθησαν τοῦ ἄστεος ὑπὸ τῶν Σαμίων, καὶ αὐτοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα ἑκατὸν τάλαντα ἔπρηξαν.4
Having heard of this, the Siphnians immediately came to help, but after joining battle with them they were defeated, and many of them were shut out from the town by the Samians, who after this exacted one hundred talents from them.
- 3.58.1τῶν Σαμίων ἀπιγμένων
Genitive absolute with the perfect participle of ἀφικνέομαι, expressing time ('when the Samians had arrived'). It stands in parallel with οὔτε τότε εὐθὺς, indicating the two occasions on which they failed to understand.
- 3.58.2τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν
Adverbial accusative, meaning 'in ancient times' or 'of old', explaining the historical standard status of ship painting.
- 3.58.3οὐ φασκόντων δὲ χρήσειν
Genitive absolute. οὐ φάσκω means 'to say ... not' or 'to refuse', and χρήσειν is the future infinitive of χράω ('to lend'), expressing their refusal and intention not to lend.
- 3.58.4αὐτοὺς ... ἑκατὸν τάλαντα ἔπρηξαν
Double accusative construction with πράσσω (Ionic πρήσσω), meaning 'to exact (money) from (someone)'. The subject is the Samians; αὐτούς refers to the Siphnians (person), and ἑκατὸν τάλαντα is the exacted amount (thing).