The Herald's Proclamation and Cambyses Questioning Prexaspes — Herodotus, Histories Book 3 (3.62.1–3.62.4), Greek & English

§3.62.1

οἵ τε δὴ ὦν ἄλλοι κήρυκες προηγόρευον ταῦτα καὶ δὴ καὶ ὁ ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον ταχθείς,¹ εὕρισκε γὰρ Καμβύσεα καὶ τὸν στρατὸν ἐόντα τῆς Συρίης ἐν Ἀγβατάνοισι, προηγόρευε στὰς ἐς μέσον τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ἐκ τοῦ Μάγου.

So the other heralds were making this proclamation, and especially the one who had been appointed to Egypt; for finding Cambyses and his army to be at Agbatana in Syria, he stood in the midst of them and proclaimed the message commanded by the Magian.

§3.62.2

Καμβύσης δὲ ἀκούσας ταῦτα ἐκ τοῦ κήρυκος καὶ ἐλπίσας μιν λέγειν ἀληθέα αὐτός τε προδεδόσθαι² ἐκ Πρηξάσπεος (πεμφθέντα γὰρ αὐτὸν ὡς ἀποκτενέοντα Σμέρδιν οὐ ποιῆσαι ταῦτα), βλέψας ἐς τὸν Πρηξάσπεα εἶπε Πρήξασπες, οὕτω μοι διεπρήξαο τό τοι προσέθηκα πρῆγμα;

When Cambyses heard this from the herald, believing that he spoke the truth and that he himself had been betrayed by Prexaspes (for he thought that Prexaspes, though sent to kill Smerdis, had not done so), he looked at Prexaspes and said: “Prexaspes, is this how you performed the business I laid upon you?”

§3.62.3

ὁ δὲ εἶπε ὦ δέσποτα, οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα ἀληθέα, ὅκως κοτὲ³ σοὶ Σμέρδις ἀδελφεὸς σὸς ἐπανέστηκε, οὐδὲ ὅκως τι ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς νεῖκός τοι ἔσται ἢ μέγα ἢ σμικρόν· ἐγὼ γὰρ αὐτός, ποιήσας τὰ σύ με ἐκέλευες, ἔθαψά μιν χερσὶ τῇσι ἐμεωυτοῦ.

And he replied: “My master, it is not true that your brother Smerdis has rebelled against you, nor that any quarrel, whether great or small, shall ever come to you from that man; for I myself, having done what you commanded me, buried him with my own hands.

§3.62.4

εἰ μέν νυν οἱ τεθνεῶτες ἀνεστᾶσι, προσδέκεό τοι καὶ Ἀστυάγεα τὸν Μῆδον ἐπαναστήσεσθαι· εἰ δʼ ἔστι ὥσπερ πρὸ τοῦ, οὐ μή τί τοι ἔκ γε ἐκείνου νεώτερον ἀναβλάστῃ.⁴ νῦν ὦν μοι δοκέει μεταδιώξαντας⁵ τὸν κήρυκα ἐξετάζειν εἰρωτεῦντας παρʼ ὅτευ ἥκων προαγορεύει ἡμῖν Σμέρδιος βασιλέος ἀκούειν.

If, then, the dead rise again, you may expect Astyages the Median also to rise against you; but if things are as they were before, there is no fear that any trouble will ever arise to you from him. Now, therefore, it seems best to me that we should pursue the herald and examine him by questioning, to find out from whom he comes to proclaim to us that we must obey Smerdis as king.”

Syntax notes5 items

3.62.1ὁ ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον ταχθείς
The parenthetical clause with γάρ ("εὕρισκε γὰρ Καμβύσεα καὶ τὸν στρατὸν ἐόντα...") is inserted between the subject "ὁ ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον ταχθείς" and the main verb "προηγόρευε", temporarily interrupting the main syntactic connection.
3.62.2ἐλπίσας μιν λέγειν ἀληθέα αὐτός τε προδεδόσθαι
The subject of the infinitive "λέγειν" is the accusative pronoun "μιν" (referring to the herald), whereas the subject of the subsequent infinitive "προδεδόσθαι" is the nominative pronoun "αὐτός". The nominative is used because the subject is the same as that of the main clause (Cambyses himself) (nominative with infinitive construction).
3.62.3ὅκως κοτὲ
Here, "ὅκως" (Ionic dialect for "ὅπως") does not introduce an indirect question "how", but rather a noun clause meaning "that...", explaining the content of the preceding statement "οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα ἀληθέα".
3.62.4οὐ μή τί τοι ... νεώτερον ἀναβλάστῃ
The double negative particles "οὐ μή" with the subjunctive "ἀναβλάστῃ" express an emphatic negative prediction ("will certainly not"). The comparative "νεώτερον" (literally "something newer") is a euphemism for "political trouble" or "misfortune".
3.62.4μεταδιώξαντας
The accusative plural participles "μεταδιώξαντας" and "εἰρωτεῦντας" serve as the subject of the infinitive "ἐξετάζειν" governed by the impersonal "δοκέει μοι". Despite the presence of the dative "μοι", the accusative is used in accordance with the standard syntax of the accusative subject of an infinitive.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.62.1-3.62.4