- 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-grc2:3.63.1-3.63.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The pursued herald is brought back and reveals that he received his orders not from Smerdis himself, but from the Magian Patizithes, making it clear that the Magians are the ones rebelling.
ταῦτα εἴπαντος Πρηξάσπεος, ἤρεσε γὰρ Καμβύσῃ, αὐτίκα μεταδίωκτος γενόμενος ὁ κῆρυξ ἧκε· ἀπιγμένον δέ μιν εἴρετο ὁ Πρηξάσπης τάδε. ὤνθρωπε, φὴς γὰρ ἥκειν παρὰ Σμέρδιος τοῦ Κύρου ἄγγελος· νῦν ὦν εἴπας τὴν ἀληθείην ἄπιθι χαίρων,1 κότερα αὐτός τοι Σμέρδις φαινόμενος ἐς ὄψιν ἐνετέλλετο ταῦτα ἢ τῶν τις ἐκείνου ὑπηρετέων.
When Prexaspes said this, since it pleased Cambyses, the herald was immediately pursued and brought back. When he arrived, Prexaspes questioned him as follows: “Man, you claim to have come as a messenger from Smerdis, the son of Cyrus. Now, therefore, tell the truth and depart in peace: did Smerdis himself appear in person before your eyes and command you this, or was it one of his servants?”
ὅδὲ εἶπε ἐγὼ Σμέρδιν μὲν τὸν Κύρου, ἐξ ὅτευ βασιλεὺς Καμβύσης ἤλασε ἐς Αἴγυπτον, οὔκω ὄπωπα· ὁ δέ μοι Μάγος τὸν Καμβύσης ἐπίτροπον τῶν οἰκίων ἀπέδεξε, οὗτος ταῦτα ἐνετείλατο, φὰς Σμέρδιν τὸν Κύρου εἶναι τὸν ταῦτα ἐπιθέμενον εἶπαι2 πρὸς ὑμέας.
And he said: “As for Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, I have never seen him since King Cambyses marched to Egypt; but the Magian whom Cambyses appointed as steward of his household, he is the one who commanded me this, saying that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, was the one who had charged him to say this to you.”
ὃ μὲν δή σφι ἔλεγε οὐδὲν ἐπικατεψευσμένος, Καμβύσης δὲ εἶπε Πρήξασπες, σὺ μὲν οἷα ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς ποιήσας τὸ κελευόμενον αἰτίην ἐκπέφευγας· ἐμοὶ δὲ τίς ἂν εἴη Περσέων ὁ ἐπανεστεὼς ἐπιβατεύων τοῦ Σμέρδιος οὐνόματος;3 ὁ δὲ εἶπε ἐγώ μοι δοκέω συνιέναι τὸ γεγονὸς τοῦτο, ὦ βασιλεῦ· οἱ Μάγοι εἰσί τοι οἱ ἐπανεστεῶτες, τόν τε ἔλιπες μελεδωνὸν τῶν οἰκίων, Πατιζείθης, καὶ ὁ τούτου ἀδελφεὸς Σμέρδις.
Thus he spoke to them without any falsehood added, and Cambyses said: “Prexaspes, you, like a good man, having done what was commanded, have escaped accusation; but who among the Persians can this be who has rebelled against me, usurping the name of Smerdis?” And he replied: ”My king, I think I understand this that has happened: the Magians are the ones who have rebelled against you—Patizithes, whom you left as steward of your household, and his brother Smerdis.”
- 3.63.1ἄπιθι χαίρων
This is an idiomatic expression meaning "depart in safety" or "go with impunity," rather than literally "depart rejoicing."
- 3.63.2τὸν ταῦτα ἐπιθέμενον εἶπαι
The participle ἐπιθέμενον (from ἐπιτίθημι, aorist middle) here means "the one who imposed or charged," and with the infinitive εἶπαι, it translates to "the one who charged [me] to say these things."
- 3.63.3ἐπιβατεύων τοῦ Σμέρδιος οὐνόματος
The verb ἐπιβατεύω normally takes the genitive to mean "to board (a ship, etc.)," but here it is used figuratively to mean "encroaching upon," "usurping," or "relying on/using" the name of Smerdis.