- 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-grc2:3.74.1-3.74.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Magians attempt to win over Prexaspes as their ally and ask him to declare Smerdis's survival to the public from a royal tower.
ἐν ᾧ δὲ οὗτοι ταῦτα ἐβουλεύοντο, ἐγίνετο κατὰ συντυχίην τάδε. τοῖσι Μάγοισι ἔδοξε βουλευομένοισι1 Πρηξάσπεα φίλον προσθέσθαι, ὅτι τε ἐπεπόνθεε πρὸς Καμβύσεω ἀνάρσια, ὅς οἱ τὸν παῖδα τοξεύσας ἀπολωλέκεε, καὶ διότι μοῦνος ἠπίστατο τὸν Σμέρδιος τοῦ Κύρου θάνατον αὐτοχειρίῃ μιν ἀπολέσας,2 πρὸς δʼ ἔτι ἐόντα ἐν αἴνῃ μεγίστῃ τὸν Πρηξάσπεα ἐν Πέρσῃσι.
While they were planning these things, the following happened by chance. The Magians, after consultation, resolved to make Prexaspes their friend, because he had suffered harsh treatment from Cambyses, who had shot his son to death with an arrow, and because he alone knew of the death of Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, having killed him with his own hand; and moreover, because Prexaspes was in the highest repute among the Persians.
τούτων δή μιν εἵνεκεν καλέσαντες φίλον προσεκτῶντο πίστι τε λαβόντες καὶ ὁρκίοισι, ἦ μὲν ἕξειν3 παρʼ ἑωυτῷ μηδʼ ἐξοίσειν μηδενὶ ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἀπὸ σφέων ἀπάτην ἐς Πέρσας γεγονυῖαν, ὑπισχνεύμενοι τὰ πάντα οἱ μυρία δώσειν.
For these reasons, therefore, they summoned him and tried to win him over as a friend, obtaining his pledge and oaths that he would keep to himself and not reveal to any man the deception practiced by them upon the Persians, promising to give him all manner of countless things.
ὑποσχομένου δὲ τοῦ Πρηξάσπεος ποιήσειν ταῦτα, ὡς ἀνέπεισάν μιν οἱ Μάγοι, δεύτερα προσέφερον, αὐτοὶ μὲν φάμενοι Πέρσας πάντας συγκαλέειν ὑπὸ τὸ βασιλήιον τεῖχος, κεῖνον δʼ ἐκέλευον ἀναβάντα ἐπὶ πύργον ἀγορεῦσαι ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ Κύρου Σμέρδιος ἄρχονται καὶ ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου.
When Prexaspes promised to do this, and the Magians had persuaded him, they made a second proposal, saying that they themselves would summon all the Persians under the royal wall, and commanding him to go up onto a tower and harangue them, saying that they were ruled by Smerdis the son of Cyrus and by no other.
ταῦτα δὲ οὕτω ἐνετέλλοντο ὡς πιστοτάτου δῆθεν ἐόντος αὐτοῦ4 ἐν Πέρσῃσι καὶ πολλάκις ἀποδεξαμένου γνώμην ὡς περιείη ὁ Κύρου Σμέρδις, καὶ ἐξαρνησαμένου τὸν φόνον αὐτοῦ.
They gave these instructions on the ground that he was supposedly the most trustworthy person among the Persians, and had often expressed the opinion that Smerdis the son of Cyrus was alive, and had denied his murder.
- 3.74.1τοῖσι Μάγοισι ἔδοξε βουλευομένοισι
The dative participle βουλευομένοισι agrees with τοῖσι Μάγοισι, which serves as the logical subject of the impersonal verb ἔδοξε ('it seemed good to...'). It expresses the process leading to their decision: 'the Magians, after consultation, resolved...'.
- 3.74.1αὐτοχειρίῃ μιν ἀπολέσας
The participle ἀπολέσας (having killed) is nominative masculine singular, agreeing with the subject of ἠπίστατο (Prexaspes). The pronoun μιν (him) refers to Smerdis, mentioned in the preceding phrase τὸν Σμέρδιος τοῦ Κύρου θάνατον.
- 3.74.2ἦ μὲν ἕξειν
The particles ἦ μέν are standard formulas introducing an oath. The following infinitives ἕξειν and μηδʼ ἐξοίσειν are infinitives of oath-taking, explaining the content of the oaths (ὁρκίοισι) obtained by the Magians.
- 3.74.4ὡς πιστοτάτου δῆθεν ἐόντος αὐτοῦ
The conjunction ὡς combined with the particle δῆθεν (supposedly, as they alleged) accompanies the genitive absolute construction πιστοτάτου ἐόντος αὐτοῦ. This structure presents the subjective belief or pretext of the Magians rather than an objective fact.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1