- 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-grc2:3.75.1-3.75.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Prexaspes ascends the tower and, ignoring the Magians' demands, praises Cyrus' lineage and deeds before revealing the truth about Smerdis' murder, finally jumping to his death after cursing the Persians if they fail to revolt.
φαμένου δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἑτοίμου εἶναι ποιέειν τοῦ Πρηξάσπεος, συγκαλέσαντες Πέρσας οἱ Μάγοι ἀνεβίβασαν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πύργον καὶ ἀγορεύειν ἐκέλευον. ὁ δὲ τῶν μὲν ἐκεῖνοι προσεδέοντο αὐτοῦ, τούτων μὲν ἑκὼν ἐπελήθετο,1 ἀρξάμενος δὲ ἀπʼ Ἀχαιμένεος ἐγενεηλόγησε τὴν πατριὴν τὴν Κύρου, μετὰ δὲ ὡς ἐς τοῦτον κατέβη τελευτῶν ἔλεγε ὅσα ἀγαθὰ Κῦρος Πέρσας πεποιήκοι, διεξελθὼν δὲ ταῦτα ἐξέφαινε τὴν ἀληθείην, φάμενος πρότερον μὲν κρύπτειν (οὐ γάρ οἱ εἶναι ἀσφαλὲς λέγειν τὰ γενόμενα),2 ἐν δὲ τῷ παρεόντι, ἀναγκαίην μιν καταλαμβάνειν φαίνειν.3 καὶ δὴ ἔλεγε τὸν μὲν Κύρου Σμέρδιν ὡς αὐτὸς ὑπὸ Καμβύσεω ἀναγκαζόμενος ἀποκτείνειε,4 τοὺς Μάγους δὲ βασιλεύειν.
When Prexaspes said that he was ready to do this as well, the Magians summoned the Persians, made him go up onto a tower, and commanded him to harangue them. But he deliberately ignored what they were requesting of him, and beginning with Achaimenes, he traced the genealogy of Cyrus’ ancestry, and finally, coming down to Cyrus himself, he spoke of all the benefits that Cyrus had bestowed upon the Persians. Having gone through these things, he revealed the truth, saying that he had previously concealed it (for it had not been safe for him to tell what had happened), but that at the present time, a necessity compelled him to make it known. And indeed, he declared that he himself, forced by Cambyses, had killed Smerdis the son of Cyrus, and that the Magians were ruling.
Πέρσῃσι δὲ πολλὰ ἐπαρησάμενος εἰ μὴ ἀνακτησαίατο ὀπίσω τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τοὺς Μάγους τισαίατο,5 ἀπῆκε ἑωυτὸν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν φέρεσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ πύργου κάτω. Πρηξάσπης μέν νυν ἐὼν τὸν πάντα χρόνον ἀνὴρ δόκιμος οὕτω ἐτελεύτησε.
Then, after uttering many curses upon the Persians if they should not win back the sovereignty and take vengeance on the Magians, he threw himself headlong down from the tower. Thus died Prexaspes, a man of high repute through all his life.
- 3.75.1τῶν μὲν ἐκεῖνοι προσεδέοντο αὐτοῦ, τούτων μὲν ἑκὼν ἐπελήθετο
A double genitive structure. τούτων is the genitive object required by the verb ἐπελήθετο (forget, ignore), while τῶν is the relative pronoun acting as the genitive object of προσεδέοντο (request, stand in need of) within the relative clause. αὐτοῦ is the genitive of the person from whom something is requested, also governed by προσεδέοντο.
- 3.75.2οὐ γάρ οἱ εἶναι ἀσφαλὲς λέγειν τὰ γενόμενα
The infinitive εἶναι is used instead of an indicative verb in the explanatory γάρ clause. This is a characteristic feature of Herodotus' style in indirect speech, where the influence of the main verb of saying (here φάμενος) extends into the subordinate clause. The pronoun οἱ refers back to the speaker Prexaspes himself (indirect reflexive).
- 3.75.2ἀναγκαίην μιν καταλαμβάνειν φαίνειν
μιν is the third-person singular accusative pronoun (αὐτόν), serving as the object, not the subject, of the infinitive καταλαμβάνειν. The subject is the feminine noun ἀναγκαίην (necessity, constraint), meaning 'a necessity overcomes him to reveal (it)'. φαίνειν is an infinitive of purpose or specification limiting ἀναγκαίην.
- 3.75.2τὸν μὲν Κύρου Σμέρδιν ὡς αὐτὸς ... ἀποκτείνειε
A construction of prolepsis (anticipation). τὸν Κύρου Σμέρδιν, which logically should be the subject of the ὡς clause, is placed early as the direct object of the main verb of saying, ἔλεγε.
- 3.75.3ἀνακτησαίατο, τισαίατο
Ionic optative third-person plural endings. They correspond to Attic -αιντο (ἀνακτήσαιντο, τίσαιντο), where the consonant ν is replaced by the vowel α, resulting in the ending -ατο.