- 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-grc2:3.79.1-3.79.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Five of the conspirators show the heads of the Magi to the Persians, prompting a general massacre of the Magi. To commemorate this day, the Persians establish a great festival called the Magophonia.
ἀποκτείναντες δὲ τοὺς Μάγους καὶ ἀποταμόντες αὐτῶν τὰς κεφαλάς, τοὺς μὲν τρωματίας ἑωυτῶν αὐτοῦ λείπουσι καὶ ἀδυνασίης εἵνεκεν καὶ φυλακῆς τῆς ἀκροπόλιος, οἱ δὲ πέντε αὐτῶν ἔχοντες τῶν Μάγων τὰς κεφαλὰς ἔθεον βοῇ τε καὶ πατάγῳ χρεώμενοι, καὶ Πέρσας τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπεκαλέοντο ἐξηγεόμενοί τε τὸ πρῆγμα καὶ δεικνύοντες τὰς κεφαλάς, καὶ ἅμα ἔκτεινον πάντα τινὰ τῶν Μάγων τὸν ἐν ποσὶ γινόμενον.1
After killing the Magi and cutting off their heads, they left their own wounded there, both because of their inability to move and to guard the acropolis; and the five of them, holding the heads of the Magi, ran shouting and making an uproar, calling upon the other Persians, explaining the matter and showing the heads, and at the same time they killed every single one of the Magi who came in their way.
οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι μαθόντες τὸ γεγονὸς ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ καὶ τῶν Μάγων τὴν ἀπάτην, ἐδικαίευν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕτερα τοιαῦτα ποιέειν, σπασάμενοι δὲ τὰ ἐγχειρίδια ἔκτεινον ὅκου τινὰ Μάγον εὕρισκον· εἰ δὲ μὴ νὺξ ἐπελθοῦσα ἔσχε, ἔλιπον ἂν οὐδένα Μάγον.2
When the Persians learned what had happened from the seven and discovered the deceit of the Magi, they too resolved to do the same, and drawing their daggers, they killed any Magus they found anywhere; and if the oncoming night had not stopped them, they would have left not a single Magus alive.
ταύτην τὴν ἡμέρην θεραπεύουσι Πέρσαι κοινῇ μάλιστα τῶν ἡμερέων, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ ὁρτὴν μεγάλην ἀνάγουσι, ἣ κέκληται ὑπὸ Περσέων μαγοφόνια· ἐν τῇ Μάγον οὐδένα ἔξεστι φανῆναι ἐς τὸ φῶς, ἀλλὰ κατʼ οἴκους ἑωυτοὺς οἱ Μάγοι ἔχουσι3 τὴν ἡμέρην ταύτην.
The Persians observe this day in common most of all days, and on it they celebrate a great festival, which is called by the Persians the ‘Magophonia’; on this day no Magus is allowed to appear in the light, but the Magi keep themselves indoors for the duration of this day.
- 3.79.1τὸν ἐν ποσὶ γινόμενον
A participial phrase with the article τὸν modifying πάντα τινὰ τῶν Μάγων ("every single one of the Magi"). Literally meaning "the one getting under feet," it is an idiomatic expression for "whoever came in their way" or "encountered them."
- 3.79.2εἰ δὲ μὴ νὺξ ἐπελθοῦσα ἔσχε, ἔλιπον ἂν οὐδένα Μάγον
A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. The protasis uses the indicative aorist (ἔσχε, from ἔχω in the sense of "held back" or "stopped"), and the apodosis consists of the indicative aorist with ἄν (ἔλιπον ἂν), meaning "if night had not stopped them, they would have left no Magus."
- 3.79.3ἑωυτοὺς οἱ Μάγοι ἔχουσι
The verb ἔχω with the reflexive pronoun ἑωυτούς (third-person plural accusative) literally means "to hold themselves," which functions intransitively as "to stay" or "to remain." Together with κατʼ οἴκους ("in their homes"), it means "they keep themselves indoors."