- 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-grc2:4.122.1-4.122.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Scythian scouts retreated while leading the Persian army, which pursued them eastward across the Tanais river and reached the territory of the Budini.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ προεκομίζετο. τῶν δὲ Σκυθέων οἱ πρόδρομοι ὡς εὗρον τοὺς Πέρσας ὅσον τε τριῶν ἡμερέων ὁδὸν ἀπέχοντας ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἴστρου, οὗτοι μὲν τούτους εὑρόντες, ἡμέρης ὁδῷ προέχοντες, ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο τὰ ἐκ τῆς γῆς φυόμενα λεαίνοντες,1 οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ὡς εἶδον ἐπιφανεῖσαν τῶν Σκυθέων τὴν ἵππον, ἐπήισαν κατὰ στίβον αἰεὶ ὑπαγόντων·2 καὶ ἔπειτα (πρὸς γὰρ τὴν μίαν τῶν μοιρέων3 ἴθυσαν) οἱ Πέρσαι ἐδίωκον πρὸς ἠῶ τε καὶ ἰθὺ Τανάιδος.
These, then, were being sent forward. Meanwhile, the scouts of the Scythians, when they found the Persians at a distance of about three days’ journey from the Ister, having found them, kept one day’s journey ahead and encamped, destroying the crops that grew from the earth. But when the Persians saw the cavalry of the Scythians appear, they pressed forward along their tracks as they constantly retreated; and then (for they marched straight towards one of the divisions) the Persians pursued towards the east and straight for the Tanais.
διαβάντων δὲ τούτων τὸν Τάναιν ποταμὸν οἱ Πέρσαι ἐπιδιαβάντες ἐδίωκον, ἐς ὃ τῶν Σαυροματέων τὴν χώρην διεξελθόντες ἀπίκοντο ἐς τὴν τῶν Βουδίνων.
And when these had crossed the river Tanais, the Persians also crossed after them and pursued them, until, having passed through the territory of the Sauromatae, they reached that of the Budini.
- 4.122.1λεαίνοντες
Literally meaning "smoothing" or "grinding down." Here it refers to a scorched-earth tactic, destroying or flattening the vegetation and crops of the land to prevent the Persians from foraging.
- 4.122.2ὑπαγόντων
A genitive absolute construction with the subject (the Scythians) omitted. Used intransitively to mean "retreating" or "withdrawing," depicting their deliberate and continuous backward movement to lure the Persians.
- 4.122.2τὴν μίαν τῶν μοιρέων
Literally "one of the divisions." It refers to the first of the three divisions into which the Scythian forces were partitioned (as described in 4.120) to counter the Persians, which was united with the Sauromatae.