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Histories

§4.151.1-4.151.3

Drought on Thera and the Advance Expedition to Platea

Due to a seven-year drought on Thera, the Theraeans consult the oracle and send messengers to Crete, where they find Corobius to guide an advance party to the island of Platea off Libya.

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§4.151.1

ἑπτὰ δὲ ἐτέων μετὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ὗε τὴν Θήρην,1 ἐν τοῖσι τὰ δένδρεα πάντα σφι τὰ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πλὴν ἑνὸς ἐξαυάνθη. χρεωμένοισι δὲ τοῖσι Θηραίοισι προέφερε ἡ Πυθίη τὴν ἐς Λιβύην ἀποικίην.

​For seven years after this, it did not rain in Thera, during which time all the trees they had on the island, except one, withered away. And when the Theraeans consulted the oracle, the Pythia proposed to them the colonization of Libya.

§4.151.2

ἐπείτε δὲ κακοῦ οὐδὲν ἦν σφι μῆχος, πέμπουσι ἐς Κρήτην ἀγγέλους διζημένους εἴ τις Κρητῶν ἢ μετοίκων ἀπιγμένος εἴη ἐς Λιβύην. περιπλανώμενοι δὲ αὐτὴν2 οὗτοι ἀπίκοντο καὶ ἐς Ἴτανον πόλιν, ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ συμμίσγουσι ἀνδρὶ πορφυρέι3 τῷ οὕνομα ἦν Κορώβιος, ὃς ἔφη ὑπʼ ἀνέμων ἀπενειχθεὶς ἀπικέσθαι ἐς Λιβύην καὶ Λιβύης ἐς Πλατέαν νῆσον.

​Since they had no remedy for this evil, they sent messengers to Crete to search out whether any of the Cretans or resident aliens had ever reached Libya. Wandering through it, these men also came to the city of Itanus, and there they met a purple-dyer named Corobius, who said that he had been carried away by winds and had reached Libya, and in Libya, the island of Platea.

§4.151.3

μισθῷ δὲ τοῦτον πείσαντες ἦγον ἐς Θήρην, ἐκ δὲ Θήρης ἔπλεον κατάσκοποι ἄνδρες τὰ πρῶτα οὐ πολλοί· κατηγησαμένου δὲ τοῦ Κορωβίου ἐς τὴν νῆσον ταύτην δὴ τὴν Πλατέαν, τὸν μέν Κορώβιον λείπουσι, σιτία καταλιπόντες ὅσων δὴ μηνῶν,4 αὐτοὶ δὲ ἔπλεον τὴν ταχίστην ἀπαγγελέοντες Θηραίοισι περὶ τῆς νήσου.

​Having persuaded him with a reward, they brought him to Thera; and from Thera, scouts sailed out, at first not many men. When Corobius had guided them to this very island of Platea, they left Corobius there, leaving behind provisions for some months, while they themselves sailed back as fast as possible to report to the Theraeans about the island.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 4.151.1οὐκ ὗε τὴν Θήρην

    The verb ὕει (to rain) is usually used impersonally, but here it transitively takes τὴν Θήρην in the accusative, meaning 'it did not rain upon Thera' or 'did not make Thera wet with rain'.

  2. 4.151.2αὐτὴν

    The feminine accusative singular of αὐτός, referring back to the place name Κρήτην (feminine). It means 'wandering through it (Crete)'.

  3. 4.151.2ἀνδρὶ πορφυρέι

    Literally 'a purple man', which refers to a purple-dyer or a fisher of the purple-fish (murex) used for dyeing. The adjective is used substantively here.

  4. 4.151.3ὅσων δὴ μηνῶν

    The relative adjective ὅσος combined with the indefinite particle δή, meaning 'of as many months as might be' or 'provisions for some months'. The genitive functions as a genitive of value or quality, modifying σιτία (provisions).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.151.1-4.151.3