- 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-grc2:4.203.1-4.203.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Persian army, having subdued Barce, passes through Cyrene on their return but later regrets not capturing it; their subsequent attempt to re-enter fails, and they suffer heavy losses from Libyan attacks during their retreat to Egypt.
τοὺς ὦν δὴ λοιποὺς τῶν Βαρκαίων οἱ Πέρσαι ἀνδραποδισάμενοι ἀπήισαν ὀπίσω· καὶ ἐπείτε ἐπὶ τῇ Κυρηναίων πόλι ἐπέστησαν, οἱ Κυρηναῖοι λόγιόν τι ἀποσιεύμενοι1 διεξῆκαν αὐτοὺς διὰ τοῦ ἄστεος.
So the Persians, having enslaved the rest of the Barcaeans, set out on their return journey; and when they came to the city of the Cyrenaeans, the Cyrenaeans, to clear themselves of some oracle, let them pass through the city.
διεξιούσης δὲ τῆς στρατιῆς Βάδρης μὲν ὁ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ στρατοῦ στρατηγὸς ἐκέλευε αἱρέειν τὴν πόλιν, Ἄμασις δὲ ὁ τοῦ πεζοῦ οὐκ ἔα· ἐπὶ Βάρκην γὰρ ἀποσταλῆναι μούνην Ἑλληνίδα πόλιν·2 ἐς ὃ διεξελθοῦσι καὶ ἱζομένοισι ἐπὶ Διὸς Λυκαίου ὄχθον μετεμέλησέ σφι οὐ σχοῦσι τὴν Κυρήνην.3 καὶ ἐπειρῶντο τὸ δεύτερον παριέναι ἐς αὐτήν· οἱ δὲ Κυρηναῖοι οὐ περιώρων.
While the army was passing through, Badres, the commander of the fleet, urged that they should take the city, but Amasis, the commander of the land army, would not allow it; for he said that they had been sent against Barce alone of Greek cities. But when they had passed through and were encamped on the hill of Zeus Lycaeus, they regretted not having taken Cyrene. And they tried a second time to enter it, but the Cyrenaeans would not permit them.
τοῖσι δὲ Πέρσῃσι οὐδενὸς μαχομένου φόβος ἐνέπεσε, ἀποδραμόντες τε ὅσον τε ἑξήκοντα στάδια ἵζοντο· ἱδρυθέντι δὲ τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ταύτῃ ἦλθε παρὰ Ἀρυνάνδεω ἄγγελος ἀποκαλέων αὐτούς. οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι Κυρηναίων δεηθέντες ἐπόδιά σφι δοῦναι ἔτυχον,4 λαβόντες δὲ ταῦτα ἀπαλλάσσοντο ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον.
Then, though no one was fighting them, a panic fell upon the Persians, and they ran away and encamped about sixty stades off. When the camp was established there, a messenger came from Aryandes recalling them. The Persians, having begged the Cyrenaeans to give them provisions for the journey, obtained them, and having received these, they departed for Egypt.
παραλαβόντες δὲ τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν αὐτοὺς Λίβυες τῆς τε ἐσθῆτος εἵνεκα καὶ τῆς σκευῆς τοὺς ὑπολειπομένους αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπελκομένους ἐφόνευον, ἐς ὃ ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἀπίκοντο.
From that point, the Libyans took them in hand and, for the sake of their clothing and equipment, killed those of them who fell behind or lagged, until they reached Egypt.
- 4.203.1λόγιόν τι ἀποσιεύμενοι
The participle ἀποσιεύμενοι (from ἀποσιόομαι) means "to clear oneself of a religious obligation" or "to avert a religious dread/pollution." Here it indicates that the Cyrenaeans let the Persians pass through in order to avert the ill effects or fulfillment of some oracle.
- 4.203.2ἐπὶ Βάρκην γὰρ ἀποσταλῆναι μούνην Ἑλληνίδα πόλιν
The infinitive ἀποσταλῆναι is used in indirect discourse, with the governing verb of speaking (such as ἔφη) omitted. It expresses the argument of Amasis, the land commander.
- 4.203.2μετεμέλησέ σφι οὐ σχοῦσι τὴν Κυρήνην
The impersonal verb μετεμέλησε (it repented) takes a dative of the person who regrets (σφι, agreeing with the preceding dative participles διεξελθοῦσι καὶ ἱζομένοισι) and a dative participle expressing the cause of regret (οὐ σχοῦσι). The construction literally means "it repented them not having taken Cyrene."
- 4.203.3Κυρηναίων δεηθέντες ἐπόδιά σφι δοῦναι ἔτυχον
The verb ἔτυχον (from τυγχάνω), which usually takes a participle to mean "happen to do," is used here in the sense of "succeeded in obtaining" or "got," with the genitive object (ἐποδίων, "provisions") implied from the preceding clause.