- 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-grc2:4.80.1-4.80.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Angry at Scyles' Greek behavior, the Scythians rebel under his brother Octamasades, forcing Scyles to flee to Thrace; however, through a prisoner exchange with the Thracian king, Scyles is returned and executed.
ὡς δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξήλαυνε ὁ Σκύλης ἐς ἤθεα τὰ ἑωυτοῦ, οἱ Σκύθαι προστησάμενοι τὸν ἀδελφεὸν αὐτοῦ Ὀκταμασάδην, γεγονότα ἐκ τῆς Τήρεω θυγατρός, ἐπανιστέατο τῷ Σκύλῃ.
When after this Scyles rode away into his own territories, the Scythians set up his brother Octamasades as leader, who was born of the daughter of Teres, and rebelled against Scyles.
ὁ δὲ μαθὼν τὸ γινόμενον ἐπʼ ἑωυτῷ καὶ τὴν αἰτίην διʼ ἣν ἐποιέετο, καταφεύγει ἐς τὴν Θρηίκην. πυθόμενος δὲ ὁ Ὀκταμασάδης ταῦτα ἐστρατεύετο ἐπὶ τὴν Θρηίκην. ἐπείτε δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ Ἴστρῳ ἐγένετο, ἠντίασάν μιν οἱ Θρήικες, μελλόντων δὲ αὐτῶν συνάψειν1 ἔπεμψε Σιτάλκης παρὰ τὸν Ὀκταμασάδην λέγων τοιάδε.
But when he learned what was being done against him and the reason for which it was being done, he fled for refuge to Thrace. On hearing this, Octamasades marched against Thrace; and when he came to the Ister, the Thracians met him, and when they were about to join battle, Sitalces sent a messenger to Octamasades, saying as follows:
τι δεῖ ἡμέας ἀλλήλων πειρηθῆναι; εἶς2 μέν μευ τῆς ἀδελφεῆς παῖς, ἔχεις δέ μευ ἀδελφεόν. σὺ δέ μοι ἀπόδος τοῦτον, καὶ ἐγὼ σοὶ τὸν σὸν Σκύλην παραδίδωμι· στρατιῇ δὲ μήτε σὺ κινδυνεύσῃς μήτʼ ἐγώ.
”Why must we make trial of one another? You are the son of my sister, and you have my brother; give this man back to me, and I will hand over your Scyles to you; and let neither you nor me run a risk with our army.”
ταῦτά οἱ πέμψας ὁ Σιτάλκης ἐπεκηρυκεύετο· ἦν γὰρ παρὰ τῷ Ὀκταμασάδη ἀδελφεὸς Σιτάλκεω πεφευγώς. ὁ δὲ Ὀκταμασάδης καταινέει ταῦτα, ἐκδοὺς δὲ τὸν ἑωυτοῦ μήτρωα Σιτάλκῃ ἔλαβε τὸν ἀδελφεὸν Σκύλην.
Sitalces sent these words to him and made a proposal; for there was with Octamasades a brother of Sitalces who had fled there. And Octamasades agreed to this, and delivering up his own maternal uncle to Sitalces, he received his brother Scyles.
καὶ Σιτάλκης μὲν παραλαβὼν τὸν ἀδελφεὸν ἀπήγετο, Σκύλεω δὲ Ὀκταμασάδης αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ ἀπέταμε τὴν κεφαλήν. οὕτω μὲν περιστέλλουσι τὰ σφέτερα νόμαια Σκύθαι, τοῖσι δὲ παρακτωμένοισι ξεινικοὺς νόμους3 τοιαῦτα ἐπιτίμια διδοῦσι.
And Sitalces, having received his brother, led him away, but Octamasades cut off Scyles’ head on that very spot. Thus do the Scythians safeguard their own customs, and upon those who acquire foreign customs they inflict such punishments.
- 4.80.2μελλόντων δὲ αὐτῶν συνάψειν
A genitive absolute construction. The future infinitive συνάψειν, dependent on the auxiliary-like μέλλω, is used intransitively or with 'battle' (τὴν μάχην) implied, meaning 'when they were about to join battle'.
- 4.80.3εἶς
This is the Ionic dialect form for the second-person singular present indicative of εἰμί (to be), namely εἶς (with smooth breathing), and not the numeral εἷς (one, with rough breathing). It means 'you are' with the subject 'you' implied.
- 4.80.5τοῖσι δὲ παρακτωμένοισι ξεινικοὺς νόμους
The dative present middle participle παρακτωμένοισι (from παρακτάομαι, 'to acquire in addition') is used substantively as the indirect object of the main verb διδοῦσι, meaning 'to those who acquire for themselves foreign customs'.