- 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-grc2:5.118.1-5.118.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Learning of the Persian advance, the Carians gather near the river Marsyas. Pixodarus proposes fighting with the river at their own back, but his advice is rejected in favor of forcing the Persians to back against the river.
καί κως ταῦτα τοῖσι Καρσὶ ἐξαγγέλθη πρότερον ἢ τὸν Δαυρίσην ἀπικέσθαι·1 πυθόμενοι δὲ οἱ Κᾶρες συνελέγοντο ἐπὶ Λευκάς τε στήλας καλεομένας καὶ ποταμὸν Μαρσύην, ὃς ῥέων ἐκ τῆς Ἰδριάδος χώρης ἐς τὸν Μαίανδρον ἐκδιδοῖ.
And somehow this news was reported to the Carians before Daurises arrived; having learned of this, the Carians gathered at the place called White Pillars and the river Marsyas, which flows from the country of Idrias and empties into the Maeander.
συλλεχθέντων δὲ τῶν Καρῶν ἐνθαῦτα ἐγίνοντο βουλαὶ ἄλλαι τε πολλαὶ καὶ ἀρίστη γε δοκέουσα εἶναι ἐμοὶ Πιξωδάρου τοῦ Μαυσώλου ἀνδρὸς Κινδυέος, ὃς τοῦ Κιλίκων βασιλέος Συεννέσιος εἶχε θυγατέρα· τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἡ γνώμη ἔφερε2 διαβάντας τὸν Μαίανδρον τοὺς Κᾶρας καὶ κατὰ νώτου ἔχοντας τὸν ποταμὸν οὕτω συμβάλλειν, ἵνα μὴ ἔχοντες ὀπίσω φεύγειν οἱ Κᾶρες αὐτοῦ τε μένειν ἀναγκαζόμενοι γινοίατο3 ἔτι ἀμείνονες τῆς φύσιος.
When the Carians had gathered there, many other counsels were offered, but the best, in my judgment, was that of Pixodarus, son of Mausolus, a man of Cindyas, who had as his wife the daughter of Syennesis, king of the Cilicians. The opinion of this man tended to this: that the Carians should cross the Maeander and engage in battle having the river at their back, so that, with no possibility of fleeing backward and being forced to remain on the spot, they might become even braver than their natural disposition.
αὕτη μέν νυν οὐκ ἐνίκα ἡ γνώμη, ἀλλὰ τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι4 κατὰ νώτου γίνεσθαι τὸν Μαίανδρον μᾶλλον ἢ σφίσι, δηλαδὴ ἢν φυγὴ τῶν Περσέων γένηται καὶ ἑσσωθέωσι τῇ συμβολῇ, ὡς οὐκ ἀπονοστήσουσι5 ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐσπίπτοντες.
Now this opinion did not prevail, but rather that the Maeander should be at the back of the Persians rather than of themselves, obviously in order that, if the Persians should flee and be defeated in the battle, they might not return home as they fell into the river.
- 5.118.1πρότερον ἢ τὸν Δαυρίσην ἀπικέσθαι
The phrase πρότερον ἤ (before) is followed by an infinitive clause, where the accusative τὸν Δαυρίσην functions as the subject of the infinitive ἀπικέσθαι.
- 5.118.2γνώμη ἔφερε
The verb φέρω is used intransitively here (tended to, aimed at) with γνώμη as its subject, leading to the accusative and infinitive construction (διαβάντας ... συμβάλλειν).
- 5.118.2γινοίατο
An Ionic dialectal form of the third-person plural optative middle (equivalent to γένοιντο). The optative is used in the purpose clause introduced by ἵνα because the main verb is in a past tense (ἐγίνοντο).
- 5.118.3ἀλλὰ τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι
In contrast to οὐκ ἐνίκα ἡ γνώμη (the opinion did not prevail), the phrase 'the opinion prevailed (that...)' is omitted after ἀλλά, introducing the infinitive γίνεσθαι with the dative τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι indicating the agent.
- 5.118.3ὡς οὐκ ἀπονοστήσουσι
The combination of the conjunction ὡς with the future indicative (ἀπονοστήσουσι) expresses negative purpose or expected result (so that they would not return).