- 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-grc2:5.35.1-5.35.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Fearing the loss of his power and financial ruin, Aristagoras plots a rebellion, while Histiaeus encourages him from Susa using a secret message tattooed on a slave's shaved head.
Ἀρισταγόρης δὲ οὐκ εἶχε τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν τῷ Ἀρταφρένεϊ ἐκτελέσαι· ἅμα δὲ ἐπίεζέ μιν ἡ δαπάνη τῆς στρατιῆς ἀπαιτεομένη, ἀρρώδεέ τε τοῦ στρατοῦ πρήξαντος κακῶς καὶ Μεγαβάτῃ διαβεβλημένος, ἐδόκεέ τε τὴν βασιληίην τῆς Μιλήτου ἀπαιρεθήσεσθαι.
Aristagoras was unable to fulfill his promise to Artaphernes; at the same time, the expense of the expedition, which was being demanded of him, pressed him hard, and he was afraid because the army had fared badly and because he was at variance with Megabates, and he thought that he would be deprived of the lordship of Miletus.
ἀρρωδέων δὲ τούτων ἕκαστα ἐβουλεύετο ἀπόστασιν· συνέπιπτε γὰρ καὶ τὸν ἐστιγμένον τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπῖχθαι ἐκ Σούσων παρὰ Ἱστιαίου, σημαίνοντα ἀπίστασθαι Ἀρισταγόρην ἀπὸ βασιλέος.
Fearing each of these things, he began to plot a revolt; for it also happened that the man with the tattooed head arrived from Susa from Histiaeus, signaling to Aristagoras to revolt from the King.
ὁ γὰρ Ἱστιαῖος βουλόμενος τῷ Ἀρισταγόρῃ σημῆναι ἀποστῆναι ἄλλως μὲν οὐδαμῶς εἶχε ἀσφαλέως σημῆναι ὥστε φυλασσομενέων τῶν ὁδῶν,1 ὁ δὲ τῶν δούλων τὸν πιστότατον ἀποξυρήσας τὴν κεφαλὴν ἔστιξε καὶ ἀνέμεινε ἀναφῦναι τὰς τρίχας, ὡς δὲ ἀνέφυσαν τάχιστα, ἀπέπεμπε ἐς Μίλητον ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδέν, ἐπεὰν δὲ ἀπίκηται ἐς Μίλητον, κελεύειν2 Ἀρισταγόρην ξυρήσαντά μιν τὰς τρίχας κατιδέσθαι ἐς τὴν κεφαλήν. τὰ δὲ στίγματα ἐσήμαινε, ὡς καὶ πρότερόν μοι εἴρηται, ἀπόστασιν.
For Histiaeus, wishing to signal Aristagoras to revolt, had no other way to signal safely since the roads were guarded; so he shaved the head of the most faithful of his slaves, tattooed it, and waited for the hair to grow again. As soon as it had grown, he sent him to Miletus, having charged him with nothing else but, when he arrived in Miletus, to bid Aristagoras shave his hair and look at his head. And the tattoos signaled, as I have also said before, revolt.
ταῦτα δὲ ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ἐποίεε συμφορὴν ποιεύμενος μεγάλην τὴν ἑωυτοῦ κατοχὴν τὴν ἐν Σούσοισι· ἀποστάσιος ὦν γινομένης πολλὰς εἶχε ἐλπίδας μετήσεσθαι3 ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, μὴ δὲ νεώτερόν τι ποιεύσης τῆς Μιλήτου οὐδαμὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ἥξειν ἔτι ἐλογίζετο.
And Histiaeus did this because he regarded his detention in Susa as a great misfortune; if therefore a revolt should occur, he had great hopes of being sent down to the sea, but if Miletus made no new move, he calculated that he would never come to it again.
- 5.35.3ὥστε φυλασσομενέων τῶν ὁδῶν
The conjunction ὥστε is used here with the genitive absolute (φυλασσομενέων τῶν ὁδῶν) to introduce a reason or prevailing condition ('since the roads were guarded'), which is a usage characteristic of Herodotus.
- 5.35.3κελεύειν
The infinitive κελεύειν depends on the participle εντειλάμενος. An ellipsis of ἀλλά ('except') occurs after ἄλλο μὲν οὐδέν, making the clause mean 'having charged him with nothing else but to bid...'.
- 5.35.4μετήσεσθαι
The future middle of μεθίημι (to let go, release), which is used here with a passive meaning ('that he would be released' or 'sent down to the coast').