- 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-grc2:5.73.1-5.73.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Athenians recall Cleisthenes and send envoys to Sardis to seek an alliance with Persia against Sparta. Artaphrenes, governor of Sardis, demands "earth and water" as a condition, which the envoys accept on their own initiative, only to face heavy criticism upon returning home.
οὗτοι μέν νυν δεδεμένοι ἐτελεύτησαν. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα Κλεισθένεα καὶ τὰ ἑπτακόσια ἐπίστια τὰ διωχθέντα ὑπὸ Κλεομένεος μεταπεμψάμενοι πέμπουσι ἀγγέλους ἐς Σάρδις, συμμαχίην βουλόμενοι ποιήσασθαι πρὸς Πέρσας· ἠπιστέατο1 γὰρ σφίσι Λακεδαιμονίουςτε καὶ Κλεομένεα ἐκπεπολεμῶσθαι.
Now these men, having been bound, met their end. After this, the Athenians, having recalled Cleisthenes and the seven hundred households exiled by Cleomenes, sent messengers to Sardis, wishing to make an alliance with the Persians; for they knew that the Lacedaemonians and Cleomenes had entered into open war against them.
ἀπικομένων δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐς τὰς Σάρδις καὶ λεγόντων τὰ ἐντεταλμένα, Ἀρταφρένης ὁ Ὑστάσπεος Σαρδίων ὕπαρχος ἐπειρώτα τίνες ἐόντες ἄνθρωποι καὶ κοῦ γῆς2 οἰκημένοι δεοίατο3 Περσέων σύμμαχοι γενέσθαι, πυθόμενος δὲ πρὸς τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀπεκορύφου σφι τάδε· εἰ μὲν διδοῦσι βασιλέι Δαρείῳ Ἀθηναῖοι γῆν τε καὶ ὕδωρ, ὁ δὲ συμμαχίην σφι συνετίθετο,4 εἰ δὲ μὴ διδοῦσι, ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευε.
When the messengers arrived in Sardis and spoke their instructions, Artaphrenes son of Hystaspes, the governor of Sardis, asked what sort of men they were and where on earth they lived that they should beg to become allies of the Persians; and having learned from the messengers, he delivered his final word to them as follows: if the Athenians would give earth and water to King Darius, he would conclude an alliance with them, but if they would not, he commanded them to depart.
οἱ δὲ ἄγγελοι ἐπὶ σφέων αὐτῶν βαλόμενοι5 διδόναι ἔφασαν, βουλόμενοι τὴν συμμαχίην ποιήσασθαι. οὗτοι μὲν δὴ ἀπελθόντες ἐς τὴν ἑωυτῶν αἰτίας μεγάλας εἶχον.
But the messengers, taking it upon themselves, said they would give them, wishing to make the alliance. These indeed, having returned to their own land, faced great accusations.
- 5.73.1ἠπιστέατο
The third-person plural pluperfect of the verb ἐπίσταμαι in the Ionic dialect, equivalent to the Attic imperfect ἠπίσταντο. Here it denotes the ongoing state of knowledge or certainty in past time.
- 5.73.2κοῦ γῆς
A combination of the interrogative adverb of place κοῦ (Ionic for ποῦ, 'where') and the partitive genitive γῆς ('of the earth'), forming the idiomatic expression 'where on earth'.
- 5.73.2δεοίατο
The third-person plural present optative of the verb δέομαι in the Ionic dialect, equivalent to the Attic δέοιντο. It is used as an optative of indirect discourse (optativus obliquus) after the historical main verb ἐπειρώτα.
- 5.73.2ὁ δὲ συμμαχίην σφι συνετίθετο
The particle δέ is used apodotically at the beginning of the main clause following the conditional clause (εἰ μέν...), marking contrast or emphasizing the subject change. The imperfect verb συνετίθετο expresses his readiness or intention to conclude an alliance ('he was for concluding...').
- 5.73.3ἐπὶ σφέων αὐτῶν βαλόμενοι
A middle participle of the idiomatic phrase ἐπὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν βάλλεσθαι (literally 'to cast upon themselves'). It means to take a decision on one's own responsibility, i.e., 'taking it upon themselves' or 'acting on their own initiative'.