- 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-grc2:5.79.1-5.79.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The Thebans seek an oracle to take vengeance on Athens and are told to entreat those "nearest" to them, but they question its meaning since their closest neighbors are already fighting alongside them.
οὗτοι μέν νυν ταῦτα ἔπρησσον. Θῃβαῖοι δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐς θεὸν ἔπεμπον, βουλόμενοι τίσασθαι Ἀθηναίους. ἡ δὲ Πυθίη ἀπὸ σφέων μὲν αὐτῶν1 οὐκ ἔφη αὐτοῖσι εἶναι τίσιν, ἐς πολύφημον δὲ ἐξενείκαντας2 ἐκέλευε τῶν ἄγχιστα δέεσθαι.
While the former were doing these things, the Thebans after this sent to the god, wishing to take vengeance on the Athenians. But the Pythia said that vengeance was not possible for them from themselves alone, but she ordered them to bring the oracle to the place of many voices and to entreat those who were nearest to them.
ἀπελθόντων ὦν τῶν θεοπρόπων, ἐξέφερον τὸ χρηστήριον ἁλίην ποιησάμενοι· ὡς ἐπυνθάνοντο δὲ λεγόντων αὐτῶν τῶν ἄγχιστα δέεσθαι, εἶπαν οἱ Θηβαῖοι ἀκούσαντες τούτων οὐκ ὦν ἄγχιστα ἡμέων οἰκέουσι Ταναγραῖοί τε καὶ Κορωναῖοι καὶ Θεσπιέες; καὶ οὗτοί γε ἅμα ἡμῖν αἰεὶ μαχόμενοι προθύμως συνδιαφέρουσι τὸν πόλεμον· τί δεῖ τούτων γε δέεσθαι; ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον μὴ οὐ τοῦτο ᾖ τὸ χρηστήριον.3
When the messengers of the oracle had returned, therefore, they held an assembly and published the oracle; and when they heard them saying that they should entreat those who were nearest, the Thebans said on hearing this: “Do not the Tanagraeans, the Coronaeans, and the Thespians dwell nearest to us? And these, indeed, always fighting eagerly together with us, share in carrying on the war; what need is there to entreat them? Nay, rather, may this not be the meaning of the oracle.”
- 5.79.1ἀπὸ σφέων μὲν αὐτῶν
The preposition ἀπό with the genitive means "by their own resources" or "on their own," modifying the following dative αὐτοῖσι (dative of agent/possessor), indicating that vengeance is impossible for the Thebans acting alone.
- 5.79.1ἐς πολύφημον δὲ ἐξενείκαντας
The participle ἐξενείκαντας (aorist active accusative plural) is in the accusative as the logical subject of the infinitive δέεσθαι dependent on ἐκέλευε. πολύφημος ("of many voices") is used substantively (or with a noun like ἀγορή omitted) as riddling oracle language to mean "the public assembly."
- 5.79.2μὴ οὐ τοῦτο ᾖ τὸ χρηστήριον
The construction μὴ οὐ with the subjunctive (ᾖ) expresses a cautious or apprehensive negative assertion ("may this not be... / I suspect this is not..."). The Thebans are questioning whether the "nearest ones" mentioned in the oracle might refer to something other than their literal geographical neighbors.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1