- 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-grc2:5.81.1-5.81.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
After the Thebans fail in battle despite the protection of the Aeacidae, they request actual troops from the Aeginetans. The Aeginetans, seizing the opportunity while Athens is engaged with the Boeotians, launch an undeclared war and ravage the coast of Attica.
πειρησαμένων1 δὲ τῶν Θηβαίων κατὰ τὴν συμμαχίην τῶν Αἰακιδέων καὶ τρηχέως περιεφθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων, αὖτις οἱ Θηβαῖοι πέμψαντες τοὺς μὲν Αἰακίδας σφι ἀπεδίδοσαν, τῶν δὲ ἀνδρῶν2 ἐδέοντο.
When the Thebans had made trial of the alliance of the Aeacidae and had been roughly handled by the Athenians, they sent messengers again and returned the Aeacidae to them, while they entreated them for men.
Αἰγινῆται δὲ εὐδαιμονίῃ τε μεγάλῃ ἐπαερθέντες καὶ ἔχθρης παλαιῆς ἀναμνησθέντες ἐχούσης ἐς Ἀθηναίους, τότε Θηβαίων δεηθέντων πόλεμον ἀκήρυκτον Ἀθηναίοισι ἐπέφερον·
The Aeginetans, being elated by their great prosperity and remembering their ancient enmity which they had against the Athenians, then, when the Thebans entreated them, brought an unheralded war upon the Athenians.
ἐπικειμένων γὰρ αὐτῶν3 Βοιωτοῖσι, ἐπιπλώσαντες μακρῇσι νηυσὶ ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν κατὰ μὲν ἔσυραν Φάληρον κατὰ δὲ4 τῆς ἄλλης παραλίης πολλοὺς δήμους, ποιεῦντες δὲ ταῦτα μεγάλως Ἀθηναίους ἐσικνέοντο.
For while the Athenians were pressing hard upon the Boeotians, they sailed with warships against Attica and ravaged Phalerum and many of the demes on the rest of the coast, and by doing this they inflicted great damage upon the Athenians.
- 5.81.1πειρησαμένων
Participle of πειράομαι ('to make trial of', 'attempt'), forming a genitive absolute with τῶν Θηβαίων, here meaning to try fortunes in war against the Athenians.
- 5.81.1τοὺς μὲν Αἰακίδας... τῶν δὲ ἀνδρῶν
A contrast between 'the Aeacidae' (the statues/sacred relics of the heroes sent in the previous chapter, 5.80.2) and 'the men' (actual human soldiers) now being requested.
- 5.81.3αὐτῶν
The pronoun in the genitive absolute ἐπικειμένων γὰρ αὐτῶν Βοιωτοῖσι, referring to the Athenians mentioned in the previous clause.
- 5.81.3κατὰ μὲν ἔσυραν … κατὰ δὲ
An example of tmesis (separation of a compound verb), where the prefix of κατασύρω (to plunder) is separated from the verb ἔσυραν by the particles μέν and δέ. In the second clause (κατὰ δέ), the verb ἔσυραν is understood.