- 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-grc2:5.84.1-5.84.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
As the Epidaurians refuse to pay tribute to Athens due to the theft of the statues, the Athenians demand their return from the Aeginetans, who flatly reject the claim.
κλεφθέντων δὲ τῶνδε τῶν ἀγαλμάτων οἱ Ἐπιδαύριοι τοῖσι Ἀθηναίοισι τὰ συνέθεντο οὐκ ἐπετέλεον. πέμψαντες δὲ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐμήνιον τοῖσι Ἐπιδαυρίοισι· οἳ δὲ ἀπέφαινον λόγῳ ὡς οὐκ ἀδικέοιεν· ὅσον μὲν γὰρ χρόνον εἶχον τὰ ἀγάλματα ἐν τῇ χώρῃ, ἐπιτελέειν τὰ συνέθεντο, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐστερῆσθαι1 αὐτῶν, οὐ δίκαιον εἶναι ἀποφέρειν ἔτι, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἔχοντας αὐτὰ Αἰγινήτας πρήσσεσθαι2 ἐκέλευον.
When these statues were stolen, the Epidaurians ceased to perform for the Athenians what they had agreed upon. The Athenians sent messengers and expressed their anger to the Epidaurians; but the latter declared in speech that they were doing no wrong. For they said that as long as they had the statues in their country, they performed what had been agreed, but since they had been deprived of them, it was no longer just for them to pay, but they urged the Athenians to exact it from the Aeginetans who held them.
πρὸς ταῦτα οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐς Αἴγιναν πέμψαντες ἀπαίτεον τὰ ἀγάλματα· οἱ δὲ Αἰγινῆται ἔφασαν σφίσι τε καὶ Ἀθηναίοισι3 εἶναι οὐδὲν πρῆγμα.
In response to this, the Athenians sent to Aegina to demand the statues back; but the Aeginetans said that they had no business with the Athenians.
- 5.84.1ἐπει δὲ ἐστερῆσθαι
Infinitive in a subordinate clause in indirect discourse. Although subordinate clauses in indirect discourse usually retain the indicative or optative mood, in Herodotus, they are frequently attracted to the infinitive of the leading verb (here οὐ δίκαιον εἶναι), resulting in an infinitive in the subordinate clause (here the perfect passive infinitive ἐστερῆσθαι after ἐπεί).
- 5.84.1πρήσσεσθαι
The middle voice πρήσσομαι of the verb πρήσσω (Attic πράττω) means "to exact" or "to demand money." Here, it means that the Epidaurians urged the Athenians to exact the tribute from the Aeginetans.
- 5.84.2σφίσι τε καὶ Ἀθηναίοισι
Dative of possession. Literally "there was no matter/business for themselves (the Aeginetans) and the Athenians," meaning they had nothing to do with each other. σφίσι is an indirect reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main clause, the Aeginetans.