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Histories

§6.100.1-6.100.3

Division in Eretria and the Athenian Relief Force

Faced with the Persian advance, Eretria seeks help from Athens, which sends 4,000 colonists from Chalcis; however, the Eretrians are internally divided. Discerning the situation, the Eretrian leader Aeschines advises the Athenian reinforcements to withdraw to avoid destruction, and they follow his advice.

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§6.100.1

Ἐρετριέες δὲ πυνθανόμενοι τὴν στρατιὴν τὴν Περσικὴν ἐπὶ σφέας ἐπιπλέουσαν Ἀθηναίων ἐδεήθησαν σφίσι βοηθοὺς γενέσθαι. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ οὐκ ἀπείπαντο τὴν ἐπικουρίην, ἀλλὰ τοὺς τετρακισχιλίους τοὺς κληρουχέοντας τῶν ἱπποβοτέων Χαλκιδέων τὴν χώρην, τούτους1 σφι διδοῦσι τιμωρούς. τῶν δὲ Ἐρετριέων ἦν ἄρα οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς βούλευμα, οἳ2 μετεπέμποντο μὲν Ἀθηναίους, ἐφρόνεον δὲ διφασίας ἰδέας.

​The Eretrians, learning that the Persian force was sailing against them, begged the Athenians to become their helpers. The Athenians did not refuse the assistance, but gave them as helpers those four thousand who held allotments in the land of the horse-breeding Chalcidians—these they gave them to protect them. Yet there was, as it turned out, no sound plan among the Eretrians, who, while they sent for the Athenians, were of two minds.

§6.100.2

οἳ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐβουλεύοντο ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν πόλιν ἐς τὰ ἄκρα τῆς Εὐβοίης, ἄλλοι δὲ αὐτῶν ἴδια κέρδεα προσδεκόμενοι παρὰ τοῦ Πέρσεω οἴσεσθαι3 προδοσίην ἐσκευάζοντο.

​For some of them were planning to abandon the city for the heights of Euboea, while others of them, expecting to win personal gain from the Persian, were preparing a betrayal.

§6.100.3

μαθὼν δὲ τούτων ἑκάτερα ὡς εἶχε4 Αἰσχίνης ὁ Νόθωνος, ἐὼν τῶν Ἐρετριέων τὰ πρῶτα, φράζει τοῖσι ἥκουσι Ἀθηναίων πάντα τὰ παρεόντα σφι πρήγματα, προσεδέετό τε ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι σφέας5 ἐς τὴν σφετέρην, ἵνα μὴ προσαπόλωνται. οἱ δὲ Ἀθηναῖοι ταῦτα Αἰσχίνῃ συμβουλεύσαντι πείθονται.

​Aeschines son of Nothon, being among the leading men of the Eretrians, when he learned how each of these matters stood, told the arriving Athenians the whole state of their affairs, and begged them to depart to their own land so that they might not perish as well. And the Athenians followed what Aeschines advised.

Syntax notes5 items
  1. 6.100.1τούτους

    The demonstrative pronoun τούτους in the accusative case resumes the long preceding accusative phrase (τοὺς τετρακισχιλίους... τὴν χώρην) for clarity and emphasis, serving as the direct object of the verb διδοῦσι.

  2. 6.100.1οἳ

    The grammatical antecedent of the relative pronoun οἳ (masculine plural) is not the immediate οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς βούλευμα (neuter singular), but the genitive τῶν δὲ Ἐρετριέων (masculine plural). This is an instance of constructio ad sensum (agreement according to sense rather than strict grammatical form).

  3. 6.100.2οἴσεσθαι

    The future middle infinitive used with active meaning, serving as a complementary infinitive with the participle προσδεκόμενοι ('expecting'). Since its subject is identical to the main subject of the clause (ἄλλοι), the subject accusative is omitted.

  4. 6.100.3τούτων ἑκάτερα ὡς εἶχε

    An instance of prolepsis (anticipation), where τούτων ἑκάτερα ('each of these two things'), which should be the subject of the indirect question clause, is pulled forward as the direct object of the participle μαθὼν in the main structure. Literally, 'learning each of these, how it stood'.

  5. 6.100.3σφέας

    An example of the indirect reflexive pronoun (third person plural accusative) in Herodotus. It refers to the Athenians (the addressees) from the standpoint of the speaker and subject of the main verb (Aeschines), meaning 'themselves'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.100.1-6.100.3