- 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-grc2:6.109.1-6.109.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Athenian generals are equally divided on whether to engage the Persian army at Marathon. Miltiades appeals to the polemarch Callimachus, who holds the deciding vote, urging him to choose battle to secure the freedom and supremacy of Athens.
τοῖσι δὲ Ἀθηναίων στρατηγοῖσι ἐγίνοντο δίχα αἱ γνῶμαι, τῶν μὲν οὐκ ἐώντων συμβαλεῖν ʽὀλίγους γὰρ εἶναι1 στρατιῇ τῇ Μήδων συμβάλλειν’ τῶν δὲ καὶ Μιλτιάδεω κελευόντων.
Among the Athenian generals, opinions were divided: some did not allow joining battle, saying “for they were too few to engage with the army of the Medes,” while others, including Miltiades, urged them to do so.
ὡς δὲ δίχα τε ἐγίνοντο καὶ ἐνίκα ἡ χείρων τῶν γνωμέων,2 ἐνθαῦτα, ἦν γὰρ ἑνδέκατος ψηφιδοφόρος ὁ τῷ κυάμῳ λαχὼν Ἀθηναίων πολεμαρχέειν ʽτὸ παλαιὸν γὰρ Ἀθηναῖοι ὁμόψηφον τὸν πολέμαρχον ἐποιεῦντο τοῖσι στρατηγοῖσἰ, ἦν δὲ τότε πολέμαρχος Καλλίμαχος Ἀφιδναῖος· πρὸς τοῦτον ἐλθὼν Μιλτιάδης ἔλεγε τάδε.
When they were thus divided, and the worse of the opinions was about to prevail, there (was another person); for the one who had drawn the lot to be polemarch of the Athenians was the eleventh voter (for in olden times, the Athenians made the polemarch equal in vote to the generals), and the polemarch at that time was Callimachus of Aphidnae. Miltiades went to him and spoke as follows:
ἐν σοὶ νῦν Καλλίμαχε ἐστὶ ἢ καταδουλῶσαι Ἀθήνας ἢ ἐλευθέρας ποιήσαντα μνημόσυνα λιπέσθαι ἐς τὸν ἅπαντα ἀνθρώπων βίον οἷα οὐδὲ Ἁρμόδιός τε καὶ Ἀριστογείτων λείπουσι.3 νῦν γὰρ δὴ ἐξ οὗ ἐγένοντο Ἀθηναῖοι ἐς κίνδυνον ἥκουσι μέγιστον, καὶ ἢν μέν γε ὑποκύψωσι τοῖσι Μήδοισι, δέδοκται τὰ πείσονται4 παραδεδομένοι Ἱππίῃ, ἢν δὲ περιγένηται αὕτη ἡ πόλις, οἵη τε ἐστὶ πρώτη τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πολίων γενέσθαι.
”In your hands now, Callimachus, lies either to enslave Athens or, by making her free, to leave behind for all human life a memorial such as not even Harmodius and Aristogeiton have left. For now indeed, since the Athenians first came into being, they have come into the greatest danger; and if they bow down to the Medes, it has been decided what they will suffer when handed over to Hippias; but if this city survives, she is capable of becoming the first of the Greek cities.
κῶς ὦν δὴ ταῦτα οἷά τε ἐστὶ γενέσθαι, καὶ κῶς ἐς σέ τοι τούτων ἀνήκει τῶν πρηγμάτων τὸ κῦρος ἔχειν, νῦν ἔρχομαι φράσων. ἡμέων τῶν στρατηγῶν ἐόντων δέκα δίχα γίνονται αἱ γνῶμαι, τῶν μὲν κελευόντων τῶν δὲ οὒ συμβάλλειν.
Now I am going to explain how these things are possible to happen, and how the authority over these matters belongs to you. Since we, the generals, are ten in number, our opinions are divided: some of us urging to join battle, and others not.
ἢν μέν νυν μὴ συμβάλωμεν, ἔλπομαι5 τινὰ στάσιν μεγάλην διασείσειν ἐμπεσοῦσαν τὰ Ἀθηναίων φρονήματα ὥστε μηδίσαι· ἢν δὲ συμβάλωμεν πρίν τι καὶ σαθρὸν Ἀθηναίων μετεξετέροισι ἐγγενέσθαι, θεῶν τὰ ἴσα νεμόντων οἷοί τε εἰμὲν περιγενέσθαι τῇ συμβολῇ.
For if we do not join battle now, I expect some great factional strife will fall upon and shake the minds of the Athenians so as to make them medize; but if we join battle before any rottenness breeds in some of the Athenians, we are able to overcome in the conflict, provided the gods grant equal fortune.
ταῦτα ὦν πάντα ἐς σὲ νῦν τείνει καὶ ἐκ σέο ἤρτηται. ἢν γὰρ σὺ γνώμῃ τῇ ἐμῇ προσθῇ, ἔστι τοι πατρίς τε ἐλευθέρη καὶ πόλις πρώτη τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι· ἢν δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀποσπευδόντων τὴν συμβολὴν ἕλῃ, ὑπάρξει τοι τῶν ἐγὼ κατέλεξα ἀγαθῶν τὰ ἐναντία.
Therefore all these things now point to you and depend upon you. For if you add your vote to my opinion, your motherland will be free, and your city the first in Greece; but if you choose the opinion of those who discourage the conflict, you will have the opposite of the good things I have listed.”
- 6.109.1ὀλίγους γὰρ εἶναι
An infinitive in indirect discourse (oratio obliqua) explaining the reason of the generals who opposed the battle. The accusative subject ὀλίγους refers to the Athenian forces.
- 6.109.2ἐνίκα ἡ χείρων τῶν γνωμέων
The imperfect ἐνίκα has a conative or inceptive force ("was about to prevail" or "was gaining the upper hand"), describing the situation before the final deciding vote by Callimachus.
- 6.109.3οἷα οὐδὲ Ἁρμόδιός τε καὶ Ἀριστογείτων λείπουσι
The relative pronoun οἷα (neuter plural accusative) refers back to the antecedent μνημόσυνα (memorials). The particle οὐδέ means "not even," emphasizing that Callimachus can win glory surpassing even that of the legendary tyrannicides.
- 6.109.3δέδοκται τὰ πείσονται
The perfect passive δέδοκται means "it has been decided (or destined)." The relative clause τὰ πείσονται (with the relative pronoun τὰ as object of πείσονται, the future of πάσχω) functions as the subject: "what they will suffer is determined."
- 6.109.5ἔλπομαι
The verb ἔλπομαι, while often meaning "to hope" or "expect," is used here in the negative sense of "to fear" or "apprehend" a bad outcome (i.e., factional strife leading to medizing).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1