- 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-grc2:6.119.1-6.119.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Datis and Artaphrenes bring the captive Eretrians to Susa, where King Darius, laying aside his former anger, settles them at Ardericca in the Cissian land, accompanied by a description of a local well yielding asphalt, salt, and oil.
τοὺς δὲ τῶν Ἐρετριέων ἀνδραποδισμένους Δᾶτίς τε καὶ Ἀρταφρένης, ὡς προσέσχον πρὸς τὴν Ἀσίην πλέοντες, ἀνήγαγον ἐς Σοῦσα. βασιλεὺς δὲ Δαρεῖος, πρὶν μὲν αἰχμαλώτους γενέσθαι τοὺς Ἐρετριέας, ἐνεῖχέ σφι δεινὸν χόλον, οἷα ἀρξάντων ἀδικίης προτέρων τῶν Ἐρετριέων·1
Datis and Artaphrenes, as soon as they reached Asia in their sailing, brought the enslaved Eretrians up to Susa. King Darius, before the Eretrians were made captives, had harbored a terrible anger against them, because the Eretrians had been the first to begin the wrongdoing.
ἐπείτε δὲ εἶδε σφέας ἀπαχθέντας παρʼ ἑωυτὸν καὶ ἑωυτῷ ὑποχειρίους ἐόντας, ἐποίησε κακὸν ἄλλο οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ σφέας τῆς Κισσίης χώρης κατοίκισε ἐν σταθμῷ ἑωυτοῦ τῷ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Ἀρδέρικκα, ἀπὸ μὲν Σούσων δέκα καὶ διηκοσίους σταδίους ἀπέχοντι, τεσσεράκοντα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ φρέατος τὸ παρέχεται τριφασίας ἰδέας·2 καὶ γὰρ ἄσφαλτον καὶ ἅλας καὶ ἔλαιον ἀρύσσονται ἐξ αὐτοῦ τρόπῳ τοιῷδε·
But when he saw them brought before him and subject to him, he did them no other harm, but settled them in his own estate in the Cissian land, the name of which is Ardericca, which is two hundred and ten stades distant from Susa, and forty stades from the well that produces three different kinds of substances. For they draw asphalt, salt, and oil from it in the following manner:
ἀντλέεται μὲν κηλωνηίῳ, ἀντὶ δὲ γαυλοῦ ἥμισυ ἀσκοῦ οἱ προσδέδεται·3 ὑποτύψας δὲ τούτῳ ἀντλέει καὶ ἔπειτα ἐγχέει ἐς δεξαμενήν· ἐκ δὲ ταύτης ἐς ἄλλο διαχεόμενον τρέπεται τριφασίας ὁδούς. καὶ ἡ μὲν ἄσφαλτος καὶ οἱ ἅλες πήγνυνται παραυτίκα· τὸ δὲ ἔλαιον οἱ Πέρσαι καλέουσι τοῦτο ῥαδινάκην, ἔστι δὲ μέλαν καὶ ὀδμὴν παρεχόμενον βαρέαν.
it is drawn by a sweep, to which half a wineskin is fastened instead of a bucket. Having dipped this in, a man draws it up and then pours it into a reservoir; and from this, as it is poured into another vessel, it takes three different ways. The asphalt and the salt congeal immediately; but the oil, which the Persians call “radinace,” is black and emits a heavy odor.
ἐνθαῦτα τοὺς Ἐρετριέας κατοίκισε βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος, οἳ καὶ μέχρι ἐμέο εἶχον τὴν χώρην ταύτην, φυλάσοντες τὴν ἀρχαίην γλῶσσαν. τὰ μὲν δὴ περὶ Ἐρετριέας ἔσχε οὕτω.
In this place King Darius settled the Eretrians, who even down to my time occupied this land, preserving their ancient language. Such was the fate of the Eretrians.
- 6.119.1οἷα ἀρξάντων ἀδικίης προτέρων τῶν Ἐρετριέων
A genitive absolute construction introduced by the adverbial particle οἷα, which expresses an objective reason or ground ('since, because'). The participle ἀρξάντων is the aorist active participle of ἄρχω (to begin, take the initiative) governing the genitive ἀδικίης, indicating that the Eretrians had initiated the wrongdoing.
- 6.119.2τὸ παρέχεται τριφασίας ἰδέας
The relative pronoun τὸ is an Ionic dialectal form where the definite article functions as a relative pronoun (equivalent to Attic ὅ, nominative neuter singular), referring back to the neuter noun τοῦ φρέατος (the well). The verb παρέχεται is in the middle voice, meaning 'yields' or 'produces from itself.'
- 6.119.3οἱ προσδέδεται
The pronoun οἱ is the third-person singular dative in the Ionic dialect (equivalent to Attic αὐτῷ). Here it functions as a demonstrative referring back to the sweep (κηλωνηίῳ) mentioned in the preceding clause ('is fastened to it').