- 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-grc2:6.27.1-6.27.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
This chunk describes two divine portents that foretold the disaster of Chios—the plague that struck a youth chorus and the collapse of a school roof—followed by the catastrophic sea-battle and Histiaeus's subsequent easy conquest of the island.
φιλέει1 δέ κως προσημαίνειν, εὖτʼ ἂν μέλλῃ μεγάλα κακὰ ἢ πόλι ἢ ἔθνεϊ ἔσεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ Χίοισι πρὸ τούτων σημήια μεγάλα ἐγένετο·
It is somehow accustomed that warning signs are given beforehand whenever great evils are about to befall a city or a nation; for indeed, to the Chians before these events great signs occurred.
τοῦτο μέν σφι πέμψασι ἐς Δελφοὺς χορὸν νεηνιέων ἑκατὸν δύο μοῦνοι τούτων ἀπενόστησαν, τοὺς δὲ2 ὀκτώ τε καὶ ἐνενήκοντα αὐτῶν λοιμὸς ὑπολαβὼν ἀπήνεικε· τοῦτο δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλι τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον χρόνον, ὀλίγον πρὸ τῆς ναυμαχίης, παισὶ γράμματα διδασκομένοισι3 ἐνέπεσε ἡ στέγη, ὥστε ἀπʼ ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι παίδων εἷς μοῦνος ἀπέφυγε.
On the one hand, when they had sent a chorus of a hundred youths to Delphi, only two of these returned home, while a plague seized the other ninety-eight and carried them off. On the other hand, in the city at this very same time, a little before the sea-battle, while children were being taught their letters, the roof fell in upon them, so that out of a hundred and twenty children only one escaped.
ταῦτα μὲν σφι σημήια ὁ θεὸς προέδεξε, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἡ ναυμαχίη ὑπολαβοῦσα ἐς γόνυ τὴν πόλιν ἔβαλε,4 ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ ναυμαχίῃ ἐπεγένετο Ἱστιαῖος Λεσβίους ἄγων· κεκακωμένων δὲ τῶν Χίων, καταστροφὴν εὐπετέως αὐτῶν ἐποιήσατο.
These signs indeed God showed to them beforehand, and after these things the sea-battle overtook them and brought the city to its knees; and upon the sea-battle came Histiaeus leading the Lesbians. Since the Chians had already been sorely weakened, he made a conquest of them with ease.
- 6.27.1φιλέει
Used in an impersonal-like sense (or with an implied general subject) with an infinitive (here προσημαίνειν) to mean 'it is wont to' or 'it is accustomed to,' indicating a general rule of nature or divine order. While there is no explicit subject, a divine power like ὁ θεός in §6.27.3 is implied.
- 6.27.2τοῦτο μέν ... τοῦτο δέ
An adverbial accusative usage of the neuter singular demonstrative pronoun in a correlative construction, meaning 'on the one hand ... on the other hand ...' (equivalent to τὸ μέν ... τὸ δέ). It juxtaposes the two ominous portents that befell Chios: the disaster of the chorus and the collapse of the school.
- 6.27.2παισὶ γράμματα διδασκομένοισι
The dative παισὶ is a dative of disadvantage, depending on the verb ἐνέπεσε (fell in upon). The participle διδασκομένοισι is a present middle-passive participle, here meaning 'being taught (i.e., learning) their letters (γράμματα)', describing the ongoing action.
- 6.27.3ἐς γόνυ τὴν πόλιν ἔβαλε
Literally 'threw the city to its knee,' a figurative idiom meaning 'brought the city to its knees' or 'prostrated the city.' It derives from the physical gesture of forced defeat or submission.