- 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-grc2:6.76.1-6.76.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Cleomenes reaches the river Erasinus based on an oracle about conquering Argos, but due to unfavorable sacrifices, he aborts the river crossing and attempts an invasion by sea.
Κλεομένεϊ γὰρ μαντευομένῳ ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἐχρήσθη Ἄργος αἱρήσειν·1 ἐπείτε δὲ Σπαρτιήτας ἄγων ἀπίκετο ἐπὶ ποταμὸν Ἐρασῖνον, ὃς λέγεται ῥέειν ἐκ τῆς Στυμφαλίδος λίμνης· τὴν γὰρ δὴ λίμνην ταύτην ἐς χάσμα ἀφανὲς ἐκδιδοῦσαν ἀναφαίνεσθαι ἐν Ἄργεϊ, τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ τὸ ὕδωρ ἤδη τοῦτο ὑπʼ Ἀργείων Ἐρασῖνον καλέεσθαι· ἀπικόμενος δʼ ὦν2 ὁ Κλεομένης ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν τοῦτον ἐσφαγιάζετο αὐτῷ·
For when Cleomenes consulted the oracle at Delphi, it was prophesied to him that he would take Argos. But when he arrived, leading the Spartans, at the river Erasinus, which is said to flow from the Stymphalian lake—for they say that this lake, discharging itself into an invisible chasm, reappears in the territory of Argos, and from that point this water is already called the Erasinus by the Argives—at any rate, having arrived at this river, Cleomenes offered sacrifice to it.
καὶ οὐ γὰρ ἐκαλλιέρεε3 οὐδαμῶς διαβαίνειν μιν, ἄγασθαι μὲν ἔφη τοῦ Ἐρασίνου οὐ προδιδόντος τοὺς πολιήτας, Ἀργείους μέντοι οὐδʼ ὣς χαιρήσειν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐξαναχωρήσας τὴν στρατιὴν κατήγαγε ἐς Θυρέην, σφαγιασάμενος δὲ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ταῦρον πλοίοισι σφέας ἤγαγε ἔς τε τὴν Τιρυνθίην χώρην καὶ Ναυπλίην.
And since the sacrifices were by no means favorable for him to cross, he said that he admired the Erasinus for not betraying its own citizens, but that the Argives, for all that, would not escape with joy. After this, withdrawing, he led his army down to Thyrea, and having sacrificed a bull to the sea, he brought them in ships to the Tirynthian territory and to Nauplia.
- 6.76.1Ἄργος αἱρήσειν
The accusative object of the future infinitive αἱρήσειν is Ἄργος, while the subject of the infinitive (Cleomenes himself) is omitted. The Delphic oracle 'that he would take Argos' is naturally understood as referring to the city of Argos, but the subsequent context implies a double meaning involving the river Erasinus flowing in the territory of Argos.
- 6.76.1ἐπείτε δὲ... ἀπικόμενος δʼ ὦν
A classic example of anacoluthon. The subordinate clause introduced by ἐπείτε (when) never receives its main verb because of the long parenthetical relative clause ὃς λέγεται... and the indirect statement τὴν γὰρ δὴ...; instead, the sentence starts anew with the participle phrase ἀπικόμενος δʼ ὦν (at any rate, having arrived) leading to the main verb ἐσφαγιάζετο.
- 6.76.2οὐ γὰρ ἐκαλλιέρεε
Impersonal use of the verb καλλιερέω (to obtain favorable omens from sacrifice). It means 'the sacrifices were by no means favorable (for him to cross)', where the infinitive clause διαβαίνειν μιν (for him to cross) functions as the subject or complement. The form μιν is the Ionic form of the third-person accusative pronoun (αὐτόν).