- 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-grc2:6.80.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Cleomenes orders the Helots to surround the grove with wood and sets it on fire; upon learning that the grove is named after Argus, he realizes the true meaning of the oracle promising him the capture of Argos.
ἐνθαῦτα δὴ ὁ Κλεομένης ἐκέλευε πάντα τινὰ τῶν εἱλωτέων περινέειν ὕλῃ τὸ ἄλσος, τῶν δὲ πειθομένων1 ἐνέπρησε τὸ ἄλσος. καιομένου δὲ ἤδη ἐπείρετο τῶν τινα αὐτομόλων τίνος εἴη θεῶν τὸ ἄλσος· ὁ δὲ ἔφη Ἄργου εἶναι. ὁ δὲ ὡς ἤκουσε, ἀναστενάξας μέγα εἶπε ὦ Ἄπολλον χρηστήριε, ἦ μεγάλως με ἠπάτηκας φάμενος Ἄργος αἱρήσειν·2 συμβάλλομαι δʼ ἐξήκειν3 μοι τὸ χρηστήριον.
Then Cleomenes ordered every single one of the Helots to pile brushwood around the grove, and when they obeyed, he set fire to the grove. As it was already burning, he asked one of the deserters which of the gods the grove belonged to; and the man said it belonged to Argus. When he heard this, he groaned aloud and said, “O Apollo of the oracle, indeed you have greatly deceived me by saying that I would take Argos; I conjecture that the oracle has run its course for me.”
- 6.80.1τῶν δὲ πειθομένων
Genitive absolute with the present middle/passive participle, whose implied subject is τῶν εἱλωτέων from the preceding clause. It translates as 'when they obeyed.'
- 6.80.1Ἄργος αἱρήσειν
A future infinitive of αἱρέω depending on φάμενος. The word Ἄργος functions as a double entendre: it can be the neuter accusative singular of the city name Argos, or the masculine accusative singular of the hero Argus, which causes Cleomenes' misunderstanding of the oracle.
- 6.80.1ἐξήκειν
Infinitive depending on συμβάλλομαι ('conjecture', 'conclude'). The verb ἐξήκω means 'to have reached the end', 'to be fulfilled' or 'to run its course', indicating that the oracle has already been realized and finished.