- 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-grc2:6.82.1-6.82.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
Upon his return, Cleomenes is prosecuted for failing to capture Argos, but he defends himself by explaining how the sacrificial signs and a flash of fire from the statue of Hera revealed the god's will, leading to his acquittal.
νοστήσαντα δέ μιν ὑπῆγον οἱ ἐχθροὶ ὑπὸ τοὺς ἐφόρους, φάμενοί μιν δωροδοκήσαντα οὐκ ἑλεῖν τὸ Ἄργος, παρεὸν1 εὐπετέως μιν ἑλεῖν. ὁ δέ σφι ἔλεξε, οὔτε εἰ ψευδόμενος οὔτε εἰ ἀληθέα λέγων, ἔχω σαφηνέως εἶπαι, ἔλεξε δʼ ὦν φάμενος, ἐπείτε δὴ τὸ τοῦ Ἄργου ἱρὸν εἷλον, δοκέειν οἱ ἐξεληλυθέναι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ χρησμόν· πρὸς ὦν ταῦτα οὐ δικαιοῦν πειρᾶν τῆς πόλιος, πρίν γε δὴ ἱροῖσι χρήσηται καὶ μάθῃ εἴτε οἱ ὁ θεὸς παραδιδοῖ εἴτε ἐμποδὼν ἕστηκε·
Upon his return, his enemies brought Cleomenes before the ephors, claiming that he had taken bribes and failed to capture Argos when it was easy for him to have captured it. Whether he was lying or speaking the truth in what he told them, I cannot say for certain, but at any rate he spoke, claiming that when he had captured the sanctuary of Argos, he thought the oracle of the god had been fulfilled for him; therefore, he did not think it right to make an attempt on the city until he should consult the victims and learn whether the god was delivering it to him or standing in his way.
καλλιερευμένῳ2 δὲ ἐν τῷ Ἡραίῳ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγάλματος τῶν στηθέων φλόγα πυρὸς ἐκλάμψαι, μαθεῖν δὲ αὐτὸς οὕτω τὴν ἀτρεκείην, ὅτι οὐκ αἱρέει τὸ Ἄργος· εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἐξέλαμψε, αἱρέειν ἂν3 κατʼ ἄκρης τὴν πόλιν, ἐκ τῶν στηθέων δὲ λάμψαντος πᾶν οἱ πεποιῆσθαι ὅσον ὁ θεὸς ἐβούλετο γενέσθαι. ταῦτα λέγων πιστά τε καὶ οἰκότα ἐδόκεε Σπαρτιήτῃσι λέγειν, καὶ διέφυγε πολλὸν τοὺς διώκοντας.
But when he was sacrificing to obtain favorable omens in the Heraeum, a flash of fire shone forth from the breast of the statue, and thus he himself knew the exact truth, that he was not to capture Argos. For if it had flashed from the head of the statue, he would have captured the city completely from its heights, but since it shone from the breast, everything that the god wished to happen had been accomplished by him. By saying this, he seemed to the Spartans to speak what was credible and reasonable, and he escaped his prosecutors by a wide margin.
- 6.82.1παρεὸν
The neuter accusative singular participle of the impersonal verb πάρεστι (it is possible/permitted). It is used as an accusative absolute, forming an adverbial phrase meaning 'although it was possible to...'.
- 6.82.2καλλιερευμένῳ
The dative masculine singular of the present middle participle καλλιερέομαι (to sacrifice to obtain favorable omens). This dative functions either temporally to indicate the circumstances, or as a dative of reference/interest with respect to the following infinitive ἐκλάμψαι, indicating the person engaged in the sacrifice.
- 6.82.2αἱρέειν ἂν
An infinitive with the particle ἄν in indirect discourse. It represents an indicative past with ἄν (which would be ᾕρει ἄν in direct discourse), serving as the apodosis to the condition εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἐξέλαμψε, expressing a past contrary-to-fact condition ('he would have captured').