- 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-grc2:7.139.1-7.139.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
The author emphasizes the decisive role of the Athenians in the defense of Greece, using contrary-to-fact hypotheses to illustrate the catastrophic scenario that would have unfolded had they surrendered.
ἐνθαῦτα ἀναγκαίῃ ἐξέργομαι1 γνώμην ἀποδέξασθαι ἐπίφθονον μὲν πρὸς τῶν πλεόνων ἀνθρώπων, ὅμως δὲ τῇ γέ μοι φαίνεται εἶναι ἀληθὲς οὐκ ἐπισχήσω.
Here I am constrained by necessity to declare an opinion which will be offensive to most men; yet, as it seems to me to be the truth, I will not refrain from uttering it.
εἰ Ἀθηναῖοι καταρρωδήσαντες τὸν ἐπιόντα κίνδυνον ἐξέλιπον τὴν σφετέρην, ἢ καὶ μὴ ἐκλιπόντες ἀλλὰ μείναντες ἔδοσαν σφέας αὐτοὺς Ξέρξῃ, κατὰ τὴν θάλασσαν οὐδαμοὶ ἂν ἐπειρῶντο ἀντιούμενοι βασιλέι. εἰ τοίνυν κατὰ τὴν θάλασσαν μηδεὶς ἠντιοῦτο Ξέρξῃ, κατά γε ἂν τὴν ἤπειρον τοιάδε ἐγίνετο·
If the Athenians, seized with fear of the approaching danger, had abandoned their country, or, even if they had not abandoned it but remained and surrendered themselves to Xerxes, no one would have attempted to oppose the King by sea. If, then, no one had opposed Xerxes by sea, on the land things would have turned out in this way:
εἰ καὶ πολλοὶ τειχέων κιθῶνες ἦσαν ἐληλαμένοι διὰ τοῦ Ἰσθμοῦ Πελοποννησίοισι, προδοθέντες ἂν Λακεδαιμόνιοι ὑπὸ τῶν συμμάχων οὐκ ἑκόντων ἀλλʼ ὑπʼ ἀναγκαίης, κατὰ πόλις ἁλισκομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ στρατοῦ τοῦ βαρβάρου, ἐμουνώθησαν,2 μουνωθέντες δὲ ἂν καὶ ἀποδεξάμενοι ἔργα μεγάλα ἀπέθανον γενναίως.
even if many walls had been built as breastworks across the Isthmus by the Peloponnesians, the Lacedaemonians, betrayed by their allies—not willingly, but of necessity, as their cities were being taken one by one by the barbarian fleet—would have been left alone; and, having been left alone and having displayed great deeds, they would have died nobly.
ἢ ταῦτα ἂν ἔπαθον, ἢ πρὸ τοῦ ὁρῶντες ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας μηδίζοντας ὁμολογίῃ ἂν ἐχρήσαντο πρὸς Ξέρξην. καὶ οὕτω ἂν ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα ἡ Ἑλλὰς ἐγίνετο ὑπὸ Πέρσῃσι. τὴν γὰρ ὠφελίην τὴν τῶν τειχέων τῶν διὰ τοῦ Ἰσθμοῦ ἐληλαμένων οὐ δύναμαι πυθέσθαι ἥτις ἂν ἦν,3 βασιλέος ἐπικρατέοντος τῆς θαλάσσης.
Either they would have suffered this fate, or before this, seeing the other Greeks also leaning toward the Persian side, they would have made a treaty with Xerxes. And thus, in either case, Greece would have come under the power of the Persians. For I am unable to understand what would have been the use of the walls built across the Isthmus, while the King was master of the sea.
νῦν δὲ Ἀθηναίους ἄν τις λέγων σωτῆρας γενέσθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοι4 τὸ ἀληθές. οὗτοι γὰρ ἐπὶ ὁκότερα τῶν πρηγμάτων ἐτράποντο, ταῦτα ῥέψειν ἔμελλε· ἑλόμενοι δὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα περιεῖναι ἐλευθέρην,5 τοῦτο τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν πᾶν τὸ λοιπόν, ὅσον μὴ ἐμήδισε, αὐτοὶ οὗτοι ἦσαν οἱ ἐπεγείραντες καὶ βασιλέα μετά γε θεοὺς ἀνωσάμενοι.
But as it is, if anyone should say that the Athenians were the saviors of Greece, he would not fail of the truth. For to whichever side they turned, to that side the balance was sure to incline; and choosing that Greece should remain free, it was they who aroused all the rest of the Greek nation, as much of it as had not sided with the Persian, and, next to the gods, repulsed the King.
οὐδὲ σφέας χρηστήρια φοβερὰ ἐλθόντα ἐκ Δελφῶν καὶ ἐς δεῖμα βαλόντα ἔπεισε ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἀλλὰ καταμείναντες ἀνέσχοντο τὸν ἐπιόντα ἐπὶ τὴν χώρην δέξασθαι.
Nor did the terrifying oracles that came from Delphi and cast them into fear persuade them to abandon Greece; but they remained and endured to receive the invader of their country.
- 7.139.1ἀναγκαίῃ ἐξέργομαι
Passive voice, meaning 'to be shut out by necessity' or 'to be compelled.' The author expresses his resolute stance to state an unavoidable conclusion derived from historical analysis, despite knowing it will be unpopular.
- 7.139.3προδοθέντες ἂν ... ἐμουνώθησαν
A case of hyperbaton. The particle ἂν is placed immediately after the participle προδοθέντες, but grammatically it goes with the main verbs in the past indicative, ἐμουνώθησαν and ἀπέθανον, forming the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence.
- 7.139.4ἥτις ἂν ἦν
The combination of ἂν and the past indicative (ἦν) is used inside the indirect question clause (introduced by ἥτις), indicating that the object of 'I am unable to understand' is a past contrary-to-fact situation ('what use there would have been').
- 7.139.5ἄν τις λέγων ... οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοι
Conditional participle. The participle λέγων functions as a protasis (equivalent to εἰ λέγοι, 'if anyone should say'), corresponding to the optative with ἂν (οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοι) in the main clause, which expresses a potential or mild assertion.
- 7.139.5ἑλόμενοι δὲ τὴν Ἑλλάδα περιεῖναι ἐλευθέρην
The infinitive περιεῖναι (from περίειμι, 'to survive, remain') serves as the object of the participle ἑλόμενοι (from αἱρέομαι, 'to choose'), meaning 'having chosen that Greece should remain free.'