- 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-grc2:7.147.1-7.147.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
Xerxes explains his reasoning for releasing the spies, and another anecdote is told of how he allowed enemy grain ships to pass at Abydos.
ἐπιλέγων δὲ τὸν λόγον τόνδε ταῦτα ἐνετέλλετο, ὡς εἰ μὲν ἀπώλοντο οἱ κατάσκοποι, οὔτʼ ἂν τὰ ἑωυτοῦ πρήγματα προεπύθοντο οἱ Ἕλληνες ἐόντα λόγου μέζω, οὔτʼ ἄν τι τοὺς πολεμίους μέγα ἐσίναντο, ἄνδρας τρεῖς ἀπολέσαντες·1 νοστησάντων δὲ τούτων ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα δοκέειν ἔφη2 ἀκούσαντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας τὰ ἑωυτοῦ πρήγματα πρὸ τοῦ στόλου τοῦ γινομένου παραδώσειν σφέας τὴν ἰδίην ἐλευθερίην, καὶ οὕτω οὐδὲ δεήσειν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς στρατηλατέοντας πρήγματα ἔχειν.
He gave these commands, adding the following reasoning: that if the spies had been put to death, the Greeks would not have learned beforehand that his resources were beyond description, nor would they (the Persians) have done any great harm to their enemies by putting to death only three men; but if these men returned to Greece, he said he thought that the Greeks, upon hearing of his resources, would surrender their own freedom before the expedition took place, and thus there would be no need to take the trouble of marching against them.
οἶκε δὲ αὐτοῦ αὕτη ἡ γνώμη τῇ γε ἄλλῃ. ἐὼν γὰρ ἐν Ἀβύδῳ ὁ Ξέρξης εἶδε πλοῖα ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου σιταγωγὰ διεκπλώοντα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, ἔς τε Αἴγιναν καὶ Πελοπόννησον κομιζόμενα. οἱ μὲν δὴ πάρεδροι αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐπύθοντο πολέμια εἶναι τὰ πλοῖα, ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν αἱρέειν αὐτά, ἐσβλέποντες ἐς τὸν βασιλέα ὁκότε παραγγελέει.
This opinion of his was similar to another one. For when Xerxes was at Abydos, he saw ships laden with corn from the Pontus sailing through the Hellespont, bound for Aegina and the Peloponnese. His courtiers, when they learned that the ships belonged to the enemy, were ready to capture them, looking to the king to see when he would give the word.
ὁ δὲ Ξέρξης εἴρετο αὐτοὺς ὅκῃ πλέοιεν· οἳ δὲ εἶπαν ἐς τοὺς σοὺς πολεμίους, ὦ δέσποτα, σῖτον ἄγοντες. ὁ δὲ ὑπολαβὼν ἔφη οὐκῶν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖ πλέομεν ἔνθα περ οὗτοι, τοῖσί τε ἄλλοισι ἐξηρτυμένοι καὶ σίτῳ; τί δῆτα ἀδικέουσι οὗτοι ἡμῖν3 σιτία παρακομίζοντες;
But Xerxes asked them where they were sailing. They replied, “To your enemies, master, carrying corn.” And he, interrupting, said, “Are we not also sailing to the same place where these are going, equipped with all other things and with corn? What wrong, then, are they doing, since they are conveying food for us?”
- 7.147.1οὔτʼ ἄν τι τοὺς πολεμίους μέγα ἐσίναντο, ἄνδρας τρεῖς ἀπολέσαντες
The logical subject of the nominative plural participle ἀπολέσαντες (having lost/destroyed) is the Persians, and its object is ἄνδρας τρεῖς (three men). The subject of this clause shifts to the Persians from the previous clause's subject, 'the Greeks' (οἱ Ἕλληνες). The meaning is 'nor would they (the Persians) have done any great harm to their enemies by putting to death only three men.'
- 7.147.1δοκέειν ἔφη
The infinitive δοκέειν (to think) depends on the main verb ἔφη (he said) in indirect discourse. In Herodotus, the combination δοκέειν ἔφη is a frequent idiomatic expression meaning 'he said that he thought.'
- 7.147.3ἡμῖν
The dative of the personal pronoun ἡμεῖς (we), functioning as a dative of advantage (dativus commodi), meaning 'for us'. Since the Persians are also marching to Greece, Xerxes argues that the ships carrying grain to Greece are ultimately bringing food 'for us' (to be consumed or captured by the Persian army).