Greek Envoys Appealing to Gelon for Alliance — Herodotus, Histories Book 7 (7.157.1–7.157.3), Greek & English

§7.157.1

τοιούτῳ μὲν τρόπῳ τύραννος ἐγεγόνεε μέγας ὁ Γέλων· τότε δʼ ὡς οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀπίκατο ἐς τὰς Συρηκούσας, ἐλθόντες αὐτῷ ἐς λόγους ἔλεγον τάδε. ἔπεμψαν ἡμέας Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ οἱ τούτων σύμμαχοι παραλαμψομένους σε πρὸς τὸν βάρβαρον· τὸν γὰρ ἐπιόντα ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα πάντως κου πυνθάνεαι, ὅτι Πέρσης ἀνὴρ μέλλει, ζεύξας τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον καὶ ἐπάγων πάντα τὸν ἠῷον στρατὸν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίης, στρατηλατήσειν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, πρόσχημα μὲν ποιεύμενος ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀθήνας ἐλαύνει, ἐν νόῳ δὲ ἔχων πᾶσαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα ὑπʼ ἑωυτῷ ποιήσασθαι.

In this way Gelon had become a great tyrant. At that time, when the envoys of the Greeks arrived in Syracuse, they came to an audience with him and spoke as follows: “The Lacedaemonians and their allies have sent us to win you over to join against the barbarian. For you surely know about the one who is advancing against Hellas, that a Persian man intends, having bridged the Hellespont and leading all the Eastern host out of Asia, to march against Hellas, making a pretext that he is marching against Athens, but having in mind to bring all Hellas under his subjection.

§7.157.2

σὺ δὲ δυνάμιός τε γὰρ ἥκεις μεγάλως¹ καὶ μοῖρά τοι τῆς Ἑλλάδος οὐκ ἐλαχίστη μέτα² ἄρχοντί γε Σικελίης, βοήθεέ τε τοῖσι ἐλευθεροῦσι τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ συνελευθέρου. ἁλὴς μὲν γὰρ γενομένη πᾶσα ἡ Ἑλλὰς χεὶρ μεγάλη συνάγεται, καὶ ἀξιόμαχοι γινόμεθα τοῖσι ἐπιοῦσι· ἢν δὲ οἳ μὲν ἡμέων καταπροδιδῶσι οἳ δὲ μὴ θέλωσι τιμωρέειν, τὸ δὲ ὑγιαῖνον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ᾖ ὀλίγον, τοῦτο δὲ ἤδη δεινὸν γίνεται μὴ πέσῃ πᾶσα ἡ Ἑλλάς.³

But since you possess great power, and a not inconsiderable share of Hellas belongs to you as the ruler of Sicily, help those who are freeing Hellas and join in freeing her. For if all Hellas is united, a great force is gathered together, and we become a match for the invaders; but if some of us betray the cause and others refuse to help, so that the healthy part of Hellas is small, then there is immediate danger that all Hellas may fall.

§7.157.3

μὴ γὰρ ἐλπίσῃς, ἢν ἡμέας καταστρέψηται ὁ Πέρσης μάχῃ κρατήσας, ὡς οὐκὶ ἥξει παρὰ σέ γε, ἀλλὰ πρὸ τούτου φύλαξαι· βοηθέων γὰρ ἡμῖν σεωυτῷ τιμωρέεις.⁴ τῷ δὲ εὖ βουλευθέντι πρήγματι τελευτὴ ὡς τὸ ἐπίπαν χρηστὴ ἐθέλει ἐπιγίνεσθαι.

For do not expect that, if the Persian subdues us after conquering us in battle, he will not come to you; rather, guard against this beforehand. For by helping us, you defend yourself. A well-counselled enterprise is, for the most part, wont to have a good end.”

Syntax notes4 items

7.157.2δυνάμιός τε γὰρ ἥκεις μεγάλως
A construction characteristic of Herodotus, where the verb ἥκω is combined with the genitive of respect δυνάμιος and the adverb μεγάλως, meaning 'to have reached a high degree of...' or 'to be well-endowed with...'. It is analogous to expressions like εὖ ἥκειν βίου ('to be well off in life').
7.157.2μέτα
Anastrophe of the preposition serving for the impersonal verb μέτεστι ('there is a share for someone', 'belongs to'). Combined with the dative τοι (equivalent to σοι), it means 'a not inconsiderable share of Hellas belongs to you'.
7.157.2δεινὸν γίνεται μὴ πέσῃ πᾶσα ἡ Ἑλλὰς
The expression δεινόν ἐστι/γίνεται ('it is a fearful thing', 'it becomes dangerous') is followed by μὴ with the subjunctive (πέσῃ), functioning like a verb of fearing to introduce a clause of apprehension: 'it is to be feared lest all Hellas fall'.
7.157.3βοηθέων γὰρ ἡμῖν σεωυτῷ τιμωρέεις
The present participle βοηθέων expresses means or condition ('by helping us'). The main verb τιμωρέεις in the active voice with the dative (σεωυτῷ) means 'to help, defend someone' (to be distinguished from the middle voice with the accusative, meaning 'to take vengeance on someone').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.157.1-7.157.3