- 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-grc2:7.16.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Artabanus initially hesitates to sit on the royal throne, but eventually, unable to refuse, he addresses Xerxes and proceeds to do as he was commanded.
Ξέρξης μὲν ταῦτά οἱ ἔλεγε· Ἀρτάβανος δὲ οὐ πρώτῳ κελεύσματι πειθόμενος, οἷα οὐκ ἀξιεύμενος1 ἐς τὸν βασιλήιον θρόνον ἵζεσθαι, τέλος ὡς ἠναγκάζετο2 εἴπας τάδε ἐποίεε3 τὸ κελευόμενον.
Xerxes spoke these things to him; but Artabanus, not obeying the first command, inasmuch as he did not think himself worthy to sit upon the royal throne, at last, when he was being compelled, having spoken as follows, did what was commanded.
- 7.16.1οἷα οὐκ ἀξιεύμενος
The combination of the particle οἷα, which expresses a ground or reason, with the present participle (Ionic form ἀξιεύμενος = ἀξιούμενος). It expresses the subjective motive of the subject Artabanus: "inasmuch as he did not think himself worthy". The participle ἀξιεύμενος is the passive/middle of ἀξιόω ("to deem worthy"), taking the infinitive ἵζεσθαι to mean "deeming himself not worthy to sit on the royal throne."
- 7.16.1ὡς ἠναγκάζετο
The conjunction ὡς ("when") introducing an indicative imperfect, indicating the process of ongoing pressure: "when he was being compelled" or "at last when he was forced."
- 7.16.1εἴπας τάδε ἐποίεε
The aorist participle εἴπας ("having said") temporally precedes the imperfect main verb ἐποίεε ("he did" or "proceeded to do"). The pronoun τάδε ("these things") refers forward to the speech of Artabanus that follows immediately.