- 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-grc2:7.163.1-7.163.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
After the Greek envoys departed, Gelon, unwilling to submit to Spartan rule, chose another path and dispatched Cadmus to Delphi with money to observe the war, ordering him to offer submission if the Persians won, but to return if the Greeks won.
οἱ μὲν δὴ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἄγγελοι τοιαῦτα τῷ Γέλωνι χρηματισάμενοι ἀπέπλεον· Γέλων δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα δείσας μὲν περὶ τοῖσι Ἕλλησι μὴ οὐ δύνωνται1 τὸν βάρβαρον ὑπερβαλέσθαι, δεινὸν δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀνασχετὸν ποιησάμενος ἐλθὼν ἐς Πελοπόννησον ἄρχεσθαι ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐὼν Σικελίης τύραννος,2 ταύτην μὲν τὴν ὁδὸν ἠμέλησε, ὁ δὲ ἄλλης εἴχετο.3
So the envoys of the Greeks, having thus negotiated with Gelon, sailed away. But Gelon, fearing in this situation for the Greeks lest they should not be able to overcome the barbarian, and considering it a terrible and intolerable thing that he, being tyrant of Sicily, should go to the Peloponnese to be ruled by the Lacedaemonians, paid no attention to this course of action, but held to another.
ἐπείτε γὰρ τάχιστα ἐπύθετο τὸν Πέρσην διαβεβηκότα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, πέμπει πεντηκοντέροισι τρισὶ Κάδμον τὸν Σκύθεω ἄνδρα Κῷον ἐς Δελφούς, ἔχοντα χρήματα πολλὰ καὶ φιλίους λόγους, καραδοκήσοντα τὴν μάχην τῇ πεσέεται,4 καὶ ἢν μὲν ὁ βάρβαρος νικᾷ, τά τε χρήματα αὐτῷ διδόναι5 καὶ γῆν τε καὶ ὕδωρ τῶν ἄρχει ὁ Γέλων, ἢν δὲ οἱ Ἕλληνες, ὀπίσω ἀπάγειν.
For as soon as he learned that the Persian had crossed the Hellespont, he sent Cadmus, the son of Scythes, a man of Cos, to Delphi with three fifty-oared ships, carrying a large sum of money and friendly words, to watch the battle to see how it would fall out; and if the barbarian should win, to give him the money, along with earth and water of the lands which Gelon ruled, but if the Greeks should win, to bring them back.
- 7.163.1μὴ οὐ δύνωνται
Following a verb of fearing (here δείσας), when the apprehension is negative ('fear that they will not be able to'), the construction μὴ οὐ with the subjunctive is regularly used, meaning 'fearing lest they should not be able to.'
- 7.163.1ἐὼν Σικελίης τύραννος
The nominative participle ἐὼν (the Ionic form of ὤν) agrees with the main subject Gelon. It has a concessive force ('although being tyrant of Sicily'), emphasizing his reason for refusing to submit to Spartan command.
- 7.163.1ὁ δὲ ἄλλης εἴχετο
The genitive ἄλλης depends on the middle verb εἴχετο ('held onto, pursued'), with the feminine noun ὁδοῦ ('way, course of action') being understood. It means 'but he held to another course.'
- 7.163.2τῇ πεσέεται
This introduces an indirect question. The adverb τῇ is used here as an indirect interrogative (equivalent to ᾗ, 'in what way, how'). πεσέεται is the uncontracted Ionic form of πεσεῖται (future of πίπτω, 'to fall'), referring to how the battle would turn out.
- 7.163.2διδόναι
This infinitive is used as an imperative (or in indirect command), conveying the instructions given to Cadmus, which is implied by the main verb πέμπει. The subsequent ὀπίσω ἀπάγειν shares the same construction.