- 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-grc2:7.169.1-7.169.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
When the Cretans consulted the oracle on whether to assist Greece, the Pythian priestess advised them to refrain by reminding them of the deaths of Minos and the Trojan War, and the Cretans complied.
οὗτοι μὲν οὕτω διεκρούσαντο τοὺς Ἕλληνας. Κρῆτες δέ, ἐπείτε σφέας παρελάμβανον οἱ ἐπὶ τούτοισι ταχθέντες Ἑλλήνων, ἐποίησαν τοιόνδε· πέμψαντες κοινῇ θεοπρόπους ἐς Δελφοὺς τὸν θεὸν ἐπειρώτων εἴ σφι ἄμεινον τιμωρέουσι1 γίνεται τῇ Ἑλλάδι.
These indeed in this way evaded the Greeks. But the Cretans, when those of the Greeks appointed for these matters were enlisting them, did as follows: having sent sacred messengers in common to Delphi, they consulted the god as to whether it would turn out better for them if they assisted Greece.
ἡ δὲ Πυθίη ὑπεκρίνατο ὦ νήπιοι, ἐπιμέμφεσθε2 ὅσα ὑμῖν ἐκ τῶν Μενελάου τιμωρημάτων Μίνως ἔπεμψε μηνίων δακρύματα, ὅτι οἳ μὲν οὐ συνεξεπρήξαντο αὐτῷ τὸν ἐν Καμικῷ θάνατον γενόμενον, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐκείνοισι3 τὴν ἐκ Σπάρτης ἁρπασθεῖσαν ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς βαρβάρου γυναῖκα. ταῦτα οἱ Κρῆτες ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν, ἔσχοντο τῆς τιμωρίης.
And the Pythian priestess answered: “O fools, do you complain of all the tears that Minos in his wrath sent you, arising from the vengeance for Menelaus, because they indeed did not help to avenge his death that occurred in Camicus, whereas you did help them to avenge the woman carried off from Sparta by a barbarian man?” When the Cretans heard these words reported, they held back from assisting.
- 7.169.1τιμωρέουσι
A present participle (dative plural masculine) agreeing in gender, number, and case with the dative pronoun σφι (referring to the Cretans). It functions as a circumstantial participle expressing condition ("if they were to assist"), and itself governs τῇ Ἑλλάδι in the dative case.
- 7.169.2ἐπιμέμφεσθε
Present indicative second-person plural (or imperative). In this context, it is best interpreted as a question ("do you complain of...?") carrying a rhetorical force, reminding them of the heavy sacrifices (tears) made for the Greeks in the Trojan War to dissuade them from helping now.
- 7.169.2ἐκείνοισι
Dative plural of the demonstrative pronoun. It refers to the Greeks (Menelaus and his allies) in the second clause ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐκείνοισι... ("but you for them..."), which stands in contrast to the first clause οἳ μὲν οὐ συνεξεπρήξαντο αὐτῷ ("they indeed did not help to avenge him [Minos]"). The verb συνεξεπρήξασθε ("helped to avenge") is omitted in the second clause and must be supplied from the context.