- 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-grc2:7.172.1-7.172.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
The Thessalians explain that their initial submission to Persia was against their will and send envoys to the Greek council at the Isthmus, requesting military aid to guard the Olympian pass while warning that they will submit to Persia if no help is sent.
Θεσσαλοὶ δὲ ὑπὸ ἀναγκαίης τὸ πρῶτον ἐμήδισαν, ὡς διέδεξαν,1 ὅτι οὔ σφι ἥνδανε τὰ οἱ Ἀλευάδαι ἐμηχανῶντο. ἐπείτε γὰρ ἐπύθοντο τάχιστα μέλλοντα διαβαίνειν τὸν Πέρσην ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην, πέμπουσι ἐς τὸν Ἰσθμὸν ἀγγέλους· ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἦσαν ἁλισμένοι πρόβουλοι τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀραιρημένοι ἀπὸ τῶν πολίων τῶν τὰ ἀμείνω φρονεουσέων περὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα.
The Thessalians at first sided with the Persian only by necessity, as they showed, because the intrigues of the Aleuadae did not please them. For as soon as they learned that the Persian was about to cross into Europe, they sent messengers to the Isthmus; and at the Isthmus there were assembled the representatives of Greece, chosen from the cities that held the better cause for Greece.
ἀπικόμενοι δὲ ἐπὶ τούτους τῶν Θεσσαλῶν οἱ ἄγγελοι ἔλεγον· Ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, δεῖ φυλάσσεσθαι τὴν ἐσβολὴν τὴν Ὀλυμπικήν, ἵνα Θεσσαλίη τε καὶ ἡ σύμπασα ᾖ Ἑλλὰς ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ πολέμου. ἡμεῖς μέν νυν ἕτοιμοι εἰμὲν συμφυλάσσειν, πέμπειν δὲ χρὴ καὶ ὑμέας στρατιὴν πολλήν, ὡς, εἰ μὴ πέμψετε, ἐπίστασθε2 ἡμέας ὁμολογήσειν τῷ Πέρσῃ· οὐ γάρ τι προκατημένους τοσοῦτο πρὸ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος μούνους πρὸ ὑμέων δεῖ ἀπολέσθαι.
When the messengers of the Thessalians arrived before these men, they said: “Men of Greece, the Olympian pass must be guarded, so that Thessaly and the whole of Greece may be sheltered from the war. We, on our part, are ready to help guard it, but you also must send a large force; for be assured that, if you do not send it, we shall make terms with the Persian. For it is not right that we, who are situated so far in advance of the rest of Greece, should perish alone on your behalf.
βοηθέειν δὲ οὐ βουλόμενοι ἀναγκαίην ἡμῖν οὐδεμίαν οἷοί τε ἐστὲ προσφέρειν· οὐδαμὰ γὰρ ἀδυνασίης ἀνάγκη κρέσσων ἔφυ.3 ἡμεῖς δὲ πειρησόμεθα αὐτοί τινα σωτηρίην μηχανώμενοι.
But if you do not wish to help us, you cannot apply any compulsion to us; for never did necessity prove stronger than impossibility. We ourselves shall try to devise some means of safety for ourselves.”
- 7.172.1ὡς διέδεξαν
The verb διέδεξαν is the Ionic active aorist of δείκνυμι (corresponding to Attic διέδειξαν) used intransitively, meaning "as they showed / proved". The subject is the Thessalians.
- 7.172.2ἐπίστασθε
Although it can form a present indicative second-person plural, it is more naturally interpreted in this warning context as a present imperative second-person plural, meaning "be assured that..." or "know well that...", which governs the following accusative with infinitive clause ἡμέας ὁμολογήσειν.
- 7.172.3ἀδυνασίης ἀνάγκη κρέσσων ἔφυ
The noun ἀδυνασίης is a genitive of comparison triggered by the comparative adjective κρέσσων ("stronger than impossibility"). The verb ἔφυ is an aorist of φύω expressing a gnomic or inherent state ("is naturally"). Together they form a proverbial expression: "necessity is never stronger than impossibility."