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§7.194.1-7.194.3

Capture of Fifteen Persian Ships and the Story of Sandoces

Fifteen delayed Persian ships mistake the Greek fleet for their own and are captured; their commander, Sandoces, is noted for having previously escaped crucifixion by King Darius.

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§7.194.1

πεντεκαίδεκα δὲ τῶν νεῶν τουτέων ἔτυχόν τε ὕσταται πολλὸν ἐξαναχθεῖσαι1 καί κως κατεῖδον τὰς ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ τῶν Ἑλλήνων νέας. ἔδοξάν τε δὴ τὰς σφετέρας εἶναι οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ πλέοντες ἐσέπεσον ἐς τοὺς πολεμίους· τῶν ἐστρατήγεε ὁ ἀπὸ Κύμης τῆς Αἰολίδος ὕπαρχος Σανδώκης ὁ Θαμασίου τὸν δὴ πρότερον τούτων βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος ἐπʼ αἰτίῃ τοιῇδε λαβὼν ἀνεσταύρωσε ἐόντα τῶν βασιληίων δικαστέων. ὁ Σανδώκης ἐπὶ χρήμασι ἄδικον δίκην ἐδίκασε.

​Now fifteen of these ships happened to have put out to sea far later than the rest, and somehow descried the ships of the Greeks at Artemisium. Thinking that these were their own, the barbarians sailed on and fell in with the enemy. These ships were commanded by Sandoces son of Thamasius, the governor from Cyme in Aeolis, whom King Darius had previously captured and impaled on the following charge, even though he was one of the royal judges: Sandoces had given an unjust judgment in exchange for money.

§7.194.2

ἀνακρεμασθέντος ὦν αὐτοῦ, λογιζόμενος ὁ Δαρεῖος εὗρέ οἱ πλέω ἀγαθὰ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων πεποιημένα ἐς οἶκον τὸν βασιλήιον· εὑρὼν δὲ τοῦτο ὁ Δαρεῖος, καὶ γνοὺς ὡς ταχύτερα αὐτὸς ἢ σοφώτερα ἐργασμένος εἴη,2 ἔλυσε.

​So when he had been hung up, Darius, upon reckoning, found that the good deeds done by him for the royal house were more than his offenses; and having found this, and having realized that he himself had acted with more haste than wisdom, Darius released him.

§7.194.3

βασιλέα μὲν δὴ Δαρεῖον οὕτω διαφυγὼν μὴ ἀπολέσθαι περιῆν, τότε δὲ ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας καταπλώσας ἔμελλε οὐ τὸ δεύτερον διαφυγὼν ἔσεσθαι·3 ὡς γὰρ σφέας εἶδον προσπλέοντας οἱ Ἕλληνες, μαθόντες αὐτῶν τὴν γινομένην ἁμαρτάδα, ἐπαναχθέντες εὐπετέως σφέας εἷλον.

​Having thus escaped King Darius so as not to perish, he had survived; but now, having sailed down into the midst of the Greeks, he was not destined to escape a second time. For when the Greeks saw them sailing towards them, perceiving the mistake they were making, they put out to sea and easily captured them.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 7.194.1ἔτυχόν τε ὕσταται πολλὸν ἐξαναχθεῖσαι

    The construction "τυγχάνω + participle" indicates "happen to do" or "turn out to do," here combined with ἐξαναχθεῖσαι (aorist passive participle of ἐξανάγω). Both ὕσταται (feminine plural nominative of ὕστατος) and πολλόν (neuter singular accusative of πολύς in its Ionic form) are used adverbially, meaning "far later."

  2. 7.194.2ταχύτερα αὐτὸς ἢ σοφώτερα ἐργασμένος εἴη

    Two comparatives linked by ἤ express a comparison of degree between two qualities, meaning "more hastily than wisely" (rather with haste than with wisdom). The phrase ἐργασμένος εἴη is the perfect optative (oblique optative) of ἐργάζομαι in the ὡς clause, triggered by the past tense of the main verb (ἔλυσε).

  3. 7.194.3ἔμελλε οὐ τὸ δεύτερον διαφυγὼν ἔσεσθαι

    A periphrastic construction using the perfect participle (διαφυγών) and the future infinitive (ἔσεσθαι) instead of the standard "ἔμελλε + future infinitive." Here, μέλλω expresses destiny or probability, meaning "he was not destined to escape a second time" (literally, "he was not about to have escaped").

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-grc2:7.194.1-7.194.3