- 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-grc2:7.203.1-7.203.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-06
The Greeks at Thermopylae requested reinforcements from the Locrians and Phocians, arguing that the invading Persian king was merely mortal and bound to fail, prompting both groups to join them at Trachis.
πρὸς τούτοισι ἐπίκλητοι ἐγένοντο Λοκροί τε οἱ Ὀπούντιοι πανστρατιῇ καὶ Φωκέων χίλιοι. αὐτοὶ γὰρ σφέας οἱ Ἕλληνες ἐπεκαλέσαντο, λέγοντες διʼ ἀγγέλων ὡς αὐτοὶ μὲν ἥκοιεν πρόδρομοι1 τῶν ἄλλων, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ τῶν συμμάχων προσδόκιμοι πᾶσαν εἶεν ἡμέρην, ἡ θάλασσά τέ σφι εἴη ἐν φυλακῇ ὑπʼ Ἀθηναίων τε φρουρεομένη καὶ Αἰγινητέων καὶ τῶν ἐς τὸν ναυτικὸν στρατὸν ταχθέντων, καί σφι εἴη δεινὸν οὐδέν·
In addition to these, the Opuntian Locrians were summoned with their whole force, and a thousand of the Phocians. For the Greeks themselves had called upon them, saying through messengers that they themselves had come as forerunners of the rest, and that the remainder of the allies were expected every day, and that the sea was being guarded for them, patrolled by the Athenians, the Aeginetans, and those appointed to the fleet, so that they had nothing to fear;
οὐ γὰρ θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐπιόντα ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἀλλʼ ἄνθρωπον, εἶναι δὲ θνητὸν οὐδένα οὐδὲ ἔσεσθαι τῷ κακὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γινομένῳ οὐ συνεμίχθη,2 τοῖσι δὲ μεγίστοισι αὐτῶν μέγιστα. ὀφείλειν ὦν καὶ τὸν ἐπελαύνοντα, ὡς ἐόντα θνητόν, ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης πεσεῖν ἄν.3 οἳ δὲ ταῦτα πυνθανόμενοι ἐβοήθεον ἐς τὴν Τρηχῖνα.
for the one marching against Greece was not a god but a human, and there was not, nor ever would be, any mortal who from his very birth had not had misfortune mingled with his lot, and the greatest misfortunes fell to the greatest of them. Therefore, the invader too, being mortal, must surely fall from his expectation. Having learned these things, they came to the rescue at Trachis.
- 7.203.1αὐτοὶ μὲν ἥκοιεν πρόδρομοι
The subject of the infinitive or indirect speech clause, referring back to the main subject (the Greeks themselves), is expressed in the nominative case (αὐτοί) rather than the accusative. The optative ἥκοιεν indicates indirect discourse.
- 7.203.2τῷ κακὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γινομένῳ οὐ συνεμίχθη
The relative pronoun τῷ (equivalent to ᾧ) is in the dative, and the participle γινομένῳ agrees with it, referring to 'one who is born' or 'exists'. The subject of the verb συνεμίχθη is κακόν (misfortune), meaning 'misfortune was not mingled with him'.
- 7.203.2ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης πεσεῖν ἄν
The particle ἄν goes with the infinitive πεσεῖν, representing a potential construction ('would fall') in indirect discourse. The word δόξα ('expectation, opinion, glory') here refers to the invader's overconfidence or expectation of success, from which he is bound to fall.