Leonidas' Dismissal of the Allies and the Oracle — Herodotus, Histories Book 7 (7.220.1–7.220.4), Greek & English

§7.220.1

λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς αὐτός σφεας ἀπέπεμψε Λεωνίδης, μὴ ἀπόλωνται κηδόμενος· αὐτῷ δὲ καὶ Σπαρτιητέων τοῖσι παρεοῦσι οὐκ ἔχειν εὐπρεπέως¹ ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν τάξιν ἐς τὴν ἦλθον φυλάξοντες ἀρχήν.

But it is also said that Leonidas himself sent them away, caring that they should not perish; but for himself and the Spartans who were present, it was not honorable to abandon the post which they had come to guard from the beginning.

§7.220.2

ταύτῃ καὶ μᾶλλον τὴν γνώμην πλεῖστος εἰμί,² Λεωνίδην, ἐπείτε ᾔσθετο τοὺς συμμάχους ἐόντας ἀπροθύμους καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλοντας συνδιακινδυνεύειν, κελεῦσαι σφέας ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι, αὐτῷ δὲ ἀπιέναι οὐ καλῶς ἔχειν· μένοντι δὲ αὐτοῦ κλέος μέγα ἐλείπετο, καὶ ἡ Σπάρτης εὐδαιμονίη οὐκ ἐξηλείφετο.

In this way, I am even more strongly of the opinion that Leonidas, when he perceived that the allies were half-hearted and unwilling to share the danger, ordered them to depart, but for himself to depart was not honorable; for if he remained there, great glory was left for him, and the prosperity of Sparta would not be blotted out.

§7.220.3

ἐκέχρηστο γὰρ ὑπὸ τῆς Πυθίης τοῖσι Σπαρτιήτῃσι χρεωμένοισι περὶ τοῦ πολέμου τούτου αὐτίκα κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἐγειρομένου, ἢ Λακεδαίμονα ἀνάστατον γενέσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἢ τὸν βασιλέα σφέων ἀπολέσθαι. ταῦτα δέ σφι ἐν ἔπεσι ἑξαμέτροισι χρᾷ λέγοντα ὧδε.

For an oracle had been given by the Pythia to the Spartans when they inquired about this war at its very beginning, that either Lacedaemon would be laid waste by the barbarians, or their king would perish. And she declared this to them in hexameter verses, saying as follows:

§7.220.4

" ὑμῖν δʼ, ὦ Σπάρτης οἰκήτορες εὐρυχόροιο, ἢ μέγα ἄστυ ἐρικυδὲς ὑπʼ ἀνδράσι Περσεΐδῃσι πέρθεται, ἢ τὸ μὲν οὐχί, ἀφʼ Ἡρακλέους δὲ γενέθλης πενθήσει βασιλῆ φθίμενον Λακεδαίμονος οὖρος.³ οὐ γὰρ τὸν ταύρων σχήσει μένος οὐδὲ λεόντων ἀντιβίην· Ζηνὸς γὰρ ἔχει μένος· οὐδέ ἑ φημί σχήσεσθαι, πρὶν τῶνδʼ ἕτερον διὰ πάντα δάσηται." ταῦτά τε δὴ ἐπιλεγόμενον Λεωνίδην, καὶ βουλόμενον κλέος καταθέσθαι μούνων Σπαρτιητέων, ἀποπέμψαι⁴ τοὺς συμμάχους μᾶλλον ἢ γνώμῃ διενειχθέντας οὕτω ἀκόσμως οἴχεσθαι τοὺς οἰχομένους.

” But for you, O inhabitants of Sparta with spacious streets, either your great, glorious city is sacked by the men of Perseus’ race, or, if not that, the land of Lacedaemon will mourn a dead king from Heracles’ lineage. For the strength of bulls or of lions will not hold him face to face; for he has the strength of Zeus; and I say he will not be held, until he has utterly torn to pieces one of these two.” Reflecting on these things, and wishing to secure the glory for the Spartans alone, Leonidas, I believe, sent away the allies, rather than that those who departed should go away in such a disorderly manner because of differences of opinion.

Syntax notes4 items

7.220.1οὐκ ἔχειν εὐπρεπέως
The infinitive ἔχειν with an adverb (εὐπρεπέως) is used intransitively/impersonally (equivalent to εἶναι with an adjective) in indirect speech introduced by λέγεται, meaning 'it was not fitting/honorable for... to...'.
7.220.2τὴν γνώμην πλεῖστος εἰμί
τὴν γνώμην is an accusative of respect ('with respect to opinion'). πλεῖστος εἰμί is a Herodotean idiom meaning 'I am mostly/strongly of the opinion'.
7.220.4Λακεδαίμονος οὖρος
οὖρος is an Ionic/epic form that can mean either (1) 'boundary, territory' (corresponding to Attic ὅρος) or (2) 'guardian, watcher' (Attic φύλαξ). Here, it is taken as the subject in the sense of (1) 'the land/boundary of Lacedaemon will mourn...'.
7.220.4ἀποπέμψαι
The main infinitive concluding the long accusative-and-infinitive construction that began in 220.2 with τὴν γνώμην πλεῖστος εἰμί. Λεωνίδην (accusative) is the logical subject of this infinitive ἀποπέμψαι, forming a large-scale hyperbaton.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.220.1-7.220.4