- 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-grc2:7.234.1-7.234.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
After the battle of Thermopylae, Xerxes questions Demaratus about the military strength of the Spartans, and Demaratus replies that there are about eight thousand equal warriors in Sparta itself. Xerxes then asks Demaratus for the easiest way to defeat them.
οἱ μὲν δὴ περὶ Θερμοπύλας Ἕλληνες οὕτω ἠγωνίσαντο, Ξέρξης δὲ καλέσας Δημάρητον εἰρώτα ἀρξάμενος ἐνθένδε. Δημάρητε, ἀνὴρ εἶς ἀγαθός.1 τεκμαίρομαι δὲ τῇ ἀληθείῃ· ὅσα γὰρ εἶπας, ἅπαντα ἀπέβη οὕτω. νῦν δέ μοι εἰπέ, κόσοι τινὲς εἰσὶ οἱ λοιποὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, καὶ τούτων ὁκόσοι τοιοῦτοι τὰ πολέμια εἴτε καὶ ἅπαντες.
Thus did the Greeks at Thermopylae fight. And Xerxes, having called Demaratus, questioned him, beginning from this: “Demaratus, you are a preeminently good man; and I judge this by the truth, for everything that you said has turned out so. Now, tell me, how many in number are the remaining Lacedaemonians, and how many of them are such as these in matters of war, or are they all so?”
ὃ δʼ εἶπε ὦ βασιλεῦ, πλῆθος μὲν πολλὸν πάντων τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ πόλιες πολλαί· τὸ δὲ θέλεις ἐκμαθεῖν,2 εἰδήσεις. ἔστι ἐν τῇ Λακεδαίμονι Σπάρτη πόλις ἀνδρῶν ὀκτακισχιλίων μάλιστα, καὶ οὗτοι πάντες εἰσὶ ὅμοιοι τοῖσι ἐνθάδε μαχεσαμένοισι· οἵ γε μὲν ἄλλοι Λακεδαιμόνιοι τούτοισι μὲν οὐκ ὅμοιοι, ἀγαθοὶ δέ.
And he said: “O king, the multitude of all the Lacedaemonians is great, and their cities are many; but what you wish to learn thoroughly, you shall know. There is in Lacedaemon a city called Sparta, of about eight thousand men, and these are all equal to those who have fought here. The other Lacedaemonians indeed are not equal to these, yet they are brave men.”
εἶπε πρὸς ταῦτα Ξέρξης Δημάρητε, τέῳ τρόπῳ ἀπονητότατα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τούτων ἐπικρατήσομεν; ἴθι ἐξηγέο· σὺ γὰρ ἔχεις αὐτῶν τὰς διεξόδους τῶν βουλευμάτων3 οἷα βασιλεὺς γενόμενος.
To this Xerxes said: “Demaratus, in what way shall we most easily master these men? Come, explain it; for you, having been their king, know the detailed courses of their counsels.”
- 7.234.1ἀνὴρ εἶς ἀγαθός
The numeral εἷς modifies the adjective ἀγαθός, serving an intensive function equivalent to a superlative ('preeminently good', 'above all others'). This aligns with Xerxes' praise of Demaratus's accurate predictions, rather than simply meaning 'one good man'.
- 7.234.2τὸ δὲ θέλεις ἐκμαθεῖν
The Ionic form τὸ functions here as a relative pronoun (equivalent to Attic ὅ), serving as the object of the verb θέλεις in the relative clause. The entire relative clause acts as the object of the main verb εἰδήσεις ('you shall know').
- 7.234.3τὰς διεξόδους τῶν βουλευμάτων
A combination of διέξοδος ('outlet', 'detailed passage/course') and βούλευμα ('counsel', 'plan'). Although it could be interpreted as 'the ways of escape from their plans', it is more contextual to translate it as 'the detailed courses of their counsels', since Demaratus, as a former king, knows the entirety of their decision-making processes.