- 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-grc2:7.235.1-7.235.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Demaratus proposes to Xerxes a plan to send a fleet to the island of Cythera near Sparta to threaten them from behind, thereby neutralizing the defense of the Peloponnese.
ὃ δʼ ἀμείβετο ὦ βασιλεῦ, εἰ μὲν δὴ συμβουλεύεαί μοι προθύμως, δίκαιόν με σοί ἐστι φράζειν τὸ ἄριστον· εἰ τῆς ναυτικῆς στρατιῆς νέας τριηκοσίας ἀποστείλειας1 ἐπὶ τὴν Λάκαιναν χώρην.
And he replied: “O king, if you indeed consult me earnestly, it is right for me to tell you the best course; [namely,] if you should dispatch three hundred ships of your naval fleet to the Laconian territory.
ἔστι δὲ ἐπʼ αὐτῇ νῆσος ἐπικειμένη τῇ οὔνομα ἐστὶ Κύθηρα, τὴν Χίλων ἀνὴρ παρʼ ἡμῖν σοφώτατος γενόμενος κέρδος μέζον ἂν ἔφη εἶναι2 Σπαρτιήτῃσι κατὰ τῆς θαλάσσης καταδεδυκέναι μᾶλλον ἢ ὑπερέχειν, αἰεί τι προσδοκῶν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς τοιοῦτο ἔσεσθαι οἷόν τοι ἐγὼ ἐξηγέομαι, οὔτι τὸν σὸν στόλον προειδώς, ἀλλὰ πάντα ὁμοίως φοβεόμενος ἀνδρῶν στόλον.
There is an island lying off it, whose name is Cythera, which Chilon, a man who was the wisest among us, said it would be a greater gain for the Spartans to have sunk beneath the sea rather than to stand above it, always expecting some such thing to come from it as I am explaining to you, by no means foreseeing your expedition, but fearing equally any expedition of men.
ἐκ ταύτης τῆς νήσου ὁρμώμενοι φοβεόντων τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους. παροίκου δὲ πολέμου σφι ἐόντος οἰκηίου, οὐδὲν δεινοὶ ἔσονταί τοι μὴ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος ἁλισκομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ πεζοῦ βοηθέωσι3 ταύτῃ. καταδουλωθείσης δὲ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος ἀσθενὲς ἤδη τὸ Λακωνικὸν μοῦνον λείπεται.
Setting out from this island, let them terrify the Lacedaemonians. And with a war close at hand at their own home, there will be no fear for you that they will send help to the rest of Greece while it is being captured by your land army. And when the rest of Greece has been enslaved, the Laconian power, left alone, is then weak.
ἢν δὲ ταῦτα μὴ ποιέῃς, τάδε τοι προσδόκα ἔσεσθαι. ἔστι τῆς Πελοποννήσου ἰσθμὸς στεινός· ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χώρῳ πάντων Πελοποννησίων συνομοσάντων ἐπὶ σοὶ μάχας ἰσχυροτέρας ἄλλας τῶν γενομενέων προσδέκεο ἔσεσθαί τοι. ἐκεῖνο δὲ ποιήσαντι ἀμαχητὶ ὅ τε ἰσθμὸς οὗτος καὶ αἱ πόλιες προσχωρήσουσι.
But if you do not do these things, expect these things to happen to you. There is a narrow isthmus of the Peloponnese; in this place, when all the Peloponnesians have united in a conspiracy against you, expect that other battles, more violent than those that have taken place, will occur for you. But if you do that, this isthmus and the cities will come over to you without a fight.”
- 7.235.1ἀποστείλειας
The conditional clause with εἰ + optative (ἀποστείλειας) functions as an epexegetical explanation of τὸ ἄριστον ('the best'), with the main clause (apodosis) being omitted or implied.
- 7.235.2ἂν ἔφη εἶναι
Indirect discourse introduced by ἔφη. The particle ἄν goes with the infinitive εἶναι, representing a potential optative (ἂν εἴη) or an unreal indicative (ἂν ἦν) in direct speech.
- 7.235.3δεινοὶ ἔσονταί τοι μὴ ... βοηθέωσι
Construction of fear or apprehension. The adjective δεινοί ('dreaded', 'formidable') implies a state of being feared or watched out for, taking μή + subjunctive (βοηθέωσι) to mean 'lest they should bring help'. Negated by οὐδέν, it means 'there will be no danger of their helping'.