- 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-grc2:7.24.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The author conjectures that Xerxes ordered the canal at Athos to be dug out of ostentation to display his power and leave a memorial, despite the ease of dragging ships across the isthmus, and notes that he also ordered the same men to bridge the Strymon.
ὡς μὲν ἐμὲ συμβαλλόμενον εὑρίσκειν,1 μεγαλοφροσύνης εἵνεκεν αὐτὸ Ξέρξης ὀρύσσειν ἐκέλευε, ἐθέλων τε δύναμιν ἀποδείκνυσθαι καὶ μνημόσυνα λιπέσθαι· παρεὸν2 γὰρ μηδένα πόνον λαβόντας τὸν ἰσθμὸν τὰς νέας διειρύσαι, ὀρύσσειν ἐκέλευε διώρυχα τῇ θαλάσσῃ εὖρος ὡς δύο τριήρεας πλέειν ὁμοῦ ἐλαστρεομένας. τοῖσι δὲ αὐτοῖσι τούτοισι, τοῖσί περ καὶ τὸ ὄρυγμα,3 προσετέτακτο καὶ τὸν Στρυμόνα ποταμὸν ζεύξαντας γεφυρῶσαι.
As far as I can find by conjecturing, Xerxes ordered it to be dug out of ostentation, wishing both to display his power and to leave a memorial; for although it was possible to drag the ships across the isthmus with no trouble at all, he ordered them to dig a canal for the sea of such a width that two triremes could sail through together, rowed abreast. And to these same men, to whom the digging was also assigned, it had been further commanded to bridge the river Strymon by joining it.
- 7.24.1ὡς μὲν ἐμὲ συμβαλλόμενον εὑρίσκειν
Meaning "as far as I can find by conjecturing." This is an absolute (limiting) infinitive construction introduced by ὡς, with εὑρίσκειν as the infinitive and ἐμέ as its subject. The participle συμβαλλόμενον agrees with ἐμέ, meaning "conjecturing."
- 7.24.1παρεὸν
The neuter singular accusative of the present participle of the impersonal verb (corresponding to Attic ἐξόν, from ἔξεστι, "it is possible") in the Ionic dialect, functioning as an accusative absolute. It conveys a concessive meaning ("although it was possible to...") and governs the infinitive clause διειρύσαι.
- 7.24.1τοῖσί περ καὶ τὸ ὄρυγμα
In the clause introduced by the relative pronoun (τοῖσί περ), the verb from the main clause, προσετέτακτο (had been assigned/commanded), is omitted. Thus, it means "to those same men to whom the digging [was also assigned]." Alternatively, the copula ἦν may be supplied ("to whom the digging belonged").