- 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-grc2:7.38.1-7.38.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
As the army marches, Pythius the Lydian, frightened by the celestial omen, requests Xerxes to excuse his eldest son from military service so that he may stay and care for him and his property.
ὡς δʼ ἐξήλαυνε τὴν στρατιήν, Πύθιος ὁ Λυδὸς καταρρωδήσας τὸ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ φάσμα ἐπαερθείς τε τοῖσι δωρήμασι, ἐλθὼν παρὰ Ξέρξην ἔλεγε τάδε. ὦ δέσποτα, χρηίσας ἄν τι σεῦ βουλοίμην τυχεῖν,1 τὸ σοὶ μὲν ἐλαφρὸν τυγχάνει ἐὸν ὑπουργῆσαι, ἐμοὶ δὲ μέγα γενόμενον.
As he was marching out his army, Pythius the Lydian, terrified by the vision from the heavens and encouraged by the gifts he had received, came before Xerxes and spoke as follows: “O master, I would wish to obtain a certain request from you, which is easy for you to grant, but is a great thing for me if it is done.”
Ξέρξης δὲ πᾶν μᾶλλον δοκέων μιν χρηίσειν ἢ τὸ ἐδεήθη,2 ἔφη τε ὑπουργήσειν καὶ δὴ ἀγορεύειν ἐκέλευε ὅτευ δέοιτο. ὁ δὲ ἐπείτε ταῦτα ἤκουσε, ἔλεγε θαρσήσας τάδε. ὦ δέσποτα, τυγχάνουσί μοι παῖδες ἐόντες πέντε, καί σφεας καταλαμβάνει πάντας ἅμα σοὶ στρατεύεσθαι3 ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα.
Xerxes, thinking that he would ask for anything rather than what he actually requested, promised to grant it and bade him declare what he needed. When Pythius heard this, he took courage and spoke as follows: “O master, I happen to have five sons, and it is their lot that they must all march with you against Greece.
σὺ δέ, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἐμὲ ἐς τόδε ἡλικίης ἥκοντα4 οἰκτείρας τῶν μοι παίδων ἕνα παράλυσον τῆς στρατηίης τὸν πρεσβύτατον, ἵνα αὐτοῦ τε ἐμεῦ καὶ τῶν χρημάτων ᾖ μελεδωνός· τοὺς δὲ τέσσερας ἄγευ ἅμα σεωυτῷ, καὶ πρήξας τὰ νοέεις νοστήσειας ὀπίσω.
But do you, O king, take pity on me who have reached this age, and release one of my sons, the eldest, from the campaign, so that he may be the caretaker of myself and of my property; but take the other four with you, and after accomplishing what you intend, may you return home.”
- 7.38.1χρηίσας ἄν τι σεῦ βουλοίμην τυχεῖν
The particle ἄν belongs not to the participle χρηίσας but to the subsequent optative βουλοίμην, forming a potential optative ("I would wish"). The genitive pronoun σεῦ (Ionic for σοῦ) can be construed either as the genitive of source with τυχεῖν ("to obtain from you") or as depending on χρηίσας ("requesting from you").
- 7.38.2πᾶν μᾶλλον δοκέων μιν χρηίσειν ἢ τὸ ἐδεήθη
This phrase means "expecting him to ask for anything rather than what he actually requested." The idiom πᾶν μᾶλλον ... ἢ ... expresses "anything rather than..." μιν is the Ionic third-person singular accusative pronoun (= αὐτόν), serving as the subject of the infinitive χρηίσειν. The article τὸ functions as a relative pronoun (= ὅ), referring to what Pythius actually asked (ἐδεήθη).
- 7.38.2καὶ σφεας καταλαμβάνει πάντας ἅμα σοὶ στρατεύεσθαι
The verb καταλαμβάνει is used here impersonally or in the sense of "circumstances constrain them" or "it is their lot," taking the accusative σφέας ("them") and the infinitive στρατεύεσθαι ("to march").
- 7.38.3ἐμὲ ἐς τόδε ἡλικίης ἥκοντα
ἐς τόδε ἡλικίης means "to this point of age," where the partitive genitive ἡλικίης ("of age") depends on the demonstrative pronoun τόδε ("this"). It modifies ἐμέ ("me") together with the participle ἥκοντα ("having reached").