- 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-grc2:7.41.1-7.41.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Xerxes' march out of Sardis is described, highlighting his habit of changing carriages, and the formation of his elite guard with decorative spears (pomegranates and apples) and cavalry.
ἐξήλασε μὲν οὕτω ἐκ Σαρδίων Ξέρξης, μετεκβαίνεσκε δέ, ὅκως μιν λόγος αἱρέοι,1 ἐκ τοῦ ἅρματος ἐς ἁρμάμαξαν. αὐτοῦ δὲ ὄπισθε αἰχμοφόροι Περσέων οἱ ἄριστοί τε καὶ γενναιότατοι χίλιοι, κατὰ νόμον2 τὰς λόγχας ἔχοντες, μετὰ δὲ ἵππος ἄλλη χιλίη ἐκ Περσέων ἀπολελεγμένη, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἵππον ἐκ τῶν λοιπῶν Περσέων ἀπολελεγμένοι μύριοι. οὗτος πεζὸς ἦν·3
In this manner Xerxes marched out from Sardis; and he used to transfer, whenever the whim took him, from his chariot into a carriage. Directly behind him were a thousand spear-bearers, the best and noblest of the Persians, holding their spears in the customary manner; and after them another thousand cavalry chosen from the Persians; and after the cavalry ten thousand chosen from the rest of the Persians. This force was infantry.
καὶ τούτων χίλιοι μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖσι δόρασι ἀντὶ τῶν σαυρωτήρων ῥοιὰς εἶχον χρυσέας καὶ πέριξ συνεκλήιον τοὺς ἄλλους, οἱ δὲ εἰνακισχίλιοι ἐντὸς τούτων ἐόντες ἀργυρέας ῥοιὰς εἶχον· εἶχον δὲ χρυσέας ῥοιὰς καὶ οἱ ἐς τὴν γῆν τρέποντες τὰς λόγχας, καὶ μῆλα οἱ ἄγχιστα ἑπόμενοι Ξέρξῃ.4 τοῖσι δὲ μυρίοισι ἐπετέτακτο ἵππος Περσέων μυρίη. μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἵππον διέλειπε καὶ δύο σταδίους, καὶ ἔπειτα ὁ λοιπὸς ὅμιλος ἤιε ἀναμίξ.
And of these, a thousand indeed had golden pomegranates upon their spears in place of the spikes, and they enclosed the others round about; while the nine thousand, being inside these, had silver pomegranates. Those also who turned their spears toward the earth had golden pomegranates, and those who followed closest to Xerxes had apples. And behind the ten thousand was stationed a force of ten thousand Persian cavalry. After this cavalry there was a gap of even two stades, and then the rest of the multitude marched mingled together.
- 7.41.1ὅκως μιν λόγος αἱρέοι
The Ionic form ὅκως (= ὅπως) is paired with the optative of past repetition αἱρέοι, meaning 'whenever'. μιν is the Ionic third-person singular accusative pronoun (= αὐτόν). The phrase λόγος αἱρέοι is an idiom meaning 'the whim took him' or 'he pleased' (literally 'reason/thought seized him').
- 7.41.1καὰ νόμον
Contrasting with the spear-bearers in 7.40.2 who held their spears pointing down to the earth, this phrase indicates that these spear-bearers held them 'in the customary/regular manner' (i.e. pointing upwards or resting on the shoulder).
- 7.41.1οὗτος πεζὸς ἦν
The demonstrative pronoun οὗτος refers back to the 'ten thousand' (μύριοι) as a collective singular concept, which agrees in number with the singular verb ἦν and the predicate noun/adjective πεζός ('infantry').
- 7.41.2καὶ μῆλα οἱ ἄγχιστα ἑπόμενοι Ξέρξῃ
The verb εἶχον ('had') is omitted from the previous clause. 'Those who followed closest to Xerxes' refers to the thousand spear-bearers mentioned at the beginning of 7.41.1, whose spears were adorned with apples (μῆλα, possibly quinces or golden apples) instead of pomegranates.