- 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-grc2:7.6.1-7.6.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
While Mardonius urges the expedition out of ambition, Greek factions—specifically the Thessalian Aleuadae and the exiled Peisistratidae—arrive at the Persian court to support the war, bringing the oracle-monger Onomacritus, who recites only favorable prophecies to encourage Xerxes.
ταῦτα ἔλεγε οἷα νεωτέρων ἔργων ἐπιθυμητὴς ἐὼν καὶ θέλων αὐτὸς τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὕπαρχος εἶναι. χρόνῳ δὲ κατεργάσατό τε καὶ ἀνέπεισε ὥστε ποιέειν ταῦτα Ξέρξην· συνέλαβε γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα οἱ σύμμαχα γενόμενα ἐς τὸ πείθεσθαι Ξέρξην.1
He said these things because he was a desirer of new enterprises and wished to be himself the governor of Greece. And in time he accomplished his purpose and persuaded Xerxes to do these things; for other circumstances also occurred which helped him in persuading Xerxes.
τοῦτο μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς Θεσσαλίης παρὰ τῶν Ἀλευαδέων ἀπιγμένοι ἄγγελοι ἐπεκαλέοντο βασιλέα πᾶσαν προθυμίην παρεχόμενοι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα· οἱ δὲ2 Ἀλευάδαι οὗτοι ἦσαν Θεσσαλίης βασιλέες. τοῦτο δὲ Πεισιστρατιδέων οἱ ἀναβεβηκότες ἐς Σοῦσα, τῶν τε αὐτῶν λόγων ἐχόμενοι τῶν καὶ οἱ Ἀλευάδαι, καὶ δή τι πρὸς τούτοισι ἔτι πλέον προσωρέγοντό οἱ·
On the one hand, messengers who had arrived from Thessaly on behalf of the Aleuadae were calling upon the king, showing all eagerness against Greece; and these Aleuadae were kings of Thessaly. On the other hand, those of the Peisistratidae who had gone up to Susa, holding to the same arguments as the Aleuadae, were pressing him even more besides this;
ἔχοντες Ὀνομάκριτον ἄνδρα Ἀθηναῖον, χρησμολόγον τε καὶ διαθέτην χρησμῶν τῶν Μουσαίου, ἀναβεβήκεσαν, τὴν ἔχθρην προκαταλυσάμενοι. ἐξηλάσθη γὰρ ὑπὸ Ἱππάρχου τοῦ Πεισιστράτου ὁ Ὀνομάκριτος ἐξ Ἀθηνέων, ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ ἁλοὺς ὑπὸ Λάσου τοῦ Ἑρμιονέος ἐμποιέων ἐς τὰ Μουσαίου χρησμόν, ὡς αἱ ἐπὶ Λήμνῳ ἐπικείμεναι νῆσοι ἀφανιζοίατο3 κατὰ τῆς θαλάσσης.
they had gone up having with them Onomacritus, an Athenian man, a chresmologue and arranger of the oracles of Musaeus, after they had first reconciled their enmity. For Onomacritus had been banished from Athens by Hipparchus, the son of Peisistratus, having been caught in the act by Lasus of Hermione of inserting into the oracles of Musaeus a prophecy that the islands lying off Lemnos would disappear into the sea.
διὸ ἐξήλασέ μιν ὁ Ἵππαρχος, πρότερον χρεώμενος τὰ μάλιστα. τότε δὲ συναναβὰς ὅκως ἀπίκοιτο ἐς ὄψιν τὴν βασιλέος, λεγόντων τῶν Πεισιστρατιδέων περὶ αὐτοῦ σεμνοὺς λόγους, κατέλεγε τῶν χρησμῶν· εἰ μέν τι ἐνέοι σφάλμα φέρον τῷ βαρβάρῳ, τῶν μὲν ἔλεγε οὐδέν,4 ὁ δὲ τὰ εὐτυχέστατα ἐκλεγόμενος ἔλεγε τόν τε Ἑλλήσποντον ὡς ζευχθῆναι χρεὸν εἴη ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς Πέρσεω, τήν τε ἔλασιν ἐξηγεόμενος.
For this reason Hipparchus had banished him, though having previously employed him most highly. But at this time, having gone up with them, whenever he came into the presence of the king, while the Peisistratidae spoke grandly of him, he would recite from the oracles; if there were anything in them bringing disaster to the barbarian, he would say nothing of it, but choosing out the most fortunate parts, he would say that the Hellespont must be bridged by a Persian man, and would explain the march.
οὗτός τε δὴ χρησμῳδέων προσεφέρετο καὶ οἵ τε Πεισιστρατίδαι καὶ οἱ Ἀλευάδαι γνώμας ἀποδεικνύμενοι.
So he pressed his suit by chanting oracles, and both the Peisistratidae and the Aleuadae did so by displaying their opinions.
- 7.6.1συνέλαβε γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα οἱ σύμμαχα γενόμενα ἐς τὸ πείθεσθαι Ξέρξην
The neuter plural subject ἄλλα ... γενόμενα takes the singular verb συνέλαβε (Schema Atticum). οἱ is the dative of advantage referring to Mardonius. ἐς τὸ πείθεσθαι is a prepositional phrase with an articular infinitive expressing purpose or result, in which Ξέρξην serves as the accusative subject of the infinitive πείθεσθαι.
- 7.6.2τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δὲ
A correlative construction using the adverbial accusative τοῦτο, which strengthens the standard μὲν ... δὲ ... ('on the one hand ... on the other hand'). This is highly characteristic of Herodotus' prose.
- 7.6.3ἀφανιζοίατο
The third-person plural present (or imperfect) passive (or middle) optative in the Ionic dialect, corresponding to Attic ἀφανίζοιντο. Since it is within a subordinate clause (ὡς clause) reporting past rumor or oracle contents, the optative of indirect discourse (oblique optative) is used.
- 7.6.4ὅκως ἀπίκοιτο ... εἰ μέν τι ἐνέοι ... τῶν μὲν ἔλεγε οὐδέν
A construction expressing past repetition. The temporal clause ὅκως ἀπίκοιτο (conjunction ὅκως + optative) and the conditional clause εἰ μέν τι ἐνέοι (εἰ + optative) correspond to the imperfect main verbs κατέλεγε and ἔλεγε, which denote repeated or habitual actions in the past.