- 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-grc2:7.61.1-7.61.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Describes the unique equipment of the Persian soldiers and explains the origin of their name, noting that they were formerly called Kephenes but took their name from Perses, the son of Perseus.
οἱ δὲ στρατευόμενοι οἵδε ἦσαν, Πέρσαι μὲν ὧδε ἐσκευασμένοι· περὶ μὲν τῇσι κεφαλῇσι εἶχον τιάρας καλεομένους πίλους ἀπαγέας, περὶ δὲ τὸ σῶμα κιθῶνας χειριδωτοὺς ποικίλους, λεπίδος σιδηρέης ὄψιν ἰχθυοειδέος,1 περὶ δὲ τὰ σκέλεα ἀναξυρίδας, ἀντὶ δὲ ἀσπίδων γέρρα· ὑπὸ δὲ φαρετρεῶνες ἐκρέμαντο·2 αἰχμὰς δὲ βραχέας εἶχον, τόξα δὲ μεγάλα, ὀιστοὺς δὲ καλαμίνους, πρὸς δὲ ἐγχειρίδια παρὰ τὸν δεξιὸν μηρὸν παραιωρεύμενα ἐκ τῆς ζώνης.
Those who served in the army were the following, and the Persians were equipped as follows: on their heads they wore loose felt caps called tiaras, and on their bodies variegated tunics with sleeves, looking like the scales of a fish in iron; on their legs they wore trousers, and instead of shields they carried wicker targets (gerrha), beneath which hung quivers. They had short spears, large bows, and arrows of reed, and furthermore, daggers hanging from their girdles beside their right thighs.
καὶ ἄρχοντα παρείχοντο Ὀτάνεα τὸν Ἀμήστριος πατέρα τῆς Ξέρξεω γυναικός, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ πάλαι ὑπὸ μὲν Ἑλλήνων Κηφῆνες, ὑπὸ μέντοι σφέων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν περιοίκων Ἀρταῖοι.
And they provided as commander Otanes, the father of Amestris, Xerxes’ wife. In ancient times they were called Kephenes by the Greeks, but by themselves and their neighbors they were called Artaioi.
ἐπεὶ δὲ Περσεὺς ὁ Δανάης τε καὶ Διὸς ἀπίκετο παρὰ Κηφέα τὸν Βήλου καὶ ἔσχε αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα Ἀνδρομέδην, γίνεται αὐτῷ παῖς τῷ οὔνομα ἔθετο Πέρσην, τοῦτον δὲ αὐτοῦ καταλείπει· ἐτύγχανε γὰρ ἄπαις ἐὼν ὁ Κηφεὺς ἔρσενος γόνου.3 ἐπὶ τούτου δὴ τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ἔσχον.
But when Perseus, the son of Danae and Zeus, came to Cepheus the son of Belus and took his daughter Andromeda to wife, a son was born to him whom he named Perses, and him he left behind there; for Cepheus happened to have no male offspring. It was indeed after this Perses that they took their name.
- 7.61.1λεπίδος σιδηρέης ὄψιν ἰχθυοειδέος
The word ὄψιν is an accusative of respect ('having the appearance of'). The genitive phrase λεπίδος σιδηρέης ἰχθυοειδέος depends on ὄψιν, meaning 'the appearance of iron scales like those of a fish'.
- 7.61.1ὑπὸ δὲ φαρετρεῶνες ἐκρέμαντο
The preposition ὑπό is used adverbially here without governing a case, meaning 'beneath' (i.e., under the wicker shields mentioned before).
- 7.61.3ἔρσενος γόνου
A genitive of deprivation or separation governed by the adjective ἄπαις (childless), meaning 'childless of male offspring' or 'having no male heir'.