The Six Supreme Commanders of the Entire Infantry — Herodotus, Histories Book 7 (7.82.1), Greek & English

§7.82.1

ἦσαν μὲν δὴ οὗτοι οἵ περ εἰρέαται ἄρχοντες, ἐστρατήγεον δὲ τούτων τε καὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος στρατοῦ τοῦ πεζοῦ Μαρδόνιός τε ὁ Γοβρύεω καὶ Τριτανταίχμης ὁ Ἀρταβάνου τοῦ γνώμην θεμένου¹ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ Ἑλλάδα καὶ Σμερδομένης ὁ Ὀτάνεω, Δαρείου ἀμφότεροι οὗτοι ἀδελφεῶν παῖδες,² Ξέρξῃ δὲ ἐγίνοντο ἀνεψιοί,³ καὶ Μασίστης ὁ Δαρείου τε καὶ Ἀτόσσης παῖς καὶ Γέργις ὁ Ἀριάζου καὶ Μεγάβυζος ὁ Ζωπύρου.

These, then, were the officers who have been mentioned; but those who served as generals over them and over the whole infantry force were Mardonius son of Gobryas, Tritantaechmes son of Artabanus who had given his opinion against marching against Greece, Smerdomenes son of Otanes (both of these latter being sons of brothers of Darius, and so they were cousins to Xerxes), Masistes son of Darius and Atossa, Gergis son of Ariazus, and Megabyzus son of Zopyrus.

Syntax notes3 items

7.82.1τοῦ γνώμην θεμένου
The article τοῦ and the aorist middle participle θεμένου modify the preceding proper name Ἀρταβάνου. It uses the idiom γνώμην τίθεμαι ('to express an opinion'), governing the infinitive phrase μὴ στρατεύεσθαι to show the content of his advice.
7.82.1Δαρείου ἀμφότεροι οὗτοι ἀδελφεῶν παῖδες
The nominative ἀμφότεροι οὗτοι refers to the two preceding persons. The plural genitive ἀδελφεῶν means 'brothers' of Darius (Δαρείου), indicating that they were Darius's nephews.
7.82.1Ξέρξῃ δὲ ἐγίνοντο ἀνεψιοί
The dative Ξέρξῃ is a dative of relation ('relation to Xerxes'). The imperfect verb ἐγίνοντο is used here to describe the state of their family relationship.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.82.1