- 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-grc2:7.83.1-7.83.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
Describes the commander Hydarnes and the origin of the name "Immortals" for the select force of ten thousand Persians, along with their luxurious equipment, concubines, servants, and separate supply trains on the march.
οὗτοι ἦσαν στρατηγοὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος πεζοῦ χωρὶς τῶν μυρίων· τῶν δὲ μυρίων τούτων Περσέων τῶν ἀπολελεγμένων ἐστρατήγεε μὲν Ὑδάρνης ὁ Ὑδάρνεος, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ ἀθάνατοι οἱ Πέρσαι οὗτοι ἐπὶ τοῦδε· εἴ τις αὐτῶν ἐξέλιπε τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἢ θανάτῳ βιηθεὶς ἢ νούσῳ, ἄλλος ἀνὴρ ἀραίρητο,1 καὶ ἐγίνοντο οὐδαμὰ οὔτε πλεῦνες μυρίων οὔτε ἐλάσσονες.
These were the generals of the whole infantry, except for the ten thousand; and over these ten thousand selected Persians, Hydarnes son of Hydarnes served as general. These Persians were called “Immortals” for the following reason: if any of them left the number, being overcome by either death or sickness, another man was chosen, and they never became either more or fewer than ten thousand.
κόσμον δὲ πλεῖστον παρείχοντο διὰ πάντων Πέρσαι, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἄριστοι ἦσαν· σκευὴν μὲν τοιαύτην εἶχον ἥ περ εἴρηται, χωρὶς δὲ χρυσόν τε πολλὸν καὶ ἄφθονον ἔχοντες ἐνέπρεπον, ἁρμαμάξας τε ἅμα ἤγοντο, ἐν δὲ2 παλλακὰς καὶ θεραπηίην πολλήν τε καὶ εὖ ἐσκευασμένην· σῖτα δέ σφι, χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων στρατιωτέων, κάμηλοί τε καὶ ὑποζύγια ἦγον.
The Persians displayed the greatest splendor among them all, and they themselves were the best. They had such equipment as has been mentioned, but apart from this, they were distinguished by having much and abundant gold; and they also brought carriage-wagons with them, in which were concubines and a large, well-equipped retinue. Their provisions, separate from those of the other soldiers, were carried by camels and beasts of burden.
- 7.83.1ἀραίρητο
The 3rd person singular pluperfect indicative passive of the verb αἱρέω (to choose). In the Ionic dialect, it exhibits the characteristic prefix ἀρ- instead of the Attic ᾕρητο. It is used here in the apodosis of a past general condition to express a repeated or habitual action in the past ("whenever... another was chosen").
- 7.83.2ἐν δὲ
The preposition ἐν, accompanied by the conjunction δέ, is used adverbially to mean "therein" or "inside them," referring to the previously mentioned carriage-wagons (ἁρμαμάξας). This adverbial use of a preposition without a nominal object is a common feature of epic and historical prose.