- 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-grc2:8.118.1-8.118.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
An alternative account of Xerxes' retreat, in which his ship is caught in a storm on the way to Asia, prompting his Persian retinue to jump overboard to lighten the ship, followed by Xerxes rewarding and then executing the helmsman.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλος ὅδε λόγος λεγόμενος, ὡς ἐπειδὴ Ξέρξης ἀπελαύνων ἐξ Ἀθηνέων ἀπίκετο ἐπʼ Ἠιόνα τὴν ἐπὶ Στρυμόνι, ἐνθεῦτεν οὐκέτι ὁδοιπορίῃσι διεχρᾶτο, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν στρατιὴν Ὑδάρνεϊ ἐπιτράπει ἀπάγειν ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, αὐτὸς δʼ ἐπὶ νεὸς Φοινίσσης ἐπιβὰς ἐκομίζετο ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην.
There is also another story told, that when Xerxes, retreating from Athens, arrived at Eion on the Strymon, from there he no longer made his journey by land, but entrusted the army to Hydarnes to lead back to the Hellespont, while he himself embarked on a Phoenician ship and was carried to Asia.
πλέοντα δέ μιν ἄνεμον Στρυμονίην ὑπολαβεῖν1 μέγαν καὶ κυματίην. καὶ δὴ μᾶλλον γάρ τι χειμαίνεσθαι γεμούσης τῆς νεός, ὥστε ἐπὶ τοῦ καταστρώματος ἐπεόντων συχνῶν Περσέων2 τῶν σὺν Ξέρξῃ κομιζομένων, ἐνθαῦτα ἐς δεῖμα πεσόντα τὸν βασιλέα εἰρέσθαι βώσαντα τὸν κυβερνήτην εἴ τις ἐστί σφι σωτηρίη, καὶ τὸν εἶπαι δέσποτα, οὐκ ἔστι οὐδεμία, εἰ μὴ τούτων ἀπαλλαγή τις γένηται τῶν πολλῶν ἐπιβατέων. καὶ Ξέρξην λέγεται ἀκούσαντα ταῦτα εἰπεῖν ἄνδρες Πέρσαι, νῦν τις διαδεξάτω3 ὑμέων βασιλέος κηδόμενος· ἐν ὑμῖν γὰρ οἶκε εἶναι ἐμοὶ ἡ σωτηρίη.
While he was sailing, a great Strymonian wind and a heavy sea overtook him. And indeed, because the ship was heavily laden, it was tossed by the storm all the more, so that since there were many Persians on the deck who were traveling with Xerxes, the king, falling into terror there, called out to the helmsman and asked if there was any way of safety for them. And the helmsman said, “Master, there is none, unless there is some riddance of these many passengers.” And it is said that Xerxes, on hearing this, said, “Persian men, let someone among you now show his care for the king; for it seems that my safety lies in you.”
τὸν μὲν ταῦτα λέγειν, τοὺς δὲ προσκυνέοντας ἐκπηδᾶν ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ τὴν νέα ἐπικουφισθεῖσαν οὕτω δὴ ἀποσωθῆναι ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην. ὡς δὲ ἐκβῆναι τάχιστα ἐς γῆν τὸν Ξέρξην, ποιῆσαι τοιόνδε· ὅτι μὲν ἔσωσε βασιλέος τὴν ψυχήν, δωρήσασθαι χρυσέῃ στεφάνῃ τὸν κυβερνήτην, ὅτι δὲ Περσέων πολλοὺς ἀπώλεσε, ἀποταμεῖν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ.
He said this, and they, having prostrated themselves, leapt into the sea, and the ship, being lightened, thus indeed escaped safely to Asia. As soon as Xerxes stepped ashore, he did as follows: because the helmsman had saved the life of the king, he rewarded him with a golden crown, but because he had caused the death of many Persians, he cut off his head.
- 8.118.2πλέοντα δέ μιν ἄνεμον Στρυμονίην ὑπολαβεῖν
An infinitive of indirect discourse following the ὡς clause that introduces the hearsay (§8.118.1 λόγος ὡς...). The subject is the accusative μιν (= αὐτόν), and the verb is the infinitive ὑπολαβεῖν. From this clause until the end of the chapter, the narrative is sustained through a sequence of accusative-with-infinitive constructions (or simple infinitives) to indicate that all these events are part of 'another story' being reported.
- 8.118.2ὥστε ἐπὶ τοῦ καταστρώματος ἐπεόντων συχνῶν Περσέων
A complex construction where, within the clause introduced by the conjunction of result ὥστε, a genitive absolute phrase (ἐπεόντων συχνῶν Περσέων...) is inserted before the main subject (τὸν βασιλέα) and infinitive (εἰρέσθαι) of the result clause. Contextually, the presence of many Persians on the deck explains why the ship was heavily laden and why the king was thrown into terror.
- 8.118.3διαδεξάτω
Commonly interpreted as the third-person singular aorist active imperative of the verb διαδείκνυμι (to show, display), with the Ionic spelling διαδέξατω (= διαδειξάτω). The subject is the indefinite pronoun τις. Formally, 'let someone of you show [his loyalty] as one caring for the king.' Although some interpret it as coming from διαδέχομαι (to succeed, relieve in turn), the translation follows the traditional interpretation of 'to show/display'.