- 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-grc2:8.134.1-8.134.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
It describes Mys's visits to various oracle sites in Lebadeia, Abae, and Thebes, where he hired a stranger to sleep in the temple of Amphiaraus, explaining also why Thebans are forbidden from seeking oracles there.
οὗτος ὁ Μῦς ἔς τε Λεβάδειαν φαίνεται ἀπικόμενος1 καὶ μισθῷ πείσας τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἄνδρα καταβῆναι παρὰ Τροφώνιον, καὶ ἐς Ἄβας τὰς Φωκέων ἀπικόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ χρηστήριον· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐς Θήβας πρῶτα ὡς ἀπίκετο, τοῦτο μὲν τῷ Ἰσμηνίῳ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐχρήσατο· ἔστι δὲ2 κατά περ ἐν Ὀλυμπίῃ ἱροῖσι αὐτόθι χρηστηριάζεσθαι· τοῦτο δὲ ξεῖνον τινὰ καὶ οὐ Θηβαῖον χρήμασι πείσας κατεκοίμησε ἐς Ἀμφιάρεω.
This Mys is known to have arrived at Lebadeia and, having persuaded one of the local people with a bribe, to have had him go down to Trophonius, and also to have arrived at Abae of the Phocians to consult its oracle. Moreover, when he first arrived at Thebes, on the one hand, he consulted Ismenian Apollo—where indeed, just as in Olympia, it is the custom to obtain oracles from sacrifices—and on the other hand, having persuaded with money a certain stranger who was not a Theban, he had him sleep in the temple of Amphiaraus.
Θηβαίων δὲ οὐδενὶ ἔξεστι μαντεύεσθαι αὐτόθι διὰ τόδε· ἐκέλευσε σφέας ὁ Ἀμφιάρεως διὰ χρηστηρίων ποιεύμενος ὁκότερα βούλονται ἑλέσθαι τούτων, ἑωυτῷ ἢ ἅτε μάντι χρᾶσθαι ἢ ἅτε συμμάχῳ, τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀπεχομένους·3 οἳ δὲ σύμμαχόν μιν εἵλοντο εἶναι. διὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἔξεστι Θηβαίων οὐδενὶ αὐτόθι ἐγκατακοιμηθῆναι.
Now, it is not permitted for any of the Thebans to seek oracles there, because of the following reason: Amphiaraus, making his will known through oracles, bade them choose whichever of these two they wished, either to use him as a prophet or as an ally, abstaining from the other; and they chose that he should be their ally. For this reason, then, it is not permitted for any of the Thebans to sleep in that temple.
- 8.134.1φαίνεται ἀπικόμενος
The construction of the verb φαίνομαι followed by a participle (here ἀπικόμενος and πείσας). Unlike the construction with an infinitive, which means 'to seem to do' (potentially contrary to reality), the participle construction signifies 'is clearly shown to have arrived' or 'is known to have arrived' as an established fact.
- 8.134.1τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δὲ ...
The accusative neuter singular of the demonstrative pronoun used adverbially for contrast. It means 'on the one hand ... on the other hand ...', strengthening the contrast made by the particles μὲν ... δέ ...
- 8.134.2τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀπεχομένους
The middle verb ἀπέχομαι (to abstain, keep oneself away from) governs the genitive case (τοῦ ἑτέρου). The participle ἀπεχομένους (accusative plural masculine) agrees in gender, number, and case with σφέας (the Thebans), which is the logical subject of the infinitives ἑλέσθαι and χρᾶσθαι.