- 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-grc2:8.139.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The direct genealogy tracing from King Alexander I of Macedon back to Perdiccas, the founder of the kingdom, is presented.
ἀπὸ τούτου δὴ τοῦ Περδίκκεω Ἀλέξανδρος ὧδε ἐγένετο·1 Ἀμύντεω παῖς ἦν Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀμύντης δὲ Ἀλκέτεω,2 Ἀλκέτεω δὲ πατὴρ ἦν Ἀέροπος, τοῦ δὲ Φίλιππος,3 Φιλίππου δὲ Ἀργαῖος, τοῦ δὲ Περδίκκης ὁ κτησάμενος τὴν ἀρχήν.
From this very Perdiccas, Alexander was descended in the following manner: Alexander was the son of Amyntas, and Amyntas was the son of Alcestas, and the father of Alcestas was Aeropus, and his father was Philippus, and the father of Philippus was Argaeus, and his father was Perdiccas, who acquired the sovereignty.
- 8.139.1ὧδε ἐγένετο·
Meaning 'was born in this way' or 'was descended in this manner.' This introduces the genealogy tracing back from Perdiccas, the founder of the Macedonian kingdom mentioned in the previous chapters, to Alexander I, the king at the time.
- 8.139.1Ἀμύντης δὲ Ἀλκέτεω
In Greek genealogical expressions, a proper noun in the genitive case alone (here Ἀλκέτεω, 'of Alcestas') functions as an ellipsis for 'son of' (παῖς) or 'father of' (πατήρ). In this context, following the previous sentence 'Alexander was the son of Amyntas,' the lineage traces backward, meaning 'and Amyntas was the son of Alcestas.' Immediately after this, the subject explicitly shifts to 'father' in 'and the father of Alcestas was Aeropus.'
- 8.139.1τοῦ δὲ Φίλιππος
The genitive demonstrative pronoun τοῦ ('of him / his') refers to Aeropus from the previous clause, paired with the nominative Φίλιππος. It is understood by supplying 'and his [father was] Philippus.' Since the structure shifted to 'the father of X was Y' in the preceding clause, this relationship is maintained here, where the nominative noun represents the father.