- 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-grc2:8.49.1-8.49.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The generals assembled at Salamis debate the best location for the naval battle under Eurybiades' proposal, with the majority advocating for the Isthmus to secure a line of retreat in case of defeat.
ὡς δὲ ἐς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα συνῆλθον οἱ στρατηγοὶ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰρημενέων πολίων, ἐβουλεύοντο, προθέντος Εὐρυβιάδεω γνώμην ἀποφαίνεσθαι τὸν βουλόμενον, ὅκου δοκέοι1 ἐπιτηδεότατον εἶναι ναυμαχίην ποιέεσθαι τῶν αὐτοὶ χωρέων ἐγκρατέες εἰσί·2 ἡ γὰρ Ἀττικὴ ἀπεῖτο ἤδη, τῶν δὲ λοιπέων πέρι προετίθεε.
When the generals from the aforementioned cities had assembled at Salamis, they held a council. Eurybiades proposed that anyone who wished should express his opinion as to where, among the regions they themselves still controlled, it seemed most suitable to fight a naval battle; for Attica had already been abandoned, and it was concerning the remaining areas that he put forward the proposal.
αἱ γνῶμαι δὲ τῶν λεγόντων αἱ πλεῖσται συνεξέπιπτον πρὸς τὸν Ἰσθμὸν πλώσαντας3 ναυμαχέειν πρὸ τῆς Πελοποννήσου, ἐπιλέγοντες τὸν λόγον τόνδε, ὡς εἰ νικηθέωσι τῇ ναυμαχίῃ, ἐν Σαλαμῖνι μὲν ἐόντες πολιορκήσονται ἐν νήσῳ, ἵνα σφι τιμωρίη οὐδεμία ἐπιφανήσεται,4 πρὸς δὲ τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἐς τοὺς ἑωυτῶν ἐξοίσονται.
The opinions of the speakers mostly coincided in favor of sailing to the Isthmus and fighting the naval battle in defense of the Peloponnese, adding this reasoning: that if they should be defeated in the naval battle, they would be besieged in an island while staying in Salamis, where no help would appear for them, whereas at the Isthmus they could withdraw to their own people.
- 8.49.1ὅκου δοκέοι
An optative in an indirect question (optativus obliquus), representing an indicative (δοκεῖ) in direct speech, due to the governing verb ἐβουλεύοντο being in a past tense (imperfect).
- 8.49.1τῶν αὐτοὶ χωρέων ἐγκρατέες εἰσί
A partitive genitive construction combined with a relative clause, equivalent to τῶν χωρέων [ὧν] αὐτοὶ ἐγκρατέες εἰσί, where the relative pronoun is omitted or assimilated, meaning 'of those regions which they themselves control.'
- 8.49.2πλώσαντας
Accusative plural participle acting as the subject of the infinitive ναυμαχέειν. Instead of the nominative (πλώσαντες) agreeing with the main subject (the generals), the accusative is used to fit the infinitive construction.
- 8.49.2ἵνα σφι τιμωρίη οὐδεμία ἐπιφανήσεται
Here ἵνα is not a conjunction introducing a purpose clause ('in order that'), but a relative adverb meaning 'where' (referring to the island). Consequently, it is followed by the future indicative ἐπιφανήσεται to express a future fact or expectation.