- 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-grc2:8.84.1-8.84.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The account describes how the Battle of Salamis began with the Athenian Aminias ramming an enemy ship, leading to general engagement, along with the Aeginetan variant and the legend of a female phantom urging the retreating Greeks to fight.
ἐνθαῦτα ἀνῆγον τὰς νέας ἁπάσας Ἕλληνες, ἀναγομένοισι δέ σφι1 αὐτίκα ἐπεκέατο2 οἱ βάρβαροι. οἱ μὲν δὴ ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες ἐπὶ πρύμνην ἀνεκρούοντο καὶ ὤκελλον τὰς νέας, Ἀμεινίης δὲ Παλληνεὺς ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναῖος ἐξαναχθεὶς νηὶ ἐμβάλλει· συμπλακείσης δὲ τῆς νεὸς καὶ οὐ δυναμένων ἀπαλλαγῆναι,3 οὕτω δὴ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἀμεινίῃ βοηθέοντες συνέμισγον.
Thereupon the Greeks launched all their ships, and as they were launching them, the barbarians immediately fell upon them. Now the other Greeks began to back water and were backing their ships toward the shore, but Aminias of Pallene, an Athenian, pushed forward and rammed a ship. When his ship became entangled and they could not get free, then the others, coming to the aid of Aminias, joined in the battle.
Ἀθηναῖοι μὲν οὕτω λέγουσι τῆς ναυμαχίης γενέσθαι τὴν ἀρχήν, Αἰγινῆται δὲ τὴν κατὰ τοὺς Αἰακίδας ἀποδημήσασαν ἐς Αἴγιναν, ταύτην εἶναι τὴν ἄρξασαν. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τάδε, ὡς φάσμα σφι γυναικὸς ἐφάνη, φανεῖσαν4 δὲ διακελεύσασθαι ὥστε καὶ ἅπαν ἀκοῦσαι τὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων στρατόπεδον, ὀνειδίσασαν πρότερον τάδε, ὦ δαιμόνιοι, μέχρι κόσου ἔτι πρύμνην ἀνακρούεσθε;
The Athenians indeed say that the beginning of the sea battle came about in this way, but the Aeginetans say that the ship which had gone away to Aegina for the Aeacidae was the one that began it. And this is also said, that a phantom of a woman appeared to them, and having appeared, she cried out so as to be heard by the whole camp of the Greeks, having first reproached them with these words: “You strange men, how much longer are you going to back water?”
- 8.84.1ἀναγομένοισι δέ σφι
A dative participle of time/circumstance, or a dative of reference (dativus sympatheticus) with the following verb ἐπεκέατο (fell upon). It indicates the temporal background: 'just as they were putting out to sea'.
- 8.84.1ἐπεκέατο
Ionic dialectal form for the third-person plural imperfect indicative, equivalent to ἐπέκειντο in Attic/Koine Greek.
- 8.84.1συμπλακείσης δὲ τῆς νεὸς καὶ οὐ δυναμένων ἀπαλλαγῆναι
An instance of anacoluthon or grammatical discordance in the genitive absolute construction. While the first participle συμπλακείσης agrees with the singular noun τῆς νεὸς (Aminias' ship), the second participle οὐ δυναμένων is plural, shifting ad sensum to a plural subject such as the crew members or both entangled ships.
- 8.84.2φανεῖσαν
An accusative participle referring to the phantom. Although it follows the indicative ὡς clause (ὡς φάσμα σφι γυναικὸς ἐφάνη), its case is attracted to the subject of the subsequent infinitive διακελεύσασθαι, functioning as an accusative-with-infinitive construction dependent on the introductory λέγεται.