- 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-grc2:8.97.1-8.97.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Xerxes plans his retreat out of fear of being cut off in Europe, but disguises his intentions by constructing a mole to Salamis to appear as if he is preparing for another battle. Mardonius, however, is not deceived.
Ξέρξης δὲ ὡς ἔμαθε τὸ γεγονὸς πάθος, δείσας μή1 τις τῶν Ἰώνων ὑποθῆται τοῖσι Ἕλλησι ἢ αὐτοὶ νοήσωσι πλέειν ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον λύσοντες τὰς γεφύρας, καὶ ἀπολαμφθεὶς ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ κινδυνεύσῃ ἀπολέσθαι, δρησμὸν ἐβούλευε. θέλων δὲ μὴ ἐπίδηλος εἶναι μήτε τοῖσι Ἕλλησι μήτε τοῖσι ἑωυτοῦ, ἐς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα χῶμα ἐπειρᾶτο διαχοῦν, γαύλους τε Φοινικηίους συνέδεε, ἵνα ἀντί τε σχεδίης ἔωσι καὶ τείχεος, ἀρτέετό τε ἐς πόλεμον ὡς ναυμαχίην ἄλλην ποιησόμενος.
When Xerxes learned of the disaster that had occurred, fearing lest some of the Ionians should suggest to the Greeks, or the Greeks themselves should think of sailing to the Hellespont to destroy the bridges, and that he, being cut off in Europe, should be in danger of perishing, he began to plan his flight. But wishing not to make his intention obvious either to the Greeks or to his own men, he attempted to construct a mole leading to Salamis, and lashed together Phoenician merchant ships so that they might serve both as a bridge and as a wall, and made preparations for war as if he were going to fight another sea-battle.
ὁρῶντες δέ μιν πάντες οἱ ἄλλοι ταῦτα πρήσσοντα εὖ ἠπιστέατο ὡς ἐκ παντὸς νόου παρεσκεύασται μένων πολεμήσειν· Μαρδόνιον δʼ οὐδὲν τούτων ἐλάνθανε ὡς μάλιστα ἔμπειρον ἐόντα2 τῆς ἐκείνου διανοίης.
All the others, seeing him doing these things, were well convinced that he had prepared himself in all earnestness to remain and fight; but none of these things escaped Mardonius, as he was of all men the most experienced in the king’s way of thinking.
- 8.97.1δείσας μή
Under the participle of fear δείσας, the conjunction μή introduces three coordinated subjunctives: ὑποθῆται, νοήσωσι, and κινδυνεύσῃ. The intensive pronoun αὐτοὶ refers back to the Greeks (τοῖσι Ἕλλησι) rather than the Ionians. The future participle λύσοντες indicates purpose.
- 8.97.2ὡς μάλιστα ἔμπειρον ἐόντα
The conjunction ὡς, expressing a subjective reason, is constructed with the accusative participle ἐόντα, which agrees in gender, number, and case with the direct object of the main clause, Μαρδόνιον.