- 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-grc2:9.117.1
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
As the siege of Sestos dragged on into autumn, the Athenian soldiers wished to retreat, but the generals refused until Sestos was taken or they were recalled by the state, forcing the soldiers to endure the situation.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πολιορκεομένοισί σφι1 φθινόπωρον ἐπεγίνετο, καὶ ἤσχαλλον οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀπό τε τῆς ἑωυτῶν ἀποδημέοντες καὶ οὐ δυνάμενοι ἐξελεῖν τὸ τεῖχος, ἐδέοντό τε τῶν στρατηγῶν ὅκως ἀπάγοιεν σφέας ὀπίσω, οἳ δὲ οὐκ ἔφασαν πρὶν ἢ ἐξέλωσι2 ἢ τὸ Ἀθηναίων κοινόν σφεας μεταπέμψηται· οὕτω δὴ ἔστεργον τὰ παρεόντα.
And when autumn came upon them as they continued the siege, the Athenians were vexed both because they were away from their own land and because they were unable to take the wall, and they begged the generals to lead them back; but the generals refused to do so until they should either take Sestos or the commonwealth of the Athenians should recall them. Thus indeed they acquiesced in the present state of affairs.
- 9.117.1πολιορκεομένοισί σφι
The dative pronoun σφι refers to the Athenians. Although the verb πολιορκέω in the active means "to besiege," the middle-passive participle πολιορκεομένοισι is used here either in a middle sense ("while they engaged in the siege") or as a passive indicating "while Sestos was being besieged (for them, the Athenians)." The translation adopts the former interpretation.
- 9.117.1οἳ δὲ οὐκ ἔφασαν πρὶν ἢ ἐξέλωσι
The phrase οἳ δὲ ("but they") refers back to the generals (τῶν στρατηγῶν). The verb οὔ φημι ("to say no, refuse") expresses their refusal of the soldiers' request to retreat. The conjunction πρὶν ἢ ("until") is followed by the subjunctive verbs (ἐξέλωσι and μεταπέμψηται), depending on the negative main clause (οὐκ ἔφασαν) to mean "not until they should either take Sestos or..."