- 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-grc2:9.122.1-9.122.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Artembares proposes to Cyrus that the Persians migrate to a better land, but Cyrus warns that soft lands breed soft men, prompting the Persians to choose to remain in their rugged country and rule.
τούτου δὲ Ἀρταΰκτεω τοῦ ἀνακρεμασθέντος προπάτωρ Ἀρτεμβάρης ἐστὶ ὁ Πέρσῃσι ἐξηγησάμενος λόγον1 τὸν ἐκεῖνοι ὑπολαβόντες Κύρῳ προσήνεικαν λέγοντα τάδε.
The great-grandfather of this Artayctes who was hung up was Artembares, who was the expounder to the Persians of a proposal which they took up and brought before Cyrus, speaking as follows:
ἐπεὶ Ζεὺς Πέρσῃσι ἡγεμονίην διδοῖ,2 ἀνδρῶν δὲ σοὶ Κῦρε, κατελὼν Ἀστυάγην, φέρε, γῆν γὰρ ἐκτήμεθα ὀλίγην καὶ ταύτην τρηχέαν, μεταναστάντες ἐκ ταύτης ἄλλην σχῶμεν ἀμείνω. εἰσὶ δὲ πολλαὶ μὲν ἀστυγείτονες πολλαὶ δὲ καὶ ἑκαστέρω, τῶν μίαν σχόντες πλέοσι ἐσόμεθα θωμαστότεροι. οἰκὸς δὲ ἄνδρας ἄρχοντας τοιαῦτα ποιέειν· κότε γὰρ δὴ καὶ παρέξει κάλλιον3 ἢ ὅτε γε ἀνθρώπων τε πολλῶν ἄρχομεν πάσης τε τῆς Ἀσίης;
”Since Zeus grants hegemony to the Persians, and to you, Cyrus, among men, by your having deposed Astyages, come, for the land we possess is small and that too rugged, let us migrate from this and obtain another better one. There are many neighboring lands, and many also further away, of which if we take one, we shall be more admired by more people. And it is reasonable for men who rule to do such things; for when indeed will there be a fairer opportunity than now, when we rule over many men and over the whole of Asia?”
Κῦρος δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας καὶ οὐ θωμάσας τὸν λόγον ἐκέλευε ποιέειν ταῦτα, οὕτω δὲ αὐτοῖσι παραίνεε κελεύων παρασκευάζεσθαι ὡς οὐκέτι ἄρξοντας ἀλλʼ ἀρξομένους·4 φιλέειν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν μαλακῶν χώρων μαλακοὺς γίνεσθαι·5 οὐ γὰρ τι τῆς αὐτῆς γῆς εἶναι καρπόν τε θωμαστὸν φύειν καὶ ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς τὰ πολέμια.
But Cyrus, hearing this and not marveling at the proposal, bade them do so, but warned them, bidding them prepare themselves to be no longer rulers but the ruled; for he said that from soft lands soft men are wont to be born, since it is not the nature of the same land to bring forth both a wonderful fruit and men who are good in war.
ὥστε συγγνόντες Πέρσαι οἴχοντο ἀποστάντες,6 ἑσσωθέντες τῇ γνώμῃ πρὸς Κύρου, ἄρχειν τε εἵλοντο λυπρὴν οἰκέοντες μᾶλλον ἢ πεδιάδα σπείροντες ἄλλοισι δουλεύειν.
So the Persians, acknowledging this, departed and withdrew, having been defeated in their judgment by Cyrus, and chose rather to dwell in a rugged land and rule, than to sow a plain and be slaves to others.
- 9.122.1ὁ Πέρσῃσι ἐξηγησάμενος λόγον
The participle ἐξηγησάμενος (aorist of ἐξηγέομαι) here means "to expound, introduce, propose." The noun λόγον refers to the proposal or plan he suggested.
- 9.122.2διδοῖ
This is the 3rd person singular present indicative of δίδωμι in the Ionic dialect, corresponding to δίδωσι in Attic.
- 9.122.2κότε γὰρ δὴ καὶ παρέξει κάλλιον
The future verb παρέξει is used impersonally (implying a subject like "opportunity") meaning "will offer itself" or "will be favorable." κότε is the Ionic dialect form of πότε (when).
- 9.122.3ὡς οὐκέτι ἄρξοντας ἀλλʼ ἀρξομένους
The conjunction ὡς with future participles. The active future ἄρξοντας ("going to rule") contrasts with the passive-sense middle future ἀρξομένους ("going to be ruled"), indicating the expectation of their future status.
- 9.122.3φιλέειν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν μαλακῶν χώρων μαλακοὺς γίνεσθαι
The infinitive φιλέειν (as well as εἶναι in the next clause) is used in a dependent γάρ clause in indirect discourse representing Cyrus's speech. φιλέω + infinitive expresses a habitual action or general truth ("are wont to...").
- 9.122.4οἴχοντο ἀποστάντες
The verb οἴχομαι ("to go, depart") combined with a participle emphasizes the completion of the action and subsequent departure ("they withdrew and departed").