- 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-grc2:9.18.1-9.18.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The surrounded Phocians bravely draw themselves together to resist, causing the cavalry to retreat; Mardonius then praises their courage and promises them rich rewards.
ὃ μὲν ταῦτα παραίνεε· οἱ δὲ ἱππέες ἐπεί σφεας ἐκυκλώσαντο, ἐπήλαυνον ὡς ἀπολέοντες,1 καὶ δὴ διετείνοντο τὰ βέλεα ὡς ἀπήσοντες, καὶ κού τις καὶ ἀπῆκε. καὶ οἳ ἀντίοι ἔστησαν πάντῃ συστρέψαντες ἑωυτοὺς καὶ πυκνώσαντες ὡς μάλιστα. ἐνθαῦτα οἱ ἱππόται ὑπέστρεφον καὶ ἀπήλαυνον ὀπίσω.
He encouraged them thus; and the horsemen, when they had surrounded them, charged as if to destroy them, and indeed they were aiming their missiles as if about to discharge them, and indeed someone even discharged one. But they stood facing them, drawing themselves together on all sides and packing themselves as closely as possible. Thereupon the horsemen turned back and rode away.
οὐκ ἔχω δʼ ἀτρεκέως εἰπεῖν οὔτε εἰ2 ἦλθον μὲν ἀπολέοντες τοὺς Φωκέας δεηθέντων Θεσσαλῶν, ἐπεὶ δὲ ὥρων πρὸς ἀλέξησιν τραπομένους, δείσαντες μὴ καὶ σφίσι γένηται3 τρώματα, οὕτω δὴ ἀπήλαυνον ὀπίσω· ὣς γάρ σφι ἐνετείλατο Μαρδόνιος· οὔτʼ εἰ αὐτῶν πειρηθῆναι ἠθέλησε εἴ τι ἀλκῆς μετέχουσι.
But I cannot say with certainty, whether they came indeed to destroy the Phocians at the request of the Thessalians, but when they saw them turning to defense, fearing lest they themselves also should suffer casualties, they thus rode back (for so Mardonius had commanded them); or whether he wished to make trial of them, to see if they possessed any courage.
ὡς δὲ ὀπίσω ἀπήλασαν οἱ ἱππόται, πέμψας Μαρδόνιος κήρυκα ἔλεγε τάδε. θαρσέετε ὦ Φωκέες· ἄνδρες γὰρ ἐφάνητε ἐόντες ἀγαθοί, οὐκ ὡς ἐγὼ ἐπυνθανόμην. καὶ νῦν προθύμως φέρετε τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον· εὐεργεσίῃσι γὰρ οὐ νικήσετε4 οὔτʼ ὦν ἐμὲ οὔτε βασιλέα. τὰ περὶ Φωκέων μὲν ἐς τοσοῦτο ἐγένετο.
And when the horsemen had ridden back, Mardonius sent a herald and said these words: “Be of good courage, O Phocians; for you have shown yourselves to be brave men, not as I was informed. And now carry on this war zealously; for in benefits you will not surpass either me or the king.” Thus far went the affair of the Phocians.
- 9.18.1ὡς ἀπολέοντες
The conjunction ὡς combined with the future active participles (ἀπολέοντες, ἀπήσοντες) expresses the intention, purpose, or apparent purpose of the subjects ("as if to destroy", "as if about to discharge").
- 9.18.2οὔτε εἰ ... οὔτʼ εἰ
A correlative construction introducing indirect question clauses that serve as the object of the infinitive εἰπεῖν. οὔτε εἰ ... οὔτʼ εἰ ... expresses an alternative indirect question: "neither whether ... nor whether ..." (i.e., "I cannot say for sure whether ... or whether ...").
- 9.18.2δείσαντες μὴ ... γένηται
A construction of fear where the participle δείσαντες introduces a clause of apprehension with μή followed by the aorist subjunctive γένηται, meaning "fearing lest ..." or "lest some casualties should happen to them."
- 9.18.3εὐεργεσίῃσι γὰρ οὐ νικήσετε
The dative εὐεργεσίῃσι (Ionic plural dative) indicates the respect or field of comparison, and the direct objects of νικήσετε (future of νικάω) are the accusatives ἐμέ and βασιλέα. It means "for in benefits (doing favors) you will not surpass (defeat) either me or the king."