Alexander's Warning of Mardonius's Planned Dawn Attack — Herodotus, Histories Book 9 (9.45.1–9.45.3), Greek & English

§9.45.1

οἳ δὲ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα ἤκουσαν, αὐτίκα εἵποντο ἐς τὰς φυλακάς· ἀπικομένοισι δὲ ἔλεγε Ἀλέξανδρος τάδε. ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, παραθήκην ὑμῖν τὰ ἔπεα τάδε τίθεμαι, ἀπόρρητα ποιεύμενος πρὸς μηδένα λέγειν ὑμέας ἄλλον ἢ Παυσανίην, μή με καὶ διαφθείρητε· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔλεγον, εἰ μὴ μεγάλως ἐκηδόμην¹ συναπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος.

When they heard this, they immediately followed to the outposts; and when they arrived, Alexander spoke to them as follows: “Men of Athens, I place these words as a deposit with you, making them a secret and bidding you to tell no one else but Pausanias, lest you bring about my ruin. For I would not speak, if I did not care greatly for the whole of Greece.

§9.45.2

αὐτός τε γὰρ Ἕλλην γένος εἰμὶ τὠρχαῖον καὶ ἀντʼ ἐλευθέρης δεδουλωμένην οὐκ ἂν ἐθέλοιμι ὁρᾶν τὴν Ἑλλάδα. λέγω δὲ ὦν ὅτι Μαρδονίῳ τε καὶ τῇ στρατιῇ τὰ σφάγια οὐ δύναται καταθύμια γενέσθαι· πάλαι γὰρ ἂν ἐμάχεσθε.² νῦν δέ οἱ δέδοκται τὰ μὲν σφάγια ἐᾶν χαίρειν,³ ἅμʼ ἡμέρῃ δὲ διαφωσκούσῃ συμβολὴν ποιέεσθαι· καταρρώδηκε γὰρ μὴ πλεῦνες συλλεχθῆτε, ὡς ἐγὼ εἰκάζω. πρὸς ταῦτα ἑτοιμάζεσθε. ἢν δὲ ἄρα ὑπερβάληται τὴν συμβολὴν Μαρδόνιος καὶ μὴ ποιέηται, λιπαρέετε μένοντες· ὀλιγέων γάρ σφι ἡμερέων λείπεται σιτία.

For I myself am of Greek descent from of old, and I should not wish to see Greece enslaved instead of free. I tell you, then, that the sacrifices cannot become favorable to Mardonius and his army; for otherwise you would have been fighting long ago. But now, he has resolved to disregard the sacrifices and to make an attack at early dawn; for he fears, as I guess, lest more of you should assemble. Prepare yourselves, therefore, for this. But if Mardonius should delay the battle and not fight, remain and hold out; for but few days’ provisions are left for them.

§9.45.3

ἢν δὲ ὑμῖν ὁ πόλεμος ὅδε κατὰ νόον τελευτήσῃ, μνησθῆναι τινὰ χρὴ καὶ ἐμεῦ ἐλευθερώσιος πέρι, ὃς Ἑλλήνων εἵνεκα⁴ οὕτω ἔργον παράβολον ἔργασμαι ὑπὸ προθυμίης, ἐθέλων ὑμῖν δηλῶσαι τὴν διάνοιαν τὴν Μαρδονίου, ἵνα μὴ ἐπιπέσωσι ὑμῖν ἐξαίφνης οἱ βάρβαροι μὴ προσδεκομένοισί κω. εἰμὶ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδών. ὃ μὲν ταῦτα εἴπας ἀπήλαυνε ὀπίσω ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ τὴν ἑωυτοῦ τάξιν.

And if this war should end according to your mind, someone must remember me also with regard to my liberation, who for the sake of the Greeks have performed so hazardous a deed out of zeal, wishing to reveal to you the mind of Mardonius, so that the barbarians may not fall upon you suddenly when you are not yet expecting them. And I am Alexander the Macedonian.” Having said this, he rode back to the camp and to his own post.

Syntax notes4 items

9.45.1οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔλεγον, εἰ μὴ μεγάλως ἐκηδόμην
A contrary-to-fact condition using the imperfect indicative in both the protasis (εἰ μὴ... ἐκηδόμην) and the apodosis with ἂν (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔλεγον), expressing the speaker's ongoing concern for Greece and his current action of speaking as contrary to fact.
9.45.2πάλαι γὰρ ἂν ἐμάχεσθε
The verb ἐμάχεσθε is the second-person plural, with the Greeks/Athenians as the subject. It serves as the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact condition, meaning 'you would have been fighting long ago' (if the sacrifices had been favorable to Mardonius).
9.45.2ἐᾶν χαίρειν
The infinitive of the idiom χαίρειν ἐῶ (literally 'to allow to bid farewell', meaning 'to disregard' or 'ignore'). Here it describes Mardonius's decision to ignore the unfavorable omens of the sacrifices.
9.45.3ὃς Ἑλλήνων εἵνεκα
The relative pronoun ὃς (nominative singular masculine) has as its antecedent the genitive personal pronoun ἐμεῦ ('of me') in the preceding clause. The verb in the relative clause (ἔργασμαι) is in the first-person singular, matching the person of the antecedent.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.45.1-9.45.3