- 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-grc2:9.60.1-9.60.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
As the barbarian divisions follow the Persians in pursuit, Pausanias sends a messenger to the Athenians, telling them that they have been betrayed by their fleeing allies, and requests mutual defense, or at least the dispatch of their archers.
καὶ οὗτοι μὲν βοῇ τε καὶ ὁμίλῳ ἐπήισαν ὡς ἀναρπασόμενοι τοὺς Ἕλληνας· Παυσανίης δέ, ὡς προσέκειτο ἡ ἵππος, πέμψας πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἱππέα λέγει τάδε. ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀγῶνος μεγίστου προκειμένου ἐλευθέρην εἶναι ἢ δεδουλωμένην τὴν Ἑλλάδα,1 προδεδόμεθα ὑπὸ τῶν συμμάχων ἡμεῖς τε οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ὑπὸ τὴν παροιχομένην νύκτα διαδράντων.2
And these advanced with shouting and in a confused crowd, as though they would sweep the Greeks away. But Pausanias, as the cavalry pressed hard upon him, sent a horseman to the Athenians with this message: “Men of Athens, when the greatest struggle lies before us, whether Greece is to be free or enslaved, we Lacedaemonians and you Athenians have been betrayed by our allies, who fled during the past night.
νῦν ὦν δέδοκται τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν τὸ ποιητέον ἡμῖν· ἀμυνομένους γὰρ τῇ δυνάμεθα ἄριστα περιστέλλειν ἀλλήλους.3 εἰ μέν νυν ἐς ὑμέας ὅρμησε ἀρχὴν ἡ ἵππος, χρῆν δὴ ἡμέας τε καὶ τοὺς μετʼ ἡμέων τὴν Ἑλλάδα οὐ προδιδόντας Τεγεήτας βοηθέειν ὑμῖν· νῦν δέ, ἐς ἡμέας γὰρ ἅπασα κεχώρηκε, δίκαιοι ἐστὲ ὑμεῖς πρὸς τὴν πιεζομένην μάλιστα τῶν μοιρέων ἀμυνέοντες ἰέναι.4
Now, therefore, it has been decided what we must do from this point onward; namely, to defend ourselves as best we can and protect one another. If, then, the cavalry had charged against you at the very beginning, it would have been the duty of us and of the Tegeans, who with us do not betray Greece, to come to your aid. But now, since they have directed their whole force against us, it is only right that you should come to defend the division that is most hard pressed.
εἰ δʼ ἄρα αὐτοὺς ὑμέας καταλελάβηκε ἀδύνατόν τι βοηθέειν, ὑμεῖς δʼ ἡμῖν τοὺς τοξότας ἀποπέμψαντες χάριν θέσθε. συνοίδαμεν δὲ ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τὸν παρεόντα τόνδε πόλεμον ἐοῦσι5 πολλὸν προθυμοτάτοισι, ὥστε καὶ ταῦτα ἐσακούειν.
But if, as it may be, some impossibility has overtaken you yourselves so that you cannot help us, yet do us a favor by sending your archers to us. We know that in this present war you have been by far the most zealous, so that you will also listen to this request.”
- 9.60.1ἀγῶνος μεγίστου προκειμένου ἐλευθέρην εἶναι ἢ δεδουλωμένην τὴν Ἑλλάδα
ἀγῶνος μεγίστου προκειμένου is a genitive absolute. The following infinitive clause, ἐλευθέρην εἶναι ἢ δεδουλωμένην τὴν Ἑλλάδα ('whether Greece is to be free or enslaved'), functions in apposition to explain the specific content of the struggle (ἀγῶνος).
- 9.60.1διαδράντων
An aorist genitive participle (masculine plural) modifying the preceding noun phrase τῶν συμμάχων ('of the allies'). Although the insertion of the prepositional phrase ὑπὸ τὴν παροιχομένην νύκτα ('during the past night') separates them, it should be translated as 'by the allies, who fled during the past night'.
- 9.60.2ἀμυνομένους γὰρ τῇ δυνάμεθα ἄριστα περιστέλλειν ἀλλήλους
Part of an accusative-and-infinitive construction depending on the preceding δέδοκται ('it has been decided'). The subject accusative (an implied ἡμᾶς) is omitted, with which the participle ἀμυνομένους agrees in the accusative. τῇ is the Ionic form of the relative pronoun ᾗ, used adverbially to mean 'in the way which'.
- 9.60.2δίκαιοί ἐστε ὑμεῖς... ἰέναι
A personal construction of δίκαιός εἰμι ('to be right or bound to do something') followed by the infinitive (ἰέναι). This is equivalent to the impersonal δίκαιόν ἐστιν ὑμᾶς... ἰέναι ('it is right for you to go'), but with the subject (ὑμεῖς) raised to be the subject of δίκαιοι.
- 9.60.3συνοίδαμεν δὲ ὑμῖν... ἐοῦσι
A supplementary participle with συνοῖδα ('to be conscious/know'). While a nominative participle is used for self-knowledge, when referencing the quality of another (here ὑμῖν), the participle (ἐοῦσι) agrees with the dative pronoun.