- 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-grc2:9.62.1-9.62.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The Tegeans and Spartans advance, and a fierce close-quarters battle ensues with the Persians near the temple of Demeter. Although the Persians are brave, they are lightly armed and untrained, leading to their defeat by the Spartans.
ταῦτα δʼ ἔτι τούτου ἐπικαλεομένου1 προεξαναστάντες πρότεροι οἱ Τεγεῆται ἐχώρεον ἐς τοὺς βαρβάρους, καὶ τοῖσι Λακεδαιμονίοισι αὐτίκα μετὰ τὴν εὐχὴν τὴν Παυσανίεω ἐγίνετο θυομένοισι τὰ σφάγια χρηστά· ὡς δὲ χρόνῳ κοτὲ ἐγένετο, ἐχώρεον καὶ οὗτοι ἐπὶ τοὺς Πέρσας, καὶ οἱ Πέρσαι ἀντίοι τὰ τόξα μετέντες.
While he was still praying for these things, the Tegeans, starting up beforehand, moved forward first against the foreigners; and for the Lacedaemonians immediately after the prayer of Pausanias, as they were sacrificing, the omens became favorable. When at last this happened, they also moved against the Persians, and the Persians met them, laying aside their bows.
ἐγίνετο δὲ πρῶτον περὶ τὰ γέρρα μάχη. ὡς δὲ ταῦτα ἐπεπτώκεε, ἤδη ἐγίνετο ἡ μάχη ἰσχυρὴ παρʼ αὐτὸ τὸ Δημήτριον καὶ χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν, ἐς ὃ ἀπίκοντο ἐς ὠθισμόν· τὰ γὰρ δόρατα ἐπιλαμβανόμενοι κατέκλων οἱ βάρβαροι.
At first there was a battle about the wicker shields; but when these had fallen, the battle already became fierce by the very temple of Demeter and lasted for a long time, until they came to close quarters; for the foreigners, grasping the spears, broke them off.
λήματι μέν νυν καὶ ῥώμῃ οὐκ ἥσσονες ἦσαν οἱ Πέρσαι, ἄνοπλοι δὲ ἐόντες καὶ πρὸς2 ἀνεπιστήμονες ἦσαν καὶ οὐκ ὅμοιοι τοῖσι ἐναντίοισι σοφίην, προεξαΐσσοντες δὲ κατʼ ἕνα καὶ δέκα,3 καὶ πλεῦνές τε καὶ ἐλάσσονες συστρεφόμενοι, ἐσέπιπτον ἐς τοὺς Σπαρτιήτας καὶ διεφθείροντο.
Now in spirit and in strength the Persians were not inferior, but being unarmed and moreover untrained, they were not equal to their opponents in skill. Rushing forward by ones and tens, and gathering in larger or smaller groups, they fell upon the Spartans and were destroyed.
- 9.62.1τούτου ἐπικαλεομένου
Genitive absolute construction. It introduces a subject (τούτου, referring to Pausanias) different from that of the main clause ("the Tegeans").
- 9.62.3καὶ πρὸς
The preposition πρὸς is used adverbially here, meaning "besides" or "moreover."
- 9.62.3κατʼ ἕνα καὶ δέκα
The distributive preposition κατά with numerals. Meaning "by ones and tens," it describes how the Persians rushed forward in an uncoordinated manner, either individually or in small, disjointed groups.