- 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-grc2:9.7A.1-9.7A.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
The Athenian envoys address the Spartan ephors, stating how Athens rejected the Persian king's peace offer (restoration of land and alliance) and asserting their unwavering loyalty to Greece.
ἔπεμψαν ἡμέας Ἀθηναῖοι λέγοντες ὅτι ἡμῖν βασιλεὺς ὁ Μήδων τοῦτο μὲν τὴν χώρην ἀποδιδοῖ,1 τοῦτο δὲ συμμάχους ἐθέλει ἐπʼ ἴσῃ τε καὶ ὁμοίῃ ποιήσασθαι ἄνευ τε δόλου καὶ ἀπάτης, ἐθέλει δὲ καὶ ἄλλην χώρην πρὸς τῇ ἡμετέρῃ διδόναι, τὴν ἂν αὐτοὶ ἑλώμεθα.
The Athenians sent us to say that the king of the Medes is willing, on the one hand, to give back our territory, and on the other hand, wants to make us his allies on fair and equal terms, without guile or deceit, and is also willing to give us, in addition to our own, any other territory that we ourselves may choose.
ἡμεῖς δὲ Δία τε Ἑλλήνιον αἰδεσθέντες καὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα δεινὸν ποιεύμενοι2 προδοῦναι οὐ καταινέσαμεν ἀλλʼ ἀπειπάμεθα, καίπερ ἀδικεόμενοι ὑπʼ Ἑλλήνων καὶ καταπροδιδόμενοι, ἐπιστάμενοί τε ὅτι κερδαλεώτερον ἐστὶ ὁμολογέειν τῷ Πέρσῃ μᾶλλον ἤ περ πολεμέειν· οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ ὁμολογήσομεν ἑκόντες εἶναι.3 καὶ τὸ μὲν ἀπʼ ἡμέων4 οὕτω ἀκίβδηλον νέμεται ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας·
But we, out of reverence for Zeus of the Greeks and thinking it a shameful thing to betray Greece, did not consent but refused, although we are being wronged and utterly betrayed by the Greeks, and although we well know that it is more profitable to come to terms with the Persian than to wage war. Nevertheless, we will not make any agreement, at least not of our own free will. Thus, on our part, our loyalty toward the Greeks is maintained without any deceit.
- 9.7A.1ἀποδιδοῖ
The Ionic form of the 3rd person singular present indicative active of the verb ἀποδίδωμι (to give back), conjugated irregularly like a contract verb in -όω.
- 9.7A.2δεινὸν ποιεύμενοι
The present participle middle (Ionic form) of δεινὸν ποιέομαι (to regard as terrible or intolerable), which takes the infinitive προδοῦναι (to betray) to mean 'regarding it as a terrible thing to betray'.
- 9.7A.2ἑκόντες εἶναι
An idiomatic expression of the absolute infinitive, meaning 'willingly' or 'of one's own free will'. It is typically used in negative clauses. The adjective ἑκών is here in the plural (ἑκόντες) to agree with the subject ἡμεῖς.
- 9.7A.2τὸ μὲν ἀπʼ ἡμέων
Neuter singular article with a prepositional phrase functioning as the subject, meaning 'that which comes from our side' or 'our loyalty', which goes with the verb νέμεται (is directed or maintained).