Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §1.121.1

Astyages Sends Cyrus Home to Persia

Passage 121 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Pleased with the advice of the Magi, Astyages summons Cyrus and decides to send him back safely to his real parents in Persia.

§1.121.1ἀκούσας ταῦτα ὁ Ἀστυάγης ἐχάρη τε καὶ καλέσας τὸν Κῦρον ἔλεγέ οἱ τάδε. ὦ παῖ, σὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ διʼ ὄψιν ὀνείρου οὐ τελέην ἠδίκεον, τῇ σεωυτοῦ δὲ μοίρῃ περίεις·
Having heard this, Astyages was pleased, and having called Cyrus, he said to him these words: "My child, for I did you wrong because of a dream vision that was not fulfilled, but by your own fate you survive.
νῦν ὦν ἴθι χαίρων ἐς Πέρσας, πομποὺς δὲ ἐγὼ ἅμα πέμψω.
Go now, therefore, with a glad heart to Persia, and I will send escorts along with you.
ἐλθὼν δὲ ἐκεῖ πατέρα τε καὶ μητέρα εὑρήσεις οὐ κατὰ Μιτραδάτην τε τὸν βουκόλον καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ.
And when you arrive there, you will find a father and a mother who are not of the class of Mitradates the herdsman and his wife."

Notes

  1. §1.121.1οὐ τελέην — Meaning "not fulfilled" or "incomplete." The adjective τέλειος (Ionic form τελέη) here indicates that the dream did not reach its full, original prophetic realization (or was fulfilled only in an incomplete/trivial manner, as the Magi suggested).
  2. §1.121.1ἴθι χαίρων — A combination of the imperative ἴθι (from εἶμι) and the participle χαίρων (from χαίρω). It is an idiomatic formula of farewell, meaning "go in peace" or "go with a glad heart."
  3. §1.121.1οὐ κατὰ — The preposition κατά with the accusative denotes standard or comparison; when negated by οὐ, it indicates that the object is "not of the same standard as" or "far superior to" the herdsman and his wife.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.121.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.121.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.