Herodotus · Histories §1.136.1-1.136.2

Valuing Many Sons and the Education of Persian Youths

Passage 136 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage explains how the Persians value having many children as a sign of manhood and national strength, with the king rewarding those with the most offspring, and details their education from age five to twenty along with the practice of keeping young children away from their fathers to prevent grief in case of early death.

§1.136.1ἀνδραγαθίη δὲ αὕτη ἀποδέδεκται, μετὰ τὸ μάχεσθαι εἶναι ἀγαθόν, ὃς ἂν πολλοὺς ἀποδέξῃ παῖδας· τῷ δὲ τοὺς πλείστους ἀποδεικνύντι δῶρα ἐκπέμπει βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος.

And this is recognized as manhood, next to being brave in battle, whoever can show many children; and to the one who shows the greatest number, the king sends gifts every year.

τὸ πολλὸν δʼ ἡγέαται ἰσχυρὸν εἶναι.

For they believe that numbers are strength.

§1.136.2παιδεύουσι δὲ τοὺς παῖδας ἀπὸ πενταέτεος ἀρξάμενοι μέχρι εἰκοσαέτεος τρία μοῦνα, ἰππεύειν καὶ τοξεύειν καὶ ἀληθίζεσθαι.

They educate their children, beginning from the age of five up to twenty, in only three things: to ride horses, to shoot the bow, and to speak the truth.

πρὶν δὲ ἢ πενταέτης γένηται, οὐκ ἀπικνέεται ἐς ὄψιν τῷ πατρί, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῇσι γυναιξὶ δίαιταν ἔχει.

Before a child is five years old, he does not come into his father's sight, but passes his life among the women.

τοῦδε δὲ εἵνεκα τοῦτο οὕτω ποιέεται, ἵνα ἢν ἀποθάνῃ τρεφόμενος, μηδεμίαν ἄσην τῷ πατρὶ προσβάλῃ.

This is done for the following reason, so that if the child should die while being brought up, he may cause no grief to his father.

Notes

1.136.1μετὰ τὸ μάχεσθαι εἶναι ἀγαθόν — A construction consisting of the preposition μετά with the accusative of the articular infinitive (τὸ εἶναι). The adjective ἀγαθόν is the predicate accusative after εἶναι, agreeing with the implied subject of the infinitive. It means 'next to being good at fighting'.
1.136.1ὃς ἂν πολλοὺς ἀποδέξῃ παῖδας — A conditional relative clause formed by the relative pronoun ὃς with ἄν and the subjunctive (ἀποδέξῃ), meaning 'whoever can show many children'. It functions appositionally to specify the demonstrative αὕτη ('this') in the main clause.
1.136.2ἀπὸ πενταέτεος ἀρξάμενοι — The aorist middle participle ἀρξάμενοι (from ἄρχομαι, 'to begin') construed with the prepositional phrase ἀπὸ πενταέτεος ('from five years old'), forming an idiomatic adverbial expression meaning 'beginning from the age of five'. It marks the starting point of the age range.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.136.1-1.136.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.136.1-1.136.2

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