Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §1.145.1

Origin of the Twelve Ionian Cities and the Achaean Divisions

Passage 145 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author explains that the Ionians founded twelve cities because they had twelve divisions when they lived in the Peloponnesus, listing the twelve parts of the Achaeans who currently occupy that land.

§1.145.1δυώδεκα δὲ μοι δοκέουσι πόλιας ποιήσασθαι οἱ Ἴωνες καὶ οὐκ ἐθελῆσαι πλεῦνας ἐσδέξασθαι τοῦδε εἵνεκα, ὅτι καὶ ὅτε ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ οἴκεον, δυώδεκα ἦν αὐτῶν μέρεα, κατά περ νῦν Ἀχαιῶν τῶν ἐξελασάντων Ἴωνας δυώδεκα ἐστὶ μέρεα, Πελλήνη μέν γε πρώτη πρὸς Σικυῶνος, μετὰ δὲ Αἴγειρα καὶ Αἰγαί, ἐν τῇ Κρᾶθις ποταμὸς ἀείναος ἐστί, ἀπʼ ὅτευ ὁ ἐν Ἰταλίῃ ποταμὸς τὸ οὔνομα ἔσχε, καὶ Βοῦρα καὶ Ἑλίκη, ἐς τὴν κατέφυγον Ἴωνες ὑπὸ Ἀχαιῶν μάχῃ ἑσσωθέντες, καὶ Αἴγίον καὶ Ῥύπες καὶ Πατρέες καὶ Φαρέες καὶ Ὤλενος, ἐν τῷ Πεῖρος ποταμὸς μέγας ἐστί, καὶ Δύμη καὶ Τριταιέες, οἳ μοῦνοι τούτων μεσόγαιοι οἰκέουσι.
And the Ionians seem to me to have made twelve cities and to have been unwilling to admit more for this reason, because also when they dwelt in the Peloponnesus, they had twelve parts, just as now there are twelve parts of the Achaeans who drove out the Ionians: Pellene first, on the side of Sicyon; and after it Aegeira and Aegae, in which is the ever-flowing river Crathis, from which the river in Italy got its name; and Bura and Helice, into which the Ionians fled when they were defeated in battle by the Achaeans; and Aegium and Rhypes and Patrae and Pharae and Olenus, in which is the great river Peirus; and Dyme and the Tritaeans, who alone of these dwell inland.
ταῦτα δυώδεκα μέρεα νῦν Ἀχαιῶν ἐστὶ καὶ τότε γε Ἰώνων ἦν.
These twelve parts are now of the Achaeans, and then at least they were of the Ionians.

Notes

  1. §1.145.1μοι δοκέουσι — The personal construction is used here with the subject οἱ Ἴωνες agreeing with the verb δοκέουσι, instead of the impersonal δοκεῖ with an accusative and infinitive construction.
  2. §1.145.1ἀπʼ ὅτευ — ὅτευ is the Ionic dialectal form of ὅτου, the genitive singular neuter of the relative pronoun ὅστις. Combined with the preposition ἀπό, it refers back to the river Crathis.
  3. §1.145.1ὑπὸ Ἀχαιῶν μάχῃ ἑσσωθέντες — ἑσσωθέντες is the aorist passive participle (masculine plural nominative) of ἑσσόομαι (Attic ἠσσάομαι, 'to be defeated'), agreeing with the subject Ἴωνες. It takes the prepositional phrase of agent ὑπὸ Ἀχαιῶν ('by the Achaeans').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.145.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.145.1

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