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Herodotus · Histories §1.16.1-1.16.2

Accession of Alyattes and His Campaigns

Passage 16 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

On the reigns of Sadyattes and Alyattes, who succeeded Ardys, and Alyattes' military campaigns against the Medes, Cimmerians, Smyrna, and Clazomenae.

§1.16.1Ἄρδυος δὲ βασιλεύσαντος ἑνὸς δέοντα πεντήκοντα ἔτεα ἐξεδέξατο Σαδυάττης ὁ Ἄρδυος, καὶ ἐβασίλευσε ἔτεα δυώδεκα, Σαδυάττεω δὲ Ἀλυάττης.
After Ardys had reigned for forty-nine years, Sadyattes, the son of Ardys, succeeded him and reigned for twelve years; and after Sadyattes, Alyattes succeeded.
§1.16.2οὗτος δὲ Κυαξάρῃ τε τῷ Δηιόκεω ἀπογόνῳ ἐπολέμησε καὶ Μήδοισι, Κιμμερίους τε ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίης ἐξήλασε, Σμύρνην τε τὴν ἀπὸ Κολοφῶνος κτισθεῖσαν εἷλε, ἐς Κλαζομενάς τε ἐσέβαλε.
This Alyattes made war against Cyaxares, the descendant of Deioces, and against the Medes, and drove the Cimmerians out of Asia, and captured Smyrna, which had been founded from Colophon, and invaded Clazomenae.
ἀπὸ μέν νυν τούτων οὐκ ὡς ἤθελε ἀπήλλαξε, ἀλλὰ προσπταίσας μεγάλως· ἄλλα δὲ ἔργα ἀπεδέξατο ἐὼν ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ ἀξιαπηγητότατα τάδε.
Now from these enterprises he did not come off as he wished, but rather met with a great disaster; however, while he was in power, he performed other deeds most worthy of relation, which are as follows.

Notes

  1. 1.16.1ἑνὸς δέοντα πεντήκοντα — A customary Greek subtractive expression for 'forty-nine,' literally 'fifty wanting one,' using the neuter plural present participle δέοντα (from δέω, 'to lack').
  2. 1.16.1Σαδυάττεω δὲ Ἀλυάττης — The verb ἐξεδέξατο (succeeded) from the preceding clause is omitted. The proper name Σαδυάττεω is the Ionic genitive singular form (corresponding to Attic -ου), functioning as an ablative genitive meaning 'from Sadyattes.'
  3. 1.16.2οὐκ ὡς ἤθελε ἀπήλλαξε — The active aorist verb ἀπήλλαξε is used here intransitively (with the reflexive pronoun ἑαυτόν omitted) meaning 'to come off, escape (from a conflict),' construed with the preceding prepositional phrase ἀπὸ τούτων (from these enterprises).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.16.1-1.16.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.16.1-1.16.2

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