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Herodotus · Histories §1.160.1-1.160.5

Surrender of Pactyes by the Chians to the Persians

Passage 160 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Cymaeans, unwilling to surrender Pactyes or face siege, sent him to Mytilene and later to Chios, where the Chians eventually surrendered him to the Persians in exchange for the territory of Atarneus, bringing a curse upon Chios's crops.

§1.160.1ταῦτα ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα ἤκουσαν οἱ Κυμαῖοι, οὐ βουλόμενοι οὔτε ἐκδόντες ἀπολέσθαι οὔτε παρʼ ἑωυτοῖσι ἔχοντες πολιορκέεσθαι, ἐκπέμπουσι αὐτὸν ἐς Μυτιλήνην.
When the Cymaeans heard this reported back, as they wished neither to perish by delivering him up nor to be besieged by keeping him with them, they sent him away to Mytilene.
§1.160.2οἱ δὲ Μυτιληναῖοι ἐπιπέμποντος τοῦ Μαζάρεος ἀγγελίας ἐκδιδόναι τὸν Πακτύην παρεσκευάζοντο ἐπὶ μισθῷ ὅσῳ δή· οὐ γὰρ ἔχω τοῦτό γε εἰπεῖν ἀτρεκέως· οὐ γὰρ ἐτελεώθη.
But the Mytilenaeans, when Mazares kept sending messages demanding the surrender of Pactyes, were preparing to give him up for a certain price, whatever it was; for I cannot state this with certainty, since the bargain was never completed.
§1.160.3Κυμαῖοι γὰρ ὡς ἔμαθον ταῦτα πρησσόμενα ἐκ τῶν Μυτιληναίων, πέμψαντες πλοῖον ἐς Λέσβον ἐκκομίζουσι Πακτύην ἐς Χίον.
For the Cymaeans, when they learned that these negotiations were being carried on by the Mytilenaeans, sent a ship to Lesbos and brought Pactyes away to Chios.
ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ἐξ ἱροῦ Ἀθηναίης πολιούχου ἀποσπασθεὶς ὑπὸ Χίων ἐξεδόθη· ἐξέδοσαν δὲ οἱ Χῖοι ἐπὶ τῷ Ἀταρνέι μισθῷ·
From there he was dragged away by the Chians from the temple of Athena of the City and delivered up; and the Chians delivered him up in return for the land of Atarneus as their reward.
§1.160.4τοῦ δὲ Ἀταρνέος τούτου ἐστὶ χῶρος τῆς Μυσίης, Λέσβου ἀντίος.
Now this Atarneus is a district of Mysia, opposite Lesbos.
Πακτύην μέν νυν παραδεξάμενοι οἱ Πέρσαι εἶχον ἐν φυλακῇ, θέλοντες Κύρῳ ἀποδέξαι.
The Persians, having received Pactyes, kept him under guard, wishing to present him to Cyrus.
§1.160.5ἦν δὲ χρόνος οὗτος οὐκ ὀλίγος γινόμενος, ὅτε Χίων οὐδεὶς ἐκ τοῦ Ἀταρνέος τούτου οὔτε οὐλὰς κριθέων πρόχυσιν ἐποιέετο θεῶν οὐδενὶ οὔτε πέμματα ἐπέσσετο καρποῦ τοῦ ἐνθεῦτεν, ἀπείχετο τε τῶν πάντων ἱρῶν τὰ πάντα ἐκ τῆς χώρης ταύτης γινόμενα.
And a long time passed during which no Chian would use barley-meal from this Atarneus for scattering before any god, nor bake sacrificial cakes from the grain grown there; indeed, everything produced from this land was excluded from all sacred rites.

Notes

  1. 1.160.1ὡς ἀπενειχθέντα — An accusative participle construction with the conjunction ὡς, functioning as the complement of the verb ἤκουσαν. It conveys the content of the report brought back (ἀπενειχθέντα, aorist passive participle of ἀποφέρω) to the main subject (οἱ Κυμαῖοι) with a sense of reported information.
  2. 1.160.2ἐπιπέμποντος τοῦ Μαζάρεος — A genitive absolute construction. The use of the present participle ἐπιπέμποντος emphasizes the continuous or repeated action of Mazares sending messages.
  3. 1.160.5ἦν δὲ χρόνος οὗτος οὐκ ὀλίγος γινόμενος, ὅτε... — Literally 'this time became not a little, when...', expressing a considerable duration during which a specific state of pollution persisted. The relative adverb ὅτε introduces the clauses describing the Chians' avoidance of Atarneus's produce during this period.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.160.1-1.160.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.160.1-1.160.5

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