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Herodotus · Histories §1.171.1-1.171.6

Harpagus' Expedition and the Origin of the Carians

Passage 171 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Harpagus, after subjugating Ionia, launches an expedition against the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians. Two conflicting accounts of the Carians' origins are presented: the Cretan version of their displacement from the islands and the Carians' own claim of being autochthonous.

§1.171.1Ἅρπαγος δὲ καταστρεψάμενος Ἰωνίην ἐποιέετο στρατηίην ἐπὶ Κᾶρας καὶ Καυνίους καὶ Λυκίους, ἅμα ἀγόμενος καὶ Ἴωνας καὶ Αἰολέας.
Harpagus, having subjugated Ionia, made an expedition against the Carians, Caunians, and Lycians, taking along with him both the Ionians and Aeolians.
§1.171.2εἰσὶ δὲ τούτων Κᾶρες μὲν ἀπιγμένοι ἐς τὴν ἤπειρον ἐκ τῶν νήσων.
Of these, the Carians are those who came to the mainland from the islands.
τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν ἐόντες Μίνω κατήκοοι καὶ καλεόμενοι Λέλεγες εἶχον τὰς νήσους, φόρον μὲν οὐδένα ὑποτελέοντες, ὅσον καὶ ἐγὼ δυνατός εἰμι ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἐξικέσθαι ἀκοῇ· οἳ δέ, ὅκως Μίνως δέοιτο, ἐπλήρουν οἱ τὰς νέας.
For in ancient times, being subjects of Minos and called Leleges, they held the islands, paying no tribute, as far as I am able to trace back by hearsay; but whenever Minos had need, they manned his ships for him.
§1.171.3ἅτε δὴ Μίνω τε κατεστραμμένου γῆν πολλὴν καὶ εὐτυχέοντος τῷ πολέμῳ, τὸ Καρικὸν ἦν ἔθνος λογιμώτατον τῶν ἐθνέων ἁπάντων κατὰ τοῦτον ἅμα τὸν χρόνον μακρῷ μάλιστα.
Since Minos had subjugated much land and was successful in war, the Carian nation was by far the most famous of all nations at this same time.
§1.171.4καί σφι τριξὰ ἐξευρήματα ἐγένετο, τοῖσι οἱ Ἕλληνες ἐχρήσαντο· καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ κράνεα λόφους ἐπιδέεσθαι Κᾶρες εἰσὶ οἱ καταδέξαντες καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀσπίδας τὰ σημήια ποιέεσθαι, καὶ ὄχανα ἀσπίσι οὗτοι εἰσὶ οἱ ποιησάμενοι πρῶτοι·
And they made three inventions which the Greeks adopted; for the Carians are those who introduced the wearing of crests on helmets, and the putting of devices on shields, and they were the first to make handles for shields.
τέως δὲ ἄνευ ὀχάνων ἐφόρεον τὰς ἀσπίδας πάντες οἳ περ ἐώθεσαν ἀσπίσι χρᾶσθαι, τελαμῶσι σκυτίνοισι οἰηκίζοντες, περὶ τοῖσι αὐχέσι τε καὶ τοῖσι ἀριστεροῖσι ὤμοισι περικείμενοι.
Until then, all who were accustomed to use shields carried them without handles, guiding them by leather straps slung around their necks and left shoulders.
§1.171.5μετὰ δὲ τοὺς Κᾶρας χρόνῳ ὕστερον πολλῷ Δωριέες τε καὶ Ἴωνες ἐξανέστησαν ἐκ τῶν νήσων, καὶ οὕτω ἐς τὴν ἤπειρον ἀπίκοντο.
After the Carians, a long time later, the Dorians and Ionians drove them out from the islands, and thus they came to the mainland.
κατὰ μὲν δὴ Κᾶρας οὕτω Κρῆτες λέγουσι γενέσθαι· οὐ μέντοι αὐτοί γε ὁμολογέουσι τούτοισι οἱ Κᾶρες, ἀλλὰ νομίζουσι αὐτοὶ ἑωυτοὺς εἶναι αὐτόχθονας ἠπειρώτας, καὶ τῷ οὐνόματι τῷ αὐτῷ αἰεὶ διαχρεωμένους τῷ περ νῦν.
Concerning the Carians, the Cretes speak thus; however, the Carians themselves do not agree with them, but consider themselves to be autochthonous mainlanders, always using the same name that they do now.
§1.171.6ἀποδείκνῦσι δὲ ἐν Μυλάσοισι Διὸς Καρίου ἱρὸν ἀρχαῖον, τοῦ Μυσοῖσι μὲν καὶ Λυδοῖσι μέτεστι ὡς κασιγνήτοισι ἐοῦσι τοῖσι Καρσί· τὸν γὰρ Λυδὸν καὶ τὸν Μυσὸν λέγουσι εἶναι Καρὸς ἀδελφεούς.
And they point out in Mylasa an ancient temple of Carian Zeus, in which the Mysians and Lydians have a share as being brothers to the Carians; for they say that Lydus and Mysus were brothers of Car.
τούτοισι μὲν δὴ μέτεστι, ὅσοι δὲ ἐόντες ἄλλου ἔθνεος ὁμόγλωσσοι τοῖσι Καρσὶ ἐγένοντο, τούτοισι δὲ οὐ μέτα.
These indeed have a share, but those who, though being of another nation, came to speak the same language as the Carians, do not have a share.

Notes

  1. 1.171.2ὅσον καὶ ἐγὼ δυνατός εἰμι ἐπὶ μακρότατον ἐξικέσθαι ἀκοῇ — A restrictive expression introduced by the relative pronoun ὅσον. The infinitive ἐξικέσθαι means 'to reach (back)' and is accompanied by the prepositional phrase ἐπὶ μακρότατον ('to the furthest extent'). ἀκοῇ is a dative of means meaning 'by hearsay'.
  2. 1.171.5ἐξανέστησαν — The third-person plural aorist of the verb ἐξανίστημι. This form can represent both the active transitive 1st aorist ('drove out, displaced') and the active intransitive 2nd aorist ('departed, emigrated'). In this context, the transitive interpretation ('drove [the Carians] out') is preferred, with the direct object (αὐτούς) being omitted.
  3. 1.171.6τοῦ Μυσοῖσι μὲν καὶ Λυδοῖσι μέτεστι — The construction of the impersonal verb μέτεστι ('there is a share for someone in something'), which takes the genitive of the thing shared (the relative pronoun τοῦ, referring back to ἱρόν) and the dative of the possessor (Μυσοῖσι καὶ Λυδοῖσι). It means 'in which the Mysians and Lydians have a share'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.171.1-1.171.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.171.1-1.171.6

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