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Herodotus · Histories §1.205.1-1.205.2

Cyrus's Proposal to Tomyris and Bridging of the Araxes

Passage 205 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Cyrus proposes marriage to Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae, but after she rejects his advances, he begins an open military campaign by bridging the Araxes River.

§1.205.1ἦν δὲ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀποθανόντος γυνὴ τῶν Μασσαγετέων βασίλεια.
The ruler of the Massagetae was the wife of the dead king.
Τόμυρίς οἱ ἦν οὔνομα.
Her name was Tomyris.
ταύτην πέμπων ὁ Κῦρος ἐμνᾶτο τῷ λόγῳ θέλων γυναῖκα ἣν ἔχειν.
Cyrus sent messengers and wooed her in word, wishing to have her as his wife.
ἡ δὲ Τόμυρις συνιεῖσα οὐκ αὐτήν μιν μνώμενον ἀλλὰ τὴν Μασαγετέων βασιληίην, ἀπείπατο τὴν πρόσοδον.
But Tomyris, understanding that he was courting not herself but the kingdom of the Massagetae, rejected his advances.
§1.205.2Κῦρος δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο, ὥς οἱ δόλῳ οὐ προεχώρεε, ἐλάσας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀράξεα ἐποιέετο ἐκ τοῦ ἐμφανέος ἐπὶ τοὺς Μασσαγέτας στρατηίην, γεφύρας τε ζευγνύων ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ διάβασιν τῷ στρατῷ, καὶ πύργους ἐπὶ πλοίων τῶν διαπορθμευόντων τὸν ποταμὸν οἰκοδομεόμενος.
Cyrus after this, since his trickery did not succeed, marched to the Araxes and openly made preparations for a campaign against the Massagetae, both bridging the river for his army to cross, and building towers on the boats that ferried across the river.

Notes

  1. 1.205.1ἣν — Here ἣν is not the relative pronoun but the Ionic reflexive possessive adjective of the third person (corresponding to Attic ἑήν), meaning "his own". Thus, it is interpreted as "in order to have her as his own wife."
  2. 1.205.2ὥς οἱ δόλῳ οὐ προεχώρεε — An impersonal construction of the verb προχωρέω (meaning "things progress or turn out well for someone"), taking the dative pronoun οἱ. It means "since by trickery things did not go well for him."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.205.1-1.205.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.205.1-1.205.2

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