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Herodotus · Histories §1.214.1-1.214.5

The Death of Cyrus and Revenge of Tomyris

Passage 214 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Massagetae forces led by Tomyris defeat the Persian army after a fierce battle, and Cyrus is killed. Tomyris takes her revenge by plunging Cyrus' head into a wineskin filled with human blood.

§1.214.1καὶ δὴ οὗτος μὲν τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ τελευτᾷ·
Thus he met his end in such a manner.
Τόμυρις δέ, ὥς οἱ Κῦρος οὐκ ἐσήκουσε, συλλέξασα πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτῆς δύναμιν συνέβαλε Κύρῳ.
But Tomyris, since Cyrus did not listen to her, gathered all her forces and engaged in battle with Cyrus.
ταύτην τὴν μάχην, ὅσαι δὴ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν μάχαι ἐγένοντο, κρίνω ἰσχυροτάτην γενέσθαι, καὶ δὴ καὶ πυνθάνομαι οὕτω τοῦτο γενόμενον.
I judge this battle to have been the fiercest of all battles fought among barbarians, and indeed I understand that it happened in this way.
§1.214.2πρῶτα μὲν γὰρ λέγεται αὐτοὺς διαστάντας ἐς ἀλλήλους τοξεύειν, μετὰ δὲ ὥς σφι τὰ βέλεα ἐξετετόξευτο, συμπεσόντας τῇσι αἰχμῇσί τε καὶ τοῖσι ἐγχειριδίοισι συνέχεσθαι.
For first, it is said that they stood apart and shot arrows at each other, and afterwards, when their arrows were spent, they rushed together and clashed with spears and daggers.
χρόνον τε δὴ ἐπὶ πολλὸν συνεστάναι μαχομένους καὶ οὐδετέρους ἐθέλειν φεύγειν.
For a long time they stood fighting, and neither side was willing to flee.
τέλος δὲ οἱ Μασσαγέται περιεγένοντο, §1.214.3ἥ τε δὴ πολλὴ τῆς Περσικῆς στρατιῆς αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ διεφθάρη καὶ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς Κῦρος τελευτᾷ, βασιλεύσας τὰ πάντα ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα ἔτεα.
But at last the Massagetae prevailed, and the greater part of the Persian army was destroyed there, and Cyrus himself also died, having reigned in all twenty-nine years.
§1.214.4ἀσκὸν δὲ πλήσασα αἵματος ἀνθρωπηίου Τόμυρις ἐδίζητο ἐν τοῖσι τεθνεῶσι τῶν Περσέων τὸν Κύρου νέκυν, ὡς δὲ εὗρε, ἐναπῆκε αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐς τὸν ἀσκόν, λυμαινομένη δὲ τῷ νεκρῷ ἐπέλεγε τάδε· §1.214.5σὺ μὲν ἐμὲ ζῶσάν τε καὶ νικῶσάν σε μάχῃ ἀπώλεσας, παῖδα τὸν ἐμὸν ἑλὼν δόλῳ· σὲ δʼ ἐγώ, κατά περ ἠπείλησα, αἵματος κορέσω. τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὴν Κύρου τελευτὴν τοῦ βίου, πολλῶν λόγων λεγομένων, ὅδε μοι ὁ πιθανώτατος εἴρηται.
Tomyris, having filled a wineskin with human blood, searched among the Persian dead for the corpse of Cyrus; and when she found it, she plunged his head into the wineskin, and insulting the dead body, she spoke these words: "Though I am alive and have defeated you in battle, you have destroyed me by taking my son by guile; but I, even as I threatened, will give you your fill of blood." Concerning the end of Cyrus' life, though many stories are told, this one has been related by me as the most credible.

Notes

  1. §1.214.1ὅσαι δὴ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν μάχαι ἐγένοντο — A relative clause restricting the superlative ἰσχυροτάτην. The relative pronoun ὅσος limits the scope of the comparison to 'all the battles that took place among barbarians.'
  2. §1.214.2λέγεται αὐτοὺς διαστάντας ἐς ἀλλήλους τοξεύειν, μετὰ δὲ ὥς σφι τὰ βέλεα ἐξετετόξευτο, συμπεσόντας τῇσι αἰχμῇσί τε καὶ τοῖσι ἐγχειριδίοισι συνέχεσθαι — An Accusative with Infinitive (A.c.I.) construction introduced by the impersonal verb λέγεται. The accusative subject αὐτούς is modified by the coordinate participles διαστάντας and συμπεσόντας, which correspond respectively to the main infinitives τοξεύειν and συνέχεσθαι.
  3. §1.214.3ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα — An idiomatic numerical expression meaning 'twenty-nine' (literally, 'thirty lacking one'). The participle δέοντα (masculine accusative plural, agreeing with ἔτεα as an adjectival modifier of duration, or neuter accusative plural) means 'lacking' and takes the genitive of amount ἑνός (one) to subtract from τριήκοντα (thirty).
  4. §1.214.5σὺ μὲν ἐμὲ ζῶσάν τε καὶ νικῶσάν σε μάχῃ ἀπώλεσας — Concessive use of participles. ζῶσαν (living) and νικῶσαν (defeating) are attributive participles agreeing with the accusative pronoun ἐμέ (me). They stand in contrast with the main verb ἀπώλεσας (you destroyed), expressing a concessive sense: 'although I am alive and victorious, you have destroyed me.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.214.1-1.214.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.214.1-1.214.5

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