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Herodotus · Histories §1.39.1-1.39.2

Atys Interprets the Dream and Persuades Croesus

Passage 39 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Atys persuades his father Croesus to let him go, arguing that the dream foretold death by an iron spear, whereas the wild boar they are to hunt has neither hands nor a spear to harm him.

§1.39.1ἀμείβεται ὁ νεηνίης τοῖσιδε. συγγνώμη μὲν ὦ πάτερ τοι, ἰδόντι γε ὄψιν τοιαύτην, περὶ ἐμὲ φυλακὴν ἔχειν·
The young man answered with these words: "Father, it is indeed pardonable for you, having seen such a vision, to keep guard over me.
τὸ δὲ οὐ μανθάνεις ἀλλὰ λέληθέ σε τὸ ὄνειρον, ἐμέ τοί δίκαιον ἐστί φράζειν.
But as for that which you do not understand, and which has escaped you in the dream, it is right for me to explain this to you.
§1.39.2φής τοι τὸ ὄνειρον ὑπὸ αἰχμῆς σιδηρέης φάναι ἐμὲ τελευτήσειν.
You say that the dream declared that I should perish by an iron spearpoint.
ὑὸς δὲ κοῖαι μὲν εἰσὶ χεῖρες, κοίη δὲ αἰχμὴ σιδηρέη τὴν σὺ φοβέαι;
But what kind of hands does a boar have, and what kind of iron spearpoint is it that you fear?
εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ ὀδόντος τοι εἶπε τελευτήσειν με, ἢ ἄλλου τευ ὅ τι τούτῳ ἔοικε, χρῆν δή σε ποιέειν τὰ ποιέεις· νῦν δὲ ὑπὸ αἰχμῆς.
For if it had said that I should perish by a tusk, or by something else that resembles it, you ought indeed to do what you are doing; but as it is, it said by a spearpoint.
ἐπείτε ὦν οὐ πρὸς ἄνδρας ἡμῖν γίνεται ἡ μάχη, μέτες με.
Since, then, our fight is not against men, let me go."

Notes

  1. 1.39.1ἰδόντι — Aorist active participle agreeing with the dative second-person pronoun τοι (σοί), expressing cause ('since you have seen such a vision').
  2. 1.39.1τὸ δὲ οὐ μανθάνεις ἀλλὰ λέληθέ σε τὸ ὄνειρον — τὸ δέ is a neuter singular accusative relative or demonstrative pronoun acting as an accusative of respect ('but as for that which you do not understand and which has escaped you in the dream'), leading into the main clause.
  3. 1.39.2ὑὸς — Genitive singular of ὗς (wild boar), functioning as a possessive/limiting genitive qualifying the following noun χεῖρες (hands). Ionic form.
  4. 1.39.2χρῆν δή σε ποιέειν τὰ ποιέεις — The apodosis of a contrary-to-fact conditional. The imperfect tense of the impersonal verb expressing obligation χρῆν is used without the particle ἄν to express what ought to have been done (but in fact is not necessary).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.39.1-1.39.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.39.1-1.39.2

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