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Herodotus · Histories §1.53.1-1.53.3

The Oracles' Prophecy of a Fallen Empire and Greek Alliance

Passage 53 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Croesus's envoys consult the oracles about the campaign against Persia, and the oracles reply that he will destroy a great empire if he marches, advising him to ally with the strongest Greeks.

§1.53.1τοῖσι δὲ ἄγειν μέλλουσι τῶν Λυδῶν ταῦτα τὰ δῶρα ἐς τὰ ἱρὰ ἐνετέλλετο ὁ Κροῖσος ἐπειρωτᾶν τὰ χρηστήρια εἰ στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Πέρσας Κροῖσος καὶ εἴ τινα στρατὸν ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο φίλον,
Croesus charged those of the Lydians who were to carry these gifts to the temples to enquire of the oracles whether Croesus should march against the Persians, and whether he should join to himself any army of men as a friend.
§1.53.2ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενοι ἐς τὰ ἀπεπέμφθησαν, οἱ Λυδοὶ ἀνέθεσαν τὰ ἀναθήματα, ἐχρέωντο τοῖσι χρηστηρίοισι λέγοντες Κροῖσος ὁ Λυδῶν τε καὶ ἄλλων ἐθνέων βασιλεύς, νομίσας τάδε μαντήια εἶναι μοῦνα ἐν ἀνθρώποισι, ὑμῖν τε ἄξια δῶρα ἔδωκε τῶν ἐξευρημάτων, καὶ νῦν ὑμέας ἐπειρωτᾷ εἰ στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Πέρσας καὶ εἴ τινα στρατὸν ἀνδρῶν προσθέοιτο σύμμαχον. §1.53.3οἳ μὲν ταῦτα ἐπειρώτων, τῶν δὲ μαντηίων ἀμφοτέρων ἐς τὠυτὸ αἱ γνῶμαι συνέδραμον, προλέγουσαι Κροίσῳ, ἢν στρατεύηται ἐπὶ Πέρσας, μεγάλην ἀρχὴν μιν καταλύσειν· τοὺς δὲ Ἑλλήνων δυνατωτάτους συνεβούλευόν οἱ ἐξευρόντα φίλους προσθέσθαι.
And when they arrived at the places to which they had been sent, the Lydians dedicated the offerings and consulted the oracles, saying, "Croesus, king of the Lydians and of other nations, holding that these are the only true oracles among men, has given to you gifts worthy of your discoveries, and now he enquires of you whether he should march against the Persians, and whether he should join to himself any army of men as an ally." Thus they enquired; and the judgements of both the oracles concurred in the same thing, declaring to Croesus that if he should march against the Persians, he would destroy a great empire; and they advised him to find out who were the most powerful of the Greeks and join them to himself as friends.

Notes

  1. §1.53.1εἰ στρατεύηται ... καὶ εἴ ... προσθέοιτο — In the indirect question clauses, the subjunctive `στρατεύηται` (retaining the original deliberative subjunctive after the past-tense main verb `ενετέλλετο`) and the optative `προσθέοιτο` (changed to the optative due to sequence of tenses after a past-tense verb) are juxtaposed, illustrating the flexibility of mood shifting.
  2. §1.53.2τῶν ἐξευρημάτων — Genitive of the neuter plural noun `ἐξεύρημα` (discovery, invention), serving as the complement to the adjective `ἄξια` (worthy of...). In this context, it refers to the accurate answers or 'discoveries' made by the oracles in response to Croesus's test.
  3. §1.53.3μιν — The third-person singular accusative pronoun in the Ionic dialect (corresponding to Attic `αὐτόν`), serving as the subject accusative of the infinitive `καταλύσειν`, referring to Croesus himself.
  4. §1.53.3ἐξευρόντα — Masculine accusative singular aorist active participle. Although there is a dative pronoun `οἱ` (referring to Croesus), the participle takes the accusative case to agree with the implied subject of the infinitive `προσθέσθαι`, illustrating a common construction where the logical subject of an infinitive is attracted into the accusative.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.53.1-1.53.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.53.1-1.53.3

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