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Herodotus · Histories §1.81.1

Croesus Under Siege and Messengers Sent to Allies

Passage 81 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

As the siege of Sardis begins, Croesus, anticipating a long-lasting siege, dispatches new messengers from the fortress to request immediate aid from his allies.

§1.81.1τοῖσι μὲν δὴ κατεστήκεε πολιορκίη.
Thus the siege was established against them.
Κροῖσος δὲ δοκέων οἱ χρόνον ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἔσεσθαι τὴν πολιορκίην ἔπεμπε ἐκ τοῦ τείχεος ἄλλους ἀγγέλους ἐς τὰς συμμαχίας.
Meanwhile, Croesus, thinking that the siege would be of long duration for him, sent other messengers out of the fortress to the allied states.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ πρότεροι διεπέμποντο ἐς πέμπτον μῆνα προερέοντες συλλέγεσθαι ἐς Σάρδις, τούτους δὲ ἐξέπεμπε τὴν ταχίστην δέεσθαι βοηθέειν ὡς πολιορκεομένου Κροίσου.
For while the former messengers had been sent out to direct them to assemble at Sardis in the fifth month, these latter ones he sent out with all speed to beg them to come to his aid, on the ground that Croesus was now besieged.

Notes

  1. §1.81.1οἱ — The dative singular third-person pronoun (corresponding to the Attic indirect reflexive ἑαυτῷ). Here it functions as an indirect reflexive referring to the subject of the main clause, Croesus, indicating for whom the siege would be of long duration ('for himself').
  2. §1.81.1ἐς πέμπτον μῆνα — The combination of the preposition ἐς and the accusative with an ordinal number indicates not a duration of five months, but a specific target time or deadline in the future ('in the fifth month' or 'for the fifth month').
  3. §1.81.1δέεσθαι — The present middle infinitive (Ionic form) of the verb δέομαι (to beg, request). It functions as an infinitive of purpose depending on the main verb ἐξέπεμπε ('he sent them out in order to beg...').
  4. §1.81.1ὡς πολιορκεομένου Κροίσου — A genitive absolute construction introduced by the conjunction ὡς ('on the ground that', 'alleging that'). Rather than stating a mere objective fact, it presents the subjective reason or allegation to be conveyed by the messengers ('on the ground that Croesus was besieged').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.81.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.81.1

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