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Herodotus · Histories §1.92.1-1.92.4

Croesus's Offerings to Greece and the Rival's Property

Passage 92 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

This section lists the various offerings Croesus dedicated to Greek temples and explains that some of these were funded by the confiscated property of a political rival who had opposed his accession to the throne.

§1.92.1Κροίσῳ δὲ ἐστὶ ἄλλα ἀναθήματα ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι πολλὰ καὶ οὐ τὰ εἰρημένα μοῦνα.
Croesus had many other offerings in Greece, and not only those already mentioned.
ἐν μὲν γὰρ Θήβῃσι τῇσι Βοιωτῶν τρίπους χρύσεος, τὸν ἀνέθηκέ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι τῷ Ἰσμηνίῳ, ἐν δὲ Ἐφέσῳ αἵ τε βόες αἱ χρύσεαι καὶ τῶν κιόνων αἱ πολλαί, ἐν δὲ Προνηίης τῆς ἐν Δελφοῖσι ἀσπὶς χρυσέη μεγάλη.
For in Boeotian Thebes there is a golden tripod, which he dedicated to Ismenian Apollo; in Ephesus there are the golden heifers and the majority of the columns; and in the temple of Athena Pronaia at Delphi there is a great golden shield.
ταῦτα μὲν καὶ ἔτι ἐς ἐμὲ ἦν περιεόντα, τὰ δʼ ἐξαπόλωλε τῶν ἀναθημάτων·
These were still surviving even down to my time, though others of the offerings have perished.
§1.92.2τὰ δʼ ἐν Βραγχίδῃσι τῇσι Μιλησίων ἀναθήματα Κροίσῳ, ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, ἴσα τε σταθμὸν καὶ ὅμοια τοῖσι ἐν Δελφοῖσι τὰ μέν νυν ἔς τε Δελφοὺς καὶ ἐς τοῦ Ἀμφιάρεω ἀνέθηκε οἰκήιά τε ἐόντα καὶ τῶν πατρωίων χρημάτων ἀπαρχήν· τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἀναθήματα ἐξ ἀνδρὸς ἐγένετο οὐσίης ἐχθροῦ, ὅς οἱ πρὶν ἢ βασιλεῦσαι ἀντιστασιώτης κατεστήκεε, συσπεύδων Πανταλέοντι γενέσθαι τὴν Λυδῶν ἀρχήν.
And the offerings of Croesus in Branchidae of the Milesians, as I learn, are equal in weight and similar to those in Delphi. Now those which he dedicated to Delphi and to the shrine of Amphiaraus were his own property and the first-fruits of his ancestral wealth; but the other offerings came from the property of an enemy, who had set himself against Croesus before he became king, striving together with Pantaleon to bring the rule of the Lydians to him.
§1.92.3ὁ δὲ Πανταλέων ἦν Ἀλυάττεω μὲν παῖς, Κροίσου δὲ ἀδελφεὸς οὐκ ὁμομήτριος· Κροῖσος μὲν γὰρ ἐκ Καείρης ἦν γυναικὸς Ἀλυάττῃ, Πανταλέων δὲ ἐξ Ἰάδος.
Now Pantaleon was a son of Alyattes, and a brother of Croesus, though not by the same mother; for Croesus was born to Alyattes of a Carian woman, and Pantaleon of an Ionian woman.
§1.92.4ἐπείτε δὲ δόντος τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκράτησε τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Κροῖσος, τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἀντιπρήσσοντα ἐπὶ κνάφου ἕλκων διέφθειρε, τὴν δὲ οὐσίην αὐτοῦ ἔτι πρότερον κατιρώσας τότε τρόπῳ τῷ εἰρημένῳ ἀνέθηκε ἐς τὰ εἴρηται.
And when Croesus obtained the sovereignty as his father gave it to him, he put to death the man who opposed him, dragging him over a carding-comb; and having already before that dedicated his property to the gods, he then in the manner mentioned presented it to the places named.
καὶ περὶ μὲν ἀναθημάτων τοσαῦτα εἰρήσθω.
And let so much be said concerning the offerings.

Notes

  1. §1.92.1τὸν — In the Ionic dialect, the accusative of the demonstrative pronoun is used here as a relative pronoun in place of the Attic relative pronoun ὅν.
  2. §1.92.1τῶν κιόνων αἱ πολλαί — Partitive genitive, meaning 'the majority of the columns.' This refers to the historical fact that Croesus donated many of the columns (especially the sculptured bases) for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
  3. §1.92.2ἴσα τε σταθμὸν — Meaning 'equal in weight.' The noun σταθμόν (weight) is an accusative of respect (specification) modifying the adjective ἴσα, indicating that the weight of the offerings at Branchidae was identical to those at Delphi.
  4. §1.92.2συσπεύδων — Present participle nominative, agreeing with the relative pronoun ὅς (whose antecedent is ἐχθροῦ), describing his intent and actions. The verb συσπεύδω takes a dative (here Πανταλέοντι) and means 'to strive together with someone for something.'
  5. §1.92.4δόντος τοῦ πατρὸς — Genitive absolute construction. The logical subject is τοῦ πατρὸς (the father Alyattes). It expresses 'when his father gave (the rule to him)' or 'because his father had given it.'
  6. §1.92.4ἐπὶ κνάφου ἕλκων — A method of torture and execution. The word κνάφος refers to a carding-comb or an instrument used for raising the nap on woolen cloth, indicating a cruel punishment where the victim was dragged over its sharp points.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §1.92.1-1.92.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.92.1-1.92.4

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