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Herodotus · Histories §2.114.1-2.114.3

Thonis's Report and Proteus's Order to Arrest Alexander

Passage 330 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Thonis sends a message to Proteus in Memphis to report Alexander's arrival and his crimes in Greece, asking how to handle him. Proteus responds with an order to arrest the man and bring him before him.

§2.114.1ἀκούσας δὲ τούτων ὁ Θῶνις πέμπει τὴν ταχίστην ἐς Μέμφιν παρὰ Πρωτέα ἀγγελίην λέγουσαν τάδε. §2.114.2ἥκει ξεῖνος γένος μὲν Τευκρός, ἔργον δὲ ἀνόσιον ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι ἐξεργασμένος· ξείνου γὰρ τοῦ ἑωυτοῦ ἐξαπατήσας τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτήν τε ταύτην ἄγων ἥκει καὶ πολλὰ κάρτα χρήματα, ὑπὸ ἀνέμων ἐς γῆν ταύτην ἀπενειχθείς.
Upon hearing this, Thonis sent a message as quickly as possible to Memphis, to Proteus, saying as follows: "A stranger has arrived, a Teucrian by birth, who has committed an impious deed in Greece; for having deceived the wife of his own host, he has come bringing this very woman and very many treasures, having been driven to this land by the winds.
κότερα δῆτα τοῦτον ἐῶμεν ἀσινέα ἐκπλέειν ἢ ἀπελώμεθα τὰ ἔχων ἦλθε; §2.114.3ἀντιπέμπει πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Πρωτεὺς λέγοντα τάδε. ἄνδρα τοῦτον, ὅστις κοτὲ ἐστὶ ἀνόσια ἐργασμένος ξεῖνον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ, συλλαβόντες ἀπάγετε παρʼ ἐμέ, ἵνα εἰδέω ὅ τι κοτὲ καὶ λέξει.
Shall we then allow him to sail away unharmed, or shall we deprive him of what he has come with?" To this, Proteus sent back a messenger saying as follows: "Seize this man, whoever he may be that has committed impious deeds against his own host, and bring him to me, so that I may know what on earth he will say."

Notes

  1. §2.114.1τὴν ταχίστην — An adverbial accusative, with the noun ὁδόν ('way') understood, functioning as an idiomatic phrase meaning 'as quickly as possible' or 'by the speediest way.'
  2. §2.114.2ἔργον δὲ ἀνόσιον ... ἐξεργασμένος — The perfect middle-passive participle ἐξεργασμένος modifies the subject noun ξεῖνος, describing the completed state of having committed an impious deed in Greece.
  3. §2.114.2ἐῶμεν ... ἀπελώμεθα — Both verbs (ἐῶμεν, present active subjunctive, and ἀπελώμεθα, aorist middle subjunctive) are first-person plurals acting as deliberative subjunctives ('should we allow... or should we deprive...?') in a double question.
  4. §2.114.3λέγοντα — The masculine accusative present participle λέγοντα modifies the unexpressed direct object of the verb ἀντιπέμπει (such as a messenger, ἀγγελιαφόρον).
  5. §2.114.3ἀνόσια ἐργασμένος ξεῖνον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ — The verb ἐργάζομαι ('to do/commit') takes a double accusative: the neuter plural ἀνόσια ('impious things') and the masculine singular object ξεῖνον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ ('his own host'), meaning 'having done impious things to his own host.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.114.1-2.114.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.114.1-2.114.3

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