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Herodotus · Histories §2.121B.1-2.121B.2

The Trap in the Treasury and the Brother's Decapitation

Passage 339 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Discovering the loss of his treasure, the king set traps in the treasury; when the brothers broke in again, one of them got caught and ordered his brother to cut off his head to prevent their identity from being revealed.

§2.121B.1ὡς δὲ τυχεῖν τὸν βασιλέα ἀνοίξαντα τὸ οἴκημα, θωμάσαι ἰδόντα τῶν χρημάτων καταδεᾶ τὰ ἀγγήια, οὐκ ἔχειν δὲ ὅντινα ἐπαιτιᾶται, τῶν τε σημάντρων ἐόντων σόων καὶ τοῦ οἰκήματος κεκληιμένου.
Now when the king happened to open the chamber, he was astonished to see the vessels containing the treasure diminished, but he did not know whom to accuse, as the seals were intact and the chamber was locked.
ὡς δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς ἀνοίξαντι αἰεὶ ἐλάσσω φαίνεσθαι τὰ χρήματα (τοὺς γὰρ κλέπτας οὐκ ἀνιέναι κεραΐζοντας), ποιῆσαί μιν τάδε· πάγας προστάξαι ἐργάσασθαι καὶ ταύτας περὶ τὰ ἀγγήια ἐν τοῖσι τὰ χρήματα ἐνῆν στῆσαι.
When he opened it even a second and a third time, and the treasure always appeared less (for the thieves did not cease from plundering), he did as follows: he ordered traps to be made and set them around the vessels in which the treasure was.
§2.121B.2τῶν δὲ φωρῶν ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνῳ ἐλθόντων καὶ ἐσδύντος τοῦ ἑτέρου αὐτῶν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄγγος προσῆλθε, ἰθέως τῇ πάγῃ ἐνέχεσθαι.
When the thieves came just as they had done in the time before, and one of them slipped inside, as soon as he approached the vessel, he was immediately caught in the trap.
ὡς δὲ γνῶναι αὐτὸν ἐν οἵῳ κακῷ ἦν, ἰθέως καλέειν τὸν ἀδελφεὸν καὶ δηλοῦν αὐτῷ τὰ παρεόντα, καὶ κελεύειν τὴν ταχίστην ἐσδύντα ἀποταμεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλήν, ὅκως μὴ αὐτὸς ὀφθεὶς καὶ γνωρισθεὶς ὃς εἴη προσαπολέσῃ κἀκεῖνον.
When he realized what a plight he was in, he immediately called his brother and explained the situation to him, urging him to slip in as quickly as possible and cut off his head, so that he himself might not be seen and recognized for who he was, and thereby bring ruin on him as well.
τῷ δὲ δόξαι εὖ λέγειν, καὶ ποιῆσαί μιν πεισθέντα ταῦτα, καὶ καταρμόσαντα τὸν λίθον ἀπιέναι ἐπʼ οἴκου, φέροντα τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ ἀδελφεοῦ.
The brother thought he spoke well, and, being persuaded, did this; then, having fitted the stone back in, he went away home, carrying his brother's head.

Notes

  1. §2.121B.1ὡς δὲ τυχεῖν τὸν βασιλέα ἀνοίξαντα — The infinitive τυχεῖν in the ὡς clause, taking the participle ἀνοίξαντα, means "when the king happened to open" or "just as the king opened". The use of infinitives throughout this section (τυχεῖν, θωμάσαι, ἔχειν, etc.) is due to the continuation of the indirect discourse carrying over from the preceding narrative, with τὸν βασιλέα acting as the subject accusative.
  2. §2.121B.1τῶν τε σημάντρων ἐόντων σόων — Both τῶν τε σημάντρων ἐόντων σόων and τοῦ οἰκήματος κεκληιμένου are genitive absolute constructions connected by τε... καί..., expressing the reasons why the king "did not know whom to accuse" (οὐκ ἔχειν...).
  3. §2.121B.2ὅκως μὴ αὐτὸς ὀφθεὶς καὶ γνωρισθεὶς ὃς εἴη προσαπολέσῃ κἀκεῖνον — The subject of the purpose clause ὅκως μὴ... προσαπολέσῃ is the trapped thief himself ("lest he himself, being seen and recognized..., should also bring ruin to that other"). The nominative participles ὀφθεὶς καὶ γνωρισθεὶς agree with the third-person singular verb προσαπολέσῃ. The verb εἴη in the indirect question ὃς εἴη ("who he was") is an optative of oblique clause (or historical optative) because the main narrative is framed in past indirect discourse.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.121B.1-2.121B.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.121B.1-2.121B.2

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