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Herodotus · Histories §3.11.1-3.11.3

Slaughter of Phanes' Sons and the Defeat of the Egyptians

Passage 415 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

When the Persian and Egyptian armies confront each other, the Greek and Carian mercenaries of Egypt brutally sacrifice the children of the defector Phanes, drink their blood mixed with wine, and then engage in a fierce battle in which the Egyptians are defeated.

§3.11.1οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ἐπείτε διεξελάσαντες τὴν ἄνυδρον ἵζοντο πέλας τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ὡς συμβαλέοντες, ἐνθαῦτα οἱ ἐπίκουροι οἱ τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου, ἐόντες ἄνδρες Ἕλληνές τε καὶ Κᾶρες, μεμφόμενοι τῷ Φάνῃ ὅτι στρατὸν ἤγαγε ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον ἀλλόθροον, μηχανῶνται πρῆγμα ἐς αὐτὸν τοιόνδε.
When the Persians, having marched through the waterless region, encamped near the Egyptians to join battle, the mercenaries of the Egyptian—being Greeks and Carians—blaming Phanes because he had led a foreign-tongued army against Egypt, devised the following plot against him.
§3.11.2ἦσαν τῷ Φάνῃ παῖδες ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καταλελειμμένοι· τοὺς ἀγαγόντες ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ ἐς ὄψιν τοῦ πατρὸς κρητῆρα ἐν μέσῳ ἔστησαν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων, μετὰ δὲ ἀγινέοντες κατὰ ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν παίδων ἔσφαζον ἐς τὸν κρητῆρα·
There were children of Phanes left behind in Egypt; these they brought to the camp, and in the sight of their father, they set up a mixing-bowl in the middle between both camps, and then, bringing the children one by one, they slaughtered them into the mixing-bowl.
§3.11.3διὰ πάντων δὲ διεξελθόντες τῶν παίδων οἶνόν τε καὶ ὕδωρ ἐσεφόρεον ἐς αὐτόν, ἐμπιόντες δὲ τοῦ αἵματος πάντες οἱ ἐπίκουροι οὕτω δὴ συνέβαλον.
Having gone through all the children, they poured wine and water into it, and after all the mercenaries had drunk of the blood, they thus joined battle.
μάχης δὲ γενομένης καρτερῆς καὶ πεσόντων ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων πλήθεϊ πολλῶν ἐτράποντο οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι.
After a fierce battle was fought and many fell in great numbers from both camps, the Egyptians were put to flight.

Notes

  1. 3.11.1ὡς συμβαλέοντες — The combination of the particle ὡς with the future participle συμβαλέοντες (from συμβάλλω, Ionic form) expresses the purpose or intention of the subject ('with the intention of joining battle').
  2. 3.11.2τοὺς ἀγαγόντες — The pronoun τούς is used here either as a relative pronoun (equivalent to οὕς in Attic) or demonstratively ('them'), referring back to the preceding παῖδες as the direct object of the participle ἀγαγόντες.
  3. 3.11.2ἐς τὸν κρητῆρα — The preposition ἐς (εἰς) with the accusative τὸν κρητῆρα is used with the verb ἔσφαζον ('slaughtered') to indicate the direction and result of the action, meaning that the blood of the slaughtered children flowed into the mixing-bowl.
  4. 3.11.3διὰ πάντων δὲ διεξελθόντες τῶν παίδων — The compound verb διεξέρχομαι combined with the preposition διά and the genitive noun (τῶν παίδων) expresses completion or thoroughness, meaning 'having finished slaughtering all the children.'
  5. 3.11.3πεσόντων ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων πλήθεϊ πολλῶν — πεσόντων is a genitive participle in a genitive absolute construction. Its subject is πολλῶν ('many'), and the dative πλήθεϊ ('in multitude') functions as a dative of manner or respect, indicating that they fell in great numbers.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.11.1-3.11.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.11.1-3.11.3

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