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Herodotus · Histories §3.139.1-3.139.3

Syloson's Encounter with Darius and the Red Cloak

Passage 543 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

As the origin of King Darius' conquest of Samos, the anecdote is told of how Syloson, an exile from Samos, met Darius during the Egyptian campaign and gave him a red cloak for free.

§3.139.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Σάμον βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος αἱρέει, πολίων πασέων πρώτην Ἑλληνίδων καὶ βαρβάρων, διὰ τοιήνδε τινὰ αἰτίην.
After this, King Darius captured Samos, the first of all cities, both Greek and barbarian, for the following reason.
Καμβύσεω τοῦ Κύρου στρατευομένου ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον ἄλλοι τε συχνοὶ ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἀπίκοντο Ἑλλήνων, οἳ μέν, ὡς οἰκός, κατʼ ἐμπορίην στρατευόμενοι, οἳ δὲ τινὲς καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς χώρης θεηταί· τῶν ἦν καὶ Συλοσῶν ὁ Αἰάκεος, Πολυκράτεός τε ἐὼν ἀδελφεὸς καὶ φεύγων ἐκ Σάμου.
When Cambyses, son of Cyrus, was marching against Egypt, many other Greeks arrived in Egypt, some, as was natural, traveling for trade, and others to see the country itself; among these was Syloson, son of Aeaces, who was the brother of Polycrates and an exile from Samos.
§3.139.2τοῦτον τὸν Συλοσῶντα κατέλαβε εὐτυχίη τις τοιήδε.
A certain piece of good fortune befell this Syloson.
λαβὼν χλανίδα καὶ περιβαλόμενος πυρρὴν ἠγόραζε ἐν τῇ Μέμφι· ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν Δαρεῖος, δορυφόρος τε ἐὼν Καμβύσεω καὶ λόγου οὐδενός κω μεγάλου, ἐπεθύμησε τῆς χλανίδος καὶ αὐτὴν προσελθὼν ὠνέετο.
Having obtained a red cloak and wrapped it around himself, he was walking in the marketplace of Memphis; and Darius, who was then a bodyguard of Cambyses and as yet of no great importance, saw him, fell in love with the cloak, and coming up, wanted to buy it.
§3.139.3ὁ δὲ Συλοσῶν ὁρέων τὸν Δαρεῖον μεγάλως ἐπιθυμέοντα τῆς χλανίδος, θείῃ τύχῃ χρεώμενος λέγει ἐγὼ ταύτην πωλέω μὲν οὐδενὸς χρήματος, δίδωμι δὲ ἄλλως, εἴ περ οὕτω δεῖ γενέσθαι πάντως τοι. αἰνέσας ταῦτα ὁ Δαρεῖος παραλαμβάνει τὸ εἷμα.
Syloson, seeing that Darius was very eager for the cloak, said, by some divine inspiration: "I will not sell this for any money, but I will give it to you for nothing, if indeed it must by all means be so." Darius, having praised this, took the garment.

Notes

  1. 3.139.1στρατευόμενοι — While the verb στρατεύομαι usually means 'to serve in war' or 'to make an expedition,' here it is used in connection with Cambyses' military campaign (indicated by the preceding genitive absolute στρατευομένου) to mean 'traveling' or 'joining the expedition.' Combined with ἐμπορίην (trade), it describes those who accompanied the army for commercial purposes.
  2. 3.139.2λόγου οὐδενός κω μεγάλου — A genitive of description (or quality). Connected to the nominative noun δορυφόρος by the conjunction τε, it describes Darius's social standing at the time as 'being as yet of no great importance or repute.'
  3. 3.139.3θείῃ τύχῃ χρεώμενος — Literally meaning 'using a divine fortune.' The participle of χράομαι (to use, to experience) here indicates acting under a divine inspiration or being guided by a providential prompting of fate.
  4. 3.139.3οὐδενὸς χρήματος — A genitive of price (or value). Dependent on the verb πωλέω (to sell), it expresses a strong refusal to sell the garment 'for any amount of money.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.139.1-3.139.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.139.1-3.139.3

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