Herodotus · Histories §3.141.1

Darius Dispatches Otanes to Recover Samos

Passage 545 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Darius dispatches an army under the command of Otanes, one of the Seven, with orders to fulfill Syloson's request, and Otanes goes to the coast to organize the expedition.

§3.141.1ταῦτα ἀκούσας Δαρεῖος ἀπέστελλε στρατιήν τε καὶ στρατηγὸν Ὀτάνεα ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἑπτὰ γενόμενον, ἐντειλάμενος, ὅσων ἐδεήθη ὁ Συλοσῶν, ταῦτά οἱ ποιέειν ἐπιτελέα.

Having heard this, Darius dispatched an army and as general Otanes, who had been one of the Seven, commanding him to make fully accomplished for him those things, as many as Syloson had requested.

καταβὰς δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ὁ Ὀτάνης ἔστελλε τὴν στρατιήν.

And Otanes, having gone down to the sea, prepared the army.

Notes

3.141.1ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἑπτὰ γενόμενον — The participle γενόμενον means 'having been' or 'who was'. It describes Otanes' background as one of 'the Seven' (οἱ ἑπτά) who had previously conspired against the Magus alongside Darius.
3.141.1ὅσων ἐδεήθη ὁ Συλοσῶν, ταῦτά οἱ ποιέειν ἐπιτελέα — The relative pronoun ὅσων is in the genitive case because it is governed by the verb ἐδεήθη (aorist of δέομαι, 'to request'). In the main clause, ταῦτα is the object of the infinitive ποιέειν (expressing command), and the adjective ἐπιτελέα (neuter plural accusative as predicate to ταῦτα) means 'accomplished' or 'fulfilled'. Thus, the phrase means 'to make these things accomplished for him'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.141.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.141.1

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