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Herodotus · Histories §3.143.1-3.143.2

Maeandrius's Arrest of Citizens and Lycaretus's Execution

Passage 547 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

After being challenged by Telesarchus to account for the money, Maeandrius abandoned his plan to give up power, withdrew to the acropolis, and imprisoned the citizens. When Maeandrius later fell ill, his brother Lycaretus executed all the prisoners to secure his own control.

§3.143.1ταῦτα εἶπε ἐὼν ἐν τοῖσι ἀστοῖσι δόκιμος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Τελέσαρχος.
These things were said by a man of high repute among the citizens, whose name was Telesarchus.
Μαιάνδριος δὲ νόῳ λαβὼν ὡς εἰ μετήσει τὴν ἀρχήν, ἄλλος τις ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ τύραννος καταστήσεται, οὐδὲν ἔτι ἐν νόῳ εἶχε μετιέναι αὐτήν, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀνεχώρησε ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, μεταπεμπόμενος ἕνα ἕκαστον ὡς δὴ λόγον τῶν χρημάτων δώσων, συνέλαβε σφέας καὶ κατέδησε.
But Maeandrius, perceiving in his mind that if he should give up the rule, someone else would be established as tyrant in his place, no longer had any intention of giving it up; instead, having withdrawn into the acropolis, he sent for each one individually, on the pretext that he was going to render an account of the money, and seized and bound them.
§3.143.2οἳ μὲν δὴ ἐδεδέατο, Μαιάνδριον δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα κατέλαβε νοῦσος.
They indeed were kept in prison, but after this, a disease seized Maeandrius.
ἐλπίζων δέ μιν ἀποθανέεσθαι ὁ ἀδελφεός, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Λυκάρητος, ἵνα εὐπετεστέρως κατάσχῃ τὰ ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ πρήγματα, κατακτείνει τοὺς δεσμώτας πάντας· οὐ γὰρ δή, ὡς οἴκασι, ἐβούλοντο εἶναι ἐλεύθεροι.
And his brother, whose name was Lycaretus, expecting that he would die, in order that he might more easily secure control over the affairs in Samos, put all the prisoners to death; for indeed, as it seems, they did not wish to be free.

Notes

  1. §3.143.1ὡς δὴ λόγον τῶν χρημάτων δώσων — The conjunction ὡς with the particle δὴ and the future participle δώσων (from δίδωμι) expresses a pretext or alleged intention. It means "on the pretext of giving an account of the money," indicating that this was his ostensible reason while his real intention was to arrest them.
  2. §3.143.2ἐδεδέατο — Third-person plural pluperfect passive of the verb δέω (to bind). The ending -ατο is a characteristic Ionic dialect form, corresponding to the Attic ἐδέδεντο.
  3. §3.143.2ὡς οἴκασι — The Ionic form οἴκασι corresponds to the Attic third-person plural perfect ἔοικασι ("they seem"). The subject in context refers either to the executed prisoners or to the Samians in general, reflecting the author's irony that they did not seem to wish for freedom.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.143.1-3.143.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.143.1-3.143.2

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