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Herodotus · Histories §3.44.1-3.44.2

Polycrates Sends Suspected Rebels to Cambyses

Passage 448 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage explains how the Spartans launched an expedition against Samos and how Polycrates, seeking to rid himself of potential rebels, sent a naval force to assist Cambyses in his Egyptian campaign.

§3.44.1ἐπὶ τοῦτον δὴ ὦν τὸν Πολυκράτεα εὐτυχέοντα τὰ πάντα ἐστρατεύοντο Λακεδαιμόνιοι, ἐπικαλεσαμένων τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα Κυδωνίην τὴν ἐν Κρήτῃ κτισάντων Σαμίων.
Against this very Polycrates, who was successful in all things, the Lacedaemonians made an expedition, after those Samians who later founded Cydonia in Crete had called them in.
πέμψας δὲ κήρυκα λάθρῃ Σαμίων Πολυκράτης παρὰ Καμβύσεα τὸν Κύρου συλλέγοντα στρατὸν ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον, ἐδεήθη ὅκως ἂν καὶ παρʼ ἑωυτὸν πέμψας ἐς Σάμον δέοιτο στρατοῦ.
Polycrates, having secretly sent a herald to Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, who was gathering an army against Egypt, requested that Cambyses should also send a messenger to him in Samos and ask for an army.
§3.44.2Καμβύσης δὲ ἀκούσας τούτων προθύμως ἔπεμψε ἐς Σάμον δεόμενος Πολυκράτεος στρατὸν ναυτικὸν ἅμα πέμψαι ἑωυτῷ ἐπʼ Αἴγυπτον.
Cambyses, having heard this, eagerly sent to Samos, requesting Polycrates to send a naval force along with him against Egypt.
ὁ δὲ ἐπιλέξας τῶν ἀστῶν τοὺς ὑπώπτευε μάλιστα ἐς ἐπανάστασιν ἀπέπεμπε τεσσεράκοντα τριήρεσι, ἐντειλάμενος Καμβύσῃ ὀπίσω τούτους μὴ ἀποπέμπειν.
And Polycrates, having selected those of the citizens whom he most suspected of rebellion, sent them away with forty triremes, instructing Cambyses not to send them back.

Notes

  1. §3.44.1ἐπικαλεσαμένων τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα Κυδωνίην τὴν ἐν Κρήτῃ κτισάντων Σαμίων — A genitive absolute construction. The grammatical subject is `τῶν ... Σαμίων` (the Samians), qualified by the attributive participle phrase `μετὰ ταῦτα Κυδωνίην τὴν ἐν Κρήτῃ κτισάντων` (who later founded Cydonia in Crete) inserted in between. It functions adverbially to explain the occasion of the expedition.
  2. §3.44.1ὅκως ἂν ... δέοιτο — A clause expressing the content of a request or effort, serving as the object of the verb `ἐδεήθη` (requested). In Herodotus, `ὅκως ἂν` with the optative (`δέοιτο`) is frequently used for indirect effort clauses when the main verb is in a past (historical) tense.
  3. §3.44.2τοὺς ὑπώπτευε μάλιστα ἐς ἐπανάστασιν — A relative clause specifying a subset of the antecedent `τῶν ἀστῶν` (of the citizens), with the relative pronoun `οὕς` (accusative) omitted, or understood through attraction. The verb `ὑπώπτευε` is in the imperfect tense, meaning 'he was suspecting'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.44.1-3.44.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.44.1-3.44.2

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