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Herodotus · Histories §3.73.1-3.73.3

Gobryas's Speech and Agreement on Immediate Action

Passage 477 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Gobryas strongly supports Darius's proposal for immediate action, reminding the conspirators of the humiliation of being ruled by a Magian and of Cambyses' dying injunctions.

§3.73.1λέγει Γοβρύης μετὰ ταῦτα ἄνδρες φίλοι, ἡμῖν κότε κάλλιον παρέξει ἀνασώσασθαι τὴν ἀρχήν, ἢ εἴ γε μὴ οἷοί τε ἐσόμεθα αὐτὴν ἀναλαβεῖν, ἀποθανεῖν;
\nAfter this Gobryas said:\n"My friends, when will there be a better opportunity for us to win back our empire, or, if we cannot regain it, to die?
ὅτε γε ἀρχόμεθα μὲν ἐόντες Πέρσαι ὑπὸ Μήδου ἀνδρὸς Μάγου, καὶ τούτου ὦτα οὐκ ἔχοντος. §3.73.2ὅσοι τε ὑμέων Καμβύσῃ νοσέοντι παρεγένοντο, πάντως κου μέμνησθε τὰ ἐπέσκηψε Πέρσῃσι τελευτῶν τὸν βίον μὴ πειρωμένοισι ἀνακτᾶσθαι τὴν ἀρχήν· τὰ τότε οὐκ ἐνεδεκόμεθα, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ διαβολῇ ἐδοκέομεν εἰπεῖν Καμβύσεα. §3.73.3νῦν ὦν τίθεμαι ψῆφον πείθεσθαι Δαρείῳ καὶ μὴ διαλύεσθαι ἐκ τοῦ συλλόγου τοῦδε ἀλλʼ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν Μάγον ἰθέως. ταῦτα εἶπε Γοβρύης, καὶ πάντες ταύτῃ αἴνεον.
Since indeed we, who are Persians, are ruled by a Mede, a Magian, and one moreover who has no ears.\n\nAnd as many of you as were present with Cambyses on his deathbed surely, I suppose, remember the solemn injunctions he laid upon the Persians as he ended his life, if they should not attempt to recover the empire; which we did not then accept, but we thought Cambyses spoke from a desire to slander.\n\nNow, therefore, I give my vote to obey Darius, and not to break up this meeting except to go straight against the Magian."\nThus spoke Gobryas, and they all assented to this.

Notes

  1. 3.73.1παρέξει — The third-person singular future of παρέχω, used impersonally to mean 'opportunity will present itself'. The infinitives ἀνασώσασθαι and ἀποθανεῖν function as the logical subjects of this verb.
  2. 3.73.1καὶ τούτου ὦτα οὐκ ἔχοντος — A genitive absolute construction with the demonstrative τούτου as its logical subject. It refers back to Μήδου ἀνδρὸς Μάγου, adding a circumstantial or concessive detail: 'and that too when he has no ears.'
  3. 3.73.2μὴ πειρωμένοισι — The dative plural masculine of the present participle πειρώμενος, agreeing with Πέρσῃσι. It functions conditionally ('if they should not attempt'), which explains the use of the negative particle μή.
  4. 3.73.3ἀλλʼ ἢ — An idiomatic phrase used after a negative statement (here, μὴ διαλύεσθαι, 'not to break up') to express exception: 'except' or 'other than' (i.e., 'not to break up except to go straight against').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.73.1-3.73.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.73.1-3.73.3

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