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Herodotus · Histories §3.77.1-3.77.3

Entry into the Palace and the Slaying of the Eunuchs

Passage 481 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The seven reach the palace gates and enter the courtyard without being suspected by the guards. When the eunuchs try to stop them, they kill them and rush into the men's quarters.

§3.77.1ἐπιστᾶσι δὲ ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας ἐγίνετο οἷόν τι Δαρείῳ ἡ γνώμη ἔφερε· καταιδεόμενοι γὰρ οἱ φύλακοι ἄνδρας τοὺς Περσέων πρώτους καὶ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτο ὑποπτεύοντες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔσεσθαι, παρίεσαν θείῃ πομπῇ χρεωμένους, οὐδʼ ἐπειρώτα οὐδείς.
When they arrived at the gates, it turned out just as Darius' opinion had anticipated; for the guards, respecting men who were the first among the Persians and suspecting nothing of the kind from them, let them pass as if under divine guidance, and no one asked them any questions.
§3.77.2ἐπείτε δὲ καὶ παρῆλθον ἐς τὴν αὐλήν, ἐνέκυρσαν τοῖσι τὰς ἀγγελίας ἐσφέρουσι εὐνούχοισι· οἵ σφεας ἱστόρεον ὅ τι θέλοντες ἥκοιεν, καὶ ἅμα ἱστορέοντες τούτους τοῖσι πυλουροῖσι ἀπείλεον ὅτι σφέας παρῆκαν, ἶσχόν τε βουλομένους τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἐς τὸ πρόσω παριέναι.
But when they had also passed into the courtyard, they fell in with the eunuchs who carried in messages; these questioned them as to what they wanted in coming, and at the same time as they questioned them, they threatened the gatekeepers for having let them pass, and tried to hold back the seven who wished to go further inside.
§3.77.3οἳ δὲ διακελευσάμενοι καὶ σπασάμενοι τὰ ἐγχειρίδια τούτους μὲν τοὺς ἴσχοντας αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ συγκεντέουσι, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἤισαν δρόμῳ ἐς τὸν ἀνδρεῶνα.
The seven, encouraging one another and drawing their daggers, stabbed these men who were holding them back on the very spot, and themselves went on the run into the men's apartments.

Notes

  1. §3.77.1ἐπιστᾶσι — Dative plural masculine of the aorist active participle (or Ionic contract form of the perfect active participle ἐφεστηκόσι) of ἐφίστημι. It functions as the dative of interest/reference with the impersonal ἐγίνετο ("it happened to them having arrived...").
  2. §3.77.1οἷόν τι Δαρείῳ ἡ γνώμη ἔφερε — Literally "such as the opinion brought to Darius." The verb φέρω here has the sense of "tending towards" or "bearing in mind," meaning "just as Darius' opinion had anticipated."
  3. §3.77.2ὅ τι θέλοντες ἥκοιεν — Indirect question. The participle θέλοντες indicates intention ("wishing/wanting what"). The optative ἥκοιεν (from ἥκω) is the optative of indirect discourse (oblique optative) after the historical tense of the main verb (ἱστόρεον).
  4. §3.77.3τοὺς ἴσχοντας — Accusative plural of the present participle of ἴσχω ("to hold back"). It functions substantively here, referring back to the eunuchs (εὐνούχοισι) who were trying to prevent the seven from passing.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.77.1-3.77.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.77.1-3.77.3

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