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Herodotus · Histories §3.86.1-3.86.2

The Horse's Neigh and Darius' Accession to the Throne

Passage 490 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

At dawn, the six men meet on horseback, and Darius' horse neighs at the spot where the mare was tied, accompanied by thunder and lightning, confirming Darius as king.

§3.86.1ἅμʼ ἡμέρῃ δὲ διαφωσκούσῃ οἱ ἓξ κατὰ συνεθήκαντο παρῆσαν ἐπὶ τῶν ἵππων·
And at the dawning of the day, the six, according to what they had agreed, were present upon their horses.
διεξελαυνόντων δὲ κατὰ τὸ προάστειον, ὡς κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον ἐγίνοντο ἵνα τῆς παροιχομένης νυκτὸς κατεδέδετο ἡ θήλεα ἵππος, ἐνθαῦτα ὁ Δαρείου ἵππος προσδραμὼν ἐχρεμέτισε·
As they were riding through the suburb, when they came to that place where the mare had been tied during the past night, there the horse of Darius ran forward and neighed.
§3.86.2ἅμα δὲ τῷ ἵππῳ τοῦτο ποιήσαντι ἀστραπὴ ἐξ αἰθρίης καὶ βροντὴ ἐγένετο.
And at the same moment that the horse did this, lightning from a clear sky and thunder occurred.
ἐπιγενόμενα δὲ ταῦτα τῷ Δαρείῳ ἐτελέωσέ μιν ὥσπερ ἐκ συνθέτου τευ γενόμενα· οἳ δὲ καταθορόντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων προσεκύνεον τὸν Δαρεῖον.
These things, happening in addition, confirmed Darius in his kingship, as though they had occurred by some pre-concerted agreement; and the others, leaping down from their horses, did obeisance to Darius.

Notes

  1. 3.86.1κατὰ συνεθήκαντο — The relative pronoun ἅ (or demonstrative τά) is omitted after the preposition κατά, meaning καθ' ἃ συνεθήκαντο ('according to what they had agreed').
  2. 3.86.1τῆς παροιχομένης νυκτός — Genitive of time within which, meaning 'during the past night'. It uses the participle παροιχομένης (from παροίχομαι, 'to pass by') to refer to the preceding night.
  3. 3.86.2ἐτελέωσέ μιν — The verb τελειόω ('to make complete, accomplish') takes the personal pronoun μιν (equivalent to αὐτόν, referring to Darius) as its object. The subject is the neuter plural ταῦτα. In this context, it means 'these things (the lightning and thunder) confirmed him (in his kingship)'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.86.1-3.86.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.86.1-3.86.2

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