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Herodotus · Histories §3.96.1-3.96.2

Additional Tributes and Darius's Storage of Metal

Passage 500 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes the geographic sources of the tribute paid to Darius and explains the king's method of melting and storing the metal in earthenware jars, cutting off portions as needed.

§3.96.1οὗτος Δαρείῳ προσήιε φόρος ἀπὸ τῆς τε Ἀσίης καὶ τῆς Λιβύης ὀλιγαχόθεν.
This tribute came in to Darius from Asia and a small part of Libya.
προϊόντος μέντοι τοῦ χρόνου καὶ ἀπὸ νήσων προσήιε ἄλλος φόρος καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ μέχρι Θεσσαλίης οἰκημένων.
However, as time went on, other tribute also came in both from the islands and from those who dwelt in Europe as far as Thessaly.
§3.96.2τοῦτον τὸν φόρον θησαυρίζει βασιλεὺς τρόπῳ τοιῷδε· ἐς πίθους κεραμίνους τήξας καταχέει, πλήσας δὲ τὸ ἄγγος περιαιρέει τὸν κέραμον· ἐπεὰν δὲ δεηθῇ χρημάτων, κατακόπτει τοσοῦτο ὅσου ἂν ἑκάστοτε δέηται.
The king stores this tribute in the following manner: he melts it down and pours it into earthenware jars, and when he has filled the vessel, he takes away the earthenware; and whenever he has need of money, he cuts off as much as he needs on each occasion.

Notes

  1. 3.96.1ὀλιγαχόθεν — An adverb meaning "from few places." Here it modifies the entire prepositional phrase `ἀπὸ τῆς τε Ἀσίης καὶ τῆς Λιβύης`, indicating that the territory then subject to Darius was limited to parts of Asia and Libya, rather than their entirety.
  2. 3.96.1τῶν ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ μέχρι Θεσσαλίης οἰκημένων — A substantive use of the participle `οἰκημένων` (present passive/middle participle genitive plural of `οἰκέω`, "to dwell"). It stands in parallel with `ἀπὸ νήσων` in the preceding clause and is governed by the same preposition `ἀπό` (i.e., `ἀπὸ τῶν ... οἰκημένων`).
  3. 3.96.2ὅσου ἂν ἑκάστοτε δέηται — The relative pronoun `ὅσου` refers back to the antecedent `τοσοῦτο` (accusative). The pronoun is in the genitive case as required by the verb `δέηται` (subjunctive of the impersonal verb `δεῖ`, "there is need of") within the relative clause.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §3.96.1-3.96.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.96.1-3.96.2

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