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Herodotus · Histories §4.156.1-4.156.3

Battus's Rejected Return and Settlement on Platea

Passage 720 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

As misfortunes continue for the Theraeans and Battus, they consult Delphi and are instructed to found Cyrene. After a failed voyage and being rejected upon trying to return, they colonize the island of Platea.

§4.156.1μετὰ δὲ αὐτῷ τε τούτῳ καὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Θηραίοισι συνεφέρετο παλιγκότως.
After this, things turned out adversely for both this man himself and the other Theraeans.
ἀγνοεῦντες δὲ τὰς συμφορὰς οἱ Θηραῖοι ἔπεμπον ἐς Δελφοὺς περὶ τῶν παρεόντων κακῶν. §4.156.2ἡ δὲ Πυθίη σφι ἔχρησε συγκτίζουσι Βάττῳ Κυρήνην τῆς Λιβύης ἄμεινον πρήξειν.
The Theraeans, not knowing the cause of their misfortunes, sent messengers to Delphi to inquire about their present troubles. And the Pythia declared to them that they would fare better if they joined Battus in founding Cyrene in Libya.
ἀπέστελλον μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν Βάττον οἱ Θηραῖοι δύο πεντηκοντέροισι.
After this, the Theraeans sent Battus away with two fifty-oared ships.
πλώσαντες δὲ ἐς τὴν Λιβύην οὗτοι, οὐ γὰρ εἶχον ὅ τι ποιέωσι ἄλλο, ὀπίσω ἀπαλλάσσοντο ἐς τὴν Θήρην. §4.156.3οἱ δὲ Θηραῖοι καταγομένους ἔβαλλον καὶ οὐκ ἔων τῇ γῇ προσίσχειν, ἀλλʼ ὀπίσω πλώειν ἐκέλευον.
These men sailed to Libya, but since they did not know what else to do, they departed back to Thera. But the Theraeans pelted them as they were putting to shore, and would not allow them to touch land, but ordered them to sail back.
οἳ δὲ ἀναγκαζόμενοι ὀπίσω ἀπέπλεον καὶ ἔκτισαν νῆσον ἐπὶ Λιβύῃ κειμένην, τῇ οὔνομα, ὡς καὶ πρότερον εἰρέθη, ἐστὶ Βλατέα.
And being forced, they sailed back and founded a settlement on an island lying off Libya, whose name, as was also said before, is Platea.
λέγεται δὲ ἴση εἶναι ἡ νῆσος τῇ νῦν Κυρηναίων πόλι.
And the island is said to be equal in size to the present city of the Cyrenaeans.

Notes

  1. §4.156.2συγκτίζουσι — Present participle in the dative plural masculine, agreeing with the dative pronoun σφι. It functions here conditionally ('if they should join in founding').
  2. §4.156.2ἄμεινον πρήξειν — Accusative with infinitive clause depending on ἔχρησε. The verb πρήσσειν (Ionic for πράσσειν) is used intransitively with the adverb ἄμεινον to mean 'to fare better' or 'to be in a better state'.
  3. §4.156.2ὅ τι ποιέωσι — The subjunctive ποιέωσι (Ionic for ποιῶσι) is a deliberative subjunctive. Although dependent on a past tense verb (εἶχον), the subjunctive is retained instead of being changed into the optative (ποιέοιεν) to maintain vividness.
  4. §4.156.3καταγομένους — Present participle middle-passive of κατάγω. In nautical contexts, the middle-passive means 'to put into land' or 'to come to shore'. The present tense denotes an action in progress or attempted ('as they were trying to land').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.156.1-4.156.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.156.1-4.156.3

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