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Herodotus · Histories §4.164.1-4.164.4

Restoration of Arcesilaus and His Murder at Barca

Passage 728 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Arcesilaus returns to Cyrene with his army and brutally suppresses his opponents, but upon realizing he had violated the oracle, he withdraws to Barca, where he and his father-in-law are ultimately assassinated, fulfilling the prophecy.

§4.164.1ὁ δὲ παραλαβὼν τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Σάμου κατῆλθε ἐς τὴν Κυρήνην, καὶ ἐπικρατήσας τῶν πρηγμάτων τοῦ μαντηίου οὐκ ἐμέμνητο, ἀλλὰ δίκας τοὺς ἀντιστασιώτας αἴτεε τῆς ἑωυτοῦ φυγῆς.
And he, having taken with him the men from Samos, returned to Cyrene, and having got control of affairs, he paid no heed to the oracle, but demanded satisfaction from his political opponents for his own banishment.
§4.164.2τῶν δὲ οἳ μὲν τὸ παράπαν ἐκ τῆς χώρης ἀπαλλάσσοντο, τοὺς δὲ τινὰς χειρωσάμενος ὁ Ἀρκεσίλεως ἐς Κύπρον ἀπέστειλε ἐπὶ διαφθορῇ.
Of these, some departed entirely from the country, while others Arcesilaus captured and sent to Cyprus to be put to death.
τούτους μέν νυν Κνίδιοι ἀπενειχθέντας πρὸς τὴν σφετέρην ἐρρύσαντο καὶ ἐς Θήρην ἀπέστειλαν· ἑτέρους δὲ τινὰς τῶν Κυρηναίων ἐς πύργον μέγαν Ἀγλωμάχου καταφυγόντας ἰδιωτικὸν ὕλην περινήσας ὁ Ἀρκεσίλεως ἐνέπρησε.
These latter, when they were carried out of their course to the land of the Cnidians, were rescued by them and sent to Thera; but certain others of the Cyrenaeans, who had fled for refuge into a large private tower belonging to Aglomachus, Arcesilaus burned by piling wood around it.
§4.164.3μαθὼν δὲ ἐπʼ ἐξεργασμένοισι τὸ μαντήιον ἐὸν τοῦτο, ὅτι μιν ἡ Πυθίη οὐκ ἔα εὑρόντα ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ τοὺς ἀμφορέας ἐξοπτῆσαι, ἔργετο ἑκὼν τῆς τῶν Κυρηναίων πόλιος, δειμαίνων τε τὸν κεχρησμένον θάνατον καὶ δοκέων ἀμφίρρυτον τὴν Κυρήνην εἶναι.
But when the deed was done, realizing that this was the oracle—namely, that the Pythian priestess had forbidden him, if he found the amphorae in the oven, to bake them—he voluntarily kept away from the city of the Cyrenaeans, fearing the death that had been prophesied and believing Cyrene to be the water-girt land.
§4.164.4εἶχε δὲ γυναῖκα συγγενέα ἑωυτοῦ, θυγατέρα δὲ τῶν Βαρκαίων τοῦ βασιλέος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Ἀλάζειρ·
He had a wife who was his relative, a daughter of the king of the Barcaeans, whose name was Alazeir.
παρὰ τοῦτον ἀπικνέεται, καί μιν Βαρκαῖοί τε ἄνδρες καὶ τῶν ἐκ Κυρήνης φυγάδων τινὲς καταμαθόντες ἀγοράζοντα κτείνουσι, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὸν πενθερὸν αὐτοῦ Ἀλάζειρα.
To him Arcesilaus came, and the men of Barca and certain of the exiles from Cyrene, having noticed him walking in the market-place, killed him, and in addition also his father-in-law Alazeir.
Ἀρκεσίλεως μέν νυν εἴτε ἑκὼν εἴτε ἀέκων ἁμαρτὼν τοῦ χρησμοῦ ἐξέπλησε μοῖραν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ.
Thus Arcesilaus, whether willingly or unwillingly, by failing to understand the oracle, fulfilled his own destiny.

Notes

  1. 4.164.1δίκας τοὺς ἀντιστασιώτας αἴτεε τῆς ἑωυτοῦ φυγῆς — The verb αἰτέω takes a double accusative of the person (τοὺς ἀντιστασιώτας) and the thing demanded (δίκας, 'satisfaction' or 'penalty'). The genitive phrase τῆς ἑωυτοῦ φυγῆς is a genitive of cause, explaining the reason for the demand ('for his own banishment').
  2. 4.164.3ἐπʼ ἐξεργασμένοισι — An idiomatic expression consisting of the preposition ἐπί with the dative neuter plural of the perfect passive participle of ἐξεργάζομαι. It means 'after the deed is done' or 'too late.'
  3. 4.164.3μαθὼν δὲ ... τὸ μαντήιον ἐὸν τοῦτο, ὅτι... — The participle μαθὼν (from μανθάνω) governs a supplementary participle construction with the accusative noun (τὸ μαντήιον) and the participle (ἐὸν), meaning 'having learned that the oracle was...'. The demonstrative pronoun τοῦτο stands in apposition to and anticipates the following ὅτι clause, which details the content of the oracle.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.164.1-4.164.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.164.1-4.164.4

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