Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §4.200.1-4.200.3

Persian Siege of Barce and the Thwarted Mines

Passage 764 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian army begins the siege of Barce, but the citizens refuse to surrender as the entire population is complicit in the murder. When the Persians try to dig underground mines, a Barcaean brass-smith detects their locations using a bronze shield, enabling the citizens to counter-mine and foil the attempt.

§4.200.1οἱ δὲ Φερετίμης τιμωροὶ Πέρσαι ἐπείτε ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου σταλέντες ὑπὸ Ἀρυάνδεω ἀπίκατο ἐς τὴν Βάρκην, ἐπολιόρκεον τὴν πόλιν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι ἐκδιδόναι τοὺς αἰτίους τοῦ φόνου τοῦ Ἀρκεσίλεω·
And the Persians who were the avengers of Pheretime, when they had arrived at Barce after being sent from Egypt by Aryandes, besieged the city, demanding that they hand over those who were guilty of the murder of Arcesilaus.
τῶν δὲ πᾶν γὰρ ἦν τὸ πλῆθος μεταίτιον, οὐκ ἐδέκοντο τοὺς λόγους.
But they—for their whole multitude was complicit—did not accept the terms.
§4.200.2ἐνθαῦτα δὴ ἐπολιόρκεον τὴν Βάρκην ἐπὶ μῆνας ἐννέα, ὀρύσσοντες τε ὀρύγματα ὑπόγαια φέροντα ἐς τὸ τεῖχος καὶ προσβολὰς καρτερὰς ποιεύμενοι.
Thereupon they besieged Barce for nine months, digging underground passages leading to the wall and making fierce assaults.
τὰ μέν νυν ὀρύγματα ἀνὴρ χαλκεὺς ἀνεῦρε ἐπιχάλκῳ ἀσπίδι, ὧδε ἐπιφρασθείς· περιφέρων αὐτὴν ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχεος προσῖσχε πρὸς τὸ δάπεδον τῆς πόλιος.
Now, a brass-smith discovered the mines by means of a bronze-plated shield, having conceived the following idea: carrying it around inside the wall, he applied it to the ground of the city.
§4.200.3τὰ μὲν δὴ ἄλλα ἔσκε κωφὰ πρὸς τὰ προσῖσχε, κατὰ δὲ τὰ ὀρυσσόμενα ἠχέεσκε ὁ χαλκὸς τῆς ἀσπίδος.
Indeed, all the other places to which he applied it were mute, but over against the places being dug, the bronze of the shield rang out.
ἀντορύσσοντες δʼ ἂν ταύτῃ οἱ Βαρκαῖοι ἔκτεινον τῶν Περσέων τοὺς γεωρυχέοντας.
The Barcaeans, digging in opposition at these points, would kill those of the Persians who were excavating the earth.
τοῦτο μὲν δὴ οὕτω ἐξευρέθη, τὰς δὲ προσβολὰς ἀπεκρούοντο οἱ Βαρκαῖοι.
This, then, was discovered in this way, and the Barcaeans beat back the assaults.

Notes

  1. §4.200.1τῶν δὲ πᾶν γὰρ ἦν τὸ πλῆθος μεταίτιον, οὐκ ἐδέκοντο τοὺς λόγους — The clause containing the conjunction γάρ is inserted between the pronoun τῶν δέ and the main verb οὐκ ἐδέκοντο. τῶν is a genitive plural pronoun depending on πλῆθος inside the γάρ-clause, meaning "their (i.e. the Barcaeans') whole multitude." The subject of the main verb οὐκ ἐδέκοντο is understood from the context as "the Barcaeans."
  2. §4.200.3πρὸς τὰ προσῖσχε — The antecedent of the relative pronoun τὰ is omitted, forming the structure πρὸς [ἐκεῖνα] ἃ προσῖσχε ("in relation to those places to which he applied it"). προσῖσχε is the 3rd person singular imperfect of προσίσχω ("to apply/hold against").
  3. §4.200.3ἀντορύσσοντες δʼ ἂν ταύτῃ οἱ Βαρκαῖοι ἔκτεινον — The particle ἄν (frequently used with the imperfect or aorist indicative in Herodotus) is combined with the imperfect ἔκτεινον to express iterative or habitual action in the past ("they would kill" / "they used to kill"). The participle ἀντορύσσοντες indicates means or attendant circumstance.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.200.1-4.200.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.200.1-4.200.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.