Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §4.202.1-4.202.2

Pheretime's Cruel Vengeance on the People of Barce

Passage 766 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon receiving the surrendered Barcaeans from the Persians, Pheretime brutally executed the ringleaders of the murder around the city walls and enslaved the remaining population, except for the innocent members of the Battiadae family.

§4.202.1τοὺς μέν νυν αἰτιωτάτους τῶν Βαρκαίων ἡ Φερετίμη, ἐπείτε οἱ ἐκ τῶν Περσέων παρεδόθησαν, ἀνεσκολόπισε κύκλῳ τοῦ τείχεος, τῶν δέ σφι γυναικῶν τοὺς μαζοὺς ἀποταμοῦσα περιέστιξε καὶ τούτοισι τὸ τεῖχος·
Now Pheretime, when the most guilty of the Barcaeans were handed over to her by the Persians, impaled them all around the wall; and she cut off the breasts of their wives and studded the wall with them as well.
§4.202.2τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τῶν Βαρκαίων ληίην ἐκέλευε θέσθαι τοὺς Πέρσας, πλὴν ὅσοι αὐτῶν ἦσαν Βαττιάδαι τε καὶ τοῦ φόνου οὐ μεταίτιοι· τούτοισι δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἐπέτρεψε ἡ Φερετίμη.
As for the rest of the Barcaeans, she ordered the Persians to take them as booty, except for those who were of the family of the Battiadae and had no share in the guilt of the murder; to these Pheretime entrusted the city.

Notes

  1. 4.202.1οἱ — Dative singular of the third-person pronoun (non-reflexive), referring to Pheretime (ἡ Φερετίμη), the subject of the main clause. It indicates that they were handed over 'to her' by the Persians.
  2. 4.202.1σφι — Dative plural of the third-person pronoun, used here with a possessive force (dative of interest/possession) modifying the noun phrase τῶν γυναικῶν, and referring back to the ringleaders (τοὺς αἰτιωτάτους).
  3. 4.202.2τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τῶν Βαρκαίων ληίην ἐκέλευε θέσθαι τοὺς Πέρσας — The accusative τοὺς Πέρσας (the Persians) acts as the subject of the infinitive θέσθαι (to make as booty), while τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τῶν Βαρκαίων (the rest of the Barcaeans) is the object of θέσθαι. The entire structure is governed by the verb ἐκέλευε (ordered).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §4.202.1-4.202.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.202.1-4.202.2

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.