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Herodotus · Histories §5.1.1-5.1.3

Megabazus Subjugates Perinthus and the Paeonian Oracle

Passage 770 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Megabazus' Persian forces subjugate the Perinthians, and a past episode is related in which the Paeonians defeated the Perinthians by seizing upon the fulfillment of an oracle concerning a victory song.

§5.1.1οἱ δὲ ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ τῶν Περσέων καταλειφθέντες ὑπὸ Δαρείου, τῶν ὁ Μεγάβαζος ἦρχε, πρώτους μὲν Περινθίους Ἑλλησποντίων οὐ βουλομένους ὑπηκόους εἶναι Δαρείου κατεστρέψαντο, περιεφθέντας πρότερον καὶ ὑπὸ Παιόνων τρηχέως.
The Persians who had been left behind in Europe by Darius, under the command of Megabazus, first of all subjugated the Perinthians of the Hellespont, who were unwilling to be subjects of Darius and had previously been severely harassed by the Paeonians.
§5.1.2οἱ γὰρ ὦν ἀπὸ Στρυμόνος Παίονες χρήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ Περινθίους, καὶ ἢν μὲν ἀντικατιζόμενοι ἐπικαλέσωνται σφέας οἱ Περίνθιοι ὀνομαστὶ βώσαντες, τοὺς δὲ ἐπιχειρέειν, ἢν δὲ μὴ ἐπιβώσωνται, μὴ ἐπιχειρέειν, ἐποίεον οἱ Παίονες ταῦτα.
For the Paeonians from the Strymon, when the god had delivered an oracle commanding them to march against the Perinthians, and if the Perinthians, when they confronted them, should call upon them by name, shouting aloud, then they were to attack, but if they did not call upon them, they were not to attack—the Paeonians, then, acted accordingly.
ἀντικατιζομένων δὲ τῶν Περινθίων ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ, ἐνθαῦτα μουνομαχίη τριφασίη ἐκ προκλήσιός σφι ἐγένετο· καὶ γὰρ ἄνδρα ἀνδρὶ καὶ ἵππον ἵππῳ συνέβαλον καὶ κύνα κυνί.
And when the Perinthians confronted them in the suburb, a threefold duel took place there by challenge; for they matched man against man, horse against horse, and dog against dog.
§5.1.3νικώντων δὲ τὰ δύο τῶν Περινθίων, ὡς ἐπαιώνιζον κεχαρηκότες, συνεβάλοντο οἱ Παίονες τὸ χρηστήριον αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἶναι καὶ εἶπάν κου παρὰ σφίσι αὐτοῖσι νῦν ἂν εἴη ὁ χρησμὸς ἐπιτελεόμενος ἡμῖν, νῦν ἡμέτερον ἔργον. οὕτω τοῖσι Περινθίοισι παιωνίσασι ἐπιχειρέουσι οἱ Παίονες, καὶ πολλόν τε ἐκράτησαν καὶ ἔλιπον σφέων ὀλίγους.
When the Perinthians won two of these contests and were singing the paean in their joy, the Paeonians concluded that this was the very meaning of the oracle and said among themselves: "Now indeed the oracle must be in the course of fulfillment for us; now is our work." So the Paeonians attacked the Perinthians while they were singing the paean, and won a great victory, leaving only a few of them alive.

Notes

  1. 5.1.1τῶν — The relative pronoun in the genitive case, referring back to "the Persians" (τῶν Περσέων), governed by the verb ἦρχε (from ἄρχω, which takes the genitive).
  2. 5.1.2χρήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ — Genitive absolute construction. It expresses the circumstance where the god delivered an oracle (χράω), with the following infinitive clauses (starting with στρατεύεσθαι) representing the content of the oracle.
  3. 5.1.3νικώντων δὲ τὰ δύο τῶν Περινθίων — νικώντων ... τῶν Περινθίων is a genitive absolute. τὰ δύο (the two) is an accusative representing two out of the three types of duels (man, horse, dog) mentioned previously, acting either as an accusative of respect or direct object of νικάω.
  4. 5.1.3συνεβάλοντο ... τὸ χρηστήριον αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἶναι — The verb συνεβάλοντο (from συνβάλλω, "to infer" or "to understand") is followed by the accusative with infinitive clause (τὸ χρηστήριον αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἶναι). It indicates that the Paeonians realized that the Perinthians' singing of the paean (victory song) was the very fulfillment of the oracle's condition of being called upon.
  5. 5.1.3νῦν ἂν εἴη ὁ χρησμὸς ἐπιτελεόμενος ἡμῖν — ἂν εἴη is a potential optative, expressing a strong probability or potential realization in the present. ἡμῖν is the dative of interest or agent ("for us" / "by us").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.1.1-5.1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.1.1-5.1.3

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