Herodotus · Histories §5.109.1-5.109.3

Division of Forces in Cyprus and the Ionians' Choice of Sea Battle

Passage 885 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The rulers of Cyprus offer the Ionian generals a choice between fighting the Persians on land or the Phoenicians at sea. The Ionians decline to fight on land, stating that their mission is to guard the sea, and urge the Cypriots to show bravery on land themselves.

§5.109.1τούτου δὲ τοιούτου γινομένου ἔλεξαν οἱ τύραννοι τῆς Κύπρου, συγκαλέσαντες τῶν Ἰώνων τοὺς στρατηγούς, ἄνδρες Ἴωνες, αἵρεσιν ὑμῖν δίδομεν ἡμεῖς οἱ Κύπριοι ὁκοτέροισι βούλεσθε προσφέρεσθαι, ἢ Πέρσῃσι ἢ Φοίνιξι. §5.109.2εἰ μὲν γὰρ πεζῇ βούλεσθε ταχθέντες Περσέων διαπειρᾶσθαι, ὥρη ἂν εἴη ὑμῖν ἐκβάντας ἐκ τῶν νεῶν τάσσεσθαι πεζῇ, ἡμέας δὲ ἐς τὰς νέας ἐσβαίνειν τὰς ὑμετέρας Φοίνιξι ἀνταγωνιευμένους·

\nWhile this was going on, the rulers of Cyprus summoned the generals of the Ionians and said to them:\n"Men of Ionia, we Cypriots give you a choice as to which of the two you wish to engage, whether the Persians or the Phoenicians.\n\nFor if you wish to be arrayed on land and try your strength against the Persians, it would be time for you to disembark from your ships and array yourselves on land, and for us to embark on your ships to fight against the Phoenicians.

εἰ δὲ Φοινίκων μᾶλλον βούλεσθε διαπειρᾶσθαι, ποιέειν χρεόν ἐστι ὑμέας, ὁκότερα ἂν δὴ τούτων ἕλησθε, ὅκως τὸ κατʼ ὑμέας ἔσται ἥ τε Ἰωνίη καὶ ἡ Κύπρος ἐλευθέρη. §5.109.3εἶπαν Ἴωνες πρὸς ταῦτα ἡμέας δὲ ἀπέπεμψε τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Ἰώνων φυλάξοντας τὴν θάλασσαν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἵνα Κυπρίοισι τὰς νέας παραδόντες αὐτοὶ πεζῇ Πέρσῃσι προσφερώμεθα.

But if you prefer to try your strength against the Phoenicians, you must act, whichever of these two you choose, in such a way that, as far as lies in your power, both Ionia and Cyprus shall be free.\n\nTo this the Ionians replied:\n"The common council of the Ionians sent us to guard the sea, and not so that we should hand over our ships to the Cypriots and ourselves engage the Persians on land.

ἡμεῖς μέν νυν ἐπʼ οὗ ἐτάχθημεν, ταύτῃ πειρησόμεθα εἶναι χρηστοί· ὑμέας δὲ χρεόν ἐστι ἀναμνησθέντας οἷα ἐπάσχετε δουλεύοντες πρὸς τῶν Μήδων, γίνεσθαι ἄνδρας ἀγαθούς.

We, therefore, will try to be of good service in the post where we have been stationed; but you must show yourselves brave men, remembering what kind of treatment you suffered while serving as slaves under the Medes."

Notes

5.109.2ὥρη ἂν εἴη ὑμῖν ἐκβάντας ... ἡμέας δὲ ... ἐσβαίνειν — The potential optative expression ὥρη ἂν εἴη ("it would be time") governs two parallel infinitive clauses: τάσσεσθαι and ἐσβαίνειν. In the first clause, although the indirect object is the dative ὑμῖν, the participle ἐκβάντας appears in the accusative case, reflecting the common Greek tendency to express the subject of an infinitive in the accusative. In the second clause, the construct is explicitly an accusative-and-infinitive clause with the accusative subject ἡμέας and the infinitive ἐσβαίνειν.
5.109.2ὅκως τὸ κατʼ ὑμέας ἔσται — The conjunction ὅκως (ὅπως) with the future indicative ἔσται functions as an object clause of effort or purpose linked to ποιέειν χρεόν ἐστι ("it is necessary to act so that..."). The phrase τὸ κατʼ ὑμέας is an accusative neuter article with a prepositional phrase acting adverbially, meaning "as far as you are concerned" or "for your part."
5.109.3φυλάξοντας — This is a future active participle in the accusative masculine plural, agreeing with the direct object ἡμέας of the verb ἀπέπεμψε, expressing the purpose of the action ("in order to guard").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.109.1-5.109.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.109.1-5.109.3

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