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Herodotus · Histories §5.11.1-5.11.2

Darius's Rewards to Histiaeus and Coes

Passage 780 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon arriving at Sardis, King Darius summoned Histiaeus and Coes to reward them; Histiaeus requested the territory of Myrcinus, while Coes asked to become tyrant of Mytilene.

§5.11.1Δαρεῖος δὲ ὡς διαβὰς τάχιστα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἀπίκετο ἐς Σάρδις, ἐμνήσθη τῆς ἐξ Ἱστιαίου τε τοῦ Μιλησίου εὐεργεσίης καὶ τῆς παραινέσιος τοῦ Μυτιληναίου Κώεω, μεταπεμψάμενος δὲ σφέας ἐς Σάρδις ἐδίδου αὐτοῖσι αἵρεσιν.
Darius, as soon as he had crossed the Hellespont and arrived at Sardis, remembered the benefit he had received from Histiaeus of Miletus and the advice of Coes of Mytilene, and having sent for them to Sardis, he gave them a choice.
§5.11.2ὁ μὲν δὴ Ἱστιαῖος, ἅτε τυραννεύων τῆς Μιλήτου, τυραννίδος μὲν οὐδεμιῆς προσεχρήιζε, αἰτέει δὲ Μύρκινον τὴν Ἠδωνῶν, βουλόμενος ἐν αὐτῇ πόλιν κτίσαι.
Now Histiaeus, since he was already tyrant of Miletus, did not desire any further tyranny, but asked for Myrcinus in the territory of the Edonians, wishing to found a city in it.
οὗτος μὲν δὴ ταύτην αἱρέεται, ὁ δὲ Κώης, οἷά τε οὐ τύραννος δημότης τε ἐών, αἰτέει Μυτιλήνης τυραννεῦσαι.
While he chose this, Coes, because he was not a tyrant but a private citizen, asked to become tyrant of Mytilene.

Notes

  1. 5.11.1ὡς διαβὰς τάχιστα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἀπίκετο — The conjunction ὡς combined with the adverb τάχιστα and the main verb ἀπίκετο expresses immediate succession ('as soon as he arrived'). The insertion of the aorist participle διαβάς within this construction indicates the prior action: 'having crossed the Hellespont, as soon as he arrived'.
  2. 5.11.2ἅτε τυραννεύων — The particle ἅτε with the participle expresses an objective reason or ground from the speaker's standpoint ('inasmuch as he was ruling'). It stands in structural parallel with the subsequent οἷά τε, highlighting the differing social backgrounds that motivated their respective requests.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.11.1-5.11.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.11.1-5.11.2

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