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Herodotus · Histories §5.119.1-5.119.2

Defeat of the Carians and Council at Labraunda

Passage 895 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian army crosses the Maeander and defeats the Carians in a fierce battle. The surviving Carians flee to the sanctuary of Zeus Stratios at Labraunda, where they deliberate whether to surrender or leave Asia entirely.

§5.119.1μετὰ δὲ παρεόντων καὶ διαβάντων τὸν Μαίανδρον τῶν Περσέων, ἐνθαῦτα ἐπὶ τῷ Μαρσύῃ ποταμῷ συνέβαλόν τε τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι οἱ Κᾶρες καὶ μάχην ἐμαχέσαντο ἰσχυρὴν καὶ ἐπὶ χρόνον πολλόν, τέλος δὲ ἑσσώθησαν διὰ πλῆθος.
After this, when the Persians had arrived and crossed the Maeander, there by the river Marsyas the Carians engaged the Persians in battle and fought a fierce fight for a long time, but at last they were defeated by force of numbers.
Περσέων μὲν δὴ ἔπεσον ἄνδρες ἐς δισχιλίους, Καρῶν δὲ ἐς μυρίους. §5.119.2ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ οἱ διαφυγόντες αὐτῶν κατειλήθησαν ἐς Λάβραυνδα ἐς Διὸς στρατίου ἱρόν, μέγα τε καὶ ἅγιον ἄλσος πλατανίστων.
Of the Persians there fell about two thousand, and of the Carians about ten thousand. Then those of them who had escaped were cornered at Labraunda, in the temple of Zeus Stratios, a large and sacred grove of plane trees.
μοῦνοι δὲ τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν Κᾶρες εἰσὶ οἳ Διὶ στρατίῳ θυσίας ἀνάγουσι.
The Carians are the only people we know of who offer sacrifices to Zeus Stratios.
κατειληθέντες δὲ ὦν οὗτοι ἐνθαῦτα ἐβουλεύοντο περὶ σωτηρίης, ὁκότερα ἢ παραδόντες σφέας αὐτοὺς Πέρσῃσι ἢ ἐκλιπόντες τὸ παράπαν τὴν Ἀσίην ἄμεινον πρήξουσι.
Having been cornered there, they deliberated concerning their safety, whether they would fare better by surrendering themselves to the Persians or by abandoning Asia altogether.

Notes

  1. §5.119.1μετὰ δὲ παρεόντων καὶ διαβάντων τὸν Μαίανδρον τῶν Περσέων — After the adverbial phrase `μετὰ δὲ` ('afterward'), a genitive absolute construction (`παρεόντων καὶ διαβάντων ... τῶν Περσέων`) follows, with `τῶν Περσέων` serving as its logical subject.
  2. §5.119.2τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν — `ἴδμεν` is the Ionic/Epic 1st person plural present of `οἶδα` (corresponding to Attic `ἴσμεν`). `τῶν` is a relative pronoun acting as a partitive genitive: 'of those whom we know.'
  3. §5.119.2ὁκότερα ... ἄμεινον πρήξουσι — An indirect question introduced by `ὁκότερα` ('which of the two'). The verb `πρήξουσι` is the Ionic form of `πράξουσι` (future of `πράττω`). The idiom `ἄμεινον πρήξουσι` (equivalent to `ἄμεινον πράξουσι`) means 'they will fare better' or 'they will achieve a better outcome'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.119.1-5.119.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.119.1-5.119.2

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