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Herodotus · Histories §5.126.1-5.126.2

Aristagoras in Thrace and His Death

Passage 902 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Aristagoras decided to lead a colony to Myrcinus and sailed to Thrace, but while besieging a town there, he and his army were destroyed by the Thracians.

§5.126.1ταῦτα μὲν δὴ Ἑκαταῖος συνεβούλευε, αὐτῷ δὲ Ἀρισταγόρῃ ἡ πλείστη γνώμη ἦν ἐς τὴν Μύρκινον ἀπάγειν.
Hecataeus indeed gave this advice, but Aristagoras' own opinion was most inclined toward leading the people to Myrcinus.
τὴν μὲν δὴ Μίλητον ἐπιτράπει Πυθαγόρῃ ἀνδρὶ τῶν ἀστῶν δοκίμῳ, αὐτὸς δὲ παραλαβὼν πάντα τὸν βουλόμενον ἔπλεε ἐς τὴν Θρηίκην, καὶ ἔσχε τὴν χώρην ἐπʼ ἣν ἐστάλη·
He then entrusted Miletus to Pythagoras, a distinguished man among the citizens, and he himself, taking along everyone who was willing, sailed to Thrace and took possession of the territory to which he had been sent.
§5.126.2ἐκ δὲ ταύτης ὁρμώμενος ἀπόλλυται ὑπὸ Θρηίκων αὐτός τε ὁ Ἀρισταγόρης καὶ ὁ στρατὸς αὐτοῦ, πόλιν περικατήμενος καὶ βουλομένων τῶν Θρηίκων ὑποσπόνδων ἐξιέναι.
Setting out from this as his base, Aristagoras himself and his army were destroyed by the Thracians while he was besieging a city and when the Thracians were willing to depart under a truce.

Notes

  1. §5.126.1αὐτῷ δὲ Ἀρισταγόρῃ ἡ πλείστη γνώμη ἦν — The dative αὐτῷ Ἀρισταγόρῃ functions as a dative of possession ("Aristagoras had..."). The phrase ἡ πλείστη γνώμη ἦν literally means "the majority of the opinion was," indicating that his intention was most strongly inclined in that direction.
  2. §5.126.1ἀπάγειν — The infinitive of the verb ἀπάγω (to lead away) is used substantively here, with the object (the body of colonists) omitted in the sense of "to lead colonists away" or "to transplant the settlement."
  3. §5.126.2βουλομένων τῶν Θρηίκων ὑποσπόνδων ἐξιέναι — A genitive absolute construction. The adjective ὑπόσπονδος (under a truce) is used here adverbially, modifying the infinitive ἐξιέναι to mean "to depart under a truce" or "with a guarantee of safety."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.126.1-5.126.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.126.1-5.126.2

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