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Herodotus · Histories §5.13.1-5.13.3

Darius Questioning the Paeonian Brothers

Passage 782 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Darius summons the woman who carried the water, and her brothers reveal that they are Paeonians, explaining their homeland and origin. When Darius asks if all their women are equally industrious, they eagerly agree, as this was the very goal of their demonstration.

§5.13.1θωμάζων δὲ ὁ Δαρεῖος τά τε ἤκουσε ἐκ τῶν κατασκόπων καὶ τὰ αὐτὸς ὥρα, ἄγειν αὐτὴν ἐκέλευε ἑωυτῷ ἐς ὄψιν.
And Darius, wondering at both what he had heard from the spies and what he had seen himself, ordered her to be brought into his presence.
ὡς δὲ ἄχθη, παρῆσαν καὶ οἱ ἀδελφεοὶ αὐτῆς οὔ κῃ πρόσω σκοπιὴν ἔχοντες τούτων.
When she was brought, her brothers also, who had been keeping watch on these developments from no great distance, made their appearance.
εἰρωτῶντος δὲ τοῦ Δαρείου ὁποδαπὴ εἴη, ἔφασαν οἱ νεηνίσκοι εἶναι Παίονες καὶ ἐκείνην εἶναι σφέων ἀδελφεήν.
When Darius asked what countrywoman she was, the young men said that they were Paeonians and she was their sister.
§5.13.2ὃ δʼ ἀμείβετο, τίνες δὲ οἱ Παίονες ἄνθρωποι εἰσὶ καὶ κοῦ γῆς οἰκημένοι, καὶ τί κεῖνοι ἐθέλοντες ἔλθοιεν ἐς Σάρδις.
And he answered, asking who the Paeonian people were, and where on earth they lived, and with what intent they had come to Sardis.
οἳ δέ οἱ ἔφραζον ὡς ἔλθοιεν μὲν ἐκείνῳ δώσοντες σφέας αὐτούς, εἴη δὲ ἡ Παιονίη ἐπὶ τῷ Στρυμόνι ποταμῷ πεπολισμένη, ὁ δὲ Στρυμὼν οὐ πρόσω τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου, εἴησαν δὲ Τευκρῶν τῶν ἐκ Τροίης ἄποικοι.
They explained to him that they had come to give themselves up to him, and that Paeonia was a city built on the river Strymon, and the Strymon was not far from the Hellespont, and they were colonists of the Teucrians from Troy.
§5.13.3οἳ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἕκαστα ἔλεγον, ὁ δὲ εἰρώτα εἰ καὶ πᾶσαι αὐτόθι αἱ γυναῖκες εἴησαν οὕτω ἐργάτιδες.
While they were telling each of these details, he asked whether all the women there were also so industrious.
οἳ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἔφασαν προθύμως οὕτω ἔχειν· αὐτοῦ γὰρ ὦν τούτου εἵνεκα καὶ ἐποιέετο.
And they eagerly asserted that this was indeed so; for it was for this very purpose indeed that the demonstration had been made.

Notes

  1. 5.13.1σκοπιὴν ἔχοντες τούτων — The genitive "τούτων" accompanying the noun "σκοπιή" (watching, keeping lookout) functions as an objective genitive, meaning "keeping watch on these things (the developments)". The adverbial phrase "οὔ κῃ πρόσω" (not far off) modifies this action.
  2. 5.13.2τί κεῖνοι ἐθέλοντες — A combination of the interrogative pronoun "τί" and the participle "ἐθέλοντες", meaning "wishing what" or "with what intention". Literally, "wishing what did those men come".
  3. 5.13.3αὐτοῦ γὰρ ὦν τούτου εἵνεκα καὶ ἐποιέετο — An impersonal passive construction or a passive referring back to the staged demonstration described in the previous chapter (the sister carrying water and spinning flax). It means "for it was for this very purpose indeed that the action was being done (staged)".

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.13.1-5.13.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.13.1-5.13.3

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