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Herodotus · Histories §5.31.1-5.31.4

Aristagoras's Proposal to Artaphernes on Naxos

Passage 800 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Aristagoras visits Artaphernes in Sardis and proposes an expedition to Naxos, highlighting the island's wealth, its potential to secure other Cycladic islands, and its value as a stepping stone to Euboea, while offering financial support. Artaphernes highly approves of the plan and promises to provide two hundred ships, double the requested amount, subject to the King's consent.

§5.31.1ἀπικόμενος δὲ ὁ Ἀρισταγόρης ἐς τὰς Σάρδις λέγει πρὸς τὸν Ἀρταφρένεα ὡς Νάξος εἴη νῆσος μεγάθεϊ μὲν οὐ μεγάλη, ἄλλως δὲ καλή τε καὶ ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἀγχοῦ Ἰωνίης, χρήματα δὲ ἔνι πολλὰ καὶ ἀνδράποδα.
Aristagoras, having arrived at Sardis, told Artaphernes that Naxos was an island not large in size, but otherwise beautiful and fertile, and close to Ionia, and that there was much wealth and many slaves in it.
σὺ ὦν ἐπὶ ταύτην τὴν χώρην στρατηλάτεε, κατάγων ἐς αὐτὴν τοὺς φυγάδας ἐξ αὐτῆς.
"Therefore, do you march against this land, restoring to it the exiles from it.
§5.31.2καί τοι ταῦτα ποιήσαντι τοῦτο μὲν ἐστὶ ἕτοιμα παρʼ ἐμοὶ χρήματα μεγάλα πάρεξ τῶν ἀναισιμωμάτων τῇ στρατιῇ· ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ δίκαιον ἡμέας τοὺς ἄγοντας παρέχειν ἐστί· τοῦτο δὲ νήσους βασιλέι προσκτήσεαι αὐτήν τε Νάξον καὶ τὰς ἐκ ταύτης ἠρτημένας, Πάρον καὶ Ἄνδρον καὶ ἄλλας τὰς Κυκλάδας καλευμένας.
And indeed, if you do this, on the one hand, a large amount of money is ready with me, apart from the expenses for the army; for it is just that we who lead them back should provide this; on the other hand, you will acquire islands for the King, both Naxos itself and those dependent on it, Paros and Andros and the others called the Cyclades.
§5.31.3ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὁρμώμενος εὐπετέως ἐπιθήσεαι Εὐβοίῃ νήσῳ μεγάλῃ τε καὶ εὐδαίμονι, οὐκ ἐλάσσονι Κύπρου καὶ κάρτα εὐπετέι αἱρεθῆναι.
Setting out from there, you will easily attack the island of Euboea, which is large and prosperous, not smaller than Cyprus and very easy to capture.
ἀποχρῶσι δὲ ἑκατὸν νέες ταύτας πάσας χειρώσασθαι. ὁ δὲ ἀμείβετο αὐτὸν τοῖσιδε. §5.31.4σὺ ἐς οἶκον τὸν βασιλέος ἐξηγητὴς γίνεαι πρηγμάτων ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ταῦτα εὖ παραινέεις πάντα, πλὴν τῶν νεῶν τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ·
A hundred ships are sufficient to subdue all of these." And Artaphernes answered him with these words: "You are a promoter of good things for the house of the King, and you advise all of this well, except for the number of ships.
ἀντὶ δὲ ἑκατὸν νεῶν διηκόσιαί τοι ἕτοιμοι ἔσονται ἅμα τῷ ἔαρι.
Instead of a hundred ships, two hundred will be ready for you at the beginning of spring.
δεῖ δὲ τούτοισι καὶ αὐτὸν βασιλέα συνέπαινον γίνεσθαι.
But it is necessary that the King himself also gives his consent to this."

Notes

  1. §5.31.2ποιήσαντι — Dative participle carrying a conditional force ("if you do this"). Rather than being governed by a specific word, it functions as a dative of interest or reference, logically connecting to the main clauses of the sentence (especially ἕτοιμα ... ἐστὶ and προσκτήσεαι).
  2. §5.31.2τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δὲ — Adverbial accusatives used correlatively to mean "on the one hand ... on the other hand ...," serving the same function as the more common prose construction τὸ μὲν ... τὸ δὲ ... .
  3. §5.31.3αἱρεθῆναι — Passive infinitive used as an epexegetical infinitive (or infinitive of application) limiting the adjective εὐπετέι ("easy"), meaning "easy to be taken" or "easy to capture."
  4. §5.31.4γίνεαι — The uncontracted Ionic form of the second-person singular present middle/passive of the verb γίνομαι, equivalent to the Attic γίγνῃ (or γίγνει).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.31.1-5.31.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.31.1-5.31.4

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