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Herodotus · Histories §5.57.1-5.57.2

Origin of the Gephyraeans and Migration to Athens

Passage 826 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author describes the origin of the Gephyraeans, contrasting their own claim of Eretrian descent with his own finding that they were Phoenicians who migrated to Athens after being expelled from Boeotia.

§5.57.1οἱ δὲ Γεφυραῖοι, τῶν ἦσαν οἱ φονέες οἱ Ἱππάρχου, ὡς μὲν αὐτοὶ λέγουσι, ἐγεγόνεσαν ἐξ Ἐρετρίης τὴν ἀρχήν, ὡς δὲ ἐγὼ ἀναπυνθανόμενος εὑρίσκω, ἦσαν Φοίνικες τῶν σὺν Κάδμῳ ἀπικομένων Φοινίκων ἐς γῆν τὴν νῦν Βοιωτίην καλεομένην, οἴκεον δὲ τῆς χώρης ταύτης ἀπολαχόντες τὴν Ταναγρικὴν μοῖραν.
The Gephyraeans, to whom the murderers of Hipparchus belonged, were, according to their own account, originally from Eretria; but as I find by inquiry, they were Phoenicians of those who came with Cadmus to the land now called Boeotia, and they dwelt in this region, having received by allotment the district of Tanagra.
§5.57.2ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ Καδμείων πρότερον ἐξαναστάντων ὑπʼ Ἀργείων, οἱ Γεφυραῖοι οὗτοι δεύτερα ὑπὸ Βοιωτῶν ἐξαναστάντες ἐτράποντο ἐπʼ Ἀθηνέων.
Then, after the Cadmeans had previously been expelled by the Argives, these Gephyraeans were in turn expelled by the Boeotians and turned to Athens.
Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ σφέας ἐπὶ ῥητοῖσι ἐδέξαντο σφέων αὐτῶν εἶναι πολιήτας, πολλῶν τεῶν καὶ οὐκ ἀξιαπηγήτων ἐπιτάξαντες ἔργεσθαι.
The Athenians received them as citizens of their own on fixed conditions, prescribing that they should be excluded from many privileges which are not unworthy of mention.

Notes

  1. §5.57.1τὴν ἀρχήν — Adverbial accusative, meaning "originally" or "in the beginning".
  2. §5.57.1τῶν σὺν Κάδμῳ ἀπικομένων Φοινίκων — Partitive genitive depending on the subject complement ἦσαν Φοίνικες ("they were Phoenicians"), meaning "of those Phoenicians who came with Cadmus".
  3. §5.57.2ἐπὶ ῥητοῖσι — The preposition ἐπί with the dative, meaning "on fixed terms" or "upon specified conditions".
  4. §5.57.2πολλῶν τεῶν καὶ οὐκ ἀξιαπηγήτων ἐπιτάξαντες ἔργεσθαι — τεῶν is the Ionic form of the indefinite pronoun τινῶν. ἔργεσθαι is the Ionic form of εἴργεσθαι ("to be barred/excluded from"), which governs the genitive πολλῶν τεῶν... The participle ἐπιτάξαντες ("having enjoined") governs this infinitive clause, meaning "prescribing that they should be excluded from many, and indeed not unimportant, matters (or privileges)."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.57.1-5.57.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.57.1-5.57.2

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