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Herodotus · Histories §5.96.1-5.96.2

Artaphrenes' Demand for Hippias' Return and Athens' Refusal

Passage 872 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

After Athens secures control of Sigeum, the exiled Hippias plots against them with Artaphrenes in Asia. The Athenians send envoys to counteract this, but they refuse Artaphrenes' demand to reinstate Hippias and instead resolve to openly oppose the Persians.

§5.96.1Σίγειον μέν νυν οὕτω ἐγένετο ὑπʼ Ἀθηναίοισι.
In this way, then, Sigeum came under the control of the Athenians.
Ἱππίης δὲ ἐπείτε ἀπίκετο ἐκ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην, πᾶν χρῆμα ἐκίνεε, διαβάλλων τε τοὺς Ἀθηναίους πρὸς τὸν Ἀρταφρένεα καὶ ποιέων ἅπαντα ὅκως αἱ Ἀθῆναι γενοίατο ὑπʼ ἑωυτῷ τε καὶ Δαρείῳ.
As for Hippias, when he arrived in Asia from Lacedaemon, he set every wheel in motion, slandering the Athenians to Artaphrenes and doing everything to bring Athens under the subjection of himself and Darius.
§5.96.2Ἱππίης τε δὴ ταῦτα ἔπρησσε, καὶ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι πυθόμενοι ταῦτα πέμπουσι ἐς Σάρδις ἀγγέλους, οὐκ ἐῶντες τοὺς Πέρσας πείθεσθαι Ἀθηναίων τοῖσι φυγάσι.
While Hippias was busy with these intrigues, the Athenians, learning of them, sent messengers to Sardis, urging the Persians not to listen to the Athenian exiles.
ὁ δὲ Ἀρταφρένης ἐκέλευε σφέας, εἰ βουλοίατο σόοι εἶναι, καταδέκεσθαι ὀπίσω Ἱππίην.
But Artaphrenes ordered them, if they wished to remain safe, to receive Hippias back.
οὔκων δὴ ἐνεδέκοντο τοὺς λόγους ἀποφερομένους οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι· οὐκ ἐνδεκομένοισι δέ σφι ἐδέδοκτο ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι πολεμίους εἶναι.
The Athenians, however, utterly refused to accept the words brought back to them; and since they did not accept them, they resolved to be openly hostile to the Persians.

Notes

  1. 5.96.1πᾶν χρῆμα ἐκίνεε — An idiomatic expression meaning "left no stone unturned" or "set every wheel in motion". Literally, "he was moving every thing". The imperfect tense ἐκίνεε (from κινέω) denotes his persistent and ongoing intrigues.
  2. 5.96.1γενοίατο — Ionic dialectal form of the third-person plural aorist middle optative (equivalent to Attic γένοιντο). It is used inside the clause introduced by the final conjunction ὅκως (ὅπως) following a historical main verb (ἐκίνεε / ποιέων), expressing subjective purpose in the past.
  3. 5.96.2οὐκ ἐνδεκομένοισι δέ σφι ἐδέδοκτο — The pluperfect impersonal verb ἐδέδοκτο ("it had been decided") is construed with the dative of agent σφι ("by them"), which is agreed with by the dative present participle οὐκ ἐνδεκομένοισι ("not accepting"). Together, it means "and since they did not accept (the terms), they resolved...".

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.96.1-5.96.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.96.1-5.96.2

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