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Herodotus · Histories §5.99.1-5.99.2

Arrival of the Allies and Plans to Attack Sardis

Passage 875 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon the arrival of the Athenian and Eretrian allied forces, Aristagoras decides on an expedition to Sardis. Instead of going himself, he appoints his brother Charopinus and Hermophantus as generals.

§5.99.1Ἀρισταγόρης δέ, ἐπειδὴ οἵ τε Ἀθηναῖοι ἀπίκοντο εἴκοσι νηυσί, ἅμα ἀγόμενοι Ἐρετριέων πέντε τριήρεας, οἳ οὐ τὴν Ἀθηναίων χάριν ἐστρατεύοντο ἀλλὰ τὴν αὐτῶν Μιλησίων, ὀφειλόμενά σφι ἀποδιδόντες· οἱ γὰρ δὴ Μιλήσιοι πρότερον τοῖσι Ἐρετριεῦσι τὸν πρὸς Χαλκιδέας πόλεμον συνδιήνεικαν, ὅτε περ καὶ Χαλκιδεῦσι ἀντία Ἐρετριέων καὶ Μιλησίων Σάμιοι ἐβοήθεον· οὗτοι ὦν ἐπείτε σφι ἀπίκοντο καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι σύμμαχοι παρῆσαν, ἐποιέετο στρατηίην ὁ Ἀρισταγόρης ἐς Σάρδις.
Meanwhile, Aristagoras, when the Athenians arrived with twenty ships, bringing with them at the same time five triremes of the Eretrians—who were campaigning not for the sake of the Athenians, but for that of the Miletans themselves, paying back what was owed to them; for indeed the Miletans had previously helped the Eretrians carry through their war against the Chalcidians, at which time the Samians also came to the aid of the Chalcidians against the Eretrians and Miletans—when these, then, had arrived for them and the other allies were present, Aristagoras made an expedition against Sardis.
§5.99.2αὐτὸς μὲν δὴ οὐκ ἐστρατεύετο ἀλλʼ ἔμενε ἐν Μιλήτῳ, στρατηγοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀπέδεξε Μιλησίων εἶναι, τὸν ἑωυτοῦ τε ἀδελφεὸν Χαροπῖνον καὶ τῶν ἀστῶν ἄλλον Ἑρμόφαντον.
He himself did not go on the campaign but remained in Miletus, and appointed others to be generals of the Miletans: his own brother Charopinus, and Hermophantus, another of the citizens.

Notes

  1. §5.99.1οὗτοι ὦν — An anacoluthon (broken sentence structure) where the main clause beginning with 'Ἀρισταγόρης δέ' is interrupted by a long parenthetical insert (from 'ἐπειδὴ...' to 'ἐβοήθεον'), and then resumed using the demonstrative pronoun 'οὗτοι' and the particle 'ὦν' to restate the subject before reaching the main verb.
  2. §5.99.1τὴν Ἀθηναίων χάριν — The accusative 'χάριν' of the noun 'χάρις' is used here with the genitive 'Ἀθηναίων' as an adverbial accusative meaning 'for the sake of' or 'in favor of'.
  3. §5.99.1ὀφειλόμενά σφι — The third-person plural dative pronoun 'σφι' refers to the Miletans, to whom the Eretrians owed a debt of gratitude for prior assistance in their war against the Chalcidians.
  4. §5.99.2στρατηγοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀπέδεξε Μιλησίων εἶναι — The verb 'ἀπέδεξε' (from ἀποδείκνυμι, 'to appoint') takes an object complement structure consisting of the accusative 'στρατηγοὺς ἄλλους' with the infinitive 'εἶναι' and its genitive modifier 'Μιλησίων', meaning 'he appointed others to be generals of the Miletans'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §5.99.1-5.99.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.99.1-5.99.2

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