Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §6.10.1

Ionian rejection of overtures sent through the tyrants

Passage 912 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Ionian tyrants send secret messages to their respective citizens as instructed, but the Ionians stubbornly refuse the offer of betrayal, each group believing the offer is made to them alone.

§6.10.1οἳ μὲν δὴ ἔλεγον τάδε.
These, then, spoke thus.
τῶν δὲ Ἰώνων οἱ τύραννοι διέπεμπον νυκτὸς ἕκαστος ἐς τοὺς ἑωυτοῦ ἐξαγγελλόμενος.
And the tyrants of the Ionians sent messengers by night, each to his own people, to deliver the message.
οἱ δὲ Ἴωνες, ἐς τοὺς καὶ ἀπίκοντο αὗται αἱ ἀγγελίαι, ἀγνωμοσύνῃ τε διεχρέωντο καὶ οὐ προσίεντο τὴν προδοσίην· ἑωυτοῖσι δὲ ἕκαστοι ἐδόκεον μούνοισι ταῦτα τοὺς Πέρσας ἐξαγγέλλεσθαι.
But the Ionians to whom these messages came showed a stubborn spirit and would not admit the betrayal; for each group of them thought that the Persians were making this offer to themselves alone.

Notes

  1. 6.10.1ἕκαστος ἐξαγγελλόμενος — The singular ἕκαστος and the singular participle ἐξαγγελλόμενος stand in apposition to the plural subject οἱ τύραννοι (the tyrants), breaking down the collective action of the subject into individual actors.
  2. 6.10.1ἀγνωμοσύνῃ τε διεχρέωντο — διεχρέωντο is the Ionic imperfect of διαχράομαι (to use constantly, persist in), here taking the dative noun ἀγνωμοσύνῃ (folly, obstinacy) to mean 'persisted in their obstinacy' or 'stubbornly refused.'
  3. 6.10.1ἑωυτοῖσι δὲ ἕκαστοι ἐδόκεον μούνοισι ταῦτα τοὺς Πέρσας ἐξαγγέλλεσθαι — The main verb ἐδόκεον (they thought) has ἕκαστοι (each group) as its subject, governing the accusative and infinitive construction τοὺς Πέρσας ἐξαγγέλλεσθαι (that the Persians were making this offer). ἑωυτοῖσι μούνοισι (to themselves alone) is a reflexive pronoun in the dative referring back to the plural subject ἕκαστοι.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.10.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.10.1

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