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Herodotus · Histories §6.120.1

Late Arrival of the Spartan Army at Marathon

Passage 1026 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Two thousand Lacedaemonian troops depart Sparta after the full moon and reach Attica with incredible speed, but arriving too late for the battle, they visit Marathon to view the enemy casualties before returning home.

§6.120.1Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ ἧκον ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας δισχίλιοι μετὰ τὴν πανσέληνον, ἔχοντες σπουδὴν πολλὴν καταλαβεῖν, οὕτω ὥστε τριταῖοι ἐκ Σπάρτης ἐγένοντο ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ.
And two thousand of the Lacedaemonians came to Athens after the full moon, having great haste to arrive in time, so that they were in Attica on the third day after leaving Sparta.
ὕστεροι δὲ ἀπικόμενοι τῆς συμβολῆς ἱμείροντο ὅμως θεήσασθαι τοὺς Μήδους· ἐλθόντες δὲ ἐς τὸν Μαραθῶνα ἐθεήσαντο.
Although they arrived too late for the battle, they nevertheless desired to see the Medes; and having gone to Marathon, they viewed them.
μετὰ δὲ αἰνέοντες Ἀθηναίους καὶ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν ἀπαλλάσσοντο ὀπίσω.
Afterward, praising the Athenians and their achievement, they departed for home.

Notes

  1. §6.120.1Λακεδαιμονίων — Partitive genitive depending on δισχίλιοι ("two thousand of the Lacedaemonians").
  2. §6.120.1καταλαβεῖν — Epexegetical infinitive modifying the noun σπουδὴν, meaning "to catch up" or "to be in time (for the battle)."
  3. §6.120.1τριταῖοι — Predicative adjective used adverbially to denote the time of the action, meaning "on the third day" after departure from Sparta.
  4. §6.120.1ὕστεροι... τῆς συμβολῆς — The adjective ὕστεροι, which carries a comparative sense ("later"), takes the genitive of comparison τῆς συμβολῆς, meaning "later than the battle" (i.e., too late for the conflict).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.120.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.120.1

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