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Herodotus · Histories §6.133.1-6.133.3

Miltiades' Siege of Paros and the Parian Resistance

Passage 1038 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Miltiades campaigns against Paros under the pretext of their collaboration with the Persians, besieging the Parians and demanding a large sum of money. The Parians, however, refuse to pay and instead fortify the vulnerable parts of their walls at night to defend their city.

§6.133.1παραλαβὼν δὲ ὁ Μιλτιάδης τὴν στρατιὴν ἔπλεε ἐπὶ Πάρον, πρόφασιν ἔχων ὡς οἱ Πάριοι ὑπῆρξαν πρότεροι στρατευόμενοι τριήρεσι ἐς Μαραθῶνα ἅμα τῷ Πέρσῃ.
Having taken over the army, Miltiades sailed against Paros, having as a pretext that the Parians had first committed hostilities by campaigning with triremes to Marathon along with the Persian.
τοῦτο μὲν δὴ πρόσχημα λόγων ἦν, ἀτάρ τινα καὶ ἔγκοτον εἶχε τοῖσι Παρίοισι διὰ Λυσαγόρεα τὸν Τισίεω, ἐόντα γένος Πάριον, διαβαλόντα μιν πρὸς Ὑδάρνεα τὸν Πέρσην.
This was indeed a pretext of words, but he also held some grudge against the Parians because of Lysagoras, the son of Tisias, who was of Parian descent and had slandered him to Hydarnes the Persian.
§6.133.2ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐπʼ ἣν ἔπλεε ὁ Μιλτιάδης τῇ στρατιῇ ἐπολιόρκεε Παρίους κατειλημένους ἐντὸς τείχεος, καὶ ἐσπέμπων κήρυκα αἴτεε ἑκατὸν τάλαντα, φάς, ἢν μιν οὐ δῶσι, οὐκ ἀπονοστήσειν τὴν στρατιὴν πρὶν ἢ ἐξέλῃ σφέας.
Having arrived with the army at the place against which he was sailing, Miltiades besieged the Parians who were shut up within their wall, and sending in a herald, he demanded a hundred talents, saying that if they did not give them to him, he would not lead back his army before he had captured them.
§6.133.3οἱ δὲ Πάριοι ὅκως μέν τι δώσουσι Μιλτιάδῃ ἀργύριον οὐδὲ διενοεῦντο, οἳ δὲ ὅκως διαφυλάξουσι τὴν πόλιν τοῦτο ἐμηχανῶντο, ἄλλα τε ἐπιφραζόμενοι καὶ τῇ μάλιστα ἔσκε ἑκάστοτε ἐπίμαχον τοῦ τείχεος, τοῦτο ἅμα νυκτὶ ἐξηείρετο διπλήσιον τοῦ ἀρχαίου.
The Parians did not even intend to give any money to Miltiades, but they devised how they might protect the city; among other things they planned, wherever the wall was on each occasion most open to attack, this was raised during the night to double its former height.

Notes

  1. §6.133.1ὑπῆρξαν πρότεροι στρατευόμενοι — The verb ὑπάρχω combined with a nominative participle (στρατευόμενοι) expresses the idea of "being the first to do something" or "initiating action." The adjective πρότεροι reinforces the participle, emphasizing that the Parians took the initiative in committing hostile acts against the Athenians.
  2. §6.133.2ἢν μιν οὐ δῶσι — The Ionic pronoun μιν functions here as an indirect object referring to Miltiades ("to him"). While conditional clauses introduced by ἢν (ἐάν) normally take the negative particle μή, οὐ is used here because it is closely bound to the specific verb (οὐ δῶσι: "refuse to give").
  3. §6.133.3τῇ μάλιστα ἔσκε ἑκάστοτε ἐπίμαχον τοῦ τείχεος — The word τῇ is a relative adverb/pronoun referring to the subsequent demonstrative τοῦτο ("that place"). The verb ἔσκε is the Ionic iterative imperfect of εἰμί, indicating a repeated state in the past ("on each occasion" ἑκάστοτε) where that part of the wall was vulnerable. ἐπίμαχον ("vulnerable to attack") governs the genitive τοῦ τείχεος ("of the wall").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.133.1-6.133.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.133.1-6.133.3

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