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Herodotus · Histories §6.16.1-6.16.2

Fleeing Chians Mistaken for Thieves and Killed at Ephesus

Passage 918 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Some of the Chians who fled from the naval battle escaped to Mycale and traveled on foot into Ephesians' territory, but because of their arrival at night during a festival, the Ephesians mistook them for thieves and killed them.

§6.16.1Χῖοι μὲν δὴ τῇσι λοιπῇσι τῶν νεῶν ἀποφεύγουσι ἐς τὴν ἑωυτῶν· ὅσοισι δὲ τῶν Χίων ἀδύνατοι ἦσαν αἱ νέες ὑπὸ τρωμάτων, οὗτοι δὲ ὡς ἐδιώκοντο καταφυγγάνουσι πρὸς τὴν Μυκάλην.
So the Chians fled to their own land with the remaining ships; but those of the Chians whose ships were disabled by wounds, when they were pursued, fled for refuge to Mycale.
νέας μὲν δὴ αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ ἐποκείλαντες κατέλιπον, οἳ δὲ πεζῇ ἐκομίζοντο διὰ τῆς ἠπείρου.
Having run their ships aground there, they left them, and they themselves traveled on foot through the mainland.
§6.16.2ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐσέβαλον ἐς τὴν Ἐφεσίην κομιζόμενοι οἱ Χῖοι, νυκτός τε γὰρ ἀπίκατο ἐς αὐτὴν καὶ ἐόντων τῇσι γυναιξὶ αὐτόθι θεσμοφορίων, ἐνθαῦτα δὴ οἱ Ἐφέσιοι, οὔτε προακηκοότες ὡς εἶχε περὶ τῶν Χίων ἰδόντες τε στρατὸν ἐς τὴν χώρην ἐσβεβληκότα, πάγχυ σφέας καταδόξαντες εἶναι κλῶπας καὶ ἰέναι ἐπὶ τὰς γυναῖκας, ἐξεβοήθεον πανδημεὶ καὶ ἔκτεινον τοὺς Χίους.
When the Chians entered the territory of Ephesus in their journey—for they had arrived there by night, and the Thesmophoria were being celebrated there by the women—then the Ephesians, having heard nothing beforehand of how things stood with the Chians and seeing an army having invaded their land, completely suspecting them to be thieves and to have come after the women, went out to help with all their forces and killed the Chians.

Notes

  1. §6.16.1ὅσοισι — The relative pronoun in the dative case (ὅσοισι) functions as a dative of possession (or dative of interest) modifying the subject of the relative clause, αἱ νέες, meaning 'those whose ships...'.
  2. §6.16.1οἳ δὲ — The relative pronoun οἳ combined with δέ functions as a demonstrative pronoun ('and they') introducing the subject of the clause, contrasting with the preceding μὲν clause.
  3. §6.16.2ἐόντων ... θεσμοφορίων — The participle ἐόντων (Ionic for ὄντων) and the noun θεσμοφορίων form a genitive absolute construction expressing cause ('since the Thesmophoria were being celebrated'). τῇσι γυναιξὶ is a dative of interest ('by the women' or 'for the women').
  4. §6.16.2ὡς εἶχε — The verb ἔχω with the adverb ὡς is used impersonally to mean 'how things stood.' This forms an indirect question clause serving as the object of the participle προακηκοότες.
  5. §6.16.2καταδόξαντες — The participle καταδόξαντες ('having suspected/assumed') takes an accusative and infinitive construction (σφέας εἶναι κλῶπας...) as its object. The conjunction καί connects εἶναι and ἰέναι (infinitive of ἔρχομαι), both having σφέας as their subject.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.16.1-6.16.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.16.1-6.16.2

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