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Herodotus · Histories §6.17.1

Escape of Dionysius of Phocaea and His Life as a Pirate

Passage 919 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon learning of the Ionians' defeat, Dionysius of Phocaea captured enemy ships, fled to Sicily, and established himself as a pirate targeting only non-Greeks.

§6.17.1οὗτοι μὲν τοίνυν τοιαύτῃσι περιέπιπτον τύχῃσι.
These, then, met with such fortunes.
Διονύσιος δὲ ὁ Φωκαεὺς ἐπείτε ἔμαθε τῶν Ἰώνων τὰ πρήγματα διεφθαρμένα, νέας ἑλὼν τρεῖς τῶν πολεμίων ἀπέπλεε ἐς μὲν Φώκαιαν οὐκέτι, εὖ εἰδὼς ὡς ἀνδραποδιεῖται σὺν τῇ ἄλλῃ Ἰωνίῃ·
But Dionysius the Phocaean, when he realized that the affairs of the Ionians were ruined, having captured three of the enemy's ships, sailed away, no longer indeed to Phocaea, knowing well that it would be enslaved along with the rest of Ionia.
ὁ δὲ ἰθέως ὡς εἶχε ἔπλεε ἐς Φοινίκην, γαύλους δὲ ἐνθαῦτα καταδύσας καὶ χρήματα λαβὼν πολλὰ ἔπλεε ἐς Σικελίην, ὁρμώμενος δὲ ἐνθεῦτεν ληιστὴς κατεστήκεε Ἑλλήνων μὲν οὐδενός, Καρχηδονίων δὲ καὶ Τυρσηνῶν.
But he straightway, just as he was, sailed to Phoenicia, and there, having sunk merchant ships and taken much wealth, he sailed to Sicily; setting out from there, he established himself as a pirate, not indeed of any of the Greeks, but of the Carthaginians and Tyrrhenians.

Notes

  1. §6.17.1ἔμαθε τῶν Ἰώνων τὰ πρήγματα διεφθαρμένα — The verb ἔμαθε (aorist of μανθάνω) takes an accusative noun with a participle (τὰ πρήγματα διεφθαρμένα) to express indirect discourse ('learned that the affairs were ruined'). τῶν Ἰώνων is a genitive depending on τὰ πρήγματα.
  2. §6.17.1ὡς ἀνδραποδιεῖται — The verb ἀνδραποδιεῖται is the third-person singular future middle (Attic future) of ἀνδραποδίζω, used here in a passive sense ('would be enslaved'). The subject is the previously mentioned Φώκαιαν, which is understood.
  3. §6.17.1ὡς εἶχε — An idiomatic expression consisting of the conjunction ὡς and the third-person singular imperfect of ἔχω, meaning 'just as he was' or 'straightway without preparation'.
  4. §6.17.1Ἑλλήνων μὲν οὐδενός — οὐδενός (and the subsequent Καρχηδονίων δὲ καὶ Τυρσηνῶν) is an objective genitive dependent on the noun ληιστής (pirate), indicating the targets of his piracy ('a pirate of none of the Greeks').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.17.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.17.1

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