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Herodotus · Histories §6.18.1

Siege and Fall of Miletus and Enslavement of Its People

Passage 920 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes how the Persians besieged and captured Miletus by land and sea after their naval victory, enslaving the city in the sixth year of the rebellion, which fulfilled the oracle given concerning Miletus.

§6.18.1οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ἐπείτε τῇ ναυμαχίῃ ἐνίκων τοὺς Ἴωνας, τὴν Μίλητον πολιορκέοντες ἐκ γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης καὶ ὑπορύσσοντες τὰ τείχεα καὶ παντοίας μηχανὰς προσφέροντες, αἱρέουσι κατʼ ἄκρης ἕκτῳ ἔτεϊ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀποστάσιος τῆς Ἀρισταγόρεω καὶ ἠνδραποδίσαντο τὴν πόλιν, ὥστε συμπεσεῖν τὸ πάθος τῷ χρηστηρίῳ τῷ ἐς Μίλητον γενομένῳ.
And the Persians, when they had defeated the Ionians in the sea-fight, besieging Miletus by land and sea, undermining its walls, and bringing against it all kinds of engines, captured it utterly in the sixth year after the rebellion of Aristagoras, and enslaved the city; so that this calamity coincided with the oracle that had been delivered concerning Miletus.

Notes

  1. §6.18.1κατʼ ἄκρης — Literally "from the top down," an Ionic idiom used of the capture or destruction of cities meaning "utterly," "completely," or "from top to bottom."
  2. §6.18.1ὥστε συμπεσεῖν — The conjunction ὥστε is followed by the infinitive (συμπεσεῖν) to express result ("so that..."). The subject accusative of the infinitive is τὸ πάθος.
  3. §6.18.1τῷ ἐς Μίλητον γενομένῳ — An attributive participle phrase modifying the dative noun τῷ χρηστηρίῳ. The prepositional phrase ἐς Μίλητον (concerning Miletus) modifies the participle γενομένῳ, meaning "the oracle which had been given concerning Miletus."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.18.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.18.1

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