Herodotus · Histories §6.21.1-6.21.2

Reactions in Sybaris and Athens to the Fall of Miletus

Passage 923 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The contrasting reactions of the Sybarites and the Athenians to the fall of Miletus are described. While the Sybarites showed no reciprocal grief, the Athenians expressed deep sorrow through the production of a tragedy by Phrynichus, whom they fined for reminding them of domestic misfortunes.

§6.21.1παθοῦσι δὲ ταῦτα Μιλησίοισι πρὸς Περσέων οὐκ ἀπέδοσαν τὴν ὁμοίην Συβαρῖται, οἳ Λᾶόν τε καὶ Σκίδρον οἴκεον τῆς πόλιος ἀπεστερημένοι.

But when the Milesians suffered these things at the hands of the Persians, the Sybarites did not make them a like return, they who were living in Laos and Skidros, having been deprived of their city.

Συβάριος γὰρ ἁλούσης ὑπὸ Κροτωνιητέων Μιλήσιοι πάντες ἡβηδὸν ἀπεκείραντο τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ πένθος μέγα προσεθήκαντο· πόλιες γὰρ αὗται μάλιστα δὴ τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν ἀλλήλῃσι ἐξεινώθησαν·

For when Sybaris was taken by the Crotoniates, all the Milesians, from the youths upward, shaved their heads and made great lamentation; for these cities had been joined in friendship with one another more than any others we know.

§6.21.2οὐδὲν ὁμοίως καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι.

The Athenians behaved in no such similar way.

Ἀθηναῖοι μὲν γὰρ δῆλον ἐποίησαν ὑπεραχθεσθέντες τῇ Μιλήτου ἁλώσι τῇ τε ἄλλῃ πολλαχῇ, καὶ δὴ καὶ ποιήσαντι Φρυνίχῳ δρᾶμα Μιλήτου ἅλωσιν καὶ διδάξαντι ἐς δάκρυά τε ἔπεσε τὸ θέητρον, καὶ ἐζημίωσάν μιν ὡς ἀναμνήσαντα οἰκήια κακὰ χιλίῃσι δραχμῇσι, καὶ ἐπέταξαν μηδένα χρᾶσθαι τούτῳ τῷ δράματι.

For the Athenians made it clear that they were deeply grieved at the capture of Miletus in many other ways, and especially when Phrynichus composed and produced a play, "The Capture of Miletus," the theater fell into tears, and they fined him a thousand drachmas for reminding them of their own misfortunes, and ordered that no one should ever use this play.

Notes

6.21.1πρὸς Περσέων — The preposition πρὸς with the genitive case is used by Herodotus to denote the agent ("by"), corresponding to ὑπό with the genitive in Attic Greek.
6.21.1τὴν ὁμοίην — An accusative idiom with the omission of a feminine noun (such as χάριν, "return" or "favor"), meaning "to make a similar return."
6.21.2δῆλον ἐποίησαν ὑπεραχθεσθέντες — A transitive variant of the standard construction δῆλός εἰμι with a participle (e.g., δῆλοί εἰσιν ὑπεραχθεσθέντες, "they are clearly deeply grieved"), meaning "they made it clear that they were deeply grieved."
6.21.2ποιήσαντι Φρυνίχῳ ... καὶ διδάξαντι — Dative participle construction functioning as a dative of time or reference/circumstance relative to the subsequent main clause ἐς δάκρυα ἔπεσε τὸ θέητρον ("when Phrynichus composed and produced...").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.21.1-6.21.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.21.1-6.21.2

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