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Herodotus · Histories §6.24.1-6.24.2

Flight of Scythes to Darius and the Samian Gain of Zancle

Passage 926 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The former ruler of Zancle, Scythes, fled to King Darius of Persia, who held him in high regard for his honesty, and he lived out his days in comfort. Meanwhile, the Samians, fleeing the Persians, effortlessly took possession of the beautiful city of Zancle.

§6.24.1Σκύθης δὲ ὁ τῶν Ζαγκλαίων μούναρχος ἐκ τῆς Ἴνυκος ἐκδιδρήσκει ἐς Ἱμέρην, ἐκ δὲ ταύτης παρῆν ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην καὶ ἀνέβη παρὰ βασιλέα Δαρεῖον· καί μιν ἐνόμισε Δαρεῖος πάντων ἀνδρῶν δικαιότατον εἶναι, ὅσοι ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος παρʼ ἑωυτὸν ἀνέβησαν.
On the other hand, Scythes, the monarch of the Zancleans, escaped from Inyx to Himera, and from there he went to Asia and went up to King Darius; and Darius considered him to be the most honest of all the men who had come up to him from Greece.
§6.24.2καὶ γὰρ παραιτησάμενος βασιλέα ἐς Σικελίην ἀπίκετο καὶ αὖτις ἐκ τῆς Σικελίης ὀπίσω παρὰ βασιλέα, ἐς ὃ γήραϊ μέγα ὄλβιος ἐὼν ἐτελεύτησε ἐν Πέρσῃσι.
For indeed, having asked leave of the king, he went to Sicily, and returned back again from Sicily to the king, until at last, being highly blessed in old age, he died among the Persians.
Σάμιοι δὲ ἀπαλλαχθέντες Μήδων ἀπονητὶ πόλιν καλλίστην Ζάγκλην περιεβεβλέατο.
Meanwhile, the Samians, having escaped from the Medes, had without effort gained possession of Zancle, a most beautiful city.

Notes

  1. 6.24.1μιν — The third person singular personal pronoun in the accusative case in the Ionic dialect (corresponding to αὐτόν in Attic). Here it functions as the subject of the accusative-with-infinitive construction (μιν ... εἶναι) governed by the verb ἐνόμισε.
  2. 6.24.2παραιτησάμενος — Aorist middle participle of the verb παραιτέομαι ('to ask for permission', 'to beg off'), taking the direct object βασιλέα ('the king'). It functions adverbially to express an action prior to that of the main verb.
  3. 6.24.2ἐς ὃ — An Ionic idiomatic conjunctional phrase (corresponding to Attic εἰς ὅ) meaning 'until', which introduces the following clause with the indicative past verb ἐτελεύτησε.
  4. 6.24.2περιεβεβλέατο — Third person plural pluperfect indicative middle of the verb περιβάλλω (meaning 'to gain possession of' in the middle voice). It features the Ionic pluperfect ending -ατο (equivalent to Attic -ντο). The pluperfect middle denotes the completed and lasting state of possession.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.24.1-6.24.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.24.1-6.24.2

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