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Herodotus · Histories §6.26.1-6.26.2

Histiaeus' Attack on Chios and Subjugation of the Chians

Passage 928 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon hearing of the fall of Miletus, Histiaeus left his affairs in the Hellespont to Bisaltes and sailed to Chios, where he defeated the resisting garrison and subdued the weakened inhabitants.

§6.26.1ταῦτα μὲν δὴ οὕτω ἐγίνετο.
These things then were going on in this way.
Ἱστιαίῳ δὲ τῷ Μιλησίῳ ἐόντι περὶ Βυζάντιον καὶ συλλαμβάνοντι τὰς Ἰώνων ὁλκάδας ἐκπλεούσας ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου ἐξαγγέλλεται τὰ περὶ τὴν Μίλητον γενόμενα.
Meanwhile, to Histiaeus the Milesian, who was around Byzantium and seizing the merchant ships of the Ionians sailing out of the Pontus, the news of what had happened concerning Miletus was brought.
τὰ μὲν δὴ περὶ Ἑλλήσποντον ἔχοντα πρήγματα ἐπιτράπει Βισάλτῃ Ἀπολλοφάνεος παιδὶ Ἀβυδηνῷ, αὐτὸς δὲ ἔχων Λεσβίους ἐς Χίον ἔπλεε, καὶ Χίων φρουρῇ οὐ προσιεμένῃ μιν συνέβαλε ἐν Κοίλοισι καλεομένοισι τῆς Χίης χώρης.
He then entrusted his affairs around the Hellespont to Bisaltes, son of Apollophanes, a man of Abydos, and himself sailed to Chios with the Lesbians; and when a garrison of Chians would not admit him, he engaged them at the place called "the Hollows" of the Chian territory.
§6.26.2τούτων τε δὴ ἐφόνευσε συχνούς, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν Χίων, οἷα δὴ κεκακωμένων ἐκ τῆς ναυμαχίης, ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ἔχων τοὺς Λεσβίους ἐπεκράτησε, ἐκ Πολίχνης τῆς Χίων ὁρμώμενος.
Of these he slew many, and over the rest of the Chians, inasmuch as they had been sorely weakened by the sea-battle, Histiaeus got the upper hand with his Lesbians, making his base of operations from Polichne of the Chians.

Notes

  1. 6.26.1Ἱστιαίῳ δὲ τῷ Μιλησίῳ ἐόντι περὶ Βυζάντιον ... ἐξαγγέλλεται — The dative Ἱστιαίῳ (with its accompanying participles ἐόντι and συλλαμβάνοντι) is a dative of reference/interest with the passive verb ἐξαγγέλλεται, forming the construction "to Histiaeus ... was announced."
  2. 6.26.1Χίων φρουρῇ οὐ προσιεμένῃ μιν συνέβαλε — The verb συνέβαλε (intransitive use of συμβάλλω, "to join battle") governs the dative of the opponent, here φρουρῇ. The pronoun μιν (Ionic third-person singular accusative, equivalent to αὐτόν) is the direct object of the participle προσιεμένῃ.
  3. 6.26.2τῶν λοιπῶν Χίων, οἷα δὴ κεκακωμένων ἐκ τῆς ναυμαχίης, ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ... ἐπεκράτησε — The genitive τῶν λοιπῶν Χίων is governed by the verb ἐπεκράτησε ("got the upper hand over"). The embedded phrase οἷα δὴ κεκακωμένων is a genitive absolute expressing cause with the particle οἷα ("inasmuch as they had been weakened"), describing the state of the aforementioned Chians.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.26.1-6.26.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.26.1-6.26.2

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