Herodotus · Histories §6.29.1-6.29.2

Defeat at Malene and Capture of Histiaeus

Passage 931 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

In the battle of Malene in Atarneus, the Greek army is defeated by the Persian cavalry. Overtaken during his flight, Histiaeus reveals his identity in Persian, hoping for the king's mercy.

§6.29.1ἐζωγρήθη δὲ ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ὧδε.

Histiaeus was taken alive in this way.

ὡς ἐμάχοντο οἱ Ἕλληνες τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι ἐν τῇ Μαλήνῃ τῆς Ἀταρνείτιδος χώρης, οἳ μὲν συνέστασαν χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν, ἡ δὲ ἵππος ὕστερον ὁρμηθεῖσα ἐπιπίπτει τοῖσι Ἕλλησι.

As the Greeks were fighting with the Persians at Malene in the region of Atarneus, they held their ground for a long time, but the cavalry, charging later, fell upon the Greeks.

τό τε δὴ ἔργον τῆς ἵππου τοῦτο ἐγένετο, καὶ τετραμμένων τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ἐλπίζων οὐκ ἀπολέεσθαι ὑπὸ βασιλέος διὰ τὴν παρεοῦσαν ἁμαρτάδα φιλοψυχίην τοιήνδε τινὰ ἀναιρέεται· §6.29.2ὡς φεύγων τε κατελαμβάνετο ὑπὸ ἀνδρὸς Πέρσεω καὶ ὡς καταιρεόμενος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἔμελλε συγκεντηθήσεσθαι, Περσίδα γλῶσσαν μετεὶς καταμηνύει ἑωυτὸν ὡς εἴη Ἱστιαῖος ὁ Μιλήσιος.

This indeed was the achievement of the cavalry, and when the Greeks were turned to flight, Histiaeus, hoping that he would not be put to death by the king because of his present offense, showed the following love of life: he was being overtaken in his flight by a Persian, and as he was being pinned down by him and was about to be run through, he spoke in the Persian tongue and revealed himself, saying that he was Histiaeus the Milesian.

Notes

6.29.1οἳ μὲν — It refers to the infantry among 'the Greeks' (οἱ Ἕλληνες), in contrast with the following 'the cavalry' (ἡ δὲ ἵππος).
6.29.1διὰ τὴν παρεοῦσαν ἁμαρτάδα — 'Because of his present offense' might seem contradictory as a reason for not being executed, but it implies that Histiaeus expected the King to spare him despite this current rebellion, owing to his past great services to the King.
6.29.2ὡς φεύγων τε κατελαμβάνετο ... καὶ ὡς ... — The temporal conjunction ὡς ('when') is repeated in two parallel clauses connected by τε ... καὶ ... (κατελαμβάνετο and ἔμελλε), vividly depicting the urgency of the situation.
6.29.2Περσίδα γλῶσσαν μετεὶς — μετείς is the aorist active participle of μεθίημι (to let go, utter). Literally 'having let loose the Persian tongue,' meaning he started speaking in Persian to make himself understood immediately.
6.29.2ὡς εἴη — The optative εἴη (present optative 3rd sg. of εἰμί) is used in the indirect discourse introduced by ὡς. Since the main verb καταμηνύει is a historical present, the optative of indirect discourse is triggered as if the main verb were in a past tense.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.29.1-6.29.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.29.1-6.29.2

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