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Herodotus · Histories §6.32.1

Persian Retribution and the Third Enslavement of Ionia

Passage 934 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes how the Persian generals carried out their threats against the Ionians by castrating handsome boys, taking beautiful maidens to the King, and burning cities along with their temples, resulting in the third enslavement of Ionia.

§6.32.1ἐνθαῦτα Περσέων οἱ στρατηγοὶ οὐκ ἐψεύσαντο τὰς ἀπειλὰς τὰς ἐπηπείλησαν τοῖσι Ἴωσι στρατοπεδευομένοισι ἐναντία σφίσι.
Then the Persian generals did not fail to carry out the threats they had made against the Ionians who were encamped against them.
ὡς γὰρ δὴ ἐπεκράτησαν τῶν πολίων, παῖδάς τε τοὺς εὐειδεστάτους ἐκλεγόμενοι ἐξέταμνον καὶ ἐποίευν ἀντὶ εἶναι ἐνόρχιας εὐνούχους καὶ παρθένους τὰς καλλιστευούσας ἀνασπάστους παρὰ βασιλέα·
For when they had gained mastery over the cities, they selected the most handsome boys and castrated them, making them eunuchs instead of having testicles, and they dragged away the most beautiful maidens to the King.
ταῦτά τε δὴ ἐποίευν καὶ τὰς πόλιας ἐνεπίμπρασαν αὐτοῖσι τοῖσι ἱροῖσι.
They did these things, and moreover, they burned the cities, temples and all.
οὕτω τε τὸ τρίτον Ἴωνες κατεδουλώθησαν, πρῶτον μὲν ὑπὸ Λυδῶν, δὶς δὲ ἐπεξῆς τότε ὑπὸ Περσέων.
Thus for the third time the Ionians were enslaved: first by the Lydians, and then twice in succession by the Persians.

Notes

  1. §6.32.1ἀντὶ εἶναι — The preposition ἀντί is followed by the infinitive εἶναι without the genitive article τοῦ, meaning "instead of being." While classical Attic prose typically requires ἀντὶ τοῦ εἶναι, Herodotus' Ionic dialect occasionally omits the article.
  2. §6.32.1αὐτοῖσι τοῖσι ἱροῖσι — The pronoun αὐτός in the dative, agreeing with a dative noun, expresses the idea of "together with" or "including," often denoting complete destruction ("temples and all" or "along with the temples themselves").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.32.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.32.1

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