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Herodotus · Histories §6.42.1-6.42.2

Artaphernes Establishes Peace and Assesses Tribute in Ionia

Passage 944 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Artaphernes, governor of Sardis, compelled the Ionian cities to make treaties of reconciliation and assessed their tributes based on land measurements, establishing peace.

§6.42.1καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἔτος τοῦτο ἐκ τῶν Περσέων οὐδὲν ἐπὶ πλέον ἐγένετο τούτων ἐς νεῖκος φέρον Ἴωσι, ἀλλὰ τάδε μὲν χρήσιμα κάρτα τοῖσι Ἴωσι ἐγένετο τούτου τοῦ ἔτεος· Ἀρταφρένης ὁ Σαρδίων ὕπαρχος μεταπεμψάμενος ἀγγέλους ἐκ τῶν πολίων συνθήκας σφίσι αὐτοῖσι τοὺς Ἴωνας ἠνάγκασε ποιέεσθαι, ἵνα δωσίδικοι εἶεν καὶ μὴ ἀλλήλους φέροιέν τε καὶ ἄγοιεν. §6.42.2ταῦτά τε ἠνάγκασε ποιέειν, καὶ τὰς χώρας μετρήσας σφέων κατὰ παρασάγγας, τοὺς καλέουσι οἱ Πέρσαι τὰ τριήκοντα στάδια, κατὰ δὴ τούτους μετρήσας φόρους ἔταξε ἑκάστοισι, οἳ κατὰ χώρην διατελέουσι ἔχοντες ἐκ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου αἰεὶ ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ὡς ἐτάχθησαν ἐξ Ἀρταφρένεος·
during this year, nothing further occurred from the Persians that led to hostility for the Ionians, but the following things of great benefit happened to the Ionians in this year: Artaphernes, the governor of Sardis, having sent for messengers from the cities, compelled the Ionians to make agreements among themselves, so that they might submit to legal trial and not plunder one another. compelled them to do these things, and having measured their territories in parasangs—which is what the Persians call thirty stades—he assessed the tributes for each based on this measurement; these tributes continue to remain in force from that time even to my own day, just as they were assessed by Artaphernes.
ἐτάχθησαν δὲ σχεδὸν κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ πρότερον εἶχον.
Indeed, they were assessed at nearly the same amount as they had before.
καί σφι ταῦτα μὲν εἰρηναῖα ἦν.
And these things were peaceful for them.

Notes

  1. §6.42.1ἐς νεῖκος φέρον — A present participle in the nominative neuter singular, functioning attributively to modify the preceding pronoun οὐδὲν. It means '(nothing further) leading to hostility' toward the Ionians.
  2. §6.42.1δωσίδικοι — Meaning 'submitting to trial' or 'agreeable to legal arbitration'. It indicates a state where the cities agreed to resolve their disputes through a legal framework rather than resorting to mutual plundering and force.
  3. §6.42.1φέροιέν τε καὶ ἄγοιεν — The third-person plural present optative of the traditional Greek idiom φέρειν καὶ ἄγειν (to carry off and drive away, i.e., 'to plunder'). It is in the optative mood because it stands in a purpose clause introduced by ἵνα following the past-tense main verb ἠνάγκασε.
  4. §6.42.2οἳ κατὰ χώρην διατελέουσι ἔχοντες — The relative pronoun οἳ (nominative plural) refers back to φόροι (tributes). The verb διατελέω combined with the participle ἔχοντες (here used in a passive or intransitive sense of 'being held' or 'remaining') expresses a continuous state. κατὰ χώρην is an Ionic idiom meaning 'in place' or 'as they were'. Together, it means 'which continue to remain in force just as they were'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.42.1-6.42.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.42.1-6.42.2

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