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Herodotus · Histories §6.45.1-6.45.2

Night Attack by the Brygi and Retreat of Mardonius

Passage 947 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian land army under Mardonius is attacked at night by the Thracian Brygi in Macedonia and suffers heavy losses, but eventually subjugates them. However, due to severe setbacks in both the land and naval forces, the entire expedition is forced to retreat to Asia.

§6.45.1ὁ μὲν δὴ ναυτικὸς στρατὸς οὕτω ἔπρησσε, Μαρδονίῳ δὲ καὶ τῷ πεζῷ στρατοπεδευομένῳ ἐν Μακεδονίῃ νυκτὸς Βρύγοι Θρήικες ἐπεχείρησαν· καί σφεων πολλοὺς φονεύουσι οἱ Βρύγοι, Μαρδόνιον δὲ αὐτὸν τρωματίζουσι.
On the one hand, then, the naval force fared thus. On the other hand, while Mardonius and the land army were encamped in Macedonia, the Brygi, a Thracian tribe, attacked them by night; and the Brygi killed many of them and wounded Mardonius himself.
οὐ μέντοι οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ δουλοσύνην διέφυγον πρὸς Περσέων· οὐ γὰρ δὴ πρότερον ἀπανέστη ἐκ τῶν χωρέων τουτέων Μαρδόνιος πρὶν ἤ σφεας ὑποχειρίους ἐποιήσατο.
However, they themselves did not escape enslavement by the Persians either; for Mardonius did not withdraw from these regions before he had made them subject to him.
§6.45.2τούτους μέντοι καταστρεψάμενος ἀπῆγε τὴν στρατιὴν ὀπίσω, ἅτε τῷ πεζῷ τε προσπταίσας πρὸς τοὺς Βρύγους καὶ τῷ ναυτικῷ μεγάλως περὶ Ἄθων.
Having subjugated them, however, he led his army back, since he had suffered a blow with his land army against the Brygi and a great disaster with his naval force around Athos.
οὗτος μέν νυν ὁ στόλος αἰσχρῶς ἀγωνισάμενος ἀπαλλάχθη ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην.
This expedition, therefore, having fared ignominiously, withdrew to Asia.

Notes

  1. 6.45.1Μαρδονίῳ δὲ καὶ τῷ πεζῷ στρατοπεδευομένῳ — Dative case, functioning as the indirect object of the intransitive verb ἐπεχείρησαν (attacked).
  2. 6.45.1πρὸς Περσέων — The preposition πρὸς with the genitive case indicates the agent ("by the Persians") associated with the passive noun δουλοσύνην (enslavement).
  3. 6.45.1οὐ ... πρότερον ... πρὶν ἤ — The negative οὐ and the adverb πρότερον correlate with the conjunction πρὶν ἤ (with the indicative), meaning "not before... until" or "only when... did he."
  4. 6.45.2ἅτε ... προσπταίσας — The conjunction ἅτε with the participle (aorist active) expresses an objective or factual reason ("since he had suffered a blow").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.45.1-6.45.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.45.1-6.45.2

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