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Herodotus · Histories §6.5.1-6.5.3

Histiaeus's rejection from Miletus and piracy at Byzantium

Passage 907 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Histiaeus, after being rejected and wounded in his attempt to return to Miletus, obtained ships from the Lesbians and sailed to Byzantium, where he began seizing ships.

§6.5.1περὶ Σάρδις μὲν δὴ ἐγίνετο ταραχή.
Thus, confusion was arising around Sardis.
Ἱστιαῖον δὲ ταύτης ἀποσφαλέντα τῆς ἐλπίδος Χῖοι κατῆγον ἐς Μίλητον, αὐτοῦ Ἱστιαίου δεηθέντος.
As for Histiaeus, being disappointed of this hope, the Chians tried to bring him back to Miletus, since Histiaeus himself requested it.
οἱ δὲ Μιλήσιοι, ἄσμενοι ἀπαλλαχθέντες καὶ Ἀρισταγόρεω, οὐδαμῶς πρόθυμοι ἦσαν ἄλλον τύραννον δέκεσθαι ἐς τὴν χώρην, οἷα ἐλευθερίης γευσάμενοι. §6.5.2καὶ δὴ νυκτὸς γὰρ ἐούσης βίῃ ἐπειρᾶτο κατιὼν ὁ Ἱστιαῖος ἐς τὴν Μίλητον, τιτρώσκεται τὸν μηρὸν ὑπό τευ τῶν Μιλησίων.
But the Milesians, glad to have been rid of Aristagoras as well, were by no means eager to receive another tyrant into their land, inasmuch as they had tasted freedom. And indeed, since it was night, when Histiaeus tried to return by force into Miletus, he was wounded in the thigh by one of the Milesians.
ὃ μὲν δὴ ὡς ἀπωστὸς τῆς ἑωυτοῦ γίνεται, ἀπικνέεται ὀπίσω ἐς τὴν Χίον· ἐνθεῦτεν δέ, οὐ γὰρ ἔπειθε τοὺς Χίους ὥστε ἑωυτῷ δοῦναι νέας, διέβη ἐς Μυτιλήνην καὶ ἔπεισε Λεσβίους δοῦναί οἱ νέας. §6.5.3οἳ δὲ πληρώσαντες ὀκτὼ τριήρεας ἔπλεον ἅμα Ἱστιαίῳ ἐς Βυζάντιον, ἐνθαῦτα δὲ ἱζόμενοι τὰς ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου ἐκπλεούσας τῶν νεῶν ἐλάμβανον, πλὴν ἢ ὅσοι αὐτῶν Ἱστιαίῳ ἔφασαν ἕτοιμοι εἶναι πείθεσθαι.
When he was shut out from his own country, he returned back to Chios; and from there, since he could not persuade the Chians to give him ships, he crossed over to Mytilene and persuaded the Lesbians to give him ships. Having manned eight triremes, they sailed with Histiaeus to Byzantium, and anchoring there, they seized the ships sailing out from the Pontus, except such of them as said they were ready to obey Histiaeus.

Notes

  1. 6.5.1κατῆγον — Imperfect tense used in a conative sense ('tried to bring back'). The subsequent narrative reveals that the Milesians did not actually receive him.
  2. 6.5.1οἷα ἐλευθερίης γευσάμενοι — The particle οἷα with the participle γευσάμενοι expresses an objective reason ('inasmuch as they had'). The verb γεύομαι governs the genitive case (ἐλευθερίης).
  3. 6.5.2τῆς ἑωυτοῦ — Feminine singular genitive reflexive pronoun, with a noun meaning land or country (such as γῆς or πατρίδος) omitted. It functions as a genitive of separation dependent on the adjective ἀπωστὸς ('driven away').
  4. 6.5.2οὐ γὰρ ἔπειθε ... ὥστε — The conjunction γάρ introduces a parenthetical clause. The imperfect ἔπειθε expresses an attempted but unsuccessful action ('he could not persuade'). The consecutive conjunction ὥστε is followed by the infinitive δοῦναι to express the intended result.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.5.1-6.5.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.5.1-6.5.3

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