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Herodotus · Histories §6.79.1-6.79.2

Deceitful Ransoming and Massacre of the Argives

Passage 981 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Cleomenes obtained information from deserters and deceitfully called out the Argives trapped in the sacred precinct to kill them in groups of fifty, until one of them climbed a tree and witnessed the slaughter, prompting the rest to refuse to come out.

§6.79.1ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὁ Κλεομένης ἐποίεε τοιόνδε.
Thereupon Cleomenes did as follows.
ἔχων αὐτομόλους ἄνδρας καὶ πυνθανόμενος τούτων, ἐξεκάλεε πέμπων κήρυκα ὀνομαστὶ λέγων τῶν Ἀργείων τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ ἀπεργμένους, ἐξεκάλεε δὲ φὰς αὐτῶν ἔχειν τὰ ἄποινα.
Having deserters with him and learning from them, he sent a herald and called out by name those of the Argives who were shut up in the sacred precinct, and he called them out, saying that he had received their ransom.
ἄποινα δὲ ἐστὶ Πελοποννησίοισι δύο μνέαι τεταγμέναι κατʼ ἄνδρα αἰχμάλωτον ἐκτίνειν.
Now, for the Peloponnesians, the ransom is fixed at two minae to be paid for each captive.
κατὰ πεντήκοντα δὴ ὦν τῶν Ἀργείων ὡς ἑκάστους ἐκκαλεύμενος ὁ Κλεομένης ἔκτεινε.
So Cleomenes called them out about fifty at a time and put them to death.
§6.79.2ταῦτα δέ κως γινόμενα ἐλελήθεε τοὺς λοιποὺς τοὺς ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ· ἅτε γὰρ πυκνοῦ ἐόντος τοῦ ἄλσεος, οὐκ ὥρων οἱ ἐντὸς τοὺς ἐκτὸς ὅ τι ἔπρησσον, πρίν γε δὴ αὐτῶν τις ἀναβὰς ἐπὶ δένδρον κατεῖδε τὸ ποιεύμενον.
But that this was being done remained somehow unknown to the rest who were in the sacred precinct; for, as the grove was thick, those inside could not see what those outside were doing, until indeed one of them climbed up a tree and saw what was being done.
οὔκων δὴ ἔτι καλεόμενοι ἐξήισαν.
After that, they would no longer come out when they were called.

Notes

  1. 6.79.1τούτων — The genitive `τούτων` ('from them') is used with the participle `πυνθανόμενος` ('inquiring/learning') to denote the source of the information.
  2. 6.79.1κατὰ πεντήκοντα ... ὡς ἑκάστους — The preposition `κατά` with the numeral `πεντήκοντα` ('fifty') expresses a distributive sense ('by fifties'), which, combined with `ὡς ἑκάστους` ('each/severally'), means 'in groups of fifty at a time successively.'
  3. 6.79.2ταῦτα δέ κως γινόμενα ἐλελήθεε — The verb `λανθάνω` (Ionic imperfect `ἐλελήθεε`) is construed with the participle `γινόμενα`, meaning 'to do something escape notice.' With `ταῦτα` as the subject, it means 'that these things were happening escaped the notice of...'
  4. 6.79.2πρίν γε δὴ αὐτῶν τις ἀναβὰς ἐπὶ δένδρον κατεῖδε τὸ ποιεύμενον — The temporal conjunction `πρίν` is followed by the indicative past (`κατεῖδε`) in a sentence where the main clause is virtually negative ('it was unknown'), indicating that the state of ignorance continued 'until' a specific past event actually occurred ('until one of them climbed a tree and saw...').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.79.1-6.79.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.79.1-6.79.2

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