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Herodotus · Histories §6.95.1-6.95.2

Muster of the Persian Fleet and Route through the Cyclades

Passage 1001 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian generals Datis and Artaphernes assemble their land and naval forces in Cilicia and set sail, choosing a route through the Aegean islands to avoid the dangerous circumnavigation of Mount Athos.

§6.95.1ὡς δὲ οἱ στρατηγοὶ οὗτοι οἱ ἀποδεχθέντες πορευόμενοι παρὰ βασιλέος ἀπίκοντο τῆς Κιλικίης ἐς τὸ Ἀλήιον πεδίον, ἅμα ἀγόμενοι πεζὸν στρατὸν πολλόν τε καὶ εὖ ἐσκευασμένον, ἐνθαῦτα στρατοπεδευομένοισι ἐπῆλθε μὲν ὁ ναυτικὸς πᾶς στρατὸς ὁ ἐπιταχθεὶς ἑκάστοισι, παρεγένοντο δὲ καὶ αἱ ἱππαγωγοὶ νέες, τὰς τῷ προτέρῳ ἔτεϊ προεῖπε τοῖσι ἑωυτοῦ δασμοφόροισι Δαρεῖος ἑτοιμάζειν.
When these appointed generals, journeying from the king, arrived in Cilicia at the Aleian plain, bringing with them at the same time a large and well-equipped land army, there came to them as they were encamped the entire naval force which had been requisitioned from each nation, and there arrived also the horse-transport ships, which Darius had commanded his tribute-payers to prepare in the previous year.
§6.95.2ἐσβαλόμενοι δὲ τοὺς ἵππους ἐς ταύτας καὶ τὸν πεζὸν στρατὸν ἐσβιβάσαντες ἐς τὰς νέας, ἔπλεον ἑξακοσίῃσι τριήρεσι ἐς τὴν Ἰωνίην.
Having embarked the horses into these and having put the land army on board the ships, they sailed with six hundred triremes to Ionia.
ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ οὐ παρὰ τὴν ἤπειρον εἶχον τὰς νέας ἰθὺ τοῦ τε Ἑλλησπόντου καὶ τῆς Θρηίκης, ἀλλʼ ἐκ Σάμου ὁρμώμενοι παρά τε Ἰκάριον καὶ διὰ νήσων τὸν πλόον ἐποιεῦντο, ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέειν, δείσαντες μάλιστα τὸν περίπλοον τοῦ Ἄθω, ὅτι τῷ προτέρῳ ἔτεϊ ποιεύμενοι ταύτῃ τὴν κομιδὴν μεγάλως προσέπταισαν· πρὸς δὲ καὶ ἡ Νάξος σφέας ἠνάγκαζε πρότερον οὐκ ἁλοῦσα.
From there, they did not steer their ships along the mainland straight towards the Hellespont and Thrace, but setting out from Samos, they made their voyage past the Icarian Sea and through the islands—as it seems to me, fearing above all the circumnavigation of Athos, because in the previous year, making their passage by that way, they had met with a great disaster; and besides, Naxos also compelled them, as it had not been captured before.

Notes

  1. 6.95.1τῆς Κιλικίης — A partitive genitive of place, specifying the wider region within which the Aleian plain is located.
  2. 6.95.2ἰθὺ τοῦ — The adverb ἰθύ (corresponding to Attic εὐθύ) functions as a quasi-preposition governing the genitive, meaning 'straight towards'.
  3. 6.95.2ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέειν — An absolute infinitive construction used parenthetically, expressing the meaning 'as it seems to me' or 'in my opinion'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.95.1-6.95.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.95.1-6.95.2

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