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Herodotus · Histories §6.96.1

Persian Capture and Destruction of Naxos

Passage 1002 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian army arrives at Naxos; the Naxians flee to the mountains, and the Persians enslave those they capture, burn the temples and the city, and set sail for other islands.

§6.96.1ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰκαρίου πελάγεος προσφερόμενοι προσέμιξαν τῇ Νάξῳ, ἐπὶ ταύτην γὰρ δὴ πρώτην ἐπεῖχον στρατεύεσθαι οἱ Πέρσαι μεμνημένοι τῶν πρότερον οἱ Νάξιοι πρὸς τὰ ὄρεα οἴχοντο φεύγοντες οὐδὲ ὑπέμειναν, οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ἀνδραποδισάμενοι τοὺς κατέλαβον αὐτῶν, ἐνέπρησαν καὶ τὰ ἱρὰ καὶ τὴν πόλιν. ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες ἐπὶ τὰς ἄλλας νήσους ἀνήγοντο.
And when, approaching from the Icarian Sea, they made land at Naxos—for indeed against this island first the Persians intended to make war, remembering what had happened before—the Naxians went fleeing to the mountains and did not stand their ground. The Persians, having enslaved those of them whom they caught, set fire to both the temples and the city; having done these things, they put to sea against the other islands.

Notes

  1. §6.96.1ἐπεῖχον — The verb ἐπέχω with an infinitive (here στρατεύεσθαι) is used in the sense of 'to intend' or 'to direct one's mind to' doing something.
  2. §6.96.1τῶν πρότερον — The genitive object of the perfect participle μεμνημένοι (from μιμνήσκω, which governs the genitive), meaning 'remembering the things of before'. Historically, this refers to the failed Persian siege of Naxos in 500 BC.
  3. §6.96.1οἴχοντο φεύγοντες — The verb οἴχομαι combined with the participle φεύγοντες expresses a sudden departure or the completion of an action, meaning 'they went off fleeing' or 'fled away'.
  4. §6.96.1τοὺς κατέλαβον αὐτῶν — τούς functions as a relative pronoun (or demonstrative used as relative) introducing the clause, with αὐτῶν acting as a partitive genitive: 'those of them whom [the Persians] caught'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §6.96.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.96.1

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