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Herodotus · Histories §7.107.1-7.107.2

Resistance and Self-Immolation of Boges at Eion

Passage 1170 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Tells of Boges, the governor of Eion, who, when besieged by Cimon and the Athenians, refused to surrender and instead threw his wealth into the Strymon River and immolated his family and himself, earning lasting praise from the Persians.

§7.107.1τῶν δὲ ἐξαιρεθέντων ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων οὐδένα βασιλεὺς Ξέρξης ἐνόμισε εἶναι ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν εἰ μὴ Βόγην μοῦνον τὸν ἐξ Ἠιόνος, τοῦτον δὲ αἰνέων οὐκ ἐπαύετο, καὶ τοὺς περιεόντας αὐτοῦ ἐν Πέρσῃσι παῖδας ἐτίμα μάλιστα, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄξιος αἴνου μεγάλου ἐγένετο Βόγης·
Of those driven out by the Greeks, King Xerxes considered no one to be a valiant man except Boges alone, the governor of Eion. He never ceased praising this man, and held his surviving children in Persia in the highest honor, since Boges indeed proved himself worthy of great praise.
ὃς ἐπειδὴ ἐπολιορκέετο ὑπὸ Ἀθηναίων καὶ Κίμωνος τοῦ Μιλτιάδεω, παρεὸν αὐτῷ ὑπόσπονδον ἐξελθεῖν καὶ νοστῆσαι ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην, οὐκ ἠθέλησε, μὴ δειλίῃ δόξειε περιεῖναι βασιλέι, ἀλλὰ διεκαρτέρεε ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον.
When he was besieged by the Athenians and Cimon the son of Miltiades, although it was possible for him to depart under a truce and return to Asia, he refused, lest he should seem to the king to have survived out of cowardice, but held out to the very end.
§7.107.2ὡς δʼ οὐδὲν ἔτι φορβῆς ἐνῆν ἐν τῷ τείχεϊ, συννήσας πυρὴν μεγάλην ἔσφαξε τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰς παλλακὰς καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας καὶ ἔπειτα ἐσέβαλε ἐς τὸ πῦρ, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὸν χρυσὸν ἅπαντα τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἄστεος καὶ τὸν ἄργυρον ἔσπειρε ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχεος ἐς τὸν Στρυμόνα, ποιήσας δὲ ταῦτα ἑωυτὸν ἐσέβαλε ἐς τὸ πῦρ.
And when there was no longer any food left in the fortress, he piled up a great pyre, slew his children, his wife, his concubines, and his servants, and then cast them into the fire; after this, he took all the gold and silver from the town and scattered it from the wall into the Strymon River, and having done this, he cast himself into the fire.
οὕτω μὲν οὗτος δικαίως αἰνέεται ἔτι καὶ ἐς τόδε ὑπὸ Περσέων.
In this way he is justly praised by the Persians even to this day.

Notes

  1. 7.107.1παρεὸν — The neuter accusative singular participle of the impersonal verb πάρεστι ('it is possible/permitted'). It is used here in the accusative absolute construction with the following infinitives (ἐξελθεῖν καὶ νοστῆσαι), meaning 'although it was possible/permitted for him to...'.
  2. 7.107.1δόξειε — Third-person singular active aorist optative of δοκέω ('to seem/appear'). Introduced by the conjunction μή expressing purpose/fear, it is in the optative mood because it depends on the past historical main verb (ἠθέλησε). It takes the dative of reference/agent βασιλέι ('to the king').
  3. 7.107.1περιεῖναι — Present active infinitive of περίειμι ('to survive, remain alive'). It functions as a complementary infinitive with δόξειε ('to seem/appear') alongside the dative of cause δείλιῃ ('out of cowardice'), meaning 'to seem to have survived out of cowardice.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.107.1-7.107.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.107.1-7.107.2

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