Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §7.10B.1-7.10B.2

Artabanus on Greek Valour and the Risk to the Bridges

Passage 1064 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Artabanus warns Xerxes by recalling how the Athenians alone defeated the Persian army under Datis, pointing out that if the Greeks win a naval victory and destroy the Hellespont bridge, the Persian army will face absolute ruin.

§7.10B.1ζεύξας φῂς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἐλᾶν στρατὸν διὰ τῆς Εὐρώπης ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα.
You say that, having bridged the Hellespont, you will march your army through Europe into Greece.
καὶ δὴ καὶ συνήνεικέ σε ἤτοι κατὰ γῆν ἢ καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν ἑσσωθῆναι, ἢ καὶ κατʼ ἀμφότερα· οἱ γὰρ ἄνδρες λέγονται εἶναι ἄλκιμοι, πάρεστι δὲ καὶ σταθμώσασθαι, εἰ στρατιήν γε τοσαύτην σὺν Δάτι καὶ Ἀρταφρένεϊ ἐλθοῦσαν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν χώρην μοῦνοι Ἀθηναῖοι διέφθειραν.
And indeed, suppose it should happen that you are defeated either by land or by sea, or even on both; for these men are said to be valiant, and it is possible to infer this, seeing that the Athenians alone destroyed so great an army that had come with Datis and Artaphernes into the Attic land.
§7.10B.2οὔκων ἀμφοτέρῃ σφι ἐχώρησε.
To be sure, things did not go against them on both fronts then.
ἀλλʼ ἢν τῇσι νηυσὶ ἐμβάλωσι καὶ νικήσαντες ναυμαχίῃ πλέωσι ἐς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον καὶ ἔπειτα λύσωσι τὴν γέφυραν, τοῦτο δὴ βασιλεῦ γίνεται δεινόν.
But if they should attack with their ships, and having won a naval battle, sail to the Hellespont and then destroy the bridge, this indeed, O King, becomes a terrible thing.

Notes

  1. §7.10B.1συνήνεικέ — Used impersonally with the accusative and infinitive (σε ... ἑσσωθῆναι) to mean 'it happened/befell that...'. συνήνεικε is the Ionic aorist form corresponding to Attic συνήνεγκε.
  2. §7.10B.2οὔκων ἀμφοτέρῃ σφι ἐχώρησε. — ἐχώρησε is used impersonally to mean 'things went/turned out'. ἀμφοτέρῃ is an adverbial dative meaning 'in both ways/on both fronts' (with an ellipse of a noun like ὁδῷ). σφι is the dative plural pronoun referring to the Persian forces under Datis. The sentence refers to the historical fact that they were not defeated on both fronts (only on land at Marathon).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.10B.1-7.10B.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.10B.1-7.10B.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.