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Herodotus · Histories §7.10H.1-7.10H.3

Artabanus' Proposal to Stake Their Children on the War

Passage 1070 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Artabanus proposes that if the Greek expedition must proceed, the King should remain home, and both Artabanus and Mardonius should stake their children while Mardonius leads the army, warning that Mardonius and his children will suffer a miserable fate if the expedition fails.

§7.10H.1ἀλλʼ εἰ δὴ δεῖ γε πάντως ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας τούτους στρατεύεσθαι, φέρε, βασιλεὺς μὲν αὐτὸς ἐν ἤθεσι τοῖσι Περσέων μενέτω, ἡμέων δὲ ἀμφοτέρων παραβαλλομένων τὰ τέκνα, στρατηλάτεε αὐτὸς σὺ ἐπιλεξάμενός τε ἄνδρας τοὺς ἐθέλεις καὶ λαβὼν στρατιὴν ὁκόσην τινὰ βούλεαι.
But if it is absolutely necessary to march against these men, come, let the King himself remain in the territory of the Persians, and while both of us risk our children as stakes, do you yourself lead the army, choosing the men you wish and taking as large a force as you desire.
§7.10H.2καὶ ἢν μὲν τῇ σὺ λέγεις ἀναβαίνῃ βασιλέι τὰ πρήγματα, κτεινέσθων οἱ ἐμοὶ παῖδες, πρὸς δὲ αὐτοῖσι καὶ ἐγώ· ἢν δὲ τῇ ἐγὼ προλέγω, οἱ σοὶ ταῦτα πασχόντων, σὺν δέ σφι καὶ σύ, ἢν ἀπονοστήσῃς.
And if matters turn out for the King in the way that you say, let my children be put to death, and myself along with them; but if it happens as I foretell, let your children suffer this, and you along with them, if you return home.
§7.10H.3εἰ δὲ ταῦτα μὲν ὑποδύνειν οὐκ ἐθελήσεις, σὺ δὲ πάντως στράτευμα ἀνάξεις ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἀκούσεσθαι τινὰ φημὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ τῇδε ὑπολειπομένων Μαρδόνιον, μέγα τι κακὸν ἐξεργασάμενον Πέρσας, ὑπὸ κυνῶν τε καὶ ὀρνίθων διαφορεύμενον ἤ κου ἐν γῇ τῇ Ἀθηναίων ἢ σέ γε ἐν τῇ Λακεδαιμονίων, εἰ μὴ ἄρα καὶ πρότερον κατʼ ὁδόν, γνόντα ἐπʼ οἵους ἄνδρας ἀναγινώσκεις στρατεύεσθαι βασιλέα.
But if you are unwilling to submit to these terms, and will by all means lead an army against Greece, I declare that someone of those left behind here will hear that Mardonius, having wrought a great evil for the Persians, is being torn to pieces by dogs and birds, either somewhere in the land of the Athenians or you yourself in that of the Lacedaemonians—unless indeed even earlier along the way—after learning what kind of men they are against whom you are persuading the King to march.

Notes

  1. §7.10H.1ἡμέων δὲ ἀμφοτέρων παραβαλλομένων τὰ τέκνα — Genitive absolute construction. It consists of the present middle participle παραβαλλομένων ('risking as a stake, exposing to danger') and its subject in the genitive ἡμέων ἀμφοτέρων ('both of us'), carrying a conditional force ('if both of us stake our children'). τὰ τέκνα is the direct object of the participle.
  2. §7.10H.2ἢν μὲν τῇ σὺ λέγεις ἀναβαίνῃ βασιλέι τὰ πρήγματα — The dative feminine singular of the relative pronoun τῇ is used adverbially to denote manner ('in the way that'). The verb ἀναβαίνω here means 'to turn out, result', and βασιλέι is a dative of advantage ('for the King').
  3. §7.10H.2σὺν δέ σφι καὶ σύ, ἢν ἀπονοστήσῃς — An elliptical expression where the nominative pronoun σύ is coordinated with the subject of the preceding imperative πασχόντων ('let them suffer'). The conditional clause ἢν ἀπονοστήσῃς ('if you return home') carries a sarcastic implication that even if Mardonius survives the campaign and returns, he will face execution.
  4. §7.10H.3ἀκούσεσθαι τινὰ φημὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ τῇδε ὑπολειπομένων Μαρδόνιον... — An accusative and infinitive construction introduced by φημί (subject: τινά, infinitive: the future middle with active meaning ἀκούσεσθαι), which in turn embeds an accusative-and-participle construction denoting the object of perception (Μαρδόνιον ... ἐξεργασάμενον ... διαφορεύμενον). The structure means 'I say that someone of those left behind will hear that Mardonius is being...'.
  5. §7.10H.3σέ γε — A shift in the accusative from the third-person Μαρδόνιον to the second-person σέ. Grammatically it stands in coordination with Μαρδόνιον as the subject of the participle διαφορεύμενον ('being torn to pieces'), serving as a direct and sharp warning directed at Mardonius himself.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.10H.1-7.10H.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.10H.1-7.10H.3

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