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Herodotus · Histories §7.116.1

Xerxes's Gifts and Praise for the Acanthians

Passage 1179 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon arriving at Acanthus, Xerxes declared friendship with the inhabitants, presented them with Median garments, and praised them for their enthusiasm for the war and their work on the canal excavation.

§7.116.1ὡς δὲ ἄρα ἐς τὴν Ἄκανθον ἀπίκετο, ξεινίην τε ὁ Ξέρξης τοῖσι Ἀκανθίοισι προεῖπε καὶ ἐδωρήσατο σφέας ἐσθῆτι Μηδικῇ ἐπαίνεέ τε, ὁρέων καὶ αὐτοὺς προθύμους ἐόντας ἐς τὸν πόλεμον καὶ τὸ ὄρυγμα ἀκούων.
When he arrived at Acanthus, Xerxes declared a bond of hospitality with the Acanthians, presented them with Median clothing, and praised them, seeing that they themselves were eager for the war and hearing about the digging.

Notes

  1. §7.116.1ἐδωρήσατο σφέας ἐσθῆτι Μηδικῇ — The verb δωρέομαι (to present/gift) here takes the construction of 'to present someone (accusative) with something (dative).' Thus, σφέας (them, accusative plural) is the direct object, and ἐσθῆτι (garment, dative singular) is the dative of instrument/means.
  2. §7.116.1τὸ ὄρυγμα ἀκούων — The participle ἀκούων (hearing), together with the preceding ὁρέων (seeing), expresses the reason for the main verb ἐπαίνεε (he praised). The noun τὸ ὄρυγμα refers to the excavation of the canal across the Athos peninsula, functioning here as the object signifying 'hearing about the excavation work (and their cooperation).'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.116.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.116.1

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