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Herodotus · Histories §7.132.1-7.132.2

Greek Collaborators and the Alliance's Vow of Retribution

Passage 1195 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Greek tribes that submitted to the Persians by giving earth and water are listed, and the opposing Greek alliance swears an oath to punish these collaborators and tithe them to the god in Delphi after the war.

§7.132.1τῶν δὲ δόντων ταῦτα ἐγένοντο οἵδε, Θεσσαλοὶ Δόλοπες Ἐνιῆνες Περραιβοὶ Λοκροὶ Μάγνητες Μηλιέες Ἀχαιοὶ οἱ Φθιῶται καὶ Θηβαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Βοιωτοὶ πλὴν Θεσπιέων τε καὶ Πλαταιέων.
Of those who gave these, there were these: the Thessalians, Dolopes, Enienes, Perrhaebians, Locrians, Magnetes, Melians, Achaeans of Phthiotis, and Thebans, and the other Boeotians except the Thespians and Plataeans.
§7.132.2ἐπὶ τούτοισι οἱ Ἕλληνες ἔταμον ὅρκιον οἱ τῷ βαρβάρῳ πόλεμον ἀειράμενοι· τὸ δὲ ὅρκιον ὧδε εἶχε, ὅσοι τῷ Πέρσῃ ἔδοσαν σφέας αὐτοὺς Ἕλληνες ἐόντες μὴ ἀναγκασθέντες, καταστάντων σφι εὖ τῶν πρηγμάτων, τούτους δεκατεῦσαι τῷ ἐν Δελφοῖσι θεῷ.
Against these, the Greeks who had undertaken the war against the barbarian swore an oath; and the oath was as follows: that whichever of the Greeks had surrendered themselves to the Persian without being compelled, once their affairs were well settled, these they would tithe to the god in Delphi.
τὸ μὲν δὴ ὅρκιον ὧδε εἶχε τοῖσι Ἕλλησι.
Such indeed was the oath of the Greeks.

Notes

  1. §7.132.2ἐπὶ τούτοισι — Preposition ἐπί with dative. Here, it means "against these" (referring to the tribes listed in the previous section who surrendered to the Persians). Although "upon these conditions" is grammatically possible, the immediate proximity to the list of names supports the former interpretation.
  2. §7.132.2καταστάντων σφι εὖ τῶν πρηγμάτων — Genitive absolute construction, where `τῶν πρηγμάτων` is the subject and `καταστάντων` (second aorist participle of καθίστημι) is the predicate. `σφι` (dative pronoun) refers to the Greeks who swore the oath, meaning "when their affairs should be well settled" (i.e., when they successfully concluded the war).
  3. §7.132.2δεκατεῦσαι — Infinitive of δεκατεύω ("to tithe" or "to dedicate a tenth part"). It expresses the content of the oath, functioning as an infinitive of command/obligation in indirect discourse dependent on the idea of swearing (implied by `ἔταμον ὅρκιον`). It means either confiscating a tenth of the property of "these people" (`τούτους`) for the god, or consecrating the people themselves as sacred slaves.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.132.1-7.132.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.132.1-7.132.2

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