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Herodotus · Histories §7.154.1-7.154.3

Conquests of Hippocrates and Rise of Gelon

Passage 1217 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

After Cleander's death, Hippocrates becomes tyrant of Gela, and Gelon, his bodyguard, rises to cavalry commander through military merit. Hippocrates conquers various Sicilian cities, but Syracuse preserves its independence through the mediation of Corinth and Corcyra in exchange for ceding Camarina.

§7.154.1οὗτος μέν νυν ἐκτήσατο τοῦτο τὸ γέρας·
Thus he acquired this privilege.
Κλεάνδρου δὲ τοῦ Παντάρεος τελευτήσαντος τὸν βίον, ὃς ἐτυράννευσε μὲν Γέλης ἑπτὰ ἔτεα, ἀπέθανε δὲ ὑπὸ Σαβύλλου ἀνδρὸς Γελῴου, ἐνθαῦτα ἀναλαμβάνει τὴν μουναρχίην Ἱπποκράτης Κλεάνδρου ἐὼν ἀδελφεός.
When Cleander, the son of Pantares, ended his life—having ruled as tyrant of Gela for seven years, and having been killed by Sabyllus, a man of Gela—thereupon Hippocrates, who was Cleander's brother, took over the monarchy.
ἔχοντος δὲ Ἱπποκράτεος τὴν τυραννίδα, ὁ Γέλων ἐὼν Τηλίνεω τοῦ ἱροφάντεω ἀπόγονος, πολλῶν μετʼ ἄλλων καὶ Αἰνησιδήμου τοῦ Παταίκου ὃς ἦν δορυφόρος Ἱπποκράτεος.
While Hippocrates held the tyranny, Gelon, who was a descendant of Telines the priest, along with many others and Aenesidemus the son of Pataecus, was a bodyguard of Hippocrates.
§7.154.2μετὰ δὲ οὐ πολλὸν χρόνον διʼ ἀρετὴν ἀπεδέχθη πάσης τῆς ἵππου εἶναι ἵππαρχος·
Not long afterwards, because of his worth, he was appointed to be commander of all the cavalry.
πολιορκέοντος γὰρ Ἱπποκράτεος Καλλιπολίτας τε καὶ Ναξίους καὶ Ζαγκλαίους τε καὶ Λεοντίνους καὶ πρὸς Συρηκοσίους τε καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων συχνούς, ἀνὴρ ἐφαίνετο ἐν τούτοισι τοῖσι πολέμοισι ἐὼν ὁ Γέλων λαμπρότατος.
For when Hippocrates was besieging the people of Callipolis, Naxos, Zancle, and Leontini, and furthermore the Syracusans and many of the barbarians, Gelon showed himself in these wars to be a most brilliant man.
τῶν δὲ εἶπον πολίων τουτέων πλὴν Συρηκουσέων οὐδεμία διέφυγε δουλοσύνην πρὸς Ἱπποκράτεος·
Of these cities which I have mentioned, not one, except for Syracuse, escaped being enslaved by Hippocrates.
§7.154.3Συρηκοσίους δὲ Κορίνθιοί τε καὶ Κερκυραῖοι ἐρρύσαντο μάχῃ ἐσσωθέντας ἐπὶ ποταμῷ Ἐλώρῳ, ἐρρύσαντο δὲ οὗτοι ἐπὶ τοῖσιδε καταλλάξαντες, ἐπʼ ᾧ τε Ἱπποκράτεϊ Καμάριναν Συρηκοσίους παραδοῦναι.
But the Syracusans were rescued by the Corinthians and Corcyraeans after they had been defeated in a battle at the river Elorus; and these rescued them having made a reconciliation on these terms, that the Syracusans should hand over Camarina to Hippocrates.
Συρηκοσίων δὲ ἦν Καμάρινα τὸ ἀρχαῖον.
Now Camarina had belonged to the Syracusans from of old.

Notes

  1. 7.154.1ὃς ἦν — For the antecedent of the relative pronoun ὃς (nominative), some take it to be the main subject ὁ Γέλων, while others take it to be the immediately preceding Αἰνησιδήμου. Since ὃς functions as the subject in its own clause, grammatically either is possible. However, in this context of Gelon's rise from bodyguard to cavalry commander, it is highly natural to interpret ὁ Γέλων as the antecedent (or the subject of the relative clause).
  2. 7.154.3ἐπʼ ᾧ τε — The combination of the preposition ἐπί with the dative relative pronoun ᾧ and the particle τε, followed by the infinitive παραδοῦναι, forms a conventional expression meaning "on the condition that."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.154.1-7.154.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.154.1-7.154.3

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