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Herodotus · Histories §7.21.1-7.21.2

Mobilization of Asia and Assignment of Levies

Passage 1084 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Xerxes' expedition far surpassed all past historical campaigns in scale, mobilizing every nation in Asia and assigning various duties such as providing ships, troops, and provisions.

§7.21.1αὗται αἱ πᾶσαι οὐδʼ εἰ ἕτεραι πρὸς ταύτῃσι προσγενόμεναι στρατηλασίαι μιῆς τῆσδε οὐκ ἄξιαι.
All these expeditions, even if others were added to them, are not worthy to be compared with this single one.
τί γὰρ οὐκ ἤγαγε ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίης ἔθνος ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα Ξέρξης;
For what nation did Xerxes not lead out of Asia against Greece?
κοῖον δὲ πινόμενόν μιν ὕδωρ οὐκ ἐπέλιπε, πλὴν τῶν μεγάλων ποταμῶν;
And what water, except that of the great rivers, did not fail them when it was drunk?
§7.21.2οἳ μὲν γὰρ νέας παρείχοντο, οἳ δὲ ἐς πεζὸν ἐτετάχατο, τοῖσι δὲ ἵππος προσετέτακτο, τοῖσι δὲ ἱππαγωγὰ πλοῖα ἅμα στρατευομένοισι, τοῖσι δὲ ἐς τὰς γεφύρας μακρὰς νέας παρέχειν, τοῖσι δὲ σῖτά τε καὶ νέας.
For some provided ships, others were appointed to serve as infantry, to others cavalry was assigned, to others horse-transports while they served in the campaign, to others to provide long ships for the bridges, and to others food and ships.

Notes

  1. §7.21.1μιῆς τῆσδε — Genitive of value governed by the adjective `ἄξιαι`. The noun `στρατηλασίας` is understood from the context, meaning "not worthy of this single one [expedition]".
  2. §7.21.1μιν — Ionic third-person singular accusative pronoun (equivalent to Attic `αὐτόν`). Here it refers to Xerxes (or his army as a collective unit) and functions as the direct object of the transitive verb `ἐπέλιπε` ("failed him/them").
  3. §7.21.2τοῖσι — Ionic dative plural of the demonstrative pronoun (equivalent to Attic `τοῖς`). It continues the enumerative construction started by `οἳ μὲν ... οἳ δὲ ...`, functioning as a dative of interest ("for some/to others, it was assigned...").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.21.1-7.21.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.21.1-7.21.2

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