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Herodotus · Histories §7.215.1

Hydarnes's Mission and the History of the Path

Passage 1278 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Xerxes approves of Ephialtes' offer and dispatches Hydarnes with his troops. The path had originally been discovered by the Malians, who used it to guide the Thessalians against the Phocians.

§7.215.1Ξέρξης δέ, ἐπεὶ ἤρεσε τὰ ὑπέσχετο ὁ Ἐπιάλτης κατεργάσασθαι, αὐτίκα περιχαρὴς γενόμενος ἔπεμπε Ὑδάρνεα καὶ τῶν ἐστρατήγεε Ὑδάρνης· ὁρμέατο δὲ περὶ λύχνων ἁφὰς ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου.
Xerxes, since he was pleased with what Ephialtes promised to accomplish, immediately became overjoyed and sent Hydarnes and those whom Hydarnes commanded; and they set out from the camp about the time of the lighting of the lamps.
τὴν δὲ ἀτραπὸν ταύτην ἐξεῦρον μὲν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι Μηλιέες, ἐξευρόντες δὲ Θεσσαλοῖσι κατηγήσαντο ἐπὶ Φωκέας, τότε ὅτε οἱ Φωκέες φράξαντες τείχεϊ τὴν ἐσβολὴν ἦσαν ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ πολέμου· ἔκ τε τόσου δὴ κατεδέδεκτο ἐοῦσα οὐδὲν χρηστὴ Μηλιεῦσι.
Now, the local Malians had discovered this path, and having discovered it, they guided the Thessalians along it against the Phocians, at the time when the Phocians, having blocked the pass with a wall, were sheltered from the war; and since that time indeed, it had been proven to be of no good whatsoever to the Malians.

Notes

  1. §7.215.1ἤρεσε — The third-person singular aorist of ἀρέσκω (to please). Its subject is the relative clause τὰ ὑπέσχετο ὁ Ἐπιάλτης κατεργάσασθαι (what Ephialtes promised to accomplish), and it governs an omitted dative (Xerxes).
  2. §7.215.1τῶν — A demonstrative pronoun (or a relative pronoun in place of ὧν) in the genitive plural, governed by the verb ἐστρατήγεε which takes a genitive object. The antecedent [ἐκείνων] is omitted, meaning 'those whom Hydarnes commanded'.
  3. §7.215.1κατεδέδεκτο ἐοῦσα — The pluperfect passive of καταδείκνυμι (to show, prove) used with the supplementary participle ἐοῦσα (being). It means 'it had been shown/proven to be'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.215.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.215.1

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