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Herodotus · Histories §7.222.1

The Thespians and Thebans Remaining with Leonidas

Passage 1285 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While most of the allies depart, only the Thebans and Thespians remain. The Thebans are kept reluctantly as hostages, whereas the Thespians choose to stay voluntarily and die alongside Leonidas.

§7.222.1οἱ μέν νυν σύμμαχοι οἱ ἀποπεμπόμενοι οἴχοντό τε ἀπιόντες καὶ ἐπείθοντο Λεωνίδῃ, Θεσπιέες δὲ καὶ Θηβαῖοι κατέμειναν μοῦνοι παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίοισι.
Now the allies who were being sent away departed and obeyed Leonidas, but the Thespians and the Thebans alone remained with the Lacedaemonians.
τούτων δὲ Θηβαῖοι μὲν ἀέκοντες ἔμενον καὶ οὐ βουλόμενοι· κατεῖχε γὰρ σφέας Λεωνίδης ἐν ὁμήρων λόγῳ ποιεύμενος·
Of these, the Thebans remained unwillingly and not of their own choice; for Leonidas kept them, holding them in the place of hostages.
Θεσπιέες δὲ ἑκόντες μάλιστα, οἳ οὐκ ἔφασαν ἀπολιπόντες Λεωνίδην καὶ τοὺς μετʼ αὐτοῦ ἀπαλλάξεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καταμείναντες συναπέθανον.
But the Thespians remained most willingly, who said they would not depart and abandon Leonidas and those with him, but stayed behind and died together with them.
ἐστρατήγεε δὲ αὐτῶν Δημόφιλος Διαδρόμεω.
And their general was Demophilus, son of Diadromes.

Notes

  1. §7.222.1οἴχοντό τε ἀπιόντες — The verb οἴχομαι combined with a present participle (here ἀπιόντες, from ἀπειμι) expresses a completed action or a rapid departure ("they went off", "departed").
  2. §7.222.1ἐν ὁμήρων λόγῳ ποιεύμενος — Meaning "reckoning them in the category of hostages." The phrase ἐν λόγῳ ποιεῖσθαί τινα is an idiomatic expression meaning "to consider someone as" or "to treat someone as." The genitive ὁμήρων depends on λόγῳ.
  3. §7.222.1οὐκ ἔφασαν ... ἀπαλλάξεσθαι — The verb οὔ φημι regularly means "to say that... not". Although the negative particle οὐκ is grammatically attached to the main verb ἔφασαν, its semantic force negates the future infinitive ἀπαλλάξεσθαι (from ἀπαλλάσσω "to depart"). The participle ἀπολιπόντες is in the nominative case, agreeing with the subject of the infinitive.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.222.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.222.1

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