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Herodotus · Histories §7.236.1-7.236.3

Achaimenes Advises Xerxes Against Dividing the Fleet

Passage 1299 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Achaimenes advises Xerxes against Demaratus's proposal to split the fleet, recommending that they keep the army and navy united for victory and ignore the movements of the enemy.

§7.236.1λέγει μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀχαιμένης, ἀδελφεός τε ἐὼν Ξέρξεω καὶ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ στρατοῦ στρατηγός, παρατυχών τε τῷ λόγῳ καὶ δείσας μὴ ἀναγνωσθῇ Ξέρξης ποιέειν ταῦτα, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ὁρῶ σε ἀνδρὸς ἐνδεκόμενον λόγους ὃς φθονέει τοι εὖ πρήσσοντι ἢ καὶ προδιδοῖ πρήγματα τὰ σά.
After him spoke Achaimenes, who was both a brother of Xerxes and the commander of the naval fleet, having been present at the conversation and fearing lest Xerxes should be persuaded to do these things: "O king, I see that you are accepting the words of a man who envies you when you are faring well, or even betrays your affairs.
καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τρόποισι τοιούτοισι χρεώμενοι Ἕλληνες χαίρουσι· τοῦ τε εὐτυχέειν φθονέουσι καὶ τὸ κρέσσον στυγέουσι.
For indeed, the Greeks delight in employing such characters; they envy success and hate what is superior.
§7.236.2εἰ δʼ ἐπὶ τῇσι παρεούσῃσι τύχῃσι, τῶν νέες νεναυηγήκασι τετρακόσιαι, ἄλλας ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τριηκοσίας ἀποπέμψεις περιπλέειν Πελοπόννησον, ἀξιόμαχοί τοι γίνονται οἱ ἀντίπαλοι·
But if, in addition to our present fortunes, in which four hundred of our ships have been wrecked, you should send away another three hundred ships from the camp to sail around the Peloponnese, the opponents will become a match for you.
ἁλὴς δὲ ἐὼν ὁ ναυτικὸς στρατὸς δυσμεταχείριστός τε αὐτοῖσι γίνεται, καὶ ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἀξιόμαχοί τοι ἔσονται, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ναυτικὸς τῷ πεζῷ ἀρήξει καὶ ὁ πεζὸς τῷ ναυτικῷ ὁμοῦ πορευόμενος·
On the other hand, if the naval fleet remains united, it becomes difficult for them to handle, and in the first place they will not be a match for you; and the entire navy will assist the land army, and the land army will assist the navy as they march together.
εἰ δὲ διασπάσεις, οὔτε σὺ ἔσεαι ἐκείνοισι χρήσιμος οὔτε ἐκεῖνοι σοί.
But if you disperse them, neither will you be useful to them, nor they to you.
§7.236.3τὰ σεωτοῦ δὲ τιθέμενον εὖ γνώμην ἔχω τὰ τῶν ἀντιπολέμων μὴ ἐπιλέγεσθαι πρήγματα, τῇ τε στήσονται τὸν πόλεμον τά τε ποιήσουσι ὅσοι τε πλῆθος εἰσί.
My opinion is that, while arranging your own affairs well, you should not consider the affairs of the enemy—namely, where they will set up their war, what they will do, and how many they are in number.
ἱκανοὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοί γε αὐτοὶ ἑωυτῶν πέρι φροντίζειν εἰσί, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἡμέων ὡσαύτως.
For they are sufficient to worry about themselves, and we likewise about ourselves.
Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἢν ἴωσι ἀντία Πέρσῃσι ἐς μάχην, οὐδὲν τὸ παρεὸν τρῶμα ἀκεῦνται.
If the Lacedaemonians go into battle against the Persians, they will in no way heal their present wound."

Notes

  1. 7.236.1ἀναγνωσθῇ — The passive aorist subjunctive of ἀναγινώσκω. Although this verb usually means 'to read', in Herodotus it frequently means 'to persuade' or 'to induce'. Here, in the passive, it takes the following infinitive ποιέειν, forming a fear clause introduced by μὴ: 'lest Xerxes should be persuaded to do these things'.
  2. 7.236.2τῶν — Feminine genitive plural relative pronoun. In this context, the antecedent is understood as the unexpressed [νεῶν] (ships), meaning 'of which [ships] four hundred have been wrecked'. While grammatically it could agree with the preceding feminine plural noun `τύχῃσι` (fortunes), it is far more natural to refer it to the fleet, since the subject of the relative clause is `νέες` (ships).
  3. 7.236.3γνώμην ἔχω — Meaning 'I hold the opinion,' this phrase essentially functions as the main verb of the sentence ('I think/propose'), taking the infinitive `μὴ ἐπιλέγεσθαι` (not to consider) as its object. The nominative participle `τιθέμενον` (arranging) at the beginning of the sentence agrees grammatically with the subject of `γνώμην ἔχω` (Achaimenes).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.236.1-7.236.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.236.1-7.236.3

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