§7.239.1ἄνειμι δὲ ἐκεῖσε τοῦ λόγου τῇ μοι τὸ πρότερον ἐξέλιπε.
I will return to that part of the story where my narrative previously left off.
ἐπύθοντο Λακεδαιμόνιοι ὅτι βασιλεὺς στέλλοιτο ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα πρῶτοι, καὶ οὕτω δὴ ἐς τὸ χρηστήριον τὸ ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀπέπεμψαν, ἔνθα δή σφι ἐχρήσθη τὰ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον εἶπον· ἐπύθοντο δὲ τρόπῳ θωμασίῳ.
The Lacedaemonians were the first to learn that the king was marching against Greece, and so indeed they sent messengers to the oracle at Delphi, where that which I mentioned a little earlier was prophesied to them; and they learned of it in a wondrous manner.
§7.239.2Δημάρητος γὰρ ὁ Ἀρίστωνος φυγὼν ἐς Μήδους, ὡς μὲν ἐγὼ δοκέω καὶ τὸ οἰκὸς ἐμοὶ συμμάχεται, οὐκ ἦν εὔνοος Λακεδαιμονίοισι, πάρεστι δὲ εἰκάζειν εἴτε εὐνοίῃ ταῦτα ἐποίησε εἴτε καὶ καταχαίρων.
For Demaratus, the son of Ariston, who had fled to the Medes, was not, as I believe—and probability itself is my ally—well-disposed toward the Lacedaemonians; but it is open to conjecture whether he did these things out of goodwill or indeed in mockery.
ἐπείτε γὰρ Ξέρξῃ ἔδοξε στρατηλατέειν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἐὼν ἐν Σούσοισι ὁ Δημάρητος καὶ πυθόμενος ταῦτα ἠθέλησε Λακεδαιμονίοισι ἐξαγγεῖλαι.
For when Xerxes decided to march against Greece, Demaratus, being in Susa and having heard of this, wished to report it to the Lacedaemonians.
§7.239.3ἄλλως μὲν δὴ οὐκ εἶχε σημῆναι· ἐπικίνδυνον γὰρ ἦν μὴ λαμφθείη· ὁ δὲ μηχανᾶται τοιάδε·
In no other way was he able to make it known, for there was danger that he might be caught; so he devised the following plan.
δελτίον δίπτυχον λαβὼν τὸν κηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἐξέκνησε, καὶ ἔπειτα ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ τοῦ δελτίου ἔγραψε τὴν βασιλέος γνώμην, ποιήσας δὲ ταῦτα ὀπίσω ἐπέτηξε τὸν κηρὸν ἐπὶ τὰ γράμματα, ἵνα φερόμενον κεινὸν τὸ δελτίον μηδὲν πρῆγμα παρέχοι πρὸς τῶν ὁδοφυλάκων.
Taking a double-folded writing tablet, he scraped the wax off it, and then upon the wood of the tablet he wrote the king's intention; having done this, he melted the wax back over the writing, so that the tablet, being carried apparently blank, might cause no trouble from the road-guards.
§7.239.4ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἀπίκετο ἐς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα, οὐκ εἶχον συμβαλέσθαι οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, πρίν γε δή σφι, ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, Κλεομένεος μὲν θυγάτηρ Λεωνίδεω δὲ γυνὴ Γοργὼ ὑπέθετο ἐπιφρασθεῖσα αὐτή, τὸν κηρὸν κνᾶν κελεύουσα, καὶ εὑρήσειν σφέας γράμματα ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ.
And when it indeed arrived in Lacedaemon, the Lacedaemonians were unable to understand it, until at last, as I understand, Gorgo, the daughter of Cleomenes and wife of Leonidas, herself took thought and suggested to them, bidding them scrape off the wax, and they would find writing on the wood.
πειθόμενοι δὲ εὗρον καὶ ἐπελέξαντο, ἔπειτα δὲ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Ἕλλησι ἐπέστειλαν.
And obeying her, they found and read it, and then they sent word to the other Greeks.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ οὕτω λέγεται γενέσθαι.
These things indeed are said to have happened in this way.