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Herodotus · Histories §7.43.1-7.43.2

Xerxes' Visit to Troy and Sacrifices to Athena

Passage 1106 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian army led by Xerxes reached the river Scamander, where Xerxes visited the ruins of Troy, made sacrifices to Athena, and subsequently continued his march.

§7.43.1ἀπικομένου δὲ τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐπὶ ποταμὸν Σκάμανδρον, ὃς πρῶτος ποταμῶν, ἐπείτε ἐκ Σαρδίων ὁρμηθέντες ἐπεχείρησαν τῇ ὁδῷ, ἐπέλιπε τὸ ῥέεθρον οὐδʼ ἀπέχρησε τῇ στρατιῇ τε καὶ τοῖσι κτήνεσι πινόμενος· ἐπὶ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν ποταμὸν ὡς ἀπίκετο Ξέρξης, ἐς τὸ Πριάμου Πέργαμον ἀνέβη ἵμερον ἔχων θεήσασθαι·
When the army arrived at the river Scamander, which was the first of the rivers, since they had set out from Sardis and entered upon their journey, to fail in its flow and not to be sufficient when drunk by the army and the beasts; when Xerxes arrived at this river, he went up to the Pergamon of Priam, having a desire to behold it.
§7.43.2θεησάμενος δὲ καὶ πυθόμενος ἐκείνων ἕκαστα τῇ Ἀθηναίῃ τῇ Ἰλιάδι ἔθυσε βοῦς χιλίας, χοὰς δὲ οἱ Μάγοι τοῖσι ἥρωσι ἐχέαντο.
Having beheld it and inquired into each of those things, he sacrificed a thousand heifers to Athena of Ilium, and the Magi poured libations to the heroes.
ταῦτα δὲ ποιησαμένοισι νυκτὸς φόβος ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐνέπεσε.
After they had done these things, a panic fell upon the camp during the night.
ἅμα ἡμέρῃ δὲ ἐπορεύετο ἐνθεῦτεν, ἐν ἀριστερῇ μὲν ἀπέργων Ῥοίτιον πόλιν καὶ Ὀφρύνειον καὶ Δάρδανον, ἥ περ δὴ Ἀβύδῳ ὅμουρος ἐστί, ἐν δεξιῇ δὲ Γέργιθας Τευκρούς.
At dawn, he marched from there, keeping on his left the city of Rhoeteum, Ophryneum, and Dardanus, which indeed borders on Abydos, and on his right the Gergithes, who are Teucrians.

Notes

  1. §7.43.1πινόμενος — Present passive participle, masculine nominative singular, agreeing with the relative pronoun ὃς (the river). It means 'while being drunk,' indicating that even though the water was consumed by the army and the beasts, it was not sufficient.
  2. §7.43.2ταῦτα δὲ ποιησαμένοισι — Dative plural aorist participle, literally 'for those having done these things.' It functions as a dative of reference affected by the main verb ἐνέπεσε, or as a temporal expression meaning 'after they had done these things.'
  3. §7.43.2ἀπέργων — Present active participle, masculine nominative singular, agreeing with the subject (Xerxes). Derived from ἀπέργω ('to shut off, keep away'), it is used here in a geographical sense meaning 'keeping (those cities) off to the left' while marching.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.43.1-7.43.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.43.1-7.43.2

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