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Herodotus · Histories §7.45.1

Xerxes Weeping after Surveying His Great Army

Passage 1108 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Xerxes, beholding the Hellespont covered with ships and the land filled with men, at first deemed himself blessed but then wept.

§7.45.1ὡς δὲ ὥρα πάντα μὲν τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ὑπὸ τῶν νεῶν ἀποκεκρυμμένον, πάσας δὲ τὰς ἀκτὰς καὶ τὰ Ἀβυδηνῶν πεδία ἐπίπλεα ἀνθρώπων, ἐνθαῦτα ὁ Ξέρξης ἑωυτὸν ἐμακάρισε, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἐδάκρυσε.
But when he saw all the Hellespont hidden by the ships, and all the shores and the plains of Abydos full of men, thereupon Xerxes deemed himself blessed, and after this he wept.

Notes

  1. §7.45.1ἀποκεκρυμμένον ... ἐπίπλεα — Predicative complements modifying the accusative objects of the verb of perception ὥρα (imperfect 3rd singular of ὁράω in the Ionic dialect). The former is the perfect passive participle ἀποκεκρυμμένον modifying τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, and the latter is the adjective ἐπίπλεα (neuter plural accusative, governing the genitive ἀνθρώπων) agreeing with πεδία and modifying the compound object.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.45.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.45.1

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