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Herodotus · Histories §7.62.1-7.62.2

Equipment and Commanders of Medes, Cissians, and Hyrcanians

Passage 1125 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The military equipment and commanders of the Medes, Cissians, and Hyrcanians are described, along with the mythological origin of the name of the Medes.

§7.62.1Μῆδοι δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην ἐσταλμένοι ἐστρατεύοντο· Μηδικὴ γὰρ αὕτη ἡ σκευή ἐστι καὶ οὐ Περσική.
The Medes served in the army equipped in this very same manner; for this equipment is in fact Median and not Persian.
οἱ δὲ Μῆδοι ἄρχοντα μὲν παρείχοντο Τιγράνην ἄνδρα Ἀχαιμενίδην, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ πάλαι πρὸς πάντων Ἄριοι, ἀπικομένης δὲ Μηδείης τῆς Κολχίδος ἐξ Ἀθηνέων ἐς τοὺς Ἀρίους τούτους μετέβαλον καὶ οὗτοι τὸ οὔνομα.
The Medes provided as commander Tigranes, a man of the Achaemenid family. They were called of old by all men Arioi, but when Medea of Colchis came from Athens to these Arioi, they also changed their name.
αὐτοὶ περὶ σφέων ὧδε λέγουσι Μῆδοι.
This is what the Medes themselves say about themselves.
§7.62.2Κίσσιοι δὲ στρατευόμενοι τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατά περ Πέρσαι ἐσκευάδατο, ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν πίλων μιτρηφόροι ἦσαν.
The Cissians who served in the army were equipped in other respects just like the Persians, but instead of felt caps they wore headbands.
Κισσίων δὲ ἦρχε Ἀνάφης ὁ Ὀτάνεω.
The Cissians were commanded by Anaphes son of Otanes.
Ὑρκάνιοι δὲ κατά περ Πέρσαι ἐσεσάχατο, ἡγεμόνα παρεχόμενοι Μεγάπανον τὸν Βαβυλῶνος ὕστερον τούτων ἐπιτροπεύσαντα.
The Hyrcanians were armed just like the Persians, providing as leader Megapanus, who afterwards became governor of Babylon.

Notes

  1. 7.62.1τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην ἐσταλμένοι — The accusative τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην accompanying the perfect middle-passive participle ἐσταλμένοι (from στέλλω, meaning 'equipped') is an accusative of respect or a cognate accusative referring back to the implied noun σκευή (equipment), indicating the manner of their equipment.
  2. 7.62.2ἐσκευάδατο — A third-person plural pluperfect passive ending in the Ionic dialect, corresponding to the Attic ἐσκεύασντο. In Attic Greek, the third-person plural of the perfect and pluperfect passive of consonant-stem verbs is formed periphrastically (participle + εἰμί / ἦσαν), whereas in Ionic, the ending -ατο is appended directly, keeping the consonant stem. A similar ionic form is ἐσεσάχατο (from σάττω) in the latter part of the section.
  3. 7.62.2ὕστερον τούτων — The genitive of comparison τούτων is neuter plural and refers to 'these events' or 'these things', meaning the present expedition of Xerxes. Thus, 'after these events'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.62.1-7.62.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.62.1-7.62.2

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