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Herodotus · Histories §7.9.1-7.9.2

Mardonius' Praise of Xerxes and Urging War on Greece

Passage 1058 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Following Xerxes' speech, Mardonius praises the king's words and urges the expedition, arguing that it is absurd for the Persians to rule over many innocent nations while leaving the Greeks unpunished despite their prior aggression.

§7.9.1μετʼ αὐτὸν δὲ Μαρδόνιος ἔλεγε ὦ δέσποτα, οὐ μοῦνον εἶς τῶν γενομένων Περσέων ἄριστος ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐσομένων, ὃς τά τε ἄλλα λέγων ἐπίκεο ἄριστα καὶ ἀληθέστατα, καὶ Ἴωνας τοὺς ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ κατοικημένους οὐκ ἐάσεις καταγελάσαι ἡμῖν ἐόντας ἀναξίους.
And after him Mardonius said: "O master, you are not only the best of the Persians who have been but also of those who will be, who in saying other things have hit upon what is best and truest, and you will not allow the Ionians who dwell in Europe to mock us, since they are unworthy.
§7.9.2καὶ γὰρ δεινὸν ἂν εἴη πρῆγμα, εἰ Σάκας μὲν καὶ Ἰνδοὺς καὶ Αἰθίοπάς τε καὶ Ἀσσυρίους ἄλλα τε ἔθνεα πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἀδικήσαντα Πέρσας οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ δύναμιν προσκτᾶσθαι βουλόμενοι, καταστρεψάμενοι δούλους ἔχομεν, Ἕλληνας δὲ ὑπάρξαντας ἀδικίης οὐ τιμωρησόμεθα·
For indeed it would be a strange thing if, on the one hand, we hold as slaves, having subdued them, the Sacae and Indians and Ethiopians and Assyrians, and many other great nations, who did no wrong to the Persians but only because we wished to acquire additional power, and on the other hand, we shall not punish the Greeks who were the first to commit injustice."

Notes

  1. §7.9.1ἐπίκεο — The second-person singular aorist middle indicative of ἐφικνέομαι (to reach, hit the mark) in the Ionic dialect (equivalent to ἐφίκου in Attic). It shows the loss of aspiration and the lack of contraction (-εο). Here, it means "to hit the mark" in speech.
  2. §7.9.1ἐόντας — The masculine accusative plural of the present participle of εἶμί (to be) in the Ionic dialect (equivalent to ὄντας in Attic). It modifies Ἴωνας, functioning as a circumstantial participle indicating concession or reason ("although they are" / "since they are").
  3. §7.9.2ὑπάρξαντας ἀδικίης — The verb ὑπάρχω with a genitive (ἀδικίης) means "to begin, to be the first to commit." The aorist active participle modifies Ἕλληνας, meaning "(the Greeks) who were the first to commit injustice."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.9.1-7.9.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.9.1-7.9.2

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