Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §8.117.1-8.117.2

Crossing of the Hellespont and Retreat to Sardis

Passage 1425 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Describes how the Persian army crossed the Hellespont by ships because the pontoon bridges had been destroyed, and how many surviving soldiers died of overeating and bad water before reaching Sardis.

§8.117.1καὶ οὗτοι μὲν τοῦτον τὸν μισθὸν ἔλαβον, οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι ὡς ἐκ τῆς Θρηίκης πορευόμενοι ἀπίκοντο ἐπὶ τὸν πόρον, ἐπειγόμενοι τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον τῇσι νηυσὶ διέβησαν ἐς Ἄβυδον· τὰς γὰρ σχεδίας οὐκ εὗρον ἔτι ἐντεταμένας ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ χειμῶνος διαλελυμένας.
And while these men received this reward, the Persians, marching from Thrace, arrived at the crossing, and in their haste crossed the Hellespont in ships to Abydos; for they did not find the pontoon bridges still stretched across, but broken up by a storm.
§8.117.2ἐνθαῦτα δὲ κατεχόμενοι σιτία τε πλέω ἢ κατʼ ὁδὸν ἐλάγχανον, καὶ οὐδένα τε κόσμον ἐμπιπλάμενοι καὶ ὕδατα μεταβάλλοντες ἀπέθνησκον τοῦ στρατοῦ τοῦ περιεόντος πολλοί.
Haling there, they obtained more food than they had along the road, and by filling themselves without any restraint and changing their water, many of the remaining army died.
οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἅμα Ξέρξη ἀπικνέονται ἐς Σάρδις.
The rest, along with Xerxes, arrived at Sardis.

Notes

  1. 8.117.1ἐντεταμένας — The participle ἐντεταμένας (and the contrasted διαλελυμένας) functions as a predicative accusative complement to the object τὰς σχεδίας after the verb εὗρον.
  2. 8.117.2οὐδένα τε κόσμον — The accusative οὐδένα κόσμον is used adverbially to mean "without any restraint" or "in an undisciplined manner."
  3. 8.117.2ὕδατα μεταβάλλοντες — Literally "changing waters," referring to the change of drinking water as they moved through different territories, which caused illness.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.117.1-8.117.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.117.1-8.117.2

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