Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §8.133.1

Mardonius' Mission of Mys to Consult the Oracles

Passage 1441 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While the Greeks remain at Delos and Mardonius winters in Thessaly, Mardonius sends a man named Mys to consult various oracles, an act which the author conjectures was intended to inquire about their present situation.

§8.133.1οἱ μὲν δὴ Ἕλληνες ἔπλεον ἐς τὴν Δῆλον, Μαρδόνιος δὲ περὶ τὴν Θεσσαλίην ἐχείμαζε.
While the Greeks, then, were sailing to Delos, Mardonius was wintering in the region of Thessaly.
ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὁρμώμενος ἔπεμπε κατὰ τὰ χρηστήρια ἄνδρα Εὐρωπέα γένος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Μῦς, ἐντειλάμενος πανταχῇ μιν χρησόμενον ἐλθεῖν, τῶν οἷά τε ἦν σφι ἀποπειρήσασθαι.
Setting out from there, he sent to the oracle centers a man of Europus by birth, whose name was Mys, having instructed him to go and consult them everywhere, as far as it was possible for them to make trial of them.
ὅ τι μὲν βουλόμενος ἐκμαθεῖν πρὸς τῶν χρηστηρίων ταῦτα ἐνετέλλετο, οὐκ ἔχω φράσαι· οὐ γὰρ ὦν λέγεται·
What it was that he wished to learn from the oracles when he gave these instructions, I cannot say; for it is not told.
δοκέω δʼ ἔγωγε περὶ τῶν παρεόντων πρηγμάτων καὶ οὐκ ἄλλων πέρι πέμψαι.
But I, for my part, believe that he sent him concerning the present affairs and not about anything else.

Notes

  1. §8.133.1Εὐρωπέα — Accusative singular of the adjective Εὐρωπεύς, meaning "inhabitant of Europus" (a town in Macedonia or Caria). Together with the subsequent accusative of respect γένος, it means "of Europus by birth."
  2. §8.133.1τῶν — Genitive plural neuter of the relative pronoun. The antecedent is the implied "oracle centers" (χρηστήρια), and it is in the genitive case because it is governed by the verb ἀποπειρήσασθαι ("to make trial of").
  3. §8.133.1οὐκ ἔχω — The verb ἔχω combined with an infinitive (here φράσαι) means "to be able to" (equivalent to "can"). With the negative οὐ, it means "I cannot say."
  4. §8.133.1πέμψαι — An aorist infinitive forming the complement of the verb δοκέω ("to think"), representing a past action relative to the main verb. Its subject is Mardonius, meaning "(I think) he sent."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.133.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.133.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.