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Herodotus · Histories §8.17.1

Distinguished Combatants at the Battle of Artemisium

Passage 1319 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Regarding the most distinguished combatants in the battle, the Egyptians excelled on the Persian side, while the Athenians and Cleinias, who funded his own ship and crew, excelled on the Greek side.

§8.17.1ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ναυμαχίῃ Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν τῶν Ξέρξεω στρατιωτέων ἠρίστευσαν, οἳ ἄλλα τε μεγάλα ἔργα ἀπεδέξαντο καὶ νέας αὐτοῖσι ἀνδράσι εἷλον Ἑλληνίδας πέντε.
In this sea-fight, of Xerxes' soldiers the Egyptians distinguished themselves most; they not only performed other great deeds, but also captured five Greek ships with their crews.
τῶν δὲ Ἑλλήνων κατὰ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέρην ἠρίστευσαν Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Ἀθηναίων Κλεινίης ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδεω, ὃς δαπάνην οἰκηίην παρεχόμενος ἐστρατεύετο ἀνδράσι τε διηκοσίοισι καὶ οἰκηίῃ νηί.
On the side of the Greeks, the Athenians distinguished themselves most on this day, and among the Athenians, Cleinias the son of Alcibiades, who served with two hundred men and a ship of his own, providing the expense at his own cost.

Notes

  1. §8.17.1αὐτοῖσι ἀνδράσι — The dative of the pronoun αὐτός combined with a noun, without a preposition, expresses accompaniment ('together with the crew', 'crews and all').
  2. §8.17.1δαπάνην οἰκηίην παρεχόμενος — The participle παρεχόμενος is in the middle voice, meaning 'providing from one's own resources'. It indicates that Cleinias funded the expedition out of his own pocket (δαπάνην οἰκηίην) without relying on public funds.
  3. §8.17.1ἀνδράσι τε διηκοσίοισι καὶ οἰκηίῃ νηί — Dative of accompaniment (or instrument/manner) indicating military force or equipment. It is used without the preposition σύν in connection with military verbs like ἐστρατεύετο.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.17.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.17.1

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