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Herodotus · Histories §8.20.1-8.20.2

The Oracle of Bacis Ignored by the Euboeans

Passage 1322 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Euboeans bring disaster upon themselves by ignoring the oracle of Bacis and failing to prepare for war, and the text of the oracle is quoted.

§8.20.1οἱ γὰρ Εὐβοέες, παραχρησάμενοι τὸν Βάκιδος χρησμὸν ὡς οὐδὲν λέγοντα, οὔτε τι ἐξεκομίσαντο οὐδὲν οὔτε προσεσάξαντο ὡς παρεσομένου σφι πολέμου, περιπετέα τε ἐποιήσαντο σφίσι αὐτοῖσι τὰ πρήγματα.
For the Euboeans, treating the oracle of Bacis as saying nothing to the purpose, had neither carried away anything to safety nor brought in any provisions, as though no war were impending over them, and thus they brought their affairs to a disastrous ruin.
§8.20.2Βάκιδι γὰρ ὧδε ἔχει περὶ τούτων ὁ χρησμός. " φράζεο, βαρβαρόφωνος ὅταν ζυγὸν εἰς ἅλα βάλλῃ βύβλινον, Εὐβοίης ἀπέχειν πολυμηκάδας αἶγας.
For the oracle of Bacis concerning these matters runs as follows: "Beware, when a barbarian-tongued man shall cast a papyrus yoke upon the sea, to keep the loud-bleating goats far from Euboea.
" τούτοισι οὐδὲν τοῖσι ἔπεσι χρησαμένοισι ἐν τοῖσι τότε παρεοῦσί τε καὶ προσδοκίμοισι κακοῖσι παρῆν σφι συμφορῇ χρᾶσθαι πρὸς τὰ μέγιστα.
"Because they made no use of these verses in the evils then present and expected, it was their lot to experience calamity in the highest degree.

Notes

  1. 8.20.1ὡς οὐδὲν λέγοντα — The conjunction ὡς with the present participle λέγοντα (accusative masculine singular, agreeing with τὸν ... χρησμὸν) expresses a subjective reason or regard. The phrase οὐδὲν λέγειν is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to speak nonsense' or 'to say nothing to the purpose'.
  2. 8.20.1ὡς παρεσομένου σφι πολέμου — A genitive absolute construction consisting of the future participle παρεσομένου with ὡς. While future participles of impersonal verbs often take the accusative absolute, here πόλεμος is the subject, making it a regular genitive absolute expressing subjective expectation ('as though a war were about to be at hand for them').
  3. 8.20.2Εὐβοίης ἀπέχειν — An expression in the hexameter oracle. The infinitive ἀπέχειν is used as an imperative (the imperative infinitive) addressed to the second person. Εὐβοίης is a genitive of separation ('from Euboea'), and the infinitive is used transitively here meaning 'to keep (something) away'.
  4. 8.20.2παρῆν σφι συμφορῇ χρᾶσθαι — The impersonal verb παρῆν (imperfect of πάρειμι) taking the dative σφι ('for them') and the infinitive χρᾶσθαι. It expresses a fateful necessity ('it fell to their lot to experience...'). συμφορῇ is the dative complement governed by χρᾶσθαι.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.20.1-8.20.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.20.1-8.20.2

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