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Herodotus · Histories §8.23.1

Persian Advance to Artemisium and Occupation of Histiaea

Passage 1325 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Following Themistocles' inscription, the Persian fleet receives news of the Greek retreat, verifies it through scouts, and advances to Artemision, eventually occupying Histiaea and ravaging its coastal regions.

§8.23.1Θεμιστοκλέης μὲν ταῦτα ἐνέγραψε· τοῖσι δὲ βαρβάροισι αὐτίκα μετὰ ταῦτα πλοίῳ ἦλθε ἀνὴρ Ἱστιαιεὺς ἀγγέλλων τὸν δρησμὸν τὸν ἀπʼ Ἀρτεμισίου τῶν Ἑλλήνων.
Themistocles wrote these words; and immediately after this, a man of Histiaea came by boat to the barbarians, bringing news of the flight of the Greeks from Artemision.
οἳ δʼ ὑπʼ ἀπιστίης τὸν μὲν ἀγγέλλοντα εἶχον ἐν φυλακῇ, νέας δὲ ταχέας ἀπέστειλαν προκατοψομένας·
But they, out of disbelief, kept the messenger under guard, and sent fast ships ahead to reconnoitre.
ἀπαγγειλάντων δὲ τούτων τὰ ἦν, οὕτω δὴ ἅμα ἡλίῳ σκιδναμένῳ πᾶσα ἡ στρατιὴ ἐπέπλεε ἁλὴς ἐπὶ τὸ Ἀρτεμίσιον.
When these returned and reported the facts as they were, then indeed, at sunrise, the whole fleet sailed in a body to Artemision.
ἐπισχόντες δὲ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χώρῳ μέχρι μέσου ἡμέρης, τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου ἔπλεον ἐς Ἱστιαίην· ἀπικόμενοι δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἔσχον τῶν Ἱστιαιέων, καὶ τῆς Ἐλλοπίης μοίρης γῆς δὲ τῆς Ἱστιαιώτιδος τὰς παραθαλασσίας χώρας πάσας ἐπέδραμον.
Having stayed in this place until midday, they then sailed to Histiaea; and on arriving, they occupied the city of the Histiaeans and overran all the coastal districts of the Ellopian region, in the land of Histiaeotis.

Notes

  1. 8.23.1τοῖσι δὲ βαρβάροισι — Dative of direction or destination, modifying the intransitive verb ἦλθε. While prose usually employs a preposition (such as πρός or ἐς) for this, here the dative alone means 'to the barbarians'.
  2. 8.23.1προκατοψομένας — Future participle (feminine plural accusative) of the verb προκατοπτεύω (to reconnoitre beforehand), modifying the preceding noun νέας (ships). Used with the verb of motion ἀπέστειλαν to express purpose ('in order to reconnoitre').
  3. 8.23.1ἀπαγγειλάντων δὲ τούτων τὰ ἦν — Genitive absolute construction. The phrase τὰ ἦν (the neuter plural substantivized imperfect of εἰμί, meaning 'the things that were') functions as the direct object of the participle ἀπαγγειλάντων, denoting 'the actual state of affairs' or 'the facts as they were'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.23.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.23.1

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