Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §8.28.1

The Amphora Trap and Defeat of Thessalian Cavalry

Passage 1330 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The passage summarizes the damage the Phocians inflicted on the Thessalian infantry and describes the stratagem by which they caused incurable damage to the Thessalian cavalry using a trap of buried empty amphorae near Hyampolis.

§8.28.1ταῦτα μέν νυν τὸν πεζὸν ἐργάσαντο τῶν Θεσσαλῶν οἱ Φωκέες πολιορκέοντας ἑωυτούς· ἐσβαλοῦσαν δὲ ἐς τὴν χώρην τὴν ἵππον αὐτῶν ἐλυμήναντο ἀνηκέστως.
These things, then, the Phocians did to the Thessalian infantry who were besieging them; but their cavalry, when they invaded their territory, they ruined incurably.
ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἐσβολῇ ἣ ἐστὶ κατὰ Ὑάμπολιν, ἐν ταύτῃ τάφρον μεγάλην ὀρύξαντες ἀμφορέας κενεοὺς ἐς αὐτὴν κατέθηκαν, χοῦν δὲ ἐπιφορήσαντες καὶ ὁμοιώσαντες τῷ ἄλλῳ χώρῳ ἐδέκοντο τοὺς Θεσσαλοὺς ἐσβάλλοντας.
For in the pass which is near Hyampolis, in that very place they dug a great trench and put empty amphorae into it; and having carried earth over them and made it like the rest of the ground, they awaited the invading Thessalians.
οἳ δὲ ὡς ἀναρπασόμενοι τοὺς Φωκέας φερόμενοι ἐσέπεσον ἐς τοὺς ἀμφορέας.
And they, rushing forward as if to sweep the Phocians away, fell in among the amphorae.
ἐνθαῦτα οἱ ἵπποι τὰ σκέλεα διεφθάρησαν.
There the horses had their legs broken.

Notes

  1. 8.28.1τὸν πεζὸν ... πολιορκέοντας — The plural participle πολιορκέοντας agrees with the singular collective noun τὸν πεζὸν (the infantry). This is an instance of constructio ad sensum (agreement according to sense), referring to the individual soldiers making up the infantry.
  2. 8.28.1ὡς ἀναρπασόμενοι — The conjunction ὡς combined with the future participle ἀναρπασόμενοι (future middle participle nominative plural of ἀναρπάζω) expresses the intention, purpose, or subjective expectation of the subjects ('as if to sweep away' or 'intending to carry off').
  3. 8.28.1τὰ σκέλεα — This is an accusative of respect (or specification) used with the passive verb διεφθάρησαν ('were ruined/destroyed'), meaning 'were ruined in respect to their legs', i.e., 'had their legs broken'.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.28.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.28.1

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.