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Herodotus · Histories §8.46.1-8.46.4

Island Contingents: Ships and Origins at Salamis

Passage 1348 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

This chunk records the number of ships contributed by various islander Greek forces—including Aeginetans, Chalcidians, Eretrians, Ceans, Naxians, Styrians, and Cythnians—at Salamis, noting their origins and the resistance of certain islands to the Persians.

§8.46.1νησιωτέων δὲ Αἰγινῆται τριήκοντα παρείχοντο.
Among the islanders, the Aeginetans provided thirty ships.
ἦσαν μέν σφι καὶ ἄλλαι πεπληρωμέναι νέες, ἀλλὰ τῇσι μὲν τὴν ἑωυτῶν ἐφύλασσον, τριήκοντα δὲ τῇσι ἄριστα πλεούσῃσι ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐναυμάχησαν.
They had other manned ships as well, but with some they guarded their own land, while with thirty of the best-sailing ones they fought in the sea battle at Salamis.
Αἰγινῆται δὲ εἰσὶ Δωριέες ἀπὸ Ἐπιδαύρου· §8.46.2τῇ δὲ νήσῳ πρότερον οὔνομα ἦν Οἰνώνη.
The Aeginetans are Dorians from Epidaurus; and the island was formerly named Oenone.
μετὰ δὲ Αἰγινήτας Χαλκιδέες τὰς ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ εἴκοσι παρεχόμενοι καὶ Ἐρετριέες τὰς ἑπτά· οὗτοι δὲ Ἴωνες εἰσί.
After the Aeginetans, the Chalcidians provided the twenty ships they had at Artemisium, and the Eretrians seven; these are Ionians.
μετὰ δὲ Κήιοι τὰς αὐτὰς παρεχόμενοι, ἔθνος ἐὸν Ἰωνικὸν ἀπὸ Ἀθηνέων.
Next, the Ceans provided the same number, being an Ionian nation from Athens.
§8.46.3Νάξιοι δὲ παρείχοντο τέσσερας, ἀποπεμφθέντες μὲν ἐς τοὺς Μήδους ὑπὸ τῶν πολιητέων κατά περ οἱ ἄλλοι νησιῶται, ἀλογήσαντες δὲ τῶν ἐντολέων ἀπίκατο ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας Δημοκρίτου σπεύσαντος, ἀνδρὸς τῶν ἀστῶν δοκίμου καὶ τότε τριηραρχέοντος.
The Naxians provided four; they had been sent to the Medes by their fellow citizens, just like the other islanders, but disregarding their instructions they came to the Greeks, through the urging of Democritus, a notable man among the citizens and at that time commander of a trireme.
Νάξιοι δὲ εἰσὶ Ἴωνες ἀπὸ Ἀθηνέων γεγονότες.
The Naxians are Ionians descended from Athens.
§8.46.4Στυρέες δὲ τὰς αὐτὰς παρείχοντο νέας τάς περ ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ, Κύθνιοι δὲ μίαν καὶ πεντηκόντερον, ἐόντες συναμφότεροι οὗτοι Δρύοπες.
The Styrians provided the same ships as they had at Artemisium, and the Cythnians one ship and a fifty-oared vessel, both of these being Dryopes.
καὶ Σερίφιοί τε καὶ Σίφνιοι καὶ Μήλιοι ἐστρατεύοντο· οὗτοι γὰρ οὐκ ἔδοσαν μοῦνοι νησιωτέων τῷ βαρβάρῳ γῆν τε καὶ ὕδωρ.
Seriphians, Siphnians, and Melians also joined the campaign; for they were the only islanders who had not given earth and water to the barbarian.

Notes

  1. §8.46.1τῇσι μὲν ... τριήκοντα δὲ τῇσι ἄριστα πλεούσῃσι — The dative definite article τῇσι is used without a preposition to indicate means or instrument. τῇσι μὲν refers to 'with some [of the other ships],' contrasted with τριήκοντα δὲ τῇσι ἄριστα πλεούσῃσι, meaning 'with thirty of those that sailed best.'
  2. §8.46.2Χαλκιδέες τὰς ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ εἴκοσι παρεχόμενοι — The participle παρεχόμενοι is used in the nominative in the absence of a main verb (such as παρείχοντο), functioning as a virtual main verb. The accusative τὰς ... εἴκοσι means 'the twenty ships that they provided at Artemisium,' with the definite article τὰς highlighting the previous contribution.
  3. §8.46.3Δημοκρίτου σπεύσαντος — A genitive absolute construction, indicating that Democritus urged or facilitated the action (cause or attendant circumstance).
  4. §8.46.4οὗτοι γὰρ οὐκ ἔδοσαν μοῦνοι νησιωτέων — The adjective μοῦνοι (Ionic for μόνοι) is used predicatively in the nominative, functioning adverbially to mean 'only they among the islanders did not...' The negative οὐκ negates the verb ἔδοσαν, emphasizing that they alone refused to submit.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.46.1-8.46.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.46.1-8.46.4

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