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Herodotus · Histories §8.48.1

Penteconters from the Islands and Fleet Total

Passage 1350 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While the other Greeks provided triremes, the Melians, Siphnians, and Seriphians provided penteconters, with their origins noted, and the total number of Greek ships excluding penteconters is recorded as 378.

§8.48.1οἱ μέν νυν ἄλλοι τριήρεας παρεχόμενοι ἐστρατεύοντο, Μήλιοι δὲ καὶ Σίφνιοι καὶ Σερίφιοι πεντηκοντέρους·
Now the others joined the campaign by providing triremes, but the Melians, Siphnians, and Seriphians provided penteconters.
Μήλιοι μὲν γένος ἐόντες ἀπὸ Λακεδαίμονος δύο παρείχοντο, Σίφνιοι δὲ καὶ Σερίφιοι Ἴωνες ἐόντες ἀπʼ Ἀθηνέων μίαν ἑκάτεροι.
The Melians, being of Lacedaemonian descent, provided two ships, while the Siphnians and Seriphians, being Ionians from Athens, provided one each.
ἀριθμὸς δὲ ἐγένετο ὁ πᾶς τῶν νεῶν, πάρεξ τῶν πεντηκοντέρων, τριηκόσιαι καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ ὀκτώ.
The total number of ships, excluding the penteconters, was three hundred and seventy-eight.

Notes

  1. 8.48.1Μήλιοι δὲ καὶ Σίφνιοι καὶ Σερίφιοι πεντηκοντέρους — The verb phrase `παρεχόμενοι ἐστρατεύοντο` from the preceding clause is omitted here. Based on the contrast (`οἱ μέν... Μήλιοι δέ...`), it means they "joined the campaign by providing" penteconters.
  2. 8.48.1Ἴωνες ἐόντες ἀπʼ Ἀθηνέων — Meaning "being Ionians from Athens". This stands in a symmetrical structure with the preceding `γένος ἐόντες ἀπὸ Λακεδαίμονος` ("being of Lacedaemonian descent"), indicating their mother city (metropolis) of colonization.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.48.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.48.1

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