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Herodotus · Histories §8.49.1-8.49.2

Council of War on Battle Site and Defense at Isthmus

Passage 1351 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The generals assembled at Salamis debate the best location for the naval battle under Eurybiades' proposal, with the majority advocating for the Isthmus to secure a line of retreat in case of defeat.

§8.49.1ὡς δὲ ἐς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα συνῆλθον οἱ στρατηγοὶ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰρημενέων πολίων, ἐβουλεύοντο, προθέντος Εὐρυβιάδεω γνώμην ἀποφαίνεσθαι τὸν βουλόμενον, ὅκου δοκέοι ἐπιτηδεότατον εἶναι ναυμαχίην ποιέεσθαι τῶν αὐτοὶ χωρέων ἐγκρατέες εἰσί· ἡ γὰρ Ἀττικὴ ἀπεῖτο ἤδη, τῶν δὲ λοιπέων πέρι προετίθεε.
When the generals from the aforementioned cities had assembled at Salamis, they held a council. Eurybiades proposed that anyone who wished should express his opinion as to where, among the regions they themselves still controlled, it seemed most suitable to fight a naval battle; for Attica had already been abandoned, and it was concerning the remaining areas that he put forward the proposal.
§8.49.2αἱ γνῶμαι δὲ τῶν λεγόντων αἱ πλεῖσται συνεξέπιπτον πρὸς τὸν Ἰσθμὸν πλώσαντας ναυμαχέειν πρὸ τῆς Πελοποννήσου, ἐπιλέγοντες τὸν λόγον τόνδε, ὡς εἰ νικηθέωσι τῇ ναυμαχίῃ, ἐν Σαλαμῖνι μὲν ἐόντες πολιορκήσονται ἐν νήσῳ, ἵνα σφι τιμωρίη οὐδεμία ἐπιφανήσεται, πρὸς δὲ τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἐς τοὺς ἑωυτῶν ἐξοίσονται.
The opinions of the speakers mostly coincided in favor of sailing to the Isthmus and fighting the naval battle in defense of the Peloponnese, adding this reasoning: that if they should be defeated in the naval battle, they would be besieged in an island while staying in Salamis, where no help would appear for them, whereas at the Isthmus they could withdraw to their own people.

Notes

  1. 8.49.1ὅκου δοκέοι — An optative in an indirect question (optativus obliquus), representing an indicative (δοκεῖ) in direct speech, due to the governing verb ἐβουλεύοντο being in a past tense (imperfect).
  2. 8.49.1τῶν αὐτοὶ χωρέων ἐγκρατέες εἰσί — A partitive genitive construction combined with a relative clause, equivalent to τῶν χωρέων [ὧν] αὐτοὶ ἐγκρατέες εἰσί, where the relative pronoun is omitted or assimilated, meaning 'of those regions which they themselves control.'
  3. 8.49.2πλώσαντας — Accusative plural participle acting as the subject of the infinitive ναυμαχέειν. Instead of the nominative (πλώσαντες) agreeing with the main subject (the generals), the accusative is used to fit the infinitive construction.
  4. 8.49.2ἵνα σφι τιμωρίη οὐδεμία ἐπιφανήσεται — Here ἵνα is not a conjunction introducing a purpose clause ('in order that'), but a relative adverb meaning 'where' (referring to the island). Consequently, it is followed by the future indicative ἐπιφανήσεται to express a future fact or expectation.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.49.1-8.49.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.49.1-8.49.2

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