Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §8.61.1-8.61.2

Themistocles Counters Adeimantus on Having a City

Passage 1366 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Adeimantus attempts to deny Themistocles the right to speak on the grounds that Athens is lost, but Themistocles counters that as long as they have two hundred manned ships, they possess a city and land greater than any other.

§8.61.1ταῦτα λέγοντος Θεμιστοκλέος αὖτις ὁ Κορίνθιος Ἀδείμαντος ἐπεφέρετο, σιγᾶν τε κελεύων τῷ μὴ ἐστὶ πατρὶς καὶ Εὐρυβιάδην οὐκ ἐῶν ἐπιψηφίζειν ἀπόλι ἀνδρί· πόλιν γὰρ τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα παρεχόμενον οὕτω ἐκέλευε γνώμας συμβάλλεσθαι.
While Themistocles was saying this, Adeimantus the Corinthian attacked him again, ordering him to be silent since he had no fatherland, and not allowing Eurybiades to put questions to the vote for a man without a city; for he demanded that Themistocles should only contribute his opinions after providing a city.
ταῦτα δέ οἱ προέφερε ὅτι ἡλώκεσάν τε καὶ κατείχοντο αἱ Ἀθῆναι.
He brought this reproach against him because Athens had been captured and was occupied.
§8.61.2τότε δὴ ὁ Θεμιστοκλέης κεῖνόν τε καὶ τοὺς Κορινθίους πολλά τε καὶ κακὰ ἔλεγε, ἑωυτοῖσι τε ἐδήλου λόγῳ ὡς εἴη καὶ πόλις καὶ γῆ μέζων ἤ περ ἐκείνοισι, ἔστʼ ἂν διηκόσιαι νέες σφι ἔωσι πεπληρωμέναι· οὐδαμοὺς γὰρ Ἑλλήνων αὐτοὺς ἐπιόντας ἀποκρούσεσθαι.
Then indeed Themistocles said many harsh things against him and the Corinthians, and made it clear by his words that they themselves had both a city and a land greater than theirs, as long as they had two hundred fully manned ships; for no other Greek people would be able to repulse them when they attacked.

Notes

  1. 8.61.1τῷ μὴ ἐστὶ πατρὶς — A dative phrase containing a relative clause, where the demonstrative pronoun `τῷ` acts as a relative pronoun (an Ionic feature equivalent to `ᾧ`). Literally, "to him for whom there is no fatherland."
  2. 8.61.1ἐπιψηφίζειν ἀπόλι ἀνδρί — The verb `ἐπιψηφίζειν` (to put a motion to the vote) is construed with the dative `ἀπόλι ἀνδρί` (for a man without a city), meaning "to put the motion of a cityless man to the vote" or "to take a vote for a cityless man."
  3. 8.61.2κεῖνόν τε καὶ τοὺς Κορινθίους πολλά τε καὶ κακὰ ἔλεγε — A double accusative construction with the verb `λέγω`, taking both the person (`κεῖνόν τε καὶ τοὺς Κορινθίους`) and the thing (`πολλά τε καὶ κακὰ`) in the accusative. It means "to say many bad things about him and the Corinthians," i.e., to abuse them.
  4. 8.61.2οὐδαμοὺς γὰρ Ἑλλήνων αὐτοὺς ἐπιόντας ἀποκρούσεσθαι — An accusative with infinitive construction in indirect discourse. The negative subject accusative `οὐδαμοὺς Ἑλλήνων` (no one of the Greeks) governs the transitive middle infinitive `ἀποκρούσεσθαι` (to repulse/ward off), with `αὐτοὺς ἐπιόντας` (them when attacking) acting as its object accusative.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.61.1-8.61.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.61.1-8.61.2

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.