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Herodotus · Histories §8.66.1-8.66.2

Persian Fleet at Phalerum and the Size of the Army

Passage 1371 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Persian fleet arrives at Phalerum, and it is noted that the size of the invading Persian forces in Athens was no smaller than at the beginning of the campaign, as more Greek nations joined them the further they advanced into Greece.

§8.66.1οἱ δὲ ἐς τὸν Ξέρξεω ναυτικὸν στρατὸν ταχθέντες, ἐπειδὴ ἐκ Τρηχῖνος θεησάμενοι τὸ τρῶμα τὸ Λακωνικὸν διέβησαν ἐς τὴν Ἱστιαίην, ἐπισχόντες ἡμέρας τρεῖς ἔπλεον διʼ Εὐρίπου, καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῃσι τρισὶ ἡμέρῃσι ἐγένοντο ἐν Φαλήρῳ.
Those who had been assigned to the fleet of Xerxes, after they had viewed the Lacedaemonian disaster from Trachis, crossed over to Histiaea. Having stayed there for three days, they sailed through the Euripus, and in another three days they arrived at Phalerum.
ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέειν, οὐκ ἐλάσσονες ἐόντες ἀριθμὸν ἐσέβαλον ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας, κατά τε ἤπειρον καὶ τῇσι νηυσὶ ἀπικόμενοι, ἢ ἐπί τε Σηπιάδα ἀπίκοντο καὶ ἐς Θερμοπύλας·
As it seems to me, those who invaded Athens, arriving both by land and by ship, were not fewer in number than when they had arrived at Sepias and Thermopylae.
§8.66.2ἀντιθήσω γὰρ τοῖσί τε ὑπὸ τοῦ χειμῶνος αὐτῶν ἀπολομένοισι καὶ τοῖσι ἐν Θερμοπύλῃσι καὶ τῇσι ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ ναυμαχίῃσι τούσδε τοὺς τότε οὔκω ἑπομένους βασιλέι, Μηλιέας καὶ Δωριέας καὶ Λοκροὺς καὶ Βοιωτοὺς πανστρατιῇ ἑπομένους πλὴν Θεσπιέων καὶ Πλαταιέων, καὶ μάλα Καρυστίους τε καὶ Ἀνδρίους καὶ Τηνίους τε καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς νησιώτας πάντας, πλὴν τῶν πέντε πολίων τῶν ἐπεμνήσθημεν πρότερον τὰ οὐνόματα.
For I will set against those of them who perished in the storm, and those at Thermopylae and in the sea-fights at Artemisium, these who did not yet follow the king at that time: the Malians, Dorians, Locrians, and Boeotians who followed with their entire army except for the Thespians and Plataeans, and also especially the Carystians, Andrians, Tenians, and all the remaining islanders, except for the five cities whose names we mentioned before.
ὅσῳ γὰρ δὴ προέβαινε ἐσωτέρω τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὁ Πέρσης, τοσούτῳ πλέω ἔθνεά οἱ εἵπετο.
For the further the Persian advanced into the interior of Greece, the more nations followed him.

Notes

  1. 8.66.1ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκέειν — An absolute infinitive construction with ὡς and the infinitive (δοκέειν), meaning "as it seems to me" or "in my opinion".
  2. 8.66.2ἀντιθήσω γὰρ τοῖσί τε ... τούσδε ... — The verb ἀντιτίθημι ("to set against" or "to compare") takes a dative (τοῖσι...) and an accusative (τούσδε...). Here, the forces lost in early battles and storms (dative) are contrasted with the newly joined forces (accusative) to justify the claim that the total size of the army remained undiminished.
  3. 8.66.2ὅσῳ γὰρ δὴ προέβαινε ἐσωτέρω τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὁ Πέρσης, τοσούτῳ πλέω ἔθνεά οἱ εἵπετο. — A proportional construction using the correlative adverbs ὅσῳ ... tosoútōi ... ("the more... the more..."). "The Persian" (ὁ Πέρσης) is a collective singular referring to the Persian army or their king Xerxes.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.66.1-8.66.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.66.1-8.66.2

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