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Herodotus · Histories §8.76.1-8.76.3

Persian Encirclement and the Landing on Psyttalea

Passage 1384 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Believing the message from Themistocles' messenger, the Persian forces landed troops on the island of Psyttalea during the night and completed their encirclement of the straits around Salamis to prevent the Greeks from escaping.

§8.76.1ὃ μὲν ταῦτά σφι σημήνας ἐκποδὼν ἀπαλλάσσετο·
Having signaled these things to them, he departed and went out of the way.
τοῖσι δὲ ὡς πιστὰ ἐγίνετο τὰ ἀγγελθέντα, τοῦτο μὲν ἐς τὴν νησῖδα τὴν Ψυττάλειαν, μεταξὺ Σαλαμῖνός τε κειμένην καὶ τῆς ἠπείρου, πολλοὺς τῶν Περσέων ἀπεβιβάσαντο· τοῦτο δέ, ἐπειδὴ ἐγίνοντο μέσαι νύκτες, ἀνῆγον μὲν τὸ ἀπʼ ἑσπέρης κέρας κυκλούμενοι πρὸς τὴν Σαλαμῖνα, ἀνῆγον δὲ οἱ ἀμφὶ τὴν Κέον τε καὶ τὴν Κυνόσουραν τεταγμένοι, κατεῖχόν τε μέχρι Μουνυχίης πάντα τὸν πορθμὸν τῇσι νηυσί.
When the reported news seemed credible to them, on the one hand, they landed many of the Persians on the islet of Psyttalea, which lies between Salamis and the mainland; on the other hand, when it became midnight, they moved their western wing out to sea, encircling towards Salamis, and those stationed around Ceos and Cynosura also moved their ships out, and they occupied the whole strait with their ships as far as Munychia.
§8.76.2τῶνδε δὲ εἵνεκα ἀνῆγον τὰς νέας, ἵνα δὴ τοῖσι Ἕλλησι μηδὲ φυγεῖν ἐξῇ, ἀλλʼ ἀπολαμφθέντες ἐν τῇ Σαλαμῖνι δοῖεν τίσιν τῶν ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ ἀγωνισμάτων.
They moved their ships out for this reason: namely, so that the Greeks might not even be allowed to flee, but being trapped in Salamis, they might pay the penalty for their battles at Artemisium.
ἐς δὲ τὴν νησῖδα τὴν Ψυττάλειαν καλεομένην ἀπεβίβαζον τῶν Περσέων τῶνδε εἵνεκεν, ὡς ἐπεὰν γίνηται ναυμαχίη, ἐνθαῦτα μάλιστα ἐξοισομένων τῶν τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν ναυηγίων (ἐν γὰρ δὴ πόρῳ τῆς ναυμαχίης τῆς μελλούσης ἔσεσθαι ἔκειτο ἡ νῆσος), ἵνα τοὺς μὲν περιποιέωσι τοὺς δὲ διαφθείρωσι.
And they landed the Persians on the islet called Psyttalea for this reason: so that when a sea-battle should occur, since men and wrecks would most of all be washed ashore there (for the island indeed lay in the very path of the battle that was about to take place), they might save the former and destroy the latter.
§8.76.3ἐποίευν δὲ σιγῇ ταῦτα, ὡς μὴ πυνθανοίατο οἱ ἐναντίοι.
They did these things in silence, so that their opponents might not find out.
οἱ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα τῆς νυκτὸς οὐδὲν ἀποκοιμηθέντες παραρτέοντο.
So they, getting no sleep at all during the night, were making their preparations.

Notes

  1. 8.76.1τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δέ — A correlative construction using adverbial accusatives, meaning "on the one hand... on the other hand..." Here, it introduces the two actions taken by the Persian forces in contrast: the landing of troops on Psyttalea and the night movement of the fleet to encircle the Greeks.
  2. 8.76.2ἐξοισομένων τῶν τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν ναυηγίων — A genitive absolute construction with a future participle (`ἐξοισομένων`, from `ἐκφέρεσθαι` "to be washed ashore" in a middle/passive sense) introduced by the conjunction `ὡς` (indicating expectation or subjective reason). It expresses the anticipation that men and wreckage would drift there once the battle began.
  3. 8.76.2δοῖεν τίσιν — An expression equivalent to the idiom `δίκην διδόναι` (to pay the penalty, to be punished), here using the noun `τίσις` (retribution, penalty) as the object. The genitive `τῶν ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ ἀγωνισμάτων` (the battles at Artemisium) indicates the cause or grounds for this retribution.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.76.1-8.76.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.76.1-8.76.3

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