Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.100.1-9.100.2

Rumor of the Victory at Plataea and Divine Sign

Passage 1555 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

As the Greek army began its advance, a rumor of the victory at Plataea spread through the camp, and a herald's staff was found. The author discerns divine providence in the fact that victories in both battles coincided on the same day.

§9.100.1ὡς δὲ ἄρα παρεσκευάδατο τοῖσι Ἕλλησι, προσήισαν πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους· ἰοῦσι δέ σφι φήμη τε ἐσέπτατο ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον πᾶν καὶ κηρυκήιον ἐφάνη ἐπὶ τῆς κυματωγῆς κείμενον·
When indeed preparations had been made by the Greeks, they advanced towards the barbarians; and as they went, a rumor flew into their whole camp, and a herald's staff was seen lying on the shoreline.
ἡ δὲ φήμη διῆλθέ σφι ὧδε, ὡς οἱ Ἕλληνες τὴν Μαρδονίου στρατιὴν νικῷεν ἐν Βοιωτοῖσι μαχόμενοι.
And the rumor went through them in this way: that the Greeks, fighting in Boeotia, were victorious over the army of Mardonius.
§9.100.2δῆλα δὴ πολλοῖσι τεκμηρίοισι ἐστὶ τὰ θεῖα τῶν πρηγμάτων, εἰ καὶ τότε, τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρης συμπιπτούσης τοῦ τε ἐν Πλαταιῇσι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Μυκάλῃ μέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι τρώματος, φήμη τοῖσι Ἕλλησι τοῖσι ταύτῃ ἐσαπίκετο, ὥστε θαρσῆσαί τε τὴν στρατιὴν πολλῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐθέλειν προθυμότερον κινδυνεύειν.
Indeed, the divine nature of events is manifest by many proofs, since also on that occasion, when the defeat at Plataea and the one about to happen at Mycale coincided on the same day, a rumor reached the Greeks in this place, so that the army was encouraged much more and wished to face danger more eagerly.

Notes

  1. 9.100.1παρεσκευάδατο — Third-person plural pluperfect passive in the Ionic dialect, equivalent to Attic παρεσκεύαντο. Here it is used impersonally ('preparations had been made'), with the dative τοῖσι Ἕλλησι functioning as the dative of agent ('by the Greeks').
  2. 9.100.1ἰοῦσι δέ σφι — The present participle ἰοῦσι and the pronoun σφι are both in the dative plural, functioning as a dative of reference or temporal dative ('as they were going').
  3. 9.100.2εἰ καὶ τότε — Although εἰ introduces a conditional clause, here it functions causally or as an introduction of factual evidence ('seeing that also then,' 'since indeed on that occasion').
  4. 9.100.2τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρης συμπιπτούσης τοῦ τε ἐν Πλαταιῇσι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Μυκάλῃ μέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι τρώματος — A genitive absolute construction. The subjects are the two genitive phrases representing the defeats ('the one at Plataea' and 'the one about to happen at Mycale'), agreeing with the participle συμπιπτούσης. τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρης is a genitive of time ('on the same day').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.100.1-9.100.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.100.1-9.100.2

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