Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.110.1-9.110.3

Amestris's Scheme and Xerxes's Birthday Banquet

Passage 1565 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Amestris discovers the truth through the robe possessed by Artaynte and plots the destruction of her mother, the wife of Masistes. She waits for the annual royal banquet to demand her from Xerxes, who is deeply distressed by this request.

§9.110.1καὶ ἡ Ἄμηστρις πυνθάνεταί μιν ἔχουσαν·
And Amestris learned that she had it.
μαθοῦσα δὲ τὸ ποιεύμενον τῇ μὲν γυναικὶ ταύτῃ οὐκ εἶχε ἔγκοτον, ἣ δὲ ἐλπίζουσα τὴν μητέρα αὐτῆς εἶναι αἰτίην καὶ ταῦτα ἐκείνην πρήσσειν, τῇ Μασίστεω γυναικὶ ἐβούλευε ὄλεθρον.
Having discovered what had been done, she did not harbor anger against this girl, but believing that her mother was the cause and that she had orchestrated this, she plotted the destruction of the wife of Masistes.
§9.110.2φυλάξασα δὲ τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἑωυτῆς Ξέρξην βασιλήιον δεῖπνον προτιθέμενον·
She watched for her husband Xerxes to hold the royal banquet.
τοῦτο δὲ τὸ δεῖπνον παρασκευάζεται ἅπαξ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἡμέρῃ τῇ ἐγένετο βασιλεύς.
This banquet is prepared once a year, on the day when the king was born.
οὔνομα δὲ τῷ δείπνῳ τούτῳ Περσιστὶ μὲν τυκτά, κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑλλήνων γλῶσσαν τέλειον· τότε καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν σμᾶται μοῦνον βασιλεὺς καὶ Πέρσας δωρέεται·
The name of this banquet in Persian is "tykta," and in the Greek tongue, "teleion." On this day alone, the king washes his head and bestows gifts upon the Persians.
ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἡμέρην φυλάξασα ἡ Ἄμηστρις χρηίζει τοῦ Ξέρξεω δοθῆναί οἱ τὴν Μασίστεω γυναῖκα.
Having watched for this very day, Amestris requested of Xerxes that the wife of Masistes be given to her.
§9.110.3ὁ δὲ δεινόν τε καὶ ἀνάρσιον ἐποιέετο τοῦτο μὲν ἀδελφεοῦ γυναῖκα παραδοῦναι, τοῦτο δὲ ἀναιτίην ἐοῦσαν τοῦ πρήγματος τούτου· συνῆκε γὰρ τοῦ εἵνεκεν ἐδέετο.
He, however, thought it a terrible and monstrous thing, on the one hand, to hand over his brother's wife, and on the other hand, since she was innocent of this matter; for he understood why she made this request.

Notes

  1. §9.110.1ἐλπίζουσα — The verb ἐλπίζω usually means "to hope" or "to expect," but here it is used in the sense of "to suspect" or "to believe" (especially regarding something unfavorable), fitting the context where Amestris suspects or is convinced that the girl's mother was the instigator.
  2. §9.110.2φυλάξασα δὲ τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἑωυτῆς — This participle clause initially appears to hang suspended, but after an explanatory insertion about the banquet, it is repeated almost identically in the same section as ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἡμέρην φυλάξασα, which finally connects to the main verb χρηίζει. This is a syntactic resumption (a type of anacoluthon) caused by the length of the parenthetical explanation.
  3. §9.110.3τοῦτο μὲν ... τοῦτο δὲ ... — A correlative construction used adverbially, meaning "on the one hand ... on the other hand ..." (equivalent to τὸ μὲν ... τὸ δέ ...). Here, it coordinates the two reasons why Xerxes found the demand unacceptable: handing over his brother's wife, and the fact that she was innocent.
  4. §9.110.3ἀναιτίην ἐοῦσαν — The accusative participle ἐοῦσαν (present participle feminine singular accusative of εἰμί) agrees with the logical object of the infinitive παραδοῦναι (the wife of Masistes). It expresses the circumstance "she being innocent of this matter (when handed over)," forming part of the object of δεινὸν ... ἐποιέετο ("he thought it a terrible thing").

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.110.1-9.110.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.110.1-9.110.3

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