Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.34.1-9.34.2

Demands of Tisamenus Compared to Melampus

Passage 1489 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author illustrates Tisamenus' increasing demands by comparing him to Melampus, who repeatedly raised his price in kingship shares to cure the mad women of Argos.

§9.34.1ταῦτα δὲ λέγων οὗτος ἐμιμέετο Μελάμποδα, ὡς εἰκάσαι βασιληίην τε καὶ πολιτηίην αἰτεομένους.
In saying this, he was imitating Melampus, if one may compare those who ask for kingship and citizenship.
καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ Μελάμπους τῶν ἐν Ἄργεϊ γυναικῶν μανεισέων, ὥς μιν οἱ Ἀργεῖοι ἐμισθοῦντο ἐκ Πύλου παῦσαι τὰς σφετέρας γυναῖκας τῆς νούσου, μισθὸν προετείνατο τῆς βασιληίης τὸ ἥμισυ.
For indeed, when the women in Argos had gone mad and the Argives tried to hire him from Pylos to cure their women of the disease, Melampus demanded as his reward half of the kingship.
§9.34.2οὐκ ἀνασχομένων δὲ τῶν Ἀργείων ἀλλʼ ἀπιόντων, ὡς ἐμαίνοντο πλεῦνες τῶν γυναικῶν, οὕτω δὴ ὑποστάντες τὰ ὁ Μελάμπους προετείνατο ἤισαν δώσοντές οἱ ταῦτα.
The Argives would not tolerate this but went away; however, when more of the women began to go mad, they finally submitted to the terms Melampus had proposed and went to offer them to him.
ὁ δὲ ἐνθαῦτα δὴ ἐπορέγεται ὁρέων αὐτοὺς τετραμμένους, φάς, ἢν μὴ καὶ τῷ ἀδελφεῷ Βίαντι μεταδῶσι τὸ τριτημόριον τῆς βασιληίης, οὐ ποιήσειν τὰ βούλονται.
Thereupon, seeing them turned, he increased his demands, saying that unless they also gave a third share of the kingship to his brother Bias, he would not do what they wished.
οἱ δὲ Ἀργεῖοι ἀπειληθέντες ἐς στεινὸν καταινέουσι καὶ ταῦτα.
And the Argives, being driven into a corner, agreed to this also.

Notes

  1. §9.34.1ὡς εἰκάσαι — Absolute infinitive usage meaning "to compare." It refers to contrasting the demands of Melampus (asking for kingship) and Tisamenus (asking for citizenship).
  2. §9.34.1τῶν ἐν Ἄργεϊ γυναικῶν μανεισέων — Genitive absolute construction. The participle μανεισέων is the aorist feminine genitive plural of μαινόμενος, expressing time ("when the women had gone mad").
  3. §9.34.1ὥς μιν οἱ Ἀργεῖοι ἐμισθοῦντο — The conjunction ὡς ("when") carrying an accent. The imperfect verb ἐμισθοῦντο expresses a conative action ("they tried to hire").
  4. §9.34.2ἤισαν δώσοντές — The verb of motion ἤισαν is accompanied by the future participle δώσοντες to express purpose ("they went to give").
  5. §9.34.2ἀπειληθέντες ἐς στεινὸν — Passive aorist participle of ἀπείργω (to hem in). Meaning literally "shut up into a narrow place," used metaphorically for "driven into a corner."

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.34.1-9.34.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.34.1-9.34.2

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