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Herodotus · Histories §9.40.1

Stalemate at the Asopus and Persian Cavalry Harassment

Passage 1495 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Both armies spend another two days facing each other without initiating battle across the Asopus, while Mardonius' cavalry, led by the pro-Persian Thebans, continuously harasses the Greeks.

§9.40.1μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἑτέρας δύο ἡμέρας διέτριψαν, οὐδέτεροι βουλόμενοι μάχης ἄρξαι· μέχρι μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Ἀσωποῦ ἐπήισαν οἱ βάρβαροι πειρώμενοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων, διέβαινον δὲ οὐδέτεροι.
After this deed, they spent another two days, neither side wishing to begin the battle; for the barbarians advanced as far as the Asopus, testing the Greeks, but neither side crossed it.
ἡ μέντοι ἵππος ἡ Μαρδονίου αἰεὶ προσέκειτό τε καὶ ἐλύπεε τοὺς Ἕλληνας· οἱ γὰρ Θηβαῖοι, ἅτε μηδίζοντες μεγάλως, προθύμως ἔφερον τὸν πόλεμον καὶ αἰεὶ κατηγέοντο μέχρι μάχης, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου παραδεκόμενοι Πέρσαι τε καὶ Μῆδοι μάλα ἔσκον οἳ ἀπεδείκνυντο ἀρετάς.
However, the cavalry of Mardonius continually harassed and troubled the Greeks; for the Thebans, as they were strongly medizing, carried on the war eagerly and always led the way up to the fight, while the Persians and Medes, taking over from that point, were the ones who showed great valor.

Notes

  1. §9.40.1ἑτέρας δύο ἡμέρας — ἑτέρας means "other" or "additional," and along with the accusative of duration of time δύο ἡμέρας, it expresses the duration of "another two days."
  2. §9.40.1διέβαινον — The imperfect tense here expresses a conative attempt or the negation thereof ("neither side attempted to cross").
  3. §9.40.1ἅτε μηδίζοντες — The combination of the particle ἅτε with the participle μηδίζοντες indicates an objective reason or ground presented as a fact ("since they were strongly medizing").
  4. §9.40.1ἔσκον οἳ — The verb ἔσκον is the Ionic iterative imperfect third-person plural of εἰμί (equivalent to ἦσαν). Combined with the relative pronoun οἵ, it forms a construction meaning "they were the ones who...", emphasizing the character or role of the subject (the Persians and Medes).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.40.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.40.1

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