Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.49.1-9.49.3

Persian Cavalry Attack and the Choking of Gargaphia Spring

Passage 1504 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Upon hearing of the Spartans' silence, Mardonius is elated by a hollow victory and orders his cavalry to attack, fouling the Gargaphian spring and cutting off the Greeks' access to the Asopus River.

§9.49.1ὃ μὲν ταῦτα εἴπας τε καὶ ἐπισχὼν χρόνον, ὥς οἱ οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν ὑπεκρίνατο, ἀπαλλάσσετο ὀπίσω, ἀπελθὼν δὲ ἐσήμαινε Μαρδονίῳ τὰ καταλαβόντα.
Having said these things and waited for a while, when no one gave him any answer, he departed back, and on his return he reported to Mardonius what had occurred.
ὁ δὲ περιχαρὴς γενόμενος καὶ ἐπαερθεὶς ψυχρῇ νίκῃ ἐπῆκε τὴν ἵππον ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
And Mardonius, becoming overjoyed and elated by a hollow victory, sent his cavalry against the Greeks.
§9.49.2ὡς δὲ ἐπήλασαν οἱ ἱππόται, ἐσίνοντο πᾶσαν τὴν στρατιὴν τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν ἐσακοντίζοντές τε καὶ τοξεύοντες ὥστε ἱπποτοξόται τε ἐόντες καὶ προσφέρεσθαι ἄποροι· τήν τε κρήνην τὴν Γαργαφίην, ἀπʼ ἧς ὑδρεύετο πᾶν τὸ στράτευμα τὸ Ἑλληνικόν, συνετάραξαν καὶ συνέχωσαν.
When the cavalry charged, they harassed the entire Greek army, throwing javelins and shooting arrows, since they were horse-archers and difficult to close with; and they also fouled and choked up the Gargaphian spring, from which the whole Greek army drew its water.
§9.49.3ἦσαν μὲν ὦν κατὰ τὴν κρήνην Λακεδαιμόνιοι τεταγμένοι μοῦνοι, τοῖσι δὲ ἄλλοισι Ἕλλησι ἡ μὲν κρήνη πρόσω ἐγίνετο, ὡς ἕκαστοι ἔτυχον τεταγμένοι, ὁ δὲ Ἀσωπὸς ἀγχοῦ· ἐρυκόμενοι δὲ τοῦ Ἀσωποῦ οὕτω δὴ ἐπὶ τὴν κρήνην ἐφοίτων· ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ γάρ σφι οὐκ ἐξῆν ὕδωρ φορέεσθαι ὑπό τε τῶν ἱππέων καὶ τοξευμάτων.
Now, only the Lacedaemonians were stationed near the spring, while for the other Greeks the spring was far off, according to where each happened to be stationed, but the Asopus was near; however, being kept away from the Asopus, they thus used to go to the spring; for they were not allowed to carry water from the river because of the cavalry and the arrows.

Notes

  1. §9.49.1ψυχρῇ νίκῃ — Meaning 'cold victory' or 'hollow victory.' It refers to a vain victory without actual battle, merely because the Greeks seemed to avoid fighting. The dative case functions as the cause of being elated (ἐπαερθείς).
  2. §9.49.2ὥστε ἱπποτοξόται τε ἐόντες καὶ προσφέρεσθαι ἄποροι — The conjunction ὥστε is followed by the participle ἐόντες instead of a finite verb, explaining the reason or attendant circumstance of the main clause. The infinitive προσφέρεσθαι limits the adjective ἄποροι ('difficult to approach / deal with').
  3. §9.49.3ἐρυκόμενοι δὲ τοῦ Ἀσωποῦ — The genitive τοῦ Ἀσωποῦ is a genitive of separation used with the passive participle ἐρυκόμενοι (from ἐρύκω, 'to keep off, prevent'), meaning 'being kept away from the Asopus.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.49.1-9.49.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.49.1-9.49.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.