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Herodotus · Histories §9.51.1-9.51.4

Decision to Move the Greek Camp to the Island

Passage 1506 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Greek generals decide to move the army to a place called the 'Island' if the Persians do not attack, in order to secure water and rescue the servants stranded on Mount Cithaeron.

§9.51.1βουλευομένοισι δὲ τοῖσι στρατηγοῖσι ἔδοξε, ἣν ὑπερβάλωνται ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέρην οἱ Πέρσαι συμβολὴν ποιεύμενοι, ἐς τὴν νῆσον ἰέναι. ἣ δὲ ἐστὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀσωποῦ καὶ τῆς κρήνης τῆς Γαργαφίης, ἐπʼ ᾗ ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο τότε, δέκα σταδίους ἀπέχουσα, πρὸ τῆς Πλαταιέων πόλιος.
After deliberation, the generals decided that, if the Persians should refrain from offering battle on that day, they would go to the "Island." This is ten stades away from the Asopus and the spring of Gargaphia, where they were then encamped, and lies in front of the city of Plataea.
§9.51.2νῆσος δὲ οὕτω ἂν εἴη ἐν ἠπείρῳ· σχιζόμενος ὁ ποταμὸς ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ Κιθαιρῶνος ῥέει κάτω ἐς τὸ πεδίον, διέχων ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων τὰ ῥέεθρα ὅσον περ τρία στάδια, καὶ ἔπειτα συμμίσγει ἐς τὠυτό.
An "island" on the mainland would be of this kind: a river, flowing down from Mount Cithaeron above, splits and runs into the plain, keeping its streams about three stades apart from each other, and then joins together again.
οὔνομα δέ οἱ Ὠερόη·
Its name is Oeroe.
§9.51.3θυγατέρα δὲ ταύτην λέγουσι εἶναι Ἀσωποῦ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι.
The inhabitants of the region say that this Oeroe is the daughter of Asopus.
ἐς τοῦτον δὴ τὸν χῶρον ἐβουλεύσαντο μεταναστῆναι, ἵνα καὶ ὕδατι ἔχωσι χρᾶσθαι ἀφθόνῳ καὶ οἱ ἱππέες σφέας μὴ σινοίατο ὥσπερ κατιθὺ ἐόντων·
It was to this place indeed that they resolved to remove, so that they might both have an abundant supply of water to use, and that the cavalry might not harass them as when they were directly opposite.
μετακινέεσθαί τε ἐδόκεε τότε ἐπεὰν τῆς νυκτὸς ᾖ δευτέρη φυλακή, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἰδοίατο οἱ Πέρσαι ἐξορμωμένους καί σφεας ἑπόμενοι ταράσσοιεν οἱ ἱππόται.
And it seemed best to make the move when it should be the second watch of the night, so that the Persians might not see them setting out, and the horsemen might not follow and harass them.
§9.51.4ἀπικομένων δὲ ἐς τὸν χῶρον τοῦτον, τὸν δὴ ἡ Ἀσωπὶς Ὠερόη περισχίζεται ῥέουσα ἐκ τοῦ Κιθαιρῶνος, ὑπὸ τὴν νύκτα ταύτην ἐδόκεε τοὺς ἡμίσεας ἀποστέλλειν τοῦ στρατοπέδου πρὸς τὸν Κιθαιρῶνα, ὡς ἀναλάβοιεν τοὺς ὀπέωνας τοὺς ἐπὶ τὰ σιτία οἰχομένους· ἦσαν γὰρ ἐν τῷ Κιθαιρῶνι ἀπολελαμμένοι.
And on arriving at this place, around which the daughter of Asopus, Oeroe, flows as she runs down from Cithaeron, they resolved that during that very night they would send half of the army to Cithaeron, to bring back the servants who had gone for provisions; for they were cut off and trapped on Cithaeron.

Notes

  1. 9.51.1ἣν ὑπερβάλωνται ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέρην οἱ Πέρσαι συμβολὴν ποιεύμενοι — The conjunction ἣν is the Ionic form of ἤν (ἐάν). The verb ὑπερβάλωνται is middle voice, meaning 'to delay, put off, refrain from.' Combined with the participial expression συμβολὴν ποιεύμενοι ('making an encounter / offering battle'), it forms a conditional clause: 'if the Persians should refrain from offering battle on that day.'
  2. 9.51.3ὥσπερ κατιθὺ ἐόντων — A genitive absolute construction with the logical subject σφέων (referring to the Greeks) omitted. Together with the adverb κατιθύ (straight, directly opposite), it means 'as when they were directly opposite (the enemy).'
  3. 9.51.4ἀπικομένων δὲ ἐς τὸν χῶρον τοῦτον — A genitive absolute construction with the omitted subject referring to the Greeks. The aorist participle denotes an action prior to the main verb's setting, representing a hypothetical condition for the future ('once they had arrived at this place').
  4. 9.51.4τὸν δὴ ἡ Ἀσωπὶς Ὠερόη περισχίζεται ῥέουσα — The verb περισχίζεται is middle-passive, meaning 'splits and surrounds,' taking the relative pronoun τὸν (referring to the place) as its direct object. Ἀσωπὶς is an adjective/noun meaning 'daughter of Asopus.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.51.1-9.51.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.51.1-9.51.4

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