Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.53.1-9.53.4

Amompharetus' Refusal to Retreat and Pausanias' Delay

Passage 1508 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Pausanias orders the retreat of the army, but the Spartan captain Amompharetus refuses to withdraw. Fearing to abandon him and his division, Pausanias and Euryanax halt the Spartan forces and attempt to persuade him.

§9.53.1καὶ οἳ μὲν περὶ τὸ Ἥραιον ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο, Παυσανίης δὲ ὁρῶν σφεας ἀπαλλασσομένους ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου παρήγγελλε καὶ τοῖσι Λακεδαιμονίοισι ἀναλαβόντας τὰ ὅπλα ἰέναι κατὰ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς προϊόντας, νομίσας αὐτοὺς ἐς τὸν χῶρον ἰέναι ἐς τὸν συνεθήκαντο.
And while they were encamping around the Heraeum, Pausanias, seeing them departing from the camp, ordered the Lacedaemonians also to take up their arms and follow the others who were marching ahead, thinking that they were going to the place which they had agreed upon.
§9.53.2ἐνθαῦτα οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἄρτιοι ἦσαν τῶν ταξιάρχων πείθεσθαι Παυσανίῃ, Ἀμομφάρετος δὲ ὁ Πολιάδεω λοχηγέων τοῦ Πιτανητέων λόχου οὐκ ἔφη τοὺς ξείνους φεύξεσθαι οὐδὲ ἑκὼν εἶναι αἰσχυνέειν τὴν Σπάρτην, ἐθώμαζέ τε ὁρέων τὸ ποιεύμενον ἅτε οὐ παραγενόμενος τῷ προτέρῳ λόγῳ.
Thereupon the other captains of the divisions were ready to obey Pausanias, but Amompharetus, the son of Poliades, captain of the Pitanate division, declared that he would not flee from the foreigners, nor of his own free will bring shame upon Sparta; and he was astonished at seeing what was being done, since he had not been present at the previous discussion.
§9.53.3ὁ δὲ Παυσανίης τε καὶ ὁ Εὐρυάναξ δεινὸν μὲν ἐποιεῦντο τὸ μὴ πείθεσθαι ἐκεῖνον σφίσι, δεινότερον δὲ ἔτι, κείνου ταῦτʼ ἀναινομένου, ἀπολιπεῖν τὸν λόχον τὸν Πιτανήτην, μὴ ἢν ἀπολίπωσι ποιεῦντες τὰ συνεθήκαντο τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Ἕλλησι, ἀπόληται ὑπολειφθεὶς αὐτός τε Ἀμομφάρετος καὶ οἱ μετʼ αὐτοῦ.
Pausanias and Euryanax thought it a grave thing that he refused to obey them, but they thought it still more grave, since he refused this, to abandon the Pitanate division, fearing lest, if they abandoned them in carrying out what they had agreed upon with the other Greeks, Amompharetus himself and those with him should be left behind and perish.
§9.53.4ταῦτα λογιζόμενοι ἀτρέμας εἶχον τὸ στρατόπεδον τὸ Λακωνικόν, καὶ ἐπειρῶντο πείθοντές μιν ὡς οὐ χρεὸν εἴη ταῦτα ποιέειν.
Reflecting on this, they kept the Laconian army still, and tried to persuade him that it was not right for him to do this.

Notes

  1. §9.53.2ἄρτιοι ἦσαν ... πείθεσθαι — The adjective ἄρτιοι ('ready', 'prepared') is followed by the epexegetical infinitive πείθεσθαι, meaning 'were ready to obey'.
  2. §9.53.2ἑκὼν εἶναι — An idiomatic absolute infinitive construction used with a negative (οὐδέ), meaning 'willingly' or 'if he could help it'. The εἶναι is pleonastic.
  3. §9.53.3δεινὸν μὲν ἐποιεῦντο τὸ μὴ πείθεσθαι ἐκεῖνον σφίσι — The articular infinitive clause τὸ μὴ πείθεσθαι serves as the direct object of δεινὸν ἐποιεῦντο ('they thought it grave'). The accusative ἐκεῖνον is the subject of the infinitive, and σφίσι is the indirect object of πείθεσθαι, referring back to the main subjects (Pausanias and Euryanax).
  4. §9.53.3μὴ ἢν ἀπολίπωσι ... ἀπόληται — A clause of fearing introduced by μὴ ('lest', 'fearing that') which governs the aorist subjunctive ἀπόληται. Inside this clause, the conditional clause ἢν ἀπολίπωσι ('if they abandon') is embedded.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.53.1-9.53.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.53.1-9.53.4

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.