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Herodotus · Histories §9.59.1-9.59.2

Mardonius' Crossing of the Asopus and Disordered Pursuit

Passage 1514 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Mardonius leads the Persians across the Asopus at a run to pursue the Lacedaemonians and Tegeans, unaware of the Athenians. Seeing this, the other barbarian commanders and their troops join the pursuit in complete disorder.

§9.59.1ταῦτα εἴπας ἦγε τοὺς Πέρσας δρόμῳ διαβάντας τὸν Ἀσωπὸν κατὰ στίβον τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὡς δὴ ἀποδιδρησκόντων, ἐπεῖχέ τε ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους τε καὶ Τεγεήτας μούνους· Ἀθηναίους γὰρ τραπομένους ἐς τὸ πεδίον ὑπὸ τῶν ὄχθων οὐ κατώρα.
Having said this, Mardonius led the Persians at a run, crossing the Asopus along the track of the Greeks, on the assumption that they were indeed running away; and he directed his course against the Lacedaemonians and Tegeans alone, for he did not see the Athenians, who had turned into the plain and were hidden by the hills.
§9.59.2Πέρσας δὲ ὁρῶντες ὁρμημένους διώκειν τοὺς Ἕλληνας οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν βαρβαρικῶν τελέων ἄρχοντες αὐτίκα πάντες ἤειραν τὰ σημήια, καὶ ἐδίωκον ὡς ποδῶν ἕκαστος εἶχον, οὔτε κόσμῳ οὐδενὶ κοσμηθέντες οὔτε τάξι.
When the remaining commanders of the barbarian divisions saw the Persians having set forth to pursue the Greeks, they all immediately raised their standards and pursued as fast as each could run, without any order or array.

Notes

  1. §9.59.1ὡς δὴ ἀποδιδρησκόντων — A genitive absolute construction with the conjunction ὡς, expressing the subjective belief or pretext of the main subject (Mardonius). The omitted subject of the participle is the preceding genitive τῶν Ἑλλήνων. The particle δὴ emphasizes Mardonius' strong (but mistaken) conviction.
  2. §9.59.1ὑπὸ τῶν ὄχθων — The preposition ὑπό with the genitive case, which here denotes spatial shelter or obstruction ('under cover of the hills', 'hidden by the hills') rather than agency. It explains why the Athenians were out of Mardonius' sight, being screened by the rising ground.
  3. §9.59.2ὡς ποδῶν ἕκαστος εἶχον — An idiomatic expression meaning 'as fast as each could run' or 'at the top of their speed.' It consists of the conjunction ὡς, the intransitive use of ἔχω denoting a state (here in the imperfect εἶχον), and the genitive of specification (or partitive genitive) ποδῶν. Note the grammatical agreement according to sense (constructio ad sensum) where the verb is plural (εἶχον) despite the singular distributive subject ἕκαστος.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.59.1-9.59.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.59.1-9.59.2

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