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Herodotus · Histories §9.69.1-9.69.2

Theban Cavalry Defeats the Megarians and Phliasians

Passage 1524 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While the victorious Greeks pursued the Persians, news of the victory reached the remaining Greeks who had not fought, prompting them to advance in disorder. However, the Megarians and Phliasians marching through the plain were ambushed by the Theban cavalry, suffering heavy casualties and retreating to Mount Cithaeron.

§9.69.1οἳ μὲν δὴ νικῶντες εἵποντο τοὺς Ξέρξεω διώκοντές τε καὶ φονεύοντες.
Those who were winning indeed followed, pursuing and slaying the men of Xerxes.
ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τῷ γινομένῳ φόβῳ ἀγγέλλεται τοῖσι ἄλλοισι Ἕλλησι τοῖσι τεταγμένοισι περὶ τὸ Ἥραιον καὶ ἀπογενομένοισι τῆς μάχης, ὅτι μάχη τε γέγονε καὶ νικῷεν οἱ μετὰ Παυσανίεω·
In the midst of this rout which was taking place, a message was brought to the other Greeks who were stationed near the Heraion and had taken no part in the battle, that a battle had been fought and those with Pausanias were victorious.
οἳ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ταῦτα, οὐδένα κόσμον ταχθέντες, οἱ μὲν ἀμφὶ Κορινθίους ἐτράποντο διὰ τῆς ὑπωρέης καὶ τῶν κολωνῶν τὴν φέρουσαν ἄνω ἰθὺ τοῦ ἱροῦ τῆς Δήμητρος, οἱ δὲ ἀμφὶ Μεγαρέας τε καὶ Φλειασίους διὰ τοῦ πεδίου τὴν λειοτάτην τῶν ὁδῶν.
Having heard this, without preserving any order in their ranks, the party of the Corinthians turned along the foot of the mountain and the hills, taking the road which led upwards straight to the temple of Demeter, while the party of the Megarians and Phliasians went through the plain by the flattest of the roads.
§9.69.2ἐπείτε δὲ ἀγχοῦ τῶν πολεμίων ἐγίνοντο οἱ Μεγαρέες καὶ Φλειάσιοι, ἀπιδόντες σφέας οἱ τῶν Θηβαίων ἱππόται ἐπειγομένους οὐδένα κόσμον ἤλαυνον ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἵππους, τῶν ἱππάρχεε Ἀσωπόδωρος ὁ Τιμάνδρου, ἐσπεσόντες δὲ κατεστόρεσαν αὐτῶν ἑξακοσίους, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς κατήραξαν διώκοντες ἐς τὸν Κιθαιρῶνα.
But when the Megarians and Phliasians came near the enemy, the Theban cavalry, seeing them hurrying on in no order, rode their horses straight at them; of these cavalry Asopodoros son of Timandros was commander. Falling upon them, they laid low six hundred of them, and pursuing the rest, they drove them headlong to Cithaeron.

Notes

  1. §9.69.1νικῷεν — Optative of indirect discourse (oblique optative). Since the main verb (ἀγγέλλεται) functions as a historical present, the optative is used in the dependent clause (ὅτι clause) instead of the indicative (νικῶσι).
  2. §9.69.1τὴν φέρουσαν — The feminine singular accusative article and participle imply the omission of the noun ὁδόν ('road'). This omission is confirmed by the explicit mention of ὁδῶν in the latter clause: οἱ δὲ ... τὴν λειοτάτην τῶν ὁδῶν.
  3. §9.69.2τῶν ἱππάρχεε — τῶν is the Ionic dialect form of the relative pronoun ὧν (genitive plural). It is in the genitive case because it is governed by the verb ἱππάρχεε (imperfect of ἱππαρχέω, 'to command the cavalry'), which takes a genitive object.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.69.1-9.69.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.69.1-9.69.2

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