Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.7.1

Envoys from Athens and Allies Addressing the Ephors

Passage 1460 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

While the Lacedaemonians are busy celebrating the Hyacinthia and constructing the wall at the Isthmus, messengers from Athens, Megara, and Plataea arrive and address the ephors.

§9.7.1οἱ γὰρ δὴ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ὅρταζόν τε τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καί σφι ἦν Ὑακίνθια, περὶ πλείστου δʼ ἦγον τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πορσύνειν· ἅμα δὲ τὸ τεῖχός σφι, τὸ ἐν τῷ Ἰσθμῷ ἐτείχεον, καὶ ἤδη ἐπάλξις ἐλάμβανε.
For the Lacedaemonians were celebrating a festival at this time and were keeping the Hyacinthia, and they regarded it as of the utmost importance to perform the rites of the god; at the same time, the wall which they were building at the Isthmus was already receiving its battlements.
ὡς δὲ ἀπίκοντο ἐς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα οἱ ἄγγελοι οἱ ἀπʼ Ἀθηνέων, ἅμα ἀγόμενοι ἔκ τε Μεγάρων ἀγγέλους καὶ ἐκ Πλαταιέων, ἔλεγον τάδε ἐπελθόντες ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐφόρους.
When the messengers from Athens arrived in Lacedaemon, bringing with them also messengers from Megara and Plataea, they came before the ephors and spoke as follows.

Notes

  1. §9.7.1περὶ πλείστου δʼ ἦγον τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πορσύνειν — The imperfect tense of the idiom `περὶ πλείστου ἡγεῖσθαι` (to regard as of the utmost importance) is followed by the infinitive `πορσύνειν` (to perform, attend to), meaning 'they regarded it as of the highest importance to perform the rites of the god.'
  2. §9.7.1ἤδη ἐπάλξις ἐλάμβανε — The subject 'the wall which they were building at the Isthmus' is followed by the expression `ἐπάλξις ἐλάμβανε` (was receiving battlements), indicating that the construction of the wall was in its final stages of completion.
  3. §9.7.1ἅμα ἀγόμενοι — The middle present participle `ἀγόμενοι` of `ἄγω` means 'bringing along with themselves,' indicating that the Athenian messengers took the lead in accompanying the messengers from Megara and Plataea.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.7.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.7.1

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.