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Herodotus · Histories §9.74.1-9.74.2

Two Accounts of the Anchor Borne by Sophanes

Passage 1529 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

This passage introduces two accounts of the "anchor" associated with Sophanes, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Plataea: one claiming he cast a physical iron anchor to secure his position, and another stating he merely had an anchor depicted as a device on his shield.

§9.74.1τούτου τοῦ δήμου ἐὼν ὁ Σωφάνης καὶ ἀριστεύσας τότε Ἀθηναίων διξοὺς λόγους λεγομένους ἔχει, τὸν μὲν ὡς ἐκ τοῦ ζωστῆρος τοῦ θώρηκος ἐφόρεε χαλκέῃ ἁλύσι δεδεμένην ἄγκυραν σιδηρέην, τὴν ὅκως πελάσειε ἀπικνεόμενος τοῖσι πολεμίοισι βαλλέσκετο, ἵνα δή μιν οἱ πολέμιοι ἐκπίπτοντες ἐκ τῆς τάξιος μετακινῆσαι μὴ δυναίατο· γινομένης δὲ φυγῆς τῶν ἐναντίων δέδοκτο τὴν ἄγκυραν ἀναλαβόντα οὕτω διώκειν.
Sophanes, being of this deme and having distinguished himself then among the Athenians, has two accounts told about him. The one is that from the belt of his breastplate he wore an iron anchor bound with a bronze chain, which he would cast whenever he drew near and reached the enemy, so that the enemy, when they charged out of their ranks, might not be able to move him; and when a flight of the opponents occurred, it had been resolved by him to take up the anchor and so pursue them.
§9.74.2οὗτος μὲν οὕτω λέγεται, ὁ δʼ ἕτερος τῶν λόγων τῷ πρότερον λεχθέντι ἀμφισβατέων λέγεται, ὡς ἐπʼ ἀσπίδος αἰεὶ περιθεούσης καὶ οὐδαμὰ ἀτρεμιζούσης ἐφόρεε ἄγκυραν, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ θώρηκος δεδεμένην σιδηρέην.
This is how the one story is told, but the other of the stories, disputing the one told before, is told, namely that he wore an anchor on his shield which was ever spinning round and never still, and not an iron one bound to his breastplate.

Notes

  1. 9.74.1βαλλέσκετο — An imperfect form with the iterative suffix `-σκε-` typical of the Ionic dialect. It expresses a repeated or habitual action in the past, meaning he would cast it down each time he encountered the enemy.
  2. 9.74.1δυναίατο — The third-person plural optative ending `-ατο` in the Ionic dialect, corresponding to `-αιντο` in Attic. It is used in the purpose clause `ἵνα ... μὴ δυναίατο` following the past (historical) tense of the main clause.
  3. 9.74.2περιθεούσης — Genitive singular of the present participle `περιθέουσα` (running round, revolving). It suggests that the anchor device depicted on the shield seemed to spin constantly due to the rapid movement of the shield, or describes the movement of the shield itself.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.74.1-9.74.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.74.1-9.74.2

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