Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §9.80.1-9.80.3

Collection of Persian Spoils and the Aeginetans

Passage 1535 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The Helots collect the Persian spoils under Pausanias's order, but they steal many gold and silver items and sell them cheaply to the Aeginetans, which becomes the source of the Aeginetans' immense wealth.

§9.80.1ὃ μὲν ταῦτα ἀκούσας ἀπαλλάσσετο.
Having heard this, the former departed.
Παυσανίης δὲ κήρυγμα ποιησάμενος μηδένα ἅπτεσθαι τῆς ληίης, συγκομίζειν ἐκέλευε τοὺς εἵλωτας τὰ χρήματα.
Meanwhile, Pausanias issued a proclamation that no one should touch the booty, and ordered the Helots to collect the treasures.
οἳ δὲ ἀνὰ τὸ στρατόπεδον σκιδνάμενοι εὕρισκον σκηνὰς κατεσκευασμένας χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ, κλίνας τε ἐπιχρύσους καὶ ἐπαργύρους, κρητῆράς τε χρυσέους καὶ φιάλας τε καὶ ἄλλα ἐκπώματα·
Scattering through the camp, they found tents adorned with gold and silver, couches gilded with gold and silver, and golden mixing-bowls, cups, and other drinking vessels.
§9.80.2σάκκους τε ἐπʼ ἁμαξέων εὕρισκον, ἐν τοῖσι λέβητες ἐφαίνοντο ἐνεόντες χρύσεοί τε καὶ ἀργύρεοι· ἀπό τε τῶν κειμένων νεκρῶν ἐσκύλευον ψέλιά τε καὶ στρεπτοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἀκινάκας ἐόντας χρυσέους, ἐπεὶ ἐσθῆτός γε ποικίλης λόγος ἐγίνετο οὐδείς.
They also found sacks on wagons, in which cauldrons of gold and silver were seen to be contained; and they stripped from the lying corpses bracelets, necklaces, and short swords that were of gold, since no account at all was made of the embroidered clothing.
§9.80.3ἐνθαῦτα πολλὰ μὲν κλέπτοντες ἐπώλεον πρὸς τοὺς Αἰγινήτας οἱ εἵλωτες, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀπεδείκνυσαν, ὅσα αὐτῶν οὐκ οἷά τε ἦν κρύψαι· ὥστε Αἰγινήτῃσι οἱ μεγάλοι πλοῦτοι ἀρχὴν ἐνθεῦτεν ἐγένοντο, οἳ τὸν χρυσὸν ἅτε ἐόντα χαλκὸν δῆθεν παρὰ τῶν εἱλώτων ὠνέοντο.
Thereupon the Helots, stealing many things, would sell them to the Aeginetans, while they also brought forward many things, as many of them as they could not conceal; so that the great wealth of the Aeginetans had its beginning from this source, who bought the gold from the Helots as if, forsooth, it were brass.

Notes

  1. §9.80.1μηδένα ἅπτεσθαι τῆς ληίης — An accusative with infinitive construction acting as an indirect command explanatory of the noun κήρυγμα (proclamation). The verb ἅπτεσθαι (to touch) takes the genitive case (τῆς ληίης).
  2. §9.80.2λέβητες ἐφαίνοντο ἐνεόντες — The verb φαίνομαι (to appear, seem) takes a participle (ἐνεόντες, Ionic dialect for "being inside") to express an undisputed fact ("they were clearly seen to be inside"). This contrasts with the construction with an infinitive, which would mean "they seemed to be inside (but might not have been)."
  3. §9.80.3ἅτε ἐόντα χαλκὸν δῆθεν — While the conjunction ἅτε normally expresses an objective reason ("seeing that"), here it is combined with the particle δῆθεν (allegedly, forsooth) to imply a false pretense or ignorance on the sellers' part ("as if, forsooth, it were brass"), explaining how the Aeginetans bought gold at the price of bronze. The participle ἐόντα agrees with the masculine singular accusative τὸν χρυσόν (gold).

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §9.80.1-9.80.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.80.1-9.80.3

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