Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §141.1

Archidamus Fined by Ephors for Marrying a Short Wife

Passage 146 of 196 · Greek

Summary

The passage relates an anecdote where the Spartan ephors fined King Archidamus for marrying a short woman, on the grounds that he would produce small rulers (kinglets) instead of proper kings.

§141.1Fr. 141 Ὡς Θ. ἱστορεῖ, τὸν Ἀρχίδαμον ἐζημίωσαν οἱ ἔφοροι γήμαντα γυναῖκα μικράν· οὐ γὰρ βασιλεῖς, ἔφασαν, ἄμμιν ἀλλὰ βασιλείδια γεννάσει.
Fr. 141 As Theophrastus records, the ephors fined Archidamus for marrying a short woman; for they said, "He will beget for us not kings, but kinglets."

Notes

  1. §141.1γήμαντα — Aorist active participle of γαμέω in the accusative masculine singular, agreeing with τὸν Ἀρχίδαμον. It functions as a circumstantial participle of cause, explaining the reason why the ephors fined him.
  2. §141.1ἄμμιν — Doric dialect for ἡμῖν (first-person plural personal pronoun, dative case). It serves as a dative of advantage ('for us' or 'for our state').
  3. §141.1γεννάσει — Doric dialect form of γεννήσει (third-person singular future active indicative of γεννάω). The subject is Archidamus, meaning 'he will generate/beget'.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §141.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:141.1

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