The history of Herodotus - Volume 2, Herodotus [book recommendations txt] 📗
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might be put to death, and the inclination of the commander himself tended to the same conclusion. They brought him therefore to that headland to which Xerxes made the passage across, or as some say to the hill which is over the town of Madytos, and there they nailed him to boards[122] and hung him up; and they stoned his son to death before the eyes of Artaÿctes himself. 121. Having so done, they sailed away to Hellas, taking with them, besides other things, the ropes also of the bridges, in order to dedicate them as offerings in the temples: and for that year nothing happened further than this.
122. Now a forefather of this Artaÿctes who was hung up, was that Artembares who set forth to the Persians a proposal which they took up and brought before Cyrus, being to this effect: "Seeing that Zeus grants to the Persians leadership, and of all men to thee, O Cyrus, by destroying Astyages, come, since the land we possess is small and also rugged, let us change from it and inhabit another which is better: and there are many near at hand, and many also at a greater distance, of which if we take one, we shall have greater reverence and from more men. It is reasonable too that men who are rulers should do such things; for when will there ever be a fairer occasion than now, when we are rulers of many nations and of the whole of Asia?" Cyrus, hearing this and not being surprised at the proposal,[123] bade them do so if they would; but he exhorted them and bade them prepare in that case to be no longer rulers but subjects; "For," said he, "from lands which are not rugged men who are not rugged are apt to come forth, since it does not belong to the same land to bring forth fruits of the earth which are admirable and also men who are good in war." So the Persians acknowledged that he was right and departed from his presence, having their opinion defeated by that of Cyrus; and they chose rather to dwell on poor land and be rulers, than to sow crops in a level plain and be slaves to others. -----
NOTES TO BOOK IX
1. "the same who at the former time also were of one accord together."
2. {ta ekeinon iskhura bouleumata}: some good MSS. omit {iskhura},
and so many Editors.
3. {up agnomosunes}.
4. {boulen}.
5. {exeneikai es ton dumon}.
6. {aleoren}.
7. Cp. viii. 140 (a).
8. {to men ap emeon outo akibdelon nemetai epi tous Ellenas}, "that
which we owe to the Hellenes is thus paid in no counterfeit coin.
9. {ekeleusan}, i.e. "their bidding was" when they sent us.
9a. This clause, "with no less-each man of them," is omitted in some
MSS. and considered spurious by several Editors.
10. Cp. ch. 55.
11. {perioikon}.
12. {ton emerodromon}, cp. vi. 105.
13. {tugkhane eu bouleoumenos}: perhaps, "endeavour to take measures
well."
14. {prodromon}, a conjectural emendation of {prodromos}.
15. {boiotarkhai}, i.e. the heads of the Bœotian confederacy.
16. {os epi deka stadious malista ke}.
17. {klinai}: several Editors have altered this, reading {klithenai}
or {klinenai}, "they were made to recline."
18. {diapinonton}, cp. v. 18.
19. {polla phroneonta medenos krateein}.
20. {sphodra}: not quite satisfactory with {emedizon}, but it can
hardly go with {ouk ekontes}, as Krüger suggests.
21. {pheme}, as in ch. 100.
22. {proopto thanato}.
23. {prosballontes}: most of the MSS. have {prosbalontes}, and so also
in ch. 21 and 22 they have {prosbalouses}.
24. i.e. the retreat with which each charge ended and the turn from
retreat in preparation for a fresh charge. So much would be done
without word of command, before reining in their horses.
25. {ephoiteon}.
25a. Or, according to some MSS., "much contention in argument."
26. i.e. the left wing.
27. The name apparently should be Kepheus, but there is no authority
for changing the text.
28. This is the number of nations mentioned in vii. 61-80 as composing
the land-army of Xerxes.
29. {oi epiphoiteontes}.
30. {peri andra ekaston}.
31. i.e. 38,700.
32. i.e. 69,500.
33. i.e. 110,000.
34. {opla de oud outoi eikhon}: i.e. these too must be reckoned with
the light-armed.
35. Cp. ii. 164.
36. {makhairophoroi}: cp. vii. 89.
37. i.e. 300,000: see viii. 113.
38. {geneos tou Iamideon}: the MSS. have {Klutiaden} after {Iamideon},
but the Clytiadai seem to have been a distinct family of
soothsayers.
39. {pentaethlon}.
40. {para en palaisma edrame nikan Olumpiada}. The meaning is not
clear, because the conditions of the {pentaethlon} are not known:
however the wrestling {pale} seems to have been the last of the
five contests, and the meaning may be that both Tisamenos and
Hieronymos had beaten all the other competitors and were equal so
far, when Tisamenos failed to win two out of three falls in the
wrestling.
41. {metientes}: some MSS. have {metiontes}, "they went to fetch him."
42. {aiteomenos}: this is the reading of the MSS., but the conjecture
{aiteomenous} (or {aiteomenon}) seems probable enough: "if one may
compare the man who asked for royal power with him who asked only
for citizenship."
43. i.e. instead of half for himself, he asks for two-thirds to be
divided between himself and his brother.
44. {o pros Ithome}: a conjectural emendation of {o pros Isthmo}.
45. {ton tarson eoutou}.
46. {Treis Kephalas}.
47. {Druos Kephalas}.
48. See ch. 2.
49. {ton epikleton}: cp. vii. 8.
50. {Mardonio te kai te stratie ta sphagia ou dunatai katathumia
genesthai}.
51. He asks for their help to free his country also from the Persian
yoke.
52. {emakhesametha}.
53. {psukhre}, cp. vi. 108.
54. {deka stadious}.
55. {nesos de outo an eie en epeiro}.
56. {periskhizetai}.
57. {epheugon asmenoi}.
58. {tou Pitaneteon lokhou}, called below {ton lokhon ton Pitaneten}.
Evidently {lokhos} here is a division of considerable size.
59. {anainomenou}: some MSS. and many Editors read {nenomenou}, "since
he was thus minded."
60. {os alla phroneonton kai alla legonton}.
61. Cp. ch. 11.
62. The structure of the sentence is rather confused, and perhaps some
emendation is required.
63. {eti ti lexete}. The MSS. and most Editors read {ti}, "what will
ye say after this?" The order of the words is against this.
64. {anarpasomenoi}: cp. viii. 28.
65. {phraxantes ta gerra}: cp. ch. 99.
66. {anoploi}, by which evidently more is meant than the absence of
shields; cp. the end of ch. 63, where the equipment of the
Persians is compared to that of light-armed troops.
67. See viii. 114.
68. {es Leoniden}: this is ordinarily translated "as far as Leonidas;"
but to say "his ancestors above Anaxandrides have been given as
far as Leonidas" (the son of Anaxandrides), is hardly
intelligible. The reference is to vii. 204.
69. Most of the MSS. call him Aeimnestos (with some variation of
spelling), but Plutarch has Arimnestos.
70. See ch. 15. There is no sharp distinction here between camp and
palisade, the latter being merely the fortified part of the
encampment.
71. {anaktoron}, a usual name for the temple of Demeter and Persephone
at Eleusis.
72. i.e. 40,000.
73. {ege katertemenos}: the better MSS. have {eie} for {ege}, which is
retained by some Editors ({toutous} being then taken with {inai
pantas}): for {katertemenos} we find as variations {katertemenos}
and {katertismenos}. Many Editors read {katertismenos} ("well
prepared"), following the Aldine tradition.
74. {ephelokakeonton}.
75. {en oudeni logo apolonto}.
76. Stein proposes to substitute "Athenians" for "Lacedemonians" here,
making the comparative {erremenestere} anticipate the account
given in the next few clauses.
77. {erromenestere}.
78. Cp. i. 66.
79. {aluktazon}, a word of doubtful meaning which is not found
elsewhere.
80. i.e. 300,000.
81. {o Spartietes}: it has been proposed to read {Spartietai}, for it
can hardly be supposed that the other two were not Spartans also.
82. One MS. at least calls him Aeimenstos, cp. ch. 64. Thucydides
(iii. 52) mentions Aeimnestos as the name of a Plataian citizen,
the father of Lacon. Stein observes that in any case this cannot
be that Arimnestos who is mentioned by Plutarch as commander of
the Plataian contingent.
83. {eoutou axion prophumeumenou apodexasthai}.
84. {atelein te kai proedrin}.
85. vi. 92.
86. {andra pentaethlon}.
87. {oute daimonon oute theon}: heroes and in general divinities of
the second order are included under the term {daimonon}.
88. Most of the commentators (and following them the historians)
understand the imperfect {ediokon} to express the mere purpose to
attempt, and suppose that this purpose was actually hindered by
the Lacedemonians. but for a mere half-formed purpose the
expression {mekhri Thessalies} seems to definite, and Diodorus
states that Artabazos was pursued. I think therefore that Krüger
is right in understanding {eon} of an attempt to dissuade which
was not successful. The alternative version would be "they were
for pursuing them as far as Thessaly, but the Lacedemonians
prevented them from pursuing fugitives."
89. {akinakas}.
90. Whether three tithes were taken or only one is left uncertain.
91. "furniture furnished" is hardly tolerable; perhaps Herodotus wrote
{skenen} for {kataskeuen} here.
92. The connexion here is not satisfactory, and the chapter is in part
a continuation of chapter 81. It is possible that ch. 82 may be a
later addition by the author, thrown in without much regard to the
context.
93. "Whereas however the body of Mardonios had disappeared on the day
after the battle (taken by whom I am not able to say . . . .), it
is reported with some show of reason that Dionysophanes, an
Ephesian, was he who buried it." The construction however is
irregular and broken by parentheses: possibly there is some
122. Now a forefather of this Artaÿctes who was hung up, was that Artembares who set forth to the Persians a proposal which they took up and brought before Cyrus, being to this effect: "Seeing that Zeus grants to the Persians leadership, and of all men to thee, O Cyrus, by destroying Astyages, come, since the land we possess is small and also rugged, let us change from it and inhabit another which is better: and there are many near at hand, and many also at a greater distance, of which if we take one, we shall have greater reverence and from more men. It is reasonable too that men who are rulers should do such things; for when will there ever be a fairer occasion than now, when we are rulers of many nations and of the whole of Asia?" Cyrus, hearing this and not being surprised at the proposal,[123] bade them do so if they would; but he exhorted them and bade them prepare in that case to be no longer rulers but subjects; "For," said he, "from lands which are not rugged men who are not rugged are apt to come forth, since it does not belong to the same land to bring forth fruits of the earth which are admirable and also men who are good in war." So the Persians acknowledged that he was right and departed from his presence, having their opinion defeated by that of Cyrus; and they chose rather to dwell on poor land and be rulers, than to sow crops in a level plain and be slaves to others. -----
NOTES TO BOOK IX
1. "the same who at the former time also were of one accord together."
2. {ta ekeinon iskhura bouleumata}: some good MSS. omit {iskhura},
and so many Editors.
3. {up agnomosunes}.
4. {boulen}.
5. {exeneikai es ton dumon}.
6. {aleoren}.
7. Cp. viii. 140 (a).
8. {to men ap emeon outo akibdelon nemetai epi tous Ellenas}, "that
which we owe to the Hellenes is thus paid in no counterfeit coin.
9. {ekeleusan}, i.e. "their bidding was" when they sent us.
9a. This clause, "with no less-each man of them," is omitted in some
MSS. and considered spurious by several Editors.
10. Cp. ch. 55.
11. {perioikon}.
12. {ton emerodromon}, cp. vi. 105.
13. {tugkhane eu bouleoumenos}: perhaps, "endeavour to take measures
well."
14. {prodromon}, a conjectural emendation of {prodromos}.
15. {boiotarkhai}, i.e. the heads of the Bœotian confederacy.
16. {os epi deka stadious malista ke}.
17. {klinai}: several Editors have altered this, reading {klithenai}
or {klinenai}, "they were made to recline."
18. {diapinonton}, cp. v. 18.
19. {polla phroneonta medenos krateein}.
20. {sphodra}: not quite satisfactory with {emedizon}, but it can
hardly go with {ouk ekontes}, as Krüger suggests.
21. {pheme}, as in ch. 100.
22. {proopto thanato}.
23. {prosballontes}: most of the MSS. have {prosbalontes}, and so also
in ch. 21 and 22 they have {prosbalouses}.
24. i.e. the retreat with which each charge ended and the turn from
retreat in preparation for a fresh charge. So much would be done
without word of command, before reining in their horses.
25. {ephoiteon}.
25a. Or, according to some MSS., "much contention in argument."
26. i.e. the left wing.
27. The name apparently should be Kepheus, but there is no authority
for changing the text.
28. This is the number of nations mentioned in vii. 61-80 as composing
the land-army of Xerxes.
29. {oi epiphoiteontes}.
30. {peri andra ekaston}.
31. i.e. 38,700.
32. i.e. 69,500.
33. i.e. 110,000.
34. {opla de oud outoi eikhon}: i.e. these too must be reckoned with
the light-armed.
35. Cp. ii. 164.
36. {makhairophoroi}: cp. vii. 89.
37. i.e. 300,000: see viii. 113.
38. {geneos tou Iamideon}: the MSS. have {Klutiaden} after {Iamideon},
but the Clytiadai seem to have been a distinct family of
soothsayers.
39. {pentaethlon}.
40. {para en palaisma edrame nikan Olumpiada}. The meaning is not
clear, because the conditions of the {pentaethlon} are not known:
however the wrestling {pale} seems to have been the last of the
five contests, and the meaning may be that both Tisamenos and
Hieronymos had beaten all the other competitors and were equal so
far, when Tisamenos failed to win two out of three falls in the
wrestling.
41. {metientes}: some MSS. have {metiontes}, "they went to fetch him."
42. {aiteomenos}: this is the reading of the MSS., but the conjecture
{aiteomenous} (or {aiteomenon}) seems probable enough: "if one may
compare the man who asked for royal power with him who asked only
for citizenship."
43. i.e. instead of half for himself, he asks for two-thirds to be
divided between himself and his brother.
44. {o pros Ithome}: a conjectural emendation of {o pros Isthmo}.
45. {ton tarson eoutou}.
46. {Treis Kephalas}.
47. {Druos Kephalas}.
48. See ch. 2.
49. {ton epikleton}: cp. vii. 8.
50. {Mardonio te kai te stratie ta sphagia ou dunatai katathumia
genesthai}.
51. He asks for their help to free his country also from the Persian
yoke.
52. {emakhesametha}.
53. {psukhre}, cp. vi. 108.
54. {deka stadious}.
55. {nesos de outo an eie en epeiro}.
56. {periskhizetai}.
57. {epheugon asmenoi}.
58. {tou Pitaneteon lokhou}, called below {ton lokhon ton Pitaneten}.
Evidently {lokhos} here is a division of considerable size.
59. {anainomenou}: some MSS. and many Editors read {nenomenou}, "since
he was thus minded."
60. {os alla phroneonton kai alla legonton}.
61. Cp. ch. 11.
62. The structure of the sentence is rather confused, and perhaps some
emendation is required.
63. {eti ti lexete}. The MSS. and most Editors read {ti}, "what will
ye say after this?" The order of the words is against this.
64. {anarpasomenoi}: cp. viii. 28.
65. {phraxantes ta gerra}: cp. ch. 99.
66. {anoploi}, by which evidently more is meant than the absence of
shields; cp. the end of ch. 63, where the equipment of the
Persians is compared to that of light-armed troops.
67. See viii. 114.
68. {es Leoniden}: this is ordinarily translated "as far as Leonidas;"
but to say "his ancestors above Anaxandrides have been given as
far as Leonidas" (the son of Anaxandrides), is hardly
intelligible. The reference is to vii. 204.
69. Most of the MSS. call him Aeimnestos (with some variation of
spelling), but Plutarch has Arimnestos.
70. See ch. 15. There is no sharp distinction here between camp and
palisade, the latter being merely the fortified part of the
encampment.
71. {anaktoron}, a usual name for the temple of Demeter and Persephone
at Eleusis.
72. i.e. 40,000.
73. {ege katertemenos}: the better MSS. have {eie} for {ege}, which is
retained by some Editors ({toutous} being then taken with {inai
pantas}): for {katertemenos} we find as variations {katertemenos}
and {katertismenos}. Many Editors read {katertismenos} ("well
prepared"), following the Aldine tradition.
74. {ephelokakeonton}.
75. {en oudeni logo apolonto}.
76. Stein proposes to substitute "Athenians" for "Lacedemonians" here,
making the comparative {erremenestere} anticipate the account
given in the next few clauses.
77. {erromenestere}.
78. Cp. i. 66.
79. {aluktazon}, a word of doubtful meaning which is not found
elsewhere.
80. i.e. 300,000.
81. {o Spartietes}: it has been proposed to read {Spartietai}, for it
can hardly be supposed that the other two were not Spartans also.
82. One MS. at least calls him Aeimenstos, cp. ch. 64. Thucydides
(iii. 52) mentions Aeimnestos as the name of a Plataian citizen,
the father of Lacon. Stein observes that in any case this cannot
be that Arimnestos who is mentioned by Plutarch as commander of
the Plataian contingent.
83. {eoutou axion prophumeumenou apodexasthai}.
84. {atelein te kai proedrin}.
85. vi. 92.
86. {andra pentaethlon}.
87. {oute daimonon oute theon}: heroes and in general divinities of
the second order are included under the term {daimonon}.
88. Most of the commentators (and following them the historians)
understand the imperfect {ediokon} to express the mere purpose to
attempt, and suppose that this purpose was actually hindered by
the Lacedemonians. but for a mere half-formed purpose the
expression {mekhri Thessalies} seems to definite, and Diodorus
states that Artabazos was pursued. I think therefore that Krüger
is right in understanding {eon} of an attempt to dissuade which
was not successful. The alternative version would be "they were
for pursuing them as far as Thessaly, but the Lacedemonians
prevented them from pursuing fugitives."
89. {akinakas}.
90. Whether three tithes were taken or only one is left uncertain.
91. "furniture furnished" is hardly tolerable; perhaps Herodotus wrote
{skenen} for {kataskeuen} here.
92. The connexion here is not satisfactory, and the chapter is in part
a continuation of chapter 81. It is possible that ch. 82 may be a
later addition by the author, thrown in without much regard to the
context.
93. "Whereas however the body of Mardonios had disappeared on the day
after the battle (taken by whom I am not able to say . . . .), it
is reported with some show of reason that Dionysophanes, an
Ephesian, was he who buried it." The construction however is
irregular and broken by parentheses: possibly there is some
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