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Translator: G. C. Macaulay

THE HISTORY OF HERODOTUS

Translated into English by G. C. Macaulay

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. II

.?Dion. Halic.

PREPARER'S NOTE

This text was prepared from the third edition, printed in 1914, by MacMillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, London.

Greek text has been transliterated and marked with brackets, as in the opening citation above.

THE HISTORY OF HERODOTUS

"With enduring soul as a lion endure unendurable evil: No one of men who doth wrong shall escape from the judgment appointed."

These verses, as soon as it was day, he publicly communicated to the interpreters of dreams; but afterwards he put away thought of the vision 49 and began to take part in that procession during which he lost his life.

"Me Amphitryon offered from land Teleboian returning:" 50 this inscription would be of an age contemporary with La?os the son of Labdacos, the son of Polydoros, the son of Cadmos.

"Me did Scaios offer to thee, far-darting Apollo, Victor in contest of boxing, a gift most fair in thine honour:"

now Scaios would be the son of Hippoco?n , being of an age contemporary with OEdipus the son of La?os:

"Me Laodamas offered to thee, fair-aiming Apollo, He, of his wealth, 51 being king, as a gift most fair in thine honor:"

now it was in the reign of this very Laodamas the son of Eteocles that the Cadmeians were driven out by the Argives and turned to go to the Enchelians; and the Gephyraians being then left behind were afterwards forced by the Boeotians to retire to Athens. Moreover they have temples established in Athens, in which the other Athenians have no part, and besides others which are different from the rest, there is especially a temple of Demeter Achaia and a celebration of her mysteries.

Thus the Athenians were freed from despots; and the things worthy to be narrated which they did or suffered after they were liberated, up to the time when Ionia revolted from Dareios and Aristagoras the Milesian came to Athens and asked them to help him, these I will set forth first before I proceed further.

"Matched in the deeds of war with the tribes of Boeotia and Chalkis The sons of Athens prevailed, conquered and tamed them in fight: In chains of iron and darkness they quenched their insolent spirit; And to Athene present these, of their ransom a tithe."

"'Much to be honoured art thou, yet none doth render thee honour. 81 Labda conceives, and a rolling rock will she bear, which shall ruin Down on the heads of the kings, and with chastisement visit Corinthos.'

This answer given to A?tion was by some means reported to the Bacchiadai, to whom the oracle which had come to Corinth before this was not intelligible, an oracle which had reference to the same thing as that of A?tion and said thus:

"'An eagle conceives in the rocks 82 and shall bear a ravening lion, Strong and fierce to devour, who the knees of many shall loosen. Ponder this well in your minds, I bid you, Corinthians, whose dwelling Lies about fair Peirene's spring and in craggy Corinthos.' 83

This oracle, I say, having come before to the Bacchiadai was obscure; but afterwards when they heard that which had come to A?tion, forthwith they understood the former also, that it was in accord with that of A?tion; and understanding this one also they kept quiet, desiring to destroy the offspring which should be born to A?tion. Then, so soon as his wife bore a child, they sent ten of their own number to the deme in which A?tion had his dwelling, to slay the child; and when these had come to Petra and had passed into the court of A?tion's house, they asked for the child; and Labda, not knowing anything of the purpose for which they had come, and supposing them to be asking for the child on account of friendly feeling towards its father, brought it and placed it in the hands of one of them. Now they, it seems, had resolved by the way that the first of them who received the child should dash it upon the ground. However, when Labda brought and gave it, it happened by divine providence that the child smiled at the man who had received it; and when he perceived this, a feeling of compassion prevented him from killing it, and having this compassion he delivered it to the next man, and he to the third. Thus it passed through the hands of all the ten, delivered from one to another, since none of them could bring himself to destroy its life. So they gave the child back to its mother and went out; and then standing by the doors they abused and found fault with one another, laying blame especially on the one who had first received the child, because he had not done according to that which had been resolved; until at last after some time they determined again to enter and all to take a share in the murder. From the offspring of A?tion however it was destined that evils should spring up for Corinth: for Labda was listening to all this as she stood close by the door, and fearing lest they should change their mind and take the child a second time and kill it, she carried it and concealed it in the place which seemed to her the least likely to be discovered, that is to say a corn-chest, 84 feeling sure that if they should return and come to a search, they were likely to examine everything: and this in fact happened. So when they had come, and searching had failed to find it, they thought it best to return and say to those who had sent them that they had done all that which they had been charged by them to do. They then having departed said this; and after this the son of A?tion grew, and because he had escaped this danger, the name of Kypselos was given him as a surname derived from the corn-chest. Then when Kypselos had grown to manhood and was seeking divination, a two-edged 85 answer was given him at Delphi, placing trust in which he made an attempt upon Corinth and obtained possession of it. Now the answer was as follows:

"'Happy is this man's lot of a truth, who enters my dwelling, Offspring of A?tion, he shall rule in famous Corinthos, Kypselos, he and his sons, but his children's children no longer.'

Such was the oracle: and Kypselos when he became despot was a man of this character,--many of the Corinthians he drove into exile, many he deprived of their wealth, and very many more of their lives. And when he had reigned for thirty years and had brought his life to a prosperous end, his son Periander became his successor in the despotism. Now Periander at first was milder than his father; but after he had had dealings through messengers with Thrasybulos the despot of Miletos, he became far more murderous even than Kypselos. For he sent a messenger to Thrasybulos and asked what settlement of affairs was the safest for him to make, in order that he might best govern his State: and Thrasybulos led forth the messenger who had come from Periander out of the city, and entered into a field of growing corn; and as he passed through the crop of corn, while inquiring and asking questions repeatedly 86 of the messenger about the occasion of his coming from Corinth, he kept cutting off the heads of those ears of corn which he saw higher than the rest; and as he cut off their heads he cast them away, until he had destroyed in this manner the finest and richest part of the crop. So having passed through the place and having suggested no word of counsel, he dismissed the messenger. When the messenger returned to Corinth, Periander was anxious to hear the counsel which had been given; but he said that Thrasybulos had given him no counsel, and added that he wondered at the deed of Periander in sending him to such a man, for the man was out of his senses and a waster of his own goods,--relating at the same time that which he had seen Thrasybulos do. So Periander, understanding that which had been done and perceiving that Thrasybulos counselled him to put to death those who were eminent among his subjects, began then to display all manner of evil treatment to the citizens of the State; for whatsoever Kypselos had left undone in killing and driving into exile, this Periander completed. And in one day he stripped all the wives of the Corinthians of their clothing on account of his own wife Melissa. For when he had sent messengers to the Thesprotians on the river Acheron to ask the Oracle of the dead about a deposit made with him by a guest-friend, Melissa appeared and said she would not tell in what place the deposit was laid, for she was cold and had no clothes, since those which he had buried with her were of no use to her, not having been burnt; and this, she said, would be an evidence to him that she was speaking the truth, namely that when the oven was cold, Periander had put his loaves into it. When the report of this was brought back to Periander, the token made him believe, because he had had commerce with Melissa after she was dead; and straightway after receiving the message he caused proclamation to be made that all the wives of the Corinthians should come out to the temple of Hera. They accordingly went as to a festival in their fairest adornment; and he having set the spearmen of his guard in ambush, stripped them all alike, both the free women and their attendant; and having gathered together all their clothes in a place dug out, he set fire to them, praying at the same time to Melissa. Then after he had done this and had sent a second time, the apparition of Melissa told him in what spot he had laid the deposit entrusted to him by his guest-friend.

"Such a thing, ye must know, Lacedemonians, is despotism, and such are its deeds: and we Corinthians marvelled much at first when we saw that ye were sending for Hippias, and now we marvel even more because ye say these things; and we adjure you, calling upon the gods of Hellas, not to establish despotisms in the cities. If however ye will not cease from your design, but endeavour to restore Hippias contrary to that which is just, know that the Corinthians at least do not give their consent to that which ye do."

NOTES TO BOOK V

Now in the Hellenic tongue the names which have been mentioned have this meaning--Dareios means "compeller," 88 Xerxes "warrior," 89 Artoxerxes "great warrior." 90 Thus then might the Hellenes rightly call these kings in their own tongue.

"Why do ye sit, O ye wretched? Flee thou 121 to the uttermost limits, Leaving thy home and the heights of the wheel-round city behind thee! Lo, there remaineth now nor the head nor the body in safety,--Neither the feet below nor the hands nor the middle are left thee,--All are destroyed 122 together; for fire and the passionate War-god, 123 Urging the Syrian 124 car to speed, doth hurl them 125 to ruin. Not thine alone, he shall cause many more great strongholds to perish, Yes, many temples of gods to the ravening fire shall deliver,--Temples which stand now surely with sweat of their terror down-streaming, Quaking with dread; and lo! from the topmost roof to the pavement Dark blood trickles, forecasting the dire unavoidable evil. Forth with you, forth from the shrine, and steep your soul in the sorrow!" 126

"Pallas cannot prevail to appease great Zeus in Olympos, Though she with words very many and wiles close-woven entreat him. But I will tell thee this more, and will clench it with steel adamantine: Then when all else shall be taken, whatever the boundary 128 of Kecrops Holdeth within, and the dark ravines of divinest Kithairon, A bulwark of wood at the last Zeus grants to the Trito-born goddess Sole to remain unwasted, which thee and thy children shall profit. Stay thou not there for the horsemen to come and the footmen unnumbered; Stay thou not still for the host from the mainland to come, but retire thee, Turning thy back to the foe, for yet thou shalt face him hereafter. Salamis, thou the divine, thou shalt cause sons of women to perish, Or when the grain 129 is scattered or when it is gathered together."

"Salamis, thou the divine, thou shalt cause sons of women to perish, Or when the grain is scattered or when it is gathered together."

In reference to these verses the opinions of those who said that the ships were the bulwark of wood were disturbed; for the interpreters of oracles took these to mean that it was fated for them, having got ready for a sea-fight, to suffer defeat round about Salamis.

"Thou to thy neighbours a foe, by the gods immortal beloved, Keep thou thy spear 135 within bounds, and sit well-guarded behind it: Guard well the head, and the head shall preserve the limbs and the body."

Thus, they say, the Pythian prophetess had replied to them before this; and afterwards when the messengers of the Hellenes came, as I said, to Argos, they entered the Council-chamber and spoke that which had been enjoined to them; and to that which was said the Council replied that the Argives were ready to do as they were requested, on condition that they got peace made with the Lacedemonians for thirty years and that they had half the leadership of the whole confederacy: and yet by strict right the whole leadership fell to their share, but nevertheless it was sufficient for them to have half.

"But as for you, ye men who in wide-spaced Sparta inhabit, Either your glorious city is sacked by the children of Perses, Or, if it be not so, then a king of the stock Heracleian Dead shall be mourned for by all in the boundaries of broad Lacedemon. Him 222 nor the might of bulls nor the raging of lions shall hinder; For he hath might as of Zeus; and I say he shall not be restrained, Till one of the other of these he have utterly torn and divided." 223

I am of opinion that Leonidas considering these things and desiring to lay up for himself glory above all the other Spartans, 224 dismissed the allies, rather than that those who departed did so in such disorderly fashion, because they were divided in opinion.

"Here once, facing in fight three hundred myriads of foemen, Thousands four did contend, men of the Peloponnese."

This is the inscription for the whole body; and for the Spartans separately there is this:

"Stranger, report this word, we pray, to the Spartans, that lying Here in this spot we remain, faithfully keeping their laws." 229

This, I say, for the Lacedemonians; and for the soothsayer as follows:

"This is the tomb of Megistias renowned, whom the Median foemen, Where Sperchios doth flow, slew when they forded the stream; Soothsayer he, who then knowing clearly the fates that were coming, Did not endure in the fray Sparta's good leaders to leave."

The Amphictyons it was who honoured them with inscriptions and memorial pillars, excepting only in the case of the inscription to the soothsayer; but that of the soothsayer Megistias was inscribed by Simonides the son of Leoprepes on account of guest-friendship.

"Mark, when a man, a Barbarian, shall yoke the Sea with papyrus, Then do thou plan to remove the loud-bleating goats from Euboea."

In the evils which at this time were either upon them or soon to be expected they might feel not a little sorry that they had paid no attention to these lines.

"But when with ships they shall join the sacred strand of the goddess, Artemis golden-sword-girded, and thee, wave-washed Kynosura, Urged by a maddening hope, 44 having given rich Athens to plunder, Then shall Justice divine quell Riot, of Insolence first-born, 45 Longing to overthrow all things 46 and terribly panting for bloodhshed: Brass shall encounter with brass, and Ares the sea shall empurple, Tinging its waves with the blood: then a day of freedom for Hellas Cometh from wide-seeing Zeus 47 and from Victory, lady and mother." 48

Looking to such things as this, and when Bakis speaks so clearly, I do not venture myself to make any objections about oracles, nor can I admit them from others.

"Then shall the Colian women with firewood of oars roast barley." 61

This was destined to come to pass after the king had marched away.

Thus spoke the envoys:

"The gathering of Hellenes together and cry of Barbarian voices, Where the Thermodon flows, by the banks of grassy Asopos; Here very many shall fall ere destiny gave them to perish, Medes bow-bearing in fight, when the fatal day shall approach them,"?

these sayings, and others like them composed by Musaios, I know had reference to the Persians. Now the river Thermodon flows between Tanagra and Glisas.

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