Respect for suppliants · lines 77–86
Pactyes takes refuge at Cyme; the Persians demand him back, and the god at Branchidae says to hand him over · Tales from Herodotus · GCSE Greek · OCR J292/02
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativePrepositionConjunctionAdverb
Greek
English
77ὁ μὲν Πακτύης, δείσας τοὺς Πέρσας, ᾤχετο φεύγων
78ἐς Κύμην·
Pactyes, afraid of the Persians, fled to Cyme.
78ὁ δὲ Μαζάρης ἔπεμπεν ἐς τὴν Κύμην
79ἀγγέλους, ἐκδιδόναι κελεύων Πακτύην.
Mazares sent messengers to Cyme with orders to hand Pactyes over.
79οἱ δὲ Κυμαῖοι
80ἔγνωσαν συμβουλῆς πέρι ἐς θεὸν τὸν ἐν Βραγχίδαις
81ἀναφέρειν.
The Cymaeans decided to refer the question of what to do to the god at Branchidae.
81ἦν γὰρ αὐτόθι μαντεῖον ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἱδρυμένον,
82ᾧ Ἴωνές τε πάντες καὶ Αἰολεῖς εἰώθεσαν χρῆσθαι.
For there was an oracle there, founded long ago, which all the Ionians and Aeolians regularly consulted.
83πέμψαντες οὖν οἱ Κυμαῖοι θεοπρόπους ἠρώτων ὁποῖόν
84τι περὶ Πακτύην ποιοῦντες θεοῖς μέλλοιεν χαριεῖσθαι.
So the Cymaeans sent envoys, and asked what they should do about Pactyes if they wanted to win the favour of the gods.
85ἐπερωτῶσι δέ σφι ταῦτα χρηστήριον ἐγένετο ἐκδιδόναι
86Πακτύην τοῖς Πέρσαις.
When they put this question, the answer came back that they should hand Pactyes over to the Persians.
Style notes this section · 14Word order · 2Repetition and structure · 4Sound and metre · 1Word choice · 4Grammar · 3
77–78
ὁ μὲν Πακτύης ... ὁ δὲ ΜαζάρηςContrast (μέν ... δέ)
Pactyes ... Mazares
The balanced construction sets the fugitive against his pursuer, so the reader sees the whole conflict in a single sentence.
77
δείσας τοὺς ΠέρσαςEmphatic position
afraid of the Persians
Pactyes' fear is placed before his flight, which shows that terror of the Persians drives everything he does.
77
ᾤχετο φεύγωνFast pace
he went off in flight
Two verbs of movement side by side, so the reader sees a hurried escape.
78
ἐς Κύμην ... ἐς τὴν ΚύμηνRepetition
to Cyme ... to Cyme
Cyme is named in both clauses, which shows the danger following Pactyes to the city that has taken him in.
79
ἐκδιδόναι κελεύωνCharacterisation
ordering them to hand over
Mazares gives orders and makes no request, so the reader feels the weight of Persian power.
79, 85–86
ἐκδιδόναι ... ΠακτύηνRepetition
to hand over ... Pactyes
The god's answer repeats Mazares' demand (line 79) almost word for word, so the reader is shocked that the god seems to side with the Persians.
80–81
ἔγνωσαν ... ἀναφέρεινCharacterisation
they decided to refer
The only thing the Cymaeans decide is to pass the problem to the god, which shows how unwilling they are to take responsibility themselves.
81
ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἱδρυμένονEmphasis
founded long ago
Stressing the oracle's age gives it authority, so the reader expects its answer to be trustworthy.
82
Ἴωνές τε πάντες καὶ ΑἰολεῖςPairing
all the Ionians and the Aeolians
Two whole peoples are linked with τε καί, which shows how widely the oracle was respected.
83
πέμψαντες ... ἠρώτωνFast pace
having sent ... they asked
The journey to the oracle is covered by a single participle, so the story moves straight to the question.
84
θεοῖς μέλλοιεν χαριεῖσθαιCharacterisation
they would please the gods
The Cymaeans ask how to keep the gods pleased, which suggests they care more about divine favour than about what is right.
85
ἐπερωτῶσι ... χρηστήριον ἐγένετοFast pace
as they asked ... a response came
The answer arrives the moment they ask, which shows how clear and unhesitating the god is.
85–86
ἐκδιδόναι Πακτύην τοῖς ΠέρσαιςAlliteration
to hand Pactyes over to the Persians
The hard π, τ and δ sounds give the reply a clipped ring, which makes it sound blunt and final.
86
τοῖς ΠέρσαιςEmphatic position
to the Persians
The Persians are the last words of the answer, so the reader is left thinking of the fate that awaits Pactyes.
Notes on the text 5
77
Πακτύης, -ου, ὁPactyes
Pactyes
A Lydian whom Cyrus had trusted with the gold of conquered Lydia, and who used it to lead a revolt against the Persians. See the background panel below.
78
Κύμη, -ης, ἡCyme
Cyme
A Greek city on the coast of Aeolis, in north-west Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and the largest of the Aeolian cities. Its people are the Κυμαῖοι, the Cymaeans.
78
ΜαζάρηςMazares
Mazares
A Median general in the service of Cyrus, sent to put down the Lydian revolt and to bring Pactyes back alive.
80
ΒραγχίδαιBranchidae
Branchidae
The oracle of Apollo at Didyma, a little south of Miletus, named after the Branchidae, the family of priests who ran it.
82
Ἴωνες … ΑἰολεῖςIonians and Aeolians
Ionians … Aeolians
Two of the main groups of Greeks, each with its own dialect. The Ionian cities, Miletus the greatest of them, lay along the central coast of Asia Minor and its islands; the Aeolians lived further north, around Cyme and on Lesbos.
Questions to think about · 3
- Why might Herodotus pause to tell us how old and how widely respected the oracle at Branchidae was, just before we hear its answer?
- The god's reply (lines 85–86) uses almost the same words as Mazares' demand (line 79). What effect does that have on you as a reader?
- What exactly do the Cymaeans ask the god in lines 83–84? Is it the question you would have asked in their position?
Pactyes and the Lydian revolt background
Lydia was a rich kingdom in western Asia Minor, with its capital at Sardis. Its last king, Croesus, was defeated by Cyrus the Great of Persia in about 546 BC. Cyrus left a Persian, Tabalus, in command of Sardis, and gave a Lydian called Pactyes the job of collecting the gold of Croesus and the Lydians.
As soon as Cyrus had gone, Pactyes took the gold down to the coast, used it to hire soldiers, and besieged Tabalus in Sardis. Cyrus sent a Median general, Mazares, with an army to crush the revolt, with orders to bring Pactyes back to him alive. Pactyes did not wait for him: he fled to the Greek city of Cyme, and that is where this story begins.
Suppliants and asylum background
A suppliant (ἱκέτης) put himself under the protection of a god, or of a more powerful person, by a recognised ritual: sitting at an altar or in a sanctuary, holding out a branch wound with wool, or kneeling and clasping the knees of the person he was begging. Zeus himself, as Zeus Hikesios, watched over suppliants, and to drag one away from an altar, or to hand one over to be killed, was a grave offence against the gods, which could bring pollution and disaster on a whole community.
A city that took in a suppliant took on that protection too, and this could set it against powerful neighbours who wanted him back. Greek writers returned to the dilemma again and again (Aeschylus' Suppliant Women is built around it), and it is easy to see why it still feels familiar: modern states face the same pull between the duty to protect people who ask for asylum and the cost of offending those they have fled from.
Vocabulary in this section · 52 wordsVocabulary tester
ὁ, ἡ, τό the
μέν on the one hand
Πακτύης, -ου, ὁ Pactyes
δείδω fear
Πέρσης, -ου, ὁ a Persian
οἴχομαι go, depart
φεύγω flee
ἐς (+ acc.) into, to
Κύμη, -ης, ἡ Cyme
δέ and, but
Μαζάρης, -ους, ὁ Mazares
πέμπω send
ἄγγελος, -ου, ὁ messenger
ἐκδίδωμι hand over, surrender
κελεύω order
Κυμαῖοι, -ων, οἱ the Cymaeans, the people of Cyme
γιγνώσκω decide
συμβουλή, -ῆς, ἡ advice
περί (+ gen.) about, concerning
θεός, -οῦ, ὁ god
ἐν (+ dat.) in, at
Βραγχίδαι, -ῶν, οἱ Branchidae
ἀναφέρω refer (a question) to, consult
εἰμί be
γάρ for
αὐτόθι there, in that place
μαντεῖον, -ου, τό oracle
ἐκ (+ gen.) out of, from
παλαιός, -ά, -όν old, ancient
ἱδρύω establish, found
ὅς, ἥ, ὅ who, which
Ἴωνες, -ων, οἱ the Ionians
τε … καί both … and
πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν all, every
καί and
Αἰολεῖς, -έων, οἱ the Aeolians
εἴωθα be accustomed
χράομαι (+ dat.) use; (of an oracle) consult
οὖν therefore, so
θεοπρόπος, -ου, ὁ messenger sent to consult an oracle
ἐρωτάω ask
ὁποῖος, -α, -ον of what kind, what sort of
τις, τι something, a certain
περί (+ acc.) about, concerning
ποιέω do, make
μέλλω be about to, be going to
χαρίζομαι (+ dat.) please, gratify
ἐπερωτάω ask, enquire
σφεῖς (Ionic dat. σφι) they
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο this; (pl.) these things
χρηστήριον, -ου, τό oracle, oracular response
γίγνομαι become, happen; (here) be given