Respect for suppliants · lines 87–92
The Cymaeans are ready to obey, but Aristodicus doubts the report and goes to ask the god again · Tales from Herodotus · GCSE Greek · OCR J292/02
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativePrepositionConjunctionAdverb
Greek
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87ταῦτα δὲ ὡς ἤκουσαν οἱ Κυμαῖοι ὡρμῶντο ἐκδιδόναι·
When the Cymaeans heard this, they set about handing him over.
88ὁρμωμένου δὲ τοῦ πλήθους, Ἀριστόδικος, ἀνὴρ τῶν
89ἀστῶν δόκιμος, ἔσχε μὴ ποιῆσαι ταῦτα τοὺς Κυμαίους,
90ἀπιστῶν τε τῷ χρησμῷ, καὶ δοκῶν τοὺς θεοπρόπους οὐ
91λέγειν ἀληθῶς·
But while the people were setting about it, Aristodicus, a distinguished citizen, stopped the Cymaeans from doing so, because he distrusted the oracle and thought the envoys were not telling the truth.
91ἐς ὅ, τὸ δεύτερον περὶ Πακτύου ἐπερησόμενοι,
92ᾖσαν ἄλλοι θεοπρόποι ὧν καὶ Ἀριστόδικος ἦν.
In the end a second set of envoys went to ask about Pactyes again, and Aristodicus was one of them.
Style notes this section · 13Word order · 3Repetition and structure · 3Word choice · 6Imagery and tone · 1
87
ταῦτα δὲ ὡς ἤκουσανEmphatic position
when they heard this
ταῦτα comes first and points straight back to the oracle, so the reader sees the Cymaeans react at once.
87
ὡρμῶντο ἐκδιδόναιCharacterisation
they set about handing him over
The Cymaeans move to obey immediately, which shows how ready they are to be rid of Pactyes.
87–88
ὡρμῶντο ... ὁρμωμένουPolyptoton
they set about ... as they were setting about
The same verb appears twice in different forms, which stresses how eager the people were and how close Pactyes came to being surrendered.
88
τοῦ πλήθους ... ἈριστόδικοςContrast
the people ... Aristodicus
The crowd is set right next to a single named man, so the reader sees one citizen standing against the whole city.
88–89
ἀνὴρ τῶν ἀστῶν δόκιμοςCharacterisation
a distinguished citizen
Herodotus establishes Aristodicus' standing straight away, which explains how one man is able to stop a whole city.
89
ἔσχε μὴ ποιῆσαιEmphasis
he stopped them doing
The short, decisive verb shows Aristodicus acting on his own authority against the will of the majority.
90
ἀπιστῶνEmphatic position
distrusting
His disbelief is placed first in the explanation, which marks suspicion as the key to his character.
90
ἀπιστῶν τε ... καὶ δοκῶνPairing
both distrusting ... and thinking
Two reasons are linked with τε καί, which shows that his doubts are deliberate and thought through.
90–91
δοκῶν τοὺς θεοπρόπους οὐ λέγειν ἀληθῶςCharacterisation
thinking the envoys were not telling the truth
He blames the envoys and leaves the god himself unquestioned, so he can resist the oracle while still appearing respectful.
90–91
οὐ λέγειν ἀληθῶςEmphatic negative
not telling the truth
A blunt accusation against his own city's envoys, which shows how far he will go to avoid surrendering Pactyes.
91
τὸ δεύτερονEmphasis
for the second time
The question is to be asked again, which prepares the reader for a test of the god.
91
ἐπερησόμενοιForeshadowing
to ask
The future participle shows that the envoys set out with one purpose, so the reader expects a confrontation at the oracle.
92
ὧν καὶ Ἀριστόδικος ἦνEmphatic position
of whom Aristodicus too was one
His name comes at the end of the sentence, so the reader knows he is now the central character of the story.
Notes on the text 1
88
Ἀριστόδικος, -ου, ὁAristodicus
Aristodicus
A citizen of Cyme, known only from this story; Herodotus names his father as Heraclides. His name is made from ἄριστος, "best", and δίκη, "justice".
Questions to think about · 2
- Why do you think Aristodicus blames the envoys rather than the oracle itself?
- What does Herodotus tell us about Aristodicus that makes it believable that one man could stop a whole city?
Vocabulary in this section · 34 wordsVocabulary tester
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο this; (pl.) these things
δέ and, but
ὡς when, as
ἀκούω hear
ὁ, ἡ, τό the
Κυμαῖοι, -ων, οἱ the Cymaeans, the people of Cyme
ὁρμάομαι be eager, set about
ἐκδίδωμι hand over, surrender
πλῆθος, -ους, τό crowd, majority
Ἀριστόδικος, -ου, ὁ Aristodicus
ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός, ὁ man
ἀστός, -οῦ, ὁ citizen, townsman
δόκιμος, -ον notable, honoured, esteemed
ἔχω have; (here) hold back, restrain
μή not
ποιέω do, make
ἀπιστέω (+ dat.) disbelieve, distrust
τε … καί both … and
χρησμός, -οῦ, ὁ oracle, oracular response
καί and
δοκέω think
θεοπρόπος, -ου, ὁ messenger sent to consult an oracle
οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ not
λέγω say, speak
ἀληθῶς truthfully
ἐς ὅ until
ὅς, ἥ, ὅ who, which
δεύτερος, -α, -ον second
περί (+ gen.) about, concerning
Πακτύης, -ου, ὁ Pactyes
ἐπέρομαι (fut. ἐπερήσομαι) ask, consult
εἶμι go
ἄλλος, -η, -ο other, another
εἰμί be