Respect for suppliants · lines 106–114
A voice from the shrine rebukes Aristodicus, and the god explains why he gave the answer he did · Tales from Herodotus · GCSE Greek · OCR J292/02
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106ποιοῦντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα, φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ ἀδύτου ἐγένετο
107λέγουσα τάδε·
While he was doing this, a voice came out of the inner sanctuary, saying:
107“ἀνοσιώτατε ἀνθρώπων, τί τάδε τολμᾷς
108ποιεῖν;
“Most wicked of men, how dare you do this?
108τοὺς ἱκέτας μου ἐκ τοῦ νεὼ κεραΐζεις;”
Are you tearing my suppliants out of my temple?”
108Ἀριστόδικος
109δὲ οὐκ ἀπορήσας πρὸς ταῦτα εἶπεν·
Aristodicus, not at all at a loss, replied:
109“ὦναξ, αὐτὸς
110μὲν οὕτω τοῖς ἱκέταις βοηθεῖς, Κυμαίους δὲ κελεύεις τὸν
111ἱκέτην ἐκδιδόναι.”
“Lord, you protect your own suppliants like this, yet you tell the Cymaeans to give up theirs.”
111ὁ δὲ θεὸς αὖθις ἠμείψατο τοῖσδε,
The god answered him in turn:
112“ναὶ κελεύω, ἵνα γε ἀσεβήσαντες θᾶσσον ἀπόλησθε,
113ὡς μὴ τὸ λοιπὸν περὶ ἱκετῶν ἐκδόσεως ἔλθητε ἐπὶ τὸ
114χρηστήριον.”
“Yes, I do tell you to, so that by committing this impiety you may be destroyed all the sooner, and never again come to my oracle to ask about handing over suppliants.”
Style notes this section · 18Word order · 2Repetition and structure · 4Word choice · 5Imagery and tone · 3Grammar · 4
106
ποιοῦντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦταPresent participle
while he was doing this
The present participle catches Aristodicus in the act, so the god's reaction is immediate.
106
φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ ἀδύτουVivid detail
a voice from the inner sanctuary
A voice with no speaker comes from the shrine no visitor may enter, which makes the moment eerie and awe-inspiring.
107
ἀνοσιώτατε ...Direct speech
most impious ...
For the first time the god speaks for himself, so the reader hears divine anger directly.
107
ἀνοσιώτατε ἀνθρώπωνSuperlative
most impious of men
The superlative with "of men" makes him the worst of all mankind, which turns his claim to be defending piety upside down.
107–108
τί τάδε τολμᾷς ποιεῖν;Rhetorical question
how dare you do this?
An indignant question that needs no answer, which gives the voice a tone of outraged authority.
108
τοὺς ἱκέτας μουEmphatic position
my suppliants
"My suppliants" comes first, so the reader sees the god accepting the comparison Aristodicus has staged.
108
κεραΐζειςVivid detail
you ravage
κεραΐζω is used of sacking a city, which makes the removal of a few nests sound like an act of war against the god.
109
οὐκ ἀπορήσαςUnderstatement (litotes)
not at a loss
Aristodicus is not thrown by the god's fury, which shows he expected this reply and makes him seem confident to the point of arrogance.
109
ὦναξIrony
O lord
The same respectful address that opened his question (line 94) now introduces an accusation, so the reader hears the irony.
109
αὐτόςEmphasis
you yourself
The pronoun points the finger at the god, which makes Aristodicus sound like a speaker cross-examining a rival.
109–111
αὐτὸς μὲν ... βοηθεῖς, Κυμαίους δὲ κελεύεις ... ἐκδιδόναιContrast (μέν ... δέ)
you yourself help ... but you order the Cymaeans to hand over
The god's own conduct is set against his instructions to Cyme, so the reader sees the inconsistency Aristodicus wants to expose.
110–111
τοῖς ἱκέταις ... τὸν ἱκέτηνPolyptoton
the suppliants ... the suppliant
The same noun in two different cases, which sharpens the comparison between the god's suppliants and Cyme's.
110, 112
κελεύεις ... ναὶ κελεύωRepetition
you order ... yes, I do order
The god picks up Aristodicus' own verb, so the reader expects an apology and gets a reversal.
112
ναίEmphasis
yes
The god admits the charge with a blunt "yes", which takes Aristodicus and the reader by surprise.
112–113
ἵνα γε ... ὡς μὴParallelism
so that ... so that not
Two purpose clauses, one positive and one negative, reveal that the first answer was a deliberate test.
112–113
ἀσεβήσαντες ... ἀπόλησθε ... ἔλθητεPlural verbs
having acted impiously ... you may perish ... you may come
The plurals spread the guilt to the whole city, so the reader sees that all of Cyme is on trial.
112
θᾶσσον ἀπόλησθεForeshadowing
you may perish the sooner
The god threatens swift destruction for anyone who gives up a suppliant, which hangs over the rest of Pactyes' story.
114
χρηστήριονEmphatic position
the oracle
The story ends on the oracle itself, the place the Cymaeans should never have come to with such a question.
Questions to think about · 5
- How does the god's reaction to the birds prove Aristodicus' point, and how does the god's final answer go beyond it?
- What act of impiety does the god mean by ἀσεβήσαντες (line 112)? Who would commit it?
- Was the god's first answer a lie? How might you defend it?
- What should the Cymaeans have done when Pactyes arrived, according to this story? Do you agree?
- How might this story be used in a modern debate about asylum?
What became of Pactyes background
The Cymaeans found a way to avoid both handing Pactyes over and keeping him: they sent him away to Mytilene on Lesbos. When they heard that the Mytilenaeans were about to sell him to Mazares, they moved him again, to the island of Chios. There he took refuge as a suppliant in the temple of Athena, Guardian of the City.
It did not save him. The Chians dragged him out of the temple and gave him up to the Persians; their reward was Atarneus, a stretch of land on the mainland opposite Lesbos. Herodotus adds that for a long time afterwards no Chian would use barley grown at Atarneus in any offering to the gods: land bought at the price of a suppliant was polluted.
Set beside this story, the ending is pointed. The god at Branchidae had told the Cymaeans what happens to those who give up a suppliant, and the Chians did exactly that.
Vocabulary in this section · 47 wordsVocabulary tester
ποιέω do, make
δέ and, but
αὐτός, -ή, -ό him, her, it
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο this; (pl.) these things
φωνή, -ῆς, ἡ voice
ἐκ (+ gen.) out of, from
ὁ, ἡ, τό the
ἄδυτον, -ου, τό innermost shrine, sanctuary
γίγνομαι become, happen; (here) come
λέγω say, speak
ὅδε, ἥδε, τόδε this; (pl.) the following
ἀνόσιος, -ον unholy, impious, wicked
ἄνθρωπος, -ου, ὁ man, human being
τίς, τί who? what?; (τί) why?
τολμάω dare
ἱκέτης, -ου, ὁ suppliant
ἐγώ I; (gen.) my
νεώς, νεώ, ὁ temple
κεραΐζω destroy, ravage, plunder
Ἀριστόδικος, -ου, ὁ Aristodicus
οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ not
ἀπορέω be at a loss
πρός (+ acc.) in answer to
ἄναξ, ἄνακτος, ὁ lord
μέν on the one hand
οὕτω(ς) in this way, thus
βοηθέω (+ dat.) help
Κυμαῖοι, -ων, οἱ the Cymaeans, the people of Cyme
κελεύω order
ἐκδίδωμι hand over, surrender
θεός, -οῦ, ὁ god
αὖθις again, in turn
ἀμείβομαι reply, answer
ναί yes
ἵνα so that, in order that
γε at any rate, indeed
ἀσεβέω be impious, act impiously
ταχύς, -εῖα, -ύ swift, quick
ἀπόλλυμι destroy; (middle) perish, be destroyed
ὡς so that
μή not
λοιπός, -ή, -όν remaining; τὸ λοιπόν, hereafter
περί (+ gen.) about, concerning
ἔκδοσις, -εως, ἡ giving up, surrender
ἔρχομαι come, go
ἐπί (+ acc.) to
χρηστήριον, -ου, τό oracle