Euenius · lines 41–49
Wolves kill sixty of the sacred sheep while Euenius sleeps; he tries to hide the loss, and the Apollonians blind him · Tales from Herodotus · GCSE Greek · OCR J292/02
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativePrepositionConjunctionAdverb
Greek
English
41καί ποτε αὐτοῦ κατακοιμηθέντος, λύκοι εἰς τὸ ἄντρον
42εἰσελθόντες διέφθειραν τῶν προβάτων ὡς ἑξήκοντα.
Once, when he had fallen asleep, wolves got into the cave and killed about sixty of the sheep.
42ὁ
43δέ, ὡς ᾔσθετο, εἶχε σιγῇ καὶ ἔφραζεν οὐδενί, ἐν νῷ ἔχων
44ἀντικαταστήσειν ἄλλα πριάμενος.
When he realised, he kept quiet and told no one, meaning to buy others and put them in their place.
44οἱ δὲ Ἀπολλωνιᾶται
45ὡς ἐπύθοντο, οὐ γὰρ ἔλαθεν αὐτοὺς ταῦτα γενόμενα,
46ὑπαγαγόντες αὐτὸν ὑπὸ δικαστήριον κατέκριναν τῆς
47ὄψεως στερηθῆναι.
But the Apollonians found out (it did not happen without their knowing), took him to court, and sentenced him to lose his sight.
48ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν Εὐήνιον ἐξετύφλωσαν, αὐτίκα μετὰ ταῦτα
49οὔτε πρόβατα αὐτοῖς ἔτικτεν οὔτε γῆ ἔφερεν ὁμοίως καρπόν.
But as soon as they had blinded Euenius, their sheep stopped bearing lambs and their land stopped yielding its crops as before.
Style notes this section · 14Word order · 3Repetition and structure · 3Word choice · 4Imagery and tone · 2Grammar · 2
41
κατακοιμηθέντοςCharacterisation
having fallen asleep
The guard falls asleep on duty, so the reader sees Euenius fail at the very task he was chosen for.
41
κατακοιμηθέντος, λύκοιJuxtaposition
fallen asleep, wolves
The sleeping guard is placed right next to the wolves, so danger arrives the moment he drops off.
42
εἰσελθόντες διέφθειρανFast pace
came in and killed
A participle and a verb tell the whole attack in two words, so it happens as suddenly as it would in reality.
42
ἑξήκονταEmphatic position
sixty
The number comes last in the sentence, which brings home the size of the loss.
42–44
ὁ δέ … οἱ δὲContrast
he … but they
The story switches from Euenius alone to the whole city, which sets one man against his community.
43
εἶχε σιγῇ καὶ ἔφραζεν οὐδενίRepetition
he kept quiet and told no one
The same idea is said twice, positively and negatively, which shows that the cover-up is deliberate.
43
οὐδενίEmphatic negative
no one
"No one" is a strong word, which shows he told absolutely nobody.
44
ἀντικαταστήσειν ἄλλα πριάμενοςCharacterisation
to replace them by buying others
Euenius thinks sacred animals can simply be bought and swapped, which shows his lack of respect for the gods.
45
οὐ γὰρ ἔλαθεν αὐτοὺςLitotes
it did not escape them
An understatement that means they knew perfectly well, so his cover-up looks hopeless from the start.
46
ὑπαγαγόντες … κατέκρινανFast pace
they took him to court and condemned him
Trial and verdict are packed into one participle and one verb, which makes the city's justice seem hasty.
46–47
τῆς ὄψεως στερηθῆναιEmphatic position
to lose his sight
The punishment comes at the very end of the sentence, so the reader is struck by its cruelty.
48–49
ἐξετύφλωσαν … αὐτοῖςIrony
they blinded … for them
The Apollonians punish Euenius but bring suffering on themselves, so the reader suspects they were wrong.
48
αὐτίκα μετὰ ταῦταEmphasis
immediately afterwards
The blight follows the blinding at once, so the reader links the two even before the oracle explains it.
49
οὔτε πρόβατα … ἔτικτεν οὔτε γῆ ἔφερενParallelism
neither did the sheep bear … nor did the land yield
Two matching clauses cover both flocks and fields, which shows that the whole community is suffering.
Questions to think about · 3
- Was Euenius' real offence falling asleep, or what he did afterwards? Use the Greek to support your answer.
- How does Herodotus make the Apollonians' punishment seem hasty?
- What do the events of lines 48–49 suggest about how the gods view the Apollonians' verdict?
Vocabulary in this section · 48 wordsVocabulary tester
καί and
ποτε once, at some time
αὐτός, -ή, -ό him, her, it; self
κατακοιμάω put to sleep; (passive) fall asleep
λύκος, -ου, ὁ wolf
εἰς (+ acc.) into, towards
ὁ, ἡ, τό the
ἄντρον, -ου, τό cave
εἰσέρχομαι come into, go into
διαφθείρω destroy, kill
πρόβατα, -ων, τά flock of sheep, sheep
ὡς (with numbers) about, approximately
ἑξήκοντα sixty
δέ and, but
αἰσθάνομαι perceive, notice, find out
ἔχω have, hold, keep
σιγή, -ῆς, ἡ silence
φράζω tell, say
οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν no one, nothing
ἐν (+ dat.) in
νοῦς, νοῦ, ὁ mind
ἀντικαθίστημι substitute, replace
ἄλλος, -η, -ο other, another
πρίαμαι buy
Ἀπολλωνιᾶται, -ῶν, οἱ the Apollonians
πυνθάνομαι find out by enquiry, learn
οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ not
γάρ for
λανθάνω escape the notice of
οὗτος, αὕτη, τοῦτο this; (pl.) these things
γίγνομαι become, be, happen
ὑπάγω bring before a judge
ὑπό (+ acc.) under; before
δικαστήριον, -ου, τό court of justice
κατακρίνω condemn
ὄψις, -εως, ἡ sight, vision
στερέω deprive (someone, acc.) of (something, gen.)
ἐπεί when, since
Εὐήνιος, -ου, ὁ Euenius
ἐκτυφλόω make blind, blind
αὐτίκα at once, immediately
μετά (+ acc.) after
οὔτε … οὔτε neither … nor
τίκτω give birth, bear young
γῆ, γῆς, ἡ earth, land
φέρω carry, bear, produce
ὁμοίως in the same way, similarly
καρπός, -οῦ, ὁ fruit, crops