Ἀπρίου δὲ καθῃρημένου – Apries ruled Egypt from 589 BC – 570 BC. Following a civil war, he was overthrown and replaced by a popular general, the Amasis of these stories.

ἐβασίλευσεν Ἄμασις – Amasis ruled for the best part of 45 years. He cultivated closer ties with the Greeks, and died 6 months before the Persians conquered Egypt in 525 BC.

Ἀπρίου…Ἄμασις – A chiasmus, which neatly conveys the sense of power transitioning from ruler to ruler.

Τὰ πρῶτα – “At first”. Usually found in the singular without the article (πρῶτον).

κατώνοντο τὸν Ἄμασιν – Note the promotion of the verb to emphasise the Egyptians’ attitude towards Amasis’ humble origins.

ἐν οὐδεμίᾳ μοίρᾳ μεγάλῃ ἦγον – Essentially the same as κατώνοντο just before. By this repetition, and the litotes of ἐν οὐδεμίᾳ μοίρᾳ μεγάλῃ, Herodotus is emphasising the Egyptians’ concern for their rulers to be of noble blood. In fact, Amasis eventually married one of Apries’ daughters, Chedebnitjerbone II, in order to legitimise his rule.

ἅτε…ὄντα – “Because he was…” This particular construction (ἅτε + participle) is used because Herodotus is stating this as a factual reason (ὡς + participle is used for an alleged reason).

καὶ οἰκίας οὐκ ἐπιφανοῦς – Once again, a repeated idea (this time of δημότην) and a litotes to emphasise the problem the Egyptians had with Amasis’ lack of noble heritage.

μετὰ δὲ – μετὰ here is an adverb, “afterwards”.

σοφίᾳ – This outstanding attribute of Amasis is prominent at the front of the sentence. It contrasts sharply with ἀγνωμοσύνῃ (“foolish pride”).

Ἦν αὐτῷ – “He had” (lit. “there was to him”).

ἄλλα τε ἀγαθὰ μυρία καὶ… – καὶ after ἄλλος…τε always lays particular emphasis on what follows (in this case, the footbath). In natural English: “He had, as well as countless other goods, a golden footbath”.

κατακόψας – “cutting to pieces”; κατα- compounded with a verb often has an intensifying force, lit. ‘right down to the end.’ In English, however, we speak of ‘cutting up.’

μεγάλως – Herodotus highlights the extent of the Egyptians’ veneration of the ex-footbath to draw a clear contrast between Amasis’ wisdom and their credulity.

Μαθὼν…συγκαλέσας…ἐξέφηνε – Herodotus maintains the pace of the story by using two participles and a verb, leaving out extraneous detail.

πρότερον μὲν…τότε δὲ – the turnaround in the fortune of the footbath is stark – underscored by the contrast of πρότερον and τότε, the use of μὲν… δὲ, and μεγάλως (again) to describe the Egyptians’ worship of it.

ἐνεμοῖέν – “vomited”. This additional, unpleasant detail was omitted in Herodotus’ initial description of the footbath. Its inclusion now helps Amasis make his point more strongly. This verb, ἐναπονίζοιντο and σέβοιντο are all in the optative because they are in a relative clause in indirect statement (a construction beyond the GCSE language syllabus).

ἔφη λέγων – “he went on to say”.

Τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ – i.e. through the analogy of the footbath (and hence his “σοφίᾳ”).

ἐχρῆτο δὲ καταστάσει πραγμάτων τοιᾷδε – “he employed the following arrangement for his affairs” (lit. “he used the following arrangement of things”).

τὸ μὲν ὄρθριον…τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦδε – the μὲν…δὲ construction helps to draw the contrast between Amasis’ actions in the morning and afterwards.

πληθούσης ἀγορᾶς – “the market-place was filling up.” This is a technical term for late morning (about 9-11am). According to Herodotus, the four divisions of the day are: the early morning (ὄρθρος); late morning (ἀγορᾶς πληθούσης); noon (μεσημβρία); afternoon (ἀποκιλνομένη ἡμέρα).

προθύμως – “eagerly.” The promotion of this adverb helps to portray Amasis as a conscientious ruler. His serious attitude towards business is underlined by the alliteration of προθύμως ἔπραττε τὰ προσφερόμενα πράγματα, as he works his way through the day’s tasks.

τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦδε – “after that” (adverbial).

ἐπινέ τε καὶ κατέσκωπτε – the imperfect tense of these verbs show that these actions of Amasis were habitual.

συμπότας – “fellow-drinkers.” Formed from the prefix συμ- (“with”) and the stem πότ- (part of πίνω), from which English gets the words “potable” and “potion,” among others.

τε καὶ κατέσκωπτε τοὺς συμπότας καὶ ἦν μάταιός τε καὶ παιγνιήμων – the excessive connectives (polysyndeton) highlight Amasis’ waggish behaviour when business time was over.

Ἀχθεσθέντες – the harsh sounds (cacophony) of the double consonants χ and θ point up the irritation of his friends.

Ὦ βασιλεῦ – the friends start with a respectful address, before saying what is bothering them. The whole speech is almost certainly an invention by Herodotus to make the story more vivid.

τὸ ἄγαν φλαῦρον – “excessive frivolity.” Adverbs preceded by the article are often used in Greek like adjectives, e.g. οἱ νῦν ἄνδρες (“the men of today”).

σεμνῷ σεμνὸν – the repetition (specifically, polyptoton) reinforces how the friends expect Amasis to behave.

δι’ ἡμέρας – “throughout the day” – because, as things stand, Amasis likes to wrap up business before noon.

ἂν ἠπίσταντο ὡς ὑπ’ ἀνδρὸς μεγάλου ἄρχονται – tactfully saying that Amasis is in fact a great man, but he needs to ensure the Egyptians realise this.

νῦν δὲ – “but as it is.”

οὐδαμῶς βασιλικά – a blunt appraisal of Amasis’ behaviour. βασιλικά is in a very emphatic position as the last word of the whole speech.

Οἱ τὰ τόξα κεκτημένοι… – this speech of Amasis became proverbial. The Roman poet Horace wrote: Neque semper arcum tendit Apollo (“Nor does Apollo always extend his bow,” Odes, ii. 10. 19).

ἐπὴν μὲν… ἐπὴν δὲ – Amasis sets out his argument very clearly through repetition, short parallel sentences, and the use of μὲν…δὲ to contrast the two treatments of the bows.

οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν – “they (i.e. the owners of bows) would not be able…”

εἰς τὸ δέον – “for what was necessary.”

τὸ μέρος – “in part.” Amasis answers the friends’ charge of excessive (τὸ ἄγαν) frivolity – he is not, he is saying, a complete clown.

λάθοι – “he would be unaware.” The prominent position of this verb shows that Amasis considers the ignorance as bad as the insanity itself.

μανεὶς ἢ ἀπόπληκτος – to make his point more forcefully, Amasis uses two synonyms (tautology).

ἃ – a connecting relative: “these things.”

Λέγεται – This word suggests that Herodotus is relying on an oral source. He is acknowledging that this story may not be as historically accurate as the previous anecdotes.

φιλοπότης…φιλοσκώμμων…οὐδαμῶς κατεσπουδασμένος – Amasis’ love of leisure time is stressed by a tricolon. The repeated prefixes φιλο- (“love”) provide a balance which is broken by the litotes of οὐδαμῶς κατεσπουδασμένος. We are left with the overall impression that Amasis was an utter party animal before he became king.

ἔκλεπτεν ἂν – “he used to steal.” The imperfect tense with ἂν can, as here, be used for a repeated or habitual action. According to the reports, Amasis was often going round thieving.

ἦγον ἂν – “they would take him.” Not only was his thieving habitual, but the repercussions became routine.

ἐπὶ μαντεῖον ὅπου ἑκάστοις εἴη – lit. “to an oracle where there was one for each.” In essence, “to the nearest oracle.”

πολλάκις μὲν…πολλάκις δὲ – the contrast between the actions of the oracles is put across by the μὲν…δὲ clause, and highlighted by the emphasis of δὴ and the repetition (anaphora) of πολλάκις…πολλάκις.

᾿Επεὶ δὲ καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν – “when he had become king.” A clear demarcation of the second half of the story, and the counterpart to καὶ ὅτε ἦν ἰδιώτης. It is interesting to note that each half of the story contains exactly the same number of words (both in the original manuscript and in our adapted text). Herodotus uses perfect equilibrium to lay out this story.

οὔτε…οὔτε…οὐδέν – the number of negatives in this sentence (and the next) show how Amasis completely shunned those oracles who acquitted him.

Ἀπολλωνίᾳ – Apollonia was founded in 588 BC by Greek colonists from Kerkyra and Corinth. It was situated in northwestern Greece (now modern Albania). Apollo, after whom the city was named, was the god of music, archery, prophecy and the sun.

ἡλίου πρόβατα – flocks or herds sacred to the sun are mentioned in several passages in early Greek writers, most famously in Homer’s Odyssey. There are usually about 360 of them, corresponding to one for each day of the year (ancient calendars often had fewer than 365 days in a year).

τὰς μὲν ἡμέρας … τὰς δὲ νύκτας – by day the sheep would be seen by the sun, meaning that it is only at night that a guard is called for.

ποταμόν τινα – probably the river Aoös.

ᾑρημένοι ἄνδρες – the importance of the sheep, and therefore the duty of guarding them, is emphasised by the fact that men are specifically chosen for the job. The men are regarded the best in the city (δοκιμώτατοι τῶν ἀστῶν) in terms of wealth (πλούτῳ) and their birth (γένει); “by birth” probably meant they needed to show descent from the original settlers.

περὶ πολλοῦ δὴ ποιοῦνται – “esteem very highly” – more emphasis of the importance of the sheep.

οὕτος – “this”. Seems odd here, but the whole Euenius story is a digression in which Herodotus is telling a side story about the father (Euenius) of the prophet Deïphonus, who features in the main story about the war between Greece and Persia in 479 BC.

ἔν τε Δωδώνῃ καὶ ἐν Δελφοῖς – Dodona in north west Greece was regarded as the oldest oracle in the Greek world, possibly dating to before 1000 BC. It was the most prestigious oracle after the one at Delphi, which was sacred to Apollo.

οἱ θεοί – used for the priest or priestess at the oracles who were supposed to speak the words with which the gods inspired them. They were usually staunch upholders of morality. In this instance they condemn the blinding of Euenius as cruel and excessive.

Ἀδίκως … ἐστερήσατε – note how prominent this adverb is in the oracle’s answer. It is immediately clear that the Apolloniates have offended the gods. The whole reply is unusually straightforward for an oracular response, which are notorious for being cryptic, and thus open to misinterpretation.

ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐφωρμήσαμεν τοὺς λύκους – sympathy might be felt for the Apolloniates as well as Euenius at this point, as they have all suffered punishment due to some mysterious divine plan.

πρότερον – signpost word for the upcoming πρὶν clause. Can be ignored for translation purposes.

ἕληται καὶ δικαιοῖ – “(what) he chooses and thinks fair.” δικαιοῖ is an important addition, as otherwise the Apolloniates could use threats or (more) violence to get Euenius to make a poor choice. As it is, they must use cunning and deception to minimise the rate of compensation.

δόσιν τοιαύτην – the audience is kept in suspense as, although we are told the gift will make Euenius seem blessed, we are given no specifics.

ἀπόρρητα – “hidden” (lit. “unspoken”). This word sets the tone for most of the rest of the passage. The Apolloniates have a real problem – their welfare is at the mercy of someone who has suffered terribly at their hands. They decide to embark on a deceitful course of action in order to protect their interests as much as possible, while still fulfilling the instructions of the oracle.

ἀστοῖς τισι – we are given no more information about these agents. Their identity, like their mission, is shrouded in secrecy.

λόγους ἄλλους ἐποιοῦντο – “they made other conversation”. There is a sense of realism in Herodotus’ account. The townsfolk are careful not to arouse Euenius’ suspicion.

κατέβαινον συλλυπούμενοι – “they went on to sympathise.” The verb κατέβαινον implies that they at length approached the subject which they really wanted to discuss. The prefix κατά expresses a metaphorical descent to the point aimed at (compare with the English expression “get down to business”).

ταύτῃ ὑπαγαγόντες – ταύτῃ is adverbial (understand ὁδῷ). The prefix ὑπό compounded with a verb very often, as in this case, implies secrecy or deception.

ἂν ἕλοιτο, εἰ ἐθέλοιεν – both verbs are in the optative, which is used for remote conditions in the future (“what would you choose if the Apolloniates were willing?”). The townsfolk pose their question as purely hypothetical. It is little wonder that Euenius feels cheated afterwards.

εἰ δοθεῖεν … ἂν ἀποχρῴη – more realism as Euenius keeps adding things, much like someone who has not had time to think things through: “some fields … very fine … the finest in Apollonia … and a house … on top of these … which I know to be very fine … the finest in the city …”

τῶν ποιηθέντων – a euphemism for the blinding of Euenius. If they actually used such words, the townsfolk were playing down what happened to him.

“Εὐήνιε … τὰ γενόμενα.” – the change to direct speech after the long sequence of reported speech startles the audience in much the same way as Euenius must have been taken aback when the agents’ voices changed from sympathetic to double-crossing.

ὡς ἐξαπατηθείς – “feeling that he had been cheated.”

ἃ εἵλετο – the oracle also said that Euenius had to think the offer was fair when he made his choice. That is not repeated here, but we should assume that the conditions laid down by the oracle were met.

ἔμφυτον μαντικὴν – “a naturally-inspired power of prophecy,” as opposed to the same power acquired by education in the technicalities of signs and omens.

Πακτύης – Pactyes was a Lydian who had tried to organise a revolt against the Persian king, Cyrus, after the latter had conquered Lydia. Cyrus sent an army against him, and he was forced to flee.

δείσας τοὺς Πέρσας – because he had organised the failed revolt.

ᾤχετο φεύγων – “went and fled.”

Κύμην – Cyme was on the west coast of Asia Minor and would eventually fall to the Persians.

ὁ δὲ Μαζάρης – Mazares was a Median general who defected to the Persians after Media fell to Cyrus. He is acting here as an agent of the Persian king.

ἔγνωσαν – “decided,” not a meaning of γιγνώσκω used for GCSE Greek Language.

θεὸν τὸν ἐν Βραγχίδαις – The god was Apollo; and impressive ruins still remain at Branchidae of the temple mentioned here.

Ἴωνές…καὶ Αἰολεῖς – the Ionians and the Aeolians were the main ethnic Greek peoples who lived on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. The importance of the oracle is stressed by the fact both of these large groups visited it, all of them (πάντες), and by its age (ἐκ παλαιοῦ).

ὁρμωμένου δὲ τοῦ πλήθους – “although the majority were eager,” the participle can be translated with “although” even without καίπερ.

ἔσχε μὴ ποιῆσαι – “withheld (the Cymaeans) from doing (this).” Verbs expressing prevention, or denial, doubt, refusal, etc. are usually followed by the negative μή which must not be translated in English.

ἀπιστῶν τε … δοκῶν… – Aristodicus is very sceptical. Not only does he not trust the oracle, but he also thinks the consultants are lying. His suspicions turn out to have some grounds, but are wide of the mark. The participles ἀπιστῶν and δοκῶν have causal force, i.e. “since he did not trust….”

εἰς ὅ – “until,” lit. “until which (time).”

τὸ δεύτερον – adverbial, “a second time.”

ἄλλοι θεοπρόποι – Aristodicus addresses both his concerns. He replaces the previous consultants, in case they had been lying, and he attends in person – a point emphasised by the short phrase καὶ Ἀριστόδικος ἦν – to find out for himself what the oracle has to say.

ἐκ πάντων – “on behalf of them all,” i.e. Aristodicus had been chosen (or appointed himself) as spokesman.

Ὦναξ… – despite his mistrust, and what he eventually does, Aristodicus addresses the oracle in a respectful tone.

ἦλθε παρ’ ἡμᾶς ἱκέτης – the crux of the matter is stated first. Essentially, the issue is about how to treat any suppliant, the specifics of this particular case are of secondary importance.

θάνατον βίαιον – βίαιον is almost irrelevant, as any death would presumably be bad for Pactyes, but Aristodicus is highlighting the dire fate awaiting the Lydian refugee if the Cymaeans carry out the oracle’s command – he wants to ensure the oracle knows the consequences of its pronouncement.

δειμαίνοντες – another concessive use of the participle, “even though we are afraid….”

οὐ τετολμήκαμεν – the question remains, since they fear the Persians and the oracle has told them to, why haven’t they dared to hand over Pactyes? There must be a custom of protecting suppliants which is holding them back. The oracle’s point will be that the Cymaeans should have had more belief in this custom than having to seek confirmation from an oracle to uphold it.

τὸ ἀπὸ σοῦ – “your wishes,” literally “the thing which comes from you”.

ἀκριβῶς – Aristodicus needs to hear the exact instructions, to avoid misinterpretation.

ἐκδιδόναι Πακτύην τοῖς Πέρσαις – the exact phrase used for the original pronouncement. After Aristodicus’ detailed explanation of the situation, this repetition comes as something of a shock. This unchanging oracular response is emphasised by αὖθις and τὸν αὐτὸν χρησμὸν.

ἐκ προνοίας – “on purpose.” His actions now contrast sharply with the courtesy he initially showed towards the oracle.

ἄλλα ὅσα … γένη – the normal order in Greek is ἄλλα γένη ὅσα, “other types, as many as….”

Ἀνοσιώτατε ἀνθρώπων – the superlative with the genitive (“most wicked of men”) highlights the enormity of Aristodicus’ crime. However, the reaction is just what he was aiming for – he wanted the oracle to realise how wicked it was to suggest Pactyes be handed over to the Persians.

τοὺς ἱκέτας μου ἐκ τοῦ νεὼ κεραΐζεις; – a very serious charge: Aristodicus is destroying (κεραΐζεις) suppliants (τοὺς ἱκέτας) of the god (μου) in a holy place (τοῦ νεὼ). The charge is posed as a question because the oracle can scarcely believe the sacrilegious nature of Aristodicus’ actions.