Histories (Hackett Classics) by James Romm & Herodotus

Author:James Romm & Herodotus [Romm, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781624661693
Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Published: 2014-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Book 5

1. The Persians, whom Darius had left behind in Europe under Megabazus’ command, now proceeded to subjugate the nations of the Hellespont,1 beginning with the Perinthians, who were unwilling to be subjects of the King, as they had already been roughly handled by the Paeonians.2 For an oracle had directed the Paeonians from the river Strymon to march against the Perinthians; and if the latter, when the armies were drawn up opposite one another, called them by name, then to go out against them; but if not, to hold back. The Paeonians followed their advice. The Perinthians took up a position on the outskirts of their town and challenged the enemy to engage in three duels; for they pitted man against man, horse against horse, and dog against dog. And when the Perinthians, having prevailed in two out of three, raised their joyous cry of victory, Io paean,3 the Paeonians guessed that this was what the oracle had meant, and said to one another, “Now the oracle is fulfilled, and we must do our part.” They attacked the Perinthians in the midst of their paean, won a stunning victory, and left few of them alive.

2. This incident had taken place a long time previously. On the present occasion, in spite of a brave struggle for their freedom, the Perinthians were overwhelmed by numbers, and yielded to Megabazus and his Persians. After Perinthus had been subdued, Megabazus marched his army through Thrace, bringing every city and every nation under the control of the King; for he had been instructed by Darius to conquer Thrace.4

3. After the Indians, the Thracians are the largest nation in the world. If they could be united under one ruler, or could agree among themselves, it is my belief that they would be unconquerable and by far the strongest nation on earth. But such unity is impossible for them, and there is no way of bringing it about. The result is that they are weak. They go by various names in the different regions of their country, but all of them have the same way of life except for the Getae, the Trausi, and the tribes north of Creston.

4. The customs of the Getae, who think themselves immortal, I have already described.5 The Trausi resemble the other Thracians except in their behavior on the occasion of a birth or a death. When a child is born, the family sits round and weeps for all the evils it must endure now that it has come into the world, going through the entire catalogue of human sorrows. When somebody dies, they bury him with laughter and rejoicing, and say that now, having escaped so many miseries, he is perfectly happy.

5. Among the tribes who live beyond Creston, each man has several wives. When a man dies, a sharp dispute arises among the wives, and fierce rivalries among their friends, over which of his wives the departed loved best. The wife who is accorded this honor, after receiving the

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