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Χωρὶς ἱππεῖς · cavalry away! (χ 444) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near χ444

χ440Horeb
χ441make room, give way
χ442I separate
χ443separation
χ444cavalry away!
χ445separate are the boundaries of Mysians and Phrygians
χ446country-boy; inhabitant
χ447rustic
χ448space, spot

Suda/Χ chi/χ444

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Χωρὶς ἱππεῖς

cavalry away!

Translated by David Whitehead26 Nov 2001Vetting: high9 revisions

biography
daily life
ethics
geography
historiography
history
+3

2 notes · 50 words

Translation

When Datis¹ had invaded Attica, they say that the Ionians, after his withdrawal, climbed trees and signalled to the Athenians that the cavalry were away; and on learning that they had gone Miltiades² charged and so won a victory. Hence the proverb is said in reference to those breaking ranks.

Greek original · Adler’s text

Χωρὶς ἱππεῖς· Δάτιδος ἐκβαλόντος εἰς τὴν Ἀττικήν, τοὺς Ἴωνας φασίν, ἀναχωρήσαντος αὐτοῦ, ἀνελθόντας ἐπὶ τὰ δένδρα σημαίνειν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, ὡς εἶεν χωρὶς οἱ ἱππεῖς· καὶ Μιλτιάδην συνιέντα τὴν ἀποχώρησιν αὐτῶν, συμβαλεῖν οὕτως καὶ νικῆσαι. ὅθεν καὶ τὴν παροιμίαν λεχθῆναι ἐπὶ τῶν τάξεις διαλυόντων.

Betacode

*xwri\s i(ppei=s: *da/tidos e)kbalo/ntos ei)s th\n *)attikh/n, tou\s *)/iwnas fasi/n, a)naxwrh/santos au)tou=, a)nelqo/ntas e)pi\ ta\ de/ndra shmai/nein toi=s *)aqhnai/ois, w(s ei)=en xwri\s oi( i(ppei=s: kai\ *miltia/dhn sunie/nta th\n a)poxw/rhsin au)tw=n, sumbalei=n ou(/tws kai\ nikh=sai. o(/qen kai\ th\n paroimi/an lexqh=nai e)pi\ tw=n ta/ceis dialuo/ntwn.

Notes (2)

Such an episode appears neither in Herodotus 6.109 ff (web address 1) nor in any other writer on the Battle of Marathon (490 BCE), from Ephorus to Plutarch. (Adler notes that Crusius attributed it -- on no discernible basis -- to the Attidographer Demon [FGrH 327].) Hignett (below) 65-6 insists that the story is demonstrably absurd. Others, in sharp contrast, take it as one of two items of reliable evidence (the other is Nepos, Miltiades 5.3) that the Persians had re-embarked their cavalry in preparation for sailing to Athens and attacking the city before the Spartans could arrive; Miltiades got wind of this, and attacked. For this see Rhodes (below) 4.
Such a 'proverb', in any event, appears only here, i.e. not in any of the paroemiographers; and the headword phrase itself is otherwise attested only once and with a different sense (Procopius, History of the Wars of Justinian 8.13.14).
1cf. delta 89. ↩
2cf. mu 1067, mu 1068.

References

C. Hignett, Xerxes' Invasion of Greece (Oxford 1963)
P.J. Rhodes, 'The battle of Marathon and modern scholarship', BICS supplement 124 (2013) 3-21

External resources

Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu

Neighbouring entries

χ442ΧωρίζωI separate χ443Χωρισμόςseparation χ444Χωρὶς ἱππεῖςcavalry away!χ445Χωρὶς τὰ Μυσῶν καὶ Φρυγῶν ὁρίσματαseparate are the boundaries of Mysians and Phrygians χ446Χωρίτηςcountry-boy; inhabitant

Revision history9 revisions · last 22 Jun 2023

22 Jun 2023tweaked link — Catharine Roth
20 Feb 2014expanded note and bibliography — David Whitehead
13 Nov 2013 — David Whitehead
7 Feb 2011augmented notes; another keyword; raised status — David Whitehead
28 Jun 2003expanded note; added keyword — David Whitehead
28 Jun 2003cosmetics, added link and keyword, set status — William Hutton
6 Sep 2002cosmetics — David Whitehead
—
—
26 Nov 2001Translated — David Whitehead

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Χωρὶς ἱππεῖς (Adler number chi 444), trans. David Whitehead, 26 Nov 2001. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/chi/444

Translation by David Whitehead for Suda On Line, revised by Catharine Roth, David Whitehead, William Hutton, , licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗