Δᾶτις
Datis
Translated by Jennifer Benedict18 Nov 2000Vetting: high12 revisions
Translation
A Persian, who made it his business to speak Greek [sc. but did so badly]. They say he used xai/romai , instead of saying xai/rw .1 And that [sort of thing] is "Datism".
Datis: "this man saw a vision of a dream, and they do not say what the vision was. But as soon as day dawned, he made a search of the ships. And he found a gilt statue of Apollo in a Phoenician one and asked whence it had been stolen. He learned that it was from such and such a shrine and he sent [it] in his own ship to Delos and entrusted the statue to the shrine and ordered the Delians to return the statue."2
[Datis is the man] who, wanting to speak Greek, saidh(/domai and xai/romai and eu)frai/nomai .3
Datis and Artaphernes,4 leaders of the Persians after Mardonius was relieved of command, sent envoys into Greece to make trial of the cities and to ask for earth and water. All the islanders gave it to them; but the Athenians took deep offense and banished the envoys. The Lacedaemonians agreed to give both [sc. tokens]; they threw them into a well, poured soil down onto them, and explained that they had given them the gift for which they had asked.5
Datis: "this man saw a vision of a dream, and they do not say what the vision was. But as soon as day dawned, he made a search of the ships. And he found a gilt statue of Apollo in a Phoenician one and asked whence it had been stolen. He learned that it was from such and such a shrine and he sent [it] in his own ship to Delos and entrusted the statue to the shrine and ordered the Delians to return the statue."2
[Datis is the man] who, wanting to speak Greek, said
Datis and Artaphernes,4 leaders of the Persians after Mardonius was relieved of command, sent envoys into Greece to make trial of the cities and to ask for earth and water. All the islanders gave it to them; but the Athenians took deep offense and banished the envoys. The Lacedaemonians agreed to give both [sc. tokens]; they threw them into a well, poured soil down onto them, and explained that they had given them the gift for which they had asked.5
Greek original · Adler’s text
Δᾶτις, Πέρσης· ὃς ἐπετήδευσεν ἑλληνίζειν. ὃν λέγουσι φάναι χαίρομαι, ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν χαίρω. καί ἐστι Δατισμός. Δᾶτις· οὗτος δὲ εἶδεν ὄψιν ὀνείρου, καὶ ἥτις ἦν ἡ ὄψις, οὐ λέγεται. ὁ δέ, ὡς ἡμέρη τάχιστα ἐπέλαμψεν, ζήτησιν ἐποίεε τῶν νεῶν. εὑρὼν δὲ ἐν Φοινίσσῃ ἄγαλμα Ἀπόλλωνος κεχρυσωμένον ἐπυνθάνετο, ὁκόθεν εἴη σεσυλημένον. πυθόμενος δὲ ἐξ οἵου ἦν ἱεροῦ, ἔπεμπε τῇ ἑωυτοῦ νηῒ ἐς Δῆλον, καὶ κατατίθεται εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τὸ ἄγαλμα καὶ ἐντέλλεται τοῖσι Δηλίοισιν ἀπαγαγεῖν τὸ ἄγαλμα. ὃς ἑλληνίζειν βουλόμενος, εἶπεν ἥδομαι καὶ χαίρομαι καὶ εὐφραίνομαι. Δᾶτις καὶ Ἀρταφέρνης, Περσῶν καθηγεμόνες μετὰ τὴν καθαίρεσιν Μαρδωνίου ἀπέστειλαν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, καταπειράσοντες τὰς πόλεις καὶ γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ αἰτήσοντες. οἱ δὲ νησιῶται πάντες ἔδωκαν· Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ βαρέως ἐνεγκόντες τοὺς πρεσβευτὰς ἐξεκήρυξαν. οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἀμφότερα δώσειν ἐπηγγείλαντο· καὶ ἐμβαλόντες αὐτοὺς εἰς φρέατα καὶ καταχώσαντες ἀπεφήναντο δεδωκέναι τὴν τῶν αἰτουμένων χάριν.
Betacode
*da=tis, *pe/rshs: o(\s e)peth/deusen e(llhni/zein. o(\n le/gousi fa/nai xai/romai, a)nti\ tou= ei)pei=n xai/rw. kai/ e)sti *datismo/s. *da=tis: ou(=tos de\ ei)=den o)/yin o)nei/rou, kai\ h(/tis h)=n h( o)/yis, ou) le/getai. o( de/, w(s h(me/rh ta/xista e)pe/lamyen, zh/thsin e)poi/ee tw=n new=n. eu(rw\n de\ e)n *foini/ssh| a)/galma *)apo/llwnos kexruswme/non e)punqa/neto, o(ko/qen ei)/h sesulhme/non. puqo/menos de\ e)c oi(/ou h)=n i(erou=, e)/pempe th=| e(wutou= nhi\+ e)s *dh=lon, kai\ katati/qetai ei)s to\ i(ero\n to\ a)/galma kai\ e)nte/lletai toi=si *dhli/oisin a)pagagei=n to\ a)/galma. o(\s e(llhni/zein boulo/menos, ei)=pen h(/domai kai\ xai/romai kai\ eu)frai/nomai. *da=tis kai\ *)artafe/rnhs, *persw=n kaqhgemo/nes meta\ th\n kaqai/resin *mardwni/ou a)pe/steilan ei)s th\n *(ella/da, katapeira/sontes ta\s po/leis kai\ gh=n kai\ u(/dwr ai)th/sontes. oi( de\ nhsiw=tai pa/ntes e)/dwkan: *)aqhnai=oi de\ bare/ws e)negko/ntes tou\s presbeuta\s e)cekh/rucan. oi( *lakedaimo/nioi de\ a)mfo/tera dw/sein e)phggei/lanto: kai\ e)mbalo/ntes au)tou\s ei)s fre/ata kai\ kataxw/santes a)pefh/nanto dedwke/nai th\n tw=n ai)toume/nwn xa/rin.
Notes (4)
- [1] i.e. middle voice instead of active; hard to render in translation but something like "I am being gladdened" instead of "I am glad". This material (revisited later in the entry) comes from the scholia to Aristophanes, Peace 289-91, which mentions Datis and cites↩
xai/romai as one of three illustrative Datisms (web address 1); see below, at n. 3, and cf. generally nu 611 and chi 173. But NB: alongside this ancient exegetical tradition that the Datis of Datisms was this Persian general one should note the alternative line of explanation (preferred by many modern scholars) which sees "Datis" as the nickname of a contemporary (and target) of Aristophanes, Xenocles the son of Carcinus.- 2To Delion in Boeotia; a quotation of Herodotus 6.118.1-2 (web address 2). ↩
- 3"I am pleased", "I am being gladdened", "I am delighted". These are the three Datisms given in Aristophanes, Peace 291; see above, at n. 1. ↩
- 4For the latter see alpha 4022. ↩
- 5The source of this material (which varies what Herodotus 7.133, elaborating 6.48, says) is unidentifiable.
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
- Web address 2 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from5 entries
- α4022ἈρταφέρηςArtaphernesA Persian leader. Also look under a)pekoru/fou ["he answered briefly"] and under Datis.
- β18Βάδιζεwalk!Also [sc. attested is] badi/zou [used] in place of ba/dize. Cratinus [sc. uses it].
- δ929Διεξιφίσωyou fought to the death[Meaning] you fought it out for the territory. Battling against the Medes at Marathon, you used swords against them. Marathon [is] a place of Attica, at which Datis and Artabazos the Median satraps landed, having been…
- χ173ΧαίρομαιI am rejoiced"Datis the Persian, who engaged in the practice of Hellenizing, said 'I am rejoiced' [xai/romai] instead of saying 'I rejoice' [xai/rw]. And [that sort of thing] is a Datism."
- χ444Χωρὶς ἱππεῖςcavalry away!When Datis 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 Miltiades charged and so won a…
Neighbouring entries
Revision history12 revisions · last 13 Jul 2016
- modified tr in two places — David Whitehead
- typo, tweaked link — Catharine Roth
- — David Whitehead
- another note; more keywords; betacode and other cosmetics — David Whitehead
- upgraded links — Catharine Roth
- another keyword — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — Ross Scaife ✝
- augmented notes; added keyword; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Corrected my own mistake — William Hutton
- Modified translation, added notes, added keywords — William Hutton
- —
- —
- Translated — Jennifer Benedict