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Herodotus, Histories 1.61.2 · 1.61.2

The wife tells her mother

τὰ μέν νυν πρῶτα ἔκρυπτε ταῦτα ἡ γυνή, μετὰ δὲ εἴτε ἱστορεύσῃ εἴτε καὶ οὒ φράζει τῇ ἑωυτῆς μητρί, ἣ δὲ τῷ ἀνδρί. ὀργῇ δὲ ὡς εἶχε καταλλάσσετο τὴν ἔχθρην τοῖσι στασιώτῃσι. μαθὼν δὲ ὁ Πεισίστρατος τὰ ποιεύμενα ἐπʼ ἑωυτῷ ἀπαλλάσσετο ἐκ τῆς χώρης τὸ παράπαν, ἀπικόμενος δὲ ἐς Ἐρέτριαν ἐβουλεύετο ἅμα τοῖσι παισί.

At first the wife kept this hidden; but afterward, whether asked or not, she tells it to her own mother, who tells it to her husband. And he, angry as he was, made up his quarrel with the opposing faction. Learning what was being done against him, Peisistratus withdrew from the country altogether, and arriving at Eretria, he deliberated together with his sons.

Word by word

τὰtà—μένmén—νυνnyn—πρῶταprôtaat firstἔκρυπτεékryptehidταῦταtaûtathisἡhē—γυνήgynḗthe wife,μετὰmetàbut afterwardδὲdè—εἴτεeítewhetherἱστορεύσῃhistoreúsēishe was askedεἴτεeíteorκαὶkaì—οὒoùnotφράζειphrázeishe tellsτῇtêitoἑωυτῆςheōutêsher ownμητρίmētrímother,ἣhḕwhoδὲdè—τῷtôitoἀνδρίandríher husband.ὀργῇorgêiangryδὲdèandὡςhōsasεἶχεeîchehe wasκαταλλάσσετοkatallássetomade upτὴνtḕn—ἔχθρηνéchthrēnthe quarrelτοῖσιtoîsiwithστασιώτῃσιstasiṓtēisithe rivals.μαθὼνmathṑnlearningδὲdè—ὁho—ΠεισίστρατοςPeisístratosPeisistratusτὰtà—ποιεύμεναpoieúmenawhat was being doneἐπʼepʼagainstἑωυτῷheōutôihimἀπαλλάσσετοapallássetowithdrewἐκekfromτῆςtês—χώρηςchṓrēsthe countryτὸtò—παράπανparápanaltogether,ἀπικόμενοςapikómenosarrivingδὲdèandἐςesatἘρέτριανErétrianEretriaἐβουλεύετοebouleúetohe took counselἅμαhámatogether withτοῖσιtoîsi—παισίpaisíhis sons.

The setting

The wife hides it at first, then tells her mother, who tells Megacles; furious, he reconciles with his old enemies, and Peisistratus flees to Eretria.

A note on this passage

Herodotus will not even commit to how the secret got out, eite historeusēi eite kai ou, "whether she was asked or not": the uncertainty is almost funny next to the certainty of everything else in the sentence. What matters to him is the chain itself, wife to mother to husband, three people and the whole arrangement collapses. Megacles reacts in orgēi, "anger," and the word he uses for making peace with his old rivals is katallasseto, the same root Greek uses for a currency exchange: he trades one deal for another the moment the first one insults him.

Peisistratus does not fight it. Apallasseto ek tēs chōrēs to parapan, "he withdrew from the country altogether," a complete and immediate exit, no resistance recorded at all. The tyrant who staged a goddess's procession through the streets of Athens now leaves without a struggle the moment his father-in-law turns on him, a pattern the reader has already seen once, when his first tyranny ended the same way. He regroups not with troops but with paisi, "his sons," at Eretria, the planning already turning toward the next attempt.

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Herodotus, Histories 1.61.2 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/herodotus/1.61.2/