1. Ὁ οὖν Ἀστυάγης καλέσᾱς: “So Astyages, having called ...” Notice that καλέσᾱς is an active aorist participle, masculine singular nominative, representing action before the action of the main verb ἔλεγεν.
2. πιστότατόν τε Μήδων καὶ πάντων ἐπίτροπον τῶν ἑαυτοῦ: The τε … καὶ links πιστότατόν and ἐπίτροπον: “kinsman and both most trusted of the Medes, and administrator of all his affairs.
3. προσ-θῶ: first person singular aorist active subjunctive of προσ-τίθημι (see conjugation, top of p. 278). Notice the ἄν, which makes this a general subjunctive: “whatever I should put upon you, i.e. lay upon you, give you to do, etc.”
3. μηδὲ ἐμέ τε παρα-βάλῃ καὶ ἄλλους ἑλόμενος ἐξ ὑστέρας σεαυτῷ περι-πέσῃς : carefully read the notes, JM, at the bottom of p. 150. “don’t deceive me, and, after having chosen other (friends) for yourself, don’t later be your own undoing.” The subjunctives are all negative imperatives. ἑλόμενος is the aorist middle participle, masculine singular nominative, of αἱρέω, which, as you see in the vocabulary in the back of the book, means "take or choose for yourself” in the middle. (“M.” stands for “middle”).
4. ἐς σεαυτοῦ: read the note, JM. ἐς σεαυτοῦ means literally “to (the house) of yourself.” So ἀπόκτεινον means simply “kill him.”
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Topic: Ὁ οὖν Ἀστυάγης καλέσᾱς Ἅρπαγον, ἄνδρα οἰκεῖον καὶ πιστότατόν τε Μήδων καὶ πάντων ἐπίτροπον τῶν ἑαυτοῦ, ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ τοιάδε· Ἅρπαγε, τὸ πρᾶγμα ὃ ἄν σοι προσθῶ, μηδαμῶς παραχρήσῃ, μηδὲ ἐμέ τε παραβάλῃ καὶ ἄλλους ἑλόμενος ἐξ ὑστέρας σεαυτῷ περι-πέσῃς. (Read 842 times)
