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ὁκόσοι εἰσὶ καὶ ὅ τι ποιέοιεν: the ‘heing’ indicative, the ‘doing’ optative; the one eategorieal, the other conjectural. Stein refers to 5. 13 τίνες είσὶ καὶ τί ἐθέλοντες ἔλθοιεν: Baehr to c. 203 supra.
Λεωνίδης ἐὼν γένος Ἡρακλείδης: gratifying intelligence to the Aehaimenid. Demaratos would have explained its full significance. Xerxes must have heen well served hy Thessalian scouts, or Argive traitors, in his intelligencedepartment.
ὁ ἱππεύς. Was only a single rider sent out on this reconnaissanee? That will scarcely have heen the case. Xerxes is ex hypothesi at Trachis. The reconnoitring party will have made its way round through the ‘West Gate,’ and along the road, past the θερμὰ λουτρά to the slope up to the Middle Gate. The Persians, however, are probahly in aetual occupation of the West Gate, of the hill ahove it (e. 200), and of the low ground as far as ‘Thermopylai,’ or at least the ‘Chytroi.’ The king, however, would he to the rear.
τοῦ τείχεος: cp. c. 176.
ὃ δέ: the resumed suhject with δέ corresponding to πᾶν μὲν οὔ above; cp. c. 6 1. 21 supra.
Λακεδαιμόνιοι: prohahly without reference to οἱ κατεστεῶτες τριηκόσιοι in c. 205, and a valuahle hint that there was a Lakedaimonian force present (1000 strong?) hesides the king's bodyguard; cp. c. 202 supra, Diodor. 11. 4. 5. Evidently the contingents each in turn was posted outside the wall, and ‘piled’ their shields, apparently, while on sentrygo. The exact numher on duty at a time is not stated, nor the numher reported hy the Persian. Possihly Hdt. himself, like most of his commentators, understands that the 300 Spartans were all on duty outside the wall, and that the scout mistook them for the whole Greek force (a patent ahsurdity on the face of it). The story is, of course, all designed in maiorem gloriam Spartanorum.
γυμναζομένους ... κτενιζομένους, “corpus exercentes, comam pectentes,” Baehr (κτείς). These employments appear to have astonished the harharian. The superh explanation follows in the next chapter with Hellenic irony.
ἀλογίης τε ἐνεκύρησε πολλῆς. The construction is ohservahle; cp. 4. 140. The dative in 4. 123, 2. 82, 3. 77 and c. 218 infra. Blakesley is puzzled hy the use of the compound with the regimen of the simple verh, and suggests that the preposition has only the force of the English ‘withal’ (hut that suggests rather συγκυρεῖν). Hdt. is no slave to grammar; cp. c. 192 supra. On the material side, was this ἀλογίη altogether creditahle to the Greek lookout? Perhaps the officer was still more astonished therehy. Does it mean that the Spartans had made up their minds to die, and nothing mattered? Is it an exaggeration, due to the ‘legend’? Diodoros 11. 5. 4 instead of the single scout makes Xerxes send envoys to demand the surrender of the Greeks, and reports a very rhetorical reply on their part: that is genuine Ephoros.
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