Herodotus 8.56

[Phoebus Apollo]

οἱ δὲ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι Ἕλληνες, ὥς σφι ἐξηγγέλθη ὡς ἔσχε τὰ περὶ τὴν Ἀθηναίων ἀκρόπολιν, ἐς τοσοῦτον θόρυβον ἀπίκοντο ὡς ἔνιοι τῶν στρατηγῶν οὐδὲ κυρωθῆναι ἔμενον τὸ προκείμενον πρῆγμα, ἀλλ᾽ ἔς τε τὰς νέας ἐσέπιπτον καὶ ἱστία ἀείροντο ὡς ἀποθευσόμενοι·

What does the τα (which I've emboldened) mean here? I can only think it's the subject of ἔσχε ('how these things were' ie 'what had happened') but I'm not sure.

[Hylander]

You're right. τὰ is the subject of ἔσχε.

Imperfect ἔσχε suggests that the current situation, not so much the past events leading up to it ("what had happened"), is intended. Maybe "how [the] things on the Athenian acropolis were", "what the situation on the Athenian acropolis was".

[Phoebus Apollo]

You're right. τὰ is the subject of ἔσχε.

Imperfect ἔσχε suggests that the current situation, not so much the past events leading up to it ("what had happened"), is intended. Maybe "how [the] things on the Athenian acropolis were", "what the situation on the Athenian acropolis was".

Thank you Hylander!