Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 1.10

[1] Now seeing Mycenae was but a small city, or if any other of that age seem but of light regard, let not any man for that cause, on so weak an argument, think that fleet to have been less than the poets have said and fame reported it to be.

[2] For if the city of Lacedaemon were now desolate and nothing of it left but the temples and floors of the buildings, I think it would breed much unbelief in posterity long hence of their power in comparison of the fame. For although of five parts of Peloponnesus it possess two and hath the leading of the rest and also of many confederates without, yet the city being not close built and the temples and other edifices not costly, and because it is but scatteringly inhabited after the ancient manner of Greece, their power would seem inferior to the report. Again, the same things happening to Athens, one would conjecture by the sight of their city that their power were double to what it is. We ought not therefore to be incredulous [concerning the forces that went to Troy] nor have in regard so much the external show of a city as the power;

[3] but we are to think that that expedition was indeed greater than those that went before it but yet inferior to those of the present age, if in this also we may credit the poetry of Homer, who being a poet was like to set it forth to the utmost. And yet even thus it cometh short.

[4] For he maketh it to consist of twelve hundred vessels, those that were of Boeotians carrying one hundred and twenty men apiece, and those which came with Philoctetes fifty: setting forth, as I suppose, both the greatest sort and the least; and therefore of the bigness of any of the rest he maketh in his catalogue no mention at all, but declareth that they who were in the vessels of Philoctetes served both as mariners and soldiers; for he writes that they who were at the oar were all of them archers. And for such as wrought not, it is not likely that many went along except kings and such as were in chief authority; especially being to pass the sea with munition of war, and in bottoms without decks, built after the old and piratical fashion.

[5] So then, if by the greatest and least one estimate the mean of their shipping, it will appear that the whole number of men considered as sent jointly from all Greece were not very many.

[1] Now Mycenae may have been a small place, and many of the towns of that age may appear comparatively insignificant, but no exact observer would therefore feel justified in rejecting the estimate given by the poets and by tradition of the magnitude of the armament.

[2] For I suppose if Lacedaemon were to become desolate, and the temples and the foundations of the public buildings were left, that as time went on there would be a strong disposition with posterity to refuse to accept her fame as a true exponent of her power. And yet they occupy two-fifths of Peloponnese and lead the whole, not to speak of their numerous allies without. Still, as the city is neither built in a compact form nor adorned with magnificent temples and public edifices, but composed of villages after the old fashion of Hellas , there would be an impression of inadequacy. Whereas, if Athens were to suffer the same misfortune, I suppose that any inference from the appearance presented to the eye would make her power to have been twice as great as it is.

[3] We have therefore no right to be skeptical, nor to content ourselves with an inspection of a town to the exclusion of a consideration of its power; but we may safely conclude that the armament in question surpassed all before it, as it fell short of modern efforts; if we can here also accept the testimony of Homer's poems, in which, without allowing for the exaggeration which a poet would feel himself licensed to employ, we can see that it was far from equalling ours.

[4] He has represented it as consisting of twelve hundred vessels; the Boeotian complement of each ship being a hundred and twenty men, that of the ships of Philoctetes fifty. By this, I conceive, he meant to convey the maximum and the minimum complement: at any rate he does not specify the amount of any others in his catalogue of the ships. That they were all rowers as well as warriors we see from his account of the ships of Philoctetes, in which all the men at the oar are bowmen. Now it is improbable that many supernumeraries sailed if we except the kings and high officers; especially as they had to cross the open sea with munitions of war, in ships, moreover, that had no decks, but were equipped in the old piratical fashion.

[5] So that if we strike the average of the largest and smallest ships, the number of those who sailed will appear inconsiderable, representing, as they did, the whole force of Hellas .

Wollte man aber blos aus dem Umstände, daß Mykene eine ^{1 2 3}
kleine Stadt war^), und daß die eine oder andere der damaligen
Ortschaften jetzt nicht mehr nennenswerth ist, schließen, jener Zug sei
nicht so bedeutend gewesen, wie die Dichter ihn schildern, und wie die
Sage von ihm annimmt, so würde diese Ungläubigkeit aus sehr
schwachen Gründen beruhen; denn nehmen wir den Fall, Lakedämon sei
zerstört worden, und Nichts davon übrig geblieben als die Tempel und
die Fundamente des Baurisses, so möchten wohl nach Verlauf längerer
Zeit spätere Geschlechter die Erzählung vom Ruhme der Lakedämonier
sehr, ungläubig aufnehmen, und doch besitzen sie zwei Fünftheile des
Peloponnes und haben die Oberleitung des Ganzen und vieler
auswärtigen Bundesgenossen 34). Nichtsdestoweniger möchte aber ihre
Stadt ziemlich ärmlich ershceinen, da sie weder zusammenhängend
gebaut ist, noch durch Tempel und kostspielige Anlagen sich auszeichnet,
sondern nach alter hellenischer Art des Städtebau's aus einzelnen
Dorsschasten zusammengesetzt ist^). Wenn hingegen dasselbe den
Athenern geschehen sollte, so müßte man nach dem, was von ihrer ^{4 5 6}
Stadt zu sehen wäre, ihre Macht doppelt so groß schätzen, als sie in
der That ist. Man darf also hier nicht ungläubig sein und mehr
nach dem Aussehen der Städte, als nach der wirklichen Macht
urtheilen wollen, sondern wir müssen annehmen, daß jener Kriegszug
alle früheren an Großartigkeit übertroffen habe, hinter den jetzigen
aber allerdings zurückbleibe. Darf man der Schilderung Homer's
auch hierin Glauben schenken, obgleich es selbstverständlich ist, daß
er als Dichter die Dinge in's Größere und Schönere ausmalt, so
erscheint selbst unter dieser Voraussetzung der Zug ziemlich ärmlich.
Homer erzählt nämlich, daß von den zwölfhundert Schiffen die
Böotischen je hundert und zwanzig Mann führten, und die des Philoktet
je fünfzig ^), wodurch er, wie mir scheint, das größte und das kleinste
Maß anzeigen will; denn von der Bemannungsstärke der übrigen ist
im Verzeichnis; der Schiffe keine Rede. Daß aber die ganze
Bemannung der Schiffe Ruderer und streitbare Männer zugleich gewesen
sind, geht aus dem hervor, was er bei Gelegenheit der Schiffe des
Philoktet sagt, indem er nämlich alle Ruderer zu Bogenschützen macht.
Die Zahl der außerdem Mitschiffenden war aber wohl nicht sehr groß,
wenn man von den Königen nnd Kriegsbeamten absieht; denn sie
interna hmen ja die Seefahrt mit vielem Ballast von kriegerischem
Rüstzeug, und überdies führten ihre Schiffe kein Verdeck, sondern
waren nach Art der alten Seeräuberschiffe offen gebaut. Nimmt man
also das Mittel zwischen den größten und den kleinsten Schiffen, so
kommt für das ganze Heer keine eben sehr große Zahl heraus, in
Anbetracht daß ganz Hellas dasselbe gemeinsam stellte.

Wollte man daraus, daß Mykene nur klein war und von
manchen der damaligen Städte jetzt kaum noch die Rede ist,
folgern, der Zug könne so groß nicht gewesen sein, wie Dichtung
und Sage uns glauben machen wollen, so wäre das mehr alS
gewagt. Wenn jetzt die Hauptstadt der Lakedämonier zerstört
würde und nichts von ihr übrigbliebe als die Tempel und die
Fundamente der Baulichkeiten, so würde man in späterer Zeit
kaum glauben, daß die Macht der Lakedämonier deren Ruf
entsprochen habe. Gegenwärtig sind sie Herren von zwei
Fünfteln des Peloponnes und Vormacht nicht nur der ganzen
Halbinsel, sondern auch zahlreicher auswärtiger Bundes­
genossen. Trotzdem könnte es scheinen, daß ihre Macht nicht
so groß gewesen, weil die Stadt keine stolzen Tempel und
Prachtbauten hatte und nicht zusammenhängend gebaut war,
sondern nach altgriechischer Weise aus einzelnen Ortschaften
bestand. Umgekehrt, wenn es Athen so ginge, würde man an­
gesichts der erhaltenen Reste der Stadt glauben, die Macht der
Athener sei noch mal so groß gewesen, wie sie wirklich ist.
Wir dürfen uns also dadurch nicht irremachen lassen und
müssen mehr die wirkliche Macht als das bloße Aussehen der
Städte in Betracht ziehen. So ist es wohl glaublich, daß jeneS
Kriegsheer größer gewesen ist als alle früheren. Mit heurigen
Verhältnissen freilich darf man es nicht vergleichen. Denn selbst
wenn wir Homer, der als Dichter natürlich eher noch etwaS
übertreibt, auch hier wieder als Zeugen gelten lassen wollen,
so hat es damit nicht allzuviel auf sich gehabt. Nach ihm hatten
von den zwölfhundert Schiffen die der Böotier je hundert-
zwanzig, die des Philoktetes je fünfzig Mann an Bord, womit
er meiner Meinung nach die größten und die kleinsten anführen
will; wenigstens wird die Größe der übrigen bei Aufzählung
der Schiffe nicht angegeben. Daß die ganze Mannschaft zu­
gleich mit dem Ruder und mit der Waffe diente, sehen wir
bei ihm an PhilokteteS' Schiffen, wo er sagt, daß die Ruder­
knechte alle auch Bogenschützen gewesen seien. Außer der
Mannschaft aber werden sich, abgesehen von den Königen und
einigen hochgestellten Personen, sicher nicht allzuviel? an Bord
befunden haben, schon weil man Waffen und sonstigen Kriegs­
bedarf mitnehmen mußte, und die Schiffe kein Verdeck hatten,
sondern noch wie die alten Seeräuberschiffe gebaut waren.
Nimmt man hiernach den Durchschnitt zwischen den größten
und den kleinsten Schiffen, so ist die Zahl derer, welche den
Zug mitgemacht, für eine Unternehmung ganz Griechenlands
offenbar nicht sehr groß gewesen.

X. Si Mycènes était peu étendue, si telle ville d’alors paraît peu considérable aujourd’hui, on ne saurait cependant trouver là un indice sûr pour révoquer en doute l’importance que la tradition, d’accord avec les récits des poëtes, attribue à cette expédition. Car si Lacédémone était détruite et qu’il ne restât de visibles que les temples et l’emplacement des monuments publics ¹ , la postérité, dans un avenir éloigné, aurait bien de la peine à croire, je suppose, que sa puissance ait répondu à sa renommée : et cependant elle possède deux des cinq parties du Péloponnèse ² , elle commande aux trois autres et à un grand nombre d’alliés du dehors. Mais, ne formant pas un ensemble continu , n’ayant ni temples, ni monuments somptueux, com- posée d’une agglomération de bourgades éparses, suivant l’antique usage de la Grèce, elle paraîtrait inférieure de beaucoup à ce qu’elle est. Athènes détruite, au contraire, on jugerait au simple aspect de la ville que la puissance athénienne était double de ce qu’elle est en effet. Le doute ici ne serait donc pas fondé, et c’est moins l’apparence des villes qu’il faut considérer que leur puissance réelle.

On doit admettre que cette expédition, plus considérable de beaucoup que celles qui ont précédé, le cède à celles d’aujourd’hui. Même en ajoutant foi aux récits d’Homère, qui, en sa qualité de poëte, a dû orner et amplifier, cette infériorité sera encore évidente. Il compte, en tout, douze cents vaisseaux, montés, ceux des Béotiens, par cent vingt hommes, et ceux de Philoctète par cinquante, indiquant par là, ce me semble, les plus grands et les plus petits ; car il n’a pas parlé de la dimension des autres dans l’énumération. D’un autre côté il indique clairement, à propos des vaisseaux de Philoctète, que ceux qui les mon- taient étaient tout à la fois rameurs et combattants, puisqu’il fait des archers de ceux qui manient la rame. Il n’est pas probable d’ailleurs qu’il y eût sur les vaisseaux beaucoup d’hommes étrangers à la manoeuvre, si l’on excepte les rois et les hauts dignitaires, surtout lorsque la traversée devait se faire avec tous les équipages de guerre, sur des vaisseaux non pontés, construits suivant l’ancien usage et peu différents de ceux des pirates. Si donc on prend une moyenne entre les plus grands bâtiments et les plus petits, on reconnaîtra aisément que l’armée expéditionnaire était peu nombreuse pour une entreprise à laquelle avait concouru la Grèce entière.

[1] And because Mycenae was only a small place, or if any particular town of that time seems now to be insignificant, it would not be right for me to treat this as an exact piece of evidence and refuse to believe that the expedition against Troy was as great as the poets have asserted and as tradition still maintains.

[2] For if the city of the Lacedaemonians should be deserted, and nothing should be left of it but its temples and the foundations of its other buildings, posterity would, I think, after a long lapse of time, be very loath to believe that their power was as great as their renown. (And yet they occupy two-fifths of the Peloponnesus and have the hegemony of the whole, as well as of tleir many allies outside ; but still, as Sparta is not compactly built as a city and has not provided itself with costly temples and other edifices, but is inhabited village-fashion in the old Hellenic style, its power would appear less than it is.) Whereas, if Athens should suffer the same fate, its power would, I think, from what appeared of the city s ruins, be conjectured double what it is.

[3] The reasonable course, therefore, is not to be incredulous or to regard the appearance of cities rather than their power, but to believe that expedition to have been greater than any that preceded it, though falling below those of the present time, if here again one may put any trust in the poetry of Homer; for though it is natural to suppose that he as a poet adorned and magnified the expedition, still even on his showing it was evidently comparatively small.

[4] For in the fleet of twelve hundred vessels he has represented the ships of the Boeotians as having one hundred and twenty men each, and those of Philoctetes as having fifty, ¹ indicating, it seems to me, the largest and the smallest ships; at any rate, no mention as to the size of any others is made in the Catalogue of Ships. But that all on board were at once rowers and fighting men he has shown in the case of the ships of Philoctetes; for he represents all the oarsmen as archers. And it is not likely that many supernumeraries sailed with the expedition, apart from the kings and those highest in office, especially as they were to cross the open sea with all the equipment of war, and, furthermore, had boats which were not provided with decks, but were built after the early style, more like pirate-boats.

[5] In any event, if one takes the mean between the largest ships and the smallest, it is clear that not a large number of men went on the expedition, considering that they were sent out from all Hellas in common. ²

[1] And as to Mycenae having been a small place, or if any town in those times appear now to be inconsiderable, this would be no certain proof to rest upon, for disbelieving that the armament was as large as the poets have said, and as report prevails.

[2] For if the city of the Lacedaemonians were laid desolate, and the temples and foundations of the public buildings were left, I think that when a long time had passed by, posterity would have great disbelief of their power in proportion to their fame. (And yet they occupy two of the five divisions of the Peloponnese, and take the lead of the whole of it, and of their allies out of it in great numbers. Still, as the city is neither built closely, nor has sumptuous temples and public buildings, but is built in villages, after the old fashion of Greece, it would have an inferior appearance.) Whereas if the Athenians were to suffer the same fate, I think their power would be conjectured, from the appearance of the city to the eye, to have been double what it is.

[3] It is not therefore right to be incredulous, nor to look at the appearance of cities rather than their power; but to think that that expedition was greater indeed than any that were before it, but inferior to those of the present day; if on this point again we must believe the poetry of Homer, which it is natural that he, as a poet, set off on the side of exaggeration; but, nevertheless, even on this view it appears inferior.

[4] For he has made it to consist of twelve hundred ships, those of the Boeotians carrying 120 men, and those of Philoctetes 50; meaning to show, as I think, the largest and the least; at any rate he has made no mention of the size of any others in the catalogue of the ships. And that they all were themselves rowers and fighting men, he has shown in the case of the ships of Philoctetes. For he has represented all the men at the oar as bowmen. And it is not probable that many supernumeraries would sail with them, except the kings and highest officers; especially as they were going to cross the open sea with munitions of war; and, on the other hand, had not their vessels decked, but equipped, after the old fashion, more like privateers.

[5] Looking then at the mean of the largest and the smallest ships, they do not appear to have gone in any great number, considering that they were sent by the whole of Greece in common.

[1] Jam vero quod Mycenae parvum oppidum fuerint, aut siqiiod aliud illorum temporum nunc parvi momenti videtur esse, nequaquam hoc firmum argumentum sit, quo quis usus minus credat classem tantam fuisse, quantam et poetae dixerunt , et ipsa fama obtinuit.

[2] Nam si Lacedaemoniorum urbs vastata desoletur, templa vero et aedificiorum areae relinquantur, multos existimem e posteris longo temporis progressu de illorum potentia valde dubitaturos, quae tenuior quam pro gloria videatur (ac tamen de quinque Peloponnesi partibus duas possident, totiusque principatum obtinent, multorumque extra Peloponnesum sociorum; nihilominus vero quoniam neque coaedificata est urbs, neque templis aedificiisve magnificentioribus instructa, sed antiquo Graeciae more pagalim condita, non admodum ampla videatur); Atheniensibus contra hoc si ipsum accidat, ex manifesta urbis dirutae specie potentiam du-pio majorem visum iri puto, quam est.

[3] Haud igitur incredulos esse, nec urbium speciem potius quam vires spectare consentaneum est, expeditionem autem illam credere superioribus quidem longe majorem fuisse, sed aetatis nostrae bellicis rebus inferiorem, si quid hic quoque Homeri poesi credere convenit; et eam quidem verisimile est ab eo, qui erat poeta, in majus exornatam esse; verum tamen et sic inferiorem fuisse manifestum est.

[4] Fecit enim classem mille et ducentarum navium et Boeotorum quidem singulas centum et viginti virorum; Philoctetae vero, quinquaginta, demonstrans (ut mihi videtur) et maximas et minimas; certe de ceterarum magnitudine in navium cata- logo nullam fecit mentionem; sed remiges fuisse simulque milites omnes, id vero in Philoctetae navibus aperte declaravit; sagittarios enim fecit remiges omnes; vectores vero, praeter reges, et eos, qui summa potestate erant, non multos cum illis navigasse est verisimile, praesertim quia mare cum bellico instrumento erant trajecturi; neque tamen tectas naves habebant, sed prisco more in piraticarum potius similitudinem constructae.

[5] Si igitur mediam quamdam rationem teneas inter maximas et minimas naves, non multos, ut ab universa Graecia communiter missos, venisse constat.

]Nè il dire che Micene fosse piccola cosa, o il considerare che niuna città d’allora passa oggi per considerevole , potrebbe servire di sicuro argomento ad alcuuo per non credere tanto grande essere stata quell’ armata quanto e l’hanno descritta i poeti, e ne è costante la fama. Perocché se venisse desertata la città dei Lacedemoni, restandone solo i templi e lo spazzo del fabbricato, credo che in progresso di molto tempo, nonostante la celebrità di essa, ne sarebbe dai posteri assai poco creduta la potenza , quantunque delle cinque parti del Peloponneso due ne posseggano, e su di esso tutto e su molti alleati di fuori abbiano il principato. Nondimeno per non essere il fabbricato della città riunito, né usare essa templi ed ediGzi sontuosi, ma essere edificata a borgate secondo l' antico costume della Grecia, ne scomparirebbe la potenza : laddove accadendo lo stesso agli Ateniesi, dall’ appariscente aspetto della distrutta città conghietturerebbesi due volte tanto. Ragion dunque vuole che non si lasci di credere, e non si considerino gli aspetti delle città piuttosto che la loro potenza; e però si giudichi essere stato quell’esercito maggiore di quelli di prima, minore di quelli de’ nostri giorni ; se pure anche qui si vuole prestar fede alla poesia di Omero, dalla quale, quantunque da lui ornata in modo che ne ricresca il soggetto, pure quell’ armata apparisce da meno di quelle dei nostri tempi. Conciossiachè ei l' ha descritta di mille dugento navi : quelle dei Beozii di centoventi uomini, quelle di Filottete di cinquanta, accennando , come parmi, le più grandi e le più piccole : ma nel catalogo delle navi non rammenta la grandezza dell’altre. Che poi fossero tutti remiganti e combattenti insieme lo ha dichiarato nelle na\i di Filottete, ove fa arcieri tutti quelli addetti al remo. E non è presumibile che vi fossero molti di sopraccarico a navigare con loro, eccetto i re e quelli dei primi gradi ; specialmente dovendo tragittar molto mare con li strumenti di guerra, senza aver pure navi con coverta, ma, secondo l' uso antico, costruite alla foggia de! corsali. Considerandone adunque il mezzo fra le più grandi e le più piccole è chiaro che, per essere stata la spedizione di tutta Grecia insieme, molti non furono quelli che vi concorsero.