Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Élie-Ami Bétant (Translator), 2.47

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Telles furent les funérailles célébrées dans cet hiver, avec lequel finit la première année de la guerre. Dès le commencement de l’été ¹, les Péloponésiens et leurs alliés, avec les deux tiers de leurs contingents, envahirent, comme l’année précédente, le territoire de l’Attique, sous la conduite d’Archidamos, fils de Zeuxidamos et roi des Lacédémoniens. Ils y campèrent et y commirent quelques dégâts.

Ils étaient en Attique depuis peu do jours seulement lorsque la peste se déclara dans Athènes ². Elle avait, dit-on, frappé déjà plusieurs contrées, entre autres Lemnos; mais jamais on n’avait entendu parler d’une si terrible épidémie. Les médecins n’étaient d’aucun secours, parce que, dans le principe, ils traitaient le mal sans le connaître. Ils étaient eux-mêmes les premières victimes, à cause de leurs commnications avec les malades. Tous les moyens humains furent également impuissants; en vain on fit des prières dans les temples, on consulta les oracles, on eût recours à d’autres pratiques, tout fut inutile. On finit par y renoncer et par céder à la violence du fléau.

History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. Élie-Ami Bétant (Translator). Paris. 1863.

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Current edition First1KGreek

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése (French) (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése. Bétant, Élie-Ami, translator. Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette, 1863.)

Editions (1)

Ἱστορίαι Perseus (Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] τοιόσδε μὲν ὁ τάφος ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι τούτῳ· καὶ διελθόντος αὐτοῦ πρῶτον ἔτος τοῦ πολέμου τοῦδε ἐτελεύτα.

[2] τοῦ δὲ θέρους εὐθὺς ἀρχομένου Πελοποννήσιοι καὶ οἱ ξύμμαχοι τὰ δύο μέρη ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ πρῶτον ἐσέβαλον ἐς τὴν Ἀττικήν (ἡγεῖτο δὲ Ἀρχίδαμος ὁ Ζευξιδάμου Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλεύς), καὶ καθεζόμενοι ἐδῄουν τὴν γῆν.

[3] καὶ ὄντων αὐτῶν οὐ πολλάς πω ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ ἡ νόσος πρῶτον ἤρξατο γενέσθαι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, λεγόμενον μὲν καὶ πρότερον πολλαχόσε ἐγκατασκῆψαι καὶ περὶ Λῆμνον καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις χωρίοις, οὐ μέντοι τοσοῦτός γε λοιμὸς οὐδὲ φθορὰ οὕτως ἀνθρώπων οὐδαμοῦ ἐμνημονεύετο γενέσθαι.

[4] οὔτε γὰρ ἰατροὶ ἤρκουν τὸ πρῶτον θεραπεύοντες ἀγνοίᾳ, ἀλλ’ αὐτοὶ μάλιστα ἔθνῃσκον ὅσῳ καὶ μάλιστα προσῇσαν, οὔτε ἄλλη ἀνθρωπεία τέχνη οὐδεμία· ὅσα τε πρὸς ἱεροῖς ἱκέτευσαν ἢ μαντείοις καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐχρήσαντο, πάντα ἀνωφελῆ ἦν, τελευτῶντές τε αὐτῶν ἀπέστησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ νικώμενοι.

Translations (10)

The History of the Grecian War Perseus (Thucydides. The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Hobbes, Thomas. translator. London: John Bohn, 1843.) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] Such was the funeral made this winter, which ending, ended the first year of this war.

[2] In the very beginning of summer the Peloponnesians and their confederates, with two-thirds of their forces as before, invaded Attica under the conduct of Archidamus the son of Zeuxidamas, king of Lacedaemon, and after they had encamped themselves, wasted the country about them.

[3] They had not been many days in Attica when the plague first began amongst the Athenians, said also to have seized formerly on divers other parts, as about Lemnos and elsewhere; but so great a plague and mortality of men was never remembered to have happened in any place before.

[4] For at first neither were the physicians able to cure it through ignorance of what it was but died fastest themselves, as being the men that most approached the sick, nor any other art of man availed whatsoever. All supplications to the gods and enquiries of oracles and whatsoever other means they used of that kind proved all unprofitable; insomuch as subdued with the greatness of the evil, they gave them all over.

History of the Peloponnesian War Perseus (Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Crawley, Richard, translator. London and Toronto: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd.; New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1914.) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] Such was the funeral that took place during this winter, with which the first year of the war came to an end.

[2] In the first days of summer the Lacedaemonians and their allies, with two-thirds of their forces as before, invaded Attica , under the command of Archidamus, son of Zeuxidamus, king of Lacedaemon , and sat down and laid waste the country.

[3] Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. It was said that it had broken out in many places previously in the neighborhood of Lemnos and elsewhere; but a pestilence of such extent and mortality was nowhere remembered.

[4] Neither were the physicians at first of any service, ignorant as they were of the proper way to treat it, but they died themselves the most thickly, as they visited the sick most often; nor did any human art succeed any better. Supplications in the temples, divinations, and so forth were found equally futile, till the overwhelming nature of the disaster at last put a stop to them altogether.

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs First1KGreek (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Wahrmund, Adolf, translator. Stuttgart: Krais and Hoffmann, 1864.) — 2.47 focus

So wurde die Grabfeier in diesem Winter abgehalten, und
mit ihm war auch das erste Jahr dieses Krieges abaelanfen. Sobald
aber der Sommer seinen Ansang genommen hatte, fielen allsogleich die ¹
peloponneper und ihre Bundesgenossen mit zwei Drittheuen ihrer
Heeresmacht in Attika ein, wie auch das erste Mal. Anführer war
Archidamos , des Zeuxidamos Sohn, König der Lakcdämonier. Sie
schlugen ein Lager und fingen dann an das Land zu verwüsten. Noch
waren sie erst wenige Tage in Attika, da sing zuerst die Seuche an
sich unter den Athenern zu zeigen, und sie soll zwar, wie erzählt
wird, schon früher zu mehreren Malen auf Lemnos und auch ander,
wärts ausgebrochen sein, aber seit Menschengedenken war keine solche
Pest und kein solches Sterben irgendwo vorgekommen. Denn auch
die Aerzte vermochten Anfangs Nichts auszurichten, da sie die
Krankheit behandelten, ohne sie zu kennen, sondern grade sie starben am
häufigsten weg, da sie ja auch am meisten mit ihr in Berührung kamen.
Und auch keine andere menschliche Kunst wollte helfen. Alles Beten
in den Tempeln, Orakelbefragen und dergleichen war Alles nutzlos,
und endlich, vom Uebel ganz bewältigt, unterließ man auch das.

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs First1KGreek (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Braun, Theodor, translator. Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1917.) — 2.47 focus

Auf diese Weise wurde die Leichenfeier in diesem Winter
gehalten, mit dessen Ablauf das erste Kriegsjahr zu Ende ging.
Gleich im Beginn des Sommers fielen die Peloponnesier und
ihre Bundesgenossen wie schon das erstemal mit zwei Dritteln
ihrer Mannschaft von neuem nach Attika ein, wo sie ein Lager
bezogen und das Land verheerten. Den Oberbefehl führte
Archidamos, Zeuxidamos' Sohn, König der Lakedämonier. Sie
waren erst wenige Tage in Attika, als sich in Athen die ersten
Anfänge der Pest zeigten, die, wie es heißt, auch früher schon
mehrfach, namentlich in Lemnos und anderswo, aufgetreten
war, aber, soweit man sich erinnerte, niemals so furchtbar ge
wütet und die Menschen so massenhaft hingerafft hatte. Auch
die Ärzte, die sie noch nicht kannten und anfangs nicht zu be
handeln wußten, waren ihr gegenüber machtlos, ja, sie sielen
ihr, weit sie beständig mit ihr in Berührung kamen, grade
selbst am meisten zum Opfer. Auch andere menschliche Kunst
half nichts dagegen. Alles Beten in Tempeln, alles Anfragen
bei Orakeln und dergleichen war umsonst, und so unterließ
man schließlich auch das und ergab sich in sein Schicksal.

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponèse First1KGreek (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése, Vol. 1-2. Zévort, Marie Charles, translator. Paris: Charpentier, 1852.) — 2.47 focus

XLVII. Telles furent les funérailles célébrées cet hiver. Avec lui finit la premiêre année de cette guerre. Dès le commencement de l’été, les Péloponnésiens et leurs alliés vinrent avec les deux tiers de leurs contingents, comme la première fois, envahir l’Attique, sous le com- mandement d’Archidamus, fils de Zeuxidamus, roi des Lacédémoniens. Ils y campèrent et ravagèrent le pays¹.

Ils n’y étaient encore que depuis peu de jours, quand la contagion se déclara parmi les Athéniens². On disait que, précédemment, ce mal avait déjà éclaté en plusieurs endroits, à Lemnos et ailleurs ; jamais, cependant, on n’avait vu, en aucun lieu, peste aussi terrible et pareille mortalité parmi les hommes³. Les médecins étaient impuissants contre la maladie : d’abord ils avaient voulu la traiter, faute de la connaître ; mais, en contact plus fréquent avec les malades, ils furent d’autant plus maltraités. Tous les autres moyens humains furent également impuissants : prières dans les temples, recours aux oracles et autres pratiques du même genre⁴, tout resta sans effet ; on finit par y renoncer, au milieu de l’abattement général.

History of the Peloponnesian War First1KGreek (Thucydides, Vol. 1-4. Smith, Charles Foster, translator. London and Cambridge, MA: Heinemann and Harvard University Press, 1919-1923.) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] Such were the funeral ceremonies that took place during this winter, the close of which brought the first year of this war to an end.

[2] At the very beginning of summer the Peloponnesians and their¹ allies, with two-thirds of their forces as before² invaded Attica, under the command of Archidamus, son of Zeuxidamus, king of the Lacedaemonians, and establishing themselves proceeded to ravage

[3] the country. And before they had been many days in Attica the plague³ began for the first time to show itself among the Athenians. It is said, indeed, to have broken out before in many places, both in Lemnos and elsewhere, though no pestilence of such extent nor any scourge so destructive of human lives is on

[4] record anywhere. For neither were physicians able to cope with the disease, since they at first had to treat it without knowing its nature, the mortality among them being greatest because they were most exposed to it, nor did any other human art avail. And the supplications made at sanctuaries, or appeals to oracles and the like, were all futile, and at last men desisted from them, overcome by the calamity.

History of the Peloponnesian War First1KGreek (Thucydides. The history of the Peloponnesian War, Volume 1-2. Dale, Henry, translator. London: Heinemann and Henry G. Bohn, 1851-1852.) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] Such was the funeral that took place this winter, at the close of which the first year of this war ended.

[2] At the very beginning of the next summer the Peloponnesians and their allies, with two thirds of their forces, as on the first occasion, invaded Attica, under the command of Archidamus, the son of Zeuxidamus, king of the Lacedaemonians; and after encamping, they laid waste the country.

[3] When they had not yet been many days in Attica, the plague first began to show itself amongst the Athenians; though it was said to have previously lighted on many places, about Lemnos and elsewhere. Such a pestilence, however, and loss of life as this was no where remembered to have happened.

[4] For neither were physicians of any avail at first, treating it as they did, in ignorance of its nature,—nay, they themselves died most of all, inasmuch as they most visited the sick,—nor any other art of man. And as to the supplications that they offered in their temples, or the divinations, and similar means, that they had recourse to, they were all unavailing; and at last they ceased from them, being overcome by the pressure of the calamity.

Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci First1KGreek (Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci. Haase, Friedrich, translator. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1869.) — 2.47.1 focus

[1] Tali modo hoc funus factum est hac hieme; atque ea exacta primus hujus belli annus finiebatur.

[2] iEstate autem statim ineunte Peloponnesiorum eorumque sociorum duse partes ut et ante, in Atticam irruperunt; dux vero erat Archidamus Zeuxidami filius, Lacedaemoniorum rex. Castrisque positis agrum vastabant.

[3] Cumque nondum multos dies in agro Attico mansissent, morbus primum coepit aggredi Athenienses; quem quanquam et ante multis locis ingruisse ferebatur, et circa Lemnum, et in aliis regionibus, verunta-men neque tanta pestilentia, neque tot hominum interitus usquam accidisse memorabatur.

[4] Nec enim in medici£ auxilium erat tunc primum ei medentibus ignorantia,' sed ipsi maxime interibant, quo magis ad aegrotos accedebant, nec in ulla alia hominum arte; et omnes supplicationes ad templa factas omnisque opera, qua aut in oraculis sciscitandis , aut in aliis hujusmodi rebus usi erant, omnia nullius erant usus, tandemque victi magnitudine mali hacc missa fecerunt

Vier Staatsreden aus Thucydides First1KGreek (Thucydides. Vier Staatsreden aus Thucydides. Gürsching, Heinrich, translator. Augsburg: Wirth, 1856.) — 2.46.1 focus

[1] Und nun, da ich als Festredner nach bestem Wissen dem Gesetze genügt, und die Veranstaltungen zur Ehre der Bestatteten theils schon beendigt, theils die alsbaldige Uebemahme der Erziehung ihrer Söhne bis zum Mannesalter vom Staate freigebig beschlossen ist — und solche Aufopferung jetzt und in Zukunft nicht ungelohnt zu lassen, ist er sich schuldig; denn je grösser der Ehrenpreis, der den Tapfern erwartet, desto mehr zuverlässige Männer hat der Staat —

La storia di Tucidide First1KGreek (Thucydides. Della storia di Tucidide volgarizzata libri otto. Anonymous translator. Florence: Tipografia Galileiana, 1835.) — 2.47 focus

Tali furono le esequie in quest’inverno, passato il quale finiva il primo anno della guerra. Appena cominciata P estate, i due terzi dell’ esercito dei Peloponnesi e degli alleati invasero l’Attica (come avean fatto da primo) guidati da Archidamo figliolo di Zeusidamo, re dei Lacedemoni ; e fermatovi il campo saccheggiavano il territorio. Pochi giorni dopo la loro invasione incominciò tra gli Ateniesi la peste, che si diceva avere anche di prima infuriato in molti altri luoghi, come in Lemno ed altrove. Ma non si avea ricordanza che in verun luogo avesse si violenta pestilenza, e morìa sì grande di gente. Conciossiaehè in principio non valeva in quella alcun senno umano o virtù di medicanti che ignoravano la qualità del malore , e che più facile degli altri morivano , in quanto che comunicavano più spesso cogl infermi. Le supplicazioni nei templi, il ricorso agli oracoli e l' altre cose di siimi fatta sino allor praticate non facevano alcun profitto ; in-» Unto che sopraffatti dalla violenza del malore, cessarono anche da queste.

Notes on the current edition

History of the Peloponnesian War

1. Deuxième année de la guerre, 430 ans av. J.C.

Ce morceau, justement célèbre, a donné lieu à de grandes controverses, principalement entre médecins, les uns y retrouvant les caractères de la peste d’Orient, les autres ceux de la rougeole, de la petite vérole ou de la suette miliaire, maladies qui tour à tour ont décimé l’espèce humaine. Sans entrer dans cette discussion, nous ferons remarquer que la peste proprement dite, endémique dans le Delta, où elle reparaît tous les automnes, se propage, deux ou trois fois par siècle, jusqu’à Thèbes; mais qu’on ne lui a jamais vu suivre la marche inverse, c’est-à-dire descendre d’Ethiopie en Egypte; que notre auteur ne fait aucune mention de bubons ni d’anthrax, lésions particulièrement caractéristiques et aussi apparentes que formidables; enfin que les exanthèmes fébriles, ci-dessus nommés, n’ont fait leur première apparition en Europe que huit ou neuf siècles plus tard, et que les traits pathognomoniques ne cadrent pas non plus avec ceux de la maladie décrite par Thucydide. Il ne faut pas s’obstiner à poursuivre, dans ces pages admirables, la solution d’une question d’identité nosologique. Il doit nous suffire d’y reconnaître la forme d’une de ces affections très-meurtrières, à la fois épidémiques et contagieuses, qui ont avec le typhus des camps une étroite parenté, et qui recevaient des Grecs, au siècle d’Hippocrate et de Thucydide, le nom générique de λοιμός;.

Commentary

Commentary on Thucydides Book 2 (Thucydides, Book II. Marchant, Edgar C., editor. London: Macmillan and Company, 1891.) focus

Οἱ Μ. οὗτοι—οἱ ὑπὸ Περδίκκου βασιλευόμενοι. καρ‐ τερὰ —secure places in the hills.

Ἀρχέλαος —reigned 413-399 B.C. Eur. wrote a play named after him, and the ‘Bacchae’ was written at his court. It is strange that Thuc. should go out of his way to make this remark about his reign: he must have considered these improvements very important.

ὁδοὺς εὐθείας —cf. c. 98, 1. Andoc. 2, 11 says that Archelaus gave him the right to cut down and export as much timber as he chose.

τἆλλα accus. of respect, τὰ κ. τὸν πόλεμον being object of διεκόσμησε. ὀκτὼ—cf. the position of ἕξ in c. 92, 2.

Τὴν Φιλίππου —the upper part of the Axius.

ὁμολογίᾳ —with προσχωροῦντα) ( κατὰ κράτος .

Ἀριστερᾷ — i.e. ‘east of Pella, as Sitalces was marching southwards.’ Arn.

ἔσω — i.e. further south.

Ὅπῃ δοκοίη —with ἐσέβαλλον, which is used here of a cavalry charge. They charged wherever they chose, as the Thracians were not disciplined. Cf. c. 79, 6.

Ὑπὸ δὲ π. περικλῃόμενοι — = ὁπότε ὑπὸ π. περι‐ κλῄοιντο, corresponding to ἧ? μὲν προσπέσοιεν: hence pres. partic. ‘Whenever (after charging) they were hemmed in by superior numbers, they placed themselves in danger, as they were far outnumbered by the enemy.’

πλῆθος —as in c. 11, 3.

πολλαπλασίῳ —dat. of cause.

Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 2.47

Élie-Ami Bétant (Translator)

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