Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 2.21

[1] The Athenians, as long as the army of the enemy lay about Eleusis and the fields of Thrius and as long as they had any hope it would come on no farther, remembering that also Pleistoanax the son of Pausanias, king of Lacedaemon, when fourteen years before this war he entered Attica with an army of the Peloponnesians as far as Eleusis and Thriasia, retired again and came no farther (for which he was also banished Sparta as thought to have gone back for money), they stirred not. But when they saw the army now at Acharnas but sixty furlongs from the city, then they thought it no longer to be endured;

[2] and when their fields were wasted (as it was likely) in their sight, which the younger sort had never seen before nor the elder but in the Persian war, it was taken for a horrible matter and thought fit by all, especially by the youth, to go out and not endure it any longer.

[3] And holding councils apart one from another, they were at much contention, some to make a sally and some to hinder it. And the priests of the oracles giving out prophecies of all kinds, everyone made the interpretation according to the sway of his own affection. But the Acharnians, conceiving themselves to be no small part of the Athenians, were they that, whilst their own lands were wasting, most of all urged their going out. Insomuch as the city was every way in tumult and in choler against Pericles, remembering nothing of what he had formerly admonished them, but reviled him for that being their general he refused to lead them into the field, and imputing unto him the cause of all their evil.

[1] In the meanwhile, as long as the army was at Eleusis and the Thriasian plain, hopes were still entertained of its not advancing any nearer. It was remembered that Pleistoanax, son of Pausanias, king of Lacedaemon , had invaded Attica with a Peloponnesian army fourteen years before, but had retreated without advancing farther than Eleusis and Thria , which indeed proved the cause of his exile from Sparta , as it was thought he had been bribed to retreat.

[2] But when they saw the army at Acharnae, barely seven miles from Athens , they lost all patience. The territory of Athens was being ravaged before the very eyes of the Athenians, a sight which the young men had never seen before and the old only in the Median wars; and it was naturally thought a grievous insult, and the determination was universal, especially among the young men, to sally forth and stop it.

[3] Knots were formed in the streets and engaged in hot discussion; for if the proposed sally was warmly recommended, it was also in some cases opposed. Oracles of the most various import were recited by the collectors, and found eager listeners in one or other of the disputants. Foremost in pressing for the sally were the Acharnians, as constituting no small part of the army of the state, and as it was their land that was being ravaged. In short, the whole city was in a most excited state; Pericles was the object of general indignation; his previous counsels were totally forgotten; he was abused for not leading out the army which he commanded, and was made responsible for the whole of the public suffering.

So lange nun das Heer bei Eleusis und in der thriasischen
Ebene stand, hatten die Athener noch einige Hoffnung, daß der Feind
nicht wagen würde, weiter vorzugehen; denn sie erinnerten sich, daß
auch der lakedämonische König Pleistoanax, des Pausanias Sohn,
als er vierzehn Jahre vor diesem Krieg mit einem peloponnesischen
Heere in Attika einfiel, bis nach Eleusis und Thria vordrang, dann
aber wieder zurückzog, ohne weiter vorzugehen, weshalb er auch aus
Sparta verbannt wurde, da er im Verdacht stand, durch Gold
bestochen den Nuckzug augetreten zu haben. Als aber die Athener das
Heer bei Acharnä, 60 Stadien vor ihrer Stadt, sahen, so glaubten sie ¹
nicht länger mehr an sich halten zu dürfen, sondern, da das Land —
wie natürlich — vor ihren Augen verwüstet wurde, was die Jüngeren
noch gar nicht gesehen hatten, und auch die Aelteren nur im Perserkriege,
so schien ihnen das schrecklich, und auch die Andern nicht weniger,
vorzüglich aber die Jüngeren, nieinten, man müsse dem Feind entgegen-
rücken und nicht länger mehr zusehen. Nun ließen sich aber verschiedene
Ansichten hören, und es entstand ein Streit, da die Einen einen Ans-
fall verlangten, die Andern aber davon zurückhielten. Die Wahrsager
ließen Sprüche allerlei Art hören, die sich ein Jeder auslegte, wie
grade seine Wünsche ihn antrieben. Die Acharner aber, die sich nicht
der kleinste Theil von Athen zu sein dünkten, drangen , da sie ihr Land
verwüsten sahen, am meisten auf einen Ausfall, und so war die Stadt
in allgemeiner Aufregung, zürnte auf den Perikles und vergaß ganz
und gar, was er früher angerathen hatte. Sie schalten ihn, daß er als
Feldherr dem Feinde nicht entgegen gehe, und erklärten ihn für die
Ursache aller Uebel, die sie betroffen.

Solange das feindliche Heer noch bei Eleusis und in der
Ebene von Thria stand, durften die Athener immer noch hoffen,
daß es nicht weiter vorrücken würde. Erinnerte man sich doch,
daß auch König Pleistoanax, Pausanias' Sohn, als er vierzehn
Jahr vor diesem Kriege mit einem peloponnesischen Heere in
Attika bis nach Eleusis und Thria vorgedrungen, hier umgekehrt
und wieder abgezogen war. Allerdings war er dafür auch
aus Sparta verbannt worden, weil man glaubte, er sei zu
diesem Rückzug? bestochen gewesen. Als sie aber das Heer
schon bei Acharnai, sechzig Stadien von der Stadt, sahen,
wurde es ihnen doch zu viel. Daß das Land so unter ihren
Augen verwüstet wurde, wie das die Jüngeren noch nie, die
Älteren nur in den Perserkriegen erlebt hatten, schien ihnen
begreiflihcerweise entsetzlich, und namentlich die Jüngeren
meinten, man könne das unmöglich länger mit ansehen, sondern
müsse dem Feinde zu Leibe gehen. Immerhin waren die Mei­
nungen geteilt, und es kam zu lebhaften Erörterungen, indem
die einen verlangten, man solle den Feind draußen angreifen,
andere aber sich dagegen erklärten. Wahrsager ließen sich mit
allerlei Prophezeiungen hören, die jeder sich auf seine Weise
zurechtlegte. Die Acharner aber, die in Athen denn doch
auch was zu bedeuten glaubten und nun die Verwüstung ihres
Landes mit ansehen mußten, drängten am meisten zum Angriff.
So herrschte in der Stadt allgemeine Aufregung und große
Erbitterung gegen Perikles. Uneingedenk der guten Lehren,
die er ihnen vorher gegeben hatte, schalten sie auf den Feld­
herrn, der sie nicht vor den Feind führen wolle, und betrachteten
ihn als den Urheber aller ihrer Leiden.

Tant que l’armée était restée près d’Eleusis et dans la plaine de Thria, les Athéniens avaient espéré qu’elle n’irait pas plus loin. Ils se souvenaient que Plistoanax, fils de Pausanias et roi des Lacédémoniens, lorsqu’il avait envahi l’Attique quatorze ans avant la guerre actuelle, s’était avancé jusqu’à Ëleu-sis et à Thria, mais qu’il avait rebroussé sans passer outre, ce qui l’avait fait bannir de Sparte, parce qu’on croyait qu’il avait reçu de l’argent pour battre en retraite ¹ ; quand ils virent l’ennemi campé devant Acharnes, à soixante stades d’Athènes, ils perdirent patience. Le spectacle de leurs campagnes ravagées sous leurs yeux, spectacle nouveau pour les jeunes gens -et même pour les vieillards depuis les guerres médiques, les faisait frémir de rage. Tous, et principalement la jeunesse, deman-, daient à venger cet affront. Des groupes se formaient, on disputait avec vivacité, les uns pour, les autres contre l’appel aux armes. Les devins chantaient toute sorte d’oracles, que ohacun écoutait sous'l’empire de sa passion. Les Achamiens, qui se considéraient comme une fraction importante de la république, voyant leur territoire dévasté, demandaient à grands cris qu’on se mît en campagne. L’exaspération était au comble ; on jetait feu et flammes contre Périclès ; on oubliait ses avis précédents, on le taxait de lâcheté, parce qu’étant général il refusait de combattre ; enfin on le regardait comme l’auteur de tous les maux,

[1] Now so long as the Peloponnesian army remained in the neighbourhood of Eleusis and the Thriasian plain, the Athenians retained hope that they would not advance nearer; for they remembered that Pleistoanax son of Pausanias, king of the Lacedaemonians, when fourteen years before this war he had invaded Attica with an army of Peloponnesians and proceeded as far as Eleusis and Thria, had advanced no farther but had gone back again. (And indeed this was the cause of his banishment from Sparta, since he was thought to have been bribed to retreat.)

[2] But when they saw the army in the neighbourhood of Acharnae, only sixty stadia from the city, they thought the situation no longer tolerable; on the contrary, it naturally appeared to them a terrible thing when their land was being ravaged before their eyes, a sight which the younger men had never seen, or even the older men except in the Persian war; and the general opinion, especially on the part of the younger men, was that they ought to go forth and put a stop to it.

[3] They gathered in knots and engaged in hot disputes, some urging that they should go out, others opposing this course. Oracle-mongers were chanting oracles of every import, according as each man was disposed to hear them. And the Acharnians, thinking that no insignificant portion of the Athenian people lived at Acharnae, insisted most of all upon going out, as it was their land that was being devastated. Thus in every way the city was in a state of irritation; and they were indignant against Pericles, and remembering none of his earlier warnings they abused him because, though their general, he would not lead them out, and considered him responsible for all their sufferings.

[1] As for the Athenians, so long as the army was in the neighbourhood of Eleusis and the Thriasian plain, they had some hope of its not advancing nearer; remembering the case of Pleistoanax, the son of Pausanias, the king of the Lacedaemonians, when with a Peloponnesian army he made an inroad into Attica, as far as Eleusis and Thria, fourteen years before this war, and retired again without advancing any further (for which reason indeed he was banished from Sparta, as he was thought to have been bribed to make the retreat).

[2] When, however, they saw the army at Acharnae, only sixty stades from the city, they considered it no longer bearable, and, as was natural, when their land was being ravaged before their eyes—a thing which the younger men had never yet seen, nor even the elder, except in the Persian wars—it was thought a great indignity, and all of them, especially the young men, determined to go out against them, and not to put up with it.

[3] They met therefore in knots and were in a state of great dissension, some urging them to go out, others dissuading them from it. Prophets too were repeating all kinds of oracles, to which ¹ they eagerly listened, as they were severally disposed. The Acharnians especially, thinking that no considerable part of the Athenian forces was in their ranks, urged them to march out, while their land was being ravaged. Nay, in every way the city was excited; and they were angry with Pericles, and remembered none of the advice which he had before given them, but abused him for not leading them out, as their general; and they regarded him as the author of all that they were suffering.

[1] Athenienses vero, quamdiu quidem exercitus circum Eleusinem et Thriasium campum subsedit, tamdiu etiam reliquam spem habebant eos non propius progressuros; memoria tenentes Plistoanactem quoque Pausaniae filium, Lacedaemoniorum regem, quum in Atticam irrupisset ad Eleusinem et Thriasium campum cum Peloponnesiorum exercitu, quatuordecim ante hoc bellum annis, non ulterius progressum, rediisse (quamobrem etiam Sparta relegatus est, quod pecuniis inductus revertisse visus erat);

[2] postquam vero exercitum circum Acharnas viderunt, sexaginta stadiis ab urbe distantem, rem non amplius ferendam censebant, sed cum in ipsorum conspectu, ut consentaneum est, ager vastaretur, quod nondum viderant juniores quidem, imo nec seniores nisi in bello Medico, res ipsis gravis videbatur, et placebat quum aliis v tum vero praecipue juventuti hosti obviam prodire nec rem negligere. Et quuminconciliabulis essent, inter se graviter altercabantur, alii quidem copias in hostem educendas censentes, alii vero hoc lieri non sinentes.

[3] Vates quoque vaticinia omne genus canebant, quae quisque audiebat, ut animo erat affectus. Et Acharnenscs, quod existimarent, non minimam Atheniensium portionem apud se esse, postquam ipsorum ager vastari coepit, ad eruptionem in hostes faciendam maxime urgebant; omnique modo civitas erat concitata, et Pericli irascebantur, nec memores erant ullarum rerum, quas ille prius suaserat, sed ei conviciabantur, quod quum imperator esset, copias in hostem non educeret, omniumque malorum, quae patiebantur, eum auctorem sibi esse existimabant.

[1] Wenn es bisher bei den Rednern an dieser Stätte fast allgemeiner Brauch geworden, den Mann zu rühmen, der mit der Bestattung diese Rede verband, weil an dem Grabe gefallener Krieger ein ehrendes Wort sich zieme, so würde ich es für hinreichend gehalten haben, dass man Helden der That mit einer festlichen Handlung ehre, — wie das denn der Staat durch die Bestattung gethan hat, deren Zeugen ihr so eben gewesen — und würde die Verherrlichung so vieler Männer nicht einem Einzelnen und der zufälligen Wirkung seines Vortrags anheimgegeben haben.

Il soprassedere che faceva l’esercito nemico nei contorni d’Eieusi e nella pianura triasia, dava qualche appicco agli Ateniesi che non progredirebbe più oltre ; rammentandosi essi di Plistoanatte figliolo di Pausania , re dei Lacedemoni, che dopo aver assaltato l’Attica coll'esercito de’ Peloponnesi sino ad Eieusi e Tria, quattordici anni prima di questa guerra , era tornato indietro senza avanzarsi più innanzi ; ciò che causò il suo bando da Sparta , perché ebbe voce d’ essere stato indotto per denaro a ritirarsi. Ma poiché videro il nemico intorno ad Acarne, distante dalla città sessanta stadii, giudicavano non esser più da tollerare : ed avendo sotto gli occhi il guasto della campagna , cosa non più veduta nè dai più giovani nè dai più vecchi , fuorché nella guerra dei Medi , ciò parve loro , come è naturale, un orrore. Allora generalmente , e soprattutto la gioventù , pensavano doversi uscire contro il nemico e non starsi in trascuranza : il perchè ristrignendosi in brigate erano in gran contrasto, bramando alcuni la sortita , altri opponendosi. Gli indovini stessi cantavano oracoli d’ogni maniera , che ciascuno intendeva secondo l’inclinazione dell’ animo. Gli Acarnei che si credevano la non menoma parte della Repubblica ateniese , vedendo il guasto delle loro terre , più di tutti instavano per la sortita. Così la città era per ogni lato in sommossa, e tutti pieni di sdegno contro Pericle. Non più ricordavano i consigli dati dianzi da lui, lo avevano ora per un vigliacco , perchè, generale com' era , non li conduceva contro il nemico, e lo accagionavano di tutti i loro disastri.