Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Adolf Wahrmund (Translator), 6.6

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Dies sind die Völker hellenischer und barbarischer Abkunft,
welche auf Sieilien wohnten, und so groß ist diese Insel, gegen welche
die Athener den Kriegszug unternahmen. Der wahrhaste Grund
dazu war, daß sie die ganze Insel sich zu unterwerfen gedachten, als
glimpflichen Vorwand aber gebrauchten sie, daß sie ihren
Blutsverwandten und neuen Bundesgenossen zu Hülfe ziehen wollten. Am
meisten zu diesem Zuge reizten sie die Egestaner, deren Gesandte
anwesend waren und aus'S eifrigste anstachelten. Diese nämlich waren
Nachbarn der Selinuntier, und einiger Heirathsgeschichten und eines
streitigen Landstücks wegen mit ihnen in Krieg verwickelt, und die
Selinuntier hatten die Syrakufaner als Bundesgenossen herbeigeholt
und bedrängten jene feindselig zu Land und zu Wasser. Die Ege- ¹
tsaner erinnerten also die Athener an ihre Bundesgenossenschaft mit
den Leontinern^) in dem früheren (sikelifchen) Krieg unter Laches
und baten, ihnen Schiffe zu Hülfe zu senden. Unter vielem
Anderem, was sie zu diesem Zwecke vorbrachten, war der Hauptgrund:
wenn erst die Syrakusaner die Freiheit der Leontiner ungestraft
vernichtet und, nachdem sie dann auch die übrigen Bundesgenossen zu ²³⁴
Grunde gerichtet hätten, selber die Macht über ganz Sieilien besäßen,
so sei Gefahr da, daß sie einmal als Dorier den Doriern, der
Verwandtschaft gemäß, und auch als Pflanzvölker ihren peloponnesischen
Mutterstaaten zu Hülse kämen und die Macht der Athener brechen
hälfen. Darum gebiete es die Klugheit, in Verbindung mit den noch
vorhandenen Bundesgenossen sich den Syrakusanern zu widersetzen,
zumal sie selbst zu diesem Kriege ausreichende Geldmittel hergeben
würden. Nachdem die Athener in den Volksversammlungen sowohl
die Egestaner, die dergleichen oft vorbrachten, als auch ihre eigenen
Mitbürger, die jenen zustimmten, angehört hatten, so beschlossen sie
für's Erste Gesandte nach Egesta zu schicken, die wegen des Geldes
sich überzeugen sollten, ob dessen so viel, wie jene sagten, im
öffentlichen Schatz und in den Tempeln vorhanden sei, und zugleich
untersuchen, wie es um ihren Krieg mit den Selinuntiern stünde.

History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. Adolf Wahrmund (Translator). Stuttgart. 1864.

Current edition First1KGreek

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs (German) (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Wahrmund, Adolf, translator. Stuttgart: Krais and Hoffmann, 1864.)

Editions (1)

Ἱστορίαι Perseus (Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] τοσαῦτα ἔθνη Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων Σικελίαν ᾤκει,καὶ ἐπὶ τοσήνδε οὖσαν αὐτὴν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι στρατεύειν ὥρμηντο, ἐφιέμενοι μὲν τῇ ἀληθεστάτῃ προφάσει τῆς πάσης ἄρξαι, βοηθεῖν δὲ ἅμα εὐπρεπῶς βουλόμενοι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ξυγγενέσι καὶ τοῖς προσγεγενημένοις ξυμμάχοις.

[2] μάλιστα δ’ αὐτοὺς ἐξώρμησαν Ἐγεσταίων [τε] πρέσβεις παρόντες καὶ προθυμότερον ἐπικαλούμενοι. ὅμοροι γὰρ ὄντες τοῖς Σελινουντίοις ἐς πόλεμον καθέστασαν περί τε γαμικῶν τινῶν καὶ περὶ γῆς ἀμφισβητήτου, καὶ οἱ Σελινούντιοι Συρακοσίους ἐπαγόμενοι ξυμμάχους κατεῖργον αὐτοὺς τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν· ὥστε τὴν γενομένην ἐπὶ Λάχητος καὶ τοῦ προτέρου πολέμου Λεοντίνων οἱ Ἐγεσταῖοι ξυμμαχίαν ἀναμιμνῄσκοντες τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐδέοντο σφίσι ναῦς πέμψαντας ἐπαμῦναι, λέγοντες ἄλλα τε πολλὰ καὶ κεφάλαιον, εἰ Συρακόσιοι Λεοντίνους τε ἀναστήσαντες ἀτιμώρητοι γενήσονται καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἔτι ξυμμάχους αὐτῶν διαφθείροντες αὐτοὶ τὴν ἅπασαν δύναμιν τῆς Σικελίας σχήσουσι, κίνδυνον εἶναι μή ποτε μεγάλῃ παρασκευῇ Δωριῆς τε Δωριεῦσι κατὰ τὸ ξυγγενὲς καὶ ἅμα ἄποικοι τοῖς ἐκπέμψασι Πελοποννησίοις βοηθήσαντες καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων δύναμιν ξυγκαθέλωσιν· σῶφρον δ’ εἶναι μετὰ τῶν ὑπολοίπων ἔτι ξυμμάχων ἀντέχειν τοῖς Συρακοσίοις, ἄλλως τε καὶ χρήματα σφῶν παρεξόντων ἐς τὸν πόλεμον ἱκανά.

[3] ὧν ἀκούοντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν τε Ἐγεσταίων πολλάκις λεγόντων καὶ τῶν ξυναγορευόντων αὐτοῖς ἐψηφίσαντο πρέσβεις πέμψαι πρῶτον ἐς τὴν Ἔγεσταν περί τε τῶν χρημάτων σκεψομένους εἰ ὑπάρχει, ὥσπερ φασίν, ἐν τῷ κοινῷ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς, καὶ τὰ τοῦ πολέμου ἅμα πρὸς τοὺς Σελινουντίους ἐν ὅτῳ ἐστὶν εἰσομένους.

Translations (9)

The History of the Grecian War Perseus (Thucydides. The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. Hobbes, Thomas. translator. London: John Bohn, 1843.) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] These were the nations, Greeks and barbarians, that inhabited Sicily. And though it were thus great, yet the Athenians longed very much to send an army against it, out of a desire to bring it all under their subjection, which was the true motive, but as having withal this fair pretext of aiding their kindred and new confederates.

[2] But principally they were instigated to it by the ambassadors of Egesta, who were at Athens and earnestly pressed them thereto. For bordering on the territory of the Selinuntians, they had begun a war about certain things concerning marriage and about a piece of ground that lay doubtfully between them. And the Selinuntians, having leagued themselves with the Syracusians, infested them with war both by sea and by land. Insomuch as the Egestaeans, putting the Athenians in mind of their former league with the Leontines made by Laches, prayed them to send a fleet thither in their aid, alleging, amongst many other things, this as principal: that if the Syracusians, who had driven the Leontines from their seat, should pass without revenge taken on them, and so proceed, by consuming the rest of the allies of the Athenians there, to get the whole power of Sicily into their hands, it would be dangerous lest hereafter some time or other, being Dorians, they should with great forces aid the Dorians for affinity, and being a colony of the Peloponnesians join with the Peloponnesians that sent them out, to pull down the Athenian empire; that it were wisdom, therefore, with those confederates they yet retain, to make head against the Syracusians; and the rather, because for the defraying of the war the Egestaeans would furnish money sufficient of themselves.

[3] Which things when the Athenians had often heard in their assemblies from the mouths of the Egestaean ambassadors and of their advocates and patrons, they decreed to send ambassadors to Egesta to see, first, whether there were in their treasury and temples so much wealth as they said there was, and to bring word in what terms the war stood between that city and the Selinuntians. And ambassadors were sent into Sicily accordingly.

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.) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] Such is the list of the peoples, Hellenic and barbarian, inhabiting Sicily , and such the magnitude of the island which the Athenians were now bent upon invading; being ambitious in real truth of conquering the whole, although they had also the specious design of succouring their kindred and other allies in the island.

[2] But they were especially incited by envoys from Egesta, who had come to Athens and invoked their aid more urgently than ever. The Egestaeans had gone to war with their neighbours the Selinuntines upon questions of marriage and disputed territory, and the Selinuntines had procured the alliance of the Syracusans, and pressed Egesta hard by land and sea. The Egestaeans now reminded the Athenians of the alliance made in the time of Laches, during the former Leontine war, and begged them to send a fleet to their aid, and among a number of other considerations urged as a capital argument, that if the Syracusans were allowed to go unpunished for their depopulation of Leontini, to ruin the allies still left to Athens in Sicily , and to get the whole power of the island into their hands, there would be a danger of their one day coming with a large force, as Dorians, to the aid of their Dorian brethren, and as colonists, to the aid of the Peloponnesians who had sent them out, and joining these in pulling down the Athenian empire. The Athenians would, therefore, do well to unite with the allies still left to them, and to make a stand against the Syracusans; especially as they, the Egestaeans, were prepared to furnish money sufficient for the war.

[3] The Athenians, hearing these arguments constantly repeated in their assemblies by the Egestaeans and their supporters, voted first to send envoys to Egesta , to see if there was really the money that they talked of in the treasury and temples, and at the same time to ascertain in what posture was the war with the Selinuntines.

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs First1KGreek (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Braun, Theodor, translator. Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1917.) — 6.6 focus

Dergestalt war Sizilien von griechischen und barbarischen
Völkern bewohnt, und gegen solch ein Land wollten die Athener
jetzt zu Felde ziehen, angeblich natürlich nur, um ihren Stammes
genossen und deren Verbündeten zu Hilfe zu kommen, in Wirklich
keit aber, um sich die ganze Insel zu unterwerfen. Zunächst
veranlaßt wurden sie dazu durch Gesandte aus Egesta, die nach
Athen gekommen waren und sie dringend um Hilfe baten.
DaS Gebiet von Egesta grenzt nämlich an das von Selinus,
und zwischen beiden Städten war es über gewisse Heiraten
und einen streitigen Landstrich zum Kriege gekommen, in
welchem Egesta von dem mit Syrakus verbündeten Selinus zu
Wasser und zu Lande schwer bedrängt wurde. Die Egester
erinnerten deshalb die Athener an das Bündnis mit Leontinoi
unter Laches im vorigen Kriege und baten sie, ihnen Schiffe
zu Hilfe zu schicken. Dabei wiesen sie namentlich auch darauf
hin, daß die Syrakuser, wenn man ihnen die Vertreibung der
Leontiner ungestraft hingehen lasse, auch die übrigen Bundes
genossen vernichten und die Herrschaft über die ganze Insel
an sich reißen würden; dann aber sei zu befürchten, daß sie
dermaleinst als Dorier auch ihren dorischen Stammesgenossen
und dem peloponnesischen Mutterlands mit großer Macht zu
Hilfe kämen, um der Herrschaft der Athener mit vereinten
Kräften ein Ende zu machen. Deshalb sei es geraten, solange
man noch Bundesgenossen habe, mit diesen den Syrakusern
entgegenzutreten, zumal sie ihrerseits das nötige Geld für den
Krieg beschaffen würden. Nachdem die Egester und deren
Gönner ihnen dies in den Volksversammlungen immer wieder
auseinandergesetzt hatten, beschlossen die Athener, zunächst Ge
sandte nach Egesta zu schicken, um sich zu überzeugen, ob dort
im Staatsschatze und in den Tempeln das nötige Geld auch
wirklich vorhanden sei, und sich zugleich darüber zu vergewissern,
wie es mit dem Kriege gegen Selinus stände.

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponèse First1KGreek (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése, Vol. 1-2. Zévort, Marie Charles, translator. Paris: Charpentier, 1852.) — 6.6 focus

VI. Tel est le dénombrement des peuples grecs et barbares établis en Sicile; et c’est contre une île de cette importance que les Athéniens brûlaient de marcher! Leur véritable bût était de soumettre l'ile entière à leur domination; mais en même temps ils se couvraient d’un prétexte spécieux, celui de secourir les peuples de même race qu’eux et les alliés qu’ils s’étaient faits en Sicile. Ils furent surtout déterminés par les pressantes sollicitations des députés d’Égeste, venus à Athènes pour réclamer leur appui. Limitrotrophes de Sélinonte, les Égestains étaient en guerre avec elle pour des questions de mariage¹ et pour un territoire contesté; ceux de Sélinonte, aidés par les Syracusains qu’ils avaient engagés dans leur alliance, serraient de près Égeste par terre et par mer. Dans cette extrémité, les Égestains rappelaient aux Athéniens le souvenir de l’alliânce contractée sous Lachés, lors de la première guerre de Léontium, et les priaient d’envoyer des vaisseaux à leur secours; parmi les nombreux ²³ motifs qu’ils faisaient valoir, ils alléguaient surtout que, si les Syracusains, après avoir impunément chassé les Léontins et écrasé les autres alliés qui pouvaient rester à Athènes⁴, réunissaient entre leurs mains toutes les forces de la Sicile, il était à craindre qu’étant de race dorienne, ils ne vinssent un jour, en vertu de la communauté d’origine, porter secours aux Doriens, et qu’unis aux Péloponnésiens dont ils étaient une colonie, ils ne détruisissent avec eux la puissance d’Athènes; qu’il était prudent dès lors aux Athéniens de s’opposer aux Syracusains avec les alliés qui leur restaient, surtout quand les Égestains offraient une subvention suffisante pour les frais de la guerre. Les Athéniens, à force d’entendre, dans leurs assemblées, répéter ces discours par les Égestains et les orateurs qui plaidaient dans le même sens, décrétèrent d’abord l’envoi à Égeste d’ambassadeurs chargés de vérifier, d’une part, si les ressources dont ils parlaient se trouvaient en effet dans le trésor public et dans les temples, de l’autre où en était la guerre avec les Sélinontins. Les ambassadèurs athéniens partirent donc pour la Sicile.

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése First1KGreek (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése. Bétant, Élie-Ami, translator. Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette, 1863.) — 6.6 focus

Telles sont les nations grecques et barbares qui peuplèrent la Sicile, et c’est dans un pays de cette étendue que les Athéniens s'apprêtaient à porter la guerre. Leur vrai motif était de faire la conquête de toute l’île : mais le prétexte dont ils coloraient cette entreprise était de secourir les populations unies à eux par les liens du sang¹ ou par des traités. A cela il faut joindre les instances des députés d’Égeste, venus à Athènes pour réclamer aide et protection. Voisins de Sélinonte, lesÉges-tains étaient en guerre avec cette ville pour des questions de mariages ² et de frontières. Les Sélinontins, soutenus par leurs alliés de Syracuse, pressaient les Ëgestains par terre et par mer. Ceux-ci, au nom de l'alliance conclue du tempede Lâches et de la première guerre des Léontins, demandaient aux Athéniens d’envoyer une flotte à leur secours. Entre autres arguments à l'appui de cette requête, ils faisaient valoir surtout celui-ci : «Qu’on laisse impunie, disaient-ils, l’expulsion des Léontins; qu’on permette aux Syracusains de s’emparer de toute la Sicile en écrasant les derniers alliés d’Athènes, et bientôt on les verra s'unir comme Doriens aux DorieDS dn Péloponèse, comme colons à leurs fondateurs, pour renverser la domination athénienne. La prudence exige donc de soutenir les alliés qui restent encore en Sicile et de s’opposer aux Syra-cusains, d’autant plus que les Égestains offrent de défrayer l’armée. » A force d'entendre les Ëgestains et les orateurs qui les appuyaient répéter ces discours dans les assemblées, les Athéniens résolurent d'envoyer des députés à Égeste, pour vé-# rifier l’existence des valeurs qu’on disait être dans le trésor public ou dans les temples, et pour s’informer du point où en était la guerre avec Sélinonte. Ces députés partirent pour la Sicile.

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.) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] Such were the nations, Hellenic and barbarian,¹ that inhabited Sicily; and such was the magnitude of the island which the Athenians were bent upon invading. To give the truest explanation, they were eager to attain to empire of the whole of it, but they wished at the same time to have the fair pretext of succouring their own kinsmen and their

[2] old allies.² But most of all they were instigated by envoys of the Egestaeans who were present and invoked their aid more earnestly than ever. For bordering as they did on the Selinuntians they had got into war with them about certain marriage rights and about disputed territory; and the Selinuntians, bringing in the Syracusans as allies, were pressing them hard in the war both by land and by sea. And so the Egestaeans, reminding the Athenians of their alliance which had been made with the Leontines in the time of Laches and the former war,³ begged them to send ships to their relief; saying many other things but chiefly this, that if the Syracusans should go unpunished for depopulating Leontini, and by destroying those of their allies that were still left should get the whole of Sicily into their power, there was danger that some time, lending aid with a great force, both as Dorians to Dorians on account of kinship, and at the same time as colonists to the Peloponnesians that had sent them out, they might help to pull down the power of

[3] the Athenians. It would be wise, therefore, with their allies that were still left, to oppose the Syracusans, especially as the Egestaeans would furnish money sufficient for the war. And the Athenians, hearing in their assemblies these arguments of the Egestaeans and their supporters, who constantly repeated them, voted first to send envoys to Egesta to see whether the money was on hand, as they said, in the treasury and in the temples, and at the same time to ascertain how matters stood with reference to the war with the Selinuntians.

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.) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] So many were the nations of Greeks and barbarians that inhabited Sicily, and such was the size of the island against which the Athenians were eager to make an expedition; being desirous (to mention their truest motive) of gaining dominion over the whole of it; but at the same time wishing, as a plausible pretext, to succour their own kinsmen, and the allies they had gained besides.

[2] Above all, they were instigated by ambassadors from the Segestans, who had come to Athens and invoked their aid more earnestly than ever. For being borderers of the Selinuntines, they had gone to war with them on certain questions respecting marriage rights, and for some debated territory; and the Selinuntines, having taken the Syracusans for their allies, were pressing them hard with hostilities both by land and sea. Consequently the Segestans reminded the Athenians of their alliance, which had been formed in the time of Laches and of the former war with the Leontines, and begged them to send a fleet and assist them; alleging many other things, and, as the sum and substance of all,

that if the Syracusans should be unpunished for the depopulation of Leontini, and, by ruining such of the Athenian allies as were still left should themselves obtain the whole power of Sicily; there would be danger of their some time or other coming with a large force, as Dorians, to the aid of Dorians, on the strength of their connexion, and, moreover, as colonists, to the aid of the Peloponnesians who had sent them out, and so joining in the destruction of the Athenian power. It were wise therefore, in concert with the remaining allies, to resist the Syracusans;

[3]

especially as they would themselves furnish money sufficient for the war.

The Athenians, hearing these things in their assemblies from the Segestans and their supporters, who were repeatedly alleging them, ¹ passed a decree on the subject; sending ambassadors, in the first place, to see about the money, whether it were already laid up, as they asserted, in the treasury and in the temples, and at the same time to ascertain what was the state of the war with the Selinuntines.

Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci First1KGreek (Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci. Haase, Friedrich, translator. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1869.) — 6.6.1 focus

[1] Tot igitur gentes Graecorum et barbarorum Siciliam incolebant, et tantae huic insulae Athenienses impeto quodam animi bellum inferre statuerant, cupientes quidem, quae verissima erat causa, totius imperio poliri, simul vero quodam honesto praetextu cognatis suis et qui iis praeterea accesserant sociis opem ferre volentes.

[2] Maxime autem impulerunt eos Egestaeorum legati, qui illic aderant et enixius auxilium implorabant. Quum enim Selmuntiis essent finitimi, bellum adversus eos susceperant propter quasdam res, quae ad connubia spectabant, et propter agrum controversum, et Selinuutii, accitis Syracusanis sociis, bello eos terra marique premebant; quamobrem Egesta» Atheniensibus in memoriam revocantes societatem Lachete duce et superioris Leontinorum belli tempore factam orabant eos, ut sibi missa classe succurrerent, et quum alia multa dicebant, tum vero, quod caput erat, si Syracusani impune ferrent, quod Leontinos suis sedibus expulissent, et si ceteris Atheniensium sociis praeterea attritis ipei omnem Sicilia: potentiam in suam potestatem redigerent, periculum esse, ne forte aliquando cum magno apparatu Dorienses Doriensibus propter cognationem et simul etiam eorum coloni Peloponnesiis, a quibus essent emissi, auxilium ferentes ipsorum etiam imperium uua demolirentur; prudentium autem esse, cum reliquis adhuc sociis obsistere Syracusanis, praesertim quum ipsi Egestsei satis pecuniae ad bellum essent colla turi.

[3] Quae quum audirent Athenienses in concionibus saepenumero et ab Egeslaeis tractata et ab illis, qui iis patrocinabantur, decreverunt legatos primum Egestam. mittere, qui explorarent, num pecuniam, ut dicerent, in aerario et in templis haberent, et qui simul cognoscerent, quo in statu esset bellum, quod cum Selinuutiis gerebant.

La storia di Tucidide First1KGreek (Thucydides. Della storia di Tucidide volgarizzata libri otto. Anonymous translator. Florence: Tipografia Galileiana, 1835.) — 6.6 focus

'Fanti erano i popoli fra Greci e barbari che abitavano la Sicilia; contro alla quale (che pure era si vasta) gli Ateniesi con grande animo voltavano le armi, veramente perchè ardevano del desiderio di dominarla tutta : il qual desiderio volevano ad un tempo ricoprire col pretesto di soccorrere i loro consanguinei, e gli altri che si erano collegati con questi. Ma a ciò soprattutto li spinsero , e con gran calore li confortarono gli ambasciadori di Egesta venuti ad Atene ; avvegnaché gli Egestei confinanti de’Selinunti si trovavano in guerra con essi per causa di diritti nuziali, e per controversie di territorio : ed i Selinunti, essendosi aggiunti in alleanza i Siracusani, li strìngevano colla guerra per terra e per mare. Il perchè gli Egestei ricordavano agli Ateniesi la lega fatta al tempo di Lachete, e della precedente guerra de' Leontini, e li pregavano a soccorrerli collo spedir loro delle navi. E tra le molte ragioni che adducevano la principale era, che se i Siracusani dopo aver disertato i Leontini restassero impunti , e seguitando a guastare anche gli altri alleati s’impadronissero di tutte le forze di Sicilia, vi era pericolo che come Dorici volessero, attesa la parentela, soccorrere con grandi apparecchi i Dorici, ed insieme i Peloponnesi come colonia loro , e dar mano ad abbattere la potenza d’Atene. Esser dunque saggia cosa che insieme con gli alleati che vi restavano si opponessero ai Siracusani ; tonto più che e’ somministrerebbero denari a sufficienza per la guerra. Queste ragioni ripetute più volte nelle assemblee dagli Egestei e dagli oratori che patrocinavano Moro causa, mossero gli Ateniesi a decretare, che si spedissero prima dei legati ad Egesta a vedere se vi fossero ^ P^blico erario e nei templi le ricchezze ch'e' diceva. no , ed insieme ad informarsi dello stato della guerra contro i Selinunli.

Notes on the current edition

History of the Peloponnesian War

1. 415
v.
Chr.

2. 21) Regierte von* 493 bis 491 v. Chr.

3. 22) d. h. wohl an der Egestaner BundeSgenossmschast mit Leontinern. Vergl. III,
86 - 90.

4. 415 v.
Chr.

Commentary

Commentary on Thucydides: Book 6 (Thucydides, Book VI. Marchant, Edgar C., editor. London: Macmillan and Company, 1909.) focus

ἁθρόους —sc. ἡμᾶς, both Syr. and Camarina, which are also meant in ἰέναι ἐς τὴν ξυμμαχίαν.

ἰέναι δὲ ἐς τὴν ξ —this describes entering into a ncw relation (cf. v. 30 , 5); it shows that the σπονδαί are to be changed into a ξυμμαχία.

προθυμότερον —this applies strictly only to Camarina (cf. c. 67, 2); but it is quite necdless to assume a change of subject between ἀθυμεῖν and ἰἐναι as some edd. do, explaining ἀθυμεῖν sc. ἠμᾶς, ἰέναι sc. ὑμᾶς.

οἴ —the plur. after ἀπὸ Πελοποννήσου: cf. cc. 32, 2; 35, 1; 94, 1.

τὰ πολέμια = τὰ πολεμικά, an Ionie use.

ἐκείνην τὴν προμηθίαν κτλ —sc. εἰκός: ‘nor should any one think that that caution which consists in refusing to help either side, on the ground that you are allies of both sides, is alike fair to us and safe for you.’ (Why many edd. say that ἐκείνην τὴν προμηθίαν = ‘that boasted prudence of yours’ is not clear. The speaker deals with the third plan that Camarina may adopt. In c. 78, 4 he developed the first coursc which C. ought to have adopted already— εἰκὸς ἦν ὑμᾶς κτλ. In c. 79 he deals with the second course—a resolution to help Athens. In c. 80 he discusses the third course—neutrality.)

δή —explanatory. (Many explain this, after Bauer, as ironical.)

οὐ γὰρ ἔργῳ ἴσον —‘this course is not in reality fair. as the plea of justice represents it.’

δἰ ὑμᾶς μὴ ξυμμαχήσαντας —for this construction see on c. 3, 3. It is amusing to notice how the inaccurate use of the word ξυμμαχία in this speech—see on c. 75, 3 n.—leads to a confusion here between ξυμμάχους, used in the loose sense above to include σπονδαί, and ξυμμαχήσαντας, used in the strict sense here. μὴ ξυμμαχήσαντας ( μηδετέροις) is here substituted for μηδετέροις βοηθήσαντας.

ὅ τε παθών = the Syracusans. The aor. has the force of the fut. perf., = qui victus fuerit (Baner).

οὐκ ἠμύνατε . . οὐκ ἐκωλύσατε —the aor. is here substituted for the fut. for the sake of bringing the inevitable result vividly before the hearers. M.T. § 61. The speaker looks forward to the time when the defeat has actually taken place. Cf. St. James Epistle c. v. ἐθησαυρίσατε ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, with Mayor's note. For the perf. so used see II. 8 , 4.

σωθῆναι —inf. of purpose, in which the use of the pass. is somewhat rare.

καίτοι —‘and surely,’ resuming the main thought that the right course is to aid Syr.

κάλλιον —than neutrality, with its consequences. Observe the argument from τὸ καλόν.

τὴν κοινὴν ὠφελίαν —‘the common welfare,’ = τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῶν Σικελιωτῶν (Schol.).

φίλους δή —ironical, ‘your good friends.’

οὐδὲν ἔργον —‘no need,’ used also with a genitive.

δεόμεθα δέ —answering ἐκδιδάσκειν μέν, ‘we entreat you’ to act on your knowledge, that being more to the purpose than ἐκδιδάσκειν.

καὶ μαρτυρόμεθα ἅμα . . ὅτι —‘we solemnly declare, if we fail to persuade you (by our speech), that while the Ionians our inveterate enemies are plotting against us, you our fellow Dorians are betraying us.’

εἰ μὴ πείσομεν —it is difficult to say whether this is protasis to μαρτυρόμεθα or to έπιβουλευόμεθα μὲν . . προδιδόμεθα δέ. (1) We might understand προδιδόμεθα ὑπὸ ὑμῶν εἰ μὴ πείσομεν, the pres. being used—as esp. often with δίδωμι and γίγνομαι and compounds—for an action only beginning. (The clause ἐπιβουλευόμεθα μέν is in sense subordinate to προδιδόμεθα δέ.) (2) But it is better to understand μαρτυρόμεθα εἰ μὴ πείσομεν. For the syntax cf. Lysias 24, 13 εἰ τοῦτο πείσει, τὶ με κωλύει κληροῦσθαι; (where Frohberger reads κωλύσει, as Hude πείθομεν here), and esp. Andoc. 3, 21 εἴ τις ὑμῶν ἀχθεσθήσεται, παραιτοῦμαι, where the pres. is exactly parallel to μαρτυρόμεθα.

καὶ εἰ καταστρέψονται —Classen thinks that the whole section depends still on μαρτυρόμεθα. But Stahl is probably right in regarding the sentence as a transition to the O.R. Thus κρατήσουσι is parallel to μαρτυρόμεθα, and we have to supply εἰ μὴ πεἰσομεν. ‘(If we fail to persuade you, then,) in case they conquer us, their victory will be due to your decision’ ( γνώμαις, like sententiis vestris, the resolution resulting from the votes).

τῷ δ’ αὑτῶν ὀ —‘the honour will fall to their own name,’ not to yours. For this use of ὄνομα cf. VII. 64 τὸ μέγα ὄνομα τῶν Ἀθηνῶν.

τιμηθήσονται —rare for τιμήσονται. So ὠφεληθής ομαι is rarer than ὠφελήσομαι .

ἆθλον —‘prize,’ neut., predicate to ἄλλον τινά.

τῆς αἰτίας κτλ —lit. ‘you will equally pay the penalty of being the cause of our dangers.’ Edd. do not agree on the meaning of these words. ( a) Recent edd. follow Portus and take τῆς αἰτίας as the charge for which the penalty will be exacted— i.e. ‘we shall punish you for having caused our dangers.’ ( b) Arnold and Bloomfield understand τῆς αἰτίας as defining the τιμωρία, ‘you will suffer the penalty of (having been) the cause of our dangers,’ by refusing to help us; and of course that position would be an unpleasant one. According to ( a) the woids convey a threat; according to ( b), only a hint of unpleasantness.

ἤδη —‘without hesitation.’

τὴν αὐτίκα ἀ. δουλείαν —Wilkins, following Bauer, renders ‘slavery with its temporary immunity from danger,’ so that αὐτἰκα qualifies ἀκινδύνως. But the sense is ‘immediate (and certain) dependence which involves no risk,’ in contrast with the hope of avoiding subjection to Athens by facing the risk involved in fighting with Syracuse. ‘If you refuse to join, you escape danger but accept dependence: if you consent, you accept danger but escape dependence.’ Hence both αὐτίκα and ἀκινδύνως qualify δουλεία. Cf. I. 22 ἡ ἄντικρυς ἐλευθερία, VIII. 64 ἡ ἄντικρυς ἐλευθερία, and perhaps στρατιὰ ἔτι = ‘remforcements,’ though when no art. is present the adv. belongs in some measure to the verb.

δουλείαν —opposed to μὴ δεσπότας λαβεῖν below. The speaker in this section talks as though only two courses were open— either to join the Athenians (= δουλεία), or to join Syr. He adroitly leaves out the third course—neutrality, which accord ing to § 4 is out of the question. On δουλεία and δεσπόται see c. 77, 1.

ἢ κἂν κτλ —lit. ‘or else (choose) not to submit disgracefully to these men and to avoid our enmity—which would not be small—in which case you would share in our victory.’ I agree with Stahl that κἄν belongs to περιγενόμενοι only, and that λαβεῖν and διαφυγεῖν depend directly on αἱρεῖσθε: there is nothing hypothetical about the choice; it is immediate ( ἤδη) and fiual, being either δουλεία or μὴ λαβεῖν τι καὶ διαφυγεῖν τι. περιγενόμενοι ἄν is in apodosis, implying εἰ αἱροῖσθε, περιγένοισθε ἄν. Others take ἄν either with the infins. only or with the partic. and the infins. The placing of ἄν before a partic. frequently produces difficulty.

τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔχθραν —‘enmity with us’; cf. φανερὰν ἔχθραν πρὸς Κορινθίους κτήσασθαι I. 42 .

μὴ ἄν —with γενομένην only = ἣ μὴ ἂν βραχεῖα γένοιτο, i.e. the generic or characteristic μή piobably. We might, however, say that the passage implies a warning or command; it is solemn and emphatic. Cf. c. 102 νομίσαντες μὴ ἂν ἔτι ἱκανοὶ γενέσθαι. (There is difference of opinion about this μή. Goodwin ( M. T. § 688) views it as an ‘irregularity’; Bohme-Widmann say that ‘ μή with potential inf. or partic. after verbs of saying and thinking is common’; Fr. Muller says the μή is ‘under the influence of the inf. διαφυγεῖν.’ This lends point to Prof. Gildersleeve's remark that ‘to understand οὐ and μή a certain mobility is necessary.’ A.J.P. July 1892, p. 259.)

βραχεῖαν —probably ‘small,’ a common meaning in Thuc., though some passages are certainly ambiguous. In VII. 14 βραχεῖα ἀκμὴ πληρώματος, the Schol. and Plutarch understood βραχεῖα as ‘short-lived,’ whereas modern edd. render ‘the efficient part of a crew is small.’

Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 6.6

Adolf Wahrmund (Translator)

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