Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Theodor Braun (Translator), 6.2

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Schon seit den ältesten Zeiten ist die Insel bewohnt ge
wesen, und zwar von allerlei Völkern. Ursprünglich sollen
Kyklopen und Laistrygonen auf einem Teile der Insel gehaust
haben, über deren Abstammung, Herkunft und späteren Ver
bleib ich nichts angeben kann. Mag es also bei dem be
wenden, was die Dichter von ihnen erzählen und wie ein jeder
darüber denkt. Zuerst nach ihnen scheinen die Sikaner sich
dort niedergelassen zu haben; wie sie selbst behaupten, hätten
sie sogar schon vor ihnen als Autochthonen im Lande gewohnt.
Wie sich jedoch bei näherer Prüfung ergibt, sind sie in Wahr
heit Iberer und vom Flusse Sikauos in Jberien durch die
Ligyer verdrängt worden. Nach ihnen wurde die Insel dann
Sikanien genannt, während sie früher Trinakria hieß. Auch
jetzt noch bewohnen sie die Westseite Siziliens. Nach der Er
oberung von Troja kamen Troer, die den Achäern entgangen
waren, zu Schiff nach Sizilien, wo sie sich neben den Sikanern
niederließen und dann alle zusammen Elymer genannt wurden.
Ihre Städte waren Eryx und Egesta. Mit ihnen siedelten sich
auch einige Phokier dort an, welche damals durch Stürme von
Troja erst nach Libyen und dann nach Sizilien verschlagen
waren. Die Sikeler dagegen sind aus Italien nach Sizilien
herübergekommen, wo sie von den Opikern aus ihren dortigen
Sitzen verdrängt waren, wahrscheinlich, und wie uns berichtet
wird, auf Flößen, indem sie einen günstigen Wind für die
Überfahrt abwarteten, vielleicht aber auch auf anderen Fahr
zeugen. Auch jetzt gibt es in Italien noch Sikeler, und von
einem ihrer Könige namens Jtalos hat auch das Land den
Namen Italien. Sie kamen in großen Scharen nach Sizilien,
besiegten die Sikaner in einer Schlacht und verdrängten sie in
den Süden und den Westen der Insel, die infolgedessen nicht
mehr Sikanien, sondern Sikelien genannt wurde. Auch hatten
sie, seitdem sie nahezu dreihundert Jahr vor Ankunft der
Griechen nach Sizilien herübergekommen waren, den schönsten
Teil des Landes in Besitz, und noch jetzt sitzen sie im Innern
und im Norden der Insel. Auch die Phönizier hatten wegen
ihres Handels mit den Sikelern ringS um die Insel ihre
Niederlassungen, wozu sie vorspringende Landspitzen und kleinere
Inseln in der Nähe der Küste wählten. Als aber die Griechen
in größerer Menge zur See herüberkamen, gaben sie diese
größtenteils auf und blieben nur noch im Besitz von Meine,
Solus und Panormos, wo sie sich zusammen niederließen, weil
sie hier in der Nähe der Elymer auf deren Beistand rechnen und
Karthago auf kürzestem Wege erreichen konnten. So viel über
die nichtgriechische Bevölkerung und deren Wohnsitze in Sizilien.

History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides. Theodor Braun (Translator). Leipzig. 1917.

Current edition First1KGreek

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs (German) (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Braun, Theodor, translator. Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1917.)

Editions (1)

Ἱστορίαι Perseus (Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] ᾠκίσθη δὲ ὧδε τὸ ἀρχαῖον, καὶ τοσάδε ἔθνη ἔσχε τὰ ξύμπαντα. παλαίτατοι μὲν λέγονται ἐν μέρει τινὶ τῆς χώρας Κύκλωπες καὶ Λαιστρυγόνες οἰκῆσαι, ὧν ἐγὼ οὔτε γένος ἔχω εἰπεῖν οὔτε ὁπόθεν ἐσῆλθον ἢ ὅποι ἀπεχώρησαν· ἀρκείτω δὲ ὡς ποιηταῖς τε εἴρηται καὶ ὡς ἕκαστός πῃ γιγνώσκει περὶ αὐτῶν.

[2] Σικανοὶ δὲ μετ’ αὐτοὺς πρῶτοι φαίνονται ἐνοικισάμενοι, ὡς μὲν αὐτοί φασι, καὶ πρότεροι διὰ τὸ αὐτόχθονες εἶναι, ὡς δὲ ἡ ἀλήθεια εὑρίσκεται, Ἴβηρες ὄντες καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Σικανοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ ὑπὸ Λιγύων ἀναστάντες. καὶ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν Σικανία τότε ἡ νῆσος ἐκαλεῖτο, πρότερον Τρινακρία καλουμένη· οἰκοῦσι δὲ ἔτι καὶ νῦν τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν τὴν Σικελίαν.

[3] Ἰλίου δὲ ἁλισκομένου τῶν Τρώων τινὲς διαφυγόντες Ἀχαιοὺς πλοίοις ἀφικνοῦνται πρὸς τὴν Σικελίαν, καὶ ὅμοροι τοῖς Σικανοῖς οἰκήσαντες ξύμπαντες μὲν Ἔλυμοι ἐκλήθησαν, πόλεις δ’ αὐτῶν Ἔρυξ τε καὶ Ἔγεστα. προσξυνῴκησαν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Φωκέων τινὲς τῶν ἀπὸ Τροίας τότε χειμῶνι ἐς Λιβύην πρῶτον, ἔπειτα ἐς Σικελίαν ἀπ’ αὐτῆς κατενεχθέντες.

[4] Σικελοὶ δ’ ἐξ Ἰταλίας (ἐνταῦθα γὰρ ᾤκουν) διέβησαν ἐς Σικελίαν, φεύγοντες Ὀπικούς, ὡς μὲν εἰκὸς καὶ λέγεται, ἐπὶ σχεδιῶν, τηρήσαντες τὸν πορθμὸν κατιόντος τοῦ ἀνέμου, τάχα ἂν δὲ καὶ ἄλλως πως ἐσπλεύσαντες. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἐν τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ Σικελοί, καὶ ἡ χώρα ἀπὸ Ἰταλοῦ βασιλέως τινὸς Σικελῶν, τοὔνομα τοῦτο ἔχοντος, οὕτως Ἰταλία ἐπωνομάσθη.

[5] ἐλθόντες δὲ ἐς τὴν Σικελίαν στρατὸς πολὺς τούς τε Σικανοὺς κρατοῦντες μάχῃ ἀνέστειλαν πρὸς τὰ μεσημβρινὰ καὶ ἑσπέρια αὐτῆς καὶ ἀντὶ Σικανίας Σικελίαν τὴν νῆσον ἐποίησαν καλεῖσθαι, καὶ τὰ κράτιστα τῆς γῆς ᾤκησαν ἔχοντες, ἐπεὶ διέβησαν, ἔτη ἐγγὺς τριακόσια πρὶν Ἕλληνας ἐς Σικελίαν ἐλθεῖν· ἔτι δὲ καὶ νῦν τὰ μέσα καὶ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν τῆς νήσου ἔχουσιν.

[6] ᾤκουν δὲ καὶ Φοίνικες περὶ πᾶσαν μὲν τὴν Σικελίαν ἄκρας τε ἐπὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἀπολαβόντες καὶ τὰ ἐπικείμενα νησίδια ἐμπορίας ἕνεκεν τῆς πρὸς τοὺς Σικελούς· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ Ἕλληνες πολλοὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν ἐπεσέπλεον, ἐκλιπόντες τὰ πλείω Μοτύην καὶ Σολόεντα καὶ Πάνορμον ἐγγὺς τῶν Ἐλύμων ξυνοικήσαντες ἐνέμοντο, ξυμμαχίᾳ τε πίσυνοι τῇ τῶν Ἐλύμων, καὶ ὅτι ἐντεῦθεν ἐλάχιστον πλοῦν Καρχηδὼν Σικελίας ἀπέχει. βάρβαροι μὲν οὖν τοσοίδε Σικελίαν καὶ οὕτως ᾤκησαν.

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.) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] It was inhabited in old time thus, and these were the nations that held it: The most ancient inhabitants in a part thereof are said to have been the Cyclopes and Laestrigones, of whose stock and whence they came or to what place they removed I have nothing to say. Let that suffice which the poets have spoken and which every particular man hath learned of them.

[2] After them, the first that appear to have dwelt therein are the Sicanians, as they say themselves, nay, before the other, as being the natural breed of the island. But the truth is, they were Iberians, and driven away by the Ligyans from the banks of Sicanus, a river on which they were seated in Iberia. And the island from them came to be called Sicania, which was before Trinacria. And these [two] inhabit yet in the western parts of Sicily.

[3] After the taking of Illium, certain Trojans, escaping the hands of the Grecians, landed with small boats in Sicily; and having planted themselves on the borders of the Sicanians, both the nations in one were called Elymi; and their cities were Eryx and Egesta. Hard by these came and dwelled also certain Phoceans, who, coming from Troy, were by tempest carried first into Africa and thence into Sicily.

[4] But the Siculi passed out of Italy (for there they inhabited), flying from the Opici, having, as is most likely and as it is reported, observed the strait, and with a fore wind gotten over in boats which they made suddenly on the occasion, or perhaps by some other means. There is at this day a people in Italy called Siculi. And Italy itself got that name after the same manner from a king of Arcadia called Italus.

[5] Of these a great army crossing into Sicily overthrew the Sicanians in battle and drave them into the south and west parts of the same; and instead of Sicania, caused the island to be called Sicilia; and held and inhabited the best of the land for near three hundred years after their going over, and before any of the Grecians came thither. And till now they possess the midland and north parts of the island.

[6] Also the Phoenicians inhabited the coast of Sicily on all sides, having taken possession of certain promontories and little islands adjacent, for trade's sake with the Sicilians. But after that many Grecians were come in by sea, the Phoenicians abandoned most of their former habitations, and uniting themselves, dwelt in Motya and Soloeis and Panormus, upon the borders of the Elymi, as relying upon their league with the Elymi, and because also from thence lay the shortest cut over unto Carthage. These were the barbarians, and thus they inhabited Sicily.

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.) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] It was settled originally as follows, and the peoples that occupied it are these. The earliest inhabitants spoken of in any part of the country are the Cyclopes and Laestrygones; but I cannot tell of what race they were, or whence they came or whither they went, and must leave my readers to what the poets have said of them and to what may be generally known concerning them.

[2] The Sicanians appear to have been the next settlers, although they pretend to have been the first of all and aborigines; but the facts show that they were Iberians, driven by the Ligurians from the river Sicanus in Iberia . It was from them that the island, before called Trinacaria, took its name of Sicania, and to the present day they inhabit the west of Sicily .

[3] On the fall of Ilium , some of the Trojans escaped from the Achaeans, came in ships to Sicily , and settled next to the Sicanians under the general name of Elymi; their towns being called Eryx and Egesta . With them settled some of the Phocians carried on their way from Troy by a storm, first to Libya , and afterwards from thence to Sicily .

[4] The Sicels crossed over to Sicily from their first home Italy , flying from the Opicans, as tradition says and as seems not unlikely, upon rafts, having watched till the wind set down the strait to effect the passage; although perhaps they may have sailed over in some other way. Even at the present day there are still Sicels in Italy ; and the country got its name of Italy from Italus, a king of the Sicels, so called.

[5] These went with a great host to Sicily , defeated the Sicanians in battle and forced them to remove to the south and west of the island, which thus came to be called Sicily instead of Sicania, and after they crossed over continued to enjoy the richest parts of the country for near three hundred years before any Hellenes came to Sicily ; indeed they still hold the centre and north of the island.

[6] There were also Phoenicians living all round Sicily, who had occupied promontories upon the sea coasts and the islets adjacent for the purpose of trading with the Sicels. But when the Hellenes began to arrive in considerable numbers by sea, the Phoenicians abandoned most of their stations, and drawing together took up their abode in Motye, Soloeis , and Panormus , near the Elymi, partly because they confided in their alliance, and also because these are the nearest points, for the voyage between Carthage and Sicily .

Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs First1KGreek (Thucydides. Geschichte des Peloponnesischen Kriegs. Wahrmund, Adolf, translator. Stuttgart: Krais and Hoffmann, 1864.) — 6.2 focus

Bewohnt war die Insel schon in alten Zeiten, und dieß ist
die Zahl aller ihrer Völker: Im grauen Alterthum, sagt man,
haben in einem Theile des Landes die Kyklopen und Lästrygonen
gewohnt. Von wem diese abstammten, weiß ich nicht zu sagen, noch
auch, von woher sie eingewandert, oder wohin sie weitergezogen sind.
Genügen muß, was über sie von den Poeten gesagt worden ist, oder
mag sich Jeder seine besondere Meinung machen. Zuerst nach jenen,
scheint es, haben sich die Sikaner angesiedelt, die, wie sie selber sagen,
gar noch vor ihnen im Lande waren, denn sie nennen sich Eingeborne;
in Wahrheit aber sind sie Iberer und aus ihren alten Wohnsitzen
am Fluß Sikanos^) in Jberien, von den Ligyern verdrängt, ausge- ¹²³⁴
wandert. Damals wurde auch die Insel nach ihnen Sikania
genannt, denn vorher hatte sie Trinakria geheißen. Noch jetzt wohnen
sie im westlichen Theil von Sieilien. Als dann Troja eingenommen
war, sind einige Trojer, entgangen den Schiffen der Achäer, nach
Sieilien gekommen und wurden, wie sie sich an den Gränzen der
Sikaner anbauten, insgesammt Elymer genannt. Ihre Städte sind
Eryx und Egesta^). Neben ihnen bauten sich auch einige Phokier
an, von denen, welche von Troja damals durch den Sturm zuerst nach
Libyen und von dort nach Sieilien verschlagen worden waren. Die
Sikuler aber find aus Italien — denn dort wohnten sie vorher —
vor den Opikern flüchtig nach der Insel herübergekommen. Wie
erzählt wird und wie es auch am glaublichsten ist, sind sie aus Flößen
übergesetzt, indem sie die günstige Strömung benutzten, während der
Wind vom Festland herblies; vielleicht find sie aber auch auf eine
andere Weise übergefahren. Es gibt aber auch jetzt noch Sikuler in
Italien, und dieß Land hat sogar seinen Namen von einem
Sikulerkönig, der JtaloS^) hieß. Sie kamen mit großer Macht an
streitbarer Mannschaft nach Sieilien herüber, besiegten die Sikaner in einer
Schlacht und drängten sie in die südlichen und westlichen Theile der
Insel und bewirkten so, daß diese statt Sikania jetzt Sikelia genannt
wurde. Sie besetzten die besten Theile des Landes und besaßen diese,
als zuerst Hellenen nach Sicilien kamen^), fast schon dreihundert
Jahre seit ihrer Ueberfahrt. Sie besitzen aber auch jetzt noch die
mittleren und nördlichen Theile der Insel. Auch Phönikier siedelten
sich an, welche ringsum die ganze Küste, die Vorgebirge am Meer und
die vorliegenden kleinen Inseln besetzt hatten um des Handels
willen mit den Sikulern. Als aber dann Hellenen in großer Zahl über's
Meer herüberkamen, gaben die Phönikier die meisten dieser Punkte
aus und behielten nur in der Elymer Nachbarschaft Motye und
Soloeis und Panormos?), im Vertrauen sowohl auf die Bundesgenos- ⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹
senschaft mit den Elymern, und dann auch, weil hier der kürzeste
Seeweg Karthago von Sieilien trennt. Dieß ist die Zahl der
Barbaren auf Sieilien und so wohnten sie dort.

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponèse First1KGreek (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése, Vol. 1-2. Zévort, Marie Charles, translator. Paris: Charpentier, 1852.) — 6.2 focus

II La Sicile fut anciennement habitée; voici l’énumération de tous les peuples qui l’occupèrent : Les premiers habitants furent, dit on, les Cyclopes et les Lestrigons établis dans une partie de l’île. Je ne saurais dire ni leur origine, ni d’où ils vinrent, ni où ils se retirèrent; il faut se contenter de ce qu’én ont raconté les poëtes et de ce que chacun en sait. Après eux, les ¹ Sicanes paraissent y avoir les premiers formé des établissements, Ils leur seraient même antérieurs, à les en croire, puisqu’ils se prétendent autochlhones; mais la vérité est que ce sont des Ibères², chassés par les Ligyens des bords du fleuve Sicanos³, en Ibérie. L’île, nommée jusque-là Trinacrie, fut alors appelée, de leur nom, Sicanie. Ils occupent encore aujourd’hui la partie occidentale de la Sicile.

Après la prise d’Ilion, quelques Troyens échappés aux Grecs abordèrent en Sicile, s’établirent sur les confins des Sicanes et prirent en commun le nom d’Élymes; leurs villes sont Éryx et Égeste. A côté d’eux s’établirent aussi, au retour de Troie, quelques Phocéens qui, jetés d’abord par la tempête en Libye, passèrent de là en Sicile. Les Sicèles passèrent d’ltalie, où ils habitaient, en Sicile, pour fuir les Opiques. On dit, et il est vraisemblable qu’ils firent la traversée sur des radeaux, en profitant du moment où le vent souffle de terre; peut-être aussi y abordèrent-ils de quelque autre façon. Aujourd’hui encore il se trouve des Sicèles en Italie, et cette contrée même fut ainsi appelée d’un certain Italos, roi des Sicèles. Arrivés en Sicile avec des forces considérables, ils vainquirent dans un combat les Sicanes, les refoulèrent vers le sud et l’ouest de l’île et substituèrent au nom de Sicanie celui de Sicélie. A partir de cette invasion jusqu’à l’arrivée des Grecs en Sicile, ils restèrent maîtres de la plus riche partie du pays, l’espace d’environ trois cents ans. En- ⁴⁵ core aujourd’hui ils possèdent le centre et le nord de l'île. Des Phéniciens formèrent aussi des établissements tout autour de la Sicile; ils occupèrent des promontoires et' des îlots situés près du rivage, en vue du commerce avec les Sicèles. Mais quand les Grecs vinrent à leur tour y aborder en grand nombre, ils Abandonnèrent la plupart de ces établissements, et se concentrèrent à Motye, à Soloïs et à Panorme, dans le voisinage des Élymes, sur l’alliance desquels ils comptaient; un autre motif était que cette partie de la Sicile n’est séparée de Carthage que par une fort courte traversée.

Tels sont les peuples barbares qui habitèrent la Sicile et les établissements qu’ils y formèrent.

Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése First1KGreek (Thucydides. Histoire de la Guerre du Péloponnése. Bétant, Élie-Ami, translator. Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette, 1863.) — 6.2 focus

Les premiers qui en occupèrent une partie furent, à ce qu’on prétend , les Gyclopes et les Lestrygons. Il m’est impossible de préciser l’origine de ces peuples, le lieu d’où ils étaient sortis, ni celui où ils se retirèrent. A cet égard, nous sommes réduits aux récits des poètes¹ et aux opinions individuelles.

Après eux, les Sicaniens paraissent avoir formé les premiers établissements. A les croire, ils seraient même antérieurs, car ils se disent autochthones ; mais le fait est que ce sont des Ihériens, chassés par les Ligyens des bords du fleuve Sicanos en Ibérie². Ce sont eux qui donnèrent àl’île le nom de Sicanie, au lieu de celui de Trinacrie qu’elle portait auparavant. Ils occupent encore aujourd’hui la partie occidentale de la Sicile.

Lors de la prise d’Ilion, quelques Troyens échappés aux Grecs arrivèrent par mer en Sicile et s’établirent dans le voisinage des Sicaniens. Ces peuples réunis prirent le nom d’Ë-lymes. Leurs villes sont Ëryx et Ëgeste. A cette colonie s’adjoignirent quelques Phocéens revenus de Troie et poussés par des tempêtes d’abord en Libye, puis en Sicile.

Quant aux Sicules, ils habitaient primitivement l’Italie, d’où ils passèrent en Sicile pour fuir les Opiques³. On dit'avec assez de vraisemblance qu’ils franchirent le détroit sur des radeaux en profitant d’un vent favorable, ou n’importe par quel moyen. Il existe encore aujourd’hui des Sicules en Italie ; cette contrée a même tiré son nom d’un de leurs rois, qui s’appelait Italos. Arrivés en Sicile avec des forces considérables, ils défirent en bataille les Sicaniens, les refoulèrent vers le sud et vers l’ouest de l'île, et changèrent le nom de Sicanie en celui de Sicile. Ils s’établirent dans la partie la plus fertile du pays, qu’ils occupèrent près de trois cents ans à dater de leur passage jusqu’à l’arrivée des Grecs en Sicile. De nos jours encore le centre et le nord de Pile sont habités par eux.

Les Phéniciens créèrent aussi des établissements autour de la Sicile. Ils se saisirent des caps et des îlots voisins des côtes, pour faciliter leur commerce avec les Sicules. Mais lorsque les Grecs arrivèrent par mer en nombre toujours croissant, les Phéniciens abandonnèrent la plupart de ces places, pour se concentrer à Motya, Soloïs et Panormos, dans le voisinage des Ëlymes. Ils y trouvaient le double avantage d’avoir un point d’appui dans l’hlljance de ces peuples, et d?être à proximité de Carthage, qui en cet endroit n’est séparée de la Sicile que par un court trajet.

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.) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] Sicily was settled originally in the following manner, and the whole number of the nations that occupied it were these. Most ancient of all those who are reported to have settled in any part of the island were the Cyclopes and Laestrygonians, as to whom, however, I am able to tell neither their stock nor whence they came nor whither they went;

[2] let it suffice as the story has been told by the poets,¹ and as each man has formed his opinion about them. The Sicanians appear to have been the first to settle there after them, indeed, as they themselves assert, even before them, as being indigenous, but as the truth is found to be, they were Iberians and were driven by the Ligurians from the River Sicanus in Iberia. From them the island was then called Sicania, having been called Trinacria before;

[3] and they still inhabit the western parts of Sicily. But on the capture of Ilium some of the Trojans, who had escaped the Achaeans, came in boats to Sicily, and settling on the borders of the Sicanians were called, as a people, Elymi, while their cities were named Eryx and Egesta. And there settled with them also some of the Phocians, who on their return at that time from Troy were driven by a storm first to Libya and thence to Sicily.

[4] The Sicels, again, crossed over from Italy, where they dwelt, to Sicily, fleeing from the Opicans—as is probable and indeed is reported— on rafts, having waited for their passage till the wind was from the shore; or perhaps they sailed thither in some other way also. Even now there are Sicels still in Italy; and the country was named Italy after Italus, a king of the Sicels who had this name.

[5] These crossed over to Sicily in a vast horde and conquering the Sicanians in battle forced them back to the southern and western parts of the island, causing it to be called Sicily instead of Sicania. They settled there after they had crossed and held the best parts of the land for nearly three hundred years before the Hellenes came to Sicily; and even now they still hold the central and northern parts of the island.

[6] Phoenicians, too, had settlements all round Sicily, on promontories along the sea coast, which they walled off, and on the adjacent islets, for the sake of trade with the Sicels. But when the Hellenes also began to come in by sea in large numbers, the Phoenicians left most of these places and settling together lived in Motya,² Soloeis³ and Panormus⁴ near the Elymi, partly because they trusted in their alliance with the Elymi and partly because from there the voyage from Sicily to Carthage is shortest. These, then, were the barbarians and such was the manner in which they settled in Sicily.

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.) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] Now it was settled originally in the following manner, and these were all the nations that occupied it. The earliest people said to have lived in any part of the country are the Cyclopes and Laestrygones; with regard to whom, I can neither tell their race, nor whence they came into it, nor whither they departed out of it: but let that suffice which has been said by the poets, and which every body in any way knows of them.

[2] The Sicanians appear to have been the first who settled in it after them; indeed, as they themselves assert, even before them, as being the aboriginal population; but as the truth is found to be, they were Iberians, and were driven from the river Sicanus, in Theria, by the Ligurians. And it was from them that the island was at that time called Sicania, having previously been called Trinacria; and still, even to this day, they inhabit Sicily in its western districts.

[3] But on the capture of Troy, some of the Trojans, having escaped the Greeks, came in vessels to Sicily, and having settled in the neighbourhood of the Sicanians, they were all together called Elymi, and their cities, Eryx and Segesta. There were also settled with them some of the Phocians, who, while returning from Troy, were carried by a tempest, first to Libya, and then from that country to Sicily.

[4] The Sicels, again, went over into Sicily from Italy, (for it was there that they used to live,) while flying from some Opicans; crossing on rafts, (as is probable, and reported to have been the case,) having watched an opportunity for the passage, when the wind ¹ set down the strait; or, perhaps, having sailed to it in some other way. Even to this day there are still Sicels in Italy; and it was in this way that the country was called Italy, after Italus, a king of the Sicels who had that name.

[5] Having gone, then, to Sicily with a great host, and being victorious in battle over the Sicanians, they compelled them to remove to the southern and western parts of it, and caused the island to be called Sicily, instead of Sicania, and occupied the best parts of the land; having held them, after they crossed over, nearly three hundred years before any Greeks came into Sicily; and still, even to this day, they retain the central and northern parts of the island.

[6] There were also Phoenicians living ² around the whole of Sicily, having occupied promontories on the sea-coast, and the small islands adjacent, for purposes of trading with the Sicels: but after the Greeks sailed to it in great numbers by sea, in addition to those already there, they evacuated the greater part of them, and lived in Motya, Solois, and Panormus, near the Elymi, having united with them, both from confidence in their alliance, and because from that quarter the voyage from Sicily to Carthage is shortest. As regards barbarians, then, so many of them were there that inhabited Sicily, and in such a manner.

Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci First1KGreek (Historia Belli Peloponnesiaci. Haase, Friedrich, translator. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1869.) — 6.2.1 focus

[1] Sic autem antiquitus habitata est ac tot gentes in universum eam tenuerunt. Antiquissimi quidem in quadam illius regionis parte feruntur habitasse Cyclopee atque Ue-strygones, quorum ego neque genus dicere habeo, neque unde venerint, neque quo abierint; sufficiant autem ea, quae a poetis dicta sunt, et quae unusquisque de iis sentit

[2] Sicani vero post eos primi sedes hic posuisse potantur, et ut ipsi quidem praedicant vel priores, quod essent indigenae, sed ut veritas comperitur, lberi origine et a Si-cano lberiae flumine per Ligyes expulsi. Et ab iis haec insula tunc Sicania vocabatur, quum prius Trinacria nominaretur ; et nunc etiam Siciliae partes ad occasum vergentes incolunt.

[3] Ilio autem capto quidam Trojani, qui Achaeos effugerant, navibus ad Siciliam appulerunt, sedibusque positis ad Sicanorum fines, universi vocati sunt Elymi, ur-besque eorum Eryx et Egesta. His autem accolae accesserunt Phocenses quoque nonnulli ex eorum numero, qui a Troja tunc in Libyam tempestate delati primum, deinde ex Libya in Siciliam transmisere.

[4] Siculi vero ex Italia (illic enim habitabant) in Siciliam trajecerunt, fugientes Opicos, ut et credibile est et fama fertur, ratibus vecti observato freto, quum ventus secundus flabat, aut fortasse etiam aliqua alia ratione eo navigantes. Sunt autem nunc etiam in Italia Siculi, et illa regio a quodam Italo Siculorum rege, qui nomen hoc habebat, sic Italia cognominata est

[5] Quum autem in Siciliam trajecissent ingenti agmine, et Sicanos proelio victos in meridionales et occidentales insulae partes amandarunt, et auctores fuerunt, ut haec insula pro Sicania vocaretur Sicilia, et ferocissimas illius agri partes, postquam eo trajecerunt, retinentes incoluerunt, annis prope trecentis ante Graecorum in Siciliam adventum; et nunc quoque tenent mediterraneas ejus insulae partes, et eas, quae ad aquilonem vergunt.

[6] Phoenices praeterea per eandem passim habitaverunt occupatis ad mare promontoriis et parvis insulis adjacentibus, ut cum Siculis negotiarentur; et postquam pennulti Graecorum cum navibus eo trajecerunt, relictis plerisque insute partibus Motyam et Soloentem et Panormum, oppida Elymis finitima, in unum coeuntes incolebant, et societate Etymorum freti, et quod Carthago perexiguo tnyeclu illinc a Sicilia distat. Tot igitur numero barbari atque boc modo Siciliam habitaverunt.

La storia di Tucidide First1KGreek (Thucydides. Della storia di Tucidide volgarizzata libri otto. Anonymous translator. Florence: Tipografia Galileiana, 1835.) — 6.2 focus

Ora dirò come ella fosse da primo abitata, e quanti popoli avesse in tutti« Gli abitatori più antichi di una parte di quel paese dicesi essere stati i Ciclopi e i Lestrìgoni ; dei quali non saprei dire la stirpe , nè il luogo onde vennero, nè dove andarono. Contentiamoci adunque di ciò che ne hanno detto i poeti, e di quello che ognuno in qualche modo ne sa. Primi ad abitarvi dopo di questi paiono i Sicani, i quali piuttosto al dir loro vi erai già d' innanzi perchè nati di lì : ma il vero è che sai Iberi cacciati dai Ligii di sul Sicano, fiume in Iberia; che da essi l’isola chiamata prima Trinacria, fu allora di ta Sicania ; ed abitano anche adesso il ponente di Sicifa Preso poi Ilio alcuni Troiani scampati dagli Achei gioì gono su delle barche in Sicilia , ove acconciatisi a confi J dei Sicani furono tutti insieme chiamati Eli mi, e le cidi loro Erice ed Egesta. Si unirono di più ad abitar coi essi alcuni dei Focesi di ritorno da Troia , in quel tempo dalla tempesta primieramente sbalzati sulla Libia, e quindi di là passati in Sicilia. Ed è fama che i Siculi fug» gendo, come pare, gli Opicii, dall’ Italia ove avevano li sede passassero su dei foderi in Sicilia, colto un vento favorevole nello stretto ; e forse anche vi tragittarono in altro modo. Sonovi poi ancora dei Siculi in Italia, la quale trasse questo nome da un tale chiamato Italo re degli Arcadi. Venuti adunque costoro in Sicilia eoa molta gente, e superati i Sicani in battaglia, li cacciarono verso le parti meridionali e occidentali dell’ isola, la quale di Sicania fecero che fosse chiamata Sicilia ; ed abitarono 1? campagne più fertili, che dopo il loro tragitto riteneano per quasi trecento anni, prima che vi venissero i Greci ; ed anch’oggi ne posseggono i luoghi mediterranei e quelli verso tramontana. I Fenicii per negoziare coi Siculi abitarono tutte all’ intorno le costiere della Sicilia, occupati i promontori che sporgono in su quel mare, e le isolette adiacenti. Ma poiché vi approdarono molti Greci, quelli? abbandonata la maggior parte di quei luoghi, si riunirono insieme, e fermarono le sedie loro in Moda, in Soloente e in Palermo, vicino agli Elimi ; tra perchè confidavano nella confederazione di questi , e perchè Cartagine è di l' distante un tragitto cortissimo. Ed ecco come e quanti barbari abitarono la Sicilia.

Commentary

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

στρατόπεδον —often used for an army stationed in a permanent camp.

ἀπροσδόκητοι —active: ‘were not at this moment expecting an immediate engagement.’

ἀπεληλύθεσαν —sc. ἐς τὴν πόλιν.

οἱ δέ —‘others,’ who were returning from Cataua (c. 65, 3), or coming from Syracuse. There was no time to form up regularly.

ἐς ὅσον . . ἀντέχοι —iterative opt., referring to several battles ( οὔτ’ ἐν ταὐτῃ οὕτ’ ἐν ταῖς ἅλλαις).

τῷ δὲ ἐλλείποντι αὐτῆς —‘owing to its short-comings they unwillingly abandoned their inteutions as well.’

ὅμως δέ —answering ἀπροσδόκητοι μἐν. οὐκ ἂν οἰόμενοι . . ἀμύνασθαι is concessive, the ἄν belonging both to ἐπελθεῖν and ἀμύνασθαι: ‘though they did not think that the A. would make an attack on them and that they would suddenly be forced to defend themselves.’ (According to this version οἰόμενοι ἂν ἀμύνασθαι ἀναγκαζόμενοι is the construction. The edd. make ἀναγκαζόμενοι govern ἀμύνασθαι, and Stahl, seeing that by that construction ἀναγκαζόμενοι ἀμύνασθαι ought to be causal, not concessive, is reduced to bracketing οὐκ ἂν οἰόμενοι . . καί as spurious.)

ἀναγκαζόμενοι —‘by compulsion.’ They had thought to choose their own time

οἱ λιθοβόλοι —Wasse and Bloomfield quote several passages to show that these men threw stones and are therefore distinct from slingers.

οἷα —sc. ποιεῖν. Cf. II. 54 οἷα εἰκὸς ἀνεμνήσθησαν, and ὡς εἰκός .

ἐποίουν τροπάς —‘put one another to flight.’ ποιεῖν τροπήν is to ‘cause a flight’ where the enemy returns to fight; ποιεῖσθαι τ. is ‘to defeat’ outright.

μάντεις —some are known to have gone with the A. to Sicily.

ὀτρύνω and its cmpds. are Ionic.

τῆς ἰδίας —governed by περί, and applying to σωτηρίας and ἐλευθερίας. See II. 44 , quoted on c. 55, 3.

τὸ μὲν αὐτίκα, τὸ δὲ μέλλον —‘present . . future.’ With τὸ μέλλον cf. τὸ ἀρχαῖον, τὸ παλαιόν, τὸ λοιπόν.

περί τε τῆς ἀλλοτρίας —sc. μαχούμενοι, on which also depends σχεῖν, the addition being due to the contrast with τὴν οἰκείαν μὴ βλάψαι. Cf. I. 50 πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐτράποντο φονεύειν μᾶλλον ἢ ζωγρεῖν.

οἱ αὐτόνομοι —see c. 68, 2. The force of the distinction between the independent and dependent allies is this: for the former love of country was a principal object; for the latter the chief object was safety at the moment, and it might be that by a victory their country would become more worth living in.

ἀνελπίστου = ἣ ἀνέλπιστος ἦν.

ἔπειτα δέ κτλ —‘and a secondary motive was the possibility that by helping to subdue others they might find their subjeetion to Athens ( αὐτοῖς) less oppressive.’

ἄλλο τι is object to ξυγκαταστρεψάμενον, to which supply τὸ ὑπήκοον. The return to the neut. sing. is influenced by τι ἄλλο, which stands for τινας ἄλλους.

Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 6.2

Theodor Braun (Translator)

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