Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War 2.60

ἄρχεται —not historic, but primary and connected with γέγραπται below. Thuc. means to say ‘what preceded ( i.e. book I.) was an introduction: now begins (my account of) the war itself.’ Cf. ἀρξάμενος, I. 1, 1: Diod. XII. 37 τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐντεῦθεν ἀρξάμενος. Ullrich first rightly explained this passage.

ὁ πόλεμος — i.e. the Archidamian War, 431-421; not the whole war to 404.

ἐνθένδε ἤδη —cf. Aristoph. Ach. 539 κἀντεῦθεν ἤδη πάταγος ἦν τῶν ἀσπίδων, referring to the outbreak of the war. ἐνθένδε refers back to I. 146, i.e. the account of the αἰτίαι καὶ διαφοραὶ is now concluded. (The other explanation, referring ἐνθένδε to the attack on Plataea, is less satisfactory, as ἐνθένδε is so far from the account of the attempt.)

τῶν ἑκατέροις ξ. —when ξύμμαχος is in the gen. plu., it is generally constructed as an adj., following that of ξυμμαχεῖν. Thus cacophony is avoided. Contrast I. 18 τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ξυμμάχοις, IV. 81 τοῖς Ἀθηναίων ξ. ἐν ᾧ—neut. Cf. c. 11, 6, 35, 2, = quo tempore. It expresses not merely time, but includes circumstances. ἐν ᾧ=‘during which period.’

οὔτε...τε —cf. c. 5, 5.

ἐπεμείγνυντο παρ’ ἀλλήλους —the ἐπι-expresses reciprocity, as in ἐπιχρῆσθαι. During the period of suspicion which preceded war, ἐπεμείγνυντο καὶ παρ’ ἀλλήλους ἐφοίτων ἀκηρύκτως μέν, ἀνυπόπτως δ’ οὔ, 1.146 .

καταστάντες —sc. ἐς πόλεμον , when once they had definitely started. Cf. c. 9, 1 and I. 49, 3. This refers to the interval between the attempt at Plataea and the invasion of Attica.

ξυνεχῶς —down to the truce that preceded the Peace of Nicias. Cf. v. 24 ταῦτα τὰ δέκα ἔτη ὁ πρῶτος πόλεμος ξυνεχῶς γενόμενος , VI. 26 ἄρτι δ’ ἀνειλήφει ἡ πόλις ἑαυτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξυνεχοῦς πολέμου.

γέγραπται —sc. μοι.—This resumes ἄρχεται, but γέγραπται is probably impersonal, Thuc. meaning γέγραφα. Attic prose shows a marked preference for perf. pass. over perf. act. forms in 3rd sing. Thus ἃ πέπρακταί μοι is far commoner than ἃ πέπραχα, which is quite rare. γέγραφα occurs once in Thuc., γέγραπται ἐγέγραπτο or partic. nine times.

ἑξῆς —explained by κατὰ θ. καὶ χειμῶνα. Distinguish between τάξις, the arrangement of the subject matter as a whole, διαίρεσις, the divisions in which the separate events are grouped, ἐξεργασία, the treatment of the separate events. It is to the διαίρεσις that Thuc. refers.

ὡς ἕκαστα ἐγίγνετο —neut. plu. is used of the several events, just as Thuc. uses αὐτὰ constantly of the details of the subject he is dealing with.

κατὰ θ. καὶ χειμῶνα —as Thuc. begins his account of each summer with the first event of the new campaign, the summer in his history does not always begin exactly at the same time. Thus in 429, the account of summer begins with the Peloponnesian expedition against Plataea, which took place ἀκμάζοντος τοῦ σίτου, i.e. 80 days after the opening of spring ( II. 71, 1; 79, 1; cf. c. 19, 1 and 2, 1). In 428 the account of the summer only begins ἅμα τῷ ἦρι ἀκμάζοντι ( III. 1, 1). Phormio's arrival at Piraeus did not occur till spring had opened; but, for the sake of convenience, that event is tacked on to the preceding winter ( II. 103 ). But usually the opening of spring is reckoned with summer. Autumn also is counted with summer. Though Steup maintains that summer and winter are of equal length in Thuc., Poppo's view, that the summer consists of eight months (Elaphebolion to Pyanepsion) is probably correct. Thus the winter is from Maemacterion to Anthesterion.

γὰρ —takes up ἄρχεται and introduces the narrative. So c. 49, τὸ μὲν γαρ ἔτος takes up δηλώσω. ἐνέμειναν—the aor. of a single historical fact. M. T. 56, 57 (sometimes called ‘complexive).’

Εὐβοίας ἅλωσιν —Euboea revolted at the same time as Megara, 445 B.C. See I. 114, 115. The place of the article is taken by the gen., as often. Cf. I. 1 διὰ χρόνου πλῆθος. Comparing this phrase with c. 49, 4 μετὰ ταῦτα λωφήσαντα, VI. 3, 3 μετὰ Συρακούσας οἰκισθείσας, II 68 ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀμπρακιωτῶν ξυνοικησάντων, VI. 80, 2, and similar predicative uses of the partic. collected by Stahl, Quaest. Gram. p. 28, we might suppose that Thuc. could have written μετὰ Εὔβοιαν ἁλοῦσαν, just as below we have ἐπὶ Χρυσίδος ἱερωμένης, but, with the solitary exception of ἅμα with expressions of time, as ἄμα τῷ σίτῳ ἀκμάζοντι, it is improbable that this convenient use of the partic. was ever employed unless the expression made sense without the partic., which would not be the case here. This convenient use is of course much commoner in Latin than in Greek.

ἐπὶ Χρυσίδος —Argos, though humbled by Sparta, 495 B.C., was still the third state in Greece. The Argives reckoned by the number of years during which the priestess of Hera had held office. Hellanicus had written a work on the Priestesses of Argos, using them as marks for the dates.

Αἰνησίου —sc. ἐπί: so with Πυθοδώρου. ἐφόρου — i.e. the Ephor ἐπώνυμος. The omission of ὄντος, for which cf. v. 25, 1, is rare except in dates. ἐφόρου ὄντος = ἐφορεύοντος. τέσσαρας μῆνας—the archons entered on office on the 1st of Hecatombaeon, which in 431 B.C. fell on August 1st. To express a period of time, the pres. (or imperf.) or perf. (or pluperf.) participle is used: to supply the reference to the completion of the period, ( a) ἤδη is added, in primary sequence, which becomes τότε in secondary sequence: both refer to a period past at the time of speaking: ( b) ἔτι referring to the completion of a period in the future. Thus v. 112, 2 οὔτ’ ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ πόλεως ἑπτακόσια ἔτη ἤδη οἰκουμένης τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀφαιρησόμεθα, and observe τότε ἱερωμένης and ἔτι ἄρχοντος here. The four months are Elaphebolion, Munychion, Thargelion, Scirophorion.

Ἀθηναίοις —cf. 1. 93 ἀρχὴν ἄρχειν Ἀθηναίοις, but in v. 25 ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι. The dative is probably local. Cf. c. 86 and 92 ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀθηναίων for ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν. [

μετὰ τὴν μηνὶ ἕκτῳ ]. Reasons for regarding these words as a later addition to the text are 1. Nearly a year ( I. 125 ) intervened between the day on which the allies of Sparta decided to go to war and the first invasion of Attica (c. 19 ). Between the battle of Potidaea and the decision came the events recorded in I.63-88 , 118-125 . The invasion was 80 days after the attempt on Plataea (c. 19 ). So for the period between the battle at Potidaea and the attempt on Plataea we get nearly a year minus 80 days and the time occupied by the events of I. 63-88, 118-125. The result must clearly be more than six months But Lipsius' ἕκτῳ καὶ δεκάτῳ probably gives too much time: thus, from battle at Potidaea to attempt on Plataea = 15 months; from attempt on Plataea to invasion of Attica = 80 days. Total about 17 1/2 months. Deducting nearly a year for the time between the decision of the allies and the invasion, we get about 6 1/2 months, at least, for the events of I.63-88 , 118-125 . These events were as follows: the Athenians built a wall on the north side of Potidaea and garrisoned it. After a considerable interval ( χρόνῳ ὕστερον) Phormio was sent from Athens with 1600 hoplites. He spent some time on the road ( κατὰ βραχὺ προιών). On arriving, he built a wall south of Potidaea. The Corinthians called a meeting of allies at Sparta. The Spartans sent to Delphi. Then a general meeting of allies was held at Sparta. at which the decision was come to. It is not clear whether the Corinthians proposed the first meeting after the north wall was built, or only after the south wall was finished. It is however highly improbable that they waited to take action till Potidaea was completely shut in; for they were most anxious about Potidaea, and were anxious to force on war. The Athenians would occupy about a month in building the north wall. Thus the Corinthians probably suggested the meeting about 40 days after the battle. Thus, the whole time would only be about 40 days + the time taken in the mission to Delphi and the calling of the second meeting. 2. The bracketed words give no additional indication of the date of the attempt on Plataea. Thuc. wishes to be precise here, but he has given no definite indication of the date of the battle at Potidaea, nor was it necessary to do so. He says (1) the decision of the allies was some 11 months before the invasion, (2) the invasion was 80 days after the attempt. All that could be found from μηνὶ ἕκτῳ would be the date of the battle of Potidaea. If any event were here referred to it would rather be the decision of the allies.

ἅμα ἦρι ἀρχομένῳ —the last day of Anthesterion, in 431 April 4th. See c. 4, 2

βοιωταρχοῦντες —the 11 chiefs of the Boeotian confederacy, of whom Thebes elected two, the other cities one each.

περὶ πρῶτον ὕπνον —cf. VII. 43 ἀπὸ πρώτου ὕπνου. When the article is omitted with expressions of time, a preposition is usually present, except with ἡμέρας and νυκτός. See Rutherford, Syntax, p. 4. There were three watches, the first beginning about 10 o'clock.

ξὺν ὅπλοις —in later Attic, except Xenophon, σὺν has only two uses; (1) the old phrase σὺν ( τοῖς) θεοῖς, (2) in enumerating things which are thrown together in a sum total; so that σὺν is very rare with persons, and it never implies a willing connection. Andoc. II. 7 τὸν πατέρα σὺν ἐμαυτῷ ἀποκτεῖναι. Of (1) Thuc. has 1 example, II. 86 ; of (2) 11 examples, e.g. ( a) with things —c. 13 , 77 ,; v. 26 ξὺν τῷ πρώτῳ πολέμῳ τοσαῦτα ἔτη. Cf. VII. 42 ; VIII. 90 , 95 : ( b) with persons, comparatively common in Thuc., I. 12 ; II. 6, 13 ; IV. 124 ; v. 74 . Besides these, Thuc. has the old military phrase, ξὺν ( τοῖς ) ὅπλοις, 8 times. Cf. Eur. Hec. 112 . Aristoph. Nub, 560. In the same class fall ξὺν ἑνὶ ἱματίῳ, II. 70, ψιλοὶ ξὺν ξιφιδίῳ and ξὺν δορατίοις III. 22. Cf. the Homeric σὺν τεύχεσι. Further, 6 cases of verbal nouns which modify the meaning of a verb, viz.: ξὺν ἐπαίνῳ ἐξοτρύνειν I. 84, ξὺν κατηγορίᾳ παροξύνειν ib., ξὺν χαλεπότητι παιδεύεσθαι ib., ξὺν φόβῳ ἔχειν τι I. 141, ξὺν ἀνάγκῃ τι παθεῖν III. 40, ξὺν προφάσει κακῶς ποιεῖν ib. The absence of this archaic idiom from the later books is remarkable. Lastly, 3 cases of a connection willingly formed, viz. : II. 58 ; III. 90 ; VII. 57 . This is common in Tragedy and Xenophon. In inscriptions of the classical period only the Attic use marked (2) above is found, and that never with persons.

ἐπηγάγοντο —the τάξις (see on c. 1 ) of this c. is dramatic, the causes which led to the attempt being given parenthetically in 2 and 3, while the narrative is continued at 4.

Πλαταιῶν ἄνδρες —the Thebans call them, III. 65, ἄνδρες οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ χρήμασι καὶ γένει. These leaders of the aristocratic party represent the great land-owners as distinct from the merchants.

ἄνδρας τοὺς ὑπεναντίους —the order, noun, art, adj., puts emphasis on the adj. Cf. c. 34, 4.

ἔπραξαν —of manipulation or diplomacy, as often. Cf. c. 5, 7. An abuse of the meaning ‘to succeed.’

ἔσοιτο — was certain. Cf. c. 13, 1.

ἔτι ἐν εἰρήνῃ —cf. III. 13 ἔτι ἐν τῇ εἰρήνῃ, and c. 5, 4. Here τε καὶ joins a positive to a negative expression which merely repeats it from another point of view. Cf. v. 9, 2 τῷ τε κατ’ ὀλίγον καὶ μὴ ἄπαντας κινδυνεύειν.

μήπω —the sentence expresses a wish.

ᾗ καὶ ρᾷον —cf. ᾗ καὶ μᾶλλον I. 11, 25; III. 13 ; IV. 1, 103. ᾗ καὶ before a comparative adverb emphasizes an inference.

ἔλαθον ἐσελθόντες —see M. T. 144, 146, 887.

προκαθεστηκυίας —Pp. compares anteponere vigilias, Tac. An. I. 50.

θέμενοι τὰ ὅπλα — cum in foro constitissent, lit. ‘having grounded their arms.’

τοῖς ἐπαγομένοις —the temporal force is lost, and the partic. becomes a substantive, as in οἱ προδιδόντες c. 5 .

ἐπείθοντο ὥστε —cf. c. 101, 5.

ὥστε is often inserted with verbs which take simple infin., the main emphasis is transferred from the finite to the infin. M. T. 588.

ἔργου ἔχεσθαι — rem aggredi. Cf. 1.49, 7 , 78, 3.

ἰέναι ἐς —for the hostile sense of ἰέναι cf. v. 69 ἐς τὴν γῆν ἐλθεῖν, ‘to attack.’ ἐπὶ is commoner than ἐς, as I. 58 ἢν ἐπὶ Ποτείδαιαν ἴωσιν. Cf. c. 3, 4. ἔρχομαι, εἶμι, ἥκω, ἦλθον and synonyms are far more supple in sense than our ‘to come.’ Note that the moods of εἶμι are usually present in meaning, except in Oratio Obliqua.

γνώμην ἐποιοῦντο — i.e. ἐγίγνωσκον, ‘came to a decision.’

ἐπιτηδείοις —so c. 18, 3.

καὶ ἀνεῖπεν —‘and in fact,’ καὶ introducing the parenthesis and emphasizing the word following. Cf. c. 49, 5, 51, 5.

εἴ τις βούλεται —in a protasis to a condition in Oratio Obliqua, probably only the future indicative is ever changed into optative, so that the optative in protasis in Or. Obl., except in the future, represents either ἢν and subjunctive or εἰ and optative of the Recta.

κατὰ τὰ πάτρια —in Iliad II. 504 Plataea is enumerated among the Boeotian confederate cities.

ξυμμαχεῖν —this may be a gloss on τίθεσθαι κ.τ.λ. Cf. IV. 30 προκαλούμενοι, εἰ βούλοιντο, τὰ ὅπλα κελεύειν παραδοῦναι, and so 37 ; v. 115 ἐκήρυξαν, εἴ τις βούλεται, λῄζεσθαι, VII. 82 κήρυγμα ποιοῦνται, εἴ τις βούλεται, ὡς σφᾶς ἀπιέναι. With βούλομαι an infinitive has often to be supplied from the context.

ὡς ᾔσθοντο —cf. c. 5, 4, 31, 1, 94, 3. The aorist is usual with ὡς, but, whatever tense is used, it is always independent of that of the main verb. In this respect ὡς differs from other temporal particles. Thus if imperf. is used, as in c. 77, 1, or pluperf. as in c. 59, 1, it is because that tense is required to describe a continuous or completed act, apart from the main verb. If the act in a temporal sentence is represented as simultaneous with or preceding the action of the main sentence, ὅτε or ἐπειδὴ is used.

ᾔσθοντο —‘became aware,’ ingressive aor., a use almost confined to 1st aor. forms.

ἐξαπιναίως —this and ἐξαπίνης, in place of ἐξαίφνης or αἰφνιδίως, are Ionic, and only found in Thuc. and Xenophon of Attic prose writers. [Dem.] c. Neaeram § 99 is copied from this passage. Cf. c. 48, 2, 93, 3.

καταδείσαντες καὶ ν. — ingressive, ‘having become alarmed,’ etc.

πολλῷ πλείους — sc. ἢ ἐσῆλθον. An ellipse with comparative is very common.

ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ — per noctis caliginem. Cf. ἐν νυκτὶ below, and c. 4 ἐν σκότῳ καὶ πήλῳ.

πρὸς ξ. ἐχώρησαν — se converterunt Cf. III. 66 προείπομεν τὸν βουλόμενον κατὰ τὰ πάντων Βοιῶτων πάτρια πολιτεύειν ἰέναι πρὸς ἡμᾶς, IV. 120, VIII. 40, 2.

ἐνεωτέριζον —the subject is changed, as in 4 below . Thuc. assumes that his readers will follow the narrative attentively.

πράσσοντές πως —the particle implies that unnecessary details are omitted. Cf. ἄλλως πως in brief narrative, I. 99, , VI.2 .

κρατήσειν —Cl. defends κρατῆσαι, on the ground that the aor. expresses confidence in the result of the action in ἐπιθέμενοι. But the aor. inf. is very doubtful used thus for the future.

τῷ γὰρ πλήθει — γὰρ gives the writer's explanation, and shows that οἱ Πλαταιῆς above was loosely used for τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Π.

βουλομένῳ ἦν —so VII. 35 ; VIII. 92, 6. M. T. 900. The editors compare Sallust, Jug. 84

, ib., 100 Livy XXI. 50 .

ἐπιχειρητέα εἶναι —cf. I. 118 ἐπιχειρητέα ἐδόκει εἶναι πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ. Plur. neut. forms for sing. are very common in Thuc., especially with verbals.

ξυνελέγοντο —with παρ’ ἀλλήλους, διορύσσοντες τοὺς τ.—cf. τοιχωρύχος.

ἁμάξας τε —the conjunction adds a third and important fact, as often.

ᾖ —sc. αὐτό, what has just been described, the barrier of waggons.

ἑτοῖμα —the plur. marks the details of a complex act. See c. 10, 2

φυλάξαντες ἔτι νύκτα —cf. VII. 83 τῆς νυκτὸς φυλάξαντες τὸ ἡσυχάζον. ‘Waited for the time when it was still night.’

ἔτι νύκτα is equivalent to τὴν ἔτι νύκτα.

φυλάξαντες ἔτι νύκτα —cf c. 2, 1.

καὶ —adds the more exact time.

περίορθρον —the beginning of that time of night denoted by ὄρθρος. Cf. IV. 110 νυκτὸς ἔτι καὶ περὶ ὄρθρον, VI. 101 περὶ ὄρθρον, According to Phrynichus (Bekker An. Gr. 54, 8) ὄρθρος ἐστιν ἡ ὥρα τῆς νυκτὸς καθ’ ἣν ἀλεκτρύονες ᾅδουσιν. ἄρχεται δὲ ἐνάτης ὥρας καὶ τελευτᾷ εἰς διαγελῶσαν ἡμέραν. So in III. 112, Demosthenes attacked the Ambraciots ἅμα ὄρθρῳ, at which time they could not distinguish friend from foe, νυκτὸς ἔτι οὔσης. Thus the Plataean rally was at about 2 o'clock.

γίγνωνται —sc. οἱ Θηβαῖοι. Cf. I. 143 οὐκέτι ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου ἔσται, III. 12, 3.

φοβερώτεροι —for the passive meaning, ‘timid,’ cf. IV. 128, 4. Conversely ἀδεὴς which is usually active is occasionally passive = not formidable. See I. 36, 1. Cf. προστρόπαιος, ἀλιτήριος, and in Latin formidolosus and others. See Cook on Sallust, Cat. 39, 2. Shil. quotes Soph. O. T. 153 φοβερὰν φρένα δείματι πάλλων.

ἥσσους ὦσι τῆς — i.e. ἡσσῶνται equivalent to νικῶνται ὑπὸ τῆς κ.τ.λ. σφετέρας—indirect reflexive, i.e. refers to subject of the main verb, not to that of its own clause. Cf. c. 83, 3, 89, 4; IV. 37, 1; V. 47 ; VII. 48 ; VIII. 74, 3. This is the regular use of σφέτερος, whereas σφέτερος αὐτῶν is the same as ἑαυτῶν. But Thuc. also uses σφέτερος alone as direct reflexive, as IV. 33 οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν τῇ σφετέρᾳ ἐμπειρίᾳ χρήσασθαι: and in dependent clauses, as c. 71 and IV. 11 τας σφετέρας ναῦς καταγνύναι ἐκέλευε. ta\ sfe/tera is direct in c. 20, 4; IV. 99, 1, indirect in III. 68, 3.

προσέβαλόν τε — inferential τε, ‘and so.’

ἔγνωσαν —‘became aware,’ ingressive.

ξυνεστρέφοντο —‘proceeded to rally,’ imperf. expressing difficulty.

σφίσιν αὐτοῖς —in c. 65, 12, 76, 2 Thuc. has the Ionic use of σφᾶς alone as a direct reflexive. See Rutherford, Syntax, p. 11.

δὶς μὲν ... ἔπειτα —cf IV. 115 καὶ μίαν μὲν ἡμέραν ἀπεκρούσαντο, τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ. As regards ἔπειτα without δέ, the ordinary use is πρῶτον ( πρῶτα ) μὲν. ἔπειτα, which Thuc. uses 28 times; see c. 19, 2, 49, 2, 75, 1, 89, 2, 96, 1, 98, 1. He has πρῶτον ( πρῶτα) μὲν ... ἔπειτα δὲ 8 times; see c. 55, 84. If καὶ follows ἔπειτα, δὲ is always inserted, e.g. c. 84 ; IV. 43 ; VII. 23 ; VIII. 48 ; also μάλιστα μὲν is always followed by ἔπειτα δέ, as c. 54 ; I. 75 ; VI. 11, 4, 16, 5, 67, 2. If the more emphatic ἔπειτα μέντοι is used, it is preceded by τὸ πρῶτον or τὸ μὲν π., as III. 93, 1, 111, 3; VIII. 75, 1, 86, 2. τὸ μὲν πρῶτον .. ἔπειτα occurs I. 131 ; V. 41, 3, 84, 2; the same, but ἔπειτα δὲ c. 48 ; v. 41, 2. πρῶτον alone is always answered by ἔπειτα alone, unless καὶ follows ἔπειτα, as in VII. 23 τὸ μέγιστον πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ κ.τ.λ. After other phrases, ἔπειτα is without δὲ in 10 cases, has δὲ in 2, viz. c. 92, 1; I. 18, 3.

κραυγῇ —Moeris says κεκραγμὸς Ἀττικοί, κραυγὴ Ἕλληνες, but κεκραγμός , κέκραγμα and κραυγή are all Attic words. Perhaps Moeris really wrote κραυγασμὸς Ἕλληνες, which would agree with Phrynichus.

καὶ —there is chiasmus here and in λίθοις καὶ κεράμῳ.

ὀλολυγῇ —‘cheering,’ this word is used regularly of women. Pollux I. 28 ὀλολῦξαι καὶ ὀλολυγῇ χρήσασθαι ἐπὶ γυναικῶν. Hence κραυγῇ goes with οἰκετῶν, ὀλολυγῇ with γυναικῶν. Eur. I. T. 1337 ἀνωλόλυξε καὶ κατῇδε of Iphigenia; cf. Aesch. Ag. 587 of Clytaemnestra. Verg. Aen. IV. 667, IX. 477 femineo ululatu.

τε ... τε —these join χρωμένων to βαλλόντων and represent the two actions as going on simultaneously. Cf. c. 22 ἐκκλησίαν τε οὐκ ἐποίει ... τήν τε πόλιν ἐφύλασσε.

λίθοις καὶ κεράμῳ —no doubt the slaves had gathered the stones, while the women removed the tiles. For κέραμος collective, cf. III. 74, 1; IV. 48, 2. So ἔπαλξις c. 13, κάλαμος c. 76 . Xen. Mem. III. 1, 7 λίθοι καὶ πλίνθοι καὶ ξύλα καὶ κέραμος.

διὰ νυκτὸς —cf. διὰ παντὸς c. 16, 2 .

πολλοῦ —predicate with ἐπιγενομένου Cf. VII. 87 αἱ νύκτες ἐπιγιγνόμεναι μετοπωριναὶ καὶ ψυχραί.

ἐπιγενομένου —expresses any sudden or unexpected phenomenon. Cf. c. 64, 1, 70, 1, 77, 5. The other meaning occurs in 4 below .

οἱ πλείους —the subject is here limited by apposition from all to the majority, Cf. I. 2, 6 οἱ ἐκπίπτοντες ... οἱ δυνατώτατοι. So in Latin, Livy XXI.24, 2 Galli ... aliquot populi.

πηλῷ —so that progress was impeded. Cf. c. 5, 2. This shows that the streets of Plataea were bad, like Greek streets generally. On the outskirts of the town the soil was certainly soft, and the Thebans fled in the direction of the valley of the Asopus, so that the further they went, the worse the road became. Probably in wet weather the streets of the town resembled water-courses carrying down the water from Cithaeron to the Asopus.

τῶν διόδων —belongs like ᾗ χρὴ ς. to ἄπειροι ὄντες.

ᾗ χρὴ — takes the place of a deliberative subj. (why?). Cf. I. 91, 1 οὐκ εἶχον ὅπως χρὴ ἀπιστῆσαι.

καὶ γὰρ —explains only ἐν σκότῳ , πηλῷ being already explained in ὑετοῦ ἅμα. τελευτῶντος τοῦ μηνὸς—there was a new moon on the early morning of the 7th April 431, and, as the Attic months were lunar, assuming the calendar to have been in perfect order (it must have been in fair order), the month Elaphebolion began at sunset on the 6th April. The attempt was made at the end of Anthesterion, on the night of April 4th or 5th. When the calendar month did not correspond with the true lunar month, the true day of the new moon was called νουμηνία κατὰ σελήνην (c. 28 ).

ἐμπείρους δὲ ἔχοντες τοὺς δ. —for ἐμπείρων δὲ ὄντων τῶν δ. Cf. I. 144 αὐτονόμους ἀφήσομεν εἰ καὶ αὐτονόμους ἔχοντες ἐσπεισάμεθα.

[τοῦ μὴ ἐκφεύγειν —this is taken as ne effugereni. (There is another tradition, due to Kr., that it expresses a consequence, which is not in good Attic.) It must depend on διώκοντας,—which gives the platitude that the enemy pursued them that they might not escape. To avoid this, Cl. explains it as equivalent to τοῦ μὴ ἐᾶν ἐκφεύγειν and constructs it with ἐμπείρους. But (1) there is no other case of gen, of inf. with adjectives in Thuc., (2) ἐμπείρους τοῦ ἐκφεύγειν ought to mean ‘experienced in escaping.’ Supply τῶν διόδων with ἐμπείρους. ὥστε διεφθείροντο οἱ π.]—the article, found in BCEFGM and in A corrected, contradicts τὸ πλεῖστον in 5 below, and ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν c. 5, 7, the number captured out of a force of few over 300 (c. 2, 1), when many others had been killed or had escaped (4 below). Bekker omits οἱ, followed by most edd., and the imitation of Aen. Pol. 2, 6 is quoted οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔφυγον ἄπειροι ὄντες ᾗ χρὴ σωθῆναι, οἱ δὲ ἐμπείρως διώκοντες πάνυ πολλοὺς ἔφθειραν. But on reading the whole chap. to 4, it becomes clear that no results of the flight are given till 4, where the fate of the whole number is told: so that these words break the continuity of the narrative.

στυρακίῳ ἀκοντίου — στυράκιον λαβών τις ἐν τῷ μοχλῷ τῆς θύρας ἐνέβαλεν, Schol. The στυράκιον is the spike at the top of a small javelin for fixing it in the ground; = Homeric σαυρωτήρ. This was used instead of the βάλανος or iron pin which was driven through the μόχλος (bar) and the door, and could not be removed without a key ( βαλανάγρα, κλείς), which fitted into it. Arnold remarks that the action is the same as spiking a gun. Cf. Aristoph. Av. 1159 ἅπαντ’ ἐκεῖνα πεπύλωται πύλαις καὶ βεβαλάνωται καὶ φυλάττεται κύκλῳ. χρησάμενος ἐς —cf. c. 49 ἔδρασαν ἐς τὰ φρέατα.

διωκόμενοι .. ἀναβάντες ἔρριψαν —the 1st partic. gives the cause of ἀνάβαντες, while the latter is temporal to ἔρριψαν. Cf. c. 59, 3, 76, 1, 90, 3. The 2nd partic. tends to become a mere adverb to the verb, as c. 90, 1 βουλόμενοι προαγαγεῖν αὐτούς, ἀναγαγόμενοι ἔπλεον. οἱ μέν τινες ... οἱ δὲ ... ἄλλοι δὲ ... τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον—the partic. διωκόμενοι is subdivided. Also οἱ μέν τινες is restricted by οἱ πλείους.

λαθόντες καὶ ]—it is evident that γυναικὸς δούσης πέλεκυν must be joined with διακόψαντες, but καὶ is in the way of this. But, though Stahl's reading is given, perhaps Thuc. wrote γυναικὸς δούσης πέλεκυν καὶ διακόψαντες τὸν μοχλὸν λαθόντες ἐξῆλθον. There would then be no objection to καί. For the want of symmetry in δούσης καὶ διακόψαντες, see c. 25, 1. For the two participles διακόψαντες, λαθόντες, the first temporal, the second defining the verb, see c. 33, 3. The objection to bracketing καὶ only is that Thuc. would have written λάθρᾳ διακόψαντες, as IV. 110 ; VIII. 84.

ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλῃ τῆς —cf. c. 76 ἄλλας δὲ ἄλλῃ τοῦ τείχους.

τὸ πλεῖστον ... ἐσπίπτουσιν —plur. verb after a collective, as often. Rutherford, Syntax, p. 21.

ὃ ἦν τοῦ τείχους —cf. I. 134 οἴκημα ὃ ἦν τοῦ ἱεροῦ. It was not usual in early times to have buildings adjacent to the walls. Cf. c. 17, 1 note. Hence the Thebans thought the building was part of the gate-way, supposing it to be double like the Dipylon at Athens. Thebes prided herself on her seven great gates, and it is highly improbable that the pomoerium was thus violated in that city. There cannot have been many such buildings at Plataea, for in c. 76 we see there was room for a curved wall between the τεῖχος and the mass of the buildings.

ἀνεῳγμέναι ἔτυχον —in order to represent the action as complete, the perf. partic., not aor., has to be used with τυγχάνω, λανθάνω , φθάνω, unless the verb is in imperf, or pres. See M. T. 144, 146, 147, 887. Cf. I. 103 Ναύπακτον ἔτυχον ᾑρηκότες. αὐτοῦ—in the second member of a relative sentence the relative is not repeated, but a demonstrative or personal pron. takes its place. Cf. c. 34, 5, 72, 1, 74, 3. Exceptions are c. 43, 3, 44, 1, where the relative is repeated. Cf. ‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He shall throughly purge His floor.’

πύλας — πύλαι τοῦ τείχους, θύραι τοῦ οἴκου Schol. Cf. τεῖχος and τοῖχος. ἄντικρυς—‘right through.’ In VI. 49 it means direct. In all other places in Thuc. downright, complete, as VIII. 64 ἐπὶ τὴν ἄντικρυς ἐλευθερίαν. It is said that ἄντικρυς = φανερῶς , ἄντικρυ (not found in Thuc.) = ἐξ ἐναντίας .

κατακαύσωσιν —cf. c. 52 οὐκ ἔχοντες ὅ τι γένωνται. ὥσπερ ἔχουσιν—sc. οἱ Θηβαῖοι, on the spot. Often in Thuc., but later Atties use οὕτως in much the same sense.

τὰ ὅπλα καὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς —the phrase is common, and the order is always the same. Cf. IV. 21, 3, 30, 4, 37, 2, 38, 3. Livy XXII. 60, 24 and 26 arma et vos ipsos traditis.

χρήσασθαι ὅ τι ἂν β. —with χρήσασθαι supply σφίσι only. Cf. c. 24, 2. χρήσασθαι expresses purpose, the act. or mid. being regular in this construction even when the pass. might seem more suitable. M. T. 770. The phrase is regular in the terms of a complete surrender. Cf. IV. 69, 3; VII. 85, 1. Andoc. I. 11, 26.

μὲν δὴ —dismisses the subject.

ἐπεπράγεσαν —the pluperf shows that Thuc. has anticipated: in c. 5 he goes back.

ἔδει παραγενέσθαι —‘ought to have reached Plataea.’ M. T. 415. Cf. c. 92, 7, 95, 3.

εἴ τι ἄρα —cf. c. 12, 1. The following are noteworthy: (1) εἴ μὴ ἄρα = nisi forte, e.g. Xen. Mem. I. 2, 8 πῶς ἂν οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀνὴρ διαφθείροι τοὺς νέους; εἰ μὴ ἄρα ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμέλεια διαφθορά ἐστιν. (2) εί ἄρα in indirect questions, e.g. Plat. Phaedo, 95 B πειρώμεθα εί ἄρα τι λέγεις. (3) εἰ ἄρα or ἢν ἄρα in protasis, as I. 140 ἢν ἄρα τι καὶ σφαλλώμεθα . ἄρα implies a quite unlikely contingency.

προχωροίη —the apodosis is only implied in ἔδει παραγενἐσθαι . M. T. 696. ἢν προχωρῇ might have been kept. προχωρεῖν is a favourite word with Thuc.

ἅμα —belongs to ῥηθείσης, as c. 4 ὑετοῦ ἅμα ἐπιγενομένου. ῥηθείσης—more usually ἐλθούσης, but the former is better suited to a hurried announcement to an army on the march.

τῶν γεγενημένων —the Theban reinforcements were ignorant of the destruction of their friends when they arrived, see 4 below. Hence these τὰ γεγενημένα told them were not complete. The message was doubtless brought by those who escaped κατὰ πύλας ἐρήμους, who did not know all.

ἐπεβοήθουν —‘increased their speed.’ Cf. III. 110, 1.

ἑβδομήκοντα —probably rather over the direct route, but approximately correct measured by the road.

γενόμενον —of natural phenomena, as often. Cf. c. 77 ἐγένετο φλόξ, ὕδωρ καὶ βροντὰς γενομένας. ἐρρύη μέγας—cf. c. 75 ᾔρετο μέγα.

τε —‘and so.’

ὕστερον —‘late,’ cf. c. 80 ὕστερον ἦλθον.

τῶν ἀνδρῶν —apposition with τῶν μὲν ... τῶν δὲ, as in 4, 4 .

ζώντων —predicative.

κατασκευή —‘property,’ viz. household effects and farming implements. κατασκευὴ means anything that makes a place habitable and worth living in. See L. and S.

οἷα —Ionic for ἅτε.

ἐβούλοντο εἴ τινα λάβοιεν κ.τ.λ. — M. T. 695. The second protasis is not co-ordinate with the first. In a more certain form the sentence would run ὅντινα λάβοιειν ὑπάρχειν ἐβούλοντο ἀντὶ τῶν ἔνδον ἐζωγρημένων.

διαβουλευομένων —reciprocal mid., like διαλέγομαι, διαπράττομαι. When a compound of διὰ is not available, the same sense is given by ἐν ἑαυτοῖς or σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, as IV. 25, 9 παρακελευόμενοι ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, VIII. 76 παραινέσεις ἐποιοῦντο ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, sometimes by ἐν ἀλλήλοις, for which see c. 65, 11.

ὑποτοπήσαντες —rare and poetical, used by Thuc. 8 times, only in aor. inf. or partic.

περὶ τοῖς ἔξω —the dat. with περὶ gradually disappeared in Attic and occurs but once in the orators, Isocr. Ep. 9, 10. It is regular in Thuc. with verbs of fearing.

ὁσίως —when used of states, ὅσιος means in accordance with those principles of right dealing universally recognised ( jus gentium). Cf. III. 56 ἐτιμωρησάμεθα κατὰ τὸν πᾶσι νόμον καθεστῶτα, τὸν ἐπιόντα πολέμιον ὅσιον εἶναι ἀμύνέσθαι. ib. c. 58, 3. See on c. 52, 3. Eur. Hec. 788 .

σφῶν —with πόλιν. The position is for the sake of emphasis.

πειραθέντες —the Attic aor. of πειρῶμαι is ἐπειράθην, cf. c. 33, 2. But Thuc. uses also the lonic ἐπειρασάμην in c. 44 and 85.

ἔλεγον —interrupts the structure of οὔτε ... τε, but the irregularity is very slight. λέγω in sense of κελεύω regularly takes infin., μὴ being the neg.

εἰ δὲ μή —cf. I. 28 εἰ δὲ μή, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀναγκασθήσεσθαι ἔφασαν. The addition of ἔφασαν, suspected also by Kr. in both places, certainly adds clearness, yet Thuc. proceeds in a quite different way in c. 13. But the difference in the nature of the matter of these chapters (the one narrative, the other reflective) may account for the difference of style.

ἀναχωρησάντων ... αὐτοῖς —the use of the gen. abs. in spite of the dat. following, makes the act in the partic. more prominent, and prevents it from being a mere appendage of ἀποδώσειν. A common sacrifice of form to sense in Herod. and Thuc. αὐτοῖς is wrongly bracketed in the text.

ἐπομόσαι — jusjurandum addere. Does not occur elsewhere in Thuc.

εὐθὺς —with ἀποδώσειν. as the following words show.

ἤν τι ξυμβαίνωσι —closely with γενομένων, ‘with a view to an arrangement.’ ἢν ξυμβῶσι would be ‘if they come to an arrangement.’

δ’ οὖν —doubtful statements are dismissed and the narrative of facts resumed.

οὐδὲν ἀδικήσαντες —contrast οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦντες =‘guiltless.’

τὰ ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἐσεκομίσαντο —the preposition attracted to the verb, for ἐν. Cf. c. 13, 2, 14, 1.

ἀπέκτειναν —assuredly justified as an act of reprisal, but most impolitic, as calculated to provoke Thebes and Sparta.

εἷς αὐτῶν ἦν —the so-called partitive gen. is often used thus without εἷς, which is wanting in C. Cf. I. 85 εἷς τῶν ἐφόρων τότε ὤν, v. 59, 5; VIII. 39, 2.

πρὸς ὅν ἔπραξαν —so I. 131, I; IV. 114, 3. This is only a variant for πράσσειν with dat., as IV. 110, 2; v. 76, 3. But when many persons are dealt with, πράσσειν ἐς is also used, as I. 132, 4. The same three constructions follow λέγειν: πρός, Andoc. I. 48; dat., ib. I. 69; ἐς, ib., l.c. Eur. Hec. 303 εἷπον εἰς ἅπαντας, ‘proposed in the general assembly.’

οἱ προδιδόντες —see on c. 2, 4.

ἔπεμπον —the imperf. with verbs of ‘going’ and ‘sending,’ presenting the details of an elaborate negociation involving a journey, is common. Cf. c. 85, 2; I. 10, 5, 26, 1, and 3 below. But the aor. is also used. M. T. 57.

καὶ —has nothing to do with the τε preceding, which is answered by the τε following. Thus the sentence consists of two members joined by τε .. τε. Cf. I. 69, 1 τό τε πρῶτον ἐάσαντες . . καὶ ὔστερον τὰ μακρὰ στῆσαι τείχη, ἐς τόδε τε αἰεὶ ἀποστεροῦντες. So in 4 below.

ἠγγέλθη εὐθὺς —does not refer to ἔπεμπον ἄγγελον, but to two previous messages mentioned in 3 below. Plataea is something over 30 miles from Athens.

καὶ .. ξυνέλαβον — parataxis, presenting the two facts as almost concurrent. The second was prompt and hurried. Cf. I. 61 ἦλθε καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις εὐθὺς ἠ ἀγγελία ... καὶ πεμπουσιν. ἔπεμψαν ... κελεύοντες—the activity of the sender is continued in the person sent. Cf. c. 85, 1.

νεώτερον ποιεῖν — i.e. νεωτερίζειν. Cf. I. 132, 5; IV. 55 μὴ νεώτερόν τι γένηται. πρὶν ἂν—after historic tenses, πρὶν ἂν and subj. is used only in Oratio Obliqua. Cf. c. 84, 1, 102, 5.

ἅμα τῇ ἐσόδῳ γιγνομένῃ —see c. 2, 1.

οὕτω δὴ — gives the result of facts just stated, contrast c. 19, 1.

οὐκ εἰδότες — sc. ὅτι τεθνήκασιν. ἐπέστελλον—see 1 above.

ἐγκατέλιπον —so ἐγκαθέζομαι III. 1 ; ἐγκαθίστημι I. 4 ; ἐγκαθορμίζομαι IV. 1 ; ἐγκατοικοδομεῖν III. 18 ; ἐγκατασκήπτειν c. 47.

τοὺς ἀχρειοτάτους — sunt ἀχρεῖοι omnes inhabiles militiae,’ Pp. Cf. c. 44. Juv. 15, 126 imbelle et inutile vulgus. For the deeper application of ἀχρεῖος, see c. 40, 2.

ἐξεκόμισαν —c. 78, 3.

λελυμένων —before the attempt on Plataea, each side had interpreted the other's action as σπονδῶν ξύγχυσις ( I. 146 ), but there had been no open violation of the letter of the truce.

λαμπρῶς —cf. I. 49, 7; VIII. 66, 3, 75, 2.

παρεσκευάζοντο δὲ —the anaphora would have been more perfect with παρεσκευάζοντο μὲν preceding, but Thuc. often omits μέν in cases where it is not required, though a writer more careful about symmetry would msert it: perhaps he purposely avoids a rhetorical formula in narrative. The common cases in Thuc. are very simple, as πολλοὶ μὲν ... πολλοὶ δέ, εἰ μὲν .. εἰ δέ, ἅμα μὲν ... ἅμα δέ. Cf. I. 28 with πέμπετε; VI. 20, 4; also c. 41, 3 μόνη γὰρ καὶ μόνη. μέλλοντες—belongs to both subjects, as ποιούμενοι below. Probably both intended sending to Persia, though the Athenians did not carry out their intention. See c. 67.

πέμπειν — M. T. 73, 96.

ἀλλόσε —see c. 29.

ἑαυτῶν —for σφετέρας. Cf. c. 92, 4, and see c. 3, 4.

Λακεδαιμονίοις ... ἐπετάχθη — i.e. Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐπέταξαν. This dat. of the agent is very rare with other parts of the pass. than perf. It occurs in I. 51 τοῖς Κερκυραίοις οὐχ ἑωρῶντο, IV. 64 τίνες ἂν δικαιότερον πᾶσι ... μισοῖντο , ib. 109 πόλεις οἰκοῦνται ξυμμίκτοις ἔθνεσι. There are only two instances in the Orators.

αὐτοῦ —in the harbours of Peloponnese.

ἐξ Ἰ. καὶ Σ. —with τοῖς ἑλομένοις, but placed first for the sake of the antithesis with αὐτοῦ. Cf. c. 18, 3 κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πορείαν ἡ σχολαιότης. ναῦς ἐπετάχθη—Stahl supports his reading with great ability. It will be noticed that these Dorian cities, reckoned by Sparta among her allies, are not mentioned in c. 9 with the ξύμμαχοι, because there only those who actually contributed to the armament are given, and these cities contributed nothing. III. 86, 2.

ποιεῖσθαι —middle, ναῦς being the object. Cf. I. 14, 2.

ἐς τὸν πάντα ἀ —‘in all.’ When the article precedes πᾶς, the whole is regarded as the sum of its component parts.

πεντακοσίων —by no means realised. The Spartan navy in the Archidamian War was contemptible. See c. 66 and 85. Thuc. speaks with some irony.

τά τ’ ἄλλα —perhaps τἆλλα should be read here, the τ’ being due to dittography.

ἡσυχάζοντας —the change from the dat. ἑλομένοις is due to the infin. This change from gen. or dat. is always possible except when a word is the predicate to a gen. or dat., as I. 71 βουλομένων ὑμῶν εἶναι προθύμων. See c 24, 1.

μιᾷ νηὶ —

Pp. This gives an example to show how they were to refrain from hostile acts ( ἡσυχάζοντας).

ἕως ἂν — whereas with πρίν, μέχρι and μέχρι οὗ Thuc. occasionally omits ἂν when subjunctive is used, according to the older Attic idiom, this is never the case with ἕως. Cf. c. 72, 3.

τὰ περὶ Π. —‘in the neighbourhood of P.’ like circa. Cf. c. 99, 3.

μᾶλλον —‘more than elsewhere,’ so ‘especially.’ Cf. c. 15 ἑτέρων μᾶλλον. Κέρκυραν— the places are given in inverse order, the final point reached coming first. Cf. c. 93, 1. Eur. Bach. 13 fol. At present only an ἐπιμαχία existed between Athens and Corcyra. See Intr. p. LXVI.

Κεφαλληνίαν —it took no part in the war at first, but joined Athens towards the end of the summer. See c. 30. Ἀκαρνᾶνας—except the Oeniadae, c. 102, 2, the Acarnanians were reckoned as allies from the first, though no treaty was concluded till the autumn of 430. See c. 68. Ζάκυνθον—its interests and policy coincided with those of Corcyra. Cf. c. 9, 4; I. 47, 2.

εἰ ... εἴη — Recta, ἐὰν ... ᾖ. See 2, 4 .

βεβαίως —cf. IV. 20, 3 φίλους γενέσθαι βεβαίως. πέριξ καταπολεμήσοντες — se undique impugnaturos.