- Source
- Thucydides. Historiae, Vol 1-2. Jones, Henry Stuart, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1910. (1942 printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.118.1-1.118.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
After the Samian War, the events leading to the Peloponnesian War began. The author reviews the fifty-year period between Xerxes' retreat and the war's outbreak, explaining how Sparta, finally unable to tolerate Athenian expansion, resolved on war and sought the oracle at Delphi.
μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἤδη γίγνεται οὐ πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ὕστερον1 τὰ προειρημένα, τά τε Κερκυραϊκὰ καὶ τὰ Ποτειδεατικὰ καὶ ὅσα πρόφασις τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου κατέστη.
Not many years after these events, there occurred the incidents already mentioned, namely those concerning Corcyra and Potidaea, and all the other things that became the pretext for this war.
ταῦτα δὲ ξύμπαντα ὅσα ἔπραξαν οἱ Ἕλληνες πρός τε ἀλλήλους καὶ τὸν βάρβαρον ἐγένετο ἐν ἔτεσι πεντήκοντα μάλιστα μεταξὺ τῆς τε Ξέρξου ἀναχωρήσεως καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου· ἐν οἷς οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι τήν τε ἀρχὴν ἐγκρατεστέραν κατεστήσαντο καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ μέγα ἐχώρησαν δυνάμεως, οἱ δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι αἰσθόμενοι οὔτε ἐκώλυον εἰ μὴ ἐπὶ βραχύ, ἡσύχαζόν τε τὸ πλέον τοῦ χρόνου, ὄντες μὲν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ μὴ ταχεῖς ἰέναι ἐς τοὺς πολέμους, ἢν μὴ ἀναγκάζωνται, τὸ δέ τι καὶ πολέμοις οἰκείοις ἐξειργόμενοι, πρὶν δὴ ἡ δύναμις τῶν Ἀθηναίων σαφῶς ᾔρετο καὶ τῆς ξυμμαχίας αὐτῶν ἥπτοντο. τότε δὲ οὐκέτι ἀνασχετὸν ἐποιοῦντο, ἀλλ’ ἐπιχειρητέα ἐδόκει εἶναι πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ καὶ καθαιρετέα ἡ ἰσχύς, ἢν δύνωνται, ἀραμένοις2 τόνδε τὸν πόλεμον.
All these things which the Greeks did against one another and against the barbarian occurred in a period of about fifty years between the retreat of Xerxes and the beginning of this war. During this time, the Athenians established their empire more firmly and themselves advanced to a high degree of power, while the Lacedaemonians, although aware of this, did not try to prevent it except to a small extent, and remained quiet for the greater part of the time; for even before this they were not swift to go to war unless they were compelled, and they were also to some extent hindered by domestic wars, until indeed the power of the Athenians was clearly rising and they were laying hands upon their alliance. Then indeed they thought it was no longer tolerable, but decided that they must attempt with all eagerness to pull down their strength, if they could, by taking up this war.
αὐτοῖς μὲν οὖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις διέγνωστο λελύσθαι τε τὰς σπονδὰς καὶ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἀδικεῖν, πέμψαντες δὲ ἐς Δελφοὺς ἐπηρώτων τὸν θεὸν εἰ πολεμοῦσιν ἄμεινον ἔσται· ὁ δὲ ἀνεῖλεν αὐτοῖς, ὡς λέγεται, κατὰ κράτος πολεμοῦσι νίκην ἔσεσθαι, καὶ αὐτὸς3 ἔφη ξυλλήψεσθαι καὶ παρακαλούμενος καὶ ἄκλητος.
Now, the Lacedaemonians themselves had already decided that the treaty was broken and that the Athenians were in the wrong, and sending to Delphi, they asked the god whether it would be better for them if they went to war. And the god, as it is said, answered them that if they fought with all their might, victory would be theirs, and said that he himself would help them, both when called upon and uncalled.
- 1.118.1οὐ πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ὕστερον
The dative οὐ πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν is a dative of measure of difference modifying the comparative adverb ὕστερον ('later'), meaning 'not many years later.'
- 1.118.2ἀραμένοις
Aorist middle participle, masculine plural dative from αἴρω. It functions as a dative of interest/agent dependent on the impersonal ἐδόκει ('it seemed good'), designating those who would take up the war (the Lacedaemonians) and modifying the verbal adjectives ἐπιχειρητέα... καὶ καθαιρετέα.
- 1.118.3αὐτὸς
Since the subject of the infinitive ξυλλήψεσθαι is the same as the subject of the main verb ἔφη (Apollo), the nominative αὐτὸς is used instead of an accusative to emphasize the subject ('he himself').