Athenian Reinforcements and the March to Potidaea — Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Book 1 (1.61.1–1.61.5), Greek & English

§1.61.1

ἦλθε δὲ καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις εὐθὺς ἡ ἀγγελία τῶν πόλεων ὅτι ἀφεστᾶσι, καὶ πέμπουσιν, ὡς ᾔσθοντο καὶ τοὺς μετ’ Ἀριστέως ἐπιπαριόντας,¹ δισχιλίους ἑαυτῶν ὁπλίτας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα ναῦς πρὸς τὰ ἀφεστῶτα, καὶ Καλλίαν τὸν Καλλιάδου πέμπτον αὐτὸν² στρατηγόν, οἳ ἀφικόμενοι ἐς Μακεδονίαν πρῶτον καταλαμβάνουσι τοὺς προτέρους χιλίους Θέρμην ἄρτι ᾑρηκότας καὶ Πύδναν πολιορκοῦντας.

And the news of the revolt of the cities reached the Athenians also at once, and when they perceived that the forces with Aristeus were also coming as reinforcements, they dispatched two thousand hoplites of their own and forty ships to the revolted places, and Callias, the son of Calliades, himself as one of five generals. On arriving in Macedonia, they first joined the previous thousand who had just taken Therme and were besieging Pydna.

§1.61.3

προσκαθεζόμενοι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν Πύδναν ἐπολιόρκησαν μέν, ἔπειτα δὲ ξύμβασιν ποιησάμενοι καὶ ξυμμαχίαν ἀναγκαίαν³ πρὸς τὸν Περδίκκαν, ὡς αὐτοὺς κατήπειγεν ἡ Ποτείδαια καὶ ὁ Ἀριστεὺς παρεληλυθώς, ἀπανίστανται ἐκ τῆς Μακεδονίας, καὶ ἀφικόμενοι ἐς Βέροιαν κἀκεῖθεν ἐπὶ Στρέψαν καὶ πειράσαντες πρῶτον τοῦ χωρίου καὶ οὐχ ἑλόντες ἐπορεύοντο κατὰ γῆν πρὸς τὴν Ποτείδαιαν, τρισχιλίοις μὲν ὁπλίταις ἑαυτῶν, χωρὶς δὲ τῶν ξυμμάχων πολλοῖς, ἱππεῦσι δὲ ἑξακοσίοις⁴ Μακεδόνων τοῖς μετὰ Φιλίππου καὶ Παυσανίου· ἅμα δὲ νῆες παρέπλεον ἑβδομήκοντα.

They also sat down and besieged Pydna themselves, but afterwards, making a necessary treaty and alliance with Perdiccas, as Potidaea and the arrival of Aristeus were pressing them, they withdrew from Macedonia, and having come to Beroea and from there to Strepsa, and having first made an attempt on the place without capturing it, they proceeded by land towards Potidaea, with three thousand hoplites of their own, besides many of their allies, and six hundred Macedonian cavalry with Philip and Pausanias; and at the same time seventy ships sailed along the coast.

§1.61.5

κατ’ ὀλίγον δὲ προϊόντες τριταῖοι ἀφίκοντο ἐς Γίγωνον καὶ ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο.

Advancing by easy stages, they arrived on the third day at Gigonus and encamped.

Syntax notes4 items

1.61.1ὡς ᾔσθοντο καὶ τοὺς μετ’ Ἀριστέως ἐπιπαριόντας
ὡς is a temporal conjunction ('when' or 'as soon as'). ἐπιπαριόντας is the accusative participle of ἐπιπάρειμι ('to approach further' or 'to come as reinforcements'), functioning as a participle of indirect discourse after ᾔσθοντο. καί means 'also,' emphasizing that Aristeus' forces were also on their way.
1.61.1πέμπτον αὐτόν
The combination of the pronoun αὐτός with an ordinal number (πέμπτον αὐτόν) is an idiomatic expression meaning "himself as the fifth," indicating that he was one of five colleagues sharing the military command.
1.61.3ξυμμαχίαν ἀναγκαίαν
Meaning 'a necessary (forced) alliance.' This adjectival phrase indicates a temporary and reluctant treaty/alliance that the Athenians were compelled to make with Perdiccas, the king of Macedonia, in order to hasten to the urgent situation at Potidaea.
1.61.4ἑξακοσίοις
Dative plural masculine of the numeral ἑξακόσιοι ('six hundred').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0003.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.61.1-1.61.5