- 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-grc2:1.74.1-1.74.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
The Athenian envoys argue that in the Persian War, Athens contributed the most critical elements: the largest number of ships, the brilliant general Themistocles, and the utmost daring zeal to fight even after abandoning their city. They emphasize that while Sparta acted out of self-preservation once their own territories were threatened, Athens risked everything from a ruined city to save both themselves and the Peloponnesians.
τοιούτου μέντοι τούτου ξυμβάντος,1 καὶ σαφῶς δηλωθέντος ὅτι ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ πράγματα ἐγένετο, τρία τὰ ὠφελιμώτατα ἐς αὐτὸ παρεσχόμεθα, ἀριθμόν τε νεῶν πλεῖστον καὶ ἄνδρα στρατηγὸν ξυνετώτατον καὶ προθυμίαν ἀοκνοτάτην· ναῦς μέν γε ἐς τὰς τετρακοσίας ὀλίγῳ ἐλάσσους τῶν δύο μοιρῶν,2 Θεμιστοκλέα δὲ ἄρχοντα, ὃς αἰτιώτατος ἐν τῷ στενῷ ναυμαχῆσαι ἐγένετο, ὅπερ σαφέστατα ἔσωσε τὰ πράγματα, καὶ αὐτὸν διὰ τοῦτο ὑμεῖς ἐτιμήσατε μάλιστα δὴ ἄνδρα ξένον τῶν ὡς ὑμᾶς ἐλθόντων·
Yet, when this came to pass, and it was clearly demonstrated that the fortunes of the Greeks depended on their ships, we contributed to this cause three of the most useful things: the greatest number of ships, the most intelligent general, and the most untiring zeal. Indeed, we provided ships amounting to a little less than two-thirds of the four hundred, and Themistocles as commander, who was the chief cause of our fighting in the strait—the very thing which most clearly saved the situation—and for this reason you yourselves honored him more than any foreign visitor who has ever come to you.
προθυμίαν δὲ καὶ πολὺ τολμηροτάτην ἐδείξαμεν, οἵ γε,3 ἐπειδὴ ἡμῖν κατὰ γῆν οὐδεὶς ἐβοήθει, τῶν ἄλλων ἤδη μέχρι ἡμῶν δουλευόντων ἠξιώσαμεν ἐκλιπόντες τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα διαφθείραντες μηδ’ ὣς τὸ τῶν περιλοίπων ξυμμάχων κοινὸν προλιπεῖν μηδὲ σκεδασθέντες ἀχρεῖοι αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἐσβάντες ἐς τὰς ναῦς κινδυνεῦσαι καὶ μὴ ὀργισθῆναι ὅτι ἡμῖν οὐ προυτιμωρήσατε.
And we displayed a zeal by far the most daring; for when no one came to help us on land, and all the others up to our borders were already enslaved, we resolved, even in leaving our city and destroying our own property, not even so to desert the common cause of the remaining allies, nor by dispersing to become useless to them, but to embark on our ships and face the danger, and not to be angry because you had not previously come to our defense.
ὥστε φαμὲν οὐχ ἧσσον αὐτοὶ ὠφελῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἢ τυχεῖν τούτου.4 ὑμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀπό τε οἰκουμένων τῶν πόλεων καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ τὸ λοιπὸν νέμεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ ἐδείσατε ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ οὐχ ἡμῶν τὸ πλέον, ἐβοηθήσατε (ὅτε γοῦν ἦμεν ἔτι σῶοι, οὐ παρεγένεσθε)· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπό τε τῆς οὐκ οὔσης ἔτι ὁρμώμενοι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐν βραχείᾳ ἐλπίδι οὔσης κινδυνεύοντες ξυνεσώσαμεν ὑμᾶς τε τὸ μέρος καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς.
Therefore we assert that we benefited you no less than we received benefit from you. For you indeed came to help us, setting out from cities that were still inhabited and for the purpose of enjoying them in the future, since you feared for yourselves and not so much for us (at any rate, when we were still safe, you did not appear); but we, starting from a city that was no longer in existence and risking ourselves for one that had only a slender hope, saved both you in your turn and ourselves.
εἰ δὲ προσεχωρήσαμεν πρότερον τῷ Μήδῳ δείσαντες, ὥσπερ καὶ ἄλλοι, περὶ τῇ χώρᾳ, ἢ μὴ ἐτολμήσαμεν ὕστερον ἐσβῆναι ἐς τὰς ναῦς ὡς διεφθαρμένοι, οὐδὲν ἂν ἔδει5 ἔτι ὑμᾶς μὴ ἔχοντας ναῦς ἱκανὰς ναυμαχεῖν, ἀλλὰ καθ’ ἡσυχίαν ἂν αὐτῷ προυχώρησε τὰ πράγματα ᾗ ἐβούλετο.
And if we had previously submitted to the Persian out of fear for our territory, as others did, or if we had not dared later to embark on our ships, considering ourselves already ruined, there would have been no further need for you to fight a sea-fight, since you did not have sufficient ships, but his affairs would have proceeded quietly just as he wished.
- 1.74.1τοιούτου μέντοι τούτου ξυμβάντος
Genitive absolute construction. The neuter pronoun τούτου, referring to the preceding battle of Salamis and its outcome, acts as the subject. The following καὶ σαφῶς δηλωθέντος is also a genitive absolute, which introduces the ὅτι clause ("that the fortunes of the Greeks depended on their ships") as its subject/complement.
- 1.74.1ἐς τὰς τετρακοσίας ὀλίγῳ ἐλάσσους τῶν δύο μοιρῶν
Expression of quantity. The preposition ἐς means "up to" or "about". The total number of allied ships is set at "about four hundred," and the Athenian contribution is described as "a little" (ὀλίγῳ, dative of degree of difference) "less than two-thirds" (about 267 ships) of that total.
- 1.74.2οἵ γε
The relative pronoun οἵ combined with the particle γε introduces a causal or characterising clause ("we who indeed...", "since we..."). The antecedent is the first-person plural subject of ἐδείξαμεν (the Athenians), and the main verb within the relative clause, ἠξιώσαμεν, is also in the first-person plural.
- 1.74.3τυχεῖν τούτου
The infinitive τυχεῖν is coordinate with ὠφελῆσαι and governed by the comparison οὐχ ἧσσον... ἤ ("no less... than"). τούτου is the genitive object of τυγχάνω ("to obtain, receive"), referring to the assistance or benefit that Athens received from Sparta.
- 1.74.4οὐδὲν ἂν ἔδει
The apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition. The impersonal verb ἔδει with the particle ἂν expresses "there would have been no need (or it would have been impossible)". The participle μὴ ἔχοντας modifies ὑμᾶς (the subject of the infinitive ναυμαχεῖν) and has a conditional force ("since you would not have had...").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1